Pokémon: A Hisuian adventure

by Lupingllogi111

The Hisui region is a harsh place, where only the strongest Pokémon can thrive. This is the tale of a Zorua that happens to be really interested in humans, to the point of trying to impersonate one of them! With an origin story impossible to tell, our hero will have to make up an excuse to cover where he comes from, which may be more difficult than what he had at first thought...

7. Chapter 7: Frenzy in the woods

The look on Lian, his Goomy, Irida, and what they supposed was her Glaceon's faces when they saw the two of them riding on Wyrdeer was something that would remain on Rei's mind forever.

As they got down from Wyrdeer, who respectfully bowed to the leader, Lian only managed to stutter. "I-Is that...?"

"Looks like it..." Irida added.

Akari couldn't help but giggle slightly while Rei turned around to face Wyrdeer. "Thank you."

The noble simply nodded. "Remember to play your flute if you ever need my aid." He said before disappearing somewhere into the forest.

Rei wasted no time on letting his Pokémon out of the balls.

"That was something." Shinx spoke, dizzy.

"I could feel the turns even inside the Poké-ball..." Eevee whinned, her face slightly green.

"It was cool!" Cyndaquil finished.

"Leader Irida?" Akari said a few moments later.

"Hm?" The leader hummed, looking away from where Wyrdeer had left.

"Adaman wants to talk with you."

"I figured as much..."

"What were you doing riding Kleavor?!" Lian interrupted.

"That is a story for another time. The judgement of the noble Pokémon is not something we should doubt." Irida answered. "For now, we should focus on the information they brought us, right?"

Lian looked like he wanted to keep talking about it, but he knew there wasn't anything to discuss at all. "As you wish..." He mumbled, but his face didn't falter at all.

The warden looked at Rei and Akari with a determined look. "So did you Galaxy people come up with anything to try to quell Lord Kleavor's frenzy?"

"We have." Akari told him. "We plan to turn Kleavor's favourite food into balls and throw them at him. The professor said the food may be able to calm him, and if he doesn't want to have it, we'll have to make him have it." She explained.

"What?" Lian exclaimed. "You want to throw the offerings at him?!"

His first reaction was of shock, but he slowly began humming in thought, considering it. "That's quite an unorthodox approach... You Galaxy people's inventions blow me away!"

He began nodding his head. "Of course! Now we can make offerings to Lord Kleavor from a safe distance!"

His face grew determined, as he adjusted his hat. "I'll lend you my aid if it means we might provide Kleavor with his offering. Let's begin at once!"

"Hold on, Lian! You shouldn't get ahead of yourself." Irida interrupted, stepping beside him. "Rei and Akari's plan is very good, but you'll still need Kleavor's favourite Plump Beans, which I brought here with me, as promised."

"Gah! That's right! My apologies, Irida! I'd forgotten all about them."

Irida seemed to almost expect that. "I admit, as we haven't been able to solve this ourselves, we seem to have little choice but to turn to the Galaxy Team." She looked at Rei and Akari. "But even after all, and them seemingly having Wyrdeer's favour, I still have my doubts about whether we should entrust such a thing to an outsider."

Both audibly gasped. "You have to understand, the Galaxy Team people don't share our customs or our values."

Without any window to react, she suddenly took a battle stance, and Glaceon jumped in front of her. "So prove to me beyond any doubt you two are worthy to stand in the presence of our noble Pokémon! Be aware, I have a Pokémon as close to me as a sister, as one of my blood!"

"That's me!" Glaceon yelled.

"Both? Do we both fight against your partner?" Akari asked the leader.

"Glaceon is capable of handling it. The question is, are you? If you can defeat Glaceon and me, I will entrust you with Kleavor's fate!"

"We are!" The girl exclaimed. "Pikachu, let's go!"

"Seems like the big guy won't be the first to try my new power!"

"I wanna do this!" Eevee yelled.

"Hey! You already fought against Goomy before!" Shinx interjected.

"Aw, come on! Does that really count as a fight?" She whinned.

"Hey...!" Goomy wanted to say something, but he didn't dare do it.

"Let me fight! I wanna test my strength before we get to Kleavor!" Cyndaquil exclaimed, excitedly.

"Hmrph, fine!"

With that, Eevee stepped backwards, giving a look to the Glaceon. "Can we talk after this?" She asked her. "No fair Shinx can train with his evolved form and I can't..."

"Sure!" The ice type replied. "It's not like your friends will do something to me at all..."

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!" Pikachu spat at her, his cheeks sparkling with electricity.

"Ooooh, you've done it now!" Shinx said from behind Rei. "Go for it, Cyndaquil! Don't let yourself get beaten!"

"I won't!" The fire type replied, flames erupting.

"Are you set?" Irida asked from the other side of the battlefield.

"Yeah!" Rei and Akari shouted back.

"Then allow Glaceon's true strength to chill you to your depths! Powder Snow!"

"Pikachu, Quick Attack out of the way!"

"Cyndaquil, Rollout!"

The attack wasn't able to connect with its intended targets, since they dodged before it got to them. "Pikachu, Thunder Shock!"

A bolt of electricity flew from the airborne Pokémon, but Glaceon was quicker and dodged. "Now!" Rei shouted.

Cyndaquil threw himself against Glaceon, but she jumped out of the way, Cyndaquil being forced to stop rolling. She's good...

"I have to say, I didn't expect such good coordination. Alas, it's still not enough! Glaceon, Swift!"

"Quick Attack!" Rei and Akari said at the same time. Despite their fast speed, it wasn't enough to dodge the star shaped projectiles, and they were forcibly stopped.

"Now, Powder Snow!"

The Pokémon weren't fast enough to react, and got blown away by the snowy wind. "No! Pikachu, are you alright?"

The electric type shook his head. "Nothing but a scratch!"

"Cyndaquil?"

"I'm fine!"

"Let's try again, Rei!"

The boy nodded. "Cyndaquil, Rollout again!"

"Glaceon, counter it with your own Quick Attack!"

The two attacks clashed in the middle of the battlefield, lifting a small smoke cloud. "You'll need more than that to get me!" The ice type taunted.

"Exactly!"

Pikachu suddenly appeared behind the Glaceon as she whipped her head back. "Pikachu, Thunder Wave! Don't let her move!" Akari yelled.

Glaceon's eyes widened when she tried to move, but was thrown off balance by an Ember from Cyndaquil. The electricity hit her and her muscles began twitching.

"Impressive!" Irida commented. "But if you think that's going to be enough to win, you're mistaken!"

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!" Akari replied, very similar to her Pikachu.

"Just like two drops of water..." Shinx chuckled.

Despite their efforts and Glaceon's paralysis, they still had a hard time landing hits on their opponent. Even with that condition, she was still holding her ground. In fact, the only thing they managed to do was wear her out slightly, which wasn't anything compared to their own Pokémon.

"Rei, we won't be able to get close to Glaceon with just speed. We need to think of a plan!"

The disguised Zoroark looked at the battle and began thinking. Glaceon's paralysis should make it difficult for her to do sudden movements, so why was she reacting so quickly to their attacks?

And that's when he saw it. Pikachu tried to use a Quick Attack against her zig zagging very fast. Something was off about the Glaceon, though. Her gaze followed Pikachu with uttermost precission, as if...

She was predicting his movements.

Once Pikachu was about to reach her, however, she leapt out of the way, causing the electric type to hit the ground.

That's it. She can't move too much, so she's predicting where we're gonna strike.

"Cyndaquil!"

"Yeah?"

"Listen! Quick Attack!"

"Listen? Listen to what?"

"Just do it!" Pikachu told him.

"O-Okay then!"

Trying the attack once again, he began dashing forward, making small turns to try and distract Glaceon. As expected, she followed his trajectory with her eyes, looking for the moment he would strike.

But she wouldn't see it come.

"Left!"

Without any second thoughts, Cyndaquil took a sharp turn towards his left, making Glaceon widen her eyes. "Now right!"

Cyndaquil followed Rei's instructions, starting to understand what he was trying to do. "Left!

"Right!

"Right again!"

"Back!"

"A flip!"

Every trace of concentration had disappeared from the ice type's face, as she tried her best to follow Cyndaquil's erratic movements, her paralysis difficulting it.

Akari chuckled. "That's it! Rei, you figured it out!"

She turned to her Pokémon. "Pikachu, Quick Attack to circle her! As erratic and unpredictable as possible!"

"Got it!"

If one blurry line to follow wasn't enough, two of them were almost impossible for Glaceon to follow. "That's not fair!" She complained.

"I thought you could handle us both!" Pikachu replied, enjoying his newfound advantage.

Irida was more nervous now, but she still didn't admit defeat. "Glaceon, try hitting them with Swift!"

And she tried, but the effects of the paralysis and the fact she had no idea how to know where Pikachu or Cyndaquil would go next made none of the attacks hit.

Rei looked at Akari, and she did the same. Both nodded, silently agreeing on what they were about to do. "Pikachu, now!"

"Cyndaquil, go!"

Both fighters suddenly took a sharp turn and headed towards the Glaceon. She didn't have enough time to react as Pikachu tackled her with a Quick Attack, Cyndaquil doing the same. Without giving her any chance, a combo of Thunder Shock and Ember made her scream. "Glaceon!" Irida yelled, but to no avail. The ice type wasn't unconscious yet, but she was in no condition to keep fighting.

"We did it!" Akari exclaimed, jumping on her place with excitement, and Rei couldn't help but smile.

Very weird I haven't lost a fight yet. It's almost like someone wants me to win everything.

The Pearl Clan leader hurried to get her partner from the ground. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be..." She coughed.

After a Sitrus berry was given to her, she looked like she recovered enough to stand up straight again. The paralysis had worn off, it seemed.

Irida looked at Akari briefly. "I see now... So those Poké-balls are simply tour tools of choice, and not products of disregard for Pokémon. You still understand the Pokémon you've caught and treat them as partners."

"Of course." The girl replied. "They were never created with that intent."

She nodded. "I feel better putting my trust in you now. For now let me tend to your Pokémon's wounds."

Pikachu and Cyndaquil wobbled next to Irida's side, while Eevee took her opportunity to have a small talk with Glaceon, who happily accepted it.

Irida gave them a Sitrus berry each. They took a bit out of them, and widened their eyes. They began munching it as fast as they could. "This is delicious!" Cyndaquil commented.

"It is!"

"No fair! I wanna try a Sitrus berry too!" Shinx whinned.

"Alright, now that this is taken care of, how about you explain the Galaxy Team's plan? What do you mean to do with these foods?" Irida asked them.

After a quick summary of the plan, Irida took her hand to her chin in thought. "So because you have to keep your distance, you'll mash Kleavor's favourite foods together, ball them up, and try to quell his frenzy by... throwing those same balls at him?"

"Exactly!" Akari replied.

The leader gave them a slight nod. "Interesting... So you have created soothing balms of sorts to calm our lord..."

Another nod, but this time, with a more determined face. "Very well. If it'll help soothe Kleavor's frenzy, let's make our balms with our very hearts and souls!"

And with that, the clan members began their work of making the 'balms', as they called them, for Kleavor.

They simply mashed them together, made them into a more circular shape, and put them inside small sacs. Before long, a pretty big mountain of balms was on the ground. "There! A veritable amount of balms! This should please Kleavor, if anything can." Lian exclaimed, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"Well then, ready yourselves! Once you're done preparing, I will summon our mighty Kleavor, Lord of the Woods." He added.

Rei looked upwards. The clear sky had given away to dark clouds, threatening to rain at any moment. His gaze then fell to his Pokémon.

"I'm ready to do this!" Shinx exclaimed.

"We're with you, Poké-human!" Cyndaquil added.

"Following you until the end!" Eevee said while walking away from Glaceon.

"What did you two talk about?" The electric type asked her.

"Well, mostly about how she decided what to evolve into."

"I thought you wanted to evolve into an Espeon?"

"Yeah, but..."

"I'm pretty sure that if Ocko here could talk right now..." Shinx interrupted, looking at Rei. "He'd tell you to take your time and not rush it."

Rei nodded just enough not to be seen. "And probably that he'll talk to you later." He finished.

"I don't need to talk! I have it decided! But..."

"Eevee, please." Cyndaquil interrupted. "Leave it for later when the Poké-human can talk, okay?"

The normal type sighed. "Fine..."

"Stop talking already!" Pikachu whinned. "Let's go fight that Kleavor and get this over with!"

Akari, as if understanding what her Pokémon just said, the girl walked closer to the disguised Zoroark. "Alright, Rei. Are you ready for this?"

If he was? He couldn't be less ready for it, but he had so much weight on his shoulders that he couldn't back down now. It's not like he wanted to. If there was a Pokémon that needed help, he knew he had to do something, both to help the humans and so he didn't spend the night awake, overthinking about what he could have done instead of what he can do.

Still, I've got a feeling that this has been too easy. This fight against Kleavor can't be as simple as throwing stuff at him, right?

"Let's go." He said with a nod.

Akari nodded back and looked at Lian. "We're ready."

"And so am I." The warden replied with the same gesture.

Rei fell a drop of water fall on his nose, followed by more on his head and hidden mane. Before they realized, rain had begun falling.

What a coincidence... Now I'll have to deal with a damp mane on top of the cold and the illusion.

He then looked at the humans surrounding him, who were now looking at the big tree in front of them. At least I'm not wearing clothes... How can Irida go around with so little clothes.

Lian took them to the entrance of Grandtree Arena. True to its name, the tree in the middle of it was huge, reaching very high into the sky. Surrounding it, there was a big circular area, almost empty were it not for the few debris laying there.

