The next day had gone quite slowly for Minnie. She was hardly able to sleep the previous night as thoughts and questions danced through her mind; lying awake listening to nothing but your pounding heart is anything but fun. She honestly should've asked her Igglybuff to sing her to sleep, but it was already resting peacefully, she didn't want to disturb it. It was far too late for that now though. Hence, she had to frequently stop herself from nodding off during her classes. Despite it being lunch she wouldn't allow herself to take even a quick nap; she had an important meeting very soon. So there she sat; Minnie had sunken deep into a bean bag in the reading corner, attempting to make some progress in her novel while she waited.
She was dead to the world around her until the loud noise beside hers snapped her out of her daze. Minnie flinched and sat up straight, only to see Guzma lying next to her, he had flopped into the beanbag beside her and had his hands resting behind his head. He looked over at her. "Whaddup?"
Minnie closed her book and frowned at him. "'Whaddup'? Is that all you have to say to me?"
Guzma raised an eyebrow and remarked, "you're really gonna bite my head off for sayin' hi? Seriously? Well then, if you want me to say somethin' else: you look like crap."
The girl rubbed her eyes; she could practically feel the bags under them. "Not my fault, I didn't sleep last night. I wonder whose fault that is…" she grumbled.
"Ain't mine. If they didn't decide to be pathetic excuses for human beings then all that never would've happened. Then you would've looked juuust peachy today." He sounded so matter of fact yet somehow so sarcastic at the same time.
How relaxed he was acting only served to annoy Minnie more, but for the sake of the conversation she decided to start burying those negative feelings. She sighed heavily and looked over at him. "Alright, my bad, I'm just really not feeling it today."
"Welcome to my world, kid."
She couldn't help but smirk. "How do you do it? You always look super exhausted but you never act like it."
Guzma gave her a smug, yet tired grin. "That's my secret, kid; I'm always tired. I messed my sleep up real bad when I was a teenager, never managed to get it completely back to normal. Not like I've really tried too hard in the first place."
Minnie nodded and then paused. They were off topic already; in fact she hadn't even gotten them on topic in the first place. She internally cursed her sleep deprived brain before saying, "ok, now, enough chatting. We really have to talk."
"More like you're gonna sit there interrogatin' me for the next forty minutes."
"That too."
"Fine, whaddya wanna know?"
She thought for a moment. "Well, firstly, why did you lie to us on day one?" she asked with a disappointed look on her face.
Guzma frowned. "What're you talkin' about? I didn't lie to any of ya."
"Um, yeah, you did. When Nathan asked you what you did before becoming a teacher you lied to everyone instead of just admitting it."
"Bullcrap. I just didn't explicitly say 'oh hey kiddos, guess what? It's the boss of Team Skull comin' right at'cha!' That doesn't mean I'm a liar, it just means I have common sense," he asserted.
"Ever heard of a lie of omission?" retorted Minnie.
Guzma then groaned, "well what else was I supposed to say? I would've had most of ya terrified of me right off the bat. Then all of ya would've gone home all 'oh hey mommy guess who my new teacher is?' and half of y'all would've been ripped from my class the next day. I'd rather just tell y'all separately after you've actually started to get used to me."
The girl sighed. "Ok, fair point."
He raised an eyebrow at her, "so, are you used to me? Am I doin' alright?"
She initially looked slightly confused by that question. "Um… I guess? You're doing fine. I mean, my Igglybuff understands me a bit better now, so there's that. Again, I'm really not that interested in battling. I've actually been starting to hate it. I like your class though, but that's only because you're interesting."
Guzma smirked, "glad to hear that your boy is keepin' ya interested."
Minnie cringed slightly at his response. "Glad to be the one to stroke your overblown ego… Anyway, next question. What the heck was that all about last night? With those two? You said you weren't going to start anything and then you just started screaming at each other and then they're all 'oh we worked for him!' and you yelled about them lying then they started yelling and… Everything just went too fast for me."
His smirk quickly faded. "Well… First off, if you wanna be a part 'a Team Skull there's an intro week you gotta go through before you're official. You get paired with a grunt and they show ya the works and all that, then they tell me if you're all good to go or not. Then after that you get your chain. It's the easiest damn thing in the world to get through, almost everyone does." His expression turned to one of disgust. "But not those two. All they had to do was steal some damn Pokémon and bring 'em back here. They did the stealing part just fine, better than most of the grunts, it's the bringing back part that they messed up.
