Chapter Text
Fallen leaves piled up below the windows, some of them being blown over with the cold wind of the autumn season. Trees were painted red and brown, giving Bismuth Town a melancholic yet comforting feeling, like an endearing mother welcoming her child with a warm embrace after a school day. Like home.
Home of the many pokémon that were born there or one day arrived and were captivated by the place. A place to start anew, opening your new business or studying in Gholdengo's Academy to eventually be able to do so. It was something so obvious that no one questioned it anymore; it was hard for the civilized pokémon to picture a life without the concept of jobs, money and education, and yet, it was something that still existed.
Wild pokémon still lived everywhere, and they didn't need any of that. They didn't need buildings to live in, they just needed their small communities and shelters to keep going, and that was enough to call that home. However, civilized pokémon were once wild pokémon as well, but it's been too long since that was a thing, and now everything has changed.
"And how did that happen in the first place?"
Nimb had raised his wing and the Decidueye teacher turned to him, as did the rest of the class.
"I thought you'd know this story already, it's basic history," Maia said but quickly changed her mind as she saw the frown on the Archen's face. "Well, I guess it's not your fault you weren't told about it. It's about the War of the New World. Does that sound familiar?"
"Well… I feel like I've heard it before, but I'm not sure," he said as he tilted his head, cutely, if you ask Ari.
"That happened 200 years ago. There were two different factions driven by different beliefs on how the world should be like. One of them, led by the Aura Warriors, wanted our world to develop and grow so we could live in bigger communities and basically establish the foundations of an advanced society. The other, led by the Forest Guardians, was opposed to that, thinking that it was against pokémon nature and it would bring ruin to the balance of this world."
Nimb perked up at that. "Aura Warriors? That reminds me of…"
"You might have seen that in Ari's dream," Velia intervened, rising a bit from her seat to make her presence noticeable. "Since his parents, and therefore Ari, are descendants of this faction."
Ari frowned, not sure if he liked the idea of everyone there knowing about his recent nightmare issue. It was to be expected, as Cora was there to witness the whole thing and hear the explanation once Team Silver woke up. So, being the gossip that she is, it was a matter of time before she told her teammates as well. Ari couldn't blame her, though.
"Now that you mention that… I saw some paintings that seemed to portray the War of the New World in Ari's dream," Nimb continued, looking aside while reminiscing. "And I assume the Aura Warriors won, right?"
The Decidueye nodded in response and then motioned a wing towards the classroom, which had a recently installed lighting system that used the same technology as the luminous orbs, while she explained. "If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have all this. Towns, buildings, technology, education… They established the base of our society."
Everyone nodded as they listened to the same old story once again, even Ari, who was more than tired of hearing it from his parents. Carrying the legacy of his ancestors was something he never asked for, and luckily his classmates weren't commenting on it anymore as they learned Ari wasn't exactly proud of his family.
"Anyway, we've derailed from the topic. As I was saying before, learning about the different cultures and ideologies is key to understanding the motives behind a crime and thus being able to unmask the actual culprit."
Velia raised her paw. "Like how a wild pokémon is more likely to steal or resort to violence?"
Nimb flinched at that, and Velia received many stern looks, but it was Maia who responded first. "Velia! That's not what I meant, and don't forget that Nimb here was raised a wild pokémon as well, so you better respect him."
The Meowstic cast a glance at the Archen but remained stoic. "Well, of course, there are exceptions, like him, but am I wrong? Statistics are there, and it's obvious that wild pokémon, having different laws and lacking a well-functioning education system, are prone to commit what our civilized society considers as crimes."
"Well… I mean, that's…" Maia didn't know how to retort to that, but neither did the rest.
"Even if you were right, that sounded kinda harsh," Kyle eventually spoke, barely turning to face Velia while he was busy endlessly clicking the button on top of his pen.
"The choice of words doesn't make any difference if the message has been delivered either way."
"That's not how it… Never mind," Kyle sighed.
"Really, it's okay," Nimb said, shaking his head. "I know she has no ill intentions."
Velia nodded at him with a satisfied smile. "See? Nimb gets it. And he's the perfect example that a wild pokémon can still reach our level despite having an underdeveloped intelligence."
A loud facepalm could be heard coming from Cora, while others groaned in disbelief. The mood was completely ruined now, and nobody had the energy to argue against that. Not even Sanah, who was starting to dig her claws too hard on her desk but chose to stay silent.
The owl teacher tried to move away from the topic and forget that conversation ever happened but decided she was going to have a talk with the psychic cat later. For now, she just focused on keeping the rest of the class as normal as possible.
"Alright, don't forget to study for the upcoming test, and remember that there are no classes tomorrow!"
Velia raised her paw. "Are you not going to assign any homework?" She could feel the death glares on the back of her neck, and slowly lowered her paw.
Maia just let out a soft chuckle. "Not this time, just study for the test."
Everyone nodded and started to leave for the day. It didn't take too long until Cora decided to call for attention and they turned to her before having the chance to leave.
"Guys, guys! Wanna go hang out? We never did it as a whole group before!"
"Hey, that doesn't sound bad!" Asher said, leaning closer and almost colliding with Nimb on accident. "We haven't spent enough time just to enjoy ourselves so far."
