Chương 297: Chapter 252

"So remember!" The… Ranger? Said as he tapped the wide map with his palm.

"Areas six and five are not recommended for anyone five badges and lower! The Pokemon there are aggressive and will most likely attack you! Areas one from four, you should be relatively safe! But of course, no guarantees. Am I clear?" A cacophony of yeses and grunts rang out around Chase, who had his hands shoved into his pockets and his shoulders slouched forward. Just like the time he'd gotten lessons before Mount Coronet or Eterna Forest, this was basically torture for him.

These days, though, he at least tried to pay attention. He couldn't slip up, not when he carried so much weight on his shoulders. He wasn't about to die to some stray Poison Sting, not when the Iron Islands needed a fighter to represent them. Oh, and there was also that Legendary bullshit too, he guessed.

"Will you be alright?" Chase turned toward Cecilia, who handed him one of the Great Marsh's maps. At the back was a list of 'probable encounters' a trainer could get in each zone, but that wasn't something Chase was interested in.

"I'll be fine," he grunted.

"I think I'll just wander around until a Pokemon catches my eye. You?" She shrugged.

"Zone four is where the Croagunk are, so zone four is where I'll be. I could try to go to zone six for a Toxicroak, but I'd rather not." Trainers around them were already filtering toward the Great Marsh's entrance. There was only a set number of people allowed in at a time, and they were only allowed in for three hours total, so they had to make every minute count.

"Right, right, you wanted a fighting type," he remembered as he grabbed Sig's Pokeball. That damned Mira had gotten the nickname stuck in his head. He could already imagine her fucking smugness.

"Stay safe out there."

"You too… and also," she stopped, grabbing him by the arm.

"We'll be the two first of the group in Canalave, so I was wondering if you were going to go to the Iron Islands?" Chase's skin tingled, and not in a good way.

"Yeah." A simple answer. One meant to hide the fact that he dreaded seeing Falkirk's ruins again. It wasn't like he'd be forced to go there. The Iron Islands were plentiful, and Falkirk was just one town, but he owed it to his father and to the hundreds that had died to that fucking Steelix. He had no plans of revenge— he knew the people to blame were the mining companies— but that didn't mean he wasn't going to despise that Steelix with every ounce of hate in his body.

"I was wondering if I could come with you?" Come with me? The suggestion rang out a few times in Chase's mind, and he was too flabbergasted to answer. No. Yes. Maybe. He opened his mouth, then closed it when the words died in his throat.

"We'll see when," his voice cracked, "we get there."

"Alright. Just let me know, okay?" She said. Arceus, he hated how gentle she was with him. It was annoying when she warmed his heart with her damned friendship and he had to hold himself back from smiling. It was difficult to remember that he hated her at one point.

"Yeah, will do," he nodded.

"I'll be on my way, then." They bid each other good luck, and Chase got on Sigilyph's back after showing his license to one of the Rangers nearby. They weren't exactly Rangers. Some bullshit about an auxiliary branch focused exclusively on Pastoria's Safari Zone or something that was directly under the city's control instead of the federal government. Chase didn't know why the Great Marsh wasn't just under the Rangers' jurisdiction, but he had other fish to fry. The air grew cool and crisp as Sig gained altitude.

The Great Marsh was divided into multiple areas but further divided in two by a huge railroad network that stretched until the end of the Safari Zone. The Pokemon knew better than to destroy it, and it helped the Rangers that didn't have fliers move quickly to each zone of the marsh. Chase wondered why they didn't just use Teleporters, but maybe they didn't have enough to be reliable? Either way, it wasn't his problem. The marsh was spread out before him and was a large spread of mud, trees and shallow water.

"You recovered from yesterday?" Chase asked Sigilyph. His grip tightened around her wings until his knuckles were white. A custom saddle for her would have cost an arm and a leg, and he'd grown used to flying like this now. Sigilyph let out a series of beeps that were happy, so he assumed she'd said yes. She tended to ramble about anything, even if he didn't really understand without Ri there to translate.

He had looked it up, and her species could technically talk through telepathy, but it took a lot of practice for them to learn to do so and they hadn't even started yet. Chase observed the world below, as hundreds of trainers traveled the murky swamp. Some of them were flying like he was, while others rode their Pokemon in order not to get caught in the water and mud. The ones that couldn't do either? They were out of luck. They got pretty far for a ten-minute flight.

