Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Detectives Of Justice

by Tyranitar

He's a human turned Charmeleon with all the courage and fighting skills of a newborn kitten. She's an overly generous Braixen with no self worth and six hungry mouths to feed. Together, they fight crime! ...And possibly stop reality from collapsing into itself. ...Maybe. T for casual cussing, and probably suggestive themes and violence and all that good stuff too.

4. Chapter 4

Okay, I know I said I'd try to not upload any more ungodly long chapters, but... Hngh, I swear, I just couldn't find a good split point... Again...

Also, apologies in advance if all the cussing in this chapter upsets anyone, I realize I probably went a bit overboard here. :s

Also also yes, I realize I accidentally used Scrafty instead of Scraggy in the last chapter, I promise I'll fix that at some point in time. :c

---

It didn't take long for Wil and Braixen to stumble upon another Pokemon.

"Alright, Wil, time to shine." Braixen said encouragingly, motioning towards the Pokemon that stared them down menacingly from the other end of the rather cramped 'hallway' that the duo had been following. "I know you don't know any actual attacks, so I'll do my best to teach you how to do some basic moves on the fly, they're so easy even you should be able to learn them quickly. Er, no offense, of course..."

"Yeah, none taken..." Wil responded, somewhat absentmindedly as he stopped in his tracks, the terrifying, wild Pokemon down the way doing the same. Staring blankly at it, he shook his head, not really sure of how to gauge the situation. "Uh... This is... This is really happening right now? Am I... Are we seriously about to be attacked by a vicious, bloodthirsty... Caterpie?"

"Well... Yeah." Braixen nodded in response, aware of the ludicrousness of the existence of a vicious, bloodthirsty Caterpie. But then, she also knew better than Wil as to actually see it as a credible threat.

Well, maybe 'credible' was stretching it a bit, but a threat nonetheless.

"I know it seems ridiculous, but please don't take it lightly, Wil. A wild Pokemon is a wild Pokemon, whether it's a Caterpie or a Tyranitar, and you can't let your guard down around one, not even a Caterpie. Wild Pokemon seem to have some kind of disturbing radar sense when it comes to finding outsiders, and once they find you, they will stop at nothing until you've been knocked out... Or worse. And sure, that may be just a Caterpie, but that's not to say there isn't something much worse waiting around the corner, or coming up from behind us, or from both ends, and they will ALL collectively gang up on us until either us or them have been defeated. They never attack one another, not unless they're confused, but they will ALWAYS attack us, regardless of species or anything else... It's really creepy, and of course, like virtually everything else about Mystery Dungeons, no one knows why they act in such a way."

Wil swallowed hard. "Oh, great... I'm going to get my ass kicked by a Caterpie, aren't I?"

"Of course not!" Braixen replied, shaking her head in exasperation. "I mean, you'd better not get your ass kicked by a Caterpie! Just... Don't be so pessimistic, Wil. You'll be fine. Just take your time, they usually won't move until we do. Psych yourself up, then when you're ready, I'll let you know what to do."

"Alright..." Wil mumbled, steeling himself as best he could before moving forward. A few steps before the Caterpie got within striking distance, Braixen placed a hand on Wil's shoulder and prompted him to stop, leaving a short distance between them and the terrorbeast,

"Wait, Wil." Braixen stated, drawing her partner's curious and complete attention. "You should use a ranged attack here, I don't think Caterpies know any long ranged moves besides String Shot, so it's basically like a free hit for our side."

"Oho, I like the sound of that, free things rock!" Wil exclaimed, rubbing his hands together and grinning goofily ahead of himself at the Caterpie... Then blinking, his hands slowing down, not at all sure of what to do next. "Y-Yeah, a... Ranged attack... Like... Yeah, one of those... H-How do I do that, by the way? I mean, I know I can like, probably shoot fire lasers out of my mouth and stuff, but uh... I don't actually know how to do that on command. Is it like throwing up? Please tell me it's not like throwing up."

"It's... Like throwing up."

"Ah, balls!"

"Okay, well, it's not really like throwing up..." Braixen exclaimed warily, trying to choose her words carefully. "It's more like... Hocking a big ol' loogie up from deep in your belly." Seeing the repulsed look on Wil's face, she realized she hadn't chosen them carefully enough. "O-Oh, but, it's not as disgusting as it sounds, honest! You can't taste anything... But you might singe your lips a bit at first since you're not used to doing it."

"Oh, that sounds wonderful." Wil exclaimed, his words heavy with sarcasm.

"Well, I mean..." Braixen stuttered, trying to think of SOME way to put a positive spin on things. "...You've already done something similar, like, twice. Turning that into an attack shouldn't be difficult at all."

"Wait, I have?" Wil retorted, his face screwing up as he tried futilely to remember.

"Yeah!" Braixen insisted. "Remember, when we first met? You were all panicky because of your tail being on fire, and you tried blowing it out like it was a candle? And then in Blackout Forest, when I was, er, hanging around, and you had to relight it to be able to see? If you can do that, you can definitely use Ember!"

"Ohhhh, for real?!" Wil asked, his face brightening considerably.

"Yes!" Braixen exclaimed confidently. "Just make sure to make it a short, brief fireball instead of a steady stream, you need to be able to conserve your fire power for the entirety of the dungeon."

"Ah, okay." Wil said, nodding before quickly double taking at what Braixen had said. "Wait, I can run out of fire?!"

"Well, yeah, eventually." Braixen said, nodding. "You can run out of energy to even scratch at something after a while. Even Pokemon run out of steam, you know."

"Yeah, I guess so..." Wil muttered. "I just never thought much about it before... Back in humanland, we consider Pokemon moves to have something called Power Points, or PP for short because we're lazy bastards. This... This actually makes a lot more sense than how we look at it."

Braixen's face lit up a bit in recognition of Wil's words. "Oh! THAT'S what PP means? I was actually just about to say, sometimes you can find drinks in dungeons and shops that are called PP Ups and PP Maxes that'll replenish your energy enough to use more moves. No one's ever been able to figure out what that stood for, though, we've just always accepted it as a tasty, fruit flavored refreshment that magically appears just like all the other strange human artifacts that show up in MDs. Not so tasty when they're all warm and stuff straight off the dungeon floor, though."

"You're... You're kidding." Wil stated, shaking his head in disbelief at Braixen's claim. "Money, sure. TMs, okay, why not? But ENERGY DRINKS? And they're never expired? What... What the hell ARE these Mystery Dungeons?"

"Beats me." Braixen said with a small shrug. "Like I said, you're better off just not thinking about it. Also, we're getting off track, let's focus on the task at hand, shall we?"

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot we were getting ready to go to battle with that murderous caterpillar over there." said Wil, casting a ridiculing glance at the Caterpie. "Seriously? They don't move unless we do? That is on a whole 'nother level of creepy right there."

"Mystery Dungeons in general are their own level of creepy." retorted Braixen. "Just... Stop trying to think about any of it and blast that Caterpie in the face with a fireball already, would you please?"

"Alright, alright..." Wil replied, sighing as he realized he had put it off for as long as he could. Concentrating his gaze firmly upon the Caterpie, he drew a long, extended breath from deep in his lungs, then, when he couldn't hold it in any longer, exhaled, sending a short, scorching fireball straight at the Caterpie.

,,,And also about five feet over its head.

"Aw, son of a bi-"

Wil didn't have the chance to finish his expletive before the Caterpie struck back, shooting a long, sticky thread of string at his legs, tangling them together and causing him to lose his balance and fall over as he panicked and struggled to break free from its entangling grasp. Having been slowed down by this development, the Caterpie took advantage of Wil's sticky predicament and inched ever so closer to him until its feelers were nearly touching his face, something that freaked him out considerably.

"G-G-G-GAH!" Wil shrieked in a not at all manly manner, scrambling hastily back to his feet with help from Braixen. "D-D-D-Don't let it t-t-t-t-touch me!"

"W-Wil, calm down!" cried Braixen, trying in vain to keep her partner from panicking even further. "Don't freak out! Moves miss all the time in these places, something about them just screws up your aim something fierce, it's nothing to get this worked up about!"

"N-N-N-No, you don't u-understand!" Wil said through tightly clenched teeth. "S-S-S-Something about th-that thing almost touching me just brought me the worst sense of revulsion... I-It wasn't nothing when it was over there, but oh g-god, I am crawling out of my skin right now with that thing so close to me! Just, please, g-get it away from me!"

"O-Oh dear..." Braixen stuttered, realizing the fear in Wil's eyes was genuine, as ridiculous as the sight of him cowering in the presence of a mere Caterpie appeared. "Don't... Don't worry about it, Wil, I'll take care of it. Watch your head!"

Before Wil had a chance to question what Braixen had meant, he instinctively ducked as she whipped out her twig and pointed it at the Caterpie, sending a fireball of her own at the bug, this time landing a direct hit, knocking it out cold.

"...You can open your eyes now, Wil."

Moving his fingers from his eyes, Wil peeked out tentatively between them to see the dizzy eyed, fainted body of the dreaded Caterpie before him. Wasting no time, he quickly hopped over it and rushed to the other end of the hallway, stopping at the end to catch his breath as he waited for Braixen to catch up with him. As she did, a wave of massive shame and embarrassment crashed over him, and he felt himself completely unable to look Braixen in the eye after showing her such a pitiful, shameful display.

"O-Oh god... I'm... I'm sorry, Brai..." he whimpered, his face burning red as he looked away from his partner in utter humiliation. "I... I don't know what came over me, I just... It just hit me, and I... I don't... G-God, I'm so pathetic..."

The lashing out that Wil expected never came, and he was genuinely surprised as he felt a reassuring hand placed on his shaky shoulder and heard Braixen's calm, measured words.

"Don't sweat it, Wil. We all have fears. This is a setback. But... It's not debilitating. Keep leading the way, if any more bugs pop out, I'll handle them if they get close, so please just do your best to deal with anything else that comes our way, okay?"

Wil's eyes widened as he finally got himself to look Braixen in the eye, who looked back at him as if nothing was out of the ordinary at all. Blinking rapidly in an attempt to hold his burgeoning tears back, he merely swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded back at her, managing to eke out a shaky "O-Okay...", which seemed to be enough for Braixen, who smiled and pointed gently ahead of the duo for Wil to continue.

Once his legs stopped shaking, Wil indeed continued on his way, Braixen close behind, but his already nerve-wracked, doubtful mind was now absolutely awash in disgust and self-loathing, any confidence Braixen may have built up in him gone in an instant as he struggled mightily to keep himself from crying in shame over just how pathetic he was, the only positive thought in his mind being that at least leading meant that Braixen wouldn't be able to see the wimpy, blubbering expression that he tried torturously to keep off his face.

"Some friend you turned out to be." his mind spat inwardly at him, causing him to let out another series of self-wallowing whimpers. "What a freaking loser you are. You just let Braixen see just how pathetic you really are, she is never going to trust you to do anything ever again. And not just her. No. Anny and Krook had surely seen that disgusting display as well, so you didn't just lose her faith, you just royally screwed her over. There ain't no way in hell they would ever accept someone deathly afraid of a damn Caterpie as a detective! God, you're such a useless piece of garbage."

