[Originally completed September 6th, 2019. Published September 14th, 2019.]

Chapter 7: Divided We Fall

Mathew, Joey, Jermy, and Meowth were now following the pathway set out upon the vast fields of Verde Valley. As they walked, each of them couldn't help but notice the picturesque nature of their environment; the hilly, open expanse, combined with the bright blue sky and fluffy white clouds, evoked Mathew's memories of viewing older professional photography of Earth's mountainsides and fields.

However, the views wouldn't be enough to distract them from their own feet. Hours… Hours of marching they had ahead of them, and already their poor feet were in pain. This wasn't like the simple go-arounds in Asulaguah Beach or Pawalmtry Forest; it was a foray into the great unknown with no goal in sight other than Meowth's assurance that the path will, indeed, lead into Vahle Village. Thus, they searched for more suitable distractions from their feet's woes - namely, small talk.

These conversations helped time pass and kept spirits as high as they could get in a time like this. However, the next conversation starter occurred when the path weaved nearby the outskirts of a forest.

"I wasn't expecting to have the path take us back towards Pawalmtry Forest," Meowth commented as they passed by. "We have a much longer path than I hoped."

The close proximity to the north end of the very forest they had navigated no more than three times before did upset Mathew, but the reminder of where he had began his foray into Solceus brought up a question that he had been thinking of asking for a good while. Before the forest went back out of view, Mathew approached Joey. "Hey," Mathew said. "I wanted to ask a question about what happened before you and I met."

Joey looked at Mathew in surprise. "Huh? What about it?"

"You know, what you did before you shook me awake."

"Uh, I don't really know much. I just woke up on that path that you did. I knew my name was Joey Johdaile and I was a human. I ran around trying to get someone's attention, but all I found was a pond I could drink in. I went back to the path and then you were there. Sorry if that ain't what you were expecting…"

"No, this is helpful," Mathew reassured. "So you were alone before you found me? Nobody else?"

"No…" Joey said. "Why do you ask…?"

"I'm just really concerned about… What I'm trying to say is… I've been asking..." Mathew took a deep breath. "Joey, where are your parents? Why weren't they with you?"

Joey paused. "I…don't know."

The cubone sighed. "Both ways make me worried. Greg and Catherine care a lot about you, so if you've gone missing back on Earth, they must be devastated. But if somehow they're here on Solceus, they might not even know you exist. I'm not sure which one is worse…"

"Mathew?"

"Yes?"

Joey looked away from Mathew. "N-Never mind. You said you didn't wanna hear it."

"Is it about the scrapbook?"

"Yeah…"

Mathew felt guilt press on his conscience - a burning desire to help his friend that he couldn't satisfy. "...I'm sorry, man."

"Hey, don't worry about it!" Jermy intervened. "Once we get to (and stay in) Vahle Village, you'll have all the time you need to get better!"

Mathew shot Jermy a look of annoyance. "Don't remind me."

"Don't remind you about what?"

Then there was silence amongst them, the question unanswered. The lack of conversation allowed a calmer Mathew to realize just how badly his legs were already aching. It felt like he was walking with heavy weights attached to his ankles. "Guys…" Mathew asked some time late. "When are we breaking for lunch?"

This prompted an unexpected response from Meowth. "Shoot!" he said with a gasp in a mildly louder voice than usual. The cat's green eyes had shot open from their usual gloom, staring up into the air. A second later, his body made a quick convulsion and his voice produced a sharp gasp.

"Uh, Meowth?" Joey said, concerned as Meowth fumbled around with his bag. He seemed to quickly give up on this effort and focused on another. Suddenly, Mathew was shoved onto the ground by a tackle from Meowth.

"OW! MEOWTH, WHAT THE HELL?!" he screamed.

"No time to explain! Joey and Jermy need to pile on top of me!"

"What?!" Jermy exclaimed.

"We're out of time! Go west! Go w-!"

A flash of light filled their eyes, and everything went black.

As the laying Mathew slowly regained his vision and returned to his feet, one thing became clear: they were no longer on the beaten path they had been following. Surrounding him now was empty hills and a cloudy sky - nothing more, nothing less. "W-what happened?" he said as he tried to find his bearings in this new location.

"The dungeon shifted," Meowth, rising beside him, said as he looked around. "It seems that neither Jermy nor Joey are near us."

"Shift? What the hell's a shift?!" Mathew exclaimed.

"Mystery Dungeons undergo a process at noon and midnight that moves around anything within its boundaries," Meowth explained. "That includes trees, buildings, and pokémon like us. We were supposed to use the rope in my emergency kit to tie us together so we wouldn't be separated."

"And you didn't think to tell us before we left home?!" Mathew said, his voice escalating.

"I'm sorry. I forgot that you were humans and wouldn't know about it. I thought one of you would be able to handle tracking time."

Mathew threw his arms up into the air. "THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?! JERMY AND JOEY, WHO NEED I REMIND YOU IS A MINOR, ARE MISSING!"

"Mathew, I hear you."

"YOU'RE TREATING THIS SITUATION LIKE WE LOST A BERRY OR SOMETHING; ACTUAL PEOPLE ARE MISSING, FOR GOD'S SAKE!"

"We're going in circles," Meowth stated, his calm demeanor withstanding Mathew's burst of fury. "Arguing is not helping us find the others faster."

Mathew grumbled to himself as the uncontrollable part of his outrage subsided. As much as he wanted to really lay into Meowth how much he messed up, he decided to refrain. He let out a sigh before continuing. "You said something about going west, right?"

