The six Pokémon left the next morning at daybreak. They had 10 days before they were to meet up at the hideout again, which left them four days to stay at this gathering if they were so inclined. The trip was mercifully uneventful, as no wild Pokémon would dare to attack so many travelling in a group. They reached the forest a little after noon into the third day, and by nightfall had made it to a small cave leading into the ground. Stumpy took the lead for the last part of the trip, using his nose and intuition to guide him. The cave was damp and had no torches to light the way. Soon Cinder's tail was the only source of light, but this did not seem to affect Stumpy's ability to navigate. Soon they reached a wooden door blocking off the narrow entrance, looking to Oscar just like the entrance to an old mineshaft. When he reached the door, Stumpy rasped his claws against the wood until the door was opened. A Houndoom stuck her head out, and just stared at the group.
"I'm here for the thing. I brought a plus-five!" Stumpy said happily. The Houndoom rolled her eyes but let them in. Inside was a large wooden room with a low ceiling, laid out in the typical Pokémon-style for a tavern with matts on the floor for the patrons to sit with an elevated serving bar off to the side. There were many different Dark types in the room; Poochy and Mightyena, Umbreon, Honchkrow and more than a few Houndour-line, even a few Thievul that were not their Thievul. There were non-dark types as well, presumably plus-whatevers as well. Haunter, Marowak and even a Bulbasaur. Most of the non-Dark types were in the form of Salandit, who here like in Baram Town scurried around taking orders and serving the patrons. Salazzle had just finished serving some patrons when she noticed the newcomers enter.
"Hello, Darlings. Make yourself at home, come here and see what I can do for you." The group went up to the counter, and after seating themselves Gaia asked if this was the same Salazzle from Baram town.
"Oh, I see you met my sister. I hope she treated you right, but no we aren't the same Pokémon. Don't be embarrassed, this happens all the time! What can you expect when entire clan gets into the same business? Now, what can I get you?" The group ordered their drinks, and Oscar was disappointed to find out she didn't have any alcohol. Apparently, this was something reserved for places with enough poison types to merit the cost of transporting it. Oscar settled for some apple juice, and joined the others on the floor.
Espeon looked unwell, and Gaia asked if she was doing alright.
"There are too many Dark types here, it's completely silent. I can't get a read on anyone, not even you. It's just unsettling, and unnatural for me." Gaia asked her to elaborate. "Well, even if I am not actively listening in, I can always get something from a creatures mind, even from the environment. Stray thoughts, feelings, emotions; it all makes a pleasant buzz that lets you know you aren't alone. It actually takes deliberate, focused effort not to experience these things. It's part of the reason psychics get so disrupted in battle when hit by a Dark type. Loosing that background noise -that constant connection to everything around you- is like being cut off from part of the world, from a part of yourself. You feel alone, like there is nothing in the whole world but you. Even senses get dulled, as they are usually enhanced as well."
"I thought it was drab in here." Oscar mused.
"Aren't you bothered too?" Espeon asked.
"No, I spent most of my life living like this and my psychic abilities have not developed to the point where I can pick up on the background psychic energy without focusing on it." He shrugged, "But I can see where you are coming from. This happen to you before?"
She shook her head. "Of course I have fought and been around Dark types before, being cut off is nothing new to me. But those were short lived, usually only lasting a couple of seconds. This is something different."
"Do you need to go back?" Stumpy asked, never hearing from a psychic's perspective before what getting silenced is like.
"No, no. I can handle it, so long as I have someone to talk to and distract me, I think."
"I knew silencing a psychic threw them off, but I always assumed it was just shock from not being able to use moves. Knowing it causes them feel like they're dead to the world almost makes me feel bad when I do it." Two Houndoom and a Houndour approached the group and offered greetings after the initial remark. A male, female and small female pup, Oscar's assumption that they were a family was confirmed when they finished their introductions.
"So what brings two psychics and their friends to a den like this?" The female asked.
