"...hah... hah... hah!"

Fleeing through forest lanes and across game paths, the Spinda rushed a bit faster upon hearing something nip at their heels...

The Deep Forest was one of the strangest mystery dungeons. It seemed to go on forever in a nightmare's logic, with paths and corridors overlapping confusingly, but the trees becoming so thick that to risk entering them would almost certainly guarantee one was lost to them forever...

The Spinda stumbled and hid behind a tree, panting hard. They put their paws on their face in a moment of panic, and then reached into their bag, searching until they pulled out a small map...

It had been marked over and carefully noted. The most important parts of it were scrawled in as clear a script as the panda could muster, though she understood that her kind had peculiar 'handwriting'. Her swirly eyes couldn't see much wrong, but more typical ones would see nothing but scribbles and wavy lines...

But it was important... VITAL even... 

Team Wellspring needed to see this...!

She had been chased into the Deep Forest, and now was lost. Already this was enough to make her heart pound against her ribs… She continued on, her stumbling run thankfully keeping her tricky enough that she could dodge whomever was coming for now, but she was becoming more and more fatigued by the moment...

How many ‘floors down’ would they chase her? Why were they running after her so long?! They couldn't possibly know, could they?

She skidded to a halt and turned, panting hard enough that she physically couldn't go on. She tucked herself into the crook of a tree, eyes darting about... She could hear footfalls... Soft crunching stones beneath... Someone hunted her...

The great beast lifted his head... His nostrils flared as he took in the scent... Whuff... His nostrils flared… He fixated firmly upon one smell;

Her womb... Her... FERTILITY...

He stalked closer... His broad paws shook the ground with each step... He left a long claw mark in a tree as he walked by...

His maw was stretched into a wild, eager grin...

The Midnight Lycanroc leaned slowly forward... Over the Spinda's hiding place...

"...no running..." he growled softly... His eyes scanned... Swept side to side until...

A branch twitched with her trembling… In a flash and a snarl, he was on her...

She squeaked as she was pinned to the ground. Her swirling eyes were wide and she tried to pull herself back, but a single huge paw held her down...

"Give it."

"I d-don't know what you mean!" she said, giving instead a faux pleasant grin. The Lycanroc seemed to think about this before he turned her suddenly over and set her on her front...

"Wait wait, wait wait wait!"

She felt his canid shaft slide up her back as it extended from his sheath. His sack, heavy with seed, nearly bubbling with excitement at what was to come next...

"...they always send females... Always send females..."

He muttered to himself... His claws roughly shoving in and pushing her spread enough that he could lap up her fearful taste... The Spinda was shaking like a leaf, finally whining out sharply...

"You won't find it! I hid it! And... And I sent for Team Wellsp-"

She was lifted and pinned hard against a tree. The Lycanroc's dangerous snarl lost all of its mirth...

"Go on, little thing... Say the name... Say it..."

The Spinda was utterly terrified and couldn't squeak the name out if she wanted to. Her fear seemed to be satisfactory enough to make the Lycanroc grin again...

And then he pushed up into her body mercilessly, spearing her on his arousal. Her squeal sent birds fluttering from the treetops...

"...what's wrong...?" the Lycanroc said through snapping jaws... "You worship fertility... You beg Mew for a child every night... I know you do...!"

"Hah... I... Ohh... Why are you so..."

"You'll find out... You'll all find out... Soon enough..."

"HEY!"

The Lycanroc's face looked more annoyed than anything. He looked over his shoulder, barely slowing in his thrusting...

A paw hit the dirt. The one who had called out took a wide stance... They looked proud and cocky as they removed a scallop from their fur, with a soft, sharp noise...

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size...!?"

The Lycanroc stared at the Dewott who stood defiantly there... Then their grin spread across their muzzle again... a little too wide by the end, with their manic eyes matching...

"...you're... not him."

The Dewott jumped in surprise at being immediately called out. Their cheeks went red, and they stumbled back a bit... But held the scallop out...

