After having to swallow a bitter pill courtesy of the parents, George and Blitzer resigned themselves to their room. All that was missing was a whimper. Instead of spending the day outside with the others, or going out exploring, here they were stuck to the confines of the hovel. Given the tone of the conversation just now, George found it a struggle to believe they even had that liberty left. Maybe they could be loud with their toys if they were lucky. All to shelter and protect them from the green storm. He sighed.

“So, that happened.”

“It sure did,” Blitzer said before blowing on the paper spinner. It spun around much as it did a few days ago, much like it did on the day he first got it. And there was a strong chance that it would spin in the same way when he was ready to put it away for good. Blitzer didn’t chuckle, or smile, or so much as move for that matter. He just sat near his toy box, one arm slumped, tail curled around his side, messing around with the spinner. Neither he or George said anything. Blitzer only blew on the spinner, and George only watched and listened to the spinner being blown around, until the tedium became too much.

“Do you have any other toys?”

“Of course I do. Do you want one?”

“Yeah. It’s not like there’s much else for me to do in here, is there?”

Blitzer reached in the basket with his free claw, then tossed two objects over to the other side of the room; they landed halfway across and slid the remainder of the distance towards George, who picked them up with a bored groan. The objects were a wooden paddle covered in a red cloth, and a tiny marble ball made out of a soft metal. George hummed a dull note.

‘ Well, this is familiar, at least. It’s not a complicated game, is it? Makes sense that they would have it here too. ’

For a while, George kept to himself trying to keep the ball in the air, the thump of it hitting the paddle intermingling with the sound of Blitzer blowing away at the spinner. The expression on his face remained ever so dull, and Blitzer wasn’t faring much better. Sometimes he landed it, other times it rolled away, but that was it. There wasn’t much to it. Just like the spinner. Just like the other toys. A seven year old would have been content for ages, but George had a year or five over that. It wasn’t long before he put the paddle beside him, leaned over back, and began drumming his hands on his belly, trying to recreate the beats to some tunes he’d heard on the television back home. But that wasn’t much better.

‘ I wish I had a television to watch right now. Even if it’s just one hour. I could learn a thing or two… ’

A blue wave crashed over George’s head. Out of the ocean, into the river, some might say. Except that an actual river sounded wonderful at a time where he was stuck in a dusky cave. His body sure craved jumping into one, in any case. What else was there to do, except talk about the Soldiers again? The Pokemon that had gotten him stuck here to begin with? He and Blitzer weren’t in any mood to be discussing that further. No surprises to be had there. Was there any alternative though, except for sitting around here waiting for the day to turn to night, and then for the night to turn bright?

Simple answer, there wasn’t. Messing around with a ball and paddle lost its appeal already, and that box wasn’t bound to contain anything much better. Once the thought of discussing the situation at hand crossed his mind, it stayed there. What was happening? Thieves were supposedly running amok, but were they? Or was there more to it? There had to be: George was sure of it. He looked over to his straw bed, which the flute piece they’d found a few days ago was still buried in, jutting out of the straws slightly on a side facing the wall. It was hidden, yet easy to take out, in case that was ever needed. A nagging feeling tingled in George’s head that the flute piece wasn’t merely something neat and shiny looking. The idea clicked too well.

“So… are you doing alright, at least?”

Blitzer sat slumped over with his knees up, one arm leaning against a leg while propping up his head. “No.”

George’s eyes were drawn to the ground. “Yeah…”

“Why do they always have to keep me in here when there’s trouble…” Blitzer let the spinner drop out of his hand, right back into the toy box.

“Maybe they’re just worried and they’ll let us back out,” said George. He assumed the best from Nero and Nera. They were good people, at the end of the day. Even if Nero was easy to upset and Nera’s nagging got annoying, they meant well. More than he could say for all other adults he met prior to that. Blitzer had a different set of eyes viewing the situation, however..

“No they won’t. They never do.”

“Have you tried asking them?”

