Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

* * *

PART I

A New World

* * *

Even the mightiest forests begin with one mere sapling. No matter how bad the storm, no matter how cruel life gets, the sapling finds a way to grow into something marvellous. It’s the story promised by so many things in life, whether school or books, tv shows or movies. Such a pleasant idea, that all too often turned out to be a mirage. 

Reality was often a slap in the face. And George, who’d been living in a foster’s home since he was five, got one daily. Even on his thirteenth birthday, about the only thing he’d be celebrating was his eight year of being here. Right after midnight, rain sputtered up against the window, the wind howling past. A typical birthday gift.

‘...We are through! We have contact! Quick, it might break again!’

‘...Yes, yes! We must hurry now! There he is!‘

In a dusty room, together with dozens of his peers snoring away, George twisted and turned in his bed. The lightning thundering in the distance had kept him up all night, much to his frustration. Now, just when he thought he’d gotten some peace and quiet, voices began talking to him.

‘...George, George! There’s no time for us to explain, but you have to listen to us, okay?’

‘Come on, I’m trying to sleep here. I don’t need another smack on the fingers for everyone to laugh at.’

‘...Your entire world is about to get turned on its head, but we have no choice. We need you. Everyone in Eravate needs you…’

‘Ngh…’

‘...the saviour is a Trojan Horse. The shackles around Eravate are tightening, and you can break them. You’ll be what you always wanted to be, we promise!...’

‘Let me have a halfway decent birthday for once, for the love of god….’

‘...We know how you feel about your life. Your struggles. Your pain. I have felt it myself through the ripples of time.’

‘...This’ll be a rude awakening, George. We’re so sorry. But you’ll have so much more if you stay strong.’

‘Empty promises, voice in head. But might as well accept it. Not like life here’s going anywhere.’

‘...Just open your eyes in a moment… ’

The darkness surrounding George vanished in a flash, and the sounds of wind and rain assaulting the foster’s home disappeared with it. Everything went silent as a mouse. A sample of death before the faint singing of birds reached his ears, as did an ache creep up his chest. He opened his eyes to a bright blue sky. 

“Nrghhh… what in the world…”

George pushed himself to his knees, a heave spilling out of his mouth partway through. Somehow this morning was worse than usual. “Urgh, did I fall asleep under a closet last night? Wouldn’t put it beyond her to make me,” he said, rubbing his head, before it hit him.

‘Wait… What is this place? Another dream? Great, a fancy dreamland before waking back up in the foster’s home, just what I needed.’

Gone were the city and the others sleeping in their beds, gone was the cold hardwood floor and the door leading out of the sleeping room. Instead he was face to face with a stream, with trees surrounding him on all sides. His nostrils teemed with the scent of fresh grass, crisp leaves and blooming flowers. 

The grogginess persisted as George stood up. Nothing felt right; face, chest, arms, legs, everything seemed condensed. Strangest of all was the feeling flowing out his spine. The only thing normal was how thirsty he was. Without thinking, he waddled to the stream and dipped his head down to drink from it. There was no filthy taste or lecture from the headmistress to not drink dirty water - on the contrary, it was clear. Refreshing. Wonderful to even touch, and all that despite being a dream. 

George put his hands in and splashed his face, then drank some more. Cold water in the middle of a forest, and yet he couldn’t be happier.

‘Ah, this is fantastic! This is the best tasting water I’ve ever had! It’s even better than the-’

He froze as if a poisonous needle pierced his skin. Down in the water was a reflection, but George did not see himself staring back. Instead, he saw a small, otter-like creature staring back; first with a happy, then dire expression.

“Wha- What?!” his foot shifted back across the grass. The animal’s reflection followed. George shook his head; nothing changed. The reflection remained the same. A small creature with a white face, black eyes and triangular ears on both sides of the head. His chest was covered in light blue fur and sported a seashell. George slapped himself with his small hands. 

‘That’s an Oshawott…’ he thought, then grimaced in the blink of an eye. ‘Wait, did I get knocked on my head again?! ‘Oshawott’? What is that?! How is that the first thing I come with, and not otter?’

George backed away from the stream. It had to be a dream, or so he believed with all his heart. Regardless of what was right and wrong, far more pressing was the situation at hand. Stranded in a place he had never seen before, with no one around to help, if they were even willing to. Frowning, he sat down against the stump of a tree, fiddling with the seashell on his chest, which was strangely sturdy and sharp for a seashell.

‘Okay…  This might be a dream, but I’m not waiting around here for it to end, oh no. No chance someone’s getting me out of this mess, and there’s gotta be predators that would love to take a chunk out of me right now-’

“This way. We must be getting close now.”

“Hah, been one big walk just to find ‘im! What kinda Pokemon d’ye think he’s turned into?”

“That doesn’t matter. Let’s get this over with, and save the whole world a lot of bloodshed. End of story.”

George’s ears sprang up. Company. One heavy, beast-like voice, and a feminine one that sounded authoritarian, like the headmistress had come to this world as well. Fearing the worst, he jumped and ran into the bushes, his steps clumsy and unfocused, all while the thumping of heavy footsteps approached. Branches prickled him on all sides, and tree roots made him trip face first. No matter how much pain and muddy smears he’d receive, he had to leave. His lone source of nourishment was gone, just like that. 

“Haha, I ain’t afraid of a lil’ water!”

“Skal, you’re part rock. Your attitude will get you killed one day.”

“‘Ey, I know that, Terez. Ain’t stoppin’ me. Ain’t stoppin’ the Othersider either!”

* * *

George kept running. To where, he didn’t know; anywhere removed from the voices at the stream. From bush to branch, from stump to dirt knoll, he was breathless, but he didn’t dare to stop for even a slight rest. No matter how painful the constant trips and scratches got, he couldn’t stop. What if they caught up with him? What merciless fate awaited him then?

‘Where on earth do I go? I can’t stay around here. Those footsteps sounded like a giant dinosaur. I’m not going to become a dinosaur’s lunch, damn it!’

Adrenaline had taken control, causing him to bump into an oddly shaped spotted bulb. George fell over backwards on the ground; a strange murmur filled the air.

“Shiroo!”

“Ah!”

The bulb, no, the Shroomish turned towards George. It cried out while glaring at him, then began to shake. Terrified, George jumped back to his feet and ran. The peace of the forest was disturbed, as other Shroomish became alerted by the cries, their anger focused like a laser on the trespasser in their midst. Tears began to well up in George’s eyes.

‘Why can’t I just wake up already?!’

His vision now blurry, and his feet aching harder than ever, George was at his wit’s end. Slowly it dawned on him that this wasn’t just another dream gone awry, or a fantasy he was bound to snap out of. The pain, the exhaustion, the dirt under his feet, it was all too vivid for that. A cold wind shrieked behind. It sounded as if nature itself cried out in pain. Whatever it was, the murmuring stopped. No sounds replaced it. Safe for the moment, George crashed against a tree and slid down the bark, panting in the process.

The escape had not been kind on him: He was covered in mud and scratches from the many falls and branches he had scraped by. The mud wasn’t just staining his fur, he tasted it in his mouth too, and no amount of spitting made the taste go away. His throat was sore and his head throbbed, his feet felt like they were about to rot right off. Confused, George’s little body slumped down, his hands resting on the shell attached to his chest.

‘Those voices… what are they? Why am I being followed?‘

George looked around. A gentle breeze swayed the nearby vegetation; the rustling of the leaves above was a small comfort he desperately needed. It gave him an opportunity to think. About the voices in the darkness, about the voices following him in the light, and his own body most of all. The aching was fading, but his eyes were not playing tricks on him. 

‘So, I was in my bed, just waiting for my birthday to start. Then voices came, gave me a vague talk, and now I’m an ‘Oshawott’. In the middle of a forest, being chased by other voices, and living mushrooms. ‘Shroomish’. Ugh, somehow that rolls of the tongue, just like ‘Oshawott’.’

He ran a few fingers through the blue fur around his seashell. Since he was an Oshawott, it was no ordinary seashell, but a weapon. Sturdy enough to slice one’s fingertips off, if he wasn’t careful. Slowly, his breathing calmed to a somewhat ordinary tempo. What passed for ordinary in a body this small, anyhow.

“This is me now.. Just when things couldn’t get any stranger… Life is just one surprise after another, isn’t it,” he whispered to himself. “And what did they say again about needing me? Well, I always wanted to do good in the world. Make a difference, help those who need it. Not that I know how, but the idea is pleasant.’'

George’s eyes were drawn to the surrounding area, his ears twitching back and forth out of curiosity. From the thick canopy overhead, to the massive patches of vegetation, the forest had a primeval look to it. Wild, out of control, with just the vague suggestion of a trail here and there. No more order than an animal could bring. 

Alas, that idea was disproved by a nearby tree. Chunks had been cut out of its bark, in a pattern that resembled letters of some kind. It resembled… prints, of some kind. As if someone had doodled shapes in the sand, and attached meanings to them. 

And yet, despite never having seen lettering like it, George could understand what it said. Perfectly.

THE DRAGON KNOWS - DON’T DENY YOURSELF

He hopped off the stump, tail dragging across the dirt as he got a closer look at the text. The wood underneath looked worn, somewhat damp from old rains. George gulped.

‘Okay… so there is a civilisation here. I’m not alone, I guess… but who wrote this? And what does it mean? Who is the dragon? And… Why can I read it? Ergh, I guess it’s the same reason why I know what Oshawott are, or why I am one myself-’

All of a sudden, the bushes nearby shook violently. George stirred from his thoughts, and shielded his chest with both arms. 

“Who’s there?!” he yelled, forcing his way through the pain in his feet to stand up. He wasn’t taking any chances. Not after the first chase. Little fists clenched, teeth gritted, he watched as a reddish arm poked out of the bush. 

And just as he was prepared to face his new visitor, so too was he ready to book it.

“Aahh!!!” 

He muscled his way into the bushes. They were thicker than any plants that came before, and he struggled to keep balance. It wasn’t long before he fell into a dark patch of vegetation. Twigs from all sides poked and prodded - George struggled his way to a point of light up ahead, his lone ticket out. 

Once close, he threw himself forward, eyes closed, hoping for the best. With a thud, something his size collided against him, and he fell back on his rear. 

“Ow!”

“Aah! Hey, watch out!”

“Ow… ow…” George rubbed his forehead before reopening his eyes. He was greeted by the sight of an orange lizard staring at him. 

“You could have gotten hurt there!”

The triangular ears on George’s head went flat against his head. “Y-you can talk?!” he said, with eyes wider than a bug’s. The lizard chittered, his flaming tail flickering behind him.

“Um, yeah? Why wouldn’t I?”

George’s cheeks flushed red. “Oh, ehrm, well, I’m not used to seeing li- I mean, I’m not used to seeing… Charmanders talk, that’s all.” ‘Please tell me there’s others who’d say that.’ “Um, haven’t ever heard one talk before. Not where uh, not where I’m from.”

The lizard, whose telltale orange body and flaming tail were unmistakable for anything else, crossed his arms. “You’re weird… Where are you from?” he asked, tilting his head rightwards. George clicked his tongue; his ears once again fell backwards. 

‘Okay, what have I gotten myself into. I’m covered in dirt and now I’m talking to a Charmander, all while being an Oshawott. And now it’s asking me questions? What do I even do?! I can’t just tell him the truth, can I? Would he even believe me? Would he attack?’

George put his hands against his chest, and breathed in deep. ‘Gotta come out with it now. I can’t even convince the headmistress I did my homework properly.’ “Okay, this is going to sound weird, but I’m actually a human. Even though I-”

The Charmander jumped backward, wide eyed.  “A human?! B-but you look like any ordinary Oshawott!”

George winced, then took another deep breath. “I know. But I’m not lying, I swear! No one expects to be sleeping one moment, then wake up in the middle of the woods right after! It feels like I’ve been run over by a car!”

“A ‘car’?”

“Oh, uh…” George looked off towards a neighbouring patch of grass. ‘Of course he wouldn’t know what a car is, let’s see here…’ “It’s like this big metal box. Really fast. It’s uh, it’s kind of like… like getting hit by… a… steel… ‘Miltank’, I guess?” he said with puffy cheeks and an awkward smile. 

The Charmander stared at him; nothing was keeping him or George company aside from a howl of the wind, before the red lizard burst into laughter.

“Haha, you really aren’t from around here, are you?”

George nervously laughed back. “I guess you could say that.” ‘Looks like I won’t have to fight out of this one.’

“You’re weird. But I like you!” The Charmander took a step towards George, who merely stood and watched. For a stranger in the middle of the woods, he sure was one jolly fellow. Especially for a lizard with a tail that’s on fire. “Do you have a name?”

George looked off to both sides first before daring to reply. “Well, my name is George.”

“George? That’s a strange name…”

“Is it?”

“It sure is! Must be a human name, right? Makes sense, actually! Yeah, George! I think I like it, it’s unique!” The Charmander put on a strong, confident smile. “I’m Blitzer!” he said, one finger pointing towards his chest. The Oshawott clicked his tongue.

‘And he said I’m the one with the weird name.’ “Alright, Blitzer I guess. That’s unique as well, right?”

“Darn straight! Nothing beats being unique! I’m sure you know all about it, right George?”

“I… sure do!” said George. “No one’s more unique than me!” ‘Well, unless there’s other people turned Pokemon walking around here.’  

“That’s the spirit! You and I… we’re going to be the best of friends, George! I can feel it!” The flame on Blitzer’s tail flared. George shielded his eyes from the light. Somehow, he had somewhat forgotten that flame burning on the end of Blitzer’s tail. 

“Hey, what’s the matter?”

“Oh, it’s just the fire there, that’s all,” George said, pinching his cheeks.

Blitzer laughed. “Haha, you’re not the first! I get complimented on it all the time! ‘Ooh wow, Blitzer, you really are full of life!’ It’s great!”

“That sure is neat.” George looked down at the seashell on his chest. “Do you think people would notice my scalchop, too?”

“Sure! I think I remember hearing that Oshawotts are destined to become great warriors through those shells!” 

George raised an eye. ‘Warrior? Me?’ he thought to himself. He was so taken aback that he jumped from a sudden poke to the chest. 

“Hey, I know, why don’t we go back to my home? I’m sure my parents would love seeing you! And I want to hear more about you too!”

“Oh, yeah, that sounds fine, but wouldn’t they uhm, don’t I look a little dirty?” said George as he scratched the back of his head, much to the Charmander’s amusement.

“I always come home looking like that! You’ll be fine, don’t worry. The village is not so far from here.” Blitzer pointed George to an inconspicuous part of the woods. “Come on, let’s go! Oh, I almost forgot! The rest will be happy to see you too!”

And just like that, George and Blitzer got on their way through the forest. George breathed easy, even as the aching in his body kept at it. It was nice knowing that not everything in this world would attack him right away. Furthermore, some kind of civilization was just around the corner. Nothing spectacular, in all likelihood, but after living in a grey city for years, that wasn’t a bad thing. 

Still, what would happen now? Those voices from the stream are still out there. He had lost them for now, but there was no chance they would have simply given up. Could he avoid them forever? There didn’t seem to be a way back to his bed. But even more impactful was the Charmander he had met.

‘We’re going to be the best of friends, George!’

Countless questions lingered in George’s mind, but he didn’t doubt Blitzer for a second. Young, full of energy, happy and optimistic at just about everything George had told him. They might have only known each other for ten minutes, but George felt confident following in his footsteps. Perhaps he would lead to a better life after all.

Chapter Text

“There! Over there! Do you see it!”

Blitzer pointed towards an open field in the distance. George did not follow, however. With the wind blowing into their faces, looking ahead wasn’t an enjoyable prospect. Too cold, too harsh on the eyes, and too much chance he’d end up with a leaf in his mouth, given how hard the trees rustled from all the wind. Birds chirped all around, and the faint chittering of bugs sounded just underneath.

“Okay. Let’s see what else I know. That’s a ‘Tailow’ there, you can tell by the red stripe. Then we’ve got an odd looking… ‘Butterfree’? No, ‘Vivillion’, rather. And- yuck, that’s one big Spina-”

“Hey, Geoooorge!” 

“Eh?”

George stumbled backwards onto his tail, ears ringing like a doorbell. “What are you yelling for?”

“The village, George, the village!” Blitzer jumped up and down, throwing his arms in the air with each hop. “Are you coming or not?”

“Yes, of course! Just got distracted, figuring out which Pokemon’s what.”

Blitzer folded his arms. “I figured as much!” he said, a smug smile beaming from his face. “You know I’ve been pointing those out for a reason, right? If you got any Pokemon related questions, just ask! No shame in that, we’re friends! Right?”

“Yeah…” George rubbed his head. Something in the air reeked of sweat. 

He followed Blitzer to the edge of the field. There, the sight greeting them took the breath out of his lungs. A sunlit town of vividly coloured wooden houses, gold-brown pathways and gallant stone buildings stood on the other side, brimming with the sounds of life. Various Pokemon could be seen enjoying the day, working in fields or on buildings, gathering water from the stream running through the town. George smiled out of instinct. He felt a joy he couldn’t describe: His body did the talking for him.

“Well, this is Greenfield. What do you think?” asked the Charmander.

“Darn,” answered George, “I wasn’t expecting to see something like this!”

Blitzer chuckled. “Well, what were you expecting? Some holes in the ground? Haha!”

George’s cheeks puffed up. ‘Hit the nail on the head.’ “Well, I didn’t know Pokemon lived in villages. And I’ve only seen villages like this on TV.”

Blitzer’s tail twitched curiously to one side. “Well, what does a human village look like? And what’s a TV?”

George swallowed, his nose twitching. Blitzer looked on with a toothless smile, so full of excitement that was bound to be crushed. Memories of dull, rainy city streets came flooding back, joined by the monochrome cars going over said streets. All lingered in the shadows of high-rises, equally colourless were it not for curtains and potted plants. And how could he forget the people wandering over the sidewalks, their faces as grim as the clouds above…

“It’s hard to explain,” George said, stalling for time. ‘I guess the city’s the dream now. Maybe that’s for the best. And how am I supposed to explain what a TV is? They don’t even have electricity here!’

“You can tell me later, if you prefer,” Blitzer said. A dull growl rumbled in his cream coloured belly. The Charmander frowned. “Especially now that I’m hungry…”

George nodded in response. “Sure. Do you have anything to eat?” ‘What can I even eat?’  

“My parents have a whole field of berries and the like. Cheri, Oran, Nanab, Persim, Sitrus! You name it, they have it. Come, I’ll show you!” Blitzer took off with a burst of speed, leaving George scrambling to run after him.

‘He sure is fast when hungry!’ 

Given how much his tail bounced back and forth, it was a miracle Blitzer hadn’t burned the village down yet. That fire had to be a constant hazard to everyone around him. George winced as he imagined accidentally slipping his hand into the fire.

“We’re almost there, just a little further!”

“Yes, slow down already! I’m still hurting over here!”

“It’ll go away soon! Don’t worry about it!”

Without so much as a breather, Blitzer led George into the village, zipping past houses and people alike. George bit his tongue. No time to look for anything interesting in the village, just the gravel road right ahead. Several Pokemon scolded them as the two ran past. The paths in the village hadn’t been built with children speeding all over the place in mind, and everyone had to suffer the consequences.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!”

“Sorry, I’ll look further next time!”

“Stop running, you whippersnappers!”

“Sorry, miss Eldegoss! Coming through here!” 

George was too tired to apologise. Keeping up with Blitzer was hard enough, let alone dealing with other Pokemon. Evidently Blitzer had mastered the art of speedy apologies, given how often he could be heard giving a new one. On the road, over the bridge, even to the people shouting at him from their homes. 

‘How do you ever hope to become a well grown man like this, fool!’

George winced and bit his tongue. ‘Headmistress… nrgh, I’m not there anymore. Forget it.’

* * * 

“Here we are. My house! And my parents’ house!”

Blitzer held up an arm, as if he was presenting his house to a crowd. George looked on dumbfounded, panting all the while. Instead of one of the vibrant houses, Blitzer lived in a hovel. The front door reeked of burned firewood; A black spot reeking of soot stained the path right before.

“So this is it?” asked George. “Where’s the field?” ‘And where’s the house?’

“On the other side! But let’s go inside first.” Blitzer ran up to the door and bonked on it with a fist. “Mooom! Daaad! I’m home!! I brought a friend with me!!” George stepped up beside Blitzer as he continued to beat on the door, staying just out of sight.

‘Wonder how nice his parents are. They sure gave him a lot of freedom.

“I’m coming, Blitzer!”

A short while later, the door opened outward; a Nidorina as big as Blitzer stood on the other side. “Ah, back so soon?”

“Yes! I’m surprised too, but I couldn’t wait.”

 “You didn’t come back completely muddy this time, I’m impressed. Now where is this friend of yours- Oh. There he is.” The Nidorina raised her head and breathed deep through her nostrils. “Well, you win some, you lose some. Say, Oshawott laddie, why don’t you come in? You look like you could use a bath.“

“s-Sure,” said George, gritting his teeth afterward. If not for the fur, he’d have a red face. ‘She’s huge…’

The house was far cosier on the inside, much to George’s relief. No black stains of soot or mud anywhere, just a simple candlelit home. Well, it looked more like some kind of museum exhibit than a house, what with its dusty furniture and waxy scent, but you had to temper your expectations when visiting a different world. Especially if said visit wasn’t ending anytime soon, if ever.

“Nero? Can you prepare a bath?” yelled the Nidorina. 

“Yeah? That rascal got himself dirty again, didn’t he?” a rugged voice deeper in the house replied.

“You’d think, but it’s not Blitzer this time. He’s got a new friend over, and he’s in rough shape. Got scratches all over.”

“Oh for the love of-” A door on the far side of the living room swung open, and the purple counterpart to Blitzer’s mother was standing on the other side. A Nidorino. “Why didn’t you say so before? Infections are nothing to joke about. You there, Oshawott lad,” he said while eyeing George all over, looking for the scratch marks under the fur, “We’re getting you clean first, then we’ll talk, alright?”

“Dad. How long is it gonna take?” asked Blitzer, tapping his foot. His father shook his horned head.   

“As long as it’s going to take, son. There’ll be plenty of time to play with your friend later, patience.” His father turned around, sighed, and went to prepare the bath. “You’d think now that he’s finally got a-”

“Nero!”

“Yes, dear, my apologies.”

George, startled, backed off a step. ‘Wait, did he just…?’ Beside him, Blitzer stood twiddling his fingers against each other. “Hey, Blitzer, everything okay?”

“Me?” The Charmander tilted his head a few degrees. “I’m alright, don’t worry. My dad’s just grumpy!” he said with a smile. George didn’t buy it, but didn’t ask any further. Everyone would be happier that way. 

After some time, Blitzer was called by his mother to help out with something, and Nero gave a yell that the bath was ready. George went and followed the Nidorino through the house. The family had a combined kitchen and living room, the kitchen primarily made of stone, while the living room was mostly made of dark brown wood, a small window right up by the top. From there, two wide hallways went up and to the left, and aside from some candleholders and sooty black marks on the walls, they were nothing but dirt. And a door or two.

Eventually, George and Blitzer’s father reached a door through which the sun shone. The Nidorino nodded to his right; there stood a wide but shallow tub that came up to George’s head.

“Here it is, lad. Let’s get that dirt off, it’s bound to ruin that coat of yours,” said Nero, waiting for George to get in.

“Coat?”

“You know, your fur.”

“Oh.”

Nero narrowed his eyes. “Thought someone your age would know these things already,” he spoke in a dull tone.

“It’s nothing,” said George, one foot hovering over the water. He caught a whiff; the room smelled like dust and rust; the walls were lined with various tools which had seen better days. Not a place he’d want to take a bath in. Gentle as a spring breeze, he dipped his foot in. ‘Cold !’ shot into his mind. The other foot went in as slow as the first, to the sound of Nero’s groans and foot tapping.

“Lad, you’re not getting clean just standing there. Get down already will you, you’re of Water for Arceus’ sake.”

George frowned. “Do you normally take your baths this cold, though? It feels like I’ve sunk through ice!” 

Nero shook his head. “Even Blitzer’s not this afraid of a little cold water, lad. Even Blitzer! That kid can barely sit still, and that tail of his hurts like crazy if it gets even remotely wet. This should be a walk in the park for you.”

George sighed, before sinking into the water. The cold, bitter as could be, spread from tail to chest. He sucked in a breath as the water enveloped his fur, shivering all the while. It felt as if he’d been stuffed in a freezer. Then the water settled. George’s shivering came to a stop. ‘ Huh. This… actually feels kind of relaxing!’ He ran his hands through the water and threw some on himself, the sound of splashing water soothing his ears. ‘It’s just water, but I feel free! In my element, even!’

“There you go, lad. Not so bad, is it?” Nero chuckled. 

“Yeah, it feels really good! I don’t know why, though.”

Nero chuckled. “You’re one weird Oshawott. Water type and actual water are like bread and berries. Alright, time to wash that mud off. Take your scalchop off for a moment.”

* * *

Some time later, the whole household was back in the main room. George stood proud with a puffed up chest and hands on his sides, a smile plastered over his face. “Well, how do I look?”

“You look like you’re ready to take on anything!” Blitzer said. His eyes were beaming with the intensity of the sun. 

Nera smiled at George from the kitchen. “You look like a wonderful little Oshawott! Did you get all those scratches taken care of too?”

“Of course we did,” said Nero as he came in yawning. “Was a little more difficult finding them under all that fur, but I’ve got plenty of experience patching up Blitzer over the years.”

“Glad to hear.” Nera nodded. “Come, I’ve made us all something. Blitzer, mind helping me with the plates?”

“No worries, mom!” 

Blitzer leapt off the couch, unworried about his tail starting a fire by accident. Nothing in the house smelled burnt… aside from the black stains on the walls. What George did smell was the warm, savoury aroma of a pastry. His mouth watered in anticipation, as Nera and Blitzer came carrying two plates each; for a quadruped, Nera was surprisingly capable of standing on two legs, let alone carrying things. She had great dexterity in the claws on her forelegs. 

George’s mind was elsewhere, though. His mind and stomach were united and up in arms. Blitzer handed him a plate carrying a gold-brown pastry with some kind of gooey filling. Having gone hours since his last meal, a growl from his stomach broke him at last.

“Whoa, hold on!”

“Hey, easy there now! I haven’t even told you what it is yet!”

By the time Nera finished speaking, George had blue smears all over his mouth, which he sheepishly licked clean as the two parents watched on dumbfounded, and Blitzer couldn’t contain himself. “What? I haven’t eaten all day!”

Nero snorted. “Looks like you’ve got yourself another customer, honey.” 

“Well, my Oran berries are irresistible, you know,” Nera said with a hearty laugh. “We haven’t introduced ourselves yet, but you’re quite something, alright! Anyway, I’m Nera, and this is Nero, my partner. We’re Blitzer’s parents, but I’m sure you knew that already.”

“Yeah, Blitzer told me he lived with you,” George wiped his mouth down, staining his hands with jam. “Kind of surprised how different you are from him. You look nothing alike, no offence.“

“Pfft. T’is a long story, lad,” Nero said. “Long story short, when we hadn’t been together for that long, Nera and I discovered Blitzer in the woods near town one day. He was a small child that didn’t even know his own name, all alone with no parents in sight. We found him on a bed of leaves. Had some nasty feral found him before us, well… wouldn’t have ended so rosy. That was all we needed to take him with us. Gotta say though, we weren’t exactly ready to take care of a child. It’s been a long few years, many headaches along the way, but we still love our little Blitzer with all our hearts.” The Nidorino nodded towards his partner.

“Indeed we do. Blitzer has been with us for years now, and he’s always been a bright spot in our lives.” Nera looked towards Blitzer, who was sitting on the ground. “Right, sweetheart?”  

Blitzer nodded. “Yes! I love you too, mom and dad. I’m so glad to have you,” he said, visibly biting his cheek. The parents smiled at him, before turning their gaze back to George fidgeting with his fingers.

“That was complicated, yeah, but I think I understand. Well, I’m glad you were the people that found him, you seem wonderful.” George awkwardly folded his arms over his scalchop. ‘Blitzer got lucky. Wish I did too.’

Nera drummed her claws on the table. “So yeah. That is us in a nutshell, unless Blitzer has anything to add,” she said with a flick of her ears. Blitzer shook his head.

“You know, I don’t get it at all. As far as I remember, I’ve always lived here. That’s not so bad, is it?” the Charmander said, staring towards the roof as if he were deep in thought. Something in his eyes felt sad to even look at; George went back to nibbling on his food.

“Of course not, sweetheart. Whatever happened has happened, and we can’t change that now,” Blitzer’s mother said. “In any case, we’re all here, aren’t we?” She took a bite from her own Oran pastry. “Why doesn’t your friend say something about himself next?”

“That’s right” cheered Blitzer. “That’s why I came here straight away, he’s truly special! Right, George?”

The pastry dropped out of George’s mouth and back onto the plate. The parents looked rather stunned, their ears fluttering back and forth. 

“George? That’s a strange name if I’ve ever heard one. Where are you from, lad?” Nero asked. 

The human turned Oshawott flinched, almost biting his tongue as his jaws forced themselves against each another. Out of the water and into the flames, like vegetables being roasted for dinner. Explaining it to Blitzer was simple, since it’s Blitzer. Explaining it to anyone else was leagues apart. He couldn’t even begin to figure out how to explain it without inviting misery onto himself. As it turns out, he didn’t have to.

“He’s not from here, dad, he’s a human!”

A breath escaped George’s mouth. Two gasps sounded in the room; one full of shock, the other was akin to disappointment in breathing form. Throwing fuel onto a fire is one thing, this was like being the fuel itself. He felt red hot under his skin. 

“A human? No… those only exist in legends.” Nera said. 

Nero groaned. “Very funny, Blitzer. Can you just let your friend explain where he’s from instead of doing it for him in the silliest way imaginable?”

“It’s not a joke!” Blitzer stood up, fists clenched and tail flaring. “You never believe me, but George told me so himself!” George shook his head and slowly stood up, putting the plate on the wooden table they were seated at. 

‘I’ve got to say something…’ “Well… He’s telling you the truth,” George said. Nero raised an eye in response, and lifted a foreleg to scratch himself by the base of his horn. George signalled for Blitzer to sit down, which he did with an ‘I told you so’ look on his face.  

“Yes, I look like any ordinary Oshawott right now. But the truth is, I was a human until just a few hours ago. Hence my ‘weird name’. This is going to sound crazy, but I was asleep, and heard voices call to me about how I was needed. Next thing I know, I’m awake in the middle of the woods. As an Oshawott. Exactly what happened.”

Nero’s eyes opened wide, as did his wife’s. They slowly turned their heads at each other, staring in horrified silence. George pinched his skin, both his ears having gone flat against his white head. ‘Great, you blew it, George…’ 

“Lad. Blitzer. Promise me one thing, okay?” asked Nero. “Do not ever, ever tell this to anyone else, you hear?!” he said with a rising yet breaking voice. George suddenly smelled a faintly sour odour coming from the other end of the table. 

“Huh? Why? What’s the matter?” Blitzer was shocked in a way that reminded George of himself and his peers whenever the headmistress spoke.

Nera patted her son on the shoulder; “Blitzer, for the love of Arceus, do not take any of this lightly. Please. I can tell you really like your new friend, you really, really do. But you cannot tell anyone else about what he is, alright? Your friend could be in serious danger…”

“What?!”

“Don’t ask questions, just do as we say, okay? Don’t tell anyone. That’s all we’re asking, you hear?” Nero bared his teeth as if something heavy weighed him down. George felt a chill bubbling under his skin. Whatever the reason, the adults in the room had been caught by the scruff of their neck. His hands hovered over his scalchop, all while he glanced around the room. Suddenly, he wasn’t so hungry anymore.

“But mom…”

“I’m sorry, Blitzer. I know you must be excited about your new friend, but this is grown up stuff we’re talking about. Do you remember what I told you a month ago? About her?”

Blitzer shivered. “Yeah, you told me…” he muttered in the same dreary tone his parents were using. George didn’t know what to think anymore. The air in the room had gotten tense and dreary, like the waiting room at a dentist’s office. Blitzer and his parents had been called in, and George was left stranded.

“Excuse me, is there something bad about me being a human?”

Nera shook her head. “No. It’s not you that’s the problem. It’s something else. Her.” The last word sounded as if she had to force it out of her throat. Her . As if uttering the name would lay a curse upon the whole village. Nera seemed dazed after merely referring to whoever it was.

“Listen, lad.” Nero took over, unprompted. “I do not know how my partner and my son see it, but I’ll speak for myself. All you need to know is that there are plenty of good people in the world, and a few rotten apples. Understood?” George nodded. “Good. One of those rotten apples… is, well, very powerful. And we know she won’t leave you alone if she finds out about you. She is a ruthless, ruthless Pokemon, you hear? We know what she’s capable of, and it’s a terrible, terrible sight. I really don’t want to force you away. I can see that my son truly cares about you. So please, don’t tell anyone.”

George nodded uncomfortably. “Yes sir.”

Out of nowhere, someone started banging on the front door. “Oi! Anyone home? Open up!”

Heads turned to the entrance. In an instant, the air in the house turned frigid from the sudden tension. Nero raised a paw to his mouth, sticking one claw up before he headed for the entrance. Nera and Blitzer nodded, and George merely followed their lead. They waited with bated breath as Nero opened the door.

”Oi, gentlemen, good afternoon. Is there something wrong?”

“Nothing with you, good sir. All we would like to know is whether you have information on this man. He is a highly wanted fugitive, and he has last been seen in this area.”

“Hmm… can’t say I’ve seen or heard anything about ‘im, sorry. Do catch ‘im quick, yeah.”

“Understood. Have a good day, sir!”

“Same to you.”

With a sigh, Nero came back to the table, and sat back on his old spot while shaking his head. “Nothing this time, thank the Creator,” he whispered.

George, still careful with each breath, kept his questions to himself. A fugitive on the run. That didn’t sound good. But he could tell the story didn’t end there; it’s just that Nero did not seem willing to elaborate.

It was quiet for a long, long five minutes, before Blitzer broke the silence.

“Mom? Can you let George stay here? I don’t want to lose him,” the Charmander stammered. His mother gave him a faint smile in return, albeit an uncomfortable one.

“We’ll try, okay? I know how much he means to you, Blitzer. And he is really sweet,” she said, one claw pointed towards George. “We shouldn’t worry so much. Okay? You two should go and play together for a while, unwind a bit. You both look like you’ve seen a ghost!”

Blitzer and George both nodded with frowns on their faces. George moved up to arms’ length with Blitzer. Something inside of him could feel how morose the poor kid was. He extended his arm around Blitzer’s neck. The Charmander looked up with a jolt of energy and did the same. It made George feel a little better, and he could feel a change in Blitzer, too.

Nero cleared his throat. “Well then, lads. You heard her, go play in your room for a while, okay? Don’t worry about the food, we won’t touch it.”

Blitzer gave a hum. “Come George, let’s go.”

Chapter Text

The house now quiet, Blitzer took George to his room. The Charmander used his tail like a torch, despite all the candles on the wall being lit, the air teeming with their waxy scent. To make odd into flat out stupid, the way he held his tail up made his strides slower and far clumsier. Normally a tail kept someone steady on their feet. Blitzer hadn’t quite understood that, however.

“Oomph! Man, these halls are so wide…” said the Charmander, as he managed to catch himself on the wall just before he’d fall over.

George smirked a little. “Why are they this wide, anyway? Neither of your parents need that much space.”

Blitzer peeked over his shoulder, then let out a chirp. “Oh, they do need that much once they evolve! You just wait.”

“We’ll see, I guess,” replied the Oshawott with a shrug. “Can’t deny, you holding your tail like that… you remind me of an explorer.”

The Charmander blushed. “O-oh… thank you,” he hummed.

A few steps later, the two reached a door wider than both of them together. Blitzer threw it open, and ran inside. “Here it is, my room!”

George treaded lightly as he entered. There was a surprising lack of furniture: In fact, the room was empty aside from one dresser and a box full of toys. The air felt a little cramped, and the room lacked lighting: Aside from Blitzer’s tail flame, a single candle on the dresser was the lone light source, and it wasn’t lit. A faint scent of dry grass hung in the air. George smelled it coming off a pile of straws in the back, which Blitzer had thrown himself down upon. 

“What do you think?” Blitzer asked. George idled; for a moment, he thought he heard an echo.

“It’s alright, I guess. It’s pretty roomy, and uh… you have plenty of space for yourself. A lot more than I’m used to.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty boring here,” Blitzer deadpanned, much to George’s bewilderment. “Hey, what’s that face for? Why do you think I was in the woods in the first place? That’s where the fun is! Exploring! My parents keep telling me, ‘Noo, Blitzer, you can’t go out there, you know how dangerous it is with all the ferals! And you might get into trouble with some of the Queen’s Soldiers if you aren’t careful and rabble rabble rabble’, but I don’t care! I love the outdoors, I love exploring! It’s how I found you! So I’m not going to stop.”

George cleared his nose with a deep breath. ‘At least you have your own room…’ “You know, you sound a lot like me before I came here, except your parents actually allow you out. The headmistress from where I’m from wouldn’t let me out in a million years.“

“Headmistress?” Blitzer tilted his head.

George swallowed some saliva that had built up in his mouth. “Uh, well, she’s like a parent. Except not really. Actual parents love you in the end. She was just an angry, hateful woman. Extremely rude, only takes care of kids for the paycheck. It’s complicated.”

“Is that something from the human world?”

“I guess so.” George shrugged. “She was always horrible to me and the others, I don’t know why. We were supposed to trust her, but I wouldn’t trust her to look after a lemonade stand. Quite a world’s difference, isn’t it? Your parents still let you out, even though they’re worried about a wild Pokemon catching you.”

“No, they don’t allow me to go out very far, and I don’t know why! I can take ‘em!” Blitzer held his fists before his face, then pretend boxed the air. “I’m strong, and I can breathe fire! And you can breathe water!”

George looked off to the side. “Uh, ‘breathing water’?” ‘Is that even possible? I’m not a fish.’ ”You know, I got attacked by Shroomish in the forest, and all I could do was run away. So no, I can’t. And besides, is breathing the right-”

Blitzer put up a grumpy frown. “Yes you can! You’re a water type! I know you can do it! And I haven’t seen any of the Queen’s soldiers around these parts, so I don’t see why I can’t go outside of the village.”

‘There’s that ‘Queen’ again…’ George took a deep breath, before putting his hands together to twiddle his fingers. “I’d like to know who this ‘Queen’ is, Blitzer. Is that who your parents meant just now?”

Blitzer sighed. “Yeah. No one around her says her real name, but we all know it. It’s kind of hard not to. Her name is Queen Patrina, Patrina… Rosemary the Third, or something. She technically is our ruler, but no one here accepts her.” 

“Why not?” asked George, ears twitching off to the side. 

“Because she is awful!” shouted the Charmander, his little teeth bared. “She really is! All she wants is more, more, more! It doesn’t matter if we do everything she wants exactly the way she wants it. All it gets us is more contempt. More Soldiers harassing us. You heard those two guys dad was speaking with, right?” 

George nodded. “I did. They sounded like loudmouthed thugs to me.” ‘Just like a certain someone I know.’

“Exactly!” Blitzer leaned forward with clenched claws. “We try to avoid them as much as we can, but...”  

“But let me guess, they won’t let you?”

“No. Soldiers always come out whenever things get out of control. And that happens way too often, over the smallest things, too! Like, like some oldster getting lost in the forest, here come the Soldiers! It’s awful… They come through the village. They break things, they steal from us, all in the queen’s name. And if we don’t accept that, well… We read her addresses when they’re put on the notice board. She makes examples out of anyone who stands against her. All so we won’t think of protesting.” 

“Then those fugitives are the excuse this time, aren’t they?” George put his foot down, scraping the dust off the floor. “Blitzer, you can’t just let this keep happening to you!”

“And I don’t!” yelled Blitzer back with a flare from his tail, visibly pouting. “Maybe mom, dad, or the rest of the village does, but I sure don’t. I’ll explore and no one will stop me! I’ve never seen soldiers in the woods, anyway. What would they even be looking for there? There’s only wild Pokemon…”

George suddenly became uncomfortable. An itch in his head he couldn’t reach, similar to what he felt upon waking up. ‘Those voices…  were those…’ “Blitzer, now that I think about it, I might have overheard some of those soldiers looking for me earlier!”

“R-really?!” Blitzer reeled back. “D-did they follow you?”

The Oshawott shook his head. “No, they couldn’t have. They would have found us by now if they had. But they were looking for someone who had turned into a Pokemon, I heard it with my own two ears.” He pointed to his ears twitching back and forth. 

“That’s a relief, at least.” Blitzer shook his head. “You would have been in trouble if they found you. No one in the village dares stand up to them if they do something. They’re all big, strong looking Pokemon that look like they pluck the legs off Wurmples for fun. I don’t think ten of us could take even one on. I’m glad I found you in time!”

“You could say that.” George looked away, frowning. “Things just keep getting stranger, don’t they? First I wake up as a Pokemon, then I get chased down by evil Pokemon…” He walked to the other side of the room in a confused stupor, the thuds of his feet loud and clear. “Why did this happen? Why is all of this happening?”

“Well, uh…”

“It’s not like I’m some kind of hero, am I? Sure, that’s a fun fantasy, but it’s nothing more than that.” The former human groaned, his tail falling flat against the floor. “Life’s been kicking me down for way too long. If I actually was a hero, well… then I wouldn’t be losing from the day I was born, would I?” George let out a long, drawn out sigh. ’If anything, this is the moment where I’d wake up.’

“But you can be a hero, though!” said Blitzer. George felt a claw on his shoulder; the Charmander stood behind him, smiling with a puffed up chest. “Everything’s possible if you believe it is!” 

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes! That’s why I want to explore! I want to get stronger and teach them a lesson they won’t ever forget! When I evolve, I’ll make sure they’ll never come back here! You are with me, right? What do you think you would have done if you had woken up all grown up? Just imagine swinging those swords around, George!”

“Huh…” 

George tried imagining it for himself. In the blink of an eye, the headaches gave way to a scene unfolding in his mind. It showed a strong, noble warrior standing proud and tall in the heat of battle. With a curved sword in each claw, he slashed away at his enemies with unmatched ferocity. Slicing through monsters, striking with his horn like lightning, beams of ice and powerful jets of water firing from his mouth; one by one, his foes crumpled to the ground with a gurgle. In the end, the warrior – the Samurott – stood victorious.

And that fantasy, vivid as it was, made George grin in the end.

“You’re darn right I am!”

“Awesome!” Blitzer threw his arms up before wrapping them around George. “You and me, we’re going to do it! We’re going to be the best explorers ever!”

And so, the two Pokemon intertwined their dreams with one another. Even though they spent the rest of the day playing with toys and helping Blitzer’s parents, George was stoked. Never before had this much energy flowed through his veins, energy he couldn’t wait to spend in whatever adventures lay ahead. Blitzer promised they would explore the woods tomorrow, and just like with George’s identity, he promised not to tell anyone, least of all his parents. He had a special place in mind, a place he hadn’t dared to delve deep into before. None of it was discouraging, not even the idea of Soldiers or fugitives lurking in the shadows. It was the first step in a long road to the top; there were bound to be challenges.

One thing George couldn’t shake off, however, was a nagging feeling that things weren’t so simple. Mysterious voices had brought him here… for what? To deal with a Queen? With fugitives? Would they really need someone from a different world to deal with those? 

What George did know, however, is that this wasn’t some out of control dream. As time flowed, the chance of waking up from all of this was smaller than a hair. But was that such a bad thing? It’s not like anyone back home would miss him, least of all the headmistress. For now, he was happy to live as an Oshawott, and dream of wonders he couldn’t have imagined for a thousand years.

Chapter Text

The next morning, a growling stomach pried George’s eyes open. A red lizard loomed over him, each breath landing on his face.  “Goood morning George! Wake up!”

“Nrghh…”

“George! Wakey wakey!”

“..Mrph!”

Blitzer prodded George’s feet with the toe claws on his own feet. A sensation reminiscent of splinters burrowing into your toes. Wincing, George rolled off the straw bed, right onto the dirt. It was as cold as a damp cave, and he was left scrambling to his feet, groaning all the while.

“I’m up, I’m up!”

“Time for breakfast!” Blitzer said, before turning tail and running off. George rubbed himself between the eyes. Toys were strewn across the room from yesterday. A growl rumbled in his stomach, thanks to a heavenly smell seeping into George’s nostrils from outside. 

‘Smells like berries.’  

Patting his belly, the Oshawott walked off to greet the day.

The rest of the household was present and accounted for in the living room when George joined them. Blitzer’s mother had just finished setting the table with a few berry plates; his father leaned on the bench with a scrap of paper in his hands, uninterested in the sound of George’s approaching footsteps. 

“Ah, good morning, George! How was the bed?” asked Nera, smiling at the Oshawott upon seeing him.

George stretched his arms. “It was alright, but I’m not used to sleeping on straws.”

“Oh, really?” Nera asked. “What do you normally sleep on, then?” 

George placed a hand on his chin. ‘Now how do I explain human beds… a big pile of cloth?’ “Hm, back home, we sleep on a mattress, and we cover ourselves with a blanket. Mattresses are like a huge, soft wedge. It’s very comfortable. I’m surprised you don’t sleep with blankets yourselves, to be honest.”

Nera raised a brow. “Well now, your world must be very prosperous, then! Blankets are hard to come by around these parts. Have to go to Agate to buy them, and they cost a pretty penny,” she explained. George bit his cheek.

‘This isn’t what anyone wants to hear in the morning…’

“Hey dad, can we eat?”

The Nidorino looked up from the paper, scowling. “When I’m done reading the news, Blitzer, which is now. Alright.” Nero slammed the paper on the table, then propped himself up. He resembled a giant compared to the table, which was close to floor level. “Apparently, there’s been trouble with those fugitives.”

“Huh. What kind of trouble?” asked Nera. Nero simply shrugged and grabbed a slice of Pecha off his wooden plate.

“Some kind of fight. Don’t know. Wouldn’t surprise me if that was the case, but there’s damn near nothing written here about ‘em. Nothing about who they are or what they’re wanted for. Lance wouldn’t leave that out, I know him well enough.”

“Who’s Lance?” Blitzer asked his father, with a mouthful of Oran Berry.

“The Druddigon that lives on the edge of town. Red head, blue body? He’s the guy that writes the news. Didn’t I tell you this before? And don’t forget to swallow before speaking.”

“Oh.” Blitzer did as asked.

Nero licked his teeth clean. “So yes, what a big deal. Wouldn’t care about it if I were you. If anything, those Soldiers will use it as an excuse to pull something. Like usual.”

George nodded. Fugitives might’ve been odd news around here, but back home they were as common as days ending in ‘day’. Still, it wasn’t exactly exciting news; for all he knew, those same criminals could’ve found him before Blitzer had. And what would’ve happened then?

“Indeed,” Nera said, then clasped her forelegs together. “Alright everyone, let’s dig in!”

Munching sounds filled up the room. Juices splattered around like rain in a storm, as the berry mix rapidly disappeared from everyone’s plates. Everyone was too busy gorging themselves to take in the mess. It didn’t escape George’s notice, though, whose mouth, chin and nose were now painted in a reddish pink, and smelled of sweet fruit. Looking around the table, he grinned.

‘Good thing everyone here eats even more like an animal than I do. They can’t ever lecture me on table manners, hah. Who needs ‘em?’

By the end, a layer of juice covered everyone’s plates. George licked his lips clean. Blitzer took his plate in his hands and poured the juice down his throat, making slurping noises all the while. His father did the same without the sounds, while his mother drank at a reasonable tempo.

“Aah! Oran berries are the best! Thanks for the meal, mom!”

She smiled. “You’re welcome, Blitzer.”

“Hey George, are you going to drink that?” 

Blitzer pointed at the puddle on George’s plate. “Iiii was getting to that,” the Oshawott stammered, quickly lifting up the plate to lick it clean. The Charmander next to him laughed.

“That’s the spirit!”

“You’re not used to how we eat, George?” Nero asked.

George paused his licking for a moment. “You could say that.” The rest of the table chuckled in response.

“You’ll get used to it eventually,” Nera said. “Now come, time to wash your mouth. Got to take good care of your teeth!”

Everyone went to the room where George had gotten a bath yesterday. There was a basin the size of two cupped hands in the corner. Nero would pour in water from a hole in the wall, and everyone took turns washing the juice and berry bits from their face and mouth. Once done, Blitzer turned to George.

“Hey, let’s go out and play together! We can go through the backdoor-”

“Oh no you don’t, laddie!” grumbled Nero. “Last few times, you snuck off and didn’t come back until it was pitch black outside. Not a chance.”

“Okay…” Blitzer let his arms dangle. “Through the front door then.”

“Remember, don’t go out too far!”

“Yeees, mom and dad!”

