"So — you and Crobat were out training, you gathered some berries to bring back, and Shelmet ate them, so you brought Shelmet home. That's the whole story?"
Crobat looked at Auron and nodded with a satisfied smile.
Charizard wore a *well, obviously* expression.
Auron pressed two fingers to the bridge of his nose.
He knew Charizard's training sessions were in the forest somewhere — Charizard brought back a haul of berries often enough that it wasn't a surprise. And the scratches and cuts on his body were always from branches, which Auron had worked out long ago when applying ointment after training.
What he hadn't accounted for was the possibility that Charizard, upon having his berry collection consumed, would simply *bring back the Pokémon that ate them.*
He didn't even know if Shelmet had a trainer.
He turned to Crobat with a flat look. "And you just let him."
Crobat's eye curved with a smile, thoroughly entertained.
"Kucchi!"
"Gah!"
Shelmet had been starting to poke her head out to say something after Auron's question — and got immediately roared back into her shell by Charizard, who had clearly been waiting for exactly that.
Auron looked at the shrunken Shelmet, then gave Charizard a push.
"Alright. Go walk off your dinner. I've got it from here."
"Gah!"
Charizard jabbed a claw at the shell, then thumped his own chest.
"Yes, yes — if I can't handle it, I'll come get you. Now go."
"Hmph!"
Charizard cast one last imperious look at Shelmet, snorted a small puff of flame from his nostrils, and strode out with all the dignity of someone who had very much won this argument.
Once he was gone, Auron tapped gently on the shell.
"He's out. Want to come talk?"
No movement.
He waited. Just as his patience was starting to fray, Shelmet finally edged her head out just a fraction, eyes darting around to confirm for herself.
Charizard was gone. She let out a slow breath.
"So — did you really eat his berries?"
"Kucchi!"
Shelmet stared at him in outrage, then launched into a vigorous, emphatic denial, head shaking in every direction.
"Kucchi! Kucchi!"
She kept going, growing more animated, her front legs eventually emerging from the shell as she gestured at him — pointing, waving, making her case with her whole body.
"Kucchi! Kucchi kucchi..."
And then, as she talked, her round little eyes slowly filled up with tears, and her voice shifted into something more urgent and plaintive.
"Okay, okay — slow down. Take your time."
Auron reached out to calm her.
"Kucchi, kucchi..."
"Are you saying — those were actually your berries to begin with? You thought they'd fallen off the tree naturally, so you picked them up and put them in your shell?"
"Kucchi!"
Shelmet nodded vigorously, looking at him with complete sincerity.
Auron massaged his forehead. He was starting to piece it together.
From Charizard's side: the berries were ones he'd harvested himself, set down on the ground temporarily while he trained. Correct.
From Shelmet's side: she'd been tending to a berry on that very tree for a long time, watching it slowly ripen. She dozed off for a short while — and when she woke, it was gone. Then she spotted a berry lying on the ground nearby, assumed it had finally fallen ripe, and tucked it into her shell.
Then Charizard came back, saw Shelmet in the process of taking what he considered his berry, and — from where he was standing — she'd stolen it. He'd pinned her down immediately and demanded it back.
Shelmet's position: *it's my berry, why would I give it back?*
Two Pokémon in a deadlock. Charizard intermittently intimidating her. Shelmet terrified, but absolutely not conceding — she retreated into her shell and refused to move, scared but resolute.
Charizard, unable to get anything out of her, had eventually just picked up the shell and brought it home.
"Alright. Nothing to worry about — this whole thing was Charizard's mistake. I'll talk to him when he gets back. No more crying."
Watching Shelmet's tear-streaked face still set in stubborn determination, Auron felt an unexpected wave of sympathy. He pulled out his secret weapon: premium snacks, deployed for soothing purposes.
"Kucchi! Wah—!"
That did it. Shelmet took one look at what he was offering, threw herself forward, wrapped both front legs around his hand, and burst into full, unrestrained sobbing.
Auron said nothing. He just rested one hand gently on the top of her head and waited.
Crobat looked on with mild surprise — this wasn't the story any of them had imagined — but with Auron already managing the situation, she stayed out of it.
Dratini was a little jealous, but Snorlax's belly was right there and impossibly soft.
Priorities.
After a while Shelmet wound down, and then — belatedly — seemed to realize where she'd been crying. Her face went faintly pink. She withdrew quickly, small and careful and fast, back into her shell.
Auron laughed quietly and patted the shell.
"It's fine. Want something good to eat?"
The word *eat* immediately called back the memory of the noodles. From Shelmet's brief experience in the world, this was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted.
She eased her head back out, eyes bright and hopeful.
"Kucchi?"
"Of course. Here you go."
He slid the Poké Puffs toward her. Shelmet began eating in small, careful bites.
She was stuffed from dinner. But food this good — how could she possibly resist?
While she ate, Auron pulled up her information screen.
**Pokémon: Shelmet**
**Gender:** Female
**Types:** Bug / Rock
**Ability:** Sturdy (One-hit KO moves have no effect.)
**Quality:** Purple
**Base Moves:** Struggle Bug, Withdraw, Wrap, Endure, Rollout, Encore, Bind, Bug Resistance, Mystical Fire, Rest, Rock Blast, Acid, Power Trick, Shell Smash
**Egg Moves:** Acid Spray, Acupressure, Toxic
Based on what Shelmet had said, she almost certainly had no trainer. The information display confirmed it.
He wasn't sure exactly how Shelmet developed in the wild, but if he was raising her, the first move he'd teach would be Sandstorm — no question. In sandstorm weather, Rock-types took no residual damage and gained a 1.5x Special Defense boost. For Shelmet, that was practically mandatory.
A Shelmet without Sandstorm was almost certainly a wild one. The small alternative was that someone else had the same idea he did — using Shelmet as a living berry juicer. But that was a narrow category.
"Gah!"
"Fsshh!"
Shelmet was happily mid-bite when Charizard's voice came through the door. She vanished into her shell instantly.
"Charizard. Come here."
*(End of Chapter)*