Author's notes: Uh... so this is the notes section, huh? Ok, cool. I have no idea what I'm writing or how I'm gonna write this whole mess of a story into something vaguely resembling coherence, but I'll try, I suppose. I just thought the world needed more Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Bug type stories and threw my own ten cents into the pile. Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, as obvious as that should be. Yeah, that's it, let's get on with it!
Chapter 1 - Welcome to Snowfell
The crisp autumn breeze blew through the cool, lively air of Snowfell village as Pokémon hustled about through the sporadic houses that made up the village, powdery slivers of snow filled the air, dusting onto the hardy pine trees that made up the forest where the village was located. The homely location was nestled quietly into the trees, tucked away from much of the outside world beneath the tall mountain. A cliffside surrounded the village's furthest side, with furnished pine clumps grouping the remainder of Snowfell village's environment.
The village's central plaza, if it could even be called that, was a paved slab of concrete arranged into a circular pattern around the grassy floor. Next to it, in the dirt hung a crooked bulletin board, tattered pieces of paper were pinned all across it, some of which hadn't even been changed in years. In the same direction a tiny hut of a post office was strung by the side of the cliff the village rested upon, where several Chimecho teleported in and out delivering mail and other goods. In all four directions surrounding the town's plaza, stalls and markets stood at attention, though their items were a fairly mixed bag. Aside from the berry stall that a quiet blue Shuckle ran which consistently sold berries. The other items were mainly randomised. As the lack of imports from other places meant that most Pokémon were really only selling miscellaneous items that they didn't need. Occasionally, there were auctions for rare goods that some lucky Pokémon came across. Though, considering most of the population here weren't known for being particularly rich, (actually, they weren't known for anything, really. Maybe that was why Snowfell village didn't even have its own spot on a map) these auctions rarely lead to much.
By a thick oak tree behind the berry stand was the medical centre. There was only one Pokémon running it, the town doctor, but the few Pokémon who worked there were certainly good at their job. Either that, or maybe it was because the villagers of Snowfell rarely ventured outside of the comfort of the forest that caved all around the mountain, so no one ever got hurt enough to need a trip - as such, the only times when they went was because of fevers and illnesses and the like.
A mixture of all sorts of Pokémon made their way here and there, walking all around the town, several of them entered the post office to get their items delivered. Some made their way to the marketplace for a scarf or a berry. Half a dozen rested on lonely benches by the hills, enjoying the alpine view. And occasionally, a few stopped for chats in the centre of the village.
All in all, Snowfell village was the very definition of an out-of-the-way location, that, despite its seclusion, the Pokémon within lived fairly carefree lives. Simple, sure, but joyous and fulfilling all the same.
At least, that was what the Wurmple explorer, Silkie, liked to believe.
In a far-off corner of Snowfell's pine forest, adequately dubbed Snowfell Forest, past the crooked cottage just outside of the village, lay the only Mystery Dungeon even remotely close to the village. It was a deeper part of the woodland. Dirt hugged the rough canyons that made up the location, with sprouts of enduring grass thriving despite the rather desolate environment.
"Eat this, Poison Sting!" A Wurmple fired off a pointed burst of poison energy, concentrated into the shape of a stinger, the attack jabbed into a Sunkern, knocking it away with a yell of pain.
More Grass type Pokémon attacked, not only did the Wurmple see another Sunkern, she also saw Oddish, Seedot, Budew and even a Pidgeotto in the mix, all of them glaring at her with the intent to maim.
Oh, Arceus, she hated Monster Houses. She didn't know why she even agreed to saving the Caterpie who had wound up somehow trapped in this place. Well, perhaps the teary-eyed look on his mother's face as the Butterfree begged her to save him was more than enough to tug her heartstrings. By no means was she a good Pokémon, but her standards certainly had their limits.
Silkie exhaled softly, one hand reaching up to tighten the Fierce bandanna that wrapped around the tip of her head, flexing the back of her head, the Wurmple launched into action.
