Chapter 10 – Let’s Go, Shimmering Mountain!

“You’re sure that you’re well enough to work today? We can take another day off, it’s really not a problem.” Eri’s voice is quieter than usual, likely unheard by Rosemary and Samuel ahead of us.

Still a little sore, and working in the snow isn’t ideal, but… “One day was enough for me. I’m dying to try out my new form!” A little electricity bellows within the pouches on my cheeks, with some sparking out from the pads on my paws.

“Well aren’t you eager…”

“…should I not be?”

She sighs. “No, no. I’m glad you’re feeling better, really. Just would’ve been a nice excuse to take another day off…”

“Too much time off will make you dull.” The Sandslash looks over his shoulder at us, flashing a teasing smile. “Besides, Hopper has a point. Don’t you want to try your new body out?”

Eri pouts as we walk up the stairs to town hall. “Said the workaholic.”

“You can’t make it into the Guild if you have that attitude, Eri.” Rosemary enters the conversation while wrapping her leaves around the town hall door’s handles. “Begging for time off wouldn’t go over well with Bli-”

“Ah, Team Thorn! Perfect timing!”

---

Close call… I step out from behind Rosemary and Samuel. “G-Good morning, Blitz sir!” My body snaps to attention immediately. Hopper does his best to imitate, while our friends remain at ease. “’Perfect timing’? I-Is there something you needed them for?”

“Well I’ll be… Team Earshot’s undergone a bit of an upgrade, hm?” Blitz looks both of us up and down, wearing an analyzing smile all the while. “Very nice. You’re still dazzling in that coat and scarf, Eri. And that trench coat is doing wonders for you, son! Reminds me of a great adventurer I once knew…”

Sparks jolt out from his paws as he perks up. “T-Thank you sir! Eri deserves most of the praise, though. She made it, after all.”

“An adventurer and a seamstress, hm? Not a combo I’ve seen before, but I like it!” That trademark grin takes his face.

“THANK YOU, SIR!!!” I unwittingly return to attention.

“At ease, dear.” A gigantic Arcanine paw motions downward. “Anyways, it’s good that all four of you came together. We’ve got… let’s call it a special assignment for you.”

“But before that…” Lisa peeks out from behind Blitz, who is obscuring her desk from view. “…monthly reviews came through, and guess who got approved for promotion!” She enthusiastically holds up four slips of paper.

All four of us approach the desk, though I can’t help but feel apprehensive. “Already? But we promoted just last month, too.” Shaking off said apprehension, I grab two of her forms and hand one to Hopper.

“It’s not unheard of to advance through the ranks this quick, but I guess you could say that this is a… unique scenario. Blitz? Care to explain for them?”

“I put in a recommendation to advance your promotion. Times are tough, so we need non-Guild adventurers operating at C-Rank and above now more than ever. You four seem capable enough, so I figured I’d offer a shortcut for now. The rest of the ranks won’t be this easy, though, so consider it a one-time courtesy.” The smile he’s worn since we entered fades to a more serious look. “But beyond that, I have a proposition for you.”

Hopper looks up from his form and leans over the desk to get a clear look at Blitz. “A proposition?”

“Right. You four did mighty fine work during your trip to Shimmering Cave last month. In wake of… current events, we’ve planned a proper Guild expedition to Shimmering Mountain. Given your recent familiarity with the area, we decided to extend an offer to you. Radiant Square’s emergency regulations dictate that only C-Rank and above adventurers can go past East Radiant Forest, so the early promotion was something of a means to an end.” He snaps out of his speech for a moment, allowing his carefree smile to reemerge. “Of course, feel free to decline, but we could rea-”

---

“YES! YES YES YES A BILLION TIMES YES!!!” Eri slams her paws on the table repeatedly, startling everyone in the room. Even Blitz seems caught off guard. “A-Ah! I mean, um, sure! I accept! Personally!” She turns back to me at the speed of light, her eyes nervously darting around as her tail shakes back and forth. “You’re ready to promote, right? Please say yes. No pressure though. Say yes please.”

…I’m glad she at least pretends to give me an option. “Y-Yeah. Cool with me. Let’s do our best.” So much for her not wanting to work today.

