27. Bouncing Bandits

Blue realized something while the wagon rolled on. Snoring was one thing, but snoring from a Hakamo-o was something else entirely.

Scales fell asleep an hour into the trip, right after the Bidoof told them about the Mewtwo. They took it well enough, like he expected. Blue still wasn't sure how they could be so relaxed about a mutated recreation of a legendary hunting them down, but considering everything that happened maybe he shouldn't have been surprised by that.

But still, the dragon's snores were loud and grating! The worst part was that he moved in his sleep! The bumpy ride that was the cart definitely wasn't helping. The clanging scales, shifting on wood, and his incessant snores were maddening. He could barely hear himself think! The Bidoof had his face down, paws over his ears, and yet it just kept digging in!

He looked up to see Rio and Pana playing with his chess set, badly, paws also covering their ears. They seemed to be much less bothered by their brother's incessant noise. Hell, they were even talking over it.

"Check?" Rio asked.

"WHAT?" Pana asked, uncovering one ear, wincing at the sound.

"I ASKED IF THAT WAS CHECK!"

"...I HATE THIS GAME."

It made sense. They probably grew up with this.

Still, how could ANY ONE POKEMON BE THIS LOUD?

He had to wake him. There was no other choice! He'd go mad if he didn't! Scales seemed pretty chill, maybe he wouldn't mind?

Blue lifted his paws from his ears, and almost immediately put them back. Arceus almighty, it felt like his head was gonna explode from the sound! Taking a deep breath, he uncovered his ears again and started moving towards the dragon. He heard Rio say something but the constant noise tuned him out.

Soon he reached Scales's head, rocking against the cart floor. His breath smelled like day old meat, revolting to his vegetarian palette, and berries. His snoring shook Blue's body along with the raddling cart, and the jangling scales were even worse close to the source. The Bidoof tapped one of his arms. No change. Of course. He'd seen him take a giant stone fist and not even flinch! He'd have to put more effort into waking him.

"Blue-" he heard Rio say, but the noise was still too loud. He tried tapping him harder, but still nothing. The Bidoof doubted he could impart enough force to seriously hurt him, he could barely push a large log on a good day, maybe a quick bite?

"Wait!" he heard Pana yell, but it was too late. Blue just bit the dragon on the shoulder with enough force to cut into a log. It didn't pierce Scales's thick hide of course, and he made sure to keep his tongue far away from the flesh. Blue saw his other arm rise up in response. That was a good sign.

Then his claws started flaring with purple energy.

That was the day Blue learned that Scales knew Sleep Talk.

The Bidoof just managed to release his bite when the Dragon Claw started to fall. He closed his eyes, ready for the agony that would have followed, but instead he felt himself being pushed out of the way. The violent sound of wood crunching followed.

When Blue opened his eyes, he found Pana next to him, her paws pushing into his side. For looking so soft they were very firm on touch. He looked back to where he was standing on the other side of the cart, and found that Scales had buried his claws into the floor. The wood splintered where his fist landed, now seemingly stuck. He still snored, but at least his scales were a little muffled.

"Yeah," Pana said, now audible. "Don't do that."

"...Noted…"

…

"By Entei's mane, there's a reason you're called Team Disaster!"

Artei seemed to take the slight damage to one of his carts well. His mane and tail burned with warm light in the night air. They had stopped in a clearing, the forest that surrounded them was quiet. The mountains were far behind them now, along with Wonder City. The rest of the Mudsdale had fallen asleep for the night, carts to the side and unattached. The hellhorse himself had laid down, magma hooves tucked under his large body. He was on Scales's level now, who sheepishly looked away.

"Sorry about that," Rio said. "He can't really help it."

"It's fine! Hell if I had a coin for every time I set something on fire when I was a tyke I'd be a rich mon! Just try not to let it happen again."

"Got it."

He turned to Scales, who was still looking away. "Now, I can't really force ya to do this, but could ya avoid sleeping in the cart? Be a real help on our ears."

"I'll try…" the dragon said, turning back to the caravan leader.

"All I ask. Now, go get yourselves something to eat. We've got another long day a travel ahead of us."

There was a decent spread out for the passengers a ways away from the carts. Rio guessed the horse Pokemon liked to keep to themselves at night. Or maybe just get away from the walking sound hazard that was Scales. Could have even been both. Scales was already drifting towards the barrels of fruit. No meat as far as Rio could tell, this service was run by horse Pokemon after all, so none of his favorite food. Still, the dragon wasn't known to be picky.

