Chapter 14: Trials and Wardens

Illya’s brow furrowed as she looked at Roark. “Wait, so… you don’t have a direct line to Lord Kleavor? I mean, he is a rock type, right?”

“Well, right now it’s Lady Kleavor, firstly. And second, well…” Roark shrugged. “Kleavor’s current den is north in Eterna Forest, closer to Eterna city rather than here. The mountains down here are home to Lord Wyrdeer, and he’s the first challenge you’ll face if you want to start the journey anyway.”

“... Huh. Thank you for letting us know, Leader Roark,” Illya answered with a slow blink. “I assume we have your permission to enter the wildlands in that case?”

“You have your pass already, but with your badge, you have wider access, yes,” Roark acknowledged. “Now, Lord Wyrdeer’s challenge is simple; find him.”

Isabella coughed. “Yeah, Lord Wyrdeer is a little shy. He only shows up if he thinks someone’s interesting, if they get together a proper offering, or if they have a delivery for him. You could hunt him down, but I don’t think you want to spend a couple weeks tracking him.”

“Hmmm. I assume you can’t simply tell me what kind of offering would be proper?” Illya asked the Clanswoman, receiving a laugh and a shake of her head at the suggestion. “Yeah, I figured as much. In that case, Shirou, can you help me brainstorm a proper offering for Lord Wyrdeer?”

“...the legends said each of the clans had a foodstuff which was beloved by the Nobles.” Shirou mused. “Beyond that, I can’t think of anything Lord Wyrdeer would want.”

“Saint Quartz? Can never have too much of that,” Ritsuka chimed in, then paused, crossing his eyes. “Wait, what–”

“Ignoring my sibling’s continued lunacy, perhaps we could ask the locals what Lord Wyrdeer could want? Or just see if he has a haunt we could track down? Even the most free-roaming soul has places they favor,” Matilda commented, tail swishing.

“Both very good points.” Roark stated as he watched, clearly amused, “But, I do, unfortunately, have other things that I need to be doing today.”

“Ah, there was one other thing!” Illya perked up. “We have our passes, but to access any of the Grand Underground, we need training. The Underground Explorers’ guild is here, right?”

“Actually… no.” As everyone gave Roark odd looks, he shrugged. “The main guildhall is in Eternia city. Now, we do have a major branch here, but the founders wanted a central location for the guildhall. If you want to get your training here, you certainly can.” He shrugged. “If you’re going to be around for a few days anyway, there’s a class being held in two days.”

Illya sighed. “Well, unless we want to stay in town, we should go establish a campsite.” She paused, then whacked her forehead. “Or we could just stay in the Pokemon center. Yeah, let’s go get a couple of rooms.”

Nods all around, as the three kids and their Pokemon walked towards the Pokemon center, they were watched by a blue-clad woman.

“Huh… so they’re going to try to track down my lord?” She tapped her lower lip. “Should be interesting.”

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‘-apples, maybe? Nono, can’t be apples, though it might be a part of Lord Wyrdeer’s favorite. Thankfully, I got little-brother to teach me how to cook and bake while we were with Professor Caroline, so I can make a pie, but I need to know what to put into the damn thing first.”

“...it is far too early for this,” Matilda groused, rolling over to look at her queen. “Illya. You do realize we have time, and access to some resources to figure this out, right?”

It takes a few moments for the demi-homunculus to register that her partner had woken, the girl in question blinking as she looked towards the Sylveon. “Ah… Sorry Matilda, I didn’t mean to wake you. I just couldn’t sleep last night. Bad dreams and nightmares.”

“Tsk, Fubuki is falling down on her job.” Matilda hopped off the bed, bapping the ghost type’s Pokeball. “I know you are new to being a ghost, but you do need to learn Dream Eater.”

“Nightmares taste nasty,” Fubuki whined, before she turned to Illya. “What happened?”

“Illogical nightmare about papa abandoning me,” Illya grumbled, pouting at the wall. “I know it wasn’t true now, but Grandpa essentially brainwashed me into believing it.”

