A Change of Pace

[Michelle]

A gentle, quiet breeze blew through Ecruteak City. The leaves on the trees that surrounded the city rustled back and forth. It was past noon, and thus as warm as it was going to get for the day, which was a rather comfortable temperature. Take the light breeze into account and it was near perfect. At least, to Morty it was. Most people took no notice of the slight change in weather. After all, what harm could a breeze do. Life in the city was peaceful as always. There were few things that could sway it from that course. Even the news of parts of Ilex Forest being destroyed had only sent murmurs of slight worry and rumor throughout the town. Those that lived here were so set in their old ways that it was a completely alien idea to think anything detrimental could happen to their town or even anywhere close to them.

Most of the residents had chosen to ignore the events of a few years ago, with the return of the legendaries that chose to call this region home. That had been the last big thing to happen in Ecruteak, yet it hadn’t been enough to cause the inhabitants of the city to depart from their normal habits. Largely, it had remained the same. There was one group of people though, and one man in particular, that knew something big was going to happen soon. He didn’t know exactly what it was, nor when it would happen, he just knew that something was going to happen it would be sooner rather than later. Morty, the current gym leader in Ecruteak, happened to be that man. It had always been a gift and a curse, getting visions of the future. They were more often than not hard to decipher and held little actual meaning. In recent years, he had more or less been pushing them off to the side, only choosing to acknowledge the more predominant ones.

Prior to right now, most of his day had been spent at the gym. Challengers had come and gone, none all that impressive. All in all it had added up to be a rather average day. By the time that late afternoon rolled around though, Morty had had enough and needed to get out and get some fresh air. Thoughts had been piling up in the back of his mind. Time to think was something that the Gym Leader sorely needed.

Morty had been, when he decided that something was going to happen, standing outside of the Burned Tower, reminiscing about the past. As of late, he had been feeling the odd desire to escape the confines of the city and go out on another adventure. It didn’t have to be nearly as grand as the one he had taken when he was younger, but he needed to get away from the slow and quiet life of Ecruteak. The idea had been growing on him for quite some time. At first he hadn’t noticed it, but now it was all too apparent. He was young, not even out of his twenties yet and he was practically stuck in the same place for the rest of his life. Some part of that just would not sit well with Morty. It didn’t have to be anything over the top, but he needed something other than traveling to neighboring towns and cities.

Right here and now though, he stood reminiscing about the past. It hadn’t been all that long ago, just a few years, that the legendaries had appeared to that trainer. Compared to what they had been doing, it almost seemed like he was wasting his life away here. Morty full well knew that his position was important and that it was an honor to even be a gym leader. At the same time though, he looked at those he knew and how they traveled about. A bit of jealousy would his heart any time that that happened. It was almost like different pieces of his personality were conflicting. The part that loved the calm and quiet of Ecruteak was clashing with the part of him that remembered how much fun he had had when he was younger, traveling around.

All in all, he was still on the fence, even if he was majorly leaning to the one side, about leaving for a time and staying. There were plenty of trainers in the gym that could take his place temporarily. All that he really needed was the tiniest of pushes in one direction to sway his decision.

Morty let out a sigh of frustration. He was beside himself, not knowing which path to take. Usually the ghost type trainer had things like this figured out down to a tee. He ran his hand back through his hair, taking yet another sweeping glance at what had used to be a tower standing before him. Why did the inability to make decisions have to come at the worst time possible? Somehow, he still managed to remain completely calm and indifferent outwardly. That he had become a master of.

[Riley]

As chance would have it, perhaps the very person Morty needed around to prompt him into adventure had shown up in Ecruteak just a few hours ago.

Eusine had been traveling for several days following his time spent in Mahogany. He had heard rumors of a legendary Pok?mon showing itself around the the Lake of Rage, and with hopes high had rushed to get there and search. However, word had either been completely false, or he had arrived much too late despite his haste. But though he had found nothing, not even a shred of evidence, his spirits were far from dampened.

Ecruteak seemed to be his default city to turn to when he had absolutely no clue where to go next. Suicune, and many other legends had once made this place their home, so there was always the possibility of a new clue there, or a sighting. Surely, the beasts would be drawn back to their birthplace at least every once in a while, Eusine reasoned.

For once, he'd taken his time traveling to the next town, seeing as there was no particular direction he was chasing something in this time. It had been a long trek through the mountains, but he had been hoping to discover something along the way if he took it slowly and looked around.

Unfortunately, nothing again. But that was why he was where he was now; to find 'something.'

His first idea was to head to the gym and grab Morty, as the ghost specialist was always willing to help him out and allowed himself to be dragged into ventures around the city. When Eusine reached his destination however, he was informed Morty was absent.

Without an idea where he may be, it was his next thought to try again later and head to the Burned Tower instead. The place where the legendary dogs had been created. He had been there many times, but always hoped he may find something new or come upon an epiphany if he visited frequently.

The ruined remains of the structure normally were deserted save for the occasional curious soul, but on this day Eusine found he wasn't alone in coming there. In fact, he happened upon just the person he had been looking for.

With a grin, the man picked up his pace.
"Morty, there you are!" he called out as he approached. "Good to see you!"

