Chapter 9 Into the Ultra Storm

  It took a little while to get Sawsbuck comfortable with Arcanine being nearby, and thankfully only a bit more for a sudden rumbling to get the group's attention.

  "It's time! Everyone get ready!" Plumeria barked.

  Ian double checked with Sawsbuck, while he noticed Hyde taking command of his Torracat, Tupp with his Gumshoos, and Rapp with her Comfey. He re-focused his attention on the rumbling dome of white luminescence in front of them and his jaw almost immediately dropped.

  The white fog of the dome began vibrating and a sudden gust of wind, which had been blowing in from the sea began blowing from behind them fiercely as the dome's colors glowed red, then blue, followed by green and yellow before settling into blue once more. The breeze stopped suddenly, like the island was sucking in air for a breath and holding it in. The rumbling grew louder and Ian watched in awe as adrenaline began to pump in his veins. A few dozen feet away, the boulder began to float off the ground as the borders of the dome turned into static distortion from an old TV set. Particles of light shifted bizarrely, like a graphics glitch in a video game. Only this is quite a bit more real looking. A crackling sound hit their ears before a loud BOOM!

  The crackling echoed as the border became dense like a fog, blocking vision inside. "Alright Team Skull, go, go, GO!" Plumeria roared.

  Ian and Sawsbuck along with Selene and Arcanine led the way into the fog barrier, and Ian got a good look around. The boulder that had started floating had fallen, this time on its side, revealing its muddy underbelly. Little puffs of dust seemed to manifest for just a moment, scattered all throughout the visible area before de-manifesting. I must've been so spooked before I didn't quite get all of this in. "You see the little puff of smoke from a moment ago?" Ian asked, only now realizing the whole group and their Pokemon had moved in.

  "Yeah, what about it?" Selene asked.

  "Let's check those out first," Ian said, urging Sawsbuck to the left to where he'd seen the nearest puff of dust. Arcanine growled lowly, clearly on edge, while Sawsbuck had its eyes peeled for danger. Ian scanned the ground, getting to a bush and noticing something shiny below.

  Ian reached down, grabbing a weathered blue slab of sorts, no bigger than a couple inches wide and three to four inches long. A shard! Weren't these shards in the Space-Time Distortions you could craft into Star Pieces? "Got something!" Ian called out to the main group that had stayed in its entry space, proudly holding his prize.

  "Hey, eyes forward, Death Wish!" Selene said, tapping his shoulder. Ian turned around, putting the Blue Shard in Selene's satchel and tensed as he saw what Selene was trying to tell him. Just a few feet in front of them a crack appeared and the blue swirling light of an Ultra Wormhole grew before them. Out of the wormhole dropped a familiar orange otter Pokemon with a yellow ring around its neck. The rodent gave a sudden battle cry Ian recognized from the Legends Arceus games. A Buizel!

  Sawsbuck recoiled in fright before Selene screamed "Thunder Fang!" Arcanine leapt forward, its mouth crackling with Electric Type Energy as Buizel became engulfed in water before propelling itself, leaving water falling to the ground. Aqua Jet. Arcanine, late to getting Buizel in its maw, gave an annoyed growl.

  Ian eyed Buizel as it retreated deeper into the Ultra Storm and put it out of his mind. He hustled over to the next place he remembered seeing another puff of dust, and immediately noticed a rectangular red object like the blue one he'd just picked up. Definitely shards, but how were these crafted? With Stardust right? Where's that then? What does it even look like?

  "What's that?" Selene asked, pointing at a forming Ultra Wormhole with water pouring out of it. At the bottom of the floating waterfall cowered a little blue lizard-looking Pokemon with a yellow fin on its head. That's a Sobble, isn't it? When the wormhole closed up and the waterfall ended, Ian saw the little lizard tensing up and shivering with fear.

  "It's a Sobble," Ian said. I already have a Water Type, but maybe Tupp could learn to actually use ranged attacks with something like this... Ian looked around cautiously, making sure he wasn't about to get caught in a vulnerable state, and when he saw a wormhole popping up across the Ultra Storm he thought little of it. He crept closer to the terrified Sobble slowly. "Hey there little guy, you look pretty scared..."

  Sobble's attention turned to Ian and it shook so frightfully drops of water kept shaking off it, grabbing its elongated tail as if it would offer any sort of protection. "I'm not gonna hurt you little guy, quite the opposite," Ian said as softly as he could. He knelt on the ground, and he felt Sawsbuck next to him, keeping an eye out. "I can help you."

