As We Move Onwards - Chapter 1 (Patreon)

It was raining.

Yarden Odhar couldn't find it in himself to care right now. He continued to sit atop a set of stairs, below a monument in the middle of town.

He stared blankly down at the screen of his phone, one arm held over to to ward away the slick wet droplets of water falling from the dark cloudy heavens above.

Roark's Cranidos on the screen fell to a last ember and he won. He was playing Pokemon Platinum on his phone through a rom.

Doing his best to keep his mind off of things.

It wasn't working.

He'd been sitting here for over an hour now, started a new game and everything, made it straight to beating the first gym already.

Yet even with the game, and the rain soaking him thoroughly, his mind would not leave what happened earlier.

He'd had get his dog put down.

He'd lived a good old life, he was fifteen years old, the same age as Yarden himself in fact. That dog had been part of his life growing up for as long as he could remember, there was never a day went by while he was at the orphanage he grew up in, where that dog wasn't present.

Even when he left the orphanage a few months ago and managed to get his own small little flat through the homeless department, he'd been allowed to take the dog with him.

But he was gone now.

And Yarden…he was all alone now.

No family and no dog. Even when he'd been offered the chance to be adopted, he'd refused because that dog couldn't come with him.

Even when the orphanage funds had dwindled and they couldn't afford to support the dog, he'd taken up a milk run, working six days a week to be able to take care of it himself and to this day, still worked there, had been for the past three years since he turned twelve.

'And he's gone now.' Yarden grit his teeth and forced the tears that threatened to erupt, back.

Not that it would make a difference really, he was so thoroughly soaked by the rain that it would be impossible to spot any tears.

At best, anyone who saw him up close would probably just think him some junkie kid that smoked weed because of his bloodshot eyes.

He was probably going to end up getting a cold, but again, he couldn't find it in himself to care right now. All he could think about, was his precious dogs eyes slowly closing one last final time as the life left him.

Leaving Yarden behind.

He could see it in his minds eye, as the vet shuffled his pooch's body away into a body bag and carried him away.

To be incinerated.

…He'd forgot to get the collar to keep as a memento, so stunned was he by the end of his pets life.

"Oi mate, got a light?" a voice broke him from his thoughts.

He looked up, to find some guy standing in front of him, flanked by two others. He hadn't even noticed them approach, that was how lost in his thoughts he was.

"No, I don't smoke," Yarden replied, "Sorry."

"Well shite," the guy scratched his chin, "Got a tap of a few quid then so we can buy a lighter at the shop?"

Yarden sighed in annoyance, "No, sorry." he answered, a bit snappishly. Couldn't they just fuck off?

"No need for that kinda tone, was just asking lad," the guy huffed back, "Should watch that, dunno who you'll piss off and end up with them battering your little scrawny arse."

Yarden felt his lips pull back into a snarl on instinct, "Who the fuck do you think you're talkin' to?" the teen snapped, shoving his phone into his pocket and shooting up to his feet, one hand clenched into a fist, his other coming ot to point his finger in the interlopers face, "Can you not see I'm fuckin' pre-occupied you stupid rude fuck!?"

Cold numbness was overwritten by blazing hot anger. Ah, it felt good to feel it right now.

Yarden had to hold himself back from throwing punches out right away.

The prick looked stunned for a moment, before his own eyes narrowed in anger, "You want to have a go with you you little pissy cunt?" he shot back.

"A go with the pansy fuckin' begging for hand outs?" Yarden asked rhetorically, a savage smile splaying across his lips, "Aye, I think I do actually."

Then he swung out his clenched fist and smashed it into the guys face. A surprised grunt left the guys face as his punch landed against his cheek and sent him staggering backwards and then tripping over his feet.

"Danny!" one of his pals called out in worry

Yarden laughed and turned to the other two, "How about you twats, you want to have a go as well?" he stepped towards them.

But as he did, he slipped on the slick ground and fell on his backside.

And then he heard the sound of a loud vehicle horn blaring. He looked up, just in time to see the two guys quickly rush out of the way with panicked shouts.

Just in time for a bus to come careening off the road, headlights blindingly bright and rush towards him.

Yarden barely had time for his eyes to widen in shock and horror, before the huge metal vehicle slammed into him.

He heard something go crunch.

Felt an indescribable pain surge through him as he was tossed like a ragdoll.

And then inky darkness overtook his consciousness split moments later.

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Darkness flittered away, and the feeling of something hot and wet lapping against his cheek roused him.

Yarden opened his eyes, a gasp tearing from his throat.

The second his eyes opened, he instinctively sat up, a gasping couch erupting from his throat while his hands went to his body, roaming over his torso, shoulders, forearms, legs and more.

'I'm….alright?' he thought blankly.

He didn't even feel any pain.

Anymore at least.

But…what happened?

Well, beyond him getting hit by a bus, 'And it did happen, that pain was way too real to be a dream.' he thought.

But why was he not dead? Or…was he?

A delirious laugh tore from his lips at the thought. It was funny, so funny. He always knew it would be a bus that done him in.

Ever since he got hit by one when he was ten and narrowly escaped with his life, he'd thought one day, it would happen again. He couldn't ever explain how or why, he'd just had that feeling.

And he was right!

It took him a few moments to regain his bearings, his chest shuddering as he regained his breath.

