A serpentine tail stuck out behind a bushes. Blitzer and George froze. They were not the only ones here. It wasn’t long before their arrival went noticed. A scaled head arose from the bushes, staring straight at the two children with hawkish eyes.

“...What are you kids doing out here?”

A Druddigon walked into view, bearing a half surprised, half annoyed expression on his face. Like the two children, he too was holding a basket; his had been largely filled up by berries of various colors.

“Wait, Lance?” Blitzer said, wide eyed and arms hanging out of disbelief. “Is that you?”

The corners of the Druddigon’s mouth went up to reveal the largest teeth in his mouth. “Yeah it’s me, you little fool! Who else could it be, your grandma?”

Blitzer almost bit his tongue. “N-no, of course not, I just-”

“You just what?”

“Well, ehrm, I’m just, just surprised to see you out here? Heheh…”

“Could say the same about you two kids myself,” Lance spat at the ground beside him. “I’m an adult, I can come here alright. Half the Pokemon living here won’t even dare get close to me. Meanwhile, you kids get attacked by just about everything that moves. So again, why did you come here? Your parents not teachin’ you right?”

“N-no, we’re not, our parents, uhhh, let us…” Blitzer stammered. George shrank back out of embarrassment, trying his damndest to distract himself by scraping the ground under him with his foot. The less he had to explain himself to anyone claiming authority, the better.

Lance wheezed out a laugh. “Hah. Kid, I know more about you than you realize. You’re Blitzer. That Charmander lad Nero and Nera found in the woods near town several years back. Oh, we all know about the trouble you’ve been causin’ in and around town ever since. Only reason they let you out is ‘cause you wouldn’t take no for an answer. Ever. Doesn’t matter what. You’d jump off a cliff if you thought it was cool.”

“Hey! I wouldn’t do that!”

“Yes you would.”

“No I wouldn’t!!” Blitzer stomped a foot.

“Kid, do you know how many bulletins I’ve had to write because you got lost in the middle of nowhere?” asked Lance.

“No.”

Lance shrugged. “Me neither.”

Blitzer leaned back, his tongue awkwardly pressed against his cheek. “Okay, but that’s when I was young and weak! I’m stronger now! I can breathe fire and I’m not afraid to use my claws, so I’ll be fine out here.”

“Sure. And apparently you can breathe water too, since it definitely was that Oshawott kid I heard screamin’ for help just now.” Lance rolled his eyes. “Kid, my ears work fine, and I’m not an idiot. You might be capable of defending yourself a little, but you’re still not much. And neither is that Oshawott kid, for that matter. Let the grownups handle things, alright? Place is too dangerous for kids.”

“Not for me!”

“Yes it is.”

“I can handle myself!”

“No you can’t.”

“Yes I can!”

“Yeah, in your dreams maybe, kid. Damn Charmanders…”

As Blitzer and Lance went on a back and forth tangent, a sigh came from the quiet party in all of this. ‘ I really have to say something for myself.’ “Please, sir.” The bickering ceased for a moment as George opened his mouth to speak. “We’re not trying to cause trouble. We just wanted to help out with finding food,” he meekly said, to which the Druddigon raised a claw.

“Lad, that’s noble of you and all, but get real. You’re kids. You should be playing with your friends, not going out exploring. You have any idea how dangerous the world is? Imagine how your parents must feel if you didn’t come home one day. Don’t be reckless.”

It was a simple thing to say, and yet it struck George like a hammer onto a nail. His parents. Since that fateful day at the doorstep of the foster’s home, they were more distant than ever. Where they were, how they were doing, it was all a blur.

“...what’s with that face?”

Lance had folded his arms. George realized that his sunken mood was beaming off of him, and tried to bury it by appearing brave. “Nothing, sir. I just, my parents, yes. You’re right, I shouldn’t be reckless.”

“Who are your parents, anyway, lad?”

A trickle of saliva ran down George’s throat. “They don’t live in the village. It’s complicated. But I’m staying with George’s parents in the meantime.” He glanced at Blitzer, and got a smirk in return.

The Druddigon grunted. “Fine by me. So yes, you’re here to gather berries, I take it. Like I said, yes crisis, not your job, not your responsibility, not something you kids should be doing. But since you’re here, might as well.”

“You’re saying that we can join you?” asked Blitzer with beaming eyes.

“Yes, yes, you little scamp” Lance grumbled, fiddling with the dark green scarf wrapped around his neck. “Wouldn’t put much value in that if I were you. Only reason I’m even bothering is because you’re here already. Now, if you just follow me, we’ll get that basket filled up in no time, and then we get out of this dump.”

