Chapter 14: In the End


"I took my love out to see the city today," Goodra crowed.

"That's lovely, dear," her maid muttered disapprovingly, as she prepared the princess's bed for rest.

"We saw the gardens, and I took him to that wondrous Stoutland's bakery. We even saw the funny Dodrio street performer!"

"I'm sure he loved it, dear," her maid muttered once more.

The princess's expression grew sour. "Do you really think so?" I thought it was all amazing today... but he still seemed so glum."

The maid dared not answer truthfully, so she continued her work in silence.

"Deedee... Do you think I'm doing something wrong?"

Her hesitation told Goodra all she needed to know.

"Please! You can tell me! I need to know," the childish princess pleaded. "I want my love to be happy."

The maid sighed, looking up at her charge. "Dear... He may be your love. But he is also your captive. Making him stay with you... he may never be happy like that."

Goodra recoiled as though she had been struck. "You think I should just let him go?! What if he leaves me and never comes back?"

She looked up and said, "Back where I came from, we had an expression. If you love someone, set them free. If they come back, it's meant to be. If you truly want him to be happy, you need to accept that his happiness may not be yours."

~ The 24th Tale, The Caged Bird


The scene outside the dungeon was not the one Rex had expected. He'd anticipated finding the village up in flames, with all traces of life melting away. Instead, the village was more alive with activity than ever before. Motions stirred all down the tree line as Pokémon ran about, frantic and disorganized.

Solemn Meadow wasn't lost yet- though it looked like the flames had breached the perimeter at several points. The only thing stopping those breaches from crawling into the center of the village was a single stormcloud, dead center in the perimeter. But it couldn't cover everything, and it was dwindling in size by the second.

More confusingly however, were two other rainclouds hanging in the skies to the north and south. The two far larger storms slowly crept forward, the village pincered in the middle. But whoever was responsible for them was in no rush to help Solemn Meadow.

"Shit…" Rex muttered. "We need to get back there fast."

"And what's your brilliant plan for that?" Bristle asked, fanning a flower across the boiling meadow between them and the village. "I had assumed this dungeon would have a safe exit, but it seems to be the gift that keeps on giving."

Rex glanced around, his eyes settling on Ashen. The Flareon still stood in front silently, his eyes to the dirt. "You. You can run through this, right?"

Still refusing to look up, Ashen nodded.

"Good. You're going to carry us."

The kid flinched, betraying his surprise, but he quickly nodded again. He crouched low to let them climb up.

"Oh, absolutely not!" Bristle glared at him indignantly. "I am not being carried by the criminal child."

Rex opened his mouth to argue but stopped himself. He shrugged. "Okay." He grabbed a tuft on Ashen's collar and dragged himself onto the Flareon's back by it, ignoring the kid's quiet wince of pain. "Let's go, matchstick."

Ashen picked his head up to glance hesitantly at Bristle, as if asking for permission. She let out a growl of defeat.

"Fine. You will take us directly over to the village. If you try anything funny, I will be-"

"We get it," Rex cut her off. "You really, really want to hit a child. I don't think he's forgotten the last threat yet."

Bristle curled her lip at him as she dragged herself over Ashen's tail and onto his back. She wrapped a vine around his neck, both to get a grip and to keep him under control. "You're quick to get buddy-buddy with a criminal."

Rex rolled his eyes. "He's a dumbass kid, not a criminal."

"The crimes beg to differ," Bristle muttered as Ashen took off across the field.

In under a minute the Flareon had ferried them over the sea of cinders. The perimeter was relatively quiet along the edge of the meadow, as the burning grass presented a much lower risk of crossing over than anywhere else. Even so, the Pokémon gathered there went into high alarm as Ashen approached.

As Ashen went to hop the line, a torrent of steaming water slammed into the ground next to him, extinguishing a bed of embers. He leapt across in a panic, turning to guard himself from his attacker.

Rex grabbed the back of his neck and pulled himself up over Ashen's head, waving his claws in the air. "Whoa, whoa! Calm down, it's us-" he paused as he noticed who'd attacked them. "Wimpod?" he gaped in disbelief.

Something was very, very wrong with Wimpod. The bug wasn't trembling. In fact, he didn't even look like he was breathing. He stared straight up at Ashen, eyes open wide- without a hint of thought behind them. He fired again, pelting Ashen dead on with a blast of scalding water.

Ashen yipped and fell over backwards, throwing his riders into the dirt. They groaned, quite sick of that, and quickly got up to defend themselves. But Wimpod was already being held down by the vines of a serpentine, green figure. "Nope. You're done buddy."

Wimpod struggled faintly to pull his head out of her grasp, but she held him tight. "Sorry. He went totally catatonic a bit ago. Was honestly kinda ignoring it cause he was more useful that way. But if he's gonna be attacking people I'll dump him off on Eldegoss." She paused and eyed Ashen skeptically. "Hey. That isn't…" she let the question trail off.

Rex quickly shook his head. "No. Where's Oak?"

Before she could even answer, the Elder came bounding up to them at a surprising speed. His eyes darted from Rex, to Ashen, to Bristle, to the struggling Wimpod, before finally eyeing the entire group aghast.

"Servine, get him to Eldegoss and see if she can't put him under," he quickly directly Wimpod's holder. With a nod she rushed off, still restraining the delirious bug. "Helioptile- Roselia- what on the earth is going on?"

In spite of addressing those two, his eyes were on Ashen. His glare was skeptical, and his stance guarded, clearly broadcasting his suspicions.

Bristle made several motions as if she intended to speak up, but stopped each time. She was a terrible liar, even if they had planned their story already. She conceded and looked to Rex expectantly.

"I'll cut you the details later. Things still look really bad here. Long story short, spirit is gone and we found the kid," he said, gesturing emphatically to Ashen. "He's on fire now, just like everything else in this god forsaken forest. But what the hell is going on out here? I thought you were evacuating?"

Oak shook his head. "Evacuation went… poorly. There were breaches while we gathered people and it threw everyone into a panic. Leafeon overexerted himself trying to extinguish them, and the fire kept spreading all the while. At this point leaving is as dangerous is staying." He looked aside guiltily. "Perhaps Claydol was right. Perhaps we should have evacuated sooner."

He quickly shook off the gloom and pointed his horns up towards the large raincloud to the north. "The situation isn't as dire as it could be though, thanks to Talonflame. Bless his feathers. He managed to blow a ton of smoke throughout the woods with a tailwind. It crept up by a northern river community, and a few smaller creeks and ponds to the south, and the ferals caught wind of it."

Remembering that Rex might need more explanation, he continued. "Even feral water types will try to put out fires by instinct. No good for them if their food sources or their habitat burn up. They did most of the work on the smaller fires we dealt with earlier in the week.

"But as good as that is for the rest of the forest, the ferals could care less about our village. All the strange Pokémon will probably deter them from getting too close," he explained with a rare scowl. He nodded over to the raincloud above the village, "Umbreon is doing her best. But she's exhausted.

"That's our status. With the spirit gone and the ferals dealing with the rest of the woods, we really just need to control the fire immediately around the village. But we're low on water, and Vaporeon barely has the energy to fill up buckets at this point. Wimpod is clearly down for the count too. Umbreon can't keep this up much longer, and Leafeon can barely move. The Flak Grotto Pokémon are tough. Tired as they are, I suspect they can keep going. But there's only a few of them. They can't do everything alone."

