• A new LGBTQ+ forum is now being trialed and there have been changes made to the Support and Advice forum. To read more about these updates, click here.
  • Hey Trainers! Be sure to check out Corsola Beach, our newest section on the forums, in partnership with our friends at Corsola Cove! At the Beach, you can discuss the competitive side of the games, post your favorite Pokemon memes, and connect with other Pokemon creators!
  • Due to the recent changes with Twitter's API, it is no longer possible for Bulbagarden forum users to login via their Twitter account. If you signed up to Bulbagarden via Twitter and do not have another way to login, please contact us here with your Twitter username so that we can get you sorted.

EVERYONE: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Azure Rescuers (Chapter 15 posted)

Chapter 12: The absconder's absolution

"Argh... Come on, come on, come on; what's wrong with this blizzard?!" muttered a deeply frustrated Sneasel who, moments earlier, had been subject to a discovery which struck him on a most personal level. "I want to get to Mt. Freeze now! It's m-my fault she's in this mess..." Szaer growled, the disgust he felt for himself growing ever more palpable with each moment he was forced to endure inside this cave shelter he and his new teammates resided within.

Never before had he regretted his past actions to such an intense magnitude, now that his silence had gotten another former human in such a devastating situation. He was there when Flutter's life fell apart, there to see the moment when this defiant yet innocent soul finally buckled to vicious slander and admitted to being the human responsible for this land's string of many natural disasters.

Throughout the days and nights since then, Szaer had been wondering if he could have stopped this before it begun, if he could have saved Flutter from just over a week of anguish and torment by just... being honest. Gengar was the instigator of the current ordeal, yes, but in light of Flutter truly being a human after all, Szaer now believed himself to be similarly responsible for not confessing to his misdeed earlier.

"Well..." he muttered, casting his gaze to the barely visible heights of a snow covered mountain nearby and steeling himself for what laid ahead. "For Flutter's sake, the truth must come out at last."

Before he could quietly speak his mind any further, Flutter's two friends approached him as he stood by the cave's entrance, their appearances causing him a small amount of surprise. "Oh, Terack and Kyan? How's Flutter doing back there?" Szaer questioned, genuinely concerned for the Togepi's condition after seeing her pass out in the snow earlier.

"Aside from crying a little bit under the stress and then getting upset with herself for crying, there's nothing wrong with her besides being really tired. Using your Black Ice cloak to keep her warm might have stopped something worse." Terack recounted, appearing pretty down with himself too. "She's sleeping now, but that's when I finally realized something. Flutter must have been avoiding sleep all this time just so she never had to see Gardevoir again, and that's why she's looked so tired lately." he revealed. "I feel so ashamed to have not noticed earlier; Flutter's supposed to be my best friend..."

"She and I would be happy to see you learn from it." Szaer swiftly interjected, primarily to stop Terack beating himself up for Flutter's muddled state of mind. That would be his job, he rigidly believed.

No sooner had he thought this when Kyan spoke up next. "So you're a human too? I was really surprised when Flutter first told me that she was human, but I think this is a bigger shock. Would you mind telling us everything?" the Metang said, believing that this lull in their flight made for a more appropriate time to ask.

Szaer soon agreed to it, now he knew Flutter would be alright for the moment. "Ok, I'll share my story. I was going to tell you all about this at some point anyway; I just didn't think it would come this early." Szaer told them, setting up his tale. "Here's the story. I'd inexplicably woken up one day near the Northern Range, far north from the square, without any sort of memory about this past life."

"Except for the location, that's... that's exactly like Flutter!" Terack gasped in recognition. "I found her near the Tiny Woods. Maybe you two ended up here for the exact same reason..." he speculated to himself.

This detail was rather interesting to take in. "That's a strong possibility. It's obvious now that Gardevoir has something to do with us both being in this world. There's a lot about it all which I can still only guess at..." Szaer mused. "Anyway, whether it was because of the significantly rougher location or the fact that no Pokémon took me in like you clearly did with her, I was a... real brat of a Pokémon by the time I first set foot in the square. I'm not proud of that." he ruefully recalled. He found his prior behavior to be revolting nowadays, even if it helped him survive. Never again, he swore.

He then quickly steered the subject away from these mannerisms, unwilling to go into detail on this aspect. "It was around this time when I began having some strange dreams, the last one with Gardevoir talking to me." the Sneasel continued to explain.

"Again, just like Flutter." Kyan remembered, he and Terack becoming increasingly concerned by the parallels between these humans so far. "She's been having these odd dreams too. Her most recent one came just before Gengar's meeting, actually. The dream left her convinced that she'd abandoned Gardevoir, so there was no attempt to disprove Gengar when he cornered her..." he sadly thought back. "I had to stop her from running out on us afterwards. Hearing her say she was no good for us was really difficult to bear."

This account served to add fuel to the fire within their Ice type teammate. "Grrh... The sooner we fix this travesty and get her head back in the right place, the better." Szaer spoke with a growling undertone to his voice. As the snowstorm outside hadn't died down enough however, he continued telling his story. "I somehow managed to shut out her visitations; maybe it's because I'm also a Dark type, and I've never seen her again until today, but that didn't change my bad behavior. Before long, I, well... left the square. I wasn't well liked by then."

Neither Terack or Kyan asked for details, they both knew it was something he wanted to keep vague. "I made it all the way out to the Frosty Forest before what little supplies I had were all gone. I must have blacked out because I next remember waking up at Articuno's plateau with her watching me. She'd saved my life..." Szaer went on telling them.

Judging by what they'd seen out of Articuno, this part came as a surprise to the listeners. "Wait, wait, Articuno saved you even though you were intruding in the forest? I wonder why she'd do that." Kyan thought aloud.

Out of nowhere, Szaer was now cracking a small grin. "Funny, that's what I wondered too. "The fact that she chose to go out of her way for the likes of me, an unlikeable Pokémon... It struck me deeply. That's when I decided to change my ways. Articuno took me in, trained me, taught me so much, and introduced me to her duty of protecting the forest. Thanks to her, I became a changed Pokémon." he stated, now more fondly.

"Aww, that's just incredible. I'm so happy to hear how you turned your life around..." Terack marveled at him. "What brought you back to the square though? It sounds like you're pretty close to Articuno." As the Trapinch spoke, he noticed another, more subtle parallel between Szaer and Flutter. Terack was more or less the Articuno of Flutter's life; helping her in a time of need and introducing her to the path of a rescuer. It was eerie and heartening all at once.

"This is where the Ninetales legend comes into play." Szaer continued, unknowingly interrupting Terack's thoughts. At some point, I met Moltres when I ventured out of the forest and I soon began to visit him often. On one of these trips, I'd seen this rescue team along the way and overheard them discussing the rash of natural disasters. One of those Pokémon was recounting that legend and it made me remember Gardevoir and my dreams. With how I used to act, I... saw myself in that human." Szaer admitted.

It made perfect sense, he believed. "Hearing the story really sealed the deal and made me want to atone for everything... so I decided to return to society and provide aid to all these hardworking rescue teams however I could. However, I obviously couldn't return to society as myself, that troublemaker Sneasel, so I instead took on a new identity as the Black Ice, cloaked and masked vigilante..." he finally finished.

"Just... wow, and that's how we ended up meeting you in the Sinister Woods?" Terack pieced together in a mumble, to which Szaer replied with a nod. "I still have one more question. What is it that makes you so convinced of Flutter's innocence? Every other rescuer joined that hunt, but you joined us." Terack asked him.

Szaer knew that he'd be faced with this question sooner or later. "The fact is, I'm sure she isn't the human... because I'm convinced that it's me." he confessed

The two listeners weren't even given a moment to digest this before he continued speaking. "As a result, this entirety of this event has been painful. I hated seeing Gengar try to break her; I hated attending Alakazam's meeting; I hated playing along with the hunt, and I hated hearing about your close call in the Lapis Cave. Everything you've gone through is my fault and right now, I'd want nothing more than to meet Ninetales and g-get Flutter's good name cleared! I'm the one who should be chased off!"

"No you're not! Don't say that about yourself!" Terack emotionally called out, having become rather sensitive towards others holding such negative views about themselves. Though he hadn't said it, seeing Flutter get in such a way back then had profoundly bothered him. "Sure, you might be that human, but it doesn't mean you deserve to be treated that way! You've already redeemed yourself in my eyes just by going back to the square as the Black Ice!"

Not once had Szaer seen it that way before, but Terack wasn't finished. "I mean, look at you now! You've been trying to make up for your misdeeds ever since! I... I..." he soon struggled, finding the next words very difficult to form. "W-we'll all go up Mt. Freeze with you, and then afterwards... I wanna find some way to get you welcomed back too. You shouldn't have to be remembered for one bad thing when you've done so much good afterwards." Terack soon managed to say.

This made Szaer feel an unmatched sense of appreciation. "Thank you." he finally spoke after much silence, during which the bad weather outside waned enough at last. It was almost symbolic, in a way. "I see where Flutter's got her good heart from."

~​

With Szaer now a part of their team, the trek through Mt. Freeze was easier than Terack and Kyan would have expected. This couldn't have been called an equal effort however. Flutter, who had needed a lot on convincing to take this trip, spent the entirety of it on Szaer's back and did absolutely no battling whatsoever. Once this was all over, Terack intended to have her take a few days off from rescue work for her own health, as he now believed her to be a bit ill.

After Kyan defeated a Glalie with Bullet Punch, they finally reached the mountain's summit. "We're here... At the top of Mt. Freeze." Kyan said as Flutter got down from Szaer. Terack looked around for Ninetales in this circular platform surrounded by rocks, but they appeared to be alone here.

"There! There's Flutter!" a triumphant voice called out behind them.

Having put the foursome on high alert, Tyranitar of Team A.C.T. approached them, followed by Charizard and their leader Alakazam. Terack, Kyan, and Szaer all took places in front of Flutter. It was as though their worst nightmare had taken physical form. "Ah, you guys actually got past Mt. Blaze after all?! Flutter was right to be worried." Terack said. The air was deeply charged with tension as the two teams eyed each other.

"Of course we did." Charizard replied, as though clearing a feared volcano dungeon was an everyday thing for them. None of the other Pokémon present had noticed Szaer's... vicious gaze. "Your little fugitive stunt dragged us all the way out here, but that's all over. No more mer-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH! I'VE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH THIS RUBBISH!"

Someone had interrupted Charizard with a scathing roar of a response, packed full to the brim with suppressed anger and frustration. Szaer's restraints, so often tested by what he'd had to conceal on the way here, had finally given way to raw frustration. "Do you even understand what this entire mess has done to her!?" he furiously demanded. "You've ruined her! This fixation on an old legend has effectively destroyed a kind soul who cares about this world, and you still want to finish the job?! Not on my life!!" Szaer continued to rant, stepping out in front and throwing his arms out to shield all three of his companions as though his body were on autopilot.

The intervention of a new face on behalf of Flutter's side was interesting for Alakazam. "And you are? Who might you be?" Alakazam asked him. Evidently, the apparent fourth member of Team Celeste cared a lot for Flutter's wellbeing too.

As the Sneasel cooled down slightly, he understood that his big moment of truth was finally upon him. "My name is Szaeracier, better known the Black Ice. I may have attended the town meeting and joined the hunt, but I'll tell you now that I have never once believed her to be involved in the legend. I'm standing by Flutter through thick and thin, irrespective of the consequences." he explained without the slightest drop of hesitation. All three of them were surprised by this turn of events.

"...Very well. Your conviction is indeed remarkably strong. I hadn't forseen this fate for you, but it is still a rescue team's role to help bring peace." Alakazam finally replied to Szaer. "Team Celeste... This is most regrettable... We shall summon every last iota of our power and crush you! Go!"

As soon as Alakazam said this, Szaer rushed at Tyranitar and struck him hard with his glowing red Dynamic Punch, knocking him into a wall and leaving him dazed. He then backflipped away from Charizard's flame wreathed Fire Punch and landed in front of Flutter, working solely through a mix of speed, adrenaline, and sheer desperation. The others weren't as fortunate, Terack's Rock Slide couldn't seem to hit Charizard and Kyan was quickly being overwhelmed by Alakazam, his mastery over the move Teleport being made quickly apparent.

Soon enough, Alakazam used Ally Switch to swap positions with Charizard, leading the Metang into a Fire Punch that took him out of the battle while he then took care of Terack with a multicoloured Psybeam, which left only Flutter and Szaer still standing. Szaer fought desperately against both Alakazam and Charizard in unyielding defense of her, masterfully wielding the icicles from his Icicle Crash in his attempts to fend of repeated onslaughts of Charizard's Fire Punch and Dragon Claw. Though he was rather outmatched on his own, this parrying method was holding up well enough.

Once Tyranitar returned to the battle thanks to Alakazam's aid however, he repaid the debt with interest by blowing Szaer into a wall and out of battle with a single powerful Focus Punch, the sight of which horrified Flutter as she tried to nudge him awake. "No, no, don't you faint on me too! Please wake up!" she pleaded.

"I'm not enjoying this either, Flutter. I hope you won't hold this against us. It's all for the sake of peace." Alakazam spoke, which brought back the full reality of the situation. She recalled the last time she saw him, where the rescuer expressed his regret and disapproval over the final consensus of what to do with her.

With great effort, she turned around and sighed deeply as though in surrender. "I understand. I'm not holding this against you; I know that we wouldn't be here if you'd had your way-" Shades of the old Flutter were starting to surface through her recollection, including her penchant for defiance in the face of adversity. "-but I won't give up!" she insisted. "I wouldn't be here if my teammates hadn't carried me either, and now it's my turn to defend them! However I can!"

With that said, she launched her blue jolt of electricity, the Shock Wave colliding with and being gradually overpowered by a Psybeam from Alakazam's crossed spoons. Flutter knew she couldn't win with any scenario; this was just a statement, that of her preference to at least go out in a spat of resistance...

Then, from out of nowhere, another beam of psychic energy in a pure gold colour shot forwards to join the clash in assistance of Shock Wave. The addition of this Extrasensory attack made it an even match overall, triggering an explosion which kicked up a lot of dust. Both Flutter and Alakazam were clueless as to the identity and whereabouts of the third Pokémon.

"Cease this at once!" said third presence commanded of Team A.C.T from within the remnants of the explosion, which dissipated to reveal none other than Ninetales. "Team Celeste are my guests. I have been awaiting their arrival at this location." she spoke again, with red eyes almost ablaze. During the intervention, Terack managed to come round and get the rest of the team back up on their feet before he went to Flutter, who now appeared to have shrunk back into fear at the sight of this Pokémon. The number of tails was telling enough to her without any further introductions.

"Ninetales, it's really you?" Alakazam gasped, his own surprise equal to that of Team Celeste's group. "Perhaps this may yet have a good resolution after all." he hoped. Just from those mere moments, when Flutter had the full intention of protecting a partner from an attacking Pokémon... Alakazam was now feeling more confident in Flutter's innocence than before. "Please tell us. The legend in which a human grabbed one of your tails, is it really a true event?" Alakazam asked. His teammates were both watching this, in addition to Kyan and Szaer.

After a moment, Ninetales spoke up with a somewhat haughty sniff. "Hmph! It matters not to me what anyone thinks of the legend's validity in history, but... Yes. It did happen. Many centuries ago, I tried to lay a curse upon a human who had the sheer audacity to grasp one of my tails, but the human's Gardevoir took the curse in their place without any thought about herself..." she recalled. "This human then abandoned their undyingly loyal partner and fled. They were reborn into this world as a Pokémon by my words and live on to this very day..."

"And who is this human? A series of disastrous events has led to this Togepi becoming branded as the sole suspect, but now I am beginning to have doubts." Alakazam revealed, which brought a deep sense of relief and joy to her teammates. "We need to have this cleared up."

"Yes, that's true. You ought not to be acting further without complete certainty." Ninetales agreed with him before she walked over to Flutter, who felt as though Ninetales's powerful gaze had rooted her to the spot. She held her breath and awaited the judgement... "Flutter... You look very tense, child. It must have been difficult to endure everything on the way here..." Ninetales observed.

Flutter gently nodded at her and finally found the words most able to sum up her recent experiences. "It's been the most horrible moment of my life, running away from everything. I want this to end..."

Ninetales honestly had to wonder what exactly happened to make Flutter the suspect. Even setting aside the fact that the human of legend wasn't a girl, there was also a great mismatch in personality. This was an easy thing to call. "Well, you can relax now. You aren't that human."

A collective gasp echoed out from every other Pokémon, deep relief from Team Celeste's members and abashed surprise from those of Team A.C.T.. Flutter said nothing for a bit as she took this in until she was caught by the overjoyed and tearful embrace of her teammates, in which she smiled for the first time in what felt like ten thousand years. "Oh, Flutter... It's just as I thought all along, I knew you wouldn't have done that..." Terack said in a choked up voice.

"Team Celeste, there is yet another of your number I wish to see." Ninetales said. "Szaeracier, to me."

"What? You mean to say that he was human too?!" Alakazam asked as Szaer approached Ninetales, genuinely not anticipating the twist this time around as a result of the nonexistent personal interactions between them. Ninetales didn't answer, she was busy staring hard at the second human of the team. This time it was going to be harder to judge, as the gender matched up and she could sense Szaer's... coloured and checkered past.

Undoubtedly, she had to see what motivated him. A path and question soon became clear. "Hmm... If it isn't Flutter, then who do you believe the human of legend is?" Ninetales queried, more with the intent of gauging his reaction rather than getting a straight action.

"I know who it is, and he's in this area right now." Szaer told her without a moment's hesitation. "It's me. I know it's me. This is why I'm here; I wanted to meet you and set the record straight, because I've hated watching a good and innocent human go through such misery on my behalf. I'm ready to take what I deserve."

Someone whom, after a dreadful mistake, would own up when another was taking the fall for him instead of choosing to hide and watch. What he thought he deserved and what he actually deserved, Ninetales was now certain that these were leagues apart. "I respect the way you've chosen to handle your convincement, but you aren't the human either."

Szaer was silent for even longer than Flutter, unsure if he'd heard this correctly "No... No way, I-I must have misheard that..." he shakily decided, to which Ninetales shook her head. The poor guy literally didn't know how to react, collapsing to his knees as a massive weight finally left his mind. "I don't believe this, I always thought it was me...! I'm just... so happy..." Flutter went into Szaer's arms for a hug, the two quietly sharing in their relief as they embraced each other.

Ninetales watched this scene for a bit before she turned to address Alakazam. "There is one more thing I must clear up. While it is true that I also foretold of the world's balance becoming upset when I predicted the human's rebirth as a Pokémon, those two events are not related. One event hasn't caused the other. Whomever they are, the human of the legend is not to blame for our current state of affairs..." she firmly concluded.

