Chapter 1

Crossroad Town was gifted with another bright and sunny morning, though most townsfolk were too busy with their daily routines to pay much notice. Pokemon of all shapes, sizes and hues bustled around the paved roads and squares, setting up shop, chatting through a mouthful of breakfast or trotting on their way to school or work. Nobody batted an eye when a blue-plumaged avian Pokemon bumbled his way over Salted Apple Bridge, for this too was very much routine.

It was Maurice, a Cramorant with a perpetually worried expression etched across his face. He could usually be seen waddling around the streets early in the morning, glancing around nervously, asking for directions and leaving a trail of cerulean feathers in his wake. He was a well-known deliverymon around those parts; not particularly good at the job, but earnest and hardworking enough to garner the pity of the local citizens.

His delivery route today led him to the residential district of Crossroad Town, in a particularly ritzy neighborhood. Ornately decorated houses lined the central cobblestone street, built in the shape of their owner’s head (A typical but odd custom of the rich). Maurice whipped his head from side to side, toddling along the road with a whimpering frown curving his beak downwards.

“Um… Er…” He muttered, studying a damp, crinkled memo wedged between his wing feathers. “It should be around here somewhere…?”

His thoughts were cut short by a youthful, cheerful voice. “Hey, mister!”

Maurice looked up from his memo in surprise. He was greeted by the face of a young Piplup who came bounding up to him.

“You look lost!” The Piplup chirped. “D’ya need some help?”

The Cramorant’s look of concern quickly melted into a wide grin at the sight of such an inconceivably cute child. “What a sweet young lad you are!” 

The older bird opened his delivery satchel, revealing a small sealed parcel to the boy before closing it once more. “You see, I need to deliver this package to a ‘Miss Munchmoney’… But I’m not the best with directions.”

He glanced around the neighborhood once more in dismay. “I’ve been searching for a while but I just can’t find the address!”

“You mean the Miss Munchmoney that lives right there?” The Piplup pointed his flipper to a garish pink house directly behind him. A shimmering gold plate next to the house read “Munchmoney Residence” in plain view.

Both beaked Pokemon stared at the Snubbull-shaped building wordlessly, until Maurice broke the silence with nervous chuckling. “Well, whaddaya know?”

The penguin Pokemon returned an unconvincing chuckle and began to waddle away. “Anyways, I gotta go now! See you around, mister!”

“Thanks for the help, junior!” The deliverymon waved after him until the petite silhouette disappeared into the morning sun. He turned back to Munchmoney’s house.

He had work to do.

Waggling up to the residence, he knocked (or rather pecked) on the mahogany door with his long beak. A suspicious amount of time passed, but eventually the door creaked open, revealing a stout elderly Snubbull with a bone-chilling glare behind a thick green Berry facial paste. The Pokemon’s frilly ears were held back by a ribboned hair tie presumably to be kept gunk-free.

“What?” She croaked in a raspy voice.

Maurice flinched from astonishment but tried to maintain a professional disposition. “Um… Shaymin’s Delivery Service.”

The Snubbull’s irritated scowl quickly changed into a crooked toothy smile upon hearing those words. “Oh, my package is finally here!”

 

“Yes, M’am!” The Cramorant smiled back, relieved at the lady’s good mood. “Delivered with care by…”

 

He reached inside his satchel, but his wings felt nothing.

“Yours…”

 

He continued fumbling around the lined interior of the bag with a nervous smile plastered on his beak, but cannot detect the parcel anywhere.

 

“Truly…“

 

He ducked his head down but his eyes confirmed what his wings had warned him about. The inside of his delivery bag was completely, utterly, emptily empty.

 

The sweating bird’s pupils shrink.

 

“I’VE BEEN ROBBED!”

 

---

Not three kilometers from the shriek was the Piplup, stolen package in hand and running as fast as his stubby feet could carry him. He cackled at the strident wail and made a sudden jump. A puff of smoke enveloped him in an instant, and what came down was not a Piplup at all, but a Zorua.

“What a sucker!” The Pokemon chortled, grasping the twine of the package in his teeth. He zigzagged around the streets, always choosing the emptiest allies and narrowest wedges until the buildings began to peter out, giving way to the outskirts of the town.

Dashing past faded signposts, tall grass and broken fences, he arrived to an abandoned windmill atop a hill. The derelict structure loomed over a broad and murky pond, overseeing Crossroad Town. Wasting no time, the Zorua crept inside the doorless entrance of the windmill and plopped the small package on top of one of the many piles of hay.

A wide smirk spread across his face. “Cheers to that idiot mailman! I just hope it’s something decent this time. Like a Black Gummi…”

He ripped open the parcel with a skilled claw and hastily dug past the layers of packing fluff. Suddenly, his yellow eyes detected something sparkly, and his jaw dropped.

“Wha–? A GOLD RIBBON?!” He exclaimed. The tricky fox Pokemon grabbed onto the shimmering ribbon as if it would’ve disappeared at any moment and felt the silky smooth golden fabric.

“Th-this sells for at least 2000 Poké! Jackpot!” He danced around the dusty room with glee, pirouetting on and off bales of hay. “Finally, an item worthy of being stolen by moi! Oh Gold Ribbon, I love ya!”