“...the more I hear about that man, the more I want to curse him to die frozen. I think that’s something I can do now,” Fubuki acknowledged, folding her arms like sleeves. “But that is an issue for another time. You are concerned about your pursuit of Lord Wyrdeer?”

“Mhm. I was researching the offerings that the clans gave, and they generally take the form of the Lord or Lady’s favorite food, arranged into something interesting, or a balm.” Pausing to take a breath, the snow-haired girl continued, “So, I was looking around and asking around, and it seems that Lord Wydeer is partial to pie, but none of the trainers are able to tell me what kind of pie.”

“From what I have heard, most lords and ladies are partial to foods found in their local area. But times have changed, and so may have their tastes.” Fubuki said. “However, if Lord Wyrdeer likes pie, he likely prefers it sweetened with Dazzling Honey.”

“Which would indicate a more tart berry filling.” Everyone stopped and looked over as Shirou sat up, blinking owlishly. “Or using tart apples.”

“Shirou! You’re actually awake at a reasonable hour on your rest day for once!” Illya chirped with a genuine grin. “I won’t have to wait something like two hours to get going today~!”

“You woke me up, though I would’ve needed to get up soon anyway.” He paused when Yagi emerged from his Pokeball, stopping the Riolu from running outside. “It’s your rest day too, Yagi.”

“But training!” The little fighting type protested.

“THAT’S ILLEGAL!” Ritsuka chirped from their position on top of the nearest bed, wings flared in a clear display of threat. “Do I have to pounce on you again, Yagi-chan~?”

“Ooh, fight training!” Yagi took up a combat stance. “Bring it on–”

Fubuki held up one hand. “Hypnosis.”

“FOUL!” Yagi cried out, before slumping over, snoring.

“Thanks Bucky~” Ritsuka sighed, coming down from their position on top of the bunkbed and alighting on the floor near Shirou. “I demand pets, Shirou.”

“Sure.” Shirou petted his partner as he continued speaking. “I’d suggest looking around and finding out what local culture is like. If it is pie, then some of the local shops have likely moved to imitate that dish.”

“Oooh, good point. Thanks Shirou~?” Illya replied cheerfully, giving her brother a quick hug before she took off, headed out of their room and into the town.

Shirou watched her leave the room, looking back at the Pokemon sitting around him. “...how long will it take before she realizes she left you all behind, and skipped breakfast?”

“Within the next ten seconds,” Fubuki guessed, proven correct when Illya sheepishly wandered back into the room with a blush, looking at Shirou expectantly. “Ah, it seemed she only remembered because she recalled it was your turn for breakfast, Shirou.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Shirou nodded, walking towards their bags. “I wonder if the center will let me use their kitchen, or if I’ll need to go cook outside?”

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“How did you get roped into this?” Matilda asked Shirou, watching as he served up a plate of french toast across the serving counter. Around them, dozens of visiting trainers quietly attended to a real home cooked meal, bites vanishing as melancholy and joy swept the room in equal measure.

“Ah, they needed the help.”

“And he’s getting paid, both in cash and ingredients.” Ritsuka blacked, walking by with a tray on his back. Yagi trotted beside him, carrying a serving basket filled with pastries.

“Besides, we’re also getting paid in information,” Illya remarked as she handed Matilda several plates of toast with eggs on them. “This Pokemon Center is one of the ones that occasionally sends Lord Wyrdeer a tribute in accordance with ancient traditions, so…”

“Really? So what goes in the pie?” Matilda asked.

“Aha! They will not inform us until we have helped in the kitchen for lunch and dinner as well! The head chef was most insistent!” Yagi remarked as he returned with a bunch of dishes. “Now, I must away to the dishwasher!”

“Thank you for your sacrifice, Shirou,” Illya acknowledged. “I appreciate you helping me with something that only I really had to do.”

Shirou shrugged. “We are getting paid. Quite well, in fact.”

