PMD: Fateful Saviors

Chapter 18: Three Troublemakers

The next day, I awoke to sunlight beaming through the roof of mine and Erdalla's tent. It was so strange waking up feeling peaceful and rested, now that we weren't on the run. When we were in exile, every morning felt heavier than the last. The burden of stress and sin weighed on my shoulders with every passing day, making the light of dawn fade in value. Now, I took in it's shine for all it was worth.

"Good morning, Alfrin," Erdalla yawned, gazing at me with a warm smile. Ever since me and her "got together", I found a brand new side to the Pikachu. On the outside, she was stoic, commanding, proud and determined, but in private, she was far more lenient on letting her emotions run free. It was a refreshing sight, "Had a good rest last night?"

"Far better than the last few weeks," I admitted, "It's not our old beds or house, but it's still our hometown. And that is relieving enough"

"I agree. Nothing like coming back to your roots after a month of being in exile," Erdalla nodded, "Speaking of old routine, let's see if there are any rescue jobs for us"

"The good old billboard by the end of the cape," I smiled and the two of us left our abode, travelling through Pokemon Square to reach Pelipper's Post Office. The square's residents greeted us like we were old buddies, as if nothing has happened ever since the fateful day we returned from the Great Canyon. While other people might have been infuriated, I was just glad things were back to normal.

"Uh… Um…" A pair of two Pokemon stopped us by the edge of the square. The two of them were blue bag-like Pokemon, with one of them being taller than the other, "... I am Wynaut and this is-"

"Wobbuffet!"

"Pleased to meet you two. What do you need us for?" Erdalla asked politely.

"We have a notice on the bulletin board outside of Pelipper's Office," Wynaut explained, "Please look at it for me"

"Wobbuffet!" The Wobbuffet cried in tandem, as if to emphasize the point.

"Please help me. I have to go now," Wynaut finished nonchalantly and the two of them walked off, leaving both of us visibly confused.

"What was that about?" I asked Erdalla, "Do those two live here?"

"As far as I know, they don't. I've never seen them around," Erdalla chewed her lip, "Ah well, we were on our way to the bulletin board anyways. Might as well see what their request is"

We made our way to the bulletin board by the end of the cape. The fresh sea winds felt good after dealing with the intense heat of Mt Blaze and the cold Mt Freeze. It was summer time here in the square, but not hot enough to be uncomfortable. I let Erdalla find Wynaut's request while I soaked in the good atmosphere.

"Enjoying the weather, are you?" Erdalla took in a deep breath, gazing out to the endless sea beyond the cape and she brought up a sheet of paper, "Anyways, here is Wynaut's request"

""Please punish bad Mankey's gang"," I repeated, looking at the paper, "Is this a joke? What did the Mankey even do?"

"Well, Shiftry mentioned yesterday that the Mankeys regularly rob people in the region. And look here, they're even asking us to go to Uproar Forest," Erdalla pointed to the bottom of the sheet, "How convenient. We needed to visit them sometime anyways"

"And what better time than now, since we have a job for it?" Me and Erdalla both nodded as the Pikachu rolled up the sheet, "Let's grab our team and sally forth then"

"We should bring only two of our teammates to accompany us. We wouldn't want to scare the Mankeys before we talk with them," Erdalla advised before stroking her chin thoughtfully, "Uproar Forest is probably infested with Grass and Bug type Pokemon so…"

"Salazar and Natalie would be good teammates to bring," I decided, "Everyone else either doesn't deal with bugs well or get beaten by Mankey. Those two are our best options"

"Sounds good. Let's move then"

Grabbing Natalie and Salazar from base camp, we delegated jobs to the others before setting off to Uproar Forest in the northwest, just a little beyond Mt Steel. Unfortunately, we didn't have Dugtrio's tunnel this time to get us there easily, so we had to hike it on foot. Still, it gave us time to admire the scenery.

"Hey Erdalla, I forgot to mention something this morning," I said, pulling the Pikachu aside. Salazar and Natalie eyed us with curiosity before returning to their own conversation, "Gardevoir sent me another dream message last night"

"Oh really? What did she say?"

