"So, this isn't the first time you guys did something like this?"

Rio glanced at Blue as the team walked downstream. The sun shone through the treeline, glinting off the clear water. The Bidoof had been more quiet than usual as the trip, and Rio could feel some hesitation in his Aura. Something was bothering him.

"Breaking stuff?" Scales asked. "Nope. That happens a lot around us."

"Is that the real reason you guys moved out here?"

Rio winced at that. He found himself reflecting on their first job, tracking down a thief. The Frogadier had been plaguing that small town for months, taking anything that wasn't nailed down. They were so desperate they decided to trust a brand team that was passing through.

They took it of course. For all the frogs sneaking he couldn't hide his Aura, and the three of them cornered him easily. The only problem was that they had cornered him in the middle of town, and he didn't go down without a fight.

After all was said and done they had put a sizable hole in the side of the town hall, and somehow started a fire next to it, nearly burning the rest of town hall down. They didn't get paid because of that, but it did go to their team rank.

"It may have been a part of it…" Rio said. "But what happened at the library wasn't even close to the worst."

"Arceus Almighty, the ship," Pana groaned, burying her face in her palm.

"That one wasn't us!" Rio defended.

"We didn't make it better. In fact, Scales made the hole bigger!"

"Hey," Scales said, jumping in. "I only made it a little bigger."

"And then you SPLIT THE THING IN HALF!"

"It was already sinking!"

Rio could feel Blue's horror grow, but it was soon overshadowed by pure curiosity.

"How?" the Bidoof asked, turning to the dragon.

"I dunno, just put my hand through it and we were swimming." Scales said casually. "Had to lug everyone to shore, then we ran like hell."

"But you said that wasn't your fault?"

"Captain didn't think so," Rio said. "Said we had to pay him back every cent the ship was worth."

"So you just ran?"

"After Pana knocked him out."

"YOU DID WHAT?" Blue turned to Pana, who was surprised by his sudden outburst. She stumbled back a few steps, her usually calm demeanor shattered by the Bidoof. Rio was impressed, it took a lot for that to happen. "I thought you were the rational one!"

"We're not made of money," Pana explained, quickly regaining her composure. "That was... easier."

"Assault was easier?"

"Justified assault, yes."

"After you helped break his ship?"

"Look, we'll probably never meet him again," Rio said, coming to his teammates' rescue. "Just stay away from Port Topaz."

"You seriously got banned from a major port city?" Blue said, dismay obvious in his voice and Aura.

"Not exactly banned, and they never got our names…"

"But-"

"Oh look, the sun's going down!" Rio said, pointing at the sky, desperate to change the subject. The sun was indeed setting, and they had just reached a grassy clearing. Perfect to set up camp for the night. "I'll get some firewood! Wanna come with Pana?"

"Uh, sure-"

"Great!"

With that, he tossed the bag of supplies to Scales, who caught it without looking, grabbed Pana's arm, and dragged her into the forest before the rest of the team could argue.

…

Blue watched as Scales dug out the fire pit. The Hakamo-o used his claws to rip into the earth, tearing chunks out of the earth. He just threw what he was done with behind him, Not caring what was there.

Unfortunately, Blue was there. He had moved, of course, but by then he had already taken several clawfulls of dirt right in the face. Scales turned towards him as he finished, grinning. Blue only stated back, dirt still clear. The dragons smiled faded.

"Sorry," he said. Blue shook it off as he sat down to wait for the others to get back.

A thought crossed the Bidoof's mind. The other two liked to keep at least some things to themselves, Pana especially. Scales seemed to be much more forthcoming with information. Maybe he could get some more of their history out of him?

"It's fine," Blue told the dragon. "I'm used to it."

"Alright, cool."

"Yup." They were silent for a bit, and Scales didn't seem too uncomfortable. It was now or never. Or, more realistically, weeks later when he mustered up the nerve to ask again.

"So, how long have you known them?"

"Hm? Oh, Pana and Rio? They're family! My brother and sister!"

Blue blinked at that. Once, twice, three times. He could see several problems with that statement right off the bat.

"How?" Blue asked after a bit, still confused.

"Adoption."

Blue felt stupid for not even considering. It was common enough."Oh, I see. That makes more sense."

"Yeah. Mom and Dad took me and Pana in, and then Rio washed up a few years later."

"Washed up?"

The grin growing on Scales's face vanished at that. "I'll let Rio tell you about that. He gets a little touchy about it."

"Does it have something to do with that scar?"

Scales winced at that. "Can't hide anything from you, huh? When did you even see that?"

"Before the Dungeon. His fur was sticking up."

