Chapter 2 – Field Trip

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. That right is reserved for Game Freak, Nintendo, Chunsoft and the Pokémon Company. I can only claim responsibility for my OC's.

Lyca's POV

Zzz…

Zzz…

Zzzzzrrrrtt Zap "AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"Ah ha ha ha!"

"Dammit, sis! What the hell!?" I was rudely roused by the antics of my older sister, Jolteon, who was currently hugging herself while she rolled back and forth on the floor in laughter. The occasional snort between giggling fits did help my anxiety by being awoken to a few thousand bolts of electricity. "You're gonna kill me one of these days, you know? I'm pretty sure I felt my heart stop for a couple seconds there…" I said, holding up a paw to my chest as though to keep my cardiac system from failing.

A bundle of bright yellow, spiky fur with an equally sharp-looking white mane slowed its comedic rolling on my bedroom floor. I sat on the edge of my bed, waiting for my older sister to finish wiping the jovial tears from her dark purple eyes. "He he, sorry lil' sis. (huff) But you did tell me to make sure you got up on time today…" She was still trying to catch her breath after all of her cackling.

My throat rumbled with a growl as I deadpanned. She wasn't wrong, I did ask for help to make sure I got up today. I just wasn't expecting her help to take the form of an electrified body slam!

Jolteon stood and started to take her leave before turning back to me, still on my bed. "I'll have your breakfast and lunch packed on the table before I go to work." Her cheery expression morphed into a more compassionate gaze. "Have a good one, sis. Love ya. And see you tonight."

She left without another word. I hopped off of my bed and made my way to the bathroom to bathe and hopefully settle all of the fur that was likely standing on ends from my morning zap.

I hobbled along the road towards the school while popping the last of my apple in my mouth. I honestly envied other Pokémon with more versatile appendages than my four stubby legs…

The varied and colorful huts and dens drifted past me as I walked. Most of the buildings in town were similarly set up. Basin Village, as the name suggests, is a village that was founded at the center of a very timeworn river. The once massive lake partially dried up due to a meteorite impact in the crater that the village now resides in. According to the legends, whatever impacted the planet disappeared shortly after crashing, 'cause there was no meteorite, just a large bowl-shaped hole in the ground.

Due to the impact, and the fact that the village is in the middle of a circular mountain range, wood is a bit troublesome to get ahold of. I don't know what possessed nearby Pokémon at the time to choose here of all places to settle, but the resource issues forced the locals to get inventive.

Wood, being a scarce resource, was only used for reinforcing stone and dirt residences. A wandering Onyx was commissioned by the village committee to burrow underground to create a sewer system that flows out of the basin, as well as an irrigation system to keep the lake at the edge of town at a safe level. Modern technology brought in slowly over time from the more major cities allowed us to create a small scale power plant with the aid of resident Electric-types. i.e., what my electric-type sister does for a living.

…

We have a history test next week. And unlike my ignorant peers, I always make sure I study ahead of time!

"Oi, what do we have here, lads?!" A nasally, immature voice yelled from behind me.

Speak of the devil…

I was forcefully grabbed by the scruff of my neck and lifted up to where none of my paws were able to touch the dirt road I was walking along. My ears instinctively flattened against my skull and my tail tucked between my hinds.

Machop, the ring-leader of the fighting-types in my class, had his leathery, gray hand clutching my neck and turned us both around so I had to face the other two members of his 'crew'. One was Tyrogue, a pink, bipedal Pokémon with three spikes forming a Mohawk on his head and boxing tape along his wrists and torso. The other was Mienfoo, a bipedal, yellow and red-furred weasel with loose fur along his 'sleeves'.

With me still stuck in his grasp, Machop started rocking me back and forth like a ragdoll, a smirk gracing his ugly-ass face. "Looks to me like we got a defenseless little fox pretending like she belongs in the big-kid's class." His nasally voice quipped. These three always got into fights with just about anything that moves. Machop's nose was broken during one of those scraps with a feral Pokémon, and now he's got that joke of a voice. To his credit though, he did win the rematch a week later after his crocked nose was partially realigned.

That poor Graveler…

Tyrogue's jeering brought me back to the situation. "You know we got that field trip right, Lyca?" He bent down to get right in my face. "Rumbling Mountain Pass is a Mystery Dungeon filled with rock types!" He lifted his hands above his head and slowly moved them apart as he spoke as if he just came up with something creative. His sneering revealed a missing tooth.

"You're puny Tackle isn't going to do anything against all those Geodudes." Mienfoo's deceptively soft voice taunted.

Without warning, I was tossed between the two bullies and tumbled on the ground. Machop's ridiculous voice was the only thing I could focus on as I got over my stunning landing. "Just go home and phone in sick today, little fox. You'll just be a burden when we go."

My vision came back to me as I watched the backs of my three tormentors rounding the corner to head to the forested path to school. I took a few minutes to clean as much dirt from my coat as I could, wanting to loiter a while so I didn't have to deal with those three again any sooner than necessary.

Our class had recently started learning about type matching. Per usual, I scored a near-perfect score. I had the highest grades since day one and this new subject would be no exception.

Unfortunately, those three also continued to follow their educational trend; by only focusing on information that pertained to them. Namely that they only focused on their type's weaknesses, and more importantly, their strengths.

One of the things they really zeroed in on was the fact that not only did they have a type advantage against the only normal-type in class (me), but that there were no advantages that a normal type could boast about having. That's why they mess with me so much. Because they know I can't defend myself.