"S-so you were all doubly wrong here! Doubly wrong to treat her so horribly, like a disease to be eradicated! Even if Flutter were the human, she's not a danger to the world at all!" Terack immediately yelled out to Team A.C.T., intent on at least chewing them out in some way after everything that had happened since she was accused. Szaer's explosive callout towards them was fuelling much of that desire.

"Ah... erm... Yes, we're all very sorry for our roles. It's my hope that we never have to speak of this dark circumstance again. Congratulations on finding the truth you've sought." Alakazam spoke before addressing Szaer in particular, still wearing an incredulous expression. Not once did he expect this vigilante to play the role he did. "Szaeracier, you... Casting aside your respected Black Ice persona and instead aiding a falsely accused fugitive in clearing her name without anyone else suspecting a thing... I'm deeply impressed by your actions and judgement. I forsee a bright future for you in Team Celeste."

"Uhh, hang on for just a moment. There's something I still don't get." Kyan next called out, looking at the two humans. "If neither of them have anything to do with the Ninetales legend then why have they dreamt about that Gardevoir and why would they both become Pokémon? I'm happy they're both cleared but we don't have any more leads now... Why are they really here?"

It felt as though they were all back to square one with that topic, he thought. All they'd done here was disprove one possibility. There would still be a while to go before he and the team could determine the final truth.

Before anyone could respond, the area was suddenly gripped by an earthquake of massive proportions. "Oh, this is not good. The world's crust is starting to shift!" Ninetales called. "Our rash of natural calamities are beginning to reach much more dangerous levels... They will awaken the sleeping beast that embodies the very land itself... The mighty Groudon!"

Everyone was shocked and Team Celeste's quartet were also confused. "Groudon?" Terack asked. It was an entirely new name on him, but the name alone somehow brought fear to the group.

"Correct. Like Zapdos, Groudon is a powerful Legendary Pokémon, undoubtedly even more so. He created the world's continents long ago and has been sleeping ever since the last cataclysmic battle against Kyogre, creator of the seas and his opposing force. They are the sculptors of our world." Alakazam explained. "We'll try to stop him from breaching the surface, Team Celeste, leave this one to us. Go and bring your truth back to the ringleader."

"Of course." Szaer agreed. Worrying about Groudon would have to wait for the unlikely scenario of Alakazam's team failing. For now, he and his teammates had another Pokémon to confront.

~​

Back in civilization, Gengar and Ekans were presiding over a small gathering of Pokémon at the square consisting of Caterpie, Lombre, Bellsprout, Snubbull, Shiftry, and Androma. "Keh, so what's the excuse here? Why aren't you lot out there chasing down Flutter's team?!" He wasn't delighted at the complete lack of success so far.

"Have you even heard about how far they've ran? Those three have gone way, way beyond the Lapis Cave. It's just too much for us further on!" Lombre admitted. For the most part, the team's plan to scare everyone out of chasing them by using the volcano was a success.

"Yes, those kids ran straight for Mt. Blaze afterwards and that's when I had to pull out. Fire doesn't agree with me at all..." Shiftry continued on. "I don't know what's become of them after that."

All this bad news was starting to annoy Gengar. "Pathetic. Absolutely spineless. It's no wonder you're still Normal Rank." he remarked, to Shiftry's embarrassed indignation.

"I can fill in some blanks." Androma told them. "My Breloom friend was in the hunt; he teamed up with the Black Ice to clear Mt. Blaze, but it appears that Team Celeste also did so. Once they arrived at the frozen northeast, he saw that the fugitives had been leaving no footprints in the snow. He suspects that they're riding on Kyan the Metang." This elicited some gossip, as it indicated that the fugitives were leaving no method unemployed. "He couldn't find them afterwards and gave up there."

"Speaking of the Black Ice, has he not reported back yet?" Gengar asked her. Out of everyone taking part, he and Team A.C.T were the ones Gengar held more confidence in.

Androma quickly shook her head. "Nope, he's not said a single thing. That region gives him an environmental advantage over them however. He's in his element." she replied. "Team A.C.T. ought to be out there too; I can't see some snow shaking them off."

"Or Flutter and her cohorts could freeze to death out there. It'd make our job here a lot easier, wouldn't it?" Gengar added nastily, which quietly infuriated the Clefable. However this ended, she wanted to be out of his company as quick as possible, much as Szaer had felt with Reishi.

It was as though Ann was now being blessed with great luck, as a panicked Medicham soon rushed towards Gengar. "Oh no, this is bad! This is very very bad! It's about Flutter!"

"I'd say that there's lots of horrible things about Flutter. Kek, want the full list?" Gengar asked, taking this moment to mess with her a little bit. Medicham did have a tendency to overreact, so he saw no concern to be held. He was wrong.

"No, no, now's not the time! Flutter's back! With her whole team and another Pokémon in it to boot!" she hysterically said to him. Almost on cue, Flutter, Terack, Kyan, and Szaer all arrived at the square and looked around at the gathering. Aside from the Team Meanies members, they were all pleased to see those there.

Gengar only had eyes for Flutter right now. She appeared a little off-colour to him, as well as a bit fragile. "Hello, Flutter. It seems that you and your selfish behind saw fit to return after what took place in our last meeting. I'm sure you remember it well." he said, keeping civil while still attempting to destroy her again.

"I remember it well and I've returned anyway. I'm going to say something here that I should have said back then. No, Gengar. I am not the human from the Ninetales legend. Is that enough?" She looked him in the eye, bursting at the confidence seams and giving him much more defiance than before despite her exhaustion. She'd sworn to herself on the return trip that Gengar would never be able to crush her this time or ever again.

"Kekeh, someone's a little more sure about themselves, now aren't we? Why do you only now claim that I'm wrong?" he wondered. Though she was now back to her old self conversationally, he still wasn't concerned. He was still wrong.

Flutter gave him a soft smile, ready to witness and savour everything crashing down for him. Nice as she might be, she absolutely detested this guy for the inconveniences he'd caused her and the team. You'll see. I'm going to leave the rest to Team Celeste's newest member, without whom we wouldn't be returning today." Flutter finished off her admittedly weak payback speech before leaving it to someone far more likely to shred asunder Gengar's lies in their current condition.

"So, newbie. What's your name?" Gengar asked Szaer. The Sneasel looked like quick pickings to him. "We've met before, Gengar. My name is Szaeracier and I'm..." he revealed his cloaked disguise. "I'm the Black Ice!"

Shocked gasps quickly emerged from everyone present. "Geh?! Do you have a screw loose?! What are you are you doing, consorting with her?! You were with us, traitor!!" Gengar shouted angrily. This was immediately going all wrong for him.

Szaer dropped his disguise and crossed his arms, furious eyes firmly locked upon him. "You want the truth? I'm with her because... I saw right through your sad, pathetic, spiteful scheme from day one, you deceitful, conniving liar!! I knew all along that you were out to get her!!" Szaer barked back in kind with a clawed paw pointed out at Gengar "I joined their team and we've found the truth, everyone! We met Ninetales herself! Flutter has nothing at all to do with the Ninetales legend! She's innocent!"

Gengar looked nervously at Medicham and Ekans and awaited the response that never came as all eyes rested on Team Meanies's trio. "H-hold on, you, not so fast! How do we trust you without some solid proof?" he improvised on the spot, a stark contrast to his obviously rehearsed last meeting. "Just happening to run across that Ninetales?! Kekekekeh!"

"Proof...? Ah..." Terack murmured. "We, um... don't have any." he admitted.

The wind once more appeared to be at Gengar's back. "Oh, now that's too bad. Mere words can't save you" he said in a mocking tone. "Without proof, all you've done here is saved us the trouble of hunting you down! This is your big chance, everyone!" he announced, completely ignoring the fact that he had used mere words to start this entire thing.

To Gengar's dismay, none of the Pokémon advanced on Team Celeste this time. "Keh...? Everyone, what's the problem? Weren't you all just wanting to get rid of Flutter?" he asked them.

Caterpie, after getting an encouraging little wave from Kyan, finally spoke up. "I've always believed her, you're not going to fool me!" the kid called.

Even if it was just from the child in the group, Gengar was worried. One voice of opposition could soon become several voices and this was all but proven when Shiftry then said his thoughts. "I've always believed her side too. I was just scared to fight against the crowd." he honestly spoke. I'm sorry for not defending you, Flutter. Your team saved my life that day atop Mt. Thunder. You didn't abandon the likes of me back then, so I know you wouldn't have turned your back on Gardevoir. I stand with her, Gengar." he decided boldly.

This one really scared Gengar, and more was soon to come. Bellsprout, Lombre, and Snubbull also decided that they'd had enough with him and voiced their support for Flutter. Only Ann was left. "H-how about you...?" Gengar nervously asked her.

To have Gengar's reputation in the palm of her hands... Androma's Deuvide affiliation didn't even matter here; she just wanted to see her tormentor pay for what he'd done to Flutter and herself. "I believe her too, no doubt about it. I don't need proof." she said, deeply savouring the opportunity to put him in his place. In a choice between which of these two humans she preferred, Flutter beats Gengar hands down.

Flutter had been a little scared when Gengar started gaining some ground here, so the instant reversal of fortunes was positively overwhelming for her. "Thanks everyone, it means a lot..." she said, hiding some tears from Gengar. As though to complete this wonderful scene, a Pelipper soon scattered some newspapers down upon the thirteen Pokémon when passing by from above with the words "Flutter Innocent!" emblazoned upon the front page.

"A special edition? They must have worked overtime to get this out for Team Celeste's return. Let's see what the story says." Shiftry said as he picked one up, cleared his throat, and turned the page.

"With Alakazam of the Diamond Ranked Team A.C.T. and Szaeracier, previously known only as the Black Ice, watching her as eyewitnesses, the accused human Flutter met with the Ninetales of the legend atop Mt. Freeze. Ninetales's testimony has confirmed that Flutter... is not... the human depicted in her legend..." Shiftry read out loud for all to hear, his voice slowing down throughout the conclusive sentence. A mass of accusatory eyes fell upon Gengar.

"As a result of this evidence,-" Szaer continued after picking up an issue himself. "the earlier accusations and active persecution of Flutter by Gengar of Team Meanies have been revealed to be of malicious intent, which Terack, member of Flutter's Team Celeste, previously stated in the aftermath." he finished, looking up at Gengar. "Here's the proof you've so dearly demanded. What's next for you?" he dryly asked.

Gengar was beyond livid. All the good reputation that Team Meanies had built up over its lifetime at the expense of new teams, all of it was destroyed in that single moment. There was no way his goals would come to fruition now, not with that massive smear on his character. He looked at Medicham and Ekans, his teammates... "I'm afraid this is it, we can't recover from that. Team Meanies is finished." he stated, before turning to face Flutter, barely suppressing his newfound hatred for her.

"You... ruined... everything...! You've ruined me! Don't think I'll ever forget this, brat!!" the broken Gengar yelled at her, his team now irrevocably dead because of hers. He hated the whole lot of them, sure, but it was Flutter's perseverance and unwillingness to buckle which had been the death knoll, and that was something he would never forget.

She wasn't in the mood or condition to raise her voice, but Flutter effectively made up for that with a blank, icy tone. "Get out of my face, you vile crook. I've had enough of you to last for two lifetimes now. Don't let me see you in the square ever again." Flutter simply replied, returning the glare with one of her own to show just how mutual this dislike had become throughout these events. Medicham and Ekans both left together while Gengar went off on his own way.

The happy and apologetic crowd surrounded Team Celeste's members to welcome them back but a downer was soon cast upon this homecoming when Flutter's fatigue suddenly hit a peak now that she'd stopped actively concealing it from Gengar. "Sorry, everyone... I don't... feel too good right now..." she muttered in a pant, yawning deeply afterwards.

With Caterpie and Ann accompanying them, Terack, Kyan, and Szaer guided her towards the welcoming bed awaiting her in the team's base. "It's ok to sleep now, pal... We're finally home..." Terack gently whispered to her, laying the Togepi down for a long and well earned rest.

"It may not happen immediately but we'll soon be doing rescues together again... Sleep tight, Flutter." he said to his closest friend, who looked truly peaceful and content in a fledgeling slumber.
 
Hi, there! ^^ Here for chapters 2-7. Sorry it's taken me so long to revisit after chapter 1!

She couldn't quite recall how she ended up here, this scenario truly being the story of her life right now.

Heh, like this sentence. That's certainly one way to look at Flutter's situation.

The red eyes of this Pokémon gave little away before they started glowing purple, readying a Confusion attack. Solid purple ripples then swept out from the Pokémon and struck both targets. Flutter was otherwise ok but Terack was a different matter, as the attack seemed to have left him rather confused and generally incapable of combat. "I guess it's one on one until he recovers..." the Togepi conceded after attempting to bring him back to this planet.

My main advice so far would be to, well, slow down! You seem to have a lot planned for this story, and that's great! It's okay to not rush through things to get everything done, though. In the quoted part, not much happens between them getting ready for the mission and finding metang, and the battle has strange time skips itself... It kind of treats battles like the PMD games do, and I'm of the mindset that PMD game mechanics absolutely do not translate to fanfic well. For newbies/weaker pokemon like those in Team Celeste, they're no doubt going to run into trouble during any battle. Them getting "experience points" like in the games doesn't make sense in story terms.

For battles, too, I'd suggest avoiding attack names if possible. Using them in the narration is an easy way to see you're "telling, not showing" and not painting the best picture in your reader's heads.

...I'd meant for my comments here to be more pacing-based, but they turned out battle-based. But yeah, it's okay to slow down and show conversations happening, show battles happening, and other events. I noticed you skipped a few shopping trip scenes, too, but those could've been used to show worldbuilding or even character dynamics.

Though happily bolstered, Flutter couldn't have guessed that they were starting upon something larger than life itself with this career choice.

It's interesting, having Flutter seemingly move on with life as if she wasn't human after all. Getting her memories back is almost an afterthought, understandably so. The conversation where she tells Terack she'd stay happy as a pokemon if her life as a pokemon keeps being this good is interesting, too. A lot of characters - and people in real life, too - are driven by the unknown, but not so much Flutter. She's determined to make the most of what she's given.

Flutter soon saw Terack, her Trapinch teammate, hurrying towards her in a mad dash. "Hey, you ok? I guess you heard that last earthquake too." he immediately said between breaths. He had apparently gotten little sleep last night, as evidenced by a stifled yawn. As it turned out, this whole night was particularly bad, it had been filled with the noise and commotion of them; Flutter only avoided having her sleep disrupted because her bizarre dreams were very deep ones for the most part. "I'm ok, Terack. It woke me up but I'm not hurt." she replied. Terack had told her about the alarming frequency of natural disasters in the world when they were on the way back from Thunderwave Cave.

I'm confused here. There's too much information happening, and it's all happening out of order. So there was more than one earthquake, and Flutter slept through them all except the last one? I'm also surprised Terack didn't try to come to visit her earlier if he was that worried.

Flutter could only reply with an "Uhh? How... cool.", not quite on the same page as him and his enthusiasm. "There's this Pokémon Rescue Organisation that somehow seems to know when new teams are formed. Don't ask me how because I don't know either. Anyway, they've sent this over to get us off the ground."

I think this was a missed opportunity for worldbuilding here. Like I said, PMD game mechanics don't translate well. This mostly makes it look like you didn't want to bother finding an explanation for why the Pokemon Rescue Organization knows these things, even if that wasn't your intent.

"Kekekeh! We happen to be a rescue team too. It doesn't matter who does the job, right?" Gengar retorted. "Indeed." Medicham continued. "It's merely a front though. Our goal is something much greater."

Seems odd for the team to outright admit they have ulterior motives. I'm also not sure why they didn't steal everything and not just the job assignments? Team Celeste seemed to be carrying around some valuable items, after all.

"It's because of those earthquakes..." the Skarmory replied, a strangled mix of fear and anger in her voice. "They happen far too often, I haven't gotten a single night's sleep out of worry. Last night was horrible, terrifying, frightful. Nobody seems to know what causes them... but I've found out!" she continued, the aforementioned anger taking over. "The cause? This brat and the rest of his ilk running rampant throughout the ground! Wild, untamed, unchecked! I've had enough of this! I'm fixing our problem today!"

I like the idea of the diglett line causing trouble with earthquakes and whatnot, then other Pokemon being upset about it. I also like the dialogue a lot in the quoted bit.

The former human was now enlightened to the tough fact that not every Pokémon here would be nice and friendly.

I imagine that if everyone was nice and friendly, there wouldn't be as much a need for rescue teams. :p

"That's wonderful, you two have a new friend already! I'll give that one away too with no charge!" Wigglytuff delightedly said as she also handed over the map to this said location. Metang was more or less ecstatic about this. "Yeah, now I can join!" he said to his Beldum friends. One of them went to speak with the quietly astonished Flutter and Terack.

Another example of you telling, not showing - or rather, you show AND tell when you only need to show us. We already know how ecstatic Metang is because he went out of his way to join Team Celeste even after his beldum friends had said no and told him that hey, Team Celeste doesn't have any place for him to stay (which was really cute of Metang, by the way).

Also, I'm surprised the beldum in the end didn't join, too, if their concern was somplace to stay. In this scene they know there's a place to stay now, after all.

He's apparently committed everything he's ever seen to only his memory, ready to be recalled at at time. They say his Teleport is absolutely second to none." The Togepi and Trapinch refocused their attention to Kyan. "As a Psychic type myself, I happen to be a big fan of his work." he finished by confessing.

The fanboy-ness is cute here, haha.

"Thanks to everyone for their help too, Team Celeste and the Black Ice. I'm really sorry, but I don't actually have any money or other rewards." the kid admitted. "Not to worry, Metapod's safety and your happiness are rewarding enough for us." Flutter said to him, both Terack and Kyan agreeing with her. "You've really got it. That's truly what being on a rescue team is all about. I must unfortunately go now, but trust me when I say I'll be keeping an eye on you."

I guess Team Meanies would've been angry to find no reward, then, though Team Celeste can't go off of no pay forever. I get them wanting to be nice, but they need funds to keep their rescue team going.

Flutter's attention was a little more focused on the entrance and Terack was talking with Jumpluff, so Kyan was paid little heed for the time being. "This is the place then? Silent Chasm?" Terack asked her. "Yes, you've just got to go and sort everything out over there..." she said with desperation lacing her voice. He understood this; Jumpluff had been waiting far too long for word of her friend's status. Flutter and Kyan both gathered around and began making their way into the dungeon.

All right, this is a consistent thing I've noticed now. Every time a new speaker is introduced, you should put the new speaker's dialogue in a new paragraph, like this:

Flutter's attention was a little more focused on the entrance and Terack was talking with Jumpluff, so Kyan was paid little heed for the time being.

"This is the place then? Silent Chasm?" Terack asked her.

"Yes, you've just got to go and sort everything out over there..." she said with desperation lacing her voice. He understood this; Jumpluff had been waiting far too long for word of her friend's status. Flutter and Kyan both gathered around and began making their way into the dungeon.