Sig wasn't the fastest flier, but she was enough. Chase hadn't wanted to be with a crowd that would distract any Pokemon he tried to observe.

"Okay, we're in zone four," he muttered. Sigilyph beeped in response.

"Don't get too excited. You've got to stay focused, alright? Land us on solid ground. There's some right below you at one 'o clock." The psychic quickly lost altitude, and Chase jumped off of her before she could land, eliciting a few angry-worried cries.

"Relax," he whispered, scanning the area. Zone four was a lot more encased in trees and less open than the other ones. Before him was a serene expanse of shallow water with small islands peppered throughout, which was where he was currently standing. Although standing was a bit of an exaggeration. The mud felt more like quicksand than solid ground, and Chase constantly had to shift his feet around to not sink ankle-deep into the island.

The water was so murky that there'd be no way to know if some Pokemon was swimming down there without a Pokemon capable of sensing others. There were no bridges between the islands, or anything to allow trainers to navigate the place without getting wet. It was hard to build anything in a swamp. Chase's head snapped to the left, toward a distant cry of a Pokemon that he didn't recognize. The air felt thick and humid here now that he was down on the ground, and it coated his throat and lungs.

Chase released Vikavolt, who screeched happily as soon as he appeared and fanned his wings.

"Yeah, you look good today too," Chase commented. Vikavolt buzzed in excitement, and Sigilyph… probably said the same thing? He released Zangoose too, just because she and Sig were best pals and almost inseparable. Lastly, he released Ri so he could sense their surroundings. He could do it a lot better than Sig could, even if he used Aura instead. The last thing he needed was for some aggressive Pokemon to jump at him from the water.

"Now, we wait." Are you sure that waiting is wiser than striking out to search for our new comrade? Ri asked. Chase waved a hand as he sat on a half-rotten wet piece of log.

"Yeah. Just tell us when you feel something—" There are approximately twelve Pokemon in a range of one hundred feet, the fighting type interrupted.

"Breathe a little, will you? We have the majority of our time left. A Pokemon is bound to stumble here." Ri sighed, and Zangoose snickered. Zangoose, I would appreciate it if you didn't encourage this. The best course of action would be to at least move around. The normal type shrugged, saying something that elicited a sigh out of Ri and a panicked reaction from Sigilyph.

"What'd she say?"

'Fuck off'"Good, you're taking after me," Chase grinned.

"Anyway, if we move around too much, we'll scare the wildlife away. Staying still will show them we aren't a threat looking for a fight." Very well, the Lucario relented. But when you have an hour left on the clock, I will have you move.

"Sure." So Chase settled down, got comfortable, and waited with an arm slung over his knee. With his team here, the Great Marsh wasn't so bad. — It's quite hot today, isn't it?

"I'd rather it be hot than cold. Sinnoh's weather is horrifying and only tolerable half of the year. The other half, it's a frozen hellscape," Cecilia complained. Her legs wobbled as she stepped onto an uneven bump, but Slowking wrapped her in a gentle psychic bubble to stop her from falling. Apologies. I will focus on the barrier.

"You can still talk to us," she said. Scyther flew close behind her, although he had stayed largely silent except to comment on how weak everything here looked. Cecilia was not walking on solid ground. She was walking a foot or so above it, on a barrier Slowking had created that served as a bridge that allowed her to navigate the swamp without getting her clothes all mucky, and it generally just made traveling a lot easier.

Trainers had looked at her in awe when she'd first shown the trick, but she was far enough to be alone, now. Talonflame was up in the sky, scouting for any sign of a Croagunk. A group of Barboach quickly hid under the water when they passed above them. Pokemon here were weak, and the danger was minimal. If any of them decided to attack, Slowking would simply protect them. Although his shift in focus might just end up making her fall in the mud. It didn't take long to come across the first Croagunk.

They were common in the Safari Zone, and Talonflame's sharp eyes would spot them from anywhere. Unfortunately though, the small fighting type scampered off before she even had a chance to make her pitch, swimming through the water at surprising speeds. Should we pursue? Slowking asked.

"No need. We'll find another one," she shook her head.

