Chapter 9
Dialga?
Though the vision was cloudy… Char knew it was the same vision as before.
Surrounded in a white nothingness, the glorious dragon Dialga stood before him, bowing its long, silver-lined head. Still, despite the feeling that Dialga was telling him something of immense importance, Char heard nothing.
This isn't just some dream, Char determined. It's something from my memory. I remember this happening to me! But… why can't I remember anything else? What is Dialga doing to me? What's he saying?
But then, in the midst of the whiteness, a new object appeared floating in the air in front of Char. It, too, was gleaming with supernatural light, so much so that Char couldn't tell what it was.
All he could tell was that it was round and about the size of his fist.
His heart began to pump viciously at the memory of this object. It was an object of importance. Grave importance. But… what was it?
I think… I might know what this is! Char exclaimed to himself. I know what this is! It's… It's… Wait, I remember this! I really do!
I know it's something… Something I'm here for? Something I came to get? Something I brought with me, maybe? It's got to be something like that.
Unfortunately, just when it started to feel closer, the memories began to fade away.
No, wait! Come back! Char pleaded. No! Why, oh, why is it ending now? I was so close to remembering!
But try as he might, he couldn't stop the white shadow from sinking into the black bowels of his mind's eye. Soon, Dialga's luminous blue form became nothing but an outline, an etching in his head.
Come… back… Char pleaded again, reaching for the memory that he could no longer grasp.
… … …
The sounds of voices swirled around him, reminding him of the reality he was returning to.
He remembered the poisonous flowers which infected him during his mission with Scythe and Saura. He felt himself reflexively swallowing something cold, presumably medicine, that'd been shoved into his mouth…
"See? He's going to be fine," a voice said. "He's already starting to move."
Is that Scythe? Char wondered. Where am I? ... We didn't abort the mission because of me, did we? I hope not!
Char's eyes blinked open momentarily. Seeing a blur of dark green, he knew he was still in the forest. For a moment, he felt much better knowing that his first mission wasn't a failure because of his stupid mistake. Though, he couldn't help but wonder how long he'd been passed out. Blinking again, an image of Saura's face flashed before him, looking like he was about to force something into his mouth.
"Hey, Char, how're you feeling?" Saura said, giving him a yellow piece of fruit with fuzzy, pink skin. "You were poisoned pretty bad."
"I feel great," Char responded, taking the piece of fruit into his mouth and trying to sit up. "How long was I out?"
"Less than a minute," Scythe said, stepping up and kneeling beside him. "I took care of the Carnivine as fast as I could, then Saura told me what happened."
Feeling good enough to return to his feet, Char noticed that, indeed, they hadn't moved from the place the battle had been fought. He noticed the poor Carnivine, almost completely dismembered, lying next to a tree trunk and ingraining its roots into the soil to re-grow.
"Remember that tree where we got the fruit earlier?" Scythe said. "It's pecha fruit. Eating them can purge most poisons from the body. Very useful. You only needed a few bites, and here you are, good as new. There wasn't any reason to worry. Although, I'd finish the rest of it, just in case."
The fruit left a very sweet taste in his mouth, almost sickeningly sweet, as it went down his throat. Saura handed him the other half of the pecha fruit, looking infinitely relieved that he was better.
Though Char still felt rattled, he was able to follow Scythe and continue the journey, the old warrior taking over the job of leading the team for the time being.
"I guess I've got a long way to go before I become like Team Remorse and never make any mistakes," Char muttered after swallowing a big bite of the fruit.
"You're well on your way," Scythe said with a smile. "After all, the one who makes no mistakes is the one who has already made all the mistakes in the world. You've learned a valuable lesson today about spotting a certain type of enemy, haven't you?"
"Yeah," Char said, "and one about watching where I dive for cover."
"Well done," Scythe said. "Of course, Team Remorse makes mistakes every now and then. There isn't a Pokémon who doesn't. Remember how I didn't spot the pitfall trap earlier? Remember how I slashed Saura's vines apart in the battle? I can get clumsy sometimes. Again, Saura, I'm very sorry about that."
"Don't worry," Saura said. "It didn't hurt, after all. And they're already starting to grow back."
"Really? You didn't feel that?" Char asked, eating another bite of the pecha fruit.