  Sobble whimpered, closing its eyes as it squeezed its tail even tighter. Yeah, you need to go in a Poke Ball, pronto. Ian reached for the empty Poke Ball on his belt when a sudden commotion to his right distracted him. A little human girl lay flat on the ground with a busted school desk beside her. She looked younger than ten, with tanned skin and black hair, wearing a white blouse with a green skirt reminiscent of a school uniform. "What the hell?" Ian asked, temporarily getting distracted from Sobble. Ian noticed a blue form dashing away in his peripheral vision and realized it was Sobble dashing away. Damn it.

  The girl turned her head, beginning to cry as she noticed Ian and Selene and pointing abruptly. "W-what happened?" The little girl asked mousily, her eyes beginning to water.

  Ian turned to Selene, looking for her to take the lead. "Hey there little girl…" Selene said tenderly. "Are you okay?"

  "It hurts," the little girl squealed, rubbing the back of her neck before focusing her attention on Arcanine and gasping in fright.

  "You don't have to be afraid, that's Arcanine," Selene said sweetly, pointing to her fire breathing tiger. "She's really nice."

  "Really?" The little girl asked.

  "Yes she is," Ian chimed in.

  "What's your name?" Selene asked.

  "Rylee, I'm seven years old…" The Faller replied.

  "I'm Selene, and this is Ian," Selene explained.

  "Where am I?" Rylee asked.

  "You're in an Ultra Storm," Selene answered, bending down and extending her hand.

  "Mommy says I shouldn't talk to strangers," Rylee said nervously.

  "Well, mommy's not here, but we want to get you to safety," Selene said. "Besides, you know my name, we're not strangers anymore."

  Rylee grinned a little bit. "Okay, Selene."

  Ian did a quick scan, noticing another wormhole with a brown and beige raccoon dog emerging, which Ian recognized as a Zigzagoon. "Let's get back to Plumeria and them," Ian told Selene as she took hold of Rylee's hand.

  "Selene, I have a question…" Rylee stated.

  Selene knelt down to Rylee's level, maintaining her soft, sweet tone. "And what's that, little Rylee?"

  "Why are there Pokemon here?" Rylee asked. "Mommy says they're just on TV, but they're actually here. Why is that?"

  Ian tensed and knelt down as well. No way, another Faller from a world like mine?

  "What do you mean by that? Of course Pokemon are real," Selene said with a slight hint of dismissal in her tone. "Let's get you to safety before we talk more, okay Rylee?"

  "Okay-" Rylee gasped suddenly and pointed behind Ian and Selene, fear in her eyes. Ian turned and his eyes went right to the glowing red eyes of the massive crustacean falling out of the Ultra Wormhole that had formed just behind them, blocking them from the rest of the Team Skull squad. The red shell and yellow star on its head made Ian tense up with fear. An Alpha Crawdaunt?!

  The behemoth before Ian, Selene, and Rylee stood almost as tall as Ian, with claws so wide Ian realized his head might be able to fit between them. "Oh SHIT that's huge!" Selene screamed as she shielded Rylee.

  Ian almost stumbled but turned to retreat when the overwhelming, guttural sound of a freshly suctioned clogged drain hit his ears, its sound bubbling different tones as it bounced around his skull. Before he knew it, he was face first in the dirt. The Alpha roar I reckon... He struggled to get up, seeing Selene's hands still locked with Rylee, but dazed. Crawdaunt had started advancing on them, snapping its pincers together ominously.

  Arcanine pounced overhead giving a tenacious roar as it leapt into battle. One of Crawdaunt's claws lit up with blue energy and connected with Arcanine's body brutally, sending it careening into dirt a dozen feet or so away. They're damn near the same size and Alpha Crawdaunt is that much more powerful? "We gotta get outta here!" Ian yelled, ears still ringing as he pulled Selene and Rylee up and began stumbling as Alpha Crawdaunt got back to closing in on the trio with ridiculous quickness. "Sawsbuck, get over here!" Ian screamed out desperately.