“More times than you can imagine. I’m telling you, George, once they’re all scaredy like they are now, there’s no point in even bothering.” Blitzer grumbled through bared teeth; for a second, George thought he heard a sharper, more animal-like growl in there, and felt his muscles tense up. “I’m getting tired of them walking all over my life like that. Darn soldiers. I’ll show them what I’m made of if I have to! Just because everyone here rolls over doesn’t mean I will.”

George’s ears went down; his tail impatiently slapped the ground he was sitting on. “Uh, what do you mean, roll over?” ‘Wasn’t it you who said no one is strong enough to stand up to them? ’

“Everyone here just gives up when they see soldiers. Like today. Oh, they want us to look out for thieves now. I guess we will have to give most of our food again sometime soon. Everyone hates Soldiers, yet no one does anything.”’ Blitzer fell over backwards against the wall. He had a look of defeat on his face.

“I know they’re supposed to be strong, I’ve seen it myself! And I know my parents are scared of me getting seriously hurt because I like trying to be hero! But someone has to do something.”

George’s eyes were drawn to Blitzer’s side. His back still wasn’t looking particularly flexible. “Can you really blame them, though? After how badly beat up you came back a few days ago? We didn’t even tell them half of what we had gotten up to, yet they’re already frightened. It could have been much worse.”

“I know, George,” Blitzer muttered, his eyes half closed as he eyed the ground under his feet. George put the tips of his fingers against one another, and breathed in.

“Truth to be told, I’m glad you have parents like them. They’re incredibly harsh, yes, but it comes from a good place.”

“What do you mean?” Blitzer asked.

“All I’ve ever known was the former. You might take it for granted, but… living without others looking out for you, or worrying about you, or wishing the best for you? It hurts. It really does.” George blew his breath out through his nose, deflating the tension in his belly. Blitzer wouldn’t look him in the eye; a frown was visible, even on just the corner of his mouth.

“Yeah. I… I understand you. I guess I’m still lucky in a way. But sometimes, I get the feeling that they’re too afraid to do things that will really help us out. Just look at the Soldiers! They’re getting worse every day!” Blitzer said, as he proceeded to wave his claws around in wild gestures. “First they demand we accept them, then they impose more and more rules on us, and now they’re taking our food. What is going to happen next? Are they going to start taking Pokemon out of their homes, because they suspect something? Someone has to stand up them, George!”

“But what about that one in the square just now? How is anyone supposed to stand up to that?”

Blitzer almost choked on his breath as he spat it out. “Egh, I don’t know. But someone has to do something! Even if it doesn’t turn out well! They’ve already taken half of our food, what comes next?”

George sighed. “You know the answer to that better than I do.”

“Take the rest of our food. Take innocent Pokemon away,” Blitzer said, staring off at the wall opposite to George bearing a wincing expression on his face, as if he had just stepped on one of his toys by accident.

“I was more thinking about the shark,” George said.

“...Shark?” Blitzer replied. George pressed one of his hands against his face. ‘ Stupid me .’

“That monster from the square, I mean. With the teeth, the scythe arms… the star on its head. It looked like it would eat you and me for breakfast, and that’s just one of them!”

“Yeah,” Blitzer said, now shivering. “To be honest, I never knew a Pokemon like that existed! It’s like a Scyther, crossed with a Sharpedo, and then a Salamence, too! If that’s the kind of Soldiers that are out there, then it’s no surprise no one is willing to stand up. But…”

George’s hands were firmly wrapped around his scalchop. Fiddling with the tool he had yet to find a use for, he watched as Blitzer was caught up in a struggle. One side wanted to make a stand, the other wanted him to get inside and stop trying to scare off rain. The hero inside clashed against the little body Blitzer was stuck in. Maybe if he had his wings, he’d stand a chance. Sharper claws, hotter flames, that fearsome Charizard roar. George couldn’t help but admire the idea of standing beside one as a companion. Maybe he and Blitzer would have a chance if they were fully evolved. If it wasn’t already futile though, what with them being all alone and up against the whole world. The whole town. The whole building, even.

“...I just hope we can actually live one day. Not just be stuck here, slowly losing everything.”

