Eat
Jared woke up to the sun rising the next morning. It was jarring to find himself floating in the water still. Apparently, he could literally regulate how he floated and breathed in his sleep. A wave would come over him and his nostrils would close like a seal or a dolphin’s blowhole. He started paddling around the water when the rumbling of his stomach alerted him to how hungry he was. What does a Pokémon eat? The show never had them eating each other. So, what am I supposed to do?
Like he had with the tigertaur body, he surrendered himself to instinct and followed where his subconscious told him to go. It brought him to the lake’s shore where the shrubs and thickets thrived, their thinning twigs and branches yielding the shrimpiest vegetation. That was enough for Jared who felt his stomach rumble upon just looking at the few berries the bushes had to offer. It made sense. He faintly recalled collecting berries when he played the video game on his DS as a kid, though it didn’t explain the meats he’d seen the characters in the anime eating. Best not think about it, he thought while crawling up the lake’s bank. There he took a squat beside a particularly fat bush whose branches groaned with fig-like berries. He grabbed one and nibbled on it. Sweet and ripe, its juices blossomed through his mouth and elicited a delightful burst of endorphins. It went down with a hearty swallow at the same time he reached for another.
Soon that shrub was half barren of its fruit, leaving Jarred slumped on his behind by the lake’s edge, his tummy portly with berries. Aw shit… I think I ate too much. It was worth it, though. Much of the bush still had berries left on it. If he got hungry again- which probably wouldn’t happen for the rest of the day with how much he’d just eaten – he could just come back here and engorge himself again. Though that means finding another bush with berries on it. It can’t be that hard. With a lake this big and so many Pokémon living around there should be-
“Oh! Look over there!”
The voice of a child tore Jared out of his stupor. He swung his head to the left where the forest was. Standing there were a couple of human kids, neither of them older than 13, one girl, one boy. They were dressed for a hike with big boots, backpacks, and shorts. Suddenly the boy made to run after Jared, but the girl stopped him. “Wait! Calm down. You don’t want to spook him.”
Written by TheGreatJaceyGee on 07 September 2024