Rex thought the situation over, something powerful stirring in his heart. Not dread No, not hope, or conviction or any of that shit either.

No. Rex was completely and utterly annoyed.

"So what I'm hearing is, we really need a little extra boon to patch that hole in our resources for a bit, keep us supplied with water, and there's a good shot we come out of this on top?" he asked with a bitter frown.

"Nothing is certain at a time like this. But it would be a blessing." The elder eyed him optimistically. "You have something in mind?"

Wordlessly, Rex reached a claw into his bag and pulled out the rainy orb. "Yeah," he grumbled as he held it up. How convenient.

His position was exceptionally frustrating. Because now that he had an idea what was happening, he was questioning everything. How much of this had been planned? Which of his actions had truly been his own?

Oak stared at the orb blankly. "What is that?" he asked, leaning down to examine the storm within.

The delving question made Bristle perk up again. "It's a rainy orb. It's a dungeon artifact that automatically performs a rain dance."

Oak's eyes lit up. "Yes, that would be quiet the boon right now. Even if it's not any stronger than Umbreon's dance, giving her the chance to rest could keep her from collapsing like her mate. And assure we have the water to keep going."

Still musing on the situation, Rex made a choice.

"Thank god Bristle found it." He held the orb out to Bristle and looked her in the eyes. "You should do the honors."

Bristle took a guarded stance, eyeing Rex and the orb suspiciously. She was certain this had to be some kind of trap. But after a moment of skepticism, she saw no possible risk. A vine shot out and greedily tugged the orb from his grasp.

There was no trap for Bristle. But Rex had finally put together what Strife was doing. The voice had asked him about being a legend. The whole situation had been arranged to make him the hero, hadn't it? Maybe that was the real motivation behind everything?

Well, he wouldn't play his part. Perhaps it was a petty victory. But if Strife wanted him to be the hero, he'd give away all the credit. Letting Bristle take the win was annoying, but he had the feeling her bath in delusions of grandeur would probably turn out poorly for her anyways.

"I'll activate it in the center of the village to cover as much as possible," Bristle resolved. She turned her eyes back to Ashen and nudged her head for the Flareon to get in front again.

Oak nodded. "That's where Umbreon and the infirmary are. Come quick." The deer started to bound away.

But rather than moving quick, Ashen froze entirely at the mention of his mother. He was trembling.

Bristle leaned close to his ear and hissed, "What, feeling guilty now? You had better not mess this up for us because you don't want to face the consequences of your actions. Now go."

With a muted whimper he started moving, his feet and tail dragging along the ground.

Rex felt a tinge of guilt looking at the kid. They needed a therapist, not this shit. But he was no therapist, and he needed to keep the Flareon around for now.

The infirmary was mostly the same as Rex had left it. Albeit, far more drenched from the rain and with far fewer open beds. Half a dozen Pokémon were resting here, thankfully with minor burns or bruises at worst. Wimpod was deep asleep on one of the beds, successfully sedated. Leafeon took up another bed, seemingly uninjured, yet out cold.

Team Pride still looked the worst of the lot. Ego and Xew didn't stir, but Deci started to pull himself up as they approached.

"Roselia! You're okay!" he chirped faintly, with a mix of awe and relief.

"Hey!" Eldegoss snapped, quickly hovering over him. "Stay there! Unless you'd also like to take a nap." She beckoned her head towards Ego just as he emitted a rumbling snore.

Not daring provoke the wrath of his doctor, Deci laid back down and eyed Bristle from the ground. "I'm glad you're safe."

Bristle's expression quivered briefly as she debated how to take the kindness. Finally, she relaxed and gave him a cordial nod. "Thank you."

Beyond Eldegoss's infirmary lay a field of half-full buckets, where a dark figure twirled back and forth through the air. One leap- a leap back- a spin as if chasing her own tail, another leap- The dance might have been more hypnotizing, but her eyes were wide and her motions clumsy, betraying her exhaustion.

Her eyes glossed over them mid-motion as they approached, granting her only a momentary glance. "What's... going on... " she panted out between movements, confused by the odd procession.

"You can stop that now. We've got a replacement," Bristle answered. She coiled back her vine and whipped the rainy orb into the grown where Umbreon was dancing. The cloud emerged and rose quickly into the sky, entirely consuming Umbreon's small lingering cloud and stretching out across most of the village.

Umbreon finally paused, falling onto her side panting the moment she stopped moving. From the ground she watched the rain come pouring down around her, heavier than before.

It was at this point that Rex noticed someone was missing. A quick look back revealed Ashen still lingering awkwardly around the infirmary, hoping he'd stay unnoticed. Rex scowled and quickly moved back to him.

The kid was uncomfortably large now, requiring Rex to look up to meet his eyes. But there was nothing intimidating left about him. Not with that pitiful expression. "Make this easy on me, kid. The second she notices you're not with her she's going to make a scene," Rex growled.

Begrudgingly, Ashen trodded forward to rejoin the group. Bristle and Oak were trying to help Umbreon stand up and move her over to the infirmary for rest. Umbreon met his eyes as he approached.

She nearly collapsed to the ground again. Rex swore he could see the thousand thoughts racing through her mind, each manifesting a unique expression on her face within the span of a few seconds.

Ashen couldn't hold back his tears anymore. "I'm sorry, mom," he sobbed, laying down and bowing his head as low into the dirt as he could. He squirmed his head against the ground, infuriated he could never bow it low enough.

"He's been very upset since we rescued him from the spirit," Rex quickly cut in with the lie, trying to bury the kid's admission of guilt. "Crazy guy made him evolve."

But Umbreon wasn't listening to him. She pulled away from Bristle's support vine, her expression finally settling on her own sob. She rushed up and laid down in front of Ashen, nuzzling his collar aggressively. "I'm so, so sorry," she cried in return. "I should have been there for you. I should have- " she cut herself off with a sob. Everything she said next was lost into his thick collar.

They remained in this embrace for a minute, before Umbreon rose to her feet again. She pushed her head against him from above and whispered to him. "You're so big and strong now. I- I hope you're happy with it, even if- if you didn't..." Her eyes started to well up again and she stopped speaking.

From her position, she couldn't see the pain flash through his face in response.

"I'm not strong," he muttered, eyes still drenched. "This is all my fault..."

Rex groaned quietly and interjected again. "Nonsense! The spirit made you do it. You didn't have a choice. No one blames you for this." He quickly glanced at Bristle to make sure she played along. She'd turned away entirely and was pretending to be focused on the Pokémon fighting to take back their perimeter under the new storm.

Umbreon gasped. "Y-you mean the fire...? It was..."

Rex nodded, not trusting the kid to answer on his own. "Not all of it. But they made him help."

Ashen's eyes were drilling into the floor. He somehow looked more guilty than ever. But to Rex's relief, he didn't protest the lie.

Umbreon crouched down and started nuzzling him even harder than before. "Oh stars. My poor boy," she sobbed. "I'm sorry. That must have been horrible on you. This is..."

Oak let them cry into each other for a few moments longer before stepping forward. "Why don't you two take a bed in the infirmary? I'm sure Leafeon will want to see that the boy is okay when he wakes up, and you both deserve a long rest."

