Blaguarro Town Blaguarro Outskirts

[JFought]

Isidora ran across hot desert towards the two, not moving as fast as she would've liked. Stupid depowerment. Her muscles just weren't agreeing with her like she was used to, and the hot barren ground was a pain to run over. As she closed the distance, the trio of distant pokémon got close enough for her to realize they weren't coming for the cart, they were coming for everyone else. She had half a mind to turn around, but the mawile seemed unconscious, and she was basically right there-

She laid there, still, as if she'd been knocked unconscious. Just when it seemed like she had been, her secondary set of jaws rose, turned on the destroyed cart that landed at her side, and began to violently chomp away at it, sending pieces of metal and splinters of wood in every direction as it feasted.

"̶̯̻̓F̸̨͐U̵͈̼̇̚C̷͔͒̚Ḵ̵͖̍ ̵̡͚̃T̸̮͐H̵̨͈̅͘Ì̴͔͇͊S̶̭͓̚̚ ̴̨̫͐̿B̶͎͇͠I̸͍͒T̵̲͌͠C̷̙̗͒̓Ĥ̷͇ ̴͎͚̈́̓A̸̠͙͌̉S̴̬̲̈̓S̶̬̎͛ ̷̢͔̃̕C̶̯̰̀̿A̴̗̪̍Ȑ̴̗Ṭ̴̪͂͘ ̸͎̽À̶͎̻̊N̸͍͇͋͒Ḓ̵̝̂̂ ̴̭̘̓F̵̗̒Ū̴̲̖́C̷̰͌͜K̶̨̞͊ ̵͍͂T̸͔̉͝Ḥ̵̇I̶̡͌S̶̼͐ ̵̟͂B̴̞͂̔I̸̩͐̓T̶̝̋C̵̡̟̈́Ḫ̴͒̋ ̸̣͕̋A̶̤͈̒S̵̬͑̎S̶̩͔̋͒ ̵̬̙̔̊S̴̘̲̿͐A̷͇͍̕͠N̵̜̍̅D̷̑͜;̸̺̂͌ ̶͔̑ͅC̶̞͎̚A̴̘̋̃͜N̵̼̈́'̶̢̜͠T̸̻̿̓ ̸̪̑̌G̶̯͆̄E̵͈̓͝T̴͘͜ ̸̫̌͌Ä̴̬̚N̸͙̜̕Ỳ̸̺̯T̸͚̏H̶̬͑̀I̵͕̔N̵̠̈́Ģ̵͈͗͘ ̵̯̋F̵̥̩͋U̶̱̫̿͋C̷̗̏̚K̶̗̑̋I̶͇͠N̷͉̔G̶̣̻̾ ̵͉̾͆N̴͎͒I̴̖̫̍͛C̶͇̺̑̈́E̵̢͊ ̴̱̳̑͠Â̷͙̐R̶̮̠̈͊Ǒ̵̡Ṷ̶̧̀N̶̜̼̊Ḍ̴̨͑̓ ̶̟̥͒H̷̪̬̒Ȅ̶͙̟͝R̷̟̎̈Ě̵̺ ̸̜̍Ċ̴̩A̷̧̬̾N̸̦͓̔̏ ̸̳͆̾ͅĪ̴̙?̶̺̾́"̵̰͎͊͠

Isidora stopped in her tracks a comfortable distance away as she witnessed the complete and utter evisceration of the cart. What the hell? She had heard that this was something mawile could do before, but she had never actually seen it. She took a glance back and wondered if she'd be better off taking her chances with the angry arrivals.

Not that that sounded appealing. She winced and placed a claw against her forehead. I didn't even run that far, why do I feel like shit? The heat was finally starting to weigh on her, and her feet felt like they were being burned numb by the ground. She knew what deserts were supposed to be like, but she wasn't prepared for this. The damn voice didn't even mention this when I asked. Too late to cry about it now. She just stood and watched as the mawile's horn cursed its storm and devoured the cart, very antsy and completely disturbed.

Panting slightly, Isidora looked between the mawile and the poocheyena who played hero and asked: "Either of you okay?"

 

[Inkedust]

"Well, you musta angered some wild spirit to get yourself looking like that. Can't say I'm jealous, you outsiders would be dumb enough to do something like that," Gabite replied with a leery grin. "Better not do any funny business here 'cause Ryder here is a lot meaner than those spirits!"

Erva's beak clacked! demanding attention. "Like you ever put up more of a fight than a dunsparce," she snapped. Her eyes focused on the disorganised group, narrowing as they did. "I don't see no abra and you don't look to have any coin to your name, so what? Little dungeon prank went went wrong? Didja smash an orb to see what'd happen for a laugh?" Erva's gaze fixed on Odette, making her suspicions on the potential culprit in that scenario very clear. "Either way, you lot aren't welcome here unless you half pints wanna pick a fight with ol' Anite."

'City boy' had busied himself with the pile of coal, wood and metal, digging through to see what could be salvaged while muttering, "This is going to set us back for weeks I tell you! WEEKS!"

