Baba's Request

“So, Professor Blackthorn needs mushrooms from the mysterious, probably magical forest…” Pluto stood just outside the outskirts of the Sylvangloam, squinting apprehensively into the glowing forest. Supposedly, the forest rearranges itself every day. Pluto would normally think of it as an urban legend or something, but she also lived in a world with pokemon and human fusions so she supposed there were weirder things. To be honest, she would rather not go into the big magic forest, but the Professor was willing to give her credits for some mushroom samples, so a job is a job. She sighed and took a step into the forest, before yelping as she was yanked back by a wary Crackle.

“Oh hush.” She huffed at the Charizard/Minior fusion, who just grumbled at her, staring at the forest warily. “It’ll be fine. The forest only changes once the day’s over, remember? It shouldn’t take that long to get mushrooms and get out, we’ll be fine.” She side-stepped Crackle’s protests and headed into the woods, leaving him to grumble and follow. 

While she wasn’t the biggest fan of forests, since she never really had to worry about branches in her face back in Ethermoor, and her height only made it worse, she could manage, her paws making little noise as she stepped through the undergrowth, picking up mushrooms on the way and tucking them into her backpack. The same couldn’t be said for her partner.

She glanced back with a grimace at the various snaps and thuds behind her, watching as Crackle snapped and growled at the foliage tangling him and managing to take out 3 more branches in the process. 

“No, don’t do that.” She told him as she watched the cracks in his rocky shell start to glow. “If you shed your shell you’re gonna set something on fire. You sure you don’t want to go in your ball?” She asked him, though she wasn’t surprised when his response was an enthusiastic no. She shrugged and turned back, ducking through another bush when she stopped, seeing a… stall? She thought that nothing could be built here. She stepped into the clearing to take a closer look.

“Hello, dearie.”

(No, Pluto did not screech like a dying Meowth. And if she did, the only witness was her trusted partner who would never sell her out. And the mysterious grandma in the magical forest, I guess.) 

"Oh dear, are you alright?" The old lady said with an apologetic look as Pluto recovered. 

“Peachy.” She wheezed, shooting a look at Crackle as he growled. “Um, what are you doing here ma’am? Are you lost?”

“No, not at all.” She chuckles. “This is my stall. You can call me Baba, what’s your name?”

“Uh- Pluto. I’m Pluto.” She hastily shook Baba’s hand, smoothing down her clothes. “You… um, interesting spot to set up shop…?” She said hesitantly, wincing at potentially offending Baba.

Baba chuckled. “Not to worry dearie, I don’t take any offence. It may be an odd place, but it works for me.” She scrutinized the infused trainer. “Say, you seem quite young and spry. Would you mind helping out an old lady?”

Pluto nodded, discreetly elbowing Crackle to stop his fussing, before regretting it as her elbow throbbed. Wow who knew rocks hurt. “Sure, what do you need ma’am?”

“You see, I need some of those glowing mushrooms on the trees for a recipe of mine.” Baba said, gesturing to the forest, various fungi growing in the undergrowth and on the trees. “But they’re quite tough to harvest, and I’m afraid my bones are far too old to harvest them myself. Would you mind being a dear and collecting some for me? I’ll give you some compensation for your help, of course.” She pushed a handwoven basket into Pluto’s hands.

“Oh, yea of course, I can do that.” Pluto took the basket, heading to the source of the brighter glows in the forest. “I’ll come back soon.” She called, waving to Baba and dragging Crackle behind her, despite his protests. 

“Shhh.” She sighed as he let out a low hiss. “It’ll be fine. How dangerous can an old grandma be? Besides, you’re here, and you’re not my only pokémon.” Speaking of. She reached into her pocket, pulling out her pokéballs and releasing her team. Cottonball, Tucker, and Ruffle emerged from the light, and she directed them to look for the mushrooms. Tucker and Ruffle shot off, competing for the most mushrooms or something, she guessed, while Cottonball reared up as best as she could. She sighed but obliged, lifting the small pokémon up to her shoulders and letting her use Pluto as her steed. 

Together with Cottonball’s small size letting her climb onto tree branches, and Crackle’s height and reach, they were able to collect a sizable amount of mushrooms. Pluto hummed, pleased as she looked at the pile of mushrooms in the basket. She whistled sharply to call back her other pokémon, and yelped as they crashed through the bushes, nearly bowling her over. Looking at the amount of mushrooms they collected (or, not), she guessed that they got too competative and forgot what they were doing. She chuckled, patting their heads and called them back into their balls, before letting Crackle guide them back to Baba. Knowing Tucker and Ruffle, they'd just bicker the entire walk.

She handed the basket back to the old lady, to her delight, and was handed a handful of credits and some poffins for her team. Looking up past the cracks in the canopy, Pluto decided that she would rather be at home before the sun went down, thanks.