After the talk of team formation, Arashi simply couldn't stop smiling, and Astrid couldn't help but be slightly amused seeing as Team Starstorm was not even official yet. She couldn't help but admit that she did indeed like the name, even if it was just a bit on the flamboyant side and something she herself would never have come up with. The idea… maybe it wasn't so bad.

Maybe, minus the murderous intentions that had already manifested elsewhere.

Niles indeed did reappear shortly after dusk, and was quickly filled in on the events of the day by Kaminari, who then set off on her own mission after the two of them exchanged hugs again. The Inteleon tucked the two younger ones in, telling them goodnight and giving them both a gentle pat on the head before turning out the lantern, and both Astrid and Arashi were sound asleep before the Greninja returned home a few hours later.

But even while the Rowlet was sound asleep…

*Can… you…*

The voice was faint, but it was there. Rather, she could hear it, but… it was completely incorporeal. It was a dream, she could tell, but something about it felt… off, as if there was indeed some other side she couldn't see. All she could see was a blindingly bright light and something that seemed to peer back, but what that something was, she couldn't tell.

*Astrid…?*

*H-huh…?*

Whatever it was, it was talking. Something about it was familiar, but as faint as the voice was, she couldn't quite place it. It was like talking to static.

*It's fine… you… need you… Void…*

She listened as carefully as possible, but still, she could barely make the words out.

*I sent… not going to…*

Fainter. Whatever it was trying to say, it wasn't getting through. However, she could certainly make out the next sound that came.

*AGH-!*

The blinding rays left, quickly replaced with the damp darkness of the cavern as Astrid's eyes shot open. There was no one there except for Arashi, who was fast asleep on his cushion. She glanced around anyway, but everything was completely undisturbed and utterly silent. She herself was still nestled into the basket, and the basket was still nestled into Arashi's shelf. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

"A-Arashi…?" Astrid asked, voice barely audible.

No response, the Froakie wasn't stirring. It surely hadn't been his voice in that case, even though Astrid was sure she'd be able to tell if it had been her comrade.

"H-hello…?"

Nothing.

"A-ah…"

She was back to sleep in a few minutes.

Nothing was amiss the next morning, either.

"How'd it go last night, Mom?" Arashi inquired after gulping down one last piece of fruit.

"Oh, I certainly had my fun," Kaminari replied, getting a bit of a smirk. "A Honchkrow was trying to run a thieving syndicate with his Murkrow underlings. They didn't even notice I was there until they got hit with a barrage of Water Shurikens, but I knocked the boss out before anyone could put up a fight, and they scattered fairly quickly afterwards. Sometimes I wonder how certain Pokémon rack up such a bounty…"

Niles got a bit of a grin at her words, and Arashi was certainly looking his excited self. Astrid only listened, gently wiping her beak off with her wing.

"I guess you can't tell us what you were up to, Dad?" Arashi inquired of his father next.

"Classified~" was the quick and easy response.

The Froakie giggled, jumping down from the table with Astrid shortly following behind.

"By the way, Astrid, I sent off that letter yesterday," Kaminari noted. "I'm sure they'll remember you and write back soon, if you and Arashi did indeed leave such an impression."

Astrid nodded. "Th-thanks, Ms. Kaminari."

Arashi, on the other hand, started beaming again at the mention of his idols and their encounter, which Niles seemed to instantly take note of as well.

"That does not mean you go throwing yourself into a dangerous situation again to get anyone's attention, Arashi," the Inteleon cautioned.

The Froakie was still beaming, "Oh, don't worry, Dad," he brushed the warning off, then to Astrid, "Let's go see what everyone else is up to!"

Another nod came from the Rowlet, who went flapping alongside her comrade. Shortly they were slipping out through the blue curtain door.

The two left inside shared a glance.

"The next thing we'll be hearing is that they've formed a team," Kaminari remarked.

"After Arashi brought home a feral Geodude, I would not be surprised," Niles said haplessly.

In any case, the gentle lapping of the waves met Astrid and Arashi as they made their way along the beach and up the steps to town's edge, no strange Beast lying in wait for them anywhere… at least, that they could see. The cool breeze from the sea felt nice, and the sky overhead was a bit clouded but not dark.

Astrid, though, turned her head to Arashi. "Hey, Arashi?"

