Hoshi sat, his pen and notes forgotten, enraptured as the duo’s story unfolded.
Listening to them was oddly surreal; he had been born in Viridian, though he retained no memories of that place, and his mother’s native city had always been an object of… third-hand pride, so to speak. Sort of like how Uncle Bob keeps up with that one Orre city’s baseball news religiously, despite not setting foot there since he was a little kid.
Giovanni was an old figure, celebrated and reviled in equal measure, and one that he felt a very tenuous, ephemeral, but nonetheless real connection to – and so hearing them recount their efforts to find the man after his disappearance, it was…
Like watching some daytime TV show, but then suddenly someone I know shows up as a bit character. It makes reality seem less real.
“And that concludes the stunning finale of the Galarian section of our adventure…” James narrated.
“…But we wouldn’t be moving south quite yet!” Jessie continued. “As I’m sure you know, to the east of Kalos is an untamed area, a bastion of nature untouched by human hands…”
“Meow.”
“Exactly!” James gestured, sweeping his arm across his body, palm up, before curling his fingers as though grasping something in his mind’s eye. “Just teeming with rare Pokémon! And since our coffers were sadly empty from buying all those antique sets of armour-”
The Senior Executive’s voice was cut off by a soft sound, and some of the magic of the story broke as the both of them turned their attention to the entrance at the back of the room.
Hoshi turned to see Moon- damn it, come on, we shook on it. To see Kenny standing awkwardly, his bald head shining in the bright classroom lights like the full moon, damn it, can you not make it easy for me?
“Uh, sorry I’m late,” he growled, chastisement under his voice like painted-over graffiti. “My Nana had a fall, and-”
“Perfectly fine!” Jessie interrupted him right back. “The Electric Academy prides itself on covering for our students’ mysterious disappearances!”
“You’ll just have to snag some notes off a peer after the lesson. Take a seat, Mister Kaneth.”
The large man did so, sheepish in a way Hoshi had never seen before, and the Rocket duo continued.
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“…And that’s all the time we have for today!” Jessie concluded, to the collective disappointment of the ‘students,’ Hoshi among them.
“Don’t worry,” James assured them. “We’ll pick things back up in the next lesson!”
“Think of it as a ‘next time on’ soap opera ending!”
“Meow!”
With a synchronised nod, the two Rockets and their Pokémon began gathering up their notes and cleaning the whiteboard. Kenny grunted in annoyance as his effort to copy the dense writing was thwarted, prompting Hoshi to roll his eyes.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got everything down. We can go over it later.”
The muscular man’s face brightened. “Yeah? Right, the plannin’ thing – we doin’ that now?”
Hoshi gave a half nod. “In a bit.” After I show Ryan a strong Pokémon doesn’t always mean a winning one. Raising his voice, he addressed the group. “Why don’t you all go get your rain stuff on, and we’ll meet in front of the school? Me and Ryan are gonna have a little showdown, then we can get some serious training done, if you’re up for it.”
It was surprisingly easy to pitch his voice authoritatively – he had never really been in a situation like this, the leader of a group, but it turned out that anticipating this moment over and over in his head had done something useful along with stressing him out.
The collection of Rocket Grunts stood – except for one. Puce raised her hand, speaking to the crimson crescent of Jessie’s turned back. “P-pardon, instructors, but… Is today meant to be a half day? It’s only two in the afternoon…”
Hoshi blinked. Is it? I was so caught up in their ‘history lesson’ I wasn’t really keeping track…
Jessie and James turned. “Excellent question!” the woman announced.
“We were going to use the second half of the lesson to go over some details on your ongoing mission…” her partner continued.
“But your project leader managed to get ahead of us!” Jessie’s ruby-painted lips turned up as she shot Hoshi a look that caused a dusting of pink to appear on his cheeks. “So we thought, ‘if he’s going to do our work for us…’”
“‘Why stop him?’”
“Ee-ow,” said Meowth, his mouth obstructed by a large pen. Wait, is he writing..? No, don’t get distracted.
“Exactly!”
