Here Comes Team Charm

One evening, on the eastern horizon, in a small expanse of ruins...

A Graveler stepped into the deepest portion of the ruin. It was dark, and for anyone else it would have been impossible to see; but with the Eyedrop Seeds he had been eating throughout the dungeon, and indeed ate as he stepped in, he could see it all clearly.

"Hah hah... This is... this must be the deepest chamber." He gazed around and saw a large chest sitting in the middle of five stone pillars, three of which bore statues. "Hey, hey... don't tell me that... that's the treasure everyone's been blabbering about..."

Stepping up carefully, Graveler recognized the stone lining of the chest, the ancient lock hanging between the lid and the body, as an ancient treasure. "Oh, yes it is!" The treasure of the Eastern Ruins!" He flexed all four of his arms. "Oh, I've been working so long, so hard, waiting for the chance to get at this!"

Graveler stepped forward and nearly threw a stone into the lock from a surefire distance before explorer's instinct hit him. "Hold the phone..." He smacked himself in the forehead, chipping off rock. "The second I crack this lock, the ruins are gonna crumble, or something." He sighed. "Pick it up slowly, get the hell out of here, and then crack it," he said to himself.

Carefully, he stepped up to the chest and placed two arms on either side of it. "This treasure... is mine!"

"Wait a moment!"

A distinctly feminine voice cracked around, throwing the Graveler off-course. "What the..."

"This treasure has already been claimed - by us!"

"We're not handing it over to you!"

Two different voices, cracking from either side. Graveler looked around. "Who-who are you? Show yourself!"

"Show ourselves, you say?" The first voice spoke again. "All right! We'll show ourselves!"

Suddenly, the statue to his left spun, throwing rock dust in every direction and took a combative pose, arm to its right, fist out in front. "Power!"

The statue on his right spun as well, dusting the air - and by the time it cleared, the figure had a hand to its forehead and an arm to the right. "Wisdom!"

Finally, the statue directly behind the chest leapt into the air, flipped, and took a pose, a hand to its hip, an arm to the sky. "Beauty!"

Graveler's eyes widened. "No...!"

"Here come the treasure hunters! Here comes Team Charm!"

The figure on the left leapt, slamming a kick into Graveler's forehead and knocking him flat - but failing to knock him out. The figure on the right threw a hand out, and a psychic pulse grabbed Graveler, raising him into the air. "Waaaah!"

The rear figure jumped over the chest, and threw Blinker Seeds in every direction, filling the room with black powder. A great deal of the powder fell into Graveler's eyes. As he tried to clear it, he heard a crack of stone, a creak of hinges - and when his eyes opened, the chest was empty.

"Oi! That's my treasure!" He spun to see the figures standing at the entrance. The figure that had been behind the chest took a pose, then raised an Explorer Badge of black gold imbued with an onyx as her teamates touched her shoulders. They vanished, and Graveler looked around as the ruins started to quake. "Aie aie aie aie aie!"



On a cliff in the distance, the girls watched the ancient building fall apart. The figure that had waited to the right of the chest, a slim, humanoid Pokémon adorned in a dress of pearl white and soft hair of jade green, chuckled. "Alright! That went well!"

"You can say that again!" said the figure that had been left of the chest - a Pokémon with strong legs of spinel and thin arms of light garnet.

The figure that had posed behind the chest - a dark brown Pokémon with bright white surrounding her long ears and covering her wrists and ankles - was sitting on the edge of the cliff, her legs crossed and dangling over the edge, her mouth curved into a smile.

"Glad to see you're getting happy about victories again, Medicham," she called. She looked at the treasure she had snatched from the chest - a soft scarf of silvery white that had psychic energy reverberating around it, heating the air. "Looks like a prize for your plan, Gardevoir," she called, tossing the Caring Scarf over her shoulder.

Gardevoir caught the scarf and hung it around her neck. "That's one treasure after another. Calling our success rate a hundred percent is justifiable."

"We haven't missed a single treasure we've sighted!" Medicham agreed. "We got another target, Lopunny?"

Lopunny shook her head. "Not yet. But we'll find a target soon." She touched her legs to the side of the cliff, grabbed the edge of the cliff, and leapt off, landing just next to the edge. "And when we do, we'll go after it. Between the three of us, there's nothing we can't do!"

Medicham punched out in a combative stance. "Power!"

Gardevoir touched a hand to her head meditatively. "Wisdom!"

Lopunny placed a hand on her hip and reached for the sky. "Beauty!"

"Here comes the terasure hunters! Here comes Team Charm!"



The treasure hunters of Team Charm are a famous exploration team. They're not only well known for being Master Rank explorers with having a great reputation. Their splendid ability to find treasure is admired by everyone. And the girls themselves have admirers of their own.

But this story takes place a little earlier... before Team Charm became famous.

The Team Charm that always gets the treasure their aiming for...

Their target may be more difficult than they anticipate.



"W-wait for me!"

Gardevoir sighed and touched a hand to the Kangaskhan Rock that she and Lopunny had just arrived at. Lopunny chuckled, turned, and leaned against it as Medicham panted up to them.

