Chapter 34 - Intermission

The sun had fallen well below the horizon by the time Leah and I finished explaining everything to Nuzleaf and Espurr. Only the flicker of the ceiling lantern was left to light the room by the time we wrapped our story up.

They both sat patiently on the pair of straw beds I'd fetched for them earlier in the day. Neither of them said a word the entire time, although more than once did one of them raise their eyebrows or cringe at some of the finer details. We only stopped once to eat dinner with the others, and wasted no time hopping right back into our beds and back into the story when our bellies were full.

Up to this point, I had spent more time living in Serene Village than with the Society. But it didn't feel like it. Not even close. The Pokemon of Serene Village had always lurked among my idle thoughts up to this point, but sitting in the presence of two of them was a stark reminder that those months past had been such a significant part of my life. Sometimes, I'd be kept awake by thoughts of home—that home—and other times I'd forget it ever happened.

To my fortune, Leah had taken over the storytelling role towards the end of our tale, saving me from losing even more of my voice after hours of speaking. I had to give her credit; she put everything she had into telling the story, including but not limited to sound effects, paw-movements, and even dramatic pauses (although she overdid the latter so much that the pauses lost their effect).

"...When we finally climbed the ascending cave, the lake was waiting for us on top! And it absolutely took my breath away! Oh, there were lights and grass and… lights! We had to stop and…"

I tuned out my partner's lavish recounting of Fogbound Lake to look over the world map laying across my desk, which I had come to favor over its digital counterpart. Longitudinal lines were traced out to display the curvature of the globe that could not be perfectly recreated on a flat map without distortion. Moving my hand along one of the lines, I traced from the northern pole down to the edge of the Water Continent, and then further down to a location I had circled with a pencil earlier.

Showdown Mountain.

From what I'd heard from the chatter of others, the mountain wasn't exactly a hotspot for rescue missions. It wasn't rich in natural resources, and the land was supposedly rugged and unruly-too difficult to colonize. The one thing we had going for us if we were to scale Showdown Mountain was that the mountain itself was not particularly tall, but from the limited research I'd done concerning the terrain, we'd have ourselves a tall enough challenge regardless.

I picked up a pencil and lightly tapped the eraser against my temple, over and over. Tap tap tap.

That was the thing, though: if we were to even scale it. Without a doubt, that seemed like the next step to take. There would be no need for an investigation, we'd just show up and settle the matter in straightforward fashion. But we couldn't right now, not with this random government bullshit knocking down our door and ordering us around…

Tap tap tap.

…And, of course, there was an even bigger concern on the horizon. Even if traversing Showdown Mountain a clear next step, by no means was I eager to leap into some trap. The previous face-to-face confrontation had happened only days ago, and was still fresh in my mind. I was not injured now, but I could still remember the flames engulfing me, the taste of death, of weightlessness. That mysterious forest…

The last thing I wanted was a repeat.

"…And then we got back and found you two…" Leah took a final deep breath and exhaled. "…haaah… and now we're here."

Nuzleaf shook his head and whistled to himself. "Well, I'll be! Y'all weren't kiddin' when you said it's been a wild ride." He glanced at me as I spun back around in my chair. "…and I suppose you two have been able to handle it mighty-fine so far. Especially with them crazy scarves that let y'all duke it out with a legendary Pokemon and walk out unscathed."

He grunted to himself in amusement and drew his hand down to his own scarf, the same silver one he'd bought back when I was living with him. "Gah, I sure in tarnation wish my scarf could do more than just make me look all spiffy."

"We still aren't even sure how they work, to be honest," I admitted with a sigh. "It just sort of happened."

"…They're very interesting, to say the least," Espurr mused. She approached Leah and extended a paw towards her scarf. "May I?"

"Sure!"

Espurr took Leah's scarf into her paws, gently rubbing her paw across the patterns while examining its texture. A curious frown crossed her face. "I don't recall any school lessons covering items with properties like this, and… it feels like nothing I've ever touched before…" She glanced back up at Leah. "And you've always had these?"

Leah opened her mouth to speak only to let out a contagious yawn, leading her to confirm Espurr's inquiry with another nod.

Nuzleaf glanced out the window and took note of how late it was. "Ah… I reckon y'all are tuckered out. I'd be lyin' if I said I wasn't the same."

"It's alright," Leah giggled with a hint of pride. "It's all part of the job."

"Well, I reckon my legs ain't quite got the youth in 'em they once had. I sure do hope I can continue to make these trips across the range…" Nuzleaf said, giving his calves a tender rub.

My own exhaustion was briefly forgotten while I observed the older Pokémon tend to himself. Even though he wasn't visibly injured, the grass-type had clearly seen better days. The leaf on his head wasn't tilted like it had been earlier, but had still not yet returned to a healthy shade of green. A noisy yawn accentuated the bags under his closing eyes. "Anyway, I'm hittin' the hay. I reckon you kids should do the same sooner or later."

The side of his head gently touched the straw as Nuzleaf haphazardly pulled a blanket over him. Just like that, he was out cold. By the time I had shut off the ceiling lantern, his faint, rhythmic snores had begun to echo off the walls.

Only the waning moon outside provided what scarce light there was, which was not enough to see anything in the room except the outline of the window and the silhouettes of my friends. Without another word exchanged between the three of us, Leah, Espurr and I settled into our beds for the night.

Sunbeams pried open my eyelids and cast aside the veil of sleep, blurring the divide between the waking realm and the remnants of a murky dream. I opened my eyes further before shutting them tight and turning away from a harsh glow—the window. Distant urban noise filtered through, reminding me further

My head disagreed with the rising sun about how much sleep I deserved, so I made no effort to get up out of the bed I'd missed so dearly.

But just as I was drifting off again, a palm was placed on the top of my head. In silent defiance, I uncurled my tail and weakly turned away.

"—Heh. I reckon this place hasn't made you into a morning person quite yet," a distant voice chuckled.

I curled my tail back over my stomach. "…Mmph."

