When the other pokemon in Paradise were asleep, Foliga would stay awake to gaze at the sky. Despite not actually knowing the names of many of the stars, or their various formations, her mysterious window to space was enough to amaze the grounded grass-type, regardless how many times she saw it. How the stars would always manage to look a little different to her, with each just a touch out of place from where she remembered them being. And the moon, with its wondrous shapes and craters gliding effortlessly on the edges of her world...

Foliga would never see anything out of the ordinary, but if she did, it would also fall onto her to do something about it. Her home, little more than an underground den with a basement window, was built into a hill on the outskirts of the village It was otherwise the perfect place to survey most of Paradise.

But she didn't sit on her perch to watch the town, she wanted to watch the sky, even if nothing ever happened. The routine was less about lookout, but just to enjoy it . And after the laborious days spent in Paradise, the Chikorita headed straight to that spot. She waited until the sky shifted colors, orange to purple to navy, until the pokemon in the village put out their lights.

What immediately grabbed her attention tonight was what had to be the brightest star Foliga had ever seen, shining through the dusk and easily dwarfing the moon in terms of luminosity. It practically pulsed its own light, and only seemed to grow brighter. Had this star been there all her life, and she was just ignorant to it until this very moment? Was it some sort of celestial phenomena that occurred once every other century?

The Chikorita pounced onto all her limbs to get a better look. She gawked at it, mouth and eyes wide open and was sure to look foolish to anyone else that would have been there. Foliga imagined the star was calling out towards her, and she was trying to hear it speak. But when the star started to grow bigger, she put together what was really happening:

That star, it's almost getting closer… That's not a star at all, it's a meteoroid!

The meteoroid acted like an artificial sun, lighting up the scene just for an instant. Everything, even the tiny Chikorita, gave off its own shadow, spinning circles around their caster as if in a timelapse. And abruptly as it arrived, Paradise went back into darkness as the meteorite sped past Foliga and over the forest, before descending into the far off mountain range with a bombastic crash!

Foliga never looked away. She squinted her eyes, trying to watch the meteorite as much her vision would allow before the blinding light. In the late hour, no other pokemon would be awake to see it, and perhaps she was the sole witness to where the meteorite landed. So, it stood to her that she may have been the only one to see the meteoroid break apart. While the majority of it probably had landed in the nearby Copper Carvings, Foliga could have been the only one to know that a tiny piece of it had landed in the woods practically in her backyard.

Foliga would not let it wait until morning, and she was definitely not tired anymore. With a newfound energy, she raced off into the edge of the forest, deftly darting between shrubs and trees, jumping over fallen logs and pitfalls. Foliga did not need to keep track of where she was going, instead only with a general sense of direction which way home was. She knew Paradise Village and its surrounding areas like the back of her leaf, living there longer than any memory that she might have. A life's worth of guiding pokemon and locating lost items with vague landmarks was finally starting to show some use.

Her momentum was stopped short when she finally reached the wreckage the meteorite caused. Soft dirt was kicked up which lead to a dark, smoldering mass. The sizeable trees in its wake were splintered to pieces easily like toothpicks. She knew it was only a broken off bit of a bigger mystery, her imagination led her to believe it was much bigger than it really was; in reality, the chunk of the meteorite was no bigger than herself, and she could haul it back home with reasonable effort.

Surprisingly, the meteorite was not even hot. The smoke rising from the wreckage must have not been smoke at all, but something else entirely. Maybe it's steam, she guessed, or some other gas? Regardless, Foliga could touch it with her leaf and not get burned. Even more surprising was how brittle the stone was, which crumbled under her touch. The Chikorita reeled her leaf away from the rock, only in fear she had somehow destroyed it. But the meteorite never stopped and just kept deteriorating upon itself…

No, no no no! The rock kept falling to pieces. She tried to mold it back together in a desparate attempt to retain its shape, but all her efforts were in vain, as the tiny meteorite was eroded to nothing but a pile of ash. Her mind was blank. she could only stand there, toes deep in the ashes of when she wanted an outstanding discovery.

In hindsight, Foliga didn't know what she was initially expecting. How did I let this fill me with so many expectations? The other locals were surely to check the crash site as soon as the next day and would think nothing much of it. To her, she had made a bargain with the fallen star, exchanging her hopes for whatever riches it carried. Foliga was ready to turn away.

And at that very moment, the moon and the night sky shifted. Something maybe wanted her to find this meteorite. Clouds moved past the moon's gaze, illuminating the wreckage in a faint light. The pile of ash still stayed pitch black, but now against the moonlight shone a ray of marvelous color. It was enough to catch her attention once more and she turned again to re-evaluate the meteorite. This time, she used her leaf to excavate more purposefully than the mad scrambling she had done before.

