Chapter 1: Festive First Meetings

DAWN OF THE FIRST DAY

-72 HOURS REMAIN-

---

The light from the morning sun had only just begun to creep in through the window when Dan started to wake up. Years of rigorous farmwork, of rising at the crack of dawn every morning, had honed the Mareep’s internal clock, and even on days when there was no urgent work to do, he still rarely tended to sleep in much.

Slowly, he righted himself in his simple straw bed, letting out a faint yawn as he took a look around the room. For just a moment, he was caught off guard by the lack of his room’s familiar surroundings. But very quickly, he remembered where he was. The plain, second-floor room they’d reserved at the Stock Pot Inn wasn’t quite as homely as his room back at the ranch. But it was functional, and pretty cozy for how cheap the room had been, he supposed.

A soft rustling and a yawn sounded from behind him. He shifted around, finding his older sister just starting to wake up too. The Flaaffy stretched for a moment before slowly cracking open her eyes, a warm grin on her face as she turned to look at Dan. “Morning, Dan. Kinda funny seeing you up before me for once.”

Dan blushed a little. “Morning, Willow.”

For a few minutes, a cozy silence settled over the siblings, neither of them feeling the need to say anything. Eventually, though, Dan spoke up again. “We still have one more load of crops to bring out here to Clock Town, right?”

Willow nodded. “Yep. Me an’ Epona should be able to handle it just fine, though. You can stay here and relax in town for a while, in the meantime. Maybe get a headstart on checkin’ out everything they’re settin’ up fer the festival.”

Dan frowned a bit. He thought about offering to go with them instead, but he supposed he couldn’t argue with Willow that she and Epona had it under control already.

“We’ll probably try and set out after breakfast,” Willow continued, “an’ with any luck we should hopefully be back sometime this afternoon.”

Dan’s stomach let out a faint rumble at the mention of breakfast, causing him to blush a little.

Willow chuckled. “Speakin’ of which… I guess we might as well get going, huh?” The siblings slowly got to their feet, taking a brief moment to stretch before starting towards the door. “Epona’s probably up by now too, so we can go get her an’ then see about findin’ somewhere to eat.”

Dan was the first to step out into the hallway, as Willow got the door. Almost as soon as the Mareep walked out, though, he felt something bump into his side, almost knocking him over.

“Whoa!” a feminine sounding voice called out, followed quickly by a thump as the unfortunate mon fell backwards onto the floor.

Once Dan recovered his own balance, he quickly turned to look, finding a Snowshrew lying on her back on the floor next to him. “O-Oh, uh… sorry, miss,” Dan apologized. He reached out a hoof to help the Snowshrew up.

“N-No, it’s fine,” the ice-type said as she got back to her feet. “I should have been paying more attention.” She let out a yawn, a sheepish grin settling on her face. “I don’t usually get up this early back home, hehe…”

“Alright. Long as you’re alright, I guess.”

The Snowshrew made to pick up a small broom she’d dropped on the floor nearby. But after a moment, a jolt of recognition seemed to flash across her face, and she hastily turned back to smile warmly at the siblings. “Say, I recognize you both from last night!”

Dan cocked his head a little. He certainly didn’t recall meeting a Snowshrew before.

Willow, however, nodded slightly after a moment. “Yeah, I guess I remember seein’ you down in the lobby, talking to Anju.” Her gaze drifted over to the broom. “Didn’t realize you actually worked here, though. Didn’t know Anju had hired more help lately.”

The Snowshrew shook her head. “Not exactly. This is actually just a temporary thing. Anju said she was really short-pawed around here at the moment, so I’m helping her out in exchange for the chance to stay here until the festival’s over.”

A slight frown curled Willow’s lips downward. “…Yeah, I reckon Anju could use the help right now, considering.” She shook it off after a moment, turning to offer the Snowshrew a paw. “Well, anyhow… I guess since we never got properly introduced, mah name’s Willow.”

“I’m Runia!” the Snowshrew happily chirped as she reached forward to shake Willow’s paw. “Or Runey for short, if you like!” She turned her gaze over to Dan. “And your name is?”

“U-Uh… Ah’m Dan, I guess…” the Mareep muttered hesitantly, caught a little off-guard by the girl’s sheer energy. “Willow’s brother.”

Runia cocked her head. “Huh. For some reason, I would have expected a more… plant-ey name, to match with Willow. Like… I don’t know, Oak or Birch or something.”

Dan felt a light blush start to spread across his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but his sister beat him to it. “It’s short fer Dandelion,” Willow said with a light-hearted smirk. “He just don’t like using the full thing. Finds it embarrassing fer some reason.”

The Snowshrew tried to hide a giggle behind a paw, but it didn’t really work. “Well, I like the name! Plus, I mean, your wool’s all cute and floofy like a dandelion, so it fits!” She reached out a paw to feel Dan’s wool for emphasis, only to recoil a bit from the static charge in it. “Ow!”

Feeling his blush intensify a bit, Dandelion quickly tried to change the subject. “H-Hey, uh… Shouldn’t you be going by now? You said yer supposed to be helping Anju out.”

