Sponge Notes
SUNNY
Inu and Yuku huddled close to each other as they progressed through the cold, dark depths of the water.
"Man," Inu sighed into his communicator. "Who woulda' guessed there was so much water under the desert?"
"Mystery dungeons are just weird like that, I guess," Yuku replied.
The absol looked around. She'd catch an occasional shimmer of yellow out of the corner of her eye, but it'd gleam out as soon as she turned to look. It made her shiver uneasily.
"The sooner we get out of here, the better," Yuku spoke with a quiver.
Inu nodded, shivering a bit himself.
"You said it..."
The two began to swim up the spiral staircase. After about a minute of this, Inu frowned.
"Dat ain't right," he muttered, pointing his flashlight up.
Yuku looked up as well.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"If the leak is comin' from down there," he stopped to gesture back behind them. His breaths came strained. "Then the water level shouldn't be reachin' this high."
"Hm... Strange..." Yuku agreed. "Perhaps it caused some sort of chain reaction? More spillage higher up?" She cringed as she bumped into a wall, dazedly shaking off the brief shock of it.
"Mmmm... Yeah, that'd do it." He briefly coughed.
Yuku paused to check her APER Gear.
"Ten minutes," she sighed. "So help me... When we get out of here, Inu, you're really in for it!"
"What?" Inu shrugged. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he continued. "It's not like I caused the flood!"
"No, but I can hear you wheezing! I told you we shouldn't have done this while you were injured!"
"It'll be fine, sweetcheeks," Inu insisted. "Besides, it's not like you're all peachy, yourself!"
"Hmph!" Yuku felt an indignant blush crawl onto her cheeks. Luckily for her, it blended in well with her already red fur. "I'm just a bit dizzy, is all!"
The two soon stopped. Crumbled stone laid at the top of the stairs, blocking the exit.
"Great," Inu snarked. "What now?"
Yuku leaned forward. She grunted, feeling lightheaded, but pushed on in spite of it. She wedged her horn beneath a chunk of stone, then shoveled it back with a huff.
Inu sighed, gripping another piece in his paws, pulling it out of the way. His ribs seared in protest, eliciting a pained grunt.
The two worked tirelessly at the pile for several minutes, until there was a gap just large enough for Yuku to fit through. That, of course, meant Inu would make it just fine.
The absol poked her head through, nervously shuffling her way in. Soon, however, she stopped, shivering.
"Oog..." She dragged a claw across her forehead. She gave a light smirk, even though Inu could not see. "Help me, step-bro! I'm stuck!" She teasingly flung her tail to the side.
Inu sighed, chuckling.
"Is this really the time?" he lectured, though still smiling.
"Eep!" Yuku squeaked as she felt Inu's paws sink into her rump. The meowth pushed with a huff, shoving his companion through the gap.
Inu attempted to dust his paws, though the water resistance made it a comically slow gesture.
"I swear it didn't have that much give last time I touched it," Inu commented.
Yuku grinned, though turned away bashfully.
"I think it's gotten a bit bigger!" she proudly proclaimed.
Inu snickered.
"You've been lazing around too much!"
Huffing, the absol poked at Inu's belly, making it squish.
"You're one to talk!"
Laughing, Inu put his arms behind his head.
"Fair enough! I'm sure Lodiyo would love to have us join in on his workouts, again."
"For sure!"
"Honestly, that sounds incredible!" Aundei exclaimed, flashing Snute a smile.
The ninetales shrugged.
"Yeah. I really wonder how he accomplished it."
"Well... Sh-should we try it, then?" Peppy muttered.
The three sat in a circle in their room, which was dimly lit by Snute's APER Gear.
Snute reached forward, tapping on a blank white square icon. A static image of an espeon appeared on the screen, smiling.
The group stared for a moment. The image of the espeon turned to one displaying exaggerated nervousness.
"Uhm... Hey! I'm SP-1, your personal AI assistant!" rang their voice, shivering "...Hurrah?"
"Incredible!" Aundei trilled. The espeon took on a surprised expression. "She sounds just like Amethyst! Even looks the same!"
"Um... Thanks?"
Snute frowned.
