(Open) A Fresh Start

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Have some music while you read :)

Radar smiled at the sight before him. Radar had arrived in Grassveil Town, what looked to be the town of trade or something like that, and it was a beautiful sight. Pokémon walking the streets of the town, laughing, smiling, telling each other stories. Shop stalls were set up in the town centre with Pokémon at each, seemingly buying something, obviously Radar couldn’t tell. The town had a soothing and relaxing atmosphere to the young Murkrow, feeling at peace in the laid back town, he couldn’t remember when he last felt so content; maybe when he was a kid? He couldn’t recall much of his childhood. He hated growing up in Grima Outpost because of his brother.

Radar's brother, Hiro, was an Outlaw, thus Radar had to live with him in Grima Outpost after his parents abandoned him. Apparently, according to his brother, it was a highly prosperous and abundant town or whatever, but now? It's decayed into a broken down wreck known as Grima Outpost, home to any and all Outlaws looking for refuge from the law! Radar got sick quite a few times there from the toxic smog radiating the area. Mild discomfort? Not for Radar! Needless to say, he was glad he ran away.

A whirlpool of emotions swirled around inside of the Murkrow, doubt, fear, anxiety, and more. Would this place be safe? There’s apparently a guild here, would they try to apprehend him? Would he ever make any friends here, or would they just betray him? Fortunately for Radar, one voice shouted the loudest, his feeling of content the atmosphere here gave him, the relaxation in the air that put him at ease. Just breathe he mentally reminded himself, everything's hella fine, you're hella okay... you're safe, Radar. You would never believe how much the dark type had to tell himself that. So, with a few shaky steps from his talons, he wrapped his fluffy black feathers around his quartz necklace he’d stole, using it as a source of comfort to urge himself to move on. He straightened his bag he had with him over his shoulder, his steps becoming a bit more firm as he planted his talons into the ground. He'd survived this far, what could possibly go wrong now?

Guess he’d just have to wait to find out the answer to that question.

"H-Hi, you guys..." Alki mumbled, looking between Yigo's companions warily. The one who introduced himself as Radar seemed rather happy! He seemed alright, but the others... did they not like her? She re positioned her bag to rest in front of her arm, and clutched it tightly against her body. It was like a pillow! A hard, jingly, loud pillow... she rested both arms on it, and wondered just how silly she looked, with a bag hanging off her ear, but... where else was she supposed to put it? It got tiring, carrying it around, and... maybe they didn't like her cause she looked dumb? She hastily removed her bag from her head and let it settle on the ground.

"S-Sorry, about..." She began, quietly, but Yigo hastily began to speak nervously about... the guild? He didn't know she... what? She cocked her head, and focused on her friend. What was going on? She hadn't seen him in a while... was something the matter? But... he was asking her something! She smiled and nodded at him, completely oblivious that her presence was causing him anxiety. It had to be something else!

"S-Sure! I can show, ah... J-Julie around!" He wanted her help? As a guild member? She'd be happy to help, but... maybe she should find someone more capable? Or get Darcy? It's not like she even wanted to be a guild member anymore, but... He was so cute! And he was asking HER! So... of course she'd help! "Yeah! Sure! I can help out!" She said, jumping up and down in mild excitement. She hadn't really said much... maybe they still thought she looked dumb? She should calm down...

But he'd asked her! She shifted from foot to foot in excitement, picking up her bag and approaching the Zangoose who... must be Julie? "Hi!" She said excitedly, still ignorant of how uncomfortable everyone (Save Radar) was around her.

(Oh boy... music change!)

Oh, Radar was uncomfortable, that's for sure. He was more than uncomfortable, he was frightened by the Jigglypuff. Did Yigo say she works for the Guild?! Did I actually just introduce myself to a Guildmember!!? Radar was panicking, his heart pounding, she seemed just like the kind of Pokemon who would hunt him for a bounty on his head because everyone else was too strong. His head turned to the Zangoose he was with. A-And Julie wants to join the guild too?

This group was danger, of all the days to meet a Guildmember... why did it have to be his first day? And Alki might be leading the tour and taking them to the guild!? Radar had to do something! What if he really did have a wanted poster? He couldn't let any of them near that guild, he had to find a way to get away from these Pokemon.

The Murkrow started looking everywhere in a frantic search for anything that might help him... think, Radar, think... Yigo! The Sandshrew seemed upset, maybe at Alki? If so, Radar could use that. He did not want a tour from Alki... so maybe he could make two tours happen...

