As the Lucario fell through the portal, he felt as if he was being carried downwards. The sky was a light pink, orange, and purple-ish blue, perhaps it was sunrise? The air smelled crisp and clean, and each breath he took felt more relaxing than the last. After a few moments, the sun rose enough for its warmth to bounce his fur, and a cozy smile appeared on his face. As he took in the warmth of the sun and the freshness of the air, he also took a look at his surroundings.
He was floating towards a large island, to the north stood a tall, jagged mountain that pierced the sky. To the south, a forest of bright orange and yellow leaves, showing the season to be Autumn. To the east, more of the same forest, but the trees were thinner than the rest, he wasn't close enough to tell clearly. Directly below the Lucario were more colorful trees.
As softly as he has fallen, the Lucario finally landed on solid ground, he stood for a moment, taking in the scent of the forest air, before being approached by a black fox with a large, spiky, red mane with dark spikes curved downward, bright red claws, and piercing blue eyes.
"Huh, that's not how she said that happened… I thought they fell like rocks," the fox muttered to himself. Clearing his throat, he waved and put on a grin. "Howdy, name's Kora, a Zoroark," the fox extended his paw to greet the Lucario. When he finally shook Kora's paw, he was met with a firm shake and a warm smile. "Don't believe I caught your name, figure it's only fair you share yours after I already told you mine."
The Lucario had almost forgotten to introduce himself. It took him a moment to remember, but it came to him nonetheless. "M-my name is Rio, nice to meet you," Rio replied with a smile.
"I'm gonna go out on a whim and assume you don't got any places to be, right?" Kora joked, motioning for Rio to follow him. "I can take you to my place, it's not too far from here."
Rio nodded; the Zoroark was right, after all. Other than remembering something asking him to save the world, Rio had no idea what to do or where to go. After walking for a few minutes (mostly stumbling in Rio's case, his body felt unnaturally stiff), Rio thought it would help him to find out whatever he could from Kora.
"So... Kora? You don't exactly look, surprised that someone just… fell from the sky. Why is that?" the Lucario asked, nearly tripping over himself. Kora slowed down his pace and offered Rio to hold onto him for balance.
"My mom said the same kinda thing happened to her. Pretty sure she said she's an 'Outstander" or something like that," the Zoroark shrugged. "I can't really remember off the top of my head."
"From the sounds of it, your Mom might be my best shot at finding out what I'm supposed to do then, huh," Rio said.
As the two continued to talk, they finally came to the village Kora was talking about. It was small, with only a few tents with hardly anybody around; a couple kids, a blue alligator and a tall chicken, and Rio could swear he saw someone staring at him from the woods. It was quaint and homey, a feeling of peace coming to Rio when he first walked in. Kora put on a big smile and introduced Rio to the town.
"Welcome to Sunset Valley, Rio! It's not the biggest or fanciest, but it's home! We even have a Square down that path over there, I can show you it later!" Kora said, pointing to a path to the side. Suddenly, those two kids that were running around were standing beside Kora and Rio, gawking at the Lucario.
"Whoa, Kora! Is that an Outlander?!" the small black fox said, with wonder and awe practically glued on his face. Kora grinned, putting his arm on Rio's shoulder.
"Yep! This is Rio, he just showed up and I was just about to bring him to Mom, so-"
"My name's Kai," the small black fox said, interrupting Kora, "and this is my best friend, Mia!" Kai gestured to the small dog fox thing, who waved excitedly at their new acquaintance. Rio nervously waved back, chuckling to himself.
"Nice to meet you, Kai and Mia!" Rio greeted the two with a smile. Kora cleared his throat and started pushing Kora away from the two children. "This is gonna be so cool! You're a Lucario, which is awesome, too! I can't wait for you to mee-"
"Like I said, I was right about to bring Rio to Mom! So you two can go on and do... whatever it is you do..." the Zoroark stated, getting Rio and Himself away from his brother and his friend.