Her somewhat flustered face gives way to an incredible excitement. “Ohhhhhhhh thank you, thank you!” She turns back to Rosemary and tugs at her left arm leaf. “Roooooooooosemary, my second-or-third-bestest bestie in the world… you’ll come with us, right?”

“Poor Hopper, look what he has to deal with every day. And wow, ‘second-or-third-bestest’?” Rosemary grins smugly at the girl desperately pleading with her. “Maybe if I was the bestest, I would be more convinced…”

“Sure, yeah, bestest! THE bestest, the bestest like no-one ever was!” For such a cheery girl, Rosemary goes in hard on the teasing. She’s got Eri begging on her knees.

Wait, did I just get usurped by Rosemary?

“In that case…” Rosemary takes Eri’s other paw and lifts her into the air. “As your bestest friend, I’ll have your back~! Samuel too, of course.”

He stares at them sternly. “I didn’t agree to this yet.”

“Keyword being ‘yet’. I know you well enough.”

He grumbles under his breath a bit, but goes on to sign the promotion form. “Can’t argue with that, unfortunately.”

“All in, then?”

“Yes, sir!” Our tones range from flat to carefree to elated, but all four of us sound earnest regardless.

“Excellent. We depart by noon. Be at the Guild’s entrance in an hour!”

---

Atop the hill on the east end of town stood a large crowd of Pokémon: Floatzel, Tyrantrum, Umbreon, Espeon, Hatterene, Rampardos, Ludicolo, Staraptor, you name it! Among them was, of course, Blitz and Ares, as well as the towering superfecta of Corviknight, Yanmega, Tropius, and Braviary.

“You four are right on time. Expedition members, allow me to introduce Eri and Hopper of Team Earshot, and Rosemary and Samuel of Team Thorn!”

We’re met with various looks of… I guess passive disinterest. They all take a quick look at us and then return to their chatting.

“They’ll be joining our expedition today. Be sure to show them some Guild hospitality!”

“Yes sir, Blitz.” Nobody sounds enthusiastic about it.

“That doesn’t sound particularly hospitable, lads!” He firmly stamps his paw to the ground, and the instant he does…

“YES SIR, BLITZ! WELCOME TO THE EXPEDITION, ERI AND HOPPER AND ROSEMARY AND SAMUEL!”

“Much better! Grammar could use some work, though.” His whimsical smile stretches from ear to ear, clashing with his strong authority. “Alright, party Pokémon, it’s time to board. No pushing or shoving or nothing, please!” Those four titanic Flying-types take position at the corners of a large wooden platform, each of them holding a thick rope. Guess that’s what Blitz means by ‘boarding’.

Arceus, that was so embarrassing… Why does he have to draw so much attention to us? I wonder how Hopper is holding up.

At my side, my partner stands completely expressionless. Is he that disinterested?

“You ready to board? I’ve never flown before, so I’m a little nervous…” An anxious giggle slips out as I finish, but Hopper doesn’t react. “Hey, are you listening?”

“That orange guy with the big jaws is really huge… the gray and blue one, too. So many big Pokémon…” Ok, not disinterested. Just Hopper being Hopper.

Time for Emotional Support Pokémon Eri to step in, I suppose. “Let’s get boarded, alright big guy? Eyes on me. Or the ground. Whatever works.” I take hold of his paw and drag him along, stopping at the end of the line that had formed. “I wonder if everyone will fit on this thing…”

Hopper winced a little at my comment. Megalophobia and claustrophobia? What an unfortunate combo.

“Sorry, I meant no wonder everyone will fit on this thing.”

---

Everyone was funneled on to the platform one by one, carefully arranged for ideal weight distribution. As a result, Rosemary and Samuel were separated from us, but I thankfully got to stick with Eri. Our weight was insignificant compared to all of the other passengers, so we ended up squished in the middle without any rhyme or reason. A Ludicolo and Rampardos were rocking against us, as well as a third Pokémon I cannot remember the name of. A tall Pokémon with a somewhat unnerving face and slender limbs, surrounded by squishy pink and blue stuff from head to toe. And is she wearing… some kind of hat? Like a jelly flesh hat? Kinda unnerving, but also sorta pretty… Anyways, they all chat away with each other, though none of them seemed terribly concerned about our mission. There’s so many voices overlapping that it’s hard to make anything out.