Several balls of concentrated Grass type energy flew in all directions. The Wurmple tensed up, springing with great agility from wall to wall, using the suction pads on her feet to stay clung on as she grappled all over the attacks. The spheres of energy bounced across the walls of the canyon, sending dents and dust splaying across the room, magically, the broken parts of the surroundings healed itself rapidly, reverting back to normal within only mere moments of their previous destruction. It was weird ancient magic, the Wurmple could only assume. Mystery Dungeons were imbued with an unknown power that not only repaired any damage done to the environment, but could also change the layout of the location. This energy could even accumulate into physical matter. As one would often find all sorts of helpful items and money in these Mystery Dungeons. What power, though none were able to tell. And frankly, maybe it was better off that it was left this way.
The Wurmple sprayed out a variety of her Poison Sting attacks. One by one they fell, either to her own might or to the lingering effects that her poison had on their physical health. First it was the Oddish, then came the Budew, afterwards the second Sunkern was defeated and finally the Seedot all dropped over, fainted and fully out of commission.
Satisfied, the Wurmple turned to her final aggressor, the Pidgeotto, who flinched as her large yellow eyes directed onto his, "Well, let's wrap this up, shall we?" Her yellow eyes narrowed aggressively.
Another Flying type, as if she hadn't had enough of them in the past, well, at least all that experience meant that she knew well enough how to deal with them. Their greatest strength was their flight. A thin strand of silk burst from her mouth, wrapping around the Flying type's body, or more accurately, the Pidgeotto's wings. Immobilising them instantly, and causing the now no longer Flying type Pokémon to plunge down. The bird Pokémon barely got a chance to react when the Wurmple reeled him in; in one sweeping motion, Wurmple's Tackle attack sent the Pidgeotto flying as well. The silk dissipated as the Pidgeotto struggled to right its wavering body straight again, desperately attempting to fight back. Wurmple almost pitied the poor Flying type, almost.
One more Poison Sting ended the battle.
Letting out a sigh of relief, the Wurmple adjusted the strap of her bag, along with the cylindrical container that held a bottle of viscous fluids that had been hooked onto the side of the strap. She shifted the object so as to make certain nothing of value would spill out, before pulling the bottle off and drinking some of the stick liquid within. After she had finished checking over herself and securing the bottle back on, she turned to the Caterpie behind her, rubbing her stubby appendages together, she crawled over to the green bug. "A-are they gone? Those big meanies?"
"Yeah, I'd say they're gone now," The Wurmple nodded, staring back at where the Monster House had once been, a confident grin emerging over her features. She really just defeated them all, didn't she? "C'mon, let's get you back home." The Bug type answered impatiently towards the child, sticking out an arm for it to latch onto. It wasn't like she was a bad Pokémon, she certainly was not about to leave a young child, unable to fend for themselves, here in the middle of a Mystery Dungeon for dead, she had standards. Though the line between good and evil to the Wurmple was never clear at all. You could mock someone, laugh at them, insult them. And yet you would still be a respected individual if you were wealthy, had connections, or was powerful enough. That was why she always believed she walked a grey line in rationalisation for her actions. She was a bad Pokémon, but she wasn't an evil Pokémon.
Fishing in her bag, the Wurmple produced a tiny, golden badge, it was the mark of a true explorer. The badge glinted softly before a beautiful beam of light flicked down, illuminating the area as the two Bug types were lifted and teleported away.
Right outside of the Mystery Dungeon, a worried Buttfree paced back and forth, it had been a while since she had last seen the Wurmple enter, promising to help her find her lost child. But she was just a Wurmple, one of the weakest Pokémon to ever exi- No, what was she thinking?! That Wurmple was brave enough to charge in while she herself, a much more powerful fully evolved Butterfree, could not even dare. She was terribly worried, maybe it was time for her to head in as well? She was getting more and more antsy every passing second, and it was only a matter of time before she cracked, she knew that much for sure.
Fortunately, only several paces away, a golden light shone through, and two silhouettes emerged from within, both were short, stout and stubby. Both had elongated bodies and moved at a snail's pace.
"Mummy!" The Caterpie cried out in joy as he sprinted as fast as he could (which wasn't terribly fast due to his short legs) and leapt into a joyful reunion with his mother. Who embraced him and held him dearly. The Wurmple slowly made her way over, satisfied with her work.
"Thank you so much, Silkie!" The Butterfree slowly let go of her embrace and fluttered over to her child's saviour, "Truly, I'm n-not even certain how to thank you…" She dropped a stash of PoKé coins onto the Silkie, "This is all we have, I'm sorry if I can't provide anything more."
