POV - Dun

  [“Human dialogue is in square brackets”]

  I stretched my body out, slithering over the dusty ground to where the rest of the team was camped out. Nemona stood off to the side, talking on the phone, but since Miles was possessing it, I didn’t have any worries for her safety.

  Not that there’s much reason to worry; we cleared out this spot fairly well with our training today. I doubt any wild Pokemon will be coming back to harass us anytime soon. Then again, I wouldn’t have had any worries before, but now we always have someone on watch. Not that I blamed my Trainer - that run-in with those low lives worried me for her even to this day.

  “So there I was, surrounded by foes, beset on all sides!” Nightwing’s voice drifted over to me, beginning to brag about her ‘victory’ already. Which I don’t think I’d mind- ok, I’d mind it less if it was both accurate and wasn’t bragging about a battle we’d all been there for. Most of us could just ignore her, but I saw the Dragon looking up at the boastful Gliscor, awestruck.

  Thankfully, I didn’t have to correct her as Riolu stepped in, barking dismissively at the batty Pokemon. “You only had to deal with five of them, just a few Rookidees and a Rufflet, and you were the one that started that fiasco in the first place! If you hadn’t been digging around willy-nilly through the tunnels, we wouldn’t have had that big brawl on our hands at all.”

  I bobbed my head up and down in agreement, having gotten used to mimicking mannerisms people (mostly Nemona) used. Before I could communicate those to them properly, however, Riolu had to ruin it by continuing to talk. “You show less sense than even Dun here with your recklessness.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, the hint of irritation in my hiss should have been warning enough for anyone else to back off. Not so for Riolu, who simply squared off against me.

  “Your Earthquakes are strong, but you nearly brought the whole tunnel down on our heads.”

  “There was a horde of Orthworms on our tails! What else was I supposed to do?” Admittedly in retrospect, that wasn’t the best Move, but how was I supposed to know that they had an Ability perfect for stopping it? I could smell the Steel on them; Type-wise it should have worked.

  I prided myself on keeping Typings keenly in mind in battle. Part of it was just information that rubbed off from working with Nemona for so long, but I knew some of my compatriots weren’t as tactically inclined; only Miles and sometimes Riolu tried to keep those details in mind as much as I; the rest were content to offload all that work to Nemona.

  “Are they gonna fight again?” Fraxure nervously asked. I offered a glance to Riolu, subtly asking if she wanted to do this, and in response she rubbed at her shoulder. That’s a no then.

  “We should maintain our combat forces, just in case we get surrounded at night.” It was unlikely, even camped out on the open road, but it gave her an out without ‘losing face.’. We aren’t even in the middle of the road, I suppose. Our tent was placed in the shade of one of the jagged rocky pillars that dotted the vast mining complex.

  “Ahem,” Nightwing said, fake-clearing her throat, her long tail lashing against the ground as she saw that she wasn’t the center of attention. “As I was saying, those vile brutes had us surrounded, but thanks to my magnificent power and grace…”

  I was slightly distracted from her tale by the image playing out behind her. A fairly accurate, if low on details, reenactment of the battle as it actually happened. The illusion showed all eight of us having desperately run out of the abandoned mining tunnel that we had been exploring which collapsed behind us (definitely due to the horde of Pokemon chasing after us and nothing to do with my Earthquake).

  We stood in a semi-circle around Nemona, shielding her from the dozens of Digletts, Dugtrios, Orthworms, and a few Rolycolys that chased after us. She gave orders quickly, directing us as fast as she could, splitting up our efforts into offense, defense, and support based on our specialties. Miles, Phantasm, and Notch worked on boosting us and messing with the enemies. Nightwing mostly hovered around Nemona, who was now flying in the air to avoid the Ground Type attacks, the Gliscor blocking any rocks thrown up at her or the like.

  Fraxure, Riolu, and I pushed back against them in offense. My Hyper Voice took out large swathes of them, while Fraxure sliced at a few, using his claws to good effect, though he was reluctant to use his tusks against the hardier foes. The Digletts and softer Pokemon would have been taken out by his tusks without any risk of breaking, and it meant he wasted time using multiple claw strikes against the tougher ones. Also good attention to detail by Phantasm in the illusion she’s crafting.

