"So, you're super sure we're still going to see the Coalition leaders?"
Isle looked up from the small wood carving she was working on. Callula had wrapped herself comfortably around the tree branch Isle was reclining on, and she stared with hopeful eyes.
"Yeah. Why? You afraid?"
"To go show our faces to the Pokémon that our organization took everything from? The organization that they must have realized you were a part of? The Pokémon that managed to defeat a mythic Pokémon before proceeding to single-handedly fight their way through a camp full of nothing but White Spine agents? The Pokémon that didn't even bother hiding after they did so because they apparently knew the White Spine would be too afraid of them to bother coming after them? The Pokémon that can keep up with the Forest Ghost and his legendary strength, who by the way is among their number as well?"
"...There was a mythic on the raid?"
"Yes, my dear. A Zapdos."
"I see your point," Isle admitted as she looked back down to her carving and began shaving at it again. "But what else can we do?"
"Here's an idea. Why don't we go find the Riolu? We at least know that she'll be receptive to working together."
"We won't find her faster than the White Spine. All we have is an assumption that she fled into the mountains, and searching for her would be a guaranteed way to fight more agents. Probably far more than we could handle, realistically."
"We could also just not bother looking for anyone," Callula offered. "It's been days, and we haven't seen any more agents. They could have given up on us like the Coalition leaders."
"You really think Giratina would ever let us get away? He might have other priorities right now, but he'll come for us eventually. We need allies, at the very least."
Callula sighed dramatically. "OK. I trust you. But will you at least let me talk to them first?"
"If you don't mind. It'll probably help our chances." Isle inspected the pitiful piece of wood in her claws. She may be adept at using her claws in battle, but it seemed using them for art was an entirely different skill. Isle tossed the butchered wood to her side and let it tumble to the ground far below before replacing it with an unmarred piece from her pack. "By the way, now that we've betrayed the organization, do you have any fun secrets you were privy to? Anything juicy?"
"All I know is the identity of a lot of the spies. It's thoroughly boring for the most part, I'm afraid. Come to think of it, though, do you remember the mishap you had in Astrosa? The Accelgor?"
"Oh, don't bring that up," Isle recoiled. "I had almost forgotten. Wait," Isle tensed up, the topic of their conversation occurring to her. "You don't mean—"
"That's right," Callula smirked. "Not only did you assault and nearly kill the wrong Accelgor in the crowded streets of the largest city on the continent, but that Accelgor was a White Spine spy. The worst incident of friendly fire in the organization's history."
Isle groaned, bringing a claw to her forehead gem. "How was I allowed to keep working? What a mess."
"You always were Giratina's favorite," Callula smiled, unwrapping herself from the branch to relax in a puddle of her stringy body and flowers. "I was surprised when I heard, you know. It's so unlike you to move without target conformation."
"I did get target confirmation!" Isle protested. "Or at least as much as you can really expect. We knew that the target was single-handedly organizing a significant amount of crime in the city, and we observed a dead drop as well as multiple clandestine meetings. I got the clear from Giratina, even."
Callula perked up. "He cleared it? But wouldn't he know who the spies were? And for that matter, couldn't he sense who precisely the dimensional threat was?"
"No, he doesn't know anything about the spies in general—only those of us with marks and those he learns of incidentally. Their management is left to the organization itself. As far as him identifying the targets, he can only do it sometimes. He explained it once, I think it had something to do with the complications of being trapped outside of our dimension."
"...So Giratina's able to pinpoint exactly who the target is, to the point that our spies are able to learn their secretive dealings, but when he's seeing the target directly he suddenly can't identify them?"
"What, you think he had me attack the wrong Pokémon on purpose? To get me in trouble or something?"
"No. He fought for you, and that was why you were still working afterwards. I'm saying we already know that Giratina was lying, but we don't know about how much. Maybe he didn't actually know which one was your target to begin with. Maybe the times that Giratina couldn't identify them for you was because they had no dimensional significance."
"...Oh."
"I mean... I think you may have—"
"I killed a lot of Pokémon that didn't need to die, is what you're saying."
"Not all of them were good Pokémon," Callula offered, concern overshadowing her expression. "The Accelgor target was a crime boss, for instance."
"And some of them were just perfectly normal," Isle said, pushing herself to her feet. "They had families, Callie."
"I—I know," Callula stuttered. "I'm sorry I brought it up."
