"What...the heck is that?" An Unown had floated out in front of them, but it didn't look like any letter Arezu had ever seen. After she caught it, she opened up her pokedex to study it. "Oh! I know! It's the thing!" Arezu looked over. "What thing?" Hakuren stamped the ground with a paw. "The end thing! I know because I like the way it squiggles," he said proudly. The end..."Oh s**t it's a question mark!?" They even had punctuation? Just how many of these things were there?
[Battle Synopsis]
Encountered a wild Unown ? at level 17! Genderless | Levitate | Hidden Power Arezu sent out Ai!
Round o1 Ai used Shadow Ball! (80 + 40) x 2 = 240 total damage, Unown was KO'd
"Period...exclamation point...would they have commas?" Arezu mumbled to herself. "Zuzu? Everything okay?" Hakuren poked Arezu's leg. "Agh, yeah, it's just that there might be more of these than I thought. Ugh I hate to say it but...I need to pay better attention to the walls..." Maybe she could figure out how many there were through that. But there was no way she was getting out any paper to record this stuff.
[Battle Synopsis]
Encountered a wild Unown C at level 17! Genderless | Levitate | Hidden Power Arezu sent out Ai!
Round o1 Ai used Shadow Ball! (80 + 40) x 2 = 240 total damage, Unown was KO'd
As they walked, Arezu didin't see much on the walls that helped. Plenty of letters, and she was starting to figure out which was supposed to be which, but no help on the extra ones. "Ugh, my head hurts. All these letters..." It felt all jumbled up inside. Ai twisted soothingly around her leg. "Thanks Ai."
[Battle Synopsis]
Encountered a wild Unown I at level 14! Genderless | Levitate | Hidden Power Arezu sent out Ai!
Round o1 Ai used Shadow Ball! (80 + 40) x 2 = 240 total damage, Unown was KO'd
"Hey guys," Arezu said, happy to find that the two new pokemon were open to pets. The fox took her arm in both paws and vigorously rubbed its head against her knuckles while the pink one closed its eyes and made a contented sound. "Let's see... Gekkit and Chima. Never heard of those before..." She couldn't really choose whether they were coming or not though once Suicune had decided. She registered them to a pokeball, ignoring the whole time Sham growling and yapping at her feet. With a huff, Arezu leaned down when she was finished and picked him up. "Listen kid, like it or not we're family now, so suck it up and stop making like you want to bite my head off. We don't have to be anything you don't want, but just...chill. For two seconds." Sham's growls quieted as he stared into her eyes. He looked past her to the Chima and Gekkit on Suicune's back and felt very sheepish. "Llrrr," he mumbled. "Good enough." Arezu put him back on the ground.
[Battle Synopsis]
Encountered a wild Unown G at level 17! Genderless | Levitate | Hidden Power Arezu sent out Ai!
Round o1 Ai used Shadow Ball! (80 + 40) x 2 = 240 total damage, Unown was KO'd
Hakuren had disappeared to the back, not fond of how crowded it was getting. He was okay if it was out in the open, but he really hated this small underground place already and it was putting him on edge. Luckily Ai seemed a little tense as well, so he could shuffle near her and they could be tense together.
[Battle Synopsis]
Encountered a wild Unown V at level 14! Genderless | Levitate | Hidden Power Arezu sent out Ai!
Round o1 Ai used Shadow Ball! (80 + 40) x 2 = 240 total damage, Unown was KO'd
Shiisa circled around Arezu, pushing her closer to Suicune and the two new "pups". "Woah okay. Hey guys." Arezu ran her fingers along the Gekkit's bamboo collar. "Cool collar." The Gekkit made a weird little noise and rammed her hand with his head, enjoying the pets that he just couldn't get before being introduced to the joys of the human hand. Arezu glanced at Suicune's head; he was looking down at Sham and Flurry playing on the ground. "I bet you're proud of yourself, huh?" Suicune turned his head to look at her, his face expressionless, but she was sure he knew exactly what she meant.
[Battle Synopsis]
Encountered a wild Unown C at level 14! Genderless | Levitate | Hidden Power Arezu sent out Ai!
