Chapter 10: Victims and Warriors

Wes had been in a plethora of uncomfortable situations within the last few days, but this one might have been the worst of them all.

Duking had introduced him and Rui to his two children just outside his home before sending the kids back inside with Wes in tow. The mayor remained with Rui outside the back door to the kitchen as he caught her up to speed on their investigation plans.

Wes would not quickly forget the burning stare from Duking as his son and daughter happily led the Snagger inside. The mayor said nothing to him, but he didn't need to; that look said everything Wes needed to know.

Try anything and I'll kill you.

So here he sat in the modest kitchen, trying not to fidget as he took in the yellow painted walls around him and attempted to ignore the girl's penetrating stare; she sat at the kitchen table across from him, looking him up and down as though silently critiquing every detail. For all he knew, she probably was.

Marcia (or Marci, as she had very adamantly insisted she be called) was the younger of Duking's two children. Her brother, Secc, had given a quiet but polite hello before retreating back into his book where he sat at the other end of the table.

Whatever her brother lacked in sociability, Marci more than made up for it with hers. She was loud, energetic, talked way too fast, and reminded Wes far too much of a certain redhead - a fact that was not helped by her auburn colored hair.

And, as luck would have it, Marci was particularly interested in Wes; she studied him from across the table as though he were a textbook and she was preparing for a test.

He was just about to ask her what in Mew's name she wanted when she finally spoke up.

"Dad says you're a Pokemon Trainer."

Wes blinked. "...Yeah. I am."

The girl frowned at him. She looked him up and down once more.

"But you don't look like a Trainer," she blurted.

Wes had absolutely no clue how to respond to that. What was that even supposed to mean?

"Because Trainers dress different!" Marci continued, apparently not expecting a response to her previous statement. "They wear cool shirts and shorts and they have cool bags for all their stuff - oh, and they wear hats, too!" She leaned forward as she spoke, eyes sparkling, as if she were imagining herself in those clothes.

She sat back and scrutinized Wes' face once more. "They don't have weird stripes on their faces, though," she remarked matter-of-factly.

Wes stared at her. What did this girl want from him?

He forced an air of patience into his tone. "Well...I'm still a Trainer-"

"Yeah, but you don't look like one."

Good lord. This girl was pushing buttons Wes didn't even know he had.

She gave him a toothy grin. "Your coat is cool, though!"

"...thanks."

"So...um..." Marci trailed off for a moment, shifting a little in her seat. Then she leaned forward again, face eager, and asked, "Can...can I see your Pokémon?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Wes saw Secc peek over the top of his book.

He could not possibly have been more grateful for the opportunity to turn the attention away from himself. "Sure." He pulled the Pokeballs from his belt.

Neo and Novo stretched happily as they emerged from the beams of light. They blinked and sniffed the air, taking in their surroundings. Neo waved his tail excitedly and Novo turned to his Trainer with a questioning look. "Umbri?"

Marci gasped so loudly that she might as well have sucked all the oxygen out of the room. Secc lowered his book and craned his neck to get a look at the Pokémon from his end of the table.

"Oh my gosh!" Marci squealed so high Wes was sure she would summon a flock of Zubat. "Secc! Secc, look, they're Eeeveelutions!"

Secc abandoned all pretenses of remaining aloof. His eyes widened in awe as he approached their end of the table and he got a better look at Neo and Novo.

"Wow...wow," he whispered. He looked at Wes, his eyes shining almost as bright as his sister's. "Did you raise them yourself?"

Wes nodded.

Secc crouched down in front of Novo in utter amazement. "Wow..." he said again.

Neo was reveling in all the attention; he purred loudly and rubbed up against Marci's legs with a happy chirp. She squealed again and immediately sat on the floor to pet him, a gesture that the Espeon greeted with enthusiasm.

Novo twitched his ears nervously and sat closer to his Trainer. Secc cautiously reached out to pet him, and Wes noticed the hairs rise on the back of Novo's neck. He placed a hand on the Umbreon's head.

