Chapter 35 - Team Prism

To no one's surprise, the skies hadn't bothered clearing up for the ensuing expedition. Stone-gray clouds loomed high in the sky, and although no rain fell, the remnants of the previous storm were still evident. Mud stuck to my feet and underbelly as I walked, which I dealt with by reminding myself that at least it wasn't raining now. praying that it wouldn't start anytime soon. Now, places where the pitter-patter of rain had fallen met the steady march of a miniature army. Or an oversized exploration team. I wasn't yet sure.

I mulled things over. So… what do we have that those two agents didn't?

Strength in numbers and a pair of magic scarves. And… that was about it.

I scoffed under my breath. The burden of hours wasted the night before staring out the window hung over me like the many clouds blocking the sky.

It had all happened so fast. By the time we'd gotten back to the headquarters, a gruesome message was waiting there for the Society to find. The stone-turned remains of the Simisage and Vaporeon—the same Pokemon that had ordered us around in our own headquarters only a day before—had been dropped off at our doorstep. Even the stone curse could not mask the scars that were present on their faces. Their injuries weren't unlike mistakes an inept sculptor might carve with his chisel.

There had been no written message left behind, but there was really no need. The entity wanted us.

I took in a deep breath and clenched my fists at the memory of last night, walking in and seeing that it was in fact worse than I could've imagined. As if this evil being didn't think we were taking them seriously before, I mused. Now they're being unnecessarily brutal.

"This is it." Mawile's crisp voice from up front pulled me from my thoughts.

The mountain before us was not the largest mountain I'd stood in front of, or attempted to climb for that matter. From a distance, it had not looked intimidating at all. Now that I was closer, however, I was able to pick apart particular details. There was a total lack of vegetation near the summit, as well as the absence of a clear path to get there in the first place. As far as the road was concerned, this was the end.

"Listen up!" Mawile announced. "The storm is supposed to be behind us, but the mud isn't going anywhere and the slopes will be slippery. Stick close to one another when you're traveling, because one wrong step could be your end. Showdown Mountain is no joke."

"…Hm." Ampharos mused to himself. "Getting up there safely will be a heavy task given the unfortunate downpour last night, so the main path might not be ideal for our trip. Mawile?"

"There is no main path," Mawile said tersely while her eyes trained on the summit. "We'll need to scout around the area to find a way up. It doesn't have to be easy, it just needs to be survivable."

A wave of concern crossed over the chief's face. "…Mawile, I'm not comfortable splitting up the Society after what happened at Fogbound Lake. Are you sure?"

"We'll travel up as a single unit if we can," Mawile tried to reassure him. "But we've got no time to waste. We're already breaking the law." She turned to the rest of the group and raised her chin in a very chief-like fashion. "In the interest of efficiency, I think we should split up for now. Everyone got it?"

Ampharos's conflicted gaze fell to the ground. For a second I could've sworn he moved to protest, but whatever the case, nothing more was said.

Mawile interpreted the chief's lack of disapproval as her initiative to step up further. "Alright! Split into groups of three to four Pokemon and scout around the base of the mountain for a possible way up. If you find something, radio in your position and pursue it."

I glanced to my right looking for Leah, only to be poked in the head with the business end of blast wand.

"Over here, Sage!" She giggled when I flinched at the deadly stick in my face. To my delight, the solemn atmosphere hadn't held up against the life in her eyes, which told of her excitement to finally make some progress on this dumb mountain. "You ready to go? I think if we jog back around to the ridge we passed a minute ago, we might find something."

Gently, I pushed the blast wand out of my face. "Good grief, don't blow my head off, please." I adjusted the lightweight bag straddled around my collar and gave her an agreeing nod, which she reciprocated. "Let's not waste any time."

After signalling to Mawile that Leah and I were heading out, the pair of us began to jog back the way we came. We were able to avoid most of the mud down at the base and throughout the rugged trails surrounding the mountain (although Leah still managed to kick some up into my face as she ran in front of me). This changed, however, upon reaching the ridge she'd spoken of.

