Chapter 21: The Peak of Reckless Abandon

Shane's eyes fluttered open and he yawned loudly. However, he immediately buried his head in his forelegs, shielding his eyes from a familiar bright-orange expanse.

"Gah!" Shane shouted. He slowly stood up, blinking his eyes rapidly. "Okay, that never fails to startle me. At least this is pretty convenient timing." He took a step toward the orange water lapping up at the shore's surface. "Yo, Solgaleo! Get your booming voice out here. Your chosen one needs a bit of spiritual guidance."

The sun-shaped silhouette from his previous dreams flickered into view on the water's surface. "What the matter, human? Did I not make you purpose clear last time?" he growled.

"You totally did," Shane said. "Be the chosen one, protect day and night, save the world, yadda yadda… look, I got that. But I've run into an issue. And I really need your sagely wisdom. See, there's this Midnight Lycanroc running around the guild and I think he's up to no good. He claims he knows what's causing Pokémon to go berserk, right? And I'm pretty sure it's connected to the whole day-night issue, but I think he's lying!"

"Foooooooooooooooooool!"

The booming roar knocked Shane off his feet and he tumbled across the sand. "Hack! Plebth! Okay. Easy on the yelling," Shane groaned, coughing up some sand.

"Absol is the problem," he said. "You don't have time to waste on Lycanroc."

"What if he's in league with Absol?"

"My powers are stretched thin enough already, chosen one," Solgaleo retorted. "I do not have the strength to see how virtuous Lycanroc is. You're on your own."

Shane frowned. "Darn. So much for that idea." He scratched his ear. "But wait a second. If you said that Absol's the problem, then that means Espeon and Umbreon aren't the problem. And that means Lycanroc's totally lying. Which means I'm one hundred percent right and Tessa, Braviary, and the whole guild can suck it!" He narrowed his eyes. "I knew that mangy mutt was trouble the moment I laid eyes on him!"

He looked up at the silhouette on the water. "Thanks a ton, buddy! This was actually very helpful."

"Then I expect no more stupid questions," Solgaleo growled. "Do not dawdle, human. You must start restoring the balance between night and day before it's too late!"

His vision went completely white.

Shane picked his head up off his cushion. "Nnnnrrgh. Talk about a rude awakening," he whined, rubbing his temple. "The sun's barely even risen. It's not time to get up." He rested his head back on his pillow. Unfortunately, his ears twitched and swiveled in the door's direction. "Hmm?" He picked his head up, ears twitching again.

"Curse these sensitive Vulpix ears," Shane mumbled. "When I was a human I was such a deep sleeper. Now I can wake up at the drop of a pin." He slowly stood up and arced his back. His spine produced several satisfying cricks. "Might as well investigate whatever that thumping noise is." He proceeded out of his room and into the hall.

Shane didn't need to go far to identify the problem. The moment he stepped into the assembly area, he gave a frightened yip and scrambled to his right. Seconds later, Null's large frame skidded past him. Null shook his head about, giving a deep, rasping cough, and charged forward.

'Okay… definitely awake now,' Shane realized, his heart thumping against his chest. He picked his head up and saw Tessa standing in the center of the room. Null continued his charge, bringing a foreleg up as blades of energy sheathed around his talons. He swiped down at Tessa, but she thrust her left palm forward.

The force from the two limbs meeting caused both Pokémon to buckle. Null's larger frame easily absorbed the blow, while Tessa trembled and fell off balance. Null brought his head down and his helmet and feathered crest hardened into steel. He thrust his upper body forward and struck Tessa in the face with a resounding claaaaaaaaang!

Tessa collapsed onto her back. Null bore down on her, raising a foreleg while air gathered in between his talons. "You got me," Tessa squeaked, holding up her paws in surrender. Null lowered his foreleg and extended it to Tessa. She grabbed hold and Null hoisted her to her feet. He then turned away and shook his body. His helmet rattled around on his head, making Shane's fur stand on end.