Up close, the tents looked much older. The roofs had interesting designs that looked to represent the Pokémon who lived inside of it, in one way or another. The house Kora was leading Rio to, for instance, had black and red designs on a large bushy object similar to a Zoroark's mane. The actual tent itself looked very stable and the entrance to the house was a large opening hole covered by a tough cover cloth. Inside was a large room with a decent sized fire pit in the middle. In the middle of the fire pit was a wide, thin, flat rock holding a metal pot. Around the fire pit were three large rugs with two big cushions each. The interior of the tent was cozier and larger than expected. Kora plopped down on the second largest rug and patted the cushion next to his for Rio to sit on, and Rio obliged.
"Weren't we supposed to meet your mom? Where is she?" Rio politely asked, carefully scanning the room. Kora grinned mischievously.
"Well, why don't you ask her yourself!" Kora said, pointing at the wall opposite to them.
"That doesn't make any-" Somehow, in the few seconds it took for him to turn his head, another Zoroark appeared out of thin air right where Kora had pointed. Rio jumped back in surprise, stumbling over one of the cushions.
"Good afternoon Kora, honey," the Zoroark said, her voice as sweet as honey and as smooth as silk, " and who, pray tell, is this Lucario you brought with you?"
"This is Rio! I thought you were always joking when you said Outlanders fall from the sky, but he actually did!" Kora stated, pushing Rio slightly closer to his mother.
"An Outlander? Really? I never thought another Outlander would arrive at the same island I did so long ago. My name is Diana." She gave a warm smile after introducing herself. Rio shyly smiled back.
"Um, Kora said you were an Outlander too. I wanted to know if you could tell me what being one means, if you wouldn't mind," Rio asked politely. Diana, pleased with Rio's politeness, gladly took up his request.
"I'll tell you anything you want to know, sweetheart. It's unfortunately rare to find such a polite and well-mannered Outlander. I can't begin to tell you how many snobby, uppity Outlander's I've come across in my travels! I think I've fought more Outlanders than I have regular Pokemon!" Diana laughed, letting out a nostalgic sigh.
"So, Miss Diana, what am I supposed to do? When I was sent here, I didn't get any help from who or whatever sent me," Rio asked, Kora sat down next to him and Diana across from him. He showed his right arm and the band on it. "Well, except this. They said it should help me in my journey, or something along those lines."
"It's hard for me to say, honestly," the Mother Zoroark replied, closing her eyes and crossing her arms. "Perhaps, you could tell me why you were sent here in the first place?"
"Apparently, I'm supposed to save the world from something, but I don't know what or when it's gonna show up. Even that voice said it hasn't shown up yet, so I have no idea what I'm up against! I-I'm pretty nervous about it, honestly..."
"Don't try and think too much of it now. If the world were in danger, I would notice it long before anything happens," Diana reassured the Lucario, giving him a warm smile as well. "Right now, you need to focus on getting used to your new body. When I first came here, I stumbled everywhere for a while, but I was still a Zorua so it was much easier for me. Were it up to me, I'd have sent you as a Riolu so you could start out with a more reasonable body."
"Ok, so I've gotta learn to fully control my body. Would, uh, would you also be able to help me with that, by any chance?" Rio asked with a nervous chuckle.
"As much fun as training a fledgling Outlander would be, I'm afraid I'm not too knowledgeable about Lucario training regimens, at least not any that would prove useful to you. Besides, I think it would be best for you to wing it on your own! Or, even better, Kora and help you!" Diana suggested, her son snapping back to reality at the mention of his name.
"Diana said you could help me get used to my body. You can do that, right?" Rio asked. Kora looked Rio blankly for a second, then a smile started to stretch across his face.
"Of course I can train ya buddy! That's what friends are for, right?" Kora smiled proudly, and Rio nodded and smiled back. "Hey Mom, as my first training session with Rio, could I introduce him to everyone else in town? Just a quick run around the Square to get him used to walking!" Kora asked, springing to his feet. Diana smiled sweetly.
