Chapter 34 - Island Getaway

"Hey, Dani?"

"Hm?"

Sparks hesitated for a moment before asking his question. "Is this okay? Is this right, what we're doing?"

The Sneasel looked over from her seat next to him. "What do you mean?"

Before he could elaborate, the boat hit a big wave and nearly knocked him off balance. He grimaced as he held his grip firmly on the edge. It was early morning on a partly-cloudy day. Sparks and Danika were the only occupants of the high-speed boat, being pulled rapidly across the ocean waves by a pair of Sharpedo. The brisk sea air bit at Sparks' cheeks as they whizzed by.

Sparks looked over at Danika again. "Are we invading his privacy?" he asked.

"No, don't be ridiculous," Danika said dismissively, "Ziggy doesn't care about his past life here one way or the other, remember?"

"Something just feels…not exactly 'wrong', but…off."

"Listen, Sparks," Danika said, "Even if Ziggy weren't involved, I'd still want to find this guy and talk to him. I still can't believe someone from Dewdrop before the blaze is still alive. It's like he's a time traveler."

Sparks sighed softly and turned his gaze in the direction the boat was going. It was a simple craft; large enough to hold a pair of Rhydon but basic in design. There were seats along either side, and a simple roof above the seats. At the front of the boat, pulling it by a pair of sturdy ropes, were the two Sharpedo tasked with bringing the boat to and from its destination. Said destination was just barely visible on the horizon.

It had been such a whirlwind of events. Only yesterday had he and Danika realized Ziggy's true birthplace and the existence of some Pokémon who might have known his parents. What followed was a very late night request for the next day off, an early rise this morning, and now the two of them were on a boat destined for Dewdrop Island.

It was his curiosity that had driven him to this point. Curiosity over how two Pokémon could be so heartless to a newly hatched Buizel cub.

"You okay, big guy?" Danika asked.

"It just feels…weird to be going here," Sparks admitted, "I try not to think about this island at all because the memory of what happened is so terrible. My brain is already kinda broken, so I generally don't need the extra stress."

"Well, apparently the new village on the island is prosperous and the Pokémon there are happy. It's a tourist destination in the summer for its beaches."

"It's hard to believe that they were all…gone by the time anyone got there to help…" Sparks said with a quiet sigh.

"Apparently it all happened so fast," Danika explained, "It was only the huge cloud of smoke in the air that got the attention of some sea-dwelling Pokémon nearby."

Sparks suddenly shook his head as bothersome thoughts festered within. "I just keep thinking about what would've happened if Ziggy hadn't been tossed out. He…wouldn't be here now…"

"Don't think about that," Danika said firmly, "Don't think about 'what ifs'. Ziggy's alive and well, and he's surrounded by Pokémon who love him. Things worked out just fine for him."

The two were silent for a few more moments, and Sparks' gaze drifted out over the rolling waves of the vast ocean. "We've been on this boat for a while now…" he observed, "It's amazing that Ziggy swam all this way back to shore at such a young age."

"That's Water-Types for ya," Danika said with a shrug, "I've known a couple of cubs who could swim like an expert before they were even in preschool."

"Still, though…"

The conversation fizzled out once again, and Sparks was left to just gaze off silently into the distance. He was eager for the boat ride to end, as he tended to get pretty seasick if he were on the water for too long.

A few minutes later, Sparks took notice of some darker clouds that were hovering above the island and the waters around. He hadn't been paying attention to the sky before, but he realized that the whole island was under some pretty thick cloud cover. The fast-moving boat was quickly approaching the edge of this bed of clouds. Before long, the pitter-patter of raindrops could be heard against the roof of the boat.

"Gee whiz, look at those rainclouds…" Sparks observed, "It's almost summer!"

"We're near the Stormy Waves MD," Danika replied.

"We are?" Sparks blurted in surprise.

Danika nodded and pointed off into the distance with her claw, just to the right of the island itself. Sparks followed where she was pointing, squinting to try and see into the distance. He could just barely see a couple of orange blobs floating in the water. Though he could barely make them out, he knew what they were.

"You see the buoys?" Danika asked.

"Yeah…" Sparks said. Stormy Waves was an underwater Mystery Dungeon, which was a rare occurrence. Like all other MDs in the world, underwater MDs were cordoned off from the public. However, because of the fact that they were out in the open water, this had to be accomplished by placing buoys at four corners of an invisible 'square' that contained the MD within.

"Stormy Waves lives up to its name," Danika explained, "Rain clouds form easily, and pretty late into the year, so Dewdrop Island gets more rainfall than the mainland does."

"Really?"

"Yup! The island's name is a two-fer. Named for the shape of the island and its rainfall."

Sparks was silent for a moment. "No wonder Ziggy loves the rain so much…" He then looked over at Danika again. "So, what? It rains all the time here?"

"No, of course not. And they still have about two months of warm sunny weather during the summer. I did say it was a tourist destination. They just get statistically more rain than the mainland does."

"I see…" Sparks said quietly, "And it looks like it's raining there now."

Danika didn't reply, and instead turned to her other side and started digging through the backpack she had brought with her. A moment later, she fished out something short, thick and made of some sort of nylon-like fabric. She pushed a button near its base and it suddenly sprang out to three times its original length, which mildly startled him.

"Oh," he said once he realized what it was, "You brought an umbrella…"

The Sneasel just gave him a cheeky grin before she set about undoing the clasp and unfurling the umbrella to its full size.

Relative silence fell upon the pair once again as the boat drew closer to the island. With every minute that passed, the rain grew heavier. Soon enough it was splatting rather loudly against the roof of the boat, which Sparks was suddenly quite thankful for. He wanted to strike up more conversations with Danika, but he was honestly too distracted. The closer the island grew, the more his head was filled with thoughts and questions.

