Chapter 12: Dead 'Mon Tells No Tales

Torracat had clamped a paw around my beak before I could say anything. He shoved me behind a pile of jewels. "Sshhhh!" he whispered. "Let's lay low. Maybe we can sneak out while they're preoccupied with the treasure."

"Yer actually gonna let 'em take this stuff?" I gasped.

"Some of it, yeah," Torracat answered. "There's way too much for any single group to take. Besides, they're just trying to scrape by in life."

"But they attacked us," I protested. "Wait a sec." I narrowed my eyes at the boss. "This is about Riolu, ain't it? Why you still harping on her? We'll never see her again after this."

"Because I can't just let a young Pokémon like us suffer at the hands of a bully," Torracat blurted out. "If they have this treasure, Feraligatr will leave her alone. I'm sure of it."

"Cap'n! I heard someone. We ain't alone here," Prisma's voice carried. I groaned and rolled my eyes. So much for laying low. Maybe we could still weasel out of this without a fight?

Wait a second. What was I thinking? Of course we could do that! "Psst… boss," I whispered. "I've got me an Escape Orb. Let's just grab some stuff and get going."

"No. I'm not leaving without that journal," Torracat said. "I think we can negotiate with these guys. There's plenty of treas–"

Our hiding spot exploded, burying us in a large pile of jewels. I thrashed about, trying to find my way out. This was the worst experience possible for a bird like me! Sure, they were jewels. But jewels were just colorful rocks, and I never did well with rocks. It took a solid minute, but I tunneled my way out, taking in a big gulp of air. It's not like I were drowning or nothing, but I weren't exactly breathing right when I was pinned down. It took a few moments for me to realize something was off. I hoisted up my wing, only to jump in surprise.

"M-My toolbox!" I stammered. "Where'd it go?"

"Looking for something, landlubber?"

I looked straight ahead. Prisma stood where the pile of jewels once towered, spinning my toolbox kit by its strap. My heart leaped into my throat. I was just about to complain, but my brain done remembered about the Escape Orb. If I let 'em know about it, we were gonna be in a heap of trouble. Instead, I settled for shouting, "Give that back, ya varmint!"

Prisma stuck her tongue out at me. "Never! It's me property now, scallywag."

"Runt!" Feraligatr snarled, making Prisma jump. "Now's not the time to be acting like an immature pup. We're here for the treasure, not their worthless supplies!"

"But cap'n, they be a rescue squad. There might be some valuable plunder in here," Prisma squeaked. Feraligatr lashed out, striking Prisma across the face. She collapsed on the ground and Feraligatr scooped up my toolkit.

"You don't have any pull here, Runt," he hissed. "I'm the captain and I say what we take. Or do you want the crew leaving you like we found you? Because I'd be more than happy to obli– AIIIIYYYYYAAAAAAAAGH!"

Torracat had lunged at Feraligatr and crunched down on his scaly shoulder. Feraligatr thrashed about but couldn't buck the boss off. Metang managed to cordon Mareanie off and hit him square between his eyes with a psychically-charged headbutt. And at that point, the battle was on!

Prisma managed to get to her feet and lunge at Torracat. "Get off the cap'n!" she barked, grabbing hold of the boss and dragging him to the ground. Feraligatr locked eyes with me and I quickly found myself flying backwards to dodge a big, gushing Hydro Pump stream.

"I'm-a pluck those feathers of yours off one by one, kid," Feraligatr threatened. His teeth started frosting over and he ran right after me. Fortunately, I was way more agile. I dipped down toward the ground. By the time Feraligatr lunged to use Ice Fang, I had already flown around him. I kicked up a wind turbine and let it carry me straight into Feraligatr's back. He fell onto some gold coins.

But Feraligatr bounced back mighty quick. He rolled to his feet and jumped toward me. I didn't have the time to pull up. Instead, he bit down on my wing, encasing it in a thick layer of ice and making me squawk in pain. Feraligatr pinned me underneath his large frame. "You rescue types think you're so tough," he scoffed. "But when it gets right down to it, you can't hold a candle to battle-hardened Pokémon like me."