Not only did this fabled monster sound stronger than Skarmory and the members of Team Meanies put together, but he also happened to have a particular... phobia to these scary old tales. Not thinking straight in the middle of a petrifying and blinding fear, he began feigning a stomachache, pushed onwards by the sensation of it being tied into a myriad of knots. "E-everyone, I don't think my breakfast is agreeing with me over here..."

You do a good job with adding quirks like this to your characters - helps them feel like they have a bit more in depth, and it adds some conflict for them like it does here and like it does when Flutter is too busy to notice the gash in her shell from Zapdos.

Some sort of fight or scuffle appeared to have taken place here and there was a gaping hole in the wall through which a mountain underneath a gradually intensifying thundercloud could be seen. "Hey, is anybody here?" Flutter called out. "Jumpluff sent us to check on things!"

There'd even be a new paragraph here with the dialogue. Dialogue in general just starts new paragraphs, unless you write "Flutter called out" or "she said" or something similar and then continue on with the dialogue:

Some sort of fight or scuffle appeared to have taken place here and there was a gaping hole in the wall through which a mountain underneath a gradually intensifying thundercloud could be seen.

"Hey, is anybody here?" Flutter called out. "Jumpluff sent us to check on things!"

Flutter wasn't about to tell anybody this, but she was frightened by the discovery that her portable form of protection had its limits and now moderately scared of the one Pokémon who had done what she considered impossible.

Poor Flutter's beating herself up too much. It's not like she's supposed to know a ton about Pokemon by any means.

Flutter had made sure today still amounted to something by finally opening up to their newest member. Kyan was now a part of the masquerade.

I would've like to see this convo... then it really would've felt like they all bonded over this.

"Zapdos won't make this easy, but there's the chance that Alakazam's team could be in here already if they knew we were going through with this today. It would be great to have their help against that foe if Ice's gift doesn't quite work out."

I'm surprised they didn't find Alakazam to talk to him before this. I'm also surprised Alakazam and co. weren't already here. What delayed them?

Terack and Kyan were both able to hold up against them thanks to the new additions to their capabilities, while Flutter soon found something that enabled her to keep up with them; a TM for the move Shock Wave.

I think TMs do have potential in fanfic if people delve into specifics of how they work. Here, I'm not sure if they're just CDs that Pokemon absorb info from or something else?

I'm a slow reader so forgive me, but! Good luck on future chapters, and I'll catch up when I can. : ' )
 
Chapter 13: A spiteful punch


Deep into the night, on the day of Team Celeste's vindication, Rubix the Golduck was approaching Zeninthia's room in Deuvide's cave base with an update from Androma and a lot on his plate. He knew that his superior up ahead wasn't going to like this news and he couldn't blame her, as he didn't like what he'd heard either. "Unbelievable. For me to be proven wrong by Reishi of all Pokémon..." he muttered to himself before entering, ready to face the music.

"Ah, Dr. Rubix. I presume that you're bringing news from Androma?" Zeninthia asked him once he arrived. The Umbreon appeared quite curious and eager to hear him, which left a tight knot in the pit of Rubix's chest. Never in his life had he felt this nervous and emancipated.

"Indeed, but I'm afraid it's not good news. Our target's name has been cleared and she's returned to the warm and protective embrace of society. Gengar has been discredited, he's disbanded his team and left for parts unknown. We have regrettably lost our opportunity." he admitted, adamantly attempting to avoid her gaze.

Zeninthia's red eyes bored into him regardless, everyone in the group knew that she could be very scary when sufficiently angered. "...So your plan has completely failed. Not only is that human back in a position where we can't remove her without an uproar, but now Gengar has vanished with no way of finding him. You've displeased me." she spoke quite harshly.

"I take full liability." he blurted out in a desperate attempt to at least keep Androma out of this withering gaze. "I-I've underestimated and completely disregarded Flutter's companions, just as Reishi made quite clear to me before he returned. It was a tremendous error of judgement." Rubix immediately told her. Zeninthia quietly listened on, somewhat surprised to hear him refer to Flutter by name. This was new; he'd never done so with any of the humans before her. "A different approach ought to be taken regarding this one. Her teammates stopped him from destroying her in the Lapis Cave and were most integral to her return." he clarified.

She knew what he was suggesting, and it was a suggestion which strayed too close to a red line for her friend. The very thought of it being necessary prompted a sharp intake of breath from her. "Pick them off first? Although the lord has always wanted us to avoid any unnecessary Pokémon deaths in our endeavors... yes, you're right, we're in a difficult situation here. It's an approach worth considering if they're going to steadfastly defend her to their last breaths." she stated. "I'll have to see if he approves of this direction first, however."

"It wouldn't detract from his desire anyway. I've discovered by means of the special edition newspaper from earlier that her newest companion is also human." Rubix revealed, catching Zeninthia's full attention. "Szaeracier, the Black Ice. He played us all for fools; pretending to want Flutter gone until an opportunity came for him to join her team. Reishi's initial hunch of this guy's allegiance was correct all along." he spoke bitterly. Learning of the Sneasel's role within Team Celeste's flight was tantamount to twisting the knife which the failed scheme had plunged into Rubix's pride.

Zeninthia looked at him in mild surprise, seasoned with a hint of anger. "Grrh, that... does change things. For him to have eluded our sight for so long means that he won't be felled easily. Very well. I'll converse with our lord on this new development while you provide a new plan. Do not let me down again, doctor, it's unlike you to be so thoroughly outdone by our foes."

"As you wish, mistress..." he said with a bow. This time, he would leave nothing to chance.

~​

"Well, good morning!" Terack said to Kyan and Szaer as they all gathered outside the team base. Upon waking up bright and early today, the Trapinch had immediately made a beeline for the small house where Flutter had been sleeping since her collapse yesterday, to find that Kyan and Szaer had also been struck with the individual thought to check on her. To their relief, she appeared otherwise well. "Flutter might need a few days to get back on her feet after all that, but the rest of us are going to get right back into the rescue business!" he gave as a morning call to rouse them.

"I hate to savagely murder the moment, but..." Szaer started as he once more looked into the mailbox recently attended to by a Pelipper. "There's no rescue mail here. Just my team badge, a welcome back letter from the delivery Pelipper, and that special edition newspaper from yesterday. I don't think word's really gotten out yet about Team Celeste's revival." he spoke.

This definitely took the wind right out of Terack's sails, but Kyan wasn't too worried. "We could check the board at the post office instead, but this might be better for us. A chance to unwind wouldn't be so bad after what we've all been through lately." he mused to them, recalling that lengthy adventure until something came to mind. "Speaking of... Szaer, there's something I'm wanting to ask. The punching move that you used against Tyranitar back at the top of Mt. Freeze, can you teach me how to use that? It looked really powerful."

"You mean you're interested in learning Dynamic Punch?" Szaer asked as he looked at the Metang's arms with a paw underneath his chin in thought. "You look like you could be able to pull that off, so you've got a deal. I'll take you to the dojo and train you myself. Truth be told, there's another move I was hoping to swap it out with lately, so this works out well." he revealed.

Terack watched over this, happy to see Szaer fully integrating himself within the team. "I'll tag along through the square to get us restocked on supplies and then keep Flutter company for today." the Trapinch added in. "I... um, don't want her to be left alone when she wakes up, and-"

"Ohh, very nearly forgot!" Szaer suddenly said, the mention of Flutter having drawn to mind something he had been wanting to do. "Since I'm now part of the team for real, there's something I must show you." Both Terack and Kyan cast inquiring looks at him, surprised to see this excited little sheen in his eyes. It was actually somewhat unnerving for the two after knowing him as a faceless figure until recently.

Szaer led the two off toward the Darkness Ridge and into his secret hideout in the shadows between two mountains. "It's not much, but here you are. My... the Black Ice's... little abode. I'd planned to show you this place the moment my badge arrived, as a sort of way to symbolize my new start." It was indeed rather small, with a few miscellaneous possessions dotted around and his disguise now hung up above his bedding solely for sentimental reasons. Both of them were in quiet awe.

"You know, I think Flutter would have really loved to see this..." Terack thought out loud.

~​

The trio soon went for a shopping trip through the square after this and were surprised by how remorseful all of the shopkeepers were. The Kecleon Brothers and Persian, apologized for suspecting the team, Kangaskhan and Wigglytuff both claimed to have believed them and similarly apologized for not speaking up, and all of them wished for Flutter's speedy recovery. Terack was overjoyed to have their troubles behind them, thanking the brothers as Szaer bought a TM he had an eye on.

"I think I'll go drop by Whiscash's pond quickly to see how Caterpie and Metapod are doing. I haven't really been able to talk to those kids since we got back, and I'm sure they're still worried for Flutter." Terack soon decided as Kyan and Szaer were about to head for the Makuhita Dojo for their training.

"Aww, I wish I we didn't already have plans at the dojo. I've missed them a lot. You tell Whiscash and the kids that I said hi!" Kyan called as they split off, he and Szaer leaving Terack to himself. Contrary to his spontaneous idea, the Trapinch couldn't stop himself from remaining in place and savouring this return to familiar, friendly territory after an eternity of struggling to survive in such hostile locales. Even the cloudless sky above brought him a sense of joy to be back home, to the point where Flutter's overexertion was simply a small dent in his mood. She would be back up and ready to go soon anyway.

Shiftry soon approached him on the way to the pond. "Good day, Terack. I've got something I want to pose to you. What did happen to Alakazam's team out there? They didn't come back with you and that newspaper mostly glossed over their absence." he queried. Terack suspected that this was on the way. He had a quiet suspicion that any of the three active Team Celeste members would be asked about where Team A.C.T. went after Mt. Freeze. At least everyone knew to give Flutter some space, he thankfully thought.

As such, his answer was ready. "An earthquake struck shortly after Flutter was cleared. Ninetales said that a Pokémon called Groudon was beginning to awaken so Alakazam and his teammates left to confront him." he explained. "I admit that I'm sorta worried, Groudon sounds very powerful. Alakazam believed he was even stronger than Zapdos."

"Yes, it's understandable to be worried." Shiftry told him. "This is Team A.C.T. though, I think we're all in safe hands." Terack headed off from him afterwards and headed to Whiscash's pond. Caterpie and Metapod were both delighted to see him, while Whiscash had something weighing very heavily on his mind.

"Terack... I want you to know that I deeply regret my part in these events. Knowing now of Flutter's human past, I shouldn't have gotten so carried away with that story. I'm very sorry; I can't imagine what hearing it must have done to her head." Whiscash confessed guiltily. Terack immediately felt very bad for him, the Trapinch began imagining how he must have felt when Flutter's secret was so insensitively exposed to everyone a mere day after telling her the legend.

"H-hey, it's alright, this isn't your fault. You had absolutely no way of knowing about what she was; all you did was tell us some old folklore. Flutter and the rest of us aren't blaming you for what's happened with the Ninetales legend." Terack tried to console the old Pokémon. This was more or less an assumption based upon the characters of his teammates though, as he had mostly forgotten about Whiscash's unwitting part in these events until now. It was at least clear to him that Flutter only had eyes for Gengar when it came to playing the blame game; he hadn't forgotten how harshly she spoke towards their frequent tormentor.

"Thank you, youngster... How is she doing?" Whiscash asked as Androma approached with hands behind her back. "I've heard of how she collapsed in the square yesterday. The children and I have been quite concerned for her after all she's been put through." he mentioned.

"She's sleeping right now. It's just a case of exhaustion, a few days off from our rescue work and she'll be fine." Terack told them. He was only glad it wasn't anything more serious that his friend had been struck down with. That, he believed, would have been too unfair for him to take. It had already been bad enough to see her keel over in what should have been a happy time.

This was a relief to the witnessing Clefable too. "That's very good news, I've been really worried for the dear since your return too." Androma spoke up. "Terack, I've been looking around for you. There's something I'm wanting to give."

He turned to see the Clefable, an odd look on her face. "Hi, it's great to see you. What is it?" Terack asked her. In her arms was a small, nondescript box, and she opened it to reveal a silver bell delicately made into a necklace. "Is this something handmade?" It did look quite precious and well cared for, he thought.

"Mostly. That bell there is a Soothe Bell, something with some personal history to me. You see..." she started to explain. "I once led a rescue team of my own when I was a little Cleffa, but Gengar's Team Meanies started to harass and bully us. It got so bad that my friends both ran away and I ended up challenging his team. They won and lefts me there, quite badly off..." she recounted

Terack was immediately saddened by her admission. "I knew already that his gang were doing this to new teams, but actually hearing it from one of his past victims... well, it makes that feel all the more horrible." he said. This brought him an even greater deal of satisfaction to see Gengar exposed for his latest stunt.

Androma nodded, sharing in his thought. "There was this... great Pokémon who found me afterwards and brought me back to health before giving me the Soothe Bell you see here. It has the amazing power to calm and heal the emotions of those nearby." she demonstrated with a single shake of the bell. The ringing noise immediately put a stop to his sadness and Whiscash's guilt.

"That's...! Oh, what an incredible object!" the newly uplifted Trapinch marvelled before a thought occurred to him. "Wait, are you trying to give it to me here?" he wondered. "It's not that I don't want it, but are you sure about this? Isn't it important to you?"

"Yes, the only thing more important to me than this Soothe Bell right now is the Pokémon who gifted it to me." Androma confirmed. "This bell's chime gave me the strength to carry on from rock bottom and got me here today, but I decided last night that I'd very much like Flutter to keep it. She needs it more than I do now, and I think the death of Team Meanies is a perfect moment for me to finally part with this. Please can you give it to her, with my best wishes?" she explained. "If it helps you and Kyan out too, I was always in your corner. I'm glad to see you safe and sound."

Terack was speechless for a little moment, but he understood her entirely. "I promise." he told her firmly and honestly. "Thank you, it's great to be home."

~​

The team's active trio met up outside the base again the next day, with Terack actually sounding close to tears already. "M-morning! That bell's really helping; Flutter's feeling so much happier now. She's still not ready to jump back in but seeing her sunny expression... it's just w-w-wonderful...!" he managed to tell Kyan and Szaer. "Um... Anyway, how did it all go at the dojo yesterday?" he asked them after managing to pull himself together.

"Brilliantly. It really helped that he already knew Brick Break." the Sneasel remarked. "All we had to do was put more power and force into this move at the cost of technique and accuracy. Kyan soon picked up Dynamic Punch once he got that part down and my own training went well too." Szaer explained before he went to check the mailbox. "I think we've got a job request over here!" he called. Terack and Kyan quickly gathered around him to see it as he opened the letter.

"Ahh, it's from a Zoroark called Escliptral, who hails from overseas." Szaer explained. "He says that one of his Zorua kids has gotten herself lost while they were all traveling. That's bad, this whole continent will be unfamiliar territory for her." Szaer uneasily stated. "This says that the family were close to the Howling Forest, which isn't very far east of Thunderwave Cave." he told them, drawing the location out from memory. A plan took shape for Terack.

"Tell you what, how about I take this one myself? You two did do plenty of training while I had it easy yesterday. I'd kinda like to make up for that if it's ok." he suggested to them. After a quick look at each other, Kyan and Szaer both gave their approval. "Hmm... I don't really see why not. I've heard that it's not a very challenging mystery dungeon, but you should stock up on supplies regardless." Szaer told him.

They both waved Terack off after he did so and went inside the base. Androma was nearby; having heard the destination by way of sensitive hearing, she rushed off into the trees nearby and began sending a message to Rubix. Receiving the hologram on the other end, he listened to her report. "This is as good a time as you're going to get for your plan; Terack the Trapinch is taking a solo trip into the Howling Forest. Send your chosen operative there and I will take care of things on my end."

~​

Entering the Howling Forest, Terack was surprised to find it an easy dungeon even without any of his teammates watching his back. This forest dungeon was relatively unremarkable but what caught his eye was a noticeably greater variety and quality of TMs he found scattered around.

He wasn't really sold on the selection within these disc-like devices though, and neither Kyan or Szaer had expressed any interest in them either but Terack decided to hold on to one for Solar Beam, identifiable by the move's name and a depiction of a Venusaur using it both visible on the disc when angled towards the light, in the hope that Flutter would find it useful once she returned to work. From the look of that thick, yellow beam, it did look strong.

The dungeon continued to be a walk in the park, even when it surprisingly entered a cave system later on, and Terack soon found the Zorua at a dead end. The Pokémon looked hopelessly lost and rather scared. "Hey, are you Zor-" Terack started before he felt some sort of rumble in the ground. A Steelix then burst out from the ground in front of him with a mighty roar before very much more could be said.

"Haha, so you're Terack!?" the comparatively humongous Steelix asked in another loud roar, staring down at the Trapinch upon fully emerging from the hole he emerged from. "I've heard quiiite a bit about you lately from a good friend of mine, you know! It's probably because I'm so big but you really are a puny looking creature!" he gloated. "How did your lot pull it off, eh?!"

Terack was instantly rubbed the wrong way by the thunderous statement of this gigantic Pokémon. "Wha...? Who even are you?!" he asked back, instantly set on edge by the way that Pokémon tore through the rock floor with such alarming ease. It came across as a sign: this Pokémon was tough.

"I'm Hebyacel, worm, and I've been sent to personally wipe you out! Get ready for your end!!"

As a battle started, Kyan and Szaer were both keeping Flutter company back at the team's modest base. She had been up and talking happily with them earlier but was now enjoying a quiet nap. Both of them were pleased to see no more of the worries and anxiety that previously defined her recently. It was a very good sign.

Androma soon walked in, poised and ready to ask them something. "Hi, hi, have either of you two seen Terack anywhere? I can't seem to find him. Is he out on some job?" she innocently queried, having spent the time since Rubix sent Hebyacel on settling herself into her role in this ploy. She knew full well where Terack was, after all.

"Ann? Oh, it's so good to see you! Thanks for that Soothe Bell, it's really helped Flutter out." Kyan happily spoke. "If you're looking for Terack, then yeah, he's doing a rescue job in the Howling Forest."

It was time for her to seal the deal. "W-wait, did you say he's at the Howling Forest...?" she asked, a look of dread overcoming her. "Oh no! This is bad news, you two! I've heard that there's a very powerful and dangerous Steelix running rampant in there!" she said in a worried tone. Her intention was to send them into Hebyacel's path and they both took the bait.

"What, a Steelix?!" Szaer immediately exclaimed. "Shoot, I shouldn't have let him go off there alone!" he called as he ran off for the dungeon. "I'm coming too, please look after Flutter for us!" Kyan called as he followed Szaer out, leaving Ann alone with the sleeping Togepi.

So far, things were proceeding mostly as Rubix envisioned. The one unforseen variable was the deep pang of guilt Androma felt as she looked at Flutter. If things went as planned, she would be responsible for Flutter losing all of her teammates in one day.

Just like Gengar had done to her, she would do to Flutter. That unbidden thought sickened her...

