Sky Peak (Part 2)
by acti_nerdingtonFace meets grass as Mick stumbles out from the tunnel, panting heavily and absolutely, utterly exhausted from the marathon he had just ran. The sensations panging through his body are indescribable, as if he’s both burning from exertion and numb at the same time. “Wuuuuuuuuugghhh… I’m never running that fast ever again.” He manages to croak out, not even bothering to lift his face from the grassy ground. Sure makes for a good pillow, though. Fuck that feels good, just laying down.
“I have to congratulate you on a job well done, genius.” Mick can hear Ralph speak up from behind him, his presence not unfelt as the Shinx can feel him placing a wing atop his head. “Not only have you probably broken the record for running all the way from Spinda’s Cafe to Sky Peak all in one go, you’ve completely exhausted yourself before we’ve even stepped foot on the mountain itself.”
Mick muffles out an annoyed groan into the grass, not even bothering to lift his face up, his fur absolutely matted with sweat. Rather sticky and unpleasant, he kind of wished Ralph hadn’t touched him, eww. Still, he’s so exhausted he can’t even come up with a witty comeback, his heart and mind are both racing way too fast to linger on anything consistent.
“Er… I’m not gonna have to call for a medic, am I?” Mick hears another voice speaking to him from his front. A rather quiet and soft spoken voice. It isn’t quite a whisper, but it’s not exactly an outdoor voice either. It’s enough to get him to actually lift his head up, though. Face to face with a small, bushy little hedgehog that’s about eye-level from where he’s laying. White fur, bushy green grass covering its back, flowers on either side of its body, flowers he doesn’t recognize. Well, except for the orchid nestling above the hedgehog’s right flower.
The Shinx lets out another groan as he forces himself back up onto his legs, vision just a touch spotty as he’s left feeling a little lightheaded from the exhaustion still crashing over his body. “N-Nuh, nuh, you ain’t gotta do that, it ain’t nothing I can’t handle, little missy.” …Huh. He realizes he hadn’t gotten a proper look at the village before stumbling through the cave, and now that he’s finally getting the full picture, he’s in awe of what he’s staring at.
Shaymin Village might not be the biggest, it pales in comparison to other towns him and Ralph have been to in the past, but damn if it isn’t cozy. Covered in lush, green grass, absolutely blooming with all sorts of flowers all around, there’s a few ponds sprinkled here and there, and the Shaymin even live in little grass huts! Aww. A lot of Pokemon from Spinda’s cafe were around, a few Mick recognized, like the Axew and Girafarig from earlier.
He can hear Ralph speaking up as he walks up beside him, patting him on the back with a wing. “You don’t need to worry about my friend here. He may be a dumbass, but he’s a tough dumbass. He’ll live.”
Mick exchanges a faux offended expression at Ralph, taking a step back away from him. “Wow, Ralph, calling me a dumbass right in front of the little lady? Now that’s not the kind of first impression you wanna make, would you?” He shakes his head in an exaggerated manner, really not helping with the dizziness, even causing him to stumble slightly. He should stop doing that. “You oughta be ashamed of yourself, bud.”
The Shaymin, meanwhile, stares at the two with a bemused expression, not confused, not put off, just enthralled by their behavior. She can’t help but let out a little laugh or two before she speaks up again. “You two sure are… Something. Nobody else who’s come to the village has had an energy quite like you.”
Well hey! She doesn’t think they’re weird! This is off to a great start already! Mick chuckles as he wraps an arm around Ralph, tugging him up against the side of his body. While still hot and sweaty. He catches a glimpse of Ralph’s beak scrunching up, feeling his side-eye glaring at him. “Sorry, just deal with it okay?” He whispers out quickly to Ralph as he turns his attention back to the Shaymin. “Heh, yeah, me and my buddy here go waaaaaaaaaayyy back. I’m Mick, and my fine feathered friend here is named Ralph. Pleasure to meetcha!”
