Chapter Text
The sun made way for the crescent moon to shine above the Square. Street lights flickered above each dim passage, and the few pokémon that remained on the major paths rushed to find their place to stay. Various other pokémon, however, snuck out of obscure corners of the town.
Among the current bout of suspicious pokémon, a totodile peeked through one of the alleyways. Lockjaw hid behind a corner upon spotting a flaaffy, pulling up his scarf further. He hesitated in looking back again, breathing shallow.
The flaaffy appeared to be pressuring a caterpie about something, but Lockjaw could care less about their conversation. These days, electric-types could not be trusted, especially by someone who would crumple under their shocks. He could only hope that the caterpie survived and move on.
Once those two turned a corner, he snuck down the street into another alley. The totodile glanced around some more, quietly huffing and scowling. At this rate, it'll be morning before I find that house… Couldn't you have given some tips, Dad? Maybe better directions to the brick house you wanted me to go to?
He kept his sights on the exits while he regained his energy. If he recalled correctly, the house was on the outskirts of town. Hearing a trickling stream of water, Lockjaw pieced his relative location together in his mind.
A faint breeze forced a shiver out of him. Maybe I should just act natural. I'd just be on a 'nightly stroll’, right?
Relaxing himself as best as he could, the water-type walked out of the alley, one arm attached to his bag. With nobody around to give him trouble, his confidence strengthened - if only slightly. Regardless, he hastened his pace towards the river.
Centric River officially marked the border of this town. A handful of wealthy pokémon resided near the outskirts, but these citizens either had more money than the majority of Valosse or established ties to particular 'mon…
...And yet, they had the audacity to look humble for tourists. The first house Lockjaw spotted was nothing more than a dome of bricks, with a weathered chimney leaning just a little too much. Had he not assumed this place to be his destination, the totodile could've easily passed it off as a place waiting to be demolished.
He lifted his scarf and hung it over his head, slowly approaching the house. Okay… Okay. Just nab some apples and leave. This place should be empty… I hope.
Lockjaw checked behind himself one last time before tiptoeing through the wall. Poking his snout into the house, he first noticed a flame swaying from side to side. He saw the outlines of a resting charizard, as well as two he didn't quite recognize in the faint lighting.
He took a moment to steady himself. Right. Where to find some…
A glimmer of bright red entered his vision. Three shiny apples sat in a bowl dangerously close to the charizard's tail. As he approached, Lockjaw felt his jaw slacken despite himself; they were almost his size!
Tantalizing as they were, he still had to take them. As long as they could fit in his bag, the properties of his bag would carry the giant fruits with ease. Could he even fit one in there? How do these bags work, anyways? Maybe Ma would know…
Lockjaw shook his head. He couldn't afford to ask himself every question imaginable. Wrapping his arms under one of the apples, the water-type lifted it with as much force as he reasonably could.
However, taking the food so quickly shifted the bowl closer to the flame, rattling it just the tiniest bit.
The totodile froze, glancing between all the other sleeping pokémon in absolute silence. Then, a snort and sporadic movements spurred him to retreat, not bothering to put the apple in his bag yet. With his mobile scarf, he passed through the wall with ease yet again.
He didn't stop running until after he had entered the foliage nearby. Lockjaw let out a loud, ragged breath, dropping the apple onto the ground to lean on it. I did it… I-I did it!
His mouth cracked a smile. Yes! Can't wait to show this to Dad!
While Lockjaw painfully stuffed the apple into his item sack, he looked over to where he just fled. He sighed, slinging the bag back over his shoulder. I could've sworn that ‘mon looked just like… No, it can't be them. They would've had someone on watch. Or that shield thing. They couldn't be careless enough to not have that up every night.
Now all that he needed to do was get back home. The reptilian peered around the trees in search of a path. How far did he run into this forest? He paled, realizing his mistake in not bringing along a map.
“Just great,” he muttered.
A gust of wind stirred Rocard to consciousness. He sat up, breath hitching, and held up an arm on reflex. When nothing happened, he relaxed, opening his eyes to take in the surroundings.
