Route 3 Wildlands, Thronemarch Province, Kingdom of Eidros

August 19 2034

Hannah found herself waking from a very pleasant dream to the sound of something rustling inside her tent. She blinked away the tired blurriness in her vision, rubbing away bits of dried sleep and reached for her phone that was charging on the travel battery she had bought. Fumbling in the dark, she hit the flashlight button, only half-awake.

"Surtr, is that you little man?" The raven-haired girl groggily asked as she moved her flashlight over to where a small silhouette was rummaging through her backpack. As the light revealed the pale blue fabric of her tent and the red blanket that had been tossed aside, the light went to her backpack, where clothes and feminine products had been tossed aside. A small off-white figure about two feet in height had ripped open a granola bar and was currently shoving it into a hungry beak underneath its body with large bulbous indigo tentacles. Upon noticing the light, the Clobbopus stopped its thieving and turned to stare at Hannah, who blinked for a second.

"Oh fuck!" she screamed as the little cephalopod Pokemon also let off a squeal, panicking as it started punching towards her, its arms glowing with a faint orange energy. Hannah kicked off her remaining blankets, unplugging her phone swiftly to keep the light source, before ducking around the Clobbopus, which was screeching even louder as the blanket she had kicked off had covered it. It punched with abandon, sending her backpack flying though the tent, tearing a gaping hole through the fabric.

"Colton! Zeara! Jacob! We have-" Hannah's words died in her throat as she got outside. It was chaos. There were Clobbopus everywhere. There had to be at least fifteen of the little Fighting Types and they were tearing through the camp, all pretense of stealth abandoned at the commotion that Hannah had caused. Jacob's Zigzagoon was hit by Rock Smash and sent flying as he tried to come to his Trainer's aid. Colton was busy physically beating two Clobbopuses off of him while trying to shout orders to Baldric, who was getting ganged up on by five of the intruding Pokemon.

"Hannah, help me! Where is Surtr?!" Colton screamed as he kicked one of the Clobbopuses off of him.

"I don't know!" Hannah screamed as she dodged the still blanket-covered Clobbopus, who smashed a boulder and a fellow Clobbopus on its way out, gurgling in anger and fear, "Surtr! Where are you?!"
There was an explosion of flame on the outskirts of camp and Hannah felt a surge of relief as her Cyndaquill dodged a Mega Punch to scurry by her side. He skidded to a stop next to her feet, kicking up dust on her sock covered feet. He growled at the nearest Clobbopus, the flames on his back lighting up in the fiercest intensity Hannah had ever seen, illuminating the campsite with an incandescent rage.

"Surtr, Ember any of them that get close, I need to help Colton and the others!" Hannah said as she ran by him, watching as Jacob took a solid punch straight to the groin as he emerged out of the ruins of his tent. He collapsed with a strangled yelp, the Clobbopus that hit him gurgling happily as it started to beat on his stomach.

"Why?!" Jacob managed to squeal out before Hannah gave the little cephalopod Pokemon a swift kick. She yelped in pain, as the Clobbopus was far more muscly than she had expected, hopping on one foot as she grabbed her aching toes, wishing she had the time to put her sneakers back on. The Clobbopus went flying into a nearby bush with a yelp.

"Jacob! Shit!" Hannah knelt down as soon as her foot wasn't throbbing in pain, the heat and sounds of Embers exploding behind her washing over them. Jacob had yet to let go of his groin and his arms were covered in thick purple bruises. She ducked as Baldric tossed a Clobbopus over her head. "Can you stand?"

"No," he laboriously breathed out, "Help the others. I'm useless right now." Jacob's eyes went wide, "Hannah behind you!"

Hannah turned around, too late. A glowing orange boxing glove-like tentacle hit her side. She let out a gasp as she felt the wind get knocked out of her, stumbling and falling on her back. She tried to catch her breath, the oxygen refusing to come in as she gasped her mouth like a Magikarp. She looked over to see her assailant, a Clobbopus that was slightly taller than its fellows, with a thick red scar going across its right eye. It glared at her, raising its tentacles menacingly.

