It wasn’t until the late afternoon that Blitzer and George managed to get back to the plains surrounding Greenfield. The road back hadn’t been without holdups, but they managed. Bugs weren’t that threatening at the end of the day. A few bites here and there, a sting or two, but nothing major. The hardest part was coming up with another excuse for coming home all scratched up, just like yesterday.

“Ah, home at last!” Blitzer put his hands on the back of his head, before throwing his mouth open with a yawn. “All of that exploring today sure made me tired.”

“It sure has.” George stared uneasily down the plain, fidgeting with his fingers and keeping his tail close by. “Are you sure that your parents won’t get mad at us for not listening? They did tell us not to go away so far.”

Blitzer shook his head. “Of course not. They’re used to me going into the woods by now! It’s not my fault there’s not much to do in the village, is it? There’s only so many kids my age! And no one wants to go exploring with me!”

George bit his lip. ‘ Probably because they don’t want to get into trouble themselves… ’ “I’d like to meet those kids, actually,” he said in a muted tone.

“Oh, we can go and look for them right now, if you want to. If you’re not too tired, I mean!”

“I didn’t mean right away,” George replied. ‘Especially when I’m covered in scratches!’

Blitzer chuckled. “Haha, no worries. After all that exploring we did today, I’m beat! And that’s proof that we did a good job! We’ve both gotten stronger, haven’t we? You especially! I mean, you had even less knowledge of your own body than a baby yesterday, and look at you now, George!”

The Oshawott’s eyes went left and right, so as to not have to look Blitzer in the eye. There’s being optimistic, and then there’s fantasy. George didn’t feel as if he had toughened up at all. Sure, it was only a day ago that he was running from his life from a bulb of all things, but neither that nor the bugs would have gotten him to break a sweat the day prior to that. The bite mark on his shoulder was a painful reminder of that.

“I’m not so sure that a few bugs mean much of anything, Blitzer.”

The Charmander threw his hands up. “Oh, don’t be such a downer! Everyone has to start from somewhere. Do you know how often my parents remind me of the first time I tried sneaking out of the village, and how I came running back screaming over a few Starly? That was when I was just a little kid. But I got older, and I sure got stronger, too. No Starly is getting in my way now!”

Blitzer posed as if he was a mighty hero, with both his fists pressed against his sides. George clicked his tongue.

‘ You’re still a kid now, genius. ’ “But it’s only birds and bugs. That’s not a high bar to clear, is it? Aren’t there Pokemon capable of breaking mountains and causing floods? I know we’re both getting stronger eventually once we’re old enough, but I find it hard to believe that when I’m having trouble knocking a spider off of me.”

A wind emerged from the woods behind. Just like before, Blitzer nudged George in his back to subtly get him to walk. Were it not for the grass brushing against his feet and tail, he wouldn’t have noticed.

“Look, I don’t know how strong humans are, but I do know how strong I am,” Blitzer explained. “And I also know that it’s only going to get better from here. One day, I’m going to be able to melt boulders and fly! Compared to that, what am I? Not much. Let’s not think about how hard everything is now, okay? We’re today’s rookies, and tomorrow’s heroes!” He threw a hand up in the air, all while his tail flared with excitement. “That’s who we’re going to be, and no one will convince me otherwise!”

George nodded. ‘ Well I sure hope you’re right, ’ he thought to himself, harkening back to the fantasy of being a mighty warrior, Seamitars in each claw. Blitzer spoke of it as inevitable, no matter which way you sliced it. One day, that fantasy would become reality. But that day was far off, wasn’t it? A long way on a road with many trials and tribulations.

A growl then put the fantasies to rest. George’s stomach wasn’t interested in hearing anymore about them, apparently. “Look, all that worrying is making me hungry. Do you think your parents are preparing something right now?”

Blitzer looked towards the sun, then shook his head, eyes struggling to stay open. “No, it’s too early for that, it looks like. But heroes should always be well fed! We’ll make it ourselves if we need to!” he shouted. His stomach then released a bellow of its own. “Although, I’m really craving my mom’s cooking right about now… no, no problem! All food is good!”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” said George, clenching his fists. “I’m starving, and I deserve something after all that!” ‘ Even though it was the kind of trip the Headmistress wouldn’t consider too far away. …I really shouldn’t be thinking like this anymore .’ “I don’t care what anyone else thinks, I’ll reward myself if I have to!”

“Yeah! That’s the spirit!” Blitzer cheered. “Fooood!”

* * *

With blazing speed, Blitzer and George ran across the field back home, speedy and energetic despite them both running on empty. Human or Pokemon, moods sure change quickly once food got involved. In that sense, the transition between worlds wasn’t so radical. George was eager as ever to fill his belly, and Blitzer really wasn’t any different. It was a nice thought to cling by.

But the bliss wouldn’t last. When they reached Greenfield, they were greeted by a deserted town, spare for some commotion coming from across the stream. Multiple voices spoke at the same time, yelling over one another. It was too unclear to make out any words, but none of it was reassuring.

“George, do you hear that?”

“Yeah, it sounds like everyone is gathered for something. Does this happen often?”

