Chapter 8: Made Wrong

Dustin and Poochyena spent the night in a spare room within the Explorer's Society, enjoying the many amenities that the facility offered. The beds were soft, the food was great, and the company was welcome. Still, Dustin couldn't shake the feeling that he had forgotten something. When he woke up the next morning, however, he finally remembered and rushed to Eidolon.

"Mimikyu's photo. We never got it."

"Eh? Oh," Eidolon responded, rubbing sleep from his eyes, "Well uh...that's because it wasn't in the pantry. I just told him that's where it was. It's actually right here…"

He reached into his cloth and pulled out a rolled up sheet of paper. Unrolling it, he revealed what was indeed a photograph. Pictured was the tattered Mimikyu Dustin and Poochyna had met before, standing beside a younger and cleaner Mimikyu. They both seemed happy.

"I kinda stole it from him a while back. Figured I could use it to trap you two in the pantry. Haha…"

"Did he at least actually have a crystal?" Dustin asked, crossing his arms.

"W-well, yes and no," Eidolon flashed an uncomfortable grin, "He has a lotta stuff. Crystals included. After seein' what you have though, he doesn't have what you're lookin' for. 'Sides, if he did, Weavile woulda taken it already or he woulda gone nutso like I did. So uh...your reward for a job well done is satisfaction! And support from the Society!"

Dustin shook his head before chuckling a little to himself. He tapped Eidolon on the head with his club before returning to Poochyena and prepping for the journey to Tyro Town. Taking Lucario's kind reward for their service, they were well stocked with various items and even a fresh, well marked map for the journey. Before leaving, Lucario marked both of their bags with the symbol of the Explorer's Society. It wasn't to signify membership, he had told them, but rather to prove that they were trusted by one of the most respected organizations in the world. The two were then waved off by their new friends as they headed out of town and began the journey east.

"Ok! So let's start navigating!" Poochyena said, taking the map and laying out in front of her. "Let's start…"

"Nope, no. Not happening," Dustin said, taking the map from her. "I may not have memories, but I know enough now to know that you are not allowed to be in charge of navigation. Ever."

Poochyena gave a shy laugh as Dustin traced the marked path with his hand before finding it with their surroundings. Pointing to a road off of Nebulane, he led Poochyena off towards their new destination. After a half of a day of walking along, they came to the edge of the woods that supposedly housed Tyro in their depths.

"Alright, according to Lucario, we should be able to head in a decent distance before it turns into one of those dungeon things. I think we should find a good spot to camp for the night before we get to that point. We can be well rested for the dungeon itself," Dustin said, looking over the map.

"That sounds good to me," Poochyena responded, "But are you ready for a real dungeon? You've only been in one so far, and it wasn't really a very high distortion one."

"Huh? High distortion?"

"Oh yeah, I guess I can explain a little bit. Dungeons have like...distortion levels. I don't really understand the whole deal, but when one has a high distortion it's more dangerous or something. Sun Dappled Hill, the one we went through to reach Nebulane, is a low distortion one so it's nice and safe for weak Pokemon like us. At least that's what Mama told me!"

"Any idea what the distortion level for the dungeon ahead is, then?"

"Nope!" Poochyena said, scratching behind her ear, "No clue!"

"Ok, so we really need to be ready for anything then," Dustin sighed, returning the map to his bag. "We don't even know when it starts, so we should probably avoid even going into the woods at all tonight. Is your canteen still full?"

Poochyena opened her bag and assessed her supplies. After ensuring everything was alright, she gave Dustin a nod.

"Good. We'll set up camp here tonight then, and go into the woods in the morning. Best not to take unneeded risks."

The two got to work setting up camp. Poochyena gathered wood and stones to set up a firepit, which Dustin dug out using his club. Once the pit was set up, Dustin struck a flintstone against his club and started a fire. The two sat together and shared a meal of fruits they had gotten from the Kecleon market earlier and stared at the sky.