Umbreon sniffled and pulled herself to her feet. She was still wobbling from exhaustion, now as much mental as physical. "Right, sorry... Come my little Mumble. Stay with me... Please..." She nudged for him to get up.

Slowly, and perhaps more tired than Umbreon herself, Ashen pulled himself to his feet. He cast a glance to Bristle for approval as his mother led him away.

"I... I believe I need to take a rest myself," Bristle announced. The admission caught Rex off guard. Come to think of it, she did look absolutely terrible, even beyond just the coating of ash and dust. Maybe she'd found her limits finally.

But following her eyes, it became obvious what she really wanted. She was still staring mistrustingly at Ashen. She was far too paranoid about the entirely defeated Flareon.

As those three scurried off, Rex was alone now with Oak. The elder was looking down at him with the goofiest of grins. An unbecoming expression for the village's trusted leader.

"I owe you an apology, human. It seems I should have trusted you after all," the deer said as he bowed his head slightly.

"Tch. Nope. It was all Roselia," he said nonchalantly, refusing to meet Oak's eyes. "We're not done yet, anyways." He glanced around.

The shifting lights of the fire still danced around them every side. But the situation was undeniably improving now. He didn't know how long this raincloud would persist, but it was creating a safe zone in the center of the village, and the feral clouds were still gradually approaching from either side as the beasts advanced. The lowering stakes were tangible in the increasingly composed behavior of the Pokémon running all about the woods around them.

"If we get it back over the perimeter at this point, we basically win, right?"

Oak grew more serious again and took in the situation pensively. "It's best not to grow too confident, but we'd be in a very good position then. I'm going to run the perimeter and find where we have breaches. Find the rock, ground, and water types still up and fighting and bring them back here. Things descended into chaos, but if we can regain order and get our best people in the right places..." Oak gave him a smile. The once-defeated elder's optimism was returning.

Rex nodded. He was done being useless. He'd been dragged into Strife's game, and it was alarmingly clear now that being a non-participant wasn't an option. Until the village was safe, he'd find a way to be useful.


He'd done this.

That was all Ashen could think as he sat there, forced to witness all the destruction he'd wrought. Every felled tree, every puff of smoke in the air, every injured Pokémon around him. All of it was his fault.

And now he was just sitting here, drenched by the rain, with his own mother crying into him, watching everyone else clean up his mess. Again.

He had to keep lying now. Helioptile's agreement aside- he'd seen how his mother reacted when she learned he'd set the fires. If she knew he'd done it willingly... the truth would only hurt her more.

But his heart squirmed at having to face his father. Leafeon was still out cold. Eldegoss had rearranged the beds so they could lie next to him. It was a gesture of kindness, but it had only amplified Ashen's pain. Every slight movement Leafeon made sent his heart up into his throat.

Over time Umbreon's crying settled, and she finally picked her head up to survey the ongoing fight.

True to his word, Helioptile had found the right Pokémon. And the elder had found the breaches. It had been a painfully tense wait, while the flames licked eagerly around the edges of their safe circle in the rain, trying desperately to creep in. Roselia had taken up another one of the beds, ostensibly needing to rest. But she wasn't resting. Her constant stares sent a clear message: she wasn't letting him out of her sights.

Eventually the elder swung by the infirmary again, pleading for Umbreon to come join everyone else. With a lamenting look down to her son, and one final nuzzle she rose and bounded off with the others.

Gradually, he saw the light betwixt the trees dim in a few key spots as they targeted the points where the fire had breached the perimeter. The dimming began to spread, as they fanned out from there. With the trench on one side, the raincloud on the other, and the firefighters advancing, they'd created a pincer. The fire had nowhere to spread to within the village. They were finally routing it out.

"What's going on?"

Ashen practically jumped up at his father's sudden mumbling. The Leafeon rolled onto his stomach and attempted to stand up. But his legs wobbled and gave out, and with a defeated look he resigned himself to lying down. He caught Ashen's eyes and froze.

Ashen wanted nothing more than to not answer. Maybe just run away and never look back.

He drooped his head in shame. "They're winning... dad."

Leafeon paused, blinking slowly to take in the revelation. "I- I see..." he choked out. Then with a heavy sigh, he settled his head on the ground. "I'm so glad you're okay. We were so worried about you."

Ashen flinched at his father's obvious disappointment. He'd shattered his old man's dreams of the family tradition living on.

He expected Leafeon to say more. But they sat in an awkward silence for long time, with nothing more than periodic glances back and forth at one another, both sides quickly turning away if they noticed the other looking back.

This silence continued as the fire was pushed back past the perimeter. As dawn broke on the exhausted village, after a long, long night. As the hanging clouds of the ferals drew closer and closer, before eventually vanishing as the civilized Pokémon spooked them away.

Ashen had no idea how long they'd been sitting there, but it felt like hours that they watched this together. And as the hours crept on, it became more and more clear that the danger was passing. The damp woodlands the ferals had left in their wake couldn't reignite, and with Umbreon's recovered strength she could rain dance again to assure the lingering fires were cut off from spreading any further.

Ashen prayed his silent thanks, over and over, that everyone else had been spared from his mistakes.

By noon, the tense atmosphere had visibly relaxed. The Pokémon were still cautiously alert, but the nightmare seemed to have passed. Eldegoss was finally letting the injured and exhausted Pokémon leave, barring the battered Team Pride.

Ashen had been keeping a nervous eye on them the whole time he was in the infirmary. There should be no way they could recognize him, but...

Leafeon dragged himself to his feet. He was limping, but standing again nonetheless.

"Why don't we go home?" he looked down at Ashen with a sad smile. His voice said it all: he had no idea what state their home would be in.

Dripping with dread, Ashen nodded and rose, following meekly behind his father. Eldegoss cast them a nod as they left, travelling up the path to their farmhouse. Unsurprisingly, Roselia trailed not far behind, never letting him leave her sights.

At first the village seemed mostly unharmed. Near the center of town, the rain had even helped to wash the disgusting smoke residue off of the buildings. But as they got further out, it became clear that the edges of the village weren't as lucky. The homes and trees ranged from burnt to collapsing as they approached the perimeter.

Beyond the trench the woods were a ghost of their former majesty. Their barks were black and gray, and the leaves had become a snow-like coating of soot on the forest floor, with the brambles of lost branches on top. Even with the forest's many grass types, it would take months to rejuvenate everything.

Ashen was flooded with momentary relief as the large form of the farmhouse came into view between the trees. The wood had been coated with black grime from the smog, but it was still standing. It seemed that, barring any tall trees to leap across, the trench had held strong along the edge of the meadow.

But that relief spiraled into the pit of his stomach as they got closer and he realized what wasn't protected by the trench. The farm fields had become sprawling dunes of ash. There wasn't a single living thing left in them. The entire remaining harvest was lost.

Leafeon's face curled in pain as they came to the edges of his fields. Ashen whimpered guiltily.

But after a heavy sigh, the farmer shook his head and looked at him with a forced smile. "It doesn't matter. Why don't we go inside? You can go up to your room and take a well-deserved nap, while we clean this whole mess up."

He didn't deserve anything. But what was he supposed to say? He gave a weak nod.

Before they could enter, a small procession exited from the village. The elder and the Helioptile stood at the front, with a handful of the village Pokémon following behind them. Someone called out to the duo, "The elder wants everyone to gather, come on!"