George nodded. “Don’t get me wrong, I understand you. But we’re just kids. We almost died over a flute the other day.” Blitzer groaned to these words, tepidly admitting George was right with a nod. George steeled his nerves; now was the time to bring it up. “Speaking of that flute, aren’t you getting a bad feeling thinking about it too? I mean, we got it a few days ago, and the first thing we hear from the Soldiers is that they’re looking for something stolen.”

Blitzer shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe it is, it wouldn’t surprise me. What do you think they’ll do once they find out we have it?”

George drew an exasperated breath. “I wish I knew the answer myself.”

A loud bang broke through the door. The two children jumped off the ground while sitting, their frowns turning to grimaces in an instant as the door swung open. Nero hopped in.

“Lads, Speedy wants to see you.”

Blitzer and George scratched their heads. “Uhh, what?”

“You heard me,” said Nero with a flick of his ears. “Speedy is at the front door. Your mother and I just got done talking with him. Best to not keeping him waiting.”

“But weren’t we supposed to stay here?” George asked with a thump of his tail. Nero rolled his eyes.

“Turns out one of ‘em came running back, gave some huge apology for taking all our food two weeks ago. Don’t know what that’s all about, but I’m guessin’ it’ll be fine letting you out for now. While Speedy is watching you, that is.”

“Awesome!” Blitzer held up a clenched fist, his tail excitedly swinging around as his mind wandered off to thoughts of adventure. Of course, Nero could see straight through him. If George could, Blitzer’s father sure could do it too.

“Wouldn’t get too excited if I were you. Only reason we’re lettin’ you out now is because Speedy’s there to make sure you don’t run off. I’m not tolerating you coming back like you did three days ago, mister.”

“Oh.” Blitzer’s excitement quickly faded. George stuck his tongue into one of his freckled cheeks. ‘ So much for adventure. ’

* * *

“And remember, don’t lose sight of them! They’ll be halfway across the world before you know it.”

“Don’t worry, Nera. Got my own kid who’s the same way, remember?”

‘Of course! I hope little Junior’s doing well!“

“He sure is! Gets along with your kids just fine. Have a good day!”

A few paw waves later, the door closed. The three began to walk down the hill into the village proper. Or so anyone would think looking at them. Just a few steps further, barely out of hearing range for someone standing on the other end of the doro, Speedy went from humming a tune to stretching his arms and lightning bolt tail out in an exaggerated manner. “Aaargh, feels good to be outdoors, don’t it?”

“Sure does,” Blitzer said with a smile and a sway of his tail. “So what happened? Why are my parents suddenly not all stuck up?”

The Raichu burst into a chuckle. “Should’ve stuck ‘round in the square after the Sharpedo-face left. Previous nutter in charge of that whole lot came running back into the square. Gave this big teary eyed apology for taking all our food away. ‘Ooooh, I’m so sorry! Never thought it would bring you aaal so much paaaain!’” he said, mimicking the speech with a high pitched wail only a clown was capable of. The two children laughed, and Speedy caught the laughter too after a while.

“Best part, he made ‘imself sound so genuine. As if he actually cares, hah! Hindsight, it sucks I put Junior back indoors, would’ve been funny to see his reaction to it!”

“Heh, where is Junior, actually?” George struggled to get the words out of his throat without breaking into another chuckle.

Junior shrugged. “With the other kids, probably. If their parents let ‘em back out. Sure hope so. But before you go runnin’ off, mind listening to what I have to say? Got a favor to ask you two, and yes, you two in particular.”

George raised an eye, while Blitzer gave a curious flick of his tail. “...Why us?”

Speedy waved a finger in front of the Oshawott’s face. “‘Cause you and he are the only two in this village stubborn enough to do it. Especially after that little stint in the cave a few days ago. I need some good help real bad, you hear?”

Blitzer folded his arms. “But we’re just kids. How could we help you?”

Speedy nodded. “Look, I know this’ll be weird and all, but I got myself into quite the pickle, alright. Some thieves broke into my house last night, you hear? Made off with an important little heirloom of mine, and I want it back.”

“y-You want us to go after thieves for you?” Blitzer asked, almost choking on his words.

“Well, yeah, but you wont be doing it for me. You’ll be doing it with me.”

