I want to say a quick thank-you to anyone who still might check in on this story. I've gone on an unannounced hiatus for a year and a half, and I am looking forward to coming back with chapters that are more frequent than once a year. Thank you so much, you guys and the support you give this old thing is amazing!

     "Aside from Team Skull," I said, as we all relaxed in our room, the warm evening light filtering through the window, "today was pleasant. Our jobs were easy, and that was nice."
     Pika smiled at me. "Our outlaw was tough," he said. "But the challenge was welcome!"
     Hex beamed at him. "I had Pika do the main attack and the arrest with his badge," she said. "I was just support in case he needed me, which he really didn't."
     "Great!" Kip and I said in unison. He nudged me, and gave me a meaningful glance. I told you, he seemed to say. I rolled my eyes in response. Oh, shut up.
     "Good job, Pika," a melodic voice said. "You seem to have improved a lot since you joined us!"
     We all whipped around toward the hall. Chimecho floated there. "Oh!" she said. "Sorry. I didn't mean to sneak up or listen in -- I just wanted to let you know dinner is ready, and Wigglytuff won't let the rest start without you. But really, good job, Pika. I'm sure Wigglytuff is noticing, and will choose you to go on the expedition!"
     Chimecho smiled. "Now, about joining the rest of us in the dinning hall...?"
     We fell in line behind Chimecho, with Kip taking the lead after her, as Pika told me more about his arrest and Hex listening proudly.
Then Kip hesitated in his steps, and hissed "Hex," before continuing on behind Chimecho, entering the mess hall. Hex unquestioningly quickened her pace to walk side-by-side with Kip. Pika had been in the middle of a sentence, and we shared a confused glance with each other.
The moment we stepped into the mess hall, we knew.
The odor hit both of us at the same time. Pika's ears twitched and went back, and now I noticed Hex's in a similar position.
When Chimcho moved out of our line of sight, taking her seat next to Chatot, the sick feeling that started in my stomach only worsened, and not necessarily due to the noxious smell. Across the table of Chimecho's beautiful, delicious feast of berries, I saw Team Skull. They not only sat near where we usually would sit, but next to the only open spots at the table. Clearly, no one else wanted to sit near that toxic trio. Pika made a quiet noise.
"Don't stop," I whispered to Pika, gripping his paw for a moment to let him know I had his back.
Hex led the way, followed by Kip, to our normal spots. Hex sat across from Zubat, who sat at the very end of the other side of the table. Kip, following her lead, ended up sitting across from Koffing. I took the seat next to Kip, and across from Chief Stench, before Pika could resign himself to it. He, instead, sat next to Loudred, and across from Sunflora. Loudred momentarily talked quietly with Pika.
I shot Chief Stench a defiant glare as I added some berries to my plate. He almost looked ready to shrug, but his face remained blank in an odd way that seemed almost out of character. Maybe I expect villains to be of the same cut, I thought to myself. Then again, thieves? They don't come in many varieties. I tried remembering what villain I could have been thinking of. Who am I trying to overlay on Skuntank?
None of us, or the rest of the Guild, spoke very much, and it stayed eerily quiet except for the sounds of eating that everyone tried suppressing. The tension in the room matched the thick odor; Bidoof's nervous glances, Loudred's shockingly-mute and subtle gagging, and everyone's lack of an appetite spoke to the Guild-wide discomfort at sharing a table with Team Skull. No one wanted to be the one to throw up due to our "guests" and risk insulting them or inciting Chatot's displeasure, or maybe even both. The sweet, citrus, and sour scents that came off the berries mixed noxiously with Koffing's and Chief Stench's combined smell. This all made it a challenge to eat the delicious food that Chimecho made for us.
I glanced down the table at the thought of her, and saw her eating little, as well.
Sunflora politely excused herself, but I noticed her cheery yellow face was pale, and it looked like she was fighting to keep the contents of her stomach.
The minute Pika was finished with his food, I walked him out of the mess hall, ignoring the same stares that had followed Sunflora as she left the table. Hex and Kip were quick to follow, but it gave Pika and I a moment alone.
"How are you doing?" I asked gently, my anger giving way to concern for Pika. "Other than feeling sick, because I know I do."
