Hey y'all! Word count may not show it, but there's a LOT going on in this chapter. I kinda feel like I rushed parts of the second half because my laptop decided to almost die on me and I almost lost this entire story! Fortunately, the lappy's still kicking and I learned a valuable lesson about backing up files. Here's the chapter!
Hop stood facing Piers, tossing one of his Pokéballs up and down confidently in his left hand. The entire audience cheered and pounded against the chain link fence. The three of us roared along with them, although we were a bit more reserved than the rest of the Spikemuth crowd, many of whom were starting to remove their shirts and wave them above their heads like they were flags. Piers counted off the band again, and with another wall of heavy rock music, the battle began.
Hop was cool and collected the entire time, but Dubwool was bouncing off of every surface it could get on to, as per usual with Hop's battling. Its calculated strikes were not very strong, but its fluffy fur and control when rolling made it hard for Piers to cause any damage at all. It was a long time, but Wooloo managed to knock out two of Piers' party members before he finally knocked it out for good. Hop was hardly fazed, and instead called out his Snorlax, who was equally hard to knock out, even though it barely moved. Piers was soon whittled down to his final Pokémon, a violent and violet Toxtricity who leaped out from where the band was playing, and though it finally managed to knock Snorlax out with a horrifying-looking Sludge Bomb, it was too exhausted to continue fighting. Piers, knowing that Hop would easily clean up with whoever he sent out next, raised a hand in defeat and tossed Hop his badge. Victor and I cheered wildly, but we did notice that the crowd as a whole seemed to deflate a bit, as Piers was now 0-2 for the night. Still, Piers didn't seem to mind one bit; in fact, it seemed like he was having the time of his life. As Hop opened the door to leave, he hoisted a finger directly at Victor, who gulped but trotted out all the same.
"Brilliant moves with Dubwool, as always," I told Hop, rapping my knuckles against his as he beamed back at me.
"Gotta put my faith in my Pokémon, right?" he asked.
"It was pretty cool," Marnie admitted.
"Oh, wow, then I must have done a good job if you're congratulating me," Hop teased.
Marnie huffed and looked back to the arena as Victor took his place across from piers. "Don't get used to it, then," she said. "Piers ain't the battle prodigy of the family anyway."
"Tough words," Hop said. "Piers is still pretty strong though. I bet even you will have problems with him. Dark types tend to resist other dark types."
"I hope you're hungry, 'coz I'm gonna make you eat them words," Marnie laughed. Meanwhile, Victor and Piers were in the full swing of things. Victor's Butterfree was speeding over the arena, powder slipping gracefully off her wings while Piers' Scrafty, freshly healed up from its bout with me, flailed wildly and uselessly at it before slowly falling asleep from the powder. Butterfree went in for the attack, but at the last moment, Scrafty woke up and punched with all its might, sending the bug tumbling back to the ground.
"Tough break," I groaned. "COME ON VICTOR!" Victor looked back and quickly gave me a thumbs up, ordering Butterfree to attack again.
Hop, meanwhile, was still focused on Marnie. "Eat my words? You tryin' to make in interesting?"
"I might be," Marnie said slowly. "if Piers even had a chance at beatin' me anyway."
The crowd gasped, as if they heard the wager being made right next to me, but as we all turned to look at the arena, we saw that Butterfree had emerged victorious from its battle with Scrafty. "See?" Marnie asked. "If a Butterfree of all Pokémon can hold its own here, I could probably take him down with just one Pokémon."
"Now that I'd like to see," Hop joked. He turned back to watch the battle, but Marnie quickly opened her bag and began to rummage through it. After a couple moments, the audience roared again, and our attentions were again diverted to Victor's battle. Skuntank had come out and had managed to knock Butterfree out. He sent out his Slowpoke to take Butterfree's place.
"He tryin' to make that Slowpoke work again?" Marnie asked, squinting. Skuntank rushed to attack it, but Victor made a quick switch before the attack could land, sending out Arcanine in its place. Skuntank reared back in surprise and Arcanine took the opportunity to charge it, keeping low and to the ground like Flygon had when he was still a Vibrava, kicking up all sorts of dirt and dust. From the point-blank range, Skuntank never stood a chance, and crashed down to the ground and did not get up.