Bellatrix had backed away from Erva in the meantime, deciding to play along with the chimera's story - Gladion as he was called - it was what got the least amount of question over in Kythra after all. "Yes, very unfortunate," she added, "though we were travelling with a rather large group before it happened, so if you have seen or heard of any other strangers in the area, that's probably why."

At the sound of Bellatrix's voice, Ryder let out a guffaw. He then looked to see the rest of the company - particularly Dave, Wes and Isidora - and laughed even harder. "What are you running some kind of daycare here?" he asked Gladion between chortles.

 

[Butterfree]

Dave had hesitantly approached the apparently-unconscious Mawile from the cart, only to jump, ears flattening, when its massive head-jaws started chomping down on the minecart. Jesus fuck.

It looked like they had bigger problems, anyway, what with the construction workers arriving.

At the sound of Bellatrix's voice, Ryder let out a guffaw. He then looked to see the rest of the company - particularly Dave, Wes and Isidora - and laughed even harder. "What are you running some kind of daycare here?" he asked Gladion between chortles.

Dave sighed in exasperation. Couldn’t the cloud have fucking mentioned if this was a world where Pokémon automatically evolved when they aged? (Or maybe just one where, despite being sapient, they were still all so obsessed with fighting each other that everyone’d fully evolved by adulthood?) Had it seriously sent them here in the bodies of actual fucking toddlers and then left them to go on their way?

“Ha-ha, hilarious. No, our particular dungeon accident left us like this.” Not that he knew what the fuck they were on about about dungeons. Was the Nexus a dungeon? Who knew. Either way, he wasn’t blabbing their ‘mission’ to these jeering boors, given for all they knew they could be some of the people they were supposed to be saving the world from. “If you know a convenient quickie way to turn us back into adults that’d be great. Otherwise we’ll be on our way.”

 

[Sinderella]

Panting slightly, Isidora looked between the mawile and the poocheyena who played hero and asked: "Either of you okay?"

Odette's secondary jaws turned toward the sneasel. Despite not having any clear eyes, something about how its lips had twisted into a frown, even as bits of gnarled metal hung between its teeth, indicated its displeasure.

"̸B̶I̴T̶C̴H̸,̵ ̶D̴O̵ ̵I̴ ̴L̴O̷O̶K̷ ̷F̴U̶C̶K̴I̸N̵G̷ ̶O̶K̴A̷Y̷ ̴T̵O̴ ̷Y̸O̴U̶?̸ ̸D̴O̷ ̴Y̵O̸U̷ ̶H̵A̸V̸E̵ ̴E̶Y̴E̷S̷?̷"̸

"Enough."

Odette began to push herself up, grunting through the throb in her head and the inevitable bruise taking form along her side. Burn-scarred right arm and a bruised up left arm; all a fantastic start to her day.

"Sorry," she winced, rubbing the side of her head. "This stupid thing has a mind of its own. I've been better, but I could be worse."

Her attention then turned toward Dave, whom she assumed was the one to knock the cart off the track. Somewhere in her mind, she wanted to be mad, as his heroism led to her getting flattened by the cart in the first place. But, had he not done it, she'd be on a one-way trip down a rickety mine track to gods knew where. She wasn't sure which of the outcomes were worse, but she decided not to think too hard about it and that some form of thanks were in order.

"Hey, uh...thanks for--"

But his attention wasn't on her anymore. It was on the set of newcomers--a skarmory, a vigoroth, and a gabite--who sounded like they were bitching out the ones standing immediately near them.

"What are you running some kind of daycare here?" he asked Gladion between chortles

She furrowed what was left of her brow.

"I'm 26," she said to nobody. "What are--"

"̵W̷o̴w̷,̸ ̵y̶o̵u̶ ̶l̷o̷t̶ ̸a̴r̴e̴ ̶t̷a̵l̸k̶i̶n̷g̷ ̷t̶h̴e̵ ̵m̵e̸a̴n̸e̴s̷t̵,̶ ̶m̶a̷d̷d̴e̵s̷t̶ ̶s̴h̷i̵t̵ ̵f̸o̸r̴ ̴a̷ ̴g̶r̵o̷u̶p̴ ̶t̵h̶a̴t̸ ̶s̷o̸u̸n̷d̴s̸ ̴l̶i̴k̸e̴ ̵t̴h̴e̶y̸ ̴c̶o̶l̴l̶e̸c̵t̶i̸v̵e̸l̴y̵ ̶s̵h̸a̴r̶e̷ ̷3̵0̷ ̷s̴e̸c̷o̴n̴d̸s̵ ̶o̶f̴ ̴c̸o̷h̴e̸r̴e̸n̴t̶ ̸t̷h̷o̵u̶g̸h̸t̵ ̶e̸v̸e̷r̴y̸ ̵w̴e̵e̴k̵.̶ ̵W̵h̸y̸ ̵w̸o̷u̸l̵d̸ ̷y̷o̴u̴ ̴l̴e̴a̶v̴e̶-̶-̵"̶

Odette reached up and wrestled the jaws shut. Rope, that's what she needed. Rope. Barbed, probably. Would that hurt her? She didn't care.

