The Human

Finally, Cinnamon broke the silence.

“Is that true? You’re a human turned ledyba?” she asked simply.

Chloe slumped. “No point denying it,” she said bitterly.

Her secret was out. Piper had blurted it to the whole group, and Celes had put the final nail in the coffin. Everyone knew she was a human.

Cinnamon sighed deeply, eyes closed and one paw pressed to her forehead. “Okay. To the rest of you – please keep this information private from the world at large,” the glaceon said darkly. “I want it to remain strictly confidential.”

“Why? What even is a- a human?” Shucu asked, head tilted to one side.

“I’ve heard of them,” Sticky the teddiursa said slowly, “but it’s not an avenue of research I felt worth following, truth be told.”

“That’s because there is very little research to be found,” Cinnamon explained. “I’m a bit lacking in this area too, but-”

“What, it’s a real thing?” Piper interrupted. It seemed like she was genuinely surprised.

“They’re certainly real,” Cinnamon answered shortly.

Piper seemed sceptical. “You can’t be serious. You actually believe her?”

“To be honest,” Cinnamon shot Piper a look, “I don’t know what to think. But we will leave the topic here for now.”

Arlo’s gem flashed a few different colours, as if puzzled. “If hardly any pokémon even know what a human is, why is it so important to keep this a secret?” the starmie asked.

“We will leave the topic here for now,” Cinnamon said firmly. “Call keeping this a secret intuition for now, if you must have a reason.”

The group broke into frenzied, whispered conversations, which Chloe wasn’t listening to. The mood was excited, like there was something really special happening before them, and Chloe noticed some impressed glances her way. Not from Piper, though – the nickit was refusing to look at her at all, and seemed almost angry.

“Chloe,” Cinnamon whispered to her. Chloe went back to staring at the ground, feeling defeated. “It- It looks like you need a little time,” the glaceon said more gently now, “but when you’re ready, if we can have a little one on one session so I can try to get to the bottom of this whole thing? It doesn’t have to be today.”

Chloe just shrugged, refusing to meet the glaceon’s curious gaze.

“Thank you. You should go back to the table.”

Chloe did.

She felt utterly deflated.

Shucu was bouncing up and down at an incredible speed when Chloe got back to her space. “You’re human!!” the helioptile exclaimed excitedly. “I mean, I don’t know what that is, but it sounds IMPORTANT!!”

“I’d rather not talk about that right now,” Chloe said quickly. She had thought she was making good friends with the helioptile, but now all she cared about was that she was a human. It was exactly what she didn’t want.

Shucu nodded. “Okay, gotcha! I’m sorry, I didn’t realise it was like, a sore spot for you.”

Chloe shrugged.

Chloe’s milcery friend, on the other hand, was furious. “That, that Piper,” Celes whispered angrily. “I can’t, can’t believe she would do such a thing! What an awful, awful pokémon! And, and I meant to say awful twice!”

“It might have been okay if-” Chloe started, but caught herself. It wasn’t Celes’s fault.

“If, if what?” Celes asked innocently.

It wasn’t her fault. Even if she hadn’t said anything, Cinnamon knew what a human was. She would have pieced things together. It wasn’t Celes’s fault.

“If I’d just told them in the first place,” Chloe said finally.

“Oh, Chloe,” Celes sympathised. “I’m so, so sorry you didn’t get to tell everyone on your, your terms. Even if you would have preferred that to be never, never.”

Chloe swallowed the lump in her throat.

It wasn’t Celes’s fault.

“Ahem,” Cinnamon cleared her throat, bringing the attention back to her. “So, uh, one last time – confidential. And now let’s get back on track.”

She stood up tall at the front of the room, and began to explain. “We’ve now gotten to know one another a lot better. It’s clear that you all have different strengths, motivations, and areas of expertise, just as us original six Delvers do.

For example, I work as the intelligence officer, researching the origins and inner machinations of the dungeons, and Enigma, our meowscarada, is a medical expert, and he keeps us all fit and healthy. Feathers, our noctowl, is a geographical genius, and keeps our maps fully up to date with the exact locations of every dungeon. These maps go to the public, too, which helps keep them protected.

The three of us aren’t the strongest fighters, but we have Stars, our cinccino, and Kite, our flygon, for that – the only pokémon who can beat Stars is Kite, and I don’t think there’s a pokémon alive who could beat that Flygon, much as it pains me to admit. They do the main work within the dungeons.

And Cobalt – she leads us all, an excellent strategist, fighter, manager and leader. Without her, the Delvers wouldn’t exist.