"It's okay, Novo," he said. "They're..." What? Safe? Not a threat? (Though a threat to his pride, maybe.) They certainly weren't close enough to be called friends, not when they'd just met.

"They're okay," he finished.

Novo blinked at his Trainer. In an act of trust in Wes' judgement, he relaxed his shoulders and allowed the boy to stroke his pelt.

"He's so soft!" Secc exclaimed with a grin.

Marci was giggling hysterically as Neo pranced about her, begging for more attention. He rubbed his face against her shoulder, flicked his tail across her face, then flopped onto his back in front of her in an appeal for belly rubs.

He was quite possibly the most shameless Pokémon Wes had ever seen.

The door rattled from the other end of the kitchen as Duking and Rui came in from the house's side entrance, accompanied by another young man that Wes didn't recognize; he had spiky, dusty brown hair and a Plusle perched comfortably on his shoulder.

Rui blinked in surprise at the scene before them, a warm smile spreading slowly across her face.

"Dad, Dad, look!" Marci cried happily from her seat on the kitchen floor. "He has the coolest Pokemon!"

The Plusle on the newcomer's shoulder let out a reproachful chirp. "Plu!"

The young man laughed and patted the tiny Pokémon's head. "I'm sure she didn't mean anything personal, Plu."

Duking's eyes flickered over the sight before landing on Wes. He couldn't be certain, but Wes thought he saw Duking's eyes narrow just a little. The man didn't seem to appreciate the fact that his children were already associating so closely with the Snagger.

"Right," he said evenly. His eyes remained trained on Wes as he spoke. "That's nice, Mar. But it's time for both of you to get on your homework."

There was brief spell of groaning and protesting from both kids, but a stern look from their father caused them to sigh in defeat. Marci kissed the top of Neo's head before hopping up, and Secc gave Novo one last chin scratch before standing and returning to his books at the table.

As Wes rose from his seat, the mayor gestured to the young man beside him. "This is Silva, by the way. He helps me manage the Colosseum and is a close family friend of ours. He'll be helping us with the investigation." Silva greeted Wes with a wave and a friendly grin; Wes merely responded with a nod.

"Can we help with the investigation too, Dad?" Marci piped up from her spot at the table; she hadn't even bothered to open her textbooks yet.

"No, Mar. Please don't ask again."

Marci sat back in her seat with a defeated sigh, and Silva reached out and ruffled her hair with a laugh. "Don't worry, Marci, it's real boring stuff anyway. Lots of paperwork and long meetings." He lifted Plusle from his shoulder and let the Pokémon hop onto the table in front of Marci, who greeted him with a giggle.

"You always get to help out with stuff, though." Secc was the one who spoke up this time, though he kept his eyes on his book as he mumbled.

"That's because I'm a grown-up, and grown-ups get to do boring things. Take my advice and don't become one."

"More boring than math?" Marci wrinkled her nose at the still unopened book that rested in front of her.

"Marci, stop your complaining and get on your homework." Duking shot his daughter a stern look. "You should both count yourselves lucky that you even have the chance to get an education. Most kids in Pyrite aren't so lucky."

Most kids in Pyrite don't even have parents, Wes thought dryly.

"Does Pyrite have a school?" Rui asked in mild surprise.

Marci chipped in before her dad could reply. "No. Dad's making us do online school through some lady in Johto." She scowled. "We're the only kids in Pyrite who have to do homework."

Secc snorted and rolled his eyes. "Gee, how terrible."

Marci glared at him. "Just because you're some nerd who actually likes it, doesn't mean the rest of us do!"

Secc clearly had a scathing retort at the ready, but Duking cut in before he could deliver it. "Enough. Marci, if I hear one more complaint out of you, you're going to your room."

Marci slumped in defeat and looked down at her book with a wistful sigh.

"I can help you out later, if you'd like!" Rui flashed the girl a warm smile. "I was pretty good at math when I was in school."

"Really?" Marci looked up at her, eyes shining with admiration.

"Really!"

"That's a nice offer, Miss Everlin, thank you," Duking said as he gave Rui an appreciative look. "But for now, Mar will have to manage on her own. We need to get you both settled in."

