Like rats abandoning a sinking ship, they ran. The sound of their hyperventilating and their sour stench lingered in the air they’d ran from. To think they of all Pokemon had the guts to go and rob thieves. Part of it was poetic, another was plain foolery, born from the stubbornness of one electric rodent with a chip on his shoulder. Or was it? They might have been backed into a corner, but they’d managed to subdue at least two of the thieves in the time it took for Gareda and her crew to intervene.

That split second decision Gareda had made paid off. All on the whims of her instincts, at that. One moment, she was busy with a routine checkup of some troops, to finding herself dashing through the streets and finding that one little Oshawott roaming about with that dimwitted looking lizard friend of his. He was wearing a red, woollen scarf this time. Had he been wearing that yesterday as well? Was it even the same Oshawott? Cooler minds would have said no to both. Gareda shook her head. Cooler minds were simplistic minds. It had to have been the same one. No ordinary Oshawott could send her panicking, sensory organs flaring from an otherworldly presence. There was always a bigger purpose to the way life’s threads spun. The panic happened for a reason.

“Banana beak, get over here.”

Vli hastily scooted inside the building. “Y-yes, lord Gareda?”

“Can you follow those three that left the building as long as they’re around town? If you spot anything off, tell me.”

“Yes, my lord.” Vli flapped his wings as he hopped out of the building; it was then that he took off. Gareda grumbled to herself as the Toucannon’s wingbeats steadily faded away into the background noise of Agate Township.

‘ He’ll find something, alright. No ordinary Pokemon has this kind of aura .’

Sighing, the Garchomp turned her attention to the ruins she and her fellow troops were standing in. It was nothing short of a divine miracle that the destruction hadn’t spread into other buildings. “My lord, we’ve apprehended all of the lowlives running this place,” one Zeroara wearing a dark green belt reported, bearing a smile through which his upper teeth stuck out. A proud soldier in the Queen’s army, by the looks of it. Gareda tilted her head up a notch, her own upper teeth sticking out of her mouth in the same fashion.

“Good, good. You’d think thieves would have built a secret exit out of their little hideout, but tsk.” She spat a loogie out at the tied up Toxicroak laying in the corner, who had been beaten into an unconscious pulp. He was in for a rude awakening. “If they were smart, they wouldn’t be thieves.”

The Zeroara wildly brushed his arm past his chest, a complementary swing of his tail sending little sparks flying through the alcohol-ridden air. “What shall we do with ‘em? Can’t just leave ‘em sitting around here.”

Gareda tilted her head towards where the front of the store used to be. All the fighting had reduced it to splinters. “To the station, of course. Like to know what exactly they’ve been shipping their way through here. The Azure Flute could’ve been here.”

“You sure about that?” the Zeroara asked. Gareda shook her head.

“Hard to believe, isn’t it? They’re lowlives trying to swindle people for easy money. But the chance’s always there. Like finding a diamond in Luminity’s canals, sure, but it’s there.” She walked over to an overturned barrel and kicked it against the counter. “You can go get started on that now, by the way. Take the fools and drag their sorry arses to HQ. Wouldn’t even let rookies wipe my hands with ‘em.”

“Aye!”

With help from a Machoke wearing a similar green band around its chest, the Zeroara dragged the thugs off through the mud. Gareda breathed in deep. The smell when they got to the station was probably an improvement to the musk in here. Mud’s predictable. You know it’ll be bad. Slimy. Ugly. But never rancid like the wine. Never dusty like the old clothing. Never moldy like some of the foodstuffs strewn over the floor. Business hadn’t been good for the bunch. Why else would they have been stealing from a lonely little burg? If they had just picked a different hovel to raid, they’d have made off like queens. Queens of a Durant hill, but queens nonetheless.

Gareda stretched her arms out over her head, closing her eyes as let the muscles in her back and shoulders loosen up. When they opened back up, there was no one to be seen. Just the same noise from the backroom, the same sour musk of old liquids in air, and the same clutter on the ground. The Garchomp tapped her feet on the ground.

