Crusaders of Dusk

by DarkFoxKit

Cut off from the life he knew, an Absol now must work his way and earn his right to return to the place he called home. Joining him is a timid Goomy who desires to become stronger and more respected. The two will face many challenges, learning to trust one another.

42. Chapter 42: The King of the Desert

DarkFoxKit: Well, we knew it would be late, but we finally got another chapter updated. It took us a while to find a time to write with each other due to our 7 hour time differences. When it's day time for me, it's night for TM. When it's night for me, it's day for TM. Not to mention we're not always going to be available for writing either. But we're making it work, it's a slow progress, but we're making it work.

Traveling Master: While I can't go into much details about my work, I can say after an entire month, I am somewhat adjusted to the area I'm currently in, as well as my work schedule. We managed to get a rhythm going on, and we'll be able to write with the little time we have. Also, 12 hour shifts suck.

DarkFoxKit: They really do. Hopefully you can get an easier job as soon as you can. But hey, we're here now, so let's let the readers go have some fun~

Traveling Master: Couldn't agree more.

Mew: Really?~ Awesome! I'll go play with them now!

DarkFoxKit: W-wah!? Mew!? NO! NO! NO! GET BACK HERE!

Dust: Since when was Mew here?

Traveling Master: She comes and goes as she pleases. I suggest while she's playing with our readers, we should hide before she turns her attention towards us.

Dust: Agreed. Enjoy the story everyone. Also, good luck!

---

Chapter 42: The King of the Desert

Under Phoenix Desert 5F

Dust had never been so relieved to be underground until now. They were out of the hot sun, out of the sandstorm, and most importantly, they were away from that angry looking Tyranitar. Dust and Berry were currently busy coughing out some of the sand that had gotten in their mouths, though Cliff was fine, barely fazed by the sand.

"Is everyone okay?" The same voice from before asked.

Dust turned to the voice and was glad to see Jade, the shiny Trapinch from before.

"Got sand in our mouths… but otherwise we're fine," Berry answered.

"That was fun!" Cliff smiled before looking around. "That big scary Pokemon isn't still chasing us, is it?"

"No, don't worry Cliff, we seemed to have lost him," Berry reassured.

"For now but it's not safe here," Jade advised. "We need to keep moving before that Tyranitar notices us below."

"Wait… what about Gale?" Cliff asked, looking worried. "He was fighting that other scary Pokemon."

"You brought Gale?" Jade asked, having a surprised look on her face. "Why did you bring him in the first place?"

"We weren't going to, but when he heard the letter was sent by you, he really wanted to come," Berry explained. "Why did you want us to bring Cliff anyways?"

"I'll explain more when we are in a safer place," Jade replied.

"But what about Gale, he stayed behind holding off that Ramphardos so that we could make it to you," Dust brought up.

Jade let out a sigh. "Gale is a strong Flygon, he can take care of himself. But we need to get to safety. We'll wait for Gale then. It wouldn't do us or Gale much good if we stayed here and end up in danger ourselves."

Dust still had his doubt, but what Jade said was true, Gale seemed very capable to take care of himself. He could only hope that the Flygon would manage to find them soon. Then the sand above them began to shake, there was a loud roar that was just right above them.

"Alright, lead the way," Dust replied with a nod, wanting to get away as soon as possible.

"We'll go down deeper, come on," Jade quickly said as she began moving forward.

Dust quickly followed when Berry hopped back onto his back, and Cliff followed behind.

---

Under Phoenix Desert B7F

Since Jade was leading the group, she took them into the Trapinch maze, using its thousands of tunnels to get them somewhere safe from the Tyranitar. Once they were deep enough where the Tyranitar would not be able to find them so easily, Jade stopped them at a seemingly dead end tunnel, though it was more spacious and roomy here.

"We should be safe here for a while," Jade said. "We can rest here, and I can tell you about what's been going on."

After waiting for Dust and Berry to settle in, with Cliff sitting in between Dust's forelegs, Jade continued.

"Do you remember the last time you two were here? In the underground tunnels?" Jade asked.

"Well we accidentally fell in, me and Berry had gotten separated, and we had our battle until you decided to help us out," Dust recapped. "But what does that have to do with the Tyranitar and Rampardos?"

"Remember when you two were exploring in the underground tunnels up to the fight against me?" Jade reminded. "Did you… happen to pick up an egg while you were here?"

As Dust thought about their last encounter with Jade, he recalled how during their fight he came across what he thought was a rock back then, only to later learn what it truly was. "Actually, yeah. It was during our fight, I thought I found an interesting rock and took it with me. By the time I learned what it really was, it was too late. Cliff hatched at that point and she's been with us ever since."

"Yeah, Dust tried to give the 'rock' to me during Princess Day, and then it hatched into Cliff here," Berry explained.

"So I was a present to Mommy from Daddy? Is that how babies are made?" Cliff curiously asked.

"Erm… that's… something we can tell you when you're older," Berry quickly said, starting to blush at the implication.

Jade cleared her throat, getting their attention. "Well, speaking of how babies are made... since that 'rock' turned out to be a Larvitar egg, you set off quite a chain reaction, Dust. Where did you think that Larvitar… Cliff's egg came from in the first place? It certainly wasn't put there by a magical Fairy type that 'creates eggs'."

"Well I already knew that her egg didn't just appear out of nowhere. I'm sorry but if I had known the rock was actually an egg in the first place I would've…," Dust paused as he looked down at Cliff, thinking about all the time they spent together ever since she hatched from her egg. "Either way, that's in the past. What can we do to help now?"

"Do you get what I was trying to say?" The shiny Trapinch sighed. "Everyone in the earlier floors of the Phoenix Desert is in danger because the Larvitar's angry biological parents are looking for her. They want their egg… their child back, and they're going on a rampage looking for her. At this rate, they'll bury everyone and the dungeon itself in sand."

Berry frowned. "You mean… the only way to stop them is to give Cliff back to them?"

Dust held Cliff tighter at the thought of them having to give Cliff up. "Now hold on, I understand they are searching for their missing child, but you can't just expect Cliff to be able to adapt to all these new changes. I'm assuming her biological parents are wild Pokemon. Cliff has been raised in the guild ever since she hatched, there's no way she could handle suddenly living in the wild."

"Besides, those two big, scary Pokemon are not my parents," Cliff huffed before hugging Dust's claws. "My parents are nice, not scary, and not wild. Wild Pokemon hurt other Pokemon."

"Look, I'm not saying you have to give up the Larvitar," Jade spoke up. "Especially if she would be happier living in the guild with you two. But you should at least show Cliff to them, have them see her to calm them down, then try to explain the situation to them. If they really care for Cliff, they would allow her to make her own choice of who she wants to go with, and where she wants to live."

"That sounds like a decent plan, but there's just one problem, none of us can speak the wild Pokemon's language," Berry pointed out. "So if we tried to talk to them, they wouldn't understand us. Unless… you plan to come with us to be our translator."

Jade shook her head before answering. "Things are a lot more complicated in the wild than what you think. Wild Pokemon usually keep to their own territory, but that doesn't matter to the Tyranitar at the moment, all they care about is finding their child. If they saw another wild Pokemon with Cliff, it will only make things worse and they'll assume we took her from their territory. Cliff has to be with non-wild Pokemon in order for this to work, it's why I sent that letter to you three."

"So… we have to try to talk to Cliff's parents and hope they understand us enough to know we didn't just kidnap her?" Berry frowned. "Yeah… like that's going to go over well…"

"But they're not my parents, you and Daddy are, Mommy," Cliff protested, not wanting to believe her 'parents' would be so scary and mean, especially to her real parents. "If Daddy found my egg under here, and not in their nest or something, then why should it matter to those scary Pokemon if I was taken?"

"That's just how it works with the Tyranitar line, the line you belong in," Jade explained. "They bury their Larvitar eggs, so the Larvitar would hatch and eat their way out. They must've figured out something was wrong when you never came out from underground, despite being close to hatching at the time, so they started to look for you."

Cliff knew that she was a Larvitar since her Mommy and Daddy made sure to make it clear what she was, they didn't want her thinking she was a Goomy like Berry, or an Absol like Dust. But that never bothered Cliff, to her, Mommy will always be her Mommy and her Daddy will always be her Daddy regardless if they were the same species or not. But Cliff also knew that meant she couldn't be their biological child, because she was neither of their species, which she learned from Auntie Carrie that the child Pokemon would always be either the mother or the father's species when they hatch. She sometimes fantasized her biological parents meeting the parents who raised her, and that they would get along and be happy to share her.

Cliff didn't like learning her biological parents turned out to be wild Pokemon, and not only that, they were mean and scary, and may hurt the parents she loved.

"Is this the only way?" Dust asked, hoping that they might be another solution.

"Unless you two are willing to give up Cliff, and Cliff is willing to go with them, this is the best solution I can think of," Jade answered back. "Rampardos are kind of rare, but they're strong. They're usually around in the later floors of the Phoenix Desert. Tyranitar are even rarer, they're known to be the kings and queens of the desert for a reason. They're usually only found in the last few floors of the Phoenix Desert, and their abilities to create sandstorm is more meant for the later floors, not near the beginning. They are probably the strongest wild Pokemon in the Phoenix Desert, minus the Pokemon that usually comes on the last floor from time to time."

It was then Dust remembered how strong Berry's mother was. And now he had to face Cliff's parents, who were strong and dangerous as well, and to make it worse, unlike Berry's mother, these two wild Pokemon likely didn't know the civilized Pokemon's language at all.

What is it with me and picking partners with powerful and short tempered parents? Dust thought to himself, surprised by how he was gonna end up meeting another powerful and dangerous wild Pokemon again. I just hope we won't have to do this with Shab's parents.

"Do you think we can do it? What if the Rampardos and Tyranitar misunderstand and attack us?" Berry asked nervously.

"Then… just… try to survive," Jade answered back. "That's about all I can tell you in the worst case scenario."

Dust was still unsure about this plan, but there wasn't much else they could do. "Okay, should we just go up there and meet the Tyranitar?"