  Ian pulled Selene and Rylee further with him, and Sawsbuck leapt in like a torpedo coated in white aura, colliding with Crawdaunt, sending the behemoth of a crustacean tumbling on its side. Sawsbuck gave a victorious call, but Crawdaunt got up using the momentum of its spin. It's that agile too? Arcanine re-appeared beside Selene and Rylee, ensuring its trainer was okay before giving her a nod and re-focusing on the Alpha.

  "Arcanine, Thunder Fang..." Selene wheezed. She must've gotten the wind knocked out of her.

  "No physical attacks are gonna work for a bit," Ian said. "Unless we distract it."

  "It's the only super effective move Arcanine's got right now," Selene said with a cough.

  "Try Flamethrower, these things have a low Special Defense," Ian said. "I'll hit it with a Leech Seed and put it on a timer, we can just run away from there."

  "I don't think we can last that long, but we just gotta tire it out..." Selene wheezed. "Arcanine, Flamethrower!" Selene croaked. Arcanine took a deep breath before firing off a stream of flaming energy at the crustacean, causing it to give a pained, guttural cry.

  "Leech Seed!" Ian ordered resolutely. Sawsbuck fired the seed right as the stream of flames died out and on contact with the still recovering crustacean and vines spread all around it, latching onto its shell.

  "Now what? Arcanine can't use Flamethrower anymore," Selene asked, her voice noticeably stronger than earlier.

  "You get outside of the storm then!" Ian pushed Selene and Rylee back, urging Arcanine to follow. Sure we're going further back from the main group, but if I can lure Crawdaunt away we'll be good. As their Pokemon caught up to them, Ian noticed Crawdaunt still in hot pursuit. This asshole doesn't quit.

  "Sawsbuck, use Agility for good measure," Ian ordered, standing his ground now. Sawsbuck's legs glowed with dark-ish pink energy as it danced. Crawdaunt closed in, snapping its claws before the glow dissipated and Sawsbuck bound twenty feet or more to the side, taking it well out of the danger zone. Crawdaunt opened one of its claws and fired a barrage of glowing blue bubbles Ian figured was a Bubble Beam. Sawsbuck adeptly dodged it, landing gracefully another ten feet to the side.

  "Thunder Fang," Selene hissed from behind Ian. Arcanine rushed into action, its jaws crackling with electricity as it closed in and pounced on Alpha Crawdaunt's back, causing electrical sparks to surge across Crawdaunt's back. Crawdaunt gave another guttural wail of pain before turning and swiping at Arcanine, which managed to get away at the last second. Crawdaunt then fired another Bubble Beam, which Arcanine leapt to avoid but was too late in regaining its balance.

  "Selene, take Rylee and get out of here!" Ian shouted, then re-focused on the Alpha. "Sawsbuck, Bullet Seed! Keep it off balance!" Ian ordered. Sawsbuck fired dozens of green glowing pellets, making small bursts as they detonated on Crawdaunt's shell. Man, Seed Bomb would be really clutch here. Can Sawsbuck learn that?

  Arcanine dashed to the side after taking the brunt of Bubble Beam, and Crawdaunt raised one of its claws, making it glow with Water Type Energy. Is it being pre-emptive? Arcanine's not going near it... Crawdaunt then gave a fierce battle cry and swung its Crabhammer attack into the ground, which propelled it, spinning into the air like a line drive. Arcanine was in mid stride as Crawdaunt spun toward it, smacking Arcanine brutally with its Crabhammer and sending the fiery tiger careening away as Rylee's screams hit Ian's ears.

  "Ian, you need to go too!" Selene pleaded from fifteen feet behind him.

  "I know..." Ian said. Doesn't she realize if it uses Crabhammer like that again we can't outrun it?

  Crawdaunt gave a ferocious battle cry in celebration of its victory, when Ian noticed a little blue form crawling away feebly. Sobble? Crawdaunt looked down and lowered a claw, firing a Swift attack at the fleeing lizard. That's not good! "Sawsbuck, Horn Leech now!" Ian bellowed.

  "What happened to-"

  Ian's vision tunneled as Crawdaunt picked up Sobble by its tail and the little lizard desperately struggled to break free of the grip. Sawsbuck rocketed into view as its horns rammed into Crawdaunt, who was knocked onto its side with Sobble flying into the air. "Selene, go!" Ian urged before waving his arms in the air. "Sobble, over here!" Sawsbuck dashed back, creating space between it and the Alpha.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Good luck, Death Wish," Selene said as she recalled Arcanine and rushed off with Rylee.

