Headwear Hunting: RP with Spotblur

   Riley hummed to herself as she dragged a wagonload of books through town. She had been busy lately conducting research on the contaminated water that had been plaguing the river. It was a windy day, the gusts rustling the trees and rustling against her fur. It’s a good thing Mom put that psychic enhancement on my hat, Riley thought.


   As she continued down through town, she noticed a familiar Treecko. “Hey, Horace,” Riley waved.


   Horace smiled. “Why hello, ladies. Still working on that cure, I see?” A panting Gary came running up behind him, carrying a stack of books perched precariously on his back. “We’ve been trying to figure out exactly how to isolate it from the patients, but we’ve yet to have luck. How goes your research?”


   “Boring and long,” Chip responded. “These books don’t make any sense.”


   “It’s not that boring,” Riley defended. “Unfortunately, we haven’t been successful either. My mom taught me some stuff about medicine, but none of it’s helped me figure out a cure.”


   From the corner of her vision, Riley noticed a Zoura that appeared to be watching them. More specifically, he seemed to be eying... my hat? Is he looking at my hat? Riley turned her attention back to Horace and Gary. I must be imagining things.


   “I see. Well, it’s unfortunate, but I suppose it can’t be helped.” He gave Riley a meaningful glance, trying to remind her of what they had spoken of last time they discussed the disease. If it originates with magic, this sickness probably can’t be cured by science. “But, when you hit a wall with something, the best option can sometimes be to take a break. If you stress over a problem too much, you can do yourself more harm than good.”


   “True,” Riley agreed. She noticed Horace’s glance and remembered their conversation. Magic has rules, though, just like normal diseases. I just have to understand the rules... However, Riley knew how dangerous that line of thinking could be. The last time she’d studied the rules of magic, it... hadn’t gone well.


   “Taking a break sounds like a good idea to me,” Chip declared. “Honestly, I’m tired of trying to make sense of all of this stuff in these books.”


   That gave Riley an idea. “It looks like it’s getting near lunchtime. Do you and Gary want to hang out with us while we take a break?”


   Horace grinned. “T’would be an honor to dine with such fine young ladies as yourselves.” He said, trying to make the conversation lighter. His friends groaned. “H-Horace, we talked about th-this…” Gary moaned. The others stifled a laugh.


   Riley chuckled a little. “Sounds good.”


   “Hey Riley,” Chip said. “Do you want me to drop the books off at the hotel so that you don’t have to haul them everywhere?”


   “Sure,” Riley replied. “I can just drop them off there myself if you want.”


   “Nah, it’s no problem. Besides, I’ll get it done way faster.” Chip grabbed the wagon, and zoomed... a lot slower than normally. “The wagon’s not too heavy! Don’t worry!” Chip called as she somehow managed to run slowly.


   Riley turned back to Horace and Gary. “So where do you two want to eat at?”


   For a moment, she thought she saw the Zorua in the distance grow excited. When she looked again, though, he was gone. I must be working too hard, Riley thought, shrugging of what she’d seen as the result of her tired mind.


   Gary shrugged. “I-I don’t know. Wh-where is there we c-could go?” Horace pointed down the road. “There’s a small inn nearby that serves some good food, if you want to head there.”


   “Alright,” Riley said with a grin. “I hope they have Pecha berries.”


   As she began following Gary and Horace, she heard someone run up behind her. She turned, seeing Chip looking a little breathless.


   “I’m back,” she said tiredly.


   Riley was little surprised. “That was fast.”


   “Well, you know me. I’m super fast,” Chip replied.


   Something seemed... off. Riley didn’t know what it was, but she had expected Chip to take at least ten minutes. This was fast, even for her.


   “So are we going to eat or what?” Chip asked.


   Riley nodded. “Horace and Gary are leading the way.” She continued following Gary and Horace with Chip. Her mind was working overtime to try to figure out why something seemed odd about the Rattata. First I think a random Zorua is watching us, next I think Chip is acting odd. I really do need a break.


