FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

During the next day at 5 p.m., Dami arrived at Castelia's outskirts with the same idea Mille and Ace did. "Has to be out in the desert," he said to himself. Dami had on a gray jacket and jeans, which could be dangerous if he ran into a hostile pokémon since it offered no protection. He had his pistol on him should he get caught in a dire situation by chance. Dami glanced behind him while walking the road leading to Castelia's exit. The number of businesses and homes lessened significantly as he neared.

With each step, the pavement gradually turned to sand, until that's all it became within minutes. Dami's surroundings were now brown half-built structures and dry mountains. Development of the buildings were shortly canceled after Relic Castle was discovered, which are ancient historic ruins located amid the Desert Resort one could access through Route 4's southeastern exit.

"This is the hard part..." He stared a few miles ahead at a highway built overhead of the desert with trucks driving across. Either the pokémon had set up base in the expansive desert, or this was a waste of time.

He continued walking, seeking anything abnormal. The environment was still, warm breezes rushing past and besides a few trainers, nothing alive in sight. Dami assumed the entrance to a base built by pokémon would be difficult to spot. He'd likely end up needing an extra pair of eyes or a pokémon's ability, but he could at least rule out the obvious himself.

He knew there was a body of water a mile west. It was possible the pokémon could have set up nearby for an accessible source to drink from.

When almost a mile in of no luck and silence, Dami froze in his tracks and frantically scanned his surroundings, his right hand on his holster. He heard rumbling, and the sky was getting darker by the minute. This spelled trouble. Dami's gut told him he should start heading back, but what he heard could mean something.

Before he could register a second thought, however, Dami saw something emerge from behind a rocky mountain toward the east, something that made him hold his breath and rendered his legs as bricks.

It was a golurk. A mere bullet couldn't penetrate. It stood at a staggering nine feet, its yellow eyes aglow under the evening light. Dami knew without a doubt that this was the area the haven was in, but he had to be alive to take the information back to headquarters. Golurk generally weren't aggressive pokémon, but Dami would instantly become a target if it were defending something.

The golurk set its eyes on him in moments, emitting a chilling groan from deep within before raising its right leg and stomping on the ground with all its might, its deep impact echoing throughout the air.

"What the f-" Dami felt the ground under his feet tremble violently. He struggled to keep balance, then looked ahead to see a deep split along the sand rapidly heading toward him he couldn't react to. Once the rip reached him, it stopped abruptly, sending a massive amount of pressure and sand into his face. It shoved him back several feet. "Unhf!" And he landed on his back. It knocked the breath out of him. Dami wheezed and rolled onto his side while wiping sand out of his face and coughing it up.

It took him a moment to gather himself, but he stumbled onto his feet in seconds and ran as fast as he could toward the city without looking back. That was a warning. The golurk could have fatally harmed Dami, and maybe it should have.

He didn't stop until he was nearly a mile into a residential area, doubling over to catch his breath. Dami smirked and wiped some sweat off his face. As he thought, he didn't need Aika. He had pinpointed the haven's general area and had done so alone. Needless to say, Dami was proud of himself, but there was no point in celebrating early. He'd feel accomplished once he found their entrance.

--

Dami was exhausted from running after the golurk incident and had walked briskly the entire way back to headquarters. He jogged through the lobby and approached Aika's door, knocking quickly. She was the only one he could tell about this. Maybe she'd be more inclined to help with this evidence, and it'd prove his point in the process.

She pulled it open half a minute later and glared at him. "What?"

"I think I've found the haven, Aika."

She didn't want to deal with this again. It was getting annoying. She shook her head and started closing the door.

Dami grabbed the edge, however, stopping it short. "No, no, listen. I went to Route 4 hours ago and ran into a golurk. It fucking attacked me on sight, drove me away. That isn't usual behavior. There's something it's guarding in the northern desert."

"Good luck."

"What's your problem?" He stepped back. "You don't get to this rank by being a good person. Stop acting like you are one."

"I've told you where I stand." Aika shut the door in his face.

"Unbelievable." Dami went to his room and took a cold bottle of water out his fridge, drinking almost all of it. Aika had been acting distant nowadays and wasn't a reliable partner for whatever reason. Dami didn't care, but he needed someone useful on his side. Going back to that field alone would be dangerous. If Katie didn't force him to chase her all the time, maybe Dami would have that by now. He felt ashamed about how often she lived in his mind, but she was different from the rest of the girls here to him. He'd treat her better than any other.

Anyway, Dami had to find the haven before some unworthy low rank, so going alone may be what he'd have to do. None of the amateurs could be as close this early on. Dami went to the restroom and turned on the shower. He'd go at another time, either much earlier or later. Hopefully, no pokémon or one he could take on would be present. That golurk likely reported Dami to the rest, however. He had to think of approaches.

As he was undressing, Dami heard something. He finished taking off his shirt and twisted the shower's nozzles so the water stopped. He heard it again. Someone was knocking at his door.

He went to open it and was met by Aika, standing with crossed arms.

"Show me."