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As much as he had hopes on GRAY's little scanning protocol, especially since he had been one of the people helping to make sure the thing was at least halfway accurately tuned, Reno would still keep his eyes trained in the area around them. While it was likely that the Ziton had been driven off to go lick its wounds and recover, he still wasn't certain on if Mister Mushroom would be prepared for all or if this was going to be the end of things. Either way, he could at least risk the separation from his Alakazam for all the time it would take to make sure Aden would be able to recover in peace. "Kaiden, teleport Aden back to HQ." He commanded, subconsciously holding his breath until the pop of psychic energy told him that Aden and Kaiden had now disappeared on their instantaneous trip across spacetime back to Johto. Taking a deep breath and letting out a huff, Reno would turn towards Sol.

"I had absolutely no hope of stopping Aden. Not that me stopping someone from doing something reckless and potentially permanently damaging wouldn't have felt very hypocritical." Gathering up his one Pokeball that was still on the ground from where his arm had shattered under the sudden forces from Blizz and Sol, he would pocket the device before continuing, "So I figured I would help make sure it was effective. We had a bit of a psychic link, so I decided to make sure it was there through telepathy and then I....kinda sorta channeled between Aden and one of my Pokemon to amplify the attack."

Turning back to look to where the Ziton had been, he would stare at the empty space for a moment as if the air would spontaneously answer a question for him of how the Ziton had appeared so suddenly. Grumbling in frustration at the lack of answers his attempted observation was giving him, he'd turn back to the group. "And while I can get into a lot of the other details for the Ziton elsewhere, I feel like my recent discoveries need to be voiced right now." He said, running his sole hand through his hair. "Y'see, back at Mesgoza, I decided to try and figure out why Team Star was acting so weird the fastest way I could figure. So I connected telepathically to Eri, pumped myself with the same little powerup that I hit Aden with, and hit paydirt. Didn't know it at the time but I had powered my way straight into the fungus network connecting Team Star to...somebody I'm just calling Mister Mushroom."

"Now, Mister Mushroom did not give me a chance to get a word in edgewise and instead selfishly decided to monologue at me. With a very heavy handed description of how he was the one leading a wild animal to whatever he decided its meal should be. Some thing called a...lion?" Looking away for a second as the thought distracted him, Reno would snap back to attention as he waved a hand past his head. "Not important. After that, he somehow blasted my Alakazam with a Bug Buzz through telepathy. Then I found the mushroom growing out of Eri, which I did eventually manage to determine as the actual physical connection that allowed this dude to manipulate her and, presumably, all of Team Star."

"In summary, there is some weirdo running around with some kind of ability to connect to the Ziton, can backdoor his way into people's minds using fungus, and can send Bug type attacks through mental connections. Best guess? He is some kind of Bug channeler but the whole Ziton connection is throwing me." Tapping the side of his head, he would sigh before resuming looking around. There was still one little detail he wasn't immediately jumping in on right this second, but it didn't seem relevant to sidetrack all of this with the little Dark One outburst that Eri had had back at the plaza, not when this guy could decide it was time for round three right away.

I started to listen in to everyone’s take of the events today, let alone the battle, trying to get up to speed as to what was going on. Ziton was actually nowhere to be found, which was fine by me. I didn’t know how much more desperate we had to get after all of that with that abomination. Barring all of that, though, with me only getting involved on the proverbial zero hour, where as before that I was just going through the motions in going through the Pokémon gyms, I didn’t really have any idea as to what was going on, but even then, I felt like I missed a lot and such a feeling didn’t go over too hot. I had a bunch of questions to ask like how long did Team Snagem know the depths of such stuff like the Ziton’s involvement or when they realized there was this ‘Mister Mushroom’ as Reno nicknamed. I have to admit I felt a hair agitated being left in the dark about such things, just being left to wonder the region just to get a few badges that I technically didn’t really need to get, and worse, not really getting any hint of that as I traveled the region. Even the Team Star members that I even ended up humiliating one evening didn’t really come off as being weird; that they were just a bunch of wannabe tough guys. Sure, it was helping some of my Pokémon out finally being able to cut loose but…this was the sort of thing that I worry about if I was say back at home. I don’t want to get blindsided by crap like this.

Speaking of being blindsided, something however that Cera mentioned got my attention. Tristen mega-evolved? Something it felt like she just glossed over; I don’t know if she was trying to slip through it just so that I would have missed it or what. Regardless, by the way it sounded in context, it came as a result of beating whatever Team Star member that he ended up fighting with. Presumably on his own, if not with his own Pokémon. Tristen didn’t have a stone let alone the catalyst for such a thing unless somehow the school gave that to him as well, just as Tristen mentioned one evening via Snag him getting a Tera Orb for Terastalization, but I sort of doubt it. Though what forced him to? It wasn’t like Ambrosia is here in Paldea, is she? Regardless, is that why Tristen isn’t here right now? “Where’s Tristen? Back at the academy?” I then finally spoke up. I needed to see him finally…to hell with this region right now.