"Whatever you think is going to help him, honey. You are his partner now, after all." As Diana finished her sentence, Kora waved bye to her and dragged Rio out the house almost immediately. Diana giggled at her son's excitement.
"Might as well start gathering things for dinner then, I've got nothing better to do," she said to herself, putting on a satchel and walking outside. "Oh, wait, they probably need some money. They're definitely going to buy something from the Bakery." She quickly ran back in, grabbed some money, placed it in her satchel and went back outside.
After being dragged through the forest by Kora, Rio was met with a much larger section of Sunset Valley. It looked like a town square, with four large, colorful tents, an old, large tent, a park-like area in the middle of the whole thing, and a path that led into a different section of the forest.
"This is the more, business-y area of Sunset Valley. It's probably one of my favorite places to hang out on the island!" Kora stated.
"So we are on an island? It's a pretty big island!" Rio exclaimed. "Do you think I'll be able to see all of it?"
"I dunno, I don't think I've seen all of it myself, and I've lived here since I was born!" Kora chuckled. Kora began showing Rio the Square, starting from the old tent.
The two reached the large, old tent and were unimpressed by it. The roof didn't have too much of a design on it, or any at all for that matter. The cloth was tattered and torn in some places, and there might even have been some moss growing on it too. Instead of having the cloth like the other tents, it didn't have anything covering the opening. Even the inside was bare and abandoned. The most impressive thing about it was that it was built to have an upper level, but it looked to have collapsed, leaving only the lower level.
"Does... anyone live here?" Rio asked, puzzled by the lack of any interior design.
"This is just an old tent, I guess. I don't think I even remember it being built, now that I think about it..." Kora replied.
After that uneventful experience, the two went toward the actually used tents. All four of them surrounded the large, grassy area in the middle. The first tent was red, with white feathers shooting upwards. There was a wide table in front of it with a penguin-looking Pokémon behind it. The Pokémon, a Delibird, as Kora whispered to Rio, waved at Kora as they approached.
"Good morning to you, Kora! Come to buy some more trinkets and Berries for Diana's garden?" The Delibird asked politely.
"Not right now, a new Outlander showed up and I'm showing him around the Valley," Kora put his arm around Rio's shoulder, "This is Rio. Rio, this is Mr. Nick."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," Rio greeted.
"The pleasure is all mine. Whenever you need to buy or sell anything, feel free to bring yourself down to my little shop young lad," Nick said with a warm smile.
The next tent was black with a red crest-like object on the top of it, and a yellow coin below that crest. This tent didn't have a table out front so the two walked right inside. To Rio's surprise, the tent was much larger on the inside, holding two large vaults behind a wide counter, and a cat standing right behind it. The cat, a Meowth according to Kora, was barely able to stand with her head above the counter.
"Mornin' Kora. Who's the new guy?" the Meowth asked. Her voice sounded kinda young for what Rio assumed was a shop owner of some kind, she couldn't be much older than he was from the sound of her.
"Well, Minnie, this is-" before Kora could finish his sentence, a dirty rag was thrown straight into his face by a very angry "Minnie".
"I told ya to stop callin' me that, twerp! The name's Minerva! Not Minnie!" Minerva quickly calmed herself down.
"Ptoo! Gross, my mouth was wide open, geez! The nerve of some Pokémon." Kora laughed, however the joke didn't sit well with the young Meowth behind the counter.
"Always with that same damn joke..." Minerva pulled a large box from under the counter. It definitely had some weight to it, to Kora's dismay, "luckily I know how to shut that annoyin' mouth of yours!"
"H-hey, Minerva, m-my friend! There's no need for… senseless violence, r-right Rio?" Kora turned to see Rio standing far away from him. His face reading, 'Yea, I'm not even gonna try to stop this, that joke was terrible.' Kora stumbled backwards as Minerva approached him, she was literally fuming.
