DarkFoxKit: So… looks like this place is empty and safe… Maybe luck is on our side, and Dust and the others went back to the story.
Traveling Master: Well it was a pretty crazy party last week, what with celebrating your birthday. Maybe that's why we haven't seen anyone else sense then?
DarkFoxKit: Well then, that means we have the house to ourselves again! We should celebrate!
Traveling Master: Uh...maybe we shouldn't. I actually got some news for everyone.
DarkFoxKit: *Was already bringing out the cake before hearing what TM just said* Oh? What is it?
Traveling Master: So, for the last two months, I've been working as a screener, or someone who asks people about the virus before letting them in into a certain facility. Today was the last day of screening. I don't have to do that anymore, which means I have to go back to my old job. And the schedule makes it rather difficult to write with DF. Not impossible, just difficult. Doesn't mean I'm gonna stop working with DF, but it might mean updates might be a bit slower, but I promise that I'll try to use whatever time I have to work with DF. I really love this story and I don't want to give up on it.
DarkFoxKit: Don't worry, I'm sure the readers will understand, and we'll hopefully find a way to make it work. *Is eating the cake* Here, eat some. We might as well finish it up before it cakes old. It's got chocolate icing.
?: Did someone say… 'chocolate'?
DarkFoxKit: … Did… did you invite someone over, TM?
Traveling Master: *I shake my head* I didn't. Did you?
DarkFoxKit: No… no I didn't…
?: Chocolate… chocolate! CHOOOOCOLAAAAAAATE!
DarkFoxKit: *Grabs the cake* RUUUUUUUUUUN!
Traveling Master: Why is he here?! *Starts running after DF*
?: *Chases after them while screaming* CHOOOOOCOLAAAAAATE!
DarkFoxKit: I don't know! Did Dust break the fourth wall in Spongebob too!?
Traveling Master: I don't see why, I don't even know why he would be messing with that universe!
*When DarkFoxKit and TM were far away, the crazy 'fish person' stopped chasing them and snickered. He looked at the audience before his body turned pink, turning into Mew*
Mew: Hehehehe, it's always fun to mess with them~ Go and enjoy the chapter, readers. Meanwhile, I must find a way to get that cake~
Chapter 20: A Baby and a Promise
Carrie frowned as she felt a disturbance.
"What's wrong, Mommy?" Chloe asked, noticing Carrie's reaction.
"Nothing deary," Carrie said, most trying to reassure herself, but the sensation was strong and she couldn't shake the feeling. "Actually, Chloe, you stay here with Chihiro and her grandkids. There's something I need to check on."
Carrie had been relaxing in the hot springs with Chihiro for Princess Day. They both decided to relax since they had been stressed with the piles of work they had to do on a daily basis.
"Carrie, you need to relax a little bit more, you're always so stressed out," Chihiro mumbled. "Sometimes you can be more worked up than a Primeape."
"Maybe, it has been pretty stressful the last few days, still trying to forget about that whole Snubbull ordeal," Carrie sighed. "I guess my body is still on high alert."
Then Chihiro noticed something. There was a new soul that was just born. "Although… that doesn't mean you're wrong either, Carrie."
Carrie sat up from her spot, facing towards where the Unity Guild would be. The longer she stared, the stronger that feeling grew inside. Despite spending most of the day relaxing, her maternal instincts were growing by the second.
"Chihiro, do you mind watching after Chloe while I'm gone?" Carrie asked, haven't taken her eyes off towards the guild.
Chihiro chuckled, likely knowing why Carrie wanted to check in on the guild. "Of course, Chloe is in safe claws~"
"Oooh, would you launch me like you do with Phantom and Spooks Auntie Chihiro?" Chloe smiled excitedly.
"That depends on your Mama," Chihiro chuckled lightheartedly. "Spooks and Phantom were made for launching, you… well you do have a hard head, but I rather have Carrie's permission before I even attempt to launch you."
"No launching, last thing we need is another repeat of what happened last year," Carrie warned.
"It wasn't that bad," Chihiro pouted.
"They almost banned us," Carrie countered. "Took weeks of service and apologizing for them to finally let us come back."
"Don't you have a guild to check?" The Dragapault grumbled.
"Yes. I won't be long, so please, don't do anything you'd normally do back at the guild," Carrie firmly warned before she started heading to the Unity Guild.
Dust and Berry were trying to sneak into the guild with the newborn Larvitar in Dust's bag. The Larvitar kept giggling, likely seeing this as some sort of game.
"Why are we sneaking into the guild with a baby again?" Berry whispered.
"Well where else are we supposed to hide this Larvitar? We just need time to figure out what to do with it before anyone finds out," Dust explained. "Oh I wish Carrie or Chihiro were here, they would most likely know what to do with this baby."
"If I knew you had an egg, I would've told you to drop it off at the Eggsecute Service. They're supposed to look after eggs until they hatch and educate them," Berry grumbled. "Now that the Larvitar's hatched, they can't properly have it imprint and educate it."
"Doesn't help that almost everyone is either gone or busy with today's holiday," Dust added. "Look, maybe if we can somehow get back to our room without anyone noticing we have a baby with us, we can wait until it falls asleep, then go from there."
"How did you not know you found an egg? For someone so smart, you can be stupid at times!" Berry hissed.
"You think I spend my time studying eggs? My mother forbade me from even coming within reaching distance of any eggs back in my old guild!" Dust countered. "And it's not like every book I've read on eggs provided exact pictures of every Pokemon out there!"
"Mommy!" Larvitar giggled, popping out of Dust's bag.
"No, no, get back in the bag!" Berry whispered frantically. "Great, we have a baby who thinks we're her parents… Phantom, Spooks, and Chloe are never going to let me live this down if they ever found out about this."
"'Her'? How can you tell this Larvitar is female?" Dust questioned.
"... I just do, okay?" Berry huffed, not seeming to want to share how she could tell the Larvitar was female.
Dust wanted to further question Berry on the topic, but before he could Dust almost bumped into someone as they turned the corner.
Dust didn't bump into the Pokemon hard enough to fall over, thankfully, but it did startle him. A familiar Rockruff was wagging her fluffy tail. "Hey! What do you have with you? I smell a fellow Rock type! A new kind!"
"Roxy! How many times do I have to tell you not to go running off just because you smell something new?" A familiar Purrloin grumbled as he ran up to Roxy.
Of all Pokemon Dust had to bump into, it had to be the one with a sharp nose. "Ah, Roxy, Caper, pleasure running into you two. And no need to worry, all is forgiven, now if you'll excuse us, we will be on our way."
Dust tried to maneuver around Roxy but the Rockruff stepped right in front of him, blocking his path. "Hold it! You never answered my question!"
Caper sighed. "Roxy, you're being rude…"
"Hey, it's Princess Day, so me asking a question isn't being rude, it's… a princess wanting to know an answer!" Roxy huffed.
"Technically she is right," Dust nodded, only to get soaked with water at the back of his head. He turned to see Berry giving him a look, reminding him to focus. "But we are actually pretty busy at the moment. Perhaps another time?"
"Too busy to answer just one question?" Roxy asked with an accusing tone.
Caper looked at Dust and Berry, now his eyes intrigued. "It does sound like you're hiding something with how nervous you look, and how you are trying for a hasty retreat."
Dust tried thinking of any excuse of how to dissuade Team Toxic Stars from finding out about the baby Larvitar hiding in his satchel. If only it hadn't hatched, I could've maybe passed it off as a rock… A rock? That might work.
"Okay, you caught us," Dust lied. "I was actually doing a little project for Otti. You see I came across a special looking rock, one I've never seen before. I've been studying it ever since, but Otti had told me to leave it behind in the lab so that I can spend Princess Day with Berry. But we just got word that something had happened to the rock and asked us to come as soon as possible. So you can see that we are both running short on time."
"Y-yeah…" Berry hesitantly agreed.
"Oh, is that all?" Roxy sounded disappointed, but stepped aside to let Dust go.