"This goofball told us we would have a great time, said we couldn't miss it." Gaia teased Stumpy.
"I did not! I- wait." He looked confused, Gaia just slugged him on the shoulder.
"Poochy is that you?" The male Houndoom asked, "You are all grown up! I hardly recognized you, your scent is different." He moved forward to muzzle the Mightyena.
"Yeah, I evolved a little over two weeks ago now. I feel great!"
"That's awesome, why don't you introduce us to your friends. And I don't think you've met my mate or daughter before."
Stumpy introduced the team to the Houndoom family, who in their turn explained more about themselves. They met Stumpy when he was a Poochyena fresh off the boat from the Grass continent. They helped him settle in and gave him a place to stay while he got his bearings. That was almost four years ago, and on the other side of the continent. When asked what they were doing here, they explained that they had recently moved closer to the Guild headquarters in search for work, but admitted it was difficult to come by. The lived a semi-wild life on the outskirts of Baram town, taking their daughter in to socialize whenever they could and taking what jobs came up.
Stumpy asked if they came by boat, but was horrified to hear the crossed the continent on-paw. That was a very dangerous journey, and he was glad to see they made it safe. They joked that if a little Poochyena could make the journey, then surely a family of mighty Houndoom would have no problem. They laughed and this started a discussion on the current state of the Air continent.
The female Houndoom said there was a lot of tension between the Guardian clans they encountered and the Guild. The Guardians had started miniature guilds run by them to capitalize on the lack of rookie rescue teams to run small jobs. The guild was fine if individual teams worked to fill that niche, but took offense if more organized parties tried to move in. The Guild was threatening to reciprocate by creating 'Guild Territories' next to offending clans, and offer favorable tax rates and unique services to anyone who moved there. This, naturally, infuriated the Guardian clans. High ranked teams and Guardian ambassadors were running all over the continent to negotiate and mediate disputes, but tensions were still high.
A Honchkrow jumped in a said she had just been to the dragon territories, and they were angry at the Guild too. Apparently the Guild was accusing the dragons of shorting them on a large iron shipment, and the dragons were offended that their honor would be questioned like that. The dragons claimed the Guild failed to secure the shipment, while the Guild claims the dragons internal politicking disrupted the shipment. Apparently, a Gold ranked team no one has heard from before led by a Lucario of all Pokémon was teleported in to settle the dispute. From what the Honchkrow heard, they got the job done and things settled down a bit, but the dragons were still seething from the insult.
The team wisely decided to play dumb. Most of the team, Dreepy decided to be cheeky and suggested the Guild should put better teams on guard duty in the future. Cinder did his best to cast her a murderous look while keeping a smile, but she just returned a smug grin before burying herself in Oscar's mane.
The tavern suddenly got very quiet, and Oscar looked to see that an Absol had entered. Several groups started up again in hushed whispers, looking ready to bolt at a moments notice. But when a few other groups moved to greet the Absol, things calmed down a bit. After the Absol finished greeting the Pokémon, she spotted Oscar's group and walked towards them. The Houndoom family quietly excused themselves and the remaining Pokémon save for Oscar and Dreepy looked visibly uncomfortable.
"I see you made it." She said when she finally made it to the group. Now that he could get a good look at her, he could see that she was slender for an Absol. He would call it the Pokémon equivalent to a runners body, thin but not gaunt and not a trace of fat on her face. He saw a missing patch of fur running below her right ear to the neck, presumable an injury left to heal naturally.
"We did, thank you for the warning. I am not sure we would have pulled through if we were not as alert as we were." He invited her to sit with them, and she politely agreed, sitting next to Oscar. Cinder gave out an almost imperceptible hiss, which Oscar returned with a scowl on the side of his muzzle facing the Charmander. "What were you doing in the dungeon, just passing though as we were?" he asked.
"Yes, I was passing through when the dungeon appeared. I was jumped by several Bagon and lost my bag, and tried to escape the dungeon. It wasn't long before my sense flared, and I spared some time looking for the cause."
