Chapter 25 - What I Did

Well, Ziggy, here's what happened…

This takes place way, way back. So many years ago that these days it actually takes me a second to figure out how long it's been. It happened not long after I evolved into a Raichu.

Back then, I was a member of the Rescue Society's active team. Carmen was on the team with me, Kona and Danika were there, and so was Dante. At the time, they were still a Fennekin, Oshawott and Riolu. We had a different guildmaster, and a bunch of team members who have since left the guild or gone to work elsewhere.

I joined the guild when I was a Pikachu, and I was a hotshot kid when I was a Pikachu. I was pretty much your typical arrogant teenager, except it lasted into my 20's. It wasn't that I was rude or mean to Pokémon, but I had an ego the size of a Snorlax and way too much pride in my own abilities. To be fair, it wasn't exactly unfounded. I was top of my class in combat training and I was one of the most highly decorated members of the guild by the time I became a Raichu. My skills were lauded and respected, and I was the top ranked among the active team. Remember how I said Carmen doesn't really like ranks? Well, this guildmaster did.

So, I mean, I was kind of a punk. I was a little hard to deal with, but Pokémon typically ended up liking me once they got used to me. Everyone on the team was my friend and we had great times and many laughs. I hardly ever let my arrogance get in the way of my job, but I did take pride in all of the things I was able to accomplish. In fact, I was usually the one the guildmaster tasked with jobs that involved or might have involved…fighting. I could take down enemies more than twice my size, and I could do it with ease.

I know, it's probably shocking to hear me say that but it's the truth.

That describes me as a Pikachu. Confident, a little full of myself, skilled, and a total headache to deal with. But, at the end of the day, I got jobs done and I still treated my friends and colleagues right. When I became a Raichu, that's when things started to slip a little. As I'm sure you could imagine, becoming a Raichu meant that I was bigger, stronger, faster and more skilled. That's just how evolution works. I started to become smug; way too overconfident. I felt like I was completely invincible. I felt like I could do anything. I hate to admit it, but I started feeling like I was superior to those around me, including my friends that hadn't evolved yet. Though, again, there was some truth to this. My skills in battle only got better and more powerful. Some even said I was on track to become the 'greatest' member of the guild of all time.

Then one day, everything changed in an instant.

I'd been a Raichu for less than four months at the time. It was a warm summer day. There was an outdoor concert set up on the fields outside of town where a local band was playing. It was…in the fields to the west of where the guild headquarters are. By the…b-by the cliffs. Where I had that…episode, recently. Yeah…

Anyway, the gig wanted some security to watch over things just in case, and I got assigned for this job. There was absolutely no chance of any fans going wild or getting into fights at this; it just wasn't that type of crowd. What this meant was that I spent the whole day at the back of the venue, leaning against a pole and watching for trouble that didn't exist. I remember the band had a Mudkip on the drums, an Emolga on guitar, a Snivy on the keyboard and a Vulpix as the lead singer. She had a lovely voice, but what they played just wasn't my style of music, so I was absolutely bored out of my mind and annoyed that the guildmaster had picked me for this.

The band's music was clearly aimed at all audiences, because there were Pokémon of all ages at this gig. Young groups of friends, older adult Pokémon, and even some families with their young cubs. There was no seating and everybody was gathered in what was basically a tame version of a mosh pit. Everybody was milling about as they listened, but nobody was causing trouble and everyone was having a good time.

Quite often, I saw cubs running around between the legs of their parents. Clearly like me, they had gotten bored of the music and were now playing tag with new friends they had just made. Nobody really came near me, though. I must have looked like a total punk, leaning back with my forelimbs crossed and without a smile on my face, but I figured at least that gave me the look of 'security'.

The concert went on for quite a while, and I just kept getting more bored. The music was loud, if nothing else, so at least it kept me from dozing off. I may not have really liked what I was doing, but I still did it. It was my job that day, after all.

So…

At one point, I noticed a little Smoochum running about. She looked like she was lost, flitting her head back and forth as she dodged the moving legs of larger Pokémon around her. It looked like she had become separated from her parent. I was about to step in and help her out when a Pokémon walked up to her and bent down to talk to her. A Cinderace. I remembered that she had been sitting on a Cinderace's shoulders earlier, who was there with a Jynx, so I knew they were her parents or guardians.

The Smoochum and Cinderace talked to each other for a bit, but I couldn't hear anything over the loud music. Not to mention, I didn't want to eavesdrop. After a bit, the Cinderace picked her up and held her in his arms. She looked disappointed, and I understood why once they began walking away from the crowd. He walked with her off into the fields, away from the concert. It looked like they had to leave early for some reason.

I briefly questioned why the Jynx wasn't along with him, but there were plenty of reasonable explanations for that. Maybe she was going to stay while they went home, or she had left earlier and I hadn't noticed. I watched them go for a minute, walking off in the general direction of the cliffs and back towards the city.

I turned my attention back over to the concert. It was less than a minute before I noticed something else. Two adult Pokémon were moving about through the crowd, clearly not watching the concert. They eventually pushed through to the back of the concert, where I was, and I could see they were looking about frantically with worried expressions.

They were a Jynx…and a Cinderace.