   Horace gave Chip a strange look. “Chip, where’s your scarf?” Chip tilted her head in confusion. “Oh, I, uh, must’ve dropped it-” She was interrupted by an Energy Ball fired near her feet. Chip leapt away, transforming in the air, showing herself to be a Zorua.


   “How- how did you figure it out? I was sure I got everything right!” Horace grinned. “Except that Chip doesn’t wear a scarf. I thought you were acting a little strange.” The Zorua facepalmed. “You mean I fell for an old trick like that?!”


   Riley was tempted to facepalm herself. Ugh, it was so obvious! How did I not realize that the Zorua was pretending to be Chip? She stepped forward to grab the Zorua, preparing Force Palm just in case he tried something.


   The Dark-type smirked. “Olivia! I need a teleport!” Suddenly, a Natu materialized in front of them. Before Riley could recover from her surprise, the Zorua launched a Dark Pulse at the ground, stunning the group as the Natu used telekinesis to grab her and Horace’s hats.


   “No!” Riley yelled, charging forward to use Force Palm. The Zorua and Natu blinked out of the air before she could it them, however. “No, no, no!” She quickly channeled Copycat, desperately attempting to copy their Teleport. A wave of dizziness overcame her as she attempted to use the move, her mind too unfamiliar with the functions of teleporting.


   Riley felt a tear roll down her face. “We’ve got to find them!”


   The sound of scurrying footsteps interrupted her. Chip proudly arrived with a smirk. “The fun has returned!” She stopped, noticing everyone’s distressed faces. “... ... did I miss something?”


   Horace shot her a dark look. “We need to go. Now.” He stormed off down the road, Riley and Chip looking at him a little confused. “He’s v-very defensive about that hat.” Gary offered as an explanation before running after him. “H-hey! Wait up!” Riley and Chip looked at each other, nodded, and followed.



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   “Do you even know where we’re going?” Chip sighed with exasperation. “We’ve been walking for over an hour!” Horace nodded. “I know those two. They’re infamous pranksters around here, but… They’ve never stolen before. I’m concerned about them, but even moreso, I want my hat back.”


   Riley was attempting to remain focused, to analyze what she knew about the thieves and theft, and to use the data to determine where the thieves were and why they stole her and Horace’s hats. However, she couldn’t help but feel immensely stressed. The memory of her father giving her the hat rose in her mind. I have to get it back.


   “I have an idea,” Riley suggested, taking a deep breath to calm herself. I’ll never get Dad’s hat back if I don’t remain calm and collected. “You said they’re infamous pranksters. What if we asked people in Mosswood about them and learned if any other thefts have occurred? We can use what we learn to figure out where they might be. I was also thinking that we might be able to speed up our search by splitting up into groups.”


   Horace thought for a moment. “Splitting up will help, but we’ll be wasting our time if we ask around. I doubt anyone knows where their hideout is, especially since Percy’s so good with illusions, and Olivia can teleport. Still, I can think of a few places to check.” He looked at the others. “Alright, Gary, you go with Chip. I’ve told you about these guys before, you two should be able to check their old hideaways pretty quickly.” He looked at Riley. “You’ll be teamed with me. Any objections with that?”


   Chip shook her head. “Sounds good to me.” She turned to Riley. “Good luck finding your hat. I... I know that hat really means a lot to you.” A frown covered her face. “Trust me, if I find those two, I’ll make them wish they never even touched your hat.”


   Riley smiled. “Thanks. Just don’t be too rough with them, alright?”


   Chip sighed. “Okay.” She began walking off with Gary.


   Riley turned to Horace. It was odd seeing him without his signature hat. “So where should we search first?”


   Horace rubbed his chin. “Well, I can guarantee that they won’t be in town, especially if they’ve turned to thievery. So we should search in the outlying area. I think we should start with the old farm, to the north of town. It was abandoned years ago, so they might be hiding there.” He started down the road before turning back to Riley. “Well? You coming?”


   “Yeah,” Riley answered, following him down the road. As they walked, Riley found herself distracted by memories of the past. She remembered the tales her father had told her of when he’d been a Tracker, of how he’d earned his hat as a recruit. He trusted me to take care of his hat and I failed. She shook away the thought. I haven’t failed yet. I can still get the hat back.


   As she tried to focus her thoughts on the present, Riley noticed that Horace seemed to really want his hat back. Gary said he was defensive about his hat. She considered asking about it. It’s rude to pry, Riley’s mind reminded her. However, the curiosity soon grew too tempting.


   “Hey, um... where’d you get your hat?” Riley asked Horace.


   Horace sighed. “It was something my mom made for me. It’s the last thing that I have to remember her by.” His face darkened. “And I really hate it when people mess with it.” He balled his fists. “Just because they used to be my friends doesn’t mean they’ll get any special treatment from me if they damage that hat.”


   Riley felt a pang of sympathy. “I know what you mean. My dad used to be a Tracker before he, well... honestly, I don’t know what happened to him. One day, he was just gone. Nobody knows where he is.” She sighed, remembering the birthday he’d given the hat. “When I was eight, he gave me that hat as a birthday present. It’s the same hat he wore as a Riolu recruit when he first joined the guilds.” She closed her eyes for a moment, the memory vivid in her mind. “When he gave me that hat, he told me that he couldn’t be prouder to have me as his daughter. It’s one of the last things I have left from him.”


   Horace looked at her, sympathy in his eyes. “I know what you mean.” He held up his Grass Whistle. “My dad was a Tracker too, he helped to found their branch in Mosswood to be closer to my mom. He retired a while back, but he left just before she got sick to go on one last journey before he got too old. I haven’t heard from him since.” He looked down at his feet, sadness in his eyes. “I don’t even think he knows what happened to her…”


   “I think I might have heard Dad mention your father before. He was originally from Mosswood before he joined the guilds,” Riley said. “A small part of me wants to hope that Dad’s still alive somewhere out there, but...” she sighed. “The chances are just too slim. I just wish I knew what happened to him.”


   She turned to Horace. “I promise I’ll do everything I can to get your hat back.” For a moment, Riley felt her gaze darken with anger towards the thieves, but she attempted to reign in her emotions, reminding herself that her father wouldn’t have wanted her to act out in revenge towards the bandits.


   If they damage Dad’s hat, though... they’ll regret it.


   Horace nodded. “C’mon, let’s go check out the farm.



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   Gary sighed. “No l-luck at this one, either?” Chip shook her head. “All of them are empty. Are you sure you’re remembering these right?” Gary’s face twisted in concentration. “I think so. I d-don’t really know where else to look, though. If they didn’t go back to one of their old lairs, wh-where would they be?”


   Chip pondered for a moment. “Hmm, if I were a prankster thief who needed to hide, where I go?” I would probably use my speed, but they don’t have speed. “They can teleport and use illusions,” Chip noted. “What if they’re still in town? The Zorua could be using Illusion to hide in plain sight.” Annoyance crept up on her. “I wish we had some sort of ‘anti-illusion’ thingie or something. How do you find someone who can look like anyone?”


   “U-um, well, i-if we had something from the thieves, I-I could use Odor Sleuth to t-track them down, but we d-don’t have anything like that…”


   Suddenly, an idea lit in Chip’s mind. “These are their old hideouts, right? Because if they’ve been here before, they have to have left something behind. In fact...”


   Chip shot back into the hideout with Quick Attack, rapidly searching the area. “Ah ha!” She came back down with a feather. “I bet this feather belongs to the Natu.” Or it could belong to someone else, Chip remembered, but she ignored the thought. This has to belong to the Natu. Besides, it’s our only lead.