If you work hard, there will be a place for you here,” she smiled. The rest of the group were rapt, and even Chloe was being pulled out of her slump. Hearing about these pokémon was inspirational, and to think she could be like one of them?

Cinnamon paused for a second. “So, yeah, teamwork,” she transitioned awkwardly. “The other reason teamwork is so important is that when we explore dungeons, it’s in groups of two at the minimum. Dungeons are extremely dangerous, never, ever enter one by yourself. You need to bring a partner you can trust to have your back, in any and every kind of situation.”

“So, every time we wish to delve into a dungeon,” Spiral the charcadet interrupted, “you intend for us to petition another for their aid?”

Cinnamon’s face twitched. “Let me explain a bit more, Spiral,” the glaceon smiled thinly. “Until now, since it’s just been the six of us, we haven’t needed any kind of pairing system. But now, since there are a lot of you, we’re going to pair you up into dedicated teams of two.”

Cinnamon started pacing backwards and forwards at the front of the room. “Moving forward, we want to set a precedent of ‘Delving Teams’, set teams with a minimum of two members who complete missions in the dungeons- I’m getting way ahead of myself here, but that’s the gist of it.”

“So we get to pick teams of two?” Shucu was bouncing up and down at a high frequency again. “Awesome! Can I pair with Chloe? Please? Please?”

“Calm down, Shucu!” Cinnamon said, waving a paw. “We all need to agree to- oh, wait…”

The glaceon suddenly looked at a sheet of paper on the table with an angry expression. “I forgot, Kite dropped off this list of teams, didn’t he… Let’s see…”

She cleared her throat, and began to read out loud. “These are the teams I’ve decided on for the recruits. Do NOT let them trade or swap. It’s important for them to learn to work with any kind of pokémon, even if they would prefer someone else. And luck is important too.”

“So… Am I with Chloe?” Shucu asked.

“I haven’t read that far,” Cinnamon said curtly, before muttering to herself. “Luck? I can’t believe that flygon, just assigning teams randomly? Instead of on who would work well with each other, or based on pre-existing friendships, or based on literally anything logical…”

“Aw, it’s okay, okay, Cinnamon!” Celes said. “I think it will be nice, nice, for us to get to know even more of our fellow Delvers!”

“True,” Sticky nodded. “This way, we may be paired with someone we otherwise wouldn’t decide to talk to. It may be beneficial to us to learn to work with that kind of pokémon.”

Cinnamon sighed, and cleared her throat once more. “Ahem, yes, sorry about that. I’m sure Kite has his… reasons… even if I fail to see them.”

Shucu jumped up onto the table, making half the group jump. “Of course he does, he’s the awesomest!” she shouted. “I bet he paired me with Chloe anyway so THERE!”

Chloe had only been half listening to the back and forth, still trying to pull herself up out of her slump. Shucu was being very pushy since she found out that Chloe was a human, and it really bothered her. This was exactly what she didn’t want – pokémon treating her differently because she was a human. She wanted Shuca to want to be friends with Chloe, not The Human!

“Okay, settle down!” Cinnamon fussed. “I’ll start reading the teams now, so pay attention! And Shucu, off the table, please.”

The room instantly went quiet as Shucu bashfully climbed back into her space. Everyone, even Chloe now, leaned in closer to hear the pairings.

Cinnamon pored over the sheet of paper. “Okay, first team… He’s used your species instead of your names, probably because he hasn’t bothered learning them yet… Okay.” Cinnamon stood up straight. “Teddiursa and starmie, working alongside Stars!”

Sticky and Arlo looked at each other.

The teddiursa nodded. “This is good, I think it will be nice to work with someone who has experience in a dungeon.”

“Yup! Looking forward to it!” they replied simply, nodding in return. At least, it looked like some kind of nod to Chloe – it was hard to tell with the full star shaped body.

Cinnamon coughed. “So the next team will be frillish and milcery, working with Enigma!”

“Ooh,” Celes beamed at Deeps. “We are a team, a team! Jelly team!”

Deeps laughed. “Jelly team? I don’t know how to respond to that, but yeah I’m looking forward to working with you Celes! We’ll make a great team!”

Celes just giggled.

“Next team!” Cinnamon kept things moving. “Tyrantrum and helioptile, working with me!”

Shucu snapped her fingers. “Damn!” she exclaimed, before turning guiltily to the tyrantrum. “No offence Meteor! I’m sure we’ll be an incredible team, the BEST team!”