* * *

Once the front door clicked back into place, any chance of Blitzer obeying that last piece of advice went out the window. “Alright, we’re going exploring!”

George nodded. “To that special place in the woods you were talking about, right?”

“Darn straight! We’ve got to get stronger somehow!” Blitzer gazed out over the plains.  The forest was calling out, and both he and George were about to answer. “Let’s go!”

“Wait a minute,” George said. “Shouldn’t we prepare for this? Food, weapons, that sort of thing? Is it really the best idea to just charge in and hope for the best?”

Blitzer shrugged, his tail curiously swaying back and forth. “Why wouldn’t it be? It’s not that far, we’ll last on our bellies, no issue. And why would we need to get weapons? We’re our own weapons! Don’t you trust your scalchop?”

“Scalchop?” George looked down at his chest, and took the shell off his stomach, almost dropping it in the process. ”Look, I know you said you had faith in me last night. But do I look like I know how to use it?”

“I’m sure you’ll find out eventually,” Blitzer said. “Now what are we waiting for? It will be dark by the time you’re finished practising, let’s get going!”

George shook his head. ‘Here goes nothing.’

The sun shining on his face, George and Blitzer went on their merry way, this time without bumping into others. Despite this, the other Pokemon in the village still turned their noses up as they ran past; older Pokemon, by the looks of it. George wiped his brow. Blitzer was hard to keep up with, what with his jumping and running all over the place. 

“‘Ey. Blitzer.”

The Charmander stopped at the village’s edge. George stumbled, coming close enough to Blitzer’s tail to singe the tips of his fur. ‘...Close one!’ 

“Hey Speedy! How are you?” said Blitzer. George peeked over his shoulder to see a Raichu sitting on a box on a front porch.

“Not bad. Not bad at all. Who is this Oshawott fellow? Haven’t seen this face before.”

Blitzer laid an arm on George’s neck, whose eyes snapped onto him in an instant, before flinching from what felt like water stirring in the back of his throat.  “This is George! I met him in the woods yesterday. He’s not from around these parts, but he’s staying with me and my parents now.”

“Odd name if I ever heard one,” the Raichu said. “Whatever. Who am I to judge? ‘Ello there, Oshawott George. Osha-fellow, if you’d prefer. My name’s Speedy. Me and Blitzer talk with each other every now and then, whenever he zips by my front door. Anyway, where are you going? Not to that Mystery Dungeon, I hope?”

“Oh yes we are!” Blitzer said.

Speedy grinned. “No stoppin’ you, is there? Ah, what does it matter? I’m lucky enough that Junior isn’t here right now. He’d have run off with you in a heartbeat.”

“Haha, he would have! Where is Junior, actually?” Blitzer wondered out loud. George stood twiddling with his thumbs, looking back and forth between the forest and back in the village. Nero and Nera might’ve been following them, so it goes.

“Oh, he’s just playing with some other friends, no biggie. That kid’s not the smartest, but he’s smart enough to know he’ll be in deep trouble if he runs off like you are doing,” Speedy said.

“Hey, no telling anyone, you hear?” Blitzer waved a finger in Speedy’s general direction.

Speedy shrugged. “Sure. I’m no tattletale. But remember, you’re on your own out there. Good luck, fellows.”

With that detour out of the way, Blitzer and George traversed the grassy fields, then headed into the forest. Various birds from Swablu to Tailow chirped overhead, like yesterday. George once again studied them. Bird Pokemon behaved just like ordinary birds. A little easier to startle than the pigeons infesting train stations, but birds regardless. 

“Alright George, are you as excited as I am? We’re going to explore a Mystery Dungeon!” A flame passed before George’s nose, causing him to jump back in reflex with a pitchy squeak. Blitzer had swerved around, and now walked backwards. “Don’t be shy, now! It’s not super dangerous, or anything!”

George gritted his teeth. “Yeah… Just nervous, that’s all. Didn’t have any forests around my house, and I’m not exactly a forest lover.” ‘You know, in case the squeak didn’t give it away. Damn, to think I’d ever make a sound like that! I’d be an even bigger laughing stock in class.’

Blitzer stopped in his tracks to think. “Hm. Actually, that’s a good idea! You’re not used to fighting Pokemon yet, but knowing what you’re up against makes it a lot easier.”

“What’s it like, though?” asked George, ears perked up. “Does it all come to you on its own?” ‘Because if not, I’ll be in trouble.’

Blitzer nodded. “Indeed it does. Seeing other firebreathers growing up, I wondered what that was like, and how they did it. Did it hurt? It definitely looked painful to me! But then one day, I was being attacked by this bird that was out for blood, and then I just spat a ball of fire at it! That scared it off real quick!” He showed his teeth in a wide grin.

“So, it’ll just come to me?”

“Yeah! We’re not leaving this place without seeing some water from you, I guarantee you that!”

George wasn’t impressed. ‘ I doubt it. Why does he even believe I can spit water from my mouth, anyway? Look at how small I am! ’

As they continued, George took in deep breaths to try and calm himself down, with little success. Mystery Dungeon . The term sounded familiar. Something involving maps being useless, because the very environment changes on every visit. Not to mention danger and secrets unlike any other. What would he even find in one? An answer to why he was brought here? Fat chance, but curiosity drove George onwards. 

The forest grew a darker shade of green. As the wind howled, George and Blitzer reached an open space. A sign blocked the trail, bearing a message written in alien characters that George somehow recognised. Blitzer approached the sign, then tapped it with a single digit. 

“You see that, George? There it is! ‘Greenwood Forest MD’, tread lightly! MD means Mystery Dungeon!” 

Despite never having seen the characters before, George could make them out somewhat. Not particularly fast, but enough to be readable. 

George looked past the sign, into the beginnings of this ‘mystery dungeon’. Aside from the plants being darker, nothing distinguished the scenery from the rest of the forest. “Doesn’t this place not look any different? What makes it so special, aside from that sign? I don’t see anything odd.”

“Well, that’s why they’re called Mystery Dungeons. They seem ordinary enough on the outside, but they’re not. We know they change on every visit, but there’s so much about them that no one knows. And that’s why we explore them, because we want to find out!” Blitzer gently grabbed George by the shoulders. 

“Ready to go in?”

“As ready as I can be.” ‘That’s a guess, but it’s not like anyone knows how to be ready for this.’

“Alright! Here goes!”

* * *

Blitzer and George entered the dungeon side by side; the trail was wide enough to support both. To the ambiance of howling winds, they ventured inside of this strange place. It was cold, and the air reeked of damp grass. 

“Hey look, over there!”

Blitzer picked up the pace and ran ahead. George followed in his footsteps without missing a beat, biting his lip all the while. There was some kind of clearing ahead, similar to the one they had entered the dungeon from. Once he’d caught up with Blitzer, George saw that it was just an empty clearing. 

“Can you believe this, George? We’re actually inside of a mystery dungeon! Look, there’s paths branching off in every direction here!”

George scratched in between his triangular ears. “All these paths look the same.”

“Let’s try the middle one,” Blitzer said, then sniffed the air. “I think we’ll find wild Pokemon soon, I can feel it!”

George sniffed the air as well. Something was present besides the scent of Blitzer and the grass, but he didn’t know what. It smelled like another creature. The smell was far more potent than Blitzer’s, even though the Charmander was standing right next to him. Something didn’t seem right. 

“Skirii!”

George had nary the time to blink before feeling something crawling up his chest. He looked down, and saw a giant green Spinarak staring right at him.

“Aaaah!” George frantically swatted his arms around. “Get it off, get it off!!”

Blitzer jumped back and pumped his fists in front of his face. “Yeah, there it is! Show it what you’re made of, George!”

The Spinarak crawled up to George’s shoulder. “I can’t!” 

“Yeah you can! Come on, hit it already.”

The Spinarak pressed its head against George’s shoulder. A burning pain shot inside of him, and he cried out; it was as if he had been poked with a scissor. His attacker’s mandibles clacked. Suddenly, the spider’s legs were yanked off his fur. George looked up in time to see Blitzer throwing the Spinarak onto the ground, then striking it hard with the same claw. It hissed softly one last time, before fainting. Blitzer kicked it away.

“Phew. That was rough there, buddy. Why didn’t you hit back?”

George looked Blitzer in the eye with an exasperated gaze. “I was trying! I don’t know what else to-” 

Blitzer put a claw up. “It’s only a Spinarak, George. All I had to do was scratch it and it’s done. Sure, they bite, but they don’t bite very hard. Do you feel it?” 

The Charmander nudged the Oshawott on his back to get him to walk further. Sighing, George rubbed the fur on top of his bite mark. It did sting, unlike what Blitzer claimed. Not to mention the itching around the mark, which stung like a nettle patch. ‘ What a liar …’ “For a spider, they bite hard.”

“Do Spinaraks in your world not bite, then?” asked Blitzer.

“They do, but you normally don’t feel it! Not the spiders I’m used to, anyway. Ah… I’m going to have to walk around with this now, don’t I?” 

“Don’t worry about that little bite, George. I thought you weren’t a chicken?”

George furiously shook his head. “What? Of course not!”

“Yeah! You came here with me, you can’t be! You’re just new to this, that’s all. You haven’t even been a Pokemon for more than a day! Everyone has gotten bitten by a large bug before. It’s like something you have to experience before coming of age, there’s just no stopping it. Nothing to worry about, George! You don’t feel those bruises and scratches from yesterday anymore, either.”

That last statement was spoken like a fact. George was dumbfounded more than anything. How would Blitzer even know how bad those scratches were? Strangely enough, he was right! George pulled the blue fur above his scalchop aside. That was the nastiest of yesterday’s scratches, but it wasn’t there anymore. At all. Not even a scar, let alone any leftover itches. 

‘How did it heal so fast?’

“Surprised?” George looked up to see Blitzer laughing. “We Pokemon are a sturdy bunch, George. Our bodies are used to taking a beating, and I think that’s why we heal from scratches and bites so easily. It’s just in our blood!”

“Interesting,” George muttered. None of it made much sense, but he accepted it for what it was. Different world, different rules. If it was true, perhaps it was for the better. More play, less worrying. 

The two kept going further down the trail, the air growing colder. George was on edge, his eyes half closed and stern.

‘Alright, so it’s nothing. It’s nothing, alright…’

The sound of rustling leaves reached his ears. 

‘Just a bite, nothing more…’

“Do you hear that?” Blitzer looked rightwards past George, into the bushes. A set of eyes crawled among the leaves. George did not respond; Blitzer poked him erratically, attempting to stir him out of his thoughts. 

“George, George!!” 

‘Yeah, it’s just a bite… I’ve felt worse.’

“Skiiirii!”

A hiss sliced through the leaves. Blitzer fell onto his knees. “Argh! Watch out!” George held his right arm in front of him, grimacing. 

‘I’ve felt worse… and I can DO WORSE!’

George flicked his arm rightwards. It struck like a whip against the Spinarak leaping towards him, connecting with a thud. The attacking bug was thrown sideways to the ground, rolling to a stop a few steps away, weakly hissing. George eyed it with hawk’s eyes, anticipating the next move. This wasn’t over. He could smell and taste it in the air. It wasn’t alone.

“Schri!”

A Scatterbug leapt from the bushes. George jumped out of the way. The bug’s large eyes shifted back and forth, panicking. George raised his other arm, smacking the Scatterbug on its head. It cringed and shook it off, when a shadow suddenly fell over it. Before it knew what was happening, Blitzer pounced with a scratch from his claws, knocking it out. George, satisfied with himself, let his arms relax. 

“See? I told you that you could do it!”

“Well, seeing is believing!”

Blitzer threw his arms around George, hugging him tightly. George felt too overwhelmed to return the gesture; his eyes barely passed over Blitzer’s shoulders. It was a nice reassurance, though. Those were hard to come by. 

When Blitzer let go, he went back on the lookout for other wild Pokemon, sniffing the air. “Hm, it looks like we’re in the clear. I can’t see or smell anything else. Let’s keep going.” 

“Do you know how big this place is?” George asked.

“Not exactly, but if I remember correctly what I’ve heard from Speedy and a few others, it shouldn’t be all too big. We shouldn’t be too far off from the end now.” Blitzer grabbed his tail and stuck it out in front of him. “It is a little dark, though.”

Under the guiding light of Blitzer’s tail, the two made their way into the forest’s depths. The leaves above had grown too dense for the sun to shine through. It kept the forest underneath dark and damp. From dew drops on the grass, to the humid air blowing by, it felt alien. Not to mention the lack of Pokemon that didn’t attack on sight. It was a far cry from the village; despite the short distance between the two, a chasm separated both worlds. To George, it was even more distant.

‘So some Pokemon can talk and build their own villages, while others are wild animals. But they’re not though, are they? That Spinarak and Scatterbug were working together, it felt like. Is there something about this ‘Mystery Dungeon that makes them want to attack?’

The longer he pondered, the desire to find an answer intensified. The trail they followed forked off at random intervals, and would suddenly get thinner or wider. There was no pattern or rule to this place; It was ever changing, as Blitzer had said. Even glancing behind, it was hard to recognise the path they had been following. The only thing consistent were the bugs jumping out the bushes: Spinarak, Scatterbugs, Caterpies and Metapods, Spewpas and even a lone Vivillon. George had to catch his breath every now and then. For small bugs, they sure were out for blood.

“It’s getting a little steeper, George. I think we’re close to the end.” Blitzer took off running.

“Are you sure? What does it getting a little steeper even mean-”

“Here, here! Have a look at this!”

“What are you talking about?” George walked up the hill, and was greeted by field of plants in full bloom. A vast scape of colours like those on a painter’s palette, glistering in the sunlight in front of their eyes. “Oh wow…”

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Blitzer looked on with a wide smile, plucking a flower and spreading the petals over the wind. “No one else knows it’s here! Either that, or they’re hiding it front us.”

George walked into the field, touching and smelling the plants for himself. “Blitzer, you need to come down here to see this!”

Blitzer grimaced. “Ehh, I’d like to, but I’m not sure if I can. Don’t know how sensitive these plants are to fire, exactly.”

“Oh.” George bit his lip. ‘Right. So that flame on his tail can set things on fire. ’

Blitzer sat down on the stump of a tree, nestled right in between all the flowers. “You have fun down there, okay? I’ll wait here until you think you’ve seen enough, then we’ll go back. I might not be able to enjoy it as much as you have, but I’m glad I came here.”

George nodded. “Yeah, me too.”

“It must be fun being a water type,” Blitzer said, as George ran through the field. “You never have to worry about starting fires by accident. Something goes wrong in the village, and everyone immediately assumes I did it, haha.” He put his tongue in his cheek. “Wait… there, uh, George? You might want to be careful.”

George pulled his head out of the flowers. “There’s no more bugs around, are there?” 

“Yeah, but there might be some grass types around. They can really hurt if you’re not careful!”

“Really?” George looked over the field. As beautiful as it was, he couldn’t help but shake off the feeling that it wasn’t quite as rosy as it seemed at first glance. “Well, okay then. Maybe we should head back, then.”

Blitzer nodded. “I might not have gotten to enjoy it as much as you have, but I’m still glad I came here. This is why I want to become an explorer! To see places like this!”

George smiled. “Yeah, understandable. I never had the chance to do the same,” he said, thinking of the greys of the city as he joined Blitzer on the stump.

“Until now.” Blitzer winked at him.

The Oshawott smirked. “Until now.”

They remained on the log for a good while, taking in their surroundings for all it was worth, while watching purple-eyed bugs crawl around in the distance.

Chapter Text

It wasn’t until late afternoon that Blitzer and George returned to Greenfield. The road back hadn’t been without holdups, but they managed. Bugs weren’t that threatening at the end of the day. A few bites here and there, a sting or two, but nothing major. The hardest part was finding an excuse for coming home all scratched up, just like yesterday.

“Ah, home at last!” Blitzer put his claws on the back of his head, before throwing his mouth open in a yawn. “All that exploring sure made me tired.”

“It sure has.” George stared down the plain separating them from the village, fidgeting with his fingers all the while. “Are you sure your parents won’t get mad at us? They did tell us to not get into trouble. Which we did.” 

Blitzer shook his head. “Of course not. They’re used to me going into the woods by now! It’s not my fault there’s not much to do in the village, is it? There’s only so many kids my age! And no one else wants to go exploring with me!”

George bit his lip. ‘ Probably because they haven’t lost their minds yet… ’ “I’d like to meet them, actually,” he said in a muted tone. 

“Oh, we can go and look for them right now, if you want to. If you’re not too tired, I mean!”

“I didn’t mean right away,” George replied with a roll of his eyes. ‘Especially when I’m covered in scratches!’

Blitzer chuckled. “Haha, no worries. I’m beat too! And that’s proof we did a good job! We’ve both gotten stronger, haven’t we? You especially! I mean, you had even less knowledge of your own body than a baby yesterday, and look at you now, George!”

The Oshawott’s eyes shifted left and right, so he didn’t have to look Blitzer in the eye. There’s being optimistic, and then there’s fantasy. George didn’t feel stronger in the slightest. Sure, it was only a day ago that he was running for his life from a Shroomish of all things, but nothing he faced would’ve been a problem the day before that. 

“I’m not sure a few bugs mean anything, Blitzer.”

The Charmander threw his claws up. “Oh, don’t be such a downer! Everyone has to start somewhere. Do you know how often my parents remind me of the first time I tried sneaking out of the village, and how I came back screaming over some Starly? That was when I was just a little kid. But I got older, and I sure got stronger! No Starly is getting in my way now!” 

Blitzer posed as if he were a mighty hero, with both his fists pressed into his sides. George clicked his tongue. 

‘ You’re still a kid, genius. ’ “But it’s only birds and bugs. That’s not a high bar to clear, is it? Aren’t there Pokemon capable of breaking mountains and causing floods? I know we’re both getting stronger eventually once we’re old enough, but it’s hard to believe when I struggle to knock a spider off me.”

A wind emerged from the woods behind. Like before, Blitzer nudged George in his back to get him to walk. Were it not for the grass brushing against his tail, he wouldn’t have noticed. 

“Look, I don’t know how strong humans are, but I know how strong I am,” Blitzer explained. “And I also know it’s only going to get better from here. One day, I’ll melt boulders and fly! Compared to that, what am I? Not much. Let’s not whine about how hard everything is now, okay? We’re today’s rookies, and tomorrow’s heroes!” He threw a hand up in the air, all while his tail flared with excitement. “That’s who we are, and no one will convince me otherwise!”

George nodded. ‘ Well I sure hope you’re right, ’ he thought to himself, harkening back to the fantasy of being a mighty warrior, a Seamitar in each claw. Blitzer spoke of it as inevitable, no matter which way you sliced it. One day, that fantasy would become reality. But that day was far off.  A long way down a road full of trials and tribulations. 

A growl put the fantasies to rest. George’s stomach wasn’t interested in hearing anymore, apparently. “All that worrying is making me hungry. Do you think your parents are preparing something right now?”

Blitzer looked towards the sun, then shook his head, eyes struggling to stay open. “No, it’s too early for that, it looks like. But heroes should always be well fed! We’ll make it ourselves if we need to!” he shouted. His stomach then released a bellow of its own. “Although, I’m really craving mom’s cooking right now… no, no problem! All food is good!” 

“Well, what are we waiting for?” said George, clenching his fists. “I’m starving, and we deserve something after all that!” ‘ Even though it was the kind of trip the Headmistress wouldn’t consider too far away. …I shouldn’t think like this anymore .’ “I don’t care what anyone else thinks, I’ll reward myself if I have to!”

“Yeah! That’s the spirit!” Blitzer cheered. “Fooood!”

With blazing speed, they ran across the field, speedy and energetic despite them running on empty. Human or Pokemon, moods sure change fast once food gets involved. In that sense, the transition between worlds wasn’t so radical. Blitzer was eager to fill his belly, and George wasn’t any different. Not least of which because he actually ate well here.

But the bliss wouldn’t last. Upon reaching Greenfield, they were greeted by a deserted street, commotion coming from across the stream. Multiple voices yelled over one another. They were too far away to make out any words, but none of it was reassuring.

“George, do you hear that?”

“Yeah, it sounds like everyone is gathered for something. Does this happen often?”

“Not really, only when it’s important. And even when it’s important, people spread it at their own pace. This almost never happens, unless…” The Charmander’s eyes lit up. “Unless it is bad news. George? I think we have to put eating on hold for a while.”

George’s mouth curled up in a frown. “It can’t be that bad, can it?”

Blitzer nodded. “Hopefully this won’t be so bad. I’d like to eat in peace...”

Despite protests from his stomach, George followed Blitzer towards the crowd. The paths on the way there were as eerily deserted as the front. On an ordinary day, you’d see someone regardless of where you looked. The village might have been small, but always full of life on an ordinary day. Now? The roads on the southern bank, the bridge, every place was quiet as a mouse.

Once over the bridge, instead of taking a left to the hovel, Blitzer and George went right. Past a few more streets was the town square, the source of the commotion. Seemingly the whole village was gathered here; at first glance, George guessed that he was looking at two hundred heads, most being new faces. Speedy was here, as were Nero and Nera, and the people Blitzer had a knack for bumping into yesterday, like old miss Eldegoss.

“They can’t just do this, can they? What are we supposed to do?”

“We have to do something! How are we going to explain this to the children?”

“But we can’t do anything. They’re too strong for that…”

“Fugitive hunting, nonsense! It’s all an excuse to steal again, I tell you! An excuse!”

Sheer pandemonium had unfolded in the village square; some shouted at the top of their lungs, others wept for their children, and others were caught in between, confused as to what to do. Blitzer and George anxiously eyed the chaos from a distance, not sure of what to say or think. 

“Blitzer?” spoke a voice in the discord. A familiar orange rodent hopped out of the crowd, a sour look on his face.

“s-Speedy?” Blitzer stammered, “What is going on here?” 

To this, the Raichu shook his head. “It’s hard enough having to explain this to my little lad later… it’s the Soldiers, lads. The Soldiers came.”

“Wh-what happened?!” Blitzer shouted. George reflexively stepped away from him. ‘All it took was ‘Soldier’ and he sounds like the rest.’ 

“They’re not happy. You know how we’ve not been willing to do whatever the Queen wants, yes?” Speedy said in a monotone, as if all the emotion had been sucked out of him. 

“What do they want from us?” Blitzer asked. Speedy shook his head once again, likely to stall having to tell them. George however, had a nagging feeling scratch at the back of his mind. Deep down, he already knew what the answer to that was going to be. 

“It’s about me, isn’t it?” 

“Huh?”

“They’re looking for me, aren’t they? I overhead them searching for me in the woods yesterday,” George spoke in a hushed tone. What he had heard was still as clear as crystal. 

‘What kind of Pokemon do you think he has been turned into? I don’t care, we’re going to find him’.  

It had to have been related. It couldn’t possibly have been anything else. Not to George. His memories were pristine and shining like a pearl. “Do you know what those Solders are named? Is there one named Skal? Or one named Terez?”

Speedy looked at George with a dumbfounded face, then shrugged. “Kid, I don’t know what you’re talking about. They just took half of our food.”

“What?!” Blitzer put his foot down. “What do you mean, they took half of our food?! They can’t just do that! Who do they think they are?”

“Read the paper, lad. Either we give it to them, or they’re taking it by force. It was either this or housing Soldiers in our homes while they’re searching for fugitives, and we don’t want anyone to get hurt, Blitzer. As difficult as it is, we have no choice,” said Speedy. 

George felt the hunger gnaw away at his stomach. True hunger was an oddity, something that only existed in dusty history books. Yet here it was in all its horror, all thanks to the Pokemon the village hated most. The Soldiers.

“Lads, we’ll figure something out. Stay calm, okay? You won’t be going hungry,” Speedy said with a shaky voice, before walking off. Blitzer reached out to the Raichu with a claw, but didn’t say anything. Speedy disappeared in the crowd. The last Blitzer and George saw him do was hang his head low. 

“Great. Now what do we do?” 

George held his arms over his chest. “I’m not getting any less hungry standing here… do your parents still have something? Speedy said only half the food was taken, right? There should still be something.”

“And you’re not just taking whatever you want.”

Alarmed, the two children jumped to face the crowd. Blitzer’s parents were standing right in front of them, one shaking his head, the other erratically scratching one foreleg with the other. “Listen boys, I couldn’t help but keep an ear open to all of that. Remember we’re all in this together, alright? So we’ll figure something out together,” said Nero.

“Is there still something for us to eat?” Blitzer and George asked at the same time.

“Yes, yes, patience. We’ll have to be careful with how much we eat for now. Until we can replenish the stocks.”

“How long is that going to take? What about the field?” Blitzer said while holding his tail in front of his chest. 

Nera shook her head. “Can we please go home? I don’t want to talk about this here.” Nero nuzzled her in response.

“Yes, darling, don’t you worry. Let’s get going, you two… speaking of which, how in Arceus’ name did you get yourselves that dirty again? Did you run off into the woods, Blitzer?”

“No, uhh, we just went into a, uhh…” Blitzer let go of his tail to brush a green spot on his arm, which didn’t want to go off. This didn’t escape Nero’s attention, causing him to start sniffing the air loudly. George’s blood ran cold; the air in the dungeon had smelled a little funky. Certainly not like the village.

“Oh for crying out loud…” 

* * *

Grumbling every step of the way, Nero led the children and his partner back home in uneasy silence. George gulped as the front door clicked into its frame. Someone was about to receive the yelling of a lifetime; at least he could claim it wasn’t his idea, but that wasn’t fair on Blitzer. He could’ve said ‘no’ at any time.

“So I told you to not go too far, and what do you kids do? Head off to aMystery Dungeon, because of course!”  

“Heey! How did you figure that out?” Blitzer looked shocked. 

“I didn’t. You just told me,” Nero said with a wink. “Anyway, what were you thinking? Do you have any idea how dangerous Mystery Dungeons are? The Pokemon that live in them are out for blood, Blitzer! I don’t care if you’re at an advantage, you see them as a game, they see you as a meal. And not only that, you brought George along too! George doesn’t even know how to defend himself, and you just throw him to the wolves! Just imagine if the ferals with the black glow had found you! What were you thinking?!”

“We can defend ourselves, dad! And George can fight for himself, he just-”

“Enough of this!” Nero sat down by the dinner table, letting one foreleg rest on it. He never let Blitzer or George out of his sight for a second. “I could rant for hours and hours on why you shouldn’t have gone. But what’s the point? You’ll head out anyway. There’s no stopping you, Blitzer.”

George lowered his head. Nero sounded defeated, exhausted from what must’ve been years of fighting this fight. “I just don’t want you lads getting hurt. You know what the dangers are. You know you can’t just ask for help out there.”

Blitzer nodded. “I’m not letting that stop me. Not a chance! I’ll go out and get stronger, you’ll see. I’ll win, they’ll lose! And George thinks the same!”

“Preposterous…”

Nera then got in between them. “Honey, you have to admit this isn’t something to be too upset over. I’ve had my worries, but I can’t lie.” She turned her head, revealing a proud smile. “We’ve raised one brave child, haven't we? That’s the kind of bravery we need right now. In these times.”

Nero sighed. “I’ll never forgive myself if either of those lads ends up lost…  I can’t imagine the pain his original parents must feel… and what about the ‘wott, we don’t even know where he’s from. He can’t defend himself.”

George bit his lip before raising his hand, still fighting off hunger. “If no one minds, can I say a few things?” 

The parents both nodded. “Go ahead,” Nera said. George nodded back. 

“Okay. It’s true, I barely know how to defend myself, and there’s not many people around who I know I can trust. Thing is, I think I’m picking things up. Not fast, but I’m starting to figure out how being a Pokemon… works.” He swallows. ‘That sounds really awkward.’ “Look. It’s best if I did go out with him. The more experience I have, the more I’m able to stand up for myself.” 

“Yeah, and we need to stand up for others!” Blitzer interrupted, leaving George staring out in front of himself as the Charmander placed a claw on his nape. “We don’t have anything to eat. We’ve got to find some! Isn’t there a place where berries grow like grass?”

“You mean the Azure Hills?” asked Nera.

“Yeah! That’s it-”

“For the love of Arceus, no…” groaned Nero. “As if Greenfield Forest wasn’t dangerous enough. You’re not old enough to go there, Blitzer. And you’re not the only one in the village planning to go there, either! So sit tight and wait, will you?”

Blitzer stomped his feet. “No way! I’m not going to sit here and let everyone stay hungry,” he said, pouting. Nero stood up onto the table with two legs and wanted to shout something back, but was stopped by his partner. George held both arms over his scalchop, pressing it against his chest for comfort. 

‘ I just want something to eat. ’

“We have enough food for tonight, don’t worry.” Nera nodded at the two children. “Can you two prepare a bath for yourselves? I want to talk with your father for a moment, Blitzer.” 

“Sure thing,” Blitzer said. “Come George, I know how to set the bath well!”

George bit his lip while following him out of the room. “Are you sure? Your dad told me you’re not good with bathing.” ‘And not someone that remembers to take one regularly. ’

“I’ll be fine!”

With Blitzer and George having left the room, Nero slumped over the table. “How could I let them just go like that…”

Nera stepped beside him, caressing her partner behind the ear with a nuzzle. “You know what they say, they’ll have to leave the nest someday. You knew this when we took him with us. There’s just too much of his parents in him.”

Nero sighed. “I know. But they’re not ready, not yet. Not while the Soldiers are on the prowl… Blitzer is bound to get into trouble with them like this. And George… if they find out, he’ll be gone in a heartbeat.” Nero’s voice shook. 

“Perhaps it’s their lot in life. The best thing to do is keep a close eye on them, and make sure they’re prepared.” Nera lifted her head. They weren’t ordinary village children. They were bound to grow too big for Greenfield’s britches eventually, and she and Nero had to accept that, hard as it might be. Where they’d end up, only Arceus knew. 

“I just hope you’re not wrong, sweetheart.”

“Believe me, dear. I won’t be.”

Chapter Text

After yesterday’s bath and dinner, George and Blitzer went to bed early. They wanted to rest up for the journey to the Azure Hills, hoping to better the village’s bleak future. Sure, they wouldn’t be the only ones going, but to one expected them to be anything more than a burden. Being so young, it was up to them to change that.

 After some light fun and games, they wished each other a good night, drifting off into sleep shortly afterwards.

“ ...George!… ”

’ ...Is someone there? ’

“ ...George, this is serious. Come out right now… ”

‘ Who are you? ’

“ ...You think you can get away with everything, don’t you? Did you seriously believe I wouldn’t find out?... ”

‘What do you mean?!’

“ ...Little scamp. Always hiding from his responsibilities. No wonder you ended up here. Karma is a real downer, isn’t it?... ”

‘Running from what?! I’m not running from anything!’

“ ...Sure you are. Think I’d believe that? After every other lie you’ve told me?... ”

‘Headmistress?! What are you doing here?’

“ ...Of course I am here, you little dreamer. Always lost with his head in the clouds! ‘Oh,  I’ll get the world to respect me!’ You can’t even get me to respect you. You can’t even get a cat to respect you! You’re an embarrassment! How do you ever hope to become a well rounded adult!... ”

‘Just stop it already…’

“ ...And here comes the apology, of course. Let me tell you one thing, mister… ”

‘For the love of…’

“ ...Your daydreaming ends right here. And you’re not snapping out of it, ever!... ”

‘Look, I’m sorry! Cut it out already!’

“ ...And since your parents aren’t around to bust your behind out, I’ll do it myself. Say goodbye to your little imaginary monster friends, because they’re GONE… ”

‘I swear I-’

“ ...Wakey, wakey! You’re never seeing any of this again!... ”

‘I swear to GOD I’LL-’

The cold dirt causing him to wake, George’s head ached from what felt like a fever. Dazed, he stood up, the room dark in spite of Blitzer’s tail light. His eyelids were still heavy, and bits of dirt fell out of his fur. A few bits of straw had gotten stuck in there as well, and he took one to twiddle around with his fingers. It was tangible. Real.

‘ I’m still here… why did I hear the headmistress just now? ’

“Hey… are you awake?”

George’s breathing slowed down. On the other side of the room, Blitzer’s eyes were half open, his head still pressed against his bed. 

“Yes… I’m up.”

“What’s the matter? Why are you awake?”

“I had a bad dream, that’s all.” George eyed the half asleep Charmander from afar. Shivering, he curled back onto the bed, keeping his tail close. Apologies never meant much in the end, but it needed to be done. Perhaps Blitzer might be more receptive than others.

Alas, the value of an apology didn’t change, and Blitzer had plenty of questions. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Is it still night?” George asked, rubbing his eyes.  “We should sleep. I’ll tell you more in the morning.”

“Yes, but you’re scared. I can tell.” Blitzer said, sniffing the air. “We should talk.”

“How do you know?” George bit his lip. The worst part is that Blitzer was onto something. George was scared. He was trapped between a rocky excuse and a hard truth. This conversation wasn’t fit for the middle of the night. Talking about past horrors was so very difficult, even a whole world apart. Difficult to understand, let alone accept.

“I can tell you’re scared, George,” Blitzer said, lifting his head. “It’s coming off you. You smell afraid, and look afraid. I just want to know if you’re okay or not.”

George shook his head. ‘ I’m going to regret this. ’ “No. Can we talk about it later? When we’re on our way.”

Blitzer nodded. “That’s alright. If that’s better for you, I’m all for it. Do you think you can sleep some more?”

“I think so, yes.”

“Alright. Well, have a good night.”

It wasn’t long before Blitzer had drifted back into a slumber, his calm breaths flowing through the room. George laid awake for a little while longer. He wasn’t in the mood for more sleep.

‘ Blitzer smelled it. How, though? You can’t smell how people feel inside. Does he really know me that well? You know, maybe he does. Would be nice, having someone who understands me on that level… ’

After some minutes of thinking, George’s own tiredness got the better of him, and he fell asleep once more.

* * *

As the sun emerged on the eastern horizon, they prepared for their journey into the unknown. The time for fun and games had ended: The Azure Hills were bound to be a step above bug filled woods. Berries were rife there, which meant feral Pokemon aplenty.might be lurking there, enraged wild Pokemon or Soldiers not letting them get off so easily.

Of course, the fate of their world wasn’t resting on their shoulders, as they weren’t going to be alone there. As such, Blitzer sported a cheery mood when Nero and Nera saw them off, all throughout breakfast and right when it was time to get going. It was another day of exploring.

“Alrighty then. Do you think you’re prepared?” asked Nera.

The two nodded; Blitzer with a wide smile, while George tried smiling and biting his cheek at the same time. Nero gave both a woven basket that looked like something one would carry picnic equipment in, and Nera took the time to wrap a scarf around their necks. And she sure wrapped it tight. Blitzer’s was blue, George’s was red. 

“What is the point of the scarf?” George asked, trying to loosen his a little. 

“Against the cold, of course! And to make sure that anyone you might bump into won’t think you’re feral,” Nera said, clasping her paws together. “Honestly, you look cute in those! We should have given them to you sooner.”

George sheepishly smiled back at her. ‘ No one asked me anything. ’

Nero grunted; his eyes were drawn to the blue sky. “So, do you lads think you can fill up those baskets?”

“Yes!” Blitzer raised his hand; he had put the basket on the floor. “We’ll be there until they’re full!” To this, Nero only shook his head. 

“Don’t put yourself in needless danger. You’re still young, and not the only ones making sure we’ll have something to eat at the end of the week. Okay?”

“I won’t let anyone down!” Blitzer said, picking the basket back up. George stuck his tongue into his cheek. The basket was heavy enough as was, let alone with the weight of all the berries added on top of that.

Adamant as Blitzer was, Nera attempted to calm him down with a wave of her foreleg. “Easy now. The most important thing is that you have fun, okay? Take it as a learning experience, both for yourself and for George,” she said. But Blitzer wasn’t so easily stopped.

“We’ll be fine, you’ll see!”

Nera hummed; far less grand than perhaps she had imagined, it was time to send her children off. With a nod, Nera pointed Blitzer and George towards the square. “Then I wish you the best of luck. Stay safe!”

“Yes, stay safe,” Nero said after her.

“See you later!” Blitzer said. George merely put his hand up, before being nudged down the road by Blitzer as the door of the hovel fell back into place. “We’ve got to make them proud of us, George. If we do good here, they might let us explore even further,” the Charmander then said. 

George shook his head. “Worry about that later. We haven’t even started this one yet.”

Blitzer shrugged. “That’s true.”

Without further interruptions, the two got to work making their way out of the town. The streets were deserted, and could have been confused for a ghost town. No one to be seen, not even in the square, or in the fields covering the hillsides. There was but one lone shadow visible in the porch of a small wooden farmhouse at the end of the village; the field next to it lay in ruins. George gave it a dreary glance as he and Blitzer passed by.

‘ The soldiers must’ve taken even more than half… After they promised they wouldn’t take any more than that. Nera must’ve been lying to make us feel better. Everyone really is counting on us, aren’t they? ’

Worries bubbling in his stomach, George kept close to Blitzer. The two came to a crossroad outside of town; three dirt trails met under the watch of a weary wooden signpost, which bore the same lettering as the Mystery Dungeon sign and the tree. The left bore the names ‘Klin, Mossy Hill,’ and ‘Poliwag’s Bend’, the right sign pointed towards ‘Agate Township’. George turned towards Blitzer and poked him on the shoulder.

“Your parents said that we had to go left here, right?”

Blitzer nodded. “Yeah. Go left and keep going until we come to a bridge. Then cross that bridge and follow the first trail left. Sounds simple enough.”

“Do you think we’ll find anything on the road?” George asked.

“Maybe some travelling Pokemon. Maybe Soldiers, I don’t know. I haven’t been out of town much.” Blitzer set his first foot forwards, breathing in the air until his lungs were full. George followed him down to the breath. It was a peaceful day, something remarkable on its own. And the air was clean, too. Compared to the smoggy city, it was like heaven.

They made their way over the road, passing through fields and bogs on their way to the Azure Hills. The skies were filled with birds and the pollen of a thousand flowers, while grounded Pokemon frolicked in the fields all around. Distant yelps kept the tension flowing for a while. Then again, the gravel crunching underneath their feet was a far more prevalent companion than any howling Pokemon, let alone the scarf pressing against George’s neck. The wind wasn’t making any easier to wear. On the positive side, it was at least a little cold out. 

On this first leg of the journey, Blitzer and George kept themselves entertained by spotting nearby wild Pokemon. It was something, seeing all the species and how they lived. The groundlings burrowing all over the place, the normals running in herds, the flying types flocking together overhead - George tried calling out to them, but got no response back. They were just animals, as Blitzer would go on to explain. Even some of the species George saw in town were nothing more than feral critters out here. The same, yet wildly different. What separated the wild from the civilised? How did this situation even come to be? There weren’t any feral humans back home, or were there? George didn’t know, but found it fascinating to think about. It was a good way to waste time and not have to think about the prior morning. 

‘Wonder what would happen if we ran into a feral Oshawott, or a feral Charmander. That would be funny, not going to lie.’ 

About an hour and a half into the journey, Blitzer and George reached the bridge they had to encounter. It was a simple wooden one, like the one in town, albeit with a more active stream running underneath. By this time, George felt a little weary in his legs. He wasn’t alone: Halfway across the bridge, Blitzer sat down with his basket, carefully manoeuvring his tail away from the guard rails. 

“It sure is a lot farther than I thought it would be…”

George dipped his foot between the rails, then sank until his tail touched the ground. “You could say that again. It feels like I have blisters on my feet already..” He sighed, twirling his toes as spatters from the water below landed on them. “So… we’re resting for a moment?”

Blitzer nodded. “Good idea. I wanted to talk about a few things, anyway.”

George gulped. “You mean my dreams, don’t you?”

“Uh-huh.” Blitzer crawled his way over to George. “I just want to know what happened. You weren’t feeling all too well. Do you still feel that way, or…?”

George shook his head. “No, I’m not sick or anything, if that’s what you mean. All it is, is well,” he breathed in deep through his nose. “I had a dream last night.”

Blitzer gave an affirming hum. “You told me. What was it about?”

For a few seconds, George kept silent to prepare himself. He carefully stroked his scalchop for reasons he once again couldn’t explain. Some sort of instinct he had to have been acting on, like Blitzer interacting with his own tail. “My life before coming here. It was all there again. The dust, the other kids, the grey and the black, and the headmistress…”

“Oh yeag, the headmistress,” Blitzer blurted out. “You told me about a headmistress yesterday, I think. I’ve been thinking about that, actually. What is she like?”

George briefly closed his eyes. In that moment, he heard her voice yell at him, and he could place himself back there in that house. So many memories came rushing back. So many awful, awful memories.

“She was a horrible person, Blitzer. Nothing I ever did made her happy. The way I played, how I interacted with the other kids, or how I did my chores, or how I did my school work. She’d always grab me by the neck just to berate me on everything. It was like she wanted to tear me apart,” he explained, hands resting on his legs. He stared at the water surging beneath him. “I don’t get why. It… just kept happening that way.” 

Blitzer grabbed him by the shoulder. “George, that’s awful! Who does this headmistress think she is? Why didn’t your parents say anything?” Blitzer yelled. George could feel the warmth of his flaring tail press against his head, as well as his hand gently squeezing his shoulder. It felt encouraging in a way, yet crushing in another.

 ‘ He really does care… ’ 

George tried to wipe his eyes dry, before turning away from the stream. “I haven’t seen my parents in years. I don’t know what happened. One day I remember being with them, and the next thing I know, I was suddenly living in that foster’s home. There were so many other kids there, and they were all cold. They almost never said anything to me. It was always so quiet when I was around. And that was my life until, well, I woke up in the forest.”

With a sombre groan, George fell silent. Blitzer let go of George’s shoulder; his own gaze turned to the flowing of the stream. George looked up to him. To his surprise, Blitzer was shaking his head. Something in the air felt morose.

“George, I… I understand. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s not your fault.” ‘ I’m not sure whose fault it is .’

Blitzer breathed out a lungful, then took one back in, puffing up his chest as if to prepare himself for what lay ahead. “You’re not the only one. I know, I’m not alone, but… Nero, Nera, they’re not my original parents. They’ve told you that, but…”

“Yeah. Do you know what happened to your real parents?”

“It was a long time ago,” Blitzer said. “My earliest memories are hazy. Really dark, for some reason… that’s the main thing. But I still remember that day. I wasn’t able to talk yet. My father had put me down in a bed of leaves. He told me that it was time for us to part ways, that it was for the better. I don’t remember why. And after that, all I remember is feeling water on my chest. His tears, I think. Whenever I’m lying on my back, I can still feel them on my chest.”

‘ Blitzer… ’ George stood up, gently patting the Charmander on the shoulder. “I never would have guessed. Your parents told me that they just found you there, and I assumed that they just didn’t want you anymore, or something.” ‘ That might not have been the best thing to say. ’

“That’s what my parents believed as well. I’ve never told it to them, ever,” Blitzer said, looking towards George with just the corner of one eye. “I wasn’t ready to tell anyone, until now.”

George let his hand rest. “Do you think your parents are still alive?”

Blitzer nodded. “Yes. And I want to find them. That’s why I want to get stronger, too. So that when I do find them, they can be proud. And happy again.” He took a deep breath. “Do you feel the same way?”

George hummed. “Somewhat. I want to know why they left me at that foster’s house. But I don’t think I’ll ever see them. Maybe that’s for the better.”

Surprised, Blitzer flicked his head around. “Huh? But they’re your parents...”

“I don’t think it matters much,” George said. To be honest, my memories before ending up in the foster’s home aren’t the best. And I don’t know if I’ll ever see my world again, so it’s best not to think about it,” George said.

Blitzer stepped back up. “That’s very brave of you.”

George nodded. “Thank you for saying that.”

“Come here,” said Blitzer, spreading his arms wide. George gave a slight smile, and spread his arms out as well, embracing the Charmander in a short hug. 

“You are so much like me, George. We’ll be the best of friends forever, won’t we?”

“I sure hope so.”

“Thank you. So, do you want to stay here for a little while longer, or are you rested enough?”

“I think it’s time we got going.”

“Alright then, let’s get some berries.”

Chapter Text

Reinvigorated, Blitzer and George pressed on past the bridge, taking the first leftward trail they found. The trail was partially overgrown with thorns growing over George’s head. Blitzer had a strategy in mind: If the thorns were too connected to the rest of the vegetation, they’d go around, and if not, Blitzer was more than happy to use his weapon. 

“Hey George, watch this.”

He opened his mouth wide, and scorched the thorns back into the ground. George whistled as best as his mouth would let him. “Wow. Your firebreathing’s something to behold, Blitzer!”

The Charmander shrugged. “Says you, waterbreather!”

George sheepishly smiled. “Is that really so impressive? It’s just water.” ‘And that’s if I can even breathe it .’

“And this is only fire,” said Blitzer, scratching his neck. “I can’t breathe fire for more than a few seconds before I start coughing, anyway. It tires me out really quickly, so I have to be careful. And I don’t want to accidentally start fires all over the place, either. It’s rough.”

“Do you think water would be any different?” asked George, twirling his ears around. 

“Well, the waterbreathers back home do it real easily, and I’m the only firebreather in Greenfield, so… yeah. It shouldn’t be too difficult. They can do it without coughing.” 

“...Sure.” ‘ Maybe it’s because they’re already experienced, Blitzer .’

After a good amount of burning and dodging, the trail ended at the base of a hill. The birds had stopped singing, leaving only the howling winds as Blitzer and George arrived. Mist obscured the hill, leaving no clue for what was ahead beyond the grass with a blue tinge. George tensed up, keeping a hand close to his scalchop. There was something off in the air, as if it were telling any guests to turn back right this second. 

“Here we are,” Blitzer whispered. “There’s the sign, right over there.” He pointed towards a path leading up the hill. Underneath some moss, the words “Azure Hills MD - Keep out!” were written. George eyed the hill through the mist.

“Do you think this is where we’ll find the berries? It looks very cold up there.”

“Well, half the village was going here to pick berries, right? Why wouldn’t we find any here? If we’re lucky, we might even find one of the villagers, and they can point us in the right direction,” Blitzer suggested.

George crossed his arms over his scalchop. “But it’s a mystery dungeon, remember?”

“Oh, yes, that’s right…” Blitzer smacked himself on the side of the head. “Then we’re on our own. No sense in waiting for others to show up, is there? Yeah, that’s right! We can do this ourselves!” He straightened his scarf with a toothy grin, then stepped forward. “Let’s do this, George!”

George waddled next to him, holding firmly onto his basket. ‘ Here goes nothing .’

Mists enveloped all around as they ventured onward. Right off the bat, exploring the hills wouldn’t be simple. The trail was a mess of switchbacks running to the top, leaving little room to move without going into the grass beside. Little separated the trail from a steep drop on one side and the cliff wall on the other. Not to mention the trouble of moving uphill constantly. It was bound to be tiring, and there was no way around it.

At the top of the hill, the mist wasn’t as prevalent. Alas, it was a short celebration. A glance ahead revealed little besides more zigzagging trails running up different hills. Down below in the fog, trails branched off in all directions; some up another hill, some went to nowhere. Or so it seemed. Anyone trying to make sense of it all had nothing but vague outlines and shadows darting across the valley to work with.

“Well, some climb this is. I could do this all day!” Blitzer eyed the fog below with the contempt of a conqueror. George’s eyes were drawn to the shadows moving through the mists. His ears shifted back and forth as cries echoed through the valley, shivers striking him.

“I don’t know about this, Blitzer… This seems like a bad idea.”

The Charmander grabbed George by the shoulder, nudging his chin up to the level of the hilltops in the distance. “Eyes on the goal, George. You see those bushes over there? That’s what we’re after.”

George put a hand over his eyes. Leaning forward, little bits of colour stuck out from the bushes. “Berries! Not that many of them, though.”

Blitzer shrugged. “Who knows, we might find a whole bunch if we look long enough. In any case, we’re on the right track. If we go from hilltop to hilltop, we should be able to get all the berries we’ll need and then some.”

“Does it matter which berries we gather?” George asked, imagining his mouth full of Oran Berries.

“Yeah. My parents always tell me to eat a variety. That’s how you get stronger. But any berries will do, as long as they’re not poisonous.”

“Uh… do you know which ones are poisonous?” George asked. 

“Of course I do,” Blitzer said. “Mom and dad taught me when I was four!”

George nodded, and gave one last glance to the hilltops in the distance. “Got it.” ‘Was he running off at four, or do all Pokemon learn it that young?’

Blitzer selected a path down the hill, once again leaving George following behind, much to the latter’s chagrin. He had his own ideas on where to go, but never got to voice them, let alone convince Blitzer of them. Trying to argue or yell to get his attention was a waste of time; it was as if the Charmander’s hearing shut off whenever they were running.

And so he once again ran after Blitzer, the mist growing thicker as they descended into the echoing valley. The mist was a good keeper of secrets; tiny streams flowed across the valley floor, cutting a path through the damp grass and the trail itself. Splashes from stepping inside echoed in all directions - for a brief moment, a mammal howled in the distance.