Wil was no longer doing a very good job of hiding his emotions, and though she couldn't see his face, Braixen could certainly hear the sounds and read his body language enough to realize he wasn't actually feeling any better at all. Reaching out to grasp his shoulder again, Wil instead jerked himself away from her and shook his head rapidly, his pace quickening and his emotions spilling even further as he stomped angrily through the sprawling hallways and rooms that twisted ahead of himself and Braixen, not paying even the slightest bit of attention to his surroundings as the tears that stung his eyes made it hard for him to see anything at all.

"Wil, please, settle down!" Braixen exclaimed in distress, doing her best to keep an eye on their surroundings for both of their sakes while struggling to keep up with his now almost sprinting pace at the same time. "E-Everything is fine, Wil, r-really! You're getting yourself worked up over nothing!"

"Sh-Shut up!" Wil snapped, shaking his head even more vehemently as he broke into a full out run, shutting his eyes tightly in a failing effort to keep his tears from streaming behind him onto Braixen.

"Wil!" cried Braixen in utter dismay, trying to reach forwards to grab ahold of her friend and stop him before you got himself hurt, but only managing to stumble over herself enough to allow Wil to slip just out of her sight as he turned a sharp corner. As she scrambled to pick herself back up, she heard Wil cry out in anger from a short ways ahead, a sign that he had run into another Pokemon, causing a jolt of panic to course through her as she raced around the bend towards his voice.

"I-I can do this..." sniveled Wil, glowering at the Pansage in front of him through bleary eyes and sniffles. "I-I'm not a coward, I w-w-won't let myself screw Braixen and her kids over!" Coughing, and nearly choking in the process, Wil managed a very weak Ember attack, but the Pansage dodged it with ease thanks to his bleary eyed aim. Not having taken the time to remember Braixen's advice to use Ember at range, he had gotten up close and personal with the Pansage, giving it a prime chance to counterattack him with a painful barrage of Fury Swipes, its claws raking him for several critical hits as he cried out in pain, then slumped to the ground, the sudden attack having caught him completely off guard.

"D-Damn it, no..." he whimpered, reaching out towards the Pansage without even thinking and throwing a powerless punch at it, which also easily missed it due to Wil's sluggish movement.

All the while, Braixen could only watch on in horror as she sprinted towards the sight in front of her as quickly as she could, her stick at the ready as she cried out to her friend.

"Wil! Please, don't do anything else, just wait for me!"

Wil was in no shape to argue anymore, and so he merely ducked his head down and cowered as he waited for the Pansage to KO him. Before it could get off another attack on Wil, however, it had been blasted backwards by a shot of fire from Braixen's branch, then without giving it a chance to properly recover, Braixen had jumped in between it and Wil, scratching it deeply with her claws to give it a taste of its own medicine, thankfully knocking it out. As she turned around quickly to check on him, Wil didn't even bother to try and hide his shame from her any more, openly, quietly sobbing as he rocked back and force in a fetal position, his eyes tightly shut, not wanting to see how disgusted of a look Braixen was no doubt giving him.

...And yet, her actual expression contained nothing close to malice or anger of any sort, as she merely bent down and grabbed a hold of one of Wil's violently shaking hands.

"It's okay, Wil." she stated softly, trying her hardest to establish eye contact with him. "You don't have anything to be ashamed about. You haven't done anything wrong. I'm not mad at you, or disappointed, or anything else of the sort, so for goodness sakes, STOP getting yourself all worked up over nothing!"

Wil merely slunk himself even lower to the ground and muttered something completely incoherent under his breath.

"Wil, whatever it is you're feeling about yourself right now, it's wrong." Braixen stated emphatically, continuing to stare down at him. "You're not any less of a Pokemon because you got scared or freaked out or cried. EVERYONE does those things, Wil, myself included. You're just letting the pressure of the situation get to you, so listen to me, and listen good. Pick yourself up, take a long, deep breath, and forget about everything. Forget about being obligated to me or the kids, forget about Anny and Krook judging you, forget about all the silly bugs and everything that's happened so far.

Wil, though finally in a sitting position, and at least a little more noticeably calm, was still nonetheless blubbering uncontrollably as he tried to mumble more garbledygook at Braixen.

"Wil, I mean it!" Braixen said firmly, squeezing his hand tightly. "This is nothing. We still have a chance, but not if you just sit there wallowing in your own self pity and doubt."

The shaky, nervous tension that wracked Wil's body seemed to be dissolving little by little, so Braixen knew she was finally getting through to him.

"Come on, Wil, you're better than this." she proclaimed confidently, hoping some of that confidence would transfer over to him. "I know you are. This isn't the real you, this is just you getting caught off guard when you're vulnerable. You can't let all of that doubt fester in your mind, because if you let that stuff take over, then of course you're not going to be able to do anything. And I know, this probably sounds like a giant load of crap coming from someone you've only known for a day, but I don't care. I know the real you is the one that rushed into that pitch black forest, chasing after dangerous criminals without a second thought, all to help someone you didn't even know. If you can do that, then this isn't anything, Wil!"

"Brai..." Wil let Braixen's words sink in as he thought deeply, his mind finally escaping from the state of permanent panic it seemed to have been stuck in since the trip there from the precinct. "...She's right. What am I doing acting like such a pathetic, stupid loser? I mean, sure, I may be stupid and a loser, but I am NOT pathetic, damn it! ...Well, okay, she probably doesn't want me thinking I'm either of those other things, either... So yeah, forget that, I ain't none of that crap, I am... I am a rugged, manly badass, I don't take crap from no stinkin' worms or monkeys! Er, w-well, m-m-maybe the worms... But screw those monkeys, man! And whatever other dumb plants and bugs and whatever else is crawlin' around this dumb ol' forest, too! I ain't blubberin' like a little baby no more, not when Brai and her kids are counting on me. Time to stop being so selfish and scared and man the hell up."

Grasping Braixen's hand back, Wil let her help him back to his feet, then after taking a few moments to catch his breath, wipe his eyes, and compose himself, he slowly nodded, meeting Braixen's confident gaze with his own.

"Let's go."

Braixen simply nodded back, her smile returning as Wil turned to get them back on track.

As he got moving, Braixen at his back, a smile crept across Wil's own lips for probably the first time all morning. He was still wary about traversing through such a strange place, and his confidence in his fighting ability still wasn't very strong. But no longer was he irrationally scared of everything. He had no reason to be, not when he knew Braixen would be right there with him the whole way. And if she believed in him, then so would he.

"...Thanks, Brai."

---

It wasn't much longer before Wil had stumbled upon the stairway, and even though Braixen had told him about their existence, he still couldn't wrap his head around

the fact that a forest could have floors, nor could he grasp how or why they had disappeared without a trace as soon as they had used them and turned their backs to it. He didn't have much time to really dwell on it, though, as the clearing they had emerged in was already occupied, by a pair of Shroomish... And a Weedle. And the moment Braixen and Wil emerged from the stairway, they all turned and began making a beeline straight for them.

"Alright, no need to panic, Wil." Braixen said quickly, before Wil's mind had a chance to react to the situation. "I'll handle the Weedle, you focus on the Shroomish that's closest to us. By the time the one at the other end of the room can reach us, it should be the only threat left."

Wil nodded. "Okay... So uh, how do we get them to come to us if they don't move until we do? What do we just, fight air until they get within range?"

"Pardon?" Braixen asked, before quickly realizing what Wil had meant. "Oh, no, that'd just be silly, Wil. I think you uh, misinterpreted what I said. When I said they don't move until we do, I meant, they won't make a move until we do... But once we do, they're gonna be gunning for us until we knock them out... Or they knock us out. Though obviously, the first option would be a lot nicer."

"O-Oh..." Wil stuttered, looking slightly embarrassed. "Yeah, that... That makes a lot more sense than what I was thinking."

"Supposedly, it's how they determine whether we're outsiders or not." Braixen explained. "Something about how our way of walking tips them off, or some such nonsense. Whatever it is, just be ready, now that they've seen us, as soon as we take a step or try to attack them, they're ALL gonna be heading straight for us. Thankfully, none of these guys should be very fast, so we shouldn't have much trouble beating them before they have a chance to gang up on us. Even still, I'll head away from you and draw the Weedle's attention so that it doesn't get anywhere near you. Just let me know when you're ready, and remember, use your fire attacks as much as you can, they'll do a lot more damage than simple scratches and tackles would against these guys."

Wil shuddered for a moment, then nodded once more. "Th-Thanks, Brai..."

"No need for thanks, that's what I'm here for, Wil." Braixen said with a smile, before taking hold of her stick and turning her attention back towards their opponents. "Ready when you are, partner."

Wil smiled back, then looked out towards the enemy as well. "Alright... Let's do this."

Taking a tentative step forward, Wil quickly saw what Braixen had meant, as all three of the wild Pokemon began to rush (figuratively) towards them.

"Keep your cool, Wil, you got this!" shouted Braixen, as she locked eyes with the Weedle and rushed off away from Wil towards it.

Wil's body began to shake as he watched one of the Shroomish draw near, but he quickly clenched his fists and clamped his feet down to combat it. Remembering Braixen's advice this time, as soon as the Shroomish got within distance, Wil drew a deep breath and fired away at it.

"D-Damn it!" Wil cursed, as he watched the fireball just barely miss the strollin' 'shroom, his aim still wild. As the Shroomish got close, Wil took advantage of the fact that he wasn't stuck in a cramped hallway this time, and began to dance backwards away from it, taking the time to fire off another couple of Embers at it in the process, though neither of them hit their mark either. Frustrated, Wil quit moving for a moment to catch his breath and rest his throat, waiting for the Shroomish to make a move to see if he'd have better luck landing a hit that way. Launching itself at him with a headbutt, Wil's instincts took over, and rather than try to avoid it, he took a chance and tried to catch it with both hands before it hit him.

He succeeded... Mostly. He wasn't able to stop it from completely ramming into his chest, but he did manage to put his hands up and grab ahold of it right before it connected with him, keeping it from doing very much damage to him, and also somehow was able to keep hold of it, leaving it squirming and thrashing in his grasp.

"C-Crap, why didn't I think this through?" Wil thought aloud to himself, as he struggled to keep a grip on the ornery mushroom. He wracked his brain for any quick, easy Pokemon moves that he might be able to perform, but it's rather difficult to think when you're holding an angry beast that wants to rend your flesh, no matter how unassuming it might be. And so, Wil performed they only move that did come to his mind; he raised the Shroomish up above his head, then with all of his strength, sent it crashing back down into the ground, letting go of it before it hit the ground so he wouldn't end up falling over with it.

"YEAH, EAT THAT POWERBOMB, BITCH!" Wil shouted in triumph as his adrenaline took over, grinning wildly at the Shroomish as it began to slowly pick itself back up, its expression somehow even angrier than it already had been. "O-Oh crap, th-that was fast." Thinking quickly, Wil hastily coughed up another fireball at it while it was prone, and this time, he finally managed to connect with it, sending the Shroomish toppling and rolling backwards, fainting it instantly.

