Trish, Amara, Penny, and Nemona were on their way to meet Arven as morning came. Trish and Nemona sat mounted on Trish's Cyclizar as Penny and Amara led the way through the caves to burst out in East Province. As they rounded the corner and came to the river north of Levincia, Amara and Trish jumped their Pokémon over the river and down the cliff, where they met Koraidon. Koraidon simply turned and bid the group follow, and soon the five trainers stood in a circle discussing their next move.
"So, every time I get close to the damned thing," Arven informed the crowd. "It just burrows underground, and I can't get to it. I think with everyone here we can drive it toward its nesting site." Amara looked over at the massive Orthworm poking out of the ground and smiled. "Alright, everyone, let's go take down Allie's dick…" The group burst into fits of laughter, then scattered to take their positions. Arven darted toward the worm, and as it ducked into the ground, Penny got into place to charge it. After she'd frightened the creature away, it burrowed toward Trish, who had her Dugtrio hit it with a Rock Throw. This hit caused it to burrow toward Nemona, who took her chance with her Corviknight's Wing Attack. Amara and Armarouge stood at the ready, and as Orthworm approached, Armarouge started to heat its armor. "Are you ready, Armarouge?" Amara asked as the worm burrowed closer. Armarouge gave a nod, and as Orthworm burst from the soil, Armarouge let out a powerful Flamethrower.
The hit caused Orthworm to slide back into its tunnel and burrow through the side of the cliff, where it burst forth at the trainers. "Let's go to work!" Arven called as the girls tossed their Pokémon into battle. Nemona's Hitmonchan moved first, darting forward and catching Orthworm's jaw with a bullet punch. The hit cracked the plating around Orthworm's face, and a trail of hemolymph dribbled onto the ground as Orthworm let out a bellow of pain. Orthworm moved next, and wrapped Armarouge in a powerful constrict. Armarouge's armor began to crack under Orthworm's force, then Orthworm let out a powerful Stomping Tantrum. Armarouge fell, its armor cracked, and its leg mangled. Amara pulled it back to its ball before tossing out a Hitmontop. "Be careful, Penny!" Amara shouted as Flareon nimbly dodged Orthworm's Iron Tail. Flareon geared up to launch a flamethrower but was caught off-guard by Orthworm's Earthquake. Flareon faltered as the earth shook, and Orthworm burst up from the ground and bit Flareon down the middle, causing a spattering of blood on the ground. Orthworm tossed Flareon to the ground as Flareon lost consciousness, Penny pulled her back into her ball.
"You guys, we're getting our asses beat…" Penny yelled as she tossed Vaporeon into battle. Trish took the next attack, calling for Dugtrio to produce a powerful Earthquake of its own. The hit rang true and Orthworm faltered. "Nemona, Arven, now!" Amara called as Hitmontop, Hitmonchan, and Arven's Charcadet all launched powerful attacks, A triple kick, Dynamicpunch, and Fire Punch. All three hits rang true and in the next minute, Orthworm was unconscious on the ground. "Fuck me!" Amara exclaimed. "We really almost lost a five v. one against a giant worm. Penny, Flareon got hurt pretty bad. Will she be ok?"
Penny nodded. "She may not be able to battle again, but she'll recover. Do you want to take Armarouge to the Pokémon center with Flareon after this?" Amara nodded, and the group stepped into the cave to find the Herba Mystica.
"There's enough here to feed a small army. I'll get working." Arven said as he moved to pick the Herba Mystica. The rest of the crew pulled out picnic chairs and gathered around Amara's picnic table. After a few minutes, Arven strode confidently toward the table and laid down two platters of sandwiches. "One for the trainers." He declared. "And one for the Pokémon." Amara tossed half a sandwich each to Miraidon and Koraidon, who munched happily, then let out a cry as their bodies shook.
"Guess you'll be hearing from dad." Arven muttered as he brought Mabosstiff out of his ball and fed him a bite of his sandwich. After a minute of silence, and as the hope started to fade from Arven's eyes, Mabosstiff's eyes opened. A tear formed on Arven's face as he wrapped Mabosstiff into a hug. "Buddy, your eyes are open!" Arven looked back up at the group and found tears pouring down Trish's face. The other girls had their hands on her shoulders as she cried, and Arven took the hint and recalled Mabosstiff.
"You've shown that Mabosstiff more affection than my family has ever showed me." She said between sobs as Arven pulled out a chair of his own. Trish continued. "When my family found out I was gay, they let my older brother 'take care of the problem'. It was a year and a half of hell before I ran as far away as I could. I literally fled to the other side of the world to get away." Nemona pulled her girlfriend into a big hug and started stroking her back. "My beloved, you'll never have to go back. Even if we don't make it as a couple, you'll never have to go back there. I'll make sure of it." Nemona's words brought more tears to Trish's face.
"We love you, Trish," Amara affirmed as she remembered her own battle with the feelings she'd gotten after her father's "mission". "And, for what it's worth, I understand the feeling." Trish tried to calm her tears as she looked up at Amara. "Really wish you didn't." was her response. The five friends sat there as Trish cried.
"We won't leave you alone in misery, Trish." Arven offered. "We've all gone through our own hell. The least we can do is be there for each other." Trish started crying again at Arven's words before looking back up to the group. "Thank you, everyone. The Goon Squad is home, and you're my greatest treasure."