Undue Alarm

The brothers paused, their eyes fixed on Gordon, bracing themselves for a potential attack. Gordon gracefully leaped over the wall, ignoring their presence and swiftly retrieving the dropped weapons strewn across the ground. Ben followed suit, his hand gripping his Stun Stick tightly, as he broke the silence.

“We need a name for these creatures,” Ben said, staring at his brother.

Max contemplated for a moment before responding, “Arsonists. That’s what they are.”

“Alright, I don’t want any more Arsonists attacking us.”

“Maybe this guy can come with us?” He pointed at Gordon, cocking his eye at Max.

Gordon stared at them back, having heard everything. Max ignored him and noticed something… unsettling in Gordon’s grip.

“Look at what he’s holding,” Max whispered into Ben’s ear, his voice barely audible. “It’s a severed Leafeon tail! Where do you think he got it?”

Max’s eyes widened, staring at it in disbelief. “…He was using it as a weapon. I- I don’t know where or how he got it, but he doesn’t look hostile. He probably could have easily killed us already, but he hasn’t. I think we’re safe.”

There was a pause in the conversation. Nobody seemed to know what to do next until Max spoke up again. “Well, we’re going to the next town. You seem like you’ve dealt a nasty hand to those Arsonists, so-“

“What are you doing?” Ben interjected, attempting to foil his brother’s shenanigans.

“What does it look like? I’m inviting him! He’s done a good job, he’s not hostile, and if he decides to follow us, he decides to follow us! I’d say that inviting him is the best possible move here.”

After a few more hushed arguments, Max eventually won, and the trio began their journey. Gordon cautiously trailed behind with measured and deliberate steps.

As they moved forward, the path widened before them, offering a false sense of security. A dense forest surrounded them on all sides, and a canopy of leaves shrouded the lone path that split the forest in darkness. The dense underbrush was a constant reminder of possible danger around every corner, as the leaves provided a perfect cover for any would-be ambushers. They remained vigilant, scanning the surroundings for any sign of arsonists.

With each passing moment, their paranoia grew, spurring them to move as fast as possible.

Upon reaching the marked end of the path, they celebrated making it in time. Cheering and pumping their fists, they went to enter the town. However, their excitement ended when they noticed a hastily constructed wall surrounding the perimeter of the town. Sections of bricks, rocks, sticks, and fallen trees cluttered the outskirts in an organized array, blocking any view inside. Ben noticed a peculiarly shaped part of the wall, taller and more distinct than the rest. A wooden sign hung in front of it, but he couldn’t read it due to the angle.

The brothers exchanged uneasy glances, wondering what dangers lay ahead.

They feared the worst, that the arsonists had taken this town as well.

Trying to decide if they should stay or go, they squinted at the top of the wall, trying to discern if anyone was standing there.

“Do you see anyone?” Ben asked.

“Nope,” Max replied. Just then, his eyes widened when he realized that they had been spotted.

A Delibird shouted, and other Pokemon appeared on top of the wall to rain down an onslaught of projectiles. Arrows, snowballs, fireballs, and other various things hailed down upon them.

Just like that, the subtle sound of leaves blowing in the wind dissipated underneath the swarm of whistles and crackling from above.

They all instinctively dove deep back into the foliage which provided them with enough cover to catch their breath.

“I saw the entrance! Follow me!” Ben whispered at the two before he stealthily shimmied his way through the thick bushes; always keeping only a few meters distance so that he could make out the shape of the fortress walls.

Occasionally, a thorn brushed past his fur and caused him to wince.

“Gordon. Stay here until we tell you we’re all clear, alright? They’re less likely to attack us,” Ben warned. Gordon nodded back.

After a moment of explanation, Ben and Max bravely exited the brush with their hands in the air and approached the main entrance.

“Don’t attack!” Max yelled repeatedly, waving his arms up and down.

“Halt!” A voice responded. Max froze. The moment seemed to last forever, as he patiently waited for someone to come and tell him what to do. Max thought about what could be waiting for them, and even considered running away. Before he had the chance, the front gate cracked open, and a Delibird slipped through the crack.

He leaned in close to Max’s face, discomfort imposing his authority like a drill sergeant. He looked the part too- a green combat helmet’s loose straps dangled next to his face.

“Who else is with you?” he demanded.

Disorientated, Max hesitantly pointed back to Gordon, who was hidden behind a cluster of trees.

The Delibird inhaled and walked past him. Max twisted his body in an attempt to see what was happening. He did not dare to move his feet, despite how painful holding the position was.

“Alright, you can come on out now,” the Delibird said, urging Gordon out. Slowly and silently, Gordon maneuvered his way through the undergrowth until he stepped into the open. Instantly, the Delibird’s nervousness became palpable.

A terrible silence filled the air as the Delibird scrutinized Gordon.

“Who the hell are you?” he asked, clearly trying to sound intimidating.

“This here is Gordon,” Ben interjected, his tone calm yet nervous. “He’s been a great help in our fight.”

From there, the conversation got too quiet for Max to hear, and all he could do was wait with bated breath to see what would happen.

Shortly after, the Delibird approached Max and motioned for him to follow. With measured steps, they led the group toward the front gate. It was a humorous sight, as Gordon was easily three times their height, but still following along anyway.

The Delibird pounded on the door in a rhythmic pattern, assumedly as a passcode. It slowly started to creak open, inch by inch.

Being much larger than them, Gordon was the last one still waiting for the door to finish opening on the other side, and he was not a man of patience. Using only his right arm, he forced the door all the way open himself, amazing the guards in the process.

