Chapter Nineteen:
Fine

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon in any way, shape, or form. The only "ownership" I can claim are the personalities and my interpretation of how Pokémon look in a more realistic light, but other than that...yeah, I don't own anything on them. XD I do, however, own my original characters and writings, unless otherwise stated. In an exceptional case, a few special OCs belong to their respective owners, I'm merely borrowing them for the story that's to unfold. I'll point them out when their time to show up comes. :3

Note: This was a slightly difficult chapter to write. Mostly due to the battles. And the pushing forward of the plot. And I haven't posted this many chapters for a story consecutively in a long time, not without posting a few, then deleting it, and rewriting it all over again. So, yay for me for not giving up, maybe?

Also, anyone interested, I have a "title page" made for this story, over on one of my Tumblr pages. Simply take out spaces, add in the dots and slashes, and you'll be good to go! :D

(The usual http noise over here) blues scales and broken teeth .com(slash) image (slash) 108505789115

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"Andy, what's happening?"
"Gary thinks we should keep up with the crawl because they know what they're doing, but they don't know that we know what they're doing, and basically no one else has a better idea, so fuck it."
Sam Chamberlain and Andrew Knightley, "The World's End"

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"Did you hear about the storms between Cianwood and the Whirl Islands?" A young girl in pink said. She motioned toward a television screen behind her. The small group turned their attention toward it for a moment. Lupin glanced over and slowed her gait across the Pokémon Center lobby, her interest piqued.

"Yeah, I heard about this earlier on the radio. The news said three or four boats and their crews went down. They've only found pieces of wreckage that could float to the surface." One of the boys to her left replied.

"The Sea Guardian must've been angry." The girl said.

"The Sea Guardian is supposed to protect. Hence the name 'guardian', Hana."

The girl in pink, Hana, blushed furiously until her face almost matched her clothes. "I know that. But even guardians can get angry, Kyo."

There was a moment of silence before the group got up and left, their pokémon in hand, shoulder, or pokéball.

Lupin stared after the small group, before casting her gaze up to a flat-screen television hosting a news channel the group had been watching. Above the droning white noise of the center, Lupin could hear the video loop of a reporter speaking with someone from Cianwood. It switched to the news anchor to move on to the next story. Riptide stirred on her shoulder, watching words scroll by. Bullet barked at them to hurry up. That got the ball rolling, and Lupin started after him, turning toward the hallway that would lead them to the upper level staircase.

"Why did you stop?" Riptide tilted his head to view her more properly. Lupin mounted the stairs after the Growlithe. She shrugged.

"They were talking about that sea guardian near Cianwood. Those kids in the lobby, not the news people. Said that's why the storms went on. That's…the sea guardian, that's supposed to be Lugia, right?"

"Bah. Superstitious little brats. I'm sure they believe that Palkia and Dialga control time and space, and that Giratina lives in some world rift parallel to ours," Riptide hissed in distaste. The Growlithe ahead of them paused and whined, his ears pinning to his head.

"Why do you hate people who believe in the gods and guardians?"

"Because it's superstitious hoo-ha. They believe in things they can't see or feel. They make up stories to explain away why the sun sets or the storms rage. Even now, after science has enlightened such events as naturally-occurring phenomena, they still praise these pokémon—that may or may not exist—as the reason why these events continue to occur." He eyed the Growlithe with mild disdain. "I don't like wasting my time with chasing down ideas that haven't been proven in hundreds of years. No one has presented substantial proof that any of these 'Legendaries' exist."

Bullet paused in his trek to look at the Totodile on Lupin's shoulder, glowering sullenly.

"Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. We breathe air and those smart guys in labs, they proved it's there even if we can't see it, haven't they?"

Riptide was taken aback by the response and snapped his jaws with a resounding 'clack.' Lupin stared between the two, rather impressed at the Growlithe's observation.

"Ya know…" she said after a few moments of awkward and stilted silence. "He actually has a point."

Bullet turned away with his nose in the air, a smug doggy grin on his face, and a bounce in his step as he crossed the hallway to their door. Lupin slowly followed, trying and failing rather miserably at hiding her grin from Riptide. He hissed at her in belated response.

"…stupid Growlithe."

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"Shirubā got away. What a gyp."