"Clob!" it yelled out, raising its arms up, ready to bring down a Brick Break on her ribs. Hannah tried to scream for help, but the word's didn't come. A blazing mass of fiery red and blue-tan did though. Surtr slammed into the scarred Clobbopus with a fiery-coated Rollout, popping up into a skid in front of his Trainer. The attack didn't seem to do much damage, but it did knock the Clobbipus off-balance. Surtr wasted no time, sending an Ember point-blank at the Clobbopus and then launching into a Tackle. The Clobbopus was forced back a few more steps from Hannah, who had finally caught her breath. She locked eyes with the Clobbopus and saw that it wasn't backing down.

"Neither are we!" she struggled to her feet, "Surtr, you're quicker than him. Use Rollout to get angles on him and Ember him. Don't get close!" Her Cyndaquill let out an affirmative yelp and obeyed, curling into a ball and rolling past the Clobbopus. The scarred Pokemon tried to Rock Smash him on the way, but was too slow. Surtr popped out of his roll, shooting an Ember from his mouth, only for the Clobbopus to glow with an orange aura, launching itself to the side with one of its tentacles just before the Ember hit.

Shit, it knows Detect, Hannah thought as stood in front of Jacob, shielding him from any opportunistic attacks, It can't use that too many times in a row though. It's a numbers game. We just have to wear it down! She was so focused on the fight in front of her that she didn't hear the rustling as the Clobbopus she had kicked earlier had finally climbed out of the bush it had been kicked into. It glared at her and was ready to enact sweet vengeance on the human that had punted it. It gathered Fighting energy into its fist, ready to clobber her legs into a paste. Only to stiffen when a shadow flew over it, before a Rookiedee dive-bombed it, beak aglow with blue-white energy.

"Leer than Ember, make an opening!" Hannah shouted, grinning when the Clobbopus froze from Cyndaquill's squinty gaze before taking an Ember to the face. She turned around when she heard a squawk and panicked gurgling. Zeara's Rookiedee was strafing another Clobbopus behind her. Her Trainer was beside her, her multicolored hair filled with twigs and leaves and her pale skin was covered in scratches. She was barefoot, with only a pair of very short shorts and a slightly torn up black tank top on.

"Hannah-Banana!" she yelled to her friend, "Keep focused on yours. Priscilla will handle this one!" Hannah nodded, before a pained squeal took her attention back to her fight. The scarred Clobbopus had pulled a Feint when she had been distracted, baiting Surtr into stopping to attack before slugging the Fire type in the head. Hannah grit her teeth as she kicked dust at the Clobbopus, which screeched in anger and turned its attention to her. Hannah gulped, but regained her composure when Surtr took advantage of the opening, a full power Ember hitting the Clobbopus in the back. It retaliated immediately with a Brick Break, but Surtr managed to Rollout of the way just in time.

"You are doing great Surtr!" she heaped praise on her starter, "Keep wearing it down!" The Clobbopus seemed to be getting increasingly frustrated, as it started to throw a tantrum before screeching as white colored energy gathered around it. It stayed in place, tanking an Ember to the face. Hannah scrunched her face, wondering why it didn't dodge when an alarm went off in her mind.

"Dodge now!" she yelled as the Clobbopus unleashed its Bide. Surtr wasn't quick enough, starting to tire from the fight. A tentacle-fist socked him hard in the gut. He went skidding in the dirt, next to a defeated Clobbopus near the center of the camp, where both Colton and his Machop were desperately trying to break free of the four Clobbopuses that had encircled them, Jacob's Zigzagoon lying unconscious near them. Hannah yelled out in alarm as her Cyndaquill's legs twitched, before he got up, wobbling. He was obviously on his last legs.

