Chapter 10 - Under the Hood
"All right, Ziggy boy!" Sparks said eagerly, "Let's get today started, shall we?"
Ziggy walked next to him, looking just a touch nervous. This morning before breakfast, he had signed his name on a very short, simple contract that represented the start of his employment at the guild. Starting today, Ziggy would be tasked with whatever chores could be done around the guild to help others out. Carmen had agreed to let Sparks delegate Ziggy's chores for a while until he got more comfortable with the whole deal.
"What do I have to do…?" Ziggy asked. It was after breakfast, the active team had left for the day, and Sparks was ready to put Ziggy to work.
"I came up with three tasks for you today," he said, "but one of them's really quick and easy, so don't worry. We're gonna start with something very simple."
Sparks then led Ziggy over to a small closet tucked away in the corner of the common room. He opened it up, searched around inside for a moment, and then emerged having produced a broom and a dustpan.
"Let's give this room a good clean!" Sparks proclaimed.
"Oh…" Ziggy said, regarding the broom for a moment. He checked over his shoulder at the room and then looked back at Sparks. "Okay, sure, t-that's fine."
"I'll help you out some, but I want you to do most of the work, okay? It's not just because this is your 'job', but hard work like this will help you out in the long run. Just let me know if you have any questions or anything."
Ziggy nodded. When Sparks held out the broom and dustpan to him, Ziggy took them in his paws. The broom Sparks has chosen was small enough for the Buizel to be able to use comfortably.
Thus, Ziggy got to work sweeping up the room. Sparks had to show him how to properly use the dustpan, but Ziggy got the hang of it quickly enough. The common room tended to get quite dirty, considering how many Pokémon occupied it. No-one on the team ever littered, but accidentally discarded trash tended to hide itself away here and there. Plus, the active team often came back dirty from the hard work of the outside world, sometimes without even realizing it.
After about five minutes had passed, Sparks asked, "How's it going?"
"Yeah, this…this isn't so bad," Ziggy replied while continuing to sweep.
"We might get you to do this job a couple times a week, actually."
"That's fine. That's okay."
Sparks glanced over at the Buizel and chuckled to himself. Ziggy looked rather comfortable doing what he was doing. He kept a quiet demeanour and simply focused on his task. He didn't seem too stressed about the work.
The Raichu sighed softly in relief. Not only had he managed to keep Ziggy within the guild where he would feel safe, but this was also at long last a good step forward in helping Ziggy. Sparks knew that sitting alone and having nothing to do was not good for stress or anxiety. Giving the Buizel something to do would definitely help.
"All right, so here's one of your more important duties, Zig."
Sparks was leading Ziggy up the stairs to the guild's second floor. His sweeping job was done and the common room looked nice and clean. They had finished at just past 11 o'clock, rested and eaten lunch in Sparks' room, and now it was time for Ziggy's next task.
"What is it?" Ziggy asked.
"When Danika heard about what you were gonna be doing, she jumped at the opportunity. Having a helping paw around her is exactly what she needs right now!"
"Danika?"
Sparks continued to lead Ziggy over to Danika's office on the second floor. Ziggy had only been there a few times. A few other guild workers were running about through the halls, which caused Ziggy to gravitate a bit closer to Sparks' side. Guild workers outside of the active team still made Ziggy feel nervous.
"Um… Sparks?" Ziggy spoke up.
"Yeah, bud?"
"…Why did you have to go see Kandice yesterday?"
Sparks nearly stopped walking, having been caught off guard by the question. "Ah, well…" he said, "Nothing much. She was just checking up on me. She saw how tired I was at breakfast, remember?"
"Oh…So, you're okay? You're not sick?"
"Not sick, no. Nah, I'm…just fine, bud."
The conversation ended as the two reached the door to Danika's room. Sparks knocked a few times to signify their arrival and then entered with Ziggy in tow. Danika's windowless computer room looked just as it had when Ziggy had first met her, only with the addition of hundreds and hundreds of papers and folders. They were stacked neatly, and in some cases not so neatly, on her desks, tables, and on any available floor space.
The bespectacled Sneasel turned in her chair and waved to the two. "Hello, hello! Nice to see you two again."
"Hi, Danika," Ziggy said quietly.
"Hey there. Sparky tells me you're gonna be working for me?"
"Um… I guess?"
"Sounds good! Come over here and I'll explain what we're gonna do."
Sparks stepped to the side and gestured for Ziggy to continue ahead. Ziggy stepped forward with a hint of nervousness. As he approached Danika, his eyes were drawn to the illuminated screen of the computer again. It was filled with boxes and tons upon tons of words and numbers. Sparks couldn't blame Ziggy for staring; the computer truly was a marvel to behold.
"So," Danika said, addressing Ziggy, "I'm in the middle of transferring all of these old files from the city archive into the new digital database. That means I basically have to manually type out whatever's written in every single one. It's tons of fun!"
The Sneasel handed one of the old folders over to Ziggy, who opened it up. Sparks walked up and glanced over his shoulder, seeing that it was a citizenship record for a Bibarel that was dated more than 50 years ago.
"…What do I have to do?" Ziggy asked.
"I want you to help me sort them," Danika said with a smile, "Because the city doesn't know how to store things properly, everything is all mixed up and random here." She gestured to the endless stacks of papers and folders as she said this.
"Sort them…?"
"Yeah. Basically, I want you to pick a pile and then put them in alphabetical order. That makes it a lot easier for me to sort it into the digital database when I enter it." Danika paused for a moment, and shot a quick glance over at Sparks. "You, uh…do know alphabetical order, right?"
Sparks winced at the way she had phrased the question, but Ziggy simply nodded in response. Sparks was a bit surprised, and he wondered where Ziggy had picked up on alphabetical order while he was out on the streets.
"So, you think you can do that for me?" Danika asked as she adjusted her glasses.
"Uh… Yeah, I think so. I'll give it a try, at least."
"Great! You're gonna be a big help for me, I know it."
Ziggy glanced around at the sea of papers. "Do we have to do all of this…?"
"This and a whole lot more. The city's sending it over in boxes…" Danika replied. A moment passed before she realized what Ziggy had meant. "Oh! No, not all today. No, no, no. This is gonna take me weeks to finish, even with your help. I'm hoping we can make this a regular thing."
"Oh," Ziggy said, looking a little relieved, "Um… Yeah, I guess…"
Sparks looked over at Danika and said, "Just how much are they sending over to you?"
"The entire history of Pokémon-kind? That's what it feels like anyway."
"How far back do these records go? Not all the way to when Radiant City was founded, right?"
"No, thankfully not that far back," Danika said with a wave of her claw, "But they go back at least 100 years. That is a lot of Pokémon to consider."
"But…didn't you say you were doing more than just citizenship records?"
Danika simply levelled a tired look at the Raichu.
"Oh, Dani, I'm so sorry…"
The Sneasel just chuckled. "Carve on my tombstone that I was a wild party Pokémon that was loved by everyone."
"Well… Hopefully it won't take that long…"
"Um… M-miss Danika?"
Sparks barely heard Ziggy's quiet voice, and he and Danika turned to regard the Buizel.
"Please, for heaven's sake, do not call me that," Danika said with an embarrassed laugh. She then cleared her throat and said, "What's up?"
"W-what's…in there?" he said, pointing at something with his paw. The two others followed his gaze and saw that he was pointing at the heavy-duty safe tucked away in the corner of her room.
"Oh, that's…" Sparks started to say, but hesitated. He knew what was inside the safe, but he also knew he wasn't allowed to say.
"Don't worry about that," Danika said plainly, "It's just a dumb old thing I was working with. It's nothing important."
"Is…" Ziggy murmured, looking at the safe nervously, "Is it supposed to…vibrate?"
"Vibrate?" Sparks and Danika both exclaimed simultaneously. They shared a quick look with each other, and then both quickly bolted over towards the safe. Ziggy squeaked in surprise and quickly shuffled out of the way.
The two stood next to each other in front of the safe, studying it closely. A sense of nervous excitement was coursing through Sparks' veins, and he knew Danika was feeling the same but twofold. The safe didn't look out of the ordinary, though. It wasn't moving, certainly not vibrating, and there was nothing unusual about it. Danika approached carefully and then laid her head on top of the safe, pressing her ear right up against the top. She silently listened for a moment.
Sparks gave her a questioning look, but she just shook her head. Danika stepped back over to her desk for a moment, so Sparks took a turn pressing his ear up against the safe. He couldn't hear or feel anything either.
Finally, Danika returned with the key to the safe. She and Sparks crowded in close to the safe, ostensibly blocking it from Ziggy's view as they did. She slowly, carefully pulled the door open so that they could both gaze inside. The two Pokémon's faces were briefly lit up by a dim blue glow.
