There it was. In the distance, the hills gave way to a flat plateau full of farms, and a tall city built from stone bricks. Behind the city, the hills rose like a scene from a painting.

“It’s beautiful…” Blitzer said, his tail lowered halfway to the ground, arms spread in awe. “George, does this look homely to you? I’ve never been here before, but-”

“It’s a city,” George deadpanned, “Reminds me a lot of home though, if that tells you anything.” ‘Minus the smog. Hopefully without the damn thieves, either. Maybe it won’t be half bad then.’

“Wait, remind you of home? That’s what the place you came from looks like?” Blitzer leaned over to George, his head tilted. George bit his lip. He’d have bit his cheeks instead if not for a sudden itch, which he’d rather not make worse.

“Like I said, it’s a city. Large, many people, built from stone and steel. Don’t see the steel here, but you get the idea.”

Blitzer bawled his claws into fists. “This is incredible! Never seen anything like it before. Anything! Yeah, my parents and Speedy and some other people in town would talk about Luminity, this city, some other cities, or heck, even Tirasford all the way in the north at times, but telling is one thing! Seeing and experiencing? Not in Eravate anymore! Not even on the moon! Different galaxy, even!”

The Charmeleon jumped up and down. “Can’t wait to go exploring there. I gotta-”

“-not get caught by Soldiers, you mean,” George said, nervously tapping his foot.

With those few words, Blitzer deflated. His tail fell flat on the ground, the flame having weakened, and his eyes were drawn to the dirt in a similar fashion.

“Of course… ugh. Can’t think about the good things in life anymore when you put it like that. Shouldn’t even think about them anymore. Won’t miss what I can’t get.” He squeezed his fists, gritted his teeth. Tensions rose to a boiling point. He took in a sharp breath, the sound of which was akin to a hiss, before kicking at the dirt out of frustration.

“Damn it! Why can’t I have ANYTHING anymore? Not my parents, not my best friend, not even fun things like this!!” He spat fire at his feet, scorching the ground black.

“Nonono!” George shouted, jumping to slap Blitzer on the belly. “Don’t be upset about it now, that’s the whole reason we’re here, isn’t it? To turn all that around and get you a normal life. To get everyone a normal life. One where they don’t have to look over their shoulder all the time. Right?”

Blitzer shook his head. “Right… still, it’s not fair. It’s just not. It’s like someone is holding me specifically down and punching me in the snout repeatedly, just because they can do it.” He stomped a foot. “But no, we’re not giving up. We’re gonna stop them. We’re gonna get my parents back…”

“...and find out what they want with me, then stop ‘em.” George winked. Blitzer gave him a far more stern wink in return.

“Damn straight.”

George rubbed his hands, as his enthusiasm mellowed out. ‘Would’ve liked the joy of visiting some major city more if we didn’t have people looking for us…’’

* * *

Thanks to having shaped their own path, they had managed to dodge all the checkpoints around Rustborough. Getting into the city itself was another matter entirely, but one they had a plan for. Or rather, had been given a plan to follow.

“So, one of these farmhouses, isn’t it?” said George as they strayed off the path, into a field of grains and lettuces just past a field of penned-in Wooloo. He tried to keep a low profile by keeping his ears flat against his head, but there was a constant itch clawing at his skin. Still the same itch, and by now its ugly head was really emerging from the murky waters.

“Yeah, exactly right.” Blitzer replied, trying his best to hold his tail over the grains. “How’d we recognise it again? Some slogan on the side?”

“Something real stupid on the side,” George replied. “You remember what Skal said? That we’d recognise it the moment we see it? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Blitzer had no response but to pull up his shoulders. They walked along the farmlands, studying each barn and farmhouse they’d come across. Proper directions would’ve gone a long way to finding the right house. Every last one had a slogan written on it. What were they even supposed to recognise? Not to mention, would they even find it before Soldiers found them? With the post birds and couriers flying overhead, and the farmlands being flatter than an ironing board, what were the odds?

Annoyed, George resigned himself to reading the slogans, one hand tucked onto his scalchop just in case.

“One hour a day keeps the famine away!”

“Working together for a better future! We all lift together!”

“Berries, berries, and more berries: Just the reward for another day of hard work!”

