Heading through the town brought us plenty of attention. Passerby stared at Dusty and pointed fingers, gossiping about the weird creature and its smell. Dusty on the other hand didn't seem to care as he was lost in his own world, glancing around at all the surroundings intently. I noticed pretty quickly however that his odor didn't seem to bother me as much the longer we walked.
It was now about one in the afternoon as we made our way to Hart's Woods. The sun was still nearly at its apex in the sky but was now beginning its slow descent back down. The wind was low and the clouds were light, so I unzipped my sweatshirt to cool down a bit. Running everyone's errands was actually pretty tiring.
As we approached the middle school, I noticed a lone person off on the running track besides the woods. I stopped walking and squinted my eyes at the figure, and to my surprise, it looked to be Eliza. She was still dressed in the same things as the day before and seemed to be talking to someone or something in the brush. She then looked around carefully before stepping into the woods and out of sight.
I wondered briefly what she was doing down there, but when I looked up, Riolu and Dusty were getting ahead of me down the sidewalk; they hadn't even noticed that I'd stopped. I put the thought aside and ran to catch up with them.
We rushed past the middle school so we wouldn't cause another scene. Soon after, we arrived just outside the back entryway to Hart's Woods, the one in which Riolu and I'd been launched out of. The entrance was still spotted with impact craters where the Sludge Bombs had landed. Inside them, there were small traces of purple goo left, and all plant life around the holes was beginning to shrivel.
Coming to a stop in front of the path into the forest, I nervously looked up at the tall trees. Once safe and peaceful, Hart's Woods now seemed like a foreboding deathtrap to enter. But despite my fears, I knew I had Riolu and Dusty to protect me if anything went wrong. So, I swallowed my pride and headed in, my Pokémon partners trailing just behind me.
The three of us walked slowly and cautiously in a tightly packed group, our eyes fixated on the brush around the path. Dusty watched our backs, I watched the sides, and Riolu covered the front to make sure we could see every angle the Garbodor crew could be. As we approached the small footbridge that extended over a small, dried up creek, we heard a rustling sound from a nearby bush. We all stopped and turned towards the source.
"Get ready…!" I whispered to Dusty and Riolu, who tightened their stances. The bush shook again and stopped. Then, a small Trubbish emerged. It didn't notice us at first, but then caught us out of the corner of its eye.
"T-Trubbish, Trub!" it cried out. Suddenly, all around us, the bushes began to shake. More and more Trubbish began to pop out, and before we knew it, the three of us were surrounded. I was dumbfounded; on Monday, there were four Trubbish at most. Now, there had to be nine to ten of them. Where were all the other Trubbish hiding the first time we came?
Just then, stomping footsteps shook the ground below us periodically. From the creek bed, the Garbodor crew leader emerged, looking as intimidating as before.
"Garb!" it bellowed, hopping up from the creek bed onto the footbridge (I haven't a clue as to how the bridge didn't break). The Garbodor Crew all readied their attacks, preparing to blow us away for the second time.
"Wait, wait! We're not here to steal anything! We're here for you, Garbodor! Your owner wants you back… Can you–"
"Garbo! Dor!" the leader yelled out, shaking the trees in the area with its formidable voice. The crew continued the readying of their attacks, not heeding what I had to say.
"It's no use..." I said before turning to Riolu and Dusty. "We're gonna have to fight! There's no backing down now!" Riolu and Dusty got into battle stances, ready to attack.
"Riolu, try using Quick Attack over and over on each Trubbish to get them to stop their attacks! And Dusty! Use–" before I had a chance to say anything else, Dusty sprang into action.
"Garrrrrboooo!" it yelled, extending both of its long arms out. I got the idea and yelled to Riolu,
"Head for the bushes!" I took a brief running start and leapt over the Trubbish, Riolu following suit. They were all focused on Dusty, so they didn't attack us as we got out of the way. We landed safely behind some shrubbery as Dusty began to spin in a circle. His long arms collided with the Trubbish, sending them all flying backwards into the forest. Riolu and I ducked, being careful as to not get a face full of sentient garbage.
Once Dusty stopped spinning, I looked up to see that it was just us and the Garbodor crew's leader. The leader looked madder than ever and started to prepare its attack.
