As Echo walked out of Treeshroud Forest, he felt confused and hurt, but he also had a good idea of where he wanted to go next. Though he'd never seen it himself, he'd heard of a settlement far to the west called Treasure Town. If there were anywhere where he'd be able to get help or stay safe, it'd be there. He had a vague idea of how to get there, based on conversations he'd overheard in Treeshroud; from what he understood, a long time ago, trade between Treeshroud and Treasure Town was relatively common, though at some point, they'd ceased their interaction. Echo never learned why, but that wasn't important to him right now.

He needed food and shelter, so he set off in what he hoped was the right direction. He didn't know what the outside world was like, but it couldn't be that bad... Right?

***

Not too far away, Liu was headed in the same direction, for mainly the same reasons. She was irritated and still couldn't really believe her old life was over. After some time traveling, she stopped at a small lake to rest. But as she continued to think about Sky Stairway and Rayquaza, her fur slowly turned grey, then black, her anger returning once more.

"Argh! That stupid dragon whelp! How can he treat me like this? Just for something that a Kecleon can do easily, how is that even fair?!" she yelled, kicking at the water. She was silent for a time, then gently floated down to the ground. To her frustration, tears began to well in her eyes, and as she looked at her paws, they began to turn a deep, sad blue. She sniffled, then curled up, making a pink, translucent bubble appear around her. As the bubble rose into the air, pink fog began to cloud it, until Liu couldn't be seen from the outside. But the sounds of her quiet sobs remained.

***

Aeon, having moved on from the bakery, had come upon a dark cave. He had initially intended to stay there until he decided where to go next, but as luck would have it, the cave was already occupied — by enormous piles of gold and gems. Overcome with greed, Aeon couldn't help but stuff as much as he could into his bag.

"I can't believe it. With this, I'll be back on my feet in days. This is just too good!" Aeon whispered to himself. "I wish I'd brought more bags." His thought process was interrupted by a low growl from behind him. Shivers ran down Aeon's spine, and he slowly turned. There, a massive Salamence stood, glowing a dark blue.

Aeon gave the Salamence a sheepish grin, and said "H-Hi. Would you, uh... like some gold?"

***

Echo had a feeling he was getting closer to Treasure Town, and picked up his pace. Even knowing there must be some reason why Treasure Town stopped trading with them, he was still eager to get help and do what he could to find a new home.

"Hmmmm...I could have sworn I've seen that tree before..." Echo paused, looking at it suspiciously. "Did I get lost? Maybe I should—"

But before he could finish his thought, he heard a loud, ominous roar. Echo's blood ran cold as he heard it, and he looked in the direction of the sound. "I really, really hope that's not as near to me as it sounded. Or that it's what I think it is..."

As Echo watched, there was silence for a time, then out of nowhere, a black-and-white Furret appeared at the top of a nearby hill, running for his life. Echo breathed a sigh of relief and called "Excuse me, sorry to bother you! I was wondering, do you know how to—"

"No time! Run, kid, run!" The Furret yelled.

"...get to... Treasure Town...?" Echo trailed off. "Run? Run from... what?"

The answer soon became obvious as Echo turned, his eyes widening as he saw a huge Salamence barrelling down the hill after the Furret. Echo let out a cry of terror, and began to sprint as fast as he could after the Furret, passing a nearby lake. In his rush, he didn't even notice the large, pink bubble that floated in front of it.

As the Salamence pursued them, its tail lashing back and forth as it ran, the tip poked against the bubble, popping it.

Liu let out a squeak of surprise as the bubble around her exploded, landing on her behind on the ground. "What?" She asked, nervously looking around. Ahead of her, she saw the Salamence, and growled in anger. "Hey, UGLY!" She shouted. "Can't you see I'm trying to be miserable here? What's your problem?!"

The Salamence stopped and turned towards Liu, its eyes narrowing to slits as it spotted her. Her anger turned to fear as she gulped. "Uh, uhm, I uh—" She stammered, trying to correct her mistake. But it was too late: the Salamence had changed targets and began stampeding toward Liu. She yelped in terror and began flying away as fast as she possibly could.

***

Echo was still chasing after the Furret, but too late, he noticed that the Furret had stopped, and crashed into him, before falling backwards. Dazed, Echo shakily got to his feet and asked "Uh... why did you stop?!"

"Shh." The Furret replied. "Hear that?"

Echo paused for a moment, listening. He shook his head. "I don't hear anything."

"Exactly." The Furret smiled, turning to face Echo. "Looks like we lost him." He held out his paw. "Sorry for ignoring you earlier. I'm Aeon. What's your name?"