"… your left side… is weak…" Null wheezed. "… that last attack… you wouldn't have been so vulnerable… if you'd used your right paw…"

Tessa wiped sweat from her brow. "It was really that noticeable, huh?" she sighed. "I guess I've got to work on that."

"… yeah… you do…"

"Still, thanks for waking up to do this with me at this hour," Tessa said. "This was a good release." She stretched her arms up toward the ceiling.

"… wasn't getting much sleep anyway. The headaches… keep getting worse..." Null groaned. He tensed up and clawed at his helmet with a foreleg.

Tessa shrank back, unsure how to approach Null. "Um, are you okay?" She cautiously reached a paw toward him, but Null swerved his head away with a hiss. Tessa quickly brought her paw back to her side.

"Hey!" Shane finally decided to make his presence known. "Are you two trying to wake everyone up? Because it's working."

Tessa caught Shane's gaze and frowned. "I needed to blow off some steam and this is the only real practice area the guild has. It's too chilly outside this early in the morning."

"Blow off steam?" Shane parroted. "What for? I thought we had a pretty good day yesterday, save for Lycan–"

"Don't you dare start with that nonsense again!" Tessa snapped, balling her paws into fists. "It was your big mouth that got us stuck on sentry duty and so help me if you extend it beyond today, I'll… I'll…"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You already got your licks in with that Force Palm yesterday," Shane reminded her. "Thanks for that, by the way. My chest is nice and sore now."

"You deserved it," Tessa growled. Null immediately stepped in front of her, blocking the duo's view of each other.

"… don't escalate things. Just walk away…" he said. Tessa nodded and followed Null down toward the dining area.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Shane called. "Don't I at least get some sort of apology?"

His answer came in the form of a blue tail wrapping around his snout, clamping it shut. Shane's eyes widened. He turned in the direction of the tail to see Dragonair looking right at him. She wasn't glaring. Rather, she had a calm, almost detached appearance about her. Dragonair unwound her tail.

"What's the big idea?" Shane growled.

"We need to talk, Vulpix," she said. Dragonair turned around and beckoned him forward with her tail. "Walk with me."

"Uh, you don't walk. You slither."

"I could knock you out in one Extreme Speed if you don't feel like cooperating," Dragonair threatened, her voice still calm and measured. Shane's tails stiffened and he immediately trudged along after her. She led him up the stairs toward the entrance, pausing at the top to look at the starry mural painted across the ceiling.

"… I'm concerned about you and Tessa," she finally said after a long silence.

"You know we're supposed to call her Riolu, right?" Shane said. "I'm totally telling her you're not listening."

"In case you haven't noticed, she's not here," Dragonair countered, showing no signs of impatience toward Shane. "Stop trying to deflect. I want you to listen to me."

"Pssssht. Riolu and I are fine. She's just a bit mad about sentry duty, that's all," Shane dismissed. "I know I'm right about Lycanroc and soon you guys will realize that, too."

Dragonair sighed. "This goes beyond Lycanroc. Every time it seems like the two of you are making some solid progress as partners, something happens to set you back. And, generally speaking, it's your fault," she accused, jabbing Shane's torso with her tail.

Shane frowned. "Maybe we're not a perfect team, but we're getting better. You just saw us at our low point back with Parasect. We've improved since th–"

Dragonair abruptly cut him off, wrapping her tail around his snout once again. Shane's eyes narrowed and he let out a puff of frigid air.

"If you really intend to do right by Riolu as her partner, then you need to start respecting her boundaries," Dragonair lectured. "She's been through a lot. More than you could possibly know."

Shane raised an eyebrow. "Mmmmmffffrrrghhhh," he grunted, Dragonair's tail muffling his voice. She rolled her eyes and withdrew her tail. Shane exhaled forcefully. "Sheesh, no need to muzzle me."

"I have found it's the most effective technique for dealing with your moody, childish rambles," Dragonair said. "Now, what were you saying?"

"I was just asking if you meant her family? Because I'm already perfectly well-versed in that subject. Sure, the thing with her brother's a bit weird, but at least she knows her family's somewhere here," Shane said. "How do you think I feel? I've already been here a month. Who knows how much time has passed in the human world? What about my family, huh?" The lie made Shane's stomach churn, but he kept a straight face.