Meowth nodded. "We'll be able to find Joey and Jermy if they also go west toward the cliffs."

"Right." Mathew began walking westward. "Let's get going."

Jermy rubbed his eyes as he tried to readjust to the brightness of the sun's light. As he stood, realizing what had happened, he began to take in his surroundings. There was a variety of bushes and exotic flora around him, but the only true waypoint he had was a gigantic tree some distance away. Not exactly a great indicator, considering it, too, had just been jumbled up like a shuffled deck.

Jermy sighed in frustration."ORB, got any idea where we - Wait… Oh." Swiping his head this way and that out of worry only made the pikachu remember where he had stored ORB during their several hour-long trip. He felt weirdly bare without him. Sure, he believed himself to be more than capable of holding his own, and showing off ORB like it was his gift to society was something he had demonstrably sworn off, but not at least having his lifeless body in tow felt like forgetting to put on his bandana - it was a separable but crucial part of his identity that was now divided from him, carrying its part with it.

The order Meowth had given him before their separation rang in his mind: go west. Jermy looked up to the looming entity to formulate a compass - an inaccurate one, but it'd have to do. He faintly remembered a moment when the Pick-it Up Club had mentioned some kind of cliffs that Meowth, Breloom, and Ziggy were supposed to reach in these hills. Perhaps they were some kind of barrier to the dungeon that would curve him in the direction of Vahle Village, hence why Meowth told him to find them in a direct and very poorly-explained declaration? The pikachu could only hope.

Jermy's feet were gently tickled by the blades of tall grass as he proceeded westward, moving further away from the tall tree. The walk gave time for worry to set in. While Mathew and Meowth would have each other, poor Joey could be all alone elsewhere. The young boy was probably getting his tail handed to him on a silver platter, trapped between his own naivety and the potential foes between him and the others. Would he even remember to go west? A taste of regret began to settle in his mouth. Out of all three humans, he most of all should've known and prepared for the shuffling of Verde Valley, since he had dealt with it several times way back when-

"HEY!" bellowed a voice from Jermy's side. Suddenly, a brown, rat-like creature burst from a nearby bush. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHERE THE HECK YOU'RE STEPPIN', BOY?!"

Jermy cocked his head to the side. "Um… no?"

The brown chipmunk-esqe pokémon's red and yellow eye twitched, and his nose wrinkled. "WAS THAT JUST SASS YOU WERE GIVIN' ME, BOY?! I'LL LET YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE SMACK DAB ON THE BORDER OF OUR TERRITORY!"

Jermy had to internally roll his eyes. The pikachu had bigger problems on his hands, and this guy was just being a nuisance. "Look, mister, I am in a bit of a hurry. My friends need me, so I'll just be making my merry-"

The chipmunk threw a punch, sending the pikachu stumbling back out of shock. "YOU MAKE EXCUSES WHEN I TELL YOU, BOY!"

The limit was surpassed. Jermy, in retaliation, punched the chipmunk creature in his loud mouth. Immediately, two more of them jumped out from the bushes.

"SERGEANT PATRAT HAS BEEN ASSAULTED! ENGAGE THAT PIKACHU!" Said one of them, coming in from Jermy's left.

"YES SIR!" said another from his right.

Jermy quickly scampered away from the patrats. He looked back and assessed the situation. They were all behind him, and too slow to keep up. The pikachu sped up. "Hah! Your stubby legs won't catch up with my clearly superio-"

Suddenly, Jermy's face was planted firmly in the ground. Though pained, Jermy turned to foot was snared. He looked down in surprise to see that, as he had stumbled by a piece of shrubbery, a small plant resembling a venus flytrap had caught his right leg.

"What the…?" Jermy said. What the heck is this? I thought only pokémon were threats in dungeons…!

"SIR, IT SEEMS THIS ONE IS AN IDIOT!"

"What, sir-?"

"WHO WOULD THIS HAPPEN TO BE?"

Jermy turned to the voice's source and found himself staring at a much more slim chipmunk. It stood tall, its arms crossed as it loomed above the helpless pikachu.

Forcefully, the watchog grabbed Jermy by the ears and yanked him out of the trap. Jermy got a better look at him. Yellow streaked across his waist and over his shoulders, like some type of uniform was painted onto his body.

"WE FOUND HIM AT THE BORDER, GENERAL WATCHOG SIR! HE RESISTED ARREST AFTER ASSAULTING AN OFFICER!" shouted a patrat who was saluting his general.

General Watchog fixed his gaze onto Jermy, his eyes scanning Jermy as if he were contemplating what punishment fit Jermy's crime. Then, he smiled. Something about the gesture made Jermy squirm, fearful of what was to come next.

"SO YOU'RE THE MAGGOT MAKING ALL THIS NOISE. I KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH YOU..."

"JEEERMYYYYYY!" Mathew shouted. The reverb of the valley rang out before he shouted again. "JOOOEYYYYYYYY!" Once more, an echo met him. Neither of his calls were reciprocated. "Damnit."

"Let's give it a moment," Meowth said. "Maybe they're trying to approach us instead of calling back."

"Okay, you might be right." Mathew could only keep himself from talking more for a few brief steps. "You know, it wasn't until now that it really settled in how similar their names are."

"I noticed," Meowth replied simply.

"The only real difference between them is the added 'mmm' sound," the cubone continued mumbling.

"Sounds delicious."

The cubone halted in his tracks to stare at the cat.

Meowth paused as well. "What?"