The Pokemon planted a delicate kiss on the bow and pinned it to his neck fur. He could at least look dapper while he decided how to spend his small fortune.

 

His fantasies were suddenly cut short by the sound of something rustling nearby.

 

Shoot! The cops already?!

 

In a panic, the Zorua reflexively disappeared into another puff of smoke, reappearing as a bale of hay. He laid completely still, hoping nobody saw him transform, and scanned the area in search of the source.

It was then when he saw a nearby hay pile swish and tumble apart, giving way to a lump of tan and cream colored fur. The lump groggily wriggled around the bed of straw before sitting up. A long ear perked to an upright position while one flopped over the creature’s face as it gave a yawn.

It was an Eevee. Still not bothering to get up, she lazily looked around the room, stopping her gaze occasionally to stare at dancing specks of dust caught in a sunbeam that leaked in through the windmill’s narrow window. Her eyes eventually locked on to the Zorua “hay bale”. The disguised Pokemon tried his best to remain completely still and avoid detection, but the stranger was completely fixated on him. 

The Eevee finally got up, shaking away the hay, dust and dirt that still clung to her fur, and slowly ambled her way to the disguise, who was paralyzed in place, until her nose was only centimeters from the sweaty stack of hay.

Before the Zorua could even of a plan, the Eevee suddenly lurched her head backwards.

 

And headbutted the hay bale with all her might.

 

The Zorua toppled to the floor, his illusion abandoned in clouds of smoke, and clutched the newly formed lump on his forehead.

 

“What the heck was that for?!” He whined.

“Oh, sorry!” The Eevee walked up to him with a completely unconcerned face. “I was just checking if you were real.”

“THAT’S how you check?!”

The Zorua snapped back to his feet, and shot the strange Normal-type the dirtiest look he could make while still wincing from pain. “I don’t have time for this. How did you even find this place? Are you with the cops?!”

The Eevee tilted her head to the side, deep in thought.  “Hmmm…” 

The two sat in silence for a few moments while she continued to ponder. Eventually, she melted into a bright smile.

 

“I can’t remember!”

 

“...Huh?”

 

The dark-furred Pokemon gaped at her incredulously, waiting for any kind of follow-up but found none. She only stared back at him with a candid expression.

He erupts into a fit of laughter. “Bahahaha! Yeah, right! Like I’d fall for that one!”

His laughter only seemed to confuse the Eevee who now seemed unsure of what to say. Her dazed face annoyed him, so he tried to prod her once more. 

“What a bunch of Trubbish!” He insisted. “‘I don’t remember…’ ”

 

“I don’t.”

 

“You don’t remember anything at all?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Not even your name?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“You just… woke up here?”

 

“Yep.”

 

Zorua growled at her stubbornness. “Rrrgh, okay, whatever. That’s not my problem. Why don’t you skedaddle on out of here so I can scheme in my secret lair in peace?”

 

An explosive voice shattered through the conversation.

 

“THIEF! WE KNOW YER THERE!”

 

The two small Pokemon stand stunned for a few moments with ringing ears, but Zorua knew he had to snap out of it soon.

“This is bad.”

Outside of the decrepit windmill, a small squadron of Pokemon surveyed the area. Most of them were Herdier with their facial fur clipped short and necks concealed by a thick leather collar with a golden badge attached. Among them was Maurice who timidly waddled behind a plump Slurpuff, clearly the leader of the group.

“Where are ya, ya little varmit?!” He roared. “Think yer so smart ‘cuz you steal all day and get away with it? Not if Chief Pudding’s got somthin’ to say ‘bout it!”

He tapped on his navy blue hat adorned with a brilliant gold star and gritted his teeth on a flimsy plastic stick, occasionally revealing a lime green lollipop inside his mouth. The same golden badge the Herdier wore on their collars was strapped around his waist along with a jangling set of handcuffs.

He began muttering to himself. “Today’s the last day that lil’ beastie’s steals from some dope in this town…”

“Dope?” The deliverymon behind him repeated feebly.

“SO COME OUT, YA COWARD!”

 

The coward in question remained pressed up between one of the walls of the windmill and a particularly tall stack of hay bales, concealed from sight. He slapped his paw against the mouth of the odd Eevee he dragged along with him when hiding.

 

He was in trouble.

 

This is very bad. At this rate they’re gonna catch me. I need to find a way out of this. Think, you beautiful genius, think! What can I use right now to escape?

 

He locked eyes with Eevee, who smiled innocently back. 

 

A lightbulb went off in his head.

 

“Heeey, buddy…” He whispered through a sickeningly sweet smile. “Wanna play a little game?”

“That sounds fun!” The brown Pokemon exclaimed. “What game are we playing?”

“Inside voice, please.” He purred. “It’s kind of like hide-and-seek. The annoying loud guys outside are the seekers. I’m the hider. Your job is to pretend like you’re the hider but you really want to get caught by the seekers. And you have to make sure I don’t get caught. Get it?”

 

“Sure!”

 

“Inside voice.”

 

He extended a paw and the two exchanged a quiet high five.

“Okay, let’s do this.” He murmured.

Eevee tugged on his tail. “We’re gonna need codenames! Not that I have a regular name. What’s mine?”

“Ehh…” Zorua looked to his left. Then to his right. “Your codename is Hay.”