From behind Akari and Rei, Lian sighed and began speaking. "Oh, mighty Kleavor, Lord of the Woods!" He shouted. "Though it isn't yet the time of ceremony, we've prepared an offering of your favourite things!"

Rei didn't know if it was his imagination, but he could swear the wind began blowing stronger as the warden spoke. "Benevolent lord that works his might between the heavens and earth, we offer our gratitude, and beesech you..."

Something was heard from the forest. "Reveal yourself to our eyes!"

Silence.

Only the wind could be heard. "Listen well, Rei and Akari. Keep your focus on Kleavor! Dodging will be vital. Try to avoid his moves as you throw the balms!" Irida yelled.

"Understoo-" Akari replied, but she didn't have time to finish.

A huge screech pierced the arena's silence, before... silence once again. "That's your cue, Galaxy people." Lian told them. "Go, now!"

Balms in hand, Akari, Rei and their Pokémon ran to the entrance of the arena, ready to fight whatever had made that sound.

Back from where they had entered, huge stomping sounds were heard. None of them had time to turn around before something began running through one of the sides of the arena. They couldn't clearly see what it was, only that it glowed a bright yellow.

Dashing at unnatural speed, the figure raced through the outline of the area, before disappearing without a trace.

"What in the world was th-" Pikachu began, but couldn't finish his sentence.

Behind them, one of the trees was sliced clean, falling somewhere away from their view.

And then, it happened.

From the exact spot the trunk had fallen to, the same being of bright yellow light jumped into the air, landing in front of them. It was a bug-like Pokémon that looked to be made of rock with a helmet-like head, and two big stone axes serving as his hands.

And on top of that, he was huge.

His empty, pupiless eyes stared directly at them.

This was him. Kleavor, Lord of the Woods.

Without any warning, Kleavor once again roared and lifted his two axe arms, which began glowing.

"Umm, Rei?" Akari asked.

"Run!" The boy yelled.

And run they did. Kleavor threw himself against the spot they were standing before, and they barely managed to scramble out of the attack.

"Now's our turn! Pikachu, Thunder Shock!"

"Ember! Thunder Shock! Swift!"

The barrage of ranged attacks didn't even scratch the noble as it let out another feral battle cry. What even is going on here?!

"Regular attacks won't have much effect on Kleavor!" Rei heard Irida shout.

"You're telling me we trained for nothing?! " Pikachu and Shinx exclaimed.

Rei had little time to pay attention to that, however. Kleavor was definitely angry, and Rei bet that yellow light that surrounded him had something to do with it. It wasn't normal lightning either. He could feel the energy emanating from it from all the way over there.

They were forced to dodge another attack coming from the noble, which barely missed and caused him to get his axe arms stuck on the tree's bark.

"Rei, now's our chance! Let's throw the balms!"

Rei grabbed one of the bags and threw it against Kleavor, Akari doing the same.

The noble flinched when the balms made contact with him, and they exploded in a purple smoke. "What the-?" Was all the girl could muster before Kleavor unrooted himself from the trunk and swung at them, the two barely reacting in time.

"That must have done something! Let's keep doing it!"

The fight progressed like that for some time. Rei and Akari waited for an opening to throw their balms at Kleavor, be it because of his own mistakes, or by having their Pokémon attack them and making him miss or trip.

However, this didn't last long.

Kleavor's attacks started becoming more and more precise, as well as fast, and that left little to no openings for either of them to act.

And none of them wanted to know how it felt to get hit by one of those blades.

The only few times they had used physical attacks, the Pokémon that tried it was sent flying back without a chance to score a hit, leaving only special moves.

The problem was that they were lacking on that front. Eevee's Swift did absolutely nothing to the noble's hard and rocky body, and Cyndaquil's Ember and both electric type's Thunder Shocks weren't strong enough against Kleavor.

"We have to come up with another plan!" Akari yelled, dodging an X-Scissor attack.

He knew that, but what plan could work? If the balms only affected Kleavor while he left his guard down, they had to find a way to do that reliably, but how?

That's when he came up with an idea. What better plan to lower someone's guard than distracting them? And most importantly, who better to cause a distraction than Rei?

Eevee looked like she knew what he was about to do, and she looked at him with a frown. "Be careful." She told him.

With a nod, Rei handed Akari most of his balms, earning a confused look from her.

"Distract." He said, and ran away, followed by his Pokémon.

"Wha-? Rei, wait!"

Circling the noble, Rei began waving his hands in the air to catch his attention, something that seemed to be working perfectly.

Kleavor, glared at him as he raised one of his arms in the air, ready to strike him. Rei dodged it without any problems and Akari took that opportunity to throw a balm at him.

He was about to turn to the girl, but an Ember from Cyndaquil changed his mind. He tried again and was met with the same result. Over and over again.

Finally, it looked like the balms were doing something to Kleavor. Throw after throw, the frenzied noble began angering more and more, but his attacks were noticeably decreasing in power and precision.

Akari was looking at him like if he were crazy. After all, she hadn't seen anyone having the guts to get this close to a frenzied noble Pokémon, and seeing Rei do it was worrying her to a whole another level.

Her mouth betrayed her feelings, however. "It's working! Keep it up, Rei!"

That was a great mistake.

Kleavor's attention suddenly changed from Rei and his Pokémon to her, and to say the least, he wasn't pleased. Rei tried to get his attention back, to no avail.

Now, it was Akari's time to run.

The girl barely managed to scramble out of the way of a Stone Axe, panic settling in. No matter how well she had been trained, she was not ready for something like this.

If that wasn't enough of a problem, Kleavor's attacks came at a speed that was too fast for Akari's liking, and even if Pikachu tried to use Thunder Wave, that only managed to slow him so much.

Despite that, she didn't give up. Every time she was attacked, a balm was thrown at Kleavor. Rei could only watch as Kleavor completely ignored him and focused on the girl.

A perfect opportunity to throw the few balms he had with him at the noble.

Or that was the plan, at least before Akari tripped on a rock and fell down to the ground with a grunt.

Everyone's eyes widened and Rei felt time slow down. The girl managed to get back on her feet just as Kleavor readied another Stone Axe attack, aimed at the girl.

No...

Rei's legs began moving on their own, sprinting towards her.

"Ocko, wait!" Shinx yelled, but it was too late.

Just before the very-certainly lethal attack hit the girl, Rei managed to give her a push out of the way.

That, of course, meant that he was the one receiving the full blow of the attack.

The pain he felt as he was thrown in the air wasn't one that could be described with words. He didn't even have the strength to yell in pain, the only indication of that being the small tear in his eyes.

The illusion didn't have the time to crack before he was hit again, this time away from the arena and into the forest.

The last thing Zoroark could hear, or even feel, was Akari yelling his name as he hit his head on a tree and all went dark.

---

Kadabra didn't expect to see him and some of his own pack simply walking into her territory like if it were his own putrid cave.

What she did expect was what he wanted from her.

"WHERE IS HE?!" Alpha roared.

"Who do you think you are to just stomp inside my-"

A Shadow Ball flew just next to her face, exploding on a rock behind her. "ANSWER THE QUESTION! I know you had to do something with him vanishing out of the Icelands!" The larger Zoroark growled.

"Hmm, I believe you will have to specify a bit more than that. It wouldn't be the first time I did something to a Pokémon."

"YOU KNOW WHO I'M TALKING ABOUT! YOU BETTER START TALKING BEFORE I END YOUR PATHETIC EXISTANCE!"

Kadabra couldn't help but find all this amusing. "Maybe I do indeed know what you are talking about... I am uncertain whether you want to find out or not, however..."

Alpha grabbed the psychic type by her neck and lifted her. "I swear to every mighty being that exists, whether up or down there, that if you dared to lay a single touch of your little metal artifacts on him, you are good as dead."

Kadabra couldn't hold the laughter anymore. "Why the sudden want to look for your puppy, big guy? He did not seem to have even an ounce of doubt when he stumbled here!"

"So you have seen him..."

Kadabra was thrown face first against the snow. "You have one last chance to talk. Where. IS. HE?!"

Shaking her head to get the snow off her, she looked at the Zoroark. "You want to know? Very well."

She lifted herself up with Psychic to reach the alpha's eye level. "It is true that your little pup came around here. And he was accompanied by his friend Eevee as well."

"What did you do to them?"

"Well, I specifically wanted to make you suffer for what you have done to us, so..."

Her smirk grew wider. "I Teleported him somewhere out of the Icelands."

If the alpha Zoroark's face wasn't angry enough already, the widening eyes and the clenching of his teeth was almost enough to pop one of his blood vessels.

"I must have heard you wrong." He growled. "I think I've heard you say that you Teleported my pup somewhere outside the Icelands."

"You have indeed heard me very well. How does it feel for your little one to pay for what you have done to us, eh? And what I've heard you've done to others of your own kind..."

This time, Kadabra managed to dodge the Shadow Claw from the alpha, if just barely. "YOU ABSOLUTE WASTE OF A POKÉMON! HOW DARE YOU TOUCH A MEMBER OF MY PACK?!"

"Tschk. You have done worse things to mine than Teleporting someone away. What about my mate, hm? Remember that?"

Alpha's frown only growed as another growl escaped his throat. "Where did you Teleport him?"

"Why should I tell you? Will you kill me? Then you will for sure never know."

"I can wipe your whole pack from the face of this earth if I wanted to. Do you really want me to do it?"

Any last spark of amusement left the psychic's face. "My pack has nothing to do with this. If you dare to put a single claw on-"

"Do you want to bet? We are far more Pokémon than you." Alpha interrupted. "Tell me, or you will regret it."

With a very big frown and a growl, Kadabra was forced to comply. One thing was what happened to her, and another what happened to her pack, her family. She knew the Pokémon in front of her was more than capable of killing even the youngest ones.

"I don't know."

Alpha began laughing. "'I don't know' she says! Do you think I'm stupid?! You cannot Teleport someone without knowing where you are Teleporting them!"

"I wanted to get your pup out of the Icelands. I didn't think of any concrete place."

Silence was all that followed for a long while.

"You are telling me... you Teleported someone... not just anyone, my own pup, WITHOUT KNOWING WHERE HE WOULD END UP?!"

The next attacks were too fast to deflect, so the tenths of Shadow Claws left Kadabra laying on the ground, barely clinging onto consciousness.

"What a waste of a pack leader." Alpha snarled and turned around, ready to leave.

The laughter coming from Kadabra made him stop. "You know, Alpha. It's true that I didn't tell you something."

She slowly lifted herself back onto her feet. "You know what he was doing all the way out here, alone?"

A small pause, where the Zoroark turned back to look at her, clear and pure hatred in his eyes. "He was running away. From you."

"Who do you think you are to say such a thing?!"

"A psychic type." She deadpanned. "I managed to read the outermost thoughts of your pup when he came around. And guess what they were? Apart from the fear of my own wrath, he wanted to get as far away from the Icelands as possible."

Another pause. "Oh! I almost forgot! Did you also know that he was disguised? And as a human no less!"

Kadabra turned around, ready to get inside her own cave. "You got what you wanted. Go away at once."

"As a human..." She heard Alpha mutter. "He couldn't have... That's..."

"My memory does not lie."

There was a heavy silence in the air as Alpha thought about what to do next. "I hope you realize that means war."

This time, Kadabra stopped. "Weren't we already in one?"

With those last words, she disappeared into her cave. Alpha was left with his mouth hanging as he made his way back with a frown.

His heir, his own pup, just running away? Disguised as a human?

He was aware of his pup's fascination with seeing the region and also with the humans, but he had tried to shrug it off with the hope of it being a simple phase. Was he wrong? Should he have done something to talk him out of it?

...

No.

He wasn't wrong. He knew this moment would have come sooner or later, even if he had found a way to chain him inside that cave. It hurt to know that he had run away from him, but he knew that if that hadn't been the reason, there would have been another one.

Really, he knew that he had taken the best decision by acting strict with him, even if he hated him for it. After all, what better motivation to do something than being strictly told not to?

But if what he thought was true, that meant his pup could be in danger right then. He had to find him, and fast. Or else, he could very well not see him again.

He needed to explain everything to him before it was too late.

How to do that, though? If that Kadabra was really telling the truth, not even herself knew where his pup had ended up. How to find someone in the vastness of the land without any leads?

It was a tricky situation, so he needed the help of his pack to think of a plan good enough.

The only thing that he knew for sure was that he was going to find him, even if he had to turn the whole region upside down for it.

...Well, it wasn't true he had no leads. There was one. Someone whom his pup always shared everything with.

But...

How to convince her into telling him?

---

Pain.

Zoroark's head was spinning as he fought to maintain his eyes open.

Laying on the ground, unmoving, and most likely bleeding, but alive wasn't a very common way to end up after being thrown like that, but the worst part wasn't that.

He was in pain, which meant he couldn't use his illusions.

If any human saw him, he was done for.

He tried to stand up, only for his chest to ache. He also felt the back of his head wet and his legs and arms scratched by the branches. That most likely meant those places were where he was bleeding from. He had to stop that before he lost consciousness again, this time forever.

He managed to get the scarf off his neck, wrapping it around the wound and his head, making for an improvised bandage, and he could use the cap for extra protection in case he needed it.

Still on the ground, he reached for his satchel and grabbed a Potion, opening it with a lot of difficulties and gulping it whole. He felt the injuries lessen, but that one in his head wasn't going to get fixed that easily.

The Potion gave him a slight boost of energy, which he used to grab onto a low branch of a tree to lean on and get on his feet.

His vision was blurry, everything hurt, and he was alone in the middle of a forest, without the ability to use his illusions to hide from any humans.

He definitely couldn't go back like that.

And that's when he found out about his other problem. Wait, which way is 'back'?

He managed to get the scarf off his neck, wrapping it around the wound and his head, making for an improvised bandage, and he could use the cap for extra protection in case he needed it.

