CBuizel

  It’s been nearly an hour since we’ve been split up, and I’m not sure how much longer I can last without my pal. As I tread through this dense snow and navigate through this skeleton of what was once a luscious forest, I begin to feel more uneasy about what my partner must be experiencing right now. He’s likely terrified, confused, and alone… Hurt. However, I must not concede! I will try my best to find Roto, or my name isn’t Daniel Hikari.

            It was our last day in the forest, studying the effects of winter on grass-type Pokémon that draw their energy from the sun. How exactly did they cope with such bleak conditions? Can I intervene and make their lives easier? What about inventing something that can help Pokémon back in town recover using the power of the sun during any season, weather condition, et cetera? Nonetheless, we had collected a plethora of information that seemed useful, but I wasn’t so sure. It doesn’t matter now that I can’t find my best friend, though.

            I continue to wander around occasionally calling out to the missing Rotom of the forest in hopes that he can hear me, wherever he was.

            “Roto! Can you hear me?” I call out for the umpteenth time. “Where are you, Roto?”

            Nothing. There was no response except for the howling wind, snowflakes slapping against the dormant trees, and the occasional hooting of Hoothoot. Night was approaching as quickly as the temperature was dropping. I decided it was finally time to activate my heated jacket and pants to accommodate myself in such frigid conditions.

            “Ahh, that’s beginning to feel better.” I mutter to myself as I slowly feel the warmth of the fluffy jacket engulf me. “I’ve got to accelerate my search for my buddy, or else I don’t think I’ll survive out here…”

            I pull out my PokéDroid and navigate to the PokéMaps app to see if I can get a lay of the land. However, to my disappointment, the service could not start as I have no signal out in the forest due to the snowstorm that’s rolling in. I sigh in frustration, as I begin to remember somebody back in town mentioning that I should bring a paper map along just in case I get lost. I was too reliant on my technology, despite having scenarios like this happen before. Defeated, I tuck my device back into my jacket pocket and continue to search for Roto through the snowy forest.

            Minutes pass and I continue to call out to Roto, hoping I could get a response. But instead, I hear far away sticks snapping and distant muttering. It’s too dark now to tell, and the snow has gotten much thicker than it was before. Anxiety begins to set in as now I’m lost, and potentially being stalked by Arceus knows what in these woods. I freeze in my tracks (literally) and kneel, hoping to focus in on where the sounds were coming from and if there’s another person hanging around.

            Just then, a deep howl fills the forest momentarily, followed by gruff-sounding barking from hundreds of feet away. I decide it’s best if I keep my distance from whatever is out there, as to not get myself into any trouble. Trembling reverberates throughout my body as I stand back up and move. I know where the sounds are coming from now thanks to the barking, but I don’t want to find out what made it.

            I take a few steps and my adrenaline suddenly kicks in as I spot three pairs of glowing, red eyes staring at me from the trees. They let out a low “Hoot-hoot” sound as I stare at them for an eternity. Another one lands next to me and starts to loudly squawk – something I’ve never heard from any of the Hoothoot in this forest. It was almost too unsettling to recover from, as my panic spikes from this small encounter.

            “Shh!” I try to hush the Hoothoot, which continuously “Hoot” in rapid succession. They seemed unfazed by my attempts to verbally quiet them. I whisper at them, “St-Stop making those sounds!”

            The rather large Hoothoot that landed next to me hops up closer to me and lets out a loud, guttural hooting sound, and it blinks slowly at me to top it off. That is just too much for me right now.

            Suddenly, the once distant howling gets louder, and the sound of crunching snow can now be heard through the howling of the wind. I panic now and break into a sprint away from the sounds. It was difficult to do so in boots, but I ran as best I could away. The Hoothoot stay behind and softly hoot away, but that sound is slowly replaced by the sound of others running now.

            I don’t turn back, I keep going as fast as I can in the opposite direction hoping I could maybe lose them. “Maybe”, being the keyword here, since I wasn’t setting any records in this deep snow and clunky boots.

            Dear Arceus, this must be it. I thought to myself. I never imagined that I’d find myself running away from a pack of monsters in the twilight of a wintery day such as this. It’s as though somebody made one of my nightmares a reality. I slow my pace down, coming to a sudden realization.

            …And I couldn’t even find my best buddy either. Roto. Where are you? I’m so sorry that I lost you in these woods…

            I stop in my tracks and fall on one knee again. Ugh, why am I this way? I need to really focus on my temperament, and how it affects others…

            The crunching of snow is now just a few feet behind me now. I can feel the heat of potentially living beings behind me now. It’s all over now, game over I assume.

