“Hold him up again. Need a good shot.”

A fist flew, slamming into Felis’s gut, he doubled over with a groan, only to be hauled up again. The paralyzing effect had long since worn off, though Leland and his buddies had taken their time to kick the crap out of him for the last…how long was it? He couldn’t tell, everything hurt so bad, it was hard to think straight.

“Hey hey, wake up Felis.” Leland laughed, snapping his fingers in front of him. A hand gripped his hair, pulling him up to eye level. “Night’s still young, how you feeling buddy? Good?”

Felis spat in his face.

“You really wanna make this harder for yourself, huh?” His captor sighed, wiping away the spit, “Alright.”

That was all he got before the man launched a knee into Felis’s groin, causing him to let out a strangled cry, falling to the ground in a heap. He curled up into the fetal position immediately, raising his arms to his head as the Grunts began their work on him again, stomping and kicking him in all his exposed areas. Aken, bless him, tried to move, to conjure up something, but with Beautifly in the way, it was all he could do to just stay conscious.

“Arceus, you wanna know what pisses me off the most about you?” Leland ranted, as the Grunts continued their work, “Sure, you broke my arm, but I understood that part, you know? You didn’t have other options.” Leland raised a hand for them to stop, before rolling over Felis with one foot. “It’s that fucking pride that gets to me man. You walk and talk like you’re hot shit all the fucking time. Like everybody around you is somehow beneath you.”

They fucking were. As far as Felis was concerned, these 8-bit grunts were just pawns to a better man. Slaves to a villain. They didn’t deserve anything but contempt.

“And there’s nothing wrong with a little pride.” Leland continued, “It’s just what really pisses me off is the fact that you don’t have anything about you to justify that. Me? I’m a prideful shit cause I know I can kick ass, I know my Pokemon can win. You’ve got one little Shuppet to your name, a couple of dirty victories, and now you’re walking around like the world owes you a favor. Hoist him up.”

Rough hands grabbed the hem of his uniform, lifting Felis up like a puppet on strings. His head lolled to one side, the very action of raising his head impossible from the sheer effort it took to stay conscious.

“I dunno who you were back in Unova, but it’s clear you didn't get your ass kicked enough.”

If it didn’t hurt to laugh, he would’ve.

“So! Before we end the night–'cause’ honestly I’m getting a little tired–we’re gonna give you just a little reminder of where you rank in this whole thing. Cool?”

Felis groaned.

“Cool. Any of you Grunts got ideas?”

“Could break his arm.” John suggested, nodding to Leland’s sling. “Eye for an eye.”

“Would be poetic, huh?” Leland mused, “But na, Saturn notices that shit. Best we not get his face too, shouldn’t be too obvious.”

“Heh.” Felis snickered, causing Leland to frown.

“Hey.” The man prodded his chest, ”Wanna tell me what’s so funny?”

Felis wasn’t smart. He majored in business, you didn’t major in business because you were smart. But…he was clever. Clever meant knowing what to say, when to say. When to open your mouth, and when to keep it shut.

Unfortunately, he was also shit faced drunk.

“Tellin me…all this…shit…about pride…and place.” Felis spat, “And…you’re too much…of a pussy…to even hit my face. Fucking trash.”

Leland stared…stood up slowly and took a slow look around.

“Yea…you’re right.” He said after a while, “Great idea Felis.”

A foot slammed into Felis’s chest, and he sailed backwards, landing in a heap of trash. Leland was on him a second later, fist punching into his face over and over and over again.

It was then a thought of clarity punched through Felis’s stupor.

“I fucked up.”

“Sto..p” He choked as another fist cracked across his jaw.

To his surprise, the attacks did stop. Leland hopped off, with a grimace as he shook his fist, “Honestly man, punching hurts. How the hell do you guys make it look so easy?”

Felis could barely hear through his ragged breaths, his head swimming with alcohol and pain.

“Worst part is, you’re drunk. You’re gonna feel it in the morning, sure. But we need something now.”

Felis was definitely feeling it now, but was too tired to protest or move his jaw.

