"Holy shit get it off get it off get it off!"

Cassius Hargreaves, eighteen years of age and a growing regional celebrity, did what any strong, self-respecting man would have done in his situation—he screamed very, very loudly in abject terror. Leaping to his feet, he attempted to jump away from the horrid monstrosity attached to his arm, only to realize that it had firmly planted itself upon him. If anything, its grip tightened as he flailed aimlessly, probably an instinctual response to the sudden burst of movement on his part.

Whatever it was, it was hot. Particularly around its abdomen. As it clamped even tighter, select parts of his arm were quickly introducing themselves to a very uncomfortable heat. All the while, the creature's eyes continued to bore into him, and that skin-crawling ticking sound only increased in pitch and fervor.

It was chaos. Cassius was practically throwing himself to get the Pokémon off his arm. Hyla chased him in vain, barking like mad in an attempt to help her dear trainer. Gloria looked frozen by shock, fear, or maybe some odd mix of the two.

Hop, meanwhile, was dumbfounded. And very worried. "But how? It shouldn't have made it past the—" he felt for his pocket, which still contained a very much unused spray of repel. "The repels! I forgot to set them up around camp!"

No time to worry about that now. He had to help his friend. Arming himself with the canister, he chased after Cassius, aiming the spray at the Pokémon at his arm. "Hold still! I need a clear shot!" He didn't know if Cassius had heard him and obeyed, or simply ran out of energy and stamina needed to keep diving and flailing, but regardless, he stopped. Close enough for the repel, he sprayed the repelling mist dead on the Pokémon, watching as it eventually released itself from Cassius with a displeased hiss.

"Gloria!" He called, and the girl finally seemed to snap out of whatever it was that was holding her up. "Get it out of here! I need to help Cassius!" Nodding in affirmative, Gloria brought forth Scorbunny, her starter Pokémon quickly shepherding out the invader from their camp with shouts and Embers.

Hop grabbed his bag, before falling to a knee beside Cassius. His jacket sleeve was very obviously burnt in frequent spots, the coloring having faded almost completely and burn marks clearly evident. Any longer and it might have burnt away entirely. "Are you okay?" Hop asked automatically, and Cassius might have managed a minute nod, still desperately gasping for air.

Hop removed the jacket and its sleeve, and confirmed that it wasn't the absolute worst case. The sleeve had saved him—any direct contact with the burn spots and it could have been far beyond his ability to treat. It didn't look like the pain was overwhelming for Cassius, but that could have just been the adrenaline. He needed to work fast, just in case it was worse than it looked.

Cassius, meanwhile, watched numbly as Hop worked to treat what was hopefully a minor burn. "This might sting a little," Hop warned, and as he treated the wounds, it definitely did. An ointment made contact with his skin, and the invisible strings of fire running along his arm only seemed to get worse. With a grimace, he did his best to stay still as Hop operated.

Gloria returned to the two, panting slightly. "It's gone. We checked for any others that might have been hangin' about, we should be good." Her gaze fell on Hop. "Where were the repels?"

Hop briefly paused, before continuing his care. "I forgot," he admitted simply. Gloria wasn't very pleased with that explanation. "You forgot? I told you to set it up on your way back from grabbin' him!"

"Look, I forgot, I'm sorry!" He wasn't in the mood to argue about it now. He tossed Gloria his canister. "I'm busy, so I need you to set it up. I've got more in my bag." Gloria looked like she wanted to say more, but relented as she went about setting up what should have already been established.

Eventually, Hop was finished, wrapping the burns in gauze just to be sure. It might have been excessive, and he was foggy on if wrapping it up was better than letting it breathe, but his mind was on autopilot. Cassius seemed to have calmed down considerably by this point, though he still looked a little shaken. "Thanks," he managed, but his gaze lingered on his arm. Hop tried for his best assuring smile, but even he would admit it was weak. "No problem." If Cassius was angry at him, he didn't show it. Hyla came to a stop beside him, now that the worst was out of the way, and nudged him gently. Cassius allowed her on his lap, and found a comfortable purchase upon her fur.

Gloria returned, but her voice was low. "It's still there," she muttered, eyes looking near where one of the repels were. Hop saw it too, humming in unease. "That's... odd. Think it'll try to rush in?"

"Doubt it. You got it pretty good, and it doesn't look eager to try it with the repel again. I think it's just... watchin' us."

Now that Cassius wasn't in immediate fear for his life, he was able to get a good look at what had snuck up on him. It was decently large, roughly the size of Hyla. Though, it was more long than tall, a reddish bug-looking thing with a brown backside. What might have been whiskers protruded from its flat face, burning a bright orange. Its sharp, animal eyes were still trained firmly on him.

