A mainstay in Cassius Hargreaves' childhood had been the encouragement (largely enforced by his parents) to find silver linings throughout his life. A healthy exercise in seeing the potential good in bad situations. So, when he'd been attacked by a Rookidee, he'd found a small sliver of comfort in the fact that there had only been the one. When he'd been accosted by goth Pokémon trainers outside of Motostoke, at least he'd only had to fight two of them. There was no silver lining to be found in fighting roughly two dozen wild Pokémon at once.
"Would recommend you spray up," Gloria, conveying a nonexistent level of unease with their current predicament (that, or she was hiding it really well), tossed him a canister of repel, applying the Pokémon-warding chemical onto her person as she did so. Cassius wasn't inclined to disagree, quickly applying the spray.
Though, he wasn't assuaged of all fear quite yet. "Will this really work against all of those Pokémon?" He asked, gaze lingering on the Sizzlipede, which was still crawling in their direction.
Gloria shrugged. "Maybe."
"Maybe?"
"When it comes to large herds or groups of Pokémon, there's always a strong ringleader or two. Normal repels only work on physically or mentally weak Pokémon. Aggressive Pokémon don't particularly care for the stench, but they'll still give it a charge if they're roused enough." She popped something in her back as she stretched. "Just have to hope they're feelin' generous."
Cassius pieced together what Gloria was going to attempt to do. "You're running through those Woobat?"
"Got any better ideas for gettin' to Hop?"
"Make a break for this path's exit and circle back to the main walkway's exit?" He suggested.
"No guarantee he's even made it that far." Gloria clicked Scorbunny's capsule, releasing her starter Pokémon. The Fire-type looked at the brewing situation with an unsettling look of glee.
Gloria gave Cassius one last look. "Now are you comin' or not?"
"Wait," Cassius held a hand up. She was prepared to protest whatever dumbass comment he was about to make when the young man groaned. In anger, exasperation, or whatever, she didn't know. Then, he released a Pokémon from its Poké Ball—his Deino.
"This should help a little, at least." Cassius pointed at the group of Woobat. "Hyla, Roar." Taking a stance, the Deino's soft growl turned into an intimidating shout, forcing visible waves of sound toward the large group. The Sizzlipede stopped for a brief moment, before continuing on its way. It was a different story for the herd of Woobat, however, as about half of the group quickly fled, disappearing further along the cave.
That honestly worked better than Cassius thought it would. Gloria gave him a soft slap on the shoulder. "Good thinkin', muppet." She turned toward what was left. "I'll take it from here."
She crouched down beside her Scorbunny, who was eagerly awaiting instruction. "Feelin' good?"
"Bun!" Her starter affirmed. Gloria nodded. "Good. Up for a little wager?"
"Bun?"
"Clear out these flyin' fucks, and I'll double dinner tonight. Deal?"
That was all the incentive the Fire-type needed. "Bu..." the sinister expression on the Pokémon's face betrayed its small, approachable stature. Gloria rustled its fur encouragingly. "Smart boy. Quick Attacks primarily, if you would—good practice, and we're in a bit of a hurry. Go get 'em."
Oh, those poor Woobat had no idea what they were getting themselves into.
It was like watching a living blur. Cassius' eyes could barely keep up—though, it might have been better if he hadn't been watching all that closely. The speed at which Gloria's Scorbunny was slamming into the Woobat meant that the force of each impact was enough to do serious damage. He wouldn't force himself into feeling bad for wild Pokémon that were probably aiming to harm him, but as one particularly unfortunate Woobat crashed into the wall with a painful crunch, he couldn't help wincing.
A few of the smarter Woobat decided not to bother with the monster that was single-handedly annihilating their brethren, instead choosing to try their luck against him. Cassius felt his breath quicken. His last encounter with a Flying-type had gone horribly, as the phantom stinging on his arm saw fit to remind him. He tried his best to not think about it, but the fact remained that he was scared.
Woobat were seen as juvenile back home, little more than pests that could be shooed away without much risk, but Cassius wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating Pokémon again. Especially a group of them.
Okay. He had to focus. Succumbing to fear would only leave Hyla and himself vulnerable. Recalling what Hop had told him after his last battle, Cassius made his move. "Hyla, use Focus Ener—"
He didn't even get to finish. As a small charge of Woobat closed in on them, a rush of fire quickly took out the leader. With a squeal, and its wing on fire, the Woobat flew away, leaving the other two in its prior company to briefly make some space and reevaluate their target.
A timely Ember from Scorbunny, it looked like. "Thanks, Gloria," Cassius commented, turning in her direction, only to find her and Scorbunny still engaged with the majority of the Woobat. Instead, Cassius was met with the uncoiling, partially aflame body of the Sizzlipede.
