I believe we'd tracked her scent not too long ago..

A day or two later, Crimson had taken track of Vivian's marks ever since her and the team's departure. With both dark types on his side, it would make things a whole lot easier to track down the runaway sneasel. The Mandibuzz on his side is known for her excellent flying skills, and her eyesight somehow keeps on track of the sneasel far away from them.

All three dark types went through some serious journeys enough, but no matter how hard the buzzard was trying thanks to the fog, she still couldn't find the sneasel - Vivian. Crimson gave himself a frustrated sigh and ordered the mandibuzz to land, and so it did as both talons landed onto the floor. It was snowy outside, and the snow on the ground was approximately 2 feet deep, but thankfully it wasn't as bad as the last time they arrived.

"Maria," Crimson ordered. That certain name is what the mandibuzz is called now. "The fog is too heavy, but keep an eye on Vivian. I'm sure we'll bring her back alive."

The mandibuzz squawked in response and flapped her wings before ascending herself into the air. "And make sure you don't get lost!" Known for her excellent eyesight, buzzards like her can quickly remember Crimson's demands just far away from him, and once she would come back, she would reminded him Vivian is out there alone.

The fog has cleared but it grew slightly heavier compared to last night, and the rest of the team are just several miles away from their destination. According to Griff, one of his clan members had betrayed him and became part of Team Blytz, which somehow interested the albino sneasel further, but he wasn't there just to join in, he was there to take Vivian back to the clan.

"I've heard a bunch about that Zyma Town place a long time ago," The liepard spoke to Crimson. "When I was a Purrloin way before I joined your team. I've noticed it's full of dark types like us."

"Exactly." Crimson responded huskily as he scratched the leopard's ear. "Although I'm frankly unaware if that defector - turned explorer, has made her way over to that certain kind of city somewhere. I've- We've tracked her scent but it appears she's not there right now."

This confused the liepard even further. "And what makes you so sure?"

Crimson pondered for a moment. While he was completely unaware about the sneasel's appearance, he also wondered how she was doing completely unharmed. "I'm not sure what Vivian looks like right away, but I believe she has one of those...gray scarves wrapped around her neck. She must've turned away from us and become an explorer."

The cat-like beast nodded in response. "I'll keep that in mind." She responded dearly. "Does she have..blueish fur?"

"A mixture of a dark-purple and gray color combined all together," Crimson replied back. "She has that as her fur color but I wasn't sure.." His paws continued to trudge against the white, deep snow. "I also heard she has...three facial scars on her left eye.. Must've been from that little fight she went through."

"That sounded more than a little, dear Crimson.." The leopard pokemon replied blankly. "While I do feel bad for her, but we couldn't defend a traitor like her, can we?"

"Affirmative." Crimson spoke softly. "Vivian's a packmate and she's more than just a clan member."

Suddenly, a loud squawk echoed across the snowy forest. Stopping dead in their tracks, the two both froze and laid their eyes upon what appeared to be the same mandibuzz Crimson teamed up with. Her wings were already flapping quicker than usual, and there was shock in her two eyes. "C-CRIMSON!"

The sneasel waited for the buzzard's response.

"We found her."

Morning has passed, and the team had finished their meal at the local sushi restaurant. It wasn't what Adir had expected, but he had no choice but to accept the sneasel's decision. With how delicate the interior looked, the shiny tyrogue couldn't help but try something real. All he could eat was just berries harvested from the farm and stale noodles kept in a cupboard stored for months. Despite his love for berries, he hated every taste of stale noodles stored in the post's cupboard that lasted for months, and the bitter taste of seasoning made the fighting type spit his food out.

Finally trying out something real, Adir helped himself out with a few veggie spring rolls - fit for a fighting type himself. Vivian helped herself out with sashimi - her very first delicacy in months after trying out stale berries for years. Penny chose what was supposed to be Granbull-sized, but it was a small portion instead. The snubbull didn't seem to mind though, and gobbled it down like a wild pokemon that she is. Oakley was the last to chow down her meal - a simple tray of Corphish rolls. It wasn't as big as she hoped for, but she cared little and chowed down the entire tray without a care in the world.

They were already full enough as it is, but Adir was the strongest and he managed to burn his calories before they could even get to their post. According to Zyma Town, the entire population is ruled with dark-types, and Vivian was more than surprised to find out everything else about it, but she was still concerned on what the others looked like when they stayed there.