"Oh that was your stuff?" Stumpy asked, looking guilty.
"It was never my stuff, save perhaps the food. I was transporting the items I had, but decided I valued my life above some Guardian's toys. I don't blame you for picking them up, I would have done the same thing and I did abandon it after all."
"There were some… pretty valuable items in there. Won't you get in trouble for losing them?"
"My employer insisted I take the fastest route. I told him of the danger, but he was sure the dungeon wouldn't be there this time of year. I sent a flyer telling him of what happened, I won't face any repercussions. There are not many Absol couriers on the continent, and we all talk to each other. Good luck trying to move something valuable by Absol if you upset me." She lapped from the juice Oscar had offered her.
"Is there something that makes Absol particularly valuable couriers?" Oscar was curious.
"No civilized Pokémon bother us. Even the dragons are convinced some curse will befall their clans if they interact with us. We can transport valuable items and no one will harass us on our route. We only need to worry about wild Pokémon, or natural disasters. Since we can usually tell when these things happen, we are the best choice to move the most valuable goods if you want to keep that movement hidden. Because we move so much and are already trusted with the most valuable physical items, many wealthy employers also trust us to gather and move information." Now that was interesting, Oscar thought.
"What would it cost to get some information that I could not find by simply asking around the room?" He asked.
"One Poke for something important but not actionable, five Poke for something important and actionable." Oscar looked around the group, but no one seemed to want to help pitch in for the good stuff. Oscar sighed.
"Well five is a little rich for my blood, so here is one. What do you have for me?" The Absol took the gold coin, and for the first time he saw her smile. It was subtle, but it was there.
"Both the Guild and the dragons know exactly what happened to the iron shipment lost not too long ago. A group of bandits ambushed the caravan and defeated the Guild team sent to escort it. They know it was probably a local group, but they are more concerned with how the bandits got the information in the first place. The reason behind the dispute between the Guild and the dragons is the source of the leak, and neither group have any good leads on where it could be. Everything else was the typical bluster and maneuvering bluebloods do when an opportunity presents itself. I will add, the dragons are genuinely outraged at the public insinuation that they would cheat the Guild, and the Gold Star team was in fact sent to apologize on behalf of the Guild." That was the best Poke Oscar had spent since he was here. Not that he had bought much, but still. It was a relief to know that the Guild was more interested in the leak than the iron, and they were probably not the direct target of a serious investigation.
"Thank you, I think that was worth the Poke. Makes me wonder what the five-Poke information could be."
"You can still find out, I'll even give you a deal and count the one you just gave me towards the five, because I like you." Oscar had no way of knowing if anything the Absol had said was true, but something about her made him trust what she said. Still, four more Poke would be all he earned from his cut of the loot.
"A generous offer, one I am afraid I will have to take you up on in the future."
"The offer stands if we ever cross paths again. I'll give you one more piece of information, this one for free. If you ever see another Absol courier and want use their services, just tell them Nix vouched for you." She gave the group a polite nod, and walked off to socialize with another group.
"Oooh she likes you~!" Dreepy teased as she squished Oscar's cheeks together.
"What is not to like?" Gaia just coughed at that, and looked away like she just got caught stealing a cookie.
"Oh, hush."
"So Mighty, what is this gathering all about? Something about a new moon?" Cinder asked, steering the conversation away from the Absol.
"Oh, every few years Dark types get together under a new moon and go on a Wild Hunt. It isn't really scheduled or anything like that. We just sort of… feel, when the time is right to meet up. We'll all go out in a big group, and whoever comes back with the best kill 'wins'. There isn't a prize or anything, it's more of a prestige thing. Afterwards we'll have a big party and share our kills, it's a lot of fun! You can join too, it's not exclusive or anything. Mostly other Pokémon just don't know about it. They get funny ideas in their head, you know?" Oscar could well imagine what Pokémon in a nearby village would think of a horde of dark types prowling around their home in a pitch black night.
