CRACK!

The walls behind them were left with a new crater as Astrid took to the air and Arashi leaped out of the way of the Rock Blast fired off at them. The Rhyperior seemed even more enraged than before at it missing, giving them furious looks. Astrid unleashed another barrage of little glowing leaves, Arashi spit a stream of bubbles, and while their adversary definitely seemed to notice them, it was more in irritation than anything resembling pain or weakness. He shook off Astrid's leaves and growled at Arashi's Bubble, his carapace completely unscathed.

"Stop running!" the Rhyperior thundered at them, though he seemed to be glowering at the Rowlet in particular.

With an angry growl, he gave the ground a hard stomp with one foot, utterly destroying the rocks he stood on and sending huge cracks out from it- one straight at Arashi.

"Ah-!" the Froakie cried, startled at the ground evidently trying to swallow him up.

However, he didn't have to worry, for he felt something else on his back- Astrid's grip. The Rowlet swooped him up before the Earthquake could do any damage, more leaves separating from her feathers with a harder flap.

At that, Arashi went right back to being cheerful as could be. "Hey! Thanks!" he chirped, beaming.

Astrid said nothing, more concentrated on the problem before them.

The ground still wasn't a safe place to drop her comrade, for with more thundering steps, the Rhyperior came closer with the other arm raised to shoot at them. Quickly she swerved aside, her feet curled around the Froakie like their lives depended on it- and they probably did, as far as she could tell. The room shook with the force of the crashing boulder, pebbles clattering to the ground from further back.

Another thunderous roar filled the room, the Rhyperior raising his arm up, but not to shoot rocks at them, for his hand was closed over the cannon opening. Rather, his Hammer Arm swung at them.

"EeeEEEee-!" Astrid cried, beating her wings frantically to move backwards. Whether it was boulders or fists that would've smashed her, she didn't care to be scraped off the wall.

It barely missed her, the feathers on her belly being the only things the attack collided with. No matter, the other arm raised up for another Rock Blast- and one in too close proximity for either of its targets to feel a shred of comfort. Astrid folded her wings in, letting gravity do its work on them before the boulder could. It sailed overhead and into the wall to their side with another deafening crack while they went sprawling on the ground.

"Jeez! We should've just ran into the ocean!" Arashi cried haplessly.

Astrid didn't respond, but she couldn't help but feel that that would've been an equally horrible option.

In any case, the Rhyperior gave a mighty leap upwards- mighty to get off the ground with his gargantuan size and mass, seeing as he definitely wasn't going very far off the ground- to set off another Earthquake with the two smaller creatures on the ground. Both Astrid and Arashi noticed his idea just as fast, though, and the Rowlet would've gone to swoop up her company again, but the Froakie took a leap himself and clung to a rocky plate on their opponent's leg while Astrid left the ground with her wings. Their adversary let out a growl, staring daggers at the two smaller creatures.

He raised his arm up for another Hammer Arm, but a spray of bubbles to his face made him try to wave the Froakie's attack off instead in irritation. Astrid certainly wasn't wasting any time, flitting around behind the Rhyperior and sending a Leafage into his back. More irritated growls followed, her target whirling around and flailing his arm at her while trying to get a good aim with his cannon.

Arashi let out a little cry of reluctance, still hanging on for dear life. Neither one of the Rhyperior's targets particularly wanted to imagine a flattened Froakie, which Arashi would probably have ended up as if he had let go.

"Arashi, can you do that again?!" Astrid cried at her comrade, fluttering backwards out of the Rhyperior's reach.

"You got it!"

A roar of frustration erupted as yet again, the Rhyperior got a face full of bubbles. One Rock Blast went off in completely the wrong direction from where the Rowlet was, but Arashi, on the other hand, found one aimed straight down at him as the Rhyperior knew exactly where he was.

"Jump!" Astrid cried.

He did so, right as the boulder shot off. It was a very close miss.