Runia slowly blinked once, twice… and then jolted in realization. “Darn it, you’re right! Oh, I need to stop getting distracted like this!” After finally picking up her dropped broom, she hastily made her way over to the stairs, turning back briefly to give the siblings a sheepish grin. “I’ve gotta go report back to Anju now. But it was really nice meeting you both!”

“Same to you, Runia,” Willow said cordially. She gave Dan a side-glance, a lightly teasing glint in her eyes. “Right, brother?”

“Er… yeah,” Dan said after a moment. “Was nice to meet ya, Runia.”

A pleased smile lit up Runia’s face at that. She gave the pair a quick but friendly wave goodbye, before disappearing down the stairway, the rapid thumping of her footsteps quickly fading into silence.

Willow chuckled softly to herself and shook her head. “Well… she’s quite a character, have to give ‘er that.”

Dan gave a slow nod. Frankly, he couldn’t remember the last pokemon in general he’d met who was quite that… peppy. He could tell she was just trying to be friendly, but still. She seemed… a little hard to keep up with.

Shrugging off that odd little encounter, the siblings continued on their way.

---

Even this early in the morning, the hustle and bustle of West Clock Town was as busy as ever. Several pokemon filled the lively street as they rushed off towards one place or another.

Atop one particular building, a lone Swablu had been jarred out of her sleep a little earlier than she was used to thanks to the noise of the streets below. Medli groggily tried to block some of it out by burying her head in the fluff on her wings. But the noise only got louder and more insistent as minutes passed by.

Eventually, she gave up, letting out a soft yawn and slowly getting to her feet. After taking a few moments to blink the sleep out of her eyes, she carefully made her way over to the edge of the roof she’d roosted on, peeking down at the pokemon below.

She supposed she shouldn’t complain. She’d wanted to get up and look for help at the dojo as early as possible, after all. The pokemon back home were counting on her to bring back help. Even if this wasn’t the most ideal wake up call, at least this way she didn’t oversleep.

After shaking off the rest of the groggy haze in her head, she took to the air and gently glided down from the dojo’s roof to make her way inside.

Only a few pokemon seemed to be inside at the moment, likely due to how early in the morning it was. But the pokemon that were there definitely seemed to be giving it their all. In the center of the room, an Azumarill and an Absol vigorously sparred with each other, each blow they traded causing Medli to wince a little. Beyond those two, she could also see a Hitmonchan wailing on a punching bag with a rapid flurry of punches, and a Scyther slicing effortlessly through blocks of wood with the blades on his arms.

“Oh ho, a new visitor?”

Medli nearly let out a startled squawk as a deep voice spoke up from somewhere nearby Just barely managing to keep enough composure to avoid a repeat of the moment from last night, she turned to face the voice. An old, wizened looking Lucario sat near the corner of the room, staring silently at her. Despite the fighting-type’s graying fur and slightly clouded eyes, he still seemed to give off an oddly vibrant sort of energy.

“Quite a bit smaller than most ‘mons we see here,” he said, eyeing her appraisingly. “And a flier no less. An uncommon sight for our little dojo, indeed.” He gave her a small nod. “But not to worry. Any pokemon can be a powerful fighter, with enough dedication and training.”

Medli shook her head slightly, clearing her throat and trying to regain her composure a bit. “A-Actually, sir, I came here to ask for some help…”

The Lucario cocked his head, curious. “Help?”

“Y-Yes. You see, Great Bay has been plagued by a vicious band of p-pirates, as of late. The pokemon back home have tried their best to fight them off, but e-even our best fighters just haven’t been a match for them.”

“Ah. Say no more,” Lucario said. He slowly got to his feet, then gestured for Medli to follow as he started towards the other pokemon that were training around the dojo. “Come with me. We shall find you some fighters for your cause.” Medli quickly took to the air again, hope in her heart as she followed after the Lucario.

At first, it seemed to go well enough. A couple of the pokemon training here seemed reasonably willing to help fight off the pirates, especially once Medli clarified that the residents of Great Bay would reward them for their help.

But just like the Gallade had warned her yesterday, not a single one of the pokemon Medli talked to were ready to drop everything and head to Great Bay now, only days before the Festival of Time. Even as more pokemon slowly trickled into the dojo, everyone’s answer remained largely the same.

By the end, Medli felt completely defeated, her wings drooping listlessly onto the floor as she let out a sigh. “O-Oh, what do I do now… If nobody here’s willing to lend a wing now… t-then there’s almost no point asking around the rest of Clock Town, is there?”

“It is certainly unfortunate,” the Lucario said, stroking his chin with a paw as he thought about what to suggest. “Are you certain that help will be needed before the festival is over?”

“W-Well… i-it might not,” Medli admitted. “T-The pirates don’t necessarily attack every day, or anything. B-But I’d really hoped to bring help back sooner than that. If it’s going to take that long… it f-feels like I’m not actually helping at all…”

After a moment, the Lucario gently rested a paw on one of the Swablu’s wings. “If I may make a suggestion?”

“Y-Yes?”

“If you are concerned about whether or not you will be able to help the pokemon back home… then why not spend this extra time training?”

