Destiny Village ~ Parfait Way

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian had quietly separated himself from the others and wandered aimlessly around Destiny Village.

He would sometimes sigh as he walked. Going to Cibus' Shaymin Village left him feeling a weird sense of homesickness, and that Shadow machine taking a toll on his mind didn't exactly help either.

His walk brought him in front of a house, the smallest of the ones on the street. Some of the other houses were... who'd live in a house that huge? Some wealthy noble flaunting their status perhaps? Though Legendary pokemon lived in Destiny Village... did they have differences in societal status too?

Cynthian absentmindedly walked to the small house, though he went straight to the garden. The earthly smell of soil and the fragrance of the greenery had an almost therapeutic effect on him. It reminded him of his garden back at home. He wondered who lived in the house anyway.

"Would it be trespassing if I just help water these plants for them?" Cynthian thought about it briefly and shrugged. He grabbed the watering can and hummed to himself while he showered the plants to help keep them healthy and in high spirits.

 

[Cresselia92]

The afternoon was fresh that quiet day, with the sky covered in cumulonimbus clouds that shielded the ground from the scorching sun. A presage of rain or snow to come, unless the clouds were blown away by the winds or some legend.

That was ideal time for a certain Vulpix to explore the area where the God Squad lived, as the risk of overheating was reduced to a minimum. With a notepad in his rightmost tail and a pen in his leftmost tail, he took curious looks at the houses, trying to see if he could find any sign of their mysterious “allies”.

“Hmm… how bizarre. Is nobody home?”

Left, nobody. Right, nobody. …Upwards, still nobody.

“Golly! There goes my chance to interview the God Squad and invite them to the festival…”

He sighed in disappointment and looked at his notes. The pages dedicated to them were mostly blank, with only two words under Maple’s profile: ‘frightening lady’.

He raised a non-existent eyebrow. “Well, I sure cannot work with only this, can I?” He sat on his haunches and started chewing the tip of his pen. “Hmm… What to do, what to do, what to do?”

He was so deep into his mindspace that he didn’t realize that he had missed someone walking around…

 

[Persephone]

Cuicatl got out of the dorms for a walk in the evening air.

Bahamut was sad. Even if she deserved it, she wasn't sure that she wanted to end up like that, hung up on a mistake from a thousand years ago. But it was still too soon. Just a few months away from her mistake. He wouldn't have forgiven her. Maybe he never would. Certainly not yet.

She trudged on. It seemed as if there were fewer voices on the street here.

 

[Cresselia92]

Hues of orange and violet filled the sunset sky, with the first shy twinkles showing themselves in the cloud-less firmament.

Azure decorations depicting white shooting stars adorned the stands placed by the locals, with the paths leading to the main plaza illuminated by Luminous Orbs, and the pleasant scents of freshly made food filled the air.

Some of the locals were eager to partake to the initiative and lent a paw or two in any way they could; others needed some little prodding and exchanges of favors before they relented; few of them defined Icetales a ‘mad lad’ for even considering the idea of thinking about festivals after all the recent disasters.

Indeed, the Vulpix had to concede that a festival of that proportion seemed untimely, but if the latest battle said anything, it was that things were going to become much uglier from that point onward. Who knew if they had another chance to relax and unwind after facing the gods of reality themselves and their horrid fusion! What else awaited them, lurking in the darkness?

“So, I suppose everything is ready for the grand event!” chirped Icetales, checking out his note-pad once more. Petram rolled after him, making some cries that seemed a mix between excitement and awe.

“I’ve got to admit it: the rule of the Three Fondues is golden! If only I could bring it back to my homeworld…” He sighed and shook his head. That was no time to ponder about such irrelevant details. “Anyway, it does not harm to take one final check…”

Without wasting time, Icetales picked Petram from the floor and put it on his back, before engaging his full “butler mode”. The revision started!

First stop: the stands of the savory foods. On the left there was an enormous pot brimming with fused cheese — produced with the most exquisite Moomoo Milk he could find — accompanied by aromatic croutons, crackers and toasted bread. Plates and wooden sticks were made available to take the desired portions.

