"Hey who wants a special orb- what happened?"

Rio had just walked into their guest room, arms filled with four pearls. He left one with Scales as the Espeon had instructed. Pana was just staring at Blue, worry clear in her eyes and Aura. She wasn't even bothering to mask her Aura! Blue's was coming in loud and clear as he sat on his own bed, reading a book. Confusion, fear, worry, anger? Rio put the large pink and purple orbs down as he looked at Pana.

"He just came in with that book and started reading," Pana explained, not taking her eyes off the Bidoof. "He hasn't looked up in hours."

"You haven't hit him yet?" Rio asked. Weird, that was usually her go to, worry or not.

"He's not you!"

"And when has that stopped you before?"

That earned Rio a punch, and he was rubbing at his now sore arm when he walked up to Blue. He didn't even look up as Rio stood over him, trying to get a peek at what exactly held his attention. All he could make out were some nice sketches and gibberish language. He couldn't read whatever was in there.

"Blue?" Rio said, leaning in closer. No response. Rio waved a paw over him, and still nothing.

"Careful." Pana ordered. Rio gave her a curious look. That really wasn't like her, and now she was hiding her Aura again. She glared back, holding her fist out in warning. The Riolu hybrid shrugged, and tapped Blue on the head. No reaction, just a page turn.

"Blue?" Rio asked, tapping again. "You there buddy?" The Bidoof squirmed but didn't respond. Rio sighed, and pulled the book away before the Bidoof even realized what was happening.

"Hey!" Blue said, finally looking up, actually glaring before seeing who did it. The glare fell when he saw the two mon who were looking back. "Oh. Hey guys."

"You doing alright?" Rio asked, giving the now closed book back to him. He left a thumb to mark his page.

"Fine," Blue grabbed for the book, trying to pull it back to him, but Rio didn't budge. "Please let go."

"Are you sure everything's alright?" Pana asked, stepping closer. "You haven't talked to me in hours."

"It's just really important that I read this, alright?" Annoyance was creeping into the Bidoof's voice. "Please, just let me get back to it."

"Blue, you can talk to us," Rio said.

"It won't leave this room," Pana added.

"I just-" Blue let out a long sigh. "I will. I just need to process. Please."

Rio could feel he wouldn't budge, so he let go. Blue's eyes drifted back to the unreadable language, but stopped when he saw the glint of pearls on the floor. Rio could once again feel his curiosity peak from the maelstrom of worry and confusion.

"Are those… Spoink pearls?" Blue said, taking note of the still spreading purple light in each of them. That got Pana's attention, as she picked one up and peered into it. Rio could practically see the gold in her eyes.

"Do you know how much these are worth?" Pana said, picking one up, not even acknowledging the glow coming from the center.

"Nope!" Rio said, picking up his own. "Finn mentioned they were worth a lot though. Someone did something to them though."

"They're turning into orbs," Blue said, peering into one himself, curiosity now at full blast.

"I've heard of this. Spoink pearls are great conductors of psychic energy, so when a powerful psychic infuses them with their own power special orbs can be made. They're useful, and it looks like someone already did the job! I've never actually seen one! Spoink tend to like their pearls, and the feral ones are usually fragile…"

He mumbled like that, his curious nature shining through his worries. Rio couldn't help but grin as he went on and on and on…

"I even heard about one that lets you see into other worlds! Where did you get these? Who powered them up?"

"Met an Espeon on my trip today. Helped me haul the Spoink back and did something to the pearls. Didn't tell me what, she wanted to keep it a surprise, I guess. She felt like Rhodes."

"You mean, a Legacy?" Pana asked, looking up from the orb.

"Probably. Even admitted it to me. Didn't say anything else though."

Blue froze at the mention of an Espeon. The curiosity was gone once again, replaced by anxiety. Rio turned to the Bidoof, eyes wide.

"W-what was her name?" Blue asked. Weird, he didn't ask what it looked like, or anything about the process.

"Selena," Rio answered, now carefully watching Blue's reaction, with his eyes and sensors. Sure enough his nerves seemed to intensify, now excitement mixed in as he stumbled in place.

"Where is she?" Blue asked almost immediately. "Is she still in town?"

"She teleported or something. No idea where."

The Bidoof cursed to himself, to Rio and Pana's surprise.

"You know her?" Rio asked.

"No," Blue said, "but I want to meet her. I have questions, and she can answer them."