The post was way bigger compared to the one in Stone Town where Oakley used to live, and this post in particular had other teams too - but Vivian was more confused than excited on this faithful day.

Making their way over to the clearing, Oakley then averts her eyes over to a job board. It was surprisingly big compared to Stone Town's when she was a yamper, and luckily enough it was really busy today. "That job board here seems pretty busy today.." Oakley said as her paw was placed onto the job board nearby. She was pointing her paw over to what appeared to beWANTEDsigns all over the billboard in front of her. "You know, Penny? You're right on the money with this town, girl."

Penny gave herself a proud chuckle. "It's no problemo. The jobs' here are pretty busy so we have no issue looking for them right now!"

"Pretty sure there aren't anyferaljobs at this rate," Oakley's smile quickly sank from her face. "I'm sure we'll have no issue taking one down now that I'm stronger!"

"Oakley, how about we just wait until we're stronger enough to fight one off?" Adir snapped back as he walked towards Oakley. "We fought off a mightyena before and almost got us killed, so we dont need to fight another today."

Oakley suddenly realized this and narrowed her paw over to what looked like a piece of paper pinned onto the wooden job board. The paper had what looked like a sneasel headshot on it, alongside a few buddies right next to each other - a Liepard and a Mandibuzz. These three looked very similar to what Griff had talked about, and right before Oakley could say anything else about them, a sudden memory clashes Vivian right in her head.

Oh no..Vivian muttered. "I-I know that sneasel.."

"WHAT!?" Penny barked out of shock. "H-HOW DID YOU EVEN-"

"G-Griff told me there was an albino sneasel roaming across our clan," Vivian started before clearing her throat. "It had two rubies both on its forehead and its chest, and it sported what looked like a brown handkerchief wrapped around it's arm."

"But, Vivian-" Oakley paused. "How did you even know that guy if you haven't seen him?"

Vivian hesitated to speak for a quick second. She had once heard of albino sneasels, and she heard there was one with two rubies both attached on their forehead and chest fluff. To Griff's point of view, he had once heard of the albino pokemon before he was the clan leader, but couldn't remember what he had looked like until Crimson had showed up. Finally, she opened her mouth to speak.

"I.. I just told you guys earlier. He's an albino sneasel with the ruby on his forehead. I... I believe his name is.." Vivian paused and pondered for a moment. "Kiro? Bailey?"

"I believe his name is Crimson according to the paper." Oakley averted her paw against the wanted poster. It read, "Crimson""He's wanted for at least a couple of charges for entering villages illegally."

"He's a criminal?" Vivian gasped in response. "But- How?"

"Crimson's wanted for stealing a few berries in our village," Oakley took her time to recall a certain event where she was a Yamper, strolling across Stone Town when she gazed her eyes upon a sneasel. It was white like Crimson, and he was seen wearing what looked like a brown bandanna wrapped around his face. "I've seen this guy before, and what I could remember is that he's wearing some sort of..thief bandanna."

"So..he's a thief like our species after all?"

"Even though you're not exactly a criminal," The boltund narrowed her eyes towards the sneasel behind her. "But Crimson's one, and he's a danger to society too."

"If I recall correctly," Penny started as she made her way towards Oakley. "I've heard someone saying that he's going to bring her back to the clan." The shiny snubbull then shuddered in fear. "A-Alive.."

Vivian's eyes shrank at what Penny had said to her friend. "I-Is he really-"

"We're not letting some creepy sneasel take you away from us, Vivian." Oakley lets out a sad sigh. "However we might find another place that would keep him away from us."

"Oakley, Zyma's the safest town we could ever stay in," Penny growled back. "There's no way in Giratina's flaming eyes we'll ever walk another 70 miles just to find her a safe place to stay!"

"Penny, Vivian might die if we can't do something about that sneasel guy sooner." Oakley snapped back. "If Crimson takes her back and Griff kills her, we won't be able to continue as a team without her!"

Penny thought about it for a moment. If Crimson wanted to break into the safest town for dark-types, then what else could the team do now? "If Crimson has like three team members, than that makes us-"

"Four of us. Crimson may or may not have a team if I recall correctly.." Oakley took a moment to calm herself down as she narrowed her eyes back at the job board. "However if we managed to defeat him, we could get rewarded with a bunch of Poke."