To his relief, Dragonair closed her eyes and said, "That's a fair point. I'll give you that much. However, I do not believe Riolu has given you the full story about what's happened with her family."

Shane pursed his muzzle. "What? You mean there's more to it than just 'my parents are exploring the Grass Continent and I don't know when they'll be back?'"

Dragonair nodded. "Yes. But it's not my place to tell you. That would violate Riolu's trust."

"Aww, c'mon. I can keep a secret. And I'm her partner, so it's important that I know," Shane said.

"If she doesn't trust you enough to tell you the truth, what makes you think I will?" Dragonair scoffed. "If you want to win her over, then do as I suggested. Respect her boundaries."

Shane's face scrunched up. "But what does that even mean? I've been perfectly nice to her lately!"

"That's something the two of you need to talk out," Dragonair said. "Preferably, without any shouting."

"Well, great. Now I'm tired and confused. Thanks," Shane grumbled. "Can I go now? I've got sentry duty to attend to."

Dragonair slithered away from the stairs. "Be my guest," she said. Shane shot her an annoyed look and descended back to the main level.

'What could Tessa not be telling me about her family?' Shane thought, making his way toward the sentry station. 'This is all so weird. What happened to my partner being a cheerful, energetic little Pokémon with tons of spunk? Tessa's like the exact opposite of that!'

He stopped to look up at the ceiling. 'Is this some sort of secret character test? Is Tessa under some sort of spell that I can break her out of with love, kindness, or the power of friendship? Bah… that's so pathetically sappy!' His brow furrowed. "Yo, Arceus, if you're really up there doing whatever, how about a sign?"

"… hurry up, human…"

Shane flinched at the sound of Null's rasping voice. He quickened his pace and entered the room. Tessa sat on a cushion, clutching the guild's entry log. Null stood up from beside the Pokénector. He turned to Tessa and said, "… if he… bothers you at all… call for me…"

"Hey! There's no need for that," Shane whined. "I'm not looking for any trouble, okay."

Null fixed his tired, gray eyes on Shane. "… actions speak louder than words… human…" He exited the room, eyeing Shane as he went.

"Cripes. Could you be any creepier?" Shane scoffed. "You've been hanging around with him quite a bit lately. Is there, uh, something going on between you two I should know about?"

Tessa crossed her arms and looked away. "No. I just appreciate his company. He's soft-spoken, unlike a certain ice-type, who shall remain nameless. Besides, it's none of your business how I choose to spend my free time."

'Besides, even if he looks strange, I don't feel as lonely when I'm around Null,' Tessa thought. 'If I can't forge a good relationship with Vulpix, then at least I have Null to lean on for support until we figure out what's happening to the world and how to a put a stop to it.'

Shane prepared to retort, but his conversation with Dragonair flashed into his mind. His ears drooped and he slinked toward the unoccupied cushion. 'I don't believe this,' he thought. 'Why is my own partner starting to trust that freak with the headgear more than me? Why can't she just see things my way for once?'

He pawed at the ground. "Um, listen. About yesterday…"

"I said not to bring that up," Tessa growled, spinning away from him.

"Oh." Shane lowered his head. "Right… sorry."

Sentry duty proceeded in silence for the duo, with the exception of the occasional Pokémon arriving and Tessa announcing said arrival. All the while, Shane's thoughts continued to fester. He soon found himself gnashing his teeth together. 'I can't just stay quiet. I don't want friction between us. If Tessa's refusing to speak up, it's up to me to put this issue to rest!'

"Are you at least willing to hear an apology?" he asked. Tessa raised her head at this. "See, I…" Shane started, but cut himself off when his ears twitched. He lifted his head and glanced down the hallway.

"You what?"

"Uh, hang on a second." Shane got to his feet. "I think I hear someone out in the assembly area."

"So? We're on sentry duty, not eavesdropping duty," Tessa scoffed.