~​

Meanwhile, Terack was getting absolutely brutalized by Hebyacel with no mercy in their fight. No matter how hard the Trapinch tried, both his Dig and Superpower attacks were doing very little damage to the Steelix's iron hard body even with the aid of Focus Energy and his Power Band.

"C-come on, what's your deal here?! You're in-interfering with a rescuer's mission!" Terack furiously called after a powerful white ripple from his foe's Earthquake had violently unearthed him during another Dig for some particularly serious damage. Hebyacel quickly took advantage of this opening with his much greater weight, the bottom of his head glowing silver as he savagely crushed the Trapinch underneath him with Heavy Slam. Zorua was only able to hide and cower.

"Paltry insect, I hoped you'd put up more of a fight than this!" Hebyacel roared as he watched Terack barely manage to stand up. "No matter, we'll have one less obstacle impeding us once I annihilate you!" Watching the Steelix rear down towards him with ice quickly coating his teeth, Terack tried to burrow away again, but simply moving was now too painful.

All he could do now was close his eyes and hope beyond hope that this wouldn't hurt too much. "F-Flutter... I'm sorry." he silently whispered, worrying about how she'd take the news. No doubt, she'd blame herself for being unable to help, he thought...

"No! Get away from him!"

Floating forwards as fast as he possibly could, Kyan suddenly zipped in from the entrance behind Hebyacel and intercepted the Steelix's Sheer Force empowered Ice Fang with the Zen Headbutt that had newly replaced Take Down, ice coated teeth being met with the sparkling blue spike at the front of his body. "What...? K-Kyan?!" Terack gasped in amazement.

"I don't care how big you are, we'll make you regret picking a fight with one of us!" Kyan called as he repelled Hebyacel away with Telekinesis, slamming him into the wall behind them before pulling him straight into the windup of his new move, a red glowing and confusion inducing Dynamic Punch. The final result was the Steelix becoming too incoherent and dazed for any immediate retaliation.

Szaer arrived just in time to see this combination and was amazed by what he witnessed. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, you mean you've intended to use your Telekinesis to make up for Dynamic Punch being tough to aim?! I'm beyond impressed!" he exclaimed.

Kyan was aglow at this praise. "Thanks! I'm not an Alakazam fan for nothing! I'll watch over Terack now, I think you can take care of that Pokémon yourself!" he commanded as their opponent soon managed to return to reality. Not without reason, Szaer's three teammates viewed him as the strongest Pokémon which Team Celeste had to offer.

"Alright. It's just you and me!" Szaer said out loud to the Steelix, ready for battle and already thinking up some way to triumph over his much larger foe. Hebyacel started with an attempt at Earthquake, but a narrow black beam shot from Szaer's joined hands, his new Spite move from the dojo, immediately stopped him from using it.

"Grah! The rumors are true, Black Ice, you're a tricky opponent!" the Steelix remarked in his standard roar, part of him being glad that he could at least get a satisfactory fight today. He tried several attempts of his favourite Heavy Slam move instead, but Szaer quickly avoided each one and got off a hit with the orange pulsing Power-Up Punch move he'd previously learned from his purchased TM in place of Whirlpool. Each time he did this, the power behind his attacks only intensified.

The Steelix finally managed to land a direct hit on him with a blue Aqua Tail, but this resulted in a boosted Payback causing Hebyacel substantial damage. A collision between Icicle Crash and Heavy Slam finally put the attacking Steelix out of the battle. "Heh... heh... had enough, big guy...? Do you really want to keep going against me?" Szaer panted, having done a whole lot of dodging and attacking throughout the Heavy Slam spam. He may have only sustained only one clean hit, but the battle was still a lengthy and tiresome one.

This had all gone horrifically wrong for the Steelix, and he knew there could be nothing good in store for him later. "Grr...!" Hebyacel growled in his fatigue. "My friend truly was correct about you guys after all...! Fine, I'll let you all live this time but we're going to settle this soon! Reishi and I will make you rue this day!" he declared before tunneling back from where he came.

Szaer normally wouldn't have been intimidated by such a threat from a defeated adversary, but the addition of a certain, familiar name to him made this threat a special case. "You know Reishi!? Hey you, get back here! I'm not finished yet!" Szaer yelled after him with a burst of shock and fury. It generated no response from the retreating Pokémon.

If he wasn't hearing things, and a member of Team Celeste really had just been attacked by a friend of a Pokémon who had tried to destroy the rumoured human of the Ninetales legend... Szaer didn't want to imagine the implications yet, but they were forming in his head nonetheless.

~​

"I think you've been silent for long enough now. Who is Reishi?" Terack asked Szaer for the umpteenth time while Kyan watched.

Szaer had indeed been very quiet following the departure of their client, Escliptral, who had been rather interested to know why his young daughter looked so terrified upon the team's return. While a genuinely relieved Androma had been using the soothing Heal Pulse to help Terack overcome the injuries sustained from her colleague before leaving, Szaer was explaining the scenario to the rather ominous looking Zoroark, who was impressed enough by the recount of the battle with Hebyacel to compare the Sneasel's speed to that of a well-known Arcanine explorer he had once known.

Though he appreciated that praise, Szaer's mind remained focused on Hebyacel's parting words. "I'll explain, but I know you and Kyan won't like it. This is not a good thing." he finally spoke, ripping his gaze away from the sinking sun. "Reishi happens to be the name of that Breloom you two encountered in the Lapis Cave." Szaer revealed, putting a sense of fear into the two listeners. It brought them rather forcefully back to the time when they saw what it truly meant to be hunted.

"H-hold on, are you trying to suggest that he sent Hebyacel after me?" a shaken and somewhat distressed Terack quickly asked, struggling to comprehend what he was hearing. "But why? I don't understand this at all. They shouldn't have any reason to go after us now that we've exposed Gengar as a liar, right?"

Szaer didn't immediately respond, he instead folded his arms and tried to think things over. "I can't say anything for certain, but this just... sounds like a premeditated attack. This team has been attacked by two Pokémon who are acquainted with each other and I refuse to dismiss that as a coincidence." he stated. "No, it's all too suspicious. I want to find out what their game is."

"If you're right about this, then Flutter's still going to be in danger. What are you planning to do about Reishi and Hebyacel?" Kyan asked him gravely, staring back into the house where Flutter slept. Today's catastrophe had essentially punctured the happiness they were experiencing yesterday, bringing them all back to a state of worry for everyone's wellbeing.

"Hmm... Well, I'm going to head out first thing tomorrow and start looking for Reishi's present whereabouts." Szaer quickly decided. "The Frosty Forest's outskirts would be a good place for me to find some kind of trail. It was apparently where he gave up on the hunt. While I'm out, make sure you both look after yourselves and Flutter." Szaer told them.

In light of this news, it bolstered the confidence of Terack and Kyan to see how committed Szaer was when it came to protecting those important to him, like the older brother neither of them had. "Uhh, ok!" Terack spoke, startled by his swift choices all the same. "I'll sleep here for tonight then. Kyan, do you want to join me?" he asked.

Though he didn't believe they would be able to rest easily in this aftermath, Kyan accepted, and the two made their way indoors him as the Sneasel departed for his hideout. "Mmm, things are getting really tough again..." Kyan said, at which they both stopped by a small, round table. "Why, though? Why do some Pokémon still have it out for our Flutter? I thought she was finally free from this torment..." he added despairingly.

"Don't worry, they'll blow over soon. I'm pretty sure Szaer will find Reishi." Terack reassured him as they continued towards the mat and tried to rest, while in the process, failing to notice some sort of small device attached underneath the table.
 
Awards review time!

Plot: ‘Blue Rescue Team’ without any frills. Even as a retelling, I feel as if you should be trying to put an original spin on it and the world itself somehow. Changing the Pokemon to less commonly used ones did help this a bit and I'm glad to see someone not using Eevee or Riolu as a protagonist again. However, when you follow the game so closely the story become predictable and an awful lot of it's suspense is lost, along with lacking a feeling of freshness. A lot of the scenes inside dungeons are also too short. The lack of description also doesn't help. Because of this it's hard for the reader to picture them and they become a bit of wasted potential. The dungeons are a key part of the game, and if you are aiming for a retelling they should really be a key part of the story too.

Characters: I feel the characters had some potential, but some of it lost in its need to follow the game. This gets better in later chapters at least, so you need appear to be on the right path to developing them. Flutter has some genuine emotions, but we don’t get to understand them in all that much detail particularly early on. There is some more introspection later on which gives the character some more depth, perhaps expand upon this in some later chapters? We also get more insight into them in the sections where not much action is taking place but more in the areas of dialogue. I think it would be interesting to know how the characters feel in the heat of battle, when they are pushed to the edge. I’m not really sure if I have much to say about Terack, he’s the standard partner character and fits the role fine. Black Ice/Ice does add some mystery to the story, he’s an interesting character but I'm not sure if I can point out many of his traits. The rest simply fill the roles they were given in the games.

Setting: It's the same as the original setting of the games, but I see that they haven't been expanded upon too much. We aren’t given a new view of the areas from a sensory perspective as a prose story would lend itself to doing. In general, there is very little description of the ‘5 senses’ and those sensory details that really held the reader become properly invested in the story. I get the idea of keeping it loyal to the games but with prose fiction that dosen’t quite work. Game mechanics don’t tend to translate well into writing. This can really bog down action scenes and make other parts of the story harder to picture.

Writing Style: There is a lot of telling rather than showing. You give us the characters emotion’s and physical states rather than implying them through means such as body movements and punctuation. This creates a ‘layer’ of distance between the characters and the reader. The use of Pokémon lingo/game mechanics almost specifically used in battle scenes without describing the effect that the attacks produce, definitely lessens the impact of them. Sometimes, it hard to picture the fight scenes at all. Intense moments don’t really feel as portrayed as intense as they should be, for example the encounter was Zapdos dosen’t feel too dramatic since he’s simply referred to as ‘The Legendary Pokemon Zapdos’ as he enters.

The dialogue is mostly functional and mange to portray the characters emotions well enough. There are a few odd moments when the characters might announce their emotions (this might be part of direct translation from the game, however). The dialogue is good, but could use some work in places.

I felt a lot of the chapters feel a bit formulaic in their structure, when you go into them you know what to expect. Changing up the length and the like might make things a bit more interesting. It’ll also help shorten some more lengthy chapters in the later sections of the story.

Technical: The spelling and grammar mostly seems to be alright. I didn’t see too many noticeable problems or pick up on any major spelling errors while reading.

Overall: You promised a rewritten version of Pokémon Blue Rescue Team and that’s what I got. It doesn't expand on the universe given to us in the games, yet it doesn't cut parts out either. I feel like parts of the game (such as the dungeons themselves) should have been better expanded upon and a lot of the setting is given to us rather than letting the readers feel they are actually there. Telling not showing remains a general issue throughout the work, with the balance being far towards telling. I think if you focused less on writing down the game and more on writing a story you’ll end up with a more original and enjoyable tale. Even with retellings you don’t have to stick to the first story to the letter. Leave yourself more room to add your own input, views and opinions in the story, still work to make it your own. This will also help you leave the whole idea of ‘game mechanics’ out of the story which really aren’t well integrated and makes the story read awkwardly and restricts the expression of the physical environment and as a result the story as a whole.
 
Post awards feedback!


Plot:

It's basically a PMD Red/Blue retelling--it tells you this up front, and it sticks to retelling those game's stories almost to a tee. I say almost because you do make the hero and partner some lesser used Pokemon, so there's that, at least. There is so much potential here to expand on the PMD world and the games themselves, but as it stands right now, it doesn't really feel that much different from me firing up my GBA and playing through PMD Red again.

Setting:

All the locations you know and love from PMD Red/Blue are here, but they're just here as set pieces--we don't really get any idea of what the world is like. I get that the goal was to write a retelling of the story, but don't be afraid to "remix" what you are retelling, and add in some new locations, characters, and events to flesh out the world and bring it to life. I also wanted what is here fleshed out more, with details, and how our heroes react to the world around them.

Characterization:

I will give you props for using lesser used Pokemon for the heroes, at least. The main cast from PMD Red/Blue are all here, but it feels like everything walked out of the games themselves. I really wanted to know what the heroine was like before she came to the PMD world--how did she meet Lucario in order to get there?

Again, while there are glimmers of character development in later chapters, there is still so much potential to build on the characters that needs to be tapped into, including some questions I have wondered for years about PMD Red/Blue--how did Team Meanies form? What was the partner's life like before s/he met the hero? What becomes of the hero and the partner after the main story ends?

In addition, the heroine seems blase about becoming a Pokemon--this is rife with comic potential and character development that I really wish was used.

Style:

There is a lot of telling and not enough showing--while this works in a video game, it doesn't translate very well to a written medium (unless you really, really, know what you are doing). The same goes for video game mechanics--while they may work in the digital realm, it doesn't really work in a medium meant to be read. For some ideas on how to work around and implement game mechanics well in a different medium, look no farther than the Pokemon anime, or another game based show. Many times, these have in universe explanations as to how the game mechanics work in a living universe, but here, everything sounds like it just walked out of the games, game mechanics and all.

Technical: I did not see any glaring spelling and grammar issues.

Overall, I know you wanted to write a retelling, but in doing so, that does not mean they have to rehash what has already been done. There is still a ton of potential in bringing the characters and the setting to life, but as it is, telling the game's story almost word for word is holding it back from becoming something great.
 
Chapter 14: The two faces of fire
"Do you mean to tell me... that you have failed again?!"

Much like his last report from two days ago, Rubix was subject to Zeninthia's dislike for failure. He really couldn't blame her for becoming angered, as at first glance, he had indeed fallen short of the primary objective: depriving Flutter of her so far invaluable aid. However...

"Only partially, mistress. While it's true that I have fallen short in what we discussed, Androma played her part with aplomb and ensured the success of my backup plan." he confidently claimed, holding out a device with heavy resemblance to his previous 'walkie talkie' communication model. "A smaller version of this voice transmission doodad has been hidden securely inside their base and should relay any nearby discussions to the device I hold. This is, in actuality, a tactical victory for us."

"I see. Quite excellent, I'm glad to hear that you've took the time to work around any losses this time." she replied to him in a softer tone, this comparatively more successful scheme serving to redeem him somewhat in her eyes.

"In addition, Hebyacel spoke to me of how he managed to swiftly subdue the Trapinch in a one on one scenario earlier, Androma tells me that this is Flutter's closest companion." Rubix continued talking. "As we've now discovered his limit, I suggest that we press upon that advantage and repeat the assault. If we can succeed in destroying this dear friend, why, the knockback effect it would have on her will be catastrophic..." he plotted out loud for Zeninthia to hear. In light of her recent return, Rubix had been taking Flutter much more seriously as a foe; this altered view resulting in him avidly thinking of ways to take her out of the picture for good.

Before he could ponder this train of thought further, the first transmission arrived from the team's base. Coming through clean and crisp, it was as though Terack were right next to them as his voice smoothly arrived. "Don't worry, they'll blow over soon. I'm sure Szaer will find Reishi."

At this, both Rubix and Zeninthia both stiffened in shock. "Inconceivable... How could they have uncovered Reishi's name? Do you know something about this?" Zeninthia questioned him in a hushed whisper, hiding how started and even nervous this discovery made her. Deuvide's entire long-term operation depended on the group remaining underground and inconspicuous; even the identity of one member being found out was a serious problem.

Rubix, to put it mildly, wasn't at all pleased by what he'd just heard. "Ack! I would think that loudmouthed Steelix said too much to them, he has no filter when it comes to those ridiculously large jaws of his! This may cause some complications." he surmised. The Golduck had staked his hopes on Hebyacel not spilling anything important and now he'd been let down. Rubix privately swore to reprimand that utter fool for this blunder at the first feasible opportunity.

Zeninthia, on the other hand, had recovered and was already thinking quickly on a way around the new setback facing them. "No. No, we're not necessarily backed into any of the four corners just yet; I'm going to try and incorporate this to our advantage." she swiftly decided, "If there's one thing we've learned about our invisible, masked human, it's that he is no fool. I surmise that he would begin this search for Reishi's whereabouts near the Frosty Forest. It's where the trail ends, and where I will have Ignephra cut off this uppity brat's fangs before he learns anything... compromising." the Umbreon curtly told him, her eyes narrowing in deep frustration.

It wasn't even a second later when these eyes were back on Rubix. "While I orchestrate this trap, you are to inform Reishi of the dirt they have unearthed on him. On my order, he is expressly forbidden to leave here until the heat is off..." she demanded in this quiet yet powerful tone.

If he and his coworkers didn't share their lord's goal of removing all human intruders from this Pokémon sanctuary, Rubix would have pitied the new target of Deuvide's executioner. He expected there to be a veritable bonfire of rage.

~​

Early next morning, Szaer's investigation in the Frosty Forest's outskirts was underway. He was talking to a Ditto who claimed to have seen the Breloom leave. "Yes Mister Ice, Ditto saw the Pokémon you're looking for! Ditto saw them leave on another Pokémon!" the Ditto told him.

"Could you..." Szaer started wondering, recalling what a Ditto is best known for. "...transform into this Pokémon he left on? I'm looking for that Breloom." he asked. Thank the lucky stars it was this amorphous pink blob who had sighted Reishi and his apparent accomplice rather than a solid, untransforming creature, he thought privately.

"Yeppers, Ditto will show you!" Szaer was told before the Ditto transformed into a copy of Derkomai the Salamence. Having used memory alone, some details were wrong but the transformation was sufficient enough for Szaer's needs. "Ditto saw them flying off to the left." the transformed dragon spoke.

"I see, and he was with a Salamence? That's intriguing." He'd never seen one of these creatures in person before but was still familiar enough with what they looked like. For being someone not of this world, Szaer had become impressively well versed with it. Their departure to the west didn't really give Szaer much to go on due to his present location being far east, but it did rule out the southeastern peninsula which contained the Wyvern Hill; he considered this to be highly unusual behaviour for a Dragon type since the vast majority of said Pokémon from this continent lived there. "Thanks for the help, Ditto, you may go now." The Ditto returned to normal and went back into the forest.

"First a Breloom and Steelix, now a Salamence too... What could those three be up to? I've got to find out what's pushing them to-" Szaer started, his statement being left dangling once a strange feeling of warmth began to permeate his surroundings. Sensing danger, he aborted his thoughts and immediately leapt backwards... just in time to avoid a stream of lava coming from within the trees.

This sight alone was enough to set him on the emotional defensive. "W-what?! Whoever's nearby had better show themselves immediately! With an attack like that, you're so clearly not from this forest!" he yelled, keeping far away from the puddle of viscous, boiling liquid.

There was no immediate response, but instead a Typhlosion soon emerged onto the path, his face bearing a murderous look. "This is your only warning, human. If you value your pitiful life, you will drop your investigation. Now."

