"I'm not mad at you; I'm disappointed."

Tanya stood with her arms crossed, a stern expression on her face. She was experimenting with a change in approach, and if the way the Pokemon in front of her squirmed, it was working.

It was the morning after what she was dubbing the disaster. They'd risen later than usual, having spent most of the night traveling to and from the city after dropping off Marie. She'd let the girl go after attempting to impress upon her the importance of keeping her mouth shut. Tanya withheld the details of Team Flare, simply telling her 'bad' people were after her and that she could share the story at some point in the future.

The thought of letting Marie in on everything did occur, which prompted a self-evaluation to determine if she was still sane. The results, while conclusive, were closer than she would have liked.

So no.

No telling the ten-year-old girl about a region-spanning criminal conspiracy.

Now, they were properly in the badlands. The red expanse was quite the backdrop to her camp. Although calling it that was generous, given she'd not even bothered setting up the tent.

Instead, they merely nestled into a crook of the large boulder. It provided ample enough shelter from the elements and was an awfully convenient way station—one not often visited from what she could tell.

She had their guide to thank for that. The Pokemon herself was skulking a dozen meters away, and Tanya kept a close eye on it.

"Ma-" The Pokemon's mouth hung open, retort dying in her lips.

Her head swiveled, looking for support. Ralts offered none, maintaining a steady stare on Tanya. Mimikyu, resting in the Pokemon's arms, was stiller than usual. It was odd that she was beginning to be able to differentiate between the ghost type's various states of non-movements. She'd inquired about this morning's strangeness when first waking, only to be told by Ralts that he was experiencing indigestion.

Tanya remembered what he'd told her about his diet and chose not to delve into the implications of that statement.

Seeing both offer no aid, Mawile's eyes landed on Carbink. Before he could derail her rebuke, Tanya decided to hammer the nail into the coffin.

"As for the rest of you." Ralts stood straight. Had Tanya still been in the military, she'd find no faults with the Pokemon's posture. "Excellent work; you all performed within my expectations."

Tanya dismissed their reactions, focusing on Mawile's. The Pokemon's eyes were wide, as if not believing what was happening.

She did her best not to let the ends of her mouth curl upwards.

Mawile was a jealous Pokemon.

Frankly, she should have figured this out sooner. All the signs were there. In fact, almost the exact same scenario played out on their first shopping trip. There was no use lamenting her late discovery; she just had to make sure to effectively use it going forward. Tanya could already envision how much easier life would be now that she had a handle on-

Her thoughts came to a halt as a crash was heard. Cracks appeared on the boulder, appearing like a spider web. The source of the disturbance was a tiny fist, and Tanya began to reconsider her approach.

"Ma!" The Pokemon exclaimed in a heated manner. "Ma. Ma. Ma. Ma!"

Mawile stamped her feet repeatedly, rapidly kicking up a cloud of dirt.

"Enough!" Tanya yelled over the Pokemon's tantrum. "This is no way to behave!"

This was ridiculous. Why did she even put up with this?

Right, because the Pokemon could likely benchpress an Onix. Covering her mouth with an arm, she used the other to wave the rising dust away.

Slowly the debris settled, and she was met with the sight of the small Pokemon coated in the stuff. She might have heard a sniffle, but it must have been a reaction to the irritants.

Tanya wiped her face and then crossed the distance between them.

Red eyes gazed up at her. It might have been her imagination, but they looked redder than usual.

What in the hell was she doing?

With a sigh, she patted the Pokemon. Her chief reason was to get rid of the dust, but she wasn't ignorant as to the side effects.

"What I'm trying to say is that when I say no, I mean no. Stealing the bike went against my direct orders."

Mawile puffed out her cheeks and looked to the side before uttering. "Wile."

Tanya reviewed her recollection of events.

"That's a technicality." She'd not actually told the Pokemon to stop. "You knew my intent; I was trying to pry you off the stupid thing."

The Pokemon remained silent, and Tanya stopped her patting. She waited patiently, and eventually, Mawile relented.

"Ile," Tanya resumed her action on the admission, only to stop when the Pokemon continued. "Ile, ma, wile."

Mawile defended herself, this time without the theatrics.

