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Welcome to the Veludo Region! This world is inhabited by creatures known as Pokemon. For some people, Pokemon are pets. Others train them to fight in Pokemon battles. These people are known as Pokemon Trainers! This region is divided up into four areas: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. We hope you’re able to visit each area and get the full Veludo experience!
“You and Pancham get along really well, huh?” Tsumugi said with a pang of jealousy. Tasuku looked up as he fed his Pancham some leaves. They were taking a rest from acting on the stage in the town center. In the small town that Tasuku and Tsumugi grew up together, the pair have been inseparable from birth. They were the only kids in their age group so naturally they stuck together and even shared a common interest in acting — even if the two boys were nothing alike physically.
However, one warm summer day, Tasuku ran into this Pancham — a small cub-like pokemon with a black and white fur pattern. The Pokemon challenged Tasuku to a contest, looking for a friendly competition. Ever since Tasuku beat it in a race of “who can run to the next town and come back home the fastest,” they’ve been joined at the hip. For the record, Tasuku beat Pancham five times when the Pokemon’s hasty nature caught up to him trying to help an injured Pidgey that fell from its nest. Tasuku helped carry the wounded Pokemon back home to take it back to Tsumugi’s grandmother. Pancham worried for its fellow Pokemon and plucked some flowers on the way back to the town.
Tsumugi stayed at the finish line, which was his grandmother’s garden for some reason, and watched the pair run towards the finish line decorated by two hyacinth bushes for the fifth time. Tsumugi was never the athletic type but he had to look up from the script he was reading when he saw Tasuku carrying a Pokemon back home.
“Ta-chan? Where did you get a Pidgey — Wait, what happened to its wing?” The Pancham trailed behind them and carried a bouquet of wildflowers.
“Where’s your grandma? Does she have a potion lying around?”
Tasuku cradled the bird pokemon in his hands, trying not to put pressure on its injured wing. Tsumugi’s grandmother was a former gym leader who specialized in Grass-type pokemon. Her Pokemon cared for her home garden as well as all the flowers in Snowdrop.
Tsumugi got up and looked around the garden, calling out for his grandmother. Eventually, they found her gardening and she nursed the pokemon back to health. Then she asked about the Pancham that kept following Tasuku, “It seems like Pancham has taken a liking to you! A kid your age should have a Pokemon of his own by now, right? It even brought a flower bouquet for you.”
Tasuku made eye contact with Pancham, looking deep into its determined eyes, eager for another race. “I think you’re right, he would make a reliable partner. Do you want to be my partner too, Pancham?”
The cub made an approving noise before it struck a confident and reassuring pose. It then handed the handful of wildflowers to Tasuku as a sign of friendship.
“Fighting-types are feisty! My Breloom is one of my favorites on the team,” she told Tasuku when they accepted each other as partners. She had always encouraged Tsumugi to find a Pokemon out there to befriend, but his timid nature prevented him from going far into the forest which made him struggle to find a Pokemon of his own.
“Pancham is my partner — of course we would get along. But you’re still my best friend, Tsumu. That won’t ever change,” Tasuku said snapping Tsumugi back to the present.
“But still, I feel left out without having a Pokemon partner like yours…”
“Why don’t you go in with me to the forest? We can find you a Pokemon together.”
“Hm… I still feel like I should find my first Pokemon by myself.”
“We found Pancham together and you’ve said that but you always hide behind me as soon as you hear a Pokemon. Do you want a Pokemon or not?" Tasuku sighed, as he gave a head pat on Pancham’s head.
“I do but…” Tsumugi closed his mouth not knowing how to finish the sentence.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but Pancham is fired up with energy and he enjoyed our run yesterday. Let me know if you need me to come with you to the forest, ok? I’ll be around.”
“ I just need to find the perfect Pokemon for my grandmother to approve of…” Tsumugi thought to himself as Tasuku and Pancham ran off to the next town.
