DarkFoxKit: *Drops to the floor, sweating*
Traveling Master: *Stops and turns around* DF! Come on, that crazy chocoholic fish guy could be coming any second!
DarkFoxKit: We lost him a week ago, T.M… I'm tired because of how strenuous Pokemon Stadium for the Nintendo 64 could be, especially in Round 2 mode.
Traveling Master: Oh, that's right. You were telling me about how challenging it was. Something about how the Charmander was stupidly OP.
DarkFoxKit: Yeah, there was a Trainer in the Petit Cup mode, where you use unevolved Pokemon, except for Ditto and Farfetch'd apparently, and he had a Charmander that was really fast, knew Dig, which was as powerful as Earthquake in gen 1, Fire Blast, and Seismic Toss. Not only that, he also had a Clefairy that knew Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, Psychic, and Body Slam. That Clefairy nearly gave me an aneurysm… but! I did a smart! I predicted his Charmander's Dig when I was using Vulpix, switched out to Dratini when he dug a hole, and Thunder Wave his tail when he came out! He became a sitting fire lizard after that. MWUAHAHAHAHA!
Traveling Master: …... Sounds like you had a…fun time...
DarkFoxKit: WHO ELSE WANTS SOME!?
Dust: Hmm? T.M, is DF alright? She looks a little… enthusiastic?
Traveling Master: *Runs past the Absol while shouting back to him* Run Dust! DF is high on energy! RUUUUUN!
Dust: DF? Do you have any idea what he's talking about?
DarkFoxKit: *Has Mimikyu star eyes* An Absol?~ Time to use my Crystal Team~
Dust: Ahh, that's what he meant. *Dust then turns around and runs after me while screaming* TM, WAIT FOR ME!
DarkFoxKit: WAAAAAAAAAIT! There's no running from a Trainer Battle! Let me faint you fiiiiiirst!
Chapter 21: The Invitation
Grant and Brody were exhausted. They had just finished battling each other.
"Are you two finally done?" Vesper asked.
"Yeah… I think Grant learned his lesson," Brody replied.
"Speak for yourself, you just went off the deep end over nothing," Grant grumbled.
Vesper tossed them both two Oran Berries. "Well eat up and go find Al."
"What?" They both said at the same time.
Vesper sighed. "While you two were busy fighting, Al had already left."
Brody and Grant's eyes open with shock as they look around the dojo, seeing no sign of the Charmeleon. Growling, they both pointed at each other while shouting, "This is all your fault! My fault?! You're the one who's supposed to watch him!"
And with that the two had begun fighting once more, only for Vesper to use Air Slash on both of them, knocking them against the walls.
"You two already spend enough time fighting, now go look for Al before he causes a mess!" Vesper shouted.
"Yes ma'am!" Both Brody and Grant quickly said before they hurried out of the dojo to find the Charmeleon.
"Oh! Last I heard he was going to the cafeteria!" Vesper called out to them.
Al decided to hang out in the cafeteria after Dust and Cupcake had to help clean up the mess he made, as in the mess he got Berry to make after he stuffed the fried Wooper part into her mouth. Cupcake pretty much gave Al the death glare until he promised he would stay until Brody and Grant came to pick him up.
Dust was currently carrying a very sick Goomy on his back, with a concerned baby Larvitar rubbing Berry's back a little. Instinctively, Cliff knew Berry wasn't feeling very good, and wanted to try to comfort her, but she didn't know why Berry didn't feel good.
"Daddy, is mommy sick?" Cliff asked.
"Yes, but not to worry, it's just an upset stomach," Dust knew it was more than that, but decided that it would be best to say it was only stomach problems to Cliff. "She'll just need some time to recover, then she'll be better."
"Okay… hope mommy feels better soon…" Cliff said.
Berry groaned a little. "Sorry… for the mess… in the cafeteria…"
"No need to apologize," Dust replied. "Your reaction was completely understandable, while I may also eat meat, I too would feel uncomfortable if I was eating meat that came from an Absol."
"Let's just… get to our room… I need some… Berry Juice for this…" Berry grumbled.
Dust nodded, picking up the pace a little, despite the extra weight from carrying Cliff. Soon they reached their room, Dust walked by Berry's bed for Cliff to hop off, and for Berry to slither down into. He gave a breath of relief from the extra weight, but then went to collect some Berry Juice. After acquiring some, he turned and held it for Berry.
"Do you want me to hold it for you, or would you prefer to have the Berry juice on your own?" Dust asked.
Berry took the small coconut cup with the Berry Juice inside with her antennae. "I can drink it on my own… thanks."
Berry began to sip up the Berry Juice. While Berry was drinking, Dust remembered the TMs he had bought from the Kecleon shop the other day, and that he hadn't used them yet.
"So this morning may have been a rough start, what with your match with Grant and the whole food incident, but I think I may have something to cheer you up," Dust cheerfully said.