"Leah's gone and fetched herself some breakfast. She tried to wake you a few minutes ago, but you weren't movin' an inch. I'm gonna go get me some'a them good-smellin' pancakes your chef made." He shifted in place and began walking through to the hallway. "I reckon y'all should hustle down there, or else they might all be gone."

With the mention of breakfast, I opened one eye and squinted forward. The sun was already shining to the bottom of the wall and onto the floor. It extended across the floor to my backside, casting a small shadow in front of me—an unfamiliar sight. Breakfast must have come awfully late today. And even then, the bell should've been rung hours ago. Mawile was usually a hardass about keeping schedule, and that included waking up at the crack of dawn. Whatever break in routine allowed me to get extra rest, I wasn't complaining.

I rolled onto my back and stretched everything that could be stretched. Then, I rolled onto my side and pushed myself to a sitting position… and found myself staring straight into the eyes of Espurr.

I tried and failed to keep myself from jumping in place.

"Oh—uh, good morning," I mumbled. I was instantly self-conscious of the grogginess that lingered in my voice, and meekly cleared my throat.

"Good morning," Espurr paused to yawn. "Sorry if I surprised you." Judging from her slightly-unkempt fur and sitting position, I figured she'd just woken up as well. She stretched her arms and rubbed her eyes. "…Nuzleaf mentioned pancakes?"

I nodded, my voice a little clearer this time. "Y-yeah. Swirlix, the chef that cooked dinner last night, is pretty much the best baker in town." I gave her a tiny smile. "You're gonna love our east coast food. It's got a lot more flavor than the apples and berries we used to eat."

Her stare was colder than usual. "There's nothing wrong with apples and berries… But I suppose I'll take your word for it."

Not a hint of warmth was reflected on her face as she pushed herself up, walked over to the doorway, and pushed aside the curtain, all without another word. A few delicate footsteps could be heard down the hall before the rest were drowned out by the ambient noise of a distant, busy kitchen.

Alone now, I forced down a dejected sigh. "…No, I guess there isn't."

There was nothing to be done about it right now. After splashing some water onto my face and blinking out the residue in my eyes, I made my way into the hall.

Everyone in the Society was already present in the kitchen area, gathering ingredients from Swirlix's spread and building meals of all shapes and sizes. Nuzleaf hadn't been lying about the pancakes, which had invaded my nostrils the moment I stepped into the room.

So this is the treat we get after returning from overseas… Not bad. Not bad at all.

With a modest plate prepared in no time, I made my way towards Leah. She sat near the edge of the large table with Nuzleaf and Espurr sitting across from her, both of whom were too immersed with their meal to notice me right away. Leah was a nose-length too-far deep in her food to notice my entrance as well, but fortunately had the foresight to save me a seat.

After setting down my plate, I picked up the wand she'd used to save my seat and tapped her shoulder with it.

"Mmph—!" Noticing me for the first time, she swallowed what was in her mouth and shot me a wide smile. A trail of syrup dripped off of her chin, which she wiped away with a napkin. "Mornin' Smugleaf."

I pretended to gasp. "Did I just see you use a napkin?"

She raised her eyebrows and snorted. "Did I just see you only grab one pancake to eat?" Even though I saw it coming, I was too slow to block her paw from gingerly punching my shoulder. "You need to put on some mass, you're too skinny."

I gave her a blank stare. "Leah, I'm pretty sure I'm better off like this—"

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The sound of silverware banging against glass rang through the air.

"If I may interrupt!" Ampharos called from the far end of the table.

At the sound of his voice, the last of the noise faltered. Once satisfied he'd gotten everyone's attention, the chief nodded once at Mawile and then stood up from his chair.

"As much as I hate to intrude on this fine breakfast, there are a few important things to go over this morning." He paused for no evident reason and surveyed the room. "…First and foremost, I'm sure you've all noticed we have a pair of guests hailing from the fruitful Serene Village. I ask that everyone wish them a warm welcome!"

All eyes now fell on Nuzleaf and Espurr. Nuzleaf grinned nervously and raised a hand in greeting, while Espurr stared back at Ampharos with a blank look. A handful of greetings and 'hello's were unanimously expressed by the Society members.

The chief regarded Nuzleaf and Espurr while meekly rubbing the back of his head. "I apologize you had to get caught up in whatever it is we're dealing with, especially so early in your visit. You have my word things aren't usually this hectic in Lively Town."

Nuzleaf took the opportunity to speak up. "Oh, I reckon it's no big deal. Y'all have treated us with more hospitality than we could ask for, so I reckon we're mighty grateful for that." He cast a quick glance in my direction. "Sage and Leah have already filled us in on the nitty-gritty details, so I reckon we don't require too much explainin'."

"Ah!" Ampharos smiled and gratefully nodded my way. "That simplifies things. In that case I'll get right into it."

He picked his gadget up off the table and pressed a few buttons, uncharacteristically cursing under his breath when it failed to immediately catch a decent signal. When he was finally able to pull up the tab he'd been searching for, he turned it in his hands to face the rest of us.

Sitting near the other end of the table, I had to squint to decipher any details. I was able to recognize what it was right away: the Water Continent, zoomed in on Showdown Mountain. A transparent red tint, something I'd never seen before on the digital map, overlaid the area.

"This—" Ampharos held the gadget in his right paw and pointed to it with his left. It was an area of the map I'd glanced over many times, but that now had a strange red border encompassing the area he was pointing at. "—is Showdown Mountain. I... regret to inform you all that this red manifold dictates an area we are legally prohibited from entering."

Low grumbles filled the room.

"So those uptight jerks weren't bluffing after all…" Buizel said.

Vulpix raised her paw to speak, which immediately earned her a nod from the chief. "Does it say when it'll be lifted?"

"...Uhmm…" Clicking his tongue, Ampharos turned the gadget back around so he could tinker with it some more. "…I can't seem to find—ah, here it is. When I pull this up, it illustrates that the projected length of the aforementioned embargo is… five days."