"Who's Shirubā?"

Bullet tilted his head at the werewolf, whining as he paused to stop and assess his jump up onto the bed. Riptide was already sprawled half on her belly, the other on the bed. She absently rubbed her hand along his back scutes, occasionally bringing her fingers up to rub at his head. As soon as the Growlithe came padding across the bed, he collapsed on her other side, and she curled her other arm around him.

"That redheaded kid we saw earlier at the Sprout Tower. The police took our report and ran with it, but it looks like he's not in Violet City anymore."

"Oh. Him. He was a mean kid." The Growlithe lifted his head up to glance at Riptide. "You said he stole a pokémon, right? Aren't thieves like that supposed to be locked up?"

"I don't know. Did you ever get locked up in all your years of stealing?"

"Hey!"

"Riptide," Lupin warned, and he let out a soft croaking groan in response.

"Fine, fine," he sighed back. "We met him on the road coming from New Bark Town. He fought us then and there, with the same Chikorita Professor Elm had at his lab. The police were informed of his theft and they've been on alert since. Or so we thought. It seems Violet City has no such concerns, or else they would have caught him as soon as he strolled through town."

"How did he do it, though?"

Riptide shifted his head to stare at the puppy pokémon. "We don't know. They didn't release that information to us. And neither the professor nor his assistant see anything or know how it happened either." Another turn of his head and he was staring at Lupin pointedly. "But enough on that, there's nothing more we can do about it right now."

"I could hunt him down," Lupin suggested. "I know his scent. I could probably track him down and bring him in."

The Totodile snorted, while Bullet stared on with a look akin to amazement and confusion.

"Is that what a werewolf can do? They can smell things out?"

"More or less…I guess. My nose is pretty good. I don't necessarily get lost easily."

"No. Let the police handle it," Riptide said, flaring his nostrils and closing his eyes briefly. "You have more pressing things to attend to. Such as this next meeting with Falkner."

"Which is looking more and more like a prospective gym battle. I don't want to battle him, though."

"If you had to in order to get any information you needed, would you, though?"

"I…" Lupin stopped herself short, realizing she wasn't entirely too sure. She drew herself up a little more onto her pillow, frowning at the expectant Totodile and Growlithe, both staring and waiting. Riptide had that perpetually permanent crooked smile on his face, but she was never truly sure what was going through his mind sometimes. The lack of facial expressions tended to be a good mask. But Bullet was an easier read. His blue eyes were wide and brimming with energy and his body heat fluctuated with his mood. He was hot to the touch, but not uncomfortably so, and his body was coiled and tense, as though ready to start bouncing off the walls from sheer excitement.

"I don't…know, I…I didn't really think that far."

Riptide considered her for a few moments longer, then closed his eyes. "Then think on how important it is to you that you talk to him without those restrictions barring you two. He wants a show, it seems like. If you give it to him, he'll most likely be more willing to extend the olive branch. If you refuse, then you might have lost out on a potential source of information, but you can always move on to the next source. Azalea Town and Goldenrod are to the south, while Ecruteak and Olivine are to the west. Mahogany and Blackthorn are to the north."

"You're being…awfully relaxed about this. I thought you would want to fight Falkner."

The Totodile hummed for a few seconds, opened his eyes and clacked his jaws. "Yes, I do. But that's what I want as a prospective battler. You're my trainer and not just a lab tech assistant now. You make the decisions for me and for Bullet. I may not like your decision to crawl away from a possible battle, but I was not just bred to battle, I was bred to be a partner for a future trainer. That means I…I follow your lead."

He watched her and for a moment, Lupin almost forgot Bullet was there too, her focus was so intense. When his tongue swiped across her cheek, Lupin jumped, startled. He sat up, staring at her with a wide doggy grin, panting while he rested his front paws on her thigh.

"He's right. I mean, I'm not—I wasn't bred or anything fancy like Riptide was or nothing, but…he's right. We're your pokémon. We follow your lead. If you don't wanna battle gym leaders, then you don't have to. We can't force you." He slurped his tongue back into his mouth and moved closer, placing a paw on her stomach. "But I wanna help you however I can. I don't think I'd like not remembering Benjamin, my…my old trainer. So…whatever we do, I'll help you."

