Author's Note: Hello! This chapter involves an inexplicit, short conversation about Pokemon eating each other. This is not something that will be happening in this fic, but in the event that someone would want to skip this brief discussion, I am putting this warning up anyway specifically for this scene. If you wish to skip this little scene that has nothing to do with the overarching plot, I indicate that after you reach the second scene in the dungeon, you skip ahead to the next linebreak as soon as you read the word 'Oran'.

There's no real tagging system for FFN so I'll be using Author Notes sparsely in place of trigger warnings. If you do not wish to be alerted of these events, you may simply skip the A/N, otherwise this will be here in case you need one. Please enjoy the chapter!

For the first time in a week, Piers woke up somewhere other than the clinic.

A quiet groan left him as he stretched his aching tiny body, flinching as a ray of light hit him directly in the eye. When deciding which bed belonged to who, he did not consider the downside of being next to the window, for some reason. He had taken one look out of it before slumber, went 'ooh, pretty stars' and claimed the bed. Midnight-Piers was not capable of making smart decisions. He would never give him the chance again.

The events of the previous day was only recollectable as a blur, but the jist of it had been getting their application approved and moving into the guild as an official team. They were currently lacking a name however, as Raihan and Leon had decided to argue about it every time the opportunity came up.

"How about 'The Galarians'?"

"Leon, that'd make absolutely no sense to anyone around us," Piers had deadpanned after his third, fourth, fifth? Cup of juice, something that would usually be too much of a rip-off but Flaaffy was paying for their tab as he tried to help them process the final piece of paperwork they needed, so he had opted to drink himself stupid. That particular blend, he could not read it off the menu but Flaaffy had described as a mixture of oran and leppa berries.

"Why not?!" Leon's exclamation had little true force behind it, yet it had still rattled the inside of his head like it was a pinball machine. Their companions had seemed unbothered however. Well, perhaps 'unbothered' was the wrong word to describe Raihan as he had countered with another piercing argument.

"Because we should call it something cooler! Do you think the Pokemon around here know what a Galarian is?!"

Flaaffy's voice was quiet, not out of meekness but pure exasperation as he droned. "I have absolutely no idea what you lads are talking about, could you explain?"

It was a good thing that Leon answered, because Piers had forgotten as he went to speak that they were supposed to keep the townsfolk in the dark about their human origins. If Rockruff had heard his planned speech, who knew how long it would have taken for it to get around the village? They certainly didn't want to be thrown into a witch hunt like Yuri and Rafaela. "It's what we call Pokemon that come from our home town! It's especially used to refer to Pokemon such as Piers who looks different to a regular Zigzagoon."

"Ah," Flaaffy stated flatly, "Right, I think I remember something like that. I recommend against it, your clients won't know what the heck you're talking about."

As the former champion sulked, Raihan piped in. "How about 'Raihan and Hoes'? Get it? Like Co. but-"

"No, no he doesn't," Piers grumbled as the old sheep stared at the Trapinch. That was a very judgemental expression even without the context. "Can't you guys think of something normal?"

Leon snorted. "Then why don't you suggest something?"

"Absolutely not." The Zigzagoon rubbed his head. "Giving my songs titles is the worst part of my job. Don't push this on me."

Flaaffy groaned and stood up. "You know what, I'm just going to go ahead and file you as 'Team B', effective immediately. You can come back to me and change it once you make your minds up."

"What happened to 'Team A'?" However, Raihan's query was abandoned, along with the half-drank glass of Bluk juice.

Piers glanced at his still asleep companions then back at the window, grimacing as a dull pain throbbed in his skull in response to the sun hitting his eyes again. He had no idea what was in those drinks, perhaps he should have learnt how to read the menu before gulping down so many glasses. Grumbling, he dragged himself over to the door and batted it until it opened, poking his head out to check the hallway of the guild's quarters. It was quiet, but he could see a Jolteon and Sylveon chatting away on the far end. His brow furrowed as a strange feeling fluttered through him, unsure whether it was deja vu or the nagging headache.

"Hey! Excuse me, you two?" He cringed at how he could hear his voice was even more scratchy than usual, as though he had been chugging nails. They clearly understood him well enough however, as the Sylveon bounded over to him.