After about a minute of silence, Danika closed and locked the safe. She turned to look at Ziggy and said, "Are you sure it was vibrating?"
Ziggy looked really confused and a little frightened at what had just happened. "Uhh…Y-yeah… It, like, buzzed against the metal."
"Are you sure?" Danika repeated, "Because nothing's vibrating right now."
"Y…yeah…" Ziggy wilted under her questioning, "I…I heard it while you two were t-talking…"
"It's okay, Ziggy. We believe you," Sparks cut in before Danika could get any testier.
Danika instead furrowed her brow and gazed off into space with a questioning look in her eyes. She looked perplexed. Sparks himself was feeling a bit mystified by Ziggy's claim. Vibrating? The thing hadn't done anything more than an ordinary rock would through the whole time he and Danika had been studying it.
"Okay…" Danika murmured in an unsure voice, "I guess I'll…make a note of that…and keep an eye on it?" She looked over at Sparks, who simply shrugged in response.
"What else can ya do?"
"Mmm…"
Sparks glanced over at Ziggy, who was looking back and forth helplessly between the Raichu and Sneasel. Sparks hoped he hadn't seen anything when they had opened the safe. It probably wasn't in anyone's best interests if he got involved with all of that.
"How're ya feeling, buddy?" Sparks asked.
"Uh…Good, actually…" Ziggy said as he sat next to the Raichu on the common room couch.
Sparks had left Ziggy in the care of Danika for a couple hours while he helped her sort her paperwork. The two had kept an eye and ear out for the safe to make any more vibrating noises, but nothing had happened. Sparks wasn't entirely sure if Ziggy had actually heard it make a sound, or if he had just imagined it. Maybe the computer had made a sound?
"Danika told me you were a big help today!"
"She…She did?"
It was later in the day, and dinner had already come and gone. A bunch of Pokémon at the dinner table had expressed their happiness that Ziggy was sticking around. He seemed to have grown on everybody, which was more than Sparks could have hoped for. Ziggy needed help from them, but he was also making friends.
After a bit of time had passed, Sparks' badge started to glow. "I'm ready for y'all," said the voice from within in a familiar twang.
"Thanks Liz," Sparks replied, "We'll be down in a minute."
Ziggy had been startled by the sudden voice, but was now looking at Sparks curiously.
"This is your last chore for the day," Sparks explained as he stood up and motioned for Ziggy to do the same.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Well, Kona was out really late on a job today, and he missed dinner. You probably saw him, he just got back in not too long ago. And, he still has work to do in his room. So, Liz cooked him some late dinner and she'd like you to deliver it to his room."
"Oh," Ziggy replied, intrigued, "Oh, okay."
Ziggy found himself walking the halls of the guild, Sparks a few steps behind him. He was carefully balancing a tray of food on his paws, covered by one of those dome-shaped silver things that he didn't know the name of. It was a little heavy, but nothing he couldn't handle.
It was the end of his first day helping out around the guild. He hadn't been expecting it when Sparks and Carmen had brought it up to him. The idea had sounded intimidating, maybe even a little scary, but he had said yes because the prospect of leaving this place terrified him even more.
Despite having difficulty sleeping last night due to worrying about what was to come, his first day on the 'job' hadn't been so bad at all. A little hard work wasn't really anything new to him. He had spent his life working hard just to survive.
Seeing Liz again had been nice. The Miltank had frightened him when he first met her, but she was actually nice and pretty funny.
"Almost there," Sparks said to him as they entered the main hall, "You holding it up alright?"
"I got it," Ziggy replied.
"Good, good… This is another thing that might become a regular thing. It'll make Liz's job a lot easier if she doesn't have to run back and forth all over the building."
"Heh… Yeah."
They were just about to head into the common room on their way to the dorms when a voice interrupted them. "Sparks! Hang on, I have a quick question for you."
Ziggy glanced back over his shoulder and saw that it was Kandice again. Unlike yesterday, she didn't look worried this time. That was relieving to see.
"Oh, okay," Sparks said to her, and then turned back to Ziggy. "You know where Kona's room is, right?" he said.
"Yeah," Ziggy answered, "I can go give it to him."
"Cool. I'll catch up with you."
Sparks then headed off towards the nurse's office, while Ziggy continued alone through the door to the common room. There were a few occupants in the room as he passed through. Rico and Terry were sitting on the couch together and said hello. Shay and Akash were at the table and asked how he was going. Nobody held onto him for very long, though, which was thankful because the tray of food was a little heavy.
Ziggy made his way over to Kona's room, right across from his own room. After carefully balancing the tray on a single paw, he gave the door a few knocks.
A moment later, the Dewott answered the door. "Oh! Hi, Ziggy!" he greeted. When he spied the dish, he asked, "Is that my dinner?"
"Uh huh," Ziggy said with a nod.
"Oh wow, and you're delivering it for Liz? That's nice!" Kona then stepped to the side and said, "Could you come in and drop it on the table for me, please?"
Ziggy then noticed that Kona's paws were full. He was holding a few garments of various colours. "Yeah. Sure," Ziggy said as he entered the room.
Once inside, he saw that Kona's closet was open and an even bigger collection of garments were tossed randomly on his bed. While Ziggy sat the plate down, Kona walked over to the closet with the garments he had been holding.
"Sorry," Kona apologized, "I have to meet an important client tomorrow and I was trying to decide what to wear."
"You have clothes?" Ziggy asked, wandering over towards the bed with a curious look. As far as Ziggy had seen, Pokémon rarely wore clothes unless it was for warmth.
"Yeah, just some stuff I picked up over the years. It's not like a formal meeting or anything, I just want to look nice…" Kona started putting the garments he was holding back into the closet.
Ziggy was about to ask if Kona wanted help putting the garments back when something caught his eye. It was a black article of clothing that had been tossed on top of Kona's pillow, away from all of the other more colourful outfits strewn on the bed. Ziggy picked it up and held it up before him, letting him see what it was.
It was a 'hoodie'; a light but warm coat that a bipedal Pokémon could wear around their torso, with long sleeves, a single zipper, and a pair of pockets on the front. Its defining feature, though, was the large hood at the top that could be worn over a Pokémon's head. It was completely black in colour, aside from a couple small, thin white stripes that adorned the shoulders.
"You like that?"
Ziggy nearly jumped out of his skin. He had almost forgotten that Kona was even there, and realized belatedly that he had picked up Kona's belonging without permission. He flushed in embarrassment and tried to gently place the hoodie back down on the bed. "S-s-sorry," he murmured.
"No, it's okay," Kona said, shaking his head, "You can take a look if you want."
"I can…?" Ziggy asked. When Kona nodded and smiled, Ziggy picked up the garment again and started to examine it.
"That was a gift from a close friend from a couple years ago," Kona explained, "but unfortunately, it doesn't fit me. It's too small."
Ziggy looked over at Kona, and then back at the garment. He could see what Kona meant by that. The Dewott was a bit too tall for the hoodie to fit him. He continued to study the garment closely.
"I don't want to get rid of it," Kona continued, "but I'm not sure what to do with it, honestly. I don't think I can get it altered to fit me."
"Um…" Ziggy spoke up nervously, "Can I…"
Kona, who had been hanging up more clothes in his closet, paused and looked at him. "Can you what, now?"
"Can I…try it?"
"Try…? Oh, you mean try on the hoodie?" Kona said, "Sure, if you want. I'm not sure it'll fit you either, though. It's too small for me, but it might be too big for you."
Ziggy didn't reply to that and instead simply unzipped the hoodie and started to put it on. He slipped his paws into the sleeves and then zipped it back up. There was a mirror next to him on the wall, so he turned to look at himself.
"Ah, it fits you better than I thought it would," Kona commented, "Still a bit big, though."
Indeed, the hoodie was slightly oversized for Ziggy's small frame. The sleeves were longer than his forelimbs, meaning they hung low and covered up his paws. The bottom of the garment, which was supposed to end at his belly, sunk down almost to his hind paws. However, while the hoodie was long in places, it was not loose. The hoodie still hugged his torso snugly, and his neck fit comfortably into the hoodie's collar. As he moved his limbs around, despite the slightly long fabric, it didn't feel terribly uncomfortable.
Ziggy reached back and pulled the hood up over his head. It too was a bit oversized, but didn't obscure his vision too much.
"Heh…" Kona spoke up, "It's a little big on you, but it does look good. Too bad it doesn't fit. Maybe I can find you one in your size?"
"Uh…N-no…" Ziggy muttered.
"Huh? 'No'?"
