Chapter Text
Delta sat in her room in Pastoria City, planning a trip to the Johto region that may never happen. Most kids got their first Pokémon when they were ten, yet here she was at fifteen, and with no partner of her own. If she had her way, she would have gotten one years ago, but her parents had said there were to be no Pokémon in the house. Absolutely none. Why they chose to live next to a marsh with hundreds of Pokémon while having that rule, who knows? She certainly deemed it silly. She looked down at her map, labeling city marks with numbers so she knew which order she wanted to hit the gyms in, if she had the opportunity. She found herself wondering if she did go on this adventure and get a partner Pokémon, what would her parents say? Would she have to move out, or release it?
She was drawn away from her thoughts when she heard tapping on her window. She looked up to see a Hoothoot using its beak to tap at it before looking over to her, crying out softly afterwards. She smiled to herself- it sure was cute. She got up and went to the bag she had hanging up, digging out a poffin she had made. It wasn’t perfect, she was still learning, but she hoped the Hoothoot wouldn’t mind it being slightly overdone. She turned around to head to her window, but stopped. The Hoothoot was gone. She frowned softly, slowly walking over and opening it, leaning her head out to look. She checked all around, but it was indeed gone now, not a trace. Probably for the best- upon further reflection, she decided that that was most likely for the best. Giving a Pokémon she didn’t know food- what if it was aggressive? Her parents would be very unhappy if it destroyed her room, that’s for sure. She closed the window back up with a sigh, but set the poffin on the windowsill to keep it close, just in case.
She glanced at the clock. It was late. Later than she had thought. The rest of Pastoria City had probably been asleep for hours at this point. She walked over to her door and turned out the lights before climbing into bed. Planning (daydreaming) a trip to Johto would have to wait until tomorrow to continue. She soon drifted off to sleep, her dreams filled with the little Hoothoot from earlier. There had been something different about him, a tint of purple that didn't line up with a shiny or standard color palette. It had probably just been the moonlight, however that unique look carried into her dreams as she ran around trying to find it. Every time she got close, he just flew away again, never-ending.
Delta awoke the next morning to the memories of her dreams. That little Pokémon sure had left an imprint on her. She smiled, amused that her dreams had kept her ‘friends’ moonlit shading. She got up, pausing as she looked at her Johto map, which she had left sprawled out. She had Route 7 marked off as her first destination. She hadn’t planned out the logistics, but she did hope to catch a Houndour there as her first partner Pokémon. She had even collected a friend ball for the occasion, hoping that she would be able to get the Pokémon on her first try. Apriballs are hard to get in Sinnoh, so she only had the one to travel with. Apricorn trees just don’t grow in Sinnoh. With any luck, though, she would get a few extra on her way to Route 7. However, she wasn’t so sure she wanted a Houndour anymore.
She wanted Hoothoot. Not just any Hoothoot, but the one who haunted her dreams. She glanced back at her poffin and found herself hoping Hoothoot would be back that night. She wanted to see if he was actually a weird color, or if the full moon had tinted him. She wanted to find out if he was friendly. She wanted to find out if he also wanted to go on adventures. She grabbed her bag, ready to snag the flying taxi off to Hearthome City. She was glad that the flying taxis had been picked up by her region. While biking there was easily done, she would need a partner Pokémon for safety. She made sure her poffin case was empty- hopefully she managed to fill it up with better-made ones today- and headed downstairs and out of her house to see if a Staraptor’s Taxi Service cab was available for her use.