Following Cryote’s capture, April led Slate to the café she had mentioned on the ferry. There, they filled their grumbling stomachs with toasted sandwiches, chips, and soda. Then, they took two of the famed donuts to go.

“Whoa! You weren’t kidding about how good these are,” Slate exclaimed, taking a careful bite into the piping hot, freshly cooked donut as they walked towards the Pokémon Center.

“Right?” April replied. “Nothing beats a jelly-filled donut! I think I’ll let mine cool down a bit, though.”

Ignoring this subtle jab, Slate asked between steamy mouthfuls, “Do you think it will be a big problem that we don’t have starter Pokémon?”

“Most people manage without them. Besides, as you pointed out, we’re lucky enough to have Rodenki and Cryote,” April explained. “However, they’re both Normal-Types, and so is your Eevee. The good thing about a starter would have been its elemental Type coverage. Luckily for me, Rodenki is also part Electric-Type, but we’re probably going to struggle unless we catch some more Pokémon.”

“Good point,” said Slate, “We certainly don’t want to face-off with a Fighting-Type Trainer any time soon. I suppose we’ll have to start thinking about earning some more Poké Dollars then, so we can buy more Silph Balls and other equipment.”

“We have a few options for that. Defeating a wild Pokémon earns us ₽100, catching one is ₽200, and winning an official League battle is worth ₽500—or ₽1000 for special cases like Gym Leaders,” April confirmed. “Bah! I can’t wait anymore!”

Slate laughed as she succumbed, unfolding the paper bag holding her donut and staring into it longingly. Unfortunately for April, she never got to enjoy it. Just before reaching for the jelly-filled treat, a small Pokémon with brightly colored plumage dropped from the sky and made off with the bag.

“Hey!” April cried before pursuing the airborne thief. “Come back here with that! Somebody, stop that Zunshin!” The heavy donut weighed down the tiny bird Pokémon, but its rapidly beating wings kept it just out of April’s reach as it flew up the road leading to the lab.

Slate was too stunned to move for a moment. He couldn’t figure this girl out. One moment she would be acting all high and mighty, and the next she was running through town, chasing after a donut like a maniac. Granted, they were good donuts, but this situation was like something out of an anime.

After pleading with her to give up on the donut to no avail, Slate unclipped his Pokédex. With some difficulty caused by all the movement, he managed to get a scan of the lime green dessert thief. *Ping*.

SPECIES

#014 Zunshin

DERIVATION

Zun Zun (Hummingbird species) + Bunshin (JP: Clone technique)

CATEGORY

Hovering

COLORING

Light Green

Turquoise

Fuchsia

TYPE

Flying

-

ABILITIES

Keen Eye

Sap Sipper

Speed Boost

DETAILS

These tiny bird Pokémon flap their wings at incredible speeds, allowing them to hover in place. They can move fast enough to create image echoes of themselves, which can distract or confuse their foes.

Soon, they reached the lab and continued on past the edge of town. As they entered the grassland beyond, the Zunshin veered off towards a large tree in the center of a field.

“Enough of this!” April expelled.

“Oh, good, it’s really not worth it Apr—” Slate began.

“Come on out, Rodenki!” April commanded, causing Slate to sigh.

Rodenki emerged from its Poké Ball and climbed up April and onto her shoulder. Then, she took it into her hands and launched it skyward with a roar, “Get em’, Rodenki!”

“April!” Slate cried in alarm, his jaw dropping as he watched Rodenki soar through the air like a cannonball. Thankfully, April’s throw was on point, and the rodent Pokémon landed on the flying Zunshin, forcing it down onto the ground.

“Good job, Rodenki!” April praised as the two Pokémon recovered from their fall, and the Zunshin made a move for the donut bag. “Now, use tackle!” Rodenki’s attack landed hard, knocking its foe backward several feet. “Okay, Silph Ball, Go!”

To Slate’s surprise, April expanded and hurled the new purple ball she had purchased before lunch. The capsule hit its target and enveloped the dazed Zunshin. It fell to the floor with a thud, then began rolling back and forth while glowing. Slate worried that Rodenki’s single Tackle had not weakened its opponent enough and that it would escape, but then, the ball stopped moving and flashed.

*Ping*. “₽200 awarded for capture of wild Pokémon,” April’s old-fashioned Pokédex announced in a robotic monotone.

“Victory!” April cheered and ran forward.

Slate was about to congratulate her but instead, slapped his hand to his face in disbelief as he watched April retrieve her donut, rather than the Pokémon she had just successfully captured.

“Err, the Zunshin, April?” he reminded her.

“Oh, yeah,” April remembered, scooping up her Silph Ball. “Look, Rodenki, we caught a Zunshin!”

Her Rodenki squeaked with pride. However, a sudden chorus of other noises cut their celebration short.

“No, please, stay away!” cried a girl’s voice amid a series of hisses and growls.

“What’s going on?” April asked.

“Dunno,” Slate said. “Let’s check it out!”

They darted off through the tall grass, in the direction of the ruckus, which turned out to be near the big tree. On arriving at a clearing beneath it, they witnessed a young girl with brown pigtails swinging a picnic basket wildly to fend off a pack of Mardupe.

She screamed as one peeled off from the group and lunged for the basket. “These aren’t for you!” she bellowed, managing to give it a good smack with her basket. However, its wicker material burst open, scattering bread rolls at her feet, and the remaining Mardupe pounced.

“Get away from her!” Slate yelled, entering the fray with April right behind him, and opened his Silph Ball. “Go, Cryote! Scare ‘em with a Howl!”

As the pup appeared in a shimmer of white light and let loose its intimidating cry, April added “Rodenki, do the same with Charge!” and her Pokémon’s cheeks began to glow and spark dangerously.