[Michelle]

Morty had been rather deep in thought, as he usually was when he was left to his own devices, when he heard Eusine call out his name. At first, he thought it was just his brain getting the better of him, making him think something exciting was happening when really it wasn't. He had expected to be near completely alone at the tower. The dilapidated ruins of an old, burned tower weren't exactly a great place to hang out. When he opened his eyes though, his friend was in fact there. What a turn of events, he thought to himself. Just when he was hoping for something to happened, it happened.

"Its good to see you to," Morty replied as Eusine drew closer to him. He half wondered why his friend was in the city. None of the legendaries had been here recently, and last he had heard there were leads else where. It wasn't like brunette friend to show up for no reason at all. He must have run out of leads or one had lead him back to Ecruteak, yet again. Not that Morty was complaining. He genuinely enjoyed the company, even if the two were near opposites.

"What are you doing back in Ecruteak," Morty asked. A spark caught fire in the back of his head. Maybe, if Eusine was going anywhere particularly fascinating after his stop here, he would accompany him. The man seemed like a magnet for adventure. Then again, he did seem to actively seek out rather thrilling past times. "I really didn't expect you back here soon. Not that its a bad thing, I just wasn't expecting you." Morty was certainly pleased that he was here though. This was shaping up to be just the opportunity he had been waiting for.

[Riley]

"Weren't expecting me? Sounds like you need to work on that second sight of yours," Eusine said with a playful chuckle and a nudge. "To tell you the truth, I'm here because I'm fresh out of leads. Have you had that vision yet where Suicune and I become partners?" he asked in a tone that was only ambiguously joking. "I could use a pointer in the right direction, but for now I figured Ecruteak's the best place to start." He rubbed his head, then leaned against a fencepost and looked up at the Burned Tower.

"I don't suppose Suicune's come to visit his birthplace again lately, has he? I was planning on taking another look around the tower." Eusine had done this plenty of times in the past, but he figured there was always a possibility some new insight could be gained from a revisit. It had been some time since he'd set foot inside anyways, and it was nice to go back to a place that had always helped inspire him. Though it wasn't much to look at, it was the place where the legendary beasts had been brought to life through Ho-Oh's gift of reincarnation. He could still remember how excited he was to first explore this place he had heard in stories.

[Michelle]

Morty chuckled. "No, unfortunately I haven't." As Eusine talked about being out of leads, Morty tried to understand how frustrating it must be for his friend. Years of searching and chasing after something and getting virtually no reward from had to be hard. He didn't ask questions though. If chasing after a fleeting dream was the kind of life Eusine wanted to live, then so be it. It was more exciting than his life right now, that was for certain.

"Not that I've, or anyone else for that matter, has heard. Things have been pretty quiet lately." Part of Morty resented the fact that things had been quiet. Then again, things were nearly always quiet in Ecruteak. There were those rare times when the strange and fascinating happened, and when things like that did happen they were pretty big. Recently though, those strange occurrences were becoming to few and far between. "I suppose it would be worth a look though."

Morty moved closer to the tower, thinking about the dilapidated building. How many times had he been inside it doing the exact same thing that they were doing now? He wasn't really sure. Something in his gut was telling him that this search was going to be just about as fruitful as nearly all the other searches. Then again, who was he to say that he had anything better to do? "Come on, let's go find that destined partner of yours," the gym leader said in a slightly mocking, but mostly joking voice.

[Riley]

"It's a shame it's been so quiet," Eusine commented as they made their way inside. "But that means something big is bound to happen soon," he continued enthusiastically. "Johto's overdue for some excitement, wouldn't you say?"

Entering the building, he found it looked the same as it always did. Since the Burned Tower was so infrequently visited save for the occasional curious trainer, everything inside was relatively undisturbed. It was almost silent, save for the creak of the wooden structure and a faint scurrying as some resident rattata darted out of sight.

He walked further in to gaze down into the basement from the gaping hole in the floor. Nothing was there, as he had expected, but he still couldn't help feel disappointed at the sight remembering the moment several years ago Suicune had been standing down there right in front of him.

Eusine's disappointment was short-lived as usual, however.
"That trainer we both met here was like a magnet for excitement," he reminisced, backing away from the pit. He'd always been a bit envious of that trainer, as he knew Morty must be as well when he was beaten to Ho-oh by the same individual. "Haven't heard much of them for a while now. I figure it's our turn for the spotlight." He glanced back towards Morty with a grin.

[Michelle]

Morty chuckled as Eusine mentioned something exciting being bound to happen soon. It was if the other man had been reading his mind. The gym leader nodded. "Yeah, I would," he replied as he followed Eusine inside.

If he was looking for some kind of change or excitement from inside the tower, there was none to be found. It was in the same state of perpetual ruin that it was always in, and no one bothered to visit it frequently enough to change that. The silence had a certain kind of peace to it that Morty always found a way to appreciate. Maybe it was because he had grown used to it. After all, he was probably the one person that visited the old tower most frequently.

The mention of that trainer brought back memories, and with those memories came bits of envy and jealousy. He knew Eusine was feeling some of the same things. Those emotions quickly went away though, as they normally did. Instead, Morty focused on listening to his friend talk. "Yeah," Morty replied. He really hadn't heard anything from the trainer in a while. It was like they had just stopped. "I would like to think so."

With those words, an idea popped into his head. "I take it you've heard about the strange things happening in the forest?" Morty asked. "Since you're here, it might be worth taking a look at." It wasn't truly a shot in the dark. Any mysterious happenings were sure to strike a spark of interest within Eusine. Maybe this was just the opportunity for excitement that the two of them were looking for.