Piers had been half-asleep through their touching parting of ways with Rosette and Lance. It was not something Raihan could particularly blame him for, when his friend had been polite enough to attempt to keep himself up long enough to say goodbye. Despite the fact that for a good five minutes, the Pokémon they had been hired to rescue had ended up beating the crap out of him. Regardless of how much his punk raccoon friend had complained after they left the crossroads that he was a 'grown man who didn't need a lift to the clinic to get his boo-boos checked', he had gone straight to burrowing under him again to trot to their usual resting place and give his clearly shaking limbs a rest.

They had not left empty-handed of course, the Lucky Ribbon and Fierce Bandana now theirs along with a sizable sum of money that he knew exactly what he wanted to do with. Lastly, they had gotten a promise from Rosette that if she ever saw a suspicious Charmander wandering around aimlessly she would inform the guild to get back to them, however she seemed to be under the strong belief that Leon would have been cosplaying as a Sawk whilst doing so.

"I've heard of language barriers, but this is ridiculous," Piers had grumbled as soon as their client had left, before almost dozing off on the spot.

That had led to them finally returning to the clinic, Raihan gently dropping his exhausted friend off in the care of Blissey before taking half of their reward money to Kecleon.

"I see you're finally awake, Sleeping Beauty." Piers threw Raihan a half-arsed glare as he rubbed one eye, remaining nestled in the soft hay of his bed. At some point someone had snuck a blanket in there at some point, draped over his back and tail that for some godforsaken reason wouldn't stop wagging.

His friend had clearly just returned that second, bag still slung over his shell and that bandana still wrapped around his neck. Piers briefly wondered if he would have to assist him in getting the thing off, when he had no digits. "Ah piss off, where were you? You didn't go back to the cafe for another smoothie, did you?"

Raihan gave a chuckle and sank down next to him, lowering his head and shaking the bag off. "No, but it sounds tempting, doesn't it? I went to the market, then I saw Espeon on the way back here. She wanted us to come see her when you were ready, and bring our bandanas with us. Would you mind getting me an apple from the bag, Piers?"

Piers shook his head, pawing at the bag and rummaging through it. As he located the apples, he touched something soft and furrowed his brow before taking two apples and the fabric out. It seemed to be crimson in colour, with a pale red decorating the edges. "Eh? What's this?"

"The Kecleon brothers were selling this at a discount, apparently it was supposed to be a 'Reunion Cape', but they ran short of material. So it's now a 'Reunion Band', I guess? If someone is wearing this and gets separated from their teammates, it'll teleport them right back to them." Raihan laughed. "I thought I'd get it for Leon so when we find him, we won't lose him again."

Piers gazed at it then smiled, before raising his brow. "... How exactly are these things made?"

"Fuck if I know, they're pretty cool though. I wonder if powered accessories can be made out of any pattern or if they have to look like that." Raihan bit into an apple. "How about after we eat, we go see Espeon, then?"

And for a few minutes, they let themselves rest.

Piers' legs were still refusing to do as they were told, so he continued to unwillingly hitch a ride on Raihan's shell. He was not sure what had been the worst part of becoming a Pokemon - being separated from his sister, having no memory of how they ended up there or being hardly a foot tall. His front paws were idly draped over his friend's 'shoulders', as he tiredly glared at the fabric knot of the fierce bandana. It was so ugly that it was almost offensive, either that or it was the permanent tiredness riling him up. No matter how much he slept, it didn't seem to make him any less grumpy.

As they found Espeon's hut, they saw a Vulpix and Nickit playing in what looked to be a front garden, with its own little lawn and pretty flowers. "Hey kids!" Raihan chirped up, realising he should be cautious in case he accidentally broke into some clueless Pokemon's home by mistake. "Does Miss Espeon live here?"

The two foxes turned to look at them, tilting their heads. "Oh, it's the weird Zigzagoon and Trapinch Grandpa brought in the other way," Nickit mumbled, Piers' eye twitched and he silently fought what were surely the feral Galarian Zigzagoon instincts telling him to toss a child around.

"Oh, are you looking for Mama?" Vulpix chirped, wagging her tails. "Yeah she's home, did you need her to tell your fortunes?"