Medli jolted a bit at that. “W-What!? M-Me!?” She vigorously shook her head. “O-Oh no, I’ve n-never been any good at fighting. I-I probably wouldn’t last five seconds against anyone here, m-much less the pirates!”

“No pokemon is born a seasoned warrior,” the Lucario replied with a grin. “As I said earlier, it simply takes dedication and training for any pokemon to become strong.”

“E-Exactly.” Medli shuddered, enveloping herself tightly with her wings. “It’d take… way, w-way more than three days worth of training to make me into a fighter, even if I went along with it.”

The Lucario nodded. “True. You certainly won’t be fighting off the pirates all on your own by then. But can you truly say for certain that you wouldn’t be of any help? Even just a few well-timed support moves can make all the difference, sometimes.”

Medli opened her beak to protest, only to slowly close it a moment later. She… she did happen to know a couple moves like that, she supposed. Safeguard… Feather Dance… She wasn’t very good with them, considering how little she practiced, but they weren’t all that hard to perform, from what she remembered. Though, she doubted those would be enough to accomplish much…

“Even if you aren’t comfortable helping against the pirates,” Lucario continued, “…you never know what the future may hold. Trouble has a habit of rearing its ugly head when we least expect it. Perhaps next time, you won’t have time to send for help from Clock Town. Perhaps the deciding factor in fighting off the next threat could be… you.” He punctuated that thought by gently pointing a paw at Medli, a lopsided smile on his face as he stared down at her.

“E-Eep…” The fate of all of Great Bay, resting on her? The idea alone sent a shiver down Medli’s spine. “I-I think… I r-really hope that’s never necessary.”

Lucario let out a hearty laugh. “We all hope that. That kind of pressure can be nearly impossible to face for even the strongest of pokemon. But alas, sometimes the world is not quite so kind.” He turned to gesture out at the pokemon still busily training. “That is why it can be so crucial to train. To ensure we are each ready to defend ourselves and those we care about, should the need ever arise.” He turned back towards Medli again, that calm and gentle smile still on his face. “If you really do not wish to train, I will not press the issue. But if you are willing to lend me your time and energy… I could help you grow just a little more prepared. What do you say?”

Medli hesitated. She still struggled to imagine herself ever being able to do much in a fight. But somehow, the old mon’s words were surprisingly inspiring. And, if nobody else was willing to help just yet… she supposed this was perhaps the only thing she could do to potentially help out Great Bay at the moment…

“…A-Alright,” she hesitantly said, her voice coming out as little more than a whisper. “I-I guess… I can try.”

The Lucario gave her a gentle nod. “Very well, then. Follow me.”

---

Kafei eyed the bustling crowds cautiously as he slunk his way through West Clock Town. Mostly out of a desire not to draw too much attention, if he could help it… and also partly just out of distrust. He had just been robbed barely a week ago, after all. Even though he knew that most of the pokemon around here were likely perfectly honest and trustworthy, he also knew full well that a number of shadier sorts liked to frequent this area too.

Especially considering where he was headed, at the moment.

His destination was an unassuming little storefront, nestled snugly between a general store and a bakery. A crude claw-carved sign above the entrance declared the place as the ‘Curiosity Shop’. After casting one more wary glance at his surroundings, Kafei pushed open the door and quietly ducked inside the shop.

Small candles burning with ghostly purple flame sat prominently up on the front counter, their ominous glow the only dim source of light inside the shop. Countless boxes filled with unknown items sat strewn about the lobby, giving the entire shop a very cluttered and unkempt feel. Kafei glanced around with careful steps as he made his way up to the counter. He couldn’t see the shop owner around at the moment, but he knew he had to be around here somewhere…

“Hello,” a low voice suddenly spoke up from just behind Kafei. Even though he’d been expecting it, the Eevee couldn’t help but jump a bit. “And welcome to the Curiosity Shop. How may I help you?”

Kafei shook his head, a low growl rumbling in his throat as he tried to regain his composure. “Cut it out, Shades. I know all your tricks already.”

“Hmhm… You’re no fun, you know that, Kafei?” A Sableye slowly flickered into visibility just behind Kafei, an impish grin on his face. “But alright. I suppose we can skip straight to business.” With a couple of agile leaps, the ghost-type hopped across the mountain of clutter that filled the room, eventually landing just behind the counter. “What are you in the market for this time? Still trying to find a water stone for your girlfriend, I take it?”

The Eevee grimaced. “Actually, I already found one. Took a lot of searching and haggling, but I eventually managed to make a deal.” His tail irritably smacked against some of the nearby clutter. “And then, just a couple days later, some lowlife Weavile thief just up and swiped it from me.”

Shades’ grin faltered a bit. “Hm. I’m sorry to hear that.”

Kafei glanced pointedly around at all of the boxes scattered around the room. “I don’t suppose the punk happened to come by and sell it to you, did he?”

A mischievous spark lit up Shades’ gemstone eyes. “Now now, Kafei. I’ll have you know this is a completely legitimate establishment. Surely you don’t think I would traffic in stolen merchandise, do you?”

The Eevee’s deadpan glare said it all.

Letting out a faint chuckle, Shades continued, “That being said… no. None of my, ahem… suppliers… have brought me a water stone since the last time you asked, I’m afraid. Unless you think Anju would settle for something else, I’m sorry to say I can’t help much.”