"Not yet, I'll have to make sure it's not near the Trapinch territory. If the Tyranitar saw you coming from here, it might assume the worst. We'll have to wait a bit, then once the coast is clear, you'll have to search for them," Jade explained.

Cliff was frowning as she held onto Dust.

"It'll be okay, Cliff… we'll straighten out this misunderstanding soon," Berry promised.

---

Phoenix Desert 8F

After a while had passed, Jade was looking above ground. There was still a sandstorm raging, but no clear signs of the Tyranitar or Rampardos.

"Okay, you should be fine coming out here," Jade said to Team Night Tide. "You should be able to find them, or at least the Tyranitar, fairly easily since the sandstorm is raging here."

"Great… more sandstorms…" Berry sighed.

"If you're having trouble breathing, use those scarfs," Jade advised. "They'll help filter out the sand a bit, so it'll make it a bit more bearable."

"Thanks, Gale actually told us the same thing earlier," Dust remarked.

At mentioning Gale again, Dust noticed that Jade seemed to be in deep thought. He remembered her mentioning knowing the Flygon before, and he recalled Gale sharing a bit about his past with her, but not so much. He wondered what happened between them. It didn't seem that difficult for Gale to travel through the desert, and Dust was sure that his job as a mail mon didn't keep him busy all week long, so he wondered why they two hadn't seen each for a while now.

Dust wanted to ask, but right now they were here on a mission. Perhaps after they helped calm Cliff's parents, he'd get a chance to ask Gale more about his past.

Dust and Berry pulled their scarves over their mouths and nose, Berry was on Dust's back again. Dust began to move out into the sandstorm. Cliff followed them, the only one not being affected by the sandstorm, though she couldn't help but worry for her Mommy and Daddy.

"Good luck…" Jade quietly said as she watched them walk further away into the sandstorm.

---

Phoenix Desert 9F

The fact that there were wild Pokemon out here despite the sandstorm meant that neither of Cliff's parents were nearby, so Dust had to keep going. Berry would use Rain Dance to stop the sandstorm, helping make things easier for them as they went. It also helped them against some of the wild Pokemon that benefited from the sandstorm.

Dust liked using his Ice Beam against the majority of the desert Pokemon since many of them were weak to Ice, but Dust knew he would have to use different attacks every once in a while since he was going to run out of Ice Beam soon, and he needed to save it in case they would have to battle against Cliff's parents. Dust was just glad he could use Faint Attack now instead of Bite being his only Dark type attack.

Berry's been converving her Water Pulse as well, mostly trying to use things like Body Slam on the Ground types, Dragon Breath on the Rock types, and Sludge Bomb on the Grass types.

Cliff was doing well despite this being her first mission. She was good at using Rock Throw to slow down the wild Pokemon, Screech was great at lowering their defense or chasing them away, even if it did hurt Dust and Berry's ears. Cliff's Tackle and Bite did some pretty good damage, especially if she used Dragon Dance as a combination. She was also trying to not be afraid of the rain, since she knew her parents needed it more than the sandstorm.

After a while of looking around, there were no signs of Gale, the Rampardos, or the Tyranitar. So Dust went up the stairs to the next floor, making sure Cliff was following close behind him.

---

Phoenix Desert 10F

The sandstorm was raging even harsher here, just like when they were on the 5th floor earlier.

"The Tyranitar must be close…" Berry muttered through her scarf.

Dust nodded, noticing how he felt that same sense of dread from last time. "Let's just hope that the Tyranitar gives us a chance to explain ourselves before deciding to attack."

Cliff went over to Dust's front leg and hugged it, looking scared.

"I think I can sense it with my antennae," Berry stated. "Try going left from here."

Dust followed where Berry told him to go, with Cliff sticking close to his leg. The sandstorm was getting stronger as he headed towards that direction. At first Dust barely could see, but as he got closer, he was having trouble seeing anything more than 3 feet in front of him.

"Cliff, make sure to stay close, it's very hard to see," Dust told Cliff, who nodded and held onto his leg tighter. "Berry, how much farther?"

"Keep going… it shouldn't be too much further…" Berry coughed a bit from all the sand.

As they were moving, Dust was starting to get that familiar, tingling feeling of something big and foreboding was approaching them.

"It's… here," Berry whispered.

Dust stopped as he saw a large shadow approaching them.

"There's another one…" Berry suddenly warned.

Turning his head, Dust saw another shadow approaching them. Cliff clinged onto Dust's leg even tighter. Dust gulped as the two figures came into view. Before he'd only got a glimpse because they were hiding from the two wild Pokemon. But now he got a full view of the Tyranitar and Rampardos as they stood towering over him and the others. Every part of Dust's instincts were screaming at him to run, and part of him wanted to listen. But he knew if he did that, that would only prompt the two wild Pokemon to attack, so he stood his ground. He felt Cliff hug his leg tighter as she hid behind it.

"Don't make any sudden movements…" Berry whispered. "Cliff… you need to let them see you. Walk out slowly from under Dust."

"B-but… what if they attack?" Cliff nervously asked.

"We will be right here, Cliff. And you're a Crusader now, you will have to face scary things like this almost daily," Berry calmly replied. "Come on, if you want to help save the Phoenix Desert, you will need to let them see you."

Cliff nodded, though she still wanted to stay close to her parents, she knew she had to be brave. So she slowly let go of Dust's leg and walked up to the two towering wild Pokemon. Before, the Tyranitar and Rampardos were watching Dust and Berry closely, but the moment Cliff stood out from behind Dust's leg, all their attention went to the Larvitar. After taking a few more steps, Cliff stopped as the Rampardos suddenly leaned forward, almost causing her to run back to Dust and Berry.

"Remember, no sudden movements, just try to be brave Cliff," Dust advised in a low voice, not wanting to provoke the wild Pokemon in any way.

The Rampardos was studying Cliff, and Cliff was trying to keep as still as possible. The Tyranitar began to move closer as well. The Rampardos suddenly frowned and looked at the Tyranitar, saying something in their native language. The Tyranitar looked angry about something, before he turned his attention to Dust and Berry. The Rampardos turned her attention to Dust and Berry as well.

"Dust… I don't think they're looking too happy right now…" Berry frowned.

Dust gulped as watched the Tyranitar and Rampardos, trying to figure out what they should do if things turned for the worst. The Tyranitar and Rampardos started to move towards them. Part of Dust told him that now would be a good time to leave, but he couldn't leave Cliff behind and was trying to figure out a way to get past the two towering Pokemon in front of him. Luckily for him, seeing how the Tyranitar and Rampardos were acting threatening towards Dust and Berry, Cliff ran to Dust before facing her biological parents.

Seeing Cliff going back to Dust seemed to have made the Tyranitar and Rampardos angrier, they both began to let out roars. Dust, seeing how these two were now on the rampage, quickly scooped up Cliff with his head, and slide her down on his back with Berry before he ran in one of the directions away from the Tyranitar and Rampardos.

The Rampardos was charging at Dust, which Berry had to warn since she was planning to ram him with her strong Headbutt. Dust managed to move out of the way, dodging her incoming attacking. She began to circle around to try to hit Dust again. Dust managed to run to the side, avoiding another incoming Headbutt. The Tyranitar was letting out a loud roar before stomping on the sand. Giant glowing rocks began to come up from the sand, trying to hit Dust.

"Look out!" Berry warned as Cliff was clinging to her.

Dust saw one of the Stone Edges coming at him from the side. He quickly fired Ice Beam at the oncoming rock attack. While his Ice Beam managed to block the attack, the force from the Tyranitar's Stone Edges knocked Dust back a few feet, along with Berry and Cliff. He was disoriented, and the blowing sand made it even harder to make out what was going on behind him.

Just then Dust had a vision of the Rampardos charging at him from behind with another headbutt. As the vision cleared, Dust quickly jumped to the side, barely dodging the Rampardos as she ran past him. Dust looked around, trying to search for Berry and Cliff. He then saw Cliff next Berry, trying to help her up. Dust went to go towards them when a shadow suddenly loomed over him. Dust turned around and saw the Tyranitar behind him, ready to lunge forward with a Crunch attack. Dust briefly remembered how Cliff had no issues when it came to eating soil and small rocks, so the thought of the Tyranitar taking a bite out of him caused his heart to skip a beat for a second.

Cliff threw Berry at Dust, making her land on him seconds before the Tyranitar could chomp down on him, and Berry used Protect, conjuring up a white barrier that made the Tyranitar's teeth bounce off.

The Protect wore off, and the Tyranitar was coming in for another attack, but Berry shot out her Water Pulse in the Rock and Dark type's face. Cliff saw the Rampardos coming at them, and she quickly threw a rock she made in the Rampardos' path. The Rampardos' feet didn't expect a big rock suddenly being there, and it threw her off course from Dust and Berry.

"Run! Run!" Cliff shouted as she hurried over to Dust.

Dust wasted no time as he went to Cliff and picked her up once more. Dust figured he could at least out run the Tyranitar, so all he needed to do was get some distance. His main concern was the Rampardos, that Pokemon was made for running long distances in a matter of seconds. Dust just needed to count on Berry to watch out for that Rampardos.

"Dust! The Tyranitar's catching up!" Berry suddenly warned.

Dust looked back, seeing the bigger Pokemon was indeed getting faster and catching up to them quickly.

"How is that even possible?!" Dust shouted as he started running faster. "I know the desert is their terrain, but a Tyranitar that big shouldn't be able to move that fast!"

Dust then remembered that Cliff was able to move faster when she used Dragon Dance, and if these two were indeed Cliff's parents, then one of them should also have Dragon Dance. It was just Dust's luck that it was the Tyranitar that had that move.

Dust took a quick glance back and saw that both the Tyranitar and Rampardos were gaining on them. If this kept going on like this, then those two would end up catching Dust and the others. The Absol then remembered Berry's orb. He knew Rain Dance wouldn't be as effective due to the Tyranitar's Sand Stream, but the Rainy Orb might be able to slow them down a bit.