Piers peered at Raihan from his usual place on his back. "Fortunes? Do you think she's gonna see our future with our bandanas or summit?"

Raihan just hummed in response to the query, clearly just as lost as him. "Thanks, kiddo. Come on, let's see what she wants."

Nickit and Vulpix watched Raihan try to open the handle with his mouth before Piers lightly hit him. "Hey, don't try that again! You know what happened at the guild!"

The Trapinch grumbled and let Piers bat it until the door yielded to them. Nickit looked at Vulpix, mumbling. "What is it with my Grandpa and collecting weirdos?"

Espeon was doing the exact same thing Piers saw her do the first time they met her at the cafe, sipping from a cup looped through her tail. She did not lower it as she laid eyes on them, peering over the top of it. He swore her eyes reflected the fluid inside the cup, which seemed to be blue. "I was wondering when you two would come around."

"Sorry, my friend needed a little more rest after the scrap we just got through," Raihan said with a laugh, feeling the weight vanish from his back as Piers jumped onto the floor. "Dynamaxed Lopunny kicking him like a football, you understand right?"

"I'm not sure what this 'football' is, but it certainly sounds like quite the ordeal." She gingerly placed the cup down, furrowing her brow. "Another dynamax Pokemon… You two are sure getting yourselves into trouble, aren't you?" They shared sheepish glances and she giggled. "Hey, I'm sure you're not walking around saying '20 foot monsters, please step on me'! You said that accessory you're wearing was a reward, right?"

Raihan nodded, looking at Piers as he watched him nudge his headband up again out of his eye. "Our client Roserade let us keep them after our mission was complete, then I found a Reunion Cape for Leon at Kecleon Market. So he doesn't get lost when we find him, I mean." He gave a nervous laugh. "Well, it's supposed to be a cape but the fabric's short so it was on sale. Guess it could still work as an armband?"

She echoed him, albeit more composed as her elegant voice purred. "May I see it?" Piers dug it out of their bag and passed it to her, she gently handled it with her dainty paws. "Ah, it is a little short, isn't it? Nevertheless, I can extend it, if you wish."

Raihan's eyes sparkled. "Wait, you know how to make these things?"

"Of course, they're infused with the special power of psychic types. I wanted to see your accessories as I thought I could customise them for you, if you wish." She gave a quiet hum, stroking the 'cape'. "I can simply sow some new fabric in to 'cover' the original, to change its design whilst keeping its effect. Would you like that?"

Piers nodded a little awestruck, as he thought of his favourite outfit back home. "Would you be able to recreate some patterns for us?" He retrieved the strip of Leon's shirt, speech muffled as it dangled from his mouth. "Maybe make Leon's cape like his shirt too, if you know what I mean. We'd pay you, of course!"

Despite that barely coherent speech, Espeon smiled and bobbed her head. "Sure, but I can't change the design once it's done. I'll make your friend's accessory with that scrap you have there, but I'll wait until you've found him, hm? Then he can decide if he wants a Reunion Cape or a 'Reunion Band', yes?"

She hopped off her stool, gesturing with her tail for them to follow her into another room. Raihan's jaw dropped as he laid eyes on the rolls of fabric that rested against the wall, obscuring the entirety of the silver rim on that side. "Wow, you must love sowing."

"I consider myself the village's seamstress, you know, but not many Pokemon like wearing clothes and accessories." She purred and pointed to a desk, surrounded by paper scrolls and boxes of crafting materials. "Just give me a rough drawing of the pattern you want and I'll do my best to copy it." She awkwardly looked at Raihan, seeing him look down at his stubby feet. "Or I suppose if you struggle with the utensils, you can convey to me what exactly you want the design to be. As best as you can, that is."

And so, the three of them got to work turning the Fierce Bandana and Lucky Ribbon into accessories truly worthy of (ex) gym leaders. Drawing the designs with paws turned out to be more difficult for Piers than he realised, but he persevered, as he listened to Raihan relay instructions about his own dream design, no doubt matching his own signature attire as a human. With no erasers, it took sheet after sheet, crayon after crayon and he briefly wondered how exactly Pokemon had not invented such a thing, leading to queries about how humans managed to craft rubbers (the very word of which seemed to make Unovans chuckle) in the first place.