"When is this thing? I want to join." Gaia asked.
"Tonight! We'll probably get started soon, the tavern is looking pretty full." Espeon shifted uncomfortably.
"I appreciate the offer, but I think I will stay here. I will be more of a burden than a boon with with so many Dark types around."
"Well, when I said we would go out as a group I meant we all started at once. We split apart pretty quickly and spread out. I would be the only Dark type around you, and honestly you would probably have a harder time here as a lot of the Pokémon too young to join are going to stay behind."
"In that case, Wild Hunt it is." Espeon said, then added, "What will we be hunting?"
"Anything! The bigger and stronger, the better. The only rule is no civilized or intelligent Pokémon. There are, umm," he looked a little nervous, but continued shortly, "'bonus points' I guess you could say for psychic types. Theoretically the best you could do would be a wild Alakazam, but I don't think they even can be wild so I don't think its ever happened." Stumpy knew Oscar wouldn't care but he was relieved to see that Espeon didn't take the information poorly. 'They are just wild.' She would explain when asked about it later.
"So, what's your plan?" Cinder asked.
"I think I want to go by the border between the forest and the grassland. We should have a larger variety of Pokémon that way. We follow the border for a few hours and hope for the best, if we don't see anything big, we come back and just pick up something small for the party. Can't come back without anything, that would look bad." The others thought that made sense, and continued to brainstorm on what Pokémon where in the region, how they could be found and so on. Some time later, a pounding on the floor caught their attention.
A Houndoom stood up on a makeshift platform, and then transformed into a Zoroark. The crowd reacted with a mix of boos and cheers.
"Well I think I know which of you figured it out my disguise. The rest of you, better luck next time!" This time all the crowd cheered, and Zoroark held up his arms to silence them. "Quiet, quiet. I know you are all excited, but we have some new blood here and they need to be filled in." In an exaggerated motion he pointed to Stumpy's group. "Some Pokémon can't help themselves, and have to bring the whole family. You even dragged your poor Espeon friend here, what did she do to deserve this fate?" A few chuckles broke out in the tavern, they were taking everything in good cheer. "But seriously, I'm seeing a lot of new faces tonight, so here's the rub. In 30 minutes, we are going to start the Hunt. Now I don't know what some of you have heard about it, but we don't raid and eat villages. Although looking at some of you I can see how Pokémon might come to that conclusion. No, we are going out into the forest and culling the dangerous wild Pokémon there. Wild. Pokemon. I will personally toss to the Guild anyone who involves intelligent Pokémon in this. Don't turn our fun into A Thing, please."
"Now, when we start you are going to go out and find the biggest, meanest wild Pokémon you can find. You'll kill it, and bring it back. Whoever nicks the baddest Pokémon wins! Wins what, you ask? Well my friendship, of course. What more could you need in life? If you are here alone, find a buddy. If you have a buddy, find more buddies. I don't care who you are, something about a Wild Hunt brings out the real dangerous wildlings. Don't be a hero, go with a group and make sure to check in with Salazzle if you haven't already. She was kind enough to drag herself and her consorts to the middle of the forest to help with this, the least you could do is use her."
"Not all at once!"
"It's an act, don't buy it. Anyhoot; Find a Friend, kill a big mean wildling, and come back safe. Don't be a hero. Where here for a good time, not to prove anything. Spend the next 30 minutes finding a group if you haven't already, check in with Salazzle if you haven't already, and if you have hatchlings with you leave them to Salazzle. They will be perfectly safe, Salazzle has a lot of experience managing small, annoying Pokémon." They Salandit holding on the Zoroarks notes stuck out his tongue. "Any questions? No? Good. Meet up outside when you are ready." And with that Zorozark stepped down.
When asked who that was, Stumpy explained the Zoroark was sort of the 'unofficial' Guardian for Dark types on the continent. He was probably the most respected Pokémon among all Dark types, and was almost universally popular. Stumpy added that Zoroark was his inspiration for wanting to found a village, and if he ever succeeded he would ask if Zoroark wanted to be its Guardian and make his status official. Oscar could see why the other Pokémon felt this way, the Zoroark was certainly charismatic enough.
