Hello yellow! I am back with a very exciting chapter!

Just letting you know, I will be away for a few days and I won't have time to work on my story. So the next update may be a little late... later than usual, I mean. But don't worry; here's a nice long chapter to keep you held over until then! I think you'll like it.

Chapter 12: Rescue at Harvest Glen

Jay stepped out of the forest and into the rain, dropping the leaves behind him. Aria spit a branch out of her mouth and twitched her tail. She instinctively brought her left paw up to her mouth so she could groom herself… but she hadn't realized that it were still covered in dirt until it was too late.

She let out a faint scream of horror and spit on the ground, yanking her paw from her mouth. She retched and stuck her tongue out while Jay looked on.

"Puh… Ugh! Dith-guth-ting!" she gasped. Her tongue was still hanging out of her mouth, making her words hard to decipher. She shook her head and spat multiple times, trying to get the mud off her tongue.

"You okay?" Jay asked as he looked on in mild amusement.

"Thith ith dithguthting!" she spat.

"It's okay, Aria… It's just a bit of mud! It won't kill you!" he said.

"Bluh… Berry! I need a berry! Now!" she gagged.

Jay unfastened his Explorer Bag and fished out a random berry—a Pecha Berry. Aria opened her mouth wide, and Jay placed the fruit in her jaw. She gobbled it up quickly and breathed a sigh of relief when she swallowed.

"Ugh… that's much better!" she said.

"I'm glad," Jay said with a smile.

Suddenly, Aria reached up and gave him a slap across the cheek. More mud was splattered on his face as he jolted back in shock. It was his first instinct to hit his partner back, but he stopped himself before he could.

"What was that for?!" he cried.

"That was the stupidest plan ever! I'm sure they noticed us!" Aria cried.

"It wasn't too bad!" Jay said.

"Yeah, I guess it wasn't too bad… It was HORRIBLE! Seriously? Getting slathered up in mud was your ultra genius plan?" Aria screamed.

"It was for camouflage! It wasn't too terrible!" Jay retorted.

"It wasn't bad for you… You nasty Totodiles just love to get yourselves dirty!" Aria roared.

"Don't say another word about it…" Jay lowered his voice to a whisper. Aria looked like she was about to respond, but he put a finger on her mouth to quiet her. "We're still really close to the guild. There's still a chance they could notice us. Let's take this bickering elsewhere… Plus, we're wasting time! Who knows where that Wingull is?"

Aria glanced at the massive stone fortress behind her and shuddered. "You're right…" she whispered. "I'm sorry. We'll talk about this later…"

Jay nodded. "Okay… let's get out of here!"

He looked forward at the endless field of grass and wildflowers. It didn't seem all that special to begin with—the grass was being tormented by the vicious rain, and the hills rolled gently up and down. In the distance, he could see the grass turn from a healthy green to a yellow color—it almost looked golden.

"The golden grass is where Harvest Glen begins… we're almost there!" Aria whispered.

Jay nodded to show he understood. He grabbed onto his soaking wet Explorer Bag and began to run forward on swift feet. Aria followed behind him, her legs making small thumps as they hit the ground.

Sage Forest quickly faded into the distance until it was a small green blur. Jay was absolutely certain that Haxorus couldn't hear them now. The two slowed their pace to a gentle jog before turning into a walk. The storm seemed to be slowing down; the rain pounded on them with less intensity.

Jay took one last nervous glance at the green blur in the background before asking a question.

"I wonder… Why didn't they notice us? You said there were a lot of guards there… and I agree; our plan wasn't that good. So why didn't they sound the alarm or anything?" Jay asked as he wiped a bit of mud off his wrist.

"You know, that's a good question… I mean, I'm a pink cat. No matter how much mud you slather on me, I'm bound to stand out… So why didn't they freak out and come attack us?" Aria wondered.

"Maybe the guards were taking a nap," Jay suggested.

"Doubtful," Aria said.

"Yeah… It's weird. But I'm not complaining—we made it past them, and that's good, considering all the worrying you went through," Jay said with a shrug.

The two continued up the hills in silence.

XxX

Things were anything but silent in Haxorus's Guild.

Even the Guildmaster himself was panicking, trembling in place at the tiny Pokémon that had invaded his guild. He knew it seemed silly to be afraid of something so tiny… but when it packed such power, he couldn't help but be afraid.

"You!" Haxorus roared. He tried to keep a straight face, tried to keep his fear contained in front of his enemy.