Szaer wasn't really too intimidated by the threat and he made that known to his attacker, whom he now saw to be a fool for making their intentions as clear as the coldest ice. "Reishi sent you, I presume? Forceful discouragement from an assassin will not end my search." he spoke. Ignephra gave Szaer a dangerous smirk. The Typhlosion had gone some time without ending any of these humans and just seeing one stand firm against him was setting his spirit ablaze.

"Have it your way, cloaked crusader. I'll just drop it for you." he said, letting his burning dislike fuel the next Eruption as he lowered his head to send out another stream of lava from the pores near the top of his back. Having already made it an unspoken prerogative to stop any further abuse of this highly dangerous and damaging move, Szaer avoided it by jumping upon a tree before hitting Ignephra with Spite's thin black beam, locking the wild Typhlosion out from his preferred method of rampaging.

Annoyed at this, Ignephra instead charged up and fired off a bright yellow Solar Beam shot that, because of the cloud cover above, took too long to charge up and thus allowed the Sneasel to sidestep aside with almost laughable ease, the sight of this and Szaer's lack of visible fear instantly ruining Ignephra's mood. "GrrrrrRRRH!! You filthy, pathetic cretin! Stop dodging so I can make you suffer!" he furiously yelled as he used Nature Power, his whole body taking on a verdant green outline which quickly gave way to pure white. His move called upon the Swift attack, the white homing snowflake-like stars catching his target hard on the midsection during a jump.

"I-In just a moment, brute, you'll wish I could have dodged that one." Szaer told him after recollecting his bearings from a less than graceful landing. Payback was then unleashed, the black projectiles pelting Ignephra and blowing him into a tree. Though he'd managed to land an effective strike, Szaer finally felt another moment of fright as he found himself dropping to his knees and clutching the area where Ignephra's summoned Swift had struck him, as it was actually more painful than he could have expected.

"W-what's with this? It's just a Swift, how could that relatively basic move hurt so much?" he hissed under his breath in confusion and worry, his eyes firmly clasped on the Pokémon who had now shaken off one of the better hits he could deliver.

It only meant one thing: the Typhlosion in front of him was many, many steps ahead of Hebyacel in power. This was a fight the Sneasel now knew he couldn't win, especially not in an environment where Nature Power granted his foe a near unavoidable move to abuse at will.

Environment... that thought gave Szaer an idea.

Acting quickly, he planted both of his paws into the cold, white terrain and then flung his arms forward to catch Ignephra right in the face with a spray of snow and used his brief moment of surprise to flee from the vicinity, sure that Articuno would soon be aware of this intruder and take care of things from herein. Setting aside the ambush, Szaer had already learned more than he bargained for with his investigation.

Ignephra quickly brushed the snow away from his face, but not quick enough as his his quarry had only gone and made themselves scarce, the sight making him feel so incensed that he wasn't even thinking about how Zeninthia may react to such a bad result. "Ha... haha... Running away... Of course you'd do that, you're a piece of vile human filth. I'm not even surprised." he vehemently muttered, actually spitting a small flame at the ground in disgust.

"No matter. I'll let you live today because, as far as I'm concerned, you're already dead to me. We'll just finish this another time."

~​

Back at the square in this moment, a full fledged meeting was taking place. It was organised by Shiftry and consisted of a great many Pokémon from rescue teams, some local and others from afar. Terack and Kyan were also in attendance. "I wonder what Shiftry has in mind that needed so much Pokémon?" Kyan asked out loud.

"Can I please have everyone's attention over here? Thank you." Shiftry said, somewhat uncomfortably, to get the meeting started. "I do apologise, setting up a meeting like this is not my strong suit..." he mumbled as he immediately went off track until stopping himself. "Pull yourself together, Shiftry. Now's not the time for that. We have a big problem here!" The attending Pokémon looked questioningly at him as he pushed himself back into things. "Alakazam's Team A.C.T. recently went underground to combat the awakening Groudon... and they haven't returned!"

Questioning looks soon became those of shock and fear. "Are you serious?!" one particularly disbelieving voice cried out. "I hate to admit it, but I'm serious." Shiftry replied to this lone speaker. "Alakazam led his team underground, but that's the last we've heard from them. We have no way of knowing what happened, short of going down there ourselves." he uneasily continued, this being a situation he really didn't want to face himself.

"But isn't that near impossible?" some more voices asked. "There's got to be magma every which way you look down there, right?" This last one unnerved Kyan somewhat, as the mere mention of magma quickly reminded him of Mt. Blaze. "It will be difficult, yes. That's why I've gathered together so many of you rescue teams in this location today. I plan to have a special team be formed here, from the very best of the best; the cream of the crop, in order to overcome this challenge!" Shiftry called. Approving murmurs surfaced at this idea. "If any Pokémon here feels that they have what it takes to venture underground and save Team A.C.T., please step forward!" he called once more.

Everyone began looking around at each other, deep in fervent group discussions. Kyan, looking around, saw to his discomfort that Terack was about to rashly step forward and volunteer for the task. "H-hey, hold on!" he quickly spoke, stopping the Trapinch in his tracks. "I'm glad you want to help, but us two alone in a task which Alakazam's rescue team hasn't come back from? I don't really think we can pull this off without Flutter and Szaer backing us up." Kyan apologetically acknowledged, which got Terack to stop in his tracks.

As much as he disliked the idea of backing down on such a high priority task, he couldn't come up with a way to overturn his friend's point. "I-I understand. Sorry, I wasn't thinking right. I'm just really worried about them..." Terack quietly responded, but not quietly enough for his episode to escape a nearby Arcanine in the crowd. The canine Pokémon shot a brief glance at the two, wondering if he'd correctly heard the names of their teammates. Both were familiar to him for different reasons.

Eventually, someone did step up. "I'll go." With his teammates Feraligatr, Swampert, and Empoleon all backing him, Blastoise of the Silver Rank Team Hydro went towards Shiftry. An Octillery leading the Gold Rank Team Constrictor followed Blastoise in her approach with the support of a Cradily, Tentacruel, and Malamar, while the Golem in command of the Bronze Rank Team Rumblerock brought up the rear while watched by his two Graveler underlings.

Shiftry recognised all three volunteering Pokémon and was very pleased by them stepping up. He and all the Pokémon present approved of this selection before cheering them all off.

~​

Terack and Kyan were both gathered inside the team base with some job requests when Szaer returned. Flutter was snoozing away in bed. "Welcome back, how did things go out there?" Kyan asked him. Szaer briefly paused to collect his thoughts before beginning to share these findings.

"Reishi and Hebyacel are in cahoots with a Salamence, huh?" Terack asked out loud. It wasn't what he wanted to hear; the thought of even more Pokémon potentially lining up to have their way with the foursome didn't reassure him one bit, and he literally didn't even know the half of it yet.

"Right. This Salamence arrived to pick Reishi up and they flew off west, which... just gives me too much to go on as they were so far east. A Typhlosion then attacked me with the demand that I drop the investigation which suggests that these Pokémon are on to me somehow." Szaer explained, alarming his audience of two. "I escaped from this foe just fine but I'm no closer to figuring what's going on or what these four Pokémon have in mind." he told them.

"Reishi must be rather desperate if he's sending others to try and halt your search." Kyan wondered. "Maybe Hebyacel told him about you defeating him yesterday?"

Szaer gravely nodded, the thought having indeed occurred to him on the way back. "Indeed, but I still have no idea how they've trailed me to the Frosty Forest. Reishi was utterly hopeless at tracking you three down after that close call with Flutter so I don't believe it was his doing." he mused; that part simply wasn't adding up. "I think it would be best to continue with our rescue work for now and wait for them to move against us once more; perhaps this bunch may end up dropping more clues. I can't narrow down where Reishi's band may be hiding with the information I've got now, but trust me when I say this isn't over." he concluded before heading out to look for job requests.

Zeninthia once more had instant access to their conversation. Deeply annoyed and, to her unspoken horror, slightly intrigued by Szaer's methods, she started wondering aloud. "Hmph. Waiting for us to take the initiative? You'll be playing no such games with me, boy..." Sending a message for Rubix to see her, she awaited his arrival as the yellow circles on her body glowing in her mild frustration.

"I assume he still lives?" Rubix asked on his arrival, appearing uninformed. "Ignephra was in a most... grumpy mood when he returned earlier and demanded to be left alone, so I can tell things didn't work out on his end. He's neglected to tell me what happened and Androma hasn't been able to talk with Flutter's entourage since Szaeracier returned." the Golduck grumbled.

"I see... I'll need to have a talk with Ignephra then. Sometimes even I wish he'd keep that temper in check. Fortunately, your foresight yesterday means that I do know what happened." she spoke. "I have just discovered how seriously we've lost today's battle. This is bad news; it appears that our target of the day has now uncovered Derkomai's involvement with us and then... somehow escaped from Ignephra. He's singlehandedly connected half of us together in this conspiracy through our own actions." she revealed.

Rubix was beyond astonished. "Ack, this guy's too nosy and observant for his own good. We're just giving him clues like a Delibird gives out presents at this point." he blurted out in a deeply concerned voice.

"You're quite right, and that is why you're here." she started. "Our beacon of hope lies in this one fact: because Ignephra attacked him so far east, knowing that we are to the west is nearly useless to him as a hint. He claims to have too much leads." the Umbreon explained. "Now this brat is awaiting, no, expecting us to make our next move against Team Celeste, with which he wishes to use to hound us further. I assure you, Dr. Rubix, I will never be the one who allows him to uncover us before Deuvide's end goal is in sight." Zeninthia passionately declared. "Send the word. Our priorities must regrettably shift, effective immediately. We are to leave Flutter and Szaeracier alone and refocus our attention upon destroying the con-artist Gengar until further notice."

This wasn't what he wanted as the end result of the last few days but Rubix gave her an understanding bow; he couldn't really see a quick way out that would enable a return to the status quo. "That might indeed be the best course of action now. With Szaeracier being this focused on finding the intentions of our members, it may be best to give him and young Flutter a reprieve for the foreseeable future. For the sake of our secrecy..." he conceded.

It was not a peace treaty or any form of surrender. For now, their two groups were merely at a tenuous stalemate.

~​

Terack, Kyan, and Szaer all gathered outside the team base after the next invigorating sunrise and spent some reflecting happily upon yesterday's highly productive events, wherein Team Celeste had finally reached the Gold Rank. The mere fact that they were now of equal standing to the so called 'rescue team' who'd caused them such distress was a matter of great contentment to Terack and Kyan. Now that they'd reached this point, it felt as though they were truly free from him.

They weren't the only ones in the team who felt able to take a sigh of relief. Awakening from a peaceful sleep and smiling faintly while she remembered this news was Flutter, who finally wandered out into the rising sun to join her teammates. "Morning, everyone! Ooh, I feel so much better now!" she cheerfully called out while approaching, delighted to see them all. Indeed, she hadn't possessed this sort of energy, pep, and charm since before her life spiralled out of control.

"Aww, that's amazing! You look so much better too." Terack replied. He was overjoyed to have back the Flutter he'd been coming to admire, the Togepi who stood up to Zapdos atop Mt. Thunder despite earlier having her shell chipped by the powerful Pokémon.

"That's wonderful news, I've been waiting for the moment when we can both do rescue requests together." Szaer said, genuine delight and honesty in his voice as he checked the mailbox. He soon turned back with a slightly disappointed expression on his face. "There's nothing in here today though, so we'll need to check the post office." he remarked.

Then from out of seemingly nowhere, he suddenly whirled around to look at Flutter; a highly out-of-character look of youthful excitement having spontaneously invaded his eyes as he remembered something. "Before we head off though... Flutter, there's something I've really, really, really wanted to show you. Please come with me, quick!"

Both Terack and Kyan watched in silent surprise while they watched a completely bewildered Flutter trail along to their right behind their ecstatic new teammate, until Terack cottoned on to what this was all about once those two turned a corner. It was sweet, but also funny to watch for the open excitement Szaer had again shown. "Awwww-hahaha, it's gotta be that hideout! I don't know about you but I think Szaer's seriously been looking forward to this." he happily chuckled.

"She's definitely been a great influence on him, and I know he sees that too." Kyan responded, seeing the obviousness in his statement. Szaer had, of course, only broken out of his forced noninvolvement with all things Gardevoir and began confronting his personal demons when Flutter was being persecuted for the actions he believed to be his fault, not to mention even endangering the good stature of his Black Ice persona by aiding the one seemingly responsible for the world's disturbed balance.

Szaer did indeed see that, he thought silently while observing the Togepi's awed reactions to everything in his little home when the two arrived, from the mundane to the slightly less mundane, like she were a devoted fan at some convention. It was the first time they were both alone and awake together since they first met; that day in the Sinister Woods already felt as though it occurred years ago. Now he knew that neither of them were the unknowing instigators of calamity after all, it felt like his mind and heart were clearer than ever before.

Of course, there was still the unanswered question of what their shared connection to Gardevoir really was, and the tough reminder that a certain foursome still wanted Flutter out with no mercy towards her friends either, but he felt assured that these concerns would fizzle out in due time. What could possibly be worse than being led to believe you would ruin the world you cared about? Szaer believed the absolute worst, the rock bottom scenario, was behind them, one reason why he fearlessly defied Ignephra earlier.

"Hey, can I tell you something before we head back?"

Szaer blinked a few times and wrested his mind back to the present; Flutter's voice sounded so far away just then as she stared at his old disguise, which he'd used to blanket her when she finally gave out. "Uh, sure. Is there something on your mind?" he queried.

Now that he saw her close to, it was clear to him that she still had the tough incident on her mind despite being physically rested. She wasn't quite back yet.

"Well, y-yes, kinda." Flutter quickly replied, appearing to have similarly been in deep thought. "I'm not sure if I've said this already since everything after you joining us up to today has just become one massive, fuzzy blur." she meekly confessed, waving her arms close together while lightly shaking her head in a sight which tugged at Szaer's heartstrings. "I just want to say t-thank you for believing me back then... I really admired the Black Ice from the first time we met, so when Alakazam told us about all of the rescuers banding together to chase me and the team down, well... I was t-terrified to think that you could have been one of them, wanting to get rid of me. Then we got your supportive letter the next day... and..." she trailed off, restraining and swallowing down a sob as her eyes almost sparkled with a build-up of tears.

Normally she would have wanted to put on a dryer and more steady front in response to her time on the run. After all, Flutter understood that the majority of those whom she'd fled from were simply duped and she didn't want to enhance anyone's guilt by appearing scarred from the events. However, the Sneasel in front of her was one of those she felt comfortable exposing her heart towards. "Seriously, thanks! It m-meant so much to know that you were on my side all along!" she concluded.

As she moved on for a hug though, a fragment of a thought nestled its way into her head, one she actually hadn't yet wondered. "Why though? Why did you believe me? You had more trust in me than I did, and you weren't afraid to go against the crowd by reaching out to us." she spoke, looking up at him. Now that she'd let herself think on this, he steadfastly trusted her and was convinced she was the innocent victim of brutal slander even when she, deeply demoralised from her first full dream conversation with Gardevoir, had come to believe the worst of herself. What drove him to act that way?

Szaer truthfully hadn't expected her to ask this at all, and was speechless for a moment. "Well... You just said that you don't remember a whole lot of what happened after I joined you, Terack, and Kyan. They know why I trusted your innocence so adamantly now; we discussed it all after you passed out in a harsh blizzard shortly afterwards." he explained, to her surprise. "I really am sorry that you're still in the dark. We thought it was best to let you recover and get back on your feet before unloading any big stories on you... would tonight be fine?"

She'd barely had time to nod in approval before Terack stumbled into the area, out of breath and looking as though he'd just run a marathon. "Hey, hey, sorry to barge in so suddenly but we've just got something big today... There was this visitor who says he knows you from before this Ninetales business, Szaer! He wants to battle us in the Makuhita Dojo!" the Trapinch gasped.

This was indeed big, Szaer agreed. Nobody in this part of the continent had known his real identity before then. "That's really odd, I took great care with concealing my name. Did this Pokémon introduce himself at all?" Szaer asked. Given the recent assault on Terack by Hebyacel, this news had the three guys on edge. None of them wanted to face yet another assassin.

Terack's reply would put Szaer on a sudden trip down memory lane. "He did. He said he was an Arcanine and that his name was Blaise."

~​

Of course, Szaer thought back while he, Flutter, Terack, and Kyan all made their way through a highly realistic looking cave in the Makuhita Dojo. It was so ridiculously obvious now...

Blaise was an explorer and outlaw hunter from the southern continent Kusaria, and by a freak accident, became one of those few Pokémon who knew the true identity of the Black Ice prior to Team Celeste. It may have been the result of a Blizzard attack revealing his face when he once went abroad on a mission that this exploration team also took, but the damage had been done. Szaer simply had to trust in the Growlithe and his two teammates to not spread the word.

It was a brief relay of this story which convinced his teammates that their guest could be trusted though, so the foursome had soon begun their trek in earnest. Even though it would possibly be a four on one fight once they reached the location where their opponent awaited them, Szaer insisted that Blaise ought not be underestimated.

Especially not now that he'd managed to evolve into an Arcanine, he quietly reflected...

As this was Flutter's first time contributing to any sort of dungeon excursion since the Foggy Forest, she had taken his words particularly to heart. Together with a desire to wean herself back into her job and catch up to her teammates, she'd made use of Terack's TM from the Howling Forest to learn Solar Beam over Metronome by tapping the disc on her forehead while envisioning herself using the contained move, defeated enough of the dojo's battling volunteers to learn Ancient Power over Secret Power, and subsequently spent much of the journey on practicing her two new moves. Her three friends found this inspiring, especially when she confessed to feeling pained and frustrated by her inactivity.

It was such that, by the time they reached the last room and met up with Blaise, indeed an Arcanine instead of a Growlithe as Szaer remembered, he couldn't help but notice her demeanour. "Long time no see, Szaeracier. I know some of what's happened with you lately and, uh... Your little friend here seems rather eager to begin. Perhaps we should skip the pleasantries for now and get this underway?" he swiftly asked.

"That might be the best course of action, Blaise." Szaer remarked with the flicker of a smirk. "If you know some of what's happened then you might know that Flutter here has been out of action until today. Let's not have her wait longer for our sake."

Blaise simply let out a hearty chuckle to start his reply. "Then let's make it a good one!" he enthusiastically barked before rearing his head upwards and letting out a stream of fire which, to the group's shock, almost seemed to be twisting around by its own accord until it tore down towards them in a spiralling corkscrew fashion. This was certainly not a Flamethrower, three of his opponents thought.

"I'm not even surprised. Fire Spin did seem to be his favourite move." Szaer pointed out after the whole team managed to avoid it, though very narrowly in Terack's case. The Sneasel, quite eager to put enough pressure on the Arcanine early on, sprang forward with both paws clenched for a dual Power-Up Punch, which Blaise evaded by way of a most surprising technique. One moment the two were staring at each other, the next moment Blaise was suddenly behind Szaer, having moved so fast that it looked like he'd teleported... Had he?