"Nothing very important. She just wanted to chat with me," I replied, "But she mentioned that I was soon reaching the climax of my role as a Pokemon here. That and I was going to learn why I was transformed into a Pokemon in the first place"

Erdalla didn't say anything, so I continued.

"She also said that my role here was much more grand than simply helping you kickstart the rescue team. I was transformed into a Pokemon and brought here for a big reason," I explained, "Do you… have any theories on it?"

"Well, I wouldn't know. It sounds like Gardevoir didn't provide enough clues to form conclusions on," Erdalla shook her head, "I'd just wait it out and let destiny take its course if I were you"

"Do you think my role here is to save the world from the disasters?"

"If you were, you would already be directed to go to help Team A.C.T at Magma Cavern and deal with Groudon," The Pikachu chewed her lip, "Why are you asking me anyways?"

"I don't know. I just… need someone to talk this over with. I don't like thinking I'm a pawn in someone else's plan," I replied bitterly, "I hate having big expectations thrown onto me, you know? So the fact that my role here as a Pokemon is supposed to be bigger than I know, it puts me on edge"

"Oh Alfrin, you have to learn to follow your own advice. Your role here is not carried entirely by yourself," Erdalla rubbed the top of my head affectionately, "We're all here alongside you. Whatever fate throws at us, we'll face it together. That's what you taught me, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. As a rescue team and as Pokemon, our tasks are never done alone. Always with the support of our team," I nodded in agreement, "Thanks for reminding me, Erdalla"

"Anytime. I'm sure whatever curveballs this world throws at you, it'll come naturally, so don't stress out over it. No use in losing sleep over things we can't control," Erdalla smiled, letting go of my head. The Pikachu then glanced ahead as we were within reach of Uproar Forest, "Looks like we're here"

"Keep your hands on your Poke and toolboxes. These Mankey sound to be crafty crooks," Salazar advised, sharpening his bladed arms on each other. Natalie instinctively put a hand on her own toolbox, checking to make sure the lid was nailed shut.

"I doubt the dungeon will be a very challenging one, so we brought minimal supplies," Erdalla tapped her own toolbox, "Only a handful of Oran Berries, Apples, Reviver Seeds, utility orbs and offensive seeds. Barely a decent trove for any thief"

"And we have no need for money here, so our pockets are empty," I added before staring ahead into the deep forest, "Let's get a move on, everyone! Find those Mankey!"

We entered the Uproar Forest, which I still didn't understand where it got it's name from. For all intents and purposes, it was a completely normal forest. Practically nothing noteworthy was here, wild Pokemon or otherwise. Just a usual blend of Venonat, Seedot, Roselia and Nuzleaf and Aipom sometimes around.

"Bringing us two here feels unnecessary. This is too easy," Natalie frowned as we trekked peacefully through the seventh floor. The Pokemon here were docile and didn't even bother initiating attacks on us. Either they were too scared of us to fight or just didn't want to bother. The Roselia didn't even fire off any dangerous spores to harry us.

"No signs of the Mankey either. And our supplies look to be intact," Erdalla double checked her toolbox again, "So it doesn't seem like they tried to rob us yet"

"Eh, I'm fine with this being an easy job. Need to get back into the routine of rescue jobs anyways," I shrugged, reaching for something that was on the ground, "Besides, this forest is ridden with tons of good stuff. Food items, seeds and other stuff are aplenty"

"This'll certainly be useful, but you have to wonder if these are all the stuff the Mankey stole…" Erdalla frowned, picking up a Shock Wave TM off the ground, "I'm afraid we're going to invoke their ire one way or another"

"Hey, what's this?" Natalie asked as she picked up some sort of brown nut off the ground, "I've never seen something like this before. What is it?"

"Oh, I forgot you lived in caves your whole life," Erdalla stifled a laugh before pointing to the nut in the Mawile's hand, "That's a chestnut. Ordinarily, it has a spiky shell around it, but it looks like someone peeled it off. I've never tried it myself, but apparently it's pretty good"

"Ah. It doesn't look that appetizing, but…" Natalie frowned before putting the chestnut to her lips, "Wouldn't hurt to give it a try"

"Wait, didn't Shiftry say something about Mankeys loving chestnu-"

"WRRREEEEE!"

