Author's Note: This is a companion story to my other PMD2 fanfic, Darkened Skies. You don't necessarily need to read both of them to understand the other, though there are a few places where it may help. At any rate, this is mostly going to be a bunch of short stuff that wouldn't fit into the main fic for whatever reason.

First up: How do the desert Pokémon survive when all they have to eat is Grimy Food? Why, convenient acquired immunity, of course!

Grimy Food

"I'm so hungry…"

Iris the Cacnea groaned as her stomach growled. Team Shadow had gotten pretty far in Quicksand Cave, and they were running low on supplies—including food.

Claire, the human-turned-Meowth leading the team, sighed and dug through her treasure bag. She had two apples, one gummi, and a handful of Plain Seeds she'd forgotten to throw away. Hesitantly, she pulled out an apple and tossed it to her teammate. Iris cheered as she caught the apple, devouring it immediately.

"How much food do we have left, Claire?"

Felix, her Chimchar partner, looked worried. He'd eaten the last gummi out of his own bag a few floors ago. Clearly, he was anxious about relying on the desert's typical, barely-edible fares.

"Not much, but I think we'll be okay," Claire replied, checking her Wonder Map. "We've only got a few floors left!"

"Has anyone seen Rin, by the way?" Iris suddenly asked.

Claire shoved her map back into her bag as she looked around. The Cubone in question was nowhere in sight. While she was more than capable of taking care of herself, it was unlike her to wander off like that…

Fortunately, Rin entered the room a few seconds later, coming through the hallway the team had just exited. Unfortunately, the large pile of food she was holding looked rather unappetizing. She had an assortment mainly consisting of wrinkled berries, dried-up seeds, and a few squished gummis; however, she even had what looked like a moldy apple core.

"I found some food," she offered.

"Oh, good!" Iris said brightly. "I can't believe I forgot about that."

Felix's eyes widened as he rapidly shook his head. Although Claire shared his sentiments, she couldn't help giggling at his expression. Rin, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow at his reaction.

"We did grow up in the Northern Desert, you know," she commented. "We're used to it."

"I'll take one or two of the berries." Iris nodded; Claire wasn't sure if she'd missed Felix's expression or if she just didn't care. "They can stick to their 'normal' food if they want."

Rin shrugged and silently ate one of the dried seeds, and then she tossed one of the wilted berries to Iris. Claire shook her head, watching the two for a moment before beckoning to everyone.

"Come on, guys! We have to get to the Time Gear before Grovyle does."

With that, the team formed a line and walked through the next hallway. Despite the mission at hand, Claire kept watching as Rin and Iris ate some more of their food. She couldn't help laughing when Felix cringed, even though she knew they had to focus.

Well, at least they had a use for all that grimy food, even if she didn't like it.