Shoe shopping had gone uncharacteristically smoothly, and so when Hoshi stepped into Route 6 he did it in a brand new pair of properly watertight hiking boots, courtesy of Moonside, Kanto’s premier specialist shop for hiking, camping, and fishing – or so the sign said; he’d gone right to and from the shoe section without much in the way of browsing.

Though maybe a nice sturdy coat should be something to start thinking about. I’m going to be out of town looking for Pokémon more often, and doing that in a city jacket would be… unwise.

An image of himself being doused by a territorial golduck in the middle of winter played through Hoshi’s mind for a fraction of a second, before he dispelled it with a breath.

“Alright!” he exclaimed, turning to the capture team he’d been saddled with. Casca was looking fine as always, her pack bulging with pokéballs and her stature improved by a smaller size of the same boots he was wearing. Kenny had gone with a slightly less expensive option, but he hadn’t been completely wrong to say he didn’t need new boots; atop the hoverbike, he and his own bag were well away from the swampy surface. He’ll thank me if he needs to dismount, though.

And last but largest, Kiribo seemed to be in high spirits. I’m kind of excited to see him in action; how strong do you have to be to get the title Rocket Hunter?

“I’ve been thinking on the way over, and this is what I think we should do: Kenny, you’re a big, loud annoyance with that bike of yours.”

“Oi.”

“No, that’s a good thing. If you go in a big circle around the edge of the route, you’ll drive a bunch of Pokémon towards the centre – right into the three of us. We release our Pokémon, spread out a bit, and then… just get to it, I suppose.” Hoshi paused, turning to the relative stranger. “That fine with you, uh…” Wait, does he outrank me? I know that Senior Grunt is equal to Agent, but… “Should I call you sir, or would you prefer something else?”

Kiribo struck a pose, extending his hand forward. “Please call me by my title, the Psychic Hunter! Ho hoh!” He punctuated the laugh with a short bow, raising his head to show a toothy grin. “And that plan is sound enough! While my partner and I prefer stealth when hunting alone, I’m content to follow along with the group.”

He straightened up, and Hoshi forced the touch of exasperation the performance instilled in him away. “Good. Let’s release our Pokémon then.” Wonder why his posing annoys me, while the instructors doing a much more elaborate song-and-dance doesn’t…

Eh, it’s probably just because they’re hot.

“Indubitably!” “Yeah, alright. Bubbles, other dude, let’s do this!” “Come on out, Candy!”

Hoshi’s good mood returned as he palmed one of his pokéballs, adding his voice to the mix. “Guts, Crow! You’ll be learning to hunt today, so look sharp!”

In a series of flashes and warbling sounds their Pokémon appeared. Crow flapped down from the air to land on Hoshi’s shoulder as he caught their rebounding balls, his other girl scenting the air as her whiskers twitched.

They’ve definitely grown since I got them. He reached up to rub at his zubat’s face and neck. Not quite full size, but we’re getting there. “Everything good? Let’s-”

His mouth ceased moving as his attentions turned away from his own Pokémon, and he caught sight of what Kiribo had released. Arcus above, I am so glad I’ve managed not to call him a fatass out loud.

If he’d bothered to think on it, Hoshi would have assumed the man’s partner to be either a dark or bug type – the natural enemies of psychic Pokémon. Something stereotypically ‘cool’ to match his demeanour, like a scyther or houndoom. Or maybe a ghost, as a distant third choice.

But it seemed that the Psychic Hunter subscribed to the notion that the best person to catch a thief, was another thief.

With an angular five-pointed head set atop a bipedal body that mixed mammalian fur with insectoid chitinous armour… there was only one thing this Pokémon could be. That’s an alakazam, the fully evolved form of kadabra. It wasn’t nearly as shocking as seeing a machamp had been; of all the ‘secret’ evolutions alakazam was grouped with, it competed with golem for the title of most common, with both forms even appearing in the wild with some regularity. But it was still surprising.

And the other two apparently agreed, Kenny and Casca letting out a pair of gasps. “Woah! Hardcore!” Kenny exclaimed. “You and that professor guy – do all Rockets have Pokémon like that? Will we get one?”

Kiribo laughed, while his Pokémon let the praise roll off its shoulders – actually, it isn’t paying us any attention at all. The ‘mon was just standing, oddly light on its feet, staring upwards as its hat – because of course it was clothed, Team Rocket was insane – cast its face in shadow.