He gestured for them to follow him as he made his way through the open doorway that led into the living room. Rui and Silva made friendly conversation with one another as they followed suit.

Wes fell in line behind them with a quiet sigh; he was sure they'd be put in some stuffy guest bedroom, and he wasn't looking forward to it. Not only did the idea of staying in someone else's house make him uncomfortable to the highest degree, it was a house filled with several people. As if dealing with Rui for the last few days hadn't exhausted him enough already...

But of all the things he'd been expecting, a secret cavern was not one of them.

He stared in surprise at the room Duking had led them to; the entrance to the cave itself had been hidden behind a bookshelf in Duking's office, which was just off from their living room. "Stuffy" was certainly not the appropriate description here; the cave was impressively sized, large enough to fit a table in the center of the floor and several mismatched chairs around it, a handful of bookshelves lining the walls, and, next to a door on the back wall, a waterfall that trickled down the stone into a tidy pool on the floor. The pool must have had an outlet to drain somewhere, as it didn't spread or flood across the floor.

"Wow...wow!" Rui breathed in awe. She'd been speechless for the last minute or so, mouth gaping as she took in their unexpected surroundings. She turned to Duking with an expression of pure, unadulterated excitement. "Did you build this?"

Duking chuckled a little at her amazement. "Silva and I built this place some years back out of the cliffside behind the house. It started out as a fun idea for the kids, and then...I guess we got a little carried away with it."

Silva grinned. "Well, it helps that Duking has a couple Rock types on his team. It was fun for all of us."

"This is so cool!" Rui turned to Wes with a beaming smile. He held back a snort; she looked for all the world like a five year old child on their birthday.

"We have two bedrooms just through the door there." Duking nodded to the other door on the back wall. "They...well, they're not much. Kind of small and nothing to write home about, but I hope they're comfortable enough for you."

"Are you kidding?" Rui laughed. "We get to stay in a secret cave! This is the coolest thing that's ever happened to me!"

Not that your standards are very high, Wes thought to himself. He didn't know much about Rui's hometown, but clearly the girl hadn't seen much. Though he had to admit - this hideout was impressive.

"Well, I'll give you both some time to settle in," Duking said. "We should have dinner ready in an hour or so, and you're - ah - welcome to join us." Wes noticed his gaze darken ever so slightly as the mayor glanced at him; hospitality aside, this man was certainly not happy to have Wes at his dinner table.

I don't want to be here, either, you know.

Neither Silva nor Rui seemed to pick up on this, as Silva cheerfully bade them farewell and followed Duking back out of the cave and into his office, and Rui bounded over to the doorway from across the room.

She threw Wes yet another child-like grin over her shoulder. "Feels like we're real spies or something, doesn't it? Working undercover and staying in a secret base?"

Wes was about to scoff at her and tell her how stupid that sounded, that they were not actually spies, when he caught sight of the unbridled joy on her face. Arceus above, he'd never seen such a pure expression before.

He decided to let her have this one. "Sure."

The bedrooms were indeed small and nothing extraordinary. Aside from a bed, lamp, and small dresser in each one, they were completely bare. Much as he disliked staying in someone else's home, Wes had to admit he preferred this over a more typical bedroom; he could almost pretend he was in a small shelter on a Snagging mission, which felt much more natural to him.

"You know," Rui's voice sounded from her room across the narrow hallway, "we ought to let those Pokémon out of their balls and get to know them a bit."

"What, the crazy ones?" Wes asked in disbelief. He closed the door to his room and frowned at her as she emerged from hers.

"They're not crazy, Wes, they're just...damaged," Rui said. "They're not going to get any better by sitting in their balls all the time, and you are their Trainer now."

"I'm not their Trainer."

"You are for now," Rui said stubbornly. "Besides, they've been in their Pokeballs since yesterday. We should at least let them eat something."

She had a point there, though the thought of confronting any one of the savage Pokémon made Wes feel uneasy. "Fine," he said, "but we're not doing it inside. I don't think Duking would thank us if his house got destroyed."

Rui smiled wryly. "You sure like to think of the worst case scenarios, don't you?"

