Chapter 27: The Rise of Team Perfect Apple

"Wait, friendly friend!" Wigglytuff pleaded, holding his hands in a placating manner in order to stave off Mew's impending attack. "Chatot and I are explorers, not thieves! If you don't want us to go into the Treasure's Clearing, then we won't. We just need help getting out of the forest and finding my Perfect Apple… oh! And finding my other friends, too!" he assured (causing Chatot to sigh in exasperation at the fact that his other friends had only been added as an afterthought).

Mew stopped short, and the energy in his hands died down. He looked at the pair suspiciously before grabbing the fragment around his neck and turning his back on them. A bright light seemed to shine from his chest area, and he slightly turned his head back to look at them with white, glowing eyes. Immediately he relaxed, dropped the fragment, and turned back around fully. The glowing of his eyes died down and he smiled.

"Yes… I believe you," he told them. "Your auras… they're so nice! You couldn't possibly be the ones he was talking about!"

At Chatot and Wigglytuff's confused looks, Mew explained, "Recently I was warned that there would be an attempt to try to steal from the Treasure's Clearing, and…" he paused and his eyes widened. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "I have to go! If there really is going to be a theft attempt, then I have to stop it!"

He began to race off, calling back, "Wait there! I'll help you find your friends and the exit after I take care of this!"

"Thank you, friendly friend!" Wigglytuff called after him. "Oh! And if you see my Perfect Apple, be sure to bring it back for me!"

Chatot tried his best to resist the urge to bang his head against a tree.

Mew sped through the forest until he had reached the very edge of where the white flowers began growing. He glanced around before heading in deeper, but froze when he heard a voice to his right.

"Hey, there."

Mew spun around, tightening the grip on his bag. But when he saw who it was, he instantly relaxed.

"Cacturne! It's you!" he greeted in relief. "What are you doing here?"

Cacturne, who had been leaning against a tree, straightened up and moved towards him. "I have some more information on the thief. I know who it is," he explained.

"Really? Who is it?" Mew asked. He began to move closer… but he froze when the fragment around his neck began to glow. He gripped it in confusion, and the instant he did so, his eyes began to glow. He looked over at Cacturne… and his expression became one of horror and betrayal.

"It's me!" Cacturne revealed, sending a pulse of dark energy from his hands. "Dark Pulse!"

Mew screamed in agony as the super-effective attack hit him and sent him sprawling to the ground. Cacturne continued to attack, until Mew was left on the very brink of consciousness. Then Cacturne took the bag that Mew had been so protective of and began to walk away with it.

"N-no… the T-Treasure's… Gifts…" he whispered hoarsely. "Have to… get them… back…!"

Mew pushed through the spots crowding his vision and was able to use his psychic powers to tear a hole in the bag… but the hole was so small that only one of the precious items within the bag fell out. But that one small act drained Mew of his remaining power, and he blacked out before he could do anything more…

Meanwhile…

Chatot and Wigglytuff were obediently waiting for Mew to return. Wigglytuff had gotten out the Perfect Apple Chatot had given him and was dancing around with it again, while Chatot observed and tried to sort through his thoughts.

"Is… is he really an explorer?" Chatot wondered. "He was pretty strong when we defeated those wild pokémon earlier, but when he's like this…"

The sound of a scream pierced the air and cut through Chatot's musings.

"Squawk! What was that?!" he exclaimed.

"That sounded like friendly-friend Mew!" Wigglytuff gasped when he recognized it. "Come on, Chatot! Let's go!"

The two raced in the direction of the scream and were stunned when they found Mew, unconscious on the ground, bruises covering his body, his bag nowhere in sight.

"Squawk! Mew!" Chatot exclaimed, hurriedly searching through his treasure bag for a Reviver Seed. "Oh my goodness! What happened?!"

He found the seed and forced it down Mew's throat, instantly waking him up.

Mew moaned as his eyes fluttered open. He took in his surroundings, and his eyes clouded with confusion. "Ch-Chatot…? W-Wigglytuff…? Wh-what are you… doing here? I thought I… t-told… you to… stay…"

"We heard you scream and rushed over!" Wigglytuff explained, surprising Chatot by how serious he sounded. "What happened? And where's your treasure bag?"

Mew's eyes clouded further with confusion before they widened as his memories caught up with him. He bolted upright, wincing at the pain, and exclaimed, "That's right! He took it! That bag… it had the Treasure's precious Gifts in it! Cacturne… he tricked me!"