"We've... We've come... pretty far," she gasped. "Are we... Are we anywhere... near our... destination... yet?"

"Just a little further, Medicham," Gardevoir explained, switching out items. "According to my research, once we get out of this jungle, our destination is Boulder Quarry."

Lopunny turned to her. "They say Boulder Quarry has a legendary treasure of great value. They said it's so beautiful that mere words cannot express it. A beautiful treasure..." She giggled. "Sounds like it will fit us perfectly!"

"Is that so?" Medicham asked. "When I hear something like that... it makes me anxious! Let's go!"

"Calm down," Gardevoir warned. "Or cheer up. Take your pick." Lopunny was about to reply when she heard something rustle. She turned to see a flower-adorned Pokémon approaching them. Gardevoir noticed and pulled her hand from the Kangaskhan Rock. "Hello? Who are you?"

"My name is Bellossom," the Pokémon replied. "I live in this jungle. I heard you talking about the treasure in Boulder Quarry, and I need to tell you... You really should give up."

"Sorry?" Gardevoir asked. "Why?"

Bellossom shifted uncomfortably as the Psychic-and-Fighting-type Pokémon questioned her. "That treasure has been sought by more exploration groups than I care to remember. But nobody's found it. Everyone knows that it's impossible to find. And lately, we - that is, those of us who live here - we think there might not actually be anything there to begin with. So don't you think you should give up as well?"

Lopunny chuckled. "Thank you, Bellossom. But we're not giving up." She raised her team's Explorer Badge - white silver with wings laced in gold, imbued with the mix of amythest and sapphire that cored a Hyper Rank badge. "That kind of treasure... sounds exactly like what we want to look for!"

"We always find and acquire the treasure we're looking for." Gardevoir explained.

"After all, we're treasure hunters," Medicham explained. "The alluring Team Charm!"

She punched out and threw an arm to her left. Gardevoir touched a hand to her head and spread an arm to her right. Lopunny popped a hand to her hip and raised an arm to the sky. Bellossom nodded. "Team Charm, eh?"

Gardevoir hoisted the team's Treasure Bag onto her shoulder. She always carried the Treasure Bag, while Medicham bore a rations bag - and Lopunny bore the safe pack for any of the valuable items the team found. "Lopunny, let's head out."

"To the other side of the jungle!" Medicham agreed.



After a long travel through Southern Jungle - which involved traversing over the actual canopy of the trees - the Team found themselves looking at an area between rocky and forestial.

"Looks like that's the end of the jungle," Gardevoir mused.

"So Boulder Quarry is just ahead," Medicham finished.

A strange sound emerged, leaving Medicham spinning. "What was that? Did I just... was I imagining things?"

"No," Gardevoir assured her. "I heard it too. Like some kind of verberation."

The verberation sounded again, and Lopunny stepped forward. "There it is again. Let's go find out what it is." She hopped ahead, leaving Gardevoir and Medicham to follow - but all three of them stopped in their tracks when they saw a pink figure lying facedown on the ground.

"Someone's... unconcious!" Gardevoir exclaimed. She rushed forward, Lopunny and Medicham following behind her. "He's not moving..."

Medicham touched a hand to the back of the figure's head. "Is he even...? He's not moving at all!"

Lopunny was just about to speak when the strange verberation sounded again. Lopunny was the first to respond. "He's... he's just passed out from hunger." She turned to Medicham. "Medi, give him one of those..."

Medicham nodded, reached into the rations pack, and pulled out a glistening, ruby-red Apple. Slowly, he set it down next to the unconscious Pokémon.

The Pokémon started to stir. Then he started to mumble. And then sniff. "This smell... that's got to be..."

With a sudden movement, he leapt into the air and turned towards the Apple Medicham had set down, leaving all three of the Team Charm girls to leap backwards. "I knew it! A Perfect Apple!"

One second the Apple was there. The next it was gone. Even Gardevoir hadn't seen him eat it.

"Phwah! Thank you so much!" the Pokémon exclaimed. He looked around to all of the Team Charm girls. "I'm feeling better, thanks to you! Perfect Apples are my number-one-favourite!"

Lopunny felt uncomfortable around the strange Pokémon. "Y-you like Perfect Apples that much? Here, you can have mine, too." She reached into the pack on her back and handed the Pokémon another ruby Perfect Apple, then held it out. The Pokémon snatched it thankfully.

"Really? Thank you so much!" Then the oddest thing happened; the Pokémon started to balance the Perfect Apple on his head. "Yay! Thank you! Who are you three?"

"We're the treasure hunters," Gardevoir replied, being the best of the three to handle the situation. "Team Charm. This is Lopunny and Medicham. My name's Gardevoir. And you are?"

"Wigglytuff!" the Pokémon replied. "I'm the first apprentice of the explorer Armaldo."

"Nice to meet you," Gardevoir replied. She looked confused.

"I've never heard of the explorer Armaldo," Lopunny stated carefully. "But if you're an explorers apprentice... does that mean you're also looking for the treasure in the quarry?"

"It's no joke!" Medicham exclaimed. "We're the ones who are going to find that treasure!"