Still on the ground, he reached for his satchel and grabbed a potion, opening it with a lot of difficulties and gulping it whole. He felt the injuries lessen, but that one in his head wasn't going to get fixed that easily.

But even if he knew how, he was too hurt to be useful. He hoped Akari and his Pokémon were alright, at least.

He was sure they would be, but he had to be fast and make it back before something similar happened to them. He had a hunch that Akari wouldn't survive something like what he'd gone through.

But how could he heal himself quickly? The Potion he drank only gave him enough energy to get up. He wasn't even sure he would be able to walk properly.

He made a mental note to get more potions once he was back at the village.

With no idea of where to go and barely enough energy to keep standing, Zoroark let go of the branch and took a step.

He barely kept his balance as he took another, followed by another one, until he unsteadily began walking. He would hopefully find something that would tell him where he was, but it was hard with the density of the forest.

"Are you lost, mister?"

The childish voice behind him made him jump and fall to the ground in shock. "Owowowow..." He winced when he felt like he was about to throw up the breakfast he didn't have from the pain.

"Oh! S-Sorry if I scared you, mister..."

With great effort, Zoroark turned around to see yet another Pokémon he had never known existed. She was a Pokémon with a pink color and a round shape, with a leaf that connected her head and another, smaller head.

"It's alright." The ghost type muttered, standing up. "I wasn't expecting anyone, so that was my fault too, ugh..."

The Pokémon looked and sounded like she was very young, and the reason for such a small Pokémon to be alone in a forest was lost to him. "A-Are you sure? You look..." She recoiled slightly when she saw the scarf drenched in blood. "...very hurt."

Zoroark couldn't do anything other than sigh. "I've had an accident, and I'm barely hanging on. Do you know where I could find a way to heal myself? Maybe a Pokémon that knows Heal Pulse?"

"Well..." She thought for a second before she shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I don't know anyone that could know Heal Pulse."

Zoroark groaned. "It's okay... I'll just have to find another way."

"Well, actually..."

The young Pokémon's voice caught him by surprise. "I think I know someone that could help you."

"You do? Who's he? Or she?"

"Well, I accidentally got my leaf tangled in a bush, and I was scared because I thought someone was going to take advantage of that to eat me! But then a human heard my screams and came to help me!"

Zoroark groaned. Of course, it has to be a human...

Despite that, the Pokémon kept talking. "I was so scared at first, because I thought he was going to take me away! But it turned out he just helped me get out! He didn't even have one of those weird balls humans have!"

"Really?" That's weird. Not one of the Survey Corps then?

"Yes! But then he saw that my leaf was a bit broken and that I had some scratches on my body, so he took me somewhere with a fireplace and helped me get better in no time! Maybe he can help you too!"

Zoroark chuckled at the young Pokémon's innocence. "What's your name?"

"I'm Cherubi! What's yours, mister?"

"I'm Zoroark. Nice to meet you."

"Woah, that's a scary name!"

"You can't begin to imagine how many Pokémon and humans have said that..." He muttered, just low enough to not get noticed by Cherubi. He assumed that was the species name as well, since it wasn't very likely a wild Pokémon would have any nickname.

"Well, Cherubi. The point is, I can't just go around and show myself too much. Especially to humans."

Cherubi seemed to deflate at that. "Aw... But why?"

"Because I'm not supposed to be here. And if humans saw me, they would freak out a lot." That was more or less what he thought would happen, of course, sugar coated for the younger Pokémon.

"Oh..."

Zoroark wasn't going to let himself be seen, not if he could prevent it. He then realized Akari was going to quite literally force him to go get himself checked by the medics once all this was over.

And that was a problem. A huge problem. One that Rei had to sort as soon as he could, which he wanted to be now, but the dizziness that he suddenly felt was an indication he had more pressing matter for now.

"Cherubi, which direction is the human?"

She turned around and looked at where she had just come from. "Over there, I think."

"Thank you very much." He told her, but before he passed her, she kneeled down and nodded with a smile. "Take care, Cherubi."

"I-I will!" She squeaked with a slight shock. It looked like he was a bit more intimidating from up close.

"You have somewhere to go, right?" The ghost type asked her.

"Yeah! I was just heading to the big tree right behind you! My mom is somewhere around there!"

Zoroark looked back and took a look at the big and thick trunk of Grandtree Arena that was visible even above the dense trees. He face palmed, something he quickly regretted, since he almost fainted on the spot.

"Okay then. I gotta go now, but make sure you're safe until you find your mom!" Zoroark told her, making his way towards the human camp Cherubi had described.

"O-Okay! Bye, mister Zoroark!"

"Bye!"

Zoroark wasn't going to let himself get seen, so he had to hope the human wasn't there and he could quickly grab what he needed without raising any suspicions. He knew by what his father had told him that the only place where he was certain that there were any Zorua or Zoroark was the Icelands, and he didn't know how any human would take seeing him so far from where he was supposed to be.

The smell of something cooking snapped him out of his thoughts. It was one of the strongest things he had ever smelled, and it came from straight ahead, behind some bushes.

There was also some humming sound that was definitely coming from someone. I won't be lucky, it seems...

Carefully peeking his head from in between the bushes, Zoroark took notice of a laying green bug-like Pokémon. As Akari had told him, that was a Scyther, and he definitely looked like he was in pain.

Most importantly, there was the human Cherubi was talking about, kneeling next to a campfire, cooking something in a small pot. He had short brown hair and wore a similar outfit to that of his illusion's, albeit a lighter color and with a small cross symbol.

"Ugh..." Scyther groaned.

"Shh, hold on a little longer." The human said. "The Full Restore is just about to finish cooking."

Zoroark didn't know what a 'Full Restore' was, but it had to be some sort of powerful medicine, since the strong smell from before seemed to be coming from the pot.

He couldn't take the medicine the human was cooking, that was for sure, but when he looked around to look for alternatives, he found a small table with a few supplies, a small light blue bottle between them.

It looked like some sort of Potion, but it wasn't exactly one, because the ones Zoroark had seen were purple and not blue. But was he right? What if they weren't potions? What if he accidentally poisoned himself?

That'd be very embarassing.

The Scyther coughed as he groaned yet again. "It hurts..."

The human glanced at him worryingly, before looking back at the pot. "I know it hurts, but you have to hold on some more. The Max Potion won't heal you properly, so I have to make something stronger." He explained, giving a quick look at the table with the bottle.

So 'Max Potion', huh?

Zoroark looked at the two as he saw the human was facing him as he cooked, fortunately without realizing he was there yet. He knew he had to turn around to give whatever medicine he was cooking to the Scyther, and he would take that opportunity to grab the potion and get out of there.

Minutes passed as Zoroark felt more and more weak, the boost from the potion slowly disappearing and making his eyes feel more and more heavy by the second.

And the human was still making his medicine.

Ugh, come on! I won't make it if you don't hurry up!

As if on cue, the human finished cooking the remedy and took the pot out of the fire, leaving it on the same table as the Max Potion.

He then grabbed another glass bottle and poured some of the content of the pot inside of it. He blowed inside to cool it down as he approached the Scyther.

He gently lifted his head with one hand and brought the bottle closer to his mouth. "Here. It's a bit hot, but you'll feel better after you drink it."

The Scyther reluctantly sipped the substance before coughing it out. "I know it tastes horrible, but you won't get better if you don't drink it!" The human repeated.

After a few seconds of the bug type looking at the medicine, he nodded and opened his mouth to let the human give it to him.

Now's my chance.

As silent as he could, Zoroark walked towards the table, making sure not to let the human hear him approach. He grabbed the bottle, and carefully left it in his satchel.

The human had finished giving the Scyther the medicine and he could turn back at any moment, so he decided to leave as fast as he could.

But just when he thought he was safe, the human suddenly spoke. "If you want to get the potion, at least you could have asked for it, you know?"

If his fur wasn't already pale enough, it became even whiter when he heard the human speak. He stood still, waiting for the inevitable shriek of shock to come, but it never happened.

Instead, the human kept talking, as calm as before. "If you're that scared of letting yourself get seen, I won't look back until you leave. You can take the potion, by the way."

Zoroark looked behind him. True to the human's words he was still giving the Scyther the potion, without looking at him.

He tried and failed to supress a sigh from escaping his mouth. He resumed walking shortly after. "Thank you." He told the human.

"You're- Wait, what?" Before he could whip his head to look at him. Zoroark was already behind the bush, safe from any furtive glances. He ran away from the camp as fast as he could, before the ache in his head made him wince and fall to the ground.

Right, I almost forgot about that...

Zoroark grabbed the potion and opened it, a strong smell coming from it. Feeling his consciousness starting to slip away, he drank the Max Potion whole in just a few gulps.

He regretted it the moment he did it.

If the regular Potions already tasted bad, then this one was at least three times worse. It also was very strong, which made Zoroark cough, gag, and almost throw it up.

Good news, however, was that the pain in all his body lessened and subsided almost completely. The wound on the back of his head also stopped bleeding, though it hadn't yet closed. That would take more than a Potion.

With renewed energies, he hopped onto his feet, feeling like all the pain he suffered from before never actually happened.

Woah, this Max Potion is truly magic!

He tried to cast his illusion again, and he just barely managed to do it properly.

Rei decided to leave the scarf tied to his head, mostly because he didn't want Akari or any other human or Pokémon to see the wound.

...

Akari!

He had completely forgotten about what he was supposed to be doing, though who could blame him?

He gave a quick look upwards and saw where the huge tree trunk was, and sprinted in that direction. A wall didn't stop the Zoroark from climbing up to see what was going on back in the arena.

Whatever he expected, it definitely wasn't what he saw. Eevee and Pikachu were helping Cyndaquil with a rather nasty injury he seemed to have, while Shinx and Akari were handling Kleavor, all with a big amount of scratches, but also very angry looks on their faces.

"You're gonna pay for what you've done to Ocko!" The electric snarled with a Thunder Shock.

"Eat this, you frenzied prick!" Akari added, throwing a balm. Woah, since when did Akari talk like that?

Rei decided to make his entry as cool as he could, so he checked if he had any balms with him. He still had a few of them, so he waited for the moment Kleavor gave him his back and...

He threw the balms at him, which made the noble turn around and widen his pupil-less eyes slightly.

"Rei?!" Everyone yelled when they saw him. He slided down the wall back onto the arena with a smirk on his face.

Eevee's ears perked up when she saw him. "Rei! Arceus, you're alright!"

"Not the time for that!" Pikachu interrupted.

"Oh, right!" She yelped, getting back to helping Cyndaquil with his wound.

Akari, however, noticed the bloodied scarf he still wore. "W-What hap-? Rei, are you okay?!"

The disguised Zoroark winked at her. "I'll live..."

"You are not getting away from the Medical Corps this time." She chuckled, but with a serious undertone present.

"Ocko!" Rei almost didn't react fast enough to catch Shinx when he threw himself on him, nuzzling against his cheeks as his tail wagged. "You-You are okay!" Rei felt the Pokémon's tears fall to his cheeks. "I-! We all thought you were gone for good! When Kleavor threw you away, we thought you were-! You were-!" Shinx didn't finish and instead opted to bury his head on Rei's chest.

"Rei, watch it!" Akari yelled.

Once again, he barely reacted in time to dodge another strike from Kleavor. Rei fell to the ground as he cringed in pain from the wound that the Potion didn't fix.

Shinx quickly shot him a worried look. "Are you okay?"

With a nod, the boy cleaned the dirt on his fake uniform and looked at Kleavor. He had seen how that attack wasn't as strong as before.

The balms were working. Kleavor was getting weaker.

Akari had noticed it too. "Your Shinx has put up a good fight while you were gone. And your Cyndaquil got injured, but it's nothing too serious. I believe we are very close to quelling Kleavor." She quickly summed up.

The girl then threw a few balms at Rei. "You'll need these. And don't you ever think about doing something like what you did before again, okay?"

She turned back to the noble Pokémon with a determined look. "Now, let's end this at once!"

Rei gave her a nod and did the same as her, Shinx readying once again. "Shinx, Thunder Bolt!"

The battle resumed with the most intense attack Rei had seen coming from the electric type. His stunned face didn't go unnoticed by him. "You like it, Ocko? That's my new power!"

"Truly the mighty electrical hero!" Eevee yelled from her spot.

"Wha- Shut up!" He shouted at her, his cheeks turning slightly red.

"Rei, we're close! Let's not let up!" Akari told Rei.

We're so close. We can't fail now!

"Thunder Shock!" Rei shouted at Shinx before he ran towards one side and Akari to the other one.

Kleavor was too busy protecting himself from the attack to care for the Galaxy Team members, and they took the opportunity to throw a barrage of balms at him.

Kleavor screeched in pain as he turned to face Akari and ready an arm to swing.

Not on my watch!

Another balm, straight to the noble's head, causing him to whip his head at him with a growl before another Thunder Shock hit him.

A screech of desperation echoed across the whole arena. Kleavor was on his last legs, and they were ready to finish him off. "Ocko!"

Rei looked at the electric type. "I think Kleavor's weak enough now to use physical attacks on him if I'm fast enough!" He told him.

"Are you crazy?!" Cyndaquil exclaimed before wincing.

"Shhh! Don't do that with your belly like that!" Eevee reprimanded him.

"He's right though!" Pikachu added. "Are you sure you can get close enough?"

"I'll never know if I don't try!'

Rei wasn't sure if he was seeing correctly, but he could swear Shinx wasn't acting as jokingly as before, instead being a bit more serious, apart from being stronger.

Could it be...?

Rei nodded. "Bite!"

Akari widened her eyes and looked at him as if he were crazy. Rei simply winked and smiled.

