Chapter 31 Holding On

  Ian hurried out of the bunkhouse with Tupp right behind him. The dim hallways became a scene of pure chaos as everyone rushed ahead. When Ian got to the entrance hall, he silently thanked whoever turned the lights on. Even with the signature flicker of Shady House, it seemed much more orderly as Team Skull members raced out of the front doors. The streets of Po Town beyond a few feet from the doors were covered in darkness and Ian grunted.

  "Arcanine, let's get there first!" Selene's voice called out as her fiery tiger manifested from its ball. Arcanine knelt down a bit, allowing Selene to get on.

  Ian figured it was time to break Tom's rule. "Sawsbuck, let's go!" Ian called out, sending out his Heal Ball. Ian got on Sawsbuck's back in record time and the two riders quickly sped down The Spine.

  "Arcanine, give us some light!" Selene ordered. Arcanine blew a burst of hot flames into the air, illuminating a good bit of Po Town, and most specifically, the closed gate. "What, why's it closed?" Selene called out.

  "Can't open it until we have numbers," Ian said grimly, realizing he and Selene had beaten the rest of the mobilizing Team Skull members by quite a bit. Ian noticed a figure looking over the wall, and he led Sawsbuck to the stairs leading up to the wall's walkway.

  "How's it looking?" Ian called out as Sawsbuck got atop the steps.

  "The crop field guards ain't lasting much longer. Looks like twice their numbers out there," the grunt atop the wall said. Ian took a look at the source of various attacks and commotion going back and forth, with various glows of multiple colors dancing as attackers and defenders duked it out as best they could.

  "We need to get down there," Selene said as Arcanine took its place atop the wall behind Sawsbuck.

  "Can Toucannon do it?" Ian asked.

  "Yeah…" Selene said getting off Arcanine as Ian got off Sawsbuck on the not exactly narrow but not exactly wide walkway atop the wall. After recalling their mounts, Selene had Toucannon out. "Toucannon, we gotta get down there." Toucannon took Selene by the wrists before Selene even finished, and bird Pokemon and trainer disappeared over the side of the wall.

  "There's only two of you, can't you wait for backup?" The wall watcher asked.

  "If we can hold them off just long enough, we're golden," Ian said. Toucannon re-appeared with a squawk, and Ian held his arms out. Toucannon glowed with Flying TE and took him airborne, with Ian's shoes scratching the top of the wall before being lowered down, Ian's breathing was surprisingly calm considering the situation. Going into battle outnumbered and flying on a Toucannon had me scared shitless when I first got here. Good to see I'm not nearly as rattled as I was.

  When Ian landed, Selene already had her Brionne out. Considering we'll be going against multiple enemies, I need wide-hitting moves. "Pyroar, you're up," Ian said as he started to jog and tossed Pyroar's Poke Ball into the air. Selene followed closely behind, holding Brionne so it would keep up. "Why not Arcanine?" Ian asked.

  "Don't want to burn the crop fields," Selene said. "Also they probably got a lot of Fire Pokemon."

  True. Suddenly a burst of flames erupted a good thirty feet in front of them, revealing a four-legged, orange creature with two humps on its back, shaped like volcanoes. Beside the huge Camerupt was a white, mushroom looking Pokemon Ian recognized as a Shiinotic, with a white, armored rodent beside it Ian figured was a Togedemaru. This is their way of destroying the crop fields.

  "Watch out!" Selene cried out in panic. Ian realized a number of fiery embers were now falling from the sky above, right onto their disorganized grain field. "Brionne save the-"

  "Don't," Ian said lowly. "It'll reveal our position. Hit Camerupt, and Pyroar will work on the others."

  "Gotcha," Selene said lowly. "Bubble Beam that Camerupt," Selene said with an excited whisper.

  "Jump and Flamethrower that Togedemaru," Ian said.

  Brionne's Bubble Beam had already taken flight, and Ian heard a shocked cry from Camerupt. A bolt of electricity suddenly streamed through the Bubble Beam, weakening some of its potency. The stream of bubbles still landed on the slow moving Pokemon, causing a bellowing cry to come forth from the Camerupt.

  The moment the bubbles let up, Pyroar's stream of flames landed next to Camerupt, connecting directly onto Togedemaru. Ian couldn't hear the shrill cries of pain, but he was sure they were there. A glowing green orb flew at Selene, who was still holding Brionne. Selene dove to the ground and Ian lowered his head. All around him little falling embers began to grow larger. It's illuminating the battlefield at least. Ian did a quick scan and breathed a sigh of relief they weren't getting flanked yet.

  "Bubble Beam again!" Selene ordered.

  "Amnesia!" A rough male voice called out from the opposing side. Camerupt began glowing with Psychic Type Energy as it halted in place. The Bubble Beam landed, causing small, popping explosions of blue energy as it did, but as Camerupt finished channeling Amnesia, it didn't seem nearly as hurt as before.

  "Flamethrower that Shiinotic!" Ian roared, figuring stealth was no longer necessary. Pyroar fired another stream of Flames, and Shiinotic was helpless to evade, surely getting roasted in the attack. "Watch it, Togedemaru's prolly coming around."

  As if on cue, Togedemaru, cloaked in sparks of electricity, came screaming at Pyroar and Brionne. "Cover!" Ian said desperately.

