Walking out of the library, Zuri gave a content sigh as she leaned on Luke. "I can't believe the 'Mythology' section didn't have any myths and legends...," she mumbled out loud.

"Well when you think about it, I don't think Pokémon would take the time to write something that's not really confirmed to be true." The male Eevee looked at the Zorua as he leaned on her. "It sorta makes sense."

"I count as the exception," Andrew raised his paw before looking ahead at the Riolu. "Rai, what exactly are we doing now?"

"Our first actual mission, what else?" Rai pumped a paw into the air. "I'm so pumped, little guy!" The Riolu excitedly picked Andrew up and spun him around.

"Woah, oah, oah!" Andrew shouted while Luke and the Zoura laughed from behind. "Don't spin me too much, I haven't eaten yet!" His face could be seen turning comically green.

"Yeah, maybe you should put him down." Luke spoke, looking at Rai. "You're gonna make him puke, Rai."

"...Fine." The Riolu childishly pouted, stopping in place. "Sorry 'bout that, 'Drew." She placed him down, making him cover his mouth while swallowing some barf.

"I'm okay now..." The Pikachu sigh of relief. "Just keep in mind that me and Luke don't have iron stomachs like Pokémon do, 'Ri."

As Rai put the Pikachu down, Luke's eyes drifted over to Zuri. "Hey, um..." The Eevee spoke awkwardly. "...Zuri?"

"Yes?" The Zoura looked at the Eevee. "What's up?"

"I just... Wanted to thank you again." Luke put a paw on Zuri's cheek and began softly playing with the fur there. "You really didn't have to take care of me up to now, but you still did. And you know..." He blushed as he gave a smile.

"Y-You..." The Zoura didn't notice a tear coming down, since a red hue surrounded her entire face. "About what?"

"Well it's just that..." The Eevee looked into her eyes, smiling sheepishly. "I think that you're really great." Luke slowly moved his paw, his cheeks turning red.

Zuri could be seen gleaming from the compliment. "Thanks, Luke," she responded just before she gave an unconscious lick to Luke's cheek. "Even though I met you for a day, you seem great as well."

The Eevee's face turned a bright shade of red as he looked at the female Zorua. "T-Thanks..." Luke decided to return the affection by placing a long-lasting lick on her cheek. "...That's new. Licking..."

Andrew noticed the two licking each other, and almost gagged in disgust. "Ooh... Great, if I'm really committed to Rai, I might have to start licking her as well..." He turned to the Riolu and sighed. "How much longer?" He lied to everyone, "My feet are killing me."

"Not that much further." The Riolu replied, looking down at the Pikachu. "Want me to carry you or something?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm fine. I was just..." He quickly moved next to her so Luke and Zuri couldn't hear. "I was just weirdly disgusted by those two licking... Don't tell them that, though."

"Don't be so mean, 'Drew." Rai told him. "I think it's really adorable how Luke decided to be all mushy towards Zuri. Same for her, I've never seen her so affectionate."

"Yeah, trust me," The Pikachu tried to say towards himself, "I never saw Luke this passionate towards other people or himself. Not even when he was writing!" He looked down before sighing. "And I know that passion like that rarely gets reached by someone else, so why would I try it?"

"Don't worry about all that, little guy." The Riolu chuckled, picking him up happily. "You're already passionate about something, aren't you?" She whispered her last few words into Andrew's ear.

His face turned into a smile when hearing the whisper. "Yeah... I—." The Pikachu stopped himself to look at Rai. "Did you just hear what I said mentially?"

"Yeah, my hearing is apparently super good. I can hear what people think sometimes." She answered happily. "Including that thought you had about licking me."

A red blush came upon him as a wooden board came into view. "O-Oh, finally!" Andrew cried out before running towards it. "We finally arrived at the mission board..."

"Aww..." The Zoura groaned before trying to see if Luke could move by himself. "I really wanted this walk to be a little bit longer."

"Yeah... I liked that walk." The Eevee tried to take a step forward before wincing in pain. "It-ow was pretty... Amazing." Luke blushed softly.

Andrew ignored the two Pokémon for now. "...Well, for old times sake, can we get a quick rundown about this mission board?"

"Well... You just... Take the paper you want to do for a mission." Rai responded quickly. "Nothing more, nothing less."

