Locke didn't have much hope for the unlucky thirteenth attempt, but they would still give it their all!

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

Locke briefly wondered if the Pokéball was even worth keeping, before tossing onto his beach towel with the rest. Waste not, want not.

They left their "treasure" pile unattended to go for another dive, unaware that something else was being dropped in by an unseen party...

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

It took a few more shouts and another hail of Dragon Darts for the reality of the situation to finally sink in. Despair coiled around Locke's heart like an Ekans, the same that had first gripped them in a classroom in Vermilion, and again on a lone bench here in Slateport years ago.

No one was coming.

They were alone.

Their mind kicked into fight or flight, and in the absence of the latter defaulted to the former.

"Pory-Pory! Turn the tables on them!"

The Porygon-Z made a strange amalgamation of sounds that the courier could only assume was an affirmative, as pixelated walls began to piece themselves together in a wide area along the beach, encasing the makeshift battlefield in a shimmering blue Trick Room before glitching out of sight. Roto-Roto zipped around in the air, testing out their new speed while waiting for the next pass.

Taking advantage of the change in the battle's pace, Locke reached into his bag to retrieve a Pokémon better suited for escape-only to wrench his hand back as he felt something bite it. Worms-planted, he now realized, by what he had assumed were stray shots-covered the underside of the satchel, a few having made their way over the top to fall inside.

One hung loosely from the back of his hand, which he tore away and thrust aside along with his bag. However, as he tried to push himself away from the still-writhing mass on the ground where it was, he felt another sharp bite in his left leg.

Then another.

And another.

A swarm of ink-black worms-no, leeches-had taken hold of Locke's boot, and was now making its way up his foreleg, pinning him to the sand as unseen fangs dug into his skin.

Roto-Roto, for their previous passive-aggressiveness, responded to their trainer's pained shout in an instant. The streetlights above sparked and shorted out as they gathered electricity, Discharging it at the bugs that sprouted from the beach-but it did nothing to stop the advancing Infestation.

What little advantage they might've temporarily gained was quickly slipping away as Locke once again fought against his own panic.

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

Both Pokémon retreated from the flower patch as Locke approached, looking up to their trainer for praise-but if he had any words of approval, they were caught in his throat, as they were followed out by a small, green hedgehog.

More Shaymin sprouted up throughout the field, but his gaze was locked onto the first as he bent forward to meet it. It sniffed at him, then trotted off in the direction of his Fearow. Dori-Dori initially shielded his Gracidea with her wing, but as her trainer followed behind she allowed the hedgehog to approach the flower.

The Shaymin waited until it was scooped back into their hands, then gestured over to another empty plot-this one much more fertile-looking than the others.

It takes a moment for Locke to understand-their mind crowded with too many thoughts and feelings to process quickly-but eventually it clicked. They pulled another capsule from their bag and released their Mudsdale, who looked down at the Gracidea with a weary sigh. "Sorry, Doro-Doro," they finally spoke, their voice rough with emotion, "but we're moving it one last time-okay?"

She doesn't believe them, but diligently went to Rototill the ground for the third time regardless.

---

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

It felt like they'd been at this for almost two weeks...But today was the day!

Attempt number twelve!

Let's go!

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

Locke felt good about his chances today. Once more into the drink!

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

They'd almost gotten through the last time; maybe their luck's finally turning around!

It looked like Katherine Fairburne's just earned her crown as well, so there's no reason to feel bad if he dunks the elite four member.

---

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

Roto-Roto's face was suddenly replaced with a bright yellow screen sporting a large exclamation point-before the phone exploded.

Later, Locke would mourn the loss of their only current means of contacting their family-but right now they had seconds to react. They threw their hands over their head, projectiles cutting into their arms as they ducked behind into cover of the raised boardwalk. They chanced a glance upwards as the first pass ended, but were unable to adjust to the darkness fast enough to identify their attacker.