"Yeah?"

"You didn't hear anything strange last night, did you…?"

He gave her an odd but intrigued look. "No, did you?"

"E-er… I think I did…"

The Froakie stopped bouncing, and Astrid landed in the sand. It was an odd question, she knew, but she couldn't help asking it. Arashi studied her inquisitively.

"What do you mean you think so? What happened?" the Rowlet's comrade inquired.

Her feathers ruffled up a bit and she looked around sideways at the sand, not quite meeting her companion's gaze. "I think… someone's trying to… talk to me." She had difficulty putting the exact words together. "Like… When I woke up in the forest and that thing confronted me, I could've sworn someone else had been trying to talk to me, but I'm not sure who and I'm honestly not sure how. And then, last night… well… It wasn't you, that's for sure…"

Arashi hopped a little closer, looking even more intrigued. "Hm? So did you have a weird dream or something? Maybe you were sleepwalking and Mom or Dad noticed, aha!"

She shook her head. "… I… don't think it was a dream."

Arashi tilted his head to the side. "Then what was it?"

"Some kind of communication, like from a Psychic-type or… something like that. I was staring into a light, this insanely bright light, and someone else was there talking to me but I couldn't make the words out. The thing is, though, they… they knew my name. They called me Astrid."

The Froakie blinked, his eyes widening a little bit. "But you don't know who they were?"

"No. Not a clue. Whoever it was, they didn't have a good enough connection to tell me, I don't guess… But… I think they were in pain somehow, because they yelled and then the vision cut out before I could get any real information."

Arashi chuckled just a little bit and gave her a pat on the wing, still his bright and happy self. "Well, sheesh, even crazy beasts and vague visages like you," he remarked, getting a haplessly amused look in return. "You think we should tell Mom and Dad? You think it's got something to do with that creature or your amnesia?"

She shook her head. "N-no, I don't wanna bother your folks any more than I have already… I'm not near as worried about some strange vision as I am about getting fried by that thing…"

Her comrade nodded. "If you don't wanna tell them, you can tell me," he said gently. "We're a team now, y'know?"

She nodded, getting a bit of a happy look. "Y-yeah…"

Another giggle from the Froakie, and they were setting off again down the sand and up the stone steps.

"Oi, you two! Mornin'!" came a call from Nez.

The Nidoking was out and about, watering some flowers in his cottage window with one hand and giving them a cheerful wave with the other.

"Morning, Nez!" Arashi called back, giving a wave in return.

"Hi!" Astrid chirped, not nearly as shy towards the Nidoking as she had been previously.

The burn marks on his hide were gone, which Astrid was greatly relieved to see. If she hadn't been there yesterday, she wouldn't have believed he had been hurt in the first place. She suspected it was likely the doing of several Oran berries or perhaps some outside intervention, as completely busted up as he had been before, but whatever the case was, she was not going to question it- the fact that he was unharmed was good enough.

They shortly found Lila stretched out on the grass in front of her house, a newspaper between her front paws and her smallish Eevee sibling curled at her side looking down at it too.

"Sister, what does all that say…?" Veeko inquired, eyes travelling about the page.

"Hey, I'll tell you about it in a second," Lila said back.

The Jolteon looked up upon noticing Astrid and Arashi, the latter of whom gave her a wave too.

"Hey, guys," Lila greeted.

"Hi, Lila!" Arashi happily said back, bouncing over to her side and likewise looking down at the paper. "Whatcha got there?"

"Oh, not much, just that the continent's most wanted Fennekin or Braixen or Delphox had yet another run-in with a rescue squad and wiped the floor with them," was the answer, Lila appearing unfazed by the news.

"Salem?" Arashi inquired nonchalantly.

"Who else?" Lila chuckled in response.

Astrid sheepishly shuffled around to Lila's side as well and peered over the newspaper, where apparently Arashi and Lila were fixated on one page with the headline "Salem Appears at Tanglewood Glen, Defeats Team Aeroslash" over a picture of a fainted Braviary and Bisharp with a Blissey hastily tending their wounds. Clearly, some heavy fire damage had been dealt, for the Bisharp's blades were all but a molten puddle and the Braviary's plumage was blackened and entirely burnt off in large portions with charred skin underneath. It made her go wide-eyed just a bit, and Arashi too seemed rather stunned.

