Pokémon: The Mysterious Region (book 1)

Chapter 10: The Elders

"Rise and shine kid."

I blinked away my drowsiness and covered my eyes at the sunlight streaming through the parted vines. A guy stood outlined in the sunlight, his black hair pulled back in a ponytail. He wore a green tunic and pants like mine, made from leaves. He had a sort of roughened expression, but when he smiled, he looked friendly enough.

I rose, feeling a whole lot better. As I stood, I felt no waves of dizziness. 

I felt my body. "Woah."

The guy smirked. "Yeah, Meda's good at her job."

"Shii!"

The Shiinotic that had brought me water before pushed past him, carrying a leaf. On the leaf were a couple purple herbs, which the Grass type presented to me.

"Thanks," I said, grabbing them and staring at them.

The guy smiled. "Eat them. They'll give you energy for the morning. Especially for your meeting."

I gave him a quizzical look. "Meeting?"

He nodded. "Yes. It's time for you to meet with the Elders. They'll judge you accordingly."

He held out his hand as I finished swallowing and I took it. He pulled me up and gave me a look over.

"Yeah," he said. "You're better. Follow."

Even before I went outside, I could feel the humidity in the air. I think I noticed it before when I was wandering in the jungle, but here it was thicker, much more noticeable. I wondered why I couldn't feel it last night, but I chalked that up to still not being at one hundred percent.

As we exited the tree, I was about to ask the guy a question, but I quickly stopped. Unlike the night before, the area was bustling with activity. The sun shone through the leaves overhead, people about. A group of people with bows were heading off the trail and deeper into the jungle. Some sat on mossy stones and sharpened hunting knives, while others carried baskets of fruits along the trail. They all wore the same attire such as me and the guy I was with, including the woman who were doing everything the men were doing.

"Woah," I said, though the people weren't the only things I was staring at.

From what I could see, Pokemon were a main factor in everything going on as much as the humans were. Staraptors flew above the hunters heading into the jungle, presumably helping to hunt prey. Several Meganiums lumbered by, helping to carry woven baskets filled to the brim with colorful fruits, all of which were unfamiliar to me. Several Whirlipedes rolled by and I heard loud buzzing overhead. I looked up to see half a dozen Yanmegas fly by, people on their backs.

The guy next to me nudged me, which brought me back to attention. "It's refreshing to see an outsider amazed at all this."

I nodded. "It's... incredible. I mean, you've all lived on this island for who knows how many generations and you prosper."

He laughed. "I never really considered this place an island. It's such a huge place, it might as well be its own thing."

"Yeah," I said, watching as several Vivillions fluttered by. "Still, it's beautiful."

We walked along the trail, the guy occasionally saying something in a strange language to people passing by.

"What are you saying?" I asked after the fourth time he did this.

He looked at me. "It's our way of saying hello. Bavi."

"Bavi," I repeated. "Huh." 

After a few seconds, "You never told me your name."