His cheeks sparked occasionally, either a defensive or nervous reaction -- maybe both. His sigh sounded heavier than even Chief Stench could possibly be; his ears and tail drooped; his eyes held defeat. He answered my question with a half-hearted shrug, not even looking me in the eye or saying a word.
"They'll be gone soon," I promised, giving him a tight hug once we were down the hall to the dorms. "And while we're here, we've got your back. When they're no longer our so-called 'allies,' we can get them back for what they've done."
"If they aren't planning on revenge already," Hex's voice cut in. "Honestly, I'm surprised they haven't done anything else today. I've had a bad feeling all day, but in the mess hall, it became more persistent."
"Who says they won't?" I asked, letting Pika go. Kip joined us, walked around Hex, passed me, and led Pika away to cheer him up. "They could come and attack us in our sleep. Chief Stench already tried discrediting Pika, and who knows if Chatot believes them? I'd bet that he does. He's friendly with them and sees them as upstanding explorers. If they attack us, and I wouldn't be surprised if they did, I could see them coming for me, to put me in my place." I lowered my voice so only Hex could hear. "I'm sure Zubat and Koffing told Skuntank how our battle for Pika's relic fossil went. And they can see he's anxious with them around. You and Kip are probably not targets, because I'm the one who is aggressive toward them at all times, and they might assume you two can be intimidated, as inaccurate as that might be. I'm probably their biggest target."
"However they think we are, it's still four versus three, and Skuntank isn't so agile with all his bulk," Hex pointed out.
"So?" I asked. "if they attack me, they can discredit me easier than Pika. Chatot already considers me a thorn in his side, even more so because of my hostility toward them. He'd believe anything Skuntank had to say about me."
"Then we need to keep you out of trouble until this passes," Hex said firmly, turning and walking into our room. "And to do that," she continued over her shoulder, "Kip and I aren't going to let you and Pika become an echochamber about Team Skull. You'll be with me and Pika will go with Kip until the expedition is over."
I sighed as I followed her in. "That's fair. I don't like it, but that's fair."
"Now, go to sleep. Try to turn off your thoughts. We've got work to do, if we're going to have a shot at going on the expedition. Team Skull or not, this is an event we shouldn't miss."
Pika glanced over at us when he heard mention of the expedition. "Should we even go?" he asked in a small voice. "If they go with us... it wouldn't be fun. It'd be stressful, and I personally would be paranoid, and wouldn't learn anything with all my focus on watching fro Team Skull."
"We are going," Hex growled out. "No more talking. No more thinking. Just sleep. Relax, okay?" she added in a gentler tone. "Please."

Surprisingly, the night was actually restful. I woke up to the warm sunbeams shining through our window, which also landed on Kip and Pika. I saw them groggily opening their eyes and I smiled at Pika.
"Morning!" I said, glancing at Hex to include her, too.
"Morning," she said in a flat voice.
I did a double take. "Hex?"
The Vulpix turned her gaze to me. Her tired gaze. She looked like she didn't close her eyes at all last night. She held an sapphire-blue stone between her paws, and as I watched, I saw her claws extend. A water stone? But she's a fire-type, Vulpix evolve with a fire stone.
Kip suddenly looked more alert when he also noticed the stone, moving to Hex's side. "Couldn't you get any sleep?"
She shook her head as she rubbed the stone, her claws retracted again, and laid her head on the stone, looking protective of it. She looked not just tired, but exhausted. "I couldn't. The same thing nagged at me even stronger last night, and I heard noises down the hall. No one came down this way, though."
"You also didn't really eat much last night," Kip pointed out.
"The unease made me lose my appetite. I had one chesto berry, and that was all I could stomach, even with it's dry taste. I grabbed some leftovers," she indicated the small pile of berries by the window with her tails without moving her head, "but when I thought about eating them in the night, I realized they didn't smell right."
I went over to look at the berries, and picked up a pecha berry. I sniffed it. That smell...
"Hmm," Kip wondered. "Doesn't Chimecho usually handle preserving the leftovers? Maybe they weren't kept cold enough."
Hex shook her head. "She gets the berries from the Kecleon Brothers," she said. "They get preserved berries. They smelled too dry to me -- even the oran berry, an already-dry berry.
"You're right," I said. "This smells familiar to me..."
A memory surfaced.

"Sleep Powder, Ivysaur!" a young girl's voice -- me? -- called.