Isle inspected the rough hunk of wood in her claws. It was entirely untouched; once Callula had brought up the Astrosa incident, she had completely forgotten about her woodworking practice. Despite a near-overpowering urge to discard it, she returned the wood to her pack.
"It's fine," Isle sighed. "Can we go?"
Callula reunited the circle her species was known for before silently floating upwards. As always, she took her place behind Isle crown and once she had settled in, Isle leapt across the branches and began traveling again. As she often did, she enjoyed the air rushing by her and the intoxicating feeling of freedom that still hadn't gotten old.
This time though, once the monotony of travel set in and the glee faded away, Isle was left with nothing but anger. She was furious at herself for overlooking the various inconsistencies in the years of her service, and the more she searched for them in her memories, the more glaring they became. Callula was right about it being suspicious that Giratina could somehow not identify a target that he himself was meant to have marked, but Isle had also accepted his vague explanation. She had accepted it at the time because he was master of dimensions and would obviously know better than her, but that was precisely why his answer didn't make sense. How could the master of dimensions be inhibited by them?
Isle had initially been convinced that she was masterfully fooled and only a single, fortunate circumstance saved her from Giratina's cult. But the more she thought, the more she was convinced of a different truth; she should have realized long ago. It seemed like a miracle the White Spine was even still functioning if everyone was being hoodwinked just as clumsily, but perhaps recruits were chosen for how susceptible to manipulation they were. Maybe Isle was targeted, deemed to be enough of a fool that she could be controlled.
She clenched her teeth. If she had put that together sooner, she wouldn't have let Pelbly live. He was borderline brainwashed, same as she had been, and for his idiocy he needed to die. So did she frankly, but she would at least put her effort into making up for it going forward. Like he said, Pelbly would get a new mark and be back as soon as he could. He might even bring backup.
A firm pressure behind her crown wrenched Isle out of her thoughts. Callula, however smally and weakly, was warmly hugging her skull. She must have sensed Isle's tension through her scalp.
Isle smiled under her mask. "Thanks, Callie. I'm OK."
In response, Callula hugged more strongly before releasing her grip. Although there was still anger within Isle, it was no longer overwhelming. Things were not hopeless; she had Callula, after all.
Far to the west and a few hours later, Luca was resting in front of a warm fire. Behind her was Dante's unconscious form, slowly healing from its grievous injury. In front of her, across the fire, her host Kai. As a rare treat, the Vulpix's eyes were locked on the fire instead of Luca herself.
"Could I ask about your name?" Kai asked, breaking the silence in the dark cave.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Luca said, looking up from the fire.
Kai's eyes finally left the fire, returning her blank stare to Luca. "You picked it when you came to this dimension, yes?"
"Yeah. Dante gave me a couple options to choose from."
"So, why did you choose it? He must have made you aware of the implications."
"I don't care about the implications. I either evolve or I don't—nothing I can do about it if no one knows why only some Riolu evolve."
Kai was silent, and Luca searched her face for any trace of emotion. Predictably, there was none; her Vulpix roommate was shockingly adept at hiding her intentions. Even more, for all the time she had spent with her, Luca hadn't once felt an Aura pulse from her. Whatever she felt, she never felt it strongly.
"Where did you hear that?" Kai finally asked.
"From Dante. And he learned it from the Explorer Coalition's archives."
"I see. It makes sense that academic notes would not be comfortable committing to a conclusion, but in the real world there is a commonly understood condition for evolution into a Lucario."
Luca perked up with surprise. "What is it?"
"It typically takes the form of an adage: 'there is no such thing as an evil Lucario'. It's an accurate observation; while most species of Pokémon have good and evil representation, Lucario are invariably good. My personal interpretation of this fact is that as soon as a Riolu has zero potential for evil and are sufficiently strong, they evolve—and only then."
"What does that mean? Potential for evil?"
"Just as it sounds. If it's possible for a Riolu to grow evil in the future, they'll never become a Lucario. Simple as that."
"How can—" Luca cut herself off. The rules were different in the Pokémon world, and she had to accept that something like that could be possible. "Never mind. Unfortunately, I'll probably live up to my namesake and never evolve, then. All humans have the capacity for evil, and I'm assuming I've kept my personality."
"You never know."
Luca returned her eyes to the fire. "I guess. How have you been enjoying paralysis-free life? It's been a few days now."
