DISCLAIMER

This is an OC-Centric Pokémon fic taking place several years after XY. This fic also includes the topic of Child Abuse. It is a hurt/comfort with a happy end fic.

Everything had been fine an hour ago.

An hour ago, they had been on her bike, riding through the forest on the well-walked path, on their way away from their home, their father, and all the terrible memories that clung to it. An hour ago, they were free.

But a lot could change in an hour.

They'd long since left any sort of path or road in the forest and were now in the deeper parts, in the true wilds of the woods, in hopes of losing their pursuers.

Pippa caught herself on a tree trunk. Her heart was pounding in her chest so hard it hurt, and Benji was clinging to her skirt, his small, starved frame shaking where he stood, barely able to stay standing.

The woods echoed with the sound of boots snapping over twigs and of the growls and barking of canine Pokemon chasing them down. Further, distant shouts rang out—harsh and short, like gunshots in the air. She curled her fingers against the rough bark, not caring about the dull pain it drudged out, and with her free hand, she tangled her hand into Benji's dark curls, holding him tight against her side.

They had to get away. But she'd been hit by one of the Pokemon in their escape, a Beedrill; it had struck her when she tried to shield her brother, pierced the skin, and now she had poison coursing through her wound, and she knew that was slowing her down. It hurt—burning fingers course through her side, winding under her skin, spreading further across her body.

She forced her body to move, tugging Benji to follow, and stumbled over a tangle of roots. Her limbs were heavy and uncooperative; her head was fogging over, and it was hard to form a cohesive thought, even harder to see the forest in front of her. But she had to keep going, had to keep as much distance between them and their chases as she could.

At the very least, she had to get Benji away from here. So long as she could get him somewhere safe, she didn't care if their father found her, didn't care if she got dragged back to that prison of a house; all that mattered was that her brother escaped.

She hugged Benji closer, using herself as a shield as tree branches snagged at her clothes and scraped across her face. Her chest tightened, growing tighter, knowing that there was a cold, damp, dark cellar waiting for him if she couldn't get Benji away from them.

They just had to make it into town, try to blend in, and with any luck, they could find a bus and be hundreds of miles away this time tomorrow, on the other side of Kalos, ideally in an entirely different region.

Her hands and cheeks were stinging against the cool evening air when they finally broke the tree line. The sun was setting; it would be dusk in an hour. Her vision was swirling, and she felt unsteady on her legs, so much so that as she took another step forward, her knees buckled.

"Pippa!" Benji cried out, reaching for her to try and hold her up.

Steadying herself, she offered her brother a weak smile, and she was tired, so tired, so weak. But she smiled, ruffling his hair, and tried to assure him that everything was okay, that she was okay.

It did little to ease the worry on Benji's face.

She tugged the hood of Benji's jacket—it was her jacket, actually, hers from when she was younger, that she had passed on to her brother so he could have something warm while their father kept him locked in that cellar—to better hide his face. Taking his hand in hers, she cut across a parking lot and toward the closest building. The orange of the sky reflected in its windows.

They skirted around the outside, stepping up onto the sidewalk. She glanced in both directions, wary and afraid. Down one side was a park occupied by a smattering of people and their Pokemon. Kids chasing their pets, insect and bird types alike perched in the trees, a pond rippling as water-type Pokemon played about. Someone had a guitar, strumming a tune and singing along to a song she couldn't hear.

This was a small town, not far enough from their home for her liking, but small, quiet, and close-knit. The kind of small town not used to trouble coming their way.

Pippa knew a thing or two about small towns like this. The sleepy, always-watching kind.

The kind that would recognize someone who didn't belong in a heartbeat.

She turned away from the park and toward what looked like the main drag of the town. If they were lucky, they could find an arcade or a comic store—someplace the two of them wouldn't look out of place in.

Her wound pulsated, and she wanted to throw up. The dull, burning pain had spread from her side and up her arm, making her fingers go numb and the limb heavy. Distracted by the pain, she tripped over her own feet as they walked, bumping into an empty chair outside a restaurant's outdoor seating. People a few tables away turned to look at them, a mix of curiosity and suspicion. A Growlithe barked, drawing more eyes onto them.

Heart clenching in fear, Pippa said nothing. Hunching her shoulders, she nudged Benji away from the restaurant. The smell of hot food begged them to come back.

"Pippa," Benji whined softly as he tugged on her sleeve, "I'm hungry."

