(Open) A New Face in Town

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Grassveil Town was within sight! Opal had travelled a long way to get here, but the journey had been worth it! What the young Growlithe had heard about the place looked to be true. There were lots of Pokemon about, and there was presumably a lot to do here as well. Oh, if only her brothers and sisters were here as well. What a marvellous time they'd all have! Well, there was no point just standing there. Grassveil would never be reached then. Onward, to adventure!

Opal was wagging her tail with excitement as she trotted into the town center. She enthusiastically greeted passing Pokemon and asked several questions about the place. The shops she heard about sounded amazing. There were shops for berries, shops for gummies, even shops for blended drinks. That sounded amazing! Being a desert dweller, Opal had never had a blended drink. It simply wasn't a thing there. She made sure to memorise the location of these drink shops so she could come back when she'd saved up some money.

He couldn't understand. The blue frilled fox's change in demeanour was unexpected. She seemed almost hostile towards him, but that seemed to have vanished. He wanted answers, but something told him that it would be better if he did not. The light of his tail flickered in a reflection of his physical state, low but bright. His arm and wings hurt to move. He felt absolutely drained of whatever energy he was capable of having.

He was exauhsted. He almost wanted to sleep, but the current situation was too much for him to just let himself go in. The way the water type acted made him feel as if he did something wrong, but he could not remember what. His head was held low and close to the ground. His state was questioned, but that was one that he could not answer. Was there something wrong with him? There had to be. He couldn't remember what happened, that was not normal. He knew that much. He could feel that there was something wrong, something dreadfully wrong, but he did not know what.

His only response was a lost look that so obviously portrayed his answer with honesty. She walked towards him, but a new surge of energy urged him to move as the image of what he did earlier to her earlier repeated itself in his head. Was she trying to help him then? Did he hurt her for trying to help him? Using his legs, one good arm, and wings as a source of balance, he forced himself back against the curved wall completely. The lack of a corner within the mini arena drove his nerves up the wall. He had nowhere certain to push himself into, nowhere to guarantee vision of everywhere around him that others could approach him from. Guilt plagued his conscience. He didn't want to hurt the vaporeon. Those who hurt innocents were not good people.

The vaporeon stopped, he did not know whether it was in response to his recoil or the call of another voice above. His eyes glanced up at the open hole above. The clouded sky above continued to rain down onto the two. The weather was unpleasant for him, but it was the least of his worries. His gaze darted back down to the vaporeon. She moved again. She was doing something. His heart raced throughout the encounter, it almost felt like it was in pain at this point.

A ball of light shot towards the sky. He wasn't sure what it did, but his head lowered itself until it was merely an inch off the ground as he did so. What was she doing? Why? His question was answered as the brilliant rays of the false sun shredded the darkness apart and allowed hope to be given to those down below. The warmth of the move restored body heat to his body. Strange, he hadn't even been aware that he was shivering until just before he stopped. It felt nice...comforting even. If Skylar were to try an approach again, he would not move away.

The weakened state almost seemed to give him clarity through the fog that had shrouded his thought so much earlier. The sense was knocked back into him as some could say. The vaporeon said she was fine. He was relieved by this news, but what came after unsettled him. Everything was fine? His expression fell further into a hopeless and confused state.

"B-But it's not" he spoke up quietly to the vaporeon, "What did I do? Why-" he asked again. His voice cracked as he began to panic, but he stopped himself before he could get carried away. He dreaded the answer he felt he already suspected, but he hoped that it wasn't the case. Everything was not fine; he was not fine.

Alki found herself awaiting an answer for quite a while. For the first time since she had joined the fight, Alki noticed the rain. It wasn’t that she hadn’t known it was there before, exactly. But now, Alki seemed to notice it in detail for the first time, how the rain seemed to seep into her thin coat of fur and press it against her skin, how it seemed to always find its way into her eyes and caused her to be constantly, incessantly blinking back tears as she looked around at all of the damage that the fight she had barely been a part of had caused. Levelled stalls, dust that still seemed to linger in the air, fading as the rain continued its assault, and the wounded Pokemon who had at least tried to help met her eyes.

She cursed under her breath, turning back towards the hole, still awaiting a response from the Vaporeon. She could still make out some wisps of conversation, but what they were saying still eluded her. Her eyes tracked the Charizard especially, his tail light noticeably dimmer than usual, but still very much alight. Having a conversation with a Pokemon that, until very recently, had been trying very, very hard to kill you seemed like a bad idea. But who was she to say? She was a nobody, a screw up, and the Vaporeon was a member of the best guild team around. “She knows a little more than I do, doesn’t she?” She mumbled with a small chuckle, trying and failing to console herself in spite of her injured body and wounded conscience.

The girl found her mind wandering as she waited for the Vaporeon to supply some sort of acknowledgement to her question. “It’s alright, not the first time today anyways...” She said, a bit louder than she meant to. Her own words seemed like a punch to her own self worth, as they seemed to bring to light the fact that she was just so, damn, ignorable, if not straight up hateable. The whole deaf-or-not-deaf situation from earlier that day had provided ample examples of both, and now, Alki wasn’t sure if the Vaporeon simply hadn’t heard her, or if she was, as she feared, being ignored.

Alki peared over the edge, intending to supply another, cautious offer of help. Instead, she found herself stumbling back as a bright light of something flew past her. The girl let out a curse that, in her sudden fright, sounded more like high pitched non-sense as she tripped  backwards, watching the orb of sunlight fly on into the sky through tears of pain. The jigglypuff fell onto her back, letting out a small gasp as the orb flashed in brilliant pseudo-sunlight, up in the sky that had been covered in clouds for… how long? It felt warm and even pleasant to the soggy, miserable looking balloon.