Wes snorted and hefted the bag onto his shoulder. "Call it a talent."

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

He made his way back through the cave and made a point to ignore Rui's giggle behind him.

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The rays of the setting sun bathed the town in dusty gold. Wes was grateful there was still plenty of light out; Pyrite was not a place to be wandering the streets after dark.

For the sake of privacy and to avoid prying eyes, he'd found an abandoned lot out near the edge of town. He'd only ever seen a few groups of street kids loitering around the area before, and with evening closing in, they would either be finding a place to hunker down for the night, or they'd be scoping out potential thieving opportunities. His instincts proved to be correct when they found the lot empty.

He decided to send out Makuhita first, though he wasn't sure why; perhaps he felt that fists would be easier to dodge than a jet of flame or a stream of water or a flurry of leaves. Not that he felt any more at ease about it.

Makuhita blinked and slowly looked around; it didn't seem to be too fazed at the drastic change of scenery, though it was hard to tell anything from the blank expression.

Wes glanced at Rui. "Does it still have that weird aura? Or something?"

Rui nodded, looking Makuhita up and down with a concerned gaze. Wes noticed she wasn't just looking at the Pokémon; her eyes seemed to be taking in the space around it as well, taking in sights only she could see.

She turned back to him. "It's still there. His aura is just...off. But he doesn't seem to be as aggressive as before."

Makuhita looked up at them both, apparently noticing them for the first time since looking at his surroundings. "Ma."

Something about Rui's statement had stood out to Wes. "'He'?"

Rui nodded again and returned her attention to Makuhita. "Yeah. I can tell a Pokémon's gender by their aura. Females and males have certain patterns about them...the Bayleef is also a male, by the way. Quilava and Croconaw are female."

Wes had no response to that, and could only shake his head slightly. Mew have mercy, this girl was weird, and her ability to see aura was still unsettling to him.

"Ma."

Wes jumped as he felt a tug at the hem of his coat. He looked down and, to his surprise, found Makuhita tugging at the blue fabric.

"Um. Can I help you?"

Makuhita stared up at him; Wes resisted the urge to flinch. Docile though he seemed to be, those eyes were still so hollow, so soulless, so...empty.

Rui crouched down to level with Makuhita, and pulled something from her jacket pocket. "Here, this is for you. I think you'll like it."

Makuhita turned to look at her, and gave a few slow blinks before taking the treat, a small biscuit, from her outstretched hand. "Ma-ku."

Wes shot her a look. "Where did you get that?"

Rui grinned up at him. "I grabbed a few from the Phenac Center yesterday. They had a whole jar for Trainers to take some, and...I mean, I'm not a Trainer, but I thought I could give some to Neo and Novo at some point." She looked back at Makuhita with a gentle smile. "I think this guy needs it more, though."

"Ku." Makuhita nibbled away at the treat. He sounded somewhat pleased, though his expression remained as blank as ever.

He didn't seem all that different, Wes thought. His insane rage in battle aside, Makuhita was behaving like an ordinary, mild-mannered Pokémon. As he watched the fighter finish his treat, Wes thought he looked...almost normal.

Then Makuhita looked up at him again with those eyes and that blank, lifeless stare.

Almost.

"You should name him," Rui said suddenly.

"I-what?"

"Every Pokémon should have a name, shouldn't they?" Rui got back to her feet. "I doubt those thugs had a proper name for him, so you should give him one."

"Rui, he's not my-"

She shot him a sharp look. "Wesley Lycas, he's your Pokémon until we can get him better, so you should treat him like it," she said.

Arceus, you're bossy as hell.

Wes sighed in defeat and looked down at the Pokémon. Fine. It wasn't like naming him was a big deal, anyway...right?

Wes stared at the Makuhita. The Makuhita stared back.

A name...it had been so long since he'd named another Pokémon. He couldn't even remember how he came up with ones for Neo and Novo; they had simply come to him.

And just like that, a name for Makuhita popped in his mind.

"Maku," he said.

He heard a light sputter and looked over to find Rui giggling at him. He frowned at her. "What?"

