"Here we are.." Oakley said with a sigh. "Stone Town." The Boltund let out a low sigh, still not knowing the town doesn't allow any outcasts.

"Oakley, I'm getting kinda worried about Vivian." Penny averted her eyes over to the Boltund much to her convern, then back at the houses nearby. "I mean- What if she actually gets taken away!? Or what if they kick us out just because-"

"Penny, remember what the Bewear told us before? He'd met a dark-type. It's not like she's going to kill everybody just because she's one." Oakley responded before stopping to stare at what appeared to be a Yamper, running over to her with a huge smile on its face.

It let out a few barks, still not knowing what it was talking about. "Penny, there's a random-"

But the Yamper ran away from the team. It's not like it was scared, the reason is that it wants them to follow its lead. Following the small corgi's steps, the team stopped to find Rai, focusing on his mate. Letting out a few barks, Rai paused and turned back at Oakley, staring directly into her eyes.

"Oakley.." He spoke quietly. "Oakley..I-It's been so long since we've seen each other!"

"I miss you, Dad." Oakley sighed as she leaned her head against her father's back. "It's been..more than a while."

She opened her mouth to talk, but soon remembered the Yamper that led the team over to her family. Letting out a few barks of glee, Oakley leans her head over back at the small puppy next to Rai. "And I can't forget about you, little guy."

She asked what the Yamper's name is, but the only reply given isn't revealed yet. "He doesn't have a name yet, but we'll give him one later."

Lila turned back at Oakley, then at the Sneasel behind her. "Oakley, that must be-"

"Vivian..yes. I know, you guys said I shouldn't be friends with outsiders.." Oakley sighed, remembering the warning when she was still a Yamper. "But, she's not like she's going to kill any of you."

The Yamper slowly walked over to Vivian, but in her mind; as she saw the other Sneasel about to grab her by the scruff, she immediately hurled herself away from the small corgi. He tilted his head in confusion, wondering what's wrong with the Sneasel, he stood, still staring at her directly into her eyes.

"Vivian thinks he's another Sneasel trying to grab her." Oakley spoke as a matter of fact. "We're trying to protect her from any further damage but she hasn't met strangers like this pup before."

Rai nodded. At first he was going to warn Oakley about bringing outcasts back to her home village, but he had to let it slide. "She looks..kinda friendly. No wonder why she doesn't want to attack."

Oakley thought for a moment. She doesn't remember when Vivian first used an attack, but as a kit she never attacked anyone. Two reasons, either because of Griff's abuse, or she never has the ability to attack. None of those reasons are why Vivian hasn't been defending herself for the past year or so.

It has been a long time ever since Team Blytz was formed, and the rest of the members have grown up into stronger warriors; except for Vivian. Now an adult Boltund with a Snubbull friend, a Tyrogue, and a Sneasel around, waiting all these years and she still hasn't given up.

"Does the town still forbid outcasts?" Oakley asked, unaware.

Rai thought for a few moments. He'd saw his daughter form a team with the help of her Bewear friend, but he doesn't know if the town forbids outcasts into any of their shelters for housing. "Oakley, why won't you ask any of the village members if they can house Vivian for the night."

"If not, then let me know."

Oakley nodded. "C'mon, team. If they can't house Vivian, then we'll find somewhere else to house her ourselves!" Finally, the Boltund leads the rest of the team away from the family, taking their steps into the nearby explorer houses to find if they could house Vivian for night.

There was no luck for the past minute or two, and after spending less than thirty minutes into the journey, Oakley had to come back with the bad news.

"Nope. No luck." The Boltund scoffed. "We tried every explorer house, and they still don't allow outcasts."

"I see.." Rai nodded before averting back to the Boltund leader. "You've been quite a trooper for the past year, so why won't head out and find a place where they allow outcasts?"

"We've found something that allows outcasts before. Snowfall Village." Oakley responded as Penny showed Rai the map to where they could head back to the said location. "It's not our home, but it's a place where they could make Vivian very comfortable!"

"And honestly better than living in some isolated forest infested with Sneasels." Penny chuckled slightly.

"Penny, some Sneasels live here.."

"Last time I checked, they're Hisuian.. And a Decidueye told me that some came here as orphans."

"How about we end this conversation with one last goodbye?" Rai asked as he sat down and raised both his arms, only for him to lose his balance and tumbled onto the floor. He was trying to give Oakley a hug, but due to his poor balance as a dog, it was difficult for him to stand up with just two legs.

Oakley came up with another idea. She walks back to her father, places a paw onto his back, and laid her head against Rai's. "Now this is a hug." Said Oakley before breaking the hug soon after. "You should do this more properly next time."

"R-Right.." He nodded nervously. "I never done hugs like this in like..years!"

"Maybe that Lycanroc could teach you how to do so." Penny then asked what the Lycanroc's name is, and she answered, "Lila."