Wigglytuff was the one who looked confused. "Treasure? What are you talking about? I was just taking a walk through here - taking a break from exploration. Then someone stole all my food, and I got really hungry. And I passed out here. That's all!"

Lopunny shook her head. "You're confusing, Wigglytuff." Wigglytuff was still balancing his Perfect Apple atop his head. Turning to her teammates, Lopunny called, "Come on, let's get going. See you later, Wigglytuff. Take care."

As the team dashed away, Wigglytuff called back, "Thanks again, so much! Friendly friends!"



When Team Charm arrived at Boulder Quarry, they found themselves surrounded by Pokémon. "Aah!" Medicham exclaimed. "Is everyone here an explorer?!"

"Probably," Gardevoir agreed. "Everyone's gathered, aiming for the treasure at the depths of the quarry."

One of the explorers, a Cacturne leaning up against a Kangaskhan Rock, saw the girls and called out, "Woah! Hey, pretty ladies!"

Everyone turned. A Magmortar was the first to speak to them. "Oh, woah! Are you ladies an exploration team, too?"

"You look way too... delicate to be an exploration team," a Houndoor at the entrance called. "This is too difficult for you girls. You should give up."

Lopunny giggled. "Thanks for the advice, but no thanks. It's not good to judge others by their apearance." She looked around. "By the way. What's the status of the treasure?"

Magmortar shook his head. "No one's found it yet."

"Nothing's been found," Houndoor replied. "At all."

Cacturne pulled himself off the Kangaskhan Rock. "It's said that the quarry's like a labyrinth. Easy to get lost, hard to get out. Even so, you should be able to get halfway through - it's only after the canyon that it gets really difficult."

"Difficult?" Medicham asked.

Houndoom nodded. "Yeah. Even if you try to move forward, you'll always end up right back where you started - no matter how many times you try. So everyone's been coming back here to discuss it."

"There's got to be some kind of puzzle to it somehow," Magmortar stated. "Figure out the puzzle, get the treasure. Don't figure out the puzzle, never get the treasure."

"Bellossom was saying the same thing earlier," Gardevoir said to the others. "Seems like this treasure really is a difficult one to find."

Medicham nodded. "Seems like it. But if it's that kind of treasure, there's value in finding it."

"Nothing's impossible!" Lopunny assured them. "We're Team Charm!" She popped her hip to the side, placed one hand on it, and raised the other arm to the sky. Medicham punched out with one hand and threw the other to her left. Gardevoir touched a hand to her forehead and spread her other arm to the right.

Cacturne gulped. "Whoa."

The girls stepped through the crowd and were nearly into the cavern when a voice called, "Hey! You, over there!"

Everyone turned as a second voice shouted, "Give up now! This treasure's ours!"

Lopunny spun, her ears flowing behind her, as a trio of figures that looked dark came into view. One of them was a poisonous cobra with a glaring face on his hood. One was a massive scorpion, his claws as sharp as a Gallade's Psycho Cut. The leader of the trio had icy claws and a fiery face.

"That's it," the leader called. Her eyes glistened with a mix of hot and cold. "Clear out. This treasure's going to be found by the band of thieves. Team AWD!"

Everyone started panicking. Magmortar leapt back. "T-team... Team AWD?"

"The band of th-thieves!" Houndoom gasped.

The leader of the thief team stepped forward, claws glistening with ice. "Get out of here. Or get hurt."

Medicham turned to Cacturne. "Hey, what's with them?"

Cacturne looked shocked. "You don't know AWD? They're a band of thieves. Their wickedness knows no bounds." He pointed to the scorpion and said, "That's Drapion over there. He'd beat you down and split your skull." Beckoning to the cobra, he added, "That's Arbok. He'll coil you up and poison your bones."

Finally, Cacturne pointed to the leader. "Lady Weavile's the team leader. Rumor has it she's incredibly strong. She'll pursue her goal by any means, fair or foul. Nice or nasty. Legal... or not so legal. The entire team's known for their behaviour. You run into them in a dungeon... and they'll strip you of everything."

"Everything?" Gardevoir asked.

"Everything," Cacturne assured them. "Lady Weavile's even stolen Explorer Badges."

Drapion stepped forward. "Weren't you listening? CLEAR OUT!" He spread his claws, and something dripped from the end of one of them, touched the tip of a blade of grass, and killed it and everything around it. "Or you're gettin' it painful and painful to the max!"

"Sss-sss-sss," Arbok chuckled. "Lisssten up! We've been getting ressstlesss, becaussse itsss been too long sssinccce we've beaten sssomeone down!" He bared his fangs, dripping electrically charged poison.

Weavile touched her icy clawtips to each other, spreading an icy burst through the air. "So who's it going to be? Anyone who doesn't clear out... well, we'll give you the choice - coil or crush."

The entire crowd that was standing in front of the quarry sped away, leaving the entirety of AWD to follow them with their gaze. "Cowards," Drapion stated. He turned and spat in front of the trio. The pool of saliva was tinged purple with poison, and the second it hit the ground it started digging a hole.