The rough, worn path he sat on trailed behind and in front of him, with nothing but forest on both sides. While he saw the moon hovering above him, it didn't provide enough light for him to see through much of the thicket.
How tall are the trees here? he quipped. He rolled his eyes at the thought. Maybe they look tall because I'm belly-first on the ground. I'll start aching if I stay down, so—
Rocard caught some movement beside him, lowering his head to face a pair of limbs. However, they didn't resemble anything like a human's hands, let alone his own; soft, creamy fur covered each limb in its entirety, and the only distinguishable digits were his thumbs.
"This is…"
He found himself shaking a little, though the reason didn't necessarily involve his transformation. Intriguing as turning from one species to another was, he focused more on what led up to its occurrence. What was I doing? Could've sworn I was running from something - or someone. I suppose I ended up here as…
Looking down, he met a stomach with cream fur. The fur on his backside had a contrasting navy blue, and if he turned his neck as much as he could, he could barely make out a red spot or two. He recognized this species now: A cyndaquil. Not the worst pokémon to turn into… How is that even possible, though? Who was I running from? And where exactly did I end up?
The former human sat under one of the trees and rested his snout on a hand. These trees don't look like anything from Agate… Am I in Kanto? Johto? Why was I running, anyways?
He rubbed his temples. As he thought more about his predicament, his head began aching in protest. Damn, everything from this week was a total blank. Maybe I should be asking other questions before my brain melts over this whole thing. Where could the nearest town be…
"Outta the way, move it!"
Before Rocard could comprehend what he just heard, someone sprinted past him. Rocard squinted his eyes, spotting a flaaffy carrying some object in its wake.
Alarm bells sounded off in his head. He started following the electric-type, though the initial surprise left him far behind. What the hell does that flaaffy think it's doing? Sheesh, you can't be any more blatant about stealing than this! Looks like I'm the only one here to give chase, though. Catching up shouldn't—
Overestimating how far his stride went, he tripped over himself and tumbled onto the ground. His head spun, delaying him long enough to completely lose track of the flaaffy. "Dammit! How am I gonna catch up to it now?"
He huffed, tapping the ground while he viewed his options. After a couple of seconds, he buried his face into his hands. That flaaffy's clearly faster than me. No way am I gonna get a chance to take back what it stole! ...Whatever it was! I've got half a mind to beat up its trainer if I ever see them…
Stomping to a spot under a tree, Rocard rested his arms on a particularly large root and glared down the path. His back felt warmer than usual, but a quick glance behind him dispelled the feeling. He rubbed his temples, freezing when something clicked.
That reminds me, he mused, when do cyndaquil learn ember? I think they're the… the last of the fire starters to learn it? That fuckin' sucks. Not that it matters - how the hell would I use it, anyways?
Sighing, the former human leaned into the tree's body. Maybe I should sleep. I could try looking for a town right now, but at this point… Fuck, how would I get a place to stay? A pokémon speaking a human language is unheard of - and that's only assuming I can do that after this transformation!
Rocard shook his head, standing up and walking down the trail again. Sleeping wouldn't do him any favors - knowing that the flaaffy could be anywhere at this point didn't help, either.
He quickened his pace. That flaaffy could be headed to another town. Following this path should take me there… Right?
Lockjaw brushed his way through the plants, running parallel to the road. He kept an arm on his mobile scarf to pass through the many trees along the way. Unfortunately, he had no easy method of wading through the large amounts of tall grass.
The totodile whacked a branch out of the way in his frustration, only to receive a smack while it returned to position. Dang! How am I supposed to go back home? There's no way I'll be getting back before dawn, with how things are going…
He rubbed at the sour spot on his snout, quietly fuming at his predicament. What he wouldn't give to have a map…
Hearing the sounds of vigorous footsteps, Lockjaw clawed his way up a tree to hide from the approaching pokémon. He recognized the flaaffy from before charging down the road, but whatever the electric-type carried was squirming in its grasp.