"I only feel the tips of the vines," Saura explained. "And I'm glad for that, too. It wasn't the first time they got cut. Once, I even got them tied in a big knot…"
"But regardless, these mistakes pale in comparison to some," Scythe continued, gaining a strength in his voice. "Mistakes such as… misjudging the strength of the enemy. Incorrectly predicting where the enemy will attack. Forgetting where your alliances truly lie, or trusting those who should not be trusted. Mistakes that cost Pokémon their lives. The mistakes we made today were reparable. Many in life, especially for a resistance team, are not."
Empirical Falls
Elsewhere, in a well-concealed cave next to a riverbed, a Seviper sat curled up in the shadows and waited. He occasionally glanced around at the sizable piles of possessions which surrounded him.
"Where is that idiot?" it hissed, uncoiling itself from restlessness. "I swear, if he doesn't come back in two hours—"
Not a moment too soon, a second Pokémon, a Croagunk, bolted into the cave. It stood for a moment to recollect itself and catch its breath, then brandished two items it was holding: a gold-colored cup, and a smaller, circular piece of jewelry.
"Where were you?!" the Seviper nearly exploded, leaping at him.
"Just getting these," it answered, ignoring the serpent's anger and tossing the items into the corner along with the rest of the junk. "What? You should be proud of me!"
"Croagunk, you don't seem to get the idea. We hunt at night, under the cover of Watchers. We retreat in the sunlight. Why is that such a hard concept for you to grasp?!"
"Shut it," croaked the oversized frog as it sat down to lounge on the floor. "Heh heh, look at you. Getting all fussy just because I decided to pull some overtime? You should be thankful. It was your fault we didn't get anything done last night."
"Besides the point!" the viper spat. "Is it worth risking being spotted? At this time of day, they could be sending police to come get us at this very moment! Or maybe they even reported us to one of those blasted 'resistance forces'! Then what? We'd have to run, we'd lose all our work from the past month, and… what do you think the boss would say? We'd be better off just running away and never coming back."
"Quit worrying so much," the Croagunk sighed, closing its eyes. "There isn't one Pokémon in all of Iron Town with half a brain enough to come after us."
"Would you bet your life on it?!" the viper demanded. "Or do you think this is just some kind of a game? Going out in the daytime is dangerous. You might as well just tell the boss his face looks funny."
The Seviper slithered over to the corner where the golden cup had landed. He inspected it.
"By the way…" it grumbled. "Being out in the sunlight and all, you did make sure nobody was following you… right?"
… … …
"See?" Scythe said from behind a rock, pointing out the cave entrance to Char and Saura. "Told you they'd be easy to spot."
Saura peered over the rock. "Wow, that was pretty easy," he said, surprised.
"Well, this particular bunch wasn't really trying," Scythe laughed. "Now, let's go and meet them. If they're as bad at battling as they are at stealth, I bet even you two could take them out."
"Uh… I'm not so sure," Saura said with a frown. "That Croagunk looked strong… shouldn't you take them out instead?"
"Yes," Scythe said. "But it doesn't mean you're not going to help. Now, get ready for a lesson, you two… I'm about to teach you one of the oldest tricks in the book."
… … …
"Hey!" a voice yelled from outside the cave.
The Seviper jumped up at the sound, scowling.
"Croagunk!" it hissed. "Did you hear something?"
"Go back to sleep," the Croagunk mumbled. "It's probably just—errrrk!"
The Seviper clamped down on the frog's arm with its sharp fangs, causing it to jump wide awake.
"Was that necessary?!" It blasted in rage, rubbing its arm.
Before it could say another word, the voice outside the cave sounded again.
"Hey! You!" it called.
"Impossible!" the Croagunk scoffed. "I checked all around. Unless they came through the Jaded Woods…"
Both waited in silence, cowering around the corner. More calls came, louder each time. The Croagunk clenched its fists, realizing that, yes, there were intruders.
"Someone's here!" the Seviper hissed. "You did let someone follow us, didn't you!? You…"
"Wait, wait," the Croagunk said, holding up its hand to silence the snake. Very carefully, it peeked around the corner to glance outside, only to see a Charmander and a Bulbasaur standing at the cave entrance.
"We know you're in there!" Saura called.
"It's just some kids," the frog scoffed. "Heh heh, boy, did they pick the wrong Pokémon to follow. Relax. They'll be a cinch to deal with."