"There's time." And even if there wasn't she could always come another day. Slowking continued leading Cecilia, and soon enough they crossed into zone three. She was busy imagining how she would beat Wake. Zweilous would be hard-pressed on his arena, and while Scyther and Talonflame could fly and would be fast enough to avoid most attacks, it'd be difficult to hit Wake's Pokemon if they hid under the water. Even Lehmhart wasn't tall enough to stand in his man-made sea.

It would take ingenuity to win, and Cecilia was mature enough to know that ingenuity was not her strong point. Chase, Denzel and Grace, they all had methods to find ways against such a disadvantage, but beyond Slowking using shields to walk on, she was stumped. So she did anything a good trainer would do. She asked her Pokemon what they thought. Scyther let out a mocking laugh, his wings fluttering as he shook his head.

The fact that you can't figure something out amuses me, Slowking translated without missing a beat. Maybe this'll be the one you finally lose. Cecilia smirked.

"Is that a challenge?" Scyther shrugged, sharpening his scythes to pass the time. Ha! A challenge? It was a mere observation, Slowking relayed (he really tried to get the tone too, which failed despite his best efforts. Telepathy was working against him). But I'll be watching, of course. And fighting.

"Thank you for the help," Cecilia dipped her head. Scyther's throat trilled, and he turned away. Slowking suggested freezing the arena, and that was certainly a possibility, but unless they managed to create a thick sheet of ice, Wake would probably just destroy the ice. Still, it would be wise to work on Slowking's capabilities with ice regardless, along with Chilly Reception. There were strands of a plan there, but she didn't know how to tie the entire thing together quite yet.

"Do you want to speak about Eterna Forest again?" Cecilia asked, leaning slightly toward Scyther. He does, Slowking guessed. He can't stop himself from talking about the folklore. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Scyther snarled, and Slowking simply chortled in response. Despite his best efforts, Scyther ended up talking about it anyway.

The place Cecilia had caught him in was at the forest's periphery, even if it didn't really feel like it at the time. To their young, untrained eyes, he'd been an unstoppable beast that needed all of their combined effort to beat. Today, he would have been easy to dispatch in five moves at best and held in place with Psychic until the deed had been done. The closer you get to the center of the forest, the stronger the Pokemon get— Slowking stopped. You told us that already, Scyther.

Scyther screamed, probably telling him to keep translating. There are myths that every Pokemon living in Eterna Forest knows, and all of them are about the Pokemon that lives at its center. Strangely enough— he turned toward Scyther and rolled his eyes. Okay, not strangely enough, but no one really knows what it is, or at least none of the Pokemon living at the edges of the woods. The ones close to the Center would easily destroy our entire merry little troupe.

Scyther nodded, satisfied with himself before continuing. It is an immortal being that is perpetually asleep and has been asleep for thousands of years. He'd go as far as calling it a demi-God. There are periods where it grows slightly more active and the vegetation grows taller and faster. Grass types grow more powerful too. Apparently, the last time was before Scyther was alive, though. So more than twelve years ago, then. Still, Cecilia's eyes widened slightly.

Scyther never spoke of a Pokemon with such admiration. Usually, he either tried to call them weaker than he was or stayed silent and brooded when he knew they weren't. Slowking continued. He wants to— you want to what?! To cut him down in a one-on-one?!

"He wants to win in a fight?" Cecilia blinked, slowing her step.

"That's… impossible. You called them a demi-God!" Well, now we know why he didn't mind sticking around, Slowking mused with his hands behind his back. He grows faster here than in the forest. Progress drives him.

"Is this an actual goal of yours? Is there even a reason?" Cecilia pressed. Discounting the fact that she was going to Unova next year, even if she came back to Sinnoh for a few months in some years when she would hopefully be strong enough, she doubted the Sinnohan government would ever let her do that. If the Pokemon had created the forest, then wouldn't it collapse if it died? That'd be an ecological disaster on an extremely large scale. She didn't even want to do it!

He says he just wants to prove his strength, Slowking said.

"Well, there are much better ways to prove your strength, but we'll see," she sighed.

"You're basically asking the impossible out of me. Anyway, I actually have another question for you. About your evolution." That topic caught his attention more than any time she'd tried to get him to open up to the team.

"Your species needs to train in a place full of iron to evolve," Cecilia said.

