The Contender's Ascent

by Insane Dominator

Third installment to "The Fairy Contender". Months passed since Nic and Erza finally united, but now things get really interesting. New challenges face Nic as Pokemon begin to rise, more complex foes challenge him and his powers, and something darker than darkness itself seeks Nic. With friends new and old joining forces, Nic and two worlds unite in ways unimaginable. OCxErza

87. Salazzle's Tropical Getaway

Within Wela Volcano Park in the Alola Region's Akala Island, a handful of Pokémon claimed this ravaged land as their home. However, the volcanic park served for another purpose, and that it was the trial site for Pokémon Trainers.

Its Totem sat lazily in her cave, one leg over the other while dozing off.

"(Hey boys, I'm hungry. I need food!)"

A Salandit horde immediately rushed from an opening to meet their leader's needs. The rather large Totem Salazzle rested the side of her face with a hand, elbow supporting her as she watched over a dozen of her reverse harem minions crawl over with berries in their mouths. One-by-one, they all presented her with her spoils they scrounged all night for.

"(Hm? Hello.)" She picked up a Pomeg Berry, then looked at the Salandit in front of her. "(You found this?"

The Salandit anxiously nodded. "(Y-yes, ma'am.)"

She eyed him for a moment, making him feel more anxious. Her mouth curved into a sly smirk as she hummed suggestively. "(Hmm…well, how thoughtful that you remember my favorite berry. Stick around so I can…repay your consideration.)" Her tail swayed suggestively, expelling pheromones enough to only he could smell.

"(Y-yes, ma'am!)" The male Salandit squealed.

Totem Salazzle chuckled. She loved this, having so many men wrapped around her finger and doing all the work. Being the boss had its perks, but she had to remember to reward her good Salandits…when it convenience her.

And of course, punish those who don't satiate her appetite.

"And…what'd you bring me?" She turned towards the last Salandit that crawled up, though he was empty-handed.

"(W-well, you see, I did find some Cheri Berries.)" He mumbled. "(But you see, there was this Kangaskhan, and her child was around, so-)"

"(Tch!)" Totem Salazzle's flaming tail swung around, slapping the poor Salandit so hard he hit his back against the ground beyond the flinching harem. "(You know excuses like that don't fly. If you don't have anything good to satisfy me, don't bother crawling back at all! I'm the Totem here, I need my strength! Got that!?)"

The Salandit scampered back up and bowed fearfully. "(Y-yes, ma'am!)" He rushed out the cavern, leaving the rest of the Salandit to feel pity for their lackluster brethren.

Sensing their discomfort, Totem Salazzle whiffed her tail, spreading her pheromones around. "(You boys be wise and not follow that example. You want a piece of this, you've gotta work for it. Okay?)"

Their collective nods with vague blushes meant nothing to her. She knew what drove all wild males, and that meant she held the power. Being a Totem only made her feel that much more important.

The echo of a stick came from a tunnel leading to the outside. "Hey, Totem! We have a challenger!"

Salazzle groaned. Looks like her 'fun' would have to wait. "(For Arceus's sake…)" She rolled on her flat rock, looking irritated for several seconds before getting up. "(Let's get this stupid dance over with.)" She sneered before starting a crawl towards the entrance. "(You boys be ready when I call ya.)"

She crawled to adhere to her part of the job. She hated the work, but as long as she had others to do it for her, her life should be smooth sailing.

---

Salazzle awoke to the smell of flour from the kitchen, bringing her back to reality. The once-valued Totem let out a loud yawn as a new day dawned. Sprawled along the couch, she looked around the house she's gotten used to. It wasn't a cave, but it was better than the industrial park that smelled of smog and smelly old human men.

Grumbling, she leaned over the couch to peer into the kitchen, seeing her Trainer over the stove with a spatula in hand.

Sophie hummed to herself as she flipped a pancake over to its other side, revealing a golden surface that made her lips moist. She placed it on the plate that levitated beside her, via Kadabra's Confusion.

From the sink, the dirty dishes were being washed by Araquanid. His legs used rags to clean up the metal and plates used for preparing breakfast. Once he sat them on the dish rack on the counter, Lumineon's wings glowed as she flapped, performing a very small Gust to dry up the dishes faster.

"That should be enough. You guys ready to eat?" Sophie asked.

"Sure thing." Kadabra nodded.

"Of course, I'm starving!" Araquanid's eyes flashed.

Lumineon skimmed along the floor with a hum. "Sure am."

The group walked over towards the table, where the plate full of pancakes was joined by other plates of prepared food, which included berries, bacon, hash browns, and of course, a bowl of lemons for Sophie's sour-loving roommate. Speaking of which…

"I should wake her up. It's almost 9." Sophie looked at the clock, seeing that it was ten minutes till the said mark. "I swear, I don't think that girl's ever gotten up by herself before 9. She really isn't a morning person, huh."

As she went up the stairs to go awaken the young Pularis woman, Salazzle watched her scale the stairs before resuming her lackadaisical ways on the couch. She'd rather have servants bring her food to her, but seeing as how that wasn't an option, she begrudgingly crawled off the furniture and sauntered over towards the dining area, where her new kin waited.

"Speaking of lazy…" Kadabra eyed Salazzle. "So, you finally decided to get up?"

"Yeah, well, unlike you, I can't use my mind to bring food to me." Salazzle retorted, getting up on her hind legs to scope the assortments. "So, what do we got going on here?"

"The usual. There should be plenty for everybody." Lumineon chimed.

Salazzle shrugged before turning towards the tower of pancakes on the table. She picked up one and gave it a quizzical look before taking a bite of it. She was so lackadaisy that she didn't seem to notice the crude stares of the others. "Mm, too plain. Would it kill her to add some berries or something?"

"We actually prefer our berries separate." Araquanid hissed, his water bubble rippling from his temper.

"Hey, to each their own. I'm just saying she doesn't have to keep it plain, y'know." She reached for one of the Cheri Berries and crushed it over the pancake. The juice stained the top with spicy red, which Salazzle bit into with a more upbeat expression. "Mm, now that's more like it."

The other three frowned. Despite the limited time she's been in the party, there hasn't been much progress with getting along with her. While they didn't have anything personal with her, it was starting to get to them how unreliable she was on jobs, particularly her lack of effort.

"You know, Salazzle." Kadabra started in a scolding tone. "It's more polite to wait until everyone is at the table. It's common courtesy."

Salazzle raised her head with a raised brow. "Well I'm not common, am I?"

"Perhaps not, but it's not always about you. There are others you have to consider."

Salazzle grabbed a handful of mixed berries and ate them before glaring down at him. "Look here, yellow stache. I didn't ask to be part of this ragtag gig you got going on. Just because I'm here, doesn't mean that I have to like it."

Araquanid's eyes glowed as his water bubble was almost to a boil.

"Don't Araquanid." Even though Lumineon felt the same as her fellow Water-type, she at least knew to hold back her temper better. "Salazzle, it's fine that you feel that way. All that we ask is that you try and be a little bit more considerate of others and how they feel. Miss Sophie has been giving you numerous chances, and yet you do nothing to assist in the work. Isn't that rather unfair?"

"Unfair?" Salazzle scoffed. "Well, life is unfair, fish. I had it all when I became a Totem, and now I'm some blonde's pet lizard? Yeah, like I'm gonna let that hang over my head."

"Listen." Kadabra moved forward, levitating off the ground as his psychic powers surged. "We have been very patient with you, almost as much as Lady Sophie. The least you can do is give her the respect she deserves!"

"Tch!" Salazzle clicked her tongue.

"Believe it or not, she's a very kind person…" Kadabra paused, recalling the moment she willingly gave up her memories. "More so than you'll ever know. If you continue to be a hinderance to her, then we won't hold back."

"Yeah, starting with me." Araquanid hissed so deeply his water bubble gurgled.

Salazzle could see the clarity in Kadabra's words. She wondered what would happen if a fight broke out and knew between a Psychic'type and two Water-types, she knew it'd be best to avoid that. Seeing the situation getting out of hand, Salazzle eyerolled and turned away. "I don't need this." She crawled over towards the backdoor and opened the latch.

"And where exactly are you going?" Lumineon hummed.

"None of your bizz, fish." She slammed the door shut, leaving her comrades alone.

Kadabra sighed tiredly. "Good grief."

The sound of footsteps immediately drew their attention towards the staircase. Sophie walked into the kitchen, with a tired-looking Vanessa in tow. "Sorry for the wait." She looked around, noticing Salazzle absent. "Hey, do you know where Salazzle went?"

The three turned to each other, their recent discussion with her leaving their appetites partially soured.

Lumineon cleared her throat. "She…had to step out for some fresh air, apparently."

Araquanid growled low.

"I'm sure she'll be back soon. Just give her time, Lady Sophie." Kadabra insisted.

Sophie in all honesty expected this. This has been going on ever since she caught the former Totem Pokémon. She knew she was still adjusting to her new life, and so far she's been giving the Pokémon the space she needed. She hoped Salazzle would come around soon. "Alright then. Let's eat. We'll be taking a job, so let's get our fill."

The group started to dine. As they were eating the breakfast Sophie prepared, Vanessa was biting into the fresh, sour-drenched lemons. Her aura was sensing Salazzle crawling around the house outside and onto the ceiling. 'Up there, huh?'