"It's quite delightful," Kai answered, once again without discernible emotion. "Though I'm still unable to attain my ultimate goal."
"Your ultimate goal?"
"Right. Are you familiar with how Vulpix evolve?"
Luca racked her memory. She knew that Vulpix evolved a single time to be Ninetales, but was it in a special way? "...Fire stone?" Luca guessed, hoping she wouldn't offend her host.
"Correct," Kai confirmed with a curt nod, to Luca's relief. "When it's time for a Vulpix to evolve, they instinctively become aware of the location of a fire stone—their fire stone. Only upon traveling to it may they evolve, but mine is off-continent."
"Off-continent...? Like underwater?"
"On a different land mass."
"And you can't work towards securing transportation?"
"I should have explained, the continents are essentially separate since ocean Pokémon are wild. Crossing the ocean involves finding a civil Pokémon willing to risk their life to transport and protect you for months on end. A perfect impossibility."
Luca considered the new information. Even knowing the likely conditions for her own evolution, she was no closer to evolving—and Kai found herself in a nearly identical situation. "Evolution can be complicated, even if you know exactly what has to happen," she concluded.
"Indeed."
An emotional pulse from the direction of the cave entrance caught Luca's attention. It felt like relief of having found the cave and seeing light inside, so she shifted in place to face it. "Looks like Sarin wants something," she said, notifying Kai. "At least, I hope it's Sarin."
As expected, an upset Budew urgently waddled into the cave soon after. "Hey, you saw the poster?" she gasped, stopping near the entrance.
Luca looked towards Kai, waiting for her answer. She was inspecting Sarin with her wide, brown eyes. Luca was beginning to realize that this meant she was thinking intensely, though it certainly didn't show in her expression. "...No," she finally said.
A pulse of surprise and bewilderment from Sarin. "Really?" she said disbelievingly as her confusion calmed her urgency. "Oh..."
"What poster?" Luca asked.
"Uh, there's a new poster up in town. It's offering 5000 Poké for information leading to the capture of two outlaws, a Riolu and a Charmeleon. It says to bring information to a Scizor staying at the inn."
"...That's not good," Luca admitted.
"You met with Kecleon," Kai noted. "He'll want the money."
"Agh," Luca moaned with frustration, "I mentioned you to him as well. He might suspect you're helping me."
"I don't think anyone knows where I live regardless. It should be fine to stay here for now, but I will stay vigilant about Pokémon searching the woods."
Luca sighed. "You think it's still OK to take walks?"
"As long as you venture away from town rather than towards it, you should be fine." Kai turned to her Budew friend. "Sarin, we can trust you to not sell Luca and Dante out, yes?"
"Oh," Sarin jumped, emanating a pulse of surprise. She was clearly not expecting to be addressed. "No, I'm—I'm good. I know you two aren't outlaws. By the way," she said, awkwardly changing the subject, "has he woken up yet?"
Luca turned around, looking over Dante's unconscious form by the fire. "He's woken up a few times, but he's been super delirious and in pain. I put food in front of him, he devours it, and then he goes back to sleep."
"Have you considered maybe traveling to another town?" Sarin asked, finally sitting. "The healer in Hollyhead is a jerk, but others are willing to work for charity, I think."
"We've already talked about it," Kai informed her. "Traveling would be hard on Dante, and once we arrived we wouldn't have anywhere covert to stay. It's less risky to wait for him to recover."
Sarin frowned. "Will he recover, though? I mean, it doesn't sound like he's getting any better."
"He'll be fine," Luca asserted.
"How do you know? Can you like... tell through his Aura or something?"
"No, not how it works. Or, wait," Luca backtracked. "I'm not entirely sure if that's how it works since I've never looked at the Aura of an injured Pokémon. But I'm not about to start now."
"Why not?" Kai asked.
"I don't know, I mean... looking at someone's Aura is a really invasive thing. I've never seen his before, and I'd like to at least have him awake to consent for it."
"Most Pokémon assume that Riolu and Lucario are constantly seeing their Aura, and as long as they don't share it with others, it's no problem," Kai informed her. "I'm sure that Dante is no different."
"Besides that, you've really never looked at his Aura?" Sarin added. "Aren't you two close?"
Luca shrugged. "It never came up."
"All the more reason to feel it now," Sarin pressed. "If he dies without you seeing it, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."