“Hmm…” Tsumugi decided to head off to the forest on his own while Tasuku was away. He wanted to prove himself and go on this journey alone. It was still early afternoon with the sun shining warmly. Even though they were located in the Winter area, Snowdrop Town and Lostlush Forest were on the south side — closer to the warm Spring area. Lostlush Forest was filled with a variety of flora and fauna.
“If I keep going south, would I make it to the Spring area? I don’t think I’ll get that far in one day,” he thought to himself as he meandered through the forest. He knew that most of the stronger Pokemon are found deeper in the forest, past the brightly lit area where he played with Tasuku before they found the stage.
Before he even realized he had gotten this far into the forest, he made it deep into the darker half of the Lostlush Forest. It’s dangerous to be this far deep without a Pokemon, but he only realized until after he mindlessly made his way there. The sense of panic started flooding in as he realized that he was lost and didn’t know how to go back home. Paralyzed by fear, Tsumugi tried to make sense of his current surroundings: the heavy shrubbery prevented him from progressing farther south but the tall trees darkened the entire location, reducing the visibility of the entire place except for the stray bits of sunlight that peeked through the openings of the leaves. But the forest was too quiet, adding an uneasy feeling on top of being in an unfamiliar location…
Despite being alone and afraid, Tsumugi continued moving and continued his investigation for a Pokemon that would respect him. “ But are there even any Pokemon around here? There’s nothing around?” At that moment, a loud cry came from the deeper south of the forest, into the deep dark areas of the forest. A Pokemon? A person? Whatever it was, Tsumugi resolved to head towards the sound to investigate. “I can’t be scared now, someone might be in danger…”
Heading forward, he saw the light at the end of the tunnel: he encountered a grassy field, the afternoon sun could be seen in full once again. There, he saw egg-like shapes on top of a fallen tree trunk.
“Are those… eggs? Or is that a Pokemon?” he continued stepping forward, heading for the tree with a pokemon. The Pokémon resembling six light pink eggs turned around (... guess it’s not an egg) and started attacking Tsumugi, barraging and hurling multiple round objects at him. “Wha — ”
He managed to avoid the hits, barely scraping by. Reaching into the backpack that he brought, he grabbed some berries he plucked from his grandmother’s garden. Tsumugi did his best to keep his guard up but in the face of danger, he shook in his shoes. “Tasuku would probably start hurling rocks back at the Pokemon if I’m being honest… But he’s not here right now.”
Tsumugi decided to take actions into his own hands and determined to catch this Pokemon. During a calm in the egg’s attacking pattern, Tsumugi tried to get closer to the Pokemon. “ Maybe it likes berries?” He put down the berries on the tree trunk, a safe distance away from the attacking range, and ran off to hide behind the tall grass. The Exeggcute inched closer to the fragrant berries until it took them and ran off deeper into the forest. Sighing, Tsumugi went to chase after the Pokemon, tailing after it.
It’s getting darker and darker, the sun was close to setting and Tsumugi was nowhere to be found back in the town. Tasuku and Pancham were looking for his friend. “Tsumugi!” Tasuku called for him. Pancham growled, mimicking his partner’s shouting.
He wasn’t at his grandmother’s garden or the library or anywhere else that he could be in the small town… “Don’t tell me, did he actually go off into the forest alone? That’s the one place I haven’t looked.” Tasuku thought out loud, Pancham listening to his every word. “Come on, Pancham! We have to go find him!” He cried out, gesturing to his partner to go and follow him to the Lostlush Forest after his friend.
Tsumugi continued following after this Pokemon, determined to get a partner. While he tracked the Exeggcute down, he started mumbling to himself. “Ta-chan, look! I found a bunch of eggs. And then he’d probably laugh, ‘Of course, you of all people found the egg Pokemon,’ and then he’d mention how dirty my pants got from walking around in the tall grass. ...Hm? What time is it?” He had the sudden realization that he had been in this forest for a while. The orange sunset trickled in beams of light from the canopy, feeling fortunate that he decided to go out during the summer months and not during the cold winter. “It’s getting late… But I’m so close to finding out where these eggs are taking me. Just a bit longer...”