Szaer certainly didn't see him moving but there wasn't enough time to question this; a billowing plume of cobalt flames had been exhaled which forced Szaer to escape by backflipping over him. During this dodge, he noticed that Terack had retreated underground with Dig at some earlier point. Flutter had presumably followed him as she was out of sight too.

Before Szaer even made his landing, Kyan executed his first move by rocketing forward with Zen Headbutt to no avail, the sparkling head spike wasn't making contact thanks to repeated usage of Blaise's seemingly phenomenal speed, nor were Szaer's attempted Icicle Crash strikes. "I-I've got it now! Teleport, just like Alakazam!" Kyan ruefully realised after his fifth miss. After this, Blaise nodded and stepped aside from a desperate quick Bullet Punch before he prepared to spew out the cobalt flames of his Dragon Breath... until the ground beneath his left feet gave way as Terack burst out to score a strike with a Dig tackle to his side.

Despite taking a solid super-effective hit; good for the first blow, Blaise swiftly reacted with another Dragon Breath that blew Terack straight towards a wall before he could dive back below ground, causing heavy damage and paralysis with his own first strike. He then opted to capitalise on that opening by slipping aside from Kyan's Telekinesis and Dynamic Punch combination with another Teleport and then running flat out towards the Trapinch, getting ready for his fourth move while a move from Szaer that he didn't notice soared over his head.

As Terack thought though, Blaise may be able to warp himself around the arena as he pleased but he wasn't an airborne creature nor could he read minds, shown when several rocks with purple outlines suddenly tore through the ground right underneath him, knocking him off his feet and allowing Szaer to block out his Teleport with Spite's black beam this time. Coming out from this new hole was Flutter, who looked quite pleased with how their two moves had turned out. "That was Terack's idea. He figured that we could hear your movements from underground and use that to attack before you could use Teleport." she explained.

Blaise couldn't help himself; he almost shivered in his excitement and eagerness. "Hah! That was actually quite good!" he happily declared. He already knew Szaer would be able to provide a worthwhile fight but his teammates had been unknown quantities before this moment. Now he knew that they were promising individuals in their own rights, it was time for him to kick things up a notch. Seeing Kyan rush forward with Zen Headbutt next, Blaise spat out another Fire Spin that he guided to orbit him like a barrier, forcing the Steel type to abort his direct attack in the nick of time and back off. Shortly afterwards, Flutter attempted a Shock Wave which did nothing; the blue electricity was unable to penetrate this shield, while Terack just couldn't break through the paralysis long enough to try Rock Slide.

Understanding the futility of a Payback without taking an immediate attack first, Szaer gritted his teeth and shot another Spite to lock him out of Fire Spin but Blaise leapt aside in a display of natural speed this time, the intent being to unsettle everyone by making the loss of Teleport look trivial. To compound this, the flaming circle's orbit around Blaise became gradually smaller until it was absorbed into his body, which began to emanate an orange fiery glow. Not even giving them a chance to react accordingly to this, he sent out a Flash Fire boosted Fire Spin which caught all three active foes like a lasso and slammed the whole thing down on the paralyzed Terack, knocking both him and Kyan out cold.

"Gah, I d-didn't know he had Flash Fire for his ability." Szaer grumbled as he and Flutter managed to pick themselves back up. Yet another Fire Spin began soaring their way but it was met by a Shock Wave from Flutter, the two forces struggling against each other briefly before they triggered an explosion of rebounding electricity and fire flecks upon their respective users. While Flutter tried to shield herself from the blue sparks, the embers were no problem for Blaise's Flash Fire as he used the lingering smoke cover to leap back while charging up a Solar Beam. Once she could see this, Flutter took the invitation and began to ready the same move.

Obviously Blaise was able to launch his yellow beam of sunlight first, but it collided with a force of a more physical nature: Szaer himself, who'd ran in to take the blow halfway across. As he planned, it knocked him flying away from Flutter's incoming line of fire and gave him just what he needed for Payback. Instead of another clash of moves which Flutter would assuredly lose, Blaise was now facing Szaer's black projectiles alongside Flutter's new Solar Beam with no defence of his own.

Coming all the way up to Kakuon for his vacation had been totally worth it, Blaise believed while getting ready to intercept.

~​

"Ooh, I'll just count myself myself fortunate that you weren't here when Flutter and her team were being hunted like escaped criminals. It would have been dreadful if you'd tracked us down." Szaer mumbled, stunned by Blaise's confession that he had made land mere hours after everything had been cleared up.

Following the battle, which had ultimately ended in Blaise's victory after he matched their combined Payback and Solar Beam with the idea of swallowing a Fire Spin and incorporating its Flash Fire empowered flames in his larger Dragon Breath, the satisfied fivesome had gone west to the nearby coastal settlement of Baram Town for some rest and exchanges of stories over some drinks by the shore after Blaise purchased a Lapras Ferry ticket for his upcoming departure. It was a picturesque scene, accentuated by the late afternoon sun.

"Oh yes, that would have been very awkward for all of us." Blaise remarked. Privately, he was glad he didn't leave a day earlier like he originally planned. "So, is it really true what that paper said about you? You're one too?"

"Mhm." Szaer just responded, taking a swig of Oran juice as an opportunity to ready his thoughts. Over the top of his glass, he could see Flutter looking astounded at this confession. "Truth is, I hadn't been on my best behaviour for a while since I first ended up here; I'd arrived in a harsh area without any help like Flutter so I wound up a bit feral, like your average dungeon resident. Taking up that disguise and becoming known as the Black Ice was my way of creating a brand new identity once I learned my lesson. It was part of wanting to start again, really." he further explained.

This was news to Blaise too, as he hasn't seen Szaer so willing to open up like he was now. "I see now. Don't worry, over in Kusaria your secret's still safe with myself, Alex, and Basil. None of us have told a soul about Szaeracier." the Arcanine spoke, to which Szaer gave an approving nod. "Even if you're going public here, we'll continue respecting our promise if you wish." he stated without the slightest moment of hesitation before returning to the straw pointing out from his Cheri drink.

"It won't be necessary for you three to hold this so close to your chests anymore, both Szaeracier and the Black Ice are similarly unknown outside of this continent. I don't need to hide who I am underneath some vigilante persona anymore either, thanks to Flutter and her friends." Szaer coolly decided. "I'm not ashamed of being Szaeracier now. Or Szaer, as Flutter prefers to call me." he quipped, a grin now on his face.

"Something's definitely happened to you." Blaise spoke, now sounding a bit serious. "You've ditched the Black Ice getup, you've joined a team, you've taken a nickname. What have I missed?"

"Quite a bit, actually." Szaer swiftly responded. By now, Flutter had all but abandoned her Pecha soda and was watching him with a deep and vested interest in her eyes. "You know about the Ninetales legend by now, I guess?" Szaer asked, which Blaise nodded to. "You see... When I first heard that story and later when I learned it was true, my troublesome past self led me to believe that I was the human who abandoned Gardevoir." he confessed. "So when Flutter was made out to be that human instead, well... it cut me quite deeply. I had to do something, anything; she was being blamed for what I thought was my mistake. By the time I'd joined up with her team and saw how badly off she was, I was ready to own up to prove her innocence."

At this, Flutter was effectively staggered, as though she had walked into a brick wall. "I... I didn't know you had been d-dealing with all of those horrible thoughts too..." she spluttered. She might have come to suspect since their earlier talk that he knew something about her or the legend that vindicated her in his eyes, but this was far beyond her imagination. Furthermore, one more point suddenly hit her. "Are you saying you were going to freely take the blame for everything just to save me? That's..." she gasped, her heart almost fit to burst with deep gratitude.

"Incredibly selfless." Blaise finished for her. "Stay with them, Szaer. I think these three are really bringing out the best in you." he insisted, with Szaer readily nodding in agreement. "Still... I never thought I'd end up meeting another human, let alone two." the Arcanine suddenly remarked, to their surprise. "You should cross the seas and visit us in Kusaria someday; my teammates would love to chat with you four."

Several minutes lazily passed by as the chatter died down into inconsequential matters, until Terack remembered something that he had been intending to ask earlier. "Hey Blaise, what was the mission that your team did when you met Szaer? I'm kinda curious about what would pull our local Black Ice so far south." Terack suddenly asked.

Blaise really wasn't sure if the answer would interest his younger listener as it had more to do with exploration teams than rescue teams, but he decided to answer anyway. "Oh, that? We'd heard about a really famous explorer who went missing at a place called Blizzard Island decades ago, and decided to check things out. We met Szaer by chance a few days before then; he said that he heard of the same legendary explorer and we decided that he could come with us." he replied.

He was absolutely wrong; the brief story had interested Terack for a deeply personal reason that he hadn't confided to anyone yet. A legendary explorer who vanished decades ago in Kusaria, he thought to himself. It simply couldn't be. The chances of these figures being one and the same were ridiculous. There was just no way.

Then again, he and Kyan had crossed paths with someone connected to Szaer today. Was it really so impossible that Szaer and this same someone had once crossed paths with someone connected to him?

Blaise's appointed Lapras Ferry arrived to pick him up several minutes later, but by then, Terack was too bothered by the unexpected news that he had left for his small desert home early, stating that he had something he needed to think about. The other three members of Team Celeste were gathered at the edge of the waters to wave him off as he sailed away on his Lapras ride. "Stay well! We'll come and visit someday!" Szaer called, glad with how the day went.

Flutter was very pleased too. Though they hadn't actually gotten round to doing any rescue work today, she felt... liberated by these events. Both the chance to get up and fight against a strong opponent in Blaise and the knowledge of how far Szaer would have gone to fix her life, together they had enabled her to put a stopper on the lingering emotional baggage of yesteryear.

Soul and mind now healed, Flutter shed a grateful tear as she continued waving Blaise off, savoring this precious feeling of happiness.

~​

"You're letting them off the hook?! WHO ARE YOU?!" an infinitely less happy Typhlosion could be heard roaring throughout a distant cave base upon receiving some unsavoury news several hours later in Zeninthia's room, having only just emerged from his frustrated solitude. "I can't believe you're doing NOTHING! That whelp humiliated me! I won't let him GET AWAY WITH IT! I WANT HIM TO BURN!" he savagely howled.

Most displeased by his loud interruption, the Umbreon threw Ignephra a steely glare to silence the outgoing tantrum. Of course, she acknowledged, he wasn't going to be on board with the shift away from Team Celeste. His outburst was to be expected. "That 'whelp', my friend, is sharp. Perhaps much more than all of your human victims. Are you aware yet that he's made a connection between your attack and those made by Reishi and Hebyacel? He knows that you three and Derkomai are working together."

That discovery effectively shut him up. "W-wait, seriously?" he blurted in a quieter tone which still held a growling undercurrent. "Unbelievable. One filthy human manages to slip out of my grasp and now this happens? What I wouldn't give to march into the home of his fellow human tonight and... and make him pay with her life...!" the pyromaniac furiously muttered, looking as though he would gleefully do just that if given the command.

Such a command seemed unlikely to be given at this time though. "I understand that. Trust me, I'm annoyed too." Zeninthia smoothly spoke, not at all looking like it. "The problem with this action, as you ought to know, is that her disappearance wouldn't go unnoticed. The Ninetales uproar was our best shot because almost everyone shared our aim to have the girl and her associates removed." she recalled. "When another safe time comes, I assure you, we will be back on their heads."

"Besides, I think you'll be pleased with our new target." she suddenly continued, recalling some juicy information from Rubix about said target. "Those two, well... they mean nothing more to you than the average human filth he once had to endure..." she trailed off, recalling those distant days when she befriended the abused outcast who would go on to form Deuvide. "With Gengar, however, there's your personal grudge, and it just so happens that while you shut yourself away, Androma heard him hiding close to her while she attended some meeting in the square. The moment he leaves the area, you can chase after what you desire. He can be all yours."

Ignephra couldn't help but crack a vicious grin. Zeninthia was right; Flutter and Szaer and all those other humans whom somehow found their way into this world were just that: Prey to his predator role. They had yet to earn his greater, concentrated rage. Gengar, however, was a whole other ball game, the first time he had a reason beyond what the individual once was. "Thank you for trusting me with this in spite of my failure, Zeninthia. I won't let you two down this time. For targeting one of our own, I'll make sure the stunted degenerate pays with his life."

Should this go well enough, he privately thought, his wounded pride would assuredly make a record recovery.
 
Chapter 15: Earth Power
Rated TEEN for moderate violence

For the very first time in what she thought to be an eternity, the recently recovered Togepi had awoken from her silent slumber in that bizarre dream landscape. Also for the very first time in what she thought to be an eternity, the sight of that rippling green glow as far as the eye could see didn't send her into a paroxysm of fright.

"Ok, so I'm here again." she muttered. "Maybe Gardevoir was waiting for me to get better too?" Flutter continued to talk to herself in this endless expanse before a body began to fade into view. This couldn't be Gardevoir though, she quickly came to realise. She was transparent and spectral while this individual appeared to have a solid form.

Flutter absolutely couldn't believe her eyes. "What? Is that really you, Szaer?"

Astonishingly, she had been joined in this experience by Szaer, who looked just as confused as her once he woke up to her voice. "Flutter?! Are we... actually sharing this same dream here?!" he gasped in shock, springing to his feet at once and glancing around for some explanation. "This never happened last time I had such a dream, before I met Articuno."

In a desperate attempt to confirm this, he looked down at Flutter and put a paw on her tallest head spike, feeling his heart rate go up a tad after indeed touching something solid. "Um... You're definitely not some vision then. In that case... Gardevoir? Can you tell us what's going on?" Szaer called out at nothing.

Or so it appeared, as the Gardevoir who had frequently visited them in such dreams soon materialised in her usual spectral image. Flutter made a silent and spontaneous gulp; their last few encounters had been deeply disconcerting for her due to their dreadful timing. Nonetheless, she held firm and steady this time. "G-Gardevoir..." Flutter spoke in a hushed tone, finding her words a challenge to string together. "There's so much I need to ask you, so much I need to know. Why do you keep appearing to us in our dreams?" she asked. If nothing else, she wanted to have the answer to that one burning question.

"I am... an agent of spirits. It is my role to watch over you both and instruct you in your paths."

"I see..." Szaer mumbled as he looked down, quite abashed now that he finally knew. "And here I'd been shutting you out all this time. Not once did I think to ask for your intentions... I'm sorry for being such a massive pain."

"That is alright. It's unfortunate that you felt forced to grow so calloused in such a short space of time, but I'm again pleased to see that you've survived and met Flutter. You two humans were close to each other before becoming Pokémon."

This threw them both for a loop. "What?! We were actually friends back then?!" Szaer exclaimed, but Flutter was also still eager to get answers. The more she could discover about their real reasons for existing here, the sooner she could breathe freely. "So, agent of spirits?" Flutter queried.

"Yes. This is the fate I was subjected to after falling under Ninetales's thousand year curse in the place of my trainer. My physical self has become sealed away in a location known only by Ninetales herself and I am now a disembodied presence without any earthly form."

"The curse... For a thousand years, just like the legend described... It's truly awful what your trainer did, abandoning you after what you'd done for them." Flutter told her, feeling nothing but sympathy for the spirit now that she knew the trainer in question wasn't her. Szaer simply nodded, Flutter having said exactly what he thought. Just as he thought with Flutter during that Ninetales fiasco, Gardevoir was similarly undeserving of the fate levied upon her.

"My trainer... yes, he was a terrible person. Very mean and dishonest to all those around him. He truly wasn't a very nice human, but... I don't hate him."

Flutter, to put it simply, couldn't come to understand her point. "Uh, what? You don't hate someone like that, after he ran off and left you to take his place?" she spoke in shock. "Why? I never would have done that to you, ever. The worst part about thinking I was the human was thinking I threw away such a caring and loyal partner." she confessed. Whoever and wherever this trainer is, whatever Pokémon species he'd now become, Flutter considered them to be astoundingly lucky for Gardevoir's lack of hard feelings.

"You are far too kind, Flutter. I am sorry that you had to bear that dark weight in your heart. I do regret how those events transpired for the both of you."

"I-It's ok, now that everything about that legend is resolved and behind us. Flutter is back to her old self now and I've honestly never felt as happy for my position." Szaer abruptly responded. "Why don't you hate him though?" he asked that question too. Now that he had the capability to think about that human as a separate entity from himself and Flutter, Szaer was beginning to question whether they really were as quick to flee as the legend's wording described. At the least, he wanted a direct account from the cursed being first before going too far into speculation.

"I... don't actually know why. It's something I occasionally ponder. I guess... Underneath his negative characteristics, there were a handful of good traits deep inside. Regardless of the reason, I was desperate beyond measure to protect him from Ninetales when it happened."

"Desperate to protect a trainer like that? I suppose I could trust your judgement of him since this was your trainer. You knew him much better than any of us ever will..." Szaer recognised as he trailed off in wonder, slowly yet surely reaching the same page as her. "Being as few as they were, maybe those good parts to him meant a lot more to you than they normally would, right?" he asked Gardevoir. "Enough to counterbalance his many flaws? It must have been the deeply concealed side to him that only you were aware of."

"Us Gardevoir are simply like that too. No matter how we feel about our trainers, even if they perform bad deeds, we always have a compulsion to protect them during times of mortal danger. It is in our nature. I saved him from bearing this fate, that knowledge alone was enough to bring me great joy..."

"I think I can understand your side of it a little more now, if it's merely second nature to your species. Protecting them to your last breath... I can't believe it's never occurred to me just how incredible Gardevoir are..." Szaer remarked in completely honest admiration. "I'd say any trainer would be fortunate to have one as a companion."

"I must also say that I honestly have no regrets about the form that I've now taken. I've been living on in this way with pride for my new role. You don't need to feel despair for my sake."

Flutter felt rather gratified hearing Gardevoir say this. "Alright... If you're happy like this then I think I can be happy too." she spoke in a relieved tone before her briefly quenched thirst for answers subsequently reared its head again. "You said earlier that your role was to watch and guide us while we're here. Please, what's next for us? Why are we here? What is our role?" she gently demanded.

"All things in this world and the one that us three originate from, they have their own roles. Nothing in either world is without a purpose. Nothing is meaningless. I have my role, as do you both and your two teammates. Flutter, Szaeracier, both of you have a particular role to play. It is because of this role that the two of you were brought here and transformed from human to Pokémon-"

The pulses of these two former humans began to quicken. Finally, after all their experiences and struggles, they were about to discover the truth behind why they were in Pokémon form...

Before she or Szaer could hear more from their spirit guide, a powerful earthquake suddenly struck nearby and could suddenly be felt ravaging the area, abruptly waking both of them up with Gardevoir's last few words resonating within their hearts and minds. Peculiarly, they could see sparkling pink blots of energy resembling fireballs retreating into the dusk.