Buried at the core of the meteorite was a single jewel. It was round and fairly small, even compared to the size of the Chikorita. Its iridescence reminded Foliga of the wonder orbs that some explorers would carry, but this one was distinctly orange in color than the usual blue she was used to seeing. If no one knew better, it could have passed inspection as some augmented ore. But the orange jewel put some type of pressure that clouded her thought. Like it commanded an aura, the type that had to mean power.

Foliga could not deny the glint of ambition in her eyes. She held up the orange jewel to the night sky, appraising it as it perfectly reflected the sea of stars above.

A jewel like hers must always be worth something, especially if she could find the right pokemon to show it to. And as she was later curled in her bed, back in the darkness of her home, she began to form a plan.

"I'll find the rest of that meteorite," Foliga said aloud to herself, "I'll find a way into the Copper Carvings. But that place is way too dangerous, no one would even let me through the gate. I'll need help." She knew exactly whose assistance she would need, too. Maybe not for the expedition, but just to get her started. "But getting him on board is easier said than done…"

Foliga opted to figure out the rest in the morning. She needed the rest and did every trick she knew into settling down for the night. But the tiny grass-type was too excited to fall asleep at any reasonable time.

Chapter 1: Visitors from Another World

"So just for my sake, please explain this to me like you would to the Superior." But Foliga knew better than to believe that Septime was paying attention.

She was walking right on the Servine's heels down the pasture road, each toting their respective bags, with his tail dangerously close to smacking the Chikorita in the face. It would not surprise her if he would take the opportunity to do so on purpose. That was the price of catching him so early in the morning.

Since she could remember, Foliga knew Septime did not share the same sentimentality over their social work as she did. And it came to the Servine's chagrin that, at his second evolutionary stage, more responsibility was placed on him, by none other than the Superior, his father. It was all too easily noticeable with only a glance, how noncommittal he looked and carried himself with disdain for everything he was likely told to do. Or how empty and light his toolbag looked compared to hers, which threatened to spill important papers everywhere. And the meteorite's jewel.

She ignored his reluctance and carried on with her explanation. "So it started out like most nights, where I was outside my house. Then the whole sky lit up and this thing shot right above the whole town! It was like a second and tiny little sun." Foliga could hear her own words blending together, trying to keep up with the recollection. "And it was so close to hitting Paradise. Like it was trying to make a crash landing somewhere safe! I'm positive it landed somewhere in the Copper Carvings!"

"…You can't actually explain it like that to the Superior."

"Oh, Septime," Foliga said dreamily, "it was really something you had to experience… I feel changed. This one thing made the rest of those empty nights on the hill worth it to me."

"Wowie." She could hear just by his voice the Servine rolling his eyes. "I guess I should stay up for the next one."

"I'm serious about this! And you know, you're always welcome to join me." Part of Foliga was actually genuine about the offer, but she knew it was meant more as a courtesy.

"Hmm. I'll have to sleep on it."

Foliga let herself enjoy the ambient green meadows around her. Both grass-types continued down by the perfectly cultivated fields, complete with a undamaged picket fence. How someone must have labored for such perfection! Not many mornings earlier marked the turn of the season, and the village bloomed in beauty befitting its name Paradise. The sky was a bit bluer, hills were more greener, the air felt crisper, and every pokemon seemed livelier and more dutiful than before.

But Septime never seemed to feel the same tug of work as she did. "So, did you actually want something from me? Or did you plan on awkwardly following my tail all day?"

Foliga galloped forwards to walk side-by-side with him. "I need your help. We should go into the Copper Canyon to find that meteorite and bring it back into town! It'll be a simple matter of finding your friends—"

"Stop right there." And she did. The two stopped traveling down the path, with the Chikorita looking up at the taller grass-type for an answer. "No. It's not happening. I don't need to know anything else. I'm not being apart of anymore of your plans." He promptly stomped away without her.

How very… not like him. She shook the confusion out of her head. Then adjusted the strap on her bag, and rushed after him. "What's the matter? You usually like being part of my huge proposals. Is everything alright?"

"…Really? Do you really need to ask me that?" he hissed. "Your 'proposals' have a very high chance of blowing up. In my face. Literally!"

Foliga blinked. "You haven't forgiven the Flitwick family? That wasn't since last spring." That whole ordeal was a mess, right from the beginning. It was supposed to be an inauguration for the Flitwick and their many fire-type relatives into Paradise, but the night quickly turned into disaster when someone tried a ritualistic fiery dance using oriental candles. Foliga's memory brought the blazing aftermath of the scene, and suddenly, the soft spring wind on her back turned uncomfortably heated.

"Yes I'm still— they blew up my house! I now live in a house with only five rooms!" The more he went on, the more frustrated Septime seemed to grow. "And the candles that those Flitwick used costed a fortune, plus all the labor that I had to find to clean up… Then the Superior yells at me at the end of it all! I took the blame that was meant for you."

