Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Altered Bonds

  Chapter 25 — Speak of Our Homes

  There was something bizarre, Eira found, about being under an intense Faller interrogation where one of the two questioners already believed she was an ill omen human, yet was keeping up appearances and politely treated her like she was anything but. And the other questioner—

  “We need to get our hands on a bazooka, Braixen!” Heliolisk yelled in the face of his unamused leader. “I don’t care how impractical or useful it’ll be, we need one!”

  Eira the Vulpix slowly turned to Lucario, the jackal facepalming. “We get into a tangent about human weaponry and that’s your takeaway?” he spat.

  —was Heliolisk.

  Golisopod was also there. He was normal and quiet, making him Eira’s favorite of the trio. Hattrem and Feebas too, who were gawking at all the nonsense being discussed. Togetic and Shaymin as well, after failing to keep Team Seaspell from butting their heads into their talk with Team Elementri, while Eevee quietly listened in from within the trees, hopping from one to the next as he listened in with a strained smile. Mismagius was nowhere to be seen but was probably snooping around, she’d never pass up a chance to learn more details about the human world.

  Maybe it was more important to know who wasn’t part of their ridiculous-looking group of bunched up Pokemon. Which was Gabite, who took the lead and maintained a short distance from the others, listening to pieces of their conversation. Thin copses of trees flanked either side of the narrow path they went down, not wide enough for their circle of cultists listening in to the flamboyant narrations of their Faller leader.

  It was a little embarrassing, in Eira’s eyes. A Furret once came from the opposite side of the path, and everyone paused their sensitive conversation until she grew uneasy and slunk around them, as quickly as she could.

  The talk started after Team Heavendust, Elementi, and Seaspell had walked a short distance south of Noondaisy Town and into the woods, first thing in the morning. Lucario had agreed to questioning from Heliolisk about Faller business, and she ended up being lumped into it, with Braixen readily joining in to fire off barbed questions. Golisopod was the polite one, asking about the regions and humanity every once in a while, with none of the overwhelming energy or unsettling scrutiny that Heliolisk and Braixen respectively had.

  It was only natural that all of Team Elementi were present, given they had all smelled her and Lucario’s Faller scent from a mile away. But then Feebas and Hattrem had noticed the strange questioning session and barged in, and neither Eira nor Lucario could be bothered to hide their tattered Faller secret from them — they’d learn of Lanturn and Banette anyway. Eevee popped in not long after, baffled and quick to interrogate Gabite on what he’d missed in hushed tones. He seemed rather miffed at Gabite’s response, from what Eira could tell, but he was still quick to adapt and joined the rest of them, citing his interest in Fallers and human lands.

  That nobody batted an eye at his presence spoke to how Team Elementri and Seaspell had come to quietly accept the Abhorrent. “Back to my point,” Lucario said, turning back to Braixen. “Yes, humans do have advanced weaponry. Yes, some of it is highly dangerous even to a Pokemon. But no, the vast majority are not so stupid or willing to actually use them.”

  “Lucario, I apologize, but I deeply believe your beliefs are misguided—”

  “No, Braixen, I apologize, because I’m not spitting out beliefs. Bloodshed of any form is a serious taboo in most human territories, much like how you archipelago folk see murder,” Lucario pushed back. “My homeland Sinnoh uses a cautionary fable about a swordsman warned by a Pokemon about the consequences of raising his blade against their kind.”

  “A Giratina,” Eira mumbled, recalling Veilstone’s Myth. Heads snapped toward her with wide eyes.

  “Presumbly a Giratina. Tall tales, dunno if there’s a true story behind it,” dismissed Lucario. “Regardless, most humans aren’t barbaric murderers, because that’s stupid — they would rather be friends with the spirit creatures in the wilderness that could level their cities on a whim.”

  “You believe being put in capsules and catering to their fancies is friendship?”

  Lucario barked out a laugh in response. “I should let Banette answer that question, he’d love to get philosophical about how reducti*n*st you’re being. I don’t think I’ve told you this story by the way, kiddo,” he said to Eira. “I told you about Dragonair, right? She’d been poached as a wild Dratini — some dumb humans thought to make a profit off a rare Dragon like her, and she stress-evolved inside her Pokeball and broke out. Shattered her capsule and sent the idiots packing. I’d like to think the Rangers got them arrested, but Dragonair never knew what became of them.”

