A/N: Feels nice to put my protagonist into a battle again! It's been too long. I've been excited about writing the Silicobra scene since I started this story, and I'm glad I finally got here!
After we exited the vault, we found ourselves at the nearest Pokémon Center. Victor and I lounged on a couple couches while I tried to get back in touch with Hop, who still wasn't answering any of his calls. I explained to Victor about our little fight, and he sent Hop a couple messages before staring out the window with a mildly worried expression on his face. In front of us, Raboot played with Victor's Kubfu and Sobble, who had now evolved itself into a Drizzile. Much like Victor, it had grown a bit more confident while training out in the Isle of Armor. The three scurried around between Bewear and Victor's Nuzleaf, who were too busy sizing each other up to notice. Meanwhile, Boltund was happily napping at my foot with Victor's newest catch, a Slowpoke. I had never seen Slowpoke up close before, but its vacant expression was cute, and its odd and lumpy pink body stretched out in front of me as if it didn't have a care (or thought) in the world. Victor patted the large yellow spot on its head anxiously. I could not tell if it registered to the pink Pokémon.
"Dammit, Hop," I groaned as his voicemail message popped up for the fourth time in a row. "What are we supposed to do now?"
"I guess I could go back to Motostoke to battle Kabu again," Victor said.
"I'm usually the one telling him to chill out," I continued. "I dunno, if he just said where he would be…"
"Gloria," Victor started.
"What?" I turned and glared at Victor, catching him off-guard.
"He's his own person, and we can get back in touch with him eventually," he said slowly.
"That's not…that's not it," I said. Victor just stared intensely, so with a sigh, I told him about that we had fought and how he had run off and not given me a chance to apologise, and then filled him in more about how he simply hadn't been himself since Bede trounced him the first time. Victor nodded along empathetically to everything, asking a couple questions for clarification, but otherwise he was silent.
After I had finished, Victor leaned back in thought. After a couple seconds, he gave his opinion. "Sounds to me, he needs a little time. You apologized to him over voicemail like six times while we were sitting here so it's in his court now. Anything extra is just going to sound like overkill."
"That's honestly pretty shit advice, Vic," I scoffed.
"Well why do you need to talk to him so much right now?" Victor asked in response.
"I…" I needed to tell him about the dream. About how I saw the beast again, both in the streets, and on the tapestry. But that all sounded mental. And now that I was thinking about it, he hadn't even had the second dream – what if all of this really was just in my head? I felt my jaw hanging open and quickly closed it with a very unsure sounding "I don't, I guess."
Victor nodded, and then stood up with a smile, so quickly that our playing Pokémon stopped in their tracks to look at him. "Sounds like you need a distraction, then," he said. "Why don't we go for a quick walk outside the city walls on Route 6? Maybe get a chance to show off our new teams? We'll keep our phone volume up when Hop feels like reaching out."
I smiled weakly. "Yeah, that sounds good," I said.
The Western gates of Hammerlocke may have been far less grandiose than the Dragon's head that was the south entrance, but it was still a sight to behold. An ancient drawbridge had been lowered over the moat, but I could see years of fortifications and renovation had left its ability to raise and lower completely in the past, and outside of the giant rusted chains that decorated the sides, I wouldn't have even been able to tell it had ever been lowered in the first place. Victor and I quickly crossed the bridge and into a little clearing where we saw a large group of gym challengers milling about, gathering together to make traveling parties as they passed through Route 6.
Route 6, much like the abandoned mines between Hulbury and Motostoke, had become a traditional gathering place for trainers. The pathway snaked through a deep valley in the Hammerlocke mountains. No rain or cloud cover made it into the valley, so its climate was dry and arid, far unlike the rest of Galar, which had been a mix of fields and forests. The lack of cloud cover, paired with the sunny summer air, meant that it would be a long and hot journey ahead. Near where the route began proper, I could see a large sign with Macro Cosmos' and the Pokémon League's logos saying in bold black lettering:
DO NOT GO ALONE, AND DO NOT STRAY FROM THE PATH.
Reading it sent a slight chill down my spine despite the fact that it was so warm out. My mum always told me stories about how when the gym challenge was less of a sport and more of a tradition, many trainers would go into Route 6 and never return, getting lost in the web of canyons and, presumably, dying from exposure. This was well before even her or dad's time, but I still decided to let her know I was going through Route 6 after I had already done it.
Victor and I weaved through the crowd. A few other trainers noticed us, but most were fixated on something that was going on in the front of the crowd, near the sign. As we got closer, I could hear a lot of the eager banter was changing to confusion, and then changing again to annoyance and anger. The mumbling grew louder, but above all the voices, two familiar ones rose up higher than all the others.
"Listen all!" One voice yelled in a smarmy accent. "We're doin' this to protect the integrity of this route, right?"
"No one gets through bein' all loud and disrespectin'," said the second voice.
"Oh, not these wankers again," I groaned, pushing myself through the last of the crowd and coming face to face with none other than Mohawk Man and Pink Pyroar. "Alright, what the hell is goin' on here, then?" I asked bitterly.
"Oi!" Mohawk man yelled. "Much as I'm happy to see you two again, I'd appreciate you bein' quiet fer the lovely Silicobra here!" He gestured down to his feet, and sure enough I saw the brown snake curled at his feet, somehow sleeping despite his yelling.
"I'm telling you; we can walk past a Silicobra without waking it up!" A trainer to my left shouted.
"Quiet, you!" Pink Pyroar spat. "Don't you care about preservin' our natural ecosystem?"
"Could someone not just catch the damn thing?" A second trainer asked. A third pulled out a Pokémon and lobbed it at the snake.
"NO!" shouted Mohawk man, lurching in front and smacking the Pokéball down with such force that it snapped in two when it hit the ground. "You should let it relax and only join your party if it has the desire too!"
"Look, are we really going to get into the ethics of catching Pokémon, at this place, and at this volume?" I sneered. "We've beaten you punks before, and we'll do it again."
"Yeah!" Victor agreed, pulling out a Pokéball excitedly.
"We ain't interested in battling today," Pink Pyroar said haughtily. "We're interested in keeping this beautiful specimen safe from the dangers of Route 6."
"It is their natural habitat!" came a voice from the crowd, alongside a myriad of boos to Pink Pyroar's words.
"And we said we was tryin' to protect it; can't you hear anythin'?" Mohawk Man yelled. "We was tellin' you lot that we were happy to funnel you through the entrance of the route one at a time, nice and easy, but you had to turn it into a big thing."
"You haven't let anyone through!" came another voice from the crowd. Everyone in the crowd cheered along. Finally, the noise got to the Silicobra, who raised its head and looked around, confused.
"Now look what you did, you scared him!" shouted Pink Pyroar.
"Oh, for the love of…that's it, we're battling, NOW!" I shouted, grabbing a ball and tossing it out. Out popped Trapinch, looking ready to fight. Victor saddled up beside me and tossed out Kubfu, who looked back at him. When Victor nodded in confirmation, Kubfu roared and raised his arms, adopting a battle stance straight out of an old martial arts movie.
The crowd began to back up, and the moans of annoyance quickly gave way to eagerness. I heard some muttering about seeing a Trapinch up close like this, but it was quickly buried under much louder muttering about the cute bear posing next to it.
"Well, now you've done it," Mohawk Man grumbled.
"We've been looking for a rematch anyway," Pink Pyroar sneered, as the two of them tossed their Pokéballs out. Mohawk Man's Thievul burst from the Pokéball and howled menacingly, and in a second flash of light, Pink Pyroar's Pokémon also appeared – a Linoone. It had long and sleek striped fur that glistened in the bright sunlight. Seems her partner had evolved in the weeks since our battle on the train, but I wasn't going to let that get to me.
"Alright, Kubfu!" Victor yelled, tossing his ball. I followed suit, and out popped Trapinch, positively giddy at his first chance to battle alongside me.
"Quick attack, now!" Mohawk Man yelled, and his Thievul burst towards Kubfu with incredible speed. Kubfu barely had a chance to react before the fox was crashing into him, but despite the huge difference in size, the bear Pokémon held its ground, only skidding a few inches to the dirt. Kubfu then latched onto Thievul's head, right between its pointy reddish-brown ears.
"Reversal!" Victor cried. Kubfu immediately sprang into action, literally, as he jumped into the air, hands still clutching Thievul's head. With a single and elegant flip, Kubfu pulled the fox up into the air with him and threw the fox back towards the Team Yell members, who watched, dumbfounded at the display of speed and skill.
"Now's your chance!" I barked at Trapinch. "Dig toward Linoone!" Trapinch quickly burrowed into the ground sending a flurry of dust and dirt in every direction.
"Linoone! Hone Claws!" Pink Pyroar spat. Linoone turned to face Kubfu and scratched the ground quickly, psyching itself up for its inevitable next attack.
"Vic, keep Linoone as close to that spot as possible," I ordered. He nodded, flashing a confident grin.
"You heard her, Kubfu. Now! Brick Break!"
"Linoone! Quick attack!"
"Thievul! Assurance!"
The three Pokémon who remained above the ground all sped towards each other. At the last second, Kubfu jerked to the right to avoid the Linoone. Linoone skidded off-course but corrected quickly and was soon barreling right back to him from behind. Thievul, who was not quite as fast as Linoone, managed to stay on course, and before Kubfu had the chance to get his attack off on them, they pounced, crashing into him in two powerful blows.
This time, Kubfu was picked up off his feet, flying a few feet into the air and crashing down on the ground closer to Pink Pyroar, who grinned maliciously. Linoone and Thievul stalked forward hungrily, and as Kubfu pulled itself up, I could tell it was a little disoriented from the two hits. It looked nervously from side to side before leaping at Thievul to finish his attack. Thievul stepped back smartly, leaving Kubfu directly in the path of Linoone, who sprang forward with a command from its trainer, teeth bared.
Suddenly there was a loud rumble, and directly underneath Linoone, the ground cracked and shot upwards. Trapinch had resurfaced and smashed directly into Linoone's stomach, sending it skidding back to Thievul's side. The crowd erupted with cheers and both Team Yell members grimaced, having been lured into the trap completely.
"Nice call, Gloria," Victor said. "Use Reversal again!"
"Crunch!" I called out. Our Pokémon rumbled forward, taking advantage of their downed opponents. Kubfu was first to strike, landing a crucial blow against the Linoone, who was just getting up. Linoone crumpled again immediately, and Kubfu pumped its fists, causing the crowd to cheer again.
"Quick Attack, now!" Mohawk man yelled, and Thievul sprang into action, crashing into Trapinch again, and sending him skidding back on his belly. I grabbed at Trapinch's Pokéball in worry, but he looked like he was still eager to keep going.
"Don't let him get you down!" I cried. Trapinch hopped back up and charged as fast as his little legs could carry him, but Thievul was running around him so fast I knew he wouldn't be able to land a hit. Fortunately for Victor, Trapinch's slow speed made for a great distraction, and with a quick order, Kubfu launched himself directly at the fox, landing another strong blow and sending it sprawling to the ground.
"What—Thievul, come on!" Mohawk Man cried.
"Come off it, mate, let's just get out of here," grumbled Pink Pyroar, who had already withdrawn her Linoone. Mohawk Man followed suit with a groan of acceptance, and the crowd cheered again.
"This ain't over, you!" Mohawk Man yelled at us. "We won't forget all the ruckus you caused when we were tryin' to only protect this Silicobra!"
"What Silicobra?" I asked. Mohawk Man looked around anxiously, only to discover that the Silicobra had indeed slithered away from the excitement of the battle.
"Yeah, well…well…" Pink Pyroar sputtered, but she had no other rebuttal. The crowd finally started to disperse, with most groups of trainers heading out toward Route 6. As they did, one familiar face walked up to us, a timid smile on his face. He broke eye contact with me the second we made it.
"Hop!" Victor cried, rushing over and giving him a clap on the back. "I was wondering when you'd finally show face."
"Ha, sorry mate," Hop said. "I've been doin' a little research and…and stuff."
"What's stuff?" I asked icily.
"Just a couple personal issues," he said evasively. "Listen, Gloria, I'm sorry I ran off on you and haven't responded. Just haven't been feeling myself as of late."
I slowly nodded. "That's fine, Hop, but just keep me in the loop? Please?"
"Right," he said. "So, you got those Team Yell hacks all taken care of without me, huh? I knew you'd be able to do it."
"We're right here!" chimed Mohawk Man.
"Let 'em have a moment," said Pink Pyroar, clapping him on the back of his head.
"No! Now you lot listen up!" Mohawk Man said, glaring at us with renewed vigor. "We was only tryin' to—"
"Tryin' to hold up every trainer on the route for no real good reason," Victor accused. "Aren't you supposed to be following around Marnie like her pets or something?"
"Wait, is Marnie here?" I asked.
"As it so happens," Pink Pyroar scoffed, "we do have other interests and lives outside of bein' Miss Marnie's most treasured fans."
"We both happen to be big fans of preservation," Mohawk Man agreed. "That's why we was out here, preservatin' the Sandaconda—"
"Silicobra."
"preservatin' the Silicobra, that's all," he finished, giving a thank you nod to Pink Pyroar for her quick correction. Victor and I rolled our eyes and smirked.
"Oi!" Pink Pyroar yelled. "I saw that! We ought to just beat you up without our Pokémon!"
"Yeah!" Mohawk man added, grinning maliciously. "Your Pokémon may be strong, but you look like you'd break in two with a stiff wind." The two started inching toward us. The crowd that had remained after the battle was over murmured, on edge about the incoming violence.
"What the hell is going on here?" A stiff voice called out from behind the crowd. All of the trainers parted, making one way for Marnie and her Morpeko themselves, teamed up with three more Team Yell goons. She did not look pleased. I felt a jolt of energy go down my back.
"Miss Marnie!" Mohawk Man yipped, his voice cracking. "We was just—we was just protectin'"
"How many times I gotta tell you to lay off the other trainers?" Marnie said coldly. Her usual bored expression was still there, but there was a fire in her voice that betrayed her true emotions. "You know I'll beat 'em eventually. You keep this up, they'll cut me from the league, and you won't like to see me cut from the league, would you?"
Mohawk Man and Pink Pyroar hung their heads in shame, while the three other Team Yell members looked at each other nervously, hoping Marnie wouldn't turn her scorn toward them as well. Morpeko, on the other hand, was not paying any attention to the humans and had instead bounded straight toward me, jumping into my arms. Seeing me catch Morpeko caused the edge of Marnie's lips to curl upward, but she immediately stoned her face up again and turned back to the two thugs. "No, you best apologize to my friends."
Both Mohawk Man and Pink Pyroar mumbled apologies and shuffled back behind Marnie, who walked back and held her hands out to me. Morpeko nuzzled me one last time, sending a second jolt of electricity into my body and then hopping back into Marnie's arms.
"Nice to see you again, Gloria," Marnie said dryly. "Hope these numbskulls didn't ruin your going down Route 6. Victor. Hop." She nodded at each of us but kept her eyes on me for a split second longer, before turning back around and walking back to the Team Yell members.
"G-Good to see you, too!" I said, my shaky voice a symptom of the electricity flowing through me. Victor sniggered.
"You lot," Marnie said, narrowing her eyes at the Team Yell members. "Get back to Spikemuth. All of you."
"Miss Marnie…!" one of them cried in protest. The others sputtered similar sentiments.
"Go on, I'll be fine, this is all easy and you are really testing my patience," she growled. After a couple moments, they all turned tail and headed back to the city limits, heads hung low. Marnie turned back to us, face blank. "You are headed out down route six, right?"
"We were absolutely headed out down route six," I said, nodding vigorously.
"Did we plan that?" Hop asked Victor quietly.
"We did not plan that," Victor confirmed.
"Shut up," I whispered to the both of them. "We were probably gonna head out tomorrow morning. Get a whole day of training in."
"Got room for a fourth?" Marnie asked. "I think I might be looking for a new posse that ain't so loud, and…well, Morpeko seems to like you well enough," she said, giving her partner a tender scratch behind the ears. Morpeko buzzed with pleasure.
"Well, I—" Victor started, but I immediately stomped on his foot.
"By all means," I said. "I—Raboot really likes you, too!"
"What?" Victor said, stifling a laugh.
"Raboot does, does he?" Marnie said, the corners of her mouth curling again. "Well, I don't see him anywhere, but I'm sure he'd be happy to see me once you pull him out. So, we go up Route 6 tomorrow morning? Cool. I can meet you here at 9." She glanced at me one last time, sending yet another jolt down my spine, and turned around, walking back to the city limits. Morpeko poked his head up over her shoulder and smiled at the three of us as they all walked back.
"So, I guess it's a rain check on my rematch with Kabu," Victor asked with a slight annoyance.
"Shoulda won the first time, Vic," I said, pulling out Trapinch's Pokéball and returning him. I turned back to Hop. "You good to come with us?"
He stepped back in surprise. "What do you mean?"
"I mean you're not going to run off or anything, right?"
"I wouldn't say I—"
"Hop, I was worried," I pleaded. "I know I said some dumb things, but please don't run off like that again."
"Uh. Yeah. Yeah, I won't," Hop stammered, face turning red.
"Good," I said with a smile. "Now I just realized I just set up an entire excursion without any real preparation, so we need to hit the shops for like…well, for everything." Victor and I laughed and made for the city limits. Hop gave a weak chuckle and followed behind. As we stepped onto the old drawbridge, I noticed that one member of the crowd, a thin old woman, had followed us as we walked. I turned back around to get a better look at her.
"Hello, dears," the woman said, in a frail, but elegant voice. Old barely described her – ancient was possibly a better term. Her skin was loose and wrinkled, draping over her old bones like fabric. Her hair was thin and a gray so light it almost looked like a cloud had descended from the sky and made its home on her head. She was clearly much taller in her youth, but in her age, she hunched forward and put her weight on a long, elegant pink umbrella. She wore an elegant black and violet dress with a furry violet shawl. On her head was a striking hat of powder blue and pink, with a black circular pattern wrapping around it. She looked like a wax model that had been out in the sun for too long and was starting to melt. The only sign of life in the woman was in her teal eyes, which looked to be just as sharp now as they were when she was in her prime.
I could feel Victor and Hop shrink back behind me, much to the woman's enjoyment. She gave out a soft laugh and clicked her umbrella on the ground and stepped forward. "You three aren't so spooked by an old bat like me, are you? Goodness, the way you handled those miscreants back there, I'd have thought you'd be fearless."
"Thanks, Miss—" Victor started to say slowly, but the woman cut him off.
"Yes, indeed. Quite the spectacle, I must admit. I came when I heard they had been causing a commotion, but I knew that someone like you three would have it all taken care of by the time I stopped by."
"Three?" Hop asked. "But I didn't do anything…"
'Oh ho, well in that case, just the two of you, then!" the old woman laughed. She extended her hand to me, and I grasped it. Shockingly, her grip was firm and steady. I could sense an incredible strength within this old woman. "Brilliant job. I've been watching you ever since your first gym battles, and you've impressed me so much. Very…very pink, you are." She gave a wicked grin and let go of my hand, and then shook Victor's, then moved on to Hop.
"As for you, dear," she said, looking into Hop's eyes shrewdly, "mister 'didn't-do-anything,' you'll have plenty of time to do just as much, if not more, than these two. Maybe even more than your brother."
Hop blinked and shook her hand, and soon the old woman was walking into the city in front of us. "Very, very pink, you three," she said happily. "I look forward to meeting you again!"
"Little ominous," I muttered under my breath.
"Oh, I hardly think so," she laughed. I turned beat red. Weren't old people supposed to have bad hearing? Hop and Victor both snickered. The woman kept walking away.
A/N: Hmm. Victor seems to be much more confident in his battling skills now. Wonder if that has anything to do with his special training? OH, and Marnie (finally) joins the party! Lots of fun stuff coming with that, I promise you. And speaking of fun stuff, I am SO EXCITED to finally have Opal in this story. She is hands down one of my favorite characters in any Pokemon game. Video games in general just need more goofy old people in their casts. This is the hill I die on. See you next week!
NEXT WEEK: ANCIENT STATUES