They weren't that bad before that lesson. Yeah, they poked fun at my meager move set of Tackle, Sand Attack, and Helping Hand, but they never got violent aside from the light sparring from Adventure class.

I sighed as I finished shaking out as much dust from my fur as I could get. I could still feel the grainy texture on some patches of my fur, but it would have to do for now. "Well, at least this means my day can't get much worse from here, right?" I chimed dryly. With another deep breath to sooth my anxiety, I continued on my way to school to try and enjoy our first venture into a Mystery Dungeon!

Our first venture into a Mystery Dungeon sucks ass!

The beginning of class proceeded about as well as you could hope. We all met briefly in our classroom while our teacher, Mr. Excadrill, took roll call and gave us a few minutes to buddy up with another classmate.

Machop quickly paired off with Mienfoo while Tyrogue forced the class book worm, Bellsprout, into his group due to him having the type advantages against the feral inhabitants of the cavernous Dungeon. Hoothoot was instructed to stay with Mr. Excadrill to protect him from stray rock-type attacks. The twins, Plusle and Minun, obviously paired together on the condition that they too stay close to our instructor. And that just left me with… her.

Bella: the perfect Fennekin girl born with a silver spoon in her mouth. The one bragging right I had on her was that she was going to be our class' salutatorian, and even then it's a hollow victory. Even if I get a perfect score on all of our written tests and essays, Bella was always the one to receive all of the attention from the school faculty!

And she acts so cold all of the time! She never smiles, she never frowns, and she never gets frustrated. She always has that stone-faced stare like there's nothing in the area worth her interest. I hate her… so much!

And now I was stuck with her as her partner. I honestly had no idea why Mr. Excadrill didn't instruct us to pair up with someone who had a type advantage against rock-types, but I guess I can't complain. After all, that would have given me only a one in four chance of getting paired with someone who could go a day without insulting me.

With my horrible fate sealed, we departed for the Rumbling Mountain Pass to commence our field trip. I tried to stir up at least some semblance of a conversation with Bella, but I was met with her surprisingly-cold-for-a-fire-type silent treatment. Not. A. Peep.

The first hour of exploring went almost exactly as expected. Machop and his posse brutalized virtually everything that moved from the front of our group. All of the other groups were further back with our teacher, trying to stay out of the way of the random punches that lot were swinging, and my "partner" and I bringing up the rear. I would have been up front with the others to focus on our teachers teachings, but my fellow vixen was far too disinterested to bother trying to keep pace.

I think I even saw her nodding off a couple of times! Aaaarrrrgggg! Sooooo frustrating!

The one noteworthy deviation during this time was when Machop took a chisel that he snuck in and started carving out a message into the naturally occurring stairs that form in Dungeons.

'Machop and Co. were here!'

His intelligence surprised me in two ways at that. One: that he was smart enough to actually use proper spelling. And two: that he was stupid enough to bother doing it. He probably would have made the same revelation if he actually paid attention to Mr. Excadrill.

Mystery Dungeons were anomalous sections in reality where possibilities overlap at random. In layman's terms, anywhere where there was a Dungeon, that region is actually a point in space-time where the same Dungeon from an infinite number of alternate realities also exists at the same time. That's why it's a random layout no matter how many times you enter the same Dungeon.

What I'm getting at is that the message Machop was leaving would likely never be read by anyone. Ever.

Eh, whatever. Maybe the future Machop will be able to eventually comprehend his crippling insignificance in the grand scheme of things.

…

Note to self: work on that damn nihilism.

And that brings us to my current situation: locked in a damn cell with Bella and the twins while a horde of sentient pine tree creatures called Snover leering at us in a frozen-over cave chamber!

There was a cave-in that separated us from the rest of the class and Mr. Excadrill was too preoccupied keeping the others from panicking about being buried alive to notice the lot of us being overwhelmed by bipedal trees about three feet tall and covered in snow.

When I came to, I saw that the twins and I were casually tossed into a big cage capable of holding several small Pokémon. Bella, however, was completely encased in ice aside from her head, likely to keep her fire in check since our captors were especially weak to her due to their ice and grass typing.

I tried to eavesdrop on our captors while keeping my classmates calm, but only came up with the occasional mention of a 'ransom' and something being a high price.

A hostage situation, with me being one of the hostages. Great. Just great!

Couldn't just one thing go right today?

Lucien's POV

My eyes snapped open as my lungs rapidly expanded in a desperate fit to suck in as much air as they could. Billowing white clouds in a bright blue sky breezed by as I attempted to calm myself. I lied there for a good while waiting for my heartbeat and breathing to slow.

This didn't feel right. I feel like I shouldn't be here, both literally and metaphysically. As I absentmindedly got up, I stood back up on my own two feet… only to stumble over onto my face almost immediately after. I brought a hand up to my face to rub the discomfort out of my nose. But when I lifted my hand, I was met with the sight of a small, light-blue paw with pink paw-pads and some sort of naturally occurring metallic growths on its forearms.

"That's a Riolu's paw." Oddly enough, it ceased its advance towards my face the instant I noticed it. Curiously, I began to will my hand to perform different actions like flexing and extending my digits. The paw moved in perfect sync with the inputs I was giving my own hand, sans the lack of thumbs. It wasn't just any Riolu's paw, it was my paw.

…But that would mean…

"Eh!?" My head snapped down at my prone form to confirm my suspicions, and the results certainly met expectations. Two black fur-covered hind legs with paws similar to the ones on my arms where my feet should be. Additionally, my knees where now inverted. The unfamiliar feet combined with a new posture were probably responsible for my earlier tumble.