"Dusty!" I yelled out, running back up to the path to talk to him. "Can you try to talk to him and tell him our motives? Maybe he'll listen to you instead?" It was a long shot considering we'd just attacked all the Trubbish, but it would make the job a lot easier. Dusty nodded and walked up to the leader, who was just about to unleash a Sludge Bomb.
"Garb… Arbo, dor, bo," Dusty said. The crew leader stopped his attack and glared Dusty straight in the eyes.
"Garrrrrrr…" it replied, baring its teeth. Dusty hesitated but began to converse back and forth with the leader. Although I had no idea what either were saying, Riolu was nodding from time to time, probably agreeing with what Dusty had to say.
However, after talking for a minute, the Garbodor crew's leader threw its arms into the air; it was fed up with being peaceful.
"Gar! Gar! Gar!" it yelled, Body Slamming Dusty out of the way. Dusty flew back and landed just shy of Riolu and I. Dusty quickly got up and quickly brushed himself off. He turned to me and shook his head no.
"Well, at least we tried. Let's go for it then, Dusty!" I announced. Dusty got into a battle stance, as the Garbodor crew's leader approached. Riolu tried to run past me and into battle with Dusty, but I stopped him before he got out of arm's reach. "Riolu, I think we should just let Dusty battle for now. It would be unfair for it to be a two versus one. Why don't you sit out for now, and I'll throw you later if things go south. Cool?" Riolu frowned and crossed his arms, obviously a bit angry at my decision making today.
"Hey, watching battles is still fun; you can always learn something new! And, I promise I'll make it up to you after all of this somehow." Riolu still wasn't happy but turned around and headed for a nearby rock to watch the battle anyways. "Okay, let's start!" I quickly pulled out my PokéNav and scanned Dusty to check what moves he had.
"Let's see… Dusty has Sludge Bomb, Body Slam, Acid Spray, and Toxic Spikes," I mumbled. Just then, I felt the ground shaking again. I looked up from my PokéNav to see the Garbodor crew leader charging in. "Dodge it, Dusty!" I quickly yelled, stuffing the PokéNav back into my pocket. Dusty sidestepped suddenly, causing Garbodor to miss his running Body Slam attack and tumble to the ground. "Now's our chance! Acid Spray!" I yelled. Dusty pointed its right, three-pronged tendril at the leader and a gross green liquid emerged, splattering all over the opposing Garbodor.
By now, the Trubbish had returned to watch the battle, and all eyes were focused on the action. I would have been worried in case they tried to attack, but I was too fixated on the battle to care.
The Garbodor crew seemed unaffected by the attack, as the acid seemed to sizzle out almost immediately. It let off a devious smirk, probably figuring we didn't know what we were doing. He then hopped off the ground and began charging Dusty again. This time, neither Dusty nor I had a chance to react before the crew leader connected his attack. It used Double Slap, hitting Dusty repeatedly with powerful lashes from its tendrils. The onslaught of punches kept coming, but I stayed calm. Seeing how Dusty launched all the Trubbish away just using his own arms, I figured they could be useful for other purposes, too.
"Dusty, grab its arms!" Dusty didn't hesitate to wrap its tendrils around the crew leader's, stopping the punches. It struggled to get away and couldn't free itself from Dusty's grasp. "Body Slam!" Dusty held the crew leader in place, took a step back, and catapulted itself forward to slam the crew leader right head on. Dusty let go and the crew leader staggered backwards, surprised by the powerful attack, but I could tell we were going to have to do more to win the battle.
Immediately, the crew leader began to charge and sling out smaller Sludge Bombs one after another and hurdled them towards Dusty.
"Watch out! Dodge them the best you can!" I yelled as Dusty reacted and began to dart around the path, sidestepping and jumping out of the way to try and evade the Sludge Bombs. Unfortunately, Dusty stumbled and was hit head on with one of the purple projectiles, exploding and sending gross bits all over the place. Dusty then staggered to the ground and struggled to get up. The crew leader chortled and began to prepare a finishing Gunk Shot.
"Don't panic! Get ready for the attack! You're going to dodge it after he throws it!" I thought I saw Dusty nod, as he positioned himself on the ground towards the crew leader. "On the count of three! One… Two…" The crew leader launched his Gunk Shot, a giant ball of brown and purple almost two times as big as its Sludge Bomb, and it began to hurdle towards Dusty with a whistling sound. "Three! Use your arms to hoist yourself into the air!" Dusty instantly pushed himself off the ground, gaining some height from the jump.