“Happiness a plenty, all in our farm!”

“Keep munching those berries, don’t be a Blitzer!”

‘...Don’t be a Blitzer?’ George blinked rapidly at the off colour slogan on an otherwise inconspicious barn. ‘Is that-’

“What?! Oh you gotta be kidding me, Porov’s nagging me for not eating my Lums here too?!”

George rubbed his nose as he gave the Charmeleon a dumbfounded stare. “...You leave leftovers?”

“Yeah, what’s the problem?” Blitzer whipped his tail. “Lums are disgusting. I’m not eating those. Give me proper veggie soup, or cooked poultry, or any kind of stew. Just don’t put Lums in there, they’re vile!” he ranted, like Porov forced him to eat spoonfuls every day.

Amused, George bit his tongue. “I’m just surprised you leave leftovers at all. Ever seen yourself eat? You’re one step removed from being a giant monster with how you devour what’s in front of you.”

“No problem there,” replied Blitzer as he patted himself on the belly. “I’ll eat good food ‘till I’m round, no problem. That’s what food’s for, and besides, most people imagine Charizard with a little chub anyway.”

“If you say so.” George winked. “Anyway, this has gotta be it. That riled you up pretty bad,”

Blitzer palmed his fist. “Oh, I’ll give ‘em a piece of my mind alright.” He pulled his scarf tight around his neck, then took a bouncy step forwards. “Let’s go!”

And so their ten second journey began, and ended. Naturally, Blitzer was eager to be the first at the door, and so he’d already knocked by the time George reached the door as well. Now it was just a matter of someone answering. In the meantime, George stretched his legs a little. Perhaps not the best idea after all the walking on the first few ways, but it made the itching stop. For a moment.

Soon after, small strip of door suddenly slid aside. Large, vicious blue eyes were on the other side.

“Right… password?”

Blitzer chuckled. “Skal, we know it’s you in there. Open the door already, I gotta-”

“Say the password, or get lost, ya hear? Private business!”

With a frown, Blitzer stepped back from the door. “Uh, George? Do you remember the pass-”

“No. No I don’t,” George replied, shaking his head. ‘I don’t even remember hearing anything about a password in any of that last week…’

“Hah, ye can’t remember Iron ‘n Copper? C’mon, ‘s a nice password right there, I ain’t just throwin’ that out there on anythin’ ordinary, ya know!”

The door flew right open. There was Skal, hands on his sides with his black scarf hanging from his neck. “First time for everythin’ and all… Shame I didn’t tell ye it more than once this once. Ye see, passwords here in the Alliance are a big deal. We gotta keep our business private, after all! ‘S why we do it, and it’s why ye gotta learn fast.”

“What, that silly slogan on the side isn’t enough?” Blitzer asked, pointing the way he came with an entire claw. “Let me guess-”

“Porov came up with it?” the Aggron finished in Blitzer’s stead, smirking. “Yeh, he sure did! Feel free to take it up with ‘im some other time though, we gotta get a move on. Come on in.”

After George and Blitzer had both entered, Skal shot a wide glance over the farmlands, before shutting and locking the door. His slow, lumbering footsteps made the floorboards squeak as he walked through the barn, the sway of his tail scattering dust through the air. The barn appeared as if it had been abandoned for years. All the furniture was barebones, and there was no decoration aside from tools on their racks, if tools even counted as decoration. None of it had been touched in a long time, given the layer of dust over it.

“Right… so ye made the trip. Good job, kiddos. Real good job.”

George rubbed his fur and scarf in a vain attempt to keep the dust away while following, careful to step in Skal’s footprints. “Ugh… okay, is this supposed to be a hideout? There’s nothing here.” ‘I’m going to start coughing at this rate.’

“Not exactly,” Skal said,. “I’ll show ya what this place is… before then though, we’ve been keeping an eye on ye. Already started doin’ good for the fine folk out here.” Skal looked over his shoulder. “Combusken says hi.”

“Right,” George said, wiping his eyes. “Got to test myself out too, I guess… even if I still don’t understand why we couldn’t just teleport straight into the city.”

