The main entrance of Haipheh's Mystery Dungeon was an ever-snowy forest clearing in front of a fog-shrouded cave mouth, which in normal times was empty outside of the occasional Pokémon venturing in. Today, the normal calm was disrupted by a soft chorus rising from a large crowd of Pokémon in indigo scarves that Nagant had marshalled, the dull chatter from the gathering occasionally punctuated by sharp, barking orders as she finished spelling out the last set of instructions for their pursuit after Pleo.
"Double check every nook and cranny before moving on from your search area!" Nagant ordered. "Are there any questions?"
"Nay!"
"
Good, then let's move out!" the Clawitzer shouted.
Amid the crowd of murmuring and jostling underlings, Cabot fidgeted uncomfortably. This was it… they'd track Pleo down and then capture him, just like the Empire needed. But on the other claw, this was his friend, and after everything that had happened, how was he supposed to just fight him like some common pirate?
"Cabot!"
The Cranidos jolted up and whirled to his right, seeing the faces of Berecien and Niilo staring back at him. The Ponyta of the duo pawed at the ground, before letting out a hot, impatient snort.
"Stop spacing out like that!" Berecien snapped. "It's time to go!"
"Yeah, the Captain wants us to lead the others with her!" Niilo exclaimed.
Cabot blanched at the thought of having to search for Pleo alongside Nagant, when success meant sprawling him out unconscious and dragging him away as a prisoner. The Cranidos wavered a moment, rationalizing that surely he could have a chance to explain things to Pleo afterwards if things came to that. He inhaled sharply to clear his mind, before exhaling and shaking his head to steel himself.
"Right, here goes nothing…"
Cabot, Berecien, and Niilo lined up behind Nagant and set off after her into the haze, not knowing that all the while a pair of olive-green eyes were watching from the brush. From his hiding place, Darzin spied on Nagant as she and her party disappeared, narrowing his eyes with particular venom at Niilo. The Dragonite watched as the four were followed by one group after the other, the whole procession prompting him to let out a loud snort in disgust.
"Of all the Pokémon she'd go in with, of
course she'd choose that useless sand rat and his friends," Darzin fumed.
The Dragonite looked on as Nagant's underlings continued making their way into the fog, with a few particularly unremarkable members catching his eye. A Scorbunny, an Aipom, a Delibird… all mediocre Pokémon who Nagant found more urgent to bring along than him, a sight that served only to make Darzin's blood run hotter and his voice come out with a low seethe.
"This is ludicrous! I'm easily the strongest Pokémon of this sorry lot! Why on earth would she just keep me loafing around town?!"
Darzin thought back to how Nagant had left him out of the loop of Lugia's capture and transport to Giotto… then to how she'd shooed him off back at the naval base. Every thought made the Dragonite grit his teeth tighter and tighter, as it all seemed to reinforce a growing suspicion he'd had since being driven off at the docks…
"Seems like she never planned to keep her end of the deal to begin with!" the Dragon-Type growled. "Well, let's see how that works for her when
two play that game!"
Darzin turned his attention back towards the Mystery Dungeon's entrance, waiting for the last groups to head in until all that remained were a Boltund and a Ludicolo keeping watch at the entrance. The Dragonite took to the air, arcing around in a feint to give the appearance of coming from further away when he swooped down for a landing, walking up as the pair of guards raised their brows skeptically at him.
"Eh? Aren't you a bit late, buddy?" the Boltund asked.
"Yeah, all the search groups already went in," the Ludicolo added.
"Hardly," Darzin replied. "I'm here to take over the next shift."
The Boltund and Ludicolo traded dubious looks with one another, before turning back to the Dragonite with sharp frowns.
"We
just started ours," the Boltund scoffed. "Why would we be switched out already?"
"Yeah, and even if we're needed back in town right now, where's your partner?" the Ludicolo pressed. "You don't expect us to believe that the chief back in town couldn't spare more than
one Pokémon to watch the entrance, do you?"
"Look, we're all stretched thin thanks to that blasted Clawitzer pulling everyone off left and right looking for her 'pirates', so the Sheriff is trying to put Pokémon where they're most needed," Darzin huffed. "Besides, do you really expect a
Dragonite to be overwhelmed like a common Raticate by a couple pirates?"
The two guards hesitated a moment, shifting uneasily as they traded wary glances with each other.
"He's got a point there," the Boltund said, prompting her partner to shake his head back.
"Egh… I mean if he
wants to freeze his tail off getting cold air blown on him constantly, that's fine by me," the Ludicolo harrumphed. "I could personally go for a nice, warm cup of
peh-chiú right about now."
The Boltund and Ludicolo sauntered off, Darzin watching keenly after the pair until they slipped from view, leaving him to turn for the Mystery Dungeon's entrance with a low growl.
"Time to
end thi- Ah- Ah- ACHOO!"
The Dragonite bowled over and sneezed, shivering a little from the frigid temperature before rubbing his snout and letting out a displeased grumble. The Administrator shook some snot off his claw before pacing ahead, slipping off into the fog after Nagant and her subordinates.
Unlike its appearance in the areas near Whitepalm Town, the far end of Haipheh was a verdant, tropical jungle sharing little with the icy village beyond the settlement's namesake trees. Just offshore, the crew of the Siglo Swellow gathered warily at the railing after the lookout announced the all-clear, leaving the lot to peer off into the island, including Crom who glanced around puzzledly at the unexpected heat.
"Eh? The air feels so much warmer here," Crom murmured.
"Well, the Pokémon here aren't making the air cold like in Whitepalm Town to stay comfortable," Pladur explained. "So things feel more normal here."
Crom's jaw flopped open and his eyes scrunched in astonishment at his father's words. The cold, the snow, everything about the weather back in Whitepalm Town…
"They made everything so miserable and awful in town to feel
comfortable?!" the Druddigon exclaimed. "What on earth is
wrong with them?!"
A nearby Bergmite along with a few other sailors rolled their eyes at Crom's outcry, muttering about how he was overreacting. Further down the deck, Ander shook his head, before turning over to Kelly with an insistent look.
"Kelly, are you able to give them a heads-up right now?" the Scyther asked.
"It doesn't work like that, Ander," the Elgyem replied. "I can't tell them much of anything until they press their badges."
A few of the sailors traded nervous whispers and glances among each other. They'd risked their hides sailing back to Haipheh and now all they could do was sit and wait to find out if Pleo and the others were still safe? The revelation made Guardia pause for a moment and rub at her chin, before having a moment of realization.
"Actually, maybe we
should just wait for them to contact us first," the Cubone suggested. "It'd certainly beat having to try and comb an island full of enemies looking for them."
"Eh?! We just got chased away from here by Imperial ships a few hours ago!" a Golduck protested. "That garrison on the other end of the island didn't exactly vanish while we were gone!"
"Yeah, if we just sit around on deck with our sails up, we'll get discovered!" a Trumbeak cried.
The Flying-Type's protest drew murmurs of agreement from some nearby sailors, as Vicente shuffled to the fore with a glum shake of his head.
"They have a point… we don't even know if Pleo and the others can
call for Kelly right now," Vicente sighed. "What if they need to lie low? Or if their badges got lost or taken? How long are we supposed to just sit here in the open waiting for some word from them?"
Team Traveller's members stared back at a loss when Dimitri spotted a few passing bubbles passing overhead. The Kabutops sidled over to the starboard side of the ship, following the course of the bubbles back towards land where he spotted a small stream of bubbles being blown along the wind from Haipheh's direction.
"… Maybe we don't need to," Dimitri insisted. "When I finally made it to the sea, I left from a beach with a colony of feral Krabby that blew bubbles out at sea. I'm pretty sure that's the beach there, so it'd just be a matter of me retracing my steps back to the house with a few others. Once we find it, we could let them know that Kelly is in range and can get them out of there."
"It sounds like a good place to start," Nida said. "I'll come along to help look."
"Yeah, same here!" Crom piped. "Those are our friends out there!"
Beatrix watched as Crom nodded back determinedly, Ander, Guardia, and Pladur pacing up beside him. The Illumise sized up the waiting party with a raise of her brow and a skeptical buzz.
"Are you all sure about this?" Beatrix asked. "Especially you, Pladur. This is the first you've been off the ship in a small group since your fight in Tidemill."
"I
think I'll be fine?" the Fraxure insisted. "Besides, you can't expect me to send my son off in harm's way without at least
trying to look out for him."
The Fraxure's insistence drew a flustered beat of Crom's wings, as Nida pawed at the timbers before looking back up at Beatrix.
"I suppose all that's left is for us to figure out a way for the ship to not get spotted while we're out," Nida said. "I don't think it'd take us
that long to find Pleo, but you never know with all the Imperials swarming this island."
Beatrix ran a tarsal under her chin as she weighed Nida's request a moment, before shaking her head back with a sigh.
"… We'll try to disguise ourselves as a derelict, but be on your guard," the Illumise captain warned. "It's not exactly a robust disguise, and if we need to get going, we won't be in a position to wait for you to escape."
"We'll send a message out to Kelly every ten minutes," Pladur offered. "That ought to be enough to check up on you guys, right?"
"It'll have to do," Vicente sighed. "Good luck out there. We'll be rooting for you."
The lot nodded back and made their way for the railing, waiting for Dimitri to reach the water before Nida, Crom, Pladur, and Guardia clambered aboard. After all taking their places, the Kabutops swam ahead and Ander took flight after him, heading off for the beach further off in the distance and onwards in search of their friends deeper within.
