step six

When Others Do As They May

"Thunderwave Cave… Thunderwave Cave…."

"Don't tell me. It's not on the map."

"I made the map. It's on the—look. We're here," Sobek grumbled, angling the page for a moment for David to see and tapping the cross-section of lines that represented the intersection they had reached. The rest of the map was a crude sketch of unlabeled lines and circles. The largest circle was off in the opposite direction they came, ironically representing the Square, David guessed.

"Soooooo where is it?"

"It's here..." Sobek pointed to several mountains on the top half of the map. "…ish."

"Ish?" David couldn't help but notice that the mountains were a fair deal away from them.

"I've only heard of it, okay?" Sobek grumbled lowly. The map was folded and the Totodile headed up the path on their right heading due north. David lingered for a second, looking back to burn the scenery into his memory.

The grasslands the roads ran through were actually an obscenely large clearing rather than an endless open space. From where they left, the forest dipped south for several miles before circling to the west and circled back just in front of the horizon, where it ran east until it disappeared beyond the curve of the earth.

A four-way intersection in the southern dogleg of the clearing, take the path in the worst state of repair, through the archway of trees, and home would be on the left. Okay.

Okay.

David sighed, turning around and stepping to the edge of the path, looking down the hill over the waving grasslands. Actually, this looked like a great place to grow grain but he didn't see any. Or maybe it was for larger Pokémon to graze. But he didn't see any markings of a ranch—

"Oi! David! Come on! We… have a three hour walk there."

David's face fell and he slowly turned to Sobek, "Thr—three hours?"

Sobek grimaced in agreement, "And three back."

David slumped, falling in step beside his friend, "That's six hours walking—if speed is really of the essence here, why don't they contact someone that isn't, oh, nine miles away?!"

"Agreed," Sobek sighed, "Actual teams have better ways of getting around."

"Such means include?"

Sobek laughed, shaking his head, "You know, pretty sure the time'll pass faster if we don't talk about how slow we're going."

"We have three hours to kill…" David moaned, again watching the grass dance in the wind. "Either way about it, it's a long time aaaand I'm an amnesiac." He glanced to Sobek, shrugging whimsically. "Gotta know how to get around."

The Totodile scoffed, "Not sure where to start."

"What is the fastest or… money is a thing here, right?"

"Money is, unfortunately, a thing here," Sobek said with a sigh.

"Fastest and/or most expensive way to get around. Give me something to dream for one day."

"Well…" Sobek half-sighed, "The fastest way is to just telepor'."

"Oh, come on, that's no fun, it's cheating!" David grumbled. He glanced to Sobek, "Why don't we just do that?"

"Uugh… well…" Sobek stuck the map under his arm and counted off fingers, "First, it's expensive and the Abra that run it charge per Pokémon. Guess how much dosh we have…. okay, I have some, but it's barely enough for an apple, let alone a telepor'.

"Second, you pay them to stick around or have them telepor' back at a certain time if you want a lift back. Either way, they charge for the return trip. Third, extra charges for injured and extremely long distances. Fourth, if you're not a team, rates are tripled—they're there for absolute emergencies, life-or-death stuff. But, most importantly, fifth." Sobek shuddered. "If a Pokémon can't do it, there's a reason they don't and shouldn't. You… really don't want to be telepor'd. It feels… ugh…."

"What, afraid you'll be missing an arm when you reappear…?" David faded off, eyes growing distant.

Sobek groaned, paling, "You're not helping, David!"

David flinched, "Hmm? Oh, sorry! Um, next? Next fastest?"

The Totodile rolled his eyes. "Fly there, I guess. Speed then depends on weather and the bird you're flying on. Up near the Post Office there's a charter service where you can pretty much go everywhere so long as you don't mind the ground being very far—"

David snapped his fingers, "We need to round up a few wild Pidgey then."

"What?" Sobek blinked, then laughed. "No! That's not how it works!"

"Come on! It'll be easy!" David scoffed, walking backwards ahead of Sobek, tossing his club from hand to hand. "We head to Tiny Woods—not that hole, the actual woods. We leave some birdseed, a few berries, and we pounce on the first Pidgey that show up."

Sobek shook his head, but grinned, "Then what, genius? We get a Spinarak to string-shot 'em all together and fly them like Drifloons?" David stopped mid-step, head tilting as he looked through Sobek. The Totodile groaned, grabbing David's arm as he walked past and pulled the Cubone out of his mad plotting. "All you Cubone are just terrible. No, David. Just no."

