16. A Stressful Rest

Blue was the first to spot Rio. His huge bag made him stand out among the crowded tower lobby. The Bidoof had just sat down himself, about to tell his team about what just happened.

"Hey!" Blue yelled, waving one of his front legs, almost knocking over his cup of berry juice. Even he was surprised by his sudden outburst, but he couldn't help it. He just got two new moves in as many weeks!

Rio turned to them and started walking over. He could hear the jingle of broken shards in the bag, and Blue felt his grin turned sour.

"Please don't tell me that's important," Pana said after taking a swig of her own berry juice.

"Just be careful eating it," Rio snapped, laying the bag next to his own chair. They all turned to him, noticing his sour mood.

"What's up?" Scales asked. Rio explained his diagnosis and their future expedition into the library Dungeon. Blue's eyes widened at that second piece of news.

"We're going on a guild-sponsored expedition?" he asked, excitement and fear both bubbling in his stomach. "You're leading it? That's great!"

"But they won't let me until I-" Rio sneezed again, blowing up the chair beneath him and rocking the table. He fell to the floor, unphased by the sudden drop or the stares from the other teams. "-stop doing that."

"That doesn't seem too unreasonable…" Blue started.

"But it's annoying. I'm fine!" he insisted, before sneezing again. Scales was able to keep the table from blowing away by laying on it.

"...I have to disagree."

"Food's up!"

A Watchhog walked towards them, the food Scales ordered in his full paws. The smell of cooked meat was jarring, but he's been in around it long enough to get used to it. He placed it on the table to reveal a large spread of various foods. Melted cheese on grilled meat, various fresh berries were drizzled in sauce, pieces of bamboo littered the side, and there was even a birch log with berries for Blue.

"When the hell did you order this?" Pana asked her brother.

"When I went to get drinks," Scales said, grabbing a piece of meat. "Haven't eaten since this morning."

"And how much did it cost?"

Scales said nothing, tossing his food into his gluttonous maw. The Watchog handed Pana a small slip of paper, the receipt.

"The chair cost is included. No refunds," he said, and walked away. Pana almost spit out her drink as she read the apparently outrageous price. The Pancham turned to Scales, murder in her eyes.

"I am going to skin you alive," she growled. Scales withered under her glare, but still chewed his meal. Rio grabbed a piece of meat himself and ate it, nodding.

"Least it's good," he said, reaching for a berry. Pana sighed, and reached for a bamboo spear. Her glare was still very prominent as she munched.

Blue grabbed the log and bit into it, not expecting it to be so sweet. He was very glad Scales hadn't forgotten him when ordering. Blue continued to bring Rio up to speed and told his team of the new move. Pana's glare turned to a malicious smile.

"After this, let's get some practice in," Blue noticed Rio's widening eyes as they both glanced at Scales, too absorbed in his meal to pick up on her ominous tone.

…

After their large lunch Blue and his team went back to the base. Pana, after some hesitation, bought a huge basket of sitrus berries and made Rio eat one on the spot. His constant sniffling seemed to lessen after that, but that could have been Blue's imagination.

The base was just as they left it, fire pit and all. Once inside, Rio unzipped his new bag. The Bidoof hand never seen so many gummis. The loose pieces of candy, the ones that broke in the bag, spilled onto the wood floor as most of the team stared in shock. Rio grabbed a handful and popped them in his mouth, not caring about the colors. They all stared at him.

"What?" Rio said, grabbing a still in-tact jar. "They're for everyone."

"You don't care about the color?" Blue asked, now curious.

"Should I?"

"Normally Pokemon don't really like gummis that don't match their type," Blue eyed a black one, debating a test.

"Huh," Scales said, grabbing a light pink one. Blue could only watch the dragon wretch as he consumed the fairy gummi, just managing to turn away from the others as he spat it out. The Bidoof was relieved he didn't have to test it himself.

"Arceus," he continued. "That was the worst thing I've ever eaten…"

"They're a lot smaller too," Pana noted, picking up the black one Blue was eyeing. She popped it in her mouth, nodding at the flavor.

"Jain said they're homemade," Rio said, sliding the jar he held to Blue. 'Normal' was written on the side, and Blue wasted no time prying it open with his teeth. Sure enough, the jar was filled to the brim with white gummis. He took one, savoring the sweet taste, and put the lid back on.

Rio cleaned up the rest of his spoils, putting the loose ones in the bag and laying out the unbroken jars. Ten survived his sneezes, all clearly labeled by type.