Astrid, however, oriented herself directly in front of the Rhyperior's face with her eyes narrowed in concentration, and let another Leafage go. Their adversary showed signs of pain rather quickly when two of her leaves embedded themselves straight into his eyes, eliciting a gravelly hiss of pain. Rocky carapace or not, when he reflexively clamped his eyes shut, a slight trickle of red dripped out from the corners, and when he opened them again, the leafy blades were still jutting out. Frantically he reached his hands up to dislodge them.

"Arashi, c'mon! Let's get out of here!" Astrid shouted, turning for the opening behind them.

"I'm right behind you!" was the affirmation, the Froakie taking off after her.

Freedom, sweet freedom… or at least, it would've been, if another boulder didn't go flying into the wall above the exit then crashing down in front of them, making them jump back to avoid the dislodged stones and pebbles that fell. Whatever opening had been there before was obscured behind a mess of stones.

"A-ah…!" Astrid cried with despairing disbelief at the vanished exit.

"What the heck!" Arashi too protested, his countenance too growing frightened.

The both quickly turned around, and their foe was still there glowering at them. He certainly couldn't have seen them clearly, not with the obvious wounds to his eyes and the red trickles coming from them, but what he could see was evidently enough.

He growled again. "You're not going ANYWHERE!"

"NGAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Footsteps. Faster, lighter footsteps.

Crrrrrack!

Immediately, their adversary dropped the glare and fell unconscious, slumping forward with a Scrafty standing on his back. One of the orange armored plates on the Rhyperior's back was utterly busted to pieces with cracks spreading throughout the rest of his tough shell's posterior, a few dusty remnants still clinging to the Scrafty's fist. Moments later, an Audino came skittering in too, the ground opening up from the staircase below and then closing as if it had never been there in the first place.

"Daaaaaaamn, I was expecting more from you," Rush flatly mused, shaking his fist off, then breaking into a cheeky smirk, "Guess it can't be helped, though- ya acted up when I was around, ehehe!"

Astrid and Arashi both instantly recognized the two new Pokémon in their vicinity as the ones they'd seen in town, and while Astrid felt a bit uncertain yet still relieved, when she looked to Arashi, she noticed that his eyes were practically bulging out of his head and his mouth hung open a bit with only tiny gasping sounds coming out.

"Arashi…?" she softly inquired. "Are you-"

He, too, passed out. The Rowlet gave a squawk of dismay, her feathers ruffling up as she tried to rouse him awake again. Prodding with her feet and nudging with her wings wasn't going to do much, it seemed- he wasn't responding at all.

Rozen already seemed to notice them, and on hearing her squeak, Rush too perked up and jumped off the Rhyperior.

"There you are!" Rush exclaimed. "We'd been lookin' for you pipsqueaks!"

Rozen trotted up, Astrid still not saying a word and studying them cautiously.

The Audino knelt down next to them, looking gently concerned. "Ah, you must be quite tired… Looks like one of you has already been knocked out, poor dear…" Rozen mused.

And finally, Astrid managed to find her voice. "N-no, he's just-"

… But once again, she lost it when the Audino put his hands out and emitted a light pink glowing pulse that instantly eased her nerves. Her body relaxed, her feathers flattening out again. It felt… good, the first enjoyable experience she'd had since she'd found herself in this world.

Arashi too seemed to take note of it, his eyes fluttering open again. The Rowlet couldn't help but notice that the Deino's Bite marks completely disappeared with Rozen's help.

"M-mmm… Am I… dreaming…" the Froakie's voice haphazardly trailed off. Though instantly, he was back to his bubbly self and jumped straight up at noticing their company a second time. "I'm not! That was real! Oh my gosh, that was the coolest thing I've ever seen!" he cried with a grin, then turning to Astrid, "We're not dead! This is the greatest day ever!"

Astrid had to disagree with his assertion, but kept it to herself.

Rozen chuckled. "Ah, you've come around nicely," he said with a grin. "Are you two alright?"

The Rowlet gingerly nodded, while Arashi did so with exuberance.

However, Rush piped up from the middle of the room, "Yo, Rozen! Get a load of this!"