With a curious look, they followed the group out into the meadow. The once vibrant field, like everything else, had become a scorched stretch of earth. Pokémon yelped periodically as they'd carelessly step on a loose ember. But the meadow had mostly cooled off.

The Elder brought them back by the collapsed remains of his own shrine. More and more Pokémon joined them, gathering around the elder until it seemed that most of the village was there. Appraising the crowd, Oak finally decided enough were present and spoke up.

"Thank you all for gathering with me. I'm sure you all have... a lot of concerns to attend to right now. But I believe it's important for us to come together after everything that has happened, for a few reasons. The first of which..."

The elder bowed his head low, until his horns were touching the ground.

"...is my apology. We were entirely unprepared for a fire of this scale, and it was my responsibility to protect us from such disaster. I will do better."

Shouts of protest and words of reassurance rang from the crowd. Oak lifted his head and shook it lightly with a smile.

"I appreciate the kindness. But I still must take responsibility. That is not the only reason I asked everyone to come together though. Along with that apology, I wanted to offer some words of thanks. First of all, to our heroic guests from Flak Grotto. We would have undeniably lost our homes tonight if not for them and their unwavering dedication."

Cheers broke out as the crowd opened up to make space around the Flak Grotto Pokémon. Claydol and Sandshrew awkwardly mumbled thanks, Rhyhorn thrust his horn into the air proudly, and Marowak leaned nonchalantly on his club. Dedenne didn't even seem to notice they were cheering for him.

Oak continued "I would like to thank Talonflame, from the bottom of my heart. He flew here of his own accord, through the smoke, and drew the ferals in." Oak cast a warm smile to the old bird, perched up on a branch. "Perhaps now he'll finally stick to his retirement."

Talonflame glared down at him with eyes as tired as amused. "There's no such thing as retirement during a crisis," he croaked.

Oak chuckled. "I figured not."

He turned his head next towards Helioptile and Roselia. "And of course, we owe great thanks to the delvers who drove out the spirit. Again, none of this would have been possible without them."

They were showered with cheers and praise- but neither of them looked happy about it. Roselia raised a bud in the air and shouted over the crowd. "I have something to say!"

Everyone quieted, lowering their eyes to stare at her hesitantly. No one knew what to expect from the delver with a... colorful history.

"Unfortunately, in spite of our best efforts, the spirit was able to escape tonight," she announced through grated teeth. Ashen turned away, fearing she might look at him. "They were, of course, a total fake. I don't believe they'll be back any time soon... because the spirit was acting on behalf of someone else."

This sent some unease through the group. Ashen saw his father's eyes sharpen in a calculating expression.

Roselia swung her raised bud in front of her chest. "Circumstances prevented me from apprehending them tonight, but I hereby vow to bring this criminal to justice. They have not escaped me yet!"

Murmurs ran through the crowd. They were uneasy at first. But slowly they began to change. Doubtful whispers were soon drowned out by words of optimism, and then shouts of encouragement. Soon the whole crowd was cheering.

Roselia looked downright shocked. "T-thank you, everyone!" she stuttered out, slowly shrinking back behind the elder.

"Thank you, Roselia," Oak nodded to her. "We're all with you on this." He turned to face the rest of the crowd again. "And finally, the biggest and most important thank you... goes to all of you. To everyone here, as a community. While a few folks may have had particularly important roles to play, none of that would have mattered without the tireless work everyone put in tonight." He bowed his head low once again.

After a few moments, he raised it again and continued. "I am sure everyone has work to do cleaning up. And, I hope, finally taking some time to rest. That said, I think it's important for us all to appreciate the blessing we've been given today, and what we've accomplished for ourselves and for eachother. So- if you find yourself with the time and the energy, I invite you to rejoin me in the meadow at sunset. I'd like us all to take the time together to appreciate our blessings today.

The crowd's response was... mixed. Some yipped eagerly at the thought, while others seemed skeptical that now was the time for celebration. But to Ashen's surprise, Leafeon was the first one to speak up.

"I'll see what I can spare from the... remains of this year's harvest," he called out.

Most of the Pokémon present turned to him with surprise. Even Oak couldn't hide his astonishment.

"Are you sure? You are... " Oak turned an eye shamefully to the razed fields. "You are one of the families most affected by this disaster already."

Leafeon shook his head. "We- I have always produced far more than we needed to sell. We'll be more than fine." There was a tinge of guilt to his words that only Ashen could recognize.

Oak nodded. "Very well. Thank you. With that said, I don't want to hold you all any longer. Please, get some rest. And again, my heartfelt thanks to everyone here!"

The crowd began to disperse, and Leafeon nudged Ashen. "Well, what do you say we get some rest?" he asked with a sad smile.

He sent a nervous look towards Roselia. She was occupied talking to the elder, Helioptile, and Talonflame. If he had any chance to slink away, it was now. But if he went home she might come barging in after him.

Before he could decide, a new figure shot down into the meadow from the skies. A huge bird with puffy wings, and a craning blue neck. Ashen's memory raced through all the stories he'd been told... an Altaria, he was fairly sure.

"Oh dear heavens, we aren't too late are we?" she chirped anxiously, her neck craning around as she scanned the charred forest. On cue, a Braviary and a Gliscor followed suit, roosting on burnt trees alongside Talonflame. Each of then wore an ostentatious green badge on their chest.

Even Ashen knew what that meant: the Jade Crest had arrived. He shuddered to think that it could have been them that he'd had to fight.

Talonflame let out a chuckle. "As usual, my dear. But luckily it hasn't cost us too badly today."

Altaria finally tore her eyes away from the scorched landscape to recognize the Pokémon around her. "Cindren! Sir!" she straightened at attention to Talonflame. Then her neck swung down to Roselia. "-And little Bristle?" she asked curiously.

Roselia's eyes narrowed at the use of her name. But this only confirmed the Altaria's suspicions. She hopped forward and wrapped her wings around Roselia in an embrace, turning her narrow eyes into an outright scowl. "Oh, it's been so long dear! How have you been?"

"I've been... just... fine... " Roselia hissed, lightly tugging to get away from the bird's soft embrace. The Altaria finally let her go, leaving her with an embarrassed expression. She turned away, "As you can see, your presence here is unnecessary."

"Ve're glad to see you too," Gliscor called sarcastically down from his perch.

"While Roselia is impudent as always, she is correct that you've arrived too late," Talonflame interrupted them. "I would have come for you myself, but I probably wouldn't have been back in time to help." He shut his eyes. "I've lost more speed than I care to admit in the past few years."

Braviary locked eyes with the older bird and shook his head solemnly.

"Quiet-beak over here think you're still just vonderful," Gliscor explained.

"Excuse me!" Helioptile raised a claw. "I don't believe we've met? I'm Rex- Who are you all?"

Altaria finally turned her eyes to Helioptile. "Oh, sorry dear! We're Team Cloudburst, of the Jade Crest. We got word from the village messenger, and we were the fastest fliers available. Though... " she cringed as she scanned the woods again. "It seems we weren't fast enough," she sighed.

"These three were once my pupils, back when I was a trainer for the Crest," Talonflame explained. "I may be quick to admonish them for their speed, but... I have no doubt they truly were the fastest available." He looked Altaria in the eyes. "You bear no responsibility for this. And everything turned out okay. Even the little upstart proved herself today," he said, glaring directly at Roselia.

