"Rollout! Rollout! Wait, ouch! Wait no that didn't hurt at all. Calm down! Uh, Uproar! Wait no--"

Golbat screeched.

Using one Whismur on a horde of Zubat was not a good idea. But it's fine, she had a plan...

"Whismy and I will distract them," she told the other two, "Wurmy and Lotty, you sneak in and find all of the stolen items, there should be a pond in there that leads out to the shore."

Just then, Lombre hollered from the other direction, a furious wave of Fury Swipes as she dove in, angry at the attackers.

"Lotty?!" she gasped, a grin crawling up to her face, that means the other two are done!

Hearing a sharp Golbat screech, she whirled around. Horrified, she saw the Golbat closing in on Wurmple, who stood as brave as she could in front of a white cocoon of string shot-- probably the stolen items she'd retrieved.

"Wurmy!" she called out, running right through the Zubat, her bigger form easily crossing the angry bats-- she probably got a few new wounds, but she'd forgotten.

Just as the Golbat unleashed a razor of Air Cutter, Citrine reached out.

A green orb of light came in between them. It collided with the semi-transparent wave of air-- and exploded in a burst of green leaves.

Citrine dove to cover Wurmple, keeping her head down as the atmosphere ruptured, sending a bounding shockwave of wind that uprooted rocks and made her struggle to hold her ground.

When she lifted her head after the commotion settled, the Zubat were scurrying back into their cave. Golbat had fainted, laying motionlessly on the grass.

Leafeon returned to her ball without so much as a glance. Citrine watched the spot the Pokemon was just a second ago-- and in awe, she stayed still.

Silently, she thanked it.

Citrine turned quickly to Wurmple, who was curled up fearfully, looking up at her as she was cradled in her owner's arms.

"Thank goodness, you're alright," she breathed out in relief.

Whismur and Lombre scrambled right over, covered in mud and wounds-- but Citrine noticed she wasn't in any better state.

"Thanks, you two."

Wurmple was still cradled in her arms, shivering.

"And of course, Wurmy too... Wurmy?"

The Pokemon began to glow.

As Wurmple gleamed a glaring white and deformed in the glow, Citrine squeezed her eyes shut from the glaring brightness. 

She opened her eyes, and her pink lump of affection was purple now.

A silky cocoon with multiple protruding spikes. A Cascoon, she knew it immediately.

She smiled, and it smiled right back.

"Congrats, Wurmy!"

ー

Setting Cascoon, who didn't really like to move anymore, on top of Lombre's lily pad, Citrine set out to unwrap the thick layers of string shot. 

She picked out a robot toy and a piece of jewellery, and wondered how many things these Zubat actually managed to steal. Wurmy was incredible if she managed to bind all these up so quickly.

"It's amazing how none of these are wet at all," she mumbled, "even though it took a dip in the sea."

Wurmple's string shot was really getting waterproof now.

"Found the pictures!" she grinned, "now to unwrap the rest and pack them up and..."

"What's the meaning of this?!"

A fierce voice boomed behind her.

She flinched, stopped and turned back almost too nervously. A chump, older man stood with his arms crossed, eyes narrowed, and lips pulled tight.

She looked around her-- and realized this whole area was much more of a huge mess than she'd originally thought.

Little trees were broken, weeds were cleared out, and some soil uprooted. There were deep cuts in solid rock, angry slices through dry ground.

The wound in her shoulder was bleeding, another in the side of the leg a gleaming red.

"Wha- you're terribly hurt!" the man gasped, crouching down quickly-- "wait-- these are the things that were stolen recently! Are you the thief?! Did you cause all this destruction?"

"Huh? No-!!" Citrine responded in a panic, "I mean, yes I did cause all this destruction, actually it was mostly the Zubat, or wait I think Leafeon caused most of the damage--"

"Look, just--" the man seemed conflicted, but came to a conclusion. "let's put that aside. Come with me."

"Wait, I didn't steal anything, I--!"

Her uninjured arm is taken by the man, who she noticed was actually trying to be careful. She staggered, and her bleeding arm drips.

Something inside Whismur snapped, and he just screeched.

Arms shoot up to ears, and Lombre spun, dizzy. Whismur stood before his owner protectively, a cute plushie really not looking very threatening at all.

Citrine staggered and fell on her back, wincing. 

She sensed movement on her right, and looked to the side in surprise.

Head hung down, arms rested neatly in between its legs, and sleeping unnoticed between the rocks, was a yellow and brown, fox-faced Pokemon. 

"An... Abra?" she whispered.

And almost immediately, she was surrounded by a purple gleaming light. Whismy and Lotty (and Wurmy, who was on her head), leaped in her direction, and she vanished in a bright purple gleam.

She found herself in front of the Pokemon Centre in Mauville, the ripped cocoon of items before her, and her Pokemon piled beside her.

"Wha... what?"

ー

"Finally found you!"

Citrine, getting a new bandage wound around her arm, jumped at the voice.

The strange man from just now barged into the Pokemon Center's medic office. Citrine actually bolted right up and ducked behind the nurse, then lunged forward to catch Whismur when it escaped from its Poke Ball in attempt to suffocate the man with its chub.

Lombre sat down at the side, calmly glaring. Cascoon was the same.

"Mister Wattson, what are you doing here?" the nurse, watching the situation rather apprehensively, spoke up with a sugary tone. "I assume you know what it means when we hang an occupied sign outside the nurse door."

It means there's a girl that might be changing inside.

Wattson flinched back, evidently a little fearful of the ominously seething woman.

"I, uh, am really sorry, Miss, it's just that-- uh, I might have a little business with that young lady behind you?"

"Well, you speak to her later, Mister Wattson," the lady closed her first aid kit, pointing at the table beside the older man, "Citrine here retrieved some a lot of items for the community. I hope you'll do her a favour and return them as she heals."

"Yes, I definitely will but- please, allow me to--" Wattson steps forward and literally just drops to his knees, "I'm really sorry for scaring you! I sort of panicked, promise I wasn't trying to uh, kidnap you or turn you in or anything--"

Citrine pauses.

This was a... drastic change.

"Oh..." she noticed, "you were trying to get me to the hospital?"

"You were bleeding!"

She burst out laughing. Wattson stared back, mildly offended but mostly baffled.

"Even that Abra thought you were being hostile, sir!" she managed out of her hooting fit, tears prickling out of her, "I'm so sorry for my Whismur, he's cranky like that so he must've assumed, knowing the situation--"

And Wattson breathed out in an almost devastated sigh, slumping in relief.

"And to think I'd meet the young lady Roxanne talked about like this, of all ways..."