Chapter Eight: Mr. Finley
"The important thing is not how long you live. It's what you accomplish with your life. While I live, I want to shine. I want to prove that I exist. If could do something really important, that would definitely carry on into the future. And so, if I were to disappear, I think that all I have accomplished will go on. That is, that would mean it's living, right?"
- Grovyle, Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky
Lord Finely was a charming Pokémon. A little naïve at times, sure, but that only added to the charm. His father had been well-respected across all the eastern regions and beyond. Mickey, to put it diplomatically, wasn't as respected, as he was loved. His Pokémon followed him because he was kind and fair. He was a good Pokémon. But I'm not so sure how good he was as a leader.
Because Lord Mickey Finley had now dragged almost the entirety of his army across the length of Itori and up the hostile grounds of Mount. Mire to meet with a currently dumbfounded Queen Octavia. His war-carriage arrived first, followed by a rank of foot-soldiers. Their form was unfaltering, but there was a palpable air of exhaustion to them.
"How many?" Octavia asked an Orthworm scout as she emerged from the ground.
"Around three hundred, your grace," said the Earthworm Pokémon.
The war-carriage was a far cry from Mickey's usual flashy transportation. Brown, grey, and moss green, camouflage colours, heavily reinforced with steel, protruding spikes, and topped with a sharpened metal pole like a battering ram. It was pulled along by four heavily-armoured Gogoat. Lord Finley was the first to emerge. He was dressed in gold-and-tawny armour, with a metal buckler shield strapped to his arm, bearing a lily pad surrounded by ripples, the Finley sigil. A scroll was hooked through his belt. At his right hip was his weapons holster bearing a hammer. His guardsmon filed out after him. Raj the Houndoom, Barns the Armaldo, Dustin the Muk, Bodhi the Garbodor. The first few rows of Finley soldiers stepped forward to help them spread a camouflage-patterned sheet across the carriage. Guess you can't be too careful.
Three Pokémon among the newcomers stood out; all the others wore uniforms, whereas they completely bare. A Dagger Sandslash and two Earthen Diglett. Did I know those Pokémon from somewhere?
"Is that…" Tobias began.
"What the hell?" Alex muttered.
Then the carriage door directly behind Mickey's swung open. A Seismitoad stepped out, holding a giant warhammer around the size of Mickey himself in both hands. After her came a Mudkip, a Grovyle, and an Evie.
"Mikey!" Alex cried.
"Evie!" Tobias cried.
"Spencer!" I cried, so he wouldn't feel left out.
"Your majesty," Mickey said as he bowed, "I have arrived with the reinforcements you requested. We have brought enough provisions to feed our numbers for three weeks. Your request did not mention any other requirements, so I hope this is sufficient."
Octavia's face was stone. "Why don't we convene in my pavilion, Lord Finley?"
"Uh- Yes, of course, your grace."
Octavia's guardsmon and Mickey's fell into step, two rows of six marching back towards the blue, orange, and pale-yellow pavilion, hemming the two lieges in. Then someone called Mickey's name. The Marshtomp stopped dead, turned his head and saw—
"Fortis!"
He sprinted across the grass to meet the Blaziken, arms outstretched. He leapt and wrapped him up in a big Bewear-hug.
"I knew you were still alive," he said, coming back down, arms still clutching onto his old friend."I always did. I knew they were wrong. They don't know you like I do, they don't know it takes more than a six-story drop to take you down."
Fortis bowed as deeply as Mickey's grasp would allow. "Thank you, my lord, but most of the credit should go to my friends." He gestured to Harriet, Yukiko, and Titan standing behind him.
There were tears in the lord's eyes, and his lip was trembling. Barns cleared his throat.
Mickey coughed and straightened his posture. "Well," he said, struggling back onto the track of formality, "I will see that they are duly reward for their service. It is… an honour to see you again."
"The honour is mine, my lord," Fortis said with his hand on his chest, effortlessly formal.
