From Trainer to Beast Tamer Pokémon Trainer! Reader x Twisted Wonderland

Chapter 67: Unflattering Perceptions

So...Jade didn't bond with anyone, so here is a company of the most intimidating water types in the group not named Swampert or Gyarados.
I own nothing.
Chapter 67: Unflattering Perceptions

The team made a splash as they entered a new area, once again underwater, though this area was much more eerie and dark.
"Aether signal tracking successful." Ortho announced. "We have arrived at the designated coordinates."
Grim was very unhappy. "Mrah! We're already underwater this time."
"The aerospheres are functioning properly, at least." The android pointed out as (Y/N) brought Swampert to assist with mobility.
"Even so, I don't want to test them against underwater hazards. I'm well enough acquainted with the ocean to know how much of a danger it can pose."
Floyd was also upset, but more in a pouting child manner. "Dang, we're in the sea? I totally figured Jade would be on a mountain."
Jamil squinted his eyes, unconscious getting closer to Swampert just in case. "It's a lot darker than the last area we were in."
"Can we go back to how SICK Jellyfishie's signature spell is, tho?" Floyd smirked towards Silver. "You can use that to go into anyone's dream? Man, I wish I could do that! I'm jealous."
The pale haired boy blinked in confusion. "Jealous? No one's ever talked about it that way before. It's a very limited spell—I can only use it when I'm asleep."
"That's the whole appeal! It means you can even have fun when you're conked out. And it'd take you to weird worlds you'd never think of yourself. That's what I call fun!"
"I shouldn't be surprised you'd view it that way. I can definitely see you mastering the spell and having a great time with it."
"If Floyd had access to that spell..." Jamil shivered. "He'd probably use it to intrude into other people's dreams and mess them up so badly they turn into nightmares. I for one am genuinely grateful it remains in the hands of someone as goodhearted as you, Silver."
"Hey, that's enough idle chatter." Sebek interjected before Swampert began to get agitated, growling and darting about.
"Swampert, what's-,"
(Y/N) covered Jamil's mouth. "Shhh!"
There was a deep rumbling which made Grim's fur stand on end.
"Mrah?! What's goin' on?!"
"Surrounding water temperature rising sharply." Ortho warned. "Immediate evacuation recommended!"
"Floyd! Change forms! We've gotta move!" (Y/N) ordered.
The situation must have been serious considering the male didn't argue, transforming and nabbing Silver and Sebek as Swampert got (Y/N), Grim, and Jamil to safety. Ortho followed after as the sound of an explosion went off. Once they were a safe distance away, Floyd let out a sigh of relief.
"Whew... That was close."
"Thank you, Floyd." Silver said as Jamil patted Swampert.
"You too, Swampert. You're clearly faster in the water."
"What was that explosion, though?" Sebek asked as (Y/N) tilted her head.
"I'm gonna guess submarine volcano."
"A submarine volcano?!" The others shouted, save for Floyd who smiled.
"Wow, nice catch, Shrimpy!"
"Well, I was raised by a geologist."
"I'm confused." Grim admitted. "There are mountains underwater?"
"Yup." The mereel answered. "And they spew out boilin' water that looks like black smoke, like what just happened."
Ortho clearly began an information search. "Black smoke... Ah, you must be referring to black smokers—underwater hydrothermal vents that discharge hot black mineral-filled water. Their emissions can reach temperatures up to 400 degrees Celsius. And they also include many substances hazardous to organic life, including sulfur, methane, and heavy metals."
"The real problem is it's a lot harder to know the signs underwater." (Y/N) explained. "Typically people studying them in my world have a team of Pokémon to sound the alarm in case they do go off. Swampert is naturally attuned to changes in the environment, which is why he started going nuts. You all right, bud?"
The starter bumped his head to her hand to signal he was okay as Floyd crossed his arms.
"That's not even the worst of it. They can block off the way you came, and make you sick if you breathe too much of that smoke. They're ways more dangerous than ship graveyards sharks use as lairs."
"It's worse than a shark lair?" Jamil repeated. "And this is where Jade is?"
Silver glanced around. "The dreamer is usually close by when I cross into a dream, so he must be..."
Sebek just seemed pale at the idea of the volcanoes. "We shouldn't tarry long in a place where toxic waters erupt without warning, even with Swampert to warn us. Let's get the search underway."