“We’re going right here.”

“Why though? Wasn’t the- Hey, wait up!”

“Has to be. There’s a steep cliff ahead, I can see it.”

They ran down the trail for half a minute. George couldn’t shake off the feeling that they weren’t the only ones running down the trail, but didn’t peek over his shoulder to look; keeping up with Blitzer was more important. A smell reminiscent of a dog’s crept into his nose once he caught up. 

“Ah, it’s a dead end. My bad.” Blitzer wiped down his brow and turned on his heel. George’s ears vibrated as a growl came from behind. “Do you see any other trail we can follow?”

George shook his head. “No. But I do see that!”

The black feet of a Poochyena stepped out of the mist. Its fangs lay bare as it growled, ready to strike. George stepped back as the canine approached. Fighting weak little bugs was child’s play in comparison. Blitzer threw his basket aside and held his claws out in front of him.

“Careful, George, there might be more.”

“How do we fight this off? It wants a piece out of us!” George said, his voice shaking. Blitzer tapped him on the arm.

“Simple. Just like we fought off the bugs.”

“This is not a bug!”

“It’s still a Pokemon, though.”

The Poochyna lunged straight towards George. He gasped, before being thrown into a pool of water to the side. Blitzer struck the Pokemon on the face several time, clawing out a strand of black fur in the process. George rolled out of the water, a pained expression resting on his face. The Poochyena jumped up at Blitzer’s throat; Blitzer grabbed it by the neck, slammed it down on the ground, then fell to his knees with his mouth wide open. Expecting a surge of fire, George shielded his face. A crunch, followed by a yelp, followed by scratching sounded. As George put his arms away and stood back up, Blitzer was dusting the hairs off his scaly body.

“Phew, that was a close one.”

George spat at his feet. Some muddy water and bits of blue grass had gotten into his mouth. “Blegh, you could say that again,” he said, looking for his basket, which had landed further back in the grass.

“You know George, you’re not making things easier by acting all scared,” Blitzer said, basket back in hand.

“What?” George stomped his feet. “Like I can control how I’m feeling! How am I not supposed to be scared? It wanted to eat us!” He kicked the Poochyena in the back, biting his lip in the process. This wasn’t fighting bugs any longer. Going up against creatures his size wasn’t even on the same planet. How could it be? He wasn’t all that fit when he was a human, and now he wasn’t even that. Just a frail otter running around with a basket and an ill fitting scarf.

“Well yeah, but that won’t help us. No one is going to save us down here except ourselves.”

“I know that… It’s just, I can’t do it. I’m not ready to be here.”

“Just stay calm, please.” Blitzer patted George on the shoulder. George nudged him back, shaking his head.

“It’s no use. What am I? Nothing but baggage. You’d have been better off without me coming here.”

“No, don’t say that about yourself, George!” Blitzer got right up to George’s face, close enough for George to feel the warmth of his breath. The Charmander then threw his basket down and shook George around. “You’re not baggage, not ever! It is scary out here, and it is dangerous, and you’re still learning how to fight, but come on! You can’t say you’re useless!”

“But it’s the truth, though-”

“It’s not! You weren’t useless yesterday, either. You were awesome! You should have seen yourself!”

“That was against bugs,” George muttered. 

“And? Bugs aren’t a joke, and I can breathe fire on them! They can’t handle that, yet I still can see that they’re dangerous! Let me tell you, Poochyena aren't much more dangerous than the bugs yesterday, George. If you try and fight back, you’ll see.”

George shook his head. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Come, let’s go.” Blitzer said, walking back the way they came, making sure George remained right next to him. “We’ll figure this out eventually. Let’s go and get some berries now, I want to be back home before it’s dark outside-”

The two found themselves face to face with another Poochyena. It stood on the edge of the mist, teeth bared like the one before it. Its eyes burned with rage, staring down Blitzer with monstrous intent. George’s heart pressed against his ribs. ‘ Another?! Did it follow the other one? ’

“Quick, George!”  Blitzer fell back into his fighting stance. George idled for a bit. ‘I’m not a fighter, but…’ he thought to himself. In the end, he couldn’t run or hide from this. Then, when another sent the hairs on the back of his head upright. It was time to bite the bullet. He threw down his basket and held his hands up.

“Ow!”

Blitzer winced and bumped into George, causing him to tumble into the grass next to the road, feet slipping and tail flying into the air. The scalchop pressed into his chest, sending a wave of convulsions through him. 

The Poochyena took its chance, lunging straight at Blitzer who was struggling to find decent footing. Blitzer threw his hands forwards to try and block it, but the Pokemon was too strong. They fell over backwards, Blitzer landing on his back, kept from the jaws of the Poochyena only by his hands pressing against the beast’s neck.

“George!! Help me! Help!!”

George scrambled to get back on his feet. Blitzer’s cries rang in his ears, echoing in his head. His feet felt limp, his arms brittle, at the worst time possible. He had to do something, and fast. Blitzer’s resistance grew evermore shaky by the second. George gasped, closed his eyes, and jumped. As he threw himself forward, there was but one thought on his mind.

‘ I have to do this .’

Fur, then skin collided against George’s arms. He and the Poochyena rolled to a stop, the ground forcing the scalchop against him. Groaning and sputtering, his arms went upwards to the attacker’s underbelly out of reflex. The Poochyena barked, trying to muscle its way down. George breathed heavily towards the attacking Pokemon. Nothing but air came out, and the only one hurting was George. 

‘ Where’s the water? Why can’t I do it?! ’

Tears welled up in his eye as the pain pulsated around the scalchop. George tried as hard as he could to push the Poochyena off, but it just wouldn’t relent no matter how hard he tried. It had to have enormous energy after seeing one of its kin fall. Vicious and out for blood, didn’t matter whose blood. For the first time of his life, George felt true fear. The end breathed down his neck, its cold teeth hungering.

“Graah!”

A red claw struck the Poochyena in the face. The Pokemon winced, then was swept aside like dust under a broom. George’s arms were knocked to the side; a jet of flame flew over his head, blasting the Poochyena’s back. With a cry, it fell still, leaving George tasting grass. He was then pulled off the ground by that same claw.

“You alright, George?”

George panted out for a few seconds. He was shaking, hands vibrating to the point that picking the basket back up was a herculean task. All that had stood between him and his demise was his arm’s length.

“I feel weak,” George said.

“Why?” Blitzer asked, reaching over to his own basket. 

“Nothing went right there. Nothing.”

“We’re both still here.”

“But I tried spitting water. Nothing came out, at all. There was nothing I could do. I thought I was done for! And you just took it out with fire like it was no problem.”

Blitzer shook his head. “Not when I was on the ground. I couldn’t do it until you took it off of me. Maybe the same thing is true of you, George. When you’re feeling hurt, you can’t breathe water. Were you hurt around your chest just now?”

George looked meekly down at his chest, hands resting on the sides of his scalchop. The pain caused by that little shell was unbelievable in how much it stung. “Yeah, I think so. The fall got me pretty bad,” he said, to which Blitzer scratched his chin. 

“In that case, we should try again later. Or, well, you should try again later, I mean.” Blitzer chuckled. “We should keep going, before more Poochyena find us here.”

George bit at his cheeks. “Yeah.”

* * *

Coming out of the dead end, the two discussed which direction to try out next. Having been humbled by the fight for their lives, Blitzer gave George’s suggestion a try, and went straight ahead. The valley had gotten quieter since the fight; this time, hilltops were the source of the Pokemon cries: The barking and howling of canines locked in a clash in the distance. Something George was glad to be far away from. 

The trail zigzagged a few times, before pitching upwards against the slope of a hill. Company awaited the two there; a Yungoos and a Geodude, to be more precise. Not wanting to take any risks, Blitzer went on the attack, George reluctantly following after him. Fortunately, the wild pokemon were so dazed by the sudden strike, they were unable to mount much of a defence. The Geodude went down after a powerful blast of fire, while the Yungoos was given a beating until it saw stars, leaving the trail to the top open. Blitzer decided it was a good time to do a few stretches.

“I’m hoping it won’t be too much of a hassle, getting to the top. It’s been pretty tiring so far.”

George gazed up; nothing but mists. “I don’t know about this. Wasn’t the top of this hill further up than the previous one?”

“Yes. But this is where the berries are, and that’s what we’re here for,” Blitzer said, then licked his lips. “Although, maybe we won’t get to fill the whole basket up…”

George was stunned. “But didn’t you want to fulfil your promise? You said you wanted to bring a whole basket back.”

Blitzer’s tail flame spiked; a breath forced its way past his teeth. “Yes, yes I did!” he said, hastily putting his feet forward. George wasn’t so sure anymore.

‘ He looks awfully worried. Maybe he’s gotten the idea that we can’t do this? That’s not like him. Not at all. ’

A simple road winded its way uphill. After a few zigzags, George glanced back and forth between the mist and Blitzer. ‘Simple’ was giving it too much credit: All between them and the mist was the trail, a grass slope on one end, and a steep cliff on the other. And it went on and on, further up the hill in a frustrating manner. 

“Do you see anything up there yet?” asked George.

“Nope. Just more trail,” replied Blitzer.

“Great. I know I said that it looked further up and all, but this is just ridiculous. Why does it have to be like this, anyway?” George said, arms folded over the scalchop. At least his chest didn’t hurt as much anymore.

“That’s what I’d like to know. Doesn’t matter who or what made these Mystery Dungeons to begin with, I just want to know why.”

“Do you think a person made it?”

Blitzer shook his head. “No, because people think about each other! Enough to not make my feet get wet from all the dew on the grass! Aaargh! You know what, to heck with this! I’m going up my own way!”

With an angry flick of his tail, Blitzer threw his basket to the ground and put his claws into the grass beside him, and began to climb his way up to the top.

“H-hey, wait! What about me?” George said wide eyed. Blitzer was set on his ways, however, continuing to climb at a steady pace. Even with the claws on both his hands and feet, Blitzer struggled to get up. He was putting a lot of energy into lifting his body further up, by the sounds of it. Something George didn’t need to try out himself to know it was something he couldn’t manage, not with his stubby arms and feet.

“Can you give climbing a try? It’s not the most difficult- agh!” 

Blitzer’s claws slipped. He slid down like a cat in a curtain, leaving a trail of claw marks on the way back as he tried to get a grip, to no avail. “Blitzer! Hold on!” yelled George, as the Charmander fell onto his belly and rolled off the slope, straight towards the steep drop on the other side of the trail.

“Aaargh! AH!” 

Blitzer rolled off the edge of the trail, just barely managing to hold onto the cliff with both claws, teeth bared and painfully hissing. “No!” escaped George’s throat. He had to help, but fate wouldn’t have it that way: On the other side of the mist, another canine Pokemon emerged, barking at the cliff’s edge. His body ran cold, and the hairs on his head stood upright as Blitzer tried to pull himself back, but couldn’t.

‘ n-No! Not now, of all the times… why now?! ’

The wild Pokemon steadily up to the edge. As Blitzer once more tried pulling himself up, he got a hold of the scent. In an instant, his eyes opened wide. “R-Rockruff!!” he shouted, shrill and forced. George stood horrified watching, hoping that somehow Blitzer had the strength to breathe fire. But step by step, as the Rockruff came close enough for its breaths to be felt by Blitzer, and as the sound of Blitzer hyperventilating reached George’s ears, that clearly wasn’t going to happen. And George’s fear turned into something else entirely.

“GET LOST!”

His lungs filling up to their maximum, more than he ever thought possible, George felt a strong convulsion inside his chest; the little pain he suffered was soon drowned out. Pressure rose, and he held his arms steady, before a geyser of water shot out of his mouth, right at the wild Rockruff standing haplessly over the edge. George closed his eyes; a yelp reached his ears, before a sharp pain in his chest put the water to a stop, leaving him gasping. Dazed, he looked around. No sign of the Rockruff anywhere.

“Oh, oh!! Wow!” Blitzer freed himself from the cliff’s edge, with the energy he’d have after a long nap. “George, did you just breathe water!?”

George had gone back to clutching his chest. “I did… but that was very painful. Don’t think I have another one of those in me.”

“But you did it! Not just a little, either!” Blitzer grabbed George by the shoulders, who stared back with all the enthusiasm of a sick child.

“What do you mean?”

“Did you not see that? That Rockruff literally flew off of the edge!”

“Huh?” George scratched his head. He expected to see the feral Pokemon lying somewhere nearby, but it was nowhere in sight. “Where is it?”

“Somewhere below! I told you. I saw it flying myself!”

George raised a brow. “Did a little water really do that? Is that even possible?” he said, as he picked his basket back up.

Blitzer went to pick his basket back up. “A little water didn’t do that. You did!”

George was awestruck. “M-me?! How?”

“Don’t act so surprised. You’re a water type, you should be able to do that! You have that strength inside of you, and you just used it on a Rockruff! They hate water! Honestly, I think you’re a cut above the average water type, too,” said Blitzer. 

George’s mouth curled up; that pleasing image of himself with two swords in his hands came rushing back. “You’re, you’re not making that up, are you?”

Blitzer nodded. “What I’m saying is that I’m very glad to have you on my side, George.” A smile appeared on his face. “You know, it was stupid idea to try climbing, but I’m glad I did it.”

George nodded back. ‘ So am I .’

Having regained their footing, the two continued further up the trail. Although his chest hurt, George was proud of himself. Slowly he got the hang of his new body. There was still much to learn, though. The pain in his chest made that clear enough. And as they reached the top, he realised that perhaps he hadn’t been learning fast enough.

“Here we are- stop… D-do you see that?!”

Chapter Text

A serpentine tail stuck out from the bushes. Blitzer and George froze upon spotting it. They weren’t alone out here, and it wasn’t long before their presence went noticed. A scaled head arose from the bushes, a hawkish glare aimed straight at the two.

“...What are you kids doing out here?”

A Druddigon walked into view, an annoyed growl rumbling in his throat. He too had a basket in his hands, filled to the brim with berries sporting a rainbow of colours. 

“Wait, Lance?” Blitzer’s arms hung in disbelief. “Is that you?”

The corners of the Druddigon’s mouth went up, revealing the largest teeth in his mouth. “Of course it’s me, you little fool! Who else do you think I was, your grandma?”

Blitzer almost bit his tongue. “N-no, of course not, I just-”

“You just what?”

“Well, ehrm, I’m just uh, just surprised to see you out here? Heheh…”

“Could say the same about you kids myself,” Lance spat at the ground beside him. “I’m a full grown adult. See these claws and teeth? Half the Pokemon living here won’t even dare get close to me. Meanwhile, you kids get attacked by just about everything that moves. So again, why did you come here? Your parents not teachin’ you right?”

“N-no, we’re not, our parents, uhhh, let us…” Blitzer stammered. George shrank back out of embarrassment, trying his damndest to distract himself by scraping the ground with his foot. The less he had to explain himself to any authority figures, the better.

Lance wheezed out a laugh. “Hah! Kid, I know more about you than you realise. You’re Blitzer. That Charmander lad Nero and Nera found in the woods several years back. Oh, we all know about the trouble you’ve been causin’ the whole town ever since. Only reason they let you out is ‘cause you wouldn’t take no for an answer. Ever. Doesn’t matter what. You’d jump off a cliff if you thought it was cool.”

“Hey! I wouldn’t do that!”

“Yes you would.”

“No I wouldn’t!!”  Blitzer stomped a foot. 

“Kid, do you know how many bulletins I’ve had to write because you got lost in the middle of nowhere?” asked Lance.

“No.”

Lance shrugged. “Me neither.”

Blitzer leaned back, his tongue pressing into his cheek. “Okay, but that’s when I was younger and weak! I’m stronger now! I can breathe fire, and I’m not afraid to use my claws, so I’ll be fine!”

Lance rolled his eyes towards George. “Suuuure. And apparently you can breathe water too, since it definitely was that Oshawott kid I heard screamin’ for help just now.” He leaned in closer. “Listen kid, my ears work fine, and I’m not a fool. You might be capable of defending yourself a little, but you’re still not much. And neither is that Oshawott kid, for that matter. Let the grownups handle things, alright? Place is too dangerous for kids.”

“Not for me!”

“Yes it is.”

“I can handle myself!”

“No you can’t.”

“Yes I can!”

“Yeah, in your dreams maybe, kid. Damn Charmanders…”

As Blitzer and Lance went on a back and forth tangent, a sigh came from the quiet party in all of this. ‘ I shouldn’t be quiet. This’ll go nowhere otherwise.’ “Sir?” The bickering ceased for a moment, as George opened his mouth. “We’re not trying to cause trouble. We just wanted to help with gathering food,” he meekly said, to which the Druddigon raised a claw.

“Lad, that’s noble of you and all, but get real. You’re kids. You should be playing with your friends, not going out in the wild. You have any idea how dangerous the world is? Imagine how your parents would feel if you didn’t come home one day. Don’t be reckless.”

It was a simple thing to say, and yet it struck like a hammer onto a nail. George’s face shrivelled up. His parents. Ever since that fateful day at the doorstep of the foster’s home, they were more distant than ever. Where they were, how they were doing, it was all a blur. 

“...what’s with that face?”

Lance had folded his arms. George attempted to bury the sinking look on his face by appearing brave. “Nothing, sir. My parents just… You’re right, I shouldn’t be reckless.”

“Who are your parents, anyway, lad?”

George swallowed. “They don’t live in the village. It’s complicated. But I’m staying with Blitzer’s parents in the meantime.” He glanced at Blitzer, and got a smirk in return.

The Druddigon grunted. “Fine by me. So yes, you’re here to gather berries. Like I said, yes there is a crisis. No, it’s not your job, not your responsibility, not something you kids should be doing. But since you’re here, might as well.”

“You’re saying that we can join you?” asked Blitzer with beaming eyes.

“Yes, yes, you little scamp,” Lance grumbled, fiddling with the dark green scarf wrapped around his neck. “Wouldn’t put much value in that if I were you. Only reason I’m even bothering is because you’re here already. Now, if you just follow me, we’ll get that basket filled up in no time, and then we get out of this dump.”

Blitzer pumped his fist. “Yes, yes!! We’re really going to do it! We’re really going to help people out, George!” he cheered, with a celebratory flare of his tail to boot. 

“What did I tell you, kid?! No fiddling around!”

“Ah!”

George clicked his tongue. ‘ Aren’t we heroes. ’

* * *

True to his word, Lance guided the children through the Azure Hills until their baskets were filled. All Blitzer and George did was follow him; directions and ferals were dealt with by the Druddigon at the front. It didn’t take long for George to get bored, Blitzer to get annoyed, and both to be disappointed. All that boasting and fantasising about heroism and strength, only to stand and watch as Lance swatted everything out of the way, without even having to put his own basket down. Not to mention the silence; no one said anything. George was certain that talking would annoy Lance even further, and thus kept to himself, picking berries and throwing them into his basket. 

The good news is their baskets were full in no time at all. Lance had a nose and a knack for finding berries, it turned out. George couldn’t see or smell the berries, and Blitzer said he couldn’t, either. Lance insisted that this wasn’t his first time here, and that there was a trick to it. He also insisted that the children shut up, which they did.

At last, after having harvested enough, they were led out of the Mystery Dungeon. Their feet were weary, their arms were strained, and nothing sounded or felt nicer than the warmth of their beds, but they were out at last. 

“Phew…” Blitzer sat down under a tree. “Can we rest here for a while? We still have to walk all the way back.”

George grimaced ‘ Uuughh… I forgot how far out we are.’

Lance rolled his eyes, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. “Not for too long. It’s already past noon, and I’d like to get back home before it’s dark. You hear?”

“Sure,” Blitzer said. “How long do we have?”

“Five to ten minutes.”

“What?”

“You heard me, five to ten minutes.”

“But I’m tired!”

“And that’s why you shouldn’t play hero, laddie.” Lance shook his head. “Always the Chars.”

“h-Hey! What do you mean, always the Chars?! What does me being a Charmander have to do with anything?” Blitzer was flabbergasted, his eyes going back and forth between his cream coloured belly, which he now shielded with his arms, and Lance standing in front of him. The Druddigon grinned, letting his oddly shaped wings flutter in the wind.

“Kid, pay attention, ‘cause I’ll say it once. I’m a well travelled man. Went all over Eravate in my youth, and got to meet many different Pokemon in those days. Let me tell you, Chars have a penchant for startin’ all sorts of trouble. Always stubborn, always making themselves out to be tough, always spoilin’ for a fight, always wanting to be big damn heroes. ‘Tis in your kin’s blood to be that way, I swear.”

George struggled to hold in a snicker. ‘ That explains a lot, actually .’

“But we’re not all like that,” Blitzer said. He didn’t sound convinced himself. “And why is wanting to be heroic a bad thing?”

“‘Cause most of the people who want to end up in trouble. Stubbornly charging into things headfirst with brute force never ends so well. Kind of like you and your little trip out here. Just because you can fight off some bugs doesn’t mean you’re ready to go toe to toe with other creatures, kid,” Lance said.

Blitzer let out a soft groan, and resorted to playing with his fingers. George waddled over to a tree, not letting the Charmander out of his sight for a moment. A soft breeze brushed up against his fur, carrying a grassy scent. As it teemed in his nostrils, George looked down; his scalchop had found its way into his hands.

‘ This isn’t funny. I shouldn’t be laughing. Why did I find it funny in the first place? That’s not fair to Blitzer... I’m supposed to be on his side. ’

Lance kneeled down in front of Blitzer and placed a claw on his shoulder. “Again, lad, I’m not saying you’re bad. Especially now that there’s a food shortage. But look. I’ve seen many people end up gettin’ far more than they bargained for, all ‘cause of their hero fantasies. That’s bad enough in better times. But now, with the Soldiers around? You have to be even more careful. They can do whatever they want, as long as the Queen’s got no problem with it. And she’s no friend of ours. We wouldn’t be here if she was.” 

“...Yeah,” whispered Blitzer.

“Exactly. Don’t take any of this too harshly, kid. We live in difficult times, and we’ll have to live with ‘em. I sure would love things to be better, but I’m afraid that’s not going to happen.” Lance’s head pitched up at the skies, his eyes gleaming with a longing spectre.

“But, if no one does anything, who will?” Blitzer stammered. 

Lance cut Blitzer off. “Oh, there’s some people that are doing things. But you know what? It’s unlikely their efforts will bear fruit. Trust me, you don’t wanna know. You really do not,” he said with a dire glint in his eye.

“...Okay,” Blitzer said, trying to shuffle away.

“...is everything really that bad?” George pondered out loud. Lance turned his head. “I mean, they took our food-”

“That’s only the beginning, lad. Calm before the storm, mark my words. Those Soldiers will be back for more. I fear appeasement will only get us so far. But we have no choice. Whatever they’re planning, we can’t resist much”

George leaned back against the tree, gulping. Lance spoke in a dull, serious tone. It sounded as if all his emotions had been sucked out of him. No, his eyes told another story. One filled with agony and suffering, fire, and worse. 

“Can we not talk about this any longer? ” Blitzer asked. He too looked sad. The Druddigon gave a nod in his direction.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, we’ve wasted enough time around these parts. Let’s go back, shall we? Sooner we hit the road, the sooner we’ve got this done and over with.”

And with that, Lance turned tail and made his way back. While Blitzer got up to follow, George carefully raised his back against the tree, one hand on his basket, worrying.

‘ Why does no one want to talk? What are these soldiers even doing that no one wants to say anything about them? ’ “Maybe I’d understand you better, right?” he said out loud.

“Oi, Oshawott kid, get over here! I’m not waiting for you to get those legs up!”

“Aaah!”

Swift on his feet, George sprinted back towards Blitzer’s side, with whom he followed Lance back to the bridge, once again not saying much on the way. At the bridge, however, two strange Pokemon with green scarves wrapped around their necks leaned against the guard rail, watching the stream flow into the horizon. A slight grumble from Lance and a meek ‘hi’ from Blitzer failed to get any response out of them. George stared at the back of Blitzer’s head as they passed, and didn’t look back.

‘They’re a creepy bunch. Know ‘em when I see ‘em…’

It wasn’t until after they had passed that George’s ears caught wind of them talking.

“So, Sergeant Machoke. The criminals should be close by.”

“Yeah, and there’s no tracks anywhere. Great.”

“Damn criminals. Must’ve ran off in the water. Or hiding out in Azure Hills. One of the two.”

“Yeah, that’s not stopping you though, is it, Sergeant Crawdaunt. We’re catching those sons of vermin.”

“Hey, hurry up, you!” Lance growled.

“Huh?” 

George’s attention had been so focused on the two strangers that he had failed to notice Blitzer having walked ahead, and not just a little bit either. He hurried his way back to Blitzer’s side, bit his lip, then poked the Charmander on the shoulder.

“Those two Pokemon, who are they? They don’t look like ordinary folk.” ‘They look like criminals, alright.’

Blitzer winced out loud. “Hng, yeah, you’re right. Those were Soldiers.” 

George almost jumped out of surprise. “How do you know?”

“Did you see what they were wearing?”

“No? To be honest, I didn’t want to look at them. They just had this… aura around them, or something.”

Blitzer nodded. “That’s for the better. I’ll tell you more about it later. Can you pretend you didn’t see anything until we get back home? Trust me, that’ll make the trip back a little easier.”

George frowned. “If you say so…”

“I mean it, George.”

“Yes, yes I understand.”

“Alright then. You’ll feel better soon. It’s about time we got back home, anyway. I’m starving!” Blitzer rubbed his stomach. George felt a growl come out of his own stomach, and forced a smile to his face.

“Yeah, me too.”

And so, they walked back home, spending the time spotting wild Pokemon and having Blitzer tell stories about his experiences with said Pokemon. It was a fun little distraction from all the worries about the Soldiers, which George appreciated. Of course, the longing for information persisted, but it would come in due time. For now, it was time to go back home and get some well deserved rest.

* * *

“Ya think that’s ‘im?”

“No doubt about it. The energy coming off that little Oshawott is unmistakable. Whether he’s ready, though…”

“...’s another matter, ya mean to say.”

“Yes, Skal. Let me finish before you yammer over me.”

“Blegh. Don’t need any psychic powers t’know what I’m lookin’ at. Feels like this whole mission was a waste of time. Ya think Artanouk’ll accept him?”

“Give it time. He’ll get there. He has to.”

“We ain’t got forever, Terez.”

“Yes, I’m more than aware of that. But don’t worry. One day he’ll be ready… Whether he believes that himself or whether he will be forced is none of my concern. That child has a great role to play. You know this. That’s why we’re keeping an eye on him. And I’m not about to turn my back.”

“Sure hope you ain’t jokin’.”

“I’m not a jokester. Especially not about these things.”

“Have it your way then.”

Chapter Text

As the sun sank towards the horizon, the two boys came back home, a full basket in their hands and their lips stained purple. Lance put his basket down, stretched his limbs, then turned towards the children with a grimace on his face.

“Alright kids, here you are. Did you learn your lesson?”

Blitzer and George nodded. “Yes. Don’t go out exploring when you’re too young,” Blitzer said. George puffed his cheeks out like a hamster while listening.

‘ Well, at least we can repeat the lesson to ourselves .’

“Good. Off with you.”

With a lash of his tail, the Druddigon returned to his house at the edge of town. Blitzer and George sped off towards the village square, the former grinning intensely.

“Haha! He totally bought it!” Blitzer said. George's eyes opened wide; Blitzer’s cheers had attracted the attention of every pair of eyeballs in ear range. Without further ado, he threw his hand in front of the Charmander’s mouth and nodded awkwardly at all the dumbfounded stares coming their way.

‘’Maybe don’t celebrate too loud, Blitzer.”

“Oops… hihi.”

With George having quieted the mood, the two made their way home. A few knocks on the door later, Nera answered.

“Blitzer! George! You’re back!”

“Yes! And we’ve got the berries!” Blitzer said with a smile. 

Nera wrapped her forelegs around Blitzer, who returned the gesture. “I’ve been worried sick! You were gone for so long, I was starting to imagine awful things. Oh, I shouldn’t have. I really shouldn’t.”

“Nope! I’m still here! It’s like I’ve told you, mom. No one bests me so easily!”

“...What about me?” George looked on unamused, tapping a foot. “Don’t just leave me standing…”

The Nidorina pulled him into the hug, getting a yelp out of George in the process. “Of course! You two must be hungry after an entire day out there. Come on in, it’s about time I got to work on dinner…” Nera suddenly sniffed a lungful. “...Wait, is that… Persim on your mouth? Why does your mouth reek of Persim, Blitzer?”

“Oh, well....”  Blitzer sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “I did get a little hungry on the way back, so uhm… I snacked a little. And George did, too.”

George shook his head. “I only had one. You had like four, Blitzer.”

Nera chuckled. “Why now, you both must be famished! And why wouldn’t you be? You’re both hard workers, and hard workers deserve a good reward! So come on in.”

Once inside, they were greeted by the sight of Nero laying slumped out over the table, his head resting on top of his forelegs. It looked as if he had passed out from a drunken stupor.

“Please tell me you didn’t get hurt back there.”

“Of course we didn’t, dad! We’re better than that!” Blitzer said. Nero peeked up from his forelegs, carefully studying the two.

“Hm. No scratches, aside from a few spots… Wait, what? You’re not all scratched up?” Nero’s head shot up. “Well now, colour me surprised! You managed to get out there and come back without any injuries!” he said, his voice far more energetic and jovial.

“Yeah, we did really well today!” Blitzer ran up to his father as if he had a report card to show. “We’ve got a whole basket full of berries, and we got a whole bunch stronger, too! George even learned how to breathe water!” 

Nero grinned. “I’m glad to hear life’s been treating you and your friend well. I sure hope it stays that way.”

“Indeed it will!” Blitzer said with a cheer. George raised his hands in a mocked cheer with a fake smile. Of course, if it hadn’t been for Lance, their time in the Azure Hills wouldn’t have such a happy ending. But it was best not to tell Nero that. George liked getting to leave the hovel unsupervised, let alone how Blitzer felt about it.

After dinner, Blitzer and George went into their room, leaving Blitzer’s parents alone for the night. The Charmander yawned upon arrival, having struggled to keep his tail off the ground. George crashed on his bed, his body begging for some rest. He still wanted answers to the Soldier questions. The silent meeting on the bridge had raised far more.

“Aah, I’m tired, and yet I’m still not spent! Maybe I’ll stay up a little longer,” said Blitzer, stretching his arms. 

“Yeah, that’s fine by me,” George said, curling up on the straws. They felt a little more comfortable than in the morning. Either he was getting used to straw beds, or he was just that tired. He couldn’t tell. 

“Don’t go to sleep right away, I need to show you something!” Blitzer held up a toy in front of George. It was some sort of paper spinner, each arm wrinkled and stained with dirt. “Watch!” 

He breathed on the toy, careful to make sure no flames got out. The toy spun like a fan, each arm producing whirlwind-esque sounds as they rotated around the centre. It was a hypnotising thing, simple yet clever. Look for too long, and one may just get dizzy. Blitzer blew on it a few times more, giggling all the while. 

“Oh, that’s nice,” George muttered. Such a simple toy, yet Blitzer could get so much joy out of it. George’s thoughts wandered off to his own toys, back at the foster’s home. By now, either they had all gone into the garbage, or some other kid was playing with them to relieve some stress. Not that he had touched them in years. 

‘ If only I could have been so happy… that would have been very nice, wouldn’t it. Maybe I wouldn’t have to feel bad, being a ‘juvenile loser who plays with toys’... isn’t that right, headmistress? Wesley? Maybe I wouldn’t even be here.. .’

“Hey, what’s the matter?” Blitzer had noticed George sulking to himself and put the toy down.

“Me? Oh, it’s nothing,” George replied, his tail curled around his body. 

“Are you sure? You don’t look so well.”

George gulped. “I’m just tired, that’s all. It’s been a long day.”

“Well yeah, it’s been exhausting, but you don’t look very exhausted. More like you’ve seen a ghost,” Blitzer said, pointing a finger at the ceiling. George sighed, and steeled his nerves. 

‘Shift the conversation.’ 

The Oshawott sighed. “Okay, that wasn’t honest. My mind’s… still on the Soldiers from back at the bridge. You knew right away who they were, just like that.” George imitated the snap of a finger. "Didn’t second guess yourself either.” 

Blitzer sat down on his bed, careful to not drop his toy or to let the flame on his tail touch the straws. George reflexively reached for his scalchop; there was no turning back now.

“Recognizing Soldiers isn’t hard,” the Charmander explained. “They’re all wearing something green. A wristband, a scarf, anything else… You see it, and you’ll know. Did you see what those Pokemon on the bridge wore?”

George pictured himself back on the bridge. Below his feet raged the waters, and the sun shone with volcanic intensity. Overwhelming as it was, he forced himself to concentrate on the two Pokemon. ‘ Machoke and a Crawdaunt… hang on. Wait a minute. The Machoke had a scarf on… And the Crawdaunt had… some kind of ribbon or band ?’ With a thump of his tail, George dropped his scalchop. “I think I remember. The Machoke had a helmet, and the Crawdaunt had something around his tail. Right?”

Blitzed clicked his tongue. “Well, both had scarves around their necks, but close enough.”

“Oh…” George took his scalchop back into his hands. Blitzer shrugged.

“Close enough. But yes, that’s what Soldiers were. That’s how you recognize one.”

George held onto a frown. The questions had only begun. “Why the green scarves?”

Blitzer shrugged again, then blew on his spinner. George’s eyes dashed back and forth over the room; the shadow of the spinner flickered. 

“No one really knows. Kind of like this, I don’t know why it spins, but it does.”

“Okay…” George slumped back against the wall. “Do you know how many of them there are?”

Blitzer looked away and shivered. George felt his own body shake as well; as if thousands of spiders had fallen into the room. An audible gulp from Blitzer made him clutch onto his shell with the intensity of a nail.

“Well, um…” Blitzer sounded as if he was being choked. “I’ve only ever seen about ten at the same time,” he muttered, “but there’s supposed to be thousands… no, tens of thousands. Each stronger than the whole village combined. And that’s why everyone is afraid of them. Make one upset, you’ll get the rest.”

George breathed in deep. ‘ But the ones on the bridge didn’t look that strong .’ 

“Can I ask you a question, George? Why do you want to know this?” Blitzer asked. 

George backed up against the wall, as if cornered by Blitzer. “Because nobody has been telling me anything. All I know about the soldiers is that they’re bad and that they serve some queen.”

Blitzer sighed. “But George, I don’t know much about them either. No one in the village tells me anything either.”

George raised an eye. “Wait, why?”

Blitzer shook his head. “They say that I’m too young to know more, and that’s all they tell me. No matter how much I ask, nothing. Or they just tell me to go away.”

“But even you have to know something more than just this, right? You’ve lived here for almost all your life.”

“You know, we haven’t actually had many run-ins with Soldiers here in town, ever. Yesterday was the first time in a year at least. Although, I think we’ll be seeing more of them now….”

George sat and listened, his breaths sounding evermore fatigued with each exhale. Blitzer’s voice betrayed a greater worry. There had to have been more he wasn’t letting on. With how late it was, and George being glad to be on Blitzer’s good side, he had to let it slide. For now, at least. So many questions remained unanswered.

Blitzer went on to throw his mouth wide open in a yawn. “So, do you have any idea what we could do tomorrow? Because I can’t think of anything, really.”

George shrugged. “Go exploring again?” 

“Eh, maybe. But where?”

“Greenfield Forest?”

“But we’ve already been there.”

“Well, we both want to get stronger, right?” George flexed a frail arm for emphasis. “We could train there tomorrow.”

The Charmander shook his head. “Nuh uh. That sounds boring to me. I want to explore something new,” he said. George stared at him, unamused. 

‘ I thought you were the one that wanted to get stronger so badly. ’

“Okay. Well, if not that, can we go back to what we were going to do a day ago, and meet the other kids in the village? I’d like to meet them.”

Blitzer nodded. “Sure, if that’s what you want to do, then I’m all for it. Even if the kids might not like me.”

George bit his lip. “What do you mean, don’t like you? Why would the other kids not like you? You seem perfectly fine to me.”

Blitzer clicked his tongue. “Well, erhm… I was playing with them once, and uh, I didn’t really look where my tail was going, and, well, uh… it didn’t end so good,” he said, covering his face with his hands to hide a few awkward chuckles.

George slapped his forehead. ‘ You know, for being born with it, he sure forgets about it easily. ’ ”Great. Well, do you think they’ll accept you now, or is that not going to happen?”

Blitzer gave a quick shrug in reply. “We’ll see. It’s sure worth a try.”

George’s head leaned further and further to one side, even with him propping it up by one arm. Time doesn’t slow down for anyone. Ready or not, you best be prepared for anything, preferably as fast as possible. Especially basic sleep. “Okay then. But say that it goes completely wrong tomorrow, do you have any other suggestions? Anything else that we can do in this town?”

Blitzer curled up on his straw bed. “I don’t know. The café, maybe.”

“There’s a café in the village?”

“Yeah. Didn’t you see that big building in the main square?”

George thought back to earlier in the afternoon, all while sliding onto his side until his head rested on the straws underneath. Nothing in particular came to mind, however. The town’s board, some houses flanking the square’s perimeter, and some Pokemon gathered around. Besides that, just an empty slate. He shrugged.

“Not really. All I remember are houses and other people.”

“You didn’t see that big building? Or the crowd around the entrance?”

George rolled onto his back. “The crowd, maybe. I didn’t notice any café, though. You were louder than everyone there put together.”

“Oh well.” Blitzer followed George’s lead by rolling over. “Anyway, that’s the café. There’s a bunch of Pokemon gathered there. But I doubt they would let us in. Only adults are allowed in there. Believe me, I tried.”

George’s eyes were drawn to the wall. “Then that’s not going to happen.”

“Probably not, no.”

“Alright, so who do you think we should meet first?”

“I was thinking of Jinni. I still haven’t apologised for last time. Or Corst. Or Junior. Or actually, maybe Alcia-”

“Maybe we’re better off deciding that tomorrow, actually,” George said, then yawned.

“Sure. I’m too tired to think, anyway.”

Blitzer and George bid each other good night. Not too long after, George was half dreaming and half daydreaming, kept from proper sleep by the company of Blitzer’s snores. Perhaps tomorrow bore more answers. Or better company than a snoring Charmander. Which was still preferable to the headmistress.

Chapter Text

“Alright, who wants it?” 

“I do!”

“I choose… you!”

“Yes! Finally!”

“Hey, I haven’t had it in a while!”

A week had passed since the food crisis concluded. Life in the village had largely returned to normal, minus a few extra worries about everyone getting fed. Fortunately, plenty of capable foragers resided in Greenfield, and news of the seizing had spread far enough to attract merchants, who were all too happy to profit from it. Despite it being as moral as stealing family relics, no one complained. No one complains when someone offers them a hand in a dark time, even if the hand was covered in mud.

For Blitzer and George, normalcy meant a week of peace. They got to meet others their age after some hard convincing on Blitzer’s part, went to Greenwood Forest a few more times, and spent their days playing around=. George gained a little more control over his water breathing, though not much, while Blitzer stuck to what he already knew. The forest wasn’t teaching him anything new, according to him.

Today was another day of sun and nothing. They were throwing a ball around with other kids in the village, every participant fortunate to have hatched with two arms. For a while they went at it, enjoying themselves as they tossed the ball back and forth. Eventually, the game died down, with George being the one holding the ball at the end.

“Ha, this is fun, but it sure is exhausting!” said Junior, a Pikachu. The son of Speedy, who was also named Speedy, and went by Junior instead.

“You’re right about that!” Blitzer said right after.

“Heey, what are you all complaining about? I’m not tired at all!” said a Cubone named Corst. “I thought fires and electrics were supposed to be all energetic.”

Blitzer crossed his arms. “Ah don’t be such a downer, you. Just because you like wearing a rock on your head doesn’t mean the rest of us are lazy!”

“What? What did you say?!” Corst yelled, the voice echoing through the skull-shaped helmet he was wearing.

“Blitzer, noo…” Junior approached Corst to try and comfort him a little, his ears laying low. Corst wasn’t pleased to hear anyone making fun of his hat, let alone the only fire type in the village.

Realizing what he’d done, Blitzer hurriedly followed in Junior’s footsteps. “Wait, no, I didn’t mean it that way-” he said. He got halfway to Corst before coming to a stop. It hadn’t been his choice to.

“Just shut up, Blitzer.” An Abra hovered in between the two. “Let him explain himself before you start coming with excuses. Please. We gave you another chance, don’t make us regret it,” she said.

“Okay…” Blitzer let his arms hang in defeat. By this time, George had dropped the ball and walked over to get closer to the rest.

“I don’t care what you thought you were saying, it really hurts to hear you say that. My mother made it for me! She put all her heart into it, and you now want to make fun of me for it?” Corst said, his voice echoing out of the eye holes. “That’s low, even for you!”

George didn’t want to stand around while everyone argued. What came Blitzer’s way was bound to come his way too; Blitzer had introduced him, after all. And given where things were headed, they were on the verge of being left in a dust cloud. With the way the Charmander hung his arms and struggled to look anyone in the eye, something had to be said.

 “Everybody, can we not argue? This isn’t how I want things to end.” 

Junior folded his arms. “Well, Blitzer should apologise. That was uncalled for.

“Yeah, he should!” a Buizel about George’s height said. Her size was an odd sight.

George nodded. “I agree. He shouldn’t have said it. But don’t take it personally. I’m sure he didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

“Yeah,” Blitzer meekly said.

Corst nodded. “Alright then, new guy... Well, Blitzer?”

“I’m sorry, Corst. It was uncalled for.”

“Will you not do it again?”

“Yes. I’m so sorry. It won’t ever happen again, I promise.”

“Thank you, that’s better.” 

Corst sat down on a tiny bench at the edge of the village’s stream, watching the water flow by. Perhaps it wasn’t the cleanest way to ease the tension, but George was glad it didn’t get any worse. The last thing anyone needed was a reignited feud.  

A yellow finger tapped George’s shoulder; he whipped his head around.

“You know George, I was initially nervous about you, what with Blitzer and all, but you’re pretty nice,” Junior said.

“Totally! When I first saw you, I was like, ‘no way’!” the Buizel said.

George stared at both with a sheepish, unamused face. “Thanks, I guess…” ‘ Do I really look that silly ?’ 

“Well, that’s George for you,” Blitzer said, laying an arm around George’s neck, which made George glad he wasn’t wearing his scarf any longer. “Sure, he’s a little different, but he’s a good friend. I’m glad you’ve all given him a chance.”

“You’re right about him being different. You have to be a little out there to stick with Blitzer for that long!” the Buizel said. The whole group laughed except for George, who kept his reaction to a few pretend chuckles. 

‘I thought we had this whole no bullying thing down. ’

“But really, I mean it. He might have an odd name and it’s weird how he doesn’t even know here he’s from. But George is just who we needed, I think,” Junior said, scratching a cheek hard enough to draw sparks. “I’m glad that we made up with Blitzer. It’s not any good to kick people aside forever. That’s what my dad told me.” 

The Buizel nodded. “That’s right. George, you’ve been a real surprise. A welcome one!” she said, much to the delight of most in attendance. George couldn’t help but notice Corst in the distance however, watching the stream as if he were meditating.

“Well, I’m glad to hear it, but I’m not so sure if Corst agrees with any of you.”

“Oh, that’s just Corst for you,” the Buizel said. “He’s always been shy to accept things, don’t worry about it. He’ll come around eventually.”

“Why is that, though?” asked George. The Buizel shrugged, as did Junior and all the others.

“No particular reason,” Junior said. “What I do know is that he still has his parents, so that’s not it. Corst is just the way he is. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m glad we’re all different and not the same. Makes it all more fun!”

“Yeah! That’s why I took George here to begin with!” Blitzer said. “He’s not like anyone here at all!”

Junior nodded. “You told us, Blitzer. But did he really never tell you where he’s from?” George rested his arms in front of his scalchop, and kept his tail close by. This wasn’t the time to spill the beans. Then again, would there ever be a right time for it? 

“Nope!” Blitzer excitedly shouted. The less confident Blitzer was, the louder he got. George bit at his cheeks; his turn was next.

“Well, George? Where are you from?”

“Uhm…” George’s hand shot up to scratch an itch behind his ear. “To be honest, I don’t really know where I’m from. Up north, I think.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know where you’re from? Have you never seen a map before?” asked Junior. George shook his head.

“No, actually. I don’t know if my family was too poor for one, but I haven’t seen one. What I do know is that I come from a place that’s colder than here, so that’s why I’m guessing I’m from up north.”

“Cool!” said the Buizel. “You mean around Luminity, or all the way in Whitiara? What’s it like? Did you grow up with other Oshawott? I’ve never seen any other Oshawott around.”

Blitzer cleared his throat. “Heey, this is great and all, but maybe we shouldn’t pile the questions onto George so much. He’s still new here, after all,” he said, as he got in between the Buizel and a thus far silent Sentret, placing his claws on their backs. “We should give him some space, he’ll tell us eventually, right?”

George tepidly nodded. “...sure.” ‘I’m going to regret saying that.’

“Yeah, so give him some room!” Blitzer continued. Junior shrugged.

“Oh, sure thing. Although, couldn’t you have let him say that himself?”

“Oh, yeah.” Blitzer sheepishly backed off. “Anyway, does anyone know what we should do next? I think we’ve thrown the ball enough for today.”

“Not really, no,” said Junior. “Do you have any ideas?”

Blitzer was hardly able to contain himself; from his movements to the gleam in his eyes, it was clear there were plenty of ideas buzzing around in that head of his. But he wouldn’t get the opportunity to tell anyone about them; someone had come to nip those plans in the bud.

“Excuse me. You’re Blitzer, right? The Charmander?”

The group’s attention was drawn to a Tangrowth that had snuck up on them. Blitzer leaned backwards, unsure of what to say. “Um, yeah, that’s him,” Junior said. “Is there something wrong?”

The Tangrowth shook its head, the tendrils hanging off its face shaking back and forth. “Oh, not really, no. Nothing I’m aware of, I’m a simple courier. Oh yes, this message is also for one… Jor-Je? Geyorj? Something like that? The Oshawott kid over there, most likely. Yes.”

George’s cheeks puffed themselves up. “Err, yes. That would be me. Unless there’s another Oshawott named George you’re looking for.” ‘ And another Charmander named Blitzer. ’

The Tangrowth nodded. “Ah yes. Most pleasant. Most pleasant indeed. Normally I would be one handing you a message, but not this time. How odd. In any case, I’ve been asked to tell you there’s a letter with your names on it waiting for you in the local café. You know where the café is, correct?”

Blitzer nodded. “We sure do. I probably know it better than anyone in the village,” he said, harkening back to all the times he’d been kicked out when attempting to sneak in. Then the realisation hit him in the face. “Hey, wait a minute, no one except adults are allowed in there! How are we supposed to pick up the letter if we’re not allowed in?”

“Oh, no worries,” the Tangrowth said, lifting up the tendrils around his mouth in the form of a smiley. “I also meant to tell you that you are allowed to go in to pick up the message, no problem. Apparently it is a special delivery! Now I must say, you are both quite young to be moving up in the world, but congratulations.”

George scratched the back of his head. “Wait, who sent us this letter, exactly?”

“Oh, I don’t know!” The Tangrowth put its arms up. “No one ever told me. You will have to wait and see. Now, if you excuse me, I need to get going. I have some other deliveries to make, if none of you kids mind.”

“Wait, is there anything you can tell us?” Blitzer asked. But the Tangrowth had already made up its mind, and had begun waddling off elsewhere.

“As I said, I do not know! You will have to go and see for yourselves. Have a nice day, children.”

And with that, the Tangrowth was gone. Blitzer and George were left dumbfounded. Why they of all people would receive a letter from a stranger was something neither of them understood. At first George was a little suspicious, but now he didn’t know anymore. 

“What is this?” George asked. “Soldiers? No, I don’t think so.”

“I can guarantee you it’s not them,” Blitzer said. “They wouldn’t send weird letters, they’d just come straight for you.”

“Um, guys? What are you going to do?” asked Junior. Blitzer pulled a sour face.

“We’re going to have a look. I’m curious about this. You in, George?”

“...right.” George docked his tongue in one of his cheeks. While Blitzer jumped the gun without asking as usual, he wasn’t the lone curious soul among them. Why someone in the world outside of this village would want to contact them of all people is a mystery, one George longed to know the answer of. No word about him had gotten out there, had it? In any case, it also meant getting to see the one piece of forbidden territory in the village, and that had to have gotten Blitzer’s curiosity tingling. 

Junior nodded. “That’s fine by me. Even though my dad tells me to not accept things from strangers, I don’t see why a mailman wouldn’t be trustworthy!”

“I don’t know,” said Abra, curiously bobbing up and down using her telekinesis. “All of it seems very suspicious to me. Okay, why exactly that is, I don’t know, but there’s something about all of this…” She shook her head. “Has anyone seen that Tangrowth before?”