This was such an impromptu thing they were doing. What if this Jasper Pokémon wasn't even on the island? What if he didn't want to talk to them? Sparks knew they could honestly be coming out here for nothing.

He shook his head and told himself that was wrong. They weren't coming out here for nothing. There was still something to be gained even if they couldn't talk to Jasper.

Sparks was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice that the boat had reached its destination. Danika gently elbowed him, and he realized that the Sharpedo were pulling up to a small dock on the side of the island. The rain was coming down pretty heavily by now, making an interesting sound as the drops hit the vast ocean waters around them.

"Watch your step," one of the Sharpedo said to them in a rough, gritty voice.

"Well," Danika said as she stood up, "We're here."

"Yup…" Sparks said distantly. Danika gave the umbrella to him, since he was taller, so he held it up over their heads as they stepped out from under the roof and into the downpour. The boat had been parked parallel to the wooden dock, but no ropes or anything had been used to tie it down. Somehow, the Sharpedo were keeping it securely in place while Sparks and Danika carefully hopped out and onto the shore.

Danika looked down at the two Pokémon with a friendly smile. "Thank you!" she said, "We appreciate it."

"Yes," Sparks agreed, "Very smooth ride. I didn't even throw up…"

"Much obliged," the other Sharpedo said in a voice that was completely identical to the first's.

"Pleasure having you aboard today," the other one said.

Danika huddled close to his side, trying her best to stay out of the rain. Sparks glanced up at the umbrella Danika had brought. It was fairly large and wide, but wasn't too heavy to be uncomfortable to carry. It had a black and light blue design of sharp shapes and wavy lines.

The two of them then turned around, almost in unison, and looked down the dock towards their ultimate destination. Dewdrop Island spread out before them in all of its rain-soaked glory.

The island was fairly flat, so not much of the land was obscured by hills. There were plenty of trees, mostly palm trees, showing that the natural side of the island had successfully managed to bounce back from the inferno. Besides a small grassy hill and some shallow cliffs to the west, there wasn't much to say about the island's natural topography.

The village itself, however, took Sparks by surprise. When one imagined a village on an island, one usually pictured groups of small tropical huts made out of sticks or basic wood. This was certainly not the case for Dewdrop Island. What was situated on the island was the same sort of small village one might find on the mainland. There were modern buildings, simple cobblestone roadways, a central plaza, and a few specifically sectioned-off parks. It was a chunk of small-town life on a tiny clump of land in the middle of the sea.

"This is…interesting," Sparks said as he and Danika made their way down the dock and started walking into the village itself.

"When they rebuilt, they wanted to do it right," Danika explained, "They wanted to make a town that was even better, so that Pokémon could live here happily for the future."

"It shows…"

As they crested a very small hill, it was just slightly high enough so Sparks could see more of the island's shoreline, including the one on the far side. He noticed something peculiar as he did. Along with the many houses in the middle of the island, clustered around the town centre mostly, there were also plenty of houses along the shore with docks. This was something typical that could be found on any island village, of course. What Sparks noticed was that they were all spaced apart, sometimes with vast areas of nothing besides beaches or a roadway in between them. There weren't a pair of shoreline houses next to each other that he could see.

"Hello!" Danika called out cheerfully.

Sparks looked and saw that she was waving to a family of Pokémon who were running down the rainy streets. It was a Sawsbuck, a Stoutland and a little Deerling. The latter smiled happily upon seeing the two visitors and stopped to wave back. Though the family seemed to be in a hurry to get through the rain, they also didn't seem to mind how wet they were getting.

The Raichu's gaze then went back towards the middle of the island village, and he started to take notice of its residents. There weren't many out on the streets, with Sparks figuring they were staying warm and cozy in their homes, but there were still a number idly walking down the streets and going about their business. Immediately, Sparks could feel the vibe that this was a pleasant, close-knit community of friendly Pokémon.

"So this is where he came from…" Sparks said.

"Yup," Danika replied, "Ziggy's birthplace."

"I guess it didn't look like this when he was born, but still…"

The two walked forward a bit more, beginning to walk past some of the residences along the streets. Sparks caught more than a couple glimpses through the windows of happy groups of Pokémon sitting around in their houses.

"I…can't picture this place as being the same place that totally burned to the ground," Sparks said quietly, "My brain just tells me that can't be the case…"

"It does feel a little surreal, doesn't it?" Danika replied.

Sparks spent another moment glancing around before he cleared his throat. "So, uh, where're we going?"

"This way first," Danika said as she pointed with one of her claws.

Sparks saw she was pointing along one particular street that led up one of the few short hills on the island. It ended at what appeared to be a small plaza on what seemed to be the second-highest point on the island, which wasn't saying very much. There was something at the middle of the plaza, but Sparks couldn't tell what it was from this far away.

So, the two started a leisurely stroll along the cobblestone road. As the rain fell, making pitter-patter sounds on the umbrella, they made their way through the heart of the village. Or, at least, adjacent to it.

Sparks had to wonder what some of the Pokémon living here thought about the fact that this place had once completely burned down. He wondered if it weighed on their minds, or if they had learned to move past it. Maybe most of them took the approach of wanting to live a happy life, knowing that's what the dearly departed residents would have wanted.

As they walked, they passed by some simple shops mixed in with the various houses. Most of them were food stores of some kind. It didn't seem like the island had a marketplace like most towns and cities had. They also passed by a modest little bank, a quaint theatre, and a surprisingly large apparel store. Sparks figured they probably sold 'tropical' clothing to tourists.

The rain started to let up slightly once the pair started heading up the small hill towards the plaza at the top, though it still came down hard enough to warrant the continued use of the umbrella. Danika kept right by his side the whole time so that she could keep her fur dry. With most other Pokémon this might have been awkward, but Sparks had known Danika for a very long time.

