"Whoa," was all Basil said in awe of the two dragons that clashed, standing among their pre-evolved forms. How many people in Isson could say they witnessed two wild dragons duking it out over some territory? It was an amazing sight and just this alone would have made a visit to the island worth it under other circumstances, but that was not what he was there for. Still, he took a photo with his Pokedex of the duel for drawing reference later and maybe make it the background of his Pokedex if it had that function.

Eventually he did pull himself away from the dragon-on-dragon turf war and began to walk around the cave again. "Alright Basil stay fo- Whoa!" Basil side stepped out of the way of some low flying Druddigon. "Forget staying focused. Just don't lose your head."

He glanced around as he walked along the cave. Those walls were really covered in gash and claw marks. Again, Basil took pictures though it was the walls. Maybe the professor would have appreciated photographic data of Pokemon behavior? Or he was just wasting space on the Pokedex? Anyway, there was something quite off that Basil noticed when he walked around the cave; all the other tunnels had Pokemon going in and out, except one. They made an active effort of staying as far as possible.

Basil commented to himself, "Weird." His curiosity was simply too strong, despite logic dictating that this was a bad idea. Basil made his way over to the tunnel but was stopped by an Axew. Fear filled its bulbous eyes as it tried to steer him away from whatever was inside. What in the world could be so scary that other dragons are afraid? The young noble thought to himself. He peeked past the corner and well, he found a mother alright. Basil held up his Pokedex and found the entry of the three headed goliath that relaxed in the cavern.



A shiver ran down his spine. He stared at the device's entry silently before he chuckled dryly, "I must be losing my mind. I'm actually considering it." Basil knew that it wasn't foolhardy, it was downright suicidal. The smart thing would have been to walk away, find a different dragon mother, or just leave the island. Every fiber in his being screamed at him to make the smart decision

He smiled and knelt down to pat the Axew on the head gently, if it allowed it. "I appreciate the concern, but I can't turn back. You see, if I walk away then I just prove myself right that I am a coward. Maybe I still am, but I refuse to be ruled by my hesitations. Hesitation is death." He straightened up and looked dead ahead with an icy gaze. "Besides, what's waiting at home scares me more than this thing ever could."

Basil briefly looked down to see if the Axew was going to follow him or not. It probably wasn't because it probably had a better sense of self-preservation than him. Regardless, he would proceed to enter the tunnel. "Hesitation is death," Basil reiterated under his breath. The moment he stepped in the Hydreigon's lair, he most definitely alerted it to his presence.

He would walk as far as the creature would allow him to and looked it directly in the eyes, never taking his attention away from it for a moment. "Hydreigon, I've come to speak to you," said Basil cooly and with conviction. It was all he had. There wasn't a plan. There were no bardic tones or contest of battle prowess. This was just a talk between him and the Brutal Pokemon.

---

---

"... man, I wish I could read this easier. I've gotta be so close to it." Skylar commented as he finally pulled the mail away from his face, having read it. "Stafford's Ferry, eh? We'll head right there, once we see the pirates. I think that's them over there."

"Wingull!"

"Hm? What's that, Breeze?" Skylar looked up at the nesting bird on the top of his head and looked in the same direction. A Squirtle? Skylar had to stare at the blotch for just a second but, sure enough, it seemed to be a Squirtle! Not a bird, definitely a Pokemon he liked.

He looked for a minute before calling back Forge, something he was planning on doing before talking to the pirates anyway, since he didn't want them to think he stole this Pokemon from them and ruined the deal. "Come back just for a minute, Forge. I promise, it'll be quick."

Turning to the boat, Skylar waved and shouted to the group. "Hey! Are you guys the pirates?! Kalmia told me about you!"

❄Erika Olson❄

---

---

Erika wasn't sure how she had heard of it, possibly an advertisement or maybe a visiting trainer in Cooldome mentioned it before, but Makuno-Uchi was the place she sought to take everyone. It was a small, unassuming place that was nestled in the heart of the Entertainment District. If you weren't looking for the cute homemade banner of the owners, Takeshi and Hanae Kurosawa, then you'd likely never see the place as you walked past. Inside, the place seemed to have walls thick enough to silence the constant noise and activity outside. The whole place seemed homely and it was easy to become comfortable.

They all sat down, ordered, and began eating. Conversation naturally flowed and each one of them recounted the others of how they've been making strides in their adventure. Erika felt a sting at the impressive flash of Maple's trainer card, knowing she had only the single badge so far. She was supposed to be the battler, but somehow, she didn't mind the delay when she really thought about it. Her adventure so far was fun and memorable.

Then Erika's hometown came up, or rather the mountain she lived on, and she couldn't help but chime in. "If you're going to Cooldome City, look my mother up! She helps all sorts of trainers before they try and trek up the mountain. It is famously difficult but that is part of the appeal, really." Erika realized she hadn't yet mentioned how her mother could help. "If you go, she could help you find what you want on Mt. Chill and knows all the Pokemon from the base to the summit! So if there is a Pokemon in particular she'd know where. Also nice to have her watch your back because it really can be scary when a blizzard rolls in."

Erika had personal experience with that fact. She did get lost in one and shortly after, that was when her mom decided to be more of a direct help to trainers who would try to climb the summit. Her house was always open and the advice came free. Of course if you actually wanted to climb to the top, she wouldn't help you there as that would ruin the challenge for trainers. What she did a lot of the time was rescue in case a trainer did get lost or injured. "She just won't help you climb to the summit, of course. But if you're not going to do that then I'm sure she'd love to help! Especially a friend of mine!"

The topic of plan's made Erika think. What did she want to do next? It seemed like circling back around on the southern isle of Isson would be wise but Erika did feel an urge to trek and explore more of Isson. "Redcoast, Highhill, Freecape and Raremine..." She muttered, before raising her head to add to the group, "I also have to get the gym badges in these towns, but I am determined to head West out of Worldedge. After I'm done here, of course."

Sno had brought rice cake her to face, musing about what was coming next, before taking a bite. She probably wanted to head South and make the climb up to Mt. Chill's summit since Erika seemed to rave about it all the time. That said, they did just come from a mountain and it would be nice to see a beach and maybe connect with her ghostly self a little more. If she could haunt someone, that would be great as an example~

With that said, Erika paid the bill, not wanting to hold anyone up from setting out. "Well regardless of where everyone goes, keep in touch! I'm sure we will see each other again. I doubt I'll be heading to Mt. Chill until I know I can climb to the summit and not a moment before so good luck Ellyn and Maple. We'll see each other again, I'm sure." Erika said as she stuffed her all-in-one Pokedex back into her bag.