"So what?! I'm one of a dozen kids they've had! Defender of the bloodline, and of the sacred Mew's Rest!"

They swung their blade twice, baring their fangs. Their full pack indicated they'd gone on a gathering request for their town... Herbs and berries that counteracted Morning Sickness were always needed, after all...

"And I'm not gonna let y-"

THUNK...

The Dewott was knocked forward, and the Lycanroc casually turned back and continued thrusting their knot against the Spinda's too-tight entrance. The panda squealed and cried for help, even as their body betrayed them and excitedly prepared for their oncoming litter...

The Dewott panted weakly on the ground, pushing himself up and looking around quickly.  He reached out for his scallop... Only to jerk his paw back as it was stepped on and smashed... 

The female strutted around him slowly... Showing off her vibrant plumage, and her powerful legs. But more than that, her psychic eyes were locked on him... Every time he looked up, he had to look away quickly, lest this psychic ostrich overtake his will entirely...

"Don't kill him. I want him... nnh... Special..."

The Lycanroc grumbled, but again did so casually enough that they didn't even glance back from what they were doing. The Espathra walked around him a couple times before jerking her neck down, stabbing her beak and lifting the Dewott up by the nape of his neck. He struggled immediately, but the clearing suddenly darkened... As if thick clouds gathered overhead and blotted out the sun...

A glowing pair of eyes opened in the treeline... and underneath, a glowing grin...

They disappeared... The Dewott trembled until the moment the face reappeared... The distant scream that accompanied it might have been imagined...

"Don't hurt me...!" he whined. By now he was beginning to recognize who he had crossed. If the upright werewolf and the psychic bird weren't enough to clue him in, the ghostly pumpkin was... This one he'd had nightmares about...

"Don't want to see inside...?" she cooed softly... She moved with far more grace than her rotund, pear shaped form would suggest. Her front was swollen obviously, and the 'face' there was of course open... If one squinted hard enough, they could see the dozen or more glowing will-o-wisps tucked safely inside her exposed womb, gestating...

"Don't want to... Find out yourself? Why interrupt, if you didn't want to be a hero...?"

Her arms lifted and slowly extended towards him, like a pair of vast shadows reaching across the dark bedroom in the middle of a stormy night. Her intensely glowing eyes locked on his, for a moment, he truly thought it was over...

"Enough."

The Lycanroc snorted and the pumpkin pulled back... Though not without giving the Dewott a kiss on his cheek that made him shudder...

The leader of the errant Pokemon team turned with a glint in his eye. He dropped the Spinda, who of course looked dizzy, but who was swollen to the point of looking pregnant already. She leaked gobs of seed as she laid where she was discarded, whimpering weakly...

The Lycanroc slowly moved forward, facing the Water type as if he didn't have a type disadvantage. Quite the opposite, in fact...

"...Dakarai... This is not him..."

The pumpkin continued to sway and dance around the scene, whimsical and excited for a victim... But she could tell that the Lycanroc wasn't satisfied by the Spinda. The idea of this trembling Dewott was doing far more for him...

"...she hid a map. The panda. It's what we need..."

The wolf growled, as he took the Dewott into his paws, smirking. The Espathra sauntered over silently and instead picked up the bloated Spinda, who squeaked and thrashed as she was carried off...

"They're going to find it... Do you know why I was named Dakarai...?"

The Dewott stumbled and stammered their words. They had been trying to be brave, but... This wolf had more than a few terrifying stories in their wake, and the way their psychotic eyes focused, the Dewott could believe every one of them in that moment...

"There is a legend..."

He carried his victim forward... Idly strolling along the path, as the pumpkin waddled excitedly behind him...

"Long ago... Mew created everything... That's what you believe... But she did not will it all. Some things were born of impulses she couldn't control... Things such as her deepest and most terrifying nightmares..."

