Thud. Thud. Thud.
Numbing pain shot through Poppy’s body as she threw herself at the beech tree for the umpteenth time. A stinging sensation confirmed that the wound on her shoulder—acquired from a fight with a feral scyther—had reopened, but she persisted anyway.
“I don’t think that’s how you’re supposed to learn tackle.”
Poppy started and whipped around to face the source of the androgynous, child-like voice that had interrupted her. The speaker stood out starkly against the ferns, its pure white fur out-of-place in this wild setting. Poppy squinted at it for a moment—it was about half her height and vaguely rabbit-like, with long ears and a short snout and tail. When it leaned forward, its eyes iridesced like mother-of-pearl, such that Poppy couldn’t distinguish an iris or pupil. It didn’t look like any pokemon she had seen or heard of.
“Who are you?” Poppy asked, a little more rudely than she had meant to.
“You can call me Ann. And while I hate to intrude, you seem a bit upset.” Ann batted its eyes.
Poppy’s fur was knotty, more brown than cream, and smothered with fern fuzz; she could feel the bagginess in her eyes, the matted spots on her muzzle where tears had soaked in. She looked more than just “upset”. But she held her voice steady nonetheless, if only to change the subject. “You don’t say,” she said as she brushed a chip of bark off her shoulder. “It’s rare to meet another non-feral out here. What’s your story?”
“Well, I don’t have a home, so I guess that makes me a wanderer.” It shrugged. “But I’m not one to talk about myself. I would rather hear about you.”
“About me, huh?” Poppy scoffed. “Hate to say it, but I’m not in the mood to talk about myself, either.”
Undeterred, Ann gestured to Poppy’s bloody shoulder. “How about that injury, then? It’s not good to leave something like that untreated. Will you at least let me heal it?”
Poppy considered. She had to admit it would be reckless to say no—if her wound got infected this far from civilization, it could be dangerous. “I guess you have a point.” She frowned. “Rare to see a pokemon around here that can heal. What species are you?”
“Don’t know about my species—only my name. But I can heal as well as anyone, I promise!”
Poppy shrugged. “If you say so. Go ahead, then, I guess. Just don’t strain yourself.”
Ann approached Poppy with silent footsteps. Poppy stiffened as it touched her wound, but only for a moment—she was surprised to find that Ann’s paw was as soft as a kit’s, as though it had never touched the ground.
A couple seconds passed as Ann wrinkled its face in concentration.
“You okay there, Ann?”
“Mm, just give me a moment…”
At length Ann removed its paw, and Poppy looked down at herself. Aside from a nearly imperceptible bald spot, it was as if the wound had never been there. She observed that the foliage by Ann’s feet was wilted now—had it been like that before?
“Phew…” Ann put a paw to its forehead and giggled woozily. “Okay, I may have forgotten how difficult healing really is. You’d think it would be harder to warp around the continent, but not for old Ann…”
Poppy wasn’t sure what to make of Ann’s remark about ‘warping’, but she was more worried about its condition. “Do you need to lie down?”
“Thank you for your concern, Poppy, but I’ll be alright. I’m just a little out of practice.”
Poppy’s blood ran cold. “Who told you my name?”
Ann scratched its head bashfully. “Ha ha, oops. Here we are. This had to come up at some point, but I have a bit of explaining to do… But this might turn into a bit of a long conversation, so why don’t we take a moment to relocate? I’ve been meaning to get some sunlight.”
“Very well.” Poppy’s voice was prickly.
Poppy and Ann continued talking as they waded through the ferns. “So, look…” Ann glanced away for a moment. “I’m privy to a lot of things. Think of it like I have a crystal ball, or something like that. I do a lot of observing. It passes the time, you know?”
Poppy narrowed her eyes. “You must have observed me from across the ocean. I haven’t spoken to anyone since I arrived at Lozanto.”
“You’re correct. And, while it feels a little awkward to be getting right into this, this does lead into what I’ve been meaning to talk about. The circumstances behind your return to this continent.”
Poppy sighed. “Oh boy. This should be good.”
Ann smiled reassuringly. “Sorry. I don’t mean to bring up bad memories—I simply wanted to point out that we might have a shared goal. I think it’s fair to say that we’re both feeling a little disillusioned with the guild, yes?”
“You don’t really need me to answer that, do you?”
“Fair enough, Poppy. Anyway, you’re also one of the only pokemon right now that knows about the planet’s energy, and we both know the guild isn’t going to let all that potential get… ‘wasted’, so to speak. If they really want it, then frankly, I don’t think even Xerneas would stand a chance. Not with how the stars are now…”
Poppy tried to keep her voice steady. “So, what’s your plan?”
“Despite my mediocre healing skills, I’m quite strong in… other areas.” Ann sighed. “See, back in the day, I could have just gone right ahead and put the fear of god in those meddlers myself. But, long story short, I kind of got in trouble for doing things like that. Kind of got… banished to another realm, in fact.” It laughed awkwardly. “So, as you might imagine, it takes most of my strength just to project this avatar here.” It gestured to itself. “But if, say, there were someone else who already had a body in this realm, and they were willing to channel my power…” It leaned toward Poppy conspiratorially.
“So, you want a servant, then?”
“I’d prefer the term ‘partner.’ I don’t intend to make you do anything you don’t want to—and in fact, I’m not really sure I could.” It waved its paw. “Oh, but I’m just speculating here. I’m not even sure that idea will work, anyway. Still, if you want to give it a try…”
Even if Ann was lying, Poppy thought, she would gain nothing by refusing. “Assuming you’re telling the truth, I’m not opposed—but there’s something I have to ask in return. If your motivations are pure, I’m sure you’ll be glad to accept.”
“Mm, I have a feeling I know what you’re about to suggest.”
Poppy closed her eyes. “I want to take back my land.”
Ann smiled as it entered the clearing nearby. Its fur gleamed, eyes sparkled in the sunlight. “Poppy, if you’re willing to help me, I’ll let you do that, and so much more.”