"Okay, first, Joey and Jermy are in serious potential danger right now and that was really uncalled for. But, second, that was hilarious, can I use that?"

Meowth shrugged. "As soon as we find them," he quipped, revitalizing their walk.

"All this shouting is really hurting my throat…" Mathew said. "We should've gotten a whistle or something."

"Wait." Though neither of them stopped, Meowth slung his bag to the front of his body while Mathew glanced behind him to watch. "Do you remember when Jermy used ORB's aura signal tracking while we were in Pawalmtry Forest to locate the position of Misery Woods from Joey's position?"

"Uh, maybe. All I remember was a lot of screaming and...blood…" Mathew began to realize why Meowth had asked him. "Shit, we have ORB, don't we?"

"He didn't want his wheel wearing out on a long trip, so he gave him to me." As he said this, Meowth removed the green robot from his void of supplies. He rotated it around in his hands until he found the button, turning him on while still in Meowth's arms.

"GASP. I LIVE," he said.

"I thought you didn't need air," Meowth said.

"I DON'T. THE GASP WAS FOR DRAMATIC EFFECT." After a pause, ORB reported his opening diagnostics. "MATHEW AND MEOWTH ARE PRESENT. JOEY AND JERMY SEEM TO BE ABSENT."

"Yeah, we lost them when Verde Valley shuffled," Mathew said.

"SO JERMY FORGOT ABOUT THAT?" ORB said. "WHAT A DINGUS. I WOULD'VE REMINDED HIM IF HE COULD KEEP ME ON LONGER THAN TWO SECONDS."

"Jermy isn't to blame here," Meowth said.

Mathew sighed. "We need your help. Can you search for Joey and Jermy?"

"I WILL BEGIN AN AURA SIGNAL EXAMINATION. PLEASE STAND STILL." Meowth paused. The faint sound of whirring could be heard behind ORB's spherical exterior. "GOOD NEWS: JOEY SEEMS TO ACTUALLY BE NEARBY, DUE NORTH. HIS AURA SIGNAL IS WEAK; HE MUST BE BARELY WITHIN MY RADIUS. BAD NEWS: JERMY MUST BE OUT OF RANGE, AS I COULD NOT FIND HIM."

"Got it," Mathew replied. "Come on, Meowth, let's move!" Mathew promptly turned left and-

"THAT'S DUE SOUTH."

-turned right and boosted his pace up to a slow jog. Meowth trailed behind as they hurried up and down the hilly landscape. They continued up and down the grassy hills, keeping a sharp eye out for anyone or anything.

"Mathew," Meowth said. "Do you hear the sounds of a fight?"

"What? A fi-" Mathew's confusion was cut short as they reached the peak of a hill and saw the very fight Meowth had heard before him. "JOEY!" Mathew shouted, but the totodile was too engaged with his battle against what looked like a patrat to hear him. Mathew watched helplessly as the two of them approached the combatants.

The patrat kicked up dirt into Joey's eyes. Joey flinched, allowing for the patrat to run in and bite into his arm. Mathew cringed and glanced away from the sight. Joey shook his arm with all his might, throwing the patrat off.

As the patrat tumbled to the ground, Joey flung his Grasso at it. It soared through the air, burst into lasso form, and landed over the patrat as it attempted to get up. The patrat, however, was unfazed. It lunged at the totodile with a high pitched screech. Without hesitation, Joey swung the patrat around and around, the battle cry becoming more of a scream of terror with each lap. Joey slowed his spin down, letting his enemy crash to the ground, dazed.

"I WANT OFF THIS WILD RIDE!" The patrat wailed.

"You want the ride to end?" Joey asked with the tug of his Grasso.

The patrat vigorously nodded.

Mathew, coming to a stop in front of the scene, was taken by surprise when Joey's voice took on a sudden accent. "Then back off, pardner. 'Less ya want me to upgrade to mechanical bull."

"W-WHAT'S A MECHANICAL BULL?!"

"Do ya want to find out?"

"NO BULLS! NO RIDES! PLEASE! MY JOB'S HARD ENOUGH!"

At his command, the Grasso loosened from the frightened Patrat. Not taking even a moment to look back, it scampered away. With the Patrat gone, Joey then instructed his Grasso to wrap tightly around the bite mark in his arm. He felt relieved from the open wound being covered.

"Joey, you're okay!" Mathew exclaimed.

Joey turned back to look at the pair. "Uh, hi. Where did you go?"

"This stupid dungeon screwed everything up!" Mathew, in a burst of emotion, leapt and hugged the totodile. The cubone regretted the action when Joey stumbled out of the fear he had caused him the last time he had suddenly made contact. However, that regret didn't last long - they cared more about their safety now than the mistakes of the past. "I'm glad you're okay. I was worried."

"Y-Yeah, me too…"

As the two broke apart from the embrace, Meowth intervened to give Joey a much-needed Oran Berry from his supplies. Joey happily took the food, helping the gash on his forearm close up.

"So, where did that speech come from?" Mathew asked, now that the situation had de-escalated. "You made yourself sound like some cowboy."

"I-I did?" Joey said. "Sorry-"

"It's nothing to apologize for. I was just curious."

Joey paused. "I...just did what sounded cool and serious. It's really wasn't that amazing."

"Hmm…" Mathew filtered through his memory banks in search of what he knew about him as a young boy. "I remember Greg once saying you liked Riftwalker. That's got a bit of a wild-west side to it."