A bad chill went down George’s spine. How many times has he gone down this path in the past few weeks? Sure, he’s gotten tougher, but with what happened in Little Rock still fresh on the mind, going on another quest out to the middle of nowhere was beyond foolish. Even Blitzer was having doubts about the idea.

“But we’re just kids, what can we do against adult Pokemon? Feral Pokemon are awful enough for us.” Blitzer stretched his back, tail jittering back and forth all the while. The scratches might’ve been gone on the outside, but Blitzer could feel beyond the skin, and the mark of that pedestal couldn’t have fully healed. Not this fast.

“Hah, say it with a little less emotion, and you’re startin’ to sound like Junior! That’s where I come in, lad.” Speedy nodded his head; something about the motion of his head felt off. It looked more like a Magnezone nod than anything a Raichu would do. “I know who the thief is, and I know how to get ‘em. I just need to make sure we won’t be in there alone.”

“Wait, what do you mean you know who the thief is?” asked George.

“Got a little… history with ‘em, lad. Some old drama, nothing to worry about.”

Every second, George felt a little extra concern about this whole plan. Nothing about it seemed right. Shadier than what goes on in the back of Hein’s cafe, and intentionally vague. He shook his head. Speedy was one terrible, terrible liar. If he was human, his cheeks would’ve been redder and hotter than a Charizard’s breath. He knew it, and by the looks of it, Blitzer did too. Usually he would be the one jumping and cheering at the idea of getting to do something heroic for someone else. Today though, all he had to give were folded arms and whip-like flicks of his tail. Finding the excitement in him now was like looking for a diamond in a haystack.

Still, George wasn’t willing to rebuke Speedy, either. Whether it was a longing to not be stuck inside the hovel all day, or that stubborn wanderlust inside of him speaking its mind, or something else, he wasn’t willing to call out the lie for what it was. Blitzer, however, didn’t appear to be so tame.

“Alright, I don’t fully believe you, okay? You’re acting all weird, Speedy. It’s not like you to keep things from me.”

A mist of saliva flew out of Speedy’s mouth as his teeth bit down on each other. “Trust me, kids, t’is a bunch of old drama that’ll take a long time to explain. Blitzer, you know I don’t lie to you. Most of this town wouldn’t have cared about steppin’ on your toes, but I do. Alright?”

The Raichu gave the two children a smirk and wide eyes, kind of like a small Pikachu would. The weight he’d put on since evolving and his sharp ears weren’t doing him any favors. George bit his lip and pulled it into his mouth slightly, making himself look like an elderly dwarf. He felt awkward.

Blitzer hummed a curious note, then clicked his tongue a few times. “Well yeah, you’re right. Are you sure that we can do this? I hurt my back pretty bad, and I’m not sure I could handle getting hurt that badly again.”

Smiling, Speedy nodded energetically. “Of course! I know what we’re doing. And it’s not as if we’ll be helpless, either. Those thieves are hidin’ right in Agate Township, just in plain sight! If something goes wrong, we’ll have plenty of help all around us in no time.”

Blitzer kept his tail close by as he thought the request through. George stood beside him, hands clasped together, hoping Blitzer wouldn’t say yes so easily. Another journey into the dark was not what either of them needed. Not with Blitzer’s back, not with the Soldiers roaming around, not with the parents ready to ground them for a whole month if things went awry. Difficult as it was to admit, perhaps dropping the heroism might do them some good. They weren’t fit to weather the storm just yet.

Alas, Blitzer has other ideas. From the moment he sighed in a high pitched tone, George knew he was in for a disappointment. “Alright. I’m willing to give it a try. As long as you can keep us from getting into too much danger, I’ll be fine with it,” he said. While he was drawing in a breath, George crossed his arms.

‘ Argh, not now, Blitzer! What if they find out? ’

“And also, could you keep this a secret from my parents?” Blitzer continued, now holding his tail in his hands. “They’re already on edge from me getting hurt. I don’t want to disappoint them again.”

Speedy patted the Charmander on both his shoulders: One with a paw, the other with his tail. “No worries, lad. You know I’ve got your back. What do you say? Have we got a deal?”

Blitzer nodded back with a frown. “Deal.”