Radar turned to look at Yigo, trying to act as innocent as possible, if it even was possible. His voice had definitely turned on a dime to anxiety ridden and nervous as he clenched his necklace in his wing. "Uh-uhm, Y-Yigo, I was, uhhh... wondering if you could show me around this Marketplace a bit more!" The dark type stated, putting emphasis on the fact that he wanted Yigo to show him around. "I-I want to just wander around a bit, g-get a feel for the place, but I-I don't want to keep anyone w-waiting, s-so... I-I was just wondering if you wanted to hang back here with me." Radar slowly started to smile as he looked at the Sandshrew, a sincere smile. He really wanted Yigo to come along, and if he didn't feel comfortable around Alki, the bird was the perfect excuse for him to get away.

Radar really wanted to get to know Yigo, but if he said no, Radar could still just stay back at the Marketplace, leave before they got back. But there was something about the Sandshrew that made Radar feel... he didn't know what...

Yigo made Radar feel so nervous...

And yet, he so desperately wanted to spend time with him...

Why...?

(Split up! Split up! Split up! It makes it more interesting, we get two stories! Yaaay!!!)

They seemed so nice, but Yigo still was clearly upset. How Alki couldn't tell? Well, they seemed to be a bit of an airhead, so it actually kinda made sense. Maybe it was better they didn't know?

Julie felt bad, she didn't want to upset them but she really didn't want to go with them.
She looked back, seeing Yigo. He tried to look calm, but it didn't work. So much seemed to be going through his mind, and she couldn't know. She almost felt like crying as her own thoughts ran through her mind - she didn't want to leave them. Her breathing grew harsher. He did ask her to go with Alki...
"O- oh my... Uh, hello-", did she already say hello? Oh dear. "M- Maybe... Could she cone with us instead? Maybe...?"
That idea seemed silly. They only need one tour guide, and they don't need the tour, plus if she really wanted to join the guild it'd be better for her to be with a guild member to see the guild stuff, but she was too concerned for Yigo. She couldn't just leave him...

(Haha, just gonna mention I guess I forgot the turn order I came up with XD Gladly though, my post still fits in with what's said above. Of course, I'd love to split up for story purposes, but Julian isn't gonna do it easily - she wants to stick with Yigo.)

So it seemed that the group was being split up, but why? It’s not like the group was that big, so... why? Once again, another question had to be added to the books. After pondering for a bit, she looked at her options: She would either travel with Radar and Yigo and go around the town, or go with Alki and Julie who would be doing the same, but also would also be going to the guild! This made her choice more than easy, she would travel with both Julie and Alki!

“Um, excuse me?” Trucy asked the Jigglypuff, “Would you mind if I come with you both? I still don’t know next to nothing about this town and it’s guild, so if you could help me out, that would be much appreciated!” She smiled. Finally, she was going to have her chance at joining the guild, due to her excitement, she couldn’t help but smile.

Alki was a bit stuttery and confused at first glance. Was she going to reject the offer? Maybe she did have a mission to go to or maybe she wasn't in the mood to show anyone around. The only thing Yigo didn't want was for her to tag along with them which, considering the Jigglypuff, was a very reasonable possibility. Yigo's morale began to drop, his expression becoming less confident until Alki agreed to what was proposed. Yes! She even seemed happy about it as she bounced in place. The Sandshrew had dodged a geopebble right in time. Not only that but Radar was suggesting splitting up, asking for Yigo personally to keep him company. Yigo's expression suddenly shifted from dread to relief.

The tail of the ground type began to wag without him even noticing as he stepped in circles until he was facing Radar. Perhaps the dark bird didn't know it but he was saving Yigo so much trouble. A sincere smile came from him "Alright, Radar! We've got ourselves a plan!". His heart felt like if there was a small kindle inside warming his whole body up in a pleasant manner. He was just so comfortable in that state.