And… what had she done to deserve this pleasance? Silent tears began to roll down her face as she pulled herself back up onto one foot, holding the broken one awkwardly in the air so as to try and avoid more pain. She felt ridiculous. She probably looked ridiculous. Alki held the pose for a few moments longer, the fear of her broken bone’s pain briefly outweighing her embarrassment. The heat still beat upon her, more pleasantly than she deserved. This  thought was what propelled her to bring it down and walk - stumble, really - towards the hole.

“I’m fine. Everything’s fine.” Alki looked down towards the Vaporeon, disappointment and self-loathing filling her heart. Maybe she was useless in a fight. Sure, she was. “I-I can help you out, though! If… If you wanna...” She blurted out, her offer of help sounding more like pleading, even to her. She hadn’t done anything except screw up in the fight, but now, at least, she could make up for it! Alki waited, trying her best to correct her posture and pose, so as to seem as uninjured as possible. “I swear I won’t screw this up...” She said, her voice crying, as she looked towards the wet, blurred image of the Vaporeon in the hole down below.

~

Darcy shook her head, a small smile accompanying a glint of amusement in her eyes. She might have lost her voice, but she could still communicate! Sort of, anyway. She trotted in a circle, as perky as could be, so as to prove to the Growlithe that she was alright. She nodded her head afterwards and smiled, doing her best to show appreciation to the young Growlithe who had offered her help.

The Skitty looked around, scanning the area to see who else might require help. Her eyes settled on one figure that she was equal parts happy and terrified to see. What was Alki doing here? She was still hurt. The jigglypuff was on her back, although her eyes were clearly open and moving, settling on the miniature sun that… Darcy had somehow not noticed. But now, the little sun seemed to offer her warmth and comfort, feelings that the jigglypuff, quite clearly didn’t share.

Darcy glanced over at the Growlithe, who now seemed to occupy herself with the Jolteon. The Skitty faltered, unsure of who to look after first. After a second’s deliberation, she chose to settle on her sister. The momentarily-mute Skitty settled close beside the jigglypuff, hoping, at least that her presence would help Alki. She was crying. They’d won, though! She could see that, right? Unless the Vaporeon…

No. Darcy heard her voice, announcing she was fine. So… why was she crying? Darcy tilted her head to the side, afraid to sit close to the jigglypuff. After the whole situation from earlier, Darcy had just wanted to make her feel better. Through no fault of her own, that plan had gone horribly, horribly wrong before her very eyes. And now, Alki was in as bad a mood, if not worse, than she had been earlier.

She wanted to help. That’s what this was about, as Alki yelled down to the Vaporeon.

She was a help though! Didn’t she see that? If she just stopped being so hard on herself, then maybe, things would be fine?

Opal was not fooled by the pink cat's parade, but it did reassure her that their injuries weren't quite as bad as she'd feared. That was handy, the Growlithe thought, but this stranger still needed to get someone to look at them. There was still the helpless yellow pokemon to worry about as well. Opal whined as the Skitty walked away. Come back, she wanted to shout. Why are you walking back into danger? What am I supposed to do with the yellow spiky creature?

Her sad gaze followed after the feline, trying to understand their choice. It wasn't until she spotted another pink form that Opal got the explanation she wanted. The Jigglypuff! Was she injured as well? Of course the cat would go that way! Now only the blue figure who'd saved her was unaccounted for. Opal decided she needed to somehow get the Jolteon out of harm's way, then she could help in the search.

"Um... Sir?" she begged anxiously, pawing at the unconscious electric type and nudging him with her nose, "Sir, please wake up!"

What would she do if he didn't rise? Was she strong enough to push him along? No, that was a silly idea. She could hurt the Jolteon, and he certainly didn't need that! The Growlithe looked again at the Jigglypuff and Skitty, then around the general area. Surely there'd be someone who could help! The battle was over, so the residents of this town would start coming back, right? Right?

Sunlight seemed like all that mattered, even if it was fake. Skylar hadn't seen the sun in a while, and for some reason, she hadn't thought to just... make it shine. Why had she let the clouds stick around for so long when she could just overrun them at any moment? It seemed obvious now, but her recent days had been spent hating instead of simply getting rid of them. She could just ignore the darkness and replace it with light if she wanted, and while it may not have been the true sun, it felt about the same. She could just hide the problem and pretend it was gone; an obvious solution in hindsight, but perhaps she had too much determination for her own good. It wasn't as if she could fix such a problem, so what point was there in trying to fight it or dreading its presence when she could more easily ignore it? She had just solved all her problems within the short window of a few minutes and finally felt good for the first time in quite a while.

Head still held high, she closed her eyes to relax and take in the warm light, completely disregarding the charizard. He wasn't a threat anymore, and if he decided he still wanted to try, she would surely hear him coming. She was pretty sure he wouldn't though, mostly because he now seemed very consistently repentant, even going so far as to insist that it wasn't alright. She heard the voice of the jigglypuff from above as well, also trying to imply that everything wasn't alright by insistently offering and borderline-begging to help her. With the two of them whining at her for attention and reassurance, she supposed she had to give them something, and so she finally opened her eyes with a somewhat disappointed sigh. "Everything is fine," she reiterated, this time a bit more firmly, gaze flitting from the puff down to the charizard and back. They both seemed to hold the misguided belief that something was wrong, but all the problems had been sorted out and everything was fine. At the very least, she didn't need anyone worrying about her in specific; if the little pink thing wanted to be useful, there were other things to be done at the moment.