He looked so pitiful, his face gaunt. She hated it, how thin he was. Their father had only ever given him enough food to stay alive, never anything more. Pippa had done everything she could to try and alleviate the hunger, but there was only so much she could do without making things worse for Benji. If their father knew he was getting extra food than what he gave—not that the sludge and scraps their father threw down into the cellar could be called food—he would accuse the boy of stealing, would hit him more, hit him harder.

She gave his hand a comforting squeeze; his was so small and so bony in hers as if it might break if she held too tight.

Pippa had smuggled as much food as she could when she prepared for their escape, but they had lost the bag when their father's people first caught up to them, and it now lay abandoned with her mangled bike, lost when the agents had first caught up to the two.

'Not now. Soon.' She had let go of his hand to sign, reaching out to cup his cheek in a comforting gesture before taking his hand in hers again. She needed to get him food, but they had to find someplace safe for it. They were still in danger of being seen out here in the open.

Leading Benji again, they continued their walk.

As they did, she glanced down the alleys, trying to map out possible escape routes or hiding spots, but they were almost offensively well-lit and tidy, with brilliant murals painted on the walls.

There was a small women's clothing store beside the, with racks set up outside the door. Sweaters and floral button-ups twisted on their hooks in the evening breeze, reminding Pippa that they'd need to get new clothes soon. The sound of Pokemon cries fills the air as they fly above or scurry about up and down the roads.

It was all so mundane, peaceful, even.

Until it wasn't.

An unmarked white van stopped at an intersection two blocks ahead of them.

She'd seen that same van many times. She had seen it time and time again parked in their house as its inhabitants came to speak with their father.

No.

No, no, no.

They had to get off the street.

They had to get somewhere to hide before they were spotted, before they were rundown, dragged into the back, and taken away.

She couldn't let that happen, not to Benji.

A tremor went through her hands. She glanced down at Benji—he had spotted the van, too, and was clinging to her tightly, his eyes wide in terror as he shook. Taking in an unsteady breath, Pippa glanced left and then right, looking for someplace to run, somewhere to go. Down on the corner, she spotted a convenience store. It was better than nothing—better than two scraggly kids hiding in a women's boutique, and there would be cameras there.

Her chest tightened and she hurries her brother across the street.

Hot dread soaked through her, and she glanced over her shoulder as they walked, hoping the van didn't turn their way, hoping there weren't any more of her father's goons stalking the town—knowing there were.

She picked up her pace and pushed the door of the store open, nudging Benji to go in first. The door chimed when they walked in, and she cast a glance at the person behind the counter. A middle-aged woman with wiry hair and dark makeup flipping idly through a magazine. A Fennekin sat on the counter with her. There were deep frown lines around her mouth, and she said nothing to them when they came in. When her Fennekin stood up and yipped at them, Benji reflexively pushed himself closer to Pippa in fear.

She hurried him past the Pokemon and tried to force herself to relax.

The fluorescent ceiling lights hummed above them, washing everything in bleak, too-bright light as a radio station played from overhead speakers, playing a song Pippa had never heard before.

Careful, overly careful, she picked a middle aisle to shuffle Benji into, staying away from the windows. The store was laid out like a hundred others; the fridges were on the walls, in easy view of anyone walking by the store; otherwise, she'd have gravitated towards their comforting chill in hopes the cold could soothe the toxic burn from her wound.

Here, in this row, there were dried goods. Packages of mixed nuts, jerky, and dried fruit. Energy food. Pippa stared numbly at the labels. Mango Jerky, Oran Barbeque, Aloha Fever…

God, she only now realized how hungry she also was, her stomach growing. But even with her hunger, she was certain she wouldn't be able to keep anything down. Regardless, Benji came first; he needed food far more than she did.

The cashier was looking at her magazine again when Pippa snuck a glance; her Fennekin wasn't paying attention, either, playing with a toy on the counter. Looking past the woman and Pokemon and out the window, she saw an absence of vans pulling up to the curb.

Okay, then. Good.

She looked back at the bagged foods, her mouth watering as she read their labels. Like the food she had packed away, any money she had managed to gather for their escape had been left in that same bag that they had lost in the run. But it was fine, they didn't need money if they were careful.

The bag of sitrus-flavored jerky crinkled gunshot loud as her arm spasmed in pain, smacking it off the shelf. She sucked in a sharp breath through clenched teeth as she gripped the pulsating limb.

The woman at the counter looked up sharply.

"Are you okay?" Benji asked as he picked up the bag and hastily shoved it back onto the shelf; all the while, Pippa tried to remember how to breathe.