  Pyroar jumped in front of Brionne, tanking the blow that would've been devastating to Brionne, although Pyroar whimpered loudly, indicating it might have been devastating to it regardless. Thanks bud. Pyroar staggered back to his feet, his mane beginning to glow. Suddenly Pyroar let out a fierce roar before firing an incredibly bright stream of flames, brighter, wider, with way more residual heat hitting Ian's face before he instinctively covered his eyes. When the heat and vibrant light faded, Ian saw a crater of smoking ground, with Togedemaru's metal shell red hot as it laid at the bottom of the crater, unconscious. The fuck was that? Fire Blast?

  Brionne had taken cover and leapt into the air, firing off another Bubble Beam.

  "Pyroar-" Ian paused as he noticed his maned lion panting heavily. Maybe that was Overheat? Might not have been the best time to use it, but that was badass. Ian turned to their attackers and noticed Shiinotic glowing with bright pink energy, and in the last flash of bright light Ian saw, he noticed the charred wounds from the prior Flamethrower had seemingly disappeared. Moonlight. Damn it.

  Camerupt whined as Bubble Beam connected one more time, and Ian realized another Eruption attack had been used, sending more embers into the sky. Not as many as last time, thank goodness. Gotta keep whittling down Camerupt's health.

  Suddenly a blast of glowing water fired over to Pyroar, catching Ian off guard as it landed, finishing off the exhausted Pyroar. Water and a Grass Type… Ian then noticed a light green glow on Shiinotic, and puffs of pollen were manifested and suddenly floated to Camerupt, which it ate, causing it to glow, and Ian realized Camerupt was healing itself. Shit, Pollen Puff. Shiinotic needs to go down NOW! "Tyrunt!" Ian bellowed.

  Out came his massive baby tyrannosaur with a ferocious roar, followed by a loud sniffing of the air before she locked in quickly. "Tyrunt, charge and ready a Protect!" Ian commanded. Tyrunt snorted its disapproval, but dashed into action. Brionne used the time to fire another Bubble Beam, which was blocked with what Ian assumed was a Hydro Pump from Golduck. Camerupt then let loose another Eruption, sending a flurry of embers skyward.

  Shiinotic then fired a blast of stream of bright pink energy at the charging Tyrunt, and even though Ian was late to the order, Tyrunt tightened up its body and a small barrier manifested around her, which still stood when the dust had settled.

  "Poison Fang!" Ian roared desperately. Tyrunt gave a savage cry as she bounded forward, and came upon Shiinotic, causing a sharp cry to be heard, and even Camerupt stumbled to the side in fear. Ian didn't see much, but when Shiinotic's mangled, unconscious body was tossed aside casually by Tyrunt, he smirked.

  "Earth Power!" A voice called, and the ground shook underneath Tyrunt's feet. Ian's tyrannosaur tried to step aside, but the ground erupted light brown TE from underneath, knocking Tyrunt back with a powerful blow. I think I heard the thud from here. Sorry girl. Golduck leapt from behind Camerupt and fired a Psybeam on the fallen Tyrunt who hadn't even recovered yet, connecting with brutal efficiency as Tyrunt yelped in pain. Ian couldn't see too well due to the distance, but he could tell Tyrunt wasn't taking another hit like that. "Selene, some help here?" Ian voiced out in frustration. And where the fuck are our reinforcements?

  "Uh, Ian…" Selene said nervously, pointing to where the skirmishes with the crop field protectors had been, and Ian realized that it had gone dark in that direction. Shit. The loud groan and screech of metal hit his ears, and he figured the gate was opening. Few minutes too late.

  "Tyrunt, fall back!" Ian called out desperately. Tyrunt leapt in the air as another Earth Power erupted just underneath the tyrannosaur. Tyrunt hurried back, favoring one side of its body as it did. Ian saw another red light manifest, and saw a Pidgeotto appear close to where Shiinotic had been.

  Tyrunt then turned her attention to Ian's left and snarled. The rest of them are here. "Selene, fall back-"

  "I don't think we can," Selene mumbled.

  Ian then noticed a Gumshoos, Skuntank, Kanto-nian Raticate, Herdier, and a Hariyama towering over the rest of its crew appeared a mere twenty feet behind them amidst the increasingly fiery wheat fields.

  "You're toast, fuckers!" A voice called out to Ian and Selene.

  "Do we surrender?" Selene squeaked.

  I'm the food source. Po Town starves if I'm gone. "No, we delay."

  "Tyrunt Ancient Power!" Ian called out, not even sure where to direct the attack considering they were effectively surrounded. The floating stones were launched at Camerupt, Pidgeotto, and Golduck, with Pidgeotto being the only one that managed to dodge the attack. Golduck and Camerupt seemed largely unphased.

  "Dazzling Gleam!" Selene called out desperately. Brionne let out a song as it fired a wide burst of light at the group behind them. The Pokemon recoiled before it became too bright for Ian to look any longer.

  "Your friends were pussies," the deepest of anonymous voices called from behind. "But they were smarter. Hariyama, Thunder Punch!"

  The hulking Fighting Type charged with incredible speed after Dazzling Gleam's luster had left the battlefield. Hariyama then zoned in on Brionne, who was powerless to evade as Hariyama landed a bone-cracking punch. Brionne whimpered quietly as it was smacked into the ground. "Brionne…" Selene said, a light sob escaping her lips.

  Might've fucked up big time here.

  Suddenly Brionne's limp body began to glow and Ian gasped. A fucking miracle! Hariyama covered its eyes from the glow. Ian looked to see if Tyrunt had been closed in on and heaved a sigh of relief when his panting, wounded tyrannosaur had been left alone a little longer.