Back in the manor where Orleigh's Council met, Hess' return had gone by in a blur as he was drug through the corridors bound and struggling by Dirk's Conkeldurr messenger all the way up to the entrance of the Council's chamber. The Fighting-Type was let in by a Perrserker in Dirk's colors and a Raticate in Tarquin's posted at the doors in stolen sets of armor that had been redyed to coordinate with their crew's patterns, before shoving Hess forward towards the Council's table. The messenger turned and took his leave as Hess looked up to see the Council's seats empty, only for Dirk and Tarquin to enter through the opened doors behind him and Ingela to swim in from the waterside entrance. The Perrserker and Raticate slammed the doors shut, before the Dirk and his fellows made their way to their seats about the table with piercing glares at their Aggron captive.
"You've returned sooner than I thought, Hess," Dirk glowered. "Though I was expecting you to have
company when you came back here."
Hess squirmed and inched away, shrinking from the Council members' withering glares before stammering back a reply.
"I- I- mean I didn't get a chance to bring anyone along with me if th-that's what you meant," Hess squeaked back.
"Don't play dumb, Aggron," Tarquin growled. "You were
supposed to come back here once you'd gotten that Protector. Where is he?"
Hess froze and blanched for a moment before letting out an audible gulp, the Aggron pulling his tail tight against his body and stammering back a reply.
"S-Still flying around?"
The Steel-Type watched as the three Council members' faces somehow managed to become even
more livid than they had been when he was brought in. The lot got up from their seats with a trio of low growls, making Hess' eyes widen as he hastily attempted to calm his furious captors.
"W-Wait! I know this looks bad, but I can explain!" he insisted. "I had followed him out to Pioppo, when- ARGH!"
Hess yelped as Ingela spat up a stream of hot bubbles at his underbelly that sent him bowling over to the ground coughing. Ingela shook her head and turned towards Dirk, letting out a disgusted scoff as Hess slowly tried to right himself.
"I've heard enough from that useless rock lump, Dirk," the Primarina snapped. "Do you need anything else from him?"
Dirk stepped forward, raising his right blades as he let light glint along its edge, and raised his voice back in a low growl.
"
No."
The Bisharp stormed over towards Hess, the Aggron yelping and desperately attempting to crawl away. Hess squealed as he felt Dirk stomp on his tail, looking up to see Dirk lifting his right blade up into the air, and screwing his eyes shut out of fright as he braced for the Bisharp's killing blow.
"Hey! Who the hell are- AUGH!"
An agonized screech rang out from behind the doors, making Dirk pause as he stopped his blade and looked up. The sound of shouts and blows landing came from the hallway, prompting Ingela and Tarquin to make their way over and brace themselves as they neared the doors.
"What on earth?" Ingela murmured.
The doors abruptly burst open as the Perrserker guard tumbled in with visible tears and gashes in his cloth armor, stopping facedown and groaning on the rug at the entrance. There in the doorway, the form of a Samurott with both seamitars drawn could be seen, along with a number of pirates sprawled out all throughout the hallway behind him. Dirk and his colleagues grit their teeth, as the unwelcome intruder entered, stepping over the fallen Perrserker before leveling a sharp glare at the Bisharp.
"I see your manor gives a warm welcome, Captain Dirk," Lyn said. "But I must interrupt you a moment before you behead my associate there."
Dirk and Ingela shot incredulous scowls back at Lyn, as Tarquin paused before narrowing his eyes and flashing his teeth with a low, livid growl.
"
You! Dirk, set aside that joker for a minute!" the Tyrantrum seethed. "I've got
history with that sea rat over there!"
Dirk hissed and kicked aside a still-quivering Hess with a sharp yelp, giving a snarl down at the bewildered Aggron.
"I'll deal with you
later."
The three Council members drew near Lyn with their bodies tensed and prepared for a lunging attack. All the while, Lyn seemed strangely unmoved, giving a flash of his seamitars back at the pirates before suddenly sheathing his right blade. Dirk, Tarquin, and Ingela watched puzzledly as the Samurott fetched a scope from his satchel, before holding it out with a sharp scowl.
"Before we air out our differences here, do me a favor, would you?" Lyn asked. "Look out at the harbor towards the horizon. Tell me what you see."
Dirk paused a moment, before snatching the scope and heading over to the window and raising it to his eye. The Bisharp peered through the spyglass, where he caught the sight of a lavender-sailed galleon with cannons trained at them and Pokémon loading up a catapult on the deck with barrels sporting rope fuses. Dirk lowered the scope, before passing it off to Ingela and Tarquin which similarly took the pair aback, the lot turning over to Lyn as Tarquin grit his teeth and let out a low growl from the back of his throat.
"You're a long way from home…" the Tyrantrum snarled. "
Commissioner Lyn."
The Samurott narrowed his eyes, before undoing the white and blue scarf about his neck and balling it up, revealing the familiar interlocking squares of a Third-Rank Company scarf. Lyn let the decoy scarf fall to the ground, keeping his left seamitar drawn and body tensed for battle as a small smirk crept over his muzzle.
"Well, I suppose there's no point in keeping up pretenses, now is there?"
"You presume much to think that you can just come here, square-neck," Ingela chided. "Ship or not, you can't expect yourself to leave this place unscathed."
"I would
hope that you'd be more cautious in dealing with an emissary from the Board," Lyn scoffed. "They don't take being slighted lightly."
"Neither do we, Samurott," Dirk shot back. "So what do they want that's important enough to put your neck on the line like this?"
"I'm here to make an offer," Lyn said, before turning to point the blade in his left paw off at a still-shaken Hess. "But before I can discuss any details, I need my partner over there freed."
Dirk narrowed his eyes in a sharp glare, before grudgingly heading over to Hess' still-quivering body and slicing the bindings about his arms. The Aggron gasped for air before running for a corner and pulling his tail in tight against his body, leaving Dirk and his colleagues to scowl in disgust a moment before turning back to Lyn.
"So what is this offer?" Dirk demanded. "And be aware that I
don't have a lot of patience for games right now."
Lyn turned his head, spinning his left seamitar about his knuckles before grabbing it and giving a stern, sidelong glance back at the Bisharp.
"The Board's become aware that you all have been pursuing a Protector that has recently awakened," the Samurott replied. "It's only natural that they'd eventually respond to it."
"Hrmph, the lot of us have been regrouping after an incident that happened a little over a week ago," Ingela spat. "We haven't exactly been out and about lately."
Lyn curled his muzzle into a frown, before turning over to Hess' corner where the Aggron continued to quiver and cower.
"Which is why you sent a proxy on your behalf."
Lyn began to pace about the room with his left seamitar still drawn, idly moving back and forth as Dirk and the other pirates keenly eyed him.
"I suppose it was somewhat clever. Have a patsy go out and do your dirty work for you, and you'd have a Protector in your claws while we wasted our time sending him to the bottom of the sea," the Samurott continued. "Though not clever enough to foresee that there'd naturally be
consequences that would come to this island regardless."
The three Council members shot withering glares over at Hess, making the Aggron squirm and shrink back at their palpable displeasure. After a moment, Dirk shook his head and turned back to Lyn with an audible scoff.
"You could say I'm a bit of a gambler, and I know when I have a high hand to work with," the Bisharp snarled. "If that's all that you have to say on behalf of your paymasters, I'll get back to carving up your hide right now."
"Hrmph, ever so eager to get to the point," Lyn said. "The Director and his Administrators are interested in forming an alliance. They're aware of the colors of the ship that the Protector is using for safe passage and need a crew from here to fly those colors as it goes about its normal business pillaging and raiding all the safe harbors the Protector could seek out. If and when the Protector comes into trouble with one of them, you all would then step up and capture him on our behalf."
Hess stepped forward before the Council's members, puffing his chest out and nervously forcing a grin over his face.
"Th-That's where I come in!" the Aggron explained. "I've got their sails and everything, so I'd just be sailing around and raiding while using them!"
Dirk, Ingela, and Tarquin looked over at Hess, and then back at Lyn, their features hardening into increasingly displeased frowns.
"Hrmph, and just what is in this for us?" Dirk demanded.
Lyn passed over an envelope with a lavender wax seal, which the Bisharp took into his claws. The Dark-Type set it on the table and undid the seal, as he and his fellow Council members took out a sheet of paper. The three set the paper down on the table, their eyes darting back and forth reading it before screwing their brows up in puzzlement, as they realized it to be a contract to enjoin Orleigh with the Company.
"The Board is prepared to give you amnesty for your past crimes and bring you into its fold," Lyn explained. "Orleigh
will need an Administrator, along with some Third-Ranks serving under him. Who better to turn to than locals familiar with how things work?"
Tarquin flashed his teeth with a sharp growl, giving the ground a heavy stomp as he straightened out his body and narrowed his eyes at Lyn.
"Keep your stinking position!" the Tyrantrum snarled. "Don't think I haven't seen how things work in your ranks! I'll storm your headquarters myself before I go back to that!"
Lyn frowned back at the Dragon-Type's threat, before moving the tip of his blade towards the bottom of the paper.
"There's an alternative offer spelled out in the fine print," Lyn harrumphed. "Perhaps
that would be of more interest to you."
Dirk, Ingela, and Tarquin directed their attention back down at the paper towards a set of lines of small runes near the bottom. The three's eyes followed along the lines of text before Dirk raised a brow, and turned back towards the Company commissioner with a skeptical gaze.
"'Privateer for the Company'?" he asked.
"It's not a route
I would choose, but it's certainly an option," Lyn said. "The Board will see to it that you're well-equipped, and that your recruits remain in the clear so long as they operate as privateers are expected to."
A distant crash rang out, prompting the gathered Pokémon to turn and look out the window as a fiery burst flashed in the distance and kicked up a column of dust and smoke. Lyn shook his head with a disgusted sigh, before turning his attention back to the pirate captains.