"Yeah, way to go, Wil! I told you you could do it!" Braixen cried out from nearby, having already defeated the Weedle, and rushing back towards Wil as the still conscious second Shroomish did the same. "Don't let your guard down, though, here comes the other one!"

"R-Right!" Wil called back, as he turned his focus to the second Shroomish, who was now just a few steps away from him and getting ready to attack. Instead of launching itself at him with a headbutt, however, it began to shake itself, directing a cloud of spores out of the top of its head at Wil. Not prepared for it, Wil accidentally breathed the spores in, and almost instantly, his entire body went numb, locking him in place as if he had a bizarre living case of rigor mortis.

"Ah, crap! Hang on, Wil, you've been paralyzed!" yelled Braixen as she drew near, sending a quick shot of fire towards the Shroomish, which narrowly missed it. It did, at least manage to draw its attention away from Wil, as instead of attacking Wil's prone self, it launched itself straight at her. Not as prepared as Wil was for the headbutt, it smacked her in the side, and knocked her to her knees.

"Ow..." she winced as she pushed herself up, now on the defensive as she waited for the Shroomish to make its next move. As she braced herself for it to attack, however, she couldn't help but be distracted by all the noise that Wil was making, causing her to glance over at him just in time to see him let out a massive, violent sneeze. So violent, in fact, that a line of flames shot from each of his nostrils, scorching the Shroomish that had the misfortune of being right in his line of sight. Or snot, as it were. Quickly taking advantage of the situation, Braixen lifted her branch and shot a much more powerful fireball at the Shroomish, this one not missing as the Shroomish was too busy trying to wipe the flaming boogers off of itself to see it coming. Wil, however, didn't notice any of this, as he was too busy sneezing his head off, the paralysis having worn off after the first massive sneeze, though thankfully the rest of them weren't as hazardous as the first one was. Once he finally stopped sneezing, which actually took far longer than Braixen was anticipating, she walked up to him and grinned, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Well, it certainly was an odd way of doing it, but thanks for the assist!" she exclaimed, drawing a confused expression from Wil.

"Oh, uh, you're... Welcome?" he replied, not quite knowing what it was she was thanking him for in the first place.

"Wait, you mean to tell me you didn't notice the flames that shot out of your nose during that great big sneeze just now? The ones that got all over the Shroomish and let me knock it out before it was able to hit me again?" Braixen retorted, letting out a small laugh.

"Er, no..." Wil said, shaking his head before laughing himself. "But hey, that's pretty awesome! I'm starting to dig this whole 'being a Pokemon' thing, especially if it means my allergies of all things are actually helpful and not just gross."

"Haha, well, I'm not so sure if that actually has anything to do with you being a Pokemon." said Braixen. "I mean, I've never shot out flaming boogers during a sneeze before, at least. But then again, I've also never seen anyone do... Whatever that thing was that you did to the first Shroomish, either. What in the world WAS that, anyhow?"

"Huh?" Wil said, thinking back to try and remember what it was Braixen was talking about. "Oh, the powerbomb? That's just a wrestling move, that ain't nothing special. Well, it probably would be if I was able to do that to someone my size, but a little old Shroomish is super easy to pick up like that."

"Wrestling move?" Braixen repeated quizzically. "Are those special moves that you can only learn where humans live or something? I've never heard of such things before."

"Nah, wrestling don't have nothin' to do with Pokemon." Wil began, shaking his head. "Well, I mean, there ARE Pokemon wrestling leagues, but it's mainly a human thing. The thing is, and this is really hard to explain to someone who's never seen it, wrestling is... Well, scripted. Meaning, the attacker and attackee work together to make the moves work. They're still getting the crap beat out of them, but they have to help to person beating the crap out of them to make these moves work. I've also never actually tried to pull any of them off, I just know what I've seen them do on TV and in the video games which they always say explicitly NOT to do under any circumstances, so I don't think I'm going to be able to pull much of anything off except on tiny little things I can pick up with ease..."

"Oh, I see... Well, still, whatever it was, it worked, so maybe you should try using more of these wrestling moves." Braixen said eagerly. "At least until you're used to using actual Pokemon moves."

"Uh, well, I can try." Wil replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Can't be any harder than trying to hit things with those damn Embers..."

"Don't worry, Wil, you'll get better, trust me. I couldn't hit the broad side of a Snorlax when I first started using it." Braixen said encouragingly, chuckling as she thought back to her own struggles with her fire attacks. "But hey, that doesn't matter, what matters is that you managed to beat a Pokemon all on your own, just like I knew you could! If you can keep that up, we'll be golden!"

"Thanks, Brai, but that was still just a Shroomish." Wil said, holding his hand up and shaking his head. "I still don't know what I'm going to do if and when we have to deal with any Water or Ground types... Or hell, even against something that just doesn't burn easily."

"Gosh, you take compliments as well as I do, don't you?" Brai said, smirking. "Don't stress yourself about that right now, Wil, just focus on the task at hand. We shouldn't have to deal with any Pokemon here that aren't weak to our attacks besides the Scraggy we're after, so by the time we have to deal with anything worse, you'll be just as competent at battling as I am, I'm sure. Trust me, already!"

"Oh, I do, Brai, I'm sorry." Wil said with chagrin. "It's just... I don't trust myself, is all."

"Well, I do, so I suppose that'll just have to do until you do too, teehee!" Braixen replied, giggling. "But anyways, we should probably get a move on. We don't know how long that Scraggy's going to hang around, after all."

Nodding in agreement, Wil regrouped with Braixen, and the duo set back off on their way.

---

"God, I hope this floor's not as long as the last two were..." Wil groaned, taking a moment to bend down and rub his sore feet once he and Braixen had emerged from the stairway. "I mean, geez, we literally took twenty minutes to arrive at a stairway that was like, ONE ROOM away from where we started! Are you SURE you don't want to lead?"

"No, that just happens sometimes. I would've ended up leading us the same way, I'm sure." Braixen said, shrugging as she too took the opportunity to squat down and give her legs a brief rest. "But look on the bright side, Wil, at least we were able to get a lot more training in on the way. You're already getting way better with your aim!"

"Pfah, as if." Wil said, flapping his lips together. "I hit like, two Oddish and a sleeping Hoppip. And I MISSED the Hoppip. TWICE! Hhhhhhhh, I think I may actually be getting worse the more I try."

"Oh, nonsense. The only way to improve is with experience, Wil." Braixen said simply. "Trust me, if you saw how bad I was at hitting things when I first started, you'd consider yourself a sharpshooter."

"If you say so, Brai..." Wil said, sighing as he stood back up and stretched. "So, you're sure all those orbs and wands and seeds and whatnot we've picked up so far won't help us get to the stairs any faster, right?"

Braixen shook her head as she copied Wil's actions. "Nope. The orbs and wands we picked up are mostly only good in battle, and the Reviver Seeds are emergency use only in case either of us get knocked out. It's actually a really bad idea to go into a Mystery Dungeon without a couple, so we're lucky we found them."

"You know, that sounds like it means we're to expect to get knocked out at least once a dungeon." Wil stated uneasily.

"No, no, of course not, Wil!" Braixen chastised. "All I meant was that it's only common sense to have some just in case. We're also breaking common sense laws by not having any apples or berries with us to replenish our hunger and health, but it's not like we're likely to find any of those... Around... Here..."

Braixen's words quickly trailed off as her gaze caught sight of something that distracted her.

"H-Hold on."

Braixen suddenly took off towards whatever it was that had caught her gaze, catching Wil off guard.

"W-Wha? Hey, w-wait up, Brai!"

As Wil scrambled after her, he glanced curiously at the ground in front of where she had stopped, eager to figure out what it was that had grabbed Braixen's attention so entrancingly.

"Is... Is that food?" Wil asked, letting out a small gasp as he stared down alongside Braixen at the small but still delicious looking blue berry that lay at their feet.

Reaching down to pick it up, Braixen's eyes widened as she brought it up to her face, a huge smile breaking out across her face. "Yeah... Yeah, it is! Do you... Do you know what this means, Wil?!"

"We aren't going to starve to death tonight?" Wil guessed.

"No!" Braixen exclaimed loudly, quickly shaking her head as she realized what she had said. "I mean, yes, that, but more important than that, Wil, this Oran Berry being here means that this forest still has some fruit left, at least on this floor and above!"

"Oh." Wil replied, nodding absentmindedly until he remembered what Braixen had told him about the food crisis that had been going on in the area. "Oh! Shoot, for real?!"

"Yeah!" Braixen replied excitedly, digging through their carrying case until she found the small berry pouch she had stuck in it before they left, dropping the berry in it. "Wil, I know I said we shouldn't take too long, but... We really need to see if we can find any more food while we have the chance, you don't want to know how hard it's been for me to find ANYTHING lately."

"So you mean, even if we find the stairs then, you want us to stay on this floor until we've yoinked as much food as we can find, right?"

"Yes." Braixen replied, a twinge of regret on her face. "I'm sorry, Wil, I know it's a pain, and I know we've spent way more time than we've had to walking around as it is so far, but... I just... I don't want the kids to have to go to bed hungry like I had to do so many times when I was young... And I don't want you or me to go to bed hungry either, of course. I don't have anything left for any of us to eat right now, and even if Anny and Krook are nice enough to get us all food tonight, we won't have anything for tomorrow or beyond, and if we don't get enough Poke to buy any, which we won't with the pitiful amount we've picked up in here so far, then... Then I..."

"Hey, no worries Brai, I understand completely." Wil responded eagerly, his stomach rumbling at the prospect of actually having something to eat once they got out of there. "I'm down with anything that keeps us fat and content!"

"...Thanks, Wil." Braixen replied gratefully, before letting out a small, bemused laugh as she glanced at her and Wil's easily visible ribcages. "'Keep us fat', though? I don't know about that, calling either of us fat is like calling a Lickitung beautiful."

"Well, there ARE some strange, strange people in this world, Brai." Wil said with a grin. 'But I digress. Let's get to pickin' before my stomach convinces me that they are beautiful, in a 'boy that sure would be beautiful drenched in butter and stuffed with potatoes' way."

---

"Well, that could have gone better..."

Braixen let out a disheartened sigh as she and Wil made it up the last flight of stairs. The two had spent nearly a half an hour searching high and low for any more food, but had hardly anything to show for it other than a few more bruises and even emptier bellies. Their grand haul consisted of five berries and an apple, and they might have been able to find more, if it hadn't been for the strange, sinister wind that started blowing near the end of their search, the ominous feeling it gave both of them convincing the duo backtrack to the stairs posthaste.

"Aw, don't let it get you down, Brai." Wil said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "There'll be a lot more where that came from once we pass this dumb old test. We'll be rollin' in the dosh, we'll have so much food we won't know what to do with it!"