"Berry, use your Rainy Orb, it might buy us some time," Dust shouted as he continued to run.

Berry picked up her Rainy Orb that she kept in her scarf, and held it up. The Rainy Orb began to glow a bright cerulean blue. The sandstorm began to die down, and dark clouds covered the sky. It soon began to pour down rain. Cliff didn't care about the rain anymore, she just wanted them to get away from the two meanest Pokemon she had seen.

The Tyranitar and Rampardos let out an angry cry at the rain, not liking the water, but they kept chasing after Dust.

Dust soon came into a long 'hallway' of the dungeon. He narrowed his eyes as he kept running, seeing walls of stone on both sides of him. He was suddenly getting a bad feeling. Unfortunately, Dust's feeling was right, because he soon saw a solid wall ahead of him. They had come into a dead end. Mystery Dungeons often had these corridor-like places, and some led to dead ends. What a fantastic time for Dust to remember this was a Mystery Dungeon and not an open desert.

Dust had no choice but to come to a stop. He frowned as he turned around, seeing the Tyranitar and Rampardos standing there. The Rampardos used its head to smash through the walls, giving them enough berth to move around more freely. The Tyranitar opened his mouth, building up a bright, golden beam. Dust's eyes went wide in alarm just before Tyranitar blasted out a bright, devastating golden beam at Dust, Berry, and Cliff.

Dust shut his eyes, and heard a loud explosion, but didn't feel any pain. When Dust dared to open his eyes, he saw the white barrier of Protect was surrounding him, Berry, and Cliff.

"Don't go almost dying on me again, Dust," Berry said.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Dust replied, grateful for Berry's quick thinking. He then saw the Tyranitar stagger a bit, having used Hyper Beam. The Rampardos looked at the Tyranitar with concern for a moment, but then turned her attention back to Dust and the others. "We can get past that Rampardos before the Tyranitar can recover."

Berry frowned as she looked at the Tyranitar and Rampardos. "And then what? Keep running from them? Didn't we come here to try to stop these two from wrecking the earlier floors of the Phoenix Desert?"

"What else can we do? They're too strong for us," Dust pointed out.

"We don't have to defeat them… just calm them down," Berry suggested. "I couldn't possibly defeat Tsunami when I met her in the Waterfall Cavern, but I didn't need to, I just needed to attack enough to calm her down. Perhaps that's what we need to do here. Those two are too riled up to see we mean no harm, to them or Cliff."

Dust nodded as he got into position. "Alright then, we'll target the Tyranitar while he's recharging, but I'll mostly be focusing on avoiding any attacks those two will throw at us. You'll have to be the one to do most of the attacking."

Since it was still raining, Berry decided to take advantage of us and use Water Pulse at the still recharging Tyranitar. The water itself was super effective against the Tyranitar. This angered the Rampardos and she began charging at Dust with Head Smash.

Dust quickly fired Ice Beam at the ground in front of the Rampardos. Having never walked on frozen ground before, the Rampardos was unprepared when she continued charging, only for her to lose her footing the moment she stepped on the frozen sand. Just as the Rampardos came crashing towards Dust, he jumped to the side and used Iron Tail to hit the ancient Pokemon, dealing some more damage.

Cliff dug out something from Dust's bag, pulling out a seed. She grinned as she remembered what type of seed this was. She threw it it at the Rampardos. The Rampardos looked back at them before the seed hit her head, cracking it open. The seed released some kind of yellow gas, and it caused the Rampardos to freeze in place.

"Nice one, Cliff, using a Stun Seed on the Rampardos." Berry smiled. "Now we just have to focus on the Tyranitar for the time being."

The Tyranitar let out a roar before he began to dance around despite being such a big fella. Then he stomped on the ground, creating glowing blue stones that began coming out of the frozen sand, easily breaking it. Berry gasped as she used Protect around her team just before Dust was shoved by a Stone Edge, bouncing them and their barrier around for a bit until Protect wore off. Unfortunately, this had them much closer to the Tyranitar.

The Tyranitar opened his mouth, ready to use Crunch on Dust when suddenly a sand pit opened up under the Tyranitar's foot, making him trip and miss Dust completely. A familiar shiny Trapinch came up from under the ground.

"It looks like you guys could use a helping hand," Jade noted.

"Jade? You decided to show up?" Dust asked, though he was glad to see the Trapinch.

"Well I couldn't come before cause I would've caused those two to start attacking. But seeing how they are already doing that, thought it be best to show up now," Jade replied.

"We could use all the help we can get," Berry admitted. "These two are tough."

Tyranitar yanked his foot out from the sand pit, then he began to stomp on the sand, then he ran at Dust and Jade so quickly they barely had time to blink before he began stomping down hard. Dust coughed as a lot of mud and sand was kicked up, and he felt a little disorientated.

Tyranitar only stopped stomping when Jade bit down on his foot. He let out a roar before kicking the Trapinch away, making her hit a wall.

Cliff looked back at the Rampardos, seeing the Stun Seed was starting to wear off and she was starting to move again. "Mommy… Daddy… that big mean Rampardos is starting to move again!"

Dust was still disorientated from the Tyranitar's previous attack, but he heard Cliff's warning. As his head started to clear, he saw that the Rampardos was slowly getting up. He looked back to where Jade was, seeing her still recovering. The Tyranitar was too fast, Dust knew if he tried to attack the Tyranitar, it would easily out speed him and retaliate with another attack. If Dust went after the Rampardos, the Tyranitar would still most likely charge at them before he could even attack the ancient Pokemon.

How do you even outrun a Pokemon that fast? Dust thought to himself, when something clicked in his brain, causing him to grin. You can't.

"Berry, remember that day at the guild, when we were all playing that game of tag? And Grant and Al were ready to charge at us?" Dust asked quickly.

"Not exactly easy to forget," Berry answered. "Why?"

"Well we're gonna use that Tyranitar's speed against him," Dust answered. "I'll charge at the Rampardos, and I'm guessing that Tyranitar will charge at us the moment I get close to his mate. I need you to warn me when the Tyranitar is coming, but not too soon or else it will see what we are planning."

Dust didn't give Berry time to answer, because he was already rushing towards the Rampardos. The Tyranitar noticed the Absol going towards his mate, and gave an angry roar as he started charging towards Dust. Berry looked at the Tyranitar coming towards them at high speed. Cliff grabbed onto Berry's body.

"He's coming!" Berry warned as the Tyraniar was quickly getting closer.

"Good!" Dust shouted back as he got closer to the Rampardos. He could already feel the Tyranitar's heavy footstep as he got closer and closer. "Just a bit more!"

Tyranitar was just right above the Absol, ready to use Crunch on him and Berry. Berry was preparing to set up another Protect if she had to. Dust knew if he moved too soon, the Tyranitar would see what he was planning, and if he moved too late, well Dust didn't want to think about that too much.

Just as the Tyranitar lunged forward to use Crunch, Dust made a sudden sharp turn, almost causing Berry and Cliff to fall off, but they managed to hold on tight.

Time seemed to slow down as Dust looked back just to see the Tyranitar barely miss his backside. The Tyranitar was shocked by the sudden movement, but then realized that Rampardos was right in front of him, still recovering. Tyranitar was going too fast to stop, and the Rampardos barely registered what was happening.

The Tyranitar ended up crashing into the Rampardos, the collision gave such a strong force that it blew sand, along with Dust and the others, away.

"Jeez, you're one crazy Absol," Jade grumbled when the others landed on the sand.

Berry and Cliff stood back up, wiping sand off of their faces, though Berry had a harder time due to the mud sticking to her.

"But I think you just made the two of them angrier with that stunt," Jade warned.

Tyranitar and Rampardos were quick to get back on their feet, and growled angrily at Team Night Tide and Jade. The rain was starting to let up, unfortunately, and the clouds dispersed. Tyranitar let out a roar as he brought back the Sandstorm.

"Not again!" Berry hissed.

Dust's vision was already starting to blur, the sand blowing harder than the previous sandstorms. As the sandstorm formed, he barely saw Tyranitar and Rampardos charging at them.

"Watch out! Here they come!" Dust shouted, though coughing shortly after, some sand blowing in his mouth.

Dust then saw images of blue stones coming at them, but felt no pain. The Absol blinked, seeing the Tyranitar about to use Stone Edge. Realizing he just had foresight to what was about to happen, Dust quickly moved, before realizing there was a lack of weight on his back.

The Tyranitar punched its fist on the sandy ground, creating blue stones that were coming up from the walls and the ground. Looking back, Dust saw Berry and Cliff were on the sandy ground. Cliff wasn't as slow as Berry, but she wasn't fast either. They wouldn't be able to dodge the incoming Stone Edge attack. Dust tried to turn around to get to them before it was too late.

Cliff was hugging Berry as the Stone Edge was coming towards them. Dust then felt a familiar sense of danger going through his body.

Without warning, Berry shot out a Water Pulse at the Stone Edges, and the Water Pulse shifted into something huge. Dust's eyes widened despite all the sand, the Water Pulse somehow turned into a water dragon and it crushed the Stone Edge with ease, which also shocked the Tyranitar and the Rampardos.

Seeing that the Tyranitar and Rampardos were still surprised by Berry's water dragon, Dust ran to Berry and Cliff, scooping them up and placing them on his back side. Just as Dust started moving away from the Tyranitar and Rampardos, he saw the water dragon dissipate.

"Berry, that was incredible!" Dust remarked as he looked back at his partner, but grew worried when he saw arehow tired she suddenly looked. "Berry?"

Berry didn't respond at first, but Dust saw that she was still conscious. Summoning that water dragon must've taken a lot out of Berry.

"Mommy! That was so cool! How'd you do that?" Cliff asked.

"Lots… and… lots… of power…" Berry panted. And the will to protect you.

"What the Distortion World was that!?" Jade shouted as she came up from under the sand. "That wasn't normal, whatever that was!"

"Berry is very special," Dust answered before turning his attention towards the two wild Pokemon. Now that the water dragon was gone, they started focusing on Dust and the others once more. "But we'll have to first calm these two down before we can talk more about Berry."