"Just a little more buddy! We can do this!" She yelled out to him as kicked sand at the Clobbopus again, only for it to Detect and dodge out of the way, glaring at her with its scarred face. It was also breathing heavily, burn marks blackening its off-white body. They only needed one more push to finish this. Hannah circled the Fighting Type, ready to throw her own punches if necessary. She felt her hairs stand on end when a low, angry, and mournful cry echoed across the clearing, like a child's whimper mixed with an angry hiss.

"What the hell was that?" Colton asked as even the Clobbopuses paused in their assault, sensing danger. A small whirlwind appeared and picked up the Clobbopus nearest to Colton and sent it flying before landing on the ground with a hard thud. Another Gust hit the one by Baldric and the Machop winced as the Clobbopus was sent flying into a boulder with a crunch. Descending from the night sky was a Drifloon. Whose normally placid eyes were livid with rage.

"Blumpy!" Zeara cheered from behind Hannah as Priscilla had finished off her opponent, swooping in to join her comrade, "Be a dear and get rid of these ruffians would you?"

Blumpy let off another one of those unnerving cries and went to work. Another Gust cleared away the Clobbopus that hadn't chosen to flee, freeing up a battered and bruised Colton and Baldric. Blumpy flew over and let off a screeching Astonish at the Clobbopus who had finally managed to get off the blanket Hannah had kicked over it. It recoiled in pain, a Rock Smash hitting Blumpy and phasing right though the Ghost type's body. Another Astonish sent the cephalopod running back to the forest. Hannah forced herself to tear her eyes away from the spectacle. She still had her own one to deal with.

"Surtr, finish this fucker off!" She yelled as her tired and beaten Cyndaquill gathered some flames in its mouth. The Clobbopus wasn't even paying attention, seemingly trying to rally its fleeing brethren to counterattack to no avail with commanding gurgles and yells. Must be the leader, Hannah thought, before scowling as it used Detect to avoid Surtr's Ember. It went to move up to her starter, but a flyby Peck from Priscilla forced it to reconsider. Hannah locked eyes with the Clobbopus, as it saw that it was outnumbered. It glared at her, but relented, holding up its tentacles and slowly backing away, before grabbing one its unconscious fellows and bolting into the forest.

"Yeah run away!" Zeara yelled to the retreating Fighting type, "You want another ass-whooping, you know where to find us!" As soon as the creature disappeared into the forest, Zeara let out a tired sigh and sat on the ground. Hannah felt the tension leave her body, only to be replaced with a throbbing ache. She woozily sat down, lifting up her white tank top just enough to see her side where she had been hit. There was already a nasty purple bruise forming and it hurt to breathe.

"Holy fuck!" Colton breathed out as he sat down with his Machop. Both of them looked like hell, covered in sweat, dirt, and bruises all over, "What the fuck was that?"

"Clobbopus," Hannah breathed out as she went over to Surtr, who was barely standing. She gently picked him up, rubbing his bruised head gently before shuffling over to her destroyed and trampled tent, grabbing a Potion that had been chucked out by the raiding Clobbopus, "They roam in gangs. Like to beat up anything they see and raid foodstores. There was a gang that hit the town dump sometimes back home."

"Don't they need water to survive though?" Colton asked as he too went and attended to his Pokemon with a potion, while Zeara was helping Jacob up, getting a first aid kit out to get a crackable ice pack for some of his bruises. Hannah nodded as she sprayed the Potion on Surtr, who wiggled from the coolness of the medicine.

"Must be a stream or lake nearby. Or they got chased from the coast by a stronger gang. That happens sometimes too," Hannah gave her starter a light pet as he whimpered from his wounds, "They usually aren't stealthy though. How'd they get past the watch?"

"Someone must have fallen asleep," Colton said accusingly, before checking his Poketch on his wrist, "Oh look, it's two in the morning. The end of Jacob's watch. Care to explain, buddy?" Hannah winced at the venom in Colton's voice as Jacob averted his eyes as Zeara sat next to him, putting bandages on her scratches. Even the bubbly art student shot Jacob a dark look.