"Hey! Are you one of the new recruits that just moved in? What's your name?" The ribbon fox's words moved at such a speed, he wondered how he was feasibly supposed to answer them. "What team are you? How did you get your fur like-"

Jolteon tugged her back by one of the feelers, prompting her to squeak. "Sylv, slow down! Sorry about her, she's always a bit hyper in the… Are you alright?" he mumbled as Piers staggered on the spot, squinting as he tried to tell which of the three spiky creatures he could see was the real one. "You seem a bit off."

"I'm alright… I think…" he grumbled, rubbing his head. "I think Flaaffy got me drunk last night, he didn't tell me what the fuck was in those things…"

Jolteon stared at him. "... You let the old man get you drunk? How much did you drink?"

"I lost count after the seventh one." Piers shook his head, though it seemed to make the dizziness worse. "What time is it? We're supposed to be given our first mission today."

The electric type narrowed his eyes then sighed. "Frigging Flaaffy… I thought Headmaster Falinks told him… It's about 7am, just make sure you're at the quest board before 10 because that's when the rush starts and you'll get left with the A-ranked jobs. Get something to eat too on the way, pancakes with banana and berries is always good when you're hungover."

He nodded as slowly as possible to not aggravate it. "Thank you… How often does Flaaffy get people drunk, exactly?"

"Often enough that we have to warn folk about it." Jolteon yawned. "He doesn't do it on purpose, he can't read all that well though so he's always mixing up grepa berries and leppa berries. If you can't read, ask Rockruff next time you go to the cafe. He'll tell you if Flaaffy's ordering you poison."

"Right… Thanks. I better wake the lazy lugs in there up," Piers mumbled, prompting Sylveon to giggle.

"Good luck! Don't let Flaaffy bully you too much."

The debilitated raccoon dragged himself back into their room then took a deep breath.

Unfortunately, the sheer sharpness of the wake-up call had more of an effect on his hungover ass than his friends.

Piers thanked Arceus that he wasn't the only one hungover.

After a hefty feast of pancakes and berries, the trio arrived in the mission room, greeted by the sight of an extremely tired looking sheep in front of the job board.

"Morning, Flaaffy!" Leon chirped, a bright grin on his face that was countered by a scowl as the native Pokemon rubbed his head.

"Could you try to be any louder? It's first thing in the morning."

"Actually, it's 9:50," Raihan stated with a sheepish laugh, prompting Flaaffy to grumble and look away.

Piers tilted his head as he noticed the satchel clutched in the electric type's paw, jiggling with his reluctant speech. "It's still too early to deal with noise. I'll help you find a reasonable first mission then I'll be off."

"Sounds like you had too much to drink too," Piers mumbled, watching him continue to avert his eyes. However, despite how difficult it was to tell with his pink fur, he swore the old man was blushing. Least he had the decency to be embarrassed as he added, "Maybe learn what the difference between a grepa berry and a leppa berry is."

"I'm waiting for Ninetales to source me some glasses, until then I can't be responsible for two words being so similar." As Piers gave him a blank stare, he coughed. "By the way, I forgot to give you these yesterday. In this bag are your badges. They'll help you safely escape a dungeon after completing your mission. Just raise them up in the air, shout 'Escape' and you'll be back at the guild."

Leon took the bag and opened it up, pulling a winged-pokeball shaped blue badge out. Raihan marvelled at it with such awe as though he was seeing it for the first time whilst Piers took a glance and mumbled. "So… These things teleport us? Guess that saves us having to buy Escape Orbs."

Flaaffy coughed. "Actually, you'll still have to use them. The badges won't work until you reach the final floor of a dungeon, finish your quest or get knocked out."

They stared at him as Raihan gasped, "What- Really? Who the fuck designed these things?"

"Not me, or I'd be using them to get myself home after a trip to the market. Why walk when you can warp yourself?" Flaaffy sighed. "I'm so jealous of those yellow cat things, getting to sleep all day and teleport all night."

"You mean Abra, right?" Leon looked back down at the badge in his palm, squinting. "Yeah, I'm kinda jealous of them too… What exactly are these supposed to be exactly?" Flaaffy cocked his head to the side. "These winged balls, I mean. Do you folk know what you're showing off?"

Flaaffy shook his head. "I've heard speculation, but no. Someone saw some drawing of those things and must have thought it was inspiring because for longer than I've been alive, explorers, adventurers and all that have been using it as some kind of symbol. Some thing it was an ancient form of Voltorb, some think the Foongus line got a little vain… Then some of the kids especially seem to think they were some kind of device used to trap Pokemon. Not sure where they got that idea from."