Braixen knew better than to be so naive, but also knew that Wil didn't, so she quickly picked her spirits back up and smiled at him, thankful he cared enough to at least try to cheer her up. "Yeah, I'm sure you're right, Wil."

Wil smiled back, happy he was able to make his friend smile instead of worry like he'd been doing the entire trip. His expression soon changed to one of confusion, however. "Say, what floor are we on now, anyway?"

"...Um... Six, I think." Braixen answered after a moment of wracking her brain. "Oh! That means we're close, the Scraggy's supposed to be on this floor, right?"

"Yeah, I think so." Wil replied, digging through their item case for the wanted poster the Chief had given them. "Let's see... 'Wanted: Hoodlum Scraggy. Crime: Vandalism. Reward: 150 Poke. Last seen in Lakeside Forest, Floor 6.' Yep, this'd be that floor, then. Huh, you know, that's kind of odd. I mean, who was the person who 'last saw' this dude here, and why didn't they just-"

GRRRAAAAAAAAWWW

"W-W-W-What the heck?!" Wil's head whipped around behind him, the sound of a deep, ferocious growl distracting him from his odd musings. Curiously, the only other Pokemon in the room with him was Braixen, and there didn't appear to be any pathway in the direction where the terrifying cry permeated from. "D-D-D-Did you hear that just now, B-Brai?!"

"H-Huh?" Braixen looked back at Wil dumbfoundedly for a moment, before shrugging halfheartedly and motioning to the treeline behind her. "O-Oh, yeah, I think whatever it was, it came from somewhere back in the deep woods..."

Wil's eyes grew as wide as saucers as he glanced back into the treeline. "Oh god, let's get out of dodge then before it decides it wants to come out and stretch its legs... Or jaws."

"G-Good idea." Braixen agreed, nodding rapidly as she helped Wil pack their case back up. Without wasting another second, the two booked it down the only corridor visible, and soon came to a rather large clearing, one that reminded Wil of the one where he and Braixen 'fought' the berry thieves in Blackout Forest.

"Shoot, I don't have a good feeling about this place either, Brai..." Wil whispered, shuddering as he couldn't decide which was worse between this room and the last one.

"Yeah, this has to be where that Scraggy is hiding." Braixen whispered back, grabbing a hold of her stick in anticipation.

As the two slowly and carefully made their way to the center of the room, they soon caught sight of their target, fidgeting about nervously with his back turned to them in front of a particularly large tree at the other end of the clearing.

"Man, what a scrawny looking little punk. And he's all alone, too." Wil stated, grinning confidently as he surmised the situation. "This should be a piece of cake, even if I can't hit for spit."

"It looks easy, but don't let your guard down, Wil." Braixen cautioned. "Mama Kangaskhan used to tell us all the time that the most dangerous opponent you can have is the one that you underestimate. Just... Be prepared, Wil."

"For what, Brai?" Wil asked, leering unconcernedly at the Scraggy. "That dude's having trouble just keeping his pants from falling down, and all he's done is vandalize a building. What in the world could he do to us?"

Hearing the commotion behind him, the Scraggy turned around and nearly (literally) jumped out of his skin at the sight of Wil and Braixen staring him down, both of them looking like they meant business.

"Oh, sh-sh-sh-shoot, w-w-w-w-w-what was it I was sup-p-p-p-posed to do again?" the Scraggy stuttered to himself, hiking his pants up to his chin as he twitched about nervously. "O-Oh, th-th-th-that's right!"

"What's he muttering about...?" Braixen mumbled under her breath as her ears picked up the Scraggy's solo conversation.

Without any further warning, the Scraggy suddenly let out an ear piercing screech, one which echoed horrifically throughout the clearing, causing Braixen and Wil to completely lose their concentration as they clamped their hands over their ears and shut their eyes in pain. Even after the screeching stopped, their ears continued to ring, and it wasn't until they opened their eyes that they noticed that the room had changed considerably in that short time.

Mainly, the small army of Scrafties and Scraggies that had poured out from the treeline and were now surrounding them.

"...You know, I... I really don't like these big ass clearing so far, Brai..." Wil whimpered, as the two hastily took up a back-to-back fighting stance. "We're already oh-for-two in the whole 'not falling into traps' category in them..."

"Geez..." Braixen let out an exasperated sigh. "So much for a simple training mission..."

"D-D-D-Did I d-d-do good, b-big bro?" came the voice of the original Scraggy, casting an eager, hopeful look towards one of the Scrafties that were leering menacingly at Braixen and Wil. "I d-d-d-d-d-did j-just what you s-s-said to d-d-d-do, r-right?"

"...Yeah, I guess so." the Scrafty replied after a moment, certainly not sounding very impressed by his younger sibling's performance. "Coulda done without you tweakin' like a punk ass bitch the whole time, though."

"O-Oh..." the Scraggy's face became downcast for a moment, before quickly resuming its hopeful gaze. "B-B-But I c-can always g-g-get better at... N-N-Not doing th-that, bro. D-Did I p-p-p-pass? C-Can I j-j-j-join you g-guys yet?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, little bro." the Scrafty sneered, casting a cold glare Wil and Braixen's way. "First you need to prove yourself. You need to help us teach the fuzz a lesson, bro, that they don't mess with our gang. You see, these two fresh young scrubs are going to serve as an example to the fine, upstanding Detective's Guild that no one busts one of our boys without us takin' something from them in return. And you get to be the one to send them that message, baby bro!"

"I-I-I-I do?" the Scraggy asked, the eagerness in his eyes beginning to give way for something else entirely.

The Scrafty nodded, a malicious, crooked-toothed grin spreading across his face. "That's right bro, consider this your last initiation test. You beat the snot outta those two detective dips, and you can join our gang."

"A-A-A-Ah, r-really?!" the Scraggy gasped, his eyes lighting up as his brother nodded in confirmation. As he turned his gaze back towards Braixen and Wil, however, that light soon faded, instantly replaced with the same look of fear that had been steadily building as his brother spoke. Nervously, he took a few steps forward towards the team, being egged on by the rest of the gang that surrounded them.

"Wait, are these guys serious?" Wil whispered to Braixen as the obviously uncomfortable Scraggy slowly drew near them. "All these goons, and they're gonna make the kid fight?"

Braixen glanced back at Wil with disgust in her eyes. "Yeah, something tells me they aren't expecting him to win... And I also doubt they're gonna just up and leave if we beat him. What a despicable bunch of punks, using a little kid to do their dirty work for them."

"You got somethin' to say, princess?" the leader Scrafty called out, catching the look of utter disdain that she was giving him. "Better make it good, 'cause it's gonna be the last thing you ever say!"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do." Braixen retorted, sparing no amount of venom in her words. "Where the hell do you guys get off, you in particular, manipulating a little kid, your own BROTHER, for the love of Arceus, to put himself in harm's way and get himself in trouble with the authorities for some empty promise of leading him down the same rotten, dead end path that your dumb ass stumbled down?"

"W-Whoa now, d-do we really want them getting any more pissed off at us than they already are, Brai?" Wil whispered in a slight panic, nudging his partner as the menacing stares of all the Scrafties and Scraggies surrounding them turned all the more murderous with every word out of Braixen's mouth.

"It doesn't matter, Wil." she responded clearly, not unlocking her eyes from the leader Scrafty's. "We're going to have to deal with them one way or the other, and we're not going to leave here empty-handed. I won't stand for seeing some poor kid being used, especially in such a disgusting way by his own sibling. If you wanna call anyone a 'punk ass bitch', then you need to look in a mirror, you piece of trash, because you'd have to be one to pull the crap you're doing right now."

A collective gasp rang out amongst the circle of punks, and Braixen's words were clearing having an effect on the gang's leader, as his face contorted up in rage. It was becoming hard for Wil to tell who was losing their temper faster between him and Braixen.

"Yo, ain't NOBODY gonna call ME a punk ass bitch!" the Scrafty snarled, seemingly ready to launch himself at Braixen at any moment, but managing to hold back at the last second before putting another smug look on. "I'll remember that when I'm taking my turn with you, bitch."

"Jesus..." Wil muttered, more to himself than anything. "I... I didn't know Pokemon t-talked like this..."

"They don't. It's just the ones from around here." Braixen exclaimed, seemingly unphased by the Scrafty's threats. "I'm pretty sure these idiots are just copying something they saw on some human TV show back in the city."

"O-Oh..." Wil stuttered, relieved, yet at the same time still disturbed to hear such things coming out of a Pokemon's mouth, regardless of whether they knew what they meant or not.

"A lot of the Pokemon from Relic City love imitating things they've picked up from the abandoned human culture in the city, for whatever reason." Braixen explained, shaking her head in mild antipathy. "I mean, that's one of the reasons we have the whole detective thing going on instead of something simpler. Don't worry though, most Pokemon are nowhere near as... Delusional as these freaks are."

"Oh. That's... Oh." Wil replied dumbly, trying to think of a response to sum up what he thought about it and failing. He quickly shook his head though, realizing they weren't really in a spot to be making small talk. "Er, how are we gonna deal with this, Brai? I really don't want to fight that poor kid either, he looks like he's about to piss himself with fear."

"We're... Not going to, Wil." Braixen replied, suddenly wincing for a split second, before shaking her head resolutely and locking her eyes with the terrified ones of the Scraggy, her expression softening considerably. "Hey, wait up, kid. Stop and think for a moment, is this really something you want to be doing? Or are you just doing this to make your brother happy?"

"I... I-I..." the Scraggy stopped in place, quivering like a leaf in a hurricane as he looked wide-eyed between Braixen and his brother, their expressions polar opposites of each other. "N-N-N-No, I w-w-w-wanna d-do this... I-I... I d-don't wanna b-be a wimp... I w-wanna be cool like my b-b-b-big bro..."

"Oh, so this is what cool guys do now, is it? Set ambushes for Pokemon that are trying to make life less dangerous for innocent Pokemon who can't fend for themselves?" Braixen exclaimed. "Yeah, you guys are just so radical, ganging up on us like this, you know you're a real tough guy when you need ten Pokemon to deal with a couple of first-timers like us. So badass." She rolled her eyes in disdain, before looking at the kid pleadingly. "Is this truly the kind of life you want to lead? Do you REALLY want to hurt innocent Pokemon for stupid, petty reasons, if any reason at all?"

The Scraggy stood rooted in place, shaking his head over and over again as he looked back and forth between Braixen and his brother, at a complete loss of what to say or do.

"Don't listen to her, bro, she don't know nothin' about what we've been through, what we've had to deal with!" the Scrafty snarled, not at all pleased by Braixen's attempts to coax his brother away.

"There's nothing you could've gone through that would make what you're doing seem right or just in any way." Braixen scoffed. "You're nothing but a bunch of lowlife thugs who get your jollies off by picking on the weak and helpless. You're so weak you couldn't even take on an actual Detective Team, you had to get your own little brother to do your crap for you so they'd send someone weak and inexperienced after you. You made a big mistake, though. You see, we aren't the weak and inexperienced team you were expecting to show up. We're more than good enough to kick your sorry butts, even if you may think you have the advantage due to numbers." Sending her gaze back to the kid, she stared intently. "Now, do you REALLY want to go through with this, kid? And don't just say what your brother wants you to say, speak for yourself! How... How would your parents feel if they knew you were doing this?"