She took a deep breath, steeling herself (even more) for what was to come. "It was all an accident. I certainly didn't wake up today and decide I wanted to be dropped into a mine cart. If the materials were that important, why were they unattended in the first place?" she asked stiffly. "If you're quite done with the juvenile insults and are lacking anything of substance, we'll gladly move along."

"̸Y̶e̷a̵h̵,̷ ̶m̶o̴v̷e̸ ̷a̵l̴o̵n̸g̶ ̵r̴i̵g̷h̸t̵ ̶o̷f̷f̶ ̷t̵h̸e̷ ̴e̸d̸g̸e̵ ̵o̸f̶ ̴a̷ ̴c̵l̴i̶f̷f̴,̷ ̶I̸ ̴f̴u̴c̵k̸i̶n̸g̴ ̶h̴a̸t̴e̶ ̵s̷a̵n̷d̸,̸"̶ the jaws grumbled through clenched teeth.

 

[Butterfree]

"̵W̷o̴w̷,̸ ̵y̶o̵u̶ ̶l̷o̷t̶ ̸a̴r̴e̴ ̶t̷a̵l̸k̶i̶n̷g̷ ̷t̶h̴e̵ ̵m̵e̸a̴n̸e̴s̷t̵,̶ ̶m̶a̷d̷d̴e̵s̷t̶ ̶s̴h̷i̵t̵ ̵f̸o̸r̴ ̴a̷ ̴g̶r̵o̷u̶p̴ ̶t̵h̶a̴t̸ ̶s̷o̸u̸n̷d̴s̸ ̴l̶i̴k̸e̴ ̵t̴h̴e̶y̸ ̴c̶o̶l̴l̶e̸c̵t̶i̸v̵e̸l̴y̵ ̶s̵h̸a̴r̶e̷ ̷3̵0̷ ̷s̴e̸c̷o̴n̴d̸s̵ ̶o̶f̴ ̴c̸o̷h̴e̸r̴e̸n̴t̶ ̸t̷h̷o̵u̶g̸h̸t̵ ̶e̸v̸e̷r̴y̸ ̵w̴e̵e̴k̵.̶ ̵W̵h̸y̸ ̵w̸o̷u̸l̵d̸ ̷y̷o̴u̴ ̴l̴e̴a̶v̴e̶-̶-̵"̶

Dave smirked. Had to respect this girl’s insult game. Or the nightmare jaws in the back of her head’s insult game, at any rate. Her actual head was talking good sense too, though, which definitely helped.

 

[Inkedust]

Bellatrix's ears dipped and the ground was suddenly the most interesting thing in this strange new world. Her mane and ruff pulsed with embarrassment. "No, it's just me," she sighed. "I'm with them because I'm considered a prodigy for my age." She looked up at Erva. "If you won't let us into town, perhaps you could point us in the direction of the nearest settlement?"

Ryder looked at Odette, specifically her back jaws, with outrage. "You think I'm stupid?" he growled, looking ready for a fight. Thankfully, however, Vigoroth bombastically announced that he had finished salvaging the material pile before any further exchange occurred.

Erva took the opportunity to continue. "Nah. It's all desert and wasteland around these parts. I'm sure if you pick a direction and walk straight, you'll find somewhere else. You'll die, probably, but if you were stupid enough to waltz into a dungeon butt-naked, then I can't say that any of that is undeserved."

"Eh?" Vigoroth spoke up. "Can't do anything for them?"

"We're already breaking our backs accommodating for you city vermin," snapped Ryder. "And who's to say they ain't them Witching beasts? Mawile there sure as hell seems like one."

 

[Sinderella]

"And who's to say they ain't them Witching beasts? Mawile there sure as hell seems like one."

Odette couldn’t stop furrowing her brow. It seemed the longer she listened to the acting conversation, the more lost (and aggravated) she became.

“You keep throwing these terms out like I’m supposed to know what the fuck you’re talking about,” she said, climbing to her feet and brushing herself off with her free hand.

Her jaws suddenly wrestled free. “̶I̷ ̷m̴i̷g̷h̴t̶ ̴n̵o̴t̶ ̵b̸e̷ ̵a̷ ̸W̴i̸t̶c̵h̴i̸n̴g̴ ̷b̸e̴a̶s̷t̸ ̴b̶u̸t̶ ̷I̸’̸m̷ ̴d̷e̴f̴i̵n̷i̴t̴e̵l̵y̵ ̴a̷ ̵B̸i̸t̶c̵h̶i̵n̴g̴ ̶b̶e̵a̴s̶t̷.̸ ̴B̴e̸c̶a̸u̶s̷e̷ ̷I̵ ̴h̶u̸n̴t̷ ̷d̵o̷w̸n̸ ̸a̵n̷d̷ ̶g̶u̶t̴ ̴b̶i̸t̵c̸h̵a̷s̴s̵e̶s̴ ̵l̷i̷k̵e̶ ̴y̴o̶u̷.̵”̷

The smallest bead of sweat took form on Odette’s head, and she exhaled sharply through her nostrils. She needed a muzzle for this thing, and she needed one fast. All she could do in the moment, however, was reach up and clamp it shut again.