"What Crystal said." Sub said to Blizzard, concurring with Crystal before adding more context. "I had Claydol send him and Doc Owl back to HQ, figuring the doctor would be better equipped the treat Tristen back there than at the nurse's office. The unintended Mega Evolution didn't look like it sat too well with him." Sub explained further.

"For now we return to the academy and help clean things up. Except for Blizzard, I'm sure you want to see Tristen." He began. "A lot of damage has been done not only to the academy itself but also its students. Once everything is settled down we'll sit down and figure out what exactly is going on here. Until then we'll use the reprieve we've been given to the fullest. I just hope all this doesn't damage what good faith we were building with the region up until this point. And that's not to say anything about the condition our own teammates, like Aden, are currently in." Sub said with a sigh before turning to recall his Hydreigon.

"I'm going direct to Clavell, fill him in on things and go from there. I'll talk to you guys a bit later, for now do what you can." With that said Sub released Gardy from her ball and requested a Teleport, trusting the Psychic could get him to the academy at the very least, leaving them to use Claydol if they needed. After a few seconds of getting her to calm down the two would disappear in a flash.

Arturo wouldn't question Tsuki too much, the Grass Channeler considering himself a good judge of people and believed wholeheartedly that the boy was being sincere and so would jump on his mount and join him on their trip to Uva-Naranja Academy.

-----

In time Tsuki and Arturo would arrive at the academy, touching down in the front courtyard, the boy finding the place littered with people including police officers and news reporters. Looks like word of what happened here had got out already. Arturo was a bit befuddled over the scene he saw and would question the boy about it. "What happened here?" He asked, not really expecting an answer before he turned his focus back towards his surroundings. "You said people need help, where are they?" He asked.

Arturo would nod as Tsuki explained himself, not saying much else as they walked to the nurse's office, weaving around the throngs of people along the way. When they finally made it to the office they'd find the place jammed pack with Team Star grunts as well as a few non-Star members including Ms. Raifort, a Growlithe hybrid, and a Bug Catcher, each of them with a mushroom on their head but otherwise unconscious. Nurse Miriam had finally made it back to her office as well and was working busily alongside her Pokemon, trying her best to maneuver around all these people, some even on the floor.

"Hm? Oh! Tsuki! Thank Arceus you- oh? You couldn't? Then w-wh-who might...this...be...?" The woman responded to Tsuki, speaking to him before actually laying eyes on the boy but when she did she'd spot Arturo near him and immediately begin to get nervous and blush, no doubt caught off guard by the beautiful man.

"I am Arturo, senora, of the Artazon Commune of Artisanal Grass Channelers. At your service." He said, grabbing her hand and kissing the back of it. Oh this guy knew exactly what he was doing.

"Oh um...t-thank you..." Nurse Miriam said before clearing her throat and turning away from Arturo, realizing she would get nothing done if she stared at the pretty man for longer than two seconds. "The students, including a few faculty members, have been infected by some sort of fungus that is making them behave strangely. None of my antifungals seems to be having an effect, nor does any of my Pokemon's healing moves such as Heal Bell or Aromatherapy. I am at a loss as to how to help them." She explained to Arturo.

"How strange...a fungus..." Arturo said as he looked down at the Bug Catcher, leaning in to get a closer look at the mushroom growing on top of Camp's head. "This is a tochukaso mushroom." He declared, looking to Nurse Miriam to register that the woman had no idea what that was, the name unfamiliar to her. "The type of parasitic mushroom that grow on the backs of Paras." He explained further.

"Paras!? You don't mean these things will keep growing until they consume these children and turn them into zombies like Parasect, do you!?" Nurse Miriam shouted.

"No, at least I have no reason to think so. The fungus is very specialized to only work its zombifying magic, if you will, on Paras. However my instincts tell me someone has modified the fungus to behave differently. If I had to make an educated guess this is the work of a Channeler, a very talented one. I consider myself something of a talented Grass Channeler myself but I've never seen someone manipulate tochukaso to work on not just hybrids but also humans, even a Fire type one at that." He said looking to Matteo. "We're dealing with a master."

"And don't forget about this one strange fox..." Indie spoke up, taking a drag of their vape and releasing the purple smoke as he pointed at Monique behind them. Nurse Miriam would frown at them, Indie immediately knowing why. "Oh...sorry..." They said before pocketing the vape pen.

