Chapter 11
A Home for Dwebble
My eyes slightly open, and I feel my head on my arms. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep, thanks to my uncontrollable hunger. I'm starving!
I open my eyes wider to see a plate in front of me, a potato salad sandwich on it. I look up to see Cilan smiling at me.
My eyes fall on the sandwich. "Huh?" I smile. "Thanks a lot!" I take a bite, the flavors of it flowing through my mouth. "Man, you make the greatest sandwiches in the whole world, Cilan."
He smiles and slightly blushes at my compliment. "Of course."
"So, Pikachu, what do you think of Cilan's cooking, anyway?" I ask my yellow Pokémon.
Pikachu, who's eating some Pokémon food, smiles. "Pika pika!" Axew joins him in the cheer.
"Axew feels the same way, too!" Iris chirps in.
Axew's head raises up and he looks into the distance. "Axew..." He suddenly gets up and walks away.
"Axew! Hey, what's the matter?" Iris follows her Dragon-type.
Pikachu follows Axew and they end up behind a rock, Pikachu talking to Axew. I catch up with them. "Uh, Pikachu, what's up?"
"Pika pika." He points over in front of us.
I turn to see a very small orange/russet colored crab-like Pokémon. It inspects a small rock with careful eyes. It looks adorable!
"Of course!" Cilan smiles. "It's a Dewbble! Although strange to see one without a rock on its back."
I take out my Pokédex. "So, it's supposed to have a rock on its back?"
Dwebble, the Rock Inn Pokémon. After finding a suitable rock, Dwebble digs a hole in the rock's bottom, to use as a protective shell. Dwebble can make rock easier to carve by producing a liquid from its mouth.
"I'll bet you it's just about to dig into that rock!" Iris says.
"If that's true, then we're about to witness a rare occurrence!" Cilan tells us. "What luck!"
The Dwebble starts to dig into the rock violently. I smile and stand up. "Wow! You were right!"
Iris suddenly grabs my arms and pulls me down, glaring. "If it knows we're here, it'll run away!"
Blushing with embarrassment, I swallow. "Hehe..." Avoiding her gaze, I turn back to the Dwebble, who's still digging.
"That'll become its home, too," Cilan whispers.
"So Dwebble builds its own house. Awesome!" I stare in awe at the small creature.
Dwebble digs into the rock and spits a white liquid into the rock from its mouth. Iris gasps. "Something's coming out of its mouth!"
I almost face-palm. Didn't she listen to the Pokédex entry about a liquid coming from its mouth?! Rolling my eyes, I take my Pokédex back out and play that part again.
Dwebble can make rock easier to carve by producing a liquid from its mouth.
"How amazing is that?" I stare dreamily at the small crab. It's so cute!
"It sure looks like hard work," Iris comments.
"Well, since it will protect Dwebble from their enemies, they have to do a really good job," Cilan says. The Dwebble stops carving and smiles with triumph. Cilan gasps. "All done!"
The Dwebble crawls into the rock, but suddenly crawls back out, shaking his head. "Why didn't Dwebble stay inside?" Iris asks.
"Probably not satisfied just yet," Cilan says.
The Dwebble makes a few adjustments to the rock and smiles. "Looks like a perfect fit this time," I say. The Dwebble crawls back in and lifts the rock on its back. It looks so happy!
"And that's what a normal Dwebble looks like," Cilan tells us.
"Looks like a little moving cream puff!" Iris squeals. "It's so cute!"
Suddenly, the ground rumbles and three creatures come out. I realize they're all Dwebble, too. "Look at all those Dwebble! Awesome!"
"Maybe they're friends!" Iris says.
Suddenly, two Dewbble attack the smaller Dewbble. I gasp. "What's that all about?!" Dwebble uses Protect and hides in its shell to protect itself from the two Dwebbles' Slash attacks. "I wonder what those two are attacking Dwebble for!"
"Pika!" Pikachu growls.
Dwebble comes out of his rock and uses the move Slash, but the two Dwebble block it with Protect. The third Dwebble, the leader, knocks into the small Dwebble. Dwebble's rock is knocked off his back, and the third Dwebble smirks. It takes the rock and puts it on his back on top of the other rock, and glues it on with the liquid from its mouth.
"Hey! That's the house Dwebble just made!" Iris says.
"And three Dwebble against one isn't fair!" I growl.
"Pika pika!" Pikachu yells.