The Rampardos began charging at Dust with its head. Its head was glowing red, indicating it was some kind of head attack, though Dust didn't have the time to try to figure out what it was, just that it was going to be painful.

The Rampardos was fast, and Dust's feet were getting stuck in the muddy sand, and having trouble moving. The Rampardos reached them, Berry quickly created a white barrier to protect them from the attack. The Rampardos hit the barrier, but when it came down, the Rampardos was coming in for another head attack.

Dust quickly fired an Ice Beam attack, hoping to stop the Rampardos. While his attack seemed to be working at first, causing the head attack to somewhat slow down, the Rampardos wasn't backing down, as though she didn't even feel the attack. Dust used more energy, hoping to either push back the Rampardos, or at least cause the wild Pokemon to become frozen, but the Rampardos kept moving towards him and he was struggling to keep Ice Beam going.

Dust couldn't hold Ice Beam any longer, and as soon as the attack had ceased, he braced himself as the Rampardos used Headbutt against him. Luckily for him, his Ice Beam attack lowered the impact of the attack, though it still knocked him off the ground, along with the air in his lungs. Berry and Cliff were knocked off his back again.

The Rampardos glared angrily before the Tyranitar was running towards the group itself, and opened its mouth, its teeth turning longer, and covered with dark energy. It was about to use Crunch on them. Berry was out of Protect, she couldn't use it anymore.

Suddenly, something green flew down and slammed the Tyrnitar's mouth shut before it could reach them.

"Gale!?" Dust heard Jade shouting in shock.

"Looks like I managed to make it in time," Gale grinned before moving back as the Tyranitar tried to use Crunch on him. "Woah, I'm guessing this Tyranitar is what's causing all the sandstorms from earlier?"

Dust was glad to see Gale had managed to find them, but then he noticed that despite only having arrived moments ago, Gale looked already exhausted. He then noticed some bruises covering the Flygon's body and recalled how he fought against the Rampardos so that Dust and the others could get away.

"Yeah… are you okay? You don't look so good," Dust asked in concern.

"Had a bit of a scuffle with the Rampardos," Gale answered before he pushed the Tyranitar back.

"Can you handle these strong Pokemon?" Cliff asked in worry.

"Are you kidding? In the state he's in?" Jade frowned.

Tyranitar let out an angry roar at being interrupted, and he began using Stomping Tantrum at the group. Berry quickly covered Cliff with her body to protect her from the brunt of the attack. Jade and Dust were quickly trampled by the Stomping Tantrum. Gale moved in to try to stop the Tyranitar's rampage. His body was coated with draconic energy, he was attempting to use Dragon Rush.

However, the Rampardos jumped at the incoming Flygon, who hadn't been paying attention to her. Gale's eyes went wide as the Rampardos was coming at him with a Head Smash attack. Gale let out a scream of pain as the Rampardos brute forced her way through his draconic energy and smashed her head right into Gale's side, pushing him back right into a stoney cliff wall.

Gale slid down the wall and fell to the ground. He winced as he tried to get up, feeling a huge amount of pain. "Jeez...I think... that attack might've...cracked a few ribs."

"Gale! Are you okay?" Jade asked in concern.

Berry was pretty flat, and injured from the Stomping Tantrum, but she was able to move off of the Larvitar. "Are you… hurt… Cliff?"

"I'm… I'm okay, Mommy… but you're hurt…" Cliff frowned.

"I'll… be… okay," Berry smiled weakly, hoping to give some reassurance.

Dust felt like his head was pounding after being stomped on by a big, rocky hide dinosaur. He wasn't sure how much more he could take. Now that Dust and the others were struggling to get back up, the Tyranitar and Rampardos started moving towards Cliff. Dust tried moving towards Cliff, but his head was still disoriented, and his body was refusing to listen to him.

"M-Mommy! They're coming this way!" Cliff whimpered, holding onto the weakened Goomy.

Just as the Tyranitar and Rampardos were about to reach Cliff, when suddenly two rocks hit them on the back of their heads causing them to stop in their tracks. The two wild Pokemon turned around and saw that Gale had gotten back up, though he was breathing heavy, his left wing was limp, and blood was running down his side.

"Hey Jade...remember the last time...we were together? How we managed to survive...that rock slide…because of you?" Gale asked.

Jade was confused why Gale would bring something like that up, but she recalled what happened last time. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Think you…can do it...again?" Gale asked, hoping Jade would figure out what he was about to do.

Jade realized what Gale was planning on doing, so she quickly went to Dust, Berry and Cliff. "Everyone, hold your breath, I'm going to cover us in a sand tomb."

"What?" Was all Dust had time to ask before the shiny Trapinch began to bury them in sand.

Gale took a deep breath before he summoned many, many rocks in the sky. Tyarintar and Rampardos looked up at the sky for a moment. Then it began to rain down rocks on them. Jade managed to cover up everyone under sand while this was going on, protecting from the falling rocks.

The rocks began to bury the two wild Pokemon, and Gale was relieved before he stopped. He was weak and low on energy, he hoped that would be enough. But of course it wasn't.

Rampardos smashed her way out of the rocks with her head, and the Tyranitar crushed the rocks in his way.

Gale couldn't help but chuckle a bit, wincing from the sharp pain coming from inside. "I really...have gone rusty...Heh...Can't use Earthquake...that'll harm Jade and the others…" Gale took a glance at his wing, he tried moving it, but quickly stopped after feeling another sharp pain. "And looks like...I won't be flying anytime soon...Best bet...is giving the others...as much time...to get away."

Jade came up from the sand when she didn't feel anymore vibrations from the Rock Slide, and she looked up, paling when she saw Gale just standing there as the two wild Pokemon hardly looked phased from the attack. Cliff managed to help Berry out of the sand.

"We… we should have… some Oran Berries… in the bag…" Berry said. "Cliff… see if… you or Dust… could get to them."

"O-okay, Mommy!" Cliff replied before she looked around for Dust.

The Absol was trying to get out of the sand, but his head was still buried.

"Daddy!" Cliff called.

"Gale, if you think I'm going to let you get yourself killed by two wild Pokemon, I'm going to have to disappoint you!" Jade shouted as she started trying to run towards Gale. "Come on… move faster!"

Tyranitar and Rampardos were getting closer to Gale. The Tyranitar's teeth got bigger and was covered in dark energy, while the Rampardos's head began to glow red.

"Move! Move! MOVE!" Jade screamed before her body started glowing brightly.

Berry's eyes went wide, and Cliff stopped, staring at the glowing Trapinch in shock. Jade's body began to change shape, she started becoming skinnier, and four wings grew out from her back. When the glow faded, there was a dragonfly-like creature with four red-orange wings, a pair of red-orange eyes, a pair of red-orange tail fins, six black thin legs, a cream color skinny body, and a pair of antennae.

Now a Vibrava, Jade took a deep breath before blasting out a purple and red attack at the Rampardos and Tyranitar. Berry recognized it as Dragonbreath, an attack she used herself.

Gale was shocked to see Jade evolve. "Jade...you evolved-"

"We can talk about that later, right now we need to deal with two very angry parents. How well can you move?" Jade quickly asked.

"Left wing is busted, got a few cracked ribs. Can't move fast right now," Gale answered.

"Looks like it's my turn to save your tail," Jade chuckled.

The Rampardos stepped forward, intending to charge at them, but Jade created a Sand Tomb under the Rampardos's feet, stopping her. The Tyranitar was about to move forward too, but stopped for some reason. He growled, his body was paralyzed from Jade's Dragonbreath.

"Mommy! Daddy! Did you see that!?" Cliff shouted, sounding excited. "Evolution! That was evolution!"

Cliff made it over to Dust, whose head was still buried in sand. Cliff grabbed onto Dust's fur and pulled him out of the sand. "Daddy? Did you miss it?"

Dust coughed out sand as he shook his head, causing the sand to fall off. After a couple of seconds he opened his eyes, able to see and breathe better now. "Cliff, what did you say just now?"

"Are you kidding me?" Cliff frowned. "You actually missed it? Daddy! You missed a great opportunity to witness an evolution!"

"What?!" Dust quickly replied as he got up. He then noticed a new Pokemon next to Gale. He recognized it as Vibrava, but he's never seen one with different colors before. "Is that Jade?! Did I seriously miss another evolution?!"

Berry sighed, hearing Dust loudly complaining that he missed another evolution. Starting to think this is going to become a regular thing…

"Daddy! Do you have Oran Berries? Mommy and Gale need some!" Cliff quickly asked, remembering why she went over to the Absol in the first place.

"Huh, oh yes. One sec," Dust opened up his bag, seeing some sand had gotten inside, though it wasn't much of an issue. He spotted a few Oran Berries, grabbing one and shaking it a bit to get the sand off. "Cliff, go give this to your mother, I'll bring the berries to Gale and Jade."

"Okay, be careful, Daddy," Cliff replied back before she took one of the Oran Berries and started hurrying back to Berry.

Dust looked over at Jade and Gale, Gale definitely looked worse for wear. Jade was doing what she could to fight back and protect Gale, but even with her evolution, Jade wasn't strong enough to take on both Rampardos and Tyranitar alone.

"Here, Mommy," Cliff put the Oran Berry into Berry's mouth.

Berry quickly swallowed the Oran Berry. "Thanks, Cliff, Mommy's feeling much better now."

Seeing that Jade and Gale were facing with the two titans directly, Berry looked over at Dust. "Dust! Let's try an attack from behind!"

Dust turned towards Berry after hearing her, glad to see that she had recovered. Dust knew he already used up most of his Ice Beam, and while he'd prefer to keep his distance from the two giant rock Pokemon, his best bet was using Iron Tail.

"Let's make it count," Dust shouted as he noticed the Tyranitar and Rampardos, seeing that they were still focused on Gale and Jade.

"Which one are you aiming for?" Berry asked. "We'll likely only have one shot at this. Both of them are Rock type, so my Water Pulse will be super effective against both of them, and your Iron Tail will be super effective against both of them as well."