"In the field, my word is law. If there is time, then I'm not opposed to hearing a reasonable argument, but I can't have you or any of the others taking reckless actions." She was fairly certain they'd been over this. "The bike, while a quick escape, was not a smooth one. We attracted far more attention than needed. Dumping the outfit and disappearing into the city would have produced better results."

There was no guarantee of that, but she found it hard to believe it could have been worse. Tanya desperately wanted to put the battery back in her phone and assess the damage. With great discipline, she stayed her hand.

It may not be a holocaster, but her phone still had a signal. She doubted they would go through the trouble of checking everyone in the area, but on the off chance they did, she didn't want to be caught with a duffle bag full of illicit goods.

In simple terms, she was not giving Being X any room to tilt things. She would wait until getting near the city to check.

"Even with the bike," Tanya continued, explaining her reasoning. "If not for the flock, we may have been captured."

She paused, expecting the Pokemon to say something to the effect of 'I could take them'.

"Alts, Ra." Ralts spoke physically, which was a rare occurrence. "Ral."

Yes, she'd been getting at that…

"Ralts is right. You did well to end the threat of Skarmory." Mawile perked up at the praise. "But how many times do I need to tell you?" She increased the pressure of her hand "Stop announcing your damn attacks."

What kind of nonsense was Fairy Cannon?

Mawile shook off her hand, stomping her foot once. It was gentle this time, so they were not given another dirt bath.

"Wile!"

Should she have expected any more from the Pokemon who thought that coat was a good look?

"Cool or not." Tanya leaned very heavily on the 'not' side of the spectrum. "We're not putting on a performance; we're doing a job. Enemies are either avoided altogether or dealt with swiftly."

As Ralts had done, but pointing that out felt superfluous at this point.

"Bin?" Carbink asked, floating over and pressing into her. "Ink?"

Briefly, she wondered if all trainers dealt with this. Not that she counted herself among their number.

"Calling out an attack does not make it more powerful." There was a limit to gullibility, but she'd yet to find it with Carbink. "However, yes, you made good ammunition." It was a compliment she'd never expected to give. "I presume you used Harden in concert with Mawile's Spit Up."

Naming convention aside, she saw its practicality. It transformed Carbink's defensive properties into offensive. The Pokemon's bottom was sharply angled, letting him concentrate the full force of the attack into a small focal point. The effects were rather devastating if what happened to the Skarmory was any indication.

"Ink!" He confirmed the use of Harden. "Bin, bin."

Only once then. He didn't have enough time to stack anymore. This also explained what sort of secret training the pair had been up to. She felt a smidge of happiness over the Pokemon being productive.

"Bite," Their guide interrupted, not sounding pleased at the delay. "Gab, ite."

She supposed they should start moving; there was a long way to go and the day was young. Tanya found herself already feeling exhausted.

"We'll be right over." Being cordial cost nothing, although the snort she received told her it might be wasted. "Mawile, do you mind helping to carry things?"

It was a polite way to phrase an order. Between her pack, the duffel bag, and the burlap sack, she'd look like a pack mule if it was all laden on her. The thought of casting away items occurred to her, but she found herself reluctant to part with anything.

However, if it did come down to it, she was getting rid of everything but the bare essentials before leaving the sack.

Aside from the Keystone and Megastone, it was likely her most valuable possession.

----------------------------------------

The harsh sun beat down on her; the sticky sweat on her brow was cooling, but she was finding herself missing the days she could just sit in a cubicle. Air conditioning, a list of daily tasks, coffee in the break room—what more could anyone ask for?

But it was a distant memory by now, and she had been conditioned under harsher circumstances.

Her footfalls produced a slight crunching sound as the caked dirt broke under her boots. She unhinged her canteen, wetting her lips and mouth.

The badlands, while similar, weren't quite the same as a desert. Both were arid environments and not exactly welcoming to life, but the badlands were more rugged in their terrain. There was also a stark lack of sand. That wasn't to say there was none, but it wasn't to the scale she'd grown used to in her last desert excursion.

Tanya was very thankful for that. While she wasn't exactly clean due to Mawile's antics and the errant dirt cloud, she was leagues better than she would have been dealing with sand.