Arbok turned and saw Team Charm standing in front of the quarry entrance. They all stepped forward to get a better look at AWD, and Arbok looked surprised. "Sssay... Are thossse cute girlsss ssstill here?"

Drapion turned. "Hey! And so they are! Looks like the girls have some spine!"

"Aren't you ssscared?" Arbok asked. His eyes widened. "Sssay... isss it you admire usss... and want to become friendsss?"

Drapion gave a loud guffaw. "If that's how it is, it's simple!" He stepped forward. "You girls are cute, so I guess we'll let you be friends with us." He crossed his chest with a claw and bowed. Arbok slithered forward and did the same.

"Permission to speak freely?" Medicham asked.

"Granted to degree seven," Gardevoir asked.

Medicham stepped forward. "Who do you think you are?"

Even her words had punch to them. Drapion stumbled backwards in shock. "Wh-what?!"

Gardevoir slipped forward. "Become friends with Pokémon whose reputations bear marks of outlawed actions? Why would we do that?"

Arbok slithered back. "Wh-what?"

"We don't think you're scary," Lopunny stated. "And we don't admire you in the least. So sayonara."

Drapion's fangs flashed with poison. "WHAT?"

Arbok's eyes glared with anger. "THAT'SSS IT!"

Both of them stepped forward, but Medicham and Gardevoir shot forward. Gardevoir threw Arbok into the air with a Psychic; Medicham sent Drapion spiralling backwards. They landed in their original places and smiled.

"Oh? You're weaker than I thought!" Medicham explained. "No challenge for the treasure hunters?"

She punched out. "Power!"

Gardevoir touched her temple. "Wisdom!"

"Beauty!" Lopunny popped her hip and placed a hand on it.

Drapion and Arbok both gave battle shouts, but Weavile's single word blocked them like pyrocrya.

"Wait!"

Both of them crawled back as Lady Weavile took a single step forward. Lopunny mirrored it, locking eyes with the thieving leader.

"You've made an enemy out of a band of thieves," she stated. "And you won't regret it, will you?"

Lopunny chuckled. "Not at all."

Weavile smirked. "I won't forget those words. Next time, we won't be diplomatic." Fire and magma burst up from behind her in a burning pillar, ashes flying everywhere. "Arbok! Drapion! We're going."

She stepped forward and shouldered Lopunny for good measure. Lopunny responded by frontflipping, digging a kick into Weavile's headdress, and landing perfectly. Drapion and Arbok stepped forward, maneuvering around Gardevoir and Medicham.

"Hmph." Medicham clenched her fists. "They think they can just walk away like that. We've got every treasure we've aimed for - and this time won't be any different!"

Gardevoir shook her head. "Calm down, Medicham. You get into a fight with them, and you're just going to get eliminated. Even we can't take three-to-one odds unless we're together against nine."

"Excuse me..."

The trio turned to see a Sentret approaching them. "You," Lopunny muttered. "You're from earlier... you didn't run off?"

"I did," Sentret corrected. "But I came back. My name is Sentret. I saw you arguing to Team AWD. The three of you... I've never seen anyone stand up to AWD like that. Can I ask a request of you?"

Gardevoir nodded. "Alright. Ask away."

Sentret shuddered. "Team AWD needs to be punished. I used to be in an exploration team with some friends a while ago. But my friends were attacked by AWD while we were split up during an adventure. They were hurt badly... and since then, they've been to scared to go exploring again. They spend their days shaking in fear..."

Medicham clenched her fist. Energy, both spiritual and psychic, gathered around her hand. "That's terrible! They really are scoundrels, just like the rumours say!"

"To do something so terrible that your friends don't want to explore anymore..." Gardevoir shook her head in disgust.

Lopunny turned towards the quarry. "Don't worry. If we run into Team AWD again, they're going to be living Antimatter."



After a deep trek through the first part of the quarry, the trio arrived at what looked like a short canyon. Medicham stopped after a while. "Huh," she muttered. "Something about this place seems different somehow. The air seems... charged."

"It's been a straight path without diverging," Gardevoir muttered. "Maybe we got lost without realizing it..."

"What?!" Medicham asked. "Don't tell me we're lost!? What do we do? We should just try to keep moving forward, right?"

Lopunny raised her hands. "Calm down, girls. Remember, the other explorers told us about this. Rather than getting worried about it, think of it like this. This is a place where everyone gets lost, so it's only natural that you'll get lost."

"Wait! You! Where did you come from?! This is my territory! This is the realm of Aggron!"

Everyone started looking around, but Lopunny managed to remain calm. "Is that so?" she called. "We're knew to Boulder Quarry. We were not told this was the territory of anyone but a fellow named Treasure."

"Grah-hah-hah!" The laugh was like metal digging into stone. "You didn't know? Then allow me to teach you... what happens to those who tresspass here!" An echoing roar like grating metal emerged from nowhere.

"Larion! Come on out!"

From either side of the team, the stone burst apart, sending three quadrupedal figures coated in metal plates rolling out from each side. Another grating roar, and a massive metallic bipedal figure shot out of the ground and landed before them.