“I’m afraid I have no answer for you, young Grunt!” Kiribo replied. “You will simply have to earn it, by deed or by trickery! Now…” The man rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, and his Pokémon, too, seemed to become… more dangerous, somehow. A gust of wind artfully tousled the two’s clothing, Kiribo’s long jacket flapping while the alakazam lifted a three-fingered hand to keep its cowboy hat from flying away.

The movement caused its vest-like garment to open wider, and in an eerie mirror to the way Hoshi had noticed its master’s sword earlier, his eyes were drawn to its chest.

He almost took a step back on instinct. Hanging on a cord from its neck, separated by knots to keep them from clinking together, were seven silver spoons. Each was twisted into a different shape, but they were obviously a match for the two peeking out from the holsters slung around the Pokémon’s hips.

As much as the image of an alakazam dressed as an old-west-style gunslinger should have been amusing, that one addition turned the whole thing on its head. Okay. This guy- these guys are legit. Even the man’s posing suddenly became less comical.

Hoshi breathed out, adding his own belated gasp. “Arcus. I feel like we’re kind of out of our league, here.”

The other Pokémon agreed. While none were outright afraid, they were all subtly angling away, not looking the alakazam in the face. He could feel Crow’s bristly hide forming goosebumps under his fingers.

Unlike his Pokémon, Kiribo seemed to soak in the attention, spreading his arms like a tree attempting to take in more sunlight. “Oho! There’s no need for that, Senior Grunt! Come, let the hunt begin!”

He sauntered off, the alakazam absentmindedly following, and there was a beat where the rest of them were silent. Then Casca leaned in, and whispered. “I was gonna ask everybody to help me with my dugtrio, but now I’m a little too intimidated.”

Hoshi nodded. “I get it. I was gonna do the same thing with Venus.”

“Oh?” Casca asked, some of the trepidation under her expression fading away. “Did you really name your mankey already?”

“Yeah.” Wow, he isn’t stopping at all. Does he even realise we’re not behind him? “C’mon girls, let’s go – Kenny, the trees get pretty thick at the edges, so don’t go too far.”

“Duh,” Kenny answered, and with a roar the hoverbike took off westward. A moment later he stopped, realising he was outpacing his slow Pokémon, and continued at a more reasonable pace.

Hoshi squinted at the waddling lickitung. Maybe we should trade for the day? he thought as he watched the man go. Nah, it’s fine. My girls probably wouldn’t listen to him anyway. With a slight shake of the head he began trotting after his senior Rocket, and without prompting Crow lifted off his shoulder and flapped ahead.

“Good girl. If you hear a sudden pop nearby, that’s what we’re looking for.”

“Do you think she understands?” Casca asked as she handed him a trio of balls.

“Maybe.” If she doesn’t, she will by the time we’re done. Crow was, as far as he could tell, quite a bit brighter than Guts. Speaking of… “Guts, you too! We’re looking for something that smells like a younger version of that big guy in the hat! You understand?”

The rattata paused from where she was inspecting the brush, tilting her head at her trainer. She chittered, then resumed bounding through the low undergrowth. “Hah…” he softly laughed. Yeah, she might take a few days to get it down.

As they walked beside each other, Casca whispered again. “Hey, do you think this one’s fucking his Pokémon?”

Hoshi had to nearly strangle himself to keep from guffawing. “Casca, please.”

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

Route 6 unfolded under their feet, growing wilder as the minutes passed. As they further spread out Hoshi was content to let Kiribo take the lead – he had his hands full just keeping his rat in line. “Guts! No, no battling!”

The rattata looked back at him, confusion evident on her face. She turned back to the oddish half-planted at the water’s edge, then back to him, and chittered.

“No, we’re looking for abra, Guts. Not oddish, not pidgey, abra. Like before!”

The rattata kept looking between him and the sleeping grass type, and Hoshi sighed. I wonder if Ryan had the same problems training Jorm to hunt… Well, at least Crow is doing fine. The zubat actually seemed to have already gotten the gist of it; she’d already found an abra, though it teleported itself out of the fallen, hollow log before Hoshi could decide between trying to toss a ball through the awkward opening or just send one of his Pokémon in.

But the encounter showed that his hunting strategy was at least slightly sound, so Hoshi’s spirits remained high. “That’s right, back off. Good girl – here, a little treat.”

Two more encounters passed much the same as the first; Crow would circle a spot and return, then Hoshi would investigate. He found the abra – one nestled in the crook of a tree and another hidden in a clump of grass – and threw a concealed Rocket Ball. Neither hit; the damn things were fast, teleporting away before the capture tools could hit.