"No, um… I mean…" Ziggy wrung his paws nervously, looking at Kona through the reflection in the mirror instead of directly at him. "I just…I mean, I was wondering… Could I have this one…?"
Kona looked at him curiously. "You want that hoodie…?"
"I-I-I mean, i-if you want. I know it was a gift, but…"
"Are you sure?" Kona asked, tilting his head in confusion, "It doesn't fit you, though…"
"I know. That's okay…" Ziggy said, returning his gaze to his own reflection, "I…I want it like this."
"Well, if you really want it then sure. Feel free to take it. It was a gift so I didn't want to throw it away or anything, but if I can pass it on as a gift to somebody else then that makes me feel better about the whole thing." Kona then put down the clothes he was carrying and walked up behind the Buizel, saying, "But…why do you want a hoodie that doesn't fit?"
"Um…" Ziggy murmured bashfully. He averted his gaze, tilting his head away so that the hood cast a shadow across his face.
A moment of silence passed, and then Kona simply said, "…Oh."
Suddenly there was a knock at the door, which startled Ziggy. He turned to look at the door while Kona beckoned for whoever it was to come inside. The door opened to reveal Sparks on the other side.
"Hey Kona," he greeted, "Hey buddy. You get your delivery done? Whoa, what're you wearing?"
Ziggy pulled the hood forward so that it covered his head better, put both of his paws into the pockets on the front, and looked up at Sparks.
"It was mine, but it didn't fit, so Ziggy asked if he could have it," Kona explained as he walked over and stood next to Sparks, also turning to look at the clothed Buizel.
"Heh…" Ziggy chuckled self-consciously, shuffling his hind paws as he did. "D'you…think it looks okay…?" he asked.
Sparks studied him for a moment, and then that same look of realization appeared in his eyes as well.
"…Oh."
The following day, after dinner, Sparks and Ziggy were standing in the common room off to the side. Most of the active team were still sitting at the table chatting with one another, while a few had already departed to their rooms. It was still October, so there were still at least two hours of daylight left outside.
Sparks stood there with an unsure look on his face. Ziggy looked up at him nervously. The Buizel could feel Butterfree in his stomach and he couldn't stop anxiously fidgeting. Today they would be trying something different.
Today, they would be going outside.
Ziggy was wearing the hoodie Kona had given him. The hood was currently down, but it wouldn't be so for long. He already had his paws tucked into the pockets on the front, and he had tucked his tail up under the back of the garment so that it didn't stick out. It felt pretty warm to wear, especially in the air conditioned interior of the guild, but it probably felt nice and comfy out in the chilly late autumn weather.
Glancing down at himself, Ziggy felt a rush of emotions. In a way, he was pleased with what he saw. This was it. This was exactly what he needed. He looked over at Sparks, and saw the Raichu was studying his appearance as well. Sparks saw the same thing he did, Ziggy was sure.
Once the hood was over his head, casting a shadow across his face, only the golden fur on his hind paws would be visible. Almost all of his freakishly-coloured fur would be hidden from view.
It was just like the mud, only much cleaner.
"You sure you wanna try this, Zig?" Sparks asked him.
"I…Y-yeah," Ziggy mumbled, "Well, no. It's, like- I don't want to do this. I don't want to go out, but..."
"It'd be nice to know you had the option?" Sparks finished for him.
"Yeah…Exactly…"
Ziggy winced a little as he heard Sparks softly sigh. The Raichu had initially been quite opposed to the idea of him hiding his fur under the hoodie. He had said that this was the kind of thing he should be moving away from. However, he eventually came around on the idea somewhat. Sparks admitted that wearing the hoodie might help with taking baby steps. Still, though, that look of uncertainty hadn't left the Raichu's face.
At the very least, Sparks had made Ziggy promise that he wouldn't wear the hoodie all the time. 'I guess it's fine if you want to do this sort of thing for now, but just for now, okay?' he had said, 'Make it your goal that, one day, you won't need it.'
"All right," Sparks said. He then approached the table with Ziggy behind him. Carmen had just left to do guildmaster stuff, but everyone else was just sitting and talking. Ziggy waited behind him. He could feel his nerves like shocks of electricity in his body. Everything was trying to tell him this was a bad idea.
"Hey guys," Sparks announced to the table, "Anybody wanna join in on a walk out in town?"
"You're heading out into the city?" Kona asked.
"Just for kicks. I don't have any errands out there or anything. Wanna tag along?"
Kona shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
"I'll come!" Lupe proclaimed from the other side of the table, "Can we stop by the treasure market on the way? I've been meaning to pick something up."
"Sure," Sparks replied. He turned to some of the others, most of whom politely declined. He then looked over at Terry and Rico and said, "You two wanna come with?"
Rico shook his head and said, "Love to, but we can't. We've already got plans."
"Both of you?" Sparks asked, just to confirm the answer was for both of them.
"Yeah," Rico replied, "We're both goin' somewhere. We won't be back until later." Terry simply nodded from behind him.
"Ah, oh well," Sparks said, "Some other time."
Eventually, it was decided that only Kona and Lupe would be joining. Once Sparks confirmed that no-one else was coming, he started to head towards the door while the Dewott and Vulpix followed him. Sparks grabbed his fanny pack from off of the couch and tied it around his waist.
"What are you doing tonight, Ziggy?" Lupe asked.
Ziggy had been silently shadowing Sparks the entire time, and had mostly been focused on his own nerves. He turned to Lupe, who was giving him the sweetest smile while she awaited an answer. Lupe was always super nice to him. He and her hadn't talked as much as he had with some of the other team members, but when they did she was always so pleasant to be around. It made Ziggy feel a little less nervous just seeing her smile.
"I, uh…" he spoke, "I'm…coming."
Lupe looked confused for a moment, and then very surprised. "You're…coming with us?" she asked.
Ziggy gulped and then said, "Uh huh…"
"Oh, wow…" Lupe replied, "That's…That's admirable."
Kona had also looked surprised when he heard this, but only for a few seconds. Kona had probably figured it all out, having been the Pokémon who gave him the hoodie in the first place. "You sure?" Kona asked.
Ziggy gulped again, and then said, "Y-yeah… I wanna…try, at least…" He then looked over at Sparks, who had finished with his fanny pack and was ready to go. "I'm just gonna stay with Sparks the whole time, though."
Sparks smiled at him and nodded. "That's fine, buddy. And just let me know if you want to come back. We can return any time you want."
"Okay," Ziggy said with a nod. With that, the four Pokémon then exited into the grand hall and made their way towards the large, imposing front doors of the society building. These were doors that Ziggy had only ever been through once, and that was during the time in the morning when the gates were closed and the public couldn't come in. Going through them now felt like an entirely different experience.
Sparks opened the doors. The three other Pokémon stepped out, while Ziggy hesitated in the doorway for a few seconds before stepping out as well.
The late afternoon atmosphere greeted him with a gentle breeze and a cloudy sky. Only the most distant hints of the eventual sunset could be seen. The temperature was nice and cool, and the hoodie actually complimented it well.
The plaza in front of the building was empty. The gates were open, but there was nobody there at the moment. Ziggy felt a chill run down his spine. Beyond those gates was the public. The world he had spent his entire life hiding away from. He tried to remain calm, tried to convince himself that the hoodie would be enough of a shield, but his nerves were doing their best to get the better of him.
Ziggy followed the group as they crossed the plaza and approached the gate. Ziggy stuck close behind Sparks for the time being. He knew that Sparks wouldn't want him hiding in his shadow the entire time, but he felt safer starting out like this. Once they were beyond the gates, Ziggy felt his fear rise even higher.
He couldn't see anybody in the immediate vicinity. The guild sat on top of a hill just outside of the city, so no-one would be there unless they were specifically going to the guild. At the bottom of the hill, though, was where the city sat. Ziggy could see the small figures of Pokémon off in the distance, walking the roads and going about their own business.
Normal, everyday Pokémon.
The Pokémon who all hated him.
Ziggy gulped and pulled the hood tighter around his face and head. His muzzle was the same colour as a normal Buizel, so if that was the only part of him that could be seen then everything would be all right. He was just counting on the shadow of the hood obscuring the top half of his face, and for other Pokémon not to be paying too much attention.
"Shall we head down Ruby Street towards the market?" Sparks asked.
"Sounds good," Lupe replied.
"We can take Topaz Way on the way back," Kona commented, "That area always looks nice in the evening."
Sparks glanced back and gave Ziggy a concerned look. Ziggy figured that he and the Raichu were both thinking the same thing; the market was where they had first met. Memories of the altercations that took place in that spot flooded his mind.
