The prior day had worn harder on George than he expected. Right after dinner, he collapsed and fell asleep, once again under the watchful eye of the two black scarves. That night passed with little else happening, as did the day after: They got further into the Spice Hills, the ground getting boggier on the way. By that nightfall, Terez said they were two days removed from safety.

Dinner that night was worthless. Old, overcooked potatoes and vegetables were on the menu. At best, they went down the hatch, nothing more. At worst, an odd sauce had been drizzled over, courtesy of Terez. ‘Iapapa’, she called it. While the others ate without a hassle, George detested it. This wasn’t something edible like mayonaise. It wasn’t even mustard. Calling that sour, spicy dreck a sauce was an insult to cooking. He had to nurse his stomach afterwards. How Pokemon ate this mess was beyond him.

And how they slept afterwards was another mystery. For hours George twisted and turned on his straw bed, grumbling and moaning from all the mess he’s had to deal with. Being on the road for days, stress from feral encounters, the heat of the day and the cold of the night, the straws poking at his sides…

After rolling around for an eternity, unable to sleep from itching, sore spots from lying on his scalchop, and Skal’s engine-like snoring, George got up. He didn’t have any company. Blitzer and Terez were quietly sleeping. Skal lay splayed out like his straw pile was a king size mattress, one claw resting on his belly. George rubbed himself between the eyes.

‘At least he can sleep. While keeping me awake all night. Ugh.’

The fire was still charring, though most of the wood had turned to charcoal by now. Speaking of chars, Blitzer had rolled closer to the fire, enjoying the extra warmth. He looked so cozy despite laying on the dirt. George cracked a slight smile at that. Blitzer had a firm grip on his evolved form.The way he breathed fire, slashed with his claws, even how he walked looked plain fun. Like he was free as a bird, while George felt like a fish in a tank.

Thinking about it didn’t do George any favours. His throat was dry, as was his tongue. Oshawotts needed water to stay healthy. He sighed, then waddled into the darkness. Given them camping at a capsule, there should be a water source nearby. Terez had been clear about that. The question was where inside the illusion. Terez didn’t make the too big, and one wrong step was all separating them from a prowling Soldier.

George made a lap around the boundary of the illusion. His ears perked up; running water was nearby, but pinpointing it under Skal’s snoring? The human turned Oshawott shook his head. If only Terez channelled the essence of the headmistress beforehand. Maybe those psychic powers of her could convince Skal to shut it.

At last though, George did find the stream. It was in between rocks; kind of like a tiny cave George could put his hands into, but not enter. He reached in and splashed some water into his face, then cupped his hands and drank whatever he could get to his mouth.

In between sips, he glanced over his shoulder; the source lay at a precarious spot - right next to the edge of the illusion, and not far from there lay a road. A road he’d seen multiple shadowy figures cross over in the midst of his attempted sleep. If he wasn’t careful, someone would grab him right then and there. One big, strong claw grabbing onto his shoulder.

Which is precisely what George felt next.

“AH!”

“Shh! It’s okay George, it’s just me!”

His heart had almost jumped out his chest by the time George realised Blitzer was standing behind him. “Did you really have to sneak up on me like that?”

Blitzer grimaced. “Well, the alternative was waking everyone up. I’m not about to find out what waking Terez up is like.”

George sighed. “Sorry, it’s just hard to feel safe out here. All we’ve got is this mind trick.”

“Hmm…” Blitzer eyed the edge of the illusion for a moment, then frowned at his tail. He carefully lifted it right behind his back. The shadows on the ground grew. George rubbed his nose in response.

“So uh, why are you up so late anyway? Are you having a hard time sleeping too?”

“Pretty much,” Blitzer said. “Stomach hurts, and I’ve been really stressed all day. The moon doesn’t help much.”

With another sigh, George sat down by a rock, taking his scalchop and tapping the rock with it. The ground pressed hard against his fur; not that rocky ground was unbearable after the seemingly endless days of trudging through the Kronn. It hadn’t been more than a few days since they had entered Kronn Province to begin with.

The warmth from Blitzer’s tail pursued him as the Charmeleon sat down next to him.

“Do you want to talk?”

George shrugged. “Sure.”