"If you took the ranks you were offered, you'd obviously need more Pokémon as subordinates. If you
didn't… well, I seem to recall that a pirate's prestige is measured in the number of ships that answer to him," he explained. "I don't think any of you would have a problem getting new ones, nor a shortage of recruits looking for the protection of your newfound influence."
Dirk and his colleagues traded wary glances with each other as the Samurott's words lingered in their mind. As distasteful as the idea was, joining ranks with the Company meant getting access to their ranks of peons. And it was no secret that strength attracted talent in Orleigh, which even the Company merely placing their protection over them as privateers would boost in spades. When all was said and done in such a scenario, it would easily leave each and every one of them with a fleet on par with the one Beatrice the Swift led in her heyday. The three pirates murmured among one another, before Dirk turned back to Lyn with a low grunt.
"You drive a hard bargain, Samurott," the Bisharp said. "But we've thought it over, and-"
"There is one last condition," Lyn interrupted, the Samurott raising his seamitar and pointing off at Sibich's old seat.
"I noticed you have a vacant space in your ranks right now," he remarked. "The chaos it's currently bringing to this island would make our arrangement unworkable. So as part of sealing our agreement,
I want to choose someone to fill it."
As soon as the words left Lyn's mouth, a sharp growl came from Tarquin's throat as the Tyrantrum rolled his eyes at the Commissioner's demand.
"Tch, so you're going to have one of Inler's tail kissers fill the seat?" the Tyrantrum harrumphed. "What on earth would one of them know about piracy?"
"More than you think,
Commander Tarquin," Lyn shot back. "But I was thinking of someone you all would be more familiar with…"
The Samurott turned his head over to Hess, who straightened himself out and gave a sheepish wave of his claw back. After a moment's pause, the three Council members hardened their eyes into fierce scowls, Ingela giving an angry slap of her tail against the stone floor..
"
No. Absolutely not!" the Primarina barked. "This is the Council, we have
standards!"
"He was good enough for you to send after the Protector," Lyn scoffed. "Surely he'd be good enough for you to work with directly."
"And if we refuse?" Dirk demanded, prompting Lyn to narrow his eyes back with a harsh glare.
"Then the Board's offer will be withdrawn," the Commissioner replied. "I can't say what the Director will do if it gets rejected, but don't expect things to remain comfortable here."
The three pirates paused and lingered a moment, when Dirk walked over to a small inkwell next to a pad and dipped his claw in it before giving a stiff jab at the bottom of the paper. Ingela went up to the paper next, dusting a flipper in charcoal before pressing it next to Dirk's signature, leaving Tarquin to linger a bit before handing back Lyn's scope and following suit with a grumbling snarl.
"We're in," Dirk grunted. "Now leave and sail off back to your hiding hole."
"Very well," Lyn said. "I'm sure that Hess can handle giving a debriefing in my absence. I'll leave him some instructions for you all to review."
The Samurott made his way over to Hess and shoved a sealed envelope into the Aggron's claws. Hess looked down at the envelope as Lyn carried on for the shattered doorway, turning back with a stern gaze back at the Steel-Type.
"I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again very soon."
Lyn carried along, slipping off down the hall as the remaining pirates watched through the broken doors. After the Samurott disappeared from view and his footsteps faded from their ears, Dirk and his companions were interrupted by the sound of Hess clearing his throat, the Aggron forcing a large, overeager smile over his maw as he approached them.
"S-So I'm one of you now! Heh heh!" Hesscheered. "So… I should just go ahead and take Sibich's old sea-"
"
We're not talking about anything with you until you do something about this mess you made first," Dirk snapped, snatching Lyn's envelope from the Aggron's claws.
Hess recoiled from the Bisharp's snarl and harsh demeanor, giving a confused blink at the Dark-Type's demand.
"Mess I made?" he asked. "What do you-?"
"Let's see here, there's the doors that were kicked in, there's the saltwater that Samurott tracked in, there's the 'mon lying in the middle of the room passed out bleeding and drooling on the rug…" Ingela said.
A few scattered groans came from the hallway, prompting Hess to look and see the Perrserker still slumped over in front of the doorway, along with the weakly stirring forms of pirates strewn about beyond it.
"Oh, and there's all the others your friend hacked his way through on the way up here," the Primarina added, prompting Hess to whirl and look around before turning back with a whining tone.
"H-Huh?!" Hess protested. "But I didn't cause any of-"
"
I don't care, you fat dunce!" Ingela seethed. "I want it taken care of!"
"Meep! Okay! Okay!"
Hess hastily darted off and pulled the fallen Perrserker off the carpet, hurrying out the door when a sharp yelp and whine about a stomped tail came from the hallway. Ingela threw a flipper over her face with a sharp sigh, as Tarquin frowned, shooting a wary, sidelong glance over at Dirk.
"Is this really it?" the Tyrantrum asked. "We're just giving into those square necks and doing their bidding?"
Dirk paused a moment, before looking back at Tarquin with a stern frown. The Tyrantrum wavered a moment, before Dirk flicked one of his blades with a dismissive scoff.
"I don't see any reason to change our original plans, even if we can't use that buffoon as cover like we hoped," the Bisharp said, before shooting his fellow pirates a knowing smile.
"Though until we actually
have that bird, there's no reason not to play along to get some heat off our backs."
In the tropical interior of Haipheh Island, the faint rustling of bushes rang out as the head of a Kabutops poked out and looked around. Dimitri stepped out of the bushes before the forms of a young Druddigon, a Nidorina, a Cubone, a Fraxure, and a Marked Scyther emerged and broke cover onto the path for Neil and Chan-iu's cottage. The lot followed the Kabutops' lead as Crom glanced about warily before giving a tense prod at Dimitri's shoulder.
"Do you think anyone's spotted us?" the Druddigon whispered.
"I haven't noticed anything since we hit the beach," Dimitri answered. "Just keep it down and stay on your guard. We should be getting clo-"
"Quit your excuses already! I don't see a single bruise on either of your bodies, so where'd that bird and the others run off to?!"
The six tensed up and snuck back into the brush, creeping along as Neil and Chan-iu's house came into view. The group hesitated a moment, before Nida continued ahead towards the sound of a heated argument.
"That can't be good."
Nida and her companions peered out of the brush, spotting a Rhyhorn and a Greninja in front of the cottage staring down the visibly battered forms of a Cacturne, Marshtomp, and Camerupt in imperial garb glaring daggers back at them. Neil dug his feet in, tensing his body as he shot back at the three with a sharp huff.
"Look, we just don't know, alright?" the Rhyhorn insisted. "They took off and ran into the bushes by the time we came out to see what was happening."
"If we had sensed something was wrong with them while they were here, I guarantee you we'd have told you about it," Chan-iu added.
The pair's reply drew a heavy stomp from Molina, who snorted embers from her nostrils before turning to her Cacturne teammate.
"Orcutt, how much more of this garbage do we need to take before I can light these jokers' shack up?" the Camerupt growled, prompting Orcutt to glare daggers at the Greninja and the Rhyhorn.
"Not much more at
this rate," he spat, making Chan-iu fold his arms back in irritation.
"Look, we've told you all that we know, alright?" the Greninja snapped. "And if you think I'm just going to sit back while a bunch of sellclaws threaten to trash our base, you've got another thing coming!"
"Oh yeah, tough guy?" Chalco hissed. "What do you think you can do to u- Nngh!"
The Marshtomp flinched and instinctively reached for a gash on her left side, looking back at Neil and Chan-iu with a tense grimace. Molina and Orcutt paused a moment, looking at their stricken friend, before turning back towards Neil and Chan-iu while the Rhyhorn of the pair shook his head.
"Look, even if you three really don't believe us, you aren't in any condition to keep fighting right now," Neil insisted. "You were out cold long enough that our guests could be on the other side of the island by now if they really wanted it."
"So go back to base and lick your wounds a bit instead of trying this tough guy act on us!" Chan-iu growled.
The three mercenaries fell silent, Molina and Chalco grudgingly turning away and starting to head off as Orcutt remained in place, narrowing his eyes as he held out a spiny arm at the two Pokémon.
"This isn't over, Greninja," the Cacturne glowered. "You can try pleading your innocence to the Sheriff and see how much
he buys your story!"
Team Traveller's members watched as Orcutt turned and drifted off after his teammates, the six holding their breaths as the mercenaries passed and headed down the path. The party waited for their footsteps to fade from their ears, pausing a moment to exhale before stepping out of the brush. Neil and Chan-iu straightened up with a start, prompting Dimitri to raise a scythe and give a reassuring wave back at the pair.
"I suppose that I ought to apologize for being late on my errand," the Kabutops said. "But I can see you've got other things to worry about."
Neil and Chan-iu traded worried looks with one another, the Greninja of the duo pawing at his shoulder as he forced a determined look over his eyes.
"Eh, we'll manage," he said. "I've built up some goodwill at the Guild, and I think it'll count for a bit more than the words of some hired
phái-tô͘."
"I suppose…" Nida said. "Though what exactly happened to Pleo and the others?"
"Well, as you can see, they ran into a bit of trouble and had to take off in a hurry," Neil explained. "I assume that they made their way for that back entrance to the Mystery Dungeon I told Dimitri about."
"Right," Dimitri answered. "Thanks for that, we'll go and look for them right away-"
"Actually, hold on, Dimitri," Neil interrupted.
The Rhyhorn hurried inside before returning with a set of goggles in his mouth. He passed them over to Crom who he peered down puzzledly at the peculiar trinket.
"Huh?" Crom asked. "What's this for?"
"Well, Pleo seemed to have an eye for it while he was here," Neil murmured. "And I don't think he'll be seeing me again anytime soon."