Ziggy tried to tell himself that it would be okay, though. If he was wearing the hoodie, it would be fine. He had to trust that Sparks would steer clear of that Machamp's stall, and everything would work out okay.
"Don't wander too far, Zig," Sparks said, "I know you're still kinda new to the city. Don't want you to get lost."
Ziggy glanced up at Sparks, and then gasped. He had been so engrossed in his own thoughts that he hadn't even noticed that they had reached the edge of the city already. They were standing on a road, looking down another road leading in between the buildings into the heart of the large city.
And there were Pokémon. They were down on the street in front of him. They were walking the outer roads next to them. They were all around him.
Ziggy instinctively gravitated towards Sparks and hugged the larger Pokémon's side. His eyes darted around at all the other Pokémon, never remaining focused on a single one for more than two seconds. What was he doing? What had he done?! This was a bad idea. This was a terrible, horrible, awful idea!
"You okay, Ziggy?" Sparks asked in concern, "You wanna go back?"
While he wanted to immediately say 'yes', the rapid rising and falling of Ziggy's chest gradually started to slow. He started paying a little more attention to the passing Pokémon. There were a lot of them so it was difficult to focus, but Ziggy slowly became more aware of what was occurring around him.
Nobody was looking at him. A few Pokémon gave the group as a whole a passing glance as they walked by, but nobody spent more than a second looking directly at Ziggy himself. Nobody was staring. Nobody was pointing, laughing, screaming, shouting, or any of that horrible stuff.
It was working. No-one was noticing his fur colour.
"Ziggy?" Sparks prodded, giving him a tap on the shoulder.
As his breathing finally returned to normal, Ziggy turned to look up at the Raichu. Kona and Lupe were both looking at him in concern as well. Ziggy swallowed the lump in his throat, took a deep breath, and then said, "No…No, I think…I-I'm fine…"
"You sure? We can go back if you want."
Ziggy shook his head, taking care not to accidentally toss off the hood. "No…" he murmured, "It's working…Nobody can see…"
He saw Sparks take a look around as well, seeming to confirm this fact. "I suppose so…" he commented.
"Yeah…" Ziggy spent a moment self-consciously tugging at the hoodie, making sure it covered as much of his body as possible, and then took a step away from Sparks. He stood up a little bit straighter, though not enough to let the evening sun shine onto his face, and tried his best to act natural. Or, at least, his best guess at what acting natural was like.
Some Pokémon were looking at him briefly. At first this made him a bit nervous, but he realized that they were probably checking out his hoodie instead of himself. Since most Pokémon didn't even wear clothes, he still did stand out a bit. Wearing a coat like this wasn't out of the norm, though.
"It's working…" Ziggy murmured to himself.
After a moment of silence from the group passed, Sparks eventually spoke up. "Well then, uh… Shall we continue?"
Ziggy turned to look at him, and then nodded. "Sure!"
Sparks then proceeded to lead the way, with Ziggy following behind him, and Kona and Lupe taking up the rear. He led them down the street leading into the centre of the city, away from the outskirts where the guild was. The more steps they took, the louder the din of city noise became.
Ziggy knew enough about the city to know that the market was only a couple blocks away from the city's edge. He realized soon enough that this was the street Sparks had taken him down when he had first gone to the Rescue Society. It was hard to believe more than a month had passed since then.
The Pokémon walking the streets all seemed busy in one way or another. If anybody did take a moment to look at his hoodie, it was an uncommon experience as most Pokémon were simply too engrossed in whatever they were doing. It was a very surreal experience to the Buizel, after his years spent hiding in the alleys and staying out of the public's eye.
It wasn't long before Ziggy realized he was paying more attention to his surroundings than to the other Pokémon. He was looking up at the buildings, reading the signs, and generally seeing what sights the city had to offer. He hadn't even done it intentionally; his eyes had simply started to drift.
Was this what it felt like to be…normal?
At one point a Grovyle, who had been running down the street at top speed, nearly crashed right into Ziggy and ended up roughly bumping him in the shoulder. "Oh my gosh! Sorry! I'm so sorry!" the Grovyle immediately apologized, "Are you okay? I didn't mean to hit you, I wasn't looking. Sorry!"
Ziggy had been shaken by the collision, and was worried that his hood had flown off. When he found that it hadn't, and he heard the Grovyle apologize so remorsefully to him, that brief spike of fear went away. He nodded to the Grovyle, who was in such a rush that he immediately turned around and took off again. Sparks and the others asked if he was okay, but nothing more came of the incident. He wasn't hurt, and nothing bad had happened.
The group eventually reached the market. Ziggy was hit with tons of familiar sights, as this was the area he had lived before Sparks had found him. He could easily pick out many of his old hiding spots, which brought with it a weird feeling of nostalgia. He subconsciously clutched his hoodie tighter against his body, feeling just a little more nervous. He could recognize the faces of many Pokémon he had stolen from before.
After Sparks asked if he was okay for about the millionth time that evening, he then looked around for a moment before pointing in one particular direction. "The treasure market's over there."
"Yup!" Lupe confirmed, and then she took point and started to lead the group. The market was full of all manner of stalls, arranged as best as possible into distinct groups. The party had entered near the food section, and there were sections for things like clothing, tools, materials, and even services.
As they left the food section, where Ziggy had previously spent most of his time, the Buizel started idly gazing at the various stalls and their colourful arrangement of merchandise. The market was pretty full, but not overly crowded. Almost every stall had at least one customer browsing the selection of items. Many of them were chatting with the stall owner. Ziggy saw a lot of smiling, laughing faces as he passed by. He could feel more eyes upon him, since they were in a more contained area, but still he didn't notice anybody staring at him.
Ziggy nearly walked right into Sparks' back, not having noticed that the Raichu had stopped. "Sorry, bud," Sparks apologized to him, "Kona wanted to check out that stall."
"Huh?" Ziggy turned to look and saw that Kona was browsing a stall that sold winter clothing such as coats and toques.
"I'll just be a moment," Kona called to them.
The bustling market continued to move around the trio while they stood and waited for the Dewott to finish his shopping. Now that he wasn't focused on walking anymore, Ziggy found himself a little more subconscious. He started watching all of the passing Pokémon again, carefully looking out for anybody giving him a weird look. Still, though, nobody was taking notice of him.
Once his nerves were calmed down again, Ziggy started to look at the nearby stalls. They were in an area with clothing sellers, so there were many colourful garments on display. Ziggy visually browsed through the scarves hanging by the stall Kona was at, and then his eyes began to wander to the other stalls. Pokémon were selling hats, coats, satchels, necklaces and all sorts of other various items. Before seeing Kona's hoodie, Ziggy hadn't given clothing even a passing thought. As time passed, he found himself slowly turning around, looking at stall after stall and eventually ending up looking at the stalls on the side of the street opposite the one Kona was at.
One garment in particular caught his eye. There was another stall on this side of the street that was also selling winter clothing. A rack was set up out front where scarves of various colours were hanging. One of them was a striped scarf, with alternating orange and light blue colours. Ziggy wasn't sure why, but this scarf in particular appealed to him for some reason.
"You like that one, sweetheart?"
Ziggy jumped in surprise, his heart leaping into his throat. He quickly looked up and saw that it was the owner of the stall who had spoken. It was a Braixen, just like the guildmaster, only this Braixen looked younger and a little bit shorter. She also had a scarf of her own around her neck.
The owner seemed surprised by Ziggy's reaction and said, "Sorry, hon! Didn't mean to startle you. I just saw you peekin' at my scarves."
For a moment, Ziggy was paralyzed with a familiar fear. The crippling, frightful sensation of meeting a stranger. He looked over his shoulder towards Sparks, but Sparks wasn't where he had been standing a moment ago. It took a few seconds for Ziggy to see that Sparks was now over at the same stall as Kona, and they were discussing something.
"You okay, sweetheart?"
Ziggy looked back at the Braixen. She wore a look of genuine concern, and was leaning over the edge of her stall to try and get closer to Ziggy's eye level. At first Ziggy continued to panic. Sparks wasn't nearby; he couldn't help. Then, however, he reminded himself that he was wearing his hoodie, and it looked as if the Braixen hadn't noticed his fur colour.
"H….Hi…" he managed to squeak out.
The stall owner smiled sweetly at him. "Hello, sweetie."
Ziggy relaxed a little more upon hearing the gentle tone in her voice. "Um… Hi," he repeated, and then said, "S-sorry, I was just…looking at…"
The Braixen giggled and said, "No worries. I could just see that you like that orange and blue one, right?"
Ziggy glanced at the scarf in question, and then nodded. "S-sorta…"
"That one's a personal favourite of mine," she explained, "I make a couple of those every month and I make sure I've got at least one for sale every day."