The three former humans shot each other sheepish glances then Piers coughed. "So, that was what Eevee was talking about. So uh…" They silently pledged to not allow the fact they very much knew what the symbol was to leak, lest it bite them in the ass later. "Could we look at our first guild mission, then?"

He nodded and turned around, squinting as he scanned the board then rubbing his head. "I knew I should have gotten some pancakes before the mess room filled out… I believe you three are somewhere between level 16 and 19, unless you cancelled an evolution for some reason, right?"

"I don't know how to do that, but I haven't started to evolve yet so I guess you're right." Piers looked at the pictures on the listings. Some of the Pokemon looked positively adorable, whilst some of them looked as though they could rip them in half. One such listing, Flaaffy reached out and ripped off its pin.

"How about this one?"

They took a brief glance, words a blur as they were drawn to the picture. It was a picture of a bushy tailed Furret with sunglasses, a content smile on its face. "Huh, that's a cool looking Furret," Leon mumbled.

Raihan paid closer attention to the Furret's surroundings. They appeared to be within a cave. "Wearing sunglasses inside though… What a douche." Flaaffy raised an eyebrow and he coughed. "I- I'm just kidding. Did this little fella get lost?"

The sheep gave him another judgmental look then read the job out. "'Help! This sneaky bastard made off with my valuables! I worked my ass off to get that Friend Bow, and now this lowlife hamster with hoarding tendencies has swiped it from me! Someone, please beat him up for me!'"

"... Was the dramatic reading really needed?"

Flaaffy ignored Piers, handing the job note to Leon then crossing his arms. "It seems this little ferret is a bit of a troublemaker. But I think this will be doable for you, the client noted that the culprit had been a mere Sentret until it snacked on a golden seed he had left in his stolen bag… I think the client wouldn't be in a mess if he didn't do such a stupid thing. I think that does indicate it can't be higher than level 20, however."

"How convenient," Leon said with a nervous laugh. "But I think we'll be fine, then. Three against one, we'll manage. Where can we find this thief?"

"Apparently the Furret is in a nearby cave called 'Bright Light Cave'."

"Whoever is dubbing these places is really running out of ideas," Piers deadpanned.

"I'm sure one of the villagefolk will point you in the right direction." Flaaffy turned away. "Now if you excuse me, I need to sleep this hangover off."

The trio watched him go. Raihan mumbled. "Right… I guess we better prepare to fight an evil ferret then."

Fortunately for them, Yuri caught them on the way out and was able to mark the location of the next dungeon on a map for them. What a shame it was that the layout of the cave itself could not be recorded when it would change every time someone entered it, however the blunt warning to look out for traps suggested that it would be dangerous for a map-charter to do so in the first place.

The 'Bright Light Cave' was noted to be 10 floors long, shorter than their previous adventure but big enough that trying to buy the 'Trapbust Orbs' she suggested for every floor was currently out of their budget. The Kecleon instead suggested they save up for some 'Goggle Specs' as they made sure they had everything else they needed for their next journey.

Soon they were on the road, Piers idly listening to Raihan explain every single one of the seeds they had to Leon as the Charmeleon plucked out and stared at them. Was there any point in a fire type using a Blast Seed?

"Huh, why does this reviver seed have a red flower?" Piers tilted his head and inched closer to see the seed resting in a confused Leon's palm, Raihan looking just as puzzled.

"That's interesting. There's different types of reviver seed, right? I think Rosette called the ones we use tiny reviver seeds… The other type restores move power though… Think this is one of those?"

"It is bigger than the others…" Raihan shook his head, watching Leon put it back in the bag. "Never mind, as long as it does the job. Lee, you wouldn't happen to know any Fighting type moves, would you? It'd be useful if we have to fight a pissy Furret."

Leon shook his head. "Nope, I haven't come across a Brick Break TM or anything, unfortunately. I do have Dragon Breath though, if we need to paralyse the sucker. … Least Furret can't mega evolve, huh?"

Piers sighed. "Thank Arceus for that." His fur prickled and he frowned. "I have a really weird feeling right now."

Raihan stared at him. "Are you going to be sick?"

"Of course not. I just have the strangest feeling we're being…" Piers looked behind him and the two young Pokemon stalking them froze up. "Followed. What the heck are you two doing?"