When Piers finally finished his art piece and passed it to Espeon, he found his paws had ended up tainted magenta, prompting the Espeon to clumsily gesture to the makeshift 'sink' through giggles as Raihan made no attempt to muffle his own. The Trapinch's front feet were similarly dyed navy, as he had found no need for digits to paint the background of his own masterpiece, whilst Espeon had gone over it with an orange crayon.

He had never watched someone sew as quick as Espeon, still shaking the water out his fur as he returned to Raihan's side, though the ground type moved an inch away to avoid the backsplash. "I see we had the same idea, mate!" His friend gestured to the designs that Espeon was referencing, as it finally clicked what exactly Raihan and the psychic type had been collabing on. Like his, it was a simple pattern, reflecting the shorts of his gym uniform. "I can't wait to see what they'll look like when they're on us!"

Piers just nodded, certain with how fast his tail was unwillingly wagging that his tongue would follow suit if he dared open his mouth.

It was not long at all before Espeon discarded the sewing needles and gave her hard work a quick yet careful glance over, beaming brightly. Without another word, she approached the two again and wrapped the navy fabric around Raihan's neck then helped Piers with his own bandana, hooking it around his ear so it would not fall down to his fluffy collar. "Alright, over here, you two!" They followed her to a mirror and Piers' tongue fell out as Raihan grinned, the two of them admiring their reflections. Their patterns had translated better than expected, Piers' headband marked with black Xs and Raihan's scarf having bold blood orange lines etched into it.

"Oh wow, we look snazzy!" Raihan posed and laughed, noticing Piers was still agasp. "What a shame I don't have my Rotom Phone to take photos with, you look so funny Piers!"

"Shut it," he grumbled, feeling his face burning. He turned to Espeon. "Thanks a lot, it looks great."

Espeon hummed, her tail swishing. "Glad you like them. Remember to bring your friend here too when you find him and I'll get him sorted." They followed her out of the room and she paused, looking out of the window at the sky. "I better get my daughter in. You two, if you see Eevee, would you mind sending him home for me? He's usually goofing off at the clinic past nightfall with his friend." She sighed. "It gets frustrating having to drag him back after his day off, but he never brings his medication out with him."

Raihan tilted his head. "Medication? Is Punk-Eevee sick?"

"Not seriously, he just has chronic hay fever… Blissey has medication of course, but I would rather not get unexpected charges."

Piers raised an eyebrow. "Eevee's allergic to grass but wants to become a Grass type. I wonder if that would cure it, actually." Espeon gave a nervous laugh. "No worries, we'll pass the message to him if we see him. I guess we're stuck at the clinic ourselves unless Ninetales points us the right way. We'll see you later then, Espeon."

"Thanks again!" Raihan chirped as she opened the door for them, the former humans strolling out as Vulpix scurried past them. The sky was painted with the colours of twilight, he marvelled at the sight. "Off to the clinic we go, then!"

When they arrived at the clinic, they were greeted by the grumbling of Blissey as she swept the floor. Never before coming to this world had either of them ever seen such a grumpy looking Blissey, however it seemed like she was trying to melt the dirt off the ground with her glare.

"Good evening, Blissey!" Raihan chirped, his grin falling off his face as the doctor's dark stare turned to him. "Uh… Having a bad day?"

Piers looked around, listening closely. The clinic was silent. Except for the brush of her broom, as it attacked the same spot over and over. "Is Eevee here? Espeon's kid, not Hat Eevee."

"Neither of them are here, I told my apprentice to stop staying out past nightfall but he doesn't listen," she murmured, her voice cold. "That goth is such a bad influence on him, he said he'd come back early tonight!"

They looked at each other, a little speechless. Then Raihan mumbled as he tilted his head, "Punk Eevee is a goth?"

"Punk, goth, it's all the same to me. The point is, Eevee said he wouldn't stay out all night! I can't lock the clinic until he comes back!"

"Huh, I thought it was his day off. Guess he does live here after all," Piers mumbled, before clearing his throat. "Well uh… We need to find them anyway, for Espeon. We'll drag him back for you if we find them goofing around, alright?"