She stared between the both of them, first at Bullet, then at Riptide. They waited, anticipating her answer expectantly. Slowly, she sat back up, and smiled at the both of them moments before scooping them up and pulling them into an embrace. "Thanks, guys…we'll head out there tomorrow first thing, and if we have to fight, we'll do it. But if we don't well…then that's fine too."

The Growlithe to her right gave a happy yowl, brimming with excitement. Riptide hummed in a rather pleased manner, the vibrations thrumming gently against her shoulder. There was no more time for hesitating and overthinking, she realized.

Now it was time to start acting.

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The Violet City Gym overlooked everything in its surrounding area, a towering behemoth compared to most buildings. Its colour scheme was just as muted and somber as the rest of the city. Not a single building was overly garish or out-of-place in Violet City, none that Lupin noticed anyway. And, strangely enough, the gym held true to a violet hue, as though it had been purposefully schemed as such in honour of its city's namesake. It was a pleasing shade, but it also briefly reminded her of one of the individuals in her photos. The thought was fleeting and short-lived, however, when a loud screech arose above them. Three heads craned upwards toward the lead gray sky, a precursor to another hefty downpour. Riptide hummed thoughtfully as his yellow-red eyes spotted something high up, flitting back and forth to the wind's whims above. It was noticeable for its pale colours that stood out rather starkly against the dark background of the sky.

Another figure rose swiftly, this one dark and almost discernable to find at first. Lupin's ears twitched under her hat at the commotion the two made. Shockwaves visibly appeared in midair, thrust forth from the powerful wing strokes of the two combatants. She stared, amazed at the sight before Bullet barked at her. She looked at her feet first, expecting to see him, but quickly found he was waiting across the street by the gym entrance.

"Hey, c'mon! We can see these fights better from inside! I heard they have some kinda platform you can watch these things from!"

Quickly crossing the street, she cast the two battlers above in the heavens one last look, before stepping into the retreat of the gym. Behind her, a few moments later, rain began to fall.

"I thought the weather was done with the rains," she commented quietly to Riptide as she stepped further into the receiving lobby. It was empty, save for a front desk tucked away in the corner. The occupant behind the desk, a dark haired woman wearing a pair of rim-horned glasses, looked up at her, and then smiled.

"It seems the weather decided to go out with a final bang this spring," he replied back as Lupin moved toward the desk.

"Good afternoon, ma'am. I'm guessing you're here to schedule a battle with Falkner?"

"Well, I actually only wanted to talk with him. He told me to come see him after defeating the sages and the Elder at Sprout Tower. It's about some research I needed help with."

The woman's smile deflated momentarily, taken aback, before she turned her eyes to her computer screen.

"Let's see…I'll have to speak with him beforehand, just to confirm this. He's battling another trainer right now, so if you'd like, we can go up on the battle platform and wait it out until he's finished."

"That's fine," she nodded to the woman. She stood, unfolding long legs as she stepped out from behind the desk toward another door that, presumably, led out to the main gym floor. Lupin followed with Riptide on her shoulders and Bullet at her heels as they stepped through. Inside, it was hollow and wide-spaced. It wasn't until Lupin looked up to see that the main attraction wasn't on ground level. It was on a platform built high above them, and from the way there was cheering that drifted down to greet them, there were plenty of people up there at that moment.

Lupin looked back to find the woman moving toward a lift that ran on a track, leading up to the platform. She followed and it wasn't long before they were rising up high above ground level. A sense of vertigo overcame her, but there wasn't fear building up in her gut at the dizzying height. It was an expectant and comforting warmth, one that settled her instead of making her uncomfortable. The woman didn't seem to notice how relaxed she was and when the ride was over, simply stepped off and motioned for Lupin to follow. Bullet wobbled on unsure legs as he timidly followed after her, keeping his belly low to the platform as he slunk along. Riptide dug his claws tightly into her shoulders, hissing quietly against her cheek.

"You guys okay?"

"I'm a water-type. My home field is in the water. He's a fire-breathing dog who's lived his life on the streets, not flying the air. What do you think the math adds up to, hm?" He hissed back. There was a nervousness in his tone Lupin hadn't ever heard before.