Caper, however, was still watching Dust as he started to move past them with Berry on his back. The Purrloin didn't seem to buy the excuse Dust said, but if Caper wasn't going to do anything about it, then Dust wasn't going to complain.
Dust and Berry were halfway across the hall, trying not to look back at Team Toxic Stars. As long as they remained calm, they would be able to make their way to their room, unfortunately the baby Larvitar had other plans.
"Hungry!" The baby Larvitar whined as she stuck her head out of the satchel.
This caused Dust and Berry to freeze.
"I KNEW IT!" Roxy shouted, causing the other guild members around them to look in their direction, seeing the Larvitar in Dust's satchel.
"Hold on… is that a baby Larvitar?" Caper questioned, seeing the youngling.
"N-now one second, there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this," Dust nervously chuckled as he was slowly backing away from Team Toxic Stars.
"Ooooh… were you taking that baby back to the Research Lab… to experiment on it?" Roxy asked, her eyes widened.
Suddenly the other guild members were whispering to each other in concern.
"Surely the Absol wouldn't experiment on a child, would he?"
"He does like to spend a lot of time at the Research Lab with Otti…"
"Plus, aren't Larvitar supposed to be super rare?"
Dust couldn't believe what he was seeing, it was like being back at his old guild. But instead of the comfort of being home, or in the quiet, peaceful library he grew to love, instead he was reminded of all the other Pokemon who mocked him before, called him names, who couldn't stand the thought of even being near him. Dust had grown to ignore all of them before, but to see it happening again at his new guild caused him much discomfort. His mind was racing, his heart beat increasing while he started taking shorter breaths. But then only one thing came to mind.
Run! The idea came to his head and Dust did not hesitate to listen. Turning away from all the other guild members, he ran off, much to everyones' surprise.
"Dust!" Berry shouted frantically.
Dust didn't seem to hear her, he kept running, needing to get away from the voices and the judgemental eyes, however, he also wasn't watching where he was going, and he ended up slamming into something hard, which knocked him back to the floor, and caused Berry to fall off of him, and the Larvitar too. The Larvitar began crying at the sudden fall.
Dust looked up and saw a familiar Kangaskhan, looking at him with questioning eyes. Not you too? Dust thought, only thinking about his old experience at his old guild.
Upon seeing the crying Larvitar, Carrie immediately picked up the baby, trying to comfort the child. "Shh, it's okay. Did you hurt yourself falling?"
The Larvitar sniffled, but calmed down in the arms of a comforting figure. Carrie then heard the Larvitar's stomach growling with hunger. "Oh, looks like someone wants to eat. Let go get you some Moomoo milk, does that sound good?"
The Larvitar nodded and gave a slight giggle, causing Carrie to smile before turning her attention back to Dust and Berry.
"You two have some explaining to do, but that can wait. First let's take care of this child first, shall we?" Carrie asked.
Dust blinked, looking puzzled at Carrie's calm reaction. Berry shook her head, re-orientating herself from the fall. "Uh… yeah… we're actually glad you're here, Carrie. We weren't really sure what to do about the baby. But… Dust kind of freaked out for a moment there."
Dust didn't reply, he was still thinking about what the other guild members were saying and was still confused by Carrie's reaction.
"Like I said, let's take care of the baby first, then we'll get answers later," Carrie repeated once more before heading towards the cafeteria. "We'll get this straightened out soon."
Berry looked at Dust, seeing that he was still on the floor. "Dust? Are you okay? We really should go with Carrie."
Dust looked at Berry, seeing the concern on her face. After seeing her, Dust started to calmed down a bit, his breathing returning to normal and his heartbeat slowing back to a regular pace. "...Right, we best be going then."
Dust got up from the ground and waiting for Berry to climb back on. Once she was on, Dust followed after Carrie, though whenever they passed a fellow guild member, Berry noticed Dust would look away from them, as though to avoid making any eye contact.
"Is… something wrong, Dust?" Berry asked in concern. "You seem… somber and more… self conscious than usual."
Dust looked back at Berry, a bit startled by her question. "Oh… Nothing to worry about. Just… a bit exhausted from all the sudden running I did. That's all."
The Goomy frowned. "If you're worried about what the other guild members think of you, I'm sure we can get everything straightened out soon."
Dust frowned before turning away from Berry. "There's no need to do that. I'm sure with time they will most likely move on and forget about it. And if not, can't let what others say or think about you bother you, just have to ignore them. I've done it before back at my old guild, you'd be surprised how often I came across a fellow guild member who wasn't very fond of me. But I supposed when you built up a reputation as the Absol who attracts trouble, can't really blame them for thinking like that."
"... No," Berry suddenly said.
Dust stopped and looked back at Berry, both confused and shocked by her sudden reply. "No? What do you mean, no?"
"No, I don't agree with your statement," The Goomy answered. "Listen, Dust… I grew up trying to pretend that what others say didn't bother me, that I was used to all their harsh words, name calling, and what they think. But it's impossible to truly not let words bother you. It's what shaped me to be a mess. And with how you reacted just now, it made you a mess too. You can't say you can't let it bother you, because it will always bother you, whether you realize it or not. Sometimes you have to speak up for yourself. Or sometimes… if that doesn't work, then the best thing you can do is leave. Staying in a toxic environment like that will only hurt you more in the long run."
Dust stared at Berry for a few seconds, taking in her words before turning away to continue following Carrie. "I thought it was something I had grown used to. Having spent most of my life by myself, I've gotten used to just ignoring other Pokemon and their thoughts. Seeing everyone react like that just now… despite having been through it before at my old guild, I guess my body started to… freak out on its own, the mere thought of having to go through that again started to make me panic."
"Then don't let it happen again," Berry said softly. "It doesn't have to happen again."
"Yeah… hopefully not," Dust sniffled a bit, bringing his right forearm to rub against his snout. "Thanks, haven't really told anyone about that. Not even my mother. I always figured with her being part of the council, if she found out she'd tried to fix the problem herself, and I can only see that making things worse than they already were back then."
"Whatever happened in your old guild, it doesn't have to happen here. You have friends here, and the Pokemon here do respect you," Berry reminded. "I think they were just wondering what you were doing with a baby Larvitar."
"And I supposed running away didn't exactly give the best impression," Dust chuckled a bit.
"No… but I'm sure they'll understand once you explain the situation," Berry assured.
"Well there's a first for everything," Dust agreed, though he was still having conflicting feelings, he was a bit better than before.
Dust and Berry finally made it to the cafeteria. Carrie was already feeding the young Larvitar some mounds of dirt with bits of berries crushed in the dirt. Dust figured the Larvitar would eat some berries, but never thought it would consume dirt with it.
"Why are you feeding the Larvitar dirt? Shouldn't the berries be enough?" Dust asked.
Carrie shook her head. "A newborn Larvitar is usually born underground. Once they're born, they tend to eat dirt, rocks, and whatever berries they could find. Most Larvitar don't come out from under the ground until after they've eaten a mountain of dirt and rocks."
"Fascinating," Dust noted.
"No," Carrie corrected. "What's fascinating is that you two had somehow come across a baby Larvitar. Now mind explaining how this came to be?"
"Dust was the one who found it, I didn't even know about it until he showed it to me just before the Larvitar hatched," Berry replied.
"It recently hatched?" Carrie shockingly asked. "Dust, where did you exactly find the egg?"
"In the Phoenix Desert Dungeon, when me and Berry were underground," Dust explained.
Then Dust went and told Carrie of what had transpired when they were in the dungeon, from their encounter to the group of Trapinch, his fight with a shiny one, and that during the fight he tripped over what he thought was a rock at the time.
"Well, seeing how you are, I don't blame you for thinking the egg was a rock. A Larvitar egg tend to be much more studier, so I can see how you made the mistake. Still, really wish you'd shown us the egg before it hatched," Carrie sighed at the circumstances. "As she is now, she will want to stick with you and Berry because she left an imprint on both of you. She will not be able to concentrate on her education at the Eggsecute Service."