"Well, why not?"

"Because," Sobek laughed, "I tried it when I was five and I ended up stuck in a tree with seven mad Pidgeys pecking my eyes out." He scoffed, "Yeah, that didn't work…" He faded off, eyes lighting up as he glanced around. "Wait. You hear that?"

David frowned, eyes narrowing as he glanced around. There wasn't anything around them, just the forest behind them to the south-east, plains all around them, and another forest lining the horizons.

Twang~!

The two lizards exchanged glances.

"…do you know what that is?" Sobek asked before David got a word out.

Twingy-twaaaaaaaaahhhh-twig-twang!

David winced, seething quietly, "If it was in tune, I might." Sobek swatted his shoulder.

Twanggggg… twangy-twangy-twing~

"Not what I meant," Sobek muttered, rolling his eyes and froze looking over David's shoulder. He slowly smirked, "Well, David. There is one way of we can get around faster…." David followed Sobek's eyes.

Rolling down out of the woods on the path they had just walked down just a few minutes before was a sizeable wooden wagon pulled by a Girafarig. The wagon itself wasn't that noteworthy. Made of a light-yellow wood, the thing had no covering, just a foot-high wall to keep the three large bags in its cargo from falling out. Four wheels rolled below it and a running board ran the length of the wagon. The Girafarig was harnessed, reins running back to the driver's bench, looped around the foot of a lounging Sneasel. A wide-brimmed straw hat sat over his eyes and a beaten, old wooden construct in his arms, claws plucking sour notes from the strings.

It wasn't exactly a guitar or even a lute, but it imitated one of them just well enough to be giving David another headache.

The wagon neared the intersection and the tail of the Girafarig snapped its maw loudly a few times, poking the foot of the Sneasel. The Sneasel pointed to their right and the Girafarig turned down the path toward David and Sobek. The front head immediately noticed them, glaring and snorting.

"That explains the cart tracks," David muttered, glancing at Sobek when tossed a confused look. "I saw some on one of the paths last night when I was looking around. They go right by my house so… I don't think he's from town." He turned to his friend. "We gonna bum a lift?"

"When you put it that way, of course."

The Girafarig's front head glanced around again before looking over the two, slowing down as its tail snatched the Sneasel's hat off.

"Se você não gosta da música, é só dizer," The Sneasel sighed nonchalantly, still content on trying to doze off in the sun. Still, he set the guitar behind him and fished for the hat, tugging on it a few times. The wagon stopped several feet away from the two. The Sneasel blinked awake, sitting up and looking around. Then down. His face lit up in a shady grin, the gem on his forehead a bright glinting topaz.

"Ah! Hello down there, friends! A moment, please!" He ducked away from the side and tugged at his hat. "Meu chapéu, Ollie. Meu chapéu…! …obrigado, Ollie. Many, many thanks." He reappeared, the hat back on his head minus a large chunk on the side. The Girafarig's tail chewed and swallowed before it craned around to join its front counterpart in eyeing the two lizards cautiously.

"Hello!" The Sneasel called again. "My apologies for not seeing you down there! It is strange to find others on this road this early in the morning." Red eyes glanced between the two of them. "Meaning, either you awoke very early this morning or you did not take the long way—the way all the locals seem to use…." He grinned, his feathered ear flicking in interest. "It is a wondrous shortcut, no?"

In a fluid motion, he vaulted over the side of the wagon, took off his hat, and landed into a bow, dropping down to the eyelevel of the two. "My name is Seve. Severino Odilon Boasorte~!" David and Sobek subtly exchanged raised eyebrows and nonplussed looks. Seve silently sighed and stood straight, waving to the world as he began his pitch. "I am but a humble traveling merchant traveling these roads, trading everywhere from my wonderful home of Tapio in the south," He pointed with his hat past the two. David automatically followed his point, glancing away for a moment despite there only being trees and grass and rocks. Seve swept his arm over them to the North, waving dramatically "To the blizzard-covered, frigid cliffs of Articuno's Tear far, far to the north, to the—"

The tail chomped on the hat again, pulling it out from Seve's claws.

"And this is my noble and graceful tamed steed, Lino and Ollie." He clacked his claws; the hat was slotted back into them without further chomps taken from it. "Obrigado, Ollie."