Ari and Nimb looked at each other and nodded in agreement before the Riolu spoke. "We're in! We were going to plan something after class anyway, so I don't see why not."
Cora beamed. "Great! What about the others?" She turned to look for Mylo, but apparently, he had left already. "... Oh."
"Unfortunately, I already planned to spend the rest of the day studying for the test, so that's a no from me," Velia said, going for the door. "Still, um… I hope you enjoy yourselves."
As they watched the Meowstic leave and waved for her with a disappointed frown, Cora quickly turned to the Zangoose, who was about to leave and looked frustrated, for some reason. "What about you, Sanah?"
She perked up, surprised to be addressed. "Me? Oh yeah, I would like to…!" Suddenly, her expression morphed into a frown, and looked away. "f*ck, I forgot, I can't right now… I have stuff to do."
"Aw, you're busy again?" Ari said, unable to hide his disappointment. "So… When will you be free to go to Deepsoul Lake?"
Oh, right. She told him she'd go with them. "Ah… Tomorrow, I promise. I'm sorry I've been so busy lately…"
"No, it's okay," Ari said, but he was clearly resisting the urge to ask her about it. She had been quite busy for the last few days and didn't want to tell why, so he decided to respect her privacy. Something he didn't do when he used his aura powers on her that one time, but that didn't count, right?
Once Sanah left, and all eyes turned to the last classmate they hadn't asked yet. Kyle scratched his head and hummed deep in thought, reviewing his mental schedule that unfortunately for him was quite empty that day.
"Hmm, I don't think I have too much energy to-"
He stopped as he felt the Brionne's flipper grabbing his wrist and froze upon seeing Cora smiling menacingly mere inches away from his face. "You're coming, right?"
"Uhhhh… I g-guess I can," the Scrafty said, trying to appear unperturbed at the scary creature that was Cora.
"Yayyy, we'll have so much fun!" Cora beamed and started to drag him outside, followed by Ari, Nimb, and Asher, who were silently pitying Kyle as he was forced to socialize.
"Go shopping? That was your idea of "hanging out"?" Asher smiled sheepishly as he watched the Brionne happily bouncing around checking every shop and stand on the town streets, ready to spend her earnings from the last investigation she and her team succeeded in.
"Wearehanging out, but isn't it much more fun to buy something for us to enjoy? Like… Oh, look at that spinning fork for the spaghetti!" She said as she glued her face to a store window.
Ari chuckled. "I could understand that you wanted to buy me a bandana that one time, but I don't see the use in a spinning fork when you can just… spin it yourself."
"But look how goofy and fun it looks!" She said right before running ahead as soon as she spotted another useless item from a different store.
"I don't get it…" Nimb said as he walked, unamused.
Kyle sighed, and quickly pulled his skin-pants up as he ran to catch up with the group. "Well, that's capitalism for you. You don't need anything until the world makes you need it."
"Did the world make Cora need a… spinning fork?" Nimb asked.
"She made herself need it," Asher commented, followed by a soft snicker.
"That's interesting…" Nimb sighed, and Ari was quick to rest his paw on his back as he noticed the mood change. Before Ari could ask, the bird spoke. "Uh, sorry, I guess I'm still getting used to living here. It's just… There's so much I don't understand. Everything is changing so fast…"
"Yeah, we already had to learn to use the GD and now out of nowhere, there's a lot of new technologies around that we barely know of. Don't stress yourself over it, you just need time," Ari reassured, right before Asher came from behind and placed both claws on their shoulders, making his presence known.
"Yeah, you know, it was already hard for me to adjust to the modern world and I've been raised in the civilization, I can't imagine how hard it's being for you," the Cyclizar said.
Kyle just observed as he pulled his pants up once again, but chose to stay silent. The group eventually realized they had unconsciously given up on chasing the Brionne and were just walking at their own pace as they talked. That was until Cora came back and proceeded to talk about every single item she saw but everyone knew she wasn't going to buy in the end.
Even if it was kinda funny, it was going on for too long, but at least they were having fun. Well, most of them, since Kyle was silent except for some comments every now and then, and he didn't seem too interested in the activities. It wasn't too hard to notice, since even Cora tried to include him in her crazy antics.
"Hey Kyle, I bet I can find something that you like as well!"
He rolled his eyes. "Hmm, I don't need anything, really. Just let me be."
"Nuh uh, you're being boring, so you need something to be… quirky, epic!" She said, a big grin plastered on her face as she glanced around in search of any souvenir for her teammate.
"Boring? I'm just being sane, something you're slowly drifting away from," he said and a snort could be heard coming from Asher. Cora didn't lose her grin, so he just sighed and pulled his pants up again. "I really don't need any of this."
It was right then that Cora's eyes brightened up as she came up with an idea. "Oh, I know! Wait for me, I'll be back in a moment! Teehee…"
They didn't have time to retort as she was already off, leaving a cloud of dust behind her. "Aaand there she goes," Ari said, visibly amused.
"At this point, I'd rather play along, Kyle, it's not like it will do you any harm," the Cyclizar commented, brushing off some of the dust leftovers from his body, which was easy for a scaled monster.
