Chapter 13

The Grave Findings

It was the very next day for Terron and Zekra.

The two had already gone on their daily mission, which involved yet another fetch quest regarding a lost item, known as a Heal Ribbon by their Froakie client. The children had felt they needed to redeem themselves after how their last item-search mission ended.

Despite how the two had been slightly nervous about being on their own again, they did well. Their mission took place in yet another Mystery Dungeon, this one called Nemesis Forest. There had been resistance, of course, in trying to accomplish the mission. Many times, wild Pokémon would try to kill the children or steal their food, almost getting away with it. Sometimes, the two even thought they were going around in circles. However, the two remembered King's lessons and were able to fare well against the attacks and managed to find their way through the forest. Eventually, the two had succeeded in their mission. They had found the item and brought it back to the original owner via flying over to the city the owner lived in. The owner, once verifying they brought back the right item, then gave them their payment of 450 Poké.

The two had then reported their success to Emdox once they got back to Aurora Town, who ended up taking a fraction of their money due to the Fellowship's deductions. However, the two weren't too bothered by this, and bought some supplies before storing the remaining amounts of the money away at the Sandslash tunnel.

With much of their day spent, it was thought that the two would go to the gym and train until evening, just as they had done the previous day. Then they would go to the base, eat dinner, select a mission, and go to bed. It seemed like an ideal routine.

Today, however, they decided to try something else.

They were going to go to a special destination they had looked up the previous night on the Fellowship's guide to every location in Shiron; a place where Terron's assignment could be fulfilled.

It had taken about an hour of searching to find a suitable location that fit the needs of both their abilities and types of wild Pokémon, but eventually the two found a dwelling that fulfilled all their qualifications.

Terron and Zekra sat in the arms of Drifblim, enjoying the warm breeze blowing through the air as they were carried towards this special destination.

Terron watched from his seat, with the Fellowship bag around his body and temporary bone club in hand, as the landscape passed by. He still felt the nagging sense of discontent a ground-type feels when separated from the ground, but he tried not to focus on it.

He looked over at Zekra, who was humming an upbeat tune to herself.

"Hey Zekra," Terron started to say, "We'll be back by sunset, right? I mean, what time is it?"

Zekra stopped humming and started to think.

"Hmm, it's a couple hours after noon right now," Zekra answered. "So, depending on how quickly we get to the place, we should be able to get back on time."

Zekra then looked up at the Drifblim carrying her.

"Do you know how long it takes to get to the destination?" Zekra then asked.

"I'd say about an hour from Aurora Town," the Drifblim said. "From where we are now, though, I'd say we have fifteen minutes left."

"Alright, thanks," Zekra said with a smile before looking back at Terron. "So, yeah, we should be back by sunset. And even if we're not, well, it's not a big deal. Just as long as we get there within a couple of hours after dusk. You know, so we can get enough sleep for tomorrow."

"That's good to hear," Terron said with a smile. "Well, hopefully, we'll make it back on time. It might be kinda creepy flying in the middle of the night, being unable to see where you're going…"

"You don't need to worry about that," the Drifblim holding Terron said. "We can see where we're going at all times, even if light isn't available. It's a talent of ghost Pokémon."

"Suppose so," Terron said. "Still, doesn't mean that flying in the complete darkness won't creep me out though since I can't see where we're going."

The Drifblim said nothing.

After those fifteen minutes had passed, Terron saw their destination come into view. His eyes became bright as excitement rushed through his veins.

Before the four Pokémon was a mountain. It was a large mountain, though it seemed even larger to the group due to how low they were flying. Thin clouds surrounded the upper portion of the mountain, creating a type of veil over the land formation. The visible parts of the mountain were a dark brown with specks of green scattered across the surface.

"Diamond Dust Mountain," Terron said in wonder. "That's the place."

"It's weird that they give it that name though when it's only all frosty and pretty in the winter," Zekra then said. "Right now, it looks like a regular mountain. I guess summer does that…"

Something in Zekra's mind seemed to click.

