victory_road | First Lost Friend

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First Lost Friend | Radley, OTA

((I got permission from Levi's player to post this. I could have added it to the other Hisuian post for Radley, but I kind of felt like it needed its own post. Radley would be devastated for this to happen at any time, but it's even harder in Hisui, when it's harder to know what happened since the PokeGears aren't working and most Pokemon are back in Johto.))

Who: Radley and everyone

Where: Hisui

When: Later half of July

Summary: Radley has never lost a friend in Pokemon land before. He wasn't expecting his first time would be here in Hisui.

Rating: G

Log:

[At first Radley isn't too worried when he doesn't see Levi around. He's probably out gathering or scouting. But when Radley realizes Levi's Hisuian starter Pokemon is here, he starts to worry. He roams the camp and then all the surrounding area, calling for him while Lily accompanies him and calls as well.

He's sick with worry. Where could he be? Is he hurt? Did something attack him?

It doesn't occur to him for some time that maybe Levi has been sent back to his own world. For some reason, he didn't think that would happen here, while they're trapped in the past. But when he finally begins to think about this possibility, he grips the nearest tree and then sinks to his knees. Maybe he'll never know for sure. Does anyone ever know for sure? He seems to remember being told about some indications of it back in Johto when he first came back in February, but here ... can they really know? And no matter where it happened, there's no closure. He talked to Levi while they were here in Hisui, thinking they'd talk again, and now ...

He hadn't really thought too hard about how it would feel to lose someone in this world. He hadn't wanted to think about it. If Levi is gone, this is the first time he's lost a friend here. Those who have been here longer have no doubt already gone through it multiple times, but it's a new crushing blow to him. The only comforts he really has in Hisui are Lily and knowing everyone is all together. He already wondered if Lily would be taken from him, and now there's no guarantee of everyone staying together lasting either.

Will Levi be happy going home? Radley doubts he'll ever see him again. And ...

He looks sick as something else dawns on him. If they all get home to Johto, and everyone's reuniting, and then Levi's poor Pokemon realize he isn't coming ...

Radley picks up Lily and cries.

He has to get back to his. The thought of Evie and Cosmo and all the others seeing reunions and Radley isn't there is too crushing to think about. He has to get home to them....

He draws a shaking breath and gets up. Will Levi's other friends have figured out he might have been sent back? Maybe he needs to check on them....

He holds Lily close as he heads back towards the camp.]

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Yeah. He was always a great help when things were going wrong.

Thanks.

[He manages a weak but sincere smile.]

I hope he's happy going back ... if he's going back.... There was a lot going on in his world....

[Cassandra thinks back on her conversation with Levi.]

I think he'd be more upset if he didn't go back.

[He'd seemed that type, anyway - someone who took his duties to his world very seriously.]

... Yeah. You're probably right. I just wish ... I could have said Goodbye.

[A scant few came back again, but most did not, to Radley's understanding. He would probably never see Levi again or know if he was okay.]

[Cassandra can relate - she wishes she could have said goodbye to her lost friends, too.]

I'm sorry.

[Even if he did come back, he might not even be the same one who'd left.]

Sometimes I think it would be a good idea to create goodbye messages in advance. But then again, maybe that's too... not morbid. Pessimistic?

I don't know about that. I told my Pokemon every night that I might be suddenly taken away. I wanted them to know it could happen ... that I'd never leave them on purpose. So I kinda said Goodbye each night. I think it's a good idea. Maybe ... if we ever get home, I'll start writing Goodbye messages to friends ... just in case.

[Cassandra would do the same, but... well. She always seems to be the one left behind. But Radley doesn't need the burden of her loneliness, so she only nods.]

I wonder how aware they are that everyone is gone right now.

I'm sure they know. They must be panicked. I'm really worried about my Ralts. She won't let anyone near her except me and Fluttershy.

[He sighs, heavily. It's been all he can do to focus hard on getting home and to not lose his mind worrying. He wonders sometimes what might drive him to the edge.]