"We've done a job like this before," Penny then froze as she suddenly remembered the mightyena fight years ago. "Wait- WHAT HAPPENED TO THE POKE THE GUY PROMISED US! WHERE'S MY MONEY!?"

"PENNY, CALM DOWN!" Adir stormed towards the shiny snubbull and snatched her away right before she could get a chance to attack the boltund. "IT'S NOT THE TIME FOR US TO FIGHT RIGHT NOW!"

Just mere seconds before Penny could get a word out, a loud squawking sound can be heard across the distance, causing the entire team to freeze in shock. Adir immediately drops the shiny snubbull onto the ground, causing her to let out a yelp upon impact. Penny was about to scold him, but as soon as she opened her jaw to talk, she paused and froze dead in her tracks as she gazed her eyes upon what looked like a large buzzard, swooping it's way over to the job board.

The large avian landed on top of the board post, and Oakley immediately figured out who that form belonged to. "That mandibuzz.." Oakley would let out a growl in response. "You're not here to steal berries from us, are you?"

The buzzard let out a devious chuckle. "Oh-hohoho, no! No! I'm not here to steal anything else from you four.." The mandibuzz would stare directly into the sneasel's eyes, causing the dark-and-ice type to flinch and shudder out of fear. "However, there's only one thing-"

"Nuh-uh! You're not taking away our friend!" Adir would give the large buzzard a furious scowl. "Sure she may be a dark-type, but she's not like you!"

"I-It can talk!?" Penny couldn't help but let out a shocked gasp.

"Of course I can talk, you buffoon." The buzzard squawked back. "All pokemon can talk!"

Penny glared at the buzzard, but she was too shocked to move any of her muscles at this rate. The boltund would walk in front of the sneasel, while Adir hid behind Vivian.

"You're not taking our friend, you pile of bones.." Oakley growled back, but the buzzard didn't bother to flinch. "Vivian's our friend and you're not taking her away from us!"

"Yourfriend?" The mandibuzz cackled. "But she'sourfriend! You're not-"

"You don't even know her!"

I do..

Oakley and the others froze dead in their tracks and narrowed their eyes over to what looked like that same sneasel the boltund was talking about. It was Crimson, and he was seen leading his liepard friend over to the path the other team was on. He grew a devious scowl on his face as he stared directly towards the boltund, but right now it looks like he seems to be more interested in Vivian rather than the others.

"Now what's all the mess about," Crimson gave himself a huskily response as he got closer towards the canine. Penny gave the albino sneasel a furious scowl. "And what do I see here? Gray scarves?"

"These are our team scarves, and your not-" Oakley snapped back, but Crimson cut her off before she could finish talking.

"I'm not here to steal them, you mangy mutt!" Those words battered both Oakley and Penny's skull, and right before the shiny snubbull could get a chance to attack, the boltund noticed and immediately stopped her from doing so. "I'm here to wonder why Vivian's here-"

Crimson paused as he noticed the gray scarf wrapped around the sneasel's neck.

"Oh- You three chose to let a traitor become an explorer?"

Oakley growled in response. "She's my first and only friend on this team, and you're not taking her away from us!" Electrical sparks started to fly across her body. "Besides! I've known this sneasel for years and you're not taking her away just so you can let a certain weavile kill her!"

Crimson gave himself a devious chuckle. "I've barely known her, and I suppose it's my first time seeing her like this.." Vivian shuddered in disgust as she made eye contact with the albino sneasel in front of her. No matter how many times she tried to avoid making eye contact with this thief in front of her, she couldn't help but gaze her eyes upon him. However she was more frightened than interested. "Although we're not going to be in a relationship together, she could make a perfect clan leader for the-"

"There's no way in Giratina's eyes you're using her like this!" Oakley barked in anger. "She's apart of our team and you're not using her like she's a clan leader to YOUR species!"

Crimson didn't bother to flinch. "I do appreciate your decision, dear boltund," He would point a claw towards the shiny snubbull in front of him. "Although your team is a bit too small to fight us off," He would then point a claw towards Vivian. "But that certain sneasel can't go with you guys.."

"Like I said, jerk," Penny gave herself a furious growl in response. "You're not taking her away from us!"

"Doesn't matter how long we've known her - for years honestly, we're not leaving Vivian behind!" Adir spoke to the albino sneasel. "And you're not using her as some sort of punching bag!"