"That's right, it's summer now," she muttered to herself. "I barely noticed with all the stuff that's been going on…"

Zekra seemed to drift off, getting lost in her thoughts.

"Maybe it just stood out better than the other mountains during the winter and they felt it deserved that name," Terron suggested, oblivious to Zekra's change in behavior. "Hm, maybe we could visit the place in the winter to see if it really does look like a solid piece of ice like the book said…"

"It's better this way," Zekra said indifferently, not paying much attention anymore. "Means there isn't any ice or snow we have to walk through."

The Drifblim gently descended and brought the children to the base of the mountain. Once there, they set the children down and floated a few inches off the ground behind them.

"We'll be waiting here until you're ready to come back," Zekra's Drifblim said. "Don't worry about us; take your time."

"You guys don't get bored or anything?" Terron asked curiously.

"No, not really," his Drifblim replied. "We pass the time by talking to one another. Times goes by faster when we do that."

"Huh, I see," Terron said. "Well I guess that's kind of true. Alright then. We'll see you two around. We shouldn't be gone too long. Maybe a couple hours or so."

The Drifblim waved goodbye as Terron and Zekra made their way to a trail that led up the mountain. The trail had a few signs of plant growth, such a small amount of grass here and there, but this particular part of the mountain was otherwise barren.

"Sure is nice to have this place not be a Mystery Dungeon," Zekra remarked, once again appearing focused. "Not quite sure what I would have expected if this mountain was a dungeon. How would we go up if there aren't trails? Would the mountain be like a giant tower and we'd just progress through the inside as if it were hollow? It's so weird."

"Well, thankfully, we don't have to worry about that," Terron said. "And instead, we can focus our efforts on the real reason we're here: finding some corpses of fighting or dragon types so we can get a better club for me. The guide said there are quite a few fighting Pokémon here, and even a couple dragons. So if we're lucky, we can just find their skeleton and take a few bones. Which kind of bone would you say is better anyway?"

"Doesn't really matter if you ask me," Zekra shrugged. "They're both tough bones. But if you had to choose, I guess you should go with the dragon bones. Dragons are pretty strong, and hardly anyone can defeat them, so I guess their bones must be the same way."

"Hm, guess I'll have to keep an eye out for any dragons," Terron said thoughtfully.

"Hey, how come we didn't just look for these bones at the Fellowship?" Zekra then asked. "I mean, they've got so many corpses, so I'm sure they would have had a bone that matched Master Tunra's description."

"I was considering that, actually," Terron said. "But, then I realized that we'd have no way to verify where the bones came from. I'm fairly certain that the Fellowship doesn't organize the bones since they just throw them out. So, I figured that going out to find some bones was better. At least this way, we could know where the bones came from. They should still be attached to the corpse, or if the flesh is rotted away, then the skeleton should still be intact and have a distinct shape. And if there's live Pokémon of the right kind, well, we can just kill them, I guess. Besides, maybe we'll find a helmet for me here too. We don't have to be specific with what kind of Pokémon the skull comes from, though. I don't really care about that. I just want a helmet."

Zekra smiled.

"Still looking for your helmet, I see," Zekra chuckled. "I bet it's going to take you a month just to find one."

"I don't think I'd last a month without a helmet," Terron replied, feeling his head. "I can barely stand a couple of days without it, even though I have no idea what it even feels like to have a helmet. It's just this nagging feeling of necessity. Whenever I think about not having a helmet, which is a lot, I feel like part of my body is missing… like I've lost an arm. I can't deal with that for another month."

Zekra was about to reply, but then she saw something. She stopped and turned to look at whatever she saw, causing Terron to do the same.

The two were looking up at a higher portion of the mountain, about forty feet away from them, where a few large rocks were scattered across the ground. The grass seemed to grow in more abundance there, allowing for more color and liveliness.

But what the two were staring at was a single Pokémon sitting on one of the rocks.

A Mienfoo.

