Chapter 5 Team Members

  The walk back to Po Town was a jubilant one, with Tupp's grin as wide as Ian's. "Imma see if we can get you on Plumeria's squad," Tupp said.

  "I thought that was the whole point of you helping me, so I'd be Plumeria's new punching bag," Ian teased.

  "Plumeria ain't too thrilled about that stunt you pulled with Ariados yesterday," Tupp said. "We're the squad that goes to Ultra Storms to check for Fallers. Ultra storms are dangerous, can't have have big risk takers in the squad yo."

  "That's your guys' main job?" Ian asked. "Ultra Storms?"

  "We found you, bro," Tupp said. "Any Fallers that make it out, we bring 'em back to Po Town. Not a lot of 'em do, especially ones like you without Pokemon."

  Ian shrugged. "I'm just lucky I guess."

  "Wait, Plumeria said you found a Star Piece in that Ultra Storm?" Tupp asked.

  "Yeah," Ian said.

  "It was just lying on the ground?" Tupp asked.

  Ian nodded. "There were wormholes dropping random stuff in there, it wouldn't surprise me if one of the wormholes dropped a Star Piece for whatever reason."

  "You right..." Tupp said. "Man, ever since the Ultra Rift showed up, Ula'Ula been crazy yo."

  "I bet..." Ian replied. Ian looked to see if he could see the Ultra Rift at the top of Lanakila, but Hokulani and its foothills towered over them. "So Ultra Storms started happening when that rift showed up, right?"

  "Yuuup," Tupp said.

  Ian gasped as it hit him. Ultra Storms are like Space-Time Distortions from Legends Arceus! It all lines up, they came with the Ultra Rift, wormholes occur inside of them and... "No way..." Ian said aloud.

  "What bro?" Tupp said.

  "Sorry, just some ideas hitting me," Ian said. There were valuable items in the Space-Time Distortions, which means there's a good chance they're in the Ultra Storms as well. "You guys don't go in the Ultra Storms, right?"

  "Sometimes we take a peek, see if anything needs our help," Tupp said. "But if it's too deep we can't really go in. Shit's hairy."

  "Gotcha..." Ian said. Riding around on Wyrdeer was the best way to farm treasures in the Space-Time Distortions... Ian's hand instinctively reached for Deerling's Heal Ball. Well, if Deerling ever evolves into Sawsbuck, it still isn't as big as Wyrdeer, so I doubt I could ride on its back so easily. But maybe just moving rapidly or keeping the Pokemon inside the Ultra Storms distracted would let us hunt for valuables... And people I suppose.

  When the gates of Po Town came into view, Ian pumped his fist one more time. "I suppose you guys are stuck with me now."

  "Nah, you stuck with us bro," Tupp said, giving him a playful jab to the forearm.

  When Po Town's main gate came into view, Ian spied Plumeria's now familiar face waiting at the threshold, arms folded.

  "He got it!" Tupp said, pointing at Ian. "Three Pokemon, no shitters!"

  "That remains to be seen, Tupp," Plumeria said skeptically. "What's the third one?"

  "A Litleo," Ian answered.

  "Pretty feisty one too," Tupp said.

  "Litleo? I've heard there's a Pyroar population on Poni Island, but never heard of them being here," Plumeria said.

  "Probably ran out of the Ultra Storms," Ian said.

  "So all three Pokemon you caught were Ultra Storm refugees? Odd," Plumeria said.

  A sudden realization from the Sun and Moon post-game hit him like a blow to the ribs. Beings that interacted with Ultra Wormholes would attract Ultra Beasts. Maybe this works with all Pokemon, considering Ultra Beasts are Pokemon are the end of the day.

  "Something wrong?" Plumeria asked.

  "Sorry, something from back home hit me all of the sudden," Ian said.

  "Well forget about it, we gotta see Guzma first," Plumeria ordered coldly.

  Wait, if there's hundreds of things with this Ultra energy signature or whatever, wouldn't that kind of negate the problem? So many sources of the energy that the Ultra Beasts can't hone in on one singular source? Fuck, this is complicated, gotta put it on the back burner for a bit.

  "And hey, Big Sis..." Tupp began. "I gotta say, Ian here was pretty good at battling. Like really good with his Deerling when he fought Wartortle."

  "Wasn't Wartortle already seriously injured?" Plumeria asked.

