DarkFoxKit: *Looks around* Where is everyone? And why is it so dark? *Turns on the light*
*As the lights turn on, you see that you are surrounded by all our characters*
Everyone: Surprise! Happy Birthday DF!
DarkFoxKit: *Jumps up so high she hit the ceiling* Ow! Did you all really have to surprise me? I'd rather not get a heart attack!
Traveling Master: Sorry, but it's all mandatory for your B-Day.
DarkFoxKit: You all remembered today was my birthday? *starts to tear up* That's so sweet of you all!
Dust: *Whispers to me* Should we tell her that we honestly had no clue, that we were here to jump you two? That is until you told us it was her birthday and convinced us to throw a surprise instead?
Traveling Master: *Shoves Dust away while nervously laughing* No! Anyways, DF! Got any big plans for today?
DarkFoxKit: Hmm… updating this chapter? *Picks up Berry and starts to hug her, not caring about her goo*
Dust: Then let's get with the story! You two didn't update last week, and I'm sure everyone is waiting for the next chapter already.
DarkFoxKit: *Jumps on top of Dust with Berry* Then onward, my loyal steed~
*Dust just rolls his eyes*
Berry: Aren't you two forgetting something?
DarkFoxKit: Oh, that's right! It's about the Amaura! We uh… forgot to tell you people that the Amaura isn't going to be their third or fourth member, in fact, they'll have a full team of 6 by the time the Amaura gets introduced. We just thought we should ask as soon as possible since we write a few chapters ahead. ^^' But I think we probably should've waited until we were closer to introducing the Amaura before asking. Our bad! I may have to shut the poll down until we get closer to introducing the Amaura and put it back up later, because I don't want a bunch of 'yes' to the poll due to the misconception people had of the Amaura joining them right now.
Traveling Master: Yeah, we should've thought better on that. We hope you guys understand, but for now, enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 19: Princess Day
Berry yawned as she woke up the next morning. She was glad to be back in her and Dust's room. She noticed that Dust's bed was empty however. The Goomy slithered to Dust's bed, seeing a note there written in footprint rune.
'Good morning, Berry. It looks like you're sleeping in today, most likely from recovering from yesterday's mission. I decided to go ahead and head to the Research Lab. You just take your time and take it easy today. We can go on another mission tomorrow. -Dust'
Berry sighed a little. "I was hoping to tackle a new mission today… but I guess it might be best if I took it easy today."
Berry slithered to the water pot to get her daily soaking before she left the room to head to the cafeteria for some breakfast. However, as she was slithering down the hallway, she noticed something a little odd. She noticed a few Pokemon were carrying a lot of bags or items in their bags, many of them were male, while the female were moving ahead of them, looking excited and energetic. She even saw Brody following a group of females while carrying many bags. Berry tried calling out to Brody but he was too distracted with catering to all those female Pokemon.
"Wow… Brody's lost it, even more so than usual…" Berry noted before she slithered into the cafeteria, which she couldn't help but noticed looked emptier than usual. "Where is everyone?"
"Berry? What are you doing here?" Berry turned to see a familiar Milcery making her way towards her.
"Uh… hey, Cupcake," Berry greeted. "I came here for some breakfast like usual. But why are there barely any Pokemon here?"
"They are all busy with the holiday," Cupcake explained. "It's also why Brody isn't here, he's been looking forward to this day for a while now."
"What? Today's a holiday?" Berry blinked, surprised. "I didn't even know there was a holiday today."
"You don't know?" Milcery asked. "Today is Princess Day. Although in ancient times when humans were still around, the holiday had a different name, but it's different in every story, so everyone just calls it Princess Day."
Berry stared at the Milcery blankly.
Cupcake frowned when she noticed Berry's blank story. "Do you… not know about Princess Day, Berry?"
"No… I mean… is that the day everyone is supposed to celebrate a royal princess Pokemon or something?" Berry asked.
"No one ever told you about Princess Day before?!" Cupcake asked. When Berry shook her head, Cupcake was shocked and gave a little horrified expression. "I would've thought that at least half the male members here would be treating you like a royal princess, especially after how you went to a dangerous dungeon all on your own, just to save your partner!"
"Uh… but… I'm not a princess…?" Berry said, now sounding really confused. "I mean I know I went through a lot to save Dust at the time, but I doubt that would just make me a princess."
"You really don't know anything about Princess Day? Did your parents never tell you?" Cupcake questioned.
"My parents? Well, no. Dad didn't like me all that much, and Mom never said anything about it. We lived in a rural swamp, so I guess Princess Day was just something we never heard of," Berry answered.
"Oh, this won't do. This will not do at all!" Cupcake shook her head as she mostly spoke to herself. She then turned her attention back to Berry. "You need to find your partner and have him treat you to this day. Especially after saving his life, you deserve it!"
"Can you please tell me what Princess Day even is?" Berry questioned.
"Right, sorry," The Milcery apologized, realizing that Berry didn't even know what Princess Day was. "Well, we're not really sure what the holiday was originally supposed to be back in the human era, but from what we could gather in the history books, Princess Day celebrated all females, whether they're young girls or middle aged women. There are toys and clothes dedicated to females everywhere. As a specialty for the holiday, stores and restaurants would give big discounts to females, or some may even give some stuff away for free to the females. The males basically have to treat the girls like a princess, hence the name. The males do all the item and bag carrying, they pay for the girls, in guilds like this one, males are obligated to try to please their female partners if they have any. I do feel kind of bad if there was one male in a team of females though."
"Huh… sounds like an interesting holiday. But don't the males have their own holiday as well? Is there a Prince Day or something?" Berry asked.
Cupcake chuckled a bit. "Well not exactly Prince Day, but it is called Emperor Day, somewhat similar to today's holiday. Of course, it wouldn't be very gentlemon if the guys made the girls carry all their stuff and pay for their meals and such. While the holiday is dedicated to them, it doesn't put too much strain on the females."
Berry wondered if the humans seem to have favored girls over boys with how the holidays sounded. She didn't like the idea of straining the males herself. "So is the cafeteria closed for the holiday? I mean Dust spent all our money yesterday so I can't afford a restaurant even if they gave me a discount."
Cupcake was shocked to hear that. "Did he really spend all your money? Was it at least for a gift today?"
"Nope, Dust didn't even mention the holiday," Berry grumbled.
Cupcake grumbled at that. "Oh really? Well he had better make it up to you or he's getting a Draining Kiss from me to the face."
Berry couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Can I at least get some breakfast?"
"While normally the cafeteria is closed on holidays, for you, I'll make an exception," Cupcake smiled at Berry before making her way towards the kitchen.
Dust was doing research on some berries today. He managed to collect a few berries while in the Phoenix Desert, and it fascinated him that these berries could survive in such a harsh environment, especially in a place where berries didn't grow.
"Fascinating," Dust mumbled to himself. "It always amazes me how nature always finds a way to adapt and overcome their challenges."
"Honestly, Dust, you're going to spend today of all days cooped up in the Research Lab?" Otti, who was currently in her Mew form, floated over Dust's head and frowned.
Dust jumped up a bit, not seeing Otti come by. "Otti, you almost gave me a heart attack. And what's so special about today?"
