Summary: Takes place between Parts 1 and 2. Melissa decides to get to more involved with Fort Lucus my partaking in a game of Forest Ball. Results may vary.

"You want to get to know the Foresters better?"

Melissa joined her two roommates at the mess hall for lunch as they usually do, discussing a range of topics that interested the girls. Pandora wouldn't stop trying to divert the conversation toward her new flying invention, something she was eagerly trying to find volunteers for. Though, when Melissa had the chance, she managed to change topics to something that has been on her mind.

"Yes, exactly," she said. "I have been here for a while, but I feel like I barely know Fort Lucus and its denizens. I want to embrace the feeling of the Foresters by getting better acquainted with everyone." She awkwardly tapped her hands together. "I still feel a bit like an outsider here."

Marie smiled. "Hon, no one's throwing nasty looks at you anymore. I'd say you're already a part of the Foresters."

"Yeah, but I want to get to know everyone on a personal level. Something to show that I am as much their friend as they are mine. You know what I mean?"

Pandora nodded. "Oh, totally. That's how I feel about a workplace relationship between my minions. If you want your evil minions to do good, you got to remind them that their overlord is a malevolent figure who pays well and expects results."

"…Sure," Melissa mumbled.

Marie tucked her fist under her chin and smirked. "Is this really that important to you?"

Melissa scratched behind her head. "Maybe a little."

She sighed. "Well, I suppose there are some things you can do. Adenine teaches sewing, for one. A lot of guys don't like doing it, but they'll come to appreciate it when they need to fix up their shirts."

"Eh, I was hoping for something a bit…more."

Pandora nodded. "I hear you. You want to join the Weald Rangers and learn the ins and outs of protecting the fort!"

"Uh…does not seem like my style."

Marie chuckled. "Give it some months once you pick a job around here." She scratched her chin. "Hmm, how do you feel about sports?"

"Sports?" Melissa asked, tilting her head.

Pandora cleared her throat. "Sports, my dear friend, are classified as an activity where one combines physical exertion and skill to compete in—"

"I know what sports are! I am not that sheltered!" she yelled.

Marie snickered. "She's just messing with you, hon."

"No, I was genuinely serious," Pandora corrected.

Marie rolled her eyes and continued, "If you're interested in doing a community activity, you could try Forest Ball."

"Forest Ball? What is that?"

Marie shrugged. "It's a game that Eadwulf or someone invented before the Foresters officially debuted. It's mostly simple. Two teams, a ball, a goal on each end of the field—"

"Oh, that does sound simple!" Melissa exclaimed. "I want to play Forest Ball!" She paused as the girls started snickering at her. She pouted at them. "What?"

Marie suppressed her laughing and said, "N-No offense, hon, but it might be a little too intense for you. I was just suggesting it thinking you'd be too put off about getting sweaty and junk."

Pandora smirked. "You'd get creamed."

Melissa pouted harder. "How dare you! May I remind you that I singlehandedly defeated Althalos during our invasion on Snowbound Village?"

Pandora raised her brow. "Singlehandedly?"

"…Okay, Jet and Eadwulf helped a little, I guess."

Marie laughed. "Hon, I'd hate to agree with Pandora, but she's right. You'd be way out of your element if you played Forest Ball. It's a lot more intense than what your pansy noble friends play for sport."

"First of all, I do not have any noble friends. Secondly, that…sounded a lot sadder than it did in my head. Thirdly, I would totally rule at Forest Ball! You two just do not have any faith in me!" She crossed her arms and turned away from them in a huff.

The girls smirked at each other before shrugging. "Well, how can we deny your request now?" Pandora asked.

Marie laughed. "Alright, let's finish with lunch, and we'll escort you to the recreation grounds."

"Hmph, good, then I will show you both that I am the master of…um, throwing the sports ball really well. Yeah!"

"Whatever you say, hon."

After getting directions from Marie and Pandora, Melissa walked into the deeper ends of Fort Lucus, hidden under a deep collection of leaves thicker than the front. The area had to be lit by torches despite still being the middle of the day. The lights got stronger the further she went back.

Eventually, she spotted her destination in the clearing: a large platform set up with seats for onlookers. Large nets hung around the platform to protect the seating area, likely from stray balls sailing across the air.