"Whatever it was, it worked," Meowth told Joey. "Wild pokémon are made unstable in a way that always triggers a 'fight' in a 'fight-or-flight' response. Convincing one to actually give up on a fight it puts its mind to is legitimately impressive."

"IT WOULD BE IF THIS DUNGEON WAS NOT LIGHT ON THE INSANITY EFFECT," ORB pointed out.

"Hang on," Mathew said. "What about that rattata you fought in Pawalmtry Forest? That guy ran away. Doesn't that place have it worse?"

"So you've done this more than once," Meowth said in realization. "It sounds like you're good at influencing wild pokémon. Develop that skill."

"IT COULD BE A FLUKE. I WOULDN'T COUNT ON IT." ORB interjected.

"...You might be right." Joey said.

"ORB," Mathew said. "Now's not the time for this. Shut up. Please."

"IT ISN'T?"

"The kid needs all the support he can get right now. Can't he just have this one thing look up for him?"

"HE WILL BE CRUSHED LATER. I ASSURE YOU. IT HAPPENED TO JERMY WHEN HE STILL HAD DREAMS."

"Come here!"

"YOU WILL NEVER CATCH ME. LIKE HOW JOEY WILL NEVER CATCH HIS DREAMS." ORB began to wheel away from the group, only to be immediately tackled by the cubone. Mathew reached to turn him off and-

"AURA SCAN COMPLETE! JERMY'S LOCATION DETECTED. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH ANY BUTTONS, CLOSE THE PROGRAM, OR TURN THE SYSTEM OFF."

"Oh, you ass," Mathew muttered in reply to ORB's diagnostic and, in his eyes, blatant impression of a thoughtless robot (forgetting ORB was exactly that). Angrily, he stomped away and let ORB do its thing.

"HE IS LOCATED NORTH OF THIS POSITION. HOWEVER, THERE ARE FOUR OTHER SIGNALS OF UNIDENTIFIED NATURES WITH HIM. I WILL PRESUME HIM TO BE DEAD BY THE TIME WE REACH HIM. I WILL NOW READ HIS WILL ALOUD. JERMY WISHED TO BE COOKED INTO A LARGE CHEESEBURGER-"

"Wait, what?" Mathew asked, completely baffled. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"I WAS JUST READING HIS WILL."

"I mean, I believe you, I guess, but why is it there? What kind of crazy shit is Jermy into to make him want to be made into a hamburger?!"

"ANSWER ONE: DEAD POKÉMON GIVE UP THEIR BODIES TO BE PROCESSED INTO MEATS, NEGATING THE NEED FOR HUNTING. ANSWER TWO: FATS."

"First off, what the actual fuck? That's gross. Secondly...I didn't need to know that."

"IT IS MY PRIMARY FUNCTION TO HOLD ALL OF JERMY'S INFORMATION AND DISPENSE IT WHEN NEEDED."

"What makes it needed now…?"

"NOTHING. I JUST NEEDED TO TELL YOU WHILE JERMY WASN'T AROUND BECAUSE IT'S HILARIOUS."

"God, your comments just don't stop, do they?" Mathew said. "How does Jermy put up with this?"

"I WAS PROGRAMMED BY THIS BUFFOON SPECIFICALLY TO DO THIS. IF JERMY DID NOT LIKE MY QUIPS, HE WOULDN'T HAVE BUILT ME TO DO AS SUCH."

"Jermy isn't the only person you insult," Meowth said. "You talked back to Joey just now. Not everyone wants to hear your comebacks."

"WHEN THAT PERSON AND/OR POKÉMON COMES, I WILL DEAL WITH THE SITUATION AS I AM PROGRAMMED TO. YOUR INSIGHT ON MY 'BEHAVIOR' WILL NOT ALTER MY FUNCTION."

"Well… Okay, I guess," the cubone mumbled.

"Uh, guys?" Joey asked, tapping on Mathew's shoulder. "Don't y'all think we should be saving Jermy right now?"

Mathew turned to look at the totodile standing behind him. "He's right. Come on, ORB."

The trio cautiously followed the aura signal. The short journey prompted by ORB's maligned guidance brought them to a very large tree amidst the land of hills. Surrounding their destination was tall grasses and a fort whose walls were built of sod, compressed plant material reaching a third of the tree's height. Despite the size difference, they looked much too high to climb safely.

"This looks lived in," Meowth said. "I'm surprised I didn't see this while working before."

"THAT SOD HOUSE MOST LIKELY NEEDS TO BE REBUILT EVERY TIME IT RAINS. RIDICULOUSLY WASTEFUL."

"So Jermy's in here?" Joey asked rhetorically. "Do you think he met somebody who lives here and wanted to stay safe while we find him?"

"IF HE ACTUALLY DID THAT, HE IS A COMPLETE DUNCE. THE DUNGEON WOULD BREAK HIM IF HE DIDN'T GET MOVING."

"So, does that mean the alternative is…" Mathew struggled to say it. "Jermy's being held here against his will?"

"THAT IS THE LIKELIER STORY."

"God damn it! More dangerous situations where someone's gonna die?! Definitely what I wanted today!" Mathew pouted.

"TO BE FAIR, IT'S MORE LIKELY HE WILL GO INSANE THAN DIE."

"THAT'S EVEN WORSE!" Mathew shouted, clenching his club. To the cubone's surprise, Joey and Meowth immediately came to his aid.

"Mathew, take a deep breath and sit down. It'll be better for your nerves," Meowth said.

"I don't want to see you hurt somebody by accident again…" Joey told him.