"C'mon it was just a joke! A tiny, little, harmless joke! Y-you don't have to do anything that could really, um, hurt me, riiiiight?"
"You shoulda thought about that before saying that lame joke for the millionth time!" Minerva shouted, throwing the box full force at Kora. Frozen in fear, Kora was unable to dodge, and it slammed into Kora's chest with a loud THUD, knocking him outside the tent. Rio now somewhat regretted not helping Kora, but he couldn't think of anything he could've done to stop what the fox set in motion.
"Hey... Rio, right?" Minerva walked up to Rio, her arms crossed. Obviously, throwing that box calmed her down greatly, but Rio still jumped when she approached. Minerva sighed. "Ya don't have to worry, I ain't gonna hurt ya. I already said this, but the name's Minerva."
"I-I'm Rio, I'm an Outlander. Does Kora always tell such bad jokes?"
"Yea, that's pretty much all he does besides bein' a bonafide dumbass. Ya'd think he'd find some better material every now and then."
"Well I better find some better living arrangements. I'm already tired after just one lame joke," Rio sighed, pulling a giggle from Minerva.
"I know that feelin' blue! Anyway, we might wanna help him up soon. That box was full of the heaviest non-breakable things I could find... mostly just rocks." Rio and Minerva went to help Kora, who was currently unconscious under some of the rocks. The box broke on impact. After getting the stray rocks off of him and putting the box to the side, Rio and Minerva spoke while Kora recovered, still laying on the ground.
"So, do you own this little tent shop, thingy?" Rio asked, poking Kora with a stick he found.
"Eh, I'm just watchin' it for my Pops. And this ain't a shop anyway, it's a bank," Minerva replied, sitting next to Rio as they spoke. "The hell kinda store got vaults full o' cash sittin' out in the open?"
"Maybe a shop that's daring somebody to try and rob them? Like how Kora's basically asking to get crushed by rocks with his terrible comedy," Rio said, getting a chuckle from Minerva. "So, where is your dad, anyway?"
"He went overseas with the guild we got 'round here. He and the Guildmaster are long time buddies, and he's good with cash, so whenever the Guild goes on some grand ol' adventure off this big rock, he tags along to manage their funds and the like." Minerva's expression saddened for a second, but Rio didn't notice. "He left yesterday, so I'm not expectin' him to come back 'till next week." This time, Rio actually heard the somewhat growing sadness in her voice.
"Sounds like you don't like being here by yourself. Does he leave often?"
"Boy ya ask a bunch of questions, but... kinda? Don't get me wrong, I'd do anythin' to see somethin' that isn't on an island, but it ain't so bad with the twerp always around. I'd rather him than some of the other Pokemon here..." Minerva answered, but whispered that last part. Her ear twitched, and Minerva sighed, picking up a pebble and chucking it at Kora's side. The Zoroark yelped and rolled over in pain for a second.
"What's so funny, twerp?!" She growled. Kora shot up, not wanting to anger Minerva more.
"Oww! I-I wasn't laughing, I swear! I was clearing my throat because I think I might've swallowed a rock or two! Honest!" The fox hastily apologized.
"How did you manage to swallow any number of rocks?" Rio asked, getting a playful smile from Kora. Minerva rolled her eyes and groaned.
"Ya'd be surprised at what this idiot will eat..." she replied, standing up and dusting herself off. "Weren't the two of ya doin' somethin' before ya came by to annoy me?"
"Yeah you're right, I still gotta show Rio around the place. Man, I didn't realize how much time flies when you get knocked out by flying boxes full of rocks." Kora stated, stretching his body out until his side and chest pained him too much to continue.
"Ya weren't even knocked out, ya crybaby! And it's barely been a minute!" Minerva said, crossing her arms and walking inside the bank tent. "Whatever, both of ya can do whatever ya want, I got some stuff to do."
"Alrighty then, let's go to the next tent Rio-" Kora started walking towards the other tent "-see ya later Minerva." The Meowth waved and nodded goodbye. Before Rio started walking, he paused for a second and turned back to Minerva.