The Zoura quickly leaned on the Eevee again before walking towards them. "I'm choosing the mission this time," She said while looking up from the Pokémon crowding the board. "Even though Rai's mission made us meet Andrew and Luke, it was also boring the rest of the way." Looking at the board there was one paper that caught her eye, and it was also at the very top of the board, out of her reach. "Rai, top left, second paper!"

"Right-o then!" The Riolu grabbed the paper of Zuri's choosing before passing it down to her. "You read it off."

"You got it!" The Zoura placed it down before reading it out loud. "Dear Wennel City guild members..." She cleared her throat to make it sound like the Pokémon writing this note was reading it. "Today is the weekly distribution of Reviver and Blast Seeds to the local markets. However, with the recent Seed Bandits stealing more than half of my supplies, I'm asking for someone to help me deliver these seeds. Meet me in Union Park at ten o'clock." Zuri held the note for the final sentence. "From Ms. Sunflora."

"Reviver Seeds? Oh those?" Luke's eyes widened. "If we could get our hands on some reviver seeds ourselves, we'll be fine."

Andrew shook his head. "Yeah, that's not a good idea," the Pikachu disagreed. "Reviver Seeds are worthless in this world..."

"Nani?" The Eevee gasped, stepping back before slipping to the ground. "...That means... I could've actually..." Luke began to shake nervously.

"Yeah," he quickly nodded, "you almost dying confirms that this is a nuzlocke."

"Y-Y-Yeah... Just gimme a minute." The Eevee curled up on the ground cartoonishly. "Everyone I care about... Could die." Luke's paranoia increased.

"Luke." Zuri placed a paw on his stomach. "It's important to be brave despite all of this..." She sighed. "Trust me, I almost lost Rai from this."

"We don't talk about that." Rai chuckled in the background.

"Yeah... I know." Luke sighed, looking away. "But I don't want to lose Andrew or Rai..." The Eevee then looked at Zuri, moving closer. "And I'm sure that I don't wanna lose you, either."

"You're not gonna lose us, Luke." Andrew reminded him. "Despite how short I am now, I have a pretty good idea what my moves are."

The Zoura rolled her eyes. "What he means is that we're gonna try our best to survive. Just for you."

"Please..." The Eevee unconsciously pulled her closer with a pout. "...You better live up to that statement, no pun intended." He blushed softly, giving a deadpan expression.

"Trust me," Zuri responded while patting his back. "I won't."

***

"Union Park," the Zoura announced loudly. "Direct at the center of Wennel City. You could even see the bay from here!" Zuri was still leaning on Luke, since he needed balance. "It's also a great way to be alone with someone..."

"It is?" Luke asked, his eyebrow lowering. "I mean it is a pretty place... I guess that it would make sense." The Eevee's paw moved over slightly.

The Pikachu beside them sighed. "You two can have your moment in this chapter later," he reminded them. "We still have a job to do."

"Right!" Luke's ears shot up, startled by the sudden interruption. "Fine... Later this chapter." The Eevee pouted. "I'll hold you by that."

"Well, we need to find a Sunflora to start this mission," The Zoura started walking inside the park gate. "Rai, have you met her before?"

"No I have not." The Riolu replied bluntly. "Why would I have?"

"I was thinking you and Brandy would have met almost everyone in the town before making this team..." Zuri looked back at Rai. "Since he's kinda famous and all..."

"I didn't really hang out with the guy all the time." Rai remarked. "I just stayed at home drawing stuff most of the time."

"Just making an assumption..." Andrew raised his paw wondering. "Brandy didn't do anything with you as a brother back then, right?"

"I mean..." The Riolu looked away with a nervous smile. "He did, but our age and gender difference didn't make things better."

"Speaking of which...," Zuri added before taking a glance at Luke. "You and Andrew are the same age, right?"

"Well... Funny thing is..." The Eevee looked away. "Up until now, we've been online friends. Our age never really came up in conversation."

"Yeah, some humans like keeping things a secret," the Pikachu moved ahead of the two of them and turned around. "We... Usually think in the back of our minds that the person we're talking to might find and kill us. That's why online friendships are almost unheard of."

"Hm... Well I guess that makes sense." Rai shrugged. "You two trust each other now, right?"

"After everything that's happened..." Luke chuckled nervously. "...I think I can say with confidence that I trust him."