“Y- yes!” Meteor replied timidly.

“And I get to ride around on your head!”

“I- I- I’m not sure- Ah y- you’re climbing up there already…” Meteor trailed off as Shucu took her place on her new throne.

Chloe was getting a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

The glaceon announced the next team. “Let’s see… Charcadet and mienfoo, working with Kite!”

And there it was.

Spiral and Balance sized each other up as Chloe realised who she was paired with. And she wasn’t the only one.

“No way. I’m not making a team with her!” Piper shouted before Spiral or Balance could even say a word. “I’d rather not make a team with anyone but especially not her! No way!!”

Chloe gulped. “I’d rather not be on a team with her, either,” she agreed, throwing Piper a dirty look.

“I-” Cinnamon faltered. “Look, these are the teams Kite has decided on, and-”

“Well I, I don’t mind trading, if it’s for Chloe,” Celes put herself forward.

“Or me! Chloe shouldn’t have to be with a partner like that!” Shucu shouted from her perch. “And I called dibs anyways! No offence, Meteor!”

“I- It’s okay…” the tyrantrum mumbled.

“Why is everyone jumping in to help her,” Piper said suddenly, “but not me?”

Before anyone could say a word, she bolted for the door.

No one tried to stop her.

Chloe heard her muttering to herself under her breath as she left.

“No one’s ever on my side…”

And just like that, she was gone.

The whole room stared at the door for a few moments, before Cinnamon brought them back to her.

“I- Sorry, Chloe. We can try and talk to Kite to get you out of this situation, but I’m not sure when he’ll be back-”

Chloe was still staring that the doorway, puzzling over Piper’s last words.

No one’s ever on her side…?

“It’s okay,” she eventually responded, not taking her eyes off the doorway. “I’ll make a team with her.”

“I- If you’re sure,” Cinnamon said hesitantly.

Chloe finally turned and made eye contact with the glaceon, who saw the resolve in her eyes. “Yeah, I am,” she said. Cinnamon nodded.

“Alright then. Let’s finish off this meeting, I guess.”

Cinnamon stood at the front of the group for one final address.

“I hinted at this earlier, but the teams we have just formed are essentially a trial run. All of you have been assigned a mentor, and that pokémon is going to take charge of training your team. Oh, uh, Chloe, your team is assigned Feathers, by the way.

So. The way the Delvers currently serve the wider pokémon community is through a request board, that any pokémon can submit to. The only stipulation is the request has to be related to mystery dungeons in some way, as that’s our area of expertise. We get a lot of requests – more than the six of us can possibly hope to handle.

That’s where you teams come in. Once your training is complete, your primary duties will be to tackle these requests. You will be directly serving the community and helping real pokémon with your work. With our elite teams working on these requests, the original Delvers will be fully freed up to conduct our deeper research into the dungeons, and work on high priority requests.

Does anyone have any questions?”

Shucu raised her little hand.

“Shucu?”

“Can we at least swap mentors?” she asked. “Not that there’s anything wrong with you, you’re pretty amazing and like the smartest pokémon ever but I’ve ALWAYS dreamed of having Kite as my teacher…”

“Probably not, no,” Cinnamon answered tersely.

“But not a definite no~?” Shuca sang.

“You’ll have to ask Kite. Any other questions?”

Arlo raised an appendage. “What kind of requests do you get?” they asked.

Cinnamon’s face turned dark. “It’s mainly missing pokémon requests,” she answered seriously. “It’s the most common issue caused by mystery dungeons, so you can see why we decided to enlist some help. We can’t handle them all by ourselves.”

Spiral stepped forward grandly. “Fret not, dear glaceon,” he announced, striking a pose. “With Team Shining Knights under your service, you have nothing more to fear!”

“We have not agreed on this team name,” Balance spoke calmly, but firmly.

“O- of course,” Spiral stammered. “I was simply testing an idea I had. When spoken out loud, it is clearly unbefitting of our noble team.”

Balance nodded sagely in agreement.

Chloe thought she caught Cinnamon rolling her eyes. “Besides those kinds of requests,” the glaceon continued, “we also get a lot of escort requests, as travel has become more dangerous. There are requests to get missing belongings from dungeons, and sometimes we get reports of outlaws using dungeons as hideaways. It’s our job to flush them out.”

“Heinous criminal scum,” Spiral spat.

Deeps turned to Celes. “Fighting criminals? Sounds intense,” he laughed nervously.

