Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Altered Bonds
Chapter 8 — Fox Fledgling
----------------------------------------
As an avid reader, Eira the Vulpix approved of the cottage attic.
With boxes of junk neatly shoved to one side, the rest of the space was dedicated to an assembly of bookshelves, tomes and books competing for space. Gabite was around at this hour, lounging on a chair in such a way that his back fin and tail rested on the armrest. His eyes stayed glued to the book he somehow propped up with a digitless claw, but Vulpix could’ve sworn his pupils dilated upon noticing her and Lucario’s presence.
Lucario muttered something about getting a few books, and he waved them onward. Folk stories, a guide to Pokemon types, some history on a ‘Tumbledust Island’, and for some reason a Physics textbook were amongst the many books Vulpix found.
Apparently Pokemon here had an interest in fiction too, judging from a few shelves filled with fantasy, mystery, and sci-fi stories. She grabbed one, thankful her quadrupled form was gifted with six handy tails, before spotting something very important upon another shelf. A general book on Legendaries and Mythicals?
Need that. She swiped it within seconds.
Lucario had two other books of his own, his eyes narrowed on a third on the shelves. Disgust flooded Vulpix upon seeing the cursed title — oh, the horror. The Physics book was one problem, but was that a second-rate romance novel?
The dragon-shark defended himself with a “Ga Gabite” when questioned by Lucario for his tastes. Something about it being better than it looks, Vulpix thought he said as she climbed back down the stairs, careful not to drop her books. She could’ve sworn Gabite was watching her with those glaring, scrutinizing eyes of his, but she didn’t dare confirm it.
Their team leader was weird. And scary. And probably going to find out what she was and go berserk on her. Didn’t Lucario say when Gabite freaked out at the beach, it was because he made him believe a human was around?
Which reminded her. Lucario had an awful sense of humor.
So much goes on around me and I can’t tell because of the language, she drawled to herself as she and her guardian moved past the living room, down the hall, and into their sleeping quarters. Dropping their books haphazardly onto the floor, Vulpix couldn’t help but look at them with wonder. Is that why Lucario wanted us to get these books?
It was a saving grace that Haven Archipelago and its dungeons used an Unown-script closely resembling the human letters of Alph, allowing her to read. Tracing her paw over the title of the fantasy book she picked up, Vulpix voiced the words out in her native language, an ear perking when Lucario did the same.
In his own tongue.
The words far more compact, yet clearly matching hers.
They could both read this. She knew the words in Alph, and he could translate them into Pokemon speech.
Her wristband made it simple to translate between languages once she knew what the words were in Pokemon speech, and reading would make it doubly easy.
“Oh.” Vulpix stared out at the ceiling rafters, seeing where this was going. Her lips took their time curving upwards into a ecstatic, wide smile, tails wagging with increasing intensity.
Her paws shot toward the book, removing it from the pile and flipping right to the beginning in record time, and pleading was all one could find in her sparkling blue eyes. Lucario laughed at her enthusiasm, tracing the words with a digit while reading aloud.
She followed along, matching the words to his voice, having him pause every once in a while to make sure she recognized certain phrases. The learning exercise was, to put it one way, super-effective — soon she was asking less about the words and paying more attention to what Lucario said, matching the compact, subtle sounds of the Pokemon language to the sentences of the book. She began to actually listen to the story for what it was, a story, and not just an improvised dictionary.
Not only was this better than Lucario teaching the words by himself, it was far more engrossing too. Time flew past, the duo going through chapters with increasing speed until the night snuck up on them. “Hey,” Vulpix blurted in Pokemon speech when her guardian suddenly shut the book. “We can’t stop there.”
Lucario set aside the book, dreadlock feelers shaking. “That’s more than enough for now, kid. Later.”
Vulpix blinked, her face a blank canvas, and Lucario displayed a triumphant grin. “I take it this worked well? You look weir**d out.”
At some point, the words must’ve started clicking. Vulpix simultaneously heard his words in Lucario-speak and its translation — however, it seemed anything her wristband had trouble deciphering would be translated into a garbled, foggy word.
It wasn’t hard to infer the meanings though. “W-weirded,” said Vulpix, tasting the new word. Her speech sounded less alien than before. “I-I didn’t think, uh, I could learn, uh, this fast.”
A small frown curled her lips at the stammered, verbose ‘V-vul, vul, pix’ she used. “Trouble with long sentences still,” Lucario noted. “But you understand plenty.”
No foggy words there. “I-I do. I understand.”
Vulpix shook off the lightheadedness she felt, sheer delight creeping over in its place. Embarrassment couldn’t stop her as she pranced in front of Lucario like a giddy little kid. True, she needed much more practice for proficiency, but right now she couldn’t help but bask in the moment.
She could begin to communicate with Pokemon. Pokemon!
A whole new realm was open to her. To be able to talk with such enchanted creatures — to be one herself! Eira had always thought of what it’d be like as an Alolan Vulpix, but to be her favorite Pokemon, complete with icy powers and six beautiful fluffy tails, it was simply incredible.
But soon enough her rush of joy faded, and Eira the Vulpix returned to reality. Nothing changed the fact this archipelago was out for her. Nor did it change the fact that the shipwreck happened. Mother was still gone.
And her absence pained her. She would’ve been amazed to see me like this.
Thoughts of longing flowed through her mind, but Vulpix kept her face neutral, unwilling to bother the kind Lucario who’d helped her. It was silly to bother, though — the jackal easily saw past her mask, perhaps because he wore a matching one. “You wish she was here,” he said in a low voice.
The river of thoughts diverted. “I-I do,” Vulpix said, words freefalling out of her mouth. “She— Mother was my one and only friend. No matter where we were, or what I was facing, she was there for me. We cooked together, we traveled together, we did everything together. It feels so wrong to not have her around.”
A pained smile creased her face. “She was a novelist. She had a few stories published, and a few manuscripts she was working on, but—”
A strange sensation of silence pressed against her, Lucario cringing at the words he didn’t seem to want her to speak. All those novels, never to see the light of day.
It seemed her guardian was quite fond of stories. “Did Adam, er, read to you?”
The jackal nodded, taking her words as an excuse to talk himself. “Adam was a nice kid,” he said. “I’ve had other tr**n*rs, but he got me to evolv* for a reason. He knew how to lead me and the others — he saw us as partners, tried to bring the best out of us. I wouldn’t be the f*gh**r I am without him.”
A few garbled words there, but the point came across. “I miss him,” murmured Lucario. “Now you’re my tra*ner, aren’t you?”
Her? His Pokemon Trainer? Vulpix tried to protest this, state she could never be such a thing, but the words stayed lodged in her throat. “Oh, it’s good to have you understand,” said Lucario, giving his best impression of a butler. “How may I serv* you, young Eira?”
Seconds passed before he fell into a wheezing fit, warding off the melancholy in the room, and Vulpix found the corners of her lips lifting. It was a strange form of solace, having the Lucario at her side. Something to keep her going. Mother would’ve preferred that she kept moving forward, instead of how she’d been when—
Father. Vulpix nipped her lip at the word. It wasn’t often that she thought of him. She didn’t like to.
