Trials of Sarah Vol 5: Pokemon Horizions

by Snow Nadder

(Takes place during the Summer of Paldea Adventure) While being a guest speaker at the Indigo Academy in Kanto, Sarah and Race suddenly get sucked into another world trotting adventure when they meet Liko and her Sprigatito. When the Explorers target the three of them for their Terapagos, they suddenly meet Professor Friede and the Rising Volt Tacklers.

11. Arboliva's Forest

When Sarah and Race returned to Paldea with the Rising Volt Tacklers and the former's family, reuniting with the rest of the Alolan Royal Family and their Paldea friends in the process, Liko spoke with her father about her wish to continue her journey with the friends she made, Later, they met up with the Artazon Gym Leader, Brassius, to help him out of a slump he was in before he revealed what he knew about the Terastal Shiny Rayquaza and the connection it supposedly had with another Pokémon named Arboliva in a nearby forest. With the plan set in place, Sarah also decided that it was time to tell everyone save about Lazuli and the Explorers targeting her and Race for their Terapagos as well as Liko for her pendant but how will they take in the truth involving them?

It was nighttime by the time everybody helped Brassius out of his slump and learned about his encounter with the Terastal Shiny Rayquaza and learned about the Pokémon known as Arboliva. Of course, on their end, Liko and Roy managed to tell Friede and the others on the Brave Olivine what they and everyone else knew and they agreed to meet up with Sarah, her family, Race, and their Paldea friends so they could be ready to scout out the Pokémon with a connection to Rayquaza.

As the Rising Volt Tacklers and Roy and Fuecoco were fast asleep, Liko and Sprigatito couldn't sleep as the former was curious about something involving Nidothing and Dot. Quietly as they could, the pair team made their way to Dot and Quaxly's room to see the young recluse and continue her questioning after seeing her Nidothing suit that was hung out to dry after it was washed the previous day.

"I'm always hearing Nidothing's song in there," Liko thought before the doggy door to Dot's room opened and Quaxly appeared, seeing her and Sprigatito in the hall.

"Hi, there!" the Duckling Pokémon cried cheerfully, getting her attention.

"Hello," Sprigatito greeted back, looking happy to see her fellow Paldea Starter again.

"It's the Quaxly that's always with Dot...! Well, I didn't have time to ask about what I saw earlier... But, I just got to find out."

Taking a deep breath as she thought back to the Nidothing suit she saw, Liko then knocked on Dot's door and asked, "Hey, Dot? Are you in there? There's something I want to ask you..."

"Uh... Y-Yeah, I... I, well, I got something to tell you, too," the girl in question stated nervously after a moment of awkward silence as she huddled in her chair, wondering if she should come clean about herself and her cosplay alter-ego to Liko.

"Dot, Are you...?"

"So... The thing is, I-I'm..."

"...Are you a hardcore Nidothing fan?!"

That wasn't what Dot was expecting to hear as she repeated and spluttered, "I'm Nido-wait! W-What did you say...?"

"You see... It's just, you're so hardcore! You don't have time to hang out with a wannabe like me, right? I mean, I noticed that you made a costume just like Nidothing's. I never thought about going full cosplay like that..."

Dot just deadpanned as she listened in before she anxiously held her head, knowing that unlike Sarah and Race if they were behind her door and took time to check up on her as well, Liko was still clueless about the truth and she could only mutter, "She still doesn't get it yet...? Ugh, come on, at least Sarah and Race would've figured it out, think... This is getting even harder to deal with...!"

---

At the same time, Mollie, surprisingly, was also wide awake; she was in the dining room as she had received a late-night call which was from her mother at her home. Her parent sounded rather insistent about something as the traveling daughter talked with her over her Rotom Phone and she seemed to be a little disgruntled about what they were talking about.

"No, I won't. I'm extremely busy, eventually... I know that. When? I just said, 'eventually'. Sorry, but I got to work. Yeah, goodnight," she sighed as she ended the call before a wide-awake Orla came in with some coffee for them.

"Here you go. Was that call from your home just now?" the mechanic puzzled.

"Sure was, and it's always the same every time she called. It's like all my mom ever knew how and what to do is worry about the wrong things, even the tiniest and pettiest of things," Mollie confessed knowingly, scrolling through news articles on her Rotom Phone until she came across a report detailing a wildfire that struck the forest that was said to be the home of Arboliva a few days ago (which was days before they, the rest of the Rising Volt Tacklers, Sarah, her family, Race, and his team arrived in Paldea).

"Yeah, that's gotta be tough..." Orla sympathized as Mollie eyed the article.

"Hey, wait... That forest, weren't the kids going to go there with Sarah, her family, and Race tomorrow?"

"Yeah, following a lead they got from Brassius; Nemona, Arven, Penny, and Team Star will be with them along with Carmine and Kieran and Drayton, Lacey, Amarys, and Crispin will make inquiries and do research on Rayquaza and Arboliva back at Uva Academy. At least, that's what it is according to what Sarah and Race said before everybody went to bed. I wouldn't be surprised if they planned that out. Why do you ask?"

"...Maybe, I'll tag along with them tomorrow."

---

(Theme Song - Anywhere My Pokémon Go)

I love watching how my Pokémon grow

I'm sharing everything my Pokémon know

(We open with Sarah and her family with the Viking Teens as they find themselves in Paldea as part of Sarah's vacation plan before the little princess and Race are shown finding Miraidon and Koraidon on the beach before meeting Nemona, Penny, and Arven from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet)

Nighttime, daytime, there are shining more so

I'll go anywhere my Pokémon go

(We see Sarah and Hootie joining forces with Liko and her partner, Sprigatito, as they all perform Leafage before we meet a boy named Roy and his Pokémon, Fuecoco, battling Sarah as she summoned her Primarina, Aqua, and they begin to have a battle. Then, we cut to one of the villains belonging to a new team of foes named Amethio using a Ceruledge to square off against Sarah as she fights with Kaji and Keldeo before a new Pokémon Professor, Friede, and his crew: the Rising Volt Tacklers are shown with their Pokémon)

Anything you wanna see, (Ooh!) anything you wanna do

Promise you can be with me, be with me, (Yeah!) I can be with you

(We soon find our heroes joined by Edgar, Henna, Stoick, Gobber, their Pokémon and dragons, Nemona, Penny, and Arven as they find themselves in Area Zero where Sarah's Walking Wake and Iron Leaves, Link and Zelda, are facing an army of Paradox Pokémon in front of them. Then, Sarah and Race's necklaces glow with the former accessing the power of Terastallization for her Pokemon as she Terastallizes and Mega Evolves them before the royal couple, the Viking Teens, Miraidon, Koraidon, Liko, Roy, Nemona, Arven, and Penny are shown together as they stare out into the heavens)

I wanna go around and around and around the world with you

I'll go anywhere my Pokémon go

Trials of Sarah: Pokémon Horizons

(End Theme Song)

---

July 6th; after breakfast, with Liko and Roy meeting up with Sarah, her family, Race, and the majority of their Paldea friends shortly after, the group made their way to Arboliva's forest to find the mysterious Pokémon and try to figure out the connection it had with Rayquaza according to what Brassius had told them. They weren't the only ones going there as Mollie, true to her word with Orla, tagged along with Chansey for the trip.

But, when they arrived, though, they were greeted by a horrific sight; the wildfire Mollie heard about had burned a major chunk of the forest to the ground, leaving the field they were staring at nothing but ashes and charred wood.

"Oh, man..."

"This is depressing," Sarah and Silvally winced.

"What happened?" Roy breathed as he, Sarah, and Liko gasped in horror at the heavily desolate part of the forest while the group (which also included the Viking Teens and their Pokémon and dragons in addition to Lazuli, Galaxagus, and Pantherra) stared on, not knowing what to say about it. "Is this the forest that Brassius was talking about yesterday?"

"It's definitely not a party," Fuecoco squeaked.

"It's less of a forest... And, more of a wasteland," Liko gawked, aghast.

"You're right, Liko. There was a nasty forest fire that occurred here just a few days ago," Nemona informed gravely.

"According to the news reports, it was caused by a lightning strike and it's been a really dry season as of late. So..." Mollie trailed off, alluding to everyone the fact that there had been very little rain pouring down in the forest to re-nourish the part of Mother Earth they were standing before right now.

"And, all of this destruction by one of Mother Nature's own elements... It is truly terrifying," Tsukumaro nodded knowingly as his heart ached.

"Oh, dear..."

"The forest suffered as a result..."

"...I see..."

"This is terrible..." Delilah, David, Donna (former queen), and Doug grimaced.

"It is always a devastating force of nature to make its mark on the world," Xena sighed.

"Leaving scars on the land that can and cannot be healed," Lazuli added as Galaxagus and Pantherra could only agree.

However, Sarah's dragons and the Viking Teen's draconic partners sniffed the scorched earth, and right away, they sensed that something was off about the cause of the fire (even if everybody else didn't know the truth yet). Kaulu, Loki, Dragonair, Zweilous, Fraxure, Seviper, and Zangoose also felt uneasy as they had a feeling the fire was not done by any natural means as the humans would like to believe. Also, Astrid and Stormfly had volunteered to scout ahead and see if there were any survivors as well as any other areas in the forest that had been lost to the strange fire.

Roy groaned in dismay as he slumped down on his legs, knowing that they're severely handicapped by this revelation compounding their lead, "How can we explore a forest that isn't here anymore?"

Race gently placed a hand on his right shoulder as he reassured him, "This is still the forest Brassius told us about, kid. We just need to find out if anybody managed to escape from the fire and if they know of Arboliva and her whereabouts."

"The only question is where do we start looking and asking around?" reminded Lacey.

Just then, Astrid and Stormfly returned from their patrol as the tomboy Viking pointed everyone towards another part of the forest and said, "Hey, guys! Stormfly and I found a large patch of land that was spared from the flames, right over that hill there!"