"It's Mickey. Lord Finley was my father."
Then he turned and followed Octavia into her tent.
"That was… emotional," Yukiko said.
"Hehe, Alex is crying," said Harriet.
"I am not!" Alex lied.
"Professor Buckeye?"
I turned around. Octavia's crown-helmet poked out from the tent entrance. She waited impatiently as I made my way over, was gone before I even reached the entrance. Two Charizard guardsmon stood holding five-foot halberds on either side.
Torches flickered against the navy-blue fabric walls of the war room. On top of a rough (oof, very rough) map of Mount. Mire, painted wooden figures representing Skarsgards, Varias, and wild Pokémon brushed aside, was a letter.
Dear Lord Finley,
A threat to the very fabric of our World has presented itself upon the Halo Mountains. I require the use of 300 of your strongest soldiers, all absolutely must water-types. You will be expected at the first platform of Mount. Mire on the 3rd of the Changing at the Riolu's hour. You will be expected to provide for your own soldiers for the duration of at least one day, however there will likely be no need for further provisions.
Additionally, one of your staff members is of great interest. Your scout Michael, the Grovyle. His exact purpose is of a delicate nature and I am unable to reveal more in any detail, for fear this letter will be intercepted. All will be explained at the rendezvous point. As you may know, Michael is currently stranded in Tenrai's Karma City. You are hear by ordered to send a ship immediately to escort him here. His life is in danger, Lord Finley, and I urge you not to delay if you value it in any way. He will be accompanied by Elexi, diplomat of the Atlanta Academy. I look forward to seeing you on the 3rd.
Regards,
Queen Octavia Skarsgard
"What's the problem?" I asked.
"I never sent a letter to Lord Finley. That's the problem."
Mickey looked positively stunned.
"This letter doesn't mention anything about the three ground-types," I said, consciously avoiding the word "criminals".
"Whoever sent this letter knew exactly where they'd all be, specifically requested that Michael be here," said Queen Octavia. The flames flickered in their torches, drawing harsh shadows across her face. "Why on earth are they here, Khan?"
I frowned. "How the hell would I know?"
"Whoever sent this wanted the Grovyle here too," Octavia said, "that makes me feel as though you're involved."
"You can't possibly think that!"
"I don't know what to think anymore!" she roared. Embers spat from her mouth, I felt them warm my chest and shoulders.
"What's going on?" Mickey said. "Your grace, I don't understand. What's wrong with Mikey being here?"
Octavia's face changed to one of surprise. They hadn't told him yet.
"Your majesty!" someone cried.
"What is it now?!" Octavia growled, grabbing her sword and storming out of the war room.
I put an urgent claw on Mickey's shoulder.
"Listen to me, you need to go to your Pokémon and order them to keep Mikey safe. Keep him away from anyone you don't recognise, anyone. He isn't safe. Heavens only know what they'll do to him if they catch him. Do you understand me?"
His face was twisted in panic. "What the hell is going on?!" It was the first time I'd ever heard him swear. "When who catches him?"
More cries from the outside. Mickey unsheathed his hammer as we ran to the entrance. The Charizard guardsmon had their halberds lowered, protecting us. Wild Pokémon had gathered all around. Hundreds of them. Staryu, Qwilfish, Dewgong, Omastar. Crawdaunt, Milotic, Gyarados, all three forms of Tatsugiri. Dondozo, Clawitzer, Araquanid, Squirtle. They were spread across land, water, and sky; wingless Pokémon stood on cliff ledges above our heads. They'd formed a U-shape around where the Skarsgards and the Finleys made. Waiting. They were organised.
The Skarsgards organised themselves into a defensive position around the lake. Mickey called orders to his Pokémon in a loud and clear voice, and they gathered in the water, forming a C-shaped ring around the lower half, breaking only where the pull of the waterfall was too strong. Barns found a befuddled Grovyle and dragged him towards the carriage. From the waterfall flowing into the lake from up above, a shape emerged. A black fin, pale-blue skin, burning orange eyes. At first, it seemed as though this Marshtomp was the Guardian, as two lines of water Pokémon marched behind him in a V-shape. Fifty of them, maybe more. But this was just the vanguard.