Even the disaster that took Mother couldn’t hold a candle to what took him.
Her eyes went astray as they fell over the pile of books. Instantly they targeted a specific book, the one on Legendaries and Mythicals, and urgency possessed her. Time to finish something.
She pounced on the book and slammed the front flap open. “Uh, kid?” asked Lucario.
Vulpix held up a paw as she went through the first pages, pleased to find a table of contents. First she’d been haunted by an article with rumors of a large flying creature, then taunted by a pillar with an etching of a winged Pokemon — the one Lucario described when he mentioned how the shipwreck happened. Goodness, who was that creature again? She knew what it was, but the name kept eluding her!
Bent on finding an answer she’d been searching for all day, she skimmed the table of contents, waiting for something to pop out to her. Latios? No, that was one of those Eon twins from Hoenn. Zapdos? Wrong storm bird, though come to think of it, the Pokemon she wanted was its master. Ho-Oh? Almost there, but that was the rainbow one said to give eternal happiness, not its twin opposite—
Gravity pushed down Vulpix’s paw as she found the name, then the provided page number. She flipped through the book, pages flying, until she was face to face with an image of a white scaly beast rising out of the ocean, back covered in blue plated protrusions and accompanied by a stormy backdrop. Foreign spite arose within her at the sight of it, scattering waves with gigantic wings shaped like hands, but she ignored it in favor of satisfaction.
Here it was, the creature lurking in the back of her mind, and its name? “Lugia,” she declared.
Lucario barely heard her, eyes glued to the image. His paw curled into a fist, briefly ignited with flames of aura before he forced himself to calm down. “Lugia,” he repeated, scowling at the accompanying text. “That Pokemon caused the storm? A Lugia?”
So that was how its name was said in Pokemon speech. “Lugia,” she repeated, tails bending to an imaginary breeze. Thunder and a torrential downpour flooded her ears.
The Legendary was known for its immense power, able to conjure terrible winds and storms with even an accidental flap of its wing, and dispel them too. Had it intended to cause the storm that rocked their ship? Was it forced to create it by the Pokemon it was fighting, or was that other Pokemon trying to stop it? If not for that storm, maybe the ship’s crew would have a chance to notice the two battlers and steer clear of them.
But that’s wishful thinking, Eira, her inner voice reminded her.
A sudden knock rattled the door, interrupting the moment. Vulpix assumed it was Gabite calling them for a dinner of berries and a meaty stew, but Lucario opening the door revealed not only the dragon-shark, but Togetic hovering a distance away too. Standing nearby was Land Forme Shaymin — wasn’t that the term for her grounded hedgehog form? Why was everyone here anyway?
“Excuse us,” said Togetic. “Gabite said you, Feebas, and her friend Hattrem found a strange pil*ar at Rocky Shores? We’re looking for a book.”
Vulpix’s gaze returned to the book lying beside her, Lugia’s image shown in all its majesty. Oh.
Gabite and Togetic peered past Lucario, seeing where her gaze went. “What in—” the dragon-shark began, Vulpix crawling away as he strode over. “That’s the figure on the pillar, isn’t it? Lugia?”
Shaymin’s face went wide with realization as she came inside too, much to Lucario’s disgruntlement. “Lugia, that’s what it’s called!” she exclaimed, leaping onto the book. “Told you I knew, I just needed its name.”
“About that.” Gabite glared at Vulpix with soul-piercing eyes. “Guess who also knew?”
Never had Vulpix felt so uncomfortable. Her tails fanned out, masking her face as Shaymin also stared, albeit with growing excitement and wonder. “Yo, I was wondering why she paid attention to that silly art*c*e!” she said, smirking when Gabite jerked his head over. “What, your sharp eyes failed to catch that? She saw the ru**r on the bu*let*n board and must have linked it to the storm, and later to that pillar thing.”
Another coal to the fire. Gabite was glaring harder now, and at once Vulpix wished to be invisible, to be anywhere but here. Did Shaymin have to say that? Shy or not shy, a human in the guise of a Pokemon could do without all this attention!
Togetic was still floating outside the room out of courtesy, and only when Lucario waved her over did she enter, scanning the book. “The storm was caused by a wand*ring Legendary,” Gabite said in a low, muddled voice.
Shaymin nodded. “Yep. That freak storm from earlier? A Lugia did that. It must’ve placed the pillar inside Rocky Shores too, using its magic.”
“It’s a special power the greater Leg*end**ies have,” Togetic jumped in, seeing the confusion on everyone’s faces. “Or so Shaymin tells me. They’re able to twist and *l**r Mystery Dungeons.”
“Only to some ext*nt. Lugia must’ve used it to make a secret path to this pillar thing, but I’m not sure why or when. It could’ve always been there for all we know.” Shaymin’s face hardened as she said this. “Don’t know why Lugia caused that storm either, come to think of it. Why would one of those good for nothing Legend*ries show its face here of all times?”
The question hung in the air, a new mystery for the group to piece together. “Well, if anything, Br*ix*n’s going to flip that a months-old dungeon so close to home has something like this, once he and his team get back from their latest adventure,” said Gabite.
His eyes fell again upon Vulpix, scrutinizing as ever. “I never knew anything about a Lugia,” he remarked, before letting a smirk slide over his face. “You’re something else, aren’t you?”
Was that praise? Vulpix raised a brow as he departed from the room, his smirk growing all the while. This whole time she was sure he’d question where she learned about Lugia, but instead he praised her.
And Gabite wasn’t the only one. “What he said!” Shaymin declared, Vulpix scampering back when the little hedgehog thrust her snout at her. “You were like me, knowing everything but the actual name! You like to read up about Legendaries, Vulpix? How many do you know about?”
Togetic had to block the perky Shaymin from coming closer. “She needs space,” she whispered, before looking over her shoulder to beam at Vulpix. “What a bright young lady you are, sweetie. I think we made a good decision to let you and Lucario stay.”
Her honeyed, tender words and Shaymin’s admiration of her left Vulpix blushing. She had every reason to distance herself — no one would speak so kindly of her if they figured out she was human —yet she couldn’t help but warm up to the duo. She should respond, shouldn’t she?
Her paw dug into the lines in the floorboards as she tried to smile. “T-thank you?”
Shaymin twitched even before Lucario and Togetic could react to the sound of Vulpix’s hushed voice, as if the Mythical had been lightly shoved. Her back rustled and shimmered, and at once pink flowers resembling her Gracidea bloomed, a vibrant contrast to her green fur.
Charmed by the prettiness, a little gasp left Vulpix’s mouth, while Lucario wore a curious look. “Oh, these things, they go off when I’m in a good mood,” said Shaymin with a chuckle. “Easy on the gratitude, Vulpix, I didn’t say much.”
Shaymin senses gratitude. The Ice-type fidgeted, recalling what Lucario said about the Mythical. How could she forget?