"Uh?" David started, glancing up to the tall Pokemon. Four times his height, twice of Seve, the Girafarig looked at the two with four eyes, all of them far less at ease than the Seve and quickly becoming increasingly less so. "Two names?"

"It is a Girafarig—the tail is his own head, has his own mind, very temperamental," Seve said quickly and flatly, angling the hat away from the tail as it tried for another chomp, "The front is Lino, the tail is Ollie. Had to give the tail a name, else he gets mad and eats my hats." He playfully swatted the tail with the hat and donned it again, his feathered ear sticking out through the bitten chunk while the weasel-ly smile returned to his face and seeped into his voice. "So, with the sun not even a Pidgey's age in the sky, before the Square awakes and does its Square-ish things in its circular-ish way, who do I meet on this lonely road?"

The two lizards glanced to each other; Sobek spoke first, "I'm Sobek."

"David. Nice meeting you, Steve."

"No-no." The Sneasel sighed, rubbing his eyes, "Not Steve, not Steve, please not Steve. Steve is my conniving brother-in-law—never do business with him if you are ever in need of a steed in Tapio. He'll pitch you a Numel that thinks it's a Ponyta, and you'll get the slowest Rhydon you'll ever see—you look at me oddly, but I swear it's true!" He leaned down again, "Truly, do not tell Lino and Ollie that they are but a Girafarig—I would be utterly ruined, hmm?" He laughed twice before clearing his throat and forcing a serious face.

"But no, I am Seve. Say-vay. If I could, I would be Severino Odilon Boasorte to everyone I meet. But then I just become the strange Sneasel with the funny accent and the very long name. Which is fine, most Sneasel don't speak much." Seve shrugged, nodding with a faint laugh, "Being the strange Sneasel with the funny accent and the very long name helps me stand out, it helps my business. And yet, 'The Strange Sneasel With The Funny Accent And The Very Long Name' is, I think, too long to fit on the side of my wagon." Seve sighed, holding his hands out rather far apart, frowning for a solid second before his face shattered into a toothy grin. "So please, Seve. And Lino and Ollie. All very happy to meet you both." He cleared his throat once mores and squatted down to eyelevel of the two, sitting on his haunches.

"But truly, I digress and must confess…. While indeed, on this road I do find a Sobek and a David," Seve nodded a few times at David, looking to Sobek, "You don't see Cubone around here." Nods to Sobek, a look to David, "And you certainly don't see Totodile around here. Therefore, I do hope you two are just passing through. The Square is a nice place, but only for a day." He leaned closer, eyes glancing warnings as his voice dropped to a near whisper. "You can trust me on that, hmm?"

Before either could get a word out, Seve stepped away, hopping up onto the runner of the wagon. Swallowing his words, David settled on tossing a baffled glance to Sobek. His friend shook his head, bewildered as he was.

Seve pressed on, "Anyway! Seeing as we are both heading in the same direction, it wouldn't be a trouble for us to give a lift to you two." He offered a hand up, snickering at the incredulous glares the two gave him. "Relax, relax. It would be very awkward if I injured my customers, yes? I do not sharpen my claws, I will not cut you. Lino and Ollie, the powerful Rapidash and his Azelf sidekick, are more than enough to handle most bandits on the roads." He snickered to himself and again held out his hand.

David exchanged glances with Sobek again. The Totodile half-shrunk away and waved him on first. Subtly rolling his shoulders, David took Seve's arm and was pulled up into the air, flailing. He fell face-first—thud.

"Ow…."

Seve snickered as Sobek stepped up, "Your friend isn't exactly the most graceful Cubone I've seen."

"Trust me," Sobek scoffed lowly, taking the help up. "I know."

David sat up on the far side of the driver's seat, resettling his helmet as he blinked the stars away—a pair of eyes in a mass of black bored into his own.

Meanwhile, Sobek landed gracefully in the back of the wagon. For a quick second, he glanced around the rear; three large and bulky canvas bags. He tapped the wall of the wagon, getting a low, solid thunk from it. The entire wagon was sanded and rubbed down from use and time. The flooring was replaced at least once since the wood was different rest, but everything was solid. Nodding at the craftsmanship, Sobek and leaned over the driver's seat, over David's shoulder. He glanced between him and Ollie, then double-taked at the bone in the tail's mouth. "David?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," David stuttered, slowly reaching for the club. The black maw relented after a few tugs, but not before it let itself be pulled in closer and glaring into David's eyes. "It's, heh, just a little weird having… that in your face."