"Agreed." (Y/N) said, grabbing hold of her partner. "Just in case, though, Floyd, I beg you, grab Silver and Sebek in case we have another run in with a volcano."
"Oh relax, Shrimpy. Even I'm not heartless enough to let them die."
"I'll hold you to that."
"Still, wouldn't it be easier if you guys got outta those floaty balloon bubbles and took on mer-form? It's way easier to move around in the water when you got fins."
"Well, uh... It's just, the forms you have now are strictly data." Idia pipped up. "I can't whip up mer-form body data for everyone from scratch in such a short amount of time. Plus, you've got experience in mer-form. None of them do. Even if I did have the data on hand to send over, there's a good chance it'd take a long while for them to get the hang of using it."
"Hmm. It took us a lotta practice to get the hang of walkin' on two legs, so I guess the reverse would be true too. Welp, guess there's nothin' for it."
"Whoa, you're accepting my explanation without any argument at all?! I was waiting for you to be like, "Rah, I don't care, just do it!" There's seriously no predicting your investment levels."
Sebek mercifully stepped in at that point. "All right. Let's stay mindful of eruptions and start exploring our surroundings."
"Yeah, sure. Then, first off..." Floyd then began to glow. "I gotta avoid standin' out."
"Whoa, Floyd!" Grim shouted. "You're glitterin' all over!"
(Y/N) was less than shocked. "Oh, I didn't know you were bioluminescent, Floyd."
He gave her a toothy grin. "Sure am! Even in the depths, light filters down from the surface up to around 1,000 meters down. Most merfolk live in areas that are shallower than 500 meters... Which means that to creatures swimmin' around below us, we have obvious shadowy silhouettes that make us easy to pick out, so merfolk livin' in dark waters that get less sunlight have photophores that make us bioluminescent. We make our bodies glow like sunlight glimmerin' off the water's surface, and that lets us camouflage ourselves."
"Counter-illumination then. That makes sense!"
"It's also for communicating. Sound carries real easy underwater, so sometimes we blink our lights on and off to send signals without givin' ourselves away by usin' our voices. I'm surprised mud monster here can't do it."
(Y/N) patted her partner's head. "Swamperts can survive the pressure, but they mostly live in fresh water adjacent to the ocean. Marshes, swamps, hence the names of their evolutionary line. Most of their sea encounters are because they nest on beaches."
"Then how come he can breathe salt water?"
"Specialized glands. They filter out the salt so they can travel to and from the ocean. A lot of water type Pokémon have them. In fact, besides a very few select species, almost all water dwelling Pokémon can exist in fresh or salt water."
"It's kinda weird these two are having a science talk." Idia said to the rest of the group. "It's like listening to a pair of biologists."
"I mean, from what (Y/N) has said, Pokémon trainers do seem to need at least a basic grasp of biology to be successful." Ortho pointed out. "Plus, Floyd is a sea creature, he would be curious."
(Y/N) and Floyd continued to chat about the differences in their worlds' biology as they kept searching for Jade. Eventually, Sebek grew impatient.
"We've been searching around, but I don't see a single lifeform around here, much less a merman."
Ortho nodded, adjusting his monitoring systems, "It doesn't help that our visual range is limited due to sand and marine snow kicked up by the local volcanic activity."
"And unlike on land, people don't leave footprints here." Silver added on top of that. "Tracking someone is more of a challenge."
"Are we sure Jade is actually here?" Jamil understandably asked as Floyd frowned.
"With all the sulfur and stuff around, I can't pick out anything by smell. And it's really hot..."
"The seismic activity is also making it hard for Swampert to sense anything too." (Y/N) admitted.
"How about we just ditch Jade and move on to someone else's dream?"
"Floyd Leech, we are not abandoning your brother!"
Ortho suddenly perked up. "Ah! Aether signal detected 20 meters ahead. It could belong to Jade Leech!"
"Nice work, Ortho!" Grim cheered. "Let's go check it out."
They all swam forward, eventually catching the other Leech twin's voice.
"Look at this hydrothermal vent! Though it's spewing hot water nonstop, you can see it's actually home to a colony of shellfish if you look closely! How do they survive in a place like this? I'd be boiled alive in an instant."
Sure enough, they found Jade exploring around the highly volatile vents when a fake Azul in merform followed after him.
"If I might remind you, Jade, we're not searching for shellfish worth less than a sorcent. We're looking for precious metals that settle in hydrothermal deposits."