With a quick twist of my head I noticed two additional body modifications. One: that my previously vestigial tail was no longer vestigial, as a new, crooked appendage snaked its way between my legs in a sign of stress. And two: that a tear-shaped sensory organ slapped lightly against my cheek at the sudden turn.

If memory served, the Riolu line possessed growths on their heads that aided in all of their aura-based abilities. I tried focusing on them to see if I could manipulate auras… or something, but nothing happened.

Deciding that I've done enough worrying about my appearance, I slowly, yet carefully, began to set myself on my hind legs. A few minutes later and I was back on my fe- paws, though initially with an admittedly awkward gait.

"Okay…" I took a deep breath. Even my voice didn't sound quite right, like each syllable was laced with a light growl. It was even a slightly higher pitch than what I thought it should be. "So I wake up to find myself in the body of a Riolu…" I peered at my immediate surroundings and took note of the snow-covered mountain summits and the partially frozen pine trees that surrounded the plateau I found myself on. "…on a snowy outcropping more than halfway up a mountain." I deadpanned, "Great…"

The worst part is that I can't recall why or how all of this happened. The only things I could remember was that I am, or was, a human named Lucien. A sigh escaped my lips- er, muzzle. 'Well, I'm not gonna get any answers just standing here with my thumb up my-' I looked down to my thumb-less paw. 'Oh, right'

I walked, with extreme caution, towards the edge of my clearing to try and piece together where or who I was. While there weren't any clues about my identity, I did discover that the previously assumed mountain range was actually a massive crater from some kind of meteor strike. What's more is that there was a scant amount of small buildings spanning across the interior of the crater. There weren't any impressive buildings that I could see, but structures mean civilization, and civilizations tend to have some sorts of answers!

There were no safe or quick paths down the side of the mountain, but a dark gray mass of clouds informed me that I should hurry and find a way to safety. Fortunately, there was a small crack in the cliff face that widened into a larger tunnel.

I was hesitant to start wandering through a cave system without any equipment like torches or rations but I wasn't going to be picky. On the bright side, Riolu apparently have excellent vision even in the dark.

The better part of an hour was devoted to just trying to navigate my way down the mountain through the cave system. It was completely silent save for the occasional tumbling of rocks or the wind wailing through the tunnels.

At least it was quiet, until I heard a deep, gravely, "Geodude!" from behind me.

I spun on my 'heels' to come face to face with a floating, round geode, complete with flexing arms and a scowl on the newcomers 'face'. "Geodude!" It repeated, with its frown deepening.

'Odd, you'd think I'd be able to understand Pokémon now that I am one.' I thought. 'Maybe I can get him to lead me out of this damn cave-' My inner train of thought was swiftly interrupted by a right hook nailing me in my cheek.

I can't remember any details about my life, but I do know who and what I was. I know what a human looks like, but I don't know what I looked like. I can remember the types and abilities of Pokémon, but I couldn't recall any interactions I had ever had with them. That said, one detail I could recollect was that a Pokémon was far stronger than a human, in almost every capacity.

That jab should have floored me and knocked out half of my teeth, but my face barely budged from the impact. The most that damage did was a light bruising on my jaw.

My aggressor noticed how I barely recoiled from his blow and pulled his arm back. A light glow illuminated the tunnel as he brought his hand up and unclenched his fist.

Brick Break!

Geodude brought his hand down as I reflexively brought up my left paw to shield my face while my right went up in a vain attempt to lessen the blow. My eyes screwed shut, shrouding my vision in darkness while anticipated a sturdy blow to my head.

My outstretched arm was still extending when it came into contact with the Brick Break from the attacking Pokémon. Surprisingly, the paw that caught the attack didn't bend awkwardly or outright break from the force. In fact, barely any force was felt at all.

The sound of rocks violently crashing against other rocks reverberated through the cavern as well as an accompanying "Umph!"

I cautiously pried one of my eyes open to investigate. Geodude was wedged into the far wall of the cave, the arm that was charging the Brick Break, the one I accidently blocked, was slightly mangled. The rocky appendage had cracks and chips all along the surface, several fingers from the same hand were also fractured or broken.

Slowly, I once again brought my paw up for investigation. A light yellow glow faded from my paw. "Did- did I just use Force Palm? By accident?" I thought.

The sound of Geodude collapsing to the ground with groaning in pain seemed to answer my rhetorical question. Standing victorious, if coincidently, over my fallen 'opponent' filled me with a foreign sense of empowerment. For the first time that I can remember (as brief as it is and as sad as it might seem), I smiled.

I could remember the Pokémon would grow stronger through defeating other Pokémon in battles, and the surge of strength I felt seemed to reinforce that statement.

My reverie was short-lived, however. Apparently the ruckus that the Geodude and I made had attracted an uncomfortable amount of attention. A small horde of similar Rock Pokémon began funneling down the tunnel, all chanting their names similar to the first one. There were even a few larger ones with four arms and two legs barreling at me yelling, "Graveler!"

Knowing that my only alternative to taking on the swarm of sentient rocks was to retreat into a snowstorm on a mountain, I took a stance and began to try and focus on my experience from when I accidently used Force Palm.

Once again, my palm took on the golden glow. I could feel my Aura Sensors twitching sporadically, but I still lacked the insight to know exactly what that meant.

The first couple of rampaging Geodudes were almost on me as I brought my arm back to strike at them. I could feel my lips instinctively drawing up into a small snarl as I braced myself. All of the frustration and anguish I've been accruing since waking up in that clearing was beginning to be more than I could handle, and I was all too willing to use these damn rocks as an outlet!

Catharsis is a bitch.