"Oh, sheesh! Team Aeroslash?!" the Froakie cried, "Maaaaan, they had a pretty high rank last I heard!"

"Well, Salem has tangled with higher ranks before," Lila mused with a shrug.

Astrid, though, scanned the entire column for the details.

"After a week spent in critical condition, the leaders of Team Aeroslash have finally awakened to shed light on the incident that happened during a rescue mission to Cliffside Creek. Valen the Braviary and Zandra the Bisharp were blindsided by a sudden attack on their way to the dungeon that lies deeper into the cliffs, the culprit of which was later deduced to be the criminal Salem. She doused the terrain in flames and attacked without provocation, unleashing Flamethrower after Flamethrower which were reported to be of an odd purple color uncharacteristic of the Fennekin line and also to cause heavy disorientation. As visibility was limited due to the flames, the team could not gain good sight of her for counteracting purposes, but were able to report that her silhouette was not that of a Fennekin, confirming suspicions that she had since evolved. All team members involved in the altercation were badly poisoned, including Zandra who is a Steel-type and normally immune to such, and on the brink of death for days afterwards even with the help of a resident cleric Blissey and the use of Reviver Seeds, among others. Until today, while conscious, those involved in the altercation were only able to stare blankly off into the distance or attempt to mindlessly swing at those nearby, a state which was previously thought to have been induced by the shock of the attack but was later reported by the team members to have been a complete blank in memory since Salem's attack initially began. Those with mind-reading capabilities have thus far been unable to facilitate their recollection of the altercation. Salem's whereabouts and motives remain unknown for the time being, and travelling teams are urged to keep their guard up."

"A-Arceus above…" Astrid's voice trailed off. "That's normal for her?"

"Below average, really," Lila replied. "She got mixed up with a Swampert and Blastoise several months back and still managed to mess them up- as in, they found the Blastoise with a giant hole burnt through her shell."

Veeko started shivering next to Lila and squirmed his way under her chin, his ears down and tail tucked between his legs. "S-scary…"

Arashi giggled. "Oh, don't worry, Veeko," he assuaged the little one. "If she shows up, she'll probably have to mess with that wire creature first; just let them duke it out and we'll never get involved, aha!"

Somehow, Astrid figured, that still was not a good idea in the slightest. One crazy monster was pushing it already, and two in the same place was just a cataclysm waiting to happen.

In any case, Lila rolled up the paper with one paw and stood up, carefully taking it in her mouth and depositing it back on her doorstep. Veeko sat down with his tail wrapped around his body, perhaps the most innocuous creature Astrid had ever laid eyes on.

"Say, where are Charlie and Trixie?" Arashi inquired of the Jolteon.

"At the lake. Trixie got the idea to send off a message in a bottle, and she dragged Charlie off with her saying something about how his tail-hand can throw things farther into the water than she could," Lila replied.

Arashi's face lit up. "Ooh! Let's go see what she wrote!"

The Froakie was bouncing off again with an excited grin plastered on his face before anyone could even suggest otherwise, leaving both Astrid and Lila in the dust. The Jolteon and Rowlet looked at each other, and Lila shrugged again.

"C'mon, Veeko," Lila said, lying down again and allowing the Eevee to crawl onto her back and situate himself in the white fur around her neck.

Arashi was already way ahead of them, but Astrid wasn't going to bother flying to catch up. Lila sure wasn't in any hurry, or so it seemed, as she trotted along leisurely. The Rowlet still had to skitter along faster than normal to keep up with her longer strides, though- and she guessed that same principle was why Veeko was on Lila's back as opposed to on the ground, for even next to Astrid's own form, the Eevee still was rather small. He couldn't have been very old, she deduced.

"So, Astrid, if you don't mind me asking," said the Jolteon, "you really don't remember anything about your former life? Just that your name is Astrid?"

The Rowlet thought for a second, slightly caught off guard by the question. Maybe it would be a lie by omission, but seeing as Niles and Kaminari were intent on keeping her secret under wraps and not even the ever-excited Arashi had mentioned it to anyone else, she merely replied, "Y-yeah, that about sums it up… I was k-kinda confused about how to use my body too, which I guess is also kinda important information to go forgetting…"

Veeko's tiny voice piped up again. "That's scary…"

"It kinda is, Veeko," Astrid acknowledged.