"Yep! It's me!" The Pokémon leapt up into the air, hovering for a moment. She spun around once, and Haxorus could notice flames dancing at the tip of her fingers. Smoke partially obscured her, but that didn't make her any less terrifying

"What're you doin' here?!" Haxorus barked.

"Oh, don't worry. I just came here to have a little fun! I do love having fun!" she replied.

Haxorus growled. "Shut it! I'm not gonna put up with ya talkin' all goo-goo an' all! Now, get out of the smoke an' face me like a real Pokémon… Victini!" he cried.

The figure fluttered forward on her tiny wings, leaving the smoke behind her. Just as Haxorus had expected, it was Victini: the tiny tan sprite who hated him with a passion. She had a playful grin on her face and flames on her fingers. She looked like a playful little kid… a kid who had a flamethrower in their possession.

"I'm awfully sorry to intrude, dear Haxorus. It's just… you sure have put a damper on my spirits, if you'll excuse the pun," Victini drawled.

"Cut it out!" Haxorus cried.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Did I ignite your hatred? Are you starting to lose your cool? It would certainly be terrible if you burned up with rage! Please don't blow your lid…" Victini teased.

"Stop with the lousy puns an' tell me what you're doin' here! NOW!" Haxorus screamed.

"Like I said… I just wanted to have a little fun! So what if I burned a hole in the side of the castle? It's all in good fun!" Victini giggled.

"Ya did WHAT?!" Haxorus cried.

"Never mind… I'm just coming here to deliver a warning. While you have stopped me for now, you're not gonna follow through with your plans. You just… aren't. Mark my words: in three days, all this rain will be evaporated!" Victini said.

"Not if I can 'elp it!" Haxorus grumbled.

"You can't help it, so don't worry about it." Victini winked and fluttered away, but before she exited the building, she turned around and took one more look at Haxorus. "Oh, and by the way… You might wanna make your fortress out of something less flammable than wet brick and moss… It was pouring out and I could still burn through it!"

With that, she fluttered away into the cloud of smoke, leaving nothing behind but some very panicked Pokémon.

XxX

As Jay reached the top of the gold-crested hill, he began to show signs of tiring. He hadn't been attacked at all, save for a rogue Pidgey in Sage Forest. And the rain had energized him through their journey… so why was he tired now?
He realized it must have been his stomach… he hadn't had much to eat that morning. The quietness of the guild made him pick at his food, and he barely ate.

He grabbed an apple from his sopping Explorer Bag and crunched into it, ignoring the sogginess of the skin. With each bite, he felt a burst of energy course through his skin. The cramp in his side disappeared, and he felt like he could run a hundred miles.

"How do you like them apples?" Aria asked with a smile.

"Delicious!" Jay said, wiping his snout and swallowing.

"No… I mean those apples," Aria said as she pointed forward.

Jay looked up from his feet and found they had finally reached the crest of the hill. The golden grass beneath his feet was soft and wet, and as Jay followed her hand, he realized that they had reached their destination.

The hill sloped down into a valley below. In the valley, many trees grew from the ground. Fields of grain whipped back and forth in the wind, and some of the ground had been worn down to dirt. The entire scene was partially obstructed by the sheets of rain pounding down, but Jay could still see most of it.

"Here we are: Harvest Glen!" Aria said happily.

Jay didn't say a word as they began their hike down the hill. The storm was starting to pick up again, and either way, Aria was too busy blabbing her mouth off for him to say anything.

"Yeah… Harvest Glen is a pretty cool place. Part of it is kind of a community garden thing, but most of it is a mystery dungeon. Lots of Bug type Pokémon hang out there… some of them eat the crops and apples and stuff. Oh, and speaking of which… Even though you may see a lot of berries or apples, don't pick up any of them; the gardeners here are really protective of them… trust me, I learned that the hard way…"

After a while, Jay tuned her out, focusing only on trudging forward. The ground had taken on a soft, swampy feel, owing mainly to the rain. Jay was starting to tire of the endless rain; he was sopping wet and could barely see anything.

The two reached the bottom of the hill and found themselves facing a strange maze of crops and trees. Through the damp scent of rain, Jay could smell something sweet and earthy. The golden grass ticked his muddy feet as it blew in the wind.

"Let's get going! The sooner we get out of the rain, the better!" Aria said, shaking her head. Most of the mud had washed off her by now, but sparse patches of dirt ruffled her fur. She looked rather irritated that she was getting so muddy.