Blitzer pumped his fist. “Yes, yes!! We’re really going to do it! We’re really going to help people out, George!” he cheered, with a celebratory flare of his tail to boot.

“What did I tell you, kid?! No fiddling around!”

“Ah!”

George clicked his tongue. ‘ Aren’t we heroes. ’

* * *

True to his word, Lance led the children around the Azure Hills until their baskets were filled. All Blitzer and George did was follow Lance; directions and encounters with wild Pokemon were dealt with by the Druddigon at the front. It didn’t take long for George to get bored, Blitzer to get annoyed, and both to be disappointed. Blitzer especially wasn’t taking it well. All that puffing himself up heroism and strength, only to stand and watch as Lance swatted everything he came across out of the way without even having to put his own basket down. Not to mention the silence; no one said anything. George was certain that trying to talk would annoy Lance even further, and thus kept to himself, haphazardly throwing berries into his basket.

The good news, however, is that it didn’t take long to fill the basket. Lance had a knack for finding berries in Azure Hill, somehow. George couldn’t see or smell the berries, and Blitzer said he couldn’t, either. Lance insisted that this wasn’t his first time here, and that there was a trick to it. He also insisted that the children shut up, which they did.

At last, after having harvested enough food to fill both of their baskets, Blitzer and George were led out of the Mystery Dungeon. Their feet were weary, their arms were strained, and nothing sounded or felt nicer than the warmth of their beds, but they were finally out.

“Here we are. Done at last.”

“Phew…” Blitzer sat down under a tree. “Can we rest here for a while? We still have to walk all the way back.”

George grimaced ‘ Uuughh… I forgot how far out we are.’

Lance rolled his eyes, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. “Not for too long. It’s already past noon, and I’d like to get back home before it’s dark out. You hear?”

“Sure,” Blitzer said. “How long do we have?”

“Five to ten minutes.”

“What?”

“You heard me, five to ten minutes.”

“But I’m tired!”

“And that’s why you shouldn’t play hero, laddie.” Lance shook his head. “Always the Chars.”

“h-Hey! What do you mean, always the Chars?! What does me being a Charmander have to do with anything?” Blitzer was flabbergasted, his eyes going back and forth between his cream colored belly, which he was shielding with his arms, and Lance standing in front of him. Lance grinned back at him, letting his oddly shaped wings flutter in the wind

“Kid, pay attention, ‘cause I’ll say this just once. I’m a well travelled man. Did a lot of it in my youth, and got to meet many different Pokemon in those days. Let me tell you, you Chars have a pendant for startin’ all sorts of trouble. Always the ones making themselves out to be tough, always spoilin’ for a fight, always the ones wanting to be big damn heroes. ‘Tis in your kin’s blood to be that way, I swear.”

George struggled to hold in a snicker. ‘ That explains a lot, actually .’

“But we’re not all like that,” Blitzer said. He didn’t sound convinced himself. “And why is wanting to be heroic a bad thing?”

“‘Cause most of the people who want to end up looking for trouble. Stubborn and foolishly charging into things headfirst to try and solve problems with brute force never ends all too well. Kind of like you and your little trip out here. Just because you can fight off bugs doesn’t mean you’re ready to go toe to toe with other creatures, Blitzer,” Lance said.

Blitzer let out a soft groan, and resorted to playing with his fingers. George waddled over to a tree himself, not letting the Charmander out of his sight for a moment. A soft breeze brushed up against his fur, carrying a grassy scent. As it teemed in his nostrils, George looked down; his scalchop had found its way into his hands.

‘ This isn’t funny. I shouldn’t be laughing. Why did I find it funny in the first place? That’s not fair to Blitzer. ’

Lance kneeled down in front of Blitzer and placed a claw on his shoulder. “Again, lad, I’m not saying you’re all in the wrong. ‘’Specially now that there’s a food shortage. But look. I’ve seen many people end up gettin’ far more than they bargained for, all ‘cause of their hero fantasies. That’s bad enough in better times. But now, with the Soldiers around? You have to be even more careful. They can do whatever they want, as long as the Queen’s got no problem with it. And she’s no friend of ours, that’s why we’re both here to begin with.”

“...Yeah,” whispered Blitzer.

“Exactly. Don’t take any of this too harsh on yourself, kid. We live in difficult times, and we’ll have to learn to live with ‘em. I sure would like the days before the Queen came back myself, but I’m afraid that’s not going to happen.” Lance’s head pitched up at the skies, his eyes gleaming with a longing spectre.