"Wait. Are you…are you afraid of heights?" She had to grin a little at that. The Totodile was usually rather laid back and relaxed most of the time, but there was a tension in his body and voice now. It was something she noticed right off the bat.

"No, I just prefer my feet on the ground or better yet, in the water. I'm more comfortable. It has nothing to do with fear. I simply don't like being this high up." He snapped back. Lupin snickered.

"I won't tell anyone if you're afraid, you know. It's okay to be scared."

"I'm not scared, I'm uncomfortable! Those are two very distinct emotions!"

"Scaredy-gator," Bullet called to the Totodile. If he could, Riptide would have scowled.

"Look at what you started!" He'd nip Lupin's ears for this later. The Growlithe only laughed.

Bullet followed after the Lupin, his belly slowly rising higher off the ground now as he became used to the platform. Below on the ground, they couldn't see anything past the platform, but now they could see that the roof was gone and it left the sky available to them. A small section of bleachers were erected to allow prospective challengers to watch. An overhang protected the seats from the weather, although occasionally the wind would send out spritzes of water onto the onlookers.

Out in the main arena, two trainers stood at either end of the battlefield. On one side was Falkner and on the other was a girl, looking to be in her early teens and dressed in a white skirt, white socks and shoes, and white blouse. Even the giant bow holding her hair up was white, as was the bag she had by her feet.

Both trainers were focused intensely on the sky, where their pokémon were battling it out. One was a Pidgeotto and the other a Murkrow. The winds kicked up, spraying the sprinkling of rain all over the place. Lupin lifted a hand to block it from her eyes. Falkner cried out to the Pidgeotto, bellowing a final command. The attack was fast, another boom of air slicing toward the Murkrow. It was made all the more menacing by the fact that the rain made it more visible. The Murkrow tried ducking it with a sharp dive, but it slammed into the black-feathered bird's backside instead. It was sent spiraling to the arena ground in an out of control tailspin. The girl bolted across the battlefield after a failed command to get upright again. She made it in the nick of time to catch the downed bird in her arms.

The Pidgeotto came sailing in to land beside Falkner. A man in a striped shirt came trotting onto the field and declared Falkner the winner, as his challenger had no other pokémon to battle with. The girl quickly retreated, clutching the unconscious Murkrow to her chest toward the lift. Bullet whined, watching her go.

"Is…is the bird gonna be all right?"

"Perhaps. But that blow to the backside didn't look pleasant," Riptide answered offhandedly. He had his eyes on the woman who had escorted them there. She waltzed toward Falkner with purpose in her step, and the young man turned to her when she was closer. The crowd on the bleachers watched, waiting, talking excitedly amongst themselves. Most ignored Lupin, too busy either prepping themselves or waiting for the next match to start.

The Totodile on her shoulder tapped Lupin on the cheek and she flinched in surprise after a minute or so.

"Pay attention. You're good to go now."

She turned to see the woman was done talking and Falkner waving her over. She did so, liking the smile he was sporting less and less. Bullet whined and grumbled under his breath as rain pelted his fur.

Falkner raked his eyes over Lupin and her team, an almost hungry, assessing look. The Pidgeotto at his side did much the same. Neither of them appeared too distressed at being soaked by the downpour.

"Well, now! Seems you finally made it. I was beginning to get worried you'd skipped town." He motioned to the woman at his side. "If you'd like, we can start the search now, but I have another request before we get into that."

"You want to battle, don't you?"

He didn't appear too surprised at her assessment. He grinned a little. "Very sharp. I like that."

Lupin sighed, and caught Riptide's eye. He rattle-laughed. "Told you."

"Fine. I don't see why you didn't take the pictures the day you came to the Academy, though."

"I wouldn't have wanted an angry lady such as yourself come knocking down my doors if I took them and decided you had a change of heart later on, now would I? Besides, if you wanted to leave the city, I doubt you'd have left them with me. You'd have had to come back here regardless of whether or not I had anything to give you. I rather prefer this to the other option."

"And if I say no?" She prodded. He shrugged.

"More your loss than mine. I'm not the one with amnesia. I know exactly who I am. It's your life you're dismissing if you did that, not mine."

Riptide laughed again. "And another point to me…"

Lupin clenched her jaw and squeezed her fists at her side, before releasing the tension altogether.