Berry frowned. "I'm sorry, if I hadn't passed out during the report, you all might've seen the egg Dust was keeping in his satchel."
"Doesn't help that after passing out, with everything else that happened, the rock...egg had slipped my mind. I only remembered it earlier today," Dust added.
"What should we do about the Larvitar though?" Berry asked.
"You'll have to do things the old fashion way," Carrie answered. "Before the Eggsecute Service was a thing, Crusaders would take care of the eggs on their own, and raise the baby Pokemon themselves. They can get help from other Pokemon though, Pokemon with experience with taking care of a child. In some ways, the old way was better than the Eggsecute Service, as it allows the child to bond with their teammates early on, and become fiercely loyal to them, and will do anything to keep them safe. On the other hand, it can also be a bit of a burden on the Crusaders to have to keep taking care of the child until they're old enough to take care of themselves. Evolution can also help them mature quicker too, but a Larvitar takes a while to evolve."
Berry groaned. "So more babysitting?"
Carrie couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, be glad you've got some experience then, Berry. You could always try to go back to where you found the Larvitar's egg and see if you can find her real parents, but that would make things difficult, especially if the Larvitar's parents are wild. They will think you stole their child and will attack you on sight, which will also scare the Larvitar, she will not see them as her parents, she will see them as angry monsters."
"That is quite the predicament," Dust noted. "And I'm sure we already established this, but you think it's really a good idea that I watch over this child too? I've been told that me and children would not mix very well."
"I think this might be a good experience for you, just as long as you don't try to experiment on the child," Carrie said. "Berry will help you, and if you two truly need help, you can let me or Chihiro know. We have experience with child care after all."
"I can only imagine what my mother would think," Dust shuddered, already imagining her deadly presence. "I would say we should keep this a secret, but I think everyone at least has heard of the baby Larvitar at this point."
"I'll be sure to let them know about the situation, they might even be happy to help you with the Larvitar," Carrie chuckled.
"How long would it take for a Larvitar to mature?" Berry asked.
"Depends. Wild Larvitar mature as they eat. They usually stay close to their parents until they are fed well enough to later evolve," Carrie explained. "Since they are wild, they have to mature quickly to survive, but this Larvitar may be a special case. She's already showing signs of civilized qualities, but still retains being part wild… She's already capable of some basic form of speech, so I wouldn't be surprised if within a week or two she'd be mature enough to join you two on missions."
"Wait, we'll have to babysit her for two weeks without being able to go on missions?" Berry frowned.
"No, no, you can still go on missions, you'll just have to leave the Larvitar with me or Chihiro until you're done," Carrie clarified. "But you will have to try to explain to the Larvitar you'll be back, otherwise she'll think you're abandoning her, which is not good for a newborn's psyche."
"Interesting, I'll definitely have to take some notes then," Dust mentioned as he was already forming ideas in his head.
"No experiments!" Carrie reprimanded Dust.
"I know!" Dust quickly said. "I just wish to merely observe her as she grows. I promise, no experiments, whatsoever."
"Good, cause if I find out that you've done even one small experiment on this child, so help me Arceus I'll make sure you'll end up in the Medical Bay till the remainder of your days," Carrie threatened.
Dust gulped as he nodded. The only other time I've ever seen such animosity was from my own mother… Note to self, never cross a mother and her child.
"Good," Carrie's expression softened as she turned her attention back to the baby Larvitar. "Now, have you two decided on a name for the child?"
Both Dust and Berry looked at each other.
"No… we weren't even sure what we would do with the Larvitar after she hatched so suddenly," Berry admitted.
"Then try to think of a name for her, she'll need to hear it over and over before she realizes that's her name," Carrie stated.
"Hmm…" Dust tried thinking of an appropriate name. "How about… Dirt? Since she's eating dirt?"
"Really? Dirt?" Berry deadpanned. "That's like calling me Gooey, or you Dusk."
"Funny how you mentioned that, my mother did accidently slipped that Dusk might have been my actual name, but I see your point," Dust noted. "Okay… how about… Larvi? Or maybe… Tar?"
"How about I call you Ab or Sol from now on?" Berry asked.
"Sol would've been an interesting name, though I can see it giving others the wrong idea about me. Can you imagine an Absol named Sol?" Dust chuckled at the notion.
Berry shook her head. "Yeah, I think it would imply you eat Pokemon's souls."
"Really? I was thinking more of others mistaking I was a Sol Rock before finding out I was an Absol," Dust added. "Well, what did you have in mind?"
Berry shrugged, as much as she could. "I was thinking maybe Sandy, or…"
The Larvitar began playing with her food, making what looked like a cliff with the pile of dirt that was left on the plate.
"Hmm… what about Cliff?" Berry suggested after seeing the crudely makeshift cliff dirt pile. "Like how a Rock Type could create cliffs with their Rock attacks, and stand tall like a Tyrantiar would."
"Oh, interesting… Cliff does seem to make sense too," Dust noted before turning his attention towards the Larvitar and moving closer to her. "Tell me, do you like the name, Cliff?"
The Larvitar looked at Dust before giggling, getting a stubby armful of dirt before putting it in front of Dust's face. "Daddy, eat!"
"She's not yet mature enough to understand your words, but if you two can agree on 'Cliff' being her name, then just keep calling her that, she will eventually accept it as her name," Carrie reassured.
Dust took a step back while giving a nervous chuckle over almost having dirt shoved in his mouth. "We'll keep that in mind."
The Larvitar, now named Cliff, smiled before she suddenly hopped at Dust, shoving the dirt into his mouth. Dust was not prepared and would've spit out the dirt if it wasn't for the fact that Cliff was moments away from falling on the ground. With quick reaction, Dust managed to catch Cliff, but almost dropped her by her sudden weight. Because of the sudden shock of her jumping, her weight, and all his strength to hold her, Dust ended up accidentally swallowing the dirt that was in his mouth.
Berry looked at Dust in concern, seeing all this happening at once. "A-are you okay, Dust?"
Cliff was giggling happily in her 'daddy's' hold.
After coughing for a couple seconds and spitting out any remaining dirt inside his mouth, Dust was finally able to reply. "How are you this heavy? You weren't this heavy when you first hatched!"
Carrie laughed after seeing what just happened. "Well that's because she hadn't eaten back then. A Larvitar's meal usually consists of dirt, rock, and any other substances you'd find in a mountain. Add that with some berries and she'll end up being a fast growing child."
"Wish I knew that before, I would've been more prepared," Dust said as he felt something stuck between his teeth. He would've picked it out, but at the moment, both his arms were currently occupied holding Cliff.
"You can try putting her down," Berry suggested, seeing how Dust was struggling to keep Cliff in his arms, especially since he was a quadruped Pokemon, he couldn't keep both of his arms up for very long.
Dust nodded before setting Cliff on the ground. He gave a sigh of relief before picking out whatever was lodged in between his teeth. Meanwhile Cliff stumbled for a moment, never having walked before. But after a few shaky steps, she started moving towards Berry while holding out her arms.
Berry looked at Cliff, surprised that the Larvitar was already trying to walk, and to walk towards her. Berry, of course, had no experience in walking herself, since she had no feet or legs to walk with, but she was impressed nonetheless. Berry slithered a little closer to Cliff to make it easier for the newborn Larvitar to reach her. Cliff smiled when she got closer to Berry. She then tripped and was about to fall, but Berry quickly came right under her, so Cliff landed on Berry's soft and gooey head.
"Careful there, Cliff, don't want you to hurt yourself, even if your hide is as thick as a rock," Berry chuckled lightly.
Cliff started to giggle some more. "Mommy squishy!"
Then, out of curiosity, the Larvitar started to tap her own chest, as if trying to see if her body was as squishy as her ''mommy's'. Cliff gave a pout when she couldn't squish her body.
Berry couldn't help but chuckle at this. "Mommy's skin is special, Cliff. Your skin is hard and meant to take… harder things than Mommy can."
Cliff tilted her head, not fully understanding what Berry meant. But then giggled once more as she went back to hugging Berry. Cliff didn't seem bothered by Berry's goo.