Blissey huffed, scurrying around to focus on her cleaning. "Thank you. He's gonna be in so much trouble when he gets back."

After exchanging goodbyes, they left the clinic. As Raihan glanced around the dimly lit plaza, Piers heard a quiet shuffling noise and his ears perked up. "Alright, where should we start, then? Maybe the cafe?"

"Would a cafe be open this late?" Piers grumbled as he tried to locate the sound, hearing it disappear as soon as he took a step to the left. "Rai, do you hear something?"

Raihan glanced at him then listened closely. Having no external ears, nothing twitched but he could feel the vibrations as he picked up on rustling grass. He trotted over to the corner of the clinic and laid eyes on the source. "...Eevee?"

Piers scampered over, picking his tongue back up as he scrutinised the trembling curled up Pokemon. "Snowcap?" The small fox was presently impossible to distinguish at first glance, his ears pinned down by a winter cap and a familiar collar around his neck. However his eyes widened as he noticed patches of red in his brown fur, as he quickly checked in the bag for an oran berry. "Hey, have this!"

The Eevee stared up at them through watering eyes then hesitantly bit into the berry, continuing to shake a little even as he forced himself up off the ground. "You two… I knew you'd be here. Snow's… He's…"

It was Punk Eevee after all, Raihan noted. He glanced at the clinic window then gently nudged him. "What happened? Where's Snowcap at?"

Eevee bit into the berry again, the small fruit disappearing into his mouth before he swallowed. He shuddered a little. "We decided to go on an adventure, we thought we'd be okay on our own! But we got attacked… He threw me our only escape orb… He's still stuck in the forest, all alone!"

'The forest?' Piers crawled over to look at the distant crossroads, his thoughts whirling before he vocalised. "You mean the same one Zorua got stuck in?"

He shook his head, mouth quivering as he withdrew into himself. "No, not that one. There's a forest called Murky Forest, it's full of bug types." Piers felt a shiver run down his spine. "Snowcap's stronger than me, but there were some really scary looking Beedrill flying about. You gotta help me save him!"

"Wait- Help you?" Piers echoed, furrowing his brow. "You want to go back? Why not just leave it to us?"

Eevee shook his head, his fur prickling as he tried to stop the shaking. "I can't- I can't just leave my best friend like that! B-Besides…" He gulped, looking down at his paws. "I wasn't able to do anything on my own but maybe I would with friends. I won't be able to get stronger if I just leave everything to everyone else though."

Piers looked to Raihan, opening his mouth to ask. His friend shook his head. "We can't exactly stop him. We just uh… Shouldn't let his mother find out we dragged him into a dungeon with us or she might use our new accessories to choke us. We're kinda low on supplies after helping Rosette though, and bug Pokemon love to inflict statuses. Would the Kecleon Market be open so late?"

Eevee gestured to the path leading down to the market. "Maybe not, but we have supplies in storage. We went exploring through Labyrinth Forest many times!" He faltered, as his ears drooped. "It just turns out, we're not strong enough for the other places."

"Don't worry, we almost got killed by a group of Magby this morning." Piers peered through the window, seeing the oblivious Blissey continue to sweep. "You won't get stronger doing nothing, but you have to be careful. Come on, we'll stock up on supplies then get going."

The sky was dark when they finally left, however Piers could see well despite the night and Eevee could navigate without a worry, once his energy had fully returned. "Are you going to be okay, Rai?"

Raihan nodded, as he paid close attention to the gentle vibrations in the ground. It had probably only been a few days since they ended up in this world, yet he felt more in touch with his new body by now. Although he could not see so well, he could sense the movements of his friend and their new escort. "I think so, my senses seem to have improved." Maybe flying enemies would be more difficult to detect, but at least Beedrill were noisy.

He should be ready to protect Piers from any Bug Bites, perhaps.

Being stealthy was not an option with Eevee there.

"A-A- Achoo!" The force of Eevee's sneeze ripped the petals off the flower that he had stopped to observe, drawing the attention of yet another cluster of bugs that Raihan and Piers quickly dispatched with Bite and Headbutt attacks. "Stupid hayfever!"