"Then, that's where we'll begin our search," Tai Lung nodded as he turned to the rest of the Jungle Guard. "Search for survivors!"

The Jungle Guard led the search party as they all entered the scorched part of the forest and searched for any signs of life including any Pokemon that had been left behind or escaped the flames of destruction that decimated their home.

Koraidon, Miraidon, Serpent, and Athiusa contributed to the search and rescue effort, but despite looking all around the area, nobody found any Pokemon that survived the destruction as of yet.

"Daddy, there's nobody here!"

"No Pokemon around this part of the forest in sight as Sister noted, Father!" Helioseon and Breezeon noted worriedly to Guardeon.

Guardeon was concerned, musing out loud as he stood next to Mollie, "Strange, the local Pokemon don't seem to answer our calls. This doesn't make any sense, I wonder what could've happened to them when the wildfire took place..."

"Most found out about the fire and escaped in time. After a good few rains once the stormy season hits, the grass and the trees will come back. Eventually, the forest will return to normal and the Pokemon will be home again," the traveling doctor reassured.

"I just hope it rains soon for the Pokemon," Liko prayed, worried for the Pokemon that lost their home before she noticed Sarah scanning the ground and sky as if she was looking for something.

"Guys, we found them!"

"The Pokemon we're looking for are over there!" Astrid and Stormfly shouted, having found the Pokemon that escaped the wildfire who were a few feet away from the group.

They also found the land that was untouched by the fire, much to their relief as Liko cried out, "There it is, the area that escaped the wildfire!"

"We better split up; Arboliva might be somewhere in the forest and we'll cover more ground that way if there are also more Pokemon in need of help," Eri suggested.

Sarah nodded as she then said, "Eri's right, we should keep our eyes and ears open if that's possible. Mollie, you and Chansey take Liko, Roy, Sprigatito, and Fuecoco to the untouched part of the forest. We'll stay with the rest of the Pokemon and the dragons to take care of the survivors and any other Pokemon with them."

"If any of you see Arboliva in the area where you're at, contact us straight away. We'll do the same if we see her," Doug informed as well.

"Alright, we're on our way. Be careful," Mollie agreed as she and Chansey took Liko, Roy, and their partners with them to the untouched part of the forest.

Once they had departed, the rest of the group followed Astrid and Stormfly to where the pair and Fraxure found the Pokemon they were looking for. The head of the pack of Pokemon they found was a wild male Mabosstiff surrounded by a female Daschbun and their supposed offspring: two Fidough and two Maschiff, the latter five looking over the Mabosstiff patriarch's current condition.

Their concern was rightly founded as he tried to get back on his paws but ended up wincing in pain and falling on his stomach, letting out a pained whimper which scared his family.

"A wild Mabosstiff!"

"And, a Daschbun along with two Fidough and two Maschiff," Arven and Penny gasped.

"They all must be a family living in this forest and they must've gotten caught in the crossfire when the wildfire took place," Giacomo deduced.

"They must've been trying to get away from the fire. The Daschbun and the offspring are unhurt but I don't think the same can be said for the big guy with them," Cinderace noted as Arven's Mabosstiff looked on in surprise at its fellow Normal Type.

"If he got himself some burns, by the looks of it, he was trying to protect his family at the cost of his own life," added Scorch as Sarah carefully edged closer to the whimpering Boss Pokemon, getting the attention of his mate as she darted in front of the princess and growled and barked at her threateningly to protect her mate.

Sarah was startled by this and jumped back a bit but Audino and Blissey immediately came forward as calmly as they could and joined their medical partner, reassuring the aggressive mate, "It's alright, no need to worry. Our trainer is a qualified Pokemon Nurse and she can help your mate with his burns. We can vouch for her given her kindness and the lack of evil intentions on her part."

"She can help him get better again but she can't do that unless you're willing to trust her and us to do the right thing for his sake as well as your own and that of your family. No harm will come to him, we promise..."

Daschbun looked between the Healing and Happiness Pokemon as they calmly smiled at her. Then, she looked at the little princess and saw her nod reassuringly at her with a soft smile on her face which only confirmed what her medical partners were saying.

Seeing as she and her family had nothing else to lose, and now knowing that she and her family could trust them, the protective female nodded cautiously and stood back to allow Sarah to join her mate and examine him for any wounds on him that came from the wildfire while he and his family survived the traumatic ordeal.

She soon found out the problem as she looked at the wild Boss Pokemon's paws and found burn marks on them which she handled with care, gently touching them to feel how bad they were and getting another pained whimper from the patriarch and the sight making Arven's Mabosstiff wince fearfully for him.

"Sarah, what's wrong with him?" he asked the princess, fearing for the wild Mabosstiff.

"Poor fella got his paws burnt while shielding his mate and their offspring from the fire. He needs them healed now before he gets an infection from them," she replied, knowing they have to get the wild Boss Pokemon's paws healed straight away before she turned to her dragons.

"Hydro, come over here!" she called, getting the female Tide Glider to join them. "I need you to heal his paws with your healing saliva and water on them, think you can do it?"

"Righttio, queenie!" grinned Hydro with a knowing nod, inching herself closer to the wild Mabosstiff and gently spraying a mix of water and her healing saliva onto his paws.

At first, the wild Boss Pokemon gave small whimpers which left his mate letting off warning snarls at the dragon while their children let out worrying whimpers for their father. However, the whimpers stopped as the burn marks slowly vanished and the pain subsided until Hydro eventually stopped, feeling satisfied with her work and the wild Mabosstiff growing amazed by what he saw.

When he felt his paws again, the wild Boss Pokemon slowly got back on all fours and noticed that he was no longer in any pain. The wild Daschbun and their offspring were also astounded by what they saw and the little Fidough and Maschiff yipped and cheered happily for their father's well-being while the female Dog Pokemon nuzzled her mate with relief and happiness overflowing her as tears of joy fell from her eyes.

"Chili, Rosie, Sarah and Hydro did it!"

"The Mabosstiff's burns on his paws are all gone!"

"He's alright!" cheered the princess' Paldea Starters.

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy...!" the Fidough and Maschiff offspring continue to chirp excitedly as they surround their father.

"Oh, my darling!" Daschbun sobbed happily, continuing to nuzzle her mate, leaving everybody else watching the whole thing happily with warm smiles on their faces.

The equally relieved wild Mabosstiff nuzzled her mate back (leaving Arven's partner feeling just as happy) as he reassured his mate, "I'm alright thanks to this kind young woman and her fantastic beast, dear. No need to worry..."

---

Meanwhile, Mollie, Chansey, Liko, Sprigatito, Roy, and Fuecoco finally arrived at the untouched part of the forest that was safely out of reach of the fire with Roy immediately running on ahead, "I'm gonna go ahead to check things out! Come on, Fuecoco!"

"Wait for me, buddy!" Fuecoco called as he chased after his partner.

"Be careful, Roy!" Liko warned as she, Mollie, and their partners watched them leave.

"I'll be fine! I'm used to forests like this, remember?"

"Yeah, easy!"

"Just don't get lost!"

"If we can't find each other while looking for Arboliva, we can meet with each other under that huge tree!" Roy noted, pointing Liko and Mollie to the "tree" he mentioned (which was sticking out from above the forest canopy before he and Fuecoco went on their way. "Catch ya later!"

"Catch ya on the flippity-flop!"

"The kid's got energy, no surprise he's a perfect match for Fuecoco there," Mollie stated to Liko.

"I hope he'll be okay out there..."

"He's got his Rotom Phone on him and Sarah mentioned we can call her and her group if we found Arboliva or any other Pokemon that escaped the fire, he's fine. He can also call us if something happens or he can check the map to find his way back to us or the tree he mentioned."

Liko blushed, feeling sheepish as she admitted to her, "I know, I just worry too much sometimes..."

Mollie just sighed as she commented, "Boy, our motley crew is sure full of worriers..."

---

Back at the Brave Olivine and the Dragon Craft, Friede and Murdock were having their own worries as they looked at their Rotom Phones. They were still trying to get into contact with Liko's mother, Lucca, but with every call they made to her, she never seemed to answer and they were growing worried as if something might've happened to her without their and the others' notice. Orla noticed how concerned they were when she checked on them and wondered what the problem was.

"Huh? What's the matter with you two?" she puzzled.

Friede sighed as he admitted, "Still haven't gotten in touch with Ms. Lucca after a while; if I call her too many times, it feels kind of off-putting..."

Murdock could only agree, "I've been getting the silent treatment, too; I asked the kids what they wanted for lunch two hours ago but they never answered back. What if they're in trouble, what if something happened and we need to check up on them?"

Orla was stumped by what they were talking about as she told them, "What do you mean? They got Sarah, Race, her entire family, Race's team, and their friends from Uva and Blueberry Academies with them out there, not to mention Mollie is with them as well. Whenever you're on an adventure, there isn't much time for any of you to check messages."

"You asked the kids what they want for dinner every night," Friede agreed, looking over to Murdock.

"That's just my way of making conversation..."

"Just saying, pal, you're just being a little too persistent for your own good."

"Didn't Dot start blocking your messages, Murdock?" Orla asked the friendly cook curiously, recalling his niece.

Friede sighed in agreement as he admitted to him, "Guess it's unknown how much space is needed to give a niece like her."

"Truth... I also get tons of messages from my parents and I get tired of it."

"Okay, but you never talk to your parents about what you've been doing. Of course, they're going to worry; I'd be worried too if I was trying to get in touch with you."

"Oh, now you're on Team Persistent? I'm the guardian of my little sister's kid if you've already forgotten, and no matter what, I have to look out for her."

Orla chuckled as she watched Friede and Murdock banter as the close friends they are, "I'll say, I wish Mollie and Sarah could be here right now to hear how you're getting on like a house on fire."

