If there was one sound Raihan hated more than anything, it was the whirring of medical equipment.

This visit felt easier than the initial one at the very least, if only because their champion friend was actually conscious this time, yet it was by such a miniscule amount that in the moment Raihan prayed to Arceus it would become an irrelevant memory in time.

"Listen to the doctors, Lee, you can't fight like this!"

Raihan wasn't quite sure if Piers' sharp words had the Bite that he had intended, not when Leon was already flinching from trying to move that mangled leg of his. "I told them the same as I'll tell you! I can't just let Paldea down, they need their champion right now!"

"No- No, they don't." He pulled Piers back by the arm as he found his voice, taking an extra moment to control it lest it become a rambling mess. "What they need right now, Leon, is for you to get better. I promise you- Gloria doesn't want to battle you like this. Do you think Hop would want you to push yourself either, less than a week after getting blown up?"

"If I don't do it soon, I might not be able to do it for another month," he hissed, however the way his face twisted gave his friends no reassurance. "They're saying- I'm going to- They're going to put me through another surgery, my leg's beyond saving." As he watched their expressions shift, Piers' tongue about to roll out like his Obstagoon's at any moment and Raihan's more pitiful than he wanted to see ever, never mind when he was in a hospital bed, he averted his eyes. "I'll probably end up on bedrest for a while, the whole of Galar has been waiting for me to get out there and fight, and I'm just going to disappoint then if i can't leave now."

For a minute, Raihan could only stare at Leon, his hold firmly on their other friend. Then he shook his head, giving a chuckle that sounded just as forced as it felt. He wouldn't dare to even pat him on the shoulder in the state the champion was in, yet the only way he could force his body not to act seemed to be to keep it busy. "Lee, don't talk like that. All everyone wants is for you to recover. You shouldn't even be thinking about brawling right now, you should focus on getting better. Who cares if Gloria is left waiting for a month, she and everyone else will understand. Knowing her, she'll probably go train at your old master's dojo for a month," he murmured sheepishly, scratching his cheek. As his Rotom phone floated dangerously close to the hospital bed, he shot it a glare. "Rotom, there's a time and place for everything, but not now!"

Rotom quivered away.

Piers sighed, his gaze flickering to the door. It was open barely by a crack, yet he could feel it. "If anyone starts shit because you won't jump around and fight with one leg, they'll have to get through us. You know that. Hop said he'll visit you again in a few hours, you should take the time to rest. Stop arguing with the doctors, alright?" As Leon looked away, his voice took on a lilted tone. "If you're a good boy, Sonia said she'll make you some cookies."

His eyes lit up, frown shifting to a wide grin. "Can you ask her to decorate them with Charmander?"

"I'm sure she'll make them in the shapeof it if you really wanted it after all you're going through." Raihan rubbed the back of his neck then staggered a little as Piers inched towards the door. Something felt wrong. "Come on, man. Just get better for us, alright? Then after you've recovered and have your championship match…" His fang glistened in a wide smirk. "I'll come and steal the title from whoever wins."

Leon laughed, shooting him a determined stare. "Come on, we all know it'll be me."

With that, Piers took it as a sign to leave, Raihan letting himself be dragged along by his curiosity.

"He'll be alright… Right?"

"Of course he will, he always is."

"But this is the first time he's…" Raihan trailed off as he noticed the pair huddled into a nearby corner, whispering. A spike of adrenaline shot through him, seeing the lanyards around their necks. "Oh shit. Piers, those two aren't…"

His fellow gym leader nodded, frowning. "They are. Let's just try to sneak…"

The reporters immediately turned their attention to the duo and he cursed under his breath, taking an uneasy step back as the woman decided to mimic a Yamper. "It's Gym Leaders Piers and Raihan! Piers, I'm your biggest fan!" He had heard those words a few times before, equally matched with the same hyper energy that she emitted as she pounced forward. Behind her, her companion was fidgeting with a camera. Judging by the lack of light, it wasn't on just yet.

"Thanks… What exactly are you two doing here?" A slight sense of deja vu nagged him as something clicked. It wasn't some mere coincidence that she was a copy-paste of the last news assault, surely. "Wait, weren't you recording my match with Gloria?"

She gave a little short squeal as the cameraman's expression turned irritated. "You remember me! What an honour! We're hoping to interview the champion, the public's wondering about his condition."