‘What is taking those idiots so long… Every second spent here is two seconds off our lives.’

While waiting on the Soldiers in the back, Gareda spent some time swiping her claws at various bits and pieces of wood that had once been part of the front wall or furniture. The scythe fins on her arms sliced through like a well sharpened axe or tusk of a Haxorus, shredding whatever remained of the wood. The lone Soldier keeping watch over what was left of the entrance went from an iron stance to caressing his spear in search of comfort. Gareda’s scowl had reemerged, and she had plenty of energy flowing through her.

‘Shouldn’t have sent the thugs off. Time’s perfect for practicing my technique, and what do I do? Get ‘em hauled off to the station. Wonderful.

Gareda raised her talons and cut through the remains of the counter, just as a figure emerged from the backroom; splinters flew past the fiery figure, who jumped back bearing a shocked look.

“Aah!”

The sensors on Gareda’s head vibrated. She lifted her striking arm up from the ground, and composed herself. “There you are. What took you so long?”

The figure cautiously stepped back into the room bearing a nervous smile. One meeting of the eyes confirmed what Gareda’s sensors had already picked up on: A Magmar. “There was a basement to go through, my Lord. Quite a lot of other junk in there.”

Gareda raised an eye as she wiped her arms of any wood chippings that might have landed on them. “Well, Luffy? Did you find anything down there?”

The Magmar shook her head. “We’re going to have to check the place more thoroughly, but no sign of anything peculiar down there. Typical thieving stuff, really.”

“No sign of the flute?”

“Nothing. No notes or messages or anything of the sort.”

With a scowl, Gareda spread her arms wide and cracked the muscles in both. “Looks like we have some interrogating to do, then. I don’t buy for a single second that these thieves have seen none of what we’re looking for.”

Luffy smacked her lips. “What makes you say that? They’re just thieves.”

Gareda replied with a dull groan. She swung her tail around as she turned back to face her guard. “Just thieves, you say. Pfft. Nothing in this world is it’s own contained thing. Every action always has a reaction somewhere, whether you believe it or not,” she said as she approached Luffy and caressed the side of her shoulder with a fin on one of her arms. Luffy’s body vibrated; the flame at the tip of her tail grew a little taller. “Our job is to find out just how far this web spreads. We might not find the flute connected to the web. But we may find a thread that leads to the flute. Any guesses on what?”

“I… I have no idea,” Luffy stammered. “This is kind of confusing.”

The Garchomp rolled her eyes. ‘ And this is the best Patrina’s given me. Arceus, have mercy on my soul .’ “What I mean is, we may find potential partners of theirs who may know more. About who took the flute piece.”

Luffy shrugged. “That I don’t know. All these guys were selling appears to all be stolen.”

“Do you have any better ideas?” Gareda asked.

“Not really.”

“Then just do as I say. It’s the best bet we’ve got. Now then, come down to the station with me. You and I are going to get those fools to talk.”

“R-really?” Luffy said, sounding pleasantly surprised. Gareda grunted at her from the entrance. She was already on her way there. Luffy exhaled and ran right after her.

* * *

Mud splattered all over their feet as they ran across the town. Tired as they were from escaping by the skin of their teeth, they had to run. With the dreadful state of the roads, it was a slog. One would have just as good of a time trying to run with an anchor tied around their waist. George started panting only a street away from the marketplace. He may as well have had an anchor tied around him. His body sure felt like one was.

Their run wasn’t going unnoticed, either. From Soldiers to pedestrians, a whole bunch of eyes were directed nowhere else but the strangers from a town next door. Some were annoyed, others were eerily looking at their scarves. Even the postbirds above weren’t keen on their presence. As if the whole town were nudging the three of them in their backs, steadily shoving them further towards the moat to make them take a dive and sleep with the Tentacruel.