"We're going to the Iron Islands soon… if Chase agrees. Do you want to stay a Scyther? If you turn into a Scizor, you'll lose in speed, but you'll still be able to fly and grow more resistant. You'll still be able to cut things, since I know you love that. At the end of the day, it's up to you. I don't mind either way." Scyther didn't answer, but she already knew what he'd meant before Slowking translated. To give him some time to think.

"Very well. On another topic, Slowking, do you think you could make these shields last when you're recalled?" Cecilia asked, gesturing at the invisible bridge below. We discussed it with Alakazam, but that is way beyond me at the moment. Maybe on a small scale, it could be possible. If you want to return to the topic of Wake, you could always— A screech overhead from Talonflame interrupted him. Another Croagunk.

The fire type swooped down to lead them to what she'd seen, and they reached a clearing with a stretch of solid ground Cecilia could actually stand on. This Croagunk was a little taller than the previous one, but slightly thinner as well. They weren't wounded per se, but they had clearly been in a fight recently. Half-healed bruises covered the poison type's body, and her right eye was only half-opened. Cecilia placed a hand on Scyther's exoskeleton to keep him from scaring Croagunk away.

He quickly budged his shoulder away like a teenager annoyed that their parents were touching them in public. Talonflame landed to their right as gently as she could to not scare away Croagunk. Good morning, young Croagunk! I hope you're having a marsh-velous day—"Slowking!" Cecilia hissed. I was just breaking the ice. You're the one who gave me the idea anyway. Tough crowd.

"Hello," Cecilia said. Just like Grace had told her, she didn't get too close. Croagunk looked wary, and was completely silent.

"I come to you with a proposition. I'm a trainer looking for a sixth Pokemon, and I think you'd be a good fit. That would mean that you'd get caught by me and placed in a Pokeball. That you'd travel with us and grow stronger. Travel beyond Sinnoh." Scyther complained to her left, probably saying that he wished he could have gotten the same treatment. Granted, he had immediately tried to kill her and her friends, so that was somewhat hypocritical of him.

The fact that she'd screwed up with him completely did not change that fact. Cecilia cleared her throat. How would Grace approach this?

"This isn't my full team, but the other two might scare you, so I thought it'd be best if we kept this contained. Do you have friends here you don't want to lose? A family? If you do, we'll be on our way." For the first time, Croagunk communicated. It was a shrug, specifically at the mention of friends.

"No? What happened to them?" The fighting type croaked, deciding to sit on the ground. Cece turned to Slowking, but he was already on top of things. No family. She had a friend, but she was taken by a trainer seven months ago. A Wooper.

"I'm… I'm sorry." Cecilia nervously licked her lips until an idea popped into her head.

"I guess we'll be on our way. Before we go, I could administer you a potion. Or… well, I guess you could use it on yourself if I throw it to you. I can tell you were in a fight." Croagunk nodded and muttered something under her breath. Two days ago, against a Tangela for food, Slowking said. Food? Cecilia thought. Angel could just subsist himself on sunlight, but maybe that particular Tangela couldn't? Or maybe they had just liked the taste of food too much to give it up.

Cecilia grabbed a potion and approached with a hesitant step. Talonflame eyed her with a palpable nervousness while Slowking told her that this was a terrible idea. Cecilia didn't go up to Croagunk. She just wanted to show the fighting type that she wasn't terrified and that she was giving her at least a small amount of trust.

"Should I throw it?" Cecilia asked. Croagunk beckoned her instead. Cecilia swallowed and took another step on the soft, shallow reeds. Then another. And another. Until she was right in front of Croagunk. She crouched and applied the potion on her skin. It seemed so dry from up close. From afar, it had seemed like a smooth, even blue texture, but that couldn't be further from the truth. It was weathered, rough skin that looked like it had been exposed to the elements for too long.

Tiny, almost imperceptible flakes of skin littered both Croagunk and the ground around her.

"How long have you been sitting here?" Cecilia asked. The poison type answered with an uncommitted shrug.

"You need water. Your skin is basically peeling off," she continued as she inspected Croagunk.

"There's plenty of water around. You live in a swamp for Arceus' sake. What happened to you?" She doesn't feel like moving, Slowking said, suddenly behind her. She doesn't feel like doing anything. She hasn't eaten or drank since the fight." That's why you're so thin!" Cecilia gasped. Her hands shot into her bag in an attempt to find some food. Instead, she settled on a water bottle and poured the contents on Croagunk's head. The fighting type's skin started to heal, slowly but surely.