But it’s fine, Hoshi thought to himself as he gave his rattata a little chunk of granola bar. We’ll get better at it, and the abra will get tired, too. Already Guts was learning to focus on the goal; she was actually sneaking now, rather than playing around chasing bugs.

We’re making good progress. Once I get used to throwing with my off-hand, I might not even need to-

The thought was cut off as Hoshi heard a mighty splash to his right. His head whipped around, and he saw Casca sputtering in a pool of hip-deep water about thirty metres away. Wait, but she should be on the other- ah, right. Teleportation.

He made his way over and gave her a hand. “You alright?”

Casca stood, then spat to the side. An aggrieved poliwag spat back, and both of them got a facefull of water.

“Blah!” “Gah – Crow, Supersonic!”

A minute later the two were back on shore, wringing out their shirts.

“Damn,” Casca commented, “Those little things can put up more of a fight than I thought…”

“Yeah. I’m just glad it didn’t know a proper Water Gun. Crow, you okay over there?”

The zubat squeaked, obviously unhappy with her wetness. Guts, in contrast, seemed just fine; she was making circles around the pond, obviously waiting for the tadpole to resurface so the fight could continue.

“It’s gone, girl – it knows when it’s beat. Come over here and we’ll…” A thought occurred. “Hey Casca, where’s Candy?”

His girlfriend wrung another fistful of pond scum from her top before answering. “Where the abra was, probably. Which would be, uh…”

Hoshi pointed. “That way?”

“Probably? One second I was throwing the ball, next I was upside-down in a pond. Not a lot of directional continuity, there.” She sniffed. “Oh man, I just know I’m gonna get a cold from this…”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” he contradicted. “How’re your feet?”

“My feet? Babe, I was underwater, my feet are…” Casca paused, looking down. “…Bone dry, it feels like? Huh.”

“Hah. Knew it was worth the money – but we should probably go find Candy before she gets herself in trouble. Hey Crow, could you-?” Before he could finish the sentence the zubat was already lifting off his shoulder. “Good girl.” Hopefully the others are doing better; it’s been an hour and we’re still at a big fat zero.

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

“C’mon, man!” Kenny yelled. “One Lick, just one!”

His Pokémon extended its tongue – and then stopped.

“Gah!”

The abra, still thinking itself safe in the crook where the tree’s trunk split, cocked its head. Its fox-like face stared blankly at the lickitung, eyes nearly completely hidden by plush fur like a newborn kitten.

“C’mon…” You stuck your tongue out, like, super far when you sparred with Bubbles! You could reach that abra easy..! Kenny shared a look with his sandshrew as he palmed his face – but then he brought his hand down to slam against his thigh. “Fine then! You don’t wanna use Lick, then…” He pointed forward. “Zen Headbutt! Knock it down!”

Some people thought Kenny was dumb, just ‘cause he was big and had a shaved head and liked to fight. And okay, he wasn’t the sharpest hook in the drawer… but that didn't mean he was stupid. And he definitely wasn’t stupid when it came to fighting! His lickitung – gotta think up a name at some point – eyed the tree, rolling its massive tongue back up with a slurp.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Then the four-foot-tall salamander monster lowered its head, and its eyes suddenly glowed. With a cry of “Buuuh!” it smashed its skull into the wood – and the little bit of form training Kenny had instilled did wonders, because the tree cracked in two, the abra flailing as its perch fell out from under it.

Then it teleported with a subdued pop, but that was par for the course. Kenny grinned, palming his pokéballs. “Return!” he commanded, and Bubbles and… and…

Come on, what’s a good one… Aha!

Bubbles and Savage transformed into red light and were pulled inside. Kenny revved the engine and shot off, cheeks flapping slightly as his grin refused to leave.

After spooking what must be twenty abra he’d started to notice a pattern; they liked to hide in the same kind of spot over and over. One who liked tall grass would stay in tall grass, one who liked riding on a psyduck’s back would go in the direction of psyduck, and one who liked climbing trees would stay in the treetops.

And there were only so many trees. He accelerated, grinning as the engine’s roar sent pidgey and mankey scattering. He didn’t even bother to look for abra on the ground; now that he’d found a strategy that worked-

A flash of orange-red. There it was! “Go!” he exclaimed, sending Bubbles, his faster ‘mon, out. The pudgy shrew appeared and hit the ground running, already familiar with what was going on. “Poison Sting!”

One hand caught his sandshrew’s returning ball, while the other reached into his pack for an empty. He had two balls left of the three he’d taken after splitting ‘em with the Boss’s piece, and if they got filled as fast as the first, he’d be done in time for supper!