“Not really, only when it’s important. And even when it’s important, everyone prefers to hear about it from someone else eventually. This almost never happens, unless…” The Charmander’s eyes lit up. “Unless it is bad news. George? I think we have to put eating on hold for a while.”

George’s mouth curled up in a frown. “It can’t be that bad, can it? I’m starving…”

Blitzer nodded. “I know, me too. Hopefully this won’t take too long.”

Despite protests from his belly, George followed Blitzer towards the crowd. The rest of the village on the way there was as eerily deserted as the front. Normally you’d see someone regardless of where you looked. The village might have been small, but always full of life on an ordinary day. The roads on the southern bank, the bridge, every place was quiet as a mouse.

Once over the bridge, instead of taking a left to the hovel, Blitzer and George went right. Past a few different streets stood the town square, the source of all the commotion. Seemingly the whole village was gathered here; at first glance, George guessed that he was looking at two hundred heads, some were familiar, most were new faces. Speedy was here, as were Nero and Nera, and the people Blitzer had a knack for bumping into yesterday, like old miss Eldegoss.

“They can’t just do this, can they? What are we supposed to do?”

“We have to do something! How are we going to explain this to the children?”

“But we can’t do anything. They’re way too strong for that…”

“Our livelihoods, our livelihoods! They can’t just come in here and take it!”

The air was filled with panicking voices. Sheer pandemonium had unfolded in the village square; some were shouting at the top of their lungs, others were weeping for their children, and others were caught in between, confused as to what to do. Blitzer and George anxiously eyed the chaos from a distance, not sure of what to say or think, and their feet shifting backwards.

“Kids?” spoke a voice in the crowd.

“s-Speedy?” Blitzer stammered, “What is going on here?”

To this, the Raichu could only shake his head. “It’s hard enough having to explain this to my little lad later… it’s the Soldiers, lads. The Soldiers came.”

“Wh-what happened?!” Blitzer shouted. George reflexively stepped away from him. ‘All it took was Soldier and he sounds just like the rest!’

“They’re not happy. You know how we’ve not been so willing to do whatever the Queen asks of us, yes?” Speedy said in a dull tone, as if all the emotion had been sucked right out of him. “Yes. They’re here for that.”

“What do they want from us?” Blitzer asked. Speedy shook his head once again, likely to stall having to tell them. George however, had a nagging feeling scratch at the back of his mind. Deep down, he already knew what the answer to that was going to be.

“It’s about me, isn’t it?”

“Huh?”

“They’re looking for me, aren’t they? I overhead them searching for me in the woods yesterday,” George said. What he had heard was still as clear as crystal.

‘What kind of Pokemon do you think he has been turned into? I don’t care, we’re going to find him’.

It had to have been related. It couldn’t possibly have been anything else. Not to George. His memories were pristine and shining like a pearl. “Do you know what those Solders are named? Is there one named Skal? Or one named Terez?”

Speedy looked at George with a dumbfounded face, then simply shrugged. “Kid, I don’t know what you’re talking about. They just took half of our food.”

“What?!” Blitzer put his foot down. “What do you mean, they took half of our food?! They can’t just do that! Who do they think they are?”

“Read the paper, lad. Either we give it to them, or they’re taking it by force. It was either this or housing some Soldiers in our homes, and we don’t want anyone to get hurt, Blitzer. As difficult as it is to actually do it, we have no choice,” said Speedy.

“But what about us? We’re supposed to eat too…” George felt the hunger gnaw away at his stomach. This shouldn’t be a problem, and yet it was. It used to be that when he felt even a little peckish, there would always be some food to fill his stomach with. True hunger was an oddity, something that only existed in dusty history books.

“Lads, we’ll figure something out. Stay calm, okay? You won’t be going hungry,” Speedy said with a shaky voice, before walking off. Blitzer reached out to the Raichu with a hand, but ultimately didn’t say anything. It was futile. Speedy disappeared in the crowd. The last Blitzer and George saw him do was hang his head low.

“Great. Now what do we do?”

George held his arms over his chest. “I’m not getting any less hungry standing here… do your parents still have something? Speedy said only half the food was taken, right? There should still be something.”

“And you’re not just taking whatever you want.”

Alarmed, the two children jumped to face the crowd. Blitzer’s parents were standing right in front of them, one shaking his head, the other erratically scratching one foreleg with the other. “Listen boys, I couldn’t help but keep an ear open to all of that. Remember we’re all in this together, alright? So we’ll figure something out together,” said Nero.

“Is there still something for us to eat?” Blitzer and George asked at the same time.

“Yes, yes, patience. We’ll have to be careful with how much we eat for now. Until we can replenish the stocks.”

“How long is that going to take? What about the field?” Blitzer said while holding his tail in front of his chest.

Nera shook her head. “Can we please go home? I don’t want to talk about this here.” Nero nuzzled her in response.

“Yes, darling, don’t you worry. Let’s get going, you two… speaking of which, how in Arceus’ name did you get yourselves that dirty again? Did you run off into the woods once again, Blitzer?”