Stumpy told them that they had effectively 'checked in' when they ordered their drinks from Salazzle, and that their group was large enough as it was. He suggested they finish up whatever food they have left and go outside to wait. They did, and walked out of the cave to wait in the clearing by the entrance. About half the gathering was already waiting outside, and more were constantly trickling out. After a few minutes Zoroark walked up to them and the Pokémon briefly introduced themselves.
"Hey Poochy, or I guess Mighty now. I just caught up with Houndoom and his mate and they filled me in. Congratulations, by the way. "
"Thanks!" Zoroark turned to Espeon.
"How you holding up?" He asked with genuine concern.
"Pretty rough, but I'm almost scared to say I'm getting used to it."
"I can imagine. You aren't the first pure psychic to come to one of these, but you are handling it better than the others. For what it's worth, I think you grow from it. The others mentioned the experience helped them in the long run. Has anyone been giving you trouble?"
"No, some odd looks but nothing too bad." She said.
"Good, let me know if someone tries something cute, I'll sort them out." He turned back to Stumpy. "Quite the assortment you brought here. I almost think its cheating, your psychic is going to be a real boon in tracking down game. Still, if you can drag a psychic to a Dark type meeting, that can only say good things about how others view you. I hope you win, personally. Maybe some of the others will try to replicate your success in the future."
"Thanks, Zoroark! We'll do our best!"
"I'm sure you will. Now, I gotta go, it's about time. See you in a few." The Zoroark left them with a wave and disappeared into the mass of Pokémon now outside the cave. A few minutes later Zoroark got the attention of the assembled Pokémon again, and asked if everyone was ready. The enthusiastic cheers said that they were, and with that he announced the start of the Wild Hunt. The Pokémon took off into the forest with a mix of howls, screeches and bellows, and disappeared into the night.
Stumpy led his group east, towards the grasslands. They would not have enough time to make it there and back, but an hour's trek in that direction should be far enough for Pokémon of both biomes to mingle, or so the group assumed. They cut south, and moved more slowly to look for signs of wild Pokémon. They didn't in fact look, as it was too dark, but they sniffed and listened, and Espeon tried to pinpoint local wild Pokémon by their psychic presence. Stumpy identified large tracks, but couldn't pinpoint the species. They followed the scent for a time, and Espeon noted that the lesser wild Pokémon were afraid, something large has scared them into hiding not long ago. Taking this as a sign they were on the right track, they continued following Stumpy's nose. Soon, Espeon bid them to stop saying she felt something nearby. She too couldn't get a read on the species, the creatures mind being distorted somehow. She could only get hints of emotions, and the magnitude of them suggest a large and powerful creature a few hundred meters ahead of them.
Dreepy went out to scout, confident in her ability to remain undetected. She soon returned, and quietly reported her findings. A massive, sickly-looking Nidoking was in a clearing up ahead. She didn't try to speak to it, but she didn't get the impression it was intelligent from its shuffling and grunting. The group stalked now, careful not make any noise. They soon came across the clearing Dreepy spoke of, where something large stomped around. The forest canopy and new moon made it too dark to make out details even with a Pokémon's eyes, but Oscar heard the telltale grunts and snorts of a Nidoking. Stumpy started to move to the side, along the edge of the clearing, and the rest of the Pokémon took the cue to begin surrounding the Nidoking. This was a common pack hunting strategy all the Pokémon present were familiar with, and they could execute it without conferring beforehand.