There were a few younger Pokémon running through the streets, ignoring the weather, as well as a number of Pokémon sitting under awnings on the porch of their house. Most Pokémon smiled and gave a friendly wave to the two as they passed. It seemed like almost everyone on the island was happy to see visitors.

All in all, Sparks had gotten a very good first impression of the little island village. He couldn't think of another town he had been in that seemed this friendly and welcoming. True he hadn't actually spoken to anyone yet, but the point still stood.

Finally, the two reached the top of the small hill. Glancing over his shoulder afforded Sparks a fairly good view of part of town they had just come from. Sparks could easily imagine sitting here, eating a picnic, and watching town life just roll by.

"Here it is…" Danika said, which drew Sparks' attention back to the supposed reason they had come up here.

Now that he was close enough, Sparks could see that the object in the middle of the plaza was a monument of some sort. It resembled an obelisk with a pyramid-shaped top, but it was quite thick and only just slightly taller than he was. It was made of some type of stone, but it was polished to such a degree that the falling rain made it look sleek and shiny. Carved into the stone base were flower decorations that encircled the bottom of it.

"What is this?" Sparks asked as he drew closer, whereupon he noticed that there was writing carved into all four sides of the monument.

"It's a memorial," Danika explained solemnly, "for all of the Pokémon who died in the Family Day Tragedy."

Sparks shot her a surprised look, and then turned back to examine the monument closer. A moment later, he could see that the writing etched into the sides was actually a series of names. He wandered around to the back side of the structure, and only found more names there as well.

"Oh…heavens…" Sparks said in a hollow voice, "That's…so many…"

"I know…"

A heavy feeling settled in the pit of Sparks' chest as his eyes scanned the monument. He read the names one by one, and the knowledge that each of these names was someone who perished in an inferno made him feel sick. As he looked, he noticed that the names were all arranged in alphabetical order of their first name. Initially Sparks thought this was weird, as usually names were organized by last names. But then Sparks remembered that this was an island community where everyone was close to one another. Everybody probably knew everybody else by their first names anyway.

"There they are!" Danika suddenly piped up.

"Who?"

The Sneasel pointed at a particular spot on the monument, where most of the 'M' names were gathered. It didn't take Sparks long to see what she had noticed. There, gathered among all the other names, was 'Mateni'. Sparks glanced upwards to the 'L' names that were just above, and quickly found 'Leilani' as well. The names of Ziggy's parents.

"Ah…" Sparks said, "So that confirms it, hm?"

"Yup…" Danika said quietly, "They died in the tragedy."

"Long after they abandoned their son…"

An awkward silence passed between the two, with the only sound being the continual rainfall on the umbrella.

"Ugh…" Sparks murmured eventually, "I hate that there's this dark part of my mind that says they deserved it…"

"Ah, don't worry about that…" Danika said, "It's not like you smote them from above like a vengeful Yveltal. I agree that they didn't really deserve to have anything good happen to them, but it is a little sobering to think that they both died like this…"

Sparks didn't reply to this. He just kept staring quietly at the moment, his eyes roving and taking in the many named engraved on it.

"…Sparks?" Danika spoke up.

He still didn't say anything, and just stood there with a sick, twisting feeling in his gut.

"What's on your mind?" Danika gently pressed, "Tell me."

"…Ziggy could have been one of these names."

Danika slowly turned to look at the monument as well. She was silent for a moment. "He's not," she eventually said, "That's what's important. His name isn't here."

"You're right. I know you're right. But still…"

The two fell quiet once again. Sparks wasn't sure what was on Danika's mind, but he decided he would take a moment to pay his respects to all of the names on this monument. None of them really, truly deserved to have their lives cut short the way it did. Not even Mateni and Leilani, if he really thought about it. Eventually, Sparks closed his eyes.

As he honoured the lives of those who had fallen, a strange sort of calm overcame him. The sound of the rain, especially the patter on the umbrella above, mixed together into this distant droning sound. Sparks had never been particularly spiritual, but he felt somehow connected to something that he couldn't describe. Maybe this was the kind of feeling Ziggy got when he was out in the rain.

"Yo, Sparky boy!"

The moment was immediately ruined by the loud, cocky-sounding voice suddenly emitting from his badge. Sparks jumped slightly, and then groaned in exasperation. He pressed his paw to his badge and said, "Jules, do you have to scare the damn daylights out of me like that?"

"If it's funny, then yes," the Sylveon's voice replied.

"I'm gonna strangle you one of these days…" Sparks replied in a deadpan, "I'm gonna use my own tail to do it. It will be the ultimate humiliation."

"Hey, I'm not into that kinda stuff. You know that."

Sparks sighed in irritation. "What do you want, Jules?"


Ziggy looked over at his Sylveon companion, confused by the smarmy grin he was wearing.

"Your boy's doing his solo mission today," Jules was saying into his badge, "My job today was cancelled so I'm gonna be his backup. I think he told you about that."

There was a slightly long pause. "Right," Sparks' voice then replied from the badge, "Right, you're gonna be hanging around just in case things go bad, but his mission is still to do it on his own."

"Just thought I'd see if daddy would rather do it instead," Jules said.

Ziggy gave the Sylveon an odd look. He'd heard Jules refer to him and Sparks as father and son a few times before and he never really understood why. Apparently Sparks shared this mindset, based on what he said next.

"I don't know why you find it so unbelievably amusing to keep calling me that," he replied dryly, "but anyway, you go ahead. I can't today."

"What?" Jules said with a wry chuckle, "Too busy for your own flesh and blood?"

Ziggy's face flushed, and he had the urge to rush over and stop Jules from saying anything else. Then, however, he remembered that which he always seemed to forget; that he could talk to others far away too. "Hey Sparks!" he said, quickly jamming a paw onto his own badge, "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

"Oh hey, Zig. I didn't realize you were there with him already," Sparks replied, "Don't listen to anything he says. He's a menace and he'll lead you down a dark path of mischief and delinquency."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Jules quipped.