“Relax, it doesn’t hurt.” The hedgehog peered at Lucario. “Togetic’s right, you two are cool. You don’t mind me taking that book along? Gonna make sure my know-how on Legendaries isn’t slipping.”
Lucario threw Vulpix an asking look, and she meekly gestured it was okay, allowing Togetic to grab it for Shaymin’s convenience. “Learning a Lugia’s around on your first day,” she said with a friendly smile. “My, you’re both off to quite a start.”
The door went shut as she and Shaymin left, and a cold sigh of relief left Vulpix’s lips. That whole ordeal was nerve-wracking, and her head spun from all the translating. Pokemon words sounded so much clearer, but her understanding was far from perfect.
And she wasn’t that confident with her speaking skills either. Vulpix got to picking up the remaining pile of books, neatly stacking them, when Lucario called her out. “It wouldn’t hurt to talk more,” he said.
Her excuse was poor, yet she held to it. “I-I don’t like to,” she murmured. “I’m shy.”
“And there are times where a shy person has to speak, and it’s not good if you don’t know how to string your words together. Surely your Mother made you speak sometimes?”
Those words inflicted Eira the Vulpix with memories of Mother putting her on the spot, telling her to pay the bus driver or go ask the restaurant hostess for a table. He wasn’t going to do the same thing to her, was he? She’d rather let her guardian do all the talking.
Yet for her safety, she unfortunately had to leave her comfort zone. “I guess I could, uh, make myself talk more,” said Vulpix, satisfying him.
Dinner should be served soon. In the meanwhile, Lucario lied down on his wooly mat, falling into an uneasy nap. Vulpix watched over him, her thoughts drifting through her odd circumstances, hopes for the future, and laments for Mother.
At some point her eyes peeked at the storybook she and Lucario had been reading, habitual desire making her paws tremble. Lucario would understand, wouldn’t he? Trying to recall what chapter they were on, she reached for the book.
Lucario rushed out of bed to block her, a smirk curling on his face. “You’re not reading ahead,” he announced.
Vulpix pouted innocently. Well, she tried.
----------------------------------------
“Blue orb with downward arrows?”
The question came suddenly, but Lucario kept his gait steady as he, Gabite, and Vulpix left the Task Management wing of the Explorer Board. Porygon-Z was waving them off, his face somehow entangled in the straps of the Sunkern-shaped satchel they recovered from today’s mission. “Slow Orb,” he answered Gabite.
The dragon-shark nodded. “Red orb with yellow spots and a six-pointed star?”
“All Power-Up Orb.”
“Red orb shaped like a spiky star?”
“You trying to trip me up? One-Shot Orb.”
Gabite chuckled as they walked around the fountain at the center of the nature-themed main hall of the Explorer Board, leading them to its exit. “Okay, Vulpix this time,” he declared, making the vixen snap to attention. “Pink orb with clouds inside?”
Lucario caught it — for the briefest moment, she made a face at the description, before muttering something under her breath. The poor kid seemed to have a mini heart-attack when Gabite somehow heard her quiet words. “Slumber Orb, correct.”
He waved to the Klinklang supervising the lobby, and Klinklang gave a slow turn of his gears back. “Didn’t take you to be the type of Vulpix who holds grudges,” chuckled their leader as they strolled out of the building. “Come on, I had good reasons to throw that Sleep Seed.”
“Oh yes, what a letdown that you can’t use orbs on friends like you can with seeds.” Lucario prodded Gabite in the gut. “Sharp hearing you’ve got. Comes with your echolocation?”
The dragon-shark opted for a mysterious smile, twisting his jet-engine shaped ears. Day two of being on Team Heavendust had taken them on a trip to find a satchel in Sapling Woods, where Gabite was swift to teach Lucario and Vulpix about the use of Wonder Orbs, as they were called.
To be specific, he showed off his skill with echolocation, using it to locate and mercilessly track down Pokespawn to use the orbs on. Didn’t know his species had that ability, Lucario muttered to himself.
Sapling Woods’s concentrated groups of Pokespawn made the demonstration all the more impressive. Many orbs affected multiple targets at once, and some worked on the user and his or her allies, like the All Power-Up Orb, while others only worked on those hostile to the user. The One-Shot Orb had particularly caught Lucario’s eye — Gabite used it on the Monster House floor of the dungeon, and the sight of it arbitrarily firing red beams that destroyed any Pokespawn it touched still filled him with sinister exhilaration.
The showcasing left Gabite’s bag a little empty, however. “We’ll restock at Kecleon Wares,” he said, taking them toward the ever-crowded marketplace. “Maybe I’ll be able to teach you about a few more items.”
Nice as that sounded, a complication was in their way. Shuffling through the crowds of Pokemon, Lucario caught notice of a floating red stripe a few yards from his position and approaching rapidly.
Vulpix kept herself from flinching as Kecleon’s face appeared, then the rest of his body, the chameleon quick to snag Lucario’s arm. “Top of the morning!” he cheered, the jackal allowing himself to be dragged away in front of a flabbergasted Gabite. “Don’t mind me, just borrowing your pals for reasons that could land me in prison for a few decades!”
Gabite could barely sputter at the public display. His gaze swept across the parting crowd, frowning at their murmurs, then to Vulpix, who sucked in a mouthful of air before running after.
With Gabite left behind, the trio ended up in a shady corner behind two unused market stalls, away from the noise. “An explorer team reported to the Explorer Board early this morning, on a discovery from a young Feebas and Hattrem,” said Kecleon. “What’s this about Lugia?”
The resulting twitch from both Lucario and Vulpix made him scoff. “Figures you two were involved,” he went on. “Talk’s going round about Rocky Shores and the storm. You’re lucky you weren’t mentioned, you know — Ariados overhearing you’re on Team Heavendust would be a pain in all of our hips.”
Good grief, that’d be a problem and a half all right. Lucario fiddled with his aura feelers, his aurasense alerted to the immense whiplash of emotions Vulpix felt. Gabite indeed gave Porygon-Z a formal report of how they, Feebas, and Hattrem came across a water channel in Rocky Shores that led to a pillar related to Lugia, and that coincidentally, the Legendary could’ve caused the unusual storm that happened a few days back. The dragon-shark also had Togetic send Feebas and Hattrem a letter on the situation.
Well, no harm done, that was all that mattered. On that note he checked for eavesdroppers, satisfied that the crowd was almost intentionally ignoring them. Should he tell Kecleon the true significance of Lugia’s presence?
No reason not to. He explained it all — their trip to Rocky Shores, their research, and the shipwreck that underlined it all. “The Lugia attacked your ship,” Kecleon exclaimed to himself, appraising Vulpix from the corners of his eyes. “Shaymin knowing about Lugia is a no-brainer, but you say your girl’s also aware of the Legendary and its powers?”
The kid grew bashful at his silent admiration. “Not sure, um, who Lugia fought, though. Another Legendary, maybe?”