"…fine. You want a show, you got one."

Prick.

Falkner's grin grew wider. "That's the spirit. Gotta get the Butterfree out of the Metapod somehow. Monsieur Dervish told me you were a particularly stubborn student he had this semester. Smart, but stubborn."

I can't tell if he's insulting me or complimenting me.

He moved back to his previous position on the arena field, and without needing a guiding word, Lupin moved to the opposite side. Every step made her feel like she had lead weights in her boots. She heard groans and jeering from the bleachers, and one rather loud, "Oh come on! I've been waiting for days to get my Zephyr Badge!"

"Change of plans and apologies in advance to everyone who has been waiting, especially since the weather's a bit less than desirable! We're having one more battle scheduled in, very last minute, I'm sure you understand!" Falkner called from his position on the field. Another chorus of groans rose up, some scowling at the werewolf, but others merely hunkered down. The secretary at his side took this as a cue to move away.

"You already know who I am and what I specialize in, so there's no point in some long-winded, grandeur gesture to spew about! But one thing I hate, it's when people say you can clip flying-type pokémon's wings with a jolt of electricity." He nodded purposefully toward the sky, heavy and burdened with what seemed like one last spring shower shebang. He focused his gaze back to Lupin, his eyes intense and the earlier borderline friendliness gone now. "I won't allow such insults to bird pokémon! I'll show you the real power of the magnificent bird pokémon!"

With that said, he pulled a pokéball from his belt and threw it. Light spilled from the split orb, a shape coalesced, and a Pidgey stood in the middle of the arena, blinking twice and ruffling its feathers before taking to the air. Lupin glanced at Bullet, who was staring at the little bird intensely. She gave a sharp, short whistle and he lurched forward. The Growlithe paused once to shake the water off of him, then stopped on his side of the arena. The referee came back out and stopped at the mid-line of the field. Falkner nodded to the man, who lifted an arm above his head, a green flag on a stick in his hand.

"The rules remain the same as the previous matches: there will be two pokémon admitted per trainer! When one trainer has no more pokémon or they are unable to continue battling, the trainer automatically forfeits the match." He paused, glancing to Falkner and then over at Lupin. After the pause, he threw down his arm with the flag, letting it snap as it rushed. "Begin!"

"Nettle, tackle attack!"

"Dodge it, Bullet! Counter with a bite attack!"

The Pidgey came soaring in quickly, a blur of tan and cream feathers dive bombing the striped fire-dog. Bullet dove off to the side when the Pidgey came close enough and snapped his jaws at the bird. A few nipped feathers puffed into the air and the Growlithe spat some downy from his teeth, but the little bird kept on course, circling back around. Falkner's Pidgey remained higher up, just out of reach. Bullet snarled, his ears splaying back against his head. Bullet hunkered lower to the platform, waiting.

"This rain isn't helping him. He won't be able to use his fire-type attacks very effectively." Riptide muttered, hissing quietly as he tilted his head back.

Lupin stared between Bullet, the Pidgey, and Falkner. His features were mask; it was hard to get a read off him. He was confident, that much was for sure, but at least he wasn't gloating about it.

Rain continued to pelt them all, and she could feel dozens of eyes focused on her, the pokemon, Falkner.

Then it hit her.

"Bullet, use flame wheel!"

The Growlithe jumped in surprise, glancing back at her with wide, blue eyes.

"What?! But it's raining! It won't work!"

"Bullet! Just trust me, do it! And don't let up until your fur's completely covered in fire, not just parts of it!"

He hesitated, before turning back around to stare at the overhead Pidgey. Falkner barked at it for another tackle attack, guessing the same thing: fire wasn't going to stand much of a chance out in this weather. The Growlithe took a hit, but it was a small price paid for a delayed start up. His fur superheated and steam began to rise as it dried rapidly, only to be soaked by the rain seconds later. The reaction was near-instantaneous: his fur eventually caught fire and the rain continued to pound away at him, and the resulting effect soon shrouded the arena in a smokescreen. The Pidgey was engulfed as well as the steam rose higher and higher. It squawked in protest, but didn't dare move higher or lower, waiting for Falkner's next move.

"Use odor sleuth, Bullet! Find that Pidgey!"

