''Leon, Leon, Leon, Leon, Leon, Leon!''

“Vagus,” gasped Leon. “You’re hurt!” Regarding the Totodile with a concerned look, he quickly took hold of his hand.

Vagus recoiled at Leon’s sudden movement and pulled his hand away. “I’m fine!” He turned to the side in order to conceal the wound from sight. “I-it’s just a scratch. She snuck it in when I was trying to pull ya free.”

“It’s not just a scratch,” protested Leon, his concern refusing to recede. “Sit down and let me see it. She could have poisoned you.” He tugged at Vagus’ arm again, hoping to coarse him back down to him.

For a moment, Vagus gazed down at Leon. The warmth within his emerald green eye seemed to have receded somewhat. There was silence, a silence that was starting to make Leon feel silly for trying to order the Totodile around. To the Riolu’s relief, Vagus eventually followed the tug of his arm and sat in front him. He shifted his body to the side, allowing his wound to face Leon.

“I don’t see why you care, to be honest,” mumbled Vagus, avoiding eye contact. “I get nicks like this all the time.”

“Just try not to move.” Leon poured his gaze over the wound. It was deeper than he originally thought. The sight of it made shivers roll down his spine as he realised the potential pain Vagus might be in. Curiously, he began to inspect it closer, running his paw along its length. Leon, expecting Vagus to at least whimper in pain, was surprised when his contact was met with no response.

He was even more astounded that Vagus was able to stand just a moment ago. He furrowed his brow. Something wasn’t right about this Totodile. “D-doesn’t it hurt?” Leon’s eyes flicked back up to Vagus and gazed upon him with concern.

“Well, it doesn’t exactly tickle, Leon,” Vagus words came as a sudden slur, causing Leon to regard the Totodile with more concern.

“Are…you feeling alright, Vagus?”

“Y-yea…mate. Feeling good here. A bit…tired, I guess.”

Leon’s heart began to race once more as he started to fear the worst for Vagus. He moved closer to the wound and gently parted the deep cut with his paws. Amongst the red of Vagus’ torn and exposed flesh, faint streaks of purple lined the deepest parts of the wound. Leon felt his heart stop when he caught sight of it. His fears had just been confirmed. “Vagus…” his voice was calm and collected. He didn’t want to worry the Totodile. “Y-you’ve been poisoned.”

“W-wah...?” Vagus was starting to appear wobbly. Leon held him by his shoulder in case he toppled over.

“C-can you walk, I need to get ya some help.”

“Of course I can walk,” snarled Vagus, sliding Leon’s paw from his shoulder and rising to his feet. “I-I kinda live nearby. I’ll be fine.” He sure didn’t look like it. The Totodile was just as wobbly on his feet as he was sitting down.

“No, you won’t be fine,” protested Leon, also rising to his feet. He held Vagus’ arm and kept him steady. “W-will you at least let me go with you?”

“Hell no!” A faint look of horror seemed to manifest itself within Vagus’ features. “My brother will kill me if I brought you home with me.”

With the pressure of the situation mounting, Leon was beginning to feel frustrated. “Ack! Come with me, then.” With a hard jerk, he tugged at the disoriented Totodile’s arm and began to pull him along as he walked.

He had to get back to the camp he had set up upon his arrival early this morning. A strong brew of Pecha berries would do the Totodile a world of good. Leon could only hope that the Totodile would survive the short journey.

“Leon, Leon, Leon, Leon, Leon, Leon, Leon, Leon, Leon, Leon Leon-” Noir’s voice was unrelenting in its annoyance as he spoke Leon’s name over and over. As though he was the world’s most annoying alarm clock, Leon was jolted from his thoughts. With a yelp, he leapt forward off the stump and landed nimbly on his feet. They had gone numb, suggesting that he had been sitting on the stump for some time.

“Leon, Leon, Leon, Leon--”

“N-Noir!” cried Meri “W-we have h-his attention...s-stop it!” The Haunter gave a long drawn out sigh of disappointment as his eyes fell to the ground.

Leon shook the disorientation from his head. Since that day, the day when he met his love, daydreaming had become a constant issue. Whenever his mind grew idle, thoughts of Vagus would always rise for him ponder. He only hoped that Vagus was not encountering a similar problem.

Leon turned to face his team. Meri was regarding him with a concerned look. Leon was not one to simply fade into a daydream, especially with them present. Even Noir looked somewhat concerned. “Are you alright, Leon?” he asked.

Leon nodded and gave a smile to address their concerns. He took a moment to look around him. More teams had arrived on the scene and were proceeding to plant their seeds. It was then that Leon felt his heart shift with a sense of change.

A discrete look of disapproval managed to find its way onto Leon’s face. Why bother planting any more trees here? There would be plenty of them here soon enough. His tree needed to be planted somewhere special. Somewhere it could stand with

“L-leon,” called Meri. “T-the seeds. They’ve b-been spilled.”

Leon looked past Meri. It seemed that the pouch that contained the seeds has spilled out around the stump where he had dropped it. Leon sighed, but refused to let the smile fade from his face. He saw an almost perfect excuse.

“Okay, then!” he chimed. In a sudden burst of movement, he swept forward and collected the near empty pouch. Quickly peeking inside, he noticed that only a single seed remained. It was a rather large one that appeared rough, rugged and almost sickly looking. He sighed, once again expressing his disappointment. It would have to do.

He turned to his team. “Okay. Noir, try and scoop up whatever you can in your mouth. You and Meri go plant them with the other teams. I’m going to go back to get some more. If I’m not back by sundown, just meet me at the Café.”

Both Meri and Noir looked at each other, somewhat puzzled by Leon’s instructions. “O-okay…”affirmed Meri. That was all Leon needed. He didn’t waste a moment longer. Turning his back, he sprinted off in the direction of Tao Lake. The lake was his special place now. A special place that he shared with a special someone.

“Humpf!” Noir looked away from the Riolu as he ran off in the distance.

Meri regarded her teammate with an inquisitive look. “W-what’s wrong, Noir?”

The Haunter cackled before responding. “I never knew the village was in that direction.” For a moment, the Haunter played with the idea of following Leon to see what he was really up to. To his disappointment, it seemed that somebody had already beaten him to the task. A lone Celebi, her head adorned with a single flower tailed the oblivious Riolu from a distance. It seemed that Noir was not the only one with suspicions.

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Written by Team Spartan/The Masked E6 Pt 5''Leon, Leon'' "Vagus," gasped Leon. "You're hurt!" Regarding the Totodile with a concerned look, he quickly took hold of his hand.

Vagus recoiled at Leon's sudden movement and pulled his hand away. "I'm fine!" He turned to the side in order to conceal the wound from sight. "I-it's just a scratch. She snuck it in when I was trying to pull ya free."

"It's not just a scratch," protested Leon, his concern refusing to recede. "Sit down and let me see it. She could have poisoned you." He tugged at Vagus' arm again, hoping to coarse him back down to him.

For a moment, Vagus gazed down at Leon. The warmth within his emerald green eye seemed to have receded some
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