"Good, because now that they've found us, we don't have a choice," the Seviper hissed in annoyance.
Adopting a cocky and confident stance, the Croagunk marched out of the cave and into the sunlight. Seeing his greater size, Char felt a twinge of fear as the frog stepped up to him. Like Saura, it, too, was a creature of poison. All Char knew was that he didn't want to be poisoned again.
"Well, hi, you kids," it said evilly. "Is there somethin' I can do for you?"
"You're a thief!" Saura said fearlessly, stepping closer to him.
"And you're annoying little kids who sound like you know too much," the Croagunk replied. "Is that all you came to tell me?"
"W-we came to get back what you stole!" Char said awkwardly, trying to join the act alongside Saura. "So… surrender, or we'll fight you!"
"Yeah, you heard him!" Saura shouted. "Give us back your stuff!"
*Croak!*
The Croagunk's cheeks inflated, emitting a frightening sound that intimidated Char and made him want to run.
"For your information, we're Team X, and we never return what we take!" it said, stepping even closer to Saura and sizing him up.
"Well, we're Team Peanuts, and we never go down without a fight!" Saura returned. "So, what'll it be, huh?"
"Heh. Heh heh. Heh heh heh! *Croak!* " The Croagunk laughed. "Is this some kind of joke? You actually want to fight me, don't you? You think you have a chance? Team X is undefeated!"
"You can't beat us," Char said, forcing out all the feeling he could manage. "Your poison is powerless against him, and my fire will burn you to a crisp!"
"So, you've done your homework, eh?" it replied. "Heh. Funny kids. Think you know everything. Well, yeah, sure, if you were lucky, you'd be able to beat me. But I'm not all there is, you see?… Seviper! Come on out, why don't you? There's some kids out here who want to meet you!"
"Oh, no!" Saura cried. "There's… a Seviper, too?"
Char wore his best expression of fear—which was at least partially sincere. He turned to the cave to watch for the Seviper who would inevitably be emerging…
*SLASH!*
*SLASH!*
In the blink of an eye, both the Croagunk and the Seviper were now somehow sprawled out across the rocks, moaning in agony. Long, red cuts covered their bodies. Scythe stood over the viper, blades raised. All he'd needed was for both enemies to be drawn out of the cave—a task that Char and Saura had performed admirably.
"Takes care of them," Scythe commented, folding his wings and turning his attention to the cave. "Good work, you two. Good distraction. Let this be a lesson: if your enemies don't know how strong you are, there's no limit to what you can do with them. It is one of the most important and basic mechanics of war. Now… let's see what kind of loot these thugs have hidden here."
Even though Char was expecting Scythe's attack, his mouth was still hanging wide open at the display of his speed. Both the enemies, for all their talk, were now on the brink of unconsciousness and looked like they were welcoming it. The Croagunk's own poison oozed out from its sliced sacs, and the Seviper's body was contorted into an indescribably awful shape. Both were still bleeding profusely.
"No, Char, I didn't kill them," Scythe said, anticipating his question and motioning for him to follow him into the cave. "While there are times when you must kill your enemy, this wasn't one of them, and I prefer not to finish my opponents unless it is truly necessary."
"Huh," Char nodded. "So… they'll heal?"
"Char, who cares?" Saura said. "They're thieves. Let's go take their stuff before it's too late."
… … …
The inside of the cave was like a garbage heap, filled with mounds of carelessly tossed-aside valuables mixed with useless scraps and trinkets. Some of it sparkled, some of it leaked, most of it was broken or scratched. Char gazed upon the handiwork of the thieves with wonder, doubtful they'd be able to rescue it all in a single trip.
"Amazing," Saura gasped. "So this is what a thieves' den looks like. I wonder where all of this was stolen from?"
"All across the countryside, probably," Scythe said, sifting through the junk. "These guys have been around. I've met them before, never saw them as any sort of threat. I thought it would make a good practice mission for you two."
"So, what now?" Char asked, gazing into the reflection of something shiny in a nearby heap of possessions. "Do we take it all back?"
"No," Scythe said. "Right now, we're going to load up our bag with the most valuable things we can find here and take them back to the base. After that, we'll report the location of this cave so that all the citizens of Ambera can rebel against the thieves on their own terms. The thieves are probably in league with the Master, but nothing can save them if the local Pokémon find them out. They'll have no choice but to run away."
