George and Blitzer were up early the next morning. Duty called, and they were eager to answer. Following Skal, they made for Flamehollow through the fields before the dawnlight broke the cover of the dark.

Having dodged various figures on the roads and birds watching from above, they reached the base of a hill. Flamehollow lay on the edge of the Rustborough plateau, on a dirt track that ran into the Ruby hinterlands. On one side was a valley through which a stream passed, while a hill stood on the other. A well-maintained dirt track ran through the village and beyond. Peculiar was that just half of the houses were actual houses. The rest were tents.

“Shame, ain’t it…” Skal said. “‘S how they live with the Mystery Dungeon in the way. Not that the alternative’s much better, look.” The Aggron pointed to a Crest flag flying off a wall. George put a hand over his eyes and leaned forward.

“So they’re hiding in the village somewhere?”

“Nope. They ain’t got a permanent presence here. Just the local coin collectors. Or what was it.. Tax. Yeh, tax.”

“Oh no, over there…” Blitzer’s eyes were drawn to a small Ponyta and small Sizzlipede playing around in the dirt. They were using a stick to scribble in the dirt. “Don’t tell me they have to sleep outside?” he stammered, pleading with his eyes.

Skal shook his head. “No cave, no stay. Good news is, you can fix it for ‘em, kiddo. Time to flush out some anomalies, what do ye say?”

A determined Blitzer clenched his fist while baring his teeth. “Not even a question. Of course I will! I know just how bad cold nights get for a fire type… don’t even want to think about them having to sleep out in the rain. Where’s the way in?”

The Aggron shuffled in between George and Blitzer, dragging his tail over the dirt in the process. “See that there?” He pointed towards a row of trees in the distance, then towards the stream coming down the hill. “Go there. Follow the stream, keep yer eye on the left. ‘S another way in. Ye better hurry, the Anomalies ain’t waitin’ for ye, nor the taxmen. We gotta do this hit properly, ya hear?”

“Understood!” Blitzer said. He took off running while trying to keep a low profile. His determination caught George’s attention.

‘He sure cares a lot about this place.’ “Better get going, then. No one’s waiting for the anomalies, either.”

“‘S the spirit right there!”

Skal watched as George went after Blitzer, his scarf fluttering in the wind as he ran.

“Go get ‘em, kiddo… go get ‘em. ‘S what you came here for, ain’t it?”

Further up stream, George managed to catch up with Blitzer, if only because the Charmeleon had stopped. Those long feet of his were showing their use, and all George had to compete were his itchy counterparts. Itchiness wasn’t even all of it anymore. Sometimes they stung as if he’d been running through bushes, including now.

‘Grr… I swear, it’s been going on for weeks at this point. Do I really want to ring for the doctor now when I just got here? They’d just tell me to stop wasting their time.’

George smacked himself in the face, then met Blitzer’s eyes. ”Found anything?”

The Charmeleon nodded. “Yeah. Over the stream, there’s a hole there. That has to be it,” he said as he carefully put one foot into the stream. “Also, don’t hit yourself. Please.”

‘Oh.’ “Sorry about that,” the Oshawott replied, biting his puffy cheeks. “Just a bad habit. Let’s go.”

Blitzer watched as George jumped into the stream without a moment’s hesitation. “Don’t want you hurting yourself, okay?”

“Of course not,” George assured before pressing on. This was not the time to lower the mood. No time was, but least of all when there was work to be done. Blitzer understood this as well as George did, as a confident smile spread over his face.

It was but a short run over a hill trail before George and Blitzer reached the caves, a Mystery Dungeon so new it lacked an entry sign. The inside was bright; braziers half full of coal burned on as if the residents were still present. Most of the homes were intact as well, still intact and liveable albeit with furniture and items thrown around.

But this was a Dungeon at the end of the day, and the caves’ new residents weren’t fond of their guests. A feral Numel jumped out of a home, flames erupting from its back. George was quick to blast it with water. Numel’s knees buckled by the time he was done. One strike of the scalchop later, and it fell with a pained cry.

Not to be out done, a Cyndaquil and a Pansear jumped to the rescue, shaking their stubby hands while showing off their fiery power. What little of it they had, anyway. George and Blitzer were quick to engage, the former with his scalchop and the latter with his claws.

