Disclaimer: PMD2 may not be mine, but this fic is.
Author's Note: This is basically going to be a bunch of stuff that wouldn't fit into my "main" PMD2 fic due to the POV-switching format I'm doing. You won't necessarily NEED to read both of them to understand either, though it may help. These also aren't going in any specific order, and this first one takes place during the initial Quicksand Cave exploration.
Grimy Food
"I'm so hungry…"
Iris the Machop groaned as her stomach growled. Team Shadow had gotten quite far into Quicksand Cave, and they were unfortunately low on supplies — including food.
Sighing, Claire — the human-turned-Meowth leading the team — dug through her treasure bag. She had two apples, three gummis, and a handful of used Reviver Seeds she'd forgotten to throw away. Hesitantly, she pulled out an apple and tossed it to her teammate. Iris cheered as she caught the apple, instantly devouring it.
"How much food do we have left, Claire?"
Felix, Claire's Chimchar partner, looked worried. He'd eaten the last gummi out of his own bag a few floors ago; clearly, he was anxious about having to rely on the desert's typical, barely-edible fares.
"Not much, but I think we'll be okay," Claire replied, checking her Wonder Map. "We've only got a few floors left!"
"Has anyone seen Rin, by the way?" Iris asked suddenly.
Claire hastily shoved her map back into her bag as she looked around. The Cubone in question was nowhere in sight; while she could certainly take care of herself, it was unlike her to wander off like that…
Fortunately, a few moments later, Rin appeared in the room, coming through the hallway the team had just exited. Unfortunately, though, the large pile of food she was holding looked rather unappetizing. She had an assortment mainly consisting of wilted berries, dried-up seeds, and a few squished gummis; however, she even had what looked like a moldy apple core.
"I found some food," she offered.
"How can you even think about eating that stuff?" Iris demanded over-dramatically.
Felix's eyes widened as he nodded in agreement. Although Claire shared his sentiments, she couldn't help giggling a bit at his expression. Rin, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow in response to Iris's question.
"I did grow up in the Northern Desert, you know," she replied. "I'm used to it."
"Well, you can eat all that, then," Iris huffed. "I'll stick to apples, thank you very much."
Rin merely shrugged, silently eating one of the wrinkled Oran Berries as Iris shuddered. Claire grinned, watching the two for a moment before beckoning to the full team.
"Come on, guys! We have to get to the Time Gear before Grovyle does."
With that, the team formed a line and started walking through the next hallway. Despite the mission at hand, Claire couldn't help getting distracted every time Rin ate some of her food, wondering exactly how much of it was done just to bother Iris…
Author's Note x2: The only food in the desert levels is Grimy Food. How do the Pokémon there eat anything without making themselves sick? Solution: they are immune to all those bad side-effects. Also, Rin normally isn't that much of a troll, but Iris gets worked up very easily, so…