"Still not going to. Besides, he's not going to die."
Kai and Sarin shared a glance. "Fine," Sarin sighed. "Not my business. I get it."
"Was there anything else, Sarin?" Kai asked.
"Oh, uh, no. I just wanted to tell you about the poster. I can leave now, if you want."
Kai dismissed her with a nod. In response, Sarin awkwardly rose to her tiny feet and waddled out of the cave, into the darkness outside.
Luca waited until she was sure to be out of earshot before she spoke. "Do you suspect she might sell us out, with that question you asked?"
"Not especially."
"...Just making sure, then?"
"Call it a reminder."
"Ah." Luca took a moment to shift in place uncomfortably. "Do you agree with her? That Dante might die? From my understanding Pokémon are more sturdy than humans."
Kai's eyes flicked behind Luca to inspect him, taking a moment to run her brown eyes over his length. "Pokémon can die from dismemberment, but given that you staunched the blood flow quickly and that Dante is an evolved Pokémon, I'd say it's likely that he'll survive. Certainly, his odds are better staying hidden here than venturing out if the organization's influence is as far-reaching as you described."
"OK. I'm glad you think so."
Kai's blank eyes locked onto hers. "Luca, would you like to feel my Aura?"
"What?" Luca asked, surprised at the sudden offer. "Why?"
"I'm offering in case you'd like some extra reassurance that you can trust me. You have my consent, and I do not mind at all."
Luca opened her mouth to refuse, but her mind caught up and stopped her. It would be foolish to refuse in these circumstances, but more importantly she had to get used to seeing others' Aura. According to Dante's books, compared to a Lucario, the Aura abilities of a Riolu were clumsy and unformed at best. Among other improvements, rather than being mostly limited to touch, Lucario were able to read the Aura of every Pokémon in a wide radius, constantly and voraciously. Based on how difficult it was for her to parse a single Aura, reading multiple would be likely to entirely overwhelm her mind.
"I accept," Luca said, holding her paw out face up. "And I appreciate the gesture. Give me a paw, if you would."
Kai extended a paw and daintily placed it on Luca's, as if she were a noblewoman requesting a kiss upon it. In response, Luca closed her eyes and opened her Aura. As always, she saw the blue flame of herself within. Outside of herself, towards where Kai was reclining, Luca felt a foreign Aura pushing up against her consciousness.
Kai's Aura was a stark white and far denser than Luca had ever seen before. It seemed to take the form of some sort of light or radiance like Isle's, but where Isle's Aura had been gentle, Kai's was sharp. So sharp in fact, that it was far and away the most defining feature of her as a Pokémon. Also unlike Isle's, despite its appearance of light beams, it was entirely static. It hung inside her, still and uncompromising, challenging Luca to dare look upon it. She obliged.
Looking deeper, Luca could feel an anger soaked deep in the Vulpix's bones. It was a righteous kind of anger, focused exclusively on selfish and evil Pokémon like the healer that indirectly killed so many injured Pokémon. It consumed her, fueling the sharpness of her Aura, but it was slightly tapered by an even stronger conviction: honesty. Luca felt sure—Kai would forsake every other part of herself in order to honor her word, and in order to not lie. Finally, even deeper, Luca noted that Kai had a certain emptiness within; a longing of sorts, able to be filled by the presence of a special Pokémon. Loneliness, in its purest form.
Luca exhaled, and the meditation ceased. She had looked far too deep, and was crossing the line into betraying Kai's trust. "Sorry, I uh... got really into it."
"It's fine. What did you see?"
"Oh, you want me to share?" Luca asked, surprised.
"If you don't mind. It's not often one gets the opportunity to hear about one's true self."
"Yeah, but... are you sure? I didn't see anything objectively bad, but hearing about yourself can be really difficult."
"I'd rather know. In fact, I'd rather you be completely honest about what you saw."
"OK, OK," she said, relenting. "Your Aura takes the form of a pure white light that I'd describe as sharp. You care immensely about morals, and have a lot of anger directed at bad Pokémon. Most important to you is keeping to your word. Now, are you sure you want the last one? It was what made me realize I should probably stop delving."
Kai nodded reservedly, never breaking eye contact.
"You're lonely, deep down. I don't know if you're aware of it, but it's a terrible emptiness. I can't imagine it's good for you."