"I'm aware, Azul. But it's still nice to take a moment to enjoy the mountain scenery."
Floyd scratched his cheek. "Yup, that's Jade and Azul, all right."
"Recent research has established that underwater hydrothermal deposits are richer in gold than land-based gold mines." Dream Azul explained, snooping around, again, the highly dangerous vents.
Jade nodded along. "Yes. Geysers erupting from deep within the earth tend to have precious metals mixed in, right?"
"Exactly. And this is a heretofore undeveloped area of the ocean. If I happen across a gold vein... Heheheh...I could easily become a leading figure in the mining industry! Come along now, Jade! This is the eve of a new gold rush!"
"Of course, Azul. Let us conquer this submarine volcano together."
Jamil crossed his arms. "Even in a dream, Azul acts like this, huh."
"It's not Azul, just Jade's visualization of him... But it is a pretty high-res portrayal." Idia pointed out as Floyd made a face.
"I dunno, man. I doubt the real Azul would ever voluntarily go near a volcano."
"Ah! Jade, look! There, by that vent..." Azul's eyes went bright. "Something's glittering. Could it be gold?!"
"It is! You've already spotted a nugget of gold. You've got quite the eye, Azul...But it's hardly safe to put your hand in there."
"Oh, I can just plug up the vent for a moment with ice magic. Then I can scoop up the gold while the flow's stopped. Heh heh heh... Just watch! Freeze, vent!"
A thick layer of ice coated vent, but anyone who knew how pressure worked knew it wasn't a long-term solution. Still, Jade clapped.
"Brilliant. Nicely done, Azul."
"It's hardly a challenge for me. AAAH HAH HAH HAH HAH! Now for that gold—," Just as Azul reached for it, Golisopod appeared ((Y/N) had to cover Jamil's mouth to stop him from screaming), tackling Azul away just as the steaming water was redirected exactly where Azul's face had been a moment ago. "Gah! Pesky insect! The gold is mine!"
Golisopod growled, swimming off as Jade floated down with an amused look.
"Are you all right, Azul?"
"I was nearly boiled and was body checked by an oversized arthropod, but look! The gold is mine!"
Jade laughed. "PFFT—! Once you have something valuable in your clutches, you never let it go. That's the Azul I know! You never disappoint!"
"I can hardly let a minor thing like that come between me and my dream of striking gold! I won't give up, even if it costs me all eight of my arms!"
"Yes, yes! That's the spirit!"
"Anyone else feel like we're watching a mean spirited comedy sketch?" (Y/N) asked as Jamil looked unimpressed (while floating as far from where Golisopod had been as possible) as Azul went about scouring the ocean floor.
"I don't see the difference from normal."
"He's lifting boulders in search of gold dust." Silver said, a bit concerned. "It reminds me of when I saw Ruggie searching under a vending machine for loose change."
"Azul loves his valuables and all, but the real one wouldn't go that far." Floyd complained before thinking for a moment. "'Least... I'm PRETTY sure he wouldn't...anyways, he'd at least freak out about samurai shrimp!"
Said samurai shrimp had spotted the group and swam over to greet them, making Jamil push Silver in front of him like a shield and grip his arms tightly. (Y/N) patted his head.
"Good work, Golisopod. Dream or not, I'd rather not see Azul turned into steamed octopus."
He grunted in agreement, making Grim tilt his head.
"Hey, how come Golisopod can't talk?"
"That is funny. I suppose it's because Jade doesn't really have a bond with any of my Pokémon. So how did you end up in his dream?" Golisopod began miming out and grunting his explanation. "I see, so you guys thought someone ought to check up on Jade, and two were the best equipped given the nature of the dream."
"Did you two?" Silver asked.
"Yeah, Araquanid is around here somewhere."
Jamil passed out at this point at the thought of the giant water spider and Floyd nodded, remembering playing around with the water spider once or twice.
Ortho glanced around. "You know, there's an NPC version of Azul present, but I don't see Floyd anywhere. Aren't you usually together?"
"How many times do I gotta tell you? We ain't together nonstop. Do you think I tag along when Jade goes mountain climbin'? No way. And Jade knows that. We've lived together ever since we hatched outta our eggs."
Jade, almost in a spiteful fashion only a sibling could, immediately proved Floyd wrong.
"Ah! Right near where Azul found the gold dust...There's a school of small shrimp living in a rock fissure that's venting hot water! Floyd! Come over here and have a look."