"Really, Dust, you don't know what today is?" Otti asked, unsure if Dust was joking or not.
"...Is there a special at the cafeteria today I'm unaware of?" Dust answered back with his own question.
"Oh my gosh! How does Berry put up with you? Are you really that clueless?" Otti groaned. "Do you know what today's date is?"
"Today's date? Sorry, haven't really been keeping track of our most recent days, had quite the interesting week, if I do say so myself," Dust noted. "Is it someone's birthday? Though unless it was Berry or Brody's I wouldn't really participate...Well can't exclude you, Carrie, or our Guildmaster...In fact, how old is she? I should probably ask her that next time-"
Otti put a paw on Dust's mouth, quieting him. "No, it's nobody's birthday… well, not anyone you know anyways. It's Princess Day today. Surely you've at least heard of Princess Day, haven't you?"
"It's Princess Day!?" Dust groaned. "Oh I remember that, my mother explained it to me before and every year I spent the entire day with her, treating her as a princess, according to the holiday and traditions. I honestly forgot, as I mentioned before, I haven't really been keeping track of the dates lately."
"Right… well, I don't know how the Olympus Guild does it, but in Unity Guild, it's customary for male members to treat their female teammates like a princess," Otti stated. "And you do have a female teammate, don't you?"
Dust let out a long sigh before nodding. "I do, and you're right. The holiday does dictate that I must treat my partner as such. Well I have to put my research on hold for now, I'll be back later… Is there someone who will be treating you today as a princess?"
Otti just sighed. "Well, while I may identify myself as female, Ditto are actually genderless. But that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun, it's not like anyone knows I'm a Ditto if I'm in one form~ But that's another reason why I want you out of the lab, I can't leave you here unsupervised, so I can't enjoy this holiday until you leave."
"Very well," Dust agreed. "I won't keep you any longer than need be. I'll be looking for Berry, enjoy your Princess Day."
"Enjoy yourself too, hope you saved up some Poke~" Otti winked. "Girls tend to love shopping aggressively this time of year."
Dust gave an awkward chuckle. "Right, that is very true… Never really did have an issue with money before when it was just me and my mother. I can see how money does play a huge factor during Princess Day."
Otti gave Dust a stare. "You spent all your money yesterday, didn't you?"
Dust remained silent for a few seconds before answering. "...Yes...But I did get two TMs that me and Berry could use to help defend against fairy types, just like you said."
"Have you even used those TMs yet?" Otti asked.
"Uhhhh… nooooo…?" Dust blushed, realizing he had forgotten about the TMs yesterday.
"Well, don't worry about those TMs right now. What you need is to get money and fast. Do you have any items you could sell for some Poke?" Otti asked. "You managed to find any gold ribbons you could sell?"
"Hmm...One sec," Dust went and checked his personal bag, taking out every item in there. None of them were really worth selling, such as his notepad, he did have a few berries from the desert that might get him a few Poke. Then he finally pulled out the special rock he found during his battle with the Shiny Trapinch.
"What's that?" Otti asked, taking notice of the rock.
"This… Oh, well when me and Berry were in the Phoenix Desert Dungeon, we ended up in an underground cavern. There we came across a group of Trapinch, and ended up having to fight one of them. During the battle I tripped over this interesting object and decided to take it with me. I've never seen a rock with such strange designs. Maybe it's some sort of evolutionary stone… And as much as I would love to study it, I think it would be best to exchange it for Poke. For all I know, it could be just a simple rock."
Otti looked at the stone for a moment. "Nah, don't sell it. It's a rare rock, and I think Berry would love it as a gift~ Besides, if you sold it, you wouldn't get much out of it."
"Oh, well that's both reassuring and a bit disappointing. But I don't have much else to sell, well except some berries," Dust explained.
"Don't you have anything in Carrie's storage you could sell?" Otti asked. "If not, you could always get a quick job in town. Carrie or the Kecleon brothers could give you a fast job to get quick payment, like delivering certain items to certain Pokemon. I think this time of year they're willing to hire anyone, desperate males who are trying to get money for their female teammates or mates, or males who were stupid enough to blow all their money instead of saving up for this holiday."
"Right," Dust gave another awkward chuckle. "Well thank you for the advice. Hopefully I can earn enough Poke to properly treat Berry for Princess Day."
Otti smiled. "Have a good day, Dust~ Make sure you keep that rock in a safe place~"
Dust gave her a firm nod before grabbing all his stuff and exited the Research Lab.
The young Absol was looking around in White Leaf Town, he could see it was crowded with Pokemon. There were a lot of females rushing to the next store, while the males were exhaustingly trailing after them with a lot of bags on them. Those who were unfortunate enough to not have hands, had bags dumped on their backs or heads.
"This is definitely different from how Olympus Guild did Princess Day," Dust noted, having to constantly move out of the way of oncoming males and females. "Hopefully I can find a simple job that pays well."
Dust decided to go to Carrie's warehouse to see if he did have any items worth selling, but when he got there he saw the warehouse was unfortunately closed due to Carrie wanting to take a vacation at the hot springs for Princess Day, and to treat Chloe to something nice. So now, Dust was left with the Kecleon brothers.
"Hello there, Dust, did you come to buy or did you come looking for a quick job?" The purple Kecleon asked with a smile.
Dust noticed that only the purple Kecleon was at the shop, he didn't see the green Kecleon anywhere.
"I was hoping to do a quick job for you… Where is your brother? I would expect to at least see both of you, especially on a holiday like this one." Dust asked after seeing no signs of the green Kecleon.
"He's currently selling items in a Mystery Dungeon. He does that sometimes, it helps any Crusaders out on a mission when they're running low on items, and it's also good advertisement," The purple Kecleon answered. "So I'm here to handle the shop, and to help out anyone who's looking to make a quick cash for today's holiday."
"Yeah, especially after purchasing those two TMs yesterday, I'm gonna need to earn some extra Poke. I'll do any job that you need done," Dust replied.
"Ah, well in that case, you came at the perfect time!" Kecleon stated before he picked up a few boxes. "I've been needing someone to make some deliveries for me. On a holiday like this, the more rich Pokemon tend to order their items ahead of time and be delivered on this day. And I've got a ton of orders to deliver. With my brother gone at the moment, I could use someone like you to make these deliveries while I tend to the shop. If you can deliver these quickly without damaging the items, I'll pay you more for your services. So it's a win-win~"
Dust then gave the purple Kecleon a salute. "Then Dust the Absol is at your service! You can count on me!"
"Perfect, let me help you get set up so that you can deliver these items." The Kecleon smiled as he led Dust to the back of the shop.
There Dust was surprised to see a type of carriage. Kecleon had begun putting all the boxes in the cart.
"Shouldn't be too difficult, it helps that we have our own cart for making deliveries. Normally me and my brother hire a Pokemon to drag the cart, but this time you'll be dragging it," Kecleon explained as he helped put the straps on Dust.
"I have to admit, I was not expecting this when you said I would be delivering all those items," Dust admitted.
"Well how else were you planning on taking all those boxes? Kecleon chuckled a bit.
"True, this seems to be a very effective method," Dust noted.
