Step by step, Hideo followed Eris along. He was confident she knew her way around here better than he did - and he trusted her to not be leading him into some kind of trap. Why would she, after letting herself get hurt just to help get them away from Rocket in the first place?

He was also trying to keep an eye on her (metaphorically speaking), listening for if her condition was getting any worse. He wasn't too familiar with medicine, but a horn in the shoulder was never good. Asking her would've been a futile endeavor obstructed with denial.

Would he know what to do if she did collapse right in front of him from the injury? He didn't know. Maybe Uxie would help him, but the pixie seemed more preoccupied floating around the cave, observing the floating minerals and distortions through closed eyes.

The silence was broken by Eris, Hideo's attention shifting. "With how big this place sounds, I'd be surprised if we run into someone by accident again for a long time," he said, grinning. "'Specially with you guiding us." Though Eris did surprise him with what she knew and who she was working with, he was confident she was an excellent adventurer.

That part about him not walking into dangerous areas got him to snort. "You'd be surprised where I've been…but falling in here wasn't really planned. A portal just popped up on me out of nowhere, and next thing I know, I'm in this cave." One couldn't say Hoenn was a boring region. "Wasn't long 'til I ran into some Rockets…and I think you know how it goes from there."

Eris Halla

Hideo giggled slightly. He already knew Uxie was above them, observing everything, but Mesprit doing the same, playing around with whatever they were finding up there. "I'm sure Uxie'd stop 'em if there was any risk to that," Hideo reassured her. "Even if Uxie can be unpredictable when helping us, I'm sure they'd stop Mesprit if it might actually get hurt."

Or worse. He wouldn't want what happened to Chu-e Choi to happen to anyone else.

"Not sure if I'd call what I got a bad luck streak," he protested. "This is just one of the few times I didn't get to prepare for what was coming. I'm sure I'd find a way out eventually if I had to."

That was more of a way of assuaging his own fear of being lost in a place he was unfamiliar with. A feeling that was, admittedly, pushing down by the information Eris shared with him afterwards.

"...shit, that Dream Mist stuff is here too?" It was hard to ignore the dread running through his heart. "Every time I run into that stuff, it's been bad. And it's even worse here?"

Maybe having Uxie around would help him recognize what was real and what wasn't. But even those times he knew stuff was fake, didn't stop it from hurting him.

A strange cry could be heard up above. It was a Pokemon's cry, but seemed off slightly. "Was that a Jigglypuff?" Hideo asked. "Think it's someone's Pokemon? This doesn't seem like a place a wild Jigglypuff would want to be in." If it were even a real Jigglypuff - though didn't they have to be in the Mist before it started messing with them?

Eris Halla

Hideo frowned as Eris asked him if he were ready for what was to come. "Well…I'm not really sure how to prepare for something like that?" He could barely come up with anything when the Meteor was coming down; how could he prepare for a looming catastrophe that could be anything? "Guess I'd make sure my family was safe first."

Whether or not they'd appreciate him showing up, after running away for two years. "What's the Catastrophe supposed to be anyways?"

Before he got an answer, he got a hand on his wrist - and a floating pixie brushing its tails along his hair. With Eris and Uxie close, they must've spotted something coming towards them.

His answer to Eris's question would be short and sweet, perfectly encapsulating all the knowledge he had on the subject, with no room for ambiguity or misinterpretation.

"What's a Paradox Pokemon?"

The answer would quite literally come to him as he heard the distinctive hopping sound of a Jigglypuff approaching. The others would probably notice this Jigglypuff looked off, a tail protruding from its forehead, tiny fangs exposed on its mouth. Even its eye color was off, a stark yellow.

The "Jigglypuff" stopped in front of the group, looking over the two kids. It let out a small "Puriiiii?" as its eyes settled on Uxie and Mesprit.

"That is a Jigglypuff, right?" Hideo asked. "They don't make that noise. 'Least, none that I've heard before."

Eris Halla

Doom and gloom over an impending disaster Hideo knew next to nothing about and lacked the means to affect (hardly the first one) was quickly buried under the prospect of finding a completely new Pokemon. He was much more interested in hearing Eris explain just what it was - very much like Pokemon in Hoenn, yet different in some ways. "So are they solid like real Pokemon?" Hideo asked, hand reaching into his pocket for a spare Pokeball, "'cause I doubt they'd get a term for them if they were just misty fakes."

