Somehow, making our way down the swamp for a second time, was even more miserable than it had been the first time. It might have been because this time, we didn’t just follow the path but instead, we had to move through the swamp, keeping our ears open for the noises made by Bidoof.

We had already noticed and defeated three on our morning-path through the swamp, in addition to a pair of Starly who decided that we were a good target. One of those encounters had been handled by Myna, as Claire had decided to name her Starly, the two already working together with some ease. It would take a few more days and battles before their coordination would be seamless, but they were well on their way.

Finally, after we had a quick lunch on a less-muddy patch of ground, the loud, ripping sound of a falling tree gave us a strong indication where a Bidoof would be, and that it was knocking over trees.

Claire and I shared a look, before setting out in the direction of the sound, moving with a new-found determination.

Despite the ground getting boggier and soggier, trying to suck our feet into the muck, or maybe invite the two of us for a wonderful mud-bath, we pushed on and finally, we came to a slightly enlarged pond of water, one of the brooks that ran through the forest dammed up and spilling over, drenching the surrounding ground.

At a glance, there were three Bidoof, but the sounds coming from the forest hinted that there’d be more.

Not willing to take on multiple Pokémon at once, not without knowing how many more there would be, or how far, we first stepped back, quietly retreating back from where we came from.

“Ideas?” I quietly asked, once I thought we were out of earshot.

“Look for the ones in the forest, attack the smaller group first, try to knock out two of them before we withdraw. Your Prince Charming and Myna should be able to get one each, if they go all out, and we can call them back before running away. Use a Potion on them once we are safe, give them a bit of time, but not enough for the Bidoof to recover, and hit them again.” She suggested. The plan was straight-forward but sounded perfectly workable. “Unless there are far too many, we should be able to knock them off and break the dam.”

“Let’s do this.” I nodded in agreement, setting off towards the other sounds we had heard. The Bidoof were working below the dam, right in the area where most of the water had been spilling. Legs covered in mud, we managed to get sight of them, only to realise that there were four of them, all closely working together to dismantle the tree they had knocked over.

“Back to the dam.” I decided, even if travelling through the muck was a pain. The Bidoof around the dam had been moving around in a wide area, giving us a shot to knock them out individually, without our partners getting ganged up on. As we were walking back, a small part of me was wondering why the Bidoof acted the way they did, their behaviour not quite fitting with what I had been taught. However, ultimately, it didn’t matter. Their damn dam had to go.

“You and Myna can take the one in the back, if you sneak over there, Myna should have a clear shot. I’ll take the one on the far side, between the water and the forest.” I told Claire, getting a nod in reply. “Let me start the attack.” I added, wishing for a better way to communicate at a distance.

Spreading up, I moved towards the edge of the forest, skirting it to remain hidden, while Claire moved the other direction, towards the one I had indicated.

Once I was in position, and had given it enough time for Clarie to get into position, I pulled out Charm’s Pokéball, pressing the button to send him out, as I moved out of the forest, into the open. As a flash of light came out of the ball, Prince Charming appeared, as close to the Bidoof as the Pokéball could project him.

“Go, Ember as you close in with Scratch.” I ordered and my dear partner already leapt forward, glowing sparks shooting from his open mouth. The Bidoof reacted a little too slow, first focusing on me for a moment, before shifting its focus to Charm. There was a moment of recognition, but it wasn't in time to avoid the embers. Most of the glimming projectiles struck it Bidoof head-on and some of the embers got stuck in its fur.

Further back, on the dam, Myna’s eager Growl could be heard and I could see the white gleam of a Quick Attack from the corner of my eye. So far, so good.

Caught in the middle, the Bidoof in the water was twitching, swivelling between the two attacks, trying to figure out who to help.

“Charm, press on.” I commanded, knowing that my partner had to take a hit, if we wanted to gain the advantage. The Bidoof had already been savaged by Prince Charming’s claws and the burning embers had taken their toll, but it was setting up to Tackle, trying to drive Charm back. In response, Prince Charming followed my orders, his claws ripping into the Bidoof’s body, sparks of glittering energy escaping as the two Pokémon collided. Charm was knocked back a little, but the Bidoof landed heavily, trying to push itself up.

“Embers, finish it.” I called out, keeping an eye on the other battle. Myna had knocked the Bidoof to the ground and was going in for another attack, while the one stuck in the middle had just started to move towards them, only to turn around, noticing the predicament of the one I was attacking. In the distance, I could hear noise from the other ground, making it clear that we were on a timer. But given that Prince Charming’s second dose of Embers was roasting the Bidoof, sending it tumbling to the ground for another time, now no longer twitching, I was confident to get away.

“Great, get back and rest.” I told Charm, the red beam of my Pokéball striking Prince Charming and pulling him back. “Claire, I’m done!” I shouted, loud enough to be heard over the noise of fighting.

Trusting in my companion, I turned around, the Pokéball still in hand, and dashed into the forest, running away from the battle.

“It worked.” Claire exulted, her breathing a little heavy, when we met up a minute or two later, quite some distance from the Bidoof-dam.

“It did.” I nodded, continuing to apply a Potion to Charm. “We should hurry, maybe we can catch the other group off-guard.” I added, watching as Claire called out Myna, applying some Potion of her own.

Once our partners were comfortable and back in their Pokéballs, we made our way towards the spot where the second Bidoof-group had been earlier, quietly moving through the forest. When we got there, I couldn’t hide a smile, things had worked out perfectly for us. Two of the four Bidoof seemed to have gone to their dam, to check on the commotion we made, leaving the other two on their own.