"Hmm, okay I guess…"
It didn't take long until she was back, now carrying something on one of her flippers. She hid it behind her back and stood in front of Kyle.
"Aaaand tadaaaa!" As she motioned her flipper forward, she revealed the item she was carrying: a leather belt. It was brown with a small red ribbon on the tip, a bit fancy but at the same time it was mostly discrete.
"Huh?" A belt?" Kyle tilted his head in confusion. "Why would I need this?"
Everyone stared at him with an eyebrow raised, and Cora spoke. "Come on, I've seen how you were pulling your pants up all the time, you clearly need this."
Kyle looked at her in a mixture of surprise and embarrassment, even if his face was subtle about it. "But… I'm used to being like this, I really don't need it."
"Come ooon, just give it a try, so you can see if you like it or not!" Cora leaned closer and pressed the belt against the Scrafty's chest, so he grabbed it on reflex.
Kyle stared at the belt for a long moment and then cast a glance at his classmates. They were all waiting for him with silly smiles, Asher also giving a thumbs up with both claws. He stood silent as many thoughts invaded his mind. Was that okay? Even if it was just something small like that…
Eventually, he decided and let out a deep sigh, starting to wrap the belt around his skin pants, and everyone beamed. He felt a click in the buckle as he adjusted it, leaving the red ribbon on the front, and once he was done, he raised his head at the group.
"Hmm, is this how it works?"
Cora started bouncing in excitement. "Yayyy, you look stunning! Why don't you look at it yourself?" She pointed at the nearest display window, and Kyle followed. Once he stopped in front of it, he felt weird. He had walked without having to pull his pants up, and what's more, he looked… different. He couldn't pinpoint how he felt about it.
"It's… nice I guess," he said as his eyes opened a bit more than usual. That didn't last, since he quickly opened his bag and fidgeted with his wallet, turning to Cora. "How much did this cost?"
The Brionne just pouted at that, shoving Kyle's wallet away and locking her eyes on his. "Don't you dare pay me for it!" Her frown turned into a tender smile as she raised her head with pride. "This is a gift. I want you to have it, it will remind you of me! Sounds cute, right?"
"A… gift?" The Scrafty looked confused at first, but his eyes slowly went wide and bright for a moment, a bit hard to see since he quickly went back to his neutral face. But Ari noticed, as the empath he was, and he cast a concerned look before Kyle spoke again. "I see... Thanks, then."
"No problem!" Cora then turned to face the whole group with a smirk. "Hey, what about getting some ice cream before the cold weather arrives? I know a place, it's not too far and apparently, it opened recently!"
"ICE CREAM!" Asher yelled with excitement, getting a confused look from the Archen. He turned to him. "Come on, I bet you also love ice cream."
"What's this… ice cream?" Nimb asked.
The Cyclizar gasped. "You've never tried it? It's like… the best thing you could ask as a dessert! It's this frozen cream with whatever flavor you ask for. Oran berry, chocolate, mint (don't try that one), you name it."
Nimb's eyes widened and he started salivating. "Ohhhh, that sounds delicious!"
"So what do you say, are we going?" Ari asked, waving at them to call for attention.
"ICE CREAM!" Nimb and Asher yelled at the same time with a gleam in their eyes, but the Archen quickly deflated and hid behind the Cyclizar once he realized there were other pokémon staring now. Nothing Asher couldn't solve, as he wrapped an arm around him, which calmed him down.
"I'd say that's a yes, teehee," Cora said and she didn't wait for any more responses as she and the hungry duo marched onwards without a care in the world.
Kyle sighed and started following them from a distance, still uninterested and lost in thoughts, but a paw on his shoulder snapped him out of it.
"Hey, can we talk for a moment?" Ari asked, walking alongside him.
The Scrafty eyed him for a moment, clearly knowing where this was going. "What is it?"
"Well, it's just… What was that?"
"I don't know what you mean," he lied, turning to not look at him directly.
"Come on, it's obvious that you're hiding something. You always look so bored, and a moment ago you looked happy but you clearly forced a neutral face again. What's with that?"
Kyle tensed for a moment, but he refused to lose the mental battle. "Hmm, you're exaggerating, that's just how I am, there's nothing more to it."
The Riolu frowned and crossed his arms with a hint of concern and disbelief. "I'm not buying that, I know there's something more. It feels like it's always been like this since I met you, pretending to not care and just staying behind all the time. You've been like… forcing yourself to not stand out, purposely staying as a side character of this story."
"What story?"
"Uhhh it's just an expression, you get what I mean."
"I don't," he said, but his narrowed eyes told something different. He was clearly being exposed, and he didn't want to have that conversation. Luckily for him, something came to his mind, and he stopped, finally looking at the Riolu. "And what about you? It's like you have main character syndrome."
"... Huh?"
Kyle continued. "You're always forcing yourself into everyone's lives, trying to solve their problems, acting like they need you, but you know, the world keeps spinning even when you're not around."
Ari took a step back, his face being one of a lost puppy. "I… Where did that come from all of a sudden?"
Thinking he might have been a bit harsh, Kyle sighed and adopted a softer tone. "You can't just fix everyone's lives. I understand why you do that, you clearly feel that everyone will like you if you help them. But it's not your responsibility, and that could really hurt you one day, you know?"