The platform itself was large and rectangular with a goal post on each end, shaped as a hoop. The field itself composed of thick wooden pillars towering a few meters each, resembling a dense jungle of totems.

As Melissa neared the platform, she got a clearer visual of some Pokémon currently using it. The players jumped across the wooden pillars, similar in matter to how they were trained to navigate the forest from above. The players were divided into teams with either red or blue scarves.

A Nidorina holding a green, padded ball darted for the left goal, but other players tried to tackle her. She hugged the ball and jumped down under the wooden pillars before lunging back up. She tossed it to an ally Linoone, who struck the ball with the back of her hindleg and knocked it through the goal.

"WOO! Take that!" the Linoone exclaimed.

A whistle drew Melissa's attention, and she spotted a Toxicroak hanging from the net barriers. "That's game! Lumber Jackals, ten points! Timber Wolves, fifteen!" The blue-scarved team cheered and threw their hands up while the red-scarved booed for their loss.

Melissa walked up to the netted wall and jumped on to climb up. "Um, excuse me?"

The Toxicroak turned away and smiled. "Oh, hey." She swung over and grappled next to the Buneary from the other side. "Has the princess come to cheer us on?"

Melissa chuckled nervously. "Oh, um, nothing like that. N-Not that you all were not deserving of cheers, I-I think. I just got here and—"

"Hey, hey, don't get your words twisted over it. We're chill." She stuck her hand through the net. "Ursula."

Melissa smiled and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Ursula stuck one hand into her pocket and hung from the rope by her fingers and toes. "So, what brings you to this side of the fort?"

Melissa took a deep breath and grinned. "I wish to participate in this sporting event known as Forest Ball!"

"…Wazzat?"

She raised her fists and nodded. "I wish to bond with my fellow Foresters, and I was informed that the best way to do that was to participate in a sport. The camaraderie, the passion, the bonds forged through sweat—ugh, that sounds gross."

Ursula winced. "Um, are you sure you want to participate? No offense, princess, but you don't seem like the type who enjoys sports."

Melissa pouted. "I am not a princess here. I am simply Melissa, the rookie who is aiming to make a name for herself and wishes to get along with her fellow teammates to prove she is not an outsider."

"That's all well and good, but Forest Ball might be a little too intense for you."

She waved it off. "I survived Jet's training. A sport cannot be that bad."

"Who do you think invented Forest Ball in the first place?"

"Well, Marie told me Eadwulf invented it—"

"Because Jet asked him for new training regiments."

Melissa's eyes widened. "What?"

"Jet was asked to make training a bit more fun, so he and Eadwulf came up with this. It's no longer part of his training plan because…well, it turned out everyone had a bit too much fun."

Melissa frowned. "Huh…" She shook her head and puffed out her chest. "Th-That does not matter! I request you let me participate in the next game."

Ursula scratched her cheek awkwardly. "Hoo boy, um…I always appreciate pushing physical limits, but—" She paused as someone clapped below the girls.

"Huh?" Melissa looked down and smiled as a small Cubchoo climbed up the ropes. "Oh, Kenny! You are playing Forest Ball, too?"

Kenny smiled and nodded. He climbed up to Ursula's level and signed, "Klaus just quit, so we are missing a player. Let her join."

Ursula frowned. "Hmm. Well, Klaus survived longer than I expected, so I guess there's no harm." She nodded at Melissa. "Alright, you can play. Kenny will fill you in on the rules. Would you like to practice before the next game?"

Melissa waved it off. "I can figure it out quickly."

"Alright. I'll go inform your new team." Ursula leapt from the ropes and onto the game field.

Melissa smiled at Kenny. "Thanks for backing me up, Kenny."

He smiled back and flashed her the thumbs-up.

"So, uh…how do you play Forest Ball?"

Kenny cracked his hands, rotated his neck, and proceeded to sign a series of rules to the Buneary who stared with wide-eyed shock. Having discovered Kenny was mute, Melissa had tried in vain to learn sign language to better communicate with the tiny polar bear. Unfortunately, unlike her impressive development in training, she was a lot slower with her signing and couldn't quite keep up with the signals.

This…will be fine. Yeah.

After giving up trying to decipher Kenny's gestures, she let the polar bear lead her to her team. She saw the team consisted of a Linoone, a Nidorina, a Bewear, and a Delcatty. They were chatting and cleaning themselves off when they noticed the Buneary.