“You take left, I take right.” I suggested, as we stepped up.

“Vio, your turn.” I called out my second partner, the small, slender form appearing in the muddy forest. For a moment, I could almost feel the disgust for the soggy terrain from her, but it faded immediately as Vio put her game-face on, focusing on the Bidoof I directed her towards.

“Don’t even let it get close, just use your Disarming Voice until it folds. You got this” I told her and in response, the somewhat seductive tone of Vio’s voice filled the forest, focused on that one Bidoof, but the other caught a bit of it, slowing down its approach, towards Twiggy, who had been sent out by Claire.

“Twiggy, show them your Leafage.” Claire ordered and when I briefly looked over, the Bidoof enthralled by Vio’s disarming voice not putting up a fight, the two leaves on Twiggy’s head were glowing with a green sheen, only to unleash that glow, in two leaf-like projectiles, striking the attacking Bidoof.

Twiggy’s attack must have been rather impressive, the Bidoof letting out a pained growl as it was hit, only to be struck by a Tackle moments later.

Noticing that both Bidoof were on the ground, we quickly finished them off, not wanting to run into further trouble.

“Do you think those who were here before will return? I think Twiggy and Vio could fight another battle.” Claire asked, glancing at the two downed Bidoof, neither of whom had put up much of a fight. Maybe they were the weakest of the bunch, as the other two had certainly been stronger.

“Maybe. Let’s quietly move back and take a look.” I replied, already starting to move. Behind me, Vio let out a soft, pleading whine, causing me to grin as I stepped back, taking her hands and pulling her from the muck.

“For once, I’ll carry you.” I told her, carefully picking up her small, slender form. She was incredibly light, for the power she possessed.

“Twiggy, you want to get carried, too?”Claire asked, only to giggle when Twiggy happily hopped through the mud, obviously enjoying himself.

I was leading the way, when I almost stepped on one of the Bidoof, as it was making its way back to those we had just knocked out. For a moment, we both froze and Vio managed to hop from my arms, instantly focused on the foe.

Before the Bidoof could even begin to attack, she let out a shrill growl, the fingers-on-chalkboard sound causing me to cringe in pain, despite it not being directed at me. The Bidoof, on the other hand, took the sound right to the ears, flinching back for a moment, but it was too close to be subdued just like that and its tackle knocked Vio back, into the muck.

For a moment, Vio froze, covered in mud, before she rose back up and for once, I was a little afraid of my cute partner. There was murder in her crimson eyes, as she stared at the Bidoof, her stubby horns glowing with faint, purple light. There was no visible attack, but the Bidoof’s eyes started to glow with a similar light, as it started to stumble, trying to Tackle Vio again, only to hit a tree, obviously confused. Vio’s attack, together with hitting a tree full-force were enough to knock it out, leaving a fuming Violet sitting in the mud.

“Poor dear. We’ll make sure that you’re clean, once this is over. I promise, I’ll even get Prince Charming to heat some bathwater for you.” I told her, helping the annoyed and muddy Ralts up. For a moment, she glared at the downed Bidoof, before huddling behind my leg, ready to return to her Pokéball.

Most of the mud fell off when she vanished, but still, I would make sure that she’d get a bath, as soon as there was time.

“There should be only two left.” I told Claire, who had remained behind me.

“Let’s finish this, then. That way, we can crash their damn dam and leave.” she replied, moving towards the pool.

Following behind her, we soon arrived, the two Bidoof we had yet to fight moving around the clearing, apparently confused and obviously disturbed.

“Like before, I’ll take right, you left.” I told her, sending out Prince Charming as I spoke. He was quickly joined by Twiggy, who was ready to battle.

While Prince Charming managed to overpower the Bidoof easily enough, the one Twiggy faced was as strong as the ones we had initially faced, maybe even stronger. It managed to evade the Leafage, before blocking a tackle by rolling into a Defensive Curl. Afterwards, it struck back and the two Pokémon exchanged a furious set of Tackles, until the Bidoof wasn’t able to get up any longer. But Twiggy had taken a lot of hits and was not looking good.

“Claire, do you think Myna can crash the dam?” I asked, as Claire was calling back her partner. “I don’t think I’d want Prince Charming to try, just in case he’d fall into the water. Fire and water don’t mix and all that.” I told her.

“Sure, no problem.” she replied, the other Pokéball already in hand. As I was watching Myna gain altitude, I noticed a weird movement in the water of the pond, looking closer.

“Crash it, Myna. Wing Attack, right in the middle.” Claire called out, and in the moment I looked over, curious how the attack would play out, a head poked out of the water, shooting a highly pressurised stream of water, right at Prince Charming.

Caught off-guard, neither of us had time to react and to my horror, Prince Charming was struck head-on, knocked off his feet and slid a few steps. He was out cold, without even time to fight back.

On the edge of the pond, the Pokémon who had attacked was clambering out of the water, focused on Claire and me, just as Myna struck the dam, causing a loud, cracking sound as wood shattered.

“Retreat!” I shouted, the red light of his Pokéball already surrounding Prince Charming.

“Myna, Quick Attack the dam, then escape upwards!” Claire called out, following me away from the pond and the rather angry Bibarel that had knocked out Prince Charming. Behind us, I could hear more breaking wood, now mixed in with the sound of rushing water.