"What does that mean?" Murdock questioned, glaring at Orla as she sniggered at him and Friede (who shared his incredulous glare).

"Oh, nothing," she quipped cheekily.

---

Out on the observation deck, as though he had heard everything from the dining room, Ludlow was looking out on the horizon as he sagely mused, "When your point of view changes, what you see also changes before your eyes; parents and children, people and Pokemon... I wonder if the children, the princess, and everyone else tied to her can see things from different points of view?"

---

Returning to Mollie, Liko, and their partners, they eventually took a break from their own search as they sat together on a nearby log, the latter watching all kinds of Pokémon living in the forest (including those that managed to escape from the wildfire) including Skiddo and Fletchling while Sprigatito pranced around.

"Sprigatito's really in a good mood today, I didn't know there would be so many different kinds of Pokémon living out here in this very forest," Liko mused peacefully.

Mollie was surprised as she turned to the young trainer and noted, "But, isn't Paldea your home region, Liko?"

Liko became sheepish as she confessed to the traveling doctor, "Yeah... But, I've never been that outdoorsy compared to most kids while growing up. Never thought about exploring outside my home, at least, until now since going to Indigo Academy and meeting Sarah and Race..."

"So, you're a rich kid?"

"It's not that. I mean, I just didn't meet them nor have Sprigatito at the time and my mom and dad were always busy with their work..."

"...What do your parents do for a living?"

"My dad makes his living through Pokémon picture books and my mother is a school teacher."

"And... What do you want to do?"

"...Well, probably not what my parents are doing, though... Life would be easier if I were more like them. It seems it would be nice to know what you love doing and just do it like they do. But, I don't know what I want; I just haven't been able to figure that out yet..."

"...I think it'd be pretty weird to find out what you want to be and what you want to do at your age but I was like you when I was younger," Mollie confessed after a while, leaving Liko perplexed. "Had no idea what I wanted to do with myself... The thing that makes us different, though, is that I had this path all laid out for me. For generations, my family had always been Pokémon Doctors so that meant I was supposed to become a Pokémon Doctor like them when my time came so I did."

Liko was left in awe as she could only mutter, "Wow, that's amazing...!"

Mollie stayed silent, being in complete contemplation before she continued, "I don't know about 'amazing', as you put it. I mean, at your age, I wasn't even able to think about doing everything else other than becoming a Pokémon Doctor, I just did what was expected of me. I loved Pokémon so I figured that would be a good reason to work at a Pokémon Center, but ultimately, after a while...I quit."

This intrigued Liko as she gently asked, "Can I ask why?"

Chansey gently cooed with concern for her partner over the reason why she became a traveling doctor and quit working in a Pokémon Center, earning a gentle head rub as she could only reply (her voice softening as she did so), "I'll tell you... But, not right now, maybe another time..."

Liko thought back to when she and Race had to go to a Pokémon Center in the Kanto Region to run an errand for her, "Actually, now that I think about it... I don't think I've ever seen Mollie enter a Pokémon Center before. Maybe, she doesn't want to be reminded of it or something..."

Eventually, Mollie replied again, complimenting Liko as she admitted to her, "You're the amazing one, really. You wanted to go on an adventure and you told your dad that, he gave you his blessings, and now, here you are..."

"...Um, it wasn't quite like that, actually..."

"I'm complimenting you with what you did, Liko. Accept it."

"...O-Okay, thanks..." Liko sighed, deciding to leave it as is before her partner appeared, meowing at them. "What is it, Sprigatito?"

Sprigatito led them to a bush that had some familiar-looking and ripe blueberries on them which piqued Liko's interest as she carefully picked one off of it, "Wow, these are really cute berries."

"Oran Berries, they can be used to help heal Pokémon whether in their raw and ripe form or all sorts of medicine that can be made for them," Mollie informed as she joined the pair.

"Good to know..." Liko replied curiously before she gave the berry she picked to her partner, who enjoyed it before scampering off. "Maybe there's more over there besides these... Hey, wait up!"

She quickly to Mollie and told her before going after her Grass Cat Pokémon, "I'll be right back!"

Mollie just sighed as she and Chansey watched the pair leave, "So much energy in one little girl..."

---

True to form, Sprigatito led her human partner to a small grove of ripe Oran Berries and picked some more from them but when they tried to get back to Mollie and Chansey, they realized they made a big mistake in their haste to get them, "Um... Sprigatito, do you know which way we came from?"

Sprigatito grew worried as she sheepishly admitted, "…I don't know, sorry."

Liko was now starting to get worried as she fretted to herself and tried to call Roy or Mollie on her Rotom Phone only to discover she got no reception from them where they were, "A-A-Are we, lost? Okay, Liko, you got to stay calm in moments like this... Ah! No way! Oh, man...! Now, what-wait, wait! Okay, what did Roy say? 'That big tree', the big tree he mentioned..."

She looked around and found the tree sticking out from the forest canopy that Roy told her and Mollie where they would rendezvous if they ever got lost, sighing with relief to know that they would meet up again, "There it is... Phew..."

---

Meanwhile, after looking around the forest for any Pokémon that escaped from the wildfire (while also keeping their eyes open for Arboliva), Fuecoco and Roy were already at the large 'tree' he noted in the heart of the forest. They were amazed by the sight of it as they gasped in awe; from what they were seeing, the tree looked surprisingly elegant and a far cry from the rest of the trees, having an appearance that made it look more like a lady with a sort of tree-like style. This was confirmed by the strange lanyard-like vines that were strung across its foliage and the two berries hanging off of them like pendants, it did look very regal.

"This has got to be the biggest tree in the entire forest!" Roy gushed as he and Fuecoco hurried over to the tree and started climbing it.

"Wait for meeee-OOMPH! ROOOOoooooooy..." Fuecoco cried as he tried to keep up but ended up slipping back down to the ground after he lost his footing on its slim yet elegant roots.

"Fuecoco!" Roy cried as he rejoined his defeated partner.

"Peachy..." the Fire Croc Pokémon moaned miserably before the young treasure hunter got an idea and got his partner into his bag, deciding to carry him up to the top of the three.

"Okay, now to the tree top! I'm sure we can find Arboliva from up here," he grinned, eager to find Arboliva and get closer to solving the mystery between her and the Terastal Shiny Rayquaza.

As they were nearing the top, Fuecoco gasped in surprise for he saw something that looked rather familiar hanging above them, "Huh? Hey, Roy, buddy! Look, over there, above you!"

"What is it, Fuecoco?" Roy looked up, and to his surprise, he saw another Ancient Pokeball similar to his own. "H-Hang on, isn't that another Ancient Pokeball?"

Determined to get the Ancient Pokeball before them, Roy inched himself and his partner closer and closer to it. However, as they were nearing the Pokeball, the so-called 'tree' started to shake which further surprised the young boy and Fuecoco as they felt it tremoring which now got them worried.

"W-What going on?" Roy gulped, starting to become scared as Fuecoco also became concerned.

Liko and Sprigatito also felt the 'tree' Roy and Fuecoco were at beginning to rumble and shake as they made their way to it, the tremors from it startling some of the nearby Fletchling as they fluttered away which drew their attention, "That huge tree we were going to, it's shaking... But, why? Something must be happening over there, Roy... Let's go, Sprigatito!"

"Right!" Sprigatito nodded and they immediately took off, hoping Roy and Fuecoco would be okay by the time they reached them and the 'tree'.

---

With Mollie and Chansey, despite not feeling the tremors of the 'tree' yet, they were getting worried as Liko and Sprigatito had been gone far too long for their liking since they left (the traveling doctor also getting no reception from her Rotom Phone when she tried to call either them or Roy and Fuecoco). Eventually, they also decided to meet up at the 'tree', hoping that the two of them and their partners would be there.

"I thought they'd be back by now... No reception, I'm not good at this whole 'waiting game' thing, aren't I? Didn't we say earlier we'd meet up at that big tree? Come on, Chansey."

---

Returning to Sarah and her party, they continued their search across the barren and burned-out wastelands for any more signs of wild Pokémon that had escaped the carnage or were not as lucky as the rest. The wild Boss Pokémon and his family tagged along to help them, feeling grateful for what the little princess and Hydro did to heal his paw burns as they sniffed the ground for anything left behind which would serve as a clue to find out who caused the fire in the first place.

All the while, everybody couldn't help but marvel sadly and feel bad about the state of devastation the forest went through from the fire. They knew the forest would grow back over time after getting some rain and sunlight when the rainy season returns but that won't be for a while. And, what's worse for all of them, they still don't have any clues as to what or who caused the fire and destroyed so many homes in the place belonging to the wild Pokémon including the wild Mabostiff, his mate, and their children.

"Nasty, dudes..." winced Atticus, seeing a burned-down tree nearby on his right.

"Yikes... By the looks of this, the fire must be worse than what everyone else thought when the news broke out," Kieran gulped, also not liking what he was seeing.

"Oh, dear... It's truly tragic to know that such a terrible offense has been made to the Pokémon living in this peaceful forest, they didn't do anything to deserve this," Magearna frowned solemnly, seeing how much damage a single fire made by someone or Mother Nature's natural elements did and how it had affected her fellow Pokémon.

"At least we can be grateful that Team Galactic had nothing to do with all of this crap, this time," Goodra added half-heartedly with relief, recalling when he, his family, and their friends had to deal with the Heatran Titan and witness the devastation it caused to the forest of Mt. Coronet.

"Indeed, we should be very lucky and they as well since they've been put behind bars once more," Braviary concurred.

"But, if it wasn't Mother Nature responsible for this mess and it was caused by someone else. who did it-bzt?"

"Well, we won't know until we find out let alone ask one of the other wild Pokémon surviving this whole ordeal if they know anything about it. But, that's the thing about something like this; these kinds of disasters, natural or otherwise, are much worse when someone sees them up close compared to hearing them on the TV or internet," put in Manteon and Carmine.

