"You'll help us herd the Pokemon, won't you, sweetie?" Bertha turns to her.

"I'll do my best!" Dawn says. There was no real reason to her being here, except that she insisted, and unlike a greater half of the workers here, she had her own team of Pokemon to protect herself.

Dawn hands her bag to her father.

"There's a very important egg inside it," she says. "Please take care of it."

"I will," her father promises. "You don't overachieve either, alright?"

She huffs. "I'm your daughter. Will I ever not?"

"...that's not very assuring, honey."

Dawn follows them down to the park. They've managed to evacuate all the Pokemon, barring those that have been captured. Team Galactic had an air cruise at the peak of one of the higher hills, and it seems they were retreating anytime now.

"Go easy," Caitlin warns her, holding onto Gallade's Poke Ball. "And Teleport away with your Abra when you're in danger."

"Understood, Milady!"

"...it feels weird to be referred to as such by someone younger than me. Call me Cailitn."

"Understood, Milady Caitlin!"

Caitlin proceeds to grab her by her cheeks and pull them apart in annoyance. "Are you testing your luck, Tina?"

They head in, splitting up almost immediately. With a nod, Gallade picks up Caitlin and Dawn in one movement, just as Darach and Bertha took a side each.

Lickilicky and Hippowdon unleashing a ground-shattering tremor upon the entire park.

There's a loud yell of panic as the grunts are thrown into disarray, getting on their knees and bracing for impact.

Dawn spots them before they spot her— a red-haired Commander, and a blue-haired Commander. She only recognizes one of them, the latter, that she's met in the Mansion. But she knows them both from Luce's journal.

Saturn spots her, and his face twists into anger. Mars' brim into joy. They leap onto a Magnezone, lifting off from the Earthquake, before releasing their next Pokemon.

"Bronzong!" Saturn commands, "Heavy Slam!"

"Yanmega, Bug Buzz!" Mars adds.

Dawn couldn't help but be in awe. The instant Earthquake was unleashed, they released Pokemon that were immune to it. They didn't need a moment, it was just the obvious next action to them.

That's how quickly an experienced trainer has to adapt to the situation.

"Tina, we're moving," Caitlin says.

"Ah— yes!"

Gallade sets them down, and Dawn quickly moves. Abra by her side, she rounds the long way around, following Gallade in the distance in slowly coming round to the captured Pokemon.

The grunts would be much easier to take out than the commanders.

"Bonsai! Leafage, please! Clifford, Magical Leaf!"

Turtwig, now a Grotle, bursts out of his Poke Ball, swarming the surroundings with leaves. Cleffa leaps in right after him, calling upon more leaves to cloud the area. Dawn dives right into it while the grunts are frazzled, coming to the first cage holding a Staryu.

"Steel cages— uh, Bonsai! Cut!"

One by one, she freed each Pokemon, letting Luxio lead them toward the exit. She turns around to see Abra teleporting a grunt away before he could lunge at her, only for Cleffa to jut out of the ground in a rapid Dig to sock him right in the chin.

She did not teach them to do that. But she won't question it.

Most of the Pokemon they'd snagged were related to space, in some form. Clefairy, Staryu... There were a few that she didn't recognize as well, Pokemon that looked like they were made of rocks in the shape of a sun, a moon, and even little stars.

She wanted to retrieve her Pokedex to check what it was, but she knew better.

"Like what you're seeing?"

She jumps.

Mars had come up to her somewhere between the battle, leaning over her as she inspected the locks on some of the rarer Pokemon. Dawn yelps, falling onto her bottom. Grotle snarls, winding back on them in alarm.

Further away, Darach was struggling, his Houndour finding difficulty against the Yanmega that was much too quick to combat. His Empoleon notices Dawn and jets forward to help her, but it's immediately shut down by an Electivire, thundering through with a bolt of finality.

Saturn raises his hand. "Bronzong, Rain Dance!"

Dawn's heart sinks.

They had two Pokemon each, and Saturn had his Toxicroak out. The Dry Skin ability meant that it recovered health with every minute it was in the rain.

Bertha, the Earth-type specialist, was ill-born for this weather condition. And since Mars had Electivire, Darach wasn't faring much better either.

"Return, Bronzong!" Saturn calls, and then he releases a Sharpedo.

This was a losing battle, and even Dawn could see that. The best thing to do now was to take the rain away from them. Sun would be ideal, since Darach has a Houndour, but none of them have that kind of liberty.

She puts her hands behind herself. Empoleon is collapsed a ways before her, burned from Thunder. The heavy rain makes it hard to see a further distance, but

Mars smiles, meek and innocent, and entirely unbothered by the battle happening behind her. "I know you! I know that thing," she says. "Do you know a boy, this tall, his scarf is red, he's meek and adorable and fun to bully? His name's Lucas, apparently"

Dawn sputters. "L- Luce warned me about you!"