  Eira almost failed to notice the disgusted hum that left her own throat. His teammate Dragonair had been poached? A part of her wanted to facepalm at the dumb cruelty of some humans. What did they think would happen by trying to kidnap a scared Pokemon, and a Dragon-type at that? The fact that some people would go out of their way to buy such Pokemon—

  “But doesn’t this prove my point?” exclaimed Braixen. “That mankind is unjust to us Pokemon?”

  “You really want to generalize an entire race based on the actions of a few nimrods doing what humans consider to be criminal actions against Pokemon? How would you feel if, say, humans looked at the archipelago’s troubled history and assumed all Pokemon were unjust?”

  Braixen looked like he wanted to say something, but then hesitated. “The Shattered Age wouldn’t have lasted for two and a half centuries,” he thought aloud, “if we were so perfect.”

  Golisopod hummed. “Diancie Faegem, she might’ve lasted longer. Not fallen to usurpers.”

  Eira had read up on the history. The Diancie queen hadn’t enjoyed the same widespread popularity as the Calyrex rulers, and was beset with troubles and woes. That had led to unknown Pokemon who’d dabbled in dark arts stealing her throne, creating a brief, ‘Forbidden Age’ of despotism. Even now, nobody knew the ruler’s identity, only that he vanished one day and left his minions to be swept away by the revolting parties.

  There was no king for a very long time after that. Unable to rally behind any one figure, the archipelago devolved into civil war ever since, with each island under the unstable rule of squabbling factions. It had been Their Highnesses who ended that by casually claiming the vacant throne one day, and then curbstomping all the other parties until they got into line. The change in government couldn’t have been more spontaneous.

  It said plenty about why people were in awe of him, just as much as they feared him. Eira imagined it also left a lot of stung pride for the island factions. The kings left them to continue serving as governors of their respective islands, but under strict regulations. Their Highnesses didn’t do much as kings, but they were always a looming figure one had to tread lightly around.

  Lucario hadn’t bothered to read up on the history — Eira wouldn’t blame him, the books were boring — but she’d told him some of it, and clearly he’d kept the information in mind. “So uh, Dragonair?” she asked, steering the conversation back. “Why did she join Adam?”

  “Because Adam’s not a bum,” Lucario stated. “We accidentally set up camp in her turf and she lashed out, assuming Adam was just like the poachers, only to get confused when he apologized and tried to parley. She ended up letting him stay under her watchful eye.” A mirthful grin spread over his face. “Next thing we know, she sees me and my teammates doing mock fights under Adam’s watch, and she’s interested. Refused to be under his ‘control’, but she was willing to tag along and test her mettle against us, maybe learn a few tricks so she’d be able to defend herself better.”

  Lucario tilted his head toward an amazed Eira. “It took a while, but she's fine with Pokeballs and being teammates with Adam now.”

  From his position ahead of the group, Gabite had leaned his head back, quietly absorbing the tale Lucario had shared with a clouded expression. Hattrem and Braixen looked on as if they’d heard the most perplexing thing, while the others took in the story with some level of curiosity. Heliolisk, for his part, seemed more amused than anything.

  “What I just described is a typical relationship between humans and Pokemon,” Lucario stated. “They offer us something, and we give back something in return. That often leads into a long-term partnership where the Pokemon sticks around with the human, or even vice-versa.”

  Hattrem rubbed her temples with her ponytails. “I don’t get that,” she muttered.

  “It does sound a little strange, not gonna lie,” Feebas admitted.

  Togetic took in the others’ faces, before shooting Eira an awkward smile. “I think I’m speaking for the rest of us here,” she told Lucario, “but even I find it strange. Willingly going into a tiny ball to be carried around, being reliant on the goodwill of a human — it doesn’t feel right to me.”

  “Welcome to culture shock, people. As far as many Pokemon back home are concerned, Pokemon Trainers are people we get to mooch off of like spoiled housecats, Pokeballs are a convenient form of transportation, and humans that mistreat us are hardly different from toxic friends, or bullies, or corrupt authority figures. I’ve been through my fair share of humans, mind you, and nothing stopped me from dipping if I decided to, Pokeballs be darned.”

  The group digested this, Feebas letting out a hum, and Togetic and Shaymin throwing each other thoughtful looks. Golisopod seemed to actually agree with Lucario, nodding along as if he could understand the difference in perspective.

  Braixen had pulled out his sketchbook at some point, diligently jotting down a few notes with his reedy writing utensil. A bamboo pen, she realized, Eira unable to help but admire the old-fashioned tool. She’d seen a few of those in Alolan and Paldean museums, and Mother even had one gifted to her once, a long time ago.