She offered him a forced smile as the pain began to subside, though, again, it did nothing to soothe her brother's worries. She could feel the cashier's gaze boring into her back, so she herded Benji out and behind another shelf to break the lady's line of sight.

All the while, she screamed at herself in her mind. Stupid, stupid, stupid, worthless girl can't even steal a bag of jerky without messing it up! She berated herself, fighting back hot tears. How was she supposed to keep Benji safe and take care of him if she couldn't even do this right?

Pippa's train of thought stopped, as did her legs a few steps in when she realized they were not alone in the store.

Only a couple of feet ahead of them was a guy with short, messy black hair, dark circles under his red eyes, and rings and studs wrapped around his ears. About a few years older than Pippa, if she had to guess, near the end of his teens or at the very start of his twenties. He was taller than her, sturdier. Even his stance was squared. He was dressed in an oversized black jacket over a white rock shirt and a generic baseball cap. He had a Croagunk standing beside him.

Frightened, Benji clung to her, looking like he wanted to hide behind her but also like he wanted to throw himself between her and the young man and fight

Pippa nearly backed away down a different aisle just to get her and Benji away, but the Croagunk took notice of them, making a low croaking sound that caught the stranger's attention. He turned to glance at them, holding a colorful package of candy in one hand.

She froze as he looked them over, her shaking hand hanging onto Benji tightly as if he might be snatched away if she let go. The stranger's head tilted ever so slightly as he wordlessly looked at her and her brother. He looked down at the candy in his hands and then back at Pippa, lifting an eyebrow.

"Gummy worms?"

It felt like such a surreal thing to say that for a second, Pippa had to remind herself that this was real and not a stress-induced hallucination.

The stranger gave her a look, waving the candy in the air slightly before glancing down at Benji, who remained stubbornly silent, glaring at the man to mask his own fear. "Not a fan?" he asked with a strange sort of casualness to it. "What about gummy bears?"

Pippa made a noise of confusion.

"Instead of the gummy worms. They're basically the same thing, just smaller, might be easier to eat because of that," the stranger stopped to consider the candy lining the shelf. His Croagunk croaked again, reaching up to bat at one of the packets that hung on a hook. "Huh, oh, good pick. Do you two want pecha rings instead?"

She blinked.

"…You want to buy us candy?" Benji asked, his question coming out more like an accusation. He didn't trust this sudden kindness and generosity—Pippa didn't blame him; the only kindness he'd ever received was from her, and that shouldn't count because she was his sister. Family. She was supposed to give him unconditional love and kindness. The same wasn't said for some stranger they only just met.

"Psh, sure. Why not?" the man said with an amused laugh and shrugged, "You look like you could use it. It's not as if it's my own money I'll be burning, so if it makes you feel better, chalk it up to me being a petty bastard rather than a generous saint."

Pippa stood there. She almost wanted to laugh.

Here she was, one breakdown away from never leaving that awful house again, never seeing her brother again, spending the rest of her life a ghost confined to her room—and this guy wanted to buy them candy.

In the space where Pippa failed to respond, the stranger went back to browsing. His fingers skimmed over the bags, making them rustle. Pippa could only watch in nervous silence, still unsure of what to do with this sudden…event. All the while, the stranger kept talking, with a calmness to it like they'd known each other for years.

"Well, I'm getting the gummy worms," the stranger mused, securing them in the crook of his elbow. He invited Pippa and Benji's input with another glance. "Are you two going to make me guess what you like?"

Benji clung tighter to her, glaring fiercely at the stranger as Pippa made a slightly distressed sound.

The stranger shrugged, not at all bothered by their lack of a response. "Fine. I'll just close my eyes and grab something. Whatever it is, that's what you're getting."

Benji glowered. "But—"

"Any allergies?"

"No, we—"

Her brother took too long to answer, so the stranger made good on his threat of a random selection and knocked over several packets of caramel candies in the process. Pippa flinched as they scattered to the ground, but miraculously, the lady tending the counter did not manifest to start yelling at them.

"Congratulations," the guy said, opening his eyes with a wry smile. "I hope you guys like chocolate."

Pippa needed to do something, but she didn't know what, and so the stranger pushed the small box of chocolates into her reluctant hands.

"You can't do this," Benji argued.

"The money in my pocket says otherwise," he retorted with an amused smirk.

Shaking her head, Pippa signed, and Benji instinctually began to translate. "Realy, don't spend it on us."