Raihan's gaze rested on the clunky equipment and his eyes widened before he slapped on a grin, waving his hand in front of him. "Hey, you don't need to! He's recovering just fine, but he needs his rest. He'll make an announcement when he gets out, so you don't need to go to all this trouble, eh?"

The man glowered at the fickle camera before turning his attention to them, shaking his head. "Everyone's dying to know, sir." … Getting called that by a man who looked older than him would never not feel strange. "We'll be in and out, only five minutes then the champion can go rest as long as he wants."

Just like his trusty partner Pokemon, Piers clearly felt the sudden urge to brawl. Fortunately that clenched fist wasn't going anywhere lest Raihan had to bribe the reporters to keep this off the air. "I assure you, Leon doesn't want to be filmed in his current condition. Just leave him be, he'll tell everyone at his own pace."

The newswoman tilted her head, frowning. "But this will be the last chance we'll get before he goes through surgery."

Raihan could feel the strange phantom sensation of something crawling up his back, barely able to keep his voice steady as he murmured. "You were listening in, weren't you?"

"We're reporters, it's kind of our job to stay informed." The man's flat voice was the last straw for Piers, Raihan tightening his hold on him as he lunged forward to invade his personal space.

"Listen up, neither of you are going in there, alright? Leon doesn't need this, especially in his current state! So get lost or I'm calling the police!"

Whether such a thing would even hold up, Raihan had no idea yet the pair turned pale and spun around, skittling away. With an audible huff, Piers stormed off in the other direction, forcing Raihan to follow. "Piers, are you okay?"

"No, no I'm not." He could hear the conscious effort not to lash out at him, see the way his face twisted as they headed towards the elevator. "The nerve of them, spying on Leon when he can't even- What is wrongwith them?"

"I think they care more about getting paid than respecting Lee's privacy," he mumbled, hearing his friend's harsh breathing even as they drew further away from the Press. He scratched the back of his neck, noting the indicator that the elevator was currently on a lower floor. "We should tell the receptionist about this before we leave, they may be able to have someone keep an eye on Leon in case they come back again." That heat on his pale face, it looked like it would get dangerous if he didn't extinguish it soon. "Do you want to sit down for a moment? You're breathing really heavy, Piers."

He shook his head, his brow creased as he tapped the button and stared at the closed doors. "Not yet. You're right, we should tell someone about this before those bastards return." He sighed, rubbing his temples. At this close range Raihan could see the perspiration as he wiped it away, his speech breaking up. "I can't- I can't believe those dickheads. Lee's about to go through major surgery, and all they care about is getting photos!"

"They'll be lucky if they're ever allowed to one of your concerts again," Raihan murmured dryly, despite the air feeling so thick he could choke on it, he felt a spark of relief hearing that sombre chuckle. "Everything's going to be okay. Now come on, you need to get some rest."

The doors opened and Piers glanced at Raihan, murmuring. "By the way… Why are you holding onto me like that?"

Great, now it was his time to start sweating. He gave a shaky laugh, quickly letting go of his arm. "No reason! Though I suppose… I knew you were going to get snappy, but I think holding you back held me back too."

His friend gave him a long blank stare then snorted. "You're ridiculous. If you were feeling down, you just had to tell me. How about after we get out of here, we have a battle? My team's been itching to have a rematch."

He didn't need to see his reflection in the shiny elevator walls to know he had a dopey grin on his face, the way Piers' own expression had smoothed out. That flush to his face felt like a bigger priority right now, but he was never going to turn down a fight. "A'right then! Take plenty of time having a rest first, because I'm going to knock you off your feet straight after!"

His head felt heavy as he came to, disoriented by the phantom scent of disinfectant. He blinked slowly, his vision a blur even after pulling his face out of the hay bed.

Dreaming about their old life then waking back up to the new reality was something Raihan surely should be used to, yet adjusting to suddenly shrinking every time he woke up was… Something…

He stared at the walls, hearing quiet snoring on both sides of him. That wasn't completely new, waking up after a weird night to both his friends passed out next to him, even if the noises were weirdly more high-pitched now. The headache was equally familiar, Arceus, he wished it had just been any other night. Bored stiff by challengers, egging his mates into battles where either he'd curb-stomp or get curb-stomped, then going out on the piss and drinking themselves stupid…

Raihan frowned, contemplating it. They had gotten drunk, that was why they didn't remember what the fuck happened before they met Lunala, right? Guess this gave Piers another story to put Marnie off drinking when she came of age, at least…

They were kidnapped by a moon bat whilst drunk to fight an alternate version of Gloria's pet. He should feel glad he had an explanation, yet it was pure bullshit!