The whole group shook their heads. “Well, no, but he’s a postman from outside town, isn’t he? We occasionally get those coming in, right?” Blitzer asked. 

“Yeah, we do,” said the Buizel.

“That’s right. Maybe he’s just a new postman!” the Sentret added.

“I don’t know about that, guys,” Abra said. “Don’t postmen normally have a bag to carry the mail in? That Tangrowth didn’t have one. This might be just a bunch of nonsense I’m saying, but it seems so odd.”

Blitzer nodded. “Don’t worry. I don’t see how this could go wrong if we just go to the café. The worst that might happen is that we’ll get kicked out again, that’s all.”

“Okay. But do be careful, please? I don’t want either of you getting hurt.”

“We can handle ourselves, Alcia, don’t worry.”

And with that, Blitzer dragged George off to the town square, leaving only enough time for a goodbye and a wave. George frowned as he waddled off, eyeing the back of Blitzer’s head the whole time.

‘ Well thanks for that. Barely had the chance to even learn their names yet, and it’s been a week! So that Pikachu is Junior, I know that much, and that Cubone is Corst. Now that Abra is named… ‘Alcia’, something like that? Ugh, I’m already lost… never heard any of these names before. ’

Sunlight beamed through a gap in the clouds onto the town’s square. Once again there was plenty of activity here, from discussions around the billboard, to the people passing through, to the crowd gathered at the entrance to the café. Blitzer put a hand before George, then gulped.

“This is it, George. Moment of truth, either we’re getting in or we’re not getting in.”

George tepidly gazed at the building before him: Larger than any house around town, the café was painted in a fascinating bright red. Through tiny windows, one could see patrons inside enjoying themselves. Something about it seemed inviting; a band could be heard playing music inside, the occasional laugh sounded, too. It made the sign on the side of the door reading ‘NO CHILDREN ALLOWED’ all the more bitter.

“Are you ready, George?” asked Blitzer.

“I don’t see why you would need to be ready for this, but I guess I am,” George said.

“Alright then, let’s do this!”

Side by side, they stepped inside the café. The place sure seemed a lot more inviting from outside; it was dim, and there was an odd cramped smell in the air. Under the sound of a lone musician strumming on some sort of leaf guitar was the murmur of a handful of conversations between the patrons. There were no familiar faces anywhere in sight. George bit his lip.

“So, this is it?”

Blitzer nodded. “Yeah,“ he said, holding onto his tail. “This is it, alright. Normally I’d be getting kicked out now, but-”

“Why yes, you’re right.”

A voice echoed through the walls. The kids gasped, jumping away from the wall to their immediate left. There was no one to be seen. 

“Wh-who is there?!” Blitzer stammered through his chattering teeth. 

“Oh, just the bartender of this little hovel, that’s all.” 

The voice came from below Blitzer’s feet this time. The Charmander yelped and jumped for George’s side, who stepped backwards in response. George quaked as the adrenaline flowed through him. The voice spoke with an echo from the world beyond, as if filtered through a crystal, yet felt so close to the soul. Something that existed only in movies back home.

“Wh-where are you?” Blitzer said, choking on each of his words. At the very least, he had the bravery to say anything. George had been overwhelmed. His heart beat against the walls of his chest in an attempt to escape, his feet were on the verge of crumpling, all while every speck of thought in his head was telling him to get out. 

All the while, the musician continued to strum, and the other patrons merely looked up from their drinks to see what the commotion was all about.

“Right here.”

Large gray hands appeared on both of their backs. Blitzer and George anxiously turned their heads. From the antenna, the lone eye, and the gigantic stomach mouth, both knew from instinct what they were looking at. 

“GHO-”

The hands moved over their mouths. “How predictable. Always the same story, ‘Oh, no, a ghost!’ Why, thank you. I definitely needed to hear that for the millionth time in a row. Why is it so strange that I am a functioning member of society? Did I ask to be created this way?” he spoke with a bitterness in his voice. “No, I don’t think so. So please. The next time, no yelling, no screaming, no crying, nothing. Understood?”

Blitzer and George slowly nodded back at the Dusknoir behind their backs. The ghost rolled its lone eye back at them. “Good,” he said, before taking his hands back. “The name’s Hein. Let’s get down to business, shall we?”

George was left feeling disturbed. ‘ Of everything so far, the Grim Reaper as a bartender… has it all beat. ’

“Where… where is the guard?” Blitzer asked, keeping his tail close by. 

“Home. It’s his day off,” Hein said. “Enough lollygagging, follow.”

Blitzer and George did as was asked by Hein as he hovered his way behind the bar, then into a room behind the bar. Despite being a single door removed from the rest of the building, the café atmosphere had vanished. In the darkness sat barrels and cupboards, in addition to a few mats on the wooden floor. Hein took something off the shelf, then gestured towards the mats.

“There. Have a seat.”

“Yes, sir.”

George dropped onto his backside, cringing as he got settled; his tail had gotten under him. Standing back up to fix that wasn’t in the cards. Hein didn’t seem in the mood to allow that, and George wasn’t willing to find out the consequences. 

Hein hovered to the end of the room, and folded his arms. “So then. Of all the people I’d expect to talk to, you two snotnoses were just about the last ones on my list. Yet here we are,” his voice echoed.

Blitzer grimaced at the black ghost. “I’m sorry, sir. I don’t understand.”

“What I mean is, I wasn’t expecting you idiots to be the ones I’d have to talk to, but here we are,” Hein said, his body bent forwards to get the children’s blood pumping. “Anyway. You have gotten yourselves… a letter. Someone’s taken notice of what you’re doing and has a little request for you. That person, whoever they are, is asking you to go somewhere.”

“R-really?” asked Blitzer, eyes beaming. “Is it, is it telling us to go and explore?”

“Yes,” Hein answered.

“WOOHOO!” Blitzer leapt into a cheer, an uncontrollable smile all over the earlier frights and scares, not to mention his tail flaring with excitement. “George, George!! We’re exploring for someone! We’re going to be official explorers!! Can you believe-”

The Charmander’s cheers were stopped dead in their tracks by a gray hand grabbing onto his head. “Shut it, kid. Someone asked you to go and look at something for them, nothing more. And what even is ‘an official explorer’? There’s no Explorer’s Guild. There hasn’t been an organisation of the sort for sixty years. Put the fantasies down, will you?”  

Blitzer sank back onto the mat. “...Sorry.”

Hein shook his antenna around. “Right… where were we. Ah yes, the assignment description. Here it is.” With all the subtlety of an elephant in a china shop, he pressed the letter into George’s hands. “Read it carefully. It contains the instructions on what it is you need to do.”

“But didn’t you know them yourself?” Blitzer asked. “That’s what the postman said-”

“No. I didn’t even open the letter. How would I know?”

‘ Magical ghost powers? ’ George thought to himself.

“Why didn’t you read them?”

Hein scoffed back at the orange lizard. “What, is that normal to you? Do you go around reading other people’s mail? Kid, learn some manners. Last thing the world needs is another Charizard like you.”

Blitzer folded his arms and stared through the window. “I could’ve sworn that postman said-”

“Maybe you should get your ears examined. Or that postman was lying. In any case, I know nothing. Now please, you’ve got your message. Off with you, yes?”

“Yes.”

With a grumble and a hum respectively, Blitzer and George went away, lacking the courtesy to say goodbye on their way out. Hein himself wasn’t in the mood for it, either, it turned out. For a chance meeting, the energy had been lacking. A saying from an old story George had read came to mind. No matter the situation, never play around with the Reaper; his scythe’s touch is as cold as the grave. All throughout the meeting, Hein had been in control, whether through dulling emotions or shutting down any words that stood against his own. Despite Hein’s earlier voice, George couldn’t help but feel that they had gotten off lucky.

“Boy, I’m sure glad that’s over…”

“No kidding, right? Who does that ghost think he is?!” Blitzer pouted.

“At least he gave us our mail.” George held up the letter in front of Blitzer’s face to try and calm him down. “Do you think he hasn’t read it?”

Blitzer shook his head. “I don’t care.”

George’s ears flattened. “But didn’t the Tangrowth say the barman would know? You said it yourself.”

“I don’t care. I don’t even want to read our mail right now, okay? Ugh!” A warm breath escaped Blitzer’s mouth, causing George to take a step back as he felt it breeze past his face. “Let’s just go home for now.”

“Shouldn’t we go back to the others?”

“Maybe later. I don’t want to talk right now.”

George sighed, and began to walk out of the square. Today had gotten ten hours longer. 

Chapter Text

It wouldn’t be until the day after that the message crossed their minds again. Blitzer had felt so humiliated that the idea of following up on anything related to Hein made him sick to his stomach, and George wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of doing anything the Charmander was uncomfortable with, even something as simple as reading a letter. 

One day of whimsical activities later, the two snuck out to the other side of the village, Nero and Nera unaware of the message’s existence. Both agreed it was better that way. But even after agreeing the time was right, they procrastinated for a while, staring at the yellowed paper in George’s hands instead of reading it.

“Honestly Blitzer, I don’t know about this. What if it’s all a trap? Some elaborate joke a Soldier came up with, just so they can toy with me before yanking me off to god knows where?”

Blitzer hummed a dull note. “I don’t believe that, no. But I don’t know what to expect, either. I don’t like ghosts. Especially that Dusknoir. Not after what he said to me. I’m not some unruly monster that’s going to burn everything in sight. I’m not some slob that only cares about myself, am I, George?” Shimmers appeared in both of Blitzer’s eyes. 

George felt the anxiety come off the Charmander, and put a hand on his back. “Of course not. You’re just energetic, that’s all,” he said. His heightened senses had sounded the alarms. The smell and feel of the air had shifted, so discomforting that George felt the need to act. He didn’t need to guess what, either. As a Pokemon, smells and air felt like an extension of himself and other Pokemon, a mirror into their souls. 

“Then why did he say that?! And why did Lance say it too?!”

George patted Blitzer on the back with enough force to make an audible thud. “Don’t take them seriously, Blitzer. They’re both old farts that hate anyone younger than them. You’re just making them jealous with all that energy. It’s no different than the headmistress I dealt with, or certain teachers. Sure, it’s annoying, but they’re only angry that they’ve lost their youth. That’s all.”

Blitzer shook his head, scattering a few droplets to the wind. “No, George. Us Pokemon, we… we have our assumptions about one another, just because of our species. And they’re telling me I’m the worst example of mine. That I don’t listen to others. That I’m aggressive and easy to upset. That I often hurt others. That I am prideful and arrogant.”

“But that’s not true, Blitzer,” George said. 

“How would you know?”

George clenched his fists. “Because I’ve been with you for as long as I’ve been a Pokemon! And I’ve seen plenty of arrogant idiots around, believe me. If any of that were true, I would have seen it! You’re a good person at heart, and I know it. Always excited, always optimistic, always meaning well even if he doesn’t come over in the best way. That’s the Blitzer I know.”

Blitzer turned to face George, his eyes partially closed. “Do you mean that?”

“Of course I do.” George held a fist up. “Let those rusty old grandpas yammer. It’s not worth it to try and please them.” ‘You’ll spend all your life trying to, nothing will change. ’

Blitzer swallowed, his tail carefully curling up around his side. “Okay.”

George cleared his throat, then held the letter back up. “Alright then. Should we open up the letter? Do you think it might be a trap?”

Blitzer nodded. “It might be a prank by that Dusknoir to laugh at us.”

George stared at him. “Blitzer, I meant the Soldiers. Do you think they sent this?”

“No one in town would join in on it,” said Blitzer while shaking his head. “And I do mean no one, George. Soldiers are nothing to joke around with. The less we have to deal with them, the better.”

George folded his arms. “But does that Dusknoir live here?”

“Yes,” Blitzer said with a tired nod. “Of course he does. I’ve seen him a bunch whenever I tried sneaking in there. That café is his house, believe it or not.”

“Doesn’t he look kind of creepy to you? Why would anyone just accept the Reaper living among them?” George asked.

Blitzer waved his hands around in front of George’s face. “That’s what I was thinking for the longest time too, but my parents told me he’s lived here for as long as I have without any issues. Well yeah, he likes to hide in walls, but that’s ghosts for you, they do that. Nothing else is strange, they say,” he said, nudging George. “Also, what’s the Reaper?”

“...You mean you don’t know?” George said, surprised, before remembering that this was a different world, and that Pokemon wouldn’t know about human fairy tales. It also dawned on him that making comparisons with death itself weren’t going to win favours with anyone, and that he had gotten himself into quite the pickle.

“Yeah, I don’t. Is it a human thing?”

“Um, yeah, it is,” George said, scratching his head then biting his tongue with a closed mouth. ‘ Ugh, how stupid can you be, George? ’

“Well, what’s it about?” the Charmander asked with a curious flick of his tail. 

“Oh, not much, it’s uh, it’s a story my parents told me, yes. The Reaper is a character in that story, and uh, if I remember correctly, it’s uh…” George drew a blank. It was quiet in the streets. The whole town must’ve been listening in. ”...he would reward kids who did well and punish kids that were bad, and take their candy away. That’s why they call him the Reaper. And he was a ghost, too, and he looked like Hein.” George exhaled. ‘ ...Very stupid, apparently! Who is going to buy that? ’ 

Blitzer leaned over. “Interesting! You should tell me more of these stories some time!”

George let his hands sink like dead weights. ‘...Oh.’ “Yes, some other time. But do you think it’s a good idea to read the message now? If Hein’s not suspicious or anything, then I don’t mind.” ‘Something tells me I’ll get into trouble anyway. ’

Blitzer sighed. Right after, he began dragging his feet along the ground. From his body language, it was trivial to discern that he was far more interested in hearing George ramble about fairy tales than the message. All the excitement from earlier had sunk into the ground. Hein had gotten him good, something George had no solution for. Not an easy one, anyway, beyond a tap of the shoulder.

“It’s okay. We both know you’re better than that.”

“Yeah. I sure don’t want to lower myself to running errands for that ghost.”

“But who says that ghost is the one who wrote this?” Blitzer was silent. George lowered himself down upon the grass next to the street; it was more comfortable that way. “For all we know, this is someone else’s. That Tangrowth, maybe?”

“That would be silly.”

“It is possible, though.”

“I guess…” Blitzer shook his head. “Alright, let’s get this over with, then. No one says I have to do what is written in there, anyway.”

As Blitzer dropped himself onto the grass next to him, George unfolded the message. It had been written in that same strange language that had been written on the signs leading to the Mystery Dungeons, which George somehow was capable of reading.

“To the receiver of this message,”

“It is crucial that you do not share the contents of this message. This is information which could put you at risk, should the wrong people learn of its existence. Soldiers, or otherwise, the consequences can be severe. Do not share a word contained within this page with any stranger, unless a future instruction written on one of these pages says otherwise.”

“Dear reader. I want to start off by writing that you are not required to follow up on any of this. If you wish, you may shred this message and forget it ever existed. I do not know what your heart truly longs for, but I believe I might have something that interests you and your companion. You long to explore and see the world, to grow stronger and protect all that you love. You may seek answers to a great amount of questions you may have on your true lot in life. This message may provide you with fulfilment for all of those desires.”

“Nearby your village, directly north of its link with the greater world lies an entrance to a realm hidden from the eye of the Leo. It is deep within that place where you will find a treasure. Finders are keepers: If you lay your hands on that treasure, it will be yours. Of course, the road to get there will not be easy. This hidden world is affected by the same energy that has taken the forests nearby in its grasp. Ferocious Pokemon will be awaiting you.”

“Should you wish to venture out there, I wish you the best of luck. Your exploration will be worth it. Should you choose to not follow up on this instruction, may your lives be long and filled with light. No matter which path you choose, remember to never share a word of what you have learned with another. Their forces are watching.”

“Until our paths cross,”

“A friend.”

With all the enthusiasm of an owl come daylight, George folded the message back together. Once again, he was left in the deep end. Mystery Dungeons, waterbreathing, Soldiers, and now strangers sending instructions on how to find treasure. Blitzer didn’t seem too impressed either. He was scratching the gravel with the claws on his feet, his eyes drawn away from the yellowed paper and its instructions.

“I take it you aren’t very excited about it,” the Charmander said.

George shrugged. “Well, it sounds alright? Incredibly strange we’d just be told there’s treasure out there… at the same time though, it says to not tell anyone, literally so there’s no chance Soldiers find out. That doesn’t scream ‘trap’ to me.” ‘Even though I don’t know who this is from. Egh… it’s hard.’

“It’s still from a stranger, though,” Blitzer said. “Okay, all the adults around here know Hein, and they say he’s not a bad guy, but…” He shook his head. “How come you’re so sure we can trust this from him?”

“That’s because I’ve been the victim of traps plenty of times. I know how to recognise one,” George said. ”The headmistress back at the foster’s home would always play tricks on us. Throwing everyone’s stuff around so that we would all blame one another for the mess, which would give her an excuse to force all of us to clean,” he explained, recounting events from less than a month ago. Time sure had slowed to a crawl. 

“Wow. For someone your age, you sure have gone through a lot,” Blitzer said, the warmth of his tail creeping up on George, who sighed in response.

“I know. None of it was anything worth remembering. That foster’s home is a horrible, horrible place. And I don’t know why, but even though I’m not there anymore, it still feels like there is a piece of me that is.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I wish I had the answer to that question myself.”

The two fell silent. A pedestrian walked past, not paying the two children any attention before vanishing behind a house down the road. They moved on, like the water in the stream. 

“So, about the message… what should we do?” George asked.

“I want to talk with my parents about it,” Blitzer responded, his head resting against his claws. 

George’s ears went flat against his head. “Hello? Whoever sent us this doesn’t want us telling anyone. I don’t think your parents are an exception to that.”

“Yeah, that is true, but you can never be too sure.” Blitzer pondered out loud. “My parents might know more about these things.”

George stared at the Charmander in disbelief. ‘ Is this even the same Blitzer I’m talking to? ’ “I thought you were looking forward to exploring new places if it meant getting stronger. You don’t even care about treasure all that much. You’re always like, ‘Oh, treasure’s secondary, it’s not that important’, and now we find out about a new dungeon we can go and explore, and you turn it down.”

Blitzer didn’t respond for a while. Aside from a few clicks of his tongue, nothing came out of him. A surge in the stream and a sweetening breeze passed, and he began playfully kicking his feet around. 

“You know what? Maybe I am talking nonsense. I’m starting to sound like my dad!” He smiled. “You’re right, George. It’s not the treasure we’re after, it’s the journey that counts! I don’t care if it’s a rotten apple we find, that’s not what the fun in exploring is, I’m not like that. Not one bit! I’m not going to be a greedy Charizard when I grow up. No! Hein be damned!”

George stared at Blitzer with a dumbfounded face. ‘ Sure didn’t take long to change his mind! ’ “Well, I’m glad to hear it. I’ve been looking forward to exploring again, actually.”

Blitzer smirked at George with folded arms. “Let me guess, you’ve been dreaming about being a Samurott again, haven’t you?”

The teeth stuck out of George’s mouth as his lips curled up into a smile. “Of course I have,” he said, fantasising about the armoured blue sea lion warrior he was destined to become. The thoughts were so soothing to get lost in, almost like a taste of the finest wines. So noble and heroic, so strong and fearsome, and so pleasing to imagine himself being. 

Alas, the day that dream would become reality was nowhere in sight, and most likely romanticised. “I hope you’re not going to become an arrogant one,” Blitzer said with a wink.

George spat out his breath. “Of course not. That’s not me, is it? I can barely breathe water, let alone use this silly scalchop as a weapon. I’m supposed to wield a seamitar one day?”

“Apparently!” Blitzer bumped George on his upper arm with his elbow. 

“Yeah, that’s a new one for me too,” George said, scalchop in hand. “What’s with calling me arrogant, by the way?” 

Blitzer stuck out his tongue. “Hey, you heard all about Charizard stereotypes, I thought I’d share a Samurott stereotype with you!”

George awkwardly chuckled back. “Well, that’s cool to know, I guess.” ‘ Why would anyone think I’d get arrogant when I get older? ’

“Don’t worry, it’s all nonsense some people invented as a joke one day, and then those jokes got completely out of hand. Would you know how many people in the villagers make jokes about my parents being awake all night? You wouldn’t know!” Blitzer kept on laughing. In spite of all the negativity coming his way, he kept up his cheery laugh and smile, no matter how bad he got. Defiant to it all, he’d keep laughing until his lungs would fly out of his mouth, so George believed. And even then, if there was a way to laugh without lungs, Blitzer would probably find it.

George peeked in the direction of the sun; there were at least a few hours of daylight left. “So, what do we do now?” he asked with a thump of his tail, much to his own amusement. ‘ What, am I starting to do this too? ’ A shrug came back from Blitzer, cheeks all puffy.

“I don’t know. Should we go to the others?”

“Sure thing. Let’s first put the note back, though. Holding onto it the whole time gets real irritating, let me tell you. Plus, we don’t want anyone to try and have a peek at it. Plus, I’m thirsty! What do you say to going home first?”

“Definitely. I could use a drink, too.”

Chapter Text

“Morning kids! Time to get up!”

A foul wind howled over the battlefield. Scarred, he stood on his rear legs, exhausted yet defiant. The green beast facing him approached with growled breaths, each step sending shocks through the earth. He clanged his seamitars together, a cocky yet cold smile spreading over his snout. Even as sand pelted him in the snout, he was ready, his heart pumping with the energy of a thousand suns.

“Breakfast is almost ready!”

With a colossal roar, the monster charged. The seamitars rose up in anticipation. Feet steady on the shaking ground, eyes steeled and sharp, he waited for the right moment. His claws buzzed with the desire to plunge both swords into the foul creature, that terrorizer of thousands. He would put its terrifying reign to an end. He would be the knight slaying the dragon, and win the peace for a generation The thought set him ablaze. As the beast charged in, he bared his teeth and leapt with every ounce of strength in his legs...

“GEORGE! BLITZER! BREAKFAST IS READY, GET OUT OF BED OR IT WILL GET COLD!”

Arms flailing, George flopped on the bed until his eyes were open. He propped himself upright, then looked towards his body. Light blue fur, scalchop attached to said fur, and little stubby feet. He sighed. ‘ That was fun while it lasted . Back to reality it is.’

“Uuuurgh…”

Blitzer had rolled off his bed and onto the cold floor, eyes spinning and limbs flailing as if he was making an angel in the snow. Smears of dirt stained his cream-coloured chest. George cringed at the sight. ‘Oh dear. Last thing we need is his parents getting even crankier.’

After polishing the dirt off, George grabbed the Charmander’s arm and pulled him upright. 

“Gooood mooorning, Geooorge…”

“Good morning to you too, sleepyhead.”

Mornings were tiring. That was a truth in life that carried over to everyone, regardless of who, where or what. Little by little did George drag Blitzer to the living area, where the parents had been waiting on them for several minutes. Nera was looking the other way, while Nero had an air of ire hanging around him.

“There you little scamps are. I was about to give up hope in you two coming on your own. Seriously, one more minute and I’d have dragged you both out of bed by your feet.”

George pulled a sour face. “Why do you have to be so rude?”

Nero let his teeth stick out of his mouth. “We’ve been over this yesterday! We were having a treat for breakfast today, and that jumpy bag of orange right there was practically tearing up the house when we promised! Now we’ve been sitting here watching it get cold for the past few minutes, and where are you two? Not even able to get out of bed. Look like a bunch of Goomy, the both of you!”

“Aaaahh….” Blitzer leaned on George, oblivious to his father’s words.

“Honey, please calm down. It is only morning,” said Nera, still looking in the other direction.

“Yes, yes,” Nero muttered. “Have a seat already. Food’s not getting any warmer.”

“...food?” Blitzer sniffed with the power of a vacuum cleaner. With a burst of energy, he stood on his own two legs and slid his way to the table. “Food!” George almost fell over as Blitzer jolted off him. Shaking his head much like Nero did, he joined the rest of the family at the table.

‘ A little warning would have been nice… ’

Once the two were seated, Nera finally took her attention away from the nearby wall. “Morning sweetheart. I made your favorite soup this morning.”

“I smelled it!” Blitzer said. “Vegetable soup is the best! Thank you mom!” Nera chuckled back at him. He struggled to contain himself from just lifting up the bowl over his head and dumping its contents straight into his gullet.

“No worries. I found some leftover vegetables in the pantry, and you know I don’t like things going to waste.”

George studied the soup for himself. It wasn’t the prettiest looking concoction, to put it mildly. Vegetable bits bobbing around in a mixture of dim, acidic greens. It at least smelled appetising, but his eyes weren’t feeling it. Long after the family had dug in, George cautiously sipped from the bowl. The broth was salty, with a hint of sweetness inside. It had an odd texture, one which made it difficult to swallow. His taste buds weren’t a fan. Not one bit.

‘ Blegh, I’d be surprised if even the headmistress would approve of this .’

Off as the broth was, George didn’t want to just stop right there. With how Blitzer was audibly snarfing it down, there had to have been something George was missing. He took a bite out of one of the vegetables. Softer than jelly with a texture even further in bizarro land than the broth, it slid down George’s narrowing throat. He panted afterwards.

‘ Never mind, she would. Urk.. .’

Blitzer slammed his bowl on the table. “Aah, that was the best! You’re such a great cook, mom!” 

“Thank you, son. I always put everything I have into every dish,” Nera said. George stared with sleepless eyes at all the soup he had left, as the others licked their mouths clean. Unable to stomach another bite, George was trapped. They had eaten their fill, while he had hardly taken more than a few bites. The soup stared back at him. Through him, even. It was rude to just leave it standing there. Yet guilt couldn’t bribe him into continuing. 

“You romantic fools.” Nero hacked up a chuckle.

“Hey, George? Are you not going to eat that?” Blitzer asked.

All eyes were on George. Despite the guilt now being stirred up, he couldn’t bring himself to lift that wooden spoon up to his mouth one more time. It wasn’t edible. He just couldn’t do it. No amount of struggling could get him to do it. It just wasn’t in him.

“George? Are you okay?” Nera asked, leaning in a little.

The Oshawott shook his pale head. “Yes, I’m fine. I’m not hungry.”

“What do you mean? It is breakfast, you’re supposed to be hungry. Do you not like the soup?” 

The wooden spoon fell out of George’s hand. “No. I don’t like it.”

“Whaaat?! That’s not possible! How can anyone not like mom’s soup? It’s the best!” said Blitzer with curious twitches of his tail. He then leaned forward over the table towards George, resting his elbows on the table and letting his head rest on his claws, his arms acting as support columns. George didn’t want to look him in the eye. His face had been slathered in a mixture of tiredness and anxity, all over some soup. Of course, Blitzer had been eating said soup his whole life. All creatures in this civilised world had been eating it. Except George, of course. The human in him was still present as ever on his taste buds.

“Calm down, you,” Nero grumbled. “Big deal, kid’s been here for a week and you expect him to like all the food we eat right away.”

Nera nodded. “Yes, dear. George is different. That’s all.”

The frown on George’s face grew wider. Different. That’s what he’d be in the end. Not like the others. Oshawott on the surface, the human kid from the foster’s home on the inside. Everyone in the world would eventually see that in one way or another. Not someone who could live an ordinary life here, if that was even possible. The idea of it all being a dream made some noise in his head. Sure, it had been more than a week. Ten days of adventure and sleep and everything in between, all so vivid, but was it truly meant to be? Or was he going to wake up in bed again, ready to receive another scolding? The thought sent a chill down his spine. A cruel joke, that’s what it all was.

“But, but,” Blitzer stammered, “it’s so delicious! Irresistible! How can anyone not like it? That makes no sense.”

Nero rolled his eyes. “Kid, he’s not from here. I just said that.”

“But it’s so good!”

Nera tried calming Blitzer down, who by now had reduced himself to beggarly pleas. George found it hard to watch, keeping his eyes to the soup under his nose. Food for a Pokemon, not a human. It wasn’t going to be the last dish he couldn’t eat. No, his true self was bound to come out. And what would happen then? 

‘ Headmistress… ’

“Blitzer, we know, you like it a lot, but George doesn’t. Don’t take it so hard, will you?” Nera asked her son. George felt a foreleg drape around his neck. “Let little George take his time getting accustomed to things, none of us know what he’s really going through. Thrown in here with us, and there’s no way back home.”

“T-that’s not true, he-”

Blitzer was stopped from talking any further by a purple foreleg. Nero’s ears were flat against his head. “Lad. You’re not one to talk about handling change. Remember the time we suggested you find another roof to sleep under for a day? ‘Cause I sure do. You spent the whole day crying your eyes out.”

“H-hey! That’s not true!”

“Oh yes it is. Still remember it like it was yesterday.” 

“But it was years ago!”

Nera beat the table a few times with a foreleg. “Alright, I think that’s enough breakfast for today. George, I’ll get you some berries. We’re having something else tomorrow, don’t worry. We might not have much, but we still have choices. As long as the gatherers remain successful and the merchants keep coming, we should be fine… yes,” she said with a hint of anxiety in her voice. “Let’s clean this up. You two can have leftover soup if you want.”

“Yaay!”

“Fine by me.”

* * * 

Having cleaned up after breakfast and after wiping off the berry juice that made up for the soup, George put on his scarf and went outside on his own. He wanted time alone to think, and sat down at the side of the path. From here, it was a slope down to the stream. Fortunately, no other villagers would bother him, with the house being located at the end of a path. It was a good place for a small respite. Some alone time to calm the senses. In theory, anyway.

“Wait for me!”

The door of the hovel audibly fell into its frame. Footsteps came up behind; who else, besides Blitzer? George’s head dipped as he turned to face the Charmander, whose protests over the soup had long been forgotten. 

“There you are. Man, you are fast when you want to be!” said Blitzer, still fidgeting with the scarf he’d tied up in hurry. It looked as if he had gotten into a fight with the scarf while putting it on.

“Well, you did say you wanted to set out as fast as we could, right?” George replied.

Blitzer nodded. “Yeah, of course. That’s me, alright. But that didn’t mean you had to hurry ahead of me, right?”

George bit his tongue. “Yeah.” ‘ Telling him is only going to make things worse. Let’s not. ’

Company at his side, George had to leave his respite behind for now, and walked through town with Blitzer. The message had vaguely pointed them north from the signs at the entrance to the village, so they believed, and so that was where they were headed. Passing by the ever so peaceful houses and fields in bloom, there was a noticeable lack of energy. Something was missing, yet what was a question mark for both. 

In any case, the village seemed fine after half of the food supply had been confiscated a week earlier. There was a lively atmosphere coming from the café, people treated their neighbours with respect. War, famine, oppression, disaster, it could all come and go, and Greenfield would still go on as usual. This little town had a spirit unmatched by anything else. Out of all places, George was glad to have ended up here.

Upon approach to the entrance, Blitzer poked George on the shoulder. “So, do tell me. Why don’t you like mom’s soup?”

George glanced at Blitzer, his mouth curled into a slight frown. “Why do you ask?”

To this, the young Charmander shrugged. “I don’t know, I just think it is odd. Her soup is the best.”

“Not to me it isn’t.”

“But how?”

George gulped. “My tastebuds are just the way they are, that’s why. You have your own, right? Sometimes they agree with what you’re sticking into your mouth, and other times they don’t. This was one of the times that they didn’t.”

“But why? How could they?” Blitzer had now grabbed George by the arm with one claw, the underdeveloped nails on the end of each finger digging into George’s skin, much to the latter’s displeasure. 

‘ Damn, he really isn’t giving up on this, is he? ’

“Like I know, I’m not a cooking expert! All I know is that it felt funky, tasted salty, and wasn’t pleasant to eat, that’s all.”

Blitzer shook his head. “Well, clearly something isn’t right, then. No one dislikes my mom’s cooking, especially not her soup. That’s a meal fit for a hero!”

“Yeah, right on!” A voice spoke from the bushes.

“Aah!” Blitzer jumped backwards, only to be startled further by a voice from the other side.

“Last part’s overselling it!”

“Wh-what’s going on?!” Blitzer cried out. A yellow tail shaped like a lightning bolt stuck out from the left side, followed by the tip of a large white object. From behind, some kind of magical activity bristled the fur on the back of George’s head, sort of like his body tried to communicate something in a language he couldn’t speak. 

“Haha! You didn’t think we’d just let you leave like that, right?”

Junior came out of the bushes bearing a smug grin. Next to him was Corst, eyes as expressionless as the day prior. Behind them, Alcia hovered her way over the shrubbery, while the Buizel whose name George had not caught wind of walked onto the path, a face covered in crumbs from breakfast. 

“Wait, how’d you know?!” Blitzer asked. 

Junior giggled. “Well, Alcia?”

“You might not know it, Blitzer, but I have the power to read minds! And when I saw you yesterday, it was written all over you: Tomorrow morning, I and George will be going out exploring!”

“Whaaat! You never told me!” Blitzer said, visibly exasperated. The other children were all giggling at them without much to hide. It was written all over them, and George wasn’t having any of it.

“No you can’t! That’s nonsense!”

“Well, how’d ya be so sure of that?” asked the Buizel.

George folded his arms. “Alright. Where am I from?” he asked, his voice stern and clear.

“Alright, alright, you got me,” Alcia said, chuckling all the while. George wasn’t impressed. It all was too obvious of a trick. Mind reading wasn’t a thing. Not at that early of an age, anyway. Even this world had to have some rules. 

All the while, Blitzer’s head was spinning. “But then how did you know?”

“How wouldn’t we know it is more like it!” Corst said. “You’d have to be stupid to believe you two weren’t up to anything. You got called away by some Tangrowth no one’s ever seen, then when you come back you’re all like ‘oh no, no big deal’ with the stiffest faces in the world! We weren’t born fifteen minutes ago, anyone could see you were hiding something, and it was probably exploring related, since you love exploring so much.” Corst walked up to Blitzer, and bonked him on the shoulder with a stick. “So no surprises here.”

Blitzer sighed. “Alright, you got us. But could you please not tell anyone? It’s important.”

“Why not?” asked Corst. “You’re just going exploring, the whole village knows that’s what you like doing.”

George bit his lip. “It was in the message. We shouldn’t tell anyone where we’re going. That includes you, but I guess the cat’s out of the bag.”

Junior looked saddened at the ground. “Oh. That’s a shame. But if that’s how you’d prefer it, then sure, I have no problem with it. You’re both good in my book.”

“Hey, what’s a cat?” the Buizel asked. George’s hand flew up to the back of his head to scratch away an itch.

“Uh, I’ll tell you some other time, alright?”

“Is it a Pokemon up north?”

George nodded. “Yeah, something like that.” ‘ Close one .’

“You two shouldn’t worry,” Alcia said. “We’ll have your backs. That’s what friends do for each other, right?”

“Right!”

“Yeah, we wouldn’t tattletale on anybody, ever!” Junior proclaimed as if giving a speech. “Wherever you’re going, I hope you will enjoy yourselves. Maybe you’ll find some treasure, too!”

“Why anyone would ask you two to go diving into a Mystery Dungeon for them, I don’t know. But I sure can’t complain! It’s about time something happened around here!” Corst said with closed eyes.

“You guys… thank you so much…” Blitzer whispered. 

“After last week, you deserved this much,” Corst said. “I’m glad that you’ve changed.”

“H-have I?”

“Yes, you have.”

George watched as the Cubone grabbed Blitzer by the wrist. Blitzer’s eyes were full of disbelief. He had a miserable history with Corst, one whose scars were slowly healing. George felt much better watching it take place. It was good seeing them come together. They lived in a small world, one where you’d best get used to one another.

After a few seconds, Corst let go, and Blitzer nodded. 

“Again, thanks so much for coming here, guys. I really appreciate it. And… I want to say sorry again for everything. Goodbye for now, I guess… we should get going.”

“Goodbye, Blitzer and George! Best of luck out there, eh?” Junior said with a wave. The others soon joined the Pikachu with waves of their own. The two nodded in approval, before setting out over the fields past the sign, glancing back to give a final nod before the two camps went separate ways. With the belief of the others at their backs, George and Blitzer felt ready for whatever was out there. It may be scary, life-threatening even, but they’d always be wearing their determined smiles with pride in their hearts. 

Chapter Text

"It sure looks bright for a cave."

Half an hour later, Blitzer and George stumbled upon an opening at the base of a large hill. They hadn’t seen anything besides fields and a handful of wild Pokemon, most of whom had ignored the two, spare a few Pidove who were easy to dispatch. Bearing the strength they had found in the encouragement from the other kids, they stared into the opening.

“So, this is it?” George asked Blitzer, who nodded back at him.

“Should be. We did as was asked, didn’t we? We went north from the village, right? So I guess this must be it. There’s the sign, right there. ‘Little Rock MD - keep out!’ Has to be it.”

George stared further down into the bright descent. “Are you sure this is the place they meant with ‘hidden from the eye of the Leo’? We don’t even know what that means. And it sure looks bright for a cave.”

Blitzer shrugged. “Well, it’s worth a try, right? And if it’s not, we’ll try again some other time. Because heroes never give up. Right?”

“Right.” George nodded.

“Awesome!” Blitzer said with a tough smile. “It does look oddly bright in there. But you want to know what that means? We won’t have to rely on my flame just to see!” he said, holding up his tail with one hand. George chuckled back at him, drumming his belly in anticipation for what they’d find down there.

“You’re right, that’s not any good, either. I’ve never told you, but that fire of yours doesn’t light up anything particularly well. Sorry if that comes off as rude, but-”

“Why would it be?” Blitzer asked with a shrug. 

“Oh, well…” George scratched the top of his head. “I don’t know. Might not be nice to say that to, uh, to a fire type and all. Might be like calling someone weak, saying that they don’t have powerful fire.”

Blitzer reassured George with a nod. “You’re right, actually. But it’s not in the way you think. My fire right now is weak because I’m still young. It gets stronger as I get older. You’ll see.“

“Oh, okay.” George swallowed a speck of his own saliva. ‘ That almost went really badly .’

“Alright then…” Blitzer stretched his arms out in front of him, the sound of his bones audibly cracking as he prepared his claws for the road ahead powerful enough to make George take a step back. “...let’s do this!”

George breathed in deep. “Here goes nothing.”

And so, with their hearts full of courage and their steps heavy with confidence, the two began their exploration of Little Rock. It was time to see whether the message’s promises of treasure and more held any water, or whether it was all hot air from someone out to prank them. Whatever intentions the sender had, the joke was on them; Blitzer and George were happy enough to have explored at all. Another step up that ladder towards the life of their dreams; that was all the motivation they needed to enter worlds unknown.

The tunnel went on a downwards slope for a small while, before widening up into a space that two fully grown Pokemon could traverse side by side. Light emanated from numerous torches hanging from the wall, bright enough for the smallest pebbles to be seen before being stepped on. Despite their crackling and strong light, the torches bearing the flames never burnt up, or showed any signs of burning up. They emitted no smell, smoke, or much in the way of heat, for that matter. They burned in perpetuity, casting their light over the walls of the cave in a lonely glory.

Sometime into the larger tunnel, George felt his feet ache from the pressure of the pebbles and the cold stones underneath him. While Blitzer happily marched on without worry, George found the stress of walking pressing deeper into his skin. If his feet were taste buds, the stone below would be that morning’s soup.

“Blegh.”

“Something wrong, George?”

“It’s just my feet being cold. And lumpy. Maybe going in here barefoot wasn’t the best idea.”

“Huh? But I’m feeling fine.” Blitzer lifted his feet off the ground to study them for a few seconds. Upon putting them back down, his teeth were sticking out of his mouth in a smile. “Actually, I think I’m feeling great! You have to admit that this is better than the dewy grass from Azure Hills, George.”

George sighed. “I don’t know. That wasn’t nearly as bad on my feet.”

“Well no, of course not. You’re of water, remember?” said Blitzer, pointing at the scalchop on George’s chest. “Of course you wouldn’t mind wet grass so much. That’s another way in which we’re different. Different kinds feel more at home in other places. That’s why you enjoy bathing so much, while I hate it. Or why I like walking on stone, while you find it clumsy. Deep down, you want to feel the water course through your fur, while I’d love to go hiking in the mountains!”

George stared towards the Charmander with a raised eyebrow. “But I thought I could handle stone. And grass is still grass, isn’t it?”

Blitzer bit his lip, pupils slowly moving across his eye as if he were tracking something on the ceiling of the cave. “Well, it’s complicated. Very complicated, ha. I wouldn’t worry too much if I were you.”

“Sure thing,” George said. Even after his halfhearted explanation, however, Blitzer was still incredibly preoccupied with the ceiling. Any and all attempts to try and handwave it away were betrayed outright by his body language, which didn’t do anything to bolster George’s confidence in the situation, either. Between the pupils darting back and forth, the odd way he was holding his arms, and him now falling silentt, George had an inkling that Blitzer was seeing something he’d rather not be looking at. 

‘ Something doesn’t feel right. It was only a stupid question, wasn’t it? Well why is he… looking at the ceiling…? Wait, what is that smell? ’

A musk of mushrooms and dusty fur emanated from above. George dreaded having to look up to see it for himself. The growing frown on Blitzer’s face told him to shirk back, to move on and forget the matter. But the smell marched further up his twitching nose, and into his mouth, down his throat, leaving a taint on everything it touched. It was alluring, irresistible to anyone who couldn’t look danger dead in the eye. And so, he looked.

“George, no-”

“SKREE!”

As if thunder had struck, a flock of bats awakened from their slumber and swarmed over the tunnel. One flew past George’s face with a piercing screech; George’s ears went flat as he fell backwards, the cold stone pressing into his fur with blunt force.

“Aaaah!”

“Geeeorge! Quic-, br- b-e!” Blitzer’s yells were buried under the screeching of the dozen Zubats and Woobats that swarmed around them like a chorus of wasps. 

“What?! I can’t hear you!” George yelled back. The bats beating their wings and screeching at their brethren drowned him and his partner out. Like a little flame having an ocean dumped over it. The shrieking bounced off the walls. George reached for his ears, only to find a sharp pain on his arm. He cried out, when the table was suddenly flipped upside down; the shrieking faltered to the sound of flames bursting from Blitzer’s mouth. 

‘ That’s it! ’

George pulled on the energy stirring inside him. The water surged to his mouth and shot out in the blink of an eye, just as one of the Zubats flew past. The Pokemon flew backwards, straight into one of its kind. George closed his mouth prematurely; the water went back down. A wing slid past the top of his head; his eyes snapped shut, but George forced them back open to see a Woobat fly past. George reached for his energy and doused the attacker in half a second of water. 

‘ Argh, there are so many of them… ’

The volleys of water and fire kept up, and the tunnel air gradually thinned out. George spat in short bursts with varying degrees of accuracy. For every hit there was a miss, and for every hit there’d be another attempted strike on his body somewhere. Over time, his head started spinning, and his stomach began to ache. Water breathing was taking its toll on his body. And all the while the bats continued buzzing around, seemingly waiting for the right moment where they could all converge upon George.

But he was not on his own, as a gust of flame whizzing past would show. Blitzer fought back with a strong control over his own fire. Many Zubats and Woobats lay spread over the ground, singed with twitchy wings. If any tried to attack, Blitzer had his claws ready. It was thanks to him that the bats eventually fled. They were smart enough to not stick around on the losing side.

Once the last of the bats had disappeared, George sighed and rubbed at the ache in his head. The energy had been sucked out of his body from all the water spitting he had been doing, and that lack of energy was now leaving its mark. A sore throat, a pain in his belly, the headache, they had all flared up as the fight came to an end. George gasped for breath, his feet asking for a reprieve which he was all too willing to give. The aquatic energy flowing through him demanded someone far stronger than George.

“Phew… that has got to be the last of ‘em. Sorry for not warning you, heh,” Blitzer said, sidestepping the knocked out bats like ordinary rocks. Aside from slightly faster breathing, he wasn’t any different than before the attack. Not a scale out of place. “That’s something to remember for the next cave we’ll explore: Don’t forget to watch the ceiling! Zubats and Woobats left right and center, eh? No Noibats though. Maybe they live deeper? Or not here at all? I wonder.”

George crawled up to a cave wall to rest his back, for as much as the cold would allow him to. The aching had simmered down enough to not leave him vulnerable should another bat show up, but still it stung hard. The scratches on his arms were barely even noticeable over the exhaustion and soreness he felt elsewhere. 

”I’m just glad we got out of that alive… thank god.”

“Uh, are you alright over there?” Blitzer asked.

‘ Does it look like I’m alright?! ’ George shook his head. “I’m tired.”

Blitzer tilted his head. “Oh, how come?”

George’s head rolled in one direction, then back in the other. ‘ Like he needs me to answer that for him. ’ “I breathed too much water.” 

“Too much?” A flicker from Blitzer’s tail could be felt throughout the room. “What do you mean, too much? You should be able to breathe water to your hearts content, that’s in you!”

George shook his head. “Apparently that’s not the case… I went and spat as much water as I could,” he said, pointing at the puddles scattered over the tunnel. “And I must’ve gone too far with it, because it really began to hurt after a while. If we hadn’t chased ‘em off right then, I don’t think I would’ve lasted for much longer.”

Blitzer licked his lips while looking away at the ceiling again. “Huh. That’s odd… I haven’t felt like that in a long time. I’m not kidding, I could probably breathe fire for an hour before feeling that exhausted.”

“Are you sure?” George asked. ‘I’d like to not be defenseless against anything that can take a little water.’

“Why not?” said Blitzer with a nod. “Maybe you just need some more time with it. You’ve only just started breathing, after all… hold on a second.”

“Well I-” 

Before George was able to finish,  Blitzer shot a glob of fire from his mouth, which crashed into the ceiling not far from where George was sitting. A Paras then fell from that spot with a weak screech. George watched hit fall, then jumped as he felt a tap on his head. A mushroom rolled on the ground beside him. With a frown, George rose back to his feet.

“Sorry about that, heh.”

“...like I was saying, hope it happens soon.” George pressed his lips shut. ‘ Great. Sure hope the end of this place isn’t far off. .’

* * *

Venturing deeper into the cave, the two found themselves at odds with a few more wild Pokemon. Nothing on the scale of the swarm from earlier, fortunately - the two encountered the occasional set of bats or Geodudes, some Roggenrola and a lost Drilbur as well. The encounters were short lived, as George and Blitzer were anticipating foes around every corner; the echoes of rocks being smashed in a distant part of the cave had put them on edge. In addition, George was fortunately healing from the struggle earlier; the receding pain made him unafraid to use his energy on the wild Pokemon they now encountered.

“Boy, am I glad to have you here with me, George,” Blitzer said with a smile.

“Tell me about it. Whole bunch of rocks and grounds in this cave,” George replied, keeping his eyes peeled for threads in the distance. 

“Earthlings scare me,” Blitzer said, his arms crossed over his chest. “Rocks, ground, mud, it’s everywhere and they use it to attack. If I’m not careful, one could just sneak up on me, just like that!” He snapped his fingers and pointed at his frightened face. George had but a shrug to give him.

“It can’t be that bad, can it?”

Blitzer shook his head back and forth, squeezing his eyes shut and letting breath sizzle in between his teeth. “Oh yes it is. You’re water, you wouldn’t know, but I’ve had moments before. There’s some Drilburs that live near Greenfield, and they hurt me pretty bad a few times.”

George turned his head to ask a question. “Well, why did they attack you? Were you on your own, and did they see you as an easy target? Do wild Pokeon tend to be out for blood? …were they even wild?“

Blitzer began twiddling his fingers around each other. “Well, ehrm,” he blurted out through his puffed cheeks, “Feral Pokemon are definitely dangerous, depends on the Pokemon of course, but they’re dangerous. Six year old me did not believe my parents when they told me that, and well, I thought it would be fun to stomp on Drilbur hills, haha…” his voice fizzled out. If not for his scales, his orange face would’ve been redder than a cherry. The tone of his voice revealed enough. George rolled his eyes as the corners of his mouth pulled upwards.

‘ Yeah, that’s something you would do alright, Blitzer. Then again, I can’t say I blame him. Some dangerous and harmless fun, that’s what all kids want to experience at some point, right? I’m glad his parents allowed him to do that much. ’

“Aah, that wasn’t one of my proudest moments,” said Blitzer, eyes drawn back to the slope in front of him. “But it’s one to remember. Although, it’s not entirely a fun memory. I’ve had an, uh, an aversion to Drilbur since then, I think.”

“Aversion? How so?” asked George, one hand over his scalchop. Blitzer audibly swallowed a glob of saliva before responding. George could sense the fear in the air and reflexively frowned. ‘ This isn’t going to be good news, is it? ’

“Well, have you ever had nightmares in which you were attacked?” Blitzer asked. George nodded back. “Okay. Now imagine being in the middle of a dark place, when suddenly a bunch of things jump out of the ground and walls to attack you.”

George pictured the scene in front of him: Total darkness on all sides, as if the room had been smothered in tar. Suddenly, the air shrieked as the earth split open from all sides. A sharp claw flew at his face; a chill shot up through his back. George smacked himself in the face. “Okay, I’ve heard enough.”