"M-Maku?" she asked with an amused grin.

"Yeah, what of it? It suits him."

"That wouldn't, I don't know, have to do with the fact that he's a Makuhita?"

"Shut it. It's a good name. Right?" Wes addressed the Pokémon. Makuhita cocked his head to the side, then nodded. "Ma."

"See? He likes it."

"Well, what are you gonna name him when he evolves?" Rui's grin spread wider. "Harry?"

Wes scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous." He paused, then added nonchalantly, "I'd call him Yama."

At this, Rui let out a real guffaw of laughter. "Did-did-did you just make a joke?" she choked.

He shot her a sideways glance. "Would that be so hard to believe?"

"Well-yeah!" She spluttered. "I don't think I've seen you laugh at...at...anything!"

"Not my fault if most people have a terrible sense of humor."

"Oh, really?" Rui folded her arms and cocked her head to the side, still grinning. "So yours is better than everyone else's?"

"Exactly."

"How humble of you."

"I try."

Rui's eyes lit up with an idea. "Tell you what." She clasped her hands behind her back. "If I can make you laugh by the end of this mission, you buy me a Pokepop."

Wes stared at her. "That's stupid."

"It's a bet! So if I lose, you get something out of it."

He snorted and folded his arms. "And what would that be?"

"Hmm..." Rui squinted up at the sky for a moment, lost in thought. "How about...I buy treats for your whole team?"

That...actually was somewhat tempting. Still -

"You have no money," Wes deadpanned.

"Only because of current circumstances!" Rui said. "Once I get a new P*DA, I'll have access to my account again - and yes, I do have my own money, in case you doubted that," she added dryly.

Wes looked at her expression and realized she was actually serious. He shook his head in disbelief. "Fine, I'll play along, but only because it means free treats for my team."

"Oh, you think so?" Rui leaned forward with a mischievous smile. "I have plenty of jokes up my sleeve!"

He rolled his eyes. "And they're probably all terrible."

"Ha! Just you wait, Lycas. I'll get you."

"I'm sure."

"Ma?" Maku's voice caught Wes by surprise; he'd almost forgotten the quiet Pokémon was still standing right in front of them. Maku was looking between him and Rui with a somewhat hopeful gaze.

"Sorry, bud, I don't actually have any treats on me," Wes said wistfully. He threw Rui a sideways smirk. "I'm sure we'll get some soon, though."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Ma. Ma-ku." Maku gestured to Rui with his fist.

She blinked at the Pokémon in surprise. "Oh, you mean my treats!" Maku nodded, and her face fell a little. "Um, sorry, Maku, I don't have that many, and was saving them for the others..."

Maku blinked. "...ku." He looked down in disappointment.

Well, great. Now Wes felt sorry for him. Neo and Novo's begging tactics were one thing; he'd caved in to them from time to time, and they'd lived their lives knowing and trusting in his affection. But this poor Pokémon...he acted for all the world like Rui was the first human to ever show him kindness.

"It won't hurt to give him another one," he said to Rui.

She raised an eyebrow at him, then grinned. "If you say so." Instead of offering the biscuit to Maku, however, she dug one out of her jacket pocket and held it out to Wes. "You give it to him. You're the Trainer, after all."

Wes paused, then took it from her hand, knelt down, and held out the offering.

Maku blinked and slowly took the treat from Wes' hand. He nibbled at it - then took a larger bite, and then a larger one, until he shoved it all into his mouth. He looked at Wes and mumbled through a mouthful. "Ma."

"You're welcome. I think." It was a bit difficult to read Maku compared to Neo and Novo; Wes was used to relying on twitching ears and waving tails to tell him what they were feeling, and Maku's expressionless gaze didn't help things, either.

He suddenly noticed the sun was sinking lower in the sky; they would need to get a move on if they wanted to address the other Pokémon. After explaining to Maku that he would need to go back in his ball for now, he returned him.

"So, Wes, what are you going to name the other ones?" Rui was smirking at him. "Let me guess - you'll name the Quilava, 'Quilly'?"

"Shut up, Rui."