Once the ferals were all dealt with, George glimpsed over his shoulder. The daylight that had guided them in had vanished.

“There’s been a shuffle. Can’t get back now.”

“Well, we didn’t come here just to leave again, did we?” Blitzer said with a hint of cockiness in his voice. He kept his claws at the ready, anticipating a fight around every corner.

“Find anomalies… can’t take too long. This place isn’t so big,” George said.

Blitzer shot a wink at the Oshawott. “Let’s show ‘em who’s boss. I’ve wanted to see a Dungeon disappear for a long time now! Ever since the one near home showed up, it’s been one of my goals!”

George tongue went right into his cheek. ‘First time he’s telling me that.’ “I thought you liked having the dungeon around.”

“Well yeah, because it wasn’t too strong. I could deal with it, but the people trying to forage? They can’t keep up with that!” Blitzer said, shooting fire from his mouth. ‘Didn’t the plants always come back, though? I thought the village liked having it- ah, whatever.’

’Suppressing the urge to comment, George peered into the houses once more. No ferals, no anomalies; fortunately, no damage from the shuffling, either.

“You’re keeping an eye on the houses, right?”

“Sure am. Always gotta keep an eye on your surroundings. That I learned on my own, didn’t even need the training there.”

A few turns and several ferals later, Blitzer spotted a trail of molten slime on the ground. They stuck together and followed it into a room where several toys were scattered about. Facing them was a group of Slugma gathered around a Magcargo. The Slugma all scowled as Blitzer’s shadow fell upon them, and their blackened leader’s body stirred like boiling water as the threat came their way. All Slugma prepared a fiery breath.

“Jump!! Quick!”

George leapt into cover before any fire got to him. Blitzer tried stomping the ground first, but not even a pebble budged. Just as the Slugma attacked, he jumped. One fiery loogie splattered on his elbow. The Charmeleon hissed as his scales sizzled, his tail sparking.

‘Damn!’ “You okay?”

“Don’t worry about me,” Blitzer hissed. “I can handle some fire, you go and drown that Anomaly fast!”

George wiped his brow, then sucked in a breath as he channelled his energy. The Slugma were still erupting all over the entrance by the time he was charged up, their efforts efficient and coordinated for mere dungeon ferals. Only half attacked, the other half rested. George slid against the wall while the water bubbled in his mouth, aiming to poke his head just over the threshold to get a good shot in.

Then, the earth by the entrance cracked open. spraying bits of burning debris that forced George and Blitzer to jump further back.

“Damn, how do we get past this?” George clenched his teeth.

“I’ll try something, hold on!” Blitzer growled. “If this works, you better be ready to go for it! You got one shot!”

Blitzer took a deep gasp, then jumped at the fiery assault with counter fire, incinerating and assimilating the Slugma’s fire into his own. George hesitated for a moment, then channelled his water as fast he could. As the flames in Blitzer’s throat died down, George struck at the hot iron: Water surged from his mouth and into the inferno, drowning the Slugma in a torrent of water. He pushed himself to the limit, spitting until his lungs cried out for oxygen.

The Slugma stood no chance; all were fainted and cooled off. The Magcargo leading them was broken, but still standing. The black essence covering its body crackled and distorted in all directions, and Magcargo was desperately fighting to hold on. The sight gave George a brief pause. Was the Magcargo trying to tell them something?

There wouldn’t be an answer, for Blitzer charged in with a metal shine coming off his claws. With a growl, he delivered the finishing blow. Magcargo’s head was jerked leftwards as its body tipped over. In an instant, its red eyes widened. the vapour violently ripping and tearing itself apart. Specks of black essence spattered across the room, on the toys, narrowly missing Blitzer by a hair. It was as if the vapour had several minds of its own, and couldn’t agree on a way to die.

“Gods almighty…”

As the vapour dissipated, the Magcargo’s original colours reemerged on its now unconscious body. Blitzer took a step back while George entered the room with morbid curiosity.

“Is… do you think it’s…?”

“I’m not sure,” Blitzer said. He got on his knees to put a claw on Magcargo’s shell. The magma that composed its body didn’t so much as bubble any longer. All it did now was sticking together. “Odd… the Slugma all look fine enough, but the Magcargo, though? This is really odd.”