She turned to Joshua and Ewan after that was done. "Power plant and Bigfjord City. After I get done here, I can let you guys know but please don't feel like you have to wait up. Just let me know when you set out and I'll try to join as well."

Then Erika considered Elana. "Thanks for your help Elana! Maybe I'll come up with another adventure that I need help with. Like I always wondered what the Sunken City was like..." She teased that suggestion before getting up. Sno fluttered in behind her.

"Alright good luck everyone! Later"

Erika and likely the group split for now unless there was something else. As Erika walked, with Sno flowing behind her, the hustling streets of the Entertainment District, an advertisement caught her eye.


"Huh. Wanna go try it out, Sno?" Erika asked to Sno who nodded. "Fross!"

---

^{Frozen Cave || Afternoon}
Eryn exhaled when the ball clicked, , walking over and picking it up with a grin. “That was easier than I expected.”

Her Pokedex prompted her to transfer one of her Pokemon to the box, and she sent the “Voltorb’s” Pokeball right along. Then, after checking the time, she stretched her limbs, looking over her Pokemon. “You all up for some training before bed? Or are we all tired?”

Atha jumped, immediately outraged by the accusation of tiredness, and Dei shared her look of displeasure. Peri, however, decided to voice her opinions, and a loud roar echoed through the halls of the Frozen Cave.

“Okay, okay, not tired, got it,” Eryn said, uncovering her ears with a wince. Still, she smiled; she couldn’t ask for more than enthusiasm. So, after calling out the rest of her team and having Eri take on the form of a Delibird—“To blend in, of course!”—they were on their way to explore further offerings of the cave.

---

@Remram

The Axew stared up at him like he was out of his mind when patted and told that Basil would not be turning back. Well, guess there wasn’t much the little dragon could do to stop him, so the little dragon dashed away. Seemed like the priority here was to not be caught in the crossfire.

With that, Basil advanced on his own into the possibly soon to be literally dead end. The dragon, which according to the Pokédex is only basically 6 feet tall or 1.8 meters, was definitely much much larger because the Pokédex is silly. As Basil walked, little grunts escaped the monstrous beast as she roused from her rest, pulling herself off the ground and raising her heads up high. She stretched her necks, extended her wings as she gave a small yawn from each of her three mouths… and then her eyes opened, and her heads lowered to glare imposingly at Basil. She had notably not opened her eyes until Basil had come to a stop.

With that, the dragon advanced on him in turn. Her middle head glared at him from in front and the two other heads snaked around to glare at him from the left and right respectively, the dragon lazily waving her wings somehow hovering above him. She hadn’t attacked yet. The numerous Deinos around were looking at the scene curiously. Basil had an opportunity to speak.

What would he say?





Connected areas:
Route 14. The lake surrounding Dragon Lake is also known as Route 14.



__________________________

@Gardevoiran

‘What!? Pirates!? Where!?’ Zachery called out in feign shock as Skylar called out to them, looking around rapidly with an alarmed-looking gaze.

‘Wait, we!? Arrgh, you’re sharp! What gave us away!?’ he then asked, glaring towards Skylar while the pirate-flag fluttered in the wind back on his ship.

Though, a moment later he broke down into laughter.

‘Hahaha! I’m just messing with you. One of Kalmia’s trainers, are ya? Mila! Get me my notebook!’ he said, and a few moments later one of his girls came over and handed him a notebook. The pirate put down the Shuckle he’d been holding, grabbed the notebook with the same hand and then started leafing through it with his hook-hand.

‘So, what’s your name, and what do you want? We’ve got every Pokémon that isn’t native to Isson on this ship! … Almost every!’ Zachery added, because there were a couple ones they didn’t have. Like, legendary Pokémon, special Pokémon, etc.





Connected areas:
Route 6. If you can climb the cliffs up north.
Raremine Town. Directly east.



__________________________

@Pirouette

‘Wow, what a fantastic little place! A cozy corner in the heart of the bustling Entertainment District. A lovely find, Erika!’ Joshua complimented her before the start of their meal, because the Makuno-Uchi was indeed a very nice place for their meal.

In the middle of the conversation, Erika brought up her mother. Maple’s face brightened up in amazement.

‘You’re from there!? Oh, that’s amazing! Please, tell me the name and street of your mother and I’ll be sure to check in with her! Also, give me your number so we can talk more!’ Maple excitedly bounced to Erika as she discussed all the things.

With the thing with Ewan and Joshua, she got a nod and an agreement.

‘Will do. Suppose there’s a number of things in this city I’d like to check,’ Ewan said.
‘Hm. Let’s see. There’s a contest arena down here, isn’t there…?’ Joshua considered, looking deep in thought all of a sudden.

After that, Erika thanked Elana… Elana took a moment to take the straw out of her mouth and give Erika a gentle smile.

‘No worries. Just drop in at Lakewatch Town when you’d like my help. Now, underwater is not my area of expertise, and we actually do have an underwater expert…’ Elana shrugged a little. ‘… but if you want me, that can be arranged.’

With people having said their goodbyes for now, Erika and Sno headed off into the Entertainment District, the air abuzz with chatter and happy tones as people searched for the places to spend their Ps. Erika herself found the place that she wanted go to next… PokéMania.

She quickly found that PokéMania had two entrances, one for the audience and one for contestants. There was apparently a function where audience-members were able to bet on which of the contestants they thought would win, and they were able to win money doing that. Anyway, since assumingly she wanted to win those prices, here’s where we assume she enters as a competitor.



So, what will Erika do?



The city is comprised of six different districts. Three districts on each side of Mt. Edge, stapled on top of one another by the way of leaning on the cliff sides and mountain as well as giant pillars, taking advantage of the strange physics around Mt. Edge. Exits out of the city are on the middle districts of each side. Each district has their own Pokémon Center and Pokémart, but otherwise have their own unique features.

The following applies regardless of where in Worldedge City you are.

Connected areas:
Route 10. South of Worldedge. A farmland employing multiple psychic Pokémon from Mt. Edge to help with the crops.
Route 13. West of Worldedge. A slightly disturbed route, which attracts electric Pokémon due to the proximity of the power plant.
Mt. Edge. The mystical mountain at the heart of Worldedge’s unnatural existence. Few people actually cross its fabled tunnels, most just teleport past.
Route 18. East of Worldedge. A calm stretch of land going from Worldedge to Witchpeak, part of the Allmass Cycling Circuit.