Feraligatr opened his mouth to attack when a blast of pink energy knocked him of mef. Metang floated above me and brought one of his arms crashing down against my wing. It shattered the ice, allowing me to hop to my feet and take to the air, banking toward my right. "Mets! Ya gotta switch targets with me, pardner," I begged. "I can't hit Feraligatr from a distance and it's too risky to get in close."

Understood, Metang replied. He turned around and floated in Feraligatr's direction. Mareanie didn't like that one bit, though. He shot a stream of piping-hot water at Metang. But Metang must've seen a dirty shot like that coming. He veered off to his right and the Scald went straight into Feraligatr. It didn't do much damage, but it sure made the varmint mighty angry.

"Mareanie, you fool! Watch where you're aiming or I'll see to it you don't get a cut of any of this stuff," Feraligatr hissed. Mareanie tensed up, giving me the perfect opening to fly in front of him and slash him with my feet. I quickly pulled up and rolled to my right. Poisonous stems whizzed past my left side, nearly knocking me off course.

"… you don't have to do this, Riolu. I've seen how your so-called crew treats you," I overheard Torracat pleading. I took a quick look and saw him ducking a Force Palm strike from Prisma.

"The crew is me family!" Prisma hissed. "Without them I'll be all alone, with nowhere to go and no one to turn to!"

Hoo boy. Torracat really wanted to get through to the gal. That was gonna make things harder. I made a sharp right to fly over to the boss.

"Hey, get back here! I'm not finished with you," Mareanie hissed, trying to hop after me. Scalding water raced forward, but sailed wide of me. Seems Mareanie couldn't attack all that well while moving. Which was perfect for me. I quickly doubled back, summoned a wind tunnel, and careened into his squishy head. This sent him flying back into a rock wall.

When I turned away from Mareanie, I found Torracat on his back, with Prisma trying to pin him down. "Rrrggghhrrr… you're… quite the scrapper," the boss grunted.

"This treasure be ours for the taking!" Prisma hissed. She raised an arm up to strike Torracat with Force Palm. I darted forward and slashed her in the shoulder. Course, this done messed up my momentum. Next thing I knew, the two of us were tumbling into some of the treasure. Seconds later, my chest plume was on fire! I smacked the ground and had to snuff out the flames by rolling around. Prisma ran toward me, her eyes blazing in anger. Lucky for me, Torracat barreled into her and quickly bit down on her leg with flame-coated fangs, tripping her up.

"Just listen to me, Riolu," he begged. "Do you really think Feraligatr's going to let you have any of this treasure for yourself?"

"Rrrrgggh… shut up!" Prisma yelled and lashed out with a spiraling Sky Uppercut. She struck the boss in the jaw, upending him. I didn't have any time to help him either, because boiling water grazed my right shoulder, signifying Mareanie was back in action. I flew forward, zigzagging through the air to try and confuse him.

"Hold still, you stupid bird," Mareanie growled. He spun around and hurled more purple Poison Jab spikes in my direction. I barely strafed them while I swooped in to attack. Mareanie's eyes widened right before I used a gust of wind to ram his frontside. He tumbled backward and I broke off once again.

CLANG!

I flinched as Feraligatr sank black, shadowy fangs down on Metang metal skull. That varmint still had my toolbox kit. Worse yet, I saw him pull out one of our oran berries while Metang was dazed. He scarfed it down, then turned and fired a massive Hydro Pump at me. I weren't expecting him to notice me, so I got blasted clean out of the sky. I crashed down in the middle of the cave and everything went black. It took several seconds for a Reviver Seed to kick in and get me back to my feet. But this weren't good. We were gonna run out of those pretty soon, and then who knows what the scavengers would do?

"Hey, cap'n!" Prisma croaked, trying to scramble away from Torracat. "Can't ye give me one of them berries? I be feeling a touch weak."

Feraligatr turned and glared at her. "Didn't I already tell you you've lost ration privileges? Stop complaining and deal with Torracat or you'll be facing limited rations for far longer."