Ander blinked and examined the set of goggles fashioned from materials that he couldn't recognize. The lenses clack with unnatural quiet when tapped versus the expected glass, and the article's soft and hard parts were seemingly melded together without any seams or stitching. The Scyther looked down puzzledly at the Rhyhorn, wondering how any Pokémon could have fashioned such a thing.
"What exactly is this thing
made of anyways?" Ander asked.
"Some materials that are hard to come by around here," Neil replied. "Consider it a token of encouragement from one 'mon that doesn't quite fit in normally with this world to another."
Team Traveller's members blinked back puzzledly at the Rhyhorn's comment, before opting not to pry further into the matter with Pleo and their teammates' fates on the line. One after the other, the six began to shuffle off, with Nida slowing her pace a moment to look back towards Neil and his partner.
"Thanks for everything," Nida said. "And good luck."
"The same to you!" Neil exclaimed.
Nida and her companions set off, hurrying further inland as Neil and Chan-iu watched after them. As the lot slipped from his field of view, Neil lowered his head, giving a quiet murmur after his abruptly departed guests.
"I know there's a lot of Pokémon in this world counting on your friend…"
About half an hour after moving on from Neil and Chan-iu's house, Team Traveller found themselves brushing past trees and bushes towards a frozen waterfall deeper in the interior of the island. The air had taken on a sharp chill, with the sight of dungeon fog poking out from the sides of the falls evidencing that they were one and the same as the one the Rhyhorn and Greninja had spoken of.
"Looks like we're getting close to that entrance," Dimitri said.
"Uhm… Dimitri," Pladur gulped. "Are you
sure that this is a safe approach?"
"As safe as we can hope for," the Kabutops insisted. "It's supposed to be an entrance that not many Pokémon know about, so if there's one place the guards would overlook-"
"There's no question about it, the Protector came through here," a buzzing voice said. "Fan out and take positions around the perimeter."
Team Traveller's members blanched and stilled their breaths, as Nida nosed ahead and peered through the bushes. There, over at the iced-over waterfall was a Beedrill wearing an Imperial scarf with a twinleaf design, standing at the head of a party of seven. A Salandit and Vespiquen… a Sneasel and Jangmo-o… a Darmanitan and Poliwrath… Why, even the same Pidgeotto who'd tried to carry off Elty on Orleigh was here! The lot hesitated and grimaced, as it became apparent that they weren't just going to be walking into the sleepy secret entrance Neil had described.
"Looks like we've gotten beaten to the punch," Nida murmured.
"Uh… we
do have a way of getting around them, right?" Guardia asked. "Not that I'm one to shy away from a fight, but the numbers aren't exactly in our favor. Especially with that big
hachi leading them."
The rest of the group fell silent, each struggling to offer even the seed of a solution that wouldn't end in obvious failure. As the lot quietly hemmed and hawed, Crom's mind turned to his bag, prompting him to set it down and open the flap to paw through it.
"I
think some of the seeds and orbs with us ought to help…" Crom mused. "But let's double-check."
The Druddigon began to fish through the satchel, pulling out a Pecha Berry, and then fumbling with a Petrify Orb in his claws. The Dragon-Type started to reach in afterwards, prompting Nida to walk up and look into the bag herself. There, she saw an assortment of items jumbled about where the Petrify Orb had laid, the familiar orange-scaled form of a Blast Seed catching her eye among them.
"Well, what if we distracted them?" Nida suggested.
The Nidorina stuck her paw in, picking up the Blast Seed before giving it a gentle toss up and down.
"Surely a loud sound would get them up to go and investigate," she explained. "This Blast Seed would easily pull that off!"
Nida's companions murmured in approval regarding the idea. It was a simple enough plan, and all it required was a single seed and some patience. Ander paused and hesitated a moment, before giving a wary glance over to the Nidorina.
"I think it can work. Just… be careful alright?" the Scyther insisted. "If someone overhears us or sniffs us out, we really
will have to fight our way through."
Nida nodded back to Ander before creeping along through the bushes towards the path away from the falls. She paused and flared her ears, looking back off at the entrance to make sure that Jun and the other guards weren't paying particular attention. After seeing Jun turn his head to prattle for a moment, Nida reared up and flung the Blast Seed forward, sending it flying in an upward arc before it hit the ground and detonated with a fiery burst. Back at the dungeon entrance, Jun and the other Imperials whirled around in alarm, catching the sight of a cloud of dust and smoke curling up from the seed's charred point of impact.
"What was that?!" the Poliwrath exclaimed.
"Sounded like someone attacking!" the Darmanitan shouted.
Jun stiffened up, crossing his stingers defensively as he scanned his surroundings, lingering for a silent moment before bringing them back to his side.
"It's rather quiet if that's the case," the Beedrill buzzed. "Surely there'd be more than a single attack…"
The Bug-Type turned and pointed one of his drills over to the Pidgeotto, the Darmanitan, and the Poliwrath of the group, giving a sharp buzz as he motioned them along.
"You three, go and check it out," he ordered. "We'll keep the entrance secured."
"Aye aye," the Pidgeotto replied.
The three moved out, leaving Jun to linger behind with the others by the dungeon entrance. From their hiding place, Team Traveller's members stared off at the entrance and grimaced out of realization that their gambit had fallen short.
"Gih! That worked on less than half of them!" Pladur cried. His teammates traded blanching looks, as Guardia prodded uneasily at Nida's shoulder with her bone.
"What do we do now?"
Nida raised her voice to speak, only to catch herself when she realized that she didn't have any good ideas of how they'd even start to get out of their predicament. As the Nidorina wrestled with her thoughts, Dimitri paused and thought back to the items in Crom's bag they took out earlier, the Kabutops turning and pointing off at the Druddigon's bag with a scythe.
"We still have that Petrify Orb, don't we?" Dimitri asked. "Why don't we just throw it at the stragglers? Even if they see us, they wouldn't be able to do anything to stop us."
"B-But they'll alert the others!" Pladur protested. "And all it takes is a stiff shove to undo the effects of a Petrify Orb!"
"Well, we'd have a head start getting through the fog and the others would have to stop and help their friends, wouldn't they?" the Kabutops insisted. "It might be a tight escape, but it ought to at least throw them off our trail."
Dimitri's teammates looked at the group surrounding the Blast Seed's landing spot, before turning back towards Jun and his remaining underlings. With how close they were to the fog, they'd surely beat the other Imperials into the dungeon. It was a dicey proposition, but with the alternative being to try and fight their way past the entire group…
"I don't think we've got many options at this point," Ander said. "Come on, let's hurry."
Team Traveller's members crept along, nearing the frozen waterfall where Jun and his remaining underlings continued to guard the dungeon entrance. The six crouched and took cover behind bushes and tree trunks as they peered ahead, where they saw the Jangmo-o of the group doing his best to press up firmly against Tegu's flank, much to his frowning displeasure.
"Come on, Barrow, give a 'mon some space already," the Salandit sighed.
"But I can't feel my tootsies right now!" the Jangmo-o whined.
"Oh, stop complaining already!" Clyde snapped. "This place feels
fine."
The group paused and held their breaths, Nida lowering her ears before turning to Crom with a hushed whisper.
"Ready?" she asked.
"Yeah," the Druddigon replied. "I've got this."
Crom crouched and clung tightly to the Petrify Orb, peering off at Jun and the other Imperials at the entrance. The Druddigon braced himself, creeping ahead to try and get a clear path for an arcing throw when…
Crack!
Team Traveller's eyes shot wide in horror as the sound of splitting wood rang out, prompting Crom to look down and realize he had accidentally stepped on a branch. Near the waterfall, Jun had whirled around with a sharp jolt and raised his stingers ready for battle.
"Someone's here!" the Beedrill buzzed. "Over there behind those bushes!"
"Ack! Hurry up and throw, Crom!" Guardia yelped.
Crom popped out of the bush and hurled the Petrify Orb forward. Jun hastily flew back and shot forth a spray of flechette-like pins, shattering the orb in midair as sparks danced inertly in front of him and his party. After flinching a moment, Tegu, Melli, and the others braced themselves for battle, as Jun turned his head to call off to his other subordinates further down the lane to sound the alarm.
"Everyone back to the entrance!" he shouted. "The Protector's friends are here!"
The Beedrill refocused on Crom before lunging at him with an X-Scissor, the Bug-Type’s blow raking across the Druddigon’s belly as he yelped in pain. Crom desperately swung his claws forward, which took on a grayish glint and caught the Beedrill in his chin.
Jun flew back with a sharp buzz and braced his drills, as Crom looked down at the fading glint on his claws and noticed they carried an almost metallic sheen.
“H-Huh?! Was tha-?”
“Hrmph, I see you’re not familiar with how to use Metal Claw,” the Beedrill buzzed back. “Though you’ll have to do better than-!”
Jun was abruptly cut off by a hail of rocks, with a glance revealing Dimitri charging out from cover as the stones carried on past the Beedrill.
"Yeow!"
Including one that clipped Clyde square in the face, leaving him cradling his nose. Tegu, Melli, and Barrow were further behind, Melli flitting back at the last second as some of the rocks passed by them while her partners ducked against the ground. As Team Traveller's other members darted out, Barrow shot a quick glance over at his Sneasel partner with a startled yelp.
"Clyde's been hit!" the Jangmo-o cried, before turning to Team Traveller with a glare. "You meanies!"
Tegu instinctively rifled through the satchel on his back, pulling out a wand with a glassy knob filled with red bubbles. At once, the Salandit sprang back onto his feet and readied the wand with a devious smile.
"Let's give them something to remember, then!"