On the right was collocated two pans filled with boiling oil, where anyone could cook morsels of pseudo-meat and pseudo-fish or fry some pieces of floury vegetables at any moment, aided by some metallic sticks and heatproof plates.

The Vulpix lifted the fireproof table cloth: the fire was burning vividly. Coal and wooden planks were stored nearby, in case they needed to revive the flames. However, with so many Fire-type allies in the team, that was more a precaution than a necessity.

“Yes, this is good,” he remarked, writing down on his notepad. Petram trilled with delight — perhaps it was starting to get hungry?

“I shall give thee a little morsel in a while, Petram. Just a little longer.”

With that said, he moved to the stands filled with sweet foods. An impressive fountain of molten chocolate was in the middle of the central table, towering over various trays filled with sliced fruit and berries, S’mores and marshmallows, and pastries of all kinds. Cake slices, muffins, snow scones… different desserts for different preferences!

And last but not least, there was the stand of the beverages, placed at the center of the plaza. Whisky, beer, coffee, tea, fruit juices, fresh water, ice cubes… the vast array of drinks would surely satisfy even the more insatiable tastes. Also, the barmon of the cafeteria had agreed to lend a paw with the beverages, in case folks wanted some cocktail or other sophisticated drinks. Miss Mellow had also offered some of her assistance in choosing the best blends of tea, which the Vulpix greatly appreciated.

“Well, then, I suppose this is all! I appreciate thy work, everyone!” he shouted toward the comrades who had lent a paw, earning some cheers from the locals and his good pals Celeste and Vix, who had helped set the tables and make the fire for the fondues.

Satisfied with the result, he walked toward his comrades and sat by their side, before holding Petram in one tail and feeding it a piece of Oran Berry. The stone dissolved it in a second, before trilling in delight.

“Now it is only time for the others to arrive. Ooh, I am so…” Icetales gulped, “nervous. Hopefully they will appreciate all of this…”

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa arrived at Parfait Way almost feeling comfortable, with Starr keeping up the conversation with a mix of cajoling and levity, and Luz pitching in every time Brisa felt a twinge of uncertainty. Eventually, Luz's habit of killing awkward silences before they could be noticed felt like a safety net of sorts. Luz picked out a street food stand that she liked the look of, and the three of them wandered about the less crowded areas talking and enjoying the nourishment.

Eventually, Luz wandered off, leaving Brisa and Starr to talk together. They seemed to be getting on just fine now that Brisa was past that idiotic and unnecessary stumbling block of skittishness. They'd be fine. She pricked an ear to listen for their conversation among the throngs.

"Oh, she's wandered off... Mm? No, I never met the real Luz. There's no accountin' for my Luz' behaviour. Mighty queer if you ask me."

Yeah, they'd be just fine.

Luz wandered for a minute until she spotted a rueful-looking absol with an accompanying shade... with no form. That would be Celeste and his shade, then. Now they might not be quite so fine. Time to make an introduction. She strode over and tipped an imaginary hat to the pair.

"Good evenin', and how d'you do, fellas? Zeraora Luz, pleased to make yer acquaintance."

 

[Negrek]

Parfait Way was pretty swank, and ordinarily not the sort of place Nate wanted to be hanging around. But there weren't all that many places in Destiny Village that weren't all upper-class, and of course there were some houses that were sitting empty because rich people were fucking insane and whoever owned the place was presumably off in Bullshit Fantasy Alola for the winter. Nate didn't even touch the house itself, outside of snagging a few essentials; the garden shed was already like a fucking mansion and a half by his standards, and it wasn't like his little heater would be any good in a big place anyhow.

As it was, with some blankets tacked up to cut the drafts coming in through the poorly-insulated walls and a pile of cushions lifted from the house itself, the place was downright cozy. Plenty of space for one plus their psychic rock companion.

