All the Smallest Things: Original Draft

The next morning, Misty woke up from a dream where a golden, glowing figure had called out to her. It had sounded so loud, like it came from every direction at once, but she couldn't remember anything it had said. Had it been a vision? Whatever it was, it was too vague to make sense of.

Later, Arven helped Sunny make pancakes for breakfast.

"So... what'd you do yesterday?" Nemona asked him while they were eating.

"Helped a Mabosstiff," he mumbled back. "I thought it would be mine, but..." He sighed. "You and Penny have already found one of your Pokémon. When will it be my turn?"

Nemona patted him on the back. "Don't worry. I'm sure he'll turn up eventually!"

"I guess..."

He heard a loud knock on the door. Sunny rushed over to answer it, and Arven's gaze followed her. She opened the door to reveal a blueish-grey, winged pony with messy, yellow hair who placed a cardboard box on the doorstep.

"All your letters are inside," she said, rubbing her neck with her hoof. "We got so many letters addressed to you that I couldn't fit them in my bag... haha..."

"Thank you, Fifi," said Sunny. She pushed the box into the entrance hall and closed the door.

"Attention, everypony!" she shouted. "We've got some applications to look through!"

Everyone quickly finished their breakfast and spent the next hour sifting through all the letters.

"This one's a scam... They're too young... I can't read this hoofwriting..." Hitch mumbled to himself as he threw applications into the discard pile.

"Howcome nopony from Bridlewood wants to join?" asked Izzy.

"Because they don't have internet there!" Pipp shouted, prompting Zipp to shush her. Penny shuddered.

"I know! We could start a recruitment drive once we get there!" Izzy looked between Nemona and Misty, who nodded in agreement.

"Speaking of, why isn't Pawmot going with you?" Arven asked Nemona.

Pawmot answered for her. "I simply like it here."

"Fair enough."

Zipp picked up a letter and examined it closely. "Hmm... do you know anypony named Steven Stone?"

Nemona gasped. "I've heard of him! Former champion of the Hoenn league, right?"

"Former what of the what league?" asked Zipp.

"He's famous," said Penny.

"So he's one of you... humans?" asked Zipp.

"Yeah," said Nemona. "Though he's probably not human anymore..." Arven felt uneasy for a moment. "Point is, I definitely think he's qualified to deal with Pokémon-related problems."

"He listed his address as 'the beach'... I think." She showed the others the letter. The writing was crude, like its writer had to awkwardly clamp their claws around a pencil, and kept accidentally poking holes in the paper. "Once we've finished, do you wanna go looking for him, Bay Squad?"

"Sounds good to me!" exclaimed Sunny.

Later, Izzy flew the Marestream to Bridlewood. Misty, Nemona, and the Spewpa sat on the red couches in the back.

"Hmm... I think it's about time I gave you a name," Misty said to the Spewpa. "How about Confetti?"

The newly-dubbed Confetti closed its eyes and bounced on the spot.

"So you like it? Confetti it is!"

A few minutes later, Izzy landed the Marestream outside her house, and the four of them ventured into the town square. For once, it was peaceful — the partially-eaten crystals had started to heal. Misty saw a unicorn foal chasing a yellow-and-white insect she didn't recognise.

They entered the Crystal Tea Room, and what Misty saw inside made her do a double-take. A few Sableye sat around the tables alongside ponies, but instead of drinking tea, they were eating roughly-cut gemstones. Alphabittle trotted towards them as he heard the doorbell ring.

"Misty!" he exclaimed. "And Izzy, too." He looked at the two Pokémon and raised an eyebrow. "And you are...?"

"I'm Nemona," she pointed at the Spewpa, "and this is Confetti. I helped fight the Sableye, remember?"

Alphabittle laughed. "Oh, yes! I remember now! Thanks for dealing with them, all of you. Turns out they're quite friendly when they're not hungry. Though I'm not sure why only one of them can talk..."

Izzy facehoofed. "Oh, I forgot to tell you! I cast a translation spell on him! Misty knows it as well, and we could teach it to you if you want."

"That sounds excellent!" exclaimed Alphabittle. "Please, teach me."

After teaching him the translation spell, Izzy said, "My friends and I have started the Pokémon Emergency Taskforce," she gestured to her sash, "and we need all the help we can get. We've already gotten a ton of applications — literally! — from Maretime Bay and Zephyr Heights, but the announcement didn't reach Bridlewood."