“Our normal head chef is on leave, and the temp we hired ran off chasing a girl.,” the local Nurse Joy said as she brought a tray of sausages out to the line. “Hiring her was not the best idea, but her marinaded barbeque was too good to pass up.”

“Understandable,” Illya remarked. “It was quite good.”

“It was. I think she left behind her recipe book. Mr. Emiya, do you think you could recreate it?” One of the other employees asked, to which Shirou hummed in affirmative.

“It’ll probably take a few tries to get it exactly right, but generally a recipe is all you need to create dishes, so long as you generally know what you’re doing in a kitchen,” Shirou stated, before frowning. “Of course, getting it exactly like the creator will take some time, since cooking is more of an art than a science, but I’m confident I can figure something similar out.”

“That would be wonderful,” the employee sighed.

Illya nodded and rolled up her sleeves. She wasn’t nearly her brother’s equal in the kitchen, but she’d give her best effort regardless!

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Shirou put the finishing touches on the pie, brushing down the top crust with melted butter as he checked the oven with a side-eye. “And… done. One sweet-and-spicy Tomato and Shuca pie.” He set the pie in the oven, then looked over at his audience. “Did I get all of that right?”

“From what I’ve heard, yes,” Isabella confirmed, biting into one of the test pies Shirou had made. “Mmph. These are good!”

“I’m glad you like them. Sweet-and-spicy isn’t the most common flavor combination back home, at least not for baked goods,” Shirou explained. “So getting the berries to work right together with the honey took a bit of work.”

“Okay!” Illya glanced at the time, waving her brother towards the doors. “You go ahead and take a walk, little brother. You’ve been in here for eight hours, you deserve a break.”

“When the timer goes off, go ahead and check it, and pull it out when ready.” Shirou instructed as he shucked off his apron, not complaining after

“No problem! How long should I set the timer for if it isn’t done? The instructions don’t clarify,” Illya asked seriously.

“No more than another five minutes, you really don’t want to burn the crust,” Shirou explained as Ritsuka and Yagi moved over to walk beside their trainer. “When it comes out, let it cool for an hour before you load it into the basket. It might come apart otherwise.”

“Got it, thanks Shirou!” Illya chirped, Shirou nodding before heading out the door. The girl turned to Isabelle. “So, who’s Lord Wyrdeer’s warden?”

“That would be Marley. She’s… fast. Always on her feet, moving from place to place.” Isabelle snorted. “She’s also considered a little bit of an outlier in her family. They’re all dedicated to tough sluggers, but Marley favors speed freaks.”

“And there’s the fact that I don’t keep any traditional Sinnohian variants in my team.” Illya started, then turned to see a young lady in a black-and-white skirt blouse and skirt leaning on the door, a blue hooded jacket over her outfit. “Hey Isabelle. Glad to see you made it out.”

“Warden Marley, I presume?” Illya asked the new face with a raised eyebrow, “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Well, I heard you were trying to meet with my Lord and begin your journey.” She smiled at Illya. “And then your brother managed to get the recipe for that pie exactly right, from hearsay and rumor. My Lord is going to come running as soon as you put the pie down.” She sighed. “Ah, I do prefer a chase, but you did put in the effort.”

“I did, though there’s got to be more to the trial, right?” Illya asked. “I mean, this hardly seems like enough. Isabelle couldn’t give any other details on the trial, nor could Roark…”

“I change it up pretty frequently, on a case-by-case basis.” Marley shrugged, coming in and picking up one of the spare test pies. “Some people get a fast pokemon and try to ride my lord down, and if they manage that I give them a pass. Some set ambushes, some find and challenge me; when Champion Cynthia took the trials, she and her Togekiss befriended every den and pack in the region and had them send her alerts to narrow down where he hid out.” She shrugged. “If I don’t think they put in enough effort, I usually challenge them to a race, force them into a battle, or give them a task before they get the Plate.”