Pressed by both the person who wanted to help him and the person he had already hurt, Mathew realized that he needed to stop. He took Meowth's advice.

In. Out. In. Out. Mathew had done this before, like in the moments during the search for Joey and Minccino, but in hindsight, he realized that he always seemed to do this before he boiled over instead of during the moment when he would need it most. "Thanks…" he told the two of them, followed by a sharing of his realization.

"I see," Meowth replied. "You should try to consider deep breathing at a critical moment."

"Yeah, I got that. Again, thanks."

"Anytime," Meowth replied simply. His voice was the same stern, low drone like it always was, but Mathew was starting to find it somewhat endearing. His simplicity often came off as cold, like it did during his previous snapping when they initially lost Joey and Jermy, but Mathew was starting to see a certain kind of genuinity behind his face and voice. It was as if he both eclipsed and inherited the glow of the sun at the same time.

"LET'S FOCUS ON THE TASK AT HAND," ORB said, pushing the conversation in a healthier direction.

"Right," Mathew said. "So, how are we doing this?"

"We don't know what kind of problem Jermy's dealing with," Joey said. "Why don't we just walk up to the front door and ask if they have him?"

"So we're gonna assume wild pokemon are nice now?" Mathew said. "After all of the crap we have to handle because of them?"

"Joey's had a way with them before," Meowth reminded Mathew. "We can at least try it."

Mathew took a second to think on this point. "...Alright. We'll do it Joey's way. If things go wrong, I guess we improvise. Everyone okay with this?"

"Yep," Joey said.

Meowth nodded.

"THIS HAS AN OVERALL SUCCESS PROBABILITY OF OVER FIFTY PERCENT," ORB claimed. "IT SHOULD GET JERMY BACK AT MINIMUM."

"...I-If you say so," Mathew said.

Cautiously, the four travelers approached the fort looming ahead. Mathew looked at the settlement, and it once more filled his train of thought with bewilderment and anxiety. No "dungeon pokemon" he had encountered before were capable of even building a shelter, much less maintain one. The sandygasts and the ratattas had proved to him that small communities could be formed, sure, but this was beyond the norm. Mathew felt a premonition in their conditions - he was suddenly sure this would be a difficult fight.

These thoughts were abruptly cut off once Joey shouted into the house from its entryway: "Hello? Anyone in there?"

Mathew could hear a conversation heat up intensely inside.

"YOU IDIOTS! BUFFOONS! NONE OF YOU WERE ON LOOK OUT?!"

"I- WE-"

"DON'T 'I' ME, YOU WRITHING MAGGOTS, OR ELSE I'LL HAVE TO 'I' YOU, AND YOU DON'T WANNA LOSE FIRST-PERSON PRIVILEGES, DON'T YOU?"

Mathew looked over at ORB. "...Do you know what the hell they're talking about?"

"I AM A ROBOT, NOT A MIRACLE WORKER," ORB replied.

"GO! HANDLE THEM ACCORDING TO THE PROTOCOL!"

A few seconds after this declaration was made, a patrat emerged from a hallway and walked down the aisle until he was in front of them. Wordlessly, Mathew put Joey in the front of the group. The patrat didn't react to him; he wasn't the one Joey fought just moments ago.

"SIRS!" the patrat exclaimed. "THIS IS THE ABODE OF THE MASTERS OF THE ART OF GATHERING, GROUP-WORK, ORGANIZATION, AND TRAINING! PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND BUSINESS!"

"I'm Mathew."

"My name's Joey."

"Meowth."

"Uh." Joey took the lead in the conversation in the vain hope of living up to the praise Meowth claimed he earned. "We're looking for our friend, Jermy Shock. We thought he might be here."

"PLEASE DESCRIBE HIM. WE FOUND A STRAGGLER TODAY WHO MAY FIT THAT DESCRIPTION!"

"He's a pikachu, and…" Joey paused, unable to find a good way to describe his clothing.

Meowth spoke for him. "He wears an odd-looking bandana with flowers on it."

"And he has goggles on his forehead!" Mathew said, pointing to a point on his skull mask that mildly resembled a proper forehead.

The patrat paused for a moment. "THAT FOREHEAD IS VERY RECOGNIZABLE. YES, HE IS HERE!"

"Oh, thank God!" Mathew exclaimed with glee. "We won't have to kill ourselves to get him this time…"

"FOLLOW ME. YOU MAY BEGIN DISCUSSIONS WITH GENERAL WATCHOG ON THE SUBJECT OF RETURNING YOUR FRIEND!"

The group was led into the sod house by the patrat. They turned into a room jutting from the central hallway and spotted the tall, chipmunk-like creature.

"GENERAL WATCHOG!" the patrat said as they stepped into the room, stopping to salute. "WE HAVE GUESTS LOOKING FOR ONE 'JERMY SHOCK'!"

"WHAT? YOU MAGGOT!" General Watchog exclaimed. "YOU KNOW THE PROTOCOL IS TO SUMMON ME AT THE ENTRANCE TO JUDGE VISITORS!"

"BUT SIR!" The patrat ran up to his superior. "THAT'S NOT THE PROTOCOL!"

"YES IT IS!" General Watchog barked back. Mathew felt awkward, watching this argument unfold between these strange wild pokemon.

"NO IT'S NOT! REEEEEE!" The patrat snapped. In a split-second, it leapt at Watchog, mouth agape and buck tooth readied.