"Exactly, now here's a list of all the addresses you need to go to," Kecleon explained as he handed Dust a clipboard. "It shouldn't be too hard to find their homes, the rich Pokemon tend to live in bigger buildings, so they're pretty easy to spot. Oh, and before I forget."
The purple Kecleon suddenly held out a strange piece of hat, the design looked pretty similar to that of the top of a Kecleon's head.
"Um...and what exactly is that for?" Dust asked.
"For two things. One is to show others that you are doing a job for the Kecleon brothers, that way they won't hinder your job," Kecleon explained as he put the hat on top of Dust's head. "The second is for advertising. Others will see that you are doing a job for us and will make them think of us in the future when it comes to deliveries."
Dust noted how the hat was a bit snug, but nonetheless understood that Kecleon's reasons made sense. "Again, another effective method. I'll have all those items delivered faster than a Flareon increasing its body temperature up to 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit."
The purple Kecleon stared at Dust for a second, a bit confused by what he said. "Right...Anyways, just remember to deliver them without damaging them. If the items are damaged, the customer is going to complain, and I don't tolerate damaged goods."
"Understood," Dust gave another salute.
"Now off you go!" Purple smiled before Dust began running, pulling the cart behind him.
It was new for Dust, having to pull a carriage of some kind while moving. But it was something he was determined to complete.
Meanwhile, Berry was looking for Dust. Otti came to her earlier, telling her that the Research Lab was closed for the holiday today, so now Berry was trying to find out where Dust went.
The Goomy came out of the guild, wondering if Dust went to White Leaf Town, not that she could figure out why he would since he had no money, but she figured it couldn't hurt to see if he was there. However, as she was slithering, she was surprised to see a Metapod relaxing on a small hill near some flowers. The Metapod, though Berry was sure she never met with a Metapod in White Leaf Town before, looked familiar to her somehow. Berry squinted her eyes, trying to figure out where she had seen this Metapod before.
Then Berry saw a familiar Starly approaching the Metapod from the sky, holding something in his talons, and landed in front of the Metapod.
Berry realized the Starly was Talon. But what's Talon doing with a Metapod? Where's Tippi?
Talon smiled as he had a Silk Scarf on his talons, and was using it to wrap around the Metapod. "There, that should keep you nice and cozy while you enjoy the breeze. If you want, I could go find some flowers for you to enjoy."
Now curious, Berry began to slither toward Talon and the Metapod. "Talon?"
Talon and the Metapod turned their attention to Berry.
"Oh, Berry! Hey, nice to see you." Talon smiled, looking to be in a pretty good mood.
"Hey, Talon… um… what's with the Metapod?" Berry asked. "Is she a new partner?"
"What? No, don't you recognize her?" Talon asked.
"It's me, Tippi," The Metapod spoke up, sounding quiet yet familiar.
Berry looked at the Metapod, surprised. "Tippi!?" Oh my gosh! How could I have forgotten that Caterpie evolves into Metapod? I guess I was just so used to Tippi being a Caterpie that I didn't think she would've evolved! "I didn't realize you evolved."
"Yup, I evolved. It's amazing. But also limiting right now. I cannot eat or move much while I'm like this," Tippi sighed. "I hope I can evolve into a Butterfree soon. I wouldn't be much help to Talon on missions while I'm like this."
"You're always helpful no matter what form you're in, Tippi," Talon spoke up. "Sure you can't do much as you are now, but you can use Harden now, meaning you'd be able to defend me more until you evolve."
"You're too kind, Talon. But you can barely carry me as I am now," Tippi reminded.
Berry cleared her throat. "So uh… congratulations on evolving, Tippi. By the way, have either of you two seen Dust? I'm looking for him."
"Dust? I haven't seen him since…" Talon paused, remembering the last time they saw Dust and how much trouble the Absol had caused him. "Haven't seen him since yesterday. It was just before me and Tippi went to do our mission."
Tippi grumbled. "The troublesome Absol had the audacity to call me fat."
Berry gulped, remembering that Dust did indeed call Tippi fat. "Uh… I'm sure he didn't mean it in that way, he can just be… really clueless when it comes to social cues."
There was an awkard silence, despite Berry's explanation. Just then a Snivy carrying bags with its vines walked up to the group.
"You guys, you would not believe the lines in town, almost took me forever to get our food… Uh...did I miss something? Why's everyone looking like they just got their rank demoted?" The Snivy gave a brief chuckle, but everyone continued to stare at her. "Yikes, did your ranks really get demoted?"
"Nobody's gotten their ranks demonted… I mean we're all at the bottom anyways, being Normal Ranks," Talon reminded. "We were just having a bit of an awkward conversation."
"But we are glad to see you, Ivy," Tippi stated.
Berry looked at the Snivy, still a little nervous around Grass types. "Uh… who are you…?"
"Ivy. Ivy the Snivy," Ivy said with a friendly smile, but then noticed Berry's nervous expression. "What has your berry twisted in a knot?"
Berry blinked, she wasn't sure if the Snivy knew her name or if she just made a random pun with a 'berry'. "Uh… sorry, I'm not usually very comfortable around Grass types. I'm trying to get over that though. Um… did you know my name?"
"Wait? Your name is Berry?" Ivy shockingly asked. "I was only kidding."
"Y-yeah, my name is Berry," Berry confirmed.
"Wow… first time that's ever happened, guessing your name without even trying," Ivy laughed.
"Berry… this is Ivy, our newest team member," Talon introduced. "She joined Team Silkwing after we helped her in our last mission, and Tippi evolved. I guess you can say it was a very productive mission for us."
"Oh don't even get me started on that chaos," Ivy chuckled. "You thought your little fear of Grass types was bad, you should've seen how Talon reacted to me. He kept looking at me like I was going to eat him at any moment."
Berry blinked, surprised. "Really…?"
"I mean sure, the wild version of our kind actually do hunt and eat their prey, but civilized ones don't," Ivy explained. "And let's say that I did want to eat him, how was I supposed to exactly do that? I'm a Snivy for crying out loud, if I was a Serperior, it would be a different story, but there would be no way for me to even attempt it."
Talon shivered a little, his feathers ruffling a bit. "... I had a really… really bad experience with a Serperior early in my life."
"It's okay, Talon, that Serperior isn't here, Ivy isn't that Serperior," Tippi reassured her partner.
Berry wondered what happened to Talon for him to be afraid of something he has an advantage over.
"I guess you could say I also joined in hopes of helping Talon with his… issues of my species, I owe him that much for saving my life," Ivy remarked. "Now all this talk of eating has gotten me starving, hope you're hungry Berry cause I did get a lot of food."
Berry blinked, surprised as Ivy set down all her bags, showing a lot of different types of food. There were fruits and berries, of course, there were also Rainbow Gummis, which were pretty rare and expensive since Rainbow Gummies were good for any and all types of Pokemon. There were also dried meat as well, which Berry didn't want to look at since she never liked the idea of eating parts of Pokemon, even if they were wild and were currently unrecognizable.
Berry's species… well… the Wooper species were vegetarians, they mostly lived off of water grass and weeds, berries, and fruits. She did hear that a few Wooper did eat small fish Pokemon, but nobody in her family ever did that she was aware of. That was when Berry realized something that worried her.