There was a battle going on between an Ivysaur and a Pikachu -- but this Pikachu was clearly not Pika. Behind the Pikachu stood a boy, and he called out a counterattack. But the lightning that shot from the Pikachu didn't catch my attention.
The green powder that ejected from the Ivysaur's half-bloomed flower, however, did, and I caught a whiff of it on the wind--

"Pearl?" Hex asked.
"Sleep Powder!" I said in alarm, dropping the pecha berry with a start as I came out of the memory. "I knew I slept too soundly. We all did, except Hex. Didn't you say you had one chesto berry, and that was all?"
"Wait, how do we know it's Sleep Powder?" Kip asked.
"I had a memory just now," I said impatiently. "I smelled it. I had -- er, knew -- an Ivysaur at one point in my past, and I got a whiff of it when he used it in a Pokémon battle."
"Do you think anyone else got Sleep Powder in their meals?" Hex asked. "I went to investigate down the hall when I heard noises last night, and peaked in on Sunflora, Bidoof, and Chimecho. They were sound asleep, like you guys."
"Could we ask Croagunk?" Kip asked. "He's a poison-type, and he deals with plants in item trading, surely he knows his poisons and status moves or stuff like that? I've heard of an artificial Sleep Powder before."
"Let's ask around," Pika suggested. "No one else seems to trust them, much less like them, either."
As the rest of the Guild gathered for rollcall, we dispersed ourselves among the others, asking about the food and mentioning what we had discovered. Most heard nothing in the night, and slept well.
When Chatot, Wigglytuff, and Team Skull finally joined us, Hex, Kip, Pika and I got back in line. Hex still looked tired from not getting any sleep, and I wondered if getting some chesto berries from Chimecho would help.
Aside from a few pointed looks from Team Skull, rollcall went by as it normally would.
"Okay," Hex said, and I noticed that the blue stone hung on an orange-red ribbon as a necklace. I wonder why she has that, I thought, half-listening to her. "Let's split up and go. Get as many jobs as you can in the same locat-"
"Excuse me, Hex," Chatot interrupted, hopping over to us. "If you would help me -- and your team, of course, help -- I have an assignment that must be done today, and I trust that you will get it done."
I only then noticed Chatot's nervous feather-ruffling, shifting his weight from talon to talon, and the alarm in his eyes that he obviously tried to suppress.
"Uh, sure, of course, Chatot," Hex said, her eyes almost scanning him. Maybe she noticed the same things I did. "What's the assignment?"
"It's nothing too grand," he said, "but it needs to be done. We inspected the larder this morning, and found it... drastically depleted. Chimecho was sure it wasn't so low yesterday..." a shiver ran through Chatot, and his feathered fluffed up again. "Further more, our entire stock of Perfect Apples has suddenly run out. Of our entire stock, that was the only item we ran out of, completely. Chimcho and I thought there were more... but now that they're out..." Chatot seemed to spiral into some anxiety about the lack of Perfect Apples.
"Perfect Apples?" I asked.
"They're found in Apple Woods," Chatot practically blurted. "Let me show you on your map."
Hex hurriedly brought out the map. "I think I know where it is, the name sounds familiar," she said almost to herself.
"Now, please hurry! Those are by far the most important items that I need you to retrieve. They'll be at the heart of Apple Woods."
"Why are they important? I've never even seen any apples at dinner," I asked.
"They're the Guildmaster's favorite!" Chatot squaked, his anxiety clearly boiling over. He flapped frantically at us. "Go, hurry!"
"I thought that sounded familiar," Hex said to Chatot. "My mother took a few of us to Apple Woods, though we usually called it 'the woods.' We'll be back with the Perfect Apples before dinner," she promised. "Let's go," she said to the rest of us.
We said little on our way down to the crossroads.
"Oh, Hex," Kip said, "we forgot to ask Chimecho to get some chesto berries for you."
"I can go back," Pika offered. "I'll be quick."
Hex shook her head, double checking the map. "I want to hurry. I don't want to find out why Chatot is so jumpy this morning about the apples."
I laughed. "He's always jumpy."
"Jumpier than usual," Hex clarified sarcastically. "Wigglytuff's favorite apples... Remember the other day, when Team Skull first arrived and no one was as spirited as usual, and he made the entire cliff shake like an earthquake?"