A rare glimmer of emotion entered Kai's eyes. For a moment, she appeared amused. "Are you saying I need to find a mate?"
Luca hesitated. It was a strange use of the word 'mate'—perhaps it was this world's word for a romantic or sexual relationship? During her time with the Explorer Coalition, she was never taught anything about Pokémon relationships, sex, or reproduction outside of knowing that all Pokémon hatch from eggs. She felt sure that would be an embarrassment sometime in the future, but she could deal with that later.
"No, not necessarily," Luca finally responded. "Just someone you're close to, I guess. Assuming mate means what I think it does. Soulmate would be a good word for what you need."
"Interesting. Not what I expected, I must confess."
Luca shrugged. "Hope it wasn't hard to hear."
"No, I'm glad you shared. Thank you." Kai stood, turning towards the dark cave entrance. "But as you can imagine, I'd like to time to think about what I heard. I'll be back later tonight."
"Oh, OK. Have a good walk," Luca called as Kai disappeared into the darkness before summoning her mote of flame and continuing.
Turning back, Luca ran a paw over Dante's flank. His scales radiated warmth as always, and she moved her paw onto his forehead. A human would likely be burning up with fever in his injured condition, but if fire-types' body temperature increased in the same way, Luca couldn't detect it; it just all felt hot.
Against her will, Luca's mind wandered to Dante's missing arm. The image of exposed bone and flesh underneath his bandage forced its way into her mind and she instantly recoiled, pulling herself away from the resting Charmeleon. In an instant, her stomach lurched and she felt sick. Even just thinking of it made her shudder; it was a relief that she didn't have to clean his wounds, as she might not have been able to do it with how squeamish she apparently was. She may have been perfectly fine fighting, but as soon as any serious injury or disfigurement occurred, it proved to be far too much for her.
Forcing herself to move on from the brief sickness, Luca leaned back onto Dante's flank and tried to relax. Any day now he would wake up and be fine, and then they could travel to his family and finally—finally—be done with their journey. Ideally it would be soon: if he didn't wake up within the next week or so, they would run out of Kecleon's food and have to figure something out.
Elyan stretched against the soft linens of his bed and clacked his pincers once with a loud snap. Light filtering in through the glass window told him that he had slept through the night, and a strange, unfamiliar restfulness told him he had somehow managed to have a dreamless sleep.
He sat up and took visual stock of his belongings. His small hip-pouch was laying on the wooden floor near the door of the unfamiliar room, forgotten. His arrival in the dead of night was one racked by exhaustion, and he hadn't given the slightest thought to where he put it. Thankfully, he had managed to at least place the key to his room in plain view on the sole table of the room—and more importantly, he had put up the poster on the town bulletin board. Now, there was at least a chance for Pokémon to know what he was talking about when he approached them.
Elyan finally stood and stretched once again before moving to his hip pouch. He bent down, retrieving a claw-ful of coins before leaving his pouch where it was and plucking the key from the table. Then he pushed against the thick wooden door, exiting his room.
A brief check told him the hallway was empty, so he clamped his pincer over the metal handle of the door and pulled it closed behind him. The metal key was equipped with a small hole for use with a key ring, so he used it to hold the key with the very tips of his pincer and pushed it into the keyhole. A moment later his door was locked, and his belongings were secure. Elyan raised his pincer above his head and allowed both the key and the coins to fall into it, safe in its depths. Finally, he moved down the hallway.
When the hallway opened up into a room, Elyan looked left. At the desk, he was surprised to see that the kindly old Duskull innkeeper that had checked him in the previous night was still floating behind the large wooden counter.
"Morning, Scizor..." the Duskull droned, her single eye-light shifting at Elyan's appearance. "Or perhaps I should say 'afternoooon'..."
"Didn't realize I slept that long," Elyan said, forcing his eyes to smile. "Have you been working all this time?"
"I'm always working..." the Duskull explained. "Ghost-types hardly need tooo sleep... It's why my inn is so successful..."
"I can certainly tell. I was quite surprised to have not only glass windows, but a locked room. You must have been in business a long time to save up enough."
"A long time indeed..." the Duskull said, bowing in acknowledgement. "Longer than the town itself has been here, anyway..."
"Impressive. But now, onto business; have you seen a Riolu or a Charmeleon recently? Strangers, only recently coming into town?"
"Why?" The question was unchallenging, purely the result of a tendency to ask questions and a desire to understand. A common habit for innkeepers, in Elyan's experience.