“Sounds intensely FUN, more like!” Shucu exclaimed, punching an imaginary criminal. “We should take down ALL the bad guys, Meteor!”

The tyrantrum raised his eyes directly upwards, trying to look at his partner. “Th- That sounds a little bit scary, Shucu…” he whined.

Shucu wagged a finger. “Ah ah! No complaining!” she scolded him, gently hitting his nose. “We are DELVERS now!”

“S- Sorry!”

“Anyway!” Cinnamon brought everyone’s attention back around. “If there are no more questions?”

There were none.

“That’s it for today, then!” Cinnamon finished, heading for the exit. “Take the rest of the day to get to know your fellow Delvers, particularly your new partners. We have a cafeteria full of food waiting for you, as we will every morning from now on. Tomorrow, you’ll be up bright and early with your first assignments, so get a good night’s sleep. Thank you all!”

“Oh!” she caught herself right before leaving. “One more thing! Make sure you come up with team names!”

Chloe stayed where she was, looking back at the doorway that Cinnamon had left through.

So, she thought to herself. Everyone knows.

Now you’re The Human.

She sighed deeply, prompting a worried look from Celes. The milcery waited with Chloe as the rest of the group filed out of the room, chatting noisily and discussing their team names. Finally, once they were alone together, she asked Chloe a question.

“Are, are you okay, Chloe?”

“I…” Chloe wasn’t sure. Was she okay?

She shrugged. “Secret’s out, I guess. I wish it wasn’t but there’s nothing I can do about it now, is there?”

“Oh, Chloe…”

Chloe smiled sadly. “The sooner I get over it the better. I’ll just have to be Chloe the human.”

“But, but…” Celes looked really upset now. “That’s not, not what you want, is it?”

Celes was proving to be a good place for Chloe to get her feelings in order. “Celes, it doesn’t matter what I want any more, does it?” she explained, trying not to get frustrated with her. “Everyone knows. Trying to get everyone to pretend I’m not a human would be worse for me at this point, I think…”

Celes still seemed unsure. “But, but there has to be something…”

“No, Celes!” Chloe raised her voice, instantly regretting it upon seeing the hurt on Celes’s face. “I’m sorry, it’s just- there’s no other way, okay? It hurts me more to try and think about all these what ifs. I just need to move on and accept that I’m just going to be the human to everyone.”

“Hey, uh…”

Deeps spoke awkwardly from the doorway. Chloe looked up in shock. Had he been eavesdropping?

Deeps spoke before Chloe could even ask the question. “I came back to get my partner,” he explained. “Sorry if I overheard something personal, but, uh, can I give you some advice?”

Chloe shrugged. Could this day get any worse? “I guess,” she sighed.

“Why not just be Chloe?” the frillish asked.

Chloe looked at him, confused. “I don’t understand.”

He glanced to one side. “You seem so hung up on being Chloe the Ledyba or Chloe the Human…” he looked back at her with a serious expression. “But you’re just Chloe, aren’t you?”

Chloe’s expression was pained. “But everyone knows! Everyone heard it!” she said desperately. “It would be stupid to pretend not to be now, right?”

Deeps nodded. “Yeah, it would. It would be stupid for you to pretend not to be a human, just like it would be stupid for me to pretend not to be pink.”

Chloe suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

Deeps voice wobbled slightly, but he continued. “Look, Chloe. If you want pokémon to treat you a certain way, sometimes you’re gonna have to ask them to. Your real friends won’t have any problem with it, and the rest aren’t worth wasting energy chasing after. Trust me.”

Chloe looked at the ground, suddenly feeling deeply ashamed. When he spelled it out like that, things suddenly looked a lot less bleak.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Deeps added, “if we didn’t have to tell every ‘mon we met about this stuff, things would be a lot simpler! I’d have wanted the same in your position. But we gotta play the hand we’re dealt, you know?”

“Yeah,” Chloe eventually answered. “I think I understand.” She looked up at the frillish, smiling weakly. “Thanks, Deeps.”

Deeps rubbed the back of his head with a tentacle, and shrugged. “Eh, it’s all good,” he said awkwardly. “Sorry if all of that wasn’t really my place, I just- yeah.”

“It’s okay, just a little, uh, awkward,” Chloe said truthfully. “But really, I’m grateful. That was some seriously good advice.”

The three of them hung there awkwardly for just a little bit too long, before Celes finally broke the silence. “I, I am glad you are feeling better, Chloe!” she said cheerfully.