The rise in the ground wasn't too steep to climb. Not under normal circumstances, at least. But these definitely weren't normal circumstances: as if the thick shrubbery wasn't enough of an obstacle, the hill had practically become a mudslide after the storm.

Leah barely even looked at it before trying to climb it. She made it up a few steps, digging her paws into the dirt with all her strength and shoving herself upwards. Her legs and underbelly were muddied, but she hardly looked bothered when she glanced back at me still standing on the path. "Come on Sage!" she exclaimed with a toothy grin. "Only one way uuuUUP—!"

Her paw slipped, which was all it took to send her face-first into the mud. Face-down, she slid back down the measly three or four meters that she'd managed to climb.

I shook my head at her as she spat out whatever muck had made its way into her mouth. Clearly we would need a different way up.

"Hm… The woods are pretty thick down here, but I think I can use that to our advantage." I walked to where the elevation started its rise and extended my vines towards the nearest stable-looking piece of forestry: a tree no thicker than I was leaning partially over the main path.

I spun one of my vines around it once, and then once more to compensate for the slippery surface. Then I used it like a rope to pull myself up, extending my other vine towards the furthest thing I could reach in order to repeat the process.

I briefly turned back to Leah to explain my plan: she would hold onto one vine while I used the other to pull us up, and we'd go right-to-left and left-to-right until reaching more stable ground. But before I could even get a full sentence out, she'd placed her paws around my shoulders and gripped me in a tight hug from behind.

"Wha—what're you…?"

Most of her weight was forced upon my back from the surprise piggy-back ride, her cheek now pressed firmly into mine from behind. I struggled to maintain my balance for a moment, and had to lean back so that my vine would pull back on the tree and keep me upright.

"This was your plan, right?" she said in my ear. "You're going to pull us both up?"

"Leah, you're still… covered in mud…" I said through gritted teeth.

"Ah, well… something you gotta get dirty in life!" she laughed with a mock-singing tone.

"B-but this wasn't even my original—" I sighed. It was no use. "You know what? Fine. I have a feeling you don't plan on letting go anyway."

"Nope!"

I tried to take one step forward, pulling on the tree and pushing through the mud with my feet. It was no use at first; I got nowhere until I doubled down and finally managed to pull myself up the unforgiving slope. It took several limited strides forward to even reach the next piece of forestry I'd been aiming for: a low-hanging vine intertwined from above with countless others. To my relief, the vine held strong when I gripped and pulled, and the effort of ascending the ridge became a bit easier with the added bastion of support.

After several minutes of moving from vine-hold to vine-hold, we reached the top. The slope flattened all of the sudden, and seemed to continue up the mountain at a much more forgiving angle from this point on. What was more—a new trail, still mostly intact in spite of the muddied conditions, presented itself. In between heavy breaths, I let out a relieved chuckle. Maybe luck was on our side.

Leah hopped off my back and I tumbled to the ground to catch my breath. She looked back at me and seemed to notice my exhaustion. "Here." She sheepishly offered me a paw. "Sorry I'm so heavy."

"Y-yeah… all good," I coughed and took her paw.

"Oh, so you're saying I am heavy?"

"Ye—uh, no." I paused as she looked at me expectantly. "Just that… my shoulders aren't built for this. I'm a Snivy, you're a Fennekin, and I had to lug your entire body all the way up the… hey, what's so funny?"

Leah was struggling to contain a fit of giggles. "Good gravy, you are so bad at talking to girls Sage! First the thing with Espurr yesterday, and now you just called me—" A new wave of hysterics overcame her, and she was unable to complete the thought.

Sage blinked. "Wh-what the hell is that supposed to mean? She told you about that?"

My reaction served only to increase Leah's display of humor. She nodded as she buried her face further into her paws in a futile effort to suppress her laughter.

"It's not that… it's not that funny, come on!"

Clearly she wouldn't listen; anything I said in defiance just made her laugh harder. Whatever. I pulled out the Society gadget. "Just… let me see if I can get a signal out here."

I tapped the power button, but the screen remained black. A frown spread across my face. The battery icon near the top corner of the screen was flashing on and off, indicating that it had no charge.