  A bit too good, in fact. The scene showed Riolu fighting and taking down a great deal of them, but also showed her getting hurt a bit in return. Especially when the Hariyama wandered over and nearly put her down with a Force Palm to the shoulder, which had the real-life Riolu growling.

  “I mean, that is how it happened.” My words had Nightwing beaming, glad that I agreed with her. That only lasted a second before her eyes narrowed, and those fangs were bared more menacingly at me as she realized that I wouldn’t do something like that. Her glare quickly slid off me as if I had the Limber Ability scanning the rest of the group (Fraxure’s quiet laughter may not have helped matters, especially given how good Nightwing’s hearing was).

  The Gliscor turned to suspiciously stare at Phantasm. The unusual Zoroark was lying down on her side, head propped up on one foreclaw, her face mostly obscured by the long white and red mane that fell down over her face and the upper half of her body. Her other foreclaw pointed at herself as if to ask, ‘Me? What could I possibly be doing?’

  Nightwing, naturally, did not buy it for an instant and pounced upon Phantasm, or at least attempted to. Given that she crashed headfirst into the dirt, I assumed that in addition to making her first illusion only visible to us, she cast another one concealing her exact location from Nightwing.

  Of course, this only lasted for a second before Nightwing continued diving into the ground, burrowing through it and giving Phantasm just enough time for her eye to widen in shock before Nightwing burst out underneath her. The two of them tumbled around, through the air and on the ground, grappling and slashing at each other as they played out their little spat.

  With a deep breath, I Yawned, directing the cloud over to them. Phantasm saw it and attempted to break away, only to be swung around by Nightwing, who thought she was trying to get away from her. The two coughed, covered in the sleepy cloud, and on unspoken communication immediately turned on me, descending on me with fury before the drowsiness could get to them.

  A powerful Protect guarded me against their attacks, and I laughed at their futile efforts. “Damn you!” Phantasm shrieked as Nightwing succumbed to slumber before me. “If I just knew Phantom Force-”

  “Can you even learn that?” It was a legitimate question; with her rare variation, Nemona was a pioneer in figuring out what modern Moves Phantasm might be able to learn.

  The question was also slightly less than legitimate, as it was designed to confuse her, which it did. That uncertainty cut through her rage, and the sleepiness started to take hold almost instantly. “I don’t… know…” My barrier fell as she collapsed, drifting off to sleep.

  Shucking her off my body, I slithered around to get closer to the fire. “Wow… you handled them like they were nothing! Will I get that strong too someday?” Fraxure’s eyes were wide as he asked the question.

  “I think so; you’re on your way. You handled quite a few of the wild Pokemon today by yourself.” As much as I hate to admit it, it’s true. He’s green (in more ways than one), but there’s some serious power waiting to be released there.

  “Not as much as you! That was so cool, the way those Dugtrios tried to slip underground, and you just drilled right down and followed them!” I couldn’t help but smile bittersweetly at his enthusiasm. How I used to be, before I was disabused of that notion. At least he has a better den than I had. Not that he deserves it.

  Riolu shot me a look, and I turned away, acting like I was checking on Nightwing and Phantasm, still slumbering peacefully. She rolled her eyes and distracted Fraxure by going over the fight again, giving him some pointers.

  Shamefully, a part of me felt irrationally jealous of him. I know that Nemona still likes me and all, but I also know that she had the Haxorus line as her ‘favorite,’ at least before we met. It was easy for me to see how excited she was in Training him now, but I also knew how distressed she would be if she saw that I was worried about her fretting over the Dragon Type.

  I dealt with that by making sure to tamp down on any signs of resentment towards him. I’m pretty sure Riolu is the only one who has noticed, with her Aura Sight, and she won’t say a word. “You should use your tusks more often,” I chimed in.

  “Hu- huh? But if they break…” He shivered at the very thought. This guy is such a wuss… But I suppose I’d have been just as bad if my tail could be permanently damaged like that. The thought brought forth memories of Dunsparce taunting me, but I pushed it to the side.

  “Don’t worry about it, just have faith in Nemona.” My words brightened Fraxure up, but a dark shadow fell over his face.

  “Yes indeed, we should have faith in our Arceus-sent saint,” Notch said melodiously, hovering above Fraxure. The Dragon Type toppled backward but managed a somewhat gainly roll to get back on his feet.