Although the way Rocky was going on, he wouldn't be content much longer. "What, you want to go check out that plains place?" Nate asked while the shade bumped insistently at one wall. "We can see about it, yeah. Only..." Only it was going to be tough. Rocky wasn't exactly blazingly fast, but then, neither was Nate. And if he couldn't keep up with the shade, well, they were both going to have a bad time. "Well, we'll see."

Nate watched while Rocky backpedaled away from the wall and made a lazy circuit of the shed, easily pushing aside empty food containers as he went. What the hell had gotten into the guy lately? Was he going to evolve or something? He wasn't sick or nothing, was he? Anytime Nate tried to reach out and see how the shade was feeling he got back a cheerful response. Apparently the guy was loving life, but that didn't mean whatever was going on with him was actually a good thing. Nate oughta visit Chip or something and see if he could sort out what was up.

Should, should, should. So much fucking stuff to do. Silver had mentioned remembering a lucario, after all, and lo and fucking behold, who'd popped up to cause trouble now? Nate ought to go follow up on that as well. And the whole DarkWhite thing, of course. It'd been real nice, the first few days after the last battle, resting up and watching battles on his badge and not giving a shit about pretty much anything. It wasn't bad, heading out to the Colosseum, trying some of the super posh restaurants he'd never be able to afford back home, just wandering the city without anything in particular to do. But shit was clearly going down out there, and it wasn't like Destiny Village was where he wanted to be spending the rest of his life anyhow. It was time to get back to work.

Rocky clattered to a halt next to Nate, spinning in place and rattling against the floor. Nate smiled and reached out to pat the shade, then drew his hand back with a frown. Rocky actually felt... warm to the touch. Maybe he'd just spent too long over by the heater. Nate reached out for another experimental poke, but Rocky rolled playfully out of reach, projecting excited thoughts at Nate.

"Ah, sorry," he said. "I'm fucking wiped." Too much talking. He must have spent upwards of an hour grilling that old "Voice of Life." "I've gotta crash. But we'll see about those plains tomorrow, huh?" After a visit to Chip's, probably. "For now I've gotta sleep."

It was actually weirdly peaceful, listening to Rocky rolling around and the wind in the pine trees that lined the yard Nate was squatting in. A lot quieter than the places he usually had to grab some shuteye. It wasn't a bad deal, really, slumming it out here. Maybe if it wasn't for Cibus' everything else, Nate could actually get used to it

<><><><><>​

Nate woke to two huge, yellow dots looming overhead.

The dots blinked. Eyes. They were eyes. Hanging about two inches above his own.

"Gah! What the f--?!" Nate flailed in his pile of cushions, sliding unceremoniously onto the floor.

Overhead, the eyes' owner giggled. "You're awake! Great! I was getting hungry!"

Nate scrambled to right himself, sending cushions flying, and tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Yellow eyes, dark purple face... and body... and limbs. A purple infernape weirdly hazy around the edges, with a streaming orange-flame crest and armor glowing the same reddish color. Floating in the middle of its torso was a darker clot of shadow, an irregular lump with a familiar shape. Nate stared, his mind trying to catch up with his panicked awakening. That was... "Rocky?"

"That's right!" The infernape puffed out his chest, hands on hips. "Betcha didn't know I could do this! Awesome, huh? I can talk now! And walk around! And fight, and watch TV, and pick things up, and eat. Whenever I want, I don't have to wait for you to feed me anymore. You should keep
more food around, though. You didn't even have very many berries or anything. I'm still pretty hungry. It's pretty hard making a body like this, you know!"

Nate looked, dazed, over to where his pack lay on its side, looking markedly emptier than usual. The shade had... evolved? Into an infernape? An infernape that ate all his supplies?

"Also, I can't get this thing to work," the infernape said, holding up Nate's badge. "I know the password, but it still won't start up for me anyway! It was so boring waiting for you to wake up. I want to see what kind of TV they have here, since you're so boring and always watch all battles." The infernape giggled, sparkling flames rippling. "Do you think they have something like Transformozords here? Do you think they even know what a zord is? I guess all the rangers would have to be pokémon, too. That would be so weird!"

And was obsessed with shitty kids' shows?