When Mick finally lets go of Ralph, the Quaxly shuffles away slightly, casually brushing off the sides of his feathers that had gotten damp from Mick’s body, nonchalantly readjusting his tie with his other wing. “You can say we have a long history with each other, yeah. And who would we have the pleasure of meeting, Miss…?”
“Lavender.” The Shaymin speaks up with a smile on her face. “Everyone in the village is a Shaymin, so it can be hard to tell each other apart sometimes. I felt like sticking out a little more, differentiate myself from the rest of my friends here.” She giggles softly, placing a bit of emphasis on the orchid resting behind one of her flowers. “I’m guessing you two came here to climb the mountain?”
Mick scoffs and smirks confidently. “Well, duh. Practically came rushing here as soon as we heard the news. We’re going to be the first team to ever reach the top of Sky Peak!”
“You made those decisions and goals in mind, but sure, go off, I guess.” Ralph waves a wing dismissively, rolling his eyes with a mock smile on his face.
Lavender muffles out a giggle as she smiles widely up at the duo. “Well, you’re in luck. We know the mountain very well and love to guide visitors and travelers up the mountain. We just haven’t been able to for quite some time due to it being, well, rather difficult for them to arrive. You can imagine how surprised we were when the Expedition Society and the Ultra Beasts strolled in here after clearing the path.”
She eyes them up a bit more, Mick can feel her eyes staring down into them, like she’s gauging them or something of the sort. “And if you don’t mind… I’d be more than happy to guide you up the mountain. Talking with you has gotten me really excited to make our way up to the top. You’ve got this energy that makes me wanna tag along.”
Oh that’s perfect! That’s actually perfect! Mick pumps his fist in excitement. “Hell yeah! Let’s get straight to it and-” He tries to run off, but his body, still recovering from the marathon he’d just ran, collapses into the grass once again, sliding for a bit before coming to a halt.”
“You’re not going anywhere right now.” Ralph walks up to him and kneels down, lifting his face up and out of the grass a little, some blades of grass still sticking to his face. “You’re going to rest up for a little while, maybe eat and oran berry or two to perk yourself back up, and then we’ll start climbing up the mountain.”
“But Ralph-!” Mick starts, then has his lips pinched shut by Ralph’s feathers, his friend staring him in the eyes all smugly.
“You go up that mountain now, you’ll pass out before we even make it to the quarter way point.” Ralph says firmly, but there’s very evident satisfaction in the way he’s speaking. “Take a step back, relax and make sure you’re nice and ready before you go rushing off again. Capiche?”
Mick draws in a slow, deep breath through his nose, turning his gaze away, pouting his lower lip out as he exhales. “Mucho comprendo, senior habanero.”
Lavender smiles as she walks past them, nodding her head in understanding. “I’ll be waiting by the path entrance whenever you’re ready. No need to rush now.~”
“Yeah, we’ll… We’ll see you in a bit.” Mick sighs dejectedly and disappointedly, sitting himself back up and crossing his arms over his chest. Oh boy. Waiting. To recover. Yaaaaaaaaaaay.
“MotherFUCK-!” Mick shouts at the top of his lungs as he realizes at the last second that he’d stepped on an explosion trap, hopping out of the way as far as he can. Straight into a wall, smashing his face against it, only marginally better off than if he’d just let himself get blown up. “Mmmffwoow…”
He can hear the dejected sigh of his Quaxly companion from behind him, pulling his face out of the wall. “And I think that’s a record for most traps set off in a dungeon. Good job, Mick.” And he simply lets Mick’s face fall back against the wall as he lets go.
The Shinx can’t help but groan as he pulls himself back up onto his paws, shaking himself clean of any debris that might’ve pelted his body. “It ain’t my fault this is the most trap-ridden mountain in the entire goddamn world. Feels like every other step we’re setting something off.”
“Maybe if you’d actually take the time to slow down for a few minutes to see where you’re going?” Ralph suggests, raising an eyebrow.
Mick responds swiftly, flatly and begrudgingly. “Shut.”
