Daichi: And for the cast of moderately important characters that'll be sticking around, we have these lunatics!

Tsukaimon: You know they'd probably do what you wanted more often if you didn't call them lunatics.

Daichi: But where's the fun in that?

Verity: We don't own these things, though we did have a hand in the outcome of this particular funny farm... I am so ashamed of my existence right now.

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The next day, Ace was introduced to everyone else who worked at the theater. Well, not a full introduction so much as Madame Roserade pointing him out and saying he'd be helping from then on, before leaving him with a large number of pink flowers to hang from the rafters, but it was a start.

"Why's he hanging the flowers now?" Mari asked. "I was doing just fine!"

The creature next to her, a small golden bell, groaned. "Do you want another concussion? Or a broken flipper? Or a hole in the floor?"

"That was one time! Come on, Otto, I don't give you grief over that time you were learning Skill Swap for a performance and ended up swapping the wrong Abilities!"

"That was easily fixed and didn't require a trip to Nurse Yora's clinic!" The bell shot back. A vaguely humanoid white creature with red horns shook her head and pirhouetted over to Ace.

"I must apologize for my partners in the arts. They are still young, you see, and unable to understand what is really important in life. I am Emi, special effects and lead dancer. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ace."

Ace nodded, having quickly come to the conclusion that he was far out of his depth here. More than usual, anyway.

"A bit small for an assistant, isn't he?" A large pale pink creature mused, before turning to the blue-and-white bear cub next to him. "What do you think, Kamui? Oh, wait, you're just as tiny."

The surrounding air temperature dropped by several degrees. Ace couldn't remember the last time he'd been so cold, but that was due to having been made of fire more than anything. Cold hadn't really been a factor at that point.

"You know, just because I can't evolve doesn't mean picking on me's a smart idea. Especially since I can use Sheer Cold."

"But can you hit?"

As the bear leapt at the pink thing to try and kill him, Ace started to wonder if he'd even left the Grand Line to begin with. The people here were certainly crazy enough.

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After Mari's Injury of the Day, which was apparently the source of many a betting pool, the uninjured all went to the Chimecho Cafe. No getting out of it, because Emi's telekinetic powers were that strong, and Otto would apparently not stand for anyone refusing his mother's cooking.

Ace didn't really mind, because it was free food, and that was the best thing ever. The windchime- Uta, that was her name- seemed unfazed by Emi's unnaturally formal way of talking, or how Kamui and the pink Pokemon, who he found out was named Hoshi, kept trying to kill each other.

Ace took that as a sign that it happened often, and they were not serious about it. Though, if they ever actually were, he'd bet on Kamui, because even the casual murder attempts froze the air around them. He wondered how much worse it felt to those whose bodies didn't contain a constant source of fire. He decided he was better off not knowing.

"There they go again..." Otto sighed. "You'd think Nurse Yora would get more business from those two... well, that's what Aspear Berries are for, I guess."

"Hoshi and Kamui have been fighting like this since before you were born," Emi pointed out. "If they truly meant to hurt each other, they would have done so long ago. As it is, they are more than capable of controlling themselves. Kamui has not frozen anything he did not want to since I was a Ralts."

"Oh, yeah, the three of you grew up together, didn't you?" The little bell remembered. "That must have been painful."

"Not particularly. As I said, Kamui gained control rather quickly, and Hoshi has never had the predisposition for Metronome that other Clefable do. Right now, I would worry more about our resident Fire Type, as he has not yet had the chance to get used to their little squabbles, and the temperature changes that come with them."

"It's fine." Ace waved off her concerns in between bites. "I mean, I have my fire, and that keeps me warm pretty well. It shouldn't be a problem."

He could tell that Emi wasn't entirely convinced, which implied prior incidents. Hopefully, that wouldn't be an issue.

But he knew better than to expect it. He wasn't that lucky.

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Some distance away from Kaigara Village, a small blue lion cub was running along the bottom of a ravine. It was a Mystery Dungeon, so he didn't pay much attention to his surroundings beyond whether or not he could continue.

He checked the contents of the ragged bag hanging on his shoulder. One Luminous Orb, two Stun Seeds, a Heal Seed, and a Sleep Seed. Nothing that would help, especially if another Stunfisk showed up. He hated Stunfisk. While his powers prevented paralysis, he also couldn't do anything to them.

Just his luck that the Dungeon he'd fled to was full of them. Fortunately, the next Pokemon he encountered was not a Stunfisk. Rather, it was one of the Kecleon that decided the shifting Dungeon pathways was a good place to set up shop. Generally, anywhere around them was safe, because you did not get to run a successful business in a Mystery Dungeon without being extremely powerful.

Not that the Kecleon was currently operating her business. Rather, she turned around and called to him. "You there! Have you seen a Meowth anywhere around?"

The cub shook his head, because he really hadn't seen anything but the normal Stunfisk, Cacnea, Starly, and Geodude. She sighed.

"That damn cat... Didn't even notice he was there until he'd already made off with my entire stock. You be careful, won't you? He might still be around."

"I will." And not just for the given reason, either.

It would be a few weeks yet until he could reach civilization, continuing as he was. He just hoped he could last that long.

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Verity: Sanity is not this world's strong point, is it? Of course, that also changes practically nothing...

Daichi: I see you've found my point. Just wait until the day they decide to throw out subtlety. That'll be a blast.

Tsukaimon: How literally are you talking here? ...Don't answer that. Please. Do not answer that question.