Chatot gasped. "Did you say Cacturne? We saw a cacturne shortly before we met you! He mentioned something about needing a gift to get into the Treasure's Clearing…"

Mew looked even more horrified. "No, no, no! He can't go in there! I have to stop him!" he said frantically, attempting to get up. But his injuries were still severe enough that he couldn't manage it and fell back down.

"You're in no condition to do anything, Mew. Just wait here," Wigglytuff said, once more surprising Chatot with his seriousness. But the surprise vanished when Wigglytuff suddenly grinned and promised, "We'll go get your bag back!"

"You'd… you'd really do that…?" Mew asked hopefully.

Wigglytuff nodded. "Of course!"

"But wait a moment!" Chatot interjected, causing Wigglytuff to look at him in surprise. "Cacturne fled deeper into the field of flowers, right? How will we go after him? If we go any farther, a whirlwind will appear and blow us off course!"

"Is that what you're worried about?" Wigglytuff asked. "It's all right! Mew will help us! After all, if he's the guardian of the Treasure's Clearing, then he must know a way in, right?" he explained, turning to Mew expectantly.

Mew was wearing a stunned expression on his face, but he quickly shook it off and answered, "Yes… the way in… you need one of the Gifts that was in the bag Cacturne took."

"Squawk! What?! Then what do we do now?!" Chatot demanded, flapping his wings. "If he took all of them, then how are we supposed to proceed?!"

"It's okay… I managed to save one," Mew said, indicating to the spot where the item had fallen out of the bag. "It's not as big as the others, but…"

Wigglytuff hurried over to the spot and looked around. His eyes lit up when he found it, and he exclaimed, "Ooh! Pretty!"

The he picked the item up and headed back for confirmation. "Is this it?" he asked, showing it to Mew.

The item… it was a crystal. It was very small, but it was also very exquisite. It looked like a rainbow that had obtained solid form…

Mew nodded, and Chatot looked at the crystal in disbelief. "But it's so tiny!" Chatot exclaimed in dismay. "How will this protect us from the whirlwinds?"

Mew shook his head. "Don't let its small size fool you," he cautioned. "It may be tiny… but that one small crystal is more valuable and precious than all the Time Gears combined!"

Chatot jolted in shock before whipping his head up to see Mew's deadly-serious expression. Then his eyes widened and his gaze turned towards the flower patch. "And Cacturne has a whole bag full of them?!" he demanded. Then he grabbed Wiggytuff's arm and ordered, "Wigglytuff! We need to hurry!"

As the two sped off, Mew called after them, "I'll catch up when I can!"

Wigglytuff and Chatot raced through the Friendly Forest, the flowers growing in thicker patches the further they went. Once the two began to glow with their respective auras they hesitated, wary of whirlwinds. They became nervous when the wind picked up… but then the tiny crystal began to glow and the air became still once more. The duo shared a grin before racing onwards again… only to freeze when they heard a familiar sounding voice.

"So you figured out the secret too, huh?"

Wigglytuff and Chatot slowly turned around to face the voice's owner, and were unsurprised to see Cacturne, once again, leaning against a tree. He was tossing a glowing, rainbow-colored crystal—that was significantly bigger than the one in Wigglytuff and Chatot's possession—into the air and was surrounded by an aura of a rather sinister-looking shade of red.

"It took me months to figure it out and gain Mew's trust…" Cacturne continued nonchalantly, heedless to the duo's glares.

"How could you betray friendly-friend Mew like that?" Wigglytuff demanded. "You're nothing but a big meanie!"

Chatot slapped a wing to his face at the juvenile insult, but Cacturne just chuckled and replied, "Perhaps… but at least I'll soon be a 'big meanie' who's in possession of a fabulous treasure!" He spread out his arms before ordering, "Now, my minions! Attack them!"

At that order, a horde of geodudes dropped from the trees and surrounded Wigglytuff and Chatot, attacking them and giving Cacturne ample time to flee. Chatot struggled to beat back his opponents—as they were Rock-types and he was a Flying-type—and the battle began to take a serious toll on him. Wigglytuff took notice of this and intervened, taking out enemies left and right.

"YOOM-TAH!"

With one final attack, the remaining geodudes were knocked out. Immediately after that, a whirlwind blew them away. Wiggltyuff and Chatot were surprised, but then they saw that each geodude had been holding a crystal which had dropped to the ground when they were defeated and no longer gave them protection.