She beamed. “Hei! I love it!”

 

“k cool my name’s not important, go get ‘em slugger” 

 

The trickster Pokemon tossed the Eevee away from him, directly in front of the windmill’s only entrance. She laid facedown in the dirty floor but eventually peeked her head up. She was greeted by a Slurpuff’s face twisted into a sadistic smile. The lollipop clenched between his teeth cracked with an unsettling sound

“Well, well, well…” He began in a singsong tone. “Look what we got here.”

His beady eyes darted to the side where Maurice fidgeted a few meters away. “This yer guy?”

The sweating Cramorant arched his long neck to inspect the Eevee, but his face only twisted further into distress. “Not really…”

“Guilty until proven innocent it is.”

“B-But the thief was clearly a Piplup, Chief Pudding, sir…” Maurice objected.

“Dadgum shapeshifter is what it is.” Pudding spat. “Been nabbin’ from the townsfolk fer ages. Nobody’s ever seen what it really looks like. Probably just usin’ another disguise right now to sneak its way out again. Nice try, slick!”

The Fairy-type reaches for the cuffs on his belt. “No outlaw can outsmart me… So yer under arrest!”

“Oh noooo,” The Eevee couldn’t contain her giggling as she offered her front paws to be cuffed. “You caught me! Heehee…”

Pudding grimaced. “Yer kinda takin’ the fun outta this…”

 

After being thoroughly patted down, handcuffed and muzzled, and after the pack of Herdier thoroughly investigated the area, they all regrouped outside of the windmill.

One of the Herdier went forward and saluted the chief. “Sir, we’ve secured the area and there appears to be no other Pokemon in the perimeter. We’ve also procured the stolen item, one Gold Ribbon.”

“Job well done, boys!” Chief Pudding chortled. “Let’s take this outlaw down to the precinct and have ourselves a round of blended Gummis!”

The humming Slurpuff led Hei by the chain of her muzzle back into Crossroad Town. She glanced back at the old building, but didn’t say a word. The jingling of heavy metal chains eventually fizzled out into the morning air, and the windmill returned to its typical silence.

 

Minutes passed.

 

A Zorua’s head popped out from the corner of the windmill’s entrance. He scanned the surroundings, making sure he was indeed alone, before disappearing back into the building in a flash.

“It worked.” He said to himself in bemusement while pacing wildly around the hay-covered floor. “I mean, sure, they took the Ribbon away (and I kind of framed an amnesiac) but I just avoided getting caught by the cops in my own secret lair! Am I a genius?”

His face went from puzzled to incredibly smug. He threw himself onto one of the piles of hay in an exceedingly ostentatious manner, crossing his hind legs in satisfaction.

 

“Welp, I hope that Eevee likes wrongful incarceration!”

 

He laid in the hay.

 

He tossed.

 

He turned.

 

He tossed once more. 

 

Suddenly, he exploded out of the bed in a flurry of straw.

 

“Okay fine, I’ll help her! JEEZ!” He screamed to himself.

 

He stared at the outside landscape of the distant Crossroad Town and gave a weary sigh. “I am such a good person.”

 

---

“Hmm…”

 

Hei’s limbs were all tightly bound to each corner of the table by a thick rope, all illuminated by a harsh light above her. Behind her muzzle was a wide quivering smile that occasionally sputtered out giggles.

 

“Quiet, you!” Chief Pudding barked as he looked down at her from a high chair to the left of the table. 

“B-But it tickles!” She squeaked between snickers.

The tickling continued from directly behind her head. A bespectacled Hatenna rubbed the Eevee’s head intently with her flaplike limbs, shifting from the top, to the temples, to the forehead, to the cheeks, and repeating. Each stroke caused another fit of laughter from Hei. The Hatenna remained silent, focused on the ‘massage’, until finally, she crosses her floppy ears over each other.

“She’s innocent.” The Hatenna declared in a stoic voice, causing the Slurpuff to puff up indignantly.

“Impossible! Do it again!”

“I don’t need to do it again, the results are very clear. We’ve been interrogating her all day.” The pink Pokemon retorted while untying Hei’s arm restraints.

“Inspector Mochi! As chief of police, I order ya to perform the lie detector again until it comes back positive!”

 

Mochi swung her ear down on the chief of police’s head hard, knocking him off of his stool. 

 

“That’s not how it works.” Her glasses flashed with disapproval, but her expression changed into a soft smile when helping Hei get off the table. “Thanks for being patient, sweetie. Let’s go do another interview now that we know you’re clean.” 

“‘Mkay.” The Eevee smiled back and followed the inspector out of the testing room while Pudding struggled to get back on his feet.

All three Pokemon arrived at the interrogation cell and seated themselves around a small metal table that had a stack of papers and a bowl of hard candies. 

Pudding turned on a nearby lamp and shoved it in the brown Pokemon’s face. “So, ya thievin’ thief, who do ya work for?”

“There’s something thing I’d like to clarify before we begin,” Mochi interrupted, ignoring the ramblings of her coworker. “As a Hatenna, I have the ability to read other’s emotions. I’ve read many Pokemon’s feelings in my day, but I’ve never felt energy like yours before. Where did you come from?”

Hei politely explained her amnesia to the astonished duo of policemon.