            “Hello there, you’re quite the quick one, aren’t you?” A deeper voice called to me.

            I turn around and am stunned to see a tall, darker-skinned man in safety gear reaching for a lantern on his belt. He twists a knob on it and the device sparks to life and fills the area with a warm light. The snow glistens with new hope as the man smiles and reaches out to help me up. Surrounding him were four Stoutland, which were playfully nipping at each other and letting out deep, yet playful growls.

            “I’ve been looking for you for a while now,” The man explains as he pets one of his nearby Stoutland. “A little spark of energy was very frantic about finding you.” He points at his lantern now.

            “R… Roto?” I say and reach out for the lantern. The man hands me the lantern and I look inside and suddenly see that the lightbulb inside wasn’t a lightbulb, but Roto feeding on the energy of the lantern’s power source!

    “Roto!” I exclaim happily, greatly relieved to see my Pokémon companion once again. “Thank Mew you’re safe and sound! I must apologize for my behavior and outburst back at the treehouse base… I accept full responsibility for my actions… I just hope you can forgive me, however…” I still felt bad for what I said to my Rotom friend. It was enough to make even the gentlest of souls rebound from the source for a while.

    To my surprise, Roto didn’t seem at all mad about the incident anymore. Despite myself being a jerk, I was getting a second chance. This second chance won’t go to waste, and I’ll learn to have more control over myself in the future.

    I suddenly snap back to the reality I was in. Darkness was now totally surrounding us with the impending snowstorm actually here. The Stoutland begin to bark, signaling for us all to get a move on.

    “Yeah, I know boy.” The rescuer places a hand on the canine. “It’s about time we make our way out of this forest. It’s getting too dangerous to hang around.” He begins to walk off and we follow him.

    “I’ve heard stories of lost souls trying to communicate with travelers in these woods recently.” He says to us. “They usually take the form of one specific Pokémon in groups of four.” The forest goes silent and the air suddenly gets heavy.

    “Oh,” he chuckles to himself. “But trust me, I’m not much of a believer when it comes to ghost stories such as those.” He lets out a hearty laugh and we eventually see lights in the distance. “Well, it looks like we made it!”

    We step out from that nightmare and Roto hops out of the lantern. We’re both relieved to be out of that mess for good. Now it’s time to head home and take a well-deserved rest for the remaining portion of the night.

    Roto and I bid farewell to our rescuer and even invite him over for some breakfast in the morning. But, he kindly declines since he’ll likely be back in the forest again tomorrow morning, looking for lost travelers again. He and his Stoutland go their separate ways from us as we retire to our home and collapse on the ground. It’s been such an exhausting day, but I’m just glad we were able to get out of there together. I close my eyes and swiftly drift off into slumber…

=================================
Featuring,

• Daniel Hikari
• A Rotom named Roto
• Some Hoothoot
• Some Stoutland
• A human rescuer
• ???

Final word count: 1570
Client: Adventurer Trevor
Location: Deep Ivywood Forest / Ivywood Town
Eligible Jobs: All Jobs + 1
Reward: PD
Requirement: Draw or Write about your trainer and one of their pokemon searching for each other after being separated by a peculiar circumstance.
Expiry Date: March 5th at 11:59 PM EST
Character doing Job: Dan Hikari

Alright, so if anyone out there is reading this and you have (or had) anxiety/depression, I need some advice. 
Maybe you don't have anxiety/depression, you could still probably offer advice as well.

I thought I was over with 'anxiety' 3 years ago when it died down so much, I didn't feel it anymore. But it just sort of crept up on me at the start of this year, and has peaked today.

I say 'anxiety' with quote marks because I just figured it was because I was just a young teen with hormonal imbalances, and such. So that kind of help get rid of it for the longest time. I'm now graduated, out of college, without a job, always at home every day, so it could be just going insane from staring at a computer screen from the break of dawn to the moon rise of night. 

Anyways (without telling my whole life story to the internet), how do you cope with anxiety or depression (if you have it)? I've tried the whole breathing techniques, and tea, but sometimes it's just too difficult to calm down and I nearly have a panic attack. I don't really know how, but I just calm down after a few minutes to an hour or two. I'd like to just not be anxious at all, but I feel like I have no control over it and I hate it. 

If you don't have it, but have had to calm yourself before, tell me how you've done it. Any bit helps. Thanks.