Oh Mew, I hope that Goomys aren't carnivorous! Berry gulped. I mean I've lived off of non-meat food for 16 years, so… maybe I'm fine on that part.
"Really glad we got a female to do the shopping today, those discounts were very healthy for our bank account," Talon chuckled.
Berry grimaced at the mention of money, recalling how Dust used up all their savings. I really need to find a mission that pays well within our rank…
"Oh, Ivy, have you seen an Absol in town at all? I was going to go look for him," Berry asked the Snivy.
"Funny how you mentioned that, I did see an Absol earlier," Ivy recalled. "Though he looked pretty busy, pulling a cart while wearing some weird hat. Would that be the same Absol you are looking for?"
Berry gave a surprised and confused look. Dust is… pulling a cart while wearing a weird hat? The Distortion World is he doing? "I… think that's Dust. I don't know any other Absol around here. Though he's usually not one to do physical labor..."
Ivy just shrugged as she popped a Rainbow Gummy in her mouth. "Don't know what else to tell ya, that was the only Absol I saw. Plus, it is Princess Day, I've seen males all around doing crazy stuff, so maybe this Dust guy is doing something too."
"I should go and see what he's doing," Berry sighed. "I find it dangerous to leave him alone for long."
"You sure you don't want to eat with us?" Tippi asked. "Well… I can't really eat myself yet, I have to wait until I evolve before I can eat."
"You can't eat?" Berry blinked.
"Most cocoon Pokemon can't. They don't have mouths," Ivy pointed out. "Though their cocoon evolution stage doesn't last too long, that's why they eat a lot before evolution so their body can conserve the nutrients and energy during their cocoon stage. The hard shell you see of Tippi here isn't her real body, it's made from her own String Shot. Her real body is undergoing changes inside the shell, while the shell is to keep her real body protected."
Berry was intrigued by this, she never knew how different evolution could work with different Pokemon. If Dust didn't already know about this and was here right now, I'm sure he would be here asking questions all day about it.
"If you don't mind, I'll take a few gummis to go, maybe share them with Dust or something," Berry said. Or maybe sell a few, Rainbow Gummis are usually worth a small fortune.
Ivy began putting some of the Rainbow Gummis in the bag, making sure to leave plenty enough for her and Talon. Once done she used her vines to hand over the bag over to Berry.
"Good luck on finding Dust," Ivy smiled. "He shouldn't be too hard to find, if anything just look for that funny looking hat, it kinda looks like the top of a Kecleon's head."
Berry put the bag of Rainbow Gummis on her head, keeping her antennae on it. "Thanks, I'll be sure to keep a look out for him and his Kecleon hat. You three enjoy yourselves."
With that, Berry slithered away, slowly making her way into White Leaf Town. She didn't want to accidentally drop the bag.
When Berry got to town, she saw it was pretty busy. A lot of Pokemon were out and about, many of them rushing from one store to the next. There were a lot of Pokemon carrying bags while trailing behind another.
Berry wanted to try to sense for Dust, but her antennae were wrapped around the bag on her head, and there were too many Pokemon for her to be able to distinguish Dust anyways. Berry remember Ivy said Dust had a Kecleon on his hat, so she decided to try to go to Kecleon's Shop first.
Berry squirmed as she tried to get through the crowd of hurrying, excited, bustling crowd of Pokemon. She was thankful she was slippery, but she didn't like how small she was since it was easy for the bigger Pokemon to accidentally trample her. Then she ended up bumping into someone big and scaley, which knocked her down a little, making her drop her bag of Rainbow Gummis.
"Hey! What's the big ideal?" A tall, bipedal dragon Pokemon turned around as they shouted, though their voice sounded femenine, indicating they were likely female, but was surprised to see no one there. That is until she looked down and saw Berry. "Oh, it's you."
Berry blinked at the dragon Pokemon. There was something familiar about her, but Berry wasn't quite sure where she had seen this Pokemon before, but then she remembered she had dropped her Rainbow Gummies. "A-ah, sorry about that… I was getting pushed all over the place."
Berry quickly started picking up her Rainbow Gummies with her antennae and putting them back in the bag. She was half way through when she noticed that she couldn't find any more. She knew there should be more but they seemed to have just vanished.
"Looking for these?" Berry looked up at the dragon to see her holding the remainder of the Rainbow Gummies.
"Y-yeah… could you give them back, please?" The Goomy asked timidly, not sure if this Pokemon was friendly or not.
"This again?" The dragon shook her head as she crossed her arms. "Seems like you barely recognize me and you're already acting like a coward. Do you act like this every time you run into someone stronger than you?"
Berry frowned, she recognized that attitude, and the more she looked at the dragon Pokemon, the more familiar she looked. The scales, the colors, the attitude, if the bipedal dragon was on all fours, then… Berry realized who this Pokemon was.
"Blizza? Is that you?" Berry questioned, squinting her dotted eyes at the much bigger Blizza before her.
"Took you long enough. Geez, I knew you were slow, but not this slow," Blizza laughed at her own joke.
"I... am not that educated in Dragon types or their evolutions," Berry admitted.
"Figures, even then, you should have at least heard of Hakamo-o. Our kind are known for our strengths, almost everyone has at least heard of us," Blizza bragged. "I bet even that Absol has heard of our kind."
Berry frowned, her family had lived out in the boonies, so while they did revere a lot of the more powerful, fully evolved Dragon types, they never taught her their evolution line, what they were like in their younger, base forms before they became those bigger, stronger forms. While it wasn't the first time someone called her slow, both physically and mentally, she couldn't help but feel annoyed at Blizza's tauntings.
"You know, it was kinda rude of you to not recognize me, maybe I should keep these Gummies as an apology," Blizza suddenly said. "Besides, I would get more use out of them than you considering you haven't even evolved yet. Did you slack off because you thought you were strong enough already?"
Berry shook her head, she never really took the time to train, she still hadn't even sparred with Grant or Al yet, even though she just remembered she promised to spar with them for babysitting Phantom and Spooks while they went to go rescue Chloe. I mean it wasn't like I could since I was in the Medical Bay…
Then the Goomy saw the Hakamo-o munching on one of the Rainbow Gummies. "H-hey! Those are mine! You go get your own Rainbow Gummies!"
Blizza was about to pop another gummy in her mouth but stopped after Berry shouted at her. Grinning at Berry, Blizza, lowered her gaze and met Berry's own. "Oh, then tell me, what are you going to do if I don't?"
Berry felt terrified, yet determined. She wasn't sure when or how, but when she realized this was Blizza, Berry didn't feel as timid despite Blizza's stronger and bigger form. "Just give the gummies back. You can go buy more yourself since they're on discount for all females today."
Blizza kept staring at Berry, expecting her to turn away from her or to start shaking, but Berry held her ground, not turning away from the Hakamo-o.
"Buying more Rainbow Gummies shouldn't be a problem for a Silver Rank like you, right? Or are you so broke that you have to resort to stealing mine?" Berry added, still glaring challengingly at Blizza.
Blizza was a bit shocked, but ended up smirking at Berry. "Well, looks like you actually do have some backbone. Keep that up and I might even consider treating you as my rival again. Here, just be glad I already ate before, otherwise I wouldn't be in such a giving mood."