"What is it?" A mostly-sobered Leah poked her head over my shoulder. She noticed the issue right away and narrowed her eyes in concern. "…Wait, no, that's not right."

Now righteously irritated, I turned around and crossed my arms. "I thought you said you'd charged it, Leah!"

"I—I did though!" I expected the typical embarrassment she displayed when she messed something up. After all, this wouldn't be the first time she'd forgotten to charge the damn thing. Instead, however, I saw nothing but pure bewilderment. "I know I charged it last night. I even checked this morning… Sage, I'm serious. I know I charged it."

She spoke with plenty of conviction. I looked down at the device and back at her. A passerby wouldn't have been able to ascertain that she'd been on the ground laughing just a moment ago. The sharp look in her eyes told me she wasn't just trying to save face.

I hummed and nodded once. "Maybe it's a… battery problem or something. I'll ask Jirachi about it later." I lifted my head back up towards the looming mountain. "In the meantime, let's see if this path will be of any use."

I put it back in the bag and started heading towards the trail. Leah, perhaps as a courtesy for the ride I'd given her, relieved me of the bag and took the lead.

The new path was not like the one at the foot of the mountain. This one insisted on leading up the mountain, even in areas where simply walking wasn't possible. I thanked the heavens that this mountain wasn't as steep as most of those in the Sheer Mountain Range, or those in the heart of the Air Continent. In places like those, a trail like this wouldn't really mean anything. Still, as few and far between as they were, I still cursed under my breath every time we had to stop and climb a precarious ridge, all in an effort to remain on the otherwise tranquil path.

It wasn't until an hour into the climb that the lack of wild Pokemon started to unnerve me. I had only seen this sort of thing happen twice: once on Revelation Mountain, and once in those damned underground tombs—the latter of which still made it difficult to sleep every now and then.

I did not wish to re-live either of those scenarios.

If I wasn't already on my guard, I was now. Had those two Water Continent agents been worried too, I wondered? They had to have noticed it as well, if they were as experienced as they acted.

I scrunched up my face in disgust. It had hardly helped them. Of course they were turned to stone. That pair of idiots walked right into a trap designed to lure in its victims and turn them into life-sized tombs.

The same trap we were now walking into.

My nose twitched up towards the thick, humid atmosphere. …Not that it matters. This thing was getting to us one way or the other. This is our chance to end this. I just have to believe in that.

And then, I felt it. Something was amiss. Something was here. I glanced around—at Leah, at the gloomy sky, and at the trees unwavered by the thin breeze.

…We won't be holding anything back this time. Our strength is in our numbers…

I smirked. Isn't that right, Espurr?

There was silence at first, but it would not last. As she emerged from her hiding place in the bushes, Espurr paid little heed to Leah nearly leaping out of her pelt in fright. She stared at me dead in the eyes with astonishment written on her face.

"Oh! It's just…" Leah recomposed herself and greeted her friend with a mixture of delight and confusion. "…ahh, thank goodness. Hey Espurr! I thought you were staying back at the Society? I would've packed more food if I knew you were coming!"

A gentle smile crossed the psychic cat's face at Leah's reaction, although her eyes still shone of bewilderment. "I-It's fine Leah. I brought my own." She cast a glance in my direction, briefly making eye-contact. "I… followed you guys to assist the mission however I can."

A breath caught in my throat. She wanted to help?

Leah tilted her head. "Are you sure? We don't really know what we're walking into, and if things go wrong you could get…" What I could only imagine were memories of Pokemon turned to stone swam through her head. "…hurt pretty badly."

"I know, and I'm sure," Espurr said with conviction in her tone. "I'm here now, and… I'd like to be here to stay."

Leah eyed her for a moment longer before giving her a final, authentic nod. "Okay." Then she turned to me. "Sage, what do you think?"

Espurr and I locked eyes, and for once, neither of us looked away.

"Espurr…"

I'd run from this exchange once before, escaping into the night from Serene Village and the many great friends I had met there—none greater than Espurr that I'd left behind. She'd always been there for me back then, and now she was here again.

It was about time things stayed that way.

"…Okay."

Espurr smiled.

How did you notice me?

