Dagda was stunned. Exactly who was this person? How much faith did they place in a child to depict him so grandly? He shook his head. This wasn't what he was looking for. There were no mentions of Halflings in this book. He had to tear himself away and continue looking.
The old woman sighed as she rose up, distracting Dagda from his trance. "Wait right there, Sweetie. I'll be right back." she said, and Dagda nodded absentmindedly. He closed the book, placing it back on the shelf where it was initially.
He glanced out of the window, noticing that night had fallen. He sighed. Perhaps he'd come back and visit tomorrow. He needed to eventually get some sleep, he needed to make sure he was well rested. And yet, he didn't feel worn out at all, despite spending all day slaving away searching.
The woman returned, smiling as she handed him a worn volume, the hard cover scratched and missing any form of cover. Dagda looked to it. "Since you found the Ransei stuff, I figured that you went a little too far back. This one's a little more recent." she said, and Dagda looked to the cover, reading the faint lettering.
Liberated Potential, authored by Colress Akuroma.
Dagda blinked, flipping through the book, wondering exactly what it was about. He soon found himself engrossed in the book, stopping to read a passage about Halflings.
'Halflings are fascinating' it read, Dagda finding that sentence alone enough to start reading. 'In my research, I have found that Halflings are normally superior to humans in many, if not all aspects. However, they suffer a great deal mentally, and sometimes physically, due to exactly what they are.'
'Halflings have urges and instincts relevant to their Pokemon heritage, and this can cause them problems in public. Places like Pinwheel, or in this place, Eterna Village, are necessary in that they provide a haven for these beings to learn how to control themselves. Hydreigon Halflings are prone to explosive outbursts, and they need a way to keep that in check.'
Dagda found this incredibly interesting. This person was taking detailed analysis of Halflings, even down to their personality ticks and urges. He flipped on, still trying to find that one thing, that one little nugget of knowledge that would satiate his ravenous hunger for more.
'Humans view themselves as superior to Pokemon, which is why the existence of Halflings is sometimes seen as wrong. I for one am neutral, if only for the pursuit of science. I was able to study quite a bit during my tenor as Sinnoh Champion. Infact, I was able to employ them, nurture them, and study them.' it read, confusing Dagda.
This man was the Champion of Sinnoh at one point? He didn't recall ever hearing his name before. He shook his head, continuing on.
'However, years later, how many I can't recall, all of the tension in the world vanished. That annoying demigod succeeded in striking Arceus down, and it made my research much, much easier.'
Dagda read that two, three, four more times. He didn't understand. Arceus was struck down? The deitic Pokemon that the previous book viewed as a corrupted being that sought world domination and martial law? If something like that ever happened, why was Galar not informed? Why wasn't he?
'The equality has made things all the more simple for me. I was able to do a lot of research, and conclude that Halflings are not a threat, as they have the same level of sentience, understanding and rational thought as me or you. To see Sinnoh treat them that bad was a disgrace, and I am glad that I was able to aid in the liberation of the region.'
This man of science was able to see that Halflings were no big deal, something that Dagda wanted to believe. If a man like him, a man of science whose job and life's work is to study, dissect and theorize, said that being Half Pokemon didn't devalue anyone, why didn't Galar follow suit?
'As I write this, that was decades ago. Now, I live in a world with Halflings living normally, like any other person. People learn about them, previously secluded Halflings are given a chance to interact with people, build relationships, better themselves.'
Where was this utopia that this man spoke of? How long ago did this ideal land, where all people and Pokemon, Halflings and all, could be together in peace? All Dagda knew was his house in Lumiose and the vile, almost dictatorship of Galar.
Dagda skimmed the rest of the book, learning of random tidbits about other Halflings, like that Halflings have preferences in location, food, or even their affinity with Pokemon. One he found rather amusing was that Sableye Halflings had a much stronger digestive system, allowing them to eat the same gemstones that their Pokemon halves did.
When he got to the end, he scoured the pages for a date, a publisher, something. He noticed slightly faded text in the corner, tilting the book to read it. When he did, his heart sank. This couldn't be right.
The worn book was barely over a hundred years old. This means, that even if the author meant nine when he said that decades had past, he still wasn't talking about that long ago. Dagda exhaled, handing the older woman the book and smiling.
"Thank you. You've done more than I could've asked." he said, and the woman chuckled, halfway through knitting a pair of purple gloves. "I hope you liked that last one. It's always a fun read for me." she said, and Dagda chuckled. Whoever this older woman was, she had quite the uplifting attitude. She glanced out of the window, seeing the dark sky. "If you would like, Sonny, you can use the spare bedroom to catch a lil' rest. Darn thing hasn't been used since I moved here." she said, and Dagda nodded, thanking her for her incredible kindness.
As he sat at the bar again, he shook his head. He looked to Fairy, who served him another drink that he couldn't ever remember when he woke up. "I don't get it. No matter how many decades the author spoke about, it doesn't add up. How can the rest of the world be on it's second century of public Halfling equality and peace and yet this hellhole has limited Pokemon and someone out to get Halflings?" he asked.
Fairy sighed, shaking his pink head. "I don't know. Perhaps you can figure out why." he said, and Evil laughed, slamming a green ball into a corner pocket. "Fuck that! Just change it! It's sickening to think about!" he shouted, his anger and venom normally directed at something sensible recently.