The Audino looked over, as did the two younger ones. Astrid flinched a bit as Rush raised one of the Rhyperior's eyelids, revealing the gashes she'd given him underneath them. Even if the Scrafty had beaten their foe not long ago, she couldn't help but be afraid of the gargantuan rocky creature waking again at being prodded.

"Did you two pipsqueaks fight this bastard?!" Rush exclaimed.

"A-ah, w-well…" Astrid stammered.

"Yeah! We sure did!" Arashi cried happily.

Rozen's eyes went wide, and the Scrafty looked disbelieving for a second. Rush looked back at the Rhyperior, stepping back from the fainted Pokémon, while the Audino trotted over and left a few Oran berries sitting in front of their fainted foe.

"Daaaamn, Rowlet, you are vicious," Rush noted, then breaking into a smirk and looking at them both, "And I like that, ehehe!"

The little bird in question had no idea how to respond, and simply blinked without making a peep.

Arashi, however, had no trouble in finding the words to say. "She totally is, and it was great!" he gleefully carried on. "That crazy dude kept trying to Rock Blast us and said he was gonna kill us, so when he tried to cause another Earthquake, I jumped on him and gave him a face full of bubbles and Astrid did her thing too! We were gonna run, but then he wrecked the entrance and, well…" His voice trailed off as he gave the exit a glance. "Say, how do we get out of here now…?"

Rush wasn't concerned, swaggering straight up to the boulder and drawing his fist back. "Don't worry about that; this ain't nothing."

Rozen quickly darted to swoop up both the smaller creatures and scuttled backwards out of Rush's way, putting up a Reflect to shield them as Rush's Brick Break smashed the boulder to pieces and light poured back into the room. Arashi looked absolutely in heaven, but Astrid was still a bit unsure what to make of them and kept a few steps away when Rozen put them back down.

"Y'all are from Tranquil Town, right?" Rush inquired, giving them a glance backwards.

"Yup!" Arashi chirped.

"Let's get you home, then," the Scrafty mused. "Them crazy 'Mon… sometimes there's more than one, and y'all would just be a snack to the right one. Stay close."

Rush strode out, and Rozen beckoned them along. The fresh air and sunlight of the outside was nice to feel once more, though a quick look around revealed that the town's outskirts were somewhere further to their east, for they could see the edges. The dungeon itself opened up onto a hillside, still green and grassy but interspersed with craggy rock faces. Indeed, they didn't have much of a mind to go straying far away, though Astrid gave the Rhyperior a glance again through the opening.

"H-hey, what about..." she mused uncertainly, looking backwards. "I-is he g-gonna be alright, too…?"

"That bastard? Don't worry," Rush answered, completely unconcerned. "If Rozen healed him straight away, he'd just go back to attacking- trust us, we tried that. You just gotta let 'em lay there all busted up for a few hours, and when they wake up, they'll be disoriented and only have vague memories of going on a goddamned rampage. The dungeon will expel him eventually and he'll probably be on his way."

"A-ah…" the Rowlet accepted it.

Arashi was still beaming as he hopped along, occasionally shooting Astrid an utterly blissful look. As absurd as the events of the day had been, she couldn't help but give him just a little happy look back.

"Say, what're your names?" Rush inquired. "Rowlet, you're called Astrid, yeah?"

"M-hm," she timidly answered.

"What about you, Froakie?"

"Arashi!"

"Astrid and Arashi. I'ma remember that," Rush noted, "The name's Rush, by the way, and that's Rozen."

"Ah, I suppose the dungeon happenings did get in the way of a proper introduction," Rozen mused nonchalantly.

"Oh, I know who you are," Arashi replied, trying to hide his enthusiasm. "You're part of the Expedition Coalition! Everyone knows who you are!"

Rozen chuckled, while Rush gave a mighty laugh and crossed his arms.

"Ehehe, I hope it's good things you've heard, pipsqueak!" the Scrafty jested, "I might be an uncouth, brawling bastard, but the only asses I kick are 'Mon that deserve it, ehe!"