  “And you, Miss Vulpix? What are humans to you?”

  Engrossed by the pen, Braixen’s words made her jolt up, Eira finding her paws growing clammy. Braixen’s eyes were like pieces of flint, slight lines in his forehead as he awaited a response. Her? He wanted her opinion? From the person he knew was a human in disguise?

  She thought she could feel Lucario’s secondhand discomfort for her, along with Togetic’s and Shaymin’s. She even thought she could sense it from Eevee, swearing she could feel the Abhorrent and his siblings staring down her nape in concern. “W-what do you mean?” she asked.

  Braixen put on a faint smile. “I mean not to slight you, but perhaps you’d know best what kind of answer to give.”

  Gabite had warned their team he was like this. Apparently Braixen had a little nobility in his blood, being related to the current governors of Tumbledust Island — he was a natural at playing with words. His conversation with Gabite had been like this, a seemingly normal discussion between two friends, yet one that was meant to send a message in between the lines. And not just to Gabite, but to the rest of Team Heavendust.

  He’d effectively announced that he knew of her humanity, and he didn’t trust her. But he didn’t wish to antagonize her for now, though as far as he was concerned, she was a potential threat. An omen.

  Eira couldn’t help but be immensely grateful to Gabite, in that regard, for he’d made it clear to Braixen that he — and she — understood well that she was a cursed human. And that she really didn’t want to be, that she just wanted to return home. Had Gabite really done that? For her?

  “Miss Vulpix?”

  Eira snapped back to attention. Braixen was still there, looming over her in wait. Expectant. Lucario looked like he wished to butt in, but one look from the fox made him hold himself. “I-I don’t—” she stammered.

  Then she took a moment. Breathed. “I don’t think I can give an answer, Mister Braixen.”

  “Oh? Would you mind explaining?”

  You know why. “I don’t know many humans. Mostly just the one who—” Eira paused for a mournful moment. “The one who raised me since birth. She meant the world to me.”

  Braixen heard the pained tone in her voice, and flinched. More than she thought he would. How much had he gleaned from such a simple statement? “You didn’t interact with other humans?”

  “N-not much. But mine took me to travel all over the human world.” Did that count, in a way? “We saw different lifestyles, met lots of humans. They were nice, I guess, I don’t know. I’m not a people person.”

  Unable to find anything else to say, Eira walked a little further ahead of the group, keeping Lucario between her and the others. Out of the corner of her eye, she noted Braixen’s stiff face, and heaved inwardly.

  What had he been hoping to get out of her? She was a diehard introvert, her relationships with others were stilted at best! Humans were just humans!

  She made a silent apology to Lucario as the jackal continued to take the brunt of Team Elementri’s questions. Only occasionally did she mutter something to help him out, be it on Legendaries or human culture and inventions.

  It was only natural for Team Elementri to grill them on everything they could, she supposed. They’d made it clear that they would be going their separate ways soon, in order to hit other towns and recruit help against the Abhorrent menace. Sure enough, a split in the forest path soon appeared, with a branching path heading eastward, and the group slowed down once they noticed.

  “I really appreciate the discussion, even if I appeared to act otherwise,” Braixen said as they wrapped up their talk. His notepad had a great deal of scribbles and notes, a testament to his words. “It is quite the rarity to find Fallers that know humans well, and Heliolisk has met too few of them.” The fox raised a stiff brow toward his companion. “It does not help that much of his knowledge is wasted on strange cultural terms and concepts. I still do not understand what a ‘bo*galo*’ is meant to be.”

  Boogaloo? Did he just say boogaloo of all things? Eira had the bizarre feeling that was what Braixen meant, but the exact phrase he used was weirdly sloppy for Pokemon speech — it only gave her the vague sensation of sharp, swaying motions from it, and not the weird dance itself. It was kind of like someone calling a ball a ‘rolling spherical object’, instead of using the specific word itself.

  It messed with her wristband’s translation ability, and Eira had to wrack her brain a little to process what Braixen said. She and Lucario side-eyed Heliolisk, who looked like he was straining to keep himself from breaking down into mad laughter.

  Lucario clicked his tongue. “Something dumb.”

  “How dumb, pray tell?”

  “You should ask Golisopod to punch him again.”

  Golisopod coolly turned his head to Heliolisk, who leapt back several feet. “Oh, come on!” he cried. “Wasn’t it bad enough that you did this to me in the inn? That monster left me crippled!”