Despite protests from Blitzer, Speedy wouldn’t stop until they had gotten out of the town in one piece. After an exhaustive run ripe with hostility from the locals, the three ran out of the town and back over the hill. The guards were either slacking off or didn’t care enough to try and stop them from leaving unchecked. Neither Speedy, George or Blitzer were in the mood to find out. Better to not know how it feels to have the tip of a spear pressed against your back.

Over the hill, the run gradually declined into a stumble, ending with a drop to the knees in Speedy’s case, and a belly flop for the other two. Blitzer landed with his tail curled up and touching his back, while George’s chest ended up pressing into the back of his scalchop, which got a wince out of him. Ears flat and teeth gritted, his hand unclenched from his scalchop, causing the badge he’d sandwiched in between one of the folds to roll off over the ground.

“Aargh.. Hey! Careful with that!”

Speedy jumped back to his feet and leapt at the badge before it rolled off into the green. “Didn’t come this far just to lose it out here, heheh.”

George looked up with a faceful of sand spread over his cheeks. “All of this just for a piece of metal?” he said, staring in disbelief at Speedy as he held the badge out in front of his face, positively beaming with confidence.

“It’s no mere piece of metal, lad. This is an important family heirloom of mine! Have had it for years, and it’s my most prized possession. Can’t believe I let those thieves snatch it in the middle of the night, just like that.”

Blitzer rolled onto his side with a groan. “How come they stole it to begin with? How could they just do that to you?” he said, dusting off his arms. “If I had something from my old father and someone tried to steal it, I’d turn them into ash!”

A soft grumble stirred in Blitzer’s throat. Speedy nervously chuckled. “Well, ehh, I had it perched on a dresser, heh.”

“You just had it out in the open?” George asked as he got back up.

“Pretty much.” Speedy scratched himself behind the ear. George couldn’t get his eyes to open past the halfway point after hearing him. ‘What a klutz.’

“I know, silly of me. I’ll do better from now on, though,” Speedy replied with a cheery smile, which vanished as the dirt in front of him suddenly crunched hard.

“That’s ridiculous! No one can just take something like that without any consequences!” Blitzer shouted, fists clenched and his tail sparking with a volcanic intensity that spooked George’s eyes open. “We should have broken that whole shop of theirs down!”

“Hey now, lad, don’t be upset for me. I’ve got my badge back, and that’s what counts,” Speedy said, gesturing with his front paws to try and get Blitzer to settle down.

“What do you mean, don’t be upset? They robbed you of your most important treasure! Took it right from you and wanted to sell it!” Blitzer shouted. “How could you be so laid back about it? I would burn a whole forest down to get anything reminding me of my old pops! Anything!!”

Blitzer spoke with a Charmeleon-like snarl. Harsh on the ear wouldn’t even begin to describe it. Both Speedy and George were on the backfoot, trying to put some distance in between themselves and Blitzer, lest they’d fall victim to an uncontrolled Flamethrower which, given the crackling sounds coming from behind the Charmander, were not going to stop at a layer of black soot.

“C-come on now, buddy, calm down!” Speedy said with a raised voice and a complementary spark. “You don’t want to end up like those folks we’ve just dealt with, do you?”

“Of course not!” Blitzer shouted. “But I can’t just let them get away with this! I wish I had something like you, something that reminds me of my old pops and moms. Anything!!”

George tried to approach Blitzer with his scalchop in hand. “Blitzer, don’t get upset over-”

“NO! You don’t understand!” Blitzer shouted back. George shrank back, shaking intensely as he watched the Pokemon he trusted more than any other fall deeper and deeper into a drunken rage. Fists clenched, teeth bared, ragged heaves passing back and forth through his snout; George could count his lucky stars that the two of them weren’t enemies.

‘What’s gotten into you, Blitzer? Why are you getting angry at me?’

“Lad, come on now. This is getting out of hand.”