"It's so much fun to be able to see with my own eyes now," the infernape went on. "It's really funny how different things look than they do in your memories." The infernape leaned down over Nate, grinning broadly. "I'm taller than you."

Nate pulled himself to his feet, his confusion condensing into icy certainty. "You."

"Hmm? Oh, are you ready to go? I can carry the bag now. Isn't that great? You don't have to haul it everywhere anymore!"

"What the fuck are you doing here?!"

The infernape paused in the act of dragging the bag over, sunny smile faltering. "I don't..."

"You! Freak. What the fuck are you doing here? How the fuck did you find me?"

The infernape's ears flattened. "I just said. I'm Rocky, remember? It's kind of confusing, but I needed to make a body, so... I looked for people you remembered, and then made one like theirs. Pretty great, right?"

"You--you were fucking around in my memories, and you decided you were going to make that--that--?"

"Well, yeah!" The infernape flashed another smile. "You kept thinking about me, so--"

"I was fucking thinking about how I never wanted to see your fucking face again, you fucking dumbass murdery piece of shit!"

The infernape jumped, spectral fur bristling. "But--"

"Get out!" Nate took a step forward, raised up as tall as he could make himself on his stubby mudkip legs, braced to charge.

The infernape glanced back over his shoulder. "Umm, why?"

"Out!" Nate spat a water gun at the infernape, which punched through its shoulder and then the wall beyond.

"Hey!" The infernape clapped a hand over the hole in his shoulder, which was already starting to fill back in with wispy purple haze. "What was that for?"

"Get out! Out! Get the fuck out!" Nate launched himself at the infernape, catching him in the leg with a headbutt. The weird purple flesh gave slightly in the face of the attack, and the infernape stumbled back.

"Ow! Stop it! What are you--stop it!"

"Fuck off! Get the fuck out of here!" Nate kept advancing, tackling whatever parts of the infernape he could reach and soaking those he couldn't, until the infernape's back bumped up against the wall and, feeling blindly for the door while trying to fend Nate off with one foot, he managed to pull it open and fall backwards into the outdoors.

"And don't fucking come back," Nate yelled, and slammed the door shut again after him.

He turned back to the small room. breathing hard and glancing from one corner to another. He had maybe two minutes before that asshole tried to barge his way back in. Out a window, maybe?

"Can I come back in now?" The infernape's voice was slightly muffled by the door.

"Stay the fuck away from me!" Nate screamed and threw a pair of garden shears at the door.

Yeah, out the window, and then the infernape would be able to catch up to him in about two strides with those fucking long legs he had. It was a known fucking issue. Nate dove into his pack, cursing under his breath and digging around in a desperate bid for attention. Not that there was even that much left in here after some dickweed went and ate all the seeds and berries.

"Hello?" The infernape knocked on the door.

Fuck. Okay. He needed a distraction. Nate grabbed an iron thorn from the bottom of the bag. It rolled out onto the floorboards, and Nate stood looking morosely at it for a moment, and his own reflection in its gleaming side.

Yeah, he should have seen this one coming. What the fuck did he expect? He went and fucked Rocky up, just like he'd been bound to do. No wonder the guy hated him. No wonder he decided to turn into that. He was only getting what he deserved.

Nate reached for the iron thorn.

"What are you so mad about?" The infernape had opened the door just far enough to poke his head in. "Isn't this great? Now we can battle together and everything!"

"Stay the fuck away from me!" Nate yelled. He hurled the thorn at the infernape's face, and the shade drew back with a yelp. Nate charged while
Rocky was distracted, slipping around the door, through the infernape's legs, and off down the garden path. He just had to find a hedge or some shit. somewhere the infernape was too small to fit through. That would be enough to--

Something went tight in Nate's head and wrenched him off his feet. He toppled over on his back, ears ringing, head pounding, the sky whirling overhead. What... the fuck? Nate tried to stand up again and felt like he was going to be sick.

Rocky's face appeared overhead, blotting out the sun. "I can't leave you alone, remember?" the infernape said, smiling warmly. "We still have a psychic link!"