“I personally don’t have time for this conversation. I’d like to find clothes and water source now, so if there’s nothing here for us, I’m walking away. I’m sorry about your coal, maybe keep it in the employee lounge next time.”

 

[Inkedust]

Ryder immediately jumped. "Ya see? Ya see?" he growled. "Ain't no mawile out there whose jaws have a mind of their own!" He continued shouting incoherent threats and expletives. It was probably best to ignore him for now...

Vigoroth shook his head thoroughly, straightening his vest. "Not just the coal, but the tracks too. You know how long it takes to make those things? Boss is gonna dock our pay when he finds out about it."

"Tracks for the railway, I presume?" asked Bellatrix.

"That's the one."

The gears in the zorua's head began to turn. "Is there any chance we could take it elsewhere? Where does it lead?"

"Cross continental. From Soja to Commonwealth. 'Course it's still being built, it'll only take you as far as a day's walk from Frontier Town but better than nothing."

 

[Butterfree]

Dave tilted his head. "Hang on. Let's just say we're dumb idiot foreigners and don't know about 'Witching beasts'. Care to enlighten us?"

 

[HelloYellow17]

Wes tried to put some space between himself and the Skarmory without being conspicuous. Which was a little difficult when you’re still getting used to four legs, and even more so when one of those legs refused to hold your weight.

Breathe. Just breathe. He silently talked himself through his extreme discomfort and decided he would focus on anything but the metal bird in front of him. Despite his best efforts, he still visibly flinched when she loudly clacked her beak.

The reptilian guy—Ryder, was it?—was Pokémon Wes didn’t recognize. He promptly decided he wasn’t missing out on much by the grating sound of the guy’s guffaws. Wes found his lip curling at Ryder’s jeers. “Thanks for the kind greeting, asshole.”

Erva took the opportunity to continue. "Nah. It's all desert and wasteland around these parts. I'm sure if you pick a direction and walk straight, you'll find somewhere else. You'll die, probably, but if you were stupid enough to waltz into a dungeon butt-naked, then I can't say that any of that is undeserved."

"Eh?" Vigoroth spoke up. "Can't do anything for them?"

"We're already breaking our backs accommodating for you city vermin," snapped Ryder. "And who's to say they ain't them Witching beasts? Mawile there sure as hell seems like one."

Well, there was a whole lot to untangle there. So clothes were some kind of status symbol around these parts, then? And Wes had no idea what a “Witching beast” was, but it was probably best if they made a solid effort to not look like one to these strangers. Which was going swimmingly with that seemingly rabid Mawile over there being oh-so-helpful. He spared her a glance and had to do a double take. Good gods, were those pieces of the mine-cart stuck in her second mouth’s teeth? Had she literally eaten the damn cart? Holy hell, apparently everyone here was either an asshole or utterly insane.

Thanks, sentient cloud. Way to go. You’ve sent me to save a planet full of jerks and a mob of lunatics to work with.

Her jaws suddenly wrestled free. “̶I̷ ̷m̴i̷g̷h̴t̶ ̴n̵o̴t̶ ̵b̸e̷ ̵a̷ ̸W̴i̸t̶c̵h̴i̸n̴g̴ ̷b̸e̴a̶s̷t̸ ̴b̶u̸t̶ ̷I̸’̸m̷ ̴d̷e̴f̴i̵n̷i̴t̴e̵l̵y̵ ̴a̷ ̵B̸i̸t̶c̵h̶i̵n̴g̴ ̶b̶e̵a̴s̶t̷.̸ ̴B̴e̸c̶a̸u̶s̷e̷ ̷I̵ ̴h̶u̸n̴t̷ ̷d̵o̷w̸n̸ ̸a̵n̷d̷ ̶g̶u̶t̴ ̴b̶i̸t̵c̸h̵a̷s̴s̵e̶s̴ ̵l̷i̷k̵e̶ ̴y̴o̶u̷.̵”̷

Ryder immediately jumped. "Ya see? Ya see?" he growled. "Ain't no mawile out there whose jaws have a mind of their own!" He continued shouting incoherent threats and expletives.

Wes jumped at the guttural voice, then stared in disbelief. Annoying as Ryder was, Wes couldn’t blame him for being freaked out at something like this. “I don’t know what your problem is,” he hissed to the Mawile, “but if you’re not going to be helpful, can you at least shut that thing up?”

He turned back to the strangers, and limped forward, careful to avoid meeting the Skarmory’s gaze. He addressed Vigoroth instead, hoping to appeal to his practical focus. “We’re, uh, very sorry for disrupting your work. I promise you that it wasn’t intentional on our part.” Something told him that maybe it wasn’t the wisest course of action to share that they had literally dropped out of sky, so instead, he went with, “We got…a bit lost, but if you could help direct us to where we can get shelter and cl—I mean, more clothes, then…” he paused, unsure if he should speak on behalf of this ragtag group he’d been stuck with. “I’d be happy to help out with your work for a day or so.”

