Hey guys, this is an extremely long segment that will provide a filler between part one and part two of the story. It provides some deeper insight to the outside of Treasure Town, which is something that isn't entirely prevalent, and also characterizes some of the ambitions of the three main members of Team Wayfarers. Enjoy!

(P.S: this filler will be divided into segments, for the reader's sake.)

Battle for Shellder Town

Preparations

"Today I set out onto my own hard path
it's a path that's long cruel and crude
But I take my steps, though they may be my last
Because I'm of the chos-en few.
Through the maws of a perilous forest
I stumble upon the deepest cave
Yet I take my steps, and when they hear my news
They will all be cheering my name
Though you be my one and only home, sweet treasure town of mine
I must be leaving you behind now, to earn my explorer pr-ii-de!"

"Lugum, where is all of this coming from?" Ago asked as the riolu fell into a soft hum while she worked the straps on her satchel. Now that they were truly setting out on an exploration, each member of their team had to carry some of the weight. Wigglytuff had tried to get away with leaving their acceptance to simple formalities, but a ruffled and annoyed Chatot told them otherwise. The name of Team Wayfarer had yet to be established in the Dojo, the major clients and the guild-sponsors. Without them, any rewards for contracts undertaken would easily be nullified, cheating out the trio of their well-earned pay.

Of course, a certain impatient riolu tried to assure Chatot that money came second-hand to exploring, but Chatot- and Flightly- would have none of it. Ago guessed that going out of procedure just a little was enough to make Chatot's head explode.

They overcame the excruciating wait with their typical routine and a disgusting amount of card games with Vigz. When it came to the sneasel, Wigglytuff said it perfectly; he entertained them all with his card tricks and tiny hints of his past. The small reveals seemed so intentional... as if he wanted to make Team Wayfarer remember his past while he gradually forgets it. Eventually, after a month of this dull pattern, they finally got their chance to explore.

As it stood, Ago had enough mystery to deal with in these upcoming explorations. Now, he had to deal with this uninvited surprise. The riolu stopped humming her tune and turned to Ago, a gleeful spark in her eye. "Lu, where did you learn to sing like that? I mean... you just don't seem the type." At this Lugum crossed her arms and gave him a defiant look. "Don't give me that face, Lu. When do you even practice?" The look only got worse. "F-Flightly, back me up on this!"

During the last month, Flightly's obsession with investigating Lugum transformed into full-blown infatuation. He kept it under check most of the time, but his passionate work at the Dojo in team exercises betrayed his desire to impress her. If Flightly found the same expression in his fighting that Lugum did, the two were acting a lot more than they were speaking during their training. And, on top of having to witness the lame bird try to woo her with his skills, Ago had to deal with how jealous he was of them both. Every day at training he sat on the sidelines, his incremental improvements giving him more control over his body yet never enough to avoid botching a formation.

He should have known that the bird would pick Lugum's side- the side that anyone should be allowed to sing wonderful melodies with out invitation. Yet he didn't expect for Flightly to clear his throat and say "I myself like the second verse better, since it is slightly more realistic."

Ago thought he was kidding, but he slowly started to breathe in. "W-what? not you too-"

"The world gets larger each and every day
While I must remain quite small
Yet i take my steps, I'll show them the way
my pride keeps me standing tall.
Burnt and smashed, broken and beat
I cry out at all these new pains
Yet I take my steps, I must make them see
that a love to explore never wanes.
And as I am peering out, watching that bright sun arise
A single tear comes from my eye, because this land is mi-ii-ne!"

Lugum and a team also preparing their supplies in the common pasture cheered and clapped for the singing team. "H-how in the hell?!" Ago cried out, appalled. "Can every pokémon around here fucking sing or something?" Suddenly, the Commanding Officer hopped up to the pikachu, a broad smile shining on his face. He nodded vigorously, and spread out a wing to the sky.