Berry gave Dust a wary look. The Absol only chuckled, seeing that expression many times before.
"Not to worry, I promise you'll like it… Or I think you would, just give me one second to get them," Dust replied before going to his bag, taking out the contents from inside. "I know they're in here, I haven't taken them out since… Ah ha! Here they are!"
Dust grabbed two discs from his bag, one had a silvery shine to it, while the other had a purple glow. He handed the purple disc to Berry for her to examine.
Berry blinked as she looked at the disc. "This is… a Technical Machine?"
"Correct, I purchased these TMs two days ago, cost me about every Poke we had," Dust explained. "Was fortunate that Kecleon had given me that job to earn some of it back though."
Berry grumbled. "Right, you spent all our Poke on these things…"
Dust chuckled sheepishly, hoping that Berry wouldn't hold that against him all the time, especially since he wanted to cheer her up. "Well… nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? Anyways, that TM right there is Sludge Bomb. I recalled how much we struggled against that Snubbull, and Otti had suggested it would be best to learn moves to defend ourselves against Fairy types in the future since we both share a similar weakness to Fairy types."
"I… guess you have a point there. But… how do you know I could learn Sludge Bomb?" Berry asked.
"Call it a hunch, if you may, but after observing your battle style and history, I think it's safe to say that your kind are able to learn this move," Dust explained before giving a sheepish smile. "Plus that was the only Poison type move they had at the time. Worst case scenario, you are unable to learn the move and we'll just have to return it to the Kecleon."
"It might be wise to keep it even if I can't learn it just in case we recruit a team member who can," Berry suggested. Although it might be possible I can learn it… I mean my slime is already toxic, might as well put that to good use.
Berry finished sipping her Berry Juice. Cliff was sleepily watching while leaning against Berry's body, likely finding it comfortable instead of gross like most Pokemon. Berry looked at Cliff for a moment.
"Make sure she eats a Pecha Berry," Berry said to Dust. "The last thing I want to do is poison this little baby."
Dust nodded. "I'll make sure she eats some when she wakes up. For now, go ahead, try learning the move."
Berry frowned a little. "Um… Dust… I grew up in a rural place… I don't know how to use a TM."
"Right, my mistake. Hmm, how best to explain TMs?" Dust asked himself as he thought over his question, before coming up with an idea. "So I've done some research on TMs in the past, but you see, TMs are something that's been a mystery for everyone for a long time. Perhaps the humans had the secrets behind TMs, but seeing as they are no longer here, there's been hardly any known research about them. But I do recall reading a book called The Electric Tale of Pikachu, depicted a human using some strange, box-like device having these 'headphones' attached to the Pokemon itself. But after reading it, I found it seemed too complicated and confusing for one to use a TM. On the contrary, it's actually very simple, just place it on your forehead and hold until the information is transferred to your mind."
"Really? It's that simple?" Berry asked, sounding a little unsure.
"I know, I didn't believe it myself when my mother tried explaining it to me the first time," Dust noted. "It's what led me to try researching TMs myself, but not much luck. If the disc doesn't dissolve after a few seconds of holding it against your head, then that usually means you can't learn the move."
"Okay," Berry said before she picked up the disc with her antennae, or tried to.
The Goomy couldn't quite get a good grip on the sleek disc, and it kept slipping out of her antennae. Berry grumbled in annoyance. "Clearly it wasn't designed for all Pokemon to be able to use on themselves!"
"Right, I supposed others would need some assistance. Here, I can hold it for you," Dust offered as he grabbed the disc and held it against Berry's forehead. "Again, should only take a couple seconds, you might feel a slight tingle since this is your first time."
Berry braced herself as Dust held the disc on her head. After 2 seconds went by, Berry began to wonder if maybe she couldn't learn Sludge Bomb, but then suddenly, she had an image in her head on how to use the move. She felt like she used the move several times before. She just knew how to do it like it was normal. Then suddenly the disc crumbled into dust.
"Wonderful!" Dust exclaimed. "Was starting to have doubts myself, but in the end, you learned Sludge Bomb!"
Berry blinked, and blinked again. "Whoa… that was so weird. I know I never used Sludge Bomb before, yet I feel like I've used it my entire life somehow."
"Correct you are, that's how I felt when I first learned Ice Beam," Dust agreed. "Though I suggest at least practicing with the move first, I've made that mistake of using a move right after learning it before. While your mind knows how to use the move, your body has no experience with it. I ended up freezing a good chunk of the guild when I first used my Ice Beam."
Berry sweatdropped. "That's… good to know then… I guess maybe we should try training at the Dojo for a bit since we won't be going out on missions today."
"Agreed. Just give me one second to learn my move," Dust then grabbed the silver disc and held it against his forehead. After a few seconds the TM dissolved into nothing. "And done. I look forward to testing out this move now."