It seemed to be a young Pokémon, though it was possibly a couple of years older than Zekra and Terron. Its fur was scruffier than what it might have looked like as a civilian, and patches of dirt were scattered throughout its body. Little white claws could be seen coming out of its paws. Though Zekra had seen a Mienfoo once, a long time ago, she knew that one didn't have claws. Yet here was this one, with claws that looked like they had always been a normal part of the Mienfoo's anatomy.

The Mienfoo was resting on the stone, staring at the two, motionless. It would blink, but otherwise it remained still. It was almost as though the Pokémon were a statue.

The three looked at one another for a few minutes, none of them going anywhere.

Terron kept expecting the Mienfoo to leave out of boredom or attack them, but it never left its spot. It continued to watch the two, as if curious to see what they would do.

"What should we do?" Terron asked Zekra after a while. "I know that Pokémon in the normal wild don't normally try to attack us, but they always run away whenever they see us coming. This one's not doing anything. It's just… sitting there."

"Well, there are some Pokémon who live in the regular wild that will attack us if they're territorial or irritated," Zekra replied, "but I'm not too sure about this one. It's not showing any kind of animosity toward us. Yet it's not running away in fear…"

"Do you think that we should attack it?" Terron then asked. "I mean, it is a fighting-type… it's got the bones I need…"

"Well, that depends," Zekra answered. "I don't really like battling against fighting-types. They wear me out really easily. Plus, we don't know how strong this thing is. Fighting it might not be worth it."

The Mienfoo tilted its head to the side.

Suddenly, the wild one's eyes grew wide. It sprang to its feet, startling Terron and Zekra.

They prepared themselves for battle, thinking the Mienfoo was going to jump at them.

Much to their surprise, the fighting-type ran away from them and darted up the mountain, moving quite swiftly.

Before Terron and Zekra could question what had just happened, a deep rumbling noise rose from nearby. It was so loud that it felt like there was an earthquake shaking through the entire mountain.

Terron and Zekra looked around, trying to find the source of the sound.

"GRAAA!"

A Lairon burst out the side of the mountain a few feet up the trail . Terron and Zekra immediately faced the threat, both startled from its unexpected appearance.

Though the two had read that there were Aron and its evolutions dwelling in the mountain, they didn't think they'd run into one. Those Pokémon preferred to live inside of the mountain, so they thought traveling on the outside wouldn't bother them. However, since Lairon and Aggron tended to be territorial, it should have been thought that they wouldn't want the children anywhere near their territory.

"Zekra, we don't have any kind of abilities to beat this thing," Terron said quietly. "It has that steel all over it…"

"Well, it's not like it'll let us go," Zekra replied, keeping her eyes on the Lairon. "Those things don't back down until you leave the area. If only we had some way to melt the steel…"

All of a sudden, the Lairon ran toward the two, preparing to bash its armored head into their bodies. Despite there being very little room to maneuver in, Terron and Zekra ran to the side of the trail and watched the Lairon rush past them. It had just missed them by a foot.

"Let's just get out of here!" Terron suggested hastily. "The path's open!"

The two immediately took off, sprinting further up the trail. The Lairon, once realizing that the children were getting away, began to chase after them. It wasn't a very fast Pokémon due to all of the steel weighing it down, but it still managed to stay behind Terron and Zekra no matter how far they ran.

Nonetheless, the two continued to flee, hoping to get the Lairon off their tails. With every step it took, the ground started to shake from the wild Pokémon's weight. The tremors nearly caused Terron to trip and fall, but he focused and kept his footing on the ground.

After a minute of running, the Lairon finally stopped chasing the two. It no longer seemed interested in attacking the two.

It seemed that Terron and Zekra had won this 'fight'.

Still, the two didn't stop running. They kept up the pace for another few minutes, making fast progress up the trail. They only stopped when they were both nearly out of breath, slowing to a halt and checking behind them to make sure they weren't being followed.

The Lairon was nowhere in sight.