"I don't remember any candles."

"Yes there were! But that's beside the point. I'm always taking the one taking the fall."

It took almost all the sun's energy to keep the Chikorita from snapping back. But in a quiet voice, Foliga said, "Only because you presented it to your dad like it was your idea. I planned with other 'mons before you turned it over to yourself and your cronies."

Smack! And there it was. The Servine whipped around so fast that his tail smeared across Foliga's face. She could not pull back in time, and while the action did not actually hurt, it did wound her dignity. "Hey—!"

"I've learned my lesson the hard way," Septime said, completely ignoring what he did. "I won't be the one to enable you. You do a good enough job screwing up on your own."

By then, the two had reached the center of Paradise Village. It was the only area where the dirt roads were replaced by a neatly kept and patterned brick pavement, tended to by social workers like herself. It was also the only place that held a dedicated marketplace, which required the pokemon in Paradise to wheel in their goods on carts or caravans across the hills each day and back.

At this early in the morning, however, the Paradise center was only filled by a handful of social workers like Septime and herself. Pokemon of all sorts of shapes crowded one of two bulletin boards on either side of the center square. Whether it was the tiny Joltik that climbed the side of the post, or the Pidove perched on top of it, each hastily accepted whatever job they could find; the Superior never tolerated unproductivity in his town, and even the children of the smallest families were expected to loan their labor. Which put herself into a fragile situation, being only a family of one.

And she was about to try again, but Septime hushed her. "Lemme deal with this crowd."

He messed with his bag, taking out a stack of letters, and dove into the crowd. "Hey! Outta the way!" Like magic, every pokemon there did as he asked. Septime still callously shoved his way through, and put an aggressive emphasis into posting each letter onto the bulletin board. Most of them were way too high for any of the smaller pokemon to see, but no one would challenge the Servine in fear of the consequences.

When he was finished, Foliga waited for him patiently by the edge of the crowd. "You're still here? Take a hint, Foliga. I'm done talking about this. Go pick a job today and leave me alone."

"Septime, please keep hearing me out," she called out to him patiently. How else could I possibly sell this to him? "Okay, just think about the benefits! This could bring a good reputation to not just you, but all of Paradise. 'Mon would come from all over to take a look at a meteorite! Doesn't that sound like something you want?"

That made Septime pause, and he actually seemed to consider it. "Hmm. That I actually like. But the Superior wouldn't agree. He's displeased with the idea of Paradise ever getting traffic, though I can hardly imagine why. This trash town could really use some traction from the outside world."

Foliga nodded to herself. While not sharing his exact choice of words, she could share the sentiment. The Chikorita could count more buds around her neck than the number of outsiders that she had seen wandering through Paradise, and that was higher than the totaly that actually decided to settle in Paradise. But she never minded. The breeds of pokemon that came through were nothing like the ones that she knew of. She knew quite a few names of species, but even that knowledge was scarcely limited to only the village's population.

"And so if we get that meteorite," Foliga told Septime, "We'll have 'mons visit the village! And if we get 'mons to visit the village… We can make them pay to see it."

Septime smirked. "Now that does sounds like my kind of plan. Come back when you have a real development." But once again he started making his way down the brick road and away.

"Wait!" Foliga quickly bounded up and stopped right in front of him. Why is he being so difficult? Foliga faced the taller grass-type one last time. It was interesting how much a single evolution could put such a difference in height. "You don't even have to be apart of it. Can't you just get The Superior to speak with me? He's your father, after all. It can't be that hard to ask your dad for a favor."

"The Superior," Septime felt he needed to correct, "Is a very busy 'mon. As am I. It'll be a world of a favor, and I don't want to be involved with this…"

But then, the Servine seemed to realize something, and he turned a very sly smile. " But I don't do charity work. So how about a favor for a favor?"

Foliga closed her eyes and took a very deep breath. She would definitely need to sunbathe later for the energy. He couldn't ask for anything too outlandish, she thought, or could he? Septime gets whole a bunch of 'mon to do other stuff for him, so… "Okay, Septime. What kind of favor are you looking for?"

The Servine looked more smug than ever. It would not be like him to bounce in glee, but he was sure close to doing it. "Oh, is this it?" He laughed triumphantly. "Am I gonna get the perfect lil' Foliga beckoning to my whims? The guys'll get a kick out of this!"

The Chikorita tried to look as patient as she could muster, staring blankly. Septime just laughed even more.

"Ooh, just look at you! I gotta call the others over!" He turned back to the bulletin boards, where two of his goons were loafing around in the shade. "Bulk! Gina! Get over here!" Soon enough, the Gothitelle and Throh were into a tight group with Septime and all three were now laughing at her.

"And she was so stuck up thinking she was so goody," sneered Gina the Gothitelle. "That look just screams, 'I'm stupid and finally coming to terms with it!'"

