By the time Nero and the others made it to Delliger Hollow's entrance gate, which was little more than a shabby set of rotted wooden poles, it was late evening. Although he and Zach's historical discussion had indeed been riveting, it had left his throat sore and his mind exhausted, so he was more than eager to stop off somewhere.

Everyone hopped out of The Ripper the very second it started to decelerate, as they were all more than willing to risk their lives to beat the heat inside. Toño was the only exception. "I'll stick around here with The Ripper and refuel it for the night," he said. "I'll meet up with you guys tonight, just make sure to reserve some space for me at the inn."

"You sure?" Fabian asked, grabbing a fistful of Flapplesnaps— easily the worst brand of potato chips on the market— and shoving them down his mouth. Nero had no idea where or when he got those chips, but the way he ate them was nothing short of repulsive. "It looked like it kinda hurt last time you refueled it."

"It's fine. Not gonna sit here and pretend like it doesn't drain me, but someone's gotta fill her up, y'know?" He scurried up Fabian's shoulder and stole a potato chip from him. "The only thing you need to worry about is getting me the nicest room you can find, got it?"

Fabian saluted Toño. "You're the coolest guy I know, Toño." The Pachirisu cracked a smirk and waved them off.

Zach glanced toward the entrance gate to Delliger Hollow and grimaced. "Toño, would you mind if I stayed with you?"

Before Toño had a chance to answer, Nero stepped in. "Absolutely not. You will be accompanying us through Delliger Hollow, where I can keep an eye on you at all times."

"B-But-" Zach stammered.

"For all we know, you're going to kill Toño while his guard is down and drive off without us."

Fabian frowned at Nero. "I thought you two were friends now! Why are you still treating him like he wants us dead?"

"We have a shared interest in history, sure," Nero conceded. "However, I don't see how a 'friendship' would benefit me in any meaningful way. Why would I want to take such a huge risk for such little reward?"

"Because you like talking to him?"

Fabian's naivety grated on Nero. "So what? I should just live with fact that there's a chance that he plots to kill me, just because we had a pleasant conversation one time?"

"He is not plotting to kill us!" Fabian shouted.

Toño sighed. "Can you guys get a move on, please?"

That was a reasonable enough proposition, Nero supposed. "Very well then. Sofia, you're a semi-competent navigator, which inn is the cheapest?"

"Toño said 'nicest,' not 'cheapest!'" Fabian protested, stomping his foot.

"Semi-competent?" Sofia asked, sounding hurt. "B-But I-"

Nero rolled his eyes. "Did you prefer it when I described you as 'comic relief?' Be grateful, I'm appreciating you."

For the briefest of moments, there was definitely a spark of fury in her eyes, but before it had the chance to ignite, she crumbled back into the same old disappointing meekness. "No, I guess not…"

"How disappointing," Nero thought. "She got this close to showing some backbone for once."

"Shut up, Nero!" Fabian shouted. "She's the only one here who knows how to read a map! We wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for her!"

Nero ignored Fabian. "Apologies, I've derailed us again. You were just about to lead us to an inexpensive inn, weren't you?"

"No, we're staying somewhere nice!"

Sofia cleared her throat softly, which was the most assertive thing Nero had ever seen her do before. "It doesn't matter, there's only one inn," she mumbled.

"Well then, lead the way," Nero said.

Sofia's eyes shifted nervously. "D-Do I have to walk in front-"

"Dear Arceus, you're useless," Nero groaned.

"I-It's mostly not an anxiety thing!" Sofia insisted. "Just look at that place!" As if to prove her point, as soon as Nero turned his head to look into the interior of the settlement, some poor Cleffa was being held upside-down by the neck against a wall by a Rillaboom, getting shaken violently until Poké started dropping from his bag. Nero definitely wouldn't have minded it if it were him in that Cleffa's position, but he decided to keep that to himself.