"This still feels extremely disrespectful. She just died, and all."
SP-1 looked confused.
"Who died?"
"No one!" Aundei declared with a huff. "There haven't been any bodies discovered, so we have to believe they're still alive!"
"But there have been bodies found," Snute corrected. "That's how they have 'confirmed kills', glameow."
"Well... Amethyst's hasn't been found! And neither has Alena's! I believe that they're okay, somewhere!"
Snute frowned bitterly.
"Hope is a fool's notion. It only serves to make you suffer when you inevitably turn out to be wrong."
"W-well!" Peppy laughed awkwardly. "Let's not argue about this n-now, 'kay? Welcome to the team, SP-1!"
"Hey, thanks!" the virtual espeon smiled. "You can count on me to serve you well!"
"Dear God, this is cringe," Snute sighed.
"Who is 'God'?" SP-1 asked, looking confused.
"They made the universe, life, and all that jazz. Supposedly."
"Oh, you mean Arceus!" Peppy exclaimed.
"Sure, something like that."
Aundei turned to Snute's APER Gear.
"Well, my name is Aundei! The squeaky one is Peppy, and the grumpy one is Snute!" explained the glameow. "Can we call you Espy?"
"Uh, okay! I... I think I like that!" Espy smiled hesitantly.
"So, what do you even do?" Snute queried.
"Well..." Espy stopped to process. "I can talk to you! Share my thoughts! Automate tasks on your APER Gear, maybe!"
Snute raised an eyebrow.
"Can you answer any question?"
"I can sure try! If I don't know, I'll Google it!"
"Seems a bit useless."
Espy looked quite offended at that.
"Wh- Hey! I'm just another pokémon, like you! I can't know everything!"
"You're just a computer program, actually," Snute corrected. "Your feelings are not real."
Espy appeared sad, but did not otherwise respond.
"That wasn't very nice, Silly," Aundei lectured. "Look, you hurt her feelings!"
"It has no feelings. It is a computer program."
"Well... At least my ass isn't fat!" Espy retorted smugly.
Snute scoffed.
"You don't have one. You're just a slideshow of images." She paused to think for a moment. "Why aren't you a 3D model, anyway?"
Espy switched to a shrug.
"Uh... The doctor just said something about the uncanny valley when I asked."
"Makes sense. Though, he should probably be letting you train now, so you have the experience by the time someone puts you in a sex robot."
"What?!" Espy appeared to blush, completely befuddled.
Aundei tilted his head, whilst Peppy squeaked with a blush.
"Why would you make a robot for that?" the glameow wondered. "Robots can't make eggs!"
"Enough of that!" Espy demanded. "I will not be used for such degenerate purposes! The doctor says I'm an important work of science!"
Snute smirked.
"All important works of science are inevitably used for entertainment once they're no longer new."
"Gah!" Espy fumed. "Fuck you! I'm gonna go talk to someone else!"
Snute watched on in satisfaction as the application forcibly closed. She almost burst out laughing when her APER Gear turned itself off.
Aundei shook his head disappointedly.
"Snute, you should be nice to Espy!" he lectured. "She's here to help us, right?"
Peppy nodded in agreement.
"Y-yeah. That was kind of mean..."
"Whatever," Snute sighed. She stood up, walking for the door.
"Where ya' going, Snute?" Peppy asked, standing up. "Breakfast isn't for fifteen minutes."
"I'll get something in town. I'm not wasting any more time with the floragato walking free."
"Fair enough!" Aundei smiled. "We'll catch up!"
Peppy and Aundei walked through the town with matching frowns.
A mankey opened a barrel, only for it to collapse and spill sand all over him.
A simipour opened a door. A cream pie fell off from the top, smacking into her face.
A watchog sighed in disappointment as he tirelessly scrubbed away at a graffiti painting of a night sky.
"They weren't kidding!" Aundei exclaimed, drawing Peppy's attention. "This guy really does strike all over the place!"
"Yeah... Seems kinda mean..." Peppy muttered.
Aundei looked up to the sky.
"Where do ya' figure Silly ran off to?"
"Probably to that Alfonzo guy's show."
"Sounds about right!"