Bulk the Throh had to think hard about what he wanted to say. "So, Septime, what are you gonna make her do?"

"That's the hard part though. What do you guys think I should make her do?

"You could make her check on that crazy-weird Liligant couple!"

"Make her give you poké."

"Have her fess up as the poffin thief?"

"No, I don't think anyone would buy that…"

The Servine finally slapped his hands together. He collected three letters together, one from the Gothitelle and the Throh and himself. Then he tossed them to Foliga's feet. "You're gonna do all three of our jobs for us today. And then, and only then, will I consider the possibility of letting you talk to the Superior. Right? Okay? Deal?"

"Right. Okay. Deal." Foliga repeated flatly.

"Alright, now," Septime closed mockingly slow with. "Also, don't tell anyone, that'll break the deal."

"Sure thing."

"Also? Don't forget to do your own job today. We wouldn't want you getting kicked from Paradise, after all!"

With that, Foliga thanked Septime for his time, and walked quietly away from the trio of pokemon. The Chikorita's mind was blank, and the only thing she could focus on walking fast without looking like she was running away. Down the road would be a day's worth of work to occupy her thoughts. There was still duties to be done and could not be bothered to be distracted.

Foliga made sure she was far away from those three, far enough down the road where there was only rolling pastures and the breeze, until she opened the first job letter. A request from a berry grower, needing quick and immediate help organizing stock from the season prior? Seems easy enough. The fruiterer was Sawsbuck, and in the spring as it currently was, he was the target of all sorts of teasing from Paradise's children for the delicate flowers growing on his horns.

"I don't think they're at all unnatural," Foliga encouraged him. "I don't think they're even that bad looking! You just need to decide for yourself if you think it looks good or not."

Sawsbuck tossed his head side to side, raining down more pink petals. "I'm no child who needs to stand up to bullies in school. If I see any more trouble from them, I will just find those kids' parents." He looked towards the distant pack of Pawniard, then back at Foliga, and ushered her to keep sorting. "Though I appreciate the concern. I can guess only the things you've been told about your appearance, Chikorita."

Appearance? she wondered. What is it about the way I look? Putting aside whatever it was supposed to mean, Foliga asked, "Should I sweep up these flowers before I go?"

She did end up sweeping the flowers away, utilizing her leaf like a broom. It was not even past noon when she walked outside Sawsbuck's house, done sorting through over six carts of berries. For a job he considered adequately done, Sawsbuck allowed her to depart with one of the bruised oran berries that would neither sell or be planted. Foliga ate it contently as she walked down the road and away from the bigger grass-type's house.

Foliga tucked the remaining bit of oran berry back into the bag around her side… and then pulled out her jewel from the meteorite. It seemed even brighter held up against the daylight, a candy-ish orange. But it also glinted an array of color that seemed to swirl around from within. Foliga could see a tiny Foliga looking back at her from within the tiny jewel.

"Hello," she said to her reflection.

That pressure, same as the night before, fogged her consciousness, muting her senses. It was two hands pressing on each side of her mind, cupping it with the strength to hold her in place. But it was never enough to make Foliga reel back in any pain or even discomfort, the jewel was simply there, and didn't want to hurt her, just wanted to announce its presence, like it was just trying to say, hello…

Foliga deposited the jewel back into her toolbag and out of sight. The fog dissolved from her mind instantly. The Chikorita was left standing in Paradise Village, and she could now feel again. The warm spring air brushing against her. The dirt road was dusty but solid under her toes. And it was still midday. Whatever corner of her mind Foliga was in, she was now back.

What was that? She looked down into her bag, much more careful and aware of the jewel than before. Just what did I feel in my head? Will there be more gems just like this one in the Copper Carvings? I bet some 'mon out there would love to get their hands on this thing to find out what it can do. All she was doing was pondering questions she did not have the means to answer. Not until she reached the meteorite.

Shaking her head of the line of thought, Foliga rummaged through her toolbox once again for another one of Septime and his goons' job letters. The second one was much less descriptive about its job than the first. It could have been a gag letter, but she quickly saw who the client was. It's from ol' miss Leavanny. And she says she has a monster in her backyard. I think. This is really hard to read, with the handwriting and the paper she used… It wouldn't hurt to check in on her.

The Chikorita proceeded to make her way across Paradise Village, not bothering to stay on the main roads, but the smaller scenic paths she knew by they had those white picket fences too! The wind was on Foliga's back, pushing her and the clouds together in the same direction. Hopefully, it would be perfect like this when she went to the Copper Carvings.

By the early afternoon, she had reached her client's home, sitting on the edge of a wood tucked away in a corner of Paradise. It was a basic and very old hut, fashioned by clay but nonetheless a grass-type home by its leafy roof and paneless windows. Foliga did not bother looking into the house, but instead circling it and approaching the edge of the forest.