Lila, on the other hand, chortled just a bit, still looking upbeat. "Maybe there was nothing there worth remembering, then," she mused nonchalantly. "I guess Niles and Kaminari are treating you well?"

Astrid nodded, looking more at the ground than at anything else. "Y-yeah, they're r-really nice," she concurred. "I'm not gonna lie, I like them a lot…"

"Good," said the Jolteon, then chuckling a bit, "Heh, I'd probably get a little freaked out having a ninja as my mom and a secret agent as my dad, given that you would never be able to get away with anything, but it seems to have its perks in your case."

"A-ah, I guess it does… I'm just glad I'm not stuck here alone…"

Lila grinned, shooting her a glance. "Yeah, you are definitely not the 'alone' type."

The Rowlet would've blushed slightly if her cheeks hadn't been covered in feathers that masked it. She fluffed out a bit, but relaxed when the Jolteon gave another chortle.

In any case, they could see Trixie, Charlie, and Arashi at the lake's edge, the Croagunk looking cheeky and the Aipom looking slightly flustered while Arashi laughed. There was indeed a bottle, but there was no message inside it- the message was in Charlie's hands, and he seemed to be giving the Croagunk a disbelieving look because of it. Astrid flapped over, wanting to see what the deal was, and Lila shortly joined the circle along with Veeko.

"You guys, tell Trixie that this is a stupid idea! I am not throwing this!" the Aipom protested, giving them all an exasperated look.

"It's great! C'mon, Charlie, don't be such a stick in the mud!" Arashi protested.

Trixie only chuckled slyly, holding one hand to her mouth with a shifty look on her face. Astrid and Lila didn't have to wonder what it said for long, since Charlie immediately held it out for them to read.

"Sister, what does it say?" Veeko inquired, peeking over Lila's head and flattening her ears just a bit in the process.

Astrid quickly got an unamused look at the words on the page.

"'If you're reading this, I hope you have a rotten day and you should go hug a cactus, you brainless buffoon,'" Lila read to the Eevee, then to the Croagunk, "Seriously, Trixie? Could you be any more immature?"

"Oho, I could've been much more immature~" Trixie said to the contrary. "I could've laced it with curse words or drawn them a nice cartoon of a Bewear breaking a Pachirisu's neck~"

Veeko seemed to be puzzled as to why anyone would write such a message and willingly send it, but he also got a funny look at the word 'buffoon,' which Astrid guessed was due to him not understanding it. Charlie, on the other hand, let out an audible groan, while Lila rolled her eyes.

"Hey, if I picked up a bottle that said that, I'd be grinning!" Arashi protested.

"You're always grinning, Arashi," Charlie said flatly, then to their Croagunk companion, "Trixie, you are terrible."

The Croagunk's eyes began to sparkle and she clasped her hands together, looking absolutely elated. "Oh, thank you, Charlie~! That's the nicest thing I've heard all day~"

The palm of the Aipom's free hand shortly became very well acquainted with his face, an utterly hopeless look taking over his countenance. Lila only shook her head at Trixie's antics.

"Astrid, what do you think~?" Trixie chirped, still looking shifty but happy. "Do you appreciate my masterpiece~?"

Astrid found herself ruffling up a bit again at the inquiry. "W-well, it's nothing I would send out…"

"Fine by me!" the Croagunk seemed to take that a passive affirmation, quickly snatching the paper back from Charlie and shoving it into the bottle, which she held out towards Arashi. "Arashi, you can swim! You go take this thing out there!"

"But there's Gyarados out there! What if he gets swallowed?!" Charlie again was protesting.

"A Gyarados is not going to come this close to shore, Charlie, and I'm not afraid of Magikarp!" Arashi shot the thought down.

Without wasting a second, the Froakie snatched the bottle up under one arm and bounced out into the water, shortly disappearing underneath it for a few seconds before the bottle floated up further off the shore and he returned, leaving a trail of bubbles in the lake.

Charlie and Lila both shook their heads at the happenings before them, but said nothing. Astrid was absolutely silent, not quite sure what to make of it, either.

Though still, she had to admit that, even for the shifty-eyed and mischievous Croagunk… she liked them too. Maybe they weren't part of Team Starstorm, but they would do just fine regardless.