Both he and the Froakie laughed while Rozen rolled his eyes at his comrade. Astrid felt just a bit uncomfortable at the buzz of voices, unsure what to make of the whole lot of them, but still, she figured, this arrangement was the best possible one she could have been in.

However, she did have something come to mind. "H-hey, Rush, Rozen… C-can I ask you something…?"

"Shoot," the Scrafty affirmed.

"H-have you ever seen a Pokémon with a body made of wires, a head that looks like a glowing ball of spikes, and it shoots electric bolts off…?"

Arashi instantly perked up at her question too. "Ohhh! That thing that attacked you earlier and none of us have heard of it!"

Both Rush and Rozen got a funny look at her description, turning confusedly pensive and shooting each other a quick glance.

"That's one I ain't ever heard of," Rush answered. "Electivire's got cable tails and spiky fur, but I'm guessin' that ain't what you're talkin' about."

"N-no, it didn't have fur," Astrid affirmed. "Like, two sets of wires were its legs, then two more its hands, and one was a tail…"

"You were attacked by this thing, dear?" Rozen inquired. "Are you sure it wasn't some illusion from a Psychic-type or the like?"

"N-no," she said as she shook her head. "I tried to run away from it, and it chased me and knocked me out with a bolt… I woke up on Tranquil Beach, and I haven't seen it since… I mean, I think there would be a difference in a Psychic-type casting an illusion when you can literally feel the electricity coursing through you, because, w-well… it felt really bad…"

Again Rush and Rozen exchanged looks.

"… Well, that's definitely a good thing to know- ya can't be too careful with the incidents of late," Rush said, glancing around as if to keep watch.

"We'll pass that along to our researcher," Rozen affirmed. "If anything like that is wandering around and attacking smaller creatures, she'll know before anyone else."

"Th-thanks," Astrid replied softly.

Arashi, though, got a bright-eyed look again and turned to the Rowlet. "Hey, do you think we should-!"

"No!" she cut him off just as fast.

"What? You didn't even hear what I was gonna say!"

"I bet it's something involving that thing your mom said she'd take care of, and no!"

Arashi was taken aback, still grinning. "Wow, you did know!"

She gave him a pointed look, while he just giggled in response. The two older Pokémon had no idea what they referenced, but still grinned at their exchange.

Nonetheless, Tranquil Town seemed abuzz when they get closer. A certain Nidoking from earlier was chatting with a Toucannon, and almost as soon as they stepped into view on the sandy path, he seemed to notice the Froakie and the Rowlet.

"Oi, you two!" Nez called, running up. "We've been looking everywhere for ya since that big lad set off that Earthquake! Are ya alright?!"

"Yeah! We're all fine, Nez!" Arashi affirmed, hopping up. "So you guys noticed that Rhyperior too?"

"Oh, how could anyone not notice? He was rather attention-grabbing," the Toucannon mused nonchalantly.

"Aye, we sure did!" Nez likewise affirmed. "And we'd noticed that you and your little friend had scampered off to the lake, but no one knew where ye were and we were worried! Oi, I'm so glad to see ya unharmed!"

The Nidoking knelt down and put his arms out, to which Arashi jumped into them with a grin. For a fanged, spiked creature, Nez certainly seemed rather affectionate and gentle.

The Toucannon, on the other hand, noticed Astrid- or rather, her plumage- rather quickly too and flapped over to her while exclaiming, "Ah, darling, your feathers need a good preening! That must feel utterly awful!"

Instantly, she set to preening the Rowlet, who was a bit taken aback by the gesture but not exactly protesting it. It did feel nice- she just couldn't really grasp what, precisely, the Toucannon was doing except straightening out her feathers with her larger beak. Astrid couldn't help but wonder if it was unpleasant to carry such a large beak around on one's face, but the Pokémon before her didn't seem bothered by it at all.

"Oi, Niles! Your boy is back!" Nez called off someplace behind him.

And at that, a certain Inteleon came running up too, looking rather exasperated. "Arashi! Where have you been?! Your mother went into Tranquil Tunnel looking for you and Astrid, and I've combed every hillside in the area!"