"Oh, it's Nickit and Vulpix," Raihan chirped as the pair exchanged sheepish glances. "School's still not open?"

Vulpix shook her head, looking up at the older mons. Even Piers, as tiny as he was, dwarfed her. Same was true for Nickit, despite the fact that a Pokemon of their species would usually be over half a foot taller than the average Zigzagoon. "Nope! We saw you at the market and guessed you were going on an adventure!"

"That is true, I guess." Leon scratched his cheek, grinning. "We're going to apprehend a troublemaking Furret for the guild."

"Sounds fun!" Vulpix piped up. "Can we-"

"No way," Piers deadpanned, prompting her to whine.

"Hey, you didn't give me the chance to finish!"

Nickit sighed, taking a step back to hide behind his friend as he mumbled. "Told you this was a bad idea."

The fire fox puffed her cheeks up. "Come on, let us go with you! You went fighting with my big brother, right?"

"Eevee does seem a lot older than you though," Raihan stated with a nervous chuckle, "We shouldn't be letting infants tag along with us."

"We're not that young!" she squeaked. "We're nearly ada- adoleh- teens!"

Leon crossed his arms, laughing. "Didn't your mother just ground your brother for these kinds of antics? That was an emergency, too. I imagine Espeon would be mad at us for encouraging you."

Vulpix gave the puppy eyes. "Then pretend you didn't know I was there if she finds out."

"We are not taking a pair of toddlers with us," Piers responded with a scowl, Vulpix fuming.

"We just told you, we're not that young! We're old enough to go berrypicking as long as we're with each other."

The trio deciding not to budge, Nickit sighed. "I didn't want to do this… If you don't let us go with you, we'll tell everyone your secret."

Raihan tilted his head. "What secret?"

"That you're not real Pokemon."

The former-humans gawked at the dark fox, Piers spluttering out as he shoved his tongue back in his mouth. "What- Where the fuck did you get that idea?!"

"Oh right, we overheard you talking to Mama once and we used this thing called 'inference'." Maybe Vulpix wasn't as young as she seemed when she was able to pronounce and use such a word accurately. "Judging by the fact my big brother isn't scared of you, I'm guessing no one else knows."

"Mayor Ninetales knows, but we don't fancy anyone else finding out," Raihan mumbled weakly. In truth, the people who knew they were human numbered four. Well, six now. But he wasn't going to mention Yuri and Rafaela if the two children were truly that perceptive. "Can you… Please not tell anyone else?"

"If you let us tag along with you," Nickit said with a shrug, prompting Piers to take a deep breath then exhale. Do not punch the child, no matter how sneaky he was behind that deceptively adorable facade.

"Fine, fine! But you're not using up all our reviver seeds. The moment you exceed one each, you're sharing an Escape Orb."

The children exchanged looks then agreed to the terms.

As they continued on their way, Piers gave a dry remark he would quickly regret. "Great, guess we're stuck as babysitters again. At least we're not dealing with a fox with hayfever…" At least, he hoped Vulpix didn't have hayfever, or else she would be twice as deadly as her brother.

"Oh right, Big Brother forgot his medicine, didn't he? Don't worry, I don't have flower allergy!" She giggled. "But speaking of Eevee, he wanted me to pass on a message next time we saw you. Because he's still grounded, you know?"

They did not stop but Piers would soon wish he did. "He wanted to tell me something? What is it?"

Vulpix inhaled then cheerfully spat out as rehearsed. "'Give yourself a fuck!'"

Piers tripped over himself and his friends stared at the child open-mouthed as Nickit started rolling on the floor with high-pitched uncontrollable laughter that was provoking another headache. "Wha- What?!"

"What did you just say?" Raihan mumbled as Leon gave a nervous chuckle.

"Hey, little kids shouldn't be swearing… Wherever did that come from?"

"My bro picked it up after reading the story 'Little Misdreavus'," the fire fox said, her expression the picture of innocence as Piers blurted.

"Why- What the heck did I do to deserve that?!"

She shrugged. "I have no idea, but I thought it was funny so I agreed to it. Snow-Eevee was talking about you a lot when he was over for dinner last night though. Big Brother seemed kinda annoyed at that~!"