"I want to do something, but I can't just call out Chairman Rose or the Pokemon League's higher ups when I have no idea whose in charge. It could be the living members of the royal family for all I know." he said, and Evil slapped his forehead, growling.
"Fuck em all up! What kind of country still has a monarchy? Did you hear anything about a king or duke or anything in that Colress guy's book?" he asked, and Dagda blinked. He just noticed that he didn't. It was incredibly odd. "Evil might be right. I'm sure your ignorance comes from being inside so much. Perhaps your family was scared you might get hurt by a Halfling or something." Fairy said, and Dagda shook his head.
"Before I head to the Champion Cup, I'm going to visit home and talk to my Mom. I want to know why she kept me in the dark." he said, and both aspects of his subconscious nodded.
"I just… can't do anything big or stupid. I'm not strong, or stupid enough to challenge the powers that be, even with Pops on my side." he said, and Fairy nodded. "That's why you do what you can. If you become Champion, you can try to shift popular opinion yourself. Remember that Leon is like a superhero." he said, and Evil shook his head.
"If I was you, I'd attack now. Don't give whoever the chance to hurt another Halfling or innocent human again." he said, and Dagda nodded. He closed his eyes, exhaling as he realized that sooner or later, he was going to have to take the lead role on stage.
"Thank you again Ma'am. I learned so much from your collection." Dagda said the next morning, bowing to the woman who just smiled. She giggled, waving him off happily. "Oh please. I'm just glad to have a visitor. It's been rather lonely living in this little pocket of the city." she said, and Dagda chuckled. She sighed, shaking her head and looking to him.
"By the way, I knitted a pair of gloves and put them in your bag. If they aren't your taste or size, just give them to a friend or sibling or something." she said, and Dagda smiled. "I will. Thank you." he said, bowing deeply before departing. The woman watched him run off, rather glad to see that some people in this region still had a sense of honor.
Dagda entered Route six, finding the shift from the stony town to a desert like path rather amusing. He noted as well that there were a bunch of hills scattered about, even some with built in ladders. This place was a safety hazard, and Dagda assumed the ladders were put in to avoid young trainers having to see people who have fallen to their death.
Dagda felt a chill run down his spine at the thought. He hear loud noises up ahead, tilting his head as he continued to approach. He noticed as he did so, that he was feeling bolder, more confident than he did around a month ago when he started his journey. He liked the way it changed him, and he hoped that it would continue to help him grow into a stronger person.
He noticed a young trainer, a boy he couldn't be bothered to remember much about, being chased off, cradling an injured Eevee in his hands, tears in his eyes. Dagda frowned as he looked ahead, seeing, unsurprisingly, Team Yell up ahead.
Near them was a sleeping snake, an odd Pokemon that Dagda swore was called Silicobra. He walked forward, the same fat looking men accompanied by women in the same ridiculous getup and haircut. There was a larger group of them, and Dagda knew that this wouldn't be very pretty, at least for them.
"Hey Scarface! You better turn around and not even think about waking this little guy up!" one of the men shouted, the sleeping snake stirring lightly. Dagda shook his head. If anything, their obnoxious behavior would disturbed the snake's slumber, not his casual stride.
However, Dagda felt himself growing agitated, and nothing was keeping him calm. No thought was soothing his mind, washing away the storm forming in his brain. Not his friends, not his Pokemon, nothing. Team Yell was a trigger for some part of him, and he really wished he'd have never seen them again.
"Why don't you ugly fucks get out of my way?" he said, venom in his tone as they all began to surround him. He cast his lavender eye about the group, numbering three men and two women. "I will hurt every single one of you if you don't move." he said, a gravelly tone in his voice that he swore wasn't him.
As if on cue, his body erupted in light, his Pokeballs opening on their own as his Pokemon surrounded him, all enthused and goaded on by their trainer's anger, by the darkness radiating from him. Even Otis wasn't in his normal jovial, nagging mood.
"You asked for it Kid." one of the men said, and Ozzy barked, causing him to take a step back. "I will not warn you again. Either you move, or we will shred you like a bad costume." he said, his mouth remaining open, Dagda able to feel his upper canines pressing against his lower lip.
"Move aside." they heard, the group blinking and turning before forming a line on either side, Dagda beginning to calm down as he noticed the girl from the Inn. Her calm gaze, her confident aura, her attractive features. Even the chunky rodent at her side were all the same. This must be the infamous Marnie.
"You must be Marnie." Dagda said dryly, back in complete control, glad he could act through his mental instability. "Aye. I am. My mates here tell me yer quite tough, almost as much as ye are cheeky." she said, and Dagda chuckled, unable to hold back a smile at how adorable he found her accent.
"I'm actually more than a little tough. Care to find out?" he asked, and she rose a brow. Her minions immediately began to clamor to her, begging to not step onto the battlefield herself. She brushed them off, nodding to Dagda. "Aye. Me and you, right here, right now." she said, her chunky rodent coming forward, confident.
Dagda's Pokemon all looked to each other, as if debating who would go first. However, Ozzy barked, and Marko and Danzig nodded. The three stood by Dagda's side, watching as Otis stepped onto the battlefield for the first time since Turrfield Stadium.