The Smoochum's parents.

I couldn't hear what they were shouting because of the loud music, but they were clearly calling out their daughter's name. I looked over in the direction the other Cinderace had gone. Since we were out on the rolling fields, I could still see them in the distance. I squinted against the sun and tried to look, and I could just barely see that he had her tucked under one of his arms. That was definitely not a typical way to carry one's daughter.

I realized what had happened. A combined case of mistaken identity…and cubnapping. Now, the guild classifies cubnapping as a serious issue and we're not allowed to confront cubnappers alone without at least one other guildmember. I didn't have anybody with me at the event. I should have taken a second and used my badge to call for backup, but I was thinking too fast. I was afraid that I would lose track of them, and like I said I was overly confident in my own abilities.

So I took off running.

You know me, Ziggy. I'm pretty fast on my paws. I caught you after all. It was seconds before the sounds of the concert were behind me. I ran onto the fields as fast as I possibly could, and it didn't take long before I began hearing the Smoochum's distressed cries.

I poured on the speed and started to catch up. Once I was closer to him, I shouted out for him to stop immediately. He turned back with a surprised look, and then scowled. Of course, as you'd probably expect, he didn't stop. He just started to run faster. Then, a second later, I was caught completely by surprise as the Cinderace began to…shimmer. I watched in shock as his body morphed right in front of me and changed completely. Instead of a Cinderace, he became a taller, darker Pokémon with a long mane and sinister claws.

He was a Zoroark, and he had disguised himself as the Smoochum's father with Illusion.

Now that his true form was revealed, he kept on running. Fast. Zoroark are incredibly fast and nimble Pokémon, and this one was no different. Even with a cub tucked under his arm, he was just blazin' across the fields. I had to push myself to run as fast as I could, just to keep up with him.

I kept on shouting for him to stop, but he clearly had no intention to do so. I knew that I could easily take him down, even while running like this, with one of my attacks. I couldn't, though, while he was still holding the Smoochum because she would get hurt as well. I wasn't used to fighting criminals without using attacks, and it frustrated me that all I could do was chase him.

The odds were in his favour because of the vast openness of the fields. Luckily, though, it looked like I was just a tad faster than him, because I was very slowly catching up. I pushed my endurance to the maximum and never slowed down. I chased him over the fields, over the hills, and towards the cliffs. It wasn't my intention to do so, that's just where he was running. I could only focus on catching up to him instead of trying to corral him somewhere.

When he hit the fence that protected the edge of the cliff, it seemed to take him by surprise. Maybe he hadn't been paying attention to where he'd been running. He made a snap decision to run to the left, away from the city. I took the advantage to cut the corner and get even closer to him. Soon, I was only a few metres behind him. If he tripped or slowed down at any point, I'd have him.

"Stop!" I shouted, "I'm going to catch you! You won't be able to escape, so you might as well just throw in the towel."

He didn't respond. The Smoochum was crying out for help. This is already stuff I shouldn't have been doing. I was confronting a cubnapper on my own, when all I should have been doing without backup was tracking him and making sure her life wasn't in immediate danger. But I was close, and I wanted to catch this jerk.

We were running along parallel to the fence on the cliff now. You saw it when you were up there, right? It's a long split rail fence, mostly decorative but also intended to keep folks away from the edge. I only really remember this retroactively, because I was just focused on him.

I got even closer to him. I could hear that we were both getting tired, but I wasn't giving up. I was close enough that I made a stupid snap decision. I was going to leap forward and grab onto his legs to make him fall down. I realized he would probably drop the Smoochum and she would go for a tumble, but it was the best way I could think of to get her out of his grasp. Cubs are tough; they get into worse trouble just out playing in the woods anyway.

So, with one last hard sprint forward, I sprung. I tried grabbing both of his legs but only managed to grab one of them. I got kicked in the face as he lost his balance, but I held on. The world became a bit of a blur as we both tumbled across the grass in a heap. I didn't know what was going on, and then I heard a very loud crack. Definitely not my back breaking, thankfully, but the truth wasn't much better.

The Zoroark and I landed apart from one another, and there was silence for a moment. I was dazed for a few seconds, but then picked myself up from the ground. I saw him a few metres away, looking equally as stunned on his paws and knees.

My heart stopped for a moment when I saw our surroundings. To the left, I saw a small portion of the fence destroyed and in tatters on the ground. I realized that we had rolled into it, and the old wood had snapped and broken from our combined weight. On the ground, trapped under one of the planks of wood, was the crying Smoochum cub. The plank didn't seem to be hurting her, but she definitely couldn't free herself.

Of course, a hole in the fence like that could only mean one thing. To my right, only a few frightening metres away, was the sheer edge of the cliff. We were on a small lip of grassy land, part of the small buffer area between the fence and the edge. I'm not afraid of heights by any means, but my heart froze like it was hit with an Ice Beam.

The Zoroark took in his surroundings as well. He didn't seem concerned by the edge of the cliff. In fact, he was much more concerned about the trapped cub, and he started reaching out a paw to free her.

"Stop!" I shouted, "Don't move a muscle!"

He glared at me. "Leave us alone!" he shouted.

