Chapter 23
Obsession


Treecko and I walk through the mystery dungeon, rain falling on us through the trees. I've just finished explaining to Treecko everything I know about the Wildfire, including its connection to Volomans.

"So it's linked to my desire, huh?" Treecko says.

"Yeah. I think it only infects you if you're focusing on a really strong desire when you're exposed to it; I got close to pokemon with the Wildfire a few times before, but I only just got it recently. So, do you know what your desire is?"

"Uh, yeah. It's a little complicated. My home is... broken, I guess I could say? And I need to find this stone called the Shofuku Stone to fix it, and it's supposed to be in a special mystery dungeon, but I don't know which one. So, my desire is to fix my home, and I've been searching for mystery dungeons looking for the Shofuku Stone. What's your desire?"

"Well, I want to go home, but it's more complicated than that. The short version is, I need to get to Volomans and... stop the Wildfire, I think? And then I can get home. But, hardly anyone's even heard of Volomans, so I'm just searching blindly."

"Huh. And you said that if I just find what I'm looking for and fix my home, my Wildfire will go away?"

"Yeah, I'm-"

Suddenly, I'm interrupted by a pair of wild pokemon, jumping out from the bushes! A Beedrill and a Carnivine rush towards us! Treecko and I blast them with a pair flamethrower attacks, and the pokemon are defeated, evaporating into smoke.

Treecko sighs. "As much as this whole Wildfire thing sucks, it sure does make battling a lot easier."

We continue walking, our trip through the dungeon being very uneventful. A few more wild pokemon jump out at us, but we defeat them easily. Eventually, I start up a conversation.

"Have you always been on your own, while you've been looking for this Shofuku Stone thing?"

"Yeah. No one from my home would be able to join me, so I've been alone. It's not too bad though; since I got this Wildfire thing, I've been pretty easily annoyed by noise, and people make a lot of noise."

"Yeah, it's been the same for me. I had a partner before, and I used to be able to tolerate them, but I've gotten really sick of people lately, so I left. Speaking of, when we met a while ago, you were smiling and stuff. Was that..?"

"Fake, yeah. I was just being polite, since you might have known something about the Shofuku Stone."

"Oh. I was wondering if you'd found a way to fix how the Wildfire messes with your emotions."

"Nope."

"... Did you... enjoy exploring mystery dungeons? Before the Wildfire, I mean."

"Yeah, I used to. They were pretty interesting, and I was really curious about them."

"Huh. My partner was really into mystery dungeons too."

As our conversation dies down, my thoughts drift to Snivy. They were a jerk, calling me Mudkip just to make me mad, but... well, aside from that, they were a pretty good partner. They were strong in a fight, and brave, too, sometimes to a fault. They were pretty fun to be around sometimes, and their excitement for mystery dungeons was infectious. And for all the teasing about my name, they really did seem to care about me when things got serious. I kinda-

"WHOA!" Treecko shouts, as a giant Venusaur charges out from the surrounding forest! I'm surprised, but I manage to react quickly, and I open my mouth to blast the Venusaur-

And to my surprise, water comes out, leaving the Venusaur undamaged.

Treecko hits the Venusaur with a flamethrower, and the Venasaur grunts in pain, but shakes it off and charges at us. We each dodge to the side, and counter with a pair of flamethrower attacks. The Venusaur cries out in pain, and runs away back into the forest.

As I start to calm down from the fight, Treecko walks up to me. "Hey, why did you use a water attack back there?"

"I don't know. I wasn't really thinking, so I guess I just... did it on accident?" That doesn't make sense; the first time I used flamethrower, it was on accident, when I was trying to use water gun. Using water gun on accident instead of flamethrower seems a little backwards...

"Huh. Weird." Treecko turns and continues walking down the path, and I follow. Eventually, we start seeing a bright light ahead.

"Hey, do you think that's the end of the dungeon?" I ask.