"Hey, Sarah, children! Over here, guess what!" Stoutland shouted, getting everyone's attention as he pawed at something he discovered from the scorched earth before him.

The entire group rushed over to his spot as he began to dig out what he had found. This piqued the interest of the Junior Patrollers as they rushed over to help him dig while also gaining the attention of the wild Mabosstiff and Daschbun's offspring before they joined them (much to the mates' surprise), adding to the digging efforts until they found what looked like a small transceiver device that had a blinking red light on it.

"Hey, that looks like a transceiver buried in the dirt."

"What's a small device like that transceiver doing out here in the middle of the forest, who planted it?" puzzled Fishlegs and Zenna as Race came over and gently picked up the transceiver to look at it.

Galaxagus and Pantherra growled quietly at the small device in disgust and even Lazuli couldn't hide her anger at it as she snarled, "I know what that is... That transceiver belonged to the Explorers, they must've played a part in the destruction of this forest. This thing must've been planted here and another one's been attached to a Pokémon they have on them so they can give their commands remotely or have one member give specific orders to the Pokémon holding it according to what he/she wanted."

"The Explorers... Who are they?" Mala questioned as she and the rest of Sarah, Asha, and Race's Paldea friends were not yet in the know about the Explorers and their purpose regarding the Terapagos Three and Liko's pendant.

Sarah realized what this meant as she sighed and told her, Race, and Asha's Paldea friends, "...Well, I knew you would find out eventually but I guess there's no time like the present given what we're dealing with here. They're a bunch of new but powerful bad guys that recently clashed with my family and I along with our new friends, the Rising Volt Tacklers, Roy, and Liko for a few days now."

"Wait, what? They're after you, why would they want to do that?" Arven asked, confused.

"I don't know what exactly. But, when Race, Liko, and I met one of them, Amethio, back at Indigo Academy in the Kanto Region, he wanted us to come with him concerning her pendant and our Terapagos. They seemed to want them for some reason but neither he nor his cohorts with him elaborated on what the Explorers wanted with them."

"But, Liko showed her pendant to us before the first school break occurred. We're going off on a limb here but we felt a familiar energy coming from it and...we think her pendant is none other than a fourth Terapagos given to her by her grandmother in its dormant form," Race added.

The Paldea group was shocked but Kieran and Carmine were thrown for a loop as they echoed, "A fourth Terapagos?!"

The former Battle Frontier Champion nodded in confirmation as he continued, "But, that's not all; after meeting Roy and when Amethio and his cohorts came at us and the Rising Volt Tacklers after trialing us with a tracker they placed on the Brave Olivine, Liko's Terapagos unlocked an Ancient Pokeball he had on him and from it came the Shiny Rayquaza with a Terastallized body that we're all looking for. After seeing that powerful Pokémon, however, we think the Explorers will now have their sights on it as well so they'll stop at nothing to go after it before we have a chance to find it."

The Paldea group was amazed but, despite their shared disbelief at what they were told and why they were left in the dark about the additional context behind their friends' encounters with the Explorers and what they wanted, they seemingly understood why Sarah and Race had to remain tight-lipped about the Terastal Shiny Rayquaza as well as why they would be after their and Liko's Terapagos.

"...We get it; you and Liko are the only ones in possession of your Terapagos."

"And, if the Explorers want them that badly along with Rayquaza, something's up," Nemona and Eri sighed.

"Huh? Hey, that's weird, my service has gone out of whack! What's going on?" Penny suddenly griped, fiddling with her Rotom Phone as she couldn't get any reception from it just as Mollie and Liko couldn't.

"What's wrong, Penny?" Nemona asked the Uva Academy tech wiz.

"It's really weird; I can't seem to connect with the internet and nothing's getting through, not even my calls to Liko, Mollie, and Roy to see if they found any of the other surviving Pokémon or any leads about Arboliva. Something's jamming my signal!"

Sarah blinked in surprise at this, "You can't?"

"You ain't the only one with tech diffies, Penny girl. And, she's right on the dot, girlfriend; my Rotom hotline service has gone completely AWOL and my calls to our trio out there aren't breaking through," Rotoscope concurred as he appeared from Sarah's pocket, also suffering from a lack of reception and a jammed signal.

Penny nodded as she immediately deduced what they were going through while fiddling with her Rotom Phone, "Hmm, it must be an EMP disruption, a very strong EMP disruption at that. There must be an Electric Type Pokémon around here, someone that is emitting powerful electric waves strong enough to jam our signals and make communicating with Liko, Roy, and Mollie within the forest impossible."

"If that's the case, then the Electric Type joker must be somewhere above us at close range," concurred James with a frown.

"Winter," Sarah called, getting Winter to join her as she met up with her rider.

"And, where do you think you're going?" Snotlout questioned as Sarah boarded her Light Fury.

"To take a look around and find the Pokémon jamming the signals from our Rotom Phones and Rotoscope!"

The pair took off with a great start, getting a cough and an annoyed "Hey, my hair!" from Lopunny before they got into the air with the little princess using her lion's eyesight (allowing her to search within two miles) to find the source of the EMP disruption before she discovered what it was.

The Pokemon was none other than the evolved Magnet Pokemon, Magneton, that had the exact same transceiver device the heroes found on its back.

Nodding as she threw the Electric Type a glare at knowing who sent it to their current location, she took out her mother's Moon Shield and changed it to Crossbow Mode, taking out a Messenger Arrow and writing a small note inside to inform the Rising Volt Tacklers of the Explorers' involvement in the mess they're in. Then, when she was done, she inserted the note into the arrow and placed it into the shield's groove before firing it in the direction of the Brace Olivine (mentally enhancing it so its flight path and trajectory goes all the way to Friede and his friends).

She and Winter then rejoined their family and friends as she informed everyone, "Well, it turns out we're not the first ones in this forest. The Explorers have already made their mark here with a Magneton above us that's causing those EMP waves and it also had a transceiver on its back."

"So, you think these hooligans called the Explorers were responsible for the fire that destroyed this part of the forest using that Magneton and it was also planted here to keep us from contacting your friends in another part of the forest, baby?" Delilah elaborated, getting a nod from her daughter.

Lazuli got a sick feeling in her stomach as she clenched her right hand on her late father's sword, doing her best to resist the urge to lash out at the handiwork of one of her former teammates including one she held a deep hatred for, "...I know who planted that bug, the bastard who wiped my memories clean and made me into the Explorers' child soldier: Spindel. Only he would worm his way into breaking people and Pokemon from within with sick and demented tricks like this."

"Are you sure it's this Spindel guy?" asked Appletun worriedly.

"I'm positive, his specialty within the Explorers is espionage and shaking people down his way and he excels at that more than anything else."

"'Wipe your memories clean and made you into a child soldier'?" Tsukumaro echoed, feeling wary and a little nervous of Lazuli with her absolute disdain for Spindel.

Sarah and Race looked at each other and shared concerned looks with Johnathan and Diane. Asha's grandparents nodded in approval and even the entire Jungle Guard nodded to the royal couple as they knew it was time for everyone else to be told about Lazuli's tragic past. Even the swordswoman in question couldn't help but give them a nod of approval, not minding them spilling the beans about her previous involvement with the Explorers and what they did to her that began with the murder of her parents.

"She's a victim of the Explorers' wrongdoings, much more than we knew when she broke down and I probed into her mind; Lazuli here lost her parents when she was only five, both of them killed in cold blood while she was kidnapped and kept alive as they wanted her for something," Sarah began, still feeling guilty about what she learned through her powers days ago.

"The one responsible for a majority of her suffering, Spindel, used his Beeheyem to wipe her memories of her early childhood up to that point clean and she ended up being a blank slate AND their slave for them until she regained her memories and defected from them four months ago," Race concurred, leaving everybody gathered horrified by what they had heard.

Lazuli did her best to hold back her tears over the loss of her parents and her life as she once knew it, clenching her fists and making sure she didn't break down in front of everybody with her back turned while they looked at her with sad and pitying looks but to no avail. Galaxagus and Pantherra, knowing better as if Seiya and Mary were with her still, remained close to their human charge as they comforted her through her resurfaced pain.

"Five years...?"

"While she was still a child?!"

"That's horrible!" gasped Penny, Kieran, and Giacomo, floored by what they heard from Sarah and Race.

"Great Odin, that's harsh..."

"I never thought a Pokémon like a Beeheyem could do such a thing," Tuffnut and Ruffnut gulped as their Zangoose and Seviper growled and hissed their displeasure while squirming nervously.

"Pop, is this true?" James shuddered to his and Nikki's parents.

Johnathan and Diane couldn't find it in themselves to lie to their children as they nodded in solemn confirmation and the former replied, "Yes, Short Man, the poor woman told it all before us when we went to check on her. Had nightmares about her lost folks and the Explorers ruining everything for her for days while we were on our way to Paldea, she could barely sleep a wink since she started having them..."

"The rest of the princess' family with us were told everything after she brought back her lost memories and she, her husband, Lady Asha's grandparents, and the Jungle Guard left her, Sir Pantherra, and Sir Galaxagus to themselves with Petunia arriving to comfort her. It was a horrible truth that a woman such as Ms. Lazuli shouldn't have to go through," Magearna sighed remorsefully, feeling bad for Lazuli.

"We were initially suspicious of her given her recklessness and how she entered the Dragon Craft without warning as well as how she reacted with our grandbaby and Race but all that changed when we found out about her tragic history and how honest she was with us," agreed Diane.

"Ugh! They're not pleasant at all! Even my mortal enemies, Pecharunt and the Jerk Three, didn't sink to such lows when they demonized me and my old friend from many years ago, poi!" fumed Ogrepon, also feeling upset by what she heard.

"I hear that; even Humdinger with how much of a bumbling sack of potatoes he is doesn't hold a candle to those creeps," Liberty agreed, sharing Ogrepon's disgust.