Lavender quickly skitters her way up to Mick and Ralph, skirting around the traps Mick had set off, a bashful look in her eyes as she glances back at the multitude of tiles. “The mountain isn’t usually this dangerous. I may not have traveled up for a long while but it certainly seems a lot more hostile than it usually dooooooooessss…?” Her voice trails off, staring blankly as she sees some kind of chair just sitting in the corner of the room, tiles surrounding it that don’t match the rest of the mountain at all. “Whaaaaaaat is that?”
Mick scratches at his head, turning to see what Lavender was staring at- Oh shit oh FUCK no. His eyes go wide and he shakes his head, making a cutting motion over his throat as he starts moving away from the chair. “That’s a sign we gotta go back and find another route through the dungeon, we ain’t goin’ down there!”
“Huh?” Lavender blinks as she turns her head around to face Mick. “Wait, what do you mean? What’s wrong?” She doesn’t stop, she follows right along with Mick and Ralph, but there’s plenty of confusion laced in her voice as she stares up at the two.
“Lavender,” Ralph begins. “When was the last time you entered a mystery dungeon?”
She has to think on that for a few moments, muzzle scrunching up as she goes deep into thought. “Uhh… One, two, three- Since before The Singularity?”
Mick and Ralph simultaneously let out a resounding “Oooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” And Ralph turns back to face Lavender while he walks. “To sum it up, while the structure of time has stabilized after The Singularity, it still rattles around the mystery dungeons with, let’s be honest, mostly weird shit.”
“And freaky shit. Extremely freaky shit.” Mick visibly shudders, shaking his head. “Like if we turned that corner, we would’ve wound up in some kind of empty school with lots of faceless Pokemon running around and shit. They’re strong, stupidly strong, its insane. Better to just avoid it if you can help it.”
Lavender stares blankly at the two as a distant smile slowly starts appearing on her face. “…Oh!” Beat. “Well that’s very reassuring, isn’t it! Kinda glad I went with you guys now. You seem to know your stuff.”
Mick chuckles softly, smirking faintly as he walks with a little bit of strut in his step after hearing that. “Well, we have been at this whole exploring thing for the better half of a few years, we kinda have a lot of experience in this field. Quite proficient in combat too, if I do say so myself.~ Ralph soaks ’em, I shock ’em. It’s a perfect battle strategy. Whenever he’s not flinging everyone around in bubbles, anyway.”
Ralph shrugs with a smile as he places his wings behind his head, muffling a quiet laugh to himself. “Hey, I can’t fly, may as well do the next best thing and send the enemies flying instead. “
The Shaymin rolls her eyes with a playful smirk, sighing. Gosh, these two… She gasps, eyes going wide with excitement. “Hey! Look! I see the first station up ahead! Let’s move!”
“Sky Peak has five resting areas placed all up the mountain, all called stations, just like this one!” Lavender explains as Mick and Ralph make their way on over. It’s a small, cozy area covered in lush grass, and it seems like there’s plenty of teams and other Pokemon here. Seems like some of them have even set up little shops.
Mick smirks to himself as he takes in the small little resting areas. Can barely keep himself still as he look around, his eyes drawn to the exit immediately. “Uh-huh, yeah, neat, I think we’ve done enough resting, can we get a move on?” And that’s when he feels Ralph’s wing smack him in the back of the head, causing him to stumble forward a bit.
“No.” Ralph says bluntly, staring at his friend with a hard, firm glare. “We. Rest. No need to rush up the mountain. You want your legs to give out?”
Mick’s muzzle scrunches up as he grumbles to himself, letting out a mildly annoyed, frustrated sigh as he slumps back against a wall. “Okay, okay, fiiiiiiiinnneee, I get the picture, Ralph. No need to be a smartass about it.” Hmmph. Waiting and sitting around when there are other Pokemon already on their way further up the mountain. They’re never gonna be the first to reach the top at this rate.