  "Yeah, but Wartortle's probably way stronger than Deerling, and he still pulled off the win. He was all starteejick and shit," Tup said.

  "Strategic you mean?" Plumeria said with a smirk. "Forgive me if I don't take your word for it."

  Tupp turned to Ian and shrugged. Good try, Tupp.

  The walk up The Spine didn't take long, and Ian saw Tom and a couple other stewards locking the doors on his warehouse for the day. The Shady House bustled with activity as hip hop music played loudly over the speakers while uniformed Team Skull members lounged around, some with their Pokemon out. Whether it was an Alolan Rattata, a Yungoos, or what Ian recognized as a Fomantis, everything seemed pretty chill. "Tupp, stay here," Plumeria ordered.

  Tupp wanted to protest, but settled for giving Ian a thumbs up, which he reciprocated.

  Plumeria led Ian down the hallway and swung the door open, this time there being no guard. Guzma was seated on his throne, Larvesta on his lap like a stereotypical mob boss petting a cat. "Don't tell me pizza boy got three Pokemon?" Guzma asked.

  "Three," Plumeria said. "And apparently not shitters."

  Guzma whistled. "Okay pizza boy, let's check 'em out. Besides that fucking deer of course."

  Ian tried to force a laugh. He then stepped to the throne to hand Guzma the two Poke Balls. Guzma opened one, revealing a flash of red light before manifesting Wartortle sleeping on its back. It promptly awoke and turned right to Ian with the same scowl on its face as before. Sorry dude. In moments Guzma recalled Wartortle, then opened the other Poke Ball. Litleo, still battered and bruised emerged with an agitated growl. One of its legs gave out and it fell to the ground with a shocked yelp, only to begin hissing. Guzma recalled it into its ball and tossed one ball at a time to Ian. "Not bad. But those two do look a little tough to handle," Guzma noted.

  "Thank you, boss," Ian said, not realizing he'd bowed his head slightly.

  "Welcome to Team Skull then, pizza boy," Guzma said, stepping closer to Ian. "Wait, what's your name again?"

  "Ian..."

  "That's not bad actually. What's your last name?" Guzma said.

  "Derry."

  Guzma recoiled. "Ugh, now that sounds stupid." Guzma got up from his throne, causing Larvesta to scuttle along Guzma's arm and to his shoulder. "You ever have any stupid nicknames from when you were younger?"

  Ian thought back on it, trying to remember something, anything. Then he scoffed, remembering the story behind his stupid fifth grade nickname. "Cougar."

  "Cougar? Why the hell'd they call you that?" Guzma spat.

  Ian shook his head. "In Alola it might be different, but the slang definition back home was like a forty year old woman who was dating a twenty year old guy-"

  Guzma cackled. "You dated a woman twice your age?"

  "No, 'Cougar' is the the term you call the woman,"

  Guzma eyed Ian suspiciously.

  "We were in fifth grade, and I had a crush on this one girl. Turns out she got bumped up from the class below, so she was a year younger than us..." Ian explained. "Because we were in fifth grade we didn't know what the actual term meant, so they just called me 'Cougar.'"

  Guzma chuckled. "It's so dumb I like it." Guzma then closed in on Ian, standing over him on his raised platform. "You're into princes and knights and shit, right?"

  "Uh, not exactly..."

  "Fuck it, better than being called 'Pizza Boy' the rest of your life," Guzma said. He put his hand on Ian's head. "Welcome to Team Skull, Ian Cougar."

  Did I just get a new last name? After catching a lion cub? An involuntary grin formed on Ian's face, and something about the whole informal ceremony still felt very sincere.

  "What squad's he going on?" Plumeria asked. "I'd recommend Rook's since he's still starting out."

  Guzma eyed Ian. "What do you think, Coogz?"

  Ian understood the implied nickname and turned to Plumeria, who was giving him a look of pure disdain. "So, I have an idea about the Ultra Storms..." Ian started.

  "Yeah?" Guzma asked.

  "That Star Piece I found in it? I bet Ultra Storms have other treasures and stuff in them, including rare Pokemon," Ian explained. "Since Plumeria's squad goes and checks them out, maybe I could join that squad," Ian paused, then pointed to Guzma's treasure chest. "Maybe after a few weeks you'll have to get a second one."

  Guzma cracked a smile. "I like the sound of that. What do you think, Plumeria?"