"…You make these?" Ziggy asked quietly.
"I sure do," the Braixen said proudly, "Lovingly woven with the finest Mareep wool by paw. I've been making scarves since I evolved over ten years ago."
"Wow…" Ziggy whispered, "They're…very nice…"
"Well, aren't you just the sweetest?" she cooed. After a brief pause, she added, "I'm guessing you're not a customer, though?"
"Um…" Ziggy stammered, and then demurely shook his head.
"I thought so. You looked a bit young and I saw you traveling with that Raichu. That's okay, though. I'm just happy you like it." She sighed softly and said, "I wish I could give it to you for free, I really do. I think it would look great on you."
"Oh," Ziggy said, "N-no, that's okay. It's fine, I understand."
The Braixen giggled softly and said, "You're the cutest. Look at you in your adorable little hoodie."
Ziggy fidgeted. "Um…Thanks…?"
He then glanced over his shoulder again. Sparks was still distracted over at the stall, but Kona was now talking with the stall's owner. It looked like they were wrapping up their business, so Ziggy turned back to the Braixen and said, "I should go…"
"Aw, so soon?" she replied, "Well, it was nice to meet you."
"Yeah! Um, n-nice to meet you to…" Ziggy paused and then added, "It was nice to talk to you…"
"I'm Lola, by the way," she said, leaning down and extending her paw out towards Ziggy.
"Oh, uh, I'm Ziggy," he replied, accepting the pawshake offer.
While the two shook paws, Lola gave him a friendly smile and a quiet lighthearted giggle. Ziggy liked the way she smiled, and he felt strangely content after the interaction. Lola's eyes glanced downward, and her smile disappeared. Her eyes opened wider and she raised one eyebrow quizzically.
Ziggy didn't understand her change in expression until he looked down as well, and all he saw was the Braixen's black paw gently shaking his own paw.
His own bright yellow paw!
Ziggy gasped and snapped his paw back as if he had burned it. He stashed it back into the hoodie's front pocket as quickly as he could as panic started to set in all over again. He nervously looked up at the Braixen, but her expression hadn't changed. She was looking at him. She had seen it.
Without so much as a quick goodbye, Ziggy quickly turned tail and ran in the direction of Sparks as quickly as he could. Thankfully it was a short distance, though it felt like miles to him. He quickly darted right up to the large Raichu's side, catching Sparks off guard.
"Whoa! Hey, Zig. You okay?"
Ziggy looked up at him. Seeing the Raichu's concerned expression immediately helped calm him down a little. He stole a few furtive glances around, but didn't see any angry mobs with pitchforks. "Yeah, I'm…okay," he said softly.
It looked like Sparks was going to say something else, but the pair were suddenly joined by Kona. The Dewott was now holding a small bag with whatever he had purchased inside of it. "Sorry for the delay!" he announced, "Let's keep going!"
"Finally!" Lupe said in a jokingly exasperated tone, "It's practically midnight by now!"
"I bet you 15 Poké you're gonna take longer than I did," Kona said, sticking his tongue out at the Vulpix.
The two started to walk off, continuing their friendly banter. Sparks and Ziggy had to start following them, lest they lose them in the crowd somewhere. Ziggy followed close behind Sparks as they left the clothing section of the market behind, and neither of them said anything. Ziggy glanced over his shoulder, but he couldn't see the Braixen anymore. While this was reliving to see, he nonetheless let out a melancholy sigh.
From there, it didn't take long for the group to reach the treasure market. Ziggy's gloomy thoughts were immediately cast aside when he saw what this part of the market had to offer. His eyes lit up as he saw the colourful array of jewelry, stones, artefacts and other treasures out on display. The vibrant mix of colours was dizzying to behold. It seemed as if everything on display sparkled, whether it was meant to or not.
It was a smaller section of the market, with only a handful of stalls, but the colourful displays of these few stalls was enough to make the entire area shine like a radiant diamond.
Was this what the city was named after?
Lupe bounded over to the closest stall like an excited puppy. This had been her reason for joining the expedition into the city, and it was clear she was quite excited to be here. There was a huge smile on her face as she took in all of the beauty the stall had to offer.
"Gosh…" Ziggy whispered to Sparks, "She likes stuff like that? Jewelry?"
Sparks chuckled. "She likes shiny things. I think one of her long lost ancestors was a Murkrow. No, she's not big on jewelry, but she likes to put pretty things in her room from time to time."
"Oh…"
For a moment, the three stood on the street and watched Lupe browse the stalls, her eyes sparkling with joy the whole time. Kona eventually wandered over to one stall in particular that was selling lapidary art, leaving Ziggy alone with Sparks.
"She…might be a while," Sparks eventually commented, causing Ziggy to look up at him. The Raichu idly glanced around for a moment, and then an idea seemed to come to him. "Hey, Toby's stall isn't far from here," he said, "Why don't we go meet him?"
"Toby?" Ziggy asked. He didn't recognize the name.
"Toby's an old friend of mine," Sparks answered, "I was talking with him when you, uh…" Sparks stopped himself for a moment and then said, "When we met."
Ziggy wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. It was a memory he had tried to erase from his head on countless occasions, and going back to the 'scene of the crime' wasn't exactly at the top of his priorities. Sparks, however, insisted that Ziggy and Toby meet so eventually Ziggy nodded and decided to follow along.
Sparks led Ziggy just a short distance outside of the treasure market and eventually approached a small green and brown stall hidden in amongst the chaos of everything surrounding it. A somewhat bored-looking Kecleon was sitting behind it, though his expression brightened up when he saw Sparks approaching.
"Sparks! What's up? Don't usually see you out here this late!"
"I'm out for a stroll with some friends," Sparks replied as he walked right up to the stall.
"And the undeniable hunger for my entire stock of berries was too powerful to ignore," Toby said with a sage nod, "It'll be costly, but for you I can make it happen. Will that be cash or cheque?"
Sparks groaned softly. "Why are all my friends comedians…?"
Toby laughed at Sparks' remark. He then glanced over and took notice of the smaller Pokémon standing next to him. "Whozat? Your nephew?"
Ziggy was looking up at the Kecleon nervously. He didn't feel all too comfortable. Not only had his infamous theft against Sparks taken place right in front of this stall, with Toby there watching, but Ziggy had met Kecleon before in other places. The interactions were never pleasant.
Sparks glanced down at Ziggy and said, "Ziggy, this is Toby. He runs a berry stand here and is the main reason I don't collapse from exhaustion some days when I'm out here. He always has the best Pinaps."
Toby immediately leaned forward with interest in his eyes. "This is Ziggy?" he asked, "Really? The Ziggy?"
"Wh-what…?" Ziggy murmured, shrinking back a little bit.
"Ah," Sparks interjected, "I've been telling Toby about what's been going on lately, so he knows about you already."
"Yeah!" Toby concurred, "He won't shut up about you! Haha!"
Ziggy looked up at Sparks. "R…Really…?"
"He's exaggerating," Sparks remarked.
"Only a little!" Toby retorted. The Kecleon then enthusiastically thrust out his claw towards Ziggy for a pawshake. "Nice to meet you! I'm Toby!"
Ziggy froze on the spot, staring at the outstretched claw in silence. He kept his paws firmly buried in his pockets. He had just gone through this and had no desire to go through it again. "N-n-nice to meet you…" he said, unable to keep the nervousness out of his voice.
"Aren't you gonna give him a pawshake, Ziggy?" Sparks asked.
Ziggy winced like a scolded child. He almost shook his head and said 'no', but when he looked up at Toby again he remembered that Sparks had told the Kecleon about him. Toby already knew about his fur colour, most likely.
Still, though, Ziggy quickly checked to his left and right to see if anybody was paying attention to them. When the coast was clear, or as close to clear as he felt comfortable with, Ziggy withdrew one of his paws and grasped Toby's claw. What transpired was perhaps the world's fastest pawshake, after which his paw was hidden in the pocket once more.
Toby didn't say anything about his fur. At first Ziggy was surprised and pleased, but recalled that Toby was a friend of Sparks. Of course Toby wouldn't care. Sparks wouldn't be friends with someone who did care, right? That was just the kind of Pokémon that Sparks was. Ziggy glanced up at the Raichu, who was chuckling to himself a little but nonetheless giving the Buizel a happy smile.
Ziggy scolded himself for running away from Lola the Braixen so quickly. Sparks might not have been right next to him, but Ziggy knew that he wouldn't have been more than a second away if something had gone wrong. He told himself that he needed to hammer this fact into his head. Sparks was looking out for him. If somebody rose a stink about his fur colour, then it wouldn't be the end of the world if the Raichu was with him.