Blizza then tossed the remainder of the Rainbow Berries to Berry, not really caring that most of them landed on the ground around her. Berry watched as Blizza walked off to another store, and she didn't move until the Hakamo-o was out of sight. As soon as Blizza was out of sight, Berry's body melted into a puddle of goop, her nerves were shot after that encounter.
Oh my Mew, what the Distortion World just happened? I can't believe I just challenged Blizza like that, especially since she evolved! Am I crazy? Do I have a death wish!? Berry thought to herself, completely petrified by what just happened.
Dust was panting. He had to admit, doing this job was good for his stamina training, and his leg muscles, but he was getting tired. He had delivered all the item packages in the cart, and he was making his way back to the Kecleon shop. He took notice of the position of the sun, surmising that it was already past the afternoon.
"Didn't think it would take this long to deliver all those packages," Dust panted as he finally reached the Kecleon shop. He took a moment to catch his breath before calling out to Kecleon. "Kecleon, I've returned."
"Ah, so you have my friend." Kecleon smiled. "It would seem all the clients were pleased at the fast delivery service, and none of the items were damaged. For such a great service, I will pay you 10,000 Poke for your hard work, and also so you have some spending money for your partner~"
Dust graciously took the bag of Poke as Kecleon handed it to him. "And thank you for offering me the job in the first place. Berry wasn't exactly as ecstatic as I was after purchasing those TMs. I'm hoping to use today as a chance to make it up to her."
"I figured as much when you spent a lot of your Poke here yesterday. I suppose I should've warned you about the Princess Day, but I figured you knew about it already, and I wasn't about to turn away a paying customer," Kecleon chuckled. "Now you better go, the later you wait, the more daylight you burn. And I need to get back to work, more Pokemon will be coming by soon."
"Will do," Dust thanked the Kecleon once more before leaving.
Okay, now that I have enough Poke, I just need to find a suitable gift for Berry to surprise her with… But what to get her? Dust thought to himself, trying to figure out the best gift to get.
As Dust was walking and thinking, his front right foot stepped on something wet and gooey. He took a step back to take a better look at the wet substance, seeing that it was an all too familiar color. He's been studying Berry's slime for some time now that it took only one second for Dust to recognize it as Berry's.
"Oh, looks like Berry decided to come to town," Dust said to himself as he scooped a bit of slime with his claws to further examine it and saw how it was still moist to touch. "And from the looks of it, seems like she was only here recently."
Dust decided to follow the slime to see if it would lead him to his partner. He didn't have to go far before he saw a very flat Berry, slowly picking up some kind of rainbow-ish stuff, and putting them in a bag. He got closer to Berry until he was just behind her. He didn't say anything yet, still wondering what Berry was exactly doing, instead he opted to observe, not wanting to interrupt Berry.
Berry finished putting all the colorful stuff into her bag, and she started to slither off somewhere.
Strange, I wonder where she's off to? Better follow her and see what she's up to. Dust thought to himself as he followed after Berry.
Berry was slithering over to the Kecleon shop, where Dust was just at. Dust wondered what Berry could possibly want at the Kecleon shop since they were broke the last time she checked. Dust saw Berry waiting in line with a lot of other Pokemon at Kecleon's shop, before it was finally her turn. She asked Kecleon something, and he just shrugged. Berry frowned before she slithered away.
After Berry had left, Dust went to the store, wanting to ask Kecleon about Berry. "Excuse me, Kecleon? By chance can you tell me what you and Berry were talking about just now?"
"Oh Dust, I'm actually surprised to see you so soon. Funny, your partner was asking me if I had seen you, looks like you just missed her too," Kecleon explained.
"Actually I've been following her for a while now. I was curious what she was doing, had no idea that she was actually looking for me. Isn't that ironic?" Dust chuckled at the thought.
"I guess you can say that," Kecleon shared the laugh. "Better catch up to her, she looked like she really wanted to find you."
Dust nodded before he began to walk after Berry, but before he thought about grabbing her attention, a mischievous side of him wanted to see how far she would go before she realized he was following her.
So the Absol kept quietly following Berry, who was growing more and more frustrated with each place she checked, and still not seeing Dust anywhere. Finally, Berry started leaving White Leaf Town to see if Dust was back at the guild, however, when she and Dust came out of the busy White Leaf Town, Berry's antennae shot straight up when she felt someone was behind her, a very familiar someone. Turning around, the Goomy saw Dust there.
Dust gave his usually friendly smile, not knowing the mood Berry was in at the moment. "Surprise!"
"... Dust… did you just get here?" Berry questioned.
"Not exactly, I've actually been following you for quite some time now. A bit before you went to the Kecleon's shop," Dust explained. "At first I was curious as to what you were doing, but after Kecleon told me you were looking for me, I wanted to see how long it would take you to notice I was behind you the whole time. Which, by the way, took you about 30 minutes or so. So congrats on finally finding me."
"... So…" Berry started to slither closer to Dust. "Let me get this straight… you knew I was looking for you for about half an hour or so, yet you didn't bother to call out to me or get my attention, instead, you decided to just follow me like a creeper, just because you wanted to know how long it would take for me to find you?"
"Creepy? Well I supposed some of my actions would come across as creepy," Dust noted. "But besides that, yes, I wanted to see how long it would take you to find me."
By now, Berry was close to Dust, and Dust suddenly felt a sense of danger. Berry carefully put the bag she had been carrying on her head down on the ground before she gave Dust a sudden smile. "You know what, Dust?"
Dust realized too late that he had made a huge mistake, but there was no taking it back now. So he gulped, both curious and dreading what Berry had in mind. "...Yes, Berry?"
"Could you look up at the sky for me?" Berry suddenly requested in an all too cheery voice.
Dust was caught off by the strange question but obliged. He looked up, wondering what he's supposed to be looking at. "Um Berry, is there something in the sky I should be looking for?"
Suddenly, he saw the Goomy right above him, and he only had time to yelp before her entire body smashed into his face. The sheer force of her body caused Dust to fall backwards on the ground, hitting it hard. His bag fell off, emptying some of the contents within.
Berry saw the Poke Dust had in his bag, and she jumped off of Dust's face before looking at the Poke. "Where did you get all this Poke, Dust? Did you sell a few golden ribbons? Or… did you accidentally take someone's Poke? Do I need to drown you?"
Dust took a moment to recover, his body still in shock from having a blob of slime suddenly Body Slammed into his face. "If… by accident, you mean if I stole? Then no, I would never steal, maybe borrow, but I haven't done that since my old guild. And I didn't have any golden ribbons to sell either."
"Then how did you get all this Poke?" Berry repeated her question.
"I worked for it. Kecleon gave me a job of delivering multiple packages across town," Dust explained. "Turns out they receive many orders for a lot of their items before the upcoming holidays."
Berry grumbled as she glared at Dust. "Fine, you got a job and made some money, that doesn't excuse you just making me wander like that for half an hour when I was LOOKING FOR YOU! You're such a jerk sometimes, you big fuzzy head!"
Dust flinched at Berry's shout. While he was always used to his own mother shouting at him before, this was different. He was never bothered by all the snickering from the Pokemon in his old guild, the names they called him, or how they truly felt about him. He always brushed those aside, unfazed by their words and judging eyes. But to see Berry this upset over something he did made his heart feel pretty crummy inside.
