---
Lake Tempest, Southern Sinnoh
Early in the morning, a family of Pidgey were sleeping soundly on branches of a tree, some sleeping against each other, others plainly sleeping inside a nest. One of the Pidgey yawned, silenty opening an eye.
The area was barely illuminated by the sun that hadn't yet gone over the horizon, the stars in the sky being reflected on a nearby lake.
The Pidgey flew up to a nearby branch, a few feathers falling to the ground. She yawned once more, looking around for something on the ground to eat.
"Early Pidgey gets the worm, hm?" A voice asked from behind, startling her.
"Jeez... You scared me, Avie!" The first Pidgey exclaimed, huffing silently.
"Whoops..." She smiled nervously, "Sorry, Wing..."
Wing looked at the ground once more, "Think I can catch a good worm today, Sis?"
"Doubt it..." She answered, snickering to herself, "The best worm you were able to catch was that one stick you assumed was a worm back when we were younger."
Wing blushed embarrassedly, "It was a one time thing, okay!?"
Avie then smirked, "I bet dinner that you won't catch a worm by yourself. Put your food where your beak is, Sis."
"Deal!"
"Okay, ready...." Avie smiled, getting ready to send her off, "You have one hour, go!"
Wing jumped off of the branch, diving towards the ground as quickly as she could. She soon began flying inches above the ground, trying to see any worms straggling on the blades of grass.
She then flew a decent distance from the ground, preparing her wings, "Okay... Now for a quick Gust–!"
"Not so fast, Sis!" Avie bumped into Wing, making her fall a bit before re-adjusting her flight, "I said by yourself, meaning no assistance from attacks and extra stuff."
"Ugh, no fair!"
"Completely fair. You gotta prove you can do it."
Suddenly, a booming noise could be heard, making both of them squawk in surprise and nearly fall to the ground. They soon flew back up with wide eyes, "What the heck was that?"
"Come on, Oliver!!" A voice shouted, "Let's pick up the early morning training!"
"R-Right!"
A familiar Scorbunny ran towards an Oshawott and went for a punch to the face. The Oshawott avoided the attack before pulling his scalchop from his stomach and using Razor Shell to fend him off.
Oliver suddenly threw the scalchop at Logan, "I need to end this training session as soon as possible... I need some sleep..."
The Oshawott used an Aqua Jet to rocket towards Logan, who only gave a toothy smile.
"That's what I like to see, Oliver!!" The Scorbunny exclaimed, sticking out a paw and firing a Flame Shot at Oliver, who used it to ricochet off of it and grab his scalchop before using it to slice Logan.
Before he could execute the attacking part, Logan used another Flame Shot to repel Oliver, launching him back and into the ground.
While Oliver and Logan continued training, Sophie's eyebrows twitched every time she heard a booming noise from outside. The Snivy put her small pillow over her head.
A loud crash could then be heard, "I won't let you beat me that easily!!" Logan shouted.
Her eyes shot open, her right eye having turned red in anger. Sophie got up, putting her pillow down and beginning to unzip the tent.
Meanwhile, Oliver grabbed Logan's wrist after the Scorbunny had tried to hit him with another Flame Shot.
The Oshawott's fur was a bit scuffed and dirty from the battle, and Logan had been bruised a few times.
What they didn't notice, however, was Sophie, who was standing right there.
"Ready to give up...?" Logan panted, smiling confidently.
Oliver put his scalchop back onto his stomach, "Yep."
As he walked off, he suddenly stopped to see Sophie standing there. The Snivy silently grabbed his wrist and began taking him back to her tent.
Logan watched the two confusedly before shrugging and walking off to find some berries to eat before breakfast.
Meanwhile, inside of Sophie's tent, the Snivy was carefully bandaging up Oliver's wrists, which had sustained a bit of damage from falling onto the ground. Things were silent as Sophie moved to bandage a small wound on his leg.
She then spoke up, "You should tell Logan that you can't do morning training every morning."
"What? Why?" Oliver asked, a bit confused.
"Because you two are messing yourselves up every morning. I can understand Logan doing it, but you? I know you're not the early morning training type."
"Well... It's been a few days since Logan left his home in Forest Grotto..." Oliver looked down, "I just wanted him to adjust slowly to our travelling schedule. Old habits can die hard."
"I guess you're right in that sense..." Sophie pondered it for a moment, "Though doing shit like this so early in the morning, that's not flying for much longer. And I'll be sure of it."
"Yeah... Don't worry..." Oliver smiled nervously, "I'll tell Logan that we can train another time."
—
Oliver, Jacob, Sophie and Logan were all sitting in front of their tents, eating their breakfast. They were chatting about something. Jacob was cheerfully telling a story about his and Oliver's days back in Kanet Village.
"... And that's when Ollie was like, 'Dude, chill out'." Jacob stifled a laugh as Logan and Sophie began laughing.
"Who knew you were such a savage when you were a kid?" Logan asked, clutching his stomach.
The Oshawott chuckled nervously, looking away, "I-I still need to apologize to him about that..."
Sophie was looking down to hide her snickers, "The asshole deserved it."
Jacob took a bite out of his fish that Sophie and Oliver had caught at the nearby lake, finishing his breakfast.
"Is everyone done?" Oliver asked as he stood up, walking over to his backpack and map holder, "We should probably be going now, we shouldn't be far off from Sapphire Town."
"Done!" Jacob exclaimed, running over to close his tent quickly and pack it up.
Sophie walked off to her tent, "Done."
"Done!" Logan walked over to grab Jacob and Sophie's bags.
"So Sophie?" Jacob looked over to the Snivy, "What do you think we would do when we reach the Cursed Archipelago?"
"Fight the cursed puppet that hails from another world, what else?" Sophie asked sarcastically, looking back at Jacob.
"Well jeez..." The Pikachu looked away with a huff, "It's like that then.."
Once everyone had finished packing up, they began walking on their path to Sapphire Town once again. The four hadn't even made it a few feet before they heard a scream coming from their left.
"What the heck was that?" Jacob asked as they all looked over.
"Whatever it was, let's check it out!" Logan dashed off, dropping his backpack nearby a rock. Jacob and Oliver followed behind, dropping their bags as well.
Sophie watched as the three ran off towards where the scream came from, putting her backpack down as well, "At this rate, getting to Sapphire Town will be a lot harder than I thought..."
She began walking in the direction she saw the boys run in.
Logan skidded to a halt when he saw a large wall in front of him, as well as a small Munchlax trying to nudge at that wall.
"Al, are you okay? Please respond. Al!"
"Who's Al?" Jacob asked Oliver, who only shrugged.
"Huh?" The Munchlax turned around to see the three, soon letting out a soft scream, backing up against the furry wall she had been nudging a second prior, "D-Don't hurt us, you already took everything we had on us!"
"We what?" Oliver asked confusedly.
"Are the bandits here again, Alyssa?" The wall suddenly asked, startling Jacob, Oliver, and Logan.
"Wait a minute..." Oliver's eyes widened a bit, "Logan, launch me upwards."
"With pleasure!" He suddenly gripped onto Oliver's back fur, spinning around a few times before using a Flame Shot to propel the Oshawott into the air.
Oliver flew up, and looked down at the wall. From above, he could see a plump face looking back at him.
"Uhh... Hi?" Oliver waved, a bit confused.
"Yo, as you can see... I'm a little stuck."
It was a slightly overweight Snorlax, who only smiled nervously. He was stuck between two large boulders
Oliver landed on top of him, bouncing up slightly, "What the...? You're a Snorlax?"
"Of course I am!"
"I'm assuming your name is 'Al', right?"
"Albert the third, nice to meet ya!"
Oliver stood up on his stomach, walking to the edge of it before looking down at Logan and Jacob, "Guys! There's a situation!"
"What's up?" Jacob asked, looking up at him.
Logan, who had already used his Flame Shots to get up to Oliver's height, hummed to himself, "We have a stuck Snorlax!" He then landed on Albert, "Don't worry, we'll get you out!"
"We will?" Sophie, who had only just caught up, walked towards the group.
"We'd really appreciate the help..." Alyssa looked up at the Snivy, giving her begging eyes.
Jacob walked up to her as well, giving her pleading eyes, "Yeah, they'd really appreciate the help–"
Sophie shoved a laughing Jacob to the side, interrupting him, "Okay, fine."
The group looked over to Albert as Oliver and Logan jumped down.
"We probably should get Albert out before those bandits Alyssa mentioned come back..." Oliver put a paw to his chin, sitting down on the grass.
Sophie sat next to him, "What would we do in the case they do come back before then?"
"Oh I don't know," Jacob sat on the other side of Oliver, "How about we make them a nice meal and enjoy snacks together?" He asked sarcastically.
Sophie huffed, looking away, "Petty."
"Guys... We have to figure this out..." Oliver sighed, looking over at Logan. The Scorbunny was trying his best to physically push Albert from between the two large boulders himself.
As Logan was trying his best to get Albert out, he turned to Alyssa, "How'd this even happen in the first place?"
"He tried to get through to grab something that was on the other side, but he ended up getting stuck..."
"Right..."
"He tried to pull himself out, but he was already stuck inside..." The Munchlax looked down, "He's just too big..."
"Y-Yeah..." Logan stifled a laugh, "So big that he couldn't pull out, huh?"
"What are you...?" Alyssa was confused for a moment before her eyes widened, "Ewwww gross!!"
—
The Oshawott thought for a moment. He then looked at his paws, "If only I knew Water Gun or something like that, I'd be able to erode at least enough of the rock to get him out..."
"Ollie, what's our plan?" Jacob asked as he and Sophie looked at him expectantly.
Oliver's eyes then widened, "I have a plan!"
Jacob smiled brightly as he and Sophie stood up, "Alright! What do we have to do?"
"Sophie, I need you to find a large rock and use your Dragon Claw to make a thick, disk-like object..." Oliver began as the Snivy nodded and walked off, "Jacob, you search the area for any possible threats."
"On it!" Jacob gave a mock salute before running off.
"Meanwhile..." Oliver began walking towards Albert, "Logan, Alyssa and I will do our best to get Albert out ourselves, so we don't waste any time."
Logan was still trying his best to push Albert out, groaning a bit. As he continued to try, he suddenly slipped into a small crevice between the rock and Albert's stomach.
Albert giggled a little, "Oh, that tickles!"
Oliver and Alyssa gasped.
Smoke began flying out of the crevice where Logan had slipped in, and Oliver could make out a bit of angry cursing. Oliver ran over and began to reach his paw in to try and get Logan out.
As Oliver and Logan struggled, Albert looked over to where Jacob was. Jacob could see something in the distance. There were clouds of smoke in the distance, and they seemed to be approaching.
Albert gasped, making Jacob turn to him, "What's wrong?"
The Snorlax gulped softly, "Bandits..."
The Pikachu's expression changed to a worried one, "How's things on Ollie's side?"
"Um... They're a bit stuck between a rock and a hard place."
"Not gonna ask any more questions about that!" Jacob turned to the smoke, that was only getting closer, "I won't let them get past me."
As Jacob smiled, his eyes briefly glowed a shade of orange.
Nearby, Sophie had cut off a piece of rock, beginning to carve it with her Dragon Claw. Every time she would use it, she would think about Bianca, and the words she left with her.
It seemed so long ago, the days leading to the departure from her adopted family. Things seemed to change so much from then. The second she saw Oliver and Jacob, everything in her life was turned upside down.
She began to think that they had some kind of effect on everyone they met. The kind of effect that they had on Logan, on her. Some kind of call to action and a supporting paw reaching out to them that only pulled them forward.
The Snivy winced softly when she scraped her hand. Her Dragon Claw had faded as she spaced out, "What is wrong with me?"
She continued to use her Dragon Claw to scrape at the rock before finally finishing it. She stood the thick disk on it's side before beginning to roll it forward.
As Jacob prepared to fight, he could see a group of Tyrogue riding on a Rapidash. He was a bit confused for a moment before one of the Tyrogue pulled out a spear. Jacob's eyes widened before he barely avoided a swipe from the spear before the Rapidash began circling him.
The spear Tyrogue suddenly threw his spear at Jacob, making him jump away from it. Once he did, however, He was struck in his blind spot by the Rapidash, making him fall onto the ground.
"I've got to take out that Rapidash..." Jacob's eyes began glowing orange as he suddenly disappeared from sight.
The group of Tyrogue and the Rapidash were confused, looking around to see where he would've gone.
Suddenly, Jacob appeared, inches from the Rapidash's face.
"Strike!" The Pikachu punched the Rapidash's face, going down into the ground. As the Rapidash's head hit the ground, Jacob jumped back.
"Dasher!" The spear Tyrogue exclaimed as another went to check the Rapidash's vitals.
Dasher had been knocked out from the sheer force of hitting the ground after Jacob's punch. The three Tyrogue looked over at the Pikachu, "You'll pay for–"
"I did it!" Jacob exclaimed, jumping up and down, "I used a strike again! It was weaker than usual, and my arm isn't sprained, but it's still there!"
"Stop ignoring us, bastard!" Spear Tyrogue shouted as the two other Tyrogue jumped at Jacob.
The Pikachu looked at both before charging a white aura in his paw, jumping towards the two. Jacob used a Dynamic Punch on one, and a Thunderbolt on the other.
"Lee! Chan!" Spear Tyrogue shouted, getting angry, "How could you do that to my brothers?"
"So... What's your name then?" Jacob asked.
"They call me Spear from where I come from."
Jacob snickered.
"What's so funny, Rat?"
"You really weren't the favorite among your siblings..." The Pikachu stifled a laugh.
Spear's eye twitched, "You just sealed your fate!"
As Jacob and Spear fought, Oliver pulled Logan out of the small space where he was stuck.
"Gah! I'm alive!" Logan exclaimed, gasping for air.
Oliver was laying on the ground with exhaustion. He looked up at the sky before he suddenly felt faint rumbling below him, "Huh...?"
He looked over to see Sophie rolling over a large, thick, disk shaped piece of rock, stopping in front of him.
Oliver smiled, "I knew we could count on you, Sophie."
The Snivy was surprised by his words, her eyes widening for a moment. She then nodded, looking towards Albert and Alyssa.
"What are we going to do with this now?"
Oliver stood up, "Hold the rock up, the flat side facing Albert, can you do that?"
Sophie nodded as she rolled it over and did what she was told. She then looked over to Oliver, waiting for the next direction.
"While you and Alyssa hold it in place, I need Logan to push the rock, flat side first, into Albert. Kind of like hitting your paw on the bottom of a glass bottle to bust the cap open."
"The 'paw' in this simile is the flat piece of rock, right?" Sophie asked, earning a nod from Oliver.
"I don't really get it..." Logan's head was steaming, trying his hardest to figure out what he meant.
"Logan, push the piece of rock as hard as you can, the flat side facing Albert, and hit him with all you've got!"
"That I understand!" Logan grinned before taking a few steps back before dashing towards the rock, jumping off of the ground, and using his Flame Shots to rocket himself towards the rock.
He pointed his feet towards the rock, and as his feet touched down, his speed was transferred to the rock, launching it at Albert at high speeds.
Albert braced for impact before the rock hit, getting some of his body out.
"Guys! It didn't–"
"Didn't what!?" Logan, who was flying towards the rock, asked loudly as he rammed his body into the rock, making Albert pop out of the space between the two boulders.
The Scorbunny fell backwards and onto the ground, getting up soon after, "It worked!! Oliver, Sophie, we did it!"
As Albert was launched out of the space between the two boulders, he fell onto the ground around where Jacob would've been. The Snorlax let out a relieved sigh before he could feel something clawing at his body.
He didn't mind it, but was a bit confused.
Oliver, Sophie, Logan, and Alyssa walked towards Albert, smiles on their faces.
"Thanks so much, you three!" The Snorlax grinned, "It was actually getting kind of hard to breathe like that..."
Oliver stood next to Sophie, "I'm glad we were able to help."
"We couldn't just leave you here to be attacked by bandits, obviously!" Logan laughed.
"Speaking of, where's Jacob?"
"Here..." A muffled voice spoke from beneath Albert.
Suddenly, Jacob's head poked from beneath the Snorlax as he gave a deadpan expression.
"How are you breathing under there?" Oliver inquired, confused.
" I dug out a hole under Albert so my body has at least some free room..." Jacob answered with exasperation, "Please get me out..."
The group began laughing as Jacob got a bit agitated.