  "Not at all. He's reckless. That whole thing with Alpha Ariados is just the first symptom. I'm not sure he understands this isn't a game," Plumeria lectured.

  If only you knew. "I wanted to get Deerling out of there. It was in the heat of the moment and I... I couldn't just leave it. It's my partner, now and forever," Ian said. "Just like everyone in Team Skull is now."

  Plumeria's scowl turned a bit more neutral. Or dare I say, a smirk? Plumeria sighed, and turned to Guzma. "Fine, but he's on a short leash." Plumeria stepped to Ian, her golden eyes fixated on his. "The moment you put us in danger is the moment I leave you in an Ultra Storm. Got it?"

  Ian nodded. "I do."

  "Tomorrow's your first day in my squad. I know you just got your Pokemon, but I need them to be able to battle for you by then, okay?" Plumeria demanded.

  Ian nodded. "Yes ma'am-"

  "Don't fucking 'ma'am' me, I'm your squad leader, not your grandma," Plumeria spat.

  "Yes... squad leader?" Ian asked uncertainly.

  "Just Plumeria's fine," Plumeria said with an eye roll.

  "Well now that that's settled, Coogz, do you know what the one and only rule of Team Skull is?"

  Ian shook his head. "No..."

  "We're a bunch of misfits, bunch of people society never gave a fuck about. We can't count on anyone else to look out for us," Guzma explained. "So it's this: always look out for each other."

  Ian nodded. "Understood boss," he said seriously.

  "You may think the other factions on this island have it better, and hey it might look like that from afar," Guzma said. "But they all got their own bullshit. They're ruthless, and they'll toss their own people aside if it means a slight improvement in their situation."

  Ian nodded, trying to sound like he understood what Guzma truly meant while actually not having a clue. "I hear you boss..." Ian paused. "But, I don't know anything about these factions. I've heard things about Breon and Surge, and everyone makes it sound like they're really strong-"

  "They are really strong," Guzma said. "Plumeria, you tell him. I fucking hate talking about the map," Guzma pointed to Ian's left, and draped on the wall was a large, exquisitely painted island. Guzma made his way out of the throne room, Larvesta still resting on his shoulder. How did I not notice that before?

  "So this is Ula'Ula Island..." Plumeria said, stepping in front of the map. She pointed to the top left corner. "That's Po Town, that's us. Guzma's our leader." She then pointed a little to the right where a small town with an island just bigger than a spec to Ian's eye rested just off the coast. "That little beach town is called Outrigger. Leilani's their leader. We're kinda cool with them, kinda not sometimes. They have some deal with Surge so he won't wreck them. That means they can't get too close to us."

  "Surge? I keep hearing-"

  Plumeria gave Ian an annoyed look, and Ian quickly shut his mouth. "Sorry."

  "Thanks," Plumeria croaked. "So the top mountain, that's Mount Hokulani. Surge controls the mountain. There are observatories on top of it, and Surge turned them into a base. It's damn near impossible to touch him up there. Malie City pays him tribute to not fuck them up."

  "And by Surge, do you mean the Kanto gym leader Lieutenant Surge?" Ian asked.

  Plumeria paused. "I'm actually not sure. I can double check with Driftwood next time I run into them."

  "Driftwood?"

  "The Driftwood Guild," Plumeria said with a sigh. "They're this neutral group. They operate across each factions' territory. Want a certain spice? They can get it for you. Want a certain TM for a Pokemon? They can acquire it and bring it to you, for a price. Always a price with them, sometimes information, sometimes treasure. They even have some stupid motto their people say whenever you interact with them."

  "Interesting. And they don't get caught or anything?" Ian asked.

  "They have Pokemon that use Teleport. No way to track them, but they're around," Plumeria explained, then pointed to the urban area to Mt. Hokulani's right. "So Malie City, that's the last place the ASF still controls."

  "And the ASF is...?"

  "The Alolan Security Forces. The government," Plumeria said plainly. "With this being an island and all, Alola hasn't been in many wars. You Unovans used this place as a base in the Great Ocean War way back."

  Why do I think she's talking about the Pokemon world version of World War II?

  "Unova keeps Alola safe from abroad, but it didn't want Alola's military getting strong or something like that. Keahi even said that's the reason why Alola never formed a Pokemon League. So when the Ultra Rift appeared on top of Mount Lanakila and Ultra Storms started popping off all over Alola, the ASF was a complete mess."

