A/N: Early chapter! Hope you enjoy!
Atlas sat on a small rock in the little overhang they'd set their camp up in, staring at a red screen. It had appeared in front of him again after he woke up, its sudden glow startling him and waking up Buneary in the process. He'd almost forgotten about the screen, but now it was back, and with it, a mix of excitement and unease. With a grumpy and tired Buneary in his lap, Atlas began to go over the changes.
Name: Atlas Eterna
Egg Group: Human-like
Age: 16
Level: 2 (11%)
Ability: ???
----- Stats -----
Body – 4 (+1)
Mind – 6 (+1)
Energy – 3 (+2)
----- Bonded Pokemon (1/4) -----
Buneary (Info)
The improvement in his stats filled Atlas with a quiet joy, but his eyes were drawn to the question marks where his ability should be. In this world, when people bonded with a pokemon for the first time, they gained an ability. It was well-documented, well-researched, allowing nearly every trainer to find out what their ability was. But not him. He wondered if this was the "problem" his parents had been trying to solve, a problem that still lingered. He tried to tap the question marks, to see if a hidden menu would pop up, but nothing happened.
He sighed disappointed. "At least my stats went up," he muttered, flexing his muscles. He could feel power in them, a greater energy than before.
'What did you see?' Buneary asked, her voice in his mind curious and still a bit groggy. 'Why are you disappointed?'
"It's not showing me what my ability is," Atlas said, a hint of frustration in his voice. "Just question marks." He dismissed the screen and tapped on Buneary's info.
Species: Buneary (Alpha)
Egg Group: Human-like
Level: 3 (76%)
Ability: Limber
----- Stats -----
Body – 6
Mind – 3 (+1)
Energy – 3
The fact that Buneary hadn't leveled up didn't seem to faze her. She had gained a stat, and that was enough for her. She puffed out her chest with a smug look on her face.
'Seems like I just keep getting better,' she said, a confident hum in his mind. Atlas let out a tired sigh, wondering how he'd landed with a pokemon with such an ego.
"Yeah, you did," Atlas replied, his tone turning serious. "But we shouldn't be complacent. We need to start practicing our moves and our teamwork. We can't have what happened yesterday happen again."
He saw her nod, and her playful attitude was replaced by a look of serious resolve. Having finished looking over their new stats, Atlas and Buneary ate some of the remaining Stantler meat for breakfast. Packing up the rest of what they had, Atlas pulled out a map he'd gotten at the checkpoint back at the city and started to plan their route to Veridia City.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few hours had passed since they left their overhang, walking through the tall grass under the hot sun. In the distance, Atlas spotted a wide ravine. He pulled out his map, hoping for a way around or across it. A small smile of relief appeared on his face when he saw a bridge marked on the map, connecting one side to the other. He folded the map and continued walking.
As they got closer, Atlas saw something ahead, in the area where the bridge was supposed to be. Dread began to creep into his chest. His hope quickly turned to frustration as the bridge came into full view, or rather, what was left of it. It was completely gone, broken off at the edges of the cliff. There was no telling what had happened—a wild pokemon, a person, or maybe just a natural disaster.
"Arceus damn it," Atlas muttered, pulling the map back out. "Why'd our luck have to be so bad?" Frustration taking over. A way around existed, but it was a long detour that would add three to four days of walking. The other option was a shortcut through a forest, but it was riddled with pokemon.
"What do you think we should do, Buneary?" Atlas asked, explaining their options and hoping for some insight.
'Hm. Going through the forest might be dangerous, but it'll allow us to gain some more practice and experience if we're careful,' she said, her thoughts firm.
"Yeah, I'm with you on that, but are you sure you want to do this?" Atlas asked, still skeptical after what happened with the Stantler.
'If we don't take some risks, we'll never grow, Atlas,' she said, her thoughts firm on them getting stronger.
Atlas sighed, knowing she was right. "Alright, let's go through the forest. Maybe we'll be able to find some food there." On the way to the ravine, they'd only seen small pokemon that ran away before they could catch them, leaving them with nothing to eat.
For the next hour, they walked alongside the edge of the ravine before coming across the forest. Taking a deep breath, Atlas made his way into the trees with Buneary on his shoulder. The air was fresh and cool, the shade a welcome relief from the sun. The forest was full of pokemon, none of which posed a challenge yet, allowing them to practice some of their moves and teamwork.
While walking through the overgrowth, Atlas saw Buneary's ears twitch. "Is something happening?" he asked, looking around him.
Buneary nodded. 'There are sounds of pokemon and a battle that way,' she said, pointing to the east.
Nodding, Atlas quietly moved through the bushes to make sure they weren't noticed. He came into view of a clearing and saw two groups of pokemon, one composed of Growlithe and Arcanine, and the other of Houndoom and Houndour. They were fighting, and many of them were either bleeding or dead—a brutal sign of a territorial dispute.
Then, out of nowhere, Atlas and Buneary heard a loud roar off in the distance. The sound was so immense, so primal, that it caused both parties to forget about fighting and look in the direction of the sound. Not wanting to get caught up in it, the Arcanine leader barked, signaling for its pack to leave. The Houndoom leader did the same, and both packs fled, leaving their dead comrades behind. Atlas and Buneary were about to leave, not wanting to get caught up with whatever pokemon just made that sound, before Atlas heard a soft whimper. He looked back and saw an injured Growlithe trying to get up before collapsing. Out of the bushes came three Poochyena, seeming to want to take the Growlithe as their prey.