May as well take in the place, actually. Yeah. What kinds of Pokemon are here, anyway? Hmm… Lots of Pokemon from the cafe. He recognizes the Octillery and the Mr. Mime that occasionally frequented the cafe. The Heracross, too. Over by the exit, though, are two Pokemon he hasn’t seen before. A Braixen and a Chespin. The Braixen’s fur is droopier than a typical Braixen and the Chespin seems to have augmented arms, the three leaves on the back of their head tied together in a ponytail, both of them wearing matching scarves, a striped blend of deep blue and light green.
He can hear Lavender’s voice speak up, filled with excitement, surprisingly enough. “Oh, Neesha! River! I didn’t think you were still here!”
That catches their attention. The two stop talking to each other as they turn their gazes to meet the little Shaymin, their expressions perking up as the Chespin eagerly runs over to Lavender, while the Braixen seems to follow behind at a more lax pace. “Yeah! The Expedition Society is settling here for a while so we can help anybody that’s planning to make their way up the mountain!” The Chespin excitedly speaks up. Girl’s voice.
“We just got word from Chief that Swirlix is heading out to gather some ingredients from the mountain. We’re about to head up to make sure she doesn’t eat everything when she gets back.” The Braixen says in a soft, joking manner. Girl’s voice again. Hmm.
“Oh, that’s so wonderful of you! But are you sure this isn’t too much?” Lavender questions. “You’ve already done so much for us by clearing the path, you don’t need to feel obligated to do more than you already have.”
“What, you tryna kick us out?” The Chespin, River, jokes playfully as she laughs a bit. “But nah, nah, it’s cool! Mawile and the others wanna survey the mountain anyway, so we may as well make the most of it while we’re here!”
Wait whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Mick leans forward slightly where he sits, gaze narrowing towards the Braixen and the Chespin. “Surveying the mountain, huh? As in, trying to see what’s all the way to the top?”
The Braixen, Neesha, turns her head towards Mick, arching an eyebrow and staring at him with a confused expression, placing a hand on her hip. “Uh… Yeah? That’s kind of what surveying the mountain implies, right? We’re making our way up to the top so we can learn everything Sky Peak has to offer.
Mick can’t help but scoff a bit as he gets back up on all fours, smirking straight at him. He can already feel Ralph’s disapproval weighing down on him from afar, but whatever. “Well, we’ll be sure to let you know everything we find after we get to the top first.~”
“I beg your pardon?” Neesha stares at Mick skeptically as her gaze narrows, body turning to face him. “Who are you to talk to us like-“
“Hey, Neesha, hold on.” River raises a cybernetic arm up to block Neesha, a curious expression plastered across her face as she seems to study Mick carefully, looking at him with her big, puppydog-like eyes as she skitters over to him. “That almost sounds like a challenge.” She smirks at him a bit, crossing her arms over her chest. “You tryna make it to the top before anyone else?”
Heh, look at that. Somebody on the same wavelength as him. That’s refreshing. “Maybe.” He says confidently, leaning closer towards River as his paws dig into the grass beneath him. “What’re you gonna do about it if I am? You think you’re gonna back down when I say Team Shockquatic is gonna be the first team to make it to the summit of Sky Peak?”
River chuckles softly to herself as she leans even closer to Mick, their face almost touching as her brows furrow in a determined manner, her eyes gleaming with excitement. “To that, I respond, Team Styx is gonna have you beat.” She then quickly pulls back away from Mick, looking back at Neesha. “Neesha! We’re moving out! TIme to head on up!”
Neesha’s face falls slightly, looking rather tired as she sighs, scratching at her head, her ears drooping down lower than usual. “River…”
“Hey, Neesha, come on, nothing wrong with a little friendly competition, right? Let’s roll!” River chuckles softly to herself and gestures Neesha to follow her, to which she does as the two of them both exit the station.
More fired up and determined than ever, Mick turns back to face Ralph and Lavender, the former of whom has expression that just screams ‘i’m done with this shit.’ “Well, you heard ’em! We’re moving out!” To which he bolts right out the exit, not even waiting for Ralph and Lavender to follow him.