"Berry, are you okay? I mean, you did just used your entire body to catch her," Dust asked, concerned after seeing Cliff almost fall.
"Yeah… Despite my soft head, I'm used to Tackling hard things, even stone, so Cliff's body didn't hurt me," Berry reassured before she wrapped her antennae around Cliff's body in her own version of a hug.
"Interesting, despite weighing much more than you, your body was able to absorb the difference," Dust noted. "Probably helped that you still have your Defense Scarf on."
Carrie couldn't help but smile at seeing Berry hugging the Larvitar. It was likely a rare moment for the Goomy to be hugged and able to hug back herself.
"Good, if you keep showing your love to Cliff, she'll bond with you quickly." Carrie smiled. "I'll have to give you a list on how to take care of a young Larvitar later. And I suggest you spend at least one or two days with the child before taking on another mission. By then she should grow a bond with you two. Continue to talk to her, she'll start to pick up on your words and understand you easier, so when you do on your missions, it'll be easy to explain you'll be back."
"I guess we can do that. We've wracked up quite a lot of points for our team rank, so we should be able to finish enough missions to earn us the right to participate in the upcoming tournament by the end of the month," Berry said, looking at Dust, though she was still hugging Cliff. "And… this could be a good experience for you."
"I supposed it does help that Larvitar are very sturdy Pokemon, so we don't have to worry about me causing her any harm," Dust nodded.
Just then Cliff let out a yawn as she started leaning more towards Berry, using her as a sort of bed. Carrie chuckled as she picked up the Larvitar as she slowly rocked the child between her arms. "Well looks like it's been a long day for everyone, I think it's about time everyone retires for the day."
"Where is Cliff going to sleep?" Berry asked. "I guess she could take my bed in our room for the time being. I could just sleep in the water pot."
"Why not sleep with her? You seem to be pretty good at this… 'mommy' stuff," Dust suggested.
"My goo is still toxic, Dust. I don't want to expose Cliff to too much of my goo until we get her a Pecha Scarf," Berry informed.
"Fair point, then I guess it'll have to be your bed for the time being," Dust nodded.
"Don't stay up too late," Carrie said. "I should get back to the hot spring. Chihiro and Chloe are waiting for me. I'll be sure to send you two the list on Larvitar care in the morning though."
So Berry hopped on Dust's back as they followed Carrie back to their room. Once there Carrie carefully put Cliff down on Berry's bed, making sure not to wake her up. Dust went to his own, turning around a couple times before laying down as Berry climbed into the pot of water. Saying her goodnights, Carrie left Team Night Tide alone in their room. Dust took a moment to study Cliff, still finding it hard to believe that the 'rock' he found had been an egg the whole time. He would've taken notes, but he was too exhausted, so he figured he could get an early start tomorrow.
Dust didn't know how long it was since he fell asleep, but the sudden shift of weight on his bed caused him to sit up. Despite it being dark, his eyes quickly adjusted and he saw that Cliff wasn't on Berry's spot. He started to worry when he felt something press against his stomach. Looking down he saw that Cliff had managed to climb up to his bed and was now lying against his body. Dust didn't know how to react at first, but he supposed that for now, he didn't mind the baby Larvitar sleeping by his side. Laying back down, he curled up more around Cliff, making sure that she was secured before succumbing to sleep once more.
Early the next morning, it was barely the crack of dawn, the Dodrio hadn't even gotten up yet to make the morning alarm. However, something loud and obnoxious did wake up the groggy and sleepy Dust, as well as Berry, and that was a loud banging noise coming from their door, as well as crying coming from a startled baby Larvitar.
The loud knocking and Cliff crying was starting to give Dust a headache. He would've checked to see who was at the door, but since Cliff was currently lying against him, he was a bit pinned down.
"Berry, can you get the door!?" Dust shouted, barely able to hear himself.
A very grumpy looking Goomy slithered out from the water pot, looking quite annoyed herself. She slithered over to the door before opening it with her antenna, ready to give the rude Pokemon a piece of her mind, when she saw it was a familiar Groyvle.
"Grant?" Berry frowned. "Do you know what time it is right now?"
"Yeah, it's time for you to keep your promise," Grant grunted, ignoring the crying Larvitar as Dust tried to calm her down.
Berry grumbled, remembering that she had indeed promised that she would spar with him if he had looked over Phantom and Spooks, which he did poorly from what she heard, so she, Brody, and Dust could go save Chloe.
"Couldn't this have waited later in the morning?" Berry hissed, feeling more annoyed than worried right now.
"I've waited long enough. Each time I tried looking for you, you were always unavailable. Didn't help that Brody butted in and made me promise to leave you alone during Princess Day. But no more, it's time we've had our match!" Grant answered.
"Hush! You're being too loud!" Berry snapped. "If I go spar with you, will you leave me alone?"
Grant said nothing except grinned as he crossed his arm, giving her a firm nod.
"Fine, then let's go spar at the Dojo and get it over with," Berry grumbled.
"Okay, you two have fun… I guess I'll just stay here with Cliff then," Dust called out as Berry was leaving.
"Where's mommy going?" Cliff asked, somewhat calming down.
"Oh, she's about to battle someone. She made a promise a while ago, and I guess he's here to collect," Dust explained. He thought everything would be fine, but then he noticed Cliff was starting to tear up again. "Uh, what's wrong?"
"I want Mommy," Cliff sniffled.
"Of course, but she's occupied at the moment. I'm sure she'll be back-" Dust tried explaining, only to be cut off by Cliff crying once more.
"I want Mommy!" Cliff cried.
Uh oh. Dust thought to himself. Okay, she wants to see Berry, but she's gone. I could take her to the dojo, but would that be wise to show a child a battle at such a young age? Maybe I should-
Cliff cried louder, causing Dust to cover his ears. "Okay, lets go to your Mommy!"
Cliff then perked up at that, seeming to understand that she just won their little 'argument'. Dust wondered if Cliff was smarter than she appeared to be.
Since Berry wasn't on Dust's back, Dust decided to try to carry Cliff on his back. Cliff was much heavier than Berry however. And Cliff was constantly tugging on his fur, causing him to wince in pain from time to time, but he knew she had to, else she might fall off. Dust wanted to get to the dojo as soon as possible, but knew he had to go slow to minimize any risks of Cliff getting hurt.
"Hey, Cliff?" Dust said before yelping after Cliff tugged on his fur. "Could you not pull so hard?"
Cliff pouted a little, though she couldn't understand his words, she sensed that he was telling her to stop.
Dust had never been so relieved to make it to the Dojo. There, he saw that Vesper the Corviknight already set everything up for Berry and Grant to battle.
"Same rules as usual, the other will stop when one gets knocked out," Vesper announced. "None of the moves should be made with the intent to kill or seriously injure, or you will be disqualified."
"Excuse me, Vesper?" Dust called out to the Corviknight. "Can you tell me where Berry is?"
Vesper greeted the Absol before pointing towards where Berry was. Dust also noticed that Grant was standing by the corner with his arms crossed. But even from here, Dust could see the excitement building in the Grovyle.
"Alright, let's go say hi to...uh...mommy," Dust suggested to Cliff, who happily hopped his back, giving him much relief.
"Mommy!" Cliff smiled as she went over to Berry.
"Cliff?" Berry looked at the Larvitar in surprise before seeing Dust. "You brought her here?"
Dust held up both paws to show innocence. "Hey, it wasn't my original plan, but as soon as she saw you left, she wouldn't stop crying. I tried explaining to her that you were going to be busy and that you'd return, but that only caused her to cry even more. As soon as I agreed to take her to you, she immediately calmed down."
Berry sighed before she looked at Cliff. "Cliff, Mommy needs to take care of something first before she can play with you, okay? It might be too dangerous for you to stay though."
Before Cliff could reply, a voice shouted out to them. "Found them!"
They all turn to see a familiar Charmeleon called out to someone. Shortly after, Brody came walking in, glad to see Berry, confused to see Cliff, and annoyed at seeing Grant.