"What is there to worry about?" Nero asked. "The whole reason we bring Fabian along is to deal with situations like that." He expected a retort from Fabian, so when he didn't hear one, he knew something was wrong. Fabian wasn't behind Nero like he was supposed to be. "Fabian, where did-"

"Leave that guy alone!" Fabian shouted, jumping into the air and crashing his tail into the Rillaboom's forehead, knocking him out instantly. He knelt down to the Cleffa, pulled a potato chip out of his bag, and offered him one. "Hey, are you okay, little guy?"

The Cleffa swatted the potato chip away. "I'm forty-seven," he said, with the voice that could only have come from a throat ravaged by decades of chain smoking.

"Oh, sorry," Fabian said. "How come you haven't evolved? Since you're a Cleffa, all you'd have to do is make a friend, so it'd be easy for-"

Sofia, desperately forcing a smile, practically sprinted over to grab Fabian and drag him away. Nero, for one, really wanted to see that conversation pan out, but he wasn't going to complain when they were finally just starting to get moving. He turned towards Zach. "Well, after you."

"What do you-"

"I'm not letting you walk behind me."

Zach nodded uneasily. "S-Sure, yes, of course."

As they walked through Delliger Hollow, Nero couldn't help but notice all the eyes on him. It made sense; they were quite the eclectic collection of Pokémon, and given that the village population was composed almost exclusively of Bug and Grass-types, it was no wonder that they stuck out so sorely.

What didn't help the tense atmosphere was the pitiable, ramshackle buildings that dotted the town randomly, with absolutely no regard for coherent city planning principles. Even the nicest buildings were built out of a patchwork of inconsistent materials, from rusty metal plates to wood to cloth. Clearly, no material was worthless enough to go to waste here.

Nero was on high alert, fully expecting to be mugged, but to his mild surprise, not a single person dared to approach them. It wasn't until he got a good look at one poorly-concealed Cacnea two times in a row, five minutes apart, that something more was going on.

"I think they're all scared of you, Sofia," Fabian loudly whispered, talking while chewing on another handful of chips.

"M-Me?" Sofia asked with a mix of surprise and offense.

Fabian nodded. "I mean, I think so? You're a Flying-type, so that's probably gotta freak all these people out a bit, right? I don't really know why else they'd all be watching us."

Nero had a better idea as to what was going on. "I believe it's you and I they're afraid of, Fabian."

"What? Why?"

"Right, I suppose you wouldn't have had the chance to see our bounties yet," Nero said. "You're worth a hundred million, and regrettably, I'm trailing behind at eighty million."

Fabian stopped walking, his huge jaw hanging wide open. "Wha… What?" he squeaked, barely audible. "A hundred… A hundred million?"

"Yes, if I had to imagine, they're sizing us up at the moment, waiting to strike when we least expect it."

"Why do you say that?" Sofia asked. "I mean, with a bounty like that, they're probably terrified of you guys. Even your dad didn't get to be worth a hundred million until more than a decade of terrorism."

Nero's fur straightened up as he expanded his range of Perception, a power he was so reliant on that he had no idea how he used to get on without it. As he thought, dozens of Pokémon were staring straight at them, with even more of them than he could've imagined lurking just out of sight. "I'm sure they're afraid, for now," he said, lowering his voice. "But, it's only a matter of time before they realize that we aren't quite on my father's level. And even putting that aside, think about it like this: would you rather live here for the rest of your life, or risk it all for a chance at having all the money you could ever dream of?"

The leaf on Zach's head drooped. "It's not… that bad here," he said.

"No, it most certainly is 'that bad' in this town," Nero retorted. "If a single building in this town has plumbing, I'll be shocked." He sighed, lamenting the sorry state of this settlement. "But no, it makes sense that this town has been left to rot in this state. I'm sure the King here is allocating the national budget to much more crucial places. Maybe the royal throne needed a few more jewels?"

"You don't-" Zach started, before clearing his throat. "I… I mean, I think that's a little harsh-"

"You're a monarchy apologist?" Nero asked. "Unsurprising, I knew there had to be a catch with you." He telekinetically shoved Fabian slightly, snapping him back to reality and getting him moving again, albeit in dazed silence. "We shouldn't stand around in one place for too long."