Prisma winced and looked down. That gave Torracat a second wind. He directed his anger toward Feraligatr, lunging toward the varmint and sinking his fangs into his stomach. I turned away from the howling gator and flew at Prisma, whacking her from behind.

"Y'know, my boss is awful concerned about ya," I said, moving higher in the air to dodge Prisma's flaming leg. "Frankly, I'm not sure yer worth the trouble. But, how can ya really stand to be around a Pokémon that treats ya like that?"

"Eyyyyaaaaaaah!"

Torracat sprinted past us, with Feraligatr in pursuit. "Runt!" he barked. "If you don't start pulling your weight in this fight, I'll toss you into the ocean myself!"

Prisma narrowed her eyes and she lunged at me. I tried to fly up, but her Blaze Kick connected with my chest, sending me sputtering toward the ground. "You fools just don't understand," she hissed, "I owe my life to Feraligatr and his crew. I can't turn my back on them. Things don't work that way with us scavengers. A life debt takes a lifetime to repay. Walking out on it isn't an option."

"But you don't need to keep that up, you know," I countered, pecking her right between the eyes. She stumbled back and I rolled forward, striking her with my chest. Now I had the upper hand – err, wing – in our little tussle. "I'm sure you can make decisions fer yerself. But, hey, if you want to be unhappy the rest of yer life, go right ahead. Ain't no skin off my bones."

I jumped into the air before Prisma could hit me with a glowing paw. "And where would ye expect me to go? Us scavengers are outlaws. The only place awaiting me on the mainland is one of them jail cells."

"That's not true!" Torracat shouted, running past us. A Hydro Pump stream raced past the two of us moments later. And then out of some coins exploded Mareanie, on the receiving end of one nasty blow from Metang. That proved enough to knock that varmint's lights out. For a moment I wondered if one of our Reviver Seeds would turn traitor. But nothing happened to Mareanie, thankfully.

Metang turned his attention to Feraligatr and rifled off a spiraling pink wave. Feraligatr stumbled about from the blow. He wheeled on Metang and sprinted toward him, dark energy encasing his fangs. Metang was already on the move, which gave Torracat the chance to head toward me and Prisma. She looked at us and narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, I see how it is. Trying to double-team a lass, eh? You landlubbers are pure scum!" she hissed, launching into a swirling Sky Uppercut. My wing done got clipped, but I was able to maintain my altitude.

"You can come with us to the Horizon Exploration Guild," Torracat said. "I can vouch for you with the Guildmaster."

"Uh, boss, ya sure that's really a good idea? I don't know if she'll fit in all that well," I muttered. Prisma didn't seem to think highly of it either. Her response was to smack Torracat right in the face with glowing palm. His legs gave out and he crumpled to the ground.

"How stupid do ye take me to be?" she spat. "The second I set foot in a guild I'll be tossed into the brig to rot away for who knows how long!"

"Runt!" Feraligatr roared, failing to chomp down on Metang and getting struck in the side by a psychically-charged Zen Headbutt. "What are you doing talking to those blathering fools? If you're not gonna pull your weight, then at least start grabbing treasure so we can make a run for it!"

Prisma winced and scrambled toward one of the coin piles. Torracat jumped in front of her. "I'm being serious here. The Guildmaster's my dad. I'm sure he'll believe me if I tell him you're a good Pokémon at heart."

My eyes widened. "Boss, don'tcha think yer better of keeping something like that to yerself?" I was about ready to knock Prisma's lights out with an Aerial Ace, but she had frozen in front of the boss.

"I… I…" she mumbled. "But Feraligatr… could still find me. I… I don't wanna…"

"RUNT!" Feraligatr snarled as Metang tackled him to the ground. "What are you standing around for? I swear, when this is over I'll slash you up and leave you for dead on the beach, just like I found ya!"

Torracat frowned as Prisma raised a fist, readying a Force Palm. But then, to his surprise, she whirled around and ran toward Feraligatr. She shut her eyes and shrieked loud enough to make my feathers stand on end. Metang floated to the side, blasting Feraligatr with psychic energy. This sent him staggering toward Prisma, eyes wide in confusion.