At some unspoken signal, all the Pokémon knew to stop their surround and wait. After a few moments, Stumpy called out to make sure the Pokémon was wild, and a feral roar confirmed this to be the case. Cinder and Oscar immediately opened up with Embers after charging in to make the range. The Nidoking roared, and charged Cinder. After the brief flash of fire, Oscar found it difficult to find see the wild Pokémon. He ignited a small section of grass to create a constant source of light, and saw the largest Nidoking he had ever seen. Easily over two meters even with its hunch, the wilding massively outsized its hunters. Oscar noticed that the Nidoking did in fact look sickly, with its purple skin and scales blotted with black marks. It was slower than other Nidoking Oscar had seen before, and its movements looked clumsy. Still, judging from the vibration in the ground from its attempt to attack Cinder, its strength had not been too dampened by whatever affliction ailed it. They would do well not to get hit.
Blind/lost/searching Oscar pinged Espeon
Found/leader/light she returned, the entire exchange taking less than a second. Espeon would stay back and direct the other Pokémon in the group, letting them know the location and intention of the wild Nidoking. Stumpy's night vision and hearing was good enough for him to make do without the psychic guidance, and Dreepy was a ghost. Oscar wasn't sure how senses worked for them, but he knew mundane darkness like this didn't affect them.
"It's slow but strong, hit and run! Don't be a hero!" Oscar called out, echoing Zoroark's warning to the team. This simply wasn't worth taking stupid risks for. The other Pokémon hadn't heard the phrase 'hit and run' before, but could deduce from the context what he meant. This was how packs hunted larger game anyway, of course.
Dreepy darted around the Nidoking, taking every opportunity she had to Bite it in unguarded locations. These attacks did not do too much damage, but she could do them with relative safety given her small size and speed. Cinder and Oscar challenged the front of the Nidoking, their Embers weakened by the distance they needed to keep to stay safe, yet wanting to maximize that damage by hitting it's relatively soft underside. Stumpy focused mostly on nipping at its tail and behind its legs, and Gaia focused on Quick Attacks and Pounds to the Nidoking's knees and joints. Espeon had found out quickly that she couldn't read the Nidoking's intentions, she speculated with a psychic ping to Oscar that she thought the sickness the Nidoking had was some kind of Dark-related illness, as what prevented her from accessing its mind as normal seemed similar. She focused instead on relating the position of the Nidoking to the other Pokémon from a safe distance, and letting out a Psybeam when the opportunity presented itself. Sadly, the beast did not seem to be especially weak to the attack, adding credit to the Dark-infected theory.
The team danced around their prey like this for several minutes. They were doing damage, and Oscar could see several gashes and bruises between Embers. Oddly, the Nidoking had not used any moves since the battle started, preferring to swipe or stomp the Pokémon accosting it. Oscar was wondering if the sickness was preventing the Pokémon from using moves, when his thoughts were interrupted by a loud roar. It was as if a switch had been flicked in the Nidoking's head, and it suddenly became much more aggressive. It brought itself low the ground, and let out an Earthquake. Oscar didn't understand how the shaking ground could hurt like it did, but the rapid vibrations were causing him to feel nauseous and his made his joints pinch and ache painfully. He was woozy after the move, and Cinder looked similarly shaken.
Oscar and Cinder recovered quickly, but not quick enough to react to the Hyper Beam that was forming in the Nidoking's mouth. The two Fire types scrambled to move, but were still uncoordinated after the Earthquake. Dreepy reacted quickly, and latched on to its face and scratched viciously at its eye. The Nidoking jerked its head to protect the fragile eye, and the Hyper Beam was let off harmlessly into the sky. The Nidoking swiped at Dreepy, and the little ghost was sent flying across the field into a tree. The group responded in kind, and hit the beast with all the ranged attacks the team could muster at once. It roared in pain, and wildly swung and rushed the nearest Pokémon. It was faster now, and Gaia was taken off-guard by a claw swipe. She too flew across the field, but was saved by Stumpy before it followed up by smashing its horn into the ground where she had been. Stumpy carried the Grovyle by the nape of her neck and tried to get away from the rampaging beast. Cinder and Oscar tried to distract it with Embers, but it was focused now. Stumpy ran towards Espeon and hurled the unconscious Grovyle at her.