Aggron roared. "We show no mercy to those who invade our territory! That's the law of this land!"

"Is that so?"

Lopunny's words had no fear in them - a result of exploration long past. "We apologize that we wandered into your territory, but we didn't know. Regardless, don't you think it a little unreasonable to attack us without warning?"

"We've done nothing to this place," Gardevoir added. "And we don't intend to fight."

"But..." Medicham added. "If you'll insist on fighting, then we have no choice. We'll be your opponents!"

"Humph!" Aggron scoffed. "You ladies are cheerful. However..."

A metal flash burst from his armour plating. "How long can you keep it up? Who are you that you think you can try and word your way out?!"

He roared. "Larion! Attack!"

"Groooooaaaaah!"

Gardevoir raised a hand to her temple and stepped back, charging psychic energy. "Here they come!"

Medicham stepped back with fighting chi gathering around her hands like fire. "Here they come."

Lopunny popped her hip to the side. "Let's go!"

Medicham shot forward. Her chi coursed from her hands to her feet as she leapt something around thirty metres into the air, flipped, and slammed a High Jump Kick into one of the Larion's skulls, knocking it out instantly. Gardevoir picked three of the Larion up with a Psychic, then threw them into the rock walls and let them slide to the ground. Medicham leapt off the Larion, and her chi coursed from foot to hand as she spun and slammed a Force Palm into each of the other two before Gardevoir threw the last three over her head and into the opposite rock wall, knocking them out.

As for Lopunny, she was playing the evasion game, beating on Larion with Pounds, switching places before his Metal Claws could hit her with Baton Passes, flipping Jump Kicks into the steel titan's head, and basically playing with a canyon fighter in his own canyon.

Finally, it was Lopunny who messed up as Aggron's Metal Claws dug into her side. She fell to the ground as he slammed them into the ground centimetres from either side of her neck.

"This should be fun," he smirked. He raised his hand for a Mega Punch when something caught him in the back.

Psychic energy raised him into the air, holding him in place as Lopunny got to her feet. Gardevoir was holding him in place with incredible psychic energy, while Medicham was balancing on the ball of her foot. Lopunny limped over to her, clutching her side, and put a hand on Medicham's shoulder. "He's all yours."

"Drop him!"

"Take him!"

Gardevoir released the psychic energy and let Aggron fall to the ground, gravity hitting him hard enough. He spun and, as Medicham shot towards him, he swept a Metal Claw towards her face.

Medicham bat it away with a Force Palm, then leapt into the air in half a backflip and slammed a High Jump Kick that threw Aggron onto his back. She soared into the air, completed the flip, and fell, slamming another cracking kick into his armor plating.

As the Larion regained consciousness, they saw their leader on the ground and sped into the holes in the rock pillars. Medicham leapt off of Aggron, the chi in her foot cracking the ground, and spun. "They panicked and ran off, did they?" She stepped forward. "We're Team Charm! Don't underestimate us!"

Gardevoir chuckled. "Well, at least we won't be held back anymore. Let's keep moving." The trio continued into the nearby cave, Lopunny still clutching her injured side.

As they stepped in, Gardevoir touched the rock side of the cave. "This cave seems different somehow..."

"Hey!" Medicham pointed. "Here... there's two entrances?" Lopunny and Gardevoir looked up to see that Medicham was right; there were two entrances to different chasms, one on either side.

"Looks like the labyrinth continues," Gardevoir mused. "We have to choose the correct entrance to proceed."

"Yeah. But... Which one do we choose?" Medicham asked. "They look pretty much the same..."

"It's fine," Lopunny said cheerfully. "Pick whichever one you like." She winced from the pain in her side, then turned to them. "Which one do you think?"

Medicham replied, "Right" - Gardevoir answered, "Left".

Both of them turned to each other. "You're kidding me," Medicham stated. "It's obviously the one on the right. Honestly, think common instinct!"

"Think logically," Gardevoir replied. "I detect several psychic signatures from Pokémon who have gone to the right - and none who have gone to the left. No one's found the treasure yet."

"Girls, girls!" Lopunny exclaimed. "Look, why don't the two of you just go the ways you think." She leaned against a Kangaskhan Rock. "And I'll wait here for one of you to come back because the path loops around."



Fifteen minutes later, Gardevoir and Medicham sped into Lopunny's view near-simultaneously from the opposite caves they had come from, nearly crashing into each other. Lopunny got up from her perch in confusion. "What the...?"

"This is..." Medicham stuttered.

"The place... where we started..." Gardevoir stuttered back.

Lopunny shook her head. "I don't get it." She pointed to the right entrance. "Medicham, you took the right entrance, and you found yourself coming out the left one and back here." Pointing to the left one, she continued, "Gardevoir, you entered through the left, and you came out through the right here."

Medicham hung her head. "I don't get it... Maybe there's some kind of puzzle to it. Solve the puzzle, get the treasure."

"Gardie?" Lopunny asked. "You got any ideas?"

Gardevoir shook her head. "Sorry, no. I haven't the faintest clue."

Medicham sighed. "If you haven't got anything, than there's nothing much we can figure out..."