For next came a ring of soldiers, all hoisting up a bamboo-and-hemp platform. The two lines continued around them, shaped like a boat. And standing on that platform was a Swampert. He was fully-dressed in a bronze clothing with blue dew-shaped kyanite sown in.
"Dad?" said Mickey.
"Hello Mickey," he said, then turned his head towards Evie and Mikey, "Michael—"
"NO GOD!" cried the Grovyle.
"Mich-"
"NO GOD PLEASE NO!"
"Mi-"
"NO! NO!"
"…"
"NOOO!"
There were, at best guess, four hundred wild Pokémon surrounding us. The Skarsgards currently numbered two-thousand, all armed, armoured, trained, and boosted. And that's not even taking into account Mickey's three hundred, all of which basically designed for this landscape.
Which the letter had specifically asked for.
"Lord Ayers?!" said Octavia.
Lord Ayers was not his true name. It was a pseudonym he created for himself in order to manipulate his way into power in the north. In faking his own death he also gave up the title of Lord Finley. So I will not refer to this Pokémon by either of those names. Mr. Finley looked at his son and smiled. The kind of smile where you swear you can see the oil on his face. "I came to see my son," he said.
"Liar!"
Even the Skarsgards soldiers jumped out of the way as Evie came charging through. She stopped at the edge of the water.
"You lied to me!" she screamed, slamming her paw against the ground. "You lied to me my entire life! You made me feel like I was different, like I was important, like I was someone. And then you took that away!"
Mr. Finley remained impassive. Hundreds were watching as the Evolution Pokémon's brown-gold eye filled with tears. She didn't seem to care.
"Did you really know it was him?" she asked, her voice finally cracking.
"Of course I did," the Swampert said casually. "But I knew the Relic Guardians would give special protection to whoever they thought was a human. It wasn't malice, it truly wasn't. It was tactics, Evie. No more, no less. I hope that puts your mind at ease."
Evie let out a howl and charging at him. Mickey leapt forward and held her back, kicking and squirming.
"Good boy, Mickey," said the Swampert.
The sun came out from behind a cloud. Now it was clearer, I could see that one of the dew drops sown into his tunic's chest was larger than the others, and sparkled far brighter.
"The Lapis Badge," Asa gasped.
Octavia's eyes widened. "You thief!" she roared, flames spitting. "You took that from our vaults!"
Mr. Finley's eyebrows raised. "Thief?" he tilted his head. "I assure you I am no such thing. The Lapis Badge was bought at a fair price from one of your own, your majesty."
"From who?" the Queen growled.
The Swampert's head turned. "From him."
Hundreds of eyes turned to Alex. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. Tobias put a protective arm in front of him, eyes moving across the platform. Back off, they said.
"It was a hefty price, but well worth it," Mr. Finley said, fiddling with the gleaming gem. "At least I didn't have to pay for his silence. I knew he would never confess to it himself."
It was barely perceptible, but there were something else sown into the inner liner of his tunic, flat and round. Something else stolen, I had to assume.
"You have officially lost your claim to any royal lands, Ford!" Octavia declared.
Another oily smile. "Ah, but no "official claims" can compare when you've captured the hearts and minds of your Pokémon, can they? I'm afraid you're a little too late, your grace."
"How are you controlling these Pokémon?" Asa demanded, gesturing to the wild water-types. "They're only supposed to follow their Guardian."
Mr. Finley spoke to him like he was speaking to a child. "I am their Guardian."
Asa's voice caught in his throat. Then there was a white flash and a vine lashed out and struck the Swampert across the face. In the next second water attacks bombarded him from all sides. Octavia drew her sword, but Asa held up a vine to stop her. "Not yet," his eyes said.