"I'm alright. Help the others. Make sure the growlithe's okay, and your friend... and Keith," she directed, speaking up to the child in a voice that was relatively soft despite being loud and clear. She had almost forgotten that Keith had actually stayed to help and was probably badly hurt. To see her teammate she knew to be a weak coward stand and fight... well, he deserved the help just as much as anyone else. She knew his moves and could guess that the abnormal energy boost she'd suddenly experienced was probably from him, and while she hated the idea that he had directly helped her, it was impressively selfless. The Friendship Alliance had also been surprisingly brave for two little squishy pink children, even if they hadn't really done all that much in the end. Come to think of it, she wondered if she would have been better off on her own, without anyone else to have to look after. It was a very self-absorbed thought but...

Well, all that mattered was making sure everyone was safe. Meanwhile, she still had a few things she needed to handle down in this pit she'd quite literally dug herself into. Getting out would probably be a pain, but first, she wanted her stuff back. Her eyes locked on the dragon and she set off toward him, not an ounce of fear for being bitten again now that she was prepared for it. She assumed the jigglypuff would make the smart choice and go do as directed, so she didn't bother waiting to see. "I'd like my thorns back now. One in your wing and two in your back. You can take them out for me or I can do it myself, but you'd better not snap at me again," she directed once more, this time to the charizard before her. She wanted him to know exactly what she wanted beforehand just to make sure there was no confusion. She felt pretty willing to just knock him out if he decided to be difficult, because she really liked her thorns, but she doubted there would be any resistance.

Up on the ground above, there was finally something to stir the injured jolteon's fleeting consciousness. He woke up almost immediately since he was hardly sleeping properly in his hurting state, but his first instinct was to ignore the voice and try to go back to sleep. It took a moment for him to remember where he was and what had happened, but when he did, his eyes drifted open. He tried to move and found it to be... painful, to say the least, so he gave up on that after just one try. Maybe he would be less sore in a bit or maybe someone would carry him or... No, no one could carry him because he was a jolteon and he would hurt them just by touching them. Maybe they could handle it with how weak he was, but he didn't want anyone to hurt themself even a little to help him. Fortunately, it seemed that was the end of the bad news, considering the first sight presented to him was a familiar growlithe. If they were... or... if she was alright and had come out of hiding, that probably meant it was all over. The next thing he noticed was the very apparent damage all around, then the brightness and warmth of what seemed to be the sun.

"Nice to hear you say something other than bark bark bark," he responded in a weak voice and equally weak smile, saying the word "bark" in an attempt to be humorous. He was trying to lighten the mood and show he was alright with a joke, not considering until after the fact that it could have been interpreted as an insult. He didn't mean anything by it and was actually glad she'd hit and kept herself safe, but it was true that all he had heard come out of her mouth prior was panicked a mix of panicked growls and barks. "Really though, good to see you're alright. I would have been just a little bit disappointed if my wish hadn't come true," he continued and gave a chuckle that abruptly turned to a wince. He made a note that trying to laugh was painful, then made the decision to tone down the talking ahead of time before that ended up hurting too.

His mention of the wish wasn't meant to brag or fish for gratitude; in fact, that was about the last thing he wanted when he felt he hadn't done much to deserve it. He was reasonably dazed and failing to put much thought into what he was saying, but he really meant it. He was glad the growlithe was okay and that his wish hadn't been wasted, because it meant he might not have been completely useless. More importantly, however, she was alive and well, which was more important than his own pride or well-being. Keith was fearful and lacking in confidence, but he still cared about others and was deeply relieved to see a potential victim had been saved. Plus, if she was here talking to him and trying to wake him up, that surely meant everyone else was doing alright. Why would anyone be coming to his aid unless there was no one else who needed the help more? He was surely the least favored and least noteworthy presence here, so he couldn't imagine anyone giving him attention if there was someone else who needed help.

Again, she insisted that everything was fine. She dodged the question. Again and again, it would seem to him. Despite only having asked two or three times, it felt as if he asked over a thousand times. Frustration began to pent-up, but it would leave him just as quickly as it came as he lacked the energy to retain such a violent feeling. He waited patiently as she spoke with whatever allies were up above. He paid little attention to them, they were insignificant to him. All that mattered right now was the blue vixen before him.

She spoke more than three words that suggested what was not true this time. There were thorns in his body. Was that what pained him? He glanced at the wound as she brought up his wing. He could not look back at his back without an intense amount of pain. His eyes and face fell, almost as if lost. Panic reached him as he found that he now struggled to breathe. His mind was too hooked on the fact that she refused to answer him. What did he do? What did he do? As he tried to think his way out of his pit, he kind of wondered why he even cared. It was not his problem anymore if it even was at all in the first place, so why should he care? Despite this, he could not stop his lungs from burning.

"What did I do...why aren't you answering me?" he asked the vaporeon again with a more desperate plea.

"You attacked someone. I stopped you. Now, my thorns?"

It was not what he wanted to hear. It was the truth, from what he could tell, but it wasn't one he wanted. Disgust and fear shocked him into silence. His wings lowered themselves, not to allow the vaporeon to take her thorns but simply because he could feel a fresh sense of ache from them with the news. It could have easily been misinterpreted as permission to approach. If the vaporeon were to do so, he would not object. He would actively fight against the urge to snap at her once more with the pain that came, even go as far as to push his head against the ground to cope with the pain, or snap onto his good arm instead to distract himself.

Honestly, it would be an overreaction, but distress does things to people.

“Oh.” Alki found the words escaping her mouth as she stared down the hole, focusing on nothing in particular. It was rather large. Decently tall, nothing particularly tall, but no easy climb out either. Hadn't she clarified that she wouldn't screw it up this time? Even sworn? Alki felt a cold shiver go up her spine as she thought about what Skylar's words meant. Everything is fine. But she was in a hole! With the Charizard! Maybe she couldn't fight, but she could at least help her climb out, away from the dangerous Pokemon! It wasn't fine…

Go help someone else. In other words? Go away. She didn't trust her to not screw it up. She'd seen enough, apparently.