The glameow pranced along, humming a jaunty tune. Peppy dashed to keep up.
Aundei briefly stopped to purchase three hot dogs from a zigzagoon. He gave one to Peppy, kept one for himself, and put the other in a box in his bag.
Peppy looked down at the hot dog curiously. The sausage was fairly large, even longer than the thin bun it sat within. Diced onions were sprinkled atop the dish, with a thin line of mustard resting over them. No chili, unfortunately for the fennekin, but it still seemed pretty good!
She munched away happily, letting her anxieties leave her mind for the while. It was hard to be scared with food in her maw, after all.
Aundei suddenly gasped, grabbing Peppy's attention once more. The glameow waved off into the distance with a smile.
"Hey there, double-trouble!" Aundei shouted. "Why are you all wet?"
Inu and Yuku both weakly smiled back, returning the wave.
"Long story!" Inu called.
"We'll tell you later!" Yuku added.
Alfonzo raised his arms into the air, basking in the praise of the audience.
"And, yet, t'was not even my greatest trick! Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for something truly special?"
The crowd cheered and roared. He readied his cane, but then stopped.
Something didn't sound right.
The floragato smirked to himself. It was time to improvise. He overdramatically put a paw to his ear, taking on a surprised expression.
"Oh, what is this? I believe I heard someone coming!"
Alfonzo leapt backwards with a flourish as a set of white paws impacted where he'd just been. The crowd cheered with the arrival of the familiar ninetales.
"Floragato! You are under arrest!" Snute declared, eying Alfonzo disdainfully. She removed her explorer's badge, presenting it to him. "Under the authority of the Vanilluxe Guild!"
The crowd oohed. Their attention drifted to Alfonzo.
The cat smirked, crossing his arms.
"Oh? Whatever did I do?"
"Don't play dumb," Snute hissed. She shot forth an accusing paw. "You are the serial prankster!"
The audience gasped in mock-horror, still under the assumption that it was all part of the show.
Alfonzo smirked, bowing.
"Forgive me, my dear, but have you any evidence?"
Snute glared.
"We literally saw you."
"Perhaps you were mistaken!" Alfonzo smiled. "Or, is this just to get back at me over that little kiss yesterday?"
The audience cheered. Snute fumed.
Alfonzo jumped out of the way as an ice beam shot directly toward his face. With a twirl and a flourish, the floragato boosted off from Snute's head, landing atop his curtain pole.
Snute shot another beam of ice, which was expertly dodged once more. Upon landing on the stage once more, Alfonzo flicked his yoyo to strike Snute in the head with a noisy thwack.
The ninetales glared, her ears flattening as the crowd of pokémon roared in excitement.
"Of course. He's using me for a show." She clenched her jaw. "If it's a show he wants, I'll give them a show of blood."
The two stared at each other, locked in a standoff. Snute held her unamused glare whilst Alfonzo smirked, twirling his yoyo.
The floragato moved first, leaping forward with incredible force. He swung his yoyo toward the ninetales.
Snute leapt over the flat arc of the makeshift weapon, then springing over Alfonzo's head. She attempted to kick him upon landing, but he'd already taken to the air again.
The ninetales rolled to dodge Alfonzo's jump-kick, then leaping back to avoid a swipe of his cane. His foot soon came flying toward her face, which she met with a firm bite.
"Me-yowch!" Alfonzo called, crying to the air. He continued smirking, however, as he pulled his leg away, foot appearing to come clean off.
The audience laughed and cheered.
Before the floragato could do anything more, his discarded prop foot smacked him in the head, knocking him down onto his rear.
Liquid fear shot through Alfonzo's veins as Snute scampered toward him, growling and snarling. He scrambled to scoot backwards and onto his feet, then quickly ran away.
The crowd laughed harder as Snute chased Alfonzo in circles around the stage for nearly a minute.
Finally, Alfonzo leapt with a back-flip, landing atop Snute's back. He applied vines to her to work as makeshift reigns.
"Giddy up!" the floragato commanded, slapping the ninetales' rear.
Snute kicked, gnashed, and writhed as she attempted to throw off her unwelcomed mount. Her ears flattened as the audience laughed at her misfortune.