Despite all the commotion, since we took flight, my mind has been occupied primarily with the Cinccino girl pressed against my side. So close…

“Psst! Hopper!” She whispers to me, lifting her head to see my face. “How much longer do you think until we get there?”

“Dunno. I haven’t been able to see anything since we took off.” Even if I could peek through, I likely wouldn’t be able to tell how close we are from this angle. “Can you see anything from down there?”

She looks around, but quickly redirects her attention to me. “A little, but not enough to tell. I don’t wanna look, anyways. Heights have never been my thing…”

“Keep looking up, then.”

“I’ll try…”

…

Now she’s staring at me.

…

“H-Hey, you don’t have to look right at me…”

A big grin appears on her face. “Nope~! I think this is fine.”

Did she get possessed by the spirit of Rosemary or something? She just keeps staring with no sign of stopping.

I don’t mind, though. Puts me at ease a little.

---

CLUNK!

The clattering of the platform complimented its impressively smooth landing at the foot of Shimmering Mountain.

“We’ve arrived, folks! Let’s get moving!”

As soon as Blitz issued his command, everyone came pouring from the carrier. For the first time in about half an hour, Hopper and I can finally see. Arceus, that was the worst. He made for good company, though…

“How was your flight, kids~?” Rosemary and Samuel casually walk towards us from their spots on the edge of the platform.

“’Kids’? You’re, like, two years older than us. That aside, it was fine. I had a good travel buddy.” I pulled Hopper in while dropping that last comment.

Her posture lowered, allowing her leaves to droop down. “Lucky you. My travel buddy was silent all the way.”

Samuel grimaces. “…Ground-type Pokémon and heights aren’t compatible concepts. I don’t know what you want out of me.”

“Oh, oh!” Rosemary seems to ignore Samuel and begins digging through her bag. “Since we’re all here, how’s about a quick picture! Celebrate your evolution and our first Guild activity!” She digs out a small camera. It’s predominantly white, though the film slot on the bottom is black. A pair of red and blue lines stretch from below the lens to the top of the film slot. “Ah, you there~!” She rushes towards the Ludicolo we saw earlier.

“Hm? Is something the matter?” He looks friendly enough, doing a little idle jig.

“Would you mind taking a picture of our crew for us~? It would mean the world!” She steps aside and motions to us, who all look a little embarrassed.

His face turns to surprise, but then to a kind smile. “One shot couldn’t hurt. Better make it count, kids!” Everyone calling us kids today…

“Thank youuuuu~!” Rosemary prances back to us, immediately pushing us all in position. “Okay, Samuel and I on the ends, and you two in the middle… Get close, lovebirds~!” She grabs my ear and Hopper’s head to get our pose just right.

“L-Lovebirds?! What’re you-”

Samuel lays a claw on top of Hopper’s head, shutting him up immediately. “We only get one take, so quit freaking out.”

Rosemary shifts her leaf on top of his claw. “Alright, we’re ready! Everyone smile!”

“Alright, on the count of three…” The Ludicolo crouches to get the position just right. “One…”

Rosemary’s being ridiculous, as usual, but I must admit it’s a pleasant setup…

“Two…”

I look up to Hopper, and he returns a nervous gaze. A picture of Hopper and I together… oh, and these other guys too.

“Three…”

I’d best make it count. I wrap my tail behind his back, pulling him close. He looks a bit startled, and then-

CLICK!

vsssshhh…

A small piece of white paper slides out of the camera’s slot. “Here you are, ma’am.” The Ludicolo hands her the camera and picture before swiftly departing.

“Alright, let’s take a looksie~!” She waves the photo about to develop it faster.

Despite being the one who brought the camera, she doesn’t seem to understand how to use it. “You know you’re not supposed to do that, right? Have some patience.”

This only makes her more frantic. “Patience smatience! I want my cute picture now, Eri!”

“Don’t blame me when it comes out like shit.”

“Ah~!” She perks up after inspecting it once again. “You were saying~?” She moves the photo around so we can all see. “Not bad!”