“You don’t understand!! Why can’t you just-”

A loud spark stopped Blitzer’s voice dead in its tracks. Violent as it may look, there was a certain calm to Speedy’s demeanour, unlike the visible rage flowing off Blitzer. Without words, he gave off a simple message. ‘I am in control.’

“Listen, you. Growing up, I had a whole lotta friends who started off like you did. Angry, overly passionate, maybe even out to prove something. But lemme tell you something, lad. They all ended up diving deep into thievery and all sorts of other nastiness. That’s what happens when you have no morals or standards whatsoever. You’ll accept anything that happens as long as you think you’ll be gettin’ something out of it.”

Blitzer’s demeanour cooled off in the blink of an eye. “What? No, that’s not me, I would never-”

Speedy laid a paw on the Charmander’s neck. “Right now, yes. But so many of my friends were like that, too. All high and mighty now, but give it time and you’ll see how deep they sink. Fights one day, stealing the next, so on. At the rate they went, they’re probably cutting a deal with Giratina right this second,” he said, frowning. “So don’t tell me you got yourself under control here. Eventually, you’ll slip. Happens quicker than you may think.”

The energy was sucked right out of Blitzer’s body; he fell back to his regular composure, from teeth to tail. “If you say so… I don’t know what you mean with Giratina-”

“You don’t want to know.” Speedy shook his head. “You don’t want to know.”

Blitzer sighed. “Forget I ever said anything, okay-”

Speedy seized Blitzer’s chin with a paw. “Not so fast. That little outburst of yours has got that friend of yours all messed up. Have a look, will ya?” he said, before forcing Blitzer to look George straight in the eye. George was visibly shaken by the outburst. No longer was he smiling or bored, curious or unimpressed; those emotions had all left his eyes, and what was left was a shivering husk trapped in a snowstorm. A gasp escaped Blitzer’s throat.

“G-George? What’s wrong?” he asked. George couldn’t answer him with anything besides further frowning and uncomfortable shifting of his feet.

‘I, I don’t get it. Why did he act out like that? It’s just like him… He acted that way too.’

“George…?”

“That’s your doing, lad.”

Blitzer stared on hopelessly at the little otter shivering before him. The anger of others is never easy to deal with, not for George. It was troubling and frightening as was when he was surrounded by no one but humans; but Pokemon were a step above even that. Fury backed up by terrifying displays of power. Raging infernos, uncontrollable storms, nightmares and so much more. They were creatures of incredible power that no mere man was meant to wield. No human could ever conceive of it, not without a technological miracle at their side. Blitzer wouldn’t fully understand what it was like. He never knew anything different, after all.

“You should go and apologise. That friend of yours needs it.”

“But I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“And that’s what you just did. What’s done can’t be undone, remember?”

“Yeah,” Blitzer chirped in a dull tone. By now, George was looking away towards the fields. “Look, I’m sorry about all of that. Okay? I didn’t mean anything to you. Truly.”

Blitzer’s stammering fell on deaf ears. George found greater comfort staring at the Pidoves flocking away in the distance.

‘If this is how he treats me now, what’ll happen when things get worse? I don’t know how it’ll be worse, just in general, will he even see me as a friend still? Or would he just burn me?’

“Please George, I’m telling you,” Blitzer continued to stammer. “I didn’t try to hurt you! I mean it! I really do!” he said, stamping his foot in the ground. Crunching sounds were coming up the hill. “Why can’t you-”

“Everything alright over here, citizens?”

The two of them jumped as a strange voice addressed them. All eyes went in the direction of Agate Township, where a Vigoroth with a thick green chest piece bearing the Vined Crest stood, tapping his claws into the dirt.

“N-no, I mean yes, I, uh, I was just uh, telling my friend over here that um,” Blitzer immediately blurted out, “I was just telling him that uh, that I had the embers, and uh, I didn’t mean to uh, scorch him when I sneezed. That’s all, heheh…”

The Vigoroth soldier folded her arms. “I’m not convinced. You were screaming just now. We heard it back at the gate. What is going on here?”