"So, that's how she refers to him," Raihan murmured under his breath with a snort as he looked at his friend. If Piers' mouth gaped any more, he'd be forced to pick his tongue up again. That wide-eyed look was endearingly amusing, however. "Aww, I think you have a fanboy, Piers!"

Piers struggled to come up with a vocal retort, instead sticking up his middle digit and stumbling ahead, the children giggling.

Why did the universe decide to pick on him today?

True to its name, 'Bright Light Cave' was very much… Brightly… Lit up. Every wall was encrusted with shining gems that had the children silent with wonder, Leon's tail wagging as he was entranced too. Piers gave the three a tired look from on top of Raihan's shell, his feet having once again decided to start malfunctioning. Whether it was the hangover zapping his energy or the constant suppression of his zigzag urges, who knew at this point?

"I hope I don't have to yell at either of them not to touch them, this place looks suspicious enough without being a mystery dungeon," he murmured dryly as Raihan chuckled.

"I'm surprised you're not gawking over them too, aren't Zigzagoon attracted to shiny objects?"

His digits fidgeted. "It's tempting, but I don't trust them. Are they supposed to be natural lanterns, or are they something more?"

The Trapinch shrugged then looked down to see the same gems growing in the space where the wall met the ground. "They kind of remind me of mushrooms, strangely enough." Piers' tongue fell out as he took a bite of the gem, prompting him to yelp.

"Raihan, what the fuck are you doing?!"

Leon looked over to see his friend chewing the crystal before spitting it out onto the dirt again. The children watched wide-eyed, Nickit whispering. "Do you think he believes he's an Aron?"

"There's electricity running through the gems, that might be making them glow like this. Kind of like Chargestone Cave, huh?" Raihan frowned. "They don't taste good, but there's nothing actually dangerous about them, at least. Unless you're a water type and they're your only source of food, perhaps."

Piers continued to stare at him as Leon gathered the words. "Uh, Rai? If you weren't a Ground type, you would probably be dead yourself right now after doing that. … Why?"

Raihan looked at him then the mushed up gem shards. "Arceus, what am I doing? Just touching them might have done the job."

Piers shook his head and reached out to do so before quickly pulling away. "... Nope, not doing that after you said there's literal electricity coursing through them. You might be able to taste the electricity, but would you be able to feel it? I think we should take this as a warning not to touch them either. … Trapinch do usually munch through earth whilst they're digging, maybe it's some kind of mineral deficiency telling you to do it."

"That sounds ridiculous and knowing my luck, you're probably right," he mumbled before looking away. "Come on, we need to find this ferret."

Leon looked at Piers and murmured. "I wonder if it's an iron deficiency."

"You are literally two inches away from my ears, Leon, I can hear you," Raihan deadpanned, prompting the kids to giggle as Piers grumbled.

"What ears are you on about? You have a vacuum-sealed head except for your big mouth."

The children very much enjoyed the resulting squabble. However, the occupants of the cave did not.

"This place really is just 'Chargestone Cave' with a different coat of paint," Piers grumbled as he let himself fall on his face after Headbutt-ing the 15th Joltik until it fell unconscious, Leon a few steps away from him knocking out a Boldore that was hopefully underleveled and not an indicator of the enemies ahead of them. Very conveniently the Charmeleon had Metal Claw but that brought into question possible favouritism of him being transformed with an egg move unlike him and Raihan. Unless he was specifically a Charmeleon from Kanto for some reason.

"This cave fucking sucks!" Raihan whined as the Klink finally hit the ground, having been forced to stall for five turns due to the gear Pokemon possessing Magnet Rise. In the corner, Nickit and Vulpix were chilling, looking at the bodies with strange contentedness. "Why did the stupid Furret choose this of all places to hide in?!"

Leon chuckled, nudging an unconscious rock type away with his foot as he approached the gym leader. "Probably because he thought we'd give up searching for him and leave. So let's not prove him right, hm?" His eyes sparkled. "We'll prove ourselves heroes and haul his ass back to the village!"

Piers and Raihan exchanged glances before nodding. "How about you go ahead with the kids and look for the stairs, then?" Piers suggested, the Charmeleon happily agreeing and leading the children away.

Raihan watched his tail disappear then mumbled. "Lee is acting strange. He's really excited to kick that thief's ass… Doesn't he seem a little too excited to you?"

"I hope he doesn't get himself in trouble again." Piers took an oran berry out of the bag then bit into it. "I feel battered already… Do you want a berry too?"