Ziggy ignored him and replied to Sparks instead. "I can barely hear you. Your voice is coming in all fuzzy. Where are you?"

There was another pause. This one was long enough to make Ziggy mildly confused. "I'm…" the Raichu spoke, "It's…raining where I am."

"Really?" Ziggy immediately perked up, "It's not raining in Radiant City. There's no clouds in the sky. Where did you go to find rain?!" He felt a pang of jealousy in his heart. It would've been so much nicer to do his first solo mission while it was raining outside.

"I'm…kinda far away," Sparks answered, "I had some last-minute personal business to attend to and I left early this morning. Might not be back until after sunset."

"Oh," Ziggy said, "Oh, okay. Have fun in the rain then!"

Sparks' voice chuckled. "Good luck, buddy. Stay safe."

Ziggy's badge then dimmed, leaving him alone with the goofy Sylveon. He looked over at Jules to see that the Sylveon was just sitting there, waiting patiently.

"I guess it's all up to me then. Ready to go?" Jules asked, "Got your job from the request board?"

Briefly, Ziggy glanced down at the scrap of paper he held in his other paw. "Yeah, sure," he said.

"Cool. I'll walk you down to the perimeter road, and then you're on your own bucko."

Ziggy nodded. He and Jules were already standing out on the front lawn of the society building. Ziggy gripped the paper securely in his paw, adjusted his badge to make sure it was clipped tightly to his fur, and then started heading towards the gate. Jules followed behind him.

"So, can ya do me a favour, Buizel Boy?" Jules asked, "And not get into trouble? 'Cus then I get a free day off. Haha!"

"I'll do my best," Ziggy said, rolling his eyes.

"For real, though. Call me and I'll be there."

"Thanks, Jules. I really appreciate it."

"Eh, you'll be fine."

Ziggy glanced over at the Sylveon as he walked. "I haven't really talked to you in a while. How've you been?"

"Awesome, as always," Jules replied in his playfully smug tone, "My girlfriend and I are gonna have our two year anniversary in a couple weeks."

"Aw, that's nice."

"Yeah, we're gonna do a two-part celebration day. Something I really enjoy, and something she really enjoys."

Ziggy glanced up at the sky for a moment, and was briefly lost in thought. "Things've been so busy lately, I haven't really talked to some of our friends as much. Is Akash doing okay? And Javier and Shay?"

"Shay's the same as always. Yamper on coffee is his standard mode," Jules said, "Apparently Javier still talks about you to the others sometimes."

"Oh yeah?" Ziggy asked. Truth be told, he hadn't even seen the Quilava around lately.

"Yeah, but he's been busy doing a lot of Nihilego-related tasks for Carmen," Jules said.

"Really?"

"And he's had to pick up the slack since Dante left."

Ziggy nodded thoughtfully. "He always did have this serious sort of look on his face whenever we heard something new about those Pokémon… I guess he's really worried about them. Kinda weird to think about, isn't it? Javier doesn't worry about anything." There was a brief pause, and then Ziggy asked, "What about Akash?"

Jules hesitated for a moment before answering. "Akash is thinking of leaving the active team."

"What?" Ziggy blurted out, shooting the Sylveon a shocked look, "Why?"

"He's not quitting the Rescue Society or anything. Just the active team. He doesn't think he's a good fit for it anymore because of his mood swings."

Ziggy frowned. He knew from what others had told him that the Deerling's mood was usually tied to the hue of his coat. Ziggy had hardly seen him at all during the winter, apparently because Akash had been so depressed. The last Ziggy had seen him, the pink-coated Deerling had been pretty upbeat and happy though.

"He just wants to do something less demanding," Jules added.

"Oh…Well, gosh. I dunno what to say…"

Jules shook his head. "Don't worry about him. He's not getting fired or demoted or anythin'. He's just picking a different path in his life that might make him a bit happier."

"I guess so…"

By this point, the two had reached the open front gates of the guild. From there, the singular road led down to the large city below. There were a few Pokémon walking up and down the road, but there usually weren't that many at this time of day.

It was time to head out, once again, into the city that hated him. Ziggy took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He then reached out with his paws, lifted them up and over his shoulders, and shuffled them slightly across his chest.

"…What are you doing?"

Ziggy looked over at Jules, who had a confused look on his face, and blushed slightly. "I'm…uh…I'm putting on Dante's sword," he said awkwardly.

Jules just tilted his head.

Flushing even more, Ziggy said, "It's…y'know, a…What do you call it?" Ziggy pressed his paw to his forehead for a moment, trying to force the word out of his brain. "A meta-floor!" he suddenly exclaimed.

Jules snickered immediately and grinned cheekily at him. "A metaphor, Buizel Boy."

Ziggy frowned at the Sylveon as he started laughing at him, and then gave him a pout. "Whatever, I was close enough," he retorted, but Jules didn't stop. Ziggy sighed and shook his head. "Why do you always call me that anyway?"

"Huh?" Jules said through his dying laughter, "What, 'Buizel Boy'? Because calling everyone by their normal name is boring. It's more fun to be different! Makes me unique, don't it?"

As Jules headed through the gate, prompting Ziggy to start following him, the Buizel just tilted his head a little and frowned. "Fun to be different…?" he muttered quietly to himself.


"Sorry about that," Sparks said to Danika.

"No worries," Danika replied, still sticking close to him under the umbrella. The rain had suddenly decided to pick up again, and was once again pouring down heavily on the quaint little island town.

Sparks cast one more glance at the memorial, and then turned back to face the village itself. "Right," he said authoritatively, "How do we find this Jasper Pokémon?"

"Well, he's a Gumshoos," Danika said, "I haven't seen a Gumshoos yet. Have you?""

"Nope."

