Enter the Federation: Team Cozy
I grumble to myself as I gather supplies for our mission, rummaging through all the drawers in the guild. Thanks to an extremely racist Alakazam and an uppity Chatot, Wooper and I are being forced into doing some kind of absurd mission involving sealing some invisible 'rifts'. Gus is tagging along with us as well. He's quiet, but I'll take all the help I can get for this.
“I can't believe it, Chespin! It's a real Federation mission!” Wooper is beyond elated, skipping and hopping as we get prepared. “Not only that, but it's a mission from Chatot! THE Chatot! The same one from those stories! The same one that helped a human!!”
“Yeah, yeah...That Chatot doesn't have to take it out on everybody in the guild considering it was just one team of morons that burned a forest down.” I stuff a few drinks and apples into my bag, as well as all the Orbs and Seeds I think we might need. “Then there's that Alakazam threatening to shut us down, as if we ever did anything wrong! Let me tell you, I'd like to take those spoons from Alakazam and shove them up hi-”
“It's fine, Chespin! Just think of the look on his face when we show up after our success!” Wooper clearly isn't concerned in the slightest.
Gus fidgets around, twiddling his shell in his hands. “Umm, don't forget a Revive All Orb, Chespin. There's no telling what we'll fight or how well it'll go.”
Nodding, I grab one from a drawer, staring into it. I remember having used one of these on Team Cozy's first mission. Even now, I can't help but shudder as I remember it. I swear, if I have to fight an Ice type on this mission, I'm going to have a heart attack. “Gus, how good are you at fighting?”
“Umm...I did something once or twice, but it's not really my thing.” Gus spins his shell on top of his 'hand'. “I can breathe cold air at enemies to slow them down or hit them with this shell, I guess?”
Hoping his lack of experience won't hold us back, I say, “We'll keep you in charge of items in that case. Is that okay?”
“I don't really know what most of them do. I know the blue berries heal you but other than that...”
“Alright, sit here, I'll tell you all about them.”
I spend the next ten minutes teaching Gus about all the strange seeds and orbs and what they do. I draw rough doodles onto a piece of paper, giving it to him to hang onto. “If you're ever confused, just take a look at that. Does this help?”
Gus stares at the paper, scratching his head. “A little. Well, we should probably get some rest before heading out for our mission.” Heading for the door, he says, “I'll meet you two outside the guild tomorrow morning.
The next morning, the three of us start off towards Ironwood Forest. Wooper skips ahead of us, motioning for Gus and I to speed up. “Yeah! We're gonna do it! We're gonna be the real deal after this!”
Gus shoots me a curious glance. “Is he always this cheerful?”
I let out a small laugh. “Are you kidding me? 'Sad' isn't even an emotion that exists in that head of his.”
Gus hesitates for a moment, and asks, “What's it like? Having him as a partner, I mean.”
“You mean besides being woken up early because he heard some rumor about treasure?” Lowering my voice, I say, “It wasn't five minutes I was in this world when I met him. Since then, he's practically never left my side. He's a little...unorthodox as far as allies go. But I can safely say I wouldn't choose anybody else to be my partner.”
“That sounds nice.” Gus looks up at the sky. “Maybe someday I'll find one of my own, but tagging along with others on missions is nice too.”
Wooper looks back at us again. “C'mon! If we hurry, we can get that mission done by the end of the day!” He takes off for the horizon, skipping all the way.
I give Gus a quick look, a small smile on my face. “That enthusiasm's infectious, let me tell you. He's right, the sooner we get this done, the better.”
Several hours pass as we hike towards our destination. Finally, we stop outside Ironwood Forest. Something seems...off, however.
“Why are the leaves on all these trees orange and yellow? It's sometime during the spring or summer right now, isn't it?”
Wooper nods. “Maybe that rift thingy's doing it?”
I let out an annoyed sigh. “I don't like the look of this. There's no telling what we'll find inside. Be ready to fight at all times.”
Gus holds his shell in his hands. “Okay.”
I hand him the item bag I've been carrying. “Remember, the seeds that look like fireballs are Blast Seeds, and the ones that look like crescents are Stun Seeds. That last one's real important, so don't forget!” I watch as Gus slings the bag around his shoulder. “We go in here, find some weird stuff that's out of place, fight whatever gets in our way, and then we seal up some rift. Let's get in there and show that asshole Alakazam that we're the real deal, not like his stupid, pencil-pushing face.” The three of us nod to each other, taking our first steps into Ironwood Forest.