"A Sizzlipede," Hop answered the question Cassius was going to ask aloud. "Pretty uncommon find in Galar. I've heard of 'em burrowin' around Motostoke, but even then, they don't typically go where the people are. Pretty solitary, too, to my knowledge."

"Then what's one doing all the way out here?" Gloria asked. Cassius' gaze immediately went to Hop, who had the same idea. This wasn't the first time they'd come across displaced Pokémon before. Even if it was a bit of a stretch—random Pokémon could theoretically pop up anywhere, especially if it was just one singular Pokémon—but the timing was too much of a coincidence. Was it connected to the phenomenon they'd seen in Slumbering Weald?

Whatever the reason was, it didn't look intent on moving. Cassius, weary of his arm, aimed the Pokédex at the foreign creature. "Sizzlipede, the Radiator Pokémon. It stores flammable gas in its body and uses it to generate heat, specifically in its yellow underbelly spots. It wraps prey up with its heated body, cooking them in its coils. Once they're well-done, it will voraciously nibble them down to the last morsel."

Those spots must have been what was burning him. And seeing as it was wrapped around him... "Was it trying to... eat me?"

Hop could almost feel the fear in Cassius' voice and quickly made to reassure him. "No, can't be. I'm no expert, but Sizzlipede don't typically go for prey larger than themselves. Besides, it was only able to get your arm—it had to have realized that trying to attack you was a waste of time."

"Didn't seem to stop it any," Gloria disagreed. "Thing's still here, too. Reckon it might go about waitin' for another shot."

Nothing major, just an overgrown flammable bug staking him out for the chance to eat him. Awesome.

"Gloria," Hop admonished. "We don't know that."

"I vote we kill it."

"Gloria!"

"Okay, okay, we knock it out," Gloria corrected herself begrudgingly, adding air quotations for effect. "Point bein', I don't want that nasty thing pickin' us off one at a time on our way to Turffield. Lettin' Pokémon follow you typically ends very poorly for trainers."

"Again, you don't know that it's malicious."

"Wanna trash the repels and find out?"

At that, Hop fell silent. He wouldn't say it aloud, but Cassius was in agreement with Gloria. Call him biased, but having his arm cooked medium-well didn't marshal much in the way of leniency or sympathy for the Sizzle-whatever it was called.

Hop attempted to regain control of the situation. "Look, we're all a little edgy from what just happened, I get it. That doesn't mean we get to murder a Pokémon because of what might be some big misunderstanding on our part." Before either Gloria or Cassius could argue otherwise, Hop continued. "Let's wait a few days, and if the Sizzlipede is still following us, then we can do something about it. In a non-lethal way."

"What is there to misunderstand?" Cassius gestured toward his wrapped arm. "I don't know much about Pokémon, but toasting someone's arm seems like a very weird way of being friendly, even for Pokémon."

"And if it isn't friendly, then we contact a Challenge official. Or a Pokémon ranger agency. Or a specialist. Or literally any similar service and have the Sizzlipede taken care of in a way that doesn't involve it dead."

"Pokémon rangers end up killin' em anyway, just in private," Gloria muttered. Hop didn't bother with a retort. "The repels haven't failed us before, and they won't now. We have plenty, but if you two are dead-set on it, we'll get more. Okay?"

Cassius gave another look toward the Pokémon, who had backed away from the edge of their camp, but had settled for watching them beneath the cover of a nearby tree. The thing's appetite for human prey was strong, apparently.

"Fookin' hate bugs," Gloria grumbled, unprompted. Hop sighed. "I know you do. Just... leave it be for now, promise?" Gloria grunted what might have been a begrudging affirmation, before recalling her Scorbunny and stalking off to her tent, mumbling to herself all the while. "Creepy, crawlin', disgustin'..."

Hop put a hand on Cassius' shoulder. "Don't let it bother you. We're in the wild, after all. Only natural that we'd have a few dust-ups with Pokémon every now and again." He eyed his arm. "I'm sorry. I did the best I could."

Cassius sighed. Getting mad at Hop wouldn't do anything. It hadn't before, and it wouldn't start now. "It's fine. Thanks, Hop."

"No problem. Change the wrap in the morning. If you're out, I have some." His grip on his shoulder tightened. "Cassius, you know I won't let anything bad happen. To any of us. I still wanna respect the wilderness, though. You get what I mean?"

He did. Pokémon-obsessed lunatic that he was, it was obvious. "I do. Sorry for spazzing out on you."

"All's forgiven, mate." Hop gave him a smile. "Get some rest. Maybe it'll be gone tomorrow, and this'll be just one bad run-in with a Pokémon. You still need to train, after all. G'night." He disappeared into his own tent, leaving Cassius alone.

He flexed his arm for the first time that evening, just to see if it would provoke any pain. It wasn't much more than a small sting—Hop apparently had done well in treating him. Or it was never that bad to begin with. Still, it was a shame to see his right arm wrapped up in medical gauze again, not long after he'd recovered from the Rookidee attack. That particular arm was taking a beating so far.

His spirit sank further when he eyed what was left of his dinner, haphazardly thrown to the grass when he'd leapt in terror. Sighing, Cassius got a new plate, scraping together what was left over and finishing his meal in silence. His only companion being his faithful Deino, coming to rest beside his leg in a show of comfort.

Cassius tried his best to ignore that lingering third presence, watching him from the trees with a gaze he could almost feel.

Somehow, he'd managed to get a somewhat decent night's sleep. When he woke up the next morning, he was greeted by the scowling visage of Gloria.

She sat near the center of the camp, dressed in athletic garb for what he presumed to be an early morning run. Cassius approached wearily. "What's up?" Following her gaze, he quickly discovered the source of her displeasure.

"Bloody thing's still here," she grumbled. Sure enough, the Sizzlipede was still parked in more or less the exact same spot it had been last night. Beyond that, it was still awake, and was now staring squarely at him, fiery whiskers twitching.

Cassius swallowed nervously. "Pokémon don't normally do that, right?"

Gloria shook her head. "They do, but only the territorial ones. Aggron, Beedrill and the like. Pokémon like Sizzlipede shouldn't be stalkin' trainers."

And yet, here they were. "I'm guessing you were trying to go on a run?"

"Obviously," Gloria rolled her eyes. The Sizzlipede must have been making her even more standoffish than she usually was. Cassius took a seat next to her in spite of that, however. He clearly wasn't going out for his run so long as the Pokémon was out there, so for now he was stuck.

He gave his temporary companion a look. "So, not a fan of bugs?"

She gave him a defensive look. "And who told you that?"

"You said as much last night," Cassius recalled.

"Can't be that poor off if you remembered some one-off quip like that."

That much was true. Maybe he'd been a bit caught up in the moment, or maybe Hop had a future in emergency treatment, but his arm barely hurt beyond a light sting when he touched it. That was beside the point, however. "Any reason for it? If you don't mind me asking."

Gloria answered immediately. "No reason."

Cassius didn't buy it. "Gloria, I'm not stupid enough to actually believe that."

"Shocking," she drawled. There was a moment of hesitation, before she finally gave him a legitimate answer. "Really nothin' profound. I just think bugs are gross. That's it."

That seemed a bit excessive. "All Bug-types? Surely there are one or two that don't—"

"If it's a bug, I want nothin' to do with it," Gloria interrupted. Cassius quickly shut up. She seemed pretty set in how she felt.

But still... "I mean, that's a whole type of Pokémon you're throwing away purely based on personal preference." He thought back to the type matchups he'd memorized. "What if you need something strong against a Grass-type? Or a Dark-type?"

"Then I get a Fire-type or a Fighting-type," Gloria said quickly. "And the whole point of battlin' is to win with your favorites. We've literally been over this."

Sure they had—he'd been the one to mention that very idea in their presser after the Opening Ceremony—but he'd also mentioned how wrong it sounded to write off an entire typing of Pokémon purely based on false stereotypes. This just felt like a needlessly big imposition to set. An entire selection of Pokémon disregarded? He wasn't a super big Bug-type fan either, but that felt silly.

Gloria could see him struggling to understand. She sighed. "Don't hurt yourself tryna get it. There's no sob story behind it, really. It really is as easy as me not likin' things that crawl."

Then he'd leave it at that. "All Bug-types don't crawl, I don't think."

"Shut up. You get the point."

They were silent for another moment. Something popped in Cassius' mind, but he seemed hesitant to ask. After a few seconds of him opening his mouth and quickly closing it in reconsideration, Gloria figured she'd end the game of charades. "What now?"

"Well," he started. "I don't know. This might sound a little... stupid, I guess?"

"Nothin' new from you. Are you gonna tell me or not?"

"I will," he finally decided. "It's just, well, you're actively against a species of animals specifically for traits of theirs that are preconceived and not entirely true, right?"

Gloria's eyes squinted. "Huh?"

"So... is that not, you know," Cassius looked very uncomfortable speaking. "... racist?"

