Pokémon: The Mysterious Region (book 1)

Chapter 11: Venusaur's Blessing

I'm going to be honest. I almost fell off when heading down the stem. Twice. When I finally got to the ground, I collapsed next to the stem, breathing hard. I laid my head against it and closed my eyes. The humidity was really going to kill me.

"So," said a voice, and I looked up to see Eric standing over me, a bow slung over his shoulder. "How'd it go? I'm going to assume your sweating from the climb and not the results."

I gave him a weak thumbs up. "They said I could stay. I just need to learn the rules,language, and learn my way around the tribe from you."

Eric nodded. "Figures. Anything else?"

I thought about it, then remembered. "Oh yeah. They want me to go on the border patrol tomorrow." 

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Already? Huh. Well then, we'd better get started. You'll need to prepare."

I hastily got to my feet. "Prepare?"

He nodded, smiling. "Clothes won't be an issue, but you might need hunting supplies. As well as food and water. Come on. Follow me."

He shouldered a quiver of arrows and started walking. I followed after him, walking a bit faster to walk by his side. He was only a foot taller than me, but that didn't intimidate me. He seemed much more likable than the Elders. Plus he was friendly.

He led me back to the Leavanny from earlier and said, "Stay here for now. I made a catch just ten minutes from here. I don't want it to spoil. I'll be back shortly. Leavanny, make sure the kid doesn't get into trouble."

"Leavanny!"

He hurried off and I sat outside the tree, trying not to think about what the "catch" was. A couple Sewaddles scuttled up near me and looked at me.

"Sewaddle sewaddle sewaddle!"

I smiled and rubbed their leaf colored heads gently, careful not to ruin the leaves. They leaped with joy and scuttled away. Leavanny smiled and patted me on the head with her cutter arm before going back to sewing clothes.

"Oh, hello," said a feminine voice and I saw Meda walking over, her Morelull on her shoulder. "I take it the Elders are letting you stay?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Eric was going to show me around, but he had to grab a catch from the forest."

Meda smiled. "Well you're in good hands. Eric is highly respected for being so young."

I frowned. "How old is he?"

"23," She replied. "Sure he's been hunting for ten years now, but he's still good for his age."

She was smiling so warmly, I felt at ease. With my mind relaxed, my questions surfaced once more. 

Hesitant at first, I asked a question I deemed safe to be voiced aloud. "So, how is this part of the jungle so lush and huge? And why is that flower a Venusaur's flower?"

Meda smiled and sat down beside me, the Leavanny looking up from her work for a moment.

"Well," Meda said. "That's a story commonly known as Venusaur's Blessing. This place, which is called Venusaur's Heart, is proof of it. Much more lush, habitable, and bigger than the rest of the jungle."

She waved her hand in front of her and I looked up into the tall trees, the lush plants, and the people and Pokemon thriving here.

"Long ago," she went on. "There used to be a huge Venusaur that roamed this part of the island. It is said she used to carry humans and Pokemon on her back. Some even lived on her."

Tucking my legs in, I got comfortable. I had a feeling this story was going to be good.

Meda must have seen the eager expression on my face, because she gave me a smile and went on. "She protected everything that lived here, from the smallest Pokemon to the largest tree. It was all hers and hers to protect."