It isn't two minutes into our mission that we find our first enemy, a Zigzagoon with their back turned! Alright, this'll be a piece of cake! I lash out at it with my vines...but they pass right through it! “Oh, for the love of...” I try again, my attack missing again! Curious, I give it a few gentle taps with my vine, watching as it phases right through!
Gus rubs his chin, thinking. “Strange, it's like a hologram, or mirage.”
“Oh, neato!” Figures Wooper would be excited to see this.
I let out a groan. “Great, this is just what we need! Let's just pick up the pace. The less of those we find, the better.”
Venturing deeper, we find more and more mirage enemies. Taking no chances, I take swings at them along the way, ordering the others to do the same. It isn't long before I grow frustrated. “AAGH! This is so dumb, why aren't any of these things real?!”
“I think it's the rift causing it,” Gus mumbles.
Trying not to take my frustration out on him, I say, “...Besides the fake foes, have you two seen anything strange?”
Gus shakes his head. “Nope. Nothing.”
Wooper peeks down a tucked-away path. “Oh! I think I see something! This way!”
I'm snapped out of my annoyance by the good news. “Yes! Hopefully this'll be our stop, then.”
At the far end of the path, I spot something unusually shiny. I can barely make out the shape. It's a strange cylinder, but it's hard to discern the nature of it. Approaching it, I hear a deafening yell from above me! The voice sounds equal parts hyped as well as angry.
“Do you HEAR ME?!” Th-that voice?! I've heard it before!
I hear Wooper cry out for me. “CHESPIN, GET BACK!” Without thinking, I jump back, just before the source of the voice strikes!
“Do you SEE ME?!” Looking up, I see the most terrifying thing I've ever seen in my life. It's a Beedrill! But...this one is even bigger than the one I had fought all that time ago! He looks more aerodynamic, with even more stingers this time!
I let out a loud, horrified scream, instinctively reaching for an Escape Orb. My hand grasps nothing, and I curse myself for having given the bag to Gus.
The Beedrill looks down at the three of us, all five of its stingers pointed ahead! “It's you guys! The chump who I knocked out right away and the coward!” It's the same Beedrill?! “Yeah, check it OUT! I'm even stronger now, and now I get to pay you guys back! You won't leave here if I have anything to say about it!”
“I...I...” I can't get the words out, I'm too scared!”
Wooper stands alongside me, unfazed by the foe. “You couldn't even win when it was just Chespin! Against the three of us at once, an evildoer like you won't have a chance!”
The Beedrill lets out an evil laugh. “That was then, this is n-OUCH!”
Snapped out of it, I notice that Gus had shot an Icy Wind at him! Wooper's right, I managed to do this on my own once. Even if he's bigger now, I have a team!
Shooting my vines out, I try forcing my foe to the ground. Even with the power in my vines, I find it very difficult to move him! “Agh...Wooper...hit him with all you can!”
“Got it!” Wooper leaps up, slamming his tail on the ground. It isn't long before an eruption of energy engulfs Beedrill. I let out a sigh, thinking it's over. But our foe flies right back up, seemingly unfazed!
“That's a cute trick, I got one of my own. It's called 'skewer the stupid blue Pokemon again.'” He leans forward, flying at an almost supernatural speed! Miraculously, Wooper jumps out of the way in time, but the Beedrill simply turns back around!
C'mon, think! He's too fast for me to hit like this, he's going to hurt Wooper any moment now! What can I do?! Struggling to think of something, I notice the Beedrill closing in once more. My body acts before my mind, and I find myself between the two, my back facing the Beedrill! Realizing what's going on, I hug Wooper close, curling up into a defensive position!
I cry out in agony as the stingers jab into my back repeatedly. Unlike the last time, there isn't any kind of break from the relentless attack. I have to get Wooper away from here or he'll be next!
Using a vine, I toss Wooper over towards Gus. I spot Gus shoot another Icy Wind at my assailant, but even then, the pain doesn't end!
The Beedrill continues his brutal assault. Even despite my armored back, it hurts so much! “The less of you there are, the better! Once you're down, it'll be easy pickings with the rest of your pathetic TEAM!” With that last word, Beedrill strikes me harder than ever before. My vision goes blurry, and I feel myself slump to the ground, the last of my energy spent.
“Ch-Chespin!” The bad guy knocked out my best friend! It's time to get serious! I look around, recalling the things Chespin would do to help me fight. Spotting a few rocks, I shout, “Gus! Those rocks over there!”