Shinx immediately let out a battle cry as he disappeared in the blink of an eye. Before anyone could react, he was running up the nobles legs, his teeth letting out a dark energy.

"EAT THIS!"

Kleavor's body was mostly made out of rock, but some of his abdomen was vulnerable enough for Shinx to exploit it, using the Bite attack there, causing another yell of pain from the noble.

Shinx let out a Thunder Shock before jumping off Kleavor as he smirked. "Did you like it? Because there's more to...!" He stopped himself as he was enveloped in a bright light. "...come?"

Everyone's eyes widened as they realized what was about to happen. It is.

He's evolving.

In the span of a few seconds Shinx became taller, and his front legs gained another yellow ring on them. His mane also turned slightly larger on the top of his head, and around his cheeks and chin. Some of the fur on his rear also became pointier.

Shinx had evolved into a...

Rei wasn't sure how his evolution was called, but he didn't need to know. Akari filled in for him. "Congratulations, Rei! Your Shinx just evolved into a Luxio!"

Rei couldn't help but chuckle. Was a training session with Zisu all that he needed?

Shinx, now Luxio, was also too caught up on looking at his new body, but it wasn't long before he turned around to face Rei.

Despite his scarier look compared to before, the electric type wore a childish smile as his tail wagged. "Ocko! Ocko, look! I evolved! I-I actually evolved!" He said, small tears in his eyes. "I-I did it! Eat your words, dad!"

Luxio wiped the water out of his eyes. "And all thanks to you, Rei! I-I can't even describe how grateful I am."

"Yeah, that's great and all, but HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN ABOUT THE BIG AND SCARY NOBLE THAT'S ABOUT TO ATTACK YOU?!" Pikachu interrupted them.

With a swift reflex, Rei threw another balm at Kleavor just before he could smash them with his arm.

"The thanks and congratulations will have to wait for later if you don't want to get crushed." Pikachu told them, walking to the group. "Eevee, are you sure you don't want to fight him?"

"I already did enough. I'll stay here with Cyndaquil." The normal type replied.

"I'm sorry you have to miss out on this because of me..." Cyndaquil sighed.

"Don't worry about it. Just rest for now, okay? I'm just beside you."

Rei's attention snapped back to Kleavor. He was weak, and his strength was starting to run low, just like their balms. They had to hope they would be enough to end the fight.

With a final nod between Rei and Akari, the final stretch of the battle began.

Luxio and Pikachu let out as much electricity as they could on the noble, and Rei and Akari accompanied the attacks with balms, of course, occasionally dodging the desperate blows of the noble to try and turn the battle to his favor again.

It wasn't long before Kleavor let another pain yell and fell to his knees, panting. The Pokémon let out some small yellow particles, which was probably the energy that surrounded him breaking away from him.

"Rei!" Akari yelled. "Last balms! Let's do this together! On the count of three!"

Rei grabbed the balm and readied the throw.

"Three..."

Luxio and Pikachu threw their last attacks as they jumped out of the way.

"Two..."

Akari herself prepared to throw the balm.

"One..."

Kleavor saw what was about to happen, so he tried a last, desperate attack against them.

"NOW!"

The two balms flew towards Kleavor, hitting him fully.

The moment the balms exploded on the noble, a few cracks appeared in the energy that covered him before an explosion of bright light happened in front of them, forcing everyone watching to cover their eyes.

Once all the light disappeared, Rei forced himself to look back as he saw the Kleavor shrink in size until he was only a bit taller than him, followed by shaking his head and straightening himself.

"Where...?" He muttered.

Akari began laughing as she raised her hands in the air. "We did it! Rei, we did it!" She exclaimed, looking at the boy, who couldn't help but laugh along with her.

As he did that, however, he could swear he saw a figure looking at them from in between the trees, but the moment it realized he was looking, it ran away back into the forest.

He didn't let that bring his mood down and decided to ignore it, focusing on the actual achievement.

I-I can't believe it. We did it!

We quelled Kleavor.

"Poké-human! You did it!" Cyndaquil yelled, running towards him, Eevee close behind.

"Rei!" She shouted, jumping onto his arms, nuzzling on his face. "I-I'm so sorry I wasn't there to save you from getting thrown! I... We really thought Kleavor had killed you!" She told him, unable to hold her feelings any longer. "I-I don't even know what I would have done if you didn't come back! I-! I-!"

Cyndaquil joined in to the hug as he also jumped next to Eevee. "I'm so happy you're okay, Poké-human..."

He didn't expect to get thrown down onto the ground by Luxio, dropping both Pokémon. "Woah! I'm sorry, Ocko! I forgot I was bigger now, hehe..." He apologized, helping Rei sit up with his head.

His head started spinning again from the sudden event, but Akari offered her hand to him, and with that extra boost, he managed to get back on his feet.

The girl wasted no time in pulling the disguised Zoroark into the second hug of today, as he felt tears coming from her eyes. "I'm so glad you walked out alive from that fall..."

Rei couldn't do anything other than patting the girl's back as he smiled. How would she even react if she found out?

And... why does keeping this secret hidden from her feel more and more wrong every time I'm with her?

He decided to leave those questions for later, as he felt her pull away and immediately force him to turn around.

"Almighty Gods!" She exclaimed, looking at the bloodied scarf. "How did you even have the strength to fight after a wound this big? And your scarf! It's completely ruined..."

Rei tried to wave his hand, telling her it was okay, but she wasn't satisfied with it at all. "The moment we get back to Jubilife Village, we're getting you to get checked, and I don't want to hear any complaints!"

Rei raised his hand to speak. "Hey! What did I just say?" Akari chuckled, letting go of him. "You don't have to be scared of the Medical Corps, Rei. I can assure you they'll get that wound fixed in no time!" She added.

That's not what worries me, Akari...

"Guys, I get that you are happy to see each other and all that, but..." Pikachu interrupted the duo. "We still have something pending over there!" He pointed to the still confused Kleavor.

"Oh, right! Thank you, Pikachu!" Akari said, walking towards the noble, Rei behind her.

When Kleavor looked at them, the only thing he could so was tilt his head at the unfamiliar duo. "Who... Who might you be?" He asked, fatigue clear in his voice.

"Lord Kleavor, we are Akari and Rei. You were under the influence of some strange energy, and so we were tasked with helping you snap out of it." The girl explained.

Kleavor nodded solemnly, taking everything in. "I see... It is true that I cannot recall anything that has happened in the last few days, so I trust you must be saying the truth."

"Indeed, they are."

Everyone looked to the source of that new voice. It was none other than Wyrdeer, who had come back from wherever he had gone off to. "In fact, you were very close to ending this boy's life."

Rei winced as Kleavor's eyes went wide. "Was I?"

"Please, can we not talk about that?" Eevee suggested, to which the nobles agreed with a nod.

"So I take you two must have earned Wyrdeer's favour?" Kleavor asked.

"They did."

"I had a hunch. Even if you did not, however, you have certainly gained mine. I thank you both, Rei and Akari, for helping me, and I deeply apologize for any injuries I caused you all." The noble told them, bowing.

Even if Akari didn't understand the whole sentence, the meaning wasn't lost to the girl. "Hopefully you'll never have to go through anything like this ever again, Lord Kleavor."

"I hope so as well, dear girl."

"Now, I have another matter I'd like to discuss." Wyrdeer said.

"Hmm?"

"You are the bearer of the Insect Plate, is that not right?"

"Yes, that is correct. Why do you ask, Lord Wyrdeer?"

He gestured towards Rei. "This boy right here is currently in possession of the Mind Plate."

Kleavor widened his eyes once again. "You have given him one of the Plates?" He looked at Rei. "Does that mean..."

"That is right. He is the Chosen One."

"Are you sure? "

"I heard his flute. He has to be. In addition, you have been saved by him and his friend."

"That is true, but then how are you sure the girl is not the Chosen One along with Rei?"

Wyrdeer frowned. "I... do not know. But I am still certain he must be the Chosen One. That melody... it reminds me so much of him..."

The Lord of the Woods nodded. "Very well. I will trust your judgement then."

Kleavor walked towards the big tree in the middle of the arena and cut through one of the big roots of the tree. Taking it off the ground, he threw it away and slowly began digging into the dirt.

He grabbed something and handed it to Rei. It was a smooth plate, just like the one Wyrdeer had given him, but this one being a bright green color instead. "This is the Insect Plate. One of the eighteen plates that the Original One gave to my ancestors. Just like with Lord Wyrdeer, this should aid you on your quest to find all the plates to meet the Original One."

Rei grabbed the plate and stored it next to the other plate. "That's two plates out of... eighteen, right?" Akari said. "You still have a lot of those to collect..."

Rei nodded to Kleavor, giving him a silent thank you. "Now, I have a few matters to tend to before I can go and see my Warden. I bid you farewell and good luck on your journey and quest."

With those final words of goodbye, Kleavor sprinted off into the distance. Wyrdeer also bowed to them. "I will be waiting for your call. I will see you soon."

The other noble also ran away from them, leaving the arena in an eerie silence. At least that was it for a few minutes.

"Rei!" Irida's voice called.

Both her and Lian ran towards them, a worried expression on their faces. "Wha-... What happened?" Lian said. "We saw that! Some light erupted out of Kleavor's body!"

The boy turned to look at the duo. "Has Lord Kleavor's frenzied mind truly been put at ease now?!"

"It has been, yes." Akari exclaimed.

"Does this confirm that the strange lightning was to blame for Kleavor's unnatural power?" Irida added.

"That would seem the most reasonable explanation."

"Well, that is what I think after all we've seen. We know strange lightning came from out of a space-time rift the other night. Those bolts must have struck Kleavor and driven him into his frenzy after all!" The leader said.

This confirms it then. That 'space-time rift' actually exists...

"The lightning came from the space-time rift?" Lian thought out loud. "But if almighty Sinnoh really does dwell beyond that space-time rift, then the strange lightning..."

The boy widened his eyes in realization. "It indeed was almighty Sinnoh's power?! Then were we even right to try to interfere?"

The warden's face slowly turned into a frown. "I happily went along with this plan to create some balms, as if I knew what I was doing, like some kind of thoughtless fool! Outrageous!"

Rei's face mimicked the warden's expression, though for a different reason. Is he seriously implying that we shouldn't have helped?! That we should have let Kleavor suffer like that?! What kind of warden is he? Isn't he supposed to be looking out for his noble? He wasn't even there when Kleavor thanked us for saving him!

Irida took notice of Rei's expression. "Calm yourself, Lian. Remember that the Lord of the Woods has long been our protector, keeping the Pearl Clan safe from dangerous Pokémon that may harm us. Would power sent by the true almighty Sinnoh have driven Kleavor to turn on us and attack people and Pokémon indiscriminately, almost taking Rei's life in the process? I doubt it."

With a smile, the leader looked at the group. "What he and Akari accomplished just now... it needed to be done."

With a groan, Lian looked away. "I'm glad we could settle this without further strife with the Diamond Clan or the Galaxy Team. If you come across other Pokémon in the grip of this painful frenzy, please, help them!" The leader said.

"Hmm, fine, I suppose I must concur." Lian grumbled with a sigh. "I apologize for becoming briefly incomposed. I'm grateful for what you've done for my lord."

"Please, take these on behalf of the Pearl Clan. Consider it my apology for having spoken rudely to you earlier, and a token of my thanks." Irida told Rei and Akari as she gave three Sitrus berries each.

"Thank you, leader Irida." Akari smiled.

"Thanks." Rei added.

The leader looked at him. "I think I've finally come to believe that you truly fell out of the sky... Though, I cannot imagine the reason at play."

"And it seems we've settled things here. Though, between you and me, I wouldn't mind seeing Lord Kleavor in such a frenzy again. He was fearfully strong!"

Rei forced himself to think that Lian had said that without really meaning it.

"Well, I believe it's time we go back to the headquarters." Akari said. "Let's call Wyrdeer and go." She added, taking out her flute.

She was about to play it but stopped herself. "You know what? Rei, you should play it."

The boy tilted his head slightly with a frown. "It's fine, really. You play it better than me anyway."

Rei couldn't do anything other than comply. He also took his instrument out and played the melody to call Wyrdeer.

Soon, the noble came running to the arena, and they mounted on his back. Rei and Akari recalled their Pokémon as they made their way back to Jubilife Village.

---

The professor was oddly excited about the fact that Shinx had evolved. It made sense from his point of view, however. A new Pokémon to study.

That aside, he was happy to hear that Rei and Akari had been successful in quelling Kleavor, saying that the captain would most likely be pleased as well. He also seemed to ask Rei to go and get himself checked, which he had already internalized that he had to do.

Since Wyrdeer didn't want to leave the Fieldlands, they were forced to hike all the way back to the village, Laventon saying he would join them later in the Wallflower for dinner. At least in Rei, Akari and Luxio's case. While all the smaller Pokémon were able to ride on the shoulders of their partners, the electric type was too big to do that after his evolution, so he was forced to walk as well, much to his annoyance.

The sun was already setting when they arrived there, and the first thing they saw was that Volo was waiting for them next to the entrance.

"I saw the light fading into the sky. You must have quelled the lord Pokémon!" He exclaimed, though Rei couldn't help but notice something about him was... off. Akari must have noticed it as well, but didn't seem to pay it too much attention.

The merchant's gaze slowly fell from their faces to Rei's satchel, where a small part of the Mind Plate and the Insect Plate were visible. "Oh, and what do you have there? Could it be...?"

He widened his eyes and exaggeratedly flinched back. "Ah! Those are two of the fabled plates of old! Please, let me have a look!"

"You know about the tale as well?" Akari asked.

"My dear Akari, of course I know about it! I have to have a certain knowledge of all sorts of things to do what I do!"