"I've had enough of your threats!" she cried, and hammered her Force Palm into Feraligatr's chest. Torracat grinned from ear to ear.

"I can't believe ya actually got through to her," I muttered. "Only you, boss. Only you."

"… heh." Torracat puffed out his chest. "I knew my charm would win her over eventually. Now, come on. Let's put the kibosh on this lousy scavenger." He ran toward Prisma and Feraligatr, yelling, "Give it up. You're surrounded!"

"Never!" Feraligatr snarled. "This treasure's rightfully mine. It was collected by a seafarer. As a scourge of the seas, I have claim to all of this loot! So, shove off!"

"No." Torracat shook his head. "Golisopod was a brave adventurer who lived for the thrill of exploring. And he made sure that the honest members of his crew got their fair shares of treasure. Why do you think he never bothered selling any of this stuff? He could've made a fortune!"

"Yeah," I agreed, "Yer just a no-good crook who only looks out fer himself!"

"There's more than enough treasure here for all of us," Torracat said. "But you don't deserve any of it. Not with the way you treat Riolu."

"Um, that's not my name."

Feraligatr's eye twitched. "My 'crew' is nothing but a bunch of lazy hacks! Especially the little runt over there. They're dead weight… you hear me! And with this score of treasure, I can cut them all loose." He lumbered to his feet, baring his fangs. "I won't let you take this treasure from me!" he roared. "Have you forgotten… I have your bag here?"

He raised up the toolbox kit. "Either you stand aside and let me take this treasure or I'll smash up everything in here!"

I glanced up just in time to see Metang's eyes flash blue. Feraligatr's arm seized up and my toolbox flew out of his hand. Metang grabbed hold of it. Inventory secured. You have lost your leverage. Surrendering is the only option.

Feraligatr's eyes widened. "W-What the–? This can't be happening!" He clenched his fists. "I finally find the Armored Adventurer's legendary treasure, and a bunch of no-good rescuers and the stupid, snot-nosed runt I saved from starving to death on some random beach are trying to stop me! It ain't fair!" He backed away from us. "Ha… ha… I ain't letting it end here. I will have this treasure no matter what!" Feraligatr turned and sprinted toward one of coin piles. He lunged at it, but I slammed into the varmint and knocked him into a wall. This time around, he didn't hit it with no simple thump. Instead, the rock wall started splintering.

I gulped. "Uh… boss?" The cracks widened while Feraligatr sank to the ground. In fact, they were spreading toward the ceiling.

"What is it?" Torracat asked, scooping up Golispod's journal and pushing as much treasure as he could toward Metang.

"We might want to deploy that Escape Orb right about now," I said.

"What, you're just going to leave me here?" Prisma gasped.

Before I could explain anything, the wall above Feraligatr collapsed. Giant chunks of rock fell to the ground, burying him alive. The cave started shaking and more debris rained down from the ceiling.

The structural integrity of the cavern is deteriorating! We must evacuate immediately! Metang declared. He finished putting away some treasure, reached into the toolbox, and grabbed the Escape Orb.

"Quick! Everyone reach out and touch as much treasure as you can," Torracat hollered, placing the diary in his mouth and splaying his body across all the treasure as he could reach. Likewise, I draped my wings over a wingspan's worth of jewelry.

"What about me?" Prisma hollered. The rocks were getting close to her.

"Jus gwab muh tawl," Torracat yelled, voice muffled by the journal.

"Eww… are you kidding?" Prisma's snout wrinkled in disgust.

"Twust me!"

Cringing, Prisma wrapped a paw around the boss's tail. The floor's exit was now sealed off by fallen rock shards. Metang hoisted the Escape Orb high. A blinding light swept across the room, teleporting us safely out of the dungeon.

~Stormcracker Isle~

I have deployed the flare to request Sharpedo transportation back to Azure Cape. We can walk to the guild from there, Metang announced. The rest of us were seated on the beach, staring out at the ocean.