"If you want, you could join us. Also, it was nice meeting you!" Rio waved goodbye as he caught up with Kora. Minerva hesitated before she turned to reply.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll be at the Bakery once I'm done here. I've been cravin' a pie lately..." Minerva replied, trailing off when she noticed Rio was already going inside the other tent. She shrugged and grinned, looking forward to getting a slice of warm pie on this chilly day.
The next tent they arrived at was much larger than the bank tent. It was grey and had three weird "rings" at the top. Inside you could hear someone hitting a punching bag. The inside was hot, and in the dead center was a tall, muscular, four-armed Pokémon punching through the punching bag! He did it so effortlessly, it hardly made that loud a sound.
"Damn, that's the third one today," the burly Pokemon said to himself, not aware of the two others within earshot. He didn't notice Kora and Rio until after he tossed the bag aside with the two other broken ones and went to the other side of the room for a newer one. "Oh, afternoon Kora. Come to train a bit?" He said, pounding his chest with one of his fists. Rio instinctively stood cautiously still, not at all knowing what else to do.
"Actually I was just showing my new friend here around. Meet Rio the Outlander, arrived just this morning in the middle of the forest!" As Kora showed off his new friend, Rio shyly waved hello.
"Well Rio, the name's Jax, short for Jackson. Since you probably don't know, I'm a Machamp." As he introduced himself, Jax flexed each arm, he seemed to sparkle, mostly due to how sweaty he was after training in this hot tent.
"Seeing how you're an Outlander and all, how about we see how strong your Lucario body already is! Come on over here and punch this punching bag with all you've got!" Jax plopped himself down near the bag, gesturing for Rio to approach it.
Rio took in a deep breath and pulled back his paw. He then threw his palm forward with all his might, and... missed. The Lucario chuckled awkwardly and went to try again, this time hitting the punching bag, but it felt like it was full of cement or something because Rio ended up hurting himself rather than the bag! Jax let out a hardy laugh and stood beside Rio, patting the canine on his back.
"You gotta put way more force into your punch, man! Even with a different body, punching can't really be that difficult," Jax said, although he muttered that last bit to himself.
"Yeah Rio, punch it like you're punching something you really don't like. Like, uh... well, something you hate? Sorry, but you've never told me what you like or didn't like." Kora, attempted, to help motivate his blue friend, which helped get Rio thinking.
"Can I say I hate your puns?" Rio joked, getting a playful glare from Kora.
"Har dee har! I don't know why you'd hate the pinnacle of comedy, but whatever boats your float, dude," Kora replied. "But, what do you actually hate?"
"I dunno... lemme think..." Rio took a second to try and think of something. A memory of his childhood popped up, but it was odd. He was there with two other kids, but their faces weren't easy to make out. They were playing on a beach, when three other kids showed up and started beating them around for no reason! Although it was frustrating to remember something like that, Rio was more upset with how hard it was to remember it in the first place.
"It's alright, Rio," Jax interrupted the Lucario's train of thought, seeing it cause him some discomfort. "Ya don't gotta punch the thing, really. These things are supposed to withstand a helluva lot of punishment, and they're tough as steel, too. I don't want ya hurting yourself on my watch."
"Alright, I guess. Thanks for letting me try anyway!" Rio thanked Jax. "Maybe someday soon I'll plow through these things like you do," Rio said with a grin, referring to the tens of broken punching bags piled near the end of the tent. Jax let out a hardy laugh and patted Rio on the back, nearly knocking the Outlander over.
"Normally I'd love to throw out some attacks too, but I've been injured in a freak 'box full of rocks' incident," Kora said, acting as if he was in great pain. "The culprit had too short a tolerance for comedy, it seems. Oh, sigh..."
"Lemme guess, you made that 'nerve' joke again, didn't you?" Jax said, rolling his eyes.