"Nice trick play!" Hop said. "Vic's gettin' too clever for his own good."
"I'll say," I agreed.
"It's a nice trick," Marnie admitted.
The rest of Victor's battle wasn't nearly as flashy as his sudden takedown of Skuntank. Piers was knocked down to his last Pokémon, Obstagoon again. I grimaced as it eventually knocked Arcanine out, but Victor called out Kubfu, who quickly made short work of the Pokémon with a well-placed Counterattack, hitting Obstagoon square in the jaw and sending it flying back to Piers, ending the battle decisively.
"Gloria, hold these," Marnie said suddenly, shoving four Pokéballs into my hands.
"Wha-what?" I asked. "Isn't this your whole team?"
"What's goin' on?" Hop asked.
Marnie held up one last Pokéball, a premier ball that was completely white rather than one half of it red. "One Pokémon. I'll win it with one," she said simply.
"You're bluffing," Hop said.
"Nope," Marnie said, smirking.
"Where'd you get that Pokéball?" I asked. "You can't just buy those at a shop."
"I guess you could say it was a gift," Marnie said, looking at me pointedly.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked. "What, do I have competition?"
Marnie leaned in and kissed my cheek, lingering long enough to whisper into my ear. "No, but you did have something to do with it." I made to question her, but she pulled away coyly. She nodded to her feet, where Morpeko was standing. Morpeko, understanding the gesture immediately, scurried up my legs and torso, coming to a rest on my shoulder.
"I won't be mad if you decided to take your whole team along," Hop snickered. "You'll need it."
"I won't," Marnie replied. And as she did, Victor appeared, happily showing off his Dark Badge. Marnie slipped behind him, patted him on the back, and strutted out to the center of the arena to meet her brother, tossing the single Premier ball lazily in her hand. Instantly, the audience hushed itself, but the minute the siblings squared off, their yells became deafening. Throughout the crowd, there was a battle of chants, from the rhythmic chanting of Marnie's name to short bursts of "Piers!" over and over in a slow and ominous way. The energy inside the arena was positively electric, so much that even Morpeko started sparking with excitement next to my ear.
"You gotta admit, she's pretty badass," Victor said, nudging Hop.
"I have never been so attracted to anyone else in my entire life," I said breathlessly.
"Which Pokémon d'you think she'll use?" Victor asked.
"Scrafty?" Hop suggested. "That's probably her ace, and he's a nightmare to beat."
I furrowed my brow. Scrafty was certainly the strongest of her Pokémon that I had battled, but she'd had it about as long as Morpeko, and definitely housed him in a regular Pokéball. Her words rattled in my head. I had something to do with this? What could that mean?
Piers tossed out his first Pokéball. Malamar was leading his party this time around. He watched the Premier ball in Marnie's hand warily, as if he knew exactly who she was about to send out. He didn't look that reproachfully at any of my Pokémon. The cheers grew to a volume that was too loud to even think straight, as Marnie caught the premier ball one last time, wound up, and threw the ball with all her might towards Malamar. There was a flash of light, and Grimmsnarl appeared with a terrifying roar.
Hop and I instinctively stepped back in shock. The last time I had seen Grimmsnarl, it had been lying on a bed in the Ballonlea Pokémon Center, and it didn't look nearly as terrifying in its far-weakened state. In fact, it stood, leaning forward and staring at Malamar hungrily behind its matted black hair. It swayed ever so slowly from side to side, letting its long, spindly arms swing freely from side to side.
"Foul Play!" Piers roared.
"False Surrender!" Marnie cried. Malamar sped towards its opponent, who instead of dodging, went down on its knees, as if bowing to a ruler. Malamar paused for just a brief moment, trying to get a read on Grimmsnarl's action, when Grimmsnarl whipped its head around violently. A long rope of its hair flew out like a whip, wrapping itself tightly around Malamar's body. Grimmsnarl stood up quickly and grabbed on to his hair, giving it a tug and catapulting Malamar straight into the fence 20 feet away. Malamar, dazed but still ready to fight, shook itself and charged at Grimmsnarl again.