Melissa gulped and smiled awkwardly at the group. "Um, hello. I am your replacement teammate. I am Melissa."

The group stared at her silently, making her feel ever more uncomfortable than she was now. Fortunately, that feeling didn't last long as the Linoone sprung from her seat and shook the nervous bunny's hand. "Nice to have you with us, Princess! The name's Cara."

Though surprised by the positive response, Melissa smiled back. "N-No, just Melissa is fine. No princess here, just regular ol' Melissa."

Cara shrugged. "Suit yourself." She gestured to the rest of the team. "Over there's Eike, Ruarc, and Amaryllis."

"Yo!"

"Greetings."

"Nice to meet you, darling."

Cara slapped Melissa across the back, startling her. "Glad to have you onboard with us! We needed an extra player after Klaus quit." She chuckled sheepishly. "He hated every second of this game, but stuck it out longer than we thought. Ever played Forest Ball before?"

"Uh…no."

"Do you at least know the rules?"

She glanced warily at Kenny, obliviously smiling back at her. "Kind of?"

Cara shrugged. "Eh, you'll figure it out." She pulled out a blue bandana and tied it around Melissa's neck. "Well Melissa, you are now an official Timber Wolf! You'll love it. We play several games once a week. Loads of fun!"

Melissa smiled. "Oh, really?"

The Nidorina, Eike, set her canteen aside and laughed. "Totally. It's a game for only the most daring of players. The thrill of dodging your opponents, the danger of getting struck by a ball flying at high speed toward you face, the adrenaline of narrowly avoiding falling to your doom—"

The Bewear, Ruarc, quickly covered her mouth and laughed. "I think she gets the point," he said.

Melissa suppressed the shivers traveling inside her. "Oh…great. Sounds fun."

The Delcatty, Amaryllis, parted some fur out of her eyes and giggled. "It's not the most ladylike sport, but a little thrill and danger is good for the soul. One must add a little class to even the most uncultured of sports."

Melissa smiled. "Oh, are you from a noble house?"

"No, I grew up on a farm. Why do you ask?"

Melissa faltered and groaned. "No reason…"

Cara whistled for everyone to gather around her. "Alright team, listen up! We've got a two-game win streak going on here. If we win this game, we'll have three games won in a row! You ready to beat our record?"

They saluted. "Yes, ma'am!"

"Excellent! Ruarc and I will be strikers."

Ruarc cracked his knuckles. "It's what I'm good at."

"Amaryllis will be on defense."

The Delcatty parted her bangs again and laughed. "I won't let you down, darling."

Cara turned to Melissa. "And that leaves you, Kenny, and Eike as the runners. Sound good?"

"…Sure?" she replied. "B-But, just to refresh my memory, what is a run—EEP!" Eike threw her arm around Melissa and laughed.

"Let's knock this win out of the forest, Cottontail!"

Kenny clapped and excitedly signed, "You'll do great, Melissa!"

Melissa's nervous smile stretched wider. Oh dear, what is this pressure I am feeling all of a sudden?

Ursula whistled for the next game to start, calling both teams back onto the court. Melissa tried to accustom herself to the pillars as she balanced on them. They were easier to stand on than the ones Jet provided for training, but it didn't help she only had enough room for one foot. The others were much more adapted than her, even Ruarc whose feet were the width of small barrels compared to his team.

As if her anxiety wasn't flaring up enough, she got a good look at her opponents on the Lumber Jackal team. They consisted of a Snover, a Venonat, and a Flaaffy as the runners. A Combusken and Crawdaunt were the strikers. And finally, a Whimsicott was acting as defender, and he looked just as nervous as her.

"Woo! Do your best, Thales!" Melissa looked to the stands and saw a Lampent cheering the Lumber Jackals on. She saw the Whimsicott, Thales, shaking off his jitters.

"Show them no mercy, team!" the Combusken ordered. "We can't be having those Timber Wolves getting their precious three-streak!"

Cara waved her curled claws at him. "Just you wait and see, buddy! We'll cream you all into next week!" She grinned at her team. "Alright Timber Wolves, is everyone set?"

"YEAH!" they cheered. Kenny pumped his fist.