   “So, are you able to use Odor Sleuth on this?” Chip asked, holding the feather in front of Gary’s face.


   Gary sniffed the feather. “Hmm…” He pointed his head towards the north side of town. “I-it’s leading over that way. L-let’s go.”


   “Got it!” Chip replied, speeding off. She stopped when she realized that she was leaving Gary behind. Why does everyone else have to be slower than me? Switching to a jog, Chip kept pace besides Gary. They soon arrived at a large crowd of mons shopping.


   “Please don’t tell me the Natu is somewhere in this crowd,” Chip said.


   Gary gave a start. “Oh, g-goodness no! It’s beyond this. Still, we’ll have to go through the crowd to get by. A-all of the other roads look blocked off.”


   Chip nodded and began trying to squeeze through the crowd. “Excuse me.” A Machoke bumped into her. “Whoa!” She pushed through the crowd, attempting to make it to the other side as quickly as possible. For a moment, she considered using the method Ignis said always worked on his adventures.


   Flame Wheel is great for getting through crowds. It’s almost as fast as Quick Attack and gives people plenty of warning to move out of the way.


   Chip decided against following Ignis’ advice. Besides, someone will probably get mad and stop us, slowing us down even more.


   “So what moves do you know?” Chip asked Gary. “The Natu’s small, but Psychic-types tend to have some pretty annoying attacks. I want to make sure you’re able to back me up.” She smirked. “Of course, I probably won’t need the help.”


   “Um, I know Thunderbolt, which c-could be useful against Natu, and Amnesia too, to protect against special attacks. If it gets to close range fighting, I know Headbutt too, and of course I have Odor Sleuth.” He flushed a little. “Not very impressive, I know, but they get the job done.”


   “Thunderbolt could be pretty useful,” Chip noted. “I know Flame Wheel, Quick Attack, Double Edge, and Double Team. I prefer to fight up-close.” She tried to think of a plan. What kind of plan would Riley make? “If the Natu decides to fight, you can shoot Thunderbolt while I tackle her with Quick Attack.”


   Gary nodded. “A-alright. That sounds like a good plan.” He looked around. “Is it just me or is the crowd even bigger than it was before? Wh-where did all of these people come from?”


   Chip glanced around. “Huh, you’re right. Maybe they’re all here because it’s lunchtime?”


   “O-oh yeah, we never had any lunch…” His stomach growled. “Oh well, w-we’ll have to eat later.” He looked around. Oh man, I hate crowds.


   As Chip searched the crowd for the Natu, she noticed that Gary looked a little nervous. Maybe he doesn’t like crowds? she wondered. For a moment, his stutter and nervousness reminded Chip of her little brother, Owen.


   Before Chip could say anything, her own stomach growled. “I guess I’m pretty hungry too,” Chip noted. “I have an idea. What if you get on my back and I try to use Quick Attack to blink us out of the crowd?”


   Gary frowned. “I-I’m not too good with high speeds, b-but I guess we could try it…” He climbed on top of her, causing her to buckle a little under the added weight. “Sorry!”


   “It’s fine,” Chip said, attempting to act as if Gary’s weight wasn’t bothering her at all. She narrowed her eyes, focusing on finding an opening in the crowd to the outside.


   “Ready?” Chip asked, crouching down as she prepared to burst forth.


   “A-as ready as I’ll ever beeeeeeeee!” Gary yelled as the two shot across the market. Gums flapping in the wind, he held on for dear life as Chip zoomed through the crowd. Oh why did I agree to this, why did I agree to this…


   A wide grin covered Chip’s face as she blinked through the crowd. “Yes! We made it!” She glanced at Gary, making sure he was alright. “So, do you still have the Natu’s trail?”


   Fighting the urge to puke, Gary nodded. “Y-yeah. She should be j-just…” he pointed up a hill towards a small, worn-down building. “That’s the place.”