Wigglytuff turned back to Chatot and asked, "Chatot, are you all right?"

Chatot looked upset. He was staring at the ground, his eyes sad. "…He was right," he muttered.

"Huh?" Wigglytuff asked.

"My brother," Chatot explained with a sigh. "He said that I should just give up on my dreams of exploring and just stay as his back-up singer because… I just don't have what it takes to be an explorer…"

Wigglytuff frowned before giving a sigh of his own. "Oh, Chatot…" Then he tugged Chatot up off the ground and gave him a gentle smile, saying, "Come on. We still have work to do."

Wigglytuff went and gathered the crystals that had been dropped. After putting them all into his treasure bag, he noted, "It looks like getting rid of the crystals will make the whirlwinds appear. We should be careful with ours. Now let's go get that meanie-Cacturne!

Chatot was still downcast as they continued through the forest. Eventually they came to a spot where the flowers grew so thickly that the forest floor was basically carpeted with them, and the strong scent that they were giving off would have made them feel slightly intoxicated had they not gotten used to it during their trek. They would have gone even deeper into the forest… had there not been a veritable wall of thorns blocking the path. But they weren't the only ones who were stuck—Cacturne was also there, looking frustrated and trying to find a way through.

"I don't get it…" he muttered angrily, unaware that he had an audience. "Why aren't these 'Gifts' working? They prevented the whirlwinds… so why aren't they revealing the path now?"

Wigglytuff decided to make his presence known. "Cacturne!" he yelled. "Stop right there!"

Cacturne whipped around, shock clearly displayed on his features. But he quickly traded his surprised expression with one of simmering rage.

"…So you two managed to defeat my minions? Well, good for you. But you're the ones who will be stopping!" Cacturne declared, throwing a Dark Pulse at Wigglytuff.

Wigglytuff managed to dodge before immediately coming back with DoubleSlap. It hit, but it didn't do very much damage. Cacturne was really strong! Even Chatot's Flying-type moves—which should have been super-effective—were barely having an impact! Cacturne used Dark Pulse on Wigglytuff again, and this time Wigglytuff was unable to dodge. What was worse was that the move caused Wigglytuff to cringe, leaving him helpless as Cacturne began to wail on him with the super-effective move Brick Break!

"W-Wigglytuff!" Chatot called out in worry.

"Waah! Chatot! Help me!" Wigglytuff cried.

"B-but what can I do?!" Chatot asked desperately. "My moves aren't having any effect! I'm just… I'm just so useless! I'm not good for anything but a back-up singer!"

Wigglytuff would have shaken his head had the cringing not prevented it. "No, Chatot! You're so much more than a back-up singer!" he assured. "You're an explorer, my friendly-friend… and my partner!"

"P-Partner…?" Chatot repeated in surprise. "Not… not just a singer…?" he wondered. Then his eyes widened as he got an idea. "Wait a minute… singer…?" he murmured. "That's it! Sing!"

With that, Chatot began to sing a lullaby. Cacturne tried his best to keep his eyes open, but he failed and fell deeply asleep, giving Chatot ample time to wear him down with Peck. Wigglytuff stopped cringing and joined in the fun as well. Just before the finishing blow, Cacturne woke up.

"NO!" he cried. But it was no use.

"Peck!"

"YOOM-TAH!"

With that, Cacturne was defeated. He dropped the bag that he had stolen from Mew, and a whirlwind immediately came and blew him away. After his screams of, "AIEE!" died down to an echo, Chatot slumped over in exhaustion.

"We… we did it…!" he panted.

"Yay! Yay!" Wigglytuff exclaimed, before grabbing Chatot (ignoring his protests) and starting to dance around with him. "We did it! We did it!"

"You did it!" a happy voice called from behind them, causing them to turn around. They grinned when they saw who it was.

"Mew!"

"Friendly-friend Mew!"

Mew grinned as he floated over. He still looked a bit battered, but he was holding steady. He was also surrounded by an aura. It was pink, like Wigglytuff's, but his had more of a pastel shade while Wigglytuff's was hot-pink.

Wigglytuff and Chatot crowded around him.

"Friendly friend! You're okay!" Wigglytuff said happily, pulling Mew into a hug.

Chatot grinned, but then a thought occurred to him. He decided to voice it, "But, Mew! You don't have any crystals… so how are you avoiding the whirlwinds?"