Currently in the Entertainment District.









To reach the Southern Districts, you’ll need an Abra to teleport you or walk through the tunnels of Mt. Edge. Costs 350P.







__________________________

@Typical

There were a couple other miners that had to take a look that Eryn hadn’t managed to unleash an unspeakable monstrosity that she needed help with when Peri roared, but they could soon confirm it was just a Pokémon making her opinion heard and be about their way.

With that, they decided to head on, into Frozen Cave proper. They found the trek to lead upwards, most of the trail was upwards, leading to risks of slipping and sliding all the way back where she’d come from. But, journeying forward, Eryn made her way through increasingly tight frozen tunnels, until eventually it opened up at least a little. A cold wind hit her in the face.

It appeared to be snowing.

Thankfully, it did not take much for Amelia to find all she would need for the spelunking she was about to go on. Once she had all the supplies she would require, she made her way out of town and back to the Wet Caverns. Once she was inside, the Zubats of course swarmed her, but Litwick was out of its pokeball and would occasionally release an Ember to try and drive them away, though neither the Trainer or her Partner wished for a fight against that many opponents.

Once she made her way to the split in the cave, she made her way down the darkest path, using her flashlight to see in the darkness while using her sixth sense to try and locate whatever Ghost she had sensed down here before, praying that she would not encounter anything too hostile while she was down here. She knew that being in the darker areas of caves was far more dangerous, as some pokemon did like to use the darkness for ambushes.

---

---

"Lucky guess, really! I'm legally blind!" Skylar prodded his way closer towards the pirates, team in tow and with the thoughts rampant through his mind of what Pokemon he could request from the pirates. After a moment, Skylar planted one hand firmly into the other. He didn't know how many birds he could get, but he was sure that he was gonna at least get two if he could.

"Skylar Brighton, future Flying Gym Leader, at least after I get a few more badges. I love Flying Types and birds in general, and I've been, uh, studying them for a good part of my life. If... if that wasn't obvious." Skylar gestured to his team of a prehistoric bird, a seagull, a dinosaur with wings, a fighting chicken and a butterfly. He shrugged that off and continued. "And I've actually heard that there are bird Pokemon that were common starters in other regions, one that evolves into like... an archer specifically that seems really fun!"

Skylar paused for a minute. "And I know it's probably a long shot, but I do love Piplup. If you, uh, have one of those. I think only one Pokemon would be free, but I can trade this Relic Vase I found a while ago for another. Some collectors in Raremine seem to think it's quite valuable, anyway..."

@PlatinumSkink

---

"Alright team! Wait, hold on we need a team name..." Claire would take a moment to setup on her side of the field. "Team...team...Team Ruby! Yeah that's right! Red and cute like me-!" Alright, this was a bit of a unique challenge. That said, she was super confident in her teams ability to win. Coordination and teamwork made the dream work and all that...so she was going to go super aggressive to start with.

"Alright! Ralia, take rear! Laurel take mid! Zeal, be our attacker!" She'd shout. "So Laurel, whip us up a sandstorm!" Laurel would give an inquisitive, but affirmative cry as it would do just that, trying his best to whip up a violent sandstorm to obscure their side of the field...and conversely, Simons side so that neither could get a good visual on things. "Then Ralia, teleport Zeal right in front of the ball! Hit that thing as hard as you can with a mach punch towards the Goal then, Zeal!" Saluting as they all got into positions, Ralia would do as instructed, teleporting Zeal immediately in front of the ball. Her goal here was simple. Obscure the field from Simon while getting an advantage with her own pokemon by hitting the ball hard and fast. If it failed, then the sandstorm should if nothing else obscure where their goal was and make retaliation harder.

Supposing Ralia's telepathy helped too, she could hopefully easily pinpoint everyone's else' movements and coordinate with them too. She had to hope though, Simon didn't think to do the same with his ralts.

There was a fine line between bravery and stupidity, and Basil tap danced all over it. He knew what he was doing was completely absurd; it was a miracle that he was not reduced to atoms the instant that it woke up. The young noble could hear his heart trying to jump out of his chest. Could the Hydreigon hear it too? It probably could. He had the dragon's full attention, its cold gaze pierced through him. There was not a chance that he could get away now, not after he woke up the sleeping beast. Fear gripped him tightly and yet, he put up a strong front. Basil never broke eye contact with it because if he was going to die then at least he would look at it in the face.

Something told him that he only had one chance. Better make it count. He cleared his throat as if he was trying to clear out a potential scream. "My apologies for my rudeness. I woke you up and demanded to speak with you without even introducing myself. My name is Basil Rivens, a Pokemon Trainer. Ms. Lesley brought me here after I asked her to," he explained to the Hydreigon. Basil made sure to watch its body language for any sign of aggravation. The last thing he wanted was to test the patience of something classified as the Brutal Pokemon. Quickly, the noble followed up. "I'm not going to insult your intelligence. You've probably figured out why she brought me here, but I promise I mean no harm to you or your children. All I seek is your permission to ask your kids if any one of them would like to join me on my journey."

Basil's hands balled up and he could feel his nails dig into his skin. It was all he could do to keep himself from shaking like a Whismur. Maybe the Hydreigon knew already. "But I understand that you don't trust me. We humans really haven't had a good track record with dragon-types, have we? You probably were around for it, what Team Amethyst did. You witnessed it all, and you hate them and the others who were just as culpable." There was a slight pause. Something swelled inside of him.

"I hate them too," he said with a firm anger. It was hard for him not to be considering the island was a testament to the greed of men. It wasn't just a fire in his eyes, but the desire to rip and tear everything. "I hate what they did the region, to its Pokemon, and I hate that there are those who still have yet to have been punished for their hand in the destruction they brought. And yet, it is a legacy that we have no choice, but to inherit as a noble and I have to live with that guilt. Coming to this island has only reinforced that, but it reinforced something else."

Basil finally returned its glare with his own. He didn't even know why he was venting at this thing. Maybe because it was essentially a stranger and that made it easier to talk or maybe a possible near-death experience just made him not really care anymore. "I need to be better. That's why I'm even on this journey. Coward as I am, I will be better, and I will be a trainer that can make things right. You can bet on it."

Well, now that overly long tirade was done. Basil continued to hold his ground with the dragon though it was self-evident that he was no longer afraid of it considering he stared it down in the most intense staring contest he's ever had.