   Chip nodded. “Alright, let’s teach that Natu a lesson and get those hats back.” She charged towards the door of the building, grinning as she got brought her hind legs back to kick it open. “I’ve always wanted to do this.”


   A loud bang rang as Chip slammed her legs into the door, sending it flying open and completely destroying any chance of stealth that the two had.


   “We know you’re here, hat-stealer!” Chip announced. She looked back at Gary, making sure he was behind her. “If she ambushes me, you can back me up with Thunderbolt.”


   Gary nodded solemnly. “Got it.” The sound of running feet behind them made him turn, only to see Horace and Riley approaching from behind. “Wow, you guys made it here before us?” Horace started to smile, before taking on a serious look again. “So, you know where they are yet?”


   “They’re somewhere in here,” Chip answered. “Gary’s tracking them with Odor Sleuth. Do you think they’ll try to fight if we find them?” Her eyes twitched at the sound of a blowing leaf. She was carefully keeping track of her surroundings in case the two pranksters attempted an ambush. Suddenly, she realized something.


   “Heyyyyy. How do I know that one of you two aren’t the Zorua?” She narrowed her eyes at Riley. “So ‘Riley’, if that is your real name, tell me something that only the real Riley would know.”


   “You used to collapse from a sugar crash every night I had a sleepover at your house when you were eight,” Riley responded.


   Chip blushed. “Okay, you’re real. How do we know Horace is real, though?”


   Horace blinked. “What? Why accuse me? I’ve been with Riley the whole time. How do we know neither of you is a fake?” He looked pointedly at Chip. “You could be trying to make us fight each other.”


   “Wait a second,” Riley interrupted. “Zouras can only copy appearance, not moves. Why don’t we each just use our moves to show that we’re real?” She focused energy into her palm, striking the wall with Force Palm with just enough force to demonstrate the move while making sure to not actually damage anything.


   Chip grinned and blinked to the end of the room with Quick Attack. “I’m real. What about you two?” She watched Gary and Horace suspiciously.


   Gary’s hat crackled with electricity. “Do you really need me to fire this off in here?” The others shook their heads before turning to Horace. “Alright, fine, I’ll do it.” He took out his Grass Whistle, tossed it up, and blinked across the room, tapping Chip on the shoulder before moving back to catch his instrument. “You happy? Can we go get our hats back now?”


   Chip gaped, shocked by the speed that Horace had just moved at. “How... what... huh?”


   “Unburden,” Riley replied. “It’s one of the abilities a Treecko can possess. It allows them to move at extraordinary speeds when they’re not holding anything.”


   Chip nodded in understanding before turning to Horace. “We definitely have to race sometime once this is all over.”


   “Can we please go get our hats?” Riley insisted.


   “Oh, sorry,” Chip said. She began searching the building.


   “We should all stay together,” Riley suggested. “As long as we don’t get separated, the Zorua can’t pretend to be any of us.” She began searching as well. If only I could use aura to search. That would make this a whole lot easier, Riley noted.


   Gary nodded. “Th-the chances of him being able to i-infiltrate the group like last time are pretty low if all f-four of us are here.” Horace nodded. “Still, be on the lookout for anything odd. His illusions are realistic, but Percy always screws something up with them. If they’re hiding here, we’ll know it if we keep our eyes peeled.”


   “Got it,” Chip responded. Her legs itched to run instead of just slowly looking through the building with the group. Still, she knew it’d be smarter to stay in the group if she didn’t want to be tricked by an illusion. Stupid illusions. That has to be cheating.


   Riley watched every corner for a flicker of movement or an odd shadow, attempting to find the two pranksters. My hat better be fine. As she continued through the building, she thought she heard something flutter above her, almost like...


   A Flying-type flying in the air!


   She looked up, seeing a small form quietly flying above them. “Up there!” Riley yelled, pointing up.