"Lila. Adir." The Tyrogue responded.

"Mom, this is Vivian. Adir, Penny." Oakley responded as she introduced her to the rest of the team. "Penny and I are best friends. For Adir, we saved him from a Mightyena attack, and for Vivian, we saved her from Griff's clutches."

"Now that's bold of you, Oakley!" The midday Lycanroc chuckled, her tears pricking from her eyes. "I've raised a daughter and as quick as a Rattata, she became brave and bold just like us!"

"Thanks for the conversation! Now let's just-"

"PENNY." Oakley responded sharply, only to sigh and reply calmly. "She's not finished."

After a few minutes of talking, the Boltund finally leads the team to the exit of Stone Town, leaving all three of the dogs remaining. "Farewell, Dad! I'll come back for you sometime!"

"Farewell, Oakley! Come back anytime!"

Oakley nodded and finally, the exit. Team Blytz leaves Stone Town and after a few miles, the village disappears out of sight. Mainly the fog is the reason why they won't be able to find their way back until it clears out. A few drops of rain and alas, the same path we're they lost their trail.

"Damn it." Cursed the Boltund. "We're losing tracks here. How are we supposed to find out way back to Snowfall?"

"Perhaps we could take a shortcut." Penny requested as she ran off, nearly leaving the team behind. "This way! I know we could find some shelter!"

"PENNY- NOT TOO FAR!" She yelled at the Snubbull, trying to grab her attention. The bulldog stopped, since she doesn't want to leave any of her team members behind. "We don't wan't to get lost, do you?"

"Pff- Getting lost may be traumatizing, but I'm sure we can find each other, can we?"

"No, Penny. We can't." Adir responded in a serious tone. "Unless we have sharp eyesight, we can't go back and find each other. We'll get lost!"

The fog continued to worsen as time passed. With Oakley still walking with no sore limbs, the team started to grow worried amidst the horrible weather. "Oakley, can't we just go back to Stone Town? We can't just walk off and act like the weather isn't a big deal."

"Adir, you said we can't get lost. If we do, then we can't see each other, even if the fog clears out." Oakley stated as she continued on walking. "Plus, it's raining, so we already lost the tracks here."

"Oakley, this is getting ridiculous. We can't just go through another hour looking for a shelter in the fog." Penny growled as she hopped onto the Boltund's back. "We've gotten ourselves lost in snow only to find a village that somehow allows outcasts the next morning."

"And I've gotten worried you were covered in snow! We would've froze to death!" Oakley said sternly.

"Exactly! But we're not covered in snow as I woke up. Instead, we woke up ON a pile of snow INSTEAD!"

Adir let out a growl in response. He didn't want both Oakley or Penny to fight with each other. They were both friends, and with the rule she made up, it's to never separate the team. "Guys, we can't just fight. Remember the last time you've done that? You could've broken up the team!"

"A-Adir's right, guys. If we fight once more, bad things will happen!" Vivian responded, though her expression stayed neutral.

Oakley let out a low sigh. "Right. Never to fight with each other again or the team could break up."

The fog stayed the same, and the rain continued to fall, but the wind started to grow colder. Vivian doesn't seem to mind, since she's an ice-type. But for the rest, they're never fans of colder weather. They don't mind snow, but cold wind? Not on their minds.

Deep in the foggy and isolated forest lays a large Honchkrow, sitting on the large branch of a spruce tree, staring at the team. Was it looking for its meal? No. It was looking to capture them, like how a bird captures their prey with its talons. With its talons gripping onto a large branch, the Honchkrow turns around to notice a few more of its species flying over.

The other one is a male, and the last one is a shiny; and it's female. Unlike her shiny color, most shiny Honchkrow are male, but some shinies of their said species can be female as well.

The birds' eyes are locked onto the rest of the team, looking to capture and take them where this could be their home..for now.

"Alright, team. The first thing we gotta do is to head straight ahead. Maybe that's where Snowfall Village is at." Oakley explained as Penny examined the map carefully. "Hold on- Is is straight to the right or just..straight?"

"I don't know! The map doesn't even say we're on the right path!" Penny snorted in annoyance as she failed the map around. "ARCEUS, THIS JOURNEY IS SO FRUSTRATING!"

"We can't go back when it's too foggy outside. Once it cleared up, we could-" Adir responded, only to be cut off as he heard loud noises across the forest. "Guys, stay still. There could be someone else baiting us into rescue."

"How did you even know there could be someone baiting us into rescuing them!?" Penny growled as she slammed the map onto Oakley,s back, letting out a, "HEY!"

"My family once told me that if there's someone baiting me into helping them, they could actually be someone capturing us! Is that simple!?"

The shiny bulldog curled her face into a snarl. "And you didn't even tell us when?"