"Hallway conversations aren't private," Shane countered. "I'll be right back. I just want to investigate." He got to his feet and padded his way toward the assembly area. As he did, he could make out a familiar voice. His brow immediately furrowed.

"… exactly why I wanted to find ya, sheilas," Lycanroc's voice carried around the corner. "From what I heard, you're the strongest team around these parts. I'd try asking Braviary or the Guildmaster, but they seem busy."

"Hold on," Milotic said. "What makes you so sure something's happening in Dewdrop Woods, anyway?"

"Right. I was on my way through town and I saw this right banged-up Araquanid and Volcarona duo trudging through the place."

"That's Team Buzz-Buzz!" Serperior gasped. "Are they okay? What the heck happened?"

"They said they got throttled in Dewdrop Woods. Something about a Bewear losing its mind," Lycanroc explained. "And, yeah, they're resting on up with Comfey. Them suckers had some nasty blows."

Shane's muzzle pursed. 'What the heck's he talking about? Beware losing your mind? That doesn't make any sense.' He narrowed his eyes. 'I'll bet this is a set up! Lycanroc's trying to dupe Team Captivate.'

"Look, I'd go investigate myself, but I ain't got any ideas how to navigate that forest. And I'd be beyond useless against the likes of a Bewear. Plus, there's three of you and one of me," Lycanroc pointed out.

'I'll bet he's gonna try and steal their stuff,' Shane concluded. 'No, wait. What if he's telling the truth and leading them right into a trap?'

"I don't know, it sounds a little vague," Serperior said, to Shane's relief.

"But if we don't do anything, it could start rampaging through the town," Lycanroc pointed out. "Now, I'm sure you fine sheilas don't want that on your tails, right?"

'Come on, don't listen to him. Dragonair, you're stupidly logical. Say something!' Shane thought.

"Hmm. Well, we wouldn't want something like that happening. Pokémon could get hurt that way," Milotic agreed. "Besides, we were planning to visit Dewdrop Woods anyway. C'mon girls, let's get going."

Shane's eyes widened and he smacked his forehead. He stiffened at the sound of footsteps. Shane quickly turned away as Lycanroc popped up in front of the south hallway.

"Oy. Ain't you supposed to be somewhere, Snowy?" Lycanroc asked.

"Yeah. I'm just, uh, taking a short break!" Shane lied. "Y'know, stretching out my legs so I don't, uh, get any muscle cramps." He leaned down in a stretch and then jogged in place. "It can get a bit stuffy sitting in the sentry room, see. Aha ha… ha…"

Lycanroc smirked. "I'll take your word for it, mate. Later." He strolled off toward the living quarters, whistling a jaunty tune.

'Grrrrrrr. Why that no-good, sleazy dirtbag! He's setting Team Captivate up for… something.' Shane started jogging down the hallway. 'I'd better report this to Tess–'

He promptly skidded to a halt. "Wait, what am I saying? She's just going to say I'm lying again and run off to complain to Null or Braviary." He turned back toward the assembly area. "But I can't just go after Team Captivate myself. I've gotta find someone to help me out…"

Shane backpedaled toward the assembly area. "Okay, living quarters are no good. Lycanroc's there, remember? Maybe I'll have some luck upstairs." He sprinted up the stairway and smiled at the sight of Yungoos, Trapinch, and Growlithe. "Oh, thank heavens," he chirped. "You're just the Pokémon I need right now."

"Uh, ain't youse supposed to be doing sentry duty?" Yungoos pointed out.

"Forget that! Listen, did you see Team Captivate pass through here?" Shane asked. The three apprentices nodded in unison. "Crud! I wasn't fast enough."

"Where's the fire, Vulpix?" Growlithe asked. "And why didn't you let me light it?"

"Listen, I just overhead Lycanroc begging Team Captivate to go investigate Dewdrop Woods," Shane explained.

"Oh brother, not this song and dance routine again," Trapinch sighed.

"I'm serious! He said something about 'Bewear losing its mind,' or some nonsense like that," Shane insisted. At that, the apprentices' eyes widened.

Trapinch gulped. "Did… did you just say Bewear?"