"I'm good." His stomach churned and he sighed. "Maybe not. Do Pokemon really just feast off berries here? My Flygon ate better than we do now. Would it really kill me if I ate a few of those crystals?"

"It's probably a better idea than any of these guys, but I wouldn't recommend it." Piers vaguely gestured to the Pokemon that had unsuccessfully tried to mug them. "How about when we're done here, we go ask Ninetales to see what the omnivore Pokemon do about nutrition in this world? I've been worrying about it myself, honestly." He grabbed another berry as well as an apple, setting them in front of his friend. "Just take a second to eat, I'll see if Lee and the kids are hungry."

As the Zigzagoon scampered off, Raihan stared after him then looked at the apple before taking a bite. "I hope those two aren't pushing themselves."

The rest of the cave up to the first clearing was more of a slog than difficult to get through. Vulpix and Nickit protected them from Espeon's wrath by staying out of direct combat, instead cheering them on as the trio fought the ferals of the discount Chargestone Cave. Very lucky for them as Piers and Leon found themselves quickly running through their reviver seeds due to not being immune to electricity like Raihan. Whose advice about the crystals proved useful after Piers was shoved into one of them via a Zebstrika abusing Wild Charge.

"At this rate I wonder what it takes to kill someone," he grumbled after spitting up the casing of the seed, Leon having accidentally shoved the thing too far into his mouth. His body was still sparking however, fur a little more poofy than usual. Unfortunately, it turned out that no amount of reviver seeds could cure his hangover either. "I think I need a Cheri Berry, I thought status was supposed to be cured when you resurrect."

Raihan shrugged and took out the berry via carefully biting the stem, bringing it over to him. "Those seeds seem really picky. Are you sure you don't want to leave this Furret for someone else?" he murmured, speech muffled by his effort to keep the berry clutched. Piers shook his head and plucked the berry straight off the stem with his teeth, the two children staring intensely.

"We've come all this way, it'll be pathetic to go back now." He swallowed it, looking at Vulpix as she continued to gaze at him open-mouthed. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"No reason," she quickly responded, watching Raihan drop the leftover plant by an unconscious Timburr. "Do you think it's much further now? … What happens if we can't find the Furret?"

Leon picked the bag back up, hoisting it carefully over his cape. "I guess if we reach the bottom and there's no ferret in sight, we'll have to leave without him and report our findings. Nickit, does your grandfather exactly have any control over the guild or…"

Nickit shook his head. "Not really, he's their link to the local authorities though and he does make the village laws. So everyone at the guild still has to listen to what he says, I guess… Did you know our prisoners are kept in a mystery dungeon"?

They stared at him. "Are you serious?" Piers mumbled. "Why's that?"

"It's so the prisoners can't escape so easily," Vulpix chirped. "Every day their surroundings change so it's harder to communicate for a prison break. It also makes it harder for people to get in from the outside. When we get this Furret, it's not going to be fun for him!"

After scanning the area for any more possible attackers, they all scurried towards and down the stairs. They found themselves in a rest spot signalling there was more to the dungeon, however fortunately they did not have to go further seeing someone else resting there.

The Furret wore sunglasses and seemed to be napping, leaning against the Kangaskhan statue. A bag rested on his lap, stacked full of shining objects to the extent that the zipper had apparently become useless. Leon looked at the path ahead stretching towards the next entrance for the subsequent floor and whispered to the kids. "Hey, can you two block this off in case our friend here wakes up and tries to escape?"

They nodded and took their new position as cute barricades as they watched Raihan creep forward towards the bag.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you." The Trapinch jumped as the Furret stretched, smirking. The fact they couldn't see his eyes had only added to a false illusion, Leon preparing an Ember as he watched him stand. "Huh, did the Guild really send five Pokemon to deal with little old me?"

"The kids aren't Guild members, they just decided to stow away with us," Piers mumbled, his fur bristling. "You're coming with us, alright?"

The Furret gave him a long stare then chuckled. "All this, just because I stole a pretty piece of fabric? I'm sure that old git could have bought another. Do you have any idea what I could get for a Friend Bow on the black market?"

"Considering I have no idea what a Friend Bow does, I'm not quite sure." Raihan tilted his head. "I didn't even know there was a black market… Do I want to know what that bow does?"

