A Charizard stomped down in the arena. The orange beast raised its maw into the sky and released a stream of fire, a roar of victory accompanying it. Its opponent, a Pangoro, had been recalled a moment ago. Charizard's trainer walked casually up to the Pokemon, and the pair shared a brief high-five before walking to their competitor and shaking hands.

It struck her as cordial and was a stark contrast to the level of violence she'd just witnessed. Both combatants had fought fiercely, attempting to down their opponent with precision and strength. They were disciplined, reacting quickly to changing situations and their respective trainer's orders.

"Gabit," Gabite commented derisively next to her.

Aside from her, Mimikyu was her only companion today. The rest were back at the shop, having offered to stay behind and clean things up. That kind of initiative was uncharacteristic for Mawile, but she supposed Ralts was a better influence than she expected.

True to her suspicions, there were no shortage of high-level battles occurring in the city.

She and Gabite were sitting on a set of bleachers that flanked a league-certified rink. It was an open-air setup, with white lines being drawn into hard-packed clay. There were five like it lined up parallel to it, and the only barrier between one another was some meters of pavement.

Despite being on the edge of the city, this area was lively, with more than one rink being used at a time. It was not limited to combatants either, as there were a smattering of spectators milling about, traveling from one rink to another whenever a new match was set to begin.

Tanya did not blend in as well as she would have liked, and even now she could see people stealing glances at her. Well, not her specifically, but Gabite. She'd already had to turn down multiple offers to battle, and at this point she was considering the merits of putting a sign around her neck declaring no solicitation.

"True dragon or not," Tanya responded to Gabite. "It would be tough to put down."

It would be far from impossible, though, and there was a single weak point she kept focusing on.

The trainers themselves. Incapacitating the trainer and returning the Pokemon was a given. However, even ignoring that, the Pokemon themselves relied far too much on a trainer's orders.

Several times she had watched the Charizard hesitate, wasting precious moments for their trainer to tell them what they already knew needed to be done. Tanya knew the value of disciplined soldiers; it was important for them to heed any order given without question. That being said, a good commander knew to give their subordinates enough leeway in achieving their objectives as to not be paralyzed without their command. Things like 'dodge that Body Slam' should be a given unless specifically instructed otherwise.

Tanya had made sure that the same would not plague her team, drilling into them what to do under numerous scenarios.

Gabite huffed at the comment, clearly agreeing with her assessment but not wanting to vocalize it.

Tanya disregarded that and scribbled in her notebook. It was filled with documentation on the battles she'd observed today. Things like combatants, temperaments, moves, strategy, and timestamps were all meticulously written down. Due to the speed of some battles, it was roughly done, but she'd rewrite it later tonight before she forgot any important details.

She finished jotting down her observation over the lack of aerial moves and closed the book. A thought occurred to her, and she opened it again, adding a caveat that the preference for physical engagement might have been done with the intention of specific training.

This was the pre-season, and while these matches did count for their overall record, they didn't count for the upcoming circuit. She had learned of the difference after an enthusiastic challenger mistook her reluctance for confusion about how the system functioned. A trainer's record mattered, but most people acknowledged that their record during the circuit was a better indicator for a trainer's current level of talent. The way it had been phrased to her was that it put everyone on a more even playing field, and so the results were more comparable.

That information wasn't relevant to her now, but the trainer business was big business. Wherever she ended up making a living, she would most likely need to interact with them in some capacity.

From the corner of her eye, Tanya noticed the telltale signs of someone working up the nerve to ask her for a battle. She rose from her seated position and moved swiftly while beckoning her companion.

She thought back on the fight docket she had seen at the rest area adjacent to the center most field. It had reminded her of a flight monitor and announced which matches were scheduled next.

"Let's go check out that Snorlax versus Swalot on the far lot," she said as a way of excuse.

She heard grumbling behind her, but soon Gabite was at her side.

"Ite, gab," the Pokemon bargained, having seen through her intent of avoiding battle.

"No." Tanya quickly shot down that request. "Unless you want to walk into a Pokemon Center alone and risk getting captured." This ruse of theirs was tenuous and would not hold up under close inspection. She only allowed it to maintain a working relationship with the Pokemon's family. "Besides, we'll need you fresh in case of trouble tonight."

After sunset, they were meeting up with the others and then taking a trip to experience the Lumiose underworld. The punks had talked it up quite a bit, and she was eager to see if there was any truth to their tales. She would not be relying on Gabite for protection but giving her the 'task' mollified her for.

"Why are you even still in the city?" Tanya asked after noticing the trainer approaching them had given up their pursuit. "You've made no secret of your displeasure here."

Gabite did not like humans or anything that was produced by them. Every other comment she made was complaining about something in the city. Which left Tanya wondering why she had persisted in staying instead of going home.