"Spirit Break!" Marnie cried quickly, as Malamar crashed into Grimmsnarl. Before Malamar could leave, Grimmsnarl latched onto it and began to glow bright pink, in a similar aura to Rapidash's Dazzling Gleam. He gave Malamar a quick squeeze, which was accompanied by a brilliant flash of light that silenced the whole crowd. Once we could see again, Grimmsnarl had already let go of Malamar, who lay at his feet in a crumpled heap. Marnie's half of Team Yell burst into another rabid chanting of her name, but neither Marnie nor Grimmsnarl seemed to notice. They instead stood dead still and stared at Piers.
The rest of her battle went the exact same way. Piers' next two Pokémon that got close enough to Grimmsnarl were quickly subdued by a single Spirit Break attack. It was so bad, that even the half of Team Yell chanting Piers' name had joined the ones chanting for Marnie. Finally, Piers called out his final Pokémon, Toxtricity, and while Toxtricity could handle a Fairy-type attack, it was still overwhelmed by Grimmsnarl, who as of yet had only taken direct damage from Malamar's first strike. Soon enough, even Toxtricity was lying on the ground, unconscious.
Every soul in the area burst into cheers, including Hop, Victor and me. Marnie quickly spun around and waved at everyone, returned Grimmsnarl coolly to his Pokéball, and she sauntered back to the fence door. Team Yell moved in towards the door as well, so I was almost completely pressed against the chain link, but Morpeko wouldn't have it, and began firing warning bolts of electricity at anyone who came too close to us. Eventually, even the thickest of them got the idea, and gave us enough space so Marnie and Piers could exit.
"You," Marnie said to Hop. "I shoulda put some money on it. Don't doubt me next time."
"Yes," Hop said meekly.
"You," Marnie said, turning to me. "Let's get out of here."
"Yes," I said, instantly turning beet red. I felt my heart jump into my throat.
"Don't wait up," Marnie said to Victor and Hop, before grabbing my hand and dragging me towards the back of the arena. I followed as best as I could, but for some reason my legs had turned to jelly.
After leaving the stadium, Marnie immediately took a sharp right turn and led me down a darker street, down a path she no doubt had been using for years. Within just a few minutes of walking, we had weaved between so many buildings that even the cacophony of the arena was barely more than a hum. Marnie slowed down and turned back to me. I barely had time to stop before she threw herself on me.
"That was, that was a hell of a power play, right?" She finally asked, pulling apart from me just enough so the tips of our noses batted each other.
"I don't think I've ever seen you this giddy," I admitted, kissing her once more before she finally let go.
"Th-that battle was a long time comin', is all," Marnie stuttered, tensing up in defense.
I laughed and pulled her back to me. "I never said it was a bad thing." She giggled and I kissed her a third time.
"And holy, shit, I have eight badges!" Marnie said, her façade now completely broken. She began to hop up and down with excitement. Morpeko mirrored her, squeaking wildly.
"That's right!" I exclaimed. "You're the only one that's done it this year yet, too, right?"
"I didn't even think about tha'," she gasped. "Holy shit." She screamed in excitement and threw herself onto me again, kissing me and laughing all the while.
"So where are we going?" I asked after a few seconds. "As much as I love alley-snogging, this is hardly the most romantic place."
Marnie cleared her throat. "Oh, I, er, know a place."
I raised my eyebrows. "Can I come this time?" I asked cheekily.
Marnie smacked me on the arm. "Don't be crude. …But yeah. I mean, if you'd like."
"I think you'd know I'd like."
"Well, we're still just about there," Marnie continued, pointing to a rusty ladder that led to a fire escape going up the side of the building. It didn't look like it could hold both of our weights at once. "You don't have to; I can take you back to the Pokémon Center if you—"
"No," I said, grabbing her hand. "Let's go."
Slowly, we made our way up the fire escape, Morpeko skittering along ahead. Surprisingly, the ancient metal fixture held firm, not even groaning under our weights in the slightest. Curiously, what I thought was rust didn't seem to be rust either, just dirt. As we made our way, Marnie was explaining how she had first found this place, and how much I would like it. We hit the fourth of five platforms, nearly at the top, when she walked into a flash of dying sunlight. It hit her face at just the right angle, making her pale white skin glow ethereally. A soft breeze rustled her hair, down the hems of her dress, and down through my hair, and she looked back down to me and smiled warmly.
Gloria.
I blinked. Something fuzzy darted past my vision. I looked to my left and saw a piece of loose fuzz floating past me. I shook my head.