  “He was very ticklish,” explained Golisopod.

  “My life was on the line in that room, it was horrible! How do you expect me to survive against someone with six arms?”

  Eira had nothing against Heliolisk, but her appreciation for Golisopod rose another notch. The girls were trying their best to keep smiles off their faces, and she caught Gabite shaking his head at the lizard’s antics.

  Heliolisk cleared his throat, turning serious for a moment. “But yeah, this was swell,” he told Lucario. “Much of my knowledge comes from Ranseian Fallers, and I’m told they’re mega isolated from other human regions — pretty neat to get an actual gauge on how different things are between them. I mean, Porygon-Z said plenty of this stuff too—”

  “Porygon-Z?” Hattrem and Feebas exclaimed in unison.

  Braixen, Golisopod, and Gabite fired a trio of withering looks at Heliolisk, who had instantly turned stiff at his slipup. “Shoot, forgot you two didn’t know,” he muttered. “But yeah, it helps to have you two confirming what he’s said. Kinda crazy to think humans in most human lands are so clueless about magic, they only have a few funky folks with weak telekinetic powers and no idea of how they’re actually using them. Tech’s a lot more developed though than I thought — Ransei’s more advanced than us in lots of fields, but I’m pretty sure their computing devices aren’t anywhere as sick as your laptops and phones.”

  He snapped his fingers at Braixen. “Which we also need to get, by the way, along with the bazooka.”

  “I am not letting devices that humans can detect with space satellite technology into the archipelago, Heliolisk.” Braixen shuddered as she glanced Eira’s way. “How did humans even think of such a global network system?”

  From what little Eira had heard, Ransei did understand the concept of electric power, and some semblance of modern technology too, thanks to limited trade with other regions. Its more feudal aspects still clung fast to the region, but they weren’t medieval bumpkins. She and Lucario had asked Heliolisk about it, and he’d confirmed, mentioning something about the ‘Violight Kingdom’ and its vested focus in technological pursuits, which the other kingdoms had begun to grow interested in.

  Oh, and magic humans. Heliolisk strongly believed that humans of Ransei practiced some fusion of martial arts and magic. Not many, but a good chunk of them still — apparently it was an honorable tradition amongst their clans, and highly valued for their war games. Which, yes, it turned out war really was a sport for the people of Ransei. Apparently their idea of a Pokemon battle was to have pairs of Pokemon and humans that fought together in sync, often in a small army that pitied itself against another army.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  And they use kung-fu sorcery. Unbelievable.

  The idea of rumors about Ransei and its cultivation folklore being partially true made her head ache. Heliolisk’s sources had been pretty detailed on Ransei, and Eira doubted he was making it all up, but it was still a bit much to take in. Must be how people in Haven Archipelago feel when Lucario and I tell them anything about the human world, she wryly thought.

  Gabite and Braixen had been giving farewells while she was busy mulling, the two smacking each other on the back and exchanging words. “It was great traveling with you again, mate,” Gabite was finishing, a toothy grin on his face. “Been too long since I’ve been out with you guys. Best of luck with finding help against the Abhorrents.”

  “Oh, we’ll find help, one way or another.” Braixen dipped his head toward the rest of the group. “Your company was pleasant, all of you, but here’s where we shall part ways for the time being. I’ll hope to meet you in Swampblot Island with news of brave explorers, ready to assist us in preventing the Abhorrents from causing their chaos.”

  “And to harass you two about more Faller stuff!” yelled Heliolisk, Braixen’s lips quirking as Lucario rolled his eyes at him. “Mark my words, we will squeeze out as much info as we can out of you until you’re drier than the sand in Tumbledust Island!”

  Golisopod gave his own goodbye, before following after Braixen and Heliolisk. Team Elementri began their march eastward, through the woods and toward the other towns of Grassbranch Island. A short breeze of wind whistled in the wake of their departure.

  Hattrem coughed. “The Heliolisk’s annoying emotions made me want to punch him so much.”

  “Don’t do that, Hattrem.” Feebas adopted a lopsided smile as she faced Eira. “Fallers, huh? I wouldn’t have guessed that in a million years. Sorry for listening in, by the way, I get the feeling you guys really didn’t want to spread that around.”

  Lucario shrugged, and Eira sighed, giving her an absentminded gesture with her tails. Braixen had gone his separate ways for now, and yet she felt no relief in it. If anything, it made the paranoid side of her anxious, Eira wondering if Braixen would dare to cause trouble in his absence. Or maybe he was content with psychological fear, making her anxious of the leverage he held over her, now that he had locked onto her human nature.