"Berry! I am very sorry about this morning. Had I known what Grant was planning, I would've put a stop to it. No one should ever disrupt your beauty sleep," Brody apologized.
"Step aside, Brody, nobody's interrupting this spar. I've been waiting far too long for it," Grant stated.
"I'll have to warn you that you'll be disappointed," Berry spoke up. "I sometimes have outbursts of power, but that doesn't mean I'm strong myself."
"Say what you will, I don't really care. Winning or losing doesn't matter. What matters is the fight itself, so don't go holding back on me," Grant grinned.
Berry sighed, obviously not looking forward to this battle. "Dust, come and take Cliff, I don't want her to be too close to me when I'm battling."
Dust nodded. "Come on Cliff, let's get to a safe distance."
Cliff nodded as she followed after Dust. The two went to the side of the Dojo, a safe distance away from Berry and Grant as Brody and Al joined them.
"So… what's up with the Larvitar? Any reason why she's been calling Berry mommy?" Al asked while making funny faces at Cliff, causing her to giggle.
"I've been meaning to ask that too," Brody added in. "Did she...you know? Is there a father?"
"No!" Dust quickly said. "I mean yes, but no!"
Brody and Al blinked, a little confused by Dust's words.
"Did it look like Berry could've laid an egg and have it hatched in a day?" Dust questioned, he at least knew enough to know an egg would take several weeks to months to hatch.
"Well it's not like we haven't seen Berry that often. And there was that one time she was constantly staying in her room," Al pointed out. "I mean… maybe that's why she avoided others, maybe she was busy with the egg or something."
"No!" Dust shouted before he sighed. "Look, I found the Larvitar's egg in Phoenix Desert and brought it back, thinking it was a rock, okay? She just hatched yesterday evening, and I guess Berry and I were the first Pokemon she saw, so she imprinted on us, that's why she's calling Berry 'mommy'."
"So that would mean you're technically the father," Al blinked before turning to Brody. "You know, I was only joking about their relationship before, but I didn't think they would take it this far-"
Brody punched him on top of the Charmeleon's head, leaving a good sized bruise. "I think that's enough out of you. And sorry about the intrusion, was just curious at seeing a Larvitar suddenly calling Berry mommy."
"Don't worry about it, I know you were just curious. I'd probably be asking the same questions if our roles were reversed," Dust explained.
"Which Brody probably would've wanted," Al joked, only to receive another blow to his head, adding to his already big bruise.
Cliff just blinked at the two.
"You may begin!" Vesper called out, causing everyone to turn their attention to Berry and Grant.
Grant didn't waste any time to rush at Berry, the leaves on his arms turning into one sharp scythe-like blades. Berry yelped as Grant brought down his Leaf Blade onto her, but it didn't seem to do anything to her. The Leaf Blade bounced off her body, and Berry had a red aura for a second.
Grant took a moment to assess what just happened. He then grinned, already feeling the adrenaline pumping through his body. "Interesting."
Berry still thought it was weird how her body was completely immune to Grass type attacks, even ones like Leaf Blade, but she knew she had to act quickly. Berry jumped over Grant before slamming down on his head with her Body Slam. Dust remembered all too well with being hit by Berry's Body Slam.
Dust was hoping that move would've been enough, but the Grovyle stood his ground, even smiling from the blow.
"Not bad, now let's see how you handle this!" Grant shouted as he reared his head back, preparing to smash Berry against the ground.
Berry yelped as her body was a bit stuck to Grant, enough so that she couldn't jump away in time before she was smashed onto the ground with a SPLAT. Though she surprisingly managed to reform herself quickly. Dust had made sure to cover Cliff's eyes just before Grant made contact. He gave a sigh of relief after seeing that Berry was okay.
Grant closed into Berry with another blade-like attack, this time his leaves were glowing a deadly red color. Berry quickly shot out a purple Dragon Breath attack into Grant's face before he could bring down his X-Scissor attack. Thanks to Berry's attack, Grant barely missed her, swinging just above her head.
Grant immediately jumped back as he coughed to clear away the recent attack to his face. Once done, his prepared to attack once more, but suddenly his body was twitching. Dust recognized what had happened to the Grovyle's body.
"Berry! He's paralyzed! His movements are limited, this is your chance!" Dust shouted.
Berry knew that Absorb and Water Gun wouldn't do much to a Grass type, so her best moves were Body Slam and Dragon Breath right now. After being splattered on the floor earlier, Berry decided to go for another Dragon Breath attack, though this time she decided to try an experiment of her own since Grant was slowed down due to the paralysis, Berry began trying to condense the Dragon Breath attack, much like how she did when she had one of her outbursts. Dust was surprised when he saw Berry creating the ball of draconic energy near her mouth, it reminded him the first time she used Dragon Breath on Blizza.
"I can't… I can't believe it!" Dust said with awe. "She's actually gonna do it! With this she'll surely win!"
"Oooooh, pretty ball!" Cliff said in awe, unable to take her eyes away from the battle.
Unfortunately, however, Berry wasn't quite as skilled at condensing the energy as she was when she was in one of her outbursts mode, the orb suddenly exploded in front of Berry's face, which sent out a wave of draconic energy throughout the arena. It didn't hit the Groyvle very hard since most of it was unfocused and weakened, the brunt of it hit Berry though, and her body was now feeling quite numb.
"Uh-oh…" Berry frowned, realizing she screwed up.
Grant frowned seeing that Berry had ended up paralyzing herself. He let out a sigh before taking a deep breath to focus his energy. Despite being paralyzed himself, he started moving towards her until he was standing right in front of her. He pulled back his arms as the leaf turned to a shade of black.
Just before Grant used Night Slash on Berry, he gave her a final nod. "Nice match."
Berry tried to move but her body refused to listen as it remained in place due to her paralysis. With that Grant swung his attack hard, hitting the top of Berry's head with Night Slash. Berry's eyes were swirling, she was pretty much knocked out, but not knocked out cold. She could easily wake up if she needed to.
"That's it! Grant is the winner!" Vesper called out.
"Mommy… lost?" Cliff frowned.
"..." Dust took a moment to think of the right response. "Yes… She lost."
Vesper flew over to Grant and Berry, she gave Grant a Cheri Berry and an Oran Berry, while she fed Berry a Tiny Reviver Seed.
Berry quickly regained consciousness, her body fine since Grant didn't seriously damage her. She sighed, realizing that she made a stupid mistake with her Dragon Breath, and that was what costed her the match.
Sensing what she was thinking, Grant called out her name. "Berry. Don't regret the decision you made. You saw an opportunity and you took it. You listened to your gut and that's what matters."
Berry sighed as she looked at Grant. "But you see now that I'm not actually that strong, right?"
"So?" Grant questioned. "What I see is someone who has potential. You're a lot stronger than what you think. Hone your skills and have more confidence in yourself. And when you lose, get back up and try harder. Learn from your loss and get better. Losing is just half the battle."
As Grant was saying this, Dust was taking it all in himself. A part of him knew this already, but hearing it from someone else made him remember how he felt after his loss to Crimson, he now knew what he had felt that day; his pride being shattered, and a need to prove himself in a rematch. What Grant said rekindled his determination to get stronger again.
"Mommy get stronger," Cliff said. "Daddy strong like Mommy, right?"
Dust was about to correct Cliff that between him and Berry, she was actually stronger than him, but after seeing her hopeful look in her eyes and after hearing Grant's speech, Dust changed his mind. "You're absolutely right. I am strong like Mommy, but just as she will get stronger, so will I."
"Then I get strong too!" Cliff smiled, looking proud and determined.
Dust saw Brody walk up to Grant, thinking that the Lucario was gonna congratulate his teammate, when suddenly Brody punched Grant on top of his head, leaving a similar sized bruise like Al's.
"Brody! What the heck?!" Grant shouted as he rubbed his bruise.
"Why did you have to be so rough with Berry?!" Brody shouted back.