“No, uhh, we just went into a, uhh…” Blitzer let go of his tail to clumsily brush at a green spot on his arm, which didn’t want to go off. This didn’t escape Nero’s attention, causing him to start sniffing the air loudly. George’s blood ran cold; the air in the dungeon had smelled a little funky compared to the other forests.

“Oh for crying out loud…”

* * *

Grumbling and nagging every step of the way, Nero led the children and his partner back home in an uneasy silence. George gulped as the front door clicked into it’s frame. Someone was about to receive the yelling of a lifetime; at least he had the defence of it not being his idea to go there.

“So I told you to not go too far, and what do you kids do? Head off to the Mystery Dungeon just out of town, because of course!” Nero shouted.

“Heey! How did you figure that out?” Blitzer looked shocked.

“I didn’t. You just told me,” Nero said with a smug smile. “Anyway, what were you thinking? Do you have any idea how dangerous Mystery Dungeons are? The Pokemon that live in them are all out for blood, Blitzer! I don’t care if you’re at an advantage, you see them as a game, they see you as a meal. And not only that, you brought George along too! George doesn’t even know how to defend himself, and you just throw him to the wolves! What were you thinking?!”

“We can defend ourselves, dad! And George can fight for himself, he just-”

“Enough of this!” Nero sat down by the table in the middle of the room, letting one foreleg rest on it. He never let Blitzer nor George out of his sight for even a second. “I could rant for hours and hours on why you shouldn’t have gone. But what’s the point? You’ll head out anyway. There’s no stopping you, Blitzer.”

George lowered his head. Nero sounded defeated, exhausted from what must’ve been years of fighting this fight. “I just don’t want you lads getting seriously hurt. You know what the Soldiers are capable of.”

Blitzer nodded. “I’m not letting that stop me. Not a chance! I’ll go out and get stronger, you’ll see. I’ll win, they’ll lose!”

“Preposterous…”

Nera then got in between her partner and the children. “Honey, even you have to admit that this isn’t something to be too upset over. I’ve had my worries too, but I can’t lie.” She turned her head, revealing a proud smile. “We’ve raised one brave child, haven't we? That’s the kind of bravery we need right now. In these times.”

Nero sighed. “I’ll never forgive myself if either of those lads ends up lost… I can’t imagine the pain his original parents must feel… and what about the ‘wott, we don’t even know where he’s from. He can’t defend himself.”

George bit his lip and walked up to the table, still struggling to fight off the hunger. “If no one minds, can I say a few things?” The parents both nodded.

“Go ahead,” Nera said. George nodded back.

“Okay. I’m still new to being a Pokemon, but I think I’ve already learned a lot. After we went to the forest today, and after I got to defend myself, I kind of believe him when he says that we will manage. And, to be honest, I liked going into the dungeon. What if someone needs help? That’s what I want to do, help others.”

“Yeah, and we need to help others!” Blitzer suddenly butted in, leaving George staring awkwardly as the Charmander placed a hand on the back of his neck. “We don’t have anything to eat. We’ve got to find some! Isn’t there a place where berries grow like grass?”

“You mean the Azure Hills?” asked Nera.

“Yeah! That’s it-”

“For the love of Arceus, please no…” groaned Nero. “As if Greenwood Forest wasn’t dangerous enough. You’re not old enough to go there, Blitzer. And you’re not the only one in the village planning to go there, either! So sit tight and wait, will you?”

Blitzer stomped his feet. “No way! I’m not going to sit here and stay hungry,” he said, pouting. Nero stood up onto the table with two legs and wanted to shout something back, but was stopped by his partner. George held both arms over his scalchop, pressing it against his chest for comfort. ‘ I just want something to eat. ’

“We still have enough food for tonight, don’t worry.” Nera winked at the two children. “Can you two prepare a bath for yourselves? I want to talk with your father for a moment, Blitzer.”

“Sure thing,” Blitzer said. “Come George, I think I know how to set the bath well!”

George bit his lip while following him out of the room. “Are you sure you’ll be alright? Your dad told me you’re not good with bathing.” ‘And not someone that remembers to take one regularly, too. ’

“I’ll be fine!”

With Blitzer and George having left the room and taken their commotion a few rooms over, attempting to figure out how to make a bath. Nero slumped over the table, shaking his head. “How could I let them just go like that…”

Nera stepped beside him, caressing her partner behind the ear with a nuzzle. “You know what they say, they’ll have to leave the nest someday. You knew this when we took a Charmander in with us. There’s just too much of his parents in him.”

“I know. But they’re not ready, not yet. Not while the Soldiers are on the prowl… Blitzer is bound to get into trouble with them like this. And George… that lad’s identity… if they find out, he’ll be gone in a heartbeat.” Nero’s voice shook. He’d seen enough get ransacked for a lifetime.

“Perhaps it’s their lot in life. We should keep a close eye on them, but the best thing to do is make sure they’re prepared.” Nera lifted her head towards the door the two children had gone through. They weren’t ordinary village children. They were bound to grow too big for Greenfield’s britches eventually, and she and her partner had to accept that, hard as it might be. Where they’d end up, only Arceus knew.

“I just hope you’re not wrong, sweetheart.”

“Believe me, dear. I won’t be.”