"Thanks, Mets," I said. "You sure yer okay carrying that treasure? I can take the toolbox kit back if'n you want."

It is fine, Metang replied. Your wings were damaged in battle. It is best that you not strain them further before Blissey can heal them.

I nodded my thanks.

"We've also got to thank you, Riolu," Torracat said. "No idea how things would've escalated with Feraligatr back there if you hadn't stepped in."

Prisma poked at the sand. "Yeah," she whispered. "Are… are you really going to take me to your guild?"

"You'll be fine," Torracat insisted. "Like I said, I just need to talk things out with the Guildmaster."

"Err, boss, do you really think it's such a good idea to bring her back there with us?" I asked in a whisper. Torracat gave me a look that said I needed to get with his program mighty quick. I sighed. "Guildmaster Lycanroc's a very nice feller," I stoically told Prisma. "Done gave me an amazing malasada on my last birthday."

"Well, that's easy for you to say," Prisma grumbled. "If he's Torracat's dad, of course he's gonna treat you guys nice. But I'm just some random pup, who spent the last few years hopping islands to scrounge up whatever I could find on them."

"Uh, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly happened to you?" Torracat said.

Prisma glared at the ground. "That's… personal."

Torracat frowned. "But, it would really help out your case if I could give my dad the full story. Plus, my teammates could back me up. Right guys?" I gave the boss a bewildered look while Metang didn't even acknowledge him. "I said… right guys?"

"Err, yeah, of course," I said, shaking my head.

Affirmative, Metang added.

"See? C'mon, I'm sure whatever it is that happened can't be that bad, right?"

Torracat couldn't see it because of where he was sitting, but I noticed Prisma's right hand ball into a fist around some sand. She reached up and started adjusting her bandanna. That's when I saw what looked like some scrap of paper poking out of it. Prisma stuffed it back against her neck before I could get a closer look.

"Look, I don't know how I ended up under Feraligatr's care, okay?" she growled. "All I can remember is suddenly waking up in some little cave on the edge of the water. Feraligatr said he'd found me passed out and half-buried in the sand on some beach. Said that I would've starved to death if he hadn't brought me to his ship. That meant I owed my life to him and needed to work for him." She hung her head in shame. "What was I supposed to do in that situation? He was bigger and stronger than me. And he said if I tried to walk out, he'd leave me for dead on the beach, just like he found me."

"Hey, no one's blaming you," Torracat assured her. He leaned over and rubbed Prisma's back.

Well, I kinda blamed her. But I weren't about to say anything to spoil the moment. Because it had pretty much clicked for me. Torracat done had a crush on the gal! That bleeding heart of his got us in hot water, again! Sure, things could've gone way worse, but this whole adventure would've been much smoother if he weren't lusting after Prisma. Maybe I couldn't say anything in the moment, but he was in for a tongue-lashing once we were back at the guild.

"What's gonna happen to me at the guild?" Prisma wondered. "Am I gonna have to work some sort of job, or–?"

"It depends. You could just be a staff member that offers up a helping hand. But I think you'd make a great explorer," Torracat chirped. "You can't join our team, of course, but you could take assignments on your own or link up with some other members of equal or lower rank. Who knows, if you get good enough, maybe you can take on a job with the three of us?"

Prisma looked down again. "So, I'd just end up travelling places, like I did with Feraligatr?"

"Sort of," Torracat said. "The difference is that you can control what you choose to do. And, it gives you the chance to help other Pokémon instead of attack them. Not to mention, there's the prospect of being able to find treasure like we did or earn reward money." He leaned in toward Prisma. "Doesn't it sound at least a little bit exciting?"

"I… suppose?" Prisma muttered. "It'd just… take some getting used to, that's all. All I've ever really known is scavenging."

Torracat smiled. "Well, I'm sure some of those skills can transfer to exploring." Gods, he was being so sweet it was sickening. "But I think you can do it, Riolu."

This caused her to put on a sour face. "Why do you keep calling me that?" she growled.

The boss look surprised. "What do you mean? You're a Riolu. Plain as day."