"I do appreciate your decision as well, dear tyrogue," Crimson's devious smile quickly sank into a disappointed frown. "But her turning on us like that and becoming an explorer, that's a first." The liepard would slowly trot towards the other team in front of him. "Perhaps my liepard friend would like to have a simple talk with you.."

"Or how about you just fight us off instead?" Oakley immediately jumped over and bolted towards Crimson, her fangs bearing out of rage. "WE'RE FIGHTING FOR VIVIAN! FOR US!"

"Y-You guys!" Vivian couldn't help but let out soft coos of happiness.

Crimson gave himself a determined chuckle. "Then that proves it, mutt. Although we're going to fight in a much more isolated space now." Soon the albino sneasel led his team out of the city, leaving the other team confused and baffled. They wasted no time in following Crimson's lead, but what Penny hasn't realized yet is that they're going 3v4, and despite the other team members being small, Oakley thinks they're stronger enough to take the rest down without any issue.

Out in the clearing was Crimson, bundled up together with a liepard and a mandibuzz, all sporting determined yet devious looks on their faces. Team Blytz however was sporting more than just determination. They were already sporting nothing but anger after finding out Crimson was here to take Vivian away from them. Oakley was the first to show up, while both Penny and Adir are out in the distance, bundled up against Vivian.

"You do realize your team is too small to fight us off, correct?" Crimson chuckled deviously, but Oakley didn't bother to flinch at those words. "Just you, me, and the others."

"I'm much bigger than you, Crimson.." Oakley barked back. "Sure the rest of us may be small, but I'm the only biggest leader of the team, and I won't hesitate to take a short sneasel like you down.."

The albino sneasel gave himself a hearty laugh. "Are you sure? 'Cause you seem a lot shorter than my liepard friend over there.."

Crimson was right. As the liepard got closer towards Oakley, the boltund looked even taller than the liepard herself. Despite their size difference, Oakley still wouldn't hesitate to fight off such a big cat like his friend.

"Guess we're fighting.." Oakley turned her head towards Penny who was bundled up against Vivian. "Penny, you've fought off that mightyena before, haven't you?"

Penny nodded in response and bolted towards Oakley.

"Ohohoh! It's 3v2 then!" Crimson let out a hearty chuckle, but soon Adir came into view. "3v3 then! Keep in mind, you're a bit too small to fight us off, but if you win-"

"We get to keep Vivian with us." Oakley finished the sneasel's sentence, cutting him off. "Besides, we're not leaving her behind.."

Crimson opened his mouth to talk, but right as the boltund charged her way towards him, the albino pokemon immediately dodged the tackle and landed right on his feet. "Oh, you're starting right now? Excellent!"

The liepard didn't bother to move, but after remembering how short the boltund is, the large cat pokemon snapped out of her thoughts and charged directly towards Oakley. Despite Maria's speed, Oakley was much quicker than her, and she instantly dodged the liepard's fury swipes. Penny went for the sneasel, and Adir went for the mandibuzz.

"I do appreciate your dodging skills, boltund-" Right as he was about to finish talking, pain blossomed in his leg, and he let out a loud, blood-curdling scream. Penny had appeared to be locking her jaws right against the albino's leg, and no matter how much he tried to get her off, he struggled. "G-GET OFF OF ME, YOU MANGY MUTT!"

The mandibuzz was the first to attack Adir, but it did little. The tyrogue immediately got up and a punch landed right onto the buzzard's face, causing her to squawk in pain. Despite the punch being very effective, the buzzard however showed no signs of giving up yet.

The liepard was just mere seconds away from locking her jaws right onto Oakley's throat, but turns out the boltund was first to do so right before the big cat could get a chance to attack. The dog's teeth immediately sunk into the cat's fur, and it caused her to let out pained gasps. Crimson instantly noticed and tried hopping his way over to stop Oakley from giving her more damage, but no matter how much he struggled, Penny still kept her jaws locked right onto the sneasel's leg, preventing him from walking any further towards the dog-cat fight.

"I..SAID.." Then finally, the sneasel swiped his claws right across the snubbull's face, causing her to let go of the leg. "LET ME GO!" Crimson would snatch the snubbull in his grasp and spun her around, and after a quick few seconds, he throws the shiny dog pokemon across the distance. Penny gave herself a loud, panicked scream, but it was cut out at the last second as her body landed onto the sharp bark behind her. Letting out a groan, the shiny snubbull slid off the tree and her entire body fell onto the snow face-first.