“It’s not like we’ll be falling asleep anytime soon, right?” Blitzer replied. His voice was soft, and he seemed very reserved given how he fidgeted with his claws. He was twiddling his toes too, sort of like a child would. George did the same when he was bored, or waiting for an appointment at the dentist. He then raised an eye; that was how he dealt with nerves. He reached for the Charmeleon’s hand.

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“Hey, are you feeling okay?”

“Could be better.” Blitzer shook his head.

“Are you sure?” George followed up, to which Blitzer responded by pressing his claws against his legs.

“I guess.”

Not knowing how to respond, George folded his arms and looked off past the illusion. A flash of light was dancing around in the distance. The hairs in his fur stood up straight.

‘That’s for me, isn’t it? There’s probably hundreds of them searching for us now. Even while we’re sleeping.’

The Oshawott bit his lip, then pinched himself in the side away from Blitzer. He didn’t need to see it.

Blitzer’s breathing was replaced by a sniff; the Charmeleon flicked his head around moments later. “Did you bite your tongue? I can smell blood,” he said, frowning. George reeled back, dropping his scalchop in the process..

“Y-you can smell that? I didn’t even bite that hard.”

“Yeah. I can smell things like that for as long as I can remember, but it’s a lot easier now that I’ve evolved.”

“Oh.” George picked his scalchop back up and put it back on his chest. Blitzer reached for his shoulder again, getting a lessened but still frightened reaction out the Oshawott in the process.

“Please don’t hurt yourself. I don’t like to see you hurting at all,” Blitzer whispered. “I-I’m not the reason why, am I?”

George lowered his head. “No, I’m just worried. You see that light out there, right? Crazy to think it’s looking for us, but that’s what’s happening. There’s a whole bunch more out there, and if just one of them spots us, we’re done for.”

“I’ll, I’ll fight back against them if they try. I’m a Charmeleon now, I’ve gotten stronger, they’ll regret it if they tried to,” Blitzer said, his other fist clenched. The tone of his voice betrayed an awful nervousness. It was as if he was attempting to reassure himself, not anyone else.

“You know…” George sat upright. “I wonder what it’s like, actually.”

“What do you mean?”

“Evolution. Think that’s what it’s called, right? What’s that like? I mean, I know it can happen to me as well, and uh, it looks like a gigantic change to me,” George muttered. ”You grew a whole bunch, you’ve got a horn on your head, and a bigger snout. What’s that like?”

Blitzer tapped his chin several times. “It’s real strange. On one hand, everything’s different. My whole body has grown in some way. I’m a lot taller, and I’ve got the horn and the long snout now, but it’s more than that. My tail’s grown with my body, my eyes, teeth and claws are sharper, my sense of smell is stronger, my fire is hotter, I think… I feel a lot stronger!”

He flexed an arm, then let it fall back. “But at the same time, I don’t feel any different. Feels like this is the way it was always meant to be. The idea of not having a horn is strange now, I don’t know why.”

“That’s, uh, that’s strange, actually.”

George looked down at his scalchop, then back at Blitzer. Hazy memories of various vivid dreams came floating back to him. Those dreams where he was locked in combat, a sword in each hand, gloriously braving the blaze of battle with might unparalleled… in a body he didn’t recognise. Even then, said body felt agile. Nimble. Strong. And most of all, natural.

Was it really just a dream? It was hard to fathom ever turning into that creature. If they were still in Greenfield having this conversation in Blitzer’s room, he’d be jumping for joy. But joy was reserved for better times. All he did now was lower his head.

“Do you think that’ll happen to me too?”

Blitzer shrugged. “Sure, I don’t see why not. If anything, it’s more likely to happen with you.” A slight smile spread over his face. “You’ve got your special human powers, after all.”

“...special human powers?” George looked at Blitzer as if he admitted to liking the taste of mud.

“Yeah, your special human powers! You must have those, right? Humans are supposed to be very powerful, why else would the gods send one here?”

Blitzer’s optimism was fiery as ever, though something about it seemed off. George couldn’t put his finger on it, but it felt like an act. Regardless, he had to bite his lip and look back out over the rocky and muddy landscape.

“Uh, I don’t know about you, but… I doubt that. Have you ever seen yourself in the mirror?”

“Mirror?”

‘Agh.’ George slapped himself on the forehead. “...Have you ever seen your own reflection in the water? You’re way stronger than I am.”