Tegu swung his wand, shattering its outer layer and sending a spray of bubbles at Dimitri that broke along his shell. The Kabutops looked down unimpressedly at the leftover residue when a sharp buzz rang out, prompting him to hastily throw the flat of his right scythe up to block an incoming jab from one of Jun's stingers. Meanwhile the Pidgeotto, Darmanitan, and Poliwrath rushed in from further down the path, when the Pidgeotto among them noticed Pladur was beginning a whirling dance with fiery blue lights surrounding him.
"Over there!" the Pidgeotto exclaimed. "Don't let that Fraxure finish his Dragon Dance!"
"You'll have to get past me first!"
The Pidgeotto and his fellows diverted their attention to see Ander jumping out with his blades drawn to cover Pladur. Further behind, Guardia looked on at the dancing Fraxure when an idea came to her mind, prompting her to turn over her shoulder towards her Nidorina teammate.
"Nida! Cover me a moment!" Guardia shouted. "I'm going to follow Pladur's lead!"
The Cubone swung out her bone, entering the frenzied rhythms of a Swords Dance when Barrow spotted her preparations, prompting him to charge ahead readying a Dragon Tail.
"Oh no you
don't- Owie!"
Nida cut in with a sharp jab from a poison-slicked paw, sending Barrow tumbling off his feet. Crom ran in with his claws drawn to try and pounce on the Jangmo-o, when from the corner of his eye he spotted Melli forming translucent blue hexagonal barriers about her body, making him call out to his teammates in alarm.
"Eh?! That Vespiquen's doing something to protect herself!"
Crom dug his feet in, readying a bluish ball of dragonfire in his mouth when a spray of icy flechettes struck his flank. The Druddigon recoiled as his budding Dragon Rage abruptly dissipated into a spray of stray flickers, leaving him rubbing against his stinging and sore hide.
"Kweh heh heh! A little
stray frost is all it takes to shut your attacks down?" a Sneasel's voice jeered. "And here I thought dragons were supposed to be tough!"
Crom brushed the ice off his scales and looked over to his right where he saw Clyde sneering back at him with his tongue stuck out. The young Druddigon flashed his claws, flaring his wings as he let out an angry growl back at his opponent.
"Let's see you try that a second time!" Crom snapped.
The Druddigon sprang forward and swiped with his claws at the Sneasel, only for him to move out of the way and leave him swinging at empty air. Crom snorted out of annoyance and swung at him again, only for Clyde to evade his grasp by hairs and fling another spray of icy flechettes back. The Druddigon jumped back from Clyde's Ice Shard with a frustrated growl, watching his foe keenly for an opening when a sharp
crack rang out and he saw an approaching stream of red bubbles from the corner of his eye.
"Huh?!"
Crom flinched and vainly tried to shield himself as the bubbles settled on his body and popped inertly. The Dragon-Type looked on puzzledly over the seeming lack of effect as Tegu threw aside the used-up wand, leaving Crom to blink in confusion before Clyde darted up, readying his claws for a running slash.
"Kweh heh heh! Now you'll be even slower and more useless than-"
The Sneasel was cut off mid-sentence by a punch trailing orange flecks of light that drove deep into his gut, sending him flying off his feet and crashing to the ground limply with a weak groan. From the side, Barrow turned back from following Melli into a strafing run at Nida, looking over wide-eyed as his jaw flopped open in shock.
"A-Aah! Cly- AUGH!"
The Jangmo-o was interrupted by Guardia charging in freshly invigorated from her Swords Dance and striking the side of his face with her bone. Barrow let out a pained shriek, before crumpling to the ground unconscious as his assailant brought her club back to her side with a shake of her head.
"Hrmph, somehow I was expecting
more from you," she piped.
The Cubone's self-satisfaction was cut short by the sound of a loud buzz, prompting her to turn and see Nida jumping back as Melli shot a glowing red beam from her forehead's jewel and just barely missed her. Guardia rushed in to intervene and swung her club at the Vespiquen, only for her to weave around it and fly up out of the Cubone's reach, leaving her stomping the ground in frustration.
"Gah! Get down here and
fight!" the Ground-Type fumed.
"No way! You'll just hit me!"
Melli beat her wings and shot forth a cutting gust of air, which struck Guardia in her chest and sent her rolling back along the ground. The Ground-Type righted herself, pulling her helmet low against her head and gritting her teeth back at the Bug-Type.
"You're not the only one who can play that game, you know!"
Guardia threw her bone ahead in a whirling arc, only for the Vespiquen to blow it away with her wings. Guardia's determined expression quickly melted into wide-eyed alarm as she watched her club sail off, veering far to the left and well outside the returning arc she was expecting.
"Gih!"
The Cubone hastily gave chase after her bone, prompting Nida to bound ahead and try to harry the Vespiquen, when a jeer from her side reached her ears.
"Hey Nidorina, heads up!"
Nida turned as a purplish mist blew into her face, prompting her to recoil and stumble back when she saw Tegu looking at her. The Nidorina coughed and saw droplets from the poisoned haze lingering on her fur, before flicking it away and shooting an unimpressed scowl at the Salandit.
"Seriously?
Toxic?" she scoffed. "Who on earth taught
you to fight?"
The Salandit remained unfazed at the Nidorina's question, a knowing smirk spreading over his face before he shot back a taunting reply.
"I should be asking
you that question, spike ball."
Nida flicked her ears and prepared to lunge at her Salandit attacker when she suddenly felt a chill run down her body and felt a flash of pain ebb over her body.
"A-Ah!"
"I guess your guild didn't teach you that my poison works even on other Poison-Types," Tegu sneered. "It's basic knowledge for anyone dealing with a Salandit!"
Nida stood dumbfounded for a moment, realizing that the little lizard's Toxic had somehow poisoned her. After a moment's loss of words, she shook her head, hopping back with a guarded stance and calling out to Crom for assistance.
"Crom! If this is really poison, then a Pecha Berry ought to be able to heal it!"
"R-Right!" he cried. "I'm coming!"
The Druddigon tried to run forward, only to find his limbs tired and unresponsive. The young dragon fought to move his legs, only to find his attempts to dart ahead yielding little more than a couple lethargic steps forward. Crom's eyes shot wide as he realized much to his alarm that in place of the vigor he just had, his body felt as tired as it would've right before going to bed on New Year's!
"H-Huh?! What- Why am I feeling so tired?!"
"Never heard of a Truant Wand before?" Tegu taunted. "They'll make you feel as tired and worn out as a Slaking!"
The Salandit smirked as he watched Crom and Nida's faces contort into bewildered alarm, tensing his body as he waved his tail back and forth.
"Though here's something you should be more familiar with!"
Tegu dropped to all fours and spat out a beam of blue, fiery light at Crom, knocking him off his feet and sending him toppling to the ground. The Dragon-Type fought to try and get up to his feet, only for his muscles to seize up and his limbs begin to waver.
"N-Ngh… Grk…"
The Druddigon's strength failed him as he flopped over unconscious onto his back, leaving Nida to look on with slack-jawed shock as a Salandit's jeering laugh filled the air.
"Ha ha ha! Not bad for a Salandit, huh?" Tegu sneered. "Dragon-Types aren't the only ones who can learn Dragon Pulse, you know!"
Nida grit her teeth, realizing that the Salandit was by far a stronger foe than his appearance let on. The Nidorina saw Crom's bag lying open next to his prone body and darted over to it where she fished out a Pecha Berry and a Reviver Seed, before whirling back towards Tegu.
"Grr! Well, you're not the only one with tricks up your sleeve, you know!"
Nida was summarily answered by a fireball that sailed into her and exploded on contact, which promptly flashed over her paw and made her drop the seed and berry to the ground with a pained cry. Nida shook her paw and stared down in horror to discover that the two items were now charred and blackened beyond use, as Tegu called out another taunt.
"Maybe not, but they're certainly not as lame as the ones you and your boyfriend have got!"
Nida felt her blood boil as her breaths came out hot and seething, the Nidorina lowering her head as her thoughts grew increasingly crowded out by a singular, overwhelming urge…
To make that blasted Salandit
pay.
"Oh, that
tears it!"
She barreled ahead and charged after Tegu, who slipped to the side and stuck his tongue out, before darting off to his left. Nida followed the Salandit to and fro, attempting to keep chase when she felt the poisonous chill from earlier sweep over her body and watched as her vision began to run muddy.
"Nrk…"
Nida thought back to her lessons from the guild, and realized that Tegu's Toxic was surely starting to wear down on her. Why the blasted little skink
knew the bind she was in and was just stalling and leading her around so his poison would seep in faster! But… with everything that she'd tried so far having failed, what else was she supposed to
do at this point?
"Whoa!"
The Nidorina turned her head at the sound of a sharp cry as Guardia tumbled head over heels into her path, the Cubone coming to a stop face-first in the dirt before getting up and shaking her head to regain her bearings. Nida looked over the Cubone, and back at Tegu, when a sudden realization dawned over her.
"Guardia! Throw your bone at that Salandit over there!" she cried, drawing an incredulous gape back from her Ground-Type teammate.
"Huh?! But he's just a
Yatoumori and that big
Beequen is still there!"
"Just trust me on this!" Nida insisted. "It's the only way we'll beat these two!"
Guardia nodded, prompting Nida to run ahead towards Tegu while the Cubone provided cover by throwing her club forward into a spinning Bonemerang. Guardia's club sailed forward, only for the Salandit to dodge it by dropping to the ground on his stomach. Tegu got up as soon as the bone flew by, revealing a Sleep Seed in his hand much to Nida and Guardia's mutual horror as a sneer spread over his face.
"Hah!" he jeered. "Was that really the best you could think-?!"
The lizard was cut-off mid-sentence by the Bonemerang returning, striking the back of his head and sending him faceplanting into the dirt. Nida lowered her head and continued charging ahead, Tegu's dazed groaning driving her legs forward in pursuit of much-deserved vengeance when a sharp wind struck her and knocked her off her feet.