Immediately from the tone of his voice, I could tell something wasn't right with him. If I had to guess, he was probably suffering from some sort of mental issue. I really couldn't tell you much more than that.

I let some sparks fly from my cheeks to try and intimidate him. "Don't touch her. Stay where you are, and don't try anything."

The Zoroark growled desperately and clenched his claws in anger. "You don't understand! You could never understand! You're wrong! You're all wrong!"

This was yet another thing I should not have been doing alone; dealing with a mentally unstable individual. I should have at least called the guild nurse with my badge so she could have talked with him over comms.

"Just let her go, okay?" I said, "It's over. You're under arrest for abduction of a cub."

There was a shocked look on his face for a moment, and then he growled in frustration. "N-no! You can't! She's mine! Mine!"

By this point I was standing up, and he was hunched over sort of halfway between standing and laying. There were still sparks on my cheeks, and I cracked my knuckles a few times. I was definitely anticipating a fight.

"Just stay where you are and don't touch her," I commanded him, "I'll get her out of there."

"You can't!" he shouted, "I won't let you!" He then suddenly sprung to the side in the cub's direction, reaching down and grasping the piece of wood. He also, however, grabbed one of her paws with his own, causing her to cry out in surprise. At the moment, it sounded like a cry of pain, and I thought he was trying to pull her out from under.

I leapt into action and grabbed onto his arm, easily wrenching it off of the block of wood. He stumbled back a bit, and I grabbed him with my other paw. I grappled him as best I could, to keep him from moving, but he swung out with his free claw and slashed the side of my head. I let him go and we backed off from each other. Though it was rather precarious, the lip of land was at least wide enough for us to both comfortably stand at a distance from each other.

Now, you're probably asking why I didn't just hit him with Thunder Wave. The simple answer is…I didn't know Thunder Wave back then. I know somebody's told you about how now I have a powerful Thunder Wave that I've been practicing for years, but back then I didn't have it at all. Me being the hothead I was wasn't interested in moves that didn't actually do damage. Back then, I was much more well known for my Thunder Punch.

So, we shouted some more things at each other. He started threatening my life, saying he was going to break my legs or stab me in the chest with his claws. He was definitely acting aggressively towards me, and that just got me fired up. I told him that if he wanted to fight, I wasn't going to be shy about fighting back.

He made the first move by trying to swipe at me again, and I blocked by catching his arm. I gave him a quick Mega Punch in return. We started wrestling with one another, he tried to bite me, I tried to hit him back with punches and swings of my tail. I was in a battle. I loved to fight, and I almost always won. I knew that one way or another, this guy was going down.

I completely forgot where I was. I just wanted to kick this guy's ass.

At one point, he managed to knock me back a few steps. When my tail fell down behind me, it didn't hit the ground and instead limped over the cliff's edge, reminding me of the dangerous spot I was in. He was stepping forward to slash at me again, so I fearlessly dodged to the side in the direction of the cliff's edge, and then turned my momentum back into a Slam attack. I managed to knock him back through the hole in the fence, away from the edge.

In doing so, though, I caught sight of the Smoochum who was still trapped. For a brief moment, I considered that I was being a bit too reckless and I needed to help her get out of her predicament, especially if the two of us were going to be fighting nearby. So, while he was still collapsed on his back, I rushed over to try and free her as quickly as I could.

I couldn't even get the block of wood off of her before the Zoroark shouted something in a frantic voice and I looked over to see him charging right towards me. Towards me and the cub. I thought he was going to do something drastic. He was going to hurt the cub. For all I knew, in his crazed state, he was going down the dark path of 'If I can't have her, no-one can'.

He was charging so fast that I didn't have time to avoid him, but I did plant my paws in the ground hard enough that I caught him halfway and directed him away from the cub. He did knock me onto my back, but I tried to roll with it and use the momentum to my advantage. I knew we were rolling right back through that hole in the fence again. Somehow, I managed to reverse our positions so that I was between him and the cub again. We both quickly stood up. The cliff's edge was at his back, but he was still at least a good meter away from it.

At the time, I was so focused on everything else, that I didn't even pay attention to what he had shouted before tackling me. My stressed out mind just associated it with something bad, something sinister that would be said by the cub abductor. I was just getting charged up for another fight. I was ready to knock this guy to the ground.

It didn't register in my brain until way after everything had happened what he'd actually shouted.

"Please don't hurt my daughter…"

Ngh…This- This is the hard part for me, Ziggy. Keep holding my paw. Thank you, buddy. I know. I know I'm here with you.

He charged at me again, and…I just wanted to punch this guy so hard in the face. Everything was black and white for me at that moment. I was the good guy and he was the bad guy, and I wanted to win. So as he lunged for me, I reared back and gave him the most powerful move I knew; a Thunder Punch. Right to the side of his head.

A tough Pokémon, he was. Punched his lights out, but he managed to keep standing afterwards. He staggered back one step, and then held a claw up to his head as he groaned in pain. That was it, I had done it. He was disoriented, he'd probably fall forward and collapse a second later. If not, I could just punch him again and surely that would knock him out.

I quickly glanced down to check on the cub. Still trapped but thankfully still uninjured. I was planning to quickly lift the block of wood and then pick her up and run her off somewhere safe before he came to his senses and our fight would continue.

