Chapter 17 – Missed You Too

I’m alone, waiting in this room with nothing but two hay beds. It’s nighttime, but I arrived way earlier because I’m really excited to start as an actual explorer. There’s something I have to do first, though. I’m really excited and hopeful, and I remember why.

Someone opens the door and I perk up as a Sneasel enters with a dry look.

“Oh, hello there! I’m Ari, nice to meet you! You’re my teammate, right?”

He stares at me, looking up and down, until he sighs. “Yes, I’m Ren. I guess we’re going to work… together.”

For some reason, he doesn’t look exactly happy to see me, but I still try my best.

“Cool! We’re going to be the best explorers, you’ll see! Also, you already look quite strong… You’ve done this before? Where are you from? I live here in Iris City myself, I-“

“Cut it out,” he says dryly. He doesn’t raise his tone or anything, but I can sense he isn’t excited to be talking to me. He walks towards one of the beds and lays his bag beside it, sitting down without looking at me.

“I… Sorry, I just wanna know about you, since we’re going to be working together,” I say, fidgeting with the straws on my bed.

“There’s not much you need to know about me. No, I’ve never been an explorer before, even though I’ve fought a lot, and no, I’m not from here. I think that covers all the basics.”

I swallow a lump in my throat as I try to smile at him, even though he’s not even looking at me. “Well, that sounds… Neat! Hehe…”

“Good. Now let’s just sleep, it’s getting late and we have to start doing missions tomorrow,” Ren says, curling into a comfortable position. Wait, sleep? Already? That confuses me.

“Oh no, I’m not sleeping here,” I say. Ren looks up at me and raises an eyebrow as I continue. “I have to go back home every night so my parents won’t get mad, so you can take my bed whenever you want. Sadly we won’t have any night talks, though.”

Ren stares at me and eventually closes his eyes. “Good.”

I frown at that. Does he not care? I’m his teammate, he’s supposed to interact with me, right? I don’t get it. Am I… doing something wrong? I messed up again, didn’t I? It’s my fault, maybe I’m not good enough for him.

“I… I’m sorry.”

Ren opens one of his eyes and looks at me blankly. “What for?”

Huh. Does he not know? Then why…?

“Well I… I clearly did something bad, right? I have the feeling that you don’t like me…”

He stands up and crosses his arms, and now he looks a bit angry. “Yeah, I don’t like you. I’m only teaming up with you because they wouldn’t allow me to be an explorer on my own, so I had no other choice. I really hope you won’t be a liability.”

Ow, that hurts. Okay, so I’m already having a terrible start, but it’s nothing I can’t get used to.

“I see… Sorry, I’ll try to be useful at least.”

Ren’s expression slowly morphs into a confused stare, but I don’t know if it’s for what I’ve said, for my embarrassed tone, or because I have something on my face. I guess he wasn’t expecting me to say that.

“Well. Yeah, good to hear I suppose.”

Before he can turn around, I call for him again. “Wait! Is there something I can do so you won’t dislike me? At least I wanna be a decent teammate…”

He frowns. “No. Look, don’t take it personally, I don’t like anyone, it’s not just a ‘you’ thing. So stop making such a deal out of this. Just make yourself useful in missions.”

“You don’t like anyone? Why?”

“Because this society is full of pokémon who only think about themselves and would do anything to get what they want even if that means ruining someone else’s life. That’s all that matters.”

“Oh… Well, I don’t think everyone would be like that. I wouldn’t do that.”

He scoffs and lies down on his bed again, not even looking at me. “Yeah, everyone says that, but I don’t believe a thing.”

“I see, sorry…” I’m a bit concerned about that, but right now I can only focus on one thing. “Um… You think we can become friends someday?”

He arches an eyebrow, stays silent for a moment, and then looks away. “I doubt so.”

Ah, Ren, if only you knew back then…

 

---

 

Ari’s dreams were pretty normal since the incident, and he didn’t hear that voice calling for help anymore (should he be concerned?). It had been some time since the last time Ari had a dream like this, with memories of his past. Even if it wasn’t the most pleasant of memories, it was something quite meaningful to him. It reminded him of how far they had come… until they separated.

Ari wanted to kick himself for not trying to actually find Ren again since they met in the warehouse, but at the same time, other matters kept him distracted from that. Now, however, he felt it was the right time to do something, and this time he had a lead.

That’s why he asked his teammates to take this case. Even if it wasn’t the best moment, it was now or never, since according to his calculations (and with the help of Brynel) he had deduced where the thieves from last time could show up again.

They were trying to gather more orbs, and since they wanted that ‘special document’ so badly, Ari assumed they were still trying to find other ways to steal more orbs than just the warehouse. And that meant stealing from the distributors before they reached their destination.

“They make deliveries once every month, and it turns out today is the next one,” Ari explained. “Apparently, the tunnel that crosses Gemstone Mountain, which happens to be Gemstone Mine, is the main route they use for those deliveries, so the next theft is very likely to happen around there.”

“Okay, so our job is to find them and, in case we can’t stop them, at least learn what they’re up to… If we even manage to make them talk,” Mylo said, and he got a hesitant nod from the Riolu.

As Ari explained his deductions, Nimb nodded attentively and Mylo just stared with his ominous smile. Ari knew that meant he was happy to be there, so he was fine with it. Sanah, however, had her mind somewhere else.

“Sanah, are you listening?” Mylo asked, his smile subtly fading.

She flinched and tried to mask her frown. “Um, yeah. The mine, yes. We’re going there.”

Ari and Nimb exchanged concerned glances, while Mylo nodded before he turned back to the Riolu. “Ari, remember that this is an official mission.”

“Huh? I know, why do you say that?”

He stopped and rested a hand on Ari’s shoulder. “Because we might find a bunch of criminals, and we don’t know what could happen. If we run into them, we might have to fight. And that includes Ren.”

Ari tensed as he thought about that. Would he be able to fight… him? He doubted it, but he also doubted Ren would do either. His teammates, however…

Well, he didn’t want to think about it. “Yeah, I know.”

Mylo nodded, satisfied. He hoped it didn’t come to that, but he was ready to fight whoever got in their way. And if Ari couldn’t fight, he’d do it himself.

They only walked for about 20 minutes since leaving town through the northwest path before their trek through the outskirts eventually led them to a wide entrance to a tunnel on the base of a mountain. They had arrived at their destination.

“Okay, so this is Gemstone Mountain…” Nimb mumbled and then raised his voice. “I’m assuming we have to go in there and find the carriage before the criminals do?”

Ari nodded. “At least, that was the idea. We just have to follow this tunnel and we’ll eventually run into them, I think. Just… We have to be careful not to get lost, otherwise we might end up in the mystery dungeon.”

Nimb tensed. “H-huh? What do you mean by mystery dungeon? There is one here?”

Ari gave him an apologetic smile. “Ehhhh maybe I should have mentioned that earlier, sorry… Yeah, part of Gemstone Mine turned into a mystery dungeon a while back from what I’ve heard, but if we stick to the main path we should be good. This tunnel isn’t part of the dungeon.”

Nimb felt a hand stroking his shoulder gently. “It’ll be okay, don’t worry,” Mylo reassured. “We’re not going to get lost so easily, and we have each other.”

“I… I g-guess so…”

Sanah kept her grim look during the whole thing, staying behind without saying a word. Ari was debating on talking to her, but he was scared and changed his mind every single time he tried to approach her. What if she snapped at him again? He felt like everything was right as it was during the first investigation.

She probably hated him again. All because of his stupid mistake that had cost them a lot of money. Worst of it, he knew Sanah wasn’t precisely wealthy, so he probably just ruined her because of his stupid dream and that damn lake.

Ari sighed and stepped forward into the tunnel. “Let’s just… go.”

With that, Team Silver entered Gemstone Mine. The tunnel was quite wide, at least enough for a carriage to fit, and there was no sight of any mine rail, surprisingly enough. Many pokémon lost their jobs because the area that turned into a mystery dungeon was the one that had all the rails and minerals, so there was no point in going there anymore.

The place looked like an average cave, but it had a few side paths that led deeper into the mountain, probably into the actual mine, so they tried to avoid going there. No one wanted dungeon crawling now, that was only for easy filler.

“Hey, um… Nimb,” Ari said and the bird perked up. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

Nimb realized he was clinging to Ari’s arm tightly and quickly pulled away. “Ahhh, sorry! Y-yeah it’s okay, I’m just being careful, I guess…”

Ari couldn’t help but smile, having flashbacks from their first encounter back in Reverb Grove. It’s not like he minded him being clingy now, but he wanted Nimb to become more independent in case he couldn’t always be there for him.