"That was really freaky, for sure." Pika shuddered. "I'd be like Chatot if that were hanging over my head."
"None of you never saw it before, but I did," Hex said. "I saw it from the outside. It didn't just stop at the Guild. Let's leave it at that." She put the map back in her bag and we headed out.
I wanted to ask, but I could tell I shouldn't. Instead, I asked, "So, what are these Perfect Apples that only Wigglytuff eats, then?"
Pika piped up. "Like Chatot said, they're only found in Apple Woods, and only a specific part of the woods. They are supposed to be much tastier than normal apples, and they are significantly bigger."
"Right," Hex affirmed. "And I've actually been there, so I at least know the way to the place. I'll trust my instincts once we get inside the mystery dungeon. It was creatively named for the woodsy area of mostly-apple trees, if you couldn't tell," she added lightheartedly. "Have either of you been there?" she asked Kip and Pika.
"No," Pika said. "I've generally stayed around Treasure Town until recently."
Kip shook his head, "Uncreative name, but I guess it makes sense, right?"
"Haven't you heard of it, Kip?" I asked. The other three generally seemed to be constantly filling me in.
He shook his head. "Nope, I haven't. Believe it or not, we don't know every single mystery dungeon," he laughed. "There aren't really any ponds in the area for me, are there?" he pointed out.
Hex nodded. "Okay. So I've been to the outer edges with my mother and some of my sisters. We would stay with some friends, and of course gather apples. We went fairly frequently. I never saw a huge Perfect Apple tree, though."
"I guess we all will, now," Pika said happily.

"Guys," Hex said, excitement in her voice and in her step, "we're here. I smell Apple Woods. Wow, this brings back memories."
"Which way to the heart, Hex?" Pika asked.
Hex focused for a moment, and we said nothing. "My intuition says north-east," she finally decided. "And my intuition is rarely wrong."
"She's right," Kip said. "It's helped us big-time on deep, underground dungeons."
"Follow me," Hex said, flicking her tails. "We'll get to the apples in no time at all."
She led us through the forest with confident strides, her lack of sleep nearly forgotten by all of us by the way she took the lead. We only had to backtrack once through the maze of apple trees. An hour later, and few encounters since we had such a big exploration team, we reached the heart of Apple Woods.
I knew we'd walk into a clearing with a few large trees, but the description didn't do the real thing justice. The tree trunks each were bigger than Chief Stench, with the branches only slightly smaller in diameter. Tiny saplings that couldn't have been more than a year or two old were the only other trees to grow in the massive shade the Perfect Apple trees cast, and I got the feeling few would survive to grow as big and as old as a Perfect Apple tree. Plump, red apples hung on the higher branches. The breeze carried the scent of sweet apple juice.
This has to be the most perfect, peaceful place ever, I thought. I could live in this moment forever.
"Kip, you and Pika should gather the apples," Hex said. "No offense, of course, Pearl, but your tail-flame is a huge hazard, and the basic fact that we're fire-types."
I nodded. "Right, that's fair."
Kip and Pika nodded, hurrying purposefully toward the closest tree. Hex and I followed at more of a distance.
Then Hex hesitated mid-step before continuing on. I turned to ask if she was okay, thinking the lack of sleep might be catching up with her.
Instead of tiredness, I saw confusion.
Then I watched as worry and realization settled in. Her eyes focused on me for only an instant, then alarm set in and she focused on Kip and Pika.
We took our breaths at the same time.
I was about to ask her what was wrong.
Hex shouted, "Kip, look out!" her voice cracking as she desperately screeched the words.
Pika turned at the shout and Kip went on the alert without turning around. Hex herself shot forward, running full speed.
I hesitated with my tail. Briefly, I wondered if I had time to shift into a Purrloin. Not enough time to recover, I decided.
"We're not alone," Hex called out.
I looked around, back the way we came. The trees answered us with silence, and none of us moved.
Out of nowhere, a laugh sounded from where we had come from. A loud, menacing laugh.
"Come out!" Hex roared. "Face us, if you're not a coward!"
A second laugh joined the first as it resounded, and a third joining soon after. A strange scent floated into the clearing, before it turned toxic. It was all I could do to keep from gagging on air, and I took shallow breaths. "It's Team Skull," I called over my shoulder, but keeping my eyes in the direction their laughs came from. "I'd recognize their stench anywhere."