  Suddenly the glow of evolution dimmed and Brionne was replaced with graceful, elegant sea lion Pokemon, Primarina. Primarina let out a high pitched song as it glowed once more, this time a Dazzling Gleam. Ian noticed Hariyama enveloping itself with Protect and grimaced. Primarina's beautiful, angelic song of attack lasted for a few seconds before the light and its song faded.

  Hariyama appeared, its fist crackling with electricity once more, about to land a massive blow before a shadow of something entered Ian's vision, and before he realized what had happened, Hariyama was airborne, groaning in pain before hitting the ground with a thud. Ian froze, unsure of how the act had occurred, but then he noticed another blip or shadow raced across the lineup of Pokemon behind Hariyama. In the blink of an eye, each Pokemon yelped in pain as they fell forward, having clearly been hit by something damn near invisible. What the hell is going on here?

  Suddenly a floating red figure appeared behind Selene and Ian's heart leapt as he recognized a Scizor with serrated pinchers hovering just off the ground. "Guzma's Scizor!" Selene shouted in surprise.

  "Not just Scizor, Mega Scizor!" Ian said in disbelief.

  Suddenly a male, sinister cackling hit Ian's ears. Guzma I've never been happier to see you. "That's right bitches!" Guzma shouted. "Big, bad Guzma is HERE!" Guzma shouted viscerally. Ian saw Guzma amidst the developing flames, swaggering over with a cocky smirk on his face.

  "It's Guzma! Everyone, fall back!" The voice that had been taunting Ian and Selene mere moments before said, his voice coated in fear.

  Ian noticed the figures surrounding them began quickly recalling their Pokemon and pivoted right into a desperate sprint. "Hey you, not so fast," Guzma called out casually. Suddenly Mega Scizor disappeared and a male grunt of pain could be heard. Ian turned to see one of Scizor's pincers had caught the arm of an opposing trainer who had come forward instead of running backwards. Guzma didn't even acknowledge Ian and Selene as he swaggered to his Mega Scizor and its prisoner. "The fuck you running at us for?"

  "Had to get Togedemaru," the young man said as he struggled with the pain of being caught in Mega Scizor's serrated pincers.

  "Well you're a prisoner now, dumbfuck," Guzma said. The Team Skull boss then scanned the area and found Togedemaru, still smoking from Pyroar's Overheat. "And what the hell happened to that thing?"

  "Pyroar dropped an Overheat on it from point blank range," Ian answered.

  "Gnarly," Guzma said with a sinister chuckle. "Hey Selene, get that ballerina fish of yours to put these fires out."

  "Oh right. Sorry boss," Selene said. "Primarina, show off a Sparkling Aria!"

  The elegant sea lion Pokemon opened its mouth and began to croon, with watery blue energy beginning to emit from it in a circular pattern. Then Primarina burst out with a song much louder than before, causing the ring of watery energy to expand. Ian and Tyrunt recoiled as the ring approached them, but Ian didn't feel anything as the water seemingly bent around them. Guzma stood there, arms folded and scanning the dark vastness beyond the crop fields with now dying fires. More Team Skull members began approaching, having been fully mobilized. It was too late to be of any help though.

  "How fucking long did it take to open the gate?" Guzma barked at the now arriving Team Skull members. Oh he probably came over the wall with Scizor like he did on that rainy day when he yelled at me.

  "The key to the gate bar's lock wasn't in the gate house," someone said.

  "And who's fucking fault is that?" Guzma demanded, to which Ian heard no response. "Well we're lucky Ian and Selene were crazy enough to come out here and try to defend the crop fields, else we'd have lost damn near everything."

  "S-sorry boss…" One Team Skull member said dejectedly.

  "Don't say fucking sorry to me, make sure that shit never happens again!" Guzma roared. "And take this Sinclair dumbass to the Basement. Warm him up for some aggressive interviews."

  "Yeah boss," the hard to discern Team Skull members said as they moved as a unit to Guzma's Mega Scizor.

  Once it was just back to the three of them, Guzma turned back around to the duo. "So Selene, Prince-y Boy…" Guzma began.

  "Yeah boss?" Ian asked.

  "Good shit tonight. We can't have you two go out alone like this, especially with that Sawsbuck of yours, Ian," Guzma explained. "But you saved a ton of food and risked your lives to do it. That deserves recognition. Anything I can reward you two with?"

  "Well, lemme think…" Selene began.

  "There's a little girl in the school, the Faller girl we brought back in my first week, her name's Rylee. I want her to be allowed to have a Pokemon," Ian said.

  "Done," Guzma said. "I would've given you a house close to Shady Way where you and that new girlfriend of yours could hang out away from the bunkhouse."

  "Really?"

  "Too late now," Guzma said with a chuckle. Dammit, I didn't even think that was an option. "Selene?"

  "Well, this one's a bit harder, but any chance you could have other girls not going after Rook?" Selene asked. Ian was thankful the surrounding fires had been put out, as he found himself scowling at Selene. I can't make her see what's so great about Tupp, which is her loss. But she definitely wouldn't have to ask Guzma to make the girls stop flirting with Tupp if they were an item.

  "Yeah, that one's harder," Guzma said. "But I'll at least make it so they gotta be less obvious."

  "Okay…" Selene said, a bittersweet tone in her voice. Maybe she's realizing how pathetic it makes her look.