However, what Julie said next made that kindle turn into a great flame which was actually making Yigo feel as if he was being burnt from the inside. His ears flattened on his head as it lowered while only Radar could see the faintest of disappointments on Yigo's face before that flame tinged his words with ire. Yigo showed his teeth as he looked to the side (where, luckily, there was no pokemon to scare or to weird out) before turning back around towards Alki, Julie and Trucy. "NO!" he shouted, denying Alki and Julie a spot in Radar's group. It was then when he saw Julie's saddened and nervous face. This was going to hurt, wasn't it? Yigo could feel it from the distance and the fire within him made sure that it was painful. The anger Yigo carried had taken the worst of him, dying out as he stared at the Zangoose and then at the Fletchling. The fiery bird felt excited to join Alki herself too. Has he ruined the chance too? Yigo started to feel his arms weak, tail trying to hide between his hind legs as he retreated from the pokemon that would eventually visit the guild. He was afraid, he was in a panic and he was sad to see what it should have been a fun visit spiral down into a horrible situation. Yigo truly wanted to say goodbye to Julie who would undoubtedly hate the ground type and apologize to Trucy for being so rude to her after barely meeting each other. Her energy was, after all, cheering them all up. But then, his mind made up, he decided to follow a single feeling at last as he stared at the Jigglipuff with cowardly eyes.

His teeth came into view once more, claws digging into the road below them and tail raising high as if he was about to attack Alki - just like the time they met for the first time - and spoke with a trembling voice yet clearly carrying the pain that his inner fire caused him "I-It's all your fault..."

And, just like that, with a last glance at Radar, Yigo curled until he resembled a ball and started to roll away from the group. If Radar wanted to find him he wouldn't have trouble doing so from the skies; besides, rolling out made him happy, rolling out made him forget. While rolling, he was safe from any harm that might have come from the outside. In his little bubble, he would have time to think, cry and maybe smile again.

Things were going well! They were all going to go to the guild, it seemed, and they would spend some time together, be happy, and... well, they could get caught up with each other? That'd be nice! Except... did he still want to be a police officer? That wouldn't be good... So what was she supposed to tell him? She kind of wanted to be honest, but on the other hand...

Alki nodded blankly at what the others were saying, gazing off into space, lost in thought. She had so much to look forward to! She'd missed seeing him, but she'd been rather busy, between the Phantom Thieves, and the guild work she still felt obligated to do for her sister, but she'd still missed him! She'd had her share of problems, but it felt like... well, not better, exactly, but less... overwhelming? Her mind had been drifting back to him too, and now...

I-It's all your fault...

Huh? What was who's fault? Alki focused on Yigo, and the Sandshrew seemed... well... angry. At her? But why? It reminded her of when they'd met... he'd attacked her then, although she'd forgiven him quite readily. He was scared and lonely and she'd been happy to help him! But that wasn't true here... why was he mad? Alki took a small step back, frightened by his sudden shift in demeanor. His voice was trembling with... anger? Pain? Alki opened her mouth to say something, but he broke eye contact with her frightened gaze, turned tail, and fled.

But what exactly was her fault?


"Wait!" Alki cried out, running after her friend, but it was useless. He was far too fast for her, and while she might have been able to follow, if she'd teleported, or if she'd copied his move, Alki wasn't exactly quite in the best state of mind anymore.

What was her fault?

"I-I don't..." She began, trying to find the words to... well... she owed everyone an explanation didn't she? The biggest shame was that she didn't have any... but also that she didn't know any of them! And now she had to stay or... or run away, and either way, they'd think she'd done something wrong!

Had she? What the hell had she done wrong?

"I mean..." Tears began to form in her eyes, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Did he not like her anymore? Had she messed up somehow? Her ears flattened against her head as she searched for some sort of explanation for the other people, try and make it so they wouldn't hate her, but...

"W-What did I do wrong?" She asked aloud. No one would have an explanation, but she wished they did... she had no clue what was going on!

"W-What did I do wrong?"

Radar couldn’t believe what had just happened.

Did that Jigglypuff really just ask that?

What even did happen, anyways...

First, Radar was happy. Yigo was staying back with him. Yes! Not only did he have a way out of seeing the guild—he just wasn’t ready yet, and he wanted to stay here, but if he had a wanted poster at the guild he would have to leave—but he also got to spend time with a friend! “Alright, Radar! We’ve got ourselves a plan!” Yigo chimed in with a smile, tail wagging, as Radar felt elated that the Sandshrew had said yes. He was so excited and happy he wanted to fly around in circles! Than came Julie, asking if Alki could just come with them instead of splitting up. Radar's heart sank to his gut as his expression turned to dread, fearing they would be going to the guild anyways...