"Aim for the Tyranitar. If we can take him out, that will solve the sandstorm and you can use Rain Dance," Dust replied as he began to focus energy into his tail, feeling it harden.

"Alright, then do me a favor, before you run into the danger zone, pick me up and buck me into the sky. My Water Pulse will be more effective if I shoot it downwards instead of just across," Berry instructed.

Dust nodded as he went towards Berry and scooped her up with his head, placing her on his back. "Try to land close to me after your attack. If that Tyranitar is still standing, he's going to focus on us and we need to be prepared for whatever he throws at us."

"I believe in you, Mommy, Daddy! Take them down!" Cliff cheered as she started dancing around.

Dust then bucked Berry into the sky, trying her best to ignore all the sand that was hitting her skin. Dust quickly began running towards the Tyranitar, his tail turning into steel. Berry shot out a ball of water at the Tyranitar, slamming it into his back. Tyranitar let out a roar of pain and anger, he turned around in time to see the Absol running towards him. Dust was too close for the Tyranitar to react, however, and Dust spun around to slam his Iron Tail into the Tyranitar's stomach. Tyranitar was pushed back a few feet.

Dust quickly jumped away, and Berry landed next to him. The Rampardos looked at the Tyranitar in concern. Tyranitar said something to the Rampardos. Then the Tyranitar stood up, facing Dust and Berry, while the Rampardos faced Jade and Gale.

"The Tyranitar didn't go down." Berry frowned.

Dust was on guard, preparing for the Tyranitar's next attack. "We'll have to keep trying. Get ready to move, looks like they are planning something."

The Tyranitar then turned his back to Berry and Dust and seemed to be powering up something in his mouth.

"They're aiming for Jade and Gale!" Berry gasped.

The Rampardos ran at the two Dragon types, but then, as Berry and Dust were about to move forward, the Tyranitar suddenly turned around, facing Team Night Tide again. With little to no warning, the Tyranitar unleashed his Hyper Beam at Dust and Berry. At the same time, the Rampardos used Giga Impact on Jade and Gale. Cliff closed her eyes as there was a loud explosion and collision. Sand was going all over the place.

When the Larvitar opened her eyes again, she saw Gale, Jade, Dust, and Berry all spread out and laying on the sandy ground, seeming to be unable to move. Though Berry seemed to have landed on top of Dust's side.

Scared and worried, Cliff quickly hurried over to the two Pokemon who raised her since she hatched.

"Mom, Dad?" Cliff asked, waiting for her parents to respond, to move, to do anything. "Mom, Dad, come on. You gotta get up."

Cliff started nudging Dust and Berry's body, hoping that they would respond. But they laid unmoving, unresponsive. "Mom, Dad, I wanna go home."

Berry and Dust didn't respond, nor did they move.

"Mom… Dad…" Cliff couldn't even call them 'Mommy' or 'Daddy', because she was so afraid that they were dead. "Please get up…"

Seeing how the other Pokemon weren't moving anymore, the Tyranitar and Rampardos started approaching Cliff. Cliff looked at the two titans that were approaching her. Seeing this, Cliff, despite having tears coming down from her face, ran in front of Team Night Tide. Even if they were dead, she wasn't going to let these two monsters do anything more to them.

"Stop! Leave them alone! You've already done enough!" Cliff snapped.

The Tyranitar and Rampardos kept approaching Cliff. Despite her fear, Cliff wasn't going to leave Dust and Berry. In a desperate attempt to stop the two wild Pokemon, Cliff took a deep breath and let out a loud Screech.

The Tyranitar and Rampardos were taken back, surprised by the sudden loud outburst from Cliff. Her loud Screech caused them to flinch, stopping them in their place. While it seemed that it only caused them some discomfort, they were more concerned with why their child would defend this Absol and this gooey Pokemon. They had assumed that with the thieves taken care of, their child would be happy to go back to them. But seeing the Larvitar stand before them, teary eyed and wanting them to stop, it gave them a moment to calm down and find out what was wrong.

Cliff finally stopped using Screech as she had run out of breath. But she stood ready to fight if she needed to. Tyranitar and Rampardos looked at her for a moment, before they began speaking to each other in their native language, a language Cliff wasn't familiar with, but she stayed where she was, waiting.

The Rampardos looked back at Cliff, and seemed to be saying to her. "Ram, Rampardos, Ram."

Cliff frowned. "I don't know what you're trying to say, but stay back!"

The Rampardos leaned forward but Cliff held her ground. She expected the wild Pokemon to try to attack or move her aside, but was surprised when the Rampardos started sniffing her. Cliff wasn't sure what she was doing, but was concerned when the Rampardos leaned past Cliff and towards Dust and Berry. Cliff was now worried her parents were going to be harmed, but then saw the Rampardos started sniffing them. The Rampardos leaned back and spoke with the Tyranitar once more, though Cliff still had no idea what they were saying.

"Ow… I think I hurt my everything…"

Cliff jumped when she heard Berry's voice, she turned around, seeing the Goomy slowly sliding off of Dust.

"Mommy!" Cliff quickly ran over and hugged Berry.

"Ow… don't hug so hard, Cliff, I'm feeling quite sore," Berry requested.

"Feels like...I was just trampled by a herd of Tauros…" Dust mumbled. But then he looked up and saw the Tyranitar and Rampardos. "...Oh right, more like two giant rock Pokemon."

The Tyranitar looked at them, and was saying something. "Ty! Tyran! Ty, Ty, Tyranitar!"

"I… think they stopped attacking, but I don't know what they're saying." Cliff frowned.

"I think we're being scolded…" Berry grumbled. "Is Jade conscious?"

Dust slowly got up, though winced a bit, feeling how sore his body was. He saw where Jade was and started to move towards her, to see how she was doing. But the moment he started to move, both the Tyranitar and Rampardos both let out a warning growl, causing Dust to stop.

"Please, we can't understand you, but that Vibrava can. We need her so we can communicate with you," Dust pleaded, not knowing if they even understood anything he said.

Berry frowned, seeing how the two wild Pokemon wasn't going to let them go so easily. She then looked at Cliff, and got an idea. " Cliff… they seem to care about you. They're not going to let Dust and I out of their sight until we can resolve this misunderstanding. I need you to go over to Jade and bring her over here."

Cliff looked at the two wild Pokemon. Even though they had ceased their attacks, it still didn't look like they fully trust Dust or Berry yet. "Okay Mommy."

"Cliff, be sure to give her this," Dust whispered, giving Cliff a bit of a smushed Oran Berry.

"If we get enough Poke after this, we're buying you an upgraded bag that keeps the items inside safe no matter how harsh the attack we get hit by is," Berry sighed.

Cliff took the smushed Orang Berry and began to slowly walk away from Team Night Tide. The two wild Pokemon looked at her, but they were also keeping an eye on Dust and Berry.

"Why do you think they stopped attacking? What happened after that Hyper Beam attack?" Dust whispered to Berry, wondering what caused the Tyranitar and Rampardos to stop earlier.

"I don't know exactly, but if I had to guess, Cliff likely used Screech or an attack to get the two to realize they were only hurting their child rather than helping her. The same thing happened when I used an attack on Tsunami when she was about to eat one of my brothers," Berry whispered back. "They likely want to know what's our relationship with Cliff, but as long as this language barrier exists, we can't really talk to them."

Cliff finally made it to the unconscious shiny Vibrava, and since the Oran Berry was a bit smushed, it was pretty easy to slip it into Jade's mouth. After a couple of seconds the Vibrava started moving. Cliff gave a sigh of relief when she saw Jade opening her eyes.

"Ugh...what...what happened?" Jade asked.

"The two wild Pokemon calmed down, but they won't let us go until the situation is dealt with," Cliff explained. "Mommy told me to try to get you to help them, because you're the only one here who can speak to wild Pokemon."

Having been fed an Oran Berry, Jade's body started to recover. She still felt sore from the Rampardos' last attack, but she was well enough to move. "Alright, but make sure to stay in front. We don't want to give them any more reason to get hostile with us again."

Cliff began walking back to Dust and Berry with Jade moving slowly behind her, trying to show she wasn't going to make any hostile moves or attempts to attack Cliff. Tyranitar and Rampardos watched closely until Cliff and Jade were finally with Dust and Berry.

"Okay, this is a very delicate situation, we better make sure we don't say the wrong thing," Berry stated. "Jade, can you tell them to repeat what they were saying to us?"

Jade nodded as she turned to face the two towering Pokemon. "Vi, vibra vibrava. Vi vi."

The Tyranitar and Rampardos stared at Jade for a moment, Dust was worried that things were about to turn for the worse, but then he saw the Tyranitar snort while the Rampardos replied back. Dust, Berry and Cliff watch the Rampardos and Jade speak with each other, though none of them had a clue what they were saying. But if it meant they didn't have to fight them, Dust was more than okay with just watching.

I need to remember to ask Shab if he can teach me how to speak wild Pokemon. Dust thought to himself as he watched both desert Pokemon continue to talk.

Jade then turned to them. "Okay, so the Rampardos says 'Why did you two take our egg? Did you want to raise a child? Why not get your own child?'"

Dust noticed Jade was looking at him.

"Uh… why are you looking at me?" Dust asked.

"Well, for one, you were the one who took the egg. And second, you're the team's leader, aren't you?" Jade replied.

"Right, Jade, can you translate my words?" Dust asked.

"That's why I'm here," Jade responded.

Dust nodded as he walked up to the Rampardos, they were still on guard, but seeing that there was someone translating for them, the two wild Pokemon allowed Dust to get close.

"It was an honest mistake. I would never take your egg had I known it was one in the first place," Dust explained. He paused to give Jade a chance to repeat what he said in the wild language.

When Jade finished, the Tyranitar said something. Dust waited until he was finished before Jade repeated the message to Dust.

"The Tyranitar said 'How could anyone be stupid enough to make a mistake like that?' His words, not mine," Jade quickly said.

Dust gave an embarrassed chuckle before responding. "To be honest, I thought it was a unique looking rock. By the time I realized it was an egg, it was too late. We ended up taking care of Cliff, since me and my partner were the first Pokemon she saw."