“Ehhheh… He’s got spirit.” Lavender chuckles nervously as she starts following behind Mick with Ralph next to her. “You gotta give him that.”
“If you spend as much time around him as I have, you get used to his bullshit.”
CRACK! FLASSHHHHH!
“Hah! How do you like that, punks?!” Mick gawks as he slams a petrification orb down on the ground, freezing the Monster House that had all but surrounded the group. “Y’ain’t so fuckin’ tough now, huh?! Yeah, you got nothing, you got NOTHING!” He walks up to a Golem as it stands still shaking in place, giving it a good smack with his starred tail. “Normally, I wouldn’t mind taking on such a big group of you, but we’re kind of in a hurry here, so you can just stay here and not move for a while, cool? Cool.”
He smirks to himself as he glances back at Ralph and Lavender, gesturing for them to keep moving. “C’mon, we got no time to waste, let’s keep moving.”
“You know, when you’re not falling into traps most of the time, you seem like you really know your way around mystery dungeons.” Lavender skitters right up to Mick as Ralph sticks back a bit further. “How long have you two been at this?”
“Few years at this point.” Ralph says, keeping check of his hair as he sidesteps his way through a few petrified Pokemon. “Been slowly climbing our way up the ranks, haven’t gotten to do any big missions yet, so this is the most excitement we’ve had in months. Well, the most excitement Mick’s had in months, anyway.”
Mick scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Pssht, Ralph, c’mon, you’re making me feel left out here. You’re telling me you’re not the least bit excited to be the first team to make it to the top of Sky Peak ever?”
“That’s if we make to the top of Sky Peak before everyone else. And that’s a you thing.” Ralph rolls his eyes as he places his feathers behind his head. “I’m just enjoying the trip for what it is, you’re the one who’s making a rush out of things.”
“Oh, come on. You really think I’m-“
“…surprisingly not a lot of landmarks on the mountain.” Mick can hear a voice coming from ahead, his ears perking forward. “We’ve been looking around as much as we can, Bunnelby’s been looking to see if there’s anything hidden underground, but it seems Sky Peak isn’t holding anywhere near as much as we thought.”
“Guys, you hear that? Come on! We’re almost at the second station clearing!” Mick immediately takes off, able to hear Lavender sighing from behind him.
“I feel like I’m not doing as much guiding as I thought I would…”
The second station clearing was a bit more barren than the first. Not as many Pokemon around, a few food crates scattered around in a corner with some kind of miniature cooking setup, the lush grass replaced by the rough dirt of the mountain trails. River and Neesha were already there, chatting it up with a Mawile.
“Sheesh, you guys are fast.” Mick says exhaustively, almost fwumping onto the ground right then and there as he exits the cave with Ralph and Lavender following behind him.
The three’s of them all turn to face the Shinx and the other two Pokemon behind them, River waving to them happily. “Yeah, it helps when you’ve already explored a bit of the mountain! Hey guys!”
“Oh!” The Mawile exclaims, tilting her head curiously. “Is this the other team you were telling me about?”
“Mmhm! Guys, this is Mawile. She’s our archaeologist! Mawile, this is, uhh…” River scratches at her head with a metallic claw, eyes darting between Mick and Ralph. “Shoot, we were both in such a rush I don’t think we ever got your names, did we?”
Mick blinks a few times, feeling as if an idiot bomb had gone off in his brain as he stares at them dumbly. “Huh. You’re right, completely skipped over the whole formalities thing.”
He feels Ralph firmly place a wing atop his head, grabbing him tightly as if to keep him in place. This makes Mick’s muzzle scrunch up a bit. “I’m Ralph, and my brazen-faced friend here is named Mick. Pleasure to meet you all. Again. And it seems like you’re all more than acquainted with Lavender here, hmm?”
Lavender hops on over in front of the two, smiling and nodding. “I’m guiding them up the mountain! Well, trying to. Mick seems to be rushing ahead a little bit. Not that I mind, but it’s rather hard to keep up with him.”