"You're sure you're alright, Gloria?"
"Huh?" I snapped my head back to see her looking at me with a tilted head. "No, I'm fine," I insisted. "Besides, it'd be quicker to the top than to go back down anyway. Let's go."
I followed her up the last set of steps to one final small ladder. She led the way up and helped me up the final rungs, pulling me by the hands onto the roof. As I did, I was hit with another soft gust of wind and the brilliant orange rays of the setting sun, which had fully broken through the clouds that had covered Spikemuth just a couple hours earlier. From our vantage point, I could see every inch of Spikemuth, from the (now open) front gate, to the labyrinth of narrow streets surrounding the arena, all sorts of low-rise apartment buildings and shops. Even further towards the water I could some newer looking buildings, loads of smaller businesses and even a couple fishing docks that could compare with the ones I saw out in Hulbury.
"I never knew Spikemuth was so beautiful," I exhaled, amazed.
"Weird, most people look the other way," Marnie said, but she was beaming with happiness all the same. "So, you like it?"
I grasped her hand tightly. "I love it." We looked at each other, drawing close again.
"Well, the other direction is pretty cool, too," Marnie said, nodding behind me. I turned around and saw Hammerlocke, in all its glory, almost towering over us. The black stone glistened like obsidian in the setting sun, and we could just make out the strange skeletal dragon figure, swooping down into the big jaws that comprised the southern entrance of the city. At its heart, we could see the giant gem of the power plant, pulsating brightly and steadily.
"I had no idea Spikemuth was so close to Hammerlocke," I said.
"We tend to fly by under the radar," Marnie admitted. Another gust of wind blew at us, stronger this time. I felt a shiver run down my spine and Marnie closed the gap between us. Her autumn scent was as strong as ever, but I could also feel some autumn in this wind as well. "Do you, er, want to watch the sunset?" Marnie asked awkwardly.
"Yes."
"Cool," she said, and led me to the edge of the building where there were a couple collapsible plastic chairs leaned up against the door that led down into the building proper. Morpeko was there, waiting expectantly for us.
"You…you didn't plan this, did you?" I asked, bemused.
Marnie blushed. "I, er, may have brought 'em up here before goin' up to meet you in Circhester." She gestured to them, and I snickered, pulling one out for the two of us. We set up the chairs next to each other and sat down, watching the sun lazily droop lower and lower into the skies as darkness slowly enveloped us. It started to get even colder, so I called out Bewear and Marnie called out Liepard, and the five of us snuggled up on the roof, forgoing the chairs entirely and just enjoying being together. I found myself wishing that the sun would stop moving and hold itself on us just a little longer, but even it slowly fell into darkness. Soon the only lights that were left were the nearby streetlights and the pulsating light of the Power plant all the way in Hammerlocke.
"So," Marnie said finally. "Spikemuth is okay?"
"Spikemuth is wonderful," I said. "I think I've found my favorite place in all of Galar."
"This place?" Marnie asked.
"It might just be you here with me," I admitted, tracing a finger across her arm. "But I'm sure I'd like it without you here, too. How'd you find this place anyway?" Marnie's face darkened a bit, and she looked back out towards the glow of Hammerlocke pensively. "It's okay," I coaxed, "I know you're not big on sharing—"
"My folks aren't around," she said suddenly, still looking straight ahead. "Died in a car crash when I was a kid."
I tilted my head up and grasped Marnie around the wrist. "Oh, Marnie, I'm so sorry," I whispered.
"S'fine," she grunted with a shrug. "I mean, it's not, well, I dunno how to explain it. It's weird."
"I know what you mean," I said. "My dad died when Vic and I were young, too. S'not quite the same, but…"
"It's close," Marnie sighed. "But not quite close enough. It's jus' Piers an' me now, and that's okay, but right after it happened, it was so…overwhelming. Family members, gym trainers, everyone who had anythin' to say, except it all boiled down to nothin'. You can only hear 'I'm so sorry for your loss' so many times 'fore you start to crack."
"Damn, and I just said—"
"Believe me, you get a pass," Marnie laughed. "But you're on thin ice, so watch yourself."
"I'll be on my best behavior," I promised, and slid my arm up around her shoulder, guiding her into an embrace as she continued her story.