"Eyaaah!"
Nida staggered and fought to retain her balance, her vision wobbling as she heard a deep buzz approaching her, only for Guardia's voice to reach her ears.
"Keep going! Just don't let that
Yatoumori get up!"
Nida turned, seeing Guardia run at Melli and lunge at her with a Headbutt, forcing the Vespiquen back with a startled buzz. The Nidorina ran ahead, summoning her flagging strength to barrel towards Tegu as he started to stumble back onto his feet. With the last of her energy, Nida lunged at Tegu, pulling her paw back as she bellowed out to the Poison-Type ahead.
"Here's to your stupid tricks!"
The Nidorina brought her paw down and raked her nails over Tegu's body, and did it again, and again in a rage until her fourth swipe led her to drive a swipe deep into the Salandit's gut and make him shout out in pain.
"ARGH!"
The Salandit wrenched himself away, staggering and tottering away before he slumped over, leaving Nida to give an extra kick at her tormentor. The rabbit paused a moment, realizing that her technique must have been Fury Swipes. So it wasn’t just Crom who learned a new move from this fight!
Nida felt another chill rack her body and watched as her vision ran spotty, prompting her to hastily grab at Tegu's bag and fumble through it. After brushing past seeds and wands, her paw felt the rind of a Lum Berry, reflexively snatching it out and greedily consuming it as she panted and fought to keep her balance.
"A-Aagh!"
Nida turned her head at the sound of Guardia's startled cry and saw her falling to the ground from a hail of blue hexagonal lights that Melli shot forward in buzzing, zigzagging paths. The Nidorina watched blankly as the hapless Cubone thrashed under the effects of the Attack Order and the Vespiquen drew near to finish her off. Time seemed to slow in front of Nida's eyes, her breaths coming out ragged and as she realized her strength was not enough to carry her into battle, when she spotted the Sleep Seed by Tegu's hand. Without thinking, she grabbed the seed and flung it at Melli where it dashed against her exoskeleton in a cloud of peach-colored mist.
"Nn-wha…?"
Melli jolted up in reflex and turned towards Nida, her gait tottering as the effects of the Sleep Seed began to overtake her. The Vespiquen's wings failed her, sending her dropping out of the sky and to the ground with a dull thud. Guardia breathed in and out sharply, clutching onto her bone for dear life as she looked on at the dozing Bug-Type when she glanced up and saw Nida approaching with Tegu's bag slung over her shoulder. The Cubone let out a sigh of relief, getting back up to her feet as she kept a wary, uneasy gaze trained on Melli's sleeping body.
"Th-That's not going to hold her for long…"
"It'll work for long enough," Nida panted. "Come on, let's heal up and go help the others."
The pair turned towards their teammates to see Dimitri slumped over on the ground cold and unmoving. A little further away, the two saw Pladur running towards the Pidgeotto of Jun's group and swiftly bringing a pair of powerful strikes from his tusks against the bird's breast. The Flying-Type reeled under the blows, and crashed to the ground fainted with a quick glance revealing he was in the company of a similarly unconscious Darmanitan and Poliwrath. Further aside, a pained screech rang out as Jun threw Ander aside, the Beedrill's attention quickly settling over Pladur with an indignant hiss.
"This has gone on long enough!" Jun exclaimed. "Let's see you manage this,
Axndo!"
The Beedrill doubled back with a Poison Jab, thrusting a drill forward that Pladur caught with a swipe of his claws, before following it with a second thrust that caught the Fraxure square in his chest.
"A-AAAH!"
Pladur let out a bellowing cry of pain and tumbled to the ground, leaving Jun to fly up as he prepared to finish off his opponent. From their position, Guardia yanked impatiently at Nida's arm, before running ahead with a parting call over her shoulder.
"We don't have time for that, Nida!" Guardia insisted. "Come on!"
The Cubone darted ahead, readying her club as she made her way for Jun. As the Beedrill flitted back, Nida tried to hop forward, only to feel fatigue from her prior wounds catch up with her. The Poison-Type turned her attention to her pilfered bag of items, where after pawing through it she came across a Blinker Seed. The Nidorina grasped onto the seed and pulled it out of the bag, wheeling around at the Beedrill with a sharp cry.
"Heads up, you overgrown Cutiefly!"
Nida hurled the Blinker Seed forward, sending it flying towards Jun. The seed found its mark on the Bug-Type's shoulder, leaving him to lurch around in a daze as he tried to steady himself and fight against his impaired vision.
"H-Huh?! What's the meaning of-?! Ack!"
The Beedrill was cut off by Guardia jumping up and smashing her club into the back of his head, sending the wasp jerking forward as Ander dashed up with a spread-wing tackle. Jun crashed to the ground, giving a weak beat of his wings as he tried to prop himself up on the points of his drill before his limbs abruptly went rigid.
"C-Captain… I'm sorry…"
The wasp's strength gave out, leaving him to collapse against the ground as Nida and her companions looked around. All around them, their foes had all been overpowered, though Team Traveller's members were too haggard and tired to take any real satisfaction from their victory.
"C-Come on," Nida wheezed. "We need to get Crom and Dimitri back up and get out of here!"
Nida hurried over to Crom's body as Guardia made her way over to tend to Dimitri, the Nidorina slipping a Tiny Reviver Seed into the young Druddigon's mouth and clamping it shut. The Dragon-Type began to stir, his eyes flickering as he bit down on the seed and stumbled up coughing and groaning from his wounds.
"Ungh… Nida?" he murmured. "A-Are you alright? You look awful."
"I… I think I can hang in there a bit longer," the Nidorina insisted.
Crom stumbled up onto his feet and glanced around his surroundings, seeing Jun fainted in the path with Tegu's group strewn about near the iced-over entrance. Further down the path, the remainder of Jun's party laid sprawled out, with Dimitri uneasily staggering back upright and Pladur wobbling up the lane towards him. His father's red eyes fell upon him for a short moment, when the Fraxure stumbled and toppled over, making Crom's eyes widen in alarm.
"
Dad!"
Crom hurried over and grabbed onto his father's arm, pulling him up as he pawed and stammered worriedly back at the Fraxure.
"A-Are you alright?!" he cried. "If I'd known you were-"
"
Mijo, it's okay," Pladur replied. "I… I just need a moment to catch my breath."
The pair froze as they heard a weak buzz, turning to see Melli stirring on the ground, struggling to prop his head upright in a disoriented daze.
"N-Nrgh… Jun? What's going on?" the Vespiquen groaned, prompting Dimitri to blanch and turn back to his teammates.
"Blurgh… doesn't look like we'll have time for that," he said. "Come on, we'll heal up once we make it inside!"
The Kabutops quickly led the rest of Team Traveller's members along, ducking past the frozen waterfall and into the fog-shrouded cave mouth behind it. As the lot made their way deeper and deeper, Nida watched as her surroundings melted into the fog, hoping to herself that Pleo and the others weren't in as bad of straits as they were.
As Nida and her teammates made their way into the Mystery Dungeon, further below on the eleventh floor, a Lampent, an Aipom, and a Togedemaru in Imperial scarves surveyed a stable zone lined with icy crystals. The chamber had been recently inhabited, as the still-smoldering cinders from a fire at the center of the room evidenced. One after the other, the three went around, glancing and listening about their surroundings as the Togedemaru sniffed at the air, before the Lampent paused and shook his body with a low harrumph.
"Looks like nobody's here," the Ghost-Type grumbled.
"But their scent's fairly strong here and the ashes from the fire here are still warm!" the Togedemaru protested. "Are you
sure we're not overlooking anything?"
"They must've moved on," the Aipom said. "Come on, they can't be far."
The Aipom and Lampent turned and retraced their steps back through the fog, their Togedemaru companion giving one last sniff at the air before shaking her head and following suit. As the three vanished off through the fog, their footsteps grew increasingly soft and muddled, leaving the stable zone to return back to its prior quiet.
"I think they're gone," a Swellow's voice said.
At once, Kiran poked his head out from behind a cluster of ice crystals, prompting the rest of his companions to emerge and follow him out onto the floor of the stable zone, the lot inhaling and letting out a collective sigh of relief.
"That was much closer than I would've liked," Trizano muttered.
"Yeah, for a sec I was worried they'd sniff us out," Elty piped.
Pleo turned off towards the foggy entrance, shuffling his wings uncomfortably for a moment before craning his head back towards Kiran with an uneasy grimace.
"Kiran? What do we do now?" the Lugia asked. "These encounters are happening more and more often and I don't think we'd be able to get out of another one like that so easily."
Kiran said nothing back for a short moment, before his eyes came across the glint of his badge on his scarf. It was admittedly a shot in the dark, but it
had been well over an hour since he'd last tried speaking into it…
"Let's try Kelly again," Kiran suggested. "Maybe Dimitri managed to tip off the others by now."
The Swellow moved a wing over his badge, pressing down on it with his flight feathers as he spoke into it with a hesitant, wary murmur.
"Kelly?"
"Kiran?! Oh Travellers Above, you're still alright!"
The four's eyes lit up with a mix of disbelief and relief, Kiran letting his wing fall away from his badge a moment as he briefly wondered if he was dreaming, only to shake his head and press down again.
"We all are, or at least for now," he said. "We don't have a lot of time left to make an escape though."
"You're in a stable zone with a bunch of ice crystals right now, right?"
"Yes."
"Step towards the edges a moment. I'm coming in from pretty far out and I'll need a bit of space to overshoot."
