Perhaps the entity was friendly, or perhaps it was uninterested. Whatever the reason, the sound of footsteps resumed.

When Growlithe finally stopped shaking, Richard peeked over their cover.

Seeing nothing there, Richard's body stood fully erect, "It looks like it's gone, whatever it was."

The second to stand up was Ryan, his plump belly wobbling. Jared had actually been curious about the man. Although Jared was on the scrawny side, he still thought he was in good physical shape. However, he actually had quite a bit of trouble keeping up with the group. Even with all the hiking, the girthy Ryan didn't even break a sweat. Yes, he was wounded, but he felt fine enough now. There had to be some other reason that explained why he was always the only one huffing and puffing.

To keep up the pace until now, Jared had really exerted himself. He had been sweating and drinking so much that Richard scolded him, and told him to conserve his water. When the group realized his apparent lack of stamina, even the eccentric caterpie-obsessed Gilbert looked at him weirdly. Jared didn't like being the weak link. He didn't like it one bit.

While Jared was tormented by his thoughts, Ryan was smiling at Richard, "Good man, that Growlithe of yours is truly excellent. If only Poliwag had a nose for danger like that!"

Poliwag seemed to visibly deflate at that remark, his long fan-like tail hanging low.

"Yes, he's always been quite helpful," Richard absentmindedly replied.

Richard appeared to be focused on something, and when Ryan followed his eyes, he discerned what Richard was thinking about. He pointed and said, "That moss is quite wet, and that hill is quite steep. I don't think we can scale it. Should we double back?"

Shaking his head, Richard unhooked a Pokeball from his waist. He then aimed the Pokeball at Growlithe, and in a flash of red light, the Pokemon was gone! Poof!

Jared had been the last to walk over, but he still managed to catch Richard's actions. When he had first seen Richards's pokeballs, he had assumed such a thing would probably happen, but it was still mind-boggling in reality. Questions now began to explode in Jared's mind without end. Does a Pokeball become heavier when a pokemon was inside it? Besides the obvious ease of use, are there other benefits to it? Is a Pokeball required to tame a pokemon? Can a pokemon leave the ball at any time? Can it hear you from within the ball? Does a pokemon inside a Pokeball still need to eat? Does a pokemon age in a Pokeball? Do pokemon age at all? Of course, the most pressing ask was where he could buy one.

While these questions were burning him, he wasn't going to voice them now. Instead, he balled his fingers into fists, then swore that when he got a chance, he was definitely going to find a way to learn everything he could... Well, unless he was doomed to end up in a prison cell upon arriving at their destination. He had thought about fleeing, but he didn't know anything. His first ten minutes alone in the world nearly caused his death or enslavement afterall.

Fiddling with another Pokeball the stoic ranger gently tossed it to the ground. Upon releasing the contents, the Pokeball snapped back to his hand.

Jared realized the trick to it. This was made possible by the fact that there was a small metal loop around Richard's index finger. The metal string at the end of the loop fed into the Pokeballs rear. So, when a Pokeball was thrown, the wire would eventually contract, and conveniently snap back to your hand.

After the red light faded, Jared thought it was a stone at first. This changed when the rock's two strong arms propped themselves up. Now Jared finally realized what he was looking at.

Reorienting itself, the heavy ball of rock found Richard, "Geeeoo?"

Richard gestured to the hill while he explained, "Geodude, I require your help. I need you to make us some steps so we can get up this hill."

"Geooo?"

Thumping the ground once, the heavy creature rolled over to the hill, and when he could roll no more, he began punching. Using the leverage of the previous arm, he began moving higher and higher. As he went, he left small gaping holes in his wake.

Jared's eyes bulged while witnessing the pokemons raw power. Geodude had ripped into that hill like it was nothing!

Eventually, Geodude reached the top of the hill and raised his arms in triumph, then he began rolling down the hill. "GEEEEOOOO!"

With Geodude returned to his Pokeball, Richard was the first to begin the climb.

Using the footholds left by Geodude, he finally reached the top.

The others were right behind him, while Jared was the last one.

At the top of the hill, Ryan released Poliwag from his Pokeball. The slimy tadpole had been troubled by the hill, and with no arms to climb, there was no way to get up.

Richard bent down to examine some fresh footprints, then he pointed at some holes near the print.