"It's a match, you expect me to go easy on my opponents?" Grant countered.
"Yes!" Brody shouted once more.
Before anyone could stop them, Grant threw in a punch to Brody's face, who retaliated by kicking Grant in his side. The Grovyle then started using his attacks just as Brody did the same.
"Aren't you going to stop them?" Berry asked Vesper.
"They do this a lot, it's best to let them get it out of their system," Vesper sighed. "I'll have berries on standby though…"
As Grant and Brody were going at it, Berry decided to slither off towards Dust, Cliff, and Al. "Perhaps we should go ahead and get some breakfast since we're already up."
"You had me at breakfast!" Al cheered. "Now we best hurry before those two finish with their fight."
"Wouldn't you want your teammates to join you though?" Berry asked.
"Don't worry, plus, their fights usually take a while, and I rather eat than wait for them to finish. So let's get going already," Al had started to leave the dojo while everyone else was still watching Grant and Brody duke it out with one another.
"Uh, Dust… could you carry me while carrying Cliff?" Berry asked, looking at Dust and Cliff.
Dust looked at Berry, then at Cliff before giving a sigh. "Sure, it's a good thing the Cafeteria isn't too far."
Berry slithered up onto Dust's back, coming up behind Cliff, who was smiling when she saw her 'mommy' with her. Dust took a couple of deep breaths, already feeling the combined weight of the two taking its toll on his back. With that he started moving forward, leaving the dojo and heading towards the cafeteria. Even though Berry was on his back, Dust was able to move faster than when it was just him and Cliff. This is because he knew that with Berry on his back, she would at least make sure Cliff wouldn't accidentally fall off.
Despite it being a short distance to the cafeteria, Dust was already breathing heavily, though he was glad that they had finally reached their destination.
"If this keeps up, I might just consider carrying Cliff as my training," Dust panted.
"Maybe we should teach Cliff how to walk as soon as possible, so you won't have to keep carrying both of us around," Berry said in concern, seeing how tired her partner was.
Dust was walking towards the serveline, where Al currently was, and was talking to a certain Milcery.
"I'm telling you, Grant and Brody made sure to talk with Dust and Berry. They are okay with watching over me, promise! Cross my heart and hope to die!" Al said as he made the gesture of making an x mark on his chest, hoping to convince Cupcake.
Dust, Berry, and Cliff were right behind Al as he was saying this. Dust and Berry blinked, wondering why Al was trying to convince Cupcake that they were watching him, it wasn't like he was a child.
Cupcake, noticing them behind Al, sighed. "Alright. Just get your food and make sure you sit with Team Night Tide."
"Yes ma'am!" Al saluted the Milcery as she left. Al turned around and nearly jumped at seeing Dust and Berry. "Geez! Didn't see you there...So...um...How long have been standing there?"
"... Long enough to know you apparently need us to watch you," Berry answered before she slithered off of Dust's back to give him a break. "Why would you need us to watch you?"
"Oh, you don't really need to watch me… Actually…" Al paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain properly to them, that is until his stomach started rumbling. "How about we get some food first, and then I'll fully explain myself."
"Oh please do," Dust replied.
With that the group had gotten their food, though Dust was surprised to see how much food Al had gotten. His plate was filled with berries and gummies, he saw some meat in there too, but almost all of it were stacked on top of each other, making it difficult to exactly tell what kind of food he was eating. As soon as they found a suitable table, Al didn't waste any time eating, taking huge bites out of berries, gummies, and any type of meat he had.
Berry had seen Dust eat meat before, though he always kept it sort of subtle and hidden within his berries and gummies. But Al was just munching down on all the meat without a care in the world. Berry could still see the full body grilled Finneon on Al's plate before he dug his claws into and ripped it apart with his teeth. Berry couldn't help but shiver.
"I don't get how carnivores are able to eat other Pokemon just fine like that, even if they are wild, they have the ability to be civilized," Berry muttered, mostly to Dust.
Dust and Berry did give a bowl of dirt and mashed berries for Cliff, Cupcake had everything for every species of Pokemon after all. Cliff was enjoying her own breakfast to care about what Al was eating.
Al paused from his eating, seeing Cliff's unique meal. "Hey, um… Sorry, what was her name?"
"Cliff," Dust answered, curious as to what Al wanted with Cliff.
"Thanks. Hey Cliff, how does that taste?" Al asked while pointing at Cliff's food.
Cliff blinked before smiling, thinking Al wanted to try some of her food. She had a stubby armful of the soil and berries and held it out to Al. "Eat?"
"She's still a newborn, so she doesn't quite understand our language yet," Berry explained to Al.
Al just shrugged as he took the dirt and berry, putting it in his mouth. Dust couldn't believe he just ate dirt, sure he did yesterday but that was by accident, Al willingly put dirt in his mouth. After a couple seconds of chewing, Al swallowed, letting out a satisfied sigh.
"Not bad, little earthy, but not bad in the end. Could use some meat though, now that would make it taste a lot better," Al said just as he took a bite out of another piece of meat.
Berry blanched at the meat of some poor Pokemon that Al just took a bite out of, completely grossed out, she would rather eat the soil that Cliff was eating than the meat Al was devouring. I hope Cliff's species aren't carnivores too… We didn't get that list from Carrie due to Grant draggins us out before dawn.
"So, Al," Dust spoke up. "Why were you telling Cupcake about us needing to keep an eye on you?"
Al almost choked on the food in his mouth, but after a couple seconds managed to swallow it. "Was kinda hoping you'd forgotten. Oh well. So like I was saying, it's not that you really need to watch me, but more as you really can't."
"What do you mean?" Dust asked while tilting his head.
"Well, only Grant and Brody are the only ones who are charged with accompanying me," Al explained before popping an Oran Berry in his mouth. "They're the only ones who could handle me."
"Uh… okay," Berry spoke up, looking confused. "But that doesn't really explain why you need Pokemon to 'handle' you. Do you lose control of yourself from time to time or something?"
"Something like that. Tell me, do you know why my team is called Team Destruct?" Both Dust and Berry shook their heads, prompting Al to continue. "As I'm sure you've seen before, both Brody and Grant are very strong and on their own they can cause quite the mess. But honestly, you can say that I'm the reason we are called that. You were pretty spot on, Berry. It's not that I lose control of myself, but more as I really don't know how to exactly control my own strength."
"You… don't know how to control your own strength?" Berry blinked. "Why not?"
"Were you born with too much power for your mind to be able to handle?" Dust asked, coming up with his own theories.
Al shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. I honestly don't know. You see, I really don't know anything about my life. How strong I am exactly, why I'm like that, or even how I got here in the first place."
"You don't… know anything about your life?" Berry repeated, looking surprised. "Do you have amnesia?"
"Bingo," Al answered while pointing a claw at Berry.
"But how?" Dust asked. Al gave him a funny look as Dust realized what his question meant to him. "Right, you wouldn't really know how."
"Does that mean your real name isn't actually 'Al' either?" Berry questioned. "Was that name something that Brody and Grant gave you?"
Al shook his head. "They weren't the ones who gave me that name. In fact, they weren't the first ones I met when I woke up with no memory of who I was. It was another guild member named Hammer who found me and brought me back to the guild. You can imagine everyones' surprise when we found out that I had amnesia. Hammer and Chihiro did the best they could to help me recover my memory, but no luck. And it was Hammer that gave me my name… Unless it's actually my name, then I guess he was really good at guessing."
"Who's Hammer? We've been at this guild for over a month now, and we've never met with anyone by that name," Dust asked curiously.
"Oh right, he has been gone for a while now, so it makes sense you two haven't heard of him," Al noted. "He's a Kommo-o and he's the leader of Team Dragon Knights."
"Team Dragon Knights?!" Dust almost choked on his food after hearing that name.
"Oh, so you have heard of them?" Al asked.
"Well not the members themselves, but the team name, yes," Dust nodded. "When your own mother is a Master Rank herself, you tend to hear other names pop up from time to time. Team Dragon Knights are Master Rank themselves, their whole team being made up of Dragons."