Rei took out the two plates and reluctantly gave them to Volo, who immediately examined them closely. "I see... There are some letters carved into them!"

"Huh?" Both Akari and Rei exclaimed, looking at the plates.

"Yes! Look, this one says..." He squinted as he read the markings. "'Where all creation was born, that is the being's place of origin.' It seems to be a phrase from a very old myth." He told them, giving the plates back. "How did you come across these?"

Akari glanced at Rei for a second before going back to Volo. She quickly gave him a summary of what they had been through this whole day. As strange and fantastic the story may sound to any other listener, Volo's reaction was more like the one of being told a flying type had been spotted flying a second ago. Of course, Akari left out the whole 'Chosen One' thing.

"I see... So you were given the plates when you impressed Wyrdeer and Kleavor?" He plainly asked them, as if he already knew how it should have gone. "That is quite something indeed! My heart is practically racing with excitement! It is my guess you will find more plates like these scattered across Hisui!"

He took a hand to his chin as he hummed in thought. "If you were to gather them all and decipher the scripts on them, we may uncover something absolutely amazing!"

Volo sighed with a smile. "The mysteries of the past! Oh, how they tickle my curiosity! What a joy to be alive in such time!"

With a slight shake of his head, he readjusted his backpack. "Well, I must be on my way. Until next time!"

The merchant walked away from the village with a steady step. The group stood watching him until he disappeared somewhere into the horizon. Akari was the first one to break the silence. "Was it just me, or did he sound like he already knew exactly what we've done and how did we do it?"

Rei shook his head. He sounded exactly like that. "I thought I was the only one that heard it!" Eevee exclaimed from on top of Rei's head.

"Yeah, that was weird." Luxio added.

"Pretty weird." Cyndaquil agreed.

"I think you guys are just going crazy." Pikachu sighed.

It was then when Rei remembered the figure in between the trees. Could it have been...?

He quickly took the idea out of his head. Why would Volo want to spy on them? And how would they not have found out about it? The backpack he always wore was not exactly light or small enough to be silent.

Rei decided to go with the theory that the silhouette belonged to a curious Pokémon that wanted to check on all the sound there was in the arena, and attributed Volo's strange behaviour to nothing more than his own personality.

"Whatever, let's go and report to the Commander." Akari urged them.

Everyone began walking towards the headquarters, until they stopped in front of Beauregard and Beautricia.

The former said hello to Rei while the latter...

Only stared in awe at her 'friend' as he approached. The electric type wore his characteristic blush while he looked away from her.

"Hi." Was all that he said.

The pair stood in silence for a long while, at least until Luxio gathered the strength to look at her. "A-Aren't you going to say anything? I-I know I don't look as good as before but-"

"Are you kidding me?!" She squealed. "You're so... cool! Did you evolve fighting that 'mighty foe', my dear electrical hero?"

His face reddened even more. "Don't call me that!"

Eevee and Cyndaquil chuckled. "It's so cute seeing such a beautiful love flourishing~" Eevee cooed.

"Hypocrite..." Cyndaquil mumbled, which earned him a small punch from the normal type, whose face had turned ever so slightly red as well.

Beautricia walked next to Luxio. The Pokémon that before was only a little taller than her was now at least three times her size, so he was forced to crouch down to be able to talk to her properly.

The Wurmple stood looking at him with a wide smile on her face for a long time. "You're even more beautiful like this."

The electric type could only widen his eyes as he unconsciously tried to look away. "Th-Thanks? Y-You're too..."

Silence. Akari tapped Rei's shoulder, making him look away from the pair. "Come on Rei. Let's not take too long."

Rei glanced at the two as their faces visibly saddened.

Beauregard cleared his throat, catching both Rei and Akari's attention. "You know... I can see Beautricia really enjoys being with your Luxio, and I hate having to see them part ways so soon, so how about we make a deal? Rei, if you have no mission to do tomorrow, how about I let Beautricia go with you for the afternoon?"

"Yes!" Both Luxio and Beautricia exclaimed, making the guard chuckle.

"Sure." Rei agreed without a second thought.

"Very well. Now you should go and keep with what you were doing. Oh, and congratulations on quelling Kleavor!"

After a pair of 'thank you's and a promise to tell everything that happened that day another time to each other from the pair, they were back walking towards the uppermost floor of the headquarters, where Kamado awaited for them.

He could swear his stoic face wore a proud undertone to it.

"Well done!" He exclaimed the moment they entered his office. "I have already received the reports of your exploits. You two successfully quelled Kleavor's frenzy, restoring peace of mind to Hisui's people."

The Commander's eyes scanned the two Galaxy members one by one. "You have served the Galaxy Team admirably. I admit you two, especially Rei, deserve some degree of recognition."

Rei and Akari shared a smile. "But things are not settled yet. I've received word that there are other Pokémon nobles falling prey to such frenzies elsewhere in Hisui. But let's not worry about that for now. Carry on with your research and survey duties, and prove what you two are truly capable of!"

He nodded his head. "That is all. You are dismissed."

Just as they were about to turn around, Kamado spoke again. "Oh, and Rei?"

He turned around to face him. "Please, do get that wound checked."

Rei nodded and walked away next to Akari. They got down back to the first floor of the building, and they were met with Captain Cyllene was waiting for them.

"Captain? What are you doing here?" The girl asked her.

"I was just looking for our newest recruit here." She replied, looking at Rei. "Please, come to my office. It will take little of your time."

Sharing a confused look between themselves, Rei and Akari followed behind the captain. With her characteristic emotionless face, she began talking. "I have heard the news of your success. You both have been making a good amount of progress in both the Pokédex and your missions, and thus, while it's unfortunately not enough for you, Akari, even with the success of this mission, I believe Rei has earned himself a star."

The girl smirked as she nodded. "I couldn't agree more with that."

Cyllene nodded as she approached Rei. "Please, hand me your Pokédex for a moment."

Just as last time, Rei gave her his Pokédex as she put another star sticker on it. She gave him the book back and the Captain started speaking again. "With this, you have officially attained the rank of Second Star in the Galaxy Expedition Team. Take these crafting recipes as well. You'll need them for further crafting."

Cyllene handed Rei a pair of papers. They were the instructions to craft 'Feather Balls' and 'Super Potions'.

"You are probably wondering what a 'Feather Ball', isn't that right?" The captain asked him, to which the boy nodded. "It's a regular Poke-Ball, but instead of flying with an arc through the air once you throw it, it will fly in a straight line until something is hit. It is also more effective on Pokémon that are flying, so make sure to use them for those."

"And Super Potions are just like Potions but stronger! They'll heal your Pokémon even more than the regular ones." Akari added.

The captain nodded, silently ending the discussion. "Continue to dedicate yourself to completing the Pokédex if you hope to rise higher in the ranks. This being said, I have two more things to say to you both."

Rei tilted his head slightly. "Firstly, you will have tomorrow as a 'day off' of sorts. No missions will be assigned to you. However, this doesn't mean you are forced to do nothing all day. You are free to work on completing your Pokédex, or tending to the villagers' petitions if you wish to. Nevertheless, I personally recommend that you rest after such a draining day."

Her eyes landed on the disguised Zoroark. "Especially you, Rei. Which takes us to my second and last point. Rei, go to the Medical Corps' room and get your wounds checked. It's an order."

Rei nodded. He was not looking forward to that, but he couldn't let that show. "Understood? Perfect. You are dismissed, then."

After a quick goodbye, Akari walked towards the Medical Corps, with Rei following close behind. "We get a day off? Perfect opportunity to spend the afternoon with Beautricia!" Luxio exclaimed.

"Of course you'd say that..." Eevee chuckled.

"Hey, what does that mean?"

"Poké-human, are you sure you're going to be fine?" Cyndaquil worriedly asked him.

"What's wrong with a check up?" Pikachu interrupted. "I've come a lot of times, it's not that bad!"

"Pikachu..." Eevee groaned.

"Oh, right, your friend is a Pokémon pretending to be a human." He frowned. "That's a pretty big problem..."

"Don't you say..." Cyndaquil said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, they will probably just want to see your head. Probably do something with the injury. How did the humans call it...? St... Steri... Something like that. They always say it won't hurt, but Akari always winces when they do it, so I'm not too sure."

"Hopefully it will be just that..." Luxio said.

"You can handle a bit of pain, right?" Eevee asked Rei.

He had no time to answer as they arrived inside the room. The first thing that Rei noticed was that it was bright. Very bright. White tiled walls and floor, and a light gray tiled ceiling with a few lamps made it hard to keep one's eyes open.

There were also tables, beds, and a lot of instruments and bottles that Rei nor his friends could make sense of, both for humans and Pokémon.

Apart from Rei and Akari, there were two humans inside, the two wore the same uniform as the two Survey Corps members, albeit less bulky and of a lighter color, since they probably didn't spend too much time outside. One of the humans wore a mask covering her face, while the other one was turned around, searching for something.

"Oh, hello Akari!" The woman exclaimed. "Is that the newcomer everyone's been talking about?" She asked, pointing at Rei.

"Yes, Celia! This is Rei. Rei, this is Celia."

"Nice to meet you!" Celia smiled at him, to which Rei gave a small wave.

"He's not a fan of talking." Akari summed.

"Oh, that's fine. Everyone is different, after all!" Celia turned to look at the other medic, giving him a small nudge. "Hey, why don't you leave that already and introduce yourself? Some of those Pokémon look like they could use some painkillers, and that's supposed to be your specialty!" She scolded the other doctor.

"That's what I'm trying to find! Do I have to remind you I had to give my last Max Potion to a Pokémon in need of it earlier while you were here, slacking off? " The doctor laughed.

"How dare you! How do I know you aren't slacking off every time you go out 'to learn'?" She chuckled. "And also, how am I supposed to work if there isn't anyone that needs a check up?"

"I don't believe that's possible. And for your information, I don't 'slack off'. Do I have to remind you where all the research to make most of the medicine for Pokémon came from?"

"Yeah, yeah. You and your dream to become a Pokémon doctor. Have to say, it was very useful."

"Well you can thank that Zor- Oh, here they are!"

Rei's face immediately went pale the moment he saw who that doctor was. "Rei, this is Alec. He's the one that'll check up on your Pokémon while I will give you two a look myself."

The same human that he had encountered in that camp was looking straight at him with a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you Rei! I'm Alec, possibly the only certified Pokémon doctor in the village."

"H-Hi."

Whywhywhywhy why?! Out of all the humans I could have possibly come across, it had to be this one?

At least he doesn't seem to suspect anything.

"Well, let's start with your check up. Pokémon, please get onto that bed next to Alec. You two, who's going to get checked first?"

"Rei, you should go first." Akari said almost immediately.

The boy shook his head. "Wha- Rei, have you seen your wound?"

"I'm fine!" The boy repeated.

"You're fi- Arghh, you're very stubborn, you know that?" She half chuckled. "I guess I'll go first then."

"Okay. Just sit down here."

The four Pokémon got onto the bed with Akari doing the same. All except Pikachu were visibly nervous. "Those tools look sharp." Luxio said.

"And those bottles smell funky..." Cyndaquil added.

"These lights are making me go blind faster than looking at the snow on a sunny day." Eevee groaned.

"Stop whining! I promise you all it's not going to be that bad. You just have to relax, especially you, Cyndaquil."

"What? Why?"

"You'll see, don't worry."

Rei wanted to keep looking as Alec began flashing a light at one of Luxio's eyes, but he realized that wasn't going to be what he would be going through, so he decided to turn to look at Akari instead.

She was asked to remove the damaged uniform and her handkerchief and leave it somewhere else, leaving the girl with just her t-shirt. "Let me see your arms." Celia asked the girl.

Rei was sure he had never seen Akari without her uniform, which... he guessed made sense. After all, their meetings were always work-related, so they never had time to just talk without having something to do. Maybe tomorrow would be the day to change that.

"Your limbs look alright. Scratches and bruises, but otherwise fine. Take off your shirt, please."

As Akari did what was instructed, Rei found himself growing self conscious for maintaining his gaze on her, followed by embarrassment for reasons he still didn't understand.

He decided to check for himself if what Eevee had said before was true. Ugh, these lights are worse than the Sun! Can't even look up without getting flashed!

It felt like an eternity before Celia hummed in approval and told the girl to put her clothes back on and Rei looked down again. "Your body is fine too, but you should really rest it to heal properly. Your heart is still racing as well. Hopefully Captain Cyllene gave you a day off?"

"She did, yes."

"Good, because if she didn't, I was going to force her to give you one! Come on, you're done, Akari. Rei, your turn."

This was it. The moment Rei feared the most had finally come. Trying to look as calm as possible, he walked to the bed. "Just lay down here with your face on the pillow."

Rei did as the doctor told him. He didn't like not being able to see what they were about to do to him, but he didn't have any choice. "Alright, let's get this soaked scarf out. Don't worry, I'll make sure to clean it and give it back to you."

Rei winced as he felt the makeshift bandage being removed and the wound once again getting exposed to open air, but it wasn't from the same pain than before. It felt as if he was being burned from touching ice for too long, but only on the wound and a lot more painful.

Celia took a breath through gritted teeth. "This doesn't look good..."

"Does it not?" Alec asked turning his head.

"Yeah, the wound is closed and isn't bleeding anymore, but I'm pretty sure it's infected."

"It's closed?"

Alec finished putting a small bandage on Cyndaquil's belly and walked next to Rei, looking at the wound, and then at Celia. "Don't you think it's even the least bit weird a wound that let out this much blood healed this fast?"

Rei's body tensed. "It's weird, I know, but maybe his body just does that?"

"There is no way a human body can heal this fast."