  “Whoa, you surprised me there.” Fraxure replied as Riolu and I groaned. Notch is perfectly fine most of the time, but when they get like this… “What’s a saint?” The Dragon Type innocently asked, not yet realizing the few sermons Notch had released on us in his month of training were actually on the light side of how much they could pontificate.

  “Saint is a word I recently heard from Nemona; it was used in her old world to describe a holy person, one blessed with many virtues and qualities of excellence. Considering her circumstances, I can only perceive her as a saint, touched by the divine.” Notch finished with a series of self-assured chimes, pitching their voice over the sound of Gliscor heavily snoring.

  “Whoooooa… I don’t get it,” the newest team member admitted, and Notch dipped a little in the air before catching themself.

  “Don’t worry about it, just something that Notch likes to yammer on about,” I said, causing Notch’s damaged ear to twitch violently.

  “How can you, of all Pokemon, deny her holiness? The providence by which you met her, your evolution being one in a hundred, the many great qualities of intellect, stewardship, and battling she possesses? The-” I waved my tail in their face, getting them to stop.

  “Look, Nemona is incredible, the best thing to happen to me, to most of us. I just don’t think you need to make a whole religion around her.” There was more I could go into there, about how even Nemona thought that Arceus had little overt involvement with her given the lack of divine mission the Hero of Hissui had, or how she herself would not want a religion formed around her, but going down those lines would just open up further arguments.

  Indeed, Notch seemed upset but ceased any further prattle, accepting my views for what they were. The team was mostly split into two camps about Nemona, with Notch worshipping her and some quiet support (or at least acceptance) from Miles and recently, interest from Riolu. Phantasm, Nightwing, and I didn’t care for it. Fraxure still looked confused.

  “Ok, but what’s that ‘other world’ stuff you mentioned?” He asked. “Like, she’s from a different region?”

  “No, she reincarnated - was born again - in this world with all the memories of her life in the previous world. A planet ruled entirely by humans, with only near-mindless animals as company. The world had knowledge of ours, however, with fantastical stories of Pokemon. These stories give her insight into our world and maturity beyond her age. How else did you think she knows what she does?” I asked clipped, my voice coming out a scale harsher than I intended.

  Riolu noticed, raising an eyebrow at me while Fraxure awkwardly scratched at his neck with stubby claws. “Oh, right. Guess that makes sense. Everything down here is so strange and new, but I should have understood that by now; Nemona really is different than the other humans.”

  His expression made me feel like I’d kicked a Fidough using Baby Doll Eyes (despite my lack of legs), so I hastily added, “It’s fine. I get a little overwhelmed by just how big this world is at times.” I could barely imagine anything outside of the burrows when I first got kicked out…

  Fraxure started excitedly piping back up, raving about all the ‘cool’ things he’d seen since joining us while I cast my mind back to the one time I had returned to the place I once called home.

  ***

  It was late at night; Nemona was sleeping softly nearby while I lay curled up on the floor before the bed. We had only just recently come home from Unova, and her bed, as large as it was, needed a bit of reinforcing before I could sleep on it without damaging the mattress.

  That also made it easier for me to slip away at night. Ever since my evolution - no, before that, since I really started to realize how strong I could be - an idea had burrowed into my mind. Now that I've evolved, I want to see how I stack up to them.

  It took a bit of work, but I unlatched the window. The noise wasn't enough to wake Nemona, but it did rouse Miles. “I’ll be back in a bit,” I whispered with the implicit request for them to keep watch over Nemona.

  They frowned as hard as I’d ever seen them frown but didn’t raise any alarm, which I took as permission. Propping up the window, I slithered out, my new wings helping compensate for my larger body and flapping hard to let me drift to the beach.

  From there, things got a little complicated. I clearly remember where the old tunnels were, but they’ve long since been abandoned. Even for the den’s sedentary actions, they move around a bit.

  Widening my search, I traversed far over the land, though I held back from across the river. Where could they be? I don’t think they’ve gone far enough to leave the province- wait, there! Sniffing hard, I detected the scent of a bunch of Dunsparce nearby, with just a hint of an evolved Eevee.

  Hard to tell particulars, but since it’s coming from that well-hidden burrow at the base of a big tree, I’m pretty sure it’s him, and not like, the Tera Leafeon or something.

  Heading down proved to be more of a challenge than I had thought it would be. My body grew a bunch when I evolved, and while it was mostly in length, I’m still too wide for these tunnels.