"Of course he's a kidnapper," Lockjaw grumbled. "As long as he's not targeting me…"
Doubting he'd be able to catch up, the water-type instead remained in his newfound perch. Even if this road was practically barren at this hour, he would eventually find someone who had a map. He readied himself; the next pokémon to come along likely wouldn't hand over their map willingly.
And as luck would have it, somebody jogged down the path from the same direction as the flaaffy from earlier - a cyndaquil. Certainly uncommon, but definitely a good matchup in case things went south.
Lockjaw peered down at the fire-type, watching it slow to a halt and take a breather. Okay, he doesn't notice me. Ready, and…
He leapt, landing squarely on the cyndaquil's head. However, his momentum pushed him too far forward to keep his balance, sending him tumbling to the ground.
"Augh, fuck!" the cyndaquil exclaimed. He leered at Lockjaw, though the paw atop his head didn't make him any more threatening. "What the hell, man? Didja' have to make my headache any worse?"
"Give me all your items!" Lockjaw blurted, unsheathing a claw.
Breath hitching, the fire-type gazed to him as if there were a second head growing out of him. Cyndaquil cleared his throat. "Er, could you repeat that so I don't call myself insane?"
The totodile's eye twitched. In a much less enthusiastic tone, he repeated, "Uh, give me all your items?"
"Oh, okay." Cyndaquil sighed, then gave a big grin. "Slight problem with that: I got nothin'."
Lockjaw could only stare back in disbelief. Is this guy on something? Maybe that's why I can see a bit more of his eyes.
"Speaking of items," Cyndaquil continued, his voice becoming sheepish, "you got a map?"
"Wh— No— Huh?" the water-type stammered. He raised a claw, but the other pokémon's question bewildered him too much for him to look tough. "...Are you lost?!"
Eyes shifting warily, Cyndaquil continued his strained smile. "Did you really think I wasn't hopelessly lost the moment you jumped me? Anyways, did a flaaffy come by here at some point?"
Lockjaw rubbed his eyes, groaning. "What, did he steal your precious kid or something?"
"Yeah, he did—"
The fire-type whirled around, clutching Lockjaw's shoulders. "He kidnapped someone?! Fuckin' hell, that's worse than I thought! Hey, you'd be some help, why don't you—"
"Not my problem," the totodile deadpanned, peeling the cyndaquil's paws off of him. "You'd be out of your mind if you think I'm dealing with a shocker."
Cyndaquil bristled, backing away. "Fine then. Go on and be a little prick."
Lockjaw snarled. "What did you say to me?!"
"Excuse me! You two!"
Startled out of his argumentative mood, Lockjaw turned around to see a butterfree hovering close behind. The frantic flap of her wings echoed among the silence.
"Have you two seen my child?" Butterfree inquired, her voice cracking. "You're a rescue team, right? You have to be! Please find my Caterpie!"
Lockjaw straightened up, holding his bag closer. "Ma'am, I think you—"
"Right away, Miss!" Cyndaquil interjected. "Where should we look first?"
"Hey, hold on—"
The butterfree brightened at the fire-type's response. "Goodness, I can't thank you enough! To see a team so willing to help at a moment's notice nowadays…"
She fidgeted with her arms. "You two should be capable enough to search Tiny Woods - just down that way, along the path. I don’t think he could have gone that far, but I can never be too sure… Please, be careful."
Cyndaquil nodded, dragging Lockjaw down the path. Once they moved out of earshot, the totodile wriggled out of Cyndaquil's paws. "Get your grubby paws off of me."
"I was planning to do it out of sight," Cyndaquil muttered. "We're obviously no team, but I wasn't about to make an already worried mother get even more worked up."
"So you lied," Lockjaw hissed, tightening his scarf. "Wouldn't that cause her more grief?"
The fire-type snorted. "Nah. Just going by myself."
Gawking at the answer, Lockjaw blinked a couple of times before leaning closer. "Tiny Woods is a mystery dungeon! Going alone is the worst thing you can do!"