"One day it was so bad I just ran," she said. "scampered out the house, far away from anyone as I could. I was only five at the time, so of course I got lost damn near immediately. Couldn't recognize anyone, and I soon remembered I couldn't call mum or dad to bail me out anymore…" I saw her eyes glass over for a moment, but she kept the tears in. "But I figured if I got high enough in the sky I could find my way home, so I saw that fire escape and, well, I climbed.
"You were lucky you came on a good night; it was stormy as all hell that night ten years ago. The rain broke about as soon as I got up here, lightnin' flashin' an' the whole bit. I tucked myself under a piece of roof, and just waited it out. Took forty minutes, maybe? But then the sun finally came out an' I saw that sun set over Hammerlocke, just like you did tonight. An' everything just felt okay for a sec. Like the sun an' that red gem were my parents, glowin' for me one last time, telling me I could make it just another day, and then another day, and so on. So, I finally calmed down, and soon enough, I heard Piers shoutin' for me, so I climbed down and ran to find him. An' now, every time things get overwhelmin', I come here to clear my head up a bit, recharge, stay away from people."
"Anyone else know about this?" I asked.
Marnie blushed and looked down. "You're…you're actually the first one I've shown it to." She glanced back up at me. Her eyes were wet, but she still was not crying. She looked deeply, hungrily, into my eyes as I met her gaze before faltering and looking away again with a dismissive laugh. "It's stupid, I know, but—"
"It's not stupid at all," I assured her, and guided her face back up so we were looking at each other again. She leaned in for a kiss, and I leaned in too. "But damn, I must be a real catch if you're goin' soft on me," I teased, leaning forward a little quicker than she'd expected, knocking her fondly with my forehead against hers.
"I mean, I wouldn't waste an Ultra Ball on you," Marnie fired back, not even missing a beat. "You're great ball levels, at best." But she nuzzled up to my neck, and I couldn't quite tell if it was her or Liepard that was purring.
"So, wait," I asked. "Piers just let you come back up here whenever you needed? At five?"
"Not, er, technically," Marnie replied. "But he's never been around much. He had only just become the gym leader, so he was always busy. I couldn't really hang around much at the gym when I didn't have a Pokémon, and you know how annoying Team Yell can be, so I just made myself scarce. Can't imagine my bro was happy about it, but what could he do? Actually, it's how I met Morpeko here."
"Really?" I asked. Morpeko, hearing her name, popped her head out of Bewear's ear and hopped over to Marnie's arms, nuzzling and sending tender sparks into her chest.
"Yeah," she cooed, scratching her around the ears. "My bro said that if I was gonna go around like an urchin, I might as well be safe. So, he lent me Morpeko, who was just brought to the gym, for me to take whenever I had to leave. Morpeko was really young too, so we did a lot of growin' up together. Only natural that when I was old enough to start trainin' at the gym, she was my partner. I wouldn't have it any other way."
We fell back into silence, as the sky turned to pitch. The wind picked up into a steady howl, but sheathed between a section of wall, a Liepard, and a Bewear, Marnie and I could hardly feel a thing. We just sat and watched the steady pulsing of the Hammerlocke Power Plant.
Gloria.
"What?" I asked.
"I didn't say anythin'," Marnie said, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.
"I must have…hm," I said, furrowing my brow and looking back to the sky. A particularly bright flash of the Power Plant lit the sky a little pinker than before, and I noticed for the first time that there were no stars in the sky tonight.
"Everythin' alright?" Marnie asked.
"Yeah, I just—I think I'm getting tired," I said. "It's been a long day. I should probably check into the Pokémon Center soon."
"The wind is pretty rough," Marnie said slowly, "an' my and Piers' apartment ain't that far away…"
"Are you…" I asked, and even in the second bright flash of the power plant, I could see that her face was hot and red. I didn't even finish my question before she pounced on me. She moved suddenly enough that Bewear and Liepard jumped back in shock. Marnie pushed me to the ground and held herself just inches above my face, and I saw a smile creep across her face until…
"Actually, maybe the Pokémon Center is a better option," came a dry but bemused voice. Marnie flew off of me as if Piers had pulled her off himself, but when I turned around, beet red to see Piers climbing over the guard rail, I knew that that was not the case. This only made Piers laugh. "I actually don't give a damn what you two do or where you do it, Arc knows I've done worse. Gloria, don't hurt her or I'll sic my Obstagoon on you, or whatever the overprotective sibling is supposed to say."