  As if Weavile warning his Frostlord wasn’t bad enough. Some part of her wanted to feel spiteful at the thief, but Weavile would get a laugh out of that. She still vividly remembered, with no small amount of annoyance, the words he left her with at Green Ridge.

  Doesn’t it stink, how your lovely guardian’s naturally inclined toward justice and other goody two-shoes nonsense, and we’re stuck with more debased urges?

  Shaymin had pulled up close to her, bumping her shoulder. “Hey, at least you don’t need to worry anymore about saying Faller stuff by mistake,” she said. “Fun talk, huh? Pretty wild that Heliolisk knows plenty of random human things.”

  She was obviously distracting her from her thoughts. But Eira had to admit, it was strange how Heliolisk had so many human phrases in his head. Did he deliberately use those to provoke Fallers into giving themselves away? “I thought he didn’t meet many Fallers that knew humans,” she wondered aloud. “Who taught him all those words?”

  Lucario eyed Gabite, who gave an uncertain shrug, before turning back to the retreating backs of Team Elementri. His eyes sharpened.

  He was not the only one throwing looks around. Hattrem had been doing the same to her, as she had been for a while now. Eira raised a brow at her, the two making eye contact, before Hattrem’s blank face shifted ever so slightly into an uncomfortable one. She turned away, rubbing her forehead.

  Behind her, Eevee’s gaze pierced her too. Eira found him staring onward with a taut face, behind the leafy cover of a tree, tail swishing. His unpleasant stare was the kind that had seen through a veil, and found what was behind to be most disconcerting.

  Gabite had likely told him. He knew Braixen knew. Eira resisted the urge to sigh.

  Pretending to be a Vulpix shouldn’t be this hard.

  The trip proved to be a little quieter without Team Elementri around. Feebas and Hattrem had been polite enough not to throw any more Faller questions at Eira and Lucario, other than asking if the letter had been from fellow Fallers he knew from back home, and her guardian gruffly confirmed it. Hattrem had continued to give her strange looks behind her back, and although Eevee had gone deep into the forests and kept a healthy distance from them, she’d glance in his general direction too. Her ponytails would clench at times, and once she muttered about the nuisance of nine spirits with volatile emotions in a single body.

  Night came upon them soon enough, with Gabite having the group set up camp in the woods. As was routine, Eira separated from Feebas and Hattrem, went off into the distance for a remote camping spot, and then returned to her human self to relieve the stress of keeping up her transformation. In exchange for the stress of being caught as a human, of course.

  It was a bit ridiculous these days though, what with Braixen and Weavile already knowing. Concerns over the two bugged her mind, in addition to her other woes, and Eira struggled to get some shut-eye as she worried over it all. She tossed to the side of her sleeping blanket, and found Lucario and Togetic together. The latter had a wisp of pink aura flickering on her arm, her eyes shut as Lucario instructed her on using it.

  She’d been doing a fair bit of practice, ever since Lucario had shown her, trying to maintain and understand the little spark of aura she was making. A ghost of a smile touched Eira’s lips, and she decided to get a little extra practice in, before Mismagius sent her into her dream world. She raised a hand, pulling from her spirit.

  Slowly, a blob of spectral essence formed above her, dark and transparent. A wisp of Ghost energy. It felt like a speck of the unknown, fueled by the deepest, strangest parts of her soul, and molded by things like whimsy, mischief, and grim emotions. It reeked of potent hexes and witchery, and maybe a touch of hollowness too.

  And a sliver of vengeful spite. She did cast a human version of that upon Weavile, no surprise there. It’d helped her understand a little about Ghost energy, for better or worse, and she had played with it further during yesterday’s session with Mismagius. The witch had been delighted to see it, though she expressed pity at the poor circumstances that let her figure it out.

  She let it float about, her solemn emotions feeding the wisp. Red haze flared up in front of her, and Eira arched an eye at the sullen Flareon before her.

  You fought with Weavile before, he accused.

  Togetic and Lucario had quickly taken notice of Flareon, their arms both glowing with aura. The former seemed to tremble, sensing things she was not quite used to with her limited skill in aurasense. Eira remained where she lied down, following the wispy red line trailing Flareon to the red crystal on Eevee’s head. The Abhorrent had a rigid, tired face, looking like he wanted to get this over with.

