"Wow. You're up early," Iris commented, glancing over her shoulder as she reached into the cupboard, easily finding the jar of coffee even without looking. She did narrowly avoid knocking a bag of rice off the shelf as she took it out, though.
"Yeah, well, things to do, places to be," Nate shrugged. He pulled on the other arm of his coat, heading for the stairs.
"Hey! You're not leaving already?" she called, hoping he'd actually stop.
He did, but it didn't look like he intended to remain there for long. "Yep. I need to check on something."
Check on something? That was… odd, but since he hadn't explained any further than that it was probably none of her business. "You have to at least eat something before you go."
"I'm not hungry." Right as he said that, his stomach made a loud growling noise, and he threw her a sheepish look. "Well… in theory."
"No. Breakfast," Iris commanded, pointing meaningfully at the table. "I'll put some toast in for you, okay?"
Nate sighed overdramatically. It looked like she'd won this round. "Fine, fine. Toast is good."
Feeling slightly relieved that he'd actually accepted the offer, she fished a loaf of bread out of one of the lower cupboards. It was still well within its best before date, so that was good. Iris placed the jar and bread on the counter and looked over at Nate. "Still not found a taste for coffee?"
He grimaced. "Nope. I prefer my water to not taste like mud."
She rolled her eyes. Iris couldn't imagine starting her day without a mug of coffee, but by now the caffeine probably didn't even have much of an effect; it was just a tradition Drayden had started. Granted, his coffee had always been a lot stronger than hers. He'd let her try it once when she was younger, and apparently she'd been practically bouncing off the walls afterwards. No wonder he'd kept it away from her after that.
Iris had only got as far as filling the kettle with water before a loud knocking sound echoed throughout the house. It was a familiar rhythm, and she knew who it was even before she glanced out the window. "Wow, she must have been really eager to pick up this thing if she's here this early." Giving a tap on the glass to get their attention, she twisted the latch on the window and pushed it open. "Come on in, Bianca; door's unlocked!"
The young professor gave an enthusiastic wave. "Okay!"
It might have seemed unsafe to leave her front door unlocked, but with the loud noise the handle made and how creaky the hinges were, it'd be impossible for someone to break in unnoticed, even if she was on the other side of the house. Besides, with friends who often made impromptu visits, it made letting them in a lot easier; she didn't have to walk all the way downstairs to open the door for them.
In typical Bianca style, she bounded up the stairs, narrowly avoiding tripping on the second-to-last one. "Hi Iris! Oh—Nate, you're here too! Hi!"
"Hey Bianca," Nate greeted, not with quite the blonde's level of enthusiasm as he lifted one hand in a wave. He was sat at the kitchen table now, reading something on his Xtransceiver.
To anyone else that would probably have been considered rude, but this was Bianca – and it was a great tactic for avoiding her borderline rib-crushing hugs, as Iris realised a few seconds too late.
"It feels like I haven't seen you in ages!" Bianca grinned, rocking her friend slightly in the hug. "How've you been?"
"I've been good. Great to see you again, Bianca," Iris wheezed, trying not to let the breath be squeezed out of her. This embrace was something she'd learnt to endure over the years. "You're here for the… robot, right?" It sounded like such an odd thing to say, she almost couldn't believe it made perfect sense.
"Well, yes," Bianca nodded, releasing her at last. "But I thought this would be a good chance to catch up too!"
"Sure," Iris said with a shrug and a smile. "Coffee? I'm about to put some toast in too, if you want some."
"Yes please!" Bianca beamed. As the gym leader returned to making the very simple breakfast, she plopped herself down onto one of the dining chairs across from Nate, swinging her bag underneath it where it was out of the way. "So, what brings you here today, Mister Champion?"
"Eh," he shrugged, looking up from the screen at last. It was too much of a long story that he likely didn't want to explain. "Just passing through, really. And… robots."
"I know, right? Aren't they cool?" she said enthusiastically, lightly banging her fists on the table. "I could barely believe it when we got sent that first one, but to think there's more…! How many do you think there are?"
"A few at least. There's the—oh… wait, you weren't…" His words faded off suddenly with a frown, as if he'd realised this was something she wouldn't know about.
"… The what?" Bianca threw him a quizzical look.
"Nothin', nothin'," Nate muttered, turning his attention back to his Xtransceiver. "I ain't thinking straight; it's, like, eight in the morning."