“So I thought about it a little bit, you know, spent the whole day just running it through my head. And I realized…” Leland spun with a snap of his fingers, ”Hypnosis! That’s what got you so angry.” The telltale sign of a Pokémon being sent out snapped Felis out of his stupor, Psyduck stood in front of him, eyes clear of any of the confusing haze.

It looked angry, real angry.

“Hey, hey, relax man.” Leland cooed as Felis struggled against the people holding him, “Just a little nap right? Won’t be too bad.”

No, no. Not again. He couldn’t experience that again.

He struggled harder.

“Damn, boss. He’s really spooked.” One of the Grunts laughed.

“Looks like he is, ah poor kid. Keep him down.”

Hands shoved him into the ground, he let out a grunt of pain.

“You know, Felis. Maybe we don’t have to do this. I could end this whole charade right now, and we all go home, does that sound good?”

Felis could only look up in confusion as the man continued his speech.

“How about…an apology. Yea, that’s how people do things, isn’t it? Why don’t you apologize for me? If you kneel in front of me, bow your head all the way to the ground, I’ll accept it.”

He should have done it, he should have accepted the offer, bowed his head low, then plot his revenge in secret. He was already doing that with Cyrus. Glancing over at his partner, he saw Aken twitch violently, struggling with a phantom pain. Beautifly had done something to Aken, more than the paralysis, that had to be looked at. He had to bow, had to-

The look in Aken’s eyes…defiance. Pure, utter, defiance. His partner looked at Felis with those eyes, eyes that would never bow, never bend.

“There’s a time for ego, and there’s a time for survival.” His own words rang in his head. He wouldn’t die here though, would he? It would be a nightmare, a quick nightmare and he would be free. That against the shame of bowing to this criminal?

Dad always said he had too much pride for his own good.

“Fuck you.” He wheezed out again.

“Yea, not really surprised at this point.” Leland sighed, “Alright! Psyduck, you know the drill, hit him with a real big one.”

Psyduck’s eyes flashed, and the world turned dark.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Smoke and embers filled the air around Sirius as he tried to make sense of the situation below. Perched atop one of the few trees that hadn’t yet been set alight by the fire-loving maniacs, Sirius decided right away this was a losing battle. An honest to god Typhlosion owned the battlefield, sitting atop ash and felled trees like a wrathful king. Sirius had a Typhlosion once, their starter for HeartGold, carried them straight to the Red fight, destroying anything in her path.

A real shame he was on the receiving end now.

Magcargo wasn’t something to dismiss either, the living mass of hot lava lurking just out of sight to deliver powerful attacks if Quinn wasn’t paying attention. It was equipped with more than just fire moves, judging from the rocks it was throwing around, making it a real sizeable threat to the Galactic Agent's Pokémon.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

Speaking of...Houndoom had to have belonged to his Galactic companion, despite the fact all three shared a fire typing, Houndoom was the only one to have been fighting against two. It recognized him as well, making eye contact after that brutal focus punch, nodding once. He’d seen the way Quinn had used the Pokémon in battle too, taking advantage of its speed and the environment around them, only downed from the sheer number of opponents it was up against.

“And to think I jumped this guy in an alley.” Sirius thought, “Wonder what would have happened if he managed to get that guy out in time.”

He shuddered at the chill that ran down his spine. Pranav really had the worst ideas sometimes.

“Only got one shot…How’s this gonna go?”

Houndoom lost, that much was certain. But so long as the Pokémon was still standing, the Aurafire Grunts wouldn’t take their eyes off the hound. He’d bank on that.

“Get in close Typhlosion! [Brick Break!]”

Typhlosion, despite its massive height, shot forward quicker than anything Sirius had ever seen before, crossing the lengthy distance in mere seconds, fists alight with bronze energy as it towered over the defiant hound, ready to smash its opponent to bits.

“[Roar!]”

The sound of a thousand screams tore its way through the air, making Sirius pale. His heartbeat rose and his breath quickened as the terrible melody announced itself. It wasn’t human, it couldn’t even be Pokémon, from the sheer abnormality of it. Like some twisted conductor took babies and puppies, electrocuted them all, recorded the sounds and mixed in some autotune.