He sighed, casting a look at Leon. The Charmeleon's expression was notably blank, a sudden change to the dopey grin and mumbling about Sonia's cooking he had been doing in his sleep before they had gone to seek their destiny. At least he didn't look notably distressed, though who knew if that'd change?

"This really does feel like a bad joke," he murmured to himself, strolling over to the counter to find his iron bottle. Few more days of this, then it was back to see Pawmot. Sure he felt better but he was in no shape to fight a feral god dragon for a bitchy moon bat.

For a moment, he glared at the bottle. He had somehow forgotten the worst part of being turned into a Trapinch, never mind how much he had loved his baby Flygon.

Then there was the matter of the door handle…

He felt fur rubbing against his shell before the bottle disappeared from his view, tilting his head to see Piers fiddling with the bottle. That tail of his was swishing, idly batting him. "I see you woke up early, too."

Raihan stared at him then looked at Leon. The former champion was still crashed out. Taking a haggard breath, he whispered. "I was just about to go on a walk. I was planning to leave you a letter or something in case you didn't wake up, of course."

Piers gave him a blank stare. "And how would you write the letter? You can't even pick up a pen… How exactly were you planning to get out?"

"I guess I'd do another backflip on the handle and hope I don't swallow it." That little chuckle of his seemed to be enough to smooth out the unease, as he plucked the tablet out of the cap clutched in his paw pad then swallowed it dry. Not the best way to do it, but he sure as hell wasn't messing with a tap like this! "Seeing as you're up… Would you like to join me?"

The Linoone blinked then diverted his gaze. "I thought you wanted to goof off on your own."

"I was planning on it, but uh…" He swallowed hard again. The pill was gone, yet he could still feel a lump in his throat. "I guess now you're here I just kinda realised I don't want to be alone right now."

For a brief moment, Piers just stared at him. As Raihan looked away and inched towards the door, he felt a weight on his shell. It was still a little clumsy, the badger being not as big as a real Galarian Linoone yet still larger than he once was. It was fine however, as long as he kept his tail out of trip range. "Come on then, let's find something to write on before we go though so Lee doesn't wake up and think we've abandoned him."

The guild was quiet in the early morning.

None of the security guards wandering around seemed particularly interested in stopping them, the poor fucks looking half asleep as they patrolled the halls. Surely there was no policy about being an early bird, otherwise that Houndour guarding the kitchen door would have been very clearly pissed off. What rooms were closed off during the night seemed strange, the job hall understandable yet the fact there was no access to Nurse Pawmot's office…

"What happens to the poor sods that come back from missions at 3 in the morning?" Piers remarked dryly as Raihan shrugged, glancing at some stairs descending into darkness.

"Who knows, surely there has to be emergency medics, though. Have you been down there, Piers?"

His friend stared at him from his perch on his shell and the antlion pointed a stubby leg towards the void. The badger furrowed his brow and shook his head. "No, I haven't. What do you think is down there?"

Raihan looked at the Granbull that was guarding Pawmot's Office, seeing he was staring at them but not bothering to pipe up or move. "Let's have a look."

Piers jumped off his shell and led the way down, navigating the darkness with his night vision. The staircase was long with random turns, leaving his friend plodding confused behind him with his eyes fixated on his fluffy tail.

"Would it have killed them to put lights down here? This place already feels like a death trap and we've only reached the second plateau," the Trapinch grumbled, careful not to stumble as he descended. This body was not meant for stairs, somehow these ones felt worse than those in Mystery Dungeons too. "Think there's a lift somewhere?"

"They don't even have cars in this world, I don't think they've worked out how to make elevators." Piers paused, tilting his head. "Maybe they do have platforms pulled up and down by Pokemon, but that sounds like one hell of a job."

The journey continued for the next minute in silence, Piers occasionally glancing back at Raihan in case he decided to pull a Leon and get lost. The gym leader was very deep in thought, however.

"What's bothering you?"

Raihan just about caught himself from falling down a step, murmuring. "I was thinking… There was a Metapod at our induction the other day."

"So?"

"How the fuck did a Metapod get up all the stairs?"

The silence returned as his friend mulled it over before shaking his head, continuing on their way. Fortunately it did not take much longer to reach their destination, both of their jaws dropping as they laid eyes on the ground.