Round o1 Ai used Shadow Ball! (80 + 40) x 2 = 240 total damage, Unown was KO'd
"You're lucky you're pretty," Arezu said, giving the two newcomers a final pat before squeezing out from between Shiisa and Suicune. Shiisa was happy to be a big sister for two new little brothers, that was sure. "Do they have names?" Arezu asked. She felt like she had to, just in case. When nobody answered, it looked like she'd have to come up with something. Naming Suicune's strays felt sort of wrong to her, though (Shiisa didn't count, in her opinion).
[Battle Synopsis]
Encountered a wild Unown C at level 18! Genderless | Levitate | Hidden Power Arezu sent out Ai!
Round o1 Ai used Shadow Ball! (80 + 40) x 2 = 240 total damage, Unown was KO'd
"We should get moving," Arezu said after she picked up the pokeball for another Unown. Her pockets were getting full with all of these Unown's pokeballs, and surely she was close to getting all of them. Still no sign of any more of those "extra" unknown, though. Still, Arezu felt like she needed to go to the bottom of the ruins and see everything.
[Battle Synopsis]
Encountered a wild Unown T at level 16! Genderless | Levitate | Hidden Power Arezu sent out Ai!
Round o1 Ai used Shadow Ball! (80 + 40) x 2 = 240 total damage, Unown was KO'd
It was bizarre having such a huge entourage following her. Arezu kept looking back to see just this huge mass of black moving on the edges of her light. "Hey," she said suddenly, "Ai or Hikaru, can either of you help with light?" Hikaru and Ai both summoned balls of energy, but they merely glowed a dim blue and purple that didn't reach much past their boundaries. "Okay, how about... Shiisa, Flurry, give me a couple small fireballs. Ai, catch them with psychic. Can you do four?" Ai nodded. Shiisa and Flurry sent out their fireballs, Flurry's was much bigger than Shiisa's and for a brief frightening moment it seemed like Ai wasn't going to capture it. But Ai did, her purple psychic forming a sphere around the fire, and suddenly they had four makeshift lights to follow them and light the place up.
[Battle Synopsis]
Encountered a wild Unown O at level 17! Genderless | Levitate | Hidden Power Arezu sent out Ai!
Round o1 Ai used Shadow Ball! (80 + 40) x 2 = 240 total damage, Unown was KO'd
"Gek! Kirrr!" Gekkit hopped up, gekkering at the floating lights. He tumbled from Suicune's back, ducking into his collar as it bounced along the ground and then stretching his body back out to stand. Chima's wings flapped as he followed, and soon Sham and Flurry had joined them. Even Shiisa sniffed one of the balls, sneezing when she did.
[Battle Synopsis]
Encountered a wild Unown W at level 16! Genderless | Levitate | Hidden Power Arezu sent out Ai!
Round o1 Ai used Shadow Ball! (80 + 40) x 2 = 240 total damage, Unown was KO'd
"Hah, I just realized." Arezu said as she half-watched Gekkit playing with Sham. "What?" Arezu pointed subtly. "All the pokemon that Suicune brings with him. They're all similar, like canines." Hakuren snorted. "So he's got a type? Why'd he pick you up then?" Arezu waved her hand. "Excuse you it's not like that. Besides, I was the one that picked Shiisa.""Riight," Hakuren said.
[Battle Synopsis]
Encountered a wild Unown P at level 16! Genderless | Levitate | Hidden Power Arezu sent out Ai!
Round o1 Ai used Shadow Ball! (80 + 40) x 2 = 240 total damage, Unown was KO'd
"Guess I don't need this anymore," Arezu said, putting her flashlight away. She looked Ai over, but the Espeon seemed calm instead of tired. Arezu figured either the light balls weren't too taxing or Ai was just powerful enough to deal with it. When she thought about the time Ai evolved, Arezu had to admit that the Espeon was probably pretty powerful. They did fall off a building, after all.
[Battle Synopsis]
Encountered a wild Unown B at level 18! Genderless | Levitate | Hidden Power Arezu sent out Ai!
