{Appox. 9 years ago}

With the Z-Crystal working for me, I was able to do Z-Moves with Rowlet and Ralts no problem. I would feel a little drained, but it was much more comparable than without the Z-Crystal, which still almost knocked me out. Oranguru was pleased with my progress. He noted that Ralts' Z-Move was called Shattered Psyche. This was intriguing to him because that Z-Move was usually known to activate through a Psychium-Z, but my Z-Crystal could also produce Grass-type Z-Moves like a he still refused to verify in detail his abundant human knowledge, he allowed me to call this unknown Z-Crystal of mine 'Proteanium-Z'.

Ralts was eager to try out her new Z-Move on anybody to see how strong she was. Unfortunately, everyone was less than eager to take on a full-blown Z-Move. Jangmo-o offered multiple times, but she felt uncomfortable doing the move on one of my teammates first. Except Zorua, but he was basically immune.

Rowlet, Jangmo-o, and I followed her around the forest, looking for anyone she could battle. Zorua followed me, still trying to mimic me with his Illusion ability. He kept doing funny poses, which made a lot of passerby ally Pokémon laugh. I wanted to punch his face for making a mockery of me, but it was my face, and it did help lure Pokémon out for Ralts to ask.

Then, we came across the Scyther. A loyalist to Oranguru, he often patrolled the inner forest, being the last line of defense for Oranguru's camp in case the flying Pokémon attacked that far. While appearing docile, he was willing to challenge any opposition for his leader. He first looked disinterested when he saw Zorua-Will trying to show off.

Zorua turned back to his normal form, displeased with the response. He walked away and vanished through the bushes.

Then Ralts tapped Scyther's leg. He looked down at her sternly. Unnerved at first, she bowed her head. [Please, Scyther. Everyone else has denied me my request for a battle. As one of the strongest of Oranguru's circle, I will not disappoint you if you accept my challenge.]

Scyther stared at her for a second. Then he spoke back, which sounded like a mix between barking and scissors cutting paper.

Ralts cheered, [Oh thank you! So how do you…?]

He spoke deliberately, also directing his attention to the rest of us.

[Oh. Right here? That's fine.] Ralts rushed near me, then turned to face Scyther.

The Mantis Pokémon rubbed his scythes together as he rhythmically moved side to side on his toes.

Rowlet and Jangmo-o got behind me, while I focused on the battle about to start. [Scyther is a pretty strong Pokemon, so be careful, Ralts.]

She nodded, [I'll only need one move to defeat him. But just in case, I'll use Double Team first.] She preceded to make dozens of duplicate images of herself.

Scyther glanced at each copy, like he was trying to find the real Ralts.

[I'm in position,] said Ralts. [Let's do it now!]

[Alright.] I placed a hand on my pocket with the Proteanium-Z. With my other hand, I reached out in front of me. My Z-Crystal glowed light purple. Energy surged from the crystal toward Ralts.

But Scyther caught on to what was happening. In the blink of an eye, he dashed to Ralts and struck a hard swipe at her.

She screamed in pain as she fainted.

I was taken aback. [What…how?! He's fast!]

Scyther turned toward me and pointed a scythe as he spoke sternly.

Rowlet looked surprised. [He says he accepted to face all of us.]

Jangmo-o grinned and charged at Scyther with a Tackle attack.

Scyther moved to the side and swiped Jangmo-o, knocking him out as well.

[He's using Agility,] Rowlet continued. [That's why he's so fast.]

[Then…we work on defense,] I replied. [Rowlet, use Curse.]

Rowlet flew in front of me, then had a ghostly aura surround him.

Scyther flinched for a second, then crouched a little. His eyes focused squarely on Rowlet.

[Flying-type moves are super-effective, so use Peck!] I commanded.

Rowlet did as he was told, flying beak-first at Scyther. But Scyther dodged effortlessly.