James shot his own smile Hoshi’s way, and the blush went from pink to red. “You’re exceeding our expectations, Senior Grunt – no one else thought to come to us for additional details.”
“Or coordinate with the others in their own time.”
“Or bother to plan contingencies for failure.” The man’s green eyes flashed. “Very neat handwriting, by the way.”
Hoshi awkwardly shuffled. “…Thanks.” Okay, there’s definitely a trap door in the ceiling somewhere – that’s the only place they’d be able to peek at my notes.
“Oh, okay,” Puce said after a moment of silence, finally standing. “Thank you for clearing that up.”
Jessie nodded. “Honestly, even if we had decided to promote someone else, Mister Mutsu’s attitude would have us questioning that decision.”
“Yes, he’s really been on top of things!”
“Mao.”
Out the corner of his eye Hoshi saw Ryan’s face twist, and his blush receded a hair’s breadth. Right… they aren’t just praising me, they’re putting him down. I was just speculating when I said they didn’t want someone from a different… cell, let’s say, in charge, but this makes it pretty explicit.
The Rocket Executives went back to cleaning the room, and the students packed up their own notes and left.
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“You guys are fightin’, right? Full-on Pokémon battle?”
Kenny’s voice had lost the thin dregs of submission from earlier; he didn’t even attempt to modulate his volume, his words loud and eager.
The man’s sparkling black eyes showcased just how much he was looking forward to the coming violence.
“We will be battling, yes,” Ryan answered, still gritting his teeth from their bosses’ dressing-down. “Assuming that Mutsu is willing, that is.”
Hah, can’t even manage to imply I’m a coward properly. “I said we’d meet in front of the school, didn’t I?”
The moment they had left the room, Nerine had pulled a bag of chips from her overstuffed backpack. Until that moment she’d been trailing behind, paying more attention to her snack than the conversation, but as things got heated she pulled back to the group. “You get that winning won’t get you his stripes, right?” she sent Ryan’s way.
He snorted. “This is about honour, not just the rank. And besides…” His sour look diminished. “Won’t it? The uniform is ceremonial – the authority comes from being obeyed. Wouldn’t you prefer to take your cues from the stronger trainer?”
“Eh,” Nerine replied. “Not really? In a ‘go fight this guy’ mission yeah, but this isn’t that. I’m cool with letting whoever’s willing to call the shots call the shots.”
She started to drop back, completely losing interest now that her piece was said, and Puce slid in to fill the gap in conversation.
“Wouldn’t it be better if you worked together?” Work together? Fuck that, not until he pulls the stick out of his ass! The woman shrivelled under his and Ryan’s gazes, but for the first time Hoshi saw her grow a spine and defend herself. “I’m serious! This is silly – the instructors gave Mister Mutsu a promotion fair and square. There isn’t any reason for you two to fight.”
Ryan’s anger flared back up, but a moment later he managed to calm himself. “Again, this isn’t about Mutsu. This is about the blatant disrespect being shown to me, simply because I’m Mister Archer’s protege; I simply cannot stand such blatant nepotism.”
The hall went dead silent. …Oh, Arcus fuck, that’s… Ryan’s brows came together in confusion at the five incredulous looks sent his way – not even Casca, who Hoshi had assumed to have a disarming comment for every situation, could open her mouth in front of that statement.
Then, a soft choking noise, slowly growing in volume… until great, heaving guffaws erupted from Kenny’s mouth.
“HAH-!” he gasped. “AH, he said, HAHAH-!”
He couldn’t even form a sentence, and then Nerine began to snicker as well. Hoshi joined in, and soon it was only Ryan and Puce walking silently, both red-faced – one from embarrassment, and the other from trying to hold in her own burgeoning laughter.
“I mean it,” Ryan choked out, which only made Kenny laugh harder. A head poked out from a doorway as they passed, no doubt wondering what the commotion was, and Hoshi had to stop and catch his breath lest he actually throw up.
He could hear the blond grinding his teeth – until he finally seemed to give up, quickening his pace and marching ahead.
“Ah, wait..!” Puce attempted, but he disappeared around the corner without looking back. “Oh… Guys, that felt kind of mean.”