"But I was just… trying to help."
"I know, and I appreciate that, but you're the one you should be taking care of. Our first investigation a few weeks ago was a good example of that. Sanah treated you like trash, and yet you still gave all you got to help her. I know it turned out well and you're friends now, but in most cases that's not going to happen."
Ari tried to process all that, unsure of what to say. He rubbed his arm uncomfortably and asked. "Is that what I do? Do I have this… 'main character syndrome'?"
"Hmm, maybe that's not exactly it, but… you know, don't bite off more than you can chew. Helping your friends is good, but don't forget to set your boundaries," and as Kyle said that, he resumed the walk, trying to catch up with the rest. Ari just followed without saying a word, reflecting on his actions.
Kyle sighed in relief, taking Ari's silence as a victory. He had avoided the topic once more, but that was a close one. The Riolu sure knew how to read emotions, even without his aura. Still… He knew he was just avoiding his own problems.
He knew Ari was probably the pokémon who would understand him the most. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to talk. Did he need to talk at all? He was like that, he was used to it, so there's no need to change anything, right?
Kyle's thoughts were snapped once Cora's booming voice called out for them. "Guyyys, we're here! What took you so long?"
Ari and Kyle eyed the place with curiosity. It was a small terrace on a secluded side of the street, with a few white tables with blue wooden chairs, and a parasol on top of each table. Further behind, there was the ice cream shop, a medium-sized one-floored white building decorated with a fancy banner that resembled a caricaturesque Vanillish. There were a few pokémon seated at a couple of tables, all of them engaged in their conversations and not minding the visitors.
"I already like this place, seems comfy," Asher said, and immediately headed towards the shop counter. "Quick, before other pokémon come, I wanna be first to order!"
Nimb looked at him, hesitant, and followed. "And what are we supposed to do? I've never been in this kind of place before."
Coming from behind, Ari laid a paw on Nimb's back and pushed him gently, approaching the counter. "We just wait here until someone comes and we ask for whatever ice cream we want."
"Ask?" Nimb shivered at the thought of yet another interaction with a stranger and gave Ari a pleading look. "Could you talk for me?"
"Come on, Nimb, it's just one pokémon, they're not going to judge you or anything. Just say what you want, get it, and leave."
Once the group of five was lined up in front of the counter, a Raichu with a blue apron popped out of a door floating on top of his tail, carrying a plate with a few tubs of ice cream. He eyed them for a moment and quickly did a salute with his head and smiled.
"Oh, hello there! Wait a minute, my coworker will attend to you." He turned around and called to the other side of the door. "Hey, could you take care of these?"
From inside, a female voice with an annoyed tone could be heard. "Yeah, yeah, just gimme a sec…"
Ari's ears perked up. He could swear he knew that voice, and for how the others reacted similarly, it seemed he wasn't crazy. As the psychic-type Raichu left, a white and fluffy pokémon with the same blue apron emerged with a forced smile.
"Hello, what can I get y-"
Sanah stopped and her smile dropped once she saw her classmates standing in front of her with stunned expressions.
"SANAH?" Everyone yelled at the same time, drawing the attention of the other customers.
"No f*cking way, ugh…" Sanah groaned as she brushed a claw on her face.
"You're working here?" Cora asked, clinging to the top of the counter. "Since when? And why? And ho-"
"Yes, since a few days ago, because I want money," Sanah answered the questions in order and then added with a scowl. "Are you satisfied?"
"Well that makes sense, but…" Asher intervened, grabbing the Brionne by her torso and putting her down, away from the counter. "You already get money from the investigations, and what about your parents? Aren't they taking care of your needs?"
"Why do you want to know that?" She asked, her anger being more obvious now. She could feel herself going back to the same intrusive thoughts as always, as much as she tried not to. Luckily, Ari's concerned and cute puppy face made her calm down a bit. "Well, f*ck it. My dad… H-he can't work right now, so I have to do it all myself."
"Aw, that makes sense…" Nimb said, his frown making Sanah feel a bit uncomfortable. Everyone else, except for Ari, just looked confused.
"And your mother?" Kyle eventually asked from behind the group, and everyone remembered he was there as well.
Sanah just growled and looked away. "I don't know what that bitch is doing right now, and I couldn't care less."
"Huh? Isn't she living with you?" Ari asked.
"Nope, she left many years ago. We lived… Somewhere else, but my dad wanted to give me a calm and stable life, so we moved to Bismuth Town, while she was more worried about going on stupid adventures out there."
Cora gasped. "Wait, does that mean you were a…?"
"Wild pokémon? Yes, or at least mostly. We lived in the forest, but my dad used to be civilized before he met her. You could say I'm half-wild or something."
Ari tilted his head as he reminisced. "So that explains why you looked mad earlier today after what Velia said."
"f*ck her," Sanah said bluntly, making everyone wince, except for Kyle.
"But Sanah, she didn't mean it in a bad way, she's just obsessed with… statistics and data?" Asher said, but he was sounding less convinced with each word.
"Don't take it personally, you know she doesn't have anything against you," Ari mediated.