“I see, that would definitely explain the patterns I felt. Poor thing…” Inspector Mochi adjusted her glasses and reached for the police report on the table. “So if you’re not the thief, what were you doing with the stolen item so close by?”

“She had it cuz she’s a no good amnesia-havin’ thief, is what…” Pudding grumbled to himself, unwrapping a new lollipop from the candy bowl to chew on.

Hei looked at the two policemon in perplexion. “What stolen item? Is this part of the game?”

 

“What game?”

“Hide and seek!” The Eevee explained as if it were obvious. “You’re the seeker and I’m the fake hider. Pretty good for my first time, huh?”

The two adults sideyed at each other at a loss for words.

“You’re the ‘fake hider’? What do you mean?” The inspector asked.

“Well, I’m the fake one and then my friend is the real one-” Her eyes widened and she quickly slapped her hands over her mouth, though a few mischievous titters break through. “Oops, I was supposed to keep it a secret!”

 

The Hatenna scratched the protrusion on her head, jingling the badge strapped to it as well. “It sounds like you’ve been set up, sweetie.”

 

“Hm?” Hei’s smile was unwavered.

Mochi patted the young Pokemon’s head. “Your ‘friend’ is a thief. He stole something very valuable, and then tricked you into taking the blame for it. And we nearly fell for it.”

Chief Pudding bounced to his feet. “That no-good varmit! He duped us again?!”

The psychic-type nodded. “To think the outlaw would implicate a child with memory loss into a crime… What an awful Pokemon it must be.”

For the first time, Hei’s expression grew clouded with worry. “He’s… a bad Pokemon?”

“Tch! Chief Pudding will never lose to scum like that!” The pudgy chief of police blazed out of the interrogation cell, already shouting orders to the nearby Herdier officers to move out.

Inspector Mochi sighed. “He’s hopeless…” She reached for the candy bowl and handed the interogee a Pecha-flavored lollipop. “What about you, sweetie? Since you’ve lost your memory, you probably don’t have anywhere to go.”

“No…” 

She frowned.“That’s a problem. It’s already getting pretty late. My place is too small… Would you be okay sleeping in a cell for today? It’s not very luxurious but I could bring in some blankets.”

 

Hei nibbled open the candy wrapper and popped the treat into her mouth.“That’s very nice of you. Thank you.”

 

A few minutes later, Mochi and the other police officers who had learned of the situation finished preparing Hei’s room for the night. Like the inspector said, the cold dark cell with only one barred slit as a source of fresh air was far from a comfortable bedroom, but the thermal blankets and cot provided by the precinct was more than enough for Hei, especially since her last bed was nothing more than a pile of straw. The young Normal-type thanked the inspector and other officers once more before hopping on the cot and burying herself under the blankets. She was far too tired to reflect upon what happened on her first day of remembering things, and deep reflection was not her style. She settled on closing her eyes and counting Mareep.

Her count was abruptly interrupted on number 148 when she began hearing something below her. She poked her good ear out of the nest of blankets for a better listen.

 

“Hey, kid! Are you in here?”

 

The Eevee popped the rest of her head out of the blankets and looked around. Behind the bars of the window to the outside was the Zorua from that morning. As the window only reached the ground, he had to duck and jam his snout in one of the openings.

 

“Oh, good, you’re here.” He whispered. “Hope they weren’t too rough with you. Anyways, I’ll bust you out now.”

Hei heard the sound of fumbling and metallic clanging. A keyring slid across the stone floor, settling at the feet of the cot.

The trickster chortled indulgently. “I stole this from the reception. Believe me, it is not easy to distract a Klefki, so you’re welcome. Just try them out until one of them works.”

The girl’s eyes narrowed at the sight of him. She sprinted out of the cot and past the already unlocked cell door, ignoring his escape plan entirely. Dashing past the Klefki receptionist and around the building, she came face to face with the bewildered outlaw.

“W-woah, that was fast. Good for you.”

 

“You!” Hei’s face turned fierce. “You’re a bad Pokemon!”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Turn yourself in now!” She pointed towards the front of the police station.

“Huh?!” The Zorua repeated, now riled up. “That’s some way to talk to someone who saved your sorry behind!”

The Eevee responded by headbutting him again. Zorua flew back, crashing to a halt on the pavement. 

“A-again?!” He groaned.

His vision was a bit blurry, but he could see the Eevee running towards him for another round. Wasting no time, he sprung to his feet and dashed away. However, Hei didn’t give up and ran in pursuit of the fleeing criminal.

The Zorua was fast and exceedingly nimble; Hei struggled to keep up with his weaving around tight spaces and sudden transformations into other Pokemon in crowds. All she could do was not lose sight of him. He was beginning to tire too. Multiple transformations in one day proved too exerting on his powers. He resolved to at least lure her somewhere with less prying eyes and patrolling officers, so he made a mad dash towards his secret base.  The chase continued as the crowds and shops became more and more sparse, and soon the two Pokemon ended up outside the same windmill they had met inside that morning. The Dark-type skidded to a halt near one of the windmill blades.

“Leave me alone, weirdo!” He screamed.

“No!” Hei cried back. “You’re a bad Pokemon! You stole something and blamed it on me! You’re a thief and a liar!”