"Missus Leavanny!" Foliga announced into the woods. "It's me, Foliga the Chikorita! I'm here on behalf of the job request you left us for the bulletin board?"

"Oh, Chikorita!" a voice by the forest line called out to her. "Sweetie, could do me a favor?" As Foliga had anticipated, out of the forest came an aging Leavanny. She held onto wrinkled and yellowing leaves, comparable to the ones Foliga was used to seeing on younger species of the same pokemon, but nonetheless befitting her age.

The youthful grass-type minded the volume of her voice as she addressed her elder much closer. "Good afternoon, Missus Leavanny. May I help you with something?"

"Oh, Chikorita! I am so relieved to see even any one of you." Missus Leavanny sounded more worried over finding someone to tell than what actually bothered her. "It started like how I usually do every new spring. I like to weave new clothes for me and my grandchildren, you see. I go into these woods and find the most nicest materials for my designs, and I take those leaves home with me. And I make them there! Then I make more clothes with any leaves I have left and sell them at the marketplace. But you must know that already, don't you? Have you seen my shop in center square?"

The Chikorita nodded patiently. "I have. Did something happen?"

"So, I was gathering in the woods, I was. Minding my own business. I certainly wasn't expecting to meet anyone out there, but I suppose we would have something to talk about, wouldn't we? That's how I met my husband, that charming Whimiscott… Ah, now I'm getting off topic, aren't I? Terribly sorry about that." She laughed at her digression. But her face dropped into seriousness. "In those very woods, I found a monster."

"You think you saw a monster?" Foliga said bashfully. "I'm sorry, Missus Leavanny, but are you sure you didn't see a trick of the light, or an oddly grown tree?"

The elderly pokemon shook one leafy appendage matter-of-factly. "I've been going into these woods for over twenty-five years. I know more nooks and crannies of that forest than the names of my own grandchildren across this continent!"

"And there's no possibility that you didn't just see another 'mon in those woods?" she further quizzed.

"No pokemon I've ever ever seen before, dear."

And there we go. The chance that a traveling pokemon got lost in the woods was more likely than any sort of actual monster existing. Missus Leavanny probably knew just as well, but waited for Foliga, or really anyone, to confront the mysterious pokemon in the forest instead.

"Alright, Missus Leavanny, I'll take a look to see what kind of monster it is." The Chikorita announced as she brushed past the older pokemon. I don't know these woods like the ones by my own house, but… "I think I can find the way on my own, so you need to accompany me."

"Truly? Thank you so much, Chikorita girl. I wish you the best of luck!"

Leavanny's voice was already disappearing as the small grass-type treaded carefully through the unfamiliar and uneven landscape. Her four legs were truly better than two as some pokemon were stuck with, making it easier to slide down or climb up the terrain. These woods also had a less of a canopy of trees than the one near her house. She used her leaf to shield her eyes from the sun, the sky barren of any clouds.

The land became more even as Foliga trotted deeper into the wilderness. The trees were looking much more massive with many branches, perfect for any avian pokemon to perch. Upturned roots were big enough to crawl under for the tiny pokemon. The dirt beneath her turned soft and the Chikorita's toes sunk a touch into the ground with each step. The grass became thinner and taller, threatening Foliga's eyesight as she ventured forward.

Perfect for any 'mon to hide in, she realized. Wait, what if something's hiding in the trees? What if I'm too far in, and I'm way past It? …I should've definitely asked Leavanny for a description.

Moving faster, Foliga tried to retrace her steps, but was hopeless; the trees and grass were looking all the same. Everything from the leaves and stalks, or brown from the branches and bark. It was dead quiet.

Then came the rustling of grass. Now she was getting scared.

Not moving a muscle, Foliga's eyes scanned through the grass, wanting desperately to find the source of the noise. She peeled her head leaf back to look skyward. Nothing there. Just the trees.

The rustling of grass continued, but guessing where exactly it was coming from was impossible for her. She lightheartedly blamed Septime for putting her through this.

"Is someone there?" She called out tentatively. Her eyes never blinked. Like with the meteorite, she did not want to miss a thing.

Now, there was more than just scampering, as it seemed it was moving fast through the tall grass. She wouldn't take any more chances. She knew someone, something, was nearby. And she may need to fight it.

Her favorite move was unwieldy, but perfect as an opening attack on the unsuspecting. Thanks to days spent lounging in the sun, Foliga called out to every ounce of power in her body, buds and leaf and all. It filled her with a newfound energy, one she had to close her eyes in concentration, to not let out too soon.

"If someone is out there," she cried one last time, "you better say so!"

And out of the grass, with a giant thump, was a behemoth of a pokemon Foliga had never seen before. It stood on two legs, lined in white fur on its face and black on its limbs. It was content of chewing on some sort of weed in its tiny snout, but its face— This pokemon was angry, and Foliga knew it wanted to unleash its rage on her.