The two sighed in relief, glad that they could stop running. Deciding to take a break from their long trek, they found a spot nearby a tree and sat down to relax. As they did this, Terron looked around to see if he could spot any sort of wild Pokémon. He didn't know how high up they were on this mountain, but he wanted to be able to find some kind of bone soon. He was starting to feel he'd have to kill a wild Pokémon rather than find a corpse.

Terron found that he wasn't disturbed by this, for some reason. Previously, he was unnerved at the thought, but now, it was starting to feel more natural.

Like it was a part of life.

Maybe it's because I've been around Zekra so much. Terron considered. She's always eating wild Pokémon. So, maybe it's just rubbing off on me. Still don't feel any better about killing Pokémon that can talk though…

Before Terron could dwell in that thought further, he noticed something sitting in the tree above him.

"Zekra, that Mienfoo is back," he said.

Zekra looked up, and sure enough, saw the same Mienfoo as before, sitting there amongst the branches. In its paws was what looked like the remains of a Teddiursa. The Pokémon glanced down at the two as it ate, clearly not minding that they shared the same tree for a rest stop.

"What is with that thing?" Zekra asked. "Is it toying with us so that it can eat us later?"

"I'm not really sure," Terron replied. "I mean, it can't be a coincidence that we keep seeing it. Clearly this Mienfoo is following us for a reason. But why… what does it find so interesting about us?"

"Well, whatever the reason, it kinda creeps me out," Zekra stated.

The Mienfoo continued to eat its meal in silence, while Terron and Zekra watched it in expectance that it would attempt to attack them. When it finished its meal, the fighting-type dropped the remaining pieces of the Teddiursa, causing the husk to land on the ground nearby the children.

Terron looked at the fleshed-out corpse curiously, seeing the various bones sticking out. While he knew they were insufficient for using as a club, Terron started to see use for the bones that made up the ribcage…

He carefully took the carcass and snapped off pieces of the ribs, trying to get the bones as straight and pointy as possible. Despite feeling disgusted with what he was doing, the Cubone continued his work. He had to start getting over his sickened feelings eventually, so he figured he might as well start now on an already dead body.

Zekra watched Terron pull out the bones, curious to see what he was doing. She figured the Mienfoo wasn't going to bother them, so she no longer kept an eye on it.

"Zekra, I need you to chew on the sharpest end to make it even sharper," Terron said. "Your teeth can do that, can't it?"

"Yeah, I can manage," Zekra said as she grabbed one of the bone fragments. "But what are we doing with these bones? They don't look like good weapons."

"Well, maybe not for bashing others," Terron replied. "But, maybe we can use these ribs as projectiles. Like, little thorns we can throw."

"Oh, I know what you're talking about," Zekra said with an eager smile. "We could use these to throw into the eyes of enemies we couldn't otherwise hurt. Like that Lairon! Yeah, that's a great idea! We can stab their eyeballs and make them go blind!"

"I wasn't really thinking of puncturing their eyes…" Terron said reluctantly. "But, you do make a good point. That would be pretty helpful for battles. So let's just try to make a dozen or so of these bone thorns."

Zekra nodded in agreement as she got to work. As she made the bones sharper, Terron continued to get as many pieces as possible from the Teddiursa corpse. When he had run out of ribs to use, he started looking at the other bones to find other uses for them. Sadly, he found that the other bones were too thick and long to be turned into projectiles.

Still, by the time Zekra had finished, they had created twenty-one decent thorns. Satisfied with the work, Terron took all of the bone pieces and set them on a large leaf he found on the ground. He wrapped the leaf around the thorns, and then put a single thorn through the leaf to keep it wrapped up. With that done, he then put the items in the bag. He wished he had some string to keep the bones together, but Terron would have to make do with what he had.

"Thanks for helping with that," Terron said. "Now we have more ways to defeat other Pokémon."

"You're welcome," Zekra said pleasantly. "Though, I suppose we should really thank that Mienfoo since it dropped that body here."

Terron and Zekra looked up toward the wild Pokémon. As usual, it was watching the two, though this time, with a more curious and puzzled expression.