The Wurmple, Silkie, seemed startled at the prospect of so much money, before regaining her wits quickly, "Oh, it's no big deal, I'm just doing what an explorer's supposed to be doing: helping others, right? At least I think that's what they do…" She murmured. "This will get me through for quite a while, thanks." Keeping her tone firm, though not disrespectful, she tipped her head to the pair and turned to proceed on her way.
The Butterfree and the Caterpie looked gleeful at the prospect, "It's a blessing Snowfell village has someone like you, Silkie." The Butterfree commented, before Caterpie squealed.
Jumping down from his mother's head to hug Silkie, "I wanna be as great as her one day, and I want an Explorer's badge as well!" Silkie gasped indignantly in surprise. Awkwardly returning the gesture, she was thankfully saved as the Butterfree pulled the Caterpie away.
"How about this, I'll fly you back to Snowfell village, so you won't need to walk!" The Butterfree offered, the Caterpie nodded.
"Come along, miss Silkie. My mum's really fast!"
Silkie managed a thin smile, "Well, if you don't mind, that would save me a bit of time."
"It's the least I can do, really. Climb on!" The Butterfree lowered her back, and Silkie hopped on, with a graceful flap, the three were up in the air in no time, heading back towards the tiny village that was Snowfell.
"You're so amazing, I wish we had more explorers in Snowfell village like you, Silkie!" Caterpie exclaimed, letting out an exhale that turned to a breath of mist in the cold air.
"Uh… thanks…" Silkie sheepishly rubbed the back of her head as the boy complimented her, unsure of how to respond. Though she knew he was right, there was a lack of explorers in their village. Perhaps it was due to the remoteness of the village, perhaps it was because of their miniscule population, perhaps it was that a majority of the townsfolk were Bug type Pokémon, which was regarded as one of the weakest types. Many thought that they were born to be eaten by the strong. Silkie, along with just about every other Bug type Pokémon, hated that notion, and that anger of the injustice directed towards her type fuelled her strength.
That, and a lot of training, maybe those were the contributing factors.
"How do you become so strong, Silkie, I want to grow up to be as strong as you one day!"
Snapping back to reality, Silkie turned to the Caterpie, "Oh, erm… well, a little training everyday wouldn't hurt, right? I mean, I could even have you come over to train with me in the woods." She nearly covered her mouth right then and there. What was she thinking? Having a kid over to her home, this was precisely why she only rarely did rescuing missions. Not only because there weren't that many people to rescue in Snowfell village, but also because of the superfluous amount of social interaction she'd have to deal with each and every time she saved some Pokémon sorry arse. With item retrievals, she could just find whatever she was looking for and mail it to the house of the Pokémon who wanted it back and be done with it. Escorts weren't all too bad, either. Since she was just bringing the Pokémon to a certain location, it didn't mean she had to speak to them. But with rescue missions, well, not speaking to someone after having just saved their life would be… less than polite, to put it simply.
… Well, it wasn't like she even got any missions frequently - in fact, she was simply out on a hike when she ran into the Butterfree seeking help.
"That sounds like a splendid idea," Caterpie's mother chimed up from below them. She had stayed quiet during their trip, occasionally flapping her wings to keep herself flying. "Perhaps a little training would really toughen you up, so you won't need to rely on others coming to rescue you anymore, eh?"
"Mum… I'm not that small of a kid anymore, okay?" Caterpie rolled his eyes at his mother's teasing. And Silkie had to suppress a giggle as well. Caterpie swiftly turned to her, "Come on, please, miss Silkie? I promise I'll be on my best behaviour!"
"Sure, of course!" Silkie tried to give a warm smile, praying to whatever deity was watching over her suffering that she didn't look like a dork. As she stared down at the passing trees, she gently tugged on one of the Butterfree's antennas, "This is where I think I'll be getting off, m'house is just outside the village."
The Butterfree, along with the Caterpie, dropped down and Silkie swiftly dismounted, "You can come around tomorrow, I believe? I want to get a few things set up for training."
"No problem, Silkie!" Caterpie cheered, giving a fist pump, "Yeah, I'm finally going to be a real explorer!"
"Not so fast, wait until you come of age first, dear." Butterfree turned to Silkie quickly, "Thank you for this, it will be such a great joy for him!"
"It's fine!" Silkie shrugged, "It's what we explorers do!" She grit her teeth after that sentence, its cringe worthiness melted her brain.