“Man, I gotta deal with both of you calling me out? Can’t help but feel a little targeted here.” Mick huffs, gaze narrowing annoyingly as he glances up at Ralph. “Can you let go of my head, please?”
“No.”
Neesha muffles out a giggle and smiles, placing her hands together. “Mawile here was just telling about what she’s found around Sky Peak. Or, rather, lack thereof.”
“Mmhm.” Mawile nods. “Sky Peak doesn’t have a lot in the way of landmarks, surprisingly. We’re suspecting that there may be something of note at the summit, but we’ve been so busy setting everything up for the coming weeks that we haven’t had enough time to investigate the summit. The most interesting thing of note we’ve found so far is a small den at the fourth station clearing that our Chief is currently residing in, but other than that, we’ve come out empty-handed.”
Mawile hums to herself, shrugging slightly. “I suppose it’s my fault for over hyping myself for this. Sky Peak is such a mysterious place and so little is known about it, I expected there to be more history behind it than there really is.”
“Mmmh. Sky Peak is a mysterious place, yes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean all of its history is out in the open.” Lavender speaks up. “Perhaps-“
“We’ve got a problem!” A panicked voice comes running over from the station’s exit, a small Swirlix panting and gasping, practically exhausted as it skids stop a stop.
“Swirlix?” Neesha speaks up, voice laced with concern. “What’s wrong? Something happen?”
Swirlix has to catch her breath before speaking back up, poofy body sweating as if she’d ran a marathon. “W-Was out gathering ingredients, F-Floragato explorer and weird group of Pokemon started fighting with each other! More joined in, Floragato might be in trouble! Had to rush back to get help!”
“The hell kinda gang picks fights with lone explorers this high up a mountain?” Mick arches and eyebrow, wriggling his way out from Ralph’s wing. “You get a good look at ’em at all, or?”
“I-I dunno!” Swirlix shakes her head back and forth frantically. “They were tall and green! That’s all I saw before I booked it! Didn’t have time to stare and look!”
“Then what are we waiting for?!” River exclaims, beckoning for everyone else to follow. “We need to help that Floragato, and fast before they get hurt! Swirlix, try not to eat anything while we’re gone. Neesha, Mawile, let’s move!” And she starts making her way off again.
“Uh- River! Wait up!” Neesha calls out, Mawile following right behind her as the two rush past the station’s exit.
“…Tall and green?” Lavender’s eyebrows furrow, expression a touch grim. “We need to make it there before the situation escalates any further. We gotta go, now!”
“Local troublemakers?” Ralph questions, tilting her head to the side.
Lavender quickly turns to the direction of the exit. “No time to explain! I’ll handle the situation when we get there! Now come on!”
By the time the three had caught up, Neesha, River and Mawile were already engaging with the group of rowdy Pokemon that Swirlix had mentioned earlier. It turns out, this was a group of Carnivine all surrounding the Floragato, which looked to be injured, but not gravely injured, holding their arm, staring in surprise as the Expedition Society ran up to them.
“Oh for the love of…” Lavender grumbles, her gaze narrowing in frustration as she shakes her head in disappointment. “Of all the times to cause a ruckus.”
“Huh?” Mick’s ears flick as he turns his attention down towards the Shaymin. “You know these troublemakers, Lavender?”
Lavender nods her head, glancing up at Mick, her gaze drifting back to the group of Pokemon all in the center of the room. “You two stay back here, I’ll handle this.” She quickly starts skittering on over to the group, the Carnivine of whom have begun surrounding the Expedition Society and leaving the Floragato alone.
“It’s pretty low for a group of five to beat down on a single Pokemon.” Neesha speaks up, her wand firmly grasped in her hand, a few flames already beginning to crackle at the tip. “You’re no better than a group of bullies.”
The leader Carnivine scoffs, its pointy mouth curling up in a grin as it slowly steps forward. “It’s also rather rude of somebody to just interrupt somebody else’s business, you know? As if we’re supposed to know, or rather, care about who you are?”