That looks like a monster if I ever saw one!

Foliga released the solarbeam. It shot slowly but could feel the tradeoff for raw power. The beam connected cleanly into the behemoth pokemon's chest, and despite its size, started to skid backwards from the force. Foliga kept the beam up for quite a few seconds longer, until there was no more left in her, and the beam subsided. She watched until the enemy pokemon finally fell backwards.

She fell to the ground, tired. The attack left the grass-type heaving, and she knew that she didn't have enough for another one anytime soon… And then the daunting pokemon stood right back up, with only a scorch mark on its belly but otherwise unscathed. Still very angry.

Now was the perfect time time to worry.

She scrambled for her bag and ran— at least Foliga tried to run, but she was still gasping for air. The Chikorita heaved herself up, using her leaf as a makeshift crutch. But her escape speed was little more than a limp, and she had no energy left in her to go any faster.

Her foe took its leisure in moving slowly but menacingly after her, enjoying the inevitable outcome of finally catching up to its tinier prey.

Please, just not like this, Foliga thought somewhere distantly. Not to be mauled by some wild 'mon, to have ol' Leavanny suddenly find me one day. Not when I haven't found that meteorite yet—!

Then, something grabbed onto the strap of her bag, tugging it up. Foliga eventually came along with it, and then she was suspended into the air, the strap the only thing keeping her from crashing down. She realized she was being carried away from the massive pokemon, which roared in frustration from losing its opponent.

Foliga was carried onto a branch on one of the huge trees, and was dropped, her toolbag landing on her back. Whatever pokemon carried her landed on the same branch next to her.

"Many interesting discoveries today," an unknown voice said from above her. It lacked any infliction but still distinctly female. "The fact that a village like Paradise exists at all. Then there's a Chikorita living in this village… Who went looking for a Pangoro that strayed quite a distance away from its mystery dungeon."

Foliga looked to see another pokemon, one she had never seen before in Paradise. It was avian and had gray colored metal covering its entire body. It looked sharp in the way its wings folded into its body, and the tail feathers it traded instead for tail blades. The eyes of the pokemon were calculating, predatorial. In edition to height, it absolutely towered ever Foliga in a way different from the one earlier, craning its long neck to loom over her. The only item it carried was a badge of some sort pinned somehow to its front.

The Chikorita simply gawked at the new pokemon.

"You were heavier to carry than I anticipated," said the metallic pokemon, unfazed by her staring. "What do you carry in that bag?"

"Uh, um," she stammered. "Papers. Maybe just one or two books— oh, thank you very much! I thought I was a goner for sure!" She turned in glee at the newcomer. "But, I'm not sure what to call you. I'm Foliga. Foliga the Chikorita."

"Ringer the Skarmory." Ringer blinked, and she looked back down at what was called a Pangoro, sizing up the situation. "Proper introductions can be done later. We must defeat this Pangoro. What techniques do you know? Do you have anything potentially useful in your bag?"

Foliga looked down at the Pangoro also, which was failing at toppling their tree. "I can fire razor-edged leaves. And I know how to heal wounds. I can't shoot anymore beams of light, that one I did earlier took everything I had. But I'll do anything else I can to help!" She looked over at Ringer, who did not seem to share her vote of enthusiasm. Foliga instead put her bag down and showed its contents. "Besides the bunch of documents, I also have… A half-eaten oran berry." She laughed, but it came out terse over the sound of the Pangoro's roars.

Ringer nodded to herself. "Alright then. Here's what we do. Hold onto the oran berry, and I'll finish it if I need to take any major attacks from the Pangoro. You'll stay up in this tree and attack from a distance with your leaves. Understood?"

"Okay!" Foliga could feel herself getting pumped up, trying to work away her fatigue. Two against one were much better odds.

The Skarmory jumped from the tree, and took to circling the Pangoro from high above. She kept a careful distance to avoid any swipes made at her. Ringer quickly made bouts to claw at the Pangoro's face with her talons, and would retreat as quickly to try again when the feral pokemon would try to grab her, always to no avail. She was slippery in her aerial maneuvers, like she could command the wind under her wings to move her where she was safe.

"Hey! up here!" Foliga called for the Pangoro's attention. She spun the leaf on her head and unleashed a whole group of lethally sharp leaves, all the same size as the one on her head. Most connected, or scraped right past the huge pokemon. It roared once again, and turned its attention to her, being the nuisance in the tree—

And with its back turned to her, Ringer powered a new move, focused on the edges of her wings, each glowing in a white-hot light. The Skarmory screeched and dived low, traveling under the Pangoro's legs, with each wing slicing deep into the inner calves of the behemoth.