Lopunny spun. "Wait a sec! I don't want to be put on the same level as you, Medicham.

"What?!" Medicham snapped up. "What do you mean by that? Just ask yourself, have you figured out anything?"

"Well..." Lopunny started, then sighed. "No. Actually, I don't have a clue, either."

"Hey! Wait!"

Lopunny raised her head to see a glistening, ruby-red Apple roll into the cavern. "What the...?"

A familiar pink figure shot into the cave and grabbed the Perfect Apple from just under Lopunny's feet. "Yay! I finally caught you! My Perfect Apple!" He threw it into the air and started balancing it on his head again.

Medicham looked confused. "You're..."

Gardevoir stepped forward. "Wigglytuff?"

Wigglytuff looked around at the trio, not taking the Apple from his head.. "Oh! It's Team Charm again! Yay! Friendly friends!"

"Wh-why..." Even Gardevoir was confused at this point. "Why are you here?"

"You've come for the treasure as well!" Medicham shouted.

Wigglytuff turned to her. "Huh? Treasure? I don't know anything about that. The treasure. My Perfect Apple just ran away from me. I was chasing it as it rolled away. And here I am!

Lopunny winced. "I see...."

"So," Wigglytuff asked, "what are all of you doing here?"

"We can't go any further," Gardevoir replied. "You see the two entrances here?" She pointed to each of them in turn, causing Wigglytuff to look between them repeatedly.

"It doesn't matter which entrance we enter," Medicham explained. "We end up right back here."

Lopunny stepped forward. "We're guessing there's a puzzle to solve," she offered, "because... we're all really puzzled! Can you think of something to try?"

Wigglytuff looked at the left entrance. Then he looked at the right entrance. Then he turned to Medicham, then to Gardevoir.

Then, Perfect Apple still bouncing on his head, he started dancing, cheering "Yay! Perfect Apple! Perfect Apple!"

"Hey!" Medicham shouted. "Weren't you paying attention to us?!"

Gardevoir sighed. "If you've got a plan, we'd love to hear it. Just lend us your wisdom, and we might figure this out."

"It's no point," Medicham stated. "It was a mistake to ask him! He's not listening at all!"

Wigglytuff shook his head, although with his strange dance it was hard to tell. "Nope. I'm listneing."

Gardevoir turned to him. "What did you say?"

"You helped me," Wigglytuff explained. "So it would be rude for me not to pay attention. It's a pretty cool problem, isn't it? There's only two entrances. Enter either one... swoosh! Start again, start again!" He chuckled. "I give up, too. I don't know. However..."

"However...?" Gardevoir asked.

Wigglytuff was about to speak when his Perfect Apple started to jostle from his hands. He shouted, grabbed for it, and ended up punching it towards Lopunny. It hit Lopunny square on the forehead, bounced over her... and passed through the wall!

"Wah! My Perfect Apple!"

Lopunny was still dazed when Wigglytuff shot towards the wall, slammed into her, and slammed her against the wall... no, into the wall...?

And Wigglytuff chased after his Perfect Apple in a restless pursuit, leaving Medicham and Gardevoir alone in the chasm with Lopunny's safe pack.

"What the...?" Medicham asked. "Wigglytuff just walked through the wall! And knocked Lopunny through it, too!"

"What in the world...?" Gardevoir wondered. "If that's the case... then that wall... must be the way through!"

Slowly, she approached the wall and reached out to touch it. It was smooth, cold stone. "What the...?" she wondered. "This is just..."

Medicham's eyes burned with chi. "That's it! Open up!"

She shot towards the wall and slammed a kick into it... and passsed through it like it wasn't there, grabbing at air and finding only Gardevoir's shoulder. Gardevoir screamed as she was pulled through the wall.

When her vision cleared, she found herself sitting in a wide cavern. The stone was green, with pools of water surrounding her. Where she had just come through was an open cavern. Medicham was kneeling on the stone floor, her back bruised from the impact. Lopunny was lying a while away, and Gardevoir and Medicham both rushed to her side.

"Lopunny?" Gardevoir asked. "Are you alright?"

Lopunny got to her feet. "First the Metal Claw to the side. Now a charge through by a Perfect Apple fanatic." She shook her head. "Come on, let's go."

"Let's find that treasure!" Medicham agreed.



Finally, Lopunny, Medicham, and Gardevoir found themselves in an open cavern. Gardevoir was the first to notice the raised platform on the opposite end. "Girls, look! There's a treasure chest over there!"

All three of them shot over to the chest and found themselves staring at it. "This... thing... is... HUGE!" Medicham stuttered. "Looks like those rumors were true!"

"Looks like it," Lopunny agreed. She looked at the lock and was surprised to find only a simple metal push-lock. "No keyhole? Really?"

She closed her eyes, raised a hand to the push lock, and applied pressure. A shining light burst from the chest... revealing an empty chest.

"N-n-n-n-NOTHING?" Medicham screamed.

Gardevoir looked inside. "What the... it's empty?"

Lopunny slumped in dissapointment. "There's no treasure... there's no treasure... there's no treasure..."