Berry looked over at the Larvitar that was still leaning on her body. "What should we do with Cliff in the meantime?"
"Hmm… I doubt she would stay asleep for long," Dust recalled how Cliff had woken up to climb on his bed to sleep with him. "We could always leave her with Carrie, she did offer to watch over her if we were busy. Or maybe we can just take her with us to the Dojo."
"Might be best to take her with us. I don't think Cliff would be too happy to wake up and not see us anywhere," Berry stated.
Then there was a knock on their door.
"Are you expecting someone?" Dust asked, for which Berry shook her head. "Hmm, maybe it's Carrie wanting to check on Cliff."
Dust went to the door, expecting to see Carrie on the other side. But when he opened it, he was greeted with green Dragon Pokemon that was wearing a satchel across its shoulders, a light blue scarf around the neck and a type of brown hat on top of its head. Seeing that the door was opened, the Flygon took off its hat before greeting Dust.
"Hello, by chance are you Dust Absol?" The Flygon asked.
Dust didn't reply at first, still shocked to be seeing a fully evolved desert dragon standing before him. He realized he had been staring for a couple seconds. "Sorry about that. Uh… Yes, I'm Dust… Can I help you?"
"You can call me Gale, I am a mailmon of the Unity Guild. You probably haven't had a chance to see me much though since I spend a lot of time at the Post Office, delivering tons of mails and packages to Pokemon in the region," Gale introduced.
"A Flygon working as a mailmon? I thought only Pelliper handles those jobs?" Dust asked.
Gale chuckled a bit at the questions. "Well when the Post Office was first made, it was only Pelliper that handled deliveries. But as time passed on, they realized that there were other Pokemon who were more suited for delivering mail and packages in certain areas. I'm usually in charge of going across the desert to deliver any mail needed over there."
Dust was amazed, he never thought that the Post office would have a Flygon as a mailmon. It made him wonder what kind of other Pokemon they had working there. But then a thought crossed his mind.
Gale… Where have I heard that name before? Dust thought to himself, not realizing he had been staring at the Flygon in silence again.
Gale cleared his throat, getting Dust's attention. "I should apologize. It's easy for me to forget the newer members of Unity Guild aren't used to seeing fully evolved Dragon types. I came to deliver an envelope that was addressed to you, well, Team Night Tide specifically."
Berry was looking over, surprised to see a fully evolved Dragon at the guild herself other than Chihiro. She was always in awe whenever she saw a fully evolved Dragon Pokemon. Dust looked back at Berry for a moment, and seeing Cliff still sleeping beside her. That was when Dust remembered where he had heard Gale's name before.
"Wait! That's right, you're Gale!" Dust exclaimed.
"Uh…yeah… I just introduced myself only a minute a go," Gale wasn't sure if Dust was trying to be funny or not.
"No, not that!" Dust shook his head. "You're the one that shiny Trapinch told us about. What was her name again? Jullie? No… Jasper?... No. I know it started with a J…"
"You guys met Jade?" Gale asked, shocked as soon as Dust had mentioned a shiny Trapinch. "She was the only shiny Trapinch I've met in my life."
"Yeah, her!" Dust smiled. "She told us you were the one who taught her how to be civilized. I was shocked that she could speak our language so fluently."
"Ah yes," Gale gave a look of reminiscing. "That was quite a few years ago. I was a Vibrava back then, I was a part of Team Dragon Knights at the time. I was on a solo mission, and I found an unconscious shiny Trapinch. I took her with me in hopes of healing her. She became curious about me and my language and 'strange way of living'. I studied the ancient wild Pokemon language before I met her, so I was able to understand a little bit of what she was saying to me. I decided to teach her our culture and language. I guess a part of me was hoping she'd join the team, it would've been nice to have a fellow Vibrava on the team. But despite how quickly she was able to learn… I had to take her back to her home. Some… things happened, and… I couldn't let Jade stay, so… we hadn't seen each other since."
"That does explain how she was able to speak so clearly. Though that didn't really do us much favor when we first met her," Dust slightly chuckled. "She wouldn't let us pass unless we could've defeated her in battle. She said that in the wild, only the strong respect the strong, or something like that."
Gale gave a hearty laugh. "Yup, that does sound like her. Wild Pokemon live simple yet brutal lives."
"On another important note, you were part of the Dragon Knights?!" Dust asked loudly. "I was impressed when Al had shared with us his meeting of Hammer, but I never expected to meet a former member within the same day!"
Gale took a step closer, examining Dust. "Hmm, mismatched eyes, very energetic...You're Eclipse's kid, aren't you?"
Dust was speechless. Besides Chihiro, Carrie, and now Berry, he wasn't expecting anyone else outside his old guild to know about him and his mother.