"You see the three indents around the periphery of the sole? These are clearly Snorlax imprints. You can all relax now because we were worried for nothing."

Nodding along, Gilbert said, "How rare, while I've never seen a wild Snorlax, I would say you are right. I mean, how many pokemon could leave footprints that massive?"

Jared began to wonder why a Snorlax wasn't a cause for concern. Wasn't it supposed to be a one-thousand-pound monster? He actually wanted to ask about it, but he persisted in pretending that he knew what they were talking about. Don't stand out, he kept telling himself.

As the three men talked for a while, Jared's thoughts were moving elsewhere. He wondered how his knowledge about pokemon was so accurate. How come the knowledge from his world was so congruent with the world he was in now? Did someone get transmigrated to earth from the world of pokemon, and then make a franchise out of it!?

.

For another six grueling hours, Jared put everything he had into keeping up with the group. As the sky darkened, he finally was allowed to rest as they set up a temporary camp.

Unable to stop wheezing, Jared greedily drank the water he was allotted.

After eating dry biscuits, and listening to the idle chatter, the sky was soon too dark to see.

For obvious reasons, they did not make a campfire.

It was a bit awkward sleeping in a tent with Richard. With only one set of clothes and the stench of sweat, Richard kept cursing about the smell. Finally, Richard reluctantly threw Jared a towel, and told him to wipe himself off. After doing so, Jared was given a pair of shorts and a shirt and told to keep the sweaty jumpsuit outside.

Jared assumed Richard would use the time they were alone to begin interrogating him again, but strangely he didn't.

The night was uneventful, but Jared woke up sore. A full day's force march up and down treacherous slopes had taken its toll. Jared was quite annoyed to see that the others looked fresh and ready to go. It was as if a full night's sleep was all they needed to march all day.

.

After another five hours of fast-paced hiking, Jared was wheezing so hard, that he felt like he was going to die. The accumulated fatigue had slowed his pace to a crawl. Jared was also irked to no end by the fact that the others kept looking at him strangely.

He had vowed long ago to never beg anyone, but here he was, begging them with his eyes to slow down.

With a sigh, Ryan came up beside him, and Jared nearly choked when he heard Ryan's complaints.

"Can you maybe go a little faster? I don't mean to urge you, but it's going to take us another full day at this rate. "

He then added salt to the wounds, "I mean, I would carry your baggage for you if I could, but unlike us, you are only carrying your own weight. Have you perhaps never exercised before?"

Jared wanted to scream! This was too much! He had already gone well beyond his limits, and now he was now being told off by a fat man for being out of shape! With one last heaving cough, an aggrieved Jared finally couldn't take it anymore!. He fell forward, and he was unconscious even before his head hit the ground.

.

When Jared finally came to, the first thing he saw was the ground moving below him. he then squirmed, and heard Richard curse, "Oy, If you stop moving I'll let you down."

With his eyes wide, Jared obeyed, and once more his feet touched the ground.

Jared sat there for a moment, trying to quickly shake the sleep out of his eyes.

Ryan came up beside him, and put an arm on his shoulder, "Are you okay young man? Do you remember what happened earlier? One moment we were talking, and the next, you were fast asleep. Even when I threw some water on your face you wouldn't wake up."

Not yet fully awake, Jared couldn't help but whisper under his breath, "I... I trained every day in the gym you know..."

Even before his death, Jared thought he'd never cry again, but right now his eyes were somehow welling up with tears. Right now he felt worse than any interrogation, worse than being physically beaten. Back when he was in prison, he may have been the youngest there, but nobody messed with him. As a prisoner, he didn't own anything, but the one thing he did have was his physical strength. He trained hard. He took pride in his muscles, and this pride was the reason he would sooner collapse than admit he was weaker than a pudgy middle-aged man.

Craning his ear, Ryan asked, "What did you say, lad? Sorry, but can you please repeat it, you were too quiet to hear."

Tears continued to fall from Jared's eyes, and he started shaking when he saw there was clear concern In Ryan's eyes.

Seeing again that Ryan genuinely didn't know what was wrong, Jared hung his head low for a second.

Collecting himself, he began wiping his face, "I-I'll be ready to go in a second, I just... -something got in my eye is all."