In the forest

Chiron was exploring Pecha Forest on his own, looking for more berries and things to cook for his independent studies. He never really had cooked before, but how hard could it be? You just take some food and put it on a thing and boom! Food. It couldn't be as hard as his dad said it would be, and it was Chiron, he'd be a natural at it in no time. He was also taking a break from hunting for something to wear on his feet, there had to be something out there. Chiron was looking for some kind of pad maybe he could strap to his feet, but hadn't found anything yet.

Right now, though, he should focus on Essential Skills. Chiron roamed the Mystery Dungeon, searching for berry bushes. They couldn't have moved from the last time he was there, could they have?

No, that's ridiculous. Mystery Dungeons don't rearrange themselves.

"Oh my god! This is delicious!" Melvin roared with an unrivaled fervor, bellowing as he tore into berry after berry. Oh lord, it had been so long Melvin forgot the sweet succulence of food in his drooling, deprived mouth. He sat admist the open forest, loudly indulging himself, belching and smacking above a make shift fire pit, torn limb from limb from poor unsuspecting twigs. Each one as cold as the wind that blew. Melvin's beautiful, luxurious wool was swallowed whole by mud, seasoned with leaves and moss that clung on to him for dear life, as if he had become one with the forest.

Chiron heard the voice from a little ways away, moving to investigate it. Who could that be? When he saw the Mareep by the fire, eating berries, he was confused to say the least. “Excuse me, uh, you covered in mud?” Chiron began, stepping closer. “I am looking for berries to try and make food out of, but I’ve put that on hold for the time being to ask a more pressing question.” Chiron sat down in front of Melvin, squinting at him. “What are you?”

"Hmm?" Melvin grunted as his head snapped around, berry juice swinging as it splashed the totodile. juice oozed and drizzled from Melvin's guilty mouth. He sat there, staring deeply into the boy's eyes, bewildered.

"BOY!" Melvin suddenly shouted, latching himself onto the totodile's shoulders before violently shaking him back and forth. "TELL ME LADDIE! YOU'RE A CIVILIAN RIGHT! YOU KNOW WHERE CIVILIZATION IS!" Melvin began to tear up, terror in his eyes. "Y-you wouldn't believe the what i've seen. i've seen horrific things. i've done horrific things. Horrific things i can NEVER UNDO!" his front arms dug deeper into the poor lad's shoulders as he shouted to the world.

Chiron was alarmed at the sudden grabbing and squeezing, only staring at Melvin in bewilderment as he was shaken. “There is civilization just outside of this forest called Grassveil Town, where I live.” Chiron told this strange, intriguing creature. “I am Chiron Kiba, student of Peak Academy and resident of Grassveil Town. Who are you?” He asked, trying to squirm his way out of the Mareep’s grip. “What horrific things have you seen?”

Chiron was actually genuinely curious, he’d never met a...‘mentally unstable’ mon before. He was interested to know what made him the way he was.

Melvin's eyes flared up in joy, "you mean it laddie?!" tears almost formed in eyes as he began to pull the sweet totodile further in for a very tight hug. "I've been trapped in this forest.. FOR DAYS!" His eyes cracked as he cackled to himself, finally detaching from his savior. "Horrific thing's. EVERYWHERE! EVERYWHERE I GO! Melvin, shuddered before turning behind him, gazing at the scrawling marks he etched in trees, and the trampled destruction behind them. "Hell itself crawled out from this forest."

"But enough of that now laddie, i'm saved!" He hurled his arms towards the heavens "I'm Melvi!, etched in glory, bared by greatness!"

Melvin, huh? Chiron thought to himself, documenting the name in his memory. Melvin... “I don't understand what you mean by ‘hell.’” Chiron told Melvin, skepticism evident in his voice. “Pecha Forest has to be one of the easiest and least scary places in the world.” This Mareep hadn't answered his question before, instead he just trailed of after pointing to some destruction. “If you tell me what horrible things are everywhere, I'll take you back to town with me.” He offered.

'Hell, boy!" Melvin's voice flared, "Is when you stare into the eyes of the abyss, and the abyss stares back with a grumbling hunger, unquenched bloodlust in their golden eyes, and..." Melvin glanced briefly at Chiron's jaw, "Gnashing, sharp teeth..." Melvin gulped, shaking for a second before he snapped himself back. "Look laddie, I don't know what you have in gasviel... glassbell... er, that town of yours but the place has been ANYTHING but peaceful." He gestured back to the devastation behind him, once again peering at the shattered trees and ripped grass. "The place is littered with hell-hounds. Black as a woman's heart, and as determined as an old lassie haggling for a lower price. They tore tis place apart, limb from limb, hoarding BERRIES!" He cackled. "BERRIES! T'is a land of madness, they're all MAD! There's no food for MILES! I barely scrounged up the one spot they did miss, and that was after barely escaping being their meal lad. But that fate is no more! So hustle hustle, there's nothing left here for either of us!"Melvin cheered

“Grassveil.” Chiron corrected Melvin quietly after he’d struggled with the name. He probably didn’t hear me. “What kind of Pokémon were they?” Chiron asked, eyeing the destruction behind Melvin. “Black with gold eyes doesn’t tell me much.” What kind of Pokémon would do that? Chiron wondered to himself, Were they students looking for berries like I was? Chiron sighed. “Alright, Melvin.” He said, crossing his arms. “I’ll take you back to Grassveil Town with me.” Chiron had every intention of taking Melvin to the library and having him point out which Pokémon attacked him so that he could know for the future that those Pokémon might or will be aggressive. “It’s just over that way.” Chiron said, pointing in the direction he came. “Follow me.”

Melvin stopped, turning around to face Chiron. "Honestly laddie, I've been seeing nothing but new faces since I got here. I couldn't tell ya what it was if I tried. Truly. Even you're unlike anything i've ever seen," Melvin laughed.

"Though to be honest, it was dark out so i didn't really get a good glimpse at them. But there where multiple of them. I would say they looked alot like you, but like, bigger, with sharper teeth a serious hunch back problem I tell you. Must share my back pain at their age. I'm sure they couldn't of been that young. You know you're really lucky laddie, i seriously miss having a working body like yours. once you get older you body really stops to co-operate now. Like there's a really bad itch right above my rear that always burns and snaps when I walk and it- OH there it goes again!" Melvin's body creaked loudly as he gasped in pain, wheezing as began to follow Chiron.

"If you have some images of locals in that town of yours, i'm sure I'd recognize them immediately." Melvin painfully snuck in.