Shane rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Why? It doesn't make any sense, right?"

Yungoos gave Shane an unamused look. "Rookie, youse do realize Bewear is a Pokémon, right?"

Shane's jaw slackened. "Huhwha–?"

"Hmm. How can we describe it to you?" Growlithe wondered. "Oh! It's like an even more terrifying Ursaring. It's got huge arms like this." He reared up on his hind legs and spread his forelegs out, trying to flex them. "It can snap a tree in half just by hugging it. Great for gathering firewood, if you ask me."

Shane's tails shot straight up. "Are you serious? If that's the case, Team Captivate's in serious danger!"

"What do you mean? They're the strongest team in the guild," Trapinch said. "They can handle anything."

"But Lycanroc's leading them into a trap! An ambush!" Shane darted toward them. "We have to do something. We need to catch up to them and get them out of that forest!" The apprentices all exchanged nervous looks. "Ugh… look. I'm telling the truth, I swear." He turned to Trapinch. "Can you just check Team Captivate's room and make sure Lycanroc isn't trying to steal anything?"

"Uh, I guess so?" Trapinch muttered. "But why would Lycanroc–?"

"Because he's a no good crook of an outlaw," Shane growled. "And when you're done checking, go take my place at the sentry station."

"But if Braviary finds out youse ditched yer post, you'll–"

Shane held up a forepaw to silence Yungoos. "Uh-uh. This time, the two of you are coming with me so I can prove I'm right. And because if there is trouble I need backup."

Growlithe wagged his tail. "Does this mean I can light stuff on fire? Because I've heard a Bewear's fur is especially combustible." Shane nodded. "Great! I'm in."

"Hang on a minute dere, rookie. Youse can't just come up to us and demand we help youse like dat. We could get in trouble too, y'know," Yungoos said.

"Well… uh…" Shane's eyes lit up. "I know. I'll buy you the Supreme Berry Sorbet from Crabrawler's Café if you help me."

Yungoos' eyes sparkled. "Now dat is what I call a bribe! Okay, I'm in too."

"Great!" Shane ran toward the door. "Then we'd better get a move on. We need to catch up to Team Captivate."

He sprinted through the entrance, with Yungoos and Growlithe following him. The three guys failed to notice a hulking, helmeted form watching them from beside the Observatory entrance.

"… beast… beast… have to... follow. Must get rid of him… get rid of… beast!"

Null moaned and wheezed. He jostled his head around and then plodded toward the town square.

~Dewdrop Woods~

"Anyone see anything suspicious?" Shane asked, swiveling his head about.

"No. Just trees and rocks. Da usual stuff," Yungoos replied. "Does dis mean we can go now?"

"Not if you want that sorbet," Shane replied. "Braviary said you had a nose for sniffing things out, right? How about putting that to use here?"

"Fine." Yungoos walked beside Shane and bent down toward the ground. He sniffed the pathway.

"Wow, amazing," Growlithe chirped. "I'll bet if I tried that I'd inhale the dirt and just end up setting Vulpix on fire with one of my sneezes."

Shane took several steps forward, his tails falling between his legs. 'I could've been a normal, fire-type Vulpix but nooooooo. This universe hates me, apparently, because it put me with a Riolu who isn't even appreciative of being a Riolu!'

"Hey, I got somet'ing!" Yungoos picked his head up and sniffed at the base of a rock. "I smell brine."

Shane raised an eyebrow. "Which is weird because…?"

"Because Milotic always smells like seawater cause of her shampoo. Duh," Yungoos scoffed.

Growlithe looked at his guild mate. "And you know this because…?"

"Because none of youse business, dat's why!" Yungoos growled. "I'll bet Team Captivate took off in dis direction." He pointed a foreleg down a path running east. Yungoos brought his head back toward the ground and resumed sniffing. Shane followed along after him. "Oh yeah, I can definitely still smell 'em," Yungoos muttered.

"How far could they have gotten anyway? I didn't think serpents could slither that fast," Shane muttered.