"Hm? Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about miss Monique, Indie, from what I gather she is allergic to large amounts of Fairy energy. Isn't the first time I've seen such a thing in hybrids but definitely the first time I've seen one have such an alteration in response to their allergy. Given enough time she should return to normal or we can give her an iron supplement to hasten her recovery. Your vape smoke even could help as she seems to respond favorably to its Poison nature, in fact that's how I figured it out. So I guess your disobedience did some good." She said with a little glare at Indie.

Feeling a small pulse of energy behind him, Reno would give a nod. "Alright, anyone who wants transport back to the school, bus is leaving. I'm following up on that mushroom stuff. I had literally five seconds to figure that out before the Ziton stuff began and I am going to see how far I can follow that particular thread." Stepping over to where his Alakazam had popped back into the space, Reno would wait a beat for anyone else to join in alongside him before teleporting everyone back to the courtyard.

----

After taking a moment to make sure any passengers were settled, Reno would immediately take his leave to locate Tsuki, which involved a slight amount of cheating by telepathy. After all, he'd left him as the one who knew things. Hopefully all that knowing things about what was wrong had lead to something besides a very confused student.

Following his trail, Reno would slink his way into the nurse's office just as the explanation for what exactly the fungus that had been inflicted on the students and Team Star. Paras fungus as the source of the infection. Which was about what he had been expecting, not exactly a ton of potential channeling partners with fungus relations who could also infect you with fungus to do some brain control. "So a master level Bug or Grass channeler. Got any way to narrow that down further?" He asked Arturo, giving his own look over a few of the infected. Apparently this was a lot more widespread than just Team Star members, given the multiple students and faculty members that he could identify in the room with their own pieces of fungus growing out of their head.

As he admired the fungus farm, he would direct another question towards Nurse Miriam and Tsuki. "I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of the Pokemon for this region yet, so mind helping me to make sure I'm thinking of everything? Are there any Bug or Grass types that Paldea would claim themselves as the origin for?" He asked, "Would hate to accidentally exclude something just because I ain't packing it around as one of the go-to names I know."

Between what Mister Mushroom had inflicted on him and this display of talent, Reno was working on making a heat map of possibilities for what he was looking for with this mystery man. As much as he was leaning towards Bug channeler from the transmitted Bug Buzz and the likelihood that the main channeling partner was Psychic, it wasn't definitive given the typing for Parasect. But that left, at his current reckoning, only two Pokemon who could be identifiable as ones that would provide the psychic contact that he had with Mister Mushroom. Exeggutor or Orbeetle. But he needed all the data he could get. And he didn't need to point out directly what he was searching for here.

....look, Grass WAS possible. But given its either eggs or tree, it wasnt likely.

Wren heard Tsuki's explanation regarding what was happening and immediately began to pat at his pockets, a panicked look on his face. "Oh no!" He realized, freezing in that moment. "I must have left my SNAG in the hotel room. Let's go!" He'd toss out a Nest Ball and release his Sawsbuck, Asphodel. As Arturo climbed onto Tsuki's Flygon with him, Wren mounted up on the deer. "Follow them! As fast as you can run!" He told the Grass-type.

"Saw!" Asphodel barked out, sprinting off toward Mesagoza as soon as Tsuki and his Flygon took to the air, giving chase at full speed. The Pokemon and his human were careful not to knock anyone down but nimbly dodged around several bystanders as they left town. Tsuki would, of course, reach the city long before them considering that he was flying. "Looks like they landed in the courtyard." Wren announced, directing Asphodel toward the school as the pair burst their way through the city gates, Wren waving to the guard as they did so. "Sorry! I'm in a rush!" He apologized as his faithful steed carried him up the steps toward the school. Jumping off Asphodel's back as they approached the school's front door, he recalled the Season Pokemon to his Ball before shoving is way into the school without stopping.

Heading straight tothe courtyard, he'd catch Tsuki just as he and Arturo rounded the corner to head toward the nurse's office. "I'm lucky Asphodel's fast... I really need a Flying Pokemon for emergencies like this." He noted as he followed after Tsuki and Arturo all the way to Nurse Miriam's office, where he would immediately spot the various students and faculty with mushroom's sprouting from their heads. "Uh... That seems... Not normal." The man remarked quietly, trying to figure out what in the world was happening to them. Upon Arturo's explanation, he realized why the mushrooms looked familiar. "Huh. Never actually seen those in person before." He remarked, reaching out to inspect the mushroom closer. Upon getting near it, his fingers almost began to glow with a green shimmer. "Huh? Is that my channeling reacting to them?" He asked himself, drawing his hand away again and watching it return to normal.

"Uh... Looks like things might have changed for me a bit after what happened at the commune..." He muttered, stepping back again. "Probably better if I don't touch them just yet..."