She heard a woof in return before a yowl of victory from Bullet. On the other side of the arena, she heard Falkner shout, "Nettle, use gust, blow away all of this!"

"Jump up and use bite!"

The wind picked up from the Pidgey's attack, but it ended just as abruptly and a scream of pain shattered any doubts Bullet had missed. The smoke began to clear slowly, and the referee stepped closer, bobbing back and forth, trying to determine if the match was finished or if there were still combatants fighting.

Bullet stood off to the far side close to Lupin's half, an unconscious Pidgey in his jowls. Rivulets of red were dribbling from between his teeth and being washed away by the rain. Falkner stared, his expression frozen halfway between anger and blankness. He turned to look at the referee, who lifted a red flag up on Falkner's end.

"Nettle the Pidgey is unable to battle. Challenger Lupin has won this match."

"Bullet, drop the Pidgey," Lupin called, and the Growlithe did as he was bid, gently depositing the bird on the ground. He trotted over closer with a wag of his sopping wet tail.

"Did I do good? Did I, did I?"

"You did a stupendous job, Bullet," she said, dropping to a knee and opening her arms out. He ran the rest of the way over, pouncing on her and licking her cheek. She hugged him, not minding getting soaked further by the puppy pokémon's wet fur.

"It wasn't stupid, was it? I thought I did everything good!"

"Stupendous, you halfwit. It means—"

"It means you did a great job, a really great one," Lupin interrupted Riptide, before patting Bullet's flank. "Go back out there, we have one more pokémon to fight."

"Okay!"

Riptide hissed, staring intently at the Pidgeotto at Falkner's side.

"You know he's going to be bringing out that one, don't you?"

"I know. You think Bullet can take him?"

The Totodile exhaled slowly. "Possibly. If the conditions were right. Today's not a good day to be a fire-type, though. I told you this already. Be prepared to send me out, just in case. And Lupin? Don't try the smokescreen again. That Pidgeotto has stronger wings than the Pidgey was and will just blow it all away. That's tactical advice."

Riptide curled tighter around her shoulders, his claws digging into her. She reached up and rubbed at his head as Bullet stopped on his side of the arena. The rain continued to pelt them all, cutting away the last of Bullet's smokescreen. Falkner tilted his head toward the Pidgeotto at his side and nodded to the large bird.

"Go on, Ophelia," he said, turning back to the arena. "The wind is finally with us! This battle will be in our favour!"

The Pidgeotto took flight with a shrill cry, rising up to the heavens high above, taking to circling about. Bullet squinted and growled as he stared up at the circling bird pokémon.

It didn't take Falkner long to go on the offensive. He ordered his Pidgeotto to send a gust attack down on Bullet.

"Use flame wheel! Get up and knock that bird outta the sky!"

Fire met water, causing steam to instantly break out. The wind picked up from Falkner's Pidgeotto, causing all the steam, fire, rainwater, and air to stir restlessly. Bullet yelped as the fire alongside his fur suddenly whipped out of existence and the Pidgeotto was suddenly dive bombing. He dodged too late and took the brunt of the hit, skittering along the arena. Lupin winced as he came to a full stop and struggled up to his paws. Riptide hissed loudly.

"He's had enough, call him back and send me out!"

"Not yet," Lupin hissed back. The Pidgeotto skimmed the outskirts of the arena. The others in the bleachers were all crying out. Some were rooting for the little Growlithe, while others screamed for Falkner to put the fire dog out of his misery. Bullet stumbled to his paws, glowering at the Pidgeotto, following the bird pokémon as it glided along.

"Tackle, Ophelia, take 'em down!"

The Pidgeotto veered sharply, picking up speed and hurtling toward Bullet.

"Now, Bullet, ember attack!"

For a split moment, while the air was still clear, Lupin caught a glimpse of shock on Falkner's face. Then fire split the arena in half, hiding the other trainer from sight. The jet of flame shot toward the bird, engulfing her completely. She shrieked in pain and anguish, flapping away hard to escape the fire. Rainwater sliced through the remainders, making the fire hiss as it was put out. Bullet stood on one end of the battlefield. Ophelia the Pidgeotto was fluttering listlessly on the other, one wing held out an awkward angle. Lupin could see the charred feathers and the flesh beneath was blistered and bare. The bird squawked tiredly and looked to Falkner, as though for reprieve.

