Squirrely Sparks: Chapter 4
Part 3: Arrow Straight to the Heart

“Help! Help! Save me! I’m too good-looking to die, not before I settle down with—Whoa, be careful where you aim that Sonya, I’m very delicate!”

“Oh, cut the melodrama Patch, you don’t have to be screaming all the time! Besides, some of us haven’t used a bow before!”

Nestled vest-less and tied by his own Grass Knot among the slimy tendrils of a group of inert Marshoids, Patch had found himself a front-row seat to a testing of several bows and arrows Ethlyn had made while Patch hunted for Madeline. While the idea of arrows whizzing past one’s head even for testing purposes may unnerve even the steeliest individuals, Patch had learned from Ethlyn that Holly and Menthe had wished for him to do so to further convince them to go on a date with him in honor of his bravery in attempting to capture Madeline, and the latter of whom stood upon the shores of the mucky pond alongside several female volunteers, waving at him in a cute manner every now and then to assure him that he was doing a good job.

Unbeknownst to the Pachirisu, however, this was all a ruse by Ethlyn to both punish Patch for causing mischief while she was busy building weapons for the fight against Gilgamarsh and to test out said weapons. In addition to Yang, Sonya, and Menthe, she had been joined by Cetra, Kassi, and the members of Team Courage, Riley the Riolu and Chip the Rattata, and except for Chip and Yang as advisors to their teammates, the girls each took several practice shots on the slimy abominations as Ethlyn paced behind them.

“How’s everyone holding up?” the Emolga asked.

“I’m still finding this really difficult to do!” Sonya huffed.

“It feels fine holding it, but I’m not able to hit anything with it,” Riley sighed, “If only this were built with a quadrupedal in mind, Chip is better at using weapons than I am.”

“These bows were definitely built with smaller ‘mons in mind, my hands barely fit!” Cetra criticized.

“I’d rather kick my opponents than fire arrows into them,” Kassi grumbled.

Ethlyn sighed as she heard each critique, understanding that not everyone was suited to wield bows in general. As she looked on, however, she noticed Menthe still had her bow drawn and aimed at a pair of nearby Marshoids that bared a resemblance to a Goomy.

“Menthe, is something wrong? You’ve been holding that pose for a while.”

“I just want everyone to see up close how salt is an effective weapon against these creatures,” the Meowstic spoke, “It’s an opportunity to learn about how these creatures react compared to weapons without.”

The Meowstic released her grip on the arrow, flying a short distance before lodging itself into the right creature’s head. A soft hissing sound shortly followed as the salt began to froth near the wound, the creature shriveling like a dried-up berry before collapsing upon itself, shattering, and melting into the muck.

Menthe then quickly loaded another arrow in place, sweeping off the salt on the arrowhead before drawing and firing her weapon upon the left Goomy-like monstrosity. Unlike the other creature, the arrow merely stuck out of the monster’s slimy hide, slowly sliding down its body before disappearing into the swamp.

“As you can see, salt-laced weapons are going to be a major boon to our efforts. Though we know Grass-type moves are useless against them while Ice, Fairy, and Dragon-Type moves are very effective, the greatest threat to their existence is osmosis, which in short terms is simply causing them to rapidly dehydrate and shrivel up.”

“That explains why my dad has to avoid putting salt into anything he makes for Goomy and Sliggoo,” Chip noted.

“Of course, these arrows will only work if they hit their target,” Ethlyn said, “In fact, I think I might even have an idea. Patch, try using your Spark attack on your ‘captors’!”

The Pachirisu obliged with his friend’s command, discharging electricity from his cheeks and through the tendrils that held him “captive”. The Marshoids were barely affected, however, as the only indication they had taken damage were small burn spots on parts of their bodies, and Patch returned to his overdramatic routine as he noted the ineffectiveness of his attack.

On the shore, Ethlyn paced behind the other girls as they loaded their arrows, discharging a very light amount of electricity onto the feathers of each arrow she passed before doing the same with her own bow.

With Ethlyn’s shouts of “Ready!” and “Aim!”, Patch turned his head towards the girls just in time for each bow wielder to point their arrows straight at him, their eyes twinkling and mouths smirking in synch as they locked on to their target and pulled back on their strings.

“Um, ladies, don’t you think it’d be better to target the slimy guys and not me?” Patch nervously pleaded, sweat pouring down from his head like a waterfall.

“Don’t worry Patch, everything will be alright,” Ethlyn spoke in a malevolent manner, “Just stay still for a moment and you’ll be fine! Alright girls, let ‘em have it!”

A terrified scream soon echoed throughout the Fever Flats…