Sanah eyed all of them, trying to find any trace of irony, but found nothing. With a deep sigh, she put her arm on her waist and returned to her work mode. "Whatever. Just tell me what you guys wanna order."
Nobody could argue against ice cream. It only took a bunch of different berries to forget about the whole conversation, but everyone agreed to never try the mint-flavored one. Nimb wanted to ask why, but he was already salivating too much with his cookie-flavored ice cream to bother himself with that.
Once everyone else had their ice creams, Kyle finished ordering for himself and approached the table they were sitting at. Nimb and Asher didn't even wait for him to arrive, as they were devouring their frozen prey at a concerning pace. Ari and Cora couldn't stop themselves from laughing, at least until some ice cream bits started splattering on their precious fur.
"You guys are making such a mess," Kyle said as he sat down, as far away from the hungry duo as possible.
"I'm sorry, it's just… soooo delicious!" Nimb couldn't stop smiling, which Ari thought made all of that worth it. It wasn't common to see his Archen friend so uninhibited.
Cora was the next to add to that stupidity, deciding it was a good idea to bite the tip of her cone and suck from there. It was easy at first, until she started spilling it everywhere and Ari thought it would be funny to hide all the napkins.
However, in the middle of all that joy, Ari could see a certain someone from the corner of his eye. Sanah, from the side of the building, was gesturing for Ari to keep quiet and follow her. Ari blinked twice but quickly stood up without hesitation.
"Hey guys, I'll be right back, enjoy your ice creams!" He got a collective nod and then turned to leave, but then came back and took his tub of ice cream with him. "Not letting this melt."
He followed Sanah to what appeared to be a backyard near a tree area, with a lone table just lying there with a couple of chairs. Ari assumed that's where the workers went to have their breaks, or maybe an old couple liked going there to play board games.
Ari didn't waste any more time. "Hey, so about what happened earlier…"
"Yeah, yeah, I know," she dismissed. "I shouldn't be so angry at Velia, but I can't just get over these… insecurities I have so easily."
"I see… Wanna talk about it?"
Sanah fidgeted with her apron for a few seconds, gaze locked on the ground, until she decided to sit at the table. She sighed. "What I said about my father…"
"Oh right, I remember he didn't look too good that one time we visited," Ari said, and he sat in front of her. "What happened to him?"
Sanah's frown deepened. "That's…"
"W-well, actually," Ari interrupted with a headshake. He recalled what happened the last time he asked about it. "You don't have to tell me if you don't wanna, I understand."
"... No, I'll tell you," she said, and Ari perked up. "I didn't feel comfortable talking about this with the others, but… I trust you."
Ari couldn't help but smile a bit at that. He took a bite of his ice cream and waited for her to continue.
"My dad… He's been sick for years. We don't know what caused it, and the doctors couldn't determine what exactly was happening to him. No healing moves worked either, it's… a really weird illness."
That concerned Ari, if Sanah's desolate expression wasn't enough. "Oh damn… Sanah, I'm so sorry… Isn't there some way to cure him? There has to be something!"
She shook her head. "Not that we can afford right now. That's why I wanted to have another job, so we could somehow pay for some of the best doctors out there, and maybe they would know what to do. Otherwise…" Her voice became shaky. "I don't know for how much longer he will live."
Ari gasped, setting his ice cream aside. "Is it that bad?"
"Yeah…" As she felt tears forming in her eyes, she quickly wiped them and shook her head. "B-but that's why I needed more money. I had other jobs before, so this is nothing new, but I thought one at a time wasn't enough."
"Wait, so the reason you became an investigator…"
She nodded. "For the money. Don't get me wrong, I like what we do, but my main objective has always been the same. I wanted to be the best because that's how I would get the best-paid cases."
Ari kept fidgeting with his ice cream tub, not even thinking about taking a bite at this point. "I see… At least I hope you like this job. The ice cream thing, I mean."
"Pfft, not at all. I hate this job…" She let herself fall limp on the table as she complained. "They force me to put a smile all the time and the ice cream gets so sticky on my fur. But I have no other choice, I need the money."
"Hmm… You know, that reminds me of what Lyla was going through."
The Riolu jumped as Sanah slammed the table with both claws. "Don't compare me to her!"
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean that in a bad way…" He cringed, but luckily Sanah's frown didn't last longer. "Uhhh you know what? I'm gonna help you!"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Sanah asked.
Ari stood up and raised his fists in a determined pose. "I'm gonna find the cure! Or… get the money!" That got a reaction from the Zangoose, who didn't know whether she should be confused or excited. "Either way, I'm not going to let your father die!"
"Ari, that's…" She stared at him in awe, until her expression morphed into a sad smile. "I appreciate that, but you shouldn't promise things you can't do."
"W-what?"
"You always throw yourself into everyone's problems, but you shouldn't burden yourself so much for the sake of others."
Ari blinked in surprise. "I… I don't understand, that's exactly what Kyle told me earlier… Am I really like that all the time?" He gripped his arm and started rubbing it as if that was going to answer his questions. "If I'm doing it to feel better about myself, does that mean I'm just being… selfish?"
