Apricorn gathering had never gone this poorly.

Just a couple weeks ago, Hideo had found a great spot near the Tree of Life with some high-quality Apricorns. Some he had made into some very effective Pokeballs, others he sold for a good chunk of change. Finding the spot wasn’t difficult; he just had to have his Lycanroc track their scent (and keep an eye out for any patrols that might spot them). He even had his Wooloo out with him, as she seemed to do pretty well mimicking his Lycanroc’s Odor Sleuth - wouldn’t hurt to train her a bit.

But today hadn’t gone so well.

Hideo caught on too late that his Lycanroc was headed another direction. And he also could tell his Lycanroc was going the wrong way when they were backtracking. He didn’t know what was wrong - Rocky’s nose never lied. But even his backup solution - letting out his Gallade to Teleport them out - was a bust when it outright failed; they couldn’t go back to a place they knew, nor could they pull off a wild jump.

Frustration was building, but Hideo knew he’d be screwed if he panicked. He’d paused in his aimless trek, trying to think over what he should try next; his gps wasn’t working, so that avenue was out. He didn’t get any cell service either, so no calls for help. At this point, he was even considering shouting for help, even if that risked meeting a patrol; he just had to weigh the pros and cons of getting arrested by what was most likely Rocket.

But as he thought things over, his Lycanroc had caught a scent - a familiar one. Rocky brushed up against Hideo, taking the boy’s attention. Rocky guided Hideo along, the Wooloo trailing behind him, as the wolf-like Pokemon followed his nose.

It wasn’t long until Hideo could hear something moving ahead of them. He’d chosen take his chances with jailtime, calling out to whatever it was. “Hey! Someone there?”

Eris Halla

The hunt for whatever Rocky smelled didn't take long, and to Hideo's surprise, he recognized that voice immediately. And she recognized him.

"Eris?!"

Hideo made his way over to his Lycanroc, his Pokemon's path chosen deliberately - to keep Hideo from being swatted by any tree branches or his feet caught on any stray roots. His Wooloo is close behind, her Fluffy body protecting her from anything further down.

"I was looking for Apricorns," he said, his voice filled with annoyance. "Got lost on the way there. Now I'm lost on the way back."

He avoided giving too much detail; he could feel the exhaustion in her voice, even if he couldn't see her tears. She might've been just as lost as he was, likely longer. Giving her bad news about his other attempts didn't feel like the right thing to do at the moment.

Had she even had time to heal from that injury she got at the Church?

He kept the pep up in his voice - maybe he could cheer her up a bit. "Well, at least we can work together on this now."

Eris Halla

Hideo could hear Eris take a deep breath in, then out - but he could also hear a sleeve brushing against skin. He could only assume that she was brushing her face; was she crying?

It'd be a lie if he said he wasn't also tense; they were lost in an unfamiliar place, and their attempts to escape had failed. Hideo at least had the comfort of his Lycanroc to help calm him, and he hadn't been lost for long, so his thoughts were yet to be clouded by terror. "I've been having Rocky try to sniff a way back," he said, "but he's been having trouble too. I think he couldn't even pick up my own scent and follow it out."

A bleating noise from his other Pokemon. "Oh, right. Flufflord's trying to help too. She's also trying to find a scent, though I don't think she's had much luck yet either."

He sighed. If even walking straight wasn't working, there must've been something up. "I trust that you're good with directions, so if you keep looping back when you go straight...you think something's up? Like some Pokemon's out there messing with us?" He was well aware that some Pokemon had funky abilities that could mess with people's minds - though why one would be targeting them was beyond him.

But it was just a theory.

He extended his hand forward, palm open. “Let’s work together on this, alright?  I'm sure we'll find out what's going wrong.”

Eris Halla

Hideo could feel her hand; cold, shaky. He could already tell she was scared just from how she talked, but now he was certain of it. She must have been stuck here longer than he had if she was at this point.

He puts his other hand on top, to warm hers up.

He listened as Eris worked on his theory, building it up with her own. “I doubt it’s the same space we were in at the Soiree,” he said - nothing trying to pretend to be his parents here, “But we could be caught in something. This place look any different than normal?” Had Hideo brought any of his Telepathic Pokemon with him, they could’ve given him a decent idea of their situation; he would’ve caught on to being stuck in a loop much sooner.

He removed the hand on top of Eris’s, reaching into his pocket. “Yeah, I got one with me,” he said, producing its Pokeball. “It was actually kinda funny ‘cause it was bugging me to come along when I said I was going near the tree. No idea why, but I didn’t let’em out ‘cause I thought it was gonna fly away.”