Pana stepped in front of him before he could inhale one of the barrels, glaring at the dragon.

"I already got us food," she said. "Don't you dare."

"But-" Scales tried to argue.

"I don't want you to eat everything. There are others here too, and we have to make this shit last. Now shut up and come on."

"Oh come-"

Pana gave Scales one of her death glares, shutting him up immediately. He followed her without another word. Rio stifled a snigger as he followed.

Blue was already sitting by, eating his own dinner. He looked glum, didn't need Aura sense to tell that much. Then again, he almost got his head bashed open by a sleeping dragon, so at least it wasn't worse. The three plates of food by him, one triple the size of the others, sat very appealing. It was pretty clear which was for Scales.

The dragon didn't hesitate, snatching his large plate of food and just shoveling food down his gullet. Rio took that time to grab his own plate and sit down.

"Thanks," he said to his sister, who nodded.

"Uh," Blue said, taking a breath. "Sorry about earlier. That was… a surprise."

"Shoulda warned ya sooner," Rio said, tossing a leppa berry into the air and catching it with his mouth. "Sorry about that."

"I probably shouldn't have tried to bite you in the first place," Blue said to Scales, who had already gotten through half his plate. "That was rude."

The dragon gulped down his mouthful before answering. "I've taken a lot worse."

"Kinda like how you were about to," Pana said under her breath. Blue shuttered a bit, but went back to eating.

They are in silence for a bit, Scales finishing off his food first. He tried to reach for one of his siblings stray berries, but they both slapped his claws away. Rio could feel Blue's apprehension, so he tried to distract him from it.

"What's Redwood like?" he asked. Blue seemed startled by the question.

"What?"

"You know, the town, what it looks like, anything interesting around it?"

"O-oh," he looked down for a bit, but he could feel his Aura light up with excitement and nostalgia.

"It's named after the Redwood trees that surround the place. Massive trees that shoot far into the sky. The forest is full of them, and there are plenty of small Dungeons hidden away. And then there's the town square-"

As Blue talked, he got more excited, more animated. Rio enjoyed feeling such an Aura come from the normally nervous Bidoof. Soon, the Riolu found himself closing his eyes, just listening to the Bidoof talk. At first, all he could really feel was his team's Auras and some of the other passengers a little ways away. They seemed annoyed by the chatter coming from the group, especially a kind of familiar Aura. An Alakazam maybe?

Then he could feel the Mudsdale, sleeping and at peace. Artei himself had just dozed off, and it was then that he noticed the hybrid had something weird about his Aura. It kind of felt like there were two of him.

He didn't have much time to ponder that though. That's when he felt two new Auras approach the carts. He could feel their intentions too. They were… less than noble. They were also an excuse to...stretch a little.

Rio finished his food, much to Scales's sadness. Blue was just finishing his thoughts on one of the more notable landmarks.

"And the evolution spring-" Rio felt Pana's Aura perk up, but he had already decided on what he was doing tonight. He stood up facing the carts.

"Sounds awesome," he said, absently tossing his plate in the air. As he lost focus, his Aura sense lost the range it gained, and it retreated to its pitiful few yards. Still, he knew they were there. "I'm gonna put this back. Don't wait up."

He walked off before anyone could stop him, putting his plate back near the barrels as he went. No one challenged him, and as he got closer he could feel the Auras once again. They were inside one of the carts, the Mudsdale attached to it sound asleep. Before Rio could get any closer two smallish figures darted out of the cart, carrying something. Thieves. Fun.

Rio made to quietly follow, not even bothering to summon a Bone Rush. It glowed, and he wanted to reveal himself on his own terms.

They walked for a while. Rio kept out of sight, easily keeping pace with the thieves' clumsy movements. They scrambled away from the camp for a time, and soon enough Rio could make out a small campfire. A little closer and he could feel more Auras. Then laughs.

The Riolu quickly jumped into a tree. He was nowhere near as quiet as Pana, but the sound coming from the party below muffled any noise he made.

The two thieves, a Morgrem and a Midnight Lycanroc, rocked up to the five sitting and eating by the fire. A Houndoom stoked the flames, and a plucked bird Pokemon sat on a spit roast. It smelled great. Rio could only hope it was feral.