"Yeah. Let's go!" We start running, and soon, we enter a clearing with a big tree in it. Treecko starts running around the room and frantically searching, whispering to themself "Where is it, where is it..." Soon, their Wildfire starts to ignite, and they flinch in pain. Finding nothing in the room, their turn their gaze to the giant tree. They start climbing with impressive speed, and reach the top in just a few minutes.

All the while, I sit and watch; the determination and focus in their expression is unlike anything I've ever seen. But the thing I really notice is their Wildfire; it started as just a few flames scattered around their body, but as they kept searching, it grew more and more. When they finally climb down from the tree, I see the flames engulfing their entire body.

Treecko starts running towards the exit path. "It's not here! I have to go!"

Immediately, I start chasing after them. "Treecko, wait!"

"I can't afford to wait, I'm already almost out of time!"

"You won't be able to find it in time! If this keeps up, you'll never make it!"

"Then I just need to go faster!" Treecko says, and true to their word, they start running faster, and I gradually fall behind.

"No, that's- You can't- I KNOW HOW TO CURE THE WILDFIRE!!"

Gradually, Treecko slows to a stop, and their Wildfire begins to shrink. I finally catch up to them, and they turn to me, their expression wide-eyed and desperate. "You do?! But, you said- How do I get rid of this!?"

I take a few seconds to catch my breath before answering. "I... I don't have it figured out yet-"

"Then why are you wasting my time!?!"

"Because you're just making it worse!!"

Treecko stands in stunned silence, their Wildfire disappearing. "... What?"

"Don't you see yourself? How you're acting? How WE'RE acting? We're obsessed! We aren't thinking about anything besides our goals! I mean... do you remember what this mystery dungeon was like? I've been in dungeons with glowing mushrooms and gravity changing crystals. What was special about this dungeon? Did we even notice? What was in that last room?"

"Well, there was a big tree..."

"That's it? Just a boring old tree? There's always something amazing in the last room, and we didn't even notice! You're supposed to LIKE mystery dungeons, aren't you?"

"I... what does that matter?! Of course I'm focusing on my goal!" Treecko's Wildfire starts to flare up again.

"Can't you see? Your Wildfire didn't ignite in that dungeon at all until you started looking around for the Shofuku Stone! The more you obsess over it and think about it, the worse your Wildfire gets!"

"Well what am I supposed to do?! You said yourself that the Wildfire makes us obsess over our desires, so I don't have a choice! And even besides that, I NEED to fix my home! I NEED TO!!" For a moment, Treecko's Wildfire flares up even bigger, almost like a bonfire, before shrinking back down as Treecko looks around at the flames left on the ground. "... Okay, you're right; I am making it worse. So... what am I supposed to do? What are WE supposed to do? We can't just... give up, can we?"

"No, we can't. Look, I'm not sure what to do yet, but I know what we're doing now will only make things worse. Just..." I rummage around in my bag for an oran berry, handing it to Treecko. "Just eat this for now; you need it after all that fire. Let's get out of here and get some sleep, I'll try to come up with a plan by tomorrow."

Treecko agrees, and we walk out of the mystery dungeon. We each set up camp nearby each other and go to bed; it was already late when we went in, and by now, the sun has set. I lay down in my sleeping bag, trying to figure out just what to do to cure me and Treecko's Wildfire. It's hard to focus, with the itch of the Wildfire occasionally dragging my thoughts to reminiscing about my life back on Earth before I snap out of it and resume planning.

I lay there for what might be hours. Then, when I turn around in my sleeping bag for the 8th time, I notice my tent entrance is a little bit open, the night sky just barely peeking through. It stopped raining a while ago, so the sky's probably clear now; it'd be a great view of the stars. I know stargazing won't make me happy; I already tried it last night.

With this Wildfire, I feel like the only thing that can make me happy is progress towards Volomans. Progress towards home. But I can't keep thinking like that; obsessing over getting home will only make it worse, and I need to get rid of this Wildfire or I'll run out of time. I'm not making any progress towards a plan anyways, so with a sigh, I get up from my sleeping bag and step out of my tent to stargaze.




Thanks for reading! Comments, questions, and criticisms are encouraged and appreciated!