Roughly half an hour passed before Raozya could utter more than a few words. The temporary mental impediment had still allowed him to order a meal for him and Joas at the Red Corphish seafood restaurant that sat on the outskirts of Camphrier Town, but it was preventing him from properly divulging his thoughts to his small feline companion.
"I should be surprised that you know a character as colorful as Bill, but then I realized that you are indeed the one and only Rozza Reyo Raozya, and thus there are no more questions regarding that connection. I am curious, however, as to the origins of your relationship with him."
The shifting ice cubes in Raozya's drink had a stronger grip on his attention than Joas' words, but he still heard everything. "Billiard Jonesmith. That's his full name. Old colleague from a place I worked at a few years ago. The craziest of the crazy. So crazy that I had suppressed my memories of him except for the good times we shared."
Joas plucked a fried Octillery ring from the appetizer tray in the center of the table and popped it into his mouth. "Never before have I felt such unsettling insanity in the air. It was practically tangible. You hit the jackpot."
Chuck took a hearty gulp of his sweet tea and set the large glass down on the table with a hard thud. He had seated himself next to Raozya mere minutes after the latter had arrived at the restaurant. No comments had been made about this due to exhaustion. Since Joas was certain of Chuck's insanity and ignorance, he didn't bother hiding the fact that he could talk.
"That was EASILY the most intense battle I have ever witnessed. What even WAS that guy?" exclaimed Chuck. He crammed three complimentary cheese muffins into his mouth and washed them down with more tea.
Raozya unceremoniously scarfed a cheese muffin, ignoring the man's complete lack of table manners. "Now if we could just figure out how to harness that insanity as a form of usable power, we'd be energy magnates."
"I could try to absorb his life force, although the victim seldom survives the process. I'm also concerned that I'd be corrupted by it."
Insinuating that you can be corrupted further. Raozya took a sip of his root beer. "If other crazy people could be compared to cups of soda, Bill would be an ocean of Apricorn syrup. I'm concerned it might make you fat and sick. You might even explode."
Chuck exploded into laughter of such magnitude that half the restaurant turned their heads. "I know, right?!"
Joas munched another Octillery ring, slowly becoming more irritated. "Speaking of critical failures, I noticed that you pointed your Domination at Bill for a few moments and then lowered it. It was as though your courage was thrown out the door and replaced by the color yellow."
The suggestion of cowardice almost stung Raozya. Almost. "It glitched out. His insanity couldn't be quantified, so the trigger stayed locked."
"I see." Joas turned his attention to the table in a worried stare, although it was visually indiscernible from his usual soulless expression. "Yes, absorbing his life force would be a poor decision. Pity about the Domination. Might I suggest a simple pistol?"
"Believe me, it has crossed my mind."
"You know..." — Chuck put his arm over Raozya's shoulders — "...I could coach you on how to defeat a Trainer of his fortitude. I battled THOUSANDS of Trainers in my day, and I was able to give each one a run for their money."
Resist the urge to kill... "You've defeated humanoid abominations like him?"
"Totally! Well, there was one exception. Some clueless kid with a feeble Pikachu and a demonic Bayleef did manage to defeat me. The vibes I was getting off of him made me doubt he was actually human. Maybe he was one of those shapeshifting Pokémon or something."
The look on Chuck's face was no longer cheerful, but vacant like a traumatized war veteran. Raozya and Joas were both beginning to feel concern.
Chuck continued after snapping back to his senses, "A-Anyway, I have a ton of experience! After we get done stuffing ourselves silly, let's go train! How about it?"
Raozya mumbled his passionless approval. What else did he have to lose? He was fresh out of dignity, that was for sure.
"Ha ha! That's more like it! Oooh, here comes the meal! We'll build up our strength here before building it out there!"
True to his word, the waitress returned with their meals a few moments later. She set the plates down and bid the three a happy feasting. No words were spoken for the duration of the meal. Raozya's head was buzzing with plans for his desired modifications to the Domination, and Joas was quietly glancing at his phone in between bites, watching the view count on his PokéVision video skyrocket.
• • •
Happy and full of lunch, the trio soon relocated themselves to another field after visiting a local Poké Center to heal Napalm. There were more Trainers than the previous field (henceforth known as Pestilence Meadow), but they figured it would be easier for them to hide amongst the other faces. Raozya had considered changing his appearance and ditching Chuck in the process, but he didn't think Bill was enough of a threat to warrant such a thing...yet.