  The solution was simple - just drill my own way down. My drilling ability had always been lackluster, and part of me wondered if I would still be considered terrible at it after evolution, if compared to another Dudunsparce. Still, my training and evolution had given me much power, so I was able to brute force my way down and into their main complex.

  Twisted tunnels from all over met in one large cavern; many Dunsparce gathered there to rest and socialize. The blue and yellow winged snake-like Pokemon startled at my sudden entrance. Something I could tell more by smell, as I could not see their colors in the dark, dank cave. The only sources of light in here were a few glowing yellow rings, stiffening at my approach.

  I slithered over to the Umbreon and said, “It’s been a while, Father.” My words created a sudden stirring of interest, and as Umbreon conjured Moonlight, illuminating the area, we could all see each other.

  Most of the Dunsparces hadn’t managed to burrow away yet, caught in a panic, before stopping and staring at me. Umbreon eyed me suspiciously, stating, “I know of no child like you. How did you become so large?” ‘So powerful, so dangerous,’ went unspoken, as did the question of what I wanted here.

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  “I evolved through training and hard work and the aid of a human.” He scoffed at that, but I carried on. “Any of us are capable of evolving through that effort, even I, Dunsparce,” I said, emphasizing my words just so. There was a nuance I could never quite explain to Nemona in how we said that, to let others know which Pokemon we were talking about in specific and not our species.

  My words set off a flurry of whispers throughout the cavern from the Dunsparces. Even some of the ones who had fled were poking their heads back in, having not felt any violent actions since I announced myself.

  Half of them didn’t know what I was talking about, new Dunsparces that had been born since I was kicked out. Some of the older ones told the younger ones, voices filled with disbelief, that the Dunsparce I had been, the weakling, the runt, the anchor on their tails, could grow to be the one who stood before them.

  “You are not Dunsparce,” Umbreon said, less in disbelief and more in confusion as he circled around me.

  “I am now Dudunsparce, and I truly am the child you kicked out. You thought me too weak, a drain on the den’s resources, but look at me now!” I flapped my wings hard, kicking up dust.

  “Hmph, power gained from a human. I evolved through my bond with the den, with my family. I don’t know how much was wasted to get you to this state, but I doubt it was worth it.” My tail drill spun angrily at his words.

  “Nemona helped me realize the power within me! The strength you were too ignorant to see, that you-” I cut myself off, my eyes watering slightly.

  The Moonlight was fading, but not so fast that I couldn’t catch the sneer on Umbreon’s face. “And where is this human now? Or have you come to beg for a place back in the den?” His voice was somewhat considering, like he might accept it if I bowed to him. Screw that!

  “I didn’t come here to ask for a place back; I came here to show you how much stronger I’ve become!”

  “Talk is nothing more than a breeze above. Demonstrate your so-called 'strength.' Or are you too afraid without your human here-” I cut him off with a Body Slam, which I could feel that he had narrowly dodged.

  He used Bite on my flank, but I was flexible enough to return that with a Bite of my own, causing him to flinch and let go. Probably didn’t hurt him much, though; he’s got STAB on his and Resistance to my own use of the Move. Gotta fight smart.

  Umbreon slammed into me with a Quick Attack, swiftly retreating. While I doubted I’d be fast enough to match him in chase, I didn’t think he could avoid an Ancient Power, not when I could easily sense the vibrations he made against the ground.

  I was rewarded by a cry of pain as the rocks struck him, and I readied myself for another strike. He paused, moving very softly over the ground now, neglecting speed to hide himself from my senses. Well, whatever, I can hit you no matter where you hide.

  Flopping hard against the ground, I set off a series of tremors that shook the earth, eliciting many cries of pain and shock.

  “What are you doing!?” Umbreon screeched, blasting me with a Dark Pulse in turn. “Are you going to bring down this whole den down on our heads?”

  “Not my fault if you make your tunnels poorly,” I shot back, trying to smother the guilt I was feeling. I don’t think he even recognized that what I just said was a clever paraphrase of what he said to me the first time I showed him one of the tunnels I tried to make on my own.

  It struck me in that moment that the words he had said, which I had stuck with me to this day, were something he hadn’t even remembered. An event completely beneath his notice.

  What also struck me was Father himself, leaping forward and clawing at me. Whirling around, I Hyper Drilled into him as he tried to fade away, earning a nasty squelching sound where my tail met his flesh.