“Yeah…” Blitzer hung his head. “It’s not fun. Not at all. You’re shivering right now, but it’s worse when you’re dreaming.”

With a deep breath, George sped up his strides. “Let’s keep going. We should be pretty deep by now.”

“Do you think the treasure is nearby?” asked Blitzer. George shrugged back at him, his tail pitching itself flat up against his back. 

“I’m not sure, but I haven’t seen any other paths through here. Have you?”

Blitzer shrugged. “I might have, but it was too dark to see anything.”

“Too dark? What do you mean, too dark? There’s plenty of torchlight everywhere, right?” George said, looking behind him as the path took a turn. 

“Yeah,” Blitzer replied with a nod. His tail bounced around the back of his head, getting close enough to the head to make George cringe.  “But didn’t you notice the gaps in the torches? I could’ve sworn those are other branches of this cave. Of this dungeon, I mean. What Mystery Dungeon just goes straight?”

George raised his shoulders. “This one? I don’t know.”. 

“That makes no sense,” said Blitzer as he seized his tail in one hand and pulled it out in front of him. “No dungeon does that. There’s always more to it. What I’m going to say might be a bunch of nonsense, but… don’t you get the idea that we’re being led somewhere?”

“...What do you mean?” George replied. As much as he wished it wasn’t the case, something about the concept did not sit right with him. He took his scalchop off his chest, fidgeting it around between his fingers. The cave walls next to him rumbled.

“Isn’t it strange that there’s torches conveniently placed along the walls, and that they never burn out? It’s like they have the energy to keep the fire for as long as possible, like I do. Only Pokemon have that energy.”

George licked his lips. “But couldn’t it be something from the Mystery Dungeon? They shift around and change constantly, isn’t there some kind of energy flowing through here as well?” he asked, hoping for some reassurance. The walls next to them both rumbled once again, this time a little louder than before. Blitzer briefly shifted his attention to the wall, before sighing.

“Maybe there is. But it’s too strange for me.” The Charmander breathed in, then out. “What’s happening with the walls?”

Another rumble sped past them both just as Blitzer finished speaking. Startled, Blitzer ran over to George’s side, anxiously staring at the walls for a minute. Aside from the sound of their feet shifting around, the caves were silent. Not an echo or pebble to be heard.  George’s eyes dashed over the area, looking for threats that were nowhere to be seen. His fur heated up from the nerves and the uncomfortable flaring from Blitzer’s tail, forcing his breaths out of his body rapidly. This was not imaginations running wild. 

“What is that…?” 

“I wish I knew, George…” 

Blitzer’s teeth chattered. The two crept their way deeper into the cave, unable to keep their eyes off the cave walls for long. Something had to have been close. Something out of a nightmare. The two kept a hand on each other’s back, out of fear that they’d lose track of each other in an explosion of chaos. Not a word had to be spoken for them to understand the other; instinct thrived where primal fear ruled.

Slowly, they slid away from the rumbling in the walls. It seemed to have stopped, although neither believed it. George was at least willing to take his hand off Blitzer’s back, but the same did not happen in reverse. Blitzer’s pupils were dilated out to the edges of his irises, and the hand on George’s back shook. It kept George in discomfort, looking for a way to relieve the tension. And perhaps there might have been a way up ahead.

“Blitzer, look! Right there! I think that’s it!”

Chapter Text

It was like stumbling into a treasure trove, minus the piles of gold and precious metals. In the centre of a circular cavern stood a crude earth pedestal. An object rested on top, covered up by a cloth.

George pulled Blitzer’s arm with him, to the latter’s annoyance. “I still hear it,” the Charmander muttered, hyperventilating from noises rumbling in the walls. Whatever it was, George wasn’t about to let it stop them, and dragged Blitzer into the chamber.

“This is what we’re here for, Blitzer. Look at this.”

The Oshawott ran up to the pedestal. Despite it being twice his height, he didn’t have to break a sweat to reach its peak: Narrow steps at the base of the pedestal gave him a way up, similarly shaped from the earth. What caught him off guard was the smell. For reasons unknown, the earthy smell coming off the pedestal was far stronger than the regular atmosphere in the cave. It was as if it hadn’t been created until a short while ago.

In spite of this, George wasn’t about to let himself be stopped. He jumped up the steps, putting his hand on the pedestal. On a closer look, the white cloth covering the treasure was nothing spectacular. In fact, it was less of a cloth and more of a rag some bum had been wearing. George grimaced at the filthy lop. Evidently, whoever had left the treasure here wasn’t very fond of it. Or perhaps there was no treasure, and it indeed had been a trick. George rubbed his hands together, glanced at the still distracted Blitzer, then turned back.

‘ Only one way to find out what’s under here. ’

“George, I don’t like the sound of this.”

With a deep breath, he tossed the rag aside. On the way to this place, all sorts of objects came to mind when thinking about what they would find down here. Gold in all shapes and sizes, beautiful gemstones or minerals, fancy trinkets or clothing, even weapons like swords encrusted with beautifully cut diamonds. But what he wasn’t expecting was a piece of a flute. Which was just what he found.

“...This is the treasure? Huh.”

“Hey, George? You might want to come down here. Please...”

George twirled the piece around in his hand. The flute had an azure colour, and was made out of metal, which shone bright in the light. The tone holes were dust free, and the flute’s broken state seemed to have been by design, as some sort of locking mechanism was present on both sides of the piece. What struck him as odd was why the flute had been broken apart to begin with. And if this was one piece, then where were the rest?

But he didn’t have long to wonder about it further. A wave of rumbling crept in from the lone way into the treasure chamber. Blitzer staggered back as a gasp escaped his throat, his tail flaring and flickering with the strength of a furnace. “George!! Get down here, hurry! I know what this sound is!”

A startled George almost dropped the flute piece out of his hand. He quickly stuffed it in the folds of his scarf once he had gotten a grip of it, then ran back down the steps in a hurry. 

“Wh-what’s the matter?”

Blitzer let out a sharp whine. “I-it’s them… they’re here!!”

The rumbling rose to a fever pitch, as the ground before the two split open. Like creatures from the dark, out rose three sets of claws, shining and sharp like knives. With an angry shout, the three Pokemon jumped out of the holes with their claws drawn out, a manic glint in their eyes.

“d-Drilbur!!”

Crying bloody horror, Blitzer breathed a wave of fire out. George yelped from a white hot scratch on his feet: The flames vaguely flew at the Drilbur, a few sputters flying off sideways to where George was standing. The attacking Drilbur screeched back, spreading their knife-like fingers and burrowing back into the earth. The ground betrayed where they were; they hadn’t gone deep.

“g-George! We need to get out of here!!” Blitzer said, his breaths having disintegrated into rasped gasping. George watched as three trails zigzagged across the dirt,cone headed straight for him.

“I don’t think running is an option!” George yelled, just as the ground in front of his feet opened up. A reflex kicked in, and he jumped back; two claws went past his chest and right arm, knocking some hairs loose. George threw his hand in front of him, only striking empty air. The Drilbur had gone back under and buzzed around him like a hornet. George backed away; shots of fire and an audible struggle sounded not far, when pain jolted up his feet. 

“Argh!” ‘ The steps! ’

The earth next to him broke apart. With a gale-like force, the Drilbur struck George across the chest, almost cleaving his scalchop in two. George responded by blasting the Drilbur with water. It yelped and scurried away, its head poking out of the ground as it frantically clawed back up the tunnel. George held his fists out, sternly looking at his surroundings.

‘ Where’s the others? ’

Fire roared behind George; he whipped around in time to see Blitzer with his back turned, desperately trying to chase off the Drilbur with his breath. He took a deep gasp between each breath, each hoarser than the one before. The Drilburs shrugged off the heat. Even in the narrow tunnels they dug, the scorching meant little in the heat of the fight. They were resilient, and Blitzer was not. One of the Drilbur had broken loose from Blitzer’s panicking eyes, and had circled around to his back. 

“Blitzer!! Behind you!”

The Charmander’s head flicked back and caught several dirt spatters. “AAAH!” screamed Blitzer as three claws struck him on the arm. He fell over backwards into the pedestal, crying out as he landed onto his back. “AUW! AAAUW! AAAAUW!” 

Seizing the moment, both of the Drilbur leapt at him. George immediately pulled on the energy in his body, spitting out a blast of water at the attackers as they were about to land on Blitzer. 

“Aaaaaaaaaaahh…!”

The two Drilbur  were blown back; one hit its head on the wall and passed out, the other one yelped and vanished. George closed his mouth to a sizzling sound, with pain squeezing his stomach and throat in its grip as it had done moments prior. Coughing, he waddled over to Blitzer, who squirmed on the floor.

“Blitzer, Blitzer, are you okay?!”

Tears streamed down the Charmander’s face. “I got hit with water…” he said, pointing at his belly. George, realising how he’d spat out the water, shook Blitzer back and forth.

“I’m sorry! They were about to jump on top of you, I had to do something!”

“Not your fault, we need to get out of here, aaah…” Blitzer groaned as he pulled himself up against the pedestal, which had lost its rectangular shape. George’s eyes widened; some scales on Blitzer’s back had been dented or knocked loose,  from the middle down to the base of his tail. 

“Can you walk?”

“Y-yes, just give me a moment, aaah…” Blitzer grimaced. “We need to get out of here, George- Ah!”

“Don’t worry, we’re going to make it out of here, Blitzer, I promise…”

But the truth was that George had no idea. The hole the two had slipped into was deep. Very deep. The road leading back to the mouth of the cave was bound to have filled back up with feral Pokemon left right and center, and the odds weren’t in their favour this time. With Blitzer struggling to stand up on his feet, let alone walk on them, and George’s aching throat, it would take nothing short of a miracle for them to make it out.

“Nrrgh…” Blitzer gritted his small, undeveloped teeth as he took his first steps out of the treasure chamber. George kept a hand on his back to try and support him, his other hand going back and forth between his scalchop and the flute piece stuffed in his scarf. Even if it was any ordinary flute, neither of them had gotten this far just to stumble over the hurdles. They had to get out, Drilbur, bats and other creatures of the dark be damned.

“Easy, easy now, see, you can do it.” George moved at Blitzer’s pace, keeping his tail close by lest a Drilbur sneak up on him. ‘ So far, so good, come on… ’

All the while, Blitzer remained in a tense, shocked state. His eyes were darting around whenever they weren’t pressed shut with each step he took. “No Drilbur, nrgh, Please no Drilbur, argh, No more, ahh.” 

Once they had gotten out of the treasure chamber, Blitzer put a claw of his own on George’s back, and tried smiling at him, for as much as it was possible to smile, anyway. A rumble sounded in the distance.

“As long as we keep going, right? Argh.”

“Yes, until we’re out of this hellhole.”

“Hellhole? Is that, ah, another human thing I’m, arghh,  not smart enough to aaahh… to understand?”

“Just imagine a pit with a thousand Drilbur in it, and you’ll have a good idea.”

“Don’t think I need to nrgghh, need to imagine.”

As if he’d ordered something at a restaurant, in came two of the killer moles from behind. George jumped around. “Here they come,” he said, hands clenched into his fists. While Blitzer worked his way into a halfway decent fighting stance, George’s right hand was oddly drawn to his scalchop. An Oshawott’s weapon, which he had no experience with. He quickly pulled his hand up. ‘ What am I doing? It’s broken! ’

“Steady, steady…”

“Here comes!”

The two Drilbur leapt out of the ground, claws spread wide. Blitzer breathed in deep, letting his tail flare up before unleashing his fire. The Drilbur shielded their faces, unable to advance. Alas, the energy Blitzer put  into his fire came at the expense of the little grip his feet had on the ground. Seeing this, George threw his arms around the Charmander’s chest, his own wellbeing be damned. His face pressed against orange scales, he left fate to the hand of whatever gods reigned in this world, no matter how many flames he’d catch or accidental scratches he’d sustain.

After half a minute, Blitzer shut his mouth. The two Drilbur were long gone. Relieved, he panted and nudged George to get him to make some distance. George did just as Blitzer wanted, taking a step backward and wiping his face down with both his hands. ‘ Scales are weird. ’

“Okay, we’ve still got this, still got a chance,” Blitzer muttered.

“How do you feel?” George asked again, even though the answer was self explanatory.

“A little better. At least I’m not, completely helpless.” Blitzer let his arms hang.”We should, keep going.”

“If we keep this up, we’ll get out of here,” George said, then stepped in to support Blitzer’s steps. 

“We’re making, aghh, we’re making it out here alright… nggrh! Heroes never give up…”

The two struggled their way up the torchlit tunnel. Blitzer’s steps were improving slowly, as he learned to bite his way through the burning pain shooting up his spine, yet he still limped. This struggle didn’t sit well with George. How long would it take before he’d heal from his injuries? Days? Weeks? Maybe the speed at which his own throat was healing was a bright light at the end of the tunnel, but that was just one light in an ocean. It could be worse than anything either of them had experienced thus far. Perhaps the injury had left its mark, and Blitzer wouldn’t walk properly ever again. George gulped. Pokemon might have been magical creatures, but even they couldn’t be safe from the bitter pill of reality forever.

“Nrgghhh…”

“It’s okay, just keep going.”

“Argh, heroes don’t give up, ever, agh.”

“We have to be halfway across now. Just a little more and we’re out.” ‘ I wish’ .

“As long as there won’t be any Drilbur, ahh… Then we’ll, then we’ll be aghh, okay…”

“I think I hear something.”

“No…”

An enormous rumbling sound emerged from the way they came. George’s blood ran cold; he couldn’t put another foot forward anymore. Through his hand, he could feel Blitzer’s body cool down and shiver. This was no ordinary Drilbur. It couldn’t have been. Not even three Drilbur had given him this sense of dread, this feeling of being surrounded and crushed into little bits.

“Blitzer, I don’t like this…”

“m-Me neither… I think I know what this is…!”

“What is it? Before it gets here!”

As Blitzer opened his mouth to speak, the trail surged to a mere ten steps away from them. There, the attacker revealed itself at last; with a cry fierce enough to shake the earth, it rose from the ground with its claws spread out wide. Bearing an iron helmet on its head and blood red stripes on its chest, waving its sword-like claws in the air with a high pitched roar, the creature struck terror into Blitzer’s heart.

“E-EXCADRILL!!”

Blitzer almost immediately stumbled over backwards, yelping in pain as he did. The fear in him had made him try to bolt out, overruling the sear of his injuries begging him not to. The tears resumed as he hit the ground, as he clawed his way up the passage in a vain attempt to escape. Now shaking as well, George’s attention dashed all over the place. The monster from below took the first step towards them, its claws glistering in the light. George couldn’t reach the energy in his body. He tried, he desperately tried to douse the beast with all that he had, but it was hopeless. He couldn’t do it.

“b-Blitzer…!”

As the Excadrill closed the distance, its mouth spread open with the most unsettling grin George had ever seen. Its eyes were staring right through him with the force of a bullet. Whatever went on inside of the head of that creature, only a madman could guess. All George knew is that the smile widened with every step, and the claws spread further open, and that he and Blitzer were completely helpless. He shut his eyes.

Close to the edge, an explosion ripped through the caves. George and the Excadrill were knocked off their feet. George rolled onto his back to find the torches on the Excadrill’s side had gone out. He backed away, dragging his tail across the floor. A sharp cracking sound came from deeper within. In the new dark, the vague outline of the Excadrill could be seen confused, then panicking, then screaming, before it vanished as if the ground had opened up to devour it whole..

“Wh-what was that?!”

“Argh, I don’t know!”

George’s heart was beating against the walls of his chest. Deep in the void, two azure eyes stared back. Immediately, George understood. Azure. The treasure. 

“B-Blitzer!! Run!”

“How?!”

“No time to think, just run!!”

Chapter Text

“There it is! A little further, Blitzer!”

Light shone in from above, as if Arceus itself had come to bless them. The two valiantly struggled up the final slope, groaning as the adrenaline came close to running out, and their feet were on the verge of giving up. Yet tired as they were, to give up meant to subject themselves to the vivid horrors they imagined in their heads.

The caves were empty on the way back, despite the infestation of bats that had greeted them on the way in. With what little energy he had left, and with Blitzer limping along with him, George couldn’t help but smirk a little.

‘Talk about expectations subverted… Just hang in there, Blitzer!’

With loud heaving, ragged gasping, and gritted teeth, George and Blitzer stumbled out of the cave and into the sunlight, elated as the stone under their feet turned to grass. 

“We’re out… we’re out!” George cheered, his voice shaking as let himself fall over. He thrashed his limbs around, revelling in the funny sensation of having all the little blades of grass and clovers twirl around his body. 

Blitzer dropped onto the plains with a heavy sigh. “I thought I wasn’t going to make it…” he whimpered in between pants, trying to keep his tail from sparking up the grass. He felt beside him until he found a tuft of George’s light blue fur.  “T-that was, the s-scariest thing I’ve, I’ve ever seen…”

George rolled onto his side, then reached out to the Charmander. “It’s okay, we’re safe now.”

“I never, never want to see another Drilbur, ever again, ever.”

Blitzer’s breathing slowly returned to a healthy rhythm. Despite everything, he wore a slight smile on his face. George drummed his belly in a lazy rhythm. Treasure or no treasure, brave or cowardly, it didn’t matter. They were safe. They were safe. That thought alone kept them smiling. As long as they had each other, everything was going to be alright.

“How are you feeling, Blitzer?”

“All I want to do, is sleep in my bed. My legs hurt, and my back does too.”

“Can you still walk?”

“Yes, just give a moment. I want to rest a little.” Blitzer rolled onto his back, his lower back coming to rest on a dewy piece of grass. His tail dipped downwards, scorching a portion of grass black in the process. “Ah, that hits the spot.”

George sat upright, putting a little pressure onto his tail. “As long as you’re okay,” he said, twirling his ears back and forth. “I didn’t come all the way out here just to lose you. I’d never forgive myself.”

Blitzer spread his arms and legs over the grass, much like a star in the night sky. “What about you? Are you feeling alright?” he asked, eager for an answer. George tilted his head backwards.

“Me? Just a little tired, that’s all.” George waved the smoky air away.

Blitzer chuckled back at him. “Haha, that’s fantastic! You know, after all that water breathing, back there, what I saw and heard from you, I was kind of worried. You’re still not used to it, right?”

George nodded. “Not really, no. Still feel like I’ve been wringed out to dry. But I’m getting a little better, at least. Either I’m learning how to handle myself, or I’ve gotten used to the aching,” he said, then gulped. “Sorry for spitting water onto you back there, by the way.”

“No worries.” Blitzer’s smile took a sinister turn. “...Georgie.”

George frowned. “Hey, what’s that all about?!”

Blitzer laughed right back at him, body rocking back and forth in the grass like a baby in a crib. Apparently, it was highly amusing for him to say that after a near death experience, one George had pulled him out of. Doing his best, yet still laughed at. His frown grew deeper the longer he watched Blitzer bob around. If it wasn’t for his back, the Charmander would have been rolling all over the place, laughing his way into a coma all the while. 

“I’m, I’m sorry George, I just couldn’t resist!”

“Yeah, I’m sure you couldn’t.” George stared off into the plains leading back home. No wild Pokemon to spot anywhere, just when he had the craving to spot some. Anything to take his mind off from things would’ve been welcome, but alas.

Seeing that laughing wasn’t impressing George, Blitzer took a different approach. “Oh, come on now. You have to admit that I deserve a little fun, especially after you leaked a little water on me back there,” he said, gritting his teeth through the pain until he sat up straight. “It’s only a joke-”

“Yes, I know!” George snapped back. “I just don’t like being called ‘Georgie’, okay?”

The Oshawott’s response came out a lot angrier than he had anticipated. Worse than that was that he wasn’t shocked about it. Blitzer wouldn’t understand.

‘ Come on, try to do something, Georgie! ’

‘ Aw, you wanna go cry? Cry to your mommy? ’

‘ Your mommy even thought you were stupid! ’

“George? George!!”

A cold wave washed over George.Confused, he looked over his shoulder to see Blitzer sat upright, tail curled around him, bearing a morose look which he didn’t want to show.

“George, um… I’m sorry,” Blitzer muttered, his muscles tensed up. “Is there… is there any reason why you don’t… why you don’t like being called ‘Georgie’?” he asked, his voice soft. “a-And again, I’m really sorry. I mean it.” 

A tear crept out of George’s eye. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he blurted out. Right after, he slapped himself in the face. ‘ You’re only making things worse for yourself, George! ’  Frustrated, he grabbed onto the soft white fur on his head and started to pull. 

“g-George! Don’t do that!” 

By the time Blitzer’s pleas reached his ears, George had already yanked a tuft out. He let it slide through his fingers, and allowed a frigid wind to carry it away. Moments after, he let his hands sink to the ground. Now was not the time to wave things off. Not to a friend.

“If anything, it should be me who’s sorry, Blitzer. Not you.”

“n-No, don’t worry about it-”

The Oshawott sighed. “Me acting out like that was completely uncalled for. And I get it. It’s a joke. You should be allowed to make jokes. It’s just.” George clicked his tongue. ‘ Your mommy didn’t even love you, Georgie ! ’ “There’s something I can’t explain. And it goes deep…”

Blitzer let out a deep breath through his nose. “Do you know why?”

George’s body vibrated at the thought. “Yes. Yes I do. It’s… it’s my old life. it’s too much,” he said, ears pressed against his head. A tear rolled down his cheek. Of all the times and places to think about the past, right this second had to be one of them. Even though that past was so very far away, it was only right around the corner.

‘If only I hadn’t been such a bad person. Maybe then I wouldn’t have ended up there. Maybe I could be telling Blitzer actual good stories about myself. But I can’t. ’

A hand suddenly touched George, whose ears perked back up. He looked up to see Blitzer having crawled up to him, patting his shoulder.

“If it makes you feel any better, I wouldn’t ever want to make fun of you on purpose,” the Charmander said. “I mean, you saved my life back there! If I had gone down there alone, I would have been toast! And not the kind my mom makes, either.” Grinning, he wiped the tears off George’s cheeks, who tepidly nodded in return.

“You could say that.” ‘And I would’ve laughed if I could, honest…’

Blitzer poked George with his elbow. “More like the kind my dad makes, am I right?” he said, to which the corners of George’s mouth sharply curled up.

“You mean Nero, or your biological dad?” ‘ Was that too far ?’ 

“What’s the difference?” 

Blitzer spread his arms wide and wrapped them around George. The two keeled over backwards, laughing. One final tear left George’s eye, before those emotions were put to rest. He turned back to Blitzer, this time with the frown turned upside down.

“Thanks Blitzer, I needed that.”

“No worries, George. Glad to help out anytime!” he said, scratching the back of his head with a thump of his tail. A burnt smell hung in the air, before being blown off by another cold wind. A glance above revealed darkened clouds gathering, which made Blitzer audibly swallow. “We should probably head back before Kyogre drops an ocean onto us.”

“Yeah,” George replied, pulling himself onto two feet. “Does it often rain around here?” ‘And Kyogre makes it rain, huh…’

“Absolutely,” Blitzer said, groaning as he got up. “In fact, it rains so often, it’s a miracle you haven’t seen any yet. It’s been really dry these past two weeks. Oh well,” he said with a shrug. George folded his arms over his scarf, reeling as he imagined getting doused in water from a passing car. 

“Well, I’ve seen plenty of rain back in the city. At least here I won’t get scolded for getting myself wet in the rain.”

Blitzer cracked up. “Wait, what? Why would anyone do that? It’s rain!”

“Ha, yeah,” George said, glancing at the grass for a split second. “City rules. Or… what was that word again… Eh-tee-ket. Apparently it was very important. Not here, right?” 

“Nope,” Blitzer said with a sly grin.

“That’s better.” George put his hands together. The idea of laying on a warm bed while it poured outside was like hot cocoa on a winter morning. “We haven’t forgotten anything, have we?”

“What about the treasure?” Blitzer pointed at the fold in George’s bright red scarf with a curious flick of his tail. 

“Wait, ah!” The Oshawott’s hands flew up to the scarf to rummage through the folds; fortunately, the flute piece still sat snug as a bug inside one. “Phew, that was a close one. Thought it was gone for a second, there.”

Blitzer wiped the sweat off his brow, despite the fact that he was a Charmander, and thus incapable of producing sweat to begin with. “After all the fighting, it’s a miracle that you didn’t lose it! Better, because no one is getting me back in there, no chance.” 

George raised the flute piece up to his nose. With it now being quiet, spare for Blitzer’s mouth, he had ample opportunity to study it. The piece gave off a dull shine. Even without sunlight, there was an elegance to it unlike anything back home. This wasn’t something you’d find in the middle of nowhere. The flute’s touch revealed a level of sophistication only a master would be able to achieve. Was such a thing even possible? Were there great cities in this world where civilization had bloomed to such an extent? And if they existed, why would a stranger ask a small Oshawott and a stubborn, zippy Charmander to dive underground for it? Unable to answer these questions himself, George handed Blitzer the piece, and explained his thoughts. 

“Huh? So you think an ordinary Pokemon made this?” Blitzer twiddled the piece around, observing it from many directions with exaggerated motions.

“No, I said a great craftsman, not anyone ordinary,” George grumbled, his tail swatting at the air. Blitzer shook his head back.

“That’s not what I meant. You think there are people out there capable of making these sorts of things? Ordinary Pokemon, and not Legends? Because, uh, I don’t think there are any people like you describe, George.”

George tilted his head. “What do you mean?” he said, then leaned back. ‘ To be honest, I might already have an idea. Soldiers, or something. ’

The Charmander took in a deep breath, as if to prepare himself for a lecture he was about to give. “Well, I have never heard of anything like that. You know, I vaguely remember being in a city when I was really young. But there was nothing like this there. Not at all. I don’t know what human society is like, George, but maybe you would find things like these there? If you’re telling the truth, then wow!”

As the wind howled yet again, George felt uncomfortably dry. Something in his body was telling him to jump into a pool of water. “So, uh, does that mean no?” he asked, clenching his gut to try and shake off the feeling that he’d been lost in a desert for hours.

“What I mean is, this is probably not made by an ordinary Pokemon,” Blitzer said. “Makes more sense that way. Why else would it be lying underground?”

George laid a hand on his cheek. “I don’t know..”

“We might have gotten our hands on something special, George. Or, in other words… Treasure!” Blitzer’s tail suddenly flared happily. It didn’t take long for him for his arms to fly through the air; were it not for his injuries, his feet would’ve been up there too. 

“Haha, yeah, I guess,” George awkwardly mumbled, while scratching at an itch near his freckled cheeks. ‘ Some treasure it is, though. We can’t even show it to anyone .’

An extra cold wind blew onto George’s back. The tension in his muscles lessened; a wave of humid air had been blown over by the wind. Given the clouds, the rain couldn’t have been far off. Believing Blitzer would want to be indoors by the time the rain arrived in full force, George turned tail to start the trek home. But, much to his annoyance, Blitzer wouldn’t have it that way.

“Heey! Where are you going?” 

“Back home. Where else?”

“Why though?”

“Doesn’t it look like it’s about to start raining?” George pointed up with a slap of his tail. 

“Yeah, but it’s only a little rain. No worries!” Blitzer said, stretching his arms out to let the wind flow over his body. “Cold, though!”

Thoroughly stumped, George tried pointing out the obvious to the Charmander. “But you’re a fire type. Don’t fire types hate rain?” He made rapid gestures all around his face with both hands to try and bring his points across, complimented further by flicks of his ears and twitches of his nose. “You know, with getting wet and all being actually bad for your health? Or that fire types just don’t like that? Getting cold in general being bad? Water gets pretty cold. Especially in the rain.”

Blitzer’s response was to put one hand on his head, the other on his side, and to start rubbing. “I don’t know. Other fires, maybe, but not me! I can handle getting a little wet! If bathing’s no issue, rain is nothing! I’ve handled rain before, it’s nothing big.”

George rolled his eyes. “Are you sure?” ‘ Your father sure told me a different story. With bathing, which I’ve seen for myself. And smelled more than enough times, too... ’ 

“Sure am! Now then, the flute…” Blitzer took the piece between two fingers. “What should we do with it?”

The former human folded his small arms over one another. “Well, we can’t go around showing it to anyone. Least of all your parents, either. They’ll probably start asking questions if we do.”

Blitzer nodded, and straightened his tail. “You’re right. Don’t need the whole village to find out. Especially not with Soldiers around. I don’t want them getting their greedy paws on it.”

George hummed in agreement. “Yes, and don’t forget the message. They explicitly told us not to, didn’t they?”

The expression on Blitzer’s face soured. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot… we can’t tell or show anyone. But why though? Why does whoever wrote us that message want that so badly?”

“I don’t know,” said George while shaking his head, “but I don’t want to find out what happens otherwise.”

“Uh huh.”

George breathed in deep, and back out. Blitzer held the piece out in front of him, and George eyed it further. It couldn’t have been so simple, could it? Would anyone just leave a piece of a flute lying at the bottom of a cave? He closed his eyes, and reimagined the encounter with the Excadrill. Those azure eyes right after it disappeared. The way they stared right back at him was off. Hatred, or anger... No, it wasn’t that. It was far more like the gaze of a police officer keeping watch over a playground.

His eyes were pried open by a large drop landing square on his nose. Surprised, George twitched it around, as more drops started falling. Another large one fell square on the crown of Blitzer’s head, causing the Charmander to jump. “Ah!”

“Blegh, here’s the rain I was talking about,” George said. 

“You know what, how’s about we get out of here?” Blitzer said as more drops started falling all around the two. “I wanna go home.”

George looked off beside him, bearing a smug grin. “Feeling homesick, Blitzer?”

“Yeah, somewhere warm and dry sounds fine right about now.” 

Grinning as the rain caressed his fur, George once again put a foot forward. “Well, what are we waiting for? It’s a good half hour until we get back.” ‘ Knew he was fakin’ it .’

Blitzer gulped. “Are you sure?”

“Well, it depends on how fast you can walk.”

“Uuurgh…”

And so, the two made their trek home, the flute piece once again tucked away into George’s scarf. Of all the danger they had gotten themselves into, one thing was certain about today’s adventure: They had better come up with a darned good excuse by the time they got home.

Chapter Text

* * *

PART II

The Renegade

* * *

Far away from Greenfield, in a chamber hidden from the world…

Light shone through pristine glass windows into the antechamber, brightening the green carpet spread out over the floor. The guards,a Throh and an Electivire, hastily put their masks on as a bang sounded on the wooden door they were in charge of. It was early in the morning. It was never too early in this keep.

With lumbering sighs, the guards opened the door. In stepped a brute figure they were all too familiar with, followed by two of the Queen’s less finer Soldiers. They were a Toucannon and a Magmar, the former uncomfortably fluttering its way into the chamber, and the other fidgeting with the green band around its arm. Despite having the task of taking charge, they were shirking back from the one they’d escorted here. The other guards in the room, and those in the room beyond had steeled their nerves. A growl rumbled throughout the antechamber. She was here. And it couldn’t have been anyone else. Her Sharpedo-like bipedal body, the teeth sticking out of her jaws, the colossal fin on her back, not to mention those talons.

What other Garchomps lived in this land, aside from the Queen’s most prized henchwoman?

“Lady Gareda, you’ve arrived.” The Sawk and Magneton on the other side of the hall saluted her, one with a hand, the other with a magnet. The Garchomp scowled at them both. The Sawk guard audibly gulped. They might play third fiddle to her teeth and talons, yet those reptilian eyes ran through them like spears through their enemies.

“Don’t bother stating the obvious. I’m here for the Queen. Now open the door.”

“y-Yes, my lady.”

A large stone door bearing a painted sigil stood between her and the queen. The Sawk guard knocked on the door; the Magneton put one of its magnets against a panel on the wall.

“Bzzt! Door will open soon, my lady!”

“Quiet..”

“Yes, my lady, Bzzt!”

Gareda shook her head. None of this miserable crew had any chance against an attacker.. How can one fight when they’re afraid of their own shadows? Let alone her? She’d only been present here for ten years. They wouldn’t last long in contact with the enemy if the sight of an ally caused this reaction. She crossed her talons over one another and keened her senses. Trembling all around her. Deep down, it was a good thing to be in a room full of fear. That is the kind of motivation one needs in hard times.

Like clockwork, the mechanism in the wall slowly pulled back the door, revealing the way into the audience chamber. Gareda and her entourage walked in. She scowled her way over the carpet to the other side of the chamber, clenching her talons against her sharp fins. Masked guards flanked them on all sides, partially covered by large white statues of previous rulers, except for one on the end. He had no such statue to hide behind. A handful of critters - A Bidoof, a Munna and a Nickit - scurried out of sight, not taking their cleaning equipment with them. Gareda kept her scowl trained on them for a second as they ran out, before turning back.

‘ Poor sods. Must be new here. They’re bound to learn the hard way. ’

Gareda’s guards stayed behind in the rear end of the room. She did not care. The thuds of her footsteps were better guardians than anything a rich Pokemon could hire. Even here, in the presence of the Vined Crest. That crest was everywhere; on banners hanging from the roof and on the walls, on the carpet, and on the throne. The Queen was not one to accept half measures. Even in the walk to the steps, you’d get a feeling of inferiority coursing through your veins. And thus, burying her scowl, Gareda knelt a few strides before the steps leading to the throne, pitching her head up at her Queen, who had been waiting on her for a while.

“Your majesty, you have summoned me. What for?”

The Serperior staring down at her was not amused. “Why yes, Gareda. I have. And I find your lack of enthusiasm odd.”

The Garchomp shook her head. “No, my queen, you must be quite mistaken. My spirits and energy couldn’t be higher.”

“Silence.”

The queen’s voice went through the air like a shockwave; Most of the guards staggered at their posts. Gareda’s mouth fell shut. The remnants of the scowl left her eyes like fallen leaves being carried off by the wind.

“My apologies, your-”

“No apologies, Gareda. I expect the best, and nothing but the best from everyone that wishes to sit at my right hand. You sauntered in here with no drive or emotion. I don’t care if you had to cut your way through a thousand Corrupted on your way here. In my presence, you are at your best. Understood?”

“...Understood, your majesty,” Gareda said after a slight pauze, straining her eyes into a serious gaze.

“Good. Now then. Allow me to explain why I have summoned you here. You may be aware of our little rebel issue, aren’t you? What am I saying, of course you are. I have seen your claws run red myself. You, the one who single handedly crushed the attacks on my family, and destroyed them when they foolishly believed they could take Torrevan City away from me, you know better than anyone what we are dealing with.”

“...Yes, your majesty.” Gareda kept her eyes trained on the Serperior’s neck. Her feet felt weary on the soft, silky carpet. Arceus did not create her to dwell in places like these. The mountains she pictured in front of her were as far away from here as the world would allow. Yet she did not budge from her kneel, even as the Serperior hollered for a Golduck servant to come bearing a drink. He too knelt, offering her a sip of the drink, before fleeing back to whatever dark corner he’d crawled out off. Gareda could taste the fear in her mouth, and faintly smell it amidst the soapy smell in the air.

Queen Patrina smacked her tongue on the water, twirling the sip in her mouth before swallowing. “Now, where were we? Ah yes… Gareda, I am eternally thankful to our creators to have you in my service. My gratitude is as vast as the great oceans, as infinite as the cosmos the Lustrous One created, and as vast as our realm,” she said. Gareda’s eyes were shut for most of it. “Alas. How unfortunate it is that my whole army is not staffed by others such as you,” she said, slithering her way onto her throne.

“What happened?” Gareda asked.

“You must know of it by now. The rebel theft of our piece of the Azure Flute.”

“I am aware.”

The queen scoffed. “Hmpfh. You better be, Gareda. I am entrusting you with the task of retrieving it.”

A passive grumble passed through Gareda’s throat. “Have the others failed to get it back?”

“Of course they have!” shouted the Queen with a loud whip of her tail, denting the stone floor as a result. “Those fools are less than useless! They let them escape with the flute, and now they cannot catch the brigands responsible! It is an embarrassment, no, they are an embarrassment! All because these brigands and thieves loyal to that steel cretin are so persistent, my finest are all scattered across the land keeping order, and I have to put a bunch of ragtag, bottom line commoner filth in charge of getting the flute piece back. Filth who have no clue of the sacrifices it took for them to have their measly, half feral lives!”

Gareda was silent, partially meditating as the queen’s tirade continued.

“I will not stand for this. I will discipline those fools myself! You, Gareda, show them how it is done. That steel cretin, who left all Pokemon to rot for his own sake… If they get their hands on that flute… If they harness its power to break the seal… you know what the consequences are, is that clear?”

“Yes, it is understood, your majesty.” Gareda’s eyes had fallen shut. The sensory organs on both sides of her head went wild, straining her mind with the pressure of a headache. Her breathing intensified, against all her wishes. Weakness was not an option. Failure was not an option. Not in a million years. Not for as long as the Temporal One lived.

“Good. Very good. Now then. I want you to take over. We know the general area of where these brigands have been hiding. Find them. Retrieve the flute piece. You are dismissed.”

“Understood, your eminence.”

“Now, if you excuse me, I have some fools that require my attention.”

As the queen slithered off to deal with the people originally in charge of retrieving her precious treasure, Gareda got off her knees and shuffled her way out of the room. An even deeper frown visible on her face than when she walked in, her entourage kept their distance even further this time. In times like these, she wished she had been born as a different Pokemon, if only so she wouldn’t have to be cautious not to scratch up the carpet with her sharp feet. If only so she wouldn’t be disciplined for asking her what her damned orders were supposed to be. If only so she were more than a puppet dancing on a string.

Grumbling, she left the chamber the way she came, the guards reeking with the sour stench of fear more than ever. She gave them snide looks as she walked past, her stomping feet and swaying tail bound to leave an impact on them if it hadn’t already. Some would’ve revelled in being seen that way. An unbreakable titan to whom everyone bent their knee, if they knew what was best for them. Gareda merely kept her head low, stomping her way out of the fortress much to the relief of the guards she was leaving behind..

“Idiots. Bloody idiots.”

Once she’d gotten past numerous security checkpoints, cussing out the troops stationed at each one, she left the fortress at her back, only to be greeted by wind and rain as she stepped outside. For a moment, she stood hanging her arms, letting the rain slide over her dark blue scales and down her tail, the scowl growing sadder by the second. ‘Just what I always wanted. Rain after meeting with Patrina.’

She and her escorts wandered down the steps into the city below. Luminity City, as the commoners called it. About the only place in the world where there was a steady supply of electrical power, thanks to the Queen demanding the power plant on the horizon be constructed specifically for her. Memories of the one time Gareda was there came rushing back to her. Everyone who could harness electrical powers worked there, and weren’t particularly fond of having an earthling like Garena observing them. Her scowl did her a lot of good that day.

In any case, the efforts at that plant meant that the city was bright even on rainy nights. One had to be careful not to step on any wires strewn over the ground, though. Gareda shook her head as she looked at the tightly wrapped bundles running through the streets. How any non-earthlings accepted this unnatural mess was beyond her. If they even accepted it. No one here, from the Grovyle walking past, the Hypno standing at a half empty market stall, to the Orbeetle flying overhead were staring at anything but the ground. Gareda shook her head; a grumble escaped her throat.

“Lord Gareda, where are you going?” the Toucannon escort suddenly said as the trio stopped. Growling, Gareda turned her head; the guards gave her shaky legs in response.

“Where does it look like I’m going?”

The Toucannon sounded as if he was on the verge of choking. “My lady, t-To the Cathedral, yes. Hm hmmm…”

Gareda sharpened her eyes. “Congratulations, banana beak. You’ve guessed that right. I’m going to do what any good Pokemon would do, and take some time out of my day to appreciate my Creator. While I do that, why don’t you and she go and make yourselves useful? Patrina, our oh so great queen, never bothered to mention where I am supposed to head to. Go on, then. Ask some of your fellow fools if they know. Maybe the previous morons in charge after the Queen’s done beating the devil out of ‘em!”

“But, my lord. I mean no disrespect, but are you disrespecting the queen?”

In an instant, Garuda’s arm struck out at the Magmar, pressing the blade on her arm against her neck. “What was that you said?”

“n-Nothing, my lord!!”

“Keep those lips shut then, duck face. Be a tattletale, and I won’t be stopping here.” She pressed the blade against the Magmar’s neck, who quivered in response. The Toucannon watched on with horror.

“y-Yes, my lord…”

“Off with you two.”

With all the grace of a falling anvil, the two soldiers ran off into the streets. Gareda shook her head. She met them this morning, was likely going to be stuck with them for the foreseeable future, and knew they were hopeless already: Her sensors told the whole story. Getting them to leave her alone for a while was enough of an accomplishment for today. Sauntering through the streets, throwing aside object and Pokemon alike, she headed towards the cathedral.

For the first time that day, she gazed up at the sky. The spire of the great cathedral of Luminity City. A monument in honour of the great creator, Arceus. Breathing in deep through her nose, and keeping a steady hold of her tail so that it wouldn’t sway around too much, Gareda knocked on the front door, and was let inside.

“...Lord Gareda? Do come in.”

“Gladly.”

The doorkeeper, an elderly Chimeco, pointed the Garchomp to a collection of bead necklaces, then left her on her own. It hadn’t been her first time here, and the people of the church were more than aware of who she was. Content to let the dragon run unsupervised in their house, they largely left her alone. Gareda knew full well she couldn’t just answer them with a scowl, nor did she want to. One should keep a firm grip on the light inside of them, especially when adrift in a dark sea. And the seas weren’t getting any brighter.

‘ Here we are. Even if it’s just for a minute, I need to be here. ’

The familiar aroma of incense poured up Gareda’s nose as she walked up the aisles to the other end of the cathedral. Spare for the sounds of her feet gripping onto the stone floor, the doorkeeper chiming away behind, and distant sounds of what must’ve been the other ones in charge of watching over this house, it was silent. Quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

A light headed feeling came over Gareda as she knelt down by the altar. Her whole life, ever since she was nothing but a wee Gible, she’d heard people from all across the Eravate region sing the same song. It was an instinct, something ingrained in everyone’s mind, like birds wishing to fly free, or earthlings desiring the underground. The desire to judge others. Some spoke of potential, others spewed pessimism. Some sang praises, others croaked negativity. Some laughed and shook their heads, others groveled for mercy. Collectively, everyone’s judgement ran society. It’s how one of Gareda’s scowls could get even the bravest to sweat. Because that is how people viewed her. Something to be feared. But in this cathedral hall, the judgement of others meant nothing. Whoever entered this place was on their own. Here, the true self would come out, just as Arceus intended.

Gareda crossed her arms, and leaned over kneeling in front of the altar.

“Please, for the love of Arceus, make this mission end well. I have to get this right, for them. I know you have been watching over me. I know you wish to speak to me, and I know that I have had to let you down… I’m sorry. Forgive me. Despite all the pleading, all my energy… something has not been going well. I’m sorry. I must come to you again, Creator. I require your strength again for this. For all of this. Please…”

Gareda’s voice shaked, the echoes reverberating through the hall. With visible pain streaming down her face, she continued, kneeling deeper and deeper.

“I promise you, I will not falter. I will not fail in this. For them, and for Eravate..”

Gareda’s confession went on for a long time. By this time, her tail was laid out over the floor, and the knee she supported herself on was shaking. No pain could stop her. It couldn’t stop her. It couldn’t, lest she ended up forsaking her own words.

And the consequences for that betrayal were well known.

Chapter Text

“Arceus almighty, Blitzer… How do you keep managing to do this to yourself?”

“Look, it wasn’t my fault, okay? I just tripped and fell! It happens!”

“Blitzer, who do you think you’re talking to? I’ve been your father for damn well over a decade, do you honestly think I can’t see through any lies you’re trying to tell me?”

“No, it’s not a darned lie, dad! It’s the truth!”

George walked in on the argument that had erupted in the living room on the hovel after they had come back from exploring Little Rock. While Blitzer was busy arguing over how he’d suddenly acquired a limp, George took the time to hide the flute piece inside his straw nest. Like the message, they wouldn’t be doing themselves a favor if anyone found out. Once the flute was buried deep enough to cause a headache when George’s head would inevitably fall onto it later that night, George went back to give Blitzer a hand..

“Ask George if you don’t believe me, he was there with me the whole time!” Blitzer shouted, his tail viciously swaying through the air. George twitched his nose and thumbed his ears back slightly. ‘ Damn, he is not happy about this little argument. Not one bit. He can be real angry when he wants to. ’

While Nera was busy preparing the night’s dinner, audibly grumbling the whole time, Nero looked at the Oshawott with a disapproving stare. “Well? Go on then. What happened?”

George gulped. “It’s like Blitzer says. We were exploring this cave we had found, and he tripped and fell onto a sharp rock. It was pretty bad, alright. There were a lot of wild Pokemon all over the place,” he said, gesturing to the Charmander with a spare hand. Nero’s large ears gradually flattened.

“Why you two kids can’t find less dangerous spots to play in, Arceus knows.”

A loud clang echoed through the house. It came from the kitchen. “Listen, I’ve defended this kind of behaviour before, but I have my limits.”

“M-mom?” Blitzer stammered.

“Listen to me, Blitzer. I like getting to see you grow, I really do,” Nera said, having left her cooking work to the side for a moment, “but I’m not going to let you hurt yourself just because you want to go adventuring. Look at you! You’re struggling to stand on that leg of yours!”

Nera nodded at the foot Blitzer was struggling to stand on. Realizing how bad it still looked despite the progress he made since exiting the cave, Blitzer tried standing onto it, but quickly wobbled backwards; a quick hand from George was all that stopped the injuries getting worse.

“See? Look at you! You can’t do this to yourself, Blitzer? What if George gets hurt, too? We can’t afford someone that can come and save you two!”

“Mom, I’m sorry…” the Charmander stammered. He hung his head and tail low; the flame at the tip was weak. George felt guilty just standing next to him. The one parent who had their backs was now throwing in the towel. This was a side of Nera that George never believed in. Even Blitzer seemed in disbelief.

“You’re sorry? Then show me. Please.”

“Yes mom, I will.”

“Promise?”

“...promise.” 

The slight pause Blitzer replied with hadn’t gone unnoticed. Nero wasn’t having any of it. “See what I mean, Nera? This is what he always does. ‘Oh, sorry’, then tomorrow it’s the same damn story.”

“No, I-”

“Shut it! You’ve made enough excuses already!”

“No dad, please-”

“Blitzer. You heard your father. Listen to him.”

The Charmander sighed. “Okay, mom…” he said.

Nero went on to recite a whole bunch of incidents that Blitzer had gotten himself into before George had woken up in this world. For George, it was eerily reminiscent of the so called ‘discussions’ the headmistress would hold with all the foster kids. Nero and Nera were leering down at their heads, going on long diatribes about everything the two had done wrong. When they were done, all he felt was that same stinging sensation of defeat he’d feel at least once a week back home.

“So then, mister. How much do you think that was? I think we’ve barely even scratched the surface on just how much of a troublemaker you are.”

“I swear dad, I didn’t mean to be that way…”

“Well that really makes a difference, does it? You didn’t want to make anyone feel that way? Do you know what I really do not want to do to you, or that Oshawott laddie? Have to ground you.”

A gasp shot out Blitzer’s throat. “Dad, no,” he said. George couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Not anymore. 

“I’m sorry, but you’re pushing me and your mother to the limit, lad. Either you’re going to be more cautious from now on, or we’ll have to keep you in here for a week straight.”

Thankfully, the argument ended right then and there. George and Blitzer could at least find relief in the fact that no one had spotted the flute piece in George’s scarf. But at what cost? Their freedom to pursue all the adventure and fame they loved to fantasize about was hanging on a thread. And whether that thread would hold was something neither of them could guess. All they knew is that they were facing an uncertain future.

* * *

Three days went by. Life in the village continued, with George and Blitzer sticking to playing around with the other kids. At least they still had the tale of their little underground adventure to tell, which the other kids enjoyed hearing about in between games of hide and seek, tossing the ball around, tag and the like. Fearing the worst, they spent their time in a peaceful manner. George was happy to be having a good time with children his age, and Blitzer was happy to keep bridging the gap between himself and the others.

Of course, it wasn’t all peaceful. Over the past few days, the question of the flute piece and the messenger came up several times.  They tried looking for the Tangrowth again, but he was nowhere to be found. They tried asking Hein, and were told that if they stepped in uninvited one more time, he’d punt them a few villages over. How he could do that without feet, George and Blitzer weren’t keen on finding out.

So they went back to their lives, letting the idea of the messenger slide for now. If the flute piece they’d found was important, then someone would come looking forward eventually. 

* * *

“Tag! You’re it!”

“Aah! I’ll get you, Blitzer!”

“He’s coming this way, quick!”

“Not if I can-”

“Tag!”

“Aww!”

“That’s what you get for always teleporting away!”

