PD: This chapter has an optional theme to enhance the reading experience: "On The Beach At Dusk: Remastered Pokemon Mystery Dungeon". There will be an asterisk "*" to play and two of them to stop playing the song. You don't have to listen to it if you don't want to, it won't affect the chapter at all.


On The Beach At Dusk

The soft orange skies hanging over Olivine City reflects the high energy day Plush, Kibou, and Emma had. Now that they've had their fun, now it's time for them to relax and eventually fall asleep to prepare themselves for the journey to Goldenrod City. While Plush and Emma are inside the hotel at the moment, the blue feline stands at the edge of where the beach meets the salty, calm, perfectly clear, cool ocean waters. The remaining golden rays from the everlasting flame in the sky cast little bright spots on the surface, painting what used to be a blue ocean, an orange tint. The sky itself has no clouds in sight, and behind the little Mew, the coming of night has turned the sky a purple full of dark, sleepy pastimes. His baby blue fur faintly shines in the sleep filled light, showing off how fine and fluffy it is despite its short length. His identically colored eyes also reflect this light, a bright eye shine forming in the upper right corners of his eyes as he looks at the almost waveless waters and immaculate horizon. Such a view reminds him of his home back on Azure Starstruck Island and truth be told, he's starting to feel a tad bit homesick and wishes he could go home for even a few minutes. He might enjoy discovering new lands and visiting old places he hasn't been to in years but at the end of the day, he misses the place he would always return to when bedtime arose. He stands there, breathing slowly and calmly, smiling slightly in front of what would be a heavy face that could easily be described as "a little depressed". It's a bittersweet feeling, a beautiful view that reminds him of where he could be right now, good and bad pumped into one package. His feet are faintly covered in sand, this is due to a gentle breeze picking up and blowing it around the beach. The ocean waves wash up close to his feet, nearly touching him but come up shy of doing so.

The sound of someone walking through the sand makes his ears twitch in the direction they're coming from and he turns his head around to see whom it is, which is Plush. Kibou is surprised by this, knowing he was quite tired when they checked into the hotel not too long ago. "Plush? What are you doing out here, I thought you were too tired to stay up?"

"Well, I'm quite tired, but I'm not completely down for the count just yet. Emma asked me to come and find you. Speaking of what I'm doing, I was about to ask the same question… What are you doing out here anyway? It looked like you were simply staring at the sun, which, if you were, you're gonna go blind by doing that…"

He turns his entire body around to face him. He's compelled to tell him more than just the reason why he's out here. "I wasn't staring at the sun, I know it can make me lose my sight. I came out here because such a nice place like Olivine City reminds me of what my island was like." He looks over his left shoulder to view the sunset again momentarily. "A sunset like this, where the sea was calm, skies were clear, and everything was fun. It's pretty, isn't it?"

Plush can't see the sun from where he's standing as Kibou's body is blocking it and all he sees is a halo outlining his body, giving an orange glow to him. His backside is brightened by it, but from his perspective, Kibou looks a bit darker than usual. He leans his body to the right so he can see what he's talking about and right in front of him is true to his word: a pretty sunset. "Wow, it sure is pretty, but, your island isn't in johto, is it?"

He looks back at him and then immediately down at the ground for a moment, wishing his island was that close. "No, none of these… I guess… regions? Would regions be right?"

"Yeah, Johto is a region like Sinnoh, so you're right."

"Thanks. My island isn't close to any of these regions… I don't even know where it is in the world now that I think about it. I don't quite remember how I even ended up there in the first place. It probably has to do with-" he cuts himself short, a few thoughts from the past are tempted with what he said and he doesn't want to share it just yet.

Plush tilts his head, confused by how abruptly he stopped talking. "Has to do with what? You stopped talking before you could finish that sentence."

He looks up to make eye contact once more. "I-It's nothing… I don't remember how I even ended up there, that's all."

"Alright." *he then walks up besides him and the two watch the sunset together. While Plush saw it already moments before, watching it more closely has made him realize just how beautiful it actually is. He's seen many sunsets in the past, at the guild he used to work at and even well before that too, yet for some reason, this sunset feels and looks much different. Could it be that he's sharing this moment with someone that's actually treated him as a "friend", or perhaps is it because of something else? It mystifies him, puts his brain to work on trying to understand why such a normal looking sunset is many times more beautiful compared to all the sunsets he's seen in his life. "It's just like any other sunset, so what's different this time? I don't understand… nothing about this sunset is special in particular, it's not like he's even my friend… he nearly got me caught on two accounts while I did all the work against those government agents."

His thoughts are left incomplete as Kibou starts talking to him once more. "You know, I used to see these sunsets with my parents all the time. It didn't matter where we were in the world, at home on my island, Castelia City, or even in a place like a desert, we'd manage to see a sunset. They made a promise to me the first time I ever saw a sunset like this, and that promise was to show me as many sunsets in many parts of the world. This reminds me of those times…" He stays silent. A few seconds later, he continues. "Plush, I wanna make a promise to you as well. I know I haven't been the most helpful Pokemon ever since those PCU bullies showed up, and I almost made you lose the ability to see a sunset like this because of it. I don't know if we'll see more of them again, or if we'll even make it to Goldenrod City like Emma said, but I want to promise you something…"

The two turn their heads to look at each other. Plush is actually interested in this promise even though a part of him thinks it might not even be something good at all. Kibou looks him right in the eyes. "I promise to keep you, my friend, safe from those bullies. I want to help you and Emma get to safety, and hopefully after that, I can finally go back to my home. Until then, I promise not to let any of those weirdos hurt you or Emma. You're my friend, and friends help each other."

Plush is tempted to yell at him about such hypocritical words when he realizes that even if he did almost get captured twice, if it wasn't for him being there, he wouldn't be in Olivine City at this very moment in time. He's split, part of him wants to believe he'll hold his promise, while the other half of him doesn't want to. He looks back at the sun, which is starting to dip below the horizon now. He doesn't really have a choice, he has to believe the Mew's words, especially since he does owe a bit of credit where it's due. He might've not fought back, but he brought him to where he is now, so against his own guts, he accepts it… and can't believe what he's about to say as well. "Thanks Kibou, but this promise is also mutual as well. If these guys are after me, they're also going to be after you as well. I never did say thank you for helping us to escape, though I know why… so I'm sorry for all that. I guess we're friends until this chaos ends, or we both somehow get caught."

"That won't happen! We won't get caught!" he says, a tone of determination and force behind it. He wasn't expecting this reaction at all. He instinctively looks right at him and notices the resolve on his face. "We're soo close to Goldenrod City. I know we're gonna make it to safety! I know we will, you know why? Because we're not gonna give up even if they stand in our way!"

While usually not as expressive as the Mew that stands before him, he can't help but put on a wide smile. "If you say so, then I don't have any choice but to believe you. I'm putting some of my trust in you, and if you break that promise, I don't know what will come of it besides me being quite upset. There's not much else we can do but try, so tomorrow, I guess we'll be putting our best efforts forward then."

With that, the two children have made promises to each other to watch over and protect both sides. It's not likely something like this would've happened, and even I'm quite surprised as well! This unlikely duo may just forge a lifetime's worth of friendship. Only time will tell on that though, for now, rest well little ones...**


PD: This is the second to last chapter I'll be uploading for this month regarding this story. I know this chapter was short, still, I hope you enjoyed. Seeya in the next chapter!