"We thought you might want help collecting the precious apples!" a voice called. I recognized Zubat's voice this time.
"We'll knock them down for you!" another voice said in a different spot, and I realized it was Koffing.
"You're lucky we can't smoke you out of the trees without risking the woods," I growled out.
"Oh, we like these apples too much to risk them or the trees with your fire... or your lightning." Chief Stench's voice, calm and threatening in its low tone, startled me as I quickly whipped around. Pika and Kip had moved toward Hex, leaving Chief Stench between us and the nearest tree. I noticed him eyeing my tail -- not necessarily maliciously, but something stood out behind his mock concern. If only I could figure out what. "You'd better let your Mudkip do the picking. You three are too dangerous to even be here, since you can spark a fire at any moment."
Hex took a step toward Chief Stench, putting her in front of the others. "What do you mean?"
Chief Stench shrugged, then inspected some of his claws, bored. "I hope you don't need me to explain why the Charmander is a fire hazard," he pointed out in a patronizing voice. "Or even yourself. Vulpix have an inner flame with them always... don't you two feel her heat?" he said to Kip and Pika. "And lightning storms ignite trees and cause a forest fire frequently enough. You had a bad idea, thinking all of you walking fire hazards would be safe enough to pick the apples."
"And what about you?" I challenged. "You and Koffing are not only poison-types, but you emit toxic fumes! How are you not environmental hazards, suffocating the trees? The only difference between us and you is that you won't set the trees aflame, but you'll still kill them with your poison!"
He shrugged again, sitting down. "You wouldn't have trusted just Zubat, or even believe that he came alone, would you?" Chief Stench pointed out. "Besides, as the largest Pokémon here, I am the only one able to... well, shall I demonstrate?"
I kept my eyes on him, waiting for Hex's decision. He has a point though... I would have thought Zubat was a distraction, if he came alone. I started making my way over to the others, carefully.
"How about you tell us what you're planning to do before you demonstrate?" Hex suggested, wary but not yet hostile.
"I can get some of those Perfect Apples from the higher branches, no climbing required," he answered smoothly.
"That doesn't give us any insight into what you're planning," Hex pointed out, her fur bristling.
Chief Stench sighed. "Those two," he pointed to Pika and then me, "really have you spooked, don't they?"
Something purple glinted in Hex's eyes, but she otherwise kept her voice level as she brought herself to her full height and let her fur lay flat again. Compared to Chief Stench, however, she still looked tiny. "They have expressed concerns, and I have reason to listen. On the other paw, you aren't exactly giving me any reason to believe you by continually dodging the question: What are you saying you'd do to help us get the Perfect Apples for Wigglytuff?"
Chief Stench just shook his head. "I can ram myself into the trunch and knock the ripe apples free."
I glanced between them, as neither spoke.
"That could damage the tree," Pika piped up, breaking the silence. "Kip and I can climb up and get enough for Wigglytuff by ourselves."
Chief Stench studied Pika, no longer taking an interest in convincing Hex. He eyed Pika's face intensely for a few long, silent moments. "And you were shaking like a leaf when we first met!" He laughed. "Now you're speaking up against me. That's quite brave and bold of you."
Pika shrunk back, even though I could tell that he was trying to stand his ground. Kip took a few steps toward Pika.
"Oh, I'm not threatening you," Chief Stench went on casually, studying his claws for a moment. "Just commenting."
None of us moved. The moment had a 'before-the-storm' quality to it, in a way. But Chief Stench just indicated the tree of Perfect Apples with his head, and moved out of our way, sitting in a new spot off to the side, waving to his other teammates to join him. "Go on; I'll wait. We'll enjoy whatever you guys leave, and be back at the Guild for the evening meal."
I glanced at Hex, who met my eyes for a moment before she nodded at Kip and Pika. They cautiously made their way over to one of the trees, each step gaining them a little bit of confidence.
Pika quickly climbed up, with Kip lagging behind. Hex and I watched Team Skull carefully, but they seemed content with lounging off to the side as two of our team collected apples.
However, Chief Stench wasn't too far from the tree where they worked. In a few swift movements that seemed impossible with his bulk, having decided that this process would take too long, he rammed himself into the tree's trunk. From the point of impact and up to the tallest branches -- and probably down to the deepest roots as well -- the tree shivered visibly.