@Joshua Tamashii

Amelia stepped down into the darkness, alert in case of ambushes. She found a network of tunnels in the darkness… that weren’t very quiet. In fact, there were the sounds of rolling rocks just about everywhere down here. Here comes one now!





Gravelers and Geodudes rolled through the caves, using the fact the caves weren’t entirely flat for their favorite pastime of rolling as fast as they could all the way from whatever top they found down to the bottom. As the Gravelers rolled, they sent more Geodudes flying than Amelia could possibly have realized were there as they came through. Fortunately, they were very loud, so she had plenty of time to get out of the way before the living rocks came rolling.

Still, Amelia had a goal, and she pushed on towards that goal. Because indeed, she felt the presence of ghosts in this cave. She had already deduced which one it had to be, and she was not wrong.

A bit more searching, and there it was. Sableye. Kneeling on a relatively flat piece of cave… by what appeared to be a line?

Next to it, was a tiny mole sticking out of the ground…

… as well as a positively humongous rock-snake. All standing ready.







On the other side of this particular cavern… sat a pink, mindless-looking… whatever Slowpoke is.



The three Pokémon seemed to be waiting for something. That’s when, eventually…

‘...’

‘...’

‘...’

‘...’

‘...’

‘...’

‘SLOW!’

With the sudden call the three Pokémon shot forward! The massive Onix blasted forward with great (literally) enthusiasm, the Diglett surged forward as a tiny spot of speed, and Sableye… Sableye did his absolute best to run after them, waving its arms as it tried to head after. But unlike Onix and definitely unlike Diglett, Sableye just wasn’t built for speed.

Diglett poked Slowpoke first, and for his effort, Slowpoke spent the next twenty seconds picking a glowing gem from a small pile behind him to hand over to Diglett. Diglett made a little cheering noise, and then carried (somehow) the little gem over to a small pile that was apparently its winnings from previous rounds. Because now the three Pokémon, Diglett, Onix and Sableye, was gathering once again by the starting-line. Seems they were repeatedly having a race for who gets Sableye’s favorite things, the gems…

And Sableye didn’t seem to be winning.

What would Amelia do?





Connected areas:
Route 2. Feel free to fast-travel.
Lakewatch Town. Behind you.



__________________________

@Gardevoiran

‘Oh, gunning for Lowell’s position? Yeah, that’s cool. Especially if you’re blind, hehehe. Good on you. Alright, Elma! Get one of those!’ Zachery told one of his girls, and she simply nodded before hurrying back towards the ship. Apparently, he didn’t need to clarify which one.

‘Yeah, and I’m Zachery! These girls are Elma and Mila! Say hi!’ Zachery said with a grin.

‘Hi~’ Mila gave a playful little wave towards him as Zachery commanded. Elma was already back towards the ship at that point, though.

Then Skylar came with his second suggestion.

‘Oh, a Piplup. Nah, sorry,’ Zachery said, grinning as he said. ‘I don’t stock up on Pokémon that do exist in Iss- OH, GAH, RELIC VASE-!?’ Zachery suddenly flailed with all his limbs when Skylar revealed what he had to trade with, the notebook suddenly flying. Mila took a moment to catch said notebook, all while whistling as she heard the offer.

‘Kid’s got some treasure,’ Mila commented.

‘Er, let’s see,’ Zachery suddenly started thinking about something, his expression looking focused. ‘If we just… Piplups should live at… if we sail to… then to…’

Mila, however, looked confused.



‘Okay, so!’ Zachery turned to Skylar, holding out his hand. ‘If you’re ready to hand over that Relic Vase, then next time you find us, we might… we might have come up with something! Sounds good?’

What does Skylar think?

Regardless of what he thought, eventually Elma would come back. On her shoulder sat a little owl-thing, and Zachery smiled as Elma walked over to Skylar.

‘Hey, this is your new friend,’ Elma said, letting the little owl hop onto her hand before she held it forward for Skylar to inspect as the little owl looked up at him. ‘Would you like to say “hello”?’



And if he wants it…







Connected areas:
Route 6. If you can climb the cliffs up north.
Raremine Town. Directly east.



__________________________

@Rune_Alchemist

‘Ah! Team name!’ Simon overheard her talking about team names. With not a single second of hesitation, he came with his announcement. ‘Of course, we over here are Team Simon! Let’s go!’

With that, the match was on!

‘Simon! Get the ball! Simon, I want you on defense and Simon, coordinate with your team and be ready to Teleport!’ Simon called… and somehow his team knew exactly which one he was referring to at all times. Barboach Simon launched himself, swimming forward to intercept the ball first. Cubone Simon prepared her club, dashing to stand ready to close the gap. While Ralts Simon stood in the way of the goal, ready to attempt coordinating or something.

Laurel unleashed a Sandstorm! It blew from their side of the battle towards Simons, obscuring the vision… albeit notably, two out of three of her opponents were ground-type, virtually unaffected by the blowing dust. It did bother Ralts Simon over there, however.

Now, as fast as Barboach Simon was, he wasn’t faster than a Teleport. Zeal was teleported to the ball, and was able to go at it first! With a Mach Punch, he was double first! The ball was struck, and went straight past the Barboach… when a bone club hit it in mid-air and launched it back in the other direction! Cubone Simon maybe wasn’t the fastest contestant, but she had range with thrown bones!

‘A fast clash immediately! But who will adapt the fastest!?’ the announcer called, very excited.

‘Nice hit, Simon!’ Simon called to his Cubone. ‘Alright, Simon! After the ball!’ Simon called, and his Barboach went into pursuit after the ball that had been repelled by the Cubone! Ralts Simon kept ready to try to help, albeit didn’t see that much.

What was Claire’s strategy?

__________________________

@Remram

The large three-headed one-brained dragon kept a steady look at him as Basil started his speech. Other than heavy dragon breathing, there was no reaction to the first part of his speech. There was the mildest of a scoff when he said he didn’t want to insult her intelligence, then… when he said he wanted to ask one of her kids to come with him. Now that got her attention. If her eyes previously were narrowed in focus, they now opened wide as she glared down at him. Her presence towered over him.

There was a growl when he mentioned Team Amethyst. She stayed relatively quiet as he finished his tale, his affirmation and determination laid bare before the Brutal Pokémon. She waited a couple seconds, raising her middle head higher as she seemed to be thinking something over, the Deinos behind her watching curiously. She lowered her heads down to him, almost looking like her head was going to sniff him or something…

When her mouth swung open, and in the dark depths of her mouth a purple gathering of massive power brew while the two other heads snickered menacingly.