"I suppose we could ask around. It's a small village, so Pokémon probably know one another…but it might be easier and less awkward if we go ask at somewhere like a café."

Sparks glanced down the street they had initially hiked up. "I saw a coffee shop on our way in," he said, "I think it's down there somewhere, on the right."

"Of course you saw a coffee shop," Danika said as she gently elbowed his side.

So, without much more to say on the matter, the Raichu and Sneasel made their way back down the road and returned to the main central area of the village. They couldn't see any coffee shop on the street in question, so Sparks started looking down all the little side streets they passed along the way.

"There it is!" he said finally, pointing down one street. Sitting about halfway down the street, nestled snugly between two residential houses, was the most adorable little coffee shop. It had a thatched palm roof, giving it a tropical vibe, and was painted in bright yellows and oranges. It was about twice the size of the houses surrounding it, but only about one and a half times as wide as they were. A big sign on the roof above the front door, which looked to be crafted and painted by paw, showed the name of the establishment next to a cute cartoony drawing of a smiling coffee cup and a palm tree with a large Aguav Berry.

"'Dew-Drop of Coffee'," Danika read the sign.

"I can't tell if that's clever or lame," Sparks remarked.

"Took the words right outta my mouth."

The heavy rain didn't let up one bit as the two traveled down the street and soon were standing in front of the coffee shop. There was a homemade 'Open' sign hanging on the shop's door, which was situated under a small awning. Sparks and Danika barely had room to crowd together under the awning so Sparks could close the umbrella without them getting wet.

Danika pushed open the door while Sparks was still shaking off the umbrella so it wouldn't drip. A small chime rang out, courtesy of a bell hanging above the door.

"Good morning!" a very cheerful voice rang out from inside.

Sparks, finally done with the umbrella, glanced inside. The inside of the shop was a very quaint affair, despite the interior being quite roomy. On the left from where Sparks was looking was a large collection of wooden chairs and tables that also seemed to be homemade, though of very high quality. None of the tables he could see were occupied. Ahead of him, at the far end of the room, was a simply-built wooden stage.

As the Raichu stepped inside, he noticed there was a bin for umbrellas helpfully placed right next to the door. He placed the umbrella inside, trying his best not to drip any rainwater onto the floor.

"Well, hello! We don't usually get visitors this time of year!"

Sparks then turned around and looked at the one side of the room he hadn't seen yet. There he found a long counter. A cash register, multiple coffee machines, and cabinets displaying all manner of snacks and other food items were sitting on top of it. The front of the counter, as well as the wall behind it, were all painted in various warm, tropical colours.

The one who had spoken to them was a Kangaskhan that was standing behind the counter next to the cash register. She wore an apron, which made it apparent that her pouch was unoccupied, and a sky-blue flower was attached behind one of her ears. Kangaskhan tended to have imposing outward appearances, mostly stemming from an instinctual need to protect their young, but this Kangaskhan appeared very sweet and friendly. Her smile, in particular, was one of the friendliest smiles Sparks had ever seen.

Danika was already walking over to her, so Sparks followed. "Hello there!" the Sneasel greeted, "How are you this morning?"

"I'm doing just fine sweetheart! Thank you for asking. How about you two?"

"Good, thanks!"

"A little bit rained on," Sparks added with a small chuckle.

The Kangaskhan just smiled sweetly at him. "You get used to it if you live here. What brings you two to our little island village?"

"You could tell we're visitors?" Danika asked.

She tittered softly and said, "Sweetheart, we're a very close community here. I know everyone who lives here by name. I kind of have to, since pretty much all of them are customers here as well. So, unless you've suddenly moved in without building a new house, you must be tourists."

"Ah! Well, that's helpful!"

The Kangaskhan gave them another sugary-sweet smile and said, "What can I get for you, sweeties?"

Sparks cleared his throat and approached the counter. "Nothing, sorry. We're actually here because we're hoping you could… you could…" His voice drifted off and eventually fell silent as a trance-like look overcame his face and his mind became a little hazy. His nose twitched a couple of times slightly. He tried to make himself focus and continue his request, but found he simply couldn't.

Danika snickered from beside him. "He'll have a fresh cup of coffee," she answered for him.

He couldn't help but smile guiltily. "Yeah…I would love one, please…"

The Kangaskhan smiled brightly and asked, "What'll you have? We've got everything."

"'Everything'?"

She nodded. "Everything from Ban Seeds to X-Eye Seeds. What'll you have?"

Sparks leaned in over the counter suddenly. "Wait. Do you have Violent Seed coffee? I hear that's supposed to be real strong and good!"

The Kangaskhan tittered again, gave Sparks a wink, and said, "Coming right up!" She then turned around and started grabbing things from behind the counter.

Danika turned and gave Sparks a wry look, causing him to blush slightly. "I can't help it. It smells amazing in here."

"So, if I may offer you two a warm welcome to Dewdrop Island," the Kangaskhan said while she was busy working on Sparks' coffee, "My name's Chrissy, by the way. Always nice to see some new friendly faces in my café."

Sparks looked over at her in surprise. "Oh, are you the owner?"

"Sure am, sugar. I hope you like my coffee."

"Well…" Sparks said with a chuckle, "If it's called 'coffee', I'll love it. I'm Sparks, and this is Danika."

"Pleasure to meet you!" Chrissy said as she started mixing the seeds, beans and other ingredients together. She did this on the counter itself, which allowed her to look at them again while she talked. "Forgive me for not noticing earlier, but I see now that you two are from the Rescue Society. I presume that means you're here on some sort of mission. Are you from the Offshore branch?"

"Oh no," Sparks said with a shake of his head, "No, we're off-duty. We're just visiting."

"And we're from Radiant City," Danika added.

"Oh, of course. I should've guessed you're from Radiant City. You've got that big city life air about you," Chrissy said with a smile, "Anyway, doesn't matter which branch you're from. First cup is free for all Rescue Society members."