… For now, though, Nimb was shaking and Ari didn’t like the sight of it, so he took his claw on his paw and walked alongside him. “It’s okay, dude, one step at a time. Just take it easy for now, alright?”

Even if Nimb was embarrassed, he smiled at him and nodded. It’s not like Ari is going to let anything happen to him, and still, it’s just a completely harmless tunnel. What could go wrong?

“Uhhhh… Isn’t it getting quite dark here? Maybe we should have thought about that before…” Nimb said.

“Heh, of course I thought about it!” Ari grinned and pulled an orb from his bag, extending his arm forward to show the sphere to his teammates. “A luminous orb! We just have to click on this specific spot and…”

Before he could finish, Mylo took something out of his own bag. “Or we can just use the flashlight mode on our gholdevices.” He pressed a button on the gadget and an intense light came out of it, illuminating the tunnel.

“… Ah.”

They walked for a bit more in silence, with Ari glancing at Sanah every now and then, still unable to say anything. He could swear she was also looking at him sometimes, but she quickly looked away.

“Do you know what they stole back then?” Mylo asked, and Ari turned to him with a furrowed brow, a bit surprised at the sudden question.

“Umm… I’m not entirely sure, but I think they took mostly quick orbs, escape orbs, health orbs, and… petrify orbs.”

Mylo’s expression darkened. “That could be quite dangerous…”

Ari frowned and nodded. “Yeah… I don’t know what they’re planning to do with those, but they’re pretty much overpowered if they use them.” He then sighed and tried to lighten the mood, speaking in a positive tone. “Luckily, I also have some orbs, so I got us covered.”

“Then that makes you pretty much a walking danger as well,” Nimb said, narrowing his eyes. Ari just shrugged and stuck out his tongue.

A fork in the road came into view, and they stopped in front of it. There were four different paths, but the one on the right side was bigger, and it had some yellow marks that someone had painted in there.

“Okay, that one with the yellow paint is the main path, we just have to keep going and we’ll probably run into the carriage eventually,” the Riolu said. “Or… it might take a couple of hours more. But hey, don’t you feel like using yellow paint makes this feel a little less immersive?”

Nimb sighed and ignored that last comment. “Well, at least there’s nothing dangerous here so far-“

As soon as he said that, a loud rumble resonated nearby, and they all turned around in alarm. Someone was approaching from one of the paths. The steps were unsteady and arrhythmic. There was clearly something wrong there.

Team Silver exchanged confused glances, but they stood there as they watched the path ahead silently. Mylo stepped forward and extended an arm sideways to shield Ari and Nimb in case something happened. Did they… run into the criminals already?

Mylo squinted his eyes as a figure made itself visible until he gasped. “Move!”

Everyone jumped aside and barely dodged a huge ember. Ari could almost swear it wasn’t a normal ember, at least judging by the color…

Sanah stood up and growled. “What the fuck? Who did that?”

Mylo pointed his GD towards the source of the attack, and the figure made itself clear. A bipedal pokémon with faded yellow colors, armored torso and shoulders, white flame on its head…

Armarouge.

Ari felt his blood run cold and his fur stood on edge as he started trembling in fear. It was back. After all this time, it was still around. It wanted to kill him.

“No… Nonono, it’s here! Why now?” Nimb panicked and clung onto Ari, but then he noticed the Riolu was looking worse than him. “…Ari?”

He wasn’t even moving, his mouth wide open as if he wanted to scream, but couldn’t. Mylo noticed that and tried to get Armarouge’s attention by getting closer and giving him a nasty look.

“Hey, you monster! My fist has your name on it,” Mylo said as he raised his fist while gesturing with a finger for it to come closer.

Nimb blinked. Was that a taunt? He never thought he’d see Mylo act like that. Nimb pushed that thought aside and shook his friend. “Ari, come on, we gotta move!”

Ari wasn’t moving. He hadn’t felt such panic ever before, to the point that his body wasn’t responding. His mind was repeating the same scene over and over, when Armarouge almost killed him, choked him, corrup-

“S…p …t ..f i..!”

Ari gasped. He recognized that voice, it was the same one he heard in Deepsoul Lake the day before, the one he knew wasn’t physically there, but he knew it was real. Just who was that voice that kept calling for him…?

“Ari, please!” Nimb begged.

Luckily, that seemed to put some sense back to him as he shook his head and nodded. “R-right, sorry.”

Ari and Nimb stood up and Sanah went by their side. She looked like she was about to say something, but then stopped herself when a barrage of flames covered the whole area, almost reaching them.

“Mylo!” Ari yelled, but he was relieved to see that the Toxtricity had dodged the hit and was running towards the Armarouge with a fist covered in poison. However, he was stopped with a psychic grip that launched him backwards, crashing into a wall with force.

“Ugh… He’s even stronger than the one we fought in the dream…”

Sanah frowned. “T-then there’s no way we can stop it!”

“Then there’s only one thing we can do…” Mylo stopped as he saw the monster charging another fire attack, and he moved. “RUN!”

Mylo ran towards the group until one of the flames passed right by him, making him run in a different direction, while the rest similarly tried to escape. What they didn’t notice in all that chaos was that they were running in different directions, the flames covering most of the tunnels quickly.

Ari ran for his life, hoping that it wouldn’t find him there. He had gone really deep into one of the paths and eventually reached a rocky area with different holes right where the main path ended. He debated on turning around but then saw what was coming for him.

Out of everyone, Armarouge had followed him, of course. It was approaching fast, and it was completely out of control. Ari panicked as an ember was shot right beside him, into one of the holes, and he fell on his rear as he found himself cornered against a wall.

Out of desperation, Ari dug into his bag and pulled out a flame-shaped seed that he threw with all his might. The blast seed impacted the Armarouge, making it stagger, but only for a moment. The creature was a bit injured, but that wasn’t enough to stop it. Ari gasped in horror as he saw it approach again, slowly.

“H-hey there, Armarouge…” Ari smiled nervously. He felt himself go crazy at this point, actually considering to negotiate with a freaking monster. “Y-you’re not actually b-bad, right?”

Armarouge launched another fire attack, and he quickly generated a Protect barrier that blocked it. However, it was strong enough to leave a big crack on it.

Ari swallowed. “I m-missed you too, hehe…”

Armarouge prepared another attack, and an incinerate was launched at the Riolu. His eyes widened as he saw it approach. In a blink, Ari was grabbed under the arm of a certain Toxtricity who ran with him in tow.

“Ari! We have to run, now!”

Ari beamed. “Mylo! Y-you saved me…”

“You can thank me later, we have to take you somewhere safe.”

“Okay, but uh… Take this at least, you’ve taken some damage earlier,” Ari said as he pulled an oran berry from his bag and offered it from where he was being held by Mylo. It was uncomfortable and a bit embarrassing to be carried like that, but he didn’t complain. “I have a few more of these, so don’t try to pretend you don’t need them”

He hesitantly accepted the berry, shoving it down his throat in a matter of seconds. “Thanks.”

Mylo entered one of the holes and crouched, running as far as he could to leave the monster behind. Eventually, Ari remembered he was the fastest there and jumped from Mylo’s grip and took his hand, suddenly running ahead with a quick attack and glowing in the same hue as his pearls.

Mylo was basically being lifted in the air by the amazing speed of the Riolu, who didn’t stop running for a while even if the boost of his pearls only lasted a few seconds. Once he was sure they had lost the Armarouge, he stopped and both rested against a wall.

Ari was panting, so he took a while to recover while Mylo looked around, flashlight in hand.

“I think we’re safe now… But only from Armarouge. We have another problem.”

Ari frowned. “Huh?”

Mylo looked at him with a bit of concern. “We lost Nimb and Sanah, and we went so deep into Gemstone Mine that we ended up in the mystery dungeon.”

Ari blinked. Now that he could finally breathe, he tried to get a better picture of the place he was in. The cave had some minerals poking out of the walls, and some of them were especially eye-catching, being all colorful and shiny, and there was a railway in the center of the tunnel they were in. But then he also noticed the bluish fog around them, the same one he’d seen before in Reverb Grove.

“Oh, fuck. Oh, no no no no… I hope Nimb didn’t end up in the dungeon as well…”

“We can only hope that he’s with Sanah at least,” Mylo said. “Maybe we can contact them with the GD.”