Isabelle nodded. “Huh, I guess since Lord Wyrdeer didn’t give a huge challenge to the Champion, there’s not a set one? That’s cool, Lady Basculegion always wants the challenger to go catch a Dusclops for her.” She finished her pocket pie, looking her over. “But what are you planning today?”

“Dunno yet.” Marley shrugged, Illya perking up as alarm bells began to ring in her mind. “It depends on what happens with her brother.”

“What exactly did you do to my little brother?” The snow-haired girl growls, hand reaching for Matilda’s Pokeball despite how absurdly outmatched she was. She wouldn’t let anyone get away with harming Shirou. Not while she still drew breath.

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Shirou sighed as he ducked into the woods. Yagi dashed past him and bounded into the thicket, legs blurring as he burned off energy, while Ritsuka looked up at him, pensive. “Are you okay, Shirou? You’ve been down recently.”

“...honestly? I’ve been trying to hold onto things a little less.” Shirou reached up, tapping his chest. “It’s weird. In my old world, I didn’t have any trouble being around people all the time, but here, I’ve come to like just… being alone with you guys.” He sighed. “The last three days, with so many people around; I love helping, but it’s really impersonal.”

“Hmmm, I think I understand the problem. You’re trying to reconcile your beliefs and ideals with what you’re feeling, correct?” The Wyrmeon offered, pushing their head against Shirou’s leg, demanding pats more for his benefit then theirs.

“Somewhat. But… not really. I get why I feel this way. I like helping people, but not… not when it doesn’t mean anything.” Shirou shook his head. “I cooked for the center to help Miss Joy and the other staff, but I had to interact with lots of people who just… didn’t care. It wears me out.”

“It’s an Aura thing!” Yagi leapt down from the tree he’d been walking up, somersaulting into a headstand pushup. “Understanding aura involves understanding yourself! So what you feel gets magnified a bit. Very helpful for self-reflection, though the loop can be dangerous.” He came upright, shooting a thumb’s up. “If you really feel that way, we should do something you like! That always helps bring your aura back into balance!”

Ritsuka blinked. “You’re not usually this insightful, Yagi. I suppose it makes sense, though. You are an expert on Aura, at least for your age.”

“I was also given some books for this effort.” Yagi whipped out a small stack of books out of his aura space, holding up the top one, Training a Young Aura Adept. “Sometimes I read them while doing sit ups, or during cooldowns. I’m not allowed to run while reading anymore.”

“You’ve been very helpful, Yagi.” Shirou reached down, ruffling Riolu's head. “I suppose I should go exercise, in that case. It is always rather relaxing.”

“Thank you! I shall–” As one, Shioru and Yagi froze, Ritsuka’s ears shooting straight up. “-ah, do you all feel that–”

With an earth shattering kick, a Pokemon descended between the group, a shockwave of force sending the trio flying off in different directions as the being that Yagi had sensed manifested itself far faster than any of them could have possibly expected. As he wrenched his leg out of the shattered earth, Shirou got a good look at the Pokemon, and gulped.

They vaguely resembled the appearance of a Lopunny - at least, the coloration and everything was consistent with that of one. However, this one was far more intimidating. For starters, it seemed to emanate an aura of pressure that Shirou could practically feel, as if they were something more than that of a normal Lopunny, as though the appearance alone wasn’t enough. Second, the already long ears that Lopunny could use to punch extremely well were even more optimized for the act, while their legs also gained a level of muscle tone that was not present before. Oh, and as if that wasn’t enough, already the bunny was turning to look at him, one of their hands crackling with electricity as the other had a rather obvious aura of ice surrounding it.

“...ah. Shirou, get behind me.” Ritsuka threw himself upright, crouching before the aggressor. “I feel as though there must have been a mistake–” Ritsuka sniffed. “-good sir.”

“Good of you to attempt diplomacy, but unfortunately, it will not do you any good here, kid,” the bunny chimed back, cracking his neck as he shifted his head from side to side, both the ends of his ears coming alight with fire and aura respectively. “Nothing personal kids. I’ve got my marching orders.”