Mawile chuckled sourly. "Don't hold your breath, that's just an arbitrary projection. They typically last a lot longer."

I narrowed my eyes. In hindsight, it would've been great if the Serene Village school had included more about the laws of the land into their teachings. Barely knowing a government existed didn't help much when they all of the sudden were showing up at our doorstep, dictating where we were allowed to travel, telling us to stay out of an operation we'd committed to, intimidating us with their supposed power.

By the way they acted, I clearly should've known they existed. I made a mental note to ask Mawile about them later.

After a delayed sigh, Ampharos begrudgingly nodded. "Yes, I'm aware it could mean anything. Which is why for now, I recommend that you all make use of your time in a different manner."

He inspected the faces of everyone. The exhaustion that he wore on his own spoke for him.

"As much as I am eager to pursue our enemy and learn more about their ways, it is clear that our health is more important. I recommend you all to take the day off and rest your minds and your muscles. Get some extra sleep if you need it, go take care of anything you've been meaning to… spend the day however you please so long as it doesn't involve Showdown Mountain. You've all earned a break."

Unanimous cheering erupted amongst the Society members. Leah did a fist-pump to show her approval. I sank a little further into my seat and allowed the words the process. A break. When was the last time I'd had a break?

"So, uh, hate to interrupt, but can we start eating again?" Bunnelby cut in. "My pancakes are getting soggy."

"Oh." Ampharos glanced down at his own pancakes. "Well I—"

"Dig in!"

The cry of Swirlix cut through the tension of the room, then followed up by ravenous sounds of chewing, swallowing and slurping. Everyone else, myself included, followed in her image to a lesser degree, but still without holding back. Before long, the mess hall had resumed its chaotic chatter.

By the time the last meal was finished and last burp was burped, it was nearly noon. I was full, my face was sticky, and I was ready to take advantage of this rare opportunity for a midday nap. I knew I needed better sleep, I knew I could sleep for a month if given the chance.

After putting away my dishes, I lazily walked back to my room. Nuzleaf, always a quick eater, had beaten me there. He was sprawled across his makeshift bed, unconscious. Leah and Espurr were nowhere to be seen, but I assumed they were together somewhere, if not already making their way back to their beds as I had.

Satisfied with that, all there was left to do was flop back into bed.

Something jolted me awake.

I instantly shot up to caress my tail, which had begun to tingle uncomfortably where I'd been hit. Following a brief but sharp spike of pain, which I quickly recognized as electricity, I glared at my attacker. Helioptile stood beside my bed alongside Mincinno.

"You awake, homie?" Helioptile snickered. "Sorry I had to give you a lil' taze, but you were out like a light."

"We thought we'd invite you to come into town with us rather than sleep in the rest of the day," Mincinno said. "As much as I could go for a righteous nap right now, 'm afraid we've got a different idea on how to spend the afternoon."

I shook my head sharply to wake myself up. Most of the context surrounding my nap took a moment to return to me, and my response ended up being delayed. "…Uh—yeah. Sure, I'll come." I glanced to my left and noticed Nuzleaf was missing. "How long was I out for?"

"Ehh… 'bout four hours," Mincinno estimated, offering me his paw. "Still plenty of time to run some errands and prepare for Showdown Mountain."

I grabbed his paw and he pulled me up.

"Thanks." After a quick stretch, I walked over to the water basin. For a moment, I hesitated; my reflection stared back at me, moving as I spoke. "…You're certain we'll be going there at all?"

The question hung in the air. I could feel Mincinno staring at the back of my head as I splashed my face with water. But when I turned to look back at him, his eyebrows were raised.

"Going today is out of the question," Mincinno said flatly. "But you tell me, human. Is there really any doubt we'll be going at some point?"

I regarded him in silence.

"Well, there shouldn't be." The normal-type shook his head. "And even if there is, we'd be damned if caught unprepared for such a dangerous trip a second time in a row. Which is why we will be prepared. Come on human, I gotta show you somethin'."

He turned around and parted the door curtains with a beckoning wave. Helioptile followed suit.

I called after them. "Show me what?"

Helioptile poked his head back into the room and gave me a toothy grin. "You'll see!"

After a half-minute of lazily tossing items into my bag, I was after them. Even on a day off, the compound was lifeless as I jogged through the hall and into the main room. Everyone had either gotten the same idea and taken a nap, or had decided they were better off spending their time elsewhere.

Just as I began to question why anyone would choose the brutal outdoor heat over the cooler indoor air, I exited the building and was given an pleasant answer. The skies were blanketed with a ceiling of clouds, stretching from the western mountains all the way out past the shoreline to the east.

"Hurry up, cuz! It's probably gonna start pouring soon!" Helioptile called from down the cobblestone path. "We're headed to the marketplace!"

I stared at the sky for a moment longer. There was no rain yet, not even a sprinkle, and yet it was already starting to cool off. The barrier of clouds, aided by a uniform wind blowing from the coast, was all it took to lower the temperature to a tolerable range. The humidity had unfortunately gone nowhere; sweating profusely was still an inevitability when running outside. But in light of the recent weather, the idea of getting rained on seem almost like a pleasant one.

Approaching the center of town, I breathed a sigh of relief when it came into view. The police tape; the barriers, the victims—all gone. The only lingering indicators that anything had happened were the handful of shops that had stayed closed for another day. The square had, for the most part, regained its typical luster.

Mincinno and Helioptile had stopped by a familiar shop, the Kecleon market, where Vulpix had been waiting for them.

As I approached, the vixen waved me over. "Sage, over here!"

The devilish grin on Mincinno's and Helioptile's faces were impossible to miss as I walked up. Mincinno was holding a stack of thick envelopes.

Forcing down a yawn reminiscent of my nap, I gestured at them. "What are those?"

Instead of immediately answering, Mincinno waved at us to follow him while he began walking towards a nearby bench. He spread the envelopes—three of them total—across the seat and stood back.

"These are technical machines," he said. His chest puffed out a little to match the diabolical look on his face. "Your favorite normal-type spared no expenses for you three. Got 'em polished and everything."