One after the other, the four Pokémon dutifully backed away from the center of the stable zone, turning back and watching intently. Much like a bolt of lightning, a sudden flash lit up the room, making the lot reflexively blink before they spotted Kelly's form bobbing about a paw's height off the ground in the air, next to their now-dead fire pit.
"Thank gods, I was starting to wonder if we'd need to
swim our way back to you," Elty said.
"Well, don't get comfortable just yet," Kelly insisted. "We're not exactly in the clear ourselves, so the sooner we all get back to the ship, the better."
"Right, then let's not waste any time," Trizano replied.
Pleo, Elty, Kiran, and Trizano hastily gathered around the Elgyem, the lot forming an interlocking chain with their paws and wings as the Psychic-Type began to breathe in and tense her body in focused preparation for a Teleport. Before she could finish, a spray of black orbs abruptly flew in and struck the back of her head, sending Kelly flying face-first into an iced-over wall as Team Traveller's members' jaws dropped and Pleo squawked in alarm.
"A-Ah! Kelly!"
The four watched in shock as Kelly slumped over and hit the ground unconscious, when the sound of a sharp hiss filled the air from the stable zone's entrance.
"That's quite enough, Protector."
The party turned and saw as Nagant hopped forward from the stable zone's entrance, Cabot, Berecien, and Niilo following closely behind her. Far from their surprise from their last encounter, this time the lot were all ready and braced for battle, including Nagant who lowered her large claw, training its tip square at Pleo's breast.
"You've been giving us all a lot of trouble chasing you from one island to the next," the Clawitzer snapped. "That all ends here."
Team Traveller's members blanched at the sight of the Nagant and her underlings nearing, the lot hastily adopting battle stances as they tried to force some level of composure and stand their ground.
"G-Gah! Don't think we're just gonna give up and go back with you to Giotto!" Elty yipped.
"Tch, have it your way then," Niilo scoffed. "It's not like you have a choice."
"Yeah, I'm not one to pass up the chance to kick pirate scum like you around again!" Berecien spat.
Pleo looked back at Nagant and the others blankly, noticing that Niilo and Berecien were sporting hardened expressions and visibly spoiling for a fight, when he saw Cabot hesitate and look away. Sensing a chance to try and avoid their imminent battle, the young Protector beat out his wings waving desperately for attention.
"Cabot! Isn't there anything you can do here? We don't need to fight like this!" Pleo pleaded. "If you'd just let me explain-"
"Save it!" Nagant barked. "I won't let you talk your way out of my claws!"
The Clawitzer leveled her claw as a black orb began to form at its tip, shooting a spray of them forward at Pleo before he could muster a reply. The Lugia froze out of fear, watching as the Dark Pulse zipped towards him when a silvery flash cut it off, tumbling to the ground to reveal Trizano stumbling back up to his feet with a disoriented squawk.
"N-Nrgh! Brace yourselves, everyone!"
As Trizano fought to regain his bearings, Elty took off running, lowering his head in a charge towards Berecien. At the same time, Pleo took to the air, flying off towards Nagant when Kiran flew up readying a slicing gust with his wings.
"Pleo! Now!"
Pleo discharged a crackling stream of electricity towards the Clawitzer, Kiran joining suit by sending his Air Slash alongside it. Nagant braced herself as the attacks flew at her, only for Niilo to abruptly dart in front of her and form a translucent green barrier with a swift motion of his claws. The attacks struck the barrier, sending the Sandslash skidding back slightly before it dissipated, leaving the pair with not even a scratch to show for Pleo and Kiran's efforts as Niilo curled his muzzle up into a smug smirk.
"Did you think you were the
only one who learned a new move, Lugia?" the Sandslash asked.
Pleo's beak stiffened into a sharp grimace at Niilo's taunt, when a sharp yelp rang out to his right. The Lugia turned to see Elty tumbling back from Berecien after a tackle wreathed with electric sparks, the Growlithe falling onto the ground before getting back onto his feet and letting out a disgusted growl as static continued crackling on his fur.
"Gah, you don't say…"
The four quickly fell back, retreating as Nagant and the others began to approach and attempt to flank from the sides. As their foes came in tighter and tighter, Pleo looked about uneasily, seeing there didn't seem to be any way of avoiding another direct confrontation like the one that they'd just struggled with.
"Is… Is there anything else we can do, Kiran?" Pleo gulped.
"We need to thin their numbers somehow," the Swellow said. "I'm just not sure where we'd even start."
Elty shifted his bag off his shoulders, hurriedly pawing through it before pulling out a blue orb with a glowing, sun-like ball of fire inside. The Growlithe turned his glance back towards his teammates with newfound confidence, as a widening, devious smile spread across his muzzle.
"Putting a handicap on that overgrown
rak and her water attacks seems like a good place to start," he piped. "Get ready to make your moves!"
Elty picked up the orb with his mouth before throwing it to the ground, dashing it against the stony ground underfoot. Immediately, the ball of fire inside darted up into the air, bursting and leaving behind a bright, overpowering glow overhead that made the chamber feel like high noon on Sormus. As Nagant recoiled from the effects of the Sunny Orb, Trizano took wing, calling back to the others as he led the charge ahead.
"Follow me!"
The Skarmory dove down, striking Niilo in the stomach with a Steel Wing as the rest of his teammates charged in trading attacks. Amidst the confusion, Cabot hastily rolled out of the way of a Flame Wheel from Elty, the Growlithe getting summarily knocked away with a yelp by a stream of fiery blue light from Nagant. The Cranidos looked up and saw Pleo jumping back from a spray of small fireballs, watching as the young Protector noticed him, slowed to a stop and stared back at him. The two looked at each other blankly for a moment, neither of them sure what to do when Berecien abruptly struck Pleo with an electric tackle.
"A-Agh!"
Pleo tumbled away from the Ponyta's blow, static crackling on his feathers before he hastily flew away in retreat. Back on the ground Berecien stomped his hooves impatiently, before turning back at a still-staring Cabot to snap him back to attention.
"Cabot, keep it together-!"
The Ponyta's chiding was cut off by an Air Slash from Kiran knocking him flat onto his left flank, promptly drawing Cabot's focus back to the ongoing battle with an alarmed shout.
"Ah! Berecien!"
Reflexively, the Cranidos stomped that ground and thrust his right arm towards Kiran, calling forth a spray of edged stones, which sailed up towards Kiran and struck him from his left. With one fell swoop, the Swellow tumbled from the air and pinwheeled to the ground, crashing below unconscious as Pleo and his companions watched in wide-eyed shock.
"K-Kiran!"
Pleo's cry was met by a sharp scoff, prompting him to look over and see Niilo shooting back a taunting sneer.
"Hah, doesn't look like your friends are really pulling their weight!" the Sandslash jeered.
"All the better for us," Berecien said. "We ought to be able to wrap this up just as fast as we did on Sormus!"
The Sandslash and Ponyta darted ahead, Team Traveller's members scattering as Berecien lunged forward and entered a fiery somersault strengthened by the overpowering light that struck Trizano from below.
"Gah!"
As the Skarmory shot up and fought to steady his body, Berecien bounded back, stomping his hooves against the ground as he gave a smug smirk back at the Steel-Type.
"By the way, thanks for using that Sunny Orb earlier!" he called back. "It's always nice having an edge!"
Trizano evened out his body, quickly rolling out of the way as a Stone Edge zipped just past his wingtips. The Skarmory's earholes picked up the
woosh of disturbed air, followed by the sound of a sharp cry, prompting him to look down and see Pleo recoiling from a swipe from Niilo.
"Augh!"
"Time to end this-"
Niilo was abruptly cut off as Pleo spat up a fiery glowing ball in a panic, sending the Sandslash flopping onto his back in a daze. Before the pangolin could right himself, he saw Trizano's shadow pass and felt a slashing gust of wind at his stomach that made him cry in pain. Niilo hastily jerked his body away when he saw Elty jump over an errant Water Pulse as drops visibly dripped off his drenched pelt, before charging along and somersaulting into the disoriented Sandslash with a Flame Wheel. The Puppy Pokémon's blow found its mark square on Niilo's belly, making him stumble back with a yelp.
"Gih! No fair ganging up on me like that!"
Niilo curled up into a ball and hurriedly rolled away from Team Traveller in retreat. Pleo flew along with Trizano and Elty, chasing after the Sandslash when he saw Nagant level his claw at him with a pink orb of light forming inside. The three went wide-eyed, hurriedly retreating when they saw Niilo uncurl and spring up square in Nagant's line of fire just as she expelled the pulse at his body.
"Huh?!"
Pleo watched in surprise as the pink light struck Niilo's body and dissipated with a trail of ripple-like rings about him. Far from the painful injury the Lugia had expected, Niilo's wounds seemed to visibly heal and his limbs tightened up with renewed strength. The young Protector looked on in bewilderment, trying to puzzle out what had happened when a sharp hiss turned his attention over to Nagant.
"Have you all really never seen a Heal Pulse before?" she scoffed. "Or did you think that I'd charge into battle without some way of keeping my subordinates healthy?"
Team Traveller's members' jaws flopped open from shock as the direness of their circumstances sank in. All this time, they'd never anticipated that their foes could heal each other without items, much less from halfway across the chamber! Desperately trying to find any way to turn the tide of battle back, Elty fumbled through his bag, before hurriedly pulling out an orange orb with red, arrowlike markings under its surface.
"Y-Yeah?" he stammered. "Well this ought to help us even things out a bit!"
The Growlithe dashed the Quick Orb against the ground, spewing out a reddish aura that settled on him and his teammates and breathed newfound vigor into them before fading away. Pleo quickly jumped up to dodge an incoming Wild Charge from Berecien, the Ponyta crying out of dismay as Pleo noticed his body's movements felt quicker and Berecien was struggling to keep pace with him. Sensing a chance to press his advantage, the Lugia dove down, plumes of bluish aura erupting along his body as he rammed into Berecien with a Dragon Rush.