…

Perched on Sophie's roof, Salazzle was looking out at the morning sun over the rooftops of Magnolia. Being a natural cave-dweller, sunlight wasn't her forte. But for the sake of her mind, this was the only space she had to be alone. Better than shacking it up with everybody downstairs breathing down her neck.

She gazed quietly as her whip flaps blew in the light breeze. She thought about running off a few times in the dead of night, but knew she wouldn't get far. Every time, it felt like a downgrade to what she used to have. It only left her more bitter just thinking about it.

"Anymore and that scowl on your face will become permanent."

Salazzle jerked in alarm and turned around. To her surprise, she saw Grovyle on the other corner of the rooftop. Immediately she settled.

"Oh, it's just you. Blade, right? Oh yeah, you go by your species' name these days." She greeted him.

"Hardy hello to you, too." The former Apostle greeted back.

Salazzle sighed. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your Trainer?"

"I like to get my morning jumps in. I could ask you the same thing." Grovyle folded his arms. "Lemme guess, she crampin' your style?"

Salazzle scoffed. Grovyle hit the mark, but she'd rather not let him know that.

"Honestly, I don't know what I'm doing here."

"I get what you mean." Grovyle scoffed. "This guild our Trainers are in is a bunch of nitwits, but at least it's better than running a psycho circus."

Salazzle raised a brow. "So I take it you don't like your Trainer?"

"That blonde with the keys and large rack?" He shrugged and walked up to her. The two stared out towards the sunrise, the warmth of the late summer glowing on them. "Well, she's got a decent head on those shoulders, but that's as much credit as I'll give her." He shot her a look. "And what about you? Sounds like that other blonde is giving you a hard time."

Salazzle eyerolled. 'More like the other way around.' Though, since she had someone who was once a coworker, she knew at the very least he wouldn't give her a hard time like the others did. "Say…"

"Hm?"

"We used to be above humans for a while. Why'd it turn out like this?"

Blade cocked a brow. "What am I, your therapist?" He thought about it and turned towards the sky. "I don't know, beats me. Maybe Arceus is punishing us?" He shrugged. "Well, I don't care either way. At least I'm not taking the life I have now for granted. She lets me sleep on the windowsill, lets me get my exercises. If you got a problem with your new lifestyle, that's your issue to sort out."

Salazzle's gaze turned to a hollow glare. She put her hands to her side and turned away slightly. She wanted to say something, but given what Grovyle just said, she had second thoughts. "Hmph, someone's gotten cozy with their new life."

Grovyle turned his back to her and started walking away. "Yeah, well, I'm gonna head back. Unlike you, I try not to worry my Trainer too much."

"Yeah, see ya next week, Mr. Therapist!"

"Nope, not doing this!" Grovyle leaped towards the next rooftop over, heading back in the direction of Lucy's apartment.

Alone once more, Salazzle turned towards the sky. She watched a flock of Pidgey led by a Pidgeotto in a V formation fly overhead. Being so free yet in charge, it must feel nice. Though given her recent talks with the rest of Sophie's Pokémon and Grovyle's point of view, she was more than a little conflicted.

'Just because she's my Trainer, huh? What a flimsy excuse.'

---

The sun beamed down brightly, waves moving in and out of the shoreline, followed by a refreshing sea breeze; all attributes that made up a tropical beach.

Along this serene stretch of soft sand, Vanessa and Sophie had just arrived. The two women scoped their surroundings, from the tropical canopies to the blue horizon in the distance. The sounds of a mixture of seagulls and Wingull echoed from above.

"This should be the place." Vanessa figured, turning towards Sophie. "Around here, right?"

Sophie nodded affirmatively. "That's right. I remember the details the client told us. It's around this area."

What the Memory-Make Mage referred to was the job that they were undertaking. To their fortune, it was another job posted by the Cambire Foundation, meaning another possible stamp upon completion. The quest took them to the southern coastlines of Fiore, just a few miles off of Akane Resorts. The job in detail entailed the declining population of Water-type Pokémon in the area. They were to find the reason behind it, and if needed, stamp it out.

Sophie scanned the sandy shores. "You'd think there'd be a few Water-types around."

Vanessa closed her eyes, her Aura Magic sensing the aura of everything around her. True to what her guildmate said, the area was remarkably dry of Water-types, including those in the surrounding waters. When she opened her eyes, she looked serious. 'Is something driving them out of this territory? Better question is, where did they all go?'

"You think it has to do with the resort not too far off?" Sophie inquired, turning in the direction of Akane Resorts.

"Hardly. It's not like the waters are polluted or anything." Vanessa figured. "Places like Cyllage City and other coastal towns back in Kalos were populated, but the neighboring seas teemed with Pokémon regardless."

"The Foundation employee said they've been researching the population of the Pokémon in the waters around here for the past two months, and just two weeks ago, they noticed the drastic decline."

"Which means an unnatural variable." Vanessa had to think carefully how they should approach this mission. They wouldn't get far with the limited intel and room they had on hand. She reached for her neon green belt and pulled out a Poké Ball, tossing it up. "Come out, Delphox!"

The capsule flew open, Vanessa's Delphox emerging on the sandy beach in front of her. "You call?" she chimed.

"We need your psychic powers. See if you can find anything we can anticipate." Vanessa instructed.

Delphox nodded. "Right, leave it to me." She pulled out her wand from her furry sleeve, igniting the tip in a medium-size flame that she peered into.

"We should be actively search our surroundings too." Sophie suggested. "We might find some things we might overlook."

Vanessa nodded in agreement. "Good idea." She pulled out another Poké Ball and threw it. "Magnezone!"

Magnezone appeared in the air, his magnets twirling. "I'm here, Vanessa."

Vanessa turned towards Sophie. "Magnezone and I will scope out the coast for anything that could be a clue. Why don't you search for anything around the coast, Sophie?"

The blonde nodded. "Sure, if your aura hasn't detected much, it must mean this area is bare. I'll see what we can find." With that, she took off in a different direction of the coast, leaving Vanessa to scout the beach while Magnezone flew off to observe the sea at a higher altitude.

Sophie turned her attention to a different area of the beach. Once she was far enough, she put her thoughts into motion. 'If Water-type Pokémon are being targeted, best to avoid risking Araquanid and Lumineon.' Pulling out a Poké Ball and Heal Ball, she flung them skywards. "Kadabra! Salazzle! Come out!"

Emerging from their capsules, Kadabra and Salazzle appeared side-by-side.

"Ah, the air around here is quite pleasant." Kadabra noted, his moustache tickled by the faint tropical breeze.

Salazzle let out a loud yawn, putting a hand to her hip. "Eh? Where now?" She looked at her feet, then at the nearby shore. "Wow, you're just a travel addict. First snow, now a coast? What's next, a volcano?"

Kadabra side-glanced harshly. 'Did she not take what we say seriously?'

"Sorry Salazzle, but we're stretched thin at the moment. We need to split up and cover ground. If you find anything out of the ordinary, make sure to let me know." Sophie instructed. "We'll meet up back here."

Kadabra nodded. "Right, of course."

Salazzle rolled her eyes, scoffing. "Whatevs."

The two turned and started their way towards inland; Kadabra floated across the sand while Salazzle sauntered in a lazy crawl. Sophie watched them off, her attention focused on Salazzle.

Vanessa turned towards her. "You sure you want to rely on Salazzle? She's been giving you a hard time."

Sophie didn't seem bothered as she watched Salazzle disappear between some bushes. "Yes…I'm sure. She just needs the right motivation, and as her Trainer, I need to help her find that motivation…even if it means having her search for it herself."

…

Everyone started with the tasks they were given. Vanessa and Magnezone began searching along the shorelines using their respective assets. Magnezone's ability to fly allowed him to scope out everything as he drifted over the waters, while Vanessa saw patiently under the flower shade that her Venusaur provided while he sunbathed. Delphox did the same, though she was still peering into her wand's flame.

Sophie continued with her part, scoping out the tropics for anything noteworthy, all while mapping out the terrain with her magic's enhanced memory. Kadabra was providing her with assistance by asking the local Pokémon, but mostly came up short.

While they were all doing their part, Salazzle sauntered in the thick of the forest, eventually finding somewhere she could rest in the shade.

'This'll be easy. I'll just sack out for an hour and tell her I didn't find anything. Not like she can tell what I'm doing unlike that other girl.' She smirked to herself. No need to burn unnecessary energy when others were doing all the work. If anything, they didn't need her to begin with.

The former Totem nestled rested her back against a small, slanted tree branch with thick leaves jutting out from its trunk. She put her arms behind her head and crossed her legs to take a relaxed position.

'Yeah, now this is what I'm talking about. This'd be much nicer if there was some…' She opened an eye and noticed a bushel of bananas bangling nearby. 'Well speak of Giratina.'

She reached for one of the bananas and plucked it off. She began peeling away at it and took a bite. It was much sweeter than she had anticipated, a bit too sweet actually. "Mm, be nice if there was a Pomeg Berry around."

"Um, excuse me?"

Salazzle froze mid-chew at a soft voice. It sounded dangerously close. What's more, she could've sworn she felt the tree move.

"Up here."

She slowly turned her head, meeting eyes with the so-called 'tree'. She noticed the bushel of bananas were on her neck as she turned to look at the imposing lizard shading herself beneath the set of leaves on her back. Salazzle blinked twice. "…what?"