Nate groaned and closed his eyes. "Now come on," Rocky said from somewhere overhead. "Let's go into town! I want to see it for myself now. And meet everybody else! They're going to be so impressed. Do you think any of the other shades chose their forms yet? I bet mine is the best one!"

The best one. The very best one. Sure. Maybe they could pay a visit to Destiny Tower. Rocky would love to meet Arceus, and maybe Nate could convince the guy to actually kill him this time.

<><><><><>​

 

[Torchic]

They didn't know who was more anxious about this thing.

Tary had wanted to stop Cino from getting back his memories, yet was sad that he had lost them. It didn't make sense. Normally Tary should've been happy, jumping from joy, ecstatic, that his one and only best friend was getting back his memories. Then Cino would see what they had done in their childhood. At home. With their families and neighbours.

Cino already missed them, as well as his teammates. They were like a makeshift family of some kind. He didn't know he was alone and needed someone to talk to after having travelled so much without stopping anywhere or meeting anyone where there were other Pokemon. It was like he was hiding from them.

After their talk with S'more, he thought back really hard those couple first days. His first memories were on a bed, and an Ariados was taking care of him. She even brought him a bowl of berries. What a nice lady she was. Then... suddenly blank again.

He also couldn't remember how or when exactly he met the Shinx and his partner. They were just... there. It couldn't just be him forgetting these things, right? How would anyone forget when they have met new people they were travelling with?

Tary noticed that Cino was deep in his thoughts again. He decided not to be a disturbance this time.

Owen was accompanying them, too. He probably knew just by looking at them both that they weren't feeling alright.

He didn't know why, but he was getting increasingly more nervous by the second. He finally was going to find out who Tary was and what he was talking about.

But there also was this... weird feeling lingering inside his body. He thought it was just the monster trying to cause more mischief with him. But... it could've been something else. He didn't know.

Cino stopped for a second and went over his body with a paw. The Torchic leaned onto him, as if he was feeling that Cino had been feeling uneasy.

It might've not been the real Tary — or a real Torchic, for that matter — but Cino still could feel the warmth they were radiating when they were near someone else, like a warm fire in a cold winter night.

"Are you nervous?" Tary asked. "I can understand if you don't want to do this..."

Cino brought his free paw over Tary's shoulder. He breathed in deeply, before answering, "Of course I'm nervous. I don't know why, but I just have this uneasy feeling that... I don't know, something's wrong. It's hard to say... Let's just hope it'll be quick."

He was wondering how exactly he was going to regain lost memories. He was also wondering why it was a service that existed. Was memory loss a common occurrence in this world?

"Was it... this way, Owen?"

 

[Ambyssin]

This was... not something Bahamut expected. Of course, it wasn't like he had to do much in the way of hygiene as a big hunk of crystal. Now, though... it didn't seem like that was going to fly. But the products he'd found around the guild did not agree with his new metal coat.

Fortunately, he did have a teammate who'd been a steel-type their whole life. So, at least the necrozma had that, right?

"Look at you. The big ol' grump trying to go shopping." From his position on Bahamut's back, Esper pet one of his arms. "Gotta boost up that charisma stat, eh? You're about as inviting as a fence post right now."

"Thank you for the insight," Bahamut said flatly.

 

[Cresselia92]

“…No, this does not seem to be Sir Jirachi’s home, either.”

And that made twenty houses. Icetales stared unhappily at the unknown house, with his head tilted and his tails waving slowly. As soon as he had heard rumors of Jirachi being around and fighting at the Colosseum — Jirachi! Like, a true to gods Jirachi! — he began looking for him while his team worked on some plan to find Sword. As they basically had no idea where to start the research, it was best to leave part of the task to the authorities of Cibus and deities to figure out what to do. In any case, he kept his badge in one of his tails, ready to answer the call whenever he needed.

He moved away from the house, when he spotted a familiar figure walking around the place.

Oh. Him. Their last encounters hadn’t been… without animosity, he had to admit. However, that didn’t mean he couldn’t treat a comrade with respect and cordiality, did it?