"Whoa! Really?" Berry's eyes sparkled when she heard that. Her and her family lived in a remote swamp, so any news about Crusaders and Dragon types were usually the stuff of legends. "A Master Rank Crusader team made up of Dragons? That sounds like a real legend!"
Al nodded. "Yup, though I've only met two of the members. You'd be surprised how busy Master Ranks could be. I didn't know your mother was also a Master Rank. From what I know, most high ranks, especially Master Ranks, don't tend to stay at their guilds for long, they usually travel the world for their long term missions, since so many Pokemon are always in need of help and can't always afford to write out their help on a guild's board."
"It's true," Dust agreed. "I remember times when my mother would be gone for quite some time. It was only until she finally became a member of the Guild council that she stayed home more often."
"Guild council? What's your mother's name?" Al asked.
"Eclipse," Dust answered.
"Woah, now that is a legendary name," Al shockingly replied. "You're the son of Eclipse?!"
Berry was blinking, seeming to try to process what was being said. Cliff didn't give any indication of understanding the conversation, she was just enjoying her meal.
"Wait! Back up a bit," Berry spoke up. "Dust… you're saying your mother is a Master Rank Crusader!? And not only that, but she's a member of the Guild Council?! Is all that true?"
"Yes, all of it is true. Didn't I mention this before?" Dust asked.
"No! No you didn't! I had no idea!" Berry answered, looking quite shocked. "Why didn't you ever tell me you were related to someone so legendary?"
Dust thought for a sec before replying. "Didn't see any reason. Last time my mother's rank was brought up was my first time meeting Chihiro. I thought I could've used my relationship to my mother as a way to grant me a higher rank. But, and I quote, 'you're not ranked by who you're connected or related to, young Absol, you're ranked by your skills and how you've completed your missions.' After hearing Chihiro say that, I didn't see any other reason to really bring up my mother's rank."
"Wiser words have never been said," Al laughed. "You should be judged by your own skills after all."
"Still… I can't believe I never knew you were related to a Master Rank member! Let alone someone from the Guild Council!" Berry said, lifting up her antennae as a way to show how surprised and shocked she was.
Dust shrugged. "As impressive as it sounds, being related to a Master Rank isn't that special. Granted, I was allowed to get away with a lot of my past experiments and research because of who my mother was. But can you really blame me? Growing up I was either in the care of another guild member until I was old enough to stay by myself. Like I mentioned before, there were times when I wouldn't see my mother for weeks, sometimes months. And I had to occupy my time somehow, which I guess is how I've gained my love for research and knowledge. So in the end, it all works out."
Berry frowned a little as she realized what Dust was implying. "You… weren't able to spend a lot of time with your mother, were you?"
Although Berry often felt alienated from her family due to how different she was from them, she at least knew her mother loved her unconditionally. Her mother was perhaps the only one she knew who loved her despite her differences, she couldn't imagine how she would've turned out if it weren't for Damp's love, nor did she want to.
Dust shrugged once more. "Understandable though, being a Master Rank requires lots of responsibilities."
"What about your father? You never mentioned him," Berry brought up before remembering a comment Dust once said to the young Budew they had saved a while back. "Oh… you don't know your father, do you?"
"Nope, sadly, like you, I've never met my biological father either, and my mother never talked about him," Dust sighed before shaking his head. "But it seems as though we've gotten off track, Al, you were telling us about your amnesia?"
"Right," Al nodded. "Now where was I?"
"You mentioned Hammer," Dust reminded the Charmeleon.
"Yeah, thanks. So like I was saying, Hammer and Chihiro tried everything to help me remember but no luck. Since then I've always gone by Al." Al explained.
"Okay, but that still doesn't explain why Brody and Grant have to be the ones to watch over you," Dust noted.
"Well funny story, Chihiro thought it would be a great idea to have me, Brody and Grant as a team. She figured that they would at least take care of me and make sure I was safe. What none of us counted on was how destructive I could be. Oh you should've seen the docks, was not expecting that much fire. And well everytime I'm on my own, things just happened to kinda go… chaotic. Kinda like that game of tag. Was the first time I actually played, though I didn't know we weren't supposed to use attacks, I honestly thought that's how the game was meant to be played." Al laughed at recalling that fun chaotic game.
Berry didn't look as amused recalling how chaotic a simple game of tag became, though she did have to admit it did have quite a charm when Chihiro got involved with it. "It was my first time playing tag too. I mean I knew about the game since I've seen other kids playing it before, but it was my first time actually participating in it. It was definitely one to remember."
Then the Goomy became a little more somber. "But… it really is sad that you don't remember your life or who you were before. You might have some friends and family who really miss you and wonder where you are."
Al didn't seem to be bothered by the thought. "Maybe, but it's been a while now, and no one has recognized me so far, and there still hasn't been any luck in recalling any past memories either. And I get it, it's one thing to lose a memory, but another to completely lose your identity. Because I don't know who I am, or what I lost, I can't really feel sad about not knowing anything. What's even more strange, I don't know why, but my body always felt… I don't know…Um… relieved."
Dust had been listening intently the whole time. "Fascinating, now I just wished I've read more books about the Pokemon mind. I've glossed a few times before, but never took the chance to really study it. Perhaps your body had dealt with lots of stress in the past, and now having no memories has given your body a break, so to speak."
"That does seem to be the case," Berry agreed. "I may not know much about memory losses, but I have actually gotten a chance to study and observe how Pokemon's minds worked. I had a lot of… free time to do so back home. The fact your body feels relieved already tells us you were likely strained a lot, both physically and emotionally."
"Huh, haven't thought of it that way. Neat," Al nonchalantly said. "Well, I'm sure in time my memories will come back, but I'm in no rush to get them. I'm pretty happy with the way things are now."
Berry frowned a little. I wonder if maybe those memories are best forgotten if you were always so strained before… and perhaps the reason why you don't remember anything now is because there's nothing here to trigger those lost memories…
The Goomy decided not to voice out these thoughts, however, she wasn't sure if she wanted Al to remember his past life or not. It was sad he didn't remember who he was or those he once cherished, but at the same time, she wondered how hard his life was and if it might be better if it was left forgotten.
"Well, I hope that answers your questions," Al stated. "That's why Brody and Grant have to always be with me, never know when I might accidently break something. But gotta say, thanks for sticking around. It's not that I mind my teammates, I always enjoy training with Grant and Brody's cooking, but there are times when I just want to explore on my own. Or in this case, eat all this food. Normally Brody doesn't allow me to get this much food, so this was the perfect opportunity to try some of the Cafeteria's dishes."
As Al said that, he grabbed what looked to be a piece of fried Wooper, sniffing it before taking a huge bite from it. Berry's eyes widened in shock and disgust when she saw Al eating the piece of a fried Wooper. Berry could tell it was one of her kind, or at least the kind she grew up with.
"Uuuugh… so, so gross…" Berry groaned as she melted a little beside Dust.
Cliff blinked, wondering why her 'mommy' was suddenly melting.
Seeing Berry's reaction towards Al eating meat, Dust decided to bring up what happened yesterday. "I don't see why you are grossed out by meat. You didn't seem bothered with eating it last time."
"What are you talking about? I never ate meat before," Berry said, though she refused to think using Absorb on Splash was the same as 'eating' him. Absorb drains a Pokemon's energy, not consuming them.
"Ah yes, had a feeling you didn't notice. It was the stew you had yesterday, after you had finished it I noticed there were some chunks of beef in them. I wanted to mention it but after what had happened, how upset I made you and how we were having a good time again, I thought it would be best to wait until an appropriate time to tell you." Dust explained. "I did keep a close eye on you though, just in case you had any negative reaction from consuming meat, but so far your body seems to be doing fine...Unless something is wrong. Are you feeling alright? You're looking… a little different."
Berry was now looking pale, and she looked like she was going to throw up.
Al blinked. "What's wrong? Oh, maybe she didn't eat enough meat? Want some of mine?"