"You gonna elaborate?"

He hesitated a bit, before deciding to grace the two with this information.

"She was apparently my dad's old partner," the Bidoof explained. "I never met her, but if she's a Legacy maybe she'd be willing to talk to me? Explain what the hell's going on? Some… other things…"

"Worth a shot," Rio shrugged. "Didn't seem too interested in talking about it to me though."

"You're not her old partner's son," Pana pointed out. That… bothered Rio. A twinge of anger that faded almost immediately. Weird. Who that Espeon had world shaking conversations with wasn't his business.

"Maybe she's still around town," Blue suggested. "And whatever those orbs will do may help when they're complete. Too valuable to pawn off anyway."

"Seriously?" Pana couldn't keep the disappointment out of her voice. "Not even the extra?"

"Pana you still have most of the gems from Diancie," Rio pointed out. "We're good on cash. Can we please keep the special orbs?"

Pana glared at him, and then at Blue. The glare softened when she turned to Bidoof, and she sighed.

"Fine, but whatever they end up doing better be good."

"They should be!" Blue said, with much more cheer in his voice. "Now if there's nothing else…" he nodded back at his book.

"Uh, there's one thing…" Rio added. He still hadn't told Blue about his little talk with Red, and with the Bidoof like this he wasn't sure he'd get another chance anytime soon with him like this. Probably best to just rip off the bandage, even if it would hurt.

"Yeah?" Blue asked, looking up at his friend.

"Red tried to… bribe me to kick you off the team."

"He did WHAT?" Pana yelled. Her Aura exploded, unable to hide her rage.

"I said no, obviously, but you should probably know."

"I'm gonna-" Pana started, quickly limping for the door.

"Don't," Blue sighed. "Please. You'll just make him more nervous."

"Blue, this isn't cool!" Pana said back, stopping just at the door. "He can't just go behind your back like this!"

"I'll talk to him tomorrow," Blue reassured her. "I… need to talk to him about a few things anyway."

"We'll come with-" Rio started.

"Alone," Blue cut him off. "I'll tell you later. He just needs to know first."

"You sure?" Rio asked. He could already feel the Bidoof's resolve hardening. He was sure.

"I'll be ok," Blue said, forcing a smile. "I promise."

There was a long pause, as Rio and Pana looked at eachother. Pana didn't like it, he could tell even without feeling her Aura, it was all over her face.

"Fine," Pana said. "I'll stay out of it."

"If you're sure…" Rio said, going to pick up an orb for himself, staring into the purple core once again.

"I am," Blue repeated. "Thanks for… not taking the bribe."

"You're our friend," Rio said. "No bribe's gonna change that."

"...Thank you." was all Blue said, before going back to reading. Rio turned to look at his sister, who looked between the two, and shrugged.

"If that bastard tries anything-" Pana started.

"I'll hold him down." Rio cut her off, knowing Blue wasn't listening anymore. Still, talking about how they might beat up his older brother right before the guy's wedding could be considered a dick move.

…

Blue was up all night reading that journal, even resorting to using the orb's light to keep reading. He had to, he had to know just why his father was here. Maybe… maybe mom was right, and his becoming a Bidoof was a happy accident.

The fact that half the damn thing was in a code was wearing on that hope.

Why would he write that he was human in regular, albeit ancient, language, only to encode what Blue could only assume was the important stuff? It already had a layer of protection, why make it harder? The worst part was that as far as he could tell it was similar to the one in the books they found, minus the language, so he might have to go back to Mr. Thesus. And that would raise more questions that he didn't have the answers to yet. Did that make Blue half human? Did it work like that? And that wasn't even considering the other reason he was here…

The cup of tea Rose put in front of him snapped him from his drifting thoughts. She smiled at him, and laid out two more cups of tea.

"Chesto berry tea," Rose said. "Not as good as your mom's cooking, or Red's, but it was my turn."

"Thanks sweetie," Red said, taking his own sip. The Bibarel looked much better than his little brother, and they both knew it.

"Thank you," Blue said, sipping his own tea and looking around his brother's place. It was small, but cozy. The table was lovingly carved, probably by Red himself, along with the three chairs the group sat on. The stone stove next to it still hissed with tea, and the door to outside sat next to that. There were stairs leading up to what Blue assumed was their bedroom, and considering what Rose was like, Blue wanted to go nowhere near it. She made good tea though. He could already feel the cobwebs of sleep clearing in his head.