Arashi perked up. "Wait, Mom was there, too? We didn't see her, though!"

It was Niles' turn to pause with wide eyes. "What do you mean, 'didn't see her?'" he asked, gentle but pointed all the same.

Rush, however, interjected. "You've got an expeditioner on your hands, my dude," he piped up, motioning at the Froakie. "They ran into the tunnel and put up a fight against that crazy bastard with the drill face. I've been doing this a long-ass time, I ain't ever seen anything like it from two little pipsqueaks."

As much as Astrid wasn't fond of being tiny, she couldn't help but be a bit ruffled at being called a 'pipsqueak,' but that too she didn't say.

Nez and Niles, however, seemed to notice exactly who was in their presence, for they both blinked once at the Scrafty and Audino before them. The Toucannon, however, while certainly seeming to notice them, was more intent with Astrid.

"Aye, it's Rush and Rozen! Fancy seein' ya around these parts!" Nez laughed, getting a little wave and a smirk in return.

Niles, however, seemed even more flustered. "You did what?!" he shouted, throwing his arms out. "And you took Astrid with you?! You could've gotten killed! You've never been into a dungeon before! You've never even battled seriously before!"

"Well, it was the dungeon or the Rhyperior, Dad!" Arashi protested, jumping down from Nez's arms. "Our options were kinda limited, y'know!"

At that, Niles let out a heavy sigh, putting one hand to his temple, before turning to the expeditioners at hand. "I must thank you for getting my son and his friend back safely," he breathed, still a bit overwhelmed.

"Nah, don't mention it," Rush laughed, "Ain't nobody wanna see two little pipsqueaks getting splattered across a wall somewhere. It's what we do."

"How can I repay you?"

Rush shook his head. "Nah. You don't owe us a damn thing. It's just basic decency to your fellow 'Mon. You'd do the same, I'm sure."

Niles nodded, getting ahold of himself. He glanced between Astrid and Arashi. "… I'm just glad it all worked out. We should just forget this ever happened."

Rozen, though, gave a warm glance to the Rowlet who was still looking rather shy, then looked to the Toucannon. "Are you her caretaker? I'm assuming you're not her mother," he inquired.

Astrid got a bit flustered again, not quite sure exactly what to say. "A-ah, I, er-"

"Oh, no, I'm Toko and my little one looks like a younger version of me. I've only seen this little darling around town just today, but heavens, it looks like she's been through a warzone… Poor dear, I can't stand my feathers bent out of whack; I have no idea how she's handling it so well…"

"A-ah, it's n-not so bad…" Astrid mused gingerly, but still rather enjoying Toko's intervention.

"Me and my mate are also her caretakers," Niles jumped back in. "She was attacked by a strange creature and is presently suffering from amnesia. We're taking care of her for the time being."

And yet again, the little leafy avian was left utterly speechless. They hadn't even known her, a stray and crazy-talking human-turned-Rowlet, for a full day, and yet… Somehow, she hadn't quite figured out that they were intent on taking her in, but Niles' words affirmed it. It touched her.

"Well, then it looks like our work here is done," Rush mused. "Y'all take care, a'ight? And if you two-" he pointed at Astrid and Arashi, "-ever wanna go on expeditions when you're a little older and stronger, hit me up, 'cause I'd make a spot on our team for 'Mon like you any day! Only reason I don't ask now is 'cause I don't favor sending little unevolved pipsqueaks off into the badlands to die, ehehe!"

The beaming, starry-eyed look returned to Arashi, his mouth falling open again, while Astrid merely blinked. In any case, Rush and Rozen were setting off, and Astrid gave the Froakie a little nudge to prevent him from passing out again. Nez chuckled at his enthusiasm.

"Ya take care of yourselves too!" Nez called.

"Be careful out there!" Toko hollered back.

"Thank you again!" Niles too called.

Rozen gave a little wave, while a little laugh could be heard coming from Rush.

The ones left in the outskirts turned back to each other, except for Toko, who was still apparently hard at work straightening out Astrid's plumage.