Kecleon nearly tumbled into the stall countertop behind him as he took in Vulpix’s improvements in speaking. “Magic wristband and some tutoring from yours truly,” Lucario explained, keeping his prideful cackles to himself as Kecleon silently processed this. Boosting Vulpix’s language learning with books? He deserved a pat on the back for such cleverness, and a poffin. Though he doubted the locals knew what poffins were.
One of his sillier reasons to miss Adam — but right now, Vulpix’s words gave him something to consider. Who was Lugia fighting? He still didn’t understand that, or why it was here in the first place and caused that storm. Did the pillar mean something?
All questions he told Kecleon about. “All I can say is that your circumstances are strange,” he stated. “Legendaries like Lugia haven’t shown their faces in a long, long time. Perhaps there is some greater significance to be found here, a plot larger than us all.”
A groan of a laugh scratched his throat. “A human and a foreigner Pokemon on these lands, surviving a Lugia and possibly another Legendary. And I thought being Shaymin’s battle tutor would be the most exciting thing of my life.”
He never mentioned that tiny detail to Vulpix, Lucario realized, seeing how she shaped her lips into a circle. He considered asking Kecleon about his relationship with Shaymin and Team Heavendust when the fur on his nape stood on end, feeling a set of eyes haunt them. One look over his shoulder, and—
Oh, for goodness’s sake.
There was Mismagius again, the moving crowd oblivious to her sitting atop the striped roof of a stall. If anything, Lucario’s glare only seemed to keep her further rooted, feeding off his ire as she raised a cloth-like hand to her mouth and tittered. “H-her?” Vulpix said with distress, glimpsing the witch Pokemon and her mocking presence. “Again?”
Kecleon was looking too. “Who?”
“Mismagius on the other side of the road,” spat Lucario. There was absolutely no way she could overhear them with the chatter of passersby muting their voices, but twice wasn’t a coincidence. Was she getting a sick kick out of this, or was she concealing nastier intentions?
Either way, this warranted a mind-read. His palm glowed with subtle blue light, Lucario cursing when a barrage of random thoughts trickled into his head. The passing market crowds interfered with his senses, whispers of unwanted voices standing in between him and Mismagius. He navigated past the shifting maze of minds, trying to reach her—
“What Mismagius?” said Kecleon, an unwelcome distraction to his work. “I don’t see whatever you two are so focused on.”
Vulpix pointed her out with a trembling paw, but the merchant still seemed unable to find her. More concerningly, neither could Lucario’s aurasense — he saw her cackling form, felt her general presence, yet somehow he couldn’t locate and latch onto the signature she emitted. Was the crowd tripping him up that badly?
A cough came from behind, and the threesome spun. “Wrong direction, dears,” said Mismagius as she tipped the brim of her hat.
Vulpix made a loud peep, jumping behind Lucario for cover. “Wha—” the jackal sputtered, their heads swishing back to the spot where Mismagius just was. Empty.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
They shared a bewildered look. “Ah, that Mismagius,” said Kecleon, squeezing his forehead.
“Oh no, you’re still looking in the wrong direction.” Mismagius waved them around, and Lucario and Vulpix found yet another Mismagius with them, identical in appearance. One look back, and the doppelganger who’d just been speaking had vanished into spectral nothingness.
While Kecleon took this in stride, Vulpix was whirling her head around, checking for more duplicates. “You can settle down, dear, I’m the real one,” the newest Mismagius assured her, and Lucario confirmed this when his energy-doused paw brushed against her signature, aura filled with petty wickedness. “Do ignore those three floating to your right.”
Three other copies of her hung low in the sky, politely waving in the most menacing way possible. “Hallucinations,” Lucario groaned in realization, before repeating for Vulpix’s sake. “The Mismagius line can make you see and hear things.”
A tidbit he’d learned from a certain Gym Leader — Fantina, was it? — whose Mismagius threw Adam off-balance through false self-copies and illusionary attacks. Boy, did my aurasense come in clutch back then, he thought, turning a stiff lip at the smirking Ghost-type. Her eyes eerily burned into Vulpix’s flank, following the vixen and her poor attempts to hide behind him.
“You make innnnnteresting company, Kecleon,” said Mismagius, Lucario noting the familiarity between her and the chameleon Pokemon. “Now why is it that one of the merchants of Kecleon Wares dragged away a special little lady the other day, then took her guardian aside the next?”
Great, she’d been stalking them from the very start. “Mismagius, a wandering battle instructor who entered town a few days back,” Kecleon told him and an antsy Vulpix. “Care to explain, Mismagius, why you’re spying on our business?”
His aggressive tone only widened Mismagius’s smile. “That’s not a threat, is it?” she purred. “You’ve seen a few of my tricks in the local dojo. You have finesse and skill to make up for your weak spirit, relative to your oh-so-mighty family, but whether it’s enough to banish the likes of me is questionable.”
A flush of pink spread throughout Kecleon’s tail, but he maintained his composure and kept staring. So did Lucario, wary of this enigmatic lurker and wanting her gone. Vulpix hesitantly joined in, waves of threefold tension crashing against the pillar of Mismagius’s laidback, unbudging presence.
“I thought I’d apologize,” she said.
The waves broke formation. “What?” said Lucario.
“Apologize,” Mismagius repeated, her smile so fake he could’ve sworn she meant to get a rise out of him. “I’m sure my presence must have been most unnerving.”
“You were eavesdropping—”
“Eavesdropping? Hee, I’d never!” Mismagius shook her head without abandon, cackling the whole time. “I’m not so rude as to listen in on your touchy conversations. Why would I ever do such a thing?”
She wasn’t lying — an aura check showed nothing but a clean, truly apologetic soul. “Though I suppose there was small talk from the crowd on what ridiculous thing that Ariados accused you of,” the witch went on. “Talk that didn’t get far, mind you. Who can be bothered to care for stale rumors about humans anymore?”
Lucario relaxed as he caught Kecleon throwing him the slightest of nods. Firsthand proof there’s really nothing to fear about Ariados spreading rumors, he mused. Mismagius hadn’t been listening in after all, good.
He still didn’t like this mischievous figure though, and he freely expressed his indifference toward her. “Oh dear, perhaps I’ve slighted you a tad much,” she said, turning to Vulpix. “What about you, little one? Could you forgive this silly old hag?”
Though no longer afraid, Vulpix still bent her head out of shy passivity. “Uh,” she brought herself to say. “I-I guess?”
“Good enough for me, hee!” Mismagius celebrated her rather silly victory with a clap of her cloth-arms. “Then I believe I’ve overstayed my welcome. You are explorers, yes?”
A glassy tint darkened her eyes as she again stared the ice fox down. “Your soul wields strength a cut above many others of our time, aura guardian, but your little one’s? It is raw and undeveloped, her Level a droplet in a raging storm. Her untapped potential yearns for guidance. I do wonder if either of you would be open to some training lessons?”
Her greedy look left Vulpix rearing back, and Lucario’s indifference tilted back towards distaste. “Leave,” he ordered.
“That I will. You two, though, I sure hope you won’t leave. It’d be such a drag if I had to chase after such innnnnteresting people.” The witch gave a wink before twirling into the sky, and before Lucario could blink she dove into the ground, wisps of purplish-pink descending as she phased through and made her dramatic exit.