But then, something unexpected happened. “NO!” Yigo yelled, turning towards Julie and Alki, Radar feeling quite surprised at the sudden outburst. It seemed to die quickly, though, as Yigo just stared at the others. The ground type than looked directly at Alki, teeth showing as his body was in an attack stance. Radar couldn’t be part of a fight here, especially not on his first day. Unwanted attention. But then, Radar felt his heart shatter at the words spoken next; "I-It's all your fault..." It's all your fault, it’s all your fault, it’s always somemon's fault! Radar had heard those four words far to many times, all directed at him. It's always poor Radar's fault, and seeing somemon else be at fault...

Yigo looked at Radar—clearly in pain—before rolling into a ball and, well, rolling away. The dark type froze, not knowing what to do. The Jigglypuff had started to chase after Yigo, but it was too late. He was gone. Alki started to say something, struggling to find the right words to say... until the very question that infuriated Radar was asked.

"W-What did I do wrong?"

The Murkrow felt this tornado of seething rage inside of him, burning him up inside. He turned to Alki, incapable of understanding how a Pokémon could ask something like that! Granted, he didn’t even know what she actually did, but still! It didn’t matter, she upset a friend! She upset Yigo! His, uh... first friend ever! Than, without thinking, Radar blurted out all his anger, all the rage he felt coming out in one single sentence meant to hurt the Jigglypuff. “How do you not know when you’ve done something wrong!?” He snapped, glaring daggers at the Jigglypuff before realizing what he’d done. His expression quickly changed to one of fear as he slowly backed away, grabbing the quartz on his necklace for comfort. He looked at Julie, than Trucy, and, finally, back to Alki before flying off as fast as he could. He had to find Yigo.

(Music time!)

“Yigo?” Radar called, flying through the town's streets, hoping he wouldn’t be too late to catch the Sandshrew and just keep walking away. Yigo currently was the only Pokémon from that group Radar wasn't afraid of, he wasn’t losing his first friend. “Yigo!?” Radar called a little more loudly, weaving through the occasional pedestrian, stumbling past stores. In hindsight; it would have been much easier to fly above the town. The dark-flying type scanned the pathways around him, looking for any sign of Yigo, please don’t be too late... Radar kept searching, hoping against hope he wasn’t too late. Why did I have to just stand there like an idiot? he thought. Please don’t be gone. At that moment, he saw a ball rolling away with the same brick patterned skin as Yigo's, it was him! He flew over to the ball and... wait, should he speak? Should he say something? Radar didn’t know what to do... what should he do? Say he’s sorry for something he didn’t do? He didn’t even know why the Sandshrew was so upset, but the dark type ached from the inside seeing Yigo get so upset.

That’s why he lashed out at Alki, why he flew as fast as he could towards Yigo and knocked himself through innocent bystanders to do so, i-it's... it's why his heart was pounding against his chest, thumping with every—now slowed—flap of his wings. Is this what it feels like when a friend is upset? he thought, looking at the ball with concern. Does he even know I’m here? Thankfully, the voices were quiet, Radar wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle them right now. Yigo was seemingly his biggest concern. Radar took a deep breath, looking down to the ground, and decided to speak. Please be the right decision... he thought, hoping talking to a friend who didn’t seem to want to talk was the right thing to do. This was all new to the poor bird.

”So, I-I, uh, I hear talking is a thing that friends do to... make other friends... feel better?” Radar asked, smiling at the ball, still flapping away as he just moved down the street with Yigo. He just wanted Yigo to know he was there. ”If you don’t want to talk, I’m hella sorry, I-I just did-didn’t kn-know if you could s-s-see me or not.” He stammered, his voice portraying a small amount of fear as—learning this from his brother—if somemon makes a mistake, they get hurt. Badly. “I-I-I’m still new at this; having a friend. If y-you'd call us friends, i-if not I-I completely understand, I was a jerk not to follow you immediately... th-th-that is i-if y-y-you even w-wanted to be followed, if not, than I’m a jerk for following you. I-I just didn’t know what to do!”

“I-I didn’t want to say anything because I thought that you would get angry like you just did, but at the same time I wanted to say something, not just to make myself feel better, but to tell you I was actually here, mainly because I felt guilty about you being alone which is one of my worst fears. I would have been fine without saying anything, though, but you never came out of your little ball shape and I didn’t know if you knew I was there, but I wanted you to know. I’m... I-I'm sorry if I’ve done anything wrong, you have complete permission to do whatever you’d like to me to hurt me, but please be gentle!” It all came out of his beak so fast, Radar was talking faster than he ever had before because he wanted to explain everything before the Sandshrew told him to shut up and would roll away.