Flakes were drawn away, patches of dryness moistened, and her skin looked healthy again, or at least as healthy as that little stopgap could make it.

"There you go, have some food." She handed a small can of Zweilous' favorite kibble, and Croagunk downed all of it in five seconds. She let out a burp, and her cheeks swelled. She thanks you, Slowking said.

"What was that about? Not feeling like moving? You were going to die in another few days if you kept that up, or some other Pokemon would have snatched you up. I've seen a few Staravia around." The fighting type shrugged (Cecilia was learning that was a common thing she did), but a weak explanation escaped from her mouth, and she closed her trembling eyes. Even Scyther winced. She lied, Slowking said. Her friend wasn't taken seven months ago, but two days ago.

Croagunk didn't fight a Tangela for food, she fought the human to try to leave Wooper time to escape. It did not work.

"We can do something about this!" Cecilia said.

"Grace can help. We can try to find that trainer and convince him— forcefully." Croagunk chuckled, which was more of a sad, raspy defeated laugh. She explained that her Wooper friend had been special. Her skin was brown, and she was from far away. Paldea. Paldean Wooper was one of the endangered Pokemon Grace had told her about, Cecilia thought as her fingers anxiously intertwined with her skirt. Not only that, but Croagunk went into depth with the culprit who'd caught Wooper.

A human woman had done so, along with a Hypno. They'd Teleported out right afterward. A surge of paranoia overtook her. Abel had a Hypno. Yet he wasn't the only trainer with a Hypno, so were her worries just unfounded? Two of his Pokemon could turn into humans, although his Zoroark couldn't Teleport unless he'd found a way through that, so it would have had to be his Ditto, who had a child-like demeanor. The fact that he hadn't been there made sense either way. In a city, he'd be recognized.

She needed to warn the others. This didn't bode well for her hopes of Abel being uninvolved.

"Okay," Cecilia exhaled.

"This… this doesn't bode well. I'm going to need to—" Her legs wobbled, and she suddenly felt so weak. Once again, a stolen Pokemon. First Leafeon, now a Paldean Wooper and probably many more. Was this the start of a pattern? If this was true… once was a coincidence. Twice would basically confirm it. Abel would be working with the poachers, and he'd be so deep in Pastoria that even this place wasn't safe.

Paldean Wooper would sell for hundreds of thousands in Sinnoh due to their artificial scarcity, which she assumed was why it was so close to extinct here in the first place. Trainers looking to make money would travel here to catch and sell them. There were guidelines in place, but Grace had already told her all about how the UPAN thought those weren't enough. Cecilia outstretched a hand and steeled her tone.

"Come with me," she said.

"Train and grow stronger. We and our friends will do something about this. When we find Wooper, I'll release you both or she can decide to join as well. I promise you. Scyther," she pointed back to the bug type, "would kill me if I ever kidnapped another Pokemon." Scyther snorted, but he didn't disagree. Croagunk hesitated. Her eyes darted between Cecilia, Scyther, Slowking, and Talonflame. Then, she nodded. Cecilia placed a Pokeball against the poison type's forehead, and she was caught without any resistance.

Once she released her again, she scanned her with her Dex to check her moves. Croagunk, the Toxic Mouth Pokemon. Its cheeks hold poison sacs. It tries to catch foes off guard to jab them with toxic fingers. Once diluted, its poison can be used in medicine. It rarely fights fairly, but that is strictly to ensure survival. It is also popular as a mascot.

Moves: Mud Slap, Poison Sting, Low Kick, Venoshock, Astonish, Fake Out, Counter, Rock Smash, Mud Bomb, Pursuit, Feint Attack, Poison Jab (Click for more information) Ability: Dry Skin (Click for more information) — You should have listened to me, Ri said. Now look at you. Chase trekked through the swamp's mud with annoyance surging with each one of Lucario's remarks. Yeah, he was right, but he didn't have to rub it in! Forty minutes left, and he hadn't found anything.