“But I forgot heal pulse ” She said, her voice fizzling down into a quiet whine. She couldn't help anyone, then. She was useless during the fight, and useless afterwards too. Always useless. That's her.

“O-Ok… if you're sure.” She said, trying to hide how hurt she was behind a mask of indifference. It wasn't working very well. “J-Just c-call out if you change your mind. She said, while adding afterwards a tiny “I guess." Fat chance of that ever happening. But she could at least let the Vaporeon know that her offer to help was still on the table. And honestly? Despite what the Vaporeon was implying about her with her refusal, she'd be more than happy to help out, if only to say she did something right.

 But again: Fat chance.

The jigglypuff let out a small whimper of pain as she took a couple of small, lopsided steps backwards just to face Darcy. The Skitty seemed to be in rather good condition. Not perfect, as the lightly bleeding cuts on her flank showed. But she definitely seemed alright, despite the fact that they took the same fall. Alki looked down to glare at her own broken foot, as if it had caused this problem.

    “Oh hi, Darcy. She said simply, after a couple of seconds. She had no clue what else to say, and even these words were a chore to utter.

She said nothing, but a visible expression of thought crossed her face. It looked as though she had something to say, but she said nothing, although it seemed rather obvious that this pained her. She nodded her head in the direction of the Growlithe and Jolteon, before she managed a smile at the jigglypuff, which was only met with a grimace. At least Darcy still felt fine…

“Sure.” She mumbled. She understood what the Skitty wanted, although frankly, all her attention was focused on keeping her composure. It hurt. More than the broken bone, it hurt to know the Vaporeon had that little faith in her. She didn’t even really know her. But still. She wasn’t that incompetent. Right?

“Let me just go pick up my bag.” Alki mumbled, walking off in the direction of her bag as Darcy watched, clueless on how to help.

~

Darcy nodded as Alki whispered something about her bag. It hurt her to see the jigglypuff like this. Always, it was painful to see Alki so down on herself, always refusing to see how good she was. Skilled? Maybe not yet, but neither was Darcy! Yet she seemed to adore the Skitty, flaws and lack-of-talent and all… So why couldn’t she be the same way about herself? None of her other siblings acted like this! So why did she? But what hurt her more than having to watch Alki torture herself like this, was that she had to watch her while being powerless to do anything about it. Darcy tried to call out after Alki, but again, found the raw, painful sensation in her throat preventing her voice from going anywhere at all.
 
She watched as Alki hobbled off with that twisted foot of hers toward the bag. She couldn’t help but think that the jigglypuff should leave to see a medic, but she had neither the ability, nor the will to tell her sister to leave after what had happened. She seemed rather determined to stay and help out, even though she had quite clearly done enough. A broken bone was testament enough of that.

She sighed and looked down at her paws, frustrated at her lack of control over the situation. She was supposed to help her sister! But right now, that seemed like an impossibility. And so the two marched on in silence, towards the Growlithe and the Jolteon. The Vaporeon had insisted she was alright, and while Darcy, and apparently Alki, didn’t quite believe that, what were they going to do? No one else had escaped unharmed. Was the Vaporeon really that good? Darcy noticed that the jigglypuff was trying her best to walk upright, like she usually would, rather than limp along. It must’ve hurt...

Before long, the two teammates found themselves with the Growlithe and Jolteon. Darcy, for one, had no idea what to do, and one look at Alki confirmed her suspicions: She was blaming herself for this too. It wasn’t her fault that she’d chosen to forget Heal Pulse. Her move-set, her choice. She couldn’t have guessed that this whole fiasco was to occur! Darcy stepped slightly closer to the jigglypuff, hoping to make her feel better, but Alki seemed to notice this, and reached abruptly into her bag.

A flicker of doubt seemed to flash across the jigglypuff’s face, as her gaze wavered between her foot, and whatever she was holding in her bag. A few seconds of deliberation later, and the girl extracted a round, bright blue berry.

“Hey.” She said, addressing the jolteon shyly as he held out the Oran berry towards him. “You need it more than I do, you should take it...” She mumbled. Darcy could tell that she was still upset, although she could also tell that the jigglypuff was making quite an effort to mask it. The Skitty lowered her tail, disappointed that she hadn’t brought an Oran Berry of her own…

“Please?” She said, the same pleading voice she had used with the Vaporeon earlier resurfacing. Darcy found herself hoping that the Jolteon would get the hint and take her help. Alki had gone through enough rejection that day.

Opal wasn't sure what to make of the yellow pokemon's remark, but he was smiling. That was a good sign. She smiled back, trying to reassure him that everything was going to be fine. Her expression of happiness turned to one of surprise as she heard what the Jolteon had to say next. His words inspired awe. If she was correct about what they meant, she owed a great deal to the electric type.

"Wish...? Oh, I was glowing, and then I felt better! That's a wish? That was you? That's so cool!" It may not have been the intention to brag, but Opal was still very impressed and grateful. The Jolteon was a hero in her eyes, regardless of whether he thought he deserved the honour. When the Jigglypuff approached and offered him an Oran berry, she stepped aside and willed him to accept it. Everyone needed all the help they could get right now.

The charizard was still confused and understandably wanted answers, but Skylar was already sick of this conversation.  She just wanted to get her thorns and figure out how she was going to climb up out of this hole.  Still, she figured it to be in her best interest to at least respond to the dragon's insistent pestering, lest he decide on another attempt to lash out.  "You attacked someone. I stopped you. Now, my thorns?" she spoke in a very matter-of-fact manner, not quite mad but clearly indifferent.  She didn't get the level of cooperation she would have hoped for, but the charizard finally started listening to her and submitted.  She approached without apprehension, ready for him to lunge up at her again at any moment.  With no signs of aggression, she got to work retrieving her belongings from their pincushion.  She made very little effort to be gentle, but pulling them out quickly was probably less painful anyway.  She clamped her teeth on the thorn in the wing, pushed against it with her paws and plucked it without hesitance before moving on to the others.