The dragon bared her teeth, and Tanya took that to mean the line of questioning was not appreciated. She found herself wishing Ralts was present; she'd be able to understand more about the minefield that Gabite was.

They made it to the next match and were simply standing on the sidelines when Gabite finally responded.

"Ite, bite," she said almost reluctantly.

It was a bit amusing that, despite all their power, Pokemon were not the dominant species of the world. Humans tended to coexist with them, but their settlements grew while the opposite was rarely true.

"I'm not sure the city will teach you anything about how to better protect your pack."

Tanya couldn't relate, at least not fully. Her quest for power was to ensure her comfort and well-being. The safety of others only factored in contingent on what benefit they provided her. Her team clearly fit under that umbrella, despite how rambunctious they could be. The pack came off as different to her; she would not want to dedicate a large portion of her life protecting eggs and hatchlings just because they shared something as mundane as blood.

Gabite gave her a strange look, and Tanya took that as disagreement.

"It's not that there is nothing to be learned by watching; if there wasn't, we wouldn't be here right now," Tanya argued her case. "But simply observing something isn't enough. Take a car, for example. You've seen them travel down the road, but do you know what they are actually capable of or what they require to continuously function?" It was a rhetorical question, and she continued. "In order to properly assess something, you need to experience it yourself." Obviously, she was not suggesting the dragon attempt to earn her driving lesson. "And it's not vehicles you need to worry about; it's trainers."

She left it at that, feeling nothing else needed to be said. Even as a human, she encountered numerous roadblocks as a result of being an unregistered trainer. There was no realistic way a Pokemon could experience that, even if Mawile joked about rotating the trainer position.

Tanya even considered assigning Mawile the task of sourcing their supplies, if only to make her understand the headache it caused. However, she would never act on it, because in that scenario, the possibility of having to subsist on marshmallows alone for a week was non-zero.

"Given your sensibilities," Tanya followed up, thinking about the dragon's sense of honor. "There are also things out of your reach, no matter how hard you train."

Even if she knew about how fragile humans were without their logistic support, would the dragon accept such a roundabout method of dealing with the issue? This Pokemon was more likely to attempt to charge the bulldozer than realize filling their fuel supply with water was the better solution.

"This battle is underwhelming," Tanya commented on the poor display in front of her. The two in front of her looked more likely to join an eating contest than fight in earnest. "Let's check the docket again; if there's nothing else interesting, we'll call it there."

Tanya noticed, once again, people's eyes being attracted to her. If it wasn't for the Pokemon, she imagined it would have been significantly less. Should she see about getting her a disguise?

She shook her head, letting the idea fade away. There was no way something like that would pass muster.

----------------------------------------

When they called it the Lumiose underworld, she did not expect it to be literally underground.

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"Pretty sick, right?" Faust asked.

He was leading the way with a flashlight. The tunnel they traveled through was narrow, which was not much of a problem for her or the skinny punks, but Gabite had some issues squeezing through the passage. Luckily, her skin was tough, and more often than not, the damp limestone that made up the walls broke in the way of her.

The entrance has been innocuous. They had just lifted a metal maintenance hatch in a random alley and then started going down the stairs. It had gone some meters deep before leading them to a passage like the one they now find themselves in. They'd gone through a number of them already, each one of them snaking their way through the ground. With the maze-like structure, part of Tanya suspected this to be a trap. But given Ralts' reassurances and Gabite's ability to tunnel through the ground, she was not overly concerned.

"They are something," Tanya commented, her hand brushing the stone. "Where do they originate from?"

If not for the lack of skulls, she would have thought them an exact analog to the Paris catacombs. She'd never visited them herself, but she'd known enough about them. Any network of tunnels sitting underneath your occupation forces was a cause for concern.

"I dunno," Faust replied without any shame and then looked back to the punk bringing up their rear. "Any idea?"

Lillian limped behind them, using one hand to support herself on the wall and the other to hold her hair together so it wouldn't get caught on any protruding rock. The pair of them had some painkillers squirreled away that they'd taken. That, along with the medical care provided by Ralts, meant they were not hampered too much.

"Fuck if I know," the girl grumbled. "Does it matter? They've been here since forever."

She had forgotten for a moment that she was dealing with two delinquents. They most likely dropped out of school or had forgotten anything taught to them. Why else would they be attempting to do something as petty as shakedown children?

Tanya didn't bother to explain why knowing the history of places you visited was important. It wasn't her responsibility to instruct them.

A sense of affirmation came from Ralts, who traveled slightly ahead of her. She must have been confirming again that this wasn't a trap.

Ralts was the only member of her team out right now. Carbink and Mawile were on hand, if in their balls, while Mimikyu had been left at the bike shop with the duty of keeping the rest of her stash safe. Traveling into a den of criminality with all of her belongings was simply asking for trouble.