After a bit of exchange between Jade and the Tyranitar as well as the Rampardos, Jade sweatdropped, likely telling them to speak one at a time since she could only translate so fast.

"So… the Tyranitar says 'I'm not sure if you're just stupid or incredibly mentally challenged.' While the Rampardos says 'Who's 'Cliff'? Is that what you named our child?'" Jade said.

"Isn't what the Tyranitar said the same things?" Cliff asked.

"Sort of, the second one is a bit more insulting," Berry chuckled. "Okay, Jade, tell them that it was a mistake, and we didn't mean to take their child away, but since she did hatch with us, we decided to take care of her. And if she would be happier with them, we'll let her go with them, but they also need to let her choose if she wants to go with them or stay with us. Because if they really love their child, they'll want her to be happy."

Jade translated what Berry said to the two wild Pokemon.

"And we brought her here in the first place to meet with them," Berry added.

Jade also added what Berry said. After hearing Jade translate what Berry had just said, the Tyranitar and Rampardos spoke with each other for a moment. They then looked at Jade, with the Tyranitar speaking up.

After hearing what the Tyranitar was saying, Jade turned to Cliff. "They wish to speak with you. They said before they can decide on what to do, they want to know how you feel."

Cliff nodded before she spoke up. "Tell them that I love my Mommy and Daddy very much, and even though they're not my biological parents, I want to stay with them."

Jade nodded before translating what Cliff said to the two wild Pokemon.

The Rampardos and Tyranitar both frowned at that.

"They ask… 'are you sure'?" Jade translated.

"Yes… I'm sorry, but this was the first time I met you two, and you attacked the ones who raised me. I was also raised as a non-wild civilized Pokemon, I don't want to live in the wild," Cliff replied back, which Jade translated.

The two wild Pokemon were silent, only watching Cliff after hearing Jade's translation. The Rampardos was about to speak, but then the Tyranitar suddenly stopped her and shook his head. The Rampardos frowned but nodded. The Tyranitar started speaking while the Rampardos only looked down.

After hearing what the Tyranitar said, Jade slowly turned around before translating what he said. "He says that if that is what you wish, then you are free to stay with the Absol and slime Pokemon. And Dust, Berry. He only asks to continue taking care of their child."

"We will, we love Cliff too," Berry answered. "And we'll raise her to be strong, and maybe someday, she can come here on her own to spend time with you two, and you can truly show her how much you love her without hurting those she loves."

Jade translated what Berry said to the two wild Pokemon.

"The Rampardos says that she's glad that you and the Absol cares and loves their child, and that they look forward to seeing their child again soon. And the Tyranitar asks… 'what are you?'" Jade snickered a little at that last part.

"I'm… a Goomy," Berry answered.

Jade told the Tyranitar what Berry was, and explained how their kind are not normally suited for the desert. After hearing the Tyranitar make a remake, Jade began to translate once more. "He says that for someone of your kind to come to the desert, he can't decide on whether to call you foolish, or brave. But if it means you're willing to go this far for their child, then he's reassured that she will be in good care."

"Thank you for trusting us with your child." Berry smiled.

Although Jade hadn't translated for Berry, Tyranitar and Rampardos both nodded back, as if knowing what Berry was saying, or understood enough to know her meaning without understanding the language.

Then the sandstorm died down, the Tyranitar and the Rampardos began walking towards them. The group stood still until they walked past them. The two wild Pokemon did stop to look at Cliff one more time, before they continued walking, soon leaving out of their sight.

"I guess that means they're going back home," Dust noted.

Cliff smiled as she hugged Berry, then Dust's leg. "I'm glad I can stay with you, Daddy, Mommy."

"I'm glad too… but we should get Gale back to the guild, he's likely badly wounded." Berry frowned, remembering the Flygon that came with them.

Gale groaned as he got up, almost falling down but he managed to hold his ground. Jade went to his side to give him support, in case he lost his footing. "Thanks, and I've had worse. Though to be honest, I was overconfident in my abilities. It's been a while since I've done any crusading, my skills grew rusty and I ended up being more of a liability."

"You big oaf…" Jade mumbled. "I warned you not to push yourself."

"Do you think you can make it back to the guild?" Dust asked.

"Yeah, though I'll probably get an earful from Dr. Perfume when he sees me like this," Gale lightly chuckled, though stopped after feeling a sharp pain inside. After a couple seconds the pain went away and Gale turned his attention to Jade. "And Jade...what will you do now? Since you evolved and all."

"Wouldn't she just go back home?" Cliff asked.

"It's not that simple, young Larvitar," Jade sighed. "The Trapinch's underground home is only home for the Trapinch. Once a Trapinch evolves, they can fly, and are supposed to leave the Trapinch home to find another. It was why I chose not to evolve despite being strong enough to for a while."

"So… you can't go back now?" Berry frowned.

"I'm afraid not," Jade answered before looking back at Gale. "Perhaps I'll go with you to your guild to make sure you're well taken care of, and then decide on what to do after that."

Despite how sore Gale felt, he couldn't help but smile. "It'll be nice to spend some time together, however long that might be."

"Indeed, I was worried I would never see you again, yet here you are," Jade chuckled.

Dust wondered if Jade and Gale actually like each other, like more than just friends.

"Of course, this might be a bit of a problem…" Berry frowned. "We can leave the dungeon just fine… but we didn't take the Carriage to get here."

"Daddy! Daddy can carry Gale, right? He's very strong!" Cliff smiled.

"Uh…" Dust looked at Cliff and Gale, switching back and forth. While it was true that he has grown accustomed to carrying Cliff with almost no difficulty, he wasn't sure how heavy Gale would be. But seeing the Flygon's conditions, he sighed as he nodded. "Let's first get out of this dungeon, then I'll carry Gale back."

---

Once everyone warped out of the dungeon, Jade needing to hold onto Dust when he used his badge to warp, Cliff, Jade, and Berry began pushing the weakened Flygon onto Dust's back. Not only was Gale slightly heavier than Cliff, but he was much bigger and taller, making it difficult for the Flygon to stay steady on the Absol's back.

"Sorry about this," Gale apologized, slightly embarrassed at having been carried.

"No worries," Dust grunted. Each step felt heavy, but as long as he kept his balance, he should be able to carry Gale back to the guild. "Just gotta stay focused."

In order to make this easier on Dust, Berry looked over at Jade. "Hey, Jade, could you fly over Gale's back and try to keep him steady?"

The shiny Vibrava nodded. "Yeah, I'll try."

Jade flew over Dust and Gale, and she began to hold onto Gale's back with her feet, trying to keep him as steady as possible.

"I apologize, Dust, this is going to add a bit more weight on you," Berry apologized before she hopped, and used a small bit of Water Pulse to propel herself higher, before landing on Gale's head, trying to keep him leaning more forward on Dust.

Dust had to take a second to adjust to the new weight. Either I die from overweight, or I end up having to see a chiropractor. One way or another, my back is gonna be sore tonight.

Now that Dust was adjusted, Dust started moving forward, with Berry and Gale on his back as Jade helped keep him steady. Cliff walked close to Dust's side, smiling as she watched how strong her Daddy was. Her eyes sparkled.

"I wanna be strong like you, Daddy!" Cliff grinned before she went back to Gale's feet and tail that was being dragged through the ground.

Dust felt a little bit of relief and turned his head back for a moment to see the Larvitar lifted up Gale's feet herself, probably to try to show she could be strong like 'dear daddy', but it did help lift the weight a little, which Dust wasn't going to complain about.

Despite having left the dungeon and the desert, after carrying Gale and the others, Dust was starting to feel exhausted. During their journey back to the guild, Berry would occasionally splash some water on Dust, to help cool him off. It was a slow process, the sun was high, and despite everyone helping out, Dust was growing more and more tired. Unfortunately, he lost his footing. He tried to keep balance, but the sudden shift in change caused all the weight to go to one side, causing him to fall to the side as everyone fell off on his back.

"Daddy! Are you alright?" Cliff asked as she went to Dust's side.

Dust was panting hard, heavily fatigued. "...Just...need a moment….to catch my breath…"

"How far is your guild?" Jade asked.

"It's a pretty good walk from here…" Berry sighed. "At this rate, we'll end up there by tomorrow afternoon…"

"But it's afternoon now." Jade frowned.

"That's how far away it is," Berry grumbled, then her antennae picked up something. "There are two Pokemon heading our way… and they're really strong… like stronger than the Rampardos and Tyranitar combined…"

Dust was too tired to lift his head, but he felt the low tremor of heavy footsteps being taken, almost similar to the Tyranitar and Rampardos from before. But unlike the two wild Pokemon, Dust didn't feel any danger as the footsteps got closer and closer.

"Shouldn't we be hiding then?" Jade asked.

Gale was a bit worried at first, but then he spotted in the distance the two Pokemon that were coming towards them. At first he couldn't believe what he was seeing, but he grinned as he recognized the two Pokemon. "Don't worry, if anything, I think we just found our solution to our little problem."

"They feel strong, but not hostile," Berry agreed.

"Good… then maybe we should rest a little…" Cliff said, sitting down, looking tired herself.

Two large, draconic looking Pokemon approached Team Night Tide, and one of them gasped when they saw Gale and rushed over. Berry was surprised by how fast one of them got to them. She remembered how fast Tyranitar was, but this Dragon Pokemon easily matched his speed. Now that the dragon was closer, Dust managed to get a better look and was surprised to see a Haxorus. While only seeing images in the books he's read, it was still a sight to see another Dragon Pokemon. Everyone quickly moved out the Haxorus's way as they checked on Gale.

"Gale! Are you alright? What happened?" The Haxorus spoke, with a concerned and feminine voice. She looked over Gale, checking his injuries.

"Got into… a fight with… a wild Rampardos… and Tyranitar… who happened to be angry parents…" Gale chuckled weakly. "Also… hey, Axis… it's been a while, huh?"