"Surrounding me is a whole lot of mystery
more than I could ever discover
yet I take my steps, and what I can see
Will just have to hold me over-"

"A-hem," Chatot coughed, mercifully stopping his musical number. "E-excuse me. I got quite excited to know that there are finally members in this guild that honor a good performance. If you would stop distracting me now, you two," he chastised, "I have an incredibly essential announcement:"

"As you may or may not know, exploration teams in our area have been put on caution due to the tragic takeover of Oran Town and Lombax Meadows. An army of ferals, led by an unidentified bandit king or warlord- take your pick of miserable vermin- has conquered these areas in great haste, and has moved West towards Treasure Town." Ago didn't know anything about this, and it looked like his teammates were in the dark as well. Flightly and Lugum became tight-jawed at the news, and Ago couldn't help falling in line with them; a tamer and a belligerent bandit... what was there for Team Wayfarer not to hate?

With a large thud Lugum's paws flew together menacingly. "Let's teach this creep a lesson, guys! Ago, you get Team Razor-"

Chatot squawked out, stopping her before the frenzy built up too much momentum. "No, no, no! A militia of some of our most capable teams has already left, including Team Razor." This information explained why they hadn't been at the Coastal Guild for the past week. With most of the basic lessons out of the way, Spikes and Ago fell into a new territory: finding a cure for their deficiencies. They consulted doctors, and searched for possible remedies within their respective species, but only scraps of useless information had risen to the surface.

"You are to at all costs avoid their troops! We have reason to believe that their next target is up North, where the wealthy metalworking town of Picking lies. Since the Hooves Forest you seek is to the Southeast, near the coast... any interaction with this situation from any of you will be punished as deliberate subordination," Chatot threatened.

Ago gave the bird a skeptical look. "Sheesh, why are you getting on our case, Chatot? What makes you think we want trouble with-"

"If I see them, I'm gonna beat them up," Lugum decided. "And say it was self defense so you can't punish me." Her eyes brightened up with glee and understanding. "Oh! You wanted us to come to this realization, right? I'll get right on the case, Chatot! They'll never see me coming..."

Brightly colored wings flash out pleadingly. "Aiyee, not at all! I am one hundred percent, absolutely, positively, without a doubt or at most only a shadow of a doubt, Completely, totally, undeniably, telling you not to mess around with them! Their numbers rank upwards of fifty- they'll tear you to shreds, and I'll look incompetent if a newbie team gets hurt because their Commanding Officer sent them out with notions of heroism." Frowning, Flightly gestured with his wing for the Chatot to continue. "Oh!" He exclaimed guiltily. "I also don't want any of you to get killed out there."

The riolu fell into a rigid salute- one that nearly competed with the ones she gave Gastro. "Sir, Commanding Officer, sir! I will not, under any circumstances, die and go near the roaming bandits- I mean, go near the roaming bandits and die, sir!" The Commanding Officer looked pleased, until Lugum gave him a sly wink, as if they were plotting something.

"Aiye-ee-e!"Chatot screamed, frustrated and stressed to his last nerve. "You two better make sure she doesn't do anything, and you better promise right now or I'll make you wait another month before you can even hope of exploring!" After the pidgeotto and the pikachu threw out an I promise in unison, Chatot finally romped away.

"Talk about mixed signals," Lugum muttered. "Team Razor must be having so much fun right now, fighting off all of the bandits and ferals..."

Flightly laughed. "Looks like somebody wants to ditch exploring and join the militia," he commented snidely. While Lugum was busy assuring the pidgeotto how much she loved exploring, the other team in the pasture walked over. This team, composed of a bellsprout, a venonat and a bellossom, hailed them and finally extracted Lugum from her passionate defense.

The bellsprout came forward, a leafy arm raised in greeting. "Hello, Wigglytuff Guild members!"

They were as a whole a very small trio, and Lugum knelt down a little in order to meet them eye to eye. "Uh, hello there. What's up?"

