They found more statues, but they had been shattered and cracked and broken into rubble and stacked near the base of a tree. The terrain was soft, squishy, and reminiscent of mud and Route 119. A poor place to bury Pokémon, given the instability of the soil.

Nonetheless, there were likely bones and skulls buried in the muck, if Andrea and Ogerpon looked closely enough.

"Grrrrrrr..."

As they approached, a section of the mud pool rippled as a giant bear emerged like a zombie. Mud that had hardened into steel bore into the Pokemaniac's soul, before looking at the nearby Ogerpon and snorting. Not only was this the bear from Route 119, but it was also the bear from the space prison of doom.

"Grrrr."

SPECIAL TRANSLATION: "Well met, little ogre. Are you also indulging in petty vandalism?"

---

Andrea Vaneau

The bear snorted at Andrea, before shaking his head and turning to the ogre.

"Little ogre, why is your partner dressed like a shaman? The clans from my homeland often dressed like her to ward off evil spirits." What that said about the Diamond and Pearl clans was better off unanswered, but it was luckily a secret that only those who studied Hisuian history would understand. Howard had a few books in his office, and Yuina Higashi specialized in the field. "Oh well."

Doug began to dig a deep hole, before scraping the statue fragments into the pit. Mud quickly filled the hole, and the statue fragments were lost to history.

Doug snorted with derision, before shaking his head.

"Now that I've found you, I'd like to enlist your help. I seem to have lost my trainer, and he has a tendency to collect rare things." The Ursaluna's eye gleamed. "I worry that he might try to collect one of these statues to use as a doorstopper, or something equally absurd."

Doug sat on his haunches, giving Andrea and Ogerpon a way to climb up the bear's side.

"Come."

---

Andrea Vaneau

Josh Devlin would tell Andrea Vaneau that this bear's owner was a so-so rider who relied far too much on the Gym Leader footing the bills whenever they went out to eat above the raceway he ran.

Fortunately for Doug's owner, and for Doug himself, Josh Devlin was not here. Remembering that Howard had lost that race was a wound that would never fully heal. It was best to avoid rubbing salt in the wound, so the bear simply grumbled and shook his head as he led Andrea and Ogerpon down a slope of Mt. Pyre.

Thick trees covered the area, obscuring the sky.

"Finally, I've found a set of statues to preserve!" Despite Hideo Kino's best efforts, there were many Loyal Three statues hidden in Hoenn's nooks and crannies. The clearing that Andrea, Ogerpon, and Doug entered was full of the things. They were stacked to Andrea's head, and a hatted fellow sat on top of them, clearly pleased with his actions. "These are gonna look great in my collection!"

After a moment, the hatted fellow noticed Andrea and her band of misfits.

"Hel-" Howard blinked once, recognizing the PokeManiac from the dreamlike prison. "Toukon!"

---

Andrea Vaneau

Carter the Pokemart Guy was actually Carter the Pokemart Lie.

How sharp a gaze, Andrea Vaneau held. Despite the losses she had experienced in Petalburg, she still remembered Carter the Pokemart Guy. In a way, her loss had been avenged. Kouji Matsubara now wandered underneath Hoenn, searching for something very important to the admin. There, he would never see the light of day.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Toukon. My name isn't Carter, it's Howard. I'm an archaeologist!" He gestured at the pile of statues. "I'm here to preserve a few of these statues for future generations. They're an important part of this region's history, now. We can't afford to destroy all of them."

Beneath Andrea and Ogerpon, Doug huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Here we go..."

---

Andrea Vaneau

Huh. So that's where the ogre from the prison ended up. What an exquisite mask. Its make was incredible, and the admin silently wished that he had a replica in his collection. Though, now that he thought of it, there had been more masks hidden within the prison. He wondered what had happened to them.

"You don't know that!" Howard protested as he hopped down from the statue pile. "This is a problem that could extend for generations. If we tear every monument apart, then those that come after will forget!"

He put his hands on his hips, before spreading his arms to stop Ogerpon from walking any further.

"Come on..." Howard glared at the Ursaluna that allied itself with him. "Doug! I fixed your Gigaton Ball and this is how you repay me?"

The bear growled.

Something, meanwhile, rustled in the trees.

---

Andrea Vaneau

MEMORIAL DESECRATION

ANDREA X HOWARD

THE BLOODMOON URSALUNA IS ON EDGE. Its greater sense of smell grants it advanced notice, earlier than OGERPON's for their incoming intruder.

However, any element of stealth is soon discarded in favor for bombastic flair. One, two trees are clobbered, splintered in two from the thwack thwack of a TOXIC CHAIN.

An OKIDOGI struts in. Its winding Toxic Chain is in one hand, while a bundle of masks held together by twine rests in the other.

In an act of mockery against Andrea Vaneau and her OGERPON, the OKIDOGI raises one mask to its face. Its evidently pilfered from a local festival; however, the mask is splattered in BLUE ORAN BERRY JUICE.

The others are similarly colored to represent the masks OGERPON has lost. A red one. A gray one. Seeing the bear, the OKIDOGI make mimic it. A stupid expression is unceremoniously crowned by slapping the fleshy end of its Toxic Chain against its own forehead.

It canine will cycle through them during their encounter to taunt before departing: an ominous reminder that these Pokemon will always be up to no good.

Andrea Vaneau howard slayte

She brought up the prison. His eye twitched.

"I KNOW THAT!" He snapped at her, clearly frustrated. Howard sighed and turned towards the pile of statues. "They ruined our lives! They stole our Pokemon! They deserve to rot and die. They did! They will! They'll continue to! And we will continue to beat them back because we will continue to win!"

That was the universal truth of mankind. No mountain was too tall for humanity to climb over, and they would continue to toil. They would succeed. The Loyal Three would come back, but he and Andrea would continue to beat them.

"But too many things in this region have gone wrong because we've forgotte-"

'Grrrrrrrfic!'

"Eh?" Howard turned towards the noise, and saw Okidogi ripping through Ogerpon's foilage. He was all for preserving these statues, but Okidogi would still be black and blue by the time he was done with the mangy mutt. "Damn dog!"

He pointed at the spirit masks used to ward off ghosts that the dog had stolen.

"DIE!" Doug roared, barreling towards the dog while Ogerpon kept him busy. The Headlong Rush crashed into the dog, sending him a step back. In response, Okidogi picked up Howard's bear and threw it at him.

---

Andrea Vaneau