But Roselia just frowned. "I didn't catch the real threat. Not yet."

Talonflame eyed her curiously. "Perhaps not. But for a day's work, it was a success. And you three-" all of Team Cloudburst jumped to attention as he addressed them. But there was a twinkle of levity in his eyes. "Perhaps you can make up for your lateness by helping the poor old man here set a celebration up? I imagine he's quite tired."

Oak finally interjected, shaking his head with a smile. "Oh no, you certainly don't owe us anything. I appreciate you rushing to be here for us." After a pause he sighed and added, "But help would be greatly appreciated."

"You seem very interested in them," Leafeon's voice interrupted the scene Ashen was watching. He hadn't even realized how long he'd been standing there eavesdropping while his father waited patiently.

He quickly turned away, trying to hide it far too late. "I'm just... I wasn't expecting them," he muttered. In truth, they worried him. The Jade Crest had some of Trespis's greatest heroes. They caught bad guys far, far smarter than him. They'd figure him out somehow. They'd throw him away, and then his family would suffer. Because for some reason, they still cared.

"It's okay..." Leafeon gave him another forced smile. "I think they're cool too," he muttered, as he lead the boy back to their home.


Rex found the first ash-free plot of land he could and collapsed into the deepest sleep of his life. Far deeper than his nap the day before. Yesterday, he'd been physically exhausted from all the walking and his lack of sleep. But now that he was playing his own game, he had the mental exhaustion to match it.

He got up just in time for the start of Oak's celebration. The elder and Team Cloudburst had managed to set up something fairly impressive, considering the short notice and how tried he had to have been. The soot had been blown out of a wide radius, and picnic blankets had been set up throughout it. A wooden slab had been dragged out amid them, line with fruits and meat.

Conspicuously, the Ursaring carcass from earlier was missing. Rex made a point to avoid the meat.

They'd even acquired music- sort of. A kricket-like Pokémon was chirping out a tune, while rubbing its long arms across its chest, like a bow to a violin, producing a melody.

Despite some initial hesitation, most of the villagers had come out. And before long everyone had forgotten the damage done and were chattering, eating, and dancing with mirth. It seemed every group Rex passed was excitedly sharing stories of what they'd done during the crisis.

As Rex slinked up to the food table and tried to make off with another tangy blue fruit, something came down on his shoulder and whirled him around. Ego was glaring down at him with an annoyed look, up and moving but still looking rough. And thankfully, grass-free.

"Tch! What the heck man! You made us look bad in front of our boss," he gestured his head over towards the cloudy bird.

Altaria. He had to learn all these names now if he was going to get by. That one was Altaria.

Before Rex could respond, Ego's expression turned to a grin. "I'm just messing with you."

Xew pulled up behind him, Deci on his head. "Are you?" he eyed the Gabite. "You were grumbling a whole lot about how bad we looked in the infirmary earlier."

"W-well, yeah, but it's not pipsqueak here's fault," he grumbled, casting Rex an apologetic look. "Speaking of, you've gotta tell us what the heck happened. That dungeon did us dirty. How did you get through it?"

"That is... a story," Rex muttered. He wasn't going to get out of this. So he may as well save himself the trouble. "I think a lot of people were curious what happened, so why don't I just give it once, to everyone?"

Ego cast a devious smile towards Deci. "Sure. I think Deci might be able to catch the attention of any interested parties."

Xew stepped between the two. "Before that- with all of this sorted, Deci are you good to give Helioptile his escort tomorrow? I think he's waited long enough."

Deci perked up, "Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that!" he said in a hushed tone. "I really wouldn't mind stopping home..."

Rex sighed and shook his head. He had to stay here until they were done with Ashen. And at this point, he needed to be self-sufficient enough to follow roads on his own anyways. "I appreciate it, but I've got business to take care of here. And frankly, after all of this, I'm not sure I need an escort anymore."

They all stared at him for an explanation, but he offered none. Eventually Xew just smiled and gave him a gentle pat on the back. "I'm glad to see your confidence grow. Perhaps you'll struggle less with dragon pride now?"

Rex blinked, remembering dragon tail for the first time in two days. Part of him wanted to leap up and try it right now. But a party wasn't the appropriate time for that.

As soon as he'd thought that he heard a loud slam, and turned to see a Pokémon- Servine, slamming Nuzleaf into the ground, vines wrapped around his neck while an eager crowd around them roared excitedly.

He shook his head. Another time. "Alright, if you want to gather people, I'm going to go find Bristle." Team Pride nodded, an unsettling eagerness on Deci and Ego's faces.

As little as Rex liked talking to Bristle, it was best to get all of the stories told and all of the questions asked in one sitting, where he could stop her from saying anything stupid.

As he stepped away, Ego hoisted Deci up into the air above him. Deci's voice boomed out across the meadow, drowning out the festivities. "Helioptile and Roselia telling the tale of how they beat the spirit by the food table in five minutes!"


Rex was not prepared for the crowd they'd drawn. Seemed like the whole village was eyeing the duo eagerly, ravenous for the juicy details of their exploits. Even Oak himself stood patiently in the back, ready for his tall tale.

Worse yet, the one time he wanted Bristle to be talkative, she'd clammed up. He'd expected her to launch eagerly into recounting the tale of her own valor, just like she had back in Tranquil Knoll. But instead she shifted uneasily with a conflicted expression. It seemed she was only eager to lie at his expense.

Suppressing a sigh, he plastered on a goofy smile and yelled out "So where do I start? I guess with- Where's Rhyhorn? I think he can help with this part!"

The rhino pushed to the front of the crowd and helped Rex tell of his ride over to the dungeon, coloring it with his firm opinions on the Helioptile's sanity. Rex faithfully retold the tale, up to his meeting with Bristle, making no effort to exaggerate. He even truthfully told how the delver had saved his ass from getting crisped.

If Strife wanted him to be a legend, he'd happily play the part of the fool.

At that point in the tale he nudged Bristle to chip in, and tell her own side. With an unease, she told how the dungeon had swallowed her up wandering through the woods, and how she'd met up with Team Pride. Even telling how they'd fallen to an ambush, leaving her the sole delver remaining, didn't seem to bring back her usual sadistic joy.

Rex watched the crowd anxiously, for any sign that her weird behavior was garnering suspicion. But thankfully they seemed far too entranced in the story to notice. Still, he took back the narration role as soon as she reached their reuniting. She seemed relieved.

"So we finally reach the uh… hollow of the dungeon. And he's just standing there, in the center of this glade… a huge uh… ", he twitched his claws unconsciously as he desperately tried to remember the name, "Houndoom! An enormous Houndoom, snarling at us. He growls out about half a dozen threats in ten seconds. Something, something 'INTERLOPERS', 'RECLAIMING THESE LANDS IN THE NAME OF FLAK MOUNTAIN'. But like, this guy wasn't any kind of special spirit or anything? Just a totally normal Houndoom, out of its bloody mind."

An odd mix of laughs and murmurs of concern sounded.

"Anyways, I'm not much of a fighter. But Roselia rushed right in and smacks this thing clean across its face before it even finishes its edgy monologue!" he swung his arm in a slapping motion. "Shoulda seen the gawk on that dumbass dog's face!" he laughed and distorted his expression into an exaggerated look of awe.