Ari perked up. “Oh, right! Let me check.” He pulled his Gholdevice from the bag and typed a message to Nimb. However, it wasn’t sent. “Uh… It’s not working, I don’t get it… Oh, wait! I think Saga mentioned something about ‘signal’ and being in caves…”

“Mhm. I forgot about that, we might not be able to contact anyone from here,” Mylo said as he crossed his arms, thinking to himself. “Hmmm… Guess we’ll have to find our way out and find help.”

“Wait, I can try this.”

Ari closed his eyes and sensed his surroundings. His aura powers allowed him to feel a strong aura that seemed calm but concerned -that was Mylo’s- and a few other auras belonging to feral pokémon that hid under the ground, a few meters deep.

“Nothing… Nimb and Sanah aren’t close enough for me to sense them.” Ari sighed in defeat. He couldn’t help but feel that was his fault, and he put everyone in danger by coming there for his stupid obsession.

Mylo rested a hand on his shoulder and their eyes met. “Don’t worry, Ari. I’m sure they’re fine. We’ll find them before you know it.”

“I hope so…”

 

//Open this link in a new tab to play the song while reading:

 

With only the light of their GDs as their guides, Ari and Mylo moved on through the tunnels of Gemstone Mine. Some ferals attacked them every few minutes, but luckily they weren’t too strong, which eased Ari a bit. Maybe Nimb could handle this…

Mylo punched a durant with electricity, driving it away, while Ari hit a graveler with a rock smash, making it faint immediately. Before he could relax, a kabutops fell from the ceiling, aiming for a deadly cut, but he quickly formed a protect and stopped it.

Ari tried to keep the Protect up for a bit while the kabutops continuously attacked it, but Mylo came to his side and punched the feral away. Ari quickly took his chance to throw an aura sphere, finishing it off.

Ari sighed in relief. “Well, that was a close one, thanks.”

“Mhm, no problem,” Mylo said as he continued walking onwards. Ari quickly joined him.

“Hey, your fighting style is pretty cool! You use your fists most of the time.”

Mylo grinned. “Heh, thanks. It’s what I do best, punching my way through the danger. But your style is pretty balanced, and that’s even better. Punches, bites, a ranged attack, and even Protect. You can cover most scenarios.”

Ari chuckled. “Well, hehe, I guess I was trained to adapt well. But I meant as in, your fighting style is pretty cool. You know, original. Like, something that defines you.” He tried to imitate Mylo by throwing punches in the air. “You do, like, whoosh! And take this! Aaaand you take down anyone with just a punch in the face! It’s your own thing, you could patent it like ‘Mylo’s Hyper Punch’ or something.”

At that, Mylo couldn’t help but snort, smiling wider now. Ari cast a confused glance and he shook his head. “It’s nothing, I’m just glad to see you like this.”

“Like… what?”

Mylo stopped looking at him, scanned the area ahead, and then spoke after a few seconds. “Happier. You know, after all the stress these days, even earlier today. And with all that happened in your dream and the days before that…”

“Oh… right.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I know you’re still not exactly doing okay right now, and I hope that changes soon. But you’re making jokes again, and that’s a good sign.”

Ari looked at him with wider eyes and he blushed a bit with embarrassment, smiling softly. “Well, I guess you’re right…”

Deep down, he didn’t understand why they cared so much about him. All his classmates, his teammates especially, were treating him in a way he wasn’t sure he deserved, but he was so happy about it at the same time. However…

“Damn, you care a lot for me, but here I am, being your teammate and still not knowing a single thing about you,” Ari complained. “I feel like I should have asked before, but I wanna get to know you more, Mylo. We’re friends after all.”

Mylo chuckled and looked back at him. “Then ask away.”

“Okay, ummm… What’s your favorite hobby?”

“Cooking.”

“Oh. Wait, really? I didn’t picture you doing that, huh. But that’s cool!”

“Thanks, Asher thought the same, heh.”

Ari smirked. “Of course he would, hehe… Oh, can you cook something with pecha berries? Those are my favorites.”

“Yes, I could make a pie. We could even ask Asher to let us hang out at his apartment and cook some sweets.”

Ari’s eyes lit up with stars. “Ohhhhhh I’d love that!”

Mylo chuckled. “Well, any other questions?”

“Hmmm… Actually, I was wondering about something,” Ari said, his expression turning thoughtful. “Everyone in the academy seemed to be… cautious about you like you were some bully, but then you actually were quite nice. Did that reputation just come from your brother, or did something else happen?”

Well, he figured that conversation would come up eventually. Mylo sighed. “See, Ari, even if you think I’m a nice guy, that doesn’t take out the fact that I get into trouble easily. I really don’t like bad pokémon, to the point that I can get really mad when I see someone acting mean.”

Ari nodded slowly. “And that means…?”

“… It’s hard for me to contain myself. I don’t want you to ever see that, but I can get… violent.”

Ari tensed and swallowed a lump in his throat while she jumped over a bent rail. “B-but… Maybe that would be taking it a bit too far?”

Mylo eyed him for a moment and then looked away. “… Yes, it is. I don’t blame you if you don’t trust me now.”

Ari frowned and shook his head. “No! I trust you, I know you still mean well! Maybe you have anger issues, but you’re a good pokémon… You’re just trying to help others, and I get it.”

Mylo was surprised by that response at first, but he should have expected it from Ari. “Heh… You’re too nice, you know? But thank you.”

The Riolu smiled. “Am I? Haha…”

Suddenly, a geodude came out of a hole in the ground and launched a few rocks at Mylo, who dodged it just in time. The feral didn’t have time to react when an aura sphere completely obliterated it right after. Ari blew some air into his paw like it was some sort of gun and he continued walking nonchalantly.

“So…” Ari broke the silence. “Aside from academy stuff, I was wondering. What about your family?”

Huh. He was getting too close, and Mylo didn’t like that. “Well, me and my brother have lived in Bimsuth Town for our whole lives.”

“Ohhh, I’d like to see your house one day. Well, if it wasn’t for…”

Mylo interrupted him. “My brother, I know. I don’t blame you. I’ll just say my house is a bit to the east of town, practically on the outskirts, even if that area is already considered part of the town. There’s not a single house there but ours.”

“Oh, so you’re a bit secluded… And you mentioned your brother, but don’t you have any more family? What about your parents?”

And there it was. “I’d rather not talk about them now.”

Ari gasped. “Oh wait, did something happen to you with them? If it’s similar to my situation, you know you can count on me if you wanna talk about it-“

“No, it’s not similar. Please, drop it.” Mylo’s tone was now darker, and Ari could sense his clenched fists trembling.

Ari winced, sensing he had completely ruined the mood. “Fuck, I… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pressed on…”

Mylo took a few deep breaths and stood silent for what felt like an eternity, but he noticed the pained look on Ari’s face and decided that was more important now.

“No… You’re fine, you couldn’t know. Let’s just talk about something else instead.”

“Um… Okay, well let’s see…”

“Actually, let me ask you something. Why were you acting strange today?”

Ari blinked. Twice. “Me? Acting strange?”

Mylo nodded. “You’ve been tense like you wanted to say something so bad. Does it have to do with Sanah?”

“… Is it that obvious?” Mylo nodded again, and he sighed. “It’s just… She’s the one acting strange today. She looks angry, and she barely talks. I wanted to know what was wrong, but I ended up avoiding her…”

Mylo hummed as he processed it. “Why so?”

“Well, you know. I kinda ruined her, with the whole lake incident and the lawsuit.”

“Did you really?”

Ari looked at him as if he was asking stupid questions, but then quickly softened his look to avoid offending him. “Ummm, yeah? We went in there because of me, and I was the one who broke us in.”

“But you all agreed on that. Doesn’t that mean that everyone is as guilty as you?”

“I… Ugh, I don’t know… I still feel bad,” Ari said, rubbing his arm nervously.

“I get it, but you’re probably overthinking. Once we reunite with the others, you need to talk to her.”

Ari took a deep breath and sagged. “I’m scared of doing so… But I also want to. I guess I’ll have to check and see what she’s actually thinking.”

Mylo nodded but didn’t comment on it anymore. Unbeknownst to Ari, Mylo’s expression darkened at the thought of Sanah.

 

---

 

“WE’RE GOING TO DIE!”

“Dude…”

“WHERE ARE WE?”

“Nimb, seriously.”

“I CAN’T DO THIS-“

Sanah grabbed Nimb’s shoulders and locked eyes with him, a serious expression plastered on her face.