The liepard struggled to attack Oakley as he jaws were locked against the cat's throat, but the bite was enough to give the pokemon a bit of her air supply. The mandibuzz however suffered worse as Adir kept landing both punches and kicks right against the bird's entire body. Sadly the buzzard had no choice but to surrender from his grasp.

Right as the mandibuzz's vision went dark, Adir noticed Penny's motionless form onto the ground. Boltind towards the nearly-unconscious snubbull, he picks her up with one arm and gazes towards Crimson, now struggling to walk any further. He appeared to have a huge bite mark on his leg, and it was already too painful for him to move properly.

"Penny, stay here." Adir ordered, and the weakened snubbull obliged. "I'll deal with that sneasel guy in a sec."

Pain blossoms in Oakley's back, and she immediately lets go of the liepard's neck, causing the big cat to wheeze and sputter from the lack of air. Maria's air supply had gone back to normal, but she was now too weak to attack the boltund even further.

"Give her up, Oakley.." The sneasel growled as he dragged his claws closer towards the canine's neck. His claws were dangerously close to Oakley's throat, and they were threatening to slash her entire air supply at any given moment now. "Otherwise if not, then my claws should be against her throat instead of yours.."

Oakley didn't bother to say anything, and she was worried his claws would strike her throat at any given moment if she tried to talk back. Crimson waited for an answer, but the boltund didn't dare to talk.

"No answer, huh?" Crimson grew an evil smile on his face, and that is when the boltund would immediately freeze out of fear. "Alright then, I guess it's my time to str-AAAKCH!"

He felt something grab his neck, and right as he narrowed his eyes, it was Adir, and he was already grabbing ahold of the shorter sneasel right by his throat. The tyrogue was aggressively holding the albino sneasel by his neck, and he was squeezing hard enough to nearly cut off his entire air supply, but not entirely. Crimson still had the energy to speak.

"Are you going to take Vivian away from us, or are you just going to surrender?" Adir's eyes narrowed towards what looked like an unconscious mandibuzz, laying motionlessly on the ground. Crimson's eyes shrank as he finds the buzzard now lifeless on the ground, but not entirely though. The large buzzard was still breathing after all. "Did you really think we wouldn't find out you're trying to kidnap our friend?"

Crimson didn't bother to speak. Adir's arm was still locked against his neck. For a second, true relief strikes Vivian's mind, however she was more worried about Penny rather than the rest of Crimson's team just out in the distance.

"I may be a one-arm," Adir started to talk. "But I'm a one-armed soldier after all, and I won't hesitate to fight any of you guys off!"

Oakley stared deeply into the liepard's helpless eyes. Maria wanted to speak, but with her air supply cut off a little, she had no choice but to surrender as well. The boltund grew a proud smile on her face, but right as she laid her eyes against the weakened Penny, her smile instantly sank and bolted towards the snubbull to comfort her.

"You nearly knocked out Penny, and if I ever catch you doing this to Vivian too, you're gonna suffer the worst of it.." Adir was aggressively grabbing ahold of the albino sneasel's neck. "Unless you want to surrender.."

Finally, Crimson opens his mouth to shout.OKAY! OKAY, I'LL SURRENDER!

The shiny tyrogue lets go of Crimson's neck, and he was now left in a wheezing and sputtering mess. The liepard immediately got up and bolted towards the albino sneasel, now licking his face.

"M-Maria, C-Carla.." Crimson wheeze. "T-Take me back to the clan.."

Adir grew a proud smile on his face as Vivian walked closer towards him, now relieved to see Crimson throwing the towel and surrendering himself.

"I-I'll get you next time, Vivian.." Right as the sneasel slowly got onto the liepard's back, it then meowed loudly, storming their way out in the clearing. The mandibuzz was the last to wake up, and true fear struck through her. Flapping her wings as fast as she could, she then makes her way out in the clearing, fading just meters later.

Meanwhile, Penny was now sitting weakly against the tree, pain blossoming through her back. Oakley laid down and curled up towards her, wishing her a quick recovery. Vivian bolted towards the two and asked if there were any posts to keep her safe. Growing a smile on her face, the boltund got back up and grabbed Penny by the scruff of her neck as gently as possible.

"I'm sure we'll find a post that allows your kind here." Oakley then shuddered in anger. "Now that Crimson's gone.."

And soon Team Blytz made their way back to Zyma Town's designated explorer posts, wishing to find a better room for their snubbull friend to sleep in for the night.