The duo departed, finally leaving Silkie alone, her house was only a bit of walking away from the main village. She liked to be a little more isolated, it gave her more privacy to stew in her own thoughts, though, the extra privacy meant little in such an secluded village, frankly, Silkie knew that living in or outside of the village brought very few benefits, but at least she didn't have to deal with the occasional chit-chatter that came with living in the village. And of the bustling crowd walking about during the day.
Silkie hurried her pace, she could see her house in the distance, well, it could be barely called a house. More like a hut, or a cottage. It was built out of sticks and mud, with most of its intricacies held together with silk and weighed down by stone, block by block. The pieces reached staggering height (for her, at least) until the silk that bonded the stone blocks turned to tie leaves together. Fronds were bound into the rough, general shape of a flat roof, topped off with an extended chimney after she accidentally cut a hole into her roof. The circular perimeter of her house stood tall and proud under the waning sun. The sturdy, comfortable home that she had spent the better half of the last dozen months building. She was proud of it, even if it looked like nothing more than a primitive cubbyhole, it was cosy, beautiful. And it was hers.
The neatly-lined wooden planks free of unwanted splinters (her door) opened, allowing her entrance to the comfort of her abode. Silkie pushed the door to her home open, and set her bag down onto a hook that hung behind the closing door. She would sort out her newly-acquired treasures later. She unclipped her nearly-empty bottle and took it with her, however.
A stony fireplace layered with smooth pebbles sat around the far right side of the wall. The stubby stone chimney was glued with mud, the stoutness of its height meant that there wouldn't be too much pressure. A wooden table was set in the direct centre of the house, along with a singular wooden chair. Silkie had originally thought of purchasing a second one with the money she had left over, but chose not to. It wasn't like she ever had many visitors, maybe the occasional Pokémon who wanted to thank her, or the mailman who probably forgot she even existed. Even then, there was no chance she would be inviting them in. Nearing the corner to the left was a tall bookcase, well, tall by her standards. A few multicoloured picture book spines stuck out from the dusty dullness that made up her shelf. She should get to cleaning it soon, but her dust allergies always put a stop to that before the cleaning process ever began. She was hardly literate, either. She could decipher signs and read simple sentences - though that was the extent of her literature capabilities. Two large boxes sat next to the back door, one containing the goodies she had amassed over the dozens of missions she had undertaken in the past. The other was her food storage, jars of sealed tree sap and several berries lined the inside of the container. Silkie opened the second box and peered inside, she only had two jars of sap left, one of which was unsealed and eaten from. She'd need to scrape some out in the forest. Oh well, that was for later. There were more important matters at hand.
She looked at herself, she was coated in filthy mud, along with a few bruises from the fair number of scrapes she had gotten into recently. She picked up a piece of firewood from a basket strewn with vines nearby; and trudged out through her back door.
Her backyard, if it could even be called as such, spanned as far into the forest as the eye could see. She didn't have a fence, and her home was too close to civilization for wild Pokémon to attack, leaving her with a massive amount of space behind the front door.
Silkie checked the boxes by the veranda, if the Caterpie's was to arrive tomorrow for training she'd certainly need something to teach with - Basic training dummies came to mind, they only needed hay, sticks, some leaves, plus her silk, and voila.
The supply crates were still filled to the brim with dried grass - Silkie had enough hay to last her a lifetime, it could definitely not be described for the sticks and leaves, however, as they were sorely missing from her supply boxes.
Silkie sighed, at least she was already taking a trip into the forest to get more sap - she might as well pick up some sticks and stones while she was at it.
First things first, walking over to a contraption that held a bucket of water connected to a pulley rope of her own design.
Hoisting the basket down to a rocky furnace, Wurmple groaned and rubbed a rock and a piece of flint together. She always hated this part, having to start a fire without any Fire type moves was a massive pain. But she'd rather suffer through this pain than to deal with having a freezing cold shower instead.
Begrudgingly, she scraped the sticks and rocks towards a clump of hay, eventually, diminutive embers burst into something warm, heated, even.