I stand up. "Knock it off, you three!" The Dwebble smirk and all disappear underground. Dwebble follows them. "You go and get your house back!"
"Now Pansage, come on out!" Cilan's Pokémon partner comes out. "Pansage, I want you to use Dig and go help Dwebble." Nodding, Pansage disappears underground.
After a while, the ground rumbles again. I expect to see the three Dwebble, coming to return the rock they stole from the first small Dwebble, but instead, Pansage comes into sight.
"Alright, Pansage," Cilan says. "What happened?"
"Pansage. Pansage pan," he says. The ground rumbles again, and a small Dwebble comes out. It doesn't have a rock.
"That's the first Dwebble!" Iris realizes.
"But it's still missing the rock," I whisper. He looks at us with the saddest of eyes. The poor little guy!
Cilan walks over to the Dwebble and kneels down. "We saw everything. Sorry about your house." Afraid he's an enemy, Dwebble shrieks and runs off, scared out of his skin.
"Where's Dwebble going?" Iris asks.
I start to chase after it. "Hey! Slow down!"
While we run after Dwebble, Iris hops along the rocks and jumps in front of Dwebble, cutting off his path. She kneels down to the scared creature.
"You don't have to be afraid of us," she says. Dwebble runs away towards me and Cilan, but soon realizes he's cornered.
I hold up my hands. "Just relax, Dwebble."
"We're not here to hurt you," Cilan tells him.
Pikachu jumps off my shoulder and looks at Dwebble. "Pika pika."
But Dwebble's too scared to listen. His right claw glows with power and uses Slash on Pikachu. But being the quick mouse he is, Pikachu dodges, and Dwebble hits a nearby rock instead. The rock breaks into little pieces, and one of the pieces flies towards Pansage and catches him in the forehead.
"Oh, no! Pansage!" Cilan runs to his Pokémon.
Dwebble's eyes widen. "Dwebble?!"
Cilan kneels down to his poor injured Pansage. "Are you alright?"
Dwebble scurries over to Pansage and Cilan. "Dweb... Dwebble."
After spraying the medicine of a Potion on Pansage's wound, Iris takes a look at it. "It doesn't look serious."
"Yeah..." But I can tell Cilan's still worried.
Dwebble keeps apologizing to Pansage. "Dwebble, dweb! Dwebble!"
Pansage smiles. "Pansage, pan."
"We know you didn't really wanna hurt anybody," I say. "Of course!"
"You must've been upset about having your home stolen," Cilan says.
Dwebble hangs his little head. "Dweb. Dwebble."
"I know what!" Iris says. "You can make yourself a new home!" Dwebble looks a little horrified, and shakes his head violently. "You want that home back."
"Of course, since Dwebble worked so hard to make it," Cilan says.
Iris looks at the little crab. "You really love it, don't you?" Dwebble nods.
"It obviously means the world to Dwebble," Cilan comments.
I smile. "Sure! You can't just give up and walk away. I know what. We'll help you get it back."
"Pika pika?" Pikachu adds.
Dwebble turns away, shaking his head and refusing. He starts to bury himself underground and disappears.
"Hold on, Dwebble!" But he's gone.
"No matter," Cilan says. "I say let's find those thieves!" Iris and I nod in agreement.
By sunset, we're searching for the three Dwebble. Pidove flies over me, cooing.
"Thanks, Pidove," I call to her. "So, did you find those Dwebble?" She shakes her head. "Man!" I groan.
The ground shakes and Pansage appears, looking sad. "No luck down there, either," Cilan speaks for him.
"Where could those three have gone?" Iris wonders.
Dwebble comes out of the ground, looking sad and defeated. I can tell he's been searching for the thieves, too. His rock is still missing, too.
"It's late," Cilan says after a while. "Why don't we have a nice dinner?"
I smile and nod. "Sounds good."
Cilan turns to the small Dwebble. "You too, Dwebble." Dwebble blinks.
"What do you think, Dwebble?" I ask the crab. "Doesn't Cilan make some awesome Pokémon food?"
Dwebble, whose face is buried in the food, smiles. "Dwebble! Dweb!"
I notice Pansage isn't looking too good. He eats the food slowly and swallows, like his throat hurts. He suddenly falls back.
Cilan's eyes widen. "Pansage! What's wrong?!" He runs to his Pansage, takes him in his arms and places a hand on his forehead. "You're burning up!"
"Could be from getting hit by that rock today," I say, sympathy clouding my voice. Poor Pansage!