"I have been for many months now," Mr. Finley continued as if nothing had happened, as if there wasn't a thick red mark across his cheek. "It's too bad you never found someone to replace Dreigo, isn't it? You really ought to keep better tabs on your neighbours to the north."
"We've been corresponding for months with the Earthspringers—" Octavia began.
It was then that another Pokémon stepped out from behind him, standing on his left side. A Drilbur.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it," said Connie. "Guardian Ayers and I share a flair for the dramatic."
She was dressed in bronze, too, and instead of dew drops had brown moonstone shaped like drills were sown into the fabric. Mr. Finley and Connie practically glowed with the power they wielded. The wild Pokémon twitched impatiently, and the waterfall crashed behind them.
"The other Guardians will have a lot to say about you mingling with settled Pokémon," Asa said.
Mr. Finley put on a pitying look. "The other Guardians are dead, Asa," he said softly.
Asa's eyes were wide. "You're ly—"
"They're statues now. Their Sapphire Fragments are simply lying at their feet. I wonder if they can sense them there? The secret to their freedom, so close, yet so far out of reach. But they'll be dead, soon, truly dead, and they will suffer no longer." He looked to the sky. "God will see to that."
"You're with him?!" Octavia exclaimed. "Why?!"
Mr. Finley gave us our answer under a cloudy sky:
A creature lies prone on the sand
Deaf to the ocean washing on the beach
A human in a Pokémon's form
Tobias and Alex shared a look. Mr. Finley saw their expressions and let out a booming laugh.
"You thought that was you? Oh, children. The Relic Tale was written eleven years ago! What did you think it was, some kind of magical prophecy? The Unown don't have the power to see into the future. Even a Gardevoir or a Gothitelle's future vision has been wrong at times. The Legend is a record."
"The Guardians said the cavern hadn't been opened in thousands years," said Tobias, "so you're wrong there."
"The Unown have lived inside the Legendary Tombs I imagine for much longer than that," said the Swampert, "they are not beholden to their fan club."
"Why should we believe you?!" said Alex. "You lied to Evie, you liked to Mikey, you lied to your own son, and you get other Pokémon to do your dirty work for you! You're nothing but a coward!"
He wasn't phased in the slightest.
"My name is Ford Ayers Finley. I am the First Human, Lord, Protector, and Ruler of the Golden Marshes, the Silver Earthsprings, and the Bronze Caverns." He spread out his arms. "I am a fusion of the past, present, and future. I have brought the wild and settled worlds together. The organisation and efficiency of civilisation with the raw survivalist strength of the wilderness. Soon, by the grace of God, land, water, and sky will join together as well. Behold my powers. I am the strongest Pokémon in the world! Stronger even than you."
Octavia laughed. "Get your head out your ass. Your wild army is three hundred, your settled one another five," (although with the possibility of more hidden away), "and you know there is no way you could bring an army of ground-types into a water Dungeon."
"The Mire Pokémon would never allow it in any case," Asa added, "they wouldn't permit their ecosystem to be disrupted like that, even by their Guardian. They'd simply root you out and find a new one to take their place."
"And you're not just facing the Skarsgards," Vex's deep voice boomed, "you're facing every legitimate chieftain in Itori."
"Not all of them," Mr. Finley smiled at Mickey.
When his father's eyes found him, the Marshtomp's knees finally gave way. The Swampert waved his hands and several Mire Pokémon ran over to him, shoving his friends and soldiers out of the way, placing hands on his back, guiding him forward. Raj made to pounce at them, but Dustin held out his hand. One wrong move would cause an all-out battle, they both knew that.
"Why would you do this?" he whispered. "Why, dad?"
"I did it for you, my son," he said softly. "For our family."
I don't think a single one of us believe it. Not even him.
"Think about it, Mickey," Mr. Finley said. "Think of the good we could do in the world. You would be a hero, revered for generations after your death. It could be everything you've ever wanted." He extended a hand. "We could be a family again."