~​

Gardevoir and the dream sequence hadn't returned when Flutter quickly forced herself back to sleep afterwards, which left her deeply agitated once Szaer came around to wake her up shortly before dawn. Feeling as though this might help her calm down a little bit, she accepted his offer to watch the sunrise together while they discussed what they'd learned so far.

"I'm still trying to digest the entire thing myself." Szaer soon admitted while they sat next to each other beside their mailbox. "I've randomly met up with a friend of mine from the human world, and even without our past memories influencing us, we ended up becoming friends once again. That's absolutely incredible." he softly remarked before the sun broke through the horizon and began casting them in its glare. "How are you feeling?" Szaer asked her.

"I'm alright now. I was really frustrated and upset that we got interrupted by that earthquake right before Gardevoir could finally tell us everything, but spending this time with you has helped me feel better about the whole thing. There's always the next night." she responded, happy to have had this moment of thought and reflection, the chance to reorganize her ransacked mind for the day ahead.

Sharing it with someone who genuinely cared, she recognized, made this even more effective. "Thanks for stopping by. I'm really glad that I can be honest and talk about all of this human stuff with you three, you know? It does mean a whole lot." Flutter spoke with a sweet little smile.

As it turned out, she truly did need the moment, as Bellsprout came dashing towards them from the square's direction with a mix of fright and urgency evident in his request for them to "see what's happened". The duo quickly heeded said request and hurried over there after him, where they were met with a most distressing sight at the middle of a tense gathering.

"No... no way...! Blastoise and the others went down?!" Szaer exclaimed in abject shock, unable to comprehend the catastrophic scene. He had been so certain that this would work.

There, in front of him and Flutter, were the feebly stirring forms of Shiftry's assigned 'best of the best' team: Blastoise, Octillery, and Golem, newly returned by a benevolent trio of Braviary who happened to have been passing by when the rescuers crawled their way out of the cavern dungeon. "I-I'm afraid so, Szaeracier. Our special team couldn't clear the dungeon. It seems the task is far more difficult than I envisioned; Blastoise just told me that they never even reached Groudon at all..." Shiftry confessed, willing for all of this to be a simple bad dream. An ominous mood was settling in amongst every Pokémon present, which the newly arriving Terack and Kyan couldn't when but notice when they joined the scene and edged their way towards Flutter and Szaer.

"You're telling me you all expected anything more?! Keh, what a riot!" spoke the voice of Flutter's least favourite person in the whole world, who had also joined the gathering.

On cue, Gengar pushed his way through to the middle of the group to get a good look at this, the very sight of him immediately souring Flutter's mood yet again after his last stunt at the expense of her and the team. "This is what happens when you try and challenge such insane odds, everyone! Your attempt was doomed before it even began!"

Szaer was about to retaliate, but Flutter cut him off in a startlingly ferocious manner, one which could be considered jarringly out of character if her negative history with Gengar hadn't already been made crystal clear. "Not now! You stay out of this, we're trying to save Alakazam's team here! Don't you dare go telling us what to do!" she furiously shot back, drawing glances from many. Gengar wasn't very pleased to see her confront him yet again, the Togepi who destroyed his team and aspirations of world domination. The Sneasel quietly decided to let Flutter deal with the persistent critic this time around now that she had the energy and fire back within her.

"...Flutter, you never learn. It's that kind of stubbornness and refusal to see limitations which will lead you to your end someday-" he retorted specifically to her before continuing with a raised voice for everyone to hear. "-and that goes for all of you as well! Face facts and give it up because there are no prizes for trying! You're all literally attempting the impossible! Can you honestly say that your lives are worth staking so freely?!" he continued loudly. Entirely thanks to the defeat of their trio, panic, doubt, and hysteria were quickly prominent throughout every other Pokémon listening aside from Team Celeste's members.

Hearing statements of "E-even our leader Blastoise went down..." from Team Hydro's shaken Feraligatr and an "I can't do it, the fire would ruin me..." from a terrified Leavanny was bad enough for Flutter, but what sealed this for her was Shiftry's declaration of "My fans would burn up... we can't pull this off." on top and Gengar's jubilant nasty grin at her.

This couldn't stand. She beckoned her teammates over for a discussion. "Everyone..." she muttered with a deep fury burning away in her chest. "I can't l-let this happen again... When he tried to talk everyone into following his lead last time, I froze up and did nothing... No more. I won't be silenced this time, n-never." she breathlessly exclaimed in a heated voice, the resolve exuding from her words being painfully obvious.

"I can tell by that look on your face that you want to try and rescue Team A.C.T. yourself." Szaer stated. "You know you can count me in, friend. I've got your back." he assured her. To Flutter's joy, Terack also decided to accompany her and even Kyan's fear of fire didn't stop him from voicing his support.

"You three are amazing." she responded with a glistening gaze at them all, looking deeply touched by their choices. "Hey Kyan, can you come down so I can get on top of you? I need to stop everyone from throwing away their self-confidence like I did." the Togepi requested with passion brimming in her eyes. It was actually quite inspiring, Szaer thought, how she was beginning to draw upon these past experiences as a sort of motivation rather than bury the entire event. That, he thought, was true courage.

The final result of Gengar's attempt to break her down was now clearly apparent: It had produced the opposite reaction, Flutter hadn't felt this level of drive and determination since facing down the legendary Zapdos.

She got on top of Kyan as the Metang carried her above this wayward crowd. Unknowingly imitating Shiftry's throat clearing from the last meeting once they were high enough for everyone to see, she began to talk. "Hey, everyone!" Flutter called out loudly enough as all eyes turned towards her. "We're going! My Team Celeste will go and rescue Alakazam's team!" Gengar was supremely irritated at the sight and sound of this while murmurs spread around the assembled teams.

"I feel like I should know that Pokémon speaking up there. They seem familiar." one voice, a Jolteon, could be heard saying nearby.

"Are you new to these parts?" a Hippowdon next to them asked. "That there is Flutter, leader of Team Celeste. She and her teammates have gotten rather well known here recently. Word is that they reached Gold Rank two days ago." they replied.

Hearing that whisper really did strike a nerve in Gengar. "Impossible, how did those chumps get the Gold Rank...!?" he ruefully hissed to himself, feeling a sense of humiliation sink in. Learning that they were now equal in rank to the defunct Team Meanies was akin to plunging a second knife into his diminishing pride.

"Wait, Flutter? That same Togepi everyone chased out over a misunderstanding? I remember now, the human girl who got caught up in the Ninetales legend." Gengar could just die from embarrassment at the mention of the payback scheme that backfired explosively and cost him everything.

"I read in that paper how she and her whole team fled beyond Mt. Blaze and disappeared into the Frozen Reaches until they encountered Ninetales. Goodness knows how they survived in that kind of horrific landscape for so long without succumbing to the cold. It really is a nightmare out there." a Tropius close to them recalled. Of course, Terack remembered how sickly she had been by the time they reached Mt. Freeze. It was unbelievable that the same creature was presently about to make a speech above them.

"Can she really pull this off? I heard that she ended up taken unwell for a few days after everything got cleared up..." one Pokémon added in concern. Flutter heard this and was quietly touched by the sporadic concern of one who may well have seen her as a danger to the world less than a week ago.

"I've recovered completely now!" she called in response to the last one. "I admit that this isn't going to be easy. Yes, we could be in over our heads here, but... how can anyone seriously claim that a task is impossible if they never attempt it at all?" Flutter emotionally insisted, pouring her experiences into her words. She and her teammates had already accomplished the seemingly impossible task of saving a much more experienced rescuer from the clutches of a legendary class Pokémon, the former human recalled. The Togepi had accepted that it would certainly be far more difficult this time around but the thought didn't dissuade her in the least. Nothing really could at this point.

"Would Team A.C.T. give up on anyone here if you got yourselves trapped underground? After seeing how far they chased me back then, I definitely believe they would try again and again and again until you were safe! I believe we ought to follow by their example and keep trying too, however long it takes! We can't just throw away our pride and confidence now!" she continued, all of these words seamlessly flowing out of her mouth as though she had spent countless days and nights rehearsing this speech.

While Terack watched her try to rally every scared individual here with adoration present in his eyes. Szaer simply marveled at how far she'd come as a rescuer, nay, as a Pokémon, since they first met in the Sinister Woods, In a way, Flutter was evolving in front of everyone, from this novice who quickly folded to Gengar's team in an battle of moves into a beacon of confidence who was demolishing him in a battle of words. Meanwhile, Gengar himself was looking more and more furious with each impassioned letter.

"It isn't just them who kept going either, we never gave up too! No matter how bad things got out in those frozen lands, no matter how tired and unwell I got, we at Team Celeste still made it all the way to Ninetales's home and I promise that we'll bring that same strength with us while on this task! We will save Alakazam's team for you!" Flutter finished on a high note to a rapidly growing session of applause.

Gengar had now been embarrassed and shown up in the square by her indomitable spirit two times too much for his liking. It was all becoming a little overwhelming for him, he had never felt this annoyed and frustrated by a single Pokémon. "Keh!! For once in your life, put up, shut up, and wise up!!" he practically roared at his nemesis. While Szaer swiftly shot him the most frigid of glares, Flutter had nothing more to spare for Team Celeste's long-term adversary. His petty rebuttals just weren't worth rising to, she decided.

"I think that's enough from you for one day. I happen to agree with that girl." Blastoise suddenly said as he and the other two rescuers finally pushed themselves back upright, all three of them having taken in every word of her motivational speech. "This is only one failure. Nothing ever stops us from trying again. You can knock and smack around a good rescuer as much as you want but a good rescuer always, always bounces back from their defeats." he insisted, clenching both fists hard and appearing invigorated. "She understands what it means to be part of a rescue team; the sort of commitment we make to others. Whether you like it or not, 'attempting the impossible' happens to be part of our job." Blastoise stated strongly towards Gengar.

"O-of course. We mustn't give up now... We can't give up when another Pokémon needs our help. She's finally helped me understand the duty we all take..." Shiftry reflected towards the approving trio of rescuers, but mostly to himself. It was the epiphany he sorely needed.

"I-I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking straight." one Pokémon admitted to their partner. "I was just scared of what laid ahead of us..."

"We can't give up... It's just like she said, Alakazam wouldn't be losing his head at a time like this." someone else replied.

Shortly afterwards, an approving buzz of discussion took hold of the teams and square townspeople, while Gengar finally lost his cool when he heard "Hmm... How could I have ever believed that the young human was dangerous to us all? It's probably the biggest mistake I've committed in my long rescuing career. Silly rumour..." being muttered by a nearby Bastiodon in the group. Hating how Flutter hadn't so much as looked at him during his final rant, as if he were below her attention, a deeply humiliated and embittered Gengar finally left the scene, silently swearing that this wasn't over.

"Thank you, kid." Blastoise spoke to Flutter as she and Kyan descended back to ground level. "You've stopped everyone here from throwing away their unity and pride in a time when we needed these things more than ever. I approve! Go out there and save Team A.C.T. for all of us! Show Groudon and that dungeon our true spirit as rescuers!" he declared to a hearty cheer.

Flutter and Kyan returned to their teammates as an excited and motivated discussion began to form all around them. "T-that was beautiful, pal. Speaking like that to all of these Pokémon so soon after getting better was really brave of you..." Terack mumbled.

"I agree absolutely. I couldn't be more proud of your growth." Szaer told her, arms folded. "How about we spend the rest of today on getting ready and set off fully rested tomorrow?" he questioned. "I know the level of Blastoise's abilities; we once teamed up to put out a forest fire. If he couldn't clear it with help then there's no question that this dungeon will be challenging."

"I see, that's a good plan." Flutter replied, that fire still crackling healthily away in her heart. "The more time we have to get ready, the better. Let's get started."

Having watched the gathering and Flutter's speech as part of the meeting, Androma headed off while the crowd dispersed and sent a call to Rubix as per usual. The holographic image of this Golduck formed from her device. "Dr. Rubix, Gengar has just left north from Pokémon Square. He'd arrived to insult and degrade their attempts to rescue Team A.C.T. but Flutter shut him down entirely with a... very moving speech." she informed him. It was a moment she would never forget, seeing Flutter so thoroughly swat aside their shared adversary and tear him to smithereens.

In fact the Clefable envied Flutter's spontaneous courage, as she hadn't been able to muster up enough of that to tell her mentor how she really felt about this human. Rubix and the rest of Deuvide were still under the impression that the friendship with Flutter was faked for the purpose of relaying information. She simply feared how he might react to the truth since he was very important to her.

Most of all, she feared his rejection. Revealing to Rubix that she genuinely liked this human would involve admitting betrayal of what his superiors stood for. Androma couldn't bring herself to be honest with him yet.

"I see... I can't imagine Gengar being too ecstatic over being made a mockery yet again. Thank you for the report, we'll have Derkomai and Ignephra follow his trail from herein and see if he has some sort of hideout for us to smoke." Rubix remarked. "There is something I must impart upon you though." he added, to which Androma looked apprehensive and expectant. "You understand our situation full well by now but I want to remind you regardless; be careful around Szaeracier and don't give him any reason to suspect you. His little 'investigation' has caused inconveniences within Deuvide already. I'm depending on you to keep your cover intact, my girl." he implored.

The sooner that human relented, Rubix privately thought while Androma nodded and ended the call, the sooner they could get back to business. They just had to ride out this turbulence for the time being.

~​

"You and your companions take to that underground dungeon tomorrow, I believe?"

That night, Flutter and Szaer were once more met with Gardevoir in another one of these shared dreamscapes, just as they had both hoped. "Yeah, it's tomorrow. I know that I talked a good game up there but I am still a bit nervous. We've done all the preparations we can though." Flutter told her, attempting to soothe the butterflies.

"You'll have our full support in the dungeon, Flutter. I'll personally be pushing everything I've ever learned into this." Szaer said encouragingly.

"You have my support too, I'm certain that Team Celeste will find success in this task. Go onwards with courage."

She gave Gardevoir a smile. "Thank you for the encouragement, it does mean a lot." Flutter spoke happily before deciding to pursue their interrupted conversation from the previous night's dream. "So... About our roles? We were talking about them before that earthquake."

"Ah, I thought you'd want to be continuing this. Your role here, the role that brought you both into this world inhabited by Pokémon, is slowly but surely approaching its conclusion."

Flutter already regretted pursuing this topic, realising now that she was already pretty anxious without the thought of it dangling just out of her reach. "Coming to an end? But... what... why?" she sputtered desperately, trying to find the words. "I still don't understand what we're supposed to be achieving, or why we're both here at all! What is our role?! Why are we here?! Why did we become Pokémon?! Why don't we remember anything about being human?!" she suddenly and abruptly threw all of these questions out before noticing that Gardevoir's form appeared to be flickering in and out of existence like a dying lightbulb. "Are you ok?" Flutter finished.

"Hmm... It seems as though tonight wasn't an ideal time to stage our conversation; I am having difficulties maintaining this presence in your minds when you two already have your upcoming challenge tomorrow to think about. It's regrettable but we shall have to continue at another time..."

"You mean to say that there's not enough room for you right now?" Szaer recognised, imaging the scenario as a completely filled treasure chest which couldn't take any more loot. While Flutter was definitely downcast at this, he remained relatively calmer. "Alright. If it means you can hold your form for long enough to tell us everything in another dream, then I can wait until we get that underground rescue out of the way." he stated.

"By tomorrow evening, I believe you will already be able to make a firm guess as to why you exist here. Au revoir."

Both of them soon sank into a deep slumber as soon as Gardevoir's form flickered out, once more leaving Flutter under the care of Szaer when the next day dawned upon this world. "Morning, friend. How are you feeling?" he asked her while she woke up. "I know this must be frustrating for you, going yet another day without answers." the Sneasel added.

"It is. It really is." Flutter simply added, appearing significantly put out. "She says that we might be able to guess it by ourselves today, but I don't want to just guess. I want to know!" she pouted indignantly.

"Me too." Szaer spoke with a small sigh, indeed taking the situation much better. "For today though, it might be better for everyone else if we shelve our little problem. Saving Team A.C.T. is only going to become harder if you're too distracted." he insisted.

As Flutter ruefully agreed and followed him outside to await Terack and Kyan, Zeninthia took in their conversation from within Deuvide's base thanks to Rubix's concealed device. The Umbreon, now beginning to feel stressed and anxious as a result of Szaer's indomitable determination to lure them out, picked up on a usually trivial detail in this uninformative chat which deeply concerned her. As such, she sent a demand for Rubix to see her immediately and began pacing around her room to try and calm down.

"Good, you're here." she stated within a few moments of the Golduck's arrival, her attempt to cool off having been foiled by a suppressed yawn. "I'm aware how early it is, but I need to tell you something. I have just learned from a brief conversation between those two humans that they are close to discovering information of seemingly high value from a female individual." she reported, before suddenly throwing an odd glare his way. "As far as I'm aware, there is only one 'she' whom they could be in frequent discussions with." Zeninthia hissed.

This simply perplexed Rubix. He knew very well who Zeninthia was referring to, but felt confident beyond any reasonable doubt in Androma's trustworthiness. For the Umbreon to doubt that so suddenly; Rubix now knew something wasn't right with her. "With all due respect, I think you're letting the situation with Szaeracier cloud your judgement. Androma doesn't have it in her to turn against our objectives as long as I'm here. This could well be an innocent conversation." he insisted, one eye raised to express his confusion.

Hearing him out, she realised with a degree of surprise that she had indeed been leaping to such a hasty conclusion. "Y-yes, of course... I know that she admires and respects you so..." Zeninthia admitted. After that misstep, she knew the jig was up. "I suppose I should be honest with you... I'm not used to the kind of position we've found ourselves in. I put up a tough front when my recruits can see me, but the truth is that I find this situation nerve-wracking; knowing that one wrong move could expose us and jeopardise everything we three have worked towards. Especially now that the horrid human responsible for it has even got Ignephra on notice... Ggh, I hate that boy..." she confessed.

"I see." Rubix merely replied, recalling how alarmed he was by the news of the Black Ice suddenly joining Flutter and her company after giving off every indication that he had fallen for Gengar's tall-tale. It was an embarrassing experience, being so completely hoodwinked. "If it helps at all, I'd like to take on whatever duties you need to perform until everything eases up." he suddenly offered. "Have a well-earned rest, go and spend some quiet moments with our lord, do what it takes to get the human off your mind while I take control of the problem. I've learned from my mistake. I won't underestimate Flutter or her cohorts a second time." the Golduck confidently declared.

This was tempting, and she couldn't deny now that she needed a break. "Mmm, if you're really offering to fill in for me then I suppose I won't stop you. Thanks, but... don't you dare make me regret this. Are we clear?" Zeninthia spoke with a bit of her usual commanding tone.