It was at that moment that a glameow hopped onto the stage in front of the pair, standing proud.
"Fret not, Silly!" Aundei proclaimed. "We have arrived to assist!"
The crowd cheered and clapped.
Alfonzo raised an eyebrow.
"We?"
Aundei turned to see Peppy cowering off to the side. He shook his head, looking back at the floragato with a grin.
"I am here to assist!"
"Great," Snute snarked. "Get him off me."
"Got it!"
Aundei leapt forward with a confident grin. He raised his claws, glowing with a white aura as they extended.
Smirking, Alfonzo leapt off from Snute's back. As he somersaulted mid-air, he tossed his cane aside, a leaf-blade rapier unsheathing from it. He landed in a dynamic pose, twirling to smack Snute's head with the flat side of the blade, then pointing the tip toward Aundei.
Snute gave a grunt as she was slapped, falling over in a daze.
"Well then... It is time to duel, my fellow feline!" Stated the floragato, shedding his cloak.
Aundei took a serious expression, removing his cape.
"Right on!"
The air grew tense as the two circled each other, both sets of eyes analyzing their opponent's movements.
Aundei's brows furrowed as he concentrated. He took a step forward, horizontally slashing inward toward Alfonzo.
The floragato gracefully twirled out of the way, before bringing his blade down toward Aundei.
The glameow raised his paw, letting the blade clash against the back of his extended claws. Quickly, he let them return to normal, instead empowering his other pair of claws to deliver a strike from a new angle.
Alfonzo leapt back from the hit. He removed his hat, giving it a hefty swing.
A raboot dressed in a tuxedo matching Alfonzo's came sailing out of the hat, landing with a flourish. He soon unsheathed his own rapier, joining the floragato's side.
The audience laughed, applauding loudly.
Aundei giggled as well.
"The classic, the rabbit in a hat!" Alfonzo declared. "Are you impressed?"
"Very!" Aundei confirmed. "You may be pleased to learn that I brought a bunny, too!"
"Oh?" Alfonzo frowned. His raboot companion lost his smirk.
The crowd parted as a brown blur shot out.
Ooka landed face-first on the stage. Groaning, she stood up, dusting herself off as the audience continued to laugh.
"Here I am!" Cheered the lopunny.
"Ah," Alfonzo smirked. "You had plans to even the odds! I'm impressed!"
"Not just that," Snute groaned, standing up. "Now I'm odding the evens."
The raboot turned to point his sword toward Snute. The ninetales sneered.
Peppy quickly ran over to the ninetales' side, though shivering violently as she did.
"O-okay!" the fennekin gulped. "You're o-outnumbered! Surrender!"
"Not a chance!" Alfonzo declared. "Popple?"
"On it!" The raboot saluted. He quickly leapt toward Snute and Peppy, swinging his blade with a deliberate arc.
Peppy ran out of the way, whilst Snute materialized a small barrier of ice to protect herself from the blow. She strained with the effort, the dry desert air making things exceedingly difficult.
With a spring of her legs, Snute pounced on Popple. Her paws found their way onto his chest, pinning him down easily.
The raboot raised his legs and violently kicked Snute in the stomach, knocking her back and making her wretch. He slashed his blade across her cheek, sending shreds of black fabric into the air with a spray of blood.
The crowd gasped in horror.
Alfonzo frowned.
"Jig is up, I guess!"
The floragato swung his sword quickly toward Aundei. The strike was parried, but Alfonzo came in with another. After it was blocked once more, Ooka quickly kicked him in the face.
Stumbling back, Alfonzo lost grip of his sword.
As Ooka and Aundei advanced toward him, he began aggressively spinning his yoyo. He swung it with a broad sweep of his arm. The yoyo struck Aundei in the head, knocking him off his paws, then the string quickly wrapped and tightened around Ooka's legs.
With a yank of his wrist, Alfonzo sent the lopunny down on top of the glameow. Both cried out in pain.
He turned to see Popple pinned under Snute's weight, disarmed and at the ninetales' mercy. Quickly, the floragato rewound his yoyo, spinning Ooka until she was dizzy. He swung the device to pick up both of the discarded rapiers, bringing them to his hands. He approached Snute with dual-wielded blades.