Kafei’s ears drooped a bit at that, but he nodded in acceptance. “Alright. Figured it was worth a shot, checking in with you. But I guess maybe the thief just knows better than to try and resell the thing so close to where he stole it.” He started trotting back towards the door, his tail flicking the air in annoyance.

Just before he left, he turned back to glance at Shades one more time. “If the guy does show up here in the next couple days, though… let me know, alright?”

Shades gave an impish laugh. “Of course. Perhaps if he lets slip too much about where his hideout happens to be, I could even pass that on to you. Let you give him a piece of your mind personally.”

“Thanks, Shades,” Kafei replied, a tiny hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

“Anything for a pal,” the Sableye called back, just before disappearing into the clutter of the lobby once more.

Stepping back out into the warm noontime sunshine, Kafei let out a quiet sigh. He leaned against the Curiosity Shop’s front wall and took a moment to stop and think. The trip hadn’t been a complete waste of time, he supposed, but he still didn’t have any idea what he was supposed to do now. If Shades hadn’t heard anything by now… then he was probably just out of luck. Realistically, a new lead wasn’t just going to pop up out of thin air. Much less within the couple days he had left.

If he wasn’t going to be able to make good on his promise… he supposed the least he could do was try and find something else to give Anju as an apology. The only question was what. He didn’t want to just pick up some random bauble from one of the merchants in town. Anju deserved better than that. It needed to be something perfect…

“Hey! Are you Kafei!?”

The Eevee jumped a bit at the sound of someone calling his name. “Uh!?” He turned towards the source of the voice, finding a young Buisel staring back at him.

“I was right! It is you!” the child continued. “I heard people were looking all over for you. Where’ve you been, the last few days?”

Kafei cocked his head slightly. He vaguely recognized the Buisel, having seen him and his friends playing around town a few times, but… “Who are you? And why the personal questions, kid?”

The Buisel stood up a bit taller, striking what he probably thought was a cool, heroic pose. “I am Jet! Leader of the Bombers’ Secret Society of Justice! And we make it our mission to help all those in need around Clock Town.”

“…First of all,” Kafei started with a frown, “you should really change the name. Besides the fact that it’s a mouthful, calling yourselves the ‘Bombers’ probably isn’t the smartest idea. If there was a misunderstanding at some point, you kids could end up in real trouble with the town guards. And secondly-”

“H-Hey!” Jet shot back. “Don’t diss the Bombers! Our name is cool, we spent a whole afternoon coming up with it! And don’t ignore my question!”

Kafei groaned in annoyance, debating whether or not to even humor the kid. Deciding that Jet probably wouldn’t leave him alone until he did, Kafei eventually answered, “I’ve been… busy the last several days. A very important item got stolen from me, and I wanted to try and get it back.”

Jet didn’t seem very convinced. “Still should’a told somebody first. You’ve got multiple pokemon worried sick about what could’ve happened to you, ya know. Like your parents, or Miss Anju over at the inn.”

Kafei couldn’t help but wince at that. His ears drooped, and he let out a sigh. “…I know. I’m going to go talk to them and apologize… soon. I just… need some time to work out what to say. And I need to find something to give Anju to make up for this.”

The Buisel kept glaring at him for a few moments longer. But eventually, Jet gave a confident grin. “You need an apology gift, huh? What if I told you I might happen to know of just the thing?”

“…I’m listening,” Kafei said hesitantly. He couldn’t really say he trusted this kid’s judgment much on this. Especially given his apparent taste in team names. But it wasn’t as if Kafei had any better leads at the moment.

Jet set down a small satchel he’d been carrying over his shoulder. After rummaging around in it for a moment, he pulled out a small, tear-shaped blue gem, about the size of Kafei’s paw. “Pretty nice, huh?” the Buisel said, holding it up for Kafei to see. “It’s called a Moon’s Tear, apparently.”

Kafei had to admit, the gem did look rather pretty. And the deep blue color… obviously it wouldn’t be able to replace the water stone he’d promised Anju, but it definitely seemed like something she’d love.

He reached out a paw towards the gem… only for Jet to quickly pull it back, stowing it away in the bag again. “Hey! I didn’t say I was just gonna give it to ya for free, did I?” Jet smirked. “To make up for trashing the Bombers earlier… you’re gonna have to play a game with us first. Then I’ll tell ya where you can get one of these for yourself.”

Of course there would be a silly catch like that. Kafei suppressed the urge to groan. “…Alright. What kind of game do you have in mind?”

Jet turned his gaze off towards the north part of town. “Follow me. I gotta get the whole gang together real quick. I’ll explain on the way.”

---

Early into the afternoon, Dan found himself slowly walking around Clock Town’s main square, looking around at the many stalls that had been hastily set up in preparation for the upcoming Festival of Time. He could see merchants selling all kinds of things; accessories, flowers, several varieties of snacks, and even one pokemon selling celebratory fireworks.

In truth, the Mareep felt a little bit aimless at the moment, mostly just wandering a bit in hopes of finding something interesting. Willow and Epona had already left for the ranch a while ago, leaving him alone here in town for now. Once they eventually got back, they could make more solid plans for the next couple days together. But for now, he just had to pass the time alone, he supposed.