[Shoot! I forgot his Curse also makes him slower. At least he's bulkier now…]

Scyther made a different swiping motion on Rowlet. With a hard slam, the Grass Quill Pokémon was buried in the dirt.

I just stared with my mouth open. "All three…each in one shot…"

As Scyther stepped away from Rowlet, the Grass Quill Pokémon slowly got to his feet. [Ow. That Fury Cutter hurt a lot for its first use.]

Ralts and Jangmo-o also got to their feet. Battered, but relatively okay.

[You guys are fine? But those hits looked harsh…] Then I noticed Scyther motioning me to approach him. I flinched, "Wait…me? Fight?" I waved my hands in front of me. "No no no. I don't…humans don't…"

Scyther growled and lunged at me. He approached me so fast, I barely had time to pull my arms in front of my head in helpless defense. I expected a swipe of his scythe like he did to my teammates. But instead, he kicked me in the gut. After I fell on my back, he lodged both his scythes into the ground, mere centimeters from my head.

My body grew stiff with fear. Scyther leaned in close, growling from the back of his throat as he crossly stared me down. "W-what do you want?" I whimpered.

He snorted in response. Then he stood back up, freeing his scythe hands from the ground.

I scrambled to my feet, leery of any sudden movements he could make. "Y-you are definitely one of Oranguru's most powerful allies. If I was a Pokémon trainer, I would want to catch you. It would be a worthy challenge…"

Scyther made a longer reply, directed at my partners and I. As he did so, he walked away from us.

Ralts slowly approached my side. She frowned, [He follows Oranguru because he defeated him in battle. He is willing to follow you, Will. If you lead us to a victory against him.]

I pondered for a second. [He would be a strong ally for me. Give us more of a presence against the flying Pokémon.]

Rowlet weakly perched on my shoulder. [That's good and all, but can we go back to our camp? Ralts and Jangmo-o took a False Swipe attack, but I took a Fury Cutter. I really need a berry right about now.]

I nodded and lead us back to camp, where we stayed for the remainder of the day.

Overnight and into the next day, my thoughts were concerned with how we could defeat Scyther. "Scyther is a Bug and Flying-type. He knows Fury Cutter, Agility, False Swipe, and Focus Energy. Ralts and Rowlet are both vulnerable to Bug-type attacks. And Zorua, too, if he ever cared to join us. Jangmo-o would be our best shot, but I don't have a telepathic link with him yet, and he isn't fast enough to match Scyther's speed. Speed and type-advantage; that's what we're missing. But who could we…"

[Um, Will?] Rowlet tapped my back. [You're thinking out loud again, and it's becoming a run-on.]

[Oh. Sorry.] I focused back to gathering berries with my partners.

Zorua wasn't with us this time, which we didn't mind. Jangmo-o was in charge of hauling and guarding our basket, while Ralts, Rowlet, and I searched and picked berries. As usual, the berries from the bushes were very hard to find, competing against Orangurus other allies that came through. What little we did find acceptable were still withered and bland. But at least it was better than starving.

A clutched my stomach as I sampled a different-shaped berry. "Uck! There has got to be I way I can make this taste…"

Suddenly, a flock of flying Pokemon buzz overhead. We looked up, even though the canopy covered any view of them. Their loud squawks and buzzing indicated their direction heading southward.

[They must have spotted one of our allies,] said Rowlet.

I nodded, [Let's check it out, then.]

We sprint after the flying Pokemon, although Jangmo-o lagged behind with the basket dragging him down. Not too far from where we were, we reached the commotion.

Branches shook violently. Then, the group of Mankey appear, hopping from branch to branch. When one of them stopped on the lowest branch, they dropped a berry on a developing pile on the ground.

"They must be making their risky run of good berries near the treetops, again," I thought. "Then if the Mankey are here, that must mean…"

Suddenly, frost spread through the trees. Then, the Sneasel fell to the ground. He groaned as the wind got knocked out of him from impact.