Why does my heart feel like it’s getting ripped out of my chest?

It was all just so sudden. Too sudden. She immediately felt the regret, a strange energy, burst through her as he screamed No.
She just didn't want to leave Yigo's side... but now, so many others were going to be burned by her mistake. She was shaking, terrified. In all honesty, he reminded her a little of her dad before she left him. Tearing up a little, finding it hard to hold back, words and phrases, scenes of them making up, or her lashing out at him for how stupid this was while all trying to figure out why he was acting this way...
M- maybe he was just a bad person? He did something wrong that'd get the Guild's attention, and he didn't want to turn himself in? B- but... He's just a kid! And if he was in trouble with the Guild, wouldn't Alki know?
Radar would be more likely to be- no wait that's wrong. If she didn't hate herself enough already, thinking Radar could be a criminal just for being a dark-type was just...
Ugh!
Focus on Yigo. He actually looked like he was going to attack them, when, with all the emotion they could give, they put all of the blame on... Alki.

She was frozen in place, shaking as everyone seemed to go into a small panic. Yigo rolls off, and Julie felt herself need to move forward, but the step was too heavy to make. She physically couldn't move...
Radar cawed out hurtful words at Alki before flying off. Soon, only they in the Guild-group were left...
It was then that Julie broke down crying, her throat hurting like heck as she stood there. She slowly took steps toward the path Yigo made, before realizing there was no point in continuing forward... She didn't have the energy to go forward, so she was too slow to catch up. Soon, Yigo and Radar were out of view.
Her shaking paws came to her face as she felt the need to hide herself... W- why...?

"I- I'm sorry...", the chubby zangoose began, trying to be understood, "I'm so sorry... I- I just wanted... to stay with him, I didn't want to split up. I- I shouldn't ha- have spoken up..."
After a bit she tried to stabilize herself as that energy in sadness roughly turned to hatred and anger, "I- I don't know what his problem is! Does he just h- hate the guild?! What the he- heck!?"
She slowly realized that whether they cared or not wasn't effected by her emotional outburst, whether she was forgiven, or if she even needed to be forgiven in their eyes, probably wouldn't be changed with sobbing and "excuses". But she wasn't doing it for them, she needed to let it out, even as she tried to hold it back, looking down to help hide her face, red with tear-stained fur.
But the sobbing didn't really stop. If it did, it was only a little. Just barely.

All she knew was that if she ever saw him again, she would have plenty of questions. A- and he would have to answer them, o- or else...
And then she began tearing up again...

Trucy eagerly awaited Alki’s response, who seemed to be daydreaming, however, while she was lost in her own thought, Alki nodded, not noticing that she was doing this unconsciously, Trucy figured the tilt of her head meant that she could join. “Neat! Thank you so muc-” Before she was able to even finish her sentence, a loud, close voice was heard.

“NO!”

“W-what?” She thought to herself, was someone in trouble, crying out for help?
No.
It was Yigo, and he looked enraged. He raised up his tail high into the air, a telltale sign that he was readying up to attack, but who? She easily put two and two together and found out his target, it was Alki.
Trucy couldn’t just do nothing, was she really gonna stand here and let Alki be attacked? No, she won’t allow her friends to be hurt. She quickly got in front of Alki, “Not so-!” Once again, she was cut off by Yigo, who muttered, “It’s all your fault...” before curling up into a ball and rolled out, away from the group. “Fast...?” She said, almost sounding like a question, what did he mean by that? What did Alki do? Why is it apparently “all her fault”? She thought to herself. She turned toward Alki, who said aloud, "W-What did I do wrong?" “Alki..” she said, confused as much as the Jigglypuff, “What happened between you and Yigo? Are you two still “old friends”?”

Just then, another angered voice was heard, this time, it was Radar, and, following in Yigo’s footsteps, had his anger directed at Alki, “How do you not know when you’ve done something wrong!?” he blurted out, Taken aback by the second anger driven outburst, all Trucy could do is look on in shock, Radar than had a look of fear in his eyes, he backed away. Trucy quickly thought to herself, “He’s gonna fly away! I can catch him before he makes any major distance if I act quickly!” Radar than took off, just as she had expected, Trucy went to go follow suit, but as she was ready to take off, she hesitated, and looked back at the others, Julie was torn apart by the leave of Yigo, and was sad, confused, and angry. “Julie...” she muttered sadly, “Wait, what am I even-!” She shifted her attention back to the skies, but she could barely even see Radar. “Damn it... why out of all times do I hesitate now?!”she thought to herself. She looked into the sky with a look of anger and confusion.