That would be Dragon Pulse, about to be shot a couple inches from his face, directed into his face.

What would Basil do?





Connected areas:
Route 14. The lake surrounding Dragon Lake is also known as Route 14.

---

---

"He won't stop me, that's for sure." Skylar laughed before offering a jolly wave. "Hello Elma, Mila!" As one of the girls went off to go see about Pokemon, Zachary freaked out about the Relic Vase. Skylar wasn't entirely sure why, other than it seemed like it would be something valuable to him. That said, maybe the boy just valued friends more than money. He wasn't entirely sure, but it made Zachary change his tone really quick.

Once it got a little zesty, though, Skylar zoned out and looked up at the ship where he saw the tiny little brown owl appear on Elma's shoulder and move down towards him. From there, Skylar was immediately captivated by the small lad. "Well hello there, little guy... ohmygodhe'ssocute."

Skylar was absolutely gonna accept, 100%.

"Your name is now Owlfred."
"Rowrowl?"

Holding the borb in his arms, facing him towards Zachary and the others, Skylar pulled back with the Relic Vase. "Ehhh, I'm not too fond of the idea of giving you a vase and just hoping I'll see you again. After all, if this vase really is that valuable, I feel like maybe working off of that way might be risky... but... I have an idea."

Skylar glanced down at Rowlet. "You have Pokemon not native to Isson. Surely one of them could carry the egg to me and deliver it, if you decide to... you know. When I get the egg, I'll give that Pokemon the Relic Vase to return to you. I think there was a Pokemon from Paldea who carries things in it's feathers, if I'm not wrong about my bird studies."

Skylar put the vase away. "Of course, I know that's also a little bit much of me to ask, but I think you charge for more than one Pokemon, right? Kalmia implied that when she told us about you. So - I'll pay up front, right now, for whatever the price of a second Pokemon would be, as a sort of trust. If and when I get the egg, you get the vase. Sound fair?" Skylar held out his hand from there, offering a handshake. "And if you decide to change your mind, that's fine. You did give me ol' Owlfred here, I won't be mad."

Meanwhile, with all of these negotiations, Seabreeze and Paradise immediately looked down at the small round boy and observed. What a small bean he was, indeed. Paradise moved his beak down and picked a small stray feather off the bird's head, enamored by the small little guy.
"He's friend shaped."
"Mhm."

For the briefest moment, he thought that he had gotten through the Hydreigon. That was until it had opened its mouth and he stared down the maw of a dragon charging with swirling energy to send him to Kingdom Come. He had forgotten what kind of creature he was dealing with.

Crap, Basil thought to himself.

His mind went into overdrive. There was not enough time to run, he was too close to make any considerable headway before it unleashed its attack. If he moved a muscle, then it would've been over in that instant and yet, there was something telling Basil to not run. Obviously, it was not his sense of reason because that told him to find the safest way to survive. It was a gut feeling, something that told him to not show weakness in front of the dragon. He had to stand up to it. This thing preyed on his fear, expecting Basil to give in. He had to call its bluff.

Basil stared down the Hydreigon with that same glare that she gave him. Well, it was more akin to that of his own father than the dragon and to be honest, he scared him more. "Do you expect me to run? To beg you for mercy?" He asked coldly. "Come on, shoot me. I bloody dare you."

This was and probably will forever be the worst idea he's ever had.

@Gardevoiran

‘Hey, I’m becoming a bit of a celebrity here! I can’t be going around deceiving people, word would spread! Now, yes, I’m a pirate, but I’m also trying to run a business here…’ Zachery argued when Skylar was doubtful about leaving the vase with that pirate. He then looked a bit concerned with the potential plan that Skylar was bringing up… when his eyes suddenly opened wide.

‘Wait, you literally want your egg delivered to you by-’ Zachery then dropped his head back and laughed. ‘Hahahaha! I love it!’

‘I wouldn’t recommend it,’ Elma said with a slight frown. ‘It is true, there is a bird Pokémon known for carrying items with its feathers… however, it is also pretty well known for dropping them for fun.’

‘Eh, we can persuade it! Sure, that sounds like a good deal. The price is 2,000 P for an unevolved Pokémon, though the price doubles per purchase. To make sure nobody rich buys up everything. Still, with your Relic Vase on the line and this not even being a Pokémon from outside Isson, we can skip the doubling this time!’ Zachery said.

‘So, deal?’

With that, he could probably go.





Connected areas:
Route 6. If you can climb the cliffs up north.
Raremine Town. Directly east.



__________________________

@Remram

The Dragon Pulse charged up straight in front of his face, and yet Basil decided that he was going to face it straight-on, risking losing his face in the process. Hydreigon held her pose for a bit, staring silently at him even as the sound of the energy of her attack hummed. There was something in her gaze…

Then she arched her neck up and unleashed a powerful, purple blast off straight above Basil… and straight into the Salamence that had been charging in at such a speed that Basil didn’t realize it was incoming until it had been struck by the Dragon Pulse.

That didn’t stop the other giant dragon, as the Salamence dove down through the beam, despite the damage. Hydreigon gave a content grunt as she jumped into the air and crashed into the other dragon, both of them sent backwards, notably avoiding the Deinos and the eggs. This was when Basil heard someone running behind him.

‘Basil!’ Lesley came running, in full armor, looking alarmed. ‘Why, out of ALL the ones you could have gone to, did you go to HER!?’

Clearly less than impressed by his choice, Lesley was here to attempt getting him to run while her Salamence kept Hydreigon occupied. Before him… the two dragons circled in the air. Dragon Pulse and Dragon Breaths blasted against the other, and the two winged creatures quickly dodged one another. Salamence charged at the Hygreigon with a wicked Dragon Claw, and Hydreigon replied in full delight with a Dragon Rush. The impact sent a blast wave that shook a number of the eggs below, Basil probably could feel it off where he was at that moment, and a couple of the Deinos were trying to retreat into the corners. By her expressions, it was clear Hydreigon was enjoying fighting what was probably one of few creatures around here that was her match…

‘C’mon, not even I try to bother that particular one-!’ Lesley said, trying to grab Basil to pull him out of the tunnel, when… ‘WATCH OUT!’