Melissa raised her hand. "Q-Question. Just to refresh my memory. What am I supposed to be—"

She heard Ursula whistle from the safety nets above and drop the ball toward the center. Almost instantly, the runners ran across the pillars and raced for the ball, startling the poor rabbit. She recovered and awkwardly hopped along the pillars.

Eike reached the ball first and scooped it out of reach from the Snover. She flipped over her head and tossed the ball to Ruarc, who wound his arm back and gave it a firm slap, sending it sailing toward the opposing goal.

"EEP!" Thales retreated inside his hair and expanded it. The ball nailed the center, but the fluff absorbed the impact. After a few seconds of motionlessness, Thales repelled the ball back to his team.

The Flaaffy intercepted and raced across the pillars. Kenny darted for him, but the pink sheep dropped under the pillars and maneuvered between them with the ball tucked under one arm. Eike dove after him and tried to swipe the ball, but he kicked the ball up at the last second, passing it off to his Venonat teammate.

The Venonat used her Compound Eyes ability to see her Combusken teammate racing up behind her. She tossed it into the air, setting Combusken up to leap and kick the ball toward the Wolves' goal.

Amaryllis majestically parted the fur from her eyes before spinning in place. She elegantly caught the ball with her tail and used the momentum to build up speed in her spin. She stopped and transferred the remaining momentum through her tail and sent the ball over to Melissa. "You're up, darling!"

"Wait, wha—" Right as Melissa turned around, the ball nailed her in the face and knocked her off the pillars.

Cara winced. "Ooh, that looked like it hurt."

"AAAAHHHH!" Melissa stretched her limbs out and pressed into the pillars around her. She stalled out just before she touched the platform. She panted heavily before noticing the ball balancing on her stomach. "I…have the ball. I have the ball! I can do this—OH ARCEUS!"

The Venonat descended from atop the pillars toward her. Melissa quickly pulled her arms up and kicked off the pillars, dodging her grab. However, she ended up bonking her head against a pillar and landing on the platform.

A whistle blew, and Ursula jumped down onto the field. "That's a penalty! Can't touch the floor."

"My bad…" Melissa groaned.

The Venonat landed and pulled her to her feet. "That was a sweet dodge. Sorry about your head."

Melissa laughed awkwardly. "Eh, I will live."

"Oi, Soleil!" the Combusken called down. "Good hustle! Bring the ball up!"

Soleil took the ball and jumped back up the pillars just as Cara and Kenny landed down to check on her. "Uh, you good?"

Melissa winced from the bump on her head and the stinging of her face, but managed a smile. "O-Oh, sure. Yeah totally. Heh."

Cara narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure you want to play? We won't be upset if you want to quit—"

"N-No, no! I do want to play. I j-just need to get the hang of these…sporting things."

Kenny narrowed his eyes and signed, "No offense, but you seemed a bit distracted."

"See? Even Kenny agrees I am doing great!"

"That's…not what he said," Cara muttered.

"Oh…" She cupped her hands together and grinned pleadingly. "Pleeeeease?"

Cara sighed, but smiled. "Alright. But just to be clear, you do know the rules, right?"

"…I hope."

"Oh boy."

Lumber Jackals – 3

Timber Wolves – 2

Ursula whistled, and the ball went live again. The Lumber Jackals raced to the opposing goal, the runners passing the ball back and forth between each other. The Flaaffy took the ball and leapt over the Timber Wolves.

"Melissa, stop him!" Cara ordered.

Melissa jittered in place for a second before building up energy in her legs and jumping into the air. Do not mess up, do not mess up, do not mess up! She tackled the Flaaffy and wrestled the ball out of his hands. "Hey, I got it—"

"Ice Shard, incoming!"

"WHAT?!" She gasped as the Snover fired her Ice Shards in the air. She frantically kicked her arms and legs like she was swimming before narrowly diving out of the way. "You can attack the other team with moves?!"

"One move per team member!" Ursula yelled down.

"Uh, I knew that!" Melissa landed shakily on the pillars. "In that case, Quick Attack!" She dashed across the pillars and—

"Penalty!"

"WAH—" Melissa caught her foot on the edge of a pillar and flipped herself downward, smacking her face on the next one over.

Ursula jumped down and whistled. "You used Bounce earlier. That was an illegal move."

"I-I did? Oh, right…I bounced in the air…" The ball fell out from her arms, and she passed out on the pillar.