"Yeah, it's been awhile," Axis smiled, but suddenly she grabbed one of Gale's antennae, causing some slight pain to the Flygon. "This is why you shouldn't shirk your training! I don't care if you retire from crusading, you should always keep your body in shape! For years I always did my best to train you, to make sure that you can take care of yourself. Have I been perfect? No! But I've done the best I can, right? Should I have taken Vesper's advice on how to better train your kind? Probably….Where was I going with this? I had a point."

Axis let go of Gale, trying to remember her point. Gale slightly chuckled, both glad and uneasy at seeing the Haxorus. "Sorry Axis...but it's great to see you again."

"Will you relax a little, Axis?" The other Dragon Pokemon chuckled as they finally reached the group.

Dust could see it was a Kommo-o, the final evolution of Jangmo-o.

"How can I relax? I haven't seen Gale for such a long time, and first time I see him, he's a bloody mess! I'm gonna end up stress eating again and you know it!" Axis shouted.

"Yes, but try to tone it down, you're scaring the other Pokemon," The Kommo-o pointed out.

It was at that moment Axis realized there were indeed other Pokemon with them, who were looking at both of them curiously.

"Oh dear Arceus, I am so sorry you had to see that! Hammer, why didn't you say anything sooner?!"

When Dust heard Axis say Hammer, he immediately sat up, ignoring how exhausted his body was. "Hammer?! As in, Hammer of the Hundred Fists?! The very same Hammer who is leader of Team Dragon Knights?!"

"Seems I have a fan." The Kommo-o grinned. "Yes, I'm the very same Hammer."

"You're… Team Dragon Knights?" Berry asked, surprised.

Axis looked at Berry for a moment, and was staring at the Goomy. Berry sweatdropped at the Haxorus staring at her.

"Oh… my Arceus… are you a real Goomy?" Axis asked suddenly.

"Uh… I think I am?" Berry answered back nervously.

"I've only seen pictures, but I never thought they look this cute! Hammer, we have to recruit her!" Axis gleefully remarked.

Berry was surprised that someone just called her 'cute', as not many usually would. 'Weird' or 'ugly' was what most had called her.

"Calm down, Axis," Hammer sighed. "Sorry, she can get overexcited about meeting Dragon types we haven't recruited or seen a lot of. Besides, I believe this Goomy's already taken, Axis. Do you remember hearing about a new Crusader team called Team Night Tide recently? About how a blue and red eyed Absol has a Goomy and a Feebas on his back?"

Axis then looked at Dust, seeing his mismatched eyes. Realizing that Hammer was telling the truth, she sighed, disappointed that Berry was already on a team. "Darn, and I was really thinking we got lucky this time."

"Wait, you've heard of us?" Dust asked. He was surprised that someone like Hammer even knew who they were.

"Heh, well you two have been making quite the reputation for yourselves. Word travels fast. Plus, I've heard a thing or two from when I met your mother. Eclipse sure did leave an impression on us, so I always wondered what her son would be like," Hammer smiled but then showed some concern. "But it looks like you guys had a rough day and need some help."

"Gale got hurt," Cliff said.

"Awww, aren't you adorable?" Axis cooed, seeing Cliff.

"We've been trying to get him back to the guild," Berry added. "But it hasn't been easy since the Unity Guild is far and we're very slowly making our way there. We hadn't taken a Carriage since Gale flew us here."

"A Carriage? Wow, we haven't used those in a long time now," Hammer chuckled. "Considering how big and heavy we are, we end up just walking to our destination. We were actually heading towards the guild, so we can help carry you guys the rest of the way."

"Oh, yes, please, I don't think my back could take anymore…" Dust begged, more than happy to let Hammer and Axis help.

"We do appreciate it, since we just got back from a pretty tough mission," Berry added.

"Say no more," Axis happily replied as she went and picked up Dust with ease. "Hammer, you'll carry Gale on your back since it'll be easier for you to hold him."

Hammer nodded as he went to lift Gale up. He made sure to be careful, not wanting to cause any more pain for his former teammate. But just as he lifted Gale up and placed him on his back, he was surprised to see a shiny Vibrava, hiding where Gale previously was.

"Oh, looks like we have another one here," Hammer remarked.

Axis was staring at Jade. "Oh… my… Arceus… are you a real shiny Pokemon!? When was the last time we saw a shiny, Hammer!?"

"Calm down before you scare her off, Axis," Hammer sighed.

"Heh… this is Jade… she's an… old friend," Gale introduced.

"Jade?..." Axis suddenly gasped as she leaned close to Gale. "Isn't Jade that one Trapinch you told us about, the one who you had a cru-"

"Axis! Now's not the time," Gale quickly shouted while slightly blushing. "Yes, Jade was that Trapinch, but she recently evolved to help us. Now can we please get going?"

"Yeah, yeah, we'll go now," Hammer chuckled.

However, as Axis and Hammer began moving, Dust spoke up. "Wait… Berry and Cliff can't move all that fast."

Axis stopped before looking back, seeing the Goomy and Larvitar moving slowly behind them.

"Oh, sorry about that," Axis quickly turned around, and with one arm she picked up Berry and placed her on top of Dust. She then picked up Cliff, making sure that Dust, Berry, and Cliff were all secure in her arms. She then turned to Jade, seeing how she wasn't exactly moving either. "You by chance aren't injured, are you? My arms are full, but Hammer should be able to carry you as well."

"No, I'm fine," Jade answered before he began to flap her four wings and flew up. "But I do want to make sure Gale is alright…"

Axis looked like she wanted to reply, but decided to let the Vibrava be. She turned her attention back to Team Night Tide. "Alright, just make yourselves comfortable, we'll be back at the guild before you can say Cofigrigus."

As Hammer and Axis were taking Team Night Tide and Gale home, and Jade following them, Cliff thought it was cool that they were being carried by a big dragon.

"Mommy, you're a Dragon type too, aren't you?" Cliff asked. "Would you be as big as this Dragon one day?"

"It's a little hard to say, Cliff," Berry replied.

"I've only seen pictures of Goomy," Axis replied. "So who knows, maybe when your Mommy evolves, she'll be as big as me. By the way, if you're this little cutie's mother, who's the lucky father?"

Berry began to turn red at that. Cliff smiled as she pointed at Dust. "He's my Daddy!"

Deciding to clear things up before it got awkward, Berry quickly said, "We found Cliff's egg, and she imprinted on us when she hatched. She's not our biological child." In fact, we had to calm down her biological parents just now...

"Oh," Axis nodded before giving a gleeful grin. "So since you two are the adoptive parents, does that mean you two are…L-O-V-E-R-S?"

"We're close friends, but definitely not lovers!" Dust quickly said, blushing himself now.

"Don't mind Axis, she just loves to tease Pokemon," Hammer spoke up, chuckling himself.

"By the way… where's the rest of the team? Off… on their… own missions?" Gale asked Hammer.

Hammer suddenly grew silent, his expression was serious. "You can say that."

"Hammer, you can still trust Gale," Axis remarked. "He was on our team before."

"Exactly, he was. Sorry Gale, it's not that I don't trust you, but right now it's only for those on a need to know basis," Hammer explained.

"But Hammer-" Axis tried convincing her leader, only for the Kommo-o to hold up his fist, cutting her off.

"That's final, Axis," Hammer calmly replied.

"It's okay, Axis… I understand," Gale remarked.

"Besides… we do have other Pokemon here as well," Hammer added.

"Just tell me… is it bad?" Gale questioned.

"Can't say for sure, but it's almost like the calm before the storm," Hammer answered before smiling once more. "But it's nothing to be too worried about. You know as well as I do, Team Dragon Knights is on the case."

This conversation made Dust curious. Whatever was going on, Hammer really wanted to keep it on the down low. If Dust wasn't so tired, he'd be asking questions left and right about Team Dragon Knights right now. Seeing how Berry and Cliff were right here with him, safe, and being taken back to the Unity Guild, Dust felt himself relax.

---

Oragonking: DarkFoxKit: Really? I'm surprised someone actually wants Berry to eat Shab again, I kinda thought most would've been pretty disgusted at it. But yeah, Shab really loved it, for him it was the most intimate thing he ever did with Berry so far. I won't go too much into detail about what were Shab's thoughts when this was going on, because it would make the story's rating go up.

Berry4Goodra: Traveling Master: As Al mentioned before, he may be simple, but he isn't stupid. He may act extreme in most cases, but he is sane.

Well there is a reason for why Al suggested breakfast in the first place. It was a small detail that Al mentioned when he was telling his side of the story. But as you guessed, Al definitely did something to Berry's plate. And while Berry is cautious, she did see Al grab both their plates, so it's not like the Charmeleon just easily tricked her.

Berry isn't really seeing Al as a possible father being romantically interested in her, she's just holding up her end of the bargain. Al promised to tell his story if Berry agreed to have breakfast, nothing more. Plus, Berry isn't really the kind of Pokemon to back out of a promise, especially since it was a harmless one like having breakfast.

DarkFoxKit: Tsunami may not have been truthful about what she said of not knowing a Charmeleon. After all, she is capable of lying, and Dust did notice she wasn't looking right at him when she answered that. Not that we're confirming or denying anything, just something to keep an open mind about. Characters can say one thing, but not actually mean it.

Al likes Berry as a friend, and he cares about her health. He finds her current diet isn't very healthy. So he would be happy to sneak meat into her meal if he had to. That's all we're going to say on the matter.

Traveling Master: Well there's a reason why he likes to eat a lot, but there is more to him that others don't realize. Like how Grant and Brody were surprised to see how angry he was. In fact, almost everyone was surprised by how angry Al was, since he usually keeps an optimistic attitude.

Grant and Brody were both surprised, curious, and showing some respect to Al as he told his story. Though during the dungeon part, they only interrupted cause that was the only part they didn't know what was going on. Everything else they had a rough idea, so there was no need for them to interrupt Al as he told his story.

Mega Stone? What are you talking about? Al only ate a strange, shiny, colorful looking marble...like...rock...XD Joking aside, there is something special about that stone, Al did feel something unique about the stone, but that will be for the future.