The bustle of the market rambled on. “You heard her, human sightings are a joke these days,” remarked Kecleon. “Just stay out of trouble and you’ll be fine.”
Vulpix nodded, frowning at the spot where Mismagius poofed into the earth. “I-I don’t like Mismagius,” said the vixen. “She’s creepy.”
“Creep’s more like it.” Lucario idly watched the crowd of Pokemon, tsking at the few glancing over from the corners of their eyes. “Could you have taken her on?”
A drawn-out sigh slipped out of the old chameleon’s maw as he leaned against the stall counter behind him. “Dunno. Us Kecleon merchants have a reputation not to be messed with for a reason, but Mismagius is similar in that regard. I could match her in trickery and wisdom, but I’ve always been weak compared to my brothers.”
A Level 84 Kecleon, and he said his family was stronger? That was enough to make Lucario’s heart skip a beat, overwhelmed by the rigorous training the merchants clearly must’ve undergone. And if Kecleon was implying Mismagius was just as dangerous—
She just had to take uncanny interest in the kid, darn it. Recalling the witch’s aura signature, Lucario primed his feelers to be on lookout for her presence. Her snooping on Eira the Vulpix would be disastrous. And while he was at it, why not stay alert for Ariados’s aura too?
It wasn’t long before Gabite found them, shuffling out of the crowd with a well-fed Treasure Bag, replenished with stock. “There you all are,” he huffed, a sharp eye aimed at Kecleon. “Shaymin’s mentor, right? What’s going on here anyway? Lucario and Vulpix haven’t been here until yesterday, and you keep dragging one or the other away.”
As he had with Togetic before, Lucario explained they had some misunderstandings, and they worked it out. “Mistakes happen, you know?” Kecleon jumped in with a gilded smile. “Nothing you need to worry about, Gabite of Team Heavendust.”
Gabite looked to Lucario for confirmation. “I swear he’s not threatening us,” he said.
“We’re fine,” mumbled Vulpix, though with how the others winced at her dry words, it could’ve been a shout.
It got Gabite off their back in any case. “You two are the strangest Pokemon I’ve met,” he said, eyes scrutinizing the pair one last time before ushering them away from the amused Kecleon. Into the bustling cobblestone streets of the market they went, on a journey back to the cottage they called home.
The dragon-shark too was a problem, Lucario had to remind himself. The explorer team was nice and all, but its nosy leader could be just as troublesome as Mismagius and Ariados. How long could he and Vulpix afford to stay here?
Something to think about. In the meanwhile, he was interested in having a chat with Eevee. Plenty had happened since they last met, and Lucario had a decent idea of how he’d react to Lugia.
----------------------------------------
“Hold on, hold on, I need a moment.” Eevee leaned against the trunk of the tree whose branch he sat on, cries of Pidgey echoing from afar. “Lugia?”
Vulpix scooted closer to the fallen log Lucario sat upon, both nodding, though she could’ve sworn a smirk crossed her guardian’s face as he did so. Not long after coming back from Berrypark Town and Gabite returning to his cottage, Eevee had the duo follow him to this forlorn, shaded spot of the forest with calluses of barren dirt tearing up the grass.
And they had just piled upon him everything that happened to them so far. “Unbelievable,” said the Abhorrent, pacing around his branch. “The storm Legendary itself appears, sinks your ship, and there just so happens to be a strange pillar in Rocky Shores it’s related to. Which you discovered.”
It made sense Eevee was floored by such news, but his words caught Vulpix off-guard. “You know Lugia?” she asked.
Eevee’s ears rose to their limit. “Ah, right,” he said, a sheepish smile popping onto his face. “You understand now, Eira the Vulpix — one piece of news I can happily digest. You and I share an interest in legends and tales, I take it? I could share a few tall tales about humans someday.”
Vulpix shrugged, mildly interested. “But anyway,” continued Eevee, “no reason for me to be bothered with this Lugia affair, though I suppose I’ll take a look at the pillar. Mismagius, she’s not something I need to make a fuss out of either if you’re both sure she’s not trouble.”
Was she sure that eerie witch wasn’t trouble? Not at all — even with her apology, her behavior rubbed her the wrong way, and Vulpix was sure Lucario thought so too. But his aurasense said she didn’t eavesdrop, so it should be fine, she comforted herself.
“But telling Kecleon about me?” Irritation cut into Eevee’s suave tone. “I said not to tell a soul about me, Lucario.”
Lucario rolled his eyes. “Didn’t you hear what I said? He backed me into a corner and deduced things for himself—”
“And he doesn’t mind Abhorrents that much, lucky for our necks.” The Eevee plopped himself down, legs swatting leaves off his branch. “I’ll let this slide, but just because someone is cool with us, that doesn’t stop me and my siblings from being wary. How’d you feel if I told you I hinted to some random people I know that a human washed *sh*re on the islands?”
One second.
Two seconds.
Three very awkward seconds.
As much as she didn’t want to fuel any verbal sparring, she couldn’t help herself. Vulpix turned over and snorted cold winds of disapproval at Lucario, who had taken to twiddling his digits. “I- wha- you did that?” cried Eevee. “Lucario, you idiot, what kind of—”
Without warning the Abhorrent convulsed, Vulpix leaping behind the fallen log as an anguished scream ripped itself out of his mouth. Before her very eyes, Eevee burst open into a drenched monstrosity of black ooze, its form constantly shifting into insensible shapes.
Her guardian jerked and yelled out, falling prone to the side of the log as he squeezed his aura feelers. “Lucario!” Vulpix said as she came to his side, before yelping as Eevee tumbled off his branch. Buzzing glitch-like clouds cloaked his writhing, shadowy form, yet the eyes were still hard to miss — pure white, spiral-shaped, and filled with a primitive void whose sights were set on the jackal. “W-what’s happening? E-Eevee?”
Eevee, if that was still Eevee, ignored her words and continued to snarl in bizarre voices. The shadows of the forest fled when he rushed forth with his shapeshifting glob of a body, showing Vulpix the meaning of horror as his face unhinged into a colossal mouth of barbed, blackened teeth. He was attacking them! He was—
Instinct kicked in as Vulpix leapt atop the fallen log, eyes flashing with warding power. A blue outline grabbed Eevee’s incohesive form, foul screeches ringing out of his maw as he stumbled back. “S-stop!” pleaded Vulpix, conscious of the pink glow of the Extrasensory pounding her forehead and the static roar of the clouds surrounding the Abhorrent. “Please!”
Mouthless faces grew out of the eight spikes on his head, eyeing her vacantly. Eevee raised his own nebulous head, and Vulpix stared, paranormal fear driving her muscles to act if needed. Lucario still lied defenseless, groaning from whatever Eevee was doing to him — what even was this? And she thought the dungeons were otherworldly!
She barely blinked when lucidity flashed in the Abhorrent’s eyes, the air settling down as the buzzing glitch clouds broke apart around him. His form of black ooze collapsed, condensing into itself.