"You're probably wondering how I know," Gale chuckled a bit. "My team had the opportunity to work with your mother at one time. Though we had just become Master Rank, she was only there to view our skills. She'd mentioned her son to us, but never thought I would meet a fellow guild member who was also the son of Eclipse."
"My mother had only mentioned the Dragon Knights being Master Rank, but she never told me she actually met with your team," Dust noted. "Amazing how small the world can be sometimes."
"Ain't that the truth," Gale smiled before remembering why he was there in the first place. "Right, looks like we all got a little distracted, I still have a letter to deliver to you two."
Gale then reached inside his satchel and pulled out an envelope. While the envelope was as simple as could be, the seal itself caught Dust's attention. The red wax seal had an intricate design, it looked somewhat like a building of some sort. If Dust had to guess, it looked similar to a mansion. He used his claw to open the envelope to see some kind of letter and a map leading somewhere inside.
Dust decided to read the letter out loud so Berry could hear it too. "'Greetings, Dust Absol, we formally invite you and your team to the Strange Mansion. We included a map that will lead you to the Strange Mansion. Reputation of you and your team has reached our ears and we would love to meet with you and your teammates. Note that we are nocturnal Pokemon, so you will have to come around 8 PM to 4AM. That is the time window to when we will be awake to greet you. We look forward to meeting with Team Night Tide~'"
Dust read the invitation once more, a bit confused from the first time. "Strange Mansion? Gale, have you heard of a place like that?"
"I haven't been there myself, but I think it was an old mansion that humans used to live in. Some Pokemon must've gotten together to reconstruct it," Gale answered.
"Humans, you say?" Dust was interested the moment Gale had mentioned humans. "Well I think it would be rude not to go, especially after receiving such a formal invitation."
"Are you planning to go tonight then?" Gale asked. "Remember, they said they are nocturnal, so if you want to go, you should go close to 8 PM."
"Perhaps we should wait until tomorrow night," Berry spoke up, which surprised Gale as he didn't notice the Goomy or Larvitar. "We should at least spend one full day with Cliff before we go darting off somewhere in the middle of the night."
"Right, and we still have the new moves we had just learned, we can spend our time training before going," Dust agreed.
"Then I wish you the best of luck," Gale said before he gave a small bow to Berry. "I hope you do well, young Dragon."
Before Berry could even react, Gale flew away. "What!?"
Cliff woke up from Berry's reaction, giving a big yawn. "Mommy?"
"Ah, s-sorry, Cliff, did I wake you?" Berry asked, trying not to freak out in front of the baby Larvitar.
"Is Mommy better now?" Cliff asked before yawning once more.
"Yes, Mommy is better now, she was just surprised by something," Berry answered before she looked at Dust. "Why would that Flygon call me a Dragon type? Surely he would be able to tell I'm not a Dragon type, right?"
Dust had to think hard for a moment. Part of him wanted to bring up the whole Dragon Type once more, but lately he's been pushing it aside, recalling Otti's advice. "... Don't know, maybe... next time we see him you can ask him yourself?"
Berry sighed a little, looking doubtful. "... Yeah… I guess."
Cliff gave a curious look to Berry and Dust. Berry looked back at Cliff for a moment.
"Hey… want to meet with some new friends?" Berry asked.
Chihiro was grinning as she watched Phantom and Spooks looking at the newborn Larvitar with curiosity.
"You actually hatched a child," Spooks said in almost disbelief.
"And you said you and Dust wouldn't be compatible~" Phantom smirked.
"What did you just say?" Dust wasn't sure if he heard the Dreepy correctly.
Berry was blushing and she groaned. "I didn't lay the Larvitar's egg, alright!? Dust just found her egg and brought it home thinking it was a rock!"
Dust wasn't quite sure what they were talking about, something he might bring up later. "Right, as Berry said, I came across the egg."
"It always seems something interesting happens every week because of you two," Chihiro chuckled.
Dust nodded. "Especially on Fridays, some time between the afternoon and evening."
"What?" Spooks asked.
"Oh, nothing," Dust winked at the readers.
Cliff was looking at the two Dreepy curiously, she wasn't sure what to make of them. On the other hand, Phantom and Spooks were excited to meet a potential new friend.
"Hi!" Phantom greeted first. "I'm Phantom, and this is my brother Spooks."
"Hey!" Spooks smiled while waving.
"What's your name?" Phantom asked
Cliff blinked as she tilted her head.
"She hasn't quite learned how to talk much yet," Berry spoke up. "But her name is Cliff, she still hasn't gotten used to her name yet though."
"Don't worry, we'll be sure to help her improve on her speech whenever you decide to leave her in my or Carrie's care. Young Pokemon can learn how to speak rather quickly, especially if their eggs were laid in the wild, their brains naturally can absorb new information faster than normal hatched civilized Pokemon," Chirhio assured. "They also tend to mature faster due to having to fend for themselves in the wild if their parents believe their child should grow on their own. The Larvitar line is one such Pokemon to do that."