  Lucario clicked his tongue. “Isn’t it me you guys usually interrogate here? Honestly, this should’ve been a discussion for yesterday.”

  Flareon ignored him, dead focused on Eira. “You met his band of thieves before,” questioned Eevee. “Did you forget to mention it to us?”

  It was literally the one incident they had never brought up with Eevee during their misadventures with Team Heavendust. Seeing Lucario’s sour face, Eira brought her head up, in no mood to hear whatever Eevee or Flareon had to say.

  “It’s in the past, guys,” she said.

  And Eevee nodded, content with dropping the topic, for all he wanted was a brief clarification. Flareon scoffed, however, not as willing to overlook old mistakes. The dumb past gave Weavile a petty reason to expose you and let Braixen figure you out. Never mind the Missing Ones. Why is it so hard for you to stay out of trouble? Why would you willingly confront a thief and make life more miserable for yourself than it already is?

  Eira’s ghostly wisp swelled for a brief moment. Indirectly, Flareon had taken offense at her selfless act of chasing Weavile to get back Shaymin’s Gracidea, Togetic’s Evolution Crystals, and Feebas’s Prism Scale. She wasn’t in Vulpix form, but spiteful urges still nicked at her, demanding she retort back in equal measure. To silence Flareon and put him in his place. It was only fair.

  But it also made Eira think of Weavile. She refused the emotions, letting the hollowness of Ghost-type energy fill her instead.

  “I’m an ill omen, Flareon.”

  It was a simple statement, but it doused the rage Flareon had been building up, the ghost turning ashen at the reminder. “Everything else is just icing on the cake,” Eira went on, aware of the distressed looks Lucario, Togetic, and Eevee gave her. “Does it really matter if Braixen and Weavile might threaten me in the future, or Missing Ones? They’re not anywhere as bad as a prophecy.”

  She put on an empty expression. “I think I was right to stop Weavile and get back the stolen goods. And I’d do it again, even if it cost me. A part of me still wonders if I will get back home — there’s no guarantee, you know. I might end up fulfilling my omen before that happens.”

  The void within her must’ve been infectious, for Flareon went inert, an undead gone dead. Darker, bleaker thoughts of the inevitable swarmed Eira’s mind, and she made herself push them away. For the others’ sake, at least. Togetic was a novice with next to none of Lucario and Espeon’s mind-reading abilities, but she grimaced still, her weak aurasense perhaps just enough to sense her negativity.

  “Maybe I’m just meant to keep getting in trouble. Like a main character in a book,” she thought aloud, cracking the slightest of smiles. “It’s a little silly, really, and panicking over it hasn’t been helping me before. I don’t think it’s helping you either, Flareon. I think—”

  A sigh. “I think I’m growing tired of worrying over my disguise,” she told Lucario. “I just want to move on and get things over with. Skip to the end of my story.”

  I’m getting sick of this confusing tale, Mother.

  Lucario was caressing her with soothing emotions with his aura, and Togetic was wrapping an arm around her torso, squeezing it in a half-hug. She hardly noticed. Eira made herself to let go of the hollowness, of the lingering vengeful feelings within her, and her ghoulish wisp evaporated as the Ghost-type energy flowing from her soul cut off. It felt a little like remembering how to breathe again.

  “I don’t like all of my Pokemon instincts,” she blurted.

  Bless Lucario’s heart. He might not be the best guardian ever at keeping their secrets safe, but he was certainly a caring one, swift to adapt to the sudden change in topic. He moved over, crouching beside the human with a sad little smirk.

  “I’m not fond of mine either, kiddo.”

  “Y-you’re not?”

  “You didn’t take Weavile’s nonsense about ‘debased urges’ to heart, did you? If not for my instincts, I wouldn’t have—” a slight wince toward Togetic and Eevee “—done the things I did when we ran from Team Heavendust.”

  Him stunning Togetic and Shaymin before Eira could explain her humanity. His feud with Eevee in his hideout. She’d forgotten about those events. There was a darker side to Lucario's devotion to justice and guardianship, wasn’t there?

  “Mine aren’t all sunshine and rainbows either,” added Togetic, and Eira now turned to her, truly astonished. The angelic had her gaze drifting to the side, her face indescribable. “My evolutionary line dislikes violence and being in places with strife. It’s, well, not ideal for an explorer team. Remember when we went to stop Aerodactyl from mutating Lugia? I wanted to run away the whole time.”