To demonstrate, he tore one of the envelopes and pulled out the contents. Besides a few slight differences in color, the item looked no different than the one I'd seen a while back in Serene Village.

"This TM, for example, teaches a move called thunderbolt," Mincinno explained. "It—"

"Ooh! Mine! That one's mine!" Helioptile snatched the object out of his teammate's hand. Before anyone could object, he cocked his arm back and smashed it over his forehead, shattering the brittle material into dozens of useless shards. My mouth flew open in protest of such a stupid act, but I stopped myself short when a strange, pink dust began cascading down and covering his body.

Mincinno placed his hands behind his head and scolded his teammate. "Augh, you bloody idiot! You shouldn't have used it out here! You're lucky it hasn't started raining yet!"

I stared at them cluelessly, which caught Vulpix's attention. "Never seen a TM used before?" she giggled.

"Well I… guess I have now," I said, chuckling at the way Helioptile was bouncing around with excitement. "You're supposed to just, uh, break it?"

"Mm-hm!" Vulpix nodded, equally as amused by the sight of her teammate. "That gaseous material inside is what will 'teach' you a move. Although, if it's windy or raining and you do it outdoors, you might not absorb enough of it for the process to work." She briefly glanced at the sky, noticing that the clouds hadn't gotten any thinner. "...Which is why we should probably head inside."

"Come on then," Mincinno said, butting into our conversation. "We'll head to the dojo by south beach."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "What happened to taking a break?"

Mincinno snorted. "Come on human, you have a malevolent force of nature on your ass and you still managed to steal yourself a grade-A nap this afternoon." He pat me on the shoulder a little too hard for my tastes. "Break time is up, you need to be as prepared as you can be!"

Helioptile was already sprinting towards the south side of town. "This is so cool! I have to go zap stuff someplace I won't get arrested!"

"Hey, wait for—!" Vulpix called after him, but trailed off. Helioptile had already sprinted down the road and was out of sight. "Ah… oh well."

I shrugged. "We'll just meet him there. How far is it?"

"It's on the docks. Just a few blocks from here." Mincinno scooped up the other three envelopes and led the way forward, first across the marketplace and then down a wide street, which then turned into a darker, narrow street.

At first I occupied myself by sightseeing, not that there was much to see other than building entrances and covered windows. One curiosity that stood out to me was the compactness of the buildings along the narrow back streets compared to those circled around the center of town. Back there, all of the shops had their own unique design schemes that collectively breathed life to the marketplace; deeper into town, the buildings became one single unit, unoriginal and uninteresting, two mostly-flat walls on either side of the linear cobble road.

With nowhere else to look, my gaze finally settled on the rest of the merchandise in Mincinno's arms. A light sprinkle began to fall—nothing worth much concern, but still enough for Mincinno to conceal the precious items in his bag.

"Hey," I spoke up, casting a glance at the bag on his shoulder. "What else did you buy?"

"Hmph." Shaking his head once, he glanced back down at his bag. For a moment, only our footsteps and the pit-pat of rain could be heard. "I swear I tried to get a leaf storm TM for ya, but they had none in stock. Damn shame too. It was gonna be a big surprise and everything. Could'a at least been a birthday present in advance."

Birthday… d-do I even have a birthday...?

"With your ability, it would be a really useful move to have on our side, you know?" Vulpix added.

There was mild disappointment that the news carried. I had already spent more time than necessary fantasizing about such a technique ever since I'd learned of my special ability. Even though I was fairly sure that, in reality, it would be more pragmatic than just boosting up my special attack to an infinite amount, Vulpix was still perfectly accurate in calling it useful, if not understating it.

In spite of this disappointment, I grinned and jested at them, "Trying to turn me into a weapon, huh?"

Mincinno's "yeah, pretty much" and Vulpix's "of course not" were spoken simultaneously. An awkward pause ensued, and the former earned himself an unamused glare from his ice-type teammate.

"What?" Mincinno shrugged at her nonchalantly. "We're fighting all sorts of enemies, 'specially now that the lawbirds from the north are on our asses. The TMs are just one step towards being well-equipped to face the noise."

"Do you think it'll come to that?" Vulpix called with a raised voice. In a matter of minutes, sprinkle had become rain, breeze had become wind, and we were forced to speak up to hear each other clearly. Thickening clouds darkened everything further.

"I'm seriously gonna need some context with those guys," I interrupted. Mawile wasn't here, and even though Mincinno's banter suggested his opinion of them might not be totally unbiased, I'd take what I could get.

"You mean those uppity badge-wearin' devils from yesterday?" Mincinno answered, slowing to a jog alongside Vulpix and I. "What of 'em?"

Without hesitation, I shot question after question at him.

"Who do they work for? Where are they from? Why do they care about us? What's the…" I searched for the right words. "...you know, what's the law like around here?"

Mincinno almost stopped jogging, but continued out of necessity and of the rain beating on his back. "Not to be rude, human, but didn't they teach you that in school?"

If he'd asked this of Leah, she'd have probably answered 'maybe they had at some point'. On the contrary, I often paid close attention in class given how little I knew about the world I was in. Definitely close enough to notice if some all-encompassing government had been mentioned in the lessons.

I shook my head, slinging some rain off my nose to be immediately replaced with more. "No, no mention of it."

"...Mmmaybe it's because you're from inland, perhaps?" Vulpix tilted her head. "I mean, the Water Continent is supposed to be the world's primary center of trade… Maybe you were just off their radar and no mention was necessary? You wouldn't be the first."

I considered it, letting the idea sink in deep unlike the falling rain that glided off my scales. The logic sounded plausible, sure. The image of Lombre's scorn was still fresh in my mind: it only took a single mention of anything involving urban life, and presumably urban governing, to set him off.

"Mawile is probably the one you'll want to ask about the law 'round here," Mincinno said. "That is, if you're willing to risk her getting all political on your ass. Her lectures about the current state of the continent can get really…"

Even in the cascading rain, I could see them both visibly shiver.