"AAH!" Natalie yelped as a peach coloured blur came out of nowhere, snatching the chestnut out of the Mawile's hand and eating it in one gulp. Erdalla blasted it with lightning, but it got away as fast as it appeared. Natalie gasped, still trying to get over what just happened, "What the-"

"That was a Mankey!" Erdalla realized, "After him!"

"And gather any chestnuts you find along the way!" I commanded before the four of us ran off after the Mankey, who was slowing down to a more manageable speed. Luckily for us, deeper in the forest housed more chestnuts and as long as we stored them away in our toolboxes fast, the Mankey didn't dare attack us.

"Hey! Stop!" Erdalla cried as we chased the Mankey through more floors of the dungeon, until it reached a dead end, "Hah! Nowhere to run now!"

"Rrrrr, do you want to see how I'm like when I'm mad, girlie?! You better back off before my brothers arrive!" The Mankey spat, growing red hot in the face by the second, "I'm warning ya to go away before you regret it!"

"Fat chance. We're here to put a stop to your pillaging of this region," I shot back, "So why don't you get your brothers here so we can take you all out in one swoop?"

"Grrr, you asked for it!" The Mankey let out a loud war howl that echoed throughout the entire forest. Within seconds, two other Mankeys dropped down from the trees around us, standing alongside the first one, "Those smug looks are making me madder by the second. I can't control myself!"

"Me neither, brother. Let's get them!"

"Yeah! It's frenzy time!" The last Mankey screeched and all three of them charged us at once, swinging like wild banshees. Salazar and Natalie flew in front of us to counterattack while me and Erdalla hung behind, throwing out ranged attacks to the wild monkeys. Salazar quickly slashed twice at one with Aerial Ace, throwing it backwards. The Mankey countered with a flurry of Karate Chops, but the Scyther evaded it readily.

"Hah!" Natalie was on the more cautious side, wary of the Mankey's rapid Fighting type onslaught. She darted in and out of attacks skillfully, retaliating with Iron Head to stagger the Mankeys and leave them open for me and Erdalla to strike. Luckily for her, the Mankeys weren't exactly refined fighters and their attacks were easy to dodge. Otherwise, she would have been done a long time ago, "Take this!"

The Mawile lunged, puncturing a Mankey hard with Bite before my Water Pulse knocked it out cold. Erdalla defeated another one with a decisive Thunderbolt before Salazar finished off the third with another Aerial Ace. Just three troublemaker monkeys. Nothing much to expect from them.

"Wroahh… we'll be back!" The lead Mankey picked itself off the ground, rousing his two brothers, "You'll learn not to mess with us!"

"Wait!" Erdalla cried, but the three Mankeys already leapt off in a hasty retreat. So much for asking them to rebuild our base.

"Well, at least they won't be terrorizing explorers anymore, now that we gave them a thorough beating," I frowned, looking around the clearing we were in, "But none of their stolen stuff is here"

"It must be scattered throughout the forest, seeing as we found so much food and seeds," Salazar deduced, "Doesn't look like the Mankey stole anything valuable"

"Yeah. This TM is probably the best they took. No need to pursue them then," Erdalla threw down a dull Shock Wave disc, "Although I doubt we can persuade them to rebuild our base after we beat them. We'll need to find another way to restore it"

"I'm sure someone out there is willing to do it," Natalie assured, "For now, let's make our way back home"

"Yes. Let's do that," Erdalla pulled out an Escape Orb, "Huddle up everyone"

Creating an azure blue circle beneath us, the Escape Orb warped us out of the forgettable Uproar Forest, where we set off back to Pokemon Square.

"Thank you all for your help, really. Uproar Forest should be a fine place to live in now," Wynaut smiled in gratitude.

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet cried in agreement.

"Wait, you guys live in Uproar Forest?" Salazar inquired, "But that place is infested with Bug type Pokemon. Isn't that unsafe?"

"Oh no, Uproar Forest used to be filled with us Wynaut and Wobbuffet before the Mankeys rolled in. They chased us out," Wynaut replied easily, "Now that they're gone, the Wynauts and Wobbuffet can repopulate the forest again. Thank you again, for that"

"Err… alright. Whatever you say," Natalie frowned, "You're… welcome?"

