Baby steps back into the world.

"Wait, I don't think this is a good idea. I don't think this is a good ideeEAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Citrine had never been carried like a princess before. Sure, she had a brother, but said brother was not all that strong of a man-- she was always either carried like a baby or set in a piggyback, and even then that was when she was a little smaller in stature.

Whismy hefted her up as if she weighed nothing. She clung on for dear life, femininity be damned.

Crowy the Zubat fluttered up with her bag in its claws, and Magney the Magnemite tested its limits with the wheelchair. It failed, and Lotty had to drag it up herself.

The route from Mauville to Lavaridge was laden with rocky hills and curving cliffs. There was, of course, a highway up the same route, but it was a long way around under the scorching summer (is it summer?) heat.

Citrine decided to cut straight through the forestry, because if they were going to struggle anyways, might as well get research done on the way.

They reached the top of the little hill, and looked out into the horizon.

It's not all that high, but it was high enough to see the tops of the trees and the magnificent jungle that stretched beyond. There was a gap where the highway evidently extended to the west, but forward-- forward was the mountain, and the red of volcanic soil.

"That's Mount Chimney!" she told her Pokemon, smiling as they chittered around in excitement.

It was still a ways off. They wouldn't make it all the way for another few days, at their very gradual pace.

Retrieving her camera from the back pocket, she captured the grand form of the volcano, and had her Pokemon sit in for a rather childish selfie.

She could see from here, the misty volcanic ashes bellowing from the top. A stark red against the blue skies, she felt the warmth even from here, in the heartfully baked soil, like a hug from mother nature.

"Let's stay here for tonight, and see if we can make it at least to the foot of the mount by tomorrow," she settled onto her wheelchair again, taking out her notebook for jottings.

With a cheer, Loudred hopped to a more level spot, breaking out the tents as he commanded the rest of the Pokemon to their duties.

Being the most senior of the group gave him a superiority complex, especially after he grew arms and gained the ability to be dexterous. Citrine thinks it's adorable.

Magnemite helped them set up the tent while Lombre and Zubat scurried back into the woods, presumably to gather food for the night. Citrine was starting to think that her Pokemon were much more capable than her.

The party feels rather crowded now, compared to before, and she couldn't help but feel a little warmer inside.

Magnemite was a shaky hoverer, with its unhinged screw and all, but it was really trying its best. The fact that it could lift metal objects with its magnets was pretty useful, albeit it couldn't lift anything heavier than the crockery.

Zubat was too tiny to lift her or anything, but it could fly to scout the horizon. It was a whole ball of energy, always smacking into a wall or a tree or a face whenever Citrine stopped smiling for more than two seconds.

With new limbs, Loudred was overeager to help. He took command over everything, like a little leader. It pointed to places and scoured for danger before letting them cross certain areas.

Lombre, timid as she was, enjoyed herself. She helped where she could, guided where she needed to, and held her own weight with no less leadership than Loudred had.

"Pokemon Mystery Dungeon," Citrine muttered to herself, like a revelation.

-

"So Whismy likes them spicy, Lotty likes them sweet, Magney likes them bitter..." Citrine jotte down as her Pokemon wolfed down pots of Berry Stew, making clear to the girl which they liked better.

"...and Crowy likes them dry?"

(Just like Wurmy.)

She felt a pang of hurt.

Zubat fluttered around, noticing the sudden fall in mood. It panicked, spinning circles around the girl before ramming its whole body at her face, hoping to cheer her up.

And it worked. Citrine laughed at her little bat. They say that bats ram into each other often because they flew too fast and were all blind. Looks like Crowy didn't know any other way to passionate express physical affection.

Wurmy was still an open wound, but it would be fine. Surely, somewhere out there, Wurmy is happier in the wild.

She would pray for it every night.

-

Citrine woke up to a family of Zigzagoon curled into her. Ah, fluffy animals really made the best pillows-- no, that's not the point!

Still hugging a Zigzagoon, (it just murmured something inaudible then continued snoring in her arms) she looked around her to find a Linoone had replaced her pillow, and a whole litter of Zigzagoon curled all around her bedding.

She looked up.

(Yes, her tent is still there.)

Okay, then maybe this is a dream. Let's go back to sleep.

"LoUDRED!!!"

Every soul in the tent leapt, startled by the sharp, screeching, absolutely unholy wake up call. A Zigzagoon actually shriveled up and made a sobbing noise.

Loudred-- Whismy-- came barging right in, yelling indecipherable accusations (judging by the angry pointing, he was being hostile and rude) at the intruding Pokemon. Linoone, having recovered from the ringing in its ears, began to yell right back, wildly gesticulating.

She could kind of imagine what was going on. Her Pokemon insisted on taking turns watching the night, but she remembered going to sleep curled in with Lotty and Crowy last night. So probably sometime in between, the Zigzagoon snuck in, made themselves a nest, and Loudred didn't have the heart to wake them up in the middle of the night to chase them away.

Leave it to overprotective little Whismy to make a fuss.

Citrine yawned, and the Zigzagoon in her arms yawned too. It was really too early in the morning for this.

Loudred and Linoone began to argue fiercely.

Rubbing her eyes sleepily, cuddling Zigzagoon in her arms, Citrine crawled her way out of the tent to make breakfast. Hopefully the Zigzagoon like Poffins.