Cyndaquil's face changed emotions multiple times; confusion, disbelief, thoughtfulness… was there a twinge of fear in those squinted eyes? His gaze rested on the entrance to the mystery dungeon, and Lockjaw stared with him.
Most of the thin grass had faded into dirt. The once-flat path declined and narrowed a considerable amount. A wooden sign stood beside the two, its text faded beyond recognition. On the sign, a thin line of silk flickered in the moonlight.
Eventually, Cyndaquil neutralized his expression, facing the water-type. "So? Not like you'd join me, anyways. This silk’s gotta belong to that caterpie."
Lockjaw backed away, narrowing his eyes. "Then go in there. You're obviously too reckless to care about what I say."
"Fine by me," Cyndaquil remarked, sliding down the slope and into the mystery dungeon.
Scooting further from the entrance, Lockjaw rubbed his temples. He reaffirmed his grip on the bag, letting out some deep breaths. Leaning onto the wooden sign, he watched clouds pass under the moon.
What a weirdo, he sighed. He's gonna get himself mauled sooner or later. What was with that big pause when I said this place had a mystery dungeon? Has he never heard of them? Aren't mystery dungeons like some sort of epidemic?
The sound of flapping wings resounded behind him. His heart skipped a beat, backing away from the sign. Wait, if that butterfree sees me standing here alone, isn't she gonna wonder why I'm not with the cyndaquil? I gotta hide!
Yet the path had funneled too much - the increasingly steep sides kept him from climbing to safety. At some point, the sign had disappeared, too. He quietly groaned. I'm already in it. Looks like I have no choice…
Lockjaw stomped down the dungeon hall, cursing his luck.
"Wasn't I just here?"
Rocard scratched his chin, peering into one of the corridors. The walls hardly changed in appearance since he started exploring, their designs seemingly repeating in a set pattern. Out of the three rooms he came across, one had an oran berry, another had a strange seed, and a sunkern slept in the third.
Strangely, the grass-type laid near a staircase. This half-buried structure's gray color clashed against the light dirt, but Rocard didn't have a clue as to why it was there. He suspected it belonged to some ruins, but the stairs didn't have any rubble around to support his claim.
Entering the room with the oran berry again, he picked up the fruit and inspected it. Not a single speck of dirt or mold on this. If I didn't just pick this off the ground, I'd easily think it came straight from the tree. It's as out-of-place as those stairs, even…
He heard shuffling behind him, and turning around revealed the culprit to be the sunkern from before. "Huh? What's up?"
The sunkern hissed, baring teeth Rocard didn't know it had, and hovered closer.
"Holy— What… the hell?" he croaked, backing up slowly. "Uh… Easy there…?"
Its responding snarl spurred him into action. Rocard sidestepped the feral sunkern's tackle, holding his berry so tight he could feel the sticky juices leaking onto his fur. He launched a kick towards the opponent, but he flopped in front of it harmlessly.
Damn, this body's gonna take getting used to. He winced, only barely blocking the sunkern's counterattack.
Rocard backed away from the grass-type, looking for what routes he could take. He doubted he could outrun anything yet, but one sunkern shouldn't pose much of a threat.
The sunkern leaped at him again, latching onto his arm and… sucking on it. Rocard shook it off, curling his lips. "Eugh! What, do you know leech life instead of absorb?"
He retaliated by charging at the seed pokémon. Even without the energy of a move like tackle, his attack dealt a heavy impact on the sunkern. Its leaves drooped, yet it made another attempt at an absorb.
Shrugging off the attack, Rocard countered with one more charge, slamming into the wild creature and knocking it to the ground. He let out a whoop.
"Suck on that, why don't you!" he exclaimed, crossing his arms and puffing. He deflated, laughing at himself. "Gods, that was bad."