As the group ascended the rugged path, I considered Espurr's query. It was a valid question, no doubt. I wasn't entirely sure I could even give her an answer.

I… don't know. You poking around in my head is familiar enough to just barely pick up on, I think? I'm really not sure.

I went silent for a few seconds. When she didn't immediately answer, something hit me.

…H-hey, wait, what were you doing in my head to begin with?

Espurr would not get a chance to respond. Right at that moment, Leah broke the external silence with a sobering observation. "Holy Miltank!"

The road before us, which had leveled out a moment prior, had ended. I could clearly see where it continued up the mountain face a good ten meters away. But any comfort or hope for an easy trip was snatched from me the moment I dared look down.

The consequences of a fall from this height were hard to predict. The mountainside sloped downwards here, so it would be more of a tumble than a freefall. With that said, I was not confident I could stop myself from bouncing off of jagged rocks and being ripped apart all the way down. I concluded that even if I did survive, it probably wouldn't matter anyway.

"All right! Our first real trial together!" Leah pumped a closed paw in the air and sized up the jump.

I could already tell it was futile, and it wouldn't take long for her to figure that out too. She walked up next to me and got a better look at the gap, as well as the drop below. Her ears drooped. "Oh darn it. I don't think I can make that jump at all."

"Espurr," I said. Can you levitate us over?"

Espurr flinched at the depth of the chasm. "…I don't think I'm comfortable levitating you two over that. And I'd be left behind anyway. Any other ideas?"

I stepped back and looked around, when something in particular caught my eye. There were very few trees around this area of the mountain, but a notably tall oak happened to be nestled between a triage of jagged rocks. The trunk was no thicker than the width of my body, and still damp from the storm that had passed through. But maybe…

I placed a hand on the psychic-type's shoulder and pointed. "See that tree we just passed by a moment ago?"

Realization dawned in her eyes immediately; confidence, however, was not quick to follow. "I think I know what you're about to say; no need to read your mind." She jogged over to the tree. She hummed to herself as she ran her paw along the bark, at one point closing her eyes for a few seconds. A pink-ish hue emanated from her fur as she probed the composition of the tree.

When she was finished, she stepped back to get a better look at the entire tree. "It isn't very wide, nor is it dense anywhere except the trunk. And it's just barely tall enough to bridge the gap." She stared at me with the same lack of assurance as before. "We can try using it, but we'll have to be extra careful."

Turning back to face the tree, she rubbed her paws together and extended her arms out in front of her. "First thing's first, though…"

Psychic aura generated around her once more, this time assuming a sharper, whiter tint. She stood deadlocked in a stalemate with the tree for five seconds, then ten, then going on fifteen before one of them finally yielded. The tree fractured near the bottom before splitting apart entirely, sending a shower of tiny splinters and dust around the area. The tree careened to the side and then fell.

Leah and I leapt out of the way as a stray branch landed uncomfortably close to where we'd been standing. Espurr, meanwhile, was eyeing the now-fallen tree.

"Alright guys, I'm gonna lift the tree over to the gap." She readied another burst of psychic energy. "Can I have a sitrus berry or something? This is gonna take a lot out of me."

"One step ahead of you." Leah shuffled a paw in the treasure bag and pulled out a single golden berry. She tossed it towards Espurr, who caught it with her telekinesis and directed it straight into her mouth.

"Mm. Much better."

With renewed strength, Espurr clasped her paws together once more. "Step back, you two. I don't want to drop this on you."

Vigor coursed through her body as she planted her feet and thrust her paws towards the tree once again. Psychic energy emanated off of her, outlining her figure; the entire tree was enveloped by the same aura at once, and it began to rise.

"Don't overwork yourself!" I called out. I assumed she would struggle with lifting such a heavy object, and judging by the strain written on her face as she inched the tree over to the gap, I was right to do so.

Still, after one final heave and then a few painstaking seconds spent coordinating the tree across the gap, Espurr had successfully moved it in place. She fell to her knees the moment she let go.

"A-are you alright?" I was by her side in an instant. I offered her an oran berry I'd snatched out of the bag. "Here."

She waved it off, chuckling at the gesture between heavy breaths. "…Just… water. Thanks."