She ignored the signs of pain in the injured beast every time she pulled a thorn out.  She had gone from furious to concerned all the way to... uncaring in the course of mere minutes.  She wasn't going to stop just because it was hurting him; she had grown rather attached to her sharp objects after their consistent use.  The two lodged in the lizard's back were easier to get a grip on than the one in the wing, making pulling them out a faster process, and before she knew it, she was done.  "See?  That wasn't so bad," she huffed; her words may have seemed like an attempt at comfort if not for the clear lack of emotion in them.  She wasn't trying to be mean, exactly, but all the talking she was having to do was admittedly annoying her.  Now that the conflict had been resolved, she had better things to do than sit around and chat.  She had lost all curiosity as to what was wrong with her fallen foe and now wanted nothing more than to leave.  She wanted to go home and take a nap.

Sky didn't wait around for a response to her comment.  She was done and she was getting Keith and leaving.  Actually, she didn't really need to bring him back with her; he was a big boy and make his own choices.  Skylar was so used to thinking poorly of him by now that she had already forgotten all about his show of courage in staying to help.  She stepped away from the flaming amnesiac and stared up to the opening of the hole above, wondering how she was going to get herself out.  She didn't want to ask for help if she didn't have to, but she was pretty sure she wouldn't be climbing such a steep incline.  This normally would have been a problem.  Fear and hesitance were things she had grown very familiar with in recent times, but the idea of falling didn't seem very scary after fighting a mega charizard... and other things.  She stepped back and took a breath, feeling the reflexive shiver in her body in response to the sensation of water in her throat.  She knew by now that she literally couldn't drown, but the feeling was still uncomfortable.

Sky paused momentarily before loosing a blast of water against the wall of soil in front of her.  It was still far more than her little water gun, which meant it was true: she was growing more powerful.  Being able to create so much more water was a sign of her growth, she figured, and far more useful than spritzing someone with a little jet.  This was the perfect way to properly test out her move.  The first attack didn't do anything visible to to the wall, so she fired off another shot, then another without even a moment's pause.  She was prompted to finally stop when the wall in front of her suddenly caved in, creating a more reasonable slope for her to climb up.  Waiting for nothing, she started up the newly formed path to get out of here and go literally anywhere else

Keith, on the other hand, was more interested in sticking around.  Granted, he wasn't interested in seeing how bad his body would ache if he decided to get up, but he was also enjoying the immediate attention he had woken up to.  It wasn't his intention to brag about his efforts to help the growlithe, but when she acknowledged and even praised him for it, he couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride.  He had been happy just to help to any extent without being too much of a hindrance in the process, so to be flattered instead of criticized was... nice.  He still had a relieved smile on his face, but he didn't know what to say.  He wasn't used to having praise, nor deserving it; he was used to everyone else fighting his battles for him.  It wasn't as if he never tried to help, but he always seemed to get in the way when he tried.  He was easily scared, yes, but he was most afraid of accidentally getting someone hurt.

And now, for once, he had helped someone.  Probably.  "I..." he started up but was unable to find the words before the appearance of a familiar jigglypuff.  This one wasn't exactly here to stroke his fragile ego, but it looked like she was at least worried about him, so that was something.  Skylar may not have wanted help, but Keith was far from above accepting it, especially when it came in the form of an oran berry.  Even if he didn't exactly need it, he wasn't going to turn it down... though he probably did need it.  Aside from that, though, the jigglypuff seemed almost... scared that he wouldn't.  Did he really look that bad?  He could help but take a gander at himself; there were some cuts and his fur was filthy, but he really didn't look like he was dying or anything, which he wasn't.  His curiosity only grew as the puff's concern turned to borderline-begging, as if he was literally bleeding to death and had already turned down her offer... or...  "Thank you," he nodded and made himself move just enough to sink his teeth into the berry.

The jolteon was all too familiar with what insecurity looked like.  There was no way Alki was so desperate for him to accept her help out of worry for him, which left only one thing, and he certainly wasn't going to deny her of it.  She hadn't really made any huge impact in the fight, much like him, and she hadn't even gotten to do anything flashy like his rain of thunder.  Sure, his attacks weren't very useful in the end, but at least they looked cool.  This girl, on the other hand, had tried to help and just... hadn't accomplished much.  Keith knew how that felt since it was how things usually went for him, so he wouldn't have dared to turn down the oran berry; not that he wanted to.  The taste of these berries was famously appealing, and he really did need the energy boost after so thoroughly exhausting himself.  He didn't want to talk while chewing, which worked out well since he didn't want to talk more than he needed to in the first place.  In fact, while he was happy to have been of use to someone, having the spotlight on him was making him a little anxious.

Sure, Keith wanted to be able to keep up with his teammates, but that didn't mean he wanted the kind of attention they got.  He wasn't the most social 'mon around.  He did want to feel appreciated, though, and this had certainly given him that. "I-I'm just glad everyone's alright...right?" he willed himself to speak just a bit more. He was trying to find reassurance that everyone was, indeed, alive and well. He desired to know what had happened in his lapse of consciousness, and perhaps to change the topic something other than himself.