"Meanies!" the Junior Patrollers, mainly the Poms, frowned.

"Scary..." whimpered Chomper.

"Such cruelty, I can't imagine what the poor darling in her childhood went through," sympathized Rompiregon.

"No honor and dignity, at all. These Explorers truly have no shame, proving they're not human in the slightest," Chen Li snorted, feeling just as disgusted.

"You can say that again," Glaceil concurred.

"They're a-all just b-b-b-big b-bullies," Donka jumped in with her own two cents.

"...I get it now; you're on the same boat as a friend of ours, Ms. Stacey, when she was forced to be part of something she wanted nothing to do with," Fishlegs realized solemnly, understanding Lazuli's plight after recalling what Dr. Stacey went through.

Ghost (Dragapult) could only nod in agreement as he added, "No doubt your story also aligns with what we learned from Misty; she was kidnapped from her father when she was young and she had been manipulated by her 'mother' since then until she found out the truth about her."

Petunia, knowing Lazuli was suffering greatly and needed help still, gently hugged her friend's right leg (as she was standing from her right).

Along with Chen Li, Mae Ling was also disgusted by the Explorers' crime and being Tai Chi masters while also reading Lazuli's thoughts from her aura with their natural psychic power that came from their kung fu prowess (while gently eyeing the swordswoman), "Just by your body language, your aura, your eyes, even if you tried to hide them... We know why; you were abandoned by them when they got what they wanted from you and your service to them i.e. your eavesdropping on our charge and her husband throughout Paldea and Area Zero. The last time we fought them, they were forced to reveal themselves as Power Rangers to protect Liko, Roy, and their partners when Amethio and his Cerueledge were close to killing Sprigatito and Fuecoco despite their efforts to fight them which put them dangerously close to getting their Terapagos."

Tsukumaro and the rest of Sarah's blood family were shocked and the old advisor reeled around to Sarah and Race, making them flinch as he raged, "You two revealed yourselves to your enemies?!"

The Paldea group was also staggered that Lazuli had been spying on them and the royal couple but Nemona, Arven, Penny, her friends, Carmine, and Kieran couldn't find it in themselves to be mad at her given how tragic her past was as well as how she was indoctrinated and forced into their ranks after her parents were murdered in cold blood. Lazuli just looked away and said nothing, feeling incredibly guilty about her part in the Explorers' mission to find out more about the royal couple, their family and team, and the Terapagos Three in their hands.

Sarah and Race gulped nervously under Tsukumaro's heated glare and even Doug and Delilah couldn't hold back their disappointment over their breaking the most important rule of the Power Rangers even if it was for a good purpose given their circumstances, "Honey, how could you and Race do that? You know it is against the most crucial rule of being Power Rangers; no one was supposed to know that you two or your friends are rangers so their lives wouldn't be put at risk as well."

"Even if you didn't have a choice and you were forced to take the initiative on that, you shouldn't have pulled such a stunt like that regardless despite managing to save Ms. Liko, Young Roy, and their Partner Pokémon when Amethio and Ceruledge were about to kill them. You should've thought about this more thoroughly rather than at the eleventh hour! And, had you found out about Ms. Lazuli even before we found out about her tragic past, you should've spoken to us first about her if you had any concerns that you all were being watched throughout your time in Uva Academy!"

"Mom, Dad, Tsukumaro, we're sorry! There was nothing else we could do, Amethio and Ceruledge had backed us all into a corner and it was the only thing we could think of!" Sarah whined in protest, continuing to shrink back guiltily from her parents and her godfather's glares.

"And, before you explode on us about all of this, hear us out," Race added, trying to calm himself down.

Lazuli sighed remorsefully as she plucked up courage and said to Alola's returnee king and queen and their advisor, getting their attention, "Your Excellencies, don't blame them. I share part of the blame as well as you already know; however, I only told the Explorers how your daughter, your kiddo, and her hubby got their Terapagos, that's it."

"The reason why I bailed on them was not just because they dumped me after I completed my mission to them but also because I was stricken with grief by what became of Professors Sada and Toro and how it affected Arven since he never found out what happened to them before his, Nemona, Penny, Sarah, and Race's arrival to Area Zero with Koraidon and Miraidon in tow. After that, I left everything I had learned classified to only myself, Galaxagus, and Pantherra given how my guardians can handle themselves against the Paradox Pokémon; this also included your daughter and her hubby's powers since I'm the only one who knew about them and their true might..."

Everyone listened intently and with great surprise as the former Explorer continued, "...And, what's more, when they told Liko, Roy, and the Rising Volt Tacklers about their being Power Rangers, they promised to never tell a soul as well. You should be grateful to them for what they did for those kids; if they hadn't risked their own lives to save them by revealing their powers and jumping in when they did before my Pokémon and I jumped in to give them a hand, their partners would've died sooner. The Explorers are full of crap baskets, all of them far too much of a bunch of egotistical pains who hurt everyone around them to get what they want. This set-up is no different; Spindel's spying on us and everything we do so he can learn of our strengths and weaknesses and lay them down to whoever's manning them."

"I can't believe humans like them would commit such horrible deeds against their own kind..."

"And, to a helpless child no less," Spheriella and Tsuchowl grimaced.

"*Even now, just by looking at the poor lass, we can tell she's been broken thoroughly by those monsters until she managed to free herself from their chains and valiantly make her escape under their noses,*" agreed Angietus, frowning sympathetically as he and Pathangle understood the pain Lazuli went through.

"Unfortunately, old friend, as you and your family now know from what you've just heard, there are some humans in this new era who are no saints compared to the majority," David sighed with regret in response to Spheriella and her family.

Everyone looked at each other for a moment as they tried to wrap their heads around what they had just learned. Ultimately, though, they agreed that Lazuli had been through too much on her end despite the role she played in the Explorers knowing of Sarah and Race's ranger powers, what they and the Paldea group went through, and of the Terapagos Three. They decided to let her be and help her overcome her trauma as well as make use of everything she had to offer to them to get a one-up on the syndicate targeting them, Liko, Roy, and the Rising Volt Tacklers.

But, not without a warning from Doug as he and Delilah gave the swordswoman a warning glare before he simply said, "...You have a lot *to prove*."

Lazuli just nodded and even Galaxagus and Pantherra gave Sarah's blood parents appreciative and understanding nods, knowing that they'll do whatever they can to help her and themselves become more trustworthy of the group despite their previous "engagement" with the Explorers and the ramifications of their espionage that led the group and the Rising Volt Tacklers to where they are now.

"Well, with that out of the way, since we know that the Explorers are behind this whole mess, what'll we do now?" Nemona asked, wondering what the group should do next.

"I think we should find Mollie, Liko, and Roy and tell them what happened."

"Let's regroup with them and keep an eye out for more survivors, then," Hiccup and Astrid said.

---

Speaking of Liko, the young girl in question and her Sprigatito were making their way to Roy or Mollie's current location through another part of the forest that fell victim to the wildfire as well.

"Was this all caused by the forest fire, too?" she wondered, slightly aghast by what she was seeing as she looked around for survivors, too.

"Liko! Over here!" Sprigatito meowed, getting her attention as she looked around and found her partner near what looked to be a Pokémon she discovered that survived the fire via a set of tracks and a larger trail that came with them. "Come see what I've found!"

"What is it?"

She joined her partner, and to her surprise, her Grass Cat Pokémon had found a Paldean Wooper but it was badly wounded when it tried to get away from the fire that took it and its fellow Pokémon's home.

"W-What do I do?!" she gasped, horrified by its condition as she took out her Rotom Phone to scan it.

"Wooper (Paldean Form), the Poison Fish Pokémon. A Poison and Ground Type, after losing their territory, Wooper began to live in muddy fields. They are covered in a poisonous film that protects them from drying out."

Gently touching the unconscious Paldean Wooper's skin, Liko was shocked to discover that it was very dry. It was obvious that it had run and crawled a long way from its home in the forest that was destroyed by the flames that consumed it days ago and while trying to find help, it didn't have the strength to make such a long journey and collapsed out of exhaustion and gradual dehydration.

"Its skin is really dry, that must be why it has no energy," she mused as she took out a canteen she had from her backpack and fed it water only to discover that it didn't improve its condition. "Water doesn't help... Maybe, if I feed it one of the Oran Berries Sprigatito and I found..."

"Don't you dare touch him! HYAH!" roared an angry voice, its owner being a Cacnea charging at her and Sprigatito and forcing them to move before they got hit.

Liko was taken by surprise as she was forced onto her butt but Sprigatito took offense to the Cacnea's charge as she snarled dangerously at the Cactus Pokémon glaring at them. But, it wasn't alone as an equally angry Shroomish and Hoppip joined the wild Grass Type, not looking pleased over what they thought the Grass Cat Pokémon and Liko were going to do to their weakened friend AND for supposedly "trespassing" in their beloved home.

"A-Ah! Are you all after the Wooper?" Liko questioned frantically only to get no reply as Shroomish unleashed a Stun Spore. "Ah! Stun Spore, this isn't good! Sprigatito, use Leafage!"

Sprigatito did manage to use her Leafage attack to dispel the Stun Spore but to her and Liko's surprise, the Stun Spore was a feint as Hoppip, Cacnea, and Shroomish made their getaway with their weakened Wooper friend safely in their grasp.

"I got him!"

"Come on, let's get him to Ms. Arboliva!"

"Yeah!" Hoppip, Cacnea, and Shroomish bantered as they made their way to the "tree" in the heart of the forest.

"Oh, no! Wooper!" cried Liko in alarm before she and Sprigatito gave chase and she slipped her backpack back on. "Sprigatito, we're going after them!"

"Right!" Sprigatito agreed as they and their "attackers" scrambled to the heart of the Forest of Arboliva despite the three wild Grass Types being incredibly fast and nimble for Pokémon of such small size.