"So," Rose said, sitting down and taking a sip of her own tea in her claws. "What's so important that you had to come so early?"

"Everything alright Blue?" Red asked, looking worried at his tired face.

"I'm not sure…" Blue said, pulling out their father's journal. The Bibarel's eyes widened at the sight. Rose raised an eye at it, not understanding the significance. Why would she?

"A book?" she said.

"Dad's journal…" Red whispered. "How did you-"

"Mom gave it to me yesterday," Blue explained. "I was up all night reading it, and there's something you should know, Red."

"Let's hear it," Rose said, her full attention on Blue.

"Uhhhhh…" Blue wasn't sure if that was ok. Red needed to know before anyone, yes, but would it be a good idea to just tell her? It might sound crazy… and he had a plan for that, but still…

"If it's really important," Red said, scooting closer to his fiance. "We can hear it together. Go ahead Blue."

Rose smiled at him, scooching closer. Red really trusted her, huh?

If only he did the same with Blue.

"Ok…" Blue said, pushing that thought down for later. "This might sound crazy, but it's the truth."

"Go on," Red said, taking a sip.

"Dad was human."

At that, Red spit his tea right out. Blue managed to grab their fathers journal right before the steaming tea splashed all over it. Rose looked to be holding in a laugh at her fiance's display. Or at what she probably thought was Blue's joke.

"You didn't strike me as a joker!" the Zangoose laughed, as the Bibarel coughed.

"Not funny Blue," Red coughed, as the Bidoof in question cracked open the journal, and started to read an entry. He had it picked out from last night.

"Day 4213

"It's been almost ten years since I arrived in this world, and I have a son! Meg and I named him Red, after that famous hero in Kanto. Took her some convincing, but she ended up liking it! He chews on everything too… today he almost ate half a table I was working on!

Meg even got him a little bandana to wear! She said the next one's gonna be named Blue, and when I told her that was the name of another hero, she just started laughing!

"More kids huh… I… think I'm ok with that. I helped Selena find what she was looking for, and she sure as hell doesn't need a partner anymore. Guess this is the end of Team Mountaintop! I think I'll keep an eye out for more Legacy stuff, but I'm settling here. I have a family now, and I'm not just gonna leave them! Unlike Selena…"

Blue stopped to look up at his brother, who's eyes were wide, and jaw slack. Rose was looking at her finance, worry in her eyes, as Blue flipped the book to show the two the ancient language.

"It's in Sinnoian," Blue explained. "I learned to read it in the city, it's an ancient human language, and the entire journal is like this. You recognize that, right Red?"

The Bibarel was speechless, just staring at the book, then at his brother, and back and forth.

"Why didn't mom…" he started.

"The wedding came up," Blue explained. "But you deserved to know first. Well, both of you, I guess..."

Silence invaded the room. No one spoke for a good, long while, as Blue finished off the slightly sour Chesto tea. He still needed to talk about the other thing too. Crap, was this a good time? Maybe he should wait…

He was suddenly reminded of what he tried to do. Bribe him off the team… going behind his back, not listening to him, going so far as to try and bribe him off the path he chose for himself.

"...Why don't you trust me?" Blue said, unable to meet his brother's eyes. Red immediately turned back to him.

"Of course I trust you!" the Bibarel exclaimed. "Why would you lie about this, and this is way too elaborate for a prank-"

"Not about that," Blue said, voice now trembling. "I meant-"

A loud knock interrupted Blue's attempt as a tirade. The raps were loud and fast, demanding their immediate attention.

"I got it!" Rose said, quickly standing up and throwing the door open. The huge Pokemon that stood outside took up the entire doorframe. His thick, rocky skin was all that could be seen, as the mon himself towered over the doorway. His green and black stomach had a faint scar running across it. His right arm had strange, faint, black markings running along it. A tattoo? And why did they look vaguely familiar…

"Daddy!" Rose said, immediately wrapping her arms around the Tyranitar.

"Rosie!" he replied, returning the hug. "You never visit! How's it been?"

Blue blinked, turning to his brother, who suddenly looked very nervous. Her dad was a Tyranitar?

"You keep moving!" Rose accused, breaking their embrace. "Come on in!"

"It's a little small," the father of the bride noted, crouching down. His yellow eyes scanned the room, before falling onto the brothers sitting at the table. Red straightened out a bit as the large Pokemon made his way into the room, grinning. It was then that Blue noticed the black hat on his head, a fedora? Those were expensive...