But then, the Zoroark made a weird noise. A weird, long, sort of jittery groan from the depths of his throat. I looked back up, and saw he had staggered back once more. There were sparks dancing across his fur, and he had this strained, unfocused look in his eyes. His whole body was twitching. He seemed to be seizing up, and he was trying and failing to speak.

I had…completely forgotten that Thunder Punch can sometimes cause paralysis. Like I said, it was my most powerful move. When I use it, nine times out of ten my opponent would get knocked out cold. I hardly ever even saw the paralysis effect. Seeing him now, the paralysis had completely overtaken his body. His limbs were stiff, locked in place, and his jaw was hanging half-open. His legs were wobbling, clearly unable to hold him up thanks to the paralysis taking hold.

And then…he started to fall.

Backwards.

He just…tipped over like a house of cards after a strong gust of wind. He landed hard on his back, two of his limbs already hanging over the edge, while frozen in that same pose. And then he just started to…roll…

…Right off the edge.

It took me far too long to realize what was happening. My dumb brain was like, "Surely he'll catch himself on something. He's not going to just let himself fall off a cliff". He started to go over, and I yelled out something in panic. I abandoned the cub entirely and dove forward, rather dangerously I might add. Right to the edge, I quickly reached out a paw to grab onto the Zoroark in any way I could.

…But I was too late.

He was completely silent as he slipped off the edge, unable to speak thanks to the paralysis. I dove forward, halfway off the edge myself, and reached down desperately with my paw. Even to just grab him by the hair as he fell. But all I grabbed was thin air.

And all I could do was watch. I watched as the Zoroark fell from the cliff, falling down, down, down the edge to the rocky shore below. I couldn't speak. I couldn't scream or anything. It felt like things moved in slow motion, as if somehow I could think of a way to save him if I just tried hard enough.

He hit a rock. There was a splash of blood. I heard a sickening crack. Then he fell into the water below, and that was the last I ever saw of him. He was gone.

I…

I had killed him…


The heavy rain continued to pour down as Sparks and Ziggy sat under the awning. The Raichu was breathing deeply and slowly, staring straight ahead as he fought to keep himself from panicking. He was drenched in sweat, enough that he could tell even though he was still soaked with rain water. He had told this story many times before, but only to Kandice and other Pokémon of the healthcare professions.

Sparks blinked away the tears in his eyes and shook his head a little. Slowly, he turned to look down at his companion. He wasn't surprised to see the shocked and concerned look in Ziggy's face. His wide eyes, staring up at Sparks and searching for an answer to a question that he didn't have. Since Ziggy was still holding his paw, he could tell the Buizel was trembling a little.

"I just…sat there. I was half dangling over the edge of the cliff…just staring at the spot where he'd fallen to. The cub was crying, but I didn't move. I couldn't. Soon enough her parents, who had been chasing after me, caught up and freed her. They yelled at me for not helping get the plank off of her, but…

"The police came. Someone must have gotten them from somewhere. The cub was bundled up and taken to a hospital as a precaution. And through it all, I just sat there. Sitting, staring, not saying anything. I…couldn't accept what had just happened. Couldn't believe what I had just seen. Couldn't…forgive myself for what I had just done…"

Ziggy hadn't said a word since Sparks had started describing the fight on the cliff's edge. He could hear the Buizel's quick breathing, and he wondered just what was going through Ziggy's mind. How did Ziggy see him now?

"At some point, someone must have pulled me away from the cliff," Sparks continued, "but then I just ended up laying there, staring ahead at nothing. It wasn't until someone from the guild, somebody I knew, showed up that anything happened with me. I guess the police contacted them…

"…It was Kona. The young, tiny little Oshawott, rushing out as fast as he could to see me. Hearing his voice finally brought me back down to earth. He asked me what happened, and I…whispered it. I was afraid to say it, afraid to hear it. And then I started screaming…"

Ziggy gasped and held his other paw up to his mouth.

"Carmen showed up with the guild nurse in tow. They managed to get me back to the guild, but… Really, the rest is history. I was never the same after that. I never got over it. It took me almost a year just to become a functional Pokémon again, and yet another year before I was comfortable wearing the badge again and doing guild duties." Sparks heaved a heavy sigh. "And…that's that…"

With Ziggy still not saying anything, Sparks closed his eyes and looked away in shame. Ziggy didn't have to say anything for Sparks to know how he really felt. There was a heavy, painful feeling in Sparks' heart, knowing he had irrevocably sullied the wonderful relation the two of them had built.

"S…Sparks…" Ziggy finally whimpered.

He opened his eyes and looked over at the Buizel again, but Ziggy's expression hadn't changed. "I killed somebody," he said, fighting the lump in his throat as he did, "I'm sorry, Ziggy. I would give anything, even my own life, to go back in time and fix this but…that's the truth. I killed someone."

Ziggy let go of his paw. Sparks felt his heart seize for a moment. This was it. This was the moment he had scared Ziggy so badly and driven him away.

Then, Sparks gasped. The Buizel had stood up, taken a step closer to him, and leaned in to give him a hug. It wasn't the most comfortable hug in the world, since they were both still soaking wet, but that didn't matter. "Z…Ziggy…" Sparks murmured.