"Oh! How about 'Bay' for the Bayleef?"

Wes rolled his eyes. "You know what, if you're so good at names, then you should name them."

"Wait-are you serious? Do you mean that?" Her eyes widened in surprise.

He thought for a second, then shrugged. "If you want to, then...sure. Why not."

Rui beamed at him. "I'd love to!"

"Knock yourself out, then. But make sure they're at least decent ones."

"No promises. Maybe I'll name one of them 'Princess'."

"...You know what, I take it back. I'm keeping the naming privileges."

"No, wait, I was kidding! Let me name at least one!"

"Fine."

And with that, Wes tossed out the next Pokeball.

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She blinked and took in her new surroundings as the light from the Pokeball faded.

She didn't recognize this place - not that that was new, per se. She hadn't recognized the last city she was in, either; all she could reliably remember of her life before that was white walls and bright lights and cold metal tables...

And pain. Lots and lots of pain.

She twitched at the memory, the flames of her mane and tail sputtering in response. The dark monster in her chest stirred.

A voice met her hears, and she snapped her head around to see...two humans. One with hair as red as the flames of her tail, and the other in a blue...something. It was somewhat like the coats the humans wore within those white walls. Somewhat.

The first one, the red one, looked at her with a smile. She felt her skin crawl at her flank and lunged at her side with her teeth, gnawing away at the sensation. Then she scratched behind her ear, and raised a hind leg to scratch her other side, and -

Itch. Itch. Itch.

It had been a long time since she'd actually been itchy; ever since leaving the white walls behind, the sensation never returned. But she'd grown so used to it, that constant prickling sensation under her fur, that it felt unnatural, wrong even, to be without it. So she had itched and scratched and twitched and clawed herself bloody in various places in an effort to keep calm.

But these humans made her nervous, and nervousness made her want to twitch, scratch, bite, and that blackness in her heart stirred even more, threatening to rear its ugly head -

"It's okay."

A voice made her raise her head. The red one was looking at her and cautiously approaching her, but it wasn't the outstretched hand that was frightening, oh no; it was that smile on her face.

She didn't like that. When the white-coated humans would smile at her, with sharp and pointy things in their hands, it was a sure sign of more pain to come.

The blue one muttered something under his breath that she didn't quite catch, and the red one laughed. She shuddered; her flames flickered as she twitched and spasmed anxiously.

If a smile was a hint of pain to come, then laughter was a guarantee.

Yet there was something...different about the red one's face. She didn't know quite what, but that face seemed...gentle? Mild?

She didn't know humans could look like that. It unsettled her.

She caught sight of the blue one's face and found something else: wary cautiousness. Distrust.

Ah. That was an expression she recognized.

Another spasm took her left shoulder, and the red one was coming ever closer. She tried to hold still, but the harder she tried, the more she twitched. That imaginary itching sensation was tingling, prickling, crawling under her skin and it was everywhere, all over, everywhere -

Fingers brushed the top of her head.

"Qu-qu-QUI!"

She didn't mean to, she really didn't, but it was so unexpected, her body was twitching so much, and that blackness was clawing at her, telling her to hurt, destroy, tear - and oh no, oh no, she didn't mean to, she was sorry, sorry, so sorry -

The blue one yanked the girl out of the way as flames belched over their heads. She heard a shout, saw them both staring at her in alarm.

Oh. Oh no. The humans hated it when she did that.

She would be punished for this, she knew. And punishment always hurt. And after the punishment, they would come at her with more sharp things poking under her skin, the itching would be back tenfold and it would make her wish she could crawl out of her own pelt like it always did and that monster inside of her would take over and please she didn't mean to, she didn't mean to, she didn't mean -

A strange smell hit her nostrils. She slowly raised her head and only then realized she'd curled into a ball in an attempt to hide from the world.

A gloved hand was cautiously extended in front of her, holding...food? She blinked and raised her head a little higher to meet the blue one's eyes. That wariness was still there, but there was something else, too...more softness? She wasn't sure.

"Here." His voice was quiet. "Take it."