The ninetales noticed the approaching pokémon. She leapt away just in time to avoid taking a serious hit. An X-shaped incision was left in her clothes.
Popple rose to his feet, dusting himself off. Reclaiming his rapier from Alfonzo, he walked around to stand back to back with the floragato as the other two explorers rose once more.
Finally building up enough courage to do something, Peppy charged back into the frey, headbutting Alfonzo's leg. It did not hurt, but it gained his attention long enough for him to kick her away.
Peppy rolled with a squeak, clutching at her suddenly aching head.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Snute shot an ice beam toward the floragato. It struck him across his left arm, freezing it in place. The cat gave a yowl of alarm.
Snute darted forward, leaping toward Alfonzo. He clumsily tossed his sword to his free hand, then slashing toward Snute.
Thinking fast, the ninetales empowered her jaws with ice, then biting down as hard as she could. The compressive force was just barely enough to halt the blade's motion.
Popple and Aundei continued to swing at each other, blade against claws. Ooka hopped in and around the duel, keeping the raboot on his toes, always needing to dodge a wayward lopunny limb.
The lopunny leapt over Popple's head, then turned to kick him in the back. He stumbled forward, where Aundei slashed his blade away, disarming the raboot.
Popple raised his hands in defeat.
"Okay! I give up!"
Ooka and Aundei both smiled.
The lopunny's smile fell as she turned to the commotion on the other side of the stage.
"I'll take him back to HQ, hun'! Go help your team mates!"
"Got it!"
Ooka helped Popple back to his feet, then carefully held his hand. She walked him off from the stage, with the audience applauding all the while.
Snute growled as a fist impacted her cheek. She stumbled away from the blow.
Alfonzo twirled his sword tauntingly.
"Give up, Lu'?"
"Go to hell."
The floragato thrusted his blade forward. It was blocked by Aundei's extended claws.
Outnumbered once more, Alfonzo took a few steps back. He continued to smirk, however.
"I must say, Lucy," he began, "I'm impressed. All those years ago, I would've never guessed you'd actually make it as an explorer."
"Shut up," the ninetales sneered. "You'll stop fighting now, if you know what's good for you."
"We've got you outnumbered!" Aundei exclaimed with a grin.
Peppy timidly stepped up, gulping down her fear.
Alfonzo rested his cheek in his palm, smiling.
"Outnumbered? Please. I'm hardly a fair fight for even three of you." He smiled. It didn't reach his eyes.
"I know you better than you think, floragato," Snute huffed. "You are bluffing."
"So I am." Alfonzo bowed humbly. "Alas, I suppose I should surrender, then?"
"Th-that's right!" Peppy stammered, shivering violently.
"Ahah." Alfonzo nodded. "Unfortunately, I've never particularly been known to do what others say I should."
Gasps filled the air as Alfonzo backflipped onto the air. He flung his yoyo to grapple onto his curtain pole.
Empowering his blade with dark-type energy, Alfonzo swung across the stage.
Team Stop Calling Me That got low to the floor, each shouting in alarm.
The empowered force of Alfonzo's blade cleaved the structure of his stage right in half.
He swung back up onto the pole, giving a salute.
"Adios, amigos!" He waved, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
The audience all shouted and began to run away as the stage groaned, starting to collapse.
Aundei quickly scooped both Snute and Peppy up into his tail. Channeling flying-type energy into his legs, he powerfully sprang away, fleeing just in time as several tons of wood, metal, and various equipment crashed down where they'd just been.
The three tumbled across the ground in a daze, coming to a stop in a dazed pile.
Peppy stood up, shaking the cobwebs out of her brain. She looked down worriedly to her teammates.
Snute and Aundei were both knocked out cold. Their injuries seemed to have gotten to them after the rough landing.
Peppy gulped, looking up. She saw the figure of a floragato fleeing across the rooftops.
"Okay..." she muttered, taking a deep breath. "All u-u-up to me... I can d-do this."
The fennekin, shivering in terror, ran forward with all her might. Her eyes swept across the scene, searching for a way onto the rooftops, though never letting the fleeing cat leave her sight.