Bristle cast him a genuine surprised look. He'd strayed from their story now. But she wouldn't mind- he was giving her all the credit, after all.

"I'm not much of a fighter, so I back up. Luckily this guy was too busy trying to toast the salad over there to focus on me. I got my distance and threw out a few thundershocks, but he's too quick for me.

"Meanwhile Roselia's trying to restrain him. Got a vine around a different limb every second. He'd chomp down on one, free a leg, and next second another leg was tangled up. Torch that vine, and suddenly he's being strangled! Remind me not to piss her off... " he muttered with a theatrical grin.

"Now that he's getting all tangled up, I'm able to land a few clean hits, but they ain't doing much. Guy was an absolute tank."

A few confused looks told him that none of them knew what a "tank" was, but most people were smiling and nodding along anyways.

"But at this point Roselia has two legs wrapped up, and the guy is just trying to get away. Gain some distance and maybe pick us from afar. Puffs out a big cloud of smoke, I'm blind and having a coughing fit for what felt like a straight minute, can finally see again and- dude is on the other side of the glade, with Roselia still attached!" He dug his claw through the ground, leaving a little line in the dirt, and pointed to it, "There's a little plant shaped groove in the ground leading right up to him, where she refused to let go!"

More laughter, as Bristle glared at him with annoyance. He just smiled right back.

"Anyways, the big tough guy look was gone now. This so-called spirit is staring down in terror at what kind of maniac he's pissed off. He's half-restrained, and she just starts blasting him with poison barbs. Couple seconds and he has half a dozen in his face, looking like he just tried to eat a hornet's nest.

"He's not even fighting back now, just desperately trying to get away. That's when stuff got really weird- he started crying for help. He starts spewing out smoke in panicked huffs, and I start hearing someone else, calling out to him. Saying stuff like 'quick, quick, come here'. I hear Roselia shouting, she sounds confused, I'm hacking up another lung with all the smoke...

"And then, nothing. The smoke fades away, it's all quiet, the spirit is gone, and Roselia looks like she's just been robbed." He shrugged his small shoulders. "Seems like they had a getaway plan. But based on the way he was looking at Roselia… " he glanced at her with a smug grin, "I don't think he's coming back any time soon.

"We found the kid tied up in a den in the back of the hollow, got him loose, and rushed back to help the village. And you all know the rest from there."

At the mention, Rex noticed Ashen wasn't present for the tale. None of his family were. Casting his eyes towards the farm, he could see a few dim shapes moving around the fields.

The crowd was quiet at the conclusion of his story. He searched their faces, confident that he had sold it. The most unsatisfied-looking person here was Bristle, who still refused to look at anyone directly.

After a moment of silence, eagerly hoping for more, the questions poured forth.

"What did the other guy sound like? Did they seem like a strong Pokémon?"

"Tell us more about the dungeon!"

"How did a Houndoom tie someone up?"

Rex had expected the flood of questions, but he still wasn't able to hide his displeasure. He waved his hands in the air. "Alright, alright, one at a time," he said with an exasperated sigh. One by one, he answered questions. He told the truth wherever possible, lying on the fly where he had to.

But after that first wave of questions came another. And worse yet, Bristle was growing more and more visibly uncomfortable. He was certain people would start to notice.

To his fortune, Oak seemed to recognize his exasperation. Eventually he interrupted, yelling out across the crowd to Talonflame, who roosted nearby alongside Altaria.

"Talonflame, I think some folks were interested in hearing about how you lured the ferals here. Would you care to take some time in the light?" he asked with a warm smile, sneaking a knowing glance towards Rex and Bristle.

Talonflame hesitated a moment. "Can't say I'm much of a storyteller, but if folks are interested. You'll need to come gather around me though. I quite like my perch."

The crowd quickly forgot Rex and Bristle, collapsing and reforming a bit away with a few thanks or happy nods as they passed them by. Rex muttered a quiet thanks to the elder.

As soon as they were alone, Bristle cast him a questioning glare.

"You were unusually generous with the credit. I remember you being quite picky about that the other day, after Rolling Fields," she noted accusingly.

Rex shrugged. "You complaining? This is what you wanted, isn't it? Everyone thinks you did something awesome."

Bristle scowled. "I'm more concerned with what you're not saying. This is a trap, isn't it? You expect this to all come crashing down, so you want my name on everything."

Rex shook his head, getting serious. He hadn't actually expected her to think things through this much. "No. Let's just say, I don't think it's actually a good idea for me to be building up too much of a reputation. You can have all the credit because I don't want any."

She continued eyeing him up, debating how much she trusted his words. Finally, she relented and dropped the topic. "Have you spoken with Vaporeon yet? If you can't convince her, this is going to come back to bite me."

"No. Actually…" he turned his eyes towards the farm to confirm the Pokémon were still out in the fields. "I was going to go do that now."

Bristle nodded. "Very well. Let's go see this magical Helioptile mind control of yours."

"Uh, actually I'd rather go alone," he groaned.

She threw her buds on her hips. "And why is that?"

"Because you have the charisma of a malignant tumor and I don't want you to scare her away." She opened her mouth to protest, so he cut her off, "Besides. Someone should be keeping an eye on the little matchstick. If Strife is going to come back for him, he's going to want to do it soon. We shouldn't be leaving him alone until our trap is set."

Her face gnarled up, "Fine. But you'd better not mess this up."

Truth be told, he wasn't confident in it. Changing Vaporeon's mind, especially right now, was a big ask. But he had one advantage.

He had no reason to believe what Strife had told Ashen about Spritz was untrue. After all, the phantom claimed to have read his own mind, and the Vaporeon had talked his ear off about Bristle and delving. So it seemed like she did want to join Bristle. He just needed to draw that out.

Rex and Bristle split off, the latter heading towards the hazy shape of Ashen in the field while the former sought Vaporeon. He found her wandering somberly along the rows, searching for any lingering traces of life that could be salvaged. Her usually lively demeanor was gone, replaced with a frightful gait.

"Hey."

Vaporeon nearly jumped as Rex called out to her. "Oh! Helioptile... Hey," she muttered with a forced attempt at cheer.

He quietly surveyed the remains of the farm. The crops that had been reduced to ash had been lucky, compared to the black and decaying remains of those that hadn't. In the dark of night, the fields nothing but waves of blackness anymore.

"I'm... sorry about the farm," he said lamely. "Wish I could offer you more than that."

Vaporeon smiled weakly at him. "It's okay. I'm more worried about dad. He seems to be taking this unusually well. But I'm not sure I believe it."

Rex nodded. "I know it meant everything to him. I don't know much about farming, honestly. Can this be... fixed?"

She nodded. "Oh, for sure. We'll need to clean out the huge mess. And this harvest is totally lost. But the ground should still be fertile. The remains may even fertilize it better," she bowed her head sadly, "But even so, dad's been pouring all his heart into this."

She pawed through the soot, pulling out a blackened husk that was once a fruit of some sort.

"I know there's really nothing I could have done. But I still can't help but feel a little at fault. When I evolved, this type of problem kinda became my responsibility you know?" she offered a bitter grin.

With that, Rex sensed his opening.

"Well... have you considered taking up Roselia's offer?"