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Casca wiped a tear from her eyes. “Fuck ‘im. If he wants to be a prick, he can take the consequences.”
Fucking right. Hoshi bumped her shoulder in thanks, but inside a seed of hesitation formed. On the one hand, he was grateful to the instructors; their half-veiled mockery had set the mood against the Viridian, making it easy to get everyone on his side – it was easy to picture a version of that conversation where Ryan was more composed, making a better argument and winning one or two people over.
But on the other, he was going to have to work with this guy for at least the one job – and if he hated Hoshi too much, that could very easily fuck them over. I doubt he’d go all the way and sabotage the mission, but I’m not exactly a mind reader… And his pride is obviously a weak point. Just picking the wrong time to disobey an order out of spite might send the house of cards tumbling.
So… Against the flow of his emotions, Hoshi forced himself to take a breath and kill the lingering snickers that wanted to form. “Well, maybe that was a bit much. We probably shouldn’t dogpile the guy – beating him in a battle’s enough for me.”
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Hoshi emerged from the school, wearing his rain gear over his uniform. By some quirk of fate he was the last to arrive; a dramatically appropriate turn of events. Actually, it’s probably a quirk of fashion – the others are wearing slip-on raincoats; I’m the only one with professional, fitted waterproof clothes that take time to put on.
“Took ya long enough,” Kenny spoke from the shadow of the building’s roof, his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. At his feet Nerine was sitting, click-clacking away at a handheld game console in the thin slice of dryness between solid stone and nearly-solid water.
Hoshi grunted in reply, casting his eyes out towards the gloom of the stormy afternoon. Is it coming down harder? Arcus, Fuchsia and Pallet must be completely flooded by this point. While the bay’s waters were crashing against the docks like giant’s fists, he could only imagine how bad it was for the cities bordering the open ocean, without any barriers between them and the typhoon. Not to mention Cinnabar and the other islands…
He shook off the speculation, returning to the present. A dark shape approached, resolving into Ryan in a trench coat, Puce trailing him with an oversized umbrella – she was the only one of them not wearing a coat, and Hoshi wondered if she forgot it inside, forgot it at home, or had come in something that didn’t fit over her grunt uniform.
A hint of drifting smoke found his nose through the downpour, and he decided that Ryan could simmer a minute more. He made his way to Casca, a point of orange light illuminating her face as she took shelter under a tree.
“Nervous?” he asked, and she plucked the cigarette from her lips to reply.
“It’s stupid, isn’t it? Obviously you’re gonna win.”
His dark purple eyes found her baby blue ones, reflected lights dancing in her pupils, and they shared a smile. “Do you have to jinx me right before it starts?” Wet footsteps approached, and he drew in a breath. Time’s up. Let’s see if a bat can beat a dragon.
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Ryan Sampo understood that his words hadn’t endeared him to anyone today.
It was simply… difficult, to adjust to the change in his situation. Back in Viridian City, he was well-liked. By his friends, his neighbours, his superiors… Very nearly everyone he had ever met was either a peer who looked at him with respect, an authority figure who nodded at his competence, or a member of his own family, who obviously loved and cared for him.
Now, here he was – surrounded by unfamiliar people and a pair of Senior Executives who obviously disfavoured him without even gauging his talents first. Anyone would find such things grating, would they not?
But even so, he was disappointed with himself; men of Sampo blood did not wallow, or allow themselves to be consumed by emotion. And so as he approached his rival he balled up the humiliation within, and swallowed it down.
“Hoshi Mutsu. Are you prepared?”
The man turned, revealing his small, burning eyes. As always, there was the smallest seed of recognition – the man had Viridian in him, somewhere. Whether that was a parent, grandparent, or even further up his family tree, Ryan did not know, but it was obvious when one knew what to look for as he did.
The Senior Grunt bared his teeth. “Since the moment you called me out, Sampo. But before anything else, let’s make one thing clear:” His eyes slid across the front of the building, eyeing them all. “This fight has our pride on the line, nothing else. Win or lose, I’m still your boss.”