Dusty did a little spin and just cleared the giant ball of trash, now starting his descent towards the crew leader. The Gunk Shot hurdled off behind Dusty, erupting with a loud bang in the background.
"Body Slam!" I yelled to Dusty, who was trying his best to position himself correctly in the air. The crew leader had plenty of time to get away, but after going all out with his final attack, I think Dusty's battle strategy caught him off guard. So he just stayed in place with a shocked look on his face as Dusty collapsed on him, dealing massive damage. Then, Dusty bounced off and landed perfectly just in front of the crew leader.
"Time to end it! Sludge Bomb!" I yelled, adrenaline pumping through me. A huge ball of sludge formed from Dusty's mouth and then hurtled towards the Garbodor crew's downed leader. The attack shouldn't have done much damage, but the other two Body Slams and previous Acid Spray clearly weakened him. The Sludge Bomb crashed into the opposing Garbodor and exploded, causing a huge cloud of dust to erupt from the epicenter.
Once it settled out, Dusty stood victorious, and at the opposite end, the leader lay fainted. Dusty jumped for joy and opened its mouth to smile.
"Garb, Garb!" it called out happily.
"Yes, Dusty, you did it!" Then, Dusty turned around and extended its gross tendrils towards me. "W-wait, we can–" the tendrils wrapped around me and hurdled me towards him; I was stopped with a disgusting squish. I tried to push away from its putrid body, but his grasp only got tighter. "Haha, that's enough, Dusty…" I mumbled, struggling to get free.
Eventually, he let me go and turned around to continue to his victory parade. I fell to the ground, covered in a gross, trashy liquid. I was absolutely disgusted, but there was nothing I could do about it; I had no change of clothes, and the creek was all dried up. I was just going to have to deal with the horrific smell and feel. Riolu bounded over and looked just as grossed out, but I could tell he didn't envy me in the slightest bit.
Once he was done celebrating a second later, Dusty came back around to me. As we locked eyes, I figured he was awaiting some kind of critique.
"Y-you did a great job, Dusty… But why don't we just high five or something else in the future instead of hugs… Alright?" Dusty nodded, continuing to smile.
Just then, we heard a noise from down the path and turned to face the Garbodor crew's leader, who was attempting to regain his balance. His posse of Trubbish were at his sides, trying to aid him in standing up.
"Garbodor, listen," I started by getting the crew leader's attention. "Like I said, we weren't here to steal from you. We're here because of your previous owner, Bart." The Garbodor crew leader was now on his feet and seemed to be finally listening to what I had to say. "Garbodor, he wants you back. He misses you, and he's sorry about everything that happened earlier this week. Now, I know we don't have the best of relationships, but hear me out: Bart is lonely, and he needs someone like you to be his partner. So please... Come with us?"
The crew leader seemed hesitant and was gazing down at his crew of Trubbish, who all looked back at him with teary eyes. I started to get the picture; they were a tight-knit family that couldn't function apart.
"Garbodor… I bet you can bring your Trubbish, too. Bart would definitely enjoy all the company. I don't know how much food there is where Bart lives… But Hart's Woods isn't that far away either." I added on, so that they wouldn't cry. The Garbodor crew leader looked like he was thinking, and then he smiled for the first time. He shook his head yes and said something to the Trubbish. All the Trubbish smiled back and began to jump up and down in joy. I grinned too, knowing we'd reached a compromise. "That's great! Come on, no time to waste. Let's head back to–"
"Garbo!" The crew leader suddenly called out. Surprised, I stopped talking. The crew leader beckoned us to follow with its right tendril and hopped down into the creek bed. The Trubbish circled around him, creating a guarding barrier. Riolu and Dusty looked at me, and I shrugged back to show I was unsure just what was happening. Nonetheless, I began to walk forward towards the creek bed to see where the crew was leading us. Dusty and Riolu followed close behind, standing guard too, in case the Garbodor crew were plotting something else.