"Guys, let's not fight here, alright? Remember what Adir said earlier? Fight once more and the team breaks up." Oakley asked sharply. She opened her mouth to finish once more, but she was cut off as noises continued to reverberate across the foggy area. The sounds don't sound human like, and they appear to be..bird-like noises.

Letting out a few crow-sound cries, Oakley and the team froze as they continued once more. "Guys, stay still. We've got some trouble around here." The Tyrogue let out a snarl of anger. "Whenever it's a dark type, they could be kidnappers."

"Or worse..birds of prey. Like a flock of Mandibuzz." Penny responded as she averted her eyes over to the bird-like shadows on the tree.

"Penny, they don't look like a flock of Mandibuzz." Adir replied, sighing in annoyance.

"Then what do they look like!?"

"Vivian, hide under me just in case.." Oakley demanded, and Vivian obeyed. The Sneasel hides under Oakley before staring directly at the crow-like figure's shadowy being. "We don't want them to swoop you away."

That sentence tugged Vivian like a Braviary swooping a Patrat away. Before she could say anything else, one of the Honchkrow from the spruce tree flies straight over to Oakley, retracting his talons. Scared to do anything else, Vivian quickly hugs Oakley before the large crow could sink its claws onto Oakley's skin.

The large crow finally takes Oakley into the air, with Vivian still hanging onto the Boltund's undertorso. "We've got double prey right here." The large mobster crow growled as he carried the Boltund straight into the air.

Taking a second to notice Oakley being onto the large Honchkrow's clutches, Adir soon ran over to where the Boltund was captured. "HEY! PUT HER DOWN YOU MANGY BIRD-BRAIN!"

Vivian couldn't hold onto Oakley much longer. Slipping from the Boltund, she soon fell, flailing her arms around for help. "VIVIAN!" They all cried as they watched the Sneasel fall before she could hit the ground.

Before Adir could run up to catch the Sneasel, the shiny crow immediately grabs Vivian seconds before the Tyrogue could catch her. "REALLY!? IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW!?"

He quickly grabs the shiny Snubbull before the last remaining bird could grab him with its talons, sinking its claws against his skin. "AGH! LET GO OF ME YOU HALF-ASSED FEATHER-BRAIN!" The Snubbull cried as she failed her arms around.

"I'M NOT THAT HONCHKROW! HE IS!" Adir yelled as he darted over to the Honchkrow, carrying both Pokemon with its clutches. "HE'S THE ONE WHO'S CARRYING ME! AND I'M THE ONE WHO'S CARRYING YOU IN CASE!"

"Keep them in our clutches. We'll bring them over to our premises soon enough.." The large mobster bird chuckled menacingly, still carrying the now-distressed Boltund in his grasp. "And if they try to escape, then they're our meal.."

This tugged Oakley. She didn't want to die this early, nor did Vivian. All they wanted was to explore and do missions, not to get captured by a flock of Honchkrow.

A few minutes of flight later, they all soon reached where the rest of the dark-predators could reside. Dropping the rest of the team onto the ground, the last three crows soon landed, staring directly into their distressed eyes. "Sir, you can't be doing this. We're supposed to be here looking for a place to stay!"

"Oh, we're sorry. Did we bring you here by mistake?" The Honchkrow asked, only for him to tell the truth afterwards. "There's no mistake, Miss. Boltund. We brought you here because we've been keeping an eye on all four of you."

"And what reason did you keep an eye on us for?" Growled the shiny Snubbull, keeping her jaws locked in case.

"Us Honchkrows have the right to capture prey; including the rest of you. To keep us alive, we have to keep our prey locked somewhere else before we could KILL."

Oakley froze at that sentence. Was she really going to be the large bird's prey? "That Snubbull over there could be a little too big for us to kill. And a bit too savage."

"Good. I don't want to be eaten by a crow anyway." The snarky Snubbull growled sharply.

"And that..Tyrogue. With one arm, we're not sure if we're going to keep him in our clutches anyway."

"Excuse me, did you just disrespect my injury?" The Tyrogue shook, he stood up and walked towards the Honchkrow. "You know that's just wrong to say that, even in front of a one-arm like me.."

"Adir's right. You can't just-"

"Now, Boltund lady. You can't interrupt my sentence, would you?" The shiny Honchkrow trailed a feather onto her head, only for Oakley to snap her jaws in front of her. "She's quite a savage dog, you know?"

"We'll keep the rest of those..childish explorers, shall we?" The mobster crow chuckled deviously. "And they became savage again, knock the wind out of them.."

"You can't be doing this.." The Boltund snarled. "If any of you guys take Vivian away, you'll get my fangs.."

"AND MY FANGS TOO!" Penny roared.

"Yes, and Penny's fangs too."

"Now, now. Don't get all too angry, my dears.." Said the large crow as he trailed a feather onto Oakley's chin. "If you want to escape from us, then risk it. We'll come back to actually kill you anytime now.."