I grabbed her outstretched paw and pulled her up. Leah trot over and offered her a canteen, which she drank earnestly.

"Sorry Espurr, I'd have helped you lift it and all, but…" Leah glanced behind her at the tree, which now sat on its side, perfectly bridging the gap. "My psychic abilities aren't quite like yours. I can blow stuff up, but I can't do that."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't I know it."

"Pfft. Shut your face, you don't even have psychic powers," Leah said, sticking her tongue out.

"Yeah, Sage." Espurr added with a cheeky smirk, by now having regained most of her breath. "Why don't you get on our level."

She and Leah laughed and bumped paws. To save face, I sighed and turned to face the makeshift bridge Espurr had built for us. If it hadn't looked narrow before, then it definitely did when suspended over what was arguably a fatal drop. Still, if our balance and the tree both held, we would be fine.

Espurr, now having mostly regained her breath, noticed my concern and walked over. "The tree should be sturdy enough to easily hold all of us at once. Even if it can't hold for some reason, I'll be able to feel it slipping. You'll just have to trust me."

"I'll go first!" Leah declared. I figured it was to be expected; with the exception of ghosts, there was very little nature had to offer that phased her.

Espurr had placed the tree with the splintered end facing our side of the chasm, so hopping onto the trunk was as simple as it sounded. Leah placed a tentative paw forward, doing so a total of four times before looking back at us and nodding back at us in affirmation. "It's fine, guys! …A little wet, but fine!"

Next was Espurr, who hopped up and made her way after my partner. Then me.

I jumped up onto the tree, using an outstretched shard of wood from the splintered base to stabilize myself. The gap really wasn't that big, now that I was looking at it from the advantage of a bridge. Leah had already made her way halfway across with little difficulty, with Espurr not far behind her.

I placed a foot down to test the tree's integrity. Leah was right: the bark was soft and wet, and was a lot cooler than the hot dirt and foliage I'd been walking on. Confident, I began slowly walking forward.

Just like old times, right?

Of course, Espurr projected this right as I found myself standing over the gap. At this point, I realized it would not be as easy as I'd originally thought it would be when I'd been clutching onto the safety of solid ground. It wasn't even the bridge, notwithstanding how little room I had to work with laterally; the tree had hardly changed in composition, and towards the end were a myriad of branches and greenery to grab onto if I slipped. My real issue was the sheer height I was at—particularly the consequences of falling. I glanced around looking for the slightest movement from a potential enemy looking to strike us down when we were most vulnerable.

N-not exactly… I'm starting to think I was never a fan of heights.

I made the mistake of looking down again, sending another wave of fear down my spine. Suddenly, I froze completely where I stood. It was not quite as high as when gliding over the Air Continent, but I knew there would be no gliding if I slipped here. A long tumble awaited instead.

Don't look down. Look up. Look at me. Espurr was about halfway across now and had stopped to wait for me. This tree doesn't have any indentations you can trip on back where you're at. Just walk slowly and keep your eyes on me, and you'll be fine.

I took a deep breath. Alright… Alright.

I began making my way across, one step at a time. I knew that this would be possible, albeit very slow. A vision of the near-death experience back at Revelation Mountain appeared in my head, and for a brief moment I was thankful that no wild Pokemon had shown themselves for the entire trip. I would not be able to dodge much of anything up here, and I had a feeling energy ball wouldn't help much either.

I dismissed such thoughts as soon as they arrived, and concentrated on my next step. Thinking like that wasn't going to help me get across.

When I began to draw near Espurr in the center, most of the anxiety had faded, though I knew I'd be calling it back if I dared look down again. By now, Leah had already finished the task entirely. The Fennekin was watching the area from the other side with her blast wand ready. Scouting for wild Pokemon arriving at an inopportune time, I assumed.

"You doing alright?" Espurr asked when I finally reached her.

I took a deep breath and managed to smile. "Yeah. I'm good. Let's… keep going."

She nodded and led the way. I followed close behind.