Ryan sniffed. “Obviously. If I did not respect the chain of command, this situation would not be nearly so grating.”
Hoshi fixed him with a stare, no doubt searching for deception, and Ryan met his eyes solidly. “…Right. I guess we’d better lay some ground rules-”
“A full team-on-team fight, one Pokémon from each of us at a time, no switches, no use of items,” Ryan undercut. “To knockout or surrender.”
Silence, but for the blowing of the wind, and the equally hot air coming from that oaf of a Rocket Grunt. “Damn, man,” Menard stated. “You really gonna accept the two-on-one?”
“I shall. Jormungandr is more than enough.” And that is no mere boast; I’ve been training at the highest intensity these past few days. If we were to face that Executive and his showpony again, there would be a different result, I’d bet my very name on it.
Hoshi’s lips twisted. “I guess that’s fair.”
Less than a minute later, the two stood across from each other. The line of trees to Ryan’s left broke the wind slightly, but it was still intense enough that both men had to clutch their headwear lest they get facefuls of rain.
Nerine stood between them to the side, playing the part of referee as he had asked her to. As the delinquent girl restated the rules of the engagement, Ryan raised his activated Pokéball to his lips and whispered.
“He’ll begin with his zubat, I’m sure of it. You know what to do.”
Across the field his opponent was doing the same, and for a brief moment Ryan was struck by the symmetry. He had not spoken falsely, earlier; he had no personal quarrel with Hoshi Mutsu. The Executives had not been… incorrect, to praise the man for his efforts. He was not a poor leader.
But they had not known he would do that. Rise above their expectations. That was what galled him – yes, the man had revealed himself to be competent, and yes, Ryan had hurried off back home to celebrate his second-place victory and train, rather than stay and perform his duties properly…
He had been languid. That was a failure he would carry with him. It was also a failure that had occurred after his superiors had placed Mutsu above him, a man with exactly zero accolades to nis name – disregarding a single famous relative.
That was nepotism, bare and ugly. He, Ryan Sampo, had risen to become the Rocket Boss’s favoured pick by effort, by deeds, by excellence in his studies and good judgment in battle.
And though he took immense pride in his heritage, it was one’s person that determined their skill in battle. Nerine finished, raising her hand, and his grip on Jormungandr’s ball tightened.
Her hand cut the rain in a downward slash. “Begin!”
He threw the ball hard, aiming for the other man’s feet. As he predicted, Hoshi aimed for the same spot – he wanted distance, the better to rise into the air, away from Jorm’s strong jaws. You’ll have to think more than one step ahead, Mutsu!
Two flashes of red, a hint of panic breaking the Senior Grunt’s composure as he yelled. “Crow, fly!”
Ryan bared his teeth in ecstasy; as the first move of the battle went to him, he couldn’t resist a spot of banter.
When Ryan had once again set foot in Viridian, the first thing he did – after paying respects to his father and the Rocket Boss, of course – had been to learn absolutely everything about his Pokémon. Its diet, its temperament, its pedigree… and most importantly, the quirks of its species.
And what he found was that his little bagon was perfect for him – the species was one consumed by ambition; to ascend, and grow from tiny grounded child to mighty sovereign of the skies. They longed to fly so strongly, they would leap off of tall cliffs simply to feel the sensation for a single second… An ambition that Ryan knew all too well.
He, too, desired to ascend.
“You heard the man! Fly, Jormungandr!”
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“Crow, fly!”
“You heard the man! Fly, Jormungandr!”
Hoshi’s teeth clenched as the field flashed red. Stupid, why didn’t I expect him to send his fucking dragon out on my side? It wasn’t even a trick he was ignorant of – he had experienced it during the tournament, from that guy with the spider.
He could only hope that Crow could handle herself. “Evade!”
His bat came out three feet above ground and immediately spotted her opponent, the tiny dragon within lunging distance – she flapped for her life, fighting the rain as much as gravity, and Hoshi’s heart thundered in his chest.