"How did you find us?" Marnie asked.
"Marn, I've known about you comin' to this place for years," Piers grinned. "B'sides, Gloria's friends were getting worried that she hadn't responded. I'm only doin' my best to care for all the parties involved." He looked back and groaned. "You're damned right I'm throwin' you under the bus, get up here!" As he said that, Hop and Victor sheepishly climbed up the ladder as well.
"How long have you—" Marnie started, her temper rising.
"Relax, sis, I'm not the type to loom in the shadows. We only just got here. But a storm's comin', and I know you don't answer your phone when you need to, so I thought I'd pop by and see if you christened the place yet. Looks like we staved that off for a few more days though, am I right boys?" Victor snickered but was immediately silenced by a glare from me.
"So now you're playin' dad, huh?" Marnie grumbled.
"Who knows, maybe I ought to settle down a bit," Piers sighed. "Actually, on that note, I had somethin' I wanted to ask you before you left the gym. Do you mind?" He jerked his head back over to where Marnie and I were sitting just moments ago. "Just a little gym-leader to gym challenger chat," he added, looking at me. "Then, she's all yours. Please. Get her out of my apartment, I was enjoying the quiet." The two walked over and began speaking in hushed tones, while Hop and Victor sidled up to me.
"Wow, Gloria, you're pinker than a Chansey," Victor jabbed.
"Shut up," I groaned. "You promise you lot just got here?"
"Yeah, Hop and I knew you were on a date, but Piers really had to talk to Marnie for some reason," Victor shrugged.
"What could be that important?" I asked, glancing over. I made eye contact with Marnie, who looked ever so slightly shaken from something Piers had said, and then leaned forward to say something back to him. There was another gust of wind that blew through the buildings around us, stronger than ever.
Gloria.
"What?" I called back. I recognized the voice now. "What do you want?"
"What's going on?" Victor said, turning to Hop, who was white as a sheet.
Gloria. Now is the time. You must come find us.
"H-hold on," Hop said shakily. "Find you where?"
"Hop, you can hear them?" I asked incredulously.
"I—I—I sure hope it's them, 'coz I'd hate to find out that there's some whole other psychosis I have to deal with," he said with a weak laugh.
The time is up! You must hurry! Hurry to us!
"Hurry where?" I asked nervously. "Where are you?"
"This is Zacian and Zamazenta shit, right? You're not just messing with me?" Victor asked.
Meet us where we first saw each other. That is where we rest.
"The weald?" Hop shouted as another gust of wind overtook us, blowing away nearly every syllable of his voice.
"That's, er, a bit of a walk, I don't think we'll be there any time soon!" I called back. I felt my stomach start to twist. There was a snap at my wrist, and just then, another pulsating light flashed heavenward from Hammerlocke.
"No…" Victor said quietly as the most recent gust died down, long headed out from the city of Spikemuth. "It can't be happening again."
"Oi!" Piers called. "Gettin' a little seedy right now, we better mosey!"
"We should—yeah, we should hit the Pokémon Center," Victor added.
"No time, we're close by," Piers grumbled. "I'm extending Marnie's invite to you two as well!" I glanced at Marnie. She had another perplexing expression on her face, as if waiting for me to decide what to do.
The Black Hand! The black hand rises! As Zacian's ghostly voice spoke, I felt a sharp pain drill into my temple. I screamed in surprise and clasped the side of my head. In an instant, Bewear was next to me, protecting me from another terrible blast of wind. As the stabbing pain briefly receded, I saw that Hop too was doubled over, more in shock than in pain. Come to us! Only we can stop the Black Hand! The voice rang out, harshly, shrilly, scolding us for our inaction.
"We—we can't just—" I groaned, but before I could even finish the thought, a burst of thunder shook the entire city to its core. Car alarms blared, a symphony of atonal horns pounding that was only matched by the sound of dozens of voices calling out in confusion. Another Dynamax Storm?
We are out of time! The sword and the shield! We must have our sword and shield!
"What?" Hop squeaked.
"Are they okay?" Piers asked Victor.