"Interesting, the wild Pokemon never cease to amaze me," Dust noted. "And if it's not too much trouble, we were hoping Cliff could stay with either you or Carrie tomorrow night. Gale had given us an invitation, and it said that the Pokemon were nocturnal."
"I see… It looks like you would be going on your first night mission then," Chihiro noted with interest. "An invitation, huh? That's rare, you must've gotten someone's attention. Those are usually classified as 'special missions'. Depending on the client, you could get a high amount of rank points once you complete the special mission."
Cliff looked at Phantom and Spooks as they flew around her, making her smile in excitement. She started to hop around, wanting to fly with them too. Dust couldn't help but smile at the scene, recalling how he too had dreamt of flying through the skies. But that was years ago, in time Cliff would come to understand that it would not be possible, but for now, Dust kept on smiling as he saw Cliff play along with Phantom and Spooks.
Drawing his attention back to what Chihiro had just said, Dust had a question that popped in his head. "High amount of rank points? Would you say enough to possibly raise our ranks to Gold?"
Chihiro laughed out loud before answering. "No, even special missions like these wouldn't have enough rank points to make a Normal Rank Crusader jump to Gold Rank, but I never tire of your optimism. But remember what I said before, the tournament matters more than the rank points in the Unity Guild, you only need enough to participate as your current rank. Depending on how well you do, you could potentially get a Gold Rank. It's extremely unusual and rarer than shiny Pokemon, but it is possible."
Dust chuckled a bit, already had a feeling that would be the case. "I figured, but thought I still ask, just in case."
"Either way, if I am unable to due to certain reasons, I'm sure Carrie would be able to watch over Cliff. But do make sure to ask her beforehand, you know how she can be when she's surprised," Chihiro suggested while chuckling a bit.
"We'll be sure to do that," Berry answered. "We just figured it would be nice for Cliff to meet with some new friends closer to her age first. See how well she gets along with them first."
"And I'm sure Chloe would love meeting Cliff as well," Chihiro agreed. "Is there anything else I can do for you two then?"
"Do you have that list Carrie mentioned on how to take care of a Larvitar?" Berry asked. "We never got it."
"Ah yes, Carrie had a feeling you two would come here," Chihiro said as she reached under her desk, grabbing a piece of paper. "And while a list does help, I'm sure it shouldn't take you two long to get used to being parents."
Dust frowned, he didn't have plans on being an actual parent, he felt he was far too young for that.
"I just hope we'll be able to raise Cliff alright," Berry said a little worriedly.
"Right," Dust awkwardly chuckled. "A child's youth are important for growing and learning. Again, thank you Chihiro for the list."
"Think nothing of it," Chihiro smiled. "Now why don't you two take your adorable Larvitar around the guild and town? Let her see the place she was born in, and maybe even let her enjoy the top of a cliff~"
Spooks laughed while Phantom just groaned. Dust and Berry said their goodbyes as they exited Chihiro's office, with Cliff and Berry riding on top of his back.
"Um, Dust, perhaps you should just let me slither beside you? I don't think this is very comfortable for you," Berry suggested, seeing how tired Dust looked.
Dust stopped, taking a moment to breath. "While I appreciate the offer, I think I would be doing more work if you slithered on your own. I'm not gonna leave you behind, not again. That means I would be carrying Cliff for a longer duration then I'd normally would while carrying you both."
"Uh… okay… perhaps we should take some Oran Berries with us, I rather you didn't tire yourself out before we even get to the Dojo," Berry said.
Dust nodded as he continued on. "That would be wise."
For the duration of the morning and afternoon, Dust went around the guild, showing Cliff the other rooms and sights. It was odd, because not that long ago, Phantom was showing them around the guild. They managed to get some Oran Berries from the gardener Bellossom to keep Dust energetic and healthy. They visited Shab, whom Kura showed was in one of the tanks for the fish Pokemon. Shab looked really happy to see Berry again, and Berry wondered if Shab had developed some kind of addiction to her goo somehow.
After they looked around the guild, Dust took them out to White Leaf Town. Their first stop was Carrie's warehouse, Dust and Berry wanted Cliff to meet with Chloe.
Upon seeing them arrive, Carrie couldn't help but smile at seeing Dust carrying both Berry and Cliff. "It's good to see you. Chloe has been waiting to meet Cliff the moment I told her about what happened. How is she doing so far?"
"She's been doing great so far. She seems to love the tour we've been giving her around the guild," Berry answered.
Carrie then noticed Dust and how he was heavily breathing. "And how are you doing, Dust?"
"Me? Oh, I'm doing… fine," Dust tireless said. "Say, can Cliff meet Chloe now? She had a great time meeting Spooks and Phantom and after we told her about Chloe, she was excited to meet her too."