The Aggron grabbed onto a hatch in the floor, then flung it wide open with a single great pull of his arms. “‘Cause we ain’t stupid, Georgie. We ain’t just gonna throw you into the big stuff right away. And besides, the folks outside of Rustborough now know ye a little. Ye’ve been seen, ye proved yerself. ‘S what counts.“

He vanished down the hatch. George let Blitzer take the lead, letting him cast back the darkness below. The Charmeleon cleared his throat while he held his tail out in front of him, carefully watching his feet on the way down with one hand holding back his backpack.

”Might not have been the most useful, but I sure don’t regret it. The people here are very friendly.”

“Well, if it’s friendliness yer after, us Rubyfolk are yer people,” Skal said with a wink, before continuing further down the steps into the basement of the barn. Or at least, that’s what both George and Blitzer assumed they were heading into. But the steps kept on going and going, deeper underground past anything resembling reasonable for a basement. So far was the descent, even Digletts would wonder what the purpose was.

“So Skal, what kind of barn needs a basement, anyway? Let alone one this deep?” Blitzer wondered out loud after a minute.

“It ain’t a basement, for starters. Ye’ll see.”

George scratched his head as the edges of an uneven stone floor emerged into the flamelight.. “Not a basement? Uh, why not? Don’t barns have basements?”

Skal almost choked on a scoff. “Pfft, Georgie, ye gotta be kidding, right? What kinda barn needs a basement?”

George shrugged, oblivious to Blitzer rolling his eyes right in front of him. “Don’t know.” ‘I thought to store the tools… for the cows and all. Didn’t they say that back in school?’

“Heheh… anyway.” The Aggron smacked himself flat on the belly before leaping off the stairs. He landed with a dull thud, the stones under his feet cracking. “This right ‘ere is how we get in and out the city. ‘S how we smuggle things in and out as well. Ain’t no guards down here, and ain’t no freedom in Rustborough without this, let me tell ya.”

“What about the teleporters?” George asked as he and Blitzer reached the bottom. “Wouldn’t those get the same down already? That’s how you got here.”

Skal shook his head. “Close, but not exactly. First off, not everyone gets to use ‘em. Only the people we can trust. Gotta keep ‘em as much of a secret, am I right? Second, they ain’t so good for gettin’ things in and out. Yeh, yer backpacks and the scarves got through and all, but we need way more volume than just that. Third, ever peek outside? City’s under close watch. All this traffic ‘round a barn or some shack in the mountains would look suspicious even to ye, right?”

George clicked his tongue. “It sure would.”

Blitzer walked past Skal. The light of his tail cast back the darkness, revealing a tunnel that went on well past the light’s reach. “So, this leads into the city? Where exactly does it go to?”

“Ye’ll see in a moment,” Skal replied, gesturing with a claw for them to follow. Right as he turned, he placed his claw directly onto the trident pictured on his black scarf, then swayed wildly into the tunnel with steps large enough to cross a chasm.

The tunnel went on for a good half hour, before they arrived at another staircase much like the first. An arduous climb began, one which was rough on all three on account of it being a never ending staircase. By the end, George was panting, Blitzer was heaving, and Skal clutched ever tighter on his scarf. George didn’t want to imagine how bad his panting must’ve sounded. He hadn’t done it in the Kronn at all.

“‘Ere we are…” Skal grumbled as he flung the hatch open. “Oi, Venusa! I got the kiddos ‘ere with me!”

“Perfect.” A calm and collected voice sounded from above. “Don’t keep us all waiting for too long, yes? I’ve been waiting to see the Othersider for a good while now.”

‘We’re not that slow, are we?’ George scratched himself behind the ears before wincing from a sudden jolt in his thighs. ‘Ow! This damn itching!’

Skal shut the hatch behind them, before taking them through what seemed like an apartment complex that had been repurposed for… other purposes. Several other Pokemon passed them by as they went from room to room, stepping over vines that had overgrown their plants. Without exception, they led to a Petilil, which made Blitzer anxious enough to not let go of his tail despite there being ample light. All the plants didn’t take away from the homely feel of the building. It was akin to a commune, whose residents were all serious looking Pokemon who all wore black scarves with the trident on them.

Three rooms over, Skal sat aside. There sat a Lilligant with a thin leafy coat, caressing a small Litten on her lap while stroking her back, to the sound of content purring.