"Get her away!" He yelled, as Espeon grabbed Gaia from the air and retreated to the cover of the trees. The group was in retreat mode now, they had bitten off more than they could chew. Stumpy tried to get away, but he too was caught by a claw from the Nidoking and flung towards Cinder and Oscar with a whimper. The Nidoking charged the downed Mightyena, and Oscar couldn't see a way to stop the attack. He rushed forward to try to move Stumpy out of the way just as Stumpy did for Gaia, but he was physically much weaker than the Mightyena and he was not sure he would be able to move fast enough to escape.
"You stay away from him!" Cinder yelled as the Nidoking got close, and he vaulted up and latched on to the back of the larger Pokémon's neck. The Nidoking ignored him, until he let out an Ember while still attached. The Nidoking still ignored him, but only for a moment. Soon it was roaring and grunting, bucking and shaking wildly trying the get the Charmander off of it. Cinder's Ember did not let up, and the Nidoking's roars were turning into something that sounded like screams. It tried rolling on the ground and bashing the Charmander against it, but still Cinder held, Ember going strong. Oscar took this opportunity to drag stumpy to where Espeon had taken Gaia, a wounded Dreepy with them, the roars growing quitter as he moved. He dropped Stumpy off and told them to get ready to run when he came back with Cinder.
He rushed back in the clearing, hoping he could telekinetically extract his teammate before it was too late. He came back to two bodies, the bloody and charred corpse of a Nidoking and the still but breathing body of a Charmeleon. Oscar picked up the newly evolved Cinder and moved him away from the Nidoking, still not convinced of its demise. Once Cinder was a safe distance away, he checked on the Nidoking. Cinder's attack had burned through the tough scales on the back of the neck, and charred the flesh underneath it. The damage to the spine was extensive, and this is probably what had downed the Nidoking. Oscar picked up a stick from the ground, and stabbed the beast through the eye, just to be sure. When it didn't respond, he let out a sigh and brough Cinder back to the others.
Gaia and Stumpy were awake now, greedily eating Oran berries. All the Pokémon present looked at Oscar with wide eyes when they noticed what he was carrying.
"What happened?" Stumpy asked, concerned and amazed at his friend's condition.
"See for yourself." Oscar said, and the others went to check on the body while Oscar fed Cinder mashed Oran berries. He was soon conscious, and sat up with a groan.
"Ugh my head. What happened, did we get him?" Cinder asked, completely oblivious to his evolution. Oscar assumed he was near unconscious at the time and saw the perfect opportunity for a prank.
"Yeah, we got him. But you took a beating and I had to move you out for a bit. The others are just over there, come." Oscar led Cinder to the clearing where the others were, but sent out a message to Espeon before he got there asking her to tell the others not to mention Cinder's evolution right away. Cinder mentioned that he felt a little out of it, but Oscar said he was tossed around pretty hard and that probably was all it was. They soon got to the clearing, and the others looked at Cinder with smiles that ranged from genuine to shit-eating.
"Ha, you look even worse than usual." Dreepy couldn't help but say, vibrating with mischievous excitement.
"Thanks Dreepy, I can always count on you to lift my mood. Did I do that?" He asked, pointing to the blackened neck of the Nidoking.
"Yup. You got him!" Stumpy said, wagging his tail. The mutt was going to break, Oscar knew it. "So, how do you feel?" There it was.
"Like a Snorlax sat on me." He groaned as he ran his claw over his head. He froze when it passed over the single horn that sat on the back of his head, and stared at the group wide eyed.
"Congratulations, Charmeleon. I knew you could do it!" Stumpy said as he bounded to embrace his friend. Cinder was crying with happiness, and Oscar joined the others in hugging and congratulating Cinder. After he recovered he chastised them for not telling him right away. Dreepy said it was better this way and he knew it. In too good a mood to let anything drag him down, Cinder agreed with her.