  "Ultra Storms are happening on other islands?" Ian asked, putting the name "Keahi" in the back of his mind for later.

  "Kinda, but not nearly as much as here. Probably because of the Ultra Rift on Lanakila," Plumeria said. "The rest of Alola sends food and supplies to Malie City and then dishes it out to certain factions. We're so far away we're not one of those factions."

  Ian eyed the beautifully painted map and noticed a road sprouting off between Po Town and Outrigger that went around the base of Mount Hokulani. "I assume that road is Surge's?" Ian asked.

  "Well, Surge blew up the Gap Bridge that connects us to Malie City," Plumeria said. Plumeria then pointed to Po Town, her finger leading down from Po Town. "So the only road that kind of works goes through Haina Town..." Plumeria pointed to a coastal city at the southern base of Mount Lanakila, where Ian remembered Tapu Village was in the games. That's a lot more than a trailer park and a Pokemon Center.

  "Haina Town was run by the ASF, but something happened and the ASF trainers mutinied. Now they're just a bunch of assholes. Their leader is this guy named Breon," Ian noticed Plumeria's voice dropped fearfully at the end of her sentence.

  Plumeria backtracked, pointing to the rough, hilly area between Malie City and Haina Town. The Mudsdale riding area. "There's this group called the Rough Raiders that lives in these hills," Plumeria explained. "They ride Mudsdale and stuff like that. I've run into them once and they were alright. They don't like Breon and his goons in Haina Town though."

  Ian nodded. "Sorry if I forget some of this, it's a lot of information..."

  "Yeah, the ones closest to us are probably the ones worth remembering," Plumeria said. "So up here on Mount Lanakila there's this weird group, we think they're refugees from Haina Town. There's some chick named Irida who's leading them. There's an old abandoned mining town called Makamae Town they took up residence in. Not a lot of food up there, so we've seen some of their foraging parties in the Akua Jungle." Plumeria pointed at the dense forest of green just south of Po Town.

  Irida? Like the Pearl Clan leader from Legends Arceus? What the hell is she doing here?

  "You still following?" Plumeria asked, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

  "Something just crossed my mind… Anyways, Pearl Clan?"

  "What?"

  "Shit, sorry. Irida?" Ian recovered.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  "So the last one is Sinclair," Plumeria said.

  Ian's eyes drifted to the desert, but he remembered something about Sinclair and his boats. Plumeria pointed to the bottom left corner of the island where there was a bay with a bunch of islands scattered about. "This is Mahiki Bay. When the ASF started falling apart, some guy named Sinclair got some followers and stole a bunch of boats from Malie City's harbor and took them down here," Plumeria explained. "We think he's on the biggest island in the bay. Him and his goons have gone pirate, raiding shipments from the rest of Alola and harassing everyone from the sea."

  This is fucking intense.

  "Any questions?" Plumeria asked.

  "Does anyone have the desert?" Ian asked, pointing at the Haina desert beside Mount Lanakila.

  Plumeria shook her head. "That's neutral ground where disputes between leaders get resolved," Plumeria said. "Us and Haina Town were fighting for a couple months, then Guzma and Breon went with some Driftwood Guild folks and hashed out a peace deal," Plumeria said.

  "Oh, and one more question. Where'd this map come from?" Ian asked.

  Plumeria cracked a smile if only for a second. "Mina. She works for Rook, paints in her spare time."

  Like Mina the Trial Captain? What's she doing here?

  "So you gonna remember all of this nonsense?" Plumeria asked.

  "There's gotta be a lot of history going on..." Ian said.

  "Yeah, and I'm getting sick of your stinky ass clothes. Let's get you some uniforms," Plumeria said.

  "Finally!" Ian rejoiced.

  "Wait, one more thing..." Plumeria pointed to a small area of water surrounded by jungle just southeast of Po Town. "This is the Lake of the Sunne. Never go there. Tapu Bulu protects it. It is sacred, and Tapu Bulu has killed people who've gone in there. And if it doesn't get you, the Alpha Golurk who lives there will. Got it?"

  Ian nodded. "I do. I swear."

  ***

  Half an hour later, Ian admired the fit of his Team Skull tank-top and black pants. The Skull hat on his head looked odd at first, but it was starting to grow on him.

  "The underwear could be comfier," Ian said, talking about the light green drawers he remembered putting on.