"I must have dozed off on my watch. I'm sorry guys," Jacob said mournfully, trying to get up and his body refusing, "Can someone get a Potion out of my pack for Bungles. Please?"

"Sure thing Jake," Hannah said as gently put Surtr down, hobbling over to the ruins of Jacob's tent. She actually stopped to survey the damage to the campsite and felt her heart sink. Everything was destroyed. The tents were shredded beyond repair. Their bikes had been pulverized, with Hannah's handlebars mangled into scrap metal and one of her wheels crumpled into rubber and aluminum waste. Camping supplies were scattered and crushed into the dirt. She found Jacob's backpack, which was missing a strap and had one of the zippers broken off of it. All of his food was gone, with half-chewed wrappers and broken plastic containers all that remained of his previously bulky ration supply. Fortanely, his last three Potions were in okay shape and she grabbed the nearest one.

"What the fuck dude?! You had one job!" Colton yelled at his friend as Hannah went to work spraying up Jacob's thoroughly beaten to a pulp Zigzagoon. Gods the little raccoon Pokemon could not catch a break. The Clobbopusses had worked him over good.

"I know man, I'm just not used to this whole camping thing," Jacob tried to defend himself as Colton got up in a rage, stomping over to him, "Bro we lived! It's okay!"

"The fuck it is!" Colton had already lost his cool, "We just got the shit kicked out of us because you probably lit up a joint and fell asleep on duty you irresponsible asshole! The girls got hurt, our camping supplies were destroyed, and those little punchy pricks probably ate all of our food while you were blazed out of your mind!"

"I didn't mean to fall asleep, chill the fuck out man!" Jacob fired back, some adrenaline returning to him, "I already got my ass handed to me by a bunch of seafood dude, I don't need this from you!"

"Hey that's enough from both of you!" Zeara called out as her Drifloon came to her side, getting in between the two angry young men, "Screaming and beating on each other like a bunch of cavemen isn't going to help right now. We need to calm down and take stock of what we have and what we don't. It's only one more day to Byrneby, but if we need to forage for food on the way we need to plan for that."

"Z's right," Hannah got up, ignoring the pain in her side to walk over and put a hand on Colton's shoulder, "We can have a group talk," she stressed the words, "Later when we get to town. Right now, let's tend to our wounds and our Pokemon. Zeara's Pokemon are the least injured, she'll keep watch. The rest of us will get some sleep. Z, wake me up in an hour or two to take over."
She squeezed Colton's shoulder and the blond haired man relaxed, letting out a deep breath.

"Okay, Han. You and Zeara are right," he gave her a smile that even in her beat up state made her want to jump his bones, "Let's patch up and get some rest. We'll see how bad we are fucked in the morning."

"Who knows," Zeara chimed in, "Maybe everything isn't as bad as it looks?"


Everything was as bad as it looked. After a fitful and paranoid rest on the ruins of their campsite, Hannah and the others had done a full count of their stocks. The Clobbopus raid had been catastrophic. All of their food, save for a few granola bars that Zeara had managed to keep hidden, was gone. The bikes were unsalvageable, the tents, shredded fabric. The rope Colton had brought had been ripped to shreds. One of the Clobbopuses had apparently made off with some clothing, as all of Colton's pants and shorts were gone.

All of that money I earned on day one might as well not exist now, Hannah had thought glumly when the final tally had been counted by Zeara. It's going to cost a fortune to replace my bike. I worked so hard to save up for it too.