"Nice!" Foliga cheered. Wow, Ringer is really good at this, at least ten times better than I am…

The Pangoro fell to its knees and hands from the attack. It roared once more, the most weakest one, before succumbing to its injuries and landing flat on its belly. The forest fell into silence from the finished battle.

Foliga peered over the huge branch. "Did we do it? Is it safe for me to come down?"

"No. Stay up there." Ringer didn't land on the ground just yet. Instead hovered in the air above the fallen Pangoro, ready for any retaliatory strike. It felt like forever to Foliga, even when she knew that the more experienced of the two was staying careful against a large opponent.

And after a moment later, Ringer landed, saying, "It seems we've won. Now it should eventually disappear on its own—"

Smack! Ringer crash landed a distance away from both Foliga and the Pangoro. Robbed of the use of its legs, the Pangoro was now crawling over to the other fallen pokemon to finish the job, closing the gap quickly due to its massive size.

"No!" It was just pretending?! Foliga frantically panicked and looked at the small oran berry next to her, then at the fallen Skarmory, back at the berry, then at Ringer again— The plan, it's useless! I could never get this to her in time! I could try to heal her from this distance, but I don't have that much in me, and if I'd miss… Or worse, if I end up healing the Pangoro instead..!

So she was left with no other choice. Her place on the tree was a high enough vantage point, and Foliga could use any extra power from the breaks of shade in the forest canopy she could get. The Chikorita's technique begun just like her first one, where she was mustering every ounce of energy in her body that she could spare, but repurposing it, so it wouldn't come out as an attack. The buds on her neck produced small, pink tufts of spores that hovered around her.

Then, she let the spores free. They drifted down from the tree, right over the Pangoro's body, and landed successfully onto the unconscious Ringer. When the spores touched the Skarmory's, they dissolved into her, seeping past her metal plating, leaving a faint pink glow. It was a sign that the spores were doing their jobs correctly by entering the patient's body and doing whatever it could to heal whatever they could and rejuvenate the recipient.

Foliga fell over, tired but successful. The Pangoro crawled ever closer to Ringer, who was already starting to stir awake. "Ringer!" It was difficult to even shout. In her strained breaths, the Chikorita used her leaf as a crutch to prop herself. "Wake up!"

Finally, Ringer raised her eyes, and she blinked a few times like she was waking from a nightmare. Her stare turned intense as Foliga would imagine for someone to wake up in the middle of a battle. And at the sight of the bloodthirsty Pangoro still crawling towards her. With a groan of effort, the Skarmory effortlessly took to the sky, unburdened by any pains she might have had before Foliga healed her. She hovered in the air, now impossible for the enemy to reach her with its injured legs.

She began to flap her wings in long, powerful strokes, and pushed a current of wind to both the Pangoro's direction. As well as Foliga's. Ringer continued this, and with each one, the winds began to push harder, and faster, building up into itself. Foliga dug her toes into the huge tree to hold on, and the Pangoro did the same with two handfuls of grass in each hand. Then the leaves and tall weeds were rustling in the wind, and it was impossible to hear anything besides the torrent of wind—

The Pangoro roared in pain, seemingly for no reason. Foliga struggled to look down, and saw large streaks of cuts were forming on its body by some sort of unseeable blade. The tall grass was getting cut also, as was tiny branches trimmed in the same fashion.

Ringer is doing this! Foliga realized. She's somehow turning the gales she makes razor-sharp, and—

Snap! Cre-e-ak! Foliga fell to her side, beginning to slide down and off the branch. She looked to the base of the huge branch, where it attached to the tree, or where it was supposed to be attached. Huge gashes into the branch formed deeper with every passing moment, splintering wood under the loss of support.

"Ringer, stop!" she shouted the best she could. "You're sawing my branch off the tree— AAAHH!"

The branch finally gave away, and then Foliga was in free-fall. Gravity was lost to her while caught in the Skarmory's wind and simultaneously pushed backwards. Her bag was lost in the motion and it flew away, spilling its contents and raining papers into the forest. Foliga herself hit the earth with a painful thump! before rolling to a complete stop.

When Ringer finally ended her attack, the forest stilled into silence. Foliga could only hear the Skarmory's rhythmic flaps of her wings as she presumably looked at the aftermath of the battle. Tiny leaves, twigs, and even papers from her own bag gently touched down onto the forest floor. The afternoon sun was now visible; Ringer's technique had carved a hole in the forest's canopy, lighting up the three pokemon and their surroundings like under a spotlight.

Foliga laid on her side for quite some time just to gather her bearings. One of her own papers eventually fluttered down perfectly onto her face. It was too close to read out which document it was.

Ringer glided low to the ground over to her, and gingerly picked up the paper with her beak, then helped the Chikorita into standing. "I didn't mean to injure you. I apologize."