After a while, he happened upon a somewhat familiar face. A Snowshrew, to be exact. She seemed to currently be busy browsing an accessory stall, checking out a couple of somewhat cheap looking necklaces that were on sale.

“Runia?” Dan called out.

The Snowshrew fumbled a bit with the item she was holding, just managing to catch it and set it back down before turning to look at Dan. “Oh! Heya, Dandelion! I wasn’t expecting to bump into you again here!” She glanced around from side to side for a moment before adding, “Where’s your sister?”

“She, uh… had to go back to our ranch fer an errand. She’ll be back later.” Dan cocked his head slightly. “What’re you doin’ out here, though? Didn’t you say you’re workin’ for Anju for now?”

Runia nodded. “Mhm! But she gave me a bit of a break, since I got most of the cleaning dealt with for now.” She looked up at the clock tower. “I’ve gotta be back in about a half-hour, but I wanted to take the chance to poke around and see some of the town, in the meantime.”

She paused, a peppy grin overtaking her face as she turned back to Dan again. “Say… since we’re both doing the same thing here anyway… why not check out all of this stuff here together?”

Dan hesitated. His first instinct, honestly, was to say ‘no’. But Runia’s cheerful and enthusiastic smile was managing to wear down his resolve. It’s not like he had anyone else to spend this time with, he supposed.

Eventually he let out a sigh. “A’right. I guess if you want, I could-”

“Yes!” the Snowshrew cheered, pumping one arm in the air excitedly. “C’mon, let’s go!”

“Uh, wait-”

Dan didn’t even have time to finish that thought before Runia rushed off, almost literally dragging him along by a hoof. Dan barely managed to keep up, stumbling along as Runia eagerly started looking around the plaza.

Thankfully, it didn’t take very long for Runia to find something that caught her eye. She slowed to a stop in front of a stall selling berry-flavored snowcones.

The Snowshrew cocked her head a little as she looked at the frosty confections, an odd fascination in her eyes. “Huh. Flavored snow…? Weird.”

“There’s… a little more to it than that, I think…” Dan muttered, still catching his breath a little.

“Still, though! It definitely doesn’t seem like something the pokemon back home would ever bother with.” Runia let out a soft giggle. “But I guess it’d be a fun novelty to the folks down here, huh?” She glanced over at Dan. “You want one, Dandelion?”

Dan was still distracted enough by all the ambient noise around them that he almost didn’t notice Runia using his full name again. Almost. Blushing slightly, he shook his head. “N-Nah, ah’m good. Besides…” He lifted a hoof in the air for a moment. “…Ah wouldn’t be able to hold it, anyway.”

“O-Oh!” Realization flashed across Runia’s face. “R-Right. Sorry, didn’t think about that.” After a moment of deliberation, she turned back to the stall owner. “Just one, then. Pecha flavor, please.”

With her icy treat in paw, Runia started wandering the plaza again. Though she had finally slowed down a bit, thankfully for Dan, allowing the Mareep to comfortably trot along next to her as they looked for something else to check out.

“So,” Runia spoke up after a while, “where are you and your sister from? You mentioned something about a ranch earlier?”

“Yeah,” Dan nodded. “We live down on Romani Ranch, a ways south-west o’ town. Our family’s been growin’ crops down there since before Willow or I were even born.”

“Neat!” Runia chirped. “It must be nice living on a ranch, being able to grow all the fruits and berries you could ever want right where you live. Up in the mountains, it’s usually too cold for most plants to really grow, so we kinda just have to make do with what few things actually thrive up there.”

Dan cocked his head a little. He’d lived his whole life on Romani Ranch, so he’d never really known any other life than that. He supposed he kinda just took it for granted, a little. “It’s a lot of hard work, maintaining all the crops. But it’s a good life, yeah.” He glanced curiously over at the Snowshrew. “So ya live up on Snowhead then, Runia?”

Runia nodded. “Yep! It’s a bit boring up there, to be honest. But the pokemon are all great, and it’s not otherwise a bad place to live. Most of the time, anyway.”

Her cheerful grin seemed to falter just a little at those last few words. But only a moment later, she shook it off, going back to her snowcone as if nothing had happened. The whole thing caught Dan a little off-guard, but he opted not to pry.

As the pair continued walking, Runia kept glancing out at all the various merchants around. “You know,” she spoke up after a while, “if you see something you’re interested in, feel free to point it out! I didn’t mean to hog all the fun or anything, you know, Dandelion?”

Again with that. “J-Just Dan, please,” the Mareep said sheepishly,

“Aww! But Dandelion’s so much cuter!” Runia shot back. She briefly reached out her free paw towards his wool, before catching herself, pulling her paw back so as to not accidentally get zapped again.

“Exactly. It’s a cute, flimsy little flower. And a weed, at that!” The Mareep shook his head. “And ‘sides, Dan rolls off the tongue better, anyhow.”

“Alright. If you insist, Dan,” Runia said with a shrug. “But!” She leaned in closer, her face stopping just short of bumping into Dan’s. “If we’re shortening our names, then you have to call me Runey. Deal?”