Walking back into the hallway, Rocard wiped the dirt from his stomach - only to realize too late that what remained of the oran berry spread over his fur. Eugh! Man, do I need a shower… Would it hurt as a cyndaquil to take a shower? I wish I remembered how Koal cleaned…
He stopped in his tracks. His face contorted, and his back shivered. ...No, bad. Bad Rocard. Not the time for— for those thoughts. Need a distraction…
The former human glanced around the hall, clenching a fist while he approached the exit. With all the backtracking he did, as well as the strange properties of the area, he calmed himself with a different question. Right, mystery dungeon. What did that totodile mean by a mystery dungeon? This place is weird, sure, but aside from those stairs I saw, it's just a valley next to a forest…
...Speaking of the devil…
Rocard eyed the concrete material and scoffed. "Every other room was a dead end, and this thing is just sitting here. Maybe the only way to get out is by descending these stairs."
He let out a bubbly laugh, approaching the stairs. "And maybe the gods just wanna fuck with me. In what world does going down two steps magically transport you to—"
Touching the bottom step created a flash of light, forcing him to cover his eyes. Once the setting darkened again, the stairs had disappeared. A pair of seeds laid some distance apart, and the hallway entrances had seemingly moved.
His eye twitched, and he forced out a heated sigh. "...This one, apparently."
Lockjaw stumbled down the second set of stairs, almost colliding with a wild pidgey. Before the savage creature could attack, he whacked it with an ice punch. The pidgey went down instantly, dropping a sleep seed in its wake.
"Where is that cyndaquil?" he groaned, taking the seed and stashing it in his bag. "For someone with an ego that huge, he's begging to get in trouble."
Marking the room with a weak water gun, he traversed through the hallway. From his experience of the first two floors, he expected the layout of this one to be quite simple. Could I be ahead of him? Surely, he's not so incompetent at exploring that I outpaced him… That would be…
The next room had the stairs, yet no cyndaquil waited there. Lockjaw peered around the structure, finding himself at another dead end. Even after resting against the stairs, the totodile heard nothing out of the ordinary from the hall behind him.
"At this rate, I'll be the one to find Caterpie," he grumbled. "Why am I even waiting at this point, anyways? He can go crawling home himself—"
"Iiin-coomiiing!"
Someone rammed into Lockjaw, crushing him between the stairs. The totodile whipped around to scratch the offender, but he instead faltered and missed. He stared at the panicked cyndaquil, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.
"There you are," Lockjaw huffed, flicking Cyndaquil's long snout. "Could you not blindly rush into me like that? Ever?"
The fire-type leaned on one foot, shaking his head a few times before facing the totodile. "...So you did show up after all. What, you got some sense knocked into you?"
"No!" Lockjaw exclaimed. "And what was with that scared look? Are you—"
"Just hurry up and get to the next floor," Cyndaquil stated. He pierced the water-type through his squinted, green eyes, exemplified by the dungeon going silent.
Jaw slacking, the reptile entered the staircase without another word. The light that warped him to the next floor seemed to fade much slower than before. What is wrong with this guy?
This floor comprised of a single, wide hall that connected two large rooms. Lockjaw relaxed a little, recognizing it as the end of the mystery dungeon - unlike the previous floors, the stairs didn't disappear behind them.
"Where's that caterpie?" Cyndaquil whispered, peering down the walkway. "Hey, while we're looking, I think we should get to know each other a little bit."
Lockjaw looked away, eyes narrowing. "After roping me into this mess? Why should I want to know about you?"
Shrugging, the fire-type stepped ahead. "Fair point. Like I said, I didn't want to look bad in front of the butterfree, but I also didn't want to lie about saving her kid."
He turned around, barely maintaining eye contact with the totodile while holding a weak grin. "She was asking, well, both of us to find her kid, though, so I thought it was… uh, it would've been easier to just go with it instead of trying to explain that we aren't part of this whole 'rescue team' business. Sorry about dragging you into, er… this."
Clutching his scarf, Lockjaw furrowed his brow. How could he respond to an answer like that? He heard nothing truly insincere from the cyndaquil's words, but how could he trust that nervous tone? Not even an hour had passed since Lockjaw jumped the cyndaquil - hardly enough time to get a good idea of someone.