She grabbed at Basil to try to pull him to the floor, because Hydreigon had suddenly nosedived and then flown across the floor straight past the two humans, Salamence flying after as fast as she could. It had all gone so fast, that…

Then something else fell down on the two of them. The thing that dropped down on them was big, black and weighed a not inconsequential amount. The thing had been grabbed by Hydreigon mid-dive with one of her side-mouths and then just casually dropped on top of them as she passed by.

It was one of her kids, currently looking down at Basil in confusion (with the assumption he was no longer standing after having a mini-dragon dropped on him).



If he looked off towards the flying dragon, he’d get a brief moment of Hydreigon looking back at him, full of intention… before it turned back to the intense fight with Salamence that it delighted.

‘… Huh,’ Lesley made a somewhat surprised noise, looking away at the encounter.

The Deino looked at him curiously…

And, true to the Pokédex word, the first thing it then did was bend down its neck and try to bite him.

Despite this action, didn’t seem like the Deino had decided to come with him quite yet. Did he intend on trying to convince this one somehow?





Connected areas:
Route 14. The lake surrounding Dragon Lake is also known as Route 14.

The world stopped for Basil. He stared down death with as brave a face anyone could and waited for his fate to be decided. His mouth was dry, and he started to feel perspiration gather on his head though it was hard to tell if it was because he was so terrified or if it was the heat radiating from the Dragon Pulse, but he never flinched. There was something odd though. Basil could see it in its eyes, it was as if it was waiting for something else to happen.

With no warning, the Hydreigon threw its head up and shot off a purple beam of energy that ripped through the air. With the dragon's head so close to him, the sudden movement caused Basil to stumble back, and with his thrown back head he saw something collide with Dragon Pulse. "What the? Why is a Salamance here?" He thought to himself while he watched them clash in the air with reckless abandon though he had to rip his gaze away from the violence when he heard his name called.

Basil turned and saw a panicked Leslie run towards him obviously bewildered, not that he could blame her. Before he could respond, he heard a resounding boom followed by a shock wave that made him skid a few inches. He turned around and continued to watch a display of strength that he never really thought possible. Well, he knew that Pokemon could get this strong, but it was another to see it in person. It captured him though this was absolutely the worst time to admire the strength of Pokemon. His daze was broken by Leslie's grip and was pulled down to the ground to avoid being in the crossfire.

The two dragons moved so fast that he did not realize what had happened until the air was forced out of his lungs when something landed on top of him. Basil laid on his back and groaned as he felt a surprising weight on his stomach. He arched his neck to look at what the weight was and to his surprise and confusion it was a Deino, one of the Hydreigon's children.

The young noble did the best he could to sit up with the Deino on his lap and looked at the adult dragon for answers. There was intention in its eyes, and he understood what it meant.

Basil held his left arm out for the young dragon not to protect himself, but as an offering. It hurt like hell. Teeth broke through skin and went deep into his forearm and yet, Basil maintained a smile through grit teeth. "That's how you become familiar with your surroundings, right?" He asked gently. It was blind, so Basil figured that's how Deino familiarized itself with its environment. It was not something he could hold against the little fella.

Well, this was the final stretch.

"You know, I'm going to be going to many places. It's going to be a challenge, but I can promise you that it won't be boring. There will be many people and Pokemon to meet and battle, plenty of tasty food, and plenty of adventure. So why not come with me? You'll have plenty of stories to share when you're big and strong just like your mother if you do." Basil knew that it could not see him smile, but he was doing his best to convey it through his tone.

Amelia quickly found out that the cave was very loudly and unsubtly dangerous in possibly the worse way. She had been focusing on the ghost presense she felt so much that it wasn't until the sounds of a Graveler rolling towards her got much louder that it finally dawned on her that something was coming TOWARDS her. The realization came early enough that she was barely able to get out of the way, the Geodudes that were sent flying in her direction just barely missing her in the process. Once the initial shock wore off, she would slowly get to her feet again, using the cave wall as support as she slowly gathered herself and calmed down. After a few seconds, she took a deep breath before setting off deeper down into the caves.

Eventually, she did make it to the location she was sensing a ghost from, finding what she had expected to find in the form of a Sableye. It seemed this one was competing for gemstones in a race against a Diglett and an Onyx. While she wasn't sure how fast Onyx was, Amelia was certain she remembered hearing that Digletts were actually fairly fast pokemon. And she knew that Sableye weren't the best when it came to speed, not unless they had the Prankster ability to take advantage of. If it actually had Stall as its ability instead, that just made things worse most likely.

As she was thinking about how to possibly help the Sableye out, a sense of growing pain in her right ankle was finally registering as the adrenaline from before finally died down. Realizing she wouldn't be able to keep standing, Amelia found someplace that was relatively safe to sit while still watching the races. As she did, she checked her ankle, finding that it had begun swelling. She had probably sprained or twisted it while dodging the Graveler earlier.
"Well, not going anywhere fast for a while." She said before turning her full attention back to the races again.

---

^{Frozen Cave || Evening}
After apologizing to all the miners attracted by Peri’s roar, Eryn and her team headed to the cave’s tunnels and into the interior of the mountain network. The whistling of wind prompted her to recall all her Pokemon except Dei, who she picked up and stepped outside with.

The Frozen Cave was, in short, magnificent. Snow swirled through the air in plumes, and even in the shade of the mountain, the dazzling white landscape was hard to look at.

“Wow,” Eryn said, shielding her eyes with a hand as she walked towards the edge of the platform. The spikes at the bottom of her boots had proved useful in the cave’s icy interior, but they were pivotal to her safety now.

A passing gust blew a piece of snow into her open mouth, which prompted her on her way. Through the snow she went, searching for wilds as she headed to the next tunnel. Her team performed mostly as expected, though Atha’s Ember proved too weak to one-shot the stronger wilds. As such, she was relegated to the weaker ones—and given an Oran berry for her troubles, courtesy of a passing Delibird.

Just like those in the cave, the Delibird out here made a point of stopping by Eryn and handing her a treat. By the fourth berry, she’d learned to expect such, but then came the unexpected: The fifth Delibird handed her something spiny, black, and curled into itself. Upon closer examination, Eryn realized that she was, in fact, holding a dead bug.

“I, um?” Eryn looked to the Delibird and was met with a cheery “Del!” and wave before the Delibird turned to leave. So there she stood, holding the dead bug, trying to come up with her next action.

Dei, having apparently gotten tired of her inaction, leaned out and blew on the dehydrated husk, which flew right out of Eryn’s hand.