  Umbreon disengaged, and the cavern was filled with light as Moonlight was called upon once more. His injuries were revealed in the pale light and already began to stitch themselves back together. In response, I flapped my six wings, settling down and Roosting to heal myself.

  Once at full health, I charged back in, throwing myself into a hefty Body Slam. Umbreon howled out, the sound emphasized by a bone snapping. As I felt my own body seize up suddenly, I knew that I had Paralyzed him with that blow, his Ability afflicting me with it as well.

  From there, we engaged in a brutal melee, my powerful tail and heavy body contesting his claws and fangs. He was tough; no way for him to be the patriarch of the den without some strength, but I was stronger. Inch by inch, I was overtaking him.

  With a snarl (not the Move; we both were staying away from area attacks after my Earthquake), he zipped backward, faltering slightly as his muscles froze up. I moved to follow before mine did the same.

  There was only a bit of space between us, but enough for me to see the familiar glow surrounding Umbreon’s body. Last Resort, his strongest Move. I dreamed of being that strong, once upon a time.

  He accelerated through the star-shaped energy rapidly. I could have tried to meet it head-on, but something like Nemona’s voice in my head rang out: ‘There’s a time and place for everything, but not now!’

  Instead, I pulled up my quickest Move, surrounding myself in a hive comb barrier around myself, Umbreon’s powerful strike deflecting off of it. He looked confused and shocked, which I capitalized on, my tail spinning fast as I spiraled towards him.

  Umbreon tried to Detect, his eyes flashing as he tried to perceive where I would go, only to stop cold. My erratic, reactionary motions couldn’t be predicted, leaving him wide open for my signature attack.

  My father gave out one last cry of pain as I hit him before collapsing against the cavern wall. With weak legs, he tried to rise before collapsing down. I felt his head raise up, as if to call upon Moonlight again before he heard me upon him. “I yield,” he spat out, contempt warring with weariness in his voice.

  “So? Is my strength enough?” I asked smugly, Roosting to heal back up, as he called upon a weak Moonlight to recover just enough to be mobile; anything further would be a sign of him attempting to continue the challenge.

  “Enough for what?” He questioned back. “You say you have no desire to rejoin us, so I see no other purpose in this than to satisfy your overly large ego. That, and to scare your siblings and cousins.”

  I bristled, but he continued before I could do or say something rash. “You always were a bold one,” his voice muttered and didn’t carry through the chamber. “Too brave and arrogant for how weak you were, too quick to use your tail as a weapon, not an escape method.” I doubted anyone else could hear him, though I wasn’t sure if that was due to how weak he was or deliberate on his part, the message only meant for me.

  “This was to show how wrong you could be, so you hesitate the next time you think of throwing someone out of the den because you, in your ignorance, have dubbed them ‘weak.’” I lied, quickly crafting an altruistic reason for myself to avoid confronting what he said.

  Before he could say anything further, I continued. “I’ve done what I needed to here; I won’t be returning.” Slithering backward away from him, I drilled up to the surface, trying to ignore the shaking in my body, blaming it on the Paralysis, not his words.

  ***

  I refocused back on the present as Notch was explaining more in depth to Fraxure about what Nemona’s plans were. Kinda hard to really envision what fighting a ‘Paradox’ Pokemon is like, at least until you’ve met one. Though Nemona said that Miraidon’s sheer power is an outlier even amongst Paradox Pokemon - and she also indicated the Turo or the ‘ai’ will likely have one, and one stronger than Arven’s.

  “Nightwing, stop faking it,” I ordered. “Tell Fraxure about what it was like fighting Miraidon.” They’re both Dragon Types and Dragon is weak to itself, so Fraxure needs to be ready.

  Rather than answer my question, Nightwing popped a yellow eye open before flipping herself up. “Aww, what gave it away?”

  “You started snoring, and only when Notch started talking, not when you first went to sleep.” Notch twitched in irritation at the performance while Nightwing just laughed.

  “Haha, yeah, good eye there. I’ve been working on my resistance to sleep ever since that stupid Bug put me under.” She grumbled at her own reminder of the poachers. “I coulda taken down that Magnet jerk no problem if I’d been awake.”