Mew held up the chain and glowing fragment around his neck. "It's because of my necklace, see?" he explained. Then he turned around and glided backwards towards the thorny wall. "Now…" he began, "would you like to see why these crystals are so important?" he asked, causing the duo's eyes to widen in surprise. Mew grinned. "Come on, I'll show you."

He placed his hands on the thorny wall and let his aura flow into it. White roses bloomed, and the whole thing parted, like a curtain, to allow entry. Mew began to move forward, but he paused when he noticed that neither Wigglytuff nor Chatot were following, as they were still frozen in surprise.

Mew laughed, "It's all right. After everything you've done… how could you not be allowed to see the Treasure's Clearing?"

He grabbed hold of the two and practically dragged them through the rosy curtain…

Wigglytuff and Chatot gasped in awe at what they saw on the other side. The area they were in… it just seemed so beautiful and pure. There was a canopy of trees above them, the boughs filled to bursting with white blossoms. The falling petals reminded them of snow. The only hint of color that could be seen on the ground was yellow, from the center of the flowers that had grown in such abundance on the opposite side of the curtain.

Mew let go of the exploring duo and cupped his hand to his mouth. "Everyone! I'm back!" he called out.

Immediately, a group of unown swarmed him. They were all surrounded by auras of varying shades of purple, and they circled the group even as they continued to move forward. They all seemed very happy, and the air was soon filled with their chatter.

"Mew!"

"Mew is back!"

"Mew brought guests!"

"Hello, Guests!"

Their constant circling made Chatot feel dizzy, but Wigglytuff seemed ecstatic. "Wow! Mew has lots of unown friendly friends!"

An unown A noticed Mew's glowing, bulging treasure bag and happily exclaimed, "Oh! The Gift! Mew brought more of Treasure's Gift!"

As the unown all cheered, Chatot frowned. "I've been meaning to ask…" he began, "why does everyone keep calling those crystals 'Gifts?'"

Mew grinned. "I think they technically have another name, but my Master always called them 'Gifts,' so we do too. As for why they're called that… it's because that's what they are," he explained. Chatot just looked at him in confusion, so he further explained, "These crystals are a part of what the Treasure sacrificed during the world's creation. Without that sacrifice… our world wouldn't be the same as it is today, assuming that it even still existed at all. But…" Mew paused and frowned before continuing in a saddened voice, "the Gift… it's also the Treasure's very essence. In giving it to us, the Treasure… well, what's left is…" he trailed off with a sigh. Then he got a determined look on his face. "Anyways… that is why my Master asked me to collect the parts of the Gift that are scattered around the world. We want to return it to the World's Treasure!"

Mew stopped and turned to face the duo, spreading his arms wide. "Behold!" he exclaimed. "This is where the Gift will be returned!"

When Chatot and Wigglytuff looked beyond him, they saw that the Treasure's Clearing was very beautiful. It was filled with wildflowers with colorful blossoms of every shade imaginable, although the white flowers they were now so used to still appeared to be the most abundant species. In the very center of the clearing, surrounded by the white flowers, was a statue depicting two figures. One of them was a mystery to the exploration duo. It appeared to be some sort of gangly creature with long fur that, strangely enough, only appeared to grow on its head. It was also wearing some sort of cloth covering. It wasn't terribly tall, so they assumed that, whatever it was, it was a child. A very young one, given how round and cute its cheeks were. For some reason they also got the distinction that it was a female… She was smiling happily, and beautiful gems had been fitted into her eyes, making them appear rainbow-colored. There was another rainbow-colored gem—or orb, really—held in her outstretched right hand, as if it were an offering. Her other hand was resting on the front leg of… Arceus.

Wigglytuff and Chatot looked in awe upon the depiction of the Alpha Pokémon. He looked… magnificent. He was just so regal… and it was striking how he seemed to interact with the unidentified female creature. He was obviously relaxed, but the way he seemed to curl around the child gave the impression that she was very important to him, and that he would not hesitate to attack if she were threatened. The expression on his face portrayed that as well; it was a perfect divide between tender adoration and a fierce desire to protect. Seeing that combination on Arceus' face… it was staggering. All that the two could do was stand in awe.

Mew began applying the crystals to the orb in the unidentified creature's hand. As they were absorbed the figure began to glow, with the glow being the strongest around the areas of the orb and the eyes. The eyes of the two explorers widened with wonder.

"It's so… so beautiful…" Chatot whispered.