“Huh?” Gus looks pretty shaken, oh no!
“Throw them at me! I'll smack them into the bad guy!”
Gus runs over to the rocks, letting off an Icy Wind at the evildoer! I ready myself for Gus's throw, smacking the rock as hard as I can! “Don't stop throwing them!”
I hit rock after rock towards the Beedrill. Slowed down from the Icy Winds, he dodges sluggishly and then...BULLSEYE! Our foe lets out a cry as he spins around in the air, swerving into the ground! Beedrill skids across the dirt, coming to a rest at the bottom of a tree.
“Take THAT, villain!” This is a real-deal fight now! “Gus, throw a Blast Seed at him!”
Panicking a little, Gus scrambles for the paper Chespin wrote for him. “Okay umm...The fiery one, got it!” Gus reaches into the bag, pulling out the right seed! “This one, right?”
I nod. “Yep! Throw it at his stupid face and I'll attack him at the same time!”
Without a word, Gus launches the Blast Seed as hard as he can at the enemy. I leap into the air, slamming my tail down, sending another Earth Power over to the bad guy! Our attacks hit in succession, and the Beedrill is enveloped in energy just as the Blast Seed explodes! The combined force of our attack is enough to send them flying out of the forest!
I leap up and down, letting out a cheer. “Whoopee! We did it! Great job, Gus!”
Gus shows off a small smile.“Um, thanks.” The smile fades as quickly as it came. “But, isn't Chespin really hurt?”
“Well...he's knocked out, but Chespin's back is armored. All we gotta do is use one of those revival orbs to wake him back up. Pointing my tail at the item bag, I say, “Remember, the orb with a little sprout on it!”
We walk over to Chespin, who still lies on the forest floor. Gus holds the proper orb, muttering to himself. “How do I...use this?”
“Just smash it down on the ground!”
“Ugh...” I wake up with a groan of pain, my back feeling like a pincushion. Standing back up, I see Wooper and Gus looking at me. Beedrill is nowhere to be found.
I reach into the item bag Gus holds, eating an Oran Berry. I let out a sigh as the pain leaves my body. “Thanks for that. Did we...win?”
Wooper lets out a small cheer. “You betcha! The both of us managed to blow the Beedrill up and kick him out of the forest!”
“Good job, you two.” I let out a sigh. “I wish I could have fought better, but all I did was get hurt.”
Gus shakes his head. “That's not true. You acted like a shield for Wooper.”
“Oh, right...”
Spotting the strange cylinder once again, I walk over to it, picking it up. It's made of metal, with a decorated exterior. The top of it is...no, wait a minute, I know what this is!
“I-It's a soda can! Guys, it's an actual, real-deal soda can! YES!” I let out a cheer of my own, I've finally found one!
“Sooo...da?” Wooper sounds confused. “What's that?”
“Only one of the greatest HUMAN inventions of all time!” I take another look at the can. All the paint on the outside has been scuffed up pretty badly by whatever force brought it here, but it's perfectly intact.
Wooper's expression completely changes. I don't think it's possible for a Pokemon to look any more excited than he does right now. “NO WAY!!! Quick, tell us more!”
“Gladly. You see, this here is a drink from the human world! It's fizzy, not to mention as sweet as it gets!” I fumble around with the pull tab, eventually opening it with a satisfying CRACK! I take a big sip from it, nearly recoiling from the intense sweetness! Oh yeah, it's still carbonated! At this very moment, this soda has to be the sweetest thing in this world. I close my eyes as I savor the taste and for just a moment, I feel as though I'm back home in the human world.
Wooper hops up and down, excited beyond belief. “Can I try it?! Can I? Can I?”
Gus stares at the can. “I'd like a sip, too.
I hold the can to Wooper's mouth, letting him take a sip from it. The taste makes his eyes go wide, and I swear I could see them sparkle. “This is the greatest thing ever, Chespin! I've never tasted anything that sweet before, it's amazing!”
I hand the can to Gus, who takes a sip as well. “This is a nice change from water and juice.” He passes the can back to me.
As great as this is, it's bittersweet. “Enjoy it while it lasts, boys. This might be the last time we ever taste a soda in our lives.”
We pass the soda around between the three of us, slowly emptying what may very well be the only one in the world. At least our small size makes this single can feel like four or five of them.
The can is handed to me one final time, and I finish off the last few drops of it. “Well...that's it. That's the last soda from the human world we'll ever taste.” A little bummed out, I stick the can along with the rest of our items. Maybe that idiot Alakazam will take this as proof of at least one victory.