He took a step back. The Sizzlipede ambled toward him in kind, tapping along the ground in a wiggling motion. "Trrrrrik, tiktiktik," it... communicated? Hissed? As the Pokémon's verbal cues reverberated off of the walls, Cassius couldn't find much thought conveyed behind them.
One thing Cassius noted, however, was that while Hyla was still on edge, she wasn't outwardly hostile to the creature. Though, she seemed a bit occupied with keeping her attention on the Woobat, who were still eyeing them carefully.
The Sizzlipede was attacking the wild Pokémon, and not them. Cassius couldn't delve into what that meant, but for now, he would more than accept the help. "Hyla, Focus Energy."
Taking a deep breath, Hyla looked to visibly relax herself as her gaze sharpened. With the fight back on, the two Woobat began to flap their wings simultaneously, unleashing a forceful wind that forced back both Hyla and the Sizzlipede.
Judging by the nature of the attack, Cassius could surmise it was a Flying-type move. Assuming the Sizzlipede was at least a partial Bug-type Pokémon, that should have been a bit of a problem. Weakness notwithstanding, it'd been hit by two of the same attack. Even Hyla looked to be having a bit of trouble.
And though the Sizzlipede did look a bit worse for wear, it seemed to rebound quickly. As soon as it recovered, it moved to counter—though, not physically. A thick plume of smoke was released from its fiery whiskers, and before long the Pokémon had vanished behind the smoke.
The Woobat didn't seem content to let the Pokémon lick its wounds and hide. Another combined gust of wind quickly dispelled the smokescreen, revealing... nothing. Hyla stood in the same place, but her temporary battle partner had disappeared.
For a moment, anyway. Cassius looked up, finding the source of the brief trick navigating the ceiling with a firm grip, its upside-down frame wriggling closer to the two Woobat, who had yet to spot the Sizzlipede. He saw the ploy the Pokémon had utilized—the smoke had been a distraction, and in the confusion it had snuck onto the ceiling, unseen.
That was... smart. Could a wild animal really think like that?
Still yet to be seen, the Sizzlipede dropped from the ceiling directly onto one of the Woobat, sinking what looked to be fangs into the Pokémon as it wrapped itself around its suddenly flailing opponent. "That's Bite!" Cassius noted aloud, recognizing the move that he had been trying to teach Hyla for days. The attack seemed to work to great effect, as the Woobat crashed to the ground, unconscious. The Sizzlipede uncoiled itself from the Woobat's frame right before impact, landing semi-harmlessly on the dirt.
Two of the three Woobat defeated, just like that. The Sizzlipede was making exceedingly quick work of them. Evidently, the third had deemed it more of a threat than Hyla, launching another strong gust of wind at the Pokémon. Though it had fared well up to this point, the effects of a third Flying-type attack having landed on the Bug-type were beginning to take their toll. Briefly losing its footing, the Sizzlipede was launched back a few feet, landing on the topside of its long body.
The smart thing to do would have been to take the distraction afforded to him and run. A quick look in Gloria's direction revealed she was just about wrapped up on her end—she'd released her Yamper into the fray, and the type advantage only compounded the ass-kicking Scorbunny was giving the greater crowd of Woobat. They could high-tail it out of the battle, find Hop, ignore any other groups of Pokémon or weird conspiracies along the way, and escape the mine no worse for wear.
So, that's what he did. Recalling Hyla, Cassius turned in Gloria's direction and disengaged, leaving the Sizzlipede to its fate. He appreciated the help, but really, it only made them even. The thing had tried to burn his arm off, after all. All debts had been paid—he would leave the rest to the law of the jungle.
It'd be fine, probably. And if it wasn't, oh well. Pokémon died in the wild all the time. He repeated that irrefutable fact in his head like a personal mantra as he forced his feet forward, determined not to look back.
Maybe it was the horror or the guilt that came with repeating that sentence that compelled him to turn around.
So stupid was his solution that Cassius didn't know why he hadn't thought of it sooner. "Hey," he called to the Woobat, interrupting it just as it was about to unleash another wave of pressurized wind. Instead, it was blasted with an open canister of repel from an arm's length away. Squealing in disgust, fear, or some combination of the two, the Woobat shrieked as it bumped into a wall and fell down. Weak-willed or not, getting blasted at near point-blank range with a foul chemical created solely to ward off your species was likely a bottom-five experience for most, if not all, Pokémon.
The Sizzlipede wasted little time attempting to finish the job. In its fatigued state, however, it settled for wrapping itself around the Woobat and squeezing tight. Though discombobulated, the Woobat still thrashed about wildly, unwilling to go down so easily. For the first time, the Sizzlipede seemed to be having some trouble.