She felt guilty for refusing his offer, but she felt guilty for accepting it. She couldn't buy anything herself, and stealing was off the table now. But she didn't know if she could actually trust this guy or not, what if there was some catch to accepting candy from him? What if he expected them to pay him back somehow, or if this was just a ploy to gain their trust so he could turn around and hand them over to her father?

The stranger's mouth curled into a grin. "Luckily, you're not the boss of me," he said, and to add insult to injury, he snagged a second box of chocolate and a duplicate bag of gummy worms, deliberately waving them in her face.

Pippa reached out to try and stop him, but the guy put another finger to his own lips, a playful smile on his face, a mischievous glint in his eyes. She nearly jumped from her skin when she felt a chocolate bar soundlessly slipping into her dress's pocket.

"Distraction," Gummies mouthed at her, tilting his head to the side, leading Pippa to look up and see that his Croagunk had wandered away to an ice cream cooler at the front of the store, it was leaning over it, staring down at the treats and croaking. The woman at the counter and her Fennekin were both watching the poison Pokemon in curious amusement.

He then gave her a gentle prod, making her squeak and jump as her attention fell back on him. "Prize," he mouthed, pointing at her stomach, slipping a bag of mixed chocolates into her other pocket. Out loud, he said, "It's cool, guys. I've got you covered."

Pippa shared a glance with Benji, who was seething at the sight of Gummies touching her—even if it was to slip food into her pockets. She gave him a slight nudge to snap him out of it, and the boy blinked up at her and then looked back to the stranger. "Thanks…?" Benji offered, reluctant and grumpy.

Gummies gave them a wry little smile. He spoke in a low tone, his body language unchanging, "Pull your hood down, and relax your shoulders; you two are normal customers," he said, nodding to Benji and then to her as he pressed several bills into her hand. "You pay for some; you pocket the rest."

Pippa had the urge to glance around the store for eavesdroppers but resisted it. Benji's grip on her had loosened, but he was still holding on. 'You,' Pippa started, hands hovering nervously in the air, 'You're helping us steal?'

"Yeah, basically." She was surprised that he answered before Benji could vocalize her words. Even more by how laid back he was over it all.

"Do you always encourage people to break the law?" Benji asked in a hushed tone, still glaring at the stranger.

Gummies grinned like a devil. "Only sometimes," his smile softened as his gaze flickered between them again. Pippa noticed that there was faint scarring around his left eye, and the color was cloudy compared to the right. "When it looks like they need it. And no offense, girl, but you look sick as hell, so I'd say that constitutes as 'need it.'"

She certainly felt sick, so she couldn't really argue with that.

Pippa looked over her shoulder once more to try and glimpse the window. No vans. No agents. Nothing. They were still safe, for now. But for how much longer would that be the case?

'Thanks? But we don't need—can't risk getting caught for petty theft.' It was hypocritical of her to say that; she knew this. Just minutes ago, she had tried to steal, too, and would have if her wound and the pain hadn't ruined that.

Gummies snorted softly, "How about you just worry about not starving to death first? Then you can worry all you want about risking a criminal record."

With that, Gummies got back to work, pursuing the shelves. He pocketed another slim chocolate bar and moved on to consider—and subsequently disregard—a packet of gum before sliding an impressive number of granola bars into the pockets of his cargo pants. There was an efficiency to how he worked, one that suggested he'd shoplifted like this plenty of times before.

Pippa repressed the urge to look over her shoulder for a second time in less than a minute. Gummies told her to look normal. She glanced down just in time to see him drop a peanut butter chocolate bar into Benji's hoodie and watched her brother scramble back in nervous surprise and agitation.

Gummies was good at this, concerningly good.

'Should we be worried about your record?' she signed when Gummies turned his back to them, Benji translating for them.

"Oh? Absolutely," Gummies hummed as he glanced over his shoulder. "It starts with arson and ends with third-degree murder, so you should be really intimidated." He said with that devilish grin again, turning to face them once more with another candy bar that disappeared into a pocket, "I would say assault is where it starts, but the Galar Champion formally forgave those charges."

Benji snorted. "The Champion of Galar?" he repeated in a mocking tone. "I don't think you have any criminal record."

"Pity," Gummies sighed dramatically, spreading his arms out. "And here I was, ready to start my supervillain origin story before I ran away to join Team Rocket."

"Being connected to the Galar region would be a crime in and of itself," Benji muttered, this time not flinching at all when Gummies sneaky hand got close, dropping a pack of nuts into his hoodie once again. It was… nice seeing Benji starting to finally relax. She could tell he still didn't trust or like the stranger, but he wasn't as afraid anymore, or rather, he wasn't showing that fear as openly.