"And if they run, they'll take their most valuable possessions with them," Saura said with a nod. "That's why we've got to find them now. I get it!"
"You're learning," Scythe said with a smile. "Now, help me search for things worth taking."
Char dove into the nearest pile, tossing aside things that looked unimportant. A golden plate. Was gold valuable to Pokémon like it was to humans? Or was it just another color? He tossed it aside. A small, tarnished knife. Interesting, but his own natural weapons were much better. He tossed it. A small blue orb of some sort. Magical? Perhaps it could be appraised by Kecleon? He let it roll away…
"Hey, this looks interesting," Saura reported. "Char, I can't get it, my vines haven't grown back in yet. Could you help?"
Char and Scythe gathered around Saura to see what he'd found. On the pile in front of him sat a small, glistening crystal. Saura nudged it, and it fell off the pile and rolled across the floor.
"Good find," Scythe said. "That's a 'feral-shard'. It's a very special sort of rock that most Pokémon in Ambera require to evolve. The Master hoards those like there's no tomorrow. They're actually quite rare in this day and age. Put it in the bag."
A feral-shard? Char wondered, picking up the stone. Hmm… So, this could turn me into a Charmeleon once I grow stronger? I thought Pokémon just evolved when they grow strong enough. Why do I need a feral-shard to evolve?
As he held it and watched it sparkle in his claws, he noticed Saura shirking away from it just a little bit. He still couldn't imagine why Saura was so afraid of evolving, but felt it would be impolite to ask him directly…
Char tossed the sparkling stone into the bag, and the team proceeded to scour the rest of the cave for anything worth taking. They found quite a bit of things, ranging from jewelry to rare stones to some blue orbs. Much to Char's dismay, the bag got quite heavy.
"Good enough," Scythe said, kicking a stray scrap of metal across the floor. "Nice work, you two. I think we've gotten all we can. We've accomplished our mission! It's time to head back."
When they turned to leave, they found the Croagunk and the Seviper standing at the cave entrance, casting silhouettes of their weakened, defeated forms. They were both barely able to stand. Scythe stepped in front of Saura and Char, meeting the thieves' scowls with his own. A chill went up Char's spine as the Croagunk eyed him. Although he did not speak, the Croagunk's message was clear: this isn't over.
With hatred burning in their eyes, and without saying a word, the thieves turned around and left.
Jaded Path
It was early in the afternoon as the trio hiked back to the base. They had to take the long way around the Jaded Woods and be tremendously careful not to re-enter the mystery dungeon on accident. Char struggled with the bag, but Scythe agreed to take turns carrying it.
"Well, our mission was a success," Scythe proclaimed as they found their way back to the Jaded Path. "And this will be the first of many. Such is the life of a resistance team. Today, we'll return back to the base, record our mission in the registry, then prepare to do it all over again tomorrow."
"What do you think, Saura?" Char asked. "We didn't do half bad today, but is being on a resistance team what you thought it would be? Do you think we'll be able to handle it?"
Saura didn't answer. Instead, he forced a smile.
Wow, I hope Saura didn't get discouraged over it all, Char thought to himself. Maybe he's starting to realize he doesn't like this job after all? It's an awfully harsh job, and we've really got to sacrifice our freedoms if we're going to do these missions each and every day. Or… or maybe seeing that shard-stone-thing reminded him of what Domo said about evolving. Or maybe…
…Maybe it was when he told those thieves who we were.
"Scythe, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," Char said, eyeing Saura just a tiny bit. "Is it possible to change the n—"
"Yes. Yes, it is," Scythe interrupted with his most mischievous grin yet. "I was really starting to wonder how long it would take you to ask that."
Scythe turned his head and grinned at him, casting a gaze that told Char, without a doubt, that he knew what he was talking about.
"What?!" Saura croaked. "What is it?! Whaat? You're keeping some kind of a secret from me!"
"I believe you'll find out shortly," Scythe assured him, still smiling at Char. "But don't look at me. Trust your team leader. That's what he's there for."
Saura turned to Char with a confused, questioning expression. Char only smiled back, but his mind was racing.
Now that I seem to have more time to think about it, he wondered, is there anything better that we could name our team?