Samuel leans in to get a look. “Easy for you to say. Hopper’s huge ear is blocking most of my eye. And Eri’s ear is blocking Hopper’s eye.”

Guess the big ears are where ‘Earshot’ came from. Should be expected. “You take up both of our real estate combined, so don’t complain.”

“Well I think everyone looks very cute! Or cool, if they prefer.” She nudges Samuel’s arm. “Though Hopper’s making a bit of a funny face.”

He fidgets with his paws as he looks at the photo, his previously awestruck gaze now a bit more sullen. “Sorry, it’s… the first time I’ve taken a photograph, actually…”

“W-Wait, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad… The funny face is cute, honest~!”

Hopper’s first photo… was with me? Why does that make me feel all funny?

“Hey, we’re moving out.” Ares calmly beckons us from further ahead. “Don’t fall behind. This is a mission, not a field trip.” He elegantly dashes ahead, returning to Blitz’s side at the front of the travel formation.

The line begins to tread up the mountain, clearly visible due to the colossal Pokémon within. Interestingly, the whirling snow abruptly cuts off near the foot of the mountain, like this is the eye of the storm.

“You heard him. Let’s get a move on, crew.” Samuel steps ahead and waves forward.

Rosemary leans forward with a leaf at her hip. “And who made you the leader?”

He looks perplexed. “I’m the oldest, and the most experienced in combat. Is there a problem?”

“Assessing leadership and aptitude by age is so childish of you, Samuel. A knucklehead like you won’t do at all.”

He crosses his claws with a frustrated look. “Alright, Rose. Who do you propose?”

“Eri, obviously.”

“W-What? Me?!”

Rosemary tugs me along with one leaf, and Hopper with the other. “We’re running late, so no use complaining! Put that big leader brain to work, leader!” Our formation is, by her manipulation, set: Hopper in the front left, me in the front right, Rosemary in the back left, and Samuel in the back right. “No time to waste! Let’s go, Shimmering Mountain~!”

---

The road ahead began uneventfully, and the Guild members seemed to share that sentiment. Many were hunched over in their boredom, speaking candidly despite the nature of our mission. The four of us, even Rosemary, all seemed too nervous to chat. We’re the odd ones out in this crowd, after all. Our boredom subsided quickly though, as the line ahead stopped advancing.

“Here’s the first deviation. This is supposed to be one path.” Ares’ gentle voice is hardly discernable from this far away. “We’ll be splitting up from here. Blitz and I will assign each of you a path. Your distress signals won’t transmit radio from here, but the audio signal should still work. Don’t hesitate to use it if needed.” He raises his voice for all to hear.

Within seconds, the line begins to slowly advance. Blitz and Ares direct each duo or team up one of the three available paths. The one furthest left isn’t particularly steep and is fairly wide, wrapping around the mountain further up. Furthest right is a similar path, but far narrower. Some trees, no longer bearing leaves, decorate the sides in addition to the fallen logs that litter the path. In the center is a very steep path with no vegetation whatsoever. It wraps around the right side of the mountain further along, but it frankly looks perilous.

Hope we don’t have to go that way…

Most of the Pokémon are assigned to the left path, but a few smaller ones are sent to the right. Only a select few, like the Umbreon and Espeon, go down the center. I presume that’s where Blitz and Ares are bound for as well. Must be a piece of cake for them.

“Earshot and Thorn, you four are taking the right path. Remember to keep your badges handy.” Ares quickly dismisses us.

“Stay safe, kids!”

Waiting for us are a Druddigon and Zangoose, both looking rather impatient. “Time is of the essence,” the Zangoose begins, “don’t weigh us down, you hear?”

Blitz, Ares and that Ludicolo must be the outliers. These Guild guys are so-

“We should be saying the same to you.” Eri drags me ahead by the paw, leading our expanded party. “We’ll show you how it’s done, so just watch our six.” We’ve all been picking up this tactical lingo from Samuel. I don’t find it super useful, but it’s good to know what it all means.

“Tch.” The Druddigon, his voice low and coarse, joins in. “Fine. Less work for us. Take care of the fodder for us, rookies.”