"Hey there, son-in-law!" The Tyranitar boomed, taking his hat from his head. "Haven't seen you in a while either! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to steal my little girl! Well, I guess you already did…"

"H-hi, Mr. Veles," Red stammered. "We weren't expecting you for another few days…"

"Oh come on Rojo," Veles laughed. "Just call me dad!"

A pause.

"No, no that's too weird," the Tyranitar said. "Keep it as Veles."

"S-sure…" Red agreed, not even bothering to correct his own name in the eyes of his future father in law.

"Now who's this?" Veles said, turning to the Bidoof in the process of trying to shrink himself. This was not how he thought today would go…

"One of my little brothers," Red stammered, patting Blue's back. "Blue."

"N-nice to meet you," Blue said a little more calmly, but couldn't keep the stammer out of his voice. Red was probably just nervous, and Veles was pretty big. How did a Tyranitar end up with a Zangoose daughter anyway? The more he thought about it, the less nervous he was, and the more curious. Would it be appropriate to ask?

"Little nervous, ain't ya?" Veles chuckled. "We're gonna be family, calm dow-"

Veles's eyes were drawn to the book on the table, and they narrowed. He peered at the strange text, a claw to his muzzle.

"This is human, right?" he asked, the joy in his voice replaced with… something else. "Doesn't look old, so it was written recently. Rosie, where'd you get this?"

"Oh!" Rose said, stepping inside. "That's Blue's actually. He can read it too."

"That right?" he turned to the Bidoof. Instead of the joyful, casual look in his eyes just a minute ago, what stared at him now looked… hungry. "Not many bother to learn how to do that. You've got skills kid."

"T-thanks," Blue got out, closing the book and standing up. This suddenly got uncomfortable, and he should really let the bride and groom talk to their father. It would just be weird to be here too. He'd have to talk to Red later. "I'll get out of your hair. Scales? Whatever…"

He started to make his way to the door, before the big Pokemon's foot suddenly stood in his way. When Blue looked up, the Tyranitar was grinning at him. That hungry look was still in his eyes, still piercing right through him.

"Don't go…" Veles said, not taking his eyes off Blue. "Might have an offer-"

"Daddy!" Rouse shouted, suddenly stepping between them. "No recruiting before my wedding!"

"But Rosie…" Veles said, face falling.

"No buts!" she spun, and turned to Blue. "Sorry about my dad, he can be a bit of a workaholic. He's always looking for new talent. You didn't take any work with you, right?"

"Course not!" Veles exclaimed. "All on pause for your big day!"

Blue wasn't sure how to feel about that, but when he looked over at Red, he knew he should probably watch himself. He'd never seen his brother look so scared. That was saying something. The only time he came close was when Blue left the first time. The difference was this time Blue agreed…

"No problem…" Blue said, speedwalking to the door. "I'll see you all later, alright?"

Without waiting for a response, Blue booked it out of there. The Tyranitar's eyes followed him as he sped off, watching him go. Veles had one thought as the Bidoof left.

He might be useful...

…

Edgar could only watch as the bandit team got decimated. Perched from a tree, thankfully hidden by the thick foliage of the leaves, the Murkrow could do nothing as the twenty strong strike force fell. They started out well enough, all dark types to get the jump on the psychic, but the cat thing didn't even try to attack.

The Bewear had less qualms.

With one punch, she sent their biggest bruiser, Tommy the Hydreigon, flying. Everyone could hear his poor bones breaking on contact as he crashed into, and broke, a tree, ice creeping over the dragon's chest. The strike force paused, looking at what just happened to their strongest, who was now a quivering mess on the floor, and the bear that did it to him.

"You're in the way," she growled, stomping forward. The ground shook with every step. "Move."

They all just looked at her, in growing horror. While she physically loomed over every single one of them, the terror she made them feel felt like she was a lot bigger than she actually was. They were frozen to the spot on the ground, as she took a step closer to them. And another, and another…

Psych did nothing to stop Griza's rampage. Even if it wanted to, it couldn't. They did attack first after all. Reap what you sow, and all that.

The Murkrow forced himself to watch the slaughter. He had to report back to Veles after all, but he decided he'd seen all there was to see when she grabbed the Morgrem by the head and started folding him in half.

The boss might need some help. They were gonna need more mon…