And the shiver ran all the way through Pika and Kip, too. Kip lost his grip, and in a moment of instinct, grabbed onto Pika's tail. Pika let out a high-pitched yelp, and lost his grip on the tree. They both rolled down the trunk in a shower of Perfect Apples.
"Pika! Kip!" Hex and I called out in alarm, rushing to their sides, trying to avoid tripping on the apples as we went.
"I'm okay," Pika said.
"Just a few scrapes," Kip agreed.
  I looked around at the apples, and realized this would be too many for us to take back to the Guild.
Then my eyes landed on Team Skull, and I bared my teeth at them.
"Pearl, no," Hex hissed firmly.
"There," Chief Stench said, surrounded in his noble air of 'I did you a favor, no need to thank me.' "No need to waste everyone's time picking and worrying about balancing the apples. You'll put Chatot at ease sooner than you expected."
Hex gave me a quick look, and said formally to Chief Stench, "Thank you for your assistance, now we're going to be on our way." Pika and Kip started gathering up the apples into some apple sacks Chatot had provided us with. "Enjoy the apples."
Chief Stench smiled. "Thought you'd never offer." He gave Koffing a significant look, and took a deep breath while Koffing's smog cloud started growing rapidly.
It happened so fast, I barely had a moment to realize his phrasing was odd before the adrenaline started kicking in.
"Back up!" Hex barked, her fur bristling as she summoned the indigo Will-O-Wisp flames around us. They circled her slowly and I remembered a fact about Vulpix and their ghostly plumes of fire.
Vulpix is capable of manipulating fire to such precision as to create small wisps of flame.
I noticed the determined and focus looks on her face. That means that Hex can probably keep each of these flames under control and prevent a forest fire with her attacks.
Then Chief Stench exhaled, and it mixed with Koffing's smog. Hex's indigo fire shot forward to intercept. I took a deep breath myself, preparing to use Ember. I didn't know what that mixture was, but I didn't want to find out through experiencing it.
Chief Stench laughed, sneering at us. "You naive weaklings! You really thought we'd help you? How--!"
Something cannoned into him, a blast of water that splashed the rest of us a little as the drops ricocheted. The Skuntank whirled around, drenched from head to tail, to snarl furiously at what hit him.
It was Kip.
The Mudkip glared up at the larger Pokémon, his gaze unflinching, and I saw his cheeks puff up -- preparing another attack.
"You little--" Chief Stench snarled, before an arc of lightning shot through him.
Pika used Thunderbolt, and it was a direct hit.
Belatedly, I took a deep breath and decided on Flamethrower.
Chief Stench said nothing else. He breathed his toxic fumes and Koffing added his. I breathed my fire, but nothing happened -- no explosion, no gas catching on fire. I don't know what Hex's flames hit.
"You can't beat us," I heard Chief Stench sneer. I couldn't breathe, and I went down. "Don't step out of line again."
The poison filled my lungs. I succumbed to the nothingness.

✿ July 23, 1:10am EST, 2021 ✿
It's been too long since the last chapter, which was supposed to be a break in the long situation that is Apple Woods. Even this, at 4,700+ words, could have been broken up. I mentioned that I originally wanted to post this in the first part, but with the length of both this chapter and my time away, I think this is more appropriate.
I have so many ideas to continue this! I really do! It's hard sometimes to get myself to write. But I have been lately. I have various parts of three other series for Crystal/Pearl to partake in. So this will be finished. That I feel very confident in promising to you.
Enjoy! I hope to get another chapter out by the end of the year, but my college workload will be... interesting, to say the least. Maybe I'll break it up again, but not in between a single conversation.
I can't promise that I'm back. I get burnt out from writing because of my English/Literature classes, and my time will be claimed by a biology minor, and probably Minecraft/Terraria if I'm honest with myself (they are my emotional support games during my semester, plus Far Cry 5, I have no shame). I will however mention again, as I have in the past: I am still here. I will be here. I'm not leaving. I love writing, but time sometimes doesn't give me the time I need. Luckily, I can think about writing and jot down ideas I may at some point use χD
Anyway, thank you. Thank you for coming back, for sticking around, whichever. I really do appreciate it.