  Tyrunt suddenly growled, and Ian turned to see if anything was the matter. Instead, his Alpha Tyrunt seemed more annoyed for being out so long. Oh you did take a couple big hits there. Ian recalled his Alpha with a beam of red light from his Ultra Ball and silently thanked her.

  "That was your Alpha, wasn't it?" Guzma asked.

  "Yeah…"

  "Turns out being new like you were didn't matter after all," Guzma said. "It's even following your orders and shit?"

  "Finally," Ian said with a nod. "Tried to eat me for a few weeks straight, but we're pretty good now."

  "Nice," Guzma said. "I'll make some time this week to help you get its red eyes out, just you and me. If this conflict's gonna be like this, we're gonna need those Alpha Eyes."

  Ian nodded. "Got it. Thank you boss. And for saving our ass."

  "No need to thank me for that, 'first rule of Team Skull' business. Now go get a good night's sleep you two," Guzma ordered. "You've earned it."

  ***

  The next morning came quickly, and Ian was able to inspect the damage to the fields on the back of Sawsbuck. Probably thirty percent of the wheat field had been damaged, a large amount but not debilitating. The attackers that had engaged the guard post didn't appear to have damaged the fields all that much, only Camerupt was brought along to do so, explaining why it was separate from the rest of the group. But they will try again.

  When Ian rode back to the main gate, still atop Sawsbuck, he spotted Plumeria and her newly added, floating purple team member Poipole who hovered next to her shoulder. "Just checked in on our injured team member from last night. They should be fine. How bad is it out here?" Plumeria asked.

  "A decent bit of the wheat field," Ian said. "But that's about it. So maybe ten percent of the crop fields? Could've been a lot worse."

  "It could've," Plumeria said. "But maybe it should've."

  Ian grimaced. I know where this is going. "Honestly, we figured backup would've come sooner," Ian said, trying to justify the reckless maneuver.

  "Which you were right to assume," Plumeria said. "But not everyone here's as competent as we are. It's something I even forget about sometimes."

  "I hear you," Ian said. "I had the realization once we got surrounded. I'm Po Town's meal ticket, I can't go off getting captured like that."

  Plumeria nodded. "Okay. And just in case something happens, I need you to have Sawsbuck be able to be commanded by someone else, in case you get captured but you're able to get its Heal Ball away from you."

  Ian sighed. "Sawsbuck won't like it, but he's familiar enough with Tupp. I'll start working on that."

  "Thanks," Plumeria said.

  Ian noticed Poipole rubbing up on Plumeria's hair affectionately. "Glad to see that little one's warming up to you."

  Plumeria scoffed. "Yeah, Poipole's real friendly. It's pretty timid when it comes to battles though."

  Ian nodded. "Which is fair. It did just pop up in an Ultra Storm not too long ago."

  "Any idea what its strengths will be if I ever get it to evolve?" Plumeria asked.

  "It's really fast, and will hit really hard with things like Sludge Bomb and Dragon Pulse," Ian explained. "And it'll be able to really fly."

  "Will it be big enough for me to ride?" Plumeria asked.

  Ian nodded. "It'll be pretty big. Not sure exactly, but you should be able to ride it no problem."

  A faint smile came across Plumeria's face, which might as well be her jumping for joy. "This one's pretty weak right now, but not too long ago a certain trainer with a Deerling, Wartortle, and Litleo became one of the most noteworthy trainers in Po Town, so anything's possible."

  Ian shrugged as he grinned. "I've had a lot of help."

  "I'll have to come out to some of your training sessions," Plumeria said.

  "Won't say no to that," Ian acknowledged.

  "Big Sis, Big Sis!" A feminine voice called out as they ran to the front gate.

  "What is it?" Plumeria demanded.

  "The Pokemon Center's healing machine's still down and Rapp's Pokemon are out of energy," the female Team Skull member announced. "There are still a couple of Pokemon that really need help."

  "Shit," Plumeria said before turning to Ian. "How'd things go with Slugg yesterday?"

  "I assume he went to the Pokemon Center, I don't know anything else about it," Ian said.

  Plumeria grunted in frustration. "Hexx, go find Slugg and tell him to get to the Pokemon Center now."

  "Will do Big Sis," the grunt said before hurrying off back up The Spine.

  "You coming with?" Plumeria asked.

  Ian shrugged. "You're asking like I have a choice."

  Plumeria smirked once more. "Good."

  When Plumeria and Ian arrived at the Pokemon Center, he saw a couple distraught looking trainers sitting down in the lobby. Plumeria led him behind the counter, where Rapp was sitting on the ground, her head in her hands.

  "Big Sis, we're trying…" Rapp said with frustration. Ian noticed bags under eyes. She hasn't slept a wink since the attack.

  "I know you are," Plumeria said, offering a soothing hand to Rapp. When Rapp's eyes drifted to Ian, he gave a respectful nod. "I assume Slugg couldn't help with the machine yesterday?"

  "Who? Help machine?" Doc asked with her broken accent as she emerged from the healing room where the Pokemon Restoration Unit was housed.

  "I sent Slugg here yesterday to see what he could do," Plumeria explained. "Did he never come?"

  "Close Pokemon Center after Ian was 'funny,'" Doc replied accusingly in her broken accent.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Plumeria gave Ian a look but returned to the topic at hand. "So he never came by to take a look?"

  "No," Doc replied.

  "He better pray he fixes that machine or I'm beating his lazy ass," Plumeria growled.