If the kneeling made the bellsprot feel respected or slighted, nobody from Team Wayfarer could tell. "We're from the Guild of Collectors based here in Treasure Town," the bellsprout explained. "We're Team Reapers!" Lugum became wide-eyed at the name, but the bellsprout, chuckled nervously. "Oh no, not that kind of reaping. We collect wild berries and herbs from the forest dungeons. You three are part of a charting team, yes? We go in with the information you collect so we can stay safe while making our 'reaping rounds'. I'm the Identifier, Seed."

"I'm Collector Bud!" The venonat exclaimed excitedly, as if extremely interested in his own name.

"And I'm Team Leader Stem," a shy bellossom whispered. After Team Wayfarer made introductions of their own, the meek bellossom spun into a fast plea that gave them very little time to think. "Um... w-we heard about the bandits, and they have us really scared. With all the berries and roots in our bags, they'll smell it from a mile away." It was true; from this distance, the clamoring, sweet smell of flowers and fruit pervaded the air. "We need to get to Shellder Town, a-and since your Commanding Officer said that you were headed in its direction... could you escort us?"

It took a lot of effort for the small bellossom to get that out there. So much that Lugum couldn't possibly think of rejecting her. "Traveling partners!" She shouted out zealously. "This is going to be great- it's a two-day trip so we can camp out together, and tell stories, and make a campfire, and wow!" Stem smiled appreciatively and lifted her bag up more confidently. The others seemed fairly pleased with the news as well. Suddenly, Lugum began to shake and breathe heavily.

Ago put a claw on her shoulder, confused. "Whoa, Lugum, are you okay? Having a little heatstroke?"

"I... I can't stay here any longer! I gotta go, go, go!" She slapped off Ago's claw, threw her satchel up and around her neck, and began to sprint down the path, laughing and jumping at will. Team Reapers stared as the Team Leader of Ago and Flightly's charting team abandoned them, running down the path towards foreign lands.

Flightly broke the long silence with a short chuckle and a shake of his head. "Give her a minute, I promise that she will eventually notice." And the pidgeotto was right; after the riolu became a small blue dot on the horizon, she snapped to a stop and began to look around. They both smiled nervously at the collectors as Lugum began her slow jog back.

An hour into their journey, and Ago was already overwhelmed. There was so much openness, so much surrounding, uninhibited beauty, that Ago nearly felt suffocated by the freedom of the land. He couldn't look one way without getting caught by a marvel. Only open plains or plots of land covered with growth blocked them from simply breaking off of their trail and taking a detour to a distant, cloudy mountain or a shining quarry miles away. The sun shone so brightly everything shone as if Ago was only in a hazy dream.

Seeing the lands outside of Treasure Town for the very first time... it was easy to see why the fact that it was his to explore could bring a tear to his eye. "Is it everything you wanted it to be, Lu?" He asked in an awed whisper.

"Yes," she said, "everything I worked towards... this is worth it. Without being in a guild, exploring like this is dangerous. But now, it's mine." She ruffled through her bag and pulled out a rock. After a second, Ago finally recognized it; it was Lugum's lucky rock, the one she had broke a zubat's wing in order to win back. In the bright shine of the sun made the rock splash red and blue on their shadows. "In a place this big, I'm due to find where this goes, right? That's another reason I wanted to come out here." As a team that collects things, Team Reapers didn't surprise Ago with their impressed stares. "What do you think of the view, Flightly?"

The bird looked away shamefully. "Who cares?" The other five pokémon might as well have hard blasphemy coming out Flightly's beak. "Arceus, you all look so cross, now. I apologize... it is just that these features only serve to remind me that I cannot fly. Imagine that, if you were not as unfortunate as I, you would be able to soar across this land."

The bellsprout nodded sadly. "That does sound really sad."