Jay blinked hard and wiped a drop of water from his eye. "Yeah. Let's get going." He walked forward into the field of grain and began their journey through Harvest Glen.

With all the rain and commotion going on, it was hard to hear anything that was going on. Thunder boomed like a cannon and lightning forked the dark sky. The field of grain was much taller than them and blocked some of the raindrops, but Jay still found himself soaked to the skin.

The golden wheat did more to hurt them in the long run. Sometimes, they would trample some grain, pushing it into the dirty ground. Sometimes, it would stick to them, making them covered in mud and crops. Jay could feel his nose starting to itch from the pollen and grass; Aria sneezed several times.

Besides the environment, the duo had to deal with many new Pokémon. The first enemy Jay ran into was a Sewaddle: a green Pokémon resembling a caterpillar covered in a bitten leaf. It had two small incisors in its mouth. It looked rather cute, which made Jay all the more surprised when it began attacking.

Turning to Aria, it spat a thin, silky string of thread from its mouth. Aria tried to jump out of the way, but the thread snared her and tripped her up. She fell to the muddy ground with a yelp, but Sewaddle still wasn't done.

It continued to spit out the thread, and as Jay looked on in horror, it managed to tie Aria's legs up, preventing her from moving. She was ensnared in a sticky web.

Aria began to scream and struggle, but the more she thrashed, the more tangled the web became. Jay could do little more than watch in horror as Aria was reduced to a sobbing mess. And the Sewaddle still hadn't gone away.

"You idiot! Stop staring at me! Do something!" Aria cried.

"What can I do? Help break you out?" Jay cried.

"Attack it, you idiot! It may look like a cute little caterpillar, but it'll string you up if you let your guard down! DO IT!" Aria screamed.

Jay looked at the Sewaddle, who let out a tiny squeak and blinked its eyes. It didn't look remotely dangerous, but if something could disable his partner, he knew it could really hurt him.

He let out a cry and jumped towards it, and at that moment, something very peculiar happened. While Jay was yelling, he felt a pull in his gut. He could feel something cold sliding up his throat, and as he reached the climax of his scream, something was expelled from his maw.

What the—water?!

The stream of water hit the Sewaddle with surprising force, knocking it to the ground. Jay fell to his knees, his eyes widened and his throat cold. He felt dizzy and disoriented like he had just thrown up… and anyway, wasn't that really what had happened?

Jay sputtered and coughed, trying to get his head straight. He glanced at Aria, who was still trying to struggle free from the spider web that held her. The Sewaddle was trying to recover from the spurt of water that had hit it.

"Urgh… What was that?!" Jay gagged.

"You used a Water type move! Congrats!" Aria said. "Now hurry up and beat that thing!"

Jay's eyes widened. Until then, he had been dying to know more about this whole "Water type" nonsense… but now he wasn't so eager to learn about it. Was that all he could do as a Water type? Vomit up streams of water to attack enemies? It didn't seem like the most effective way of attacking…

As he glanced at the Sewaddle, he found that it was still trying to stand up. It seemed dizzy and was soaking wet, partially from the rain, partially from Jay's dowsing attack. If a spray of water was all it took to damage a Pokémon…

He got up off his feet and took a deep breath. He focused all his energy into using that attack again. He felt a tug in his gut and his throat contract as water slid up to his mouth.

He finally exhaled, and when he did, another stream of bubbly water flew from his mouth. It hit the Sewaddle head on once more, and when it flew back, it landed in a puddle of mud. It didn't get up afterwards.

Jay coughed; he still wasn't used to throwing up water to attack. He was tempted to fall to the ground again, but Aria made sure that wouldn't happen.

"Great job, doofus. Now get over here and give me a hand!"

Jay stumbled over to the struggling Pokémon and grabbed the sticky web, trying to rip it apart. It proved much harder than it seemed; it was very sticky, and Jay found himself getting more tangled the more he tried to get it off.

Eventually, he gave a great tug, and with a mighty rip, the silky threads were torn from Aria's legs. The web fell to the ground and appeared to melt into the earth, turning into mud and finally vanishing.

Aria got up and stretched her legs, shaking her fur and blinking hard. "Whew! That was rough, let me tell ya!" she hooted.

"I can imagine being stuck in a web cannot be fun in the slightest," Jay said.