Lupe ended up taking longer to shop than expected.
At first, Sparks and Ziggy stuck around to talk to Toby, but eventually a large group of customers arrived at his stall and the conversation had to be cut short. It wasn't long before Sparks and Ziggy were both bored, so Sparks found Kona and told him that they would meet up later on Topaz Way.
In the interim, Sparks led Ziggy on a walking tour through the rest of the market. Ziggy stuck close by the Raichu's side the whole time, but his interest was definitely on his surroundings. Since they weren't stopping to buy anything, the array of products on display kept changing with every 'block' of the marketplace they went through. There was always something new to see.
There was a section all about cubs, with stuff like toys and small clothing items. Ziggy was enamoured by one stall in particular that was selling huge stuffed Pokémon toys. There was an area for artists, with Pokémon selling paintings and all manner of homemade crafts. Sparks seemed to deliberately be taking him to the more colourful sections of the market.
"See anything you like?" Sparks asked him as they continued their leisurely stroll.
"Huh?"
"I think I can get away with buying you one little thing," Sparks said cheekily.
Ziggy thought about the question for a moment. He almost brought his paw up to his chin in thought, but caught himself before his paw came out of his pocket. He then glanced down at himself and realized he knew what he wanted.
"Mittens?"
Sparks paused and turned to look down at him. "Mittens?" he repeated.
Ziggy just nodded.
"…Oh, I see," he said, looking a little conflicted for a moment. "Uhh…I guess so. We can just consider it a coping tool for now…Plus you can use them afterwards for when it gets cold." He then smiled once more. "I don't really get cold in the winter. Y'know, 'cus I'm so fat… but my paws in particular always get really cold. When winter comes around, a nice scarf and a pair of mittens are really all I need."
Ziggy gave Sparks an odd look at the 'fat' comment. Sure the Raichu was a lot bigger than he was, but he didn't look fat, at least not in the Buizel's opinion.
"All right then," Sparks announced, "We can make a quick detour back to the clothing market. Come along."
The two then made their way in a different direction, heading back to the area of the market that sold clothing. Ziggy was still looking at all of the stuff that was on display. They hadn't gone down this direction on their way in, so it was still all new stuff to see.
The more they went, the more interesting stuff Ziggy saw. He had already been paying less and less attention to the crowd of Pokémon around him, but by now he was hardly even noticing them. There was just so much to look at. Eventually his gaze even started to drift beyond the market, looking at the buildings and structures in the distance. The city rose up on small hills in some places, allowing him to see parts of the city that were even far off in the distance. In one direction, he could just barely see the sea as it drifted towards the horizon.
Radiant City was a huge city that had overwhelmed him when he had first arrived. He had spent his time hiding away in one or two places that he considered 'safe enough'. Now, though, he was just starting to realize that he had been missing out. Even from a visual standpoint alone, this city had a lot to see.
"Hey, Sparks?" Ziggy asked, "What's that building over there? The circle one?" A moment passed and Sparks didn't answer. Ziggy turned to look at him in confusion, and then gasped in horror.
Sparks wasn't there.
Ziggy whipped his head around in all directions, turning around completely on the spot. Sparks wasn't anywhere near him. He wasn't anywhere Ziggy could see. Sparks was simply gone.
Icy panic gripped the Buizel's heart. He must have accidentally wandered off while he had been distracted looking at all of the stuff in the market. Now Sparks was gone. He could be anywhere in this crowd of Pokémon. Ziggy didn't even know which direction the clothing market was in from where he was standing, so he didn't even know where to look.
Worse, Ziggy couldn't call out Sparks' name. Ziggy did not want to call attention to himself. The last thing he wanted to do was shout loudly and become the centre of attention.
He was left standing in the middle of the market, all alone, as crowds of Pokémon moved around him. Suddenly that fear of strangers came back to him. He felt that sensation of being surrounded by unknown Pokémon again. Pokémon that hated him. Pokémon that he had to hide from. Oh, this was bad. This was really, really bad!
Ziggy tried his best to remain calm and continued to search for the Raichu in the crowd. Sparks had a relatively large frame, so he shouldn't be too hard to spot in a group. Besides, as soon as Sparks noticed that Ziggy had gone missing, he would start doing his best to find him, and he wouldn't be afraid to shout.
Right?
…Right?
Fear and self-doubt started to cloud Ziggy's mind. He felt alone, unsafe and exposed out here in the middle of the market. A couple of Pokémon were looking at him now. By standing still, he was standing out, and Pokémon were starting to notice him. Ziggy berated himself for not paying attention to where he was going. Where was Sparks? Where were Kona and Lupe? Could any of them help him, or was he just screwed? Would he have to run away and hide in the alleys until Sparks found him? Again?
Ziggy gasped. He had just barely caught sight of the long, distinctive shape of a Raichu's tail within the crowd of Pokémon. "Sparks!" he called out as loudly as he dared.
The tail slipped out of sight. Sparks hadn't heard him. So, with no other choice, Ziggy immediately took off running in the direction he had gone. He quickly dashed behind the row of Pokémon that were in front of where he had last seen Sparks' tail and looked around the corner, catching sight of the back of the Raichu's head. Sparks had moved through a crowd and gone through an opening to the left.
Ziggy ran in the same direction, but hesitated for a moment. That same crowd of Pokémon were in the way. They weren't blocking the way, but he was going to have to squeeze past them. He tried to look between them to see if Sparks had noticed him, but only caught a few glimpses of his tail again.
So, Ziggy mustered up his courage and approached the group of strangers. He murmured, "Excuse me…" and weaved through them as seamlessly as possible. Ziggy belatedly realized this wasn't anything new for him. He was used to running away through crowds and cluttered alleyways.
Once he was past the blockade, he went through the opening and zipped around the corner. There, he saw Sparks walking ahead of him. Finally, there was nothing in between the two of them, so Ziggy hurriedly ran up behind him. "Sparks! I'm here!"
The Raichu stopped and turned around to look at him. Ziggy slammed on the brakes and gasped.
It wasn't Sparks. This Raichu looked a lot younger, and Ziggy only now noticed that he was shorter and leaner than his friend and protector. The Raichu was giving him a perplexed look that betrayed the fact that he had no idea who this hooded Buizel was. "Huh…?" he replied in confusion.
Ice ran through Ziggy's veins. He shrunk back under his hood, hoping the Raichu hadn't seen his fur. "S…S-sorry…" he whimpered.
The unknown Raichu raised an eyebrow and gave him an odd look for a moment, and then simply shrugged and walked off.
Ziggy watched the Raichu walk down the street, his heart hammering in his chest, until the Raichu turned another corner and Ziggy was left alone. He then took stock of where he had ended up and gasped again as he realized just how 'alone' he was.
It was a dark, empty road with door-less buildings on either side. Ziggy wasn't in the market anymore. He had chased the Raichu right out of the marketplace and onto some back street that led behind the buildings. The only notable things here were a few trash bins and discarded cardboard boxes.
Ziggy quivered on the spot and struggled to breathe as he realized he had gotten himself into even deeper trouble. Being without Sparks was one thing, but being utterly alone in the city with no-one around felt much worse. Being in the city alone like this usually meant hiding in alleyways and being covered from head to toe in mud, and it was something he hadn't done in over a month.
The nervous Buizel gulped and backed up a few paces. "O-okay…" he whispered to himself, "I didn't come too far out…I-if I turn around, I'll be back at the market…"
Before Ziggy could set his plan into motion, though, he yelped as he felt his hood get roughly yanked off of his head. He tried to quickly turn around and face his attackers, only to trip over his own paws and end up falling down on his rump.
"Haha! Y'see, Omar? Wha'd I tell ya?"
Ziggy looked up and saw two Pokémon towering over him. The one who had spoken was a large Graveler, while the other was a Sandslash.
"You was right, Gunther," the Sandslash replied, "He is a freak!"
The two larger Pokémon glared down at the terrified Buizel with wicked sneers. Ziggy recoiled in fear and tried desperately to pull his hood back over his head, despite there being no point.
"Sneaky li'l freak thought he could hide under dat hoodie," Omar jeered, "Gotta bring those big freaky yellow paws out for a pawshake though, don't'cha?"
Gunther let out a loud bellowing laugh and loomed over Ziggy even more. "Bet he thought he could just slip by wit' no-one noticin'…"
Ziggy trembled on the spot, internally screaming at his body to get up and run away. Unfortunately, he found himself frozen in fear. His worst nightmares were playing out exactly as he had envisioned them. Someone had figured him out. Someone had seen his paws during the pawshake. Now, someone was coming after him.