“Ah, yeah!” Chloe cringed. “I just- you two should go work on your team name, I think I just- I need some time alone.”

---

Chloe sat alone in that meeting room for some time, lost in her own head.

‘If you want pokémon to treat you a certain way, sometimes you’re gonna have to ask them to.’

She couldn’t deny it – it was some of the best advice she’d been given since arriving in this new world. But it was also very scary, because it meant she would actually have to… do that. To ask pokémon to treat her a certain way. She’d spent the better half of her time having imaginary arguments in her head with Shucu, with Enigma, even with Spiral, about not giving her any special treatment or attention because she was a human, and they kept going around and around in circles in circles and it was making her head spin.

But she was determined to have these conversations.

Eventually she moved on to thinking about her current situation a bit more.

So she was a Delver, one of a trial group, the first to form a proper ‘Delving Team’ as Cinnamon had put it. She hadn’t been in this world for very long, but it seemed like a pretty huge deal.

The only problem was, she’d been put into a team with a pokémon who hated her.

That was the biggest mystery for Chloe. Why did Piper hate her so much? It just didn’t seem proportional to her, especially now that Piper knew that the whole human thing was definitely real. She should know that Chloe wasn’t faking it or pulling an elaborate prank, so surely now she should be more understanding?

And what she said as she fled the room: ‘No one’s ever on my side.’

Chloe steeled her resolve. If they were going to be a team, she wanted to get to the bottom of things sooner rather than later. She needed to talk to Piper, now. The only problem was…

“Chloe?”

Chloe nearly jumped out of her skin. Her carapace? She still wasn’t sure- Why was she thinking about this? Cinnamon had caught her off guard, and she smiled awkwardly.

“H- Hi, Cinnamon,” she stammered.

“How come you’re still here?” the glaceon asked from the doorway. “Are you already ready to have our discussion?”

Not yet! “Ah- no, sorry,” she answered sheepishly. “But I wanted to ask something else.”

“Go ahead,” Cinnamon said patiently.

“What room is Piper in again? I need to talk to her.”

“Oh!” the glaceon looked surprised. “She’s in one.”

“And, ah,” Chloe grit her teeth, “where is that room? Exactly?”

“Top of the stairs, first door on the left,” Cinnamon explained with a smile. “Good luck with that one, Chloe. That girl seems like trouble to me.”

Chloe looked at the glaceon with surprise, but she had already turned to leave. In the end, Chloe just shrugged, waited a minute to make sure she didn’t run right back into Cinnamon, and then finally left the room.

---

First door on the left. She still couldn’t read those weird footprints, but this had to be room one. Chloe guessed that Piper was in there.

She took a deep breath. What should she say? She’d argued with Piper in her head for such a long time and she’d already forgotten everything, typical.

Whatever. She could do this. She could do this! She raised her boxing glove hand, thought about turning back one last time, and knocked on the door.

“What?” an irritated voice called from the other side.

Chloe gulped. “Piper, it’s me. Can we talk?”

“No!”

Chloe paused. What was she supposed to say to that?

Eventually she decided it was time to get serious.

“I’m coming in.”

“NO!”

At the same time Chloe reached from the handle, she heard the sounds of Piper rushing across her room, and then she felt the nickit slam her body into the door from the other side, holding it shut.

“Do NOT come in right now!”

Chloe felt a pang as she heard the wobble in Piper’s voice. Had she been crying?

Should she mention it?

DEFINITELY not.

“Okay, but we really need to talk. Can we do it through the door?”

There was a long silence.

“…fine. Whatever.”

Progress! Chloe considered her next words carefully. “So… We’re a team now, huh?”

“Yup,” Piper said unhappily. “I know. Neither of us want this, so let’s just agree this is a work thing, yeah?”

“Well, actually…” Chloe replied slowly. “I was thinking. Wouldn’t it be better if we could turn over a new leaf on this?”

Deadly silence.

“…What.”

Uh oh.

“W- Well!” she stammered. “I just-”

“It’s not happening. Go away.”

Chloe snapped. “Look, Piper,” she said, strongly now. “I don’t know what it is you have against me. I seriously don’t!”

“Do I really need to spell it out for you?” Piper spat. “I will never be friends with someone who’s prejudiced against dark types. So beat it.”

Chloe felt like someone had slapped her in the face. “Wh- h- huh?” she spluttered. “What do you mean? Where’d that come from?”

“Stop being an idiot!” Piper shouted. “The whole time we were in Crooked Grove you acted like I was some violent killer! I’m not going to be friends with someone who treats me that way!”