"You say that like it's a bad joke! It's great!" Rio and Jax both looked at Kora, obviously skeptical. Kora shrugged and sighed. "I guess my comedy is just too good for my audience, sigh," Kora said sarcastically, turning to leave. "Anyway, we got one more tent to look at Rio, then we got just a couple more places before you're well acquainted with Sunset Valley."
"I'm right behind you!" Rio said as he followed Kora out of the tent. "See ya later, Jax!"
"Come on back whenever you'd like, Novice Puncher!" Jax waved as the fox and dog left. "... Did… did he say sigh? Twice?"
The two walked a bit slower on their way to the last tent; a cool breeze had rolled in and they both liked the chill it gave them. And not only did the breeze bring a relaxing chill, but also the delectable scent of freshly baked delicacies! Rio could practically taste the crispy, buttery crust of whatever pie was baked just from the smell alone! Kora's injuries seemed to fade away as his lungs were filled by the healing power of sweets.
"Man, they just keep out doin' themselves, huh?" Minerva's voice broke through the sweet-scented trance the boys were caught under. Kora jumped at the Meowth's sudden appearance, but was quickly calmed again by the Bakery's intoxicating aroma.
"Oh, hey Minerva. I don't think I could disagree with that, even if I was crazy enough to want to," Kora replied.
"What'd you say this tent was again? A Bakery? I coulda sworn it was the gates of heaven instead," Rio said, trying to keep his mouth from watering, but was hardly able to focus enough to do so. "Man I don't know what any of these smells are, but I will try all of them!"
"Trust me, we will! We're not gonna leave that tent without trying EVERYTHING at least once! Maybe even twice~!" Kora declared, picking up his pace, the control of the Bakery's treats starting to overtake him.
"You're gonna love the pies! They always make so many different kinds, so many flavor combinations! Even if I had all the pies I could eat, it wouldn't be enough!" Minerva licked her lips and hopped into Kora's mane. "Every time I think I've had their best, they come up with some kinda Holy Pie with the power to wash away all your troubles with a flood of flavor!"
The three were sprinting towards the Bakery, solely focused on eating twice their fill of treats, and (literally) ran into Diana, along with Kai and Mia, as they were about to turn into the Bakery tent. Despite Diana being such a kind soul, a petal in the wind, a gently flowing stream... her body was about as solid and immovable as a boulder. Kora bounced right off of her, knocking him and Rio to the ground. Minerva was able to hop off the fox at the last second, spared from being caught in a pile of boys.
"Uhhhhhggg... What hit me..?" Kora groaned, sitting up and holding his head. "Was there a wall or something..?"
"Oh, Honey! I was just looking for you," Diana happily exclaimed when she noticed who had bumped into her. She lifted the fallen boys off the ground. "So, how are you liking the island so far, dear?"
"D-Dear..?" Rio got flustered for a moment before clearing his throat and answering Diana. "U-Um, I like it a lot! I met Minerva, and Jax let me try hitting a punching bag in his gym... tent... thingy. We were on our way to get some goodies from the Bakery when we ran into you. Sorry about that, by the way."
"It's just... the smell was soooooo goooooood, and we could hardly control ourselves!" Kora snickered. "I didn't mean to run into you, um, literally."
"It's fine, I barely felt it!" Diana giggled. "Anyway, here's some money. I knew you didn't have any on you, but you bolted out the tent before I could give it to you. I'd say not to spend it all in one place, but that hasn't stopped you before, so... Make sure you bring some back for later."
"Sure thing, if Minerva doesn't try and eat all of it," Kora replied, jokingly sticking his tongue out at the feline.
The inside of the tent was just as decorative as a bakery should be: the floor had a large rug with red and pink stripes, there were tables with decorative coverings and flowers on top, there were multi-colored streamers hanging from practically anything that they could hang off of, and there was a counter covered with pastry designs and showcased today's treats in glass display cases. Behind the counter was a Pokémon that reminded Rio of cotton candy, and another Pokémon that looked like a mime. In front of the counter was actually Mr. Nick carrying a box, and behind him was that tall, red, bird Pokémon and the big, blue, alligator Pokémon Rio saw earlier.