DarkFoxKit: We're not going into detail about Mega Stones right now anyways. We'll probably talk more about it when it comes into play later. We do actually have an idea for Z Moves now, but those are going to be off the road, as in not the same as in the games.

Jade is actually a lot more civilized than Tsunami is, so she's able to write a lot easier, and talk fluently.

Team Dragon Knight may or may not come into play some time soon.

Jade remembered seeing Dust picking up an egg, but she left it alone at the time. Until she realized it was a Larvitar's egg.

A turn in the game is more like a second. According to Dungeons and Dragons rules, a turn in battle is usually a second. A full round could be about 30 seconds, depending on how many players and enemies are in the battle.

Thing is, Cliff is still pretty young, she shouldn't know how to use Dragon Dance without some kind of training normally. Even if it is a level up move now, Cliff isn't at that level. So the only explanation for her to already know the move without being taught was the fact she was born with the inherent knowledge ergo an egg move. Cliff's parents are shown in this chapter, so most of your speculations and questions are answered here.

DarkFoxKit: We're not going to answer these egg move questions, mostly because I'm not sure what you're asking right now. Just if we feel like adding a new move to our characters because it's an egg move or otherwise, we will. No need to go into deep speculation mode for it, it's just simply a writer's whim. As for Shab's biological parents, we're not saying until we actually get there.

I don't see how we spoiled Cliff joining Team Night Tide officially. She was already with them, what was there to spoil? Cliff's parents are fully wild. And good, you should feel ominous about that message about getting attached to Berry's mother. :3

We wanted to make it clear for others who were reading what we were saying about Tsunami not being stupid, it wasn't purely to answer a question you asked. And like we said, we're not gonna say what Tsunami's fate is going to be. :P

Well, I wasn't sure what Berry would've been at the time. I needed to make a partner for Dust, and I was going through my options. Eevee came to mind, but I used Eevee in another Mystery Dungeon story I did but was abandoned long ago. Then I thought of a Dragon type, and I thought about using Dratini. But in the end, I settled on Goomy because I've never used a Goomy in a story before. In my Child of Mew story, my protagonist had a Dratini as a Pokemon, so Goomy it was. The adoptive family came after I decided on Berry being a Goomy.

Well… glad you're hyped for a Dragonite then.

Traveling Master: There isn't much going on for the letter. Unlike the one that Tsunami sent, there isn't any big plans for this letter.

DarkFoxKit: We're not always going to look back or remember everything we said, so our memory of what we told you isn't perfect. But I don't recall confirming Snivy would evolve all the way into a Serperior, just that she has less trouble with wanting to evolve than Berry does, even if Talon has a problem with Serperior. Berry may or may not become a Sliggoo, plans can change after all. Maybe we don't want Berry to evolve after all.

We're not professional writers working under a company. If we said something that sounded like a confirmation, then it could change later on depending on our whim. So I wouldn't take everything we say about a confirmation to heart, take it more as a 'maybe', or 'we're tempted but we don't know for sure yet'. It will only be truly confirmed after we wrote it and posted it into the story.

This mission Team Night Tide went on was Cliff's first real mission with them. So yeah, it kind of was a trial to see if she was truly ready to take on dangerous missions and go into Mystery Dungeons with them.

Traveling Master: Just like how Team Night Tide ended up having Cliff somewhat joining, we do have plans for other teams in the guild to expand their members. This includes Crimson Raiders. Me and DF have already planned ahead and came up with some potential ideas for their new members, and while we can't really confirm or deny any of your guesses, what I can say is that Crimson Raiders are Team Night Tide's rivals, so in some ways you may see some connections or similarities.

As for Al, he does have a high metabolism, but there's more to it than just simple eating. But no one really knows why, not even Al himself.

You are correct, at least for Brody and Grant. I did use Sanji and Zoro for inspiration. As for Al, he was created long before those 2, so while he may share lots of similar traits to Luffy, he had always been this optimistic, fun loving, food loving Charmeleon. But it's also why they are called Team Destruct, similar to the monster trio, those three have a knack for causing destruction, especially Al.

Uh...sorry, but I don't recall Al ever fighting a Gyarados. The only Gyarados that comes to mind is Levi, and Shab was the only one, besides Patricia, to fight her. But concerning Al himself, he's not the team captain. Brody was assigned that position when Team Destruct was formed. Now is he the strongest? It's hard to say, mostly cause even he doesn't know the limit of his strengths. Not saying he's all powerful, but thanks to his amnesia, no one knows the extent of his strength. But one advantage he does have is being a fire type, so that gives him an edge over Brody and Grant.

And as I mentioned before, we do plan for most of the other teams to gain new members, won't say who, if Team Destruct will only be a three Pokemon team, or if they'll be getting a future member.

DarkFoxKit: We don't know what anime or manga you're talking about, sorry. ^^'

Ember2018: Traveling Master: Well, as Al stated before, he may be simple, but he isn't stupid. He just has no recollection of who he was in the past. And while most who lose their memories still retain some of their personalities and such, in Al's case, it was a clean slate. Though just because his mind can't recall who he was, it doesn't mean his wild side doesn't recall familiar feelings or senses. The body relies heavily on instinct, and while he may not remember, his body remembers something.

As for his evolution, well, can't say much, cause spoilers. But I can confirm that part of it has to do with his amnesia.

DarkFoxKit: I understand that feeling of not wanting the characters to evolve, since in Mystery Dungeon, you couldn't evolve until the end of the story. And by then, most would hesitate to evolve their starters because they grew attached to them throughout the story. Part of the charm is also the fact you, an unevolved base Pokemon, managed to save the world. However, I will warn you right now, we don't plan to do that here. We will have them go on unevolved for a while, but, this might be minor spoilers, there will be evolutions among Team Night Tide during the story. So I do apologize if this isn't your taste, but at least don't give up on the story just because we decided to evolve our main characters.

Al definitely snuck in some meat for Berry to eat, though she doesn't know it. Since Berry always stayed away from meat, she has a hard time recognizing meat on her plate if it's hidden by something else or mixed with other parts of her food. As for Al's feelings towards Berry… we'll leave that to speculations for the time being. :3

Traveling Master: We do have big plans concerning Al's past. And I always enjoyed seeing your theories and ideas concerning the Charmeleon. And you'd be surprised how many others thought Al was originally human because of the whole "amnesia" thing going on. While the amnesia is a common trope among Mystery Dungeon stories, in this case, Al was never a human. He's always been a Pokemon, that much we can confirm.

Dust: In the story it has been mentioned that humans used to exist, and that there are some remnants of their old technology and such, but as I mentioned before, almost all records concerning humans are either lost or incomplete. While I am sure there are records concerning the human's history, I do hope that perhaps we will come to learn more about them. Since this is a Mystery Dungeon, I am hoping to meet another human-turned Pokemon. While Mimi was a surprised, it has been a while since I last saw her, so I haven't really had the chance to ask her much about humans in general, unfortunately.

DarkFoxKit: Regarding Cliff, we did mention earlier in the story with Carrie that Pokemon who were born by wild parents would grow naturally faster and learn quicker than civilized Pokemon. Cliff had been learning the basic stuff, and how to talk whenever Carrie had to babysit her when Team Night Tide went out on missions. Even then, Cliff talks more like an 8-9 year old, not a 13-14 year old. She was just trying too hard to sound older than she actually was to show her 'mommy' and 'daddy' she was old enough to take on a real mission with them. As for where we want to take the story when the Tyranitar shows up, I'm afraid I don't understand. Because the Tyranitar doesn't have much to do with our story in general. Unless you meant where we want to take the current chapter, and even then, are you sure? Because we may surprise you, it depends on what you were thinking when you saw the Tyranitar show up.

lonelyboi69: DarkFoxKit: Are you talking about Cliff being 'Berry 2'? Or did you mean something Berry did specifically? If you mean the parent and child thing, it's not exactly going to be the same.

Star Virgo: Traveling Master: Heh, it's true. Grant and Brody were so distracted, busy arguing and fighting that they failed to realize what was really happening the whole time.

DarkFoxKit: That was the point of Al's flashback, because Grant and Brody pinned the blame on Al in their flashbacks.

Star Libra: Traveling Master: No one was expecting it, which is why it caused Grant to use such...colorful words. Glad to know it had the desired effect.

Star Sagittarius: DarkFoxKit: Thing is, the supposed extinct fossil Pokemon aren't extinct anymore. The only beings extinct in this story are humans, in theory anyways.

Star Capricorn: Traveling Master: That's actually pretty hilarious, mostly cause you're a little too late with that idea. Originally, I tossed around that similar idea happening to Dust. But we already had plans for any future Mega Stones. Again, find the idea funny just cause I had the same one a while back.

Earthpatriot117: DarkFoxKit: In this world, Pokemon will have to learn to take such insults and attitudes, especially if they have to fight with other guild members, as trash talk is a very common place among Crusaders. If you couldn't deal with trash talk, then you wouldn't last long as a Crusader. At least that's how Vesper sees it. And I think that's how teachers in general see bullying. I can't tell you how many times someone insulted me, yet the teachers do nothing about it. And if I whine to the teachers about it, I'm seen as an annoying tattletell.

Traveling Master: Also, if it wasn't for the fact that Berry had knocked Blizza unconscious, Vesper would most likely have spoken to her after the sparring match.

DarkFoxKit: We can't say much about the humans right now, as they are supposed to be as much a mystery to the readers as they are to our characters. It's unknown if humans are all extinct or if a few managed to survive the apocalypse and are living out there somewhere right now. The Pokemon that were in the Strange Mansion have human souls as they were once human before they either died or transformed into these Ghost type Pokemon. It's unclear to what exactly happened to them.

I have to say, it's rare that someone would review at different points in the chapter, usually new readers would leave a review on our latest chapter once they caught up. So we're trying to answer all the reviews you left us currently. And yeah, we weren't trying to hide the fact that the Rampardos and Tyranitar were Cliff's parents, it was supposed to be obvious. Anyways, hopefully this chapter answered your question.