Dwebble looks extremely guilty. "Dwebble..."
"I'm afraid I don't have any more Potion," Cilan says.
Determined to save Pansage, I step up. "You just leave it to me. I know every herbal remedy there is! We just need to find some out here to reduce fever." With that, Pikachu and I run into the forest to look for some herbs.
In a while, after searching for the plants, Pikachu taps on my shoulder, holding a few leaves. "Pika?" he asks.
Smiling, I hug him. "Great job, Pikachu!" I take the herbs and we head back to our camp. I mash up the herbs and make them into a pulpy substance. "All done!" I take some on a spoon and hold it to Pansage, who's still in Cilan's arms. "Here, Pansage. Open up!" He weakly opens his mouth. "That's it!" He lets me put the spoon in his mouth. "It might be a little bitter," I warn him. He gives me a small nod and closes his eyes. "A good night's sleep and Pansage will be as good as new!"
Cilan gives me a warm smile. "Thanks so much, Alice." I blush at his praise.
"That was awesome!" Iris exclaims.
Smirking, I turn to her. "Of course! What did you expect?" She can't possibly call me a kid after saving Pansage.
She smiles at Pikachu. "Thanks, Pikachu. You helped, too." Pikachu coos.
The next morning, I wake up to see Pansage, jumping up and down with excitement and energy. There's no sign of any fever, and the red mark on his forehead seems like a bad memory.
"I'm so happy that your fever's all gone!" I sigh with relief.
"Pan! Pansage," Pansage says, smiling.
Cilan turns to me. "And it's all thanks to the herbal remedy you whipped up, Alice." I blush crazily.
"Cilan's right," Iris says.
Dwebble crawls over to Pansage. "Dweb. Dwebble." He still looks a little guilty.
Axew hops down from Iris's hair and cheers. "Axew's happy, too," she says.
Cilan looks at Pansage. "Dwebble was up all night watching over you, Pansage."
His eyes widen. "Pansage?"
Dwebble sheepishly nods. "Dwebble."
"Alright then, Dwebble," Cilan starts. "Let's go get your house back!"
Just as planned, the three thieving Dwebble appear from the ground.
"Okay. There they are!" I say to Dwebble.
Pansage comes out of the ground, looking triumphant. "Excellent work, Pansage," Cilan says.
Seeming to realize what will happen, the three Dwebble scurry off, Axew running after them.
"Don't let them get away!" Iris yells to Axew.
Axew looks for them, and finally calls out. "Axew! Axew!"
I turn to see the three Dwebble. "Good work, Axew! You three give Dwebble's home back right now!" I glare at the three Dwebble.
"Dweb! Dwebble!" The small crab glares at the three.
One Dwebble lunges for Dwebble, but the small creature dodges. But this time, the second Dwebble hits the crab with the rock on its back.
I gasp. "Dwebble! No!" Dwebble falls to the ground, trying to stand up.
"Dwebble's outnumbered three to one!" Iris says.
I turn to my buddy on my shoulder. "Pikachu? Dwebble needs help!"
He nods. "Pikachu!"
He jumps off my shoulder and runs forward, but Dwebble stops him, shaking his head. I raise my eyebrow. "Dwebble, do you really think you can get your home back all by yourself?"
He nods determinedly. "Dwebble!"
I smile. "Gotcha. You go for it!"
The first Dwebble uses Slash, and Dwebble does the same. But instead of both attacks colliding, like they should, the first Dwebble lands the hit.
"Uh-oh," Cilan mutters. "With no rock on it's back..."
"...That leaves Dwebble defenseless!" I finish.
Dwebble gets up and uses Slasb again, but the opposing Dwebble crawls under its shell and uses Protect. The third Dwebble, the leader, turns away and lunges for Dwebble, hitting the poor creature in the stomach with its rock.
I gasp as Dwebble falls onto the ground, the small swirls on his eyes. The three Dwebble disappear into the ground, leaving Dwebble. "Dweb. Dwebble..."
Once Dwebble has recovered, I turn to him. "Taking on all three of them at one time is impossible, don't you see that?" I ask.
Dwebble hangs his head. "Dwebble..."
I cross my arms. "You need to be able to split them up."
"At least let us help with that!" Iris pleads. Dwebble reluctantly nods.
I try to think. To draw the Dewbble out from hiding, we'll need some bait, but then need to split them up so Dwebble can take them on all at different times. That way, it'll be a fair fight.