Fucking- am I going to lose in the first second? From one mistake? His fingerbones ached from how hard his fists were clenched, but the pain was distant, unimportant. “Come on!” The dragon leapt, its stubby legs propelling it further than Hoshi would have thought possible, firelight from its gaping maw scintillating off the raindrops as time slowed. “Dodge!” Fucking Arcus-damned typhoon-! I should’ve made this happen inside!
Then the bagon’s teeth caught the edge of Crow’s wing and time resumed. She fell – or rather was pulled down, a long rent in the paper-thin membrane, and liquid black despair filled his chest. Hoshi’s heart froze solid as his chances of winning died.
No, some part of him said. It’s only a wing, she’s still conscious. We aren’t out yet! “LEECH LIFE!” he roared, stomping the muddy, dying grass. “Go for the eyes!”
Crow flopped in the bagon’s grip, her wing smoking. In the background Hoshi saw Ryan’s eyes widening, his mouth opening to call out an order, but before he could speak a second, higher-pitched roar sounded out.
The bagon flung its head to the side, dashing Crow against the ground with her fur smouldering, its Fire Fang having done its job. “Zubat is unable to battle!” Nerine cried across the field. “Trainer Hoshi, return your Pokémon!”
Damnit, damnit, damn it all! The return laser of his ball flashed out, and finally the pain in his digits and jaw asserted itself. Is that it..? No. He eyed the dragon more closely as it keened, its anger now directed Hoshi’s way. Its eye is closed, leaking blood. Is that- maybe that’s enough? Maybe Guts can pull through?
“Hey,” Nerine continued. “Hey, no trainers on the-”
Hoshi’s eyes turned from the bagon just in time to receive Ryan’s right hook to the jaw. “You bastard! If you’ve blinded my Pokémon-!”
He went down, taking another slug to the face as Ryan kneeled on top of him – but Hoshi must have been in a hundred stupid drunken bar fights, and the blond grunt hit light. He retaliated, splitting Ryan’s lip, and they rolled in the mud.
Then a yipping growl way too close, and some of the anger broke into panic. The dragon! Where’s the-?! As they tumbled he managed to catch glimpses of it, blue scales and fangs and a single sharp, enraged eye. It’s fucking happening again. And there was no way he could stomp out this ‘mon, steel-toed boots or not. He heaved, throwing the sopping wet asshole off and half-rising to meet the charging dragon.
“Water Gun!” came a voice from outside his tunneling vision, and the bagon was blown back a few steps. He tried to move, instinctively trying to take advantage of its weakness, but thickly muscled arms wrapped around under his armpits. Hoshi found himself being half-lifted, half-dragged away.
“Arc, boss!” Kenny exclaimed, laughing. “You sure know how to put on a show!”
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In a blurry mess that Hoshi only mostly understood, the fight ended in a tie. Puce held Ryan up over her head until he calmed down, and he recalled his Pokémon. Casca put away her staryu. Nerine shrugged and said that as referee, she was calling it – that if they continued, someone was probably going to die.
“Boys,” she scoffed, turning away. “They’ve gotta learn to take a chill pill and not stress the small stuff.”
While all that happened, Hoshi sat, attempting to get a handle on his own emotions. He wasn’t very successful – minutes passed as he breathed heavily, his teeth clenched, Casca hovering protectively just out of sight. Enough time for Ryan to approach, his face bearing a mix of lingering anger and growing contrition.
“I,” he began, before taking a moment and restarting. “I apologise. I should not have assaulted you. That was a gross overreaction.”
Hoshi continued to focus on his breath for a handful of seconds. Then with heavy, deliberate movements he stood. Guess I’m not the only one who flies off the handle, sometimes. “Yeah. Yeah, fine, I get it.” Today was a fucking shitshow… or at least this part of today. Both of them were covered in mud, sporting bruises and scrapes – though he felt a spark of satisfaction as he noted that Ryan was definitely worse off.
His hand came up. “Next time, then.”
A small pause where Hoshi thought the man might refuse, before he accepted the handshake. His palm was wet and slick. “Next time. I didn’t even get to showcase Jormungandr’s new move…”