"And Dust could use a break…" Berry said in concern.
"Sure thing. Chloe, there's a new friend for you to meet!" Carrie called.
The baby Kangaskhan ran up towards them from the back. "Really? Is it the Larvitar?"
Dust laid down to let Berry and Cliff slide off of him. He was relieved when the weight on his back was gone. Cliff gave Chloe a curious look. Berry gave Cliff a gentle push.
"Go on, say hello, Cliff," Berry encouraged.
Cliff was still a bit nervous, but she gave a little wave to Chloe. "...Hello."
"Hi! I'm Chloe! My mom told me about you and I've been wanting to meet you ever since!" Chloe cheerfully exclaimed. "Wanna play?!"
Cliff blinked, still looking a little shy. "Play…?"
"Yeah, you know, like have fun with each other." Chloe smiled. "You've met with Phantom and Spooks, right? They're great friends, but it can get unfair and annoying to play with them sometimes because they can fly and go through walls and stuff."
Cliff tilted her head, not quite understanding everything Chloe was saying, but she seemed to understand enough to nod her head. "Play with you… easier?"
Chloe nodded excitedly. "Exactly! Come, let's go play!"
Chloe then took Cliff's stubby arms and lead her into Carrie's store to show her inside and to also play. Cliff happily followed, starting to grow excited after meeting Chloe.
"She may have only hatched yesterday, but I can already see how far she's grown," Carrie acknowledged. "Did you two come here to get the list for Cliff?"
"No, we already had gotten it from Chihiro," Dust explained.
"That's good, glad I made an extra copy," Carrie noted. "But just letting you know, that is just a basic list to help care for Larvitar. Think of it as a guideline. You'll find as time goes on, children will require certain needs and you'll have to adjust how you've been raising them. But by then, I'm sure you two will have gotten used to caring for Cliff. As long as you are patient and continue to nurture them with love and care, they will grow into strong, healthy Pokemon."
"We'll try our best, Carrie," Berry promised. "I want Cliff to be able to grow up in a safe and friendly environment." Maybe then she'll turn out less messed up than Dust and I are.
Dust looked at Berry, his mind buzzing with questions. "Berry, I noticed ever since Cliff has hatched, you hardly seemed bothered by being called Mommy by her, and you've shown much maturity compared to when Cliff wasn't here before. When we first met I figured we were at least the same age, but now I wonder, how old are you exactly? Have you had experience with children before?"
Berry blinked before shaking her head. "Other than taking care of Spooks, Phantom, and Chloe, not at all. And I'm 16 years old."
"16?!" Dust was taken back. "Sorry, I just thought you were at least my age, or a lot older, considering how mature you act."
Berry tilted her head before frowning. "Did you think I was an adult or something? Besides, Cliff imprinted on us, it's only natural she would think of us as 'mommy' and 'daddy'. I wasn't going to deny her that."
"But I'm only 18!" Dust exclaimed.
"Will you relax? Think of this like a… a school project. We're assigned together to take care of a child until they mature. So don't worry, you're not an actual father or anything, you're just standing in as one for the baby currently," Berry suggested.
"Hmm, last time I was part of a school project, it involved growing plants. Though I tried coming up with a method to speed up the process… Which resulted in all the other plants being burned…" Dust reminisced over that memory. "But I see your point, a child does need parental figures to help them grow and learn. I just was overly shocked by your age and maturity, that's all."
Carrie gave Dust and Berry a curious look. "I do have to admit, for a 16 year old civilized Pokemon, you do seem pretty mature for your age. You're still technically a child by our society standards. It could just be how you grew up, but it is a little unusual. Civilized Pokemon usually don't fully mature until they reach 18. And even then they may not always be mature."
Carrie looked at the 18 year old Absol for a moment.
Berry sighed. "I just think it was how I grew up, everyone is different, so everyone could mature differently too."
"That's true too," Carrie chuckled. "I'll be sure to get some more soil and berries for Cliff to eat. Larvitar are supposed to eat mountains of soil when they're born, so we want to make sure Cliff doesn't get malnourished. The berries are there to help keep her body nice and healthy without needing to eat so much at a time."
"Fascinating," Dust noted. "Tell me, where did you learn all this stuff?"
"Perks of being a mother is that you tend to meet other mothers as they raise their children too," Carrie explained. "I met a Tyranitar once and she shared with me what she does in order to care for her child."
Despite Dust having spent most of his life reading books from a library, learning so much from reading and researching, Dust had now come to realize how little he actually knew. Maybe after I gain Gold Rank and return home, I might do some more exploring instead of just staying in the library.
By the time Dust and Berry were able to show Cliff around White Leaf Town, the sun was already setting. Dust began to make his way back to the guild.
"Would you like to go to the Dojo or are you too tired after the tour to do any training?" Berry asked Dust.