  Just us now, Sawsbuck.Ian noticed Sobble crawling a different way, deeper into the Ultra Storm until another wormhole began to form in its path. Please don't be another Alpha. The wormhole opened up and a bipedal pink Pokemon dropped out. Snubbull? Sobble desperately scurried away from the new arrival. Right to me, good.

  Crawdaunt had staggered to get up, but was now back and rearing for more battle as Ian noticed the last few bubbles of green energy being absorbed into Sawsbuck at a distance. Crawdaunt fired another Swift attack from its white-glowing claws, which Sawsbuck didn't even try to dodge. Seed Bomb would be REALLY helpful here. "Keep your distance and Bullet Seed!" Ian commanded. Sawsbuck fired another barrage of glowing green pellets, bursting on contact with Crawdaunt's shell as Sawsbuck continued moving to the side.

  Crawdaunt fired off another Bubble Beam, and Sawsbuck ceased firing, opting to dodge instead. Crawdaunt then lifted its claw into the air once more and made it glow with another Crabhammer attack. "Sawsbuck, get back as far as possible!" Ian shouted.

  Crawdaunt fired a stream of water for just a moment as it faced downward, propelling it up for longer, and did it again with every spin, homing in on Sawsbuck's location. You've gotta be kidding me. Running's pointless I guess. "Sawsbuck brace yourself and use Horn Leech!" Sawsbuck lowered its head and lunged at the airborne crustacean. Suddenly Crawdaunt's claws glowed a light, light green and closed in like a pair of scissors on Sawsbuck as its antlers dug into Crawdaunt's shell. It's got X-Scissor? Both Pokemon yelped in pain as their super effective attacks crumpled both combatants over. More green balls of energy floated from the vines enveloping Crawdaunt and settled into Sawsbuck, seemingly soothing the two gashes on its neck.

  Horn Leech will help Sawsbuck, but put it in range for X-Scissor, and I don't think Sawsbuck will be able to tank another one. Ian checked to see if Selene or any of the other Team Skull members were around to cause a diversion for him to get one more hit on Crawdaunt without it being able to fight back, but he didn't see any Team Skull uniforms inside of the Ultra Storm anymore. I suppose I deserve this for keeping the fight going... "Horn-"

  Sawsbuck's antlers began glowing with a green energy, but not the typical green, but a very light green, matching Crawdaunt's X-Scissor attack. What the...? Sawsbuck then leapt in, antlers first, crashing into Crawdaunt, who had a Crabhammer ready, but a loud crack hit Ian's ears and the colossal Crawdaunt was sent airborne once more, this time limply. Ian realized Crawdaunt's body was actually coming right for him, and he dashed aside, keeping his eye on the massive crustacean as it landed harshly in the dirt, its eye no longer glowing red. Woah...

  A sudden light engulfed Crawdaunt, and an Ultra Wormhole appeared just behind it, pulling it into itself until Crawdaunt was fully back in the wormhole, which then shut in a swirl, then flashed once more, leaving a light blue diamond object with a smooth surface, reminding Ian of double pyramid in its place which fell to the ground. "What the?" Ian asked aloud, eyeing the diamond object curiously. Then a commotion in his peripheral vision grabbed his attention, and he saw the little blue lizard with a yellow fin on its head scurrying past him. Ian reached for it, managing to catch the fin and lifting Sobble up in front of him, it was still frantically whining and trying to get away. "It's okay little guy, Crawdaunt's gone..."

  Sobble closed its mouth then a flurry of water shot into Ian's eyes, making him curse. Ian kept his eyes shut as Sobble continued firing its Water Gun at the back of his head, and he grabbed the empty Poke Ball and expanded it, lowering Sobble to it, then lightly tossing it. The sound of the Poke Ball engulfing Sobble and the lack of a stream of water hitting his body made Ian turn and watch as the Poke Ball fell to the ground, shaking slightly, once, twice, a third time, before becoming still. Yes!

  "Woah, you two actually beat it! What was that attack Sawsbuck used?" Selene called out as she and a blue ballerina-looking sea lion came rushing to him. Sawsbuck pranced over triumphantly, looking very pleased with itself.

  Ian grabbed Sobble's Poke Ball off the ground and smiled at Sawsbuck. "Yup!" Ian called back. "And it looked like a Bug Type move. And where's Rylee?"