He tried to swallow past the dryness in his throat. No money, looking suspicious as all get-out, and no believable explanation for how they got here…if these mon were anything like Orre citizens—and so far, they certainly hadn’t been far off the mark—then offering free labor was the best shot he had at gaining their trust, and it was a long one. He only hoped it would work somehow.

 

[Sinderella]

Ryder immediately jumped. "Ya see? Ya see?" he growled. "Ain't no mawile out there whose jaws have a mind of their own!" He continued shouting incoherent threats and expletives. It was probably best to ignore him for now...

She rolled her eyes. This damn jaw of hers was going to get her into far more trouble if she didn’t keep it in check.

"Cross continental. From Soja to Commonwealth. 'Course it's still being built, it'll only take you as far as a day's walk from Frontier Town but better than nothing."

She didn’t know what any of those titles meant, but it was something. Names of places to be. She wasn’t entirely in the mood for a walk that long, but civilization was civilization. And somewhere far away from these fuckwits.

Dave tilted his head. "Hang on. Let's just say we're dumb idiot foreigners and don't know about 'Witching beasts'. Care to enlighten us?"

As she turned to walk away, the one who had quite literally stuck his neck out to save her spoke up. In the heat of her own aggression, it hadn’t dawned on her that yes maybe knowing what a “Witching beast” was would be somewhat helpful. So, she stopped, reluctantly, and opened her ears for a listen.

“I don’t know what your problem is,” he hissed to the Mawile, “but if you’re

But, she got no immediate description. Just that blue rockruff spitting bullshit at her. She gave him a double-take, taking the second go-around to really look him over. Fur on end, slightly curled into himself, wide eyes. Something had him on edge. Unfortunately, that wasn’t her problem, and getting attitude from someone who hadn’t said a word to her until that moment wasn’t something she wanted to deal with.

Tightening her hands around her jaw for the second time, she gestured wildly to it with her head. “Yeah, I’ll get right on that, blueball.”

 

[JFought]

"̸B̶I̴T̶C̴H̸,̵ ̶D̴O̵ ̵I̴ ̴L̴O̷O̶K̷ ̷F̴U̶C̶K̴I̸N̵G̷ ̶O̶K̴A̷Y̷ ̴T̵O̴ ̷Y̸O̴U̶?̸ ̸D̴O̷ ̴Y̵O̸U̷ ̶H̵A̸V̸E̵ ̴E̶Y̴E̷S̷?̷"̸

"Enough."

Odette began to push herself up, grunting through the throb in her head and the inevitable bruise taking form along her side. Burn-scarred right arm and a bruised up left arm; all a fantastic start to her day.

"Sorry," she winced, rubbing the side of her head. "This stupid thing has a mind of its own. I've been better, but I could be worse."

Isidora wasn't sure how to respond, but at least she was fine?

At the sound of Bellatrix's voice, Ryder let out a guffaw. He then looked to see the rest of the company - particularly Dave, Wes and Isidora - and laughed even harder. "What are you running some kind of daycare here?" he asked Gladion between chortles.

Isidora glared back at the gabite. Asshole. She grumbled under her breath. "If I were still a weavile I'd knock you into Dialga's next schedule..."

The skarmory really didn't seem any nicer, though she felt just slightly bad for the vigoroth at least, especially considering the ruined tracks were technically her fault (not that she was going to mention that).

"Cross continental. From Soja to Commonwealth. 'Course it's still being built, it'll only take you as far as a day's walk from Frontier Town but better than nothing."

A train line... She hadn't thought about it, but that was the first confirmation that this world wasn't that far from eastern Liber in terms of technology. But from the sounds of it, it was just going to lead them to the middle of nowhere. She placed a claw against her head again. And in this place? Hell no. "If you're suggesting it, then that means the rail must end at a station at least, right? Unless we're supposed to use it without a train."

As for the rockruff's suggestion, personally she'd prefer to get out of here as quickly as possible, but it really was starting to seem as if they were at these three's mercy...

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"Well, you musta angered some wild spirit to get yourself looking like that. Can't say I'm jealous, you outsiders would be dumb enough to do something like that," Gabite replied with a leery grin. "Better not do any funny business here 'cause Ryder here is a lot meaner than those spirits!"

Erva's beak clacked! demanding attention. "Like you ever put up more of a fight than a dunsparce," she snapped. Her eyes focused on the disorganised group, narrowing as they did. "I don't see no abra and you don't look to have any coin to your name, so what? Little dungeon prank went went wrong? Didja smash an orb to see what'd happen for a laugh?" Erva's gaze fixed on Odette, making her suspicions on the potential culprit in that scenario very clear. "Either way, you lot aren't welcome here unless you half pints wanna pick a fight with ol' Anite."

Gladion didn't really have eyebrows anymore, but he raised one mentally anyways. "Wild spirit? What kind of spirit could—" Oh, shit, is that what the cloud is? A wild spirit? "—Ah. No, that’s not the case. My body was engineered deliberately for… function over form.”