"This is our thanks," Wynaut walked up to Erdalla, presenting her a magnificent, awe-inspiring and grand reward that would transcend all of history. It was a… chestnut. A peeled chestnut.

"This is…?"

"A peeled chestnut. Are you not happy with it?" Wynaut asked, "I'm sorry. We don't have any money on us"

"Wobbuffet!"

"So we can only give a peeled chestnut as a reward. I hope you're okay with it," Wynaut said nonchalantly and I saw Erdalla cringe, struggling to sigh with the chestnut in her hand.

"No, no… we're okay with this," Erdalla forced out, "Peeled chestnuts are delicious. I'm sure one of us will enjoy it…"

"All that effort for a peeled chestnut…" I heard Salazar mutter behind me.

"What a waste of time…" Natalie said in unison.

"We'll be going now. Thanks again," Wynaut nodded and the two odd Pokemon walked off. Before we could decide who gets the chestnut, we heard a familiar voice cry behind us.

"Hey you!"

We turned and saw the three Mankeys we beat up a few hours ago. They looked scarily healed for Pokemon we trashed the first time.

"Ah phooey. They're here again," Erdalla's hands sparked with electricity, ready to fight, "Did you come to take revenge on us?"

"Yeah! This time, we're not going to lose! We'll pulverize ya!" One Mankey cried, shaking his fists angrily, "You'll learn not to mess with us!"

"Wreehhh! Crush them!" Another Mankey yelled and the three of them lunged at us. Before we could fire a counterattack however, they stopped dead in their tracks, "W-whoa!"

"Look at that!" One Mankey pointed at the peeled chestnut in Erdalla's hands, "That girl h-has a…"

"A peeled chestnut!" Another Mankey cried excitedly, "That's…"

The three Mankeys then huddled together, talking in hushed tones. The four of us could only watch in disbelief. Erdalla looked down at the peeled chestnut in her hand. She knew the Mankeys loved these things, but they would stop their revenge for it? It didn't seem right.

"Uhm… listen here," The Mankeys broke away, turning towards us, "You got a thing we want and uhh…"

"That peeled chestnut you have. Can we uhh… have it?" The second Mankey asked meekly, "We love peeled chestnuts"

"We love them so much that we can't imagine life without them," The third Mankey added, "So can we please have yours? We'll never bother you again!"

"Why can't you just get them yourselves?" Erdalla asked.

"You know that spiky shell around the chestnut?" The first Mankey asked, "Trying to peel that off hurts and it makes us angry. Soo…"

"Please give us the peeled chestnut! We'll do anything!" The second Mankey begged and Erdalla frowned, staring at the chestnut in her hand.

"Anything…?"

"Anything!" The three Mankeys replied in unison and a wide grin spread across the Pikachu's face. I knew exactly what she was thinking of. Looks like our base was going to get rebuilt after all.

"Alright, you have a deal. I know what you can do for this chestnut," Erdalla gestured to the empty plot of land behind her. The ashes of our former home still lingered on the ground and only the cobblestone yard still remained, "Are you good with physical labor?"

"Physical labor? As in muscle work?" The first Mankey asked, "Yeah, we're good with that"

"We have muscles…" The second Mankey continued.

"... But we don't like work," The third Mankey finished, "But if it's for the chestnut…"

"We'll get you as many chestnuts as you like as long as you finish this project," Erdalla promised, "I want a base built from top to bottom on this plot of land. I'll provide you with the floor plan and materials, so all you'll need is to build it. That sound good?"

"All the peeled chestnuts we could want…" The Mankey's mouth watered at the thought, "Okay, we'll do it! We'll even help you cart the materials over to get it built! Double-quick!"

"I'll help too!" Caterpie itched towards us. He must of been listening in out of view, "I'll spin silk together to glue blocks up"

"And I'll help alongside the Mankey to get things together," Howard arrived alongside Fiona, "Leave it to us and we'll be done before you know it"

"Thank you everyone. Give me some time to draw up a floor plan before we get started," Erdalla commanded, "For now, go around and gather all the materials you can get. Wood, stone, straw and whatever else. Let's do this!"

"YEAH!"

And so, everyone in Team Lazulian worked together on creating our new team base from the ground up. The three Mankeys were a great boon, as they possessed a natural talent for construction and woodworking just like the rumors say. They occasionally had to be whipped back into shape however…

"This work is so boring! And we're hungry too!" The Mankeys cried one day, making everyone on the worksite groan, "We don't feel like doing this anymore"

"Come on, you three. There's only a little bit more to go. You'll be free to leave soon," Erdalla replied patiently, giving the three Mankeys a peeled chestnut. We were lucky that so many were scattered around Uproar Forest. Otherwise the Mankey would be gone a long time ago. After the Mankey finished their chestnuts, they stood upright, ready to work again.

"Alright, you layabouts! Get it together!" One Mankey rallied, "Chop, chop!"

"Why don't you quit lounging around yourself?! Get moving!" Another Mankey replied angrily and the three got set to work again. With their aid, the base was close to completion with only one more day.

"Aannnddd… done!" The next day, Howard finished refining the last window on our base, jumping down from the balcony in triumph to marvel in the structure alongside us. Our new base was a two story cabana with multiple balconies overlooking the square and the sea, numerous rooms inside to accommodate our team members, a study for Erdalla, a meeting area, a living room, a kitchen and even a storage room underground. It was probably the most luxurious and furnished house in all of Pokemon Square.

"It's… beautiful…" Natalie sniffled, marvelling in the astronomical beauty, "I've never seen anything so splendid before"

"Neither did I. And it was the work of all of us together," Erdalla smiled, holding her face to hold back the tears, "Everyone, this is our new home. Team Lazulian's rescue team base!"

"Thank you all for helping us create this. I can't… I can't repay all of you enough," I said as I turned to Caterpie and the Mankeys, "And for you Mankeys, here is your reward"

I opened my toolbox, showing a whole trove worth of peeled chestnuts. Instantly, the Mankeys's mouth drooled at the sight of it.

"I had someone in our team gather a bunch of chestnuts and peel them earlier. We figured that since we can't give you peeled chestnuts anymore, this should suffice for a while," I let the chestnuts spill onto the ground and the Mankeys greedily scooped all of them up, "Enjoy. And thanks again"

"It sucks you can't give us peeled chestnuts anymore, but…" The Mankey were already gobbling down nuts by the dozen, "We're happy you gave us this many. Thanks!"

"Look here, you three. If you want to peel your own chestnut, just take something like a rock and…" Erdalla produced an unpeeled chestnut and a pebble from her toolbox. Striking the nut's shell lightly, it cracked cleanly open, "Do that. Now you can have your own peeled chestnuts whenever you'd like"

"Ooh, ooh! Thank you!" The Mankey scooped up the last chestnut eagerly before setting off back home, "We won't forget you. Bye, bye!"

"See you around!" We waved to the Mankey trio. They proved to be a wild sort of support, but it was appreciated regardless. It was thanks to their efforts that the base was built and everyone needs a little motivation regardless. Whether that was food or emotional support, everyone needs a boost now and then. So I couldn't fault them for their tardiness at times. What matters is that the base got built and they won't be bothering anyone again. Hopefully.

"Well everyone, fantastic work today. You're all free to do whatever you'd like for the rest of the day," Erdalla declared to the rest of the team, "You've earned it. Tomorrow, a new dawn awakens for Team Lazulian!"

Everyone cheered and the day ended on a high note. The glory of Team Lazulian was restored and ready to take on the world once again. Appropriate timing as on the marrow, the cogs of fate will turn once again, casting a shadow over the world of Pokemon. A shadow shaped like a certain Groudon...

Our team:

- Alfrin, Mudkip - Destined Harbinger

Level 35

Moves: Water Pulse, Ice Beam, Mud Shot and Ancient Power

- Erdalla, Pikachu - Lazulian Commander

Level 37

Moves: Thunderbolt, Shock Wave, Thunder Punch and Thunder Wave

And with that, another semi-short chapter out of the way, covering the small arc between the Mankey trio and the rescue team reconstruction. In the next chapter, the plot will get its wheels rolling again as Team Lazulian set off to Magma Cavern to investigate the mysterious absence of Team A.C.T and Groudon's impending rise. If you want to be notified when a new chapter comes out, favorite and follow. If you want to leave constructive criticism, leave a review. Until next time!