Zach grimaced. "I- I'll admit, King Erastos wasn't an effective leader, but please, have some respect for the dead."

"Firstly, I respect the dead no more than I respect the living," Nero said. "And secondly, are you claiming that Erastos is dead? I knew of the protests, but I didn't hear about this." Nero couldn't help but smile. "Forgive me for my exuberance, I'm just always so overjoyed whenever I hear the sound of a tyrant's head rolling."

"It's not that simple!" Zach said, his teeth gritted.

"That so?" Nero asked.

Zach shrunk back, as if Nero made a point. "I… No, nevermind. Sorry."

"Mhm." Nero looked forward and away from Zach, trying to appear as if he was no longer interested in the conversation. "If I'm not mistaken, Lumeral is the city where King Erastos resided. Then, does this death have something to do with why Zach wants to visit so badly?" Logically speaking, Zach had to be involved with Erastos in some way, but Nero wasn't going to comment until he had decisive proof. "I'll have to read up on Erastos's death. I'll bet anything that Zach has already said something that a member of the public shouldn't have access to."

"How much longer do we have to go?" Fabian mumbled halfheartedly, his tail thumping against the ground.

Sofia forced a smile. "J-Just a few more minutes!" She leaned over to Nero. "Did you have to tell him about that?" she whispered.

"Why not?" Nero asked.

"You know how… sensitive he can be about this kind of stuff! This is going to mess with him all day! We should've given it some time first!"

Sofia's constant passiveness had a peculiarly draining effect on Nero. "Do you seriously think he wouldn't have figured it out on his own? Our wanted posters aren't exactly difficult to spot, you know. Or what, are you implying that he's too stupid to have picked up on it?"

"N-Not stupid, but just- y'know, a little… naive?"

"Sofia, Fabian is a seventeen-year-old man. He may be the stupidest person I've met in my life, but he isn't a child, and he doesn't need someone to hold his hand through life."

"I- I never called him a child-"

Nero brushed her off. "Is that the inn up ahead?" he asked, nodding in the direction of the least unpleasant building in the entire city (if only by process of elimination). Its walls were all made of the same type of wood, and though there were a few windows boarded up, it had windows, which was a step up from the rest.

"Yeah, that's it," Sofia said.

Though Nero was very much on edge, nothing eventful happened during the entire final stretch towards the inn. Delliger Inn, it was called, and though Nero felt that there was much to be desired with its originality, he wasn't in any position to complain. It wasn't like he was actually going to sleep in this place, anyway.

The innkeep, a sharply-dressed Accelgor woman, was just wrapping up a chat with a Tepig customer as Nero's crew stepped inside. Nero, being the only one in the room capable of having a normal conversation with a stranger, was obligated to get their rooms arranged.

"Good evening!" she said, with a little bit too much excitement in her voice for it to be genuine. "Wow, we're getting a lot of tourists out here today. Are you checking in with a party of four?"

"Five, actually," Nero said. "One of our friends will be arriving at some point later."

She nodded. "Yes, that's perfectly alright. We only have three-bed rooms available right now, so you'll have to split up. That alright?" Nero nodded, and she presented him with a clipboard. "Great, could I get your names?"

Before Nero could write down some fake identities, Fabian snatched up the clipboard, and if it weren't for the goofy smile on his face, Nero would've assumed he did it out of spite. "How is it even possible for his mood to have shifted so quickly?" He grimaced at Fabian. "Please don't give them our-"

"Aaaand, done!" Fabian declared. To Nero's chagrin, Fabian indeed wrote down everyone's real legal name, spelling Toño's name wrong in the process.

The innkeep stared at the list for a second. "...Tonyo? I can't say I've ever heard that name before."

"Oh, that's because he's a hu-"

Nero shoved Fabian aside as forcefully as he could. "He's an old friend of mine from the North," he lied. "It's quite the common name up there, believe it or not."

"That so?" she asked, staring intently at the name. "Eh, I guess it's not my place to pry." She grabbed two keys and slid them across the desk. "Here you go, these two keys lead to the furthest rooms to the back on the second floor. Thank you for staying at Delliger Inn!"