It hurt. It hurt to roll out with that aching pain, forcing other pokemon to stay clear out of the way if they wanted to avoid an unwanted crash. What has he just done? Alki had done nothing wrong. Why was Yigo so hostile towards her? Why didn't he like her anymore? She was just doing her job, helping other pokemon that might have been about to die without her help,  and he was being selfish. How absurd to think that the relationship the young 'puff had with Yigo might have just ended right there. Sure, he could hardly ever see her but... she was the only one he had.

Soonly thereafter, Yigo came to a halt by bumping against a wall. It had been involuntary but it was the perfect time to stop as he heard the voice of Radar. He had followed him. It felt like a sign. The dark bird spoke of friends and how it was something new to him. Moreover, he had acknowledged Yigo as one of his own if the ground type would accept it. Those words reached him even if Yigo was cowardly sheltered inside his own hide. It was obvious that Radar was also emotionally touched or scared as he was speaking fast and nervously to which Yigo simply opened up by straightening himself and walk instead of rolling again.

The sandshrew walked in slow and weak steps that made him lose balance a little, his head turning from street to road and from tent to chimney in an attempt to locate Radar and see if anyone else followed from the skies or on foot. Yigo's eyes were glittery and appeared bigger than usual. He was containing a few tears as well while showing off his teeth once more but in a more stuttery way, hardly able to contain the expression. He doesn't want to look scary but that's what Yigo does when he feels threatened and is afraid; besides, any keen observer would notice by his gently wagging tail that he was actually relieved and feeling so much hope and bliss upon approaching Radar. A few attempts to speak were made but only a few high-pitched squeaks came out before Yigo simply did it.

The ground type threw himself at Radar, practically pouncing at him, his eyes now completely desperate while his arms wrapped around its body and simply stood there, heart pumping, shivering and with his tail wagging gently "F-Friend?" That simple word made Yigo sadder deep in him "I-I'm not a good friend, Radar. I-I'm... I can't have friends!" he practically shouted, immediately releasing Radar. He moved off of him and lied on his belly by the bird's side, calmer and collected after blowing off some steam yet downcast nonetheless "R-Radar... I... was... wanted you to follow me... I wanted to stay in the market with you... I want to be friends with you but..." his voice was low yet even Yigo himself could see that pathetic excuse trying to come out. Don't let Radar go! Don't let the same thing that happened to Alki happen to him. suddenly, he raised his voice with new vigour and stared at the murkrow, the fire inside of him now shining brightly in his eyes "No! I will go with you! Wherever you go! Just don't leave me alone! Don't let me hurt you..."

Alki and Julie are not bad pokemon, Yigo was simply too scared to follow them into their adventures, too afraid of not being up to the task but now he has seen where cowardly ha lead him to. With less option and a single choice, Yigo is sure to at least try something new that was only tested once with a little Oshawott...

...if the results were successful then, why wouldn't he end up with someone to love and protect now?

Alki continued to struggle with her tears, but as the other Pokemon around her continued to talk and cry and yell at her and leave, she was left with only an empty feeling in her stomach, and she just couldn't quite figure it out. Why? What had she done wrong? Was she really that stupid? The Murkrow seemed to think so, and Alki certainly felt that way, but no matter how hard she tried to remember her past encounters with Yigo, she couldn't think of anything she'd done to warrant this. But the Murkrow didn't seem to think so. And Yigo had looked so angry at her before leaving, and now she was left with strangers, and with no idea where to go from here.

She heard the Zangoose crying, and she heard what the Fletchling had asked her. It wasn't that she didn't care. She certainly did! She wanted to comfort the Zangoose, and she wanted to know the answer to the Fletchling's question as well. But she wasn't well equipped to comfort Julie, and she had no clue what the answer to Trucy's question was, and she didn't have the energy or willpower to perform either. She just wanted to curl up and cry.

She couldn't do that though. They expected something from her. She curled her hands up into fists, and closed her eyes tightly, wondering whether she should teleport away or not. That would solve a lot of issues, and she would've, except for the fact it'd leave these two even more confused, and probably hating her as well. She hadn't done anything wrong! She didn't know why he acted like that...