"You never get used to it, trust me," Seve muttered, settling in the opposite nook of the driver's seat, kicking his feet up on the footboard. "But nothing can sneak up on me. It's an interesting trade-off, hmm? Vamos, Lino. Pouco mais rápido agora." Though the tail glared through David, the other half of the Girafarig started into a slow trot. Seve set the reins on a peg on the footboard. The wagon rolled smooth. "Obrigado, Lino."

"…so…" Sobek started awkwardly. He frowned at himself. Seve, either by accident or on purpose, hadn't allowed the two to get a word in, and now that they can, Sobek couldn't think of anything. "You're from Tapio? I think I've been there once."

David looked back, "What's it like?"

"Hot."

"Yes, very hot." Seve laughed, "And very nice. Topio is a city of the wild—built spanning from massive tree to massive tree, arching a hundred torbs in the air, it started as a bridge across Azelf River that expanded into a town over the delta of the river as the ground itself too much of a bog to support anything." Seve sighed, looking up the road. David shifted uneasily, Tapio didn't sound like a place he wanted to visit honestly. "From the Aerie in the treetops to the Harbor down below, the rich, deep, humid smells of the forest permeated the entire town. And I was allergic to every scent that wafted through it. An amazing town, one everyone should have an asthma attack in one day."

"Errr… cool. I mean, but aren't you an Ice-type? In a hot place?" David quickly said. Seve burst out laughing again. David took the opportunity to lean in next to Sobek, and, very quietly, "What's a torb?"

Sobek winced in realization and nodded, "Height of a Voltorb."

One foot, three inches, about a fourth of a meter—about as tall as he was. All Voltorb are the same diameter. Base a system of measurements off of a Pokemon that's always the same height. Clever.

In the same vein, a… trode would be an Electrode—about three torbs, just over a meter. Granted, anything bigger than that would be a different leap of logic—what exactly counts as a 'mile' here then? How far an Electrode rolls in an hour?

….actually, that makes a sort of sense.

"Again, my friends," Seve grinned, shaking his head. "I am the strange Sneasel with the funny accent and the very long name. Any other Sneasel you meet, while they might have a different funny accent, their names run similar to 'Zeyla, Claw of Winter's Grasp.' …that's actually quite long—nevermind.

"Let me put it this way. I have many brothers and sisters who I grew up with, but I am the only Sneasel amongst them. To tell of a few, I have Infernape, Oddish and Mudkip sisters, and I have Flygon, Larvitar, and Lotad brothers. And many more as well. My mother raised us all from the eggs others brought to her to look over. She had the largest heart a Nidoqueen could ever have, and then some."

"Ah…" David nodded. Nidoqueen… Nidoqueen…. Evolves from Nidorina, evolves from Nidoran….

Nidoran…

Due to the high populace of their natural predators, such as Seviper and Arbok and Zangoose and other poison-resistant Pokemon, female Nidoran, as a species, have achieved survival through sheer numbers. Conservatively, there is an estimated of two million female Nidoran between—between—between—between—natural—Natural Selection

Through Natural Selection, female Nidoran had evolved over generations to breed within one year of birth, peaking in fertility during their first and second years. Those that survive quickly become unfertile and evolve into Nidorina, who, in their newfound power and sudden lack of purpose, leave the warren to hunt and roam freely.

Upon their eighth year of survival, Nidorina then make an instinctive migration to find Moon Stones to further evolve into Nidoqueen, who then return to their birthplace find warrens of female Nidoran to act as den mothers for them.

The ratio of Nidoqueen to Nidoran is one-to-five thousand and has been declining in recent years due to the lack of Evolution stones despite attempts made to maintain that balance. The largest warren held by a single wild Nidoqueen counted at least five hundred Nidoran.

Male Nidoran, with their larger spikes, are less desired by predators as they are more dangerous to attack and consume in direct comparison to their female counterparts. Therefore, with them off the menu for all but few predators, their numbers are considerably lower in Nature's equilibrium. At most, there is an estimated seven hundred fifty thousand between—between—but do not breed until two years of age.

This discrepancy between the Male and Female sexes of Nidorina is the root of dichotomy separating them into two distinct Pokemon species. And, as such, their biology and anatomy are drastically different, as the two have been built and structured over millennia to do two separate things. The female, to offset the losses from predators and further the species and the male we'll be looking at another time.