Nearly another half hour passed as I raced down random tunnels (and staircases, oddly enough) occasionally stopping to take down a couple more Geodude and Graveler. By the time that knocked out the last of my pursuers, both of my paws were sore from my overuse of Force Palm and my stomach was beginning to grumble from hunger.

Eventually, I stumbled across one of the worst, and greatest, things I've seen all day. A bipedal, spherical boulder with two arms and a more distinctive head than what the previous rock-types I've been dealing with had.

I ducked around the corner faster than what I thought I was capable of to access the Pokémon currently blocking my path. The walking boulder, which I identified as a Golem, was carrying a burlap sack that clearly had some contents weighing it down.

The Golem looked behind itself conspiratorially and pulled something out of the bag. An apple! It was holding up a bright red apple!

My stomach rumbled with jealousy as Golem started biting into the glorious red fruit, juices streaming down its chin as it gluttonously chewed. I was hesitant about getting into a tussle with such a large Pokémon so soon after my previous encounter, but my arguing belly refused to let me walk away without nabbing at least one of those apples.

With my mind made up, I tensed my legs and rushed the Golem at max speed, my right paw brought back with a Force Palm charged and ready to try and wipe out my target before it could even get a shot in. Golem dropped the remainder of its apple in shock as I rushed him faster than he could see. Hell, it was faster than I could see. I was on it faster than when I ran away from that Geodude hoard.

I took the initial shock better than it did, however, as I use my sudden surge of momentum to shove my paw into its midsection and knocked it back against the wall. The sack fell carelessly on the stone floor and several apples stumbled out of the bag's neck.

While I bent down to pick up one of the apples, I took notice of Golem's positioning and posture. It was lying on its side with the shocked expression still on its face, eyes still wide open and staring right at me. What really caught my attention were its limbs.

Golem wasn't trying to get back on its feet, nor was it lying limp from being knocked out. Its arms and legs were twitching, like it had been electrocuted. But Golems were part ground-type, so how did it get paralyzed? "Oh, right! Force Palm can also paralyze if it's done well enough." I said as I smacked my empty paw with the other that was clutching the appropriated apple with a look of realization on my face.

A bright, white light began enveloping the entire form of the prone Golem. I quirked an eyebrow as I casually tossed the apple back and forth between paws. "Golem evolve after getting their ass' beat, huh?" I quipped dryly. All of these defeated rock-types doing wonders for my self-esteem.

The bright light continued to grow in luminescence for several seconds until the entire surrounding area started quaking from the energy buildup. Finally realizing what was happening, I abandoned the apples that were scattered on the ground with a "Nope!" as I ran behind the corner once more and ducked for cover.

Golem used Self-Destruct!

Lyca's POV

The worst part of being a hostage? The anticipation, easily. We'd been stuck in this kennel for the last three hours. Plusle and Minun were hugging each other like they were a life raft while Bella, still covered in ice, insisted that she was fine despite the occasional shivers. Unfortunately for her, having ears about the length of my body makes me privy to the fact that her teeth were chattering.

Turns out that these Snover were here to kidnap Bella and ransom her off to her wealthy parents. I guess being born with a silver spoon in your maw paints a pretty big target on your back. The rest of us being caught was probably just gravy.

Baring the locked cage that my classmates and I were stuck in, there were plenty of ways out of the room. On the other end there was an archway that supposedly leads to another room. The Snover dragged us in here through the tunnel on our left, so that's likely the best place to go to backtrack down the mountain. The right side of the room was just a solid wall of rock and ruble, but there were plenty of small cracks and holes.

The twins wouldn't have any trouble navigating the tiny tunnels thanks to their small stature, but that would also isolate me and Bella. The fire-types current predicament also would stall our progress for escape. Neither I nor the twins were allowed near her to provide warmth or aid, likely to keep her from breaking free and exploiting their greatest weakness. But maybe if I could sneak the other two out to get help while I stay back to look after Bella…

*Rumbling*

My thoughts were cut off by an increasingly aggressive quaking. Dust and pebbles broke free from the ceiling and fell down to the ground below. The sound of the surrounding stone caused everyone to inwardly panic at the possibility of another cave-in.

*Smash!*

Suddenly, the right wall that hosted all of the holes and cracks blasted into our room, the resulting dust and debris kicked into the air, slowly settling.

Every occupant in the room was deadly silent, even the Snover. The lingering particles in the air were thick enough to limit everyone to being restricted to their hearing.

The sound of soft pads impacting the stony floor at a steady pace and the occasional report of a stone being kicked across the floor by accident were the prevalent sounds that alerted everyone to the new arrival. A wet, squishing noise occasionally sounded, followed by the footfalls halting about midway into the room, almost right in front of the cage by the sound of it.

Once the dust finally settled, I took stock of the situation. First and foremost, my classmates and I had huddled around the Bella-cicle to both to pass on our warmth and for security. Our six Snover captors had gathered at the edges of the room opposite the source of the explosion.

And at the center of the room, with a half-eaten apple in its paw and an unconscious Golem at its feet, stood a young Riolu.

Everyone remained silent, except the Riolu who took another bite of its apple as it drew its gaze upon the party of Snover loitering at the edge of the room. The two parties simply stared at each other, the tension almost palpable as I noticed the Riolu quirked up an eyebrow wordlessly.

And that's when its attention was turned to us.