  But you weren’t, I refrained from saying. If she’s trying to improve independently, that’s a good sign; no need to nettle her for that. I repressed a sigh. It can suck being the mature one sometimes. But I’m Nemona’s Partner, her first Pokemon. She relies on me to keep order in the camp when she's busy planning other things.

  Nightwing groaned as she stretched out. “Ugh, I’ve gotten too used to the good life if this feels like roughing it.”

  “Huh?” Fraxure asked, quizzically twisting his head.

  “We lived and trained in a mansion - that is, a big house - before we went on this journey,” I explained. “It was nice; Nemona’s family has people who can get her pretty much whatever she wants.”

  “The biggest thing you’re missing out on is the food,” Nightwing commented, and I found my own mouth watering at the thought.

  “There’s better food than this?!” Fraxure replied, shocked.

  “Oh yeah, we’ve got tons of great stuff at home,” Phantasm announced her return to wakefulness, stretching up in an exaggerated motion to show off her height. With her arms stretched up high, she’s technically taller than Nightwing on her tail, despite her own impressive size for a Gliscor. Still no match for when I stand straight up.

  Nemona had been worried that rivalry might breed truly negative emotions between Phantasm and Nightwing, but so far they seemed fine. Perhaps a bit more competitive, but no hatred any of us (even cheater-no-pants Riolu with her Aura) could detect.

  When she first evolved, Phantasm was all too willing to make truly nasty barbs against us when squabbling or losing a battle. Some of them bordered on the edge of crossing a line. Things like insulting Notch’s dream of becoming a Diancie or insulting Nightwing’s mother. Or calling me weak, though I’ve gotten more used to that. Plenty of people and other Pokemon couldn’t see my true strength at first, but it stings more if one of my true family was making the accusation.

  Luckily, she’s gotten better about that over time. Nemona’s training of Fraxure also had her helping slowly ease off Phantasm’s new instincts and emotions. Of course, Fraxure’s addition hadn’t been great for all of the team balance.

  “It’s a shame you won’t get any food when we get there,” Nightwing continued.

  “Huh? Why?” Fraxure asked, confused.

  “Well, the Glitterati have a strict ‘No Dragons at the table’ rule. They’ll expect you to know it when you get there, so just go outside during meal-” With lightning-quick movements, Riolu flashed over and slapped the lying Gliscor down with a Quick Attack kick. Using a Move against another would usually be enough to start a fight, but Riolu lacked the physical strength the rest of us had, and Nightwing was nearly as solid as Notch, so a weak Move was needed to give it enough force to reprimand the evolved Pokemon (or at least shut her up for a moment).

  “Stop lying to him. Everyone is allowed to eat at the Glitterati’s table,” Riolu explained. Despite ostensibly talking to Nightwing and then Fraxure, her eyes were locked onto me, as if judging me. Because I should have stepped in. But I can hardly blame Nightwing for tricking him; he’s just so gullible! Fraxure would have almost certainly taken those words to heart and gone outside to eat - at least until Nemona noticed and rectified the situation.

  A small part of me wondered if I was that bad when I had first been taken in. Years of living with humans made me quite familiar with their culture (to the point that wild Pokemon would often mock me for it when first meeting me, calling me soft; those insults never last long, though). I pushed aside those concerns and moved the conversation along. “Yes, and you’ll get to eat all kinds of foods at the Glitterati household.”

  “Like what?” The curious Dragon asked.

  “Well, we get to eat meat every day, sometimes even multiple times a day!” Nightwing exclaimed energetically, bouncing back up. She was in conversations as she was in battle; hard to put down and could come back from a beating with just a few moments to recover. That, combined with her being a bit of a prankster, made her nearly irrepressible. Only nearly, because once she slapped mud all over Miles’ phone case. Then, ‘coincidentally,’ she got paired to fight Miles in their Refrigerator form three days in a row. I think Nemona was starting to get suspicious of the schedule by the end, but by that point, she never tried to prank Miles again.

  The Hisuian Zoroark licked her chops at the idea as well. Hmm, she’s always liked meat, but she seems hungrier for it these days. I wonder if that’s something innate to Hisuian rather than regular Zoroark. Or maybe it’s a difference of degree, not kind.

  Blinking, I shook off that line of thought. Usually such things didn’t interest me too much, but it was apparent that Nemona had rubbed off on me. “Oh yeah, someone is a glutton for the food made at the Glitterati house,” Riolu chimed in.

