Apples and Berries

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Kestro waved goodbye to his sister and caretaker again at the entrance to Pecha Forest. The young Cranidos had heard of a town at the other end of Serene Cave, but didn't feel as if he were ready for a three day trek through the dark cavern. While he'd have preferred exploring the neighboring Shadowhue Forest, his sister's worries convinced him to train in the much safer Pecha Forest. The young fossil Pokemon let out a sigh once his sister and caretaker were out of sight and earshot. "Alright, another trek through here, and then maybe I can convince her to let me explore Shadowhue," he mumbled to himself. He was a bit surprised by how much sway his sister had over his decisions, but then again, she was as hard headed as him, probably more so. The Cranidos shook his head and turned towards the forest, at the very least he might have some experience in battling and exploration before he'd start classes at Peak.

Kestro grinned and nodded. A club at Peak Academy would be perfect for that! Maybe he could even look to the Battling teacher for tips. Just as his train of thought started going again, he felt a tug on his claw. The Cranidos looked down at the new glowing TM as it jerked and wriggled in his claws. At first confused by the movement, the rock type simply tightened his grip on the TM.

Once the culprit, some oddly colored Ralts, made itself known by grunting in frustration, Kestro glared at the small Pokemon. The Cranidos stepped forward, pushing the TM to Osiris. "Use it, and lets see what kind of Dragon Tail can do." Kestro may have failed to realize that the two Pokemon facing them were Fairy types, and thus completely immune to the dragon type move. Granted he'd never seen a Ralts or Kirlia before, let alone these strangely colored ones. All that truly mattered to him right now was the fact that they were about to fight.

Osiris gulped nervously, his eyes flickering between the two pokemon staring down Kestro and himself. The almost-ralts failed once again to tug the TM from Kestro's grasp, and with an infuriated growl, it stopped trying. Instead, it took several steps forward, visibly incensed, arms taut at its sides. For his part, Osiris was tense and afraid. He knew the ralts line was part fairy-type—a dragon enthusiast like himself tried to know such things—and these two looked different regardless. The coloring was wrong, first of all, and there was something else that he just... couldn't put his tail on.

He didn't know if they were more or less dangerous than regular fairy-types, and he wasn't keen on finding out.

"I don't think that's a good idea," the dratini managed to say, shrinking back as the ralts approached slowly. The kirlia hung behind, still as a statue but not inattentive, which grated on Iris' nerves even worse. "Dragon-type moves don't work too well on fairy-types..." he finished. But steel-type moves do, he thought to himself, weighing the pros and cons of fighting off these two pokemon. Kestro would prove invaluable if he could land his Iron Head attack. If Osiris could land a Thunder Wave, it would be a cinch.

But was that smart? Reasoning with the strange duo would be preferable. He and Kestro could beat the ralts, he was confident enough of that in a two-on-one, but it wasn't quite two-on-one, was it? Not with that kirlia just standing there. The smaller one was getting closer and closer every extra second he took to think about this, though, and if he didn't do something fast—

"Why can't I take that from you?" the ralts demanded, placing its hands on its hips while it stared angrily at Kestro. Osiris blinked, stupefied for a moment. It was a boy, he thought, he could tell that from the tone of voice. "You're using some kind of trick, aren't you? You have to be if my Psychic can't yank that TM right out of your grubby claws!" It was still high-pitched and frustrated... but like a child when it wasn't getting what it wanted. Almost juvenile, he realized.

Osiris glanced at the kirlia in the background and noticed an amused little smile on the older psychic's face. It was almost reassuring, but he didn't know why. Either way, he was relieved that things hadn't turned violent immediately. He stayed silent, not willing to lip off to a pokemon with a type advantage without knowing what he was getting into. What did the ralts want, exactly? Just to flaunt the power of its move? The TM? Or both?