"I have a name, you know," Prisma said. "It's Prisma. Feraligatr laughed when I said that to him. Are you going to act the same way?"

Torracat and I exchanged confused looks. "A… name?" Torracat parroted. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand."

Prisma looked dumbfounded. "Did I hit you in the head too hard? How can you not know what a name is? It's what you call yourself."

"Well, yeah, I call myself Torracat because I'm a Torracat," Torracat said. "What else would I call myself?"

"Something unique," Prisma said. "Otherwise, what's the point?"

Torracat shrugged. "It's not like any of us have any problems talking to each other. Besides, all your old teammates were like us, weren't they?"

Prisma rubbed her foot in the sand. "How could I have known? I wasn't allowed to call them by anything other than their ranks."

I raised a confused brow. "If'n there's anyone here who hit their head a bit too hard, it's you, pardner. Yer practically speaking nonsense, if you ask me."

Prisma's eyes darted about in confusion. "I… I don't understand," she squeaked. Then she sighed and rubbed her temples. "You know what? Forget I said anything. Just call me Riolu. It's not a big deal, I guess."

Torracat scooted up beside her. "Hey, no need to get worked up. If you want to be called Prisma, I'll call you Prisma."

Her expression immediately brightened up. "Y-You will?"

"Sure. It's no problem," Torracat said. He looked over at me.

"… hrmph. Don't be expecting no special treatment from me, missy," I said. "Yer Riolu. That's all there is to it."

Torracat rolled his eyes. "Don't mind him. I think the heat's finally getting to him." He extended a forepaw forward. "Anyway, let me be the first to welcome you to the guild. I'm sure we'll work great together in the future."

Riolu took his forepaw and shook it slowly. "I don't get it. Why are you being so nice to me? I attacked you guys, after all."

Torracat waved it off. "It wasn't your fault. If you weren't afraid of Feraligatr, I'll bet none of that would have happened." He gave her a warm smile and I had to resist the urge to gag. "Besides, I like to believe in the words of this one famous explorer: 'Truly bad Pokémon… don't really exist anywhere.'"

Oh brother. That couldn't have sounded more rehearsed if the boss had tried. Still, I had to give him this, he was putting in the effort to win her heart. And it looked like it was working, to boot.

~Aeon Observatory~

"This is remarkable!"

Guildmaster Lycanroc sat looking at our haul, blue eyes wide in amazement. "You… you really found some of the Armored Adventurer's treasure?"

"Well, we done would've got even more if the cavern hadn't caved in on us," I reported.

It's still quite the impressinative accomplishment, Magearna said. One of her arms had turned into some sort of fancy, plate-shaped doodad. She ran it across the treasure pile. And is this really the Armored Adventurer's personal journal?

Affirmative. Its contents describe numerous expeditions, Metang reported. Magearna picked it up and flipped through it. Furthermore, we have ascertained that the Armored Adventurer was a Golisopod.

"Fantastic! And it seems you've brought yourselves back a friend," Lycanroc continued.

"This is Prisma, da– I mean, Guildmaster," Torracat introduced. "She was unwillingly serving as part of a scavenger crew we ran into on the island. They were trying to get the treasure, too."

"Don't mind the 'Prisma' bit, sir," I cut in. "Riolu will do just fine fer her." I'm pretty sure that made her glare at me, but I didn't care.

"I see." Lycanroc nodded. "And now you're looking to put your skills to work helping Pokémon and exploring Horizon?"

Riolu bowed her head. "Y-Yessir!" she squeaked. "I… I'm very sorry for attacking your son. I want to do my best to become a contributing guild member in any way I can."

Lycanroc chuckled. "It's okay, Riolu. You don't have to explain yourself. You look like a pretty reasonable girl to me. We'd be happy to have you in the Horizon Guild. I'll just talk to Leafeon. She can get you situated and help you fill out the proper paperwork."

Riolu nodded. Leafeon appeared in the Guildmaster's doorway and escorted her out of the room.