Let me just start by saying that I was never considered 'popular' by any stretch of the imagination. I was what you would consider 'a recluse.' I always kept to my studies, almost to an unhealthy degree. Having established that, I never really caught the attention of any of the males around my age, and by extension I never really gave them mine in return. Naturally, I have no context on how to identify a potential mate as appealing without resorting to follow the trends of my peers. Having said all of that, when I finally got a good glimpse of its- his face… "Woof…"

I said that aloud, Plusle did too. Minun face-pawed and Bella was trying not to let her blood freeze. I didn't even intend to say it too, but I was so stunned. His face was absolutely flawless. I had no up-close observations to fully appreciate it, but his body structure was wonderfully appealing. I could tell that the aura sensors that hung from his temples were slightly larger than average, and the metal plates at his forearms boasted a far superior gleam compared to normal. But the most captivating attribute I could see were his eyes.

The Riolu evolutionary line always had red irises, but this one's were golden. "Good Lord, that shouldn't be getting me so excited." I internally chastised myself. And of course my adolescent mind wouldn't let me get away from this without at least some imagination put into what he's keeping hidden in that patch of fur at his crotch…

I swiftly shook my head to clear out the vulgar thoughts. We were still in a hostage situation! There were more opportune times for this stuff!

While I was mentally reducing him to eye candy, the mystery Emanation Pokemon noticed our predicament, especially noting Bella being entrapped in ice and the lock outside of our cage.

The passive calm but curious quirked brows morphed into an angry scowl as the Riolu drew his attention from us and back to our kidnappers. "I'm guessing you're responsible for all that?" He jerked his head to us as he rightfully accused the Snover. His voice wasn't very deep. That, combined with the fact that he hadn't evolved into a Lucario yet would imply he's roughly our age.

That certainly didn't stop his voice from being strangely alluring though.

"Hell yeah, we did that, pipsqueak!" One of the Snover jeered. The mystery Riolu tilted his head and his sensors splayed in surprise, but this seemed to go unnoticed by the crowd of Frost Tree Pokémon. "Not like it's gonna matter for you!" Another Snover shouted after the one next to it taunted, "You're about to be joining them after all!" It was honestly unnerving how eerily similar sounding they all were. They sounded like they had a bad nasal congestion.

A phase of shock seemed to pass over Riolu's visage as a look of astonishment took its place. But the reason for the look wasn't at all what I was expecting.

"You all can talk!?" The Riolu shouted, incredulously.

If it were possible to make out a Snover's mouth through their frozen leaf and bark coating, I'm positive all six of theirs would be gapping. Regardless, they recovered quickly and proceeded to look at each other back and forth for a few moments before scowling at the newcomer.

The Riolu caught on to where their trains of thought were headed and dropped into a defensive stance with both paws poised for Force Palms.

"Get him!" They all roared.

Two Snover charged at him from the front as the remainder were quick to flank while their comrades kept him preoccupied. The Force Palms Riolu kept charged were both used on a single Snover to really knock it back forcefully. A skillful dodge from a strike from the other to attack him from the front was swiftly followed up with a Quick Attack both to evade his other adversaries while closing in on the one he knocked away.

With the Snover distracted, I took the opportunity to begin getting Bella out of her entombment. I started using Tackle on repeat, careful to avoid injuring my classmate in the process.

Plusle and Minun looked at each other after observing my efforts for a while and gave each other an enthusiastic nod. They brought their tails together to empower each other's charge a moment before taking positions for a Quick Attack of their own. Instead of warning me, however, they both just opted for bowling right through Bella, the ice containing her, and myself.

On the upside, they got her out quicker than what I could have done alone. The downside? "Ow!"

I quickly started curling around Bella's shivering form to warm her while I tried to come up with an escape since the Riolu is still tussling with our kidnappers. She- a fire-type- was absolutely freezing, and if I could feel that through my thick fur…

The wobbling form of a Snover slamming into the wall of the cage next to the door gave the lot of us a startle. The Emanation Pokémon responsible quickly appeared in front of the ice and grass-type to bring his knee into the gangster's stomach. The remaining, yet dwindling, number of conscious (barely) Snover scrabbled to regroup for their next attack.

The Riolu paused his assault momentarily to look at my classmates and I with his striking golden eyes. His chest was heaving as he panted from exertion while he assessed our conditions. A quick strike from yet another Force Palm snapped the lock off the door. His analyzing gaze flashed back into a stoic glare when he brought his attention back to his adversary.

The Snover was barely beginning to recover from the last assault it endured before the Riolu before it grabbed one of the bars of the cage door and slammed the entire thing into talking tree's front. With swirls in its eyes, the Snover slid down the side of our prison, unconscious, and the Riolu ran off to engage with one of his other three remaining opponents.

While Bella used my body heat to warm herself, I took the opportunity to get a word with the twins. "Hey, you two-" I whispered, trying to avoid drawing unwanted attention to Bella's liberation and our broken padlock. When I had their undivided attention, I continued. "Listen. Bella's not in any condition to move with her body temperature so low and I need to stay with her to keep her warm. Both of you are small enough to avoid any ferals that you come across so I need you two to go and find help. Surely Mr. Excadrill will have noticed our disappearance by know and is either looking for us right now, or already got help to find us-"

"O-o-oh s-spare us your-r her-roic p-p-posturing!" Bella's shaky voice interrupted my instructions. "I'm f-f-fine! I c-can keep up just f-f-fine." To 'emphasize' her point, she started trying to rise on all fours. She didn't get very far, though. Every single muscle she put into the motion was quivering, unable to fine purchase on the cold stone. An ungraceful grunt escaped her lips when she collapsed on the ground once more.