Slowly, very slowly, she craned her neck forward to take the morsel from his hand. She delicately clutched it in her teeth, then immediately snapped her head away before he could have a chance to do - something. Hit her, or stab her with something sharp, or yank her by the ear.

One of those things, certainly. Humans always did those things.

He continued to speak to her, but she didn't catch the words; she was busy gulping down the food. Who knew when her next bite of food would come? Best to eat it all before he could take it away.

"May I?"

The girl's voice again. She shot a wary glance upwards to see her reaching out a cautious hand.

The blue one growled. "Rui-"

"It's okay, Wes. She's just scared."

What was wrong with this human? Her eyes were so kind, her voice so gentle, she was so different from the white ones...

She licked the last of the crumbs from her muzzle as she stared at this strange human...then reluctantly bowed her head. If this girl wanted to touch her, she would make it happen one way or another, anyway. Humans always got what they wanted in the end.

The hand brushed her head again, and even though her entire body quivered with phantom itchiness, she was prepared this time. It would hurt, but if she didn't struggle, it wouldn't be too unbearable -

Soft.

The girl's touch was light. Fingers gently brushed through her fur, stroked the top of her head, scratched behind her ears. She felt her muscles relax ever so slightly at the sensation. It felt...nice.

"Kohna."

She blinked up into the girl's eyes. So warm. The girl spoke again.

"Kohna. Can we call you that? Do you like that name?"

A...name? She twitched her ears. She'd had a name, back in the cold white rooms, but she could never remember it very well. SD00245...something. It was long and strange, and never felt like much of a name.

Kohna. It wasn't bad. She even...kind of liked it.

She slowly nodded her head.

The girl smiled again - Kohna's flames sputtered nervously at the sight. The blue one spoke to her. "We'd keep you out for a little longer, but we need to meet with the other Pokémon, too, so you'll have to go back in your ball for now." He grimaced a little. "Sorry."

Sorry? Sorry? Did this human just apologize to her? A Pokémon?

She mulled these things over and over in her mind as the light from the Pokeball sucked her back inside. Food. Gentle touches. A new name.

These humans were very strange, indeed.

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Even before she could take in her surroundings, she was ready.

Her Trainer only ever let her out of her ball for two things: meals and battles. But she learned very quickly to always assume she was being unleashed for the latter. Taking too long to gather in her surroundings had earned her some painful blows from advancing foes in the past, so now she knew better. Always be ready. Always be prepared to attack, to fight, to win.

Some Pokémon took little pleasure in battling, but she was not one of them. She relished the opportunity to tear at her opponents, to send them sprawling in the dirt, to make them bleed, make them hurt. It was a welcome outlet for the rage that constantly simmered in her chest.

And yet, as she tensed her muscles and lashed her tail and snapped her powerful jaws...there was no attack, no hailstorm of fire or lightning or whatever else aiming straight for her head. She blinked and looked up at the two humans standing in front of her - two unfamiliar humans.

It took her all of five seconds to size them up. She came to a single conclusion with a derisive snort.

Pathetic.

They were all alike, humans. Thought they were so mighty just because they could suck her back into a Pokeball if she behaved too wildly, just because they could strap her down to a table and muzzle her jaws shut while they inflicted all sorts of misery, just because she knew that if she didn't obey their every whim, she would have hell to pay.

But humans could posture all they liked. She knew the strength in her scales, the deadly force of her fangs; she had the real power.

She glared up at the two strangers, unflinching, undaunted. Her willfulness would surely not go unpunished, but she didn't care. She'd had worse, and she would endure worse in the future. Pain only made her stronger, so she welcomed it.

"Oh, Wes, look at all of her scars..."

The girl cautiously stooped down to her level and looked her squarely in the eye with...was that pity?

She lashed her tail again, kicking up a cloud of dust behind her as she did so. She, a mighty Croconaw, was not to be pitied. She was raw muscle and strength and ferocity; she was a fighting machine, designed to destroy, to obliterate, to win at any cost.