  "Yeah man, that's all that's left over," Tupp said. "Scratchy as fuck."

  "If you scratch your balls, I won't think you're jerking off if you do the same for me," Ian said.

  "Deal."

  Ian checked his new belt which had six depressions with magnets at the bottom of them for his Poke Balls. He grabbed the Heal Ball and two Poke Balls and they attached almost too easily. "That's pretty sweet," Ian commented.

  "You don't got those in Unova?" Tupp asked.

  "Something like that," Ian replied, examining his Skull tank-top one more time. "Just curious, I got two more pairs of these right?"

  Tupp nodded. "Yeah bro, why you asking?"

  "Where'd these Skull shirts come from?" Ian asked. "There's not a secret sewing department, is there?"

  Tupp scoffed. "Nah man, so this all went down when Keahi was still Kahuna of Ula'Ula and her crew 'the Cinders' ran Po Town…"

  So that's who Keahi was? Got it.

  "… the spoiled rich kid whose family owned Shady House? He wanted to throw a big ass party and bought a bunch of shirts he wanted to make everyone wear. Brought all the DJ equipment and stuff, and no one showed," Tupp explained.

  "Rich kid? Is he still around?" Ian asked.

  Tupp nodded. "Yeah, he's the chubby dude everyone calls 'Slugg.' He's in Rook's squad. I'll point him out next time I see him."

  "How's he fat if we're eating one meal a day?" Ian asked in genuine bewilderment.

  "Dude's lost a lot of weight since this all started," Tupp explained.

  "Okay… So Keahi was the former Kahuna?" Ian asked. "Where the hell is Nanu in all of this?"

  "Nanu? How you know that name?" Tupp asked.

  Ian tensed, realizing he might've just blown his cover. "Plumeria said something about him…" Ian said, trying to act calm.

  "Oh yeah, you were in there a while bro," Tupp said. "He got announced as the Kahuna when the Ultra Rift showed up. He disappeared like a week after he got the position. No one's seen him since, not even Driftwood."

  The weird, neutral trading group right? "So there's been no Kahuna on the island this whole time?"

  Tupp shook his head. "Nope. I bet Nanu dipped out after he saw how fucked everything was about to be."

  Ian's curiosity wanted to talk more about Keahi and how things were like in Po Town before Team Skull took it over, but something told him that might be a sensitive topic. "So, Plumeria said I have to have my Pokemon ready to go tomorrow morning."

  "Wartortle still got an attitude, right?" Tupp asked.

  "Litleo too," Ian said. "Any ideas on how to chill them out a bit?"

  "Bribe 'em with food," Tupp said. "Should work on one of 'em at least."

  "Is the Pokemon Center still open?"

  "Yeah, gotta hurry though," Tupp said.

  The duo made their way down The Spine, Ian noticing he was no longer catching lots of suspicious looks. I was starting to think everyone just mean-mugged everyone around here. Guess I'm blending in a lot better.

  When they got to the Pokemon Center he saw Doc and Rapp behind the counter.

  "Why back so soon?" Doc asked in her broken accent.

  "Just here to pick up some food," Ian said. "Wartortle isn't my biggest fan, neither is Litleo."

  Rapp turned to Doc. "I'll be right back." Rapp dashed around a corner and out of sight, her shapely legs catching Ian's eye for the first time. I should probably focus on getting stronger so I can eventually ditch this crazy place, not spend time chasing after girls. Plus the dick to pussy ratio here is crazy from what I've seen so far. I'm sure she's got dozens of guys going at her.

  Rapp came back with three plastic baggies of large, brown pellets and held them out for Ian with a smile. "Welcome to Team Skull, Faller."

  "Glad to be here," Ian replied, taking the bags and carrying them close to his body.

  When Ian and Tupp got outside the Pokemon Center, Tupp eyed him. "I saw you eyeing Rapp in there. You like her?"

  Ian gulped nervously, realizing Tupp likely had a crush on a girl, and there weren't that many in town. "No just... Finally not nervous enough to notice, you know?"

  Tupp laughed. "Nah man, it's okay if you're crushing. Me and her go way back, grew up in the Tapu Village streets," Tupp explained. "She's like my sister."

  "So you got a different girl you're crushing on, is what you're saying?" Ian deduced.

  Tupp froze. "Well, yeah but... You can't tell nobody, bro. No one."

  "You've been keeping this one secret for a while, haven't you?" Ian teased.