“It was amazing, Chespin! There's gotta be cooler stuff closer to that rift thingy! C'mon, let's go! Let's go! Let's go!” Wooper darts off further into the forest.
I see a small smile creep onto Gus's face. “That soda got him all hyper.”
I can't help but laugh. “I'm glad he enjoyed it. Anyhow, we'd better go after him.”
Walking down the path Wooper ran down, I spot something white in the distance. As we approach it, my heart sinks as I quickly begin to realize what it is.
Snow.
“No...you've gotta be kidding me.” I feel my pulse quicken as I take my first steps onto the snow, bracing for the bitter cold. To my great confusion, it doesn't hurt. The air is uncomfortably chilly, but the snow doesn't feel icy at all. Does normal old snow not hurt, or is this snow...unnatural? It's gotta be, right? After all, it's summer, isn't it?
Walking ahead, I look around the area. Trees twist in unnatural directions, several of them an unnatural red color. I notice a large blue lump at the base of a red tree. Just as I approach it, I hear the voice of pure hatred speak to me
“It's you. The one who stole my priceless Frisms.”
My heart nearly jumps out of my chest as I recognize the voice. “...No, I have to be hearing things!”
Gus shakes his head. “I heard it too.”
“Me too!” Wooper says.
The voice of hate speaks again. “Oh. I suppose I should make myself known.”
The ground rumbles, a large mass of snow lifting up from the ground! As the snow begins to fall back to the ground, I spot it. It's Cryogonal. “N-no...I melted you! Melted you into nothing!!”
A Mega Beedrill was bad enough, but this...Cryogonal really IS my nightmare! Every horrible dream I've had since coming to this world has had this evil MONSTER in it! Not only that, but he seems nearly twice the size he used to be! The mere sight of him makes me feel lightheaded, my chest starts to feel tight, even my breathing is shaky!
The Cryogonal glares down at us menacingly. “My kind does not MELT INTO NOTHINGNESS! We simply become water vapor, ready to REFORM AGAIN!”
Wooper stands next to me, pulling me closer with his tail. Whispering to me, he says, “It'll be okay, Chespin. This is the guy standing between us and being a true, recognized guild!”
Gus stands alongside me as well, placing something in my hand. “I think eating this might help us, Chespin.” I take a look down at the seed, red and covered with stars. A Violent Seed!
I chomp down on it with a crunch. The fear that had just a moment ago frozen me into place melts away. Now, I only have one goal in my mind.
Shatter this Cryogonal into a billion pieces.
Looking upwards, I let out a yell that surprises even me. “You...YOU! I don't care how many times you come back! I don't care if you're even bigger now! I don't CARE how many nightmares I have to suffer because of you! It's not happening again!”
I shoot my vines around the Cryogonal, getting a good grip. The seed's power courses through my body as I use the vines like a large slingshot, with me as the rock. Recalling the training I had done weeks ago, I fling myself head-first into the Cryogonal's ugly face! I hear a loud roar of pain as it flies backwards into a tree, cracks beginning to form.
Landing back on the ground, I ready myself for my foe's response. Wooper shoots a Water Gun at Cryogonal. The attack strikes home, but it isn't enough to stop the enemy. Gus lets loose an Icy Wind, but that does even less!
To my horror, Cryogonal swiftly flies at Wooper, inhaling deeply. This is going to hurt a ton...but this worked earlier! Once again, I use my own body as a shield, hugging him close as the icy blast causes every last inch of my back to scream out in pain.
Trying not to cry, I clench my teeth as hard as I can, hoping I can ride this out. “Gus...your shell...HIT HIM WITH IT!”
Just as I begin to think I can't take any more of it, the icy onslaught finally ends. Turning around, I spot Gus, shell in hand, slashing at Cryogonal! He gets a few good hits in, more cracks appearing on the snowflake's body. I spot Cryogonal inhale for another attack, and I instinctively shoot my vines out, attempting to force him to exhale away from Gus!
My eyes go wide as I see my vines, glowing a bright green. It's that power from my first Beedrill fight! It also appeared when I was on the verge of passing out! Before I can say anything, something small hits the Cryogonal, causing it to freeze in place!
I look over at Gus, who nods to me. “Stun Seed.”
My foe hangs helplessly in midair for the time being. I could just leave them and seal the rift, but no! I have to make sure this awful monstrosity pays. Gazing up to the sky, I can see the sun shining down on us. A grin crosses my face, a buried memory from a more innocent time in my life reawakening. I've always wanted to do this.