"So how do we bring this back?" Gaia asked, pointing to the massive body next to them. It was a good question, and they spent a few moments discussing the possibility of dragging it back, levitating it back now that the Dark type energy was gone from it and so on. After a while Oscar suggested they remove the head and bring that back as proof. The other Pokémon thought that was a very good but very gross idea, and that they wouldn't expect anything less from Oscar. They volunteered him to do the dirty work, and with the help of sharp rock, fire and telekinesis he got the job done.
The group made their way back to the cave, Espeon and Oscar taking turns carrying their trophy. When they made it back, they found that most of the other groups had already returned, and were setting up the party in the tavern. The groups secured sections of the tavern on a first-come-first-served basis, and the team took up position on a wall near to where they sat the first time they were in after checking in with Salazzle. Trophy proudly on display, the group rested and were tended to by the Salandit staff while they waited for the remaining groups to check in. Oscar looked around at the competition, and most of the teams had made catches that clearly were not in the same league as theirs. Abnormally large Scyther, Pidgeot and a Xatu looked to be the toughest competition. That was, until none other than Zoroark entered with a team of Houndoom dragging the largest Slaking he had seen. Didn't they prefer more jungle than forest environment? Oscar decided he couldn't make sense of the habitation here. Zoroark checked in with Salazzle while the Houndoom dragged the Slaking to the middle of the room.
"Saved the best for last, it seems. We are the last to check in. But can you blame us, look at this thing!" Zoroark said. Zoroark explained the rules for judging the winners. Each team would be given a Poke from the fund collected, and the teams would spend some time wandering around looking at each of the kills on display. When they decided which one they thought represented the toughest fight, they would place their Poke before the kill, but don't be That Team that gives themselves the money. The team with the most Poke at the end would be the winners, and of course would get to keep the money as well. He was joking when he said the prize would be his friendship; the prize was money. But he said they could still be friends too.
The group broke off to look at the options. The post powerful Pokémon on display was of course the Slaking, but Stumpy reminded them that the directions were to find the one that looked like it was the toughest fight. The Slaking was strong, but so was Zoroark and his team. With this new perspective in mind, the group gravitated towards the Scyther brought in by three young Umbreon and a Nickit. The matchup must have been very tough and very frightening, given the size of those blades and the speed difference between the Scyther and the Dark types. The group put their poke before the Scyther, and noticed several other teams had come to the same conclusion as well. They returned to their spot and awaited the official tally.
They got third place, behind the Xatu and the Scyther. Three Poke had been awarded to their Nidoking, but the Xatu got four and the Scyther nine. The Umbreon and Nickit were bouncing with joy, and everyone took the time to congratulate the beaming youngsters. Zoroark approached them and offered four small obsidian disks/pins that Stumpy said represented the new moon and their victory in this game. Zoroark pinned the disks to their scarves, and bid the others to give a cheer to the Champions of the Wild Hunt. The crowd cheered, Oscar and the team joining them, and when things settled down Zoroark told them to get ready to celebrate.
The celebration was not a wild party, as Oscar had expected. Instead the celebration was the cleaning and preparing of the kills, which all Pokémon would help with. It was meant as a communal bonding experience for the Pokémon, and they were encouraged to break from their group and help those they didn't know to clean the prey. They did split up, and spent the rest of the night until the morning talking, working, eating and drinking with strangers. Oscar liked this more intimate celebration, and most of his conversations involved trading tales of the Hunt they had just gone on. The room was thick with the smell of blood and berries, and Oscar was not looking forward to the cleanup. That time came, and they would play games to select the 'losers' who would collect the worst of the offal that was not fit for eating or wouldn't keep in salt. All ultimately joined in, that time marked when Zoroark would dip his claws in and get them dirty.
When all was said and done, each team would have bags of meat to take home with them, and several new acquaintances. The tavern was in fact just one large room, and did not have a sperate place for sleeping. All the Pokémon would be sleeping communally, as Oscar noted was more the norm that they exception. Zoroark wished them all restful sleep, and the lights were turned out.