The thief sniggered, lifting up his shades to wink. "The loneliest Pokemon would give anything for an item that builds artificial rhapsody, I could buy a house and a servant for this little thing!" He dug his paw into the bag and pulled the bow out, wiggling it. "'Grand Master Box' has a nice ring to it, I'd be able to pay a sucker to do all my work for me! Doesn't that sound like the dream?"

"It does sound nice-"

"Wait, your name is Box?" Piers' query cut Raihan short, prompting the Trapinch to look between his friend and the thief before spewing into chuckles.

"Wait, wait, I didn't even catch that! Who the heck calls their kid 'Box'?!"

The Furret huffed, crossing his arms. "I named myself that, thank you! And I'll be off with my prize if you don't mind!"

Box walked towards the cave wall and Leon looked at him then the kids who were innocently watching, being the best Pokemon barrier they could be. "Where exactly do you think you're going? That's a dead-" He cut himself off as Box attacked the wall, rocks flinging out of the hole he had created with a single Brick Break. "Oh come on, this guy has a TM move? That's not fair!"

The Furret chuckled, gripping his bag tight then hopping out. "See ya!"

"Hey- Wait a second!" Fortunately Piers' rashness to follow did not lead him falling thousands of feet, grass swiftly breaking his fall as he watched Box walk away. The sky was dark, only stars lighting the area. "You're not getting away!"

Box dodged the Headbutt, watching the other Pokemon jump out of the gap in the wall. "Aww, you didn't fall for my bluff, huh? I was hoping you'd think it was too high a drop to follow." '

"All we would have had to do is look outside," Piers deadpanned, his friends swiftly by his side. "Give us the bow back. We're not going all this way and not getting paid for it!"

Box stuck his tongue out. "Oh you want to go? Let's go then!"

All of a sudden, the ferret was gone. The trio and the children swiftly looked around then Piers felt a stab to his stomach with such force it sent him crashing back into the cave exterior. "Shit! Where did that come from?"

Leon growled, spewing out an Ember. "Show yourself, you little coward!"

"Wrong way!" He turned around and Box slammed into him from underneath, casually avoiding the flame on his tail as he frantically swung it in counter. "That's not all you got, is it?"

Raihan scrambled over to Piers' side, whispering. "That was Dig! He's fast!"

"He's a Furret, of course he's fast," he murmured, looking at the kids who rather than shaking were watching in awe. "Watch the kids in case he tries to use them to his advantage. Do you think you can come up with some kind of strategy?"

"If we had a Quick Seed, but unfortunately we don't! I'll try to think of something though!"

Piers watched the Trapinch lure the foxes away from the danger, Leon barely avoiding another Dig attack as he barged back into combat. "Oi, not so fast!"

Box side-stepped another Headbutt, watching him struggle to turn around. "You're too slow, try harder."

"Don't get too cocky!" Leon snapped, blasting out fire that their enemy calmly avoided, leaving Piers zigzagging out of the way. "Crap! Sorry about that!"

"You'll be sorry if you hit me!" The Zigzagoon growled and stood his ground, shaking his tail. Just as Box struck, his eyes lit up, weakening the impact of another Quick Attack. "Do you think you can slow this fucker down?"

"I'll try!" Leon charged at Box, unleashing a Dragon Breath. The Furret leapt over it, claws glistening before connecting with his snout. "Fu- Get it off, get it off!"

Raihan watched dumbfounded as the Charmeleon ran around in a circle, their enemy clinging to his face as he continued Fury-Swiping. "What the crap am I watching?" Shaking his head, he started digging around in their abandoned bag. "There has to be something in here…" His stubby forelegs clumsily picked up the red reviver seed. "Lee, catch!"

The seed went flying through the air.

Box caught it, abandoning his assault on Leon to let the lizard fall back. "Thanks, bud!"

"Damn it." Raihan quickly returned to searching through the bag. "Damn it! Piers, he has a reviver seed now!"

"Thanks Rai, that's very helpful," he responded dryly, watching Leon stagger away. "Nothing's going to plan, is it? He's too bloody fast."

"You can say that again," the former champion growled, wobbling on the spot as he spied the smug ferret approaching him. All of a sudden, his golden eyes started glistening. "Piers. I have an idea. Get ready to use Headbutt on him when I say 'now'."

Piers stared at him then nodded, watching Leon blast out another Dragon Breath that the Furret avoided. What good was a paralysing attack if they couldn't land it?

