Author's Note: Well, this took longer than I planned to complete. But to fill in the gap between Episodes 1 and 2, I decided to incorperate a Bonus Chapter into Guardians of Balance! I hope this is something a bit different and enjoyable for anyone reading this!

Life has been kinda crazy at the moment, but I have the details down for what is happening in Episode 2, and I will start writing the first chapters soon. In the meantime, enjoy this!

DEXES AND DUNGEONS

BONUS CHAPTER I

The berries plopped into the pot with a rather pleasant splat, and were promptly followed by a handful of beans. Edward hummed softly to himself as he carefully positioned his hoof to grasp onto the wooden spoon and slowly began to stir it, taking care to keep his green coat away from the flames from the stone oven. He paused only briefly, checking to see the mixture wasn't burning, before quietly lowering the heat to let it simmer. All of which seemed to show an air of expertise around the Skiddo.

Edward was working within one of the small kitchens that had been built into the Guildtree. Most of the structure here was covered in stone to prevent the risk of fire, save for a small glimmer of wood that confirmed that the room was contained inside a giant tree. Alongside one wall was the oven that Edward was working on, along with work surfaces and a sink. A larder filled up the space on one side of the room and a window allowed a cool morning breeze to flow inside. At the very centre was a low table, allowing for a multitude of smaller Pokémon to sit down and eat with ease.

Bruce strode in, his mouth agape as a massive yawn escaped from it. Blinking, his red eyes locked onto the room's formerly sole occupant. "Ah, morning Edward! What are you cooking there?"

Edward was standing on his hind legs to get a better grip on the spoon, but it didn't really stop him from glancing over at the Bulbasaur. "Morning Bruce. Just doing my aunt's curry."

The green reptile frowned, "Curry? Isn't that supposed to be an evening meal?"

"Curries have got a pretty good mix of nutrients if you build it up right." Edward explained with a hint of pride, lowering the temperature a bit more before letting go of the spoon and lowering himself back onto all fours. "Do it right, and it can make a decent breakfast. I tend to make a bit extra just in case, want to try some?"

"Well, we never had curry back on Air." Bruce said, putting himself down on a cushion round the small table. "I'll give it a go then. What about Denver though?"

"He's out for a walk. Trying to get the strength back into his legs. What about Nia and Dan?"

"Still fast asleep." Bruce replied, flashing a grin this time. "Nia may be good with the time, but damn can she lie in."

Edward rolled his eyes as he pushed himself back up to stir the curry. "Well, she's missing quite the morning."

As if on cue, the sound of flapping wings rolled through the window. Talons clattered against smoothed wood, and on cue, a blue-grey bird climbed through the window, a large brown bag hanging from his side. The bird happily sighed; eyes closed as he stretched his wings out, "Ahh…" he started, "What a wonderful morning to-"

His eyes slipped open.

"-WHO THE FUCK IS IN MY KITCHEN!"

Eyes flashing red, his wing flashed in and out of the bag. Bruce and Edward could only blink, finding a massive golden hammer clutched in his talons, easily twice as large as he was and glistening with horrifying skulls. The bird screeched, sharp enough for Edward to physically leap up into the air with a yelp, nearly knocking the curry pot over and sending the spoon flying across the room. Bruce stumbled back up, eyes widening before he managed to recover, summoning his vines. He'd sent the intruder pa-

Perry choked, eyes visibly changing colour as he thudded back down onto the window ledge, hammer awkwardly hanging into the room. "A-Oh!" he managed to recover, flashing a beaky grin. "Brucie! Edward! I'm sorry! I didn't recognise you two then!"

Bruce blinked, vines freezing in the air. "P-Perry? Who did you think we were?"

Perry throwed a wing to one side, "I thought you guys were the cooks! Silly mistake on my part!"

Feet clattering against the floor, Edward had managed to stabilise himself, turning towards Perry. His eyes widening at the sight of the hammer. "That's a big hammer…" he uttered.

The Corvisquire looked confused, beak clicking, "Ham- aha! This silly old thing!". He laughed as he lifted up the hammer with one foot, not showing any concern for the weight. "Just something I borrowed from a few super-grunts to deal with more lunatics." He shook his head, "Seriously, those guys couldn't get those buns seeded just right… wait, what is that smell?"

"Curry..." Edward confirmed, head reared back and lips tightly pressed together. "I'm cooking breakfast."

"Ah…" Perry sighed with a devilish sparkle in the corner of his eye. "That makes you the cook then parasite-" The bird coughed violently again, struggling to clear his throat. "Gah, sorry. Bad memories with those buns… and damn… why does conversation sound so familiar?"

"Err…" Bruce uttered, biting his lip as if digging out an old memory, "What buns are we-"

"Nevertheless!" the bird exclaimed, "Since you are cooking, I do have a request! If you do not mind spending a little bit of extra time using such skills?"

Bruce and Edward shared another glance, the former chewing his lip, "Yeah… I'm sure Edward could get something put together but… err…. Before we do that, Edward, can you help me out on this one?"

"Maybe putting the giant… hammer away will help." Edward explained, eyes fixed on the massive implement, "Then I can… see what I can do."