"Hey, thanks for the bones," Zekra said to the Mienfoo. "I doubt you can understand me… but thanks."

The fighting-type continued to stare at the two, not making any sort of sound.

"Well, I guess we should get going," Terron said. "We've got some bones to search for."

The two got to their feet and headed for the trail again. As they left, the two looked back at the odd Mienfoo to see what it would do.

The wild Pokémon remained in the tree, though it was casting a glance at the children. Terron and Zekra, upon seeing this, waved goodbye to it as they went on their way. They doubted it would understand what their gestures meant, but they still felt like doing such.

The two continued up the mountain, keeping their eyes peeled for any sort of fighting-types or dragons. They spotted a Shuckle sleeping nearby a rock right away, but both of the children knew that the Shuckle was rather useless to them. So, they continued on.

They ascended higher up the trail, noticing that they were getting to the clouds covering the mountain. Visibility would become limited soon, so the two became extra alert to find what they were looking for now.

Only five minutes had passed from this point, when the two spotted something trying to look for food within some shrubs. Curious to know what it was, the two quietly crept over to the sight.

Once they got close enough, Terron and Zekra could see what they had spotted: a Cubone.

It looked exactly like Terron, only it had quite a few scratches along its body. It was trying to pull fruit from deep within the plants. It didn't seem to notice the children watching it.

Zekra looked at the Cubone curiously, and then back at Terron. She found the contrast between the two Cubone very strange.

Terron, on the other hand, wasn't focusing on how much the wild Cubone looked like him. No, he was focusing on the wondrous skull helmet that was resting on the Cubone's head. The skull that was still stained in the blood of its original owner…

Terron could feel a grin creep onto his face. His entire being was tingling with excitement.

Zekra suddenly noticed Terron's behavior. She looked back at the wild Cubone, already knowing what was on Terron's mind.

The Zorua quietly made her way toward the wild one, her footsteps completely silent. Terron considered doing the same, but then he realized that he wasn't very talented at being stealthy. Zekra would probably do a better job since she was a predatory Pokémon and thus was used to doing this.

So, Terron watched from a distance as Zekra crept up to the wild Cubone. When she was only a few feet away from the target, she crouched low to the ground and began to crawl very slowly.

Terron held his breath, feeling he would explode from the anxiety coursing through him.

Zekra quickly pounced at the wild Cubone, knocking it to the ground. The two Pokémon tumbled along the ground as Zekra tried to find a way to pin the wild one down.

"EEEEKK!"

The Cubone started to scream as it took its own bone club and attempted to smack Zekra with it. The Zorua immediately bit the arm of the Cubone to make it release its weapon, but unfortunately, it only encouraged the wild Pokémon to flail its weapon around.

Terron immediately ran into the brawl, deciding to take measures into his own hands. He let out a battle cry as he charged at the two, raising his club into the air so he could strike his feral twin. The Cubone, once hearing his yelling, brought its attention away from Zekra and glanced over at Terron. It managed to get to its feet despite Zekra trying to hold it down and just as Terron was going to smack him, the feral threw its arm at Terron.

Zekra, who was attached to that arm, was flung off the ground and rammed into Terron. The impact wasn't strong enough to make her release her grip on the wild Cubone, but it did manage to make Terron fly into a bush. Zekra bit down harder on the Cubone's flesh when she saw this, causing it start hitting her repeatedly with the bone. It tried to get her to release her grip, but Zekra refused to let go. Claws came out of her paws as she swiped at the Cubone's body, trying to get the Cubone to stop attacking her.

Yet, all this did was encourage the Cubone to fight back more. The two became locked in a never- ending scuffle, each trying to get the other to surrender.

Terron slowly immerged from the plants, his body scratched up by the branches and twigs which had cushioned his fall. He could feel the sting of the cuts all over him, but the pain didn't matter to him. He ran toward the Cubone while it was distracted with Zekra and kicked it in the back. The Cubone fell to the ground, followed by Terron jumping onto its back.