Trying to save face, she tucked herself into a ball again against my side without another chattering word.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Plusle and Minun were quite optimistic about things. Bright, determined grins were plastered on their faces as they brought their gaze back to me. Plusle jumped to attention to give me a salute. "Don't worry girls; we'll bring back help in a flash!" She emphasized herself with a light sparking from her fur.

Her brother was quick to mirror her actions. "You two stay safe." He warned. With their parting words said, the Cheering twins once again brought their tails together while sparks flew between them.

Once their charge was finished, they grabbed each other's paws and shot out of the opened cage with dual Quick Attacks to briskly flee the scene. They pushed the door open with such a force that it slammed open and once again crushed the unconscious Snover lying over in a battered heap.

Without much to do but keep my partner from freezing, I settled into position and hope that either Bella would soon regain her ability to move without much assistance, or that the Riolu came to help us with good intentions.

Lucien's POV

If I had known that my day was gonna turn out like this, I would have probably taken my chances scaling down the mountain. Force Palm has been useful as hell thus far, but my arms were aching. And these damn Snover weren't helping.

An Icy Wind buffeted me as I danced around one of the two remaining Pokemon. Gotta hand it to 'em, they finally managed to get a good grasp of covering each other's openings.

With those Geodude and Graveler? The closest thing to teamwork they did was not directly attack each other. They bombarded me with sheer numbers while I continuously employed hit-and-run tactics to whittle them down. They never protected each other when they overextended. They hardly performed any synchronized maneuvers. They just kept coming at me like Mareep to slaughter.

Sure as hell did a number on my stamina though. I may not be entirely acclimated to this body yet, but it was at least physically impressive. The only real oddity was when I used an attack.

Both of my arms were stinging and that stunt with the padlock didn't do me any favors either, but despite the fact that I was getting more and more winded the longer the fight progressed, my attacks were getting stronger and stronger. I'm not complaining though, it was making these Snover far easier to contend with.

Speaking of…

The last two ice-types were glaring holes at me; both of them looked just about ready to keel over. Granted I wasn't in much better shape. My lungs were having trouble keeping up with my body's demands for oxygen and my arms had dropped their defensive postures due to fatigue.

The Snover to my left stayed back while the one partially to my right charged- or rather hobbled- right at me. Another flank. Actually playing along wasn't going to cut it anymore so I changed tactics.

I brought my paws up to engage with the Snover coming directly at me while turning my back to his partner. He swung a few times at me, but even in my sluggish state they weren't too much of a hassle to dodge or block. It certainly didn't hurt that they were just as winded as I am. He was fighting more defensively.

Having allowed a decent enough amount of time to pass, I quickly spun on one of my back paws to face my flanking assailant before charging right at him with a Quick attack. Ramming into it at full speed, I knocked it flat on its back, unmoving.

One left.

*Quake*

When I turned back around to face my one remaining opponent, a light, but noticeable, tremor broke the quiet.

*Quake*

Growing annoyed, I started looking around to try and discern the cause while the Snover seemed to flashed me this smug… sneer? I can't see its mouth, it's hard to tell.

*QUAKE*

A leafy, green hand latches on to the stone of the threshold leading to the adjoining chamber of the room I'd been fighting in. The walking tree I was fighting turned and high-tailed it over to the lumbering figure that was emerging from around the corner.

It was a seven foot tall monstrosity built similar to the Snover. Its entire body was white save for its hands, feet, and tail being a leafy green. The Abomasnow glowered at its pre-evolved form with its pink, bloodshot eyes. Those frost-covered pines forming a mustache on its lips did little to conceal the snarl growing on its face the longer the Snover griped at it.

"Boss! Boss! You gotta do something." Its obnoxious, congested voice grated on every other creature's nerves as it pleaded with its leader, even Abomasnow. Especially Abomasnow. "We were watching the prisoners like you told us, until this pup-" The asshole jabbed a finger at me as I just stood still with my arms crossed and tapped my foot- dammit. "-blasted his way in here and started wiping the floor with us and busted out the hostages."

Abomasnow brought his scowl to my direction before turning his attention to the litany of unconscious bodies littering the ground and the cell door that was ajar. Nearby, the brown and cream-colored fox was warming the freezing yellow Fennekin. Its eyes shot back to me after its inspection.

Without so much as a thought, Abomasnow brought its one of its hands across its torso and over its opposite shoulder. A brutal backhand was brought to the side of its Snover subordinate, sending the poor underling slamming into the wall on the side of the room.

With a grunt, the fully evolved Frost Tree Pokémon confidently strode into the main chamber. "Alright kid." His deep, gruff voice alerted me to his gender while he came to a stop a few feet away from the threshold. The remaining distance between us and his aggressive posture gave me the feeling that he preferred ranged combat. "If you can explain to me why you thought that messing with my crew and meddling in my plans was a good idea, I might just let you walk away from this."

I shrug as I widen my stance and bring my shaking arms to my sides. "Hm, I'm not that good at delicate negotiations."

Contrary to his intimidating appearance, he gives a hearty chuckle. The elevated corners of his mouth stretched beyond the borders of his mustache. "Heh! I like you kid. It's a reeeaaal shame I gotta turn ya into an icicle so I can keep my payday."

Without another word, Abomasnow sharply inhales before blasting an Ice Beam directly at me. I used Quick Attack to dodge and kept relying on it to keep moving as he fired more beams at me repeatedly. This guy destroyed that Snover like he was swatting a gnat. Having the body of a fighting-type, I was naturally resistant to ice-type attacks, but I'm not about to tempt fate.

I'm running on fumes by now, and my workhorse move, Force Palm, required me to get up close and personal. Getting in close is real difficult when your enemy is launching powerful beams of sub-zero energy rapid fire.