Soon, the three Grass Types safely brought Wooper to the "tree" they were running for and were greeted by four wild Smoliv who also knew the wild Wooper. By the time Liko and Sprigatito finally caught up with them, the young girl was even more surprised to see them all looking worried for the Poison Fish Pokémon. All of them could only coo and whimper for their weakened friend with great concern, wondering what to do or if the "Ms. Arboliva" Cacnea mentioned (unbeknownst to Liko despite her lack of fluency in Pokémon Speak) could do something for the exhausted Ground/Poison Type.

The Smoliv, however, noticed Liko and Sprigatito (still surprised by the sight before them) now approaching them calmly and they were the first to panic as they scrambled and screamed, "Ah! Intruder, HUMAN!"

"Human?! Human! AH, NO!"

"Get away, get away, get away!"

"Leave us, leave us, leave us, leave us alone!"

"A-You?!" Hoppip, Cacnea, and Shroomish gasped as they glared hard at the pair team, all of them not happy that they and their Wooper friend had been followed to their "Ms. Arboliva".

"So, the way you attacked us earlier... Were you all actually trying to protect, Wooper?" Liko questioned, now beginning to see the bigger picture as Hoppip, Cacnea, and Shroomish got in front of their friend to protect it again.

"Yeah!"

"Got a problem, lady?"

"That's right, that's right!"

"D-wait, hang on. Wooper is really weak and I think we might be able to do something to help it or-!"

"No chance! You humans are all the same!"

"No how, no way, you're not touching our buddy! Capisce!?" Cacnea and Shroomish glowered, not trusting Liko's words and making threatening steps towards her to continue protecting Wooper with Hoppip doing the same as she readied herself to attack.

Liko gulped as she realized she wasn't getting anywhere with them, "Uh-you, you, don't understand what I'm saying, do you?"

"Liko!"

Just when things seemed bleak for Liko and Sprigatito (as the latter braced herself to protect her partner again), hope soon arrived in the form of Mollie and Sarah and her entire party as they came in two different directions (Mollie from their right, Sarah and her group from the left). The Smoliv panicked again at the sight of more humans (not seeing or recognizing the little princess in their terrified wake) and even Cacnea, Shroomish, and Hoppip were taken aback when they saw them coming. But, they were even more shocked when they suddenly noticed Chansey arriving and gently taking Wooper in her hands from behind them.

"HUH? How did you-?!" Cacnea began as Chansey gave a reassuring glare at the Cactus Pokémon and its friends safeguarding Wooper and Mollie and Sarah jumped over to the small party with Audino, Blissey, and Magearna in tow.

"Enough! This madness has gone far enough!" Magearna roared.

"Keep calm, children! No need to get so riled up!"

"That's the first thing you should do in an emergency like this!" Audino and Blissey agreed, looking at Cacnea, Shroomish, and Hoppip with motherly glares.

"Don't worry, we're going to take good care of it."

"If you can trust us to do what we must to help your friend and keep him from dying, we'll be glad to help you with your problem involving your destroyed homes," Mollie and Sarah concurred to the wild Pokémon.

"Mollie, Sarah!" Liko gasped in bewilderment, not expecting the princess and her party along with Chansey and the traveling doctor to find them so soon.

"Hey, what's up with you guys?"

"Ms. Sarah and her friend want to help them, please trust them!" Zorua and Sho shouted as they confronted the three Pokémon protecting their wounded friend.

"The wildfire was created by someone from the Explorers days ago and the chaos that erupted from it forced Pokémon such as the Wooper here to leave its home along with several others," Sarah added as the wild Daschbun and Mabostiff and their offspring made their way over to help watch over the Paldean Wooper.

"That must be why its skin dried out," Mollie confirmed as she looked over Wooper while rummaging through her bag for medical gloves which prompted Cacnea to threaten her as he raised his arms and spores until she snapped back at the Grass Type, "My friend and I are going to treat Wooper! Do not interfere!"

That did the trick as Cacnea was forced to back down while the wild Boss Pokémon and Dog Pokémon went over to him, Shroomish, and Hoppip to explain everything to them with Sarah and Mollie readying themselves to tend to Wooper's current condition.

"Ready, Mollie?" Sarah asked the traveling doctor as she donned her nurse outfit and the Smoliv came out to join their friends to see what was happening.

Mollie nodded in response after she put on the medical gloves she found and they set to work while she gently cooed to Wooper, "Be good now, you'll feel better in no time... Let's get started, Chansey."

"Right away," her Happiness Pokémon agreed.

"Blissey, get me my medical kit and bring Seth over here, quick! Audino, be ready to use Heal Pulse if this little guy's wounds are more dire than what appears on the surface," Sarah ordered Blissey and Audino as the seriousness of the emergency settled in.

"Right!"

"You got it!" saluted the pair diligently as Blissey rushed to bring Seth and her partner's medical kit while Audino remained with the group to help watch over Wooper and use Heal Bell when needed.

Mollie went first with the treatment phase as she took out some healing moisture meant for burns and extreme cases of dehydration, and as she and Sarah worked (with Blissey immediately arriving back with her medical kit and Seth who was placed on his owner's right shoulder), she decided to tell Liko why she became a traveling Pokémon Doctor and not work at the Pokémon Center like the rest of her family before her.

"The reason I quit the Pokémon Center... Not all Pokémon can go there for help like the rest be they wild or with trainers, you know?" Take the wild Pokémon with us, for example; I couldn't stop thinking about them, all those who couldn't get treatment fast enough, who were not as lucky as others to go there when they needed it the most."

"So... You wanted to help the wild Pokémon by becoming a traveling doctor. You're just like Sarah in that aspect," Liko breathed in awe.

"Yep, I'm just not good at waiting around."

Sarah nodded in agreement as she finished her part to help Wooper, Mollie now approving her to have one of her Pokémon help heal Wooper, "Seth, use Nature's Blessing."

"Got it," the Shiny Shaymin nodded as he used Nature's Blessing on Wooper which also allowed Mollie to feed the Poison Fish Pokémon an Oran Berry, their treatment having finally affected it as it woke up and started eating.

Sarah smiled softly at the wounded Pokémon being cared for as she called for Wigglytuff to join them, Chansey, Blissey, and Audino to offer her medical expertise to Wooper's improving condition. This triggered something in Cacnea, Shroomish, and Hoppip as they stared at them in surprise despite their ongoing suspicions and they decided that they and the rest of the forest Pokémon should see if the humans before them truly had malicious intentions at play or not and why they bothered going into their forest home at all.

With that in mind and all three of them in agreement, Cacnea, Hoppip, and Shroomish called out to the big "tree" before them, wanting it to wake up and put them to the test and/or drive them out of their and the rest of the Pokémon's home while doing so. This act shocked the wild Mabosstiff and his family as his mate and their offspring gasped in horror at them and he barked furiously at them to stop but they stubbornly refused to listen.

"Do they understand how Sarah and Mollie feel?" Liko mused, now smiling over why the trio that attacked and Sprigatito were so protective of their friend.

"Ms. Arboliva! Ms. Arboliva!" Cacnea called out, causing the "tree" before him and his friends to shudder and shake before it started to move in response to their cries.

"WAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Sprigatito yowled in absolute shock and terror as the Smoliv immediately panicked again and went back into the sheltered brush for protection from what was about to go down.

The rest of the Pokémon, the dragons, and everybody else gathered were flabbergasted at what they were seeing as Liko breathed, "What is it?"

"Hey, look! Something's happening to that tree!"

"It's moving!" screeched Beautifly and Leafeon, shocked.

"What in the name of Giratina is that?!" Tsukuamaro exclaimed, completely baffled as he pointed at the "tree".

"Wait, that's not a tree we're looking at!"

"Goodness, that tree-like shape and body... It can't be...! It must be Arboliva, the same Arbolivia Mr. Brassius encountered and told us about!"

"She's huge!"

"A giant, even!"

"By Rayquaza's stars, Arboliva must be the tallest Pokémon around; her size completely dwarfs the princess' Ultra Beasts and Reshiram by a massive margin, about 300% in all known measurements!" Asha, Doug, Bella, Falcon, and Calculator gawked as their eyes bugged out.

"AWESOME!" yelled the Viking twins excitedly from Barf and Belch's necks.

"Not now, especially when she's gone AWOL, you idiots!" Astrid frowned at them.

"This is impossible; even at their greatest heights, not even the Titan Pokémon could match that!"

"Not even the mythical creatures in Race and Pumpkin's possession could ever reach such a height!"

"Maybe Brassius should've given us a heads-up on her being that huge before we came here to find her!" Arven, David, and Penny griped in stunned shock.

"You've got to be kidding!" gasped Mollie in shocked disbelief as she and Sarah looked behind to see Arboliva, break and ruffle off the vines that grew on her and open her giant branch-like arms to reveal herself in her full glory (with Roy and Fuecoco hanging onto her chest when they saw them).

"HELP!" Fuecoco squealed in fright as Roy desperately held on.

"Roy?!"

"Fuecoco!" Liko and Chili cried.

"Ah...! INTRUDERSSSSS!" Arboliva hissed angrily as she threw Roy and Fuecoco off of her, causing them to land on the ground and the male Fire Croc Pokémon to land face first in front of his partner.

"Roy! That's a Pokémon, isn't it? But, it's just so big! Is that really Arboliva Brassius was talking about?!"

"It sure is! And, look up there! There's an Ancient Pokeball with it!" Liko and Roy bantered as the latter pulled Fuecoco out.

"If that's the case, then that's Arboliva herself! She must be one of the Ancient Adventurer's Pokémon companions in addition to the Terastal Shiny Rayquaza, she must have a connection with it, after all!" Race deduced before Arboliva noticed the rest of the group and furiously fired her oil at the heroes, causing them to scream and dodge to avoid being hit.