  Belatedly, I added, “It’s pretty nice.” The food is divine! If there is any gift from Arceus, it’s the wonderful meals we can share alongside the Glitterati family- calm down, brain. It was amazing, though, and while I was glad for how we’d all grown stronger on this journey, I would not miss coming back home just for the food.

  “Right, and that’s why you eat five courses with most meals there-” Phantasm began.

  “I’m a big Dudunsparce!” I protested. “I need more food than everyone else.”

  “- and why you only eat three bowls of the Pokechow we get on the road,” Nightwing finished.

  “...It’s quite filling,” I objected in a smaller voice. Nightwing gave Phantasm a ‘low-five,’ and I narrowed my eyes, wondering if perhaps they were getting along too well.

  “That sounds awesome!” Fraxure clapped happily again, his claws making an odd sound as they connected. “We had a small pack of sheep we looked after up there, but it was a rare treat to cull one. And then that stupid Braviary came and stole them,” he grumbled, kicking up a tuft of dirt mulishly.

  “How rough was it up there?”

  Fraxure frowned at Notch’s question, puzzling it over. “I mean, it was home for all my life until now, so I liked it? But while we weren’t starving, there were times when we couldn’t find too many berries, and we went hungry. Not a ton of food or greenery up there, and the other Pokemon were pretty tough too. Things are so much better here, though!” He brightened up, like a light switch being hit.

  “I get stronger way faster, and the food is pretty good, and you said there’d be even better food, and I really like you guys, you’re all so tough, and I want to be just like you…”

  I tuned his rambling out, thinking about new Gym strategies when I received a sharp elbow to the side. Glancing around, I saw Riolu, looking unimpressed.

  “What?” I said in a low tone, already having an idea of what this would be about and trying to make sure Fraxure didn’t hear us. Riolu, for her part, had enough control of her Aura to send my silent, still messages through precise combinations of emotions she conveyed to me.

  From the mix of annoyance and dismissal, she was telling me to shove off with my feelings towards Fraxure. “I’m trying. I can’t just… stop what I feel.”

  Pride, dismissal, and concern came next. “Do better?” I wanted to scoff before she sent a burst of wariness and pain. “Fine, I’ll- I’ll try,” I hissed out. She’s right that eventually even Fraxure will notice my jealousy. I’ve just got to push past it and remind myself that Nemona chose me first, over any other hypothetical Pokemon she could have had. And with her knowledge of the world and her parents' resources, that was a loooong list indeed.

  The girl in question walked over to us, plopping herself down near the fire and beside me. [“Hey guys, how’s it going? You all seem lively tonight.”] Miles floated beside her, running through all the little things they did to organize Nemona’s schedule and correspondences with her friends and family.

  We gave a series of replies mostly amounting to ‘we’re doing well’ and ‘telling Fraxure about stuff.’ She nodded. [“Glad to hear you’re all doing well. You did great out there today against that horde. Might be a bit too risky to get so many wild Pokemon attacking us at once, but group battles might be good for your Training, to simulate the kinds of power and speed you’ll face from higher-level foes. Though the wild Pokemon will get stronger the farther north we head…”]

  The rest of her words were mumbled, more to herself than us, as she plotted out Training plans for us. If I hadn’t faced off against Hassel’s Pokemon and that Salamence, I would hardly be able to think that there was much further for me to grow, but those encounters showed me wrong. And there are Trainers with Pokemon even stronger than those ones. I can see why she says the potential of Pokemon is limitless.

  As she thought, her hand absently drifted down to scratch the top of my head, and I happily leaned into it. We all sat like that there for a few minutes, enjoying the warmth of the fire and the companionship of our fellow teammates. This is nice. All of it, even Fraxure.

  All good things had to come to an end, however, as a small alarm beeped from Miles. “Apologies, but it appears it’s time for us to sleep if we’re to get up early in the morning, bzzt. I’d be happy to take first watch.”

  “I’ll join you,” I said as well. We used to only have one Pokemon on watch, but ever since the poacher incident, we had at least two of us on watch. Even when we stayed in a proper building in a city or the like.

  The others got ready to rest for the night, most of them going back in their balls. Riolu and Fraxure went to the tent, while Nemona waited a moment, musing on some messages she was reviewing on the phone case.

  [“I should probably talk to my parents. Maybe arrange to meet them at Glaseadeo Gym.”] Nemona said, her voice heavy.