But for the meantime, when treating female Nidoran, particularly wild Nidoran, always be on guard for a Nidoqueen. Even tame Nidoqueen harbor a den mother mentality and at times, especially during extreme crisis, revert to this base instinct and will attack anyone she considers to be a threat to her warren. If worst comes to worst, it is best to abandon a wild Nidoran and let the Nidoqueen do what her instincts tell her to do. Same goes for non-wild Nidoran. Any Nidoqueen, wild or not, will have an instinctual need to protect and may become an issue.

Now, if we all turn to page 1374 of Elm—

"David! Hey, David! You there?"

"What?!" David blinked—they were suddenly in a forest again. He looked behind them; the first trees were a stone's throw away. The forest didn't start for at least two miles…. He turned to Sobek. "I blanked out?"

"For about fifteen minutes," Sobek grimaced with a tilt of his head, "You started mumbling something but I couldn't make anything out."

"Pure gibberish, just the work of a mind sifting through itself," Seve dismissed it with a wave of his hand, yet his face took on a more serious look. This time it wasn't a mask for a story, and with it came genuine concern, "I hope I did not bring up any horrible childhood memories with telling of my adoptive parents…? I hear some Marowak are rather harsh on their children. …no? Not with you? Then I am relieved. You might have missed this, but Sobek has been sharing to me his travels." To Sobek, "Have you heard of any in your wanderings?"

Sobek shook his head, "I only knew two families of Marowak, five Cubone between them. They lived off around… Cape Glint. They were all fairly happy. Complete airheads sometimes, but downright devious."

"Cape Glint of the Crystal Abby?!" Seve laughed, "Now I am sure. For how small you are, you travel even more than I do! No, do not worry, I'm sure your friend is fine—as you said, Cubone are often off in a world of their own, scheming." He poked David's skull "Thinking. But please tell me if you can, just where are you off to now? I have found a wonder of a Totodile, indeed. He must be going…"

Sobek's grin fell, and with it, Seve's. "Thunderwave Cave."

"Ah." The Sneasel fell silent. Grim, thoughtful confusion flashing over his eyes as he leaned forward, resting his chin on the back of his claws. His eyes bored through the trees as they past.

"Thunderwave Cave," He repeated slowly, starting to nod. "I have heard of such a place. Yes, I have gone to such a place several times for a particular errand." His voice was an eerie deadpan, sifting a saddened fatigue. He looked between the two. "I can only assume you two are going there for a particular errand as well?" The Sneasel's eyes stopped at the Totodile's. "…unfortunately, yes?" Seve looked to David, finally understanding the anxiety in his eyes, and, slowly, nodded to him. "Unfortunately, of course."

Seve reached back into the closest bag on the back of the wagon, digging through it. "I assume speed is required. In that case, my charity for you two ends here—my apologies. …however!" He silenced the two, holding up a claw. "I like you two. Sobek, Totodile, you have traveled far and wide, farther than everyone in the Square combined, I'd imagine. And David, Cubone. You have stayed silent, but that is what a Cubone does. Sit, observe, imagine, create.

"Your friend tells me you have lost confidence in yourself so let me tell you this: it was Marowak friend of mine who crafted this wagon of mine when I set off from Tapio many years ago and, despite all the trouble it has gone through, it still rolls like the day she made crafted it. You Cubone do two things very well. Fight, and create. You, I am starting to think, are more of a creator. So, between the two of you, something interesting is bound to occur and I'd like to make a profit off it, hmm? I jest!

"But truly. Whatever mistake you have made, I'm sure it is no worse than my own. Ergo, it is best if we help each other in such situations. This being said," He smirked, he had found whatever he was looking for. "You now owe me one." He pulled out three seeds, a light blue in color, teardrop in shape. "These are Speed Seeds."

"You're going to give us them?" Sobek blinked. "David, we can be there in, like, an hour!"

"An hour!?" Seve scoffed. "Sobek, why be there in an hour when we can be there in… ten minutes?"

David and Sobek glanced at each other, then noticed they had stopped. Both Ollie and Lino were looking back at Seve.

"Um para Ollie e dois para Lino." He dropped one seed into the tail's maw and gently tossed the other two the Lino. Seve glanced down to the two. He half-smirked, adjusting his hat and braced himself, standing one foot on the driver's seat and the other on the footboard. That was all the warning he gave them as the wagon took on a blue glow and gently lifted off the road.