There was a prickle of something warm in her chest. This encounter, strange it may be, was almost nice. But, like everything else, it didn't last.

The door chimed, breaking the bubble of safety Pippa had found herself in. She turned toward the sound, and her stomach bottomed out.

Walking into the store was a man with a stiff posture and dressed in an immaculately clean, white suit. There was a Houndoom at his heel, sniffing the air, growling warningly at Gummies Croagunk.

"Sorry to bother you, ma'am, but I'm looking for a pair of runaways. Brother and sister of the ages fifteen and nine, one blonde, the other dark-haired, traveling alone—"

Pippa tuned out whatever else the man had said as she instinctively grabbed Benji and pulled him close, ducking low to hide and backing further into their aisle. The woman's response is lost to the white noise buzzing in her eardrums.

They needed to leave.

They needed to get out of there because the agent—clearly an agent, he couldn't be more obvious about it if he was wearing a giant neon sign saying 'I AM AN AGENT'—was planted squarely between them and the door. So stupid, she should have checked for a back door, an openable window, or anything.

Her eyes dart sideways, and all she sees are solid things—shelves, walls, and the ceiling—containing them and keeping them trapped.

She ducked her head and tugged Benji closer to her. Her hands shake; every inch of her is sickeningly heavy. Blood roared in her ears, and she felt like she might throw up.

"Woah. Are you good?"

She was reminded that they were not alone.

The guy they had been talking with had a worried crease between his eyebrows. Pippa can't focus on that. Instead, she attempts to watch the agent from the corner of her eye as she pulls on Benji and edges back and tries to think. The pain from her earlier wound surges, burning acidic hot.

The only thing her brain saw fit to provide was a vague desire to say goodbye to the first person who was nice to Benji since… since…

Gummies followed Pippa's gaze and narrowed his crimson eyes on the agent—or maybe the lady with her dark makeup as she twirled her hair around a finger and pretended to think. His Croagunk had wandered back to his side, looking rightly miffed at the Houndoom's earlier aggression.

The distraction won't last long; to anyone that's not Pippa and Benji, the agent likely looked inconsequential. Pippa readied herself to bolt; if she was fast enough, maybe she could get Benji out the door before the agent or Houndoom caught her. She could buy him enough time to keep running until he found somewhere safe to hide… and then he'd… he'd be alone…

Instead, Gummies ran a hand against the back of his neck and muttered. "Well, shit. That doesn't look good." When he looked back at Pippa, his expression was… considering. Gauging.

For a long heartbeat, Pippa stared back. A Deerling in the headlights.

Gummies jerked his head over his shoulder. "We should get out of here," he said, with a casual tone that suggested nothing was wrong at all.

"What—" Benji started, only to be cut off by Gummies tugging his hood back up.

Before Pippa could react, he'd put his cap on her head, pulling the bill down to shadow her face. Just as quickly, he'd pulled off his own jacket and tossed it at her. "Go ahead and put that on, zip it up tight," he said in a low tone. "Follow my lead and keep your heads down."

He nudged Pippa's elbow, and somehow, she felt unglued from the floor.

Quickly, clumsily, she pulled his jacket on. It was warm, heavy with the stolen treats, and far too big on her. She'd just barely finished zipping it up when Gummies hoisted Benji up from the floor, earning an angry sound from her brother. But his complaint went unnoticed as Gummies carefully adjusted his grip so he could hold Benji in one arm.

"Grab a couple of things off the shelf, doesn't matter what," he directed as he handed Benji one of the gummy worm bags he had snagged.

She didn't know what his plan was, but she grabbed a thing of mints and then a small bag of something coconut and proceeded to follow as Gummies led them to the front with minimal noise. Her heart picked up as they got closer to the agent, and she kept her head down, fighting back the fear and the urge to turn and run.

The agent was still pressing his questions, though the cashier didn't seem to care all that much, neither gave them any notice until Gummies, still carrying Benji, approached the counter.

"Nice to see you again, Clara," he greeted with a smile and a lighter tone, dropping a tin of mints she never even saw him grab onto the counter and nudging Benji to deposit the gummies he'd been given onto the counter, and nodded for Pippa to do the same.

The woman—Clara—nodded as she got to work scanning everything. "Oh, you again. It's been a while," she agreed, glancing at them again with a strange look on her face. Pippa could feel the agent's gaze burning on her; she tried to hide in Gummie's shadow, to no avail. The agent was already reaching for her.