"This is why you need to get a taste for coffee," Bianca giggled. Nate simply rolled his eyes at the comment. She watched silently for a moment as he typed something on the screen. "Talking to Hugh?"
"Yup."
"When's the last time you went to see him?"
Nate raised an eyebrow at her question, but even so he had a brief thoughtful look on his face. "Like… a couple weeks ago. Why?"
"Dunno. You travel a lot, he probably misses you," she said with a smile.
"He helps out at the rescue centre, it's not as if he isn't busy," Nate shrugged, giving a half-hearted grin. "Anyway, you travel all over the place for your work, so complaining about me not seeing my boyfriend all the time is kinda rich."
"I kno-o-ow, and I feel bad about leaving poor Cherry all alone. Marking books seems really boring and he works hard at the trainers' school every day." She pouted. "My lab is in the same town as the gym though, so it's not like I'm away all the time."
"Well, we all know how much Cheren loves his work. Second only to his wife," Nate added when Bianca actually looked a little hurt; her expression instantly lightened. "It's not as if Hugh expects me to be around all the time. He's cool. Besides, this is the great future when we have the power of technology to communicate."
"Yeah, but it's not the same!" she sighed. "You can't hug people through messages."
"If Cheren misses your hugs, he must be made of steel."
Ryan decided to wait at the Pokémon Centre for a while the next morning, in the hopes that Jeremy would leave early and he wouldn't end up running into the man again. Fortunately his Pokémon weren't too restless; most of them had decided to just get some extra sleep, except for Mariana who watched the outside world as people begun to emerge out into the streets. She'd promised to let him know if she saw Jeremy, but the window wasn't facing the front of the centre, so Ryan doubted she would.
As he waited, Ryan studied the map to see where in Unova they had yet to go. There was the league, of course, but until he had his eighth gym badge there was no point in heading there. To the west of Opelucid was the Tubeline Bridge, and beyond that Icirrus City. They'd been unable to get there before due to Twist Mountain being blocked off, but there was nothing to stop them traveling there from this side. There was a smaller location marked slightly away from Icirrus on the map, too; a place called Dragonspiral Tower. Ryan didn't know what that was, though, and he had the feeling it was one of Unova's ancient places, like the Relic Castle.
"Are we going to challenge the gym leader again?" Mariana asked, keeping her voice low as to not wake the others.
"Not yet," Ryan responded equally as quietly. "Iris's Pokémon are… really strong." They could probably beat her with enough training, or if his Pokémon learnt some new moves, like Nate had suggested, but they weren't ready to rematch her just yet.
He wasn't sure he was ready for any battle after what had happened to his Pokémon in that gym.
"Just don't give up," the Samurott murmured. She must have noticed his worried expression. "Not on us, or… or on yourself either. I think we can do it. We weren't prepared for how strong she'd be."
Ryan was amazed to hear such confident words from her. Mariana really had come a long way since she first joined the team. "I won't give up," he promised.
She seemed pleased with his response, giving a happy nod, almost hitting the spear of her helmet against the window pane in the process. "If—when we beat the eighth gym leader… that means we'll be strong enough to face the champion, doesn't it?"
"I don't know," Ryan sighed. "It means we can face him. We'll be able to go to Victory Road." He could see it right at the top of the map, leading up to the Pokémon League. It was one of the first things he'd seen on their way to Unova, just a silhouette in the distance. That seemed like a lifetime ago now, after everything that had changed and all the things he now knew about his family. "I don't know if he'd even accept my challenge. I'm just a kid."
"Does that matter?" Mariana asked, tilting her head to one side. "I thought he seemed really nice. He wouldn't send you away for something like that, right?"
"Well, he refused a fight against Benga… that guy was kind of a jerk to Nate, though." It still felt like everything was too complicated for him to understand. Perhaps, for now, it was easier to just focus on one step at a time. He could worry about challenging the league if and when they acquired the final gym badge.
The forest was much too quiet. The sound of rustling leaves as they walked was made countless times louder by the stillness of everything around them, an unnerving silence that made the whole place seem barren and lifeless. This area was always considered one of the more eerie places in Unova, and travellers would stay away lest they get lost in the maze of a forest, but it had never seemed so abandoned before. Not even the skittering of a Venipede or the flap of a Tranquill's wings; just a foreboding silence hanging thickly in the air.