“Listen to me, Nimb. We’re okay, we’re together, and Ari is probably doing fine as well. I’m sure Mylo is with him right now, and even if this is a mystery dungeon, you can’t seriously be scared of that!”

Sanah pointed to a diglett nearby, and she noticed it was spinning on the ground beside an abandoned mine cart.

“Okay what the fuck.”

“It’s not just that!” Nimb cried. “T-there are other ferals here and Ari isn’t around!”

Sanah pouted. “Hey, I’m here too, you know? I can protect both of us perfectly fine.”

“I… I know, but it’s not the same without Ari…” Nimb wrapped his wings around his torso as if he were freezing. “In situations like this, I only feel safe when I’m with him, I don’t know why…”

“Really…?” Sanah softened a bit, even if she was still annoyed. “Maybe you’re too emotionally dependent. You never separate from him, now that I think of it…”

Nimb sighed. “I guess… B-but I can’t help it, I feel good whenever I’m with him.”

“Yeah, I can see why.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Um, nothing. Let’s just leave already, that thing is creeping me,” she said as she turned to the diglett that was still spinning. “I think it’s broken.”

“Okay…” Nimb took a deep breath and followed Sanah, keeping an eye on the diglett. “I guess it’s not as dangerous here as I thought, but-“

Right then, a dugtrio came out from the ground beyond him and he quickly jumped backwards, startled. The dugtrio quickly shot a chunk of mud to the Archen’s face, sending him to the ground with a pained yelp.

“Nimb!”

Sanah growled and went to slice the dugtrio with a razor claw, but it quickly went underground and avoided the hit. She looked around trying to find it, but she saw nothing. Once, Nimb could wipe the mud off his face, he saw a trail of stirred dirt moving towards Sanah.

“Watch out!” He said, standing back up and running forward with a glowing wing. As soon as the dugtrio emerged, the attack hit it and made it stop before reaching Sanah, who just turned around, confused.

After landing the attack, Nimb lost balance and fell on his face, unfortunately becoming an easy target for the feral, who was still up, even if fairly damaged. However, as it approached for its revenge, Sanah jumped over Nimb and landed a fury cutter on the tri-headed mole, finishing it off.

“Okay… Let’s move before we get more unwanted attention,” Sanah said, grabbing Nimb’s wing and helping him up.

“Agreed…”

Sanah and Nimb left the fainted dugtrio and the spinning diglett behind and proceeded through the dungeon. Sanah held her GD firmly as she illuminated the tunnel with the flashlight mode, and Nimb stuck close to Sanah, looking around as he feared any sudden attack, even if there weren’t any ferals in sight.

Sanah felt the Archen invading her personal space and sighed. She didn’t know how Ari could put up with that for so long, knowing that she was already annoyed even if Nimb wasn’t perched on her arm like he usually did with Ari. Still, she tried to keep it together for the sake of Nimb.

They walked in silence for a while, mostly because Sanah was lost in thoughts again. Nimb noticed her burrowed frow and looked at her in concern.

“What’s wrong?”

Sanah relaxed her expression and turned around. “Huh? What do you mean?”

He tilted his head. “You looked… angry. Actually, you’ve looked like that the whole day. Is it because of the lawsuit?”

“That’s… Well…” She looked away, frowning.

“I get it, really…” Nimb said.

“Do you, now?”

“W-well… I was there as well. I know this isn’t affecting me as much as it does to you, Cora, and Ari, but still… It sucks.”

Sanah stopped and glanced at her own claws, flexing them and deepening her frown. “Yeah… Yeah, it sucks.”

“Are you going to talk to Ari?”

She widened her eyes. “Huh? Why?”

“You know, because there’s obviously something going on between you two. He was also acting weird, and you two barely talked today. That’s unusual.”

“… Whatever. I don’t think there’s much we can talk about. He’s probably more concerned about finding Ren anyway.” Sanah flinched at her own tone as she noticed that came out way harsher than she intended. “I-I mean… Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that…”

Nimb looked annoyed for a moment but stood silent for a long moment until he shook his head, softening. “It’s okay… But really, talk to him.”

Sanah sighed in defeat. “I guess I will.” She then crossed her arms and gave him a side-eye. “Geez, I’m supposed to be the mature one here…”

He shrugged. “I guess I’m just-“

Before he finished, a loud thump was heard nearby, immediately causing the ground to shake under their feet. Nimb and Sanah sank as the ground shattered, and they fell for a few seconds until they landed painfully on the debris. On top of the hole, a gabite made itself known with a growl.

“Oh, come on! Why can’t I finish any sentence today?” Nimb complained, wincing as he tried to stand up with Sanah helping him, equally as hurt.

“Ugh, it had to be a gabite…” Sanah said, and then she looked around and saw they were on a different set of tunnels underneath the previous one. “I hope we’re not getting lost…”

“More?”

“… Right. We were, already.”

The gabite jumped into the hole and both Nimb and Sanah dodged just in time. Sanah tried to fury cutter the heck out of the feral, but that barely scratched its scales, just enough to anger it and tackle her out of the way.

“Sanah!” Nimb yelped. He was scared, but he had been in a similar situation before, so he needed to be strong. He tried to add his own rock throw to the equation, but the feral was barely affected by it. In fact, it didn’t even notice him. “What the…?”

Sanah stood up, gripping his damaged arm. “Damn, it’s so strong… Nimb, a rock-type move isn’t going to do anything!”

“What? T-then… This!” Nimb crashed into the gabite with a wing attack, this time managing to disturb it just enough for it to turn around and glare daggers at him. “… Oh.”

The gabite stepped forward and slashed Nimb before he could react, leaving a nasty gash on his chest. Nimb let out a high-pitched screech as he was thrown backwards and crashed into a wall.

“NIMB!”

Sanah took a shiny rock that protruded from the wall and threw it to the gabite, getting its attention. The feral completely changed its focus and went to slash Sanah, but she was quick to dodge.

The Zangoose launched herself towards the gabite enveloped in a dark aura, and desperately tackled it. The pursuit damaged it a bit more, but that left her vulnerable long enough for the gabite to quickly turn around and slash her as well, receiving a similar injury as Nimb.

She grunted, trying to not look at the nasty wound on her arm, and honed her claws as she thought about how to approach the situation. “Ugh… Don’t worry, Nimb, I’ll take care of this…”

Nimb slowly turned around from the ground and watched Sanah block another swipe with her claws, the friction almost generating a few sparks, but eventually, she was pushed back. Sanah wasn’t strong enough.

She couldn’t understand. It was just a feral gabite, but this one felt way stronger. It reminded her of the primeape they fought at the clinic a while back. “What’s wrong with this guy? It’s not going down, no matter how hard I hit it!”

Another slash, and the feral staggered. Was it finally showing signs of exhaustion? Because it didn’t feel like it, for the way it moved as if it weren’t hurt at all.

“Stop, please…” Nimb begged, somehow expecting the feral to have mercy on them.

However, the monster ignored that and bit Sanah, drawing blood that Nimb could see dripping on the dirt. Nimb dragged himself closer to them with his wings.

“Stop it!”

While Sanah flinched in pain, the feral turned around and noticed the source of the annoying noise. As it locked its enraged gaze on the Archen, it started moving towards him, his claw shining brightly as it prepared a finishing attack.

He’d had enough.

“STOOOOOOOP!”

As Nimb screamed from the top of his lungs, the angry cry turned into pure energy that rose in his throat and shot itself towards the monster, in the form of a thin purplish flame. The gabite received it right in the face and it was sent flying, passing right beside Sanah, who couldn’t process what was happening as her eyes went wide.

The dragon-type crashed on a big rock and collapsed right after, finally closing its eyes. Nimb panted as he watched the fainted feral, worried it might stand up again. It didn’t.

“What… What did I just…?”

Sanah threw her arms up. “Daaaaaamn Nimb! What the hell, did you just learn a new move? It was amazing!”

Nimb blinked the shock out of him and thought of his answer. “I think… That was dragon breath. I-I remember everyone in my family knew that move except for me… I can’t believe I finally learned it!”

The moment of disbelief passed and Nimb’s expression turned into a wide smile, completely ignoring the pain in his chest. Sanah limped towards him and helped him up, not without wincing from her own injuries a few times.

“You did great dude, Ari is going to be so proud of you!” She said, but her smile faded after mentioning the Riolu. She had forgotten about the whole situation they had. “Anyway, I know you’d want to celebrate, but we should keep going before we run into any more ferals.”