“Cute, ain’t she?”

“Oh yes,” Blitzer said. “Who is-”

“She’s an orphan. Dad was recently executed by the Crest.”

“O-Oh…” Blitzer’s heart skipped a beat. “That… I’m sorry to hear that,” he whispered, his enthusiasm wiped out. The Lilligant raised a hand.

“Don’t be. It ain’t anything I haven’t seen before. Ye get used to life under the crest after a while… awful though it may be. ‘S why I’m taking care of her meself. She deserves a shot at life just as any of us do.”

George and Blitzer looked to Skal for guidance, who simply grinned back at them.“Think they’d like ye to introduce yerself. What do ye say?”

The Lilligant chuckled. “My bad. I’m admittedly just a little odd,” she said, before lowering her head out of respect. “The name is Venusa, as ye have heard from Skal earlier. To the outside world, I’m just a ditzy old mom lost in a land of fire breathers and groundlings. But in reality, I run most Alliance activity in and around Rustborough. Ye wanna plan somethin’, ye gotta talk with me, no two ways about it. Likewise, I keep an eye on things.” She turned her attention to George, her eyes beaming. “And ye are the famous Otherside I’ve been hearin’ about. In the flesh!”

The human turned Oshawott returned an awkward smile in response. “Why yes, that’s me. But uh, I prefer to go by George, if you don’t mind,” he said while rubbing the back of his head.

Venusa nodded. “Fine by me! Yer a sight for sore eyes, dear.” She leaned towards Blitzer. “And you are?”

Blitzer held a fist by his face. “Blitzer’s my name, and I’m George’s best friend! I’m here to fight against the people that took my parents away,” he said with a frown, his tail flame crackling. The Lilligant nodded.

“Also lost something dear to the Crest, eh?” Venusa said. “Yer far from the only one. Lost me husband… and that’s why I do what I do now. Whatever happens, dear, don’t ever stop, yeh? Don’t let ‘em get away with it.”

“Never!” Blitzer said.

“Good to hear,” Venusa said. “Well then… We gotta talk about what yer here for, right?”

Venusa went on an exhaustive tangent about the Alliance’s goals,and what George and Blitzer’s roles in achieving those goals were. Most of it was already known information: either Artanouk or a mentor had spoken of it before. They needed to get the piece of the Azure Flute that was held somewhere in or around Rustborough, and they were going to have to earn it. With George’s status as the Othersider, he would be perfect for the job. Far better than any ordinary Pokemon, according to Venusa or anyone else who explained the story.

“Right… one big mouthful, eh?” Venusa chuckled, laying her hands on her flowery hat. George let out a dreary breath, and Blitzer followed suit.

‘Tell me about it.’ “So, what’s the first step?”

“Does it have something to do with the dungeons, or the Soldiers?” Blitzer asked.

Out of nowhere, Skal laughed, then waved a finger in the air. “Good guess, but that ain’t entirely right. Why don’t you tell ‘em ‘bout the Festival of the Seven Crops?”

“The festival of the… what now?” Blitzer asked.

George tilted his head. “Festival?” ‘Somehow, everyone forgot to tell us about a festival in the last few weeks.’

Venusa had no qualms laughing at how visibly puzzled the two of them looked, standing around and messing with their scarves, as if the answer was buried in the folds. Even the Litten on her lap seemed amused.

“Surprise! It’s the annual festival of the harvest! Wouldn’t be the Ruby Hills without ‘em!” She put her hands together. “We’ll explain more about it when the time’s right… bit early for it now.”

The Lilligant lifted the Litten off her lap, then got up to tuck her into a small, handsewn bed made from a lavender colored cloth. George and Blitzer looked up to her as she fetched a large piece of parchment from a shelf, then unrolled it in front of them. Printed on it was a map of the Ruby Hills, its centerpoint a red X to the north of Rustborough.

“Apologies for this map not being the best. Feel free to ignore the x for now, yeh? We’ll get to it later.”

‘What if that’s where the flute piece is?’ George wondered.

“Right to the west of Rustborough is where ye’ll be goin’ for this first assignment. ‘S a poor community there that grows corn and Aspears. Name’s Flamehollow. Lot’s of fire breathers there tryin’ to live an honest life. The good stuff, y’know? They got big problems with rowdy Soldiers demandin’ a big fat tax on what they’re growin’. They also got a problem with a Dungeon formin’ in their cave.”