"Wha?" Sparks said, befuddled.

"Store policy. Don't try to talk me out of it," Chrissy said with a wink.

"Oh, uh…Well, thank you."

The coffee grinder on the counter then whirred to life, drowning out the possibility of conversation temporarily. Sparks took this moment to look around the café once again. It was then that he noticed two of the tables were occupied, which he hadn't seen from the front door. There was a Cinderace reading a newspaper and sipping from a steaming cup, and an Ice-Type Vulpix who was busily writing something down on a collection of papers. She didn't have a cup of coffee, but instead some sort of confectionary on a plate. Neither of them had been the least bit nosy towards the two foreigners.

The grinder stopped making noise, and Sparks turned back towards the Kangaskhan as he heard the delightful sound of coffee being poured. The aroma of the freshly-brewed coffee filled the air, and Sparks immediately understood how Ziggy had felt first stepping into that fateful restaurant.

"Here you go!" Chrissy said as she daintily slid the cup across the counter towards Sparks, who carefully picked it up with one of his paws, "Hope you enjoy!"

"It smells amazing," he commented, lightly blowing across the surface of the drink to cool it down a bit.

"Gosh," Danika remarked, "Everyone's so friendly here. I love it!"

"We try our best," Chrissy replied.

Sparks couldn't wait for the beverage to cool any longer and raised the cup to take a sip. Danika continued speaking as he did.

"We've never been here before. It's our first time visiting," she said, "It's such a delightful little village. What's it like living here?"

"Oh, it's relaxing and peaceful, but not without its fun moments. We cherish the days without rain, and learn to make the most of the rest."

Sparks lowered the cup and was about to compliment Chrissy on how rich the coffee tasted, but instead what came out of his mouth was an abrupt, "Whoa!" A sudden, sharp kick of flavour hit him a few seconds after he had swallowed. It was like a slap to the face. "Oh…Wow!"

"Good?" Chrissy asked, "Not many Pokémon like Violent Seed."

"I like my coffee strong," Sparks said, and then he shook his head. "Wow!" he exclaimed, "That gets the energy flowing! This is exactly the kind of thing I need on those days where I couldn't sleep the night before. But it's still really good and flavourful. It's wonderful!"

Chrissy smiled gratefully. "I'm happy you enjoy it, sweetheart. Just let me know if you want a refill." She spent a moment cleaning up her workstation while Sparks took a few more sips of the drink. "So what exactly brings you folks to our li'l island?" she asked, "Just exploring?"

"Uh…Sort of, and sort of not," Danika explained, "We were just reading about the…event that happened on the island last night. We'd known there was a new village here, but we didn't know much more than that. In fact, we just came from the memorial up the hill."

"Ah, yes," Chrissy said in a bit more of a somber tone, "The motto of most islanders is 'Live the Life that was Stolen.' We don't dwell on the past, though we respect it. We look to the future instead. And we always try to smile, because we know they would have wanted it."

"It's kind of mystifying to see," Danika remarked, "Looking at this lovely little village, you almost wouldn't even know what happened here before."

Chrissy nodded. "And we make sure it won't ever happen again."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, nobody knows exactly for sure, but the belief is that the Pokémon of the old village were trapped because all the buildings caught fire and so there was no way to get past the flames and into the water. If you look at our village now, there's always passage to the water from wherever you are in the village. Even if, heaven forbid, every house catches fire again, there'd still be clear ways to escape."

"Mm!" Sparks sputtered as he lowered his coffee cup from his lips, "I did notice that. I was wondering why the beach houses were all spaced apart."

"Well, I'm just glad to see so many Pokémon came together to the island afterwards and formed such a happy, friendly community," Danika said.

"Well thank you, darling," Chrissy replied, "We're always happy to have visitors."

Sparks took one more sip of the delightful coffee, grinning from the strong kick of the aftertaste, and then looked over at the Kangaskhan. "We actually came in here to see if we could get some help with something."

"Oh really?" she said in surprise, "Well, ask away and I'll do my best."

"We're looking for someone who's supposed to live on this island," Danika explained, "A Gumshoos named Jasper. Do you know where we could find him?"

Chrissy's expression brightened up and she laughed softly for a moment. "You're in luck," she said as she raised one of her arms and pointed with her claw, "Jasper's here right now. He always gets his coffee at this time of the day."

The two followed where she was pointing, and Sparks realized that she was actually pointing out of the windows that were behind where all the tables were. He hadn't realized it before, but one of the windows was actually a door and that there was a small, sheltered patio beyond it. The windows were all obscured by the falling rain, but Sparks squinted his eyes and could just make out a brownish-yellow shape through them.

"Great!" Danika proclaimed, "I thought we'd have to walk over the whole island to find him…"

"If you don't mind my asking," Chrissy then said, "why do you want to see him? I know you said you're off-duty, but is it guild business?"

"No," Sparks answered, "Well, not really. We wanted to ask him about a couple of Pokémon he might have known before."

"Oh, well then go right ahead. I'm sure he'd be happy to talk to you," Chrissy said, "He doesn't like to admit it, but I think he gets lonely."

"Thank you, Chrissy," Danika said with a nod.

Chrissy then leaned over the counter a little and said, "If you want to make a good first impression with him, bring him an Occa Berry muffin. They're his favourite!"

Sparks then took a few minutes to finish the rest of his coffee. He placed the cup down on the counter with a satisfied sigh, and gave Chrissy even more praise for her brew. He asked her if she could bring him another one in a couple of minutes, and even paid her in advance. Danika, meanwhile, paid for a few muffins. Then, the two companions finally made their way out towards the patio.

When they opened the door and stepped out onto the wooden deck, they found that the rain had somewhat died down again. Still umbrella-worthy, but not quite as noisy as before. The patio was an enclosed area with low fences around the edges that offered some good views of the island and the sea beyond. There was a wooden roof above that kept the entire patio safe from the elements. There were many tables out here, but only one of them had an occupant.