"The pleasure's all mine, I'm sure," Nero said.

Zach stared at the stairs nervously. "I… don't think I can climb those."

"Don't worry, I gotcha!" Fabian said, lifting Zach up and putting him on his back. Nero followed along as he marched up the stairs with gusto, finishing off his bag of potato chips in celebration and tossing it off to the side.

After they made it to the end of the hall, Fabian cleared his throat. "So, who's gonna room with who-"

"I call Zach and Toño!" Sofia said, frantic enough to make it sound like her life depended on it.

"Wait, you don't wanna room with me?" Fabian asked. "But I don't wanna be stuck with Nero!"

"I- It-" Sofia hesitated, choosing her words carefully. "It isn't you, exactly. It's just that, well, you kind of snore a lot."

Fabian pouted for a second, but forced a smile. "Alright, that's cool! Have a good night then, you two! Make sure to leave the room open for Toño!" As Sofia and Zach headed into their room, Fabian and Nero slipped into theirs.

Inside of Fabian and Nero's room, there were three mattresses, exactly the number which was advertised. Nero had no idea why, but he felt an overwhelming sense of relief upon seeing this.

Fabian didn't waste a moment flopping onto his mattress. "Arceus, I missed beds!"

Aside from a stack of magazines and some candles, there wasn't much for Nero to look at in this room. Seeing no reason to stay, he made his way to the window and slid it open. "Have a great night, and do try not to get murdered," Nero said.

"Hey, where are you going?" Fabian asked, lifting his head up. "You aren't seriously thinking of jumping out of that window, are you?"

"I've had to descend from great heights a number of times in the past week," Nero said. "Who knows, maybe some practice will be good for me."

"I still don't get why you won't just sleep like a normal person."

"Well, we aren't exactly normal people, are we?" Nero asked. "Not with that bounty over our heads. Any stranger could be an enemy, and there's no better time to make an attempt at capturing us than when we're asleep."

Fabian laid his head back down. "Yeah, but you've been doing that before we got bounties, too. What were you scared of, then?"

It was only natural that someone would directly confront Nero about this eventually, but he was surprised that it was the infallibly unobservant Fabian who did. "It's not about what could plot to destroy me, it's about the fact that someone could, and I'd be completely incapable of stopping them. In fact, in order to mitigate whatever harm they could do to me during my sleep, I refuse to allow myself to sleep for longer than one hour at a time."

"You're crazy."

Nero wasn't going to waste any more time trying to use logic on someone so fundamentally illogical. "As I said before. Try not to get yourself murdered. If someone less stupid than you managed to get your power, they'd be much harder for me to manipulate."

He was practically halfway out of the window when Fabian spoke up again. "If you're going out, could you grab me a smoothie in the morning?"

"What?" Nero asked. "No, I'm not-"

Fabian was already snoring away.

Nero snorted, and hopped out of the window.

Feeling completely unable to sleep, Sofia quietly slipped out of her room and towards the stairs, hoping to grab a drink or something to relax herself. But before she could set foot on the top step, she heard the sound of someone talking, and she froze in her tracks.

"I've already told you, they're mine," said the innkeeper's voice. "Leave now, or else."

Sofia crept down the stairs as slowly as possible, hoping to get a better look at the situation. A group of six civilians, each one a different Grass-type, were crowded around the main desk. "C'mon, lady!" one Breloom said, prodding at her. "Let us help out! We can split the bounties, y'know!"

The Accelgor scoffed. "I commandeered this inn all on my own, so I'll be claiming the bounty all on my own. If you have an issue with that, then you can cry about it."

A furious-looking Cacnea waddled up to the front of the crowd and jumped on top of the Accelgor's desk. "Who the hell do you think you are, acting all high and mighty?"

"Elena's the name," she said, not even looking at the Cacnea. "And I'm acting like this because I'm better than you. I'll say it again: leave."

If Sofia hadn't been paralyzed with fear, she would've been more than ready to take her up on that. She was just about ready to thank every deity under the sun that she hadn't been noticed yet.