Mathew braced himself for a bloodshed that never came. Instead, General Watchog made a quick dodge backwards, letting his soldier land. Once grounded, Watchog scrambled for the patrat. The two of them were on the ground, biting and scratching at each other violently. Eventually, Watchog managed to scramble out of the mess, now facing away from the visitors. He hurriedly grappled his sargent, and yanked him off the ground squirming and struggling to break free.

"WORTHLESS DOLT! I'LL MAKE YOU MORE USEFUL!" The general barked as he looked his right hand man in the eye. Though Mathew was behind General Watchog, it was clear that his eyes were glowing. All struggle from the soldier ceased. He placed the patrat back onto the ground, as though he was but delicate furniture. From there, everyone could see the empty, doll-like quality in his face. "ON YOUR KNEES, MAGGOT!"

"Okayyy…" The patrat faceplanted to the dirt and grass before slowly pulling himself to his knees.

With the snap of Watchog's white fingers, life returned to the patrat's face. "WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR THIS TREACHERY?" The mad general said.

"F-FORGIVE ME, S-SIR! THE PROTOCOL IS WHATEVER YOU SAY IT IS, AND I WILL FOLLOW IT ALWAYS AND ALWAYS!" The sergeant said fearfully.

General Watchog nodded. "GO ON!"

"...AND THAT NO ONE MAY EVER REACH YOUR GLORY, YOU ARE SUPREME AND BEST AT EVERYTHING!"

"MORE!"

"...AND YOUR TEETH ARE AS BIG AS A WAILORD!"

"DARN STRAIGHT THEY ARE, MAGGOT!"

Suddenly, two more patrats stormed into the open room from a back door in the corner.

General Watchog whirled around to address the newcomers. "SERGEANT PATRAT! I TOLD YOU NOT TO LEAVE YOUR PLACE!"

"I KNOW, SIR!" Sergeant Patrat said, saluting. "BUT YOUR MEMORY FAILS YOU! THE PROTOCOL IS TO IMMEDIATELY BRING GUESTS TO YOU FOR INSPECTION!"

The watchog groaned in frustration. "THEN THE PROTOCOL IS CHANGED FROM HERE ON! YOU ALL BETTER LEARN TO DEAL WITH IT!"

"We should interrupt them," Meowth said, seemingly tired of this charade.

"Meowth…?" Mathew gave Meowth an Are you sure about this? Look. After seeing what he had just transpired, it was clear that General Watchog held some sort of terrifying power - he was no longer confident about leaving without a fight.

"It's okay," Meowth replied. "He's using Hypnosis. This isn't how it's supposed to be used. He's abusing their lack of freedom to keep them in place. I know what to do to make his setup fall apart. Just follow my lead."

"...Okay, I trust you," Mathew said.

Meowth approached the dungeon pokémon. "General Watchog, we'd like to talk with you."

The tall creature whirled around to face them. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"

"We're here for our friend, Jermy," Joey said, joining Meowth.

"THE PIKACHU?" Sergeant Patrat said. "HE IS IN THE BACK R-"

"NO THANKS. THE MAGGOT WILL STAY WITH ME!"

"What?!" It was Mathew who shouted this, but a quick glance around the room told him that everybody else in the room seemed to be equally surprised - even General Watchog's own men.

"WHY?!" a patrat asked.

"LOOK AT US, MAGGOTS! THERE'S ONLY FOUR OF US. WE NEED MORE MEMBERS! THIS NEW MAGGOT COULD BE OUR CHANCE!"

"You intend to recruit Jermy by holding him captive?" Meowth asked, trying to affirm this ridiculously short-sighted plan.

"YES, AND YOU MAGGOTS CAN'T STOP ME!"

Mathew sighed angrily. "Here we go again…" The cubone readied his bone club.

"You should let him go," Joey said, swinging back the Grasso in preparation for the obviously oncoming fight. "He needs to come with us."

"WHAT REASON DO I HAVE TO GIVE UP ANYTHING TO YOU?!"

Meowth drew his claws. "We're not going to let you keep a friend captive."

"THAT'S IT, MAGGOTS! FOR THREATENING ME, YOU'VE ALL EARNED YOURSELF A PERMANENT SPOT IN THIS ARMY, TOO!"

"How do you intend to make us do anything?" Meowth asked.

"LET ME SHOW YOU A DEMONSTRATION!" General Watchog whirled around to beckon deeper into the sod abode. "NEWEST MAGGOT! OVER HERE! NOW!"

"Coming…!" The familiar voice of Jermy slurred through the air.

Mathew was immediately concerned. "What the hell did you do to Jermy?"

"YOU MAGGOTS WILL SEE AS SOON AS…" General Watchog turned his attention back to the air. "HURRY UP! DO YOU WANT ME TO CALL YOU WORM?!"

"IIII'm here!" Jermy exclaimed as he barrelled out of the back room and promptly slammed his face into the wall. After this, he proceeded to stumble towards General Watchog and the other patrats. He seemed dazed, as if his mind was halfway through the process of shutting down while his body was carried by invisible strings.

"Hypnosis isn't meant to be used for puppeteering," Meowth declared.

"IT'S NOT HYPNOSIS, IT'S SURPRISE EMPLOYMENT, MAGGOTS!" General Watchog barked at Meowth. "I AM NOW HIS SUPERIOR, AS IT SHOULD BE! WATCH!" He pointed at the pikachu. "YOU. MAGGOT! GIVE ME A COMPLIMENT!"