She blooms. "You do! So you call him Luce? That's cute! I want to call him Luce too!" She puts her hands together. "So. Are you two dating or something?"

Dawn's face flushes red. "W- What?!" Does this lady have no sense of urgency?

"Aww," Mars coos. Dawn's blood freezes when a Zubat's wing inches upon her neck. "I wonder if you'll show me the same kind of panicked expressions, then?"

Bertha and Darach are tense, eyes narrowed furiously.

Dawn keeps her gaze firm. She holds out a hand, preventing her Pokemon from coming closer. Grotle looks at her fearfully, but Dawn knows that one wrong step and her neck goes.

"I'm okay," Dawn says. "Unlike my boys, I don't spook easily."

"Awh, what a shame," Mars whines. "I thought you'd be more interesting before I kill you."

Saturn frowns. "Stop messing around, Mars. If you're going to kill it, do it quickly."

"Oh, so I don't mess up like you did?" Mars laughs. "Don't worry. Unlike you, I don't let my prey escape. They only go if I let them."

Saturn clicks his tongue. "I'll kill you next."

"Try, Saturn, if you dare," she makes a face at him.

They fought so well together, and yet, they got along like oil and water. It was so strange...

Dawn looks up.

It's hard to tell, but the rain was starting to break. It's now or never. She clenches her eyes shut and shouts, over the rain, over the argument, and over the tension—

"ICE SHARD!"

The spikes of ice spurt forth, slicing through Zubat's free wing, splicing past her hair, and scraping part of her elbow before she curls up, allowing the rest to soar over her head right toward Mars.

Alarmed, Mars leaps back, Bronzong sliding over with Protect, but not before Ice Shard nails her in one thigh. She curses, returning to Saturn's side just as the rain lightens, thickens, and gives ways to hail.

"You're kidding!" Mars lifts her head.

"When did she—" Saturn whirls toward Dawn, only to find her scrambling to her feet, running toward the foliage, where a single Snover stood. "She had another Pokemon!"

Dawn reaches down for Snover just as Grotle and Cleffa catch up. Abra emerges with a wisp of Teleport— and with one more, they're all gone.

Mars and Saturn curses.

"I'll kill her next time," Mars hisses. "Mercilessly. With her fucking boyfriend."

"Shut the fuck up already," Saturn snarls. "This is your fault!"

"You act like I'm not literally saving your butt by letting you hide out in my mission!"

"Oh, like you're not in hot water now! Loser!"

"Dickhead!"

"Bitch!"

"Pay attention to us!" Darach declares, winding the tide of battle right back at them. "Empoleon, arise for one more!"

"On my count, dearie," Bertha chuckles, a Mamoswine already on field. "Un, deux—"

"Blizzard!"

-

Darach and Bertha stare upon the snowy avalanche they've caused.

"Did they get buried alive, I wonder..." Bertha sighs. "I wonder if we'll escape murder charges if we insist it was a product of self-defense."

"Rest assured. I have a really good lawyer," Darach says.

Meanwhile Caitlin, standing at the top of the hill by the still-open airship, sighs deeply. Her Gallade was carrying a bunch of Minior toward the other Pokemon, herding them to safety.

"You're lucky Earl got the captured Pokemon out in time," she says, loud enough for the two below to hear her and jolt in guilty conscience. "Do you two not know how to hold back?"

Bertha chuckles bashfully, "well, my old age is getting on me..."

Darach, however, is much more flustered, "Lady Caitlin... you are the last person allowed to criticize me on 'holding back' as a concept."

Caitlin crouches down, brooding.

"But those two commanders, they teleported away before the attack hit," she sighs, looking around. "They left all their grunts behind. How pitiful."

They didn't manage to catch the commanders again, but at least they thwarted the plans, secured one of their airships, and saved the day.

"Now, where has young Tina gone off to?"

Meanwhile, Dawn ends up in a heap in the meeting point, covered in Pokemon and half-laying on Grotle.

"...hey, Maverick," she says, turning to the grumpy Snover. "Uh. I didn't think you'd willingly come out of your Poke Ball. Thanks."

The Snover huffs at her. She chuckles.

She had originally only kept this little one for the purpose of giving him over to Luce, but she's glad he came in handy for this moment.

"Snow Warning is such a cool ability... though it took a while for the hail to overtake that heavy rain, as expected," she says, looking through the Pokedex now, in a heap and all. "I can't believe how useful this is. Barry would love you, especially since Admiral knows Blizzard, too."