Perry beamed with delight, his wings beginning to beat again. "Fantastico!" he bellowed, manoeuvring himself towards the window. "Consider it-"

"Perry!" Bruce barked, vines whipping out, "Don-"

With a faint woosh, the giant hammer sailed out of the window. The Corvisquire spun round, puffing his feathery chest out, "Done!" he cheered.

A faint boom rang through the window, whilst the room softly shuddered beneath their feet. Bruce sprinted for the window, peering through it as Perry's eyes widened, shifting from the window to the rest of the room. Edward could only stare blankly at them both, blinking as if he was trying to compute the entire scene.

"Arceus damn it Perry!" came the muffled, feminine shout from below, "You're going to pay for this you feathered scatterbrain!"

Bruce visibly gulped, "How in the name of-" he started, his head snapping back round towards Perry, "How did you not kill someone with that!? And you smashed the roof of Larrissa's shop!"

Covering his beak with one wing, Perry began to visibly cough. "Erm – force of – cough – habit. Cough-cough, she'll get over it."

Edward finally seemed to snap out of it, eyes widening and shivering on the spot. Bruce glanced back, fear gripping the Bulbasaur too as some dark realisation settled in. "Shit, she isn't going to get over it! K-Kecelon, they can get really c-crazy… you need to head down the-"

"Oh yeah yeah." Perry replied, waving his free arm away dismissively. "She can keep the hammer as a bit of compensation for the roof. It's a fair trade! We won't have to worry about her kicking our asses."

Bruce shuddered, "B-but-"

"Besides, she doesn't get along with her brothers. So even if she didn't stick to our little agreement for any inconvenient roof damage, we should be fine."

He let the sentence hang there, almost disturbing to think about, "Well, I'll be fine anyway."

"Y-Yyyyeah." Bruce replied, stepping down from the window. "What about us?"

"Ahem, you'll be fine. Most companions are. Anyway!"

The bird hopped over towards the table, settling down onto one of the cushions before the others could butt back in with their own fears. "I am hunting for my special curry!"

Blinking, Edward recovered and clicked his hooves on the floor, "You have curries too?"

"Why but of course! But my cooking skills are… eh… subpar. Can you make it for me?"

Bruce, lips squeezed tight and keeping one eye on the door whilst he settled down back onto his own cushion as the Skiddo frowned. "I can give it a try. Do you have any ingredients in mind?"

"Check the larder." Perry said, his voice becoming quieter, as if calming down, "There should be a lot of Babiri berries in there. In the white bag."

Edward made his way over towards the larder, sticking his head inside as he began to search for the bag. As the Skiddo grunted, trying to make his way deeper in, Bruce clicked his tongue. "So, Perry." He started, "Sam mentioned that you called yourself the fastest post bird around back in-"

"The quickest!" Perry chirped back, "The quickest post bird around! Remember the vocab!"

"Okay okay." Bruce backpedalled, his bulb rustling on his back. "Quickest. But there is one thing I don't get."

"My dashing good looks?"

"Err, you already look good. But it was about that speed. Aren't there species of bird who can fly a lot faster than Corvisquire? No offence."

Perry tapped a talon on the table with a faint click, "I'll tell you what I told Sam, Corviknights are still flying around with post. Raw speed isn't everything."

Bruce leaned forward, tapping one foot on the table. "So, why's that then? I mean, the Pelipper Office back home doesn't exactly have fast birds either, but with the distances we are talking about, isn't speed-"

"Aha!" Perry interrupted him with a sharp glint in his eye, "You've answered your own question there Brucie. Sure, Swellow are fast as all hell, but they are delicate. One good smack and bang!"

He thumped a foot down on to the table, hard enough for Bruce to gulp. "They become a soggy pile of bones."

Bruce leaned back onto his cushion, blowing out a puff of air. "Ah, so the Pelipper-"

"Would be that bit tougher, and great when flying around the coasts of continents especially." Perry explained. "Sure, they have a monopoly, but that's only because they are in the business first, and if you go for specific regions, another bird species would be the better bet."

"So the Talonflames-"

"Would normally be for fast deliveries across the island or nearby ones. The Corviknights excel for longer distance flights or through bad weather. That established min-max is hard to beat."

"Arceus…" Edward grumbled, wincing as he finally pulled out a gigantic white bag, filled to the brim with leafy green berries. "When did we get this many Babiri berries in? In the greenhouses?"

"What a fascinating question!" Perry said, "Put about ten of them inside the biggest pot you can find, then start letting them simmer in cheri sauce."

Almost automatically, Edward pulled the berries over to the oven, a second pot set to one side. But the grass-type froze. "Wait, Babiri berries and Cheri sauce? That's going to be extremely hot. Are you sure-"

"Believe me, I want this hot enough to burn the death out of the dead!"

Perry exploded into crackling laughter, his voice booming through the room and into the corridor outside. Bruce clenched his jaws whilst Edward visibly shrunk at it, eyes widening.

The post-bird coughed again, "Sorry, don't mind me! I'm not planning on going through some global domination plan! Just doing a favour for the guild. Please dear Edward. We need it extra spicy."