"The damn Yungoos they pinched kept wrigglin' and tryin' to shred Caesar's arm, all of 'em do that when they're scared, it's just a Yungoos thing. So, they thought the girl I assigned to them wasn't lookin'. She stopped off in some bushes to get a better hold on whatever she stole. When she looked up she saw him grip it by the scruff of the neck and slam it back first into a tree they were walkin' past. Accordin' to her, the two of them just laughed when it stopped moving… She took it off of 'em after that. By the time it got to me it couldn't move its back legs, poor thing just kept screaming.
Guzma was sitting up straight now; he gripped the fabric of the beanbag tightly. "I gave 'em absolute hell for that. This may come as a shock to ya, kid, but I rarely bash anyone. Least of all my grunts. Beatdowns from me normally get delivered through Pokémon battles. But those two? They deserved everythin' they got. I then took everythin' they had on 'em, dragged their asses through the mud and threw 'em out of Po Town faster than they could blink."
Minnie stared at him, mortified. "What… What drives someone to do something like that…?"
Guzma let go of the fabric and rested his arms on his knees. "I ain't no mind reader, but what I can tell you is that the both of 'em copy the all crap they saw while growin' up. I'm pretty sure they're cousins, they don't look like siblings. Anyway it's a complicated mess and they told me over a year ago so I can't remember much. Somethin' to do with a family of raiders, Poni Island and all of 'em gettin' messed up bad by Tapu Fini. Guess they were a real nasty bunch."
The girl looked slightly sad to hear that. "Well… It's at least a little comforting to know that you didn't let people like that into your team… But, weren't all of you a nasty bunch anyway? I mean, apparently all the grunts were super weak, but you still robbed people…"
"Yeah, we did, but we were no Team Rocket or anythin'. Unlike them Team Skull wasn't much of a threat. That wasn't the point of it anyway."
Minnie tilted her head and asked, "your street gang had a point?"
"Yeah, to stick it to Alola's crusty old traditions and to give somewhere for the kids burned by those traditions to go. We were just all a bunch of rejects. Some of 'em just wanted to rebel, others really had nowhere else to go, a lot were a mix of the two and some just saw no other way to get whatever they wanted. I ain't gonna go into personal stories though cuz I ain't that much of a jackass."
"How are Alola's traditions hurting people? They seem just fine…"
"Well not all of 'em are bad, I'm mostly talkin' about the Island Challenge," he scowled, "I hate it. Ironically I'm actually supposed to prepare y'all for it. A big chunk of what I'm supposed to go over is about that stupid challenge."
"Why? What's bad about it?" Minnie was intrigued now; the Island Challenge seemed innocent enough.
Guzma seemed bitter now. "First off the damn challenge is optional, but there's this massive expectation that you gotta do it; so if you don't wanna do the challenge for whatever reason you end up getting' excluded by a lot of other kids. Seen that happen to a few old classmates when I used to go here. But the real kicker is if you fail it, oh boy, people act like you just spat in the Kahuna's face. You're pretty much branded an incompetent reject. Either nobody takes you seriously as a Pokémon trainer anymore or your family sees you as nothin' but a failure…"
"That's… Terrible… I knew it meant a lot to people, but not like that… Are you really sure that's what happens? You're not exaggerating?"
"Over half my grunts failed it, it's usually part of the reason they ended up comin' to me," he stated before resting his chin on his arms. "That dumb challenge shouldn't be held up on such a high pedestal, it's just a stupid little adventure for kids, not some end –all be-all rite of passage. I guess it's kinda fitting that I went from takin' in kids that failed it to flat out preppin' kids so they don't fail in the first place"
She thought for a moment. "Is it hard? The Island Challenge?"
"Not if you put the work in. But you'd fail it, kid. No doubts about that. I'm guessin' that's why you're in my class if you hate battling so much."
Minnie looked a little distant after that comment. "Yeah, I guess so," she said before turning to him. "Teacher? Were you one of the kids who failed?"
He looked at her and answered, "no, I passed just fine."
"Then… Where's your Z-ring? Every kid that does the challenge gets one, right? I've never seen you wearing one. Every Alolan adult trainer that I've met has one."
Guzma sneered at her question and replied, "somewhere at the bottom of a river."
Minnie's eyes widened in shock as she exclaimed, "why would you do that?! They're irreplaceable, aren't they? They're made by the Kahunas themselves!"
"Because it's a big fat 'screw you' to everything that stupid ring represents. Besides, Z-moves are nothin' but cheap get outta losin' moves. You could be smashin' someone fair and square but then all of a sudden they pull out a Z-move and completely ruin ya. That's why I took 'em all. The Buginium Z crystals. If a bug type trainer is gonna try and surpass me they're gonna have to do it fair and square; if I don't get to use savage spin-out then no one does."