“Dei!” Eryn gave in to her first instinct and chased after the husk, but she could only watch as it drifted over the edge of the mountain and disappeared into the snowy abyss below.

“Well,” she said when they weren’t able to see the husk anymore, “maybe that’s for the best.”

A sharp noise echoed out from deeper within the cave. It sounded suspiciously like… a shout?

“Alright, one more adventure before bed,” Eryn said, adjusting her grip on her grumpy source of warmth. “Maybe they need help.”

---

---

---

Whoops, two weeks later.

"O-Oh! Maybe that's not the greatest option then!" Skylar rubbed the back of his head nervously. Did that bird really drop things for fun? Whatever got your kicks, he supposed, but wow that was... wow. Zachary seemed to have some assurance though that it'd be fine, so Skylar nodded in affirmation. "If you're sure that everything will be fine, then I'm A-OK with the deal!"

Skylar took the pirate's hand and shook it, sealing the deal before passing over the required amount of money.

Skylar paid 2,000 P.

Of course, if everything went well, then Skylar would pay the remaining 2,000 when he got the egg. Call it a tip, call it a down payment, whatever it was, Skylar felt like it'd be fine.

"I'll probably be around Raremine for one more day to take on the gym and finish up some exploring, at the least, then I'll probably move North from there to Cooldome and Freecape, just so you get an idea of where to send the egg if you do go through with it."

With that, Skylar looked over towards the way he came from, and started walking. He waved back to the pirates with a smile, new friend in his other arm. "I'll be in touch!"

Seabreeze and Paradise followed behind Skylar closely, still enthralled with Owlfred. We'll say Bejeebs and Mac were put away as well, to keep things concise. Once properly out of range, Forge was let back out of the Pokeball and hastily affirmed that they were, indeed, not captured by bad dudes.

"Hey hey, it's alright bud. We have another friend."

And, much like their fellow team members, Forge was enthralled with the borb. "Grooo."

"Alriiight, back to business. Let's go deliver that mail, new priorities." Skylar looked back at the water and momentarily saw the Squirtle again, but elected to move on. The Squirtle could stay wild, that seemed fine.

Skylar hopped onto Paradise's back, and off the group ran, back towards town and off to Stafford's Ferry! (I think that's where the mail was going, anyway). They weren't particularly worried about making any stops, none of them had sustained much damage (if any at all) in that prior interaction.

@Remram

While Hydreigon and Salamence were still battling it out in the background, Basil got his arm chewed by Deino. Deino looked, as far as one can look without eyes, towards him as he spoke, or at the very least towards the source of his voice. Then, it let go of his arm just enough to loudly call in his face.

‘Deeeein!’



__________________________

@Joshua Tamashii

Amelia sat down to watch the races. It looked like a new competitor had stepped onto the line! It was another Slowpoke, preparing itself to race the Sableye, Diglett and Onix! Everyone faced forward professionally, preparing for the signal…

‘SLOW!’

The Slowpoke at the finish called, and the race was on again! The Onix was, in fact, quite fast… but the Diglett dug its way forward at an unmatched speed, leaving a trial of dug-up ground after it! Poor Sableye didn't stand a chance against that speed, and the Diglett once again won and received another gem. Not that the Diglett had much use of the gem, it was just happy to win.

And the Slowpoke that entered the race… it looked like it was going to lose the next two races too before it reached the finish-line once.

Looking at the races, Amelia might have failed to realize that there was a collection of not-ghost Pokémon that had gathered around her!

‘Diglett?’ ‘Dig, dig?’ ‘Diglett?’ … asked the collection of tiny mole-Pokémon that had poked out of the ground to look at her curiously. There was also a couple floating rocks floating near.



‘Dude!’ ‘Geo, dude!’ The Geodudes asked whatever ghosts they could see while trying to float closer. In Pokémon, they asked what the ghosts are for something. As Geodudes born here, they'd never seen these species before!



A Psyduck was coming walking from over there, possibly attracted by the various noises made by Digletts and Geodudes.



Then… maybe the most startling might be the realization that what looked like a rock-formation in the wall was actually a sleeping Onix, who now opened its eyes to gaze curiously at the little girl that had sat not too far from it.



Well. Amelia and co had a bunch of curious wild Pokémon around them, now. They didn't appear to be aggressive.

What would she do now?





Connected areas:
Route 2. Feel free to fast-travel.
Lakewatch Town. Behind you.



__________________________

@Typical

Eryn headed down, deeper into the Frozen Cave, away from the harsh wind and blowing snow. Fortunately, she seemed to be dressed for the occasion, and could avoid accidentally slipping, mostly. She might be vaguely aware of some Sneasels stalking her on a distance, not able to quite use their stealth due to it not being night, yet. So, she headed down towards the shouts…

‘WOAH!’

… And came across a curious sight. She was looking down into a round room from a somewhat higher ledge. She could slide down if she wish, but then she'd likely be unable to get up. In the centre of the small room was a large, cold-looking rock, and on top of it stood a creature like a picture of grace itself, a quadruped mammal-creature with a tail, two ears, locks and a very obvious heritage…



… that was currently in the process of shooting Ice Shard needles at a young man that was frantically trying to dodge. On his side stood a confused, strong-looking Golduck, who wasn't interfering. It looked a bit concerned, but had clearly been told not to do anything.



While dodging, the young man in dark clothes yelled out at the Pokémon.

‘I'm telling you! We'll go see the world! Have wonderful adventures making lifelong memories and becoming the best of buds! We'll face awesome foes and come out on top! Doesn't that sound exciting!?’

The Glaceon, clearly unimpressed, said nothing and simply shot another set of frozen needles that the guy dodged with a panicked but deft combat-roll.

‘YAAAH!’ he cried as he ran, the same kind of shout that had led Eryn here in the first place.

‘What, are you saying you prefer just lying around here for the rest of your life!?’ the guy asked, turning to look towards the Glaceon while panting.

Glaceon curtly nodded and then shot another set of Ice Shards at him, which he ‘WOA’ matrix bent over backwards and precisely managed to dodge.

So, what Eryn heard was, in fact, an extrovert trying to convince an introvert to come with him to see the world… if the introvert was capable and willing to shoot said extrovert with ice needles.

What would Eryn d-

Hold on. What was that sound?

That's when Eryn might look behind her and realize there were two angry-looking horned floating ice-heads that ALSO had been attracted by the shouts of the guy!