Mickey looked at us then, the Pokémon who had tried to warn him, the one's he'd ignored, realising we were right all along.
"You understand, don't you? You're a smart boy. And you're a Lord. You know the right choice isn't always the easy one." He stretched his hand out further. Forcefully. "Come."
Mickey picked himself up and ran to him.
"Mickey, no!" Evie cried.
The Mire Pokémon parted as he swam across the lake towards him. Mr. Finley stayed where he was atop his platform. The Marshtomp grabbed onto the horns of a Cloyster's shell and climbed onto her head, jumping off her, grabbing onto the edge of the platform.
"Good boy," Mr. Finley said, a wide smile stretching out his skin. Mickey ran to his father's outstretched arms, closed his eyes, and punched him in the face.
The Swampert stumbled backwards, and the platform rocked as the wild Pokémon struggled underneath it. For once, he looked genuinely shocked. The Marshtomp's body lit up pink and he went flying over the water and went rolling through the dust. A Morningstar Slowbro standing off to the side lowered her arm. His guardsmon gathered around him.
Raj threw his head back and howled. It cut through every other sound, emptying the air of everything but the Houndoom's high war cry. The Finley soldiers clanged their weapons against their shields and took up the call. The lake erupted as the water-types swam to meet one another.
"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this," Mr. Finley said.
The Slowbro placed one hand on him, the other on Connie, and they were lifted into the air, high above our heads. We heard a click. The air stilled.
There was a great crashing roar, and the sun reflecting off the waterfall shone blinding light into our eyes, as the clear water gave way to a tidal wave of bronze. The Finely soldiers lined along the outer ridge of the lake took a second to process what was happening, then turned and ran, terrified cries filling the open air even through the water. The wild Mire Pokémon didn't even have time to react.
The heavy metal hit the surface and water crashed across the platform, soaking every Skarsgard soldier within a ten-metre radius. Several Charizard cried out in alarm, clutching their tales; one with a torn wing tried to run, crashed into the Coalossal behind him, taking her and several others down with him. I grabbed Tobias and Alex in my arms, leapt off the trunk of a moriche palm tree, onto the branches of another. They kicked and squirmed, yelled at me to leg them go, to let them help the Pokémon. I ignored them.
"These tunnels and caverns are mine," Mr. Finley's voice boomed from a cliff high above our heads. "I am both human and Pokémon both, and I am the greatest of my kind. Now God bows to my command, and the World shall follow!"
"Who are you trying to fool?!" Harriet yelled. "Your own son doesn't even follow you!"
"We'll see to that. Connie."
Mr. Finley waved a hand in the direction of the Finley carriage. Connie placed her hands on the earth and moved them in a circle; there came the sound and shake of moving earth, a hole opened in the ground, and a fountain of bronze water came bursting out.
"Mickey!" Fortis cried.
Mickey raised his hands above his head. A shimmering bubble spread from his palms to the ground, protecting himself and his guardsmon. Fortis made to run towards him but Yukiko grabbed him and held him back. The carriage Gogoat bleated in fear, tried to pull away even with their enormous carries behind them. The water flooded them, they were gone in a flash of bronze. The Finley soldiers by the carriage, the few non-water types, tried to run, but the torrent hitting the ground sent spray flying in all directions, and soon all of them were hit. It only takes one drop.
"Where did he get bronze water from?!" Alex cried.
"Where did he get so much of it?!" added Tobias.
A flash of orange from the south. Black smoke rose from somewhere in the crownlands. I felt a prickling sensation go up my spine. I turned my head and saw Mr. Finley staring right at us. At him.
"Thanks are due to you, of course, Alex," he cried over the roaring and the screams. "Awakening a God was your idea, was it not?" He laughed. "Oh, right, of course. You don't remember."
Alex looked him dead in the eye. "It was Fitzroy who summoned them," he said simply, "not you."
Mr. Finley stared him down. Then he silently turned his head and watched his plan unfold. The bronze water spread from any point it touched the body. Pokémon fired at themselves and one another, trying to sear the stuff away. All it did was hold it back for a few seconds. Just one drop.