Beneath her composed leader persona, I can feel Eri’s burning spirit. It’s a far cry from how she was this morning. Guess all it takes to get her going is a little frustration.

---

I can’t tell why they’re so high security about Shimmering Mountain. We’re several minutes down this path – and easily half an hour from the mountain’s base – and we haven’t come across a single wild Pokémon yet. I’d hate to throw down with wilds for no reason, but I was kinda hoping to stick it to these Guild chumps…

“You two.” I look over my shoulder to address our Guild companions. “Are all trips to Shimmering Mountain this boring? All this hype, and for what?”

The Zangoose begins to laugh, eventually breaking into an unnerving cackle. “Bored, eh?” He looks to his partner, who nods in response. “We’d be poor hosts if we left our guests bored. What say we make things a little more fun?”

Hopper and I both direct our full attention to them. He looks a little nervous. ”Make things ‘more fun’? What’re you scheming?”

“WIIIIIIIIIIILDS! COME ON OUUUUUUUUUUUT!” They holler to the sky in unison, their voices echoing far and wide.

“Are you insane?” Samuel breaks from his disinterested march. “The hell’s your problem?”

The Druddigon shifts his weight to the side, assuming a confident – and irritating – pose. “Something wrong? You two sounded confident.”

The anxiety that previously plagued Hopper’s face has given way to frustration. “Are all Guild members so immature? We’re on the same team, you know.”

The Zangoose points my way, his arm bobbing up and down as he does. “Oh yeah? I have a feeling your bratty partner would disagree. ‘We’ll show you how it’s done’, right?” He and his partner share a laugh at my expense.

“That was… I…” I guess I did say that… Great, made an ass of myself in front of a couple of Guild members. On the off-chance I still make it in someday, guess I’ll have disgruntled coworkers from day one. “…I’m sorry.”

“Grrrr…” Hopper shifts to a low stance, starring daggers at the Zangoose.

As if this wasn’t going bad enough. There’s no way I can sic Hopper on these guys! “It’s alright, big guy. Don’t feed into it.”

He looks back to me for only a moment, his gaze softening just a bit before returning to the irritating Guild member.

“That stance… what, gonna take a swing at me?” The condescending pretense shatters, revealing a shaky voice with a hint of anxiety. “Is that how you public service guys sort things out? Fight anyone who pisses you off?”

I can’t let this escalate any further. “No, no. It’s alright, really.” I tug at his paw, leaning up to whisper to him. “Seriously, just let it go.”

This time he doesn’t look at me. He yanks his arm away and dashes to the Zangoose.

“Wrong move, rookie!” Without hesitation, he lifts his claw. His Druddigon partner also prepares for battle.

“Shut up! You talk too much!” Hopper leaps into the air less than a second before impact, kicking up a cloud of dust below.

“I- huh?” The Zangoose’s gaze follows Hopper up, coming to rest on a Ferrothorn descending from the tree above.

THUNGGGGGGG! The sound of a foot colliding with metal draws all of our attention.

Before the wild Pokémon can launch a counterattack, my partner kicks off it and lands smoothly at my side.

Thank Arceus. I really thought he was about to throw down with this guy.

Hold it. If these guys perch from trees, then…

Gotcha!

I jump to the side and put all my weight and strength into pushing Hopper over. Mid-jump, I wave my arm to summon Swift. The light beam trio launches from my paw to another green and gray opponent that has landed behind me. The beams just dink off its steel plating, but it’s better than nothing.

Speaking of nothing, the two lousy Guild members run further down the path as our adversaries make themselves seen. “You said you’d show us how it’s done,” the Druddigon cries out, “time to put your money where your mouth is!”

“Good luck, tag-alongs!” The Zangoose waves back at us as he sprints away with his friend.

“Jerks.” Now that they’re out of earshot, I can make my true feelings known.

“Got that right.” My partner speaks up from below me. A little blush appears on his face as we lock eyes, but that gaze quickly shifts to behind me. With his eyes opened wide, he calls out to me. “Behind you, watch out!”

---

Our unexpected opponent closes in for a surprise attack, lowering one of its spiked vine-things to Eri’s back. She glances back for only a moment before raising her tail and wrapping it around the vine, taking care not to poke herself on one of the spikes.