Behind the wall, they could see the full extent of the situation. The “guards” looked like young teenagers that had just been plucked from their homes the day before. Given the current situation, it probably wasn’t far off from the truth.

Once they were inside, the Delibird seemed to calm down, but he still maintained a very serious tone.

“Now, I’m trusting you with this. People will obviously look at him like he’s a threat, so I need you two to escort him around until people get used to him,” the Delibird explained, “My name is Roger, and if you need anything, please come see me at my office… over there.” He pointed to a distant building perched on top of a hill, in what was clearly a better condition than most others. “As I mentioned, you are going to need to help us defend if you want to stay here, so follow me.” Max was confused at first, but figured that it was probably something that he and Ben talked about while he stood in the field. The town was clearly in tatters, with several buildings burned to the ground. Piles of rubble were being used by teams all around to continue building the wall that they had seen outside. Everyone there seemed to have an exhausted expression, but they still trudged along the wall, shouting and moving about all the same.

Through the gaps left by the burned buildings, Max could see the other side of the entire encampment. There was no wall, just a giant flat stretch of land, filled with rows upon rows of plants. Corn, beans, carrots, and just about anything that could grow was there. However, they were also mangled, twisted, and distorted. Stalks of corn bent over like archways, carrots grew up and out of the ground like giants, and the far ends of the farm looked like they were coated with a purple ooze all the way through.

“Yes sir!” Max awkwardly saluted him.

“Good. Now-” they stopped mid-sentence, staring at the Leafeon’s tail in Gordon’s hand. “Is that… No… You were just in the foliage, there’s no need to pick up every leaf you see!” Roger laughed. Awkwardly, Ben and Max laughed along. “Well, that does bring up a good point. Everyone here is very paranoid, so please be patient.” Roger left, and it took a moment for the group to realize that it was the cue for them to follow.

When Ben looked at the tail that Gordon was holding, he noticed that Gordon was strategically using his hand to cover any blood stains on it.

“All we need for you to do today is to take bricks from this pile- and build that wall.” Roger stood over a heap of bricks, pointing to an empty area in the wall between two already completed sections of clay. “The boys already here will guide you. Got it?”

“Yes sir!” Max saluted him again, more confidently this time.

Immediately after Roger left, they dropped their stun sticks, donned their sunhats, and got to work.

Ben picked up a brick, Max picked up two, and Gordon… picked up nineteen.

He didn’t even break a sweat sprinting back and forth between the wall and the pile, stacking them all up at lightning speed. The brothers could never hope to keep up, being outpaced on all fronts. The people already there stared at him in shock and awe, but only for a couple dozen minutes before returning to work.

The afternoon passed, and the gap was successfully filled in with bricks, mostly thanks to Gordon’s work.

That’s when a Bisharp appeared.

“Woah! Do you really think that that pile of bricks is gonna stand on its own? You need to reinforce it before you can leave!”

With a sigh and a groan, all three begrudgingly watched the Bisharp demonstrate how to apply mud to the outside without toppling over the wall.

Suddenly, Gordon was no longer as helpful. He failed in the application, vastly outpaced by absolutely everyone else there. Without him being able to carry the team, it took much longer than before.

The late sky fell to the edge of the horizon as they finished, allowing them to finally admire their work.

“Now comes my favorite part!” the Bisharp proclaimed, “EY! JOHNNY!”

A lone Charmander emerged from the closest building and approached the wall. With a huff and a puff, they spewed fire all across the wall, instantly hardening the clay. As the flames licked the already-dry clay, cracks began to form, indicating that it was time for him to stop.

Everyone calmly waited for him to finish, except Gordon. Gordon was clearly spooked, as he hadn’t grown accustomed to Pokemon yet.

With the wall done, the Delibird came back out to see it. He examined the wall closely before even beginning to address them.

“You did well here. I’m sure you’re all hungry, so follow me if you want to eat.” Roger gave them a thumbs up before walking towards the center of the town. Picking up their things, they all followed.

They came into a large crowded mess hall, filled with rows upon rows of tables ready to seat them. At the front of it all sat an enormous pot manned by several Pokemon.

“Where do we go now?” Ben asked.

“You were out quite a bit later than everyone else, so you can just go up and get the food without waiting. It’s a stew, in case you couldn’t already guess.” Roger joked, taking off his helmet as he walked away.

The bowls they got were clearly from the last of the massive pot. The concentrations of the ingredients were all off. Despite it being literally bottom-of-the-barrel, the lack of food beforehand did make it rather appetizing. Max had two bowls. Ben ate two as well. Gordon had—well—I’m not even sure if they can count that high.

They sat down next to a lone Sudowoodo, slowly picking at their bowl. They looked up at the group, before resuming to pick at their stew, but it was only a moment later that they were staring at Gordon again. Seemingly, they did not care, instead opting to just go back to their stew.

“…Are you not surprised?” Ben chimed in, only hearing himself a moment later harassing a random person for not having the reaction he expected.

“Man, I’ve got a lot going on right now. Half of my crops have turned mangled and disgusting over the past few days, and it’s dawning on me just how many Pokemon this new crisis will kill.” The Sudowoodo lamented. “The majority of the deaths aren’t gonna be people bravely fighting the invaders, are they?”

Feeling bad, Ben made an offer, to no surprise from Max.

“Ma’am, we’re farmers. We can save your crops.”

---

AN: Bet you thought this was just an April Fools fic, fool. Well, June Fools, fool, because the hiatus is over. We’re back in business, baby!