"Well, they're Team Captivate. They've been doing this for a while," Growlithe chuckled. "I tried to beg Dragonair to teach me Extreme Speed once, but she said it won't work until I evolve. Some Pokémon just have all the luck, huh?"

'Preaching to the choir there, buddy,' Shane sneered, continuing to keep his distance from Growlithe.

Yungoos led them forward, focusing on the ground. They reached a point where the trail started to wrap around a hill, when Shane's ears suddenly twitched. "Hey, I think there's someone coming," he said, turning to face some of the nearby foliage.

Sure enough, the trio soon saw the trees and bushes shaking. They all took a few steps back. The bushes then parted and several Pikipeks and Ledybas fluttered out. "Whoa!" Yungoos gasped, scampering backwards. The cluster of wild Pokémon made no attempt to engage the guild members, however. Instead, they shot worried glances back into the forest and scrambled across the trail. They disappeared into another set of bushes.

"Sheesh. What's got them all riled up?" Shane growled, trying to use his tails to dust off his fur.

"Uh, hello? Weren't youse da one who said dere's a Bewear going crazy in here?" Yungoos pointed out. "What d'ya t'ink dey're running from?"

Shane remembered Growlithe's description and his body stiffened. "Aha ha… right…" He gulped. 'C'mon Shane, show some backbone! This is your time to shine… I think. I hope. Maybe.'

"Should we try going into the trees?" Growlithe wondered. "I could always set them ablaze to draw out whatever's lurking in there!"

"No!" Shane and Yungoos belted out in unison.

"Err, what I meant ta say was dat I'm still picking up Milotic's scent on dis trail," Yungoos said. "It's possible dey ain't run into no trouble yet."

Growlithe's tail drooped in disappointment. "Right."

The trio prepared to start forward again when the ground started rumbling.

"Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

"Cripes!" Yungoos jumped up in fright, smacking his head against a low-hanging tree branch. He fell to the ground, eyes swirling about in their sockets.

"What… what was that?" Shane asked. "Is that what a Bewear sounds like? It's pretty high-pitched for a giant bear."

"Yeah, Bewear have deceptively squeaky voices," Growlithe said. "At least, that's what Braviary tells me."

"Uhuu huu huu huu! Aww, look at the adorable tiny tykes brigade. They're so scared, Umbry!"

Shane's eyes widened. 'Oh no. Please not here. Please not now!'

Growlithe's eyes narrowed. "Hey, haven't I heard that voice somewhere before?"

A spark of pink energy danced across the forest path, just in front of the guild members. More sparks followed it, and they started to gather around in a circle. Their coloration shifted from pink to a sinister dark lavender. The image of a winged heart appeared in the circle, with arced horns and a piercing eye in its center. A red and-purple vortex rose up from the circle.

"W… what in da blazes?" Yungoos gasped, staggering backwards.

"Hey, that's my line," Growlithe griped.

Shane's tails darted between his legs as he watched Espeon ascend from the vortex, head held high and sunlight distorting around her due to the black armor on her torso. A smile creeped across her face and she opened her mouth…

"Solgaleo, provider of daylight…
Great Lunala, defender of the night…
Working hard for the sake of harmony!"

Espeon put a paw to her snout and giggled. "Uhuu huu huu! That's surprisingly catchy. Now I see why that Primarina fellow loves singing it so much." She turned back toward the vortex. "How did I sound, Umbry? Better than that stuffy, soggy sea dog, I hope."

Umbreon appeared beside Espeon from the vortex. It quickly shut behind the duo, receding into a small, red-and-black card that vanished in a flash of light.

"… bah! Don't waste my time with your little games, Espy," he huffed. "We're here for a reason."

Espeon pouted. "Aww. But we're supposed to be having fun!"

"We can have fun once we've infected Vulpix," Umbreon stated. "Besides, he seems like a good playmate for you. He has a wonderfully big mouth you can clamp shut for endless amusement."

Shane's eyes widened. 'That's me they're talking about. And I so do not have a big mouth!' He briefly went cross-eyed, attempting to inspect his snout.