And what happened to that recklessness from earlier? Only a few minutes ago, Cyndaquil had stared him down with a glare to rival his mother's. Most of the fire-types Lockjaw encountered as of late usually stayed home in fear of… whatever a blazer feared.
In the end, Lockjaw's head hurt from trying to figure out what the cyndaquil's motives were. He'd have to determine that later.
"Let's focus more on finding Caterpie before anything else," the water-type suggested, searching the ground with renewed vigor.
Cyndaquil nodded, returning his gaze to the room up ahead.
A few minutes of thorough inspection went by, but the only progress they made involved finding a bundle of silk and a discarded stun seed. The sky had slightly brightened by this point, and neither of them found any sign of the missing caterpie.
"Oh, I think I found something—"
Rushing over to the object in question, Cyndaquil paused in front of it and sagged. "Nope. Just a stick. This place was a bust. Let's get out of here and talk to Butterfree about it."
"Right…" Lockjaw mumbled, rubbing an eye. "I still gotta find my way home. Remind me why we checked each and every—"
"Wait a second!"
Lockjaw glared at the fire-type, watching him go past the stairs. His irritation morphed into surprise when Cyndaquil got blasted with string.
"Gah! Why did you—?!" Cyndaquil yelped. He wiped a layer of silk off of his head. "Ggh… Sorry about scaring you. We're here to bring you to your mom."
As the totodile approached, he could hear the caterpie whimper, "You're gonna s-save me?"
"Of course!" the fire-type affirmed, looking around. "Have you seen a flaaffy around here?"
"Y-Yeah…" Caterpie uttered, shriveling up. "He took me here and— Um, he wanted to…"
Lockjaw offered a claw. "Let's get going, Caterpie. Your mom's worried about you."
With a hesitant glance between the two, the tiny caterpie accepted the claw. He wrapped himself around Lockjaw's arm, all the while warily staring down Cyndaquil.
"I, well…"
Cyndaquil fidgeted his paws. "Let's go."
Nodding, Lockjaw escalated the stairs.
"He took me to that place, and, and then he…"
Rocard kept a patient smile, listening to Caterpie's tale from a distance while they searched for Butterfree. As he listened, his heart sank a little. The totodile did wonders at helping the bug-type open up, yet all that he received was an occasional glance.
He had to bear with it, however. Just seeing the caterpie become more talkative made all the difference.
"...and t-tried to make me…" Caterpie gulped. "Tried to make me g-g—"
"It's fine," Totodile whispered, rubbing the back of the bug's head. "Just say what you did after that."
"Okay… U-Uhm, after… after that, I spat some silk at him. Momma, um, she said that should only be used for… emergencies. Th-Then I used the stun seed on him when he let me go, and I hid behind the stairs… He— He was just so… so angry…"
“You’re okay now. That’s all that matters right now.”
Unable to keep his smile up, Rocard turned away and redoubled his efforts in finding Butterfree. He doesn't trust me enough to help him. I wouldn't either.
He had to get used to it again. He was used to it. Look, don't touch. Just like back when…
Slowing down, he tensed up. He clutched his heart. No. Stop it. Find Butterfree, get Caterpie to her. Find Butterfree…
"Caterpie? Ryder?!"
Thank Arc, she's close.
Automatically, Rocard straightened, forcing the remains of his smile together and waving to Butterfree. "He's right here! We found him!"
The flying bug let out a soft gasp, fluttering towards the group. She rubbed an eye, seeing the caterpie and lighting up. "Ryder! Thank heavens!"
Butterfree scooped Ryder off of Totodile's head, snuggling him and shedding tears.
"Momma's right here," she said, her voice cracking. "You're safe, honey…"
After such a heartfelt reunion, Rocard's smile turned more genuine. As the moon glimmered from behind the two, he finally felt satisfied.
Once the mother and son broke apart from their embrace, Butterfree set the caterpie atop her head and looked to Rocard and Totodile. She landed on the ground, reaching into a pouch and hesitating.