Shirou swallowed. “Ritsuka, harasser tactics. Yagi, light feet and flex. If we have to fight–” Shirou focused, projecting the solid heft of his naginata. “-we’ve got to be smart about it.”

“That…” the Lopunny began, before he blurred, coming between the three of them before they could see it happen, elemental fists ablaze. “Was not the correct answer.”

Before Shirou could even think to do something about it, a fist of ice slammed home into Ritsuka, sending the Dragon Type flying into a tree, bark cracking as he was flung into it, even as Yagi was sent into the dirt by an aura infused punch, the force behind it almost bouncing the tiny jackal off the ground. Seconds later, Lopunny sneezed as Ritsuka rolled upright, tail lashing earth in a blast of sand which caught in his eyes.

Shirou’s eyes widened, and he immediately shifted his stance, blade facing the normal-type. He glazed to one side, his Wyrmeon darting back to his side, then to Yagi–

-who was cupping a slightly distorted chest even as the blue fighter rose to his own feet.

Shirou blinked, focusing, sending out a pulse of aura. As soon as he knew which way Illya was, he shifted his stance, his spear cracking as he smoothly moved it through a throw, pitching it at his opponent. “Ritsuka, whirlwind, now!”

The Lopunny, belying his casual disregard of Shirou’s team, sidestepped the crackling spear as gale-force winds briefly locked him him place, even a Whirlwind not quite enough to do more than force the Pokemon to expend a not insignificant amount of effort ensuring that he wasn’t blown away. He grunted and closed his eyes as the spear detonated, the flash of light and shockwave barely enough to knock him forward a step as the winds petered out. “Exploding weapons, bad idea. Don’t–” As he blinked open his eyes, he paused.

Shirou’s hand clenched Yagi’s ball as he darted into the woods, Ritsuka’s tailwind speeding them both into flight. “If we make it back to town, there will be other trainers,” he panted out as they ran. “He’s a lot faster than us, but we’re not too far out– we just need to keep our distance–”

“Oh, good, looks like it took you a bit, but you chose the right answer,” a new, feminine voice called from above, sounding quite happy. “You can keep running if you want, but my teammate can help patch your Riolu up. I don’t think Astolfo meant to hit him that hard.”

Shirou didn’t even look up as he cleared the tree line, emerging into the outskirts of Oreburg without slowing. Seconds later, the sounder of the voice was left alone.

Well, not really alone. “Huh, well, I can’t say I can blame him. Probably should have mentioned the Heroine by name,” a second voice chipped in.

“We did send a mega-evolved Pokemon to test him with no warning,” the first replied regretfully. “Too much, do you think?”

“Eh, none of the others would have been intimidating enough. And you’re too instantly recognizable, though I doubt the brats would have known who you belong to.” The second shrugged, clearly not all too concerned by the events that were occuring.

“Yeah, and now he’ll be scared of us, or will call the cops on us. Or both. Now how are we going to give him his reward?” The first retorted.

“Mana, Mana, Mana, you’re worrying too much. We already got that sorted out with the Clans, and we… have Akari-san on speed dial,” the second stated smugly, only to trail off as the reality of her life becoming strange again hit her, “Fuck I’m supposed to be on vacation. Damnit.”

As the pair continued to chat, they were completely aware of Shirou dashing up the walk, weaving around the battle happening behind him, ready to intervene if things started to get… Nasty. Yet on either side of the torn-apart field, Illya and Marley blinked as a red streak blazed by.

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As Illya headed to the door, face twisted in rage, Marley got in her way, hands raised. “Hey, Lady Akari will make certain your brother will be just fine. She’s taken special interest in him, dunno why, but it’s not the ‘succeed or die’ kind. Calm down a little.”

“... No, I don’t think I will,” Illya snarled, eyes smoldering with rage as she threw Matilda’s Pokeball down onto the floor, “Matilda, get her out of my way.”