Ahead, a murmur of activity started to make itself known. It grew as they approached, and Faust dove under a low doorway before stepping to the side. Tanya followed after him and paused at the threshold, taking in what was up ahead.

The room was fashioned in a semicircle with curved, meter-wide rows of stone facing a far wall. Each level was depressed from the last until meeting at the ground level, where a collection of tables and tarps had been set up. They were tightly packed, and she could hear both customers and sellers argue with each other while haggling over prices. Lights dangled overhead on a series of strings crisscrossing the ceiling. Past the lights, she saw little balls of blue fur. Woobats, a psychic type. The hum of generators could be heard, and she spotted two Voltorbs hooked up to a power conduit, providing them with energy. Flanking the bottom area, were a pair of large stone statues. They were inert, and she realized that the entire structure was an amphitheater from a bygone era.

The wall bordering the stage had a large mural. It was faded but looked to have been a red bird. It was hovering above a wasteland devoid of life. Was that a Moltres? The colors and shape seemed wrong, and yet she could remember seeing something like it before.

"Sheesh," Faust began walking down the large steps. "Packed today. Must be some good stuff."

The setups of the various vendors looked temporary to her, and a large majority simply laid their goods on the ground over tarps. She imagined that was so they could quickly scoop up their merchandise if the need arose.

"Do the authorities not know of this?" She asked a very logical question. It wasn't a massive collection of people, but there were easily three dozen criminals conversing here. "Have there been any raids?"

The punks shared a look, wordlessly asking if the other knew. These idiots clearly had never heard of the word sting before.

"Dangerous talk there, little Missy." A man, having overheard them, approached. He wore brown leader pants and boots with spurs. They matched the vest he wore along with his hat. "See here," the man spoke while chewing on a stalk of wheat. "That type of talk makes folk nervous. And they're a hard enough herd to wrangle on a good day. Now I don't need you spooking them, you hear?"

Was this some sort of cosplay, or had she met a genuine cowboy underneath a Francois city? This world made no sense.

"Apologies, I didn't intend as such." Tanya wasted no time in de-escalating any potential conflict. "I'm new here, and I would prefer to limit the amount of risk I expose myself to."

She'd been cautious enough to don a disguise coming down here. A beanie covered her head, and she wore an old sweater and baggy jeans. She had borrowed them from Lillian, and they gave her a suitable street-kid appearance. Unfortunately, the dragon still stuck out like a sore thumb.

"That I can appreciate." He chewed on his stalk, and dark eyes traveled to each of them. "To put you at ease, the League has better things to do than chasing a bunch of free spirits in these tunnels. And whenever one of them does get a hankering to do something stupid, well, let's just say we got money in the right pockets." He held out a hand. "Names Cody."

"I go by Visha," Tanya responded, shaking the hand cordially.

The cowboy's face tightened, and he ended the handshake, bringing the hand to his side and flexing it.

"Quite the grip there," he muttered before gesturing towards a hanging wooden plank. "Anyway, rules are simple. Floor space is open to rent, and there's a ten percent tax on all goods sold. If you barter, the renter pays the tax. And if you go around waving something you want to trade rather than renting a spot, one of my posse will fix you up real quick. Got it?"

She read the plank, seeing it matched with what Cody had said. Satisfied, she nodded while discreetly casting her sight over the theatre, counting the number of cowboy hat-wearing men and women in attendance. They looked to cover the exits and their limited infrastructure.

Say what you would about organized crime, but at least they were organized.

"Understood. You have an impressive establishment here," she agreed while lathering on flattery.

Had she been in charge, she would have added more ventilation and made more efficient use of the floor space available. Still, they'd done good work with what they had. The value of a neutral ground to trade and settle disagreements was immense. Had she been a wannabe crime lord, she would have fostered good relations with them on the surface while subverting key individuals to her side to enact a coup when the time was right.

But she wasn't, so she bid the man farewell and descended the few more steps needed to enter the market. Someone approached Faust, and the two seemed acquainted. After getting a nod of approval from her, he separated to discuss something with them.

Left with Lillian and Ralts, she browsed the market. Both the people and the goods.

Much of the crowd looked like older versions of her escorts, shaggier in appearance and worn down by life. A few seemed shrewder, eyeing everything critically and keeping to themselves. The goods themselves were a myriad of things. Seeing medical items on sale made her feel a tad foolish, but at the end of the day, learning how to concoct them herself was the better move. Otherwise, she would be tied down to the city and unreliable sellers.

Most of the offerings were related to Pokemon, and she found herself dissatisfied at the lack of firearms present. She refused to believe there was not a single one in the city.

'Mama', Ralts tugged on her pant leg. 'Don't like.'

She pointed to a man leering in her direction from behind a desk. He was a gaunt figure, with sunken cheeks and a scraggly white beard. He noticed her attention, and he gave a yellow smile, missing teeth on display. A finger curled, and he beckoned her closer.