It was brilliant, truly. The night sky was a tapestry of brilliant stars and faint colors from distant galaxies and more. Dustin couldn't take his eyes off it, something about the lights above made him feel at ease deep down. Poochyena was equally enamored, pointing out different constellations that her mother had taught her when she was a pup.

"And that's Wigglytuff the Master! They named it after a Guildmaster on the Grass Continent!" She said with pride, pointing to a haphazard gathering of stars that in no way resembled anything close to a Wigglytuff.

"The sky is brilliant here."

"They say that the Star Continent got its name because the stars are at their brightest here," Poochyena said in a soft voice. "They say that you can see every star in the universe from the highest peak here. I wanna climb that peak someday."

"That sounds like it would be really special. It's a good dream to have."

"I know you don't really remember anything, Dustin, but do you have any dreams?"

Dustin thought for a moment. "No dreams in the sense you're referring to, but I do have weird dreams."

"Weird how?"

"Weird like…" he hesitated, unsure of how much he should tell her. "Weird as in I think they're telling me something. I have one every time I get a crystal back. I'm in a void of nothing, and there's a new light in the distance. I think the lights are my memories, at least that's what the visions say."

"Well that just confirms my theory, then!" Poochyena shouted, leaping to her feet. "The crystals ARE connected to your memories! That means we need to find them all, and once we do you'll remember everything!"

"Excuse me?" an unfamiliar voice said from the road. It approached the campfire, revealing itself to be a Pawniard accompanied by a rather...off putting Pichu.

"Hi there! Can we help you?" Poochyena said with a wag of her tail.

"Yeah, sorry! We overheard you guys from the road and were wondering if we could share camp with you? We're running a bit low on supplies."

"Sure!" Poochyena replied. Pawniard thanked her for her kindness as the two approached the fire. Pawniard took a seat. Pichu, however, trotted over to Dustin and got uncomfortably close. Dustin gave them a small wave, but they simply responded with a wide grin. Dustin couldn't help but be unsettled by how sharp the mouse's teeth were as they shined in the fire's glow.

"So, where are you two heading to? Are you a team?" Poochyena asked, passing an apple to Pawniard.

"No, not a team. I'm a solo explorer. Pichu had an escort request for Tyro Town, so I'm taking him there. I'm heading to Rociada in the mountains myself."

"Oh! We're heading to Tyro too!" Poochyna smiled. Dustin, however, attempted to add distance between himself and the persistent Pichu. No matter what he did, however, the Pichu simply closed the gap. Each time he got closer, it almost seemed like he flickered in and out of reality. Dustin grew more and more unsettled by the rat and was ready to say something until Pichu himself spoke.

"You were made wrong."

The words creeped down Dustin's spine like ice. The delivery was perfectly happy, said with the same fanged grin that Pichu had been giving him this entire time. Pichu seemed almost gleeful to deliver this information. The others stopped talking and turned to Pichu, confused.

"S-sorry?" Dustin sputtered. "What do you mean by that?"

"You were made wrong," Pichu repeated, that grin still plastered on his face.

"I'm sorry about him," Pawniard said. "He's a little odd. I don't really understand him, but he pays well. I was going to offer to travel together with you tomorrow, but honestly I think it's best if we maybe take different paths."

"Your head is empty," the Pichu continued. "There's nothing there. Shattered. An accident? Or intentional?"

Dustin grew more and more unsettled by this Pichu. Every word felt like an accusation, yet there was no trace of anger or frustration on the Pichu's face. It was collected and calm, perpetually smiling a grin with too many teeth.

"You mean...my memories? How did you know?"

Pichu simply giggled.

"Oh yeah, I heard you guys talking about that from the road. Something about memories?" Pawniard asked.

"Dustin lost his memories," Poochyena replied. "We're trying to find a way to recover them somehow. We think we have an idea, but we're always open to suggestions."