"We're already breaking our backs accommodating for you city vermin," snapped Ryder. "And who's to say they ain't them Witching beasts? Mawile there sure as hell seems like one."

Gladion lowered his head to give a more direct look at the guy. “Forgive me if I’m out of touch with current events, given I’m not particularly talented at public chatter for keep up on current events… What manner of ‘beasts’ are we talking here?

If you’ll forgive me for sharing more than I imagine you’ve reason to care about, I was originally meant to combat something that sounds like it could be another name for the same thing. I’m not exactly functioning at full capacity, but… call it a matter of personal interest.”

 

[Inkedust]

Dave tilted his head. "Hang on. Let's just say we're dumb idiot foreigners and don't know about 'Witching beasts'. Care to enlighten us?"

“Forgive me if I’m out of touch with current events, given I’m not particularly talented at public chatter for keep up on current events… What manner of ‘beasts’ are we talking here?

If you’ll forgive me for sharing more than I imagine you’ve reason to care about, I was originally meant to combat something that sounds like it could be another name for the same thing. I’m not exactly functioning at full capacity, but… call it a matter of personal interest.”

Erva rolled her eyes. Why did Ryder always have to run his fat mouth?

"Rumours," she stated bluntly, not caring for Gladion's claims. "Apparently the dawn and dusk watchmon are seeing something moving out in the darkness. Monsters, pokémon, monsters wearing the skin of pokémon, you name it. But when I took those shifts, I didn't see nothing. Bet they're sneaking moonshine up on those towers, not that it's any of your business," she grumbled.

“We’re, uh, very sorry for disrupting your work. I promise you that it wasn’t intentional on our part.” Something told him that maybe it wasn’t the wisest course of action to share that they had literally dropped out of sky, so instead, he went with, “We got…a bit lost, but if you could help direct us to where we can get shelter and cl—I mean, more clothes, then…” he paused, unsure if he should speak on behalf of this ragtag group he’d been stuck with. “I’d be happy to help out with your work for a day or so.”

"Appreciate the offer but, ah, are you sure?" he asked, immediately poking Wes' lame leg probably hitting a tender spot or two. "None of you look exactly built for railwork except maybe patchwork over there," he said, gesturing towards Gladion. "Get back to me when you evolve and I'll find some work for you to make up for this incident for sure."

He scratched his chin in thought. "In the meantime though, I don't wanna leave you lot out here to rot and the little girl there just gave me a great idea. How about you hitch a ride on the next supply run west? I'll get in a heap of mighty fine trouble if I take you lot over to Magna City - smuggling civilians and all - but nobody will know a thing if you get off at the end and make the trek to Frontier Town. Especially not with a zorua. Pretty sure those guys will be more accommodating than this lot."

"If you're suggesting it, then that means the rail must end at a station, right? Unless we're supposed to use it without a train."

"Just one carrying cargo for now," Vigoroth clarified. "Lucky for you, it's currently in the town right now and is due to leave this evening. I don't think the locals will mind you stowing away and I can take charge of the run tonight to keep the other workers from snitching. Might be a bumpy ride but I think it's the better alternative to wandering the desert."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"Rumours," she stated bluntly, not caring for Gladion's claims. "Apparently the dawn and dusk watchmon are seeing something moving out in the darkness. Monsters, pokémon, monsters wearing the skin of pokémon, you name it. But when I took those shifts, I didn't see nothing. Bet they're sneaking moonshine up on those towers, not that it's any of your business," she grumbled.

Gladion winced. “Of course. Terrible beasts doing witchy things like moving at night in a desert. I don’t know what I was expecting… Thank you for clarifying.”

He’d thought it would be a good idea to plant the idea that he was worth telling about any sort of unusual worldly threats— and also that false implication that he was dangerous in combat just in case anyone got any funny ideas— but really he just looked like a fucking idiot. That was fun. Gladion loved this place and was having a great fucking time.

"Just one carrying cargo for now," Vigoroth clarified. "Lucky for you, it's currently in the town right now and is due to leave this evening. I don't think the locals will mind you stowing away and I can take charge of the run tonight to keep the other workers from snitching. Might be a bumpy ride but I think it's the better alternative to wandering the desert."

“Huh. That works out well. I guess we owe you one. Unless there’s something you need before the departure.”

He glanced towards the ruins of what had once was a minecart, and was currently a form of abstract expressionism with a suspicious amount of Mawile bite-marks.

“Actually, certain individuals here may owe you more than ‘one’ but you get what I mean…”

 

[JFought]

"Rumours," she stated bluntly, not caring for Gladion's claims. "Apparently the dawn and dusk watchmon are seeing something moving out in the darkness. Monsters, pokémon, monsters wearing the skin of pokémon, you name it. But when I took those shifts, I didn't see nothing. Bet they're sneaking moonshine up on those towers, not that it's any of your business," she grumbled.

Isidora had been slightly hoping this would have something to do with why they were here, but it sounded like just some dumb campfire story. Not even believable.

Especially not with a zorua.

Wait, she's a zorua?! Something about the fox had been nagging at her, but zorua? Weren't those supposed to be black and red? Is this a multiple world thing? It would explain the other inexplicable 'mon here. Is that why the rockruff's blue?!