I decided not to press further, and conversation died from there. I almost lost my footing a few times on the slippery cobblestone, and praised the heavens when the ground underneath transitioned to wooden planks. The narrow street widened out, generic buildings became open air, mailboxes and streetlamps were now empty merchant stalls and soaked benches. Besides the different variety of stalls and formations of wooden crates, the town's southern boardwalk appeared no different from the eastern boardwalk by the Society headquarters.

I tried to run forward into one of the stalls covered by a thick tarp, but Mincinno's tail gripped my arm and steered me sharply to the right.

"Dojo's this way, human!"

Mincinno was moving along the buildings lining the boardwalk, wasting no time. With my attempt at temporarily sheltering from the rain abolished, I corrected my path and ran to catch up with him. Vulpix had correctly made the turn and playfully stuck her tongue out at me when she looked back to check if I was catching up.

As the rain quickened its pace more and more, so did the rate at which we ran through it. A few townsfolk were out and about on this side of town, but not enough of a crowd to impee our dash. Those who were biologically capable of holding umbrellas often were, and none seemed eager to be out in the pouring rain. Distant thunder echoed across the clouds, but it did not sound close.

Most of the buildings on the boardwalk were little different from each other stylistically. With a greater view of the town's south side, the lack of architectural variety lacked in comparison to the pallet of colors and shapes used in the northern areas where I usually spent my time. They were relatively tall—several stories, at least—but there was little else to note. Almost all of them either seemed unoccupied or closed for the day.

This is why I nearly ran right into Mincinno when he stopped suddenly and led us into a building that, quite frankly, looked no different from the two on either side of it besides a bit of extra height.

Saying nothing, Mincinno slapped open the doors to the dojo with his waterlogged tail and ran inside, Vulpix and I on his heels. I entered into a vacant lobby no larger than my bedroom. The sound of falling rain and gusting wind became ambient noise beating against the outside wall as I hunched over to breathe.

"Aughh, finally! Fuck the sky!" Mincinno bellowed, wasting no time wringing out his tail.

I had lost track of time dashing through the rain, but knew it couldn't have been longer than ten minutes. Still, that was enough to leave me out of breath and soaked through and through.

As he began fluffing his ears, Mincinno noticed me and grinned. "—C'mon human. We didn't run that much. We haven't even started yet!"

Vulpix scoffed at her teammate. "We aren't here for a full workout, silly. We shouldn't push ourselves too much if we're gonna be going on a big mission soon."

I knew she was probably right, but I brushed her concerns off. "Hey, I'm fine. I'm not out of shape or anything."

Mincinno laughed us off and patted my shoulder with his now-dry tail. "It's all right mate, you can admit you're a little winded. You've still gotta get used to that new body of yours, eh?"

"M-my—what?" My eyes narrowed. "I-I've been in this body for months, I'm plenty used to it!"

"We'll see about that." Mincinno grinned even wider, giving me a look that would dare suggest I were his prey. He flicked his head back towards a door across from the entrance labeled 'athletics'. "We'll find out if you can hold your own without your magic handkerchief powers."

Is he trying to fire me up…?

If he was, it was working.

I corrected my posture and stood tall. That way, I was able to look down on him.

"I guess we will."

Vulpix rolled her eyes and sighed wistfully. "...Or you two can just ignore my wisdom. That works too."

Mincinno didn't hear her. He had already flung the door open and made his way inside, revealing to me a much, much larger area. The only things impeding the broad space—too large to really call a room—were the empty bleachers on all four sides. Dozens of Pokémon were scattered across the space, attacking stationary dummies and giving lessons and sparring. I stepped forward and felt a soft substance beneath my feet. The floor was clay, I assumed, or maybe rubber.

Mincinno was a dozen paces ahead of us, and counting. With a spring in his step not unlike what his electric-type teammate had displayed earlier, he jogged towards one of the numerous rectangles painted white on the amber-colored floor.

"…He's such a gym rat." Vulpix shook her head as the pair of us approached him. "He loves coming here. We used to spend our afternoons sparring and watching other Pokemon before we got caught up in this mess. He and Heliptile love to go at it… even though Helioptile always loses." She held a paw to her mouth and giggled.

"Hey-y-y, I swear I've won once or twice," a familiar voice chimed in. Helioptile skipped up to us just as we reached Mincinno's side and gave everyone a toothy smile. "But enough about that, homies. I'm gonna go try out this new move!"

With that he was gone for good, off to challenge one of the other Pokemon in the gym.

"I'll have y'all know he has not beaten me," Mincinno boasted once Helioptile was out of earshot. He then slapped an ovular-shaped capsule in my hands and pointed at it. "This one's yours. Pop it open and let the dust settle over you, and you should gain access to a new move."

I stared at the expensive-looking object in my hands. "Okay, thanks… what move?"

"Go ahead and see for yourself," Mincinno said as he produced the final TM he'd bought. He snapped it in half while holding it over Vulpix's head, causing pink dust to trail out and cover her all over. She held in a sneeze when some of it trickled onto her nose.

"There," Mincinno said matter-of-factly. "Now that you know freeze dry, you don't need me to save you from pesky water-types."

The normal-type wore an innocent grin that spanned from cheek to cheek. Not for the first time today, Vulpix gave him an uninspired look. "Thanks, asshole."

Given that I'd never done this before, I supposed it wouldn't be a bad idea to just mimic them. Holding the TM over my head, I snapped it in two and allowed the dust to settle over me. Almost as soon as the particles made contact, my scales began to tingle, almost as if the circulation had been cut off. An unexpected ache manifested in my limbs and tail, uncomfortable enough to draw a sharp breath of protest out of me.

Then, the sensation faded away just as quickly as it had arrived, and suddenly, I felt no different than before.

"So, uh… what now?" I began, double-checking to see if the effect had disappeared by now. When I got funny looks in response, I gestured to the residual dust slowly fading away. "This mysterious new attack you won't tell me about… How do I use it?"