Dust had wanted to do some training today to practice their new moves, but after carrying Cliff all day, he's body was too exhausted to do any sort of training. "Let's go tomorrow, I don't think my body could handle any training after carrying Cliff for a long time."
"Heh, yeah… I figured as much," The Goomy agreed. "Maybe we should teach Cliff how to walk a little tomorrow."
Cliff was leaning in on Berry's bed, already falling asleep. She was pretty tired after today as well.
"Makes me wonder how she climbed out and into my bed last night," Dust wondered, recalling what Cliff did the previous night.
"Maybe she crawled? Or she can at least stumble a little," Berry noted. "She did try to walk towards me yesterday at the cafetera."
"I'm sure she'll get the hang of walking on her own soon. Don't think carrying this much weight is good for my back," Dust chuckled a bit. "I'm just looking forward to finally using our new moves tomorrow. I'm sure they will help us a lot in the upcoming tournament."
"Yeah. I'll admit, I'm a bit nervous about the tournament," Berry said as Dust walked into their room. "I mean fighting wild Pokemon in dungeons is one thing, but to fight against other teams in front of other important Pokemon? That's nerve wracking."
"I know what you mean. I felt the same way when I had to fight Jade, then later Brody," Dust agreed, recalling how he felt during those times. "But I'm sure with enough training, we should be able to handle ourselves in the future. And hopefully our performance during the tournament might convince Chihiro to grant us Gold Rank."
Dust was happy to lay down on the bed while Berry nudged Cliff to wake her up a bit. Cliff rubbed her eyes before she slid down from Dust's back. Berry slithered down as well.
"Perhaps she can sleep with you again tonight? I don't think she likes to sleep on her own yet," Berry suggested as she looked at Dust. "And… I'm also a bit curious about something. Why do you want Gold Rank so much? I mean yeah it's a really good, alluring rank to have, especially early on in our Crusading career, but what's the hurry? I'm sure we'll get there eventually."
Dust was not expecting to be asked that. "Why, you ask. Hmm… It's so that I could return home."
Cliff stumbled over to Dust's side, and snuggled up into his fur.
"Return home?" Berry blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Well there's a reason why I'm here in the Unity Guild. It wasn't by choice, but more as a punishment," Dust explained, though feeling a bit uncomfortable with sharing. But he trusted Berry, and was fine with telling her. "Before, the only punishments I've ever received were from my mother, but I guess at some point the Guild itself couldn't handle me anymore. So I was essentially kicked out of my old guild, and the only way I could return is if I obtain a Gold Rank within a year. If I can't, I can never return. And while it's not a good excuse, it is the reason why I acted so poorly during our first mission. I was so focused on gaining Gold Rank that I ended up putting you in danger. I know it's been a little over a month since we've joined, but I still wish to return home."
"Oh, I see…" Berry frowned. "I… suppose you would rather go back to the Guild you came from since you didn't join the Unity Guild by choice. But… is that what you really want?"
Dust nodded, until he noticed Berry frowning. "Don't take it the wrong way, I actually appreciate my time here. I've learned quite a lot, more in fact compared to when I studied in the library. I was even thinking that when I returned home I would do more exploring, I'd even come visit Unity Guild from time to time. It's just… I grew up there, and suddenly it was taken all away. Can you imagine being forced to leave your home with a chance to never return?"
"I'm not sure if I want to return home, Dust," Berry sighed.
It was then Dust remembered that Berry left her home because she didn't want to live there anymore, and wanted to become a Crusader to be a Pokemon others could respect.
"From what you told me, you… didn't have a lot of friends at your old guild either, so… I don't know, I guess I was kind of hoping that maybe you'd prefer to stay here instead," Berry continued. "If you really want to go back to your old guild though, I won't stop you."
Dust felt actually bad for making Berry feel that way, so he tried to lighten the mood. "Don't forget, I still have to obtain Gold Rank first in order to go back. I only have a year, and as far as I know, only my mother has been able to achieve such a feat. And I'm nothing like her, so who knows what will happen in the future."
"Yeah…" Berry then gave a small smile. "Maybe you'll change your mind then."
Berry slithered over to the water pot before jumping into it. Even though Cliff preferred to sleep with Dust, Berry didn't want Cliff to sleep with her due to her toxic slime.
Dust had said nothing more, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He knew that he wanted to return home, that had always been his desire. But since mentioning why he was here in the first place, he felt conflicted. He'd only thought about himself, never thinking how it would affect Berry. He tried thinking of any possible solutions, some being where Berry could come with him, but his body was too exhausted for him to stay up any longer. He figured when it was time for him to finally return home, he would think of a perfect solution for them all.