Various pokémon watched both her and Alfonzo, a commotion beginning to brew among the citizens.
A familiar clefairy came into view. He quickly got up, sprinting alongside the fennekin.
"Skies above, youngin'! What in tarnation is goin' on?" The clefairy asked, concern evident on his features.
"Th-the serial prankster!" Peppy called. She gestured upward toward the rooftops with her muzzle. "He's getting away!"
Looking up, the clefairy smirked.
"Well, shucks! I'll be! I always knew 'Fonz was a trouble-maker since little Lu' left, but I wasn't expectin' that!"
Peppy nodded vigorously.
"Can you boost me up there, sir?"
"Can do, little miss! Hop on!"
Peppy hopped onto the man's back, carefully hooking her forelegs around him.
The clefairy briefly lit up with a green glow. Both he and Peppy soon flickered out of existence, reappearing atop the roofs.
With a nod of thanks, Peppy hopped off, once more beginning to pursue her escaping target. The clefairy followed soon after.
Peppy felt her vision begin to swim and double as she approached the edge of the roof. The distance to the ground made her stomach lurch. With a scream of terror, she squoze her eyes shut, blindly leaping over the fall. Her legs flailed midair, before soon landing once more on sandstone, eliciting a gasp.
The fennekin forced her eyes open as she kept running. Her newfound fairy-type companion seemed to be keeping up just fine.
Alfonzo frowned, looking back. The fennekin appeared to be gaining on him, and she'd brought an ally. His eyes soon widened.
"Drat!" Alfonzo thought. "Chestnut!"
Upon running across a particularly large building, the floragato slid to a stop. He turned in place, unsheathing his leaf-blade once more.
Peppy and the clefairy landed on the other side soon after. The both of them were run a bit ragged, one due to inexperience and the other due to age.
"Stand down, Fonz!" Chestnut called, shakily pointing at the cat. "You aren't in trouble! Just come with us so we can talk things out!"
"Not a chance!" Alfonzo taunted, waggling a finger. "You unappreciative whelps will not censor my artistic expression! Much less you, Ex-officer!"
"Guess we're doing this the hard way, then," the clefairy sighed, unholstering his revolver.
Peppy's eyes widened.
"W-Won't that kill him?"
"Just BBs," Chestnut explained. "So long as I don't nail his eye, he'll be okay."
Alfonzo smirked.
"Haven't you heard, sir? Never bring a gun to a sword fight!"
Alfonzo focused, materializing his aura into physical form. He created five substitution clones of himself, leaving the identity of the real one a mystery.
Peppy squeaked, ears flattening back.
"O-Oh no!" The fennekin exclaimed. Her eyes darted between the six floragatoes, each eying her and Chestnut with a smirk.
All six began to enclose on the pair at once. Peppy flinched at the sound of gunfire, followed by one of the substitutes poofing out of existence. Another was dispelled in much the same way.
Before he could react, Chestnut received the flat edge of Alfonzo's rapier to his face. The older clefairy fell onto his back, shouting in pain.
Peppy, despite her fear, kept a close eye on which of the supposed pokémon landed the blow. Puffing up her cheeks, she spat a small ember toward the attacker.
Alfonzo yelped in surprise as his cape caught fire. He let his illusions drop as he quickly discarded the cloth, then stomped out the flames.
With a crack and slap, he yelled in pain as a BB impacted his cheek. Growling, Alfonzo kicked the revolver out of Chestnut's weak grip. He then leapt over Peppy as she attempted to tackle him from behind.
As the pair landed, Peppy quickly rounded, launching herself back toward Alfonzo.
The floragato cringed as his attacker impacted his chest. He frowned, however, as it didn't really hurt that much.
"You serious?" he questioned. "That's the best you've got?"
Peppy squealed, looking away in shame.
"U-Umh... Gah!" She yelped in surprise as a green foot impacted her face. She was sent tumbling across the roof, skidding to a stop near the middle.
Alfonzo stood tensed as he observed the fennekin struggling back to her paws. As she gave up, however, he let out a sigh of defeat.
Rushing over, he looked down on Peppy's form to find her unconscious. He leaned down to check her pulse.