The Scraggy's eyes widened even further, then he quickly shut them and cringed ashamedly.

"Hey!" the Scrafty suddenly barked before the Scraggy could respond. "You don't say a damn thing about our parents! They didn't have no say in this, they didn't have no CHANCE to!"

"O-Oh..." Braixen grimaced, regretting bringing the subject up. Still, she realized she had struck a nerve, and decided to push further. "Well, do you think they'd be proud of you, seeing what you've made of yourself, and what you're trying to force your brother into doing?"

"YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" the Scrafty bellowed in rage. "YOU DON'T GET TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THEM, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY HAD TO PUT UP WITH, WHAT WE HAVE HAD TO PUT UP WITH OUR WHOLE LIVES! TREATED LIKE TRASH WHEREVER WE GO BECAUSE OF THE THINGS PEOPLE THINK WE ARE! IT'S... It's only fair that we treat everyone back they same way!"

"...B-B-B-But..." the Scraggy finally spoke up, after a tense few seconds of total silence. "I... I d-don't think they w-wanted us to d-d-d-do this, b-bro..."

"Gah, what the hell are you saying, bro?!" the Scrafty yelled, glaring at Braixen with contempt. "Don't let this bitch get into your head, she doesn't know jack about us!"

"N-N-N... I kn-know, bro, b-b-but..." the Scraggy shook his head defiantly, shaking the tears from his eyes. "M-Mom and dad... Th-This is what they all thought th-they were like... E-Everyone thought they were b-bad Pokemon, but... Th-They weren't... W-Why are we acting like... Like what they think we're like?"

The Scrafty folded his arms and shut his eyes, the sheer bitterness in his voice readily evident. "Because... This is how we're supposed to act, bro. This is what our species does, according to everyone else. We're Dark types, after all. We're always up to no good. So... We might as well live up to their expectations!"

"W-What? What the hell kind of backwards thinking is that?" Wil piped up, scrunching up his face in annoyance. "You're gonna let what other people think of you decide how you really are? That's retar-er, sorry, that's really, really dumb. God, you really ARE a bunch of punk ass bitches. If someone says you're a piece of crap the moment they meet you, you go out of your way to DEFY those expectations, you don't just say 'oh okay' and act that way! Don't let assholes win, don't give them the satisfaction of knowing they were 'right'!"

The Scrafty shook his head and let out a growl, stomping the ground and returning his glare to Braixen and Wil. "God, why don't you both just shut up already?! Neither of you have any right to tell us how we should act! In fact, I'm gettin' plain SICK of listening to you! You're dead meat, both of ya! Bro, you either prove to me you're a REAL Scraggy and teach these two losers a lesson, or get out of our way so WE can!"

The Scraggy stayed rooted in place, trembling terribly as his eyes continued to dart back and forth between his brother's intimidating gaze and Braixen's pleading look as if he were watching a tennis match played by a pack of Ninjasks on X Speed,

"COME ON ALREADY, BRO!"

"...Nngh... I'm... I'm sorry..."

The Scraggy rushed ahead, tears streaming in his eyes.

Reaching his brother, he clamped onto his leg, clinging onto him with a deathgrip.

"W-What the hell are you doing, bro?!" the Scrafty spat, trying in vain to shake his brother off of him.

"P-Please, stop this, brother!" the Scraggy cried, shaking his head rapidly as he buried his face into his brother's side. "Th-They're right, mom and dad... This... This isn't the way they wanted us to live!"

The Scrafty looked down at his brother in utter disdain as he forcefully pushed him off. "Oh, for the love of... I can't believe you, bro! You of all people should know! We have no other choice! It's either this, or starve to death! Nobody else gives two craps about us other than ourselves, we HAVE to do these things to survive!"

"No, you don't!" Braixen cried out. "Listen, we're in the same boat as you! I mean... No, we haven't had to deal with as much grief as you guys, but... I know what it's like to go hungry. I've felt the cold, condescending eyes of other Pokemon as you beg for food to feed your family with. But what you're doing, that's not the answer!"

"SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU, JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!" the Scrafty screamed, his wild-eyed rage falling upon his brother. "You... You're no brother of mine." And then, turning to Wil and Braixen. "And you... You guys are history. GET THEM!"

"Oh balls." Wil seethed, glancing expectantly at his partner as he reassumed his fighting stance, the Scrafties and Scraggies beginning to close in around the two. "S-So, w-what's the gameplan, Brai?"

"...B-Brai?"

Not daring to take his eyes off of the Pokemon closing in on his side, Wil nonetheless caught a glimpse of his partner's face out of the corner of his eye, and he was alarmed to see that she appeared to be wincing.

"I... Hngh..." Braixen, though doing her absolute best to stay standing, was beginning to crumple, clutching onto her stomach with her free hand as her face soon turned into a full-on grimace.

"B-Brai, what's wrong?! Are you okay?!" Wil exclaimed in a panic once he caught a clearer sight of his partner's state.

"N-N... I'm... F-Fine..." Braixen responded, though she looked and sounded anything but.

"A-Are you sure?" Wil asked fretfully. "Because you really don't-"

GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWW

Wil jumped in shock as he heard the same ferocious growl from earlier, though this time, he could tell exactly where it had come from.

"No... N-Not now..." Braixen whimpered, dropping her stick as she doubled over in pain.

"G-Gah, Brai!" Wil cried, as he rushed to kneel beside his now prone partner. "W-What's the matter?! W-W-Was that your stomach just now?!"

"...S-Sorry... Wil..." she groaned. "I... Thought I could... Handle it..."

"O-Oh god..." Wil whimpered, looking up in alarm as the Scrafties and Scraggies drew ever closer, the leader letting out a smug laugh as he watched.

"Nyehehe, I knew you weren't nothin' but talk!" he sneered, his lips curling into a leering grin. "This is gonna be easy pickin's!"

"G-Gah, h-hold on, Brai!" Wil cried, doing his best to ignore the Scrafty's taunts as he fumbled nervously with their item case.

"N-No..." Braixen said weakly, knowing what Wil was trying to do. "Reviver Seeds... Won't work on an empty belly... And that food is... Not mine to eat..."

Wil's eyes bulged in incredulousness at Braixen's words. "W-What?! Brai, c-come on, if we don't get out of here, this food ain't ever gonna reach the kids! Please, I... I can't do this on my own, Brai! ...Brai?!"

Wil soon realized Brai could no longer hear him, having passed out completely from hunger. A massive, deathly wave of dread made its way through his body, bigger than any he had felt in his life by far.

"...God... W-What do I do now...?" Wil whimpered hopelessly to himself, looking vainly to the sky in the hopes that someone might hear him and give him some sort of answer.

As it were, he didn't even have time to wait for a response, as the Scrafty gang suddenly rushed towards him in a flourish, seemingly picking up on his weakness.

"F-F-F-F-" Wil stuttered in mind-rending fear, his voice getting caught in his throat as his and Braixen's deaths closed in around them. His eyes darting around, they landed on the still open item case, and without even thinking, grabbed a hold of one of the blue, translucent orbs he and Braixen had picked up along the way, and hurled it like a baseball at the nearest Scrafty. It shattered on impact, releasing... Something into the air. Wil couldn't really tell what it was, some sort of... Mist, perhaps? All he knew was, one moment, he was inches away from being killed. The next...

Everyone else in the room was suddenly asleep, stopped dead in their tracks as they all fell over one at a time, crashing to the ground into a deep slumber.

"...W-What the...?" Wil spoke, swallowing back the bile that was threatening to escape from his throat as he surveyed the suddenly sleeping battlefield, the only sound to be heard being that of his heavily pounding heart.

"A-Ah, f... N-Now what?!" he cried in frustration, trying to keep his mind from succumbing to total panic as he struggled to figure out a course of action. He couldn't leave Brai's side... Even if she was sure the Scrafty didn't mean his threats, he wasn't about to chance it. Looking back into his pack, he surveyed the remaining orbs and wands that lay scattered about within it, cursing himself for not knowing what the odd Pokemon language that was written on them meant, and wishing more than anything that Brai was able to help him. As one of the Scrafties began to stir, his mind jolted, and he realized he had to do something fast.

"W-Well... If it worked once..."

Wil scooped the remaining orbs out with both arms, then waiting for the Scrafty's leader to stir, he started tossing them at him, one after the other.

Unfortunately, none of them seemed to have any effect, and slowly, the Scrafty and Scraggy awoke, one by one.

"GOD DAMN IT!" Wil cursed, his anger beginning to outweigh his fear at the fact that not ONE of the remaining orbs seemed to do anything whatsoever. Glancing down at his Detective's Badge, his mind thought back to what the Chief had said about them, about how they would instantly warp himself and Brai out of a dungeon in case of an emergency...

...And also about how if he did that, they might as well kiss their hopes of becoming a Detective Team goodbye.

"...No. I... I can't run away." Wil thought, shaking his head as he did his best to steady his fraying nerves. "I'm not... I'm not gonna give up. Brai wouldn't give up, she wouldn't let me give up... She believes in me... I... I have to believe in me too. There's no other choice... I have to win, no matter what. I can do this. I don't know how... But I will."

As the gang members once again began to rush towards him, Wil's instincts took over. Reaching into the case, he grasped a wand in each hand, then began to wave them violently in the directions of the encroaching Pokemon. Some fell back asleep as the wand's powers reached them. Others disappeared, warping to the far corners of the clearing. Once those wands had been used up, Wil tossed them at the oncoming Pokemon and grabbed two more wands. One didn't seem to do anything, but the other one sent the Pokemon it hit into a confusion, causing them to start attacking each other and give Wil a bit of breathing room. Once it had run out of juice, Wil tossed it and grabbed the last remaining one... Which also did nothing.

Wil took a quick glance at the state of things around him, all of his ammo depleted. At least half of the gang members seemed to be preoccupied with either fighting each other or sleeping, but four of them remained, including the leader, and they all marched towards him in anger.

"Well, crap." Wil said, sighing and letting out a small, humorless chuckle as the hopelessness of the situation once again dawned on him. Grabbing the small handful of Reviver Seeds they had accumulated, Wil shut the item case... And began brandishing it as a makeshift weapon. "Not quite a steel chair, but it'll have to do. COME AND GET ME, YOU BUNCH OF PUNK ASS BITCHES!"

Wil managed to catch the first one clean in the head with the case, leaving a sizable dent in it as he swung at and missed the second one, giving it time to low kick him and send him crashing to the ground. His adrenaline pumping, Wil ignored the pain and quickly scrambled back to his feet before the remaining three had a chance to gang up on him. He began to throw wild punches and kicks, catching one of the Scrafties with an elbow and (completely incidentally) slashing the leader right across the face, causing him to recoil in pain momentarily. Seeing the state their boss was in, the other two Scrafties quickly swooped in, one of them grabbing Wil from behind and pinning his arms above his head, while the other one began to use him as a kicking bag.