The Water type was thumped firmly down onto his back, on a stump... He squirmed and tried to sit up, but was pinned by the broad paw of the wolf...

"If our legends are true... Then..."

"...then we may... Defeat her..."

A third voice. The pumpkin had been humming and singing. Dakarai had been speaking. Now a low, dangerous contralto spoke instead... The Water type lifted their head nervously...

This one was new... Or rather, they had never heard of them... by design...

Their broad, furry ears turned, and then their head did. Their foxy face was spread with its own grin, but unlike the Lycanroc's, it was a devious... cruel thing... Not a hunt of wild excitement, instead a placid mask of wicked assurance... Someone who knew they had already won the day...

"Mew is strong..." The Delphox said. Her branch was striking her paw gently. A strange, smooth crystal sat at the top of it, embedded in the
 charred wood, making it look even more like a wizard's staff...

"But she is foolish..."

She turned and walked over to the Dewott. Despite himself, Dakarai was quivering in anticipation, but holding back. The sharp gaze of the Fire type was enough to bring about immediate submission, though in the form of quickly turning his head away and sneering...

After all... He was the leader of this pack... Him... No one else... Certainly not...

...her...

"And fools... Tend to meet their end... Very quickly..."

She set her wand on the Dewott. He swallowed hard...

"...where is the map she hid?"

"I d... d... don't know..."

The Delphox contemplated this... She lifted the wand away, and stared into the glittering 'flame' that the orb made...

"...That... That is a shame..."

"I don't know! I truly don't! I was just doing a job and I heard her whine and..."

The Delphox reached down to extend a finger; a clear signal for him to stop talking. He wasn't a fool, and obeyed immediately...

"...Don't beg. Don't give away your pride like that..." she tsked softly. Dakarai became even more excited...

"Besides, dear little Dewott..."

She set her wand on him again suddenly...

"I believe you...!" 

The polished Swapstone suddenly glinted brightly. The swirl of blue and pink energy lifted from it and then struck his body. The Delphox lifted her wand away and grinned wickedly again, as the Dewott squirmed and squealed...

His body feminized quickly... Broadening at the hips, the chest swelling... And all the appropriate equipment blossoming on the inside... Ripe with heated need...

"Oh... OHH!"

The now female Dewott rubbed their paw along their front, confused. The Delphox flicked her wrist, and that was all the signal that Dak needed. He pinned the Dewott, whose girly squeals only continued to echo through the forest...

"Two in one day. Not enough... Never enough..."

The Delphox didn't bother answering, idly staring through the trees and into the distance. Likely they weren't 'seeing' at all, but deep within their own visions...

Visions of a glorious future that only she could bring about... Visions, as she had often described... of a dried and cracked lakebed...

"Causta. Purgis..."

The ghost rolled up to her and bowed heavily. Her every movement was accompanied by distant moans and ghostly wails. They emanated from her tummy...

The Espathra  emerged from the trees with her signature superior strut. The Spinda was safely deposited at their HQ... with the others... Leaving the incredibly fast bird Pokemon idle already, and waiting for orders...

"Purgis... My Pumpkin... The entrance of these woods is where you'll go. Causta... You will run her there, and then I have more for you to do..."

The ghost and the bird both bowed low. The Delphox didn't even have to turn around to know they were leaving to follow her orders to the letter...

"Noah..." she said, and her paws gripped her wand tightly enough to strain the wood. Her grin widened, and for a moment, she looked as eager as the Lycanroc still mating his victim behind her... 

None of the grim Pokemon noticed the Chatot in the trees above. The bird watched nervously, then clutched the rolled up map a bit tighter in their beak...

When they knew they could slip away, they spread their wings and fluttered... Then flapped... Then flew as fast as they could... Far away as they could...

No one was safe against Team Drought... In fact... Most assumed only one force could stand up to them...