Feeling numb in his feet, George put his hands against the mossy walls of a house. ‘ Tag sure is exhausting when there’s Pokemon involved. ’ he thought to himself, panting all the while. The others seemed to agree, and were wrapping up the game. George was glad: It was good to not be all alone in the dust, and instead have others with you. As the warmth from Blitzer’s tail reached his fur, George felt a little less numb in his limbs. Life here was simple, but good. 

“Aah, I’m beat!”

“Says the kid that’s always running off and getting himself into trouble,” Alcia said chuckling. 

Blitzer puffed up his cheeks. “Hey, I can’t float around all over the place like you can! It’s not my fault I get tired!”

“Sounds like you’re makin’ excuses…” Alcia replied in a jovial tone. The rest of the group laughed, much to the pouting Charmander’s chagrin. 

“You know, I’m not good at tag, but it’s always so much fun!” Junior then said.

George raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, you’re not good at tag? You’re pretty fast.” ‘I sure had a hard time getting away from you, anyway.’

Junior tilted his head. “Because I have to get down on four feet if I want to stand a chance! I don’t like getting on four feet, it’s annoying.”

George had to tilt his head. ‘But I thought Pokemon relied on their instincts. Don’t Pikachu run on four feet, or am I getting something wrong?’

A gathering crowd was making noise in the distance. “So, uh, has anything been going on these past few days?” Corst then asked. “Because it doesn’t seem like much is going on ever since those two went exploring.”

Blitzer shrugged. “I dunno. Do you, Junior?”

Junior followed in Blitzer’s footsteps. “Nope. What about you, Sweitelle?”

“Nope, nothing,” the thus far Buizel answered. George put a hand under his chin. ‘ Her name is Sweitelle? Who knew Pokemon had such strange names…

“What about you, George? Anything else you’ve been up to? That Blitzer hasn’t been willing to talk about yet?” Alcia asked with a joking grin plastered all over her face. Upon seeing this, Blitzer resumed pouting, this time with his arms crossed. George only had a shrug to give. Outside of the forbidden, they had nothing but the same talk to tell.

“Nah. What you’ve seen is just about it. Well, aside from Blitzer’s parents lecturing me too.”

“Aw, your parents give you lectures all day too?” Junior asked. George and Blitzer both nodded.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t they? As much fun as we had, we’re just kids, and we need to know our limits.” Blitzer said. 

“Yeah. I guess.” Junior sighed. “You know, you’ve never told us, but did you find any treasure out there?”

George eyed Blitzer, and gulped. He had that silly look on his face that would always come out when he had to think about something. Was he considering spilling the beans, despite promising George he wouldn’t earlier? George shook his hands around and put his ears down, hoping that Blitzer would take the hint. ‘ Come on, you promised you wouldn’t tell anyone. ’

“Not really. We found a rag down there. So yeah.”

The other children gave dull stares, their tails lowering to the ground as Blitzer’s words set in. “Oh…” George let his tail sink as well, relieved. 

‘ Thank goodness, he realized. Well, I don’t know what would happen if he said the truth, but I don’t want to know.. ’

Junior bit at his cheeks; a little spark flew out. “Why a rag?”

Blitzer shrugged back with a flick of his tail. “Don’t know. It just was there.”

“Do you think someone might have dropped it?” Corst asked, then tilted his head.. “Or, do you think it might have been from someone that, uh…”

“Nope! Nope.” George took it upon himself to answer. ‘I know where this is going .’ “It wasn’t on the ground or anything like that. It was on some pedestal. You know, like a real treasure! Or something in a museum!”

“Oh. Oh… okay. Sorry, I didn’t think I’d be so stupid.” Corst nervously chuckled, before bonking himself on his rocky helmet with the stick he had been lugging around all day.

“Nah, it’s not stupid to think that, I was expecting more too,” said Blitzer.

“...what’s a museum? Another one of those northern things you talk about so much?”’ asked Sweitelle, twirling her tails around. George put his hands on his cheeks, prickling himself right on the freckles.

“Yeah, something like that. It’s uh, well it was a place where they showed off minerals and the like. On pedestals. It uh, yeah. In a city, in a city in the north, but I forgot the name. It was run by a Rolycoly and his parents.”

“Okay.” Sweitelle shrugged. ‘ Yeah, she’s not buying a word of it ,’ George thought to himself. 

“Hey, do you hear that?” Junior’s ears had gone straight up into the air. He was staring across the stream in the direction of the village’s roadside entrance. The others poked their attention in that direction as well; something odd was making noise, hidden by the houses of a few town residents. A sharp crunching, as if a hundred feet were marching in unison. 

“I don’t like the sound of this,” Corst said. 

“Soldiers…” Blitzer whispered.

“What?” Alcia said. Blitzer’s body spun around.

“Soldiers. It has to be. I know what this sound is.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Trust me, this can’t be anything else. We’ve got to check this out.”

“I don’t know Blitzer, I’m scared…” Sweitelle said.

“Me too,” George followed, albeit for different reasons. ‘Blitzer was that close to telling them, and now they’re here?’

“I know, I don’t like this either, but we have to see it for ourselves.” Blitzer said in a level-headed tone. All the cheers and smiles were buried now. Soldiers were no laughing matter. When he gestured to the party to follow him to the village square, where the crowd they had heard earlier had likely been waiting for the Soldiers to come in, everyone followed in spite of their reservations. 

“Do you think they’ve come to take food again?” Junior asked.

“I don’t know. We’ll have to see,” Blitzer replied, swinging his tail around.

“I don’t want to go hungry again…” Corst stammered. 

“Me neither, but if it comes down to that, me and George are ready to help out. Right, George?”

George gulped. “Right,” he said. Blitzer wasn’t exactly giving him a lot of options here. Then again, were the Soldiers? Everyone needed to eat. Either he’d follow Blitzer to the ends of the earth, or he could lay down and starve. And that was unacceptable.

All together, the children arrived at the town square, and fidgeted past the crowd until they found a free spot on the very edge of the square. The road leading from the square to the village entrance was flanked by strong, vicious looking Pokemon from various species, whose very presence was enough to get one’s skin to shiver under their fur. All voices gathered fell silent, as the Soldiers raised their heads to greet what had to have been their leader. None of the children could see, they could only judge. Their parents and neighbours were aghast, half of them were adrift in confusion, the others were on the verge of curling up into a ball. 

An air of menace came into the square, and the children were like insects caught in a stormwind, scaredly whimpering as the crunching of the gravel path they were so familiar with became louder. George’s fingers squeezed into a fist. He had to fight to keep his eyes open, just to catch a glimpse of what beast had come to the village now. His breath hissed between his teeth. Worse than last time, when they were being confronted with starvation, how was that even possible? It would be a few seconds until he had his answer. 

‘ Stay calm, stay calm. ..’

Into the square stepped a large Pokemon. Coated in dark blue scales everywhere except for the chest, and scythe like arms, the whole crowd was speechless. It was like seeing a creature from a world beyond this one, perhaps that wasn’t so far off the mark, either. George’s whole body ran cold as he looked up at this beast. He felt Blitzer’s claw hold his back, the familiarity of it a lonely comfort in this . The human turned Oshawott felt utterly puny. A small fish in a big pond. Together with this. The fins, the tail, the hammerhead like a shark, with the reaper’s scythes embedded on both arms, and those agile, lizard-like feet. A killing machine, glaring everyone down into the ground, ready to slice them into pieces should they make one wrong move. Living without knowledge of this beast was a luxury they had now lost. A glimpse of that scowl was like a knife running under the skin.

“Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

The Pokemon cleared its throat; its voice sounded decisively feminine. The dusky green scarf, and the badge pinning the scarf down on the red part of the Pokemon’s chest nullified any feeling of safety they might have gained. George found himself reaching for Blitzer’s arm. Anything to feel just a little protected.

“Villagers, I take it that everyone here is as disinterested in this as the others. Keep an ear open, and this won’t take long. Brigands have been passing through this area, making off with stolen goods. We want those goods back, and that is why we are here. To collect information on these thieves…”

The Pokemon’s scowl crossed the audience; from the edge, George saw all the passed fears come back at full force. ‘ First our food, now everyone’s treasures? ’ Soft whispering crept up from numerous points in the square. Suddenly, the shark stomped her feet, causing a vibration in the earth below. Any murmuring disappeared instantly..

“...As I was saying, thieves are running amok in this area. They’ve made off with an important treasure. We want it back. Our request to you is that you report any shady folks or activity to us immediately. This is in your interest. Do you want your most prized possessions to be stolen, too? If your answer is no, then you will do as we suggest. I hope you see the urgency in this.”

As she finished speaking, her eyes briefly glanced off to the side. For a second, George met her scowl head on, causing a shiver to pass through him. It only lasted for a second, but it felt as if that Pokemon was crushing his bones into the pavement. Even she let a glimpse of satisfaction be visible on her; the scowl lessened as she turned her head away.

With a swish of her tail, the bestial Pokemon left the square. Row by row, the Soldiers that had come with her followed in lockstep, the crunching of their feet . Once the people of Greenfield had gotten the idea that they had fallen out of earshot, the soft murmuring spread like wildfire throughout the crowd. Still feeling uneasy, George turned to the Charmander standing next to him; the other children were nowhere to be seen. No one was in the mood for fun and games; the air they now breathed tasted very dreary.

“What was that…?”

“I think… that was a Garchomp, George.”

“A what now?” George said with a sudden slap of his tail.

“A Garchomp. It’s a dragon type,” Blitzer softly said. George gulped.

‘ Garchomp? I never saw … ’

“Haven’t ever seen one of them in my whole life, and I’m glad I never did,” Blitzer continued, staring right down the path the Pokemon had come in from. Out of the blue, a Mankey wearing a dark green wristband ran into the square with a flyer and some sort of bottle in its hands. A wanted poster, by the looks of it. Blitzer shook his head. 

“If they want to make us feel safe, why would they bring a Pokemon like that here? She looked like she could kill anyone just by staring at them.”

“Yeah,” George whispered, all while his hands met over his scalchop. For a brief moment, he felt that glare pass through him again. To think that was just the eyes, and not any of the other tools at that beast’s disposal. “I want to go home.”

Blitzer grimaced. “Me too.”

Around them, the square had already thinned out. Most were in the process of going home, or heading into the cafe to drown out their sorrows. The people left were Lance, who was the lone Pokemon reading the flyer the Mankey had put up, and Nero and Nera, who were sitting on their hindquarters, waiting.

“About time you two noticed us,” Nero said. “T’is about time we headed home for the day, what do you say?”

“Uh, dad? Can I-”

“Not right now.” Nera cut Blitzer right off. “We can talk, but not here of all places. Let’s just go home, shall we?”

Blitzer audibly gulped. “Um, sure, Mom. George? Let’s go, okay?” 

George didn’t have a say in the matter. Even if he wanted to leave, that wasn’t an option. And by the looks of it, no one else had a say, either. When they had a view over the stream, he could see the other children being led back home as well. A storm had gathered. No one was willing to weather it outside. An unspoken command had been ordered, and everyone old enough to obey did as was asked. 

It wasn’t until the door of the hovel clicked back into frame that anyone in the household had the guts to say another word. Nero and Nera gathered around the table, and ordered the two children to sit opposite to them. The children eyed each other with a nervous, but confident stare. They had each other, and the familiar smell of candle wax in their nostrils.

“First off, and this should go without saying, but I will drill this into your heads until you can repeat it in your sleep. Do not, ever, EVER, talk to the Soldiers. Don’t care for what. Thieves? Give me a break. Another excuse to pry whatever they really want out of your lips. Is that clear?”

Nero’s words rang loud through the hovel. The two children nodded. His stare, though not in the same stratosphere as that of the Garchomp, made any protesting seem foolish. 

“Yes.”

“Good.”

Nero shook his head. “What in Arceus’ name are they planning this time?”

“Blitzer, George.” Nera looked on with eyes as stern as her husband’s. George felt very uneasy. “This is not a joke. If they come here, if we give them an inch, they’ll take it all. Everything in this village, okay? It’s better if you don’t go outside for the rest of the day. Alright? Just stay indoors.”

“Wh-what?”

“You heard her, Blitzer. We told you, didn’t we?”

“But dad, they’re gone now! We’ll be fine! We haven’t left the village in three days!”

Nera suddenly slammed the table. “We’re serious here, Blitzer. You’re not leaving this house today. Either you’re waiting until tomorrow, or you’re waiting until next week. I’m not allowing you anywhere near them, is that clear?”

“...yes, mom.” whimpered Blitzer. 

‘ A week?! They can’t seriously be thinking this after three days! ’

George put his hand up, only for another slam to land on the table.

“You, don’t you dare! To your room, right now!” Nero shouted.

Neither Blitzer nor George said a word back. It was raining outside, anyway. 

Chapter Text

After having to swallow a bitter pill courtesy of the parents, George and Blitzer resigned themselves to their room. All that was missing was a whimper. Instead of spending the day outside with the others, or going out exploring, here they were stuck to the confines of the hovel. Given the tone of the conversation just now, George found it a struggle to believe they even had that liberty left. Maybe they could be loud with their toys if they were lucky. All to shelter and protect them from the green storm. He sighed.

“So, that happened.”

“It sure did,” Blitzer said before blowing on the paper spinner. It spun around much as it did a few days ago, much like it did on the day he first got it. And there was a strong chance that it would spin in the same way when he was ready to put it away for good. Blitzer didn’t chuckle, or smile, or so much as move for that matter. He just sat near his toy box, one arm slumped, tail curled around his side, messing around with the spinner. Neither he or George said anything. Blitzer only blew on the spinner, and George only watched and listened to the spinner being blown around, until the tedium became too much.

“Do you have any other toys?”

“Of course I do. Do you want one?”

“Yeah. It’s not like there’s much else for me to do in here, is there?”

Blitzer reached in the basket with his free claw, then tossed two objects over to the other side of the room; they landed halfway across and slid the remainder of the distance towards George, who picked them up with a bored groan. The objects were a wooden paddle covered in a red cloth, and a tiny marble ball made out of a soft metal. George hummed a dull note. 

‘ Well, this is familiar, at least. It’s not a complicated game, is it? Makes sense that they would have it here too. ’

For a while, George kept to himself trying to keep the ball in the air, the thump of it hitting the paddle intermingling with the sound of Blitzer blowing away at the spinner. The expression on his face remained ever so dull, and Blitzer wasn’t faring much better. Sometimes he landed it, other times it rolled away, but that was it. There wasn’t much to it. Just like the spinner. Just like the other toys. A seven year old would have been content for ages, but George had a year or five over that. It wasn’t long before he put the paddle beside him, leaned over back, and began drumming his hands on his belly, trying to recreate the beats to some tunes he’d heard on the television back home. But that wasn’t much better.

‘ I wish I had a television to watch right now. Even if it’s just one hour. I could learn a thing or two… ’

A blue wave crashed over George’s head. Out of the ocean, into the river, some might say. Except that an actual river sounded wonderful at a time where he was stuck in a dusky cave. His body sure craved jumping into one, in any case. What else was there to do, except talk about the Soldiers again? The Pokemon that had gotten him stuck here to begin with? He and Blitzer weren’t in any mood to be discussing that further. No surprises to be had there. Was there any alternative though, except for sitting around here waiting for the day to turn to night, and then for the night to turn bright? 

Simple answer, there wasn’t. Messing around with a ball and paddle lost its appeal already, and that box wasn’t bound to contain anything much better. Once the thought of discussing the situation at hand crossed his mind, it stayed there. What was happening? Thieves were supposedly running amok, but were they? Or was there more to it? There had to be: George was sure of it. He looked over to his straw bed, which the flute piece they’d found a few days ago was still buried in, jutting out of the straws slightly on a side facing the wall. It was hidden, yet easy to take out, in case that was ever needed. A nagging feeling tingled in George’s head that the flute piece wasn’t merely something neat and shiny looking. The idea clicked too well.

“So… are you doing alright, at least?”

Blitzer sat slumped over with his knees up, one arm leaning against a leg while propping up his head. “No.”

George’s eyes were drawn to the ground. “Yeah…”

“Why do they always have to keep me in here when there’s trouble…” Blitzer let the spinner drop out of his hand, right back into the toy box. 

“Maybe they’re just worried and they’ll let us back out,” said George. He assumed the best from Nero and Nera. They were good people, at the end of the day. Even if Nero was easy to upset and Nera’s nagging got annoying, they meant well. More than he could say for all other adults he met prior to that. Blitzer had a different set of eyes viewing the situation, however..

“No they won’t. They never do.”

“Have you tried asking them?”

“More times than you can imagine. I’m telling you, George, once they’re all scaredy like they are now, there’s no point in even bothering.” Blitzer grumbled through bared teeth; for a second, George thought he heard a sharper, more animal-like growl in there, and felt his muscles tense up. “I’m getting tired of them walking all over my life like that. Darn soldiers. I’ll show them what I’m made of if I have to! Just because everyone here rolls over doesn’t mean I will.”

George’s ears went down; his tail impatiently slapped the ground he was sitting on. “Uh, what do you mean, roll over?” ‘Wasn’t it you who said no one is strong enough to stand up to them? ’

“Everyone here just gives up when they see soldiers. Like today. Oh, they want us to look out for thieves now. I guess we will have to give most of our food again sometime soon. Everyone hates Soldiers, yet no one does anything.”’ Blitzer fell over backwards against the wall. He had a look of defeat on his face. 

“I know they’re supposed to be strong, I’ve seen it myself! And I know my parents are scared of me getting seriously hurt because I like trying to be hero! But someone has to do something.”

George’s eyes were drawn to Blitzer’s side. His back still wasn’t looking particularly flexible. “Can you really blame them, though? After how badly beat up you came back a few days ago? We didn’t even tell them half of what we had gotten up to, yet they’re already frightened. It could have been much worse.”

“I know, George,” Blitzer muttered, his eyes half closed as he eyed the ground under his feet. George put the tips of his fingers against one another, and breathed in.

“Truth to be told, I’m glad you have parents like them. They’re incredibly harsh, yes, but it comes from a good place.”

“What do you mean?” Blitzer asked.

“All I’ve ever known was the former. You might take it for granted, but… living without others looking out for you, or worrying about you, or wishing the best for you? It hurts. It really does.” George blew his breath out through his nose, deflating the tension in his belly. Blitzer wouldn’t look him in the eye; a frown was visible, even on just the corner of his mouth.

“Yeah. I… I understand you. I guess I’m still lucky in a way. But sometimes, I get the feeling that they’re too afraid to do things that will really help us out. Just look at the Soldiers! They’re getting worse every day!” Blitzer said, as he proceeded to wave his claws around in wild gestures. “First they demand we accept them, then they impose more and more rules on us, and now they’re taking our food. What is going to happen next? Are they going to start taking Pokemon out of their homes, because they suspect something? Someone has to stand up them, George!”

“But what about that one in the square just now? How is anyone supposed to stand up to that?”

Blitzer almost choked on his breath as he spat it out. “Egh, I don’t know. But someone has to do something! Even if it doesn’t turn out well! They’ve already taken half of our food, what comes next?”

George sighed. “You know the answer to that better than I do.”

“Take the rest of our food. Take innocent Pokemon away,” Blitzer said, staring off at the wall opposite to George bearing a wincing expression on his face, as if he had just stepped on one of his toys by accident. 

“I was more thinking about the shark,” George said.

“...Shark?” Blitzer replied. George pressed one of his hands against his face. ‘ Stupid me .’

“That monster from the square, I mean. With the teeth, the scythe arms… the star on its head. It looked like it would eat you and me for breakfast, and that’s just one of them!”

“Yeah,” Blitzer said, now shivering. “To be honest, I never knew a Pokemon like that existed! It’s like a Scyther, crossed with a Sharpedo, and then a Salamence, too! If that’s the kind of Soldiers that are out there, then it’s no surprise no one is willing to stand up. But…”

George’s hands were firmly wrapped around his scalchop. Fiddling with the tool he had yet to find a use for, he watched as Blitzer was caught up in a struggle. One side wanted to make a stand, the other wanted him to get inside and stop trying to scare off rain. The hero inside clashed against the little body Blitzer was stuck in. Maybe if he had his wings, he’d stand a chance. Sharper claws, hotter flames, that fearsome Charizard roar. George couldn’t help but admire the idea of standing beside one as a companion. Maybe he and Blitzer would have a chance if they were fully evolved. If it wasn’t already futile though, what with them being all alone and up against the whole world. The whole town. The whole building, even. 

“...I just hope we can actually live one day. Not just be stuck here, slowly losing everything.” 

George nodded. “Don’t get me wrong, I understand you. But we’re just kids. We almost died over a flute the other day.” Blitzer groaned to these words, tepidly admitting George was right with a nod. George steeled his nerves; now was the time to bring it up. “Speaking of that flute, aren’t you getting a bad feeling thinking about it too? I mean, we got it a few days ago, and the first thing we hear from the Soldiers is that they’re looking for something stolen.”

Blitzer shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe it is, it wouldn’t surprise me. What do you think they’ll do once they find out we have it?”

George drew an exasperated breath. “I wish I knew the answer myself.”

A loud bang broke through the door. The two children jumped off the ground while sitting, their frowns turning to grimaces in an instant as the door swung open. Nero hopped in.

“Lads, Speedy wants to see you.”

Blitzer and George scratched their heads. “Uhh, what?”

“You heard me,” said Nero with a flick of his ears. “Speedy is at the front door. Your mother and I just got done talking with him. Best to not keeping him waiting.”

“But weren’t we supposed to stay here?” George asked with a thump of his tail. Nero rolled his eyes.

“Turns out one of ‘em came running back, gave some huge apology for taking all our food two weeks ago. Don’t know what that’s all about, but I’m guessin’ it’ll be fine letting you out for now. While Speedy is watching you, that is.”

“Awesome!” Blitzer held up a clenched fist, his tail excitedly swinging around as his mind wandered off to thoughts of adventure. Of course, Nero could see straight through him. If George could, Blitzer’s father sure could do it too.

“Wouldn’t get too excited if I were you. Only reason we’re lettin’ you out now is because Speedy’s there to make sure you don’t run off. I’m not tolerating you coming back like you did three days ago, mister.”

“Oh.” Blitzer’s excitement quickly faded. George stuck his tongue into one of his freckled cheeks. ‘ So much for adventure. ’

* * *

“And remember, don’t lose sight of them! They’ll be halfway across the world before you know it.”

“Don’t worry, Nera. Got my own kid who’s the same way, remember?”

‘Of course! I hope little Junior’s doing well!“

“He sure is! Gets along with your kids just fine. Have a good day!”

A few paw waves later, the door closed. The three began to walk down the hill into the village proper. Or so anyone would think looking at them. Just a few steps further, barely out of hearing range for someone standing on the other end of the doro, Speedy went from humming a tune to stretching his arms and lightning bolt tail out in an exaggerated manner. “Aaargh, feels good to be outdoors, don’t it?”

“Sure does,” Blitzer said with a smile and a sway of his tail. “So what happened? Why are my parents suddenly not all stuck up?”

The Raichu burst into a chuckle. “Should’ve stuck ‘round in the square after the Sharpedo-face left. Previous nutter in charge of that whole lot came running back into the square. Gave this big teary eyed apology for taking all our food away. ‘Ooooh, I’m so sorry! Never thought it would bring you aaal so much paaaain!’” he said, mimicking the speech with a high pitched wail only a clown was capable of. The two children laughed, and Speedy caught the laughter too after a while. 

“Best part, he made ‘imself sound so genuine. As if he actually cares, hah! Hindsight, it sucks I put Junior back indoors, would’ve been funny to see his reaction to it!” 

“Heh, where is Junior, actually?” George struggled to get the words out of his throat without breaking into another chuckle. 

Junior shrugged. “With the other kids, probably. If their parents let ‘em back out. Sure hope so. But before you go runnin’ off, mind listening to what I have to say? Got a favor to ask you two, and yes, you two in particular.”

George raised an eye, while Blitzer gave a curious flick of his tail. “...Why us?”

Speedy waved a finger in front of the Oshawott’s face. “‘Cause you and he are the only two in this village stubborn enough to do it. Especially after that little stint in the cave a few days ago. I need some good help real bad, you hear?”

Blitzer folded his arms. “But we’re just kids. How could we help you?”

Speedy nodded. “Look, I know this’ll be weird and all, but I got myself into quite the pickle, alright. Some thieves broke into my house last night, you hear? Made off with an important little heirloom of mine, and I want it back.”

“y-You want us to go after thieves for you?” Blitzer asked, almost choking on his words.

“Well, yeah, but you wont be doing it for me. You’ll be doing it with me.”

A bad chill went down George’s spine. How many times has he gone down this path in the past few weeks? Sure, he’s gotten tougher, but with what happened in Little Rock still fresh on the mind, going on another quest out to the middle of nowhere was beyond foolish. Even Blitzer was having doubts about the idea.

“But we’re just kids, what can we do against adult Pokemon? Feral Pokemon are awful enough for us.” Blitzer stretched his back, tail jittering back and forth all the while. The scratches might’ve been gone on the outside, but Blitzer could feel beyond the skin, and the mark of that pedestal couldn’t have fully healed. Not this fast.

“Hah, say it with a little less emotion, and you’re startin’ to sound like Junior! That’s where I come in, lad.” Speedy nodded his head; something about the motion of his head felt off. It looked more like a Magnezone nod than anything a Raichu would do. “I know who the thief is, and I know how to get ‘em. I just need to make sure we won’t be in there alone.”

“Wait, what do you mean you know who the thief is?” asked George. 

“Got a little… history with ‘em, lad. Some old drama, nothing to worry about.”

Every second, George felt a little extra concern about this whole plan. Nothing about it seemed right. Shadier than what goes on in the back of Hein’s cafe, and intentionally vague. He shook his head. Speedy was one terrible, terrible liar. If he was human, his cheeks would’ve been redder and hotter than a Charizard’s breath. He knew it, and by the looks of it, Blitzer did too. Usually he would be the one jumping and cheering at the idea of getting to do something heroic for someone else. Today though, all he had to give were folded arms and whip-like flicks of his tail. Finding the excitement in him now was like looking for a diamond in a haystack.

Still, George wasn’t willing to rebuke Speedy, either. Whether it was a longing to not be stuck inside the hovel all day, or that stubborn wanderlust inside of him speaking its mind, or something else, he wasn’t willing to call out the lie for what it was. Blitzer, however, didn’t appear to be so tame.

“Alright, I don’t fully believe you, okay? You’re acting all weird, Speedy. It’s not like you to keep things from me.”

A mist of saliva flew out of Speedy’s mouth as his teeth bit down on each other. “Trust me, kids, t’is a bunch of old drama that’ll take a long time to explain. Blitzer, you know I don’t lie to you. Most of this town wouldn’t have cared about steppin’ on your toes, but I do. Alright?”

The Raichu gave the two children a smirk and wide eyes, kind of like a small Pikachu would. The weight he’d put on since evolving and his sharp ears weren’t doing him any favors. George bit his lip and pulled it into his mouth slightly, making himself look like an elderly dwarf. He felt awkward. 

Blitzer hummed a curious note, then clicked his tongue a few times. “Well yeah, you’re right. Are you sure that we can do this? I hurt my back pretty bad, and I’m not sure I could handle getting hurt that badly again.”

Smiling, Speedy nodded energetically. “Of course! I know what we’re doing. And it’s not as if we’ll be helpless, either. Those thieves are hidin’ right in Agate Township, just in plain sight! If something goes wrong, we’ll have plenty of help all around us in no time.”

Blitzer kept his tail close by as he thought the request through. George stood beside him, hands clasped together, hoping Blitzer wouldn’t say yes so easily. Another journey into the dark was not what either of them needed. Not with Blitzer’s back, not with the Soldiers roaming around, not with the parents ready to ground them for a whole month if things went awry. Difficult as it was to admit, perhaps dropping the heroism might do them some good. They weren’t fit to weather the storm just yet.

Alas, Blitzer has other ideas. From the moment he sighed in a high pitched tone, George knew he was in for a disappointment. “Alright. I’m willing to give it a try. As long as you can keep us from getting into too much danger, I’ll be fine with it,” he said. While he was drawing in a breath, George crossed his arms. 

‘ Argh, not now, Blitzer! What if they find out? ’

“And also, could you keep this a secret from my parents?” Blitzer continued, now holding his tail in his hands. “They’re already on edge from me getting hurt. I don’t want to disappoint them again.”

Speedy patted the Charmander on both his shoulders: One with a paw, the other with his tail. “No worries, lad. You know I’ve got your back. What do you say? Have we got a deal?”

Blitzer nodded back with a frown. “Deal.”

“Awesome. And you there, Oshawott lad, what about you?” asked Speedy, staring on hopeful. George sighed back. 

“As long as we don’t get into trouble.”

“ I’ll tell your parents that I had you help me around the home for a while. Then they’ll blame me at least, heheh,” Speedy said, grinning. “Anyway lads, If we’re all in agreement, then I’ll be back tomorrow morning to get you two. Agate Township ain’t so far away, ‘s a little shy of hour’s walk I’m pretty sure. See you around.”

With that, Speedy turned tail and walked down the hill, occasionally turning backwards to wave a paw through the air. After he vanished out of sight, and all three of them were done waving at each other, George jump turned towards Blitzer, resisting the urge to grab him by the shoulders and shake him around.

“What are you doing?! You just said it yourself, we can’t go out right now! Your parents would lock us up and throw away the key!”

Blitzer looked away in shame, faintly in the direction of the village square and the main entrance, which were hidden behind rain soaked homes. “Yes, I know that, but,” he paused to sigh. George wasn’t having any of it. Already he could hear Nero barking at them to not set one foot out of the house for a whole week. “It’s Speedy. I can’t just say no to him.”

“Why though?” George asked with a slap of his tail. Blitzer grabbed onto his tail and looked down at the Scalchop on his chest, which was as clean as a whistle.

“He’s been there for me all these years. Even when my parents were starting to get sick of me, he’d still take my side. It’s done him no good, yet he never changed. After all that, I cant let him down.”

“But you know what your dad said. How are we going to talk our way out of this one if he finds out?”

“I know that. And believe me, I feel horrible having to disappoint him and my mom again. Because I do get jumpy and run off, they’re totally right,” Blitzer explained, his hands and tail doing half the talking for him. “But Speedy is someone I can trust. He sure got me out of the weeds more times than I can remember. Like one time with the Drilbur, he jumped right in to help me out, even though he has his own fear of earthlings to deal with. If there’s anyone in this village that we can trust with something like this, it’s him.”

George’s eyes were drawn away to a house on a distant hill. Lance’s house, most likely, though the Druddigon was nowhere to be seen. Anything to pull his attention away from the current situation was welcome in his book. Talking to Blitzer was like talking to a wall sometimes. Argue all you like, you’re always ending up eating your own words. Sometimes, it seemed like divine intervention from Arceus was the only thing capable of changing Blitzer’s mind. George shook his head, and accepted defeat. 

“You better not be making jokes here, Blitzer…”

“Of course not.” Blitzer put his hands on George’s shoulders, squeezing them tight. “I would never joke about something like this! Ever!” he said. George replied with a tepid nod. ‘God, I sure hope so. If I can’t trust you, then who in this world can I?;

’”We’ll be fine, George. If you don’t trust Speedy, then trust me. Agate Township isn’t so far away. My parents and I have been there before. This is no Mystery Dungeon we’re tackling, alright? They might be thieves, but they’re still sane Pokemon,” Blitzer said. “Think of it like a good training opportunity, instead of a fight to survive.”

The hands on George’s shoulders squeezed harder; a groan came out of his throat. “Civilized, like Soldiers, you mean.”

Blitzer clicked his tongue. “Even Soldiers have standards. Ferals don’t. One pushes you around, the other one tries to eat you alive.”

George gulped. “e-Eaten alive?!”

“What do you think those Drilbur wanted to do to us? You saw them, right? Those eyes, and those claws? They one hundred percent thought you looked tasty, George.”

Blitzer took his hands back; he felt them trembling. “That’s enough,” George whimpered. ‘ No more, please. I like getting some sleep. ’ Life was a lot more manageable without knowing you’re one bad encounter away from being viciously mauled and devoured. Alas, that was a fact of life George couldn’t stay ignorant of.

“Sure, sure. What do you say, are you ready to go to Agate Township tomorrow?”

George let go of a shaky breath. “I’m not getting any more ready than this, I feel.” ’Not without anyone telling me what Agate Township or Pokemon thieves are like, anyway .’

Blitzer nodded; a smile appeared on his Charmander snout, which looked like it had grown a little over the past few days. “Great! I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow.”

Chapter Text

The sun shone past clouds onto the grassy fields of the Agate Province. Picturesque, one could say: The bright emerald of the fields were a sight to behold to any pair of eyes. Even the ones Gareda glared with. Despite being on official business in the name of the Vined Crown herself, even she couldn’t keep up that vicious appearance as she and the soldiers under her talons marched through the fields. Bright as it may be, the world always keeps spinning. No one grows weak at the sight of a field. 

From first light onwards, Gareda and her soldiers had been hard at work, going from town to town across the Agate region to deliver a quick speech. Thieves were on the loose with a piece of the Azure Flute, and the cooperation of the populace was needed to find it. Simple words proclaiming a common interest, yet nothing more than a nod of acknowledgement at best. So far, that’s what the story had been in every wretched little burg she and her Soldiers encountered. One big waste of time, whose chances of delivering any nugget of valuable information were shrinking by the minute. It seemed like new wrinkles were developing underneath her blue scales after every speech.

The lone star in the daylight was a single encounter. One small and forgettable town by the name of ‘Greenfield’, if the faded out sign at the front was speaking the truth. While giving the same spiel about thieves and cooperation, her sensory organs went wild. Throbbing, aching, screaming without a mouth. Something wasn’t right in that town. On one side, the residents of this village in particular seemed downright furious when she and the Soldiers at her back entered their village. A mixture of fear and anger hung in the air. It was the kind of anger only hatred could fuel. No simple hamlet that reeked of moss and old wood got there with fights over the harvest.

But that wasn’t all. Her sensors might have been alerted by the fury of a whole village, but they went into a frenzy over something in particular. Even now, some miles removed from that village, they were still ringing slightly. To her immediate left, they were keen on the sight of a child and his friend. One little sea otter with a freckled face, so weary on his feet that a strong wind would send him flying, and her sensors panicked. Why would that be? Her sensors had never let her down before. And despite the sights, and despite far greater burdens resting on her shoulders, the thoughts didn’t go away. A droning, nauseous feeling crept up in her head; she raised an arm into the sky.

“We’re taking a break. Now.” ‘Before I lose my mind. It’s only a damned kid, Gareda. Get over yourself. ’

Like clockwork, the Soldiers broke out of their formation and scattered across the area. They were like old Pokemon limping their way through a scorching desert, yearning for any drops of freedom they could find. Frolicking over the plains, tugging on their cloth bands or tossing said band off all together, or just plain dropping onto the grass and flailing their limbs around. The Toucannon and Magmar who had been assigned to ‘watch over’ Gareda were among them. One flew off  to sip from a pond, the other flopped onto her belly like half the others.

‘ Just what I expected. It’s always this way when I have to take over. Complete and utter disarray. ’

Gareda sighed. She remained on the road, watching over the plains and forests behind her. Rolling over wet grass wouldn’t bode well with the throbbing feeling in her head. The day was bright, the birds were chirping, the grass was fresh and dewey: Couldn’t have been a worse moment to feel sick. Whatever truly tugged on her sensors back in that village, they sure had done their worst. They were strong. Far too strong. Not to mention the hatred in that village’s heart. It was worth investigating, at the very least. 

Alas, her fortunes wouldn't brighten up any time soon. Others had to trample all over her garden, even when it had been ruined enough as was. The latest joker appeared in front of her while she was resting: A Shiftry with overgrown leaf hands and a coat in dire need of a trim appeared besides her. It didn’t take long for a frown to regrow on Gareda’s face.

“Lord Gareda, why have we stopped?”

The Shiftry spoke in a pompous matter, as if it was the one calling the shots. In Gareda’s column. That was a mistake no self respecting commander could ever tolerate. Gareda swayed her whole body around in a rapid motion; the Shiftry jumped back as Gareda’s tail nearly smacked it across the chest.  “Why don’t we start back at the beginning? First you will explain who you are, then you will tell me why you are asking that utterly asinine question of yours.”

“Uhh…” the Shiftry grumbled and stuttered, covering up its chest with one arm while sticking the other out at the forest off to the side. Camouflage was going to do him little good here. “m-My name is Birch, my lord. Colonel Birch. I was in charge of operations around these parts before you came along.” 

Gareda’s frown grew deeper. Her head slowly sank towards Birch’s long nose, and it moved further back the closer she came. The exact response she wanted to see. ‘Birch? I can think of a better name for you, chump…’ The smirk went off Birch’s face. A grunt later, Gareda continued. “I see. Now then, answer me. Why are you asking that question?”

Birch audibly gulped. Gareda’s sensors were pleased. “w-Well, Agate Township is not far, and that is our final destination. Why not… march what’s left? There is plenty of time off later.”

Gareda shifted her feet slightly in the dirt. “Fool. We are stopping because we have been at this for hours with no rest. Someone informed me this morning that that is the way you wanted it. I remember it well. You’d keep the morale of your troops in check.”

The Shiftry nodded. “Yes, that is true. I pride myself on how active my-”

Before he could explain himself further, Gareda spat at the ground under Birchs feet. The saliva sizzled for a second before sinking into the dirt. “Cut the crap. Find something else to pride yourself over, because you suck as a leader. Look around you. No one is together. No one is paying attention. If any brigands were sneaking up on us, now would be the perfect time for a preemptive strike. Just like that, the whole column is gone. Try telling the Queen how many hours the Pokemon under you have been out in the field then. I’m sure she’d be very appreciative.”

The Shiftry’s eyes shifted around in every direction besides the one Gareda was standing in. “I really don’t, uh, understand you, my Lord.” Gareda wasn’t having any of it. Lies like this deserved the worst; pity she wasn’t that kind of dragon.

“What I mean is, cut your troops some slack. No one functions for eight hours straight without a respite. No one. We’re stopping for the next fifteen minutes at least.” Gareda pointed a talon and a fin at the other Soldiers. “I’ll salvage your mess for you. Is that clear?” she growled.

Birch lowered his head. “Yes, my Lord. It’s understood.” The Shiftry turned on his heel and began to walk away. Gareda had her own plans for him, however. Being that he was the one in charge here prior to today, there was a trove of information hiding within him. Information Gareda could make good use of.

“Hold it, you. We are not finished yet, are we?”

“My Lord?” 

Birch stopped dead in his tracks; the look imprinted on his face was one of horror. Smelling a murky scent emanating off the Shiftry, Gareda readied one of her arms to drive the point home.

“You’ve asked me a question, I will ask you one as well, except mine won’t be as pointless as yours. Since you are the one in charge of this region, it wouldn’t be too far fetched for you to know of certain ‘trends’ among the Pokemon here, correct?”

“y-Yes,” Birch answered, glancing up at the star on Gareda’s forehead. 

“Well then…” The Garchomp’s feet shifted forwards into the dirt with a crunch that was downright soothing to her ears, like a massage for her oral canals, forcing Birch to look her dead in the eye. “Tell me it straight. What did you do in Greenfield?”

“n-Nothing, my lord.”” 

“Liar. Tell me straight, or else.”

“i-I’m telling you the struth!!” Birch screamed. 

“Don’t shout at me, you overgrown piss bush. Answer the question.”

“I did.”

“Yeah, right you did. I guess that town’s pissed off for no reason, right? Half the crowd looked like they wanted us to drop into a hole in the ground. My eyes don’t betray me, Birch. You did something.” Gareda lifted a fin above Birch’s head; the tip gleamed like a knife in the sun, as if it were eagerly awaiting to be plunged into a hapless victim. “And you’ll tell me. Right this second.”

Birch’s mouth hung open for some time, sounding as if he was choking on his breath; by now, some Soldiers had gathered around and watched their former colonel be wrangled with morbid curiosity. From a Pokemon no one had dared to stand up to, to an equal. Not even evolution created bigger changes.

“o-Okay, okay! You got me. We were out of food a few weeks ago. So, I uh, I asked some of our men to take some from the residents. Of this village.”

“How much?”

“About h-half, my-”

“HALF?!” roared Gareda. “Have you lost your damn mind?! It was your job to watch over these bumpkins, not rob them blind! You took half of their food, and now you expect them to cooperate with us?!” She pulled an arm back and directed a toxic energy towards it; the talon at the tip began to glow with a purplish hue. The poison ready, she grabbed onto Birch with the other arm, pinning him in place. Birch yelped out a terrified cry. As if anyone was capable of saving him now.

“n-No, lord Gareda! Please, don’t!!”

“Do you value your life, colonel Birch?” Birch did nothing but shake in the clasp of Gareda’s talons. “I said, do you value your LIFE, COLONEL BIRCH?!”

“y-Yes!!”

“Then you will run back there right now, and offer a sincere, personal apology! Fix the mess, or I’ll fix you!”

Gareda kicked Birch in the chest, sending him flying backwards into a group of Soldiers who barely got out of the way before the humiliated colonel rolled on by. Birch staggered and ran off in the direction of Greenfield. Several of the troops who had watched chuckled behind the Shiftry’s far off back. Gareda, satisfied, let the poison fade from her talon. 

‘ Amazing what the threat of a Poison Jab will make the plants do. ’

There was a jovial mood among the Soldiers. For a second, they felt relieved and free to be themselves, fidgeting with their dark green bands and laughing at the old colonel’s misfortune. All sorts of Pokemon, from Mandibuzz to Marowak, Crawdaunt to Machoke, off-colored Meowth to Bronzong and many others were among them. Most of them were recruits, just like Gareda was once upon a time. The Garchomp looked at them with a slight smirk, albeit one that appeared to be hiding something.

‘ They haven’t lost their faith. Not yet, anyway. ’

“Lord Gareda!” 

A feminine voice shouted nearby. Gareda’s sensors tingled; two Pokemon were approaching from behind. A glance over the shoulder revealed a Magmar whose chest and lower regions were stained green, and a Toucannon whose beak was shiny and wet. Gareda scoffed as she turned tail to see them eye to eye.

“And look who we have here. I was wondering when you two jokers would show up.”

The Magmar scratched the back of her head. “Don’t be surprised. You ordered us to keep a larger eye over the rest of the column. You know we are supposed to be protecting you, right? We can’t just leave you because you tell us to… right?”

“Typical,” Gareda said. One of the Magmar’s feet shifted away in a loud and clumsy manner.

“Typical? But you barely know us.”

Gareda shrugged. “True. But I’ve known both of you clowns long enough to come to that conclusion myself.”

The Toucannon landed with a defiant look in his eyes. “You haven’t even known us for a week.”

“Exactly.” Gareda grinned. 

The two escorters laughed awkwardly, their memories of having a fin pressed against their neck likely vivid in their minds still. It wasn’t until Gareda forced a growl of a laugh from her throat that the tension in their muscles finally relaxed a little, and they could share a laugh with the Garchomp for what it was worth. The others watching grew the courage to join in on it, albeit from a distance.

“I’m only joking, you two,” Gareda said, trying her best to keep her tongue from rolling out of her mouth. ‘ Who am I fooling? ’ 

“Well, no harm done, right?” the Toucannon said with a flutter of his wings. Gareda nodded and wanted to say something, only for the Magmar to cut her short.

“It’s hard to forget what proper harm looks like after a few days with you, too.”

They both laughed with a far heartier laugh. Gareda lowered her fins and just stared in a dull manner. ‘I’m not that intimidating, am I? ’ The only thing keeping the moment from being downright awkward for her was the lack of other laughs. Either the rest didn’t think it was as funny, or they had lost interest. Gareda wasn’t in the mood to find out, and loudly cleared her throat instead.

“Alright alright, enough of this jabber. We didn’t start with the right foot, that doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. I’ve never asked you two what your names were, did I?”

The two escorts both replied with a nod. “Yeah, that’s right. No better time to ask us than right now, is there?” the Toucannon replied. “My name is Vli. That’s shorthand for Vlinder-yuliel, but almost no one can remember that. So I go by Vli instead.”

Gareda nodded and grunted. “Vli, is it? Alright then. Any reasons why your parents gave you the name Vlin… liel then, if no one can remember it?” 

Vli lifted up his wings in a shrug. “Don’t know. Never bothered to ask them before being called up. I guess that’s something I’ll have to ask them once I can go back.”

“You’d do yourself a lot of favours with that, my guy,” the Magmar said. 

“Oh, I sure would!” Vli enthusiastically replied. Gareda nodded along to them speaking. They sure were a lot more open to talking than she was.

“So Vli, where are you from, exactly?” the Magmar asked. The toucannon closed his eyes and made a short bow.

“It shouldn’t come as a surprise to either of you. I’m from the Azzurro Islands, all the way down south! Windswept Isle to be exact.”

“Interesting,” Gareda grumbled, placing a talon on her chin. “I have never been there before. What’s it like?”

“Sun, palm trees, exotic fruit!” the Magmar said with a cheer. “It’s a perfect little getaway if you ever need one.”

Gareda rolled her eyes. “Don’t start thinking about vacations now, duck face. We’re not going anywhere for the foreseeable future. Anyway Vli, I’ve heard that exact saying before from some other fop. Is any of it true?” she ordered.

“Sometimes. But we have some pretty nasty storms over there. Not to mention the rains, too.”

“Rain? Aww.” the Magmar let her arms hang. It had to have stung a little to learn that every Fire type’s biggest pet peeve was more than present in the supposed paradise. Gareda felt it as well, even with her scales usually making it more manageable. 

“At least it’s no damn snow, I’ll say that much,” Gareda said with a few stretches of her neck. “That aside, why don’t you tell us your name next, Magmar lass?”

The Magar beat her chest a few times, her tail swaying through the air behind her. The fire on the tip of her tail began burning with a happy intensity, which Gareda’s sensors had picked up on. It was an oddity she never told anyone: A Garchomp’s sensors are meant to find prey and little more, yet hers were giving her far more than meal tickets. 

“The name’s Luffy! And I’m from the Ruby Province!”

“Ah yes. The Craggy Hills, I take it?”

Luffy shook her head. “Close, but not quite. I’m from the Source Hills! It’s close by though, so some confusion is to be expected.”

Gareda shrugged. “Well, of course. Virtually every Fire Pokemon I’ve met is from that area. Never been anywhere else that’s nearly as rowdy.”

Luffy chuckled. “Rowdy? You could say that. But it’s a place with it’s own charm, you know! I’m sure you loved it there.”

Gareda nodded along. “Love’s a strong word, but sure, I enjoyed myself there. Being around dry earth’s pleasant enough for me.”

Vli lifted his beak up. “Hm? I’ve never been there, what do you mean with ‘rowdy’?”

“Think of it like a never ending festival. Life there is a circle of highs and lows. All sorts of fun characters and pleasant Pokemon in those hills. Outsiders don’t expect it. They see the lack of vegetation and immediately assume it must be dull there,” Luffy answered. “It might not be for everyone, but it’s home for anyone of Fire.”

Before Luffy or Vli had the chance to say anything more, Gareda grunted loudly. “What she means, Vli, is the people there are a lot more… open, shall we say. And that’s all that needs to be said about it. You can connect the dots yourself.”

A chuckle came out of Luffy’s throat. “You know, I’m somewhat open to you, Gareda.”

The Garchomp scoffed, turning away from Luffy and shaking her head. “Whatever floats your boat, duck face.” 

“Indeed.” Luffy shyly smiled, while Vli struggled to contain an embarrassed laugh.

Gareda kept her back turned for a while, contemplating the next move. ‘ The audacity of this fool. ’ she thought, then shifted her head back at the Magmar with a fierce glare. “That’s enough jabbering for now. You can stop before half the column sees what you’re doing.”

“Yes, yes, no worries,” said Luffy in a jovial voice. 

Gareda sighed, taking a few steps forward while letting her tail and back fin sway through the air a little. “Alright then. Enough waiting around for now. We’ve got ourselves an artifact to find.”

“What about Birch, though?” Vli asked.

“Who cares?” 

Gareda put her fins up and roared at the column to get back in formation. It was time to get moving.

Chapter Text

A breeze flew over George as his eyes opened to the sight of a translucent blue sky.  It felt as if he was hovering in midair. His feet kicked around in search of ground, seemingly under the impression that he was sleepwalking. Nothing but a void existed under him, however; No dirt, no rocks or grass, or any material the Pokemon of Greenfield used to build their homes. Just plain air.

‘Huh?’

This wasn’t the result of George  having stumbled off in the middle of the night. One glance of his surroundings revealed a great azure expanse stretching beyond the furthest reaches of the horizon, with no company but the clouds under his feet. A strange warm sensation massaged the insides of his head. It was akin to  entering a warm, cozy home after a long time spent trapped in a blizzard.

‘What is this place?’