Raozya's backpack wiggled and squirmed before Joas poked his head from the top. Although he was still convinced that Chuck was too ignorant to process the concept or importance of a talking Espurr, for the sake of privacy he decided to direct his speech into Raozya's ears via psychic manipulation. "You know that thing you didn't do?"
Goody, another lecture, groaned Raozya in his mind. He replied with low volume, "Should I care enough to remember?"
"You know that Poké Ball you promised me back at Tierno's?"
That name made Raozya wince. "I promised nothing; or if I did, I don't remember. There was too much sugar and hydrogenated fat gumming-up the cogs in my brain due to his snacks."
"I didn't think you had heard me. Anyway, I need my own Ball for security reasons, such as preventing me from being captured by a psycho or being crushed by your sweaty mass when you fall backwards. If you're not going to do it, I'll use one of the ones in your backpack."
Raozya shrugged. "Go ahead."
The distinctive noise of an activating Poké Ball emanated from Raozya's backpack, followed by a noticeable reduction in the backpack's volume. He could feel the Ball squirming around for a few seconds before the pling of a successful capture reached his ears.
It didn't matter to him. Joas should have said something earlier instead of waiting a whopping two days...
WAIT A SECOND. Raozya hastily slipped off his backpack, startling Chuck, and fished around for a Poké Ball that was full-sized instead of in its compact state. Finding it, he plucked it out and hoped it wasn't what he feared.
He flattened his brows. "Joas...Joas, why did you pick the expensive Ultra Ball?"
There was no response.
"Joas, I was saving that."
Still nothing.
Chuck scratched at a balding area on his head. "Uhh...something wrong?"
Raozya sighed and held the Ball out at arm's length. "Come out."
Triggered by his command, the Ball spat out a stream of energy that materialized as the appropriate Espurr.
Joas was frozen still with a look of panic on his face. This surprised Raozya more than the simple fact that Joas just displayed emotion. "You okay?"
"How in the high-holy ego of Snivy do the others casually exit these things of their own accord?"
Raozya placed the Ball back into his backpack and slipped the latter back on. "It comes naturally to some. For others, it takes practice. Also, how do you justify picking my only Ultra Ball?"
Joas directed his eyes up to Raozya and feigned the most adorable expression he could muster. "Because I am your most valuable team member and you love me more than life itself. I get choked-up just thinking about it."
The only thing Joas succeeded in doing was producing an outright disturbing slasher smile.
A particularly strong wave of ice cascaded down the length of Raozya's body. "Yes, just like swallowing a gold knife."
Although he tried, Raozya failed to completely mask his horror, prompting the perceptive Joas to return to his emotionless default face and deliver a comeback, "At least you won't die poor."
Raozya proceeded ahead with a bit of edge in his step and expression. Knowing Joas, that conversation was going to go places he didn't want to tread. "Off to train, now. No more death speak."
Joas followed along on a cushion of purple energy. "Ksh, wuss."
"YOU THERE! It's battle time!"
The voice had come from the left of Raozya, maybe twenty feet away. The sound of those words carried the comfort of a descending guillotine.
Raozya forced his head to turn and face the source. The temptation to level his Domination at the guy's forehead was strong, but maybe this one wasn't insane. Maybe...this one was different.
All Raozya could do was utter an inquisitive "Huw?"
The face of the person hailing him was a mystery, shrouded by a white mask with gold markings in a starburst pattern. A white robe with gold edges flowed in the breeze, conforming to what was presumably a male body, judging by stature and form.
The person pointed a dramatic finger at Raozya. "You look like a strong candidate for battle, so I wish to have a battle with you! Let's see what you can do!"
Chuck approached from behind and placed a hand on Raozya's shoulder. "This is it, Raozya. We can start with this guy. Judging by his appearance, he's a dyed-in-the-wool freak. Just listen to me and you'll be fine."
Raozya considered the offer and Chuck's suggestion for a few moments. The masked man did seem rather eccentric, but benign otherwise — probably not as much of a freak as Chuck had predicted. He prepared ask Joas for an opinion, but his invisible fur stood on end when he noticed the Espurr peeking over his other shoulder.