Edward glanced over at Bruce, who very rapidly nodded at the Skiddo. With a newfound sense of urgency, he started filling the pot with the berries. "Thinking of which." Perry continued, "I heard from a little birdie, or rather ape, that you're quite the walking encyclopaedia."

"I-I wouldn't call myself that." The Skiddo replied, still loading berries into the pot.

"Oh come on Ed!" Bruce exclaimed, eyes brightening, "I mean, during the trials you literally just rolled out an entire myth to the lot of us! You know your stuff!"

Flashing a weak smile, Edward placed the last berry into place. "It's just some stuff I read about. Nothing massive."

"Ah, but knowledge is power my hooved friend!" Perry countered, tapping a wing on the table, his voice suddenly softening. "You may be the fastest flyer, or the strongest fighter, but even the slightest bit of knowledge about the weather, or how to throw a punch can change the outcome of anything. It could be as simple as a conversation, yet it could elevate anyone to greatness."

Bruce and Edward once more shared a glance between themselves, the latter stiffening whilst the former let out a sharp whistle. "Damn Perry, I didn't think you were so… philosophical."

That earned a soft chuckle from the magpie. "Bruce. When you travel around as much as I do. You tend to have your eyes opened up to things." He winked towards Edward, "So don't sell yourself short."

Edward visibly shrunk, blushing at the words as he started pouring in the sauce. "I don't want to brag." He explained, "It's not like I'm a Pokédex."

"Pokédex?" Bruce questioned with a grimace. "What's that supposed to be?"

The goat opened his mouth, only for Perry's voice to boom across the chamber. "Fear not!" he bellowed, wing reaching back into his satchel, "For I have – once I get past the chainsword, the omni wrench, the arc reactor, Sting, a couple of pounds of trout to spook that little man…"

"Err… C-chainsword?"

"Aha! Behold!"

A thick, blue book banged onto the surface of the table. It was bound by a thick rope along it's left side. The book itself was mostly featureless, save for a few numbers written on to labels that seemed to specify specific continents. Those were overshadowed by a single big label, with the carefully handwritten word of Pokédex on it.

Edward sprung forward, eyes sparkling, "Arceus- you had a Pokédex on you the whole time!? I thought the library didn't have any!"

"They don't!" Perry chuckled, "This just happens to be one I picked up from one of my many travels!".

Bruce frowned, "Not really an answer."

The Skiddo stiffened, mouth agape for a second before he finally shook his head, "Sorry, a Pokédex is like an encyclopaedia, mainly about different species of Pokémon but occasionally about the wider world too! They often been the best books to have on the subject!"

"Uh-Huh." Bruce replied, leaning forward to inspect the book more closely. "I've never really heard about these before."

"They're only ever made once every few years." Edward explained, "And not that many of them are made even then."

"Normally to get passed on to someone to get the basics done before the real deal." Perry said, rolling his eyes. "Normally another kid who gets let out of the house too much by their moms. Either they are really independent kids, or their parents are crap."

"Erm… Perry, why would a kid even be given a Pokédex?" Edward asked, "Especially with the time it takes to get one together?"

"Oh." Perry started, waving his wing dismissively again, "That is omniversal time space bullshit." He flashed a gigantic grin with his beak. "None of your concern."

"Erm…"

Bruce swiftly butted in, partly to distract the Skiddo from the strange response from Perry, "Wait, these contain stuff about species right? Would Bulbasaurs be in there?"

"Err… should be?" Edward replied, quickly checking the cooking curry's progress with a glance before carefully flicking over the page. "Should be on the first pages, I think. How new is this book Perry?"

"7th Edition." Perry confirmed, "Just with a few extra pages with the 8th Edition updates. Still waiting on that 9th Gen stuff."

"So pretty recent then. Let's see, ah, number 001. Bulbasaur." With clear caution, Edward flicked over to the right page with his hoof.

The grin that spread across Bruce's face was so large, it almost looked ready to pop out of his head. "Number 1?! Sweet! About time we got some-" His smile collapsed immediately as his eyes fell upon the page. "W-What? There's nothing here!"

The page wasn't entirely empty, there was the name and an identification number, along with a detailed sketch of a Bulbasaur. There was details about heights, weights, foods and footprints. But there wasn't whole pages filled with text. Instead, short summaries and snippets were written on both sides upon closer inspection with one of the Bulbasaur's vines. He peeled the vine back, letting the page flop back down, glaring at the tome. "Not exactly as fantastic as I thought."

"It's supposed to be something that was updated whilst you're out on expeditions." Edward said, "That's why it's built the way it is!"

"Always a good laugh when you read some of the silly entries alongside the clever ones!" Perry cheered.

"Exactly! Explorers would use Pokédexes like these all the time, if they got – silly entries?" Edward's face slackened as he turned back towards the magpie. "That's ridiculous. These are important documents!"

"Edward my hooved friend! You'll be surprised on how silly researchers can be when it comes to names and the like. Believe it or not, those folks are lazy when they get the chance. Did you know they called a telescope the VLT? Why? It stands for the Very Large Telescope! Ha! Lazy sods!"