  "A'ight bro, don't laugh..." Tupp leaned in, his voice hushing to a whisper. "I'm down pretty bad for Selene."

  "It would be almost weird if you weren't," Ian said with a shrug.

  Tupp stymied a laugh. "Right? And the funny thing is, I'm kind of the reason she's here actually."

  "You are?"

  "Bro, right around when the Ultra Rift popped up, Rapp and I was doing a job outside Malie City, and this cute ass girl runs up in a funny hat and just fucking bodied us bro. Fell in love with her right then and there," Tupp explained. "A couple weeks later we were doing something south of the meadow and there she was, her Pokemon were hurt and she had nothing else. She'd just gotten out of Haina Town when Breon took over..." Tupp paused before opening up more. "Man, you're the first person I told this to. You just seem like you give more of a fuck. Prolly just cuz you're new here. But if you do tell someone, I'm putting you to sleep and feeding you to Guzma's Ariados."

  "Fair. I won't say anything bro," Ian said, bumping Tupp's fist. "But I'll be rooting for you."

  "Appreciate you bro," Tupp said. "All the girls got a thing for Rook though. I think they just like him cuz he's a strong trainer."

  His cheek bones and goatee likely help too. "We can always fix that bro," Ian said.

  "You handled Deerling real well, but how you gonna help me?" Tupp said.

  "I did study a lot," Ian said.

  "Where at?" Tupp asked demandingly.

  This is gonna be so troll. "The Blueberry Academy in Unova," Ian said with a shit-eating grin. Not sure why the place was technically in Unova, but boy is it convenient for me all of the sudden.

  "Dafuq is that?" Tupp asked.

  "It was like high school but for Pokemon training," Ian explained.

  "But you weren't a trainer?" Tupp asked.

  "It was a financial thing..." Ian lied. "You know how to handle Pokemon, I've got all of the advanced studying. Together, we might actually become good trainers. When Plumeria was dogging you I remember you saying something about not having a good practice partner."

  "Fuck, you right about that..." Tupp pondered the idea for a few moments. "Maybe you're not as stupid as I thought."

  "I have my moments," Ian said, a grin returning to his face. "Know a good spot to train in town? Figure the gate's closing soon."

  "You went to that tree on Backstreet yesterday, right?" Tupp asked.

  Ian shrugged. "Not a bad idea, it was a comfy spot."

  The duo made their way past Shady House and to cul-de-sac where the large tree stood over them. Ian took one of the pellet bags and emptied a decently sized portion into the grass. He then reached for Wartortle's Poke Ball and opened it. "Imma take a wiz real quick," Tupp said, scampering to one of the houses on the cul-de-sac.

  Wartortle appeared in a flash of red light, and it immediately turned to Ian, the same scowl on its face as the encounter with Litleo. "Got food for you," Ian said in his customer service voice and pointed at the pile of brown pellets. Wartortle turned to look quickly before returning his scowl to Ian. The message was clear. You really think I'm gonna eat that off the ground?

  "Look Wartortle, you've clearly had an awful day," Ian began. "And maybe you're in some pain..."

  Wartortle looked down at its shell, specifically one of the deep punctures into its shell that was still there before moving on to scanning the rest of its shell. Wartortle gave a throaty croak, seemingly pleased with his recovery. It then bent over and picked up a food pellet with whatever the amphibious substitute for a hand was and popped the pellet in its mouth. Wartortle gave another throaty croak in approval and sat on its shell. Its arms weren't big enough to reach the pile, and Ian saw his opening.

  Ian walked to Wartortle slowly, maintaining eye contact with his distraught Pokemon until he got close enough to crouch down and pick up a food pellet, handing it to Wartortle. Wartortle eyed him with suspicion, but ultimately accepted the help. Baby steps.

  "I'm really excited to work with you," Ian said, voice full of encouragement as he handed Wartortle another pellet. The Pokemon didn't even acknowledge Ian had spoken, instead just eating the pellet emotionlessly.

  "You really saved my ass back there with Litleo," Ian said. "You deserve a bigger treat than I can give you right now..." Ian continued, with Wartortle ignoring his words some more. "You don't seem like a big fan of me, which I understand. I'm not always the biggest fan of myself sometimes. But I promise to work hard as your trainer, and we can both grow together. What do you say?"