   Wasting no time, Gary fired off a Thunderbolt, aiming to miss the bird, but scare her. However, when the bolt passed near the Natu, she squacked and vanished. Teleport? No, that’s not it… “It’s an illusion!” Horace shouted. “Just keep looking. We’ll find them somewhere nearby.”


   “H-hey!” Gary called, drawing everyone’s attention. On a small table nearby lay the two hats. “Th-that was easier than I th-” “Stop!” Horace yelled, halting everyone’s movement towards the hats. Horace looked up and smirked. “Ah, so that’s how it is.” Handing his whistle to Gary, he blinked away. The sound of a scuffle was heard above them, and Horace reappeared holding both the Zorua and the Natu by the scruffs of their necks. “Well, you guys never change, do you?”


   The Zorua pouted. “Aw, you’re no fun, Horace. Just once I wish I could catch you off guard.” The rest of the group looked up to see several multi-colored paint buckets perched on the ceiling beams above the table. Just then, the hats vanished from the table. The Zorua snickered. “I guess we’ll just have to try harder next time.”


   Chip was slightly disappointed. She’d been looking forward to fighting the two pranksters. Still, at least they had the hats back. Right? Wait a second, if those hats were illusions and Horace doesn’t have the hats...


   Riley spoke before Chip could open her mouth. “Where are the hats?”


   Percy and Olivia smirked. “I guess you’ll just have to search around to find them.”


   There are probably other pranks left around the building, Riley noted. She wasn’t in the mood to play games with these two. Her face darkened.


   “Where. Are. Our. Hats?” Riley spoke softly, but her tone held an underlying sense of warning of what would happen if the two didn’t answer truthfully.


   The two pranksters let out an ‘eep!’ before the Natu teleported away. “Olivia, don’t leave me here!” The Zorua squirmed, but could not escape Horace’s grip. His captor shook him a little to make him stop. “You should probably answer the question Percy. Those hats are very precious. You should know better.”


   “Ok, ok! We left them back at my house! We were gonna give them back, I promise! We were just having fun with an old friend!” Horace sighed. “This kind of fun I can do without.” Releasing Percy, he looked to his teammates. “Alright, I’ll show you the way.”



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   “Well, Percy, Olivia, I hope you two have learned your lesson. Don’t steal stuff just to play pranks. Got it? You’re lucky you didn’t do this to someone with a bad temper.” The two smaller Pokemon nodded. “We get it. Geez, you sound like my mom…” Olivia grumbled.


   Riley let out a breath of relief as she put her hat back on. “Thanks for helping out, guys,” Riley said to Horace and Gary. “If I’d lost this... well, honestly, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”


   Horace sighed. “It’s really not anything to thank us for. If we hadn’t been there, they probably wouldn’t have done it.” He gave the pranksters a stern look. “Right?” The two hastened to agree.


   “I’m sure they’ll think twice next time they consider stealing something,” Chip said. To be honest, she felt a little guilty as she remembered a couple of the times she’d gone overboard for a few pranks in the past.


   “Anyway, now that we’ve got the hats back,” Chip turned to Horace, “now I want to know why you never told me you were so fast! We have to race sometime.”


   Horace gave her a tired smile. “I can’t keep it up for long, and I don’t like to be without my Grass Whistle. Still,” he smirked a little, “A short sprint couldn’t be too bad. I could get to the end and back in time to still catch my whistle.” Chip laughed. “What, you mean after I do? You’ll be eating my dust!”


   Riley chuckled as she watched the two boast. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that they had never eaten lunch. “Do you two still want to grab something to eat with us?” Riley asked. “Catching those two left me pretty hungry.”


   “Yeah, th-that sounds nice.” Gary blushed as his stomach growled again. “Horace, wh-where was that inn you mentioned earlier?”


   Chip smirked. “Want to race to the inn? We can see who’s really the fastest.”

   As the Treecko and Rattata shot towards the inn, Riley strolled with Gary. The two runners were probably going to be exhausted by the time they arrived.