"Anything good?" another one of the Pokemon, a Weavile, said, sitting a little farther away.

"Those carts are loaded!" The Morgrem said, dumping the bag of loot. Orbs, gold, dungeon items. There was even a gold sash in there! Rio whistled, but no one heard him.

"This is only some of that shit!" The Lycanroc said. "Pushers are out, riders didn't see us, we could clean them out easy!"

The bandits all cheered, and Rio made a note of the rest of the species sat by the fire. A Toxitricity with blue electricity strummed at his chest, a Marowak twirled his bone club, and the Rhydon that sat above them all let out a hardy laugh.

"Nice find!" the Rhydon said. "The boss will be pleased. After we eat, let's clean 'em out, shall we?"

Rio smiled. They looked like fun. Maybe he could have some too. Deciding to find out he jumped down right behind the two thieves with a thump. They all turned to look down at the Riolu, who simply stood there, smiling.

"That smells good," he said, pointing at the bird. "Mind if I have a piece?"

"Hows about you get the hell outta here? The Morgrem said, leering down at his shorter visitor. His tongue was out, flicking some spit in the Riolu's face. Now he was gonna enjoy what was about to happen even more.

"Hmmmm…" Rio said, pretending to consider, drinking in their emotions. Not a single piece of caution in there. A little disappointing, but whatever. It was their funerals.

"Nah. Tell you what though. I'll take these back, and you can keep the food." He thought he'd give them a chance. It was only fair.

They all laughed, and Rio shrugged. He did warn them. What happened next was on them.

"You're funny, kid," the Lycanroc said, reaching for his neck. The side where his scar was. That one lost him his staying awake privileges as Rio ducked under him and slammed a Force Palm into his stomach. The werewolf flew back, crashing, into a tree, breaking through it, and slamming into another. He slid to the ground, gasping for breath as he fell into unconsciousness.

He waited for the surprise to die down, flexing his healed arm. Yep, back to normal. He then raised it to catch the Morgrem's Slash. He felt terror sprout from his opponent's Aura, only now realizing how screwed he was.

Rio let his Aura burst around him, blowing the imp, the valuables, and the ground beneath him away. He quickly made his way out of the crater, where the rest of the bandits still sat, surprised. The Riolu simply stretched as he looked at them.

"You know," he said, another grin sprouting on his face. "If you leave, what is that, Farfetch'd? If you leave it there too long you'll ruin it. It burns real easy, you know."

"Kill him," the Rhydon said, standing. They all did. They were finally ready to take him seriously.

Good.

Rio jumped back, just avoiding the Weavile's Night Slash. With a foot pointing at her, the Riolu let another Burst loose. The dark-type was out before she even hit the tree, then the ground.

He sidestepped the Bonearang that came flying at him, along with a jet of fire. Deciding to fight bone with bone, he made another Bone Rush and shot it at the Houndoom. He heard a crunch, and the flames stopped as the hellhound crumpled.

The Bonearang almost hit him when it came back. Almost. He actually managed to snatch it out of the air, right before a bolt of lightning flew at him. He raised his own bone to block, the ground type move nullifying it.

Rio chucked his borrowed bone at the Toxitricity, who to his credit actually managed to dodge it. Unfortunately he didn't see the other bone shooting at him until it was far too late. It struck him in the chest. A loud, low strum filled the area as he too was sent flying back.

The Marowak picked up his bone, turned to glance at Rio, who was now sporting a toothy grin, eyes alight with blue energy, and promptly ran off into the woods. Honestly, the smartest move he'd seen out of these guys.

"Get back here Mac!" the Rhydon shouted after his ally. "I'll make sure the boss squashes you if you don't-" The towering Pokemon sighed, turning back to stare down the comparatively tiny dog.

"Well, ain't you hot shit?" the rhinoceros said, grabbing the roast bird's spit, pulling it off of the fire. "Well, you don't know who you're-"

"Is that feral?" Rio asked, pointing at the bird and cutting him off. It was really bothering him.

"...Yeah. Is that seriously the only thing you're worried about?"

"Well, if you're anything like your friends," Rio gestured around at the floored and groaning bandits. "Then yeah, it is. Wanna know if I have to make a grave, or if I can eat it after we're done here."