Quickly, she stuffed the hay, before it could fully ignite in her hands, into the bottom of the furnace, a soft sizzle emanated throughout the air. She waited for a brief moment as the water warmed up. Until it was at a tolerable degree. Silkie hooked the bucket back onto her hook with a metallic 'thud' and pulled the string, and lukewarm water came crashing down onto her body. The Wurmple sighed in relief as drizzles of the warm liquid relaxed her tensed stance and she fell lax under the comfort of the water's embrace.
Scrubbing some parts of her body, the Wurmple cleaned herself off as best as she could. She left the now-empty bucket aside, it was going to rain tonight, well, hopefully, judging by the gloomy clouds in the sky. So she wouldn't have to go to the river for a refill tomorrow.
Shaking excess water off, Silkie made her way deeper into the forest, the small area of woodland near her home was, as previously stated, practically her backyard, very few Wild Pokémon could dare to even oppose her, allowing her free reign to collect whatever she wanted. Berries, sticks, and leaves were all on her list, as she crawled about, she rejoiced in the silent atmosphere. She always found the tranquillity of the forest to be one of the greatest perks of living here. Trees stretched out as far as the eye could see. Providing adequate shade to the dank forest floor beneath. Though, Silkie thought it was particularly quiet today, almost too quiet. There would always be the occasional chirp, scurrying, or even yelling someplace far-off in the distance. Silkie examined a suitable stick. Fetching the item, she gave a light twist, applying pressure to it to see if it would hold, it did, and she happily tucked it away into her bag.
By the time she made it to the trickling river that ran in the forest, one of the many rivers and ponds that heavily sustained the place, she uncapped her bottle and drank what was left inside, bending over to wash it clean in the river. She should have done this before she bathed - it would have saved her the trip. As she dried off the cap of her bottle. A sudden chill shook the Wurmple, she glanced around, through the haze of trees that covered the forest, she could make out what seemed to be a shadow looming above her. It spread its wings out and dove downwards, it was a Flying type, one that looked certain to make her its dinner.
Silkie didn't turn her head, instead, she concentrated an attack, just as the shadow dropped onto her frail body. She used Tackle, her assailant was flying, so it was certainly a Flying type, the angle at which she had used her attack at would certainly be a fairly painful blow to the creature's stomach. She was right, the sudden movement caught the shadow, which she now saw as a Taillow, off-guard and crashed onto the ground.
Wurmple knew that Taillow were her natural predators, their sharp talons and beaks, along with the ability to fly and outmanoeuvre her, made the two's battle as every bit as disadvantaged towards her as possible.
She didn't relent.
Her String Shot made quick work tying up the Taillow, reeling it in as she arched up her backside, her poisonous spikes jabbed into the Taillow's body as it wailed. She followed her merciless barrage with a second Tackle attack, cutting her string loose in the process and throwing the Taillow to the ground, crumpled in a heap as she carried on looking for leaves.
Serves them right.
By dusk, when she returned home, she had a few good sticks, some dry leaves and a strange, multi-coloured berry she didn't know the name of. She didn't want to eat it, while most berries brought positive effects, such as healing, the alleviation of status effects or increased euphoria, some would mess with the consumer's minds. Due to the fact she had little knowledge on the berry she had found and that she couldn't read, Silkie decided that the best course of action was just to leave it aside for now. She also opened her jar of sap and refilled her empty bottle to the brim with the delicious substance.
The dried leaves crackled in the fireplace as Silkie struck the flint with a piece of rock. Tiny embers sparked and went out against the rocky walls that made up her fireplace. Though before long, much of those embers started to accumulate, Silkie could see them emerging from the heap of leaves as she struck again, the leaves slowly lit up in a colourful burst of fire as she dropped the flint and stone beside her and groaned in relief. Bustling off for a good Oran berry and a Big Apple from her stash of food. While she was at it, she also plucked her downy, cream-coloured pillow she had made herself after plucking all the feathers of a Starly who had tried to eat her off of its disrespectful body, and her treasure bag, the Wurmple relaxed against the warmth of her fireplace and sorted through the items she obtained today.
The satisfying crunch of the Big Apple along with the accompanying sweet taste made the Wurmple squirm deeper into her pillow in relaxation, as she checked over her spoils for the day. Several bottles of Ether, a Rawst berry, a couple hundred PoKé, which was certainly more than she would normally earn on a daily basis, a feminine bow of some sort, and an Apple.