For barely a few seconds, its gaze landed on Cassius. How it managed to do that in the middle of a Pokémon wrestling match, he wasn't sure, but the look it was giving him was almost imploring.
Cassius sighed. Him and his dumb, bleeding heart. Releasing Hyla once more into the waking world, he gave her a simple order. "Focus Energy again, and Tackle." Hyla obliged, and one deep breath later, she was charging the flightless Woobat on its last legs. As if instinctively, the Sizzlipede released itself from the Woobat just as Hyla was about to make contact. Not a second later, the Woobat was sent sprawling along the floor, breathing but unmoving.
He'd won.
It faintly registered in Cassius' mind that this was his first Pokémon battling victory. Though there were a host of caveats to that fact—he'd been greatly assisted by a non-battling item in addition to another Pokémon's help, and he'd only managed to beat one Woobat after wanting to run away for most of the encounter—by technical standards, Hyla had made another Pokémon faint. What was he supposed to feel? Pride?
Nothing overcame him. He didn't feel joy, or much of anything. Maybe because he'd cheated. Or because his mind was preoccupied with finding Hop and getting out of the mine. Regardless, it was a bit of a hollow feeling.
In the present, the Sizzlipede was sporting a few cuts and bruises, but it still seemed in relatively fit condition. Its reddish eyes were now trained on him, as Cassius observed the tension in the Pokémon's body leave. Almost casually, it angled its frame upward, revealing a red underbelly with yellow circles as it reared its body. It didn't seem to be trying to intimidate him, so Cassius was clueless on what the gesture meant.
"All wrapped up here?" Gloria stalked over beside him, Pokémon in tow, observing the scene clear of Woobat. "Good job, not gettin' yourself killed."
She made it sound like an accomplishment. "Sure. Are we going?"
"What's the bug's deal?" Gloria nodded in the direction of the Sizzlipede, who was watching them attentively. Cassius wished he knew. "Don't know. It helped me out while I—while Hyla was fighting."
Gloria hummed. "That so? Well, you can catch it, kill it, I don't care. Keep it the fuck away from me."
As if on cue, the Sizzlipede started skittering over in their direction. Gloria immediately backed away. "Nope, nuh-uh, fuck off." The Sizzlipede didn't seem to mind, however. Angling along its left, the Pokémon started to circle Cassius, the tapping of its insect legs briefly serving as the only sound in the cave.
"What's it doing?" Cassius whispered somewhat fearfully, Hyla growling from beside him. Gloria didn't even want to hazard a guess. "I spoke too soon, mate. It was nice knowin' ya."
Only, the Sizzlipede didn't attack. After its third trip around Cassius, it skittered along the pathway leading back toward the fork. After stopping itself a few meters away from the two trainers, it reared itself up again, looking at him.
Cassius shot a look to Hyla, imploring her for help deciphering the Sizzlipede's method of communication. Though she didn't seem to have much of a better idea than he did, she wasn't anticipating a fight, from the looks of it. From what he'd seen, he could hopefully say that the Sizzlipede was something akin to friendly.
"Does it want to follow us the rest of the way?" Cassius threw out a guess. It had apparently followed them this far into the mine, so it was plausible in his eyes.
"Don't care," Gloria wasn't eager to engage in a discussion about the nature of Pokémon communication and psychology. "It can follow us to Hop, if it wants." The Sizzlipede didn't look to have any problems with that directive, as it was already traversing down the rest of the path back. With one last look of wary disgust, Gloria quickly passed the Pokémon, leading the way with her Pokémon close behind.
Cassius looked at Hyla for guidance, and she predictably did not offer any answers to his unspoken questions. Though, as he made to follow, he would take comfort in the fact that for today at least, he would be spared from bodily harm from a wild Pokémon.
When they'd returned to the fork, the guard from before had been conspicuously missing. So, they'd entered the path they had been denied passage through previously, and found that road also suspiciously empty. There looked to have been recent mining activity, but whoever had been working had cleared themselves out, apparently. "I fuckin' knew it," Gloria commented as they jogged along, keeping an eye out for Hop.
They encountered other living people eventually, though decidedly not of the Hop variety. "I believe I told you the road's closed," the guard from before spoke dangerously, with a friend in tow.
"As if I'd buy that bollocks again," Gloria narrowed her eyes, Pokémon at the ready. "Make yourselves scarce 'fore my team does it for you."
The two guards readied Poké Balls, which all but confirmed confrontation. Or it would have, anyway. "Nuzzle," Gloria commanded simply, and her Yamper dashed beside their two opponents, rubbing its electrified cheeks against their respective legs as it passed. For a moment, they looked fine, until the pair doubled over stiffly, bodies stiff and twitching.