It wasn’t nice.

Typhlosion seemed to think so as well, its furious eyes doused with fear as it veered to the right, all pretenses of a fight gone in just a fraction of a second. Magcargo seemed to be just as stunned, though less affected judging by the way its eyes narrowed a second later.

“Don’t let up!” He heard Quinn shout from above, “Stop them both!”

Houndooms eyes flashed as it swerved its head towards Magcargo, and in an instant the Magma Pokémon's eyes went wide with fear, slowly retreating from its position.

“Neither Pokémon are being returned though, why?”

No, that didn’t matter right now. He had to focus on the fight, on the mission. Already he could see the closest Aurafire Grunt barking orders at Typhlosion a good dozen or so meters away from him. Sirius could make out two belts strapped to the man’s waist, his goal.

“One shot. One shot is all I got.”

If he messed up he’d have an angry Typhlosion on his ass, that wasn’t something he could fight. He dropped from his perch, his landing a barely audible thump as Houndoom's roar echoed across the burning forest. He could feel his eyes water as the smoke began to coalesce around him, choking the very air.

He dropped lower, down onto the grass, slowly army crawling his way forward to his opponents. Would it be a fight? Maybe just a quick tackle to get rid of his Pokémon like he’d done the others. He didn’t know how long Roar would last, or even if it could last, but he had time, time to get close.

“Rear neck choke, can’t have him calling out Typhlosion.” Sirius finally decided, inching closer and closer. Just a few more metres and he’d be at his target. Wiping sweat from his brow he realized just how much he’d been sweating. The forest was hot…extremely hot, almost burning…though just on his right side, why?

A dozen metres away to his right, two glowing magma eyes stared at him.

“Oh.” Sirius thought, as Magcargo’s neck began to balloon with charged energy. “Oh fuck.”

“[Flamethrower!]”

Magcargo unleashed a gout of flame straight towards Sirius, who scrambled away just in time to dodge the burning attack, the sheer heat of the attack causing the hairs on his arm to singe.

The commotion drew the attention of his target, who swiveled towards Sirius. A series of emotions flickered past his face, shock, anger, then finally, cold understanding.

“Red Horse was sent after you.” The Aurafire grunt said, his eyes boring into Sirius, “What happened?”

Red Horse? Code name, probably.

“Dead.” Sirius lied, hoping to get his opponent worked up, “Though his Rapidash is still with him.”

His opponent’s eyes narrowed as he pulled the straw hat away from his head, discarding it onto the grass. “You’re dangerous.” He observed, “No Pokémon and you’re giving us this much trouble. What is your name?”

Sirius simply slid into a fighting stance.

“Very well.”

There were a lot of things Sirius wanted from the Pokémon world. A fresh start, a chance at adventure, to live it easy with his brother as they made new friends and earned their place in the world.

A flying roundhouse from a terrorist in a burning forest wasn’t exactly on the list, but it’s what he got.

The Aurafire grunt flew through the air as if he was a leaf in the wind, spinning once, twice, three times before landing a savage blow that would have knocked Sirius out instantly if he hadn’t blocked in time.

Grimacing from the hit, Sirius grabbed the robed man before he could back away, slamming him into the ground. He wanted to continue his assault with a few good face punches, but his opponent was good, grabbing him by the hem of his uniform and planting his feet into Sirius’s stomach, before rolling back and sending Sirius tumbling away with a grunt.

“[Rock Slide!]” He heard a voice shout from beside him.

Magcargo growled, a low warbling sound reminiscent of bubbling lava, and the earth shook with its cries, a series of rocks erupting from the earth and sent launching towards Sirius. Eyes wide Sirius dove, weaving and ducking as solid chunks of hardened earth rained down on him, each one capable of shattering bones.

As the assault ended he found himself face first with his opponent’s foot, the Aurafire grunt taking the distraction in stride by landing a kick across Sirius’s face. He cried out in pain, crashing into the dirt, forcing himself to move a second later as even more rocks rained down upon him.