"I actually didn't trust him until we made our first book together," He quickly admitted. "I trust him now though."

The Zoura's ears perked up as she noticed two things—with her eyes and ears. "Okay, first, you two made a book together?"

"Yeah... But we never really finished it." The Eevee answered honestly. "It was fun to work on the book, though."

"I would like to finish it though," Andrew remarked. "It'll finally give me closure. What's the second thing?"

"Hello." A feminine voice spoke from a short distance, alerting the group's attention. "You four are from that guild, right?"

Everyone turned to look at a Sunflora waving at them. "Oh, hi Ms. Sunflora!" Zuri called her out. "Yes we're from the guild."

"Can you confirm that if you don't mind?" The Sunflora asked.

"I can!" Deep inside Zuri's fur was a white stone with some wings attached to it. "Here's our team badge, Ms. Sunflora."

"That's some large fur..." Luke blushed before shaking his head. "How come we didn't get those?"

"The guild only makes one per team," She stated. "It's not like they have the resources for each member and every team, right?" The Zoura paused herself before turning to Rai. "Right?"

"Yeah." The Riolu nodded before bending down to Luke. "You like Zuri's fur, huh? I groomed it myself, not too shabby if I do say so myself."

The Eevee's ears shot up in embarrassment as Andrew stifled a laugh. "Y-You can hear my thoughts?" He asked loudly.

Zuri placed a paw behind her head while grinning. "Yeah, I found out about her listening to Pokémon's thoughts the hard way."

"...Anyway, Ms. Sunflora," Andrew ignored the rest of the conversation. "Where are we taking the Seed Cart?"

"Well, I needed to take it over to my house." She answered, "My house is nearby Decargo City..." Everyone in the group stopped talking to take a look at the Sunflora.

Zuri tilted her head confused. "Is that the reason why we haven't heard of the Seed Bandits before?" the Zoura asked the older woman.

"Yes, exactly." She answered, "It gets a little... Hazardous in that area sometimes, though.

Andrew huddled the team into a group. "I know we're already here... So we can take advantage of this!"

"How exactly could we do that?" Luke inquired, giving a deadpan expression. "This is literally how Pokémon die."

"I don't actually mean going into this 'Decargo City,'" the Pikachu responded with air quotes. "I mean we can do a bit of recon."

"Explain." The Eevee looked at Andrew confusedly. "You gotta elaborate on these things, or things will go bad."

"I think I understand," Zuri nodded before taking a deep breath. "We can take a look outside the town; maybe we can figure out exactly why Wennel City is claiming its independence."

"Huh..." Luke gave a blank smile. "So I was hearing that we have a death wish... What's up with all of that?"

Andrew shook his head. "Relax, we're staying far away from those Pokémon, I promise." The Pikachu's head peeled up to the Sunflora. "Where's the cart, Ms. Sunflora?"

"Here." She gestured to a cart behind her. "Anything else you need before you begin?"

"I don't really think so... Do we?" Luke tugged at the bandages wrapped around his head. "Man, these things can be irritating sometimes..."

The Zoura stepped in front of everyone. "How far in the Prime Path do we need to go?"

"Not that far, just nearby the location I mentioned earlier." She replied, a kind smile still on her face. "Anything else?"

Everyone shook their heads. "We'll come back to get our reward!" Andrew and Zuri stated confidently. "See you this afternoon!"

"See you soon!" Ms. Sunflora smiled sweetly before whispering something to herself "...I hope."

Rai's ears twitched at the sound of her voice as her eyes moved over to the Sunflora. "I really hope it isn't that serious..." The Riolu put a paw to her chin in inquiry as she looked over to Luke. "...I don't think he can take much more at this point."

The Pikachu decided to place his best friend on the wooden cart where there were no items. "There. Now you can be the first Pokémon to notice any threats coming towards us!"

"Thanks, Andrew." The Eevee smiled softly, "At least I won't be too much of a burden this time around."

"I never said you were a burden," Andrew replied while giving a smile back. "It's perfectly fine with your situation. Now, who's pushing this with me?" The Pikachu turned to the two females in the group.