"Hey, I'm gonna have to ask you to stop there," Sanah said, and she stood up to get closer, resting a claw on his shoulder. "You're a great person, Ari. I might have accused you once of doing it for yourself, but what matters is that everything you do… itdoeshelp others."
"You… think so?" Ari asked, his voice uncertain, and once again looking like a lost puppy.
She chuckled. "Yeah, I am. Dude, you're so sweet."
Ari felt a sudden warmth on his cheeks, a subtle blush being visible through his fur. As Sanah reviewed her words, she quickly regretted saying that and tried to change the topic, glancing at the table.
"H-hey, umm, your ice cream is melting."
Ari turned around and saw the liquid dripping out of the tub, and quickly went to grab it. "Aaahh, I forgot!" He started licking the liquid on the tub from the side, which looked kinda silly, and Sanah couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahaha, dude, you're getting your fur dirty… Let me help you," she said and then grabbed a few napkins, cleaning Ari's paws and face. He just chuckled through all of it, a silly smile plastered on his face as their eyes met.
"So yeah… As I said, even if I can't promise you I'll find the cure, I still wanna help you in any way I can," Ari said, nervously fiddling with one of his aura tassels. "Even if it's just as moral support. I'm here whenever you need me."
Sanah smiled fondly. "Thanks, Ari… That means a lot."
"Heh… It's nice to hang out like this, even if you're literally at work right now," Ari said.
"Well, I can take breaks, but it's been a while and I should head back inside. We'll meet again tomorrow, though," she said, squeezing all the napkins into a ball.
"Yeah! See you tomorrow, Sanah."
Ari returned with the rest and they enjoyed what was left of their ice creams, some more than others. Asher and Nimb were covered in ice cream stains and Cora had somehow managed to only leave a puddle all around her on the ground, but she was clean. She definitely used some evil sorcery, Ari thought.
Meanwhile, Kyle just finished his ice cream without any incident, and just observed in silence.
Everyone was finally over with the fun. It was a truly exhausting day, but Kyle could finally go home. It felt like they weren't going to let him relax, but he had to admit to himself that… it wasn't that bad.
He even got a gift from Cora, a leather belt. Kyle wasn't too sure about it at first, but the feel of not having to pull his pants up every 5 seconds felt nice… He almost found himself smiling, now that there wasn't anyone around.
Kyle eventually arrived at a pretty building around the town center, made out of beige bricks and modern-looking windows. It had been rebuilt not many years ago, due to his parents thinking it originally wasn't elegant enough to match their status.
As he went inside, he left his keys on the little case at the entrance, on top of a small table. The place was clean as usual, a white corridor leading to every room in the house through light brown wooden doors.
"I'm home," he announced, heading towards the living room, tidy and cozy as always. It had the usual furniture, aside from the decoration on the small table in the center, which consisted of a few small ceramic bowls and a vase with marbles.
Sitting on the couch, there was his mom, who stood up to greet her son. She was another Scrafty, but slightly shorter than Kyle and her head crest was smaller. She was carrying a pair of glasses as well.
"Welcome home, Kyle. Why did you take so long today?"
"Hmm sorry, Mother. My… classmates wanted to hang out and they kinda dragged me along, I couldn't say no," he said, shifting uncomfortably.
"Are your classmates bothering you? You shouldn't let yourself get influenced by them, you hear me? I don't wanna see you turning into some troublemaker," she scolded.
Kyle took a step back. He had just arrived and there was already something his mother could complain about. He was ready to end the conversation.
"Okay, mother… I know."
However, she quickly noticed something else that wasn't there before. Her eyes locked on the new accessory he was carrying. "What the… Kyle, what's that belt you're wearing?"
He swallowed. "Hmm, it's a gift from Cora, my teammate. She thought I was pulling my pants up too frequently, so…"
"No way, you're not wearing that. I don't want you to start getting looks from everyone, what are they going to think of us?" She started taking it off, and Kyle could only watch as he didn't dare oppose her.
"But mother… It's a gift, I can't just-"
"Then you keep it in your drawer or wherever you want, but as long as you're living in my house, you're not wearing this," she scolded as she wrapped the belt into a roll and gave it back to him.
Kyle sighed, defeated. "... Okay, mother. I'll go to my room now."
"Alright, don't forget to study," she said, going back to the couch and resuming her reading.
He didn't say anything, and just turned around and went through the corridor, keeping a neutral face. Upon entering a door on the right side, he closed it behind him and stared blankly at his room.
It was as tidy as the rest of the house. White desk, modern window with silk curtains on it, built-in closet, and one of those modern beds that didn't use hay as filler, but rather foam. After a few seconds, he put the belt on top of his desk and sat on the edge of his bed, looking towards a mirror that was placed on the closet door.
He could see his own face, one completely wiped off of any emotion. He stared at it, wondering who that guy in the mirror was, and why he was like that. He knew that didn't matter. But at least he was back in the comfort of his room, where nobody else could see him. He was finally alone, in the only place where no one could judge him if he let it all out.
And he did. His neutral expression slowly morphed into a frown, face crumpling and tears forming in his eyes. Kyle lay down on the bed, covering his face in an attempt to drown his whimpers. Tears welled down the Scrafty's face for a long while, unperturbed by anyone in the coziness of his bedroom.