"Even coffee is starting to seem appealing," Nate muttered, but he didn't stop walking. He'd stayed at Iris's for a while, mostly listening to Bianca tell them stories of the Pokémon habitats she'd discovered recently, but as soon as the conversation turned to the robot thing she was there to collect, he made his escape. Not only because Bianca could chatter for an eternity; he didn't want either of them to find out about the thing here. Bi probably didn't think much of the issue she'd run into out in the forest here, and even though Cheren had sent a message to the gym leaders saying to keep people away from Lostlorn, he hadn't mentioned Nate. Iris probably wouldn't think there was any connection. She hadn't questioned him earlier, not when she first saw him about to leave or when he actually did.
Lucas only let out a quiet snort, ears twitching and tail waving uneasily back and forth as he padded after his trainer. Nate had realised from the last time they were here that the Lucario couldn't sense the robot, at least not from far away; it wasn't a living being, it didn't give off any kind of aura. He was out here for comfort, if anything. Even if Lucas couldn't communicate with words, he could understand what Nate was saying, so at least he had someone here to talk to. That made the atmosphere a lot more bearable.
"We'll keep our guard up this time," Nate said, his own words making him feel more determined. "If I let you get any more scars, Chief will be jealous."
The Lucario gave a small hum of amusement, but it quickly dissolved into a sigh. He hadn't even left a dent on that robotic monstrosity the last time they encountered it. Lucas could tell that his trainer wasn't nearly as confident as his words made him out to be, but that was often the case. His aura had a tendency to contrast with his behaviour.
"I'm sure we can find some way to shut it down. It's just a robot—like a big computer. Computers crash over the smallest things." Computers could only do what people told them to, as well. If there was someone controlling that thing, they had to be nearby. That would mean they'd been sitting around in the forest all this time, though, so if that big robot was abandoned out here – well, it'd be easier to get rid of if it couldn't fight back. "You sense any other people around?"
Lucas was still for a moment, the fur at the back of his neck flaring up. After a few seconds he shook his head.
Well, that was a positive. Although, if there had been anyone around the last time they were here, wouldn't Lucas have sensed them then?
The trees ahead soon thinned out; much sooner than they should have done.
"What…" Nate muttered, his sentence left unfinished. They couldn't be there already, right? It wasn't long since they'd passed the singed trees where Raisin had short-circuited the barrier. He was getting a bad feeling about this.
There it was. Between the trees, the glint of metal. It wasn't moving.
But the clearing had moved. Well, not moved, exactly – it had been extended. More trees had been slashed in half. The ground had been torn up in places. Leaves were seared with electricity.
Some of the earth was darkened with spots of blood. Pokémon blood.
"Dear Arceus…" Nate stared around at the clearing, feeling a little sick. No wonder the forest seemed abandoned. With something this dangerous here, no Pokémon would want to stick around.
As soon as he spoke, the eerie whirring noise started up. Metal groaned and shrieked and scraped together. Sharp limbs pierced the earth with a series of thuds. And one single light, the creature's left eye, flickered into life as the lens behind it spun.
This thing had been moving through the forest, maybe not in a perfect line, but it had taken out everything in its path, whether plant or wildlife. They couldn't leave it here to continue. Not only would it destroy the area, but when it was done with that, if it got out…
"We're taking this thing down. Now."
A ferocious digitalised roar echoed through the silence of the forest.
"Oh, wow…"
Ryan had noticed the chill in the air as he crossed the Tubeline Bridge, but had passed it off as being a draft from all the traffic passing by on the road underneath. As soon as he emerged from the gate on the far side, it was like stepping out into a completely different world. The water around the route was frozen over, and clumps of snow patterned the grass; a new layer was on its way, a few snowflakes already beginning to flutter down from the sky.
They'd only passed half of the route before the light snowstorm fully developed, painting the ground and trees white like a dusting of flour. As the next town appeared over the tops of the trees, the weather began to settle, but it left the most inviting-looking white blanket Ryan had ever seen. They didn't get a lot of snow at home, and when they did there wasn't a big open area anywhere nearby, but a place like this was perfect to play in…
Unable to resist, Ryan released the four of his Pokémon who didn't mind the cold. Jay chased snowflakes around the field, jumping up to catch them but seeming a little disappointed when he actually did and realised they just tasted like cold rainwater. Ryan wanted to show his friends how to make a snowman, and got as far as making snowballs before Charlotte threw one at him and a snowball fight commenced.