The Lilligant looked up from the map, then towards her hand. She raised her eye before turning back to the shelf, sliding her hand across the back until it reached a pointing stick. She picked it up, then went right back to her explanation without skipping a beat.

“So, here’s the deal. Yer goin’ there, and ye’ll take care of both problems. First things first, the dungeon. ‘Tis a small one, you see? Some of them…” her eyes panned to Skal, who was leaning against a wall while trying to balance himself on his tail.

“Anomalies?”

“Yeh, Anomalies,” Venusa muttered, before tapping the stick on the map. “Some of them Anomalies moved in to ruin the place. Since there ain’t that many, ye’ll have no problem cleanin’ the place up.”

‘Wait a second…’ George put his foot down. “Anomalies control dungeons?”

“What, ye didn’t know?” Venusa took a step back, almost losing her grip on the map.

A growly chirp shot out of Blitzer’s throat as he took a few steps forward “Yeah, no one told us. Is that true?”

“Yeh!” Skal said. He got in between them and Venusa with a heavy footstep. George had to turn his nose up, for the smell of petrichor had spread across the room. “Damn. How’d we forget to mention that? But yeh. Anomalies got this weird Dungeon energy around ‘em. ‘S what we know, or well, can guess. Dungeons grow and shrink based on how many there are, and how strong they are. If they’re all gone or dead, the Dungeon goes with ‘em.”

“...that’s it?” George said. “I thought this wasn’t known! And how come the Dungeons here are such an issue then, if they can be destroyed?”

“‘Cause for starters, ‘tis only a theory. Only got some small ones until now, don’t know if it works on the larger ones. Second, the Crest hasn’t figured it out yet, we think. And we ain’t gonna tell ‘em. They’d kill us even if we did. Then there’s the amount of Anomalies that live in the dungeons. Ever caught wind of that?”

“...Oh yes,” George deadpanned. The darkness of Greenfield’s forests, and the thousands of eyes glowing in the air, behind bushes and each blade of grass were never far away. Blitzer shivered at the thought. He crept behind George, and put a claw onto his head in search of comfort. George pressed a hand against his side, hoping to help him forget.

“Ye sure have,” Skal said. “Think ye can see the problem here. But eh, sorry for not bringin’ it up earlier. Anomalies ain’t a joke. They reproduce real fast, too. ‘S why there’s so many, ‘s why we can’t go around clearin’ dungeons left and right. Ye hear?”

“Understood,” George said. Blitzer timidly nodded behind him.

“Right. Venusa?”

“Yeh, yeh.” Venusa said as Skal got out of the way. The petrichor had faded, though an embarrassed look remained on the Lilligant’s face regardless. “Where was I… yeh. So, first things first, take out the dungeon that’s in the caves. Fire breathers love their hot caves, ain’t that right?” She extended a vine to Blitzer, which had curled around her stick. Blitzer scratched his head, chittering all the while.

“Well, hot sounds great. Cave though? Uh…”

“That’s the Charizard in him,” George said. Skal roared into laughter; Blitzer immediately blushed.

“HAAAAH!”

“Y-yeah, the Charizard! That’s right!”

George smirked ‘That was a good one.’

“I see,” Venusa said. “Well, the ones at Flamehollow sure like theirs. Ye should give it back to ‘em. Afterward, ye need to go and chase the Soldiers out of the town. Ye won’t be alone for that part, yeh? Right Skal?”

“Eyyup! I’ll be there with some locals to back ye up!” Skal palmed his fist. “We’re gonna do this… eh? Next mornin’!”

“Got it,” George and Blitzer both said.

“Well, good luck eh?” Venusa said. “But before that though, stay around here for a while. Rest those legs… and try to see if ye can get around town a lil’, But most of all, rest! Ye need to be ready for tomorrow!”

They wrapped up by sorting out some remaining details about the plan, before getting settled in the apartments. Alas, there wasn’t much opportunity for them to explore Rustborough. There were Soldiers everywhere, and they weren’t willing to risk being exposed. One thing was certain, though: They had their work more than cut out for them.