"YOU!"

The sharp, poisonous voice had Lopunny spin to see three dark figures starting towards them. "AWD!" she shouted.

Drapion stared at the treasure chest. "Aaah! The treasure!"

"Did you already sssneak off with it?" Arbok demanded.

Weavile crossed her arms. "Looks like we're a little too late. No matters."

Medicham shook her head. "No! We're not the ones who took the treasure!"

"We opened the chest and it was empty!" Gardevoir shouted.

Arbok hissed angrily. "Don't try to fool usss with your liesss!"

"Hand over the treasure!" Drapion shouted.

Gardevoir winced at the poison in Drapion's words. "It's not a lie!" she argued.

Weavile scoffed. "If you're going to lie, be convincing about it, would you?"

"That's it!" Medicham shouted. "You're getting it now."

Arbok hissed. Drapion roared. Weavile smirked. "This should be fun," she called with icy fire in her voice. "Here comes Team AWD!"

Lopunny locked eyes with Weavile and remembered the team's promise to Sentret. When she spoke, there was no attempt at joy or excitement in her words.

"Here comes Team Charm."

Medicham leapt into the air faster than a Raijin, kicked off the roof, and slammed a High Jump Kick into Drapion's forehead. Drapion wasn't as weak as the Larion, though; he grabbed Medicham around the neck and was about to throw her when a Force Palm slammed into his claw, forcing him to release.

Gardevoir started throwing Confusion bursts and Psybeams towards Arbok, who, try as he might, had trouble dodging them. Finally, he managed to weave his way through the middle of a Psybeam and wrap around Gardevoir. He was about to sink his fangs in when a Psychic wrapped around him and threw him off.

Meanwhile, Lopunny and Weavile were caught blow-to-blow. Lopunny tried everything, but her Jump Kicks were countered by Weavile's Ice Shards, her Pounds by Slashes, and whenever she tried to dodge, Weavile would dodge right back and try for another blow, - and Lopunny would barely block it.

As Weavile aimed a Slash for her head, Lopunny gathered her energy and flipped around with a Baton Pass. She spun, trying to slam a Jump Kick into Weavile's head, only for an Ice Shard to dig into her wounded side. Weavile stepped forward. "I've waited a long time for this," she cooed. She raised her claws to slash her down...

Only for her hand to be stopped by a Psychic burst.

She raised her head, but, being a Dark-type, she had no trouble in pulling it out of the psychic field. She turned to see Gardevoir standing there, juggling Arbok with a psychic cage. With a blur, Arbok was pulled from the cage and tied around the wrists of the unconscious Drapion that was sitting under Medicham's foot.

Medicham stepped forward, chi gathering between her hands and forming a shining orange orb. "Power."

Gardevoir twisted her psychic energy into an arrow - which near-immediately turned into lightning. "Wisdom."

Lopunny got to her feet and pulled the Ice Shard out of her side, holding it like a dagger to be thrown. "Beauty."

Weavile gave a shout, and pryocrya burst around her - but in the same instant, the Ice Shard in Lopunny's hand flew through the air and slammed into her forehead. She reached to pull it out, but the Thunderbolt in Gardevoir's energy slammed into her hands, forcing her back as Medicham threw a Focus Blast into her chest. She flew back and hit the ground hard.

"Here come the treasure hunters," they all said at once. "Here comes Team Charm."

A chuckle passed through Weavile's lips. "Guh... you did pretty well... but... don't underestimate us!" She got to her feet as pyrocrya flared around her.

"You're on," Lopunny replied. She held her hands back, and Gardevoir and Medicham high-fived them, transferring charges of psycholectra and chi into her hands. She raised them for a thunder-charged Focus Blast when the strangest sound emerged.

"YOOM TAH!"

Energy seared through the air, throwing both Team Charm and Weavile to the ground - and leaving fiery scars on the ground-bearing Arbok and Weavile. All six of them rose to see a pink figure perched between Charm and AWD.

"Everyone, wait a moment!" Wigglytuff shouted. "All of you, stop fighting!" He looked around. "You guys got caught up in the trap to bring you to battle."

Weavile stepped forward. "What did you say?" She raised a hand as though to Slash Wigglytuff.

"YOOM TAH!"

Energy seared around Weavile, throwing her into her teammates. Medicham gaped. Gardevoir felt faint. Lopunny just winced and sighed.

"This fight was set up," Wigglytuff explained. "To keep you from the treasure."

Medicham approached warily. "Who set this up?" she asked.

"The one who planned it is the boss who lives in this limestone cave," he offered. "I don't know why he did it. But he wanted Team Charm and Team AWD to knock each other out. He probably just wanted to protect the treasure, I think. But it's all just a guess. It's probably better if you ask."

He stepped past Lopunny and stepped up to the empty treasure chest. "Isn't that right? What I said... You were listening, right?"

Gardevoir placed a palm to her face. "He's talking to an empty chest..."

Weavile sighed. "And they say he's made a reputation for himself..."

"Hey... Was that the truth?" Wigglytuff asked. "Tell me."

The treasure chest did something very expected. It did not respond for thirty seconds.