Smith was determined in his endeavour, eventually managing to make something vaguely resembling a snowman even with no help from Ryan, although some of the snow it was made of had turned slightly green. Mariana, instead of making one the traditional way, had tried to control the snow herself and mould it into a snowman that way, although it ended up looking more like a snow Grimer. She looked a little disappointed, but Smith assured her that the way she'd done it was really cool and that she should be proud of that.
"Well of course it's cool," Char grinned, and was immediately hit in the face by a snowball in her lapse of attention. Honestly, she'd deserved it for that pun.
By the time they reached Icirrus, Ryan was freezing and could barely feel his hands from the cold, but he had to admit that it had been the most fun he'd had in a while. He'd never had the chance to play out in the snow with friends before, at least not without it ending badly for him.
The city seemed rather quiet, other than a small group of people who were dancing in the street despite the cold weather. A windmill looked over the town from a small hill, but it was nothing compared to the looming shadow of Dragonspiral Tower in the distance, reaching into the sky and blocked out by the clouds in a way that made it look like a mirage.
Cliffs surrounded the city on one side with a couple of blocked-off entrances to Twist Mountain. Built into the side of the rocks was a fancy-looking structure that, according to the sign outside, had once been a Pokémon Gym owned by a man named Brycen, who had returned to his career in acting. Now the abandoned place had been transformed into a shelter for people and Pokémon.
The Pokémon Centre seemed like a more appealing place to Ryan, though, and he was more than ready to get out of the cold. It was starting to get late, anyway; perhaps they could explore tomorrow and hope it was warmer out.
"Fire blast!"
Champ let out a quiet growl as soon as she landed in the clearing; she could sense that this creature was bad, smell the aftermath of the destruction it had caused. The order confused her for nary a second; this was not a move she was used to using but one she could use. Flames leaked from the edges of her mouth as she reared up, roaring and sending a fierce shot of fire at the metal beast.
The flames hit. The blast exploded.
Good. Fire blast wasn't a particularly accurate move, but Nate trusted in his Pokémon – and they needed the power. Flare blitz would have been stronger, but Champ was an even bigger target than Lucas was; he didn't want to send her up close to that thing.
For a moment it was lost in the fire that swarmed around it. The metal of its body glowed a searing red. Something creaked angrily.
"That thing's gotta be—" Nate tried to take a step forward to see better but Lucas held a paw in front of him, insistently shaking his head. He didn't want his trainer to get hurt.
Champ hopped back and forth around the clearing, trying to work out what had happened to the victim of her attack. She sniffed at the vague smoky smell in the air. Her ears twitched at an odd crackling noise as she once again hopped to the side to try and see around all the steam.
She was knocked to the ground mid-jump by a bolt of electricity. The large dog yelped as she was thrown backwards.
"Champ!" Nate's worried gaze switched from his injured Pokémon to the creature that had attacked her; it was still standing, the red colour fading from its body. A cloud of steam emanated from its back with a loud hiss, soon dispersing.
It didn't even look damaged. What on earth was that thing made of!?
The robot's head turned, its one eye fixing on him.
Champ wasn't down for the count, though; she was injured, yes, but not horribly so. She let out a loud angry bark as she climbed back to her paws, fur ruffled and dusty in places. Immediately the metal creature turned its attention back on her, the spikes on its back crackling with electricity.
Seeing what was happening, Lucas sprang forward, holding his paws close together and forming an aura sphere between them. He flung the orb of energy at the creature's head. The attack stirred up a small cloud of dust, but it was nowhere near as bad as the last time he'd done that; a less powerful hit. It still made the electricity stop. That was the main thing.
It had done no damage, though; maybe made some of the cracks bigger on its shattered eye, but that was all. That wasn't going to stop it.
They needed to try something else. If force wouldn't work and fire couldn't burn it…
"Maybe we can… like, melt it?" He threw a helpless glance at the Lucario; Lucas responded with one of his looks that implied he had no idea what his trainer was talking about. "Poison jab? It's technically not a steel type…"
Noticing that the robot had turned its attention on them at the sound of the man's voice, Lucas gave a small nod and darted away across the clearing. The monster's eye remained locked on the Lucario, its limbs creaking as it stepped towards him. He barked something at Champ, something which Nate was unable to understand.