And Eevee dropped to the floor, back to his usual, non-fiendish self. “What,” Vulpix breathed, letting her Extrasensory power down, “what was that?”
Lucario was fine now — he stopped clutching his feelers, pulling himself up and throwing a shaky look at the heaving Abhorrent. “Could ask the same,” he grunted. “The what, Eevee? My aurasense was down, and I felt that.”
Eevee coughed, flicking an ear as he got onto his feet. “D*st**t**n F**nz*.”
“Dist*rt*on what?”
“Distortion Frenzy.” The Abhorrent shook his ruffled fur. “Or at least that’s what Kabutops called it.”
A very fitting name for the most nightmarish thing Vulpix had seen. “You felt what I was going through, didn’t you? Sorry, it’s easy to slip into that cursed state when my emotions reach a fever pitch,” Eevee added, before managing a smile. “Wise to Disable me while I wasn’t myself, Eira the Vulpix. Despite the monstrous form, the resulting agony actually leaves us Abhorrents quite vulnerable.”
Vulpix brought herself to smile too, though mostly out of sheer relief. It’s fine, she consoled herself, the afternoon sky growing a little darker overhead. Everything’s fine, Eira. Eevee’s back to being himself, and if it happens again, you can stop him.
It was then that she noticed his wording. “Uh, us Abhorrents?” she repeated. “Y-you all do that?”
Lucario cut in with a snarl. “Okay, as much as I want to rant about this Distortion Frenzy thing, I’m steering us toward a bigger topic.”
He caressed his feelers one last time before locking eyes with Eevee, his voice gaining momentum. “I’ve been given clear s*gnals about Abhorrents being crazy and dangerous and all, but you know what? I’ve never been told anything solid about what’s going on here. What’s the deal with you mutants? What crim*s have your sort caused?”
His eyes narrowed into slits. “What exactly is this gift you said Aerodactyl spre*ds?”
Eevee patiently took in the questions Lucario demanded. A silence took over the forest, a stretched moment of stillness enveloping all life therein. Vulpix too obeyed it, muscles going stiff, but her mind hummed with her own questions.
A Quick Attack propelled Eevee right onto one side of the fallen log Vulpix stood on, the vixen jolting from the lopsided force. “I’m an odd example of an Abhorrent,” he said, his colorful crown of spikes gleaming as he stood there like a king who’d descended from his branchy throne. “Most have their powers alt*red, or their type, but I’m unchanged. I’m not crazy in the head either, thankfully. But you know what is in my head?”
The gleam intensified, and Vulpix found her eyes shooting upward as colored mist poured out of each of the spikes. They condensed into eight elemental apparitions that resembled cats and foxes alike, serving as the king’s council. His siblings! she realized.
“My siblings.” Eevee amused himself with the wide-eyed expressions Vulpix and Lucario wore. “Espeon, if you’d allow the others to introduce themselves?”
Espeon floated amongst the group of eight, giving a weary roll of her eyes but otherwise remaining as stoic as ever. A telepathic thread nuzzled Vulpix’s mind, making her presence known, and she and Lucario reeled as a flurry of babbling voices assailed them. “One at a time,” ordered Eevee.
The Vaporeon ghost joined Espeon in accommodating his words with stern looks, order chopping chaos’s throat as the voices went silent. The other Eeveelutions eyed one another for a long time, engaged in unheard mind-speak — or perhaps soul-speak? — before regrouping.
The voices came much smoother this time. It’s wonderful to see you again, came a voice in Sylveon-speak, the corresponding white and pink-accented ghost waving the ribbon feelers protruding from his wispy body.
Well met, came Flareon’s, the fluffy, fiery ghost’s voice measured and elegant.
Good afternoon! came Jolteon’s, bright and energetic — much like her spiky, electric appearance.
How’s it going? said Leafeon and Glaceon, the tanned, leafy Pokemon and his icy sibling topping off their synchronized words with a wink.
Vaporeon gave a regal swish of her blue dolphin-like tail. We are pleased to make your acq**intan*e, Lucario and Eira.
Espeon’s nod said volumes. Yes, hello, Umbreon finished, the black specter yawning with his lack of a mouth and pretending to scratch the half-moon pattern on his forehead.
Eevee regarded his family with forlorn warmth. “When I got my gift, none of us expected that it would affect them too. They’re bound to me as int*ng**le ghosts, unable to touch physical objects and needing me or Espeon to speak. It’s lucky they can still use their moves.”
Sympathy bled from Vulpix’s heart as she gazed at the unfortunate Eeveelutions. “Surely that’s not normal,” Lucario muttered.
“Compared to other Abhorrents, nope.” Eevee’s tail brushed against his hind leg, pushing down an anklet attached to it. “You said you wanted to see the gift Aerodactyl offers, Lucario? As it so happens, I kept mine in memory of our tragedy.”
One flick and the anklet came off, Vulpix watching it unceremoniously fall to the ground. There, surrounded by dull dirt, the shiny brown gemstone it held captivated her attention without fail. Was she seeing things?
Even from a distance, there was no mistaking it. The stone’s crystalline structure, a tiny footprint of an Eevee in the center of the transparent, rhombus-shaped material — how did she miss the Abhorrent holding on to such a familiar item? “That,” she said with awe, “that’s a Z-Crystal.”
Those special words got Lucario to recoil. “That?” he said, eyeing the gem with perplexion. “The gift is a Z-Crystal?”
Vulpix shrugged as she got off her seat on the fallen log, moving her snout close to the gem. Not a second later and she was tossing her head back, repulsed. Correction: that was a Z-Crystal.
Now? It was something hideous.
Glaring irregularities ruined the crystal — mainly, the corroded black spikes smashed into the side-tips of the crystal, sharp enough to draw blood upon touch. Remnant, dried splotches of an ooze disturbingly similar to Eevee’s Distortion Frenzy form smeared its surface, showing it was used up. Wrapping over both ends of the corrupted item glowed a trio of white rings, appearing to float around its translucent surface.
Lucario seemed to turn into mush as Vulpix pointed all of this out. “It’s like an evil DNA serum,” she realized, the sight of such an uglified work of art making her want to puke. “That’s the gift. An evil Z-Crystal.”
“Most commonly, a Z-Crystal.”
Eevee and his Eeveelutions appeared beside her, nine sets of attentive eyes making Vulpix shrink into herself. “On occasion, those spikes are also embedded in Mega Stones,” said the Abhorrent, an impressed smile on his face. “Lugia’s one thing, kid, but you have Z-Crystals in the human world?”
Cogs turned in Lucario’s head. “You’re from Alola,” he deduced.
Vulpix slowly nodded. “And she’s an Alolan Vulpix,” said Eevee, “what a coincidence. Odd that us archipelago folk separate var**nts of a species by human regions, isn’t it?”
We’re getting off-topic, chided Espeon.
“I’m getting there, I’m getting there.” Eevee snatched his anklet back, reaffixing it on his hind paw with some difficulty. “The spikes on that crystal? That’s the crime of the Abhorrents. Aerodactyl’s just one of many mutants who poke others with these so-called gifts, making more of us. In time, the whole archipelago could become a land of us monsters.”