  Ian cleared his throat, an idea crossing his mind. "Have we tried using some of the medicinal berries on the wounded Pokemon? Or even Rapp's-"

  Doc scowled at Ian, her eyes narrowing on him. "You think I stupid, Mr. Dumb-dumb? We use berry, heal all we can. Berry no effect after time."

  Ian gulped. "Sorry, my bad Doc."

  Doc glared at Ian some more. "Dumb-dumb," she said damningly.

  A few minutes later, Sophocles waddled into the Pokemon Center looking quite like a nervous wreck. Ian leaned into Plumeria and whispered. "Give him a chance to work on it before you lose it, okay?"

  Plumeria rolled her eyes. "I know how to manipulate guys, Ian. I've done it to you plenty."

  "Rude," he said, trying not to laugh.

  Sophocles waved hesitantly as he made his way to the front counter.

  "C'mon back Slugg," Plumeria said, her tone hiding whatever venom she truly felt.

  Sophocles nodded and waddled into the hallway, and when he saw Rapp on the floor with her head in her hands he gasped.

  "You know machine?" Doc asked with her signature broken accent, breaking Sophocles' concentration on Rapp.

  "The PRU? Kinda…" Sophocles said, his eyes drifting down to Rapp every other second.

  "Take look," Doc said, pointing him into the healing room. Ian and Plumeria followed behind Sophocles and Doc. Doc opened the window into the PRU and Sophocles leaned over, looking inside. He spent a good minute or so observing, occasionally muttering things like "the coils are fine" or "the capacitor's looking good." Ian and Plumeria watched curiously, and finally Sophocles paused. "Oh, it's definitely the regulator."

  Plumeria turned to Ian with a very impressed look in her eye. Ian shrugged. We're not out of the woods yet. Sophocles reached in and began tinkering with the something inside, and Doc watched over closely, but didn't interrupt him until he withdrew his hands. "Yeah, that thing's pretty fried."

  "Can fix?" Doc asked.

  Sophocles shook his head grimly. "We'll need a new part, but this machine's so old it might be hard to get one even if we were back in civilization. Out here though…"

  "It's something though. Write down the part you need and Driftwood might be able to help us out," Plumeria said. It was Ian's turn to look at her, impressed. If she's willing to use the Driftwood Guild, she's desperate.

  "Okay…" Sophocles said, looking around for a pencil and a sheet of paper, which Doc was already in the process of acquiring. Sophocles began scribbling on the paper, and a couple minutes later he handed it into Plumeria, a hint of nerves still in his body.

  "Thank you Slugg," Plumeria said, eyeing the paper curiously.

  "Is one of Rapp's Pokemon hurt?" Sophocles asked softly.

  "Not exactly," Ian said. "Rapp's healing Pokemon are so exhausted they can't use any of their healing abilities for a while."

  "She up all night with me. Much help, unlike Mr. Dumb-dumb," Doc chimed in. "She very sad she no help other Pokemon. Guilty."

  Sophocles gasped delicately, and Ian saw the gears turning in his mind. "Well, I might be able to do something to the regulator, but I'll need to take it to Tom's warehouse," Sophocles explained.

  Doc's eyes narrowed on Sophocles. "You break machine?"

  Sophocles shook his head. "The part's already broken, so I can't break it anymore than it already is," Sophocles answered.

  Doc turned to Plumeria, as if asking should I trust him? Plumeria nodded sincerely, and Doc gestured to the PRU. "Try, smart boy."

  Sophocles returned to the PRU with renewed vigor. He quickly dislodged the long, cylindrical part and hurried out of the room.

  "It's amazing what a little motivation can do for a guy," Ian stated.

  "You be quiet, dumb-dumb," Doc fired back mercilessly. Ian caught Plumeria with an amused smirk on her face.

  Twenty minutes later, Sophocles burst through the Pokemon Center's front doors, wheezing and already working up a sweat. "I think we have a chance!" Sophocles announced. He then hurried behind the counter and to the healing room where Doc awaited him.

  The part in question seemed to have electrical tape on it now, and Ian eyed it skeptically as Sophocles presented it to Doc.

  "Why tape?" Doc asked curiously.

  "I had to open it up a bit. One of the wires connecting the core was messed up so I replaced that," Sophocles said. "It's not the best material, but it might work for a little while."

  Doc pointed to the PRU wordlessly, not daring to hope just yet. Sophocles bent over once more, Ian noticing his baggy tank top went longer down his body than anyone else's tank top. After a couple minutes of Sophocles looking at comparative angles, he finally shut the door to the PRU's mechanical guts. "Can you turn it on Doc?"

  Doc nodded wordlessly, flipping a switch. The hum of the machine immediately hit their ears, and Ian watched Doc intensely. "Test run," Doc announced. She then went up to the machine's interface, much like an old school ATM with buttons on the sides of the monitor. Suddenly a light went on and a different mechanical humming could be heard, which made Doc put her hands over her heart. "Amazing… Amazing. Smart boy, you amazing!"

  "Th-thanks…" Sophocles said.

  Rapp appeared at the doorway, a curious expression on her face. "Did it get fixed?"

  "Slugg did it," Plumeria praised.

  Rapp gasped and dashed over to Sophocles, hugging the boy of the same height. "Slugg you're incredible!" Rapp exclaimed before releasing him from the hug. Sophocles' cheeks turned red as a tomato in record time, and Ian could already tell the amateur mechanical engineer had visions of the rest of his life with Rapp by his side. If he was down bad before, it's going to be exponentially crazier for him now.