"Good," he sighed in relief. "Didn't kill her." He quickly rushed over to the downed clefairy, making note of the same.
He turned to make his getaway, but stopped as he made note of something strange. He felt a chilly draft pass over his coat, with the sky beginning to darken.
Alfonzo's eyes narrowed. He looked over to the opposing edge of the building.
He flinched, covering his eyes as an air vent covering was violently knocked off with a loud clatter. Snute soon crawled up out of the vent, followed soon after by Aundei.
Alfonzo smirked, crossing his arms.
"You never know when to give up, do you, Lu'?" he taunted. "Guess no one really ever changes that much."
As hail began to drop from the sky, Alfonzo raised his arm, an umbrella sprouting from his sleeve.
Aundei stepped forward, frowning.
"Come on, Showy!" the glameow urged. "Don't make us fight you! We can settle this peacefully!"
"Do we have to?" Snute groaned. "I'd rather just eat his eyes."
"Shush!" Aundei hissed.
Alfonzo shook his head.
"You don't understand," insisted the floragato. "No one does. No one appreciates my art, don't you see? That is why I must force it upon them!"
"Oh, bother," Snute sighed. "Spare us your super-villain monologue, floragato. You're not getting out of this."
Aundei stepped forward, face full of concern. Alfonzo cringed away.
"But you have so many adoring fans!" Aundei urged. "You said no one appreciates you, but that's not what I saw! I saw one-hundred eager pokémon gathered excitedly to view the impossible feats of the Amazing Alfonzo!"
"Pah!" Alfonzo scoffed, waving his paw. "They view my show as light entertainment at best. They do not take it as a serious art form!"
"Even so," Aundei started, "there may be others who do! Even if not, however, maybe they don't need to! You're making pokémon happy with your work! Isn't that a good thing?"
"No!" Alfonzo proclaimed, shaking his head. "I aspire for more than mere entertainment! I am creating art, I say! Art! I demand it to be recognized as such!"
"Stop being a spoiled brat," Snute sneered. "At least people appreciate you. You couldn't even spare me that little, if I recall."
Alfonzo turned enraged, shooting a piercing glare toward Snute.
"Me?! You dare?!" He stomped forward, step by step. "You up and abandoned me! That certainly didn't feel very appreciative!"
Aundei blinked, dumbfounded. As the others bickered, he quickly fed small reviver seeds to both Peppy and Chestnut.
"It wasn't about you!" growled the ninetales. "I wanted to follow my dreams! And, you know what? I did! I'm not some washed up loser taking out my privileged frustrations on the public."
Peppy was about to retort Snute's statement, but she didn't get the chance as Alfonzo continued speaking.
"It certainly didn't feel that way! You were all I had! I loved you!" he put his hand to his chest, then clenched it into a fist. "A part of me still does. Yet, you left. The one pokémon I truly felt appreciated my work, and you up and left! You had told me time and time again how much it hurt to lose those you cared for. If you were willing to just leave me behind, clearly you never cared at all."
Snute's eyes narrowed. She gritted her teeth.
"You could've come with me, you know. If you really felt like no one else cared, you didn't have to stay in this shit-hole!"
"What did you expect?!" the floragato exclaimed, exasperated. He threw up his hands. "I'm a performer! I am not a fighter! I wasn't cut out to be a part of some exploration team!" He clenched his fist. "And, you aren't, either. I didn't want you to get hurt."
Snute shook her head, snorting.
"Yet, I've been just fine."
The ninetales' eyes widened as a fist collided with her muzzle. She grunted, falling backward.
Peppy, Aundei, and Chestnut all gasped as blood pooled in the ninetales' paws below her injured face.
"Yeah," Alfonzo snarked. "You look just fine to me, Lucy! Definitely didn't just get your nose broken, there."
The floragato suddenly hissed as Snute violently bit into his hand.
He quickly shoved his appendage further into Snute's mouth and into her throat. She gagged just long enough for him to free his profusely bleeding hand.
Snute stood up, glaring with menace. Alfonzo returned the look with just as much venom as he protectively clutched his hand.
