Adventure Log of Dr Tom - #780
Written by Dr Tom Snaps - Apr 13 2022
With Acerola in tow, we moved deeper into the jungle. The blanket of sunshine that had covered us on the beach was replaced now by spears of light that pierced through the canopy above. I could hear the cries of myriad flying Pokémon but I saw no sign of whom they belonged to.
The air was thick and humid and I recalled the oppressive damp that pervaded the Lental region’s Founja Jungle, in which I had spent many days engrossed in research and exploration. Unlike Founja, the jungle that we now traversed was shrouded in patchy darkness and I felt more and more as though we were being watched, not by one pair of eyes but by many.
Acerola, on the other hand, appeared quite at home in the gloaming, unperturbed by the tendrils of darkness that seemed almost to reach out for her. She skipped on ahead but stopped suddenly when she noticed that I was not keeping pace. She giggled blithely and it seemed to me that the twilight that surrounded us dispersed somewhat, unused as it was to such a carefree sound. “Come on!”
She grabbed me by the sleeve and tugged me onwards until we reached a more satisfactory pace. I had thought it most strange when Professor Kukui had assigned the girl as my escort, young as she is. However, as I watched her, it was clear she was in her element. Perhaps it was her affinity with ghost type Pokémon that allowed her to pass through the darkness of the jungle with such ease. The wordless minutes stretched on into what seemed like an eternity, as if time itself had stopped completely in this place even the sun could not reach.
Suddenly we were standing in an open glade, sunlight and sea breeze lashing our faces. The harshness of the transition shook me from my trance, as if I had felt myself falling in a dream and had awoken with a start. Gone was the unease of the jungle and the dread of watchful eyes. I told Acerola that I needed a break and went to sit against the trunk of a tree on the edge of the glade. I watched as she dipped her foot into the shadow of the tree and pirouetted away as if playing with a monster that was reaching out to grab her.
It seemed as though the shadow shifted as Acerola skipped away from it. I began to get up but Acerola put a finger against her lips to stop me. My stomach lurched as the shadow grew and engulfed the entire glade. A huge Pokémon dislodged itself from the tree and floated down between us. As I moved in, determined not to let my escort come to harm, she let out a giddy laugh that stopped me in my tracks. “It’s a Drampa!” The giant Pokémon raised its head and let out a joyous cry as Acerola scratched it under its chin.