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Somewhat ironically, she found herself glad that she'd yet to procure a proper firearm; cleaning it here would have been a chore.

She was hopeful she would have better luck on that front once in the city. Her first stay had been cut short, but she was certain with a little searching she'd find the city's seedy underbelly. Then, with a little bartering, she could finally equip herself properly.

Of course, entering the city itself would be dependent on what her phone showed her.

"Gab," her guide gruffed. "Bite, ite."

She could keep going longer, but doing so in such an inhospitable route was foolhardy. It was better to pace yourself and recharge when you could.

"Are we expecting any issues? I would think a watering hole to be valuable territory."

Living beings needed an absurd amount of water to survive; monopolizing the few sources of it before others could was the logical conclusion.

The Pokemon took great big whiffs while trudging forward. Through her observations, she'd deduced Gabite was no fan of hers.

Still, based on the direction of the sun, they were headed the right way.

Whether Gabite had actually volunteered for the task or was voluntold by Garchomp, she hadn't been able to determine.

"Gabi." She was curt, and Tanya had been about to ask for her to elaborate when she continued. "Ite, ite."

A truce of some sort then. That also made a degree of sense. Conflict, more often than not, left both parties worse off. If one side could not be strong-armed into accepting a state of affairs, then sharing the resource was the next best option.

They traveled along one of the large plateaus inhabiting the region; its shadow eventually cast over them, giving her a brief reprieve from the sun.

Gabite stopped at a spherical rock; it was about the size of a sedan. Placing two claws on it, the Pokemon heaved, and the mass was lifted.

"Bit," she gritted out, straining under the pressure as she held the boulder up by one side.

Tanya eyed the revealed hole with skepticism. Being buried alive was not a pleasant way to go.

"BIT."

The dragon urged, earning a snicker from Mawile before the Pokemon jumped into the unknown. Given she was about to suggest the Pokemon go first, Tanya was far from upset.

Mawile wasn't likely to be defeated by dirt.

She waited for a few seconds, and when no cry of alarm came, Tanya followed suit. Landing with a thud on account of the baggage she carried.

Pumping aura into her eyes to see, she saw it was a tunnel. Above, a bang sounded, and Gabite soon fell beside them. The Pokemon shook itself off before taking the lead.

The unlikely trio traveled through the dark. Luckily, or more likely by design, the passageway was several meters wide, allowing them room to maneuver if needed.

Soon sounds began to drift over. She could pick out the cries of Pokemon, although not what species they came from.

Light poured in ahead, and they came out into a large cavern.

No, that wasn't quite right.

There were openings in the ceiling where she could see the blue sky peak in. They were narrow things, looking to have been cut out forcibly.

Large rock columns held the roof, and in the center sat a large body of water. Shapes could be seen enjoying themselves along the banks. With her sharpened vision, she identified the potential threats.

Talonflame, Marowak, and Golem stood out. They were posted far from each other, and each had their own entourage.

"Ma!" Mawile exclaimed, dropping the sack and rushing forward. "WILE!"

She jumped, doing a flip and crashing into the water.

A hand found her face, and she dragged it down.

Words were useless on that one.

Tanya gave a side glance at Gabite, who did not seem alarmed at the action. Taking that as a cue the behavior was acceptable, she picked up the discarded bag and trudged forward.

Coming to a stop at the edge, she set her belongings down and dunked her head into the water, taking a refreshing gulp of the liquid. Lifting her head back out, she sat down, removing her boots, and resting her feet in the cool water.

Mawile rested on her back, floating in the water while wading her hands back and forth to propel herself around. Tanya had half expected the Pokemon to sink to the bottom and then demand rescue. Or, more likely, destroy the pool and bring the ire of the natives down on her.

She gave a quick inspection towards them, and seeing no signs of hostility, she reluctantly went for her belt.

Red flashes heralded the arrival of the rest of her party. It must have been nice to travel in a comfortable ball while everyone else did the hard work for you.

"Bin?" Carbink rotated quickly, taking in the surroundings. "Bin! Bin?"

Tanya considered before replying.

"Stay in sight."

If there was one thing she trusted Carbink on, it was not starting a fight. Tanya suspected his dimness was readily apparent, and that was why other Pokemon did not see him as a threat.