”Do you really think so?” Blitzer chittered softly; that remark landed on a sore spot. “I’m not that strong, George. Even though I’d like to be. But you saw me struggle through that dungeon, right? Or how I tried saving us from Soldiers twice, but I couldn’t. Skal and Terez had to save us.”

George shook his head. “You know that’s not true. If it wasn’t for you, that Galvantula would’ve spun me into a cocoon. I’d probably have gotten stuck in a dungeon before that.”

“Th-that was a fluke,” Blitzer stuttered.

“No it wasn’t. You were amazing there! You showed that Galvantula who’s boss, just like that! Like it was nothing!”

Blitzer squeezed his eye shut. “I.. I-I was scared, George. I was horrified by the thought of losing my parents, and then losing you too. When I saw that Galvantula closing in on you while I was laying there, there was this anger inside of me. I wanted to burn her to a crisp. It just grew and grew and grew, then it just… happened.”

The Charmeleon shied away from George. “I couldn’t do it. I still couldn’t help you. We ended up getting caught anyway, all I did was scare her off but the next Soldiers came right after. I…”

“There wasn’t anything you could do about that, Blitzer,” George said; it fell on deaf ears.

“N-no… I… I need to evolve again. I need to train. If I was a Charizard, I-I… I’d have beaten them all! I’d have saved us, I’d have saved mom and dad… I-It’s my fault they’re…”

“Blitzer, don’t do this to yourself, it’s not-”

But it was too late. Blitzer was already sobbing uncontrollably, his claws covering his face, his tail flame dim and weak. George felt horrible as he tried to pry a claw away from Blitzer’s face. He wouldn’t listen, and didn’t budge until he felt George fall against him, defeated. He grabbed the Oshawott with both claws, and held him tight against his own neck.

“G-George… I’ll… I’ll never let anyone take you from me… you’re the only true friend I’ve ever had…”

Tears rolled down George’s face. “Me too, buddy…” ‘Me too…’

image [https://file.garden/ZgQ_WQ_U3BIqPcfY/ZtH%20Chapter%20Specific/Chapter%2040.png]

* * *

Gareda sat cross legged on the sands of the Kronn, her tail curled around her side, eyes focused on the electric sheep sitting in front of her. The sands weren’t so bad when the coming of dusk had cooled them down. That, and being a groundling went a long way.

To their left was the Sandstone Trench. To the right, the Spice Hills. In front of her, a Flaaffy whose pink body was covered in dust and mists of red. Said Flaaffy had been on her first ever assignment since becoming one of the Crest’s Soldiers. Given the horror on her face, Gareda assumed it would be the last.

“So then he sent half the cliff flying your way, correct?” Gareda asked, her tail impatiently oscillating up and down. Sparks ran through the Flaaffy’s wool as she jilltered in response.

“Y-yes! I’ve never seen anything like it… first that rock crushed my two c-companions and then I… I thought I was done for… I-I threw myself back, but I got stuck, and then the rocks came closer and I struggled to get loose, then something hit my back and my foot broke free and the rocks came and-”

Gareda leaned forward and grabbed onto the Flaaffy’s shoulder with a talon. “Slow down. Deep breath.”

The sensors on Gareda’s head calmed down enough to detect a few bugs crawling under a rock the next hill over. “Y-yes…” the Flaaffy stammered, struggling to look the Garchomp in the eye.

“Are you certain that you were pursuing an Oshawott?” Gareda asked.

“Y-yes, y-yes we were. We’d gotten the message to be on the lookout for one, and some of the locals s-said, they’d spotted one accompanied by bandits.”

Gareda tilted her head. “Bandits? Were any black scarves seen, by any chance?”

Sparks ran through the Flaaffy’s fur once again. Gareda’s sensors went wild; they were reacting to a sudden flare of fear which had struck like a dagger.. ‘’Y-yes… one Aggron, a Gardevoir too, I-I think… There was also a Charmeleon but he-”

Gareda bared her teeth. In an instant, the Flaaffy shirked back, a croon flying out of her throat.

“I-I’m sorry L-lord Gareda! I didn’t mean-”

“Don’t apologise. You’ve told me all that I needed to know,” Gareda grumbled as she stood up. She hulked over the Flaaffy, who shrank even deeper within herself as the Garchomp scowled over her head, out to the horizon.

“It appears I’ll have to settle this personally.”