"Cooomiiing!"
"You were saying?" (Y/N) teased before the dream Floyd appeared, making her tilt her head. "Uh, did I forget about a concussion because something about that Floyd is..."
"Uncanny valley?" Idia asked.
"Yeah, that's a good way to put it."
The dream version of Floyd had a cartoonishly dim witted face just plastered onto his body with no sense of cohesion. It was unflattering to say the least.
Floyd was understandably miffed. "That's beyond absurd! He doesn't look remotely like me!"
"This is a world of imagination." Ortho reminded him. "These NPCs could represent how Jade visualizes you."
(Y/N) facepalmed. "Ortho, honey, that's not gonna help the situation. Also, new rule: when this is all over, we are not to hold our dreams over each other? We will collectively forget!"
Floyd didn't hear her, still very steamed. "Are you sayin' Jade always sees me with that ridiculous face?!"
The little android continued in vain to try to remedy the situation. "I think it's a case of his mental image of you being exaggerated because it's in a dream."
Jade loomed over the shrimp colony. "Look at these tiny shrimp, living in such a harsh environment."
"Ooh you're right! They look delish! Eheheh! Ahaha, lookit how cute and teeny they are! I could eat 'em right up!"
"My, my. What a bold gourmand you are, Floyd."
"Time to eeeat! Eeheehee! You can't get away from meee! Om nom nom!"
The dream Floyd began devouring the shrimp by the handful, making Sebek blanch.
"Floyd's grabbing the shrimp and eating them...!"
"Whoa... This guy's scary in a whole different way from the real Floyd, don't you think?" Idia pointed out as Jamil, who (Y/N) and Grim had been trying to revive this whole time, drearily looked up.
"I don't see the difference from normal."
"Are you kiddin'?" Floyd shouted. "I'm NOTHIN' like that."
(Y/N) made a face at Jamil. "You're being mean. He's really not."
"Thank you, Shrimpy!"
"Heh heh heh." Jade chuckled. "What fun Azul and Floyd are having. I just love the mountains. I was worried about what to do after climbing every single mountain on land, but the ocean's far vaster, with a great many unexplored submarine volcanoes."
"I'll never give up before I strike gold!"
"Ooh, ooh, Jade! These crabs are pretty tasty, too! Eheheh!"
"Heheheh. I'm delighted you're both enjoying yourselves. May the three of us overcome every obstacle and conquer every mountain!"
"Hip hip, hooray!"
Floyd let out a shriek. "AAAUGH, I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"
The boys backed away in shock, though Jamil passed out again as Araquanid reared his head after the noise, as Floyd looked ready to tear his brother to pieces. Silver tried to stop the eel to his credit, but (Y/N) stopped him.
"Silver, I'm gonna warn you right now, you will lose your hand trying to stop them. Let them fight it out."
Floyd murderously swam up to his brother. "Hey... Jade. Knock it off with this creepy dream. You're givin' me scale-bumps from gills to tail!"
"Huh?" Jade tilted his head. "There are two Floyds?"
"Why, it's a perfect mirror image!" Dream Azul claimed as the spectators all facepalmed (those who were conscious anyways).
"How'm I a perfect mirror image of THAT?" Floyd demanded. "We don't look nothin' alike."
"Who's this guy?" Floyd's dream version asked. "It cool if I squeeze 'em and eat 'em? Ahaha!"
Floyd bared his teeth at Jade. "I knew you never paid much attention to other people, but I ain't buyin' this is the best your memory can dredge up. There's no way I'd act all gleeful gobblin' up live shrimp wedged under rocks!"
"Floyd...? You don't eat live shrimp...?"
Dream Azul rushed in front of Jade. "Don't let him fool you, Jade! Look closer. Floyd isn't some menacing-looking gangster. He's more simpleminded and charming than that. Look at this endearing smile!"
The simpleton version was clearly not following any of this. "Hey, Jade? I'm bored. Wanna ditch this guy and go eat crab somewhere else? Ahaha!"
"Yes... Right." Jade agreed. "Floyd's always been the endearing type. Our relatives loved doting on him. This has to be the real Floyd."
"Really, now." Dream Azul teased. "How could you ever mix up who your own brother is? Are you getting fatigued? Given your exhaustive knowledge of the mountains, you're essential for my gold search. Please, pull yourself together."
"Heheheh... Of course. You and Floyd would be helpless without me."