The Chatot made for Mew's Rest like their life depended on it…

===

If the clear blue sky was not enough to make one feel alive, the beautiful blue lake would complete the picture. Where once there had been a dying little collection of huts called a village, now was a bustling lake-front town whose population had expanded as quickly as the stomach of every female in the village...

Mew's Nest. For whatever reason, it was becoming known as Mew's Rest in the outside world. The town's resident Team was less than pleased with that... After all, they had created such a beautiful home for their devotion... And had remained just as devoted as Mew would be to creating more children.

Sayl lifted their head and peered across a windowsill. Their eyes darted this way, then that...

A few Hoppip copied their movements. A Skiploom or two peered from the top of the window frame...

Coast clear?

They floated up and, like a mother duck, lead their latest brood across the street quickly. On their way, they nearly bumped into more than one Pokemon who was taking their time to waddle proudly to whatever errand they needed to attempt next, despite their gravid nature. But here, in the center of devotion to the Mother of All, a pregnant belly didn't get in the way of one's duties, maternal and otherwise...

Sayl couldn't be happier. Mostly because for almost all of the 'duties' their Team took on, Sayl remained behind as support.

This town had been thriving for years now. It wasn't unusual to see a new face, or to take on a new challenge. But Sayl remained as they always had been; more eager to love than to fight.

They bumped into a hanging sign and gave a small 'ow!'. They rubbed their head and flitted on, as a few of their children bumped their heads too, giggling the while. The Empoleon who owned the shop just stared with their head propped on their wing lazily, their unimpressed expression seemingly telling how used to this they were...

Sayl floated first to a small tree just outside of the village, overlooking it. Their brood clustered up tightly behind him, peering past as they themselves peered down and couldn't help but smile...

Mua sat meditatively under the tree. Her little one, not so little any more, meditated next to her. The place was not only serene, and isolated... It's where Orin had been born... And...

It's where his grandfather had been buried...

Sayl decided not to bother the two. They looked so immersed and focused that it would have felt terrible to disturb just to give the usual progress report; a dozen more jobs had come in... A dozen more things to do for the Pokemon of this town... A dozen more mamas to care for...

The Jumpluff turned and floated across the treetops, trailing a breeze. Their young scattered in the eddies of the wind and their laugh rang out and echoed all over the town...

Li paused in what she was doing. She adjusted her scarf, itching at it, before she turned around and posed lightly. Even her most casual pose, however, was enough to disturb a dust cloud around her. Her footpaw seemed to strike the ground as a light step, but the impact sent pebbles scattering...

Needless to say, she had improved...

"...that's why it's important. Training each day allows us to master mind, body, and spirit..."

She paced in front of the six Mienfoo who stared as attentively as they always did. Their teacher, and their mother, had much to teach after all... And already they were eager to take up her mantel...

"Soon..." she lifted her paw... She obviously had more to say, and the kits were rapt with attention, until...

They watched her run off and behind a tree. They heard her retching and vomiting heavily. None of them stood to check on her, instead exchanging knowing glances and soft smirks...

Such sickness only had one cause in THIS village...

She walked back out slowly, wiping her chin. Her smirk turned into her trademark, razor toothed grin...

"Soon, you will face the Mystery Dungeons like I have... And I think I'll need the time off..."

"Or you could go in with it! Like everyone else... Especially Ilianna!"

Li's incredibly unimpressed gaze turned to Sayl, whose cheery face immediately fell. Despite the handful of years working together, Li still seemed to only begrudgingly act as Sayl's friend. On the other paw, she had never once left them behind or failed to defend them from an attack... 

Still. The annoyance on their face was always palpable, to the point of being intimidating. Sayl floated down and shrugged nervously, their crooked grin being just enough to bring out the same in Li...

"I might have to. With incompetent fools like you as part of our illustrious roster..."

Sayl gave a big exaggerated pout and spin in midair as if they were floating in space. They whined and threw a mock tantrum. Li cracked her sleeve sharply...

"Alright alright... I suppose you have reports for us?"