Curious, George dipped a foot into the clouds below. To his surprise, they wouldn’t sink further than the length of a finger into the bed of cotton, even though the cloud itself was not providing any sort of resistance. He tried a few times, feeling, prodding, even forcing his feet down hard, but the task proved too herculean to do. The clouds pushed his feet back up. There was no way through them.

‘But how?’

Then, a gust of wind flew directly into him, coursing through each hair in his fur. Warm, powerful like a wretched seabound storm, and impossible to resist, George shielded his face. But what good could his little stubby Oshawott arms do? It was a miracle they weren’t sent flying backwards. Were it not for sudden mercy, he would’ve flown back. But the wind stopped, and a ray of light shone from above. George lowered his arms. The light was empty, yet a presence made itself known from that same ray of light.

“It is so good to see you, George. I have been waiting for you.”

Just like the clouds and deep blue yonder, the voice surrounded him from all sides, its echoes reverbrating high up and down. The sounds harmonized in such a way that multiple voices spoke. It was frightening, and majestic. . 

‘h-Hello? Where am I?’

“You are in Eravate, George, just like you were when you went to sleep. I have simply taken you aside for a moment for the sake of your well being.”

‘Who are you?’

“An old friend, George. One you may not remember, but there will come a day when the knowledge of my true identity will hit you, and everything will fall into place. Rest be assured, there is no need to force this. I did not call you here to glorify myself. I came here to speak to you.”

‘...me? But why? I’m nothing special!’ 

“So you may think. And perhaps right now, you are. You were but a guardianless child who one day awoke in a strange body in a strange world, met a local village boy and became companions, and remained with him in the village hoping that someone may provide you answers for everything that has happened, and continues to happen. But you are meant for grander things, George. Eravate may not know your name yet. There will come a day where that all changes, when that mythical name George is recognized across this world.”

‘But why, though? Why would anyone see me in that way? I only just learned to defend myself.’

“Eravate is in trouble, George. You may not see it now, but it is inevitable that you will. A crisis is approaching, one ordinary Pokemon are incapable of solving. The world is at a crossroad. So many have fallen for it already, and so much more will be lost when the truth is finally revealed. But I know what I have seen. Amidst the disorder, only a handful were brave enough to make a stand for order and justice. For peace. For light. You are one of them, George. One of the few who may last against all odds.”

‘All odds? Do you mean the-’

“You will see in due time. Unfortunately, our time together runs short.”

‘Wait, what? Why?’

“The dawn is swiftly approaching, and someone will arrive with it. Someone whose importance to the crisis is paramount. Farewell for now, George.”

An exhaling sound echoed all around, as the sky turned black and the clouds disappeared. The dream closed off, and George was drawn back into his slumber, his unconscious body twitching erratically on the straws.

* * *

Dawn broke some time later when a yawn tickled George on the ears, along with the sounds of weary limbs being stretched after a long night’s rest.

“Aah, it’s a new day!”

While Blitzer was greeting the morning with the energy of an Electric type, George groaned on his straw bed. His eyes creaked open at a glacial pace, tears welling up thanks to the light coming from Blitzer’s tail, and his arms and feet were aching. Not to mention the throbbing in his head. Either that strange dream had done a number on him, or he’d fallen asleep on the flute piece. The only part of him not groggy were the ears, which were actively listening to Blitzer’s footsteps drawing near.

“Alright, wake up sleepyhead! It’s the morning!”

“Ngh, a few more minutes, please…”

“Come on! Breakfast will be ready soon!”

“How can you be so sure it’s the morning, there’s barely any light in here-” 

George’s nose woke up and caught a strong scent of fresh fruits and berries coming from under the door. ‘Looks like that excuse’s not going to work… ’

“You smell it! It’s morning alright. Speedy can be here any minute, and I’m not leaving on an empty stomach, you hear?” Blitzer said. When it seemed like George was about to roll onto his other side, the Charmander put his claws on George’s leg and began dragging him off the warm straws and onto the murky cold of the ground. First touch of dirt on his fur sent alarmbells ringing.

“Aaah! Stop! Stop!!” 

One eye blink later, George was kicking and waving all over the place, intensely slapping his tail around. Blitzer, now laughing, finally let go of his leg.

“There you go, George!”

“Thanks a lot, Blitzer…”

One smiling and the other grumpy, the two left their dark room. Breakfast this morning was a fruit salad: Everything from strawberries to chunks of orange, Chesto to help with the sleepiness, Oran to help with the grogginess, and a few other kinds of fruit were delivered to them on a plate, courtesy of Nera. All the bits were neatly organized per kind in a circle, their juices pooling up on the plate and coating everything in another layer of sweetness. George happily breathed it in. When the smell was strong enough to bury the dusty taste of the air, it had to be good. It was enough to forget about that morning’s dream for a while, and not let any of it slip by accident in a sleepy stupor. He’d be stuck here all day if he said a word about it.

While catching light coming from a dirty window, the two ate their fill. After some questions, a knock sounded on the door. Blitzer ran to answer, and Speedy replied. “Morning, Blitzer!”

“Good morning, Speedy!”

Nera leaned up against the table. “Oh, he is here already?”

George got up and walked towards the front door, only for the Raichu’s pale chest to appeared right in front of his face as he was about to step into the entry hall. 

“Oops! My bad, laddie! Heheh.”’

George stumbled back into the table. “I didn’t think you’d come in here.”

Speedy gave a rough chuckle. “Just wanted to say hello to your parents, lad, that’s all. How’s life?” he asked the two parents, who both answered with a dull shrug.

“Not bad.”

“Could be worse.”

Speedy’s chuckling continued on. “Aw, don’t be such spoilsports, you two. T’is a beautiful day, forget about all that crap from yesterday, alright?” he went on to say.

Nero cleared his nose before pressing a forepaw against the side of his head. “Hard to forget about this ‘crap’ when it’s running our lives, Speedy.”

The Raichu nodded. “Oh believe me, I’ve had a whole bunch of experiences with ‘em already, but we’ve gotta move on with our lives, right? Whatever’s the case, I’m not letting no one stop me from being me, you hear? Can’t let anyone do that to me, or Junior.” A spark flew from his cheeks on the last few words. Both children took a step backwards; the parents seemed unimpressed.

“So how long is this chore of yours going to take, exactly?” Nera asked.

“A few hours,” Speedy replied.

Nero’s ears went flat against his head; Nera’s ears followed his lead shortly thereafter. “Why so long?” he grumbled with the voice of someone that had missed his morning caffeine. 

“It’s a long story. I might have to go one town over, buy some things for my house,” Speedy told him. “I could use the extra hands to carry it all back home.” George bit his lip, anxiously awaiting the parents’ response.

“Then you better keep a close eye on them,” Nera said. ”They have a knack for getting themselves into trouble. With the soldiers around on top of that? I’m worried.”

Speedy nodded back. ”Don’t worry. I got this under control. If I can handle Junior, then these two little balls of energy won’t be a problem,” he said in a calm, confident voice, as if Blitzer and George were nothing more than boy scouts. Hearing this, Blitzer fidgeted around with his hands behind his back, shying away from the Raichu and towards the door. George felt a little prickly in his cheeks, which he couldn’t resist putting his hands on now. 

‘ b-Balls of energy? I didn’t think anyone would find me that adorable. ’

* * *

With neither parent seemingly suspecting a thing, the two boys got on their way, following Speedy out towards the village’s entrance. It was calmer in the streets than in the previous few days, the other village Pokemon hesitant to stop for idle chat. Everyone was doing the bare minimum to keep their lives afloat, whether that be keeping the village tidy, toiling on the half empty berry fields on the outskirts of town, or lumbering into the murky atmosphere of Hein’s Cafe. None of the other children were out; the silence in the town was palpable.

A familiar Druddigon was hanging a new item onto the board, something about the activities of the Queen’s Soldiers in the area. He was being half watched by a green-scarfed Fraxure, who gave a bored grunt as Speedy and the two passed by. No one said anything. Nothing more than a one eyed stare that acknowledged the other’s presence. Lance grumbled a bit behind everyone’s backs, out of a deep running exhaustion that couldn’t simply be slept off.

Once at the village entrance, Speedy finally rediscovered his voice. “‘Alright kids, here we are. Agate Township, rightwards! Should be about an hour before we’re there, and I’ll tell you who we’re looking for just before that.”

Blitzer stretched his arms as a yawn spilled out of his gaping mouth. “Haaargh, feels good to be out of town again, doesn’t it?” he said. George followed him up with a stretch of his own, then straightened the creases out of his bright red scarf.

“Sure does. It gets boring around here sometimes.”

Speedy chuckled. “Hahah, you might not believe it, Oshawott lad, but boredom is it’s own reward. Once you find yourself getting bored, you get the desire to move onto greater pastures,” he said with a swing of the lightning bolt at the end of his tail. “You get a longing for doing something good. Something beyond the ordinary. You must feel it today, right?”

George was taken back to his dream that morning. If he squinted slightly, he could hear those echoes all around him. It sparked the imagination up, sending it flying right into that fantastical wonderland he loved, with all the swashbuckling fantasies of a fully grown Pokemon in tow. He couldn’t help but smile at the thought. “Of course I do.”

“That’s the spirit!” Speedy said as he shuffled forward over the path, scattering dirt over the grass and his feet. “Trust me lad, you’ll need that hunger in you. Whatever might happen, you better be ready for anything. It’s a wild world out there.”

“Trust me, I’ll be as ready as I need to be,” George said with a slap of his tail. ‘I had started to get that idea anyway! ’

The Raichu nodded. “Good on you, lad.”

“He won’t be as ready as me, though.” Blitzer swung an arm around George’s neck, who jumped in response. A smirk was plastered all over his face as he nudged George with his arm, all smug and confident without so much as flinching. George had only an envious stare to return.

‘ His back healed pretty quickly, didn’t it. ’

“Now that’s the spirit, you two,” Speedy said with a turned head. “Knew this was going to be the response I’d get from you lads! That’s why I picked you two of all people to come and help me out here, actually.”

Blitzer’s tail tip twitched with curiosity. “Why, is there no one else in the village who thinks so?”

Speedy’s ears went flat as he let out a sigh. “Something like that. Lads, I love the village and all, but sometimes I get the feeling that everyone’s just given up, you know. They’re all just content waitin’ around for others to pull ‘em out of the mud. You know what I mean?”

“Yeah, that sounds like my parents,” Blitzer said. “They’re very restrictive all of a sudden. I know it’s not nice for them to see me coming home all scratched up, and I respect that, I really do. I know they care about me and mean well and all, but they’re trying to protect me from everything. They were getting antsy about me helping out with the food situation, even though we’d starve if no one would go.”

“That sounds like Nero and Nera, alright,” Speedy said while stretching his arms a little. 

Blitzer exhaled through his nose heavily, as if holding onto his breath was a heavy burden on his shoulders. “Don’t see this as me not liking them, by the way. I love my parents. They really do care for me a lot, but I know who I am. I know I’ll have to get out into the real world eventually, and I need to prepare for that. I’m not going to be a Charmander forever.”

“No, I understand you alright,” Speedy said. “You’re like a second son to me at times, Blitzer. I know how you feel. They’re apathetic to the world, even though the world isn’t getting any better, is it?”

Blitzer shook his head. “No.”

“Exactly. That’s to be expected, really. Greenfield likes not being bothered.”

Having taken in the conversation, George’s curiosity got the better of him. Blitzer’s troubles with his situation, he understood. Speedy was another story, though. Why would he want to put himself into danger? He had a kid to look after, at the end of the day. 

“Hey, what do you mean with ‘not being bothered’? It’s not like everyone here’s afraid of their own shadow. Half the village went to Azure Hills a few weeks ago, didn’t they?”

Speedy breathed in deep; for a slight second, the air was charged. “Something other than that. The most confrontational anyone else gets is Hein dealing with idiots who’ve had too much juice.”

Blitzer cracked up. “Tell me about it.”

“That ghost’s one charmer, I have to admit. There’s something about that attitude I like, if you get me,” Speedy said, smirking. “Anyway, that’s about as defiant as it gets. And I just can’t wrap my head around it. Truth to be told, I don’t like seeing Junior grow up in that environment. I want him to be able to stand up for himself when he’s older. How is he ever going to have that chance if we just keep stewing around? It’s not going to happen, is it?”

George shrugged. “I guess not.”

“Exactly! And that’s why we’re going where we’re going. That’ll be my first step towards broadening the horizon…” Speedy’s pace slowed down as he stared out over the wide emerald plains, as if longing for something. “Anyway, that’s my little rant. I haven’t actually heard you talk about this yet, George. What is your drive to keep going?”

“My drive?” George replied.

“Yeah, your drive,” Speedy retorted. “What motivates you? Because it takes one brave lad to toe to toe with thieves with me, I’ll tell you that.”

George had to take a deep breath.That morning’s dream came back to mind. The echoes set to a backdrop of a brightening sky, explaining how both he and Blitzer had a higher purpose. That would remain behind lock and key, however. Too many questions to deal with. 

“I didn’t have the best childhood before I came to Greenfield.” George looked out over the green fields, towards the distant outline of a great, snow capped mountain. “You might have heard some things from  others, but the truth is worse than that. I grew up in a foster’s home. I was left there by my parents. I don’t know why. But they did. Since then, my life was nothing but stress, fear, and being helpless. The people at that foster’s home hated my guts from the day I walked in. The other kids there saw me as an easy target. And there was nothing I could do about it. Whenever I tried to stand up against one, the other always knocked me back down… Every day, for years…”

He’d felt it come up in his throat while explaining, but he couldn’t hide it. No matter how badly he wanted to. Bottled up emotions fresh from Pandora’s box had grabbed him by the throat.

“They used me, fooled me, betrayed me, did everything you could think of to me… and I was powerless! I didn’t have the strength to do anything about it, either. It’s like your worst nightmares about Junior, Speedy. That was my life, for years…” 

Tears rolled down George’s face, leaving a wet trail behind on his pale fur. Blitzer and Speedy had both come to a stop, and each was holding one of his arms, softly patting him with a digit or two. 

“It’s okay, George. Just let it all out,” Speedy told him.

“You know I’ve always got your back,” Blitzer whispered in his ear. 

“Thank you…” George said with a sniff, his tail jittering on the dirt below. “That’s why I’m here. No one should have to go through that, no one. When I get older, I want to make this world a better place for the weak. I want to be the person I wish I had back home. I might be scared, I might fear what others will think or say, but I want to do what I can. One day, I won’t be too weak to defend myself anymore. There’s so much evil out there in the world, and I want to show it with everything I’ve got! That’s who I want to be!”

For a brief moment, all those worries, all those foul memories of home vanished through his fingers like sand, and in their place arose a spectacular image of himself. His fully evolved form, with its long swords and strong muscles, the mustaches flowing from a wise snout, and those fierce, fearless eyes that could laugh at the mightiest of foes… one day, that was going to be him. And nothing was going to get in the way of that. 

“Blitzer, Speedy, I’m ready for this.”

Blitzer grabbed George by the shoulder; his snout grew a fierce smile. “Me too.”

George nodded back at him with a strong grin of his own. “We’re going to do this!”

Speedy chuckled heartily. “That’s the George I believe in right there. You’re a lot fiercer than you’re willin’ to admit, lad. Trust me on that,” he said as he got in between the two. “So then, what are we waiting for? We’ve got some thieves to kick around!”

“Yeah!”

And so, wearing their hearts on their sleeves, the three Pokemon made their way through the fields, past forests and through thorns towards Agate Township, where a fateful day was sure to be waiting for them. 

Chapter Text

The trail wound its way through the emerald fields, finally reaching over a small hilltop. Standing atop this hill, Speedy was ecstatic to see a large collection of buildings sprawled out over a large area. “There it is, boys! Agate Township!” he shouted, nudging George and Blitzer in the direction of the town with his arm.

Agate Township was encircled by a moat. Three bridges were the lone arteries connecting the town with the outside world: One dead ahead, the other opposite, and the last on the far left. Standing under twin banners bearing the Vined Crest were a handful of Soldiers keeping watch over the Pokemon entering and leaving; their voices a drop of rain in the storm of liveliness audible even from a distance. There were Water types swimming in the moat, birds taking off from a central roosting tower bearing bags, and busy streets. Tthis was a town of many thousands, at the very least.  

“Wow…” Blitzer whispered.

George shrugged. “I’ve seen bigger.”

“Look George, there’s the post office! Look at all those bird Pokemon with the purses! And there- that’s smoke! Furnaces, fellow fire types!” Blitzer ecstatically pointed to the various vistas around the town. For George, most of it seemed old fashioned, or downright primitive if the rickety wooden bridges were anything to go by. Crude structures, filthy streets, it made him think of how his hometown looked five hundred years earlier. Not much different, most likely.

‘ For a place called Agate, it sure doesn’t look very green. ’

“Yes yes, here it is,” Speedy continued. “Now, I will warn you, do not go into this place expecting Greenfield, alright? Big towns mean different folks. They don’t care much for folks disturbing the peace. So don’t go runnin’ off. And I’m serious. You’ll get into some trouble, I can’t help you out that much, alright? We’re goin’ in, we’ll find out where our thieves are, we take back what’s mine, and that’s it. Alright?”

George and Blitzer were silent for a while, as they took in the sight one more time. Even from this hill, Speedy’s words held merit. The Pokemon strolling through the streets was as joyless as ice, their heads hanging low and their strides practically scraping the ground. Aside from the occasional yell of a child, the voices over the town were emotionless. And then there was the thick smell of mud hanging over the area, like smog over a metropolis. George remembered it well. 

“Yes, it’s clear.”

Blitzer kept watching over the town, his cheek muscles tensed up and making a soft chirping sound with his throat. “Is it really that bad?”

Speedy patted him on the back with his tail. “Believe me, it won’t be. Just stay close to me and we’ll be fine, alright?”

“Okay.”

The three eased their way down the hill and approached the guard. After a hasty control of the rough cloth bag Speedy had taken with him,  and George and Blitzer’s scarves, they were let into the town. Like small fish in a dirty pond, they followed Speedy through the masses, feeling discomforted by the sights of Agate Township up close. The Pokemon here all had lifeless eyes. Whether they were grass types like Roselia, water types like Poliwhirl, bug types like a lone Leavanny, no one was happy to be here. Given the state of the streets, that wasn’t an odd way to feel. Cracked stones, covered with a layer of mud that no besides one Palpitoad was cleaning up. At times slippery, always plain filthy, that was every street here, aside from the spaces in between buildings which weren’t any better. Either they were pure mud, covered with clutter, or grassy and wet. A funky smell hung in the air: Mud mixed with something resembling body odours, if George had to guess. He’d rather keep his nose pinched.

It wasn’t until they reached a small marketplace somewhere in the center that Speedy turned to them and stopped. “Alright, I need to go have a little conversation here. You two stay good and don’t run off, you hear? Just stay put and I’ll be back in no time,” the Raichu said, then ran off into the crowd without so much as a glance back. He looked like he was in a hurry.

“Well, there he goes,” George said. “Wasn’t the whole point of bringing us here being that we could help him?”

Blitzer’s tongue dipped out of his mouth for a second. “I don’t know,” he said, keeping his tail close as he looked around all over the place. “This town sure has changed since I’ve last been here.”

George folded his arms and drew closer towards the Charmander, as a brutish Pangoro lumbered past carrying a stone slab of some kind. “What do you mean?”

“It was a lot brighter here a few years ago, believe it or not. Vibrant, and energetic. Now everything’s looking worn and dilapidated. Including the people, at that.”

George kept an eye trained on the market. Sun poked through a crop of clouds, highlighting a few stands watched over by miserable Pokemon. Like the Scyther selling wood blocks who was using a sharp arm like a toothpick, the Miltank selling cheese while slumped over the stand, a Tsareena kicking at the air over her small assortment of colored rocks, and a Kangaskhan sat at the center of it all, running a claw through the apron she wore with a grim frown, her child looking up worried and fearful from its pouch.

“You could say that.”

“What even happened here, I wonder. Everyone’s given up. Look, the stone there’s all chipped. No one’s refined it.” Blitzer tapped a claw on the side of the building right next to them. A passing Pokemon suddenly leaned a few inches away from his face.

“Cause there’s no money for it, kid.” 

Blitzer stumbled back, almost tripping over a bucket left lying around; a passing Diggersby was walking away laughing. George went blue, then red in the face. ‘ What a jerk! Who does that? ’ he thought to himself, before one more look over the area got him to calm down. Just one more tired looking Pokemon trying to find a little joy in this town, what little of it there was left to be found. 

“Are you okay?” George asked Blitzer.

“Yeah… I’m fine. Just bumped my foot a bit, that’s all.” Blitzer replied. George found something else to be concerned over, however. It wasn’t just that the stones had been damaged by rain, the whole building looked slipshod. Stone intersected with bits of wood and earth that clearly was a half baked measure to prevent the cold from getting in. Besides that, the building turned from mostly stone to all wood halfway to the top. Written in a maroon paint were the words “Illusion Cafe - Rolf’s Bar” on a sign at the left edge of the building, where a shady looking Breloom wearing a coat and a slight grin was entering the building. 

“Uh, why did Speedy leave us here?” George asked, looking up at the building; some kind of movement could be heard coming from above.

“Don’t think there’s any place better. Would you rather stand there?” Blitzer asked, gesturing with one claw at a Soldier at the other end of the marketplace with a half churr, half growl like sound. George anxiously hummed back, staring at the spear wielding Medicham in the distance. In a way it was amusing how dreadful the color green was in town. There was always a soldier marking, banner or shady looking Pokemon attached to it.

“I’d rather not,” George whispered. ‘ He’s starting to sound a lot more like an animal these last two days… ’

“Where’s Speedy, though… this is taking too long,” Blitzer swayed his tail around.

“He said he’d be back soon,” George said.

“If this is what he meant with ‘soon’, I’d hate to see him slow,” Blitzer churred back. 

George clicked his tongue and drummed his hands on his belly. “Is he always like this?”

Blitzer shrugged. “Pretty much. It’s not the first time. But it sure is the worst time.”

“Uh-huh,” George hummed back. He found himself looking up at the cafe again. There was a strange noise coming from the same direction that the earlier sounds of movement were audible from. “Do you hear that?”

“Yeah, I do,” Blitzer said, approaching George. “What is that noise?”

Nothing could be seen, but it was unmistakably coming from upstairs. It was some sort of ragged gasping. Blitzer suddenly tapped George on the shoulder. “Wait, I think I heard this back home one-”

“Oh sweet Arceus, there you are!” Their attention was dragged away from the window as Speedy came running around the corner. “Come lads, let’s go!” he hurriedly said, nudging both George and Blitzer forward with his paws. 

“H-hey!” Blitzer chirped. “What’s with the rush?”

“Nothing!” Speedy said nervously. George felt queasy inside. ‘Well, I guess that’s that.’

Once they were a block removed from the cafe, Speedy finally let go of their backs. One look at his feet was enough to keep George cranky for a while. A brown-grey paste now covered his feet; the bits that had gotten in his fur gave it a slimy feel. Blitzer didn’t fare any better. Orange scales and mud went together like toothpaste and bread, in the sense that they don’t go together at all. The amount of scrubbing it would take to get the spatters that got in between the creases out made George bite his lip. Or perhaps the uneven stones they were walking on were the cause of that.

“Where are we going?” Blitzer asked.

“You’ll see,” Speedy said, soft toned. The streets of Agate Township were not the place to discuss the kind of activity they were steeling their nerves for. If their odd mannerisms hadn’t given them away yet to half the town, which they likely had, George couldn’t help but feel like they were being watched. His ears went down against his head as Speedy took his hand to keep him on the move. There was an odd omen in the air. 

“Right then, it’s just around the corner,” Speedy whispered, now holding both of them back as they were about to make the turn into the area he had been talking about. “We need to be careful here. They’re not expecting me in particular, but they are expecting trouble regardless.”

“What are we up against?” Blitzer said, the flame on his tail acting up. The tension in the air had grown; George could feel it. A few steps forward and they were facing their enemy. Like a dashing knight up against scoundrels. His tail slapped against the ground in anticipation.

“About three or so.”

“How do you know that?”

“Talked to a contact who knows this town like none other, don’t worry about it.”

George and Blitzer looked each other in the eye; doubt was visible on both sides. George had one hand over his scalchop, while Blitzer held one claw up. “So what’s the plan?” George asked.

Speedy hummed. “Simple. We’re going in there, and we’ll confront them. If they’re not going to play coy, we’ll attack.”

George’s feet shifted backwards into the edge of a muddy patch. ”W-we’re just attacking like that? What if they-”

“Fighting’s the language all Pokemon understand, George. You know that, right?”

George gulped, along with a nod. “Yeah, but-”

“Exactly. A good softening up will teach these idiots a lesson they won’t soon forget. Or ever forget, for that matter. And besides, it’s not like these Pokemon don’t deserve what’s comin’ their way…” Speedy grumbled. George didn’t say anything back. The Raichu sounded far too determined for anyone to try and change his mind now. 

“Anything else we need to worry about?” Blitzer asked.

Speedy shook his head. “Keep your heads cool. That’s it. Are you two lads ready?”

Blitzer pumped his fists. “Yes!”

George tapped on his scalchop. “I guess so.” ‘ So much for the less hostile approach. I know this town’s like home, and fighting is as plain as, well, plains, but- nevermind. Fighting is just the way it goes.’

Speedy shot a smirk back. “Then let’s do it.”

* * *

It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop as the three made their way around the corner. Halfway across the dim alley they had now entered, they stopped. A lone candle hung by a rickety door that looked liked it would crumble if you tried to open it. Speedy gently pushed it. George steeled his nerves. Never in a million years growing up did he believe he’d ever get himself caught up in shady buildings without a ten foot pole. And there were plenty of shady buildings in his hometown, just like this one. Gloomy, abandoned, even haunted. Wishful thinking, perhaps. Back home, you always had to be ready for anything.

The door swung backwards into a dusty room with a low counter on the other end. A grey ball of fur lay half asleep on the counter, only emitting a dull groan as the light landed on its face. The Pokemon’s face looked like a mask that had been used for ten years straight. George and Blitzer couldn’t look away. There was something oddly alluring about that weary face. Something that made it impossible to pay attention to much of anything else.

“What’s your business?”

The shopkeeper’s voice sounded half like a hiss and half like a whisper. Aged, some might say, tired is what others would proclaim it to be. All George thought of  was the weary voice of his grandmother, who he hadn’t seen in a long time. 

“I’m here to buy,” Speedy said, entering the room. George and Blitzer cautiously followed behind, George carefully inching forward and Blitzer caressing his tail like a shield.

“And you need to bring your damn kids in here… why exactly?”

“Busy day, that’s all.”

“Blegh. I hate kids.” The shopkeeper propped their head off the counter, and dusted off their grey, oily coat that only a Cincinno could have. Speedy nodded back; George and Blitzer found themselves standing next to each other, unsure of what else to do besides standing back. Blitzer especially wasn’t at ease; the little interactions he had with the Cincinno lady that he’d occasionally see in Greenfield weren’t anything like this. “So then… what’s it you want?”

“Heard you got yourselves a nice shiny badge a few days ago. What’s it made of?”

“Copper, or somethin’. Some other stuff in there too. Think it’s got somethin’ to do with that A lliance bunch that got killed off some time ago. You got any particular need of that stuff?”

Speedy hummed a dull tone. “Oh yes. Running an errand for the ‘Quills. Need something from them, and they asked for somethin’ in return, of course. I chose this.”

The shopkeeper’s ears perked up. “I’m assuming you got the money for this?”

“Oh yes, I do,” Speedy retorted in a way that lived up to his name.

“Well, why not just give the Quills money, then?”

“Lack of materials, they say.”

“Lack of materials? The Quills? Pfft. Find that hard to believe. Whatever. Just show me the money, yeh? I’ll go get your little trinket and you then get those kids outta here.”

Speedy’s gaze soured. “Before I do that, why don’t you show me the badge? I’m not giving you a cent without it.”

The Cincinno hissed. “Who do you think you’re talkin’ to? You think you run this place here? Either show me the money, or I’ll show you and your dumbarsed kids the door,” they grumbled. Speedy clenched his fists.

“I’m not giving you a damn thing for my own property!”

The shopkeeper’s eyes lit up; before they had the chance to cry out, Speedy’s tail took on a silver shine and struck them across the face, knocking the Cincinno back into a shelf. 

“Quick you two lads, follow me!” Speedy growled between his teeth. 

“ARgh! Guys, we’ve got trouble!!”

Speedy leapt onto the counter, only to struggle to keep himself balanced; his tail was still charged up with energy. Blitzer jumped into the fray with him, kicking a vase and shattering it on the floor. By the time George realized what was happening and had made the decision to follow suit, a Toxicroak ran out of the backroom. The sound of an electric discharge racked the room, and the Toxicroak stumbled back. 

“Hey, what d’you think you’re doing?”

“Takin’ back what’s mine!”

The Toxicroak was quick to his feet, his claws glowing purple as they stabbed at the air Speedy was in - It was as if the Raichu was jumping in three different directions. Blitzer spat a ball of fire, which broke into cinders upon contact with the purple claws. Another discharge; the Toxicroak stumbled backwards into the other room, only for a very dark and very angry Thievul to take its place.

George climbed onto the counter, knocking a foul smelling bottle over. Sparks and embers flew around his face as he struggled to keep decent footing. In the blink of an eye, Speedy had jumped away from attacks twice, the Thievul had jumped to try and keep up with Speedy, and Blitzer had already ran into the next room. George’s head spun. The lone Pokemon he was capable of keeping up with was the Cincinno, who was getting up. George pulled on his aquatic energies and spat a glob out at them. It didn’t leave a mark.

“Oi, you little…!”

The Cincinno grabbed a bottle and flung it at George’s head. Gasping, George threw himself off the counter; a bottle broke where he had stood right after. He turned his head and resumed spitting; a stream of water hit the Cincinno square on the leg. They made a dull cry with their throat and slipped off the counter. Upon getting up, an enraged glare emerged on the gray Pokemon’s tired face.

“I’ll toss you to the Sharpedos, you little!!” 

George received a blow on the cheeks; it was like having a toy car thrown at his face. The thief and the little knight struggled, slapping their arms at each other. The Cincinno was out for blood; pulling out hair, trying to claw at George’s eye, tried kicking him from his feet. 

“Haargh! Get back here you coward!”

Swipe after swipe, George struggled to keep up. It was too dangerous to try and reach for his water now. The Cincinno slowly pushed him back into a corner. There had to be something he could do. His scalchop. Without thinking, he drew it, and started swinging. The Cincinno jumped around him. Swing, miss, slash, miss. Every cut George made hit nothing but air. It took infinitely more out of him. Like butter, the Cincinno got George to make a wide swing; George staggered and lost control of his footing. The Cincinno’s little teeth stuck out their mouth. They raised their leg, jabbing their knee into George’s chest. 

“Oof!”

“End of the line, flame boy!”

The breath shot out of his lungs along with a spatter of saliva. George fell back into the corner. The Cincinno bared its little teeth. George’s hand touched an odd surface - a small bottle. Without thinking, he flung it forward, where it shattered on the Cincinno’s head. The Cincinno screeched. With a hoarse yelp, it bolted for the door. 

George went looking for his scalchop, gagging from the foul odour that now permeated throughout the building from all the broken bottles and whatever else all the fighting had tipped over. After finding his scalchop, George climbed back onto the wet counter, holding in his breath. All around, objects had been being thrown off shelves and onto walls and the ground with abandon. Speedy and Blitzer were in the backroom; George jumped off the other side of the counter and ran into the back room after them. It was a mess. He was staring right at a Victreebel screeching as it rubbed at a large burn on its body. Behind the Victreebel were the Thievul, the Toxicroak, and now a Luxio too. Behind them were Speedy and Blitzer, backs against a half empty shelf.

“Got a lot of guts coming here stealing from us.”

“You started it. Shouldn’t have taken what’s mine.”

“Ours now.”

“Got it back, didn’t I?” Speedy said; a glint shone from his hand in the sparse light present in the room.

“I’m sure your guts would fetch a pretty price. Works out in the end! Your kids too. Idiot.”

Speedy put his foot down, his cheeks furiously sparking. “HEY! Who in Arceus’ name says that about kids!”

“I did,” the Luxio replied. “Should’ve thought this through before you ran in here.”

George climbed onto the Victreebel, who violently winced upon feeling George’s feet press into its leafy skin, sending George tumbling down the other side. The three thieves still standing all turned their heads, bearing smirks that slid through George’s confidence like a hot knife through butter. Smirks only killers wore. 

“Well well, number three. Who knew country folk were so stupid?” the Luxio chortled, sparking his claws while staring at George as a predator stares at prey.

“Pft. Should’ve gone there earlier,” the Toxicroak hissed after.

“After we’re done here, sure-”

A zap flew through the room - The Toxicroak stumbled back onto his knees. “Argh! Cheap little…!” he grumbled as he got back up. It was three against three. Three monsters against three village bumpkins. The sparks on the Luxio’s claws left George panicking as they approached. 

All was ready to go straight into the Distortion, when an explosive sound burst through the front of the store. All six turned their heads, the children shielding their ears; the front had simply disappeared, and in its place stood a monstrous figure wielding two glowing scythes. 

“S-Soldiers!”

The beast bearing the green cape barged into the front of the store. The three thugs fell into its scowl; with spit and snarls, she put her feet down. 

“You’ve got one chance. Surrender, or else.”

The Luxio growled, and leapt past George and its fallen comrade onto the counter. The other two left Speedy and Blitzer behind to join the electric cat in meeting their new challenger. The old prey wasn’t going anywhere, after all. George crawled away from the Victreebel towards the other two, who stood like statues against the back wall of the store room. 

“We’re not going anywhere, slick.”

“You’ve got three seconds. Three.”

“Surrender? After you broke our humble little store?”

“Two.”

“You think you run this town now?”

“One.”

“No surrendering!”

With a bang, the clashes in the front resumed. George reached the wall in between a hyperventilating Speedy and a nervously churring Blitzer, both of whom were holding their tails against their bodies.

“Lads, stay calm… I think I know how to get out of here,” Speedy said. A scream came from the front of the store. “Stuff this in your scarf.”

Speedy pressed the badge into George’s hand. “Uh, wha-”

“Don’t even think, just do it!”

“O-okay…” George whimpered as he did as was asked. A roar filled with demonic rage wracked the building, sending George, Blitzer and Speedy shivering down onto their rears.

“How are we going to get out of here?!” Blitzer yelled.

“Just stay calm! I’ll explain to them why we’re here, alright?” Speedy yelled back. A shelf crashed in the front. “We’re getting out of here, trust me.”

The three were left huddling together for comfort as the violence raged out front. Roars, yells, screeching and whimpering, wood cracking and glass shattering, separated from them by little more than a weak wooden frame and an unconscious Victreebel, whose occasional bouts of resistance were put down by its aching burns. George felt Blitzer grab onto his arm; the Charmander was fiercely staring past the plantlike into the portal, gritting his teeth as if waiting for his turn to jump into the fray. George backed off into Speedy’s fur, as the sounds of the storefront beng torn apart drew to a close.

“Argh- Stop… no!”

With a crash and a thunder, the counter’s top was ripped apart into a splinter. Shivers crawling up their spines, the three watched as it walked in. Her steps, which made the ground weep in agony. Her talons, which had run red and left a trail over the floor. Her chest, moving back and forth with each ragged breath that ran through her body. Her eyes piercing through the air with a glare to rival even the mythicals in their worst nightmares. She kicked the Victreebel away, who screamed as it rolled against a wall, purple fluids leaking out of its body. 

“What do we have here?”

“M-m-madam! W-we, uh, this isn’t what it seems, okay? We were j-just looking to-” Speedy said, choking on just about every word he could get out of his mouth that wasn’t partially a chirp or peep. George could feel his and his own skin shiver up under the fur. 

“Here to retrieve stolen goods. Correct?”

“Y-yes…”

“Did you find what you were looking for?”

“Y-yes.”

“Good. Then leave. You are interfering with official Vined Crest business.”

“S-sorry?”

The Garchomp suddenly raised one foot, then stomped it straight through the flimsy floorboards. “You heard me. Get out of here. Immediately.”

Speedy grabbed George by a tuft of his fur. “L-let’s go, you two,” he said, gulping as he dragged George along past the Garchomp and through the gap in the counter, Blitzer fast on his feet behind them audibly chattering his teeth. As Speedy dragged him along, George couldn’t keep his eyes open. It felt as if ten giant eyes were bearing down upon him, each with the focus of a laser. 

Chapter Text

Like rats abandoning a sinking ship, they ran. The sound of their hyperventilating and their sour stench lingered in the air they’d ran from. To think they of all Pokemon had the guts to go and rob thieves. Part of it was poetic, another was plain foolery, born from the stubbornness of one electric rodent with a chip on his shoulder. Or was it? They might have been backed into a corner, but they’d managed to subdue at least two of the thieves in the time it took for Gareda and her crew to intervene. 

That split second decision Gareda had made paid off. All on the whims of her instincts, at that. One moment, she was busy with a routine checkup of some troops, to finding herself dashing through the streets and finding that one little Oshawott roaming about with that dimwitted looking lizard friend of his. He was wearing a red, woollen scarf this time. Had he been wearing that yesterday as well? Was it even the same Oshawott? Cooler minds would have said no to both. Gareda shook her head. Cooler minds were simplistic minds. It had to have been the same one. No ordinary Oshawott could send her panicking, sensory organs flaring from an otherworldly presence. There was always a bigger purpose to the way life’s threads spun. The panic happened for a reason.

“Banana beak, get over here.”

Vli hastily scooted inside the building. “Y-yes, lord Gareda?”

“Can you follow those three that left the building as long as they’re around town? If you spot anything off, tell me.”

“Yes, my lord.” Vli flapped his wings as he hopped out of the building; it was then that he took off. Gareda grumbled to herself as the Toucannon’s wingbeats steadily faded away into the background noise of Agate Township. 

‘ He’ll find something, alright. No ordinary Pokemon has this kind of aura .’

Sighing, the Garchomp turned her attention to the ruins she and her fellow troops were standing in. It was nothing short of a divine miracle that the destruction hadn’t spread into other buildings. “My lord, we’ve apprehended all of the lowlives running this place,” one Zeroara wearing a dark green belt reported, bearing a smile through which his upper teeth stuck out. A proud soldier in the Queen’s army, by the looks of it. Gareda tilted her head up a notch, her own upper teeth sticking out of her mouth in the same fashion. 

“Good, good. You’d think thieves would have built a secret exit out of their little hideout, but tsk.” She spat a loogie out at the tied up Toxicroak laying in the corner, who had been beaten into an unconscious pulp. He was in for a rude awakening. “If they were smart, they wouldn’t be thieves.”

The Zeroara wildly brushed his arm past his chest, a complementary swing of his tail sending little sparks flying through the alcohol-ridden air. “What shall we do with ‘em? Can’t just leave ‘em sitting around here.”

Gareda tilted her head towards where the front of the store used to be. All the fighting had reduced it to splinters. “To the station, of course. Like to know what exactly they’ve been shipping their way through here. The Azure Flute could’ve been here.”

“You sure about that?” the Zeroara asked. Gareda shook her head.

“Hard to believe, isn’t it? They’re lowlives trying to swindle people for easy money. But the chance’s always there. Like finding a diamond in Luminity’s canals, sure, but it’s there.” She walked over to an overturned barrel and kicked it against the counter. “You can go get started on that now, by the way. Take the fools and drag their sorry arses to HQ. Wouldn’t even let rookies wipe my hands with ‘em.”

“Aye!”

With help from a Machoke wearing a similar green band around its chest, the Zeroara dragged the thugs off through the mud. Gareda breathed in deep. The smell when they got to the station was probably an improvement to the musk in here. Mud’s predictable. You know it’ll be bad. Slimy. Ugly. But never rancid like the wine. Never dusty like the old clothing. Never moldy like some of the foodstuffs strewn over the floor. Business hadn’t been good for the bunch. Why else would they have been stealing from a lonely little burg? If they had just picked a different hovel to raid, they’d have made off like queens. Queens of a Durant hill, but queens nonetheless.

Gareda stretched her arms out over her head, closing her eyes as let the muscles in her back and shoulders loosen up. When they opened back up, there was no one to be seen. Just the same noise from the backroom, the same sour musk of old liquids in air, and the same clutter on the ground. The Garchomp tapped her feet on the ground. 

‘What is taking those idiots so long… Every second spent here is two seconds off our lives.’

While waiting on the Soldiers in the back, Gareda spent some time swiping her claws at various bits and pieces of wood that had once been part of the front wall or furniture. The scythe fins on her arms sliced through like a well sharpened axe or tusk of a Haxorus, shredding whatever remained of the wood. The lone Soldier keeping watch over what was left of the entrance went from an iron stance to caressing his spear in search of comfort. Gareda’s scowl had reemerged, and she had plenty of energy flowing through her. 

‘Shouldn’t have sent the thugs off. Time’s perfect for practicing my technique, and what do I do? Get ‘em hauled off to the station. Wonderful.

Gareda raised her talons and cut through the remains of the counter, just as a figure emerged from the backroom; splinters flew past the fiery figure, who jumped back bearing a shocked look. 

“Aah!”

The sensors on Gareda’s head vibrated. She lifted her striking arm up from the ground, and composed herself. “There you are. What took you so long?”

The figure cautiously stepped back into the room bearing a nervous smile. One meeting of the eyes confirmed what Gareda’s sensors had already picked up on: A Magmar. “There was a basement to go through, my Lord. Quite a lot of other junk in there.”

Gareda raised an eye as she wiped her arms of any wood chippings that might have landed on them. “Well, Luffy? Did you find anything down there?”

The Magmar shook her head. “We’re going to have to check the place more thoroughly, but no sign of anything peculiar down there. Typical thieving stuff, really.”

“No sign of the flute?”

“Nothing. No notes or messages or anything of the sort.”

With a scowl, Gareda spread her arms wide and cracked the muscles in both. “Looks like we have some interrogating to do, then. I don’t buy for a single second that these thieves have seen none of what we’re looking for.”

Luffy smacked her lips. “What makes you say that? They’re just thieves.”

Gareda replied with a dull groan. She swung her tail around as she turned back to face her guard. “Just thieves, you say. Pfft. Nothing in this world is it’s own contained thing. Every action always has a reaction somewhere, whether you believe it or not,” she said as she approached Luffy and caressed the side of her shoulder with a fin on one of her arms. Luffy’s body vibrated; the flame at the tip of her tail grew a little taller. “Our job is to find out just how far this web spreads. We might not find the flute connected to the web. But we may find a thread that leads to the flute. Any guesses on what?”

“I… I have no idea,” Luffy stammered. “This is kind of confusing.”

The Garchomp rolled her eyes. ‘ And this is the best Patrina’s given me. Arceus, have mercy on my soul .’ “What I mean is, we may find potential partners of theirs who may know more. About who took the flute piece.”

Luffy shrugged. “That I don’t know. All these guys were selling appears to all be stolen.”

“Do you have any better ideas?” Gareda asked.

“Not really.”

“Then just do as I say. It’s the best bet we’ve got. Now then, come down to the station with me. You and I are going to get those fools to talk.”

“R-really?” Luffy said, sounding pleasantly surprised. Gareda grunted at her from the entrance. She was already on her way there. Luffy exhaled and ran right after her.

* * *

Mud splattered all over their feet as they ran across the town. Tired as they were from escaping by the skin of their teeth, they had to run. With the dreadful state of the roads, it was a slog. One would have just as good of a time trying to run with an anchor tied around their waist. George started panting only a street away from the marketplace. He may as well have had an anchor tied around him. His body sure felt like one was.

Their run wasn’t going unnoticed, either. From Soldiers to pedestrians, a whole bunch of eyes were directed nowhere else but the strangers from a town next door. Some were annoyed, others were eerily looking at their scarves. Even the postbirds above weren’t keen on their presence. As if the whole town were nudging the three of them in their backs, steadily shoving them further towards the moat to make them take a dive and sleep with the Tentacruel.  

Despite protests from Blitzer, Speedy wouldn’t stop until they had gotten out of the town in one piece. After an exhaustive run ripe with hostility from the locals, the three ran out of the town and back over the hill. The guards were either slacking off or didn’t care enough to try and stop them from leaving unchecked. Neither Speedy, George or Blitzer were in the mood to find out. Better to not know how it feels to have the tip of a spear pressed against your back. 

Over the hill, the run gradually declined into a stumble, ending with a drop to the knees in Speedy’s case, and a belly flop for the other two. Blitzer landed with his tail curled up and touching his back, while George’s chest ended up pressing into the back of his scalchop, which got a wince out of him. Ears flat and teeth gritted, his hand unclenched from his scalchop, causing the badge he’d sandwiched in between one of the folds to roll off over the ground. 

“Aargh.. Hey! Careful with that!” 

Speedy jumped back to his feet and leapt at the badge before it rolled off into the green. “Didn’t come this far just to lose it out here, heheh.”

George looked up with a faceful of sand spread over his cheeks. “All of this just for a piece of metal?” he said, staring in disbelief at Speedy as he held the badge out in front of his face, positively beaming with confidence. 

“It’s no mere piece of metal, lad. This is an important family heirloom of mine! Have had it for years, and it’s my most prized possession. Can’t believe I let those thieves snatch it in the middle of the night, just like that.” 

Blitzer rolled onto his side with a groan. “How come they stole it to begin with? How could they just do that to you?” he said, dusting off his arms. “If I had something from my old father and someone tried to steal it, I’d turn them into ash!”

A soft grumble stirred in Blitzer’s throat. Speedy nervously chuckled. “Well, ehh, I had it perched on a dresser, heh.”

“You just had it out in the open?” George asked as he got back up. 

“Pretty much.” Speedy scratched himself behind the ear. George couldn’t get his eyes to open past the halfway point after hearing him. ‘What a klutz.’

“I know, silly of me. I’ll do better from now on, though,” Speedy replied with a cheery smile, which vanished as the dirt in front of him suddenly crunched hard. 

“That’s ridiculous! No one can just take something like that without any consequences!” Blitzer shouted, fists clenched and his tail sparking with a volcanic intensity that spooked George’s eyes open. “We should have broken that whole shop of theirs down!”

“Hey now, lad, don’t be upset for me. I’ve got my badge back, and that’s what counts,” Speedy said, gesturing with his front paws to try and get Blitzer to settle down. 

“What do you mean, don’t be upset? They robbed you of your most important treasure! Took it right from you and wanted to sell it!” Blitzer shouted. “How could you be so laid back about it? I would burn a whole forest down to get anything reminding me of my old pops! Anything!!”

Blitzer spoke with a Charmeleon-like snarl. Harsh on the ear wouldn’t even begin to describe it. Both Speedy and George were on the backfoot, trying to put some distance in between themselves and Blitzer, lest they’d fall victim to an uncontrolled Flamethrower which, given the crackling sounds coming from behind the Charmander, were not going to stop at a layer of black soot. 

“C-come on now, buddy, calm down!” Speedy said with a raised voice and a complementary spark. “You don’t want to end up like those folks we’ve just dealt with, do you?”

“Of course not!” Blitzer shouted. “But I can’t just let them get away with this! I wish I had something like you, something that reminds me of my old pops and moms. Anything!!” 

George tried to approach Blitzer with his scalchop in hand. “Blitzer, don’t get upset over-”

“NO! You don’t understand!” Blitzer shouted back. George shrank back, shaking intensely as he watched the Pokemon he trusted more than any other fall deeper and deeper into a drunken rage. Fists clenched, teeth bared, ragged heaves passing back and forth through his snout; George could count his lucky stars that the two of them weren’t enemies.

‘What’s gotten into you, Blitzer? Why are you getting angry at me?’

“Lad, come on now. This is getting out of hand.”

“You don’t understand!! Why can’t you just-”

A loud spark stopped Blitzer’s voice dead in its tracks. Violent as it may look, there was a certain calm to Speedy’s demeanour, unlike the visible rage flowing off Blitzer. Without words, he gave off a simple message. ‘I am in control.’

“Listen, you. Growing up, I had a whole lotta friends who started off like you did. Angry, overly passionate, maybe even out to prove something. But lemme tell you something, lad. They all ended up diving deep into thievery and all sorts of other nastiness. That’s what happens when you have no morals or standards whatsoever. You’ll accept anything that happens as long as you think you’ll be gettin’ something out of it.”

Blitzer’s demeanour cooled off in the blink of an eye. “What? No, that’s not me, I would never-”

Speedy laid a paw on the Charmander’s neck. “Right now, yes. But so many of my friends were like that, too. All high and mighty now, but give it time and you’ll see how deep they sink. Fights one day, stealing the next, so on. At the rate they went, they’re probably cutting a deal with Giratina right this second,” he said, frowning. “So don’t tell me you got yourself under control here. Eventually, you’ll slip. Happens quicker than you may think.”

The energy was sucked right out of Blitzer’s body; he fell back to his regular composure, from teeth to tail. “If you say so… I don’t know what you mean with Giratina-”

“You don’t want to know.” Speedy shook his head. “You don’t want to know.”