This wasn’t a fight, this was a hunt, and he was the prey. He couldn’t win like this, not with his previous injuries still throbbing, not when his opponent outskilled him, not when Magcargo had him in its sights.

His mind whirled, what could he do? He dodged another kick, retaliating with an overhand hook that glanced his opponent’s shoulder. His muscles burned, his eyes watered, the heat was starting to become too much, how the hell were his opponents moving like the fire didn’t effect them?

A punch to his gut knocked him out of his thoughts, he gasped for breath, heaving as he buckled to his knees. His opponent sought to finish him with another kick, but years of fighting trained killers had honed his instincts to the max, and he caught the blow before it could gain its full momentum, dragging the foot towards him before landing his own liver punch.

“I can’t win this.” Sirius realized as his opponent stumbled backwards, “Do I run? We can explain the situation, Quinn lost as well, so there’s a good chance they’ll let us off the hook.”

But if they ran…Saturn would be disappointed. He didn’t care about the man's opinions, but he could make life worse for the two of them.

"If I wanted you dead," Saturn's chilling words echoed, causing SIrius to grit his teeth, "I could have both of you killed before you even knew what hit you."

If he succeeded on the other hand…this was a mission far above the levels of usual grunts. They’d be treated better, Pran would be treated better. More freedom to move around, more opportunities to be humans, and not weapons or survivors.

“Yea. Guess there’s no running.” Sirius resigned, grunting as he stood up, “Little baby Pran owes me so much when I get back.”

He needed to get close again, close enough to grab Finchley’s belt. The problem was Magcargo, how the hell was he supposed to do anything when he had rocks to worry abo-

“[Dark Pulse!]” Quinn’s familiar voice rang out.

A stream of black energy crashed into the Magma slug, leaving inky splotches of darkness across its body as it recoiled in pain.

“Quinn ended Roar? But then what about Typhlosion?”

“[Toxic & Smog]”

Purple-black mist exploded from Houndoom maw and nostrils, coating the area around the Pokemon’s vicinity in a thick fog. Typhlosion grunted, leaping out of range before belting the area with blasts of fire.

Sirius looked up past the smoke, meeting Quinn’s gaze. A silent understanding passed between them, both needed to complete the mission for their own reasons, whatever they might be. Quinn nodded down at Sirius.

Trust.

He turned his attention back to his opponent, who was now gazing back and forth between Typhlosion and himself.

“[Swi-” The command was cut off as Sirius entered the fray with a superman punch, frowning in annoyance as it just barely missed. The Aurafire grunt seemed annoyed as well, unable to form full commands as the two began their second dance amidst the flames.

He needed to appear weak, he needed to appear sluggish and give away openings. The first part was easy enough, Sirius was already tired, his breathing uneven. Giving away openings however, was an issue. His opponent was already quick, and any time he gave away an opening the man would take it and dance away.

“[Dark Pulse!]” Another roar of energy fired off to the right, this time eliciting a scream from Typhlosion.

One second, the Aurafire Grunt looked away for one second.

It was enough.

In a flash of movement Sirius was head to head with the man, throwing out wild swings. His opponent cursed, weaving between the blows before striking an uppercut into Sirius’s gut. He smiled as pain blossomed.

“Got you, asshole.” He growled.

Sirius brought his head back, before slamming it into the other mans nose. The Aurafire Grunt stumbled backwards, lashing out with a kick as he did so. To his surprise however, no follow up attacks came from the very clear opening.

Instead, he found Sirius standing there, grinning like a maniac as he clipped the belt onto himself.

“Get him!” The nasally wounded Grunt cried, “Get him before he gets away!”

Running like a madman Sirius bolted through the burning woods, looking up to the sky as he searched for any signs of his partner. The telltale sound of wingbeats cut through the crackling of wood, and Quinn descended, a look of grim determination on his face.

“Come on!” He hollered, reaching an arm out.