Just the wagon and the bags in the back, David and Sobek realized with a grimace.

"Vamos voar, Lino!" Seve cackled, "Let us fly, Lino! Rápido! Rápido! Rápido! A-hahaha~!"

They were gone before the dust rose.

Their faces still stuck in a wind-blasted fright, Lino gently lifted the two off the wagon and onto the faintly path that lead off the road. Sobek's claws were stuck in David's shoulder while the Cubone still gripped the top of the side wall of the wagon with one hand and held his skull on with the other.

"And here is where we part ways, my friends," Seve bowed from his wagon, David's club in hand. "The cave is a quick walk along that path. Should we meet each other on these roads again, you are always free to hop on." He held the club out, "Lino, por favor." The club glistened in blue psychic power and lifted itself down to its owner. "Obrigado."

Seve stood, looking around for a moment before boosting himself up off the seat and glanced around the hilly forest again.

"As a merchant, I am an entertainer. If a Pokémon laughs, he remembers me, I have secured a customer, and he returns with a smile. I cannot help but grin and laugh, yet now the time for laughs is over and this is most certainly not a happy occasion." He looked down, nervous eyes darting between the two. "So listen to me without a smile and keep this fresh in your mind.

"Be careful, be oh so very careful here," He said quietly. "Whatever you are there for, do it quickly and do not say much. Do not speak at all, lest it returns to haunt you. Look, but try not to see. Listen, but do not take to heart. You are there for a reason and that reason alone—but do not do too well. …do not do too well." He nodded solemnly one last time, "Good luck friends. I hope this frees you. …Lino."

The wagon started along, Seve still on the lookout as they rolled down the road.

A slow minute passed, the two frozen in place.

"…David? Did we stop moving?"

"I don't know. …can you let me go? That's starting to hurt."

"I can't move, David. The trees are still moving too fast."

"Nevermind the trees… I think I lost my stomach. …come on, get off!"

"I can't move David."

"You're talking!"

"David. Look at me, my jaw is stuck open," Sobek said flatly. David glared over his shoulder and clamped it shut. "Aaank uuu."

One by one, David pried Sobek's claws off of his shoulder and, with a light clunk on the head, Sobek jolted away. Sighing, David flipped up his helmet and rubbed his eyes. The two took a minute to regain their nerve.

Eventually, Sobek broke the silence, "Did Seve really just drop us off here and ran off without a word?"

"He said something. I didn't catch most of it. The trees were still blurring by my head."

"Well… you ready?" Sobek asked even though he was still teetering slightly from vertigo. David answered with a flat glare. "Thought not."

They started down the pathway. The trees were becoming more and more sparse after a few minutes walking, being replaced with jutting rocks and smaller shrubbery.

While there was birdsong flitting through the air, it was distant. The wind gently rattled the branches above them and the bushes next to them. But there wasn't anything in them. No Caterpie or Weedle or Metapod or Oddish or Bellsprout—this was a perfect place for Bellsprout with all this sun filtering down from above! Sunflora or something else but…

"…there isn't anything here," David whispered, rolling his shoulders and rolling his club in his hand.

"That dungeon's been here for a while," Sobek nodded uneasily. "The longer a dungeon is around, the more wilds fall into it. At first, new wilds take over the abandoned territory because why not? Then they fall into the dungeon. There's a point where even the wilds realize something terrible is going on, and they abandon the area."

David frowned, "You know an awful lot about these things."

Sobek hesitated, then let out a long sigh. "My Mom used to be on a Rescue Team." He turned to David, "She never dared take me along—of course, but I was curious and helped around the base. A Wingull was the team's secretary and I, being the overeager little kid, wanted to help at every… woah-woah-woah, hold on," He pointed over David's shoulder. "Look at that."

"Wha…?" David followed the point to a clearing just past the trees. It took a moment for him to understand what he was looking at.

A swarm of Plusle and Minun bustled on and around a large rock outcropping, easily thirty feet tall from dirt to top. Their hides were covered in stains of all sorts of colors, some Plusle to the point where they looked like Minun while others looked more like a tie-dyed Spinda. They darted up and down the rock with dripping paws, slathering the grey stone in green and blue and orange and yellow.

Rattata and Poochyena darted around the base, digging and moving dirt away from the rock and several patches around it.

"They're painting it," David realized. "Sobek, they're painting—that rock is a Magnezone!"