Struggle as he may, he couldn't escape, as kick after kick rained into him, pummeling him to the point where he began to cough up blood. The adrenaline beginning to wear off, he started to fade out of consciousness... Until he caught sight of Braixen's still prone body. His anger boiling, he welled up everything he had left in him and waited until the attacking Scrafty was about to hit him in the gut again, then let loose with a massive, scorching fireball that hit the Scrafty at point blank range, sending him careening back to the forest floor, totally charred and defeated. Taking advantage of the other Scrafty's shock, he began to scramble madly with his numbing hands, managing to grab a hold of the Scrafty's mohawk, then forcing his hands downwards until he had them clinched around the back of its neck, then in one swift motion, he stomped as hard as he could on the Scrafty's foot, yanked his arms downward, and kicked his own legs out from under him, sending himself and the scrafty crashing downwards in a stunning, cutting motion.

"Ow... That... Was dumb..." Wil groaned, wincing as a sharp pain shot up from his tailbone as he stumbled his way back over to Braixen. Panting heavily, and with his whole body now wracked in pain, he realized that he didn't have much left in his tank... And looking out around him, he could see that the rest of the gang was beginning to recover from their wand-induced debilitations, and were staring him down angrily.

None of them more angrily than the leader, who caught Wil by surprise with a crunching, brutal sucker punch that sent him sprawling to the ground next to Braixen.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN DO THIS TO ME AND GET AWAY WITH IT?!" the Scrafty screamed in fury, Wil catching sight for the first time of just how much damage his incidental slash had done to the Scrafty's face and recoiling in revulsion. Three deep, horizontal gashes now decorated the Scrafty's already unpleasant mug, coating it in a fresh crimson mask as the wounds continued to drip down his face, despite the Scrafty's best efforts to stop it.

"O-Oh god, d-did I do that...?" Wil mumbled woozily, his equilibrium still not all there as he recovered from the Scrafty's sudden clocking.

The Scrafty, rather than answer Wil's obvious question, bent down and yanked him back to his feet, holding him in place by his neck with one hand as he raised up his other fist, coughing a sickly green, viscous liquid onto his claws, the blood dripping from his face mixing with it and making it all the more vile.

"I hope you like the feeling of the slow, toxic death you're about to receive." the Scrafty said, grinning maniacally at Wil, his face contorting to even more nightmarish proportions. "Writhing on the ground in agony, your face and guts spilled out before you as the poison slowly but surely tears you apart from the inside, all the while watching helplessly as I do despicable, unspeakable things to your little girlfriend. And I am going to enjoy each and every second of it."

Wil tried to break free. He squirmed, and struggled, and kicked, and clawed at the Scrafty's trapping grip. But... It was no use. He had no more energy to expend. His own stomach was beginning to throb, both from hunger and from all the punches it had endured, His muscles had nothing left to give, his last ditch makeshift attack causing him just as much pain and damage as it did his opponent. He couldn't even work up enough energy for one last Ember attack, having spent it all on his last hellacious fireball. The only thing he had left to give, the only thing he could manage to eke out at all, was his own spit.

And so he used it. One last act of defiance, in the vain hope that it might distract the Scrafty enough to loosen his grip enough for him to escape and do... Something. He didn't know what, though. The rest of the Scrafty had all made it back to their senses, and were now all within arms length of him and Braixen.

It didn't matter regardless, the spit did the opposite of what Wil had hoped, mixing in with the Scrafty's bloody, destroyed face and stinging it, causing the Scrafty to squeeze that much more, choking away what little life Wil had left in him. As he drifted out of consciousness, his eyes fell to Braixen, and he let out a plaintive, sputtering sob.

"...All... My fault... So sorry... Brai..."

"NOW LET'S SEE HOW YOU LIKE HAVING HALF OF A FACE!"

Wil shut his eyes and waited for the pain.

...And waited.

...And waited still.

"...W-Wha... What the hell...?!"

Wil... Really didn't want to open his eyes. But the Scrafty's sudden, panic-stricken voice had raised his curiosity.

Well, as did the fact that his face was still attached to his skull, of course.

Peeking his eye open ever so tentatively, as his blurry, teary vision returned, all he could see in front of him was a leathery, dark red blob with black splotches on it. Whatever it was, it was mere inches in front of his face, but it was so close it was all he could make out. The mounting questions that began to race through his mind were quickly answered, however, as he heard a familiar, gruff voice boom out from right behind him.

"Hey now, don'tcha know it's just bad manners to tear someone's face off without askin' 'em first? And Anny, I don't think I heard him ask the poor kid anything at all, did you?"

"K-Krook...?"

"No, I can't say I did, Krook. But then again, I wasn't really paying much attention to what he was saying, I was too busy trying to keep the poor dear's face from actually, you know, being ripped off?"

"Anny?!"

Wil's eyes shot fully open as he turned his head to see if he was imagining things, the Scrafty's grip having loosened considerably..

"Aw, shush, Anny, you know I wasn't gonna let anything happen to the kid! I just had to build up the dramatic tension, that's all!" said Krook, flapping his lips together and giving his partner a condescending, mock hurt look.

"More like you were just stumbling around half asleep still until I poked you in the butt..." Anny murmured, rolling her eyes heavily back at her friend.

"What was that, woman?" Krook seethed, his eyes narrowing as he glared back at the Leavanny.

"Nothing at all, dear~." Anny replied smoothly, before turning her attention back to the matter at hand. "Oh, isn't that a little painful, though?"

"Wha?" Krook scratched his head in confusion with his free hand until Anny pointed towards his other one, which was currently keeping the Scrafty's toxic claws from rending Wil's face, the claws actually digging into Krook's hand a fair bit. Krook, however, seemed pretty nonplussed about it, as he pushed the Scrafty back, sending it crashing into its accomplices like they were bowling pins, all of them standing in place too shocked to do anything. Taking a quick, cursory glance at his hand, which was actually looking pretty gnarly, he merely scoffed and hocked a loogie into it, rubbing it into his side before grinning back at Anny. "There, good as new."

Scoffing, Anny again rolled her eyes at Krook in disgust. "Oh, honestly, Krook. You better make sure you get that looked at once we get back to town." As Krook merely laughed back at her, she decided he wasn't worth the time at the moment, and turned her attention to Wil, whom had fallen back to the ground in a heap next to Braixen as the Scrafty lost his grip on him. "Wil, I know you're hurting pretty bad, dear, so just keep Braixen safe, Krook and I will handle things from here."

"...B-But..." Wil attempted to speak, his mind jumping from one bad thought to the next, but he couldn't get much out before Anny gently cut him off.

"Don't worry, Wil, you and Braixen went above and beyond, you've pretty much passed your test with flying colors." she explained with a smile. "You just focus on keeping yourself and Braixen safe for the time being, and for heaven's sake, get her to eat something!"

Wil looked back in shock at Anny's words, before quickly nodding in compliance. "Y-Yes, ma'am..."

As Wil wearily rummaged through his now dilapidated case for Braixen's food pouch, Anny and Krook turned their full and undivided attention towards the remaining Scrafties. Suddenly, it seemed to dawn on them that they no longer had the advantage, even with the numbers on their side.

""Well, punks, it looks like it's decision time for you." Krook began, his grin growing toothier as he looked the leader square in the eye. "Youse can either come with us quietly..." Krook took extra satisfaction at cracking the knuckles on his 'bad' hand, his complete lack of pain doing an excellent job of raising the total, unbridled terror in the Scrafties' eyes. "Or you can have some more 'fun'. And ohohoho, if you thought those kids were fun to play with, wait 'til you get a load of us!"

The Scrafties all began to speak amongst each other at once in a massive, panicked fervor. The leader, however, wasn't quite as effected.

"You... You don't scare me, old man." the Scrafty spat, his face beginning to resemble volcano bakemeat. "We ain't about to let you haul us in, because no one, and I mean NO ONE messes with our gang and gets away with it! Come on, you losers, we can still beat them if we all attack at once!"

The other Scrafties looked amongst themselves tentatively, not looking particularly moved by their boss' words.

"Oh, you guys are welcome to run, if you want." Krook said, noticing the tentative expressions on the gang members' faces. "I do love me a challenge, after all."

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU IDIOTS WAITING FOR?! GET THEM!" the leader screeched, his voice beginning to go hoarse from all the screaming he had already done.

Realizing that they seemingly had no choice, the Scrafties finally complied with their bosses orders, as they all began to simultaneously launch attacks against Krook and Anny, all of which where either avoided completely or shrugged off without much reaction. Krook and Anny, meanwhile, were picking them off one by one, Krook slamming them with his tail and crushing them with his jaws, and Anny slicing them expertly with her leaf blade. It wasn't even a minute later before the rest of the Scrafties were all knocked out cold, the only one left remaining begin their leader, who had chosen not to attack at all.

"My, what a noble and courageous leader you are, standin' back while all your little friends risk them well-bein' for ya." Krook proclaimed, sniggering at the leader's cowardly showing. "You sure do talk big for someone who can't fight someone without sucker punchin' 'em and havin' your boys rough 'em up first."

"..." the Scrafty leader, for all of his anger and bravado, was suddenly tense and quiet, as he realized there was no one else left to back him up, and nowhere left for him to run.

"Pah, you're pathetic." Krook spat, letting out a growl as he grabbed the Scrafty by the collar just as the Scrafty had done to Wil, and prepared to finish him off. "Anny, make sure those kids don't see this, 'cause it ain't gonna be pretty."

"K-Krook, don't do anything you'll regret." Anny warned, aware of where her partner was going.

"Oh, boo hoo." said Krook, rolling his eyes in contempt. "Ain't no one gonna cry over this piece of trash getting swept up. You saw what he was gonna do to the kid, you really want this scum to get the chance to do it again to someone else?"

"Krook..." Anny looked back at her partner sternly. "Remember what the Chief said, if you do anything else out of line, we're both as good as badgeless. Is this really worth losing our livelihood over?"

"...Grr..." Krook let out another low, throaty growl, as he tightened his grip on the Scrafty. "...No. But you saw what he was gonna do, Anny! You saw what they had already done! What if- What if it had been a different rookie Detective Team that had gotten this mission? They wouldn't have had us there to save their asses!"

"They would have had SOMEONE there to watch over them, Kroo-"

"I DON'T GIVE A CRAP, ANNY! I'm sick and tired of seeing this kind of scum of the planet running rampant! How the hell- How can you not feel even stronger than I do about this?! I ain't the one whose family-"

"KROOK."

Krook cringed in recoil, instantly regretting what he had started to say. "...Hngh, I'm sorry, Anny... I... I didn't mean to... But you know what I mean! You should hate this asshole and every single other one of these losers-for-life that we put behind bars a billion times more than I do!"

"Krook, I am not going to get into this with you again, certainly not right now." Anny stated plainly, each of her words as sharp as her blade. "If you really feel the urge to destroy our lives, then fine, I am powerless to actually stop you, but I'm not letting you do it now and bring those kids down with us."

Anny's piercing gaze met Krook's, and for a long time, neither of them budged. Finally, after hearing the Scrafty in his grip begin to cough and sputter from lack of oxygen, Krook relented, dropping the Scrafty to the ground with a thud.

"...Whatever." Krook grumbled, almost unintelligibly.

"Thank you, Krookie." Anny said, giving the surly Krookodile a loving smile, one which only served to make him scowl again. She was used to his way of reacting, however, so she merely giggled and turned her attention to the Scrafty, giving it a stern look. "As for you, I think it would be in your best interest to come with us peacefully. I may have kept Krook from ripping you in half, but we're still going to have to detain you one way or another. Please, tell me at the very least that Krook has managed to scare some sense into you so that we won't have to shed any more blood today."

The Scrafty look back at her, nothing but contempt in his eyes. "Bite me, bi-"

Krook didn't allow him to finish.

"THAT'S IT!" grabbing the Scrafty much more forcefully than before, Krook dug his claws into the punk's skin, denying Anny of her wish of no more bloodshed. "YOU ASKED FOR THIS, YOU ROTTEN LITTLE BASTARD!"

"KROOK, STOP!" Anny cried, throwing herself in between Krook and the Scrafty before he could do anything further to it.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY, ANNY! NO ONE CALLS YOU THAT WHILE I'M AROUND!"

"KROOK, LET HIM GO. NOW."

The fierceness in Anny's gaze far outstripped any that Krook could hope to muster. It took only a moment before Krook faltered under it, releasing the Scrafty once more.

"...Well, what do you wanna do with the idiot, then?" Krook scowled, not letting the punk out of his sight.

"Well, we brought the restraints with us, didn't we?" Anny responded simply, her composure already returned.

"Yeah, probably..." muttered Krook, as he slung the case from his back and popped it open, then began to dig through its many, messy innards to find the restraints Anny had mentioned.

The Scrafty took this one moment of distraction to make a break for it. Before either Krook or Anny had a chance to react, the punk bolted.

"W-WAIT, SON OF A BITCH!" Krook snarled, knocking his case over and spilling all of its contents onto the forest floor, which only served to cause another string of expletives to escape from his lips.

"Krook, forget about him, don't let any of our orbs roll away and break!" Anny said, as she quickly followed her own orders and began scooping up as many as she could before giving Krook an annoyed glance. "Gah, why can't you just put things back in their proper compartments? This is what happens when you just shove things anywhere like you're so wont to do!"

"Ah, stuff it, Anny, it ain't my fault, it's that punk's!" Krook whined, pointing an angry, accusatory finger in the direction the Scrafty took off in. "And also, we're just letting him get away?! WHY?!"

"Krook, just shut up and help me pick up your mess!" shot Anny, not in the mood to take anymore of Krook's lip.

While Krook was ill-prepared to stop the punk, there was one last Pokemon standing between the Scrafty and his freedom.

"W-What the hell do you think you're doing?!" the Scrafty cried out in anger in confusion at the young Scraggy that had reattached itself to his leg, preventing him from completing his escape.

"Big brother... Don't..." the Scraggy looked up at his brother, his face smeared with tears. "You... You weren't really gonna k-kill that guy, were you...?"

"..." the Scrafty stared down at his brother with the same amount of scorn that he afforded everyone else. "I don't have anything to say to you. I told you, you ain't no brother to me no more. Now get the hell out of my way before I do to you what I was gonna do to him!"

Whimpering, the Scraggy released his grip from his older sibling, and the Scrafty hastily pushed past him, taking only a moment to look back to see if any of the detectives had caught up with him, before disappearing off through the treeline into the deep woods, leaving his younger brother sniffling and shivering all by himself.

---

"...There, that's the last damn one of your precious orbs." Krook spat, shoving his haul into the case.

"Krook!" Anny chided, putting her hands on her hips. "What did I just get through telling you about not just shoving things in there all willy nilly like that?"

"Pfft, hell if I know, I wasn't listening." Krook lied, rolling his eyes as he got busy rounding up the remaining Scrafty and Scraggy gang members and tying them up nice and tight together with his and Anny's official detective restraints.

"Ooh, Krook..." Anny scowled, giving her partner a downright dirty look, which Krook easily laughed off.

"Well, I s'pose this'll haveta do." said Krook, as he plopped the bound up gang in front of Anny as if they were some sort of present. "At least we won't be leavin' empty handed, if nothin' else..."

"Of course, but just remember, Krookie, these ones count towards their bounty count, not ours." Anny stated, giving Krook an altogether too pleased with herself look.

"Peh... Yeah, yeah..." Krook muttered, folding his arms and looking not at all pleased with himself.

"Um, no, you guys don't have to do that..."

Anny and Krook both turned in surprise as Wil and Braixen, both so weak they had to lean on each other to support themselves, stumbled over to them.

"Yeah, you guys knocked almost all of these guys out." Wil said, agreeing with Braixen. "If anyone should get the credit, it should be you. Besides, we didn't technically catch who we were after, anyways..."

"Though, that's a good thing, really." Braixen added, glad that at least the poor Scraggy child was able to escape unscathed. She couldn't help but let out a sigh at how the mission had gone, though, and the sentiment was echoed by Wil. "I really screwed up, didn't I?" she muttered hopelessly, shaking her head in shame. "I'm sorry, Wil, I can't believe I was so stupid as to put you into such an awful position... I completely failed you as a partner, after all that stuff I told you about trusting yourself, and in the end it was me you couldn't trust..."

"Aw, stop it, Brai." Wil said, shaking his head but sounding just as defeated as his partner. "What happened was more of my own fault than anything else. I'm the idiot that made you waste all your energy fighting every single bug we came across, it's my fault you ran out of energy in the first place! If I weren't so weak and could actually hit my attacks, you wouldn't have had to hold my hand the whole way and I would've been able to deal with those stupid Scrafties without Anny and Krook having to save our sorry tails... If anyone failed as a partner, it was me, Brai..."

"Oh Arceus, not this again..." Krook muttered in annoyance in anticipation of another passive aggressive anti-argument.

"Wil, no, don't say that." Braixen replied, shaking her head and inadvertently giving him a taste of her ear hair in the process. "Whoops, sorry... But no, you couldn't have done anything more. I was drifting in and out of consciousness, but... I saw what you did, Wil. You managed to hold all of them off by yourself for way longer than I would have been able to, and you... You stayed by my side the whole time. You could have just used our Detective's Badges to escape... But you didn't. You... You literally were ready to die rather than give up on the mission..."

"W-Well, I mean, you heard what the Chief said, if we ran away we wouldn't be seeing any more missions any time soon." Wil stuttered, looking down in embarrassment as he tried to get out the rest of his words. "I mean, I... The only reason I didn't do just that... Was... Was because you... Ugh, this is so dorky, but because you... B-Believed in me... I told you, I... I don't have any confidence in myself to do anything, but... You wouldn't have let me give up... So I didn't. A-And besides, the only reason I'm doing this at all is to help you and your kids. If I would have given up, I would have broken my promise to you, and... I won't do that. I'm one of those dumb peo-P-P-P-Pokemon that believes a person's word is sacred, so... Yeah. When I give someone my word, I will do everything in my power to keep it. In other words, I am an idiot."

"W-Wil..." Braixen's eyes began to tear up, and her voice caught in her throat. "Y-You're not... You're not an idiot, Wil..."

"Yeah, I am." Wil replied, not taking his eyes off the ground. "I know Anny said we passed our test, but... I screwed up so bad, if Krook and Anny hadn't have been here, we would've..."

"Alright, would you just shut your yap already?" Krook cut in, getting fed up with all of the sudden melodrama. "Kid, listen to me. I don't... I don't have many good things to say about anything these days, but your pal is right, you ain't no idiot. Neither of you are! I mean, yeah, you ran screaming like a little baby from a Caterpie, of all things, and believe me, when I saw that, I was ready to jump out and fail you right then and there. But Braixen there, she did somethin' that surprised the hell out of me. I was sooooo waitin' for her to scream her head off at you for that ridiculousness, but... Nah, she did pretty much the complete opposite. Now I was thinkin' 'good grief, they're BOTH crazy', but... I figured if your partner was willin' to give you another chance, I might as well give you one more shot too.

"And then, when you two spent a half a god damned hour lookin' for those friggin' berries, I was about ready to throttle you guys myself for makin' me an' Anny waste so much time." Krook let out a small chuckle. "But Anny... She told me just why you two were out here doin' this, and I'll admit, I wasn't payin' a damned bit of attention when you were goin' on about it on the way here. But yeah, once I found out why you guys were wastin' all our time... I realized it wasn't really much of a waste at all. Somethin' like that, that takes dedication. Even though you hardly found anything, you spent as much damn time as you could lookin' for more, all for those kids of yours...

"And then, of course, there was that total fustercluck that went on in here." Krook shook his head and let out a low whistle. "I mean, I've been doin' this long enough that I know better than to ever try an' talk any sense into these scumbags, but seein' Braixen speak so impassioned-like to those mooks, talkin' that little pipsqueak out of throwin' his own life away, that was somethin' else. And then, kid, that last stand you pulled... Boy, was that ever ugly! You even ended up puttin' me an' Anny to sleep there with that damn orb, for cripes sake! But... Man, that took some balls. You really were ready to lose your own life for that girl an' her kids. And you guys just met each other yesterday! That... That's some damn loyalty right there, From both of you. She could've just given up on you when you decided to soil yourself, but she didn't. She stuck with you and talked your mopey, dopey ass up until you made yourself decent again. And you, you could've given up so many times when they were beatin' your ass, but no, you stuck with it up until the bitter end, and all because of that shlocky super power of teamwork garbage she went and fed ya! This whole mission, it may've been uglier than a two Poke Ditto, but I'll be damned if that wasn't the most inspirin' thing I've seen in all my time on this damn job. Every single time one of you stumbled, the other one was there to pick 'ya up, and I mean, hell, you're still doin' it as I speak! And if that ain't the epitome of a great Detective Team, than I don't know what is. I know I was takin' the piss outta youse guys earlier with the whole 'perfect for each other' shmozz, but... Hell, I don't think I was wrong. For someone who apparently ain't ever fought before, you could be a hell of a lot worse, kid, and your pal already has a pretty good grasp of the basics. So long as she don't go and do somethin' stupid like pass out from hunger again, and you get your aim under control and stay away from wittwe bitty bugs, I think you guys'll be just fine, so long as you got each other's back."

Wil and Braixen merely stood in wide-eyed shock, glancing at each other to figure out if they had really heard what they thought they had just spew out of Krook's mouth.

"...What? What're you guys lookin' at me like that for?" Krook said in annoyance, as the duo continued to just stare blankly at him. "I ain't always a mean ol' bastard. But hey, don't go thinkin' I'll ever say such hokey garbage about you guys or anything else ever again! Only reason I went outta my way to give you guys this dumb speech was just so I wouldn't have to listen to another one of your dumb 'ooh no I'm the worse Pokemon' fake reverse non-arguments, I think I might have actually legitimately thrown up if I had let you guys continue."