"We're clear. We're absolutely clear." Rubix solemnly affirmed. "I'll set this right for you, somehow."

~​

After following Blastoise's directions towards the Magma Cavern and going a few floors, this subterranean dungeon was already Kyan's most hated place in the whole entire world. He was making it an active goal to avoid battling Fire types like Magmar for fear of being caught by their Flame Body ability until he saw Szaer beating down a Magcargo later on with a string of Power-Up Punch hits as though he weren't also weak to Fire. Resolving to help the team better, he went to defeat a Grimer with Zen Headbutt after Flutter's Foresight negated the Poison type's Minimize.

Between Dig, Rock Slide, and Superpower, Terack was delivering super effective hits to nearly all of the dungeon's inhabitants and was thus having the easiest time out of the foursome. Szaer was also holding up well despite his more disadvantageous typing while Flutter's Solar Beam was proving useful against Pokémon such as Graveler, Golem, Rhydon, and even an Onix once Szaer stepped in to carry her away from an incoming Iron Tail as she charged up the blast of light.

Following a quick breather some significant distance later Szaer judged it safe to do so, the team strode deeper onwards with renewed vigour and strength, triumphing over a pack of Onix followed by two aggressive Steelix before arriving at a long and very warm corridor with visible signs of a ferocious battle having taken place here; scratches in the cavern walls and even large chunks blown out of them. Nobody else was in this area, except for...

"Guys, look!" Flutter suddenly spoke in a stunned and shaken manner, grabbing Szaer's paw without really noticing. "I see Charizard and Tyranitar over there..." Acting quickly, the team ran over to the pair of battered and beaten seniors, both laying on the ground and still reeling from their defeat.

Likewise, these two were shocked to see the Team Celeste quartet here. "Y-you four? How did... how did you find this place?!" Tyranitar asked them as Flutter approached his prone form with a couple of Oran Berries to remedy the general fatigue and aches, Szaer doing the same for Charizard.

"The short version is that everyone started to worry about your team when you didn't return quickly." Szaer responded. "Shiftry put together an elite trio of rescuers to check in on the Groudon situation, but once they returned unsuccessful, well... Flutter was adamant on going; consequences be damned." he explained. "I'm glad we found you both. Though..." Szaer soon trailed off, staring further forwards with a hard look in his eyes. "Did Alakazam go on ahead? None of us saw him anywhere on the way here."

"Hah... If you think Flutter's got spunk when pushed, then you should see our leader Alakazam. He gradually began whittling away at Groudon's stamina after we were crushed; eventually forcing the fight away from us." Charizard recounted. "Only thing is, we don't know what's happened to either of them now. There's only s-so long that anyone can last against a Legendary Pokémon... Agh, this wing!"

Indeed, one of Charizard's wings was still hurting badly from being struck by a direct Stone Edge rather early on. Tyranitar was in less of a bad state than his teammate thanks to his Iron Defence and naturally tough body, but he too was in no position to resume battling for now; Oran Berries could only do so much. That just left...

"D-don't worry about me! I'm no stranger to taking Rock moves! This will heal!" Charizard reassured the group heatedly. "The four of you need to go ahead and aid Alakazam however you can! If our foe gets enough time to recover..."

"...then all your efforts here will have been for nothing." Kyan understood. "We'd better move on and help him out!" he called, heading further on with the rest of the team following. They soon arrived at a large and open room with magma pouring down from the walls into the vast pool below the floor. Flutter and Kyan were instantly spooked by the sight and Terack knew to not use Dig here.

In the middle of this blazingly hot room was Alakazam, locked in combat with a large red Pokémon that Team Celeste's members could only take to be Groudon himself, the sculptor of land. Both fighters were already worn out upon the team's arrival, but a clash of Psybeam and Solar Beam threw Alakazam towards the onlookers, finally unable to continue this.

The sight of Alakazam falling after what appeared to be an exceptionally long time prompted an icy stare from the Sneasel at Groudon, exasperated further by the Legendary Pokémon's exhausted panting. All of a sudden, they were now the last line of defence between a tired Groudon and the surface. "You're not getting a breather on my watch..." Szaer hissed. "No! You've got us to face next!" he spat forcefully with an icicle forming in his paws as he charged forwards into battle. He knew it was ridiculously reckless of him, but with their opponent evidently too angered to hear reason, Szaer really couldn't see any other way to pacify this mythological creature.

Even with the lengthy battle against Alakazam having worn him down a great deal, Groudon still had the endurance to fend off all four of Team Celeste. Szaer was soon forced to fall back after two Icicle Crash hits produced no visible effect, while Flutter's own Solar Beam, despite also becoming an instant-fire move by the ball of sunlight previously formed by the Drought ability, was simply being overpowered and consumed by Groudon's much larger version.

While his Eruption wasn't actually all that powerful in comparison due to the move becoming weaker alongside its user, it still left puddles of lava scattered around the room which served to greatly hinder the mobility of the three ground-bound Pokémon, especially with Precipice Blades and Stone Edge both producing various gaping holes in the floor with every use. The arena itself was fast becoming hazardous.

After several relatively ineffective rounds of Rock Slide, Terack was soon having serious problems and had to be once again saved by Kyan, who before now had been dishing out a careful series of Bullet Punch blows, from a Legendary Pokémon's oncoming Solar Beam. While Groudon attempted to swat them out of the sky with a series of sharp rocks from Stone Edge, Flutter took full advantage of the distraction to blast Groudon right in the face with her super-effective beam of sunlight.

Similarly taking the opportunity, Szaer leapt back into action over the Precipice Blades and Stone Edge holes to hit with a double-fisted Power-Up Punch and then an Icicle Crash to the gut in succession; this series of four consecutive hits from the former humans finally eliciting a roar of pain.

Said roar of pain quickly morphed into a roar of rage before Szaer could back off, and he would pay the price in spades. Without warning, a lava-tipped stalagmite from Precipice Blades tore upwards to deliver a destructive blow which knocked him flying, to Flutter's horror. Even worse, a sharp pain in his left arm prevented her fellow former human from retaliating with Payback as usual. Kyan ultimately caught him with Telekinesis before carefully placing him next to Terack but the damage had been done; he appeared to be great pain and was forcing himself to not pass out from it.

It was a credit to her recently developed toughness and fortitude that Flutter didn't deteriorate into a complete state of blind terror, although something about this turn of events had visibly shaken her regardless. The Togepi's sole response was to launch yet another Solar Beam which Groudon again began to power through with his own one. It was only a matter of time...

...for a straining Szaer, adamantly refusing to let Groudon get away with the last hit, to point his good arm at their foe and tag him with Spite's thin black beam.

The tables suddenly turned: Groudon's Solar Beam fizzled out and left him wide open to Flutter's attack. Noticing the intervention that led to her shot connecting, she put all of her remaining energy into making this one move last as long as she could possibly manage. After seeing what had just happened to one of her teammates and closest friends, Flutter similarly refused to let this ongoing attack be shrugged off like most of their earlier ones. No, she wanted this to be the move that ended the bout before Terack and Kyan also got hurt. Nothing short of complete and total success was sought.

Eventually, after what felt like ten minutes to her, Flutter's deeply desired wish was granted; Groudon fell forwards against the floor when she finally couldn't maintain her continuous move. Needless to say, she was beyond relieved to see Groudon out cold and not moving.

"It's over... We... did it..." Flutter gasped as she toppled down to her hands, a small smile forming on her face when the overhanging ball of sunlight began fading away. "They're safe... he can't harm them..." she murmured weakly yet happily as, with blurring vision and a growing sense of tiredness, the victorious Togepi gave in and passed out.

~​

"Definitely don't do that again, alright? It looked amazing and we're all proud of you, but we were also seriously worried when you suddenly fainted. That was so reckless of you." Szaer later insisted, though inwardly admitting that he didn't have room to criticize her on this trait.

One Rescue Team Badge warp later, Terack and Kyan were quick to enlist Androma's help with their ailing teammates before Kyan went with Team A.C.T. towards the large gathering of rescuers awaiting their return. To the surprise of Terack, who had insisted upon staying with Flutter and Szaer, the two teams were sighted emerging into the natural evening sunlight by some Pelipper from the post office who then began spreading the word. Someone had to show up alongside Alakazam and the others in that case, the Metang had reasoned.

"You're right. I'm sorry for scaring you two and Kyan. I just..." she apologised, sighing, thinking back on that moment. "When you got hurt like that, it suddenly reminded me how dangerous our mission was. One of you could have fallen in those pits of lava at some point. I d-didn't want to lose any of you guys down there, so I pushed everything I had into my move to try and defeat him quickly. The three of you are just that important t-to me..." she confessed, misty-eyed but still refusing to cry.

According to Androma, Szaer was lucky to have walked away from the encounter without a broken bone in that arm; a huge relief for him. The injury he did receive was still painful regardless, so the Clefable had bandaged and put it into a sling with the insistence that he stay out of rescue work until it healed, however long it may take. This bothered him; he had powered through worse in the past and was sure the break was unnecessary. Flutter was better off in comparison; Androma noted that this wasn't as bad as the fugitive run's aftermath and simply recommended a good night's rest in her case, although she too had lightly chastised her for scaring everyone again.

Throughout all of this, Androma's growing doubts were strengthening. These two humans clearly meant no ill intentions towards this world, but Deuvide's leader frequently insisted that "humans are cruel, soulless sub-beings who only bring you tragedy and despair". Gengar had reinforced the quote with his actions, but now she was forced to seriously wonder several things... Was Gengar simply the lone bad egg? Were Szaer and Flutter rare examples of actually decent humans? Is it even correct at all to generalize the human species in such a way?

Someday, when she felt able to, Androma decided that she would confront Rubix over her mental dilemma. She knew it couldn't and shouldn't be put off forever.

"Whatever happened, I'm really just glad that it's all over. Alakazam did also say that Groudon would calm down soon." Terack reiterated. "I have a feeling things might get-"

"Calling all Pokémon!"

"-better for everyone... Uh, did any of you just hear something?" he muttered, looking around for the source of this sudden voice. It sounded somewhat familiar to the Trapinch but he couldn't quite put a finger on who it was.

"Calling all Pokémon!"

"It's definitely not in your head. I heard that too. Whomever it is though, I have no idea." Szaer replied, getting up from his seating position and looking outside. "There's nobody here, how odd..."

For Flutter, who once had this same voice as one of those haunting her conscience, it was an easy guess to make. "That's... that's Xatu!" she blurted out, all lingering fatigue forgotten as she got to her feet.

"You mean the Xatu from the Hill of the Ancients? Then he must be using telepathy to tell us something." Androma added. She knew what telepathy was despite being incapable of it herself, as Rubix had also used this method of communication sometimes, primarily when he wanted to be discreet with her in populated places like towns. "Everyone at the square must surely be hearing him too. I think we should go there and see what's going on."

And so, they moved out to join the gathering that had been, until a few moments ago, a joyous celebration. On the way to join those present, Xatu's telepathic warning continued with an announcement of the ultimate natural disaster, greater than any other; a giant meteor which was on course to strike the planet. According to him, this approaching meteorite was the cause of everything; from the unbalancing of nature itself, to the heightened frequently of natural disasters and calamities, and ultimately the dreaded unthinkable that so terrified him and everyone.

Soon enough, Flutter and Szaer had caught on to Gardevoir's parting hint of last night. This was it; their reason for existing here. Everything was finally clear to them.

Once the group of four arrived, Alakazam had begun telepathically speaking back to Xatu on the behalf of everyone else "Xatu! Tell us, is there any way that this future you've seen can be averted?!" Alakazam immediately asked.

"There is but only one possible solution. Rayquaza."

Many of the Pokémon here looked puzzled, including the Team Celeste quartet. "Rayquaza? You mean that...?" Alakazam asked the question they all had.

"Yes, the Legendary Pokémon whom resides in the skies, far above us all. This creature once halted a cataclysmic bout battle between Groudon and Kyogre and has previously saved this planet from another falling meteorite."

"Then that's the plan; we somehow need to make contact with Rayquaza and request its help." Alakazam decided. "How should someone go about reaching its domain though? That tower of clouds is supposedly beyond the reach of even Flying types."

"This is where you come in, Alakazam. With our combined mastery of the move Teleport, I can create an object capable of sending some Pokémon up there-"

"We'll go, we'll do it!" Terack decided without a moment of hesitation, unable to stay silent any longer. His three teammates, particularly Flutter and Szaer, added in their agreement to this course of action, the latter completely ignoring Androma's disapproving look.

Alakazam also had his reservations about him. "Hmm. I'm not questioning your strength, Szaeracier, but are you certain you're ready to take this task? You didn't come out from the fight with Groudon unscathed." he motioned with a look at his arm.

"Oh, this thing?" Szaer asked in a blasé manner, as if unaware of the injury. "Trust me, it's absolutely nothing next to what I went through up north in my harsher moments, all those days ago. No little scratch has stopped the Black Ice from turning up whenever he saw someone in need of help, and there's not a chance I'm going to let this stop me here." he coolly responded. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine."

"Yes, I knew that would be your response. Team Celeste, this is Xatu. Alakazam and I shall meet up and begin preparations for tomorrow, where we shall transport you to the sky. Please ensure that the four of you get plenty of rest before then."

Xatu's telepathy ended there as discussions started amongst the crowd. "Team... let's prepare for that big day" Flutter decided.

~​

Much later, Flutter found herself immersed within another dream. It wasn't the dream she had been so desperately awaiting however; the one where Gardevoir would finally tell her and Szaer everything they wanted to know.

What she saw in front of her was much, much different from her desire. Instead of a scene where the human turned Togepi could hear the truth about herself, the scene was that of soul-crushing terror. It was a scene in which the fate she recently wore herself into unconsciousness to avert was now playing out in all its nightmarish glory.

She and her teammates were back in Groudon's domain, fighting the beast at his full strength. To call it fighting was a massive stretch of the truth though. What was really happening was nothing more than a total defeat, where the mythological beast of land was viciously and mercilessly stomping Flutter's three closest friends into the ground... through the ground, to a sure end.

"No! NO!!" Flutter cried out at the horrific sight unfolding before her already tear-filled eyes. She made to run towards this hole in a desperate yet obviously futile attempt to save them, only for someone to grab her by an arm and drag her backwards.

"It's too late! Go! Someone's got to make it back and share the bad news, keh!"

At this, she sent a Drought-fuelled Solar Beam at this unknown offender without so much as a warning. Flutter was past caring who she had just struck. Friend or foe, it hardly mattered to her anymore. Nothing mattered now that she had lost all three of them...

Said offender turned out to be Gengar, who took her move without flinching or even moving at all. "Keh, now do you get the point?! I told you!" he called out with the grin to end all grins. "I told you and all of those idiots that you were attempting the impossible, didn't I?! Your good pals could have stayed home and avoided this fate if you weren't so impossibly stubborn!!"

And then it hit her hard enough to devastate her very soul: He had a point, she could have insisted that her teammates keep out of the issue and left for here by herself. If Terack, Kyan, and Szaer were really so important to her, doing such would make sense. They would have been safe from this danger.

"They're gone, and there's already a tragedy on its own for you!" Gengar continued to insist. "You know what's the worst part about it though?! You're entirely responsible!! You have nobody to blame but yourself!! IT'S ALL YOUR FAU-"

"S-SHUT UP! I DON'T NEED TO HEAR THIS FROM YOU!!" she shrieked in complete denial and despair, launching a furious blast of blue electricity at him with Shock Wave. It met Gengar's purple Shadow Ball at close range and was totally obliterated but the impact sent his move off course, where it did something even worse than crash into her.

It struck Groudon in the face and knocked him out cold in a single blow. Flutter couldn't even hear her cry of mixed shock and terror over the creature's collapse. For the first time since being forced on the run, she felt totally helpless against Gengar. What could she possibly do against a power capable of felling this Legendary Pokémon in one shot?

This was what her Ghost type enemy wanted to see, as he was actually standing over her bed in the real world and forcing Flutter to live out some of her worst fears with Nightmare. Trapped in her own head and sporting a virulent black outline around her from his move, Flutter's physical self could do little more than profusely shudder and sweat while her heart was behaving as though she were running several marathons.

Additionally, he was utilising his Dream Eater to peer into the scene himself, eager to watch as the mental torment went on and on. "Flutter... You have no idea how much I despise you right now. After we met, you and your spirit have been foiling me at every turn. Team Meanies is dead now, thanks to you, and I will never forgive you for staying so... strong." Gengar told her. "You've destroyed everything I had... and now I'm showing you exactly how that feels. Kekeh, isn't it horrible?"

He didn't care if this torture was too much for her psyche to handle. In fact, it would be a bonus if she were to emerge from this night as a completely broken bird. That way, she couldn't possibly bring him any further bother.

Before he could amplify his Nightmare to further her agony, it suddenly gave out with the arrival of several sparkling pink fireballs which settled into a circular orbit around Flutter. As the black outline around her faded out, and her body settled down, the nightmare sequence completely crumbled away to reveal the rippling green background she was more familiar with. Feeling a mix of annoyance and curiosity, Gengar opted to hang around and continue watching with Dream Eater, finding this oddity most peculiar.

In this new dream, Flutter simply stood stock-still for a few seconds before dissolving into a tearful mess there and then; the events of that nightmare were still flashing before her eyes. At least she knew it wasn't real now, but the fact didn't make it less frightful.

"Oh, good! I was worried when you weren't appearing with m-" she heard Szaer start to say, whom she hadn't noticed was here in her fitful state. "-wait, what's wrong? Are you ok there?" he spoke, approaching her cautiously. Truth be told, he wasn't sure what to do in the event of an openly crying Flutter; such a thing was a rarity nowadays.

She ultimately made the move for him, flinging herself towards his chest with such force that he was nearly bowled over. "Oh thank g-goodness you're alright!! I j-just had this horrible nightmare when... I don't want to say!!" she sobbed, feeling no semblance of shame for doing such in their shared dream instead of reality.

"I think I w-was getting nervous and a little worried for you three over another dangerous journey tomorrow... but I'll be ok if you're all careful." she reasoned after a minute or two of calming down. Dreams were just that: dreams. So long as everything went their way, she hoped, there would be no instances of déjà vu.

Gardevoir then appeared to them after Flutter brushed away her tears. "Alright. Gardevoir, will you tell us now? Why are we both here?" Szaer asked. He was aching to know what she knew about them. Meanwhile, Gengar was shocked to the very core of his being by what he was discovering. He didn't know that Szaer was also human, nor could he have expected to see his Gardevoir in this dream.

"Of course. You have both earned this right, but there is something about yourselves I would like to firstly reveal."

"What would that be?" Flutter asked, not sure what to expect. The answer would blow her mind.

"Flutter and Szaeracier, you are much more than just simple friends. You two happen to be siblings."
 
Last edited:
Please note: The thread is from 5 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
Back
Top Bottom