Each thorn pulled felt more painful than the last. He flinched with pain that was followed by a grunt or wince, but overall he tried to keep himself as quiet as possible. This felt a bit...degrading. The vaporeon walked all over him as if she owned him, the careless tone she spoke in made it seem like his concerns did not matter. He didn't matter. According to this vaporeon, he attacked someone shouldn't that be addressed? He had so many questions, but the situation at hand made him feel like he would not get proper answers.

He watched the vaporeon after she stepped off of him. She stared at the wall for a moment before she suddenly blasted a beam of water at it. He flinched in reaction as his wings moved to cover himself as if to defend from the attack that was not aimed at him. The blast struck the wall and caused the soil to collapse. The water type stepped onto it. It seemed she was leaving.

Should...should he go? His wings were currently incapable of flight and he could not exactly crawl out of here with how pained his arm felt. The charizard watched the eeveelution with interest as she carved her own path out. He wanted to ask more questions, but he neither had the energy to and felt as if it would have been futile with her. There was obviously more pokemon at the top, perhaps they would have answers?

He remained where he was as the vaporeon went along, unsure if he was invited to come along or not. Ultimately he decided that it would be best for her to go through first before he tried to get out, unless he was explicitly told he could come. He did however, try to think of some way to help...but the haze in his mind made it difficult. Instead, it spurred him to ask, "Is...there any way I can help?"

Alki felt a small smile slowly form itself on her face. At the very least, she had managed to do something for the Jolteon. She had screwed over his partner, too, but for now, he didn’t know that. For now, she could enjoy feeling like she was of some, marginal use, although the logical part of her knew that she had no reason to feel proud. If anything, all this did was make up for her screw up earlier; the oran berry cancelled the attention orb out. Cancelled it, and now, it was as if she hadn’t been there at all. Alki seemed to wilt as she thanked the Jolteon for taking the Oran berry, not caring that he’d said ‘thank you’ first. She had no reason to be high and mighty; she knew she was doing it as much for herself as for him. At least he’d let her make up for her mistakes. He deserved to be thanked more than she did…

And now, what was she to do? She didn’t figure she’d regret her decision regarding Heal pulse so soon, but now she was useless because of that decision. At least she’d be useful in her other, different ventures. Alki couldn’t help but take solace in the fact, that no matter how bad she’d perform as a thief, she wouldn’t ever be able to reach this level of uselessness.

The Jolteon’s voice reminded her of her own, stuttering and all, as he asked if everyone was alright. Alki nodded, repositioning her foot ever so slightly so as to, hopefully, look right. “Y-Yeah, I’m fine...” She mumbled. She meant to continue her statement, but a loud noise met her ears and made her jump. It was loud, and it kept going, once, twice, three times, and as Alki turned to look at the hole, where the sound seemed to be coming from, she heard the wall cave in. She wondered, briefly, if another fight had started, but that wouldn’t be possible, right? The Charizard had been, pretty clearly, out of the fight, judging from how Skylar had been acting when Alki had spoken with her. And she wouldn’t be hitting the wall so many times, if there was a fight.

More importantly, she just wanted an excuse to not have to go over there, and risk screwing up even more. She was even, right now. Why mess that up? Skylar was fine, and she didn’t need to go help out…

“Um, s-she’s in that hole, over there, but she’s fine… I was talking to her just now, and… well, she doesn’t want my help. S-sorry...” She said, pointing to the hole as she spoke in her small and quiet voice. She flattened her ears, and hoped desperately that she’d be able to leave soon. She hadn’t even wanted to come back in the first place, and the last thing she wanted was to stay here, but… on the other hand, the Vaporeon deserved an apology, right?  It was the only thing she had to offer…


~

Darcy, no matter how much she wanted to speak to these Pokemon, to comfort them after this fight, had no way of doing so. She pawed at the ground, her tail slowly swishing back and forth as she racked her brain for a way to help, but couldn’t find a way to do so. Communication seemed to be rather essential to being a guild member, and Darcy sat down a frown on her face as she looked between the exhausted Jolteon and depressed jigglypuff. Because that’s what she was, right? She hadn’t heard wrong in the guild, after the whole debacle with Alki. And she couldn’t comfort her now. She opened her mouth to try and speak again, and again, nothing except a few, unintelligible sounds came out. Embarrassing, sure, but at the very least, they’d know she couldn’t talk right then. Or the Jolteon and Growlithe would think she was an idiot. One of the two. But really, what else was she supposed to do? She didn’t even have supplies...

Everyone seemed unhappy, and that made Opal unhappy. The pup had come to Grassveil to make friends and spread happiness, but things were so miserable right now. It wasn't at all what she wanted, what she had come here to achieve. She couldn't help but whine a little at how awful everything was. She wanted to do something, but what, and how?

A good start would be trying to get everyone moving again. She didn't know where the unlikely crew could get their injuries looked at, but surely one of them did. "Hey, there's no point just in sitting here feeling sorry for ourselves," the fire type said, trying to sound more calm and confident than she felt, "We need to get everyone somewhere safe. Who knows where the hospital is?"

Skylar's goal was straightforward and simple: leave.  Actually, that had been her desire for most of the day, yet the world seemed keen on preventing it.  As she heard the burden of the charizard's voice once more, it was all she could do to ponder what she had done to be plagued by such persistent... annoyances.  It just seemed to be a trend lately that everyone around her wanted to talk to her about things, and having to talk back so much was wearing her out.  Still, she wasn't going to just not answer the question at hand.  She froze and stared down at her paws in contemplation, avoiding so much as a glance in the dragon's direction as she contemplated.  Really, she wasn't having trouble deciding on her answer so much as on how to word it... but trying to think about it just made her feel... hazy.  Perhaps she was just tired from so much stress and strain, but she found herself having trouble focusing on her thoughts.  Still, her mouth opened and the words that came out felt... almost unnervingly natural.