The Mareep hastily backed up a couple of steps, a faint blush creeping up on his face after how close she had gotten. But after a moment, he shook his embarrassment off, giving a relenting nod. “A’right. Fair’s fair, ah guess… uh, Runey.”

Runia let out an amused giggle at his reaction. For just a moment, she looked like she was on the verge of saying something more. But after a bit of deliberation, she seemed to think better of it, shaking her head lightly and returning her focus to her snowcone again.

The duo continued to wander the square for a little while after that, both of them looking out for any more interesting merchants. Eventually, Runia perked up again, pointing excitedly off towards one side. “Oh! That stall looks interesting, doesn’t it?”

Dan turned to look. A short ways away, a Raichu had set up a small shop where he seemed to be selling various masks. Truth be told, it probably wasn’t the sort of thing that Dan would have bothered with, normally. But Runia had already started walking off in that direction on her own. The Mareep shrugged, following along behind her.

“Ah! Welcome, friends,” the Raichu greeted, an almost unnervingly wide grin on his face. “Please, take a look at my wide selection of masks. I assure you, each and every one is made with the utmost craftsmonship and materials. You will not find higher quality anywhere else in Termina.”

Taking a moment to look over the masks on display, Dan had to admit they looked well-made. Not a scratch or imperfection to be found. And for what they were, the masks did manage to look relatively lifelike, all things considered.

Runia picked up a Dusclops mask off the display, holding it up over her face as she turned to look at Dan. “OOoooh! My one eye grants me the power to look directly into your sooooul! Feeear me!”

Dan couldn’t help but let out a snicker. “Oh no. Ah’m very frightened,” he said in the most deadpan tone he could muster.

The Snowshrew pouted a bit as she lowered the mask, sticking her tongue out at Dan playfully before setting the mask back where it had been. She turned back to the Raichu. “These are all really neat. Do you have any cute ones?”

“Hmm…” The Raichu raised a paw to his chin for a moment. “I’ve got a few things that should fit that bill, yes. Give me just a moment.” He began digging around in a large backpack that was sitting off to the side.

A few seconds later, he seemed to have found what he was looking for, pulling it out and showing it to the pair. This one wasn’t actually a mask, but instead a hood with a pair of imitation Buneary ears attached to the top. The ears lazily flopped about as the Raichu lowered it down for Runia to take a closer look. “Well? What do you think?”

Runia’s starry-eyed, giddy smile said more than words ever could. She eagerly took the Buneary hood into her paws, letting out a squee as she felt the fluff on the ears. “It’s so fluffy and soft!” After quickly putting the hood on, Runia glanced over at the mask salesmon again. “I don’t suppose it has any special effects, right? Like letting you run super fast or jump really high?”

The Raichu chuckled, grinning widely as he shook his head. “I am afraid not. As high quality as my wares are, I have not managed to create anything quite that potent just yet.” He held out an open paw. “Now, if you would like to purchase that hood, that will be two thousand poké, please.”

Both Dan and Runia’s eyes widened at that. “Two thousand!?” Dan exclaimed. “Just fer a silly little hood?”

“As I said, my products are the finest in all of Termina,” the Raichu said, his paw still outstretched.

Runia slowly pulled out her coin pouch, the hood’s ears seeming to droop sadly as she stared down at it. “…I don’t have nearly that much with me… I don’t suppose you’d be willing to offer a discount, just this once?”

The Raichu’s grin faded. “…No.” For just a moment, a flash of anger seemed to glint in the Raichu’s eyes, though it passed so quickly that Dan thought he might have only imagined it. “It is a shame, but if you do not have the poké, I will have to ask you to return that.”

With a sad nod, Runia complied, taking off the hood and handing it back to the Raichu.

“I am afraid my assortment of masks are all priced similarly to that,” the Raichu continued. “But you are still free to browse, if you wish.”

Runia exchanged a brief look with Dan, before shaking her head. “I think we’ll probably be going, for now.”

The Raichu shrugged. “Very well. Another time, perhaps.”

As the pair left the mask merchant behind, Runia let out a soft sigh. “Would have been kinda nice to be able to buy that hood… but oh well.” She shook her head slightly, perking back up pretty quickly after that minor disappointment. Though her expression soured just a bit again as she glanced up at the clock tower and noticed the time. “Darn. My break’s just about over, too. I’ve gotta start heading back to the inn.”

Dan blinked slowly, looking up to confirm the time himself. “Huh. Ah didn’t realize we’d actually been out here all that long.”

“Time flies when you’re having fun, as they say,” Runia giggled.

The Mareep nodded. He had to admit, while her sheer energy still felt a little overwhelming at times, she was actually pretty nice company otherwise. At least, once she’d slowed down a little.

“Say,” Runia continued, “when I have my break like this tomorrow… would you like to hang out like this again? Unless you’ve already got plans?”

Dan hesitated slightly. “Willow will be back by then, so ah don’t know fer sure. But… it should be fine, yeah.”

“Sweet!” Runia cheered, a bright smile on her face. “Maybe the three of us can check out more of this stuff together! I know there’s a bunch around here that we still haven’t gotten to yet.”

The pair continued to chat a bit as they made their way back. Runia carried most of the conversation, unsurprisingly, but Dan still got a few words in here and there.

Once they arrived at the inn, the two went their separate ways. Runia headed back inside to continue helping Anju, while Dan decided to keep looking around town for just a little while longer on his own.

---

Medli genuinely couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this thoroughly sore. Her wings hurt, her talons hurt… even her beak still stung a bit from one of the hits she’d taken.

The training had started off pretty simple. Initially, the Lucario just told her to practice her supportive moves, to make sure she could actually perform them consistently. It took a couple tries to shake off the rust, since she rarely ever tried using her moves, but pretty soon she was able to get them to work reliably enough.

Then, he had her try out some actual attacks against some Substitute dolls. That had gone… less well. Her attempt at a Wing Attack had done approximately nothing to the dummy, either due to the fluff on her wings or just her own lack of strength. The best she’d been able to manage was a stiff, awkward Peck, but even that took several hits just to finally break the Substitute doll. The Lucario assured her that she’d done perfectly fine, and that everymon’s attacks start out weak like that without practice, but his words didn’t make the whole thing any less embarrassing.

And after that… the Lucario had wanted her to try a sparring match. Just a ‘simple, friendly practice battle’, he assured. The Hitmonchan that volunteered for the match promised to hold back, and he even gave her a few free chances to land a hit without even trying to dodge. But even as she put all of her effort into her attacks, it didn’t seem to hurt the Hitmonchan all that much. And when he did start hitting back, it only took a couple of punches to knock her cleanly out of the air.

Both the dojo master and the Hitmonchan still praised her after the fight, though. Supposedly, her technique had improved at least a little, between the Substitute practice and the sparring match. She wasn’t sure if they were being sincere or just trying to make her feel better. Though… she supposed the fact that she’d been able to do any damage to the Hitmonchan at all was maybe a little bit promising, even if the type-matchup had been on her side.

Still, she’d had more than enough of trying to train there for now. Perhaps she could consider going back tomorrow, if she felt up to it by then… but for the time being, she felt tired, sore, and utterly defeated. The only thing she wanted to do right now was find a quiet part of town to rest in for a while.

She ended up wandering up to the north end of Clock Town, where she happened upon a peaceful little park. The area appeared to be a bit of a playground for children. There was a slide, a see-saw, and even a few simple wooden swings hanging from a pair of sturdy oak trees nearby. There didn’t seem to be any children around at the moment, so the park was perfectly calm and quiet for now. Just what Medli had been hoping to find.

The Swablu flew up to perch on a branch partway up one of the trees, closing her eyes and just breathing in the smell of nature for a moment. It was still a lot different from the salty ocean air of back home, but right now, she would take what she could get.

It was so relaxing, and she was so tired after what she’d gone through at the dojo, that she actually started to doze off after a while. Maybe… just a short nap, she supposed…

A couple of hours passed as Medli quietly slept up there in the tree, the morning slowly giving way to early afternoon as the sun climbed ever higher into the sky.

Eventually, she was startled awake again as a youthful voice suddenly yelled out something. A cacophony of laughter and footsteps followed right after, the noise quickly heading off in all different directions before slowly fading out.

By the time she’d regained her wits and shaken the drowsiness off, whatever children she’d heard seemed to have already run off.

“…Ten. Eleven. Twelve…”

A deeper, quieter voice from down by the base of the tree told Medli that somebody must have lingered here, though. Moving around a bit on her treetop perch to get a better view, Medli managed to spot an Eevee, sitting on the grass and facing right at the tree. He looked to be a young adult, clearly older than the children that seemed to have been around a moment ago. A slightly annoyed looking frown was fixed on his face, as one of his paws slowly tapped against the trunk in steady rhythm with his counting. “…Nineteen. Twenty. Twenty one…”

When his count finally reached thirty, the Eevee abruptly stood up. “Alright. Here I come,” he called out, looking around at the rest of the park.

He started slowly roaming around, checking behind objects and inside bushes as he tried to search for the scattered children. But all the while, the Eevee’s face was oddly stern and serious for what was clearly just a game of hide and seek. Medli couldn’t help but let out a soft giggle, amused by the sheer dissonance of it.

Alas, she had apparently been a little too loud, as the Eevee quickly perked up an ear at the noise. After a couple seconds of glancing around, he managed to spot her up on her little branch. He stared dryly at her for a long moment, before shaking his head and returning to his task without a word.

It made Medli feel a little bit bad, truthfully. She took to the air, carefully swooping down to the Eevee’s level and hovering a short distance away. “S-Sorry for laughing at you, sir. I-I didn’t mean to offend you or anything, h-honest.”

The Eevee cocked his head slightly in surprise as he turned to look at her. Eventually, he let out a sigh. “…It’s fine,” he said quietly. “I’d probably laugh at me too right now. I feel ridiculous, playing hide-and-seek with a bunch of kids for such a silly reason.”

“Huh?” Medli raised an eyebrow at that. “I-I’d kinda just figured you were babysitting, or something…”

“…Not exactly,” Eevee said. “It’s… a long story. I’d rather not talk about it.”