"Well, if you're willing to make a detour you could head to Miner's Village," Pawniard said, taking a bite from the apple. "I heard that there's a Pokemon there that appeared out of nowhere with no memories. Not sure how useful it'll be, but it might be worth a shot."

"Hey, that's almost exactly like Dustin! Dustin, what do you think?"

"Well, if it gets us away from this Pichu it's worth considering," he responded, attempting to push the Pichu away with his club to no avail. "It might just be a big coincidence, but who knows?"

"I believe the Pokemon called herself Shari, from what I heard. Do you know where the village is?" Pawniard asked.

"I have an idea," Dustin said. "I saw another town near the north of the woods at the base of the mountains. Is that it?"

"Yep! Once you head into the woods, take the left path at the split in the trail. Right path takes you to Tyro."

"Thanks for the info," Poochyena said. "Dustin will be sure to remember that!"

That night Dustin got no sleep. Every time he opened his eyes he could see Pichu watching him from a distance, his eyes shining in the dark. Even with his eyes closed, Dustin could feel Pichu staring him down.

What had that rat meant when he said that Dustin was 'made wrong'? Was there something wrong with him? He felt fine. All his limbs were working, and he was able to fight just like any other Pokemon they had met so far. His eyes were pretty good, but that wasn't really wrong. Did the Pichu mean his hands? Bisharp had said that he didn't have any 'marks', whatever those were. Was Pichu able to see those somehow?

Everything about that rat unsettled Dustin. Pichu may have thought that Dustin was made wrong, but Dustin could easily say just as much about him. Something was just not right about that rat. That's why, when the two groups separated in the morning, Dustin couldn't possibly have felt better. He wanted nothing more than to get away from that horrible rat.

He and Poochyena took the left path like Pawniard had instructed and began their travel towards Miner's Village. It was nearly another day's walk, but they managed to avoid ever stepping foot in the dungeon that led to Tyro Town, making the journey much easier. The sun was almost finished setting when they arrived at the town gate, guarded by an Arcanine who stood at alert in a hut right beside it.

"Hold it!" Arcanine growled, baring his fangs. "What business do you have here? Identify yourselves!"

"I'm Poochyena!" Poochyena yelped. "And this is Dustin! W-we're here to see someone named Shari!"

"Shari? That Mienfoo who snuck in?!"

"Huh? Snuck in?" Dustin asked.

"Yes! Snuck in! She somehow suddenly appeared in the village! Claims to not have any memories, but I can see right through that. She's just a thief or an outlaw! She's up to no good, but Cutiefly keeps claiming she's harmless. Hmph! She'll thank me for my caution when it's all revealed to be a charade!"

"Do you think you could lead us to her?" Poochyena asked with an uncomfortable grin.

"Why? So her little bandit allies can help her cause problems in MY town?"

"Wait! Hold on!" Poochyena said, flashing her bag. "We're trusted by the Explorer's Society! We have the official marking and everything! That means something, right?"

Arcanine growled and looked over the bag. His eyes snapped from the bag to Poochyena and back again. After a few moments his expression softened ever so slightly.

"...These are legitimate. Fine then, you may enter town. But the second you cause trouble I can and WILL throw you out! I don't care who you're trusted by!"

Arcanine grumbled as he finally opened the town gates. Dustin and Poochyena muttered a quick thank you as they dashed inside.

"Yikes!" Poochyena said as they finally arrived in the town square. "That was super scary! At least it's over now."

Dustin nodded. "We should probably wait and look for Shari in the morning. It's getting late again."

"Right. Let's find an inn for now and shake that off."

As the two settled into the town's inn for the night, Dustin couldn't help but feel an odd mix of excitement and apprehension. Another Pokemon who had no memory and seemed to appear from nowhere? It had to be too good to be true. Still, maybe he was meant to meet Shari. Maybe she would be the key to unlocking his own lost memory, and maybe he was the same for her.

Regardless of what it was, it was worth looking into. He sighed as he settled into his bed and drifted off to sleep.