Good heavens above. What did Leon see in this clown? "Did you just call me racist for not wanting to catch Bug-types?"

"Not you specifically!" Cassius quickly blurted out, before doubling back a little. "Well, it may have sounded like that, and the example may revolve around you, but I'm not outright calling you racist."

"Seems pretty outright to me, twat."

"Look, I told you it was stupid!"

Gloria couldn't fathom how he was going to win an actual gym battle in a few weeks. "Do you even hear yourself right now? I'm choosin' not to catch Bug-types, not plottin' some scheme to rid the world of 'em entirely. I don't dislike bugs nearly that much. How did you figure I was racist from anythin' I said?"

"Who's racist?" A voice asked. Both parties jumped, quickly looking behind them to see Hop, dressed casually despite how early it was. He had a concerned look on his face. "Did I miss something important?"

"No!" the two answered simultaneously. Hop wasn't convinced. "As the only person of color among this group, I'd say I'm pretty involved in any discussion involving race."

No getting out of it, then. "Cassius thinks I'm racist 'coz I don't plan on catchin' Bug-types."

"Oh? That's it?" All concern washed away from Hop's face, replaced with relief and a bit of amusement. "Nah, that ain't racist. Remember how I talked about trainers that specialize in a specific type, or a specific Pokémon? Well, if you do that, then you're naturally not gonna be a big fan of your chosen team's natural weakness. Nothin' malicious about it, just simple preference, man."

His expression turned mischievous. "In any case, Gloria's really just afraid of bugs, that's all."

"Fuck off!"

Cassius' face was bright red. "I'm sorry."

"We really gotta get you more used to talking to girls," Hop placed a hand on his shoulder. "You've called Gloria an alcoholic and a racist in the span of, like, a week. Tiny miracle she hasn't socked you already."

"Not yet," Gloria ground out, glaring at the Unovan. The subject of the matter seemed very eager to move on from this train of discussion. "Where were you, Hop?"

Hop gestured to the bags in his hand. "Off for a supply run in Motostoke. Got some more repels." His gaze returned to the Sizzlipede. "Still here, huh?"

"Yeah," Cassius confirmed, once again making eye contact with the Pokémon. His eyes narrowed suddenly as a realization hit him. "Wait, Hop, you left camp, right?"

"I thought it was kinda obvious, but yeah."

"And it didn't attack or chase you?"

"Huh... guess it didn't." Hop apparently hadn't even thought about it. "I was pretty sleepy when I left, so I kinda forgot about it, honestly."

Cassius' gaze went from Hop, and then back to the Sizzlipede. Then, his attention fell onto Gloria. "Could I ask for a favor?"

"Hm?"

"Could you leave camp?"

"Tryna exile me, prick?" Gloria didn't take very well to the request, and Cassius quickly made to clarify. "Not like that! I mean, just walk out of the boundary for a bit. It doesn't even have to be where the Sizzlipede is. I just... want to test something."

Before she could argue further, Hop joined in asking. "Humor him, please? I think I see what he's gettin' at." It was annoying, but if Hop was okay with it, it probably wasn't entirely stupid. Sighing, she grabbed Scorbunny and Yamper's respective Poké Balls, before making her way left of the campsite. Wasting no time, she cleared the boundary, looking back expectantly at the two boys for further instruction.

"A little further out?" Cassius asked, and Gloria acquiesced with minimal fuss. A good ten or so yards from the safeguard of the repels, she stood, looking around to see if anything decided to jump her. All was quiet, for now.

A minute passed, and Cassius motioned for her to return. Returning to her seat with a huff, she turned to the others. "Well?"

"Thanks," Hop smiled. Cassius hummed quickly in appreciation, eyes lingering on the Fire-type parked outside. Gloria had noticed that it hadn't so much as budged a bit from its spot beside the tree.

"As I figured," Hop sighed, taking a seat. Gloria gave him a look, prompting him to continue. "The Sizzlipede didn't so much as look at you when you left camp. Didn't follow after me either when I left for Motostoke."

"So?"

"So, who was the person that the Sizzlipede first charged?" Realization dawned on Gloria. Hop nodded, carefully surveying the staring contest between Cassius and the Sizzlipede.

"It completely ignored us, but it seems fascinated with him. I don't know why, but that Sizzlipede is dead-set on Cassius."

Figured I'd squeeze this chapter out now. Won't be updating next Sunday, but I'll try to get something out the following week. From there, it should be a return to a somewhat normal posting schedule (barring anything unexpected) until the end of August.

Thanks for reading.

~Slalem