Greatest Guy: DarkFoxKit: Well, all jokes aside, nah, it's not cannibalism for Berry to eat berries, or other Wooper. XP
Chihiro: *Is writing down the Cliff pun* This is just gold material here~
Jewel moonstone: Traveling Master: Honestly I don't think anyone is ever ready to be a dad. It happens when it happens. So I'm sure with time Dust will get used to Cliff calling him Daddy.
DarkFoxKit: Don't worry, Berry didn't go berserk on Al, though she definitely didn't appreciate it.
FoxyKhai0209: Traveling Master: Yeah, they are always a fun, interesting group. Al likes to poke fun at Brody from time to time, even if it means getting a bruise from the Lucario. Fun little fact, Team Destruct was the first team I ever created, so their chemistry somehow works off each other.
DarkFoxKit: Berry can tell when a draconic Pokemon (Pokemon that are Dragon types, and Pokemon that aren't technically Dragon types, but have traits of them like Gyarados and Charizard) is male or female due to being a Dragon type herself. That was how she was able to tell the wild Goodra she encountered was female.
Sapphire Flower: DarkFoxKit: Thank you, really happy to see you on board with this. :D
Star Sagittarius: Traveling Master: Yup, and all because Dust didn't realize he had brought an egg when he thought it was a rock. Also, the reason why Grant and Brody fought is because Brody wasn't happy that Berry lost. Especially since it was due to his teammate, so similar to how he hit Al, Brody did the same to Grant. And Grant is always looking for a fight, and he can also be short tempered, so after getting hit by Brody, he retaliated and punched him back. Which caused the two to fight each other. You'd be surprised by how often this happens.
In fact, if Al wasn't on the team, Grant and Brody wouldn't really be working with each other, since the two tend to butt heads a lot. Al is kinda like the glue that holds the team together.
Lunar Candy: DarkFoxKit: Don't worry, we definitely have plans for Shab to return, and he will return soon, after a few more story missions.
Star Capricorn: Traveling Master: Had a feeling this question would be asked. So gonna just say this now, Al isn't, and wasn't a human. While the game normally does the whole, "Human turned Pokemon with no memory," in this story, Al just has amnesia. As for why he lost his memories, sorry, that is something you'll have to wait until later in the future. But I will give you this fun little fact. Al was actually my very first character I ever made, back when I first joined FanFiction. So it's nice to finally be able to show him to you all.
The Moonfox Collective: DarkFoxKit: Ah, that's what you meant. Well, Tyranitar don't seem to be the type to just let their child grow up on their own, considering the anime. Tyranitar seems to obviously care for its young. Though it wouldn't surprise me if some Tyranitar rather have their child grow up on their own. It would be more interesting to have an angry parent going after Team Night Tide, thinking they stole their baby, which they kinda did to be fair.
Dust: Not my fault! I thought it was a rock!
DarkFoxKit: A rock that perfectly oval shaped? You should've at least thought something was unusual about it. But anyways… As for Cliff's name, T.M and I actually had trouble trying to come up with a name for the Larvitar. I usually liked naming my Larvitar in game Godzilla, but in context of this story, that name wouldn't have made any sense. We didn't want to go for something stupid like 'Rocky' or 'Dirt', but we did want something to fit with Larvitar and its evolutionary line. When I was playing Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX, the name came to me, because of the Rescue Team Camp being a big cliff, that was when I decided on the name 'Cliff' for the Larvitar. Also yeah, Mama Carrie is awesome. XD
Traveling Master: So no need to worry about Crimson, he wasn't there to hear it. And like Al said, he's the reason why Team Destruct is called that.
Chihiro: Destruct'd! Why didn't I think of that. I gotta save that for later!
Traveling Master: Right...Anyways, about your theory, that is actually a very cool theory. And an interesting thing about your theory is that it was pretty close to how Al's background was originally supposed to be, way before me and DF started this story. I was still working out his story, and your theory was very close to it. But that was a while back, things changed, and well…me and DF have other plans concerning Al and his past.
And thanks for the kind words, though I think having a normal life is far more difficult than my current job. Luckily I'm getting the hang of my new work schedule, and turns out that I'll be having more time to be able to write with DF. So that's a bonus too.
ArcherAmpharos: DarkFoxKit: We might have a few mishaps here or there, but we're not going to focus much on Berry and Dust taking care of a baby Larvitar. We might do that as a side story or something later, we'd like to stay focus on the main story.
As for Al, as T.M said to another reviewer, Al isn't, and wasn't, a human. His amnesia has nothing to do with him being human. So just a heads up on that.
Guest: DarkFoxKit: Who could say? Otti is one odd Ditto. XP Perhaps Otti just likes to screw with Dust. Yeah, Berry really got the short end of the stick there. She really wasn't too happy to learn about what she ate.
Lonelyboi69: Traveling Master: We were hoping to shoot for that when writing about Cliff. Glad you find her cute. And while Al didn't mean any harm...Yeah...this is a pretty big OOF for him.