Zorua’s glare ignited with a wild anger. “Oh, I’m a bad Pokemon?” He snarled. “You’re right about that. I’m a wanted outlaw. I’m the Yellow-Eyed Mirage! You really think you can take me on?”

He charged with his claws pointed right at the Eevee. She swiftly dodged the attack and hopped atop the rotting windmill blade. The growling fox Pokemon lept after her, his landing causing the wood beneath them to creak and splinter.  He took a step towards her, forcing her to take on back towards the end of the blade.

“You come into my secret lair and make me have to break you out of jail…” He muttered, taking another step towards her. “And you have the nerve to preach about my morality? That amnesia must have wiped out your brains, too.”

Hei took another shaky step back. “You’re the one who tricked me. And you stole something that doesn’t belong to you. That’s wrong!”

“Please!” The Zorua scoffed, and approached her with one more step. “The rich granny can get another ribbon. But that thing would’ve fed me for a month! That’s what’s really wrong!”

To this, Hei’s expression softened. “Really?”

The boy’s voice quavered. “Obviously! I live in an abandoned windmill, for Arceus’ sake! Do you think I want to live like this? But Pokemon like me aren’t lucky enough to have squeaky clean morals like you!”

A horrible snapping sound rang across the sweltering evening air. Both Pokemon looked down in dismay to see the wooden beam beneath them crack a rift between them, ripping the musty cloth of the blade in the process. 

“H-Hey, look out!” The Zorua called after Hei, but both she and the wooden plank supporting her plummeted down to the muddy pond below.

The Eevee was helpless as she hit the water. Maybe she once knew how to swim, but as for current amnesiac Hei, she had no clue. The pond was far too deep to wade through, and the sinking debris from the destroyed blade made navigation all but impossible.  All she could do was wildly flail her legs and pray that would work.

Her senses began to fail her. Her hearing was muffled, her nose and mouth filled with water, her vision blurry. Even her consciousness began to abandon her. She could no longer feel herself sinking; perhaps she had already reached the bottom of the pond.

 

With the last of her vision, she made out something shining a peculiar rouge glow next to her.

 

She stretched her paw towards it as if by instinct. 

 

And then, everything went white.

 

Suddenly, Hei felt completely fine. She could see, she could hear, she could even breathe. It was like a huge weight had been lifted from her. She tried to swim, and found it surprisingly easy to do so, like she had always known how. With unexpected agility, she maneuvered herself around the underwater wreckage and swam her way to the surface. Her head broke out of the water. The night air stung her skin, suddenly too cold even though by all accounts, it should’ve been a warm summer night. She paddled to the pond’s edge and climbed out with ease.

A few meters away, the Zorua was frantically trotting laps around the pond, scanning the water for signs of an Eevee.

 

“Heeeey, kid! Where are you?!”

 

“I’m right here!”

 

His head shot back up, but upon laying his eyes on her, his expression changed from relieved to bewildered.

 

“…Kid? Is that you?”

 

Hei tilted her head. “Yeah, who else would it be?”

 

“You look a bit… different.” He pointed to their reflection on the pond’s surface. The grimy water allowed for a clear view of the two youngsters.

 

To her right was the confused Zorua’s expression staring at her, while her own reflection was… very unlike was an Eevee should look like. Her fur had vanished, now replaced by blue, white and magenta scales,  webbing, and her tail had split into a fishlike one. Her ears had also disappeared, being replaced by long facial fins that jutted out from the side of her head (interestingly enough, her right fin inherited its floppiness from her ear).

Hei approached her reflection, taking in every detail of her bizarre new form.

“You evolved.” The other Pokemon noted bluntly. “You’re a… Vaporeon now, right?”

“I… guess so?” Hei said while prodding the frilled collar around her neck.

“How is that even possible? Everyone knows you need an Evolution Crystal to evolve and…” His eyes suddenly grew wide. “Sweet Mew, I hid an Evolution Crystal in that pond a while back and forgot about it. You must’ve touched it!”

“Huh…” The Vaporeon grunted absentmindedly as she stretched her paws and admired the new webbing between each finger.

“I was totally gonna use it to evolve when I was strong enough…” The Zorua muttered, but quickly finished mourning the loss of his Evolution Crystal. “Well, I guess you needed it more. I’ll just steal another one.”

This snapped Hei out of her self-fascination. “Are you really going to go back to stealing?”

“I mean, yeah. Are you gonna headbutt me again?” He shuffled around awkwardly. He knew he couldn’t win a fight between a fully evolved Pokemon.

 

The Water-type shakes her head, causing her facial fins to flop around. “I won’t try to stop you anymore.”

 

“Wait really?”

 

“I thought only bad Pokemon stole and lied, but you showed me that even good ones need to do it to get by sometimes.”

 

 Zorua’s face flushed red. “Good? Me? I pinned my crime on you!”

 

“But you never intended for me to stay in jail. You came to get me right after.”

 

I don’t know about never intended…

 

“Plus,” Hei continued with a smile. “You were trying to save me from drowning just now, right? Even though we were fighting! You really do have a good heart!”

 

The Dark-type sheepishly pawed at a pebble on the ground. “I don’t know about that… You’re too easily influenced, you know that?”

 

She giggled. “Probably. But I always want to listen to others sincerely. I’ll make up my mind once I hear all sides.”