"Maybe you didn't get the memo," Omar said, now directly addressing Ziggy, "The marketplace's for Pokémon…not whatever you's is…"
"S…Sorry…" Ziggy whispered.
"Where the hell'd you even come from?" Gunther demanded, "Dere ain't no freaks livin' in Radiant City. Dis is a freak-free zone, y'understand?"
Ziggy gulped and slowly managed to inch back along the ground. The two larger Pokémon had gradually been getting closer to him.
"'Ey!" Gunther then proclaimed, "Sun ain't set yet. Let's rip off dat jacket and see how much he sparkles!"
A terrified squeak slipped out of Ziggy's throat.
"Nah," Omar said with a casual shrug, "I say we give him a strong reminder that his kind ain't…welcome…here…" With those last three words, Omar leaned in closer and closer to Ziggy, his tone getting lower and darker.
Ziggy's heart skipped a beat and his breath caught in his throat. They were going to fight him. They were going to beat him up!
"Not a bad idea, Omar," Gunther commented, and then proceeded to crack his knuckles.
"S…S…" Ziggy whimpered. He wanted to run away; it was usually what he did to escape trouble. However, he knew that Graveler could roll along the ground at really high speeds. Even with how fast he was, he knew he couldn't outrun a rolling Graveler. Memories of how Sparks had caught him in the first place were at the forefront of his mind.
"Keep watch while I rough 'im up a li'l…" Gunther said as he took a dominating step forward.
"S-Sparks…! Sparks!" Ziggy was finally able to force himself to call for help. He heard his voice echo against the surrounding buildings. "Sparks!"
Omar snickered and said, "What's he doin' now? Cryin' out for his daddy?"
"Pfft! No!" Gunther countered, "Whaddaya stupid? What father would care about a freak like 'im?"
"Good point."
As the Graveler took another step towards him, the Rock-Type's shadow now blanketing him, Ziggy cried out once more in a panicked voice. "SPARKS!"
A couple seconds passed before a voice called out his own name, though it felt like an eternity. Ziggy looked past the two offending Pokémon and saw the wonderful sight of Sparks rounding the corner and immediately dashing in their direction. He swiftly sidestepped the two and placed himself between the two parties before they could even react. "Hey, hey, hey! Back up a bit, guys. What's going on here?"
The Sandslash took a single step backwards but no more, and the Graveler didn't move. "Who the hell're you?!" Omar demanded.
"Hey, easy now…" Sparks said as he held up his paws defensively. He stole a glance over his shoulder and said, "You okay, Zig?"
Ziggy was still sitting on his rump, trying to get his panicked breathing under control, but he did nod at Sparks. The relief he felt now that Sparks was with him again was indescribable. Everything would be okay now. Sparks would protect him.
Omar was squinting his eyes at Sparks' chest, and then he said, "Oh, it's one of you losers!" Ziggy realized that the Sandslash had noticed Sparks' badge. "What?" Omar continued, "Y'gonna try an' stop me with love and friendship or whatever?"
"What?" Gunther asked his companion.
"It's one of them yuks from the whatever society. Self-righteous whackos who think dey own this whole town…"
"All right," Sparks said calmly, "All right, let's relax. Okay? I don't know exactly what was going on here, but at the very least you were making my friend uncomfortable. Why don't we both just walk away and go on with our lives?"
Omar spit. He actually spit on the ground, just barely missing Sparks' hind paw. "Shoulda figured you'd be 'friends' with this freak. Frankly, I don't give a crap. Me an' my associate here were just about to teach this kid a lesson about where freaks like him do and do not belong. So get outta the way unless you want in on this beatin' too…" The Sandslash was glaring up at Sparks, even though the Raichu was taller, and holding up one of his claws threateningly.
Ziggy saw Sparks tense his body and take another step back. He leaned down a bit lower in a defensive position. "…That won't be necessary," Sparks said slowly, "There's no need to do something arrest-worthy, all right?"
"P'hah!" Gunther bellowed, "I'd like to see you try an' arrest us, 'grandpa'!"
"You got two choices, fatass," Omar said threateningly, "Move outta the way, or get your ass handed to ya."
As Sparks continued to hold his ground, Ziggy nervously flitted his gaze between Sparks and the two Pokémon. Vivid memories of his encounter with the angry Clefable were fresh in his mind. At first he was scared, worried that these Pokémon would hurt him or Sparks like the Clefable had tried to do. He tried to relax, though, and remember just how easily Sparks had subdued the Clefable. Ziggy had to remind himself that Sparks was a lot stronger and better practised in fighting than he was.
Sparks took another step back and got down on all fours, an even more defensive pose. Ziggy inched back to give him room, but that's when he noticed that something was off. Sparks didn't have the same confident, defiant expression that he wore when facing the Clefable. It almost looked like Sparks was worried, or even afraid.
"Back…Back off," Sparks said. Ziggy had noticed the brief stutter. He looked at Sparks in confusion to try and figure out what was wrong, and then gasped when he noticed something alarming.
Sparks was shivering.
"Heh," Omar chuckled, standing up to his full height which was just slightly higher than Sparks' prone form, "You really think you can take the both of us? Y'know, you society idiots are all the same, and yer just like the rest of this dumb city and the whole damn world. Always lookin' for peaceful ways to end things. Yeah, just tie 'em up, toss 'em in jail. Whatever.
"Look, pal. I'm gonna clue ya in on somethin' that you seem to have forgotten. Somethin' everyone has forgotten." He raised his claws, as well as his voice, and proclaimed, "We are all Pokémon! And y'know what? Pokémon are supposed ta fight each other! Pokémon are supposed to have battles! Pokémon are built for fightin'! So, you better get ready, 'cus I'm ready ta fight!"
Ziggy was looking at Sparks in concern. Something was really wrong with the big, strong Raichu. He was gritting his teeth, breathing quickly, and shrinking back in a very cautious, defensive way. Something had rattled him, and Ziggy had no idea what it was.
"S-stay back!" Sparks barked suddenly, "I don't want to fight you. There doesn't have to be violence!"
Gunther laughed at this. "Look at 'im, Omar! He's scared!"
Omar laughed as well and gave Sparks a sneering look. "See, that Society's made you all soft!"
At this point, Ziggy could see sweat on Sparks' face. His discomfort was becoming more apparent. Why was he doing this? Why was he acting scared? Sparks wasn't scared of anything! The Raichu was breathing heavy and fast now. It looked like he was about to panic, which in turn made Ziggy start to panic.
"Ugh," Omar said as he rolled his eyes, "Forget this. You ain't worth it. Just stay outta the way while we deal with the freak." The Sandslash then stepped forward, using his claw to roughly push Sparks out of the way.
The moment Omar's claw made contact with Sparks, it was as if a switch had been flipped. Sparks immediately dove forward, tackling the Sandslash to the ground. They landed in a heap, Omar grunting as the wind was knocked out of him. Sparks didn't give him a chance to retaliate before pulling back one of his paws, balled up into a fist. Ziggy's eyes grew wide as his paw started to dimly glow, and then Sparks socked the Sandslash right in the cheek with a perfectly aimed Mega Punch.
By this point, Gunther was now retaliating and getting ready to attack. Sparks jumped off of Omar, but not before twisting slightly in the air. This brought the flat end of his long tail around to smack Omar in the head, quickly bringing the Pokémon from 'dazed' to 'knocked out', or at least close to it.
Gunther tried to take a swing at Sparks, but Sparks was already in the air. He jumped over the Graveler's obviously telegraphed punch. Ziggy watched in awe as Sparks twisted his body around expertly in midair, bringing his hind paws around so he could use them to mercilessly kick the Graveler in the face repeatedly. The powerful Double Kick made Gunther cry out in pain and topple over backwards.
Sparks landed on the ground and pulled his fist back once more. He growled softly as it started to glow a muted red-orange colour. While Gunther tried desperately to right himself, Sparks concentrated and his fist glowed just a bit brighter. Then, finally with a loud cry, he stepped forward and thrust a Dynamic Punch right into the Rock-Type's side.
Gunther rolled back from the impact and struck the wall of the building, instantly dazed and knocked out. Sparks stood there for a moment, panting heavily and keeping his paws at the ready for any further attacks. He looked over at Omar, but the Sandslash was out cold as well.
"Oh my gosh…" Ziggy murmured, completely awestruck by what he had just seen, "That…That was incredible, Sparks!"
Sparks didn't say anything. He simply stood there catching his breath.
Ziggy sat up straight and put his hood back on, carefully putting it back into place to avoid anyone else seeing him. "That was so scary…" he said as he stood up, "Thank you Sparks. You're amazing…!" Still, the Raichu didn't say anything. He still hadn't moved at all since the fight had ended. Ziggy frowned, sensing that something was wrong. "Sparks…?" he ventured cautiously as he came around to Sparks' front side.