Terron grabbed the skull helmet and started to pull it off the Cubone's head. The wild one, realizing that Terron was stealing his helmet, started squirming in an attempt to get up.

But before it could do so, Zekra jumped onto its back as well, further holding down the Cubone.

"You're not going anywhere until we get your helmet!" Terron shouted.

He stamped his foot onto the Cubone's back as he continued to yank at the skull. The helmet seemed to be stuck fast on its head, but Terron wouldn't give up. He needed that helmet.

"Zekra! Help me out!" Terron cried.

The Zorua quickly nodded as the pink light filled her outline and transformed her into a Cubone. She and Terron got on different shoulders of the Cubone and each pulled on a different side of the mask. The Cubone thrashed around more, desperately not wanting to lose the helmet.

"Give me your helmet, Cubone!" Terron shouted. "It's no longer yours!"

The helmet would still not come off the head. Terron grit his teeth.

"Pull harder, Zekra!" Terron commanded.

He and Zekra gave it all their might.

The skull started to crack from all the effort.

POP!

The mask suddenly came off the Cubone's head, flying out of Terron and Zekra's hands and landing a few feet away next to the mountainside.

The Cubone managed to knock Terron and Zekra off its back, causing them to tumble across the ground.

Rather than go after the mask, however, the Cubone took off in a hurry to a higher part of the mountain.

Terron and Zekra slowly got to their feet, feeling the pain in their backs from being tossed. Zekra slowly changed back to normal, her jaws feeling sore from keeping them locked onto the Cubone for so long.

Terron looked over at where the mask lay, and saw it was still there. He let out a sigh of relief, glad to know that it was all over. His quest for a helmet had ended. He could now claim this one and the only thing left to do would be to get a specific kind of bone.

The Cubone started to approach the weapon, eagerly wanting to put it upon his head. He didn't mind how the skull was cracked in various spots or how filthy it was; he had found what he needed.

It's finally mine… all mine…

The ground suddenly started to shake. Terron stopped moving, and his state of happiness abruptly ceased. He recognized this rumbling on the mountain.

CRASH!

A Lairon, the same Lairon from before, burst out of the side of the mountain a few feet in front of Terron. Apparently, this part of the mountain was part of its territory as well. The Cubone's eyes became wide when he saw what was directly in front of the Lairon's path.

It was headed right for his newfound helmet.

"NOOO!" Terron cried in despair.

But it was too late. He watched in horror as the steel Pokémon proceeded to run over the skull, snapping it into several pieces before stopping to address Terron.

Terron wasn't concerned about the Lairon, though. He was looking at the fractured pieces of the mask, the mask that was supposed to be his.

The mask that was beyond repair now.

Terron wasn't sure how to respond. He felt so consumed with misery, yet filled with so many other emotions…

"GRAA!"

The Lairon started to charge Terron.

All of those emotions filling Terron finally dissolved into a single one: rage.

Terron started to pant, feeling his muscles twitch as he reached into his bag to pull out something.

"Terron!" Zekra screamed. "Get out of the way, you moron!"

Terron didn't hear her.

He pulled out two bone thorns, and put one in each hand. He dropped his club so that he could use his new weapons more efficiently.

Terron brought his eyes up to the Lairon. They were burning with the intense anger from within him.

"YOU DESTROYED MY HELMET!" Terron shouted at the top of his lungs. "YOU TOOK AWAY THE ONE CHANCE I HAD AT FINDING ONE! YOU RUINED IT!"

Terron threw the bone fragments at the Lairon as it started to close in on him. The bones sailed into the air and struck the Lairon in both of its eyes just as it blinked.

The Cubone saw blood and tears begin to leak from the punctured eyes..

"WRRRRYY!"

The Lairon swerved out of the way and started to thrash around. It attempted to pull the bones that were stuck in its eyes, but seemed to have no luck.

Terron picked his club from off the ground and charged forward, and while the Lairon was momentarily distracted, he started to strike the Lairon's body with the bone. His attacks didn't do much due to the wild Pokémon's thick armor, but he wouldn't stop. He continued to bash his weapon into the Lairon's steely form.