After taking a deep breath and shaking his body to chill his bones, he strode toward his companion. “Greetings, dear fellow! What brings thee here in such lovely place?”

 

[Namohysip]

While Maple was away doing her mission and rendezvous, arranging for another scouting trip into the Isle of Light, Millijoule was at home keeping Potluck entertained. For the time being, the Silvally in question was fast asleep, snuggled up in several of Leg's gifted plush toys. Millijoule, meanwhile, was reading up on several books, perhaps trying to verify the things that Maple had transferred to him on accident during his emergence. It was hard to miss him. Unlike most of the Shades, Millijoule was mostly light, with only flecks of darkness where his false armor was.

 

[Ambyssin]

Finally, there would be no more distractions. Frankly, Bahamut viewed Esper staying back to annoy Saltriv and BurhallaOwen Seven as a good thing. Now the poipole wouldn't get in the way.

Bahamut followed the instructions Bean had given him. He paused in front of the house door, however. Maybe he should've sent a summons first? Bah, nobody did that for him in his world. Bahamut could just shrug it off as a culture gap. He reached a crystal hand forward and knocked on the door.

"Kyurem. I wish to speak with you."

There. Simple, concise, and to the point.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Soul wandered. Perhaps they'd stumble upon someone they knew... Luz, or Petram, or one of Celeste's friends.

They did not stumble upon one of them.

They found an familiar, but nobody they recognized. They looked... gruesome. A twisted rendition of a Roselia. Soul couldn't help but stare. Perhaps, as familiars went, she didn't really have it that bad...

After a moment, her curiosity won out over terror. "Wh... Who are you?"

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian exhaled the frigid morning air with a slight shudder, though it didn't bother him as much because he had a sunny orb hanging a couple feet over his head.

Joule's framed loomed ominously in the sky and Cynthian could see him even from where he stood. Cynthian tensed up for a moment, and he calmed himself down by hugging the little Roselia doll in his arms.

After a few more minutes of walking, he found that familiar house with the garden he'd tended to before. Cynthian took a moment to take in the calming scents of the leaves still damp with the morning dew, and then he made his way to the door. Upon approaching it, he knocked a few times.

"Hey Leg, it's me Cynthian! May I come in?" he asked politely.

 

[windskull]

Nip stepped lightly over the stone pathways. He was on edge, and not just because of the impending ball of doom hanging in the sky. Though he had spent moons now among the carefully curated pathways well-constructed homes, he still struggled to feel at ease among the angular, unnatural structures. Exposed to the sky as they were, it felt as if one would be easy pickings for any large flier looking for a snack.

But this wasn't his world. It was nothing like his world, in fact, and he had to keep reminding himself as much. Besides, no flier would attack in the middle of a settlement like this. And they couldn't now, even if they wanted to.

The weavile shook his head as he pressed onward, taking large, light steps as he made his way past the homes. Maple lived somewhere over here, if he remembered correctly. It was just a matter of finding her.

 

[TheGOAT]

The catastrophe in the sky above was impossible not to notice. Astrid tried to pretend she didn’t, but got slammed into a wall of futility shortly thereafter. By now she’d crossed under its shadow dozens of times in her travels around the city; by now, dammit, she’d have hoped to have gotten used to it. But no.

Astrid sneered at Giovanni and Joule’s hazy image above. She allowed herself to feel angry. How could anyone get used to your ugly mugs? Leave us alone, yeah? Yeah. Jerks. She stuck out her tongue for good measure.

That felt good. Somewhat. Astrid absent-mindedly yawned and used her badge as an excuse to look down for once, grimacing when she saw the time. It wouldn’t be much longer now, and she was still—no, no, she’d be fine. She’d forgotten to stretch before last battle, so if she stretched this time, it would surely help cancel out her current injuries.

She put her badge away and sighed. “Where is…” Myles was probably somewhere… in a place. Astrid’s best guess was as good as anyone’s. “…oh, whatever.”