Tiptoeing past what used to be the top of the oak tree was probably safer than before, but definitely more of a hassle. Espurr opted to use her telekinesis to move any troublesome branches out of the way, whereas I resorted to cutting through them with quick swipes from my vines. There were plenty around me to hold onto, so the last of my anxiety was washed away as I focused on contending with whatever greenery Leah hadn't already shoved aside.

When I touched down on the other side of the chasm, I fell to my knees and let out a hearty chuckle. I decided in that moment that I really hated mountain climbing.

"Let me try to call the other members again," Leah said. "Sometimes the stupid gadget can be turned on briefly after being out of charge for a while."

She tried using the fur on the back of her paw to wipe off the gadget's screen, which had been moistened by the humid air. Her fur had begun to dampen as well, and her efforts were ineffective.

"Here." I took the gadget and rubbed the screen on the treasure bag hung over Leah's shoulder. It wouldn't matter. When the battery icon popped up again, I groaned. "No. Nothing."

"With our gadget dead, we can't really do much but keep going," Leah concluded. She looked back at me, allowing me to view the disheveled state her fur had twisted its way into. When I stared for too long, her eyes fell and were followed with a sigh before anything else. "Don't even comment on the fur. I know it looks bad."

"It's the humidity." Espurr, too, was dealing with the same issue to an even greater degree, made clear by how her gait changed the more her legs began to dampen. Apparently trimming her fur had hardly helped. "I don't remember it being this bad during the summers here."

"Yeah. My skin is really killing me," I said in the most monotone voice I could muster.

Of course, I was perfectly aware that I had no such warm-blooded issues, nor did I have to contend with maintaining a pelt of fur in this increasingly enigmatic climate. Keeping up a straight face became too difficult when Leah and Espurr simultaneously looked at me with little short of disgust.

Leah and her humid pelt in particular were not having it. "Oh woooow. Poor guy."

Espurr clapped her hands together twice. "Well spoken, Sage, for someone who was clearly born this year."

Leah burst out laughing. I tried to think of an objection, but as the truth would have it, she technically wasn't wrong. Lacking a retort, plus not exactly eager to give Espurr more opportunities to use her wit, I decided to shift the conversation. "Yeah, uh… how long has it been since I entered this world, anyway?"

"I dunno," Leah shrugged. "A few months sound right?"

Espurr clicked her tongue against the top of her mouth. "…Hmm, let me do some math… Sage, how long before the ghost incident did you show up in Serene Village? Eleven days?"

I rubbed the back of my head and gave a shrug of my own. "I think that sounds right? Give or take a day or two?"

"I bet Nuzleaf would know!" Leah said. "He was your, uh… sir, ser—"

"Surrogate," Espurr offered.

"—surrogate father, after all. He's gotta have an idea."

"Maybe we should ask him." Espurr proposed. A cheeky smile made its way onto her face. "Whoever is closest to what Nuzleaf says wins, I guess."

"My best bet is…" I stopped and pretended to do some critical thinking, even though I hadn't the slightest clue what exactly it could be. "…a hundred and twenty days? That sounds like a reasonable estimate."

"Only four months?" Espurr countered. "I feel like you've been around for at least five."

Though it felt like much longer…

A breath caught in my throat. Was I supposed to hear that? I had to stop myself from inquiring with her further when I realized this really wasn't the time or place. After a few moments of silence, I got a strong feeling that she didn't mean to project that thought in the first place, nor did she seem to realize she had. For now, I decided to keep it that way.

"It's gotta be, like, a hundred and… forty two days," Leah said matter-of-factly. "What do y'all want to bet on it?"

"That's… really specific," Espurr commented.

"Agreed."

Although I quickly recognized the voice to be Mawile's, the simple fact that it wasn't Leah's or Espurr's led me to preemptively launch an energy ball in the direction it came from.

It was too late to even cry out a warning. Fortunately, though, it wouldn't matter. The energy ball sailed past the historian, who stood ahead of us on a rocky ledge suspended a couple meters off the ground. never close enough to even make her flinch. She momentarily raised an eyebrow at me before smiling at Leah.

"I never took your guessing skills to be as precise as your aim, Leah." Mawile returned her attention to me with a mixture of amusement and disdain written in a frown. "Speaking of aim…"

I waved her off. "Yeah, yeah. I'm working on it."