Arashi looked to his father. "When did Mom go in? Really, I feel like we should've seen her if we were there at the same time," he inquired.

"Not too long after word got back that a Rhyperior went rampaging by the lake and we couldn't find either one of you," Niles answered. "There's no telling what those mindless Pokémon will do. We assumed the worst and figured if we couldn't track you down, you'd probably been dragged into the dungeon… not that you had ventured in on your own volition. She said she was expecting to find the both of you huddled up in a corner somewhere, probably fainted or hurt, and she's the better equipped between us to clear a dungeon alone, so she went to go get you while I looked for you here."

An awkward giggle came from Arashi, who innocuously stuck one hand behind his head. "Aha, I guess that means we were several floors ahead…"

Astrid looked to the ground. She wasn't worried about Kaminari in the least, but she felt bad for giving her the trouble of dungeon-crawling in the first place.

Nez, however, got a big grin. "Well, if everything is alright, I guess this calls for another curry night in celebration!" he happily declared.

That certainly seemed a pleasant idea to the Tranquil Town natives, who immediately perked up (the Froakie in particular going right back to beaming).

"Oho, that is always a fine idea, Nez!" Toko affirmed, only briefly looking up from preening Astrid's wing.

"Yes! Astrid, you haven't lived until you've had Nez's curry!" Arashi cried happily.

She couldn't help breaking into a bit of a grin. "A-ah, I'm l-looking forward to it…"

However, a familiar Greninja's voice added to the mix. "There you are!"

They looked up, and there was Kaminari on the sandy path. True to her name, it seemed like less than a second before she was in their midst, and they all yet again were going through the motions of informing her what, exactly, had transpired. Astrid quickly figured out that the Greninja's expressions of frustration at the two of them venturing into a dungeon were even louder and wilder than Niles' had been, and it borderline frightened her even if she couldn't blame her.

Yet still, she made a mental note that, if she were stuck in this world, she couldn't have better Pokémon to be with. As flustered as it all made her… she couldn't doubt that they did truly care about her for a second.

… Maybe, just maybe… overlooking the near-death experiences (that indeed were rather hard to overlook)… this wasn't so bad.


"Ahhhhh, Nez, you just make me wanna fire a Thunderbolt off to the heavens! How can the gods make a Pokémon so good at cooking?! It just isn't fair!" A Jolteon cried, absolutely enthralled with the bowl of curry before her.

"Sister, can I have a bite? Mine's all gone," a little Eevee at her side asked.

"Gwahahaha! Lila, you flatter me!" the Nidoking laughed cheerfully, stirring perhaps the biggest pot Astrid had ever laid eyes on. He looked over to the little Eevee and called, "There's plenty more, Veeko! Bring me your bowl!"

The little Eevee eagerly took it up in his mouth and trotted over to Nez, who filled it back up with a happy chuckle.

The sun was beginning to go down, but Tranquil Town was still abuzz with cheerful visiting out front of the Nidoking's cottage. Even the Kecleons and Reina's brigade left their posts, apparently enticed by Nez's god-tier cooking skills and the beckoning of the Nidoking himself. Several Fire-types- a Flareon, a Torkoal, and Chandelure- lit up their surroundings both with their natural flame and by setting a blaze to some carefully mounted torches, which provided some brightness to stave off the encroaching night. It wasn't a large town by any means, but Astrid couldn't help but think that the forty or so Pokémon gathered around was a bit of a crowd, though her Froakie comrade didn't seem to be bothered by it at all. They were all very nice, to be sure, but the Rowlet would have preferred a smaller gathering in any case.

Furthermore, she had become somewhat flustered the moment she had obtained a bowl of curry for herself. She quickly realized that she was not sure how to eat in this new body, and thus stared blankly for a moment while trying to figure it out. Instinctively, she reached out with her wings, but quickly deduced that they would be of no help to her and quickly put them back at her side. She had to look to Toko, her Staraptor mate, and their Pikipek child before she figured out that she should be using her beak. It still felt awkward, but at least it worked.