The enemy seems caught off guard, but it isn’t long before it regains composure. “Grrrrrr… gh…” Eri appears to pull at the vine with all her might, but she’s effortlessly lifted from atop me despite her struggle. “Could use your strength right now!” She grabs hold of my jacket before she’s lifted too high, disorienting the Ferrothorn.

“Got it!” I secure Eri in my arms before kicking my foot against the dirt. I put my whole body into spinning on my back, managing to build up some momentum. “Eri, release!” As soon as her tail unwinds, the Ferrothorn is sent flying into a tree. Its vines fall limp. “You good?” I loosen my grip on her, allowing both of us to get back on our feet.

“Never better.” She helps pull me off the ground. Assuming a confident stance, she calls out to the remaining Ferrothorn. “Ready for round two!”

GROOGHCHK!

CHK CHK CHK CHK CHK!

After releasing a battle cry, the enemy marches up a nearby stone formation, planting two vines into the rock and allowing the third to hang above. What is it doing? Taking a breather? Well, no time like the present!

---

It’s gotta be preparing something, we should keep our distance for now. If it’s going to take a second, we’d may as well take the opportunity to prepare ourselv- Huh? Where’d Hopper go?

Rather than take a moment to think, Hopper has opted to rush ahead to the Ferrothorn.

This big idiot. Too late for me to stop him now.

Just before reaching the stone, Hopper slides into a low position. His paws touch the ground, and he keeps his view fixed on his opponent above.

Electricity jolts from his paws, propelling him upwards. He keeps one foot extended outward, flipping backwards into a somersault kick!

BREEEEEEEEEEEEAW!

A deep screech resounds from behind the stone, a pair of beige and blue wings revealing themselves immediately after.

“Hopper!” The three of us call out to him in unison, but it’s too late for him to redirect.

A towering Archeops emerges, grabbing hold of the Ferrothorn’s vine with its talons. As soon as they make contact, the Ferrothorn releases its vines from the stone, allowing its avian companion to swing it towards a helpless Hopper.

“G-GH!” Even though his kick made contact, the poorly planned move was punished by the tag-team wrecking ball. He narrowly misses the Ferrothorn’s spikes, but is sent flying above us.

If we don’t redirect him, he’ll fly off the mountain!

---

Wind rushes through my hair, turning it into a mess that whips at my face. The dizzying landscape is overlapped by a flurry of orange, obscuring my perception.

“Rosemary, uppies!”

“As you wish~!”

‘Uppies’? Is she four years old?

A thick mass of fluff secures itself tightly around my belly. I’d recognize that tail anywhere. It slows my horizontal momentum somewhat.

“Arms out!”

I do as she asks.

“Catch, Samuel!”

An affirmative grunt is the only response.

“Grrrrrrrrr-ah!”

I’m spun around. It’s hard to see, but the rotation seems to stop as I face the ground. The fluff releases me, sending me down.

“Hup!” A pair of claws stop my descent just above the ground. “You’ve put on weight.” I’m held by the arms, my face hardly an inch from Samuel’s.

“Not my fault. Would it kill you to be nice?”

His expressionless mouth curves into a frustrating smirk, but it hardly lasts as he looks at something behind me.

I’m pulled close a second later as my handler curls to the ground in a defensive stance.

CLANG!

GROOOOOOOGHCHK!

Samuel shakes a bit as the wrecking ball of a Pokémon slams down on his spines, but it sounds like it’s in far more pain than he is.

“Does this count as being nice?”

I guess saving my life is nice… “Close enough.”

“Look alive, boys.” Rosemary calls out from our side, indicating to Samuel that the coast is clear. When we’re both standing, she raises a leaf to the flying Pokémon. I can’t remember it’s name for the life of me… “We’ve gotta do something about that.”

‘That’ refers to Eri, who is currently wrangling the bird as best she can. Her tail is wrapped around its neck, looking just tight enough to keep control while just loose enough to keep it from suffocating. Killing ferals isn’t on the agenda.