'Mimi?' Ralts queried.

"I put him in the pack for now; he can come out if he wants."

Ralts nodded, padding over to where she was and mimicking Tanya's position. Gabite slinked off a little away from them, taking a drink while keeping an eye out.

This hidden oasis she'd led them to had scored her points in Tanya's mental ledger. She would never have found it by herself. In fact, she wondered how many humans would have chanced upon it.

There was no guarantee one would find it by flying overhead either, as the holes were cut diagonally, making it so that you needed to be at an angle to see all the way through.

It wasn't natural—the holes or the cavern. Someone had carved it out. With its current residents, she gave it good odds that the Pokemon themselves had done it. They'd proven able to organize when the need called for it.

She eyed them again, seeing they were largely minding their own business. Perplexingly, the Marowak gave her a nod. Tanya returned it, not wanting to offend the Pokemon.

Not wanting to waste time, she dragged the sack closer to her to resume her sorting.

Taking out a single scale, she held it up to the light. Seeing it was translucent, she placed it to the side and went for another.

Learning she'd not been cheated had been simultaneously a relief and an embarrassment. Her expectations had been elsewhere, and when provided a bag of dirty scales, she made too quick a judgment. In her defense, had it been claws, horns, or fangs, she would have placed a greater amount of value on them.

But these, for the large part, were nothing impressive to look at. She had Marie to thank for knowing otherwise.

The girl had been gobsmacked upon learning what the bag contained. If she weren't so young, Tanya would have considered her at risk of a heart attack.

Evidently, Dragon Scales were more than a little valuable. To the right buyer, that is, as their only use were to evolve Seadra to Kingdra. A species that happened to be native to Kalos.

She paused, having finally come across a potential moneymaker. The scale was darker than the others and rough to the touch. She pressed on its sides, finding no give. As a final test, she probed it with a small amount of aura. That prompted a reaction, the tiny scale lashing out at her intrusion.

With a grin, she placed it in a pouch with the others. That was five so far.

Not all dragon scales were Dragon Scales. Only the oldest and most powerful dragon's could shed them, and even then they did so seldomly.

The most common way to pick them out was taught to her by Marie; it was a part of the trainer curriculum.

Curious about their usage in evolution, Tanya had discovered they had some bite in them.

She suspected they were rare because the dragon had to cast off part of their aura to create them. It sounded…taxing.

As for the 'regular' scales, they still held some use. Marie couldn't say how, but she did know they were used in the creation of healing tonics. Being something she was sorely in need of, Tanya was likely to hold onto the batch and research how to process them herself.

A feeling of envy came from her side, and she looked at Ralts in question.

Pink eyes flickered in her direction briefly.

"Is something wrong?"

The Pokemon seemed unusually cagey about it, and Tanya maintained a stare until she broke.

'Nothing Mama.'

Tanya didn't buy that, following the Pokemon's gaze. She was watching Mawile paddle about, doing a poor impression of a backstroke.

"Do you want to swim?"

There was nothing stopping her from doing so.

Indignation came over but was promptly shut off.

Realization dawned on her. Ralts didn't know how to swim.

Tanya counted it among the vital skills of a competent soldier. It wasn't exactly a priority in the badlands, but this venue was more suitable for learning than most.

Tanya removed articles of clothing she'd prefer to stay dry and waded into the water. She took the opportunity to scrub some of the grime off herself before reaching out to Ralts.

"Come, I'll teach you."

The psychic Pokemon gingerly took her hand, and Tanya guided her until the water came to her chest.

"Go ahead and-" Tanya paused, realizing the Pokemon had already let her feet leave the floor and was now floating. "Yes, exactly like that."

She took the Pokemon through what she knew, rapidly making progress at first only to have it screech to a crawl towards the end. It was a strange turn of events, but she persisted.

For a moment, the concerns living rent-free in her mind fell to the wayside.

It wasn't to last, and a growl caught her attention; it was from Gabite and not directed towards her.

A chill came over her, feelings of anger not her own bubbling up.

She set it aside, tilting her head up and seeing green figures begin to descend.

Once she got back to civilization, she was going to run the numbers on how expensive taking baths in repel would be.