What do they say?

They could point out that they don’t know actually know whether their Pokémon should or shouldn’t be here. Neither of them remembers why they were here in the first place.

Another part of him, that bleeding heart bordering on hemorrhagic, cries that there isn’t a single reason good enough for Sae or Orbee-Orbee to be here.

Indecisive as always, he didn’t say anything; just offered his hand and ignored the way the ink kept reaching for her beneath the skin well after he’d stopped it.

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

Package thieves.

The natural enemy of mailmen everywhere.

With the data from the Delibird Deliveries app, they had the means to find the thief’s next target, but lacked the skills to stop it. Whether a battle of wits or strength, Locke was self-aware enough to know they would almost certainly be outmatched.

Hideo, on the other hand…

”Er-Maybe just one more time?” He said uncertainly, careful to keep the present in his hands very still while Leva-Leva, ever the perfectionist, fidgeted with her wrapping work one last time.

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

Locke pushed regardless. It was about the only thing they were good at, most days.

But no matter how hard they tried, the memory wouldn’t come. Just the sight of the charm, and then the sudden shifting of the sun’s position, as though he and Sénon Game had jumped through time together.

He shook his head regretfully, an apology already forming on his tongue. The Inkay distracted him though, as the species was wont to do. He watched it float around del Mar with an unconscious smile.

”Little far from home, that one.”

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

Locke had been more than a little nervous about bringing Mika along, after the last time they’d invited a kid on their delivery route, but everything had gone very smoothly so far. Though exploding Pokémon and near-fatal brain bubbles made for a very low bar.

He faked checking the GPS on his phone, using the excuse to slow down a bit and fall in step beside his tiny assistant. ”One last stop out here, and then we can go back into town for some lunch.”

---

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

Locke had a bad feeling about this.

Granted, he had a bad feeling or two about most things these days, but this particular made something in the back of his mind itch in a particularly unpleasant way. But Eris Halla would be likely invited as well, and the idea of leaving her alone to…whatever this is turned out to be the greater discomfort.

Alone is maybe a bit unfair though. Hideo Kino’s here after all, and it was Martín del Mar who’d even gone through the trouble of gathering them all together here in the first place. But it didn’t stop him from seeking out the young girl the second he’d arrived, offering her an open palm and as reassuring a smile as he could muster.

Locke was surprised to find an equal amount of familiar and unfamiliar faces in attendance, a testament to just how much bigger this whole charm business had been than they’d realized. They swallowed down their nerves, pulling out their phone and the Unusual Charm that adorns it.

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

Locke nodded along unsuspectingly. They looked around the age when kids really started getting into the gym circuit, so it made sense they got around a bit. ”I’m the same, I suppose. Delivery work kind of takes you everywhere.”

His Mudsdale gave a weary snort when the cart shifted with Mika’s weight, but made no other complaints as the kid clambered inside and got comfortable. ”All set?” He asked, waiting for confirmation before taking Doro-Doro’s reigns in hand like a lead and guiding the party up the path back to the farmhouse, where they could exchange their load for their well-earned reward.

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

Locke stared at Eris’ back for a moment, allowing her one last opportunity to turn them away and remain alone, before closing the distance between them. They sat on the ground crisscross applesauce, shoving away the distant pull of something much, much deeper beneath the pair.

”…I don’t think I ever got its name. Your Noibat.”

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

”My leg! There’s something-” Locke cut off with another shout, as more vines suddenly whipped out and engulfed them up to their chest. The plant matter glowed an unnatural white, and they felt the Strength Sap from their body as the Shiinotic one-by-one revealed themselves. And Skyler-

Skyler was trapped too, by some unseen bind.

The mushrooms atop one of the wild Pokémon released a flickering, white powder near the pair, further exhausting Locke. Desperate, he muttered one last command before the Spores took hold and dragged him into deadly slumber:

”Magnet…Bomb…”

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

”Ugh, don’t even talk to me about paperwork,” he groaned. ”I’m the owner, and that means filling out all kinds of forms for things I didn’t even know I needed.”

Throughout the conversation, Locke kept a careful eye on the wildlife. Nothing they’d seen so far seemed to match what they were looking for however. ”Maybe there aren’t any here…?” they muttered under their breath.

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

Before Locke could even finish checking on luka chêne, another woman nearly rushed past him in the opposite direction of the group. ”Ah, wait-Miss!” He called out to Amber Lenoir, grabbing at the stranger’s hand to keep her from disappearing to god-knows-where. ”It’s really not safe to go off on your own. We oughta stay with the rest of the group.”

Locke jumped at the sudden swearing from across the cavern. He peeked around the line of people gathering by the new tunnel and was appalled to see Eris Halla at the very front with Hideo Kino.

All hesitation that they might’ve felt vanished, replaced with a deep concern for the apparently unsupervised children. They wordlessly tugged the two women towards the hole, crawling in and following the group into darkness.

Here, with stone and earth pressing in on all sides, the itch under their palm was impossible to ignore. There was no room to reach through and scratch at the freshly-healed scars and ink however, only enough to slowly inch forward until the water level was up to their neck.

They kind of blanked on the trip through the water itself, letting @cat’s rope pull them the rest of the way while they focused all of their spoons on holding their breath.

”That…sucked,” Locke groaned as they came back to themselves on the shore, dragging a hand over their face while soaking in the Flareon’s warmth with the others. ”That really sucked.”

---

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz