The Legend Thief - Part 5: The Cure

Chapter 35: The Dandelion Trail

Bell followed Ravisu, walking around randomly. Bell groaned. They should have just followed her instead of Ravisu.

"Look over there!" Ravisu shouted. A dandelion path had been set. "It must be our friends!"

"You're right!" Bell replied, dashing forward. Ravisu hastened to follow her. Bell's feet smashed the dandelions, releasing the floating seeds into the air. 

Ravisu spat. All the puffy seeds flew into her face, sticking to her tongue and tangling in her hair. She could barely see ahead; her entire view was distorted with white.

"Vivillon!" Ravisu told her pokemon, "Use gust!" The butterfly flapped its wings, blowing away the puffs. Ravisu turned her head and said, "Good job-- OW!" She bonked into the hedge wall, and fell down.

"Hey!" Quinci turned the corner, and her face lit up with delight, "We found you!"

"Yeah!" Rudia said, "We heard Ravisu bonk her head and came over here!"

"I know, I'm awesome!" Ravisu flipped her hair. Bell rolled her eyes, but no one saw.

"Speaking of Ravisu, what's up with the hedges?" Bell asked, "Weren't they supposed to explode with vines and stuff when Ravisu hit 'em? That's what happened when I tried to climb it. Maybe it has something to do with that earthquake a while ago?"

"Uh oh!" Ravisu said, and she clamored back up, "The blooberry's weakening somehow! It must already be found by one of our friends!"

"Or Ash..." Bell speculated.

Rudia said, "Wait wut?" Ravisu quickly explained the situation to her and Quinci.

"...so that means we gotta get out of here! ASAP!" Ravisu concluded, "The water will collapse eventually!"

"107.294649391873012 minutes, to be exact!" Bell said, "But we have to find the others first though! One of them has the blooberry!"

"Come on then, slowpokes!" Rudia cried out, running down a hallway. Bell quickly followed. Quinci and Ravisu swiftly returned their pokemon with a 'thanks', and hastened to follow Rudia and Bell.

***

Shelly ran down a hallway, just after the earthquake happened. She immediately realized that the blooberry has been harvested. She had to find her friends!

She turned her head, and then stopped. Raichu wasn't following her anymore. She sighed as she turned around and walked back to the last intersection, but Raichu wasn't there either. She was just about to make a speech about how annoying people could be and the importance of teamwork when a sudden jab on her back made her turn.

"Shelly!" Quinci shouted happily. "We found you too!"

"Ow.. who poked me?" Shelly asked. Everyone pointed at Quinci. Shelly flicked her forehead.

"Hey!" Quinci whined, "Traitors!"

"Moving on," Shelly said, "Raichu was with me... but we separated when I heard someone's footsteps. He probably couldn't keep up."

"Well, it's not like it's that hard to find him." Quinci said. "I shall use my super Raichu locating powers!"

"Wut?" Ravisu asked.

"My super awesome Raichu locating powers. It enables me to locate Raichu wherever he is."

Shelly sighed and explained, "Raichu whistles wherever he goes. Quinci listens very closely and can tell where Raichu is. Quinci uses this 'superpower' during orchestra class a lot."

Ravisu opened her mouth to argue, but Quinci shushed her, "Shh! Everyone must be very quiet..."

Soon, everyone became super silent. So silent that you could hear everyone's breathing. Inhale. Exhale.

Quinci tried to block out the noise. She strained to hear even the faintest of whistling. After a few seconds of listening, Quinci stepped forward.

All the friends carefully stepped, trying not to disrupt Quinci's concentration. Quinci turned a corner, turning right, then right, then right again. They traveled quietly down the hallway, their shoes squishing against the cold dirt floor. They could hear the water jiggling above them and the bushes churning within themselves.

Shelly listened hard for the sound of footsteps, breathing, calling, anything, but heard nothing. But the more they walked, the faster Quinci became. Soon, even Shelly could hear the uneven breathing of Raichu Human. It was ragged, as if he had been crying. Shell's heart leapt with joy as she quickened her pace, knowing they were on the right track.

"Raichu!" Rudia shouted, startling Raichu, resting at a large intersection.

He sniffled, but didn't make any move to get up. "Shell?" he asked weakly.

"WHYDIDUDITCHMEWHILEIWASLOCATINGBELLANDQUINCIANDRUDIAANDRAVISU!!!" Shelly exploded.

Raichu didn't answer. He just mumbled, "P-pichu..."

"Did you find Pichu Human?" Bell asked. Raichu closed his eyes, having no more tears to shed. What could've made Raichu cry that much? Shell wondered. It's like someone died or something...

Quinci asked, "What happened?"

"P-pichu," Raichu stuttered. "Sh-she... she..." He choked up a sob, "she g-got the bl-bl-blooberry..." Raichu closed his eyes again. He thought, No, I can't tell them the truth... I can barely believe it myself. How can I ever get the words out of my mouth?

So instead, he just swallowed his sadness and said, "Pichu found the blooberry. The water is gonna collapse."

"We gotta find her and get out of here!" Quinci shouted.

"No," Raichu said. "She... she already found her way out."

"Oh, okay," Shell replied. She stared Raichu. Something had went wrong with Pichu. The two had definitely met up. But what had happened? The way that Raichu spoke, his tear streaked face, and his ragged breath... something terrible had taken place.

And then it clicked. Pichu betrayed Raichu! But how? Did she ditch him? No, that wasn't it... Shell thought. Slowly she started to piece together the puzzle.

Shelly remembered the time they were battling Ash Ketchup in Hawaii, trying to protect Tapu Koko. Ash was standing over Pichu with the master-ball with the legendary inside, yet Pichu made no move to take it. She remembered seeing Pichu tense when they boarded the Da Huang Ya again. Ash had said something to her, something that deeply unsettled her.

Shelly remembered the first day the team arrived at the desert. Pichu and Rudia were arguing over marshmallows. It was the first time that Pichu had ever fought with anyone in the group. She was usually holding everyone together.

Shell had seen this tactic before. Planting the doubt... Shell wondered. Letting it grow. Soon it shall take over the victim's mind, driving them mad. Only when they face the problem and decide will they finally emerge from their mess. But during that time the victim is most vulnerable. How they emerge is all up to them.

All the memories came together, linking up in the puzzle. Until then did she finally see the terrible truth.

"Oh no... Raichu... I'm so sorry," Shell said, and she put her hand on Raichu's shoulder. She found her way down to his hands, and pulled him up, just like how he had pulled Shell up after the sandstorm, "We'll find a way. We won't give up."

"Maybe..." Zapdos landed on top of a hedge. His rider jumped off, and smiled insanely, "It's time you did."

"You used that line before," Quinci stated, "in Da Epic Battle." 

"Well, it's a pretty cool line, right?" Zapdos responded. 

"Nah. If you say it again, the awsumness kinda wears off." 

"But it just felt like the right moment to say it!" 

"Too bad. You have to think of more material." 

"Awww..."