He would return to his usual self once he went back outside, but for now, he stayed like that until he fell asleep.
It was the day. A certain Zangoose could finally enjoy a day off, and she made sure to keep the promise she made to Ari by tagging along on his trip to Deepsoul Lake. Only… She didn't expect a certain pair to come.
"How exciting! I wonder if there's some secret that we've never seen before!" Cora beamed, not even bothering to keep an eye on his little brother, who was bouncing around after having too much sugar for breakfast.
"We don't know that yet. It was in a dream I had, so it could be nothing," Ari said, but he was getting a bit dizzy from Romi's playfulness. "Ummm are you sure it was a good idea to bring your brother? We don't know what could happen out here…"
"He will be fine, and also, it's been some time since we last visited the lake! It's a nice place for us water-types."
Sanah and Nimb exchanged glances, the shared feeling about the little Popplio being implied by their looks. "You know, you're quite calm and polite for being around the same age as Romi," Sanah said to Nimb with a smirk.
Nimb frowned. "I'm twelve."
Sanah blinked twice and turned to Cora. "Hey, how old is your bro?"
"Eight."
"... Oh."
Ari couldn't help but snort at that, drawing an annoyed look from the Archen. "Sorry dude, haha… But she's right, even if you're younger than us, you're quite smart. It's a shame you can't hide that cute little kid face."
"Shut uuuup!" Nimb flushed in a mix of embarrassment and anger, pulling Ari's tail in revenge. Romi also decided to join the game of 'Catch the Riolu's Tail' and it quickly turned into a chase scene, and Sanah eventually felt that having the water-type duo joining wasn't as bad as she thought.
The extensive greenery of the forest, following the course of the river, eventually led to the rocky valley where the so-called Deepsoul Lake was hidden. Actually, 'hidden' was a bit of a stretch, since everyone knew where it was, but the rock walls kinda obscured the sight.
Once inside, Deepsoul Lake looked as serene as always. A few pokémon were there, like the last time, but they weren't bothered by the visitors and just minded their own business. A Wooper splashed around without a care in the world while a Quagsire watched completely motionless, and a Marshtomp was taking a quick swim while a Quilladin carrying a folded red scarf under his arm watched him with a silly smile.
Ari could feel something, like the first time he came. He didn't know what it was exactly, so he ignored it for now.
"So… What are we looking for, exactly?" Nimb asked, trying to keep his back turned on the strangers.
"I don't know, to be honest… I guess we could do what we do best and investigate," Ari said.
Cora was the first to act, and she jumped on the water, followed by her brother. "I'll try to look underwater!"
"Let me help too! I'm a great swimmer!" Romi said and then proceeded to do a backflip over the water. Nimb would have held up a sign with a '10' written on it if he had one.
"Alright, go ahead, we'll be- aaand they're gone." Ari crossed his arms as the brothers were already underwater. "Well, we could check on the trees around here." He gestured towards the lakeside, which was full of vegetation.
Sanah walked towards the trees, carrying a confident grin. "Well then, this should be easy if it's just-"
"Or we could check there," Nimb pointed towards the bottom of the valley, on the farthest part of the lake. The water reached a rock wall that had some kind of cave entrance blocked by a bunch of boulders.
Ari recalled having seen that before but didn't think much of it. "I don't know, that would be too obvious."
"... It's gonna be there, right?" Sanah asked, crossing her arms.
"Pretty much," Nimb added.
"Uhhh alright then, I guess we'll go check there now," Ari said and started moving.
Going past the strangers and ignoring the fact that Cora and Romi hadn't emerged in a while (did they even need to breathe?), Ari, Nimb and Sanah approached the boulder wall and stopped in front of it. They had to go inside the water to get close, but luckily the water in that area was only deep enough to cover most of their legs.
Ari had gone silent while standing in front of the wall, which got Nimb concerned. "Hey Ari, are you okay?"
He didn't stop staring. "Oh, yeah, it's just that… I have like a strange feeling. We have to get inside."
"And how do you plan on doing so?" Sanah asked, but she then perked up. "Wait, are you going to…?"
"Use rock smash? Definitely."
Ari took a few steps back, preparing to charge, but Nimb quickly grabbed his arm in distress.
"Wait, Ari! Are you sure this is a good idea? We don't know what's on the other side, or if there could be consequences for doing this… And what if we get squashed by these boulders?"
Ari patted his head and smiled. "Don't worry, what's the worst that could happen? And about the boulders, you just stay behind and leave this to me, there's no boulder that I can't punch my way through… I think."
"I'm not convincedat all."
"Come on, Nimb, we've come all the way here to find something, we can't just turn back now," Sanah said, putting a claw on his shoulder.
"But…" He sighed and stepped back. "Okay, but be careful."
Ari nodded, and once Nimb and Sanah were at a safe distance, he charged onwards. With all his strength and pearls glowing, he punched one of the boulders, causing a huge crack to appear on it. It wasn't enough, so he kept punching, now lacking the added power of the pearls, but it was still enough to keep breaking the boulder.
Eventually, the boulder fell apart, causing an avalanche with the rest of the boulders, and Ari quickly stepped away, watching safely as an entrance was now visible on the wall.