Rei could feel sweat dripping from his forehead. The Max Potion he drank earlier must have helped heal his wound, but there was no way he could explain that to them, not even if he knew how to speak.

Thankfully, Celia cut off Alec before he could ask Rei himself. "Well, we'll sort that mystery out later. Can you bring me the hydrogen peroxide to clean up the wound and a few gauzes?"

"Comin' right up."

Alec gave Celia a small white bottle and a few weird pieces of fabric. Opening the bottle, she poured a bit of the content on the 'gauze'. "Okay, this will sting a bit. Try to move as little as possible, okay?"

The doctor then began cleaning Rei's injury, and now he truly felt like he was getting burned. He tried to stay calm, but he couldn't avoid flinched slightly and letting out a quiet pain groan.

Was this what human medicine was like? He thought it was strong and painless, not the exact opposite! Though, he remembered Celia had said something about 'infected wound', and she looked worried about it, so maybe his case wasn't common?

Anyway, the pain only lasted for a few seconds, before eventually stopping almost completely. In fact, he almost didn't feel any pain at all coming from the wound after Celia was done.

"That should do. You can sit down, if you want to."

Rei did that, feeling his strength returning by the second, even if it was very slowly. Maybe the medicine actually did something. And they didn't seem to suspect anything! Maybe this wouldn't end bad at all, and they could get out without anything happening!

"Alright, now that's taken care of, I need you to take off your uniform too and see if your body's alright."

Or not.

"N-No."

"What?"

"No. I-I'm fine."

Rei wasn't sure how many times he had repeated those two words today, but he was starting to get tired of them.

"You may feel fine, but I need to check if you're actually hurt or not." Celia insisted, reaching for his uniform.

"No!"

Without even thinking, Rei slapped the doctor's hand away.

The room fell in akward silence as he processed what he had just done. "S-Sorry, I-" Rei tried to say something, but nothing came to mind.

"Don't worry, kid." Alec suddenly told him. "Celia, can't you see he's scared? Did you forget that there are people with fear of coming to the doctor?"

The woman widened her eyes before looking back at Rei with an apologetic look. "Oh, dear. I'm really sorry, Rei. I didn't even realize..."

"I-It's nothing."

Gosh, why is this getting harder and harder everyday?

"Are you sure you're really fine?"

Rei nodded earning a defeated sigh. "Alright, I'll believe you." She then turned to look at Akari, who hadn't taken her eyes off the boy.

"If he ever shows signs of being actually hurt, you better drag him here."

She chuckled. "Of course, Celia."

"Good. Then you can go." Celia smiled. "And don't forget your Pokémon!"

The two walked next to their Pokémon as Pikachu and Eevee jumped onto their respective partners shoulders, with Luxio hopping onto the ground, Cyndaquil on his back.

"Thanks for carrying me." The fire type told him.

"Just because you're injured, okay?" Luxio answered with a smile.

"Maybe I'll be injured longer..."

The two bursted with laughter as Alec turned to look at them. "Your Pokémon are fine." He told them. "Your Pikachu twisted his wrist slightly, and you Cyndaquil's belly got a rather nasty cut, but it's nothing a good day's rest can't fix."

"Thank you, Alec!" Akari said.

"Yeah, thank you!" Rei added.

"Heh, you're welcome, both of yo-"

Alec's sentence was cut short as his eyes locked onto Rei, scanning him from head to toe. "That voice..."

Celia arched a brow as she looked between him and Rei. "What?"

The doctor's eyes narrowed a bit more before he eventually sighed. "Nothing. I thought it sounded familiar."

Zoroark couldn't help but sigh under his illusion. "Familiar? What do you mean?" Akari asked him.

"Well, Alec here says that while he was doing one of his field works, a Pokémon came to steal one of his medicine, and it actually talked back to thank him. Now he's been acting as a detective apart from a doctor, hah!"

Akari's face went from confused to shocked before Rei himself could even widen his eyes. "A Pokémon talked?! Is that possible?"

"That's what I'm trying to investigate, but it's hard to do that when you have to tend to all this many injured Pokémon because of the frenzied nobles. You may just have lightened my workload by quelling Kleavor, though it's not that I don't like my job." Alec explained.

"Oh, come on! You really think it was a Pokémon the one that talked to you?" Celia laughed.

"Pokémon are capable of many things, more than anyone could imagine." Alec then rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe it's true I was just hearing things, but what if it isn't?"

His eyes fell on Rei. "Your voice simply sounded familiar, sorry about it."

"N-No problem."

Silence fell again inside the room for a long while before Akari gestured for Rei to follow. "We'll leave now. Goodbye!" The girl told the two doctors as she waved at them.

Rei followed suit as he followed Akari, faster than walking, but still slow enough not to look like he was in a hurry.

The door closed behind them and they made their way outside the headquarters. "A Pokémon talking like humans..." Akari mumbled. "Do you think that's possible, Rei?"

The disguised Zoroark tried his best to hide his nervousness as he shook his head. "It sounds like it came straight from one of those old tales, does it not?" She chuckled.

Rei let out a slight nervous chuckle as he tried to look away, his Pokémon sharing the same worried look among them.

"Anyway, let's head for the wallflower. I'm sure professor Laventon must be waiting for us there."

Rei gave a weak nod and followed behind her. Beauregard and Beautricia were already gone, causing Luxio to look slightly sad for a moment.

"Rei, why didn't you say you were afraid of going to the doctor?" The girl asked him.

Rei took time to word his answer. "I-I don't know..."

Akari simply sighed. "I'm exhausted, Rei, and I get that you must be too. Don't bother replying to the question. Just make sure to say these sorts of things to someone."

That was... a weird choice of words, the tone unusual for the girl. Had she figured it out already? Did Alec give her the final hint she needed to crack the mystery?

It didn't matter to Rei at that moment. He was tired. So tired. Even if he was attacked right on the spot, he wouldn't be able to defend himself from anything.

The attack from the morning, then the noble and the injury, almost getting caught by Alec and Celia... Oh, and having to be under an illusion for the whole day!

And only a few days had passed since he arrived.

He wanted to crash onto bed and sleep for three days straight, but he still had something pending for tonight. I'll have to wait until everyone is sleeping to sneak out...

His thoughts were interrupted as someone shouted their names. It was the professor, who was waving at them. "Rei! Akari! Take a seat, will you?"

The two did as Laventon told them and sat down. The professor had a smile on his face the whole time.

As if on cue, Beni came out of the Wallflower, and walked to their table. "Beni, old chum, the usual order! Three servings of potato mochi, please! Oh, and if there's anything else you recommend, by all means, bring it out!" Laventon told him.

Beni nodded, but couldn't help himself from glancing at Rei. "The whole village is gossiping up a storm about our young friend here, you know? Both him and Akari have got quite some luck to have come back unharmed after facing off against Kleavor!" He said. "Or mostly unharmed..."

"I daresay both of them were quite prepared!" Laventon exclaimed. "And they were a quick study of how Kleavor moved in battle, for what I heard!"

With a happy nod, the professor let out a sigh. "All in all, it was a very good show! A victory well earned!"

Akari also sighed. "Hopefully now we will be safer going about our Survey Corps duties."

There was a pause in which Pikachu jumped down onto the ground from Akari's shoulders to join the rest of the group of Pokémon. "Oh, by the way!" The girl exclaimed. "You should try crafting some of these. I made the recipe a few days ago based on directions Beni gave me. The shop is also bound to have them on sale, if you prefer."

Akari handed Rei a piece of paper. It read 'How to craft Smoke Bombs: 1 Caster Fern leaf and 1 Sootfoot Root. When thrown at the ground, these balls produce a cloud of fine powder that will reduce visibility in the area. Mash the Sootfoot Root and let the powder fall inside the Caster Fern leaf. Then make a ball with the leaf, carefully making sure the powder doesn't fall off. If done correctly, the ball should be almost solid. To detonate the bomb, simply light the leaf on fire (preferably from the stem) and throw it.'

A smoke bomb, huh... I better get my hands on some of these.

"Lovely!" Laventon interrupted. "And now that you two need not worry about being mauled by Kleavor either, let's take our chance to study all the Pokémon that call the Obsidian Fieldlands their home!" Laventon shouted raising a fist into the air.

He slowly let it down with a sheepish smile. "When you get better, of course..."

Rei and Akari burst out with laughter as the food came. As always, they shared the delicious food with their Pokémon, and they cleaned the plate in just a few minutes. It was so good Rei wished he could eat it all day.

Speaking of eating, he had realized he hadn't had breakfast ever since he had arrived to Jubilife Village. He also realized he hadn't tried even the slightest bit of meat either.

Going on a diet without even realizing it... Maybe that's why I end up so tired at night.

He rolled his eyes at the thought as they all stood up and readied themselves to go to bed. The sun was gone now, and Rei desperately wanted to catch some rest before having to go to talk with Zisu's Zoroark, so he said goodbye to Akari and the professor and walked away.

"I love that food..." Cyndaquil said.

"It's so yummy, for real..." Luxio added, almost drooling.

"I ate so much I'm sleepy now..." Eevee yawned.

"Ocko, why do you look nervous?"

Rei's thoughts were once again interrupted. "I'm fine. Just thinking." He answered making sure there was nobody around.

"You better not be thinking about going to see that Zoroark from before." Eevee frowned.

"Would you get too angry if I said yes?"

"Why would you want to do that?" She yelled. "He almost killed you, remember?"

"That's exactly why I'm going. Why did he do that? He mentioned my father, so I think I should have a talk with him just to know what's wrong with him."

Eevee sighed. "There's no way we're talking you out of it, is there?"

Rei was about to respond, but suddenly, a voice interrupted him just as he was about to enter his quarters. "Rei..."

It made him jump on his place as he whipped his head towards the sound. It was a child, but that didn't make a complete stranger knowing his name any less weird. "I've been waiting for you, Rei. My name is Vessa. There's something really important I need to tell you. Would you come with me?"

Rei arched a brow. Who was this kid and why did she need him especifically?

And why this late at night?

"This looks sketchy." Luxio commented.

"Does it?" Cyndaquil argued. "I mean, it's just a child. What can a kid do?"

"Lead us to someone that can actually harm us."

He didn't have any arguments against that. Rei didn't want to follow that girl. He was exhausted, and he was just a few steps from being able to catch some sleep. Yet, something told him he wanted to listen to what she wanted to say. "Okay."

Was that his ghost type's attraction for this kind of stuff? Doubtful. He never was too into scary and thrilling things, one of the few things he didn't share with his sister. She always had been into everything that had even the slightest bit of danger writen onto it, hence why she always volunteered to stay on watch for humans. Even if Rei liked sneaking out of the den, it couldn't even compare to his sister.

Vessa nodded and walked away, gesturing for Rei to follow. "Stay alert." He whispered to his Pokémon before following after her.

The young girl took them to the bridge that connected the farming plots to the main street of the village, where she stopped and looked at Rei. The eerie silence and the very small amount of people that were left on the streets was something that bothered everyone except Rei himself.

"I've never seen the streets so..." Cyndaquil started, but couldn't find the right words.

"Empty? Cold? Completely devoid of life?" Eevee filled in for him.

"Yeah."

Vessa only paid the conversation a bit of her attention, since she was focused on looking down to the floor. "Ummm..." She began, nervously. "This is kind of a secret, but..."

She yelled as loud as she could without earning anyone's attention. "Something terrible has happened! Hisui is in a whole lot of danger!"

"Oh great! More stuff that puts the fate of the land in your shoulders!" Luxio commented ironically.

Vessa paid no mind and kept talking. "Hundreds of years ago, a being that brought calamity to this region was sealed away by someone using the power of a strange magic." Her face fell down. "But now, for some unknown reason, the magic has come undone and the seal is broken. I hate to think what might happen at this rate..."

Vessa looked back at Rei with a worried face. "So please, Rei! Hear me out! I need you to restore the broken seal!"

A great danger? Pal, I'm sorry, but I've already got enough 'great dangers' on me.

But, if she's telling the truth and there's actually a great danger...

Someone has to handle this. I can't, but someone needs to...

Rei thought hard about who could take on such a responsibility until someone came to mind.

In response, Rei simply shook his head, making the girl widen her eyes. "What?! What do you mean 'no'? It's important you-!"

Rei raised his hand to shut the girl up and suggested someone that he thought would be willing (and free) to help. "Akari."

Vessa tilted her head. "What?"

"I can't. Akari may."

"Akari? You mean that girl that was with you before? Why can't you take the task yourself? This is a big problem and you can't let just anyone solve it!"

Rei wasn't in the mood to explain to that girl how Adaman had specifically told him he couldn't tell him the reason why he couldn't take the task himself, so he opted for another, easier option. "I trust her."

That... came out easier than he expected.

Vessa thought for a moment before nodding. "Very well. This is not something we can just let loose. If you trust her, so do I. I will tell her next the time I see her. Do you want me to tell her I spoke with you first?"

The boy shrugged. "Don't mind."

"Very well then. You may resume what you were doing. And please, no word of this to no one, okay?"

With a final nod, Rei turned back and walked to his quarters, entering and closing the door behind him. He uncasted his illusion and threw himself against his bed, barely managing not to pass out.

"Are you alright?" Eevee asked him.

"No." He simply answered.

"Are you sure you want to go to see that Zoroark?" Cyndaquil worriedly told him. "You look really bad."

"I've almost been caught a lot of times today, of course I look bad."

The three huddled closer to Zoroark as Eevee jumped onto him and sat on his chest. "Are you feeling better from... you know... before you fought Kleavor and all that."

"I was just overwhelmed. I think I'm doing better now, thanks to you all."

"Of course, Poké-human!" Cyndaquil said.