  "She's safe, she's hiding behind a bush outside of the Ultra Storm. And yeah, it had Bug Type Energy..." Selene said before gasping. "Could it have been Megahorn? That would explain how it knocked out Crawdaunt."

  Oh yeah, Sawsbuck's attacks do involve using antlers a lot. "I think you're right..." Ian said, turning to Sawsbuck with a big smile. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you Sawsbuck?"

  Sawsbuck swung its head triumphantly.

  "This is great and all, but let's get back to Rylee," Selene said.

  "Oh yeah, you're right," Ian said as he turned to walk away, then stopped. The light blue diamond still rested on the ground after being left behind by the Ultra Wormhole that had swallowed Crawdaunt. This looks oddly familiar for some reason... Ian stopped and reached down, grabbing the diamond shaped object, which was a little bigger than his hand. He then caught up to Selene, making sure no other dangerous Pokemon had spawned. He noticed a Poliwag looking around in confusion, but nothing else was on the radar.

  "Is that the Alpha poop?" Selene asked.

  "What?" Ian asked with a laugh.

  "When that wormhole took Crawdaunt away, didn't that appear? So it's like Alpha poop right?" Selene asked.

  Ian chuckled. "I mean guess."

  "Why are you still holding onto it?" Selene asked, looking at him with a shade of disgust.

  "It doesn't smell like poop..."

  "Maybe it's 'Ultra poop,'" Selene teased. "But seriously, put that down."

  Ian eyed it curiously, and then it hit him. Oh SHIT! It's EXP Candy. Alphas from Legends Arceus would leave these behind when they were caught or defeated...

  "I want to examine it a little further," Ian lied, trying to fit the blue EXP Candy into his pocket.

  "Ew..." Selene said, watching in even more apparent disgust. "I'm telling the Dirtbags. They'll make you clean your own stuff."

  "I really don't think it's poop, Selene," Ian fired back.

  Selene rolled her eyes and hurried forward. The two got to the edge of the Ultra Storm and upon breaching the border, Ian took a deep, relieving breath. "That was intense..."

  "Rylee, we're back! It's safe to come out!" Selene called out as she approached a convenient patch of shrubs.

  Rylee stood up from behind the brush, tears going down her face. "You're back…"

  Selene nodded. "Yes we are."

  "Do you know where my mommy is?" Rylee asked.

  Selene turned to Ian, and Ian could read it in her eyes: I don't want to have to deliver the bad news alone. "Well Rylee, do you remember what happened before you met us?" Selene asked.

  "I was on timeout from Ms. Bennet," Rylee said, a sob escaping her mouth. "And then this weird light came over me and I felt like I was falling with my desk, then I saw you two…"

  Ian knelt down in front of Rylee as Selene followed his lead. "It might be a while before you see your mom again," Ian said, trying to sound comforting but noticing his eyes getting damp. This might be hitting me a little too close to home.

  "Why?" Rylee asked. "And why are there Pokemon here? They're not supposed to be real, just on TV."

  Oh yeah, she did say that. Selene looked at Ian, completely speechless. Ian took a deep breath, hoping this would make sense to the little girl. "Rylee, the Ultra Storm…" Ian pointed at the white glowing dome behind them. "...brings people from other worlds here."

  "Other worlds?" Rylee asked. "Like planets?"

  "Yup," Ian said.

  "So you're aliens?" Rylee asked in disbelief.

  Ian chuckled. "Not quite. Maybe Pokemon don't exist on the planet you came from, but they exist on this planet here."

  "So mommy's not here?" Rylee asked.

  Ian turned to Selene, who gave him a grim look but remained silent. "We don't know…"

  "Hmph," Rylee grunted and folded her arms, going quiet as Ian and Selene eyed each other.

  "We should get back to the group," Selene said.

  "Right," Ian agreed.

  Selene and Ian both got up from their knelt down positions. Selene reached for Rylee's hand but was rebuffed by the upset seven year old. That's gotta be rough.

  "You were pretty good at explaining that," Selene said lowly.

  Ian shrugged. "I understand more than anyone what she's going through," Ian said. "Only been five days since I popped in like this."

  Selene. "Yeah…" Selene paused for a few seconds before eyeing him curiously. "Why'd you keep fighting it?" Selene asked. "Weren't we trying to flee?"