Alki looked around, her eyes wet with tears, and noticed the Pokemon around them staring at the group of three. And it was her fault... "W-We're making a scene..." She mumbled, quietly, trying to figure out what she was supposed to say to Julie and Trucy. She couldn't figure anything out, though. Not now, with so many eyes staring at her and probably hating her, blaming her for something that she really, honestly didn't know anything about.

The girl let out a whimper, clutching her bag tightly as tears began to fall in earnest. "I don't know..." is all that she managed to say, before she devolved into small, stifling sobs in front of the strangers.

It all happened so fast. Yigo was on top of Radar, squeezing the bird after he had pounced onto him, and Radar was loving every second of it. All the affection and warmth Yigo seemed to give was loooong overdue for the dark type. His heart started beating, he found it a little difficult to breathe—because of Yigo squeezing him and nothing else whatsoever—as he stared into Yigo's blue eyes... never stop this... he thought. A small, content smile curled across the corners of the Darkness Pokémon's beak, he didn’t want this to end, physical contact seemed to be soothing for him. Sadly, though, all good things come to an end, and Yigo yelled out that he couldn’t have friends before lying down on his stomach next to Radar. "R-Radar... I... was... wanted you to follow me... I wanted to stay in the market with you... I want to be friends with you but..."

But what? Radar started to panic, smile fading as he stared at the Sandshrew, desperately searching for an answer for what 'but' could mean. 'But' never meant anything good, right? Wh-what did I do wrong? You said you wanted me to follow you, what did I do wrong? Radar was scared, this had to be the most eventful small handful of time in his life! Well, probably not, but... it still didn’t mean it wasn't eventful. Radar made his first friend... he made several friends... he lost all of those friends but one... and now that one friend was trying to tell him they couldn’t be friends? It was an understatement to say Radar didn’t understand.

Then—out of nowhere—Yigo seemingly perked up, saying he’d follow Radar everywhere just as long as the Murkrow didn’t leave him alone. The bird blinked in confusion, turning on his side to look Yigo directly in the eyes. Those nice... big... warm, blue eyes... once again, Radar blinked a couple of times, waking himself from the trance Yigo's eyes kept putting him under. Wait, does this mean I just have to spend all my time with Yigo? Radar saw the look in Yigo's eyes, the Mouse Pokémon wanted to be friends, and Radar was definitely going to try. He made the right decision following Yigo. Radar smiled to himself and at Yigo before realizing he needed to address the next issue currently at wing.

Pokémon were staring. Obviously, the two had caught a lot of... attention from other Pokémon, Radar now realizing the ball he had been talking to was not Yigo, but another Sandshrew rolling down the streets. That was not a good first impression. Radar chuckled to himself out of embarrassment, looking around past his newly appointed friend at all the onlookers. There was a crowd. Crowds equal bad. Crowds equal fights! They needed to get out of there! Radar looked to Yigo, slowly getting up, hoping the Sandshrew did the same. “Wh-what do you s-say to giving me a tour of the rest of the town?” Radar asked, deciding that—since they were friends—he should probably be a little more transparent about why he caused such a fuss. He wouldn’t bring up the Outlaw thing, and he didn’t see any reason to at all or in the near, foreseeable future... but he could explain that he didn’t want to go to the guild.

“To be completely honest, guilds scare me a little, never really a huge fan. It was hard just going up to them and asking for help through scarier Mystery Dungeons I couldn’t get through myself, so when you were saying that your friend—the Jigglypuff—could lead the tour... uhm...” Radar could feel his throat hurting, choking on the words he would say next as he stared at Yigo. With a deep breath, Radar found the words he was looking for to finish his explanation he felt was needed. “I would have rather stayed with you... and avoid the guild all together...” Radar added—rather shyly—as his red eyes stared down at the ground as he started to fidget around with the feathers on his wings. It was a coping mechanism, something the Murkrow wasn’t even fully aware he did. Hopefully Yigo won’t say anything about it.

Julie wasn't sure what to think, what to feel, what to do, she felt like she had hit rock bottom again.
After a bit, Alki commented on the crowd's presence indirectly, stating that they were making a scene. That was enough for Julie to just try and shut up, still shaking but just doing everything she could to clear her mind. Her throat was still tight, and she felt like she'd be crying again any second, but she couldn't just sit there and cry.
As Trucy looked to the sky is upset, Alki herself began tearing up, and Julie shook her head. "N- no no, hun," she began unconfidently, her voice still weak as she sighed, and walked over to Alki, nuzzling against them and hugging the pink ball into her softness, "please don't cry... We don't know what's wrong, b- but... crying won't fix it. Let's just... just..."
After a bit, she thought, then looked to Trucy, then down at Alki, and nuzzled, "We still need that tour, right~? Let's just... go to the Guild, or something."