"Hey, Zeke! Hey, Nate!" Kora loudly greeted the two, surprising them both. The two turned around, looking as if they had just seen a ghost. Rio snickered at how easily startled they were.
"O-Oh... Kora! And Minerva, too!" The tall one, Zeke, sighed, holding his chest and chuckling to himself. The blue one, Nate, was looking at Rio strangely. He was fixated on Rio's face for some reason. The Outlander pretended not to notice and introduced himself.
"My name's Rio, I'm an Outlander and I only arrived this morning. Pleased to meet you both!" Rio politely shook both their claws and smiled.
"Ain't the both of ya supposed to be with the Guild on their expedition or whatever?" Minerva asked "You're not skippin' out, are ya?"
"Yeah, if it's an expedition or whatever, why aren't you two with them?" Kora asked, placing his paw under his chin with suspicious intent.
"We had other plans, that's all. Can't be spending all our time doing work stuff," Zeke answered. "Besides, practically everyone left for this thing. The only teams left are us and one other group, so I really don't think they need us."
As their conversation came to a close, and Zeke and Nate ordered their treats, the jackal, cat, and fox were more focused on acquiring the sugary confections they so desired, than whatever reason Zeke and Nate decided to skip out on a Guild Expedition for. The cotton candy looking Pokemon, a Slurpuff according to Kora, greeted the three with a smile almost as sweet as Diana's.
"Good afternoon young Kora and Minerva, and hello to you too, young stranger. What brings you to our humble Bakery today?" Kora pushed the urge to blurt out his order down as much as he could so he could introduce Rio.
"This is Rio, Miss Clara. He's an Outlander who just arrived today and I've been showing him around the Valley! Really, just the Square so far." Rio gave a small wave and a smile after Kora's introduction.
"An Outlander you say? Well if he has the appetite of one, I'd be glad to give him anything he could afford," Miss Clara said jokingly. "Anyway, I know you didn't just come in for idle chat, so what'll you three be having today?" Clara asked with a sweet smile again on her face. The three had decided to get three of whatever pies were freshly made today, with Kora and Minerva splitting the payment between them.
"Alright, three nice and fresh pies, coming right up!" Clara smiled and walked toward the back, where the source of all the sweet scents were coming from. The three could hardly wait to chow down on their prized pies: Rio's mind was going crazy because of how hungry he was, Minerva couldn't stop thinking about what kind of pies they were gonna get and what style they would be in, and Kora had to stop his mouth from watering every now and then. After a minute of waiting, all three of them were counting, Clara and Benny, the Mr. Mime, walked out with their cherished confections, wrapped in pink and white striped foil and tied with pink bows.
"Here you go kiddies, enjoy! We even tossed in some macaroons, free of charge!" Benny stated happily. The three Pokémon thanked the bakers and went outside to eat in the middle of the park.
The first pie was a Sitrus Berry pie with a macaroon crumb crust and a basket-weave top, the second a Durin Berry cream pie with a sweetened crust, and the last a Lum Berry custard pie with a savory biscuit crust. The moment the foil was removed from the pies, that same overpowering scent filled the air, and the three nearly lost control of themselves again. In order to keep the pies spared when they began to eat, Minerva cut two slices from each pie, one for Rio and the other for Kora and her to share, and wrapped what was left back up with the foil. Rio kept himself under control, up until the first bite of the Durin cream pie hit his tongue.
There was a bitterness to the pudding that normally would turn Rio away from it, but the sweetness of the crust worked with it in just the right way for it to bring a blissful tartness to the forefront of flavors. For a moment, Rio felt like he might've fallen out of his body for a moment, unable to move for what seemed like an eternity in the serene state of mind he reached. He managed to conjure up enough strength to grab one of the macaroons and give that a try, which was still flavorful, but bland enough in comparison to free Rio from the pie's hold.