Minnie gaped at him "You did WHAT?!"
He just gave her a sly grin in response. "Yeah, I got a big chest overflowin' with them back in Po Town."
"I can't believe you right now! You're the reason they're so rare?! Do you have any idea how unfair that is on everyone?!"
"It's a hundred percent fair, kid. This might make ya happy though- some Buginium Z may start to trickle back into the public's hands. I brought a bag of the stuff back with me. If ya'll actually pass my class then each of ya will get one. Otherwise you gotta beat me in a Pokémon battle against my full power team."
Minnie grumbled, "like that sounds easy."
"You're the one on easy street right now, just accept it, you ain't gonna change my mind about nothin'."
"Oh my gosh… Sometimes you're just so… Ugh."
He chuckled in response. "Not the first time I've gotten that."
Her disgusted expression then softened. "Well… If I can't do anything to change your mind, I guess I at least understand why you think the way you do a bit better… And also, about last night, I actually didn't just want to question you. I actually wanted to say thank you. Not just for standing up for me, but for sticking to your word."
Guzma looked away from her. "It ain't that big a deal, I would'a done that for any of y'all."
Minnie then pulled her phone from her pocket and opened up a page on it. "Yeah, but" - she tapped his arm, prompting him to turn to her, she handed the phone to him – "with how scary and, to be honest, violent you got, I really thought you wouldn't keep it. So thank you."
She smiled a little as he read over the article. It was a notice to tourists to be more careful exploring the local rainforests, especially at night. It put much emphasis on keeping an eye out for signs of the local Spinarak colonies, as the head Ariados can be quite aggressive. Guzma smirked at the picture included in the article; it was a nice shot of Peggy being cut out of Ariados's tight webbing. It looked like they stuck to the story he told them to feed to the cops, awesome. "It ain't no problem. Hopefully hangin' them out to dry for a night will keep 'em away. But if they come back you gotta tell me instantly, got it?"
Minnie took her phone back and nodded. "Clear. But… I really have to ask because this just stuck with me… Why was your first assumption that my parents were the ones doing that to me…?" She looked sad to even be asking that question. "That's… A horrible thing to assume… You've never even met them and that's what you think straight away?"
Guzma scowled for a moment. "Sorry 'bout that, that ain't a reflection on them or anythin'…"
"Ok, but why?"
He sighed. "If this gives you some context…" he pointed to his now slowly fading black eye and quietly stated, "my dad gave that to me."
Minnie's eyes widened as the colour slowly drained from her face. There was a stillness, that to her, seemed to last for ages.
She then opened her mouth to speak, but Guzma put a finger over her lips. He spoke with a quiet, cold tone, "I don't want to hear it. I don't need your pity or the endless 'I'm sorrys'. I've already got a handle on everythin' anyway. But you say a damn word to any of your classmates and you're in deep shit, missy."
The young girl slowly nodded and Guzma withdrew his hand. She rubbed her arm; the momentary silence was now far more uncomfortable for her.
"Now, speakin' of parents." The look on his face became serious, "why the heck was I the one driving those assholes away when they should've been the ones doin' it?"
Minnie winced and directed her gaze straight ahead. Looks like he didn't forget about that.
"I'm dead serious; I ain't leavin' you alone until you explain that."
She then gripped her hair in her hands and groaned in frustration. She turned to face him; there was a mix of emotions written on her face. "Ok. Fine. Since this quickly became a "tell all" thing I'll explain. First thing though, there is no "parents", just a parent. Mom was swiftly escorted to the next life about a year ago." Minnie moved her arms around her own body, gripping at her shirt tightly, she looked pained. "Everything was fine until then. But ever since then, Dad… Dad hasn't been thinking straight! Both he and Mom were expert Pokémon trainers; they travelled around the entire world before I was born. Before the incident they were really accepting of whatever my brothers and I wanted to do when we grew up. But now? Dad's obsessed with making us the strongest trainers out there and I HATE it! Entering us in competition after competition. Heck, he was the one who put me in your class in the first place! And I don't even really want to be good at battling, I don't need to be! But NO, since my two little brothers are soooooooo much better at it then there has to be something wrong with me!