We began hiking through the muddy creek beds of Hart's Woods, continuing to follow the Garbodor crew around its twists and turns. Meanwhile, the gunk Dusty got on me was now starting to become very troublesome. The smell and feel of my clothes made me nearly gag every time I thought about it. I sincerely hoped that the creek bed would have something else other than mud, but there was no fresh water in sight. Dusty obviously paid no attention to how I was feeling as it skipped jollily on my left. Riolu however, looked quite worried. I figured that he knew the reason that I was so unhappy, so I told him,
"I'm sure it'll be fine, Riolu. There will be some water to wash off in soon... Hopefully. Let's just focus on where we're headed, alright?" Riolu looked me up and down once more before eventually nodding.
After a minute or two of walking up and down the creek bed taking turn after turn, we approached a large hill. The streambed seemed to stop as soon as it hit the slope, causing me to become suspicious.
"Careful," I whispered to Dusty and Riolu. "I still don't know if they're being friendly or not." With our guard up, the Garbodor crew came to a stop in front of the hill. The leader then turned around and smiled at us.
"Garbo, Garb!" it said, beckoning us to continue following them.
After wondering exactly they wanted us to go, the leader then turned back and reached into the grassy hill. To my surprise, some camouflaged vines were hiding a small entrance way inside. The hole was just big enough for Garbodor to fit into, in which he ducked inside. The Trubbish followed suit and began to pile into the hole one by one. I looked to Dusty and then to Riolu, who seemed just as skeptical as I was.
"Should we really head in there?" Dusty hesitated to answer and took a second to think; but when I turned to Riolu, he was clutching his fist confidently. I smiled at him, letting him know I appreciated his support. I took a deep breath and headed forward, pushing the vines away and stepping inside.
This entrance was surprisingly well lit the entire way through, so I could easily see where I was walking. The dirt walls looked crudely made, like something had dug through them quickly. Deeper inside, the path began to twist until I finally saw sunlight erupt from around a corner. I sped up and made the final turn, blinded by for a moment. When my senses returned, I was in awe.
We were inside this large rounded cavern underground. Part of the ceiling was caved in, revealing the tree line of Hart's Woods and some specks of the sky above. The roots from the large trees above dangled down, dripping water onto the floor. Some of these roots connected into the muddy floor, creating a structure for the hole. A small pool of muddy water up to my ankles flowed towards the entrance.
"Woah... How is this even possible?" I asked aloud, still awestruck. Riolu and Dusty were now at my sides, looking up at the marvelous sight, just as astonished as I was.
"Garb," I heard, returning my attention back to Garbodor and his crew. He turned around and headed down another tunnel, his Trubbish gang close behind. I continued to follow, completely forgetting about my wretched smelling clothing and my wet shoes.
The second tunnel became dark for a brief period of time, in which I had to feel around. I could feel water around my legs getting higher, but then it receded back down after a while; Riolu hopped up on my shoulder to avoid getting wet.
Once light began to fill the cavern again, I rushed out to see where the crew had taken us. I was temporarily blinded once again, but my vision quickly cleared and a new sight came into view.
Coming out of the passageway, we seemed to be in some kind of dump in the clearing of a less-dense forest; all around us were old car frames and shopping carts. Other mechanical parts and general trash were piled up and strewn about too, almost making a kind of makeshift garbage castle. Then, an idea popped into my head.
"H-hold on, I'll be right back!" I yelped suddenly, confusing everyone. I ran through the small number of trees, until I reached the very outside. "I knew it!" I cried, once I saw what was before me. A rocky beach led to the Erie Canal, and across the way was the strange path outside the middle school. The rusty old car frames and shopping carts on the other side stood untouched, and just as mysterious as ever. I was finally on the island across the way.
Dusty, Riolu, and the Garbodor crew leader followed me to the edge of the island. Once Riolu had the same breakthrough I had, he froze, realizing where we were.
"Riolu, this is crazy! I didn't know that there was a passageway from Hart's Woods to here! If I'd known that, I would have explored this island over and over!" Riolu nodded, probably less ecstatic than I was about the discovery.
"Gaarrrbb." The crew leader announced, bringing me back to my senses. I turned around and noticed he'd begun to walk back the way we'd come from.
"Right," I pronounced aloud, making sure Dusty and Riolu would hear me. "Let's follow him. There's got to be a reason they brought us here." Dusty and Riolu nodded, following after me through the woods.
