Pokémon: Requiem » Places

         ╔ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ╗
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
╚






═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
║
╝

Valencia had to admit, she would never have thought of taking her friend’s hand as they crossed the threshold into the new phase of their lives, but when Aria did, she thought it an excellent idea. They were beginning this together, and with any luck, they would end it the same way.

The question brought up an interesting consideration. Val had given the matter some thought, of course, but it really did depend on how they chose to go about things. “It depends, I think, on how long we stay in one place, to train or research. I suspect that if we walked constantly, only stopping to sleep, it would take the better part of nine months, but… less if we flew on pokémon that knew how, more if we stop for any reason, which I suppose we will.”

That was true enough. Pokédexes did not complete themselves, and Gym Badges took time and work to acquire. “My best guess is around a year, perhaps a year and a half, but… I really couldn’t say for sure.” There were too many variables to have a reliable estimate. Plus, she had tried not to think about all of it too much—one of the dangers of planning that far in advance was getting stuck in the same way of thinking, or feeling disappointed when you failed to do things that weren’t that realistic to begin with. She didn’t really want to get caught up in that.

“But the nice thing is that as soon as we get pokémon that can fly, you’ll be able to visit home whenever you want to.” She chose not to include herself in that, since she couldn’t really see herself wanting to go home anytime soon. Perhaps her feelings would change, but Valencia liked to think of herself as realistic, and so she wasn’t holding her breath on that.

The two spent the better part of the afternoon walking, the early autumn air cool on their faces. It wasn’t cold yet, though, and proved to be an excellent temperature for travel. Valencia was patient as Aria took the time to search the surrounding areas for wild pokémon, but they seemed to be somewhat scarce at the moment. A patch of waist-height grass loomed ahead, however, promising better chances at success.

“I can wait around for a while, if you want to have a look,” she offered with a small smile. It was something every new trainer was eager to try, after all, and she doubted Aria would be different in this respect. “Oh, that reminds me…” opening the flap of her back, Valencia moved a few other items aside and came back with two empty pokéballs in her hand. “These are for you. I figured you might need them, so I picked them up from the lab yesterday.”