"Terron, stop!" Zekra cried as she ran over to him. "You're not doing anything! Just let it go!"

"No!" Terron said loudly. "I don't care! Leave me alone!"

Zekra attempted to grab Terron's weapon, but he had learned his lesson from last time, and avoided Zekra's lunges.

As the two fought, the Lairon managed to get over the shock of having its eyeballs punctured. Following the sounds of their bickering, it figured out where they were. It rammed its head into the two of them, knocking them both back into the mountainside. It then ran toward them again, having heard them crash, its eyes filled with a rage within its bloody state.

Zekra and Terron attempted to get up, but their movement was delayed due to the powerful attack.

They found they weren't able to get up as quickly as they wanted to.

Zekra and Terron's eyes grew wide as they watched the steel Pokémon charge at them.

There was nothing they could do.

"MEEIII!"

A low, feminine cry filled the air.

Without warning, a particular Mienfoo sprinted across the ground at high speeds before jumping onto the Lairon's back.

Before the steel-type could react, the Mienfoo put her palm onto the armored side of the Lairon.

BOOOM!

A white light erupted from the Mienfoo's palm before it centralized into a pillar of energy. The Mienfoo jumped off the Lairon as the light blew the steel-type away. The Lairon was tossed across the ground despite how heavy it was, its momentum not ceasing. Eventually, the Lairon fell off the side of the mountain. Its cries could be heard for a few seconds until it hit the very bottom of the mountain.

Terron and Zekra could only imagine if it lived or not.

The Mienfoo gracefully landed back on the ground, her back turned to the children.

The two looked at the fighting-type, their mouths hanging open.

The wild one turned her head at the two, seeing their shocked expressions. Yet, she did nothing. She continued to stand there, like she had the other two times Terron and Zekra saw her.

"Why… Why did that Mienfoo just save us?" Terron asked.

"I don't know," Zekra said, equally in disbelief. "I thought wild Pokémon didn't care about us…"

The Mienfoo started to leave, apparently no longer seeing a purpose in sticking around.

"Hey, wait!" Zekra called to the wild one.

The fighting-type stopped and looked over at Zekra. Zekra tiredly got to her feet and made her way over to the Mienfoo. Unfortunately, the Mienfoo became spooked by this and ran off. She disappeared to a lower portion of the mountain.

Zekra stopped walking and let out a sigh.

"Well, maybe she'll come back," Zekra said in disappointment. "She always shows up for no reason anyway. Just wish I knew why she's following us and why she helped us…"

The Zorua looked back at Terron, who had just pulled out an Oran Berry from the bag. He no longer seemed angry, possibly because the Lairon had been dealt justice. Zekra made her way back to him as he slowly tore the berry apart for the two of them to share.

Zekra sat down as she took her share of the fruit. She and Terron ate in silence, the two trying to gain back their strength.

"… I'm sorry," Zekra said after a while.

"For what?" Terron asked.

"You know, the helmet," Zekra said quietly. "I know you really wanted it. I wish there was some way I could have saved it."

Terron felt a pang of sadness upon being reminded that his prized mask was destroyed. Still, he realized that he couldn't let that get to him. There was no point in dwelling over it.

"It's not your fault," Terron said. "It's mine for not getting it fast enough. But, we'll find another helmet. There's probably other Cubone around here. And if not, well, we always have the market. So, don't feel bad."

Zekra nodded silently, still appearing gloomy about the incident. Terron, however, suspected she was feeling bad not for herself, but for him.

Once the fruit was finished, the two continued on their way up the mountain. They didn't spot the Mienfoo anywhere, but they didn't worry about her. She was a wild Pokémon after all; they'd be leaving her after this journey was finished.

The two went up to the foggy parts of the mountain where the clouds masked everything around them. The clouds were thin, and the two could see the path they walked upon, but it was still hard to tell if there were any wild Pokémon in the area.