'Atlas, I know what you're thinking, but we need to get out of here before whatever that was comes back,' Buneary's voice warned, a hint of fear in her tone.
'I know, but we can't just leave it there knowing we could've helped it,' Atlas responded, looking back at the Growlithe.
Buneary audibly sighed. 'Alright, let's do this quickly. I'll go in for the one at the front and you grab the Growlithe,' she said, a sense of urgency in her voice.
Atlas nodded, knowing his role. Buneary jumped off his shoulder, landing on the ground before kicking off with her powerful legs, leaving a marking on the ground. Atlas rushed after her, moving towards the downed Growlithe. Looking off to the side, Atlas saw as Buneary's foot connected with one of the Poochyena with a sickening thud, knocking it out in one hit thanks to the momentum from the jump, startling the other two. The other two, seeing their partner instantly defeated, ran back into the forest, tails tucked in, leaving their partner behind.
Atlas crouched by the Growlithe, his heart pounding. He placed a hand on its chest and let out a sigh of relief as he felt a faint, but steady, heartbeat. Getting up, Atlas moved towards Buneary where the knocked out Poochyena was. He picked it up, hesitating for a moment, his hand trembling slightly. Then, steeling himself, he quickly snapped its neck, feeling it go limp and its heart stop. He was still not used to the feeling, but he knew they needed food to survive, and it had to be done.
As he and Buneary quickly absorbed the energy from the Poochyena and the leftovers from the other dead pokemon, they felt a warm energy surge through them, making them feel stronger. After they finished, Atlas picked up the Growlithe and the Poochyena in the other hand, with Buneary hopping back on his shoulder. They quickly moved through the forest, creating distance between them and the direction the sound came from.
Feeling they were a safe enough distance away, Atlas sank to the ground, the adrenaline finally wearing off. He gently set the injured Growlithe down beside him and dropped the Poochyena to the ground. After a minute of rest, he began to look at the Growlithe's wounds, treating them as best as he could with his limited knowledge.
With Buneary's help, he prepared the Poochyena's meat for them to eat, making a quick stew out of it and some edible plants he'd found. As they ate, the Growlithe woke up, his confused gaze taking in his new surroundings. Atlas, seeing him, stopped eating and carefully set a bowl of stew in front of him. Hesitant at first, the Growlithe eventually gave in to his hunger, eating as if his life depended on it.
After finishing their food, Atlas put everything away and moved toward the Growlithe, who looked up at him, his head cocked to the side. "You've got to go back to your pack now that you're better, buddy," Atlas said, his voice soft. He knew how loyal Growlithe and Arcanine were to their pack.
The Growlithe just sat there, looking at him. Atlas looked to Buneary for help. Buneary nodded and tried to communicate what Atlas had said through the link.
'No use. The guy's a complete idiot,' she sent back, and Atlas felt a wave of exasperation. 'He thinks we're his pack.' Growlithe just looked at her, his tail wagging.
"No, buddy, you've got to go back to your pack," Atlas repeated, pointing in one direction and then in the opposite. He stood up and started to walk, hoping the Growlithe would get the message. But he didn't. When Atlas woke up the next morning, he found the Growlithe curled up on his legs.
This continued for two days, with the Growlithe following them further and further away from where they had last seen his pack. Atlas, defeated and finally accepting Growlithe's choice, knelt down and looked at him.
"Are you sure you want to join us?" Atlas asked, a small smile appearing on his face. The Growlithe just sat there, smiling back at him with his tongue hanging out.
Atlas's question seemed to be all the confirmation the Growlithe needed. He barked back, spinning around with sheer joy. As if listening to Atlas's thoughts, a red light flew out from his chest, a mirror to the one that had bonded him to Buneary. The light condensed into a half-diamond and embedded itself on Growlithe's chest. The same process happened, but this time, all of them experienced each other's pasts. Atlas saw a flash of Growlithe's fairly peaceful life, before it was overthrown when he was forced to participate in the territorial war between the Houndoom and Arcanine, only to be left behind and assumed to be dead.
'Hello?' A new, unfamiliar, childlike voice echoed in their minds.
"Huh? Growlithe, was that you?" Atlas asked, looking down at him.
'Atlas!' What he got next was Growlithe jumping up on him and giving him a slobbery attack with his tongue.
Buneary, who had jumped off Atlas's shoulder, watched from a distance in disgust as Atlas struggled under the slobbery attack. 'I'm starting to regret helping save this doof,' she said through the link. Growlithe seemed to hear it, stopping his attack on Atlas and turning towards her.
'Buneary!' he yelled through the link with equal enthusiasm before jumping off Atlas and charging towards Buneary.
'Oh no you don't!' she said, kicking him to the ground before sitting on top of him. 'I came first and thus I'm in charge here. Get that through your thick skull.' She said, tapping on his head.
Suddenly getting up with Buneary still on his back, he started running around the clearing with a yelling Buneary clutching onto his fur. Atlas, at first, was a little worried, but then a laugh escaped him. It was a real, unrestrained laugh that he hadn't felt in years.
'Atlas! Get rid of this beast!' she said through the link.
Atlas, still laughing, ran over to a fallen log and carefully set the two of them down. Buneary immediately jumped off, her fur ruffled and a look of indignation on her face. Growlithe, on the other hand, was panting with a happy, goofy grin.
Atlas sat down, his laughter fading into a soft smile as he watched his two pokemon. They were a chaotic pair—one sassy and proud, the other goofy and energetic. But they were his. He looked up at the sun setting through the trees, casting long shadows across the clearing and sat there watching it set while his partners argued behind him.