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I like Dunsparce.

It was done. The bad guy was beaten. Arceus was free. Nani kind of expected her to be taller. This meant it was time to return to peace, right? Nani welcomed the change. She was never one for fighting, and there had been plenty of that up to and after her departure from Alola. "And to start I must reward you. The noble Gijinka who came all this way to protect your world. Come to me and speak your wish and I shall grant it be in my power. Even my powers have limits. I cannot bring the dead to life. But I shall do my best to see you justly rewarded for your brave actions." Her first thought had been to reclaim Alola. But it sounded like she wasn't the only one who felt that way. Keanu had hardly wasted any time making that wish. Two people making the same wish to an (almost) all-powerful god was probably a waste. She was only going to wish for that because it was something she absolutely couldn't do herself. With this adventure having reached its conclusion, anything Nani wanted in life would be more worth it if she did it herself. Which brought her to a bit of an impasse. If she wanted to not fight anymore, Nani could just avoid violent people and defuse confrontations with words instead of with fists. If she wanted to live away from judgmental eyes, of course she could do that! She was a resourceful girl, and while it would take a good while, the idea of building her own little place out in the middle of nowhere sounded nice. Maybe not too far from a town or city, though. As Nani brought a hand up to her chin to consider this more in-depth, the question sort of answered itself. There was one thing beyond her control. Yes, one thing. "I've got one," Nani said, raising her hand. Gesturing around her covered face, the Mimikyu said "It's going to sound really vain, but the... well, the absolute disaster under here. I'd like to not look like that anymore. I don't want to be drop-dead gorgeous or anything, but having a face people can look at would be nice." Arceus smiled warmly. "I understand. Do not worry about selfishness or vanity. This is your reward for fighting so hard and so bravely. If that is what you wish then that is what you shall receive. I shall make your outside reflect your in." Ghost Stories Every child in Coldharbour knew the story. One day, many years ago, a house had appeared about two hours north of Coldharbour. People coming or going from the city often noted that there was usually a woman looking out the window, but that she would seem to vanish into thin air if you looked at her directly. Nobody was really sure just what sort of gijinka she was either, with reports ranging from her being a Walrein or Mamoswine like one might expect out here, to such absurd stories as her being a legendary gijinka, with one traveling merchant from Pride Rock claiming that the woman was Arceus herself. The most common story was that she was some sort of pale, discolored Pikachu with floppy ears. The strangest story though, was that people entering the house to avoid a blizzard noted that although they never saw anyone, tea, blankets, and more just kept popping up in place, as if someone had put them out on purpose. Those were the facts, anyway. From there, as children often do, they exaggerated the facts a bit, turning the house and its mysterious resident into a ghost story. Some stories said she was a monster that skinned people alive and wore them as suits. Some claimed that if you saw her, you would be cursed for life. A select few stories went so far as to theorize that her hospitality was just bait, and entering the house meant that leaving would cause instant death. The grown-ups - even the old folks that had started those stories when they were children themselves - always dismissed those tales as nonsense; monsters like that didn't exist. But she had to exist. I know she's real. I saw her myself! That was what had inspired Mint to go on this quest up north. A quest that, in hindsight, should have been done any other time besides the time she was doing it. Even just a little bit of planning would have been great right now. She shouldn't have left when she did, she should have brought an adult with her, and she definitely should have worn a couple more layers. Thoughts like that wouldn't stop bothering her now that she was lost in the tundra, in the midst of a raging blizzard, her very bones feeling as if they were made of ice. Even if she'd mapped the place out in her head - one of Mint's better qualities was an incredible sense of direction - the howling winds kept pushing her off-course, and frankly, she had no idea where she was anymore, with navigation made even harder by all the snow whiting out her vision. Just as she was about to give up hope, she saw something. A tiny, faint trace of light in this dark, cold night. Rallied by the chance of success, Mint doubled her pace, pushing through the snow and wind alike until she was right in front of the source. This was it. The little house everyone in Coldharbour was talking about. It would be nice if we had stories like this back in Juyu. As Mint traced the building with her hand, she found the door, and was able to make out the sight of it opening... on its own? Well, if this monster woman was inviting her in, it definitely would beat freezing to death! So she hurried in, and flinched as the door shut behind her. The fireplace was lit up. There was a cup of tea on a table nearby. Most interesting to Mint though, was some kind of sewing project. It seemed to be a work in progress. So someone did live here! For now though, warming back up was Mint's priority, so she sat herself down in front of the fire, basking in the heat. This monster was a hospitable one, and while she hadn't put much thought into the process of actually getting here, she fully intended to catch this legend herself. The Sylveon waited. Waited. As soon as she felt a blanket being draped over her shoulders, her hand sprung up, grabbing over her shoulder and catching... a wrist? "Gotcha!" Mint turned around to be met with the sight of... not a monster? "I'd really like if you let go, please." "It's really rude to grab at your host like that." "U-Uh... sorry." Mint released her grip on this... what was this lady, anyway? Some kind of discolored Pikachu with floppy ears, like most people said. That's what she looked like, anyway. "I don't usually talk with my guests, but you... um... are you stupid or something?" Pointing at the nearest window, Nani said "You came from Coldharbour's direction. You knew the weather would be like this and that I live far away, but you came out here anyway. And not nearly dressed for it, either. The Tapus must really be smiling on you tonight, otherwise you'd be frozen to death buried in the snow somewhere." "The... what?" "...long story." Silence filled the air between the two girls. Just awkward staring. Nani kept trying to think of things to change the subject to, but this kid didn't look like she was much for sewing or anything like that. She probably wouldn't want to talk about her family; if she had a home, she probably either snuck out or ran away to get here, no matter how stupid the timing of her great escape may have been. And quite simply, Nani didn't want to bother her with the mythology of a faraway land this Sylveon would probably never visit. Adarid was her home now. "You're the monster, right? The one everyone talks about?" "Monster? Now that's just super rude. After I used up my one wish to look normal and everything, too." Tossing another blanket atop the one already on Mint's shoulders, Nani sighed "But yes, those ghost stories in town are about me. I'd really like to set the record straight, but then I'd probably have people asking me why I don't just live in town instead of way out here. Is it alright if I ask a question, instead?" "Okay?" "Why are you blue?" Holding up a lock of Mint's hair, Nani clarified "Not your skin - you're not quite there yet - but your hair. Sylveons are usually pink, right?" "I don't know. But the other kids in town are always on my case about it! Blue is a boy's color, they say." "That's ridiculous. I have a good friend who's a girl, and she's all blue. If anyone gave her trouble about it, she'd probably pull on their ear and talk about how you can't judge people by their appearance. Mmmmm... she's probably an old lady by now, though. I think we'll get along, though. What's your name?" "Mint." "I'm Nani. Nice to meet you." The Mimikyu took another look at the window. "It doesn't look like this storm's going to let up anytime soon. How about you spend the night here, and tomorrow I take you back home? I need to do some shopping in town anyway, as it so happens."

Yasha sat next to Ben again on the way back. He was, in all honesty, disappointed. They'd been told they were going to the beach-- it turned out to be a cleanup project, which they did not forewarn them about. Then, something went wrong and they didn't even get to finish the cleanup. It was getting frustrating, all this runaround. What had even happened? He'd barely had time to help Kio when they'd called them back, and he didn't see anything go wrong. He was positive he was missing something-- and he was also positive he was going to figure it out in the middle of the night when he was trying to sleep. He took a few deep breaths and decided not to think about it. "Hey O'Hara. Dig up anything cool back there? I saw you working on a TV."