"Why didn't you stop off home to take your medicine before we left?" Piers grumbled, prompting the young Pokemon to quickly shake his head.

"Are you crazy? If Mother found out what we were doing, she would have grounded me! And you can't sneak past a Psychic type!"

Raihan grunted, quickly putting himself in the way of a Wurmple to protect Piers from a super-effective chomp attack. "That's true… Come on, help us out!"

Forcing back another sneeze, Eevee tugged himself away from the deflowered plant and threw himself at the Wurmple, frightening it off with his Quick Attack. As a pissed off Dustox appeared, his tail lit up and he looked at Piers. Suddenly, the raccoon felt a power flow within him. "This one's yours, Piers!"

He nodded and crouched then sprang as the moth flew at him, slamming into it with another Headbutt. The Dustox was sent crashing to the ground, twitching in a daze. He stared speechlessly at it as Raihan piped up. "Wow, that was a strong attack! Did you just use Helping Hand there, Eevee?"

"It looked like he used it with his tail," Piers mumbled in a dumbfounded manner as the little fox grinned.

"That's right, me and Snowcap learnt to do it without making contact. We used to explore with our other Eevee friends and play 'support'." He looked down at the grass, as his ears drooped. "Then they had their 'graduation' rituals and evolved. Then they got too busy playing rescue team to hang with us."

The punk raccoon gave a quiet sigh and patted the punk fox. "I guess it felt like you fell behind? You two will be a lot stronger when you evolve, but you won't be able to do much with that power if you don't practise first. That's why you goof off into dungeons, right? You want to be with your other friends again."

Eevee sighed, gazing up with pleading eyes. "Right. I don't want to be a full time guild member like them, but it'd be nice if we could go on adventures as the six of us again on our days off. Our own graduation's not that far away, but time is going so slow, I can't take all this waiting!"

"Damn, I remember being a kid and wanting to grow up. Then we became adults and it was like 'oh shit go back'," Raihan said with a laugh, making Eevee give a quiet giggle. "You two shouldn't rush yourself into dangerous places, just keep training and working your way up. We'll rescue Snowcap and then you two can go back to terrorising the feral Pokemon in Labyrinth Forest instead, ey?"

Eevee nodded and they turned to see a Whirlipede rolling towards them, prompting the teen to cower. "Oh no, not one of these guys…"

"Relax," Raihan chirped as he and Piers moved to stand protectively before their ally. "Give us another one of those Helping Hands, alright? We'll take care of this!"

With two swishes of a fluffy tail, a burst of sand and the slam of a Headbutt, the disorientated bug type was sent flying. The trio continued on their way.

Raihan once again cursed the very concept of Mystery Dungeons for them having to take so many sets of stairs, wondering how on earth it made sense for a forest of all places to have a basement when the sky never seemed to disappear. Perhaps he should accept that Mystery Dungeons truly defied all laws of logic and reality, however after the sixth set of stairs, he found himself snapping.

"Why the fuck are there so many stairs?!"

"Calm down, Raihan," Piers grumbled as Eevee chuckled, bursting with energy despite the sheer amount of floors they had trekked through. The amount of oran berries he had required to survive those floors probably helped. Piers on the other hand had experienced needing a Reviver Seed once again after an incident with a Skorupi's Twineedle. How lucky Raihan seemed to be by comparison, not being x2 weak to tiny bugs. On the other hand, some of the other bugs they had come across made Piers once again feel like he was developing a Napoleon complex. "Do you remember what floor you two got separated on, Eevee?"

Eevee shook his head. "We kinda lost track, we did a lot of running from flying bugs. But I haven't seen any Beedrill yet, so I think it might be a little further."

Piers quietly cursed under his breath and Raihan sighed. "I was thinking we were just lucky. Not like we'd want to fight a-" His speech cut off as the ground started shaking, forcing them to brace themselves. "What- Haven't we had enough earthquakes for one day?!"