They'd been paralyzed, Cassius assumed. For a moment, he was relieved to avoid any kind of fight, before widening his eyes in horror at the realization that Gloria had attacked civilians with Pokémon and maybe crippled them. Which was a crime. That he was technically a part of. "Oh shit," he rasped as the fact sank in.
"Keep your pants on," Gloria reassured him. Or committed to her version of reassuring, anyway. "They tell anyone, and they'll have to explain what it was they were doin' in the mine to begin with. They can try to lie, but we know better, and so does Caroline and her network. We can claim self-defense, anyway."
Cassius would have tried to argue with her very callous disregard for the law and due process, but he was quickly dragged away in an effort to keep moving. His eyes lingered on the electrified bodies of the guards, however, before they fell out of sight.
Another rush of time passed, and Cassius assumed they were nearing the end of the path, when they heard shouting and fighting. Gloria could barely make out a frame resembling a person, before recognizing it as Hop's, proclaiming as much with a small smile. "There he is."
While Cassius briefly found a brief calm relief at finding their third companion, the nerves returned when he saw who Hop was fighting. He'd recognize that atrocious attire and head of hair anywhere. "What's Bede doing here?"
Gloria didn't seem to care much for what it was he was doing there, more focused on the fact he was picking a fight with Hop. "Oh, that nobber is so fuckin' dead."
They seemed to be in agreement in stopping the fight, at least. In the clearing, the two combatants seemed to be arguing about something, Cassius came to a reluctant stop behind a concealing rock, subtly imploring Gloria to do the same. She wasn't happy about it. "What's the hold up, muppet?"
"You can't just go in and hit the guy with another Nuzzle, Gloria."
"And why the fuck not?"
Because it was illegal? "Because that's inciting a fight we don't want to get ourselves into. We should get Hop, and get out with as little drama as possible."
Gloria scoffed. "And you think the nut's gonna be happy with lettin' us walk out with a handshake and apology?"
"Obviously not." Cassius wasn't an idiot, and he didn't need to be told that Bede was probably a sociopath who would do very bad things to him if given the chance. "But attacking people with Pokémon shouldn't be our go-to option."
"Then what's your plan?"
In all honesty, most anything would have been less problematic than physically beating Bede up, tempting as the idea was. First, they had to neutralize him and stop the fight, however. And to do that, Bede's Pokémon had to go.
Hyla wasn't fast enough. Fat chance he'd trust the Rookidee with anything, much less a delicate task like this. Yamper and Scorbunny were moderately fast from what he'd seen, but not particularly subtle. That left him with one very undesirable choice.
"Okay, where's the... holy—!" Cassius jumped when he turned to his left and saw the Sizzlipede a mere foot away from his person, hiding with them. When had it snuck up on him like that? Had it been there the whole time? Damn thing had almost given him a heart attack.
He stilled his beating heart, before steeling himself. His eyes met the Pokémon that had almost ruined his arm—the second Pokémon to have almost ruined his arm, actually. Deathly nervous as he was, he couldn't let that show. Pokémon sensed weakness, or something.
"Hey... bud," Cassius attempted to come across as friendly. His heart rate spiked when he saw the Sizzlipede wriggle slightly and lift its upper body off the ground, getting a look at him face-to-face. Cassius could feel the heat from its whiskers from this close a distance.
Moment of truth. It hadn't attacked him, and had helped them out against the Woobat. That showed at least a temporary trust. Now, it was time to see if it would follow his lead.
"I... we, need a favor." Cassius pointed at himself and Gloria. Talking to Hyla was easy, since he'd known her forever and knew she was intelligent, but talking to a wild Pokémon was new territory. He didn't know how smart or dumb it was.
So, he settled for the most easily understandable method of communication he could think of. Caveman talk and hand gestures.
"See bad guy?" Cassius pointed over at Bede and what he presumed was his Pokémon. Some floppy-looking pink thing. "Bad guy attack our friend and his Pokémon. Probably for no good reason! Bad guy, very bad!"
Gloria very much disapproved of his employed method of communication. "It's a Pokémon, not a five year-old."
"Shut up," Cassius quickly admonished. Next, he pointed to the roof. "Ceiling attack? Remember ceiling attack? From short while ago?" The Sizzlipede made no motion of understanding, so he'd have to hope it naturally knew what he was saying. "Sneak on ceiling," he angled his finger down slowly, onto where Bede's Pokémon was standing idly. "Drop on Pokémon, Pokémon stop. Easy, yes?"
For a moment, the Sizzlipede watched him, unblinking. Then, it slowly skittered to a nearby wall, before looking back at Cassius. For his part, Cassius could have cried. "Yes! Ceiling! Go on ceiling!" The Sizzlipede ambled up about halfway up the wall... before stopping.