"I'm 'fraid nobody can answer that but yourself." Mincinno started, before pausing and rubbing his chin. Mincinno paced over to the opposite end of the battling arena we were standing in. As he walked, he waved at Vulpix to step out of the rectangle. "Sorry Vulpix, but Sage here's gonna be my appetizer this afternoon. You'll be my leftovers if you're up for it."

At this point, Vulpix was beyond rolling her eyes at him. She just exhaled and moved out of our way, muttering under her breath, "Why are you like this…?"

After stretching his limbs and jumping in place a few times, Mincinno slapped the ground in front of him and lashed his tail. "Try and hit me with your attack! Let's see what you got, human!"

I stared dumbly at him. "...Wh—how can I do that if I don't know what attack I learned?"

There truly was nothing about me that felt different than before. I stretched my arms, my legs, my tail. I looked myself over once, twice, three times. Nothing felt stronger. Nothing looked or felt different at all. Where did I even start?

Mincinno got out of his defensive stance and rubbed his chin. "Just… I dunno," he began before pausing again. "Just think about what gives you energy. Is there anything you know of that gives you lots of energy?"

Despite how silly this exercise was becoming, I paused to consider his question.

What gives me… energy?

"Uh well…" I shrugged. "Naturally, food gives me energy. And… sleep?"

Mincinno shook his head. "Lame. What about a person? Someone you know?"

"I mean…" I rubbed the back of my head. The answer he wanted from me was pretty obvious. "Leah?"

"D'aww, that's so wholesome!" Vulpix chimed from the sidelines.

Mincinno nodded his approval. "Okay, mate. Now think about Leah and focus on creating a ball of that positive energy." He punched the air. "Then lob that shit in my direction!"

I should think about Leah and then 'lob that shit in his direction'... Ookay…

This was easier said than done. I knew it had to be a ranged attack based on Mincinno's superfluous description, so I flexed my tail as though I were trying to use the only other ranged move I knew: leaf tornado.

To my surprise, something else actually appeared at the end of my tail—briefly, a handful of sparks formed! …Only to fizzle out just as quickly as they'd appeared.

"C'mon human!" Mincinno failed to contain a laugh at the lackluster results. "You can do better than that!"

I tuned out his banter by repeating the process. Again the results were unimpressive, albeit a bit more successful than the first attempt. And then again, and again, with no shortage of banter from Mincinno along the way.

My tail had begun to really ache by the twentieth try, and the rest of my body by the fortieth. By the time my attempts climbed above fifty, and with only marginally small improvements to show for it, I was about ready to call it quits.

Mincinno wasn't having any of it though.

"Hey, you aren't about to just give up!" He raised his voice up a notch, earning him some sideways looks from some of the other Pokemon working out in the gym. I'd barely made it over to my water canteen before he was practically in my ear. "You can't just try it a few times and then move on! You actually managed to focus that energy into a spherical shape and it's barely been an hour!"

"It's exhausting," I retorted between heavy swigs of water.

"Then right now—" Mincinno got unnecessarily close. "—is the time to push yourself. Y'ain't gonna get better until you exit your comfort zone."

"I-Isn't today supposed to be our day of rest? To prepare for…" I looked around warily. Our inevitable visit Showdown Mountain was confidential, no doubt, and had nearly escaped my train of thought. I had to be careful not to explicitly mention it in public. "…you know, our upcoming mission?"

"Like I said, you got a nap earlier, you're just fine!" Mincinno waved me off and walked back to his side of the rectangle. "Besides, that's exactly what we're doing right now: preparing. And if you can't hit my white furry ass with an energy ball from ten feet away, you ain't prepared."

Fueled by his words, I discarded the canteen and charged another energy ball on my tail. He made no attempt to move; perfect for me.

I was so initially focused onto Mincinno that I didn't even realize the energy ball grow to what I assumed was its full size. My tail almost immediately dropped to the floor as the ball of energy brought with it a hefty weight, one I was not expecting at all. I just barely got a good glance at what I'd produced before it exploded in my face.

"There you go!" Vulpix cheered from the sidelines.

Mincinno regarded me for a moment. "See, if you focus too much on your tail when you try to attack like that, you'll overthink it. You don't have the fundamentals of energy ball down yet; those will come gradually as you knock some heads with it."

He began to pace around me. "Instead, focus on me just like you did a second ago. Focus on your target and just do what you've been practicing for the past half-hour or so. That's what I did to master shock wave."

I frowned. "Isn't shock wave's accuracy supposed to be—"

"Tsk tsk," he interrupted. "Don't bore me with the details of my own technique. Instead, show me what you can do with yours."

Every nerve in my tail had been nearly exhausted, but the excitement of finally executing the attack was more than enough to drive me forward. All I had to do was get the stupid thing airborne!

The action almost felt like muscle memory by now, and in a mere second there was a heavy ball of energy resting upon my tail once more—the heaviness I'd anticipated this time. I lifted and curled back my tail to throw.

A smirking Mincinno beckoned me forward. He wasn't going to dodge.

I almost smirked right back at him. I'm gonna wipe that look clean off your face.

Pushing off with my left foot, I swung my tail around to the right and let the ball of energy loose. It instantly released from my grip and zipped through the air in exactly the way I intended, hurtling straight towards…

…the back wall.

I hadn't come within five feet of hitting him.

"Wow, you fuckin' suck!" Minconno doubled down to the ground in laughter.

I gave Vulpix a disconcerted look, who returned it with a look of sympathy.

I thought for a moment. As bad as that shot was, part of me still stood in awe of the speed and range that the energy ball had displayed. If I could just learn to aim it...

"Sorry, chief." Mincinno walked over and pat my shoulder. He rubbed the back of his head and, without much success, tried to free his voice of any amusement. "I don't have any fancy tricks to fix that god-awful aim. You'll just have to practice."

He walked over to his bag and began to drink from his canteen. Between sips he nonchalantly waved me off and said, "Take five."