Grotle was exhausted, so he just lay there, pillow as he was. Cleffa was also tired now, relieved, so he lay on Dawn's stomach to rest. Luxio, who had finally found her via scent trail, climbs all over her sobbing in relief. Snover broodily gets himself out, fails, and topples out like a wonky garden gnome. Abra puts him back on his feet.

"Right!" Dawn jerks up. "Are we done? Can we go around finding Pokedex data now?"

Cleffa whines, a disagreement. Abra agrees, tugging on the edge of Dawn's shirt in some half-hearted attempt of protest.

"Awh, but come on, think of all the rare Pokemon I'll— why are you glowing, Kazza?"

All Pokemon eyes in the vicinity turn to Abra in confusion, and Abra takes another moment to tilt his head in confusion before realizing it himself. His body gleams, the light bloating its figure and brimming into larger shoulders, strong arms, a tail—

—the Pokedex clicks with the capture icon for Kadabra.

Dawn cheers. "Ooh! Evolution!"

(She makes sure Team Galactic is gone and subdued before lifting Kadabra into the air, happily showing him off to everyone. Kadabra is more shocked than anyone. How on earth is she lifting him like he's weightless?)

("Look, guys! Kazza evolved! You know the myth that traded Pokemon grow faster, well look! It might not be a myth after all!")

-

-

Luce wasn't doing well.

Duskull was starting to get a hang of it, looking back on a rhythm, following Monferno's lead on a battle that was more choreography than tactical sequence. It was just how they fought together, and he was learning well.

The problem came with the rest of his team.

Monferno was starting to look back less, confident he could win without further instructions. Buneary was worse, completely forgetting Luce sometimes, and both of them needed to be reminded of his presence with a jingle of Togepi's Soothe Bell.

Togepi would fix them with a stern look, as if he was chastising them, and they would mellow down, as if they were chastised children told to come home from their game of tag.

And even when Luce got their full attention, the one to fumble would be Luce himself. He would lose focus, get distracted, or mis-sign a command, resulting in a nasty hit of Secret Power left and right.

Buneary yelps, swatted to the wall and sliding down in a tired heap. Monferno jumps in to blast the Unown away with a Flame Wheel, and Luce hurries over to pick Buneary up.

Ah, he'd missed the command again. He hesitated too long in deciding between moves that Buneary didn't have time to look for the next attack.

He wasn't able to focus at all. Lucian went back up a while ago, apparently to address some new developments, and Luce was so crippled with curiosity that it was affecting his training.

He sighs. All his Pokemon are exhausted from all the battling. He'll call it a day here.

Monferno slumps onto the ground weakly as Luce finally returns him to his Poke Ball. Duskull is much the same. But When Luce moves on to Buneary, Buneary stands up, apprehensive, and bites.

He jerks away, startled, finding his palm bleeding with a deep bite mark sunk through it.

Buneary snarls, frustrated, and she kicks a stone that flicks perfectly toward Luce's head, bonking sharply against his temple.

Luce stays a distance away as Buneary screeches at him, gesticulating wildly as she chastises him in a tone that can only be described as furious.

He can't understand a word of it, but he knows that she's sick and tired of him. Of every mistake he's making, of how he's not taking any of this training seriously.

It's like Luce doesn't even care about getting stronger. It's like Luce doesn't care about anything because Psyduck's the only thing in his mind and he hasn't properly cared for his other Pokemon ever since.

Not even Togepi, who's barely hatched.

Neither Monferno nor Buneary have let Luce hold Togepi for long, and somehow— somehow, he realizes now why they did it. Baby Pokemon were empathetic, more so than other Pokemon. Neither of them wanted Luce's misery to imprint on Togepi.

After all, how could Luce properly raise Togepi if he couldn't even get his own state of mind straight? They had been protecting Togepi from him, and Luce hadn't even noticed. And now, Buneary's patience was at its limit.

Buneary huffs, stomping away with an angered huff, and Luce gets up, hurrying after her.

Where's she going? Solaceon Ruins is a maze. If they get separated, they'll have a hard time finding each other again.

She wasn't looking over. He couldn't call out to her.

He fervently pursues, and Buneary stubbornly escapes, skipping down the steps and further out. Luce scrambles for his things, picking up Togepi and tucking him into his bag before giving chase.

He nearly loses her, but he spots pink in the far corner, and follows it down the next set of stairs, and—

—and his leg twists, missing the step, and the next, and suddenly, his hands can't find the wall for balance. His leg can't catch any steps, and he's stumbling, his vision spins, and when his hands roughly catch the floor, the rest of him falls back. He reaches back just in time to catch Togepi as he tumbles out of the bag, but the rest of his things are a lost cause. He bruises his wrist painfully in an attempt to stop his fall, but nothing works.