"Please no, not again," the Zigzagoon whispered, as Eevee gazed at him wide-eyed. "This happened when we helped Rosette, the dungeon was a-" The shaking got worse and he found his legs giving in, as Raihan crouched low and Eevee cowered. Several bug Pokemon ran towards them but they did not seem to notice their presence, ascending up the stairs. "Raihan, you don't think-"

"It better not be! We better find him quick!"

"What are you two talking about?" Eevee whimpered, Raihan shook his head and remained low.

"Get on my shell and hold on tight, we're gonna rush it."

Without an argument, the fox obeyed and Piers scampered besides his friend as they searched for the next set of stairs.

The 8th floor took them to a dark plain, the sky obscured by wide-stretching branches. In fact, the only light seemed to come from a bright flame that snared their attention and made the trio's jaws drop for different reasons.

There were four Pokemon locked in place, two glaring at each other as one trembled and the other looked indecisively between the two. The trembling Eevee hid behind the flame-tailed Pokemon, who stared down the titanic Pokemon bursting with crimson energy. The disoriented Beedrill seemed unable to decide on who to focus on, that fiery Pokemon or the Dynamaxed Pokemon who shared its species yet looked so different.

Piers' tongue fell out. "Is that a fucking dynamax'd Mega Beedrill?!"

"We can't catch a break, can we?" Raihan whined, as Eevee called out to his friend.

"Snowcap, we're here to save you!"

The de-hatted Eevee whipped his head round, crying out. "Eevee- You brought Piers and Ryker too!"

"Why does everyone butcher my name, it's not that hard!" the Trapinch snapped, prompting the already shaking Pokemon to stammer out apologies as the fourth Pokemon's focus broke, looking at Snowcap then at the trio.

"What- What did you just call them?" Piers' heart jolted in his chest and Raihan staggered back as they laid eyes on that flaming Pokemon, the features finally falling into place.

A red lizard-like Pokemon with a single horn, possessing golden eyes unlike the average Charmeleon's. Piers found himself trembling with almost as intensity as Snowcap, unable to control his body anymore as his feet kicked the ground. "Leon!"

The smaller Beedrill finally made up its mind and charged at the Zigzagoon, Piers yelped and barely avoided the Sand Tomb that Raihan hurled at it. "Hey, we can leave the sentimental reunion until the danger's gone!"

Watching the Beedrill hiss and scream, the Mega Beedrill jumped into action and lunged at Leon as Piers stammered out. "R-Right- Hey-"

The Charmeleon laughed, dodging the giant Pokemon's stinger as Snowcap squealed and did the same. "Take that one down for me, alright? Then come help me!"

Steeling himself, Piers nodded and launched himself at the Beedrill, who seemed persistent in attacking them despite the obvious pain of the sandstorm battering it. Eevee wagged his tail and he felt a surge of power burst through him. Changing tactics as the Beedrill lunged a drill at him, he dodged and widened his eyes, wagging his own tail. The Beedrill lingered for a few seconds and he took the opportunity to slam into it, stealing the seed wrapped around its arm. A Blast Seed, could be useful, he noted as he evaded another attack and landed on the ground, carefully placing the item down. Beedrill staggered again, battered by the Sand Tomb, and he looked at Raihan.

No words had to be exchanged, as Raihan anticipated the enemy's next attempted strike. Blocking Piers from a Twineedle, he took the opportunity to sink his teeth into the bug, making it flail and shriek. Piers looked past at the dynamaxed Pokemon, watching Snowcap use the same Helping Hand tactic as Leon nailed the stronger Beedrill with an Ember. It seemed more sturdy however, shaking it off and catching him with what looked like a Fury Cutter. They had to deal with this quickly and help him.

Once the smaller Beedrill recovered from flinching, it dove past Raihan's next Bite attack and lunged at Piers. He had not the time to dodge but with a quick Baby Doll Eyes, the blows from two consecutive stinger attacks were weakened. Grimacing, he felt his vision blur for a moment, forcing his focus back just in time to dodge another follow up Twineedle. He was getting deja vu and he called out to Eevee. "Get a Pecha Berry ready for me!"

Eevee nodded and rummaged in the bag, taking a second to swish his tail again to power up Piers' counter Headbutt. With that boosted blow, the Beedrill was sent crashing to the dirt. "Here!"