"Oh Mew no!" Berry quickly rejected, the top of her body looking a little green, and not the kind of green that was on the big circles on her body.
"Hey, don't knock it till you try it," Al remarked as he held out his fried piece of Wooper, moving it closer and closer to Berry for her to eat.
"No! I was raised by-!" Berry didn't get to finish her sentence, because Al shoved the piece of Wooper into her mouth, since her mouth was quite big, it was easy for the Charmeleon to stuff his whole claw in there.
"See, it's not so bad," Al smiled, not knowing how Berry was feeling.
Dust noticed Berry was looking a lot paler than usual, even when they were in the Phoenix Desert. "Uh-oh…"
FoxyKhai0209: DarkFoxKit: Thank you, I'm glad someone knew the reference to Princess Day being in the Pokemon anime. I know it was a long time ago and in season 1, but it would seem not many people realized Princess Day was from the Pokemon anime, and a part of this world's lore, and not some made up holiday we created. ^^' But yeah, Princess Day is usually a day most males dread, not that I can blame them. I felt bad for Ash and Brock during that episode.
Hehe, the baby Larvitar was something we were discussing during the desert chapter. I thought it'd be cool if they could get a Larvitar, and we decided to go for an egg. It's also a good chance to show how Dust and Berry would react to having a baby Pokemon to take care of.
Star Vigro: Traveling Master: Yup, by pure luck too. If he wasn't so curious about the "rock" he found, we'd never would have seen it later hatch into a Larvitar.
DarkFoxKit: Thank you for the well wishes. :)
Star Libra: Traveling Master: Well, if you remember from the first time Blizza was introduced, she was disappointed at meeting Berry. She was really looking forward to having a rival, so seeing how Berry was in their first encounter had put a damper on things. Then there was the whole sparring match and how she lost and that put a pretty big dent on her pride. Now she wants to see Berry as a rival, but is frustrated by how much confidence Berry would be lacking from time to time.
As for Crimson, well every character has their background. While it doesn't excuse Crimson's actions, he does have his reasons. Respect comes with time, so maybe they will come to respect Dust and Berry, or maybe they will continue treating them how they've been doing so. You'll just have to wait and see.
Cherry Smooch: DarkFoxKit: As of right now, there's planned to be 6 or so team members for Team Night Tide. We may have more in the future, but it's easier to work with less numbers than it is with more. If they have too many team members, we wouldn't be able to show them as characters very much, if at all, in the story.
Rose Snowflake: Dust: A very interesting thought. An item that has the capability to alter a Pokemon's type? I can only think of the limitless possibilities.
Traveling Master: Why do you keep showing up?!
Dust: Hey, they brought up a very interesting subject, I just want to add my own thoughts.
Traveling Master: *Sighs* Just… behave yourself. Anyways, what Dust said is true, that is a very interesting idea and we've already been talking about it. Won't go into further details, but all I can say is thank you for the review. If you wish to share more about your thought, please message either me or DF.
Dust: Also, love the example you used, would wish to see an Eevee like that.
Greatest Guy: Chihiro: Oooh, feel all Goomy inside, I'll have to remember that one~
DarkFoxKit: Ack! Chihiro! Stop popping up here!
Chihiro: Never! Whenever there's a pun, I Absol lutely need to be there!
DarkFoxKit: *Groans* … Anyways! Yes, we haven't forgotten about Shab the Feebas, he'll be coming back soon, don't worry. And for as smart as Dust is, he is pretty clueless when it comes to social cues, which makes it hilarious when he unintentionally insults someone and Berry has to quickly do damage control. Have fun with Animal Crossing.
The Moonfox Collective: DarkFoxKit: Well it is fun to leave the readers hanging and wanting to see a new chapter soon. And yes, Otti did indeed know, and she loved the idea of Berry and Dust's surprised faces when they realized that 'rock' was no rock. XD Too bad Berry and Dust aren't in the same egg group, they are close, but not romantically so. As for the actual parent, let's just say Team Night Tide are likely to see that parent the next time they go back to Phoenix Desert. :3 And you really think a caring Goomy and a well intentioned Absol is going to let the Larvitar grow up like that? If anything, it might become a Tyranitar that is addicted to hugs. X3
Princess Day is not a made up holiday. It's actually based off of a real Holiday in Japan, and I am not going to spell it out here. ^^' Not only that, but Princess Day also comes from the first season of the Pokemon anime, we were basing it off of that. I guess I can see how it would look like a combination of Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, but no, the holiday had nothing to do with those, nor did those holidays crossed our minds. It was just something we wanted to put in after watching that episode in the anime again.
Heh, we love using the Pokedex entries to find out more how a Pokemon would act, especially in the wild. Civilized Pokemon can ignore some of these darker instincts though, or they may even take offense to being seen as such, like with the Cubone. Some of the Pokedex entries may not even apply to some of the civilized Pokemon because of their human-like intelligence. But we'll have to see with Berry later down the road.
I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. We look forward to seeing your theories and whatnot.
ArcherAmpharos: Traveling Master: Truth be told, when this story was in the planning stages, before we even had started writing, the plan was for Team Night Tide to only have 4 teammates. But as we continue to write, new ideas and inspiration always come up, things change, and we adapt to the story.
As for Princes Day, as DF had answered before, it was used in an episode on Pokemon, and it was actually based off a real Holiday in Japan. Honestly I didn't know about it either. DF was the one who told me about it.
Also, concerning the whole Pokemon eating other Pokemon, thank you for understanding. It was a interesting idea when we first talked about it, and it took us some time trying to figure out the best way to incorporate it into the story. We do have other plans related to this topic, but that would involve spoilers.
DarkFoxKit: I will say that you should remember that Pokemon themselves are living creatures that have different diets just like real life animals do. Some of them are carnivores and need to eat meat. It's a part of nature after all. So in Mystery Dungeon, it's far more likely for Pokemon to eat each other than it would be in the main games, where humans can just feed them Pokefood that would have all the nutrients they would need, or be preserved as energy in a Poke Ball that likely keeps them from getting hungry. But that's just my opinion on the matter.
Traveling Master: Heh, and Dust was sure surprised. Just as surprised as you and all the other readers when they found out the "rock" was actually an egg. We have big plans for the Larvitar, ones we hope you and the others will enjoy.
Jewel moonstone: Dust: You think I want to be a dad?! You think I was expecting to be a dad?! I'm too young to be a dad!
DarkFoxKit: I'm actually surprised nobody knew that 'rock' was actually an 'egg'. I thought we described it well enough for readers to suspect that the 'rock' may not have been a rock, but I guess not. ^^'
lonelyboi69: DarkFoxKit: Temporary parents as they would tell you. XP As for if Berry will find out about her parents anytime soon… uh… not really soon, but not super late, at least for one of them anyways. Hope you can survive your suspense until then. XP
Guest #1: Traveling Master: *Reads review* Vegetarian Bellsprout? DF, you ever heard of this before? Cause this is the first time I've heard of this.
DarkFoxKit: I don't recall the Vegetarian Bellsprout on the S.S Anne, but I do remember the chef was naming out random dishes. But considering how there are Grass type Pokemon, as well as literal food Pokemon, I'd imagine not even the vegetarian option is safe from being completely Pokemon free, as Berry noted earlier while in the Sweet Apple Restaurant. XD
Seems most people didn't realize that 'rock' was an egg. I was surprised nobody suspected that, but that made the twist of the 'rock' suddenly hatching all the more shocking then. XD
Lillypad Glow: Traveling Master: Heh, yup, Dust and Berry are now temporary parents. And while it will take time for them to get the hang of raising a child, I'm sure with time they will get used to being "parents."
Star Scorpio: DarkFoxKit: You'll see what they'll do with the baby Larvitar. And don't worry, Cliff isn't usually very naughty. Though she can get to be a bit of a handful at times.
Guest #2: Traveling Master: I'm sure the two Ponyta would never stop reminding Dust about it if they ever found out. Sunny would definitely find it hilarious seeing Dust pull a cart with a funny looking hat.