George’s ears went flat against his head. “What is? If it’s dead then it’s dead, right? You can tell-”

Blitzer shook his head. “There’s something different about this one. I’ve seen what dead Pokemon look like. The creators know I got a little jumpy with fire when exploring a few times. This isn’t that. There’s a block.”

“Block?” George gulped. “As if they’re alive, but something’s… in the way?” ‘Been here for months, yet casually talking of killing still creeps me out. Even though that’s normal here.’

Blitzer pulled up this shoulders. “Don’t know. Maybe it’s some kind of after effect of being Anomalied. Like they’re recovering.” He chittered. “Not that I know any better than you do. I’m no expert on this. Is there even anyone out there who knows anything about this?”

“Perhaps.” George folded his arms, glancing back at the exit. “Not much we can do. We only have supplies for ourselves, and Skal is waiting on us.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Blitzer grunted. He stood back up, then kicked a ball at his feet past the Slugma and against the wall. It bounced off with a thud. “They’re only ferals, anyway. We’ve got homeless people right outside, that’s what we should worry about.”

With that little tidbit, they got back to work exploring the caves. George wasn’t psyched to hear it. Heartless was the first word that came to his mind. Sure, the ferals might’ve caused serious ruckus, and they didn’t seem particularly intelligent, and they would’ve seen George as an easy meal had he been alone, but living beings weren’t disposable, were they? Or perhaps they were. The Headmistress certainly had no reservations telling George of his uselessness straight to his face. So he bit his tongue, and didn’t mention any of it to Blitzer.

Taking care of the caves was the bigger worry, at the end of the day. There were a few other Anomalies that dwelled here. It took George and Blitzer over half an hour to deal with them. Some had similar aces up their sleeve, others went down without much of a fight. But all had the shadows dissipate from their bodies afterwards.

Each Anomaly less stabilised the dungeon. The shifting grew less intense: From hallways moving, to mere length increases, to just shuffling the items in a room, until the caves were back to normal. It had taken a while and a few scratches, but the dungeon was gone.

‘Now for the hard part.’

“That’s that! Now we just gotta get outside,” Blitzer told George, optimism teeming from his bright eyes. “Remember what Skal told us? Pick the right moment, then he and all his buddies will show up.”

George nodded. “Something like that, yeah,” he said while straightening his scarf. “If there’s anything he was real clear about, it’s that he’ll be right there. So we have pick a good place to kick this off from.” He put his hands together, and proceeded to rub them. “Let’s get out of the caves first, though.”

Blitzer licked his lips. “Of course!”

Fortunately, stabilisation had caused the signs on the wall to be accurate once more. All they had to do was follow them. It didn’t take long before they had exited the caves. Flamehollow was right in front of them.

They ran down a fenced incline and hid behind a farmhouse next to the tents. Blitzer kept his tail pitched up, and George’s ears were perked up high for suspicious activity. Aside from a voice in the distance, nothing stood out. The Oshawott poked his head around the corner, one hand pressed against his itchy neck.

“Open up! Daily check in!”

His feet shifted in the dirt, and George leaned right back against Blitzer’s leg. “Do you hear anyone else? Around the other way.

”

“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t check yet.”

George shook his head. “Go do that real quick. And fast. I think they’re coming this way.”

Blitzer kept his back and tail straight against the wall of the farm house, his head pitched downwards to give his horn room. Slowly, he turned the corner just as a thud came from beyond. A little Fuecoco had fallen face first onto the ground, and now crying. Their friend, an equally small Growlithe, had ran over to comfort them. Blitzer frowned.

“Poor guy… it’s only going to get worse from here.”

As he shuffled back, George had begun to bite his lip. The two Soldiers going from door to door were drawing closer. One was a Salazzle, the other a Seismitoad.

“Daily check in! Hurry up!”

George grimaced. ‘Yes! Hurry up already, Blitzer!’

He heard the dirt crunch behind him. “Sorry about that…” the Charmeleon whispered.

“Did you see any soldiers?”

“No. Just kids younger than us. Hate that they’re gonna have to hear this. I really do,” Blitzer continued to whisper.