After searching thirty minutes for some bones to suit Terron's arsenal of weapons and finding nothing, the two felt it was time to head back. They had been on this mountain for what felt like an hour. If they wanted to get back in time, it was best to go back down the mountain at the moment.

Terron was disappointed that they didn't find anything, but perhaps they'd find something on the way back down.

Just as the two started to head down the mountain, there was a voice.

"Why did they have to send me here when anyone but me could have easily done this mission instead?"

Terron and Zekra stopped. The voice sounded near. The two couldn't see the source of the voice due to the fog in the area, but they could tell where it was coming from.

Curious to know what was going on, the children went toward the voice. It was a little ways up the mountain, in a somewhat large, open space that was almost like a field. No grass grew on this field, which was a bit of a change from how the ground was for a while. The fog was also much thinner here, allowing for almost the same amount of visibility as there might have been if there was no fog.

Zekra and Terron didn't pay attention to that, though. Instead, their sights were focused on a Weavile that was in this open space with the carcass of an Aggron. How that Weavile had managed to take down the Aggron was a mystery to the children, but nonetheless, it was the truth.

Wrapped around the Weavile's neck was a tattered, scarlet-colored scarf, presumably damaged in the battle with the steel-type. A bag sat beside the Weavile's side.

The Weavile sighed in exasperation.

"Whatever. I've got what I need done," the Weavile said. "Better get this over with."

Terron and Zekra watched with curiosity as the Weavile grabbed a section of the Aggron's armor. He started to pull, attempting to pry off the steel that coated the wild Pokémon. As figured, the steel wouldn't come off. It was a permanent part of the Aggron's body.

"Tch, should have figured that this wasn't going to be easy," the Weavile scoffed. "Of course they ask for the materials that are the hardest to get ahold of. Figures of them. Even the Fellowship is better than them when it comes to giving tasks to specific Pokémon. Well, whatever. Guess I'll have to try another way…"

"What's that Weavile talking about?" Terron asked, talking under his breath.

Suddenly, the Weavile turned his head toward the two. He had heard Terron talking, despite how quiet the remark had been.

Before the children could take off running, the Weavile had already sped toward them and stopped in front of them. He looked upon Terron and Zekra with a disapproving glare.

"Why, it seems I've got two eavesdroppers," the Weavile stated. "And what brings you here?"

"Um, we were just looking for something here," Terron said reluctantly.

"Oh, is that so?" the Weavile asked. "Funny, so was I. And how funny that you decided to spy on me after I found what I needed."

"Well, we were just gonna get going anyway," Zekra said hastily, sounding rather timid as well. "We see you're not doing anything really notable and now we're just gonna go…"

Terron and Zekra tried to get around the Weavile, both desperately wanting to get away from this strange Pokémon.

The Weavile blocked both of their paths with his sharp claws. The children backed away.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I can't let you do that," the Weavile spoke. "In fact, I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you now. No one is supposed to see me around here."

Zekra and Terron's hearts stopped.

"You can't be serious!" Zekra cried. "We don't even know who you are! You don't know who we are! We don't even know what's going on!"

"Your names aren't of importance," the Weavile said, "nor is your amount of knowledge. You've seen me. I don't let Pokémon see me, nor do I let them see what I've done. That could have serious consequences… consequences that I don't wish to face."

"Consequences?" Zekra repeated oddly. "What does that even mean? What are you talking about?"

"Those questions can't be answered," the Weavile said before taking a hostile pose. "Sorry, but you're not allowed to know I exist anymore. I won't take that risk. Even if you look harmless… you can't stay alive with the knowledge that I exist. No one can."

The Weavile's claws started to glow with a white, metallic energy.

"You're not allowed to know anything," the Weavile said. "I can't afford it. The Fellowship might know… or perhaps the others will…"

"Others…?" Terron asked quietly.

"No more questions" the Weavile spoke harshly. "You're still alive and aware of my presence and know that I killed that Aggron. I can't let things stay this way."

Before Terron or Zekra could ask more, the strange Pokémon suddenly rushed forward, with his claws ready to slash the two into pieces.