“But, if no one does anything, who will?” Blitzer stammered.

Lance immediately cut Blitzer off. “Oh, there are. But they’re living in a hole somewhere. They’re alive, but not ‘living’ anymore, Blitzer. Trust me, you’re better off not thinking about it.”

“...Okay.”

“...is everything really that bad?” George pondered out loud from a distance. Lance turned his head. “I mean, they took our food-”

“That’s only the beginning, lad. Calm before the storm, mark my words. Those Soldiers will be back for more. I fear that appeasement will only get us so far. But we have no choice. Whatever they’re planning, we can’t resist much”

George leaned back against the tree, gulping. Lance spoke in a dull, serious tone. It sounded as if all the emotions he once possessed had been sucked right out of him. And not in a pretty manner. No, his eyes spoke of another story. One filled with agony and suffering, fire, and worse.

“Can we not talk about this any longer? ” Blitzer asked. He too looked saddened. The Druddigon gave a nod in his direction.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, we’ve wasted enough time around these parts. Let’s go back, shall we? Sooner we hit the road, the sooner we’ve got this done and over with.”

And with that, Lance turned tail and made his way back. While Blitzer got up to follow, George carefully raised his back against the tree, one hand on his basket, worrying.

‘ Why does no one want to talk? What are these soldiers even doing that no one wants to say anything about them? ’ “Maybe I’d understand you better, right?” he said out loud.

“Oi, Oshawott kid, get over here! I’m not waiting for you to get those legs up!”

“Aaah!”

Swift on his feet, George sprinted back towards Blitzer’s side, with whom he followed Lance back to the bridge, once again not saying much on the way. At the bridge, however, there were two strange Pokemon peering against the guard rail, watching the stream flow into the horizon. A slight grumble from Lance and a meek ‘hi’ from George failed to get any response out of them. It wasn’t until after they had passed that George’s ears caught wind of them talking.

“So, Machoke. The criminals should be close by.”

“Yeah, and there’s no tracks anywhere. Great.”

“Damn criminals. Must’ve ran off in the water. Or hiding out in Azure Hills. One of the two.”

“Yeah, that’s not stopping you though, is it, Crawdaunt. We’re catching those sons of vermin.”

“Hey, hurry up!”

“Huh? Oh!”

George’s attention had been so focused on the two strangers that he had failed to notice Blitzer having walked ahead, and not just a little bit either. He hurried his way back to Blitzer’s side, bit his lip, then poked the Charmander on the shoulder.

“Those two Pokemon, who are they? They don’t look like ordinary people.”

Blitzer winced out loud. “Hng, yeah, you’re right. Those were soldiers.”

George almost jumped out of surprise. “Huh? How do you know?”

“Did you see what they were wearing?”

“No. I only heard them talk. To be honest, I didn’t really want to look at them. They just had this… aura around them, or something.”

Blitzer nodded. “That’s for the better. I’ll tell you more about it later. Can you pretend you didn’t see anything until we get back home? Trust me, that’ll make the trip back a little easier.”

George frowned. “If you say so…”

“I mean it, George.”

“Yes, yes I understand.”

“Alright then. You’ll feel better soon. It’s about time we got back home, anyway. I’m starving!” Blitzer rubbed his stomach. George felt a growl come out of his own stomach, and forced a smile to his face.

“Yeah, me too.”

And so, they walked back home, spending the time spotting wild Pokemon and having Blitzer tell stories about his experiences with said Pokemon. It was a fun little distraction from all the worries about the Soldiers, which George appreciated. Of course, the longing for information persisted, but it would come in due time. For now, it was time to go back home and get some well deserved rest.

* * *

“You think that’s ‘im?”

“No doubt about it. The energy coming off that little Oshawott is unmistakable. Whether he’s ready, though…”

“...is another matter, you mean to say.”

“Yes, Skal. Let me finish before you yammer over me.”

“Blegh. I don’t need any psychic powers to explain what my two eyes can see. Feels like this whole mission was a waste of time. Some Oshawott kid isn’t going to cut it.”

“Give it time. He’ll get there. He has to.”

“Terez, we don’t have forever.”

“Yes, I’m more than aware of that. But don’t worry. One day he’ll be ready… Whether he believes that himself or whether he will be forced is none of my concern. That child has a great role to play. We should keep a close eye on him.”

“I sure hope you’re not joking.”

“I’m not a jokester. Especially not about these things.”

“Have it your way then.”