---

Time elapsed as Sophie emerged from the canopies. She and Kadabra returned to the beach where they would meet up, where Vanessa was enjoying the splendors of the sour Grepa Berry.

"Still nothing on your radar, I take it?" Sophie grimaced.

"No, and Magnezone is still patrolling the coast." Vanessa replied, finishing the last of the berry. It was delicious. She would have to think about adding that as a substitute instead of lemons sometime.

"We didn't find anything of value in the woodlands. Seems that whatever is causing the Water-types to vanish is happening strictly off land." Kadabra pointed out. "Also…" He eyed the forest once more. "Seems as though Salazzle is taking her sweet time."

"She isn't too far." Vanessa assured, keeping track of her aura through her magic. "About two-hunderde meters, I take it." She could feel another signature in the same vicinity as her, but the aura was very docile. And from how Salazzle's aura was acting, she seemed a mixture of curious and idle. 'Did she perhaps find a lead?'

Delphox's flame glimmered, her eyes peering into the base of the flame. She gasped at what she saw and immediately alerted her Trainer. "I see them!"

Vanessa turned sharply towards her. "What are you seeing?"

Delphox continued glaring at the flame, explaining everything she was going to happen. "It looks like a group of humans, looks like bandits from how they're dressed. They're going to corner a Qwilfish in an alcove."

"Do you know how many?"

"Looks to be about ten…and they all have Pokémon of their own. All Water-types."

This immediately got Vanessa's interests. 'Water-types? This place is depleted of them. Unless…'

From above, Magnezone floated into view to make his report to his Trainer. "I found something. Looks like a group of men along the western coves on a ship."

"That must be them." Kadabra surmised. "Time is of the essence, Miss Sophie."

Sophie nodded in agreement. "You're right. If we don't hurry, we might miss them." Though she did mean that, a part of her was still feeling uncertain of the timing of it all. She turned back towards the direction of the forest to see if she could see Salazzle. As much as she wanted to go find her, she had to prioritize the mission. She would have to worry about her wayward delinquent afterwards.

"Return!" Vanessa and Sophie withdrew their Pokémon, all except Magnezone.

"Magnezone, show us where they are!" Vanessa directed.

The Magnet Area Pokémon nodded. "I'll direct you, please bear with me!" He amplified his anti-gravity, bringing Vanessa and Sophie into his magnetic field so the girls flew off with him towards their destination.

---

A wild Qwilfish huffed tiredly as he was swimming as fast as he could, barely evading a beam of bubbles and shards of ice. A sphere of water blasted him from behind, hitting the waves beneath that sent him careening through the air startled.

"Hwoah!" He splashed face-first into the water. After a few seconds of stirring, he resurfaced and panted. Right against an alcove, he found his corners cut off by a mixed group of Water-type Pokémon, ten in all. But that was the least of his problems.

A grouped cackle made him look up. He saw a medium-sized ship with roughly ten men on board. The one in front had a red bandana atop his head, coupled by a scruffy stubble and a dark blue tattered tank top.

The leader scoffed. "Heh, looks like we've got another one, boys."

His men cheered, the Qwilfish anything but enthused.

"Alright, look pal. We're going to make this nice and simple for ya" He held up a Net Ball. "You can either join us peacefully, or we can…persuade you."

The Water-type Pokémon positioned themselves, their leers telling Qwilfish all he needed to know. "I, uh…uh…"

The leader smirked. "Your call." He threw the Net Ball at Qwilfish, who braced for the inevitable capture after such a stressful chase. He just wanted this to end. Suddenly, a teal sphere shot from out of nowhere, shattering the capsule mid-air. Everyone looked shocked, but no one nearly as much as the leader. "What the-?!"

"Looks like we were right on time."

"Looks like we've got some folks that don't know how to fairly catch a wild Pokémon."

The sailors looked up and saw a Magnezone descending, with Vanessa atop him whereas Sophie was floating by the inorganic Pokémon's magnetism. To say the guys were startled would be putting it lightly.

"Crap! Where'd those chicks come from?!" One guy lamented.

"Forget that, take them out before they blab!" Another guy insisted.

Sensing their hostile aura, Vanessa narrowed her eyes. "Here they come."

Magnezone's red eye brightened. "Ready."

"Get them!" The lead sailor pointed at the three above. Their Water-types immediately went on the offensive. A Tentacool and Octillery shot a beam of bubbles, whereas a Tentacruel and Luvdisc fired spheres of water.

Sophie pulled out a Great Ball and threw it. "Lumineon, go!"

The capsule flew open. Lumineon emerged with her wing fins flexing. All the Water-type attacks that were intended for them were drawn into her. However, rather than taking damage, dense red aura flared around her as the attacks poured onto her.

The leader's eyes widened. "What? How's it not damaged!?"

Sophie smirked. 'Lumineon's Storm Drain Ability, I knew it'd do the trick.' She recalled when she relied on it back when they were fighting Adelita and her Frillish navy. 'Now with all those attacks, Lumineon's Special Attack should be maximized.' She turned towards Vanessa. "We'll take care of the Pokémon. Vanessa, you and Magnezone handle the guys."

"Sure." Vanessa brought her hands up loosely.

"Count on us." Magnezone buzzed.

A Buizel jumped out of the water and swung her glowing tail, sending a volley of glowing stars at them.

"Lumineon, Water Pulse!" Sophie ordered.

"Right away!" Lumineon opened her maw, channeling dense blue water to a single point. Coupled with her maxed Special Attack, the sphere was far more condensed than normal. She launched the sphere into the oncoming Swift, making golden bursts fog the air. The sphere breached through, surprising Buizel before meeting her head-on. A dense blue explosion sent her flying into the water, immediately unconscious.

"Crap! One hit!?" The Trainer, supposedly Buizel's, flabbergasted.

Sophie brought a finger to her forehead, summoning a chain of memories for her magic. "Memory-Make: Shower of Thunderous Swords!"

The sky flashed lightning above. A small glint of bright light glimmered in the sky before a dozen swords made of lightning rained down into the water around Sophie. All the opposing Water-type Pokémon panicked and couldn't evade in time before the electrified blades met them. The water discharged electricity in a bright explosion, causing the sailors to scream and cover their eyes.

Vanessa reached an arm out. "Magnezone, aim for the mast! Flash Cannon!"

Magnezone's red eye drew in light particles that condensed to a singular point. Once amounted, a bright white, silver, and blue beam shot into the mast of the ship they were on, completely tearing through the wood and sails. All the sailors went slackjawed with shock and horror at the display that left them perpetually stranded.

"Now…" Vanessa's eyes narrowed. "Aura Hydra!"

Her body unleashed six teal aura waves that shaped into hydra heads with teeth. The hardened magic extensions opened wide and weaved through the air and smashed into the ship in various spots. The entire structure completely fell apart, with the men all plummeting into the sea.

As Magnezone diffused the anti-gravity around him, Vanessa and Sophie were sat down on a reasonably flat rock close by. They watched the mist and water clear out around them. They saw the many unconscious Water-type Pokémon float about amongst the men that were hanging onto loose wooden boards. Though dazed and frazzled, they were all unscathed for the most part.

"Return." Both girls withdrew their Pokémon, their jobs complete.

"Shit…" The leader groaned. He looked up, seeing Vanessa and Sophie's mercy. "Mages and Pokémon Trainers? Just our luck."

"So, you'd like to tell us about your business now?" Vanessa inquired, her tone having a hint of threat to it.

The leader grimaced. "Tch, that's what you think." Despite the circumstances, he wasn't going to fold so easily. He had confidence at least, if not arrogance. However, there was a reason for that manner of thinking. "Now!"

A splash came from behind the rock the girls were on. An Octillery pounced out of the water!

'Another one? Did it avoid my spell by diving underwater?' Sophie worried.

Vanessa pivoted and readied her magic. She readied to block whatever the Octillery was going to shoot…only she didn't expect what came out of his nozzle! Two cube-like projectiles shot with impressive speed; outpacing both their reaction speeds and connected with them.

'Wait, aren't these-?!' Sophie realized too late, her body turning into magic particles that were drawn inside.

"Sophie!" Vanessa gasped, but she too was drawn inside her own cube.

The two cubes sealed shut and dropped onto the rock. The Octillery swam over and climbed onto it and held up the two cubes using his suction cups. "Like that?"

The leader smirked. "Yeah, just like that."

---

The awkward sensation around Salazzle lingered longer than the pheromones she would release to brainwash male Salandit. She didn't what was more disturbing, the talking tree or the fact that she was eating a piece of fruit she plucked from her neck. She just froze mid-chew and tried not to choke.

The quadruped sauropod tilted her head. "Hey…you good?"

Salazzle blinked rapidly before spitting out the banana. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and stood up, alarmed. "Okay, that must be the banana, because last I checked, trees don't talk!"

"I'm not a tree." She sounded offended, but defensive.

"Eh?" Looking at her now, Salazzle was getting a full view of her unexpected company. After calming down, her demeanor returned to a casual tone. "Oh…guess you're right. You're a…Tropius, right? I heard about you lot from ranchers where I'm from."

Tropius flapped her leafy wings. "Yup, I'm a Tropius. But, y'know…I'd appreciate it if you didn't take my fruit without asking first."