"SCATTER!" Guardeon and Tai Lung bellowed as the heroes did their best to avoid her assault and find shelter from her rage-filled attacks.

This also included Liko, Roy, and their partners as they jumped into some bushes where two of the wild Smoliv were hiding to avoid being hit, causing Arboliva to look around for her targets and force them out of her and the wild Pokémon's home.

"Hey, she's not attacking us now!" Roy said as Liko noticed the two frightened Smoliv that were hiding with them and the others realized this.

"Maybe, it's because of these two hiding here that she decided to stop for now, like..." she trailed off as Arboliva hissed and glared daggers at her, Roy, Sprigatito, and Fuecoco again once she found them.

"She really wants to attack us!" Roy shuddered as he and Liko looked up at her with fright and they and their partners scrambled out before she could grab them, making their way towards the rest of their party to tell Mollie and Sarah as they, Chansey, Wigglytuff, Audino, and Blissey continued to treat Wooper.

"Mollie, Sarah, we have to run!"

"Come on! We've got to get out of here, now!"

"You two go with the others and get someplace safe!"

"We're not done healing Wooper; unless we finish treating him right here and now and we somehow convince Arboliva to stop, we're not leaving a Pokémon like this little guy alone to fend for himself," Mollie and Sarah rejected, knowing they still have work to do.

"W-What, are you kidding?!" Roy spluttered.

Liko, however, understood as she said to them, "Okay, then we and the others will deal with Arboliva while you two care for Wooper!"

Roy was horrified as he retorted in terror and turned back towards Arboliva towering over the heroes, "H-Huh?! We can't win against something that big!"

"Then, I suggest you and your runts stay with the adults and let the more experienced lot deal with this ugly girl, pipsqueaks!" Eternatus jabbed as he shoved Liko, Roy, and their partners aside and Doug, Donna (former queen), Delilah, and David caught them so they, their partners, and the Tomoe Squad could keep them out of Arboliva's range so they don't get attacked again.

"WHAT?! B-B-But, you guys can't go up against something that big, too!" Roy spluttered again.

"We won't have to! That wouldn't be the plan, anyway; if we can buy Mollie and Island Girl more time to heal Wooper completely or close to full health and keep her distracted without using any Fire Type attacks, we can hold her down and keep her from attacking us and everyone else around her as well as her own home out of blind rage!" Race added, knowing what they have to do.

"I'm all for that idea!"

"Me, too!"

"I'm in!"

"For Wooper and the rest of the Pokémon!"

"And, the forest they live in!"

"YEAH!" Penny, Arven, Nemona, Kieran, Carmine, and Team Star as they brought out their Partner Pokémon.

"And, we'll help!"

"Count me in!"

"You want to go at our friends and family like that, Arboliva? Let's dance!" Rosie, Chili, and Crest concurred as they and their family along with Race's team prepared to do what they must to stall Arboliva and keep her from attacking so Mollie and Sarah could finish treating Wooper.

Mollie understood as she looked back towards the group preparing to defend her, Sarah, and their medical partners (which also included the Viking Teens as they and their dragons and Partner Pokémon stepped forward as well), "Thanks, everybody, just be careful."

The entire group nodded and they turned back to Arboliva, preparing to hold her down and buy Mollie and the little princess the time they needed to heal Wooper.

Arboliva, taking their defiance to her might as a challenge, immediately made the first move as she fired her oil at the heroes once more.

"Now, Wigglytuff, Protect!" began Ortega, allowing his Fairy Type partner to shield the group with Protect.

"Your turn, Torkoal! Clear Smog!" Mela added, having her Coal Pokémon use Clear Smog to shield themselves and their friends while also blinding Arboliva to keep her distracted.

"Where did you go? Come on out, you insolent humans! You and those traitors can't hide from me forever, FIGHT ME!" Arboliva raged as she kept up her assault but to no avail, wondering where her supposed challengers went.

"Mabosstiff, use Snarl!"

"Baby-Doll Eyes, VeeVees, go!"

"Kilowattrel, use your Gust attack!" Arven, Penny, and Nemona called, having Mabosstiff, Kilowrattrel, and the Team Star leaders Jolteon, Sylveon, Vaporeon, Umbreon, Flareon, and Leafeon strike next, greatly lowering Arboliva's Physical Attack stats and stirring up wind to mix in with Torkoal's Clear Smog.

"Muk, use Mud Slap, now!"

"Use your Seed Bomb, Passimian!" added Atticus and Eri, allowing their partners to cover up some of the berries Arboliva used in mud to keep her from spraying oil on the group and using Seed Bomb to blast and blind her.

Arboliva hissed menacingly from the pain she was dealing with from the heroes. However, she wasn't down yet as she still planned to fight on if it meant protecting the Pokémon living in her forest with her life, especially since she was obviously in the know about the wildfire that plagued her home and terrorized as well as endangered the lives of the wild Pokémon caught in the crossfire.

"All set for you and your friends, Hiccup!" Penny shouted to the former first Viking underdog.

Hiccup nodded as he directed his friends and their Pokémon and dragons, "Okay, gang, no fire attacks against Arboliva! So, for her, let's switch over to our Move Cards and the Dragon Armor!"

"Right!" his friends nodded in agreement.

"Let's go!"

"Dragon Armor, Get in Gear!" the Viking Teens all shouted together, activating their dragons' Beast-X Dragon Armor.

"Whoa!"

"Ah-!" Liko and Roy were stunned by this as well, they didn't know Sarah's Viking friends and their dragons had something such as that on them.

They and their flabbergasted partners were even more shocked when they saw them take off and prepare to confront Arboliva from the air, the powerful Grass Type now eyeing Toothless, his fellow dragons, and their riders darkly and menacingly despite her current handicapped conditions and raring to keep going to protect her forest from disaster.

"Alright, guys, let's give Arboliva the old brain drain before she goes on another rampage!" Hiccup shouted as he and his friends brought out Move Cards that shared one move they had in mind to keep Arboliva from fighting them and the rest of the heroes further despite her noble intentions.

However, she wasn't going to let them stop her from protecting the ones she loved most as well as her home so she kept up her assault as she fired oil from her remaining berries, keeping Viking Teens, their dragons, and their Partner Pokémon from surrounding her and using whatever cards they have for her.

"This isn't working! They're not getting anywhere as long as Arboliva keeps fighting, we got to do something to help them make her stop but what do we do?" Liko fretted, unsure of what to do next as she, Roy, and their partners could only stare as the others and Arboliva were caught up in a stalemate.

"You're right, we're useless standing here while the others are fighting for their lives trying to calm down Arboliva!" Roy grunted in agreement, feeling useless as well and wondering what he and Liko could to do help. "We got to do something or Arboliva will never calm down. But, what?"

He looked at Fuecoco and then thought back to Brassius' advice, recalling his battle with him, "Wait, what is it that Brassius said to me again? 'Focus on your Pokémon'..."

Sprigatito watched the battle go on, also wishing she, Liko, Fuecoco, and Roy weren't so useless to help their friends. Upset by what he and Sprigatito were seeing and the fact that they and their partners were useless watching from the sidelines, Fuecoco began to stomp the ground as he glared at the fight going on in front of them.

At that moment, Roy's eyes widened in realization as he realized there was a move his partner now knew that wasn't Ember (having subconsciously known that using Fire Type moves was not a smart idea), "Hey, that's it! Fuecoco, I got an idea, use Stomping Tantrum!"

Fuecoco saw where Roy was getting at and he nodded determinedly, using Stomping Tantrum as he pounded his feet on the ground. The Ground Type move was indeed a smart move to call as the Fire Croc Pokemon directed the tremors coming from his stomps to Arboliva's current location, causing her to falter in bewilderment from the unexpected attack.

"Liko, do it!" Roy called out to his fellow trainer, now seeing their chance.

Knowing this, and seeing they have a chance to help their friends, Liko nodded, "Right! Sprigatito, use Quick Attack plus Leafage!"

"Yeah!" Sprigatito meowed determinedly as she zipped around and over Arboliva to get her attention before she jumped in the air, faced her, and fired her Leafage attack which further took her by surprise.

The others were stunned by the sudden assistance of the young trainers and their partners as Arven and Penny noticed them and cried out, "Liko, Roy!"

"Sprigatito, Fuecoco!"

"We did it, she's faltering! Roy, now! This is our chance!"

"Yeah! Okay, Fuecoco, one more time! Use Stomping Tantrum, go!"

Also seeing the moment of truth to give the Viking Teens an opening, Fuecoco unleashed Stomping Tantrum for a final time at Arboliva, managing to bring her down to her knees and weaken her long enough with the powerful Ground Type move dealing super effective damage on her.

"Yeah/Alright, looks like it was effective!"

Suddenly, the group noticed Arboliva starting to falter and fall as her right arm was about to crush Fuecoco and he froze at the sight, paralyzed with fear as he couldn't move.

"Fuecoco, get out of the way!" Chili screamed at her male counterpart.

"Hold on, Fuecoco!" boomed Rosie as she used Quick Attack to dart towards and shove the frightened Fuecoco out of the way before he could be crushed.

The shockwave that followed Arboliva's right arm hitting the ground shook everyone standing as they tried or failed to hold their ground, feeling the raw power the giant Pokemon had under her wing despite her current status.

"Liko! You alright?" Roy asked as he tried to recover.

"Yeah, but the Pokemon-!" Liko began as she looked towards Rosie and Fuecoco as the former and Sprigatito (who joined them shortly after the near miss) quickly pulled the latter out of the ground. "Thank goodness..."

"Liko, Roy, what did you do?!" shouted Eri.

"You muttonheads made her even angrier with that assault!" bellowed Zenna as Roy and Liko noticed Arboliva slowly getting up and looking madder than ever while directing her undying hatred toward them and their partners.

Roy and Liko were terrified as they realized their mistake and they, Fuecoco, and Sprigatito were to be the first to die under her wrath as the young girl thought, "T-T-This might be, it for us...!"