Ziggy just hugged him tighter, pressing himself right up against Sparks' side. "I…I had no idea…" he whimpered quietly, "Sparks…That's such an awful thing that happened to you…I'm so sorry to hear that…"

"…Buddy…" Sparks murmured dumbly.

"It makes sense now…" Ziggy continued, "It totally makes sense. If that happened to me, I…I'd have nightmares and panic attacks too…Probably a whole lot worse than you, though…"

Sparks was silent for a moment. He was still trying to come to grips with the fact that Ziggy was hugging him after he had just admitted to having killed someone. "I-it…Yeah, it hit me…h-hard…"

Ziggy shifted his position so he could look right up into Sparks' eyes. "Thank you for telling me…" he said.

"I…" Fresh tears were welling in Sparks' eyes and conflicting emotions ran through his head. "I'm sorry…if you see me differently now. If you don't trust me now. If you…h-hate me now…"

To his surprise, Ziggy just shook his head. "It's okay, Sparks. It was a long, long time ago, right?"

"Y-yeah…More than a decade ago…"

"Was the cub okay?"

"Oh, yeah. She wasn't badly hurt, and the parents did thank me afterwards for rescuing her once everything was explained."

Ziggy nodded his head. "It's okay, Sparks," he repeated, leaning in to hug him again.

"B-buddy…"

"It was an accident."

Like a bolt through his head, Ziggy's words stopped his thought process completely. How many times had he heard that phrase, both from others and from his own voice in his head? It was a question that always stuck around with him, yet never seemed to have a solid answer. He had spent tons of time and energy, with the help of Kandice, to convince himself that's all it really was at the end of the day.

An accident.

Sparks leaned down and hugged Ziggy back tightly. A few tears ran down his cheeks, but he kept himself from weeping. "Thank you, Ziggy…" he whispered.

"I…I'm sorry I made you tell me," Ziggy said, "But I'm also really glad you did."

"Heh… I was going to tell you one of these days. I promised myself. I just didn't expect it would be today…"

"Are you okay?" Ziggy asked concernedly.

"Hm?"

"Like…Are you going to have a flashback, or something like that?"

Sparks let out a slow, calming breath. "I think I'm okay," he said, "Talking about it isn't as bad as…stuff happening to trigger it…"

The two kept hugging for a few minutes, eventually falling into silence as the rain continued to pour. The sun had set completely by this point, and the scene in the alleyway was only lit up by the bright light from Sparks' badge.

The hug finally ended, and the two sat facing one another. Sparks felt both drained and as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It was a very surreal experience. Ziggy seemed like he had lost his earlier worries entirely and was now just purely worried about Sparks' wellbeing.

"Well, anyway…" Sparks said after clearing his throat, "That's what I was trying to say. That was my mistake. I didn't just punch somebody in the face, I k-" A shiver ran up his spine and he couldn't finish saying the word. "Well, I did a lot worse." Sparks then glanced down at his own badge, which he had taken off earlier so that it could sit on the ground nearby and provide light. "Not once did anyone, certainly not the guildmaster, suggest that I needed to hand in my badge."

"Wow…" Ziggy murmured.

"I mean, it wasn't like nothing happened. A lot of stuff happened afterwards. Met with the police a bunch of times. The Zoroark's family got involved at one point. But I was never asked to resign…" Sparks looked down, right into Ziggy's eyes. "I'll admit, I was feeling the same way you are right now. I felt like I couldn't be a guildmember anymore. I felt like it was wrong and I didn't deserve it anymore after what I'd done…but my guildmates were there for me. They helped me so much to get through this, especially Kona and Carmen."

Ziggy glanced away for a moment as he frowned. "I…I guess so…" he said, "I dunno…I-I'm still worried…"

Sparks reached over and patted him on the shoulder. "Look, bud, I'm not going to pretend like punching her in the face was a good thing. It was a mistake; you're right about that. But, you have to remember that you could have done so much worse. Everybody makes mistakes, and everybody can forgive you for those mistakes. Sometimes it might be hard…it might be really hard…but we'll be there for you. We're going to help you get through this, we're going to help you get past this mistake and, most importantly, we're going to protect you."

Then, with his other paw, Sparks reached over and held out Ziggy's badge which he had still been holding. Ziggy looked down at it quietly. "Because," Sparks concluded, "you're one of us."

Ziggy stared quietly at the badge for almost a full minute. Then, his lip started to tremble and a few tears formed in his eyes. He opened his muzzle to speak, but only a wheezing breath came out. He shook his head to collect himself and then said in a voice on the verge of tears, "Nobody's ever said anything like that…I always hoped one day…"

The Buizel glanced up at Sparks one more time, just to make sure it was okay, and then gingerly picked up his badge with his paws. He cradled it for a moment, just looking down at it silently. A teardrop slipped down his cheek and, rather poetically, landed right in the middle of the badge.

"I'm sorry I ran away…" Ziggy said.

"Aw, hey…I get it. You were really emotional. It happens to the best of us. I just wish you'd gone back to the guild instead of hiding somewhere. I'm lucky I found you."

