A/N - Part 2 starts here! Prepare for a few surprises!

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Disclaimer - I do NOT own Pokemon or any of its critters!

Part 2

14 – Orphan

Cleo and her friends trudged through the forest, the usual silence replaced with the growls and snarls from their reluctant companion. Harlequin struggled against her confines, scraping up the earth with her claws as she refused to walk with them. Occasionally she'd lunged at Cleo, gnashing at her with her jaws, but not a single attack could hit. She'd then go back to throwing herself on the ground and wailing and snarling. It had been this way since they'd left at mid day, and the sun was behind them now, getting ready to set.

They'd been walking in silence, not one of them daring to start up a conversation. None of them really knew what to say. They'd been requested to find more of this new Pokemon type, but where does one even begin? They were just walking, no destination in mind. Being stuck with one of Hydreigon's assassins didn't settle well with any of them either, even if Tinker assured them they were safe so long as they stayed out of her reach. Mischief had been trusted with her bag, so the Zorua would have no access to it. Tinker had also told them before they left, or more so told Harlequin, that the only Pokemon who could remove her collar were himself and Cleo.

For some reason, this hadn't surprised Cleo.

It had also stopped Harlequin from thrashing against any nearby walls in a feeble attempt to destroy it.

As such, since they'd left, Harlequin had been going through a vibrant phase of sulking and raging. During one of her more quiet bursts, Cleo had thought she'd tired herself out to the point of sleep, but a glance back showed the Zorua's eyes wide open, leering at the passing trees as she was dragged along like a reluctant child.

"I hate to break the peace," Spark declared from Cleo's shoulder. "But I'm getting hungry."

The Dedenne's voice came as a mild shock to Cleo and Mischief. Cleo quickly surveyed their surroundings and gave a small nod.

"Me too. We'll find somewhere to stop and call it a night."

Spark shook her head. "I'm not sure I'm too comfortable camping out with our little friend back there."

Harlequin let out a sharp laugh. "No, no. Camp out. We'll see how many dark Pokemon I can grab the attention of." She rolled onto her back and flailed. "Help! Help me! I'm in trouble, help!"

Cleo tutted and marched on, dragging the Zorua along on her back.

"Shout all you want," Cleo told her. "You're more likely to attract the attention of Outcasts in this area."

"You might think you're safe around here, but there'll be a Murkrow patrol later." The Zorua almost seemed to purr. "You'll see."

"Oh yeah?!" Spark hopped round on Cleo's shoulder to face Harlequin. "Then I'll just wipe them out with one deft Thunder!" Her little whiskers sparked dangerously.

Cleo hissed at the Dedenne. "Don't do that! I'm not willing to deal with another bad fur day thanks to your static discharge." She shook her head and sighed. Spark didn't even know Thunder, but she wasn't going to declare that in front of the enemy.

"Hey look!" Mischief waved a paw at something in the distance.

Cleo narrowed her eyes to follow it. "What is it?"

"The river's flowing again."

"Ah!" Cleo smiled. So it was. It was too far ahead to hear over the Zorua's din, but it wasn't too far away. "It might make a good place to camp out, let's head for there."

"Are we sure we trust it?" Spark asked. "It might still be poisoned."

"If it is, I think someone here could tell us." Cleo looked back at the Zorua. She'd gone quiet, fixing them with one eye.

"What?" Harlequin snarled. "You want me to sniff out poisoned water for you now?"
"It's quite simple," Cleo told her. "You don't drink it, we know it's poisoned."

"And what if I'm lying?"

"I think come morning you'll be needing a drink. We all get thirsty, and you've been doing a lot of yelling."

Harlequin snorted and looked away.

Cleo turned away from the Zorua and marched on, keeping a little behind Mischief for his own safety. No matter how much she fought, the Zorua clearly knew so long as she was confined to that collar, she'd lost. With all that fighting, she should have worn herself out enough to not pose much of a threat, or an attraction to her allies.

Now they just had to make it through the first night.

...

"I think this is where they said they found that Pachirisu."

Tinker scratched his nose thoughtfully as he stood with Skipper, examining the ground at the base of a tree. The dead grass was flat, as though something had been lay on it for a long time. Dry leaves lay scattered around it, discarded.

Skipper crouched onto all-fours and peered at the base of the tree, then stood up again and gave a nod at the spot beyond the brambles.