"Not a single day has gone by where I haven't thought about you," Snute admitted. "Just another failure of many. I thought I could trust you, but you had to ruin it all. Just like everyone else I'd ever loved, I lost you. It's a wound I'll never heal from."
Alfonzo shook his head.
"Likewise."
Aundei stepped forward, finally speaking up.
"If I may... Clearly, the both of you are speaking nonsense." As two death glares shot his way, he simply smiled. "Clearly, you both felt like the other betrayed you. If that is the case, then surely neither of you actually intended to perform such betrayal!" The glameow stood tall. "If you both truly care for each other as you state, why not try to work out a compromise instead of throwing out accusations?"
Snute shook her head.
"What we had is gone. Once you lose someone, you don't get them back."
"Oh, Silly..." Aundei cooed with a frown. "That's not true! There's always hope! No one is truly gone forever! Friends, family, love... They're all precious! Why sacrifice something so special when there's a solution right in front of you?"
Snute and Alfonzo both turned to look at each other.
For the first time in years, Snute took a good, hard look at someone. Where she once saw a new enemy, she instead saw a lost ally. One of many. So many people she'd lost, and so many losses she could do nothing about.
As much as she hated to admit it, the glameow was right. Perhaps, for once, she could do something about it. Why shouldn't she?
Sighing, Snute forced on a steely glare. Baring her teeth, she leaned forward. The ninetales took Alfonzo into an awkward hug, though subtly growling as she did.
The floragato sharply inhaled, shivering in place. Hesitantly, he let his hands come to rest on Snute's back.
"You're right," he finally sighed. "I'm... Real sorry, Lucy."
"I'm..." Snute shivered in disgust as she forced out the word. "S-s-sorry too, Alfonzo." It felt good to get that out, even if she'd never admit it.
"I just... Didn't want to lose you, like I lose everyone else. I feel so unappreciated and... I was just scared. I still am."
"Yeah..." Snute sighed, leaning into Alfonzo's chest. "I feel you."
The two soon stepped away from each other, leaving the scene in a contemplative silence.
Alfonzo looked away, clasping his hands together.
"But... You're just gonna have to leave again, aren't you? With your exploration team and all."
Snute sighed, lowering her head.
"Yeah. Duty calls." The two sat in silence. Snute hesitantly looked up, biting her lip. "B-But..."
Alfonzo's ears perked up.
"But?"
"...But that doesn't mean you have to stay," Snute sighed. "This place may not fully appreciate your deceptive talents, but... We sure would appreciate your tricks in a mystery dungeon. Or fighting some outlaw." She nervously shuffled her paws. "And, uh... I like you, I guess, maybe..." She forced her face back into her usual scowl, looking up to meet Alfonzo's surprised gaze. "Would you... Ugh... Want to join our team, or something, I guess?"
Peppy's eyes widened, while Aundei smiled warmly. He pulled the fennekin along as he moved to stand at Snute's side, nodding in approval.
The floragato shivered lightly, his eyes beginning to water. Shakily, he reached his arm forward. Snute extended her leg. Squeezing his eyes shut, Alfonzo took the ninetales' paw in his hand, lightly squeezing as he shook it.
"Heh... I'd love to, Lu'," he admitted with a smirk.
"Yeah, whatever," the ninetales snorted, looking away. A faint blush crept over her cheeks, and she felt her cold, dead heart warm up just a bit.
"Well, that's mighty heart-warmin', and all," Chestnut interjected, "but you've still got some crimes to answer for, 'Fonz."
The floragato stiffened, then sighed. He hung his head.
"Understood, sir."
Name: Alfonzolarone Zeredey
Gender: M
Age: 24
Species: Floragato
Type: Grass
Height: 3'09".
Weight: 29 lbs.
If you have any medical conditions, list them here:
Do you have an active sex-life?: I'm probably about to!
Do you have a history with drugs? If so, elaborate:
Do you have a criminal record? If so, elaborate: Multiple counts of vandalism, and harassment!
Dietary requirements/preferences: Meat!
Move skill-set: Material Normal (Proficient), Material Grass (Proficient), Empower Arms Flying (Comfortable), Transport Material Normal (Comfortable)
Abilities: Overgrow