It appeared they were in the basement of the guild, the floor highlighted with paint to mark out a battlefield. It wasn't the only thing there, seeing some distant doors with padlocks that they wouldn't even bother to try. What caught their attention was the fact they could see the battlefield in this unlit area, the paint fluorescent to the point it was as though it was laid out with neon lights.

"So, they have glow in the dark paint but not lifts. This guild's priorities are weird," Raihan mumbled as Piers travelled to the far end of the battle court, idly pawing at the curved lines.

"It's a Pokeball, like at home… Think it's designed after those badges we got? Or a Foongus?"

The badges was probably a more accurate guess. Raihan didn't bother to voice that however, looking at the other half of the field. His eyes drifted to see some windows high up, no doubt how the paint received its light. "I guess I understand why there's no paint in the staircase, but they could have at least bothered with some candles… I can't believe no one bothered to tell us about this place!"

The Linoone took a closer look at the field, squinting. The paint was clearly reapplied often, there were little scratches and dents. Come to think of it, the whole field would perhaps have to be redone sometimes, especially if anyone used Ground type moves. "We did skip some of our induction… Poor sign for them to not even label the staircase, though." He stretched, his fur prickling. "Do you want to spar?"

Raihan stared at him for a moment. "Pardon?"

"Tiring ourselves out with a battle might help us get back to sleep. Besides, we need to get stronger anyway… I do wonder if we would even be able to get EXP that way, though." As Piers gazed up in thought, his tail swishing, his friend gulped.

"Probably only the winner… I'm not sure if this is a good idea."

"Why's that? If we weren't allowed down here, I think the Granbull would have come after us," he mumbled, prompting him to swiftly shake his head.

"It's not that, I'm just… I'm not feeling it. Maybe you and Lee could come down here another time."

The dark type quietly regarded him, taking slow steps forward as his ears drooped. "What's wrong? You used to always love to scrap. We'd have a hard time convincing you not to," he added with a light-hearted undertone, hearing a quiver as he chuckled in turn.

"I know, it's… It's weird for me not to want to fight, but everything feels so wrong now. I had a team of powerful partners that I raised since we were kids and now I'm… It feels like I'm struggling through every fight, and I'm nowhere strong enough compared to you and Lee."

"But Trapinch has an attack stat of 100," Piers deadpanned, frowning. "Do you really feel that way? You've been pulling your weight plenty, to me."

His legs felt tired and he let them buckle, resting on the shaded half of the pokeball. Every part of his body was feeling heavier, including his chest as he let out a shallow breath. "I can barely take a hit, Piers. I may not be as slow as a stat of 10 in speed would suggest, but I can tell it's all starting to catch up to me. Even if I get to level 30 like Lunala recommends, there's no way I'll be any good against Eternatus like this. I'll just let you and Lee down."

He gazed at him then huddled down beside him. His tail swayed then rested on him once more. "You won't, Rai. We've managed just fine for now and we'll keep getting stronger. Even if you're a little slow right now, who cares? There's more to battle than pure speed and power. How about I show you that first hand?"

Raihan's aching body was telling him no, yet he could feel the adrenaline start to kick in again, forcing himself back up. "Fine then… I'll try to keep up."

The two spread apart, settling on the opposite far ends of the battlefield. He could feel his legs shaking slightly but willed it to stop, staring down Piers as he watched him crouch, preparing to pounce.

He darted forwards and his friend turned into a blur, leaving him frantically looking around before he felt him slam into him with a Covet. Anchoring his feet to stop himself going flying, he felt the slightest loss of weight and looked back at him to see his bandana dangling from his paw. "Hey, give that back!"

"Nope, I rather you don't raw strength your way out of this." As Raihan glared at him, Piers rushed away and hung the bandana on one of the locked door handles before forcing him to dodge a Headbutt. Raihan attempted to take advantage of the short range in the form of using a Bite, faltering as the Linoone's eyes lit up, silently pleading and manipulating the strength he clamped down with. So, that was what it felt like to be on the other end of a Baby Doll Eyes. Sneaky shit.

He yelped as the not-very-effective attack was returned with a Night Slash, vision flashing red as he staggered back. That felt like a crit. "Oi, don't go trying to kill me!"

The other Pokemon chuckled, smirking as his claws batted the ground. For a brief moment, Raihan wondered if Night Slash would hurt twice as bad with sharpened nails. "I wasn't planning to, just tell me when you want to give up. You have a safe word, right?" Cheeky bastard, he growled as he swiped his foot across the ground. Crap, Mud Slap wasn't working.