Now Cassius felt like crying for a different reason. "No, ceiling! Ceiling!" He urged. However, instead of listening, the Sizzlipede curled up into a ball, still latching itself against the rock wall. Then, it began to glow slightly. Or rather, it wasn't a glow—it was fire.
Whatever it was doing, it was definitely not the subtle sneak attack Cassius had been telling it to do. He was helpless to intervene, however, as the Sizzlipede suddenly launched itself down the side of the wall, now fully ablaze. With its momentum from the drop off the wall, it was a fiery blur as it spun and spun, right into Bede's Pokémon. Even if the thing did hear the Sizzlipede coming, it was far too slow to move out of the way, as it crashed into the opposite wall from the force. From the look of it, it had fainted.
Cassius' mouth was snapped shut. Gloria, for her part, was impressed. "That'll do." With that matter settled, and Bede screaming furiously at the Sizzlipede, she took off.
"Well, if it ain't the chairman's twink. Was thinkin' I wouldn't get a shot at ya 'till Turffield, but here I find you in this dinky hole, havin' a dust-up with my mate. Saves me the trouble of havin' to go lookin', I suppose. Got room for one more in your little tiff?"
Because if there was one thing Gloria Victoria was known for, it was knack for endearing names for friends and strangers alike. Cassius sighed, abandoning the idea of subtlety altogether and jogging up to Hop. "Hey. You good?"
"Been better," Hop admitted. He seemed a little tired, from Cassius' view. And annoyed? His normal smile was gone, most notably.
Still, he was okay, and that was one half of the plan done. "We can catch up once we're out. What's Bede doing here?"
"Didn't say, but I've a few theories in mind." Hop's eyes widened marginally, and he cursed. "Oh, shite."
"What?"
"You should probably leave, Cassius."
Not that Cassius needed to be told twice, but the urgency in Hop's voice was unsettling. "Why? What's going on?"
"It's Bede," Hop stated simply. "He's after you."
Before Cassius could even begin to decipher what that meant, the trainer in question's voice rang throughout the exit. "And there he is! The little peasant boy himself, coming out from his hiding spot!"
Bede looked to have completely disregarded Gloria in favor of addressing him. The smirk he wore was mingled with what looked like anger. "I'd have liked to get you alone, but I suppose this will have to do."
"Whatever it is you're mad about, I'm sorry, but we're kind of in a hurry." Cassius was in no mood to deal with this right now. "We'll just leave you to... whatever it is you're doing here, and be on our way, thanks."
"And just why would I let you leave?"
"... because I asked nicely and said thanks?"
"No," Bede quickly shot down, taking careful steps toward him. "No, no, no. No. You owe me, Hargreaves. You don't get to leave until I am paid in full."
Cassius was lost. "Owe you? We've talked to each other, like, twice." Which was more than enough for him, personally.
Bede wasn't very happy with that response, it seemed. "You think you can embarrass me, on a national podium, in front of all those people, and walk away scot-free? Any attack on me is an attack on Chairman Rose, and I will not stand for you belittling me for the sole purpose of scoring with some floozy you find fuckable."
"What are you even talking about?" Cassius was beginning to get agitated. "When have I attacked you? And... scoring?"
"Remember the presser after the ceremony?" Hop whispered beside him. "When you stepped up to defend Marnie, he thinks you did it to belittle him and the chairman, and to... try and get intimate with her."
Cassius was tempted to throw his arms in the air in exasperation. Instead, he settled for gesturing mildly at Bede. "Are you serious? You called Dark-types nasty, and you called her some backwater... something. I own a Dark-type, dude. What else am I supposed to say?"
Bede's eyes narrowed. "You're supposed to say nothing and know your place, peasant."
Cassius could have laughed in incredulity. Bede was insufferable, almost cartoonishly so. How had he landed an endorsement? "You call me a peasant, you pick fights with people for no reason, and you're... you're just an asshole, man. What is your problem?"
"You're my problem," Bede snapped, before pointing to Hop and Gloria, respectively. "And so are you, and you. You minor nuisances get in the way of all that is coming in Galar—all that will be great, and enduring. This would be so much easier if you would just get out of my way."
"What would be easier?" Hop prompted, sensing an opportunity to gain insight on Bede's objective. Bede would not provide anything meaningful, however. "Everything."
"Can't lie, this'd be much easier if you exited the picture too," Gloria concurred. Scorbunny and Yamper took positions beside her, preparing for a fight. "I'm half-tempted to be rid of you myself."