...Lythie is probably making things difficult for anyone around her.

Uh oh. Is she generally difficult or would she be acting up out of distress?

Both, I think? She was upset when her trainer left, but we were traveling together at the time so Lythie knew me. But also, she just... has a very strong personality.

[Read: she's a brat even when she's not upset.]

[Radley nods.]

That's kind of nice that a Trainer's Pokemon can go to friends still here. It must be some kind of comfort for them to be with someone they know. I guess Levi's will go to his friends from his home who are here.

.... Oh. Levi got an egg from me. I wonder if it'll come back to me....

It seems to be. I don't think Lythie would admit it, but some of Willow's other pokemon have acted like it.

Though I think there's a home they go to even if they don't end up with friends of their original trainers, so they're still taken care of.

It might? I don't know how it works for eggs.

That's nice that some seem to.

Really? Good to know. I might like mine to go to friends of mine.... I wonder if we have any choice in the matter. I guess we don't, since we're just taken with no warning.

Well, if I find a mysterious third egg, I'll know where it came from, I guess.... I don't think I'd resell it. I'd rather keep it. Maybe I'd name the Pokemon Levi, if it's a boy.

Maybe? I don't know if anyone really knows how it works.

[If they do, Cassandra doesn't know about it.]

That sounds nice.

They probably don't. It seems like we're kept in the dark about a lot of things. Maybe sometimes we just start speculating on the truth based on what we know or we've heard and then some others think that's the real story.

[He smiles a bit wanly.]

Yeah. I don't know how Levi would feel about it, but ... I probably will do that. I wonder if there's a female equivalent of Levi if it's a girl.

[Of course, he's speculating now himself, since he has no idea if he'll get the egg back. But it's something that's comforting him, to think of it coming back to him.]

If we knew how things actually worked here, people would probably use that to go home.

[Which may not be the best thing to say given what they're talking about. Cassandra grimaces.]

I wonder how much the people who aren't brought in by Arceus know about how this world works. Especially the gym leaders.

[She considers the naming question for a moment.]

Leah?

Or I'd use it to connect the worlds. Then everyone could be together. Of course, I'd have to figure out how to keep undesirables out.

[He ponders.]

That's a good question. I've been told they don't hear the music.

[This brings a thoughtful smile.]

Yeah, that could work.

Undesirables?

I don't understand why we have to hear the music.

[And for some reason, every time she gets into a battle there are bells.]

It's a nice name.

Yeah, like people who would exploit the Pokemon for their own gain, or monsters who would wreck the world and hurt the Pokemon.

[He smirks, darkly.]

I don't get it either. It's part of what makes me wonder if we're trapped in a video game, but I really hope that's not the explanation.

[He smiles again.]

It is! It sounds like a good name for one of these cuties.

[He pets Lily.]

Oh. Right.

[Cassandra can think of a large number of entities from her world who should not ever be brought here. Several of them are human.

And then there's an unfamiliar term.]

Video game?

Was the egg an Eevee?

Yeah, it's uh ... something that can be played on an electronic device, like the PokeGear. They're really popular back home.

[He smiles more.]

It was.

So would that mean we're... stuck in a PokeGear?

[That sounds completely bizarre.

And then she thinks for a moment.]

I've never actually had an Eevee.

[Which seems odd, since they're relatively common.

And then she realizes how that sounds.]

That's... not me wanting to take your Eevee egg when you get it back.

I sure hope not.

[He chuckles.]

I get it. Hey, if you'd like one, I could put you on a waiting list. For all I know, maybe they will have decided to have more eggs while we've been gone.

So do I.

[For one thing, it raises a great many questions that Cassandra does not think she has the necessary knowledge to deal with.]

I... guess? I mean... yes.

[Cassandra has nothing against Eevee! She's just never really thought about having one.]

Okay then! I'll let you know.

... Wow, I never actually thought about it before, but maybe a lot of us really will go back to a bunch of new eggs.

[That could be pretty overwhelming.]

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