"Alright," Pana said after a few more gummis. "Blue, you wanted to show us something?"

The Bidoof felt nerves sprout over his excitement. He talked a big game, but what if he failed? What if it was the worst Grass Knot ever seen? What if it was so underwhelming they laughed him off the team? Would they do that?

The sudden paw on his back snapped Blue from his panicked thoughts. He turned to see Rio with a slight smile on his face. "You alright?"

"Y-yeah," Blue's nerves faded just a bit. "I'm just a little nervous…"

"You're fine. Just show us." He backed up towards the house.

Blue looked around at his team. They all stood, waiting. It was the most patience he had seen out of Rio in the three weeks he'd known him. The Riolu was right. He had this. It would be easy.

The Bidoof closed his eyes, and focused on his stomach. That TM made him more aware of the sea of energy in his gut. It was where the water for his Water Gun came from, and now he could use it in other ways.

With another tug at his stomach he felt the energy flow into his front legs and into the ground. Long, powerful blades of grass sprouted at his feet and tied themselves together with a strong knot. He did it. He did it!

"WOOOOO-" Blue started, trying to jump in celebration.

Unfortunately, he forgot where the grass grew, and flipped himself over as a result. His only comfort was that the dirt was softer than the tile he slammed into earlier that week. The Bidoof was dazed but it was nothing compared to the embarrassment he felt.

Rio walked over to him, doing his best to hide his laughter, and ripped apart the Grass Knot trapping him. Blue rolled over to look at Rio.

"Well," Rio said, sniggering. "It worked!". When he glanced at Scales, the Hakamo-o was doing the same. Blue groaned at his partial success.

"What did I even do wrong?" he asked. "That was what I was supposed to do!"

Pana came over to him and snatched some of the grass, tugging at it. "It is strong…"

Rio had managed to calm himself down enough to speak properly. "Did you direct it?"

"Yeah," Blue said. "Into the ground!"

"But did you have a target in mind?"

"I-" Blue thought about that for a bit, and slapped himself. It made sense! The energy would just pool around the source, himself, and do the move there. Stupid!

"Let's try that again," Pana said, snapping Blue out of his self-loathing trance. She walked over to him and whispered something in his ear. "Try it on Scales."

Blue wasn't sure he was comfortable with that. He'd been nothing but nice to him so far. And then he noticed he was still laughing, oblivious to what was going on around him. Between that and a burning need to redeem himself, what happened next was nigh impossible to stop.

He stared at his laughing teammate and focused on his stomach yet again. This time he felt the energy travel to where he was staring at and saw his attack wrap around Scales's large claws. He didn't seem to notice.

"Scales!" Pana yelled. "Get over here!"

The dragon immediately stopped, fear seemingly wiping any humor that may have remained on his face. He tried to take a step, and fell flat on his face. This time both Rio and Pana started laughing. For someone so grumpy, Blue thought her laugh was quite nice. And infectious. The Bidoof found himself laughing with the rest of his team as Scales ripped the grass from his claws.

"Ok Ok," the dragon said, even chuckling himself. "That was pretty good."

Blue stopped laughing first, followed by Pana and Rio. He caught Rio's slight cough, and the Bidoof couldn't help but wince a bit.

"So," Scales asked, picking himself up. "vacation?"

"You wish," Pana said. "Rio can't go in Dungeons, but we can."

Scales groaned as the Pancham continued. "As for Rio, take it easy. I don't want any holes in the yard."

"No promises," Rio said, sniffling. "Actually, I have an idea." He turned to Blue, another wide grin on his face. "We could practice together! I could even teach you that dance!"

His eyes widened. "But, wouldn't I just slow you down? And shouldn't you be resting?"

"I don't really care, and I'm not good at sitting still. You up for it?"

He considered the offer. This was an opportunity to find out what exactly his father gave him, and how to use it. Plus Blue knew he needed a lot of practice if he was gonna keep up with his teammates, even if it was impossible to catch up. Then again, he really wanted to see into more Dungeons! The experience would be good for him, and his curiosity on how they worked needed to be sated. Still, he knew what was probably the best option. At least for now.

"Well, if you don't mind…" Blue said, looking away.

"Great!" With that, Rio grabbed Blue's front leg and started dragging him away. "Let's get started!"

Before any fighter protest could be voiced, Rio dragged Blue into the surrounding forest. Pana and Scales watched them go waving as his 'rest' started.