Nimb nodded. “Yeah, I don’t think we can keep this up in our current state…”

Nimb didn’t want to think what could happen if they stayed lost for much longer. What if some ferals killed them? What if they turned into ferals? That would be terrifying, so he hastened his pace as much as he could, which wasn’t a lot due to Sanah’s condition. She was limping, and that concerned him.

Those thoughts along with the unease Nimb felt through the whole journey were starting to affect him at this point. He felt his breathing heavier like he was going to die. He didn’t know why, but he had the feeling he was going to have a panic attack.

Why now? He had just beaten a feral with a new move, he should be fine. Why here? It wasn’t because there wasn’t enough air, since Sanah seemed to be breathing just fine. Why? Why? Why?

He couldn’t let it happen now. He needed to find the way out, no matter how. His mind was getting clouded, but he tried to pull himself together. He didn’t want Sanah to see him panicking like that again.

The next few minutes passed without any event. They tried to avoid the mine railway, knowing that was pretty much part of the dungeon, in hopes that they would eventually find the way out of it. Luckily for them, the blue fog was getting thinner as they progressed, and there weren’t any more ferals in sight.

Which meant…

“I just hope we don’t run into Armarouge again, now that we’re back here,” a familiar voice said, and Nimb’s face lit.

“ARI!” He ran forward, and the Riolu turned around, a bit startled, but quickly smiled back.

“Nimb, Sanah, you’re here!”

Nimb jumped onto the Riolu’s arms, both of them hugging each other strongly like they’d been away from each other for days, even if it was just a couple of hours. Nimb felt his breathing relaxing slowly, and he could finally release a long sigh as he felt himself turn back into a functional pokémon.

“It’s been awful, I-I thought we were trapped forever…” Nimb stammered.

“It’s okay, we’re together now, and we’re all fine. We’re actually close to the main tunnel!” Ari soothed, bringing Nimb closer and stroking the feathers on his back gently. Mylo approached the duo and patted Nimb on the head, not saying anything to disrupt the brotherly moment.

“Yeah… I’m glad…” Nimb whispered.

Ari pulled back to take a better look at him, and his smile dropped as he saw the wound on his chest.

“What the- Nimb, you’re bleeding!” He then turned to see the Zangoose standing awkwardly in front of them without saying a word and gasped in horror. “You too, Sanah! What the hell happened to you two?”

“Oh, uh… We run into some trouble I guess,” Sanah explained, hesitantly. Mylo could only frown at that, while Ari looked even more concerned.

“B-but it’s fine!” Nimb reassured. “We beat a gabite with this, look!”

Nimb turned away from them and tried to build some energy in his throat. Replicating the feeling he had on that battle, he tried to focus his anger on his throat like he was about to yell, and instead, launched a dragon breath that impacted a rock nearby, leaving Ari and Mylo impressed.

“T-that was dragon breath!” Ari beamed. “You learned a new move while I wasn’t there? Awwwww I wish I didn’t miss that…” He then shook his head. “But that was super cool, I’m so proud of you, Nimb!”

Ari went for a surprise hug and both brothers melted into a second embrace, smiling fondly.

“Thank you…” Nimb said as he rested his beak on the Riolu’s neck until he felt the hug crushing him as Ari pressed harder. “Ouch, ouch…”

Ari pulled away. “Whoops, the wound, right… We should treat you two as soon as possible.”

He took two oran berries from his bag and offered them to Nimb and Sanah. While Nimb took it without hesitation, Sanah didn’t look as happy and Ari avoided her gaze when she went for the berry. She sighed and went to eat the berry away from the group, while Ari and Nimb sat down on a rock nearby.

They took that moment to rest before continuing with their mission, even if it felt like it was going on for too long already. Nimb finished his berry and converse with Ari, who was a bit distracted by his own thoughts.

Meanwhile, Mylo approached Sanah while the other two were distracted.

“Sanah.”

She tensed and looked away. “What do you want.”

“Why did you let him get hurt?”

“… Huh? What do you mean?”

Mylo crossed his arms and gave her an annoyed look. “He could have died and you let that happen. You know he needs protection, but you didn’t care.”

That upset her. “What the…? So that’s what matters to you? He was hurt, yeah, but look at me, I’m way worse! I don’t matter or what?”

“You can take care of yourself.”

“He can as well! He took down the gabite, and he did with other ferals too!” She growled, her tone going more aggressive. “You know what? Fuck you! I’ve tried to make things easier but you’re such a jerk who only cares about Ari and Nimb.”

Mylo gritted his teeth. “I care about them because they’re innocent pokémon who deserve to be happy, unlike you, who only tortured them since the very moment you met them.”

“That’s in the fucking past!” Sanah scowled, stomping her foot on the ground. “Are you going to let that go already or what, you scum?!”

“NO! You have them fooled into thinking you’re a good pokémon, but I’m never going to trust you, ever!”

“W-what?”

Sanah and Mylo flinched and turned around to see Ari and Nimb looking at them with scared eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Ari asked, sounding small and concerned.

“Ari, Nimb… It’s nothing, we were just discussing something,” Mylo said, voice level.

Sanah, however, couldn’t take it anymore. “Fuck it. We were arguing, yes, because this jerk apparently still hates me so much! But it’s okay because I hate him too!”

“Sanah, you’re scaring them,” Mylo scolded.

“I’m the one scaring them? You started this, you know?”

“Excuse me?” He clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes. “You started it on the very first day you showed up in class. I have more than enough reasons to hate you.”

“But… But we’re a team! I thought everything was going fine…” Nimb said, scratching the feathers on his chest nervously to the point of almost worsening his wound.

“Yeah, well apparently he doesn’t think the same!” Sanah growled.

“IT’S FINE!”

They both stopped fuming as Ari suddenly interrupted the argument. His gaze was directed at the ground, and he looked between upset and annoyed.

“It’s fine, you two don’t like each other, alright.” Ari explained, trying to sound calm. “But we’re a team and we’re going to have to cooperate now, whether we like it or not. After the mission, you can… return to avoid each other if you want to, it’s okay. We don’t have to be all friends here, this is work after all.”

Sanah gave him a concerned glance, but Ari didn’t look at her. “Are you sure? Is it fine if we’re… like this?”

“Yeah, as long as you can control yourselves while investigating or exploring. Nimb and I are going to be fine,” he said and looked at the Archen with an inquisitive look. Nimb took a moment to get the message, but then he nodded.

“If that’s what you want… I’ll behave, you don’t have to worry about it,” Mylo said, and Sanah nodded as well, hesitantly.

Ari nodded and tried to put on a forced smile. “Good. We could rest for a bit more and then we can go on. I… I just need a moment.”

He waved with his paw and turned to leave through a small tunnel, now away from their sight. Nimb let his shoulders slump and frowned. “I don’t think he’s fine at all…”

“Hm. I’m sorry you two had to see that,” Mylo said, only looking at Nimb while he stepped away from Sanah. “We didn’t want you to see that to avoid awkwardness.”

Sanah bit down an annoyed remark but did give him a nasty glare. He was the one who approached her with mean comments and caused all that, after all! It was so unfair…

“It’s okay, let’s not think too much about it…” Nimb said. After a few seconds, he looked at Sanah as if he wanted to say anything, and she got the message.

“Um… Maybe I should go talk to him now.”

Mylo quickly turned to her. “No, not now. He asked for a moment alone, you’re just going to make him feel worse.”

“No, Mylo, it’s okay,” Nimb insisted, giving him a pleading look. “I think this is what Ari needs. Let her go, please.”

The Toxtricity stayed thoughtful for a long moment until he sighed. “Fine. Just be careful.”

Sanah didn’t respond to him and only nodded to Nimb. Now that that was settled, she went into the tunnel where Ari had disappeared. It was smaller than the rest and quite deep. Her GD couldn’t quite illuminate the whole place, but it was enough to see through.

She didn’t take long to spot the Riolu sitting against a wall and fidgeting with a yellow scarf, staring at it with sad eyes as he lost himself in the past. However, as he noticed Sanah, he quickly put it back in his bag and stood up, visibly nervous.

“Um, you needed something?” Ari asked, unable to hide his discomfort.

“Yeah, well… You see…” Sanah wasn’t too comfortable with that herself and kept scratching her neck while she tried to find her words. “I had the impression that you weren’t exactly fine with all this, even if you said you were.”

Ari sighed. “Of course I’m not. I wanted this team to work out, but I guess I can’t force things. And I already have enough in my mind right now. But I can’t blame anyone for this, it just… happened.”

