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Pikacha was at the edge of Peace Village, picking berries from the bushes that bordered the forest and cottages. There were no huts, not like there used to be in the now-historical Pokemorph Village, but nor were there full-fledged houses. Next to her was Mikanun, who she knew was eating twice as many berries as he put into her basket.

A little way down the bush line, Persian and Espliana shared a basket too. Espliana may have been carrying the basket, but Persian was doing most of the picking. She was mostly talking to her 'brother' about all sorts of things; at the moment it was boys.

"-And there's this one Umbreon-morph, I forget his name, but he bothers me all the time. Still, he's kinda cute, y'know? And there's this other guy who-" Espi continued on and on, with Persian smiling and nodding every so often.

The sun was shining brightly on Fortune Village. On the street flowed the usual small stream of villagers. But on one quaint cobblestone path, a single cloaked figure wandered between the gabled and adjoined buildings. He stopped before a many-storied, crooked building of crumbling, sun-stained yellow brick. A wooden sign on which the words "Firemane Inn" were branded hung over the doorway. The figure pushed open the door and stepped over the threshold.

Miles away, the Rockets stepped off the ferry into Port Luck, lugging their instruments, baggage, and other electronic equipment. Zorra, a tall, formidable Ninetails-morph led, with her bandmates Zuka, a chubby Zubat-morph, and Solomon, a sullen Absol-morph, following behind. "Okay," Zorra proclaimed, once they had become organized. "Shield City, here come the Rockets!"

Back in Peace Village, Bailey ran across the grassy field toward the berry bushes where Pikacha, Mikanun, Espliana, and Persian mingled. She was slightly out of breath when she reached them. "Hey, guys!" she called out jovially. The sun felt wonderful on her skin, and it filled her with energy. "Picking berries?"

"Look."

"What?"

"Did you hear what I said? We're going the wrong way! We've been flying northeast for miles now."

"So? It's got to be around here somewhere. We couldn't have missed it," the heavily accented voice insisted.

"You idiot!" Leer grabbed his brother around the neck from behind, forcing him to look down. "Down there! Do you see that village? That's the second one we've passed and it's far too small to be Shield City! Has the sun fried your brains?"

A dark chuckle replied. "I wasn't the one getting drunk on moonshine last night, Leer. You're probably the one that led us off course." The Beautifly-morph smirked at his brother, blue eyes twinkling as they watched him at the corners of their vision.

Leer, seeing his twin had made his point, released his grip and pulled back to resume his flying position behind Look. "Mmm... guess you're right. No wonder I'm still groggy." He put a hand to his head and pushed back his antenna. "Look, there. There're a few morphs down there. Maybe they can help us out."

Without turning around, Look nodded and smiled as both twins prepared to land. Soon they were on solid ground and approaching the berry-picking group.

"Looks like there were more than I thought."

Ignoring Leer's reluctant comment, Look continued to approach the group, cupping his hands around his mouth and calling, "Hello there! Could you maybe tell us where we are?" He jabbed a thumb at his brother, who stood behind him, looking uneasy. "My brother and I are headed to Shield City. Seems we've wandered off course."