"Who the hell are you?!"

Ziggy looked up at the Watchog, giving her a confused look. He wasn't actually confused by her reaction at all; he was merely playing ignorant. "I'm from the Rescue Society," he said calmly, pointing to his badge, "I'm here because you posted on our request board. You wanted someone to help set some things up for the event tomorrow?"

The Watchog eyed Ziggy suspiciously and was silent for a moment before answering. It seemed like she had been about to tell him off, but the sight of his genuine badge gave her pause. "I'm not…" she stammered, "You can't…" She then shook her head and said more resolutely, "You can't do this job for us."

Ziggy furrowed his brow a little. "Are you sure? I'm happy to help with whatever you need me to do."

"No," she curtly replied, but then adopted a more professional tone and added, "No, thank you. We don't need any help from…you."

An awkward moment passed, and then Ziggy simply shrugged. "All right…" he said dismissively. He lifted up the paper that was clenched in one of his paws and looked at it for a moment. He then held it up in both paws, as if he was about to tear it in half.

"What are you doing?!" the Watchog spat angrily.

Again, Ziggy gave her a practiced look of confusion. "Aren't you refusing the guild's service?" he asked.

"Wh… N-no, I'm just…I just don't…"

"Don't worry, miss," Ziggy said, "There's no penalty for cancelling a job posting or anything. I'll just let my guildmaster know that the listing is cancelled."

"I'm not cancelling the posting! I still need someone to…" she retorted, but then trailed off.

Ziggy just gave her a patient look.

She twiddled her paws for a moment, and cast a glance over her shoulder at the collection of boxes filled with things like collapsible tables, paper cups and pole tents. She then looked back at Ziggy again, and focused her gaze on his badge for a moment. "Are you…really with the Rescue Society?" she asked skeptically.

"I'm just a recruit," Ziggy answered with a smile, "but, yes I am. I'm qualified to take on job postings like this one with permission from guildmaster Carmen."

The Watchog skewed her lips as a reluctant sort of look appeared on her face. She hesitated for almost half a minute, but then finally just sighed and shook her head. "Fine," she said, "You can help."

Ziggy smiled some more and nodded. "I'm happy to help," he said.

As the Watchog turned around and led him onto the lawn where he would be setting things up, Ziggy breathed a silent sigh of relief. While on the outside he may have looked calm and professional, inside he had been a nervous wreck the entire time. He had done everything the others had taught him, especially the part about acting as if nothing was wrong, as well as the fact that he didn't have to take any abuse for a requests board job posting if he didn't want to. Still, though, he'd had no idea how things would turn out.

'Just keep smiling and telling them that you're happy to help,' Carmen had once told him, 'Kill 'em with kindness.'

"What, ah…What's your name?" the Watchog asked.

He smiled at her and said, "You can just call me Ziggy."


Sparks and Danika slowly made their way over to the Gumshoos sitting at the farthest table. Even from afar, it was clear to see that he was an elderly Pokémon. He sat with a noticeable slouch, his body had a frail-looking appearance, and there were wisps of white and grey fur across his entire coat from head to tail. He was sipping from a cup of coffee and reading a hardcover book.

They paused for a moment, standing a few tables away from him. He had his back to them, and hadn't noticed their approach. Sparks looked over at Danika silently, who looked back at him. She gave him a wordless gesture of her head towards the other Pokémon.

Sparks then looked back over at the Gumshoos and finally approached him. He cleared his throat and said, "Excuse me? Are you Jasper?" He was afraid that the Normal-Type was hard of hearing because of his age.

That turned out not to be the case, though, as the Gumshoos turned around in his chair and regarded the two. "Last I checked, I was," he replied in a gruff but not aggressive voice, "And who might you be?"

"Ah! Hello there," Sparks said with a friendly smile, "I'm Sparks and this is Danika."

"Hello there," Danika greeted him.

Sparks was then about to explain why they were here to see him, but it suddenly dawned on him how morbid his request might sound. He had been in such a rush to get out and get to the island that he hadn't given their request much thought. Not to mention, it was a pretty random question and it might even come off as a little creepy.

"Well now! Look at that!" Jasper suddenly spoke up in a much more jovial tone, "I know them badges. You folks are from the Society!"

Caught slightly off guard, Sparks paused for a moment before replying, "Uh, yes! Yes we are. We're off-duty right now, though."

"That's a fancy badge you got there, friend," Jasper said, addressing Sparks, "Don't think I've seen that one before."

"Oh, uh…I'm a senior alumnus. It's a top-level position with special permissions."

"Well, congratulations and thanks for all your hard work. And I see you're on the Active Team. My praises to you too, sweetheart."

"Uh…Thank you, sir…" Danika said.

"You seem to know quite a bit about the Rescue Society…" Sparks remarked.

Jasper just chuckled. "Well, when ya've been 'round for as long as I have, you take notice of some of the things that make the world turn." He then indicated some of the empty chairs sitting at his table and said, "Well, don't just stand there like a couple-a gits flappin' yer gums. Take a seat!"

Sparks gave Danika a quick glance. She seemed just as caught off-guard by the Gumshoos' joviality as he was. Sparks, though, decided he was just glad that the ice had been broken already. He happily walked over and took a seat at the table, with Danika following behind him.

"We heard that these are your favourite," Danika said as she placed a brown paper bag onto the table, "Would you like one?"

Jasper's face brightened once he saw the muffins inside. "Well, now! That's very kind of ya, lass! I think I will. Thank you very much." He then reached in with his claw and pulled out one of the muffins, which he immediately took a bite out of. "Damn, that Chrissy makes good eats!"

"Yeah, the coffee here is spectacular!" Sparks replied.