Salazzle brought her hands up in defense. "Whoops, my bad." She didn't sound sorry.

Tropius, however, didn't seem to mind. "It's fine, I guess. It grows back fast. So…what're you doing out here?"

Salazzle turned away, putting a hand to her hip. "What's it matter to you? I could ask you the same thing, trunky."

Tropius seemed to have ignored Salazzle's rude display and looked around. "Nothing. My kind like these kinds of environments." She turned towards a nearby tree, which so happened to have large red fruits growing on them. Tropius was immediately drawn towards them and glided past Salazzle, the lizard eyeing the equally large female reaching the fruit tree and took a whole fruit into her mouth, enjoying its natural sugars that Tropius love.

Salazzle raised a brow. 'Did she actually fly with those leaves?' She wouldn't have believed it unless she saw it, but seeing as how didn't concern her, she dismissed it and started walking away. "Well, thanks for being my shade for a few, but I gotta split."

Tropius turned towards her. "Hm? Sure you don't want any?"

"Tempting, but I lost my appetite. Thanks for the snack though. Later~" She crawled through the forest thicket, vanishing away from sight.

Tropius hummed to herself, but chose to dismiss it and resume filling her stomach with fruit.

Salazzle continued her trek through the woods. All around her, there were palm trees mixed with other indigenous trees, all bearing fruit or flowers of sorts. They all gave off a fresh smell that reminded her of the perfumes she used to make. She scoped the bushes for anything that looked edible, but nothing seemed appetizing.

"Geez, what's a girl gotta do to get something decent around here?" She huffed in irritation. She noticed a tree right next to her and looked up. To her fortune, there looked to be some fruits growing on them. She smirked, believing her luck turned for the better. She crawled up the tree trunk and made it within arm's reach of a ripe fruit.

"Alright, come to mama~!" She twiddled her digits excitedly and grabbed it…only for another set of hands to grab it. "Eh?"

"Hm?" To the poisonous lizard's displeasure, she wasn't alone. A Passimian and her gripped the same fruit at the same time.

The two locked eyes for a moment.

"Who're you?" The Passimian questioned in a gruff tone.

Salazzle didn't want any unnecessary troubles. Quickly putting on her sly charm, she smirked as she gave the Fighting-type suggestive body language. "Who, me~? Just a fair lady who's hungry is all. Surely a big, strong ape like yourself can help a girl out?"

She gave the Passimian flirty eyelash winks for good measure. But he didn't seem to be having it as he pried the fruit from their impasse. "Sorry, toots. Got a group that needs feeding. Ain't gonna slack for some floozy."

She visibly cringed. Her tail temperature heated as she hissed lowly. She opened her maw and fired a Venoshock straight into the Passimian's face. Taken aback, he was struck by the attack and fell out of the tree, screaming.

Salazzle caught the fruit, dangling it mockingly. "Thank you~!" Snickering at her personal victory, she ate the berry whole, savoring its textures and ripeness. "Mmmm, now dat's more ike igh…" she muffled while chewing. She reached for another one with a glorified smile.

SPLAT!

A harsh force struck the face of her head, forcing her to drop the berry. "Ah, oooowww…!" She rubbed the back of her head to feel what hit her. She looked at her palm and noticed some mushy mesh of juice and berry pulp stuck to her digits. Did a berry fall and hit her?

"The hell did that…?" She heard the sounds of rustling and turned around. Her eyes widened as she found herself with more company.

Ten Passimian surrounded her from neighboring trees, all of them holding berries of sorts. But the clear disdain on their faces told Salazzle all she needed to know.

"…oh shit."

"Fire!" A Passimian, presumably the leader, bellowed.

Four Passimian threw berries at Salazzle. She quickly crawled around the tree, avoiding the head-on pelting. She caught her breath for only a moment before two more were already positioned and lobbed berries at her. She opened her maw and fired a Flame Burst to incinerate the berries and continue towards the Passimian. They both veered away as the attack and plucked more berries as they jumped around.

'This shit ain't worth it!' Choosing to fold, Salazzle made the decision to descend towards the ground. However, the moment she was out of the canopy, she noticed a Passimian on the ground with his arm back – the one she attacked earlier.

FWOOSH!

SPLAT!

"AGH!" Berry pulp struck her face, causing her to lose hold of the tree. She fell towards the ground with a loud thud.

"Nice work! Now hammer away!" The leading Passimian shouted. He lobbed a hard berry that struck the back of Salazzle's head, making her buckle again.

The pack hollered and chucked hardened berries at Salazzle. She staggered back up, but found the assault annoyingly persistent. She kept rubbing her eyes to get the gunk out from that berry to see what was happening. The more berries smothered her, the more annoyed she got.

"Gnnnngh…damn monkeys!" She fired more Venoshock streams, but each one missed its target when they swung through the trees. "C'mon! It's just one berry! You guys don't know the half of treating a lady!"

"Mess with one…" A Passimian swung on a vine, landing a hard berry thar floored Salazzle. "You mess with all!"

Salazzle laid on the ground, covered in berry mush from the consistent bullying. The Passimian hollered and held up their berries in triumph, only for it to come to an abrupt end when an intense gust suddenly blew through the trees.

"Gwooooah!" The lead Passimian was taken aback by the harsh blow. "Is this…Whirlwind?!"

One-by-one, the Passimian were all losing their grip on the tree branches and found themselves blown deep into the forest.

The leader, though stubbirn he was, attempted one last berry throw, but ultimately failed. "GWOOOOOAH~!" He, along with his pack, were blown into the depth of the tropical forest, leaving only a glint.

Feeling the barrage over, Salazzle perked up. "Huh? What?" She looked around, noticing all the trees were vacant of Passimian. A shadow swooped overhead, startling her and making her look up to find Tropius flying with her huge leavy wings. "The hell are you doing here…?"

The massive sauropod descended, making a big flap to slow her descent before touching the grass. "I heard a commotion. Should've warned you that you shouldn't go down this way. Even those huge green gorillas around here have a hard time in Passimian territory."

Salazzle scoffed, wiping her snout off some berry pulp. "I didn't need your help."

Tropius didn't seem to mind. In fact, she sniffed Salazzle, the fragrance of the berries piquing her. She started nibbling on some atop her head, leaving the toxic lizard to give a disdainful, despondent look.

"Sicko."

---

The next thing Sophie knew, she found herself lying on the ground. Realizing she was conscious, she perked up and looked around. "Where…are we?"

She noticed they were in what looked like a cell similar to the one they were when they were hostages of the Gremlin. The only difference was that instead of cemented bricks, natural cave walls made for her prison with iron bars.

A stir beside her got her attention. "Vanessa!"

The youngest Pularis stirred upright. "Sophie?" She tried to move her arms, but felt them severely restrained by something. When she looked down, she noticed their wrists were cuffed and chained behind their backs. She attempted to use her aura to break them, only to find it wasn't coming out. "My magic's not working."

"That's what magic-sealing cuffs do, sweet cheeks." A voice from behind the cell caught their attention. In front of them, they saw the men they had defeated earlier. The one speaking to them was the leader. "Sorry, but we can't have you be using magic again. Be a big problem for us if you did."

Sophie shot them a glare. She felt for her Poké Balls, only to find them missing.

"Looking for these?" The leader held up Vanessa's belt containing her Poké Balls, and Sophie's in separate hands. "They'll be going with the rest in our stash. Boys?"

Two grunts moved to take the equipment and walked over to where a wooden cart was stationed. Vanessa and Sophie pushed off their feet and moved towards the edge of the bars to see where they were taking them. To their shock, they saw a small pile of Net Balls cluttered on the wagon.

"Are those what I think they are?" Sophie whispered closely to Vanessa.

She nodded. "Yes. Looks like we've figured out where all the Water-type Pokémon went."

A grunt walked up towards the leader. "Hey boss, ya think we got enough now?"

"Yeah, this haul should be good for us." He turned towards the girls with arms crossed. "You're probably wondering what we're up to, right? Seeing as how you're mages, I'm guessing you're from a guild. Well, for starters, we're catching as many Water-type Pokémon as we can." He explained. "And for the record, we are using the proper equipment to do so. So you can't necessarily say what we're doing is illegal."

The girls saw through this. They weren't buying it for a second.

"Then what about those Human Cubes you used on us?" Vanessa reminded them. "I thought they were all destroyed after the whole rebellion?"

The leader scoffed. "We've managed to save a few. Granted, they don't have the Organic-Link Magic function, so we got you cuffed as an insurance policy."

"What do you intend to do with the Pokémon?" Sophie asked the big question.

The leader shrugged. "Nothing much. Aside from taking over Akane Resort of course."

As blunt as that came out, the girls' eyes widened.

'Taking over Akane Resort? With that many Water-types?' Now she knew why so many Water-type Pokémon were declining within the area. And now she knew why this was happening so close to the resort itself. Things went from bad to worse really fast.

"That's right. We'll come in from the sea, and once we hijack the resort, we'll be running the joint." The leader chimed. He could tell the girls were far from pleased, but he didn't care. "Sorry to do this to you lovely ladies, but you'll be staying here until we finish the job. Oh, and we'll be borrowing your Pokémon while we're at it. Thank you for your contribution."

Vanessa glared at them. "Do you really think they'll listen to you when you're not even their Trainer?"