Box threw himself into another Quick Attack and Leon snapped. "Now!"

Piers dodged the attack and launched a Headbutt. Box avoided but his attack still made contact with something as a shadow darted into his vision. He stared wide-eyed as Leon hit the grass, limbs shaking before he passed out. "Lee?! What the fuck are you playing at?!"

"That's a very stupid lizard," Box sneered, not bothering to strike Raihan as he dashed out with another reviver seed. "What the heck was he thinking?"

"That 'lizard' is my friend, thank you," he growled, suddenly feeling a spark as his irritation magnified. "Get the fuck away before I knock you out!"

The Furret chuckled. "Really? You can't even keep up with me. You're just a stupid raccoon. Don't start acting so arrogant now."

"I'll show you who's a 'stupid raccoon'!" he snapped as he launched into another Headbutt, Box side-stepping again but feeling a gust of wind brushing past him.

"Wait a second, did you just get-" His speech cut off as he felt him slam into him, eyes wide behind his lens as he noticed the black fur seem to glow. In fact as the distance increased, he quickly realised all of the Zigzagoon was glowing, prompting him to yelp. "Did that Charmeleon let himself get knocked out just so-"

His back roughly collided with the stone, sunglasses falling off. Now he was no longer protected from the bright light that radiated as his opponent changed shape, the tiny creature expanding even as he raced towards him.

Box took off but it was not enough, a monochrome blur in his vision before he was hit by a violet slash. He crashed to the ground, weakly grasping the reviver seed as the Linoone approached. "Looks like I'm faster than you now."

"Just my luck… I had to be challenged by a level 19 Zigzagoon, didn't he?" he murmured, shooting a glare at the newly revived Leon as he approached with Raihan. "It doesn't matter, I'll just revitalise myself." He popped the seed in his mouth and Piers backed away, preparing another Night Slash as his injuries disappeared.

Box spat out the seed casing into his paw, smirking.

"Now time for me to- Wait a second, what the fuck is this?" The trio stared at him confused as the Furret's eyes were drawn to the seed, now devoid of its sprout. "Why does this reviver seed have writing on it?"

"Is that the one you accidentally threw at him?" Piers mumbled to Raihan. "Do none of the others have words on them?"

"I saw no letters on it," he grumbled back before freezing up as all of a sudden, the Furret burst into laughter. "What the hell?"

The normal type doubled over, holding his stomach. "This isn't a reviver seed! It's a reviser seed! Who the crap spelt it with an S?!"

The former humans watched him baffled as he continued to laugh then suddenly fell back prone.

"What the fuck just happened?" Leon mumbled, hearing the kids' giggling approach.

"You are so lucky he caught that instead of you," Vulpix stated, her speech tainted with amusement. "What you've just seen is a 'lookalike item'."

Piers stared at her then at Nickit as the fox decided to grab their enemy's overflowing backpack. "A what?"

"Basically a lot of items have counterfeit versions with weird side effects. A reviser seed revives you, but then it infects you with laughter until you faint again." Nickit tried to pull the bag with his mouth, grunting. "This thing is really heavy, how was he lugging it around?"

"I don't know but we should get it and him back to the guild." Leon dragged the unconscious ferret with him as he retrieved his badge. "We've captured our first outlaw!"

Piers murmured a tired 'hurray' as Raihan chuckled, nudging him. "You've finally evolved now! How do you feel?"

"I feel a bit stronger and a lot faster. I can't believe that worked… I can't believe Lee let me knock him out." They joined Leon's side, the group gathered round as they prepared to return. "I feel a little bigger too… This means I can't hop on your shell anymore, doesn't it?"

The Trapinch glanced him over, frowning. "Hm… You're still pretty small for a badger. Whoever decided to bring us here really decided to shrink you, didn't they?" He lightly batted him and Raihan laughed. "Let's worry about that later. I am… I am so tired," he grumbled, hearing him echo his agreements.

"I can't believe we had to do all that… With two children. This reward better be worth it." He yawned, rubbing his head. "And my hangover's still… I'm never trusting Flaaffy again."

Leon watched his friends, smiling. Whatever the hell was going on with them, at least they would be able to face it together. And a little stronger now.

… That was the last time he was throwing himself in front of a Headbutt.

"Escape!"

The trio-turned-babysitters returned with their bounty and kids in tow.

The reward was not, in fact, worth it.