As he did, he looked around himself and was confused at what he saw. It was a barren landscape.

Below him, was hard dusty ground littered with stones of all manners of sizes, and towering up around him like trees, were huge rocks and boulders.

It looked almost akin to the leftovers of a small mountain that had been levelled or something, or that was as far as he could summarise at least.

…He hadn't been much for geography while in school.

Granted, to be fair, his teacher was an old, super boring windbag that still used floppy discs.

"What…the hell is going on?" Yarden couldn't help but wonder. If this was the afterlife, it definitely didn't look like any he was familiar with.

At least it wasn't hell he supposed.

Pushing himself up using his hands, Yarden rose to his feet and looked around, bewildered.

Nothing recognisable was in sight at all. Just rocks, more rocks and even bigger rocks.

Then he noticed something else.

His clothes…were dry?

'What about my phone?' he wondered. He reached into his pocket and frowned the second he touched it.

It was there…but it felt different.

He pulled it out and his eyes widened, "…What the fuck is this?" he gaped. Unlike his phone, it was larger, rectangular in shape, had some form of flip screen and handhold buttons on the side.

And red.

His phone was blue.

As he flipped it open, he stared at it stupidly.

Because he recognised it.

…It was a pokedex?

He recognised even the model straight away, because he'd been big into pokemon since he was a toddler, for over ten years now. He'd played all the games and watched all the anime, even read some of the manga on his crappy cheap ass laptop.

'Maybe it is a dream?' he thought, staring at the device.

Wait, something else occurred to him.

What was that warm, wet lapping feeling at his cheek that woke him up before? And hell, even now his cheek still felt a bit damp!

He spun around in the spot, looking around for someone, anyone…anything to latch on to right now.

To Yarden's luck, he did.

To Yarden's horror, it was not anything anyone sane would ever want.

He locked eyes with a huge rocky serpentine face laying amongst the huge towering rocks, a single spiked rock horn atop its head.

Its beady eyes narrowed at him, and then its rocky mouth opened and a powerful roaring bellow erupted from it, the rocky head rising up and up into the air moments later, connected to a huge, powerful serpentine body of interconnected boulders.

'An….an Onix!?' Yarden's eyes were so wide they were just about ready to pop out of his skull.

Rearing up, it prepared to lunge toward him, and so caught him in surprise and horror, Yarden couldn't find any power in his legs to move.

He was stunned motionless.

With another bellow, the Onix, a Pokemon straight out his wildest fantasies lunged towards him, head angling to crush him beneath it.

First crushed to death by a bus…now waking up in what appeared to be a new fantastical world he always dreamed of going to, he was going to be crushed to death a second time by an Onix.

Resignation filled the teen and laughter bubbled within his throat, "Just my luck." he mused.

He closed his eyes and accepted his fate.

Only….the sensation of being crushed beneath Onix's huge boulder like head and agonizing pain, did not come.

What did, was the pained roars of Onix splitting the air.

Yarden's eyes snapped open and he saw it.

What appeared to be dozens of small flaming pellets, bullets even shot through the air, each and every single one impacting against the side of the Onix's face and stopping it in its tracks.

'…Ember?' Yarden thought blankly.

As the huge rock type pokemon was stunned, an orange and creamy white blur shot through the air then towards it.

Yarden himself was shocked when the blur turned out to be an orange and cream furred canine, jaws of pure white energy erupting from its open mouth….jaws of pure white energy that then clamped down over the Onix's neck.

The Onix bellowed in pain and waved its huge body around trying to dislodge the Growlithe.

But, it held tight and did not let go, thrashing its energy jaws around the huge rock types body and not letting go.

Finally though, after a good five seconds of Onix thrashing around in pain, the Growlithe kicked out with its hind lags, slamming them the huge rock serpent and launched backwards, flipping through the air to land on all fours just in front of Yarden.

Something glinted around the Growlithe's neck and Yarden's mouth dropped, disbelief filling him.

At the same time, Onix whirled around to roar at Growlithe while the canine took one deep breath, before exhaling…and roaring.

Roaring…was putting it mildly.

It sounded like a lion let loose right next to him, the sheer volume making his vision swim at the same time a wave of red light erupted from Growlithe's maw and washed over the Onix.

Onix stilled.

And then…turned tail and slithered away at a breakneck pace, smashing through many a rock as it fled away from them.

Yarden dropped to his knees and stared, mouth opened and closing soundlessly, 'It…it can't be…?' he thought, even though hope burned in his chest.

Growlithe turned towards him and he saw it clearly.

A collar around its neck, of interlocking chains in a celtic symbol.

"*****?" Yarden uttered shakily.

Growlithe's mouth widened into a huge smile and a long dopey tongue lolled from it- his mouth.

"Grow!" the fire type canine howled happily and shot towards him, barrelling into his chest and knocking him flat on his back.

Yarden couldn't help it as he laughed, his arms wrapping around the dog pokemon's furry body.

He didn't know how or why he ended up here. But, that didn't matter. His buddy was here, different, but here, with him now, that was all that mattered.

If this was a dream, he never wanted to wake up.

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So, this...is kind of just a spur of the moment thing. Not sure how much focus I'll give it. But in essence, it's a tribute story to my dog. I've got a little while left with him, and I don't know how I'll feel about it when he passes. But, I've set this up just in case.