"No, but I'm sure they'll be convinced…if they don't want anything to happen to their Trainers."

Vanessa and Sophie frowned heavily, their circumstances spiking even further.

"You girls sit tight for a while. My crew's got some work that needs to be done." He turned and started walking away. "Don't worry, we'll let you go once the resort is ours. And if you stay quiet the whole time, we might even let you stay free a night." He chuckled, his men joining in on the half-hearted reward as they walked off.

Vanessa exhaled out her nostrils and sat against the cavernous wall. Of course she was annoyed with their circumstances, heck, she was angry. How could she let her guard down like that? And what's worse is that she probably can't rely on anyone like last time since it was just her and Sophie on this mission. She could've told Nic where she went, but he was on a date with Erza in Shirotsune Town and wouldn't be back till tomorrow. While her brother and sister-in-law would be enjoying a nice meal and hot spring, she's stuck in a damp cave unable to do anything.

Sophie was faring no better. The incident a couple weeks ago with the Gremlins was still fresh in her mind. Though it didn't seem as bad, it was still nothing to be proud of. The blonde grimaced at her side of this epic failure that stemmed from her lack of insight. She should've made sure her attack struck them all.

'We need to find a way out of here, and fast.' Sophie remained determined. Fairy Tail does not give up. 'Question is how?'

---

This was not Salazzle's day. She almost forgot how harsh the wild was when she used to be one person. Scratch that, she didn't forget, rather she didn't experience it. Female Salandit had it much easier compared ti their malnourished male species. She was so used to using her pheromones and status as a Totem to get her way that she didn't see how hard surviving was on her own. Sauntering along the forest floor, a collage of dried berry juice, dirt, and thorns covered her body. As of dealing with a horde of Passimian was bad enough, she had the misfortune of dealing with Trumbeak pelting her with seeds, falling into a muddy ditch where some Croagunk laughed at her, and to top it all off, she had the misfortune of encountering a Gyarados when she tried to clean herself near a pond.

To say she had shit luck would be an understatement.

Eventually, after dragging her feet for Arceus knows how long, she finally had it. She groaned towards the sky and slumped into the grass beneath her. "Ugggh…what I'd kill for a bed right now…was this how my servants felt?"

She had to wonder why the hell she was out here in the first place. Oh yeah, that's right. It was because she wanted to get away from her Trainer and her little peanut gallery that didn't curry in her favor. She was a former Totem, she didn't deserve to stoop this low. And she most certainly doesn't have to listen to some makeup-glossed human just because she was her Trainer!

Scoffing, she buried her head deeper into the grass. Just as she was ready to fall asleep in the blistering sun, a shade cast over her. Eyes springing open, she looked up and saw a familiar set of leavy wings.

When she thought Tropius was shading her, she saw she was right next to another fruit tree that the Fruit Pokémon happened to be eating.

'How much fruit does she eat?'

As Tropius was minding her business, a stray fruit fell from the tree right in front of Salazzle. Her eyes traced the misplaced fruit and found herself drawn towards it. The longer she looked at it, the more symbolic it seemed to her. A fruit that's fallen from the tree. Was she the fallen fruit that flung off its own stem? Or perhaps nature decided to drop it because it was useless? Was she the tree and the Salandit and men she enslaved were the fruit? All these philosophical questions were putting a dent in her mind.

'Ya know…a plain pancake sounds pretty good right now.'

She gasped. Did she really just think that? Realizing she was thinking of Sophie, she snarled and swatted the fruit away. "Bah, I'm sick of fruit anyways!"

"Hm?" Tropius, who was enjoying her meal, heard Salazzle's grumbling and noticed her frustration. "You good down there?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all!" Sarcasm drenched Salazzle's tone like poison as the complaints spat out. "Not like my life became a pile of Trubbish and I'm scrounging around for scraps like a Diglett!"

"I see that, but why exactly?"

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I wouldn't expect you to understand. At least you don't have to be told what to do by a Trainer."

"Your Trainer?"

"Yeah, this lip gloss bimbo named Sophie. Where do I even begin with her? Well, she practically has a near perfect memory, she makes the same breakfast every morning, and the rest of her Pokémon are as nitpicking how I'm not a 'team player'."

"Oh…she sounds like a good person."

Salazzle settled down and rested her jaw on her hand. "…tch, guess so."

"So then, why do you hate her?"

Salazzle sharply turned to face her. "What was that?"

"If she's like that, then why do you hate her?"

Her eyes slowly widened at Tropius's interpretation of the source of her discontent. The toxic lizard had to wonder why she was complaining so much despite the best effort that human was trying to give. If she were being honest, she wasn't sure what exactly she would call Sophie. Her Trainer, technically, but beyond that? She had to wonder just where exactly it all started.

Then it hit here. When she was bested back in their battle.

"The only one who's in charge of your life, is you."

Aphrodite snorted out her nostrils, eyerolling. "Well, it's a bit too late for that now. Got all this shit I have to manage now. Besides, the heck you gonna do? Report me?"

"If you really don't want this, then I know what I have to do." She fixated on Aphrodite, as her hand held up a Poké Ball. "I'll catch you."

It was probably the heat of the moment, but she had to wonder why she entertained the notion of being captured. For entertainment, maybe. But as much as she hated to admit it, Sophie worked through that battle to try and catch her, until finally the former Apostle conceded to being caught in a Heal Ball.

Since then. She's been on a couple of jobs with her new Trainer. Seeing the sights – mostly lazing around unenthusiastically – but at the very least it wasn't boring. Better than looking like an idiot dancing with a bunch of Marowak or stuffed in a factory to make Human Cubes.

She then recounted what Kadabra and Grovyle said earlier.

"We have been very patient with you, almost as much as Lady Sophie. The least you can do is give her the respect she deserves!"

"Well, I don't care either way. At least I'm not taking the life I have now for granted. She lets me sleep on the windowsill, lets me get my exercises. If you got a problem with your new lifestyle, that's your issue to sort out."

It finally sank in. After her time alone, the former Totem could feel some kind of weight lift off her shoulders as she stood upright. This took Tropius by surprise, even more so when she turned away and let out a long sigh.

"…I don't hate her." She spoke softly. "I just hate being told what to do. Not sure where you're from, but where I used to live, we were known as Totem Pokémon. We got bigger than our species, got a special power that boosts our stats…even if I had to do that stupid trial thing, it wasn't all that bad." She shook her head. "Guess I should've tried harder to defend my title than just run from it. Then I was an Apostle for a bit, and then…she came along. I guess what I'm trying to say is…I've been taking my shit for granted?"

She sounded uncertain with herself. She glanced over towards Tropius, hoping she would have an answer for her plights. The Fruit Pokémon looked towards the bright sun in the sky as she thought about it. "If I had those kinds of powers…wonder if that means I could eat more fruit?"

'Of course she would think that.'

"But, y'know…I really don't think it would be worth it in the end. I mean, you were pretty much alone, right? But now you have people and Pokémon who're trying to be your friends. Seems selfish to abandon them."

Salazzle opened her mouth to dismiss her…only she couldn't find them. Just like she said, she was the one being selfish to the core. She was never satisfied with what she got before. Maybe, just maybe, if she actually worked for it for once…

After a minute of deep thought, Salazzle closed her eyes and smirked. "Y'know…you're a good 'mon. Thanks." She started crawling away but stopped a few paces later. "Hey, uh, you wouldn't happen to know which way the beach is, do you?"

Tropius craned her neck in a direction. "That way."

"Thanks…guess I've worried my Trainer enough, huh." With that, she gave Tropius a wave and started crawling off in the direction she referred to. "Hey."

"Hm?"

"Don't eat too much fruit. You'll get a stomachache."

With those words, Salazzle took off, leaving Tropius to watch her off. She craned her neck in the direction of where another tree was, noticing another piece of fruit glistening under the sun.

…

As Salazzle walked towards the beach, she mulled about what to say to her Trainer. She knew she was gone for more than a few hours, and given her track record, it was gonna be a miracle for Sophie to forgive her.

"Okay…hey, Sophie. Listen, I know I was gone awhile, but I wanted to-" She paused in the midst of her words and noticed the vacant speech. "Wait, this is the right spot, right? Did they already finish the job and leave without me?"

For a moment, Salazzle felt mortified being released like this. Although, given her past conduct, it made sense. Still, it hurt to think her new support system would just rid of dead weight. "Heh…guess I can't blame them."

Along the shores, there was something moving in and out of the water that got her attention. Curious, she crawled closer and saw a Qwilfish that looked to be out of breath.

"Phew…I think…I'm safe…out here…" He huffed.

"Ya think?"

Qwilfish yelped, realizing that a giant lizard was looking over him. "Gah! P-please don't hurt me!"

"Relax, pufferfish. Look, you've seen some human around here?"

"Huh? Humans?"

"Yeah, more specifically a girl. About yeh tall, blonde, big lips?"

Qwilfish blinked twice. He seemed more confused than anxious, but he didn't have a reason to not answer either. "I mean, I saw someone like that earlier, but she and another one got caught?"

"Got caught?" Salazzle raised a brow, genuinely curious. "By what?"

"Other humans! They stuffed them in these cubes that looked like those balls, and I got scared so I…"

Salazzle's eyes widened. Cubes like Poké Balls? She thought about what Sophie's plan was and given the evidence, she realized what happened. "Shit!"