He couldn’t stop thinking about how she’d been acting strange all day either. The fact that both things were adding on top of each other right now was already unbearable, knowing he was already nervous because he might find Ren and he didn’t know what to tell him. But what was he going to say?

As for Sanah, she was also tired of keeping her thoughts to herself. That had been an awfully stressful day, and she was ready for it to end. She took a deep breath and spoke.

“I’m so-“

“I’M SORRY!”

Sanah’s eyes went wide as the Riolu interrupted her. “Huh? What do you mean?”

Ari rubbed his arm as he explained with a deep frown. “I know you’re mad at me because I ruined you. That was my fault, and now I chose to bring you all here just because I wanted to see Ren, and you were badly hurt because of my choice! I messed up so bad, I’m sorry…”

Sanah stared in disbelief. “W-what? No, I’m the one who’s sorry! It wasn’t your fault that I’m ruined, it was mine! I had the idea of going to Deepsoul Lake!”

“Because you saw it in my dream! And I made you come with me!”

Sanah shook her head rapidly. “I went with you because I wanted to! What the hell!”

Ari was dumbfounded. What was all this now? This isn’t how this conversation was supposed to go. He was supposed to apologize and make up to her somehow, and maybe then he’d deserve her forgiveness.

“I don’t get it… I-I know you were mad at me all day, I saw you!”

Sanah frowned. “Ari, I was mad at myself. I blame myself for everything that happened yesterday, plus the added angst of being completely broke now… And I thought you were mad at me because I also made you -or Maia- lose so much money!”

“Huh? Why would I be?”

“You were like… avoiding me!”

Ari winced. “I… I did it because I thought you were mad and I didn’t want to upset you any further, so I just… let you be.”

“You weren’t going to upset me, and I’m not mad at you, geez!” She said, extending her arms at both sides as she dramatized her annoyance. “Were we both really thinking the other was mad?”

Ari went quiet for a few seconds as he brought his paw to his face.

“Damn… We are stupid.”

Sanah stared at him in confusion until the last sentence clicked on her. She just couldn’t help but snort. Then, that turned into a soft chuckle, and then Ari joined her. Before they knew it, both were laughing until almost running out of breath.

“Hahaha… That was so dumb…” Sanah said, wiping her tears. “I can’t believe we’re so dysfunctional.”

“Yeah, hah, my stomach hurts…” Ari said and then raised his head to look back at her. “So… We’re good?”

Sanah thought about it, about blaming herself for everything, but also about Ari doing the same. It wasn’t worth it, she decided.

“Yeah, we already were. Sorry, I’m so weird at expressing my emotions…”

“No, I am as well, haha…” He then rubbed his arm, but this time for another reason. “Can I uh… get a hug?”

Sanah smiled softly. “Of course, dude.”

Ari leaned into her and was quickly enveloped by the strong and fluffy arms of the Zangoose. He hugged her just as tight and rested his head on her neck trying to keep his bad thoughts away and focus on the warmth that his friend radiated.

“Thanks, I needed this,” Ari eventually said, not wanting to break the embrace just yet.

“Me too, honestly.”

He let his face sink into the fur of her shoulder as his smile dropped. “I still feel bad for putting you guys in danger by coming here. Your wounds were awful…”

Sanah frowned and pulled away just enough to see his face. “Dude, it’s fine, you didn’t choose for that to happen.”

“But Armarouge was following me…”

“Still doesn’t matter. We came willingly, and besides, Nimb learned a new move thanks to that! And we’re both fine in the end.”

“Well… If you put it like that…” Ari took a deep breath and thought for a long moment. “Okay, I really should stop being so negative, we have a mission to finish.”

Sanah gave him a gentle pat on the back and pulled away. “Cool. We should head back with those two and head for the main tunnel.”

Ari nodded, and both headed back to reunite with Mylo and Nimb. They felt much better now that they’d lifted such a weight from their shoulders, even if things still kinda sucked. The lawsuit and Sanah’s relationship with Mylo were still an issue. But hey, one thing at a time.

“Guys, we’re back!” Ari said, and both Nimb and Mylo perked up from where they were conversing. They seemed to smile a bit when they saw Ari and Sanah in better spirits. Well, Mylo was happy just for Ari.

“Good. That means we can-“

“Hey, stop that!”

Everyone flinched. What was that voice?

“You guys heard that? I think it came from the main tunnel,” Ari said, pointing to the path that led to a wider area.

“Yes, let’s go,” Mylo said.

Team Silver ran ahead and reached the main tunnel in just a moment, and they stopped as a scene happened in front of them. A carriage had stopped in the middle of the tunnel, and there seemed to be a fight going on around it.

Two Mudsdales were lying down covered in what seemed to be a string shot, completely immobilized, and a Throh was launched from the inside of the cart with brute force, crashing onto the cave wall and leaving a crack in it. Coming right behind, there was… an Obstagoon and an Inteleon.

“It’s them!” Mylo said, and quickly ran forward, followed by the rest of the team. Ari was right in the end!

Ari and Nimb tensed, scared of the upcoming confrontation, but they were determined to stay strong. Ari needed answers, and Nimb wanted to support him. But if they had to fight… they’d probably lose. They had already beaten Throh and the Mudsdales, how were they even thinking they had any chance?

“They ar.. ..i… t…. ..n..m..!”

Ari gasped. There was that voice again! It was saying something about them? And this time he could hear it better… But he didn’t have time for that now!

The criminals noticed the newcomers and prepared to fight until Inteleon relaxed again. “Oh, they’re only four, and they’re just teens. We can handle them.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, you suckers!” Sanah scowled, honing her claws before falling into a battle stance.

“Bwahaha, leave them to me,” Obstagoon said and licked his lips as if he were going to catch some prey.

“Wait you guys.” A voice came from inside the cart and a certain Spidops came out of it. “Aren’t those the same kids that messed up our plan last time?”

Obstagoon looked at Team Silver with interest, while Inteleon scratched his chin as he narrowed his eyes at them.

“Now that you mention it, yes, how could I forget that unusual Riolu…” Inteleon said.

Right after that was said, two other pokémon came out of the cart: a tied-up Sawk (also covered in string shot) who fell on the ground unconscious and a wide-eyed Weavile. He quickly searched for the mentioned Riolu and his mouth went agape as he spotted him.

“REN!” Ari yelled, a mixture of emotions visible on his face. Ren opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but he was interrupted.

“Look, your friend came looking for you, isn’t that sweet?” Spidops joked, and the Weavile rolled his eyes. “Anyway, you guys play all that you want, but I’ll be taking these in the meantime,” she said as she carried a few boxes from the cart and hopped off.

“She’s getting away with the orbs!” Sanah said in panic, and before she could do something, she was surprised by a sudden dragon breath that crossed the tunnel and hit the ceiling. A few rocks fell right in front of Spidops, making her stop and turn around in shock.

Everyone looked at Nimb and he cringed. “I-I uh… I just reacted and…”

“No, you did great!” Mylo said. Meanwhile, Sanah took her chance and, using her Gholdevice, she took a picture of the thieves while everyone was distracted. It took longer than expected since it had to scan a wider area and everything was farther away than usual.

Spidops shook her head and moved in a different direction, entering another tunnel. “Guys, I’m using the other exit, leave those suckers there and come already!”

Inteleon cast one last glance at Team Silver and snorted. “You’re going to regret messing with the Rising Bandits! Spike, you know what to do,” Inteleon said as he gestured for Ren to follow Spidops, while he went by the Obstagoon’s side.

“WAIT, DON’T GO, PLEASE!” Ari begged, and the Weavile hesitated for a moment, but he was pushed by Spidops to head for the side tunnel, and he eventually turned around and fled. “No…”

Mylo didn’t hesitate and ran towards Inteleon with a fist crackling with electricity, but his body turned invisible out of nowhere and dodged it. Mylo looked around in search of the water lizard, but he couldn’t see it coming from above and was hit by a sucker punch on the head.

“Mylo! Ugh, I couldn’t react in time,” Ari lamented.

Spike, the Obstagoon, went for Sanah with brute force. He tried to slash her but luckily she was faster and avoided it, preparing a slash of her own. However, the bandit blocked it with his arms in a cross formation and barely got a scratch from that.

“What?” Sanah said in disbelief. Meanwhile, Ari saw what was coming and this time he could activate his power, enveloping Sanah in a reddish aura.