"Don't bring it up." He said, voice cracking a bit. "It wasn't pretty…"

A connection had already formed in Blue's mind. Rio's strange appearance, his adoption, the injury, the only thing missing was the area he came from. The Bidoof hoped it wasn't what he thought.

That he was thrown away.

Blue pushed the thought aside. The odds of him coming from that island were astronomical! Besides, hybrids were thrown away as soon as they showed signs of another species over there! Rio seemed to be too old for that, based on what Scales told him. Hybrids usually get those out of the gate or during early infancy. Still, it was probably for the best that they never visit the Isle of Evolution. He didn't care how many bandits Rio could take out, an entire cult gunning for him would be too much.

"Alright," Blue continued out loud. "Sorry if I crossed a line…"

"Don't worry about it!" The Hakamo-o's grin returned full force. "Probably should get to know us better anyway. What about yours?"

"My what?"
"Your family?"

"Oh!" Blue said, surprised he'd even ask.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing. No one's ever cared to ask. Kind of a weird feeling."

"Seriously? Weird."

This was the first time since he moved out here that anyone showed the slightest interest in Blue's life. Not even Mr. Thesus had shown that much. It was a weird feeling, someone asking him a personal question. Not unpleasant, just strange.

"Well, I have a mother and four siblings back in Redwood."

"Where's that?"

"A little north of here, further inland. This stone-" He held out his front leg, stone still shoved inside the bracelet. "It's a family heirloom. Mom gave it to me for luck."

"Cool. Did she know about what it might be?"

"Probably not. She would have told me if that was the case."

"You gonna tell her?"

"As soon as I see her!" Blue was grinning now. "I finally have something to show after two years!"

"Nice! Hey, what do you think we'll find in there?"

"It could be anything. We have such little information on humans, and the ones who supposedly turned into Pokemon seemed to be young themselves. Not to mention the stories are old. They've definitely twisted over the years."

"Cool, cool. Any human dishes?"

Blue wasn't quite sure he heard that right. "I'm sorry?"

The grin on the dragon's face grew even wider."You know, human foods! I've heard they made the best stuff to eat!"

"I mean, maybe?" Blue could see the saliva gathering around his large jaws. The Bidoof was surprised to see him care so much about something that mundane. "Seems unlikely. I don't think anything like that would last for that long."

"We'll see about that!"

"I guess we will…"

…

"Why the hell did you drag me away?"

Rio and Pana stuck true to their word, gathering firewood, and even finding some Chesto berries. That would help whoever was keeping watch. They held their bundles under their arms as they trudged back to the campsite.

"How much do we tell Blue?" Rio asked.

"About?"

"Everything."

Rio could feel it. Every time they talked about the collateral damage they were involved in, Blue's Aura wrapped around him, his discomfort obvious. He didn't want to make their new friend uncomfortable, but he also didn't want to hide potential life-threatening issues.

"I mean, we're behind most of those," Pana said, turning to face Rio. "Shouldn't be able to trace it back to us. And most were accidents by you two."

"You're not completely innocent yourself."

"Oh really? Name one time I fucked up as bad as you did today."

Rio squinted his eyes at that."That babysitting job?"

"Those brats were trouble and you know it!"

"Whatever," Rio took in a deep breath before finishing his thought. "We need to warn him about the Masters."

Pana's eyes widened at that. Her Aura started to shift rapidly. Rio could feel her fear, her shame, and her determination all at once. It was the same as his own.

"Mom and dad won't find us," she said after a while.

"For now," Rio clarified. "You know they're probably already looking. And with Griza finding us…"

"You think she'll tell on us? Tell on you?"
"Maybe! She's still obsessed with me! You saw her today!"

"Yeah, she's as crazy as ever, but it looks like she was doing her own thing. She's probably not even in contact with them. How could she be?"

"We've been leaving a trail. If those do get traced back to us, we're found."

"They won't, Rio," Pana said, more trying to reassure herself than him. "They can't."

Rio wasn't as confident. That boat thing especially wouldn't just disappear. It was how they got to the mainland, after all.

"We need to at least warn him," the Riolu continued after a while. "I don't want him to get caught up in this."

"Would they really take him with us?"

Rio was amazed she even asked that question. They both knew the answer!

"Of course they would!" He shouted. Pana grimaced and looked away, knowing he was right. They've done worse things with less time, and it wasn't like anything could hold them accountable.

"Can we at least wait until this is over? We probably shouldn't distract him."

Rio nodded in agreement, still determined to be honest with Blue about the risks of working with Team Disaster, no matter how outlandish or unlikely they might be.