Round o1 Ai used Shadow Ball! (80 + 40) x 2 = 240 total damage, Unown was KO'd
Thinking about Ai made Arezu think about when she'd met all her other pokemon. Kouvu she caught when Ai evolved, and Shion had arrived with Ai in Kalos. Hikaru and Raphael she caught around then too. Now that she thought about it though...wasn't over half of her pokemon at this point ones that Suicune brought to her? Maybe not half but...he really had taken over, hadn't he? She could remember when she caught all of her other pokemon, and Hakuren, well, he had been with her as long as she could remember. Meeting him in the woods was one of her first memories; Arezu remembered it clearly even though her memory was fuzzy on other parts of when she was younger.
[Battle Synopsis]
Encountered a wild Unown A at level 14! Genderless | Levitate | Hidden Power Arezu sent out Ai!
Round o1 Ai used Shadow Ball! (80 + 40) x 2 = 240 total damage, Unown was KO'd
As they walked down the final hallway, Unown began appearing more frequently, flying into the corridor one after the other. For the first time, Arezu felt a hint of worry, the words of the pokedex in her head. Strong in numbers. But still, she was smiling. "We're getting close."
[Battle Synopsis]
Encountered a wild Unown N at level 18! Genderless | Levitate | Hidden Power Arezu sent out Ai!
Round o1 Ai used Shadow Ball! (80 + 40) x 2 = 240 total damage, Unown was KO'd
When Hakuren heard what Arezu said, he ran ahead, darting under the floating Unown. "Hakuren! Ai, let's go too!" Ai released a burst of energy, pushing out in a sphere and knocking the remaining Unown into the walls.
The final room was larger than the rest, the wall covered in Unown writing. Hakuren kicked at the walls, searching for cracks or crevices, any kind of clue. "There's nothing here!" he exclaimed.
Arezu ignored him, walking up to the writing on the wall. "I think...maybe I can read this now. F...R..." She pulled out her pokedex, cycling through the Unown she'd caught.
"Friendship. All lives touch other lives to create something anew and alive."
Arezu ran her hand over the words, frowning. "That sounds like her, doesn't it?" Did it mean anything? Did the Unown here have something to do with this message? Friendship creates something anew...could calling all the Unown together have the power to help them?
"This was a big, fat waste of time! She's not here!""You're right. Half right, I think.""What are you talking about?!""I think we were wrong about Celebi being here. But maybe we found something else to help. The Unown. Thoughts?" Arezu asked, turning.
Suicune stood in the room's center, staring back at her. He padded forward, considering the writing on the wall, then finally turned to her and nodded.
Suddenly, a huge rush of wind surged into the room, carrying on it dozens of Unown. "What?!" They circled the room, pushing Arezu and her pokemon into a tight knot between the eerily chanting creatures. "What are they doing?"
No more. A voice echoed from the gathered Unown. Let's play. Longer.
An Unown broke off from the group, a B. Then another, a C. More and more appeared, none of them the missing letters Arezu hadn't caught yet. "Dammit, I just need three more!" she yelled over their loud chanting.
The wind picked up, circling the center of the room. Suddenly, the chanting stopped. Arezu felt a warm breeze. They were standing outside, on top of the ruins. "What...? Did you do this?" she asked Suicune. He started, no confirmation either way.
Arezu huffed. Somehow, they had been kicked out. Or escaped. There was no use going back, not right now. Arezu had a feeling no matter how hard they tried, they wouldn't find those last few Unown. "Fine then Unown, if you want a 'friend' I'll show you how I play. Come on, Hakuren. I know where we can go to make them come to me."
Hakuren, who was still confused over where they were, ran after her. "What're you talking about? We should just leave, right?" Arezu shook her head. "I'll explain on the way. It's travel time, guys," she said, returning all of her other pokemon aside from Hakuren. She then released Tanjoubi and they climbed aboard.
[ Exit to Renaissance Fair ]
[Battle Synopsis]
Encountered a wild Unown ! at level 17! Genderless | Levitate | Hidden Power Arezu sent out Ai!
Round o1 Ai used Shadow Ball! (80 + 40) x 2 = 240 total damage, Unown was KO'd
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