“You think you can beat me?” He headbutted her and she was thrown away, landing on the ground with a grunt. “You’re just a kid, bwahaha!”

“Sanah, are you okay?” Ari called and tried to get closer to help, but she extended her arm to stop him.

“Leave this to us! You go find Ren,” Sanah said as she stood back up. That headbutt was tolerable enough for her thanks to the power of Ari’s pearls boosting her defense.

“But I can’t just leave you guys…”

Meanwhile, Inteleon was about to hit Mylo again before he could stand up, but a dragon breath hit him and made him flinch a bit. He turned to give Nimb a scanning glance, but he didn’t look mad at all, but rather curious.

Nimb tried to ignore the chills that went through his whole body at the look Inteleon gave him and gave Ari a determined look. “I’ll support them from the distance, w-we can take care of this! Y-you go find him, that’s what we came for.”

“Nimb is right… you can’t let this whole plan… go to waste,” Mylo said, finally standing up again. He couldn’t hide the pained look on his face, though.

Sanah swiped Spike with a fury cutter over and over again, but he kept blocking it with his arms. “Ugh, come on! Ari, don’t waste more time and go after him!”

Ari could cry right there, seeing his friends giving it all just for him to talk to some pokémon they don’t know, and a criminal of all things, but he didn’t want to waste any more time. For their sake.

He nodded, smiling. “Okay, thank you guys… I’ll find him.”

However, Ari was stopped by a loud crack and a few rocks rolling all around, coming from the nearest wall. From it, a big hole appeared and a wrong-looking pokémon came out of it.

Armarouge.

Ari gasped. “What? It came back?”

“Wait, isn’t that…?” Inteleon asked.

“Urgh, not now!” Sanah complained.

Everyone had stopped as they watched the Armarouge come out of the hole, but Ari took a step back as he saw its eyes focusing on him. Well of course.

Armarouge lunged forward and tried to grab Ari, but he quickly blocked with a protect. Unfortunately, it used its psychic power to mercilessly shatter the barrier, leaving Ari exposed.

The psychic grabbed Ari’s neck and squeezed it as if it were trying to drain his life energy into its own body. Ari could only gasp as he tried to reach his bag, while he grabbed the Armarouge’s arm with his other paw.

“Ari, no!” Nimb cried. He threw some rocks at the attacker, but it stopped them with psychic. Nimb decided he wanted to try and attack from up close, but Inteleon stopped him with a snipe shot on the floor in front of him.

“Where are you going?” Inteleon said with a sassy tone. “That’s not your fight.” Inteleon then dodged a punch from Mylo and made him trip with his tail.

Nimb was starting to panic again. He didn’t want Ari to get hurt again by Armarouge, he didn’t want to have the same result! He couldn’t protect his friend back then, and now…

A dragon breath rose from his throat and, this time, a psychic couldn’t stop it, landing on the Armarouge with enough force to release Ari’s throat slightly. He gasped and finally reached for his bag, grabbing a couple of seeds and throwing one of them to Armarouge.

The monster winced and took a few steps back, now moving around all wobbly. Ari stood up and sighed.

“I should have used that stun seed before…”

“Ari, now! Run!” Sanah yelled from where she was fighting the Obstagoon.

He cast her a bewildered look. “What? With Armarouge around? You’re going to be in great danger!”

“No, you’re the one it’s after! Just go already!” Mylo added and jumped to avoid a hit from Inteleon.

“Guys…” Ari hesitated, but then held the remaining seed on his paw firmly and decided to act. “Nimb, take this!”

He carefully threw the seed, and Nimb caught it, looking at it with confusion.

“Huh?”

“Eat it if you’re in trouble!”

With that, Ari flexed his legs and prepared to burst out of there with a quick attack. In a moment, he was a blur that passed right by the whole battlefield, the Inteleon giving him a surprised glance before he had to dodge another one of Mylo’s punches.

Ari ran to the side tunnel where Ren and the Spidops went and decided he didn’t want to waste time stopping to use his aura and rather used it while running, even if that meant being unfocused and risking a sudden crash with some obstacle.

And… there, he sensed him! There was still time! The Spidops was farther ahead, so maybe he could still find Ren alone, but it was still risky. He was willing to try.

A small tunnel, then a turn to the left, then jump up through a hole, then to the right. Then straight ahead, through the loop with a drop dash, until…

Ari stopped in a medium-sized chamber with nothing but an exit leading to another tunnel at the end of it. Right before the exit, a Weavile wearing a satchel stood with his back turned.

“Ren! Please, I just wanna talk!” Ari said as he leaned closer, unable to hide the desperation in his voice.

Ari stopped as he noticed Ren was holding an orb in his claw, and he tensed. Did he just… run into a trap?

Ren clicked a button on it and a few light dots appeared on its surface. After looking at it for a moment, Ren nodded. It was a radar orb.

“No one’s around… Okay, let’s talk,” the Weavile said with a quiet voice, and he finally turned around and faced him.

Ari relaxed. He mentally kicked himself for thinking Ren would do such a thing to him. Still, it’s been a long time and he wasn’t sure if being with those criminals might have changed him.

“Ren… I… I can’t even find the words now, I planned all this mission just to find you, and… I-I don’t get it! Just why?”

Ren analyzed him for a long moment and then turned his gaze to the ground and sighed. “You’ve changed a lot… At least physically, hah. There’s a lot to catch up to, isn’t it? I’m sorry…”

Ari pressed his paw on the pearl of his neck and shook his head. “I don’t even know where to begin with. When I learned you were a criminal, I didn’t want to believe it. But then I saw you in the warehouse and… I-I don’t understand. Are those outlaws the ones who kidnapped you?”

Ari was taking some steps forward as he dropped all of his feelings on him, and he didn’t realize how some tears were forming in his eyes. Ren didn’t move.

“I’m sorry, Ari… The answer is way more complex than that,” Ren said, nervously scratching his cheek.

“Then tell me…” Ari leaned closer, and this time he couldn’t hold it anymore. “I wanna know. I-I just…” Tears started welling down his face and he suddenly lunged forward, enveloping Ren in a hug.

Ren flinched, but he didn’t push him away. He knew Ari did that a lot.

“R-Ren!” Ari cried, pressing tightly against his neck. “I should be mad, but I j-just…”

“I know…” The Weavile simply said, finally wrapping his arms around the Riolu.

“I’ve missed you s-so much.” Ari whimpered, and a few unintelligible words escaped his mouth.

Ren emoted a sad smile. “I’ve missed you too.”

He caressed the fur on Ari’s head softly while he cried, giving him enough time to let it all out. It took him a couple of minutes to calm down until he pulled away and wiped his tears.

“Sorry, I’m just so happy to see you again… And sad at the same time,” Ari said while his voice cracked.

“I understand, this is not the best reunion we could’ve had…” Ren wiped a tear on Ari’s face and rested his claw on his shoulder. “Tell me, what happened to you? Why do you look like this?”

Ari sniffed. “Changed out of nowhere, no idea why. These pearls are kinda overpowered, so I’m not complaining. But what about you? Everything was fine, we were doing great as a team, and then you…”

Ren looked away and frowned. “Everything… was not fine, Ari. I had so many issues, everyone around us was terrible and all kinds of bad stuff happened. I couldn’t take it anymore. How the world treated me. How it treated you.”

“What? But… What do you mean?”

“It wasn’t just the archaeologists… There was always someone trying to mess with me. You weren’t always there, so you missed some of it, but people hate me as much as I hate them, and that means they tried to ruin my life whenever they could. I couldn’t keep living in this world…”

Ren took a deep breath and looked Ari in the eyes. Those hurt eyes who never needed to know this.

“I wasn’t kidnapped, Ari. I left.”

Ari felt his heart being crushed when he heard that. He’d tried to pretend like everything was fine and those were happy times, but deep down he knew that wasn’t true. He had those dreams repeating his memories on loop, and he realized things he never did before. He realized Ren wasn’t okay, but…

“I just… ignored all of this. I could have helped you and none of this would have happened, you would have stayed with me! But I just… chose to stay blind and pretend everything was rainbows and happiness!” Ari brought his paws to his temples, feeling a wave of guilt. “I’m just a self-centered-“

He was stopped when Ren gripped both of his shoulders and spoke in a more serious tone. “Ari, don’t blame yourself. I didn’t tell you any of that because you were going through so much already. Your parents were turning your life into a living hell!”

Both widened their eyes at that, and Ren looked away, knowing they both were thinking the same. Ari didn’t want to say it, but Ren did.