Lumber Jackals – 5

Timber Wolves – 7

Eike swung between the pillars, dodging the hail of Ice Shards flying down on her. She swung into a blind spot and deftly handed the ball off to Kenny, who bounced along the pillars like a rubber ball.

The little Cubchoo avoided a pincer attack from the Flaaffy and Soleil and flung himself into the air, kicking the ball over to Cara. The Linoone leapt for the ball and spiked it toward the opposing goal.

Thales yelped and covered himself inside his hair, once again stopping the ball and bouncing it back to the Snover. She ran across the pillars while the Crawdaunt and Combusken set themselves up to strike the ball.

Melissa bounced on her toes, taking deep breaths and punching at the air. Alright, I got it this time. I need to look cool for my team! She slapped her cheeks and pumped her fists. I can do this!

"Melissa, catch the ball!"

"EH?! AH!" She saw the ball in the air and the Combusken going in for a strike. She used Bounce and sailed toward it. "I got it!"

Combusken swung his hand, but Melissa reached in the nick of time and knocked the ball skyward with her head. However, she did so with the worst timing possible as the fire chicken ending up striking her instead. With the right side of her face stinging in pain, she sailed toward her goal and an alarmed Amaryllis.

"I got you, I got you, darling!" She scurried side to side on the pillars before opening her forelegs and catching the Buneary. They both went flying through the goalpost and falling into the nets below.

Both teams and Ursula paused and stared at the results in shock, especially the Combusken. He shakily raised his hand and asked, "Uh, did that count as a goal?"

Ursula facepalmed. "Amaryllis?" she called out.

"She's okay!" the Delcatty exclaimed from below. "Uh, she's speaking in tongues, though. Is that normal?"

"Oh boy…"

Lumber Jackals – 10

Timber Wolves – 10

"Melissa, seriously, you suck at Forest Ball!" Cara insisted. "Please just take a seat and—"

"I'll be fine!" she insisted through her heavily bandaged face. "I got it this time!"

"Her determination is admirable," Eike commented.

"Don't encourage this!" Cara snapped.

Ursula whistled once more and tossed the ball to the Timber Wolves. Melissa took initiative and caught the ball. She bounced toward the opposing goal while the enemy team tried to catch her.

I will not screw up this time!

Melissa dropped below the pillars, catching the edge and swinging herself to the next one over. Soleil and the Flaaffy descended after her, but she flipped herself back up top and tossed the ball into the air.

"Got it!" Eike caught the ball and passed it toward Cara. "You're open!"

Cara wound her claws back and smacked the ball toward the opposing goal. Thales shrieked and expanded his hair once again, catching and repelling the ball back into the air. The Snover intercepted the ball before Kenny could swipe it and raced toward the Timber Wolves goal with the Crawdaunt following behind.

Melissa gasped and ran after them. "Oh no, you don't!"

The Snover served the ball up, and the Crawdaunt reared his pincers back. Melissa focused energy through her legs and bounced straight down his back, tackling him. He completely missed the ball and fell off the pillars.

Melissa reached out and caught the ball before it fell through. That wasn't a penalty? Oh, thank goodness! She raised the ball over her head and laughed. "Hey guys, I got the ball again! Take that, Lumber Jack—"

SMACK!

Her eyes widened as the Combusken swooped in and kicked the ball out from her hands, sending it into her goal.

Ursula whistled. "Point, Lumber Jackals!"

Melissa blinked and turned around to face her annoyed teammates. "…Strikers can knock the ball out of opposing runners' hands so long as they don't grab it, right?"

"Yep," they mumbled.

"…" Melissa lay down on the pillar and curled up into a ball. Oops…

Melissa hung her head as she sat on the bench. A ten-minute timeout had been called by the Timber Wolves. Cara sat beside her, massaging her back with the friendliest smile she could muster. "H-Hey, chin up. It was your first time. Nothing to be ashamed of."

"I suck at sports…" she mumbled.

"You really should've insisted you didn't know the rules."

"I didn't want to be rude to Kenny…"

Cara sighed and patted her shoulder. "At the end of the day, it's just a game. The idea's to have fun, that's all."

"But your win streak—"

Cara waved it off. "Bah! We'll get it back next week. For now, you should rest up and just watch the game. There's always next time."

"Ugh…"

"You weren't that bad—"

"No, I don't want to play again!" The girls looked up as Ruarc returned with Klaus being dragged by the ankle. "I bruise easily! I have a bad cough! My skin is paper thin! What do I have to say to convince you people to not drag me back in?!"

"Oh, you weren't that bad," Ruarc said.

"I only joined so you people would stop asking me! Somebody help! I'm being forced into physical activity against my will! I'm too sick to die now!"

Cara laughed uneasily and stood up. "I should take care of this. Get some rest, Mels. Ruarc, stop dragging him like that! He can't play with a sprained ankle!" She chased them down.

Melissa pouted and lay down on the bench. I just want one chance to show them how great I am…

The score was tied up between the Lumber Jackals and Timber Wolves. 14 points each. One more goal would decide the winner. Melissa glumly watched the match unfold, still wallowing over her failure to properly perform in the sacred art of sporting activity. She may suck at the game, but to be benched by unanimous vote from her entire team? That stung more than her face currently.

…No, her face hurt quite a lot still.

She rested her cheeks in her hand and closed her eyes, letting the sounds of the ball being smacked through the air and hurried stomps of feet charging across the pillars sink into her mind. Thinking back, it was a miracle she got through her fight with Althalos with only a broken arm. Who knew the secret to beating the unpredictable Harlow was to throw a sports ball at her and let nature run its course?

CRASH!

"YOW!"

Melissa perked up in alarm as Ursula signaled a timeout and jumped down onto the court. She peered through the forest of pillars before spotting Ruarc leaping over the safety nets with Cara in his arms. She gasped upon seeing Cara gripping her right foreleg.

"Oh no, what happened?!"

Ruarc lay Cara on the bench and explained, "She got a little too eager when Fintan missed his shot and dove for the ball. She ended up smacking her wrist against the pillars and…well, this happened."

The rest of the Timber Wolves and Ursula jumped down and joined them. Ursula knelt beside the aching Linoone and checked her foreleg. "It's most likely sprained, but you'll have to see Shade to get it patched up."

Cara sat herself up and asked, "B-But what about the rest of the game?"

"Absolutely not. You don't want to put pressure on a sprained limb."

"But there's only one point left to decide the game! J-Just a little longer—"

"No means no!" Ursula snapped. "I'm calling the game a tie. You're going to Shade immediately."

Cara groaned and hung her head. "This sucks…"

Klaus grinned. "So, that means I can leave? Thank goodness. See you later, and get better soon, Cara!" He turned to leave, but—

"Wait!" The Timber Wolves and Ursula turned to Melissa as she sprung off the bench. "Let me take Cara's place in the game!"

"Dammit!"

Eike winced. "Uh, are you sure about that? No offense, Melissa, but you weren't a very good runner. I can't see you faring better taking Cara's place as the striker."

"But we can't continue the game with just one striker," Ruarc reminded. "They'll use all their energy keeping me from getting the ball, and I'm nowhere near as fast as Cara."

"Oh, but the darling is still recovering from her injuries," Amaryllis said. "We can't have her playing such a rough position."

Melissa shook her head. "I can handle it, do not worry! Let me make it up to you guys by getting that last goal. I promised to get you that three-game winning streak, and I swear on my honor as Princess of Verde that I will get you that three-game winning streak!"

The team looked amongst themselves in silent debate until Cara raised her good paw. "If she's up to the challenge, she has my support." She grinned at the Buneary. "You got the fire we need, so make it count!"

Melissa saluted. "Yes, ma'am!"

Kenny bounced up and down, signing, "She has my support as well."

The rest of the Timber Wolves shared a final look with each other before nodding. "Alright, we'll let you take Cara's position," Eike said. "Just try not to do anything stupid like scoring into the wrong goal, please."

Melissa blinked twice. "Is…this a bad time to mention I fired an arrow backwards once?"

The Timber Wolves groaned. "We're doomed…"

Both teams reconvened back on the pillars, psyching themselves up for the final point of the game. On the Timber Wolves, Klaus took the runner position while Melissa nervously bounced on her toes as the striker. She attempted to steady her hurried breathing, feeling the pressure of victory weighing mightily on her shoulders. She couldn't screw up now. She had to redeem herself and score victory for her team. For Cara. And for her pride!

I can do this! She slapped her cheeks and screamed, "Let us do this!"