Kestro's face froze in realization. It was more comical than anything else, but the Rock type quickly turned back to the dragon type, practically ignoring the strange Ralts now as he whispered to Osiris. "What? What do you mean dragon type moves don't work well on fairy types?" he asked. Despite Kestro's confidence and love of battling, one area he was lacking was an understanding of type advantages that didn't directly concern his own Rock typing. He was keenly aware of his own type's weaknesses, their strengths, and where they just did alright, but he didn't think that Pokemon with the legendary dragon type or commonly cherished steel typing had any but a few weaknesses. Yet here he was hearing how the all powerful dragon type apparently was a poor match up against something as dainty and weak sounding as the "fairy type."

To be completely fair, Kestro had a limited view on several Pokemon. Before Grassveil, he'd really only known hardy Pokemon who called Scorchfall home. He couldn't even remember if someone who was a fairy type lived with them. "If dragon type's no good, what is?" the Cranidos asked. It was complete luck that he had a move strong against Fairy types, but that move required him actually coming into contact with the pair. If a fight actually broke out, the pair would still be at a disadvantage since at least the Ralts had a ranged attack in Psychic.

energy = 1

Osiris remained largely frozen in place, his eyes wide and intent on the ralts in front of them demanding answers. He almost winced at the total lack of situational awareness on Kestro's part—did he make a habit of simply ignoring would-be burglars right in his face? The dratini didn't answer his questions immediately, equal parts afraid and tense as he waited for the other shoe to drop. But to his confusion, the ralts only stood there waiting, its expression vexed but its eyes... strangely unfocused. Its gaze kept shifting from Kestro's forehead to his cheek and to his neck, never quite meeting his eyes. Like he didn't know where to look, maybe. It was peculiar enough that Osiris didn't know what it meant.

He'd be inclined to guess that it had bad eyesight or something but between its strange coloring and totally creepy kirlia friend, he had a feeling it wasn't something as simple as that.

"There's no trick," he said at last, ignoring Kestro for a moment. "He's just strong. Good grip, you know."

"My Psychic is strong. I learned it from a TM, just like that one there." The ralts glanced at Osiris before staring at the TM in Kestro's claws again. Its tone shifted from frustrated to tensely pensive, like it was working out a difficult puzzle. It took another step forward, hands hovering at its sides loosely. "I want that one, too."

Osiris leaned back at the movement, waiting for it to try something so he could take off running. But then, for lack of a better word, the ralts—flickered. One instant it was there, then it wasn't, and then it was again. Osiris almost thought he had blinked, but the ralts was the only thing to wink in and out. It appeared totally ignorant of the phenomenon, standing there rigid and frozen. He glanced at the cranidos standing next to him, the expression on his face clearly inquiring as to whether or not Kestro had just witnessed that.

Kestro soon enough turned back to the Ralts as Osiris sat there frozen, simply staring at the odd Pokemon. The shifting gaze of the Pokemon confused the Rock type as well, but given the fact that Kestro had never seen a Ralts before, he though it was normal. "TMs are strong, but if you're still weak, the move itself is weak. You'll have to train. Besides, this one isn't yours to take. That's stealing," Kestro stated plainly. He wasn't as tense as Osiris, especially with how childlike the Ralts seemed. To the Cranidos, his attitude had changed from perceiving the odd Ralts as a threat to just a bratty child.

Then it just... flickered in and out of existence. Kestro blinked, making a quick check that the TM was still in his claws. Good, the Ralts didn't just try a new trick to steal it. So the question was, was did the Ralts just do? His beaked clicked a couple of times, but he took a step towards the Ralts. "What was that just now? Are you actually planning on trying to fight us? And what about your friend?"" he asked, making sure to point out the Kirlia, who was still simply just observing.

"Fight you?" the ralts echoed, cocking its head as if puzzled. It seemed to ignore the criticism Kestro offered, glossing over it entirely as it focused on Kestro's other words. "Fight you... no, I shouldn't be fighting. That'll get us caught." it went on. The ralts' tone continued to warp and change, going from originally from bratty and demanding, to tense and confused, to now almost—dreamy, airy. Iris didn't know what to make of it. He hadn't known what to make of the two strange pokemon since they arrived, honestly, and he was growing more and more perplexed as they interacted with the two fairy pokemon.