Falkner kept his eyes locked on Lupin, frowning hard.

"Ophelia, roost."

The bird cooed and laboriously tucked her burnt wing close to her body as a silvery glow overtook her form. She shuddered and the glow sustained itself for several more seconds before it faded away. Most of her burnt feathers were repaired, but the burnt part of her wing still remained and she kept fussing with it.

She's burned. She's not going to last long if it keeps chipping away at her health. Lupin looked to Bullet. He was tired, but he still had fight in him.

"Take her down while you can, let's go with another flame wheel again," Lupin called to the Growlithe. He lurched forward on unsteady legs, mustering up the last of his strength to set his coat of fur on fire again. It sizzled every time water hit it, but his fur caught after a few belated moments. Falkner's Pidgeotto attempted to get airborne again, but with her wing burnt, it made it nearly impossible. Bullet snarled as he got himself into a charge, tearing after the bird.

With a final burst, he hit the Pidgeotto and sent them both careening toward the ground in a fiery heap. Ophelia screeched and kicked feebly at the puppy pokémon until a red beam of light recalled her. Falkner was on the other side, holding out a pokéball. Slowly, he lowered his arm and clipped the pokéball to his belt alongside the other one. He stared at Bullet for the longest time, still on the ground, the fire on his fur puttering out and sizzling to nothingness as rainwater continued chipping away at him.

Then his gaze slid to Lupin, who was frozen between standing there and rushing to the puppy pokémon's side.

The referee flipped a red flag in Falkner's direction again after what seemed an eternity.

"Ophelia the Pidgeotto is unable to battle! Challenger Lupin wins the match!"

A sigh of relief and disbelief escaped her lips and slowly, she moved forward over to Bullet to pick him up. He was exhausted and barely able to lift his head, but when she picked up him he managed to get a good lick across her cheek. Riptide exhaled loudly against her other cheek.

"I did good, right?"

"You did an amazing job, buddy. You just rest now."

And with that said, he flopped against her shoulder with a long, drawn out whine and tired sigh.

She turned at the sound of footsteps approaching to find Falkner heading her way. She stood quickly, tucking the puppy pokémon closer to her. His face was once more an unreadable mask. When he was within earshot, she called to him, "Well? How about that deal?"

At first, he didn't react. He stopped close to her and studied her for a long moment, his eyes raking over the exhausted Growlithe in her arms. His shoulders shook and a smile alighted his face.

"That…was rather impressive. Crazy, but impressive." He said as he dipped a hand into a pocket. When he pulled it out, he held out a shiny piece of metal shaped in a pair of rudimentary wings. "You've earned this."

Lupin stared, taken aback. Then she gathered herself again and stared sullenly at the taller man.

"I didn't come here to fight for a badge, Falkner. I came here for information."

Falkner blinked and stared at her as though she'd grown a second head. His eyes flicked between the Growlithe and the Totodile on her shoulders, then back at her.

"You really are crazy. Most trainers don't reject a gym badge, especially after they've certainly earned it."

"Well, call me an exception."

Falkner sighed, looked rather disappointed. "Okay, all right then. I suppose that's it then. If you go back downstairs and meet with Tohru, the woman who brought you up here, she can help out with the search a bit. If all else fails, I'd suggest hitting up Bugsy down in Azalea Town to the south. They live near a port city and sometimes traffic hits there before heading to Goldenrod." He paused, halfway turned on his heel, and added, "And Lupin? I hope you find what you're looking for."

Lupin stared after the taller man in stunned silence until a clack in her ear reminded her to get moving again. When they were well away from the prying eyes of those on the bleachers, with the call of Falkner calling it quits for the day and a chorus of groans and one loud "OH COME ON!", Riptide spoke.

"You really are insane. First the Spinarak and Ariados, then the Onix. And now this."

"I didn't set fire to the bird."

"No, but you seem to have a predisposition to liking things catching fire. Maybe you should have gone with that little mole-rat, Cyndaquil."

She snorted at him and reached up to rub his head. "And miss all of your charming dialogue? Please. You can just put me out whenever I get too hotheaded."

"Ha. Now, let's go find these people of yours before you forget about them again."

"Really?!"

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