The Rhydon just stared at the much smaller Pokemon, before sticking the spit in the ground, grumbling. He glowered at the Riolu, his annoyed Aura burning against his mind. He was riled up, ready to stomp him flat.

Well, try and stomp him flat. The Riolu already knew how it would go. Despite how annoyed he made the Rhydon, despite the evidence that littered the forest floor, the relative giant still looked down on him. Figuratively and literally. Underestimated him. He could feel it.

And that really got under Rio's skin.

The Rhydon stomped towards him, stamping out the fire as he stomped over. The light from the campfire faded, but Rio's Aura still burned around him. He couldn't help it, and right now he didn't want to.

Soon they were glaring each other down, the larger rhinoceros looming over the two foot dog. Rio was not phased.

"You don't know who you just pissed off," the Rhydon said, raising a fist. "But the boss dosen't have to find out. Cuz you'll die right-"

Rio didn't even let him finish, blowing up point blank. The small but violent explosion ripped through the air, the ground, the treasures scattered near him, and most importantly, the Rhydon. The ground type knew what it was like to fly for a few seconds, crashing into the treeline soon after. Rio took a deep breath, and his writhing Aura faded. That was disappointing to say the least. Still, he got some free food after it, so not a total waste of time.

Rio tore a leg off the bird and took a bite. Yup. Farfetch'd. Scales would love it. As he took another bite, nudging the Morgrem out of the way with his foot, he grabbed all that he could salvage, it wasn't much, and the rest of the bird, and went back to the caravan.

Somehow, the myriad of explosions didn't wake the cart pushers, and Rio just sort of gently laid the stolen slag inside. It was almost like no one would know! And if they did they couldn't track it back to him! Probably.

Finishing off the duck leg, and cracking the bone, he walked back to his team. Blue was still talking when he got back, right up until he noticed what Rio was carrying.

"Where did you get that?" he asked, nervous.

Rio tossed the rest of the bird to Scales, who immediately started tearing into it. The jangling that followed only muffled his groans of bliss.

"Farfetch'd!" he said between gulps. "My favorite!"

"Found some guys in the woods," Rio explained, sitting back down. "Took it off their hands."

"Did they deserve it?" Pana asked, watching as Scales inhaled his new snack.

"Yup."

"...Do I want to ask?" Blue said out loud, more talking to himself than anything.

"Eh, it'll probably be fine." Rio waved it off, sitting down next to him.

And it was.

For a little, at least.

…

Psych was cautious of the strange Sableye that had popped out of the pink crystal that just sprouted from the ground. Who could blame it? Four of the five Pokemon that it had encountered had tried to kill it, as far as it could tell, and the Mewtwo would not be caught off guard by another. At least its ribs had healed at this point.

Griza seemed to be less concerned, walking up to the cave entrance calmly, only lightly shaking the cave around them. They were just about to set off, too…

"Hello!" its companion said in a sweet tone. "What do you want?"

"Yes, yes," the pink-eyed Sableye said, coughing. "Just a message for you two, Ms. Legacy."

"How do you know about that?" Griza's cheerful tone immediately turned to a growl. That got Psych's attention. What was a Legacy? Why did bringing it up anger Griza?

"Calm down bear," the Sableye said, raising his hands in surrender. "I'm one too, and my Legend has a message for both of you."

"Go on," Psych spoke out, now very curious.

"Go north. You'll find some clues there."

"I already know where I need to go," Griza said, still glowering at the smaller Pokemon. "Why should I listen to you?"

Psych nodded. The Bewear's logic was sound. She was dead set on leaving the continent, for whatever reason, and going with her was the best way to get away from his pursuers. Why would she change her course on the word of a strange Pokemon coming from nowhere?

"Three reasons," the Sableye said. "One, my queen has a plan, and this will be the best way to accomplish it. Two, it will help the mutant behind you on his own journey," he pointed at Psych, but before it could ask what it meant by that the Legacy continued.

"And three, that's where your 'honeypot' is going." He handed her a bundle of paper with words on it, a newspaper. It was still annoying that it knew what these objects were, but not how. As Griza finished reading, she turned to her companion, a smile sprouting on her face.

"Psych," Griza said, the sweetness coming back into her voice and turning slowly. "Slight change of plans."

The Mewtwo knew better than to argue.