“With pleasure–” Matilda began, only for a much bigger ball of fluff and heat to appear before her. Despite his happily lolling tongue and dopey smile, the Arcanine sitting in front of her was an intimidating sight nonetheless. “-okay fuzzball, get ye gone.”

“Ah? Oh, do you want to play?” Arcanine’s eyes lit up with joy. “I like playing…”

Marley coughed. “Ah, I can’t let you go through… unimpeded. Though your willingness to battle is something I appreciate.” Tension rose as she locked eyes with Illya.

Isabelle slapped the table, before glaring at the pair and pointing towards the door, “OUT! We are not having a clan member ruin another Pokemon Center because of something that I don’t personally agree with and was not informed would be occurring!”

“...that’s fair.” Marley trotted over to the door. “Again, no harm will come to your brother, lady Illya. But I do need to challenge you anyway, so let’s take this outside, and when we’re done, you can borrow Shaggy and go find your brother, if he hasn’t made it back already.”

“... If so much as a single ounce of blood was spilled from him or his team, I’m going to sick Fubuki on you,” Illya growled, before nodding sharply, deciding to trust (for now) that the Clan wasn’t going to hurt her brother.

“Take it up with the Heroine! For now, let’s have a good battle!” Marley called as she stepped out into the courtyard behind the center, a small crowd gathering at the sight of Shaggy trotting beside his mistress. “Now, my Arcanine is a little… too much, for you. But I do have a new teammate and an old one ready to battle. So…” She palmed an apricorn ball. “Two on two! Are you ready?”

“... Fine, I’ll play by your rules for now,” Illya allowed, voice glacially cold as she nodded towards Matilda. “You’re up, Matilda. Let’s show this… person what getting between me and my family gets you.” Matilda gave an aggressive grin as she trotted onto the battlefield.

Marley nodded, then flicked her wrist. “Okay, go Matryoshka!” The wooden ball popped open, releasing… a larger wooden ball. The pokemon landed, blinking.

“Voltorb!” The pokemon called out, before happily launching into a spin, rotating like a top past Matilda. “Volt-orb!” She said again, cheerily, golden lights drifting from her passage and around the battlefield.

Her opponent, meanwhile, said nothing, simply glaring at the foe that stood in front of her. Were it a less serious battle, Matilda might have engaged in banter, but here? Here, that would be a kindness she wouldn’t offer.

“Matilda, start setting up,” Illya called, her voice still the glacially cold deadpan it had been since the battle had started. “You know what to do after that.”

Matilda sucked in some air to begin setting up– then coughed as the stun spores the Voltorb had left behind on her trip trickled into her lungs. “...oh, you bitch.”

“You gotta go fast!” Voltorb chirped, even as Matilda steadied and deployed her Misty Terrain. “Okay, my turn!” Her top popped open, revealing a small array of sprouting seeds, which launched themselves at Matilda.

“Disarming Voice,” Illya called, unblinkingly eyeing the battlefield. “Refresh.” Immediately, Matilda responded, blowing away the leech seeds with a burst of sonic energy as she glowed briefly, Paralysis disappearing as she glared towards the Voltorb. “Swift.” With the final command, the Sylveon launched a barrage of pink stars towards the far faster Pokemon.

“Hmm. You’ve got good coverage!” Marley called out as Matryoshka counted with golden stars of her own, the pink ones tearing through to pepper her with sparks of energy. “Speak up and start rolling!”

“TORB!” Matryoshka Screeched, forcing the focused Matilda to flinch and flap her ears closed. As she reacted, a ballistic rolling Voltorb collided with her, before bouncing away and rolling around in an arc, though not before Matilda tagged her with a reflexive Disarming Voice, the move only just barely catching the ludicrously fast Pokemon.

“Aura Sphere Barrage,” Illya called neutrally, Matilda responding by rapidly forming the spheres of condensed aura at the tips of each of her feelers and sending them flying towards Matryoshka. The orb bounded back and forth, avoiding the small orbs as they homed in before ramming Matilda again. “Catch her.”