"Heads up!" Ortho warned as a familiar distortion filled the area. "Darkness in bound!"
Seeing his brother so easily duped, Floyd, perhaps understandably, snapped. "Oh, is that how it's gonna be? In that case, you can keep pallin' around with your "real" brother in dreamland. I don't want a brother like that anyway. I'mma knock ALLA you into the volcano!"
Like that, Floyd tackled his brother and they began fighting it out like a pair of feral Huntail. Even the darkness seemed off put by the savagery, which was opportune for (Y/N) and Swampert, who charged in at that moment, followed by Golisopod and Araquanid. Given their blitz attack, it didn't take long for them to subdue the darkness, which left the feral eels.
"How dare you hurt them. You will pay dearly for this-HAAAH!"
Floyd grabbed Jade from behind before he could even get to (Y/N), still snarling.
"I keep tryin' to tell you, I'M the real one! You wouldn't talk like that normally anyway. Why're you gettin' all hung up on dramatics? Hey, Firefly Squid. I thought a good shock to the system was supposed to wake people up. Jade ain't wakin' up at all! Shrimpy! Break out the rat!"
"I am not letting Raichu electrocute your brother, Floyd!"
"He's not wrong." Silver interrupted. "Considering what happened when Kalim brawled with Jamil, you'd think Jade would have woken up by now."
"I think...this might be an entirely new pattern." Idia decided as Grim tilted his head.
"Whaddaya mean? Quit holdin' out on us and get to the point!"
"Jade's NPCs are slapdash at best, and his imagination isn't particularly strong...But I think he's got extraordinarily high belief in himself."
"He believes in himself?" Sebek repeated. "Isn't that a good thing?"
"It can be in moderation." (Y/N) figured. "Past a certain point, you become stubborn, even when someone can prove you wrong."
By now, Jamil had regained consciousness to contribute. "The real Jade gave me the impression he's more willing to listen to others' opinions than Floyd."
(Y/N) just stared at him. "You're...you're joking right?"
"Do you pay attention at all, Sea Snake?" Floyd shouted as Jade got him in a headlock. "Jade's NEVER cared about what other people say. It drove Mama and Pops nuts. The only thing he's ever been good at is pretendin' to be a model of good behavior. It's a huge pain."
"Then how are we supposed to wake him up!?" Grim shouted.
"Ahaha... Why not just let him sleep forever?" Floyd suggested. " If he likes the dream world that much better, I can put him to bed nice and gentle-like. I'll cut you into chum so you never wake up again, Jade! GYAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The two brothers screeched at one another, clawing at each others face and ramming into the volcanic vents, causing the currents to shift.
"Eeep!" Grim hissed, jumping into (Y/N)'s arms. "Those two big guys goin' at it is whippin' the water into a whirlpool!"
"Outta the way!" Floyd roared, getting a tail slap in return.
"You will be the chum, not me!"
Biting was now involved as (Y/N) then noticed the commotion causing the vents to be redirected.
"Heads up!"
She dove down, but Sebek was grazed by the geyser.
"Ah! Hot!"
"Careful, Sebek!" Jamil warned. "Their roughhousing is destroying the fragile vents and sending hot water spewing out all over the place!"
"If we get caught in the crossfire, we're done for." (Y/N) said. "Araquanid! Swampert! Protect!"
The pair situated themselves to cover the entire group in the protective field, but this would only last so long. They had to get the Leech twins off each other.
Idia spoke. "As much as I'd love to just lie low and wait it out until they both collapse...There's a real chance we could lose both of 'em at this rate. Wh... What do we do? Hey, uh... You guys are there, unlike me... Could one of you step in and stop them."
Jamil took one look at the squabbling pair and glared at the tablet. "You expect us to step into THAT? Are you kidding? Interrupting a brawl of this scale is like digging our own watery graves!"
"Araquanid could probably pin them with Sticky Webs, but they'd need to hold still to land the hit!"
Sebek gritted his teeth. "Rgh... If only Epel were here, he could use Crimson Slumber to imprison them. Hm? Aha... That's it! Here I should be able to..."
Silver looked at him. "What is it, Sebek?"
"All of you, get away from me. Especially Ortho—you get extra far away!"
(Y/N) realized what was about to happen. "BACK! BACK! BACK! BACK!"
Everyone did so as Sebek readied himself.
"You just need them stopped, right? ...To battle! Lightning, pierce the stormy skies! LIVING BOLT!"