Perry pointed a feather at one of the entries on the Bulbasaur page, prompting Bruce to lean back forward again. " Here we go: 'Bulbasaur can be seen napping in bright sunlight. There is a seed on its back. By soaking up the sun's rays, the seed grows progressively larger.'" The Corvisquire shrugged, "Admittedly that's a sixth edition entry, but still, have you ever seen Brucie here napping? No less in sunlight?"

The two glanced towards the actual Bulbasaur in the room, who visibly pulled himself back. "Err… I'm not really the napping type."

"And then there is the seed!" Perry bellowed, eyes sparkling, "Seeds don't grow! They can't just magically increase in size! They soak in enough water to crack open and let the little plant inside to grow!" His crackling laugher once more stabbed at the two grass-types ears once more. "Ha! What kind of idiot writes that in a book!"

"And how would you know that." Edward mused, not really directing it as a question at all.

"Wikipedia!" Perry laughed, "The best, unscientific resource for general skimping!"

The new term flew over the pair's head, but Bruce flashed a brief smirk, "More omniversal whatchacallit?"

"Indeed!"

The group fell silent at that, and head jerking up, Edward scurried back over towards the oven, carefully pulling his pot of curry off and placing the second, bigger pot closer to the centre. "I suppose it makes sense for different authors to take different approaches to the entries. I mean, before I came here, I knew a Bulbasaur who napped in the sun a lot, so that makes sense. And I know most 'dexes mentioned that the bulb grows bigger too... Err, okay Perry, I'm going to need to know what else to add into this."

Perry lowered himself back down onto his cushion, nodding back towards the larder. "You'll need my special yellow-green powder, that'll be the chlorine for cleaning. Oh, that will need to mixed in with the noni-mushrooms, peanut butter, a little sprinkling of depleted uranium from a GAU-8 Avenger-"

"GAU-what?" Edward replied, eyes clouding over.

Perry sharply coughed, "Ahem, iron supplements?"

Edward stared blankly at Perry for a moment, before silently making his way back to the larder.

"Alright then…" Bruce started, "We've got a Pokédex here. We have Edward's brains and you obviously have a few things floating around in that head of yours Perry. Why not we compare what we know and see what makes sense? You know, just for fun?"

"Oooh! I like the way you think Bruciesaur!" Perry said with a smile.

Bruce grimaced, "Please don't call me that."

"I'm not sure if we'll come across anything different." Edward started, "But sure, I can give that one a try-" he groaned, the heavy thud of something hitting the floor, sending a shudder through the air. "Holy, this is heavy for a small bag… and Perry… why is this stuff glowing?"

"Just chuck it in to the pot." Perry called back, "Preferably sooner rather than later!"

As Edward hurried over to the pot to pour the contents of a shiny, metallic bag away, Perry returned his attention towards Bruce with a single eye focused on the Skiddo. "So, Bruce, to what Pokémon do you desire to investigate?"

The Bulbasaur looked upwards at the ceiling, deep in thought before his eyes brightened in delight. "Charizard!" he declared, "Always wanted to know why they aren't dragon types!"

"Excellent choice!" Perry purred, slipping a wing underneath a small handful of pages, "Number six, even got some additional comments on that one."

"Additional?"

"Old and new entries." Perry explained as he turned the pages over, revealing the Pokédex entry for Charizard. "Have a look!"

Bruce leaned forward again with his eyes fixed to the page. It was mostly the same as the original Bulbasaur page, only filled with details about the Charizard species. On the space where entries were kept from a specific edition, there were now several entries secured into place. "Let's see here." He started, "When expelling a blast of superhot fire, the red flame at the tip of its tail burns more intensely."

"Makes sense." Edward mused, slowly loading the other ingredients. "That happens a lot with fire types."

"Sounds good. Its wings can carry this Pokémon close to an altitude of… 4,600 feet. It blows out fire at very high temperatures."

"Go on." Perry murmured.

"Charizard flies around the sky in search of powerful opponents. It breathes fire of such great heat that it melts anything. However-"

"And my suspension of belief has just been shattered!" Perry exclaimed happily, cackling away from his cushion. Bruce's head snapped back up towards the magpie, "Err… come again?"

"Wasn't it not obvious!?"

Edward was in the process of stirring the new mixture when his head jerked back round at the pair, "I get it. It breathes fire of such great heat that it melts anything?"

"O-Okay." Bruce said, "I'm still not getting the problem."

Perry hummed away, "Flick those entry slips round, go for a first edition entry. The red and blue one."

Reaching out with a green vine, Bruce brought a rather cheap looking red and blue tab on the Pokédex page. "Spits fire that is hot enough to melt boulders. Known to cause forest fires unintentionally." He read out, chewing his lip for a second before his eye gleamed. "Boulders… yeah! Charizard is super weak to rock types right?"

"Correct-o-mundo!". Perry cheered, bumping a wing into the air.

"Yeah." Edward confirmed, "Or rather, really vulnerable to their attacks. But there is the big one. Fire type moves struggle against rock types too. So why would fire-"

"Melt a boulder." Bruce finished with a grin. "Any ideas why?"

Eyes flicking between the simmering pot and his fellow grass type, Edward grimaced, "Actually I'm not sure on that one… rock types aren't immune to fire attacks. Maybe if the fire was held on a rock long enough it could melt it down?"