She looked at him like he was crazy. "What? What does that have to do with anything? And right now?"

Rex shrugged, pretending not to notice her awe at his audacity. "Pokémon get stronger the more experienced they get. Wasn't that what your dad said? If you feel like you couldn't do your part, then why not get stronger?"

"That's... I hardly think that's what he meant," she muttered. "And I can't leave. Not like this. Especially right now."

"With uh..." he glanced around, "with all due respect, I think the year's harvest has been cut short. If you went with her now, you could be back in time for next year. And if you're doing it so you can protect the farm, and... " he gestured towards the smog-blackened homes in the distance, "the rest of the village, then it's not exactly like you're bailing on them."

She shook her head frantically. "No, no, no. It's not like there's no work to be done the rest of the year. And especially right now. Who do you think has to wash this all away? And we need to clean out the fields, and plant winter-season crops, and..." she trailed off, still shaking her head.

Rex sighed. Time to break out Strife's insight.

"Do you actually want to do this?" he asked outright.

She blinked blankly in return.

"Every answer you've given me, and even what you told Roselia last time, has been all about what you have to do. What your 'responsibility' is. But I had you alone for hours and all you wanted to talk about was delving. Seems to me like you do want to join her. But you think you can't.

"I mean think about it. Right now your farm's workload is, for better or for worse, reduced. You have a reason to join her that helps the farm, and your family. And you still won't even consider it? You didn't choose to be born into this tradition, yet you're letting it determine your entire future without a second thought?"

She blinked slowly at him. Finally, finding the words she responded. "Why is this suddenly such a big deal to you? You didn't care about this the other day, and I barely know you," she asked, a tinge of hostility.

"You're avoiding the question," he eyed her challengingly. Then he relaxed with a sigh. "Listen, honestly, you're right. I don't know you that well. I know it's not fair of me to demand answers. But even if you won't answer that question to me, just... please make sure you can answer it to yourself. It's easy for people to fall into routines and just... never question them. But you seem really passionate about delving, and I'd hate to see you miss the perfect opportunity just because you're not even considering it."

The bitter irony of echoing his own rival's philosophy wasn't lost on Rex. But he needed an angle, and Strife's insight was the best thing he had.

Vaporeon relaxed a bit. "I appreciate the concern. But I've just... I've got a lot to think about right now."

Rex nodded sympathetically. In truth, his heart was racing. He had no idea if the impulsive kid would accept a "work in progress" for his end of the bargain. But pushing her any further was clearly just going to alienate her.

They stood together in an awkward silence for a few moments. Rex made toy notions of checking the fields for life, knowing full well that everything around them was dead. But he remained for solidarity. And in hopes she might change her mind.

"Go with him, Spritz," Leafeon's voice broke the night's silence, startling both of them. The farmer seemed to appear from nowhere, somehow blending in even with the now-crisped fields.

But even after the initial shock subsided, Vaporeon was still gaping at him.

"What?" she demanded, certain she'd misheard him.

"Go with them. I love you, Spritz. And you've always done me proud on the farm. But he's right. You're not doing any of this for yourself. You're doing it for me."

"No! I'm not just doing it for you. I'm doing it for you, and for mom, and for Mumble. I'm doing it for our family. We've run this farm for generations, dad! I don't want to be the one to kill this," she frantically denied.

Leafeon sighed deeply, a heavy look of remorse on his face. "Traditions shouldn't become prisons. If keeping our tradition up makes future generations unhappy, then what's the point?"

"It's not making me unhappy! I promise! I like doing this. I love the farm."

"Well, it's making me unhappy," Leafeon murmured bitterly. "Don't get me wrong, I love this place, I love my work, and I don't regret my choice to be here for one second. But I've let myself come to hate the thing I loved. I keep pushing myself to grow more and do more. Even when we don't need it, and I don't want to do it."

Leafeon looked her in the eyes, a thin vine extending out to caress her face affectionately. "If I feel that way doing something that was my calling, how do you think you're going to feel in 20 years if you abandon your dreams for this?"

Vaporeon paused. She shut her eyes, tears dripping out slowly. She nuzzled lightly against his vine. "What'll happen to the farm?"

Leafeon came close and gave her an awkward nuzzle. Something he had clearly grown far too unaccustomed to. "Don't worry about that. Maybe Mumble will run it. And if he doesn't want to, someone in the village will take over. Maybe everyone can run it together one day."

Vaporeon sniffled. "Even though he's... "

Leafeon's expression fiercened. "Yes. Flareon are fantastic for clearing out the fields at the end of a season, my dear. Spritz, I hope you two have always understood that I would never make you evolve into something you didn't want to be. It's hard not to have... preferences, admittedly. But the most important thing for me has always been that you two are happy with what you become. I... I'm sorry I wasn't always clear with that," he said with tears in his own eyes.

A sudden whimper drew everyone's attention, as Ashen had stumbled up to them, Bristle lurking not far behind. Leafeon immediately withdrew from Vaporeon and rushed over to nuzzle him as well.

"That applies to you too, of course, Mumble. I know you've gone through a lot these past few days. But I really, truly hope you're happy," he whispered into the kid's ear, struggling to hold back sobs.

But Ashen didn't look comforted. He looked just as pained as ever.

"I- I want... I want- I want to go with Roselia too..." he choked out painfully, withdrawing from his father and staring down at the scarred ground. "Just for a bit. I need to- uh- I can't be... captured again. I need to be stronger," he muttered out the script he'd been given without the slightest indication he believed his own words.

Leafeon looked like he'd been slapped. But he quickly tried to hide it. "I-if that's what you want. I didn't know you wanted to be a delver," he responded, still in shock. He stared past the Flareon, eyeing Bristle appraisingly.

"Just temporarily! I-I'll be back as soon as I can!" Ashen quickly promised.

Leafeon shook his head again, with a sorrowful smile. "Mumble, I just want you to be happy. If coming back makes you happy, I'd love to train you to take over the farm. But if that's not what you want, then keep looking for it. And besides, Tranquil Knoll isn't too far."

Ashen just whimpered in response, Leafeon's answer seeming to only hurt him more.

Vaporeon walked up to Ashen and gave him a nuzzle. "We'll make sure you grow extra big and strong," she reassured him with a smile. She turned back to her father, "If I'm going to go with Roselia, I'm at least staying here until we're done cleaning everything up. I'm basically built for getting the gunk off of the houses."

Leafeon nodded and looked to Ashen expectantly. The Flareon shrunk back.

"I- I don't think I can actually help out with anything. I'd... probably just make it worse," he mumbled, staring at his own heated paws.

Leafeon gave him a concerned look, and then turned his eyes back to Bristle. She was keeping enough distance to not intrude, but she was very clearly listening. "Well, okay. Why don't you two go get your plans sorted out with Roselia? I'd like a moment to speak with Helioptile, and then we can go break the news to your mother."

Both kids cringed at that. The reveal would certainly be accompanied by much crying and intense nuzzling.

Rex eyed Leafeon skeptically as the kids wandered off with Bristle. He owed the farmer a debt for the assist. But he couldn't imagine what Leafeon wanted from him now.

As soon as the others were out of earshot, he let out a massive sigh and laid down. When he looked back up, his face was an ocean of exhaustion and sorrow that he'd hidden away. They locked eyes.