"I'd like to see you try," Bede met the challenge, returning his Hatenna to its Poké Ball and preparing to throw out two more. Hop looked reluctant, but he prepared to engage as well, Wooloo and a banged-up Grookey at the ready. A fight would break out at any minute, it seemed.
That, obviously, wasn't what Cassius wanted. A clean getaway was the goal, and he'd try for it even if no one else would. But how to do that? He desperately wracked his brain for an out—and eventually, one came to him.
It was stupid, was his first thought. So juvenile in nature that it was almost funny. But it was all he could think of, given the circumstances. And hadn't Hop said that in order to win, he as going to have to get stupid? Granted, he'd been talking about Pokémon battles, but the principle applied here as well.
So, in an effort to prevent an all-out brawl, Cassius Hargreaves proclaimed the dumbest thing he had ever thought up in his head, loud enough for everyone present to hear. "Wow, Bede. I had no idea you were so… racist."
All potential action immediately stopped. Hop and Gloria were staring at him like he'd grown a second head. Bede was looking at him like he'd grown a second and third. "… I'm sorry, what?"
"Did you not hear me? I said I had no idea that—"
"No, I heard you the first time, idiot," Bede quickly cut off. "Did you seriously just call me racist?"
"What else would specializing in one specific type and denouncing others be if not racist?" He knew he was talking out of his ass. Hop and Gloria had literally cleared this topic up for him not even a few days ago. He just needed an excuse. A reason to get him not to battle. Anything would work.
"That…" Bede looked appalled. Like he didn't know what to say. "Are you serious right now?"
"I don't joke about racism, Bede. No one does." He gave him a pointed look. "No one except you, anyway."
"Do you even hear yourself right now?" Bede asked incredulously. "By your logic, every specialized trainer is racist."
"News to me. You're the only specialized trainer I've ever met, tough guy."
"Bug catchers? Fishermen? Ace trainers?"
"Those are normal trainers, man. They also don't own pure-blooded Pokémon of any one type and discriminate against another typing. I've never heard a bug catcher call a Dark-type nasty, at least."
Bede sputtered, before eventually finding his composure again. "You—by that logic, every gym leader in the history of battling is racist!"
Cassius shrugged. "Gym leaders are sanctioned by the League to specialize in a certain type. It's a gimmick meant to better Pokémon trainers, not an indictment of the league's stance on certain Pokémon typings." Cassius' face was knowing, and somehow, so was Hyla's. "Besides, as we all know, an institutional government body can't possibly be racist."
Gloria looked torn. Like she genuinely hadn't expected the selection of words that had exited Cassius' mouth. Hop, for his part, was giving him an expression that made him keenly aware that he was walking a very fine line. For now, Cassius disregarded both. They could yell at him all they wanted once they had left the mine without a major scandal on their hands.
"I can't believe it." Bede's face was slack. "You are, far and away, the most idiotic, contemptible, know-nothing moron I have ever had the displeasure of encountering in my entire life."
That very well may have been true. "But at least I'm not racist." Hyla concurred. "Borf."
Bede snorted, incredulous. "You know what? Fine. Say we go off of your baseless accusation that I am somehow racist. What do you do with that information? Who do you tell?"
"The chairman, for starters," Cassius answered.
"Then I tell him that I'm nothing of the sort, and that you're a petty liar."
"Then I ask him—and the media, while I'm at it—what his endorsed trainer was doing at the Galar mine that required the entire main passageway to be blocked off." That quickly snapped Bede's mouth shut. But only temporarily.
"I could have you sued, Hargreaves. You, your friends, and your family. For spreading slanderous lies about Chairman Rose and myself."
The thought alone was enough to make Cassius falter. He was forced to take a steadying breath, lest he fall for the threat. "You... you could. But then I get a national audience in a courtroom to hear me talk about the very weird things I've found in the mine today."
"Nobody would believe you."
"It isn't just me." Cassius fell back on the knowledge Caroline had supplied him with. "Other trainers are pretty upset, you know. Ask around. I'm not the only one who thinks there's foul play going on."
Again, Bede fell silent. Though, his look of restrained rage had yet to leave. Hop took the timely beat to interject. "Look, Bede. I'm sure you don't want any controversy getting out about this, right? We don't want any drama, either. We're all trainers here, aren't we? We all just wanna make it to Turffield and prep."
He turned to Cassius. "What I think Cassius is suggesting is that we all forget about ever seeing each other, and we all move on with our lives. You don't make any motion to a courtroom, and we keep shtum about the mine. Everybody wins, and everybody's out of the spotlight—including Chairman Rose. Deal?"
"Do you have any idea how much power we have?" Bede ground out. "We could silence you forever. You so much as whisper about anything that happened here, and you'd go to rot in a cell for the rest of your miserable lives."