The pokemon flickered again, then twice more, all the while appearing totally unaware of what was happening to itself. It dawned on Osiris that maybe it wasn't strictly voluntary; Maybe the ralts wasn't doing anything... but something was happening to it. The dratini edged backward, slightly, having never encountered something like this before and more than a bit wary.

The kirlia, meanwhile, finally seemed to take note of what was happening to its friend. It stood straight and fixed its gaze on the ralts, strangely... unconcerned. "Best not to dawdle, baby brother," she said. And it was a she; Her voice was melodic, sweet, and delicate. It made Osiris' ear fins flutter in nervous anticipation. "We have places to be, after all, and we're running late."

The ralts—apparently the kirlia's brother—nodded weakly, turning away from the cranidos it was focused on and stared back in the direction it was originally heading, before noticing the two traveling kids. Then together at once, both the ralts and the kirlia blinked out of sight. They were there one moment and gone the next, leaving Osiris and Kestro alone in the forest clearing with nothing but the still air and chilly ambiance.

Osiris was totally silent for what had to be a solid fifteen seconds in their sudden absence. Abruptly, he turned to Kestro with a dumbfounded expression. "I think they're gone. That was... weird." he said, confused and astonished.

Kestro huffed out towards the Ralts, his beak clicking the more the fairy type blinked in and out of existence. The Rock type was clearly preparing for a fight even with the Ralts' words. His front lowered towards the ground, the fossil Pokemon's leg starting to kick up dirt and leaves behind him as he prepared to charge. While Osiris might've been preparing for a quick escape, Kestro was ready to have to face the two. Thankfully, though, the Kirlia finally intervened. She bade the Ralts, her little brother apparently, to move on from his attempted theft of the TM. Kestro certainly didn't feel as if the situation was resolved, but before a world could escape his beak, the two fairy types disappeared.

Kestro stood there, still prepared to charge forward. He waited, ignoring the Dratini at first as he waited for the fairy types to flicker back in existence and attack. Nothing. The eerie silence returned and Kestro's muscles slowly relaxed as he straightened back up. "Very weird..." Kestro agreed with the Dratini. The silence didn't last long, as the crunch of leaves underfoot rang out behind the two young Pokemon.

Kestro wheeled around, fully expecting the two fairy types, only to find himself staring at the legs of two tall Pokemon. They were some strange mix of creatures. Bird like talons on their front feet, paws for their hinds, a fish tail, and their faces covered in some large metal mask. They weren't like the Ralts and Kirlia, flickering in and out of existence, but Kestro had no idea as to what they were. He found himself stepping backwards, sharp green eyes staring down at him and Osiris from the two tall Pokemon.

Osiris breathed out slowly, attempting to calm himself down after that extremely strange encounter. He'd never seen pokemon make an exit like that—he didn't think it was a Teleport move or anything, because the ralts was doing it over and over. Maybe some kind of natural ability that was exclusive to the ralts line... that would explain why both of them did it. Maybe. It'd satisfy his need for answers, at any rate. Osiris resolved not to think about it any more than he had to.

Then he was caught off guard by a crunch of leaves, and whirled around to come face to face with two of the strangest pokemon he'd ever seen. The ralts and kirlia—while colored weirdly and exhibited strange behaviour—at least looked halfway normal. These things... not so much. The anxiety and suspense that had been slowly building up in Osiris during the last encounter reached a tipping point, and with a totally manly shriek of surprise, he jumped backward in fear.

He had to stop himself from discharging a thunder wave at the one closest to him and making a run for it. Instead, with a tremor in his voice, he spoke up. "Can... we help you?"

Kestro nearly jumped at Osiris' less than reassuring shriek. The pair certainly had different reactions. Yet again Kestro was ready to fight, and Osiris ready to flee. Just as Osiris had to stop himself from attacking the two Pokemon in an attempt to flee, Kestro had to keep from charging forward as he heard his companion cry out.