Sebek transformed into a bolt of lightning, striking the twins and paralyzing them in their tracks, seeing the opening, (Y/N) extended her arm.
"Araquanid! Use Stick Webs!"
The water spider spat two globs of webbing at the twins, tying them up and putting an end to their squabbling.
Sebek was quite pleased with himself. "Aghagh... Yes, it worked! Seawater, with its high salinity, conducts electricity better than air. Thanks to that, I could go exactly where I wanted, with hardly any damage to myself! Well? Did you see that, (Y/N)? Grim?"
"You pulled it off! Congrats!" (Y/N) applauded as Jade started coming too.
"Wh-wh... What WAS that—aghagh! I'm all numb..."
"I... I thought I was blown to bits there... Aghaghagh!" Floyd then started gagging as Jade looked at him.
"Wh... What was I doing? Why was it that we were even fighting?"
Just then, Dream Azul reappeared, swimming towards the still bound up Jade, batting away Floyd in the process.
"Jade! Are you all right?!"
"OWW!"
"Oh, thank goodness you're alive! I was afraid I lost my precious subordinate!"
Perhaps the bludgeoning had finally knocked some sense into Jade as he didn't look convinced this time.
"Your...precious subordinate?"
"If we lost you, I'd cry, Jade." Dream Floyd piled on. "Don't go anywhere again, 'kay?"
"...Don't go anywhere?...That's strange. The Azul and Floyd I know would never say such things."
Everyone gasped as (Y/N) tilted her head.
"I guess these brothers needed to have a kick to the system to remember things."
Silver was a bit more concerned. "Jade, did Sebek's lightning jolt you awake?!"
"What do you mean, awake? Why am I even here? Hrk! That's right, I was... Gah... At Night Raven College...on land...Augh, I have a splitting headache! Urgh, augh...! AAAAAAGH!" Jade seized up so much, he actually managed to tear through the Sticky Webs as his memories came back. "How could I have forgotten something so important? Floyd is never so docile. He's far more unruly. And Azul would never willingly expose himself to danger. He'd send someone else to do it instead. More to the point—neither of them would merrily tag along on my mountain expeditions. What was I thinking?"
Fake Azul and Floyd attempted to regain control. "Jade! You would believe those impostors over us?!"
"Unfair! You said I was the real one, Jade!"
"I implore you to reconsider!"
Fake Azul reached out to Jade, who immediately had a murderous look.
"Could you please not touch me? It's sickening. Golisopod?"
The Samurai of the Sea obliged Jade without further ask, knocking into the pair with First Impression as Jade attacked them from the front. It was over in a second, making everyone's blood freeze at how merciless it was, all except Floyd, of course.
"Heeey, Jade. You finally awake?"
"Yes, thanks to you."
The brother cackled as Golisopod cut Floyd loose. Apparently that was preemptive, as the twins immediately punched each other again.
"Have you two still not gotten it out of your system?!" (Y/N) called.
"Floyd, how could you go after me with your full strength? I was afraid I'd be slashed to ribbons. In fact, I DID take some damage. Have you no consideration for your beloved brother?I'm appalled. Boo hoo."
"Quit with the crocodile tears. A guy who can't tell his "beloved brother" apart from an obvious fake ain't got ANY right to talk like that. And I'm pretty sure YOU were the one goin' all-out there. Man, that hurts. I thought you were gonna shred my fins!"
Jade then turned to the others. "Ah, everyone—what an embarrassing brotherly squabble you've witnessed. I'm terribly sorry you had to see that."
"Dude, that wasn't a "squabble."" Idia called out. "That was a full-blown super kaiju brothers brawl."
Silver just scratched his head. "Um... Anyway, I'm glad Jade's awake and the two of them mended bridges."
Jamil leaned over to (Y/N). "He calls that mending bridges...?"
"It's as close as those two can get."
Jade was just back to his usual smiles. "Heh heh. Yes, we've made up. My apologies for giving you cause for concern."
"Tch. Speak for yourself." Floyd stated. "I ain't satisfied yet, but we're not gonna get anywhere arguin' about it in a dream, so whatevs."
"A dream? Floyd, what do you mean by that?"
Ortho finally stepped in. "Mind if I field this one? I've got an explainer video here that will help."
Jade watched the monitor, nodding along until it finished. "I see... What a fascinating tale. So the false Azul and Floyd were there to keep me anchored in the dream. Neither of them have ever shown any interest in my hobbies, and yet they joined me to trek through a multitude of mountains...Honestly, it was a rather nice dream."