"Eeep!" Qwilfish quivered, inflating slightly when Salazzle got closer.

"You! Tell me where those humans took them!"

"I-I saw them carry some stuff by the west coast. I know there's a cave there, and…"

Salazzle began crawling as fast as she could, leaving Qwilfish unable to finish recounting what he saw. "Uh…what's with her?" he mumbled.

---

Inside her cell, Sophie had been keeping track of how long they've been captive. From how often the water dripped from the ceiling, it couldn't have been more than two hours. She knew well just banging against the bars wouldn't do any good either since it'd just be a waste of energy. She had to be conservative about her strength. That left her with only her thoughts to meddle with.

'Okay, so we're held hostage by bandits who plan on taking over Akane Resort. We can't use magic, and our Pokémon were taken from us. Wait…' Her eyes widened slightly at a realization. 'Not all of them…Salazzle! She has to know we've been gone too long!' As hopeful as she was, it quickly deflated as she thought about it. 'But we didn't give any clues where we were heading. And I guess she wouldn't be too motivated either…'

The blonde sighed, catching her cellmate's attention. "Are you alright, Sophie?" Vanessa asked.

"Vanessa…am I a bad Trainer?"

Vanessa was taken aback by the question. "Why on Earthland would you think that?"

Sophie looked down. "Well, I know I try to depend on my Pokémon, and they do what they can for me and vice versa. But Salazzle…it's hard to depend on her with how she is. Am I…expecting too much from myself to depend on her?"

To a degree, Vanessa could understand Sophie's plight. There were times at the beginning of her journey as a Pokémon Trainer that she worried she'd be good enough to meet her brother again, wonder how he'd react if he saw her. The young Pularis hummed to herself and thought of what to say.

"There's nothing wrong with what you're doing. If anything, the way you put so much faith in your Pokémon is admirable. Salazzle…I'm sure she has her reasons for acting how she is. I can tell from her aura before, she doesn't hate you. It just takes time for everyone to adjust at their own pace. Just give Salazzle a little bit more time to come to her own conclusions."

Sophie processed her guildmate's words, memorizing them down to the letter. Though she seemed pensive at first, her expression turned to an acceptive smile. "Right, thank you Vanessa."

"Heh, alright boys, I think we should have everything we need." The lead bandit went over everything with his men once more after going over the supplies they've accumulated for their big mission. "Once it hits dark, I say we hit that resort and make it our own."

His men sneered and cheered in agreement. They waited a good while for this.

"And once we do, it's nothing but the spoils of luxury, boys." He finished his declaration with a sneer.

"That so?" A voice spoke up, alarming the guys. "A little advice from a fellow cheater in life, you ain't gonna prosper."

The men all turned towards the sound of the voice. Sophie remembered that voice, and as she and Vanessa turned to see who intervened, her eyes slowly widened upon the sight of Salazzle towering against the men.

"Salazzle?!" She gasped.

Vanessa looked equally as shocked. 'How'd she find us?'

A man immediately grabbed an iron bat. "Hey, who invited the oversized lizard?"

"Is that another Pokémon?!" Another grunt exclaimed.

"Damnit, how'd she'd find our little stowaway?" Another wondered.

Salazzle smirked. "A little fishie told me." She suddenly pounced over their heads, landing on all fours in front of Vanessa and Sophie's cell, her flaming tail swaying readily.

"Salazzle, you're here!" Sophie stood up, getting closer to the bars.

Salazzle stood up on her hindlegs. "Yeah, well, I got lost for a while…" She paused for a moment, seemingly hesitant to say something. "Sorry for, well…making ya worry about me."

A small smile crossed the mage/Trainer's face as she thought about what Vanessa said a moment ago. "…glad you're here."

"Yeah, well, don't get the wrong idea. I'm just in the mood to battle, that's all." Though she was turned away, a small smile crept on her face as she turned her attention onto the bandits. "Alright boys, I'm used to handling large groups of guys, so let's make this nice and simple. You hand over the 'mons and girls, and I might let you off the hook." She held up a digit. "And for the record, I don't take rejections well."

A guy holding a pickaxe sneered. "Right, as if we'd listen to some floozy reptile."

"We ain't handing over our big score just because some chick-lizard tried playing nice. We've got plans for this haul, and you ain't taking that away." Another warned.

Salazzle nonchalantly shrugged. "Alright, well, don't say I didn't warn ya." She glanced over her shoulder. "So, what do I do now?"

Sophie blinked. "What do you mean?"

"What, you deaf or something? You're the Trainer, aren't ya? Just tell me what to do already. And you better hurry, cuz I think these guys aren't the patient type."

Understanding what she was doing, Sophie didn't take long to think on it. Her expression grew determined. "Right."

"Get her!" The leader pointed at Salazzle, the men all charging towards her.

As they were heading their way, Sophie was quickly coming up with a plan. Her eyes darted around the cave walls, recalling how Salazzle can cling to them. Her strategy clear, she turned towards Vanessa. "Vanessa, step back."

"Alright." Trusting her teammate, Vanessa stepped back alongside her.

"Salazzle, Poison Gas!"

Salazzle's smirk widened. As the men drew closer, she opened her maw wide, expelling a dense, toxic cloud that quickly filled the room. All the men charging were quickly engulfed in the poisonous gas.

A guy coughed. "Gah! What's…going on?!"

"P-poison?!" Another guy wheezed.

Another guy mustered the strength to go through the gas cloud and swing an axe. However, the rusty metal met rock instead. "Huh? Where'd she go?"

"Forget that!" The leader coughed through the gas. "Get some Pokémon and fight back!"

The men coughed and groggily hurried towards the wagon of Net Balls. Before they got close enough, Salazzle suddenly landed in front of them, cutting them off. "Sorry fellas, this is a party with just us."

"Flame Burst!" Sophie shouted.

Salazzle careened her head back and then lurched forward on all fours, unleashing a broad fireball that shot into the group of men and exploded. Numerous men fell on their backs, whereas those close by felt themselves peppered by the embers of the attack.

"Tch! Why you...!" The leader charged forward with a machete blade. He jumped into the air and swung down to try and take Salazzle's head, but to his surprise, she leaped up and clung to the cavernous ceiling, completely out of his reach. "Damnit, get down from there!"

Salazzle chuckled in a mocking tone. "Aren't you a demanding one…I've got something for guys like you."

Catching her lingo, Sophie gave the word. "Venoshock!"

"This is gonna sting a bit…for you!" Salazzle took aim and opened her jaw wide. A stream of purple liquid shot from her maw that looked like a compressed torrent heading straight for the leader.

The bandit in question was unable to get away in time and got the full force of Salazzle's poison. A purple explosion flourished that sent him careening into a nearby cargo crate, smashing the wood.

She didn't stop there as she unleashed purple streams from above, hitting numerous men that couldn't reach her. Vanessa and Sophie watched from the safety of their cells as the one-sided carnage was quickly getting over with.

In a matter of minutes, the men all laid on the ground. The accumulated poison running through their systems left them too weak, and many had already lost consciousness from the pain. Once they were all down, Salazzle dropped from above and looked around before putting a hand to her hip.

"Hmph…that felt more satisfying than I thought." She chimed, turning towards Sophie. "Hey, you girls good?"

Vanessa nodded. "Yes, we are. Thanks to you."

"That was great work, Salazzle." Sophie praised.

"Heh, flattery won't get you everywhere. Now sit tight. Sure these guys have a key or something around here to get those cuffs off ya." She started searching around the unconscious bodies for the keys needed to free Vanessa and Sophie.

As she was pickpocketing away, the leader laid strewn amongst the broken wood. Still barely conscious, his wary eye was fixed on Salazzle. He couldn't let it end like this, not like this. "Damn…you…!"

Hearing the sound of wood parting, the girls turned towards the lead bandit as he made an attempt to stand. In his hand, there was a single Net Ball.

"Still up after that? Man, you've got some guts. I'm a little impressed actually." Salazzle teased.

He snarled angrily. "Shut up, you floozy lizard. This is far from over. Luckily, I've got a secret weapon of my own. And he's dying to meet you."

The three didn't like the sound of that and got on guard.

The bandit leader weakly tossed the Net Ball into the air. "Go, Crawdaunt!"

The Net Ball popped open, spouting energy that dispersed in a net-like pattern. A pair of red legs with two toes stamped the ground harshly, along with a pair of dense, crude pincers that crossed apart, baring themselves at Salazzle. To finish the ensemble, the red crustacean-like Pokémon had a five-pointed yellow star atop his forehead.

"BRING IT ON!" The Crawdaunt's gruff bellow was as heavy as his pincers.

Salazzle blinked twice. "Woah there, a rowdy one…"

Vanessa managed to work through her pockets and pulled out her PokéDex.

"Crawdaunt, the Rogue Pokémon. Its temperament is rough and it loves to fight, but as soon as its pincers break off, it turns cowardly. It stays timid until they grow back."

Vanessa looked up with a pensive stare. "A Water and Dark-type against a Fire and Poison-type."

The injured leader sneered behind Crawdaunt. "This guy's my strongest Pokémon, and he's always aching for a fight. It's your lucky day, Crawdaunt. You get to beat that lizard like she's your personal drum!"

Crawdaunt maliciously cackled as he glared at Salazzle. "Now you're talkin'!"