  "Yeah, but I figured it would just chase us with that Crabhammer thing," Ian said. He then pulled Sobble's Poke Ball from his belt and showed it to Selene. "Plus I wanted to catch this Sobble and give it to Tupp. I owe him big time."

  Selene eyed the Poke ball skeptically. "I don't think he'll do well with something wimpy like that..."

  "I know, but he needs to learn he can't just send every single Pokemon of his into a brawl and expect to win," Ian said.

  "You're right, but I don't think he'll ever come to that conclusion," Selene said.

  "I gotta at least try to help him though," Ian said. "I owe him my life twice now. Plus I heard about Isaac..."

  Selene's whole demeanor drooped. "Oh... yeah."

  Rylee suddenly leaned into Selene and took her hand, tears forming in the recent Faller's eyes once more as they made their way around the dome.

  Upon returning to the group's de-facto gathering point, Ian noticed Rapp and Selene started hand-signing excitedly. Plumeria eyed him with a sour look, her arms folded. "Don't look too pissed Hyde, I survived the Alpha!" Ian shouted mockingly.

  Hyde lifted his middle finger but remained silent.

  "So what happened to the Alpha?" Plumeria asked.

  "Ian and Sawsbuck beat it!" Selene said joyfully.

  "It got sucked into an Ultra Wormhole after it got knocked out," Ian said, not wanting to mention the EXP Candy.

  "Who's the girl?" Plumeria said, pointing at Rylee.

  "This is Rylee," Selene said. "She emerged in the Ultra Storm right before the Alpha did." Rylee whimpered and hid behind Selene's legs. "She's seven."

  A look of concern fell on Plumeria's face and she knelt down, beckoning Rylee to her. "It's okay little one."

  "You look scary…" Rylee squealed, tightening her clutch on Selene.

  "I'm Plumeria, I'll be like your big sister, okay?" Plumeria said soothingly. "It's good Selene and Ian got you away from that big scary monster, right?"

  Rylee nodded. This is a side of Plumeria I never expected to see.

  "Okay Rylee, how about you stay with Selene. We need to go back in there and make sure there are no more scary monsters," Plumeria said sweetly.

  Rylee grasped Selene even closer, and Ian noticed an adorable smile come across Selene. "Okay…"

  Plumeria focused her attention on the rest of the group and cleared her throat. "So it's safer to go in and look for treasure now?" Plumeria asked.

  "I guess?" Ian said.

  Plumeria rolled her eyes. "Then let's get looking."

  Thankfully no more major Pokemon appeared in the Ultra Storm, and the group hunted around for various treasures, finding more shards and even a golden Nugget. When they regrouped outside of the Ultra Storm, Plumeria nodded approvingly at the haul. "I'm not sure what's up with these slab things, but the Nugget's nice."

  Ian nodded. "Well, I think there's a way to combine the shards into a Star Piece."

  "Really?" Plumeria asked.

  Ian shrugged. "I might be trippin' but it's worth a shot," Ian said.

  "What about the Alpha poop you picked up, Ian?" Selene asked, still holding hands with Rylee.

  Ian tensed, remembering he'd been trying to keep the EXP Candy on the down low. "Oh that? I don't think it's valuable or anything..."

  "Show it," Plumeria ordered.

  Ian nodded, taking it out with some difficulty from his small pants pocket. He showed off the smooth, slightly firm but slightly soft object to the crew.

  "Alpha poop?" Rapp asked.

  "It came from the Ultra Wormhole when it took Crawdaunt away," Selene explained.

  "Weird..." Plumeria said.

  "Trying to hide that poop from us, asshole?" Hyde interjected.

  "Yeah, I wanted to give it to you as a present since you like eating ass so much, but the surprise is ruined," Ian fired back.

  "Fuck you, fake-ass Faller," Hyde replied, turning and marching off in anger. Selene glared daggers at Hyde for the language.

  "It doesn't look that valuable, you can keep it," Plumeria said. "Let's get moving. Guzma will be happy with the Nugget," Plumeria said.

  Ian nodded, putting the EXP Candy back in his pocket, doing his best to hide his grin. He turned back to the Ultra Storm one last time. So where's the Stardust come from for these shards? Maybe that was just a niche game mechanic... Ian shook the thoughts from his head and picked up the rear of the party as they made their way back to the Akua Jungle and Ula'Ula Meadow. "If this EXP Candy is what I think it is..." Ian said under his breath. "...then this could change everything."