Their Rotom, however, buzzed overhead, having Substituted the device for its own life, while the Porygon-Z left behind also emerged from the shattered remnants-much to its unwilling roommate's annoyance. Chunks of data, glowing with a pink Fairy aura, floated after the dazed Pory-Pory as its digital body Converted into physical form beside them.

"Wh-What's going on?!" he cried into open air, "Somebody help!"

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

"The florist said it'll grow into a Gracidea! According to her they're native to Shinnoh, where people exchange them to show how grateful they are," Locke rambled, continuing to rattle off more facts he'd learned about the flower as they made their way through the woods.

"I'm hoping I can collect the seeds so I can grow a few to send to my family-but mostly I'm just excited to see what it looks like! The florist didn't have any on hand since they're not very common here, so I don't really know what to expect."

They were pretty sure they'd seen most of Hoenn's natural flora at this point, so getting to grow something new was enticing enough to warrant the extra work it was taking. Doro-Doro wasn't quite as enthused, but so long as she got a few more treats at the end of the day she'd go along with whatever the amateur gardener wanted to do.

At last Locke stopped the group to a small, out of the way clearing, hardly bigger than an average apartment in Slateport. They'd already come by before to clear out some of the weeds and plant debris, so all that was left to do was guide their Mudsdale into Rototilling a portion of the land into a functional garden plot.

While Doro-Doro set to work, Locke kept close by-digging up any rocks or roots left behind while continuing the conversation. "But what've you been up to? A lotta stuff's happened since we last met up, yeah? You've been pretty busy I'll bet."

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

"I was the only one who made it out," he replied morosely.

He listened quietly as his friend described the blue Latias-Latios-in more detail, wondering where he was now if he wasn't with his sister. Maybe that was why the legendary was so drawn to the pilot; if Locke'd had an older brother, he'd want one like Angelo.

They gave the monitoring equipment a weary look. "Maybe when the doc says I'm clear for panic attacks again." They wanted to hear about Angelo's little trip as well. But right now they'd take any excuse to move on to lighter topics.

"Tell me more about them? Latias and Latios?"

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

"All clear up ahead too! Maybe I oughtta look into getting one of those myself," he joked.

Not that Locke had half the other boy's confidence in controlling the giant. He'd probably get squished trying to train something like that.

"Have you eaten yet, by the way? they called back. Lunchtime was fast approaching, and would likely arrive to the city at the same time they did. "There's a vendor in Petalburg I know that sells good kebabs for cheap if we wanna spend some of our earnings after this!"

---

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

"I didn't realize it could catch humans too," Locke sighed, wishing they'd gotten the same warnings before today. "What brand of honey is strong enough to hold a grown person hostage anyhow?"

They circled the tree once to get a better angle on the Togekiss, spotting where a few feathers were beginning to tear away from the poor fairy's body in its desperate struggle to escape. A trip to Alexei Ivanov's sanctuary would probably be the next step once it was free.

"I wouldn't try it, seeing as that's how De-De got us into-" Locke paled and cut off, staring at the Pokémon that appeared from Eris' hat-his train of thought not derailing so much as full-on crashing. He watched his Delibird excitedly waddle up to greet the newcomer, reminding him that she'd never seen a Shaymin before now-she hadn't been there when-

No, no-there had been that one at the Soiree right? He hadn't known what it was then, but it proved that there were definitely more than one, and the hedgehog in his friend's arms right now wasn't-couldn't be-her.

"We-" he started, trying to pick out his thoughts from the wreckage, "We could…fly? Er-to get closer that is. Maybe Water Gun will be more accurate if we're right next to it." He took the excuse to dig around his bag for one of his fliers, distracting himself from the sudden ache in his heart.

"Here we go!" His own Togekiss appeared in a flash, hovering close to Eris and giving the girl a curious sniff. She nudged at her missing eye, comparing the wound to her own scars carved into the fairy's side. "Maybe it'll be less scared if it sees Kiss-Kiss."

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz