The Pangoro glared at both Aiden and Trevor intently, slowly raising his arms, then crossing them in a flashy display of confidence. "So," he snarled with a gruff voice which stung with bitter anger, "You think you can just rough up my crew and get away with it?!"

"Treph..." Aiden quietly muttered, "These guys aren't lying about Greydon being a former Legend. We're so screwed... what do we do now?!"

Trevor glanced at Greydon's intimidating expression, then back towards Aiden's panicked visage. "Now that we know Rin isn't here," he whispered, "There's no reason to risk staying. Let's... run!"

Both Trevor and Aiden began sprinting away as fast as their legs could carry them in the opposite direction, back towards the jumble of trees from where they had came.

"Hey!" Greydon shouted. With a single powerful movement, he leapt into the air and landed in front of the escaping trio to cut off their path of escape. "You're not running away from this one, you tiny fools!" he declared loudly. "Anyone who's fought Jett and somehow lived to tell the tale should be we well aware that you can't outrun a Legend, even if they're retired. What's your clever plan now? Do you wanna do this the easy way, or the hard way?!"

Trevor instantly reached into his satchel, then hurled a steel thorn straight between Greydon's eyes. Although the thorn was easily dodged, the Pangoro nonetheless flared in anger at the boldness of the gesture.

"We've fended off a Legend before," Trevor declared loudly despite his violently thumping heart. "We're more than capable of beating a retired one. You hear me? We're not scared of you Legend Ranks anymore, especially not some coward who had to beg for us to come to them alone!"

"The nerve... in front of my crew..." Greydonsnarled, his voice swelling from barely-contained fury as he steadily lifted a massive, imposing fist into the air. Both Trevor and Aiden jumped away to avoid the sheer force of it smashing into the ground where they once stood, a towering pillar of snow erupting upwards as the frozen ground underneath feebly cracked into several tiny pieces.

Trevor wasted no time in throwing two Blast Seeds into his own mouth, the resulting onslaught of billowing flames forcing Greydon to shield himself with one of his hulking arms. Aiden, seeing an opportunity to strike, rushed towards the Pangoro's exposed side and managed to land two kicks to the face before she was violently knocked away with his remaining arm.

While Greydon watched as Aiden struggled to stumble back to her feet, Trevor endured the burning pain welling up from his throat and reached into his satchel once again. As Greydon turned to pinpoint Trevor's location, he was instantly met with a brief gray blur followed by a sharp pain in his cheek. A few meters away stood Trevor, a fierce glint in his eyes as he held a lengthy rope in his paws; tied to the rope's end was a steel thorn, its tip lined with Greydon's blood.

"A makeshift whip?" Greydon muttered contemptuously while running a thumb through the fresh wound on his cheek, "You wanna fight me with a silly toy like that? Don't make me laugh!"

When Trevor swung his whip once again, Greydon was prepared to catch the thorn before it could come close to reaching his head. The Pangoro's eyes nonetheless widened as a resonant crack rang out from the center of his squeezed fist which held the caught thorn. Before he could discard the Blast Seed which he had unwittingly activated, his entire paw became engulfed in a searing explosion of fire which instantly rendered his right arm temporarily limp.

"D-damn!" Greydon cursed silently and grimaced as Trevor instantly threw two Steel Thorns towards him. The Pangoro barely had time to deflect the projectiles before Trevor was already swiping at his undamaged arm with his elongated claws. Any attempt to thwart Trevor's relentless onslaught was instantly thwarted as Aiden reappeared to collide her burning heel directly onto Greydon's back, prompting a harsh cry of pain. Both Trevor and Aiden persistently commenced their pincer attack, Trevor furiously scratching at Greydon's arm at the front while Aiden delivered blow after blow onto his exposed back, until the Pangoro's strained expression seemed to convey that the battle was already drawing to a close...

"ENOUGH!" Greydon suddenly roared, shoving his injured arms upwards and slamming them into the ground. The resulting shockwave was powerful enough to send both of his attackers flying backwards as a gargantuan amount of snow flew into the air, then smacked into the ground random directions. As Trevor groaned and struggled to pull himself upwards after having crashed into a pile of snow, his heart rapidly sank upon seeing Greydon already aiming a punch towards him, a giant vein visible at the side of his twitching eyes. The Meowth had to stumble away to barely avoid the attack.

Greydon's crew, who had previously trembled at seeing their boss in trouble, now cheered vibrantly as the tide of the battle seemed to shift from out of nowhere. Trevor's breathing turned harsh from fatigue as the Pangoro released an onslaught of punches with a surge of newfound energy. Any projectile thrown by Trevor was immediately dodged or caught and thrown aside. Any attempt by Aiden to interrupt the barrage with her own attack was met with a prompt swing to knock her aside. As quick as Trevor was in dodging Greydon's unending onslaught of attacks, he was eventually caught by one of his massive paws and hoisted into the air.

"No!" Aiden shouted, "Let him go-"

Another attempt by Aiden at closing the distance was interrupted by a frighteningly swift punch which landed directly onto her chest, sending her careening into a nearby tree, its sturdy trunk nearly having been split in two from the impact. The Scorbunny was left slumped against the tree's remains while clutching her damaged chest and desperately gasping for air.

"Aiden! No!" Trevor gasped while struggling against Greydon's overwhelmingly tight grip. The Pangoro's face only darkened as he began squeezing harder; Trevor could only let out a choked gasp as his lungs became further constricted.

"You fought surprisingly well, I have to admit," Greydon muttered, "You two don't seem like bad Pokémon, but we need the money. You'll... understand later."

"You... can't..." Trevor protested in an airy, breathless voice. Solemnly ignoring the Meowth, Greydon began walking back towards his crewmates, all of whom cheered triumphantly at their boss's victory.

"Don't cheer just yet, save it for when we get our reward from the Purists. Tie the human up, and do the same with the Scorbunny and put her at this dungeon's entrance. Let's get this done quickly before something unexpected happens."

Trevor could feel unconsciousness seeping into him from a lack of oxygen, yet nonetheless continued to struggle against Greydon's grasp. Any attempt to struggle free remained seemingly futile.

"Ai...den..." Trevor gasped, staring frantically towards Aiden's limp, damaged body a few meters away.

"Quit squirming around!" Greydon barked as Trevor stubbornly continued to struggle, "Don't make me hurt you any more than I already have. Besides, the Purists insisted that I turn you in relatively unharmed-" Greydon quickly paused, recognizing that he was inadvertently talking too much. "Well?!" he called to his crewmates, "We don't have all day!"

No sooner had Greydon averted his gaze away from Trevor when a sudden blur of movement left a gaping slash wound onto his arm. His crewmates gasped in fear as their leader recoiled in pain, Trevor managing to struggle free during this brief period of shock and fall onto the snow below.

"Hey! Get back here!" Greydon roared as Trevor landed, then scurried to his feet. The Pangoro lunged his palms forward to re-grab his target, only for a pair of deep blue blades to drive him back.

"What?!" the Pangoro exclaimed in disbelief, "Why're you here?! How did you find us?!"

Trevor's limbs went completely stiff upon seeing Rin standing in the way between him and Greydon, back slouched and a scalchop blade in both paws. The Dewott's now overgrown hair fluttered in the freezing wind as he heaved a deep sigh.

"You really thought Trevor, the most infamous Pokémon in the world right now, would travel halfway across the world without word spreading around?" Rin responded calmly. "Your plan's got a few holes, to say the least."

"Can it!" Greydon growled. "The Purists' only commissioned us to nab the Meowth, they never mentioned bringing in the Dewott as well. Ah well, perhaps I should nab you as a scruffy, brooding little add-on!"

"Trevor," Rin instructed, "Tend to Aiden's wounds. I'll hold him off for as long as I can."

Having been rescued by Rin in a similar way before, Trevor retained enough composure to shake away his shock and rush to Aiden's aid. While Rin nimbly danced around Greydon's fists, Trevor knelt beside Aiden's slouched body and fed her chunks of a Sitrus Berry while rubbing ointment onto her bruised chest.

"Ugh... thanks." Aiden muttered faintly, much to Trevor's relief, "What's... going on?"

"Ngh!" Rin grunted as he blocked a punch with his blades, the resulting force enough to send him careening towards the pair. His legs left two straight lines in the snow as they dragged in an attempt to halt their backwards momentum, his body only stopping a meter away from Trevor's position.

"Rin..." Aiden weakly groaned as Trevor hoisted her upwards, a subtle smile draped across her face. "You always have to save the day at the last moment, don't you? Couldn't have gotten here a few minutes earlier?"

"Hmph." Rin scoffed as he peered at her from over his shoulder. "It's good to see you too, Aiden. I guess."

The newly reunited members of Team Spirit readied themselves for battle; Aiden stretched her legs while Trevor and Rin firmly grasped their respective weapons as Greydon began charging towards them with full force.

"You punks won't get away from me!" he shouted. "That reward is ours!"

Greydon began swinging wildly as soon as the trio were within range, causing them to split off into different directions. Rin used his blinding speed and dexterity in the air to distract the Pangoro as Aiden landed whatever hit she could manage in brutal close combat, all while Trevor provided assistance from afar with his myriad of tools and medical supplies. With each punch from Greydon came a series of counterattacks, which would then be followed by even more punches to form an unending cycle. Both parties battled with all the energy they had remaining until, after the sun had set and the forest became draped with darkness, every Pokémon was barely able to stand, much less move their limbs to continue fighting.

"Ah... hah..." Greydon chuckled amidst deep, harsh breaths, "You lot look just about ready to fall over from fatigue!"

"As... do you." Trevor murmured while kneeling on the floor while panting just as heavily. "You're not looking too good yourself."

"Hah!" Greydon scoffed bashfully. "I'm a former Legend Rank- did you really think that I wouldn't have another tank of reserve energy ready to do during times like this?! It'll just kick in... any moment now..."

Despite Greydon's unabashed confidence, a full minute would pass where nobody could find the strength to move at all. Sensing that the battle had reached it's conclusion, the Pangoro finally let out a sigh of resignation before collapsing backwards and sitting on the blanket of snow which lay below.

Another minute of complete silence would pass before Trevor regained enough composure to speak. "...How much are the Purists paying you to catch me?"

Greydon quietly deliberated for a brief moment, then relented. "...Fifty thousand. Not quite as large as your bounty from a few months back, but still enough to get us by for a good while. It's really nothing personal- we just need the money to avoid starving."

Aiden weakly tilted her head in confusion. "Why? I remember you being a super successful explorer during your prime- I used to read stories about your adventures. I'd imagine even a retired Legend Rank like you would have more than enough money to get by for an entire lifetime."

Greydon simply shook his head with a dim smile. "I've spent every last Poké I'd ever obtained on supporting my crew. Every last Pokémon with me here has been discarded in some way or another by the Explorer Association."

Several members of Greydon's crew scowled upon hearing the Association mentioned.

"They put everything they had into fulfilling their dreams, only for their careers to never take off, overshadowed by others who the Association views as more deserving of attention and resources. It's the cold, disgusting truth about being an explorer- you have to step on the faces of others to reach the peak."

Aiden blankly stared into the sky as several members of Greydon's crew began nodding their heads in silent agreement.

"I despised this exclusionary system, so I left," Greydon continued, "I threw away everything, my fame, my income, for the sake of training and nurturing Pokémon thrown aside by the Association. It's been tough, trying to feed over a dozen mouths without any consistent source of money. We were desperate, hence this little attempt to deliver you to the Purists. Given all the attention you've recently received for being human and getting Zephyr's attention, we justified our actions under the pretense that you were just another bigshot hoarding attention to himself. Just like that Alpha kid."

The Pangoro locked eyes with Trevor, then slowly shook his head. "But you're not, are you? I could tell from the way you fought, the desperation in the way you squirmed against my grasp, the way you called for your partner; you're just trying to get by in this cruel, hostile world. Just like my crew." Greydon smiled warmly. "Ah, to hell with the reward- you're free to go."

"But... what about the reward?" Trevor earnestly inquired, "What will your crew do now?"

Greydon laughed. "What, you want me to capture you? You're too nice for your own good!" He shook his head. "Eh, we'll find some other way of getting food. We always find a way. You guys are cool- it just wouldn't sit well with me if we continued fighting. It's our duty as a team of underdogs to protect those who've been discarded and abused, after all."

The Pangoro confidently turned towards his crew. "You hear that, guys?! There's been a change in plans- from this point onwards, these Pokémon are under our protection, human or no!"

Everybody in Greydon's crew immediately began cheering happily; Trevor was stunned at the sheer faith which the cheering Pokémon placed upon their powerful leader. The sharp-eyed Houndoom whom Aiden had interrogated earlier eagerly stepped forwards to introduce himself.

"Pleased to meet you, Trevor! The name's Dalton. Remember that name well- you'll see it in every documentary in sight a few years from noOOW-"

"Well, my name is Larke!" sang a blue-eyed Murkrow after forcefully shoving the Houndoom aside, "Sorry about Dalton- he never shuts up about how he's going to be famous one day. Pleased to meet you all!"

"W-well, I'm Kam..." stuttered a shy-faced Trubbish with droopy eyelids, "Apologies about all the trouble- we just got over excited is all. Would you mind teaching me how you manage to sort everything out in that bag of yours later? I'm trying to learn to be a more organized explorer but Greydon's... not well suited for teaching that, unfortunately."

One by one, every other member of Greydon's crew rushed forwards to briefly shake Trevor's paw, all of whom stated their names in a concise manner.

"Ray!" "Becky!" "Morrison." "Wilson!" "Belle." "Tex!" "Elianya..." "Zack!" "Glenn."

Yet, unlike the hordes of Pokémon who nearly crushed Trevor in their attempts to gawk at him as if he was a museum artifact, he found that Greydon's crew were comparatively much politer in regards allowing him ample amounts of personal space. Trevor found himself comforted by the prospect of being protected by this crew, despite the fact that they had fought only hours prior.

"By the way..." Greydon noted after every member of his crew had been introduced, "Where'd your friend go?"

"Hmm?" Trevor murmured confusedly.

Y'know, the first human. The Dewott. He's gone."

"W-what?!"

Trevor and Aiden swiveled their heads around, only to find that Rin had long since disappeared completely.

"Rin..." Aiden growled, tugging at her ears in frustration. "Just how long is he gonna make us chase him around?"