I saw a Croconaw climb out of the water, a single spot on his tail. I saw the liquid spread across his body, his legs slowing as they hardened, his clawing hands frozen to his thighs; bronze water finally reached his eyes and glazing them over, the light still burning inside.
Charmander and Charmeleon ran for safety while Charizard took to the air. Bronze Pokémon emerged from under the trees on top of the cliff and began firing at them. Silver drops rained down on their heads. One of the Charizard fell from the sky, a great silver gash across his chest. Octavia was barking orders, but the din around us drowned her out. The bronze soldiers looked confused, terrified. They turned in circles, looking left and right, at each other, down at themselves.
"Soldier!" Mr. Finley called. "Your enemy surrounds you. Your kind stands by your side. You do not yet know your purpose, so hear it now."
They were looking up at him, hanging on his every word. He jabbed his finger at the Skarsgards, at us, at the Renegades, at anyone and anything not of his own creation.
"They are the enemy! Your purpose is to defend your betters against them!"
Bronze-glazed eyes turned on us. They took a moment to process this information, then all at once balls of silver water shimmered over the surface of the lake.
Octavia's face was twisted in an outraged fear. But the bronze soldiers weren't attacking.
Mr. Finley turned to the Queen. "You have been warned, Octavia. Do not stand in my way if you value your own mind. These were my soldiers, and they refused my word." He turned to his son, one of the last seven Finley soldiers standing. "In the place of a weak, inferior Pokémon." He gestured to his bronze army. "See the fate that befalls a Pokémon who does not know its place."
"They're not attacking," Alex said.
It was then I registered one of the bronze soldiers closest to us. A Toxapex, with his tentacles raised, thin silver needles wobbling in the air, what could have been a Venoshock (Silvershock, if you will.) His attack looked incredibly weak.
"It took Fitzroy years to turn six of his Pokémon into bronze soldiers," Tobias said then. "Maybe they're not ready."
The bronzefall stopped suddenly. Clear blue water began to flow again. Mr. Finley turned.
"You will follow me into the inner caverns," he called. "We will descend to the second platform, where we will ensure the Guardians are disposed of at last. You will leave the Skarsgards now. There is still time for them to join us. Return.""
The Skarsgards watched dumbfounded as their enemy retreated. A few bent down to lift the seriously injured off the ground.
"That's where the Unown's power is," Octavia said, coming down to land beside Asa and Vex, "that's where we need to go."
"We can't just let them retreat!" Vex cried, holding out a thick hand to the bronze army.
"We are prioritising the safety of our soldiers, Lord Vex," she said sternly. "We would lose thousands to that silver water!"
An ocean of bronze lay around us, soaking up the grass. We walked a shadow-spotted path under the shade of the araguaney trees. We had to walk far around the edge to avoid the lake, but puddles of uncontaminated water were everywhere, slowing the fire-types down.
"Are we really going through with this?" I asked Asa.
"We have no choice," he said simply. "We have nothing to counter them, nothing that comes close to a living, breathing deity. This is not just a mythical God like Shaymin or Diancie. This is… this is like nothing I've even imagined."
"Do you know what type of Legendary it will be?" Tobias asked.
"I have no idea," Asa said. "Any ideas?" he addressed me. I shrugged.
He gave a small chuckle. "If only we'd known about the ice God. They would have been the perfect counter to a dragon-type."
A chill went up my spine.
…
Alex sat on a cliff overlooking the camp. Only a few feet above where the others were resting, but far enough that I wanted to keep an eye on him. I followed in secret, hiding under the shade of the eastern white pines. On my way I saw Art, watching from a few feet away. We nodded to each other.
Itori stretched far and wide across. A glorious view, all the way from the western tundra to the eastern taiga, the northern crownlands to the southern sea. I only prayed he'c see it once again when we were all safe, when smoke didn't shroud the land in black.