The appearance of two more humans and their battle-ready Pokémon was enough to make the Mardupe scurry away, but they had already collected up all but one piece of bread.

“Oh, no, they got the food!” the girl complained, and she dissolved into tears.

“It’s okay, we can buy you some more if you like?” April consoled.

“It wasn’t for me,” she replied, wiping her face with her hands, then looking up. “It was for the Pokémon.”

Slate traced her gaze and in the tree branches above, he spotted the movement of wild Pokémon. He could see Zunshin nests scattered here and there as well as another type of Pokémon running along the branches.

“Lots of Zunshin and Chumster live peacefully together in this tree because of the food and shelter it provides,” she explained as Slate unclipped his Pokédex and held it aloft. “Recently, though, those Mardupe have showed up and they take everything they can get their hands on.”

*Ping*.

SPECIES

#010 Chumster

DERIVATION

Chummy + Hamster

CATEGORY

Hoarder

COLORING

Light Brown

Brown

Dark Brown

TYPE

Normal

-

ABILITIES

Justified

Cheek Pouch

Moxie

DETAILS

When hoarding food in their cheek pouches, their heads can appear up to three times their normal size. If necessary, stored food can be fired from their mouths like machine gun bullets to ward off predators.

“I come here to play with the Pokémon. Since the Mardupe showed up, I’ve been bringing leftovers from our bakery when I can, but now there won’t be enough,” the girl continued.

“That’s where I know you from,” April said. “Your parents run the Hazell Town Bakery, right? I’ve seen you there. I’m April and this is Slate.”

“Nice to meet you both. Thank you very much for saving me,” the girl said politely. “My name is Suzie.”

“Can’t the tree Pokémon defend themselves, Suzie?” Slate enquired. “There’s certainly enough of them.”

“I don’t know. I think they’re too scared,” Suzie said with a sniff.

April appeared to be wrestling with something. “Oh, darn. I think I understand now,” she muttered while reaching into her pocket. She pulled out her other Silph Ball and opened it, releasing the newly caught Zunshin.

The bird hovered in mid-air, taking in its surroundings, then turned to April. “I thought you were being greedy, but you were just trying to feed your friends, weren’t you?” she guessed.

The Zunshin tweeted in reply.

“Here,” April said with a sweet smile, offering the contested paper bag.

Her Zunshin tweeted loudly with its beak facing upward, then took the bag, set it down and placed the donut inside on top of it. As a flock of its brethren descended from their nests, it pecked at the donut with its long beak in rapid succession until it was reduced to crumbs that could be easily distributed.

Slate was touched by April’s gesture given how aggressively she had pursued her stolen donut. “I think that was a Fury Attack,” he commented.

The Chumsters in the tree looked down longingly from above with their adorable eyes, and Suzie followed suit. “There’s some for you too!” she told them, revealing the bread roll, and beginning to tear it to pieces.

Rodenki ran forwards to take some, but April scooped it up into her arms. “I’ll get you something later,” she chastised. “Is there anything else we can do, Slate?”

“Yeah, we’re going to teach them to defend themselves,” Slate declared.

***

Two and a half hours later, Slate, April, Rodenki, Cryote, and Suzie were observing the tree clearing from a nearby patch of tall grass. They had left Suzie’s picnic basket out in the open with Oran Berries from Slate and April’s Trainer Bags placed on top of it.

Sure enough, the Mardupe soon returned and headed for the berries, and the plan was put into motion. With a nod from April, Rodenki’s squeaky signal was given. In response, the seven adult Zunshin that lived in the tree lowered into sight with April’s leading their formation. The speedy bird Pokémon did so while employing the move Slate and April had been practicing with them.

Using the power of Double Team, the seven descending Zunshin appeared as a flock of seventy, their vibrating wings creating a threatening buzzing sound. The six bewildered Mardupe were frozen in fear. Then, from up in the branches, the Chumster inhabitants fired a deluge of Bullet Seed, pelting the Mardupe from every angle. When the shooting finally ceased, the Zunshin and their army of clones dived as one and chased away the terrified thieving Pokémon.

Slate’s group appeared from the tall grass cheering and hollering. Suzie began sobbing again but this time she cried tears of joy. “They did it! They really did it!” she said between sniffs. “April, Slate, thank you!”

“I don’t think those Mardupe will be back,” April asserted.

“But if they do return,” Slate added. “These guys should be able to handle them just fine!”

***

After sharing the berries with the trees residents and watching them play with Rodenki and Cryote, the sun began to set, covering the field in shades of gold.

“Well, we should probably get going,” April suggested as she put her bag over her shoulder. “Come on Suzie, we’ll walk you home.”

Slate turned to April and asked, “What about your Zunshin?”

April considered that for a moment. “I think it’s best I release it, so it can help defend the tree.”

“Are you sure?” slate checked as April scrolled through her Pokédex controls looking for the Release signal to send to the Silph Ball in her other hand. Just then, however, her Zunshin appeared before them. The tiny bird Pokémon hovered around before coming to rest on April’s shoulder.

“You want to come with me?” she queried. “You don’t have to, you know.”

In response to this, the Zunshin twittered happily, hovered down to April’s hand, and used its beak to double click the Silph Ball’s Command Button, forcing the capsule device to open and return its new inhabitant.

“I guess that settles that,” Slate remarked.

“Don’t worry April, there are plenty of Zunshin and Chumster left to defend the tree, and I’ll still be visiting to make sure they’re okay,” Suzie confirmed.

“I’ll leave them in your capable hands then, Suzie,” April approved.

After bidding goodbye to the field Pokémon and returning their own to their Poké Balls, Slate and April escorted Suzie back to the Hazell Town Bakery. They watched through the window as she was embraced by her mother, whom she would no doubt be recounting an exciting tale to that evening.