Niles, Kaminari, Reina, and an Umbreon seemed to be having a vibrant conversation, while an Ambipom and Heracross seemed to be carrying on about some juicy piece of gossip interspersed with occasional laughter.

Astrid and Arashi found themselves approached by an Aipom and Croagunk, whom Astrid recognized from outside the post office from earlier in the day, along with Lila the Jolteon.

"Hi, guys!" Arashi chirped after swallowing a mouthful of Nez's wonderful cooking. Then to Astrid, "Hah, you haven't met my other pals! This is great!"

"'Sup, Arashi!" the Aipom greeted.

"Why, hello there, fellow Tranquil resident~" the Croagunk chirped, her voice coming off as shifty but somehow well-meaning.

"Evening!" Lila said happily.

The Croagunk looked at Astrid, while Arashi and the Aipom exchanged quick high-fives.

"Say, your name is Astrid? We didn't get the chance to say hi and talk about the strange happenings of the universe," the Croagunk mused with a grin.

Astrid fluffed out a bit, slightly caught off guard. "Oh! U-um, h-hi," she responded.

The Croagunk reached a hand out, and Astrid reached her wing out to shake it.

"I'm Trixie," the Toxic Mouth Pokémon noted with a grin, taking her hand back.

"And I'm Charlie," the Aipom introduced himself.

"I'm Lila, and that little Eevee over there is my little brother, Veeko. It's always nice when new Pokémon roll in," the Jolteon greeted.

Astrid was still fluffed out, but they would've seen her blushing if not for the feathers in the way. The edges of her beak curled up a little in a smile. "H-hi.~"

Charlie held his tail-hand out for a high-five, which Astrid reciprocated by awkwardly touching it with her wing.

Lila sat down on her back legs, her fur seeming to buzz just a bit. "So, how was the mystery dungeon?" she inquired, looking both Astrid and Arashi over. "Was it fun? Scary?"

Astrid had to think about it for a second, her gaze travelling to ground on her side. "A-ah, it wasn't terrible, I guess…"

"Well, I got to see my heroes in action and they said we did great, so having a Deino try to eat me was totally worth it!" Arashi gleefully exclaimed, then turning to Astrid, "See?! We should make a team! It'd be fantastic!"

She wasn't completely in agreement. "H-hey now, let's not be hasty…" her voice trailed off.

Trixie chuckled. "And just what would you name it? Team Useless Posers?"

The Croagunk laughed at her own joke, but Arashi frowned at her and playfully spit a few bubbles at her, which she all popped while still giggling. Lila rolled her eyes, and Astrid simply blinked without saying a word.

"Don't mind her; she does this to everyone," Charlie mused to the Rowlet.

Astrid nodded. "S-so, you all know each other?"

"Yep, we sure do!" Lila affirmed. "I'm just glad the friend Arashi brought home this time wasn't another feral Geodude that he thought was trying to communicate with sign language!"

Again, Arashi's face fell. "That was four years ago, Lila!" he protested.

"It sure was, and I am never letting you forget it!" the Jolteon brushed him off with a grin.

She too got some bubbles to the face, but despite his protestations, Arashi was still smiling. Astrid could easily imagine the situation playing out that they described, and it made her smile too, if only just a bit.

"Y'know, the last time I went into a mystery dungeon, it was 'cause Veeko got lost while we were visiting my grandma out in her forest, and I found him all huddled up in a shrub and crying," Lila mused with a chuckle. "Man, come to think of it, only reason I'm a Jolteon now is 'cause I wandered into one! Me and some of my other friends decided to explore a cave, and there were all these wild Zubats guarding these really pretty stones, I got ahold of one with a lightning bolt on it, and what do you know! I went a little further, found this strange talking crystal on our way out, it asked me if I wanted to evolve, and now I'm all cool and sparky, heehee!"

"You're lucky, it's getting harder and harder to find evolution spots these days," Trixie said while giving her a nudge. "Sometimes, I just really wanna have long poisonous claws, y'know?"

"No, Trixie, we don't know, but you certainly do," Charlie jested.