"Uh… Your eyes are...adequate… Actually they're pretty subpar but…"

"WHAT?! THIS MAGGOT'S BROKEN, EVEN WHILE HYPNOTIZED!" General Watchog said as he hit Jermy on the top of the head, trying to reset him to factory settings. "I REALLY AM GOING TO HAVE TO CALL YOU WORM."

"Oh… Okayyyy…"

"I THOUGHT YOU SAID IT WAS 'SURPRISE EMPLOYMENT,'" ORB said.

General Watchog pointed angrily at the spherical thing. "SHUT YOUR TRAP, MINIMAGGOT, OR I'LL HYPNOTIZE YOU TOO!"

"I HAVE NO EYES, IDIOT. I DON'T NEED THEM TO SEE THAT YOU'RE A COMPLETE DOLT."

General Watchog glanced at Jermy. "WORM! THIS ROBOT'S LOOSE TONGUE NEEDS TO BE TAUGHT A LESSON! FIRE BACK!"

"Uh… That's not how...our character dynamic works…"

General Watchog groaned loudly. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS ONE. GOOD THING I HAVE REPLACEMENTS!"

"Replacement Jermys…? You can't even…afford wood… How'd you get…more of me?"

"OH SHUT UP, WORM! YOU'RE HYPNOTIZED UNDER MY WILL, SO YOU SIT DOWN AND LET ME LEAD!"

At his command, Jermy plopped his back end on the ground, ignoring his crushed tail.

"NOW LET ME DO MY WORK," General Watchog said as he turned his attention back to the group. Mathew locked eyes with him and-

"Mathew! Look away!"

Mathew responded quickly to Meowth's command, looking away from General Watchog and shutting his eyes tightly. He had no idea why he was doing it, but he was scared enough of the consequences.

"NOW COME HERE, MAGGOTS!"

Mathew's heart sank as he heard a low "Okayyy…" emit from Joey's maw as he shuffled forward. The cubone felt helpless - while holding his eyes shut to avoid Hypnosis, he was blind to everything around him, including the patrats who could quickly be upon him to force his eyelids open. He flinched when he felt something brush his right arm...only to realize it was Meowth's paw.

"I'm okay. Look at me and open your eyes. It'll be fine."

Mathew listened to his therapist and found himself glancing straight into his bright green pupils. The cubone noticed he was blotting General Watchog from view using his other arm.

"I'm sorry. I didn't expect him to use it on us. Good job protecting yourself," Meowth praised.

"Okay, cool, but — how the hell did you know that was coming?" Mathew asked.

"TO BE FAIR, THIS IDIOT PUT A 2.7 SECOND TELEGRAPH ON HIS INSTANTANEOUS MOVE, SO IT WAS AS EASY FOR BOTH OF YOU TO DODGE AS JERMY'S LIGHTNING BOLTS," ORB said.

"URRGH! MAGGOTS! LOOK AT ME SO WE CAN GET THIS OVER WITH!" General Watchog exclaimed.

"I think what I'm about to do will explain why I know so much." Meowth suddenly dropped his arm and stared directly at the opposition. "You deserve a taste of your own medicine, General Watchog."

"Meowth, what are you-?!" Mathew stumbled back when he saw what Meowth was doing. His green eyes now glowed brightly - just like General Watchog's did a second ago. In the group surrounding their enemy, he saw all three of the smaller targets of the watchog's team enter a dazed state.

"Patrats."

"YOU DARE…?! MAGGOT, YOU DIDN'T EARN THEIR CONTROL!" General Watchog's hostility boiled as he charged at Meowth. Mathew acted fast, swinging at the tall thing with his club.

The club struck the watchog in the side of the chest. "WORMS! DO SOMETHING!" he said as he reared over in pain.

"Okayyyy…" Jermy and Joey said in unison. Joey was moved first, with a slurring, "I'll show yaaaa'lllllll…!" as his battle cry. The totodile opened his maw wide and lunged forward. Mathew yelped as he was just barely able to scramble out of the way of the crocodile barreling at him. Joey pulled himself to a stop. "Sooorrryyy…" the totodile groaned as he went in for another chomp.

Mathew looked around in every direction but General Watchog's, who was discreetly backing away from him, as the cubone became desperate for a plan. Suddenly, when he glanced at the second target, an idea hit him. Mathew began moving towards the hypnotized Jermy.

"What're ya doiiiinnnng? My proooo skills will end youuuu..." mumbled the pikachu. Jermy's arms raised as he shambled towards the cubone. Mathew bolted behind the pikachu and grabbed him tightly. "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…" Jermy groaned as Mathew whirled him around. At Mathew's push, Jermy was thrown into the totodile's path, causing the pair to crash into each other and fall over like two drunks in a fight.

Club in hand, Mathew towered over them, ready to swing if they stood. However, as he looked down at their struggling, he felt overtaken by a sudden intense feeling of regret and anxiety. He lowered his club and looked at it intently. It trembled slightly in his grip as he began to recall once-suppressed thoughts from a moment in Roci Grotto. Fortunately, he wouldn't have to stand over them long - out of the corner of his vision, he noticed the glow fade from Meowth's eyes as he ended whatever conversation he was having with the general's men.

"IDIOT!" General Watchog shouted, pointing across the wide room. "YOU LET GO OF THEM! NOW THEY'LL GO BACK TO THEIR SERVITUDE TO-"

General Watchog's claim that Meowth had made a mistake was immediately shut down when Sergeant Patrat leapt off of the shoulders of his companion and struck his leader in the cheek.

"ARGH!" General Watchog shouted, stumbling back. "MAGGOT! WHAT DID YOU MAKE MY PATRATS DO?!"