"They're outlaws."
"Yooou are a bounty hunter...?"
"That's right," Elyan lied.
"I see... No, they did not rent a roooom from me—nor have I seen them..."
"Is there another place in town a desperate Pokémon might be able to find living space?"
"None here wooould offer space; they wooould send them here... Unless, of cooourse, they were knowingly hiding an outlaw... If they are here in town, this is what yooou are dealing with..."
"Interesting insights, thank you."
"I have one more... As I am the only inn here, Kecleon is the only shop... If they needed supplies, as outlaws often dooo, they cooould only have gotten them from him..."
"A solid lead, then. Thank you once again, Duskull. I'll be sure to return for more wisdom should Kecleon be less helpful."
The Duskull shifted, her eye-light now visible from her other empty socket. It came across as cute, somehow. "Yooou are very welcome, dear... Yours is very noooble profession, and I hope yooou are able tooo find your quarry... Farewell..."
Elyan nodded his goodbye and moved towards the empty doorway, out into the afternoon light.
Once he was outside, Elyan looked up. The sun was obscured by thin clouds and thick foliage, giving the day a strangely lazy feeling. Despite this, the town was alive with a wide variety of Pokémon moving every which way, going about their business. Elyan wouldn't have to search for the Kecleon's shop; there was a very clear flow of Pokémon with empty bags, headed towards what he was told was the only shop in town. He joined them, doing his best to act as a normal citizen of Hollyhead.
Once he arrived at the large stall, Elyan found himself contending with a long line of shoppers; for all his stock, there was only one Kecleon for the whole of Hollyhead. It would be a long wait, and he found himself wondering if it would be fine to simply approach directly, circumventing the line. He was meant to be a bounty hunter on a mission, and therefore he should have the authority to skip the line.
Then again, he wasn't just there for bounty business; he did have to buy some food for his stay. It felt safer to just wait, so he fell in line behind a particularly antsy Darmanitan.
First ten minutes passed, then twenty, then thirty. The customers were leaving satisfied, and Elyan was slowly moving forward, but each and every one had huge shopping lists that Kecleon had to collect from his shelves. It was shaping up to be an even longer wait than he expected.
Elyan shifted in place. It was busy and loud around him; the citizens in the line were all talking amongst themselves, even shuffling their order in line to chat with their friends. He had been ignoring the idle chat, but overhearing the word 'Scizor' in the sea of noise caught his attention. He began listening in.
"He must be!" a Sunkern behind him whispered excitedly, clearly audible beneath the surrounding conversation. "I mean there's no Scizors that live here, and the poster said to find one."
"I don't know," a Tangela whispered back, equally ignorant of just how audible she was. "Isn't there a Scyther that works in the fields? He could have evolved."
"No, he's up on the roof over there. This one must be the bounty hunter."
Elyan strained his eyes to look at the roofs surrounding him without turning his head. As the Sunkern said, a Scyther was reclining up there, visibly enjoying the sun. It seemed quite enjoyable up there; perhaps he would follow the example in the future if it was acceptable to climb onto stranger's rooftops.
"...Why is he up there?" the Tangela asked after similarly taking a moment to locate him. "It's midday, so shouldn't he be at the fields? Is he shirking?"
The Scyther shifted in place and called down towards the grass-types, not remotely bothering to quiet his voice. "They only need me for harvest," he said, audibly enjoying surprising the two gossipers. "And just in case it doesn't occur to you ladies, if I can hear you from up here, our bounty hunter friend has been listening to your entire conversation. Unless, of course, evolving has slowed his ears along with the rest of him."
Elyan cursed the Scyther silently. Now he was forced to interact with them—though perhaps it could work in his favor.
"You caught me," Elyan said, turning to look up at the Scyther as he forced his voice to sound as good-natured as it'd let him. "Though I don't necessarily appreciate the snide comment about my evolution." Elyan turned, looking down to the stunned grass-types before he continued. "And yes, I am the bounty hunter from the poster. Pleasure to meet you."
"Whoa..." the Sunkern gasped with genuine wonder. "You're always listening, just in case someone gives away information that will help your catch your target... you really are a bounty hunter!"
"Or maybe," the Scyther called, "You two are whisper-shouting about someone you're standing right behind."