“Me neither, but we’ve got no choice,” George said, loud and clear. “This looks like the best place to start, right? We count from one to three, yeah-”

“Wait, who’s there? Who is lollygagging?”

A voice that sizzled like a Salazzle’s hissed around the corner. George clenched his fist in an instant. ‘Damnit! I blew our cover!’ he thought to himself as the dirt behind him squelched. Whether they liked it or not, they were fighting. A blue glow appeared in the Oshawott’s eye, as he held his hand up to count to three.

“Show yerself! We got no time for games, kiddo!”

“Neither do I!”

George jumped into view, then pushed his hand forwards at the Salazzle. The foe fell onto a knee, clutching their head with a single claw. By the time they and their partner knew what they were in for, George had jumped back around the corner.

“OI! Get back here!!” A gruff voice croaked. Right afterwards, the door they had just knocked open flew right against the wall of the house. “Gettin’ pelted he- GYAAAAAAAH!!!”

A powerful whip cracked through the air. Soon after, one other door slammed into a wall, while the other was forced back shut. Just moments after George’s initial attack, shouts rang throughout the town.

“CITIZENS! TAKE COVER! SOLDIERS! WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!! WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!!”

George peeked his head around the corner. The Salazzle was spitting poison at someone out of sight, while Seismitoad was groaning in pain on the ground, a thick green mark traced around the side of their head and onto the chest.

“Let’s go! Let’s go!!”

“Ye traitors picked the wrong Salazzle to try ‘n mess with! Ye won’t live to regret it, ya hear? Ya HEAR?!” the standing Soldier roared, even as a quake audibly struck the earth. Further yelling and combat erupted all over town and the tents. George and Blitzer jumped out of cover.

“Come and get some!”

George shot water from his mouth first, before Blitzer unleashed his fiery breath at the Salazzle. The twin attacks converged into a harmony of boiling water, striking the Salazzle under the neck. In an instant, the Soldier was knocked flat against the floor, clawing at his own body.

“GYAAAAH!”

“That’s what you get!” Blitzer shouted as his attack petered out. He was fast on the move to give Salazzle one last kick. George followed in his footsteps, shooting the Salazzle on the same spot without the heat.

‘There. Seen some nasty burns in my life, don’t need to see more.’

The combat between Soldier and Alliance members continued. The earth split apart, doors were thrown open, and birds passing by joined into the fray. Ordinary civilians ran for the hills, leaving the few Soldiers in town to fend for themselves.

Strike by strike, the Soldiers were either knocked out or ran out of town. When Skal made his grand appearance by slinging a giant rock at the head of one poor Snorlax, it was as good as finished. The behemoth fell flat on his stomach, muffled growls spilling out of its throat as it struggled to even stay conscious. With its size and mass, it would have been an inhuman effort to try and take it down. Yet George’s eyes didn’t lie, and neither did anyone else’s. It was down. The Soldiers were done for.

Whoever was left fled along with the civilians, and a few of the Alliance members went on to chase right after them. George and Blitzer were left staring at the toppled Snorlax, having done their part to free Flamehollow. Or rather, what could be counted as freeing. With how close they were to Rustborough, everyone knew they wouldn’t be here for long. Not to mention, was it truly freedom? The violence, the cracks and chunks blown into the homes and upturned dirt made them all resemble a warband more than liberators. Conquerors.

George put his hands on the Snorlax’s neck to try and shake him awake. All he managed to accomplish was to shift his neck fat around like it was jelly. He frowned.

“Doesn’t look like he’ll wake up soon…”

Blitzer clicked his tongue. “Can say that one again. Do you have any idea how lazy Snorlaxes can be? They can literally sleep for hours on end without so much as a bother. You can’t wake ‘em up. Seriously!” He threw his claws in the air. “I remember when one came to the village and he passed out on the road. Didn’t wanna budge even after waking up. Even when me and some other kids were jumping on his belly, he was fine with it!”

“Not that!” George said in a harsh voice by Oshawott standards. “I mean if he’ll even wake up from that rock! You saw that! That was absolutely brutal!”

The Charmeleon grimaced. “Yeah… yeah I did. Y-you’re right, sorry about that.” he kneeled by his side. “I don’t doubt some of them aren’t gonna be okay after all this. That Salazzle, too. The way our attacks went together? Looked awful.”