Tempers had flared once again and Hannah and Zeara had to play peacemaker again to keep the two men from killing each other. In the end, they had decided to make for Byrneby as fast as possible, but the late start from the lack of sleep and salvaging what they could meant that they probably wouldn't get to town until late next morning. They had walked most of the day, sometimes in silence, sometimes with bickering. With the exception of Zeara's Pokemon, everyone's partners were in their Pokeballs resting up. Hannah especially didn't want to push Surtr when they might get attacked again. They were challenged by a couple of passing Trainers, but only Zeara had taken one up on the offer. Hannah found herself a little jealous how easily her friend seemed to win these matches.

Eventually as the sun was starting to dip low they had found another clearing off-road and set up a camp. To keep the peace, they had decided to split up as they worked, with Jacob and Zeara going into the forest to forage for some berries for dinner and with Hannah and Colton gathering firewood and setting some basic tripwire alarms with the empty tin cans they Clobbopuses had left behind. The Kricketots were out singing already and Hannah had spotted a Drillbur ducking underground not far from their campsite. The lack of bitching and moaning was nice

So is this, Hannah thought deviously as she watched Colton lift some decent sized chunks of wood, shirtless and covered in sweat. She had desperately wanted some alone time with him since he had asked her out on a date when they got to town. Which was visible from where they were, the lights of it and the Great Spear Bridge starting to come on as the sun got lower and lower. So close and yet so far.

"Are you sure you don't want me to help?" she forced herself to stop ogling her friend, "I'm not broken you know."

"I got it. You took a nasty hit last night. Best not to strain it," Colton gave her a smile as she sat down the wood into a pile as Hannah stacked rocks around it in a circle. She snorted.

"Says the man covered in bruises. Take your own advice you hypocrite," she stuck out her tongue at him at the end. He laughed as he bent down, taking out his tinderbox from his pack as he did.

"Fine, you can help next time. But you got to lose the shirt. Don't want your favorite band shirt getting dirty right?" he pointed at her gray Portals of Darkness shirt that she was rocking, having the band's logo of a silhouetted Giratina coming from a swirling red-black portal on it. She raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, I like this shirt but they aren't even my favorite band," she said as she pulled at the collar of the shirt a bit. Colton just gave her a sly look.

"Well maybe lose the shirt anyways to be safe," he grinned at her as she blushed slightly.

"Being a bit of a perv over though Larson?" she asked, crossing her legs as she sat down on a nearby stump, "Trying to get girls topless in the woods?"

"No," he paused as he finally got the fire going, "Just one in particular."

If I wasn't absolutely sure both Z and Jake weren't going to come back any second, I might take him up on that offer, Hannah thought to herself deviously, Or you could stop being a horny school girl. I'd rather not the first time we have sex be with dirt and leaves sticking to us. Or where people could wander and see. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. He just asked me to dinner. He might think it's too awkward, even though we flirt constantly. Am I overthinking this?

So lost in her thoughts she didn't even notice when Colton came and sat with her. He stared at the fire and when he spoke it made her jump.

"Getting beat up was a hell of a way to end the first day on Tour. I knew people got hurt and even died doing this, but that was like a distant thought," he trailed off and Hannah could guess what he was thinking.

"Nothing like a vicious beating to really sell the danger," Hannah let out a humorless laugh, "And we're in safe country too. The people up north have to deal with bears, fairies, ghosts, dragons."

"Really making me glad we picked Ravnroost as the first Gym," Colton said, "Hey, by the way," she perked up at the change in his voice, "We might have to postpone seafood night until we replace all of our lost gear and food. Hope that's okay."

No, it actually sucks pretty bad, she thought sadly but instead said "No, I get it. I honestly was going to suggest the same."

"Oh good. I was worried you might be a little upset," he sounded guinelly relieved, "Tour doesn't officially kick off until September 1st. Maybe we should hang out in Bryneby for a bit and get some training done and get some winnings before we try to cross Whistling Forest."

"Not a bad idea," Hannah agreed, "Though I say we only stay four or five days. I want to be at Ravnroost as soon as possible."

"We'll talk it over with Zeara and Jacob when they get back," Colton checked his Poketch, "Huh, they've been gone a bit. You think they're okay? I have some cell service, maybe Ill shoot them a text?"