I raise my hands above my head. “TEAM COZY! LEND ME YOUR ENERGY!” I let out a long, loud shout as I begin to charge my Solarbeam.
Wooper shoots me a confused look, but joins in. “AAAAAAAAAA-”
Gus looks at the two of us like we've lost our minds. Instead of joining in the shout, he simply says “Yeah, you got this.”
After a minute or so of this, I look upwards, the Solarbeam taking the shape of a ball of light over my head. This is it, time to do what child me always dreamed about! Cupping the energy in my hands, I take aim for the source of my nightmares. With a loud scream, I fire off my attack! The beam smashes into Cryogonal with incredible force, shattering them against a tree!
Ice crystals rain down among the scene as my Violent Seed-induced rage fades away.
I take a deep breath, finally able to relax again. “Hah...We did it.”
Wooper lets out a big cheer! “We did it! But...what was that 'lend me your energy' thing about? I've never heard of a Pokemon that needed to do that to use Solarbeam!”
I can hear Gus let out a tiny laugh. “I don't know what's funnier. The fact you tried to recreate that scene, or the fact that you actually did.”
I rub the back of my head, a little embarrassed at my display. “Yeah, well...come on, would you be able to resist it?” I pick up an ice crystal, turning it over in my hand. “I've had nightmares about that thing ever since I went on that mission to get cotton. Nightmares about being utterly helpless. But now...” I chuck the crystal at the ground, yelling, “WHO'S THE HELPLESS ONE NOW?!”
Gus places a hand on my shoulder. “Relax. We still have a mission to finish.”
Snapped out of my triumph, I say, “Oh, right. Wasn't there something weird over there?”
Walking over to the blue lump, I dust the snow off of it. One look at it and I instantly realize what it is. The holy grail, the greatest treasure of them all.
A blanket. A human-sized blanket! A human-sized blanket made of cashmere! Leavanny's blankets were well-made, but these were in a league all their own!
Unable to hold back any longer, I jump up and let out a cheer, not unlike what Wooper would normally do. “Yes...YES! This is the greatest thing we could have ever found! It doesn't get any better than this!”
Wooper gives me a confused look. “Take it easy, Chespin, it's just an oversized blanket.”
I scoop up the massive blanket in my vines, reveling in its size. “Oh, how little you know! This here's another human creation! The material itself isn't the most common even in the human world, but in this one, this baby's one of a kind!” I continue rambling on. “Not only that, but most blankets of this type would be pretty small and thin. This treasure's nice and thick, the perfect blanket for cold nights! Something like this would be very expensive and hard to come by.” I drape the blanket around my shoulders, its soft texture forcing a smile onto my face as the coldness of the area begins to fade away. “Ohohoh...I've always wanted one of these, and now...” I'm lost in thought as I rub the blanket against my face, far past thrilled.
Gus taps my shoulder, snapping me out of it. “Uh, that's nice and all, but we have to close that rift, remember?” He shakes a small glass bottle in front of me. “They said that strange items and Pokemon would be near it.”
Still holding the blanket, I say, “Oh, right, the mission. So anyways, we open that bottle, wait a bit, and the cap tells us if we did it right?”
Gus nods. “That's right. We have to open it where there's a bunch of unnatural stuff going on.”
Wooper chimes in. “I've never seen a red tree! You're probably standing right next to it!”
“Well, that much is obvious...” I nod to Gus. “Open it.”
Gus uncaps the bottle of sealant. I watch as the liquid inside the bottle begins to vanish, and I start holding my breath, hoping we did this right. Despite the short wait, it feels like an eternity. Our lives as we know it are at stake right now! Finally, Gus turns over the cap, checking the paper.
Green.
I exhale heavily, relief washing over me. “We did it, guys! Here's hoping the rest of the teams managed to pull through.”
Wooper still looks a little confused. “That...didn't feel like we accomplished a whole lot. But if it means THE Chatot will finally know Team Cozy's the real deal, then...WOOHOO!”
I nod. “Yeah, 'woohoo' is right. I hope that racist Alakazam appreciates the trouble we went to. Come on guys, let's go home.”
I drape the massive blanket around the three of us as we make our way out of the forest, using my vines to hold it close. Already I find myself fantasizing about sleeping with this thing. Even if the guild's future is uncertain, one thing remains true.
If Alakazam thinks anything that came through a rift is his, he's going to have to take this blanket from my cold, dead hands.