"It's a long story," Victor assured him. "We need to get—"
Another earsplitting blast from the skies sounded out. It was so loud that I could almost feel the sound waves as they crashed into my body, followed up by another powerful gust that threw all of us near the edge of the roof. I landed hard on my elbow and rolled to the crest of the building before I felt Bewear's paw clasp around my ankle.
"Hop!" I cried out.
"I'm here!" Hop groaned. He was right next to me, rubbing his wrist. "Zamazenta," he called out. "What do you need us to do! You have to tell us!"
Suddenly, everything went dead silent. The wind stopped, and the air, murky and dark red from the power plant, now pulsing vibrantly like the heartbeat of someone running a marathon, fell to a deadly calm. One by one the car alarms were shut off by owners, and when the last one disappeared, we were fully enveloped in silence. No one moved. No one spoke. After an agonizing ten seconds, I felt a warm breeze move between me and Hop.
It is too late.
"What?" Hop asked, but before Zacian or Zamazenta could give an answer, the Power Plant exploded into a fiery pink and red inferno. A massive beam of white-hot light shot out of the gem, and black clouds began to swirl wildly around it like black puffs of cotton candy, twisting in on each other until they obscured everything from the skies above.
"Rose," Piers gasped.
"He—he's really doing this?" Victor asked shakily.
It's too late! We must to Hammerlocke, Zacian repeated, and with a final warm breeze, I could feel her presence vanish, heading directly towards Hammerlocke. It was enough of a hint that I knew what I had to do. I looked at Marnie, who surprisingly looked as if she already knew what I was going to ask.
"You're not goin' anywhere without me, you hear?" She asked bravely.
"Marnie, I've been meaning to tell you something that sounds absolutely mad," I said slowly. "I don't exactly know how I can broach the subject, but—"
She put her finger on my lips. "You're not goin' anywhere without me," she repeated. Her fingers locked in mine, and she smiled.
"You're really goin' into all that, then?" Piers asked. "Delusional, the lot of you. Teenagers, always thinkin' they're invincible."
"I, for one, feel very vincible!" Victor screamed, glancing at Hop for some hope of helping talk us down from the wild plan formulating in our heads, but Hop just smiled.
"I…I heard Zamazenta. He spoke to me, clear as day," he said, looking at me. "He says we have to go. Who am I to say no?"
"A person with a brain cell?"
"Quiet, Piers," Marnie scolded. "I dunno about a Zamazenta or nothin', but Gloria would've gone no matter who was telling her what, right?"
I grinned awkwardly. "Well, you know me."
"Guess I do," Marnie said, kissing me. "We're taking the dragon, right?"
"The wha—oh! Flygon!" I cried.
"Dubwool definitely can't run as fast," Hop whined.
Victor sighed. "Arcanine can, come on then," he said with a resigned voice.
"Whatever," Piers said, hiding a smile. "Just try not to die. Someone needs to run my gym."
"I told you," Marnie sneered. "I can't run it because I'll be the champion."
I threw my Pokéball up into the sky, and Flygon appeared in a flash of light, ready to take on the world. "I usually save the stupid shit for Cinderace or Bewear," I admitted to him. "Think you're up for some stupid?" Flygon spun once in the air excitedly and dipped his neck down to the ground, already aware of what I wanted him to do. Marnie and I returned our other Pokémon to their Pokéballs and looked at Hop and Victor expectantly.
"You're definitely going to get there before us," Victor said. "Arcanine's fast, but not that fast."
"Hop," I said, turning to him. "Listen for Zamazenta. I'll follow Zacian. They'll lead us to where we need to be." Hop nodded solemnly and started to make his way back down the fire escape. Victor followed suit
"I don't know what that means, but I hope it's good!" Marnie shouted, clambering onto Flygon's neck.
"You never know, it could be our death we're being led to!" I shouted, following suit.
"I specifically said to not do that!" Piers yelled after us, but Flygon had already beat its powerful wings and shot us into the vibrant, dark red air and towards the pillar of light coming from the heart of Hammerlocke.
So yeah, that's why I needed Flygon. We gotta get back to Hammerlocke somehow! Anyway, as I said, lots going on here, so hope this'll keep you occupied for the week! See you next Friday when I finally just throw canon out the window entirely (it's a good thing, I promise).
NEXT WEEK: A CHAMPION TIME (AGAIN)