Dust tried to hide his initial shock by giving a weak chuckle "Right… Very sorry about that. Truly am. Wanted to have a little fun, but it was indeed a jerk move. Was not my intention to make you this upset, so I'm sorry… I guess now that you found me, you'll want to be on your way now? I can put our Poke away, I recall Carrie's store being closed, so we can store it later."
Berry sighed as her anger deflated. "While I didn't appreciate you making me look for you like that, I am probably overreacting a little bit. I ran into Blizza earlier, she's now evolved into a Hakamo-o, and teased me a bit. I went off on her, and then she just walked away."
"Oh, then I'm really sorry for making you search for me! Had I known about your recent encounter I wouldn't even have thought of pulling something like that," Dust apologized once more. "I really should've been there for you instead of trying to play a stupid game with you."
"Well, what's done is done, I suppose…" Berry sighed before looking at the Poke that Dust dropped on the floor. "Well… since you have some money, perhaps we should put it away in the bank so we can spend them on important things later."
"That is the plan, but that'll have to wait. As I mentioned before, Carrie's store is currently closed," Dust explained. Then he suddenly remembered why he did the job in the first place. "In fact, we still have the rest of today to celebrate Princess Day. I didn't do this job for nothing, I still owe it to you to make sure you get to enjoy this day. I've already messed up with spending all our money yesterday, and also had a rough start making you waste your time for 30 minutes, but by Arceus I will make sure you have the best Princess Day ever!"
Berry tilted her head a little. "An Arceus believer, huh? Well, I don't need to have the 'best Princess Day ever', but I do have something in mind that you could use to make it up to me."
"Well I wouldn't exactly say Arceus believer, but that's beside the point. As according to holiday traditions," Dust then bowed before Berry as though she were royalty. "Thy wish is my command, Princess."
"Oh stop, that's just awkward," Berry grumbled. "I don't care what day it is, do not treat me like a princess."
Dust got up, quite puzzled. "Well that is quite the predicament. According to Princess day, males are supposed to treat females as such, but if you command that I don't treat you, of course I must oblige and accept your command. But then again it goes against the fact I have to treat you as a princess, and traditions demands it, but you also command I go against it, but if I go against it then I can't-"
"Dust!" Berry spoke up, interrupting him. "I'm just not very comfortable at being treated like… royalty. But… you can be my 'royal steed' if it makes you feel any better."
Dust rubbed his temples, glad to be out of that loop. "Thank you, sorry about that. But that works perfectly fine. So what did you have in mind?"
"You told me about that new restaurant yesterday, right? How about we order something from there to go? There's a spot I think we could eat at for a nice picnic view," Berry replied.
"Very well, and on the way would you like to shop at any of the stores? Purchase any items that catch your eyes?" Dust asked as he kneeled on the ground for Berry to get on.
Berry slithered onto Dust's back. "Not unless they have a portable item that keeps me moist on land."
"Hmm...While that would be interesting to see, I don't think any of the stores have something like that. In fact I don't think I've heard of anything like that. Would've been quite useful during our trek through the desert." Dust noted.
"For now, let's not worry about shopping. I might want to stop by the Kecleon shop to see if there's anything useful on sale for females, but otherwise I rather not waste all the money you worked to get on trinkets and plushies that I can't even hold on to," Berry stated. "I'm hungry, let's go get some restaurant food and have a nice, relaxing picnic. I'm also a bit tired from slithering around the town."
"As you wish," Dust nodded as he took them back to town.
Dust made his way through town, avoiding the heavy crowd of Pokemon who were still shopping. He still remembered the location of the Sweet Apple Restaurant. As they got closer and closer to the building, the appetizing aroma was thick in the air, Dust smelt it long before they got there, but now Berry could smell the delicious food coming from within.
Once in the restaurant, Dust could see a bit of a line here. A lot of other Pokemon were drawn in by the aroma it would seem.
When Dust made it to the counter, he saw the Appletun and Cherubi again. They looked happier than ever to see how bustling their business was today.
"Welcome to the Sweet Apple Restaurant. Will you be dining in or ordering to go?" Cherubi asked.
"To go," Dust answered back.
"Very well then, take one of our menus and see what you would like to go," Cherubi instructed.
There were menus stacked at the corner of the counter. There was a Bounsweet standing to the side.
"Once you've decided what you would like to order, you can tell our to go waitress the Bounsweet what you would like, and she will bring them out to you," Cherubi informed.
Dust nodded before grabbing a menu. They found a spot to look through the menu, and while Dust already had an idea on what he would want, Berry was still looking through the list, unsure of what to get exactly.
"Don't worry, there's no rush, and so far all their food is really great," Dust explained. "Last time I had the Psyduck hands, truly surpassed my expectations. Though I might try something more towards the sea section. And what sounds interesting to you?"
"Uh…" Berry hesitated, she was looking at the vegetarian options, but they made her unsure.
There were things like the Shroomish salad, the Oddish soup, the fruit salad, which was made from Applin, Cherubi, and Tropius fruits, there was also the Big Chikorita Leaf, which Berry had no idea was supposed to be other than a big leaf.
"Are there any non-Pokemon food?" Berry finally asked.
"Well most of our deserts don't have any Pokemon related ingredients," The Bounsweet answered. "But we do have the Stew of the Day. And because today is Princess Day, it's made with really special ingredients, ones I think you will find very satisfactory to your likings."
Berry looked at Dust for a moment, before shrugging, as much as a Goomy could shrug. "Sounds good to me."
"And I'll have the Magikarp Karp," Dust added.
"Alright then, I'll just take your menu and get you started up. Shouldn't be too long until your food is ready," Bounsweet smiled as she took back the menu before heading over to the kitchen to place their orders.
"You are going to love their food, I may have only been here one time but they are truly a remarkable restaurant," Dust excitedly explained. "Though I must admit, never would have expected a Marowak to be the one to cook. Then again, we've seen Brody cook before and his food is very impressive too."
"A Marowak? Huh, I wonder if they use their bones to cook with," Berry wondered.
The two of them chatted for a while until the Bounsweet came back with their bags. She had the bags remarkably well balanced on her head. "Here you go, hope you enjoy~"
"We will, thank you for your service," Dust thanked before taking the two bags with his mouth.
When Dust paid for the food they ordered at the counter, he left the restaurant. Berry gave him instructions on where to go. Dust was surprised when he went past White Leaf Town, and came across a cliff that showed the vast ocean.
"Here, I think this is a great spot to have our picnic, don't you?" Berry asked.
Dust sat the bags on the ground so that he could enjoy the view. "I say, where did you even find this spot?"
"This is White Peak. I actually came here on my first day when I got here," Berry answered. "Before I met you. I thought it was a good spot to be alone and think."
"I can see why, the view itself is almost breathtaking," Dust noted. "...If you mind me asking… What were you thinking when you were here last time?"
Berry hopped down from Dust's back as she put down the bag she had on her head. "I was mostly thinking about how I could be a good Crusaders, what my partner would be like, and if I could even make it. I always believed I was a weird, deformed, weak Wooper. And yet, I wanted to do some good in the world, show that I could be more than a weird Wooper who hatched wrong. Watching my brother looking weak, helpless, and sick, it made me want to help those who were in trouble. I didn't want to feel helpless again."