After a moment's hesitation, Echo shook Aeon's paw. "Echo. Is this really the time for introductions?" Echo asked nervously. "He might come back. Or, worse, he might attack someone—"

The two of them heard a high-pitched scream, and Echo sighed. "—else. What do we do?"

Aeon stared at him. "Do? Nothing. I'm getting outta here! You're free to stay and play hero, but I got places to be! If I don't make it to Treasure Town by—"

"Treasure Town?" Echo interrupted excitedly. "I'm headed there too! Do you know the way?"

Aeon sighed, scratching his head. "Yeah. I've never been, but I hear it's a good place to rest and regroup. If you and I are headed to the same place, I guess I can let you tag along. But after that, we gotta go our separate ways, okay?" Suddenly, Aeon's ears pricked up and he turned his head toward the hill.

"What is it—" Echo began, but was shushed by Aeon once more.

"He's coming back this way." Aeon murmured. "I don't suppose you're any good in a fight?"

"A fight?" Echo asked incredulously. "You're not gonna try and fight that Salamence, are you?"

"If he comes back this way we're never going to lose him — he's got more stamina than both of us, probably. And I don't see anywhere to hide, do you?" Aeon demanded.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Echo looked around, but Aeon was right. The only thing he could see was grassy plains and a cave. "What about that cave?" Echo asked.

"That's the Salamence's cave. I just came from there." Aeon explained. "Hiding in there is like a death sentence."

Just then, loud stomping sounds could be heard approaching. Aeon put up his paws. "Too late to plan. Just try and stay out of harm's way, okay?" Echo quivered, then quickly ran behind a nearby tree."

What came over the hill first, however, wasn't the Salamence. Instead, a Mew appeared upon its peak. Aeon was so shocked he dropped his paws. "Oh my Arceus. Is that a—" The Mew was quickly followed by the Salamence, however, and Aeon took a defensive stance. "Oh. I get it." He growled. "Alright. Things might have just gotten personal." He waved to the Mew. "Over here! Come on!"

The Mew saw Aeon waving and flew faster, desperate for any kind of protection. It hid behind Aeon and cried "What are you doing out in the open?! That guy's gonna flatten us like a pancake!"

Just as Aeon had suspected, the Mew sounded female. He chuckled. "Well, well. Looks like I was right." He turned back to the Salamence, and growled. "Looks like someone doesn't know how to treat a cute girl."

The Mew stared at him, her face reddening slightly. "W-What? What are you talking about? Look, you idiot, just—"

"Don't worry, miss." Aeon interrupted. "I'll make this quick." To the Mew's surprise, Aeon stood his ground, and his claws began to grow longer, glowing white — Fury Swipes. As the Salamence approached, the Mew hid behind a tree, close to the one Echo had taken shelter near. She and Echo watched as The Salamence approached Aeon, roaring in fury. Echo and the Mew had the same thought: He's totally dead.

But then, Aeon vanished, leaving them both stunned. They looked around, and saw Aeon for the briefest of moments, before he vanished again and reappeared somewhere else. Echo couldn't comprehend what was happening. "I don't get it." He said, as Aeon slashed at the Salamence's sides, before disappearing once more. "Furrets can't learn Teleport. So how is he doing this?" Echo thought for a moment, then a ludicrous thought came to his mind. As Echo watched, he breathed "Is he moving so fast... that we can't see him?"

Aeon pushed himself further. Not fast enough. He growled to himself. He slashed at the Salamence again and again, from different angles each time. Still not fast enough. He kept moving faster, until it looked like he was in two places at once. Then three. Then six.

With each new afterimage Aeon left, the Salamence got more and more frustrated, trying to figure out which one was real. But before it could do anything, Aeon appeared from above, and yelled "You need to learn some MANNERS!" Before divebombing the Salamence with a devastating kick.

Smoke rose from the impact site, blocking the Mew and Echo's sight of the two. What happened? Echo thought. Did he win? There's no way— But as the smoke cleared, he saw Aeon atop the Salamence's fainted form, dusting himself off. He vanished and reappeared before Echo, and Echo let out a yelp.

For a moment, Aeon said nothing, and Echo waited nervously. Then:

"Wheeeew!" Aeon yelled. "What a workout!" He grinned widely. "Sorry if I scared you there. I wasn't honestly sure I could beat him, but when it comes to cute girls, I get a little intense."

Echo tilted his head. "Cute girls? I don't understand. There's no one here except you and—"

"What the heck was that?" Yelled a third voice, this one feminine. Aeon turned, still grinning. From behind the other tree came the Mew, crossing her arms and looking at Aeon disapprovingly. "What was all that?" She demanded. "I've never seen a Furret move so fast before! What the heck are you?"