As if her human problems weren’t enough to worry about. Vulpix felt herself shaking, appalled by the thought of this civilized Pokemon world falling into an entropy of feral, crazed mutants with Distortion Frenzy states to boot. That was horrible!
“And before you ask, no, we don’t know why it’s happening, or how to cure it. No one does.” Eevee absorbed the twisted expressions Lucario and Vulpix made. “But see, that’s where you come in, Eira.”
What? Her? Eira the Vulpix gestured to herself with shock, Lucario just as stupefied, before both spied the wristband on her paw.
The one giving her a Pokemon form.
“That band was Kabutops’s attempt to find a way for Abhorrents to hide themselves as a short term solution,” Eevee stated, glancing at each of his siblings. “Your pr**en*e, Eira, is a chance for him to see why the band affects you but not us Pokemon, and could even be a step in reaching that c*vet** cure. With your help, we might just find a solution.”
Lucario had told her of the Kabutops who made her band and wished to see her, but only now did Vulpix see the significance. She could help free Eevee and his poor siblings from their fallen fate, and others too.
“So there was a catch.” Her guardian folded his arms. “Not sure how I feel about the kid being exper*m*nted on, though.”
“It’s harmless for her, I assure you. Kabutops isn’t careless as they say Their High**sses are.”
The title and Lucario’s interested reaction to it got Vulpix’s attention. Galari*n Slo*king and his She*l*er, added Espeon. They work together.
Chills. A Shellder that cooperated with the Galarian Slowking it latched onto, instead of seizing absolute control over it? It was unthinkable.
“Our aloof rulers who usually keep to their experim*nts, might I add. Creepy stories about those guys, but again, we’re off-topic.” Eevee thumped his tail against the fallen log. “If this goes well, Kabutops will have a new lead on dealing with the Abhorrent plague, and in return, he can help you find a possible way off the archipelago. That sounds good?”
Even without the incentive of an ally, Vulpix was already sold, nodding vigorously. It was only the right thing to do, and she ought to repay Kabutops for the wristband.
Eevee grew pleased when Lucario nodded too. “Like my sense of justice can turn this down. We’ll work something out.” A scowl cracked through his face as he said so, his paws balling up. “So Aerodactyl spreads your kind, huh? I wonder if that bl*ghted soul’s still around.”
It was impossible to miss the pent-up aggression in Lucario’s voice. “Y-you want to find him?” Vulpix said, violently shaking her head. “Lucario, that’s a terrible idea.”
An idiotic idea, reworded Umbreon, Vulpix frowning at his crudeness.
Sylveon jumped in before Lucario could argue with either of them. It would be tragic if you were infected too, he pleaded. Were you aware he was armed with an altering spike-crystal back when you met him in the woods?
Might’ve been armed, corrected Flareon. He was hiding something in his claw, but we didn’t see what.
The chance that Aerodactyl could’ve mutated her back then left Vulpix queasy. Really, just the very thought of the Abhorrent gleefully spreading the infection sickened her — she almost wished she could’ve been capable enough to stop such a horrible cycle — but while she could empathize with Lucario, she couldn’t let him chase Aerodactyl. It wasn’t safe.
Well, for them at least. “Can you get, er, infected? Twice?” she asked Eevee.
The Abhorrent and his siblings raised their heads as one, eyeing each other as if in shared reflection. “I don’t know about this,” Eevee said aloud. “I’m not risking our necks to fight—”
What risks? Jolteon questioned. Vulpix’s got a point, we can’t get mut**ed again! Plus, there’s nine of us, attacks can only hit you, and that nutcase totally deserves a skull-bashing.
She’s right, said Leafeon and Glaceon, gesturing toward the excited Electric-Type.
Other voices came, but a nod from Vaporeon silenced them all. Abhorrents who spread the mutu*ion are rare, Eevee. What if Aerodactyl could give us a few answers on how the altering spikes are made, or who he works for and their end goal? What if it helps us with that cure? At the very least, we’ll be slowing the spread.
The forest kept silent as Eevee considered this. At first it was a frown that marked his face, deep and troubled, but then the lips curled into a little smile. Then a grin, vicious and hungry for both bones and knowledge.
Lucario copied that grin. “Knock him down for us.”
“Please.” Vulpix pressed her forepaws together.
Eevee gave a lighthearted cackle. “Expect us to be away for a few days. Until then, stay out of trouble for good this time, okay? I take it there’s been enough close calls, and you cannot let anyone pry at our secrets.”
Espeon severed the mental connection, and she and the other ghosts broke down into wisps, returning to their color-coded spikes. Eevee waved, turned, and ran off.
Leaving them in the care of the forest. A few moments passed before Lucario heaved, sitting down on the fallen log. “You’re from Alola.”
Vulpix scooted back onto the log herself. “Uh, yeah. You?”
“Sinnoh.”
Made sense. She and Mother had been returning home from the cold, legend-ridden lands of Sinnoh. Lucario’s trainer must’ve taken the same ship to reach Alola.
A dark, terse laugh wheezed out of Lucario’s throat. “Funny,” he said, as if she wasn’t present. “Adam had hopes of obtaining Z-Crystals. To think that there’s mutants here, turning those gems into—”
His words trailed off, snatched away by a rotten breeze. Under swaths of shuddering leaves and branches, the sky shying away above, a single ray of sunlight took a peek upon a melancholic Lucario and Vulpix. Nature followed its familiar course, for even in this supernatural land, some things stayed the same.
A part of her liked this strange world, she had to admit it. Who could say the fantasy of being a Pokemon never crossed their mind? Being an Alolan Vulpix was a fever dream — her fledgling command over ice a magic to cherish, and her Vulpix-speak an added layer of delight.
Haven Archipelago wasn’t so bad either, even with its dungeons. To her, it was an uncharted land whose otherwise familiar creatures held unusual cultures, all of which she’d love to explore. Except I can’t share the thrill with Mother, she lamented. And it’s not safe here to begin with.
She was growing used to the cold mist that accompanied her sighs. “Can Kabutops get us back? For real?”
Lucario barely stirred, eyes shut in his own thoughts, but a response came nevertheless. “If he could make your wristband, perhaps he could.”
And if he could, then she’d be safe. No need to fear hostile Pokemon or Abhorrents wanting her mutated on sight. But then what? Mother was gone — gone back to Father. She had nothing to go back to.
She wasn’t just lost on this archipelago, she was lost in every other way. “What are you hoping, um, to go back to?”
Her guardian frowned, stress lines on his forehead. A silly question in hindsight, of course Lucario had little waiting for him at Sinnoh. His trainer was gone too, and all those Pokemon who were with him. As he had put it, she was his trainer now.
Ironic. A trainer took care of their Pokemon, but Lucario was the one babysitting her here. That isn’t right, she mulled to herself. He shouldn’t be buried by both of our struggles.