"Let's try to forget all about that, for now," Lugum said. And it wasn't a hard thing to do when a stampede of pokémon, rushing out of the fields up North a third of a mile away, distracted them. "Jumping hitmontop!" The riolu shouted out, excited. "That's the bandit army! Wow, we're so close, a-and Chatot was right- they're headed for Picking!" The group watched as the mass of ferals collided into each other, halting. A large green pokémon lumbered out of the pile, taking a charge. "T-the bandit king controlling them is a t-tyranitar," she whispered in awe, "that... could really mean trouble for Picking, even if there is a group ready to defend it!"

Team Reapers had other concerns. "W-we need to be on our way," Stem pleaded, already leading her team down the trail. Ago respected the actually-responsible team leader. Surprisingly enough, however, Lugum agreed- Chatot managed to get through her thick skull. When the head of the giant tyranitar seemed to hone in one the small gaggle of explorers, they all winced away and

She nodded. "Y-yeah. Team Wayfarers... move out."

Tamerfang grunted out a guffaw, watching as the small group of pokémon across the fields scrambled away. "Fuck, had they never seen a worthy conqueror before? Ha!" The politoed next to him gave an obligatory chuckle as they walked through the chaos that was Tamerfang's ranks. "I ought to send a little team to slay their nosy asses, eh?"

"No my lord," the politoed answered cautiously, picking out the words he used to deny the tryanitar very carefully. "We are split enough as it is, and we are far behind schedule for new recruits from the dungeons in the area." It wasn't a good day to be Tamerfang's assistant; there was not any good news to be shared. "Three of our tamers died, my king- another accident with the ferals in this area. Our methods have become quite ineffective in this area- more study is necessary."

The clouds flew by lazily, ignoring the might of the tyranitar it covered. He turned his head away disdainfully and spat on the ground. "Study why my workers are so fucking useless," he grunted menacingly. "None of that matters, since we have more than enough."

Once again, the politoed had to deny his leader, which he could tell was wearing down on his lord's short patience. "My lord, disrespecting the guilds' strength could prove catastrophic for your conquests..."

He fell back as the tyranitar twisted around to face him, his intimidating height silencing the right-hand man of the conquering tamer. "You are being a real naysayer, Prince. Yesterday, you tell me that two pokémon came out from Rubata and decimated our ranks, because you wouldn't let them through. And now, you tell me that I am in danger? Damn you!" Prince covered his face instinctively as the towering beast leaned over him. "You may yet redeem yourself, Prince. Tell me now: where is my son and how does he fare?"

Now he was really in hot water. "Y-your son... he has fallen in with Shellder Town, a small town in the South that-"

"Those pussies have taken in my strong Crainid and corrupted him into a flower-smelling, berry-eating bitch?! Damn i-ii-t!" The politoed picked himself up and threw himself out of the way. "F-uu-ck!" A high-pitched screech came from inside the tyranitar's maw, and caused the fields about him to quake. The ferals cried out and moved away, and the six pokémon turned back around when they heard the noise.

A stream of blazing plasma flew out from between Tamerfang's jaws, creating a streak that cut through the fertile soil. It spread out so far that the six travelers' cries of confusion and terror could be heard across the distance as they barely dodged the ending point of the hyper beam. Prince shuddered- he had never before seen the tyranitar put so much fury into it.

After the last bit of energy poured out, he sat down on the ground, exhausted. Slowly, prince walked up to him. "My lord, are you okay? You shouldn't disable yourself by using that attack. There are other ways to relieve your anger, like... er... knitting?"

"Do I look like the fucking knitting type, Prince?" He breathed, completely winded from his efforts. He watched as several pokémon from the group so far away held back a riolu. The little thing appeared pissed off, and he could nearly sense the fervor coming from her, though they were separated by quite a fair distance. If only his pathetic lots of tamers were a little more like this riolu, putting their paws and claws up after witnessing an attack like his hyper beam. Regardless... his family tradition would not be soiled by his son... so he may just be seeing the group soon enough. "Change course," he called out to his ferals. "We're changing course to Shellder Town immediately... I have some family matters to solve."