Joas' wide, lifeless eyes examined the challenger, absorbing every detail they could. In league with his eldritch senses, he attempted to pass proper judgment. "There is something unsettling about this one, but not as much as the others. Maybe you could hazard a battle so I can gauge him better and see if he deserves to be the first explorer of Mars."
Raozya uttered a cautious "Ah" to Joas and nodded to Chuck before responding to the masked man, "Sure, let's do this!"
The masked man snapped a confident nod and plucked a Poké Ball from his belt. He performed several poses for dramatic effect, not unlike interpretive dance, before tossing the Ball. "Time to shine!"
Chuck lumbered over to a more appropriate position behind Raozya. The latter grabbed a Poké Ball as well, calling out Napalm. "Come out and meet your new chew toy."
The Poké Balls activated in unison: a Braixen for Raozya, and a Sylveon for the masked man.
The air surrounding Joas chilled noticeably. The aura of this Sylveon was familiar, and its initial cry of "merf" confirmed his fears. "This one is a lot like..."
"...Bill's Sylveon, Muffin. I know," Raozya finished. He looked back at Chuck. "Good eye."
Chuck grimaced, having felt the burst of insanity from Muffin. "Oh, I didn't expect something of this magnitude."
Napalm's widened eyes and hanging jaw possessed no shortage of panic, and his tail was puffed up to twice its normal diameter. "BraaaiiiixennnnNNNN BRAI! YES!"
Of course, Raozya's ears translated this as "HooollllyyyyYYYY CRAP! NO!"
The masked man jumped with joy. "Now then, let's battle!"
"Not so fast," called Raozya. "Take off your mask. I know it's you, Bill."
Raozya's statement shocked the masked man, made evident by his sudden lack of physical expression. "What? Who is—"
"It would have been better for you to use a different Pokémon. That's Muffin. Hello, Muffin."
The Sylveon directed a dull stare at Raozya and weakly waved one of its ribbon-tendrils in greeting. "Merf."
With his facade defeated, Bill slipped the mask off. "Goodness, you're much more intuitive than I had imagined."
The hair on Chuck's face stood on end. His eyes were now the size of dinner plates. "He will require...more than twenty-four hours of training for this."
Bill's toes curled in shame upon his witnessing of the sheer brutality of Raozya's glare. The condescending aura was intense enough to give Joas a bad taste in his mouth and cause Muffin's eyes to widen and his pupils to shrink. Chuck stumbled backward.
Raozya held out Napalm's Poké Ball. "Napalm, retur—"
"WAIT!" exclaimed Bill in a frantic tone. "I apologize for my previous actions. I promise that I will not lick your lovely Napalm."
Raozya's glare narrowed further. "Rather specific."
"It just felt like our last battle wasn't finished properly."
"Yes, because Napalm isn't a popsicle."
Bill knelt down on one knee. His face showed remorse, but there was an unsettling underlying insanity to it. "I sincerely apologize for that. It won't happen again."
Raozya didn't believe a word of it. He figured Bill's tongue was armed and ready. Despite this, Raozya decided to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. "I sincerely doubt that, but I also think FLAME CHARGE NOW."
Like a burning meteor, Napalm shot forward in an instant. Having once again anticipated this, Bill called out a dodge command a moment after Raozya's command, followed by Hyper Voice.
Muffin got Napalm in his sights and opened his mouth to unleash a deafening maelstrom of noise. By the time Hyper Voice reached Napalm's position, the Braixen was already high in the air, having heeded a dodge command from his master.
At Raozya's prompt, Napalm summoned a vortex of fire and sent it around Muffin. Due to Napalm's improved desire for victory, the Fire Spin attack had even more power than usual.
With Muffin distracted, Raozya issued a Psybeam attack. Napalm pulled the signature Braixen stick from his tail and aimed it at his toasty adversary. A beam of purple energy exploded from the tip, assailing the already beleaguered Sylveon.
As it was with the previous battle, Muffin's tendrils launched through the flames and wrapped themselves around Napalm. Muffin himself was not far behind, and the savagery on his face was both uncharacteristic and disturbing.
This only made Raozya smile further. "Flame charge with a twist!"