“Awesome. And you there, Oshawott lad, what about you?” asked Speedy, staring on hopeful. George sighed back.

“As long as we don’t get into trouble.”

“ I’ll tell your parents that I had you help me around the home for a while. Then they’ll blame me at least, heheh,” Speedy said, grinning. “Anyway lads, If we’re all in agreement, then I’ll be back tomorrow morning to get you two. Agate Township ain’t so far away, ‘s a little shy of hour’s walk I’m pretty sure. See you around.”

With that, Speedy turned tail and walked down the hill, occasionally turning backwards to wave a paw through the air. After he vanished out of sight, and all three of them were done waving at each other, George jump turned towards Blitzer, resisting the urge to grab him by the shoulders and shake him around.

“What are you doing?! You just said it yourself, we can’t go out right now! Your parents would lock us up and throw away the key!”

Blitzer looked away in shame, faintly in the direction of the village square and the main entrance, which were hidden behind rain soaked homes. “Yes, I know that, but,” he paused to sigh. George wasn’t having any of it. Already he could hear Nero barking at them to not set one foot out of the house for a whole week. “It’s Speedy. I can’t just say no to him.”

“Why though?” George asked with a slap of his tail. Blitzer grabbed onto his tail and looked down at the Scalchop on his chest, which was as clean as a whistle.

“He’s been there for me all these years. Even when my parents were starting to get sick of me, he’d still take my side. It’s done him no good, yet he never changed. After all that, I cant let him down.”

“But you know what your dad said. How are we going to talk our way out of this one if he finds out?”

“I know that. And believe me, I feel horrible having to disappoint him and my mom again. Because I do get jumpy and run off, they’re totally right,” Blitzer explained, his hands and tail doing half the talking for him. “But Speedy is someone I can trust. He sure got me out of the weeds more times than I can remember. Like one time with the Drilbur, he jumped right in to help me out, even though he has his own fear of earthlings to deal with. If there’s anyone in this village that we can trust with something like this, it’s him.”

George’s eyes were drawn away to a house on a distant hill. Lance’s house, most likely, though the Druddigon was nowhere to be seen. Anything to pull his attention away from the current situation was welcome in his book. Talking to Blitzer was like talking to a wall sometimes. Argue all you like, you’re always ending up eating your own words. Sometimes, it seemed like divine intervention from Arceus was the only thing capable of changing Blitzer’s mind. George shook his head, and accepted defeat.

“You better not be making jokes here, Blitzer…”

“Of course not.” Blitzer put his hands on George’s shoulders, squeezing them tight. “I would never joke about something like this! Ever!” he said. George replied with a tepid nod. ‘God, I sure hope so. If I can’t trust you, then who in this world can I?;

’”We’ll be fine, George. If you don’t trust Speedy, then trust me. Agate Township isn’t so far away. My parents and I have been there before. This is no Mystery Dungeon we’re tackling, alright? They might be thieves, but they’re still sane Pokemon,” Blitzer said. “Think of it like a good training opportunity, instead of a fight to survive.”

The hands on George’s shoulders squeezed harder; a groan came out of his throat. “Civilized, like Soldiers, you mean.”

Blitzer clicked his tongue. “Even Soldiers have standards. Ferals don’t. One pushes you around, the other one tries to eat you alive.”

George gulped. “e-Eaten alive?!”

“What do you think those Drilbur wanted to do to us? You saw them, right? Those eyes, and those claws? They one hundred percent thought you looked tasty, George.”

Blitzer took his hands back; he felt them trembling. “That’s enough,” George whimpered. ‘ No more, please. I like getting some sleep. ’ Life was a lot more manageable without knowing you’re one bad encounter away from being viciously mauled and devoured. Alas, that was a fact of life George couldn’t stay ignorant of.

“Sure, sure. What do you say, are you ready to go to Agate Township tomorrow?”

George let go of a shaky breath. “I’m not getting any more ready than this, I feel.” ’Not without anyone telling me what Agate Township or Pokemon thieves are like, anyway .’

Blitzer nodded; a smile appeared on his Charmander snout, which looked like it had grown a little over the past few days. “Great! I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow.”