"Infect?" Yungoos raised an eyebrow. "Hey, didn't da weird Mareanie we run into at Sunset Shoals keep saying stuff 'bout infecting?" he asked Growlithe.

"I think so," Growlithe replied. "And have you forgotten what Lycanroc told us yesterday?" He narrowed his eyes. "These two are the ones responsible for all of it."

Espeon jumped up and down excitedly. "Oh, yaaaaaay! You guys saw our handiwork." She then frowned. "But you cost me a bunch of adorable little playmates! And you two aren't nearly squishy enough to make up for it."

"I ain't got no plans to play wit no one," Yungoos said. "Especially not a couple of crazy tourists bringin' trouble. Youse scoot on back to yer own continent and leave Horizon alone."

Shane suddenly jumped in front of his guildmates. "Espeon! Umbreon! Snap out of it!" he barked. "This… this isn't like you! You're both nice Pokémon who want to help others."

Espeon tilted her head to the side. "Oh? Do you know us from somewhere? Because I'm not intimately familiar with any white-furred Vulpixes. How about you, Umbry?"

"… no. They're unique to this continent," Umbreon replied. "Either he has us confused with someone else or he's trying to throw us off to make an escape." Umbreon's eyes glowed an even brighter red. "In which case, you're not putting on a very convincing act."

"But Umbry, he's a human, remember?" Espeon giggled. "He shouldn't know any Espeons or Umbreons at all!"

"I know you!" Shane insisted. "You're a kindly research pair from the Mist Continent. You're trying to master Entercards to help benefit Pokémon around the world. And… and you deeply care for one another. You're not troublemakers and you never have been! You have to fight back against… whatever it is making you act like this!"

"Uhuu huu huu huu!" Espeon cackled, fixing her bright blue eyes on Shane. "Well, well, someone's done their homework, haven't they? Umbry and I care about each other lots, but I must say," she sauntered up toward Shane, "I'm not really into stalkers."

Her eyes flashed white and next thing Shane knew, he lay well behind his guild mates, knocked flat onto his back. Growlithe and Yungoos shouted in fright. Shane scrambled to his feet, only to freeze when he saw faint blue auras around his teammates' bodies. Espeon's eyes crackled with pink bolts of energy.

"And you were a bit off base, kid," Umbreon sneered. "We are interested in Entercards. But not for the sake of research." The red rings across his body flickered. "Because with the energy we've gotten from the Prism Virus, we're close to achieving something no Pokémon could ever dream of cooking up on their own: Ultra Entercards! With them, we'll have absolute control over ley lines. Meaning we can circumvent the chaotic energies forming Mystery Dungeons…"

"… and spread our wonderful Prism Virus to every corner of the planet!" Espeon cheered. "And once we do, we'll have everything we need to make the world of endless night our beautiful new reality! Uhuu huu huu!"

"W… world of… endless night?" Shane practically choked on his words. 'Oh no. The threat to the balance between day and night! This had to have been what Solgaleo was talking about!'

"Yup! Where Legendaries are nothing but distant memories and every Pokémon can live out a worry-free life," Espeon continued, her grin broadening.

"No more conflicts. No more battling. No more obnoxious Mystery Dungeons. The world will finally… finallyachieve peace and prosperity," Umbreon declared. "And it starts with using our Ultra Entercards to bypass the magic keeping each and every Legendary holed up in their Mystery Dungeons. Then, we infect them with the Prism Virus, and get rid of them... permanently."

Shane's eyes widened in horror. "What are you saying? You can't do that! We need those Pokémon or the world's gonna fall apart. Besides, you're not helping anyone. You're poisoning the environment and hurting other Pokémon," he growled. "Now, you'd better let those two go right now or… or…"

Umbreon took a step forward, his red eyes glowing. "Or what… you're going to stop both of us? Don't make Espy laugh!"

"Too late! I've already done plenty of that," Espeon giggled. "But, I have something in mind that's way more fun. We're going to play a little game… the five of us! It's called 'hostage negotiation.'"

Shane went rigid. "D-Don't…" he whimpered.