 

“You’re… kind of strange.” Saying that, the Zorua cracked a smile, the most sincere one Hei had seen from him yet. It fades as quickly as it appeared, however, soon replaced by a weary sigh.

 

“Darn it all…” He mumbled. “You caught me. And rule number seven of thieving is ‘know when you’ve been caught and give in with pride’. Well, I guess it’s time to face the music.”

 

“You mean…?”

 

“I’ll turn myself in. Or better yet, you can say you caught me all hero-like and get a ton of money. An outlaw as cool as me’s bound to have a high bounty, right?” He struck a pose.

 

“You’ll really do that?”

 

“Sure. That way, after I serve my time, I’ll have a clean slate and can get back to stealing all I want. Plus, I can’t wait to see Pudgy Pudding’s face when he sees a ditz like you apprehended me! Oh, I bet he’s gonna toast like a marshmallow!”

 

The two Pokemon laughed thinking of such a sight and began making their way back to Crossroad Town.

“Hey, I never got your name.” The Zorua mentioned.

 

“You just said it. It’s Hei.” 

 

The fox Pokemon’s brow furrowed, suddenly remembering that morning. “Wait, you’re still using that dumb codename? I kind of made it up on the spot, you know.”

 

Hei giggled, her scaly cheeks turning a rosy hue at the thought of her new name.

 

“I like it!”

 

“Well, suit yourself.”

“What about you?”

 

“Who, me?” The Zorua asked somewhat dumbfounded. “I usually don’t give out my name but… since I’m turning myself in, it doesn’t matter anymore. The name’s Key, A.K.A The Yellow-Eyed Mirage!”

 

“Pffft.”

“What?!”

 

“It’s not very cool.”

 

“Which part? My alias or my actual name?!”

 

Hei paused. “Both.”

 

“What do you mean both ?!”

 

---

It was late at night, but the reception of the Crossroad Town police station was jammed packed with Pokemon. When Hei, now a Vaporeon, suddenly returned with the culprit of the stolen Gold Ribbon, everyone involved scrambled back to the precinct. Chief Pudding was of course the first to arrive, out of breath and cuffs in hand.

“So… you were a Zorua the whole time, huh? Dadgum shapeshifter…” He said while locking the handcuffs on each of Key’s front paws.

“You don’t need to cuff me, I’m not going anywhere.” He muttered.

Pudding guffawed. “You’re darn tootin’. You ain’t goin’ nowhere any time soon, that’s for sure.”

Next to arrive was Inspector Mochi.

“It’s incredible you managed to catch him.” She mused in admiration. “Have you considered joining the police force?”

Hei chuckled nervously. “Key turned himself in all by himself. I didn’t do anything.”

“Key, huh?” The Psychic-type glared at the outlaw, who suddenly felt very unsafe. “So you’re the genius who hid while this amnesiac girl got arrested in your stead?”

He smirked but sweat continued to fall from his face. “Well, I’m here now, aren’t I?” 

The Hattena bounced up, and using Chief Pudding’s face as a stepping stool, got up right in Key’s face. “Yes. You. Are.”

Miss Munchmoney came next. With an indignant huff (but perfectly smooth skin thanks to that morning’s facial), she marched up to the fox Pokemon and flicked his nose with a polished claw. “You’re pretty cheeky stealing my package from right under my nose like that!” She barked in a raspy voice. “If I were a couple years younger, I’d show you what happens when you mess with a Fairy-type gal like me!”

“Couple of light years, maybe.” He snorts.

Hei shyly poked him and whispered in his ear. “Key, light years measure distance, not time.”

“You have amnesia, how do you know this?”

“It’s common knowledge.”

 The last one to arrive on the scene was Maurice, his ever present worry-grimace accompanying him even late at night.

“G’devenin’.” He greeted timidly. “Sorry to disturb. This whole mess really is my fault for being careless.”

“Nonsense, it’s all this wiley varmit’s fault.” Chief Pudding pointed his stubby paw at Key, who stuck his tongue out.

“In any case…” Maurice squawked. “The whole situation got a bit out of proportion. So my boss is also here to settle matters properly.”

Everyone in the room fell quiet. Hei looked at the others quizzically, confused about the sudden stoicism.

As if on cue, Maurice waddled out of the way to make room for a diminutive Pokemon. It was a Shaymin, dressed in a sky blue bow tied around her neck and a distinguished-looking cap covering the top of her lush grassy pelt. The cap was also the same shade of blue as the ribbon, complete with a golden stitched emblem of a Gracidea flower, and was adorned with a thick moss-green rope around the base of the  brim.

All the other Pokemon took a moment to admire the mythical creature. Something about a Shaymin’s presence filled those around it with a sense of calm; the air felt fresher, the atmosphere more pleasant. Or was it perhaps just this Shaymin?

“Postmaster General!” Inspector Mochi greeted, toddling up to the Shaymin and extending her soft blue limb for a handshake. The hedgehog Pokemon gingerly accepted it and gave a hearty shake.

“Good evening, Inspector.” Her kind green eyes shimmered under strands of her leafy fur. “I hope you haven’t been too distraught with the situation.”

“Nothing we can’t handle, m’am.”

The Shaymin smiled. “As expected. Please keep up the good work.”