“Oh, uh, n-no-” Blitzer stopped to swallow a large buildup of saliva. The tip of his tail twitched back and forth. George inched away from him. Were it not for a sigh from Speedy, they’d both be lost.

“Lemme explain for him. The lil’ Charmander lad got all angry that we didn’t go and get something he wanted, so he started sparkin’ and sputtering, that sort of thing. Typical Charmander stuff, really.”

The soldier spat beside herself. “Typical Charmander indeed. Watch yourself, laddie .Not everyone’s as accepting of your crap,” she said, before turning back the way she came, leaving a scent of dirty fur in her wake. Once her footsteps had dimmed enough, Speedy shuffled his way to their sides and dragged them both with him along the trail.

“That was pathetic, lad.”

“Wh-what do you mean, pathetic?”

“Almost got us dragged back for interrogating. And that’s beside the point. That apology sucked.”

“I’m trying, okay?” Blitzer said with his hands out in front of him. Speedy suddenly raised the tip of his tail, and struck Blitzer on the side of his head. “Ow!”

“Not good enough, lad. Some apology that was. Didn’t even sound like you cared.”

“I do care!”

Speedy then shoved both Blitzer and George forward. “Then do it properly. Do explain why you got all upset over somethin’ that’s not even yours.”

Blitzer and George looked each other straight in the eye. A cold wind blew overhead as both were silent for a long while. Blitzer played with his fingers, making chirping sounds as if a few words were itching in the back of his throat, but he couldn’t bring himself to say them. George on the other hand was standing all statuelike, his arms congruent with the rest of his body. Were it not for one lip being buckled inwards because of a tooth pressing on it, he looked as if he were about to start crying.

A foot tapped into the dirt beside them. Blitzer’s first instinct was to look, but he didn’t follow through, and instead sighed. “Alright. George, I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but… I didn’t mean to get that annoyed. Or angry. It wasn’t right, and you shouldn’t have seen that. And Speedy shouldn’t have either. I feel horrible about it.”

George’s tail tapped into the dirt with the strength of a leaf falling from a tree. “But why did you get upset at all? You’re never like that, I don’t understand.”

Blitzer hummed as his eyes wandered off to a critter moving around behind George. “It… It just wasn’t the right time. You know there’s myths and all about how the stars align? Well, my stars aligned. When Speedy told me about his treasure getting stolen like that, and how it reminds him of family, I couldn’t take it. I don’t have anything like that of my own parents. My actual parents… I know how much Nero and Nera care about me, and I love them, but I miss my old pops and moms. I really do. All I have of them is memories.” He lowered his head. “I don’t want to lose that too.”

George’s gaze was lowered to the dirt under their feet as well. Once upon a time, the headmistress had told him that the past isn’t worth considering, and that the now was all one needed. Partially, he could agree. Being rid of her and the others was an offer that felt impossible to refuse. And yet he couldn’t do it. Not even if there was a button that magically wiped his mind of any trace of who they were. Even a past as awful as his own, he’d stick with it. Blitzer had far more pleasant times bottled up inside of him. They guided him. They motivated him. Those memories were always in the back of his mind, encouraging him to move forward. It’s no wonder why the idea of losing something so cherished caused him to lash out. George felt unwell.

“I understand, Blitzer.”

A light smile crept onto Blitzer’s face. “I’m glad you do. But still, I’m sorry about all of that. I should’ve controlled myself better.”

Their eyes met each other once again. George’s doubts had simmered back down. One last thing was sticking to his chest, which he wanted to break free from.

“I’m glad you’re still you in the end.”

Blitzer’s lips curled up. “What do you mean?”

George gently nodded at him. ‘No turning back now. But that’s not so bad.’