"Fucking Herb," Lillian cursed. "He's a creep but harmless. Give him a smile, and he usually knocks a bit off what he's hawking. Or he does for me at least."

The girl shrugged, seemingly at ease despite the harsh words. Her opinion didn't matter as much as Ralts' did, but what was on his table caught her eye, and she approached anyway.

"Battle items?" She questioned, inspecting the various objects out for display. There were no signs, and so she was left guessing for most. It wasn't a subject she was well versed in, which made it difficult.

"Held items," he corrected, with a croaky voice. She noticed he'd not taken his eyes off of her companion, who scoffed. "If you want those one-offs, I'm sure someone around here has them. But these are held items. The genuine articles as well, you won't find any better above ground, believe me."

It was an odd collection, and one would be forgiven for thinking it came straight out of a trash can. There was a leek, a half-eaten apple, a bone, a piece of charcoal, sunglasses, and a bent spoon. At this proximity, she could feel each emit a certain energy, telling her the seller was telling some measure of truth.

These were like that Slik Scarf Theo's Furfrou had been equipped with. They were useful items that granted benefits of some kind.

"How about a Twisted Spoon for the Ralts?" He tapped the utensil and waved a hand, offering for her to take it.

Tanya gingerly reached out, and when her fingers touched it, a pressure in her skull was felt. It was like her brain had outgrown her skull and wanted out. The spoon glowed purple before slipping from her grip and traveling to Ralts who held it with both hands. She swung it once experimentally and then felt around its tip.

'Dull.' She provided her determination with a level of disappointment.

That may be so, but Tanya could feel the change in the Pokemon's energy. It wasn't a small change, feeling more vibrant than before.

"How much?" She inquired, not seeing any prices.

The man didn't respond immediately, his eyes tracing to her bag.

"Depends on what's in there."

She pondered for a moment and then reached inside. The used TMs were retrieved first, and then the Protect and Earthquake.

At the final disk, his eyes lit up and his hand twitched as if holding himself back from snatching it away.

"Good find, good fine," he repeated, putting his hand in his pocket and retrieving a small handheld device. He pointed it at the disk, and it beeped with each one. "The spent ones are worth little, but I'll gladly take that Earthquake off your hands."

He was eager—too eager. It felt like she was about to be suckered into a deal.

"Hold it," her companion said, hand on her hip and leaning forward. "That move is way pricier than some dumb spoon. Throw in the Black Glasses."

The second she said it, the girl blinked and then leaned back, crossing her arms against her stomach and holding them tight. Interesting; it seemed the girl had negotiated off of instinct.

Herb shook his head, his sagging skin moving left and right.

"I'm running a business here; I can't be giving away these things so lightly. What else you got?"

TTanya did not know how much these items were worth, but she had selected several mundane items she was willing to part with. Watches, casino chips, and other worthless bits of jewelry were deposited on the table. The action drew several eyes, and Gabite gave a low growl of warning to them.

Good, at least she was good for something.

"Who'd you two rob?" The man asked, taking out a spectacle and inspecting the watches. "Hmm, definitely a rich mark. Good on you. Always a profitable trade that."

He chuckled to himself while inspecting the rest of it. Smacking his lips, he looked to the ceiling and mumbled before doing some math out of her view.

"Chips are as good as cash; other stuff, I'm only willing to go to a third market price." His voice rose, and he gestured toward the other sellers. "And feel free to ask these lot for any better, but you won't find anyone willing to top my bid. Two held items for everything there, what do you say?"

He held out a hand, but she didn't shake it.

"I'm looking for methods of self-defense as well. For my personal use, not the teams. Something with some stopping power."

Herb looked to be taken aback by the question. He glanced at Tanya's companion, who'd taken a step away from her and held up her hands, as if saying she wanted no part of this. Tanya didn't let anything change on her face, displaying that it was a serious request.

The ends of his lips quirked up, and Herb stood up, announcing in a loud voice.

"Hey!" Various people stopped their haggling and turned. "Anyone here got a gun? The lass wants one."

A raucous laughter overpowered the background hum of the generators as the black market participants sent jeers and generally unhelpful comments. Pleased with himself, Herb sat back down on his stool and shook his head.

"We ain't got any of that." Tanya placed a hand on Ralts' head, stroking the Pokemon and preventing her from stabbing the man for the offense he'd just committed. "What do we look like, poachers?"

Cowboys without guns? She wasn't sure if she believed that, but none looked eager to approach her and offer a deal. Still, a lead had been dropped there.

"Where do I find them?" Tanya asked. She hadn't raised her voice, and with the crowd still enjoying themselves at her expense, it was lost. She slammed a hand on the man's table, accidentally splintering it in two and causing Herb to jump in his seat. "The poachers," she reiterated while secretly hoping she'd not be charged for the table. "Where do I find them?"