"Maybe, but there would have to be a Onix or Geodude out there who was badly scarred."

"Hmm hmm…" Perry said, "It is a most fascinating contradiction."

Edward tilted his head, stepping down from his stirring position. "Any thoughts Perry?"

The avian Pokémon rubbed the underside of his beak with the tip of his wing, "There is a theory I once heard of." He leaned further forward, voice starting to deepen as he spoke. "Basically, all Pokémon have this… bioenergy within them. This energy is what gives each and every Pokémon their own strength, power and speed."

"Wait, I've heard of this." Edward interrupted. "Isn't that supposed to be Aura?"

"Hmm. Not quite." The magpie said, wing tapping the table again. "Aura is more like spiritual energy. It's the essence of all living things. Very few Pokémon can sense Aura, never mind use it like Lucario can. Bioenergy is more about physical wellbeing."

"So, what else does this stuff do then?" Bruce asked.

"It would help enhance some physical traits, as well as accelerating healing. But! Most notably, it would grant different Pokémon unique… powers. Some of which be limited to specific groupings of creatures."

Bruce's eyes widened, "Hold up one moment. Are you saying that our types are tied with this bioenergy?"

"Dear Brucie." Perry quietly purred, "Despite not being the sharpest tool in the recruit shed, you're deliciously preceptive."

"H-Hey, thanks!" Bruce replied, flashing a toothy grin. "I am pretty- wait, sharpest-"

"Nevertheless!" Perry continued onwards, "Yes. If this theory is remotely correct, then bioenergy can have its own typing! A flying type would have bioenergy attuned for the rigors of flight! A grass type would be able to manipulate flora! And a fire type…"

"Could enhance their fire." Edward finished, an air of realisation in his voice. "That would make it really easy for a fire-type to melt a boulder. But a rock type's energy would counter that!"

"Precisely." Perry confirmed.

"Huh…" Bruce said, "I guess that explains a lot."

"Of course…" Perry murmured again, "It could just be that most rock types are made of sturdier stuff than your everyday boulder."

"Enough that even Charizard's fire might not cut it?"

"Enough that even Charizard's fire might not cut it."

Perry hesitated for a moment, but somehow clicking the tips of his wing. "Or it could, but it would take a while to do."

"I see…" Bruce replied, "Kinda interesting to think about anyway. Hey Edward, any ideas of what species to try out next?"

Edward approached the table again, carrying the smaller pot of curry by a handle placed in his jaws. "Caromp." He mumbled, before placing the pot down and shaking his head. "Sorry. Garchomp?"

"Ooh, another excellent choice!" Perry explained, flicking the pages. This time getting near halfway through the book before the Garchomp page revealed itself.

This time, it was the grass-type Skiddo who was reading the entry. "We've got an eighth edition entry again." He confirmed. "Garchomp makes its home in volcanic mountains. It flies through the sky…"

His words trailed off, his mouth twitching as if he was chewing something. "…as a jet airplane?"

Bruce frowned, blowing out his cheeks in thought. "J-Jet airplane?" he blubbered. "What is that?"

The two flinched as Perry's cackling laughter erupted again, his eyes widening enough to look bloodshot. "Ha ha, ha hahaha! Airplanes! You've probably can't even imagine Cessnas! Never mind 747s, 380s and the odd Concorde!"

Edward hissed in a sharp breath, "Perry… maybe less confusing comments would help?"

The laughter died down, "Alas… you're right. How about we focus on the matter of just flying, shall we?"

"Not even the volcanic mountain stuff?" Bruce asked.

"That makes sense itself." Edward replied, "I mean, Garchomp is a ground type. It could probably handle the heat."

He leaned forward, scanning the document. "But… ground types shouldn't be able to fly. At least not that fast, right?"

Bruce flashed a grin, "There are ground types that also happen to be flying types. I knew a Gilgar back home that was like that."

"True, but Gilgar and Gliscor mainly glide." Edward replied with a twitch, "Charizard I can understand to some extent, but Garchomp? How can that even work?"

"Perhaps you answered your own question." Perry replied, tapping his beak against the image of the Garchomp, placed at the centre of the page. "Look at the arms. Not really wing-like at all aren't they?"

"Yeah…" Bruce grumbled, "It almost seems like the guy who wrote this was lying."

"Or was drunk on Romulan Ale." Perry chirped.

"Why would someone write a false report in a Pokédex though?" Edward growled, scraping his hooves on the floor. "It's a disservice!"

Bruce's eye quivered, "Okay Edward, calm down. I'm sure there is a good answer to all that. Perry?" He flicked his eyes over to the magpie, "Sounds like you know something."

"Oh Bruce!" he laughed back, "You continue to surprise me! But yes, I have a few ideas."

His voice once more deepened into that story-telling tone, "So, Garchomp is a ground type with no flying type, so we can't use the bioenergy theory for this one. So we have to look at things at an even more physical level. You are both correct, there is no way a Garchomp is going to be able to get off the ground on its own. I'd be amazed if they can somehow get above the trees."

He leaned forward, a gleam in his eye. "Which either means whoever wrote these entries wasn't accurate… or a Garchomp would use a different method of flight."