She then turned to him; her eyes were filled with indignation. "You know what he said to me when I told him about those bullies? That I should just use them to make my own Pokémon stronger, use them as a goal to overcome. I mean they were just street kids, right? Not like they nearly killed a Pikipek in front of me or anything! He actually believes all that crap about how being picked on makes you a better person! How it makes you stronger! It doesn't! I'm not happier, I'm not a better person, I didn't overcome anything! I just feel angry and scared all the time and it's HORRIBLE!" Guzma remained silent as she leaned back into the beanbag, gritting her teeth, there was a resigned tone to her voice, "it's like… It's like he doesn't realize that all of this is hurting me as well… I want Mom back too… But chasing some stupid dream that isn't even my own wouldn't make her happy… She didn't want us to be just like her. She didn't want to live through us. She told us that she wanted us to make our own dreams come true. That she would be happy if we grew up to do something that would make us happy… I just… I just want to teach four year olds how to read… Is that too much to ask?"
The two of them sat in silence as Minnie quietly fumed to herself. Guzma had no idea what to say to her. Though he doubted that she would want his sympathy, it wouldn't make her feel better in the slightest. But he had something that just might.
He took a deep breath and scratched the back of his head, speaking quietly, "all this is why you resent battling, huh?"
She closed her eyes and nodded.
"Well then… Maybe the present I got ya could make things a little easier…"
Minnie opened her eyes and looked up at him, she seemed surprised and curious. "A present?"
"Yeah, I stopped by the Pokémon Center last night and got'cha somethin'." Guzma then reached into his pocket and held out a Pokeball to her.
The girl tilted her head and gave a false smile before taking it. "A Pokeball… Thanks…"
The man furrowed his brow in annoyance. "No. Whaddaya take me for? Open it."
Minnie eyed the ball curiously before expanding it and pressing the button. It popped open with a flash of red light, releasing a long light brown Pokémon in front of her. The Yungoos cowered away from her, chattering and hissing loudly. The girl stared at it in shock, for there was a long pink scar running down its spine. She slowly extended a hand to it, prompting the creature to cautiously sniff it. Within about a minute Minnie had coaxed the Pokémon onto her lap and was stroking it gently. She then looked up at her teacher; there was no hiding her surprise. "…Is this the Pokémon that those punks hurt…?"
"Yep, the one in the same."
Minnie directed her gaze back down to the Yungoos, amazed. "From how you described what happened… I thought it would've died…"
Guzma gave an arrogant smirk before saying, "The Aether Foundation owed me one. They got real advanced medicine over there; stuff you never even dreamed was possible. I got 'im fixed up and kept it as one huge middle finger to those two, he came around real good huh?"
"Yeah he did… But why exactly did the Aether Foundation owe a gang boss something…?" she asked him suspiciously.
His smirk faded. "We ain't getting' into that… But about Yungoos there, I want you to have 'im. If those assholes ever show up again I want you to beat them down with the Pokémon they hurt. That right there would be the ultimate 'fuck you' to them."
"But I'm-"
"No good at battling? Yeah I know. But if you become good do ya think your dad would get off your case?"
Minnie shrugged and mumbled, "maybe?"
"You mentioned that you keep getting' pushed into competitions. I know my way 'round those pretty well, used to enter them heaps when I was your age… If you wanted I could help ya win one?" he offered before commenting, "that way your dad might chill out a bit."
She thought about it for a moment. "If I get pushed into another one I'll come talk to you."
The man smiled. "Sounds good to me." He then reached over, ruffled her hair and stood up, stretching his arms. "Anyway, I gotta go feed my Pokémon, I'll catcha next lesson. You remembered to bring an item, right?"
"Um, yeah I did. I brought my pink bow and polkadot bow. They were Mom's actually; she got them on one of her overseas adventures with Dad."
"I ain't ever heard of those… Should be interestin'. I'll seeya later then."
He then turned and began to leave. "Um… Wait!" called out Minnie.
Her teacher then turned to her and asked, "what is it?"
She looked bashful for a moment before speaking. "I… Um… I just wanted to say thank you… For being one of the only adults that doesn't speak to me like I'm stupid… You actually take me seriously… So… Thank you…" she said gratefully. She then smiled up at him sweetly.
Guzma's cheeks went slightly pink as he looked away from her and awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Uh… No problem… I guess… Then, thanks as well for doin' the same for me… So… I gotta go…"
Minnie nodded and watched as he turned and rounded the corner. The new silence had ignited a feeling of wistfulness within her as she heard her new Yungoos chatter. She looked down at it and gently ran her fingers down its exposed scar. The girl then reached into her pocket, pulling out her polkadot bow, tenderly tying it around the Pokémon's neck. Perfect.