Percy stayed close to the Butterdrill clan member. He was eventually able to get in a conversation with the Butterdrill clan kid privately as the group rested. "Hey, I'm Percy." He said.
The kid had messy brown hair and an average build. He owned a pretty impressive Beedrill and Butterfree as well. "My names Willy. I didn't mean for you to get in trouble with your group or anything." The timid boy said.
Percy smiled and shook his head. "No no, you didn't do anything, I don't even like that guy. We're just tryna get you where you need to go." Percy said. He did his best Ash impression as he found out where the kid was going. Him and his group were set on Viridian City. So he presumed that if his group had survived they would be going to Viridian city. The Honey group was already set for Viridian city so all he had to do was stick around for the ride.
The whole group was a little silent and excited at the same time. It was a great moment when a honey clan member was able to collect wild honey. But the circumstances were out of the ordinary and a freak storm had helped them achieve it. They wanted to be proud but had to be cautious. They were beginning to learn from Percy.
Percy's cautions were starting to be instilled in them. "We'll get you there. Do you have your Pokemon?" Percy asked.
Willy's hand went to his belt where he saw two balls. "I have most of them. When the storm hit I lost the pokeball of my first catch." He said. "At least I have the clans Pokémon." He whispered, almost into himself.
Percy felt a pang of pain pierce his heart. He couldn't even begin to think of one of his Pokémon dying or going missing. He would tear up the damn forest to find one of his Pokémon. "Alright then. You'll probably be safe with us so just stick to us." Percy said. He flashed another smile and began to turn away.
"Yeah I know. You're the Honey Clan." Willy said quietly.
Percy turned back. "Huh? You know the Honey Clan?" He asked.
"Of course. They're only one of the most powerful clans in the area. My group was supposed to keep an eye out for this supposedly talented Honey clan group that was starting the trainer circuit. I guess they're as good as they say. They all survived." Willy said again.
Percy winced as he watched the boys eyes wonder. It was clear he was thinking of the storm. "I'm sorry." Percy said simply. He really was sorry. "I'll be ok." Willy sniffled as they continued walking.
Nighttime was coming soon, and the group set up camp. Percy ended up grabbing Willy's contact information. Percy didn't have to be on watch that night so he ended up sneaking off in the late hours. He ran through the dark forest with Pharaoh at his side. His goal was to get to the Noctowl/Hoothoot colony.
They had walked a fair distance but Percy could traverse the land quickly in the night. After 45 minutes of travel they reached where Percy remembered the Noctowls borders. The forest was still in disarray from the storm and the borders were blurry almost. The markings Percy could normally identify were thrown around and distorted from the natural disaster.
Percy stalked forward into the territory looking for any hoothoot or noctowl. He was sure he could just ask one to be led to the nest. But he couldn't find any, and ended up asking Pharaoh to lead him to where he remembered the nest was. After half an hour of searching Pharaoh was able to lead Percy back to the nest, which was a cluster of very large trees.
Each of the trees had either one or two large spaces in its trunk where a bunch of soft material was placed. There were about 10 of these nests and as Percy approached them he could see huddled Pokémon inside. Immediately a large fast Noctowl came out, its eyes fiercely staring down Percy. Pharaoh growled and stepped in front of his trainer. Percy took a step back and raised his hands. The Noctowl looked at the two with aggression before realizing what it was looking at.
It's wings stopped flapping so fast and it slowly cooed. Percy translated it to 'things are bad'. He imagined the Pokémon population was hurt by the storm but it must've devestated them more than he thought. Inside each of the nests were groups of huddled Noctowl and Hoot hoot. Their numbers were slashed in half from the last time Percy had seen them.
The Noctowl that came out to defend the nests was the Noctowl that Percy had saved. The son of the leader. Percy began to climb the tree to the nest that the Noctowl led him to. Inside of the hollow tree Percy saw a bunch of Noctowl gathered around an older, injured Noctowl.
Blood was pooling in the tree as the birds chest slowly rose and fall. It had been injured in the storm by a piece of wood shrapnel and didn't have the vitality to recover from the damage. It was the leader Noctowl who had made the deal with Percy not long ago. Percy's heart sunk as he watched the Noctowls watch their leader slowly die. It was long past saving.
The injury was inflicted hours ago. It shuddered as it breathed. Its eyes flickered open and it recognized Jaycee. It croaked and cooed using the last of its strength. 'My son tells me you saved him….ah…go with him son. This colony is going to fall part, I've spent my life preparing for your future. Live it." The Noctowl whispered his final words as its oldest son stood over the dying bird. Percys head was at the entrance and he felt even more grim.
Everything was watching as the bird slowly passed away in front of them. Percy grimaced and looked away. He pushed off of the tree and his feet slammed into the ground. He crouched on the ground and thought. Pharaoh jumped off of his shoulders and nudged Percy on the rib.
Percy scratched Pharaohs head and stood up. His eyes narrowed as he steeled himself. There were so many reasons he needed to be stronger. Percy waited for the Noctowl to come out of the nest. It was mourning and Percy wanted to give it as much time as it needed.
About an hour later the Noctowl slowly flew down to Percy. It perched on a branch in front of him its eyes full of steely motivation. Percy and the Noctowl were locked in a stare as if communicating information. Percy's eyes widened and he took a step forward. The Noctowls eyes blinked and it tilted its head down slowly. Percy walked forward and placed a pokeball to the Noctowls head.
It was caught instantly and Percy immediately released it again. They had established the ground rules silently and were ready to go. "We're gonna skip on the hunting for the next few days. Feels unfair to the local population." Percy said as they returned to camp under darkness.