Aeon's grin turned smug, and he casually strolled up to her. "You know, cutie, when someone saves your life, it's customary to say 'Thank you.'"

She stared at him in disbelief, then after a moment, turned pitch-black and replied "You IDIOT!" Without warning, she slapped Aeon across the face.

Aeon reeled back in shock, and touched his cheek, looking first at his paw, then at the Mew. "What the HECK?!" He yelled. "I just saved you! What the heck was that for?!"

"Let's get one thing straight here: I didn't NEED your help!" The Mew shouted. "I'm not some damsel in distress, you got that?! Don't act like you're the big hero here! From what I saw, it was already chasing YOU, which I'm willing to bet means YOU ticked it off somehow!"

Aeon opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. "I-I mean... that's not really here or there—"

"It is, actually, really, both HERE AND THERE!" She kept shouting.

Echo, sensing the situation was spiraling out of control, tried "Um, sorry to interrupt, Miss—"

"Liu!" She snarled. "It's LIU. Is this guy your friend?"

Echo was taken aback. "Well, I mean... F-friend might be a bit strong, but—"

"Then you're in on it too!" She barked. "Just what the heck were you guys thinking, ticking off a Salamence like that? And why'd you have to bring him towards ME?! I was trying to—" She stopped herself, remembering that she'd been crying, and she blushed slightly. "Well, nevermind what I was trying to do!" She turned to Aeon, who had regained his grin. "What's your problem?!"

Aeon chuckled and replied "Oh, nothing. Just seeing a cute girl get all flustered warms my heart."

Liu growled, and before Aeon could react, she smacked him over the head with her tail, which had turned to iron. Echo winced as she struck, taking a few cautious steps back.

Aeon fell to the ground, and in a daze, slurred "Whasser prollem? I's tryna help—"

Liu rolled her eyes and growled "Like I said, I don't need your help, Casanova!"

Aeon shook his head to clear his vision, and grumbled "It's not 'Casanova', it's Aeon. I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you, but you seem determined to make this miserable for me."

Liu scoffed. "Whatever. This is a waste of my time. I need to get to Treasure Town, so get out of my way!"

Aeon and Echo looked at each other, then back at Liu. "Looks like we're all headed in the same direction." Aeon stated. "Care to tag along?"

Liu was about to say no, but after weighing her options, and considering Aeon's speed... She sighed. "Fine. But I'm not sticking around you guys when we get there, got it? I've got my own agenda."

"Fair enough." Aeon shrugged. "If we're going to get there, we'd better do it soon though, before nightfall. He pointed in a direction. "From what I've heard, it's in that direction. Shouldn't be more than a fifteen-minute hike. I'll take the lead." He said with a smile. Liu rolled her eyes, and Echo shifted uncomfortably on his paws. Aeon glanced between the two of them and scoffed "Oh, I'm sorry. Is that a problem?" He made a sound of disgust, and started walking. "Keep up. I'm not waiting for you two." Echo and Liu gave each other a look, then went to go catch up to him.

***

As Aeon predicted, the walk to where Treasure Town was supposed to be was about fifteen minutes, give or take. (He claimed it would have been less if Echo and Liu hadn't been tagging along.) They got to a crossroads, and looked up at the hill in front of them. "Well, up there is Wigglytuff's guild." Aeon peered at the hilltop. "I don't see it; maybe it's further ahead? We should—" But he was interrupted by Echo tugging on one of his paws. "What?" He said in annoyance, and Echo pointed, his paw trembling. Aeon's eyes looked where Echo was pointing, and his eyes widened. "Oh. Oh, no."

Liu had already gone ahead, and was on the ground, holding something in her paw. Around her, though, it was clear why Echo was shaking: Treasure Town had been utterly destroyed. Remnants of buildings, long since having caught ablaze and then burned out, were blackened and malformed. The town was empty; no pokemon in sight anywhere. It looked as if a chain of explosions had gone off.

In shock, Aeon plodded forward into the "town", looking around. He stopped near Liu, and looked down. In her paw was a small, stuffed doll, singed around the edges. The doll's head had a large hole in it, and stuffing was barely staying inside. Aeon gulped. "Oh, Arceus."

"This is why there was no trading happening between Treasure Town and Treeshroud." Echo took a shaky breath. "There's... there's nothing left."

"Who could have done this...?" Liu murmured desperately. "This destruction... it's on a whole other level."

As they stood in shock, Echo's ear twitched as he heard something. He turned, and Aeon and Liu followed suit. There, behind them, stood a Delphox. She gazed down at them in sorrow, and said in a low, desolate voice "I'm sorry you had to see this, young ones." She motioned to them. "Please, follow me." She began to walk, and Echo, Liu, and Aeon, glancing at each other, fell in line behind her.