Matilda wrapped her target in her ribbons, only to blink as Marley held up a hand. “Boom.”

Illya blinked, then flinched as the little grass-electric type detonated, the shockwave going off at point blank range to Matilda’s face. Marley sighed as her ball opened, pulling in her insensate Pokemon. “Word of advice; don’t pin down a Voltorb, Geodude, Koffing, or Pineco. If they’re feeling spiteful, they just… go off.” As the smoke cleared, she arced an eyebrow as Matilda rose on shaky legs, entire body glowing with aura. “...tough girl, but… you should recall her.”

“Send out your next Pokemon,” Illya called spitefully, a note of glee entering her deadpan. She made no move to call her next Pokemon or recall Matilda, the Sylveon simply standing neutrally on shaky legs.

“...alright then.” Her second ball snapped open. “Shadow sneak.”

“Protect now!” Matilda blinked, then collapsed as her own shadow erupted, a Shedinja emerging from her back, not recognizing the order fast enough. The dead shell nodded once, before floating back towards her opponent’s side of the field.

Illya pulled out her second ball, scowling– only to pause as a red blur cut past her, Shirou’s scarf and Ritsuka trailing behind his dash as he entered the center.  “Well, I won’t be trying to get past you now.” Illya commented blandly as she tossed Fubuki’s ball forward, “End this with a Shadow Sneak.”

“Oh, Froslass–” Marley sighed as her Shedinja went down instantly. “No time to set up double team… yeah, your win. Kinda pointless, though.” She peered past Illya into the center. “I think the test is over, and he seems full of energy. Anyway, take the pie out whenever, I’ll let Lord Wyrdeer know to approach you openly. I know when I’m not wanted.”

Illya didn’t respond, simply recalling Fubuki and running towards the Pokemon center, intent on making sure her brother was okay… and planning out how she was going to curse out a certain heroine.

As Marley trotted towards the woods, leaving Oreburg behind, she blinked at the three people coming out. She crossed her arms as she glared at the one who’d given her the orders. “Well, ma’am. I hope you had a good reason to do this…”

Akari smiled sadly. “I did. Still… this is going to be a hard conversation.” She sighed. “Miss Misora, would you rather come in, or wait out here?”

“I'll apologize to both the brats. It had to happen, and you’re right on that, but it doesn't make me feel any less guilty,” the ACE trainer replied with a frown, shaking her head towards the Primeon by her side, “Might be a good idea to stay quiet, Mana. Both of them are capable of auric speech, so keep the Almian on the downlow, okay?”

“No shite. I know we’re not on vacation anymore, Misora. Back in civilization and all that,” the fox grimaced with a shake of her head. “That said, I’m going to miss trolling the random hiker.”

Marley huffed. “Next time you poke someone teetering on the edge of violence? Leave us mortals out of this.” She glanced at her dog. “Come on Shaggy. Let’s go for a run.” She mounted her steed with a grunt.

“Oi, Marley.” Misora called towards her fellow trainer, “You wanna give the kids a show as a reward and apology?”

“Maybe another time. Right now, I want to get out of the blast radius,” Marley shot back. “I’m down two Pokemon, and I’m too pissed at both of you to make a good fight right now.” Shaggy started padding towards the woods, ginning as he began to break into a lope.

“Eh, valid. I think it needed to happen though. Stupid redheaded idiot didn’t run until Astolfo broke one of his Pokemon’s ribs.” She called back to the already gone trainer, sending a reproaching look towards the immortal, “You know, even with the reward you promised, I’m considering demanding more. While I agree with you, mostly because I’m an ACE Trainer and I’ve seen the corpses of children who got in too deep, Astolfo is going to be insufferably inconsolable because he broke one of Riolu's ribs by accident. I need to be able to give him a logical reason why this was needed.”

“I’d rather scare him than see him dead.” Akari sighed. “Let’s head on in.”