#ooc: the squawks names are azul blanco verde and amarillo

[shiloh-the-pokemon]

Off-Screen Post

The rain let up at some point in the middle of the night. It was damp and muddy outside, and Shiloh was not looking forward to marching through it, especially as a Skorupi. But they had to.

Vessel's voice echoed from behind, "Are you leaving, Shiloh."

Shiloh stopped walking, their head just barely in the sunlight. "yeah, i have to. ill visit though, dont worry."

"Where are you headed to?"

"i dont know."

"Do you have a home?"

"its complicated."

"Everything is complicated with you."

"yeah it is." There was an awkward silence for a while. After a few seconds, Shiloh broke it. "okay well bye."

Shiloh walked forward a few more steps before being interrupted again.

"You'll bring back stickers, won't you?" Vessel pleaded. For a being built on the fear of ancient kingdoms, Vessel was just lonely.

Shiloh turned around to look at the hatch that held their friend. "of course. ill bring back so many stickers. oh and ill bring you music too. my phones not getting any reception here so i cant-"

"What is a phone?"

"thats a tough one to explain so maybe another time."

"Shiloh? I hope you find your home."

Shiloh looked down at the mud in front of them. "yeah. ill try."

"What would you like in a home?"

"okay now youre just stalling for a time."

Silence hung in the air again, before Vessel's sad voice chimed in. "I am."

"look. i got a deal. you come up with twenty questions yeah? and next time i visit, ill give you the long answer to every single one."

"Yes, very well."

"okay. well bye, embodiment of calamity."

"You remembered. Goodbye, Shiloh."

Shiloh trudged through the mud. They gave a few exclamations of "ew" "gross" and especially "nasty" to no one in particular. They normally did not mind mud, but being a Skorupi, they were particularly small. Their body sank fairly deep into the mud, and they moved at a Sliggoo's pace.

Eventually, they found themself at the edge of another cliff, though this time at the top. With no Suicune to give them a ride, they turned and walked along the edge. Though not without difficulty.

"Nice work Naclstack!"

Human! Shiloh ducked into a bush. They were not afraid of people, outside of a healthy dose of social anxiety, but the only people out this far were trainers. Shiloh had no protection against trainers, they had not been registered to a Pokeball.

They stayed hidden in the bush, looking around for the trainer. The trainer was decently far away, challenging a Leafeon to a battle. Normally, Shiloh would wait it out. Let the trainer pass. But the trainer's strategy was abundantly clear. Stall.

How long could this battle take? Eons, if Shiloh had done their calculations correctly.

They looked around for anywhere they could safely book it, but they would be inevitably slowed down by the mud. As the trainer's battle raged on, it eventually quieted down as the two Pokemon quit trading intense blows and fell into a horrible waiting game.

Quiet enough that Shiloh could hear someone else, distinctly Pokemon.

"Pistachios are fairly overrated especially with almonds being...."

Shiloh turned their head to the noise. In the distance was a Flying Taxi.

"Look, I hate to say it, but your opinions on snacks are objectively wrong."

"You two always-"

"This is important Blanco."

"We do this all the time all you two do is-"

Shiloh grabbed a nearby rock in and threw it towards them with every ounce of strength their tiny bug body could muster.

The Squawkabilly all looked at the rock that landed several feet away. They seemed confused. Shiloh scrambled for another pebble, and tossed it. It landed farther away.

The green Squawkabilly shouted, "You tryin to hit us?"

Shiloh looked back at the trainer. They were totally engrossed in their stall battle. Shiloh peaked their head out of the bush, and mouthed a sorry to the birds.

The green one turned to the blue one, "What's it sayin? Couldn't make it out."

"Dunno, one moment." The blue one responded. It flew over to Shiloh, landing right in front of the bush.

"What's your problem?" The Squawkabilly hissed.

Shiloh flinched, "sorry, sorry. i just needed to get your attention and theres a trainer over there."

"Oh, so you're a wild one then?"

"i- uh- sure. youre a taxi right?"

"Sure are. Driver's not here right now, dropped a Pokeball I think, out looking for it."

Shiloh stepped forward a little, "can i- can i get a ride?"

The Squawkabilly looked back at his fellow birds, "Well, this is a first. A Pokemon asking to hitch a ride? Hey, what do we say boys? We let this fella hitch a ride?" The Squawkabilly shouted that last part, making Shiloh flinch and look towards the trainer, who thankfully didn't notice.

The Squawkabilly all looked at each other, nodding and shrugging.

The blue one looked back at Shiloh, "Alright, let's sneak ya on."

The Squawkabilly flew back to the taxi, and Shiloh nervously ran towards it. They got caught in mud, and had to trudge through. The yellow Squawkabilly sighed, "Help me out here Azul."

The yellow Squawkabilly and the blue one, Azul, both flew over to Shiloh. Without warning, they picked them up and carried them to the taxi. Azul looked back at Shiloh, "Hold on."

Underneath the seats was a box covered with a tarp. Azul grabbed the tarp, and gestured for Shiloh to crawl under the seats. They did, and Azul threw the tarp over them. "There y'ar," Azul said, "Just stay still, no one'll notice a thing."

Shiloh curled their tail around them, Azul's outline was barely visible from underneath the tarp, Shiloh could barely make anything out. "cool...." They muttered.

"Where you off to, little fella?"

"i dont-"

Someone coughed a few feet away. Azul lowered their voice to a whisper, "Well get decisive, driver's coming back."

"paldea league." Shiloh blurted without thinking.

"Think we're heading to Mesagoza, so you'll be a bit of a walk away. Ride might get bumpy. Oh, yeah, what's your name?"

"its shi-"

The driver walked over, "Are you getting into the snacks, Azul?" Azul left, flying on top of the taxi.

The driver looked under the seats, Shiloh gulped, he was looking directly at the tarp Shiloh was under.

The driver stood up and climbed onto his seat. "Nothing spilled, you were just being a rascal huh?"

The driver shouted towards the trainer, "Hey kid! You good?"

Shiloh could not see the trainer's response, but they assumed it was good, as the taxi was soon airborne.

It wasn't long before they landed in Mesagoza. The driver cleared his throat, "I'm getting lunch, you behave yourselves."

Shiloh could hear his footsteps getting farther away. Azul flew down, and lifted up the tarp. Shiloh blinked at the harsh light.

"Alright, Shy, League's up that hill y'see?" Azul gestured with his wing, "Don't know what business a wild one's got with the league, but good luck."

Shiloh nodded, they needed all the luck they could get. They stepped out of the taxi, and looked up to the four birds on top. "thanks, guys."

The Squawkabilly nodded. Blanco, the white one, replied, "No problem, little dude. We're literally a taxi, hitch a ride anytime."

Shiloh began the uphill climb towards the league. They had a pit in their stomach. It had been a few days since they were home.