  It sounded like torture to Eira’s ears, the girl sitting straight up and putting her hands over her mouth. Goodness, did it make her feel extra stressed around her, an ill omen? At the very least, with the constant trouble that kept swirling around her, Togetic surely had to feel some urge to flee from her — that was awful!

  “I’m used to it, sweetheart,” Togetic said, sensing the horrid concerns in her head. “I can keep the feeling down most of the time, you’re not stressing me out that much. Besides, you do know Togetic are attracted to kind, pure-hearted people, right?”

  The angelic winked at her, lips curling as Eira’s horror turned into abashment. Feverish warmth covered her face, and she covered her mouth a little tighter, much to Lucario’s mirth.

  Eevee couldn’t help but let out a tiny chuckle. “Even Abilities and types can have an effect on you. Flareon can vouch for the latter, evolving made him a little more passionate and hotheaded than he already was. Flareon?”

  Huh? Flareon stirred and shook his head, as if he’d been caught dozing off. Sorry, I spaced out. Annoying quirk of our mutation, I think, it’s hard staying up at times. I just—

  He made a noise that sounded like sucking in air, not that he had a mouth to do so. I can’t stand being like this, he muttered. It’s been almost a year and I still can’t get used to this dumb form, unable to feel things or to have a constant fog in your head, it’s maddening at times. I know it’s a long shot for Kabutops to make some miracle cure out of you, but I’m desperate.

  We’re desperate. Sylveon’s voice resounded through telepathy, the pink ghost with ribbon feelers appearing a short distance away from Lucario. Flareon’s overly enthusiastic about his way of asking you to please stay safe—

  That’s how you’re phrasing my anger? Flareon spat at his brother. Can’t you do what Umbreon does and say it straight?

  —but many of us are concerned with your circumstances too, Sylveon said, politely ignoring Flareon. Partly for selfish reasons, if you’ll forgive us for that — these forms of ours are rather unpleasant, and losing any kind of lead that could get us a cure hurts. He shifted toward Togetic with guilty eyes. I still wish that we’d taken the human alone to Kabutops, with all due respect. I don’t blame you for the incident with Weavile and all, but I’ve already had enough of people letting me down after I gave them my trust.

  His village friends. Eira found herself wondering about the story, about what exactly had happened when Eevee’s family had reached out to their pals about their mutation, only to be betrayed. Eevee said Sylveon had been left deeply upset by an Elgyem in particular, hadn’t he?

  But maybe I shouldn’t ask.

  Togetic gave a little nod toward Sylveon, taking no offense at the quiet complaint lodged against her team. “Sylveon’s affected by his Fairy typing too if you can’t tell,” Eevee told Eira, steering the conversation back. “You humans don’t quite have instincts like we do, ours tend to influence us much more. We’re used to working around them, and you’ll figure out how to manage yours too.”

  “Chances are you’d have to anyway even as a human,” added Lucario. “Being a mage might come with side-effects.”

  She could imagine. Channeling type energy often needed one to be ‘in tune’ with the element, Eira had found so far — notably esoteric types like Psychic and Ghost. Did her type affinities play a role too?

  She brought it up to the others, who mulled over it for a moment. Then Mismagius coughed.

  It seemed like the others somehow failed to sense her ahead of time, for the entire group spun their heads like deer in headlights. They blinked at the witch who’d been sitting on a depressed circle of grass, listening to their talk for who knew how long. “You forget that your affinity already reflects your soul, dear,” Mismagius stated with a lazy smile. “Your nature shapes that affinity, though the reverse is often true at the same time. You are Ice, and bits of your personality hint at it.”

  Huh. Even the prophecy did imply that, unpleasant as it was to think about that. “Can’t say I feel like I have a Fairy-type nature though,” muttered Eira.

  “Yet nothing says you don’t have one. Fairy and Ghost are sibling types with very similar aspects, one is simply livelier than the other. Of course, even if you don’t have a Ghost affinity, your Vulpix form implies that you have an honorary connection to it.” Mismagius tilted her head. “Ah. You think you’re more likely to gravitate to a Ghost affinity. A little part of you wonders if you’d prefer the slim chance of becoming an entirely different Pokemon upon your ascension, is that so?”

  Eira grimaced at Mismagius’s insight. The thought had crossed her mind at least once, after what Weavile said. “M-maybe?”

  She had told Lucario and the others about how human evolution might change her Pokemon transformation, if it affected her spirit enough. Getting a Ninetales form would amplify her grudges, and that made her shudder inside. Would other Pokemon forms be more pleasant to have? Would it make sense for her to become a different species? Maybe that would save her from being so prone to spitefulness.