"There it is, open!"
Nimb and Sanah went by his side and observed the cave that had just appeared. It didn't look too deep, and there was some kind of light coming from the inside.
Cora and Romi didn't take too long to reach them, the big sister calling for them. "Guuys, we heard the noise! You found something?"
"Ooohhh, cool secret place!" Romi beamed.
"Ari tore down the wall, and there's a cave inside, apparently," Nimb explained to the water-types. However, Cora was more focused on stopping her brother from running inside on his own.
"Wow, I sometimes forget how strong you actually are, Ari," Sanah said, still stunned. "So, shall we go?"
Without any response, Ari walked onwards, drawing concerned looks from his friends. Nimb and Sanah exchanged glances, followed by a shrug coming from both of them and decided to go after him, with Cora and Romi following behind.
"Ari, are you okay? You seem a bit distracted…" Sanah asked.
The Riolu only stared onwards with eyes open wide. "Sorry, I just… I feel overwhelmed with emotions, and I don't know where they come from."
"Strange…" Nimb said.
After a few minutes, they could see the lights getting closer until they reached a spacious chamber that left all of them speechless. The water stopped in the middle, leaving a clean-looking rocky ground with what seemed like a myriad of multicolored glowing crystals that decorated the whole place.
Everyone was awestruck, but Cora was the first to speak. "Woooahhhh, this place was hidden inside the cave all along?"
"I can't believe this… I wonder if this is what we were looking for," Sanah said, inspecting the place.
Romi went to touch one of the glowing crystals, and Nimb wanted to stop him, but in the end, he found himself coming to his side and doing the same. "These crystals are hypnotizing…"
"Yeah, I'm so glad I came…" Cora said, but then noticed how Ari was lost in thoughts, looking around without saying a word. "Ari, have you figured something out yet?"
"I… I'm not sure. I know I've never been here before, but somehow… it feels familiar. It feels good."
"So your dream did have something true in it, even if we don't know what this place is…" Nimb pondered.
Ari nodded. "Yeah. And even if there was nothing here, at least we could see-"
?!*#%&/!?%/*!
Ari suddenly went limp and collapsed on the ground.
"ARI!" Everyone yelled, and Sanah quickly picked him up, being the closest one.
"What happened?" Nimb asked in concern, once he reached their side.
"I… I don't know, h-he just fainted out of nowhere!" Sanah stammered.
Romi took a peek. "Is he dead?"
"Romi! Don't say that!" Cora reprimanded. "Maybe he's just exhausted after punching a wall…"
Ari started stirring, and everyone perked up. He opened his eyes. "Ugh… What the…?"
"Ari, are you okay? You worried us for a moment…" Sanah asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay, I don't know what happened." He slowly got up with the help of Sanah and Nimb and stroked his head. "Ouch, that hurt… I just felt, like, this weirdsnapin my mind, and next thing I know, I'm lying here."
Nimb frowned. "That's strange… Maybe that also has to do with this place?"
"I have no idea…"
"But what connection could there be between Ari and this place?" Cora asked, and she looked at his brother, who had the same perplexed expression.
"Who knows… Ari has always been full of surprises," Sanah said, and she cast a smile at the Riolu.
"Hehe, I guess-"
"M - t - y - a - e -"
Ari jumped. "W-wha? Did any of you guys say something?"
He got weird looks from everyone, and Nimb asked. "Umm, no, what do you mean?"
"But I could swear I heard something…" Ari looked around in search of some ethereal being lurking around but found nothing.
"I didn't hear anything, maybe your head is still ringing from the blackout," Sanah said.
"Or there's actually something…insideyour mind?" Cora suggested with a sinister voice, scaring the Riolu.
"... Please no."
Theories were formulated, but there weren't any more strange events for a while, so they gave up eventually. Touching the crystals didn't have any effect either, and even if Cora suggested to take some of them as a souvenir, everyone else decided against it. They seemed to be stuck to the ground either way, so there was nothing to be done there.
It had been an interesting excursion, even if they didn't learn anything from it, or so they thought. Nimb was just glad there wasn't any monster inside the cave. As they headed back to the entrance, however, they were met with one minor inconvenience.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?"
Everyone stopped as a green-skinned Scrafty stood in front of them, arms crossed in disapproval.
"What? Who the hell are you?" Sanah asked, annoyed by the stranger's tone.
"I'm the ranger of Deepsoul Lake, and my job is to look after this place so it stays clean and unperturbed," he said with a scowl. "And what you just did is desecrate a protected area that happens to be a world heritage site."
"W-what? Since when is that a thing?" Cora asked in disbelief, and she threw her flippers upwards. "I never saw you before and I visit a lot! Or… I used to!"
The Scrafty leaned closer. "Times change, you know? You can't just sneak in anywhere without facing the consequences. And those consequences are the complaint I'm going to file against you."
Ari froze. He had just gotten everyone into trouble, and worst of it, it was a legal issue. "T-that can't be true… Please, we didn't do anything bad!"
"I don't care! If you break the rules, you pay!" He yelled, stomping a foot on the ground and splashing some water. "I hope your parents have a good lawyer, because otherwise… you guys are done for."