The two grass-types shared a glance, "A different way?" Bruce questioned.

"Indeed. Being a bird myself, I've done a bit of research into the matter. We don't just power ourselves alone, but we also glide and soar too!"

"But Garchomp's arms still have only tiny surfaces for lift…" Edward said.

"Hmm… weird physical facts about that one. I could go into a whole lecture about it, but if I did that, we would be here for another 20,000 wor- I mean hours. The simple rundown is this, if you happen to be going fast enough, you don't need big wings."

Bruce blinked, freezing on the spot. "Huh, really?"

"Oh yes!" Perry tweeted, "The faster something or someone goes, the more lift you'll get so you can get away with a shorter wing! Now, if you tried to fly at say, 50mph as a Garchomp, you'd come crashing down to earth in no time. But remember what the entry said, as fast as a jet plane."

"And… how fast is one of those?"

Perry blinked, "Ah, yeah. You don't know what jets are. Let's just say they're really fast. If Garchomp can get enough speed up, and find a good thermal for extra left… then maybe, just maybe, it could get airborne."

A hoof clicked on the floor, "So… the entry could be accurate then?" Edward mused.

"Perhaps so." Perry confirmed, "And in that case, the entry is too vague… or perhaps what the writer saw wasn't actually a Garchomp and the poor sod never realised it. Those dragons would have to be moving at quite a lick to get off the ground."

Bruce beamed a smile, "Well, I suppose once these disasters are done with, that will be something to research!"

Huffing, Edward couldn't stop his own little smile forming. "I didn't think you were into research Bruce."

The Bulbasaur shrugged, "Hey, I was going to join an Exploration Team before everything got reorganised. It's part of the job."

Rolling his shoulders and eyes, the Skiddo turned back to Perry. "Fair enough. I guess it's your turn Perry."

Blinking, the bird jabbed a feather tip at his own chest. "Erm." He choked, "Are you sure?"

"Hey, come on." Bruce replied, grin still present. "We've picked some Pokémon already, we need you to round it out."

Beak clicking in hesitation at the reptile and goat looking at him. "Well…" his eyes sparkled. "Count me in for a random pick!"

Reaching out with a set of talons, he began to flip the pages back, images and text blurring as he did so. "Lets see, lets see, lets see, lets see." He whispered to himself as the paper crackled as it flopped over. "Let's see what this is!"

He slammed his foot down onto the Pokédex, locking it onto a specific page.

Perry's eyes widened, his talons quivering. "…shit."

Raising a brow, Bruce leaned forward again to inspect the page. "Number 150… Mewtwo."

Edward also leaned forward as Perry pulled his talons away. "Created from the DNA of Mew," he said softly, "This Pokémon is a dangerous combination of overwhelming power and a savage heart."

"Mewtwo…" Bruce mused, "I think I've heard of that one before."

Perry visibly gulped, "M-Maybe we should go ahead and find a different entry to look at…" he started.

"What's the matter Perry?" Bruce chuckled, "A little scared of a page? I remember a legendary being called Mew."

"Even though it looks… pretty tough from what I recall of Mew." Edward mused, "But it's the first I've heard of it."

Shivering, Perry shook his head, "Probably best not-"

"I mean, what type is that guy?"

"Is it a relative of Mew?"

"Why does it have Two in the name?"

"What is DNA? Why is that important?"

"You think it coul-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Perry squawked, eyes flashing red and causing the two grass types to leap up in fright. Bruce's eyes wide, vines slipping out whilst Edward cried out in terror and scrambled back.

The magpie panted, shaking his head rapidly. "Since you are both so eager for answers… fine. I shall indulge you."

Hesitating, Bruce reeled in his vines. "Y-You will?"

"P-P-Preferably without s-shouting at us I hope?" Edward added, sucking in breath and fighting to stop himself shivering.

Perry nodded, expression hard and serious. "I will. I know much of Mewtwo. But due to it's nature I speak little of it. And share even less."

The two grass types settled back round the table as Perry continued. "Mewtwo is… more than just a relative of Mew." He said quietly, eyes narrowed, "It's a clone that has been enhanced within the lab that created it."

"Created?" Edward whispered, "So it's… artificial?"

"Like those… err… what are they called… Porygon?" Bruce added with a frown.

"Artificial, yes, but on a biological level instead." Perry confirmed, "DNA… again, to explain that would take 40,000 hours. But to oversimplify it, DNA is a set of instructions that determine what form and traits Pokémon take. Most of them anyway. A group of scientists took the DNA of Mew, which itself is said to contain the DNA of every Pokémon species out there, and recombined it to create Mewtwo."

He leaned further forward, wings stretched out across the table. "But they made a terrible error."

"An error?" Bruce asked.

"You see." Perry continued, "When you are born, or come into existence naturally. There isn't this… urge to understand one's purpose at first. It's something you learn and develop over the years. When you are artificially created, deliberately, that changes entirely. You wonder why you were created, for what purpose. What possessed them to do it? And when the answer isn't forthcoming… it can mess with one's head a lot. Which for a psychic type is particularly… troubling."