Ziggy chuckled dryly and said, "I, uh, actually forgot what Danika told me about this badge. Once I was here in the alley, I tried to call you. Totally forgot I can't do that yet…"

As Ziggy carefully clipped his badge back onto his fur, Sparks couldn't help but let out a sigh. He was still kicking himself for agreeing to go into the restaurant at all. If he hadn't, all of this could've been prevented.

"Figures…" Ziggy murmured once he was done with his badge, "It's like I'm not even allowed to have a good day."

"Don't say that," Sparks said, "Ziggy, you had a wonderful day up until the end. Buddy, I was so happy to see that big smile on your face. It made me feel wonderful to see just how much fun you were having. Just because the day ended badly doesn't mean none of the good stuff happened."

Ziggy was quiet for a moment. "I…guess I did," he said, the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the edge of his lips.

"I want you to always look back on this day and just remember the first half," Sparks said resolutely, "Remember how happy and how proud you felt when we had our little ceremony and gave you that badge.

The Buizel quietly glanced up at Sparks for a moment, and then eventually nodded. "I'll try, Sparks," he said.

Sparks nodded, satisfied with Ziggy's response. It did seem like the Buizel was at least trying to see the brighter side of things, which is something the old Ziggy had never done before. "All right," Sparks said, "You ready to head home?"

"Mhm," Ziggy said with a nod. He then looked up apprehensively at Sparks. "But, uh, actually…Could, uh…" he muttered, "Could I…wear my hoodie?"

"Your hoodie?" Sparks glanced down at the Buizel for a moment, and then smiled and said, "Sure, bud. I totally understand." He could see the look of relief that flashed across Ziggy's expression as he said that. It had been a long, difficult day for him, after all. Sparks didn't see any harm in giving him this comfort.

So, Sparks finally tapped his badge. "This is Sparks, calling active team members at the guild. I'm here with Ziggy, and we're going to come back to the guild now. We're both fine. Right now we're on, uh…Aquamarine Lane. I'd like to ask if someone would be willing to get Ziggy's hoodie from his room and bring it out to us."

There was a bit of a pause before somebody responded. "Sure, Sparks. I'll have someone bring that out to you. Tora's still working, so it'll have to be on paw unfortunately."

Sparks couldn't help but smile upon hearing Carmen's voice as the one to respond. "Thank you. We're in an alleyway just off the street. There's a big box full of Nanab Berries next to it, you can't miss it."

"Stay safe, you two."

The badge dimmed, and quiet returned. Sparks looked over at Ziggy, who looked up at him with worried eyes. "What's gonna happen now…?" he asked in a very quiet voice that was almost drowned out by the sound of the rain.

"Right now we're going to go back to the guild so you can rest and relax."

Ziggy furrowed his brow. "But-"

"And right now, that's all you need to be concerned about."

"I…" Ziggy looked conflicted for a moment. He bit his lip, but then seemed to relax a little. "O-okay…" he said.

"Don't worry about anything else," Sparks reaffirmed, "Just know that we're all going to protect you."

"Thank you…"

Sparks shuffled a little bit closer and put one of his forelimbs around Ziggy's shoulders, drawing him into a comforting side hug. The two both fell silent as the wait for Ziggy's hoodie commenced. A couple of minutes passed without either saying a word. Sparks was deep in thought about events both past and future, and he knew Ziggy probably had a thousand thoughts on his mind as well. It seemed like they might wait in silence for the whole time until his hoodie arrived, but Sparks didn't mind that one bit.

"…Sparks?"

Ziggy's quiet voice barely reached his ears, and Sparks turned to look down at him. "Hm?"

"…I'm not sorry that I hit her."

Sparks burst out laughing.

Frowning, Ziggy asked, "Isn't that a bad thing?"

"No," Sparks shook his head, "I'm not sorry you hit her either. That bitch had it coming. Nah, I don't blame you one bit."


Not much else was said while the pair waited for Ziggy's hoodie to be delivered. They weren't waiting for very long, but time seemed to drag on. Sparks didn't want to say anything about it while he was with Ziggy, but he was getting pretty tired of sitting with soaking wet fur and he was really starting to get cold.

Finally, Sparks heard a voice call out to them. "Hello? Sparks?"

"Yeah, we're here," he called back, glancing up towards the entrance of the alley. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Ziggy lift his head up and look as well. Sparks had to admit that he was a little surprised by what he saw standing on the street, looking in on them.

"D-Dante…!" Ziggy half-exclaimed in surprise.

The Lucario was holding a green umbrella to keep himself dry, adding a new splattering sound to the symphony of the rainfall. In his other paw, he was cradling a black piece of fabric that could only be Ziggy's hoodie.

"Hi, Dante," Sparks greeted his old friend, "Didn't expect to see you. Thanks for bringing that."

Dante nodded respectfully. He then glanced up, and seemed to take notice of the fact that his umbrella was too wide to fit into the alleyway. So, he collapsed the umbrella and then quickly dashed into the alley and under the awning before he could get too wet. With the three of them now under the small awning, they had pretty much reached capacity.

"Good evening, Ziggy," Dante said as he stepped towards the Buizel, who was still sitting huddled up against the wall. Dante held out the hoodie for him.