A sudden blast of sand sprayed into the tree's eyes and halted the endless barrage of ice. In the corner of my eye, I saw the little Eevee scurrying behind one of the boulders that my -er… 'dynamic' entrance threw into the room.

Abomasnow brought one of his hands up to his eyes to rub out the sand while the other became obscured behind his back.

Now was my chance.

My legs felt like jelly, my arms were heavy, and my eyes just wanted the day to be over, but I gave one final heave on my hind paws as I dashed right at the hulking ice tree. I poured every ounce of strength I had left in me into my right paw to charge my final Force Palm of the day.

Once I was within striking distance, I combined my speed from the Quick Attack into the force of my palm strike.

That's when I noticed a fist coated in misty ice hurtling at me at a startling velocity. He was charging an Ice Punch behind his back! I couldn't stop my lunge or even redirect it, and going for a mutual strike would only land me in a coma.

His fist collided with my palm with explosive force! The air between our hands was forced away by the sheer power, creating a shockwave that once again caused the room to shake.

*Crack!*

I heard something in my right arm snap from the concussive force before I could actually feel the pain.

But then I felt it.

I was sent flying and smashed against the top of one of the boulders in the room before falling behind it. A searing pain lanced up my arm from my shoulder. My lips reflexively curled into a snarl as I tried to bite back the pain from leaving my throat while by left paw moves to grasp my mangled shoulder.

My entire right arm hung limp from my shoulder and the aching only increased the longer I allowed it to do so. Yup, that's dislocated, maybe even broken. I would try to realign it myself, but my unfamiliarity with my new skeletal structure stayed my han- paw, grrr!

I poked my head out of the makeshift cover I was sitting against. The Abomasnow looked like he barely stumbled from our clash. A quick shake of his hand likely undid any discomfort I had caused while his other hand was still trying to get the sand out of his eyes.

'Lucien, you idiot! You knew that an Abomasnow had to have a ton of battle experience before evolving but you goaded one anyway! And you were exhausted from fighting a horde of rock-types and this guy's underlings. You had no chance of coming out ahead of this, and now-'

A feminine "Oof" from my left snapped me out of my self-disciplining. The Fennekin was splayed out on the ground, a baneful expression directed to something further behind me.

The little Eevee came sprinting behind the rock with me and the yellow vixen, the unmistakable stream of a Blizzard attack hot on its heels. Gale-force winds laced with ice crashed into the boulder we were all hiding behind. All semblance of warmth was taken away from the air around us, but our cover would hold.

We were stuck. Abomasnow would continue to use Blizzard until we all froze to death.

What a cool way to die…

…heh

"Are you okay? That was nasty hit you took." The soft, feminine voice of the Eevee inquired, her ears were flat with a mournful expression on her face. I was still confused why the Pokémon in this chamber could talk, but all those damn Geodude said was their stupid name. 'Meh, questions for later.'

I gave a curt nod before looking away at the Blizzard surrounding us. "I'm a little banged up, but seeing as how were all about to die of hypothermia, I would say I have bigger concerns than a busted shoulder." My voice still sounded weird to me. It was admittedly pleasantly reserved-sounding though. I didn't sound afraid, pained, or even concerned. Panicking wouldn't do us any good.

The Eevee took on a look of defiance. "There has to be something we can do! We can't just stay here and wait for death, not after all you did to help us…"

I shook my head a bit and looked her right in the eye. "Look girly, that thing clobbered me so hard he dislocated my shoulder, you don't have any type advantage against him, and your friend there looks like she's can hardly stand." I gestured towards the Fennekin. "We're boned."

Her head sank as she stared at the pebbles at her feet for a moment. I was expecting her to seem defeated like I was, but her eyes held a contemplative gleam and darting back and forth. She was mumbling something incoherently under her breath.

Her attention shot to the fire-type next to her. "Bella, do you think you could pull off a fire attack, even just one Ember?" She asked, frantically.

'Bella' looked back at her with an eyebrow raised, speaking slowly at first. "Yeeaahh" Her voice was somewhat shaky, but seeing as how she was encased in ice earlier, it wasn't unexpected. "But even being quadruply effective against an ice and grass-type, it won't be enough to knock him out in one blow, especially at this range."

The Eevee nodded once and looked back at me. "You said your arm's busted, but can you still walk?"

I tilted my head in confusion. "Walk? Yeah. But my abuse of Quick Attack means that I won't be going anywhere fast."

"That's all we need. I think I have a plan." She looked me dead in the eye. "But I don't think you're gonna like it that much…"

Lyca's POV

Gently, Riolu lifted Bella up with his good arm from under her chest and placed her on my back. I shuffled a bit from the new weight while I continued to count the seconds flying by. When my count reached 'zero', I shouted "Go!" in a hushed voice that only the three of us could hear over the wind. Riolu promptly shot out from behind the boulder with Bella and I shadowing his movements directly against the Blizzard.

"Our first hurdle is to close the distance between us and Abomasnow. I can go fast enough, but I won't be able to while keeping you on my back, Bella, and I don't wanna expose you to any more ice than necessary. So we'll need you, Riolu, to help us get in close."

The Emanation Pokémon in front of us took the brunt of the Blizzard's cold while we followed to keep ourselves warm. His ears were pinned against his head to stave off the chilling cold while his aura sensors flailed in the wind. His left arm covered his face from the wind as his right hung lamely at his side. We were still a few meters away from our target when a small red aura flared around the male's blue fur.