As Piers swallowed the berry, Raihan swept up the blast seed, careful not to swallow it just yet as he asked, "Does Covet work against Mega Pokemon? I've never fought one before!"

"I don't know if Mega Evolution works the same as back home, but if it is, the item would have already given the power, stealing it won't work!" The confused look Eevee gave him made him question, maybe it wasn't an item that enabled Mega Evolution in this world. There were no trainers around to use Mega Rings, after all. "Eevee, do you wanna sit this out or-"

Eevee shook his head, eyes glistening. "No way, I know how I can help you! These 'dynamax' Pokemon have a lot of HP, right? I know how to chip at that!"

The former humans shared puzzled looks but nodded, watching Leon dodge a Fury Cutter. The Mega Beedrill seemed agitated, making it easy for Leon to evade the frenzy. However in turn, he couldn't seem to land physical attacks so easily, just the occasional Ember that did not seem to do as much as it surely should. "Then get ready to support us!"

Joining their friend's side, Raihan gently pushed Leon out of range of another Fury Cutter then swallowed the Blast Seed, blasting fire at close-range and making the dynamax'd Beedrill roar, staggering back. "You cheater, using both the power of Dynamax and Mega Evolution! We're gonna kick your ass for that!"

"I don't think the dynamaxing was a conscious choice," Leon gasped out with a laugh, however he staggered back. Piers forced him down to check for any injuries, seeing a purple scratch. "Fancy seeing you here!"

"As Raihan said, we can have the sappy reunion when we're safe." He took a Heal Seed out of the bag and brought it to his mouth, with a bite the poison cleared. "Come on, show that bug the power of a champion."

With a grin, the Charmeleon hopped back to his feet, however he cursed as the Beedrill flew up and started glowing, swishing its stingers around. "Crap, I think it's using Swords Dance."

"No need to worry about that!" Eevee chirped, intertwining his tail with his friend's. Snowcap's trembling died, eyes lighting up as he stared at the menacing creature. "Come on Snow, you know what to do!"

Snowcap nodded, as the Beedrill finished its set up and swooped down. "Right, just a little closer…"

"I'm not sure what the kids are doing but let's weaken that thing," Piers mumbled and Raihan nodded, as he focused on the descending enemy.

"Right. Time it…" The Beedrill used Fury Cutter and Raihan stomped on the ground, hurling dirt with Mud Slap and forcing it to fumble past its target. Snowcap summoned a freezing breeze and it encased the enemy before an icy crystal pierced it from below. "Wow- What the heck kinda move is that?!"

Eevee laughed, watching it flutter weakly. Next to him, Snowcap looked a little drained and Raihan was unsure whether it was from that strange move or whatever had happened to him from his trek in the dungeon. "My turn!" He stomped his front paws and the Beedrill dodged as another attack lunged from below, a pillar of vines that hurled up into the sky like a beanstalk. However that initial impact was only a false alarm, as seeds sprayed from it. They bombarded the Beedrill and prompted it to screech, one of the seeds hooking on to it with vines. Raihan and Piers gawked at it as Leon followed the vines to see it wrap around Snowcap's paw. The Beedrill was zapped and Snowcap seemed to perk up a little.

"That's one fancy Leech Seed attack, I didn't know Eevee could do something like that!"

"It's a village tradition that we Eevee get a special move, mine's Sappy Seed and Snowcap's is Freezy Frost~" Eevee chirped, Snowcap smiled as Raihan turned to stare at him.

"My special move resets all stat changes, you shouldn't get decked by Beedrill's boosted attack now." He let out a shaky breath. "Unfortunately it takes a lot of energy to use those moves, so we won't be much help now."

Leon grinned, sizing up the Mega Beedrill as it tried to recover. "You were help enough, we'll take it from here! Come on guys, let's squash this oversized bug!"

Piers nodded, getting ready to pounce. After that flurry of attacks, it had broken out of the Sand Tomb yet it was clearly weakened. "Right, let's go!"