She then approached the chief of police, who gave a stiff salute. “Evening, Postmaster Aldora.”

“Good evening, Chief Pudding. Thank you for handling this situation so effectively.”

Key couldn’t help but snort at that.

She carried on to Miss Munchmoney. “I’m very sorry about our mismanaged delivery. I sincerely hope it didn’t inconvenience you too much.”

“Oh ho, ohohoho…” The Snubbull cackled bashfully. “Not in the slightest, Postmaster. We all know how excellent your delivery service is, it is truly rare for a mixup like this to occur. Perhaps that makes me lucky, after all!”

“Lucky or not, I would like to make it up to you. We will of course send you a brand new Gold Ribbon, free of charge, as well as five complimentary Sky Gifts. Is there anything else you would like?”

“That’s more than enough, Postmaster!” The old lady insisted.

“Thank you for being so understanding.” The postmaster gave one final smile and finally stopped at the feet of Hei and Key.

“So, you’re the outlaw and the captor, right?” She asked gently.

“Like I said, I didn’t do much.” Hei persisted. “Key’s the one who turned himself in.”

“Did you?” The Shaymin looked surprised.

“Yeah, well…” The outlaw looked around sheepishly. “I was caught one way or the other.”

“I see…” Aldora closed her eyes thoughtfully, and turned back to the policemon. “I’d like to have a word regarding how to proceed. May we go somewhere private?”

“Yes, m’am!” The chief of police yapped all too quickly. “Officer Chavez, you keep an eye on the prisoner and the girlie, make sure they don’t try nothin’. We’ll be back.”

The Klefki receptionist jingled affirmatively, and so the group of adults migrated to the inner depths of the precinct. Miss Munchmoney was too busy having a rather one-sided conversation with the Cramorant deliverymon, so Hei and Key were left to themselves.

“Key…” The Vaporeon began. “Who was that?”

“Oh, I guess you wouldn’t know. That’s Postmaster General Aldora, she runs the Shaymin’s Delivery Service up the Azure Cliff. She’s pretty famous around these parts, though this is my first time seeing her in person.”

“Shaymin’s… Delivery Service?”

“Yeah, they deliver letters and packages all around the world. One of the best couriers. I stole the parcel from one of their deliverymon.”

“She didn’t look very upset with you.”

He scoffed. “They say she’s really generous, but I bet she’s over there right now thinking of different ways to punish me. Pokemon who are all smiles like her are always hiding their true intentions.”

Hei didn’t say anything to that, but couldn’t bring herself to believe him. Maybe it was Shaymin’s eyes, or simply just Hei’s guts, but she knew deep down that she could place her trust in Aldora. They idly waited around the station’s lobby under the watchful eye of Officer Chavez until at long last, Aldora, Pudding and Mochi returned. The ladies seemed content but the chief of police wore a face that could curdle milk.

“Key,” Aldora approached his suspicious glare. “The police officers explained the situation to me clearly. I’d like to make you an offer.”

He raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

“You have the choice of either serving your time here in the precinct’s jail,” She motioned towards the two pink Pokemon behind her. “Or coming to work for me at the Delivery Service.”

 

“…Huh?”

 

“I discussed it with the Inspector and the Chief, and we agree that if you can earn back the money needed to replace the Gold Ribbon you stole by helping me out, that would be enough.”

“Wh-wha-wha…” Key sputtered. “But what about all the other stuff I’ve stolen?”

“I handled the rest. You just need to repay me for what you stole today. Overall, you’ll need to work 2000 Poké’s worth of hours.”

The Zorua’s jaw fell agape, dumbly staring at the small Pokemon.

 

“So, what would you prefer?”

 

“I’ll work for you!” He spat without a moment’s hesitation. “I’ll go work for you!”

 

Pudding grumbled something or other about a no-good varmit in the background.

“I look forward to working with you,” Aldora hummed, and looked up to the young Vaporeon next to him. “As for you…”

Hei’s fins twitched, suddenly feeling a little nervous.

“I’ve been told you have nowhere to go. You don’t remember anything about yourself, was that right?”

She nodded.

“Well,” The Shaymin winked. “Someone will need to keep our new recruit in check so he does his job properly. Would you like to work with him? We provide room and board to all of our staff, and you’d help him with repaying his debt.”

The Vaporeon gasped, her violet eyes wide and shimmering. “I’d love to!” She looked at Aldora, then Key, then Aldora again, then back to Key, and continued this excited head flipping until she grew dizzy.

“I’m glad everything’s been settled then. We should return to Azure Hill now for a good night’s rest.” Aldora tipped her hat at the police staff and beckoned Maurice and the two new rookies to follow her. Maurice jolted and quickly waddled after her, but Key trotted up to the chief of police instead.

“Well, it’s a shame we won’t be seeing each other for a while.” He smirked. “At least you can say you almost caught me. Oh wait…”

The Slurpuff’s face grew as pink as his syrupy mustache. “I’ll put you behind bars yet, boy… If not for this crime, for the next one.”

“Keep telling yourself that.” The Zorua whipped around, slapping his fluffy tail against the Fairy-type’s nose and pranced back to the main group.

“Son of a Salamance, razzin’ frazzin’, thinks yer hot Shiftry…” The seething Chief yanked his hat off of his head and gnawed on brim while muttering nonsense. 