Ursula snickered from the nets above. "Someone's getting excited." She spun the ball on her finger. "Alright teams, this is the final point of the game. First team to score takes home the glory. Are both sides ready?"

"Ma'am! Yes, ma'am!" they shouted.

"Then…play ball!" She whistled and tossed the ball into the air.

Both teams of runners dashed for the middle as the ball careened down. Eike grabbed Kenny's hand and flung him ahead of the pack. The little Cubchoo snatched the ball out from the Lumber Jackal's hands and dove beneath the pillars.

"Melissa, Ruarc! Get into position!" Eike shouted before diving below the pillars.

"Oh dear, oh dear." Melissa awkwardly bounced across the pillars while Ruarc skipped across them like a ballerina.

Kenny maneuvered through the pillar jungle when Soleil dove right above him, swiping at the ball. He held it out of her reach and kicked it aboveground, where Eike took possession and raced to the opposing goal.

"Ruarc, go long!" She tossed the ball to the Bewear, who wound his arm back and smacked it toward the enemy goal.

Thales shrieked and turned himself away. His hair absorbed the impact and bounced it back into play. The Combusken, Fintan, leapt and kicked it high up into the air. "Aerial Assault Maneuver, go!" The Snover cupped her hands together as Flaaffy ran and sprung off into the air.

Seeing this, Eike cupped her hands together and faced Klaus. "Get the ball!"

Klaus winced. "Do I have to—"

"Now!"

"Alright, alright!" He stepped onto her hands and braced himself as she catapulted him into the air. "I hate this so much!"

Flaaffy seized the ball out of the air, but Klaus caught up and took hold of it as well. Both gripping on tightly, the boys wrestled each other as they fell back toward the pillar field. Klaus managed to get the upper hand and got on top of the Flaaffy. He quickly deployed his own Cotton Guard, sponging them both from the crash.

Klaus sprung off the wool and tossed the ball to Melissa. "You're open!"

Melissa jumped and kicked the ball at the goal. "It shoots, it—"

"Denied!" Crawdaunt dove to his left and spiked the ball down on the pillars, arching it over the field.

Soleil hurried hopped after the airborne ball. "I got it, I got it!"

Kenny soared out from under the pillars and intercepted the ball. He dodged an attempted tackle from Soleil and ran back toward the goal. Fintan burst out from under the pillars, however, and kicked the ball out of Kenny's arms. Fintan leapt and struck the ball with a bicycle kick.

Amaryllis caught the ball within her tail and spun with the momentum before whipping it back into play. "Go, darlings, go!"

Klaus turned just as the ball flew at him and caught it. His eyes widened. "Oh shit, I have it!" He barely spotted the Ice Shards from Snover flying from behind and jumped out of the way. "I hate this game so much!"

"Klaus, over here!" Melissa yelled.

He ducked under a tackle from the Flaaffy and chucked the ball over to her. She reared her foot back and kicked it across the field.

"Oh no, you don't!" Fintan raced after the ball and popped it into the air. "Strike!"

The Crawdaunt jumped and spiked the ball toward Amaryllis. She intercepted the ball again, but she slipped off her perch and sent the ball skidding across the pillars. "Oh no, the goal!"

Fintan raced toward the ball. "A clean shot through!"

"NO!" Melissa dove after the Combusken. "I won't let you!"

"He shoots, he scores!" Fintan struck the ball full blast and whipped it toward the Timber Wolves' goal. "Game over!"

Melissa's eyes widened. Without thinking, power surged through her legs and catapulted her past the Combusken. The air whipped across her face as she rocketed after the speeding ball. The goal was closing in, a meter away from sinking through. She reached her hand out. Her fingers were an inch away from touching the ball.

Almost. Almost!

She closed in and grazed her fingers across the ball.

Yes—

At the last second, her foot snagged on the edge of a pillar, and she smacked herself face first into the next one over. Her hand swiped across the ball, changing its direction enough to have it smack against the goal post and ricochet it into the air.

"What?!" Fintan yelled. "That was a clean shot!" The Lumber Jackals raced for the airborne ball.

Melissa picked herself up and covered her nose, groaning. "Ugh, I think my nose is bleeding—"

"I got it!" As the Lumber Jackals all raced toward the ball, Eike jumped ahead of them at the last second and smacked the ball. "Melissa, it's yours!"