“I said I’d, well, be here for you. Remember?” Vulpix faced her guardian, who opened an eyelid to peer at her. “You can’t possibly deal with everything yourself. Whatever you need, I’ll support you too, okay? We’ll figure out a way, the both of us.”
There went the frown and the stress lines in Lucario’s face. Something far softer took its place as he let out an easygoing chuckle. “Eira,” he said. “Just don’t do anything stupid. You’re all that remains of the home I once had.”
“I’d never.” Vulpix shot him a mock-glare, stunning Lucario with the unusual change in attitude. “But you would.”
“Wha- hey, I had good reasons to joke about humans to Gabite.”
Somehow she didn’t doubt that, but the principle still had to be upheld. “Don’t do it again,” she urged. “Please.”
Lucario raised a palm to appease her, a trace of self-deprecating humor in his expression. It was strange she managed to warm up to the jackal so swiftly. She’d never been much for interacting with people, but with her Pokemon guardian, she felt perfectly relaxed. A product of her circumstances?
Whatever it was, she could reciprocate Lucario’s words — he was all she had left of her old world. Mother wasn’t here, and Mother was home.
She held back a sniff. Where would she find home now?
----------------------------------------
Inspiration struck her, and Vulpix called on her Disable attack. As per usual, something stirred deep within her, the spirit that resided within her, and an odd energy poured out and flowed toward her eyes.
She nudged it toward her forehead instead.
Sheer happiness resulted when the energy obeyed, a slight pressure building on her forehead as it briefly glowed pink, but the moment was ruined when the energy leaked out right after. Vulpix scrambled to push it back, but it wouldn’t stay long enough for her to use. Soon it was all gone — yet another failure.
“Now what’s happened here?” came a honeyed voice, and the vixen raised her head.
Togetic and Sky Forme Shaymin were back from their mission and flying back to the cottage grounds, engrossed in the various markings, a pile of upturned soil, and tiny pools of melted ice that littered the dirt battleground. At once they turned to her, and Vulpix shyly looked away, toward the silent Lucario who’d been observing her training routine. At least greet them, Eira, said her voice of reason.
Should I? she questioned. They already see me as one to shirk and keep to herself, and if I act too differently from before, they might—
No excuses, Eira. Do it.
But—
Lucario threw her a look and a wave of cordial emotions, and she succumbed. “Hello?” she said to the airborne pair.
Togetic beamed as she returned the greeting. “Hey Vulpix,” said Shaymin, spinning around. “Someone’s been busy.”
“She’s having trouble learning Extrasensory,” said Lucario, much to her embarrassment. Did he have to tell them that?
It was an understatement, though, she was completely stuck with this move. Powder Snow, Disable, and even the mediocre Tail Whip got some progress, but Extrasensory just refused to work. Lucario managed to Copycat it when the stress of trying to work out this move made her accidentally fire one that sent piles of soil flying, but his attempts to explain it weren’t helpful, nor his tips.
Clear her mind? That didn’t do anything. Visualize the mental power she wanted to use? No good. She couldn’t even begin to control this move — worse, it only worked once the fatigue of trying got to her head. It toyed with her.
“Vulpix’s been doing it for the better part of the hour,” mused Lucario. “I’ve told her she needs to take it easy.”
She couldn’t take it easy. She had to learn this move! How could she know it, yet be unable to call it at will?
Frustration must’ve been showing on her face, because Togetic came to comfort her. “It happens,” she said. “There’s always obst**les in learning your abilities. Shaymin can relate.”
The Mythical huffed. “Seed Flare.”
“Seed Flare.” Togetic gave her friend a reassuring smile. “Just a look around shows the hard work you put into learning your moves and adv**c*ng your Level, Vulpix, and that’s something to be pleased with. Still, if you’re having trouble, perhaps it would be best not to burn yourself out? You’ll find it’s more pr*d**tive to work on other moves, think about your problems on the side, and take time to relax and re*h*rge.”
Vulpix frowned, then hung her head. Even if she could bring herself to argue, Togetic was right. This wasn’t getting her anywhere, and there were better tasks to do.
She reluctantly held back on her Extrasensory training. “Hey, chin up,” Shaymin told her. “I bet you’ll find out where’s your problem in no time. Maybe someone at the local dojo could help.”
“We’re certainly willing to assist,” said Togetic, the twosome wearing infectious smiles. They seemed like such nice Pokemon, and strangely, Vulpix found herself growing attached. Was that wise of her, knowing they’d turn on her if they knew of her humanity? It wasn’t likely she and Lucario would stay for long.
But at least she could return the friendliness. “Thank you, I guess.”
The flying duo’s smiles reached peak brightness, before waning. “I almost forgot, there’s something pressing we came across in the news,” said Togetic, Shaymin nodding. “Is Gabite around?”
No sooner did she ask, a cough sounded from the hillside, heads turning to find their team leader closing the door to the cottage. “Convenient time to come outside,” he remarked, sliding down the rocky hill and staring at the mess Vulpix made out of the dirt battlefield. “What happened?”
Togetic’s sigh heralded the bad times to come. “There’s a report from Mudstream Village,” she said. “A skeletal Abhorrent covered in black fire’s been spotted around the Mud Passage dungeon.”
No one bothered to notice her and Lucario’s silent cringe, not with the keg powder that was Gabite being set off. A scowl swallowed his face whole, tail crashing against the ground as if to tear it open, and he turned away with an animalistic growl. “Details,” he demanded.
Shaymin’s dark expression was the controlled equivalent of Gabite’s. “Got none,” she simply said.
“What do you mean—”
“Those were the details. No one knows his or her base species or what this creep’s doing, or if he or she’s got Abhorrent mut*g*ns to spare. Guy seemed interested in the Mystery Dungeon, that’s all.”
Gabite shifted his jaw, staring down the flying Mythical with killer eyes, and Vulpix could almost believe the earth was quaking with concern — or maybe that was just her shaking legs. It was a relief when the dragon-shark muttered livid words, storming back to his cottage. “He doesn’t take news on Abhorrents well,” Togetic told her and Lucario.
No kidding. For a good moment she feared Gabite would whirl on them, read their expressions with his master sleuthing skills, and interrogate them to death on what they knew. Aerodactyl’s still here, she noted with a pout. On the bright side, maybe Eevee would be able to capture him for the information he wanted?
“Eh, he’ll be dealt with soon enough. Not the first time those freaks of nature came knocking,” said Shaymin, returning to a more relaxed stance. “Maybe we’ll crush him ourselves, Togetic?”
Togetic tossed her head in consideration of this. “In any case, the situation will be handled,” she assured them. “No need to worry.”
Her guardian clicked his tongue as the flying duo headed to the cottage. No need to worry, thought Vulpix, wishing she had the strength to do just that. When could she stop worrying? Without Lucario and Eevee’s wristband, she’d be as good as dead in this place. It was a miracle she washed ashore on this archipelago at all.
It was excitement after excitement ever since, and she wanted a break. Surely she’d have calmer days to look forward to, right?
Right?
Maybe she shouldn’t have challenged destiny with that question.