"I… Words can't express how grateful I am, really," she admitted. "I wish I could give something more valuable, but I'm in a bit of a rough patch…"
Rocard lifted his hands and waved them a little. "No no, it's fine—"
"But I must!" Butterfree insisted, pulling out three berries and handing them to the cyndaquil. "You completed a rescue mission. Even if I didn't want to hand you a reward, I'd need to do such by law - you are part of a rescue team, aren't you?"
Seeing Totodile's nervous expression out of the corner of his eye, Rocard hung his head. "Well, you see, about that…"
Butterfree's arms slacked, dropping the berries. "What of it?"
"We aren't a rescue team," the fire-type clarified, wincing. "I couldn't just sit there while you were looking for your son, though! You don't need to give me anything."
With perking wings, the butterfree let out a simple, "Oh."
Her eyes watered. "That's… so kind of you! Risking getting trapped just to rescue my child… Here, let me get out a couple more berries!"
"Huh? Wait—"
Totodile elbowed Rocard, shushing him. "Just take it."
Rocard sighed. "Alright. Th-Thank you, Missus…"
"Just Rey would be fine," the bug-type responded. "I think five berries should be a suitable reward. Again, I really appreciate your help."
"It's no problem, really," Rocard mumbled, cautiously holding the fruits. "The name's Rocard. Nice meeting you. I should be heading…"
"Of course!" Rey interjected. "I'm sure you two have places to be. Right now I have to get ready for—"
She looked up at the sky, and Rocard followed her gaze to the moon. Only a sliver of it could be seen poking out of the horizon.
"I'm already late," she gasped, jumping into the air. "Take care! Hold on tight, Ryder, Momma's in a rush…"
Amidst the frantic beat of her wings, Rocard noticed that the caterpie looked at him with wistful eyes. A tiny smile crept up in his face.
Totodile crossed his arms once the two left their sights. "Okay, I guess it was nice to reunite them…"
"Why wouldn't it be nice?" Rocard pointed out, raising a brow. "Is it uncommon to be a decent person around here?"
"About as common as an ice-type nowadays…" the water-type muttered. His eyes narrowed. "And why shouldn't I think you were only doing it for a reward?"
The cyndaquil glanced away, setting the berries aside. Why would I deserve a reward?
"Probably because I didn't think there was a reward?" he explained. "Did you expect a reward?"
Totodile squinted his eyes further, leaning into the fire-type. "And why should I believe you? Everybody knows rescue missions have a reward at the end!"
"I could ask the same about you," Rocard retorted, crossing his arms. "Why are we still talking, again? I'm sure you need to get home yourself, considering I dragged you into this mess."
"Wh— Ah, forget it!" Totodile all but shouted. "You're impossible!"
As the totodile scampered off, Rocard returned his gaze to the pile of berries and sighed. Well, that could've gone a bit smoother… At least I don't have to deal with him any longer.
Sitting down next to the berries, he relaxed himself to better process his current situation. There's no way I could've gotten here without some reason. What reason would justify turning into a pokémon, though? Am I being given a second chance, like some reincarnation shit? As much as I’ve wanted it, I haven’t actually died yet…
I'm gonna find some way to fuck this up, given my luck.
He buried his face in his hands, tired of standing so still. I'm already wasting my chance if I just sit here and mope. I still need to find a town, anyways. Which way should I go?
Rocard decided to head down the path Rey went. At the very least, he could speak with the butterfree on good terms. He preferred avoiding another confrontation with the totodile if he could help it.
Glancing at the berries, he felt his stomach rumble. He took a pecha berry and scarfed it down. I don’t usually get hungry this fast. Maybe it’s just my smaller body…
Tony guarded the entrance to the shabby house, keeping an eye out for the pelipper. He made an anxious frown every few moments, but he forced a smile whenever the occasional pokémon passed by him. Just what was it that got King so riled up? This house calmed him a little, but what else is there I can do?
Alas, the tyranitar couldn't determine the root of this problem. Not even the leader of their team knew what to do - if anything could be done about it.