"H…Hi…" Ziggy murmured quietly. He took the hoodie, and then averted his gaze while he stood up to put it on. Sparks could see a little flush on the Buizel's cheeks that told him he was feeling embarrassed.

"You doing okay?" Dante asked him caringly.

"Kinda, I guess…" Ziggy replied. He had gotten the hoodie on by then, and proceeded to immediately pull the hood up over his head. This was something Ziggy hardly even did these days, but Sparks didn't blame him now.

"You're not hurt?" Dante asked.

"No, I'm fine…"

"That's good," Dante said with a nod, "I understand you've had a very rough day and you probably don't want to dwell on it, so I won't press you."

Ziggy didn't say anything and turned his head away from Dante again. Ziggy's spirits were usually brightened when he was around Dante, so that definitely wasn't a good sign.

"Well," Sparks spoke up, "Shall we head home then?"

"Absolutely," Dante agreed. He then paused for a moment and said, "While I would be happy to cover you both with this umbrella, I believe there isn't room for all of us."

"Don't worry about it," Sparks said, "I'll walk in the rain. I'm soaked already anyway."

"I am perfectly willing to let you carry it and I will walk in the rain," Dante countered.

"Nah, c'mon. I don't care, really."

"It is truly no issue for-"

"I'll walk in the rain," Ziggy cut in, raising his voice just slightly. When Sparks and Dante both turned to look at him, he lifted his head so just one of his eyes was visible under the shadow of his hood. "It's fine. Kona said this was designed for Water-types so it won't get ruined if it gets wet."

"I…" Sparks muttered, "Ziggy, don't be silly…"

"You've had a rough enough day already," Dante said gently, "No sense in getting even wetter…"

Ziggy didn't reply and just let out a forlorn sigh.

"Ah…Wait a minute," Sparks said, "I'm being stupid. Ziggy likes the rain."

Dante blinked once. "Ah, right you are."

"You sure, bud?" Sparks asked, turning to the Buizel once more. Ziggy simply nodded, his paws already jammed into his pockets and his head held low.

Without much more fanfare, the group exited the alleyway. It was late, so there was nobody around to give them odd looks, thankfully. Once out of the narrow confines of the alley, Dante was able to open the umbrella again. He held it up high, allowing Sparks to slip under its cover and get out of the rain. Truth be told, he was quite thankful that he wouldn't have to walk back home in the pouring rain. That would have been just miserable for him.

The group of three then started walking down the street at a somewhat brisk pace. Sparks glanced to the side, seeing Ziggy walking next to them in the rain. His hoodie was already soaked, clinging heavily to his body. If nothing else, it did help conceal his fur even more. Ziggy kept pace with the two of them, but also kept his head down low as he walked.

Sparks turned back to Dante. "I told Ziggy what happened," he said plainly.

"'What happened'?" Dante said, looking confused for a moment. Then he had a look of realization and said, "Truly? You told him the story?"

"Mhm…"

"Are you okay? I hope nothing…happened while you did…"

"I'm fine. It…was about time he knew what I'd done…"

"Sparks…"

The Raichu sighed softly as he looked into Dante's eyes for a moment. The Lucario had been there for him when it had happened, him being a Riolu at the time. Sparks had always felt somewhat bad about thrusting this huge problem onto his friend, especially when Dante had just gone through so many problems of his own. It had made him feel like a burden.

The walk back to the guild was completed without incident. It was well past sunset by the time they arrived. With rainclouds blocking the silvery light of the moon, it was almost pitch dark outside. The exterior lights of the guild's front façade were a truly welcome sight.

Dante led the group over to the employee entrance on the side, and waited for Sparks to open the door with his badge.

"Um…" a quiet voice spoke up, "Thank you for coming to get us, Dante."

The Lucario turned and looked at Ziggy, and smiled warmly at him. "I was happy to do it."

"I'm sorry I didn't say much earlier. I'm just…scared."

"I know, my friend. I know. But you have a lot of wonderful friends here. Never forget that."

Ziggy nodded softly.

"I went through a lot of emotional hardships when I was your age," Dante said, "I know what you're going through. To an extent, anyway. You already have the advantage, though, because of just how many friends you have."

Ziggy looked up at him quietly, a contemplative look in his eyes. "That's right…You told me you didn't have any friends when you first joined the guild, right?"

Dante nodded and said, "It's awful to feel alone, like the whole world is out to get you. But you already know that isn't true."

"Mm…" Ziggy murmured softly.

"And…I know you're going through a rough time right now, feeling like you're responsible for something that's way too big for you to handle." Dante paused for a minute, and Sparks looked over at him in surprise. Eventually, though, he just said, "Trust me. It gets better."


Ziggy had asked to be taken right to his room, as he felt much too tired to talk to anybody else at the moment. Sparks had gone in ahead of time and respectfully asked all the guildmembers in the common room to just smile and welcome him back for now.

Sparks had made sure to promise the little Buizel that they would deal with all of this tomorrow. Together.

The door to the dorms then opened, letting through a worn out-looking Raichu who was rubbing his eyes. He made his way over to the table almost automatically and then slumped into the seat on one end. He laid his head down on the table between his paws and let out a soft groan.