When we arrived back at the trash pile, the crew were waiting for us. Another idea popped into my head.
"Is this where you guys live, Garbodor?" The Garbodor leader turned his head and nodded yes, before turning back. I then noticed that he was besides a large mound of trash that had a small indent in it. The leader then reached into the small hole with his right tendril and searched around inside. Soon after, the leader pulled out a small, water-stained cardboard box. The leader turned around and walked down to meet us.
"Gar!" he said, handing the box to me.
"Uh, thanks…?" I replied, briefly inspecting the box. It was by far nothing special, but heavy enough that I knew there was something inside. Opening the lid slowly, I found two jet black wristbands at the bottom, both encrusted with a strange gemstone in the middle. One looked more like a watch, while the other looked like a gauntlet of some kind that would maybe fit Riolu.
"These… are for us?" The crew leader nodded happily, an open mouth smile on his face. I reached in and pulled out the bracer, handing it to Riolu. "This must be yours," I told him. He took the gauntlet and looked it over with curious eyes. I then grabbed my bracelet and thoroughly inspected it before setting the box back on the ground. The gemstone in the center was a perfectly round stone that shone with a rainbow hue. Seemingly suspended inside was a pattern that looked like a DNA strand. My eyes lit up when I suddenly realized what I had in my hands.
"W-wait!" I stammered, looking down at Riolu's wristband to confirm. The stone was larger than the one in my bracelet and was a yellow-orange hue. Inside, was a suspended blue and red swirl; it started moving as Riolu grazed his paw over it, as if it reacted to his touch. I turned to Garbodor leader and yelled, "You're giving us Mega Stones?! But, but… Don't you hate us? We were the ones that stole your food and knocked out your crew members! And now you're giving us a gift!?" Then, the leader of the crew pointed his tendril at my head. "Huh? Something about my head?" I asked, confused by its reaction. I started thinking about possible answers to the question.
Think, think… There's got to be something I can remember as to why Garbodor is giving us these Mega Stones… Then, my dream from a couple days before suddenly popped back into my head and it finally all made sense. Uxie told me in my dream that, 'Deep in a forbidden place, surrounded by friends, you will find a key to your success'. Does that mean that the 'woods' was Hart's Woods…? The friends were all the Pokémon... And the treasure was the Mega Stones?!
I looked back up at the Garbodor leader, who was still smiling.
"How… How did you know about this? Did Uxie contact you too?" It nodded yes. "So... Uxie helped you guys set up all of this? She gave you the Mega Stones, and in turn you guys fake protected them, knowing we'd eventually come here and find them?"
"Garbo." The crew leader affirmed, nodding again. I was shocked. Uxie had set out an entire quest for Riolu and I, almost like a challenge to see how fit we were to save the world. If only I'd known about this sooner… This was more than enough evidence to prove to me her dream was real. Suddenly, another thought ran through my head. Turning to Dusty, I asked,
"Dusty… Did you get a dream from Uxie too?" Surprisingly, Dusty nodded no in response, looking a bit disappointed. Uxie probably wasn't just trying to get us the Mega Stones... She was also probably trying to connect me with other Pokémon so I'd have some more allies on my journey!
Realizing I still hadn't tried on my Mega Stone Bracelet, I opened the hinge and clasped it shut around my left wrist, which made a satisfying clicking noise as it closed. It fit my wrist perfectly, as if it was tailored just for me. The black metal was cool to the touch.
Meanwhile, Riolu attempted to slip his bracer on, and found it was a little loose. But knowing that Lucario was the one who could Mega Evolve, I figured he'd have to grow into it. Riolu flicked his right arm around, inspecting the stone in all places, and watching how the sun bounced off the stone in the middle in certain ways. Dusty looked a little jealous at our new accessories.
"T-thank you," I said to the Garbodor crew. Riolu turned and let out a,
"Rio," seemingly as a thank you too. The Garbodor leader smiled even more at our responses.
"Riolu…" I started, getting his attention. "Mega Stones aren't easy to come by, so I'm one-hundred percent sure that Uxie's riddle had something to do with this place. When we get home, we need to get ready to head out as soon as possible." Riolu confidently nodded before going back to thinking about the dream from a couple days before.
I then turned to the Garbodor crew again.