“You shouldn’t get worked up over a kid, Pudding.” Inspector Mochi couldn’t help but sneak a smirk under the cover of her ear.

---

After escorting the surprisingly lively Miss Munchmoney back to her house, the odd team of Pokemon walked the roads illuminated by streetlights all the way up the dauntingly steep Azure Hill that overlooked the dark undulating ocean below. On the very top of the cliff was the formidable Shaymin’s Delivery Service. It was by far the largest and most prominent building in all of Crossroad Town, as tall as six Alolan Exeggutor stacked on top of each other and lit up by a nearby beacon. Even in the wee hours of the night, Pokemon flew in and out of the open roofed structure.

“Welcome home.” The postmaster general twinkled.

Home… As Hei gazed up at the towering institute, it certainly didn’t look like it, but then again, maybe home was something that had been wiped out along with the rest of her memories. The Zorua next to her had a similar apprehensive look. Home was something as foreign to him as it was to her.

Aldora began to walk inside. “I have some matters to tend to, but Maurice, could you show these two to their new rooms? There should be some vacant ones on your floor.”

“Um… Thank you very much!” Hei called out to her.

The mythical Pokemon looked back with her iconic sweet grin. “You’re very welcome. You’ll be woken up for your morning briefing tomorrow. Sleep well, and welcome aboard.”

She ambled past the lines of receptionists and counter workers who all greeted her until she turned a corner and disappeared from sight. The inside of the building was just was grand as the outside, and Hei couldn’t help but restlessly look around her, mouth agape.

“E-Excuse me…” Maurice’s timid voice croaked behind her. “I’ll take you to the dorm area now.”

The two youngsters followed the bird Pokemon down a series of hallways and elevators. Hei wondered if she would ever memorize this impossible layout.

“So…” Key bounded up to Maurice with a mischievous grin. “No hard feelings over today, right?”

“Y-Yeah… I’m fairly new to this job too so it’d be nice to have someone to mentor. J-Just take it easy with the shapeshifting, okay?”

“Sure, sure…”

Maurice stopped in front of a blue door with the number 80 on it. “Well, this is your room. Y-you’re fine bunking together, right?”

“Ehh….” Zorua’s face squirmed, but Hei interrupted him with explosive excitement.

“Yeah, it’ll be like a slumber party!”

The Cramorant gave a weary smile. “Don’t stay up too late though. Wake-up calls are early here. W-well, goodnight, you two.”

“G’night, Maurice!” The two roomies chimed in unison, one with considerably less snark than the other. 

Key waited for the Cramorant to waddle out of sight before digging something out of his tail fluff. It was Maurice’s hat.

“He’s really easy to steal from.” He snickered, grinning ear to ear.

The taller Pokemon smacked him with her finlike tail. “He said to take it easy.”

“Yeah, with shapeshifting, not pickpocketing.” Not waiting for a response, he jumped up to reach the doorknob of their dorm room.

Opening the wooden door, they were greeted with a perfectly pleasant room. A window brought in the breezy, briny night air in, which flitted the thin white curtains that covered most of the view when drawn. A small basket filled with Berries sat on a cute wooden desk, and underneath it was a Deposit Box, emptied and ready to be used. The main features were of course the two beds. They looked exceedingly plush, enough to make the two kids sleepy just by looking at them, and were lined with sheets decorated with designs of Gracidea flowers.

“Real mattress beds!” Key yapped and rushed towards the nearest one to jump on the fluffy surface. “Goodbye stinky hay!”

“Hey.”

“The other hay.”

After a few more vigorous bounces, the Zorua finally relented and flopped on the still jiggling duvet. “Ahh, not bad at all.”

Hei followed his lead and crawled atop the bed next to his, rolling around in the soft fabric. “Hmm… so comfy.”

Both of them simmered in the relaxing warmth of their beds in silence, but Key slowly turned to the girl, whose face was altogether concealed by blankets.

 

“Today was kind of crazy.”

 

“Mhmm…”

 

“I mean, I, the Yellow-Eyed Mirage, got caught and nearly arrested!”

“Yeahmf…” 

 

“And suddenly, I’m working off my debt to society in a delivery service with an amnesiac Vaporeon?”

 

“ ‘S crazy…”

 

“I’ve never worked before… Stealing is all I’ve ever known.”

 

“Snork…”

 

“That pipsqueak Aldora… They say she’s always this generous, but that was going overboard, wasn’t it? What’s her angle?”

 

“Hmnnff…”

 

“And you! You just signed up to help me, a complete stranger, work off my debt. Why on earth would you do that?”

 

“Schnooze…”

 

“…You’re asleep already. Figures.”

 

“Hmm… it’s cuz… we’re friends. Snork…”

 

Key’s ears pricked up.

 

Friends…? Can Pokemon really become friends that quickly over nothing? He’s never had a friend before. For a thief, that was just a liability. And despite his arrangement with the postmaster general, he had no intention of following the straight and narrow for long. But until he could return to his life of crime… maybe he could give it a shot.

 

And there was something… maybe his gut, maybe the spirit of the Yellow-Eyed Mirage… that told him things were going to get very exciting. 

 

He buried his face into his pillow and finally shut his eyes. “G’night, Hei.”

 

“G’night… Key…”