"I can tell."

Leah glanced around. "Are you alone?"

Mawile jumped off the ledge and landed in front of us. "I was with Archen, but he glided back down the mountain to regroup with the chief and a couple others. I continued onward hoping to find yours or Mincinno's squad. Why did you call in?"

"Gadget ran out of battery," I said.

"Hm." Her gaze then trailed over to Espurr. Her frown deepened. "…Espurr? I was under the impression you were staying back at the headquarters. This is a very dangerous mission."

"I'm aware of that." Espurr nodded respectfully. "I wanted to help my friends."

"Are you also aware of the potential legal ramifications behind coming here—"

"With all due respect," I intervened, stepping forward. "She's a member of Team Prism."

Espurr visible reacted with surprise. Wait, so …I am? Like, officially?

Mawile gave me a skeptical look that lasted a second or two longer than what I was comfortable with. To my delight, she did not object.

"Alright, fine. I really wish you'd told me sooner so we could get it in official writing. But you know what? We'll worry about that later." Mawile turned to the psychic cat and bowed her head. "For what it's worth—welcome, Espurr. We're happy to have you."

With that, Mawile began leading the way up the path, waving at all three us to follow.

I looked back at Espurr and smiled. You are now.

I realised at once that we were about to reach the summit. The path had widened out, leading all the way up to a formation of rocks and shrubbery that marked the top of the mountain. Only the sharp peaks of the Sheer Mountain Range rose on the distant horizon as we neared the top.

Something was wrong. Everything about the atmosphere, from the first cracks in the clouds to the gentle breeze, felt off. The danger at Fogbound Lake—I had felt it. It was palpable.

I felt no such presence here. It was too quiet.

Nobody was taking any chances either way. Our group of four walked in a diamond—Espurr watching our backs while Mawile led the way. I scanned the bushes for any sign of movement, anything at all.

"Espurr." Mawile spoke in a near-whisper as she slowed her pace to a standstill. "Do you sense anything ahead?"

Espurr closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Several very long seconds passed before she gave her answer in the same near-whisper.

"No. I don't sense anyone." She stepped up particularly close to my side to get a better look at where we were going. "If they're here, they're invisible to me."

Mawile hummed to herself. She glanced at the sky and my own gaze followed; it appeared that she, too, could sense the lack of danger.

The evil presence that had attacked me twice before was not here. The ticking… was not here.

And then something made a noise, causing everyone to freeze. My heart skipped a beat when I hastily believed that I'd thought it into existence. I soon realized this wasn't the case when the sound picked up again, this time loud enough to distinctly as the voice of someone struggling with something.

Leah rushed forward towards the clearing. Mawile raised an arm and began to call her back, but instead resorted to chasing after her. Espurr and I were hot on their tails, breaking any formation we'd previously had. With vines unsheathed and a leaf blade attack charged, I would burst into the clearing last among the group.

None of Leah's Fire was blanketing the air. Espurr wasn't shooting psybeams at anyone. Mawile wasn't so much as in a defensive stance. There was nothing to so much as flinch at in the clearing except for a single, tied up Krokorok who looked like a blemished fruit left out in the rain to rot. His jaws were strapped shut, but that didn't stop him from attempting to make as much frantic, incoherent noise as possible. The unspoken message of 'untie me!' really wasn't that hard to grasp anyway.

Mawile took it upon herself to do so once she was certain that nothing was hiding in the thin shrubbery surrounding Showdown Mountain's apex. The Krokorok let out a wheeze the first chance he got, coughing and sputtering as she then untied his legs.

"Baugh… N-now my arms?" he croaked.

"I'll consider untying those if you cooperate," Mawile responded coldly. "First, you're gonna answer some questions for us."

Without warning, she slammed his head down into the rocky earth, hard. He let out a weak cry of pain, though he figured out quickly that it would take more than that to pacify the historian. The mouth on the back of her head, which I'd hardly ever seen move, suddenly reared up and curled backwards to loom over him, her sharp teeth inches away from his flesh.