Dust remained silent, letting the words sink in. Thoughts of Berry's species came to mind but he pushed them aside, he knew it was a subject Berry wasn't very comfortable talking about, and he didn't want to ruin the moment. He remembered the advice Otti had given him and he had faith that in time Berry would come to know what she really is.
When Dust and Berry got their food out of the bags, they started to eat. Dust noticed that Berry ate soup with her mouth rather than with a spoon, not that she could really hold a spoon without it slipping from her antenna.
"Wow, this is really good stew," Berry complimented. "I never tasted anything quite like it before."
"I say, I thought the Psyduck was delicious, but this Magikarp even surpasses that!" Dust agreed before taking another bite.
Dust was only half way done with his meal when he saw that Berry had already finished her stew.
"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said you were hungry," Dust noted.
"Wish I could've savored it, but it's hard to do when I have to eat with my entire mouth like a Gulpin," Berry remarked, licking her lips.
There was a small bit left in the bowl, which Dust noticed for the first time, was a piece of beef, likely from a Miltank. Dust blinked, wondering if Berry just had beef stew. He waited but when Berry made no indication of knowing what she just ate, Dust was about to bring it up.
"Um Berry?" Dust asked, getting her attention. But just as he was about to tell her what she just ate, he stopped himself. He remembered how upset he made Berry, how angry she was with him over his mistake. He didn't want to do that again and thought to wait for a better time to let her know. Berry was still waiting for Dust, so he had to think of something new. "Um… So… how was the stew?"
Berry blinked. "It was… delicious. I don't think it was anything I've ever tasted before though."
"So you don't have an upset stomach? Or something of the sort?" Dust asked, now a bit curious how Berry's body would react to eating meat.
"Uh… no? Why would I?" Berry questioned, finding it odd for Dust to ask such a thing. "Do you think the food would be bad or something?"
"No no no no! Just curious, I mean," Dust paused once more, quickly thinking of a plausible reason. "They are fairly new, and I noticed that there were many Pokemon eating there. I do know that Pokemon do react differently when eating the same food, I was just curious and also worried if there were any negative symptoms from eating from a new restaurant. Sometimes the Pokemon Stomach has a different reaction to new food, and since the stew was something you never tried before, I couldn't help but be curious."
"Oh… well… I think I'm fine. If anything I feel like I could go for seconds," Berry replied before she opened her bag, bringing out a Rainbow Gummi. "For dessert, we can eat these Rainbow Gummies. A new team member of Team Silkwing, a Snivy named Ivy, gave them to me."
"Oh, I remember Talon mentioning a Snivy the last time I saw them," Dust noted. "I'm surprised he would let a Snivy join the team, especially after what happened with his family."
"What happened to Talon's family?" Berry asked in concern, she remembered Ivy telling her that Talon did have a problem with her species.
"Oh, probably shouldn't have brought it up, I find it rather uncomfortable, but Talon said that he moved on himself, at least concerning family," Dust shivered a bit at the thought of it before continuing. "You see, a Serperior had attacked and devoured his family, and if it wasn't for Chihiro, he wouldn't be here today."
"Oh… wow… I didn't know that." Berry frowned. "No wonder Ivy said that she's trying to help Talon get over his fear of her kind."
Dust sighed before nodding.
After a moment of silence while Dust was eating his Magikarp, and Berry was eating some of the Rainbow Gummies, Berry spoke up a curious question. "Um… Dust…? What… what do you know about… Goomy?"
Dust perked up a bit, both shocked and excited by the sudden question. "Oh, well as I mentioned before, there isn't much knowledge concerning Goomy," Berry seemed to be a bit disappointed at hearing that, but then Dust continued. "But that was before I met you. While there is still quite a lot left to learn, since being your partner, I think I've gathered quite the knowledge concerning Goomy. What would you like to know specifically?"
"Uh… well…" Berry hesitated a little. "There is a lot I should be asking, but I guess what I want to know right now is… could Goomy evolve? … I did say that I ran into Blizza earlier, and she looked different, she was a lot bigger, and stronger, I could sense it. And I was wondering if… I could evolve one day too. If… if I'm not a Wooper, then… I want to know if whatever I am can even evolve at all."
Of all questions Berry could've asked, that one concerning her evolution actually stumped Dust. Not because he didn't know the answer, but because he actually had an idea to what the answer is, one that he knew Berry would very much not like to hear.
After seeing Otti transform into a Goodra, I am almost 100 percent sure that Goomy can evolve into that. But I can't tell Berry that, not after her traumatizing experience with the wild Goodra. And not to mention her nightmare that followed afterwards. Dust was deep in thought, forgetting that Berry was there, still waiting for an answer from him.
"Do you… not know?" Berry asked after a while of silence. Or maybe it's better that I don't. I mean… that Goodra Splash and I encountered back at Waterfall Cavern… I still don't think I could become something like that, but… maybe I shouldn't deny the possibility? I mean I didn't expect Blizza to get so big and stand on two feet upon evolution, yet she did.
"..." Dust thought more on it, and while part of him didn't want to tell her, he felt deep down that she should know and that it wouldn't be fair if he kept her in the dark any longer. So taking a deep breath, he prepared for the worst. "I have… a theory. It was on the day when the guild was destroyed by the game of tag. Earlier that day, when you came by the lab searching for the others, you saw that Otti was a Goomy as she was helping me study your slime. There was actually more to that."
Berry blinked as she listened.
"You see," Dust continued. "Just before you came Otti had asked me if you ever had encountered any other Goomy before. When I told her no, I mentioned the Goodra you ran into before. Otti then transformed into Goodra and after seeing it for myself, I was more convinced that Goodra might be a possible evolution for Goomy. Also, she mentioned one other species, one I've never heard of before, Sliggoo, but before she could show me, that was when you showed up and after that the topic was dropped. So, to go back to your question, do I think Goomy can evolve? Yes, I do, but whether Goodra or this Sliggoo is the second evolution or perhaps a branch of evolution, I cannot say. You can always ask Otti, I'm sure she would be more than happy to help, though I do recall her being somewhat hesitant when she talked about Sliggoo… I hope… that answers your question. I'm really sorry if it wasn't the one you were looking for."
Berry gave a deflated look at Dust's answers. "So… I either become a crazy monster or a dumb, cowardly slug?"
Berry's answer surprised Dust to say the least. "Why would you become a dumb, cowardly slug? You are anything but that."
"You… really don't know anything about Sliggoo?" Berry asked, surprised. "I've never seen a Sliggoo before, but they have been talked about a lot back at home. They are said to be a rare slug-like Pokemon, but they've been joked that they're rare because of how cowardly and stupid they are. They apparently have small brains in their shells that are said to be on their backs, they can't see very well, and they are known to only eat, sleep, escape from enemies, and nothing else. But there are also creepy stories about them, like how a Sliggoo would eat anyone, even their own friends, because they can't see them that well. And they can spit acidic slime that can melt Pokemon!"