The Arcanine was returning to her energetic self as she recovered from being hit, tail even wagging a little. At the prompt, she hopped in place a few times before throwing back her head and letting out a howl.
The mechanical Pokémon roared in response, a much more broken sound. It turned back towards Champ.
It's going after whatever makes the most noise. Or movement? It had followed after Lucas before then. Useful information to know if it was right, sure, but it was going to end up attacking someone. And if they couldn't damage it in return…
While the robot had its attention on Champ, Lucas jumped, paws glowing with an eerie purple colour. He lashed out, the spikes on his arms screeching noisily against the monster's metal legs and sending a nasty-looking fluid splashing over its body.
Still no damage.
It turned, lashing out with its scythe-like arms. Lucas looked alarmed for a brief moment but this time he could see it coming and darted aside as the blade stabbed into the ground.
Instead of going after him again, though, it stayed. A quiet hum resonated from its body, soon giving way to a high-pitched noise. The metal rattled together.
"Oh, Arceus, what is it doing now…" Nate muttered, either speaking quiet enough that he didn't draw its attention or it was just too preoccupied.
Steam erupted from it again. The air crackled as if a firework had gone off.
A small explosion and flash of light burst a cloud of purple around the clearing.
It was using the poison from Lucas's attack. Dammit! If he'd known it could do that…
Hurriedly Nate covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve, definitely not wanting to breathe in any of the gas that was slowly spreading in all directions. "Champ, return!" Voice slightly muffled, he sent the Arcanine back to her Poké ball. Lucas would be okay out here; he was immune to poison.
The robot was charging its electricity again now; aiming for him. The purple mist around it jolted aside with every spark. But it was starting to settle around the clearing like a gloomy fog, and Nate couldn't send anyone else out with all this poisonous air around. What was he supposed to do!?
Lucas raced over, tugging at his trainer's arm and letting out an adamant cry, as if he were trying to pull him back.
"Alright… alright, fine." Perhaps retreating for now was in their best interest, until this poison fog dispersed. At least Nate knew not to do that again.
As they fled the area, leaving the robot behind, it let loose its attack; one of the trees at the edge of the clearing almost split in two from the force of the electricity.
Good thing they hadn't been hit by that.
"Well, that was… unfortunate," Nate grumbled, once he deemed them far enough away to be safe for now. He craned his neck to look back through the trees, but it was impossible to see the thing from here, only a slight purple haze in the distance. "It knew how to use the poison to its advantage. What a smart robot, huh?"
Lucas only growled quietly, ears twisting towards the direction they'd come from, listening out for if the monster followed them.
"It's okay, Lucas. It's too big to fit through the trees." He gently patted the Pokémon's head, getting nothing more than an ear twitch in response. Lucas wasn't going to be content unless he kept up his self-assigned role of a lookout, so he might as well leave him to it.
Instead, he released Champ from her Poké ball once more, to check that she was okay after that ordeal. Her eyes were bright as she hopped back and forth, excitable as ever; her fur may have been a little more ruffled than usual, but she was fine.
"Thing's dangerous," Nate muttered, holding out one hand. The Arcanine loyally pressed her muzzle against his palm. "I'm surprised it didn't melt under all that fire, let alone still function. You tried your best, Champ, that's what matters." Her tail wagged enthusiastically at the praise, and he couldn't help but smile. "We'll just have to find some other way to take down that giant evil robot."
What an odd thing to say.
As Champ went back to sniffing around the trees, either on the look for any danger or just searching for berries, Nate looked back over in the direction of the clearing. Or at least, he tried. As soon as he turned his head, the world suddenly tilted violently before his eyes. He reached out towards a nearby tree for balance but there was nothing to grab onto, and the next moment he was on the ground. A worried cry sounded from Lucas and Champ in unison.
"Ugh…" A little stunned, he managed to climb unsteadily back to his feet, leaning against the tree with one hand and holding the other one to the side of his head. "The heck was that…?"
Everything seemed fuzzy all of a sudden. If he tried to focus on one point everything spun. Sure, he'd had his moments before, but nothing quite as severe and sudden as this…
It couldn't be the poison. It couldn't be. If he'd inhaled any of that nasty stuff he'd be coughing up a lung right now.
Unless you didn't have to actually breathe in a poisonous gas to be affected by it… ugh.