The Raichu was staring, unmoving, at the downed Sandslash. Ziggy gasped when he saw that Sparks had an utterly horrified expression. He looked as if he had seen a demon, simply standing there and staring with a thousand-yard, wide-eyed stare. His breaths were quick and shallow.
"S-Sparks…?" Ziggy murmured nervously. Why did he look like this? The fight was over and the danger had passed, so why did Sparks look even more stressed than he had before?
A quiet, shuddering breath slipped from Sparks' throat.
"Sparks? W-what's wrong?" Ziggy said. He placed a paw on Sparks' shoulder and gave him a gentle nudge. It looked as if the Raichu hadn't even noticed. "S-Sparks can we get out of here? …Please?" Ziggy took a glance at the other two Pokémon to see if he could see what the problem was, but they both looked the same; knocked out and no longer threatening.
"No…" Sparks whispered.
"Huh? What…?"
"No, no, no…"
Ziggy recoiled slightly as Sparks started to shake his head from side to side. It started slow but gradually started to get faster and more frantic, with Sparks continually saying 'no' the whole time.
"S-S-Sparks?!" Ziggy squeaked. He was starting to panic all over again.
"No, please!" Sparks suddenly exclaimed. He started clutching his head with his forepaws as his whole body started to visibly shiver. "No! No!"
Ziggy cried out in surprise when Sparks' knees buckled and the Raichu collapsed onto the ground, ending up laying on his side while still clutching his head. His breathing got quicker and shallower with every passing second, until before long he was sucking in air with loud, wheezing gasps.
The frightened Buizel took a few steps back and stared in confused fear at Sparks. The Raichu was writhing on the ground now, clutching his head like it was going to explode, and letting out short, painful-sounding cries. Ziggy had no idea what was happening. It looked like there was some creature inside of Sparks' head trying to burst out. Was he having a panic attack? How could Sparks have a panic attack like this? It didn't even seem to be in the realm of possibility.
"I'm sorry!" Sparks exclaimed through his wheezing breaths, "I-I'm sorry! Please! I'm so sorry!"
"Sorry for what? What's wrong?!"
Sparks started to cry. It was the most terrifying sound Ziggy had ever heard in his entire life.
"Sparks?"
Ziggy looked up in surprise. He recognized that voice. To his immense relief, he saw a familiar-looking Dewott peering around the corner of the street in their direction.
"Kona!" he called out, "Kona, help!"
Kona's eyes zeroed in on Sparks and he immediately broke out into a sprint. He was at the Raichu's side in seconds. "Sparks!" he exclaimed, immediately getting onto his knees next to him, "Sparks, relax! Relax! You're okay!"
Still, it seemed as if Sparks wasn't even aware that Kona was there. His behaviour didn't change.
"Sparks, calm down. Calm down," Kona repeated, using a firm but gentle tone of voice. He leaned in and grasped Sparks' forepaws to keep him from thrashing about. "Hey, hey… Sparks. Sparks, it's Kona. It's your friend Kona, okay? I'm here, Sparks. It's Kona."
Ziggy watched from the sidelines, terrified and confused.
"Sparks? Spaaaarks?" Kona said, using a relaxing tone of voice as if he were trying to calm a cub having a tantrum, "Sparks, calm down. It's okay, Sparks. I'm here with you, Sparks. It's Kona, your friend. Sparks, can you hear me?"
"Kuh…" Sparks coughed, "K-Kona…?"
"Yes, Sparks. It's me, Kona. I need you to breathe, okay? Remember to breathe, Sparks. Breathe."
Sparks moaned and shivered. He tried to take deep breaths but ended up doing the same quick, rapid breathing as before.
"Sparks? Sparks?" Kona kept repeating the Raichu's name over and over, maintaining a calm, relaxing tone of voice the entire time. Kona looked concerned, but he didn't seem confused by what was happening. It definitely looked like Kona had seen this before.
Finally, Sparks' panicked breathing managed to slow down a bit. He stopped thrashing about and ended up simply laying on his side, though he was still shivering and breathing more heavily than normal. Ziggy saw Sparks' face and was frightened by what he saw. Sparks looked like he had seen the end of days, his whole face covered in sweat.
Kona then let go of one of Sparks' paws and used his free paw to tap his badge. "Kandice? Where are you?"
It took a short moment before the Audino's voice replied, "I'm in my office. What happened?" Her tone of voice was immediately concerned.
The Dewott took a moment to look up, and Ziggy realized he was looking at the street signs. "I need you out on Pyrite Lane immediately. Sparks is having an episode."
"Oh no," Kandice replied with dread, "Have you calmed him?"
"As much as I could."
"I'll have Tora fly me over. I'll be there in a few minutes. Stay with him."
When Kona's badge dimmed and Kandice's voice disappeared, there was finally a moment of relative quiet. The only sound was the still rapid breathing of Sparks.
"You're okay, Sparks," Kona said, leaning in close to the Raichu and speaking softly, "You're okay. Everything's fine."
"K-Kona…" Sparks murmured in a trembling voice, "I didn't…I-I didn't mean to…"
"You're fine, Sparks. Don't worry." Kona then perked up as if he had remembered something and looked up. He took note of the two unconscious Pokémon, and then tapped his badge again. "RSGA speaking, requesting police presence on Pyrite Lane ASAP."
Ziggy couldn't take anymore. He had been watching in fear this whole time and had to speak up. "K-Kona? What's…?"
"Officers en route," a mechanical voice emitted from Kona's badge.
Sparks started to moan and groan again, so Kona took hold of his second paw and held him still again. "Hey, buddy. Relax, all right? I'm still here. Everything's okay."
Before Ziggy could speak up again, he was alerted to the sound of feathery wings. He and Kona both looked up to see Tora flying over the roof of the nearby building and starting to descend down to them. Kandice was riding on her back. Once the Pidgeot landed, Kandice practically jumped off of her and rushed over to Sparks' side, her bag of medical supplies jangling against her side. At about the same time, Lupe had managed to find them and had also run over to Sparks' side.
Ziggy simply remained standing there, clutching the inside of his pockets in anxiousness. He had no idea what was going on, nor did he know if Sparks was going to be all right. Was he hurt? Everyone was busy tending to him, so nobody had the time to tell him what was wrong.
"Tora!" Kona called out.
"Yes?" the large avian replied.
"Can you take Ziggy back to the society?"
"Sure," Tora said with a nod. She then turned her attention over to the Buizel and walked over.
Ziggy glanced up at Tora nervously. She was a very large Pokémon, able to safely carry anybody on the active team besides Sparks. As such, though, Ziggy was quite intimidated by her and still felt nervous in her presence. The two hadn't had much of a chance to get to know one another thus far either.
"Hop on, Ziggy," she said, trying to offer him a reassuring smile, "Let's get you back where it's safe."
"Wh…W-we're gonna f-fly?" Ziggy whimpered.
Tora nodded. "It's perfectly safe. Just hold on tight, and even if you do fall off I'll be able to catch you. Trust me, I've done this a million times with Pokémon much larger than you."
Ziggy gulped. It was a frightening idea to him, but the desire to get back to the society building was stronger. He had grown to trust most of the other members of the active team, so he just told himself that he could trust her too.
Tora squatted down and angled herself towards the ground so that Ziggy could climb up onto her back. It was not the most graceful act, and Ziggy was constantly self-conscious that he was hurting her by pulling on her feathers, but she didn't complain. The Pidgeot then stood up again, forcing Ziggy to grip tightly so that he didn't fall off.
"Ready?" she asked.
Ziggy glanced over at the other group of Pokémon. "What about Sparks?" he asked worriedly. Sparks was still laying on the ground.
"He'll be fine," Tora replied, "Kandice will take care of him. She always does."
Before Ziggy could question this, Tora suddenly extended her wings. In the blink of an eye, Tora had taken to the air and left the ground behind. Ziggy yelped and held on tight. His hood immediately flew off, but he barely had the presence of mind to care about it as their altitude quickly increased.
He wanted to ask Tora what was wrong with Sparks. Every time he tried to open his mouth, though, Tora shifted in the air and his focus was immediately drawn back to holding on and making sure he didn't fall off and die. Riding on the back of a Pidgeot was simply not the best time to have a conversation.
For now, all he could do was wait until Sparks was brought back to the society building, hopefully safe and sound. Ziggy was incredibly worried about his Raichu friend, and he knew he wouldn't be able to stop worrying until Sparks himself told him that he was okay.