I winced, "Shoot, not going well this time!"

Shortly after the Sneasel, a bunch of Beedrill, Ledian, and Staravia flew out of the trees. They snatched up each of the panicking Mankey, as well as a few berries from their pile.

"This isn't good at all!" I turned to Ralts. "Go back to Jangmo-o and defend our own stash."

She nodded and vanished with a Teleport.

I turned to Rowlet next. "We need to help them all."

Rowlet looked uneasy. [I don't know if just the two of us can save all those Mankey.]

"Then we do our best, and nuke the remaining flying Pokémon."

He nodded, then flew toward a pair of Ledian each holding a struggling Mankey. [Get back here, you…]

The shadow of two Pokémon whooshed across Rowlet's path, cutting him off. Rowlet and I turned to see who it was, and gasped.

It was Farfetch'd. And he was alongside a Swanna. The two confronted the Sneasel, who got to his feet. Farfetch'd angrily pointed and squawked at the Sneasel.

The Sharp Claw Pokemon returned with an insolent look, sort of like the look I sometimes gave when I got away with a trick.

Fuming, Farfetch'd ordered the Swanna to attack. The White Bird Pokemon thrust its wings, creating sharp disks of air sent at the opponent. The Sneasel dodged the attack effortlessly. Then he attacked by with a wave of his arm, sending a blast of cold air.

I watched Sneasel fight, amazed. "His speed. Practically matches Scyther's speed…" I snapped my attention away, remembering Rowlet.

He also got distracted by the appearance of his father, and looked around. Unfortunately for us, all the Mankey were snatched away, disappearing beyond the canopy layer. Some Beedrill remained to snatch the berry pile.

Rowlet and I turned back to the main fight. Sneasel rushed at Swanna with a Feint Attack. But the Swanna summoned a wavy stream of water that circled her body. Then the Swanna released the water to hit Sneasel. The White Bird Pokemon seemed hardly damaged by this point, while Sneasel looked beaten up and confused.

Farfetch'd laughed, then prepared to strike Sneasel himself.

I stepped toward him, while Rowlet flew in front of me. "Enough!" We both shouted.

Farfetch'd, Sneasel, and the Swanna gasped as they looked toward us. Slightly flustered, Farfetch'd squawked again, which apparently called for Swanna and the Beedrill to attack us.

I crouched low, while Rowlet landed on the ground. "You are not wanted here!" My Proteanium-Z glowed green. I sprang to my feet, my arms high in the air. "Bloom Doom!" I shouted.

The energy unleashed from both Rowlet and the Z-Crystal. Pedals burst from the ground and the trees. Then they surrounded Farfetch'd, the Swanna, and the Beedrill. Farfetch'd was in a panic and tried to retreat, but it was too late. The Z-Move finished with a huge explosion, sending them high into the trees and out of sight.

I winced as I gave Rowlet a thumbs-up. "Good one. Worked like we practiced."

Rowlet grinned, [Now I got two Z-Moves for options!]

Ralts and Jangmo-o caught up to us, and we all approached Sneasel to help him to his feet. Sneasel mumbled begrudgingly, looking between us and all around. Then he lowered his head in shame as he continued mumbling.

Ralts put a hand on his side. [It's not your fault you lost. They caught you with the element of surprise, and overwhelmed you with a type advantage.]

Sneasel angrily spoke back, pointing toward the canopy.

Rowlet approached him this time. [Yeah, I know how that feels. Losing your group is not fun.]

I cleared my throat, then crouched to Sneasel's level. "I know what losing those you knew feels like. If you're unhappy with being alone after losing all the Mankey…then would you like to join us?"

Sneasel's eyes widened a bit, but he gave me a skeptical look.

Jangmo-o wagged his tail and spoke enthusiastically.

[Yeah, you could train with us and get stronger.] Rowlet continued off of whatever Jangmo-o said.