Julie was still quite upset, but she was doing her best to right some wrongs, get every one calmed down as best she could, get their minds off it...
Julie nuzzled the fairy, "Forget about those big jerks... You didn't do anything wrong. We can't hope to understand what their problem is... So why cry over it? Guild members have better things to do, Pokemon to help. Alright, Alki?" By this point, Julie herself seemed a bit more relaxed, a soft smile on her face as she looked at Alki, then releasing her from the hug, walking over to Trucy.

As she was zoning out, looking at the sky with a angered look, Trucy glanced back at the others, Julie was comforting Alki, both of them were teary eyed and shook-up because of what had just happened. Alki quietly commented on the fact that the group was making a scene, she looked around, and sure enough, there were quite a few confused bystanders, watching the events unfold. They needed a way to draw attention away from them, and fast. She thought and thought, but she couldn’t think of anything due to her mind being in a fog. Just then, Julie reminded Alki about the tour around Grassveil and the guild. How could she forget? She remembered how excited she was only a couple of minutes ago!

She flew the short distance between her and the others, “That’s right Alki! We still have that tour to do!” She said with a smile. Julie then followed up with support for Alki, telling her to forget about the deserters and reassured her that she wholeheartedly believes in her, which she quickly agreed with. “I believe in you too, Alki. We got your back, and when we encounter those two the next time, we’ll be there to support you.” Trucy said, “We must make haste, though, if we stick around for too long, We’re bound to cause a scene.” She added.

Radar smiled. The Murkrow seemed pleased with Yigo's move and the young Sandshrew could not be happier about it. Nothing around him mattered anymore. All the Pokémon staring at them, the identic Sandshrew that had just rolled by, the collapse of the residential area's quiet atmosphere... Nothing. Nevertheless, that was not true the other way around. As most Pokémon returned to their business, a Graveler looking from the sidelines kept a watchful eye on them.

Back onto Radar, Yigo did stand on all fours when Radar decided to chuckle and get back on his feet. Even after the tense situation with Alki, Trucy and Julie this Murkrow wanted to explore the town with Yigo as his guide. The Sandshrew's eyes flared up with resolve once again, it's pupil now looking big and shiny to anyone before he nodded with determination and started to head to the next interesting spot in Grassveil Town but, before he could do that, Radar spoke what was bothering him. Yigo wanted to forget and avoid the issue as he has always tried to do with  any problems he can't solve. His mother Keira had taught him to run rather than battling lost fights but it felt like there was no running away from the guild issue. "Thanks for the nice wo-words but... Guild Pokémon are all really nice" Yigo stepped forward and tilted his head down so that Radar couldn't catch a glimpse of his depressed state "In fact, the Jigglypuff might be the nicest of them all. She loves to help others and asks for nothing but a friend in return..." but that was obviously not all, otherwise he would have stayed as friends with her. Still, it'd be better not to spoil anything to Radar should he want to befriend her himself "I k-knew Julie wanted to visit the guild too and that's why I wanted to send them both there but... I'm really afraid of the guild too, Radar. I d-don't know anyone and they are all really brave and powerful and-" A short shudder could be heard before the kid wiped something off of his face "... enough about the guild. I-It's not even in the town so we don't have to worry about running into guild members. If you want, I can guide you to my favourite stop in this town. It's in a park next to an statue in the middle of a big big big square!" Yigo's tone suddenly shifted from sad and stuttery to curious and cheerful. The memory of the spot below a bench he loves surely had filled him with sweet thoughts. Time to get there! "What do you say? Do you want to come? It's really pretty and it's smells really nice!" And, just like that, Yigo ran off among giggles and laughing towards his favourite spot all while forgetting why he was sad in the first place. He had a friend now and he could play the same games the other kids with their friends and siblings could.

Meanwhile, the Graveler examined the pair of suspicious Pokémon. He doesn't remember any of them nor does he expect them to be mere tourists. An Absol had come to him after his bag and its contents got pickpocketed. The Sandshrew did seem to have a satchel that fit the description, Murkrow were know from stealing shinies and the two boys looked really close from the little scene the rock type had witnessed moments before. Straightening his police badge, the Graveler made sure to trail the pair just to see with his own eyes another crime taking place by the would-be thieves.