"After all you've done for us? Of course we're gonna help you, Ocko!" Added Luxio.

Zoroark chuckled. "Does that mean I can call you 'son' now?"

Luxio's face reddened slightly as he bumped his head against him. "I wouldn't mind at all." He purred.

"Thank Arceus Sneasel is not here. He wouldn't ever shut up if he heard you." Zoroark laughed.

"Who's Sneasel?" Cyndaquil asked.

"A friend of ours from the Icelands." Eevee answered.

"Oh! Are you going to visit him? Her?"

"Him. And hopefully, and unfortunately at the same time, not anytime soon. I don't want to risk seeing my dad again."

"Aw, that sucks..."

"I know how it feels not wanting to see your dad." Luxio commented.

"Oh, speaking of friends..." Eevee began, a devilish smirk growing on her face. "You and Akari hugging? That's so cute~" She cooed.

Zoroark blushed and gave her a gentle smack. "Shut up, you! She's a human!"

"Aww, but true love knows no bounds!"

"You're so... ugh!" Zoroark groaned. "You're lucky I'm too tired, or you'd already be flying against one of the walls!" He chuckled. "Also, you didn't even tell me what that thing you wanted to tell me yet is!"

"Arceus, how is he so dense?" Luxio whispered before he noticed Zoroark looking at him. "Uhhh- I mean..."

Eevee chuckled. "You'll have to wait for another time!"

"But whyyyy?" Zoroark fakely whined.

"Not the perfect moment."

The room then felt in silence for a while. That was until Luxio decided to talk. "Does it hurt?" He asked Cyndaquil.

"Hm? Oh, no it doesn't! It's almost as if I never got hurt in the first place."

"At least you guys got the easy part. That thing they used on me burned." Zoroark told them.

"Zoroark, that scarf was full of blood. Of course they'd use the strong stuff on you!" The normal type told him.

"I guess you're right..."

It was then that it occurred to Zoroark something that he wanted to talk about with her. "Eevee, we need to talk about your evolution dilemma."

She visibly recoiled. "D-Do we? I don't want to ruin the mood..."

"Why? It's nothing bad wanting to talk about that, is it?" Cyndaquil asked.

"I know, but..." She sighed. "Okay, fine. What do you want to talk about?"

"Eevee, what did you say you wanted to evolve into again?" Zoroark asked her.

"I-..." She took more than she should have to answer the question. "I-I want to evolve into an Espeon to help you with learning to talk."

"Come on, we don't have to be a psychic to know you're not telling us the truth." The ghost type replied. "I heard that to evolve into an Espeon you need to have a great attachment to someone and decide to evolve in the daytime."

"And we know you're pretty attached to someone here in this room." Luxio chuckled. "At least most of us."

"The point is, that I'm pretty sure that if you really wanted to become an Espeon, you'd probably have already done that."

Eevee looked away, not answering. "Eevee, come on. You can tell us about it." Zoroark told her.

Her face fell down as she thought of what to say next. With a sigh, she managed to look back at him. "It's just that..."

"You don't want to be an Espeon, do you?"

Eevee winced and shook her head. "No, not really..."

"Then why are you making such a fuss about it?" Zoroark exclaimed, almost offended. "If you don't want to be an Espeon, don't be an Espeon! No one is gonna force you!"

"I know that! But... I wanna help you with talking with other humans, and I know being a psychic type can let you use telepathy!"

"Eevee, I really appreciate the intention, but learning to talk is something I will manage to do eventually. I kinda managed to do it by myself already! But evolving into an Espeon is something permanent. You won't be able to change, even after I learn how to speak."

Eevee once again looked away. "I guess you're right..."

"Did you have any other evolution in mind when you told us you wanted to evolve into an Espeon?"

There was a pause. "I... was thinking of evolving into a Sylveon."

"Then why didn't you choose it?" Cyndaquil asked. "Just wanted to know."

"I thought it was too... girly, I guess? All the Sylveon I know are female..." She hummed in thought. "But I have to admit that the ribbons are cool."

The normal type sighed again. "I don't know..."

"Just take your time. It's not like anyone is forcing you to evolve!" Luxio yelled.

"I just... need to think about it."

"No rush." Zoroark said, standing up. "Alright, time for the talk."

Eevee sighed yet again. "I suppose there's nothing I can say to change your mind?"

"Nope."

"Fine then. Let's go."

"No. You all are staying here."

"What?!" The three exclaimed.

"No way you're going there alone!" Luxio shouted.

"After he tried to kill you?! No way we're letting you go!" Cyndaquil yelled.

"I appreciate it, but I'm going to be hiding myself under an illusion, and that's already hard enough for one Pokémon, let alone adding you three to it."

"That's still useless if you go and get mauled to death!" Eevee cried.

"Eevee, that's not going to happen, don't worry. I already know how to deal with my species."

"What moves do you know?"

Zoroark shamefully looked away. "That's not the point."

"You don't know any moves that can help you?! I'm not letting you!" The normal type yelled again.

"Why did you suddenly turn this overprotective?"

"Because that... monster isn't going to think twice about killing you! I don't want to lose you!" She shouted, small tears in her eyes.

There was a pause where Zoroark smiled. "Lose me? Not even in a million years. Remember that if things get out of control, I can simply become Rei and act as if I got attacked again. All the consequences would go to Zisu's Zoroark and I would probably just be told off for sneaking like that."

Eevee widened her eyes. "That's..."

"A good plan? Of course it is! Do you think I'd be doing something like this without one?"

"Yes." The three said at the same time.

Zoroark snickered. "Wow, I see how this goes!"

After a brief pause, Eevee walked closer to Zoroark as she looked up. "Please, for everything you love, promise me you'll be careful."

"Don't worry about it."

Zoroark walked to the door and unlocked it, looking back at his friends while he did it. Everyone looked at him with uncertainty, Eevee's expression being the most nervous.

He sighed and reapplied his illusion for a second before opening the door and stepping outside.

---

Akari examined the Odd Keystone that Vessa had given her, what she had told her still not registering in her mind.

Finding 107 wisps scattered across Hisui... What kind of task is that? The girl thought to herself.

What still amazed her more was that Rei had been to one that suggested her being the one to do it, because he couldn't, something that she couldn't help but kind of agree with.

Still, if it was really such a great danger, why did he think she was suited for that?

She didn't have enough time to wonder about it, since she suddenly heard the sound of a door opening.

Must be a guard going to their post.

When he turned the corner to investigate, however, she found out she couldn't have been more wrong.

From his own headquarters, Rei himself exited, trying to make as little sound as possible and looking around. Akari immediately turned the corner again to hide herself. Why? She didn't even know herself.

What she did know was that Rei was being very suspicious right now. Once Rei saw that there was no one in sight, he began walking. Not even he looked like he knew where he was going.

Akari was about to follow him, but something stopped her. She promised him that she was going to respect his privacy earlier today, and wouldn't following him be breaking it?

But if he was sneaking out this late in the night, there had to be something that the girl was missing.

So with a frustrated groan, she put the keystone in her satchel and began walking behind Rei, making sure he couldn't see her. He was frantically whipping his head to every possible angle to make sure there was no one following him.

Why was he being so cautious?

That only added to her desire to figure out what was going on with him. After a few minutes of walking around the village, she was sure Rei had noticed that someone was behind his tracks, as he looked behind him a lot more often than before.

On one of the turns, however, Rei disappeared behind the wall, prompting Akari to follow. She knew that led to a dead end, so why was he going there?

She would never know, since when she looked inside the alleyway, there was no one, despite Rei having walked in just a few seconds ago.

The confusion on the girl's face was very obvious, but the only thing she could do was sigh in defeat.

He had managed to lose her somehow, but maybe it was for the best. She turned around to go back to her own headquarters, silently wishing that he didn't see that it was her following.

She could swear she felt a small gust of wind blow next to her, but the street was as empty as before.

Really, what was going on with that boy?

---

Trying to find where Zisu had her Pokémon without any lead was hard.

Realizing one was being followed was frightening.

But realizing who was following him was even more frightening.

Akari.

Of course, Akari was once again hot on his heels.

Thankfully, being able to turn invisible was very useful, but it was also very tiring. For now, he had managed to lose her, and he hoped she wouldn't try to follow him again.

Zoroark tried to think about where Zisu let her Pokémon run around. Did she even let them out?

Then something clicked in his mind. Zisu said something about getting her Loppuny from somewhere, but he couldn't quite remember what exactly was the name. He had it right at the tip of his tongue, but he didn't know it for sure.

That's when he saw the end of the street he was walking through. A pretty big space with grass enclosed with fences was visible from here, with quite a lot of Pokémon either sleeping or preparing themselves for it.

The pastures, of course! He almost wanted to slap himself for not having thought about it before.

Running there, he stopped in front of the fences and thought about how to cross to the other side... before simply passing over them.

What was the point of the fences then? Small Pokémon could sneak through the gaps in them, and taller Pokémon could simply hop over them. And of course, flying type Pokémon.

He didn't dwell too much on it as he looked behind himself to make sure no one was there before uncasting his illusion.

The street was as barren as before, so he went ahead with it, feeling a huge relief, something that wasn't shared with the poor Bidoof that happened to see a Pokémon three times their size appear out of thin air.

The normal type didn't move, only looking at Zoroark paralyzed with fear. The ghost type didn't have time for that, however. He had to find Zisu's Zoroark before it was too late in the night, or else he wouldn't get any sleep at all.

For some reason, almost all the Pokémon that were awake were staring at him as he passed. Some scared, and some angry.

They all must have had some sort of bad experience with Zisu's Zoroark, and they had either mistaken him for him, or he had managed to make the whole Zoroark species look bad in all of these Pokémon's eyes.

He wasn't going to stay there for any longer than right then, so he didn't feel too bad about it. Now he just needed to find Zisu's Zoroark, something that proved to be more difficult than he expected.

The only thing he could think of was to ask someone. Who? The less scared or angry Pokémon in the place would have to do.

He approached the closest Pokémon, which turned out to be a familiar one. A Lickitung. She eyed him with suspicious eyes as he approached.

"Hey." Zoroark began.

"What do you want?" Lickitung dryly interrupted.

"Have you seen a Zoroark around here? You know, like me but with a scar in his eye? And if so, where is he right now?"

Lickitung arched a brow at his question. "What? You're not... him?" She asked, confused.

"Thankfully no. I can tell he's not the nicest 'mon around here, huh?"

The normal type rolled her eyes with a click of her tongue. "That's one way to put it."

"Well, look, I don't exactly have a lot of time, so can you tell me where he is? Or tell me someone that knows?"

Lickitung turned around and pointed to one of the furthest corners of the pastures. "Where else? As far from everyone as he can be. Not even the other Pokémon of that captain like being around him."

"Okay. Thank you." Zoroark said, walking towards that corner.

"Hey, wait!"

He turned around to look at the Lickitung again. "Why are you looking for him?" She asked.

"I need to have a talk with him."

"Wha-? Who are you? Do you know him?"

Zoroark turned around. "That's what I want to know."

With that ambiguous answer, he left the Lickitung alone and headed for the place she had pointed him towards.

The few Pokémon that had heard the conversation were whispering among themselves, mostly about the other Zoroark that had apparently come to talk with the one they already knew.

Most looked very wary, no doubt expecting him to snarl and/or growl at them at the slightest look, but didn't look like they were going to attack him.

"Well, what do we have here?" A familiar voice suddenly said.

Zoroark whipped his head to see that Zisu's Luxray was just behind him. "Another Zoroark suddenly appears in the village, hm?"

Raising a brow with the most confused expression he could manage, he tried to think of anything to answer.

"What do you want?" He simply asked.

"Well, you know... No Pokémon in this village wants to speak to that Zoroark, and suddenly there's another one that decided to make his way into this place just to talk? "

"So what? Is that a problem?" Zoroark replied, crossing his arms.

The electric type chuckled, circling him. "A problem? No, buddy, it's not. Except for the fact that your species is apparently supposed to be exclusive to the Icelands."

Zoroark's eyes widened. "Yeah? You know I can walk, right?" He tried defending his facade. Was it even necessary? Probably not, but the few onlookers didn't have to know.

"Yeah, sure you can. And you can also hide with those illusions of yours, can't you?" Luxray told him. "They're so handy for being around humans without them noticing you, huh?"

"Hmmm, maybe if I've used them for that I could tell you my viewpoint." Now he wasn't making any sense.

Thankfully, the onlookers weren't looking at them anymore, and the only Pokémon within hearing distance were asleep.

"Sure, you haven't." Luxray mumbled. "Walking all the way from the Icelands, without crossing paths with a human? Because I know that my own human hasn't been told that there was anything even close to seeing a Zoroark or any hints of one being out of the Icelands. You must have at least hidden yourself once, haven't you?"

Zoroark was starting to get tired of the game Luxray was playing. "What the hell do you want. I'm short on time."

He simply smiled. "I just want you to answer a question."

"Okay. Then ask it already."

"How are you feeling after today, Rei? "

Zoroark sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine. You win. How did you find out?"

Luxray's smile turned into a smirk. "Well, you don't have to be too smart to find a connection between what our dear friend told you before attacking you and your reaction of not wanting anyone to see your wounds."

"Do any of the others know?"

"Ambipom and Honchkrow? They've got their own suspicions but they haven't come up with anything yet."

"Damn it." Zoroark groaned. "Nothing I can do about it, really."

He then looked back at Luxray. "Don't tell this to anyone."

"Why would I? In fact, I'll try my best to get the others not to come to the same conclusion."

"Why?"

"Because you don't look like you want to plot 'an evil revenge against the humans' like everyone thinks. And because I think you are nice."

That gave Zoroark's thoughts a pause. "Plot a what?"