He holds Togepi firmly to his chest, and it's all he can do to squeeze his eyes shut and hope he reaches flat ground soon.

He isn't awake when he stops.

-

("Do you know why humans can speak to each other and Pokemon, but Pokemon can't speak our language even though they can understand us?")

(Maybe it was Mama Johanna that said it, or maybe it was Palmer, or maybe it was both of them. It was far before Luce even lost his voice.)

("All creatures have a crucial skill for survival that's ingrained in them. Pokemon, they learn how to fight and survive in the wild. But humans, our biological instinct and our most crucial skill for survival— is the ability to call for help when we're in danger.")

("That's why babies cry, you know? It's the first thing they learn how to do, and it's the one thing we all must know how to do.")

-

Maybe it's poetic irony that Luce feels like crying now.

Everything sucks. And everything hurts. He just wanted to go on a journey, and apparently, he can't even indulge in Chosen One bullcrap without a responsible adult or three getting involved. He just wants his Psyduck back so he can go challenge the next gym, but no, Team Galactic's moving their stupid bomb plot ages ahead.

He knows he'll win, in the end. That's how the story ends. But no one else believes in him, and honestly, with how lousy Luce is at battling, he's starting to believe that, too.

When he rouses, everything is dark. Monferno hasn't moved him yet, hissing sharply at Buneary and Togepi, who were both angrily snarking back at him too. Duskull was frantically pacing around, unsure of how to handle the situation.

They were clearly arguing.

They hadn't moved Luce yet, and Luce took a moment to understand why. His head throbbed, too agonizing to be safe to move. But from here he could see the dead end before him. The only way out now was up.

Ralts— oh, when did he come out— croons, and all four Pokemon whirl around at once to see Luce awake.

Buneary's at his face first, snarling sharply. When she hits him, it's startlingly gentle, and Luce can see tears at her eyes as she pounds down at his cheek with no strength at all. She's scolding him, definitely, but this time, it's without any heat.

Monferno signs something, but Luce can't make it out. It's too dark down here, and his vision's a blur. His things are splayed around his surroundings— and whether by coincidence or that his Pokemon moved it over, Doozy's favourite rubber ducky was right before him, dusty but intact.

Ah, if only Psyduck were here. She could use flash.

Ralts croons something, and the Pokemon shares a glance. Monferno's flame abruptly flickers brighter, and Duskull yelps loudly, startled. Buneary snorts jeeringly at that, to which Monferno joins in, and Togepi sighs longsufferingly.

Oh, they were messing around now?

They were probably stuck down here. Moving Luce isn't much of an option, especially since Monferno isn't big enough to safely carry him out. They probably can't leave either, lest they get lost.

Luce lifts a hand— ah, the other one's really numb— and slowly, he signs.

"Sorry."

He doesn't know why he chose to say that, of all things.

But he rests his hand on Buneary's figure, resting it there in what semblance of a hug he can give. He hasn't been a good trainer for them. He's only been a burden.

Buneary leans in, her head on his cheek, and Luce smiles.

He falls unconscious after that, but he isn't sure if he imagines the figure under his arms gleaming and growing.

-

The next he wakes, he's in the Pokemon Centre, laid upon a cot, with Lucian seated by his bedside, frazzled.

"Luce!" he hisses, and Luce cringes, knowing what's coming next. "I left you alone for ten minutes! TEN! Arce-forsaken minutes! Aaron is never going to let me live this down and neither will I, you!"

He's feeling a lot better now. His head aches, but his limbs are down to a dull throb, and he can at least think and see clearly now. God bless Heal Pulse, the miracle cure of everything.

"Honestly, what would you have done if your Pokemon didn't—" Lucian sighs deeply, sitting back down. Luce is sitting up now, smiling in relief.

Apparently, the Pokemon took the risk to explore the cavern to find help, mainly using Duskull because he could pass through walls. They marked their location with Togepi's Soothe Bell, and Lopunny and Monferno kept watch around the stairs for any sign of anyone else. With the help of some Ruin Maniacs and Ace Trainers, they managed to flag someone down quick enough, and Luce was brought back to the Center before things took a turn for the worst.

...Luce needs a moment.

Something was wrong in that explanation, he just doesn't know what yet.

Lucian chuckles when he sees his bewildered expression, and he points over to the window, where his Pokemon were lined up outside, resting on their own. They seem to have taken a bath, toasty and sipping on little pup cups of Moomoo Milk.

Luce rubs his eyes and checks again.

There is, in fact, a shiny Lopunny in that cot.