[We may not be Mankey, but we could be together as a new group.]

Sneasel thought for a moment, then murmured something in a down-casting way.

"We'll need him for our rematch with Scyther." I sighed, "We're not forcing you to make any decision you don't feel comfortable with. But seeing you in action a few times, I can tell you are an amazing Pokémon. You lead your Mankey team well, and seem to have great strategies when it comes to getting your opponents to look the other way." I motion to what remained of his berry pile. "If it helps, you can lead us in getting more berries like that sometimes. We'll even offer to be the distractions if you prefer…"

The moment I said 'lead', I had his attention. He pondered a bit, with a wicked smile growing with each passing second. Then he nodded with a determined grunt.

I smiled back. "If that means yes, welcome to your new teammates."

Sneasel grinned, then put an arm around Ralts as he said something to her.

She was unamused and politely nudged his arm off. [Yeah, no. Dark Pokémon are not my type.]

He shrugged indifferently, then went to the berry stash to pick up what he can.

"We'll help you," I said. There was enough for Sneasel, Ralts, and I to carry in our arms, while Rowlet and Jangmo-o were in charge of our own basket of berries. "I got a good place to hide these."

I guess he caught my mouth drooling over the lusher, sweeter smelling berries, because Sneasel pointed it out and waved a claw.

I blushed. "Oh…sorry."

[We promise we won't eat these berries if you don't want us to,] Ralts replied. [You found them, so it's only fair you…keep them…] Her own eyes glazed over the berries she was carrying.

Sneasel smirked, then slyly pointed at his berries as she said something to her.

She slightly blushed, turning her face the other way. [How typical; bribing a girl with free food in exchange for a date.] But she sighed when her stomach growled loudly for its size. [Oh fine.] She pointed a finger at the Sharp Claw Pokémon. [But just this once, and it's not a date!]

Sneasel agreed, showing no sign of offense taken.

I leaned over to Sneasel. "Since you have some experience, I was wondering if you'd like to share some tips. We have a…battle challenge…"

{Present day}

[So what's the new mission?] Knave asked. He had is arms crossed, but looked eager to hear my Team Smear plans as usual.

I stepped closer to him, now that he looked finished with his Brick Break exercises. We stood at the bottom of the large hill of the rocky half of the island. "It's a big one," I finally replied.

The Sharp Claw Pokémon grinned. [So what's the skinny?]

"According to sources, Team Celeste's main Unova base is at the top of a mountain, completely off the public charts. And it's really cold and snowy."

[So you're going to need someone who can withstand extreme cold…not like you.]

"Hey…I'll…cover for that soon. But besides the cold, the main team I set up needs to be covert. Likely need to steal some key cards or stuff like that to navigate, given the importance of the building."

He sharpened his claws. [You came to the right guy! My Pickpocket ability will make snatching a cinch. And no grunt will see me coming and going with my Agility.]

I nodded. "You're an obvious, but very good pick for my heist mission. Glad I could count on you."

[Of course…] He gave me an uneasy smile.

"Sorry if I make you uncomfortable. I know everyone on this team's got different opinions of my long absence. If that's the case…"

[It's not that,] he replied quickly. [It's just…I'm glad you trust me on such important missions. I…admire how you lead this team. I like…and I want to be a leader. But…the Horde Battle we went through. You trusted me to lead all those Pokémon you couldn't telepathically communicate with. And…I buckled under pressure…]

I put a hand on his head and gave him a warm smile. "It's not all your fault. It was a sudden play on my part, and I was just as bewildered as you. Perhaps I was more focused on the opposing trainer, but I'm sure I would have felt the same way as you."

[Yeah, but…]

"You put a lot of responsibility on your shoulders when you lead. That is a great quality to have. But just know where your limits start and end." I stepped back. "So…you still good to join the mission when I'm ready to begin?"

Knave the Weavile grinned, bearing his claws. [I'm ready and waiting!]