Chapter 26
Snivy


It's about midday on my second day of traveling back to Maceria Town, when the town finally comes into view. I've been doing pretty well, keeping myself from thinking about you-know-what, and just stopping to smell the roses. Sometimes literally. It was nice. I'm walking toward the town, when suddenly-

"JAMIE!!"

I turn to see Snivy running towards me from the grove, a smile on their face. "Snivy!" I call back as I start running to meet them.

Soon, we're face to face for the first time in days. Snivy's excitement calms, and their expression shifts to a familiar nervous smile. "U-um, hi Jamie. How was your trip? Did you find-"

I interrupt them, lunging forward to wrap them in a hug. "I missed you, Snivy."

Snivy is stunned for a second, but soon they wrap their arms around me, returning the hug. "I... I missed you too. I missed you so much, Mudkip..." Suddenly, they break away, panicked. "JAMIE! I mean Jamie! I'm so sorry, I just..." Snivy looks downward, their expression guilty rather than scared.

"Don't worry about it, it's fine."

"Huh? Wait, really?"

"Yeah. Look, forget about that. What's been happening since I left?"

"Oh! You won't believe this, but I found out where Volomans is!"

"Huh? Wait, really!?" Suddenly, I feel the Wildfire start to grow stronger inside me. "No, wait, we can talk about that later."

"What? But don't you..."

"How's Ralts doing? Have they been getting more comfortable?"

"Um, yeah. They're doing great, actually. They've been getting along great with Poochyena, and they seem to feel safe around Mightyena and Lilligant. Oh, but, don't refer to Poochyena as their sibling, or Mightyena and Lilligant as their parents; it reminds Ralts of their family."

"Got it. That's great news! So, what are you doing outside the town? Gathering food?"

"Yeah. We're not running out or anything, but it just gets a little boring sometimes. That, and being outside is just... nice, you know?"

I nod. "So, you want some help picking berries?"

"Sure, that sounds great! C'mon, I dropped my bags over in the grove." Snivy turns toward the grove, then turns back to me with a suspicious look. "You're not gonna throw another berry at me this time, are you?" they ask with a smile.

"Hmmm, well, maybe, maybe not~"

Our berry picking is relaxing and uneventful, with minimal berry throwing. After a few minutes, we head back to Maceria Town to eat some real food; Snivy says Lilligant's making pizza for lunch!

When we get back, I'm greeted by Mightyena and Lilligant, and I say hi to Poochyena and Ralts. Unfortunately, Lilligant only made pizza for 5 people, but Snivy offers to split their serving. It tastes great; of all the things I thought might bring back my suppressed feelings, Lilligant's cooking was not one that I expected.

"So Jamie," Lilligant begins, "how are you doing? With the Wildfire, I mean; you seem like you're back to normal."

"Well, it's not completely gone, but I'm recovering! At this rate, it'll probably only be a few more days before it's gone."

"Wow, really!?" Snivy says. "That's great news! What exactly happened on your trip? Er, if you don't mind talking about it, that is..."

I begin recounting the events of my trip, starting with when I was looking around randomly for mystery dungeons. I tell them about Treecko, and the first trip, and the plan, and the fruit, and everything. By the time the story is over, everyone has finished eating.

As we leave the table, Snivy suddenly remembers something, and runs upstairs, calling for me to follow. We head into the room Snivy's using, and Snivy opens a drawer and pulls out a pink scarf; my Joy Scarf! There's an off-color pink patch sewn onto it, over the part that I accidentally burned.

Snivy walks over and hands the scarf to me. "I got your Joy Scarf fixed up after you left! It's not perfect, but I think it should still work."

"Wow, thanks!" I say, taking the scarf. "Can you help me put it on? It's kinda hard without fingers."

"Of course!"

After my Joy Scarf is back on, I spend the rest of the afternoon chatting with Mightyena and the others. Late in the day, when I'm talking with Mightyena and Snivy, Mightyena brings up a question about sleeping arrangements.

"Oh, actually, that gives me an idea," I say. "Hey Snivy, how about you and I sleep outside, under the stars?"

"Huh? But don't you want to sleep in a real bed, after your trip?"

"Well yeah, but I think it'll be fun. Besides, I wanna spend some time with you."

"Oh. Um, yeah, that does sound fun; I haven't been stargazing since the night we met Ralts. And this time we don't need to worry about some spooky monster making us disappear."

"Well," Mightyena says, "that simplifies the issue of not having enough beds. But are you sure you'll be alright out there, on your own?"

Snivy smiles. "I won't be on my own, and neither will Jamie."

Snivy and I leave after dinner, grabing the tent and heading outside the town. It's not dark yet, so we pass the time with some sparring. Surprisingly, I easily gain the upper hand. Its mostly because Snivy still isn't using their grass-type moves against me, because of the type advantage. We decide to make things more fair by stopping me from using my special attacks as well. After that adjustment, our matches are more even; Snivy has more experience fighting, but they've gotten rusty from just hanging out in the town, so it gets pretty close.

After 30 minutes of alternating sparring and breaks, we get bored and start playing tag in the grove instead. Soon we start switching between games; we play hide-and-seek, we make up stories, and we even come up with a game where Snivy tries to climb a tree while I try to knock them down with water gun.