"Wow…!" Wigglytuff agreed. Then he glanced down at the base of the statue and jolted when he saw something red and round.

"Oh! My Perfect Apple!" he gasped, breaking the spell and rushing towards it. He scooped it up and began to dance around. "Yay! Yay!" he cheered before getting out the other one and proceeding to dance with it as well. "Now I have two! Mine and friendly friend Chatot's!"

Mew paused in his task and looked over in surprise. "So your Perfect Apple rolled all the way over here? And then when you started chasing it… a whirlwind blew you to where Chatot was… hm…"

He studied Chatot and Wigglytuff's auras once more, noting how well they seemed to fit together.

"Oh! Of course!" he exclaimed, causing Chatot and Wigglytuff to look at him in confusion. Mew didn't seem to notice, and he merely chuckled and crossed his arms before looking at the statue and commenting, "I see that the Treasure has been at work again."

He turned around, finally noticing the confused stares and deciding to clear things up. "Tell me, Wigglytuff… when you first lost your Perfect Apple, did the forest do anything… strange?" he asked.

Wigglytuff blinked, getting a contemplative look on his face as he thought back. "Hm… oh! Yes!" he remembered. "I was dancing with it on my head… and then a breeze came and blew it off! But I was nowhere near the white flowers at that point!"

"Maybe not," Mew grinned, "but the Treasure's influence is always present. The Treasure must have sensed your and Chatot's auras and arranged it so that you two would meet. You two… I think that the Treasure wants you to be together."

Mew chuckled again as Chatot's mouth dropped open in shock and Wigglytuff's eyes brightened. Then he asked, "You said you were explorers, right? Why don't you two form an exploration team together?"

The two blinked before looking at each other, speculating the possibilities.

"Form an exploration team… with Chatot?" Wigglytuff murmured. "Hm… I've always explored with lots of different friendly friends… but I've never had a team of my own." He suddenly grinned and grabbed Chatot's wings. "I bet it'd be fun! Let's do it Chatot!"

When Chatot glanced down, Wigglytuff frowned. "Unless… you want to go back to singing?"

"…No… I don't want to sing back-up for the rest of my life," Chatot admitted to himself. "I thought that I didn't have what it takes to be an explorer… but then I helped to defeat Cacturne! And with Wigglytuff… I feel unstoppable. Even if he is a hard to handle at times…"

"So, Chatot," Wigglytuff said, bringing Chatot out of his musings. "What are you going to do? Will you form a team with me?"

Chatot looked up at him and grinned. "Of course I will!" he said, as if the answer was obvious. "After all, you'd be helpless without me!"

"Hooray!" Wigglytuff cheered, grabbing Chatot and dancing with him again. "Exploration team! Yay!"

Mew smiled at their antics before turning back to his task. He reached into his bag to pull out another crystal, but then he frowned when all his hands touched were the bottom of the bag.

"Was that it?" he asked, turning the bag over and shaking it. "I thought I had collected more than that…"

"Oh! Right!" Wigglytuff exclaimed, stopping his dance (much to Chatot's relief) as he remembered. He went over to Mew and opened his bag. "We still have the ones that we took from the geodudes!" he said as he pulled them out. "And then there's the one that you gave us…"

He handed it to Mew, but Mew merely glanced at it, shook his head, and handed it back, saying, "No… you two keep this one."

"Really?!" Wigglytuff gasped happily.

"Squawk! What?!" Chatot spluttered. "B-but… didn't you say that it was more valuable than the Time Gears?!"

"Yes, I did," Mew affirmed. "And it is, but… the Treasure and my Master would want you to have it. After all, it was given to the world as a gift!"

"Okay! We'll be sure to keep it safe!" Wigglytuff promised. Then he thought of something and grinned, heading over to the statue. "I know! Since the Treasure gave us a gift… I'll give one back!" he stated happily as he plopped his newly found Perfect Apple on the ground, exactly where he had found it earlier.

The unown gasped and began to babble in amazement.

"A gift!"

"Guest gave a gift to Treasure!"

"Guest is so nice!"

Mew smiled proudly. "Yes… the Treasure was certainly right about you," he decided. "I'm sure that you'll find the right use for that Gift… and I know that if you ever crossed paths with the Treasure, you would be kind… Now, I promised to lead you out, correct? Let's get going."

The unown were enthusiastic in their goodbyes, and as the trio left, they began to circle around the statue.