The two Pokemon simply stared down at the Dratini and Cranidos. They were almost like statues, if not for their eyes darting back and forth between the two. After a tense few moments, one of the Pokemon spoke up. "Careful. You are where time and space do not matter. The past and future speak to each other, and the land, air and water mix and react like wild beasts. Be wary of those who do not seem to always be there," it said. Its voice was muffled behind the strange mask it wore, and just as soon as they'd arrive, the pair began to leave. Kestro watched, prepared to ask for more until the two chimera like Pokemon began to walk through the ground, as if there were a set of stairs or a hill where there wasn't one.

As the two were devoured by the earth, the Cranidos attempted to follow, only to find the ground as solid as it appeared beneath him. He looked back at the Dratini. Even he was beginning to grow wary from the strangeness of the area. At the very least the two masked Pokemon explained a bit of what was going on. "Should we keep going? I have an escape orb if we need it," Kestro said, trying to be as reassuring as possible to the frightened Dratini. Kestro hadn't even considered that his orb may not work in this odd world, or perhaps he simply didn't want to.

"I... guess so? I don't know," Osiris said, hesitant. This was nothing like he expected it to be. Pokemon went to Pecha Forest to train and explore all the time, but he had never heard any stories about disappearing and reappearing pokemon, or ones who were colored wrong and acted strangely... and certainly nothing about whatever the heck those two pokemon were!

Since when did time and space not matter in Pecha Forest? What did one even have to do with the other? Did they usually matter? The freaky guys spoke in frustrating riddles and made absolutely no sense whatsoever... but nothing bad had happened, yet. The worst part was getting ambushed by that team earlier and they didn't even touch Osiris. They hadn't even gotten into a fight yet, despite almost coming to blows with the two fairy-type pokemon from earlier. What kind of a would-be explorer was he if he chickened out at the first sign of things going awry?

Worst case scenario, he and Kestro ran into something they couldn't handle and he used that escape orb to leave, just like the guild members did earlier. The dratini nodded steadily, gaining a small measure of confidence back the more he thought things over. "Just keep that orb handy, yeah? And don't be afraid to use it if we get in a jam." he said after a moment, slithering forward a bit. Things would be fine—just 'cos he ran into some weirdos didn't mean he had to turn around and cut the forest run short. "I can paralyze anything we come across, too. And you can hit it hard. We're good to go."

Kestro nodded back to Osiris. As the Dratini's confidence began to heal and reform, Kestro's grew too. That's when he realized that he was still holding the Dragon Tail TM. Again he held it out to Osiris. "Here. I still think you should use it, and I still want you to try out the club if I can get it going over at Peak." Perhaps the gesture was a bit odd to come back to after learning that they were in some weird area where time and space and all that other stuff didn't matter. Though, as much as Kestro wanted the gesture to be a sign of friendship and teamwork between him and Osiris, there was one other tiny reason. Kestro didn't want to be the only attacker. Sure he can hit hard, but he had to get in close, and that put him at risk. Giving Osiris a decent attacking move would certainly help, if anything it might give the dragon type more confidence in battle. Or, at the very least, distract their opponents enough for Kestro to get them a safe escape with his orb.

Wordlessly, finally, Iris took the TM from Kestro, wrapping his tail around it delicately. It still felt very weird to just be given something as cool and useful as a dragon-type move from a stranger he met in the forest, but considering the circumstances, it was justifiable. They were in a very weird situation, what with freaky fairies and chimera pokemon who walked straight down into the ground. Maybe he would need it to fight someone off during this little trip.  

"Thanks, Kestro. It means a lot," he said, nodding his agreement to the cranidos' condition. Joining his club would be a small price to pay if this move got Osiris over his current hurdle of not being able to attack things at all. And if he ended up enjoying the club, well, all the better. Everyone wins.

He cradled the disc in his tail, staring down at it awkwardly for a few moments. "You know, I don't think I actually know how to use this thing." Osiris went on, his ear fins fluttering anxiously. "How do I do this?" he asked, his face and snout heating up slightly in embarrassment. It was bad enough that Kestro had a front row seat to him shrieking like a girl and acting like a big ninny, but now he had to ask for help with the very gift he'd been given. He only hoped he could pay the cranidos back in a big way somehow.