That last game ends with Snivy falling and getting hurt, followed by several apologies and oran berries.

Finally, the sun starts to set, and we begin setting up the tent. Once we're finished, we have a snack break, and by the time that's over, it's night time, and the stars are starting to light up the sky. It's hard to see the sky from under all the trees, so we head out of the grove. We manage to find the same spot where we stargazed last time. We lay down on our backs and silently watch the stars appear.

I run my hand over my Joy Scarf. I wore it for so long, it felt weird when I took it off. I'm really glad Snivy got it fixed for me. I lay there in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the sky.

"... Snivy, I'm really sorry about knocking you down back there, I should have realized-"

"It's fine, I don't blame you. It was my stupid idea anyways. I'm just glad I get to..."

"... Yeah?"

"Well, um... I'm glad I get to hang out with you again. Today was so much fun! I just really like playing with you, Mudkip... Jamie! I'm so sorry, I meant to say Jamie!"

"Hey, it's fine; it's not a big deal."

"But it bothers you, doesn't it?"

I hesitate. It's nice that Snivy cares about how I feel now, but now that I think about it, being called Mudkip doesn't feel the same anymore. Before, it felt uncomfortable, just like this body. But even after I got used to my body, the name 'Mudkip' still felt wrong. Now, it just feels like... a name. Just a name, and nothing more. "Actually, no, it doesn't anymore. I don't mind being called Mudkip, so... it's fine for you to call me that, I guess."

Snivy pauses, then lets out a sigh. "No, it's not fine. I... Do you mind if I talk for a minute?

I shake my head.

"... Back home, I lived with my parents and my older siblings. I was the youngest by a lot, so everyone looked down on me. There were hardly any kids in the village around my age, so I didn't really have any friends. My siblings were so much stronger than me, so much smarter, and so, so much more mature. I was nothing next to them.

"My family would always criticize me, and talk about how immature I was. Any time I wanted to play a game, or spar, or even whenever I got excited about something, my siblings would tell me how immature I was being, and my parents would say I should be more like my siblings.

"When the team of explorers stopped at my village, and I became obsessed with exploring mystery dungeons, my family criticized me for that, too. Every day, when I would tell them all the cool things about mystery dungeons, they would just call me childish and immature. And after the explorers left, and I told them I wanted to become an explorer, they told me... Well, um, after that, I decided to leave.

"I went off to become an explorer, and I had no idea what I was doing. I was able to ask around about a few nearby dungeons, but I was awful at exploring; in my first dungeon, I got lost, and hurt, and lost again before I finally reached the end. And all the while, I was alone for the first time in my life, traveling for days in total solitude. I was so, so lonely... and then I found you.

"You were weak, ignorant, and helpless, and you made up ridiculous stories about being a human! You couldn't do anything without my help! Finally, I... I found someone I was better than. I thought I was so much better than you, and I was so happy; it was finally my turn to look down on someone instead of up. I didn't respect you at all... I was just like my siblings.

"At first, I called you Mudkip because, well, you were one. But then, when it turned out your ridiculous human stories were true... suddenly you weren't so far below me. I held on to that name, even after I knew it wasn't your real name. It made me feel like I had something over you, like I was better than you, and... and because I liked making you mad...

"But things changed between us; we played together, we fought strong enemies, we fought with each other, and we made up. I started to like you, not because it felt good to look down on someone, but because... you were my friend. But I just kept calling you Mudkip anyways. And then... you got the Wildfire.

"After that night, I was scared of you because I didn't want to get hurt. But then you left, and I was... terrified. I realized how awful of me it was to keep calling you Mudkip, even though it made you upset. I realized how bad of a friend I had been... And I realized I might have just pushed away the only friend I had.

"I'm so sorry for how I treated you before, for how little I cared about how you felt. I'm so, so lucky to have you as a friend. You're so strong, and smart, and kind. You even managed to cure your own Wildfire! You're amazing!.. But I'm just a jerk. Compared to you, I'm just-"

"No."

Snivy pauses. "... What?"

"Snivy, I'm only strong because you taught me how to fight! You're the one who's strong! And you're brave, too; whenever I hesitated, and didn't know what to do, you were willing to dive head-first into danger! And you're also kind; when I didn't know how to help Mightyena, you just smiled at me and suggested we become criminals with them!

"And most of all, you taught me to have fun; from you, I learned to just let go and do things, and not worry if I'm being immature or childish! When I was trying to enjoy myself in that rainforest, I was thinking of you practically every five minutes. In fact, if it weren't for you, I might not even have come up with that plan and been able to cure my Wildfire!

"And yeah, you were a jerk; I hated how you would make me mad on purpose, and those feelings are part of what made me decide to leave. But look at yourself now; you're really trying to do better, and catching yourself when you slip up! You're strong, and brave, and kind. You care about me, and you're so much fun to be around! You're... You're the best friend I've ever had."

Snivy stares at me in disbelief, tears forming at their eyes. They choke up as they speak. "Mudkip, I... I mean... I..." Their tears finally start to flow, and they wrap me in a hug as they start sobbing. I hug them in return, and I finally realize that I've been crying too. As my tears fall, the last embers of the Wildfire inside me finally fade away, and I feel...

I feel so happy here.




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