Our unstoppable, all-knowing psychic meets a problem he can't solve, he remarked. It's only been a few weeks, though. Surely, he'll figure it out.
"Thank you, Secretary. I apologize for the sudden request."
Somehow, his leader had arrived without him noticing. Tony craned his head around to see Alakazam with their secretary, who kept her arms wrapped around her son.
Secretary Rey bowed, holding a worn smile. "You're welcome, sir. I'm sorry for my tardiness. My son wandered off and—"
"No need to apologize," Alakazam stated. "All the hard work you do goes to show how each house thrives in their own way. A little time off would do you good."
"Th-Thank you, sir," the butterfree mumbled, her face blushing, "b-but there's still a lot of work that needs doing. Shall I put the house on sale now, or…"
"Of course. My teammates should be waiting to finalize the agreement."
Nodding, Rey excused herself and fluttered around the psychic. She shielded her eyes from the sun's glare, perching on top of the mailbox to rest her wings.
Her head drooped, startling herself long enough to maintain her balance. Tony readied himself, concerned for the bug-type's stability.
"Momma…?" The caterpie squirmed in her arms. "Momma, wake up—"
Just as he expected, Rey leaned to one side a little too much, but the tyranitar quickly caught her without much trouble.
"Hup! Easy there…"
The butterfree gasped, holding her breath for a brief moment before calming down. She squinted her eyes, staring into his own until the color drained from her face.
"U-Um, Mister Tyranitar!" she spluttered, jerking herself back into the air. "I'm sorry about the—"
"Please, just call me Tony!" the tyranitar interjected. He studied her a bit further, and his mouth soon curled into a frown. "When was the last time you slept? You look like a wreck!"
"Ah— Er… About… Last time, um, it was…"
Tony's jaw slacked. Before Rey could input another apology, he said, "You really should hit the hay. I'll handle your duties for today."
"I— But—"
"You could barely stand on the mailbox without falling off!" he added, paused for a moment, then cleared his throat. "Please. Take a breather, and take your son home. I'll make sure you get paid for your time off."
Shutting her mouth, the butterfree took a deep breath… and exhaled. "A-Alright."
She flapped her wings, rubbing an eye and yawning. Caterpie crawled atop her head, waving his tail to the rock-type.
"Be safe, okay?" Tony called out.
Though he couldn't hear the bugs' mumbling responses, he felt confident enough that they were going to be fine. He turned to Alakazam, raising a claw before promptly lowering it again.
"I'll allow it this time," the psychic sighed, handing a stack of papers over to the rock-type. "Make sure these are done before nightfall. I'll be talking with Officer Swellow if you need me."
Nodding, Tony watched his leader teleport away. He entered the house, spotting King in the midst of adjusting a few picture frames.
The charizard whirled his head around, only relaxing when their eyes met. "Oh, it's just you."
"Yeah, just me," Tony repeated. He laid the pages onto the table, but he could see King's bone-rattling shiver out of the corner of his eye. "What breakfast did Al give ya' today? Something from Gulpin's?"
"Spinda's, actually," King informed. Glancing at the window, his breath hitched, tightening his grip on a particular frame and cracking it. "Damn… And that was a good one, too…"
Already getting up, the tyranitar gathered a few glass pieces that had fallen to the floor. "Still on edge from last night, huh?"
"...Right…"
Tony placed the pieces onto the table. Once he sat back down, an epiphany hit him. "What woke you up last night? I don't think we've actually established that."
"Heard some fishy movements," King grumbled, grabbing his tail. "I'm certain a burglar came in last night."
"How? Didn't Al have his security shield up? He couldn't have forgotten."
"I'm absolutely convinced someone broke into this house," the fire-type repeated, raising his voice. "They either knew Alakazam didn't put up the shield or chose the right time by luck."
Sighing, Tony returned to his papers. He signed off some forms, tuning out the convictions of the charizard. Only when silence returned to the room did his stomach rumble.
When he peered into the bowl of apples, his brow furrowed. Weren't there three perfect apples last night?