Salazzle shot the brutish crawfish a rather unsettling look. "Okay…if you've got any ideas in that big head of yours, I'm all ears."

Sophie furrowed her brow as she thought of what to do. 'I memorized all the matchups, and Salazzle's at a disadvantage against Water-types like Crawdaunt. But…we do have poison and speed on our side!' She glared ahead. "Poison Gas!"

Salazzle opened her maw once more, bringing her head around before spewing a cloud of poisonous purple gas that quickly billowed towards Crawdaunt. The brute readied his pincers in response.

"Razor Shell!" The bandit ordered.

Crawdaunt's pincers snipped closed and then opened wide. Blue energy blades shot out of his pincers and brought them up. With a shout, he crossed them, creating a strong gust that repulsed the gas around him.

Salazzle flinched, looking shocked.

"He used the force of his attack to disperse the gas?" Sophie muttered.

Crawdaunt didn't let out as he lunged for Salazzle.

"Dodge it!"

Salazzle braced herself as Crawdaunt closed in on her. He slashes at her in succession, but was unable to match Salazzle's Speed. She weaved around the blows and stepped back to avoid his advances. That is, until she found her back to the iron cell bars.

"Now, Night Slash!" Crawdaunt complied, his pincers dispersing the energy blades in favor of his pincers clamping shut and glowing purple.

"Quick, duck now!" Sophie shouted.

Crawdaunt swung his pincers around to a cornered Salazzle. However, the lizard managed to duck on Sophie's count, missing the Dark-type move that slashed into the iron bars. A purple gash line followed the wake before fading. Moments later, the bars sliced off, leaving them to clatter against the cold, hard earth.

"What?!" The bandit leader exclaimed.

Salazzle maliciously smirked. 'Well played.'

"Venoshock!" Sophie shouted. With her lower position, Salazzle took aim at Crawdaunt's abdominal region and launched a close-range stream of purple liquid. Crawdaunt grunted as he felt the pressure of the attack push him back several feet, sliding across the ground to a halt.

Salazzle git back on her hindlegs, swaying her heated tail back and forth. With their escape route free, Sophie and Vanessa fled from the breach within the bars and stood behind Salazzle.

"Damnit…!" The boss snarled.

"Vanessa, go get our Poké Balls." Sophie insisted. "Salazzle and I can buy you time."

Having no room to argue, Vanessa nodded. "Right, be careful." She hurried off towards the wagon that their Pokémon were in.

Sophie faced forward, looking determined. "Alright Salazzle…let's do this."

"Heh…I gotta say, this say ain't half bad so far." Salazzle chimed.

"Yeah? Well it's gonna get half-worse for you." The bandit taunted, reaching an arm out. "Let's see how you like this one! Crawdaunt, Taunt!"

Snarling, Crawdaunt spread his feet apart and snapped his pincers at Salazzle. "C'mon, ya overgrown reptile! That the best you've got!? I've wailed bigger fish than you!"

"Eh?" Salaazle cocked a brow. She didn't know why, but the half-ass retort actually struck a nerve. Visible tocks marks throbbed on her body as she hissed vehemently. "Well, your choice of words are as crude as you smell. Staunch meat, bleck!"

"Poison Gas!" Sophie ordered.

Salazzle sneered angrily before opening her maw to expel more purple gas…except nothing came out. "Eh? What?" She coughed aloud, but not even a puff of poison escaped her body. "Hang on, did I seriously run out of PP already?"

Sophie gasped. "Salazzle?" She turned towards the bandit for answers. "That was your move, I take it?"

"That's right. Because of Taunt, you can only use your attack moves now." He smugly answered. "Sorry, but that poison stuff ain't gonna be useful now."

"Oh shit…" Salazzle grimaced.

"Razor Shell!" Crawdaunt's pincers parted and created more blue energy blades as he charged for Salazzle.

"Venoshock!" Salazzle complied, opening her maw and releasing another dense stream of purple liquid.

Crawdaunt met the Poison-type move head-on with his blades crossed. Despite the pressure against him, he muscled through and cleaved a path through the liquid. Both Sophie and Salazzle looked shocked before Crawdaunt slashed diagonally downwards, striking Salazzle with enough force to send her careening backwards into the iron bars still intact, putting a dent in them.

"Salazzle!" Sophie looked over, seeing her partner slouched against the bars in agony. 'That did a lot of damage. She can't take another hit like that! And I still can't use magic because of these cuffs!' She grunted as she turned towards the source of their ire.

The bandit laughed mockingly. "Not so tough now, are ya? Finish her, Crawdaunt!"

"You don't have to tell me twice." The giant crawfish stepped closer, his claws bared as he approached his targets.

'Crap, this isn't good.' Salazzle frantically tried to think of something. Her option of poison was out of the question, and using Flame Burst would be pointless against a Water-type. 'Well…at least I tried for once, right?' Her sardonic thoughts were halted when a set of feet followed by a head of long blonde hair stood in front of her. "Wha-?! Sophie?!"

"Salazzle, stay behind me. I can buy you time to get up at least." Sophie instructed, keeping her eyes on Crawdaunt as he loomed towards them.

"You can't use magic! Just forget about me and bail, damnit!"

Despite the pleas, Sophie didn't budge. She looked so determined, so calm on the surface that it even alarmed Salazzle. That look in her eyes reminded her of the same energy she had when they fought before; someone who was going to see this to the end. The fact that she was doing so willingly for her sake was adding to the sea of guilt Salazzle was feeling right now.

'You really are too good for me…'

The bandit boss sneered at Sophie's tough display. "Have it your way. Crawdaunt, Knock Off!"

Crawdaunt raised his right pincer as it glowed bright white. He leaped into the air and closed in on Sophie as she brought her cuffs up to brace for the blow. Salazzle closed her eyes, not wanting to see this happen.

A rush of sky-blue crescents shot out of nowhere, striking Crawdaunt mid-air and halting his attack. Everyone's eyes widened as they watched an explosion erupt, spitting Crawdaunt out and rolling along the ground.

"Who did that?!" The boss turned in offense towards the direction of the attack.

'That looked like an Air Slash.' Vanessa thought about for a second. None of their Pokémon knew that move.

Sophie and Salazzle turned their confusion towards the air. Salazzle in particular looked shocked as she recognized the familiar set of wings, with a long neck…and fruit dangling at the neck. "No way…"

Flying into the mix, Tropius hummed as she flew overhead. As Crawdaunt was getting up, Tropius glided right over him, bringing up a strong wind that made him anchor his abdominal claws into the ground. Everyone watched as Tropius circled around with ease.

"Who's that?" Sophie snapped out of her amazement and pulled out her Poké Dex to analyze the interloper.

"Tropius, the Fruit Pokémon. Bunches of delicious fruit grow around its neck. In warm areas, many ranchers raise Tropius."

"A Tropius? Here of all places?" Vanessa was taken aback too. Even in mid-search for their Poké Balls, it came as a shock of the unexpected help.

Tropius glided down and landed in front of Sophie and Salazzle. She craned her neck and glanced at them. "You okay back there?"

Salazzle pushed herself up against the bars, clutching her abdomen. "Yeah, thanks for the save…again."

"You know her?" Sophie questioned.

"Heh, yeah. Guess you can say that." She turned her attention towards Tropius. "Don't you have a fruit tree to disembowel? This isn't your fight."

"I know, but…" She flapped her wings. "I thought it would be a nice thing to do."

Salazzle looked taken aback, but came to accept the circumstances. She lowered her head with a long, but grateful sigh. "Well…thanks. Now I owe ya big for this."

Tropius turned towards Sophie. "Are you Sophie?"

Sophie looked surprised. "I…am? How do you know about me?"

"Your friend there told me about you. She said you've been treating her well and she wanted to make up for it."

Sophie turned towards Salazzle, who sheepishly rubbed the back of her head while avoiding eye contact. To hear that was a genuine shock for Sophie. Her earlier doubts about how she was treating Salazzle finally being rewarded. It explained why she was suddenly trying to obey her now. A small smile crept on her face.

A loud grunt brought them back to reality. "Get out of the way ya flying tree!" The bandit boss reached an arm out. "Crawdaunt, use Night Slash and chop it to bits!"

Crawdaunt roared as he snipped his pincers again. He rushed after Tropius with his weapons of choice glowing purple.

Tropius turned to see her attacker head her way. She let out a loud cry as she flapped her wings repeatedly, summoning a tornado of green whirlwind with glowing green energy leaves swirling within its funnel. The tornado swiveled across the cavern floors towards Crawdaunt, engulfing him and sending him for a whirl through the super-effective attack.

Salazzle gasped as she saw her opponent swallowed by the tornado. "Woah…"

"That's Leaf Tornado." Vanessa observed.

The whirlwinds diffused, leaving Crawdaunt to plummet towards the ground with a loud thud. A blue aura enveloped him, reducing his accuracy. He tiredly got back up, though his vision was slightly blurry. He made a rush where he saw a bunch of blurs together with another Razor Shell.

"Hey, hold it! I didn't tell you to attack!" The bandit warned.

"Shut up! They're mine!" He bellowed.

Salazzle scoffed. "Look who's not listening now."

Seeing an opportunity, Sophie moved in front and held up her cuffs. When Crawdaunt made a wild slash, she positioned her cuffs to take the cut for her. The blade sliced them off, allowing her wrists to freely move. "Perfect."