Sayl snapped back upright and nodded eagerly. Li's stomach groaned and she winced, but nodded...

"Let me... finish... Then I'll come."

The Jumpluff nodded, saluted, and then flitted off quickly... Leaving Li to glance at her students and their knowing stares...

"...if you utter one word of this to Noah..."

===

Within his hut, he inspected a few letters... His keen eyes darted back and forth... The red marking that had once been prominent enough to be a visible scar was now only a faded patch of skin, though still just as crimson beneath his fur...

He stood with his usual wide stance... Flicking his paws between each document, to consider every angle...

He suddenly shoved them off and into his outbox...

"Bah."

He tucked his arms behind his back and paced. He glanced at the letters again, which promised fine rewards for incredibly dull work. Entering a Dungeon just to retrieve supplies was boring, but it made up most of their economy...

At this point, he was the leader of this town. No one questioned him, and his devotion to Mew's ways had made him increasingly popular among the ladies and the males who wished to be his acolytes as well. Things could not be going better... And Noah could feel it starting to gnaw at him...

He didn't want to admit to his wanderlust. So he walked to the front door of his hut and threw it open...

Outside, a small pond had formed as an offshoot to the lake. It was the perfect place to raise children for Water types, and Ilianna had done well in doing so alongside him for these past few years. He had been content with it, and the rapid growth he saw from the town...

And yet he was unable to deny his desires began to extend again... Past the town limits... Past the letters and the easy requests, he found his mind wandering again and again to...

Deo...

"...you know... Not even I can see where she is."

Noah didn't turn. He wasn't sure if she would be there when he looked. Her visits weren't rare... But they were always capricious... It was in her nature...

Her soft, pink paws settled on his shoulders... Rubbing along them as the tension slowly relaxed, and he couldn't help but smirk...

"She would have been back by now, if... Ah. I'm not worried..."

He reached up and settled a paw on her's... Her warm body pressed against his back... Her tail curled around his waist twice and then its tip settled not so subtly across his sheathe. His grin grew wider...

"Something is happening..."

"Something we need to be worried about?"

"...don't sound so eager, Noah...~ Or do you forget...? Last time was quite the adventure..."

Noah nodded slowly... And then spun suddenly. Mew was pinned against the side of the hut, and kissed deeply. Even she seemed surprised by it...

"I'm ready to have another, dear mother..."

He kissed her deeply again, and she found herself being laid in the bushes. Her face was pinker than the rest of her, and her eyes lidded as she settled her thick thighs apart...

"We must stop meeting like this..." 

Noah paused and pulled himself up. He tilted his head, though he didn't stop idly stroking the erection she'd given him...

"It must be special if you're letting me touch you... Hm?"

"I am not just yours, Noah... I have much to do... Many places to be...?"

"Places other than your very nest, mother dear?"

She huffed gently and arched her back as his member was pressed against her lips firmly... This otter always did know how to persuade. When things were at their best, his tongue was more silver than any fairy's...

"Do you hear? They're calling it Mew's Rest for whatever reason... I want to correct that..."

His tip settled against her entrance...

"Help me do so...?"

Mew's tail snapped out and wrapped tightly around his waist again. She forced him inside in a smooth motion, shuddering in excitement. Noah arched and bit his lip to hold himself back from howling just for how good she felt. She had earned her title through blood and sweat, and broken water. Now she felt as mythical as she truly was, and it was enough to nearly scramble his mind...

It wasn't just the physical sensation of mating a goddess like her, however... He had done that a few times now, though she always had played coy with the most important part...

"You will let me knock you up... And help me... Right?"

He whispered into her stubby ear as he thrust smoothly. He had had much practising in making new children, after all. He could barely compared to the mother herself, but barely was still better than most... And her squeaks of excitement were so cute...

"It's my time, mother... I can feel it... You said yourself... Something is going to happen... Something IS happening... The winds are shifting and... And..."