"My wha—AAH!" Melissa barely put her arms up before the ball smacked into her. It took her completely by surprise and knocked her off the pillars. "NOT AGAIN—"

THUD!

She landed face first on the platform below sprawled out in pain. Her head was spinning, and her injuries ached even worse than before. Her nose was definitely bleeding. The strong, metallic scent infiltrated her naval cavities, and she could feel some of it smearing into the platform and her face.

However, regardless of the pain she was in, what happened to the ball after she was knocked down? She needed to get back up top and help her team before it was too—

"GOAL!" Ursula yelled. "That's the game!"

Melissa's eyes widened. Game over? Oh no! I must've screwed up so badly that the Lumber Jackals got the winning point. Oh no, everyone's going to be so disappointed in me. I tried so hard, and I couldn't even—

"WOOOOOO!"

…That didn't sound like the Lumber Jackals.

"MELISSA!" The Buneary gasped as Ruarc peeled her off the floor and jumped back onto the pillars, where her teammates crowded around with big grins. "GO, MELISSA!"

"H-Huh?"

"You did it!" Eike cheered. "You scored the winning goal!"

"I…I what?"

Amaryllis whipped her paw across her bangs. "Darling, it was incredible! After Eike sent you the ball, you managed to strike it passed the other team. Thales was so distracted by the confusion that he didn't notice the ball in time."

Kenny excitedly signed, "Yay, Melissa, yay!"

Ruarc nodded. "That was excellent form, Melissa. Congratulations."

The dazed bunny used the last thirty seconds of consciousness she had left to analyze everything in front of her. True enough, the Lumber Jackals were hunched over, sulking over their loss. Ursula had just jumped back onto the pillars from the Lumber Jackal's side with the ball under her arm. The Lampent from the stands went over to cheer Thales up, who was crying that he couldn't block the goal. Poor guy.

Melissa blinked twice as her vision started to fade out. "I…scored the winning goal?" She smiled vacantly. "Woooo…" She went limp in Ruarc's arms, and everything went dark.

"You really need to stop winding up in the medical hut, Melissa."

Melissa smiled awkwardly as she lay in bed with bandages wrapped around her face. Marie and Pandora came by to check on her after hearing she won the game for her team, which was definitely the most surprising thing to hear. They were much more surprised with how banged up their dear roommate was.

"Y-Yeah, you are probably right. Guess I am a little accident prone."

Marie grinned. "Hey, don't be like that. I have to say, you proved the both of us wrong. Your team wouldn't stop cheering you on."

Pandora snickered. "Look at you, Mistress of Sports. You did amazing for your first try!"

Melissa giggled nervously. "Uh, I wouldn't call it amazing—"

"Well, it was certainly something." Melissa turned her head and saw Cara resting in the bed on her left. Her foreleg was swaddled into a cast. Klaus was sitting at her bedside with an icepack on his head. "I saw the whole thing. That was an amazing shot you pulled. Are you good luck or something?"

"Heh. I wouldn't go that far." She frowned. "Klaus? Are you okay? Did you get hurt during the game?"

The Morgrem groaned. "No, I just came in here to get out of the sun. I was burning up out there, for Mew's sake!"

Cara leaned over and patted his head with her good paw. "You put in a real effort out there, Klaus. You should be proud of that."

"Ugh…"

Melissa sat up in bed and smiled. "You know, I have to say, I really enjoyed trying out Forest Ball for the first time. Plus, it was nice to meet all of you and the other team. Thanks for giving me a second chance at the end, Cara."

The Linoone grinned. "Glad you at least had fun, though I'm super happy we got our three-win streak! Next week, we're going to keep putting the pressure on the Lumber Jackals and see if we can boost our streak."

"Good luck with that."

"Thanks! Actually, how about you join the next game?"

"Oh, really?"

"Yes!"

"Well, in that case…" She forced a bitter smile. "Absolutely not! I would rather take my chances fighting Althalos again!"

Marie snickered. "Was it that bad?"

"I kept falling on my face! It really hurt!"

"I was told you didn't know any of the rules," Pandora teased.

"I was told the rules by a mute Cubchoo!"

Cara laughed. "Heh. Well, how about you join us for another game after you've improved your training? Something tells me you need to work on your coordination."

Melissa pouted. "I will…think about it." Never again!