  “What brought this on?” I inquired.

  She gave me a thin smile, scratching the top of my head in a way she knew I liked. [“Just, Iono got me thinking about how much they’ve done for me and all of us. And honestly, I should have already told them about the whole poachers thing.”]

  Why should you do something you don’t want to do? What does it matter if you tell them or not? The guilt I was feeling didn’t match what I was thinking or what I eventually voiced, blurting out a second later. “I went back to visit my old family a while ago.”

  There was a moment of silence, the only sound the crackling of the fire, and I refused to look over, daring to hope this was one of the times that she didn’t understand me.

  [“You want to go visit your old home? Sure, we could take some time out to do that- no, wait. You already went and visited your old home? When?”] Her voice rose a tad as she spoke.

  Fraxure, who had apparently been listening from the edge of the tent, chimed in. “Whoa, Nemona can understand us so well. I mean, I knew that and all; it just really clicked now that I’ve been to the city.” I sighed heavily, though I wasn’t shocked. Living so close together like this means you don’t keep secrets for long. Not that most Pokemon excel at that anyway.

  [“Some people don’t understand Pokemon as well as others. More dedicated Trainers tend to be better at reading those body language cues, especially of the Pokemon on their team. They say that 90% of all communication happens through body language, even for humans.”] Though she spoke to the Dragon Type, I felt one eye still on me, her voice a little tight still.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled, wiggling in the dirt, as if that would get me away. It’s funny; I have all these ways that I could flee right now, through ground or sky, because of Nemona’s training… But because of that training, I’m bound by myself. There’s probably some dumb human saying about that.

  She stared at me for a moment, her amber eyes inscrutable, before she waved Fraxure off to bed. Then she turned back and asked me, [“How did it go?”]

  Thinking about it for a second, I tried to come up with some good way to spin it before shaking my head. “Not great. I did what I set out to do, but… it all felt pointless.”

  [“Revenge often is. You think it feels nice, and maybe it does in the moment or maybe it doesn’t, but it doesn’t help in the long run. You aren’t moving on; you’re just opening up old wounds.”] She paused for a moment before adding, [“Sorry it felt that way though.”]

  Nemona sighed heavily before hugging me tightly. [“Guess that’s what I get for keeping secrets from my own parents.”] She paused and released me, a slight tension running through her frame. Unconsciously, she’d stepped over one of those ‘social lines’ that people felt were so important, as if comparing our relationship to the one she held with her parents ‘changed’ anything.

  I flopped my large head on top of her, knocking her back with a slight exhalation, then giggled. [“Yeah, you’re right. Guess that stuff doesn’t matter. You’re Dun and I’m Nemona. Together we’re unstoppable, and we’ll be together forever.”]

  “Agreed.” I rolled off her and stared at the stars. Looking back on it now, it seems crazy that my den was so happy to spend so much time underground when there’s so much more up here. On the land and seas, the skies, and beyond. All that space going on forever and ever… gonna see it all… Slowly, I drifted off to sleep by Nemona’s side, dreaming of victories and adventure.

  Discord

  - Tera Type: Normal

  - Held Item: Expert Belt

  - Abilities: Run Away, Serene Grace

  - Moves known:

  - 'Miles' (Rotom, Genderless, Electric/Form dependent Type)

  - Tera Type: Electric

  - Held Item: Life Orb

  - Ability: Levitate

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Nightwing' (Gliscor, Female, Flying/Ground Type)

  - Tera Type: Water

  - Held Item: Toxic Orb

  - Ability: Hyper Cutter, Poison Heal

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Notch' (Carbink, Genderless, Rock/Fairy Type)

  - Tera Type: Fighting

  - Held Item: Light Clay

  - Ability: Clear Body

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Phantasm' (Hisuian Zoroark, Female, Normal/Ghost)

  - Tera Type: Ghost

  - Held Item: Lax Incense

  - Ability: Illusion

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Riolu' (Riolu, Female, Fighting)

  - Tera Type: Fighting

  - Held Item: Clear Amulet

  - Ability: Steadfast

  - Moves Known:

  -'Fraxure' (Shiny Fraxure, Male, Dragon)

  - Tera Type: Dragon

  - Held Item: Dragon Fang

  - Ability: Mold Breaker

  - Moves Known:

  *Custom Moves