"It's time..."

Mew breathed, as her thighs pressed in together, in a very clear signal... He was not going to be able to pull out... Even if he had wanted to...

The agreement was all that Noah needed to signal him. Pinning her down, kissing her firmly, she panted like she was in heat. From her scent and feel, she absolutely was... Likely she had deliberately done so...

"M-Mew... Mother... You..."

"Don't question, Noah... Give me what I need... I saw Deo's hallucination between her and you... Where she disguised as 'me'... I've been wanting to rectify it for some time... But it was not the right moment... Now...?"

She leaned up, gripped the back of his head, and pulled him into another kiss. She made sure he never stopped thrusting up into her, his tip giving its own kiss to the entrance of her sacred womb...

"Is this a dream...?" gasped Noah, once he was able to pull back for a breath. Mew shook her head immediately, a coy grin on her face, and gripped the grass below her to brace herself...

Noah was forced to shove as deep as he could... He wanted his tip directly where it would do the most... Aiming, in his mind, directly into her womb... Perhaps directly into the cluster of ova she had set aside for him alone...

The fantasy only made his balls clench harder when the time came, and so did he... He gushed into her hard and long enough that his vision went white... The last thing he saw was Mew staring adoringly down at her half swollen middle, the seed inside audibly churning... Processing... GROWING...

"Hey."

Noah jerked his head up with a snort. The letters on his desk scattered, and he rubbed his eyes frustratedly...

"Damn it all..."

He got off his chair, in an obviously bad mood. Sayl swayed in mid air, looking confused. After a moment, Noah chuckled and put his hands on his hips...

"Ahh... Just a good dream... And I'd ask you to take care of it, lil puffball, but..."

Sayl and Noah had rarely enjoyed one another, but it had been pleasant each time they had. Plant biology was intensely interesting, and more importantly felt amazing. But oddly, he hadn't any desire at that moment. It was like it had all been drained away...

He glanced suspiciously, but Sayl waved a pompom...

"Meet at the council house? I have a few requests to distribute..."

Noah was distracted. He lifted his paw and then smirked, his mind racing he worked things out...

"Of course... Of course, Sayl... Heh. I'll be there..."

Sayl bowed to their leader and then quickly left. That expression was a dangerous one that usually got all of them in a lot of trouble... But then again, it got them out of trouble just as much...

Noah exited his hut and watched after Sayl. He moved over and pushed into the bushes... He crouched down and picked up a twig...

Broken... A fresh bed of snapped branches... Like someone had been lying there...

"...you sneaky little..."

He stood and chucked the branch aside, beaming with excitement. He stood and listened to the breeze rustle the grass before he turned and far more eagerly marched off towards his town...

Sayl ducked under a belly, over a nursing newborn, and across a clothesline. Their following little ones made a bit of chaos in their wake, but most residents were happy to see their Team's messenger so busy... It meant that much was being accomplished, and their fair city was all the more assured of its strength. Those who remembered the catastrophe of a few years before stopped occasionally in front of the beautiful sculpture of Mew in the town square to give thanks. The sculpture's belly looked more polished than the rest of the stone, for how many Pokemon had rubbed it for good luck.

Sayl dragged their pompom across it as they went past. In what was once the Alakazam's house now stood the result of multiple extensions and renovations; the grand Guild Hall that was bustling with Pokemon who wore the proud ocean blue scarf of the famous Team Wellspring...

If it weren't for those scarfs, you would be forgiven in assuming this was a Guild that was old and storied... The legendary feat of the two Pokemon who had established this town anew was whispered about even to this day around fireplaces and dinner tables... Sayl was just happy to be a part of that story...

They flitted through a window, paused to pull their scarf from their pompom and wrap it carefully around their top pom, and then turn to continue...

A pair of jaws closed immediately around them. They squealed and struggled until they were spat out...

"Hmph. You'd think you'd get used to it by now..."