"No... I don't think so."  She didn't put much effort into her answer, but it was an answer nonetheless, and it was honest.  Was it rude or hurtful to turn him away when he wanted to help make up for what he had done wrong?  She found that she didn't really care.  The simple truth was that his continued presence would most likely do nothing good; he was clearly unstable... and he wasn't exactly in the best physical shape to be helping anyone with anything at the moment.  "You should just leave," she continued, still very matter-of-fact in the presentation of her words.  She didn't mean to hurt him, but... well, maybe she did on some level.  Regardless, she truly didn't see much the fallen beast would be able to do for any of them now.  Without further delay and without bothering to listen for a reply, she stamped her way up out of the hole through the path she'd created.  Being reintroduced to the rubble above felt different from when she had initially laid eyes on it, now seeming so distant and inconsequential.

Sky was almost distracted for a moment by the sight before catching a voice in her ears.  She might not have had hearing quite as keen as Sova or Keith, but she could still overhear the conversation not too far away.  She turned to see... well, everyone, and a sense of relief washed over her.  Some of the strange tension she hadn't even noticed prior suddenly lifted, allowing a smile to grace her.  The growlithe was fine, the Friendship Children were alive if nothing else, and Keith was... awake.  He was on the ground, but he was awake.  She had only caught the most recent line from the little pup, but it was enough to prompt a response from her.  "I'm going back to the guild.  It's safer there than at any hospital," she spoke up loud and clear for the others to hear, inserting herself somewhat abruptly into the conversation.  She made her way over to them with a composed stride that betrayed her exhaustion as she went on, "And we're members of that guild, after all.  I don't know about them, but I'd rather recover in my home."  She suppressed a chuckle as she spoke, suddenly filled with so much glee to know everyone was safe... more or less.

The guild was her home, and even with recent annoying drama, she still trusted it more than some hospital.  That applied to Keith and the pinklings as well, did it not?  She didn't really care if they wanted to go to a hospital instead, but she didn't see the point; maybe for the growlithe who wasn't a guild member.  Skylar scanned over her in search of any serious injuries but found none, after which she shifted her attention to everyone else.  Darcy looked... surprisingly less dead than she would have expected after getting batted so brutally, and Alki seemed to be about the same... except there was something different.  The puff seemed to be struggling with her posture like something was hurting, but Sky didn't spend too long trying to figure out what.  Maybe it was bias that drove her to focus more on Keith, or maybe it was the fact that he was sprawled out on the ground while everyone else was standing.  She walked straight up to the jolteon with every intention of helping, lacking any concern for being so close to him and his electrified fur.

She stared down at him with contemplation and a bit of mild concern written on her face.  "Sooo are you gonna get up or does someone need to help you?"

--

Keith's attention was brought to the hole as it was pointed out to him, and immediately, he was confused.  It was a very big hole.  Skylar was in there?  Alive and well?  Had the charizard suplexed her into a crater or something?  And... was she really alright after that... or whatever had happened?  Well, he knew she was stronger than him, so maybe it shouldn't have been so surprising.  With that concern put to rest, his undivided attention was set on those in front of him, though he wasn't sure what to do about it.  Fortunately, someone else decided to speak so he didn't have to.  It was the growlithe who decided to draw attention to everyone's injuries by suggesting they go to a hospital.  She was kind of right, but for himself, he wasn't sure if a hospital visit was warranted.  He felt exhausted and bruised, yes, but he couldn't see signs of any particularly serious damage.  "I..." he muttered as he worked his way up to actually contributing to the topic, but another voice interrupted him.

It was Skylar.  He hadn't noticed the sounds of her carving a path out of the hole she'd trapped herself in, nor had he noticed her emergence until hearing her speak, but he was glad to see her; rather, he was glad to see she was alive.  She had words about the hospital idea, which he had thought to be a good one... at least, for anyone who happened to need it.  She clearly disagreed.  Something was off about her attitude, like the moodiness was all gone and she was happy again, but it felt... off.  Alas, the jolteon didn't have much space to think about it with all the other things there were to focus on.  Skylar wanted to just go back to the guild, and Keith didn't exactly disagree with that, at least in regards to himself.  He was pretty sure he just needed rest.  Lots of rest.  As for the others, what if someone was hurt worse than they looked?  Could the guild even handle that?  They'd taken pretty good care of his leader, so perhaps.  Effective in medical treatment or not, the guild was definitely safe, so maybe it was more in line with what the growlithe wanted.

Of course, there was the obvious problem of having to get up, which Keith wasn't too fond of.  He followed Skylar's form as she approached and commented on his position, and while he wasn't sure, it seemed like she was offering to help him up.  But... how was he supposed to respond to something like that?  She had to know that he couldn't just turn his electricity off.  "I... but I'll shock anyone who touches me," he hesitantly responded, unsure of himself as ever.  The constant risk of shocking everyone around him was easily his least favorite part of this evolution he'd been given.  Still, Sky didn't seem fazed by the idea, and if she was, he certainly couldn't see it.  However, he didn't want to be more of a burden than he already was, which left him hoping someone else would suggest something that would somehow get him out of having to accept this offer for help.  Maybe he had enough energy left to grant another wish, this time for himself, or maybe he could just stop being a wuss and make himself get up.

He should... leave? He did not quite understand this. Somehow he felt as if that's the opposite of what he should do. Though at the very least he should 'leave' this hole in the ground, that much he could agree on...or should he? Garnet was not sure of what he should do at all. He was disappointed that he could not help but thought it was probably for the best. His mind was not able to linger on the subject for long, though his demeanour seemed to shift. The knowledge that he had done something wrong left his mind once again as he again wondered why he was here in the first place again.