Cassius thought that was a bluff and made to call it, but Gloria beat him to it. "I'm not much one for diplomacy, but I do think the common folk you so thoroughly despise would be a tad tipped off to a champion-endorsed trainer hitting the slammer for no publicly disclosed reason."
"Bede, this works out in your favor," Hop added. "It's obvious you have much more to lose than we do. Walk away, and we're even. No one does anything they end up regretting."
Cassius would argue against the idea that he would regret telling the world that Bede was an asshole (and embellishing a bit in the racist bigot angle), but he digressed. After another tense moment, Bede pocketed his two Poké Balls with a sneer. Cassius could have collapsed from the tension leaving his body.
All was not over yet, however. The sound of a pair of fast footfalls alerted the group of new entrants to the discussion—the two guards from earlier that Gloria had paralyzed. On one hand, Cassius was relieved that it had only been temporary and that they didn't have an actual lawsuit on their hands. On the other, they'd picked a pretty bad time to inject themselves into this mess.
"Bede!" One of them called out, palming a Poké Ball. "We're here to assist. What would you have us—"
"Stand down," Bede quickly interrupted.
"But... but sir, these trainers have presented a—"
"I said stand down!" Bede reiterated, anger present in his voice. The two guards reluctantly complied after a moment, pocketing their capsules as Bede continued. "We're leaving. Come on."
Cassius couldn't believe it had worked. In hindsight, calling someone racist wasn't the best way to broker a peaceful resolution to a problem, but he'd somehow leveraged his information into getting out of this debacle without consequence. True, Bede probably considered him a mortal enemy now, but that felt like a small price to pay at the moment.
As Bede made to leave though the exit with his small entourage, he gave him one last look. "I'll remember this, Hargreaves. Pray I'm in a good mood next time we meet. I will have you repay me for what you've done." He spat at the ground—petulantly, Cassius would have labeled it—and off he and his cronies went.
"Prick," Gloria scoffed, returning her Pokémon to their capsules. Hop did the same, wandering over to Cassius as he did so. "That was really risky, Cassius."
"I've had better ideas," Cassius conceded the point. "We got out okay though, right?"
The displeased looks he received made him rethink his attitude. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry."
Hop sighed. "You know, I'd normally be against trivializing racism into a label to leverage against someone else, but I can't really argue with results. So I'll settle for telling you good job, and to never, ever do that again."
"I won't. Can we leave now?"
"Hold it," Gloria yanked him by the arm as he made to leave, nearly making him fall over. "Forgettin' somethin'?"
"I already said I was sorry, didn't I?" Cassius groaned. Gloria shook her head. "Someone's waitin' on ya."
The Sizzlipede slowly approached Cassius, before rearing up at him once more. Cassius still couldn't understand why it did that, or what it meant. But, all things considered, it was a vast improvement from having to worry about if the Pokémon would roast his arm anymore.
"Thanks." Cassius felt a little weird addressing a Pokémon like some kind of hired help, but it was somewhat fitting. He would abandon the caveman talk, at least, as he angled himself down a little to talk to it more evenly. "You were a big help. Twice, I guess. I—we appreciate it."
No sounds of movement. Cassius nodded his head slowly, before standing up straight. "Well, thanks again. We'll be on our way then, so..."
He took a few steps toward the entrance, and the Sizzlipede followed. Cassius stopped, and so did the Sizzlipede. Cassius' shoulders slumped. "Don't do this, please."
"Cassius," Hop placed a hand on the teen's shoulder. "Just do yourself a favor and catch the damn thing."
"And why should I think it wants to be caught?"
"Now I know for a fact you've never gotten laid before," Gloria snarked. "Might be the most obvious sign of a Pokémon wanting to be captured I've ever seen."
Cassius ignored the comment on his lack of a sex life and gave her a look. "I thought you hated bugs?"
"I do. Clearly, it wants to be caught by you. Dunno why it would settle for such low standards, but I don't care so long as it keeps the fuck away from me."
"But..." Cassius attempted to argue, attempted being the operative word. "But I'd have to, like, feed it and stuff. I don't know how to take care of a Sizzlipede."
"You've already caught another Pokémon," Hop noted, which Cassius quickly countered against. "Yeah, out of no other choice to preserve my own life. I only ever feed it normal food, and even then it tries to kill me every so often."
"Cassius, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret." Hop leaned in closer. "Catching and caring for wild Pokémon is a commitment, yes, but it isn't as hard as you think it is. There're only two things you have to do."
"Being...?"
"Keep it healthy, and keep it happy. That's it." Hop gestured to the Sizzlipede. "Clearly, it's taken an interest in you. I'm assuming you commanded it to use Flame Wheel, yeah? It listens to you, and it'll follow you anywhere."