No complaints there. I wasted no time making my way over to a nearby bench where I sat down, curled my tail over my lap and started messaging the areas of my body most tender.

The weight of the bench shifted, prompting me to glance up and notice Vulpix's sleek form settled down next to me. In her outstretched paw was an oran berry.

"Thank you." I tried to match her smile, but was too out of breath.

"Of course. You're doing really well."

"Am I though?" I raised an eyebrow and sighed. "I've never had this much trouble trying to use a move."

"Some attacks just aren't easy to master right away for some Pokemon," Vulpix reasoned. "Mincinno's exactly right about repetition, even though he may be…" she narrowed her eyes in his direction as he continued to marvel at how badly I'd missed him. "…a bit of an idiot sometimes."

"Look, I know I can fight well enough to explore some dungeons and save some Pokemon. But that's not… I mean, what I'm dealing with now is so much bigger than that. If I didn't have my scarf, I'd be dead."

"Sage," Vulpix started in a comforting tone. "Nobody expected you or Leah to stand a chance against a legendary Pokemon on your own, let alone one possessed by…" she paused for a moment, likely recollecting the vivid memories of a few days ago. "…whatever that thing was."

She turned back to look at me. "But that's why you have us, and the rest of the Society. That's why we're here in the first place, preparing. You don't have to do this al—"

"Alright, back to work!" Mincinno bellowed out of nowhere.

My eyes widened. "Hey, that wasn't five minutes!"

He just shrugged. "So?"

"I'm gonna tail slap you into a new pair of boots, snake!"

No sooner than Vulpix had motioned for us to start again had Mincinno already leapt toward me. Not the slow size-up move I'd been expecting, I planted with my left and spun to the right, narrowly escaping his tail slicing down. Already in close-quarters, I turned my tail's momentum into an attack. Whirled back around, planted, tried to strike the place he was at...

Mid-spin, something spun from the opposite direction, slammed into my cheek and sent me tumbling to the floor.

I wasn't sure which direction was which in the split second that followed, but I blindly lashed out with a vine anyway. My heart soared for a brief moment when I felt it make contact with something, but fell back down to earth when the tendril did not whip as intended.

Mincinno stared down at me, my vine gripped firmly in his paw. The fight was already over.

"That ain't it, chief," Mincinno said. I felt him release the vine, which I immediately retracted back into my shoulder. With a grunt, I glared up at him.

He looked bored.

I blinked. What just happened…?

He offered me a paw up, which I begrudgingly took. Then he took a step back and acted out what happened.

"Alright, here's the skinny… I know you like that spin move. I see you using it every chance you get. Problem is, you end up turning your back to your opponent mid-spin, who just has to place a well-timed swing to your noggin to knock you out. Against ferals you can get away with that crap 'cause they're dumber than rocks. Against a capable opponent… I wouldn't count on it."

I briefly glanced over at the others. Vulpix was busy wringing out the clump of hair on her head; thankfully she didn't seem too engrossed in our sparring, but was still paying attention enough to notice I'd gotten knocked down. Helioptile, on the other hand, had come back to watch us and was currently waving a towel, chanting 'no mercy!'

My cheeks flared. Being knocked on my face in front of my friends was not how I'd hoped this would go.

Something tapped the tip of my nose, hard. "Oi, you there?" Before I could react, Mincinno tapped my nose again, hard. He managed to do it a third time just as I moved out of reach.

I slapped away his intrusive paw. "H-hey—cut that out!"

He stopped and considered me for a long moment. "...Actually, I think that's the problem right there, human. You keep... dodging without ever striking back. You've groomed yourself to fight against ferals, who can't strategize worth a damn."

He began to pace around me. "Like, okay. Dodging their attacks is usually no trouble… but I'd hope you've realized by this point that I'm not some willy-nilly feral, and that I will most certainly whoop that green ass back to Serenade Village if you don't actually counter-attack at some point during this timeline."

He bopped my nose again with his paw, which officially sent me over the edge. The humiliation of being schooled was bad enough, but this was too much! He raised his paw to do it yet again, but I blocked it with a vine and forced it to the side. He raised his other paw, but I quickly snatched it with my other vine and yanked back. The normal-type lost his balance and fell face-first on the ground where I'd just gotten up from.

"It's called Serene Village," I hissed.

I quickly took a step back, half-expecting Mincinno to take that as an invitation to return fire.

Instead, he pushed himself up and clapped. With a nod of approval, he rubbed some dust off his face and stood up as though he'd never been knocked down. Nothing about him indicated he was embarrassed in the slightest.

"That's what I'm talking about, human! Maybe you ain't spineless after all… figuratively speaking." He popped his neck and grinned. "Now let's see you do it in battle."

He backpedaled away from me and, once a comfortable distance away, slapped the ground in front of him with both paws.

The lecture he'd just given me was fresh in my mind, and I knew he was too proud not to demonstrate what he had to teach. He would likely go for a counter-attack, and probably land it if I read him wrong.

Still, whether he was baiting me or not, I was too frustrated not to attack first this time.

I leapt forward. Expecting the block and counter-attack, I unsheathed a vine and swept low at his feet as I drew within range.

The vine cut into air as he just barely leapt above the slash, and my forward momentum compromised my balance for a split second. That was all he needed to stomp down on the vine and slam his tail into my midsection. I grunted and tried to pull away, but all of his weight on my vine made it impossible.

Another disorienting strike to the stomach knocked all the breath out of me, and yet another to my cheek nearly sent me to the ground. Out of panic for being struck a fourth time, I lashed out with my other vine. Again I struck nothing, but the weight on my vine disappeared as he was forced to dodge my flailing.

With a single gasp for air, I jumped forward and slammed into him before he could reorient himself, sending us both to the ground in a violent heap. He clawed and elbowed to release himself, all while I fought back to restrain him entirely. Several times he jabbed his elbow into my abdomen, each strike increasing in virtue as I tried to hold on.

In a last-resort effort, I stretched my vines all the way up to his neck and wrapped them around. He struggled even harder, but I slid my body under him where he couldn't quite reach me with his elbow.

