Chapter 4: Bio

After cleaning the bags off the floor and insisting that Garland put them somewhere safer, Purl had a much easier time walking Lumi through the rest of the Tailor Branch. In between explanations on the process of infusing certain pieces of clothing to get different effects, other recruits were more than happy to show off their own personal projects. An Aipom eagerly demonstrated their Grip bracelet, designed to prevent the user from being blown back by traps or moves. A Vulpix ran up to Purl and announced they had completed their Burn Brace, a necklace that enabled a Pokemon to leave a trail of fire wherever they walked.

The Sylveon was promptly doused with water when he erupted into flames the moment he put it on. Vulpix, ears flattened, walked right back to the drawing board.

Currently, they were sitting on pillows in Purl's personal workshop. Pink dominated the room, with mirrors and discarded cloth taking up most of the space. Esther popped in to lounge on a nearby bookshelf, jotting something in a notebook.

"So, do you have any more questions?" asked Purl, only slightly charred.

"Yeah." He reached over to pick up the Charm specs sitting on the shelf. "When can I buy one of these in stores?"

Esther sniggered when Purl grumbled and snatched them up, cheeks blushing.

"Hopefully when they're actually finished..."

"Oh, they look plenty finished to me." piped the ghost.

"Shush!"

"Actually, I was wondering who even puts these items in stores. Don't we have to, like, make a bunch of each kind of item for explorers to use?" Purl's eyes widened.

"Oh goodness no! We're way too busy to worry about production. Esther?"

She nodded and looked through the bookshelf she was sitting on, before she bursted over and spread a map between them. Familiar with the sight of the Bright Continent landmasses, his eyes stuck on the numerous purple dots that marked the map.

"Absol's headquarters is located here, where we are," said Purl, paw pointing to the large Absol icon below the mountains on the east.

"Our job is primarily to develop and test new items, alot of the time commissioned by the Explorer HQ in Lumbell City. These," he gestured to the purple dots on the map.

"Are distribution centers we have placed throughout the world. We send them the specifications and instructions on how to make an item, and it's their job to produce them. It's how Absol's brings joy to explorers all around the world~" he finished his explanation with a smile.

"And how we get paid," added Esther.

"That too."

Lumi looked down at the map, gears churning in his head. A smile grew on his face as he thought of the ramifications.

"Wait, this means that Absol's is actually huge then, right? I had no idea there were so many places people cared about making new things."

"Well..." the hesitant reply caused Lumi to look up at Purl, ribbons tugging on his neck.

"The ones in the centers are mostly just doing it as a job. Alot of Pokemon still don't necessarily...care about all the behind the scenes stuff when it comes to making items."

"If it works, nobody wants to question why," said the ghost, arms crossed.

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense I guess..." Lumi's ears lowered, stung by the news. A ribbon lifted his chin up to look at Purl's face, smiling in sympathy.

"Don't act like that dearie. The Pokemon who do care, care alot. You'll be meeting more of them really soon. In fact..." he looked up at a clock on the wall and gasped. It was about noon.

"Oh, let me go see if Brook's here. Be right back~" he trotted out the flap. Lumi turned to Esther.

"Who's Bro-" the ghost slipped something over his nose and his mind instantly clouded. His heart began to pound and the world took on a red tint. The only thing he wanted in that moment was to find someone, hold them, and give his entire being to them. Unfortunately, he was left alone in the room, with only the lingering sound of bells for company.

His heart ached.

Blessedly, he heard voices, and shot his head toward the flap to see who his soulmate was.

"...great. Just make sure you keep an eye on him." that was Purl. The flamboyant voice sent shivers down his spine. He stood to his toes.

"T-that, shouldn't, um, be a problem..." the owner of that raspy voice stepped through the curtain, a Wartortle slightly hunched over. He straightened up real quick when he felt the Meowstic wrap his arms around his shell.

"Mmmh. Hi there, I'm Lumi, and you, are thicker than a bowl of oatmeal~" he murmured as he squeezed as much of the turtle as he could.

Said turtle began to sweat profusely, body trembling in nerves.

"U-uh, I-I. Geez, um, wow. Um, I'm, fl-flattered, but...um..."

"Damn. It. Esther..." growled Purl.

Lumi was just about to reach for the Wartortle's tail when the glasses were ripped off of his face. He blinked for a moment, wondering where he was, until his paws felt smooth plastron. He looked up and saw the face of his captive looking everywhere in the room but at him, sweat cascading off his scalp.

The Meowstic closed his eyes hard in embarrassment, realizing exactly what had happened.

"Aw...damn."