Chase pushed through the swamp, at least thankful that this exertion was just another form of leg day. Zangoose had demanded to get back into her Pokeball, not wanting to dirty her white fur. Ri was down in the muck with him while Sig and Vikavolt flew a few feet above their heads. Pokemon fighting ahead, Ri said, stopping Chase with an outstretched arm. He grinned instead of feeling any danger.

"Perfect! Now I can go and see which one has potential—" Actually, they aren't fighting. I'm sorry, Lucario spoke into his mind. One of them is running away from a group. I don't know what Pokemon exactly, but they are flying while the runner is swimming. They should come into view in three, two, one… Chase squinted at the little grey and purple Pokemon whose two antennas would barely get up to his knees. Following him were three Hoothoot probably looking for a meal.

The sight immediately triggered something in Vikavolt. He'd been the same way. Just a little Grubbin in Jubilife getting attacked by Spearow until Chase found him. The difference between him and this Pokemon, however, was that Vikavolt had fought back while it was just running away.

"Go do your thing," Chase said. With a burst of speed, Vikavolt shot forward, emitting a loud buzz and the crackling hum of electricity. The Hoothoot's eyes widened, and they fled as soon as they realized that Vikavolt was way too strong for them. Whatever the hell that swimming Pokemon was also ran away from Vikavolt, funnily enough, until he saw the electric type chase his foes away and he continued toward him instead. Chase grabbed his Pokedex to scan it. Wimpod, the Turn Tail Pokemon.

This Pokémon is known to be cowardly. When it desperately dashes off, the flailing of its many legs leaves a sparkling clean path in its wake. Its habitat varies from beaches to seabeds, swamps, and even sewers. As a natural scavenger, it will gleefully chow down on anything edible, no matter how rotten. Wimpod usually gather in swarms, constantly on the lookout for danger. They scatter the moment they detect an enemy's presence. Type: Bug, Water"What the hell happened to your swarm?" Chase said.

The mere somewhat aggressive sound of his voice sent the Wimpod into a trembling frenzy. It obviously scattered, Lucario said. She got lost instead of rejoining them and regrouping. Chase let out a long sigh.

"Well, I saved ya. Go on. You should toughen up a little. I know it's apparently in your DNA to be scared, but you should go down fighting, if you ever do go down. Don't let some shitty birds kill you without attacking back." Vikavolt hovered over Wimpod and attempted to cheer him up with some encouraging words that Lucario translated for him. He mostly related to his own experience as a lonely bug living in Jubilife, desperately scavenging to stay alive.

Anyway, after they bonded for around ten minutes, Chase finally decided to leave. They needed to be at the entrance soon, and he'd only get back in time on Sigilyph, and even she was being way too friendly with Wimpod. Chase started to walk away to find dry land so he could get on Sig (the mud here seemed to drag him down every time he tried to pull himself up), but Wimpod followed everywhere they went.

"What's your deal?" Chase growled.

"We saved you already!" Wimpod let out a nervous screech. She had determined that you were the best person to follow to keep her safe, Lucario explained with an amused look. She's asking to become part of your 'swarm'.

"What the fuck?" Chase groaned. Vikavolt and Sigilyph want to take her in. This isn't what I wanted, Chase silently complained. She didn't have the drive! No spark! Yeah, she was kind of cute if you looked at her the right way, but Wimpod was no fighter. But… for the cohesion of his team… he might need to catch her. Vikavolt and Sig would be down in the dumps for weeks if he refused, and Chase couldn't have that when they needed to train to beat Wake. Maybe he could train the cowardice out of her?

"Fine. You can come with us, but you're going to get worked to the bone." Chase could see the shift in her eyes. So long as she was safe, she'd accept anything. Chase sighed as he threw the Pokeball at her. The device floated in the mud and dinged. It hadn't been what he had wanted, but it was something, and he was lacking a water type. Too bad there was no way she'd be ready for Wake in time, or even Byron for that matter— Chase nearly choked on his own saliva when he scanned his new capture with his Pokedex.

She was even weaker than he'd thought! Moves: Defense Curl, Struggle Bug, Sand Attack (Click for more information) Ability: Wimp Out (Click for more information) That ability was one he hadn't seen. Chase clicked on it again to see its description. Wimp Out - Wimpod is adept at sensing the exact moment when it has no chance in a fight and will desperately try to run away to avoid further danger. When it does, it grows adept at evading attacks and gains a boost in speed.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Wimpod let out a happy screech.