"You think I'm going to give up now you've set me off? You better think of something to shout before you end up needing a Reviver Seed!" Lashing at the dirt again with less force seemed to cooperate at least, as he launched a Sand Attack at his friend that he struggled but failed to avoid. With that, he was able to avoid another dangerous looking Night Slash, watching him stumble past him. Right, so he could use Sand Attack but not Mud Slap, that made no sense… Wait, that meant he should have learnt a new move.

Even with the accuracy drop, he found himself getting nailed by another Headbutt, pain rippling through him and stealing his chance for another counter as he barely avoided another head-on assault. Getting double flinched would not be fun, he had to find a way to slow him down!

Steeling himself, he launched another Sand Attack, noting the exact pressure he struck the ground with. If he was correct, his next move would be-

Piers stumbled another Night Slash as Raihan leapt up as far as his top-heavy body would let him then slammed back down, smashing the ground up as his feet landed and sending a shockwave through the earth. Despite his best efforts, his friend was knocked over by it, teetering forward. "What the- Did you- Did you just use Earthquake?!"

"It's way too small for an Earthquake… I think I just used Bulldoze!" Before the Linoone could counter attack, he slammed the ground again, tripping him up with another shockwave.

"Hey, hold your hor-!" Raihan assumed Piers was trying to say 'horses', however unfortunately his complaint was obscured by his face-planting, groaning into the dirt. "Coconut."

The gym leader decided to stop abusing his new power in favour of the sheer confusion as he stared at his friend. "... What?"

"What would you have preferred me to say, 'uncle'?" He forced himself up, rubbing the grit off his face. "You win. I don't know what the fuck you were worrying about." Despite the pain continuing to throb, he let out a scratchy chuckle. "See, it doesn't matter if you're slow. As long as you can survive that first hit, you have your Sand Attacks, you have Bulldoze, you'll be fine. Eternatus should be scared of you when we come knocking on his door."

Raihan felt his heart flutter, crawling then collapsing by his side. "You really think so? Neither of us are anywhere near strong enough… But you think we have a chance?"

"If we train up enough like Lunala says, we might be able to do it as just the two of us so Lee doesn't have to fight him…" Piers stared at the locked door with the bandana draped over it. It could wait a few moments to be fetched. "Arceus, maybe we should have brought one berries with us… I'm shattered."

Raihan grunted in agreement, resting his head against his side. "You're right… Those crits fucking hurt."

"So do those Bulldoz…" Piers trailed off, staring into the air for a moment before mumbling. "I just thought of something. Trapinch has the abilities Hyper Cutter, Arena Trap and Sheer Force, right?" Raihan nodded. "You clearly can't have Sheer Force and I was able to run out of the battlefield to hang your bandana up. But if Baby Doll Eyes worked, then that rules out Hyper Cutter too." The Trapinch lifted his head to stare at him. "What ability do you have then, Rai?"

He was quiet for a moment, mulling it over. There was no way Lunala gave him an illegal ability, surely. Come to think of it, wasn't this the first time someone used an attack lowering move on him? He had still slowed down and weakened his attack…

For a moment, Raihan wished he had hands so he could facepalm. "I'm sorry, can you use that move on me again? Baby Doll Eyes, I mean."

His friend gave him a concerned look then nodded, waiting for him to back off. Then as he came at him with a Bite, his eyes lit up. Raihan felt himself hesitating before the attack landed, as their eyes locked. Then as he moved away again, Piers rubbed his ear, frowning. "It hurts about the same as last time. I don't think your attack is dropping after all."

"Guess I do have Hyper Cutter after all, then," the Trapinch murmured sheepishly, dragging himself over to the far door to retrieve his bandana. He faltered as he just barely managed to tug it off without tearing it. So that feeling of hesitation in the battle must have been his mind playing tricks, he had been fighting a friend after all. He supposed he'd find out for real if they came across another Baby Doll Eyes user. "Come on, let's go back to our room. We might be able to get another hour or so of rest if Lee hasn't woken up."

As they started their journey back up the hellish dark stairs, Raihan could feel his energy seeping away, yet he could find the strength to speak once more.

"Thank you. I've really been feeling useless lately, but you always try to cheer me up… It makes me happy."

Piers peered back at him before a tired smile came to his face. "Don't start getting all sappy on me, alright? But you know I wouldn't have managed to make it this far without you."