"I'm really, really sorry. Again."

"D-don't worry about it. I'm sure you're not n-normally that handsy..." replied Brook, offering a nervous chuckle.

After some formal (not suggestive) introductions, Purl had bid Lumi and Brook, the head of the Bio Branch, goodbye. He promptly stomped off to go throttle Esther, wherever she was. Lumi walked with Brook across the room toward the flap leading to the last Branch of the guild he hadn't seen. The curiosity that arose from what could be behind the flora saturated entrance was overshadowed by his less than stellar introduction to the Pokemon next to him, doubly so when he noticed how the Wartortle carried himself.

Whether it was just from before or how he was in general, Lumi wasn't sure, but Brook walked hunched over, claws tapping each other almost constantly. He spent more time fixated on the ground than anything else, and Lumi could hear his heavy breathing. He considered how to put the Wartortle more at ease, but was drawing a blank.

He let the turtle guide him through the gap, prepared for whatever lay beyond, and resolved to not get into so much trouble. The soft grass under his feet, coupled with the humid air that hit his face when he stepped through, solidified the feeling of stepping into a whole new world, and his jaw dropped at the sight within.

It was a jungle.

By far the largest space he had seen in the guild thus far, the space was massive. A glass ceiling high above stretched over a sprawling rainforest lush with plant life. Beyond a small grass clearing in front of the entrance, multiple paths branched into the greenery further in, vines hanging loosely between trees and bushes packed together. He looked to the sides which normally held the tent flaps leading into Pokemon's personal workspaces, but trees obscured the sight of any walls.

He stepped forward, the sensation of sunlight on his fur and the sight of so much bountiful life making him feel like this was some kind of paradise. There was so much color! Fruits and berries of all shapes and sizes grew on trees and hung from vines. He was able to identify the familiar shapes of some of them, like Orans and Pechas, but there were many that he had never seen before. He looked up towards the tops of the tallest trees and spotted multiple Flying types inspecting the fruit that grew there.

He brought his gaze down, a wide smile plastered on his face, and looked at the fidgeting Wartortle in front of him. Brook must have realized he had Lumi's attention because he raised his arms slightly with a small grin.

"Welcome to the Bio B-branch, where the Absol guild conducts research into...uh, in-into..." he pursed his lips and clenched his claws before letting out a short sigh. Lumi watched, head tilted, as he reached into his shell and pulled out a small notecard. The turtle put it in front of his face and mouthed words silently before he gave a nod and faced Lumi again. His eyes occasionally darted down to the card in his claw.

"New innovations in altering the properties of fruits, seeds, and other produce through Aether. Insert interesting hook question here," he stated, delivery flat. His eyes widened when he realized what he said.

"Uh..."

"This place is huge!" exclaimed Lumi. He pointed to the glass ceiling above. "You even have a skylight!"

"Sky...oh! No, the, um, Growth floor isn't actually open to the outside. We just use a bunch of Sunny Orbs to simulate it, Rainy Orbs for when it's time for watering."

Lumi put his paw to his chin as he stared at the ceiling, humming in thought.

"...That's because there's Aether the plants need to grow that comes from the orbs. Or something like that, right?"

"Yeah, th-that's right!" Brook waddled over to a nearby Oran bush and plucked a couple of berries from it. He handed one to Lumi who took it gratefully.

"Many of the things that grow here don't occur in nature; they can only be grown in Dungeons, or from concentrations of Aether. Even normal fruits, like these Orans, gain enhanced properties when fertilized with Aether."

The Meowstic bit into the berry and his eyes widened at the flavor. The sweetness coated his tongue, and he felt much more energized. He chewed in appreciation, both because the fruit was delicious, and also because he hadn't had lunch. Brook also ate his.

"That was awesome, what else have you guys been able to make?" he asked after swallowing. Brook quickly swallowed and dove his hand into his shell for more notecards.

"I-I'm glad you asked," he went back to stuttering. "Would you be interested in exploring the amazing se-secrets behind seeds? Or maybe you've been itching to learn more about mi-mira, um..." he squinted.

"...hang on, I can't...oh! Miraculous medicines!" he looked up, and saw that Lumi had wandered a little bit closer to one of the paths that lead into the greenery. He let out a sigh of relief as the Meowstic looked back at him. He stuffed the cards back into his shell and walked forward.

"Actually, that's a good idea. Um, I'll just follow you, and you can tell me if anything stands out?" he asked with a nervous smile. The cat nodded, and they both continued into the jungle.