I tensed both vines and pulled.

The ferocity of his struggling intensified the instant his breathing was cut off. He grunted in a tone of genuine panic, something I'd never heard from him before. He only lasted a few seconds before tapping my shoulder repeatedly—his forfeit.

"Ngh—fuckin' hell," Mincinno choked once I let go.

We both got up and rested for a long moment. He had his hands on his legs, breathing hard. Satisfaction filled up my chest with every heavy breath of my own.

"Not… bad, human. I'm real impressed," He punched my shoulder in a fashion not unlike how Leah often did. I shoved myself back up to face him, but he made no effort to assume a fighting stance. Instead, he crossed his arms and wore a small grin.

"What?" I asked him with crossed arms. "Why so impressed?"

"Don't get me wrong, your fundamentals still ain't anything perfect. That sure as hell ain't what I was impressed by."

His tone had grown serious, and he gave me the most genuine look he'd ever given me. "What caught my eye was how you responded. I've been deliberately testing your patience since we got here, and even when I really started to get to you, you still maintained your composure. When I berated you, I could tell you didn't like it… but nonetheless, you took it in stride and eventually ended up turning the tables. I knocked you on your ass and you got up and knocked me onto mine."

He began to massage his neck. "…Look, I think it goes without saying that you're going to be tested time and time again. And, well… I sure don't know why you're here in this world or being put through all this. But hey—maybe we might have a chance of surviving after all."

My tongue rested on the front of my teeth. I tried opening my mouth, but had nothing to say.

Thankfully, Helioptile didn't give me much of a chance to speak anyway. He bounded over and pat me on the back of the head with one of his floppy ears, sending a surge of electricity across my body and making me jump. "We're with you all the way, homie!"

Vulpix walked over to Mincinno and, after giving him the briefest of unaccommodating looks, turned and smiled cheek-to-cheek. "No matter what happens, Sage, you're one of us. You and Leah both. We'll always have your back—"

"Alright, y'all, enough," Mincinno groaned. "Let's not get too sappy in this sweathouse. I think it's 'bout time to head back." He pulled out his gadget to check the time. "Meh, it's not that late… we can make it back in time for a late dinner—eh? What's this?"

He tapped the screen a few times and turned up the volume. Helioptile, Vulpix and I crowded around him. "Chief left us a voicemail like half an hour ago. We must've not heard it ring while we were working out."

He tapped the screen, and the garbled mess that was Ampharos's voicemail began to play.

"Hello … are you all doing this afternoon? … report back to the headquarters … very important …"

"Where was he when he recorded this shit?" Mincinno grumbled. "Is he standin' in the middle of a hurricane?"

"Shhh!" Vulpix hissed.

" … still working out the details, I'm afraid … but one thing … made clear. The agents … been turned to stone."

As broken as the recording was, the intended message was crystal clear, and as predictable as this outcome was, it still drew the breath out of my lungs and sent a cold shiver from the bottom of my toes to the tip of my nose.

" … this has been your Chief … signing off. Stay safe everyone."

Mincinno shut off the gadget and shoved it into his bag. The ambient sounds of the gym echoed as the four of us stood there, unwilling to move. Nobody said a word.

Dammit, I tried to warn them! I tried!

I mentally facepalmed. Coming to the gym, learning a new attack, spending an off day with my friends… all of it had distracted me from the ongoing dilemma plaguing Lively Town. But now this news… and so soon too!

Things around here were beginning to fall apart.

"…Well, what should we do now?" Vulpix tentatively interrupted the ambience, breaking the silence among the four of us.

"We walk home and get plenty of sleep," Mincinno answered. His voice left no indication of fear, or surprise, or remote disturbance.

We all stared at him. It took him a second to notice, but when he did, he raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "…What? Did this actually surprise anyone? We…" he sighed. "…We knew this would happen."

"Maybe, but…" Vulpix trailed off.

"It's just really morbid, you feel me?" Helioptile bluntly finished for her.

Mincinno has gathered our things together and began walking towards the front of the facility, waving at us to follow. "You ain't wrong. But let's not pretend they didn't have it coming to 'em. Besides, that message didn't have a lot of details, so we'd best head back so we can get the whole scoop. What I'm more worried about is where the chief was when he recorded that shitty voicemail—"

He flung open the front doors, and he had his answer. The pouring rain from before had been an inconsequential drizzle compared to the monsoon that assaulted us before we even got a chance to fully step outside. The wind had picked up to an unprecedented strength, and under the street lamps I could see the rain falling near-horizontally from its influence.

We began to walk back through the elements (the gust was unfortunately working against us), with any drying off or grooming we'd done since entering the gym being violently erased.

Beneath the deafening gale, I just barely picked up the sound of Mincinno cursing savagely at nature.

A/N:

I'm alive.

...Well, I've said that once before, but it's even more applicable now than it was back then.

A lot has changed since I last uploaded. I'm a university student now, and academics and my SO are starting to occupy most of my time. But I'm not going to stop writing this book, and I certainly don't hope to ever take this long to release a chapter again.

Anyway, this chapter was meant to fulfill what I felt was the need for an "intermission" period of sorts, to slow down the plot a bit and give Sage an opportunity to be mentored and taught a new technique. The chapter was initially intended to be released quickly given the relative lack of plot progression (and a certain psychic-type cat) present, but... things didn't happen that way, unfortunately. I had actually experimented a bit with having Espurr come along to train, but it just didn't make any narrative sense and I ended up scrapping the idea.

I thought I'd mention that for some reason, FFN deleted my italics when I posted last chapter. I fixed the issue the next day, but by then a couple hundred people had already read it. Here's to hoping that doesn't happen again.

One more thing: I'm going to appropriately plug my one-shot here, since it's a crack spinoff of this story. Go read Cotangent if you haven't already. You can find it on my profile.

Finally, my gratitude goes out to Will_1231 for beta reading this chapter, and also to all those who are still here after seven months of radio silence on my end. I appreciate you.