“Hopper, may I see your bag?” Rosemary taps my shoulder and nods at my backpack. I oblige and hand it off to her. She wordlessly unzips it and shakes it out, releasing a waterfall of tasty fruits we packed this morning. If Eri was seeing this disgraceful waste of food, she’d go feral. Strangely, she lifts the bag to her head and sprays something from her bulb into it. She zips it shut with great urgency. “Zapping that Archeops is no good, since you might zap Eri. Having Eri drop down isn’t ideal either. You’re gonna shove this bag in that thing’s face.” She delivers the plan with her eyes curled in a grin. Turning to Samuel, she leans forward with her leaves behind her back. “You mind playing bait today, dear~?”

He looks uncertain, but after a glance at Eri he seems to realize there’s no room for hesitation. “Don’t you dare say I’m never nice.” He points a claw to a nearby tree. “You’ll jump from that tree. The signal should be obvious.”

---

This thing… is so damn hard… to fly…!

BREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAW!

It doesn’t sound happy, either!

What’re those three doing? Having a little picnic? Get up here and help me!

“H-Hey… rock wings… over here!” Samuel doesn’t seem used to the snarky taunting thing, but he’s trying his best. Considering Hopper is nowhere to be seen, they’re probably going for some kind of bait strategy. Gotta do my part, then!

“You heard the man! After him!” I try my best to wrangle my mount towards Samuel, which it seems content with.

BREEEEEEEAWWWWWWWWW!

“Coming in hot!” The three of us get closer and closer to Samuel.

Alright, where’s the twist?

…

…

Uh, we’re getting really close. Isn’t something supposed to be happening?

“Get your head in the game, Hopper!”

“R-Right! Sorry!” Seems they could’ve coordinated the signal better.

Hopper wastes no time jumping from the tree behind Samuel. The Archeops seems to notice him, but it’s helpless to stop its existing momentum.

He grabs hold of the Archeops’ neck, hanging on by one arm. “Take this!” He removes his backpack from his back and swings it relentlessly at the enemy’s head, which only seems to further confuse and enrage it.

“Open the bag, dude!” Rosemary’s voice is between frustration and disappointed laughter.

“Oh, whoops.” He unzips it, and a flurry of yellow powder emerges. “Blech! What is this stuff?”

I hear Rosemary mumble a “Arceus Almighty…” under her breath. She moves in beneath the Archeops, shouting up to me, “Jump down, Eri! I’ve got you!” I do as she asks, and she catches me elegantly.

BREEEEEEAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaa… wwwwww…

The dull scream calls our attention back up. Hopper finally figured out the assignment and brought the open bag – which I identified to be holding Stun Spores – to the Archeops’ mouth. Thank goodness those don’t work on Electric Pokémon.

The flapping of its wings becomes irregular, and its grip on the Ferrothorn releases. Before long, they both fall to the ground.

Breeaaaaa…

GROOGHCHK!

“Take the Archeops! Leave the Ferrothorn to us!” Samuel, who evidently managed to evade their earlier attack, rushes to the downed Ferrothorn, who is caught flailing its vines. ‘Us’ probably includes Hopper.

Rosemary puts me down but maintains her grip on my paw. “Mind helping me out, partner~?”

“My pleasure.” I bring my other paw to her leaf and flow the energy of Helping Hand through it.

---

Seeing the storm of foliage kicking up around the Archeops, I leap away from it and above the Ferrothorn. That defensive beast is a job suited for two.

We exchange glances without a word. No words are needed.

My left paw starts to charge up. My capacity is higher, and the charge is faster too.

Going for a full body Spark wouldn’t do much against this one, but the electricity itself doesn’t need to do the heavy lifting. It’s just an addition to the physical force.

Not a Spark, and not a Shock, but a punch… Thunder Punch… Not a very creative name, but it’ll do.

---

An unfathomable amount of petals scratch at the fallen Archeops. Eventually, there’s so many that I can hardly see the enemy anymore. They whirl around and around and around until they all fly off and away, leaving an unconscious Archeops in their wake.

“Don’t you think that was overkill?”

Rosemary looks down at me with a wink. “Sending Hopper off the mountain would’ve been overkill too.”

“Hmm. Guess it had this coming.”

