#popgoesthesneaselreturns

"It really is you? Sorry...I know we've done this many times. I know how bothersome it must be. I..."

Sal tapped his claws together, he hated being a burden but Kianga truly had helped Sal a lot during the time they stayed together. Sal himself sadly wasn't that good in battles. He could use his moves in unique ways though, like crafting ice statues and using his claws to craft. It showed how much the pokemon was touched by artistry. He clearly had the skills, and been trained in how to use them with just his claws.

It was mostly ice crafting, cultivating it into many shapes with the use of Icy Wind. Sal could create many wonderful things when he tried. He seemed to enjoy doing so as well. But, he would often freak out if he thought too long on his creations. These skills came with a great taint.

Sal could dance as well, but that was a lot harder for him to do. A lot of his bad memories came from the moments where he danced. So, he only was able to show Kianga once how skilled a dancer he was. And following that he became a shuddering mess crying snowflakes from his eyes while hearing phantom piano sounds in the air tormenting him.

It was clear how much Sal had endured at the hands of the one who trained him. He was deeply both hurt emotionally and mentally. Desperate to not feel alone, or feel stone surfaces anytime that happened Sal's panic went into overdrive as he began shaking. He also really hated closed in spaces, they too tended to make him nervous.

But Kianga was aware of some of Sal's main triggers now. But, Sal did have to make it clear that no one ever use a certain word. He didn't want to be called "Beloved" as that was what his teacher called him the most. Sal didn't say the word but he did write it onto paper. And even that made him want to throw up from the revulsion the word gave him.

"I seriously don't deserve this kindness...none of it. But...thank you...I'm sorry for all of this. I know I'm a handful but...I...am so thankful..."

And thus Sal bowed his head to Kianga still trying to stop more snowflakes which were his tears from falling from him.

For the first time in a very, very long time. Those familiar arms that Sal felt in his dreams time and time again were back. But this time while he was awake. Shimmering into existence, holding the Sneasel close to him, the Zoroark from his literal dreams.

-

Another day, another anomaly to investigate, and this time with a lead to go off of at the very least, as it wasn't an entity or a pokemon the Garchomp and his teammates were after this time. Orion takes a moment to split off from the group, the three of them deciding to split up to try to cover this entire forest and mountain range in one fell swoop, Orion heading deeper into the forest, while Enki checked the mountains, and Phobos looked around the outskirts of both.

The three of them had gotten quite masterful at doing their job, of course Orion took that with great pride, given what they've all gone through in their pasts, being a Garchomp has its perks, the heightened senses help him out with finding the anomaly, and, while Enki had extrasensory, and Phobos had some form of foresight towards anomalies, Orion had nothing but his wits, and his instinct to go off of.

The imp tilted her head upon hearing this information, a slight bit of confustion seen in the gems that was her eyes.

" Salvador, you are not there to get dating tips. You're there to find out what makes him suffer. Do you understand ? "

She took another step closer.

Her face still beaming, she leans down and gently scoops up Sal, and...pulls him into a hug, for now. And being careful not to poke him with her chest spike.

“You would do best to avoid startling me like that, you know.”

----

The shape had vanished, but Bell swore that it had been right there. That meant it had been a Pokemon.

Blinking, Bellum considered if he should just leave. It would be the smart thing to do. But, there came that question. What if he had managed to hurt the Pokemon? And if he did and learned about it later? It would suck.

So, giving a quiet growl to himself, he took his helmet off and put it on the bike as he shut it off.

That wasn’t a reaction Giratina was accustomed to hearing. After a moment of observation, it seemed this Pokemon was... disturbed by something more. They couldn’t tell what at an immediate notice, but given Giratina’s appearance... this may be a bit more difficult to approach than initially thought.

They made themselves smaller, a size less threatening in image. The reality might frighten the poor Pokemon even more. A morbid curiosity was taking over, but first came to tending the unhappy.

“I apologize for disturbing you, but you are getting close to my realm.” They reiterated with a voice as soothing as an elder god could make. “Speaking aloud is not my forte... might you look around in the mirror, small one?”