Kestro grinned at Osiris as he thanked him for the TM, the Cranidos giving him a nod of welcome. It was a bit disappointing to lose a strong move like that, but Kestro had Iron Head, and hopefully would have even more powerful moves down the line. He was still inexperienced, and learning moves by gaining experience and growing stronger was a natural process. Better to help Osiris along his own path than greedily hoard items for his own. Then the Dratini admitted his ignorance in actually using the TM.

Kestro blinked. To be fair he himself had never used a TM, and if not for his caretaker having told him how to read them, he'd have probably had the same difficulty Osiris was having currently. Still, the Cranidos couldn't help to let out a small snicker. "It's ok, its your first one. If you turn it over, you'll see footprint runes and drawings on it. Turn the disc so that 'Dragon Tail' is at the top, then read towards the right."

The dratini nodded along with Kestro's explanation, laying the TM face-up on the ground and nudging it into the correct position. He saw the text that read 'Dragon Tail', but it was more than a bit faded and chipped. The text beneath it was in similar disarray, but it was plenty readable. It made him think about just how old this item could—how many years ago was it made, and by who, and for what? It'd made its way to him eventually, but he couldn't help but wonder how many other pokemon learned this move from the TM.

He leaned over it and read slowly, solemnly, equal parts trying to learn and commit the experience of using his first TM to memory. Understanding came to him quickly, very quickly. He assumed this meant that he was compatible with the TM because suddenly the move seemed so simple. A powerful tail attack with an emphasis on knocking its target bodily away—Dragon Tail. It was clear to him, all the right components falling into place. Something must have registered with the TM, as well, because as soon as he finished his reading, the text seemed to bleach itself, growling paler and paler until it was totally indistinguishable. Now there was nothing to read.

He blinked a few times, afterward, not quite comprehending that he now possessed a strong dragon-type attack. The knowledge and ability was there as if it always was, and he even had a used TM to show for it. "I think it worked." he said after a length of silence. "I can use Dragon Tail..." Osiris slithered forward a few paces after speaking, judging the length of his serpentine body and the empty air in front of him. Abruptly, without warning, he lashed out with his tail in a wide, powerful arc, disrupting the still air and cutting through it. The grass on the ground in front of him rustled decently in the face of the force, and Osiris beamed, delighted.

"I can use Dragon Tail!" he exclaimed again, a brilliant smile on his face. An exuberant stream of laughter bubbled out of him, and he was helpless to resist it. He turned back, grinning brightly at Kestro again. "This is amazing! Thank you, Kestro! Haha!"

Kestro sat himself down across from Osiris as he began to study the TM. Kestro remembered his first time trying to read the TM. The words on the item made sense in his head, but it never seemed to click to his body. Probably because while Rampardos could learn it, Cranidos couldn't. It was a strange thought. To think that a Pokemon couldn't learn a move artificially before reaching a certain stage. He thought back to his only frame of reference for Rampardos; his birth parents. It had been a while, but he remembered some differences between him and his parents. A longer tail, larger spikes, thicker legs. In fact, everything about his parents were larger in proportion to their body than his own. The only difference was that their heads hadn't grown as much. Odd, given how much emphasis was put on his line's tough heads. Then again, bigger wasn't always better. Kestro could only imagine how hard it'd be to carry a head as large in proportion to his body now if he were to evolve.

His idle thoughts were broken as Osiris spoke. Already? Kestro watched, still laying against the ground like a nesting bird as the Dratini slithered forward. Then he swung his tail. Kestro could feel the wind kicked back from the force of his swing, and was sure genuinely surprised by the power the move held. That reminded of something his caretaker had told him. She told him that moves that have the same type as the Pokemon using them gained even more power than normal. He wondered just how much more powerful Dragon Tail became with Osiris as its user compared to if Kestro had learned it.

Either way, Kestro gave Osiris another grin, pushing himself up off the ground. "Now we can both hit hard," he said, "Maybe we'll find more TMs as we explore this weird place. TMs are a bit rare, and the weirder a dungeon, the more likely rare items will appear, right?"