  The wounded Pokemon and Rapp's Comfey and Galarian Ponyta were placed in the machine first, with a full minute-long cycle working without a hitch.

  "Slugg, thank you so much," Rapp said as she held her shrunken Poke Balls in her hands.

  "You're welcome, Rapp," Sophocles said with a nervous smile..

  A thought crossed Ian's mind and he figured he'd do the town's savior a solid. "You know Rapp, calling him 'Slugg' after he just saved our asses is kinda demeaning."

  "Demeaning? What?" Rapp asked, clearly confused.

  "Yeah it is…" Ian said.

  "What is it supposed to mean?"

  "'Slugg,' like a slug. You know, Shellos or Slugma," Plumeria clarified.

  Rapp looked at them like they were talking craziness to her. "I always thought he was called 'Slugg' cuz he hit hard, you know, like 'he slugged that guy real good,'" Rapp said.

  "Really?" Sophocles' voice piped up, hope entering his tone.

  "Yeah. Figure you're a big guy so you hit hard," Rapp said with a simple shrug as if that had always been the truth. "Ain't that why everyone calls him that?"

  "You know, let's go with that…" Plumeria said.

  Fifteen minutes later, Doc was having Sophocles inspecting other machines in the center for what maintenance needed to be done while Plumeria, Ian, and Rapp were outside with huge grins on their faces. "Thanks for providing the motivation, Rapp," Ian said.

  "Motivation? What you mean?" Rapp asked.

  "That boy Slugg there has the fattest crush on you," Plumeria explained.

  Rapp scoffed. "He's cool, but I ain't dating no fatty."

  "Oh, he's a little husky and you disqualify him?" Ian teased playfully. "I thought being rich was all that mattered to you anyways."

  "Psh, he ain't rich-" Rapp froze as it hit her.

  "I think Shady House was his parents' vacation home?" Ian said uncertainly.

  "They own a bunch of property in Malie City and Heahea Beach," Plumeria said.

  Ian noticed a hint of a blush hitting Rapp's cheeks. "Okay, well he still fat though," Rapp said, regaining her signature scowl.

  "He's lost a lot of weight," Plumeria said. "I wonder what he'd do if someone hinted he might have a shot with his dream girl if he started working out for real."

  "Dream girl? I ain't no one's dream girl," Rapp said defensively.

  "You see how red his cheeks got when you hugged him?" Ian teased. "That boy would jump in front of Surge's Zapdos for you right now."

  "He would?" Rapp asked in disbelief. "A guy would go that far from just a hug?"

  Ian shrugged. "A guy like him? Yes actually."

  "You know, he's smart and rich. If that boy loses some weight, I might think about bein' his dream girl," Rapp said half-jokingly as she strolled back in the Pokemon Center.

  Plumeria folded her arms and gave Ian a look.

  "What?" He asked.

  'When did you become a matchmaker?" Plumeria asked.

  "I don't know, figured I'd give today's hero some help," Ian said. "He could end up being a big asset for Po Town if he's properly motivated."

  Plumeria eyed him curiously. "I like the thought. We'll see how long it lasts though."

  "Yeah, we'll see," Ian said.

  "And wait, are you going to see Grimsley today?" Plumeria asked.

  Ian nodded.

  Plumeria reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a folded up piece of paper. "Give this to him, it's the part we need."

  Ian took it and put it in his own pocket. "Got it. Am I supposed to be paying for it?"

  "We're a little low on compensation, but I'll try to have Tom give you an IOU," Plumeria said before leaning in. "I haven't told anyone how you're getting those Star Pieces, so consider this my price for staying silent."

  Ian rolled his eyes. "Fine…"

  ***

  Well after the Pokemon Center's re-opening, Ian went to Grimsley to pick up Rylee's Poke Ball as well as hand the specs for the part they needed to Grimsley. Which was quickly followed by a rigorous training session for Impidimp, Sawsbuck, and Wartortle. When Grimsley departed, Tupp found his way over to work out, something he'd started doing more and more of. It helped keep Selene off his mind and even got Ian motivated to join for some of the easier parts. Maybe he saw Selene eye-banging Gaeric and decided to get yoked. Not a bad idea honestly.

  The duo was halfway through a workout routine when Ian noticed a wide, waddling figure approach them.

  "Slugg, the fuck you doing out here?" Tupp demanded.

  "Uh… Hey Tupp…" Sophocles started. "I was wondering if I could join your guys' workout group."

  "It's not a group," Tupp said. "Just something we do out here."

  "Well can I join in then? I wanna lose some more weight, y'know?" Sophocles said, looking down at his baggy black tank top where his belly still jutted out in front of him.

  "One sec, Slugg," Tupp said, leaning in close to Ian. "Bro, you think we should let him?"

  Ian shrugged. "This ain't exactly a private club."

  Tupp eyed Sophocles suspiciously for a few moments before leaning back in close to Ian and whispering. "He starts working out with us, then he gonna wanna train Pokemon with us too. You sure you okay with that?"

  "I don't see a problem with it," Ian said simply.

  "But if he gonna start training Pokemon with us, you sure he'll be worth it?" Tupp said. "His Pokemon ain't that strong anyways."

  Ian shook his head and leaned in closer, whispering to his best bud with a certain intensity. "Tupp, remember where I come from, where Alola was a video game and shit?"

  "Yeah," Tupp said.