There was shuffling as some of the other guildmembers shifted closer to him. He had seen earlier that Kona, Rico, Lupe, Javier and Carmen were there, and now he was just wondering which one wanted to talk to him first.

Instead, he just felt a paw rest on his back, which started to gently brush his fur in a comforting manner. "It's okay, big guy," Carmen said. The voice she used was so unlike the one she usually used within her position as guildmaster, and it sent pure thunderbolts of nostalgia through Sparks' entire body. For a moment, he could have sworn it was a Fennekin sitting next to him instead of a Braixen.

Sparks slowly lifted his head. The other five, as well as Dante, were all looking at him in concern. He was a silent for a moment and then just held a paw to his head. "We need to fix this."

"We will," Kona answered resolutely. The other guildmembers all chorused in agreement.

"Kona and Danika have already filled us in on what happened," Carmen told him, "Is there anything you need to add?"

"Not particularly," Sparks replied. After a pause, he added, "Where's Dani?"

"Talking with Akamai," Carmen answered.

Sparks couldn't help but frown worriedly. Akamai, head of the guild's legal team. The Slowking was very helpful and friendly, and would do his best to fight for any guildmember, but hearing his name just brought reality crashing down onto Sparks. Silence pervaded the room for a moment as Sparks worriedly reflected on recent events.

Everyone at the table was startled when Sparks suddenly slammed a fist down onto it. "Damn it!" he exclaimed, "It's not fair! What higher power did Ziggy piss off to have all this crap happen to him, over and over again?"

"Sparks, relax…" Carmen interjected, putting a paw gently onto his own paw, "Just relax, okay? Ziggy's in a better spot now than he's ever been. He's going to have the whole team backing him up."

Sparks turned to look at the faces of everyone else, and they all gave him encouraging smiles and nods. He had already known their opinion on the matter, but it was still relieving to see it with his own eyes. "You guys are the best…"

"Hopefully, the worst will be us getting banned for life from that restaurant," Kona offered in a slightly awkward attempt at humour.

"I told him he could stay. I told him we weren't going to kick him out, or take away his badge, because of this," Sparks murmured.

He saw Carmen shake her head. "At least, from what I've been told, I see no reason to do any of that."

"Good…" Sparks mumbled, "G-good…"

There was another moment of poignant silence before someone else spoke up. "Sparks…?" Lupe asked in concern.

Sparks just sighed and shook his head. "I need to talk to Kandy tonight. That's all…"

Lupe didn't seem reassured, and just glanced down at the table quietly. Next to her, Rico let out a quiet huff and then said, "So what the hell are we gonna do about this? Do we have a plan at all?"

"I don't know for sure," Carmen admitted, "I can't answer for certain."

"It kind of depends on what the Delcatty decides to do," Kona added.

"Oh, we know what she's going to do…" Sparks said darkly.

Rico grumbled for a moment. "They're not gonna…take him away…and lock him up, are they?"

Lupe and Kona looked over at the Riolu in shock, but Carmen shook her head. "No. If push comes to shove, we can always give him house arrest right here with us."

Everyone looked rather uncomfortable at this notion, and the room fell silent once more. Sparks was feeling better than before, seeing all of the supportive faces surrounding him. He knew that when Ziggy was ready to talk to everyone tomorrow, they were going to lift his spirits. Still, though, without Ziggy present there was a somewhat pessimistic feeling in the air. It was borne mostly out of uncertainty. Sparks knew that he and the guild would fight as hard as they could to protect Ziggy, but exactly how they would do that wasn't so clear.

"You said she acted first, right?"

Everyone turned at the same time to look at Javier, who had been silent until this point. "Huh?" Sparks asked.

"From how Carmen explained things," Javier clarified, "you said that the Delcatty struck first. She kicked Ziggy and knocked him to the ground."

Sparks winced at the memory of the awful, unprovoked action. "That's right, yeah…"

"Maybe, then, we can argue self-defence?"

There was a prolonged moment of silence, during which Sparks just stared at Javier. "…Self-defence…" he repeated slowly.

"Maybe?" Kona spoke up.

"I don't know…" Carmen said, not sounding very confident in the idea.

"She did attack him first," Kona said, "That much is clear. She provoked him, and not just with that kick either."

"Still, though, Ziggy wasn't really defending himself with that punch…" Carmen replied.

"He was defending himself from getting kicked again, or worse…" Lupe suggested.

Carmen glanced at the Vulpix, then held a paw to her chin in thought. "Hmm…"

Sparks quietly looked around at the group of assembled Pokémon. After a moment, a tiny smile graced his lips. Already, even in this small way, the team was coming together to help Ziggy out. Ziggy hadn't even spoken to any of them yet, besides Sparks himself, but everybody was already working with one another to figure out a solution.

The coming days were going to be rough. Sparks knew that for a fact. It was just going to be Ziggy and the guild against whoever wanted to bust down the door and haul him away, but everybody was going to band together and fight for their friend, damn it. That's just what friends did, and Ziggy had long since become friends with everybody who regularly sat in this very room. But, Sparks knew that it was more than that now. He hadn't been lying when he had said it earlier.

Ziggy was one of them now.