"Please, Acris. Don't do this, please." Cheryl was begging Acris to stay with the rest, but he wasn't planning to. Their current situation had made him realize that he didn't want to stay with Destiny a minute longer, and he had decided to take off on his own. Destiny knew that without Acris, they didn't stand a chance against the next Gym. "Cheryl, go with Niamare. Go after Acris and try to calm him. We really need him."
Cheryl agreed, and she left in the direction Acris went, with Niamare following her. Zyana was also still on her shoulder. Soon after, they were all shrouded in the thick mist, leaving Destiny alone. By now, she didn't even notice the heavy rain anymore, as she was already soaked. "I look even worse as that time at the first Gym..." She started walking. "It's hopeless. Sooner or later, I'll run out of luck and lose a fight. I might as well die right here, where nobody can see me."
As she walked on, she felt herself getting weaker. "I'm cold, I'm wet, and there's mud all over me... I'm going to get really sick." Suddenly, she felt the ground under her foot disappearing. Before she knew it, she fell on her knees, into the deep mud. She tried to lift her feet, but her shoes were sucked into the muddy substance. Destiny sighed. "Oh great, I stepped in a quagmire. Now I'm stuck, and I can't get out... Well, I guess that's it for me then." After that, she fell on the ground, and closed her eyes.
Hours later, Destiny woke up again. When she lifted her head, she saw a perfect print in the shape of her head in the mud. Suddenly, she heard a voice from behind. "Well well, look who's back on our world again." She turned her head, she saw a small, purple Pokémon laughing at her. "God, I haven't seen anyone looking that hideous in a long time!" Destiny wanted to get angry, but she realized that the Pokémon was right. The rain had stopped, so the mud on her clothes had dried up. Destiny got herself out of the mud, at the cost of her shoes. By now, she didn't even care anymore.
The Pokémon's eyes grew bigger. "Wow, you're one busty lady, well well! Did those breasts catch your fall?" He started laughing again. However, as soon as he saw Destiny's face, he immediately stopped. "You seem like you've been through a lot of deep trouble. Here, follow me." The Pokémon started walking, making a path for Destiny to follow. She realized that the Pokémon must know the area quite well, because he didn't make a single misstep.
After a while, the Pokémon stopped. "Listen, I'm sorry for making those jokes there. I know how I can help you. In the nearby town, Pastoria City, there's a big swimming pool. You can clean yourself there, because you can't go into public like that." The thought of a dive in clean water already made Destiny a lot happier. Maybe this Pokémon wasn't all that bad. "Thanks, I'd love to be able to clean myself. Who are you?"
The Pokémon laughed again. "No problem, you seem to be okay. My name is Axilles, and I'm a Croagunk. You know that epic Greek dude, Achilles? Yeah, it's that, but with an X. Because adding an X makes everything better, right?" Destiny laughed. Axilles was an awesome Pokémon, and she hoped he would decide to join them, but she didn't ask him quite yet. First, she had to find the rest. And clean herself.