  "This guy was a Trial Captain for the Hoku'lani Observatory. He was a great trainer. I think he just needed the proper motivation," Ian explained.

  "Motivation? The fuck's his motivation now, yo?" Tupp asked.

  Ian stymied a laugh. "He's got a huge crush on Rapp."

  Tupp burst out with laughter, shaking his head in disbelief. "No way Slugg here's going after Rapp," Tupp said a bit loudly.

  Ian shrugged. "He seems pretty sincere."

  "She gonna sincerely smack the shit out of him if he ain't careful," Tupp said dismissively. The two stood in silence for a bit before Tupp eyed Ian curiously. "You really think it's a good idea?"

  Ian shrugged. "Couldn't hurt. Po Town needs all the help it can get."

  Tupp grimaced. "Well if you okay with it, I'll give him a shot. But he ain't holding us back, a'ight?"

  Ian fist bumped Tupp. "Deal."

  Tupp then marched over to Sophocles, eyeing him skeptically. "So I hear you like Rapp?"

  "R-Rapp?" Sophocles said nervously. "I uh-"

  Tupp shook his head. "Don't deny, you can't even say two words, and your cheek's already going red."

  Sophocles tensed, but didn't deny the accusation.

  "I think she gonna eat you up and spit yo' fatass out like a snack," Tupp said. "But if you gonna give it a shot anyways, you can join us. But there ain't gonna be no bitchin' or whinin' okay? Rapp hates that shit."

  "There won't be," Sophocles said with sudden conviction as he clenched his fists.

  ***

  While Sophocles wasn't able to keep up with the length of the exercises, he did as many as he could until he couldn't go on any longer, which Ian had to acknowledge was a good first step. The three took a dip in the creek to wash off the sweat and stink before heading back into town, where Plumeria just so happened to be looking for them.

  "Ultra Storm just started manifesting nearby," Plumeria said. "Was gonna check with Guzma if we could see what's happening with it."

  Ian shrugged. "As long as we don't think Sinclair's gonna attack us while we're gone, it should be cool."

  "Also, why are you guys all wet?" Plumeria asked.

  "Slugg came and did a workout with us, we wanted to wash off in the creek," Tupp answered back with pride.

  "He did, did he?" Plumeria said. "Good for him. Hope you didn't scare him off."

  "He did alright for a first time, yo," Tupp said.

  "Well then, get your Pokemon healed up if they need it, I assume Guzma will give us the go ahead," Plumeria said.

  ***

  The Ultra Storm had turned out to be rather easy this time around. Ian's Tyrunt made short work of the Alpha Ledian. A simple Ancient Power was all it took to ground the Bug-Flying Type, and Rock Tomb and Thunder Fang did the rest. As the blue wormhole manifested, pulling Ledian back to whence it came, Tyrunt lifted her snout to the air and growled hungrily before going on ahead, following her nose. "What is it now, Tyrunt?" Ian asked as he jogged over to collect the cube that was the Medium EXP Candy that had been dropped in Alpha Ledian's wake. Once jamming it into his right pocket, he heard Tyrunt give a savage growl, followed by a terrified squeak.

  Ian dashed over in the clearing amidst the Ultra Storm where Tyrunt had its prey cornered, suddenly feeling guilty about Tyrunt actually eating a scared little Pokemon that had just appeared in an Ultra Storm. Thank goodness Alpha Nidoking got distracted instead of going after me, I would've been a goner. Tyrunt closed in on whatever small creature had appeared, and Ian whipped out his Ultra Ball, his heartstrings pulling at him to spare the soon to be victim. Tyrunt froze in surprise as the red beam hit it, recalling it into its Ultra Ball. Ian even felt a light shake in his hand before he shrank it down and took a look at the source of the terrified squeak.

  Trying to hide in the grass, frozen in fear, was a yellow rodent Pokemon with red coloration on its arms, cheeks, and ears, along with plus signs on its cheeks. A Plusle…

  Ian knelt down, trying to be non-threatening as he heard Tupp barking orders at his Vibrava who was likely still engaged in combat with an oddly tanky Bidoof. "Hey there, Plusle," Ian said tenderly. Plusle recoiled with more terrified squeaks, curling up as it seemingly accepted its fate. "I'm not gonna hurt you. Sorry about Tyrunt earlier, I know she's really scary."

  Plusle uncovered its eyes, which had begun to water. I can only imagine how dangerous crying must be for Electric Type Pokemon. "It's gonna be okay. Do you know if your Minun's around?" Ian asked, remembering the two Pokemon were normally inseparable.

  Plusle squeaked even louder, more painfully at the mention of Minun and Ian realized what had happened. You got pulled away and it didn't. "Ouch," Ian said. "Well Plusle, I think we need to get out of here since it's really dangerous. You mind coming with me?" Ian asked, getting the shrunken Poke Ball from his left pocket and expanding it before rolling it over slowly to Plusle. Plusle looked at him, eyes full of vulnerability before approaching the Poke Ball and tapping the central button, opening it and causing Plusle to become engulfed in red light before de-manifesting. The ball didn't even shake, and Ian smiled happily as he grabbed the Poke Ball. "There's someone I want you to meet," he said.

  ***

  It was getting late, so the group didn't wait around long after collecting the shards. They did find a couple Pearls in and even a Nugget in the Ultra Storm, a haul Guzma was sure to be pleased with. But Ian raced ahead of the squad with vigor, wanting to get his precious new capture to someone who desperately needed it as much as it likely needed her.