It didn't take long for Mew to lead the two back to the forest's entrance, and as he headed back to the Treasure's Clearing, he called back, "Come visit again sometime! And please keep the Treasure's Clearing a secret for me!"

"We will!" Wigglytuff promised. The he turned to Chatot and said, "Okay! Let's get going!"

As he began to head off, Chatot glanced back at the forest. "Uh… aren't you forgetting something?" he asked.

Wigglytuff frowned before he blinked and remembered, "Oh! Right! My friends! I wonder where they went…"

They didn't have to wonder long, as the instant he said that, a scream pierced the air.

"AIEE!"

Chatot's eyes widened as a rhyperior, roserade, and gallade dropped from the sky. They lay still for a few moments, but it didn't take them too long to regain consciousness and sit up, groaning.

"Ouch! Stupid whirlwinds…" the rhyperior muttered.

The gallade nodded in agreement. "Yes, they are rather annoying, aren't they?"

"And we still haven't found Wigglytuff yet!" the roserade added.

"Well hi there, friendly-friends!" Wigglytuff greeted, not seeming bothered at all by their abrupt appearance.

The three jolted and whipped around, sighing in relief as they saw who had spoken. "Wigglytuff! There you are!" the roserade said, getting up. "We've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Unfortunately, the same can't be said for him," Chatot thought.

The rhyperior caught sight of him and asked, "Who's this?"

"This is Chatot!" Wigglytuff introduced with a beaming smile.

"Nice to meet you, Chatot!" the rhyperior greeted. "We're Rhyperior, Gallade, and Roserade… but you probably know us better as Team Raider."

Chatot's jaw dropped and he spluttered, "Squawk! Wh-what?! The legendary Team Raider?!" He turned to Wigglytuff and demanded, "Why didn't you tell me that your friends were the members of Team Raider?!"

Gallade sighed, not at all feeling surprised. "He didn't tell you? That's so like him… as is chasing after Perfect Apples like he did earlier." He shook his head. "Speaking of which! Where did you end up? Did you… did you maybe find the Treasure's Clearing?"

Wigglytuff shook his head and lied, "Nope! There were too many whirlwinds. I don't think it's possible to get in.

Roserade sighed in disappointment, "What a shame… but if Wigglytuff thinks that, then he's probably right. Oh well, I suppose it can't be helped. We'll just have to give up… for now, at least."

Rhyperior was disappointed as well, but he agreed, "Yeah. Come on everyone, let's head home."

Team Raider began to leave, but they paused and turned back when they noticed that Wigglytuff wasn't following. Wigglytuff smiled apologetically and said, "Sorry, guys. But I'm not going back with you. Friendly friend Chatot and I are forming our own exploration team!"

"Really?" Gallade asked in surprise. Then he grinned and congratulated, "Well, good for you! What's your team name?"

Chatot blinked. "Our team name?" he repeated. "We haven't actually thought about it yet. Hm… what should we call ourselves…?"

"Oooh! Oooh! I know!" Wigglytuff exclaimed. "From this day forth, we shall be known as… Team Perfect Apple! YOOM-TAH!"

"Squawk! Team what?!" Chatot demanded.

Roserade shook his head and murmured, "Only you, Wigglytuff. Only you…"

Rhyperior doubled over with laughter. "HA HA HA! What an interesting name!"

Gallade didn't even dignify it with a verbal response and, instead, dropped his face into his hands and shook his head.

Wigglytuff ignored them and began chattering about how much fun "Team Perfect Apple" would have and how much treasure that they would find, but Chatot just looked at the heavens and groaned, "What have I gotten myself into…?"

Present Day…

"…And that's the story!" Wigglytuff finished, beaming at Chatot, who couldn't decide whether to feel nostalgic, embarrassed, or annoyed.

"I see," Mason commented, secretly thinking, "But you know, Wigglytuff… if Mew asked you to keep that a secret, they maybe you shouldn't have shared that story with me…"

"Mew was right!" Wigglytuff suddenly said, bringing Mason out of his thoughts. "We did find the right use for that Gift! We used it to help Laura!"

Mason blinked before nodding and glancing back at her. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off when Corphish scuttled back to them and frantically said, "Hey, hey! We've got a problem!"

"What is it, Corphish?" Chatot asked with a frown.

Corphish gestured with his claws, "It's a dead end!"

Mason gasped before rushing forward to see for himself.

Unfortunately, Corphish was right. The group's passage forward was blocked by a moss-covered cliff face, with no caves or Aura Crystals in sight…