Chloe was stunned. “B- But that had nothing to do with you being a dark type! I’m human, Piper! I just woke up here, how-”

“I couldn’t care less,” Piper cut Chloe off, but Chloe tried again.

“How can you say that!” she argued. “You know the human thing is real now, so it changes everything! I couldn’t have been being prejudiced! It makes a huge difference!”

Piper swung the door open violently, and shoved her face into Chloe’s.

“It doesn’t make a difference,” she said venomously, as Chloe shrank back. “We are not friends. This team? Work thing. Understand?”

Chloe nodded once.

Piper’s eyes were red.

She had been crying.

Piper nodded once in return. The she turned away, slapping Chloe with her tail. She walked back into her room, and kicked the door shut behind her.

Chloe stood, staring at the door. She was shaking with a mixture of fear, and fury.

How could Piper treat her like this? She knew that Chloe was human now, so she couldn’t have been being prejudiced! How could Piper treat her like that kind of person?

She stormed back to her room, the one next door to Piper’s. She threw the door open, rushed inside, and slammed it behind her.

She wanted to scream. What a jerk! She reached out, she tried to be on her side, and that was how she responded? Celes was right, Cinnamon was right. She was trouble, she was an awful, awful pokémon. She was stupid to have ever tried.

Chloe forced away the tears of frustration. She wouldn’t let it get to her. Piper wasn’t worth thinking about. It was a work thing, like she had said.

Why had Piper been crying?

Who cares! She certainly didn’t. Not after the way the nickit had treated her.

“Argh!” Chloe cried out, moving to flop into her bed.

She stopped when she noticed someone had left a note there, next to a big slice of some kind of pie.

Curiously, she picked up the note. She groaned. It was still all written in those footprint letters. Had Celes written this?

“She already forgot I can’t read,” Chloe chuckled to herself, putting the note to one side. Given the circumstances, she guessed that the letter was probably to tell her where to meet the others. If there was a slice of pie left for her, they’d already been and gone to the cafeteria.

Chloe suddenly realised how hungry she was.

She eyed the pie. It had a sweet smell, and had a chunky pink filling. She shrugged, and took a big bite. Delicious. She hungrily ate the whole thing, enjoying every second. Had she even eaten since coming to this new world?

All too soon, she had finished her meal. She spent the next few minutes licking the juice from her hands, savouring the flavour. That was amazing. Content, she flopped into her bed. She wouldn’t be able to find her new friends without reading the letter, but they were still kind enough to bring her something to eat. She’d have to thank them later.

She felt the sunlight hitting her from the window, and basked in it. It was a beautiful day outside.

She pulled herself up suddenly. Why thank them later? There was still plenty of daylight left. She could find them, they couldn’t have gone far!

It was a beautiful day outside!

She rushed to the window, leaning on the windowsill. The view was breathtaking. The sky was a beautiful blue, broken only by the most picturesque, fluffy white clouds. The sun was beating down pleasantly, reflecting off of the golden leaves of the forest, which stretched as far as Chloe could see. In the far, far distance was a huge mountain, breaking the skyline with its dark blue stone and white snow tip. She couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Though she’d lost her memory, she was certain she’d never seen a view quite like this.

Casting her eyes directly below, she saw a large courtyard of short, wavy grass. It seemed like a great hangout spot – there were a few picnic benches set up, and there was even a cute bandstand. And though it was hard to tell from the angle, she thought she could see pokémon in the bandstand. She decided to go down to check if it was her new friend group.

She just hoped she could find the way out there through this maze of a building.

It would be so much easier if I could fly, I could just jump through the window and be down there straight away!

If I could fly…

Chloe took a step away from the window, so she was in the middle of the room.

She made sure she was standing securely, on all six of her leg-arms.

She focussed. She would find it – that muscle, or joint, or whatever it was she needed to pull to open her wings.

Seconds passed.

Then suddenly, they opened.

Chloe gasped with delight.

They opened!

Her wing covers were open!

She craned her neck, trying to look at herself. The whole of her back had split in two, lifting up to reveal her slender, transparent wings. She was supposed to fly with those?

She marvelled at her wings for a bit longer, before deciding not to experiment any further. At least, not in her room. If she was going to try to fly, she should have some wide open space – she’d try doing it outside.

Finally, after a few seconds of finding that muscle again, she sheathed her wings. Then opened, then sheathed, then opened, then sheathed…

Alright, Chloe, enough goofing around!

It was time to go and see her friends.