  Sawsbuck was due for a trek around Elk Grove, but Ian left that for later, instead beelining for the apartment building where most of the orphan kids stayed. He debated getting Mina to help with this, as it was something she'd really enjoy, but remembered it was likely better that two Fallers from a similar world should probably share the moment alone.

  Ian was led around the apartments by a woman he hadn't met before, but was likely one of the stewards, or Dirtbags as Tupp called them. Ian gave Tom a wave from across the building as Ian continued up the second story. The kindly native woman knocked on a door. "Sarah? It's Maleah. I have a guest who wants to see Rylee."

  The door opened quickly, and a pale-skinned, exasperated woman answered the door. "What you want?" She asked bluntly.

  "Could I talk to Rylee alone for a minute?" Ian asked.

  "How do you know her?" Sarah asked.

  "I'm Ian Cougar, from the recon squad. We picked her up in the Ultra Storm and brought her to Po Town…"

  Sarah gasped. "Oh you're the prince. I don't know if you want to talk to her right now, she's really upset."

  Ian smiled. "I think I have just the something to cheer her up."

  "Pula mentioned something about Guzma ordering her to allow a very certain thing for Rylee. Is this about that?" She asked, a dread in her voice.

  "Yeah, but there won't be anything to worry about. I'm gonna help take care of things," Ian said.

  Sarah eyed him skeptically. "There are going to have to be some ground rules if it's what I think it is."

  "Of course," Ian said."

  "I hope you know what you're doing. I'll go get her though," Sarah said, leaving the doorway.

  I should've consulted with Auntie Pula first. I'll have to stop by the school after blessing the crops tomorrow morning. Ian turned to Maleah and smiled nervously. "Could I have some privacy? Shouldn't take too long."

  The native woman shrugged, but acquiesced and began walking along the walkway.

  Little Rylee appeared with a smile, but her eyes seemed a bit watery like she'd been crying. "Hey Mr. Ian. Do I get to meet your Impidimp today?" Rylee asked.

  Ian knelt down and waited for the door to shut. "Not today, but I have someone else I want you to meet."

  "Who?" Rylee asked.

  "Well, I met them in an Ultra Storm, just like I met you," Ian explained.

  "When you fought the giant lobster?" Rylee asked in surprise.

  "Like that," Ian said as he pulled the shrunken Poke Ball from his pocket.

  "Wait, am I getting a Pokemon?" Rylee asked excitedly.

  Ian nodded. "Yes, but I want to make sure you two get along first-"

  "I'll do anything Mr. Ian!" Rylee said. "Please, please, please, pleeeease?"

  Ian couldn't help but laugh. "You two gotta promise to be extra nice to Ms. Sarah okay? And you can't have it out during class."

  "I promise!" Rylee declared.

  "Okay," Ian said as he handed the Poke Ball to her. She hesitantly tapped the button at the center of Poke Ball, opening it up and manifesting the electric rodent. "It's a-"

  "Plusle!" Rylee cheered, eyes watering with happy tears.

  The electric rodent manifested facing Rylee and seemed rather alarmed at the frantic young girl, but once Plusle sensed it was safe, it relaxed a bit.

  "Can I touch it?" Rylee asked.

  "Carefully," Ian said. "This little one just got out of an Ultra Storm."

  Rylee extended a hand slowly, which Plusle watched suspiciously for a few moments before it looked up to Rylee once more. "Hey Plusel, I'm Rylee. I'm from an Ultra Storm too." Rylee's index finger made contact with Plusle, who didn't shy away. Then Plusle moved forward, letting Rylee caress its cheeks as it cheered happily. "This is so cool… and you're so cute, Plusle," Rylee said. "My very own Pokemon. Can I hold him?"

  "I'm not sure if it's a boy or a girl, haven't gone to the Pokemon Center yet," Ian explained. "But be slow and gentle and I bet Plusle will let you."

  Rylee extended her other hand out slowly, taking Plusle by its torso and lifting it to her chest as she held it, tears of joy streaming down her face. "Plusle, you and I are gonna be best friends."

  Ian realized he had a smile so big it was starting to hurt his facial muscles. "Do you remember that Plusle usually has a partner Pokemon with them?"

  "Yeah, Minun," Rylee said. "Did Minun come with Plusle in the Ultra Storm?"

  Ian shook his head. "No."

  "No Minun?" Rylee said as she held Plusle in front of her, still crying. "Well Plusle, I'll be your Minun."

  Plusle gave a heartfelt cheer and Rylee held Plusle back to her chest, and Plusle's little arms did their best to embrace Rylee. Ian felt his eyes starting to water and felt all of the heartfelt warmth surging through his body. This is what we're protecting here. This is what we're all about. "Okay Rylee, I gotta go now."

  "We can't play with Impidimp?" Rylee asked.

  "No, I gotta go to Elk Grove and grow some berries," Ian said as he stood up and knocked on the apartment door. Sarah answered in moments and her initial frown turned to heartfelt surprise as she saw Rylee and Plusle embracing, both of them crying happy tears.

  "Okay young lady, there are going to be some ground rules for you and that Pokemon," Sarah explained.

  "I promise I'll follow every one," Rylee said through her tears. "We'll be good, we promise."

  "Okay," Sarah said, seemingly pleased with the answer. She then turned her gaze to Ian. "If there are any issues…"

  "You come get me," Ian said sincerely. "You got enough on your plate."