  That said, it was Ninetales.

  She could never say no to being a Ninetales.

  “Aren’t you a little too attached to the Alolan Vulpix line to wish for things like that?” said Lucario, thinking along the same lines. “Even if you did change into another Pokemon by some miracle, it’d be a Froslass, and those can have some iffy instincts of their own.”

  Eira frowned. “I—”

  “And you won’t, because if I’m understanding the magic soul-babble that Mismagius told you about, Alolan Vulpix and Ninetales are too perfect a fit for you to get a different form. Eevee?”

  Eevee tossed his head. “Kabutops did say the wristband’s wielder would take a form best suited for them.”

  “But I could end up with a more suitable form?” questioned Eira.

  “Says the girl who must’ve bought several Alolan Vulpix and Ninetales plushies.”

  Oh no. Her guardian was incriminating her. “W-when I was eight?” she said. “That can’t count—”

  “Says the girl who religiously combs through libraries and web serials for stories related to them.”

  “I read lots of other stuff too! You know that!”

  “Says the girl that I’d bet has spent her allowance on creating her own private collection of Vul-Pixie comics—”

  “Oh, no you didn’t!” Eira yelled without thinking. “Don’t you dare bring the comics into this!”

  A cheeky grin spread across Lucario’s face, and at once Eira remembered her audience, her face burning a hot red. Togetic and Eevee looked between the two with no small amount of bafflement, and for a moment, Eira wished she had the power to turn into a worm this instant and burrow away.

  Her guardian cleared his throat. “Not that I’d blame you. Adam used to read a few issues himself — too many silly plotlines at the start, but I guess it had a few solid story beats for a superhero comic.”

  A few? It had several, excuse her, and they were top-notch! And the early issues were not that silly!

  Maybe Lucario was right about how perfect Ninetales was for her, because while he might’ve done this for her benefit and Eira could forgive his stunt, she definitely wouldn’t let this go. “He’s being mean, Teacher Mismagius, can we please go train now so I can get away from him?” she asked.

  “And she thinks she isn’t cut out to be a Fairy,” teased Lucario.

  The whole debacle had greatly amused Mismagius, her eyes twinkling. “Perhaps your guardian has a point,” she stated. “You have the most deliiiiightful conversations, I must say — so many things to learn about Fallers even from your everyday interactions, hee! But yes, yes, let us leave Lucario to teach his aura skills to his pupil, and move forward with our own training session.”

  She gave Togetic a wide, approving smile that made her flinch, then craned her head toward Eevee. “You may find this one more interesting than usual,” she said. “No illusion training for tonight, but I do have a most nooooovel idea for developing your core Ice affinity.”

  Eevee grinned, and Eira grew confused as Flareon and Sylveon lit up at Mismagius’s words. What? Why were they reacting like that?

  She found out fast.

  Eira conked out the moment she laid her head down, thanks to Mismagius’s Hypnosis. One moment she was in a deep sleep, the next she felt unusually lucid, her eyelids opening to an unfamiliar scene.

  It wasn’t the jelly void with the starry galactic sky. In fact, she could’ve almost imagined she was still in the forested area with Lucario, Togetic, and Eevee, yet several things were different. The grass was more of a brownish-yellow color, the kind found in savannas, complete with oaks, acacias, and even a few baobabs. A cloudy night hung over the area, Eira pulling herself up and taking in the faux realism of it all.

  Mismagius floated only a few feet away, the witch beaming at her. “A pleasant change to the scenery, isn’t it?”

  “It’s, um, different?” said Eira.

  “An eerie void-space loses its novelty over time, dearie. I would hate to continue using the same old background for the rest of our days.” Mismagius brushed her cloth-arm over a set of blue coneflowers growing at one side of the clearing they stood in, a titter leaving her mouth. “Perhaps I should’ve used it one more time, though. Such a shame that our other guests won’t get to marvel at the sight.”

  Eira reared her head in surprise. Guests? They had guests?

  “I HAVE A BODY!”

  The sudden words were followed up by a crash, Jolteon letting out a yelp as she tripped over a tree root and came tumbling into the area. Not as her usual misty ghost form, but in a physical body of flesh and fur — electric yellow with a white spiky collar, and the stupidest grin on her face. Dirt caked her form, an unnecessary touch in a dream world.

  “I can feel pain again!” she said.

  That was also unnecessary in a dream world. “J-Jolteon?” said Eira, incredulous.