Even though he tried to turn away, the duo could still make out the big grin Krook had on his face, and they couldn't keep the smiles from their own faces anymore, either.

"S-So, does this mean...?" Braixen began, her eyes lighting up as she looked about ready to burst.

"Yup! You guys passed your test, and you're now a fully fledged, official Detective Team!" Anny said happily, not even attempting to hide the joy from her face. "Well, almost, you still need the Chief's blessing, of course, but don't worry, if he doesn't let you guys join after what we have to tell him, then we'll make him do it, heehee!"

"Ooh, I kinda like the sound of that." Krook added, his grin spreading even wider.

"Well, regardless of anything else, congratulations, you two, welcome to the Detective's Guild!"

"Oh... Is... Is this really happening...?" Braixen whimpered, her eyes beginning to tear up again as she looked towards her partner for confirmation that she wasn't just dreaming this.

"Well, I'd pinch myself to make sure, but I'm in so much pain that I don't think I'd be able to notice it regardless." Wil responded, smiling cheekily at Braixen before she without warning pulled him into another bone-crunching, muscle-wrending hug. "G-Gah, I t-take it back! I can still feel the pain! Augh, s-so much pain..."

"Oh, thank you, Wil! Thank you so, so much!" she cried, not even noticing anything else Wil had said, her tears of joy streaming freely as she began to jump up and down in happiness, this time taking Wil with her as he had no escape.

"W-Why me...?" Wil moaned, his own tears flowing freely as well by this point, though they weren't quite as joyous as Braixen's.

"I'll never, ever forget this, Wil, not for as long as I live!" Braixen proclaimed, sniffling as she finally set Wil back down, but still had him encased in her beartrap of a hug. "It's... It's still gonna be tough, but... We can do it. As long as you're with me, I know we can, Wil."

"A-Anything you s-say, Brai..." Wil winced, seething through his teeth in a desperate attempt not to scream in agony, his pain threshold getting dangerously close to reaching its limit. Finally, mercifully, Braixen released him from her death grip, and he promptly, unceremoniously fell to the ground in a heap without her there to prop him up.

"W-Whoops... Sorry, Wil!" Braixen said, holding her hand out to help him up. As he reached out to accept it, they caught each other's gaze, and neither of them could keep themselves from breaking out into a fit of laughter, Braixen instead letting herself fall down alongside Wil, just from the sheer, overwhelming, incredulous joy that somehow, someway, they had managed to do it. They were hurt, tired, and hungry, but none of that mattered to them at that moment.

They had done what they set out to do.

They were an honest to goodness Detective Team.

Braixen no longer had to worry endlessly over whether the kids would be fed every night. It was still going to take a lot of effort to ensure they didn't, but with Wil at her side, she was confident that they could manage it.

As for Wil, he was just happy that Braixen was happy. His mind was still clouded and murky, and he still had his worries about pretty much everything, but for that moment at least, he was able to let those worries disappear, celebrating his and Braixen's good fortunes right along with her.

Anny seemed to be just as overjoyed as the two of them, if not more so, and even though he wouldn't show it, she knew Krook was smiling happily on the inside just as brightly.

---

Watching this all unfold from afar, the Scraggy child let out another sniffle. He wished he could join them. Perhaps if he apologized enough, they would forgive him and not want to take him to jail for being bad and drawing on that building... But he was just so confused... Confused, and heartbroken. If his own brother didn't want him around, then why would any of them? Besides, that big, scary Krookodile would probably just arrest him anyways... He was a criminal now, after all... Just like his... Not brother. He let out another, tiny sob, then... Just waited. If nothing else, he wanted to apologize to that nice lady and her friend for his brother trying to hurt them, he was sure he could convince them that he wouldn't have actually done anything bad to them... At least, he hoped he could. He couldn't do it now, though. They were happy, he would just... Ruin everything. He decided he would just keep an eye on them and wait until the time was right.

Maybe by that time, his brother would be back and they could apologize together...

---

LATER ON...

Wil lay on his back, staring up at the beautiful, star filled sky that stretched forever above him. He and Braixen were on the roof of her house, a place Braixen spent a lot of time at when she needed to relax or contemplate something, and she was only too eager to invite Wil up there to join her that night. He could see pretty quickly why she enjoyed the spot so much, as it gave one the perfect view to see everything.

Down one way, Relic City twinkled in the distance, the lights that lit up the main square shining brightly, if not eerily, within the empty, darkened husk of a city that surrounded it. The sheer amount of greenery that permeated the city really did make it look like a giant Christmas tree from a distance, albeit a giant Christmas tree growing within a desolate, haunting wasteland.

Then, in the opposite direction, the lake that they had visited just earlier that day stretched off into the horizon, the rooftop giving them just enough height combined with the path there naturally sloping downwards to see the entire lake in all of its shimmering, starlit glory. The reflections of the countless stars that danced upon the lake's surface was breathtaking even from that distance. Every time Wil looked out at it, he found it more and more difficult to tear his eyes away from the sight.

And then, down the final pathway, the forests stretched on for as far as the eye could see, the treetops swaying gently in the breeze, as tiny little bird and bug Pokemon flew in and out of them, looking like nothing more than mere specks at that distance. Still, it was a comforting sight to Wil, as they at least brought the knowledge that there were still sane, normal Pokemon hanging around that didn't just attack each other on sight.

And of course, covering this all was the endless, starry sky that hung overhead like a blanket to the sleeping world. A big, almost unnaturally large moon hung high up in it this particular night, casting an extra bit of gentle, glowing light on everything it looked upon, including Wil and Braixen.

Anny and Krook had stayed true to their word, and as soon as they all made it out of Riverside Forest, their first stop was Braixen's house, both so she could deliver the good news to the kids, and so that Anny and Krook could treat each and every one of them to a delicious meal. Anny had even made sure to leave enough apples behind so that they would all have something to eat later that night as well, insisting that she and Krook had so many in their storage locker at the Seismitoad Protection Agency that they were running out of room for other things, and were only glad to be able to unload them to someone that really needed them.

Once they were done there (which actually took a good long while, as the kids had taken to Anny quickly, and insisted that she tell them all about their big sis' dangerous trip about twenty times), they had headed back to the precinct, Krook hand-delivering the bound up Scrafty gang to the incredulous Chief, and despite Wil and Braixen's efforts, Anny and Krook refused to take any claim for any of the bounties, both of them insisting that the two kids had rounded them all up on their own, and also conveniently forgetting to mention the lower incidents of the mission as well. With both Krook and Anny's full support the Chief was more than happy to make Braixen and Wil officially official Detective's Guild members, albeit junior ones. Still, the sight of pure, unbridled happiness on his partner's face as the Chief congratulated them on their successful mission was one that Wil doubted he would ever be able to forget.

It was a short ceremony, all in all, as Anny was quick to explain to the Chief how beaten up the two were, and he was gracious enough to let them rest for the day, instructing them to come back the next day so that they could get settled in at the precinct, name their team, and do everything else that becoming a full-fledged Detective Team entailed.

Once they left the precinct, the duo split from Anny and Krook, thanking them both once again for all of their help, something they had spent the entire trip home doing to the point where Krook had (so he said, at least) gotten completely sick of it. While the older duo had invited the two to join them at the Purple Pikachu to unwind and celebrate, they both had politely declined, Braixen not wanting to keep the kids waiting any longer and Wil just wanting to get home as quickly as possible so he could rest his aching body. Still, they decided to meet back up at the precinct the next day, Anny promising to show them around and introduce them to everyone else, Krook promising to be so drunk the next day that he probably wouldn't even bother showing up.

And so the duo made their way back home for a much needed night of R and R. With full bellies for once, it didn't take long for the kids to get to sleep, though they still insisted on giving Wil the hairy eyeball any chance they got, apparently choosing not to believe the parts of the story Anny relayed where Wil had shined. After putting the kids to bed, instead of heading straight to bed themselves, Braixen had invited Wil up to the rooftop, a place she insisted was a much nice place to relax and air their thoughts on the long day than her bedroom.

She had been right.

It had been a couple hours since they had made their way up there, and the both of them were beginning to get drowsy. Since the whole roof was made out of straw, though, they could fall asleep pretty much wherever they wanted to, giving Wil much more room so that he wouldn't 'catch any of my nasty girl cooties', as Braixen had jokingly put it. Pleasingly for her, Wil had been just as needlessly embarrassed about it as the night before, and so she had great fun teasing him throughout the night by pretending to fall asleep and 'accidentally' rolling over on top of him several times, his manic, freaked out reactions too good for her to pass up, especially after the first time. Soon enough, though, the duo had both found their own comfort spots, and both were content to just lay there staring up into the night sky, talking and laughing about their adventurous day until neither could stay awake any longer.

And that's what Wil was doing. Laying in absolute comfort, not a care in the world, his friend a very comfortable ways away from him, sleeping peacefully, nowhere near close enough to 'accidentally' roll over on him again unless she did a complete barrel roll. He let out a contented sigh, as he thought of how drastically different his first two days as a Pokemon had ended. Sure, he was still aching all over, just like the first night, but that was pretty much the only thing that was the same. He wasn't starving this time, nor was he scared to death of what was to come tomorrow. In fact, not only was he not scared, he was actually looking forward to it. He couldn't wait to see what tomorrow had in store for him, because he no longer had to be afraid of everything. He would be with Braixen, so everything would be alright...

...Wait...

...No, there was one other thing that was similar to the first night.

"...Oh balls, not again!"

As Wil shot to his feet, he drowsily began to search for a spot to, well, pee. However, in his half-asleep stupor, he had forgotten just where it was he had fallen asleep at, and...

"FFFFFFUUUUUuuuuuu-"

THUD

"Oh Arceus, are you alright, Wil?!"

...Nevermind, forget all of that, it was still the worst day ever.

---

Well, I think I kind of... Lost my mind here. I swear, this chapter feels like it's all over the place... But uh, basically, I played the new PMD game, and so I got the whole "YEAH, SUPER POWER OF TEAMWORK HELL YEAH" thing stuck in my head because hoo boy as you can tell I'm a sucker for that shmozz. But also, I've been watching many violent crime dramas, and so, my mind is also full of cussing and suggestive themes. So this... Probably made for an odd chapter... I don't think the upcoming chapters will have nearly as much cussing or darkness to them, unless y'all want there to be. On the one hand, I sometimes remember I'm writing about Pokemon, and I get all like "Hmm, why am I writing about a Pokemon cussing a lot" but on the other hand, I don't really care at all because holy butts I've been up waaaaaaay too long why am I still awake and typing?

So yeah, basically, I'm pretty sure everyone who has been reading this is going to hate this chapter for one reason or another, and then nobody will be reading it anymore because it's terrible. But hopefully not.

I really need to go to bed.

ANYWAYS, I HOPE AT LEAST SOMEONE SOMEWHERE IS STILL ENJOYING THIS, many apologies if I've managed to chase anyone away with this chapter. :c

But anyways, yeah, good night, pleasant dreams~