"Alright you three," Gloria said, crouching down to look her Pokémon in the eyes, "I'm only running inside for a spell, so don't wander off, okay?"
Grookey smiled, Yamper wagged his tail, and Nickit seemingly didn't even hear her trainer. She was far too caught up in licking her paw.
As soon as Gloria stood up and went inside her childhood home, Nickit stood up and walked away.
"Woah!" Grookey exclaimed, stepping in front of Nickit, "Where do you think you're going?"
"Exploring." Nickit stated.
"Gloria told us not to wander off!"
"I'm not wandering, I'm exploring." Nickit stressed.
"Isn't that the same thing?" Grookey asked.
"No."
"Well, either way, you're not leaving, Nickit. Gloria will be right back!"
"I'll be back! Cover for me!"
"I will do no such thing!"
"Guys guys!" Yamper interjected, "Gloria has been gone for so long!" He whined, "I hope she's okay!"
Nickit smirked, "Hey Yamper, wanna go for a run?"
Yamper cocked his head, "Run?"
"A run." Nickit confirmed.
Grookey held up his hand, "Now wait just a min-"
"Run!" Yamper barked, "A run! Yes! Run!"
"Nickit-"
Nickit suddenly lunged at Grookey and grabbed his stick from his hand. She ran off with it and Yamper followed close behind. Grookey gasped and screamed. He rushed after the thief and her partner in crime, determined to get his stick back.
Nickit and Yamper ran around the small farm town, Wooloo rushing out of the way of the tricky fox and her loud, clumsy companion. They rushed through various farming fields, scaring away wild Rookidee that's loitered around the plots. It didn't take long before Yamper rushed far ahead of Nickit. Finally Nickit caught up to her teammate. As she did, she was immediately tackled from behind.
"You thief! Give me my stick back!" Grookey growled.
Nickit shoved Grookey off of her and got up to run some more, but Grookey grabbed her tail and yanked her back. She helped and dropped Grookey's stick. As they both fought to grab it, they heard Yamper whine.
"What's this?" He wondered, scratching at the brown gate.
Grookey released Nickit's tail, "That's the Slumbering Weald," he explained, "There's some crazy weird Pokémon living in there! Gloria, Hop, Sobble, and I were lucky to make it outta there alive!"
Nickit composed herself and brushed dirt from her chest fur, "What kind of weird Pokémon?"
"It was huge!" Grookey said, spreading his arms, "And it just looked...incomplete."
Yamper lowered his ears and whined, "Sounds scary!"
"Sounds cool." Nickit said, jumping on the gate and unlocking it. The gate swung open and Nickit jumped down and began walking into the Slumbering Weald.
"Nickit!" Grookey hissed, "Come back!"
As Nickit disappeared into the fog, the two boys grew deathly quiet. Grookey groaned, grabbed his stick, and rushed after his teammate. Yamper ran after Grookey, scared to be alone.
"W-What are you doing?" Yamper asked.
"Going after her! Duh!" Grookey answered.
"Sh-Shouldn't we get Gloria?"
"I don't want to put her in danger!"
As the boys went farther into the Slumbering Weald, the fog became thicker and thicker.
"We'll never find her in here!" Grookey exclaimed, "The Pokémon here are only gonna get stronger and stronger!"
Yamper whined and began shuddering intensely, "W-What are we gonna do, Grookey?"
Grookey poked Yamper's nose, "Use your sniffer!"
Yamper shook his tears away, "O-Okay. That's a good plan!"
Yamper sniffer the air and started walking in a direction. Nickit had a strange scent, as she smelled of lots of things. She kept various berries, empty Pokéballs, and anything shiny or of value in her bag-like tail. This didn't deter Yamper, as he simply followed the strongest scent. He sure hoped it was her.
After a couple minutes of searching, something suddenly ran into Yamper, knocking him backwards.
"N-Nickit!" Yamper exclaimed, a grin forming on his face.
"Run!" Nickit yelled, a look of pure horror on her face.
As Yamper and Grookey tried to process the strange behavior, a large, dark, Pokémon came up from where Nickit came from. The Pokémon's large, dark wings looked metallic, and as it flapped them, a shrill, sharp sound flowed from them.
Yamper and Nickit both shuddered in fear, and Grookey stood in front of them and drew his stick, ready to defend his teammates. Just as the large Pokémon was about to attack it's tiny opponents, a ghostly form appeared in front of the tiny trio.
The large Pokémon cocked it's head and looked the form up and down. The fog suddenly thickened and the last thing the trio saw was the ghostly form looking back at them. Grookey, Nickit, and Yamper suddenly found themselves at the gate of the Slumbering Weald.
Before they could talk about what happened, they heard their names being called, "Grookey! Nickit! Yamper! Where are you guys?!"
Yamper started crying, "Gloria!" He barked, rushing in the direction of his trainer's voice.
Nickit and Grookey followed Yamper, and they all fell into their trainer's arms. They nuzzled and hugged Gloria close, never wanting to wander off again.