Raihan blinded the Beedrill with another Mud Slap and Piers struck the flailing Pokemon with a Headbutt, as Leon gathered purple fire in his maw. Letting the Dragonbreath rip, the Beedrill struggled and failed to fly from its path, its body sparking as it hit the ground. As it tried to get up, Leon approached it and prepared his next attack. Crimson flames charged and the Beedrill glared up at him, however its wings seized up. Leon hesitated and looked at his friends. "It's alright Lee, remember it'll come back to its senses if we unleash its dynamax energy!" Raihan called out and Leon nodded before using Ember.

Energy ripped through the air and the Eevee friends huddled closer, watching Raihan and Piers try to catch Leon as he was sent flying from the blast, only for the three of them to crash into tree trunks. "Ember's a far range attack, why did he do it so close?" Eevee yelped as Snowcap shook his head, squinting as the Beedrill shrunk in size, lying unconscious in the explosion-induced crater.

"I guess he forgot… We better get the oran berries."

They retrieved the berries as the three former humans groaned, Raihan shaking off the dizziness from the impact as Piers batted Leon with his paws, trying to coax him from his own daze. "Lee, Lee get up!"

"Ugh… See Hop… That's why you never wrestle with a Lucario."

"I dunno what he's talking about but at least he can talk," Raihan mumbled, smiling tiredly as Eevee passed him the berries. He tried to pick it up but failed, with his stubby forelegs. "Hey Piers, I think you're gonna have to do it again. I can't do shit, apparently."

Piers rolled his eyes but allowed himself to grin, taking the berry and holding it up to Leon's face as he made an exhausted yet playful remark. "Why not just use your mouth, it's not gay if it's to save a bro!"

"Ah fuck off Piers," the Trapinch sniped back with a laugh, prompting Piers to chuckle before yelping as Leon bit his paw.

"Agh, Leon!"

As the Zigzagoon waved his stinging paw rapidly, Leon burst into laughter. "It's so good to see you two again! I thought I was gonna be a goner, there!" The pain faded as Piers stared at Leon, prompting the lizard to stop laughing. "Hey, are you alright? I didn't accidentally learn Bite, did I?" A nervous chuckle left him as he noted his friend's eyes seemed to be watering. "I just evolved so I don't know my own strength yet, sorry if-" He yelped as Piers pounced on him, knocking him back down and prompting the two Eevee to squeak in alarm as Raihan howled.

"Don't wander off again, I thought we were never gonna see you again, you idiot!"

"But we did, no need to get upset!"

As Snowcap continued to gawk at the flailing Pokemon, Eevee looked at Raihan. "Uh… Are we gonna need to save Charmeleon from Piers now?"

He stared as Raihan patted him on the head then jumped in to join Piers, Leon's flailing increasing as he shouted through laughter. "Hey stop, you two are heavy!"

Snowcap looked at Eevee. "Did you three bring another Escape Orb?"

Eevee nodded. "Yeah, I made sure we did."

"Then we should probably get us all out of here." Snowcap shuddered. "It may not be Mega-Dyna-Drill anymore, but it'd still be scary if it wakes up."

"Good call!" Eevee paused and picked up a berry that had fallen out of the bag then squashed it. His paw dyed pink. "Hey guys, before we go, let's mark our names on the trunk! Then that Beedrill will remember who it messed with!"

Their attention caught, Leon took the opportunity to escape Piers and Raihan's glomping, laughing as he jumped over and brandished his claws. "Sounds like fun! Come on, you two!"

Leon and Piers clumsily carved their names, whilst helping Raihan with his own seeing as he had no claws or digits to make distinguishable characters. Eevee and Snowcap painted their own names then as the unconscious Beedrill started to stir, quickly grabbed the Escape Orb.

The former humans returned the young Pokemon to their respective caregivers, who were a little puzzled to see the foxes returning with Pecha dyed fur.

After Blissey made a third temporary bed in their temporary room in the clinic, Piers, Raihan and Leon soon turned in for the night.

Leon was the first to conk out, leaving Piers and Raihan quietly chatting about their plans for the morning. Bring each other up to speed, take Leon to Espeon and work out what the heck was going on, as well as their next steps. However, Piers found himself sleeping much easier that night, albeit abandoning his own bed to rest on Raihan's shell once again as he nestled close to Leon.

Finally, they were a trio once more.