"Oh, and great job! It looks like you've finally learned how to use Water Gun!" Aria congratulated.

"Er… thanks? To be honest, it feels more like projectile barfing than anything…" Jay said, wiping his mouth.

"Yeah, I'm sure it feels kind of like that. But you'll get used to it… Hey, look on the positive side: at least you're not a Fire type. Could you imagine having fire coming out of your mouth? Talk about heartburn…" Aria said.

Jay winced and felt a surge of thankfulness to whoever or whatever had transformed him into a Pokémon. He could hardly imagine the pain of having to belch up fire to attack his enemies.

"Anyway, let's get going! Time's a-wasting!" Aria said.

The two continued their journey through Harvest Glen without further discussion.

As they continued their trek through the dungeon, they encountered many other Pokémon. But Jay found that it was actually very easy to spit up water. His Water Gun attack seemed to be very effective; Aria said it was probably due to the rain.

It was becoming almost second nature to him, so it came as something of a surprise when he became unable to perform his attack. He concentrated with all his might, but he simply couldn't use Water Gun against the enemy Ledyba.

"That happens if you use a move too many times," Aria said, taking note of Jay's struggle. "Try using something else instead!"

So Jay stopped trying to use Water Gun and lunged forward, scratching the Ledyba. The large ladybug spiraled out of the air and fell to the ground with a wet slosh.

The duo continued for about one hour. During this time, the rain slowed and sped up but never stopped, meaning the two were constantly getting soaked. They met many Pokémon and were almost defeated many times, but the two never slowed down.

Jay was starting to think that they'd never find the Wingull they were searching for—it would be almost impossible in the rain. But after a long time of searching, they finally found a large tree sprouting with ripe apples.

The tree was almost stripped bare of leaves; the gale-force winds had torn most of them off. Apples clustered the base of the tree. They all looked muddy and bruised, completely unlike the shiny apples still on the tree.

At first, the two didn't take much note of the tree, but a frightened trill brought their attention to the canopy.

There was a small bird perched on a branch, its wings tucked in at its side. It was mostly white but had two blue stripes on its wings. It had a long beak and trembled in fear. Jay knew this Pokémon was a Wingull.

"Do you think that's the one?" Jay asked, remembering their target was a Wingull.

"We haven't seen any other Wingulls around here, so it has to be…" Aria said, a tone of sarcasm in her voice.

"H-hey! Why are you talking about me? I can hear you, ya know…!"

The Wingull had noticed the presence of Jay and Aria, and he didn't seem at all comforted. He trembled more and looked positively terrified. Jay wasn't surprised; he knew some Pokémon were wary of strangers. But it still did annoy him that he wasn't grateful that they were coming to rescue him.

Jay tried to be nice. He smiled and said "Hey, buddy! How's it going?" Wingull didn't reply—he just cowered more.

Aria slapped him. "You're just making him scared! Shut your mouth and let me handle it!" she hissed. Jay nodded meekly and closed his mouth.

The Skitty approached the tree and wagged her tail. "Hey, Wingull! We're Team River Song, and we're here to rescue you!" Aria said.

Wingull looked up and stopped trembling.

"Chespin sent us. He sounds really worried… we just had to help him out!" Aria continued.

"Oh my goodness! Chespin?" Wingull said. His voice was still shaky, but it was more from relief than fear now.

"Yeah. All you have to do is fly down here, and we'll bring you back! Chespin will be overjoyed! So c'mon down!" Aria finished.

Wingull dove down without a second's hesitation. Jay was relieved that Wingull hadn't tried to argue with them—that would've made their difficult task even more complicated. His stomach rumbled as he realized he was still very hungry from breakfast.

"Thank you so much, you guys! I'll never forget this as long as I live!" Wingull said happily. He perched on Aria's back as the two prepared to return to the guild.

Jay tapped his Explorer Badge, and the familiar pillar of luminous light descended upon him. Aria did the same, and even though Wingull seemed surprised, he stayed put. The golden light blinded Jay, and his feet left the ground as they teleported home.

XxX

Haxorus growled with displeasure as he scanned the charred hole in the ground. He was standing with Primeape and the two guards, Throh and Sawk. Throh and Sawk looked nervous; they feared the Guildmaster's wrath and felt like they were constantly at risk. Primeape's brow was furrowed.

"How the hey did she burn through the castle?! It's pourin' rain out 'ere! Ain't no way she could burn through anythin' in this weather!" Haxorus growled.