By now, the crowd of surrounding Pokémon was beginning to take notice; with the Scyther's jab, a murmur of laughter rippled through the street, and almost immediately, the blanket of conversation fell away as the four of them became the center of attention. Elyan himself had to stifle a laugh as well—the comment was blunt, rude, and extremely true.
"Mainly that," Elyan nodded towards the Scyther. "Though it seems we have an audience, all of a sudden."
"You have an audience," the Scyther corrected. "Not a single person in this town has ever seen a bounty hunter before."
"I know we're a rare breed, but is that even possible? Especially with us traveling so much?"
"It's true!" the Sunkern chirped. "Tell us about your targets! What have they done?"
This was precisely what Elyan wanted; it was time for a little drama. "...I'm not sure it's good to share in public like this. I don't want to sour the mood."
The Sunkern's eyes went wide. "It's that bad?"
"It is a really big bounty..." the Tangela recalled.
An awkward silence fell over the street. Even Kecleon and his current customer paused to look over and wait for the answer with interest.
"Oh just go ahead and tell them, Scizor," the Scyther called, seemingly impassive on his roof. "Everyone's curious."
"I guess it'd be safer to," Elyan said, faking reluctance. "Fine. They always work as a duo, traveling from town to town. They kill the occupant or, in rare cases, the occupants of a home before living in their place. They live there, interacting with the townfolk as if everything were normal, for as long as possible. When they are inevitably found out, they move on to the next town."
Once again, the clearing consisted of only tension. Fear, more realistically. Elyan let them wallow in it for a few precious moments before giving them some relief. "Oh, but I should mention: this is only one of a handful of towns we're searching. We've had difficulty pinning them down in the past, so we've cast a wide net this time. It's unlikely indeed that they'll come here, but in case they do, staying vigilant is a good idea."
"...That's precisely the type of thing that should be on the poster," the Scyther called down, breaking the silence.
Elyan shrugged. "Now you know. That's about all, folks, unless any of you have information for me. Let's get back to our business."
Finally, the overwhelming silence was broken by the scattered, hushed conversations of Pokémon with fresh exciting gossip to discuss. Things were almost immediately back to normal; even Kecleon and his customer turned to back each other and resumed the transaction.
Elyan let out a breath. That had gone perfectly well, to the point that he didn't have to improvise at all. The script he had had to memorize accounted for a lot, but unfortunately he wasn't destined to be left alone for long.
"Scizor," yet another unfamiliar voice came from behind him. "Are you accepting questions?"
Elyan turned to see a Vulpix standing a few spaces back in line, staring up at him fearlessly. "As long as they're not the type that'll catch the attention of the whole town again."
"How likely is it that they're in this town? You said you've cast a wide net, but how many towns is that?"
"It's unlikely. I'm not at liberty to share exactly how many towns we're watching, but you shouldn't need to worry more than being vigilant."
"I see."
Elyan nodded before turning back to watch the front of the line.
Soon, he was finally at the front. The Kecleon smiled pleasantly as the Darmanitan moved aside and he walked forward.
"Ah, my bounty hunter friend. How can I help you?"
"I need enough food for a few days, but I was also hoping you'd have information for me. I'm sure you see most every Pokémon passing through this town at least once."
"Mmm," he hummed, turning back to his storage. "You wish to know about your Riolu and Charmeleon, I surmise?"
"That's right."
"And do you have a preference for food? I have a few options today."
"None whatsoever, though a variety would be nice."
"Can do," the Kecleon said as he busily collected food from a handful of different drawers.
Elyan waited patiently for both his food and his answer. The Kecleon was clearly comfortable leaving him waiting for his information, but he trusted he'd get to it eventually.
"Here's your food. That'll be 50p."
Elyan fished out the money from deep within his claws. He put all of it—100p total—down onto the table. "Keep the extra."
"If you insist," the Kecleon smiled. "But unfortunately, I have no information for you. I haven't seen a Riolu or Charmeleon recently, nor have I heard anything."
"I see," Elyan acknowledged as he scooped up his food. "Please let me know if you learn anything, then. And thank you for the food."
"You are most welcome."
Walking away, Elyan smiled to himself. It seemed as if they weren't currently hiding in the town, and now there was a population full of paranoid Pokémon ready to report Luca and Dante if they arrived. This town, at least, would catch them if they came. He only hoped the other agents were fulfilling their job elsewhere to create an impenetrable net.