"Knowing Z, she probably saw something she wanted to take a picture of or sketch real fast. Jake's pretty particular when it comes to cooking. He might be hung up on the berries," Hannah put a finger to her mouth before shrugging, "I'm sure they're fine."


"Run!"

Zeara heeded her friend's command, pumping her legs as fast as she could. Behind her, carrying his cookpot, was Jacob. He was sweating as he ran with her through the game trail in the forest, berries of all types flying out of his pot as he ran.

A crash of wind and angry squealing erupted behind them. Zeara stopped, skidding on her heels and turning around with one fluid motion, dust and dirt flying everywhere. Blumpy was trying his best to keep their attackers away, but he was only able to use his Gust attack and he was starting to tire.

"Jake, we can't outrun them, they want our food too bad. We have to stand and fight! Man and woman against ornery piggies!" Zeara grabbed Jacob's shoulder as he tried to run by, stopping him with a grip that he would have sworn could have snapped iron.

"I know, but we're down to just your Drifloon!" He cried out, hugging his pot tightly, "We can't win!"

Zeara narrowed her brow as she ignored him and stared down at their assailants. Down the path, currently preoccupied with Blumpy's diversionary attacks was a feral boar Oinkologne, accompanied by two male Lechonks. The wild pig Pokemon had attacked Jacob while he was finishing filling up the pot with an assortment of Oran, Sitius, Bluk, and Razz Berries he had found while foraging, eager to drive him off and feast on the dinner the humans had gathered for them.

Luckily, she had been doing some sketches of the forest, drawing a nest of Starly chicks with their Staravia mother along with the vibrant backdrop of a forest under threat. She had responded right away, confident in her skills to save her panicky friend.

As the Oinkologne let out a disgustingly cute Disarming Voice that sent Blumpy flying into the tree branches, Zeara frowned.

They knocked Priscilla out cold in ten seconds, the artist thought, That's a strong pig. Blumpy can't leverage his Ghost side and they know more than Normal type moves. Blumpy can probably drive off the boar, but he needs time to Focus Energy.

"Jacob, send out Mr. Bungles!" She commanded as the pig Pokemon refocused on them or more accurately, the berries, "He needs to keep them distracted so Blumpy can Focus Energy and hit the boar with a big Gust!"

"He's still pretty banged up, I don't know if I want to risk him," Jacob said as they took a few steps back away from the approaching porcine Pokemon. Zeara could hear the concern in the man's voice. For all that she was still mad at him for falling asleep on his watch and leading them into their current predicament, Jacob very clearly loved his chunky little Zigzagoon. Unfortunately, they didn't have a choice.

"If you don't I guarantee we are going to get thrashed and left starving for the night. I promise, we'll take care of him! I just need him to run a diversion for like thirty seconds!" They started backpedaling faster as the Oinkologne let off an angry grunt, it's Lechonk henchpigs snorting in unison before giving chase. Blumpy let off a distressed cry, floating quickly to catch up. Jacob had a moment of pure mental agony before grabbing the Pokeball on his belt and releasing it.

Mr. Bungles came out in a flash of light, bruising still evident on his disheveled fur. Jacob wasted no time. "Bungles, run underneath that Oinkologne. Tickle Maneuver!" He looked to Zeara as the wild Pokemon's attention went to the new arrival, which took off without hesitation, running zig-zag like its namesake towards the Oinkologne. "I hope you know what you are doing!"

"Blumpy, Focus Energy! Get ready for the biggest Gust you got!" Zeara called out, planting her feet firmly down. No more running. Now was the time for offense. Mr. Bungles let off a growl as he dove underneath the Oinkologne, which tried to Headbutt him away to no avail. Zeara's eyes went wide as the pig Pokemon started to laugh, giggling as Bungles remorselessly tickled its underside. The two Lechonk squealed in confusion as their leader rolled over onto its back, kicking its legs in mirth as it did so.