"Well, if we have a little looksee further ahead, we might be able t'find more clues."

Tinker nodded. "I think that's the best plan. Although it doesn't settle with me that the sun is starting to set."

"Aye. T'is a wee bit further out than we thought, sure enough."

Tinker moved past the Marshstomp, pushing the sharp brambles aside to make a path.

"Let's keep our wits about ourselves. Cleo told me they got attacked out here."

"Aye, ye said." Skipper followed after him, nimbly avoiding the thorns. "Wonder who they was?"

"I've no idea, but it wouldn't surprise me if they poisoned the river."

"I'd like t'agree but we dinnae have enough evidence t'back up that theory."

"Then we'll find it."

Tinker was feeling very persistent. If what Cleo had theorized was true, then this was big news. Peaceful Pokemon meant there were still peaceful places out there, areas that hadn't been divided into groups, places where there was no war.

Or maybe there were more groups than they thought, and these just didn't fall into Outcast, Heretic or Darkness.

"Ah!"

The exclamation caused Tinker to spin round with such force he almost lost his balance. His heart leapt into his throat and a metallic taste filled his mouth.

This was followed by a sigh of relief when he saw Skipper intensely inspecting a tree.

"Look at this, Tinker." The Marshstomp ushered him over. "There's been a nest in here."

Tinker peered over Skipper's shoulder. He felt his eye widen. Sure enough, there was a comfortable pile of leaves and grass tucked away in a hole large enough for a couple of Pachirisu or other such small ground dwelling Pokemon to huddle in.

He took a step back and looked up at the tree. It was dead, like the others close by it. However, this meant the tree wasn't thickly covered to hide arboreal Pokemon dens. A small smile played across his lips. Near the top of the tree's thick trunk was another small hole.

"Skipper, give me a boost would you?"

Skipper scratched his head and followed the Riolu's gaze. "I can do that, Tinker, but are ye sure ye can climb that high?"

"I can sure try."

"All right then, step on." Skipper formed his webbed claws into a foot hold for the Riolu.

Tinker steadied himself against the tree and placed a foot in Skipper's paws. With a 'heyup!' the Marshstomp hoisted him up. Tinker grabbed the lowest branch, checked it would hold his weight, and dragged himself up onto it. Another branch hung low enough for him to stretch himself up onto. At this level, he could stand by the trunk and pull himself up to the little den hole.

"There's a nest here too," he called down to Skipper. "It also has a little berry store. They still look fresh too."

"Right enough?" Skipper exclaimed with amazement. "So where are they then?"

Tinker lowered himself cautiously onto the lower branch. With one eye, he didn't have reliable depth perception. Most Pokemon would call his insistence to perform difficult tasks like this stubbornness, but he called it perseverance. There was no need to let something like losing an eye stop him from trying to help others.

He grabbed the lower branch in both paws and swung himself over the edge. Skipper caught him as he dropped to the ground and steadied him on his feet.

Tinker muttered a thank you and looked back up at the tree.

"I'm guessing Emolga," he said.

"What makes ye think that?"

"Pachirisu and Emolga lived in close proximity before Hydreigon scattered Pokemon across the land. As you know, Pokemon used to group together for company and survival. Bulbasaur colonies would live beside rivers where Marill and Azurill lived, for example. The same type would often group together, so finding Roselia and Sunkern colonies amongst Bulbasaur was very common. As such, Pachirisu and Emolga are one example of types sticking together. There may be some nests in the brambles that housed Pikachu and Pichu. Since we are by a river, there are likely some nests by the riverside. If you wouldn't mind having a look since you can swim?"
"Roger!" Skipper saluted and turned back to the river with haste.

Tinker glanced around at the forest. Now he was aware of them, nests in the trees were becoming glaringly obvious. His heart was beginning to sink drastically as the sun began setting, plunging the forest into gradual darkness. This was how most Pokemon used to live before the Darkness scattered them, forcing them to live inside rushed buildings away from the forest's shadows. The fact some were still fresh was shocking. He wanted to inspect more of them, but they would be hard to find in the dark, not to mention the dangers that would likely affect him and Skipper if they stayed here much longer.

His eyes traced up the trunk of a large tree a few yards away. A small opening lay near the top of the trunk, but amongst the branches were tiny twigs and thick plant stems weaved together to form a nest.