The dense canopy prevented much of the sunlight from lighting the path, allowing the cool shade to cover them as they walked further. Lumi's eyes bounced between the fruits hanging from the leaves, his curiosity peaked at the thought of their function. Brook was able to stumble out a reply to each question the cat had about the fruits, many of which contained the properties of the seeds they grew from, but incredibly boosted.

"It takes a long time to grow a fruit from a seed," explained Brook as they came across a small stream. The water bisected the forest, with a grove on the other side.

"It takes weeks for a seed to sprout, and even longer for it to mature into a berry. A lot of the trees you see here have actually been growing for months, so the berries here are precious."

Lumi heard a rustling sound and turned to spot a Gligar flitting amongst the trees. They flew from branch to branch, before they finally looked down and called in a young voice.

"Mr. Brook!" the Gligar flew down to meet them.

"Oh, Basil. Um, Lumi this is Basil, he spends alot of time in this branch." the cat and bat waved to eachother.

"Hi there! I was actually looking for you two. Miss Willow wanted me to let her know when you brought our new friend here."

At the mention of the name, Brook hunched over and his breathing got heavier, eyes dilated. He began to mutter to himself.

"Miss Willow?" asked Lumi.

"Yup! She's super nice and fun. She was out on a field test but got back a little bit ago, asked me to-"

"SHE'S BACK!?" blurted the turtle. He grabbed his claws with his head and pulled his ears.

"...uh, yeah? She asked me to look for you while she got some things ready."

"Uh. Um...oh no." he shook his head and then grabbed Lumi's arm.

"H-hey, why don't we go...uh, go somewhere else. L-like my workshop!" he didn't get a chance to respond before he was whisked away by the Wartortle, Basil fluttering behind. Brook periodically looked up and around at the trees, as if expecting something. They broke through a treeline, coming in to view of a flap flanked with vines and bushes.

"Hang on, what's so bad about Willow?" asked Lumi. Brook's breath came out in spurts from the short run.

"Nothing! We-well, she can be a bit, um, much. I just think it's best if we go slow an-and ease you into things..." He turned to give the cat a reassuring smile, but it turned into a frown when all he saw was empty space.

"Hi Miss Willow!" exclaimed Basil. Brook looked up to where the Gligar was yelling and almost retreated into his shell in fear.

Coiled around a tree, a large Serperior dangled Lumi over the air. She wore a neutral expression as she held the cat to her face with a vine, silently inspecting him. Lumi was momentarily stunned at the whiplash from being yanked from the ground in under a second, and wilted a bit under the snake's intense gaze.

"Um...hey?" he tried.

Instead of replying, Willow turned his body this way and that, letting out short 'hmms' as she scanned him. Brook overcame his shock and ran towards them.

"W-Willow! What are you doing here, you're supposed to be...um doing that important test I told you about!"

"...I got bored." she murmured, slithering down the tree. Her hold was gentle, but Lumi found he couldn't wiggle out of it.

"And I wanted to test something with our new recruit." She set Lumi down on the grass, and reached back to pull out a dark purple fruit from a pouch strapped to her back.

"Eat this."

Without preamble, she shoved the berry right into the Meowstic's mouth, Lumi chewing on instinct. Brook screamed, and Basil giggled in anticipation.

"Ooh, was that the Vanish fruit Miss Willow?"

"Mmhmm." replied the snake, intense gaze lingering on Lumi as she whipped out a notepad.

"They turned ripe today. Now is the perfect chance to collect data." She shoved her head closer to the Meowstic, eyes widening when the background became slightly visible through his body. He looked down at his steadily disappearing paws in awe.

"Oh...woah."

"How do you feel?"

"It's kind of...ticklish?" The nerves in his feet felt strange, and he looked down to see that his feet were already gone.

"Oh Mew...oh Arceus...oh someone please..." Brook whimpered to himself as Lumi's lower body completely disappeared from view, the treeline visible through his head.

"Willow! Y-you can't just test stuff at random on whoever you want! Why are you even here..."

He was grabbed by a vine and promptly subjected to her stare. Basil flew closer to the disappearing Lumi's floating head.

"We'll talk about you trying to kick me out later. Right now, there is science to discover."

"Hey, Brook? I'm actually fine." replied the disappearing Mewostic head. "If I can help in anyw-" he cut off as his head disappeared.

A beat.

"Lumi?" whispered Brook.

No response.

"Hey, Mr. Lumi? You're still here right?" Basil waved his arm in front of him, but backed off when he bonked soft fur. Small indents in the ground appeared, heading in the direction of the captive Wartortle.

"...Uh, can you say something? Anything?" squeaked Brook.

