The entire mouse colony was still in a dazed, unreal trance.
They stared at the tiny black dot fleeing the sky until it vanished, then at the two cold Talonflame corpses that had once made them tremble—and for a moment, they didn't know what to do with themselves.
Won?
Did we actually win?
Just earlier today—no, barely ten minutes ago—they'd been worrying about rations and whether the Fletchling would spot them if they dared go out. Death and hunger hung over every head like a sword of Damocles.
And now those two mountains crushing their hearts had… toppled?
Every Tandemaus and Maushold looked, as one, at the purple figure nearby who was gasping for breath. In their bead-black eyes swirled shock, awe, gratitude—and a touch of fervor.
They knew better than anyone: this miracle—these two sky tyrants brought down—was because of Jason. Without him, they'd have followed pure survival instinct and scattered.
And scattered to what end? A hunting game for the Talonflame family—most of them picked off for food, with only a lucky few escaping the forest to live as drifters elsewhere.
By comparison, even though the fight had left most pairs bruised and battered, not a single mouse had died.
All of it—thanks to the Ditto before them.
Hearing the flurry of system prompts in his head, Jason was a little surprised.
"Figures—there really are other ways to speed up Dex completion."
He'd thought defeating the two Talonflame would at most add some progress. He hadn't expected that helping Maushold reclaim their home would bump it a full 50%.
"Up to 62%—that's a huge win," he grinned inside.
It meant he was a big step closer to unlocking Maushold form.
Right then, the Tandemaus swarmed in. They didn't say much—just thanked him in the simplest ways. Some dug up their private stash of sweet berries from the rubble and gently pushed them toward him. Others rubbed their fuzzy foreheads against his springy body. The respected Maushold elder led its family in a deep bow.
Jason accepted it calmly. He knew he'd earned it.
In truth, taking down the two Talonflame looked risky but was within his expectations. The Tandemaus and Maushold weren't weak by nature—Maushold has serious potential. What they lacked was a trainer to coordinate them. Without command, they were a rabble—easy prey for predators like Talonflame. With command, they could show their true strength.
Two Maushold plus eleven Tandemaus—why wouldn't they beat a Talonflame?
Looking at the mice before him, something clicked. No wonder this world has trainers—to bring out a Pokémon's potential.
For the next month, he didn't hurry off. He'd bonded with the colony, and with Maushold at 62%, leaving now would be a waste. He might as well stick around and finish the Maushold entry.
Now that he knew battling advanced the Dex faster than passive watching, he wasn't about to keep sneaking around. Unlock Maushold, and he'd finally have real fighting power to collect other entries.
Mice, after all—we're strong.
So he stayed, helping Tandemaus and Maushold rebuild their home. The colony's enthusiasm was sky-high, and with Jason pitching in, their efficiency jumped. Heavy lifting? He'd shift into Lechonk and haul boulders and logs with ease.
In a month, with his help and the colony's effort, the home was rebuilt—traps and shelters set up, too, in case of another strong enemy.
He didn't idle in his downtime. While doing "infrastructure," he moonlighted as the colony's instructor, breaking down basic battle concepts he'd learned from games and teaching them to the Tandemaus. He also used the lessons to get sparring in—cycling through forms, from clumsy to practiced to fluid.
He was confident: next time he ran into Pawmi, he wouldn't be all brain-no-body—command issued, body unable to execute.
Time flew.
Standing on the highest perch, looking over the Tandemaus home, he heard the system:
[Maushold Dex current completion: 100%]
[Family Pokémon "Maushold" entry complete.]
[Species: Maushold
Type: Normal
Abilities: Friend Guard / Cheek Pouch / Technician
Base Stats:
HP: 74
Attack: 75
Defense: 70
Sp. Atk: 65
Sp. Def: 75
Speed: 111
Moves: Tidy Up, Population Bomb, Protect, Baby-Doll Eyes, Encore, …]
Seeing the Maushold entry unlock left him satisfied—and relieved. There were only two Maushold here, but over the month one Tandemaus evolved, just enough for him to nab all three abilities.
"Time to go," he murmured.
The home was rebuilt; the colony had basic self-defense down. He needed to move on and keep collecting Dex entries.
On the day he chose to leave, nearly every mouse came to see him off. They didn't try to talk him out of it—just watched, reluctant to part.
Before he left, the Maushold family he'd almost mistaken for "moles" shuffled forward, a bit sheepish. The big white mouse patted the smaller one, which carefully lifted something in both forepaws and offered it to Jason.
It was a single lens, polished from some kind of crystal, with a neatly fitted little handle for gripping along the edge.
Jason's eyes lit up the moment he saw it.