"Oho! A fellow coffee-drinker? I thought I could smell it on yer breath." The Gumshoos chuckled. "I don't think I could function without a shot of her Ban Seed brew every mornin'."

"She was really nice. Kinda wish this place was back home so I could come every day."

Jasper took another swig from his coffee cup and then eyed the two with an interested look. "So what drags a couple-a city folk all the way out here?" he asked.

Sparks again hesitated, thinking of the reason they were bothering this nice Pokémon in the first place. Thankfully, Danika spoke up for him. "We mostly wanted to see the sights," she explained, "and also learn a little bit about this island's history."

"Oh, this island's got plenty of history," Jasper remarked, "Have you seen the monument up on the hill yet?"

"We have," Sparks answered. He then took a breath and decided to just get it over with. "We understand that…um…you used to live here?" he asked somewhat awkwardly, "Before the, y'know…the event?" He anxiously awaited to see how Jasper would react, but the Gumshoos was taking another drink of coffee and Sparks couldn't see his face.

"We were hoping we could ask you some questions about life on the island from before," Danika added.

Sparks bit down on his tongue. 'A little blunt?' he thought to himself.

Finally, Jasper set the cup down. "I sure did!" he replied, "If you got questions about old Dewdrop, I'm your 'mon!"

There was a brief moment of silence between the three. Sparks couldn't help but look at the Gumshoos flabbergasted. Jasper was smiling, perhaps even brighter than before, without an ounce of pain or sadness in his expression at all. "Oh!" Sparks blurted after he realized he'd been quiet for too long, "Uh, wow. Okay…"

Jasper sighed nostalgically. "Those were the good ol' days, for sure."

"And you're…okay to talk about that?" Sparks asked cautiously.

"Absolutely!"

Sparks felt a bit of the tension wash off of him. "Oh, good. I'm sorry, I was worried we might have upset you…"

Jasper gave the Raichu a knowing look and shook his head. "The Family Day Tragedy was just that…A tragedy. Obviously with everythin' that happened, it hurt me a whole lot. But I got all that out of my system a long while ago. I moved past that. I'm still here, and I'm still enjoyin' island life. It's a gift I was given, and I'm not gonna waste that gift by bein' sad all the time. I had a lot of real close friends in that old village, and let me tell you what! I know each and every one of 'em is watchin' me from up there in Arceus' garden, and they don't wanna watch a blubberin' old 'mon cryin' every day. Life's just too darn precious for that."

Once the Gumshoos finally stopped talking, Sparks just gave him an awed look. He could have easily imagined Jasper stereotypically waving a cane at him as he'd said that. "Wow…" he said, "If you'll pardon the cliché, those are some very wise words."

"Darn straight!" Jasper said with a smirk, "I spent years of happy times on the island back then, and those happy times are still just as happy and worth rememberin'."

"Heh…You know, I once told a close friend of mine that exact same thing," Sparks said.

"It's really amazing that you were the only one, though," Danika remarked, "Sparks and I weren't even aware there was a survivor until yesterday."

"Yup," Jasper said, nodding, "Just a cosmic twist of fate to happen on Family Day. See, I'm old if ya couldn't tell. Back then I only had two family members left. There was my son who lives in Radiant City, and my brother who lived on the island with me. So, we used to spend Family Day either at my house or my brother's, and my son would take the boat out.

"But that very same year as the tragedy, my brother passed away from natural causes. Without him, I didn't see as much reason for my big-time busy son to come out to the island, and I hadn't been visiting him nearly as often as I woulda liked, so I decided for that year I'd spend the day at his place instead. And that was the decision that saved my life."

"Wow…" Danika whispered. She looked mystified by his story.

"It is a darn shame, though. Lost a lotta good Pokémon from that old island. There was this one Marowak who lived on the north side, and he and I used to always…"

For the next 20 minutes, Sparks and Danika just sat and patiently listened to Jasper talk about his life on the island before the fire. It wasn't exactly what they had come to the island to hear about, but they both found it interesting nonetheless. Despite talking about companions of his that were dearly departed, he always had a smile on his face and would routinely laugh as he told his stories.

Eventually, Chrissy came out and delivered a new cup of coffee for Sparks, while also carrying a coffee pot to refill Jasper's cup. Sparks thanked her profusely and wasted no time in taking a sip.

"Violent Seed, eh?" Jasper spoke up, "Brave 'mon."

"Aw, it's not that strong. I quite like it, actually…"

"Tried it once when I was about your age, and that was enough for my lifetime."

The two laughed jovially. Danika, the only non-coffee drinker among the group, sat off to the side quietly. Jasper seemed to have run out of story-telling steam, at least for the present moment. Sparks decided that it was a good time to bring up the real reason they'd wanted to meet him.

"So…Jasper," Sparks said slowly, "We wanted to ask you something."

The Gumshoos set his own coffee cup onto the table and said, "What might that be?"

"There's a couple of Pokémon that used to live on this island. Pokémon who perished in the tragedy. We were hoping you might have known them when they were still alive so we could ask you a few things about them."

Jasper looked a little surprised by this question. "Well sure, there's a pretty good chance I knew whoever they were at least a li'l bit. We were a pretty close community, after all." He paused for a moment and then asked, "Why do you wanna know about 'em, though? Is this guild business?"

"No," Sparks answered, but then corrected himself. "Well, sort of… I can't really say why for privacy reasons. But rest assured, it's not for any incriminatory reason."

After a moment, Jasper shrugged and said, "All right. Who d'you wanna know about?"

Sparks cast Danika a look for a moment, and she looked back at him in much the same way. This was it. This was the moment where they could possibly find answers to questions they'd had for months. Both excitement and anxiety bubbled in the pit of his stomach. When they looked back at Jasper, it was Danika who spoke.

"Did you know a pair of Floatzel mates who lived on Dewdrop Island?"