"Take out that one on the right!" Jacob yelled, taking a more commanding stance. His starter obeyed, letting out a downright vicious growl as he lept and Headbutted the Lechonk. The pig went flying into a nearby tree trunk and was knocked out cold. The Oinkologne had recovered, slapping a great Mud Shot at the Zigzagoon. Fortunately, its aim was poor as Bungles stepped to the side, before gathering energy into his tongue and giving the big pig a Lick. Jacob cried out in concern when the other Lechonk tackled into Bungles, but the Zigzagoon dug his claws into the dirt as he skidded back, fur bristling. The Oinkologne squealed in rage, energy gathering around its mouth.

"Anytime now, Zeara!" Jacob was already running towards his starter as Zeara allowed herself a feral grin.

"Blow them away!"

Jacob dove, grabbing his starter in his arms as an unholy sounding whine filled the air and a small whirlwind hit the Oinkologne and his minion. The pigs let off squeals of terror as they were lifted into the air and blown at least ten feet back, tumbling over dirt and stones. Blumpy floated down, screeching like a child, waving his arms at the two wild Pokemon. Jacob had to duck low to avoid being blown away, but he held tight to Mr. Bungles.

Are you serious? He thought dejectedly when he saw both pigs get up, Blumpy is at his limit. We can't win this fight! He then stood dumbfounded as both pigs let off squeals of terror and bolted off deeper into the forest, crashing through the undergrowth and setting off a flock of Starly in the process.

"We see you again and bacon is on the menu!" Zeara yelled to their retreating forms before letting out a relieved sigh. Blumpy floated down towards her and she pulled the ghost balloon into a tight hug. "You did amazing out there my little baby balloon! I am so proud of you! We get to eat tonight because of you!" The little ghost let off a happy but tired sounding moan.

"You saved our asses back there," Jacob came back, still holding Bungles in his arms, "Thanks Blumpy." He smiled when the ghost waggled its arms at him. He had come to learn that meant the little balloon was happy.

"We couldn't have done that without Mr. Bungles pulling the play of the year!" Zeara went over and rubbed the Zigzagoon's head, who grumbled appreciably, "So what is Tickle Maneuver?"
Jacob laughed as he let his starter onto his shoulders, "It's a little trick we came up with for my little nieces and nephews. Mr. Bungles is a tickle master." He stiffened when he heard a snort from behind him, as they all looked to the tree. The Lechonk that Bungles had knocked out earlier had come to and was looking around confused, sniffing the air rapidly. Trying to find its friends. Jacob frowned as he slowly bent down to be more level with the creature.

"Looks like your buddies left without you," he said softly as the little pig snuffled sadly, "I can relate. How about you come with me?" He started reaching to the empty Pokeball he kept on his belt as Zeara cocked her head.

"Well well, I guess we are bringing back more than just dinner huh," she said warmly as Jacob threw the ball dead center at the Lechonk. It disappeared in a flash of white. They all stiffened as the ball shook once, then twice, then thrice before stopping. Jacob let off a sigh of relief as he went over and picked up the Pokeball, Mr. Bungles looking at it curiously.

"Welcome to the fam little dude."


"I still can't believe you caught a second Pokemon," Colton said, not even bothering to hide his jealousy as they all sat by the fire, eating the stewed berries that Jacob had prepared for them. They all had their Pokemon out as well, with Surtr and Pricsilla especially enjoying the Oran Berries that had been cut up for them.

"Hey, little dude got left behind. Couldn't leave him like that," Jacob shrugged, petting his Zigzagoon as he finished off his stew, "Alright. I am taking first watch. I promise not to fall asleep. I'm going to make sure those tripwire can alarms are good and patrol around a bit. We should get to Bryneby late afternoon tomorrow."