At that moment, however, Nez came trotting over, wearing a warm grin that made him look more like a teddy bear than any sort of creature befitting of poisonous horns and venomous fangs. "Good evening, youngsters!" he chirped.

"Thanks for having us all, Nez; you're my favorite Nidoking," Trixie chirped back.

"He's the only Nidoking," Charlie interjected playfully.

"Well, best and only, I see nothing wrong," Nez chuckled at them, then looking to Astrid, "Say, Astrid, Niles and Kaminari say you've got a case of amnesia- do you mind me asking if that's true?"

The Rowlet ruffled up a bit more, but nonetheless replied, "O-oh, y-yeah, that's true… Is… Is that all they told you…?" she inquired, wondering just how much of her info the Nidoking before her knew (and the other ones gathered around her would probably hear as a result). She wasn't too keen on having everyone know her exact situation if it was indeed as odd or weighty as Arashi's parents had conveyed- the connotations still frightened her a bit.

"Well, that and that you apparently had a run-in with a strange beastie," Nez answered, "Which is abominable as it is- you're an adorable lassie!"

She wasn't quite sure what to make of being called 'adorable,' but simply took it as it was.

"And y'know, because you're such an adorable lassie, I'm sure someone out there is missing ya," the Nidoking continued. "Someone you might have a closer connection with that ya belong with. Not that I nor anyone else is eager for you to leave, but say, what if I put up a few flyers in the surrounding areas asking if anyone knew about ya disappearing?"

… She wasn't expecting that, and she wasn't quite sure what to think.

Apparently, Arashi wasn't either. "Awww, and what if someone does say something? We had just become friends!" he protested.

"Well, your folks would be upset if you disappeared too, Arashi," Lila said to the contrary.

Quickly, Astrid mulled it over. She had a distinct feeling that it would be of no help on account of her not being from this world, yet still, she had a feeling she was forgetting something before she'd woken up in the forest, what with the voice she couldn't quite recall lingering in her head… Maybe it could help her. And even if it couldn't, no harm would be done by it.

"A-alright, go ahead i-if you want to," she affirmed. "It can't hurt…"

She felt Arashi's hand on her wing again, and glanced over. They didn't have to say anything- they both knew a former human was not someone likely to be missed anywhere in the world she'd ended up on. Still, Arashi seemed a bit downcast at the idea of her leaving, and Astrid's gaze only wordlessly affirmed that she had no intentions of doing so for the moment. As crazy and bubbly as he seemed, and as much not like that as she was… she had a distinct gut feeling that this was someone she simply shouldn't, or perhaps couldn't, throw away so easily.

The Nidoking chuckled, leaning down as much as his short legs could to give her a pat on the wing. "Aye, lassie, whatever the case, I hope you're comfortable while you're here and things start looking up for ya after this wreck of a day you've had. If ya ever need anything, anything, ya can come to me and Uncle Nez will take care of ya, too."

She nodded thoughtfully. "Thanks, you guys…"

Arashi grinned, worming one of his arms around her.

They stayed out for quite some time until the sun was completely gone, at which point Niles and Kaminari called both Astrid and Arashi back home with them- but not before Astrid had inquired of Toko how to properly preen, which the Toucannon and her mate happily showed her. She was certainly ready to crash after the day's events, and followed along down the beach with no trouble.

… Yet still, from the edges of town where no one could see, a certain creature kept watch over her every move, just waiting for an opening.


Author's note: I'd just like to jump in and say that the scene of Toko preening Astrid was more or less due to watching my pet pigeon tending her feathers. She's always making happy sounds while she does it and seems to think my fingers are just really bent-out-of-shape feathers, so I suppose it must feel good to her and she thinks I need help. Matter of fact, she's cooing as she preens while I'm writing this, ehehe.

Also, on another note, my friend (and editor) brought it to my attention that apparently, in the anime, Ash's Rowlet was raised by a family of Toucannons. I was completely unaware of this until he mentioned it, so whatever references you may be picking up were completely unintentional seeing as I do not watch the Pokémon anime. I merely picked Toucannon because I think they're pretty (and happen to have a shiny one as well).