Then the treasure chest did something very unexpected. It closed its lid, then opened it like a mouth and replied, "Yes. I suppose it is."

Both Team Charm and Team AWD ran up to the chest as it started to shake. Then it turned a dark pink colour, melted into a blob, and opened a pair of eyes.

Weavile stared at the blob. "What the hell."

Wigglytuff raised a hand and, without even touching Weavile, smacked her in the face. "His name's Ditto," Wigglytuff replied. "He's a Pokémon who can Transform into many things."

Gardevoir's eyes widened. "T-Transform? So you Transformed into a treasure chest."

Ditto turned to her. "Treasure chest... Primape..."

"A Primape that stole my food, right?" Wigglytuff asked.

"Yeah," Ditto replied. "I'm really sorry about that. And... Team Charm. I decieved you many times. I was Bellossom in the Southern Jungle. And Sentret at the entrance to the quarry."

Medicham looked shock. "When we were told to punish Team AWD..."

"Yeah," Ditto confirmed. "That was me. I'm really sorry."

"But... why?" Lopunny asked. "Why did you deceive us?"

Ditto sighed. "To protect this place." He started to... move... deeper into the cave. "Here, I'll show y'around. Follow me."

Teams Charm and AWD alike followed Ditto deeper into the cave, only to find themselves on a narrow limestone walkway. "Here," Ditto replied. "Take a look."

Everyone looked shocked. "What..." Weavile gasped. "What is that...?"

Sitting in the middle of a circle of golden light was a shape of blue stone - a six-pronged gear, shot through with lapis lazuli. "This..." Lopunny asked. "This shape... floating here... what is that?"

"This is a Time Gear," Ditto replied.

Everyone shouted, "WHAT?"

"A Time Gear..." Arbok muttered. "Thisss...."

"Incredible," Drapion mumbled. "They actually exsist."

Gardevoir looked at it curiously. "This is the first time I've seen one," she gasped. "It... It radiates... something..."

Medicham gulped. "Time," she offered. "It radiates the energy of time... Don't touch it..."

"To protect this," Ditto explained, "is why I'm here. My job is to protect this Time Gear - the treasure of Boulder Quarry. That's why I decieved you all."

Weavile smirked. "A Time Gear, huh?" she asked. "Tsk. I guess we have no choice." She turned to her teammates. "Arbok! Drapion! We're going home."

Lopunny spun. "Wait a minute! You're not going to try and take it?" she asked.

"I'm not crazy, Charm girl," she scoffed. "If it were Lost Loot? Definitely. A Golden Apple? Eh, maybe. But there are some things you just can't take. Like a Time Gear..."



At the entrance to the quarry, set off by Ditto, Weavile turned to Lopunny. "By the way," she warned, "we're not finished with you. Next time we see you... it's back on."

Lopunny giggled. "It's back on," she agreed.

Weavile turned and started off. Arbok and Drapion hung back.

"Nexxxt time you're finissshhhed!" Arbok called.

"Remember that, or you'll get it!" Drapion agreed.

As they turned off, Lopunny called to them, "It's a date!"

Medicham sighed. "Until now, we've always got our treasures," she moaned.

Gardevoir leaned back on a plane of psychic energy. "Guess not this time," she agreed.

Lopunny looked between them. "You two are crazy. We saw a Time Gear! We fought Team AWD! That's treasure enough for me!"

Wigglytuff sighed. "Uh... that's great. I'm headed home now, alright?"

Giggling, Lopunny looked to her teammates. "Medi? Gardie?"

"Got it."

"Yes."

They all turned to Wigglytuff, who looked confused. "Huh? What's with everyone?"

Medicham chuckled. "Wigglytuff, you're not half bad! We've got a better opinion of you now!"

"Huh?"

"You saw through Ditto's treasure-chest disguise," Gardevoir explained. "You're really cool!"

Wigglytuff giggled. "Is that so..."

"So," Lopunny asked. "What will you do next, Wigglytuff? Got any plans?"

Shaking his head, Wigglytuff replied, "No."

Gardevoir stepped forward. "Care to explore with us?"

"We could use your skills!" Medicham called. "What'll it be?"

Wigglytuff thought. "That would be fun... But I've never explored with anyone except my master..."

Together, Medicham and Gardevoir turned. "Lopunny?"

Lopunny giggled. "Hey, ummm... Wigglytu~ff? If you were to come exploring with us..."

She reached into her bag and held out a Perfect Apple. "We could give you one of the~se! What'll it be?"

Wigglytuff's eyes widened. "P-P-Per...Perfect Apple!"

"But..." Lopunny dangled it away. "I haven't decided if I'm giving it to you ye~t!"

Medicham held her hands together. "Let's get something straight. We're all pretty fast."

Gardevoir crossed her hands over her chest. "Do you think you could keep up with us?"

"What do you think?" Lopunny asked, dangling the Perfect Apple. "How about a race against the Charms?"

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One!"

All three of them bounded away, and Wigglytuff's eyes widened. "Come back here!" she called. "Perfect Appullllllllle!"



"YOOM TAH!"