Sympathy is sympathy, pity is pity—but Jason's top priority right now is keeping himself alive and powering up fast.
As a weak little Ditto, he really couldn't do much about the mice's misfortune.
"If that Talonflame family suddenly loses patience and wipes out the whole Tandemaus colony, won't this Oran Berry I'm hiding as end up a dessert course by accident?"
He did not want his Pokémon-world journey to end with the humiliating epitaph: "eaten by a Talonflame."
So his plan was simple: finish the Tandemaus entry ASAP, then bail. Not one extra second in this trouble spot.
Time crawled by in that anxious wait, and the third day arrived.
The stockpiled food was shrinking before their eyes. The fruit mound that used to be a little hill was now just a thin layer.
To avoid being mistaken for breakfast by hungry Tandemaus, Jason kept inching deeper into the pile, burying himself more securely.
"I'm a perfectly good guy cosplaying an Oran Berry—and I have to worry about getting eaten? What is my life," he muttered, bored enough to question existence.
Over these three days, he learned why the colony was so strapped: it's not that they didn't want to forage, but the Fletchling overhead was patrolling more and more frequently—practically 24/7 coverage. The mice had to cut outside time to a minimum, so their stockpile burned fast.
"At this rate, in three days we'll be out of food," a worried Maushold parent told its kids.
"What's there to fear! Worst case, we fight!" The hot-blooded young mice waved their paws, though their voices lacked conviction.
With supplies near empty, one Tandemaus pair stepped up, risking their lives to forage again. The whole colony gathered at the entrance and watched them go with solemn eyes.
"It was a Light Brigade moment—a last ride to glory, spurs on and no promise of return" vibe.
Jason shook his head from the fruit heap.
Waiting was endless. Not until dusk did the foraging pair limp back, exhausted and stumbling. They'd brought several precious Sitrus Berries, but both were banged up—one with a nicked ear, the other with a scraped tail. Clearly, the Fletchling had found them again.
"Are… are you okay?" a white mouse rushed up, worried.
"C-cough… fine, no biggie," said the Tandemaus with the nicked ear, face tight with pain but trying to look smug. "Pretty impressive, right? This time we went head-to-head and still got away from that Fletchling!"
Its partner puffed out its chest. "That's right!"
Watching the badly injured pair crack jokes without changing expression, Jason couldn't help it—his Oran Berry body started trembling like a phone on vibrate. He forced down the laughter; the last thing he needed was to roll around giggling and blow his cover.
Thankfully everyone's attention was on the "hero" pair, treating their wounds. No one noticed the "Oran Berry" in the pantry shaking like crazy.
Right then—at the exact moment he was most relaxed—the long-silent progress bar in his head chimed and hit the end.
[Tandemaus Dex completion: 100%!]
[Entry complete. +1 base stat point!]
[Move learned: Population Bomb!]
[Maushold Dex completion has reached 12%…]
Done!
Joy surged through him—three days of lying low finally paid off! Even better, he'd learned the signature move of Tandemaus—and its evolution, Maushold—Population Bomb!
Back in Scarlet/Violet, that was a top-tier nuke from start to finish. One mouse on the team, the world is mine!
"Shame, though…" His delight carried a hint of regret. With the Talonflame family looming, he didn't dare linger. Otherwise he'd have stayed to grind Maushold's entry, too. If he could unlock Maushold, he'd finally have solid combat ability for the road ahead—not like before. Of course, actual battle instincts would still need training.
Decision made.
With Tandemaus unlocked and Population Bomb learned, it was time to slip out. He picked his moment—while everyone crowded around the wounded—and began rolling toward the exit from the edge of the fruit pile.
One roll, two rolls—stealth incarnate.
Once out the tunnel, he'd drop the disguise and ghost out unnoticed.
And then—everything went sideways.
KRA-KOOM!
A deafening crash blasted from right above the burrow!
The underground tunnels shook violently; dirt and pebbles pattered down like rain. The Tandemaus shrieked in panic and scattered; chaos exploded in an instant.
Jason reeled at the sudden shock and froze mid-roll.
He looked up. The thick earthen ceiling had been punched open into a massive hole!
Blinding sunlight poured in, a column of light that lit every terrified face below.
And at the source—in the sky beyond the breach—a sleek, flame-wreathed silhouette blotted out the sun.
Its feathers blazed crimson; the wing edges and tail were an abyssal black. Keen raptor eyes stared down coldly, utterly devoid of feeling—like it was looking at lambs for the slaughter.
A suffocating aura pressed over the entire burrow like a physical weight.
Talonflame.
One of the two adult Talonflame the mice had mentioned.
It was done letting its kid do the "training." It had come to reap, itself.
Even at a distance, the oppressive force was palpable; the fire in Jason's chest from completing the entry went ice-cold in an instant.
Only one word remained in his head:
"F—k."