They were coming from the direction Eryn just came from. Her other choices of directions she could potentially go are either down to where the guy and the Glaceon are right now, or take her chances running to her right, which leads down to another tunnel, not knowing what lay in that direction. Or she could fight, or any other potentially clever option. All up to her.

What would she do now?





__________________________

@Gardevoiran

Skylar shook the pirate’s hand, paid 2,000 P, and then…

‘Yeah, no,’ Elma said in reply. ‘We’re not going to send our bird on some quest to try to find you where you only might be. What’s your phone number? I’ll notify you and tell you where to wait,’ the more serious pirate girl said as she pulled a phone out of her pocket…

‘Ack! A phone!?’ Zachery suddenly complained, shielding his eyes with his one hand. ‘What about our pirate theme, Elma…!?’

‘Yeah, stuff it,’ Elma muttered. ‘I like keeping up with the news, thanks,’ she continued.

‘But, but… our image…’ Zachery looked so taken aback.

‘Fufu. There, there, captain,’ Mila started patting his back as she comforted him. ‘Let’s go raid some ships on Route 28. Would that make you feel better?’

Zachery mumbled a “yes” somewhere in there as a reply.

With that, Skylar was then free to leave this place.

So he flew over to the place indicated by the message, flying past Route 6 in the process, but that aside…

Pain seared through his arm as the Deino's fangs sunk in his arm and punctured his jacket. Small blots of dark crimson began to grow out from the puncture wounds along the fabric. Basil watched the small dragon, waiting for some sort of reaction though at this point he was more worried that it would take a piece of his arm off, but he did his best to remain relaxed. Eventually though it released its grip on his arm and gave a cry of what could be assumed to be affirmation that it wanted to go explore the world than stay on the island. It sure sounded happy to finally leave this place.

"Welcome to the team." Basil gently patted the irate Pokemon on the head with his good arm. Weirdly enough, his other arm began to feel heavy. He lifted it up and saw that his sleeve was wet and was beginning to sag down. Right, he was bleeding. Was it weird that he was completely unfazed by this? Maybe it was the adrenaline? He could still hear his heartbeat pounding loudly in his ears.

To let Lesley actually patch him up, Basil took off his jacket and pulled up his shirt sleeve to show some pretty nasty gashes in his arm. He watched as Lesley somehow deftly patched his arm while maneuvering the bites from the way too eager Deino. Maybe I need some armor too. The young noble thought to himself.

With his arm patched up, he picked up his jacket from the ground while getting up and examined it. He made a face as he looked at the bite marks and stains on the sleeve and then looked at the holes and stains on his shirt. Damn it, I know they're from the secondhand store, but I liked these clothes, he mentally complained.Maybe I need to learn how to mend and wash clothes if I keep on going. It would definitely be cheaper than buying new clothes every time I ruined an outfit. Would it be weird to ask how to remove blood stains?

His gaze returned to Lesley when she understandably showed disapproval with how reckless he was. "'They're typically not forgiving of weakness as humans.' Your exact words." Basil slung his jacket over his shoulders and pushed his arms through the sleeves. "I had to call her bluff. Words meant absolutely nothing to her if I couldn't back them up. Weakness would not be tolerated, and I wouldn't tolerate my own weakness either."

Basil grabbed a Pokeball from his bag and gently tossed it so that it landed on the dragon's head before it absorbed the Deino into it. He picked it up and transferred one of his own members somehow to the PC. "I'm not gonna fight you on bringing me back. Still, I have one more thing I need to do. It'll be quick." He took a deep breath and filled his lungs with air before he shouted, "Hey Hydreigon!" Once he had her attention he said, "When I'm stronger, I'll come back and give you a battle filled with gratitude!" Basil had a big grin on his face. This was the only way that he knew he could pay her back after putting a lot of faith in him to take care of her child.

With that taken care of, Basil turned to Lesley with a sense of relief and said, "Alright, I'm ready."

While they were walking or flying, there was something else that weighed on him. "By the way, how much did you hear?" It had not escaped him on what had happened. The Axew he encountered ran to Lesley to tell her that he found the Hydreigon's den and went in it like an absolute fool. She obviously ran to rescue him as quickly as possible, but the question was if she heard him introduce himself as Basil Rivens and when he talked about inheriting the nobles' guilt for what they had done.

@Remram

Lesley threw a look at his now bloodied jacket and gave a little shrug.

‘Well, if you ever felt like going for the dangerous ruffian look, there ya go,’ Lesley said with the tiniest bit of mirth in her voice while still patching him together.

When he then used her own words back at her, she made a bit of a grimace.

‘You’re right, and it probably was the right move to get closer to the Hydreigon… but you do realize how close you just came to being torn in half? If you keep making those bets, one of these days it will not go your way. Darn it, did you HAVE to pick that one? Most others don’t just randomly attack humans. Like, if that one was the only mother on the island, I wouldn’t have let you go off like that,’ Lesley grumbled.

When Basil shouted off towards the Hydreigon, she was still locked in combat with Salamence. But, with Basil’s shout of her name, the dragon flapped her wings and came to a stop, hovering in mid-air. Salamence also stopped the assault, a momentary ceasefire. Hydreigon listened to his words, notably with her back turned… then gave out a loud roar. The roar of a dragon that had heard his promise. Then, she flapped her wings, and soared out through the cave’s entrance and out into the open sky.

‘Ooo, it’s been a while since she left the cave…’ Lesley said, looking momentarily back towards the eggs and the Deinos, then nodded. ‘Alright. Salamence! Come back! We’ve got a delivery to make!’ Lesley called her dragon, who came flying back. Lesley applied a Hyper Potion to heal the damage from the battle with Hydreigon, then helped Basil back up, much gentler than last time.

Then, they were off. This time with Lesley keeping a more steady hold of Basil, just in case he’d suddenly faint, and not flying quite as dangerously. That is, since last time she was somewhat intentionally trying to scare him.

During the flight, Basil asked how much Lesley had heard. She gave him a peculiar look.

‘If you’re talking about what you said to Hydreigon, none. When I came running, the Hydreigon was already in your face. I stayed at a distance, because approaching would just have made it worse. Then it charged the Dragon Pulse, and I could wait no longer, so I sent Salamence. At that distance, I didn’t hear anything,’ Lesley said, because realism. ‘Do you have something you wish to tell me?’ she ended on an open-ended question.

Up to Basil if he wants to answer.