With little warning, Muffin found himself staring at a spinning mass of Braixen and fire. His tendrils became entangled in the twisting action, and he didn't have time to react before he became airborne with a painful knot on his forehead.
An elevated eyebrow indicated Bill's surprise. It seems Rozz is serious this time. Perhaps I should get serious, too.
A smoking Muffin tumbled to a spot near Bill's feet. The look on its face was one of genuine surprise, but that was mixed with an escalating measure of rage.
Raozya's expression had never been more smug. Victory was close, he could tell. His confidence was soaring high in the sky, but it would quickly be shot down by what he was about to witness.
Chuck was now on his backside in the grass, dozens of feet away. Raozya had been so glum earlier...how had he recovered so well? "Perhaps I could learn a thing or two from this Raozya."
Bill's shirt fluttered away in the breeze, revealing a pasty, somewhat underfed abdomen. He proceeded to squirt lotion on his chest and rubbed it all over with disturbing passion. "I put the lotion on my skin so we can get ahead again! Hear me, my dear Muffin! Let my silky smooth lotion bring you peace and confidence!"
The Domination was already being pointed at Bill before Raozya even knew it. As expected, the gun's internal computer sputtered and threw out an error message. Again, the gun found its place in Raozya's backpack. Modifications were now close to the top of Raozya's to-do list.
Adding to the stress, there was now an escalating sense of dread creeping up Raozya's spine. Wreathed in purple energy, Joas floated up behind Raozya to get a better look at the battle. "Zoroark. This is no ordinary ritual. The Ancients from beyond the Void are stirring."
Raozya could have sworn he was hearing multiple voices, ever so slightly out of sync, being produced from Joas' mouth. The idea of renting a Jigglypuff to sing his tattered mind to sleep for the night was now an option he was seriously considering. "T-Tell them to stop griping. This battle will be over soon."
A raindrop landed on Raozya's nose, followed by another, then another. This led to a sprinkle that quickly became a steady shower. Defying his screaming sense of self-preservation, he turned his head up to the sky and witnessed a mass of wicked black clouds swirling and churning overhead. Thunder was soon added to the ensemble, each burst more intense and frequent than the last. The few flashes of lightning produced a low electrical sound that was uncharacteristic and very unsettling.
"Joas...some of that thunder echo sounds like a deep, reverberating growl. I don't think that's normal."
Joas set himself down on Raozya's head and gently guided it back down so they were both now looking at Bill and Muffin. "You don't want to continue looking up. They don't like to be witnessed."
Raozya was certain his pants would soon be filled beyond capacity with his own waste if his constitution slipped any further. "They?"
"Shhhh. Pay no mind to them. Focus instead on the revitalized Muffin."
Indeed, Muffin was now back on his feet, and his expression showed nothing but a muted lust for blood.
Now in a panic, Chuck jumped to his feet and prepared to sprint over to Raozya. His plans were promptly foiled by a supercharged, but eerily silent, bolt of lightning, which acted as a very effective propellant for his stratospheric flight into the distance.
Bill continued to rub lotion on his chest while chanting various encouraging phrases, many of which were laced with unsettling references to love and unity.
Napalm was trying his very hardest to ignore his survival instincts, which were going berserk due to the otherworldly storm overhead. He had to focus on Muffin. He needed to win this time!
Muffin disappeared with the next clap of thunder. Napalm's heart skipped a beat when he realized that Muffin's face was right next to his, a toothy mouth open wide and preparing to unleash another Hyper Voice attack.
The attack hit nothing but a fading silhouette of energy. Muffin stopped and hastily observed his surroundings, then glared at Raozya after the latter put Napalm's now-occupied Poké Ball back on his belt.
Bill's absent-minded ritual continued for a few more seconds before he felt one of Muffin's tendrils tapping him on the leg. He directed his attention down at the unhappy Sylveon, reading the creature's displeasure and finally mimicking the expression. "Oh, the battle is once again over prematurely. Pity."
When he examined Raozya's position, the latter had already left for another field. Flustered, he called Muffin back into the appropriate Poké Ball and shook his head in disappointment. "That Rozz is something else."
Bill drew his eyes up to the sky. The storm had subsided, revealing a clear blue sky with a few cottonball clouds dotting it. "Huh. Dunno what that was all about."