But what will Itori be when the battle is won?
A dim glow on the horizon. A new dawn was approaching. Alex kicked his feet lazily over the edge of the cliff. His slipped his fingers through the grass and craned his head up at the stars.
Footsteps. Alex whipped around, eyes wide. Then he softened. It was only Mikey. The Grovyle sat down next to him.
"It's a nice night," he said.
"Yeah," said Alex, "shame we can't enjoy it."
"We can still enjoy a bit of it," Mikey said, stretching his arms and leaning back. "What's on your mind?"
"Not much."
Mikey looked at him. "Really? Not much? After everything that's just happened?"
"I didn't say there was nothing on my mind." He exhaled. "Can I ask you something?"
"Shoot."
"Do you feel like a Pokémon?"
Mikey opened his mouth then closed it again.
"What else would I feel like?"
"After finding out you used to be human, do you feel any different?"
"I don't know, the same I guess." He shrugged. "I feel like me."
"Okay." He didn't sound entirely satisfied.
"Well, what did you feel like when you found out?"
"Pretty bad, I guess."
"You guess?"
"I don't remember it, Mikey. I don't remember anything before I woke up in Grande City hospital. I don't actually know I felt at that time. I know how I reacted, but… it's not really enough."
"Well what matters is how you feel now, right?"
Alex stared down at the Pokémon spread out across the path.
"I think maybe I'll know how I feel when I figure out what I really am. When I figure out if I'm actually a human, or a Pokémon."
"I think it's up to you."
Alex's eyebrows raised "Why do you think that?"
"Being human is in your past. It's up to you how much you let that define you. I think. I don't know. Was that stupid? It sounded smart in my head but now I've said it—"
"That makes a lot of sense. You know, you're actually pretty wise, Mikey."
"Yeah, for an idiot."
"You're not an idiot!"
"I am. I've made my peace with it. What can I say? I got square-brain. But even an idiot can learn."
The trees swayed gently. A warm breeze ruffled the leaf blade behind his head, made the flame at the tip of Alex's tail dance. The sun crept closer to the horizon.
"Does humanity matter to you?" the Charmander asked.
"I can't remember my life as a human, either," the Grovyle answered. "Feels to me like I've never been anything but a Pokémon. I only learned I was "human" a few days ago."
"How is Evie coping with it?"
"Not great. It's kind of been a loss of identity for her, yaknow? What makes you ask?"
"I've been feeling pretty insecure. About my human origins. Especially now, now that we've just learned about… him."
Mikey's mouth twisted. "Hard not to be a little hurt by that."
"You're a good person. Everyone says that. That's not exactly the case for me, though."
"Ah… Um… Well, I think you're pretty great."
Alex looked at him. "Really?"
"Of course I do. You're a Treasure Hunter, your whole thing is doing good for people. You should be proud of that."
My heart swelled. They would have agreed, Alex.
"You should be proud too," he said.
"I'm just a scout," said Mikey. "I work for a room, food, and a small allowance. What do I have to be proud of?"
"Being a good person doesn't have to be your job," Alex countered. "It just has to be… what you do."
"So… why are you so upset about being human if both of us are already pretty great?"
There was a strained silence.
"I wasn't always a good person. You heard it yourself, I sold off the Lapis Badge to him, and Moltres know what he's going to do with it now! Sometimes it feels like humans are just mostly bad, and we only happened to become good because we didn't know the truth…"
Mikey frowned. "You think all humans are bad based off three people?"
"I was a lot like him before I changed. Arrogant, narcissistic, domineering… cruel. I don't know who I really am, Mikey."
Then he laughed. "I think you already have your answer, buddy."
"What?"
"You said it yourself. You changed. Humans can change." He looked down over the edge of the cliff. Avalon, Niamh, and Nate were lying on the grass with the other Victory Hunters. Tobias and Evie lay beside them. They looked up at their partners sitting up on the cliff, and waved. "Just like Pokémon."