Jamil glanced between the brothers. "Between Floyd traveling the whole world and subsequently getting bored of it...And you climbing every mountain on land and moving on to submarine volcanoes... You guys have an incredible drive."
Ortho nodded. "Even taking into account that time passes faster in dreams, you've done so much here in such a short span."
Idia sighed. "I get the urge to blow through a game and get to all the end content, but geez..."
"Yes, well. While I did say it was a nice dream, considering it's a world where the only possible outcomes are happy endings where things go according to plan, perhaps it was only a matter of time before I lost interest."
Floyd shrugged. "Yeah, guess I ain't interested in happy endings where things go according to plan either."
"Heheheh. Everything can be smooth sailing, and the happiest possible ending can be just around the corner, but then something happens that causes you to lose your footing, and you find yourself plunged into the deepest depths. Unexpected developments like those are what make life so fun, aren't they?"
"I sure never imagined I'd get dragged into a mess like this back when we went to Devilfishie's farewell party."
"Indeed. This is quite beyond simply "unexpected." It's a highly amusing development, wouldn't you say, Floyd?"
"Ahaha, no kiddin'. Ain't it excitin', Jade?"
(Y/N) shook her head as the twins chuckled. "Truly brothers."
"Hey!" Sebek interjected. "We've got more pressing business than standing around chuckling. Even as we speak, Malleus's arcane realm is slowly but steadily expanding in the real world. We must find our next ally, and quickly!"
Jade seemed to be in agreement. "Agreed. We should make Malleus see reason and return to the real world as soon as we can. I'll offer what meager assistance I can."
"Thank you, Jade." Silver said with a bow. "I'm grateful to hear that."
Ortho then handed Jade the invitation. "All right, this is for you, Jade."
"Ah... This is an invitation code, yes? Those were mentioned in the video."
"Yup." Floyd confirmed. "Your ticket to the battle with Sea Slug."
"Once we're fully ready to fight Malleus, these link codes will summon everyone in." Ortho explained. "Make sure to keep it on you, okay?"
"Rest assured I shall. I eagerly look forward to my summons.
"And here are Dream balls for Golisopod and Araquanid." (Y/N) said, handing both twins one. "Neither of you have particularly strong bonds with them, but I trust them to keep you both out of trouble."
Floyd was somewhat offended, but Jade simply nodded, pairing up with Araquanid. "With that out of the way, Sebek mentioned finding our next ally. Have you decided where you're going next?"
"Our plan is to visit Azul's dream." Ortho answered.
Jamil shivered. "Azul, huh. Unpleasant and unprincipled as he is, I suppose he is still Octavinelle's Dorm Leader. His addition to the group would definitely be a huge asset."
"Azul's dream, hm." Jade pondered. "In that case, it might be prudent to take on our land forms. His business is flourishing, his name is on lists of the world's most affluent young men... And he drinks victory mocktails while lounging in a bathtub filled with thaumarks. There's no doubt in my mind that will be the state of the dream we find him in."
Floyd laughed. "Ahaha! I totally see it."
"But we don't have the necessary potion here. How might I transform...?"
"Oh, that? Firefly Squid'll teach you a rad spell."
Idia and Floyd talked Jade through it, and in no time, he was back to human self.
"My goodness. What an incredible spell you've devised, Idia."
"First Floyd does it, then Jade also yells out the incantation without the slightest hesitation or embarrassment. That actually weirds me out more. Here I figured Octavinelle guys would be like Azul and avoid humiliating displays..."
Sebek caught that. "Hey! You characterized it as something reasonable before, and now you're saying it's humiliating?!"
"Hee hee! If you don't like it, get the hang of outfit-changing on your own. The weak get no right to complain. Them's the breaks at Night Raven College! Dyeh heh heh!"
That made Jade smile eerily. "True, Azul might have misgivings about reciting this incantation."
"Yeah, Azul likes to see himself as the cool, chill, handsome type." Floyd agreed.
"Pfft... I look forward to seeing him recite this."
(Y/N) sighed as Ortho set up Jade's duplicate.
"Why am I getting a sense of dread and secondhand embarrassment for what's coming?"

You know I might just have to do the Rowmance event just to force Jade to bond with someone, because at least Floyd's playfulness can lure in some other Pokémon.