"Yeah, well, I was in the area visiting Noah and—oh, you've not met his cousin yet, have you?" Gummies said, shifting a bit, subtly placing himself between the agent and Pippa as he directed her to put the mints she grabbed onto the counter. "This is Sasha; she's here visiting Noah. Don't mind her; she's a bit shy," he said, and Pippa saw from the corner of her eye as the agent's hand faltered at Gummie's words.

Not missing a beat, the stranger then shifted his stance again, bringing attention to Benji. "And, of course, you remember my lil' brother," he introduced as he presented the boy to them.

"Hi, Clara," Benji intoned immediately, playing along even though his tone of voice was dead—he always went dead cold in the voice when he was truly terrified, she'd heard it so many times when he would respond to their father, and it was taking everything Pippa had not to snatch Benji from Gummies and comfort him.

The woman offered the smile of someone who most certainly did not remember a 'little brother' as she finished scanning everything. "Well, it's nice to see you again, and it's nice to meet you," she added, directing her nod to Sasha, who shrunk down a bit.

Gummies nodded and offered some small talk that she honestly didn't hear as they finished everything up; Gummies passed a few bills to Clara to pay and handed Benji the change as he took his bag and led them back out of the store.

She was aware that the agent's eyes were on them, and she tried her best not to look at him. Having a third person with them, having Gummies claim them as someone else, it was helping, certainly, but it wasn't foolproof. She knew that if he got a good look at either of their faces, he'd clock her and Benji immediately. She couldn't let that happen, she had to keep close to Gummies.

As the door opened, she scampered to stay at his side, keeping her head down, and follow him. Gummies' pace was brisk as he led the march, his Croagunk keeping the rear.

He made a sharp turn around the corner, leading them into a narrow alley. The smell of rotting trash and urine permeated the air. A few Trubbish looked up from the piles of trash they huddled in, watching with clear curiosity. The other end of the alley was blocked off by a tall, chain-linked gate, held closed with a heavy padlock.

Gummies reached out to nudge her forward,"Come on; we're—" What he was about to say was cut off as he glanced behind her. She turned to follow his gaze and saw another agent round the corner to the alley.

Her eyes met dark-tinted sunglasses, and Pippa's breath hitched.

This had been the agent who intercepted her and Benji when they tried to escape, the one who destroyed her bike when they tried to escape, whose Beedrill had struck her with a poison jab when she protected her brother. She recognized the woman immediately, and judging by how she immediately reached for a walkie at her belt, the agent recognized her, too.

"I've got eyes on her," Pippa heard her say.

Gummies grabbed the sleeve of Pippa's borrowed hoodie as the agent approached. She lifted her hands as if showing a lack of weapon.

"Everything's okay, alright?" she looked between Pippa and Benji, still held in Gummie's arms, and took another step towards them. "We're sorry for giving you a scare earlier, but you're safe now, okay? We're not here to hurt you, we're just trying to get you back home. We're here to help."

To help.

Something in Pippa weakened like a string thinned out on a knife.

Not here to hurt them? Only here to help, so they can be safe? The agent had no idea—none of them did. Her hands were shaking, and the adrenaline burned through her, spreading the poison—and the pain—further across her body. Her head was dizzy, her vision blurring. There was no such thing as 'safety' back home.

The agent drew closer to them, one slow step after another.

"Like hell we're going to trust you, lady. So kindly fuck off," Gummies snarled, and then he was throwing Benji and her towards the fence behind him, his Croagunk leaping up to stand between them and the agent.

In an instant, the Pokemon spat out a glob of poison at the agent, sending her falling back with a pained cry.

Just as quickly, Gummies took a running jump at the fence and scaled it with ease, yelling for them to follow him.

They were actually doing this.

It took a bit to help Benji climb the fence, and her a little longer than her companion to get over, and down on the other side, between injury and dresses, she wasn't in the best state for climbing. But the Croagunk was keeping the agent from getting up, buying her precious time. Once she was on the ground, Gummies withdrew a Poke Ball, drawing his Croagunk back into it.

"Hey! Stop," the Agent yelled, struggling to get to her feet and making it to the fence too late. She looked sick and miserable as the effects of the poison coursed through her, clearly took weak to climb the fence after them.

Pippa felt an awful rush of satisfaction. It was smothered out quickly when her partner came out around the corner of the store behind her.

They didn't wait for either to catch up. They took off running.