"I'm not a fool, Helioptile," was all he said. Rex's chest tightened. Somewhere, he had made a mistake.

"I've been a terrible father. But I can still tell when my kid is lying. Especially when the story doesn't make sense. A Houndoom needed an 11-year-old newly-evolved Flareon to help him light fires? Mumble suddenly wants to be a delver now?"

Leafeon shook his head, staring up at the sky. "I don't have the right to ask him why. I didn't pay attention to his problems before, so I'm not allowed to suddenly care now that I've reaped the consequences." He turned back to look at Rex bitterly again, "And if I asked you, I'd never know if I'd gotten the truth.

"So all I want to ask of you is: look after him. He's just a kid. He can't be held responsible for what he did. The blame for that lies with us. Don't let him pay for our negligence."

Rex nodded, heart in his throat. He was about to use the kid as bait. And worse yet, subject them to Bristle. Leafeon was absolutely out of his mind for leaving him to look after a child. But what was he supposed to say? "No"? That would ruin everything.

He'd at least try to look after the kid. As best as he could.

The farmer rose to his feet. "And that includes keeping him safe from her. I don't know what Spritz sees in her, but I recognize trouble when I see it."

Rex nodded more eagerly to that one. He would happily keep Bristle off the kid's ass.

"We should get back to them before this starts to seem to weird. But... Thank you. For covering for him. If I could take the blame, I would."

"It's... it's fine. The kid doesn't deserve it," Rex muttered agreement. The kid was an idiot, but not malicious. What he'd said earlier was true: Ashen was harmless kept apart from the guidance of crazy people.

With their uneasy agreement made, they wandered after the others.


Bristle happily prattled on to Vaporeon about her future at the guild. About the training she'd receive, the missions she'd go on, the future she could look forward to. But surprisingly, it didn't seem to free the girl from her glum mood.

And the criminal. She didn't pay him much mind. Frankly, it disgusted her that his name was being associated with her guild now. But maybe Helioptile was right. If she kept a close enough eye on him, perhaps he could eventually pay for his crimes this way. At the very least, he'd gotten her a better catch.

But the more Vaporeon failed to reciprocate her excitement, the more frustrated Bristle became. Not at the girl, but at herself. If she had just put a stop to the Flareon's destruction earlier, none of this would have happened. Vaporeon's sour mood was a direct result of her failures.

So after Vaporeon promised to come join her in a few days time, when the village and farm were thoroughly washed down, she parted ways and returned to the party in poor spirits. She dragged the criminal along, making full-well sure he was never out of her sight.

By the time she'd returned to the meadow, things were dying down. Many of the Pokémon had returned to their homes to get a proper rest. Kricketune had stopped his singing, and the food table had been entirely ransacked.

She wandered aimlessly amid the picnic setups, gradually realizing there was nothing here for her. What was she supposed to do at a party? There was no one she wanted to talk to and she saw little point in singing or dancing.

Frankly, she saw little point in all of this. Several people lost their homes, and the real culprit got away. All they'd accomplished today was minimizing failure. So why were they celebrating that failure?

Grumbling, she decided to just go find somewhere she and the criminal could sleep. They'd have their work cut out for them in the morning, preparing their trap for Strife. But as she started to leave the meadow, a soft voice called out.

"Bristle. How are you doing?" Altaria chirped, landing silently beside her. "We didn't get to talk earlier. Is this your friend?" She nodded to Ashen.

Bristle's mouth curled up in a snarl. "I'm training him for a bit," she forced out, avoiding the question. "And I'm doing fine, thank you Altaria."

Ashen nodded meekly, not daring to intrude.

Altaria glared down at her disapprovingly. "Bristle..."

She sighed and relented. "Thank you, Tweet."

Just saying her name was enough to make Tweet's eyes light up. Even Bristle couldn't fault the Altaria for much. Perhaps the bird was a bit too... personal for her tastes, but she'd never received anything but naive kindness from the delver.

"I miss seeing you back at the Crest. You know, I think everyone is going to be really impressed when they hear what you did tonight," Tweet offered her warmly.

"I really doubt that," Bristle hid her bitter expression.

Tweet looked concerned when Bristle turned back. "Flareon dear, would you mind giving us a moment?"

As usual, Ashen cast a nervous glance to Bristle. She shot him back a stare that made her intentions clear: not too far.

"It was nice to meet you..." he muttered blanky to Altaria, before trotting off to search the ransacked food table.

Tweet watched him go until they were alone. She turned and looked Bristle dead in the eyes. "This was a victory, dear. No matter what you may be telling yourself," she spoke quietly to keep the conversation between them.

"Everyone got scared within an inch of their lives, several people lost their homes, and the person responsible got away. In what world was this a victory?" she hissed.

The Altaria shook her head sadly. "Hun, that isn't healthy. It's good to think about how you can do better. But you need to also remember how things would be if you hadn't helped." She swept a cloudy wing across the tree line, towards the village. "All of this might be nothing but ash and dust if not for what you did. The only person here tonight worried about the spirit getting away is you."

She wrapped a wing around Bristle and pulled her close. The Roselia grimaced but didn't resist the hug.

"Ego tells me you want to start your own guild. Do you mind telling me why?"

"Look what happened tonight. You're the fastest team the Crest has and you were still too late. This region needs some delvers available."

Tweet craned her neck around Bristle and whispered in her ear. "Tell me the real reason, dear."

Bristle growled and pulled away. "That is the real reason!"

Tweet stared down at her sadly, pulling her wings back to herself. "I hope so."

"Did you actually need anything, or did you just want to condescend to me?" Bristle scoffed, regaining her rigid posture.

"I would never dear. I really mean it. I'm proud of what you did tonight. But if you don't want to talk about this anymore, that's fine. I do actually need one thing from you. And I have some... news, that you should probably be aware of."

Bristle nodded. "Alright, business first."

Tweet hopped over and settled down comfortably on one of the blankets strewn about. She gestured for Bristle to do the same.

"Truthfully, my biggest priority was to check up on you. But I told Seren and Valor I was going to find you to get a description of the spirit. The Crest will get wanted images up."

Again, she hid her scowl. Normally she'd let Helioptile handle the deceit, but he'd apparently never seen a Houndoom before. She'd have to handle this one herself.

Pushing her imagination to its limits, she described the most villainous-looking Houndoom she could think of. A huge one, covered in scars. With a raspy voice, and a long, sharp-pointed tail.

Guilt chewed away at her for the false description. But hopefully once she'd captured Strife she could reveal the ruse and get the fake image revoked.

"My, what a figure!" Altaria laughed at the conclusion, back to her cheerful chirping. "They'll definitely stand out if they turn up anywhere. Thank you dear."

Bristle collapsed flat on the blanket, mentally exhausted by the lying. She was ready to find Flareon and take a long rest for once. Her short rest today had done little to address the deep well of exhaustion she'd accrued.

"Now, for the news," Tweet's voice suddenly grew serious once more.

Bristle had entirely forgotten about that by now. She sat up again, to see Tweet scratching anxiously at the ground with her talon.

"I think you should know. Team Bunker were deployed out to the area a few days ago. We passed them by on the way here. There's a chance your parents may be waiting for you at Tranquil Knoll tomorrow."

Panic erupted through her chest. All thoughts of rest were instantly gone. Her mother was coming. And she was totally unprepared.