  Wartortle grew impatient with waiting for more food and instead bent over, causing it to lose balance and fall on its side. Ian grabbed Wartortle's arm and helped adjust the turtle to its original seated form, grabbing another pellet. "If things aren't working out, and you wanted to leave..." Ian paused, realizing the heft of what he was saying. "When I can find a replacement, we can part ways, if you want..." Wartortle gave a higher pitched croak, eyeing Ian one more time before swiping another pellet. Ian continued picking up the pellets for Wartortle until there were no more. Wartortle crossed its arms, or as close as it could, eyeing Ian expectantly. "Alright, I see," Ian said, recalling Wartortle, his heart feeling heavier than when the conversation began.

  "That didn't look good," Tupp observed, strolling back.

  "No it did not. And how much did you piss, you were gone that whole time?" Ian asked.

  "There are some punks watching us from the house behind us," Tupp said. "Wanted to make sure they weren't trying to mess with us."

  "You talk to them?"

  "Nah, they just been watching from a window," Tupp replied.

  Ian readied Deerling's Heal Ball and released it. Ian held pellets in the palm of his hand this time, and Deerling ate quickly, sometimes tickling his hand with its tongue. When Ian recalled Deerling, he took a deep breath as he readied Litleo's ball. This should be interesting.

  Ian released Litleo for the second time, this time the lion cub manifested on its side, yawning. It eyed Ian curiously for a moment before resting its head again. Ian noticed the tuft of fur on its head stayed bright orange and wasn't flickering. Odd.

  "Might wanna put them on the ground for this one," Tupp said.

  "Yeah, you're right," Ian said, taking the pellet bag and pouring its contents onto the ground. Litleo arose and strutted over before lighting its mouth up with flame, then hissing flames on the pellets. "Litleo, what the-" Ian paused as he saw Litleo happily enjoying the now scorched snack.

  "Okay then..." Ian said, watching Litleo chow down with almost anger.

  "A'ight so far," Tupp said.

  When Litleo finished its scorched snacks, it eyed Ian threateningly, hissing aggressively. "Litleo, that's all I've got," said firmly.

  Litleo's mouth flared up with flames, making Ian step back cautiously as he reached for Litleo's Poke Ball.

  "Nah bro, you gotta show it who's boss," Tupp said.

  "What, like me?" Ian asked, pointing at his quickly beating heart.

  Tupp rolled his eyes. "Nah bro, with Wartortle."

  Ian eyed Litleo again, who began to growl menacingly. "Alright, you're asking for it. Wartortle!" Ian tossed Wartortle's ball, and Wartortle manifested, facing Ian as it manifested, with an annoyed look in its eye. Ian pointed at Litleo. "In case you want round two."

  Wartortle turned and its frown turned upside down as it noticed Litleo, realizing who had just appeared. Litleo switched its focus to Wartortle and got ready to pounce, embers of flame emanating from its mouth. Ian noticed the tuft of hair on its head had begun flickering to a dark orange and back to light orange. Okay, something's clearly going on with that. Litleo then shot a burst of embers at Wartortle, who casually shot them down with an effortless Water Gun stream. Wartortle croaked, almost amused, then fired another low intensity Water Gun, hitting Litleo in the mouth, forcing the fiery cub to yelp and dash back, taking a defensive position.

  Wartortle stepped forward, giving a proud croak before it puffed its chest out. Litleo changed its stance, from one ready to pounce to turning into a loaf like regular cats would. Wartortle gave one more proud croak before turning to Ian and giving him a look that seemed to say: my job here is done.

  Ian recalled Wartortle, then walked over carefully to Litleo, whose flickering tuft of hair ceased flickering almost instantly. Ian took a seat a few feet away from Litleo. "Nice to finally meet you when you're not upset, Litleo."

  Litleo eyed him suspiciously and seemingly sneezed a flame before returning its focus to Ian.

  "You already seem really dangerous," Ian said. "Quick like Deerling, but you're ranged fire attacks hit much harder. I bet if we train like Deerling and I did yesterday, you and I would become a formidable team."

  Litleo snorted another ember and laid its head down.

  "Looks like I'm gonna have to earn your loyalty. I can understand that," Ian said, pulling out Litleo's Poke Ball and recalling it. Ian turned to Tupp, who had been observing silently. "How'd I do?"

  "At least Wartortle kinda bought in," Tupp said with a shrug.

  "That's a good way of looking at it."