"Arboliva!"

"Stop!"

"Don't do it!"

"We're warning you!" Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, and Zenna cried as they, Snotlout, Tuffnut, and Tuffnut raised their chosen Move Cards and held them out in front of Arboliva while they, their dragons, and their Partner Pokémon along with the rest of their group surrounded her.

But, Arboliva didn't listen as she prepared to kill Liko and Roy. She wouldn't get the chance, however, as an almighty roar echoed out from the skies above. Everyone turned to the owner of the roar and, to everyone's shock and surprise, a blue dragon and tiger arrived and landed in front of Liko and Roy.

"Mr. Hu!"

"Mistral!" the Viking Teens and Tsukumaro gasped as the heroes took in the sight of the Dragon and Tiger Zodiacs.

Liko, Roy, Sprigatito, and Fuecoco were astounded by the creatures before them that saved their lives, the two of them having no idea who or what the figures that protected them were since they were not Pokémon at all. Even Arboliva was taken aback as she looked over the Tiger and Dragon Zodiacs as she reeled back, having a sinking feeling in her stomach that they would end her despite her power and prowess.

The struggle came to an end, however, when the Paldean Wooper in Chansey's arms finally recovered (after it was bandaged up by his head and back) and noticed what was going on. Knowing what the Ground/Poison Type needed to do, Mollie's partner gently placed him on the ground to allow him to walk over to Arboliva as long as he didn't strain himself too much.

"Miss... Ms. Arboliva... Please, don't, hurt them... They saved me, nursed me, back, to health...! They're, nice people! If you hurt them, you'll, be, no better than... The bad humans, who, destroyed, our homes...! Please...! Please, believe me...!" Wooper begged as he panted and crawled towards the giant tree-like guardian, trying to make Arboliva see reason.

"We're all the same here, we all want the same thing: to help the Pokémon!" Mollie confirmed as she, Chansey, Sarah, Seth, Wigglytuff, Audino, and Blissey came over.

The rest of Sarah's party regrouped and came over as well with Tai Lung giving their own findings as to the cause behind the wildfire, "We know how it feels to lose your home but revenge is never the answer! We just found out that it was these monsters called the Explorers who were responsible for the fire and we're nothing like them! One of them used a Magneton to make the fire happen on purpose, hurting you and the wild Pokémon!"

"What?!"

"Ah!"

"No!"

"They caused it?!"

"I don't believe it!" Mollie, Liko, Roy, Sprigatito, and Fuecoco gasped.

Arboliva was shocked by what she heard as well but Lazuli looked her directly in the eye and told her (making sure Liko, Roy, Mollie, and their partners were within hearing range), "It's true, a Magneton positioned here by the worst of them all: Spindel, set the forest ablaze with one of its Electric Type attacks and caused the destruction we witnessed upon entering the place..."

"Please understand, Arboliva! We understand that humans have committed a terrible wrong against you all but that doesn't make it right for you to stoop to their levels and try to attack and kill all humans based on the actions of a misguided few!" Nemona pleaded in agreement.

"If you go at the majority of humanity that wants to do something to restore and save your home based on what the Explorers had done, how would you be any better? Would any of the Pokémon see you the same way despite your noble intentions should this go too far?" added Carmine, not wanting Arboliva to shed any blood in the name of justice.

Arboliva didn't know what to say as she looked between everyone gathered. Eventually, her gaze landed on Mollie and Sarah, and she stared at them for a brief moment. Then, she slowly reached out her left arm to the two nurses, prompting Chansey to get into a battle stance in front of the pair as she thought she was going to hurt them.

"It's alright," the traveling doctor reassured her Happiness Pokémon gently before she and Sarah nodded to each other and they carefully touched the edge of Arboliva's left arm through fist bumps, showing everyone that the giant Pokémon forest guardian finally understood their intentions.

Liko smiled brightly as she stated, "Arboliva must've realized that Sarah and Mollie were trying to help!"

This was proven when a surprised and relieved Hoppip, Cacnea, and Shroomish rushed over to their healed friend and Arbolivia slowly gave the heroes a warm smile, prompting the relieved Viking Teens to lower their Power Drain Move Cards and put them away.

"You're right; just by Mollie and Sarah's act of kindness towards Wooper, I think Arboliva understands now," smiled Roy as Wooper nuzzled his guardian and his wild Pokémon friends (including the wild Smoliv who came out of their hiding places now that the danger was over) cheered for him.

"Good, good... I see now what I was blind to earlier," Arboliva smiled warmly, grateful to Sarah and Mollie for saving Wooper with the help of their medical partners and Seth as Wooper and his friends went off to their fellow Pokémon wherever they were now.

"Everything's alright now."

"Thank goodness."

"Yeah," Mollie, Liko, and Roy breathed a sigh of relief, happily watching the wild Pokémon go on their way before Hu and Mistral approached the group.

"Master Hu, Master Mistral!"

"What brings you our way, especially to Paldea of all places?" James and Nikki questioned the Tiger and Dragon Zodiacs.

"Wait, wait, wait! I'm sorry, Who and Mis-what?" Arven puzzled in confusion, only to be ignored as Mistral spoke next.

"And, what other reason do we have for coming here? We're the guardians of your daughter's sister so even after her training, we'd still be looking after her," the Dragon Zodiac informed before he looked at Hu approaching Lazuli while he looked her all over and said, "What's more, Hu felt that young woman's presence with yours, and when we found out that you all were in danger, we came to assist you and prevent this giant Pokémon from killing you all including her."

"...Lazuli, it's been too long, child," Hu said to Lazuli, saddened yet relieved and happy by the sight of her as the young woman before him. "I knew you would still be alive after all these years, I was afraid to think of what those bastards did to you after I failed to protect you..."

"M-Mr. Hu... It's okay, I-I'm here now..." Lazuli stuttered, gently trailing off as she felt and caressed the Tiger Zodiac's face before she hugged him. "I-I... I remember, everything, even how my parents died..."

Mr. Hu sighed sadly as he gently nuzzled her when she started to cry, "I know, child... I'm sorry, I was there that day. I failed you and your family when you got captured and they died, I've never forgotten all of that..."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! You were there?!"

"HUH?" Hiccup, the majority of Sarah's human family, and her and Race's friends from Uva and Blueberry Academies.

Mr. Hu and Lazuli gently (and yet reluctantly) broke their hug as the former nodded to them and the swordsman asked him, still softly crying, "Where were you, all this time? Did you... Did you forget about me after I was kidnapped? …Am I nothing to you after I was indoctrinated and brainwashed by those idiots who made me into a machine? A child soldier and a top agent of theirs for the last twenty years...?"

The Tiger Zodiac looked away sadly while heaving another heavy sigh as he replied, purring as he did so, "You don't know how many times I wished I could undo all of the pain that had been wrought upon you but I couldn't... When those bastards took you, Galaxagus, and Pantherra away, I knew it would be too risky for me to keep watch of you as well as Young Sarah and everyone she loved. So, despite how much of an absolute nuisance he is, I've decided to allow Rat to keep an eye on you from the shadows for me given he's an expert at stealth and evasion. I wanted to make it up to you but it wasn't until I met Young Sarah and her family and friends did I work to become better and ready myself for the day I would find you again. Oddly enough, while I was on my little misadventure with the royal child and after the Zodiac, I had no idea that you defected from your captors during that time..."

"Well, it's hard for me to find out what happened to you and try to make contact with the three of us on the run after they found out abo-hey, wait... Hang on, did you know about Sarah already?"

"...Why, of course."

"Well, let me tell you, that was one wild ride we were on," Sarah chuckled.

"And, by the looks of it, I see you got yourselves two young greenhorns that are still learning the ropes of becoming true Pokémon Trainers. Despite their willingness to help and their own efforts, they unintentionally made things worse," Mistral noted, looking at Liko and Roy as they winced and eventually sighed in defeat.

"We're sorry."

"We just wanted to help calm Arboliva down," they replied sadly, bowing apologetically to everyone with their partners doing the same.

Sarah breathed a sigh herself as she gently told them, "Well, you did try to help us deal with Arboliva so we can't knock you too hard for that; we all know how it feels to be helpless during a fight such as that so we'll let it slide this time. But, next time, think before you act before you risk your lives to help us in a crisis. That's the whole point of 'Safety, first!' which means you don't rush in where you don't belong. You're not ready to tackle opponents such as Arboliva yet and you need more training before you can take on the big leagues, do you and your partners understand now?"

"Yes/Yes," Liko, Roy, Sprigatito, and Fuecoco replied, agreeing to be more careful.

Sarah smiled warmly back as she simply said, "Good. Now, once this is over and if you want to make it up to us all, Race and I will be giving you a private lecture about giant Pokémon and how you should deal with them with our guidance."

This cheered the young trainers up immediately and they agreed as Atticus remarked, "Well, that's it. All's well that ends well, right?"

"No... The forest is still hurt," Arboliva mused sadly, getting the group's attention as they turned to the forest guardian.

"...Guys, Arboliva's right, the forest is still hurt from the wildfire Spindel caused," Sarah informed, frowning at Arboliva.

"It's still hurt?" Roy asked before Arboliva picked him and Liko up with her large arms and raised them above the forest canopy, allowing them to see the rest of the damage left by the Explorers.

The two young trainers were aghast by what they were seeing and they couldn't help but feel the pain the forest guardian was going through as they remarked sadly, "To think that the forest we're in was in so much pain, all because of the Explorers and what they're still trying to do to us..."

"Yeah, it's awful. I can't believe they would go this far just for three of Race and Sarah's Pokémon, your pendant, and Rayquaza..."

The two of them as well as everyone else down below remained respectfully silent as Arboliva continued to weep over the destruction of much of the home she and the wild Pokémon shared and the knowledge that evil humans were responsible for its destruction.

To Be Continued...