“Just now, you reminded me of a kid who lived in the foster’s home with me. His name was Wesley. He’d always blow up at me and other kids when we least expected it. All that was separating you two is that he would always fight you over it, too.”

Blitzer’s tail swayed around like a whip. “That’s terrible! Did he hit hard?”

George hummed in agreement. “If not for the… you know, I would show you the bruises,” he said, keeping the corner of one eye trained on Speedy who was contently watching them a few steps away.

“Oh…”

“It’s nothing. It didn’t come to that, did it?”

“Yeah.”

“And I’ll probably never see Wesley again, so all’s well.” George chuckled. A paw then touched him on the back of the neck; the breath shot out of his lungs.

“Seems like you two lads have it all sorted out, don't you?” Speedy said.

“Uh, yeah, we sure do,” Blitzer said, awkwardly laughing. The Raichu patted them both on their backs, smiling.

“That’s great, lads. See, it wasn’t such a big deal after all, eh? You shouldn’t get so upset over these things, it just ain’t worth it. Compared to the stuff that’s out there, this is small beans, let me tell ya!”

With a laugh, Speedy took his hands back. The copper badge that had caused all this drama to begin with was sticking out in between a fold in his scarf. George thumbed his nose. A strange hint of ash came off it. It was difficult to tell underneath the metal, but his nose wasn’t lying.

“So uh, that badge of yours, where’s it from?” George asked. Speedy took the badge into one paw and gave it a glance.

“This, lad, is an old heirloom of mine, much like I said.” Speedy quickly looked over his shoulder; no one in sight. A bird's wings beat into the wind not far from them. “‘S got more than just sentimental value to me, I might need it again one day.”

“For what?” Blitzer asked.

“To identify myself to some old friends, that’s what. We all have a badge like this one. If I ever see them again, and I can’t distinguish myself from any other nosey Raichu, well then I’ll be paddlin’ up the creek without a paddle!” Speedy said.

George wiped at his brow. He felt relieved, somehow. Not that there was anything in particular to be relieved over, it was calm. And that’s what counted.

“Well, do you think you’ll see those friends anytime soon?”

Speedy folded his arms. “Well, ‘s a difficult one, lad. Could happen today. Maybe a year. We could be waiting for a long time, you know. That’s just the way life goes,” he said, swinging the bolt on the end of tail around. A cat would’ve loved it. Speedy wouldn’t like the cat so much, though. George chuckled to himself.

“Eh?” Speedy blurted out.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” George said in between laughs.

“Hey, it’s the truth, I tell you! Can’t help it.”

“Hey, are we waiting on something too?” Blitzer then asked.

“What do you mean?” said Speedy as he put the badge back in the fold he’d taken it out of. A cold wind blew at his back.

“Well, you said ‘we’, so I’m just wondering if…” Blitzer didn’t know how to finish his sentence. A few seconds after the last word and a dull hum from Blitzer, Speedy clicked his tongue and sniffed the air a few times.

“Who knows? Every day’s a chance for something new, am I right? We’ll just have to wait ‘n see tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, it’s getting late already. Huh.”

Following Speedy’s gesture, George shielded his eyes as he looked towards the sky. He wasn’t entirely wrong, but it was a stretch to call him right, either. The sun had just hit the halfway point. Plenty of daylight to get back. Then again, every second they weren’t home wasn’t going to do them any favours when they got back. It was nothing short of a miracle neither of them had any bruises or other injuries.

“We should be going home, then. Your parents won’t accept another excuse for it, will they?”

Blitzer shook his head. “Not in a million years.”

“Alright then lads, let’s get going, then. You did well today! I’m proud of you both.”

“Thanks!”

With another gust of wind hitting their backs, the three of them headed back over the road towards Greenfield. As they left, a bird took off from a nearby tree; it was headed straight for Agate Township.

“Is that what I think it is…? Arceus almighty, Lord Gareda needs to know this.”