Zuri could be seen immediately hopping on the other side of the cart. "Not me. I'll, uh..." Her eyes wandered around before noticing the front wheels floating about two centimeters in the air. "I'll keep the cart balanced! Yeah, I'll do that." The Zoura moved to the other side of the cart, making it slightly balanced and heavier.

"Yeah, right." Rai smirked slyly. "Keeping the cart blanched is totally the reason you want to be there." The Riolu chuckled softly. "At least she's trying."

"Oh, just ignore the two of them," Andrew replied while placing his paws on the handle. "Just help me with this, and I might just strike up a conversation for us to get to know one another." The Pikachu blinked a few times before realizing what he said.

"What? Are you nervous or something?" She asked, a confident smile on her face. "We can stay quiet if it's hard for you to talk to me, I won't mind."

As the Riolu placed her paws on the other side, the Pokémon on the other side looked down while shrugging. "I guess?" He responded while getting ready to push. "I've never talked with any of my crushes this close before..."

"Don't even worry about all of that." Rai spoke dismissively, "It's not like you have to talk to me all of the time. Either way, I still find you kinda cute."

Andrew looked up at where the handle was, his cheeks redder than his actual electrical sockets, and gripped it tightly. "And push!" He shouted while starting to move one foot forward. He prayed that no items fell off the cart.

"And we're off!" The Riolu exclaimed cheerfully, "You doing okay in there, Luke."

"I'm fine." The Eevee answered quickly, "A slight pain, but it's nothing really too noticeable if I keep my mind off of it."

"That's great, buddy!" The Zoura cheered while trying her best to sort out the items each in one pile. "Keep telling your mind that." It took a few attempts, but she was doing really well with sorting.

"Y-Yeah..." Luke looked away with a nervous smile. "At least she doesn't know that her fur was the thing I was focused on..."

"Luke..." Rai spoke, grabbing his attention. When the Eevee looked back, he could see the Riolu looking at him with a cheeky smile.

"W-Why are you making that face...?" He asked nervously as Rai began wiggling her eyebrows teasingly. "Why are you... Stop!!"

"Oh, God," Andrew mumbled to himself while snickering softly. "Rai figured something out, and I don't wanna know." He kept on pushing along, trying to equal the Riolu's force. "Please don't tell me about it."

"Fineee..." Rai pouted childishly, "Luke your secret interest is safe... For the time being." She gave the Eevee another sly smile.

"What se..." Zuri wasn't paying attention before hearing that last sentence. She stopped to notice Luke blushing in embarrassment behind her back. "N-Nevermind. I'll get back to sorting."

"Sorry 'bout that, Luke." The Riolu whispered to him as the Eevee whimpered in shame.

"I-Its fine..." Luke sighed, looking down. "...I'm not really mad at you, Rai. Just don't worry about it." The Riolu noticed that the Eevee unconsciously began to move further from Zuri in the cart.

The Pikachu sighed while closing his eyes. He knew where everyone near the cart was at, but got startled when a rock tripped the front of the cart when exiting Wennel City. It wasn't too much to tip over the cart, but it did make him open his eyes in fright. "Oh, that scared me."

"Hey, I know you tripped and all..." Luke began from inside the cart, groaning in pain. "But could you be a little more careful?" When the Pikachu looked over to Luke, he saw that the Eevee was against one of the cart's sides, his head on the cart as his body pointed upwards.

"Sorry!" Andrew responded while quickly jumping out to get Luke back in his main position for minimal pain. "...Dude, you don't mind going to the front of the cart to notice if there's anyone stalking us, right?"

"Sure." Luke nodded, beginning to walk over to the front. "But it would be pretty weird if a Pokémon was stalking four Pokémon pushing a cart."

The Eevee started limping towards the other side, making the Pikachu sigh. "Now, I can talk with you..." He responded while moving back to his original spot. Forest started surrounding the four of them as Andrew looked at Rai. "I guess it's your turn to ask me a question. 'Cause of last night."

"Hmmm..." The Riolu put a paw on her chin, "...What do you really think of me, huh?" Rai gave a sly and playful smile.

"I, uh..." A red hue could be seen surrounding the creature's face. "Completely honest?" He asked to make sure.

"Completely honest." Rai nodded as a response. "If you have to ask that question, you've gotta have something in mind."

His ears dropped while taking a deep breath. "You can do this..." Andrew turned to the Riolu while chuckling softly. "If I had to compare you with all the other times I tried and failed with girlfriends," he began while moving his paw towards one of Rai's, "you would be considered the best one yet."

"Awww..." The Riolu smiled, "Thanks a lot, that's so sweet!" Rai leaned in before softly kissing the Pikachu's cheek. "...Although I'm not really a girlfriend."

The kiss really startled him, making him freeze in place. His feet started dragging when Rai continued pushing him. "I-I consider you one now..."

"Not just yet..." Rai gave him a teasing wink. "But for now, how about you start pushing the cart again?"

The Pikachu looked down to notice his paws were hindering their process. "Right!" Andrew's feet uprighted before pushing the cart again. "Luke, how's it going over there?"

"We got clear skies up above, and if you look to your right, you can see a pond." The Eevee spoke calmly. "If you look to your left, we have a clear meadow, a few Pokémon playing and living there. Everything seems to be good."

"Why are you acting like a tour guide?" Zuri asked Luke, since she finished sorting out all the items in the cart. There were a few mistakes, but she wasn't worried about it. "As far as I can tell, something like this is the perfect way for an attack."

"I don't know. I felt like it." The Eevee laid back down, looking at the Zorua with an indifferent smile. "But for now, I'm trying to take my mind off of my injury."

She nodded in agreement before placing a paw on his head. "Alright, I trust—."

Suddenly, the cart was thrusted into the air and backwards. The four hit the ground, all groaning in pain. They all looked to where they had previously been, only to see an Excadrill.

"Yeah... I'll just be taking this cart if you don't mind." The Excadrill remarked, picking Luke and Zuri up and throwing them against the ground. "If you four don't resist, then I'll just leave you alone and take the cart."

"Hey!" Zuri tried to stand up but realized her paws were buried in the ground. "D-Don't you dare take it!"

"I'm with her," Andrew shouted while running over there. "You better not mess with us." The Pikachu noticed Luke in extreme pain, currently. "You wanna know what I do when someone screws up my friends...?" Sparks could unconsciously start showing in his sockets.

"Are you gonna do the same thing your friend is doing?" The Excadrill remarked, pointing to Luke, who was holding his head and squirming around while whimpering. "If so, be my guest."

"Gladly." The Pikachu started glowing white as he charged towards the Excadrill. He went in random directions, trying to avoid somewhat of a counter the opponent was going to throw.

His mind forgot his disadvantage when he finally charged at the Excadrill.

"He's either strong enough to not care about type matchups..." The Excadrill dragged a foot back. "Or he just doesn't know." He then quickly rammed his elbow into Andrew's face.

"R-Rai..." Luke's eyes darted over to the Riolu as he cried in pain. "...We need to give over the cart... I can't take the pain, Andrew's inexperienced, and Zuri's stuck. The only one who can fight on a decent level right now is you, but I'm not sure you can take him on..."

A glare formed on the Riolu's face as she walked over to Zuri. Rai swiftly pulled the Zorua out of the ground and placed her back down. She then walked over to the Excadrill and Andrew, the glare remaining on her face throughout. "...We're not failing our first real mission."

Below the two imobile Pokémon was another voice. "Excadrill! You made the hole too small!"

"Oh, my bad." He chuckled, "But aren't you a Water-type? Can't you just make the dirt into mud and dig out?" Punches could be seen flying by Andrew, who for some reason wanted to fight like a human for a few seconds.

"...Shut it." The dirt below Zuri started falling feeling softer and softer, making her pull out her paw from the ground. Before she could say anything, she was sent flying by a Floatzil.

"Z-Zuri..." The Eevee tried to yell, but was unable to. Luke pawed at the bandages wrapped around his head in pain.

"Okay, what's going..." The Floatzil noticed Andrew and the Excadrill already fighting, with Rai still walking over towards them. "Great, now I need to get into the action." Water started pumping to his mouth.

"You take the Zorua and the Eevee." The Excadrill told the Floatzel. "I've got these two for now."

"Don't hurt my Luke!" Zuri yelled at the Floatzel, while opening her mouth to form a black sphere. "I'm not gonna let you!" Dark bolts shot from her mouth, moving towards her opponent. The Floatzel ducked for a few seconds to avoid the Dark Pulse. He quickly sent a water beam towards the Zoura in response.

Luke watched the water beam fly before quickly beginning to trudge over. The Eevee managed to barely push Zuri out of the way, still groaning in pain. "Ow-ow-ow..."

His partner watched in surprise as he took the attack partially. It wasn't much, but it clipped the tip of his tail. "Luke, what are you doing?!"

"Saving you." He strained, reaching up to the bandages wrapped around his head. "That Excadrill thought we were done..." Luke forced his claws to come out. "No. We. Aren't!" The Eevee ripped the bandages apart, letting them hit the ground.

Zuri stood in shock as he removed the bandages from him. "You got a plan?" She asked while turning towards the Floatzel. He could be seen gushing water into his mouth again. "Rai always gives me the plans..."

"I've got a little idea..." Luke strained, looking at his right paw. It glowed a bright yellow color. "I hope this is what I think it is..." The Eevee pressed the same paw on Zuri's forehead.

Suddenly, the yellow started surrounding the Zoura's body, giving her strength and warmth. She looked down at her paws before realizing what it was. "Helping Hand?" She asked the Eevee. "Luke, you learned your first move!"

"Great..." Luke smiled, his eyelids becoming heavy. "...Now go get 'em." The Eevee collapsed to the ground, a pained smile remaining on his face.

Andrew's body flew toward a nearby tree. His eyes felt like seeing stars, but he shook it off. No concussion was going to stop him right now. "Okay, no electric attacks would work so..." For some weird reason, he could feel his tail become heavier.

"Woah, check out your tail!" Rai exclaimed with a smile. "I think you just learned another move, Andrew!" The Riolu looked towards the Excadrill. "Keep your tail like that. I have a plan."

Andrew turned to look at his tail. It was glowing silver and growing heavier by the second. When the entire tail finished glowing, a metallic tail was now a part of his body. "Iron Tail? Awesome...!" He turned back to the Excadrill. "I'm listening."

"Okay... I'm gonna quickly run up to him and use Thunder Punch to kick up a lot of dirt and smoke." The Riolu whispered, "While I'm doing that, you go up behind him and get a good swing to the head." The Pikachu nodded before starting to run in random directions again.

Zuri's Quick Attack was even faster than the Floatzel expected. He quickly tried to fire another Water Gun, but it was no use. The Zoura teared through the beginning of the attack and used all four of her paws to smack the Floatzel four times in a row. "That's payback!"

Meanwhile, Luke struggled to stay conscious as he watched Zuri battle the Floatzel. His eyes slowly moved to the bandages he ripped off, and saw dried blood on them. "...Too bad I had that stupid idea to take off my bandages. But at least I helped. I'm gonna die... I don't wanna die... I still gotta get to know Andrew better, ask out Zuri, get teased by Rai..." A small smile snuck onto his face. "But this isn't a bad way to go... I wish I could stay alive..." No one noticed Luke started glowing green, as they were too focused on battling against their opponents. Zuri's final attack finally made the Floatzil knocked out from the impact.

"...Good riddance." Zuri huffed while hopping off the Floatzel. "Andrew, Rai, do you need help?"

"Nah... We're good." Rai answered, her carefree nature returning. "But is Luke good?" The Riolu tilted her head slightly.

The Zoura turned around to notice Luke laying down on the ground. He was still breathing, but barely moving. "Luke!" Zuri ran over while Andrew laid the final blow towards the Excadrill. "Buddy, are you okay?"

"...I-I need medical attention..." The Eevee strained, looking at the Zorua. "...Now." Luke's head slumped, hitting Zuri's chest.

A large blush came to the Zorua as she looked at Luke's muzzle. "Someone should take him back to Weenel City," she directed. "He's barely alive right now..." To the point where Andrew raised his paw, Zuri quickly placed Luke on his shoulder. "Great! I'm hoping you know where the hospital is."

"It's kinda easy to spot either way..." Rai remarked, looking down at the two. "...It is a hospital, after all."

Andrew slowly nodded while getting a strong grip on Luke. "Don't worry guys, I'll get him to the hospital."

"See you later, 'Drew." Rai softly rubbed the Pikachu's red electric sacks. She then looked to the Eevee. "Get better soon, Luke." She softly pet his back.

Zuri petted the Eevee's tail. "Luke, you better not die on me. I won't be able to show you around Wennel City."

*Game File Saved*