"In your current condition, you'll pass out well before we get in range, so you'll need to use a particular move to help us get in close. Unlike Protect, you won't generate a protective shield to take the hit for you; and unlike Detect, your awareness and reaction time won't be enhanced to avoid the damage. But where it lacks in effectiveness, it makes up for in simplicity. When we advance, just focus on staying alive, and your body will do the rest and help you persevere."

Endure!

The Riolu continued to push against the howling wind. Increased intensity and lower climate indicated that we were indeed approaching our target.

"This guy's insanely powerful, and surprisingly fast considering how massive he is, so we'll need to get the drop on him. If we can't go around the Blizzard, we'll have to go through it. The low visibility of the attack obstructing his vision combined with my Sand Attack from earlier will mean that he won't be able to see very far in front of him while he's still breathing out the ice."

Riolu's knees finally buckled and he collapsed onto his good hand, still hunched over. There was only so far Endure could carry us, but it got us far enough. The wind was starting to abate, indicating that Abomasnow had to replenish his lungs soon in order to continue the assault. With Bella still crouched on my back, I leapt onto our mysterious ally's back. A familiar white glow surrounded me as I began to execute the final phase of our plan.

"Once we're close, that's where our part comes in, Bella. A single Ember attack by itself wouldn't even be close to being enough to knock this guy out. But if we fudge some of the numbers…"

The energy I transferred to Bella through Helping Hand empowered her enough that a potent growl rumbled in her chest. I jumped from my perch on Riolu's uninjured shoulder. Pivoting in the air, I gave my classmate the best angle I could to lunge at the unsuspecting Abomasnow. The Blizzard broke.

"Ember will be four times more effective against this guy than what it normally is, but it won't be enough. But if we take into consideration your current health condition and one of my own techniques to strengthen your next attack..."

The moment hung in the air for a moment. I recalled the astounded faces of my comrades when I unveiled my plan to them, paled only in comparison by the dumbstruck look on that damned Abomasnow's winded expression when he discovered it as well. I imagine it wasn't a pretty sight: his powerful Blizzard turned against him while a furious fire-type with puffed up cheeks and a fiery look in her eyes stared him down.

"…It should be just enough to take this twat down once and for all!"

A cry of defiance tore through Bella's throat as she unleashed the combined efforts of a super effective fire attack, a boost from Helping Hand, and her own Blaze ability. The standard orange and yellow flames her Ember evoked were gone.

In their place were blue flames bursting from her gaping maw, completely overwhelming the overgrown tree's defenses. With a thud, the Abomasnow collapsed onto the ground, completely charred and unmoving.

I landed rather ungracefully, all things considered; the unconscious form of Bella still on my back being the primary cause. That last attack must have literally been the most she could manage. A look over my shoulder revealed that Riolu still on his hand and knees, just barely managing to stay awake to see the results of his labors. Seeing that the immediate danger had passed, he too passed out.

When I was about to drag myself and Bella over to him to figure out a way to get us all out of here, my vision stared to darken as fatigue set in for me as well.

The last thing I could make out was a large, shadowy figure approaching us as I fell into darkness.

Author's Notes: Heya. Sorry it's been so long since I've uploaded. A lot of things are going on in my life right now. Good news is that all of it is good stuff; it's just a bit time consuming, but totally worth it.

Just a couple of quick notes about the story. I know that the games treat Plusle and Minun as different Pokémon, and as such a mother of either wouldn't be able to bear the other. The twins are indeed paternal twins from the same parents. It's just a bit of impromptu writing. Also, Imma be a bit lenient about what moves a Pokémon in this story can know and learn. Just FYI

The next chapter of Ebony and Ivory is next on my to-do list, but there is much work to do. And I must prepare for a life of Opulence…

Epilogue

?'s POV

A whistle shattered the silence that lingered in the air after that impressive display. I turned to scowl towards Greninja, only to see him breaking cover to casually walk towards the scene, that cocky swagger ever-present in his step. "Banette, did you get all that. The big man is gonna flip when he gets a load of this!"

The Marionette Pokémon phased into existence from the ceiling, holding her transmitter over her head, yelling out with her shrill voice. "Aw hell yeah! That fight was aw-. –some. Do you guys think we could convince the big lug to let us sell copies..?"

"-No." I intercepted her asinine inquiry before her wailing could cause a greater headache. "We don't have time for talk. Greninja, round up the whelps and get them back to their village, I'm sure their families will be relieved to see them home safe. Banette, help me round up the rest of this rabble, I'm not taking chances in transporting Abomasnow the old fashioned way, and I'll need all the concentration I can muster to get him back to base in one go, so if you could zip it, I'd appreciate it." My ghost-type companion just huffed indignantly before doing as I instructed. I had a great deal of respect for her as a spy and fighter, but listening to her banshee-like screeching felt like a hot spike was being wedged into each of my ears.

I spared a glance at the trio that took down our quarry. A Riolu pup and two female fox children; the exact description that Plusle and Minun gave us before we had them flee the Dungeon.

With the criminals and Banette rounded up, I prepared my Teleport for extraction. Greninja was sauntering out of the cave with the kids secured in his arms. He would likely be taking his sweet time getting back home, but I wasn't worried. I trusted him with my life. He may be aloof, but he was by far the most reliable ally I'd ever made.

He'd come back sooner or later.

With a flourish, I brandished my two silver spoons and closed my eyes. In my mind's eye, I visualized the grand building that made up our base. As if they were muscles in my own body, I bent my spoons to channel my thoughts and a blinding white flash enveloped the lot of us, leaving Greninja on his own to return the kids to their homes.