The Breloom scoffed. "Yeah, you think so? Well guess what, lady? We've been bounty hunting here in Tullabar way longer than you've been alive." He motioned a claw upward, and his gang fanned out around Elena in a circle. "If you wanna apologize, you'd best do it now."

"You're mistaken," Elena said calmly.

"How's that?" the Breloom asked.

"You aren't bounty hunters at all." She folded her arms and closed her eyes. "You're all too weak to call yourselves that."

The Breloom flicked a claw up, and all six Grass-types closed in at once. At the same time, Elena lunged towards the Breloom. The two collided, and before it was possible to register what was going on, the Breloom collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach. "Where did-" From the ceiling, a purple glob shot down and crashed into the Breloom. He didn't even have the chance to scream.

Elena dropped down from the ceiling and struck at the Cacnea, vanishing once again. That one blow was all it took to knock him out, and the Quilladin who knelt down to check up on him took on the full force of another poisonous ball of sludge.

Sofia barely managed to stifle a gasp. There was no mistaking what Elena had said. She was clearly after Fabian and Nero's bounties. The latter probably wasn't sleeping inside the inn, but Fabian was still in danger. "I have to warn Fabian before she kills us all! He's the only one who stands a chance against her, and he isn't even awake!"

As Elena dispatched the fourth and fifth assailing Grass-type, Sofia crept up the stairs as slowly and carefully as she possibly could. Even the tiniest hint of a noise could mean certain death for her.

The noise of footsteps running away echoed through the inn's lower floor, but they were cut off. "Sorry, you had your chance to leave," Elena said.

"P-Please, I'm sorry, I just-"

"Relax, I'm not interested in killing you. You six can keep this territory, this place is a dump. I'm leaving as soon as I know that the Turtwig's dead."

Only two steps left. Sofia was going even slower, more methodically, making absolutely sure that even her breathing wasn't audible.

One step left. It was now just as deafeningly quiet downstairs as it was upstairs. Every bone in her body was telling Sofia that something was going to go wrong before she made it up this last step. Nothing had ever gone right for her before, so why would it start now? If Sofia was being realistic with herself, Elena already probably knew exactly where she was, and was just giving her some false hope. Sofia was terrible at sneaking around! Why did she even bother trying to hide? She should've just surrendered immediately and saved Elena the time!

But to Sofia's amazement, she placed one talon onto the top step, and then the other, and nothing happened. She stood still a while longer, not believing it for a second, but almost a minute went by and not a single bad thing happened. "Did I… Did I do it? Did I actually make it back up here alive?" She was still hesitant to celebrate, seeing as Nero or Toño probably could've accomplished this without even breaking a sweat while looking way cooler, but at least she managed to pull it off. She was borderline proud of herself.

Then, she took one more step forward, planted one talon on the bag of chips Fabian discarded earlier, slipped backward, and tumbled helplessly all the way down the entire flight of stairs until she landed on the body of the bloody, unconscious Quilladin.

Elena stared at her wordlessly for what felt like hours. "What are you doing here?"

It was like a million different excuses were trying to claw their way out of Sofia's throat at once, and not a single one could squeeze its way through. Her beak hung open awkwardly as her eyes bugged out.

"Were you present for the battle I was just in?" Elena asked casually.

Sofia should've lied, but her brain was almost completely fried. Trying to both nod and shake her head at once, she ended up moving her head in a weird diagonal pattern that had no discernible meaning to anyone, including herself.

"You understand I'm going to have to kill you now, right?"

Sofia scrambled for the exit door, but before she could even get halfway there, Elena lobbed another Sludge Bomb at the door, coating the handle. "Wha-"

"Word of warning, that poison won't take long to immobilize you if you touch it. I don't know your poison tolerance well enough to give you the specifics, but you wouldn't be able to make it out of town."

Sofia's eyes darted between the door, and Elena, and the stairs, and all the bodies of the various Grass-types who didn't stand a chance against her, and she screamed. She screamed so loud that her own eardrums were starting to hurt.

Of all the frantic, terrified thoughts screaming at her from her brain, one stood out to her most. "I'm going to die here!"