Edward seemed unnaturally still, his eyes fixed on Perry. He swallowed, then said, "I'm guessing this is when that 'savage heart' comes into play."

Perry nodded, "Indeed. Pokémon naturally like to fight, and can restrain it well. But Mewtwo? They truly love a fight. True they can hold it back for a while, but if you push their buttons? They will be trying to kill you on a dime. They have a lot of power too, so they're more than capable of taking you on. Even more so considering it was just made on a whim. A Legendary, of all things."

Shivering, Edward bit his lip. "Sounds… troubling."

Bruce tilted his head, "Dangerous? Okay, sure. But so is a Garchomp. Or any Pokémon for that matter."

Perry glowered at Bruce, a sharp hiss of breath escaping his beak. "You shouldn't underestimate them. Speaking of which… don't fight Mewtwo."

Narrowing his eyes, Bruce rotated his jaw, "Yeah but… Sam, Alice, Dan and… Aidan got away from Volcanion, and he was crazy strong! Like, he could fly on steam and everything! I'm sure we could deal with-"

A blue-grey wing landed on Bruce's shoulder, Perry jerking forward with deathly cold eyes. When he finally spoke, his tone was sharp enough that it could probably freeze Bruce there and then.

"No."

Bruce blinked, shrinking away from the Corvisquire. "P-Perry?"

The icy eyes narrowed, "You are not ready to fight Mewtwo. And likely never will be." He stated, bluntly and matter-of-factly. "Escaping Volcanion in a dead Mystery Dungeon is certainly no small feat, especially given your experience, make no mistake. But fighting Mewtwo? Listen to me very carefully…"

As he spoke his next words, the air seemed to chill around them. "Mewtwo can be generous. But it is also a killing machine, it's genetically engineered superweapon created by minds far beyond ours and through technology that we would scarcely understand. They dreamed of creating the world's strongest Pokémon…"

Perry leaned forward, beak barely inches away from Bruce's face. "…and they succeeded. Do not. Fight. Mewtwo."

Bruce, rapidly blinking and barely managing to squeak, sharply nodded.

"We… we understand." Edward quietly said, flinching as one of Perry's eyes twitched towards him. "But Perry… what if we're forced too?"

Perry remained silent for a moment, before finally speaking once more. "Mewtwo is a powerful psychic. But not omniscient. Dark and Ghost type attacks will still hurt, but don't engage it directly. Keep your mind clear, split up, throw objects, create confusion. Use your instincts. Don't think. Just do."

He peeled his wing off Bruce and returned to his cushion. "Do not fight it. Do you understand?"

"Y-Yeah." Bruce confirmed.

"O-Of course." Edward declared.

"Say the words." Perry hissed, causing the two to once more flinch.

"I understand." They collectively said.

He held his gaze on the pair for a solid five seconds, peering deep into them as if to make sure their concerns were genuine.

"Good." He curtly said.

Then, on cue, his eyes almost bulged out of his head, his face stretching into a devilish look that was mixed in with clear joy. "BECAUSE IT'S CURRY TIME!"

The Skiddo's eyes widened, "Shit shit!" Edward cursed, pitch high as he sprung back to the oven, steam rising from the large pot on it. "I forgot about the curry! It's burning!"

"Fear not!" Perry bellowed, touching down next to the goat and reaching into his satchel. "It's just the way I like it! Now where is it… no I don't want the Lostech PPC, or Luke's lightsab- there we go!"

He plopped a strange looking device onto the side, which included a pair of blades on the inside of a clear container before grabbing hold of the pot. "Okay Big-D, this better not be a cheap knock off blender you robbed! Then again, I had Mariner give it an extra kick!" he cheerfully said before pouring the yellow-green curry into the device.

Edward's mouth dropped open as Perry turned it on, the blades cutting up the up the meal and breaking it up into a clearing liquid. "W-Why are you doing that to it!"

Bruce jogged off his cushion to join them, "It doesn't look like curry anymore!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, don't worry!" Perry cheered, shutting off the blender to reveal a clear, fluid within the container, the metal blades inside… fizzing away. "This is only my special curry!". His voice almost went demonic as he lifted up the sealed container. "Also known as, HYDROCHLORIC ACID!"

"Hydrochlo-what?!" Bruce uttered.

Edward recoiled, his body freezing up complete. "Arc- Perry!" he managed to say, his tone sharpening to a knife edge, "You can't be seriously thinking of drinking that!"

The magpie's laughter echoed through the room. "O-Oh? Me! Hell no! I'd die or throw up! No no, this is for one of our special guests underneath the tree!"

"Y-Y-You don't mean the prisoners! L-like… what's his name?"

"Greg?" Bruce asked.

"Yes, him. That's torture!" Edward spat.

The Bulbasaur shuffled on the spot, "Yeah, Perry… I don't think the guild allows that-"

Tucking the container of acid under his wing, Perry shuck his head. "No no, not for the prisoners! For the corpse!"

Edward blinked, "T-The corpse… wh- no, no no no…" his eyes squeezed shut as he shook his head. "That cannot be a thing!"

Bruce snarled at the pair, "Is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on here?"

The Skiddo didn't even look at Bruce, his eyes focused on the container. "Did Sam mention Greg… killing someone?"