The eggs continued rolling away, determined to take the berries that it stole from Tsumugi somewhere. Surrounded by tall trees shading the path ahead, he ventured forward, at this point out of curiosity rather than the need to find a partner Pokemon.
There! The eggs made a right towards the fallen tree stump. Tsumugi could hear the noise of a lot of Pokemon up ahead, all crowded against a tree-like Pokemon. “An Exeggutor? They’re not that common in the Winter area though?” He thought to himself, still keeping his distance away from the family of Pokemon and stayed low to the forest floor. The Exeggcute gave the berries to the tall Exeggutor. Since it was so bulky, the bipedal tree Pokemon moved slowly towards the berries and crouched down to eat them.
“ Oh... Exeggscute wanted to feed its parent? Is that it?” Tsumugi dug around in his bag, grabbing the last of his berry stash and went up to the Pokemon with a pile of freshly-picked berries as a peace offering. The eggs looked wary but allowed him to get closer. Tsumugi then started to feed the large Exeggutor his berries, leaving some to share with the Exeggscute. The tree groaned in approval and sounded pleased with Tsumugi’s kind gesture. The Pokemon accepted the berries but only after the tree ate its berries first.
Tsumugi had finally gotten the egg Pokemon’s trust, a goal he didn’t know he was aiming for initially. Without a word, the three managed to form a connection through food.
All of a sudden, Tsumugi heard a sound coming from behind him. “Tsumugi! Oh, Tsumu! Is that you?” Tasuku’s Pancham growled behind him, keeping up with Tasuku’s speed.
“Ta-chan? And Pancham? Is that you?” He got up from the comfort of the egg Pokemon and faced his friend.
“Do you realize how late it is? And you don’t even have a Pokemon to take care of you if you get in trouble! I was worried sick when I couldn’t find you anywhere back in town? Did you even eat anything yet — ” Tsumugi interrupted Tasuku’s nagging.
“Oh my god, you’re worse than my grandma,” Tsumugi laughed. “I’m fine. I even found a friend.” The Exeggcute chirped in agreement, accepting Tsumugi’s friendship.
“What? ...Somehow, I’m not surprised that you found the egg Pokemon,” Tasuku sighed. “We should get back, is your new friend coming with us?” Tsumugi looked back, the eggs hopping towards Tsumugi as they walked away. Before they left, they bid farewell to the sturdy Exeggutor and managed to get their way home together.
Tsumugi sat up from his bed, the tears coming out from his eyes unexpectedly. “Why am I crying? I had a dream about the past? Ta-chan — ” Recalling his childhood when he grew up with his closest childhood friend, the tears continued pouring out of his eyes. He no longer lived in the same town, moving away after a falling out the two had in the past. “ I wonder if he still remembers me… Because I can’t stop thinking about what I did wrong.”
Tama stirred awake on the floor of the bed, worried for her trainer. The egg pokemon was still unevolved retaining the same appearance for all of these years. “Good morning, Tama…” He wiped away the teardrops with his sleeve. “Hey? Do you still remember that forest I found you in?” Tama chirped in agreement, recalling their fateful encounter. “So you do,” he gave an unreadable smile to the Pokemon, searching for something greater than that response.
“That place is still etched in my memory. Grandma didn’t even yell at me for coming home late with Tasuku. She just praised me for being brave and finding you,” he chuckled dryly. “...Thank you for being the one constant in my life, Tama.”
In his apartment away from the comforts of his old childhood town, he takes in the dull gray walls that can’t be decorated and the minimal pieces of furniture the old tenant left behind. No traces of Tsumugi can be found in this living space, except for the several houseplants that he occasionally purchases out of habit. Staring at Tama’s Pokeball on his nightstand, he longs for the past but wonders if it’s possible to go back at all.