"Well, I'd be happy to help!"

"Thanks," said Misty, "but I think we need even more members. Would it be okay if we make an announcement in the town square?"

"Of course, my dear Ty."

Izzy and Misty's speech covered the same ground as Sunny and Hitch's yesterday, though Misty had to stop Izzy from going on a tangent about rescuing the Finizen. They ended it by directly asking the crowd if they wanted to join PET, but unfortunately, most of they all walked away as soon as it was over.

Misty sighed. "I guess nopony was interested..."

"Don't feel so bad," said Izzy, "at least they know what's going on now! Besides, your dad's on board."

"I guess..." Misty looked around. "Hey, where's Nemona?"

Halfway through Izzy and Misty's speech, Nemona had noticed a pair of Sneasel's eyes peeking at her through the undergrowth, and decided to investigate. She would've told the ponies where she was going, but she didn't want to interrupt them. That would be rude!

"Hey!" said the wild Sneasel. "You lost?"

"Of course not!" replied Nemona. "But in a way, yes."

"Well, come with me!"

Nemona followed the other Sneasel through the treetops. Leaping between the branches felt even more effortless this time; being with another of her own kind just felt... right. Wait, "my own kind"?

Eventually, they stopped when they saw a pack of Sneasel surrounding a Weavile. Unlike Nemona, they all had red feathers. She noticed scratchmarks in the nearby tree trunks.

The Weavile jumped towards her. Nemona leaned back, feeling intimidated; he was a head taller than her, and covered in healed-over scars. He spent a few long seconds looking at her.

"Welcome to our pack," he said. Nemona sighed in relief, and her shoulders relaxed. "A lot of Sneasel have ended up in this forest—"

"Bridlewood," said Nemona. "It's called Bridlewood."

The Weavile glared at her for a moment, and Nemona tensed up. "As I was saying, a lot of Sneasel have ended up in Bridlewood as of late. Since they've been separated from their own packs, I've decided to take them in until they can be reunited."

"Thanks for the offer," said Nemona, "but I already have a place to stay." She paused to think. "Although, learning how to be a Sneasel sounds cool!"

"Learn to be?" asked the Sneasel who led her her. "Were you raised by humans or something?"

"You could say that."

"Each of these symbols has its own meaning," the Weavile said to Nemona as they stood on the forest floor. He pointed to three diagonal lines. "This is the most simple one. It means there is already a pack of Weavile in this territory."

"What about this one?" Nemona asked as she pointed to a series of curved lines. It seemed to be a drawing, but she couldn't figure out what it depicted.

"That is a reminder of what prey is in the area."

Nemona nodded. "I see!"

"Heee-yah!" Nemona screeched as she leaped at a Sneasel and slashed him in the side with her claws. He fell onto his back.

"Very good! Very good!" the Weavile chanted. He was teaching them all how to spar.

Nemona's opponent sprung back onto his feet and punched her in the face.

"Ow!" she yelped.

"Don't let your guard down!"

"Now, it is time for you to practice hunting," said the Weavile. "You should start with an easy target." He pointed to a series of small, shallow footprints in the dirt. "Where do they lead? Are there any other signs that your prey is around?"

Nemona crouched down and gently followed the footsteps. She tread carefully, making sure to not even step on a twig. She didn't want to scare whatever it was. They lead to a bush; some of its lower leaves were messy, as if they'd been pushed out of the way. She noticed a small hole between the bush's roots, and quickly dived into it.

Her claws touched something warm. She looked down to see an adorable ball of fluff with a horn, much like a unicorn's — that's what the horned ponies were called, right? She could hear it breathing, feel its chest rising and falling...

"Now!" the Weavile shouted. "Deal the finishing blow!"

She felt the fuzzball freeze in fear. She looked down at it, at her claws, at how easily she could pierce its skin... but she couldn't. She knew she was a carnivore now, that it was only natural, yet she didn't have the heart to kill it.

Maybe she was terrible at being a Sneasel.

"Nemona! There you are!" a familiar voice exclaimed. Nemona looked up to see Izzy galloping towards her.

Nemona turned to the Weavile. "Sorry... I've gotta go."