“We’re the Expedition Society, in case you haven’t heard.” Mawile speaks up, the mouth on the back of her head eliciting a faint growling noise.
“Yeah!” River shouts. “And we’re not gonna stand here while you beat up an innocent-“
“Everybody hold on!”
Lavender’s voice is so loud it almost echoes through the dungeons preceding and proceeding the room, as she jumps in-between the Expedition Society and the group of Carnivine. The Floragato seizes their opporunity and bolts right out of there, their eyes seeming to meet Mick’s before they run off.
Everyone else is reasonably startled when Lavender hops straight in front of them, all of them backing off rather immediately, unsure of what to do. “Err- L-Lavender?” Neesha stammers, almost dropping her wand in surprise.
Lavender’s gaze glances left to right from the members of the Expedition Society, before she slowly turns to face the group of Carnivine. The leader stares down at her for a few moments, as if gauging exactly what she was before his eyes widen. “A-Ah! A Shaymin from the village! It’s been forever since we’ve seen one of you around!”
“My name’s Lavender, got that? Laaaaaavendeeeeeerr.” She slowly draws out, making sure the group of Carnivine have it stuck in their minds. “Look, Carnivine, I get that it’s been a long time since we’ve had Pokemon traveling up the mountain… But haven’t we told you dozens of times before to not bother anybody trying to make their way to the summit?”
“It’s not like we started it!” Carnivine snaps back, glaring angrily down at the Shaymin. “We’d laid eyes on a treasure first, then that Floragato scooped it up before we could!” He glances back at the empty space where the Floragato used to be, letting out an annoyed sigh as a leafed arm rubs at his head. “Hmph, seems he ran off.”
Lavender groans, closing her eyes and shaking her head in disappointment. “You haven’t changed a bit, have you?”
“Wait, sooooo…” River shuffles awkwardly, rubbing at the back of her head with a metallic claw. “They’re not the bad guys?”
“Not the bad guys, but I wouldn’t go as far as to call them the good guys either.”
Carnivine scoffs, giving Lavender the stinkeye. “That’s how you treat us after it’s been so long since the last time we saw you?” Lavender just glares right back at the Carnivine. If looks could kill, the whole group of Carnivine would be dead where they stand. “…Hmmph, fine. We’ll let it pass just this once. Let the other Shaymin in the village know that travelers and explorers should leave us be.” He turns tail, the other Carnivine following suit, leaving just the six of them together.
“…Damn, girl.” Mick speaks up, chuckling softly as he finally makes his way into the room. “You handled that whole situation without turning it into a brawl. I’m impressed. I’d have thrown down.”
Ralph scoffs, rolling his eyes. “You know hell is frozen over when the brawler is saying he’s amazed you resolved something without fighting.”
“Hmm. I’ll admit, I can’t help but feel like we might’ve dodged a bullet there.” Mawile awkwardly scratches at her head. “I’m embarrassed for catching myself wound up in all that. Thank you, Lavender.”
“Yeeeeeaaaaaahhh, eheh…” River smiles sheepishly as she scoots over a bit closer to Neesha. “We might’ve jumped a bit too quick into things.”
“No harm done.” Lavender gives a reassuring smile. “The Carnivine here can get very territorial. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re on edge from the sudden influx of visitors. We haven’t had this many Pokemon come to the mountain in forever. Let’s go ahead and put this behind us, though. Keep on climbing. We’re almost at the halfway point!”
“Heh, alright, cool, anyway we’ll see you guys later at the top- GUUAGGKK!” Mick is about to bolt off when he feels Ralph tugging at the back of his head, falling straight on his ass before he gets the chance to run off.
“What he means to say is, he’d love to take the time to slow down and chat with all of you while we make our way to the third station clearing.” Ralph says with a grin as he stares down at Mick, tightening his grip even further which causes the Shinx to wince in pain at the force being tugged at his fur. “Right, Mick?”
“…Yeah, sure.”
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