"Berry, I may have no knowledge concerning Sliggoo, but all those rumors, stories and jokes about them may not even be true. And even if they are, whatever you evolve into will not dictate on who you are," Dust tried to reassure Berry. "Whether you evolve into a Goodra or a Sliggoo, you will always be you. Did Blizza act any different than she normally did back when she was a Jangmo-o?"
"Um… I guess she was aggressive… well, she was always aggressive… but I mean… I don't know much about the Jangmo-o line to say for sure…" Berry replied. Tippi seemed less quiet and shy as a Metapod, but it could just be because she's more relaxed...
"Their line is known to be a proud warrior race," Dust agreed before shaking his head. "But that doesn't change the fact that Blizza's personality, her thoughts, who she is was still the same on the inside. Berry, you are by far the most bravest, smartest, caring and gentle Berry I've ever met. And no evolution, whether it's true or not, will change that!"
"Heh… I guess…" Berry gave a small smile to Dust. "Though I've heard evolution could change some Pokemon as well…"
"Berry, no matter what happens, you will always be my partner, and my friend. Nothing will ever change that," Dust said with conviction.
"Good, then maybe you'll let me know if I try to melt you," Berry joked. "But seriously, it's something I need to think about. Evolution is permanent after all."
"I fully understand," Dust nodded. "And while I may not ever experience evolution, you will always have my support, whatever you decide to do. On that note, I was planning on getting you a gift, but since we both agreed that it'd be better to save the money, I thought that the food itself would suffice, but I did recall one other thing that Otti mentioned to me and I think you would like it."
"Hmm? What is it?" Berry asked curiously.
Dust reached for his bag and looked inside until he finally found what he was looking for. He pulled out the dark green rock with red triangular markings on the side. Dust took one more look before holding it out for Berry to see for herself.
"I found this back in the Phoenix Desert Dungeon, when we were in that underground tunnel. It was during my battle with the Shiny Trapinch when I tripped over it. I was so amazed by the rock that I decided to take it with me," Dust explained.
Berry blinked as she looked at the strange, perfectly oval shaped 'rock'. "... Uh… Dust…? I don't think this is a-"
The 'rock' suddenly moved around, cracks began to show around it, then it started to glow brightly. Both Dust and Berry were caught off guard with the sudden movement, cracks, and glow. Their eyes shut as the 'rock' shattered before them.
When the glowing faded, in the rock's place was a pale green creature that looked a little bit like a small dinosaur, it had a spike on its head, two stubby arms, two small feet, a pine cone-like tail, and a red diamond shape thing on its stomach.
"It's a… Larvitar," Dust said in disbelief. "... A baby one…"
Berry was staring in disbelief, her eyes widened, and her mouth hanging open. The Larvitar blinked open its eyes before giving a big smile. "MOMMY!"
That was when Dust realized that 'rock' was no rock, but a Larvitar egg.
Dust looked at Berry, and Berry looked at Dust.
"Mommy? Daddy?" The Larvitar questioned.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Team Night Tide screamed.
Greatest Guy: Traveling Master: Yup, we've been waiting to add some more lore. And Syzygy is pretty important, and it might play an important role in the future… Or it might not, just have to wait and see. And yes, Dust is not very well experienced when it comes to socializing. That's what happens when you spent most of your life alone.
Archer Ampharos: DarkFoxKit: Maybe. The Syzygy is certainly mysterious right now. You'll find out more about it later.
Yeah… about the Amaura, you should read our AN about it if you hadn't. We made a mistake when we were announcing the Amaura. It's not planned to be an early team member, it was something we came up with recently and were unsure if we wanted it to be on the future team or not.
Charming Dew: Traveling Master: She had the plan laid out, the only problem was that she failed to realize that not many know about the Syzygy. But it worked out in the end, Chloe is safe now.
Star Cancer: DarkFoxKit: Attract has different ways of affecting Pokemon, some stronger than others, for Brody it's pretty much mind control due to his curse around the opposite gender.
FoxyKhai0209: Traveling Master: It was a tough situation, but they managed to save her. As for the Syzygy (pronounced as Si-zuh-jee), it is indeed a pretty powerful and important item, so I can see it being classified as such.
Yup, Brody will always be chivalrous, but the curse does bring some problems, and as to who had done that in the first place? Well Brody would love to find out as much as you, so you two will just have to wait.
Guest #1: DarkFoxKit: Amaura isn't going to be the first dual type Pokemon on their team, like we said in the AN, we made a mistake, we weren't specific enough. The Amaura won't be introduced for a long time, Dust and Berry'll have a lot of other team members by then. The Amaura was just something we may or may not have joined the team later on, but we should've waited until we were closer to introducing the Amaura before asking, so people would know what kind of Pokemon would be on Team Night Tide before voting.
Sweet Comet: DarkFoxKit: Not every Friday, only on Fridays when we have more chapters written.
Guest #2: Traveling Master: As we mentioned before, we made a mistake concerning the Amaura. Just gonna have to wait until later when we get to that Amaura again.
Star Leo: DarkFoxKit: You should probably wait to see what other Pokemon will join Team Night Tide before telling us to add the Amaura in. There was a reason why we were unsure about adding it in in the first place due to the typing of the Pokemon we plan on having join Team Night Tide. I like Amaura, I even used on In Pokemon X a long time ago, but its typing is terrible defensively, especially against Fighting types.
The Moonfox Collective: Traveling Master: Heh, yeah, Dust still has a lot of learning to do. Before joining the guild, he mostly keep to himself, hardly socializing with anyone else. Since being in the Unity Guild, he's been more social with Berry and a few others, but doesn't mean he learned the whole "Think before you speak." But Berry's retaliation did help at least. He'll get the hang of it...eventually.
Funny how you mentioned Sanji from One Piece, when I first created Brody long ago, Sanji was one of the inspirations I got for him, the other being Brock. But yes, instead of having just the simple moral code, I felt it would be better if they was a reason why Brody couldn't harm females. And very good guesses, may be true, may not, just have to wait and see. But yes, Crimson knowing about this information can bring new problems for Brody. And we have big plans for Team Night Tide in the future, plans that we hope you and the others will enjoy reading when we get to them.
Guest #3: DarkFoxKit: Yes, the meat comes from wild Pokemon. Wild Pokemon are to the civilized Pokemon like how animals are to us. Although there might be a potential future idea with the ethics of eating wild Pokemon, for now, it's seen as a social norm. The carnivorous Pokemon need to get their meat from somewhere, they don't have the technology to make synthetic meat, and as long as the wild Pokemon haven't become civilized, it's fair game. As for if they hunt or farm, they can do both actually. There are some farms in the civilized Pokemon world where they farm livestock of wild Miltank and such. It may be something we'll show in the story later.
Heh, we appreciate people who say they like seeing how we handle how Pokemon eat meat. It's part of nature, and we shouldn't shy away from it, or make everything 'rainbows and sunshines' by saying they use synthetic meat. Personally I find that a cheap excuse to not go into the darker yet natural territory of predator and prey.
Unknown 2949: DarkFoxKit: Listen carefully. Donfyre isn't writing anymore, he is doing other things with his life now. He will not be continuing Human Legend, nor am I going to pick it up. If you ask us again, especially in a story that has no relation to Donfyre's story, we will either be ignoring your comment or deleting it.
Lonelyboi69: Traveling Master: Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the review.