"Shit!" The bandit rushed to get another Net Ball, only to feel a heavy force slam against his head, flooring him and knocking him out instantly.

"Where do you think you're going?" Standing before him, Mawile whipped her horns back with a scoff. off. The answer to his appearance was answered when Vanessa stepped forward, revealing scraps of her cuffs that were chewed off by Mawile's horns during the skirmish.

Crawdaunt wildly wailed as he struggled, leaving Salazzle plenty of room to get back up and stand in front. "Yeah, yeah. Just say the word!"

Beside her, Tropius positioned herself.

"Alright, let's try this out." She pulled up her left wrist, showing her Z-Ring. She pulled out a Poisonium-Z and inserted it with a loud click.

Once it locked in, everything flowed naturally. The Poison-type insignia appeared before Sophie as a toxic aura swelled around her, drawing in the surrounding light. She crossed her arms in front of her body before she brought her left arm around, with the right arm reeled back like she was preparing to throw something. Salazzle repeated the same motion, both she and Sophie suddenly dropping to a knee and striking a punk-like pose.

The Z-Power coursing through Sophie arched overhead and onto Salazzle upon their synchronization. A golden arrowed-shaped insignia flashed before the recipient.

"ACID DOWNPOUR!"

Salazzle got on all fours as her body expelled the Z-Power in all directions. A bog of poison spiraled around her before it flourished outwards. A sea of poison swamped Crawdaunt's feet to keep him from moving. The bog all around unleashed a full-scale shower of acidic raindrops that pelted Crawdaunt, causing purple steam to sizzle upon impact.

"Leaf Tornado!" Tropius flapped her wings, summoning another bright green tornado of energy leaves.

The tornado barreled through the acid sea, swirling with it to make an acidic spiral that Crawdaunt couldn't escape from. All that could be heard was his baneful cries as the combined attack swirled in place.

Sophie and everyone watched the Z-Move's wake rage on for a while before it finally lost momentum. The sea of acid diluted to vapor, leaving the ground sizzling around a pool of acid, where Crawdaunt laid on his back unconscious.

With the battle won, Sophie smiled proudly. "That's teamwork."

Salazzle and Tropius turned to each other, the two smiling.

---

By the time the sun was setting, the girls were making their way to the nearest train station to take them back to Magnolia. With help from a quick call, the Cambire Foundation dispatched Rune Knights to apprehend the schemers and procure their Pokémon. That just left them to collect their reward and make a quick trek through the woodlands.

"It sounds like they'll be releasing those Pokémon as soon as they get back to the Cambire Foundation." Sophie pointed out.

"That's true. It's relieving to know they're better off in no hands than the wrong ones." Vanessa agreed.

"But also…" Sophie held up their job post, revealing an official Cambire Foundation stamp. "We've got another stamp for a completed job. With this, that should bring our guild's total to 25."

Vanessa smiled. "That's good. I'm sure we'll be able to reach that quota before the deadline." She turned back in the direction of the resort lights far in the distance. "It's a shame we didn't get to stay. Heard the resort was quite nice."

"You'll just be sleeping under the sun with Venusaur while sipping lemonade." Sophie chastised lightly. "Though after today, I think I've had my fill of the beach for a while."

As the two were mingling about the small things, Salazzle was trekking behind. She stopped for a moment and looked back towards the forest, as if scoping for something.

Noticing her partner's lagging, Sophie turned around. "What is it, Salazzle?"

The lizard whipped her tail, a small but accepting smirk crossing her face. She was hoping she'd get to see Tropius one more time and thank her again. Guess

"…nothing. Just wished I said a proper goodbye, that's all."

The girls looked towards each other in thought. Before they could continue, they heard a familiar cry. "Hello~!"

They all stopped and turned towards the sky. Flying in from above, Tropius circled around before making a soft landing in front of a pleasantly surprised Salazzle.

"It's that Tropius again." Sophie muttered.

"Wonder what she's doing here?" Vanessa inquired. Her aura sensed a calm vibe, indicating there wasn't a need to stay on guard.

Salazzle eyed her fruit-loving new acquaintance with a smirk. "Hey, I was wondering where you'd be. Thought I'd miss ya."

"Glad you didn't. I wanted to give you something." Tropius insisted.

Salazzle cocked a brow. "What, more fruit?"

Tropius reached for something on her body with her long neck, leaving Salazzle curious. She stood curious until she was presented a berry she recognized…her favorite berry.

"Wait, this is…" She cupped the Pomeg Berry Tropius gave to her and looked at her. "Why…?"

"I was paying attention. It sounded like you didn't like sweet things, and I know you had a long day, so at least…I figured you deserve that."

Salazzle looked back at the Pomeg Berry, turning it around to make sure it was real. Blinking twice, she was at a loss for words. In all honesty, she just wanted to say thank you and goodbye properly. She didn't expect to be rewarded like this. In all honesty, it felt really good. In fact, better than how she felt before. Perhaps there was more to being selfless after all.

Clutching the Pomeg Berry tightly, she smiled sincerely. "…I swear, you're gonna put me in debt at this rate. So how about this for my gift."

"Hm?"

Salazzle turned back towards Sophie. "Hey, Sophie. I think we've got a good one right here. I can vouche for her."

"Salazzle?" Sophie questioned what her Pokémon's intentions were for a moment, then it sank in. "You mean…!"

"What do you think?" She walked up, wrapping an arm around Tropius's neck and pulled her closer. "Not a bad offer, right?"

Sophie was surprised for a moment, but once that subsided, she gingerly walked up to Tropius until she was directly in front of her. The large sauropod craned her neck down, meeting Sophie's beautiful face.

"You really helped us out back there, thank you." Sophie smiled warmly. She reached up to put a hand on Tropius's head. "You're really a good Pokémon."

Salazzle smirked.

"So then…would you like to come with us?"

Tropius pulled back in shock. "You mean it?"

Salazzle shrugged. "Hey, it ain't a bad gig. I think you've got what it takes."

Hearing her give the green light, Tropius turned back towards Sophie and nodded. "Sure, I'm in."

Sophie chuckled. "Then we have a deal." She reached into her supplies and pulled out a Premier Ball, holding it in her palm. "I can promise you this much. There will be as much fun times as there will be harsh ones, but as long as we can depend on each other in the end, I'm sure we'll make it through just fine."

With those words marking their foundation, Sophie tossed the Premier Ball into the air. It landed atop Tropius's cap and converted her into energy that was drawn inside. The capsule snapped shut and dropped to the ground.

After three rattles, the button clicked with pixilated stars twinkling.

Sophie picked up the Premier Ball now containing her newest addition to her team. "Welcome aboard, Tropius."

Vanessa looked on with a warm smile.

Salazzle beamed with arms folded. 'How's that for a team player.'

---

A new dawn breached Magnolia. The Pidgey and Pidove cooed, and the Oddish that were wandering about dug into the ground to go to sleep. Elsewhere, in ethe shared house of Vanessa and Sophie, the Pularis woman was still sound asleep in her bed, dreaming away about sour foods and whatnot. However, for a certain other blonde, it was a different story.

Sophie hummed merrily away, whisking up batter that would soon be turned into another pancake. She then looked around in search of something that seemed to be missing. "Where are they…ah, here we are!" She grabbed two nearby bananas. Courtesy of a certain Pokémon supplying them.

"At least we can enjoy pancakes with fruit in them. This was a good idea Salazzle suggested. Speaking of which…?" She looked around in search of the aforementioned duo. She moved towards the living room area, only to find the couch vacant. She then noticed the backdoor unlocked. "Out there?"

She moved towards the door and looked out the window. What she saw brought a smile to her face.

Along the minimal space that made up their backyard, the sun was beaming down upon Tropius, who was laying in the grass. Within the shades of her wings, Salazzle was lounging against her side.

But what they were both by was the stretch of berries that grew along the side of their fence. And amongst them was the new Pomeg Berry that Tropius gave to Salazzle as a gift.

'She must really like Pomeg Berries…I'll have to try making some pancakes with those once they sprout.' Humoring the thought, she remembered she had breakfast to attend to. "You guys, breakfast will be ready soon."

"I hear ya. We'll be in a sec." Salazzle lazily waved her off.

Sophie accepted the notion and walked back into the house. With her gone, Tropius opened an eye to peek at Salazzle. The two leered at each other before they smirked. The morning sun that Salazzle didn't like before became more bearable, all thanks to the shade that a certain new friend provided.

'Ya know…this gig might not be so bad after all.'

---

Managed a new chapter 11 days just after posting the one before. I admit, it went on a little longer than I had hoped, breaching 14K, but I think I was able to establish a definitive development in Sophie's Salazzle and her going through the role of adjusting and appreciating her lifestyle more. And, as a bonus, she became close with the newest addition to Sophie's team – Tropius.

As you saw, Sophie's Pokémon play some form of function in the kitchen. In Tropius's case now, she supplies the fruit for Sophie's pancake. At least she gets points for participation, haha!

So now, that's a total of 25 stamps for Fairy Tail. The next two chapters will be a different turn, taking places elsewhere for more worldbuilding as well as nostalgia.

Hope you all enjoyed this one! If you did, please share your thoughts in reviews! Thanks for reading and I'll be sure to get the next chapter out by the end of January!