Farri walked around them and sat down heavily. He groomed a bit of fur and then looked expectantly down at Sayl. The cottonball quickly hopped up and obediently cut patterns into the fast growing mane the masculine Furfrou had...

"And you'd think you'd be less slow when it comes to being a messenger..."

"Now don't be so harsh! It's not as if the villagers can't wait for their peacha berries a little longer..."

Farri walked around... Farri. The female dog waddled and sat heavily next to their male counterpart. Sayl glanced up at them and then between them. Their eyes crossed. 

All it took was a few too many Swap Stones and Sayl had been confused. Now there was, more often than not, a male Farri and a female Farri... And the Jumpluff wasn't sure if the dogs even knew who was who themselves... The original, and Deo's altered clone...

Needless to say, not only were there enough Hoppip to make entire clouds of them some bright summer days, but the Furfrou population had boomed to unreasonable proportions too...

"He's supposed to be swift..."

"THEY are supposed to be nothing but what we need them to be~"

The feminine Farri trotted forward and kissed Sayl's forward. The masculine one blushed and glanced away... but then did the same thing.

Sayl's expression was distant and warm. It took a pair of fingers snapping sharply to wake them up...

Behind was Li, a paw on her hip. And beside her was...

Ilianna. A little taller, her limbs a little more toned, and her skin was a bit darker blue... And her keen eyes missed nothing any more. After the adventure, Noah had set her aside at some point and asked tenderly if she wanted to settle down, and raise her kids like any other mama…

Her response had been to pull him close by the collar, push her lips firmly against his in a romantic and deep kiss, and conceive their next one that night.

She hadn’t missed a single mission since, no matter how heavy...

Beside her, hands cockily on her hips as if it was genetic... was Nahna. 

The young Dewott had a ruff of hair long enough to cover one eye and fur somewhere between her parents’ patterns; a hood of dark fur and a body of light, with her ‘trunks’ a bit thinner and more like a bikini bottom. At times her scallops seemed sharper than her parents' weapons, and she was eager to prove herself, but she knew better than to talk back when discussing business... She let her mother stroll forward and lightly pick Sayl up, staring him in his eyes until they stopped swirling with heated thoughts and became focused again...

"I believe we had much to discuss, Sayl?"

Always so polite and eager. Sayl nodded and lifted himself out of Ilianna's hands...

"So... Yes... When Noah get's here... We will..." 

The door to the guild opened and a bustle of feathers put everyone immediately on edge. There was squawking and crying out, and Sayl immediately hid behind the two canines...

A pair of hands snapped up suddenly. The gardevoir stepped forward, and held out the bird she'd caught...

Silent as ever. Her intense stare was unnerving to say the least, but she had never done anything to indicate she was a danger... Indeed, while the others stared at her with a bit of tension, all she did was let the Chatot go. It nearly darted for the entrance, but crashed straight into Noah's chest as he arrived...

"Whuff! Oh dear... Are you okay?" he asked, catching the bird and the paper map rolled tightly in their beak. The Chatot's head spun dizzily before they stood up quickly on Noah's hand...

"Team Wellspring! Wellspring! There's something coming!"

Noah allowed himself a light grin... Seemed Mew's appearance meant more than he expected...

"Something eh...? A new Dungeon opening perhaps? A particularly angry Hippowdon? I could flex right now..."

"...Rawk!"

The Chatot fluttered up and perched on the chandelier above. As it swayed, the imitated a voice that made Ilianna and Noah go from casual and playful... To deadly serious...

"...Don't beg... Fools meet their end quickly against..."

"...Team Drought..."

Ilianna crouched immediately. Noah's paws curled into fists... But after a moment, his jagged grin returned... And then he started laughing, heartily...

"...well... If I was looking for something to test us after all these years..."

He turned to look back over his shoulder... The path wound down from the door, around the town square where Mew's image stood so tall and proud, and then out into the wild countryside...

"...seems we've been set on a collision course..."