"Crap… that's no—not good." He tried taking a deep breath but that only seemed to make the spinning worse. Nate barely even felt the paw Lucas placed on his arm as if to steady him. "Okay, it's… I'll be okay, Lu, I'm sure… it'll wear off…"
Lucas let out an adamant, borderline angry bark. Poison didn't just wear off, even for Pokémon, and they were a lot more resilient than humans were. He knew that, and he had a feeling his trainer did too.
"Ngh—" Dear Arceus, this felt awful; it had set in so quickly, too… Nate soon gave in with a shaky sigh. "Alright, fine, you win. Just—Lu, return for now."
He just about managed to send the Lucario back to his Poké ball, the most difficulty being in trying to clip the thing back to his belt afterwards. Champ was pacing around him, whimpering quietly, her concern clearly showing through.
"I don't think I'm walking anywhere," Nate groaned, as taking a single step made it feel like the earth was shaking beneath him, even with the tree for support. "C'mere, Champ. Need a lift…"
The Arcanine was at his side in an instant, shoulders lowered closer to the ground so he'd be able to climb into her back. Champ was a big dog; she was more than capable of carrying his weight.
As soon as she stood up to full height, it seemed like an awfully long way from the ground. The best he could do was cling to her mane and pray to Arceus he didn't get thrown off. In the back of his increasingly fogged mind he thought about the irony of the conversation he'd had with Bianca that morning. "Go, Champ… Driftveil… find Hugh…"
The room in the Pokémon Centre was blissfully warm compared to the outside world. Ryan checked the windows to make sure they were closed and wouldn't let any of the cold air in, but from the looks of things they'd been shut for a long time. Most of the glass had already started to fog up just from him being in the room.
Ryan's clothes were wet from the snow, so one of the first things he did was change, leaving the old stuff near the radiator so it'd dry faster. He was going to release his Pokémon, but as soon as he'd managed to unclip all the capsules, his Xtransceiver started ringing. Placing the Poké balls on the side table for now instead, Ryan looked at the screen.
Wow. Was it really that late already?
"Hello?" he greeted after tapping the answer button.
"Ah—hello, Ryan."
"Dad…" He'd expected it to be his mother. Especially after how their last call had ended. Ryan didn't really know what to say. "Um, hi. Are… you okay?"
"That's—oh, that's what I was going to ask you, I—yes? Ah…" N fell silent for a few moments. "How—how are you? Or, uh, where are you?"
"I'm good. And, Icirrus City," Ryan responded simply.
"Ah. Right."
N hesitated once more. Ryan tried to think of something he could bring up, a conversation topic, but while he was still thinking, his father spoke again.
"Ryan—I'm sorry. For not telling you about what happened— I probably should have, I didn't want you to know. I just, I didn't know what you'd think of me if I told you—what you think of me now you know, since you found out, especially since someone else told you and—"
"Dad, Dad, it's okay," Ryan cut in hurriedly. His father had a tendency to speak fast at times like these – one Ryan had too, but that didn't mean he'd be any better at working out what he was saying. "I understand why you didn't tell me. I forgive you, and… I'm sorry if I caused any trouble for you yesterday."
"I… I mean, I know you spoke to your mother yesterday and she told me you said that, but hearing it from you is—well, ah, it's a relief. Thank you, Ryan. It… it means a lot to me, that you would say that."
"Thanks—you're welcome." Ryan wasn't sure which one to say, but felt like he needed both. "I think… I'm glad I found out." If things had gone how they planned, and they'd only told him when he got home from his journey, it would have been a slap in the face anyway. It'd be easier on his parents, not trying to keep it a secret for longer when he was in a place where he could so easily find out on his own. "Can I ask you a question, though? Just one."
"Sure. I—I probably owe it to you by this point."
"Da-ad," Ryan groaned. "It wasn't your fault. You just didn't want me to be mad at you over it."
"Well… yeah, I… suppose so." N sighed, though at the same time it may have been a half-hearted laugh. "What was your question?"
"You don't still feel that way, right? That people and Pokémon should be separated?"
"No." The answer was a lot quicker than Ryan expected, and N sounded surer of himself than he had for this entire phone call. "No, I don't feel that way anymore. There are some people who don't deserve to be around Pokémon, sure, but so many others – Touko, an old friend, even you – you've shown me that people can treat them with respect, like the friends they are, even if that person is a trainer."