"You didn't know?" Luxray asked, tilting his head. "Oh well, yeah. They are just rumors, but some humans really believe it."

"That's so stupid."

The electric type did the closest gesture to a shrug he could. "I know, but that's just how it is. Anyway, you're looking for Zoroark, right? He should be somewhere around here. Oh, and don't worry about the other two. They're already asleep."

Zoroark followed behind him, the amount of Pokémon awake having rapidly turned to zero, Luxray stopped and pointed to a place where there was almost no lightning present.

Zoroark squinted and saw that there was indeed a Pokémon laid down in that corner.

"Be careful." Luxray warned him.

"I'll manage. Thank you."

A nod later and he began walking towards the Zoroark. The moment he stopped and took a breath to speak, he was immediately interrupted. "I don't care what you have to say. Go away and leave me alone." He groaned.

Zoroark chuckled. "That's how you treat everyone? No wonder no one likes being around you."

The moment the other Zoroark heard him, he moved his head slightly before he widened his eyes and hopped on his feet. "What the-?! What in Giratina's domain-?"

"Hey, calm down. I just want to talk. I couldn't do that before, you know, when you attacked me in front of everyone without a reason?"

"I attacked-?" He stopped himself before looking back at Zoroark with shock. "Wait, you were that human?"

"Uh, yeah? Look, I'm just here because, I want to know why you hate my dad."

The ghost type looked at him with pure disbelief as he stood up, but his face slowly softened as Zoroark's didn't change from his neutral one. "So you're the alpha's pup?"

"I am. Why?"

He frowned once again, looking away in thought. "But you're a... I could swear..." He shook his head. "It doesn't matter " His gaze fell on him. "Why should I tell you? I'm sure your little daddy has already told you about the 'pack's renegade', who abandoned the pack because he felt like it, hasn't he?"

Zoroark tilted his head in confusion. "No? I don't really remember hearing about it."

For the second time since he knew him, Zisu's Zoroark's expression changed from a permanent frown to a shocked expression. "He hasn't?!" He exclaimed. "Arceus, that geezer can't do anything right, can he?"

"Watch your mouth. I might not like him too much, but that's still my dad who you're talking about."

"Couldn't care less." He simply said. "Alright, new pup. Wanna know my story? Then listen up because I'm not going to repeat it." He told him, sitting down, with Zoroark following suit.

"So let me start with a question. Who are you?"

"I'm Zoroark, the pup of that alpha you seem to hate so much. I've also got a sister back there, if that matters."

"Oh, so she's your sister..." He murmured. "Very well, Zoroark. Now, who do you think I am?"

"Me? Well... I thought you were from a rival pack since... I thought I smelled it."

"Wrong."

"Huh?"

"It's true that I may smell like different packs, but that's exactly because of what my task was. I was actually a member of your pack."

Zoroark widened his eyes. "What? Really?"

He nodded. "Mhm. Now let's actually start with my story. I have always been attracted to fighting ever since I was hatched." He pointed at the scar on his face. "That's how I got this, and why everyone started calling me 'Scar'. That's why, the instant I evolved, I was already tasked with becoming... let's say an 'intermediary' to build relationships with other packs of Zoroark in the Icelands. They knew I was strong enough to stand my ground and not get too hurt if something was to happen, so Alpha himself wanted me to be the one to do it."

"Was that really necessary?" Zoroark asked 'Scar'.

"Well, not every pack has an Alpha, and few Pokémon are stupid enough to approach a pack with one first. That's why what I did and how I did it was important. Did you ever get attacked by any other Zoroark when you got out of that cave?"

Zoroark pondered for a second before shaking his head. "There you go. You can thank me later though. I'm sure you're wondering how I'm no longer with them, right?"

"Did something happen?"

"Tschk, the question is what didn't happen. You see, alliances sound very good on paper, but the reality is that you always have to offer something in exchange for that alliance."

"Yeah, that's how it works, right?"

"Exactly. So my job was to go to find those packs that your father wanted an alliance with and ask them what they wanted in exchange for being our allies and then tell Alpha so he could decide what to do. Easy enough, right?"

"I suppose?"

"Well, I never actually needed to do too much. After the first time I offered an alliance to other packs, they accepted with little negotiations. Because, come on, who wants to mess with an alpha? Then, after word spread, the others were the ones searching for me to ask for an alliance instead of the other way."

He paused. "But nothing lasts forever. One day, your father suddenly decided that he wanted to extort all those packs he had an alliance with of almost all they had so we could have even more than we already had. He also said that if they didn't agree... there'd be consequences." He cringed at that last sentence. "It was very hard for me to tell them that. I still remember the face of that lonely mother of three that only wanted to have some sort of security for her cubs... That was the point where I couldn't take it anymore. I had already tried to tell him to stop, but he never listened, until that day."

He frowned again. "I stood up to him and demanded that things changed." He shifted in his seat as he let Zoroark take a look at the part of his neck that was hidden by the fur on his shoulder. There was another scar that went from just under his chin to the end of his shoulder fur. "It didn't end too well."

Zoroark was stunned after the story. "Woah! That's horrible! What happened after that?"

"Well, I got exiled for that and then lived a very peaceful life on my own until that human came around and caught me. I've desperately tried to run away, but to no avail. I gave up long ago."

"I'm... sorry. Is that why you're like that around other Pokémon?"

Scar nodded. "I hate being around this place with all those humans running around, and their annoying Pokémon don't help. Call me antisocial, but that's how it is."

"Wow, this is... I can't believe it."

"I know you probably didn't expect your dad to be a piece of shit, but that's how it is. Sorry that it was me who had to tell you."

Zoroark already knew that his dad wasn't the best father out there, but doing something like that? "B-But I... never knew any of this! When did that happen?"

"It's been very long, now that I think about it... I don't know." He tilted his head slightly, taking a look at him. "Long enough for me to never see you when I was with the pack..."

That caused Zoroark to tilt his head too. "What?"

"Yeah, I don't remember you. As long as my memory serves, Alpha only had a cub, and she was a female. That's why I asked you who you were before and why I was so confused."

"Yeah, that's my sister!" Zoroark was confused, but he supposed it was possible. His sister was almost a year older than him, so Scar could have left while he wasn't hatched.

"Your sister... Such an innocent and caring soul..." The other Zoroark chuckled. He suddenly widened his eyes as if remembering something. "I just remembered I should tell you something."

"What?"

"I do remember something else... Just before Alpha started demanding resources from other packs, I saw him coming back into the cave very late at night with what looked like an egg in his arms, but he never actually told anyone about it."

"Huh? Just coming back with... an egg? A Pokémon egg? Out of nowhere?"

Scar sighed. "I know, it sounds crazy, but that's what I saw. Wherever it came from though, your father treated it like it was gold, saying that his mate had laid it herself, even to your sister. I questioned him about it, but he kept denying it. Shortly after that, the demands began, and I couldn't get to know what happened to the egg before I got expelled. What I do know is that your sister treated it like it was truly her brother."

Zoroark sat silently. "My father never told me anything about another sibling..." He murmured. "How is it possible?"

"Look, I don't want to assume things, much less something big like this, but... " Scar interrupted his monologue. "Have you maybe considered it could have been... you know, your egg?"

It was a possibility Zoroark didn't want to think about. "Impossible. My mom told me stories about how she laid my egg, how my sister and her waited for my egg to hatch and then about my cubhood. Never did it sound like it was fake or like they were making it up. It... couldn't be me"

Saying that, he hopped onto his feet. "I can't believe it. So first I find out that he's been robbing other packs of their food so he wouldn't attack them and then you tell me I had another sibling that I didn't even know existed?!" He shouted.

He was angry. So angry that if he could go to the Icelands right now, he would slap his father without a second thought. But that anger gave way to confusion, and then to tears. "Why... Why didn't he tell me? What happened to that sibling? D-Does my sister know about this? She-... She wouldn't... right?"

Zoroark felt how his whole world was crumbling in the span of one single day. First he was a chosen one, and now this. He... didn't know what to do. His sobs slowly gained strength as he felt Scar's claw rest on his shoulder.

Zoroark looked up to him. "Listen, I may not be too good with emotions and all that, but I don't need that to know it's been a long day for you. Just... maybe rest. Leave things over for tomorrow."

Words didn't come to his mouth as he cried in front of the other Zoroark. "That's it, let it all out. Oh, and sorry for attacking you earlier."

"N-No problem..."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about it. You're actually nothing like him."

Nothing like him.

For some reason, those words echoed too loudly inside Zoroark's head.

No. Leave the thinking for tomorrow. I can't... take anything else today.

With the last sniffle, Zoroark pulled away, ready to leave. "Thanks for telling me about all of this."

"You deserve to know,... Rei? Is that your nickname?"

"I..." He hadn't really thought about it. He knew about Zoroark in his pack having nicknames, but they weren't very common, and they were exclusive to those with a lot of skill or great achievements.

Now, wasn't being where he was an achievement on its own?

"I suppose. Yeah, I'm Rei."

"Well then, Rei. It was... actually not that bad talking to someone. Maybe..." Scar looked away, embarrassed.

"Maybe what?"

"I shouldn't have been such an asshole with the other Pokémon, should I?"

"It's never too late for change."

Scar looked at him, shocked, before looking at the now sleeping Luxray a few meters away. "You think so? I'm pretty sure everyone here hates me now."

"Then change that! Everything is possible! I mean, look at me! I'm working for humans as one!" Rei chuckled.

"Heh, I guess you're right..."

The pastures fell in silence for a good while. "It was... fun talking to you, Rei. Maybe we could... do it again sometime? If you don't hate me too, that is..."

"Nah, I understand why you did what you did now. Sure, I'd love to visit you again someday!"

Scar smiled. "Thank you."

"Well, I gotta go. Eevee's probably worried sick." Rei said, reapplying his illusion and turning around.

"That's so realistic..." He heard Scar mutter. "Goodbye, Rei. See you next time."

"Bye!"

With the illusion back up and his head full of thoughts, he made his way back to his quarters. Outside of the pastures, there were no humans, something that made sense. It was cold outside, and the only guards that remained were so few that Rei only needed to be careful and he wouldn't be spotted.

When he got back inside, he was very tired, both physically and mentally. He was sure that the moment he stepped inside Eevee would throw herself on him, but that didn't happen. Instead, she was with the other two curled together, sleeping soundly on the fulton.

Rei couldn't suppress his smile as he uncasted the illusion and laid down next to them.

He thought that he'd fall asleep the moment he hit the bed, but he found himself doing exactly what he shouldn't be doing in that state.

He thought about the conversation with Scar and the implications of what he had said.

His father, his own father, runsacking other packs, threatening them to attack them if they didn't comply, just because he felt like it?

And the egg. He couldn't forget about the egg that his father had one day brought to the den without any explanation. Did he have another sibling and he was never told? And in that case, what happened to them? Did his sister know and she didn't tell him?

But that wasn't what he was thinking about the most.

Could that egg have been really his?

Rei refused to believe it. Scar said his dad told everyone it was hatched by Rei's own mother, but it was clear that it was fake if Scar's point of view was something to go by.

And if that wasn't enough, everything supposedly happened while he wasn't even hatched. There were so many hints that pointed to him not being actually a member of-

No. It had been a long day. He didn't want to think about it. He was sure there was an explanation for everything. He didn't want to have any more revelations. He was tired of them. Yet, he couldn't stop more tears from flowing. He wished he could have his sister explain everything to him. He wished he could have someone to hug that wasn't asleep at the moment. He wished so many things right now...

He felt someone's paw on his face as someone squirmed in between his arms. "I take you learned something?" It was Eevee.

"W-What? Yeah."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not today." He whimpered. "Please. I can't take anything else today."

"Okay. Don't worry, I'm right here. Please, don't cry, okay?" She reassured softly. "I know it's been a hard day, but now that you're here, no more Chosen One. No more Rei. You're just Zoroark. Our Zoroark."

That was the breaking point for him. Rei didn't have the strength to tell Eevee he had decided to use his human name as his new nickname, instead deciding to squeeze the normal type into a tight hug as he began sobbing again.

"I don't know if I'm really cut out for this..." He said.

"Well, do you want to go back?"

"N-No!"

"Then the only thing left is to keep on pushing. And remember, whatever you may think, however you may be, remember that you're not alone."

No more words were exchanged between the two for a while. Only the quiet sobs of the Zoroark could be heard.

It was then when he realized he had one of the best friends ever. "I'm so glad I've got you."

"Me too."

Rei's tears didn't stop, but he felt his eyelids grow more and more heavy by the second. "Goodnight, Eevee."

Rei felt so safe like that, almost like when he was with his sister a few days ago. He knew that, whether he had to quell another Kleavor, find those plates, or find out about the mystery of that egg, it wasn't going to be impossible, even if it looked like it.

After all, he wasn't alone.

Rei could swear he'd heard something come from the Eevee, but he fell asleep before he could make any sense of it.

Needless to say, it was the best sleep he'd had in a long while.

---

I can't believe I just realized I have been writing Jubilife Village wrong this entire time.

I needed a medic to be in that camp to make Zoroark get a potion, and it was gonna be a random person that wouldn't have had any relevance to the plot whatsoever, but after a suggestion, Alec from Hisuian Snow is now here.

I know I probably haven't changed him that much, but I like to make characters different from the canon (sometimes) rather than just copy pasting.

Having said that, hopefully you've enjoyed this chapter as much as I have (please, it was so hard to write and I re read it so many times that I still think it's possible it will need to be changed in the future) and I'll see you next time!

And remember to leave a review if you want. It makes my day.

(Also, there's a bug with this app that makes the end of the chapter copy itself a lot of times, so if the AN repeats itself or is incomplete, it's not my fault, I swear)