"The rules are super-duper simple," Espeon said. "You give us that girlie scarf around your neck and then we get to infect you! In return, your so-called friends here will get their freedom." Her eyes narrowed. "… for now."

"My… scarf?" he looked down at the rainbow scarf. 'But, they said they're going to infect me if I give this up. That means they're going to make me into one of those crazy monsters like Parasect and the Munchlaxes. I can't end up like that. I'm this world's best chance against whatever's controlling these two! And besides,' his gaze fell to the ground, 'Tessa entrusted me with this. I'm not going to give it up so easily!"

"No deal," Shane said.

Umbreon's eyes flashed with rage. "Big mistake. Now we do things my way…"

Shane crouched into a fighting stance, waiting for Umbreon to charge him. But he didn't. Instead, both he and Espeon froze as the ground trembled yet again.

"Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

"Espy?" Umbreon turned around. "I thought you said you had sent Bewear to the northern part of the woods?"

Espeon frowned. "Yeah, uh, about that." She grinned sheepishly. "I might've told a teensy-weensy white lie."

"What?!"

"Hey, c'mon, it's not like we were planning to be around here long," Espeon scoffed. "Besides, this presents a convenient scenario. Let's have Bewear deal with these three. Our paws stay clean and we can focus on other things in the meantime!"

Umbreon's eyes narrowed. "I'm not leaving this up to chance. Vulpix is coming back with us!"

The ground shook once again. Shane, Espeon, and Umbreon nearly fell from the force of the tremors.

"Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

Umbreon frowned. "Okay, on second thought, not becoming food for an out-of-control Ultra Bewear is a much better idea."

Espeon released Yungoos and Growlithe. Shane noticed her levitating up another red and black card.

"Wait… wait!" Shane cried, but the duo deployed their Entercard. A new vortex formed up and they disappeared into it. Espeon paused in the center of it. She turned and blew a kiss in Shane's direction.

"Until we meet again, my lovely stalker! Wait, you're heading for the great Bewear-yond, aren't you? Oh well. It was nice knowing you. Uhuu huu huu huu!" She disappeared into the vortex and it faded behind her.

"No!" Shane lunged toward the Entercard, only for it to vanish in a burst of bright pink light. Another tremor struck, this one far stronger than any of the others. Shane toppled over into Yungoos and Growlithe.

"Oof! Get offa me you clod," Yungoos hollered. "What were youse t'inking back dere? You nearly got us all killed!"

"Wait." Growlithe turned to Shane. "Do you not have an Escape Orb?"

Shane pawed at the ground. "Aha ha… see… funny story. Riolu's sorta the one in charge of the items and I, uh, didn't grab anything before we left. I assumed one of you had one."

Yungoos and Growlithe glared daggers at Shane. But before they could scold him, a beam of ice split through some of the trees. It immediately froze patches of leaves and shattered them. The guild members backed up cautiously. Seconds later, Milotic hurtled out from behind the trees.

"Auuuugh!" she hollered, striking a boulder across the forest path and dropping to the ground, writhing in pain.

"Milotic? Milotic!" Growlithe dashed over to her. "It's Growlithe. Are you okay? What happened?"

"B-Bewear… crazy… not…" Milotic mumbled, but her eyes fluttered closed and her head slumped against the ground.

"Um… guys?" Yungoos whimpered.

Shane and Growlithe turned around. Their jaws dropped at the sight before them.

"That's a Bewear?" Shane gasped. "That's no Ursaring lookalike."

"Dat… dat ain't what dey usually look like."

"Really? They don't all have four legs and massive red arms with veins bulging out of them?" Shane panicked. "It's called leg day, you big brute! And you never skip it!"

Bewear heard the taunt and turned her attention toward the guild members. She raised her arms high up and then swung them down toward her massive, rippling chest. Bewear flexed her oversized pectorals and uttered a loud, "Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

Shane's legs quivered.

'Oh god. This is it. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die! What was I thinking? This isn't like the games…'

Bewear whirled around, karate-chopping one of the trees beside her in half.

'… this is a literal waking nightmare!'

Next time: Shane's entire world comes crashing down.