"We suspect that she may have used her psychic powers in conjunction with Searing Shot," Sawk said cautiously.

"Plus, Searing Shot is already powerful as it is… though we never imagined that it could be this powerful," Throh added.

"An' you say tha' you saw 'er out 'ere?" Haxorus asked gruffly.

"Yeah. She was doing a silly little dance, sticking her tongue out at us…" Sawk said.

"And then we blinked, and the next thing we knew, she was gone," Throh said, looking down at the ground. His stomach writhed; from the steadily growing scowl on Haxorus's face, he could tell the Guildmaster wasn't pleased.

"Why didn't ya tell us she was 'ere as soon as ya saw 'er?! Then maybe we coulda prevented this disaster from happenin'! Did ya ever think of that?! Huh?!" Haxorus cried.

"We thought she had just shown up to taunt us…" Sawk said defensively.

Quick as a wink, Haxorus grabbed Sawk by the uniform. His eyes widened and his blue skin turned pale. Throh backed up, holding his hands up in defense. Primeape glared at Throh and advanced on him, his hands clenched into fists at his side. Throh gulped; he did not want to face the fury of Primeape. If anything, it was worse than Haxorus's anger… and a lot more painful.

"What did I tell ya 'bout bein' a guard?" Haxorus said. His voice was barely audible; he had lowered it to a whisper and the rain was deafeningly loud.

"Uh… d-don't sleep on the job?" Sawk squeaked.

"Don't. Assume. Anythin'." With each word, Haxorus tightened his grip on Sawk. Sawk reacted accordingly; his eyes widened and he began to tremble in place. But he didn't scream or even say anything—he was too petrified to speak.

"If ya see a stranger outside of our lil' abode, keep an eye on 'em. That's why I hired two o' ya: one could keep an eye on the stranger, while the other could let me know there's a weirdo outside. If ya see anyone—anyone—tha' shouldn't be there… don't jus' assume they're comin' by ta look at the architecture o' this place. Ya got that?!" Haxorus continued.

"Y-yes sir…" Sawk squeaked.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Haxorus thundered.

"Yes! Yes! Yes sir! I will never mess up again! Never!" Sawk cried.

"Neither will I!" Throh added hastily. Primeape was looking downright murderous as he advanced on the bipedal Pokémon.

Haxorus seemed content. He set Sawk down, and Primeape finally backed away from the other guard. They both breathed a sigh of relief—this was much better than some other punishments they had received.

"Y'all can go back to your positions. But I ain't takin' any o' this namby-pamby nonsense next time… ya hear?!" Haxorus said, his voice rising slightly in volume.

"Yessir," Sawk and Throh murmured.

"I'm gonna put a few more Pokémon on the job with ya. I have a feelin' tha' lil' miss Victini's gonna be visitin' a lot now, an' I don't want ya ta let 'er in again!" Haxorus added.

"Yessir. Thank you, sir." The Pokémon put their hands together and bowed respectfully.

"An' we're gonna need someone ta fix this…" Haxorus gestured at the hole in the ground. Though the fires had long since been quenched, the faint scent of burnt leaves still lingered in the air.

"We can possibly get help from Pinsir and Ursaring… They're actually pretty talented when it comes to building. I often compare them to Gurdurrs…" Primeape said. Though his voice was much more confident than the trembling guards, he was still burning up with anxiety.

"Good. I'm sure they're all too eager ta get some stuff done," Haxorus mused.

"Shall I get them?" Primeape asked.

"Yeah… get e'eryone together. Give 'em a pep talk. We're gonna step things up 'ere from now on. We're gonna train 'em 'til their butts fall off and their eyes fall outta their heads… Things are gonna heat up here," Haxorus ordered.

"Yessir. Right away." Primeape scurried away, all too thankful to be away from Haxorus's steely glare. Throh and Sawk did the same, returning to their positions. Only Haxorus stayed.

He looked up at the pouring rain and smiled. If only Victini would stop butting in on them every second, things would be perfect. He cursed and grumbled something about Victini's stupid plans—the world would never burn when it was drenched in water.

"Jus' ya wait, Victini… jus' ya wait."

XxX

I bet you didn't expect that, did you? It looks like we have a bit of a rivalry here... Victini versus Haxorus! And Aria and Jay are completely clean... well, besides the fact they're crawling around in mud. Camouflage always works!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to review!