Blitzer sighed. “Forget I ever said anything, okay-”

Speedy seized Blitzer’s chin with a paw. “Not so fast. That little outburst of yours has got that friend of yours all messed up. Have a look, will ya?” he said, before forcing Blitzer to look George straight in the eye. George was visibly shaken by the outburst. No longer was he smiling or bored, curious or unimpressed; those emotions had all left his eyes, and what was left was a shivering husk trapped in a snowstorm. A gasp escaped Blitzer’s throat.

“G-George? What’s wrong?” he asked. George couldn’t answer him with anything besides further frowning and uncomfortable shifting of his feet. 

‘I, I don’t get it. Why did he act out like that? It’s just like him… He acted that way too.’

“George…?”

“That’s your doing, lad.”

Blitzer stared on hopelessly at the little otter shivering before him. The anger of others is never easy to deal with, not for George. It was troubling and frightening as was when he was surrounded by no one but humans; but Pokemon were a step above even that. Fury backed up by terrifying displays of power. Raging infernos, uncontrollable storms, nightmares and so much more. They were creatures of incredible power that no mere man was meant to wield. No human could ever conceive of it, not without a technological miracle at their side. Blitzer wouldn’t fully understand what it was like. He never knew anything different, after all.

“You should go and apologise. That friend of yours needs it.”

“But I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“And that’s what you just did. What’s done can’t be undone, remember?”

“Yeah,” Blitzer chirped in a dull tone. By now, George was looking away towards the fields. “Look, I’m sorry about all of that. Okay? I didn’t mean anything to you. Truly.”

Blitzer’s stammering fell on deaf ears. George found greater comfort staring at the Pidoves flocking away in the distance. 

‘If this is how he treats me now, what’ll happen when things get worse? I don’t know how it’ll be worse, just in general, will he even see me as a friend still? Or would he just burn me?’

“Please George, I’m telling you,” Blitzer continued to stammer. “I didn’t try to hurt you! I mean it! I really do!” he said, stamping his foot in the ground. Crunching sounds were coming up the hill. “Why can’t you-”

“Everything alright over here, citizens?”

The two of them jumped as a strange voice addressed them. All eyes went in the direction of Agate Township, where a Vigoroth with a thick green chest piece bearing the Vined Crest stood, tapping his claws into the dirt. 

“N-no, I mean yes, I, uh, I was just uh, telling my friend over here that um,” Blitzer immediately blurted out, “I was just telling him that uh, that I had the embers, and uh, I didn’t mean to uh, scorch him when I sneezed. That’s all, heheh…”

The Vigoroth soldier folded her arms. “I’m not convinced. You were screaming just now. We heard it back at the gate. What is going on here?”

“Oh, uh, n-no-” Blitzer stopped to swallow a large buildup of saliva. The tip of his tail twitched back and forth. George inched away from him. Were it not for a sigh from Speedy, they’d both be lost. 

“Lemme explain for him. The lil’ Charmander lad got all angry that we didn’t go and get something he wanted, so he started sparkin’ and sputtering, that sort of thing. Typical Charmander stuff, really.”

The soldier spat beside herself. “Typical Charmander indeed. Watch yourself, laddie .Not everyone’s as accepting of your crap,” she said, before turning back the way she came, leaving a scent of dirty fur in her wake. Once her footsteps had dimmed enough, Speedy shuffled his way to their sides and dragged them both with him along the trail.

“That was pathetic, lad.”

“Wh-what do you mean, pathetic?” 

“Almost got us dragged back for interrogating. And that’s beside the point. That apology sucked.”

“I’m trying, okay?” Blitzer said with his hands out in front of him. Speedy suddenly raised the tip of his tail, and struck Blitzer on the side of his head. “Ow!”

“Not good enough, lad. Some apology that was. Didn’t even sound like you cared.”

“I do care!”

Speedy then shoved both Blitzer and George forward. “Then do it properly. Do explain why you got all upset over somethin’ that’s not even yours.”

Blitzer and George looked each other straight in the eye. A cold wind blew overhead as both were silent for a long while. Blitzer played with his fingers, making chirping sounds as if a few words were itching in the back of his throat, but he couldn’t bring himself to say them. George on the other hand was standing all statuelike, his arms congruent with the rest of his body. Were it not for one lip being buckled inwards because of a tooth pressing on it, he looked as if he were about to start crying. 

A foot tapped into the dirt beside them. Blitzer’s first instinct was to look, but he didn’t follow through, and instead sighed. “Alright. George, I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but… I didn’t mean to get that annoyed. Or angry. It wasn’t right, and you shouldn’t have seen that. And Speedy shouldn’t have either. I feel horrible about it.”

George’s tail tapped into the dirt with the strength of a leaf falling from a tree. “But why did you get upset at all? You’re never like that, I don’t understand.”

Blitzer hummed as his eyes wandered off to a critter moving around behind George. “It… It just wasn’t the right time. You know there’s myths and all about how the stars align? Well, my stars aligned. When Speedy told me about his treasure getting stolen like that, and how it reminds him of family, I couldn’t take it. I don’t have anything like that of my own parents. My actual parents… I know how much Nero and Nera care about me, and I love them, but I miss my old pops and moms. I really do. All I have of them is memories.” He lowered his head. “I don’t want to lose that too.”

George’s gaze was lowered to the dirt under their feet as well. Once upon a time, the headmistress had told him that the past isn’t worth considering, and that the now was all one needed. Partially, he could agree. Being rid of her and the others was an offer that felt impossible to refuse. And yet he couldn’t do it. Not even if there was a button that magically wiped his mind of any trace of who they were. Even a past as awful as his own, he’d stick with it. Blitzer had far more pleasant times bottled up inside of him. They guided him. They motivated him. Those memories were always in the back of his mind, encouraging him to move forward. It’s no wonder why the idea of losing something so cherished caused him to lash out. George felt unwell. 

“I understand, Blitzer.”

A light smile crept onto Blitzer’s face. “I’m glad you do. But still, I’m sorry about all of that. I should’ve controlled myself better.”

Their eyes met each other once again. George’s doubts had simmered back down. One last thing was sticking to his chest, which he wanted to break free from.

“I’m glad you’re still you in the end.”

Blitzer’s lips curled up. “What do you mean?”

George gently nodded at him. ‘No turning back now. But that’s not so bad.’  

“Just now, you reminded me of a kid who lived in the foster’s home with me. His name was Wesley. He’d always blow up at me and other kids when we least expected it. All that was separating you two is that he would always fight you over it, too.”

Blitzer’s tail swayed around like a whip. “That’s terrible! Did he hit hard?”

George hummed in agreement. “If not for the… you know, I would show you the bruises,” he said, keeping the corner of one eye trained on Speedy who was contently watching them a few steps away.

“Oh…”

“It’s nothing. It didn’t come to that, did it?”

“Yeah.”

“And I’ll probably never see Wesley again, so all’s well.” George chuckled. A paw then touched him on the back of the neck; the breath shot out of his lungs.

“Seems like you two lads have it all sorted out, don't you?” Speedy said.

“Uh, yeah, we sure do,” Blitzer said, awkwardly laughing. The Raichu patted them both on their backs, smiling. 

“That’s great, lads. See, it wasn’t such a big deal after all, eh? You shouldn’t get so upset over these things, it just ain’t worth it. Compared to the stuff that’s out there, this is small beans, let me tell ya!”

With a laugh, Speedy took his hands back. The copper badge that had caused all this drama to begin with was sticking out in between a fold in his scarf. George thumbed his nose. A strange hint of ash came off it. It was difficult to tell underneath the metal, but his nose wasn’t lying.

“So uh, that badge of yours, where’s it from?” George asked. Speedy took the badge into one paw and gave it a glance. 

“This, lad, is an old heirloom of mine, much like I said.” Speedy quickly looked over his shoulder; no one in sight. A bird's wings beat into the wind not far from them. “‘S got more than just sentimental value to me, I might need it again one day.”

“For what?” Blitzer asked. 

“To identify myself to some old friends, that’s what. We all have a badge like this one. If I ever see them again, and I can’t distinguish myself from any other nosey Raichu, well then I’ll be paddlin’ up the creek without a paddle!” Speedy said.

George wiped at his brow. He felt relieved, somehow. Not that there was anything in particular to be relieved over, it was calm. And that’s what counted. 

“Well, do you think you’ll see those friends anytime soon?”

Speedy folded his arms. “Well, ‘s a difficult one, lad. Could happen today. Maybe a year. We could be waiting for a long time, you know. That’s just the way life goes,” he said, swinging the bolt on the end of tail around. A cat would’ve loved it. Speedy wouldn’t like the cat so much, though. George chuckled to himself.

“Eh?” Speedy blurted out.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” George said in between laughs.

“Hey, it’s the truth, I tell you! Can’t help it.”

“Hey, are we waiting on something too?” Blitzer then asked. 

“What do you mean?” said Speedy as he put the badge back in the fold he’d taken it out of. A cold wind blew at his back. 

“Well, you said ‘we’, so I’m just wondering if…” Blitzer didn’t know how to finish his sentence. A few seconds after the last word and a dull hum from Blitzer, Speedy clicked his tongue and sniffed the air a few times. 

“Who knows? Every day’s a chance for something new, am I right? We’ll just have to wait ‘n see tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, it’s getting late already. Huh.”

Following Speedy’s gesture, George shielded his eyes as he looked towards the sky. He wasn’t entirely wrong, but it was a stretch to call him right, either. The sun had just hit the halfway point. Plenty of daylight to get back. Then again, every second they weren’t home wasn’t going to do them any favours when they got back. It was nothing short of a miracle neither of them had any bruises or other injuries.

“We should be going home, then. Your parents won’t accept another excuse for it, will they?”

Blitzer shook his head. “Not in a million years.” 

“Alright then lads, let’s get going, then. You did well today! I’m proud of you both.”

“Thanks!”

With another gust of wind hitting their backs, the three of them headed back over the road towards Greenfield. As they left, a bird took off from a nearby tree; it was headed straight for Agate Township. 

“Is that what I think it is…? Arceus almighty, Lord Gareda needs to know this.”

Chapter Text

Earlier that morning, when they had a foot out the door, George and Blitzer had been explicitly warned. ‘Don’t come back like you did three days ago!’ The closer they got to the village, the louder that statement rang through their heads. Each change in scenery, from plain to forest to bog, someone turned up the volume of that statement. Couldn’t get away from it. Didn’t matter how much any of the three complimented another on their fighting ability, talked about a Pokemon or group of Pokemon they spotted off road, Nero and Nera’s words strained the mind. Not even a swarm of Combee descending upon a poor Beedrill got rid of it.

No surprise then that when they entered the village, and then stepped into the square, then went on the last crossroad between the road leading to the hovel and the path leading over the stream, their moods swung sour. The skies had taken on an orange tint, and a good chunk of the village had already headed home. Given the clouds moving in opposite of the sun, that was for the better. 

“Well kids, thanks again for everything. I’ll knock on your door again some time tomorrow. You know, just makin’ sure those two Poisoners haven’t locked you up for weeks. Wouldn’t sit right with me, ya know!” Speedy poked Blitzer in the chest with an elbow. The gesture didn’t go over well: Blitzer pushed Speedy’s arm away.

“We’ve been away for a long time, though. If my parents find so much as a single scratch on me, we’re finished,” the Charmander said, cradling his tail. “What if they still won’t let us out even if you do take the blame for everything?”

Speedy twirled his ears upwards. “Heh. Don’t you worry about that, lad. They can’t ground me! I’ll be their problem until they change their minds, promise.”

George patted himself on the nose. “What about Junior, though? You still have him to watch over,” he said, then licked his upper lip. ‘Or better yet, what if another group of thieves comes along to steal his badge. Once bitten, twice shy, right? ’

“Junior can handle himself. That little lad’s none of my concern. In fact, biggest concern I have is that you two kids can’t go and be kids with him! Lad needs some more action in his life, and you two are perfect for that.”

George scratched his head. “Thanks, I guess.” ‘ I thought parents weren’t supposed to be that laid back about their kids. Different world, different species, I guess. ’

“We should get going now, before my parents want to barricade me in my room,” Blitzer said. 

“Yeah, I was about to send you two off anyway. I got a kid that needs dinner. And I’m sure you two do as well.”

“Oh yes,” Blitzer chirped, patting his cream colored tummy with a claw. “I haven’t eaten anything since the morning.” Gradually, a frown crept onto his snout. “We should have gotten something to eat in Agate Township.” 

George crossed his arms over his scalchop. “I’d prefer going hungry to that, to be honest.”

“Why, George?”

“Do you trust any of those people to give you good food?” George asked Blitzer, whose tongue slid between his lips.

“Well it was worth a try, right? We could’ve gone inside of that… what was it called? Roark’s Cafe-”

“Nope! Nope, the Oshawott lad has the right idea, Blitzer. Too expensive! I’ve been to placed like that myself, before, and yes, heheh, it uh, it was an expensive stay,” Speedy said while pinching his cheeks in an attempt to bury an awkward grin. “Anyway, let’s not stand around here too much longer, yes? Get yourselves some rest, you deserve it lads.”

“Okay?” Blitzer said, dumbfounded. George clicked his tongue. Better not to question someone with more world experience.

* * *

“Took you two long enough to get back.”

“Dad, I told you, Speedy needed to get some stuff from Agate Township, and that’s pretty far.”

“Not that far, is it?”

“Yes mom, it is! More than an hour to get there, at least! And we had to carry stuff back home after he was done buying what he needed, which took a long time.”

Steam curled up from the stew underneath George’s nose. Hints of some sort of meat were clearly present in the mixture; it smelled too appetising for it to be more of that vegetable gunk Nera had served a few days ago. Where the meat came from, only Arceus knew. George wasn’t energised enough to delve into the rabbit hole of what Pokemon the meat came from. As long as it wasn’t one of the townsfolk he was about to stuff into his mouth, that’s all he cared about. Pokemon weren’t humans at the end of the day. Their idea of what was ethical wouldn’t be the same. For all he knew, he was biting into wild Nidorino, or Nidorina. Or Charmander. 

Not that thinking this through mattered, given that George’s appetite was being ruined enough as was by Nero and Nera deciding dinner time would be a fine time to start an argument with Blitzer. At times it felt like he was sitting at the table with two detectives who were trying to get him and his partner in crime to spill the beans. Blitzer played coy for a while, but even he had enough of explaining the exact same things over and over at a certain point. He resorted to dirty looks and swinging his tail around, much to the chagrin of Nero who was anxiously watching the flame at the tip whish by a stump of wood.

“Hey there, watch it! You’ll burn the whole house down, mister!”

Blitzer crossed his arms. “Why don’t you believe us, then? We’re not lying!”

“Blitzer, honey, we do believe you,” Nera said. 

“No you don’t!”

“We do, we’re just concerned something might have happened. Agate Township is a rough place. Even a strong Pokemon like you can get seriously hurt if you don’t watch out.”

“But we didn’t get hurt! Can’t we just eat?” 

“As long as you calm down, you,” Nero grumbled. “Can’t even ask my own kid questions anymore. Knew you’d get moody at some point, but Arceus almighty…”

“Moody? What are you talking about?” Blitzer churred. Nero flicked his ears backwards.

“That middle ground between kid and adult, lad. Everyone deals with it at some point. You’ve just hit it.”

“Let’s not talk about this today, shall we? The stew is getting cold,” Nera said, drumming a forepaw onto the table. 

George stretched his arms over his head. ‘ Finally, they’re done ,’ he thought to himself. A soft groan from his stomach made him leer into the soup. Saliva began to accumulate under his tongue. Holding a spoon in his hand, it was time to eat. The day had been too long as was. 

When they were done eating, it had already become dark outside. A chill crept into the hovel. Much to Blitzer and George’s protests, however, the parents forced them to go and bathe. 

“It’s cold! I don’t want to go and bathe!”

“Too bad, Blitzer. You stink.”

“No I don’t.”

“Yes you do. Quit whining.”

“How many times have I told you? I don’t like water, it makes me feel all cramped.”

“Too bad. I don’t like water either. But guess what? I’m not letting you stink the house up with that musk of yours.”

“Ugh…”

One cold rinse later, the two were allowed to go to their room. Blitzer was groaning and scratching wildly at his belly and his legs, while George had a slight smile on his face. If it wasn’t so cold, then bathing wouldn’t be a problem. Bathing made him happy. It was instinctual. Oshawotts liked being around water. Their bodies were made for it. 

After messing around with some toys, the two went to sleep. Who knew what tomorrow would bring.

* * *

Sunshine awaited them the next day. On their way out, Nero and Nera had given them the same lecture on not straying too far from the village, which they carelessly nodded their heads to, George keeping his fingers crossed all the while. How fortunate that Pokemon did not know what human gestures meant. 

“Uargh, I’ve been dying to get outside today! I’ve got a headache,” Blitzer chirped, one hand rubbing his shiny head. 

George yawned as they walked the path leading downwards.“You too?”

“Yeah. It just kind of started right as I rolled out of bed.”

“Did the flute get into your nest overnight?” said George, thumbing his nose. Blitzer chuckled back at him along with an excited flicker from his tail. 

“Well it sure would explain a lot!” the Charmander chirped, once again rubbing his head. “This is real annoying, though. It feels like someone hit me over the head with a log. Something like that. Or that something is sticking out of my head.”

“Odd,” George replied. A headache wasn’t the only thing that was off. Blitzer was walking rather funny, as if his legs were stretched and out of proportion. It looked like he could fall right over if he so much as kicked a pebble by accident. George kept paying attention to it every now and then. If he had to guess, it was either a growth spurt, or early morning grogginess not having worn off yet.

Bltzer’s erratic movement didn’t wear off when they met up with the other kids and started messing around with them. He was slow in tag, wasn’t quite as agile as he used to be with jumping on rocks, and panted a lot easier than on any day prior. Despite this, and even with a lot of the other kids asking him if he was okay, Blitzer insinuated that he felt fine, chalking it all up to a bad day. He wasn’t about to let his little difficulties get in the way of himself. That was for sure.

Once the fun and games died down, they all sat down by the stream, everyone except Corst and Blitzer dipping their feet into the water. Corst fidgeted around with his rocky helmet, his panting echoing underneath.

“Boy, it sure is hot today, isn’t it?” 

“Tell me about it. I’ve been wanting to jump into the water for an hour now, but my parents would slap me silly if they found out! All because the water smells bad when it's in my fur.” Sweitelle said, kicking her feet around in the water.

“You have your feet in the water now though, don’t you?” asked George, who was sitting next to her. 

“That’s different,” Sweitelle said. The Pikachu sitting to her left shook his head.

“Your parents are crazy. My dad would never put a silly restriction on me like that. What do they care? It’s hot! And you’re of water, too!”

Sweitelle sighed. “That’s just the way they are, I guess…”

The others all frowned. The sun wasn’t being kind on them, given the panting sounds in the air. George took a glance at the water and had an idea. “Well, since your feet are already wet, can’t you just run through the water? In fact, why don’t we all just do that?”

“Please no, I don’t want to make it any worse than it already is.”

“Well, I’ll go anyway. It’s too hot, darn it.” George jumped to his feet. “I don’t care if the water smells!”

“George, be careful! The current is a lot stronger than you think-” Junior warned, to no avail; George had already hopped into the widest part of the stream he could find, flashing a smile as he hopped through to the other side. The water felt incredibly refreshing to the touch. A wave of calmness went over him as droplets spattered around everywhere. Without a care in the world, he ran up the other side of the stream, right onto a portion of road. Just in time to hit the large figure standing on said road.

“Oof!”

He slammed head first into what felt like a large ball of vines, which he bounced ht off, causing him to tip over backwards onto his rear.

“Oh, my! Watch out there, laddie!”

Eyes now open and paying attention, George found himself looking up at a large fellow covered in all too familiar blue tendrils, who was looking at him with great curiosity. 

“Wait, you again?”

“Ah yes! You are Jor-je, right? I’ve been looking for you! I must say, this is not how I intended to introduce myself, but here I am anyway” the Tangrowth postman said, making thumping noises with his right arm; slung around that side of his body was a large bag made out of material that resembled linen. 

“Hey, it’s you!” Blitzer chirped from over the stream. 

“That’s right, it’s me alright! The postman! Oh, uh, I’m not really that important. Just an honest postman doing his job, that’s all,” the Tangrowth said with a soft, heavy chuckle. You could hear the weight of the tendrils in his voice. 

Tail swaying back and forth with enough force to get a few yelps out of the others, Blitzer stumbled his way over the stream, snout hanging halfway open from what George assumed were a dozen questions itching in the back of his throat. The postman reflexively took a step back; his eyes were drawn to the flame being swung back and forth.

“More news? More news?”

“Well yes, there is always new news, except for the times when there’s nothing new.”

“What about us?” Blitzer tilted his head sideways.

“That’s why I’m here!” The postman exclaimed, pointing both his large tendril arms at a spot just under his eyes. “I am indeed here to hand you something new, yes. Well uh, no, that’s not entirely correct, I’m not allowed to hand over post to kids myself. I gave it to the friendly ghost man running the café. Now then, since you managed to get your hands on the last bit of news from there, I’m sure you’ll have no issues doing so again this time. Correct?”

George and Blitzer both sucked in a breath between their teeth, tepidly nodding towards the postman with about as much conviction as someone whose hands had been in the cookie jar. 

“Oh yes, he uh, he did give us the message, yes,” Blitzer said, pinching his sides.

“Yes, what he said,” George said right after, pointing a finger in the wrong direction. ‘ Well, it was less giving us the massage, and more having the message shoved into my face, then getting kicked out, but it’s not wrong, I guess .’

“Good, good!” the Tangrowth cheerily said, rubbing his arms together and jingling the other tendrils covering his body around. “So then, are there any other questions that need answering? I uh, I am a bit busy today. Big workload and all! A lot of post to be delivered, I’m afraid.”

“Is this related to the last message?” Blitzer asked.

“Ah yes, it most certainly is,” the postman said with a few nods in rapid succession. “The ghost man told me himself. ‘It took long enough for this to come in, I have been rotting waiting for this’, that’s what he said, word for word! I don’t know what he means with rotting, but there you have it.”

“Oh, okay,”  Blitzer said. George pressed his tongue against the side of his cheek.

‘Oh boy, this will be a world of fun, won’t it?’

“Now then, kids, any other questions, or is this enough information?”

“Well, I don’t think there’s any other information to be gotten, we just have to go in there now,” George said. His ears poked up from Blitzer breathing in right next to him; no words followed.

“Good, good, then I will get going again. Have a good day, fellow kids!”

With a nod, a wave, a stumble, a laugh and slap in his own face, the Tangrowth stomped off. George breathed out. 

‘Well, that just happened.’ 

The other kids came running over the stream, the splashing causing George and Blitzer to turn on the balls of their feet. “Hey, it was that Tangrowth again. What was that all about?” Junior asked, to which Blitzer shrugged. 

“Änother message for us. That’s it.”

“What’s in it?”

Blitzer shook his head. “I don’t know, we have to go and pick it up from café like last time.”

Junior frowned. “The café? You mean from that creepy ghost?”

George hummed a dull note. “Yeah, we do. I don’t like it either.”

Corst clubbed the ground with a stick he’d found. “I know who you mean! I’ll tell you what, that ghost is a big jerk! I still remember one day, where I was all by myself, playing with a ball, and it rolled into his yard, okay? Totally by accident, yet he comes out shaking that big fist, telling me to pick it up all angrily.”

Sighing, Blitzer turned his back to the others. “Alright then… George, let’s just get this done and over with. The sooner we’re there, the sooner we’re done.” George shook his head and followed in his footsteps. 

“Yeah, sure.”

“What about us?”

“We’ll explain the rest later.”

* * *

From the moment the first strum from the guitar reached their ears, and the murky air hanging inside of the café filled up their nostrils with the stench of old juice, it was clear they were in for a treat. There was no guard stopping them, like last time. George’s eyes panned from wall to floor. All that was missing now was the inevitable moment when Hein would pop out, press his hands into their backs, and scold them silly. Any second now. The spectral echo of his voice would hit them square in the ear. They treaded with light feet. Any second now. They got past the curve hiding the rest of the café from the entrance. Any second now. They got to the bar. Blitzer and George, who had their hands raised and had walked so gently that none of the wooden floor boards had creaked thus far, put their hands back down.

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know, in that back room, maybe?”

“But then he wouldn’t be able to see who was coming in, could he?”

“Will you two kids shut up back there? You’re not even supposed to be in here!” a patron two tables over yelled at the two, juice leaking out of their maw and onto their fur. 

“S-sorry!” A spooked Blitzer meeped back at him. “We’re only here for a letter.”

“They don’t deliver letters here, kid! Are you stupid?”

Blitzer almost choked on the saliva he audibly swallowed. The patron was looking at them like their very presence in the café was an insult. An insult that didn’t warrant any other response other than a beatdown. Those feline eyes were filled to the brim with the fury to give them just that. George tried reaching for his scalchop, only to find it already in his hands. Said hands didn’t need to wait for George’s mind to catch up, not in times like these. It hadn’t come to blows yet, though, and surely the people of Greenfield wouldn’t ever resort to violence against someone that was barely a teenager, would they? That was George’s hope.

“Excuse me sir, but we won’t be here for very long. Only one or two minutes at best, we just need to see the café owner-”

“Get outta ‘ere, you!!” the patron roared back. George and Blitzer, now shaking and jittering, fell backwards into a pair of waiting hands. Soft, cold. That’s what pressed against their backs. That’s all they needed to know. 

“Shut it.”

Echoes rang through the café, silencing the guitar and the others present, who were merely enjoying a chat over a cup of berry juice. A spectral presence manifested behind the two. Their legs shook like branches in an ominous wind.

“Shout at my guests again, and forget about your liver inevitably giving up. I’ll drop you off in the afterlife myself.”

The patron in Hein’s crosshairs growled back at him, visible electric sparks jolting from his fangs. The Dusknoir took his hand from George’s back and stretched his arm out at the patron. A peculiar feeling shot through George’s body, starting from the print of Hein’s touch. Wide eyed and confused, he looked behind him to see the ghost’s lone eye taking on a sinister glow. Something flew over George’s head. It couldn’t be seen, but it was there. A gasp rang through the air; the skin under the patron’s fur looked as if it was being pushed off their body. Foam emerged in place of the sparks, as the patron fell out of his chair, wildly flailing his limbs around as the others in the cafe watched on in horror. Any hint of coziness in the air had been sucked out of the building.

“What an idiot.” Hein reached onto George’s back, only to immediately pull his hand back away. “Huh. Well now.”  

“Wh-what are you doing?” George asked. 

“Nothing, kiddo. Just an itch. You have those too, don’t you?”

George gritted his teeth. The very thought of having to look the ghost behind his back in the eye was painful. Not one drop of blood inside his body wasn’t running cold. If only he had Blitzer right by his side, he wouldn’t feel so powerless. More than a bug. Maybe comfortable enough to address the ghost as if he wasn’t capable of breaking their spirit with a flick of his fingers. Alas, Blitzer was too busy shaking in the grasp of Hein’s other hand, too terrified to even speak. “Y-yes sir.”

“Indeed.”  Hein patted him on the shoulder, then turned his eye and antenna towards the rest of the room. “My apologies, everyone. Please get back to what you were doing. I will be busy with these two clowns for a little while, then I’ll clean up the mess. Patience, if you may.”

The strumming of the guitar started back up as the two were led into the back room from the last time. George was dead silent, staring straight in front of him as an unseen force pushed him and Blitzer away. Blitzer wasn’t taking it well. Softly whimpering as he was being led away, starstruck by what his two eyes had seen. He was all alone. George couldn’t slide a hand over to comfort him: His limbs barely budged from his own commands. The unseen force had locked him out. 

“What are-” George felt a cold tug on his lips. Next thing he knew, they had dried out and practically molded together. They too stopped responding.

“Quiet. You’re annoying my guests.”

The whines and whimpers  became louder. Hein didn’t silence them. Instead, he pushed the palms of his hands into the backs they were holding. All the hairs on George’s back flew up straight from a cold wave of static as he staggered onto a mat. There, his knees gave way, and he dropped onto them. Blitzer fell on his one mat over, right next to the entrance, hyperventilating and shivering all the while. The mark of that palm would not go away anytime soon. Not for George, and least of all for Blitzer. George took one good look at him. No words he could say could describe what Blitzer had to be feeling. Hein’s touch had been cruel, and colder than a black heart. George slapped the ground with his tail. It was like he had a sudden wish for death.

“What’s wrong with you?!”

“Excuse me, what was that?” Hein cupped a hand around the tip of his antenna.

“I said, what’s wrong with you? What did you do to that Pokemon in the café just now? Why did you just drag us in here?” George yelled back. The Dusknoir wasn’t impressed. George steeled his nerves, anticipating that he was about to become the victim of another reprisal. Ghosts were not to be taken lightly, not one bit. But the anger inside of him overruled any sense of self preservation. Even if it wasn’t going to end well, he had to do something.

The Dusknoir scoffed, seeing the little Oshawott standing on the mat with his fists clenched. “Feisty today, aren’t we?”

“I’m not letting you hurt us anymore,” George groaned.

The lone eyeball rolled around. “As if I’d even consider that.”

“You just did! Look! Look at what you’ve done to my friend!”

“Wasn’t me that scared him. He scared himself. Some Char he is, can’t even look a fat bastard like me in the eye,” Hein chuckled.

“Why you…!” George softly groaned through his teeth. Hein poked a pinky finger out him. A ghastly force compelled him to sit back down, and forget any hostile thoughts he might have had.

“Listen to me you chippy idiot. I don’t go out of my way to hurt my business. Maybe you’ll understand this once you lose the freckles, but I like to keep a clean house. No drunkards, no weirdos, no hawkers, et cetera. So, if you’d please be patient, I’ll hand you your damn letter, and we can go back to pretending we never met. Is that clear?”

Hein leaned over until his eye was directly over George’s head. George remained silent for a few seconds, keeping a cards player’s stare onto his face in spite of the giant mouth hovering inches away from him. A cold wind blew up against his feet; his ears were flat, vibrating as they listened to the hollow moans pouring out of Blitzer’s mouth.

“Clear.”

“Good.” A piece of paper was pressed into George’s hand. “Here’s your damn message. You still have the flute piece, don’t you?”

“Yes,” George said with a slight nod. 

Hein spread his arms wide and clapped. The sound was very dull. Something akin to a dusty book being dropped onto the floor. “So you aren’t entirely useless after all, congratulations.”

George swallowed a glob of saliva. “Thanks, I guess.”

“Enough of this jabber. You can read it back later, but to make a long story short, you need to take that flute piece to the center of Greenwood Forest. There, in the center of the Mystery Dungeon is a tree stump in a field. Put the flute down there, and get back out. Clear?”

“...sure.”

“Good. Now then, piss off you two.”

Hein watched on as George got off his feet, then helped his still mortified friend off the mat, dragging him out of the room. Blitzer gladly accepted his hands around his arm. More so than even a cripple would. Hein shook his antenna around as they disappeared from his café, pressing the palm of his hand against his lone eye. 

“And this is who Terez is putting all her hopes into…”

Chapter Text

“What’s the matter with that jerk?”

George stomped his way out of the building, dragging Blitzer along with him back to the front of the hovel. The red scarf around his neck had heated up to a discomforting degree. His free hand was tugging it loose, yet the heat didn’t disappear. It wouldn’t yield even to the cool breeze that passed by. Even for something that retained heat well, it was absurd. Right this second, Greenfield was lucky George wasn’t a fire breather like Blitzer. Half the town would’ve been ablaze by now. All for Blitzer’s sake.

The young Charmander was utterly overwhelmed. His mouth was hanging ajar, a dim shadow had taken hold of his eyes, and his limbs just kind of hung around, taped onto his body without any sense of control. He still hadn’t said a word ever since Hein had given his performance in the cafe. It had captivated him. Controlled him. Dominated him, as if the weight of the world was crushing him into the ground. 

“Who does he think he is, doing that to someone else? And then he wants to act like nothing happened, ‘oh here’s your stupid package, kids’. And why does he treat us like idiots? You for being you, me for calling him out? Then he all but threatens to use his ghost magic on us!” George pouted, erratically waving a hand in front of his face, mimicking a finger point and foam coming out of his mouth. A lone Roselia passing by stared for a little while, before walking with the wind.

As George ranted, Blitzer’s eyes stared on ahead. It was less of a stare, and more plain pointing ahead. Like most others, ghosts in his eyes were nothing but an oddity, spoken of as faraway tales rather than neighbours. Having seen what he had seen, it wasn’t surprising anymore that no one stood up to Hein, or even mentioned him much. Some things about the world are best left unknown. Life was easier that way. Much, much easier.

It was too late for George and Blitzer now, though. One was mortified, the other was fuming.

“Argh! We let him just walk all over us. Again. You know what, I’ll tell that Tangrowth to just hand it straight to us next time.”

“If there even is a next time…” Blitzer then whimpered. George stopped dead in his tracks, a few steps removed from the front door of the hovel, which had taken on a dull green tint.. Say one thing for Blitzer, say he’s a grab bag of emotions. Cheery and optimistic, angry and stomping his feet, scared or in pain, nervous or curious, he swung around like a wind chime in a hurricane. Yet here he was now, gasping and rubbing his head. George’s teeth pressed into his lip.

“Hey, are you alright?”

“Y-yes, I am. Don’t worry about me.”

“You don’t sound alright.”

“I’m just worried, that’s all.”

George pressed his tongue into his cheeks. ‘ He’s thinking about something. It can’t be anything good, I can feel it. ’ He thumbed and cleared his nose. “After what that… cyclops pulled just now, who wouldn’t be. We should talk about it.”

He had to pause to come up with a valid way to describe Hein. There were too many parallels back home to pick from. The Reaper most of all, but mentioning that name would only make the situation worse. Blitzer drew an exasperated breath, throwing his arms into the air beside him. He appeared to be wobbling back and forth with the wind.

“That can’t be a good idea. He might still be listening in.”

George shook his head. “He’s not following us anymore, I’m sure of it.”

“How? You don’t know if he’s still listening in,” Blitzer whispered. “He could be in the ground. Or in a wall. In an object, even. He can be anywhere.”

“Believe me,” George said, reaching out to the Charmander’s shoulder with a hand, “I have an instinct for that damn cyclops. We’ll be fine. He’s not watching.” ‘And it’s not a bluff.’

Blitzer sighed. “Okay then. I didn’t want to talk about this, but- no, I should be telling you. It’s important. Hein…  He’s, he’s giving me really strange vibes.” 

George folded his arms. ‘ Tell me about it. ’ “ Just about everyone in that cafe is probably thinking twice about going back in there another day. I’m sure. How long has he been in business for?”

“Years, I guess, ow,” Blitzer said while biting on his tongue. George stood close enough to him to smell a hint of iron amidst the ash and fruit that he was breathing out. He sucked in a breath with gritted teeth.

“Years? Are you kidding? This can’t be the first time, can it?‘ Blitzer stared at the human turned Oshawott with an awkward curl in his mouth. No response, he just wobbled. This wasn’t the time to be asking stupid questions. George had blurted one out anyway. His cheeks puffed up; the undisturbed sounds of the stream and the toiling of other Pokemon made George reach for the back of his head.

“S-sorry, just pretend you didn’t hear anything.” ‘ Of course he’s been at it for years, who in this village can even stand up to him ?’

“D-don’t worry, okay.” Blitzer gulped. “It’s not him being creepy or rude, that I’m used to. He isn’t from these parts. My parents told me that you shouldn’t trust strange adults, because they don’t have your best interest in mind. After getting bashed for being a Charmander a few times, I finally understood what they meant. I still don’t like it whenever it happens, but…” he paused to sniff. “You get used to it.”

George nodded without the strength to look the Charmander in the eye. “I get you.” ‘I wish I didn’t, though…’ 

Blitzer clicked his tongue. “But that’s not what I meant. Don’t you think it’s odd that we’re getting these messages from him, of all people? He’s not from here, he appeared about four years ago, and no one’s ever even heard from him before. Yet he of all people is giving us weird information that might get us into serious trouble if anyone else finds out about it? Who is he, even? Who’s to say he’s not doing this on purpose for someone?”

George’s out snapped open; a gasp of air flew straight in. His ears weren’t deceiving him. It was a full blown accusation of nefarious intent. “Are you sure of this?”

“I can’t think of anything else,” Blitzer replied.

 George bit his lip. A double agent. That’s what Blitzer was saying. With how detailed that one-eyed ghost’s descriptions had been, the chance he wasn’t involved in this was as tiny as a hair in George’s fur. For who, though? The Soldiers? Perhaps that was why that Garchomp came to visit their village a few days ago. They were being watched all along. Their secrets weren’t really secrets. A third eye had been reading and following along with them all along. The trap could snap shut at any minute, yet the grass camouflaging it remained stiff. Nothing had happened. Not yet. George chose to remain on the side of optimism. The grass there was greener.

“But wouldn’t they have come for us, then? It’s been a while since we got or hands on,” his eyed panned over the surrounding houses and distant trees, “That. He’s known us for longer than that, too. There’s not much left to discover if he’s been listening in all this time.”

Blitzer shook his head. “I don’t know George, I’ve just got a bad feeling about all of this.” George affirmidly nodded back.

“Me too.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Blitzer said while twiddling his claws between one another. “Maybe I’m not cut out for this kind of thing.”

George shook his head. “That’s ridiculous, Blitzer. You’re the last person in the world who can say that about themselves.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, look at all the places you dragged me off to. I’m not even that used to my own body yet. Then look at you go. Spitting fire and clawing and sniffing like it’s no big deal. I can’t do any of that.” 

George pressed a few fingers into the blue fur above his scalchop. There had been a few times during his sleep or games with the others where he had ideas involving spitting water, or using his scalchop to cut something, but he hadn’t ever acted on them. The body may be different, but the soul is the same. The only humans who’d spit water or wave sharp objects around were lunatics. Even one in the body of an otter couldn’t shake that feeling off.

Blitzer shook his head. “I don’t know… it feels like I’m losing that too.”

“Huh?” George raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you see yourself yesterday? You burned that Victreebel good! You were jumping all over the place like it was nothing! What do you mean?” he asked. What Blitzer said didn’t mesh with what George believed. He had control, and he didn’t need any help. Did he?

“No, you- something’s happening to me and I don’t know what,” Blitzer nervously churred. “My head’s been throbbing since yesterday. My arms feel all weird and prickly, like I’ve been sleeping on them, but that won’t go away either. And my legs feel so shaky and weird, I can’t stand on them well anymore,”

George shot a glance towards said legs, and bit his lip as the sight of them veering off backwards.They weren’t steady in the slightest. It looked as if Blitzer was constantly on the verge of flopping over backwards, right down the slope and into the stream. He heard the splash in the back of his head, and grimaced. ‘Ouch .’ “You might be sick.”

Blitzer shook his head. “I tried asking my parents this morning, but they are all weird about it. They won’t give me a straight answer. They’re all like, ‘ oh, you’re just getting the cramps, you get those when you get older ’, but then they’re smirking in weird ways.”

“Oh.” George tapped his foot against the dirt. ‘ They must be hiding something too. Last I heard, cramps don’t just pop up at random. And I thought cramps only affected the lower half .’ “Do you-”

“What are cramps?”

“Ah!”

Blitzer’s right foot made a sharp shift to the side, causing him to lose balance and drop onto his belly. Likewise, George spun around and stumbled to get decent footing. His eyes were drawn to a lightning bolt twitching back and forth up the path.

“Oh hey lads, I didn’t startle you, did I?”

Upon seeing the familiar orange face up ahead shove his way into the conversation without so much as a care in the world, George had but a frown to give. “Speedy, what's your problem?”

Speedy pointed at himself with both paws. “Problem? Just an ordinary Raichu here. Don’ mind me.”

Blitzer pulled his head out of the dirt with an urp. Some might have slipped into his mouth; he didn’t look particularly pleased. “A little warning would’ve been nice, you know…”

“No worries, I’ll do one better next time,” Speedy said with a wink. Whether George or Blitzer liked it or not, he walked up the path towards them. George folded his arms. There wasn’t much use in saying no to someone who had already said yes in his stead. “Nah lads, I just came here to check up on you lot. See if those parents of you didn’t give you a whoopin’ yesterday, ‘cause that very well could’ve happened, you know! Actually, that’s silly of me, I should probably ask. How’d they react?”

Blitzer got up and polished the cream-colored scales off his chest with a few slaps. “Annoyed we took so long to get back. I had to dodge a few questions on what took us until the evening.”

Speedy nodded along. “And you didn’t say anything about the fight we-” he was cut off by the sound of George making loud hissing noises. Seeing the two fingers the Oshawott was holding up to his mouth, he ducked his tongue in one of his cheeks for a second. “I mean, what we were busy with that afternoon, right?” 

“Of course not. I’m not stupid,” Blitzer said with a careless sway of his tail, which caused him to lose his grip on his footing. “Ah!”

“And what about you, George, did you say anythin’?” Speedy continued, paying Blitzer’s antics no mind. George pulled up his arms.

“Not really, no.”

“You’re not a big talker, are ya?”

“...No, not really.”

“Is that a Northern thing I’m not aware of?” Speedy placed a paw in front of the widening grin on his face. George ducked a lip inwards.

“Something like that, yeah. I mean, Blitzer is better at talking, and he’s lived here all his life, I’m sure. Surrounded by uh, by the… southern life?” George thumbed his nose. Trying to come up with a convincing story of where he’s from was a nightmare. If only he actually knew what he was talking about, this would be so much easier. How he wished for one of those magic lamps that granted three wishes if you just rubbed it. Life would be a lot less stressful.

“Well lad, there ain’t no southern life I know of, but Agate’s about as far south as it gets! Well, except for Kronn Province, but that place is dry, and it sucks. So yes, Agate’s the south! And we’re all a talkative, friendly bunch here! Might take a while if you’re new, but stick around long enough, and you’ll see,” Speedy said. George clicked his tongue. The Raichu seemed convinced enough, at least. His nerves eased a little; he used the moment to steer the conversation back on track.

“But yes, Blitzer talks very well. So I let him do the talking for me.”

“Hey now,” Blitzer chirped with an excited crackle, “don’t blame me, talking is fun! You get to meet and know people with talking! It’s how I express myself best! Better than any other way!” he said with both claws exaggeratedly pressing against his sides as if he were showing off his strength.

George twirled his ears around. ‘Doesn’t everyone do that? ’

Speedy chuckled, giving his pale belly a good thump with one of his paws. Said paw bounced right off. “Hoho, well I’m glad you two managed to get off without a scratch! ‘Cause you know, I was getting pretty worried about the both of you. Didn’t see you this morning at all!”

George shrugged. “We were just playing games with the other kids. Junior, too.”

Speedy stood up on his toes. “Oh! Well now, I must’ve missed it then. Busy morning for me.”

To this, George puffed out his cheeks. For a father, he sure didn’t seem to be very concerned with what his kid was up to. “Busy morning? Yesterday was busy enough though, what did you have to do now?” George asked. 

“Oh, uh, Cleaning around the house, of course!” Speedy answered, rubbing the back of his head with a single paw. “Junior is quite a messy boy, so I always have to take my time to sweep up the house, you know. Clean up the dust, the little food crumbs we leave around, that sort of thing, heheh.”

“Well, you’re a great cook just like my mom, so I can understand!” Blitzer said while walking up to the Raichu, who smiled in relief upon seeing him approach.

“Why, that’s very kind of you, Blitzer!”

George made a loud click with his tongue. There wasn’t any point in trying to suppress the slapping of his tail into the dirt this time around; the gravel path always kicked up a cloud of dust noticeable enough after the first slap, and it wasn’t as if he had anything to hide, anyway. Surely Speedy knew that behaving like a drunken uncle wasn’t going to net him any favours. In fact, George wasn’t the first, the second, or even the twelfth person to be disappointed hearing it. Those feelings weren’t worth the effort of hiding. 

Unfortunately, that lack of effort extended to his hands; his fingers slipped and revealed a sizable chunk of the light brown paper he’d been clinging onto. 

“Hm? What’s that you’re holding there?” 

At first, George didn’t pay any heed to the fact that Speedy’s eyes were leering onto the paper. It just sort of flew over him that the paper’s contents weren’t anything he’d want leaked. For a second, it was just a paper, and it was just Speedy. What could possibly go wrong? Then the answer hit him. A lot.

“O-oh, uh, n-nothing.”

“What’s the paper for?”

“It’s uuuh, a-a- grocery list? Yes!” George blurted out.

“What’s a grocery list?” Blitzer asked. “Wait a minute-”

“List of stuff to buy! From home- the north I mean!” George followed right after. Blitzer flinched for a second; his thoughts were lagging behind.

“Oh yes, eh, you told me about it! That’s the uhh... My parents wanted me to buy some… stuff…” the Charmander’s eyes slowly turned from George to the Raichu standing right next to him, who appeared dumbfounded by their little performance. The nerves were shooting off them like shedding hairs. Even an insect could tell.

“You know lads, no need to hide things from me. I don’t go around telling anyone.”

George bit his lip, then sighed. “Okay. Um, this will sound really weird, but,” he paused to swallow his saliva, “we’ve been getting these strange messages every so often. They come from that cyclops in the cafe. Oh, and this Tangrowth, too. Last time we had to pick up something, now we have to deliver it somewhere.”

George and Blitzer looked at each other with a slight sense of defeat. George in particular wasn’t happy. He hadn’t revealed the flute piece as of yet, but he couldn’t shake off the idea that he had just opened Pandora’s Box, and that Speedy would have a torrent of questions for them, until every secret had been pilfered from their minds. 

Speedy leaned backwards, looking at them both with his arms folded and a smug little smile growing on his face. “Well now, why didn’t you lads say so earlier?”

“...Huh?”  

George opened his mouth, yet said nothing. Speedy was seemingly overjoyed. “Now whatever you might think, know that my doors are always open for ya. It’s the least I could do, alright?”

“You already told me,” Blitzer replied. Speedy nodded right back at him, his feet tapping into the dirt.

“I haven’t told your friend yet! Hm… I wish I had more to say right now, but eh, I’m afraid I’m running on empty here!” he said, then turned his head. The rest of Greenfield behind him was as sleepy as ever; a light breeze did little to stir Pokemon and vegetation alike. “If you excuse me, I need to get going.”

“...really?”

“Yup! I’ll probably come back some other time! Tomorrow, maybe! See you lads around”

George couldn’t believe his ears. Speedy was already crossing the bridge down the path by the time Blitzer managed to squeak out a ‘bye’. There was a slight bounce to his step, not an uncontrolled one like Blitzer’s, but a giddy one. All over a piece of paper. He buckled his lips inwards.

“Well, uh, that just happened,” Blitzer said, tail dangling about in a neutral manner. “Do you think he has something to do with those messages we’re getting?” he asked George, tipping his head around slightly until the Oshawott’s face dipped into his view. 

George folded his arms over his scalchop. “There’s obviously more than he’s telling us. But what? He’s still the same.” 

Blitzer nodded. “Yeah, he’s still uncle Speedy,” he said. George nodded along. Uncle Speedy. It seemed ridiculous to put it that way, but the connection was there. Thinking back, nothing about the Raichu seemed off. That orange fur ball had his secrets, but nefarious intentions? Not a chance. Given how long Blitzer had known him, the coast seemed clear enough.

“So, uh, what do we do now?” 

“I don’t know.”

George drew a deep breath as he looked over the rain stained roofs of Greenfield. “Back to the others once we’ve put the message away. I’m not in the mood to go exploring, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah, good idea.” Blitzer looked on with George for a few seconds, before an idea shot into his head. “Wait, one question.”

George turned his head around. “What is it?”

“What’s a cyclops? You said Hein was one, what is that?” Blitzer asked, to which George shrugged. ‘No harm here saying that much, right?’

“A monster from Greek mythology. I read a book about them once for school, I think. They only have one eye, and since Hein only has one eye, I thought it was fitting.”

Blitzer’s eyes lit up. “Ooh, a monster? Do they have scales, and wings and stuff? Are they strong and all heroic?“

George thumbed his nose. “Well, they’re not Charizards, for one-”

The Charmander leaned forward. “And what’s Greek mythology? You can’t just keep all these human things for yourself!”

Grumbling, George rolled his eyes. ‘I’ve opened up Pandora’s box, alright…’ 

Chapter Text

An iron door slammed into a stone wall. The reverberations rang through the air with the force to rupture an eardrum. Chains rattled as the splash of footsteps came past. Gareda eyed the watery ground at her feet and spat at it. It reeked here. Reeked of mother nature trying to reclaim what was hers. No one had bothered to inform her that she was anything but welcome in Agate Township. No one was, all things considered. Not that anyone would want to be here. So Gareda hoped. That’s how she felt.  Anywhere except this hole underground that reeked of mushroom pollen and muddy water.