“I splashed some water on his neck after,” George said. “Might help that one out-”

“That’s useless.” Blitzer shook his head. “Not much we can do. We have nothing to try and heal them up with. Besides stuff for ourselves. And who knows what’ll happen on the way back.”

George looked out over the town. There was a Farfetch’d further down the road, with a passed out Ninetales right next to him. A nervous glint appeared in his eye.

“If only…”

“It’s… just a part of things,” Blitzer said. “I accept it. They wouldn’t treat us any differently. Neither did they treat my parents any differently.” He turned his eyes towards George, his tail hanging low by the ground as it sparked hard with bottled up frustration. He was stern, yet looked insecure.

“I’ve lost enough already. I want to show them how it feels too. Maybe then…” A tear slid out of his left eye. “Maybe then I’ll feel okay about it…”

George, saddened, gazed at the floor. Blitzer’s wounds were still fresh even after all these weeks. “But you don’t know what happened,” was all he replied with. He had no ground to rebuke Blitzer on. He hadn’t lost much. He never had much to lose to begin with. Yet what he did know was how it felt to suffer in the same way. To carry that stress and sadness with you, to have it burn inside while having no one to help you through it all.

He looked back up to meet Blitzer’s eyes. “We’ll… we’ll find and get them back. Remember?”

Blitzer sighed. “I hope so.”

Heavy footsteps came lumbering their way. “Sounds like a good plan right there, kiddos. ‘S what we all want, ain’t it?”

The Charmeleon took in a deep breath before greeting their guest. When he turned his head, the damage in the town caught his eye far more than the black-scarved Aggron did.

“Yeah. You said you lost people too, didn’t you?”

“Yeh… I ain’t show it much, but… ‘s why I do this. ‘S why I don’t like to let ‘em run if I can help it. Too bad there’s only so much a big lug like me can do. If I had more power, I’d have given them a beatdown they wouldn’t ever forget,” Skal said, his tone confused more than anything.

George climbed onto the Snorlax, trying to close the height gap between himself and the Aggron, to little avail. “Who did you lose, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Skal shrugged. “Friends. Family. Don’t like to talk about it much, so there ye go.”

“Okay…” George bit his tongue. ‘Sore spot, but still. Had to ask.’ “Sorry about that.”

“‘Tis no biggie,” the Aggron said, dragging his tail a step closer. “Yer either insensitive or stupid here. I prefer the former, y’know.” His metallic body clattered as he turned back the way he came. Several other Alliance people had gathered, and now waited for him to call the shots. “Well, hate to break off this party so easily. How’s the situation?”

“Got most of ‘em. We should disperse soon.”

“Right, right…”

Blitzer joined George on the Snorlax’s belly, his tail leaving a burn mark as he climbed on top. “This is uh, well. It’s been a big action!” he said with an awkward smile. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining or anything, but man did this go a lot faster ]than I thought it would.”

“Yeh.” Skal nodded. “‘S why we gotta get outta here fast. We did our job. But while we leave, let’s make one thing clear to the people here, yeh? We’re the Grand Alliance, and we came here to teach the bastards a lesson. Whaddye all say? Let’s do it! ‘N fast!”

Just as they got settled in the village, George and Blitzer found themselves preparing to ditch it just as quickly. Skal told them to stay back, saying they were too young to put in a good word. Blitzer didn’t agree, but he wasn’t about to disrespect his mentor. And by his own admission, he was somewhat fast and loose.

George had his doubts, however. He had plenty to say, and didn’t want others to do the talking for him given his standing in the world. Make as unbiased and honest of an impression as possible. Alas, Skal said no, and that was that. His ears caught wind of a few ‘Othersider’ mentions along with some overly glowy praise, which did catch the attention of the locals. Or so he thought.

Whatever their opinions may be, they wouldn’t be sticking around to find out. The Alliance members dispersed into the hills, while Skal personally guided George and Blitzer back into the city. On the way there, he reviewed their performance, and one little tidbit stood out to George as he fell asleep in the Rustborough base that night.

“With that kinda job, ye’ll be out in the cold in no time! That Azure Flute piece is gonna be ours!”