He tried to stand, but his movement was too quick. Pain shot through his arm, wings, and back as he was reminded that he was injured. The world around him began to spin. His claws dug into the ground as his body swayed back and forth from the dizziness. His stomach felt ill, but he froze to the spot as he waited for his senses to recollect themselves once more. It would have been healthier for him if he were not to stand, but stubborness won over him.

He managed to stand on two feet, but he was still unable to fly. He would have to use the path the vaporeon carved. It was small, but usable. He was alone in the pit, with the disappearance of the vaporeon he had nothing to metaphorically latch onto and keep his mind anchored. He stepped up the path as his eyes stared at the ground before him, staring at nothing in particular as once again he struggled to remember what even happened.

He reached the top of the hole and stood on the edge. He took the time to look around, noticing the vaporeon once more. There were others there, none of which looked familiar-not even the little pup that had struck a sense of familiarity with him earlier. They were all strangers he had never seen before now. He did not leave, though he probably should have, but instead looked at the group in silence as he contemplated the vaporeon's words. He should leave...but where should he go? His train of thought chugged through the fog of his mind, though the rails seemed to twist and turn in every direction possible. While it looked like he was focused towards the group, his mind was elsewhere, as if he were looking through the group. It was not long before he began to question what he was even just thinking about doing.

The hospital idea seemed rather great to Alki. Although, to be honest, the greatest allure of this suggestion was the fact that she knew where the hospital was. It wasn’t something that had relevancy with any regularity, but just this once, she was excited to show everyone where it was. It seemed like it was a good idea to her as well, but just as she was about to comment on the Growlithe’s suggestion, the Vaporeon that they had just been talking about made her (rather sudden) appearance.

And of course, she was quite against the idea that Alki had been so looking forward to.

“Are you…. Um… sure. Sure. Alright.” Even though it hadn’t even been Alki’s idea, she still felt intensely embarrassed at having agreed with it. The Vaporeon was in an excellent mood, it seemed, and Alki found little reason to complain against this. Although, if her own experience was any indication, someone was going to have a very unpleasant time helping this group. As long as it wasn’t her again, however, Alki couldn’t complain. Mostly, she just wanted to keep Skylar in a good mood.

She watched in silence as the Vaporeon and Jolteon talked. Teammates, right? Those two were teammates? She couldn’t blame them for wanting to talk, but she couldn’t help but feel as though she wasn’t exactly needed anymore. Alki’s gaze drifted away from the group, and she tuned out the conversation that occurred behind her. It didn’t pertain to her; the only thing she had any right to comment on was the whole hospital-or-guild issue, and just because she could didn’t mean it was smart to actually do it.

Especially considering that the Charizard had just come out of the pit. And while he looked sort of strange, it still frightened Alki. Perhaps if she had been more level headed, she would’ve noticed the change in demeanor and attitude of the Charizard, as well as the significant amount of wounds he possessed. Instead, the foremost thoughts in her mind was her broken foot, the cuts in Darcy’s side, and the still-down Jolteon, and the fact that the Charizard had caused all that. Alki cursed under her breath as she took a step backwards, all effort of concealing her injury ceasing. No way was she going to fight in a round two…

“W-Why’s he looking at us?” She squeaked out, pointing out the Charizard with a trembling hand.

No way was she ever going to be in a fight again...

~~

Darcy walked up to the Jolteon, unsure as to whether this was a good idea. After all, Jolteon naturally gave off shocks, right? And electric shocks were bound to hurt; while Darcy was more than happy to lend a helping hand, the question remained: how much, exactly, did it hurt?

She bit her lower lip before deciding that it couldn’t possibly hurt that bad. So she pointed with her tail, first at Keith, then herself, before she mimicked the action of getting up. It hurt. Her flank hurt, but more importantly, her pride was absolutely screaming in pain. Was there medicine for something like this?

What if it was permanent?

That would really suck.

But more importantly, she hoped that the Jolteon understood her offer to help. Sure, her face was blushing. A lot. But a smile was a smile, and she hoped, at least, that the Jolteon would feel some comfort from it.

She turned to look at what Alki was so worried about, but surely, it’d be fine. Right? It felt, at least, as if the danger had passed, and the fact Skylar was around caused a feeling of safety in the Skitty.

After all, if she beat the Charizard once, she could do it again!

Opal was quite relieved when the blue pokemon suddenly appeared. Had they really just come out of that massive hole in the ground? How had something so incredible been accomplished? The pup's mind was boggled, for she had not seen the forming of the slope that enabled the Vaporeon's escape from her prison. Both she and the Jolteon were amazing heroes!

Suggesting a hospital visit seemed to be going down well. The Jigglypuff in particular seemed to approve of the idea. It made sense, Opal decided, because she looked the most injured. Something was wrong with the pink puffball's gait. Putting on a brave face didn't fool the Growlithe's keen senses, but the fire type decided not to risk wounding the other mon's pride. Getting their foot sorted was what she cared about.

But then the Vaporeon threw a bit of a spanner in the works. Why didn't she want to go to hospital? Did she not think everyone needed a proper checkup after what had happened? She made a good point that the Guild was a safe place, but they didn't have medical staff on hand, did they? Opal had to admit she didn't know. The Jigglypuff seemed somewhat put out, too. She turned to the small pink creature to address her.

"Did you still want to go? I can carry you if you know where it is."

Instead of the yes or know answer Opal had been expecting, the puffball blurted out her own fearful question and pointed at something behind her. The Growlithe turned around to see... Oh no, it was that monstrous Charizard! A high-pitched wail came from the pup's maw, a sound of fear and an instinctive cry for help. Back home, her family would have responded to the summons in moments. Unfortunately, this wasn't back home, and for all she knew, the giant dragon before them could still be as deadly as ever.