Silkie herself wasn't particularly fond of using items, she mainly sold them at the market in the village to make a quick buck. But the ribbon looked nice, maybe she could tie it into a bow and wear it on herself to make her look all cutesy and weak.
It would be a good way to lure her enemies' guards down, she surmised. Very few expected a Wurmple to be powerful, let alone one wearing a goofy pink bowtie. The bow, now untied into a ribbon, had a nice pattern too; she liked the faint white streaks that weaved their way through the fabric, along with a hint of lilting magenta. Quite an exquisite taste.
She decided that she would keep it, some accessories had special effects, too. Maybe she would get lucky for once and not come up with plain old scarves worth nothing more than a couple scraps of PoKé. She switched off her Fierce bandanna and returned it into her bag, along with a few bottles of Ether and Oran Berries, plus one Tiny Reviver Seed. Those were her essentials, she rarely needed much else other than that. And with the sorting done, she begrudgingly moved from the comfy fireplace to fetch a picture book and return her treasure bag, accompanied only by the soft sound of pouring rain dripping down her surprisingly sturdy roof. With an interesting book now in hand, the only thing stopping the Wurmple for getting her well-deserved break was the clinking of her Explorer badge against her carapace. Unclipping it, she placed it in a tiny box and set it aside her table - normally she'd have placed it back in her bag but she felt too comfortable to even consider the very concept of locomotion from her spot. Soon Silkie began curling up lazily against the fireplace, snoozing gently against the warmth and comforting embrace of heat.
A Surskit dashed atop the reflective surface that was a magnificent pond, the only light aiding her in her journey came from the slit of the moon. Thin slivers of it poured through the densely-clad reeds that filled the pond. Though the little critter thought that glimmering water under the pale moon was a beautiful combination and thus, was not bothered by the fairly faint amount of lighting. Some of the reeds must at least have some shelter for her, right? She had been searching all day, after being attacked by several Wild Pokémon, some Flying types, pricked all over by plants she hadn't seen when foraging for food in the undergrowth, and falling into a swampy marsh that still left parts of her body caked with dirt and mud. She was fatigued beyond belief.
She didn't think escape would be so difficult, but she vowed that she'd never go back, so perhaps the joke was on her this time. Even if she was on the brink of exhaustion, or ensnared within the gaping jaws of some unforeseen predator, it would still be better. Although she had preferred some company, the quaintness of nature was calming to her as well, especially after such a laborious day. It was getting cold now, her natural sensitivity to the humidity in the air told her that rain was coming soon - though she didn't mind owing to her secondary type, she even looked forward to sleeping under the rain. Not only would it wash off the sweat and grime that remained stubbornly stuck to her body she'd had never experienced being under the rain for so long; they'd never allow her, that's for sure. The graceful tranquillity brought by the hushed storm calmed her pounding heart. A somewhat large bundle of reeds looked to be offering promising enough shelter, so she redoubled her efforts and skated over.
Parting a bundle of vegetation, the area was just small enough that her body could squeeze inside, it felt discomforting, bits of wild grass jabbed into her blue body nearly as hard as the thorns of a rose vine. Not at all what she had been used to before she escaped, but the Surskit didn't mind, the silent ambience of the quiet night was one hundred times better than the constant yammering she would have had to put up with if she hadn't sprinted away today.
Adjusting her broad-brimmed hat to better cover up her head and to provide camouflage, the Surskit napped, surprisingly peacefully, given the uncomfortable conditions she had found herself encroached, in the embrace of a thorny bundle of thick, overgrown, wild reeds.
Feel free to leave constructive criticism in the comments if you enjoyed. Title is subject to change, but I can't think of anything else in the meantime... I barely edited this, so pop improvements my way and I'll try to implement them. Just remember to be civil... okay?
Also updates will be slow - I've nary a clue as to what I'm doing and how to navigate this platform.
Hugely inspired by these authors/artists - check them out in your spare time!
VGS2_the_Sexy_Sausage - Questing for respect
(A story about a Buneary's day-to-day life in a chaotic guild, slight bits of lewd so be warned!)
ShrubSparrow - Team Rowanberry
(Not a story, but rather a comic of a trio of lively little explorers trying to make a living in the world. Very warm and fuzzy.)
ThePrinceOfPuddles - How my partner will think of me eventually
(Whether or not two very different Pokemon opposite each other on the food chain can work together, or be doomed to nature's whims!)