Hop listed off his talking points with his fingers. "We've got money, and we've got plenty of food. I don't believe a Sizzlipede requires a ton of grooming and maintenance beyond healing it after battle. A Centiskorch shouldn't either, for that matter."
Cassius' eyes fell on the Sizzlipede, who seemed to jump to attention at the mention of the name Hop mentioned. "Centiskorch?"
"Its evolution. Big bloody things, like three metres, but they're sweet to their trainers. Don't require a ton of food, either. Not like a Munchlax, anyway."
"Three meters," Cassius repeated, suddenly a little light-headed at the thought of a thing that big following him around. Gloria snorted. "Oh, come off it. You're from Unova, you have those fuckin' Scolipede walkin' 'round every which way anyhow. This is basically the same shit, but on fire."
Because that was a comforting thought. One of the most terrifying, ruthless creatures back home, but on fire. And he would be owning one.
In between his discussion with his companions, Hyla had apparently wandered over to beside the other Pokémon, sniffing it curiously. The Sizzlipede made no move away from her—in fact, it welcomed her presence, approaching Hyla slowly as they became acquainted with each other.
Hyla was careful not to near the stranger's fiery whiskers. She did not sense any outward hostility, so she angled her nose to sniff around the newcomer's body, trailing a heat-powered length that ended some ways away. In response, the stranger began making low clicking sounds, though it still did not seem to anticipate a fight.
Then, a curious thing happened. The stranger swiftly angled atop her, Hyla giving a small shout of surprise. Though, still, the creature did not attack. Instead, it seemed content to lie atop her fur, resting its head atop her own. They were of almost identical size, the newcomer slightly less long, so it managed to fit almost snugly. From this close, Hyla could feel spots of heat meeting her back, but they were not so unpleasant. Heat would never bother her, as was her nature, so the spots actually felt... quite nice.
Hop was the first to notice, a small smile growing on his face. "I think someone's already reached a decision." Following Hop's gaze, Cassius almost leapt at the sight.
Hyla had come to rest on her stomach, folding her legs in on herself. She was wearing a small, animal smile, content as the Sizzlipede was draped atop her longways, like a blanket. The Sizzlipede, for its part, looked quite comfortable, burrowing in deeper atop Hyla's soft, accommodating fur. It was making its familiar clicking sound, but it was softer, more rhythmic.
"They shaggin'?" Gloria commented, to Cassius' horror. Hop swatted her arm, dispelling the notion. "Stop it, Gloria. They're different egg groups, anyway."
He turned to Cassius. "Though, I do believe that Hyla would approve of a potential new addition." Cassius took a moment, before returning to the scene, coming to a stop beside Hyla.
He knelt down beside her, careful not to unnerve either of them. "So," he started plainly. "You comfortable?"
"Urf."
"Thought so." Cassius turned his attention to the Sizzlipede, which was now back to eyeing him. As it had been doing for the past few days, now. It was weird to think about how long it had been since their first encounter. The sting of his arm was gone, but the memory would yet remain.
Things had changed pretty quickly. Though, if Cassius supposed there would be anyone used to a quick change in circumstance, it would be him.
He sighed, and as Cassius pulled out a Poké Ball from his travel pack, he supposed there were worse choices for your first willingly caught wild Pokémon than an eventual ten-foot-tall bug on fire.
Thus concludes the Galar Mine mini-arc, and Cassius' merry band grows to three.
A few things to address. First—apologies for the delay in this chapter. To make up for the extra week's wait, I made this week's installment lengthier than normal. I like to try and keep chapters at or around three to four thousand words, but this chapter lent itself to being longer. Normally, my schedule wouldn't allow as much, but circumstances and all that.
On the topic of my schedule, I wanted to let you know that updates will be slowing down indefinitely. College will be starting up again, and I'll inevitably be busy with schoolwork and my job and other obligations. I'll still make time to update when I can, obviously, but do not expect weekly updates to this story in the foreseeable future.
Last thing, on a story-related note. At some point in the coming chapters (not sure when), I'll likely be allocating this space after chapters to information regarding the Pokémon and their respective moves and abilities. I realize that it's a lot to remember, and it will only be more so once Cassius and the gang start catching more Pokémon and having them learn different moves. Cottonmouth25 (my inspiration) did the same in their fic, and I found it very helpful, so I'd like to pay it forward. Still, I'd like to hear opinions on that idea from you all, so if that's something you believe would help immensely, or something you're adamantly against for whatever reason, do let me know.
Thanks for reading. We're damn near a year since I published chapter one, and another twenty-five chapters later, your support still means a ton. Here's to plenty more along the way.
~Slalem