He leapt, clinging to Quinn’s arm like a lifeline. This was it, he had the belt, he was with Golbat, they’d just fly away and then he’d be home free. He’d go talk to Pran, see Joy, play with Seedot, enjoy a cold shower this time.

If only life weren’t such a bitch.

Rough hands grabbed his sides and heaved, Sirius grunted, struggling to hold onto his saviours arm as he stared at his attacker.

“Typhlosion guy was disoriented, he couldn’t have caught up, who?”

Ah. Magcargo’s trainer. Hateful eyes burned into him, tugging down again and again. He felt his grip begin to slip, the mixture of sweat and exhaustion working against him.

“No, no!” He thought, desperately struggling to hang onto Quinn. “No!”

“Hang on!” Quinn yelled, but it was too late, with a final tug, Sirius was pulled from Quinn’s grasp. To his credit, the man reached out to grab him again, flailing hands desperate to latch onto anything that would hold.

They found Finchley’s belt.

Sirius slammed into the ground, gasping out in pain as the sound of wingbeats began to move farther and farther away from him. That was his ticket out. The only reason Quinn stayed to fight a doomed fight.

“I’m going to die.” He realized.

A foot kicked across his side, causing him to instinctively curl up, his aggressor seemingly taking out his frustrations on him for the failed mission.

“Damn you!” He snarled, as his foot slammed down again and again, “Damn you! Damn you! Damn you! Do you know what kind of trouble this will mean for us? What kind of demands they’ll ask of Clan Aurafire? And for what? For you to die here like some stupid dog!? You cost us everything!”

“Fuck you.” He managed to growl, lunging for the man as he took a breath. The tackle didn't succeed, the Aurafire Grunt simply spinning away before landing another kick that sent Sirius crashing into a tree.

“Ox.” The Typhosion trainer called out, as Sirius tried to calm his breathing “I’ll be going to retrieve Red Horse, do what you want with him.”

The man called Ox sneered, grabbing Sirius’s head by the hair and lifting him up, “You know how we do things in Aurafire?” The man snarled, shaking Sirius’s head. “Before we left Johto, do you know how many Rocket upstarts we torched? We lost everything that day, but we sent a message. You don’t play with fire without getting burned, Galactic scum.”

Ox stood, leaving Sirius near unconscious at the base of the burning tree. Through the haze of pain and smoke Sirius could make out the bright shape of Magcargo joining the side of its trainer, eyes hardened with killing intent.

“Oh…shit” Sirius thought, “That’s....bad…I need to…I need to move.”

But it was impossible. His adrenaline had long since faded, the wounds of all his battles catching up with him in an instant, leaving him exhausted and drained.

“Pran…Pran’s gonna be so mad.” He chuckled hysterically. “Seedot’s going to be sad too, huh?”

“Do it.” Ox snarled.

Magcargo warbled again, the same bubbling sound of molten rock beginning to echo around the forest. He could see it now, heat and light seemed to transfer from its body to its neck, causing it to balloon and expand, building up in pressure.

He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for the pain. In that tense second, only one thought crossed his mind.

“I don’t want to die.”

…

…

The pain didn’t come.

He cracked an eye open.

He couldn’t hear it over the fire that now raged around them…but Magcargo had abandoned its attack, choking and spluttering as black mist permeated the area. What? Where was the trainer? The question was answered a second later, as Ox, coated in deep cuts, stumbled forward, before landing in a soft thump at his feet.

Dead.

“The cuts are familiar.” He realized. He’d seen them on Pranav before, an air slash from Golbat. “But the only one with a Golbat is…”

“Quinn…?” Sirius wondered aloud, as a figure reached down to bring him up to his feet.

“Can you stand?” Quinn asked, hoisting his bulky arm over his shoulder.

Sirius nodded, too tired to say more.

“I circled back but it took time, the fire’s getting strong, too strong for us to stay. We need to go. Can you hold on?”

Another nod.

“Let’s go Golbat! [Fly!]”

Golbats talons dug into their arms, and with a burst of speed, the two were carried off into the night, away from the fire, away from the smoke.

Mission Accomplished.