Getting a read on his Unown was impossible. It didn’t cause much trouble for him - heck, he didn’t even know if it ate or slept - but he still didn’t understand what it was doing most of the time. But with no other solution on the table...

He let the X-shaped Unown out, the small Pokemon floating in the air. Its eye settled on Hideo, then on Eris, then looking up to the sky. “Maybe if we give’em a minute, it’ll find us a way out?”

It stopped looking around, facing towards a single point in the distance. Even as it floated around, its eye was pointing towards the same spot.

Eris Halla

His X-Unown joined in the dance with Eris's, but its focus was still on the same spot. And once hers dispersed, the X stayed, staring while keeping a consistent distance from its trainer.

"Makes sense that we're still in a forest," Hideo sighed, "The same forest-in-a-tree, I bet. Still got no idea how that works." Not that it mattered, but maybe getting Eris's mind on something other than being lost would help her calm down.

It worked for him.

He could feel Eris tug on his hand, leading somewhere. "Guess we just follow them then?" It was better than aimless wandering.

Though unfortunately, Hideo shook his head when asked Eris's other question. "You're the first anyone I've found here. Only Pokemon have been Rocky and Flufflord here. And X-ey." He pointed up, towards where he thought his Unown was - though he was off.

He had to consider himself lucky that he had his Lycanroc with him; Rocky always proved to be a strong support for him in times of unease.

Probably like how Reiner sounded to Eris.

Change the subject.

"Wait, you've been here for days?!" The shock was only partially put-upon; he was sure he'd only been wandering at most an hour - had she been here longer? "Ah jeez, you must be hungry! And thirsty!"

He'd let go of Eris's hand, swinging his backpack to his front, quickly going through it. He'd packed lightly - mainly so he'd have space for Apricorns - but he made sure to bring something to eat and drink just in case. "I got some bars and some water. Gotta make sure you're in good shape before we head out!"

Maybe she was in some distress because she was starving and dehydrated?

Eris Halla

Ah. “Good to hear you haven’t been stuck here for that long,” Hideo said, breathing a sigh of relief. He stowed his granola bars back in his bag, but let Eris drink as much as she wanted from his bottle; even if she hadn’t actually been here for days, she must’ve been pretty thirsty from walking around so much. “At least Reiner isn’t lost here too!...but does that mean you were walking around here with just those Unown?”

It was better than nothing - though Hideo still wasn’t fully comfortable with his own Unown, with how erratic they were. It seemed like she depended a lot on her Luxray for emotional support, even more than he did with Rocky. Hopefully it was just a case of leaving him at home...

His head tilted as Eris uttered a more audible word. “You don’t have to be sorry about anything, Eris,” Hideo said, reaching his hand out for her to take. “Friends help each other out when this stuff happens. We just gotta stick together and we’ll be alright.”

It was easier to focus on easing Eris’s anxiety than his own. He was sure he’d feel better once they were out of here anyways.

The X-Unown, aware it wasn’t being followed, floated right up to Hideo, brushing along his hair in the direction it’d been looking. “We’ll be right there, X-y!” Hideo said, trying to undo the damage to his hairstyle. “Well, let’s see where X-y wants us to go so badly.”

Eris Halla

He felt her hand touch his once more. Her hand felt a bit cold, but he didn't mind, clasping on just as she did; he'd help warm her hand right up.

"Neat that you've had yours for so long! Mine, I only caught recently. X-y there, I caught when there was this huge swarm of'em. Then I got an M-shaped one when I was chilling at camp one night and X-y befriended them." The M was just as incomprehensible as the X.

His Lycanroc stood slightly ahead of the pair, tearing away at the tough terrain with his claws, his usual method of ensuring Hideo didn't trip over anything. Hideo's Wooloo stuck with the two kids, keeping watch over them (and so she wouldn't get caught in anything).

Still, Hideo could notice the change in the terrain - that Rocky was tearing up less and less over time. And there was less stuff that Rocky couldn't get out of the way. "It feels like we're making some progress," Hideo said.

And sure enough, they did; Hideo hadn't realized how quiet the air had been since he'd gotten lost until he heard a slight breeze, its light touch against his face. He can't quite see the garden before them, but it certainly felt different from his aimless wandering.

"Wherever it brought us, I think we should keep going," Hideo said, moving ahead and gently leading Eris along with him. He didn't have any better ideas, and for Eris's sake, he didn't take the time to think of any others.

Eris Halla