 

[Negrek]

Nate didn't bother looking up when the door of the shed creaked open. "What, get bored or some shit?" he drawled, still focused on the battle playing over his badge.

"You need your stupid bow-tie." Nate did finally look up when the thing landed on the floorboards next to him.

"Oh, yeah, that's right. Some asshole ran off with all the fucking items. Great stuff right before a huge fucking battle."

Rocky scowled at him, standing in the doorway with one hand tight on the strap of their bag and his tail worming angrily behind. He stalked over to his bed and threw himself down with a thump that shook the whole shed, though most of that was the weight of the item bag hitting the floor.

"And how'd your little quest go, huh? Arceus all fucking saved?"

Rocky glared up at the ceiling, arms crossed over his chest. "It went great. Everybody liked my ideas. I bet we don't have to worry about anything now."

"Uh-huh."

"Except for some people who went on like I was going to make people more nervous by saying Arceus might need help. Or who wouldn't want to do anything because it somehow might ruin his stupid plan that they don't even know what it is."

"Honestly, at this point, I kind of wonder if his plan is to die here, or, like, absorb the energy in that attack and ascend to a higher form or some shit. After how much he basically insisted there was no possible way he could get out of being hit."

"That's stupid. You saw how he looked when we visited him. He seemed really sad."

"Ain't stupid. What it is is paranoid." Nate frowned at his badge and poked the front button. "Only question is, is it paranoid enough?"

Rocky scoffed and burrowed deeper into his pile of cushions. He lay with chin on one, hands flopped out in front of him, tail sprawling behind. He stared at a cool-looking rock he'd found down at the beach one day; there were more scattered around his bedding, plus colorful wrappers and bits of glass, a stuffed animal or two or whatever knickknack had caught his eye while out in Destiny Village. Some of his drawings were stuck to the wall overhead, pictures of members of Team Spectrum and the legends of Destiny Village, of scenes from his favorite television shows, of he and Nate together. They were definitely better than Nate's drawings. "Well?" he said when the silence had stretched on for what seemed like forever. "You're mad at me, aren't you? For running away?"

"No, I'm mad at you for sticking to me like glue for weeks and fucking attacking me whenever I tried to leave. And lying about what was happening the entire goddamn time."

Rocky huffed, his tail drumming on the floorboards. "I had to do that," he said at last. "Otherwise you would have left."

"Damn straight I would have. If you didn't want that to happen, maybe you shouldn't have decided to turn into some guy who tried to fucking kill me like at least twice."

Rocky scowled. "I'm trying to help you! But you're always mean to me. You liked me better when I was just a rock."

"Well, yeah, when you were just a rock you weren't going around acting like somebody I fucking hate."

"But you don't!" Rocky said, clenching his fists in frustration. Nate was still watching his badge, stonily indifferent. After a few seconds Rocky said, "You wish I turned into one of your pokémon instead, don't you?"

"Gee, I dunno, have you be someone I actually fucking like? Nah, that sounds like bullshit, let's be that shapeshifting asshole instead." It would be strange having someone around who acted like someone on his team, who kinda looked like them, even, but definitely wasn't them. It might suck in its own way. But it would beat being annoyed out of his skin by the fucking Freak following him across two entire fucking worlds.

He couldn't even feel totally mad at Rocky, who after all wasn't really the same guy who'd gone and rearranged his internal organs that one time. Not to say he hadn't been a dick, but he wasn't that much of a dick. Goddamn Cibus kept fucking with him like that. All these people he wanted to hate but couldn't feel good about hating, the Celebi and the fucking Mewtwo especially, since they weren't actually the same assholes who'd fucked him over. Super fucking irritating.

Rocky was back to staring at his rock, slumped like he was tired. "You want to know why I decided to be Infernape?" he asked at last.

"Yeah, actually, I'm super fucking curious what made you think that was such a genius idea."

"You have to promise not to be mad."

Nate actually looked up from his badge at that, giving Rocky a suspicious glare. "I'm already mad, asshole. Spill."