"It's quite all right!" Foliga laughed off the pain she did have. "You never really hurt me. It was just the awkward fall, that was really all that I feel right now. Whatever it took to take down that crazy 'mon!" The Pangoro, she now remembered, was somewhere behind her on the other side of the huge branch, which could have been the size of a tree all on its own. "Speaking of which, is it really..?"

"Yes. It should definitely be defeated by now. But the question that must be brought up, is if we are at risk of another one to crawl from somewhere. You would know more about that than I would."

"Me?" Foliga said, puzzled. "I don't quite understand what you mean."

"If there happens to be…" Ringer's question fell flat, and she shook her head. "Nevermind. It's a unique concept. Alternatively, how about the Copper Carvings? Would you know if Pangoro are common there?"

She shook her head to answer. "No 'mon like it even in there. Even if it did, someone would have seen it come out of the entrance who would've done something."

"Hmm. I see. In whatever case, there's not much to look into now." The Skarmory bowed gratefully to the smaller pokemon. Foliga could not help but to do a tiny bow back. "Thank you for your assistance against the Pangoro. Allow me to help you gather your belongings."

"Oh, my papers!" Foliga exclaimed. "I almost forgot in all this action. Thank you!"

And so, each went on their way to collect the small papers and other trinkets that were scattered across the forest. Some were stuck in trees, which made Ringer useful to have when she would just fly and pick them out of the branches, being careful to not tear or poke holes into. Ringer then would lay a mouthful onto the ground for Foliga to later collect. Meanwhile, Foliga herself hunted for papers that had landed on the ground, collecting them into her bag. She felt uncharacteristically lighter than usual, and refilling her bag was like refilling a piece of herself. The process made her realize at just how much stuff she carried in it.

While scanning for papers, Foliga found the very paper detailing the plans and shopping list for things for the Litwick welcoming party. It says nothing about buying any sort of ceremonial candles, Foliga concluded. I know Septime was remembering that day wrong!

Here's another one, she thought to herself, scanning the contents as she picked it up. And I wrote this… almost a whole year ago!

All the while, she and Ringer chatted with each other as their gathering became almost grueling under the afternoon sun, and their shadows began to stretch behind them. "You have lots of papers," Ringer commented.

"Yes," Foliga said sheepishly. "I don't really throw things away. It's all kind of important still."

"Does it relate to your work in any way?"

"Sort of. It's all important to me, at the very least." She eyed the Skarmory and the badge pinned on her chest, the golden winged badge that she had no clue what meant. "Speaking of which, what about you? What brings you through Paradise Village, if you don't mind me asking?"

Ringer sighed tiredly. "It's complicated. I'm not at liberty to speak with just anyone about it, save for a few exceptions."

Through the secrecy, Foliga could understand. She was not about to pry for answers that might anger the Skarmory out of curiosity. "Oh. Um, is there anything that it is okay for me to know? I might be able to help!"

The Skarmory nodded, who now flew close over the ground to look for any more of her belongings. "I'm a member of a guild. Specifically, a guild of miners. We're interested in exploring the nearby area for any precious minerals or ore."

That was enough to get Foliga's mind going, as she tried to guess the rest. Ore? Like from rocks? There must be some in the Copper Carvings. Would they be interested in there? She noticed how she stopped looking for papers, staring into the empty sky. The mountain range of the Copper Carvings was easily visible on the horizon, and just a quick trip through Paradise was her home, then the forest nearby her house…

Then she remembered the jewel. The fallen meteorite in her backyard. Her proposal papers that were lost in the forest.

"Ringer! I think I know something that you might be interested in! A whole meteorite flew in just the other night, and landed right into that nearby mountain range! A whole bunch of jewels might in it, all from outer space. I was about ready to launch an expedition to find it, and now I can go with you! But first we would need to go find the Superior, because he doesn't let anyone just wander through the gate, but I got drafts for a whole proposal already, and—"

Foliga paused in her tracks. She forgot how she carried the jewel from the night before in her bag. Which in the day's events, would have gotten scattered in the forest.

Ringer had found it first. She held the jewel with a single talon, fairly close to the ground, as if she only stopped to inspect it in the middle of picking it up. It did an excellent job reflecting the afternoon light onto its surface, as if absorbing the sun-streaked rays into itself. No one said a word to each other in a long, mystifying pause. The scene reminded Foliga of her own moment with the jewel earlier that afternoon, and even the night before, and she wondered if Ringer was experiencing something similar.

The Skarmory was the first to break the silence,"You say it landed in the Copper Carvings?"

Foliga was unsure at the question at first. "Um, yes."

"And only the elder of Paradise Village gives permission to enter?"

"Yes?"

Finally, the Skarmory pulled her eyes away from the jewel, and locked them with Foliga's, keen and ambitious, just as the Chikorita's were when she had made up her mind the night prior. "Thank you, Foliga, you've saved me days of unnecessary searching. There is something you can do to help. Please, take me to your Superior."