"A Marowak I think… his neck got broken. Why?"

"Well…" Edward visibly gulped, "Ghost-types can kind of… come back to life."

"Come back to… life?" Bruce whispered, "I mean, yeah, some of those guys were dead once. But coming back from being dead… dead? I'm not sure it's possible."

"It can happen with ghost-types." Edward reiterated. "It doesn't always work, so one way to check if they are dead is to pour-" he swallowed once more, "acid over the body."

Perry's head snapped back as he laughed, "I did say I wanted this hot enough to burn the death out of the dead!"

Bruce visibly recoiled, baring his teeth, "That's sick!" he spat, "Can't we show a bit of respect for the dead!"

"Oh please." Perry replied, waving his arm. "Think of it this way. If he is about to revive, he'll wake up screaming and we can bury him in baking soda, celebrate his survival and send him off to prison! If not, then hey! At least it will be easy to clean everything up!"

His laughter grated against the two grass-types ears as he made his way towards the window. "Thank you so much for getting this completed good sir!" he cheered, "Now if you excuse me, I need to get this down to the morgue."

Edward's eyes snapped back towards the table, "Aren't you forgetting your-"

"Oh! Keep the Pokédex as thanks! You two will probably find it more useful than me anyway!" He tucked the acid into his satchel, leaning out of the window. "Now, I need to get this down quick, then I can give Guilmon his digivice back!"

Bruce slowly shook his head, "Guilmon-"

"Cheerio! Gotta mess around with digital grunts bye!"

The magpie dove out of sight, his wings opening up as he took flight.

Inside the kitchen, Bruce and Edward stared blankly at the now empty window, planted firmly on the spot.

Neither spoke for a whole minute, eyes fixed on that window. As if waiting for Perry to stick his head back through. But no bird came.

Bruce let out a heavy sigh, "Perry is… weird…"

Edward shivered, "That… is an understatement."

Awkwardly, the Skiddo looked over at the smaller pot that he originally been cooking with, sealed up and with it's handle in place. "I'm not sure I want to eat that anymore."

Bruce rolled his eyes over towards it. "Yeah… wouldn't it be a bit of a waste though?"

"Maybe… though it will still be good for a bit."

The Bulbasaur held that gaze for only a second before his eyes brightened, "Wait, I saw some bread being baked down in the town around this time before, how about I go down and grab some and we have a team breakfast?!"

Nose wrinkling, Edward tilted his head at the reptile, "Team breakfast?"

"Yeah! We wake up Nia and Dan, you get Denver, heck, let's get Sam and Alice roped in!"

Edward raised a brow, "Denver is still kind of, err, shaky with Alice for what happened down at Broken Wood. Are you sure that's a good idea? Besides, I thought you hated her?"

Bruce rolled his eyes again, "Well, after all that crap and getting signed on with the Guild? Even I will throw Alice a bone. Besides, she and Sam did take down Greg with Team Spirit, nothing wrong with that."

Smiling, Edward bowed his head as approached the table. "Well, they would be small portions, but I think we can split it up."

A single green vine crept over to the Pokédex, flipped the book shut, and coiled round it. "Yeah! Throw some bread in, maybe an apple or two and hey! We've got a nice little feast like back home!"

"Air Continent thing?" Edward asked before lifting the pot up in his jaws.

"Nah, more of a Bulbasaur thing!" Bruce replied, the two approaching the door. "Proper grass-type hospitality for you! Though one thing is bothering me."

"Hmph?" Edward mumbled; jaws stiff as he tried to hold the pot in place.

"Perry's curry is this hydrochloacid or something right? One, I'm sure there are better ways to make acid than that, and two, why was he in such a hurry th-"

The door flew open with a bang, a green chameleon barging in with a massive golden hammer in hand, that now, only closer inspection, had a horse shaped skull on its side. The Kecelon's eyes burned, "Where the hell is Perry!?"

A few levels down the tree, Bruce and Edward's screams echoed through the door to their room. Sam's ears went fully erect, the Scorbunny jerking upright. "What the heck was that!?".

He sprinted over to the door, peering out and his head tilting back to look up as best he could. "I think someone's in trouble!"

"Kecelon."

Sam jerked round to look back into the room. There, at the foot of one of the beds was Alice, slowly stretching her body on a soft mat. A warm up for the morning ahead.

"Err, like Larissa?" he asked, "Is she trying to kill someone?"

"Probably not." Alice replied, still stretching away. "The unofficial rule of the guild? Don't piss off a Kecelon."

Sam frowned, "Okay… why-"

"Don't piss off a Kecelon."

The Scorbunny blinked, taken aback by the unusual bluntness of the words, even by Alice's standards. He took one final look, whistled, started to make his way back in… and…

"Balls to it."

Spinning on his foot, Sam sprinted out of the door and out of sight.

Alice straightened herself up, staring blankly at the door. "What an idiot…" she grumbled.

She stared at the door for a moment longer, then she started to lean over to stretch again. But she froze once more, still staring at the door. And with that, she let out a heavy sigh, "Fuck."

Abandoning her stretch, Alice hopped across the room and through the door, in hot pursuit of her partner.