Rocky shifted around in his nest of cushions, not meeting the mudkip's gaze. Nate's expression only grew darker the longer he fidgeted, but even as the mudkip was actually opening his mouth, presumably to demand that he get on with it, he finally said, "I used your memories of infernape because they were better. Your pokémon would be too hard."

Nate squinted at him. "What the fuck do you mean better? I got way better memories with the team than that piece of shit Freak."

"No, not good like that. I mean better, like, you know. Umm, easier to read? Not as faded? More... there?"

Rocky cringed in the silence that settled over the shed. "I am not," Nate said at last, "fucking forgetting about them."

Rocky curled in on himself miserably, stammering at the wall. "I mean, it's been a few years, of course you don't remember them as well now. Obviously you're not going to forget them, I mean, definitely not all the way, but some things, you know... And obviously your memories of Infernape were a lot more recent, and you kept worrying about her all the time, so I thought it would be better for me to--"

"I ain't fucking forgetting about them!" Nate jumped up from his own pillow, pacing around his untidy bed. Rocky rolled over to watch him, apprehensive.

"Are you, um. It's going to be okay..."

"I need a fucking drink," Nate said darkly.

Rocky sat up. "Now? But we're going to face Joule in the morning. You need to sleep. We both need to rest. You know you don't have time--"

"I need a fucking drink!" Nate snarled. He turned and stormed off towards the door, and Rocky struggled to his feet, scattering cushions everywhere.

"Wait! Wait, you--"

"What, you think you're coming with me? I thought you fucking hated the bar. How about you use that newfound freedom of yours and stay the fuck away from me?" Nate snarled, pulling the door open. Rocky hovered a moment, mouth open to protest, but the look Nate gave him was enough to keep him frozen. The mudkip left, and Rocky slumped back down amidst his bedding, tail curled miserably around his legs. He waited for a long time--it wasn't like he was about to go to sleep--but even well into the early morning, Nate didn't come back.

<><><>​

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Luz spent a fruitless half-hour wandering about Pasta Plaza for distractions while the oroborous in her mind ate itself again and again.

Brisa's gone, and she ain't comin' back. She ain't dead fer good, she can still be saved. There's no way t'save her, 'cause the means are outta reach. Brisa's gone, and she ain't comin' back.

She found herself at Truffle's place while hardly thinking about her destination.

She approached. She knocked. She waited.

After two seconds' impatience, she tried the door herself.

 

[Flyg0n]

This time, he'd get it right. His cheeks were still burning from his earlier blunder after that.... Whatever it was startled the living daylights out of him and Rocky. Well. Mostly him.

He wandered through the village for several minutes before he saw something that drew his attention immediately. Just in the distance, a feline looking biped walked. Despite the black fur and blue highlights, the form was utterly unmistakeable.

It was a Zeraora. And some kind of shiny or special one, judging by its fur color. His jaw dropped. His tail even wagged slightly, and he made a beeline straight for them.

This would be perfect opportunity to make a good impression on a mythical pokemon. As opposed to the disaster he'd just had.

"Hi!" he barked out a greeting, which came out quite a bit louder than he intended, his excitement getting the better of him. He stared at them for a good couple seconds, in awe. He'd never actually been this close to another legend before, not like this. Not to one he knew at least. "Are you some kind of special Zeraora?" he blurted. His eyes shone with excitement and admiration.

 

[RJR Basimilus]

"Mmmmm," Seyka wandered, talking to himself. "Tree of life? Most trees are alive as far as I know... is one tree really more alive than every other tree?"

The Skarmory sighed. "All this is nonsense. Why can't we just ask any tree?"

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian took deep breaths as she strolled the streets of parfait way. In her bouquets was a wrapped up box adorned with black and white ribbons. She inwardly hoped that receipt of the gift would like it. The gift also doubled as an apology...

Having walked past the small frontyard garden, Cynthian stood in front of the door and prepared to knock. Her flower exuded a whiff of lemon, but she fought it down and knocked a few times on the door.

"Leg, it's me. Are you home?" Cynthian asked, before taking another deep breath.