"Guys... I think I just had an out of body experience... I wasn't ready for this pie..." the Lucario stated, tempted to take another bite, but unsure if he was strong enough to get himself back out again.
Minerva, being an experienced expender of exquisite delicacies such as these, was having just as much trouble as Rio in keeping herself on this plane of existence. Despite her incredible physical strength, her willpower seemed to quiver before the face of pastry perfection. Kora managed to keep himself grounded long enough to grab a macaroon and place it within his feline friend's maw. She needed a moment for the biscuit to work, slowly closing her lips around it and the tips of Kora's claws without knowing it. Given a few seconds, Minerva was able to chew and swallow the biscuit and return to earth.
"I thought you'd know to always have a piece of macaroon in your mouth whenever you take that first bite of their pies, Minerva!" Kora chuckled. "And you call yourself an expert!"
"Can it, Twerp..." Minerva replied, leaning on the fox for a moment. "The biscuit'll take away from the flavor of the pie! I ain't a chump that can't take the full punch of the first bite of a fresh pie."
"If it weren't for me, you probably wouldn't have made it back!" Kora said, sticking his tongue out and downing the rest of the slice, making sure to pop a macaroon immediately after. "I mean, one of us gotta be the smart one when it comes to this kinda stuff, even if it means taking less of a risk with the power of the pie."
Having been more than satisfied with the one slice, the three thought the safe decision would be to save the rest for later. Kora opted to bring the goods back to his place now and have his Mom, Kai, and Mia enjoy it while it's still fresh. Rio, still on the heels of what could possibly be the closest he's had to a divine intervention, laid in the grass and stared at the afternoon sky. Minerva did the same, amazed that the simplest of flavor combinations could still bring forth such powerful feelings. There had to be a secret, but she didn't think she would be able to comprehend it right now. Kora eventually came back and plopped himself face-first on the ground, landing beside Minerva and sprawling his lanky body out on the floor.
"I don't think I'm ready for anymore pies, guys..." Rio stated. "Hell, I don't think I'm ready for anything from that Bakery yet."
"You're gonna flip when you try their savory options. It's mostly fish, but every now and then the Guild gets some fresh fresh meat, and the Baker's are the first to handle it, so you KNOW it's gonna stay fresh, fresh." Kora replied. "Speaking of fish, I haven't shown you the beach yet!"
"Oh yeah, the beach would be a perfect place to come off the pie high at!" Minerva exclaimed. "But, uh, my legs are still weak, and I think I'm lightheaded or somethin' so..."
"You were already gonna climb inside my mane, Minerva. You don't gotta make up some story for a free lift." Kora rolled his eyes, lifting the Meowth up and tossing her into his luscious mane. The Zoroark walked over to the Lucario and offered a paw. "Whaddya say, Rio? Wanna piggy back ride, too?"
Rio grinned and took Kora's paw, the fox being able to easily lift the heavy jackal right off the ground. "Nah, I need to move around as much as I can on my own. Can't get used to a body if that body's getting carried everywhere."
"Suit yourself. The beach is about forty minutes away, so you better get ready for a loooooooooong walk!" Kora stated, running off towards the path leading into the forest.
"W-Wait, that's almost an hour!" Rio exclaimed, getting a laugh from Kora. The Lucario tried to run after the fox, but his body was still heavy and stiff. "I-I change my mind! Kora, come back!"
"Sorry, partner!" Kora yelled back. "I'm a one-stop fox and I'm already out of here! And you already said noooooooo!" the Zoroark was already gone, his voice trailing off into the woods.
"D-Dammit Kora! C'mon on!" Rio yelled, managing a light jog. The jackal swore he was gonna punch the hell outta that jokester when he gets the chance, and that thought seemed to help Rio move just a bit faster! "I'm gonna make you WISH Minerva threw another box of rocks at you! You prick!"