The indents stopped. Though there was no sound, everyone in the area could feel the slow shake of the head Lumi gave. Willow set the softly screaming Wartortle down, and chose to write furiously in her notebook.

"...hmmm. Ingestion results in both transparency of physical form, and seemingly total reduction in potency of sound waves. Unexpected, but fruitful."

"F-fruitful!? Willow, I don't even know where he is right now!"

"He's right there." she pointed with a vine to where Basil chased after the soft indents in the grass, giggling in whatever game of tag the two found themselves in.

"Ok...ok, think. Um..." Brook pulled at his ears in consternation, before he let out a heavy sigh.

"We can...um, fix this before Pandora comes back. Uh, do you think maybe Eyedrop seeds would work?"

"Doubtful. The potency of the Vanish fruit should override any attempts to restore visibility by a mere seed."

"Willow!"

"Current projections place the duration of invisibility at around one day. Much more impressive, don't you agree?"

"Ahhh!" he pulled his ears down in frustration. "...Ok, Eyedrop fruit then. I have a batch growing in my workspace. Uh, Lumi! Come inside for a minute."

Brook waddled over and held the flap open. Basil swooped in and Willow slithered, but he made sure to watch for whatever signs showed the Meowstic making headway. Once he was sure everyone was inside, he turned to make his way in.

Brook's workspace contained numerous rows of bins on tables with plants in various stages of growth, smaller orbs floating in the ceiling over them that shone warm light. Leaves and dirt coated the floor, and an earthy smell hung in the air. Brook rushed through the isles, gaze locked on the small cards on the bins that held the plant names. Basil pulled out some cushions to lounge in, and he smiled when one of them 'poomfed' slightly and formed a small groove. Willow coiled around them loosely.

"You're taking this really well Mr. Lumi. Normally there's more screaming when Miss Willow wants to test something."

"He can't scream Basil, his voice doesn't work. Although I do sense a certain willingness to act for the betterment of science."

She brought her face closer to the indented pillow. It shifted slightly backward.

"...Truly a worthy colleague."

Meanwhile, Brook was caught in a conundrum. He stared with desperate eyes at two bushels with identical orange berries growing on them. Self-loathing and frustration filled him as he looked at the cards that identified them.

He couldn't read the handwriting.

He sent a prayer to Arceus, asking for mercy. Arceus sent him a story to tell.

"...Here goes nothing." he grabbed a fruit from the right bushel and rushed over to the others.

"Alright! Um...this should work. Lumi, just eat this and you should go back to normal."

The fruit lifted out of his hands, and Lumi took large bites, finishing the berry quickly. Everyone watched closely, waiting for any sign of blue fur to appear.

Instead, the pillow molded back to its original shape, no contours in sight. Basil squinted and waved an arm in front, but felt nothing.

"Um...he's not here."

Brook gulped dryly, heart beating in his chest. Willow paused in her writing to think, before leaning her head down closer to the Wartortles.

"Weren't you also attempting to crossbreed Warp fruit with Blast fruit? What did you call it...Skypop fruit?"

A loud bang resounded from outside the flap. Screams followed shortly after. Brook's eyes dilated, before he let out a whimper and retreated into his shell. Willow patted him gently on his top.

"I thought it was a brilliant idea." she consoled in her own way.

Lumi wasn't quite sure what was happening. One second he was finishing a delicious, citruicy berry inside Brook's workspace, the next he was suspended in the air, mouth on fire and coughing out small explosions. He only got a second to register the face of the poor Wingull who he set on fire before he felt his body compress into itself and his vision blur. Then he was upside down, staring at the base of a rather dry tree, before he set fire to it too and popped away.

This process repeated itself more times than he could count, which was admittedly not much, because he was having a hard enough time as it was trying to comprehend what was going on. All he knew was fire and nausea, as well as a vague guilt at accidentally harming some of the Pokemon here.

He thought back to see if there was anything, anything at all that he could have done to prevent this series of events.

Maybe he should be a little more careful around that Serperior.

"...It's beautiful." remarked Willow as she stared at the tops of burning trees. Though she couldn't see Lumi, she could easily tell where he was; the loud bursts of sound and fire were a dead giveaway. The invisible, teleporting, fire-breathing, psychic cat wrecked havoc as he popped in throughout the Growth floor.

"An absolute marvel."

The shell she clutched within her tail groaned.

"Miss Willow, we need to save Lumi! Somebody could get hurt!" squeaked Basil.

She heard a small cry come from the shell, and decided to heed the extremely tiny voice in her head named 'Ethics.'

"...At this point Eyedrop fruit would do nothing. I believe ingesting a Heal fruit would neutralize all of the concurrent effects."

"But how are we gonna make him eat it?"

"Yes, 'how' indeed, Basil." She stared at him with purpose, and he realized she was testing him. He scrunched his face up, determined to solve this puzzle. He let Willow's intense stare encourage him.

"...Oh! I know! What if we stun him, and then make him eat it! I can catch up to him with a Quick fruit!"

"Excellent." her mouth twitched upward just a tad, and Basil spun in the air in pride. She dug in her bag and whipped out a yellow, pointed berry and another smaller pouch. She tossed both of them to the Gligar.

"I was experimenting with crushing seeds, and created Stun Powder earlier. Eat the berry and spread the powder when you feel like you know where he is."

"Aye aye, Miss!" Basil saluted, ate the berry, and then blurred into the forest. Willow smiled a bit more, and looked down at the shell.

"The trees are on fire. You should put them out."

"Hu-wha!?" Brook's head and limbs finally popped out, and his stomach dropped at the sight before him. He began to pace in place, unsure of what action to take. Willow helped him decide by grabbing him in her tail and launching him toward the entrance, where the switch controlling the ceiling orbs was.

Satisfied she had done her due diligence, she stared out into the chaos and continued to take notes.

At the same time, Basil was having the time of his life. He loved it when he got to try the Quick fruit; the world moved at a snail's pace, and he could barely control where he was going. He laughed as he swerved around Pokemon who inched forward, expressions of confusion stuck on their faces. Through trees, vines, and branches, he flew toward where he last heard an explosion, claw wrapped around the pouch.

After a bit, he saw a red orange plume of fire erupting from some random point in the air. He took the pouch and shook some Stun powder out, careful not to get any on his body. Just as it was about to touch the source of the blast, however, the stream of fire petered out, and the powder instead landed on a poor Furret hiding at the base of a tree. This went unnoticed to the young Gligar, who instead stuck his tongue out in frustration and waited until he heard the slow but powerful sound of a blast.

Unfortunately the speed which Lumi teleported caused him to elude Basil many more times, who began to shake out more Stun powder in an attempt to catch him. Unbeknownst to the Gligar, he left a trail of twitching Pokemon in his wake. Eventually he got lucky, and Lumi warped only a few paces from where he was. Just as the explosion was developing, Basil spread the last of the powder around, and after a minute heard the sound of a thump on the ground. He cheered and went to feel for the Mewostic's body. After feeling something furry above the ground, he lifted Lumi into his arms and sped back toward Brook's workshop.

As he sped through the forest, the Quick fruit finally began to wear off, the fifteen minute duration being much more powerful than the thirty second duration from its seed. He felt a drizzle, and looked up to see water droplets slowly falling from the ceiling. Brook must have switched the Sunny orbs for Rainy orbs. Water droplets fell at an increasingly fast rate, and soon a deluge of water poured from the ceiling, putting out the fires that sprouted during the chaos.

He arrived back at the clearing in front of Brook's workshop and spotted Willow lounging contentedly in the rain.

"I found him!" The Gligar set the invisible cat gently on the ground. Willow used her vines to feel for Lumi's mouth. She opened it and shoved another orange berry inside, careful with her vines to make sure he swallowed and not choke. Before their eyes, Lumi's blue fur phased back into visibility, the cat knocked soundly unconscious.

"...Is he gonna be okay?"

"I assume having his body altered by eating two fruits in quick succession, combined with the stress of constant teleportation and then being stunned, has sufficiently tired him out. Rest is enough, but it would be wise to take him to the infirmary." her tone was analytical, but her eyes creased in something like concern as she watched the rise and fall of his chest. Before anything else could be said, a gasping Wartortle burst through the brush, a Furret, Emolga, and Morpeko twitching on his back.

"Need...more...Heal seeds..." he managed before falling forward.

The noon sun was hot on his back as he stared at the rocks and boulders ahead. His eyes scanned the path leading up to the mountains, where the Grey Trail Dungeon resided. Nothing in the environment demanded much attention, yet his senses whispered warnings in his mind that he was keen to heed.

They were louder than yesterday.

The crunch of dirt behind him alerted Vert, and he turned to face two Pokemon, a Mawile and an Espeon. The eeveelution sat on her haunches, while the fairy crossed his arms with a frown on his face. Nevertheless, Vert greeted them.

"Clement. Opal." He nodded to the Mawile and Espeon respectively.

Opal offered a small smile, but Clement grimaced and briefly scanned the surrounding area. After a bit he fixed his eyes to study the Absol in front of him.

"...Vert. How's our son?"