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The next Pokemon encountered was a Swablu, but it seemed neither Amber nor Spooky were much interested in battling it, even for the experience. The Swablu, of course, had other ideas, as it attacked Spooky from behind with Steel Wing. Smarting from the attack and angry at being hit from behind, Spooky whirled around and faced his opponent. "Thunderbolt," Amber ordered calmly, just as upset as her Ghost-type partner about the attack.

Spooky gave a sinister grin, causing the Swablu to realize that it might have bitten off more than it could chew, then fired the Electric-type attack, hitting the Flying-type Pokemon squarely on the back. The Swablu, reeling in pain, decided this battle was more trouble than it was worth and fled, not wanting to endure any more Thunderbolts from the angry Shuppet. Once it was gone, Amber gave a small smile. "That should make it think twice about attacking opponents that don't feel like battling," she said.

A small noise to one side caused Amber to look and see what it was, and what she saw had her scrambling to get away. Normally, she had no qualms about Pokemon, but there were certain ones that she just couldn't abide, no matter how hard she tried. Any Pokemon that looked like spiders were on her no-go list, and unfortunately for the Dewpider that had just tried to approach, it looked too much like a spider for comfort. Amber wasn't squeamish enough to outright run, but she had no intention of getting any closer to the approaching Water/Bug-type. That being said, the little Dewpider seemed to sense that Amber was afraid of it, and it backed away and ducked back into the water, not wanting to have a trainer that was so afraid of it.

Another Basculin, this one of the blue variety, was their next encounter. Neither of them were particularly interested in such a common Pokemon, however, so they kept going. The Basculin didn't seem to mind this, preferring to be left alone, anyway.

Another Rolycoly appeared, but like before, Amber and Spooky let it be, not interested in battling when they would likely take more damage than they could dish out.

A Joltik. It had to be a blasted Joltik, one of the Pokemon she couldn't stand. She had no problem with Bug-types, absolutely none, whatsoever. She loved Bug-types, as her mother had a Butterfree and a Beautifly at home. It was just the Pokemon that looked like spiders that she couldn't stand. Unfortunately, most of them were Bug-types. Spooky didn't waste any time battling on his own, since Amber couldn't seem to work up the courage to actually call out any attacks.

The Joltik, sensing a challenge from the Shuppet, quickly used Fury Cutter, but Spooky dodged by floating further into the air, where the Joltik couldn't reach from the ground. Seeing it had missed, it quickly fired off a Bug Bite, and Spooky took some damage since he wasn't able to get out of the way in time. He retaliated using Shadow Ball, but the Joltik was too quick, and it dodged to one side before using String Shot, which Spooky couldn't dodge in time and got wrapped up by. Being a Ghost-type, it wouldn't affect him to be wrapped up as much, but the lowered Speed could become an issue.

Satisfied it had managed to slow its opponent down, Joltik used Bug Bite again, and this time, Spooky took more damage, since he wasn't quick enough to move before getting hit. This was starting to hurt, and he knew he had to end this battle soon. So he vanished into the ground and used Phantom Force, reappearing right in front of the startled Joltik and sending it flying. While the Bug/Electric-type was recovering from the damage it had taken, Spooky finished it off with Shadow Ball, not wanting to cause it too much damage. Once the Joltik was unconscious, Spooky returned to Amber, who had managed to move farther away, though she was still close enough that Spooky knew she was there.

Amber and Spooky were just about ready to call it quits. They hadn't come across any other Pokemon that either wanted to battle, or were native to Galar, besides the Hatenna and the Rolycoly. The Hatenna that approached now was a lot more cautious than the first one, and Amber had to smile as she watched the little Psychic-type interacting with Spooky. It seemed Spooky didn't mind having the Hatenna nearby, as he looked like he could use a break. Not only that, Amber was starting to get hungry, so she figured it might be a good time to eat something, since she hadn't eaten since before they'd arrived in Galar.

With that in mind, she pulled out Spooky's Pokemon food, the kind she made specially for him, and set it out so that he could eat. She made all the food for her team, each kind tailored for each of her Pokemon. Hatenna, seeing the food, wondered if it might get a morsel or two, as well, and came closer to Amber, since she wasn't giving off any strong emotions right now. Amber, seeing this, pulled out a more generic Pokemon food, one she usually kept for emergency rations or for any wild Pokemon that was curious enough to stay close.

She set a bowl out for Hatenna, and the little Psychic-type dug in with a happy smile. Amber smiled at this, then took a couple of energy bars from her pack and started eating. Sure, it wasn't a full meal, but it would keep her going long enough to get through the end of the contest. After they ate, the Hatenna stayed for a while longer, and Spooky didn't seem to mind playing with the wild Pokemon. It was good that he was willing to interact with Pokemon other than his teammates outside of battle, since he needed the interaction because of his past. Perhaps he was loosening up a little, or perhaps he was just too tired from so many battles that he'd let his guard down for just a moment. Whatever the case, when they were ready to move on, the Hatenna bid them farewell and vanished, while Amber and Spooky moved on.

[Central Tundra]

Starting to close in on a cave, Sol stopped and gave a bit of a sigh. "Are you really going to keep sulking about this?"

"Cera pretended not to notice." The Mew remarked, simply continuing onward.

"Yep, should've brought Inigo instead," Sol said, a groan in his voice. He stopped to look into the distance, feeling like he saw something. He could sense a nearby presence based on its energy, but if it wasn't showing itself, he saw no reason to go after it.

He'd turn out to be right, as an Impidimp was watching in the shadows as if they were plotting something. It may or may not involve them.

[Southern Lake]

"I mean, after everything we- a lot of us, really- have been through, I thought you'd find this kind of funny."

"The only thing kind of funny is you having the nerve to think I'm just gonna be like Xipil or Inigo or Gallade," Cera commented.

"I mean, you're right, they're usually much less pouty."

A Snover could be seen as they got near the end of the cave and into another area, but was ignored and allowed to walk on by.