“Had a feeling that would change your mind.” Those narrowing eyes…

“Don’t look too far into it.”

---

SHHHHING!

GROOOOOOOOHCHK!

A pair of claws lodge themselves between the steel plating, holding the Ferrothorn in place for me. The spiky ends of its vines batter Samuel’s back, but those spines protect him from every bit of it.

CLUNK!

My left fist collides with the opponent, which means it’s time for…

BZZZZZZT!

I release as much electricity as possible from my paw, coating my arm and rippling across the plating. Any that connects with Samuel fizzles away immediately.

GROOOOOOOOH…CHKKKKKK…

---

Rosemary and I step closer to the boys, who stand above a motionless Ferrothorn. Well, Hopper isn’t standing. He’s slumped over its side, but close enough to standing. “We’re done, right?” He pants heavily, allowing some electricity to run along his balloon arms. Is that, like, comfortable?

I release Rosemary’s leaf and step in front of my partner. “Done for now. Good work.” I run my paw through his big mess of hair. Even more electricity runs along his arms. Yeah, must be a comfort thing.

“Thanks… Everyone did great…” Goodness, he’s so exhausted. I suppose he was jumping around a whole bunch.

I feel like we’ve earned a rest. Don’t want him collapsing on us. “How about we take a break for a few minutes? I’m sure we can catch up no prob.”

---

“Giving up already? Don’t tell me those three wore you out.” The laughter of a Zangoose snaps us out of our exhaustion.

A chuckling Druddigon accompanies him. “In the time it took you chumps to deal with those ferals, the two of us charted way ahead. Picked up all sorts of loot, too.” He proudly displays a blue orb, very similar to the one Eloise had the other day. “I’d heard rumors about these things, but didn’t think I’d find my own so early into our trek.”

Samuel, who had been squatting down prior, stands up and approaches him. “Glad you had so much fun while we did all your dirty work. And the hell do you mean, ‘my own’? You’re on an expedition, that thing should go to the Guild.”

“Real stickler for the rules, huh?” The Zangoose steps in and gives a light shove to Samuel’s shoulder. “And would you all quit complaining about fighting? Again, blame Little Miss Fashion Show down there for putting you all up to this.” He walks over to Eri as he speaks, standing tall right in front of her.

“Do you not realize you’re taking this too far?” Before I can intervene, Rosemary steps between them. “You two need to set a better example for the Guild. I doubt Blitz would be pleased.”

He stares in frustrated silence for a second before regaining his composure somewhat. “Tch. Like he’d be happier with your pathetic showing. Especially her.” His vision shoots my way, causing me to flinch slightly. With a laugh, his gaze returns to Eri. “You two want to make it into the Guild, no? Do what we say and quit complaining, then maybe we’ll put in a good word for you.”

Eri’s eyes are glued to the ground. The shadow cast on her face by her bangs hardly conceals the tears welling up.

I’ve had beyond enough of this shit. “We’re not gonn-”

Her bushy tail taps me over the head, and she shakes her head in disapproval. After wiping her face with her sleeve, she looks back up to the Guild members. “Fine. What do you want me to do, then?”

“Much better attitude.” The Zangoose slowly walks away, stepping beside his Druddigon friend a little down the path. “Hanging on to our stuff would be nice, starting with this orb.” He waves his paw in the air, signaling for his partner to hand it over.

“Here. Catch.” The Dragon-type tosses it underhand to Eri. It sails high into the air, allowing her a second to get into position.

The orb grazes her paw, but… “A-Ah!”

CHK!

…on impact with the ground, it shatters into a few pieces.

“What the hell?! Can you do anything?” The Zangoose’s cockiness is gone, giving way to fury.

“I… I… I-I’m sorry, I… I didn’t…” Eri panics, struggling to get a single word out.

While she must not notice yet, the rest of us are left freaking out over the cloud of dust whipping up around us. Just like with Vincent the other day…

I don’t know what’s going on, but I need to do something. Without thinking, I pull Eri close. I hold her as tight as I can. I can’t let her go right now.

The wind grows stronger.

It howls louder and louder, drowning out all sound.

The gray dust seems to consume everything. All I can see is some of Eri’s hair.

Just gotta hold on tight…