"Are you guys ready to head over to Bart's place? We should get going before it gets too late." Garbodor nodded yes and turned around to the Trubbish comrades.
"Garbo, Garbo!" it called out.
"Trubbish, Trubbish!" they all yelped, continuing to jump for joy.
"Okay, then let's get this party on the road!"
We headed back through the creek bed to the back entrance to Hart's Woods, and then made our way towards my dad's house. As we paraded across town, we created an even bigger commotion than before. Passing by the middle school, all classes seemed to stop for a moment, and the children came back to the windows to watch us stroll on through. It was almost like they were all cheering us on as I watched the teachers become more and more unhappy at the distraction.
When we arrived back on Church Street, there was much of the same reaction. All around us, people covered their noses and looked away in disgust. A couple drivers almost got into an accident, as they were busy staring at the extremely unusual sight. I continued my march forward without pausing, eager to see Bart's reaction when we got back. Once we passed the bridge, we veered onto the canal path, which would be an easier and faster way to get to our destination without so much attention.
After a couple more minutes of walking, we were just outside Bart's forest clearing.
"Bart, we're back!" I called to him as he came into sight. He turned and stood up in shock from his dilapidated plastic chair.
"What in de…?" Bart stammered out, as he noticed everyone's arrival. "Tickle me pink… Ya act'ly got my pardner back! Trashy!" he called out, rushing up to Garbodor. The two of them hugged as they met, friends reunited. "I'm mighty sorry fer all de ruckus I caused us, buddy. Can we set our diffrences aside an' jus' be friends again?" The Garbodor leader nodded yes, and all the Trubbish hopped up and down for joy. Shortly after their reunion, Bart turned back around to me.
"I can't ever thank ya enough, whippersnapper. What ya did fer me is beyond what I asked fer. Ya brought me a group o' friends ta spend my time with… Gosh, I think I'mma cry…" Tears formed in Bart's eyes and he began to sob. The crew leader and Dusty ran up to him and wrapped their tendrils around his body to comfort him. I wondered quickly how Bart was able to withstand the onslaught of gross hugs. "Heh, you two lugs are de best to me." The crew leader and Dusty backed off, happy their comforting helped. Bart then turned back to me. "Luke… You remind me o' a son I never had… I truly cannot say thank ya enough. No whippersnapper has ever helped me this much!"
"Really, the pleasure is all mine, Bart; no need to thank me anymore. Besides, it was nice to help you out."
"Well…" Bart muttered, beginning to think about something. "I've got taa many friends ta count right now, an' I'm mighty sure one o' these lugs would be proud ta head home with ya... Why don't ya pick one or two ta travel with ya? Or if ya don't want one, why don't ya at least take Dusty anyways fer yer pop?" Dusty and I immediately locked eyes after he'd finished talking.
"Dusty, will you…?" Dusty's face lit up when he heard those words. "Bart… Is it alright if I take Dusty with me?"
"Sure, kid. Not a problem. I'm sure Dusty has taken a liking to ya." Dusty nodded and trotted over to me with a big open mouth grin. Seeing another hug was imminent, I just went along with it.
"Come here, Dusty," I said while holding my breath, as a set of strong, slimy tendrils wrapped me close to his disgusting body. "...I promise we'll be good friends, Dusty. Just you wait!"
"Garbo!" Dusty cried, still smiling. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Riolu cringing. Once he stopped hugging me, I regained my composure one last time to talk to Bart.
"...Welp, I guess we should be heading out. It's getting late, and I should head home before my dad starts to worry."
"Thanks once more, whippersnapper! Ya really brightened up my day. Try ta visit from time to time, ya hear?" A pang of grief welled up inside me, knowing that wouldn't happen for a while if I was saving the Pokémon World. But instead of acting on that feeling, I just nodded yes and headed out of the woods towards the road with Dusty and Riolu following suit behind me. Before I was out of sight, Bart called out my name from his tent.
"Oh, an' Luke!" He yelled back at me. I turned around once more. "Please take care! Keep Dusty safe fer me!" I smiled and waved goodbye to him as the Garbodor and his Trubbish waved goodbye too.
Turning around, we all continued to head home. While walking back, I was extremely glad I was able to help out Bart and fix up my relations with the Garbodor crew before leaving town.