“I left you with them, knowing how they treated you. I abandoned you, and I’m never going to forgive myself. I’m sorry, Ari.”

Ari shook his head. “I managed! I left and joined another team away from Iris City… And I understand that you couldn’t keep up with that anymore, I don’t blame you.”

Ren smiled. “You’re too kind… I wish more pokémon were like you. You’re the only good thing that came out of those times.”

“Hehe… Thanks.” Ari blushed.

“But… there’s something I need to tell you.” He took a deep breath and brought Ari’s chin up so their eyes met again. “The day I got called for private business… it was them.”

Ari blinked. “Them? You mean… those ‘Rising Bandits’?”

He nodded. “They offered me a new life. They showed me there was a world we could build where we wouldn’t be treated like that. As a wild pokémon, the world was so cruel to me, and they’re just like me! They know what it feels like, and they want change.”

“Change, huh…” Ari didn’t know how to feel about that, and he rubbed his arm uncomfortably. “That sounds like… a good thing?”

Ren brightened. “Yeah, it does! And they needed my help, so I joined them. All we’ve been doing… I know it sounds bad, but we’re doing it for a good reason! We’re going to make a better world. But to achieve that…”

Ari’s awkward smile completely dropped. “… What?”

“I… Ari, I’m sorry but…” He sighed. “You’re not safe right now. Eventually, things are going to get ugly, and no one’s going to be able to stop it. The world as you know it is going to change forever, society will be purged and a new order will rise.”

Ari took a step back and stared with fear. “W-what do you mean with… purged?”

Ren shook his head. “I can’t tell you, but… Please, you’re in danger.” He then extended his claw, offering it with a smile. “Come with us! You’ll be safe, and they’ll give you a good life away from the corruption of the rest of the civilized pokémon!”

The Riolu gasped. What was he talking about? A new world? Civilized pokémon? And what was going to happen to everyone? That sounded way too alarming. It was too much new information and he was starting to panic.

“W-what’s with civilized pokémon? Ren, I am a civilized pokémon, I-I don’t get it! You’re scaring me…”

Ren noticed his anxiety and grabbed his shoulders gently once more, dropping his smile. “Hey, calm down, it’s okay. I… I guess I dropped too much on your shoulders. Listen, you’re the only good civilized pokémon I know. I want you to be safe, and we could be together again like we both wanted. That’s why I want you to come with me!”

Ari stared at him in disbelief, his eyes looking around rapidly as he thought of the possible implications of all that. Was he going to be safe if he joined Ren and the others? But… what were they even planning? And most importantly…

“Ren… I don’t want to leave my friends behind,” Ari explained with a pained expression.

The Weavile frowned at that. “Your friends? Wait, you’re talking about those three that were with you?” Ari nodded, and Ren looked away. “I don’t like them.”

Ari flinched. “What? But they’ve been helping me so much! Without them, I wouldn’t have found you, and they’ve made my days so much bearable!”

“And what if they’re just like everyone else? They could hurt you when you least expect it.”

Ari thought of the first interactions with Sanah, but his mind quickly went to the most recent memories with her and how it was worth it. “They won’t.”

Ren studied Ari’s determined expression for a long moment until he sighed. “Fine, they can come as well.”

“But Ren… That’s not what I want. There are so many pokémon that don’t deserve all that. It would be unfair to just hide while everyone else is…”

That really sounded like Ari, indeed. Ren softened as he flicked the feather on his left ear and looked down. “I should have expected that from you. You’re too good for this world, Ari.” He crossed his arms and looked back at him. “I know we’ll run into each other again. And when we do, I’ll ask again.”

Ari took a step forward and grabbed the Weavile’s arm. “Wait! You’re… leaving?”

“I’m sorry…”

The Riolu frowned. “I don’t want to lose you again…”

He then searched his bag and pulled out a certain yellow scarf, showing it to Ren, whose eyes widened.

“You kept our team scarf!”

Ari nodded, but couldn’t stop looking at the item with sad eyes. “Yes, but I’ve felt bad whenever I looked at it. It reminded me that you were gone…”

Ren frowned at that and quickly searched on his own satchel. To Ari’s surprise, he pulled out a matching yellow scarf like the one he had.

“You… You also kept yours!” Ari said, and he couldn’t help but blush. “I thought…”

Ren shook his head. “I would never throw this away, and I’m glad you didn’t either.” That made Ari smile. “Ari… don’t think of that scarf as a reminder of my disappearance. Think of it as a reminder of the good times we had together.”

That… made sense. Ari had only focused on the pain he felt when he was alone, but he had so many good memories with that scarf. Fighting together, laughing, exploring… They’d mixed their scarves on accident a few times, so it also had Ren’s scent on it, the same that Ari was too embarrassed to admit he liked.

“Maybe you’re right… I’ve thought of the negative stuff for too long,” Ari admitted. “I can’t believe I haven’t realized this until now.” He took a deep breath as he tried to clear his mind. “Thanks, Ren.”

They exchanged earnest smiles for a moment until someone else made their way into that chamber.

“Ari! Have you found- oh.”

It was Sanah, who had stopped at the entrance and stared at the duo with surprise. Ari and Ren stared back.

“Sanah, you’re fine!” Ari beamed, but then looked back at Ren, and then Sanah again. He sensed the tension in the air.

Ren, however, didn’t waste any more time and hugged Ari one last time. He was surprised by it but returned the hug. Ren whispered in his ear. “We’ll meet again.”

Ari nodded with a sad smile, and they pulled away from the hug. “Ren… I don’t know how but… I-I promise we’ll figure things out.”

The Weavile smiled at him. “Always so positive… Take care, Ari.” He then stole a glance at the Zangoose and dropped his smile, narrowing his eyes. “You better treat him well.”

Sanah frowned. What was all that about?

With that, Ren turned away and left through the tunnel ahead, leaving Ari watching him go as his smile faded slowly. Right then, another voice made itself known.

“Ariiii!” It was Nimb, who now stood by Sanah, and Mylo was right behind. “We finally found you!”

Ari brightened. “Guys! I’m glad you’re okay…” He then moved towards them, slowly noticing they were pretty much beaten up. “Wait, you’re not okay! Did they beat you up?”

“Yes, sadly…” Mylo said, crossing his arms.

“The violent seed you gave me was a big help, but we were no match for them…” Nimb said, sadly.

“At least Armarouge was confused enough that it went through a different tunnel,” Sanah explained. “But the bandits… Apparently, we’re ‘not worth their time’ so they ‘spared’ us and fled. Those suckers…” Sanah growled, stomping her foot on the ground.

“Ah, I see… I’m sorry, I wish I could have helped you guys.”

Mylo shook his head. “It’s fine, don’t worry.”

“Anyway, did you find him? How did it go?” Nimb asked.

Ari went through several emotions, from happiness, to sadness, to fear, as the reality of the situation finally downed on him. “Well, yeah… I did talk to him, so I got what I wanted. But… we have a lot to talk about. And we have to inform Brynel as well.”

They looked at him in concern. That didn’t sound good at all.

“I see… You can fill us up while we find the way out, though. We’re exhausted, and we still need to call for help so they can attend the mons in the carriage,” Mylo said.

Ari rubbed his arm nervously. “Yeah, agreed… We can talk to Brynel tomorrow after class. I’ve already had enough for now. Let’s just go.”

 

---

 

The next day, there was a weird atmosphere in class. It wasn’t tense like last time, but it was bittersweet. Both Team Silver and Team Riding Star had gone through a lot in just a day, and the emotions were still fresh.

However, there was something different everyone could notice. Kyle was wearing the leather belt that Cora gave him, and Ari had two scarves, a yellow one and a green-striped one, tied on both arms. He looked overdressed, and Cora thought it was kinda funny.

Then, the air completely shifted once Maia entered the classroom in a hurry and addressed her students.

“Everyone! I just… got a notice from the judge.” Her eyes brightened and everyone perked up. “Ebert has withdrawn the lawsuit!”

“WHAT?” They yelled in unison.

Kyle was dumbfounded, but as he looked at his classmates, they all were looking at each other in a mixture of disbelief and joy. Sanah looked especially hopeful, her eyes more bright than he’d ever seen them before. Kyle didn’t understand why his father had decided that now, but that’s fine.

Cora beamed and went to celebrate with Ari, holding paws/flippers while Ari exchanged smiles with Sanah as well, and Nimb was just looking at them with amusement. They had reasons to be worried and stressed, but for now, they focused on the present.

Not everything was so bad.