Cilan smiles. "I know! We'll use my Pokémon food!"
Soon, we have three bowls in a circle, all three filled with Pokémon food. A string is tied to each bowl, and each of us hide behind a different rock. Pikachu hide behind the first, Iris and Axew hide behind the second, and Cilan, Pansage and Dwebble hide behind the third.
In no time, the three Dwebble appear and start digging into the bowls. I roll my eyes and smile at how dumb they are. Can't they see it's a trap?
"Alright!" Cilan yells. "Now get going!"
Smiling, Pikachu, Axew and Pansage start pulling the bowls away in different directions. Pansage pulls the bowl with one of the following Dwebble towards us.
Dwebble jumps for the other Dwebble and they battle. Once Dwebble knows he has to form a plan, he starts leading the other Dwebble into the rocky area.
"Dwebble's luring it into the rocks," Iris realizes.
I nod. "Yeah. The rocks protect Dwebble since it doesn't have a rock of its own."
Cilan smiles. "That Dwebble is one smart Pokémon!"
Soon enough, after using many X-Scissor attacks and Slash attacks, Dwebble defeats his opponent. I cheer. "Dwebble, way to go! Awesome!"
"I have to say, those X-Scissor and Slash attacks really make for one spicy combination!" Cilan compliments.
Iris yells to Axew. "Alright! Let's do it!"
Axew comes in, running with the second Dwebble hot on his tail. Dwebble soon defeats the second Dwebble by getting it stuck in a narrow passage by its rock.
I jump up. "Yeah! Now the head Dwebble's the only one left!"
We find the leader munching on the Pokémon food in the bowl. It doesn't seem to notice us.
"Alright, Dwebble!" Cilan shouts. "The time has come for you to take your home back!"
"Dwebble!" Dwebble yells. The third Dwebble stops eating and turns for his two followers, but notices it's alone.
Iris smirks. "In case you hadn't noticed, you're all by yourself!"
"Which makes it fair and square!" Cilan says.
I smile. "Alright, Dwebble. Go!"
Dwebble attacks the other Dwebble, and prepares to use Slash, but stops once the opponent turns the rock towards him. He hesitates, which causes the other Dwebble to attack brutally.
I frown. "Why did Dwebble stop attacking?!"
Cilan gasps. "I get it! Dwebble doesn't wanna damage its own home!"
But amazingly, Dwebble uses a move called Shell Smash, which raises its attack power, and follows up with an X-Scissor attack, which results in knocking the two rocks off the lead Dwebble's back. With no rock on its back, the other Dwebble buries itself underground.
I smile. "Nice job!"
"Dwebble!" The small and now happy crab crawls back into his rock and cheers.
"You did it!" Iris says. "Good job!"
I smile at Dwebble. "You've got your house back!"
"And you did it yourself," Cilan says. "You can be proud."
When sunset comes, I feel sad that we have to part ways with Dwebble. I wish he could come with us.
"Alright then, Dwebble," Cilan sighs. Is he sad? "Time for us to move on."
I force a smile. Saying goodbye to Dwebble is really hard. "See you again! Take care!"
"Pika pika!" Pikachu smiles at him.
"And make sure your home isn't stolen again!" Iris adds.
With that, we turn and start to walk away. I suddenly hear the small tap of claws on the ground behind us. "Dwebble!" We turn to see Dwebble smiling.
"Dwebble?" Cilan asks. "What? Is there something wrong?"
He smiles. "Dweb. Dwebble dweb."
My eyes widen and I turn to Cilan. "You know what? I think Dwebble wants to go with you, Cilan."
His own emerald eyes widen and he looks back to Dwebble. "You do?"
"Dwebble!" the crab cheers.
"I get it," Cilan says. "Getting your home back all by yourself was heavy and fair, and worrying about Pansage was delicate and light! Fantastic!" He smiles. "The perfect Pokémon for me! We're a good match!" He throws a Poké Ball into the air, and Dwebble jumps up, clicking it open and getting sucked in. The ball clicks shut when it hits the ground, and Cilan picks it up. "Such exquisite taste. My Dwebble!"
I smile. "Wow, Cilan. That's great!"
"Thank you." He turns to Pansage. "Pansage, what do you think of all this?"
His Pokémon smiles. "Pansage!"
"Axew!" Axew adds.
Iris giggles. "Yeah, it is great!"
I look out into the sunset. "Yeah! Now, let's all head to Nacrene City together!"
"Pikachu!" my buddy cheers.