So there had been bird Pokemon here. It was difficult to see from here what kind once occupied that nest, but if birds had been living amongst electric Pokemon then there were likely ground types living around here too. The branches weren't situated to be climbed as easy as the tree he had been in before. This was likely why the Pokemon had chosen that particular tree to build its nest.

He trotted over to the tree, an idea forming in his mind. If he could knock the nest to the floor, he could see what had occupied it. There were likely still feathers inside. He searched the floor for something to throw but there were no rocks in sight. A branch... a long branch to poke it free... no. He shook his head. That was pointless, it was too high.

"Mudkip."

Tinker looked over his shoulder to search the shadows with his left eye. Skipper was trudging towards him, water dripping from his slick body.

"There were Mudkip," he said. "And Marshstomp. Living in the river. I recognise th' nests."

Tinker narrowed his eyes. The Marshstomp looked a little distressed, fumbling with his goggles in his large paws. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's just... I've never found mah own kind before. Knowing they were this close to home... it's kinda upsetting ya know?"

Tinker nodded sullenly and looked back up at the tree. "Yes, I can understand that."

Skipper rubbed the back of his head and let out a sigh. He followed Tinker's gaze up to the tree.

"Ye found another nest, aye?"

"Yes. I want to get to it, but it's too high." An idea struck him and he snapped to look at Skipper. "Could you shoot it down for me?"

"Shoot it down? That's a wee bit disrespectful, lad."

Tinker snorted at the remark. "It's empty. I just want to know what Pokemon were living here."

"Aye, all right then. Stand back, ya don't want it landin' on ye."

Tinker obeyed, standing a little behind the Marshstomp. Skipper opened his mouth and shot a powerful stream of water at the nest. It shot into the sky, but not as drastically as Tinker had expected. It rotated in the air, and Tinker felt his heart hit his throat once more. It wasn't just feathers that fell from the nest. He shot towards the tree like a dart, stretching out his paws to catch the falling object before it struck the ground and shattered.

Skipper was at his side just as quickly, trying to catch his breath.

"There was an egg there?" Skipper's words were mere surprise than a question. "An egg?"

Tinker curled back from the large egg and stared down at it, his breath still coming in short bursts. It was unharmed, not a crack in sight. White down clung to the unblemished surface, and fell around them like whispy snowflakes. The nest lay discarded beside him, the same white tufts clinging to the inside surface.

The feathers were unmistakable.

Tinker looked up at Skipper and stared at him for a moment before rising to his feet.

"Well, we know who's nest it were, aye?"

Tinker nodded and cradled the egg to his chest. "Altaria."

...

The group had propped up their little tent a few feet away from the river, beneath the shelter of a couple of trees and a scattering of bushes. The forest had thinned out drastically, the floor bare and full of dry grass and decaying leaves. The river sparkled in the moonlight, the stars reflecting on the surface in dizzying patterns as the water rushed over rocks and twisted out of sight around a sharp bend.

Cleo couldn't help but think, under different circumstances, this area would be beautiful. Unfortunately the grass and plants had been killed off with Seviper venom, which instead in the dark of night created a somewhat eerie atmosphere.

She didn't really like it. But they needed somewhere to rest, and by a river was their best option.

Mischief finished securing the tent in place and stretched, yawning widely.

"If you like, I can take first watch?" He told Cleo. "You look like you could use a good sleep. Plus, it looks like Spark has already fallen asleep."

"Nope." The Dedenne sat hunched forward with her head poking out of Cleo's neck fur, her eyes closed. "Just restin' my eyes."

"Thanks Mischief," said Cleo. "I'm not sure how much sleep we're going to get, however."

She looked down at the Zorua. She'd been oddly quiet that at one point they thought she'd fallen asleep. She lay sprawled on the ground, her eyes still wide open, breathing heavily. Evidence of her struggle was plain to see, as her fur was tangled and thick with dirt, with twigs and other debris poking out at dramatic angles. She was clearly exhausted, but if her threat was anything to go by, Cleo doubted she'd be trying to sleep any time soon.

Tearing her eyes from Harlequin, she strutted into the tent, dragging the reluctant Pokemon effortlessly behind her. The Zorua said nothing, but Cleo could feel her icy blue stare burning into the back of her head as she curled up to sleep.

It wasn't long until Harlequin's cries cut through the night air, setting them all on edge. They tried not to let it show, but not one of them dared close their eyes for long.

...

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