Pity was not for her, no; it was for the weaker Pokémon she encountered in those cold, tiled rooms, the ones that wailed and struggled and sobbed even as the light faded from their eyes and the life ebbed from their limbs. They were the fragile ones, the ones that cried with every stab or blow or stroke of pain.

She'd never cried; she was made of stronger stuff than they.

A low growl rumbled in her throat as she leered at this pitiful little human in front of her. She would make sure this girl knew the truth: She was a warrior, not a victim.

She was not to be pitied. She was to be feared.

But before she could make her move, the other human stepped forward and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. He murmured a word of caution, made her stand and take a few steps back.

She growled again, and he locked eyes with her.

Those eyes did not contain the same aggravating sympathy as the girl's did - but there was no fear in them, either. They held caution...and something else. A quiet, burning defiance, almost as if he were daring her to test him.

She was not sure whether she despised this or respected it.

"Um, hello." The girl took a step forward again, ignoring the glare from her companion. "It's nice to officially meet you. I'm Rui, and this is Wes, your new Trainer." She gestured to the man beside her with a smile. "It's probably confusing to take all of this in at once, but don't worry, we'll take good care of you."

Another lash of the tail, another mocking snort. As if she needed reassurance. She needed nothing, never did, never would.

"If...if it's all right with you, we'd like to give you a name," the girl continued. "How does Nani sound?"

She looked at the girl with a cold, deadpan stare. Names were of no importance to her, least of all names given from humans. She'd never acknowledged the name given to her by the white-coated ones, and she certainly wouldn't adhere to anything these ones had to -

"It means 'mighty wave' in Alolan."

The use of the word "mighty" gave her pause. Hm. Perhaps - perhaps - she would consider it. She supposed a warrior did need a worthy name...

"We'll give you time to think about it, if you'd like." The man spoke this time. He was still looking at her with that fiery gaze of his. "You'll need to go back in your ball for now, but we'll have food for you later. You can mull it over in the meantime."

It was odd, the way these two were speaking to her. From her experience, humans only addressed her to bark orders, yet these ones were just...talking. As if trying to have a conversation.

She glared at them both. She had no response for them.

They exchanged a look. The man simply shrugged and held up her Pokeball. She looked at him one last time and thought she caught a glimpse of something softer in his eyes.

"We'll see you later, okay?"

The beam of light engulfed her, and as darkness swallowed her up, she snarled to herself.

No matter if these two were somewhat different. Humans were all the same, in the end.

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

"Right. Okay. We'll deal with him later."

Wes shakily got back to his feet and shoved Bayleef's ball back into the bag as he huffed this statement.

The second Bayleef had been released from his ball, the Pokémon bellowed in rage and launched a flurry of leaves straight for their heads; Wes had only narrowly managed to shove Rui down and duck under the slicing green blades before returning him.

Rui was slower to get to her feet. "His-his-his aura..." Her voice betrayed the fact that she was trembling slightly.

"Yeah, I know it's messed up, that's the point-"

"No, I mean-it was worse!" Rui exclaimed. She turned to Wes, face distraught. "It was like...like it was consuming him or something!"

Wes frowned at her. "Maybe some are worse than others?"

"I...I don't know...maybe?" She bit her lip and glanced at where the Bayleef had been standing just a moment before. She looked back at Wes, her eyes pools of worry, and asked the question that had been festering in the back of his mind.

"Wes...how are we going to fix these Pokémon?"

"I don't know." And for all his frustration at being in this situation, for all his annoyance at being kept from his destination at every turn, Wes found himself genuinely wishing he knew the answer.

The terror in Quilava's eyes, the scars lacing Corconaw's body, the emptiness in Maku's eyes...

Whoever was responsible for this was a monster.

"We'll figure it out," he said. He looked Rui squarely in the eyes. "We just need some time. And starting tomorrow, maybe we'll get some answers."

She nodded, and her anxiety seemed to ease a little. She glanced at the fading sunset. "Well...we should probably go back, right? I'm sure they'll be waiting for us."

Wes sighed a little. Right. The day wasn't over yet; he still had to deal with people before he could retire peacefully for the day. "Yeah. Let's go."

And with that, they left the empty lot behind.