Even as Eris gently pulled him away, Hideo was intent on learning more about this Paradox Pokemon, Pokeball in hand. But he realized something was about the happen the moment he felt Uxie's tails cover his ears, just managing to hear the Scatterbang through his impromptu earmuffs.

The Paradox Pokemon's squealing could be heard as well - which made it easy for Hideo to guess where to throw his ball. Hideo chucked it at the "Jigglypuff", hoping to catch it while it was still recovering, only for the tail on its head to smack the ball aside, breaking it against a cave wall.

"Tougher than a normal Jigglypuff," Hideo noted, "and definitely solid!" The "Jigglypuff" glared angrily at Eris, its attention then shifting to the crackling Luxray.

It charged forth, aiming a Body Slam right for Eris's Pokemon.

Eris Halla

Hideo's fascination with encountering a new, never-before-seen Pokemon overwrote any thought about the threat it could pose, not only for their immediate safety, but for their dimension as a whole. Eris had to spell it out for him to acknowledge that this Pokemon was dangerous - though it only magnified his desire to catch it.

His response was quick: "But I could train it to not want to cause trouble!"

Lesson promptly missed, he soon realized (once more by Eris's prompting) that a battle had broken out. He'd expected Uxie to step in without him needing to order anything, like many of his other Pokemon.

Unfortunately, Uxie was more focused on observing, floating near Hideo. It merely watched as the "Jigglypuff" slammed right into the Protect, followed by it being shocked by the Rising Voltage rising from the ground. The "Jigglypuff" did let out a noise as it was shocked, but it didn't appear too hurt by the attack.

With an annoyed sigh, Hideo took out a Pokeball, letting out his Aggron. He knew Jigglypuffs were fairy-type, so a steel-type would be a straightforward counter. The Aggron looked down on the larger-than-normal fairy, curious but unimpressed.

It was immediately chosen as the "Jigglypuff"'s next target, charing right at the Aggron and Crunching down on its arm. The Aggron grunted, trying to shake it off.

"...Jigglypuffs don't normally Crunch, do they?"

Eris Halla

Barring solid proof that bringing this Pokemon into Hoenn proper was going to actively contribute to their dimension's destruction, there was nothing that could dissuade Hideo from wanting to catch this "Jigglypuff". It was just too unique, too strange to want to pass up.

As the "Jigglypuff" was struck, it grunted, though it still held its bite on the Aggron. The Aggron wasn't too pleased with this, having given up on shaking it off.

"I mean, it could be like a regional form," Hideo said, "Kinda like how different a Weezing is from a Galarian Weezing. Or an Exeggutor from an Alolan Exeggutor. Makes sense it could do different-"

He was interrupted by the distinct noise of a 360 kilogram metallic Pokemon Body Pressing against the stone ground. He could even feel the impact from where he stood.

"-stuff…" He trailed off, realizing there was very likely a pink pancake between his Aggron and the ground now. "You better not have just killed it, Aaron."

With a roll of its eyes, the Aggron stood up, a very-flattened "Jigglypuff" beneath him. The pink pancake waddled a couple meters away, taking in a deep breath as it returned to its normal shape and size. "A lot tougher than a normal Jigglypuff too," Hideo noted.

With the new opportunity presenting itself, Hideo took out another Pokeball, tossing it at the "Jigglypuff" once again. Still dazed from its squishening, the Pokeball hit it, drawing it inside. The ball shook a few times, before that pleasant *click* indicated it was caught.

OOC note: This is just to justify Hideo acquiring Scream Tail ICly, to be purchased later

Eris Halla

Every detail Eris gave Hideo, every attempt to get him to understand the danger of this Pokemon, only translated in his brain as "rare, may never appear again, powerful". And unfortunately, Hideo was thinking with his Pokeballs in this situation.

He nodded with each of her words, walking over and picking up the now-occupied ball. This new catch was able to block out any of the distress he was having about their current situation, almost forgetting they were still in the middle of one of the Wilds.

But the first sign something was off was when he heard his Aggron approaching him. He hadn't noticed how Uxie's attention turned to the ground, or how Uxie warned Aggron to go to Hideo.

Before he could ask anything, a loud roar erupted through the cave as a fissure appeared. Hideo and his Aggron were far enough to avoid getting caught in it, and Uxie carefully floated along the growing edge, watching.

Hideo's ringing ears could just barely make out the sound of something cracking in that fissure, though he didn't know the cause. "What's going on?!" he asked, the question directed towards anyone (or anything) that could give him an answer. "You ok, Eris?!"

Eris Halla