"I didn't make them do anything," Meowth bluntly stated.

"GENERAL, WE'RE TIRED OF YOU CALLING US MAGGOTS!" Sergeant Patrat exclaimed, pointing angrily. "WE WORK HARD! WE DESERVE TO BE CALLED SOMETHING BETTER THAN MAGGOTS! AND IF YOU CAN'T DO THAT, WE'LL MURDER YOU!"

"SERGEANT!" General Watchog shouted as Sergeant Patrat stepped away from him, readying to battle alongside his former soldiers. His deadly glance raised from his own men to the enemy. "SO, YOU'RE WALKING AWAY! INSTEAD OF BEING AT MY SIDE, YOU'RE RUNNING FROM ME?"

"NO… WE'RE GONNA DO MORE THAN WALK AWAY…" Suddenly, a blinding light began to envelop the patrat. The light began to expand and grow taller. Once it reached Watchog's height, it began to dissipate into particles, revealing matching red and yellow fur to General Watchog.

"WE'RE GONNA GET CLOSER AND BEAT THE TAR OUTTA YOU FIRST!" Sergeant Patrat, now Sergeant Watchog, exclaimed.

"MAGGOT! THEN FIGHT ALL YOU LIKE! I'LL JUST REPLACE YOU WITH THESE NEW ONES!"

Right as the two Watchogs rushed each other down for a duel, Mathew was shoved to the ground as Joey rose once more, ending the cubone's advantageous state. However, before he and Jermy could lay a hand on him, three figures came to his rescue: Meowth and the two remaining patrats.

Meowth offered a paw to the cubone. "Here."

Mathew was pulled back up by the cat as each patrat began to engage with one of the hypnotized members.

"WE'LL KEEP GENERAL WATCHOG FROM USING THEM!" one exclaimed.

"GO!" the other shouted. "GET THE HIGH GROUND IN THE BACK ROOM! YOU CAN TAKE HIM DOWN FROM UP THERE!"

Mathew and Meowth wordlessly obeyed as they split from the meat of the fight. Taking the same entryway Sergeant Watchog and Jermy arrived through, they found themselves in another room. They immediately took notice of the makeshift dirt ramp leading up onto the roof.

"What do we do once we're on top of the building?" Mathew asked.

"We do what we can." Meowth patted his bag. "There should be something useful in here we can throw at them."

With that, the two of them hurried up the ramp. Standing on the perimeter of the roof, The cubone watched as the two watchogs duked it out and the patrats fought Joey and Jermy.

"Which one do we help fi-"

Mathew's question was answered instantly when General Watchog slashed at Sergeant Watchog with his teeth, causing him to stumble back and fall. He struggled to get up - he was still not used to the body he had just developed.

"Him," Meowth said.

Mathew leaned in and whispered to Meowth so General Watchog couldn't hear as he changed targets to first overwhelm the patrats. "Throw an Oran Berry at him to help with the bite wound."

Meowth silently agreed. In a few short seconds, Meowth grabbed the kit, removed a berry, and tossed it as best as he could at Sergeant Watchog's right hand.

Mathew decided not to wait to watch him heal and moved further down the wall, pressuring Meowth to follow. "Have anything useful for the patrats?" he asked.

"I remember buying a new Foe-Hold Orb. There's also a Blast Seed, which we could use to torch them with a breath of fire-"

The two of them stopped when they both saw General Watchog point at them in the midst of his fight. Well, he didn't actually point at them - he pointed slightly under them, at the wall.

"MAGGOT! NOW!"

It was only at that moment when Mathew remembered that his friends were now his enemies.

Joey's Water Gun immediately caused the sod floor to collapse from under them. Mathew and Meowth dropped as the sod piled up. The cubone rolled down straight towards the totodile and the watchog, the bone club falling out of his hand. Immediately initiative was taken against him - he was pulled off the ground, searing pain aching in his right arm as gravity tried to pull him away from the insane tactician.

"OPEN THOSE EYES, MAGGOT!"

Mathew barked several terrified "No!"s as the slender creature used his free hand to try prying at the cubone's tightly shut eyes. He felt a compulsion to be extremely protective of his eyes, as if they were the Achillies' Heel to his otherwise powerful body. He shook around in General Watchog's grip, trying his hardest to mask his defenselessness. Mathew had no idea how long he could hold him off before he became enslaved to him just as Jermy was-

"General Watchog, you should know better than to tunnel vision."

Mathew opened his eyes to look at Meowth, now beside ORB - during the battle he had lost track of the robot, but somehow he had ended up alongside the cat in front of the sod pile. Mathew would soon be happy he looked, as that gave him the chance to watch Jermy, freed from his Hypnosis, bolt past General Watchog, jump, and fire off a thundershock straight at his face.

Mathew dropped into the tall grass as his aggressor used his entire body to dodge the pikachu's attack. He, alongside Joey, Jermy, Meowth, ORB, both patrats, Sergeant Watchog, and General Watchog, watched silently as the bolt cascaded through the air...right at a branch attached to the old tree.

The heat from the attack fried the dried leaves, setting them on fire, while the impact of the attack snapped the olden branch, falling toward the ground. It crashed into the roofless house, one half sticking up with the leverage from an impacted sod wall, the other half left on the grass…

...the tall grass.

"Shit," Mathew muttered as he pushed himself to his feet. "Guys, run! Fire!"

All of them, even their adversary, agreed. They fled the base chaotically, their minds in a frenzy and the safety of their companions the first things on their mind.