"So, I think it's pretty much a technicality at this point, but I can officially say you cleared your exam mission with flying colors!" Lycanroc declared. He dropped a pouch to the ground and out of it spilled three shiny, golden badges. "Here are your official veteran rank badges, with all the perks they entail you to."

"Yeehaw!" I chirped, scooping up my badge. "Wait'll the folks back home get wind of this."

"Obviously, I can't have Leafeon get you situated in the veterans' quarters, since she's busy with Riolu. I suppose you can go grab some chow from Meganium," Lycanroc said. "Once again, congratulations. I knew you guys could pull it off."

"Thanks, dad," Torracat said.

Lycanroc smiled. "It's my pleasure, son." He walked forward and pat Torracat on the head. "Don't tell this to anyone else, but I think the three of you are gonna do a swell job running this place in the future. I can feel it in my bones."

Torracat rubbed the bridge of his nose. "… heh. We'll do our best!"

And so, we succeeded in getting our veteran status. Frankly, things only took off from there. My teammates and I took on tougher missions, bringing in more rewards, but also more experience with our battles. It took a few weeks, but I was able to realize my dream of evolving into a Braviary. My teammates weren't terribly far behind either. We really became Team MIB: Metagross, Incineroar, and Braviary.

All the while, the boss showed Prisma the ropes of exploring. She caught on quicker than I expected, making it all the way to veteran rank without much of a hassle. It made her so happy she done evolved into Lucario on the day of her veteran promotion, as cheesy as it sounds. Still, that got the boss's attention. Pretty soon the two of them became inseparable. Heck, they were mates well before Lycanroc stepped down and handed over the reins of the guild.

Incineroar became the new Guildmaster. He initially kept Leafeon as his assistant, but it weren't long before she retired and I ended up taking on her job. I was mighty shocked he didn't pick Lucario. But, to my surprise, he told me that she had turned down the offer. She said her heart would never be in that job. She needed to be out exploring. At the time, I didn't question it. Now, I can't help but wonder if there was another reason to it.

Yup, that mission sure did lead us all toward a brighter future. At least, that's how it felt…

~Aeon Observatory, Present Day~

Braviary flipped a page in the binder, revealing a picture of his team, alongside a smiling Lucario, and a young Absol. In her arms, Lucario held a blue egg with black stripes. Incineroar had a paw placed on top of the egg, with his other paw resting on his mate's shoulder.

'I remember this,' Braviary thought. 'Of course, they took Gallian in and reared him like he was their own kid. But they were overjoyed to finally have an egg after years of trying. And now, she's grown up and here in the guild, only…'

Braviary closed the binder and placed it back in its shelf. 'Where did everything go wrong?' he wondered. 'I had to get rid of Gallian's records, and now the Guildmaster wants Lucario's records removed, too. First Incineroar perishes on a mission, then Lucario walks out on us, and if that weren't enough, Gallian abandons us shortly after. No wonder Riolu's feeling so blue. Has she even told her partner about this stuff?'

His brow furrowed. 'Since the day we met, I've always thought something was off about you, Lucario. I held my tongue because Incineroar loved ya so much and he was my friend. But I should've spoken up... I should've told him the truth.' He took a new binder off his shelf, and opened it up to look at drawings of Shane and Tessa. 'What kind of mother runs out on her own kids, huh? What kind of mother won't even tell her family she ain't supposed to be a Pokémon? Is that why you ran away? Did you find a way back to your real home?' He shuddered at the thought. 'Then what were Incineroar, Riolu, and Gallian to you, huh?'

Braviary shut the binder and looked up toward the ceiling. "I hope you have a good reason for doing this stuff, Guildmaster. Riolu deserves to know about her mother... sooner rather than later."

End of Special Episode 1

Scavenging Crook, Feraligatr
As the leader of a crew of outlaws, Feraligatr ferries his team from island to island, searching for anything valuable to flip for a profit. It's tough scraping out a living combing for treasures in Mystery Dungeons. But Feraligatr greatly prefers it over working some boring, dead-end job inside a building.

Next time: Tessa recounts how Horizon's most perilous Mystery Dungeon came to be.