That was more like the father he knew. Ryan smiled. "Thanks, Dad. For changing your mind, and for letting me become a trainer. If you hadn't, I wouldn't have met so many of my friends."
"Things would be a lot different. I'm glad I did too."
"There you go, Tyrus. All clean. If you didn't decide to roll around in the litter you wouldn't need a bath every day."
The one-eyed Sneasel didn't seem to be listening to Hugh as the man released him from the fluffy towel, instead turning his head away with a huff and crossing his arms in such a way that it clearly showed his sharp claws.
Hugh simply rolled his eyes, making sure the door was firmly closed behind him as he left the room. He'd managed to avoid those claws today; he considered that an achievement.
Anthea was washing her hands in the kitchen and looked up as he returned, with a friendly yet teasing smile on her face. "Any mortal injuries today?"
"Nope! I've been spared," he joked. "At least until Tyrus decides again that he needs to smell bad enough to scare away his enemies."
She laughed at his joke, but it was followed by a sigh. "We really need to find some way to train him out of that before the infection in his eye comes back."
Hugh thought for a moment, trying to recall anything he might know that may work as a deterrent. Yet before he got the chance to answer, there was a loud sound of barking from outside, followed by a howl. They both glanced around at the noise, even though there was more than one wall between this room and the front of the house.
"That sounds like Champ," he realised, feeling hopeful that it was but also slightly concerned. Nate didn't usually show up out of the blue, not unless something was up.
"If Nate's here to see you, you're welcome to take the rest of the day off," Anthea offered. "I think you've earned it after dealing with Tyrus."
"Thanks, Anthea." Hugh flashed a grateful smile. Despite how much the two sisters teased him, he knew they really did care.
Champ was still barking as he made his way down the hall, though. That was more than enough to bring a frown to his face. Something wasn't right.
As he nearly flung the door back on its hinges, he just barely heard something past all the barking. "Enough, Champ… unwanted 'ttention…"
Nate was here. He was sat – slumped – on Champ's back, but slid off when the door opened. Despite landing properly, his legs instantly gave way beneath him, and Champ let out a surprised yelp as she hurriedly ducked down to catch him as he collapsed.
"Nate!" That definitely set the alarm bells ringing, and Hugh rushed over as fast as he could. "Are you okay?"
The man only let out a groan in response, face half-buried in the Arcanine's mane. She was the only thing stopping him from falling to the ground.
"C'mon, let me help you up," Hugh insisted, aware that his concern was showing through in his voice but unable to do anything about it. He offered a hand and, much to his relief, Nate actually reached out to take it. At least he was still aware of his surroundings.
Even though he seemed to be trying, though, Nate didn't have the strength to stand on his own. Hugh was very much holding him up, resorting to pulling one of Nate's arms over his shoulders in an effort to help him walk. "What on earth happened to you?"
It took Nate a long moment to reply, and when he finally did, his voice was weak. "Robot… poison…"
"What!?" What was that supposed to mean? He couldn't ask him to explain further; Nate was in a bad enough condition without having to try and speak, and judging by the weight on Hugh's shoulders, he was already unconscious. Slightly panicked and unsure of what to do, Hugh did the only thing he could; call for help. "Ah—Anthea!"
The urgency in his voice must have been heard, because it was only a matter of seconds before the pink-haired woman appeared in the doorway. One hand flying to her mouth in surprise, she hurried to them. "What happened?"
"I—I don't know, Champ brought him here, he just muttered something about… robot poison." Hugh gave her a helpless look.
Carefully, Anthea held a hand against Nate's forehead, attempting to get him to look up at her at the same time but he proved unresponsive. "Well… I could definitely believe that he's been poisoned by something. This happened to my brother more than once… I'm sure we have something that can help, but it might be better to get him to a hospital."
"Anthea, please, if you can help him—if he ended up there, I don't know how he'd react— I-I don't want him to go back to how he used to be." There was no hiding his worry, eyes wide with fear. "If you know what to do without their help…"
Anthea was silent for a long moment. She sighed, rubbing her head with the palm of her hand. "Okay… I understand. Let's get him inside." She took Nate's other arm to help carry him. "I can give him something for it. It won't be completely effective without knowing what kind of poison it is, but it should work well enough that he'll be able to tell us what happened."
"So he'll be okay?"
"He should be." Anthea nodded slowly, chewing her lip. "I just hope we're making the right decision."