"Just one carrying cargo for now," Vigoroth clarified. "Lucky for you, it's currently in the town right now and is due to leave this evening. I don't think the locals will mind you stowing away and I can take charge of the run tonight to keep the other workers from snitching. Might be a bumpy ride but I think it's the better alternative to wandering the desert."

“Huh. That works out well. I guess we owe you one. Unless there’s something you need before the departure.”

Isidora glanced at the sky -- "It does look like there's still some time before evening" -- then gave the other two townsmon a sideways glare. "And we're not waiting out here."

 

[Sinderella]

"Rumours," she stated bluntly, not caring for Gladion's claims. "Apparently the dawn and dusk watchmon are seeing something moving out in the darkness. Monsters, pokémon, monsters wearing the skin of pokémon, you name it. But when I took those shifts, I didn't see nothing. Bet they're sneaking moonshine up on those towers, not that it's any of your business," she grumbled.

Odette had read and watched enough “adventure” stories to know that typically, when someone snapped with some dismissive response to an ominous claim, it was usually something to look out for. But, she’d put a pin in that for the moment. There were clearly far more pressing issues.

"Get back to me when you evolve and I'll find some work for you to make up for this incident for sure."

She kept her face neutral at the suggestion, but felt her stomach churn with annoyance and an urge to bite into something else. She didn’t ask for this, she didn’t ask for any of this, and the rockruff was just offering them up for grunt work just like that? For an accident? It would be the right thing to do, but—

Nope. The right thing to do right now is to find out where the fuck they were going, and for her to get the hell out of the sun. The heat clearly wasn’t helping with her anger.

"Just one carrying cargo for now," Vigoroth clarified. "Lucky for you, it's currently in the town right now and is due to leave this evening. I don't think the locals will mind you stowing away and I can take charge of the run tonight to keep the other workers from snitching. Might be a bumpy ride but I think it's the better alternative to wandering the desert."

The locals won’t mind at all if they don’t see us get on it, she thought. She’d said enough, even unwittingly, and decided it’d be best if she kept the snide remarks to herself. For now, at least.

“I’ll take a bumpy ride over a sun bleached hike,” she said. “A walk into town seems to be our best bet then? Good, we’re getting somewhere. Thank you for the gracious info.”

“Actually, certain individuals here may owe you more than ‘one’ but you get what I mean…”

She shot an icy look at the Null. Did it think it was being slick with the comments? If it was, it gave itself away with its not-so-inconspicuous glance at what was left of the cart. Seemed there were a lot of thoughts on that from the peanut gallery who didn’t lift a finger to make sure the cart didn’t go over the incline in the first place. It had practically broken in half when it hit the ground after getting knocked off and bulldozing her, so her eating it made no difference on the useability; it was fucked anyway.

So she had a relatively quiet yet seemingly helpful poochyena, a thoughtful-sounding sneasel, a weird-colored zorua who seemed to have a repertoire with the three fuckheads who’d approached them, a nervous rockruff with the attitude problem of a secondary schooler, and a null who needed to check itself before it wrecked itself.

“Motley” wasn’t enough to describe this crew, and she fucking hated it. Some of them would end up on the business end of her jaws if they kept trying her. She was in no headspace to deal with scrutiny, even if the other half of her did sound like a demonic crackhead.

Rope. She needed rope. Chains. A muzzle. She was not going to go around like this while she was here.

I hate it. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it.

“That’s nice,” she said evenly, refraining from gritting her teeth. “Shall we, then?”

She decided to do the honors to be the first one to get going.

 

[HelloYellow17]

"Rumours," she stated bluntly, not caring for Gladion's claims. "Apparently the dawn and dusk watchmon are seeing something moving out in the darkness. Monsters, pokémon, monsters wearing the skin of pokémon, you name it. But when I took those shifts, I didn't see nothing. Bet they're sneaking moonshine up on those towers, not that it's any of your business," she grumbled.

Well, that seemed as reasonable an explanation as any. Wes certainly wasn’t in any hurry to buy into folklore about creepy monsters. Everything about the Skarmory made him uncomfortable, but at least she seemed to have some sense.

"Appreciate the offer but, ah, are you sure?" he asked, immediately poking Wes' lame leg probably hitting a tender spot or two. "None of you look exactly built for railwork except maybe patchwork over there," he said, gesturing towards Gladion. "Get back to me when you evolve and I'll find some work for you to make up for this incident for sure."

Wes flinched at the Vigoroth’s prodding and instinctively shot him a glare before remembering he needed to be tapping into his civil side, here. At the very least, he couldn’t deny the relief he felt on his half-hearted offer being rejected. At least it seemed to have won over somebody’s favor, even if the Vigoroth’s comments were a sting to his pride.

“Fair enough,” he said, forcing an ounce of friendliness into his voice. “I’ll keep in mind to repay you when I, uh…evolve.” Hah. As if he’d be sticking around long enough to make good on that.