"Argh!"
Berecien was knocked off his feet from the impact of Pleo's tackle, landing hard against the ground on his flank. Elty's attention settled on the Ponyta as he struggled and fought against his body to get back up. After seeing Berecien rise back up visibly fatigued and panting, the Growlithe nervously turned back towards Nagant when it dawned on him that with a bit of good timing, he had an opportunity to get the better over him.
"He's running out of steam!" he yipped to his teammates. "Come on! A little extra push will knock him down for the count!"
At once, Trizano beat his wings, swooping down with a slash with his talons that found its mark on Berecien's flank. The Ponyta let out a whinnying cry in pain, recoiling back as he tried to keep his balance amid the pain pulsing through his body. At once, Nagant pivoted on her tail, and shot a Heal Pulse forward towards Berecien.
"Not so fast!"
Before the Heal Pulse could find its mark, a flash of orange abruptly cut in. Berecien and Nagant stared gaping open-mouthed as they watched Elty somersault in the air before landing on his feet, pink ripples flickering across his pelt before he turned back to Nagant in front of a slack-jawed Ponyta with his muzzle curled up in a smug smile.
"By the way, thanks for the Heal Pulse! It's always nice having an edge!"
Berecien spluttered and fumed, letting out a fierce whinny before charging at Elty with his head lowered. The horse reared up and sprang up to stomp down with his hooves, only for Elty to swiftly sidestep and bite down on Berecien's rump.
"Nnrkh!"
The Ponyta's strength ebbed and gave out, his legs slumping forward and sending him toppling to the ground. Elty unclamped his jaws, spitting up stray hairs from Berecien's hide as he turned back to the fallen Ponyta with a gloating taunt.
"Hah! Chew on that, you dandy! Now we're even from Sormu-!"
The Growlithe's gloating was abruptly cut off by a hail of pointed stones from Cabot's position, launching the Fire-Type up and sending him crashing back to the ground unconscious. Pleo and Trizano blanched at seeing Elty taken out so easily, an incoming Dark Pulse prompting the pair to hastily jump up and turn their attention back to Nagant and her underlings. Keenly aware that two of their three foes were strongly advantaged, Trizano looked around hurriedly when he spotted Kiran's bag next to his prone body flopped open, his mind recalling that the Swellow had packed Reviver Seeds with him.
"We're going to need to turn this matchup around,
fast," the Skarmory said. "This way, Pleo!"
Pleo and Trizano dove down, flying low and fast along the ground for Kiran. As they neared, Pleo felt an icy pain flash over his wing and wobbled in the air, looking back to see a strip encrusted in frost from a grazing Ice Beam. The Lugia came to a hurried landing, desperately running the rest of the distance while beating his stricken wing to try and restore feeling to it. As the young Lugia neared, he saw Trizano rooting through Kiran's bag, pulling out a Reviver Seed and throwing it over to him.
"Here!" the Steel-Type cried. "Pass it onto your friend!"
"Good luck with that one,
kana!"
Niilo abruptly barreled in, his body curled up into a ball of brown, thorny spikes. Trizano hastily threw up a wing to deflect the incoming Rollout, prompting Pleo to squawk and scamper over to Kiran as he slipped a Reviver Seed into his mouth.
"Grah! Mind your space, Sandslash!"
Pleo looked up from Kiran just in time to see Trizano regain his bearings and strike at Niilo with a wing trailing silvery flecks of light that sent the Sandslash's attempt at a retreat veering off course. The Skarmory beat his wings to try and regroup towards Pleo, only to stagger back after Cabot hastily rammed him with a headbutt trailing shadowy wisps. Pleo recoiled from Cabot's Assurance with an alarmed stare when he felt Kiran's body shift beside him, a quick glance revealing him to be rising up woozily onto his feet.
"Ngah… Pleo?" Kiran asked. "What's-?"
"Look alive!" Trizano shouted.
Pleo and Kiran jumped out of the way as Niilo barged in curled up into a Rollout, the pair hurriedly taking to the air alongside Trizano as they flew over Nagant and her remaining underlings. As the three weaved around errant pulses in the air, they noticed Niilo continuing to roll about in his spiky ball, making Kiran's eyes light up as a realization came over him.
"Ah! The Sandslash! He's still stuck rolling about!" he exclaimed. "If we attack him, he'll have a harder time striking back!"
"Right!" Trizano replied. "Let's make this count then!"
Trizano and Kiran swooped in, buffeting Niilo with a hail of cutting gusts and dive bombs. A sudden, icy beam cut through, forcing the two back and letting the Sandslash scramble ahead, only for a glowing, fiery orb to strike him from above. The Ground-Type yelped and flopped forward limply, Pleo looking down with stunned relief as he sized up the results of his Weather Ball.
"We- We did it!" Pleo cried. "Now we just need to get Elty back up, and-!"
The Lugia jolted back with a startled squawk as an icy ray zipped past his wingtips, followed by a spray of black orbs and a fiery blue beam as Nagant wildly spewed her attacks into the air that forced the Protector and his companions to fall back. As Pleo retreated away from the Clawitzer's hail of attacks, he saw Cabot in the corner of his eye darting over towards Elty's fainted body.
"Ah! Cabot!" the Lugia squawked. "What are you-?!"
"Stay away!" the Cranidos shouted. The dinosaur called up pointed stones from the ground, sending them flying up at Trizano above him. The Skarmory attempted to roll out of the way, only for the Stone Edge to badly clip his right wing, sending him plummeting to the ground with a loud thud. The Steel-Type woozily got up, watching as Cabot came barreling at him with another Assurance, when a sharp cry cut through the air.
"That's enough!" Kiran exclaimed. "Let me give you 200% more airtime!"
Kiran brought his wings together, sending forth an overpowering Whirlwind that knocked Cabot off his feet and blew him across the stable zone. With his opponent now a safe distance away, the Swellow quickly plucked an Oran Berry from his bag before turning to Trizano.
"Here!"
The Swellow threw the blue fruit, sending it sailing into the air for Trizano to jump up and snatch with his beak. The Steel-Type hastily devoured the fruit, letting it work its way through his body when he heard a sharp yelp behind him. Trizano whirled around just in time to see Pleo tripping over, having been badly grazed by a Dark Pulse from Nagant's firing claw. The Lugia desperately tried to stumble back to his feet while the Clawitzer neared with an agitated hiss and readied herself for a second attack as stray static crackled on her carapace.
"This ends now!"
"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Trizano shot back.
The Skarmory jumped up and dove at the Clawitzer, spreading his talons and launching into a raking slash that sent Nagant skidding back. The shrimp dug her claw into the ground to steady herself from Trizano's Aerial Ace, when Kiran charged in with an Air Slash from his wings, sending her tumbling to the ground. Pleo watched as Nagant started propping herself up, seeing her entirely distracted with Kiran and Trizano. Instinctively, the young Lugia darted forward, electricity coursing among his plumes before he spread his wings and cast forward a second Thunderbolt square at the Clawitzer's body.
"Ack!"
Nagant froze and seized up as sparks danced on her exoskelton's plates. Pleo braced himself as she struggled against her paralysis, his spirits rising after she proved unable to attack, only for his relief to quickly fade when he looked up and noticed the light from the Sunny Orb starting to vanish.
"Ah! The sky!" Pleo cried.
"Looks like we're on borrowed time," Kiran said. "Everybody, make your blows count here!"
Kiran, Trizano, and Pleo threw in attacks one after the other, buffeting Nagant with a Wing Attack, a Slash, and a Dragon Rush. The hail of blows drew a sharp cry, prompting the three to look down and watch Nagant fall over. After a moment's hesitation, the trio neared to examine the Clawitzer, only to jump back with a start as her eyes hardened into a glare and she threw herself back onto her tail, leveling her firing claw once more with panting and winded hiss.
"Nrgh… No! It's not over yet!" Nagant insisted. "I won't let it end like this!"
"Please,
stop!"
Pleo stepped forward, waving his wings desperately for attention in front of the tired Clawitzer. Nagant held her claw still, still scowling as the young Protector cried out to her.
"We don't need to keep fighting like this!" the Lugia insisted. "Just give us a chance to explain what's happening without shooting at us constantly!"
The shrimp let out a frustrated hiss in reply, readying an orb of water at the tip of her firing claw when she felt a claw pawing at her back, prompting her to glance behind her and see Cabot looking up at her with a pleading expression.
"Captain? Maybe… Maybe we should hear them out," the Cranidos said. "Even if we manage to beat them… how's Pleo ever gonna want to be the Empire's Protector if we bring him in like this?"
Nagant said nothing for a long moment, before allowing the orb in her claw to dissipate and dribble to the ground in an inert puddle. Still fighting against the effects of her wounds, she lowered her claw before letting out an impatient growl.
"… Fine, I'll humor it," the Water-Type huffed. "What have you got to explain here?"
Author's Notes:
-
peh-chiú (白酒) - Hokkien: "baijiu", a type of Chinese rice wine. Lit. "white wine" (POJ Romanization)
-
phái-tô͘ (歹徒) - Hokkien: "thug", "ruffian" (POJ Romanization)
-
hachi (蜂) - Japanese: "wasp" (Hepburn Romanization)
-
Yatoumori (ヤトウモリ) - Japanese: "Salandit" (Official Romanization)
-
Beequen (ビークイン) - Japanese: "Vespiquen" (Official Romanization)
-
Axndo (액슨도) - Korean: "Fraxure" (Official Romanization)
-
rak - Polish: "crayfish"
-
kana - Finnish: "chicken"
) on the ship.