That didn’t exactly explain much. But Medli supposed it wasn’t her place to ask further. She almost let the conversation end right there, but on a whim, she quietly offered, “I… c-could try and help you look for them, I guess? I-If you want, that is.”

The Eevee shrugged. “Fine by me, I guess. Long as you don’t have anything more pressing to do, I won’t say no to free help.”

Medli supposed she probably did have more pressing things to do… but she’d already exhausted the most promising place in town without any success, so she didn’t really have much idea where to go from here. And she certainly wasn’t about to try training at the dojo again today, considering how that had gone. A simple, light-hearted game like this sounded… sort of nice right now.

“How many of them are there to look for?” Medli asked.

“Five. And they’re apparently going to hide all around town, not just here in this park.”

“…Oh.”

“Not too late to back out, you know,” the Eevee sighed, still continuing his search while they talked. “This is gonna take a while. No sense wasting your entire afternoon just to help a stranger like me.”

Medli shook her head. “I-I didn’t say I was changing my mind. Just, um…” She trailed off as she noticed a highly unusual sight out of the corner of her eye, slowly turning to gawk up at it. “I-I, um… I don’t suppose one of them happened to be a Pikachu, did they?”

“Hm? Yeah, actually. Why, did you-” The Eevee’s voice abruptly cut off as he turned to look. Several feet up in the air a short distance away, a young Pikachu lazily drifted along, dangling from a floating red balloon. Eevee cocked his head in disbelief. “…What.”

“Betcha never seen a Pikachu that can do this before!” the child laughed, smirking down at the pair below.

Medli had a lot of questions. But for some reason, the one she opted to voice was “H-How did you even get that balloon so quickly?”

“That’s a Bombers Gang trade secret!” the Pikachu shot back.

“…I’m not sure you understand what ‘hiding’ means,” Eevee muttered.

The Pikachu stuck her tongue out at him in response. “Yeah, yeah, you’re just lucky you happened to look up. But it doesn’t do you any good if you can’t get up here to tag me out!”

Eevee glared at her in annoyance. But after a moment, he seemed to take a deep breath, his calm and focused frown returning to his face.

“I-I could go up there,” Medli suggested. “It’d be pretty easy for-”

“No!” the Pikachu shouted. “No cheating! This is Kafei’s challenge! No flying help allowed!”

Kafei let out a sigh, glancing tiredly over at Medli. “…I can handle this. Just give me a sec.” He closed his eyes, focusing his energy for a moment. Soon, a small glittering star popped into existence by his side and started to slowly orbit around him.

Medli felt a bit of apprehension shoot through her for a moment, afraid that he was going to target the Pikachu with that Swift. But before she could say anything, Kafei flicked his head, the single star curving deliberately around the Pikachu and popping the balloon instead.

The Pikachu let out a yelp. She started flapping her arms in a panic as she fell back down. But Kafei quickly stepped forward, lining himself up and catching the child on his back before she could hit the ground.

He let out a quiet groan at the impact. “Oof. There’s one, I guess.” He glanced back at the Pikachu, a stern frown on his face. “Also, maybe don’t try to fly like that if you don’t have a reliable way to get back down again. You could hurt yourself.”

The Pikachu remained silent, quickly climbing down from Kafei’s back and running off in embarrassment without saying a word.

“…Well,” Kafei said after a moment, turning to face Medli again. “Thanks for pointing that one out, I guess. It might have taken me a little while to actually notice her up there otherwise.

Medli sheepishly ruffled her wings. “O-Oh… It was nothing, really.”

A somewhat awkward silence settled over the two of them after that. Kafei continued walking around the park, quietly searching for any of the other kids, as Medli hovered along behind him. It took a while for either of them to think of anything else to say.

“So, um…” Medli eventually started. “I-I take it your name’s Kafei, then? Considering what that Pikachu said?”

The Eevee nodded. “That’s right.” He turned towards her slightly. “And you are?”

“I-I’m Medli,” she replied. “I came out here yesterday from Great Bay because… w-well, nevermind…”

At first, he seemed to just nod along absently, more focused on his search. But after a moment, one of his ears perked up a bit. “…Great Bay, huh? I… don’t suppose you know anyone back there who’d happen to have a water stone for sale?”

“Hm?” Medli tilted her head in thought. “Well… S-Somebody probably might. Water stones are a bit easier to come by in Great Bay than in most places. But I don’t know anyone who has a spare one off the top of my head, s-sorry.”

“Ah.” Kafei sighed. “Was worth a shot, I guess.”

It wasn’t exactly hard for Medli to guess why an Eevee would want an item like that. She felt a little bad for not being able to give him a better answer. But she could understand not wanting to make the whole walk out to Great Bay just on the chance someone would sell him one there.

After a moment, a thought occurred to Medli. “S-Say, um… That Swift move you did back there… y-you seemed pretty practiced with it.”

He gave her an odd look at the sudden change of topic. But he nodded hesitantly. “…Yeah. I train at the dojo every now and then, to try and keep my skills sharp.” He bitterly mumbled something else under his breath, but it was a little too quiet for Medli to hear.

“W-Well, um… There’s been a bit of an issue out in Great Bay, lately. You see…”