"Sounds good," Colton agreed, as he watched the two women of the group, who were crowded around Hannah's phone by their blankets they had set up, talking on a video call to Hannah's siblings. "So, about that seafood place there. I'm going to need you and Zeara to split when I take Hannah there."

There was silence for a bit before Jacob answered. "I see. Yeah. I mean, whatever you need man. Just give me a heads up or whatever." Colton narrowed his eyes at his tone, but didn't press the issue. He needed to call his mother anyways. She had exploded on him when he had just texted that they had survived their first wild Pokemon attack.

"Hannah! Hannah! Look what I drew!" Tove's voice filtered through the phone as she held up her newest crayon drawing. Zeara had to stifle a giggle as Hannah tilted her head.

"Umm it's really nice Tove, but uh, why are my boobs so huge?" Hannah inquired as she took in the drawing. It was of her and Surtr battling what a bunch of Clobbopuses. Hannah had to admit it was very vibrant with the colors and even at six, Trove was getting good at making her shapes smooth. Surtr was shooting a thick red fireball and Hannah had to admit she was posed in a good way. Except for her chest. For whatever reason, her little sister had decided that her artistic license included giving her a huge set of honkers.

"Because they are big!" Trove answered honestly as she saw Adrain lose color and awkwardly plug his ears. Zeara laughed even harder as Hannah sighed. "Hey all artists get a little freedom," her friend giggled before addressing Tove, "Your drawings get better and better each time I see them Tove! You are going to be better than me soon!" That got a big grin out of the little blonde girl and Hannah felt a pang of sadness. She missed not being there to hug her siblings.

"Alright Tove, we gotta get you to bed," Adrian said, ignoring his sister's protests that she wasn't done showing her masterpiece yet, "Be careful out there sis. Mrs. Larson has us on a bedtime schedule to get ready for school. Send us a good morning text when you get up okay?"

"Will do. Goodnight guys!" Hannah smiled when she heard Tove's voice in the background saying goodnight as well. Arceus I miss those little Impidimps, she thought sadly.

"She's going to be a good artist if she sticks with it," Zeara said as she was getting into the blanket nest she had made on the ground, "All kids like to draw, but she reminds me of myself when I was that little. Loved doing big grand pictures like that."

"The dream is to send her to art school if that's what she wants when she's older," Hannah said as she called Surtr over from the fire, the little porcupine Pokemon snuggling next to her, a little bundle of warmth in the cold night. "That's part of the reason I'm out here. Get good at battling and win some actual money."

"Focused as ever," Zeara clucked her tongue, "Remember to stop and have some fun on the way though Han. "

"Oh I will," Hannah said giddy, "Haven't had this much fun in years. I plan on whooping some ass in Bryneby to blow off some steam and get Surtr in Gym shape. And well, I may have a date as well."

"Did you ask or did he?" Zeara had known about the little dance she and Colton had been doing for a while. She had eyes at least.

"I did. Sort of. We got interrupted, but he asked me afterwards," Hannah snuggled Surtr closer, her starter grumbling happily, "It's just dinner and all that. But I feel happy Z. Really happy."

"I'm glad, just be careful okay?" Zeara let some seriousness into her normally carefree voice, "Just in case."

"If he acts up, I'll hit him, then you get a turn," Hannah said, looking at her friend from her own nest of blankets, "We'll see where it goes. Plenty of people find love on Tour."

Plenty of people end up bitter enemies and heartbroken too, Zeara thought to herself as she snuggled in, but didn't say anything. Even while sleeping on the cold dirty ground, her friend was up in the clouds. Why ruin that?

The sound of tin cans rustling rang out in the night, followed by angry gurgling.

"For the love of the Gods, I just got under the blankets!"


Sorry for the dela, had real life get in the way for a bit. This chapter was bit more action-packed, I wanted to make up for the bit of the slow beginning this story has. We have half a chapter to go before getting to Bryneby. Expect some character development, some new characters, drama, and a few battles before our group heads out of town.

Once again, thanks for reading.