"I recognize you. You're the Krokorok in Lively Town that hangs out with Krookodile." Mawile inched her bigger mouth closer to the helpless thug. "Only the Society and the one turning Pokemon to stone knew to come to this place. Why are you here?!"

"Augh, criminey, if you'll just let me talk!" He let out another desperate, hearty cough as Mawile increased the pressure. "Ju-just get that fuckin' giant mouth away from me for three seconds, please!"

Mawile took a step back as she maintained eye contact. "Very well. Speak, and for your sake I urge you to be honest and concise."

Gratitude flashed across the Krokorok's face when he realized he'd be allowed to sit up. He crossed his legs and breathed heavily for a few seconds, allowing me to get a good look at his condition. It was impossible to notice how soaked he was, though it looked less like he'd been attacked and gone swimming and more like a byproduct of the previous weather. He was covered in small cuts and the occasional bruise, but had not sustained anything concerning. The only thing about him that suggested there had been some kind of struggle were the rope marks around his mouth and legs and the rope still around his wrists.

"I—I… dear Arceus I can't believe this, y'all…" He buried his face in his claws and fought back the urge to cry. "I came up here with ol' Krook, but… oh dear Arceus above…"

"Where is he?" Mawile pressed. The mention of Krookodile being up here was all it took for Leah and I to assume defensive positions, leading Espurr to do the same.

"He… He left!" Krokorok wailed. "He left me here! I…" He could barely hold his head out of his own lap without burying it there once more. "I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't turn nobody to stone. I take plenty of things, but not nobody's life! I swear!"

"Slow down, and then explain," Mawile said. Much of the aggression in her tone had transformed into an urgent curiosity. "What about Krookodile? Why did you come up here with him?"

Krokorok took Mawile's advice to slow down in the form of several deep breaths. He looked absolutely, utterly defeated. When he took a shot at speaking again, he spoke in a voice devoid of spirit.

"He and I and a few others… w-we came up here on what he called a 'business trip'. And here… here is where he showed me that he could turn Pokemon into stone!"

My jaw dropped. Leah shot me a wide-eyed look, which I reciprocated.

Krokorok continued. "He killed those two badge-wearin' pricks right in front of me. He decimated their—their statues, and then had their heads delivered s-straight to you. He wanted me to do it, but I wouldn't… so he said he'd leave me here to be found and killed by you. Said I'd risk foiling the plan…" He looked up at Mawile with eyes beginning to water. "P-please don't kill me! I didn't sign up for none of this stone shit, I'm just a common hood 'mon, I don't even—"

"Shut up," Mawile commanded. "…Fortunately for you, we aren't in the business of taking lives either."

Krokorok's entire face lit up. "S-so you believe me?"

"That's for Jirachi to decide once we get an opportunity to really cross-examine you." The historian smiled when a new fear replaced the old in Krokorok's eyes. "You remember Jirachi, don't you?"

He gulped. "Y-yes, I remember. Look, I'll tell you everything I know, I just wanna get away from all this!"

Mawile clasped her hands together, still smiling at him. She grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet, where he wobbled before finding his balance.

"I trust you will. Now let's all get the hell off this mountain."

"W-with pleasure," he mumbled.

With that, we began heading down the mountain again. As I descended, nothing could be done to halt my racing mind. It was Krookodile? Really? That brute Krookodile, who I'd only met once back in Lively Town, was behind the cluster of events that took place at Fogbound Lake?

No. It didn't add up. If Krookodile could actually turn Pokemon to stone, that would be one thing. But possess them? Turn them into the walking dead? …No, I didn't believe it.

I shared a look with Leah, who had previously shown no fear standing before Krookodile. She looked determined, perhaps even angry—yet the same confusion was present there too. When I looked at Espurr, she was the most confused of all; to my surprise, though, she wore the same determination that Leah did. She gave me a defining nod, which settled any doubts about her commitment to this life.

At least now we had a lead. At least now we could take the initiative. And yet, as the summit grew further away with each step, I sighed. We still knew so little. Whatever Krookodile knew or was capable of would have to wait until we had him—and his entire gang—at the mercy of the Expedition Society.

I had a deep feeling in my gut that this wasn't going to be easy.