He scratched his chin in thought. "In the meantime though, I don't wanna leave you lot out here to rot and the little girl there just gave me a great idea. How about you hitch a ride on the next supply run west? I'll get in a heap of mighty fine trouble if I take you lot over to Magna City - smuggling civilians and all - but nobody will know a thing if you get off at the end and make the trek to Frontier Town. Especially not with a zorua. Pretty sure those guys will be more accommodating than this lot."

Finally. Thank gods. Now they were getting somewhere. “That would be much appreciated, thanks.”

The snippy Mawile was already trying to usher them over to the tracks. Clearly Wes wasn’t the only one eager to get out of here and out of the relentless heat. “In the meantime, I don’t suppose we could hitch a ride to your town over there while we wait for the supply train?”

 

[Butterfree]

"Rumours," she stated bluntly, not caring for Gladion's claims. "Apparently the dawn and dusk watchmon are seeing something moving out in the darkness. Monsters, pokémon, monsters wearing the skin of pokémon, you name it. But when I took those shifts, I didn't see nothing. Bet they're sneaking moonshine up on those towers, not that it's any of your business," she grumbled.

"Huh." So they were distinguishing monsters from Pokémon? "So, just out of curiosity, what do you mean by 'monsters', here? Or monsters wearing the skin of Pokémon? Are we talking nonsapient Pokémon, or some different kind of creature?" He paused. "Actually, who are these... 'watchmon' you're talking about?" (Oh, God, they spoke in cheesy portmanteaus.)

He scratched his chin in thought. "In the meantime though, I don't wanna leave you lot out here to rot and the little girl there just gave me a great idea. How about you hitch a ride on the next supply run west? I'll get in a heap of mighty fine trouble if I take you lot over to Magna City - smuggling civilians and all - but nobody will know a thing if you get off at the end and make the trek to Frontier Town. Especially not with a zorua. Pretty sure those guys will be more accommodating than this lot."

"If you're suggesting it, then that means the rail must end at a station, right? Unless we're supposed to use it without a train."

"Just one carrying cargo for now," Vigoroth clarified. "Lucky for you, it's currently in the town right now and is due to leave this evening. I don't think the locals will mind you stowing away and I can take charge of the run tonight to keep the other workers from snitching. Might be a bumpy ride but I think it's the better alternative to wandering the desert."

Well, the Vigoroth was turning out to be surprisingly friendly. The others had been disparaging him as being from the city, but so far that only said good things about the city, compared to being out here among a bunch of dumb hicks. Not unlike home, really.

"You know what, that sounds good," he said. "How about we get going, then?"

 

[Inkedust]

"So, just out of curiosity, what do you mean by 'monsters', here? Or monsters wearing the skin of Pokémon? Are we talking nonsapient Pokémon, or some different kind of creature?" He paused. "Actually, who are these... 'watchmon' you're talking about?"

Erva let out a long exhale that sounded like squeaky metal. Great. A QnA. "Fuck if I know," she replied. "I'm just going off the ramblings of a pair of drunkards who saw a rowdy wild or two. If you really want to waste your time, you can hear it from Mav and Reno. Dodrio and noctowl, before you ask.

“Huh. That works out well. I guess we owe you one. Unless there’s something you need before the departure.”

He glanced towards the ruins of what had once was a minecart, and was currently a form of abstract expressionism with a suspicious amount of Mawile bite-marks.

“Actually, certain individuals here may owe you more than ‘one’ but you get what I mean…”

“Fair enough,” he said, forcing an ounce of friendliness into his voice. “I’ll keep in mind to repay you when I, uh…evolve.” Hah. As if he’d be sticking around long enough to make good on that.

"I'll keep you to it. As for mawile over there..." Vigoroth looked at what state she'd left her minecart in stunned silence. "I'm sure I'll be able to find something for her more, ah, destructive tendencies."

Isidora glanced at the sky -- "It does look like there's still some time before evening" -- then gave the other two townsmon a sideways glare. "And we're not waiting out here."

The snippy Mawile was already trying to usher them over to the tracks. Clearly Wes wasn’t the only one eager to get out of here and out of the relentless heat. “In the meantime, I don’t suppose we could hitch a ride to your town over there while we wait for the supply train?”

Ryder grit his teeth at that. "Fine, fine, but only if you lot get on the train and stay there. If I see any of you sticking your noses out, Mr. Nice Ryder is changing shifts with the claws." As he said that, he bared his claws and fangs in an attempt to intimidate. It wasn't very convincing.

Erva shuffled away from the gabite so nobody else would see them together. "I'm not carrying any of you, if that's what you're asking," she said to Wes. "Your city friend here can be the one who wants to look like he's carrying wild 'mons into town."

Vigoroth looked momentarily embarrassed. "I'll need to get back to work shortly. If you need someone to carry you because of that leg, why don't you climb on the back of Patchwork? Looks large enough to carry the lot of you and extra."

---

"Well, if we've reached an agreement, then let us depart." Bellatrix shook herself off and nodded towards Vigoroth. "Lead the way."

It still seemed like there was still a bit of a trek to the town, allowing more opportunity for small talk before they entered the town proper.