Vivian froze in horror. She didn't want to be killed by a large bird Pokemon. Unlike a Braviary, most Honchkrows are known to not only eat Sneasels, but to capture them and take them back to their clan. Even though they're dark types, these types of birds will kill Sneasels sometimes.

"Take them, and lock them inside. We come back and find you gone, you die." Finally, both birds grab the rest of the team with each of their talons, carrying them to where they could be locked up. It's not a prison, but it's a certain area that were the rest of the team could be locked in..for a while.

Upon reaching where the team could be locked in, the birds threw the rest of the team in an isolated room. Oakley could feel herself slamming onto the brick wall before getting up, thinking she could fight them off. But with the rest, they could feel themselves stinging with pain once they hit the wall, a stone-hard wall surging onto their backs.

Thankfully no bones are broken, but Vivian could feel herself too horrified to move once more. "Now, try to escape and you'll feel our wrath." Said the Honchkrow before slamming the door shut, before Oakley could stop him to ask what the bird's name is, and he answered, "Screech"

"Listen, Screech. We don't want any harm. All we wanted to do was just find our way back to Snowfall Village." Demanded Oakley. "It's too foggy outside so we just had to take a shortcut."

"A shortcut. That seems pretty harmful if you went any further." Screech intervened as he got closer to the doorway. "If you go any closer then we'll hunt you down."

"Well, you're weak to a fairy-type like me!" Growled the Snubbull as she ran over to the Honchkrow, only for Screech to stop her with his talon. "AND YOU'RE NO MATCH FOR MY TYPE ADVANTAGE!"

"Oh, wonderful. A Snubbull trying to attack me despite the fact that I'm weak to fairy types.." Yawned the large mobster bird.

"Exactly.." Oakley curled her face into a snarl, only for Penny to land onto her instead as she started to talk.

"Again, try to escape and you'll feel my wrath." Screech roared as he finally slammed the door shut. "And for your information, there is no way out.."

Screech disappears into the distance as he flies away from the team, leaving the rest of the Pokemon inside a nearly-empty room. Adir slowly gets up to notice the large Honchkrow missing. "Damn it. Oakley, guess we're going to be stuck here for the rest of our lives now.." The shiny Tyrogue sighed in defeat.

"No, Adir. We're not going to be stuck here forever. We've gotta come up with a way out, otherwise the rest of those birds are going to use us as fresh takeout!" Oakley growled as she attempted to dig her paws onto the stone floor, but to no avail. "We can't just stay here for the rest of our lives! First, we need a way out, then we'll find a way back to Snowfall Village!"

"Oakley, there's-" Adir paused, then soon remembered the move he learned from his mother, Brick Break. This is the move he hasn't used ever since he was still a child. "Oakley, you're right. There IS a way out of this.."

"Do you think Griff hired any of those birds to capture us?" Vivian asked as she got up, curiously. "I mean, they're dark-types.."

"I don't think so, Viv." Oakley responded as she beckoned her Tyrogue friend. "Griff would never hire someone outside their species to try and kill us."

She then turned to the shiny Tyrogue. "Adir, use that move of yours. This'll help break the floor."

Adir didn't know what to do at first, but by realizing the stone floor is on top of the soil, he knew what to do. Raising his right arm, he swiftly slams his arm onto the stone floor, breaking a piece of it into several pieces. Afterwards, he then takes out the remaining pieces, leaving only soil on the ground. this is the way out from being locked in.

And finally, the Boltund digs her paws onto the soil, making a huge hole in between. "C'MON, GUYS! HURRY BEFORE THEY NOTICE US!"

However, Adir came up with another idea. Opening a large chest reveals a few dolls that were meant for playing in the past. These toys resemble a half-finished Boltund, a Tyrogue with a few stitches from kids playing with it roughly, and lastly a Snubbull, a toy fresh out of the box. The Tyrogue placed the stuffed animals onto each side of the bed before hopping onto the hole with Oakley. Then, goes Vivian, and lastly Penny.

Before jumping into the hole, Penny covers the hole with the chest Adir opened before hopping into the hole, stopping before covering the hole completely.

Finally, Team Blytz made it out of the locked room with little damage; being slammed onto a brick wall from earlier, but thankfully no injuries. Digging as deep as she could, it took her several minutes before she dug her way out, leading the rest of the team out of the hole. Making sure she dug as far as possible, she let out a sigh and led the rest of her friends out of the Honchkrow area.

"Guys, we've escaped." Cheered the Boltund slightly. "We don't even have to deal with those pesky birds again."

"Now we should head back to Snowfall Village, should we?" Asked Adir, confused about the directions.

"I don't know. The map doesn't say we're on the right path." She responded as Penny showed her the map. "But, we just had to go where it's safe."

-End of Chapter 8-