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

The four Rockets met back up roughly two hours after splitting, just as the evening sky was beginning to turn golden.

“Hey Boss,” Kenny greeted from atop his nice, dry bike. “Man, you got put through the wringer, huh?”

He wasn’t wrong; Hoshi was too wiped to even get angry. “Yeah. Fuckers keep sending me into the drink.” This is the fucking cave all over again. “How many you got?”

“Two!”

Well, at least one of us managed something… “Casca, you’ve still only got the one?”

“Yup,” she replied, voice flat.

It turned out that Casca’s throw before that first teleportation had been successful; when they found Candy, the staryu had presented the filled ball with a triumphant “Hu-yuh!” Shame she didn’t get a second one, but that’s better than me…

Hoshi was still sitting at zero, a fact he attributed to throwing left-handed. “I didn’t get any. That’s three between the three of us.”

“And I have captured four!” Kiribo announced as he suddenly appeared, with a level of bombast completely unchanged by the hours-long slog. Hoshi jolted, the zubat on his shoulder squeaking in equal surprise. “Shall we continue? The day’s light has yet to pass, and my masculine vigour remains undepleted!”

I’ll shove your fucking vigour right up your masculine – ugh, whatever. Hoshi sighed, running a hand through his damp hair. “I think I’m about ready to call it for the day. Kenny?”

The grunt replied with a shrug. “Yeah, let’s not turn this into another cave adventure. Runnin’ low on gas, too,” he said, tapping the dashboard in front of him.

“Sounds good!” Casca chirped, becoming more animated as the prospect of trudging through further swampland disappeared. “Though you know, it seems kinda anticlimactic to just go home…”

Hoshi snorted. “An anticlimax is fine by me… But I’ll bite; what’re you thinking?”

“Well, I’ve still got this dugtrio sitting on my belt…” As she spoke she drew the ball, expanding it. Immediately there was a wobble, the captured Pokémon attempting to break free and failing against either the ball itself, or Casca’s grip. “Any chance you boys could help a girl out?”

She batted her eyelashes at the Rocket Hunter, and Hoshi needed to restrain himself from snorting again. Hah. Come on girl, you’ll need to put in a little more effort to hook a fish that chunky-

“A dugtrio? Marvellous! That will be quite useful in our quest – indeed, we might manage to complete this before week’s end!”

…Okay, maybe not. But I can’t say he wouldn’t have agreed without the honey, either.

Kenny’s lips pursed. “That a good idea? Won’t it just, like, dig away?”

Hoshi and Kiribo both opened their mouths to answer, and after a moment the Rocket Hunter bowed out – literally. “By all means, after you!”

“Right. Well…” How to word this without calling him a dumbass between the lines..? “The inside of a pokéball is a kind of energy-space, and it’s apparently really pleasant to be in if you’re a Pokémon. I couldn’t tell you the mechanics behind how it happens, but a newly-caught ‘mon is sort of… pacified, a little bit. There’s a reason our guys didn’t try and fight us when that ass released them, even though they were fresh captures.”

“Indeed!” Kiribo picked up. “There shall be five or ten seconds where this dugtrio is becalmed; the only reason to fear at all is that it is an evolved Pokémon.”

Casca nodded. “What they said. Probably won’t have to beat it into submission, but why take the chance? Better to release it in a circle of other Pokémon.”

Kenny paused in thought, and then nodded back as his confusion was placated. “Huh, didn’t know they did that. You gonna join in, Boss?”

Hoshi considered it. Venus isn’t evolved, so it shouldn’t really be necessary… To be honest, the biggest reason I didn’t release her today was because I’m afraid that if she sees a group of other mankey and bolts, I probably wouldn’t be able to pick her out to recapture her. “Maybe,” he concluded, “If the first round goes smoothly.”

Kiribo clapped his hands. “Let us begin then!” He released his alakazam, and Kenny did the same with his sandshrew and lickitung. Candy walked forward, and Hoshi sent crow and Guts in to complete the circle.

“Okay, on three,” Casca said, hefting the ground type’s ball. “One. Two…

“Three!” she cried, releasing the dugtrio. There was a moment where the red light formed into something long and sinuous, like a many-finned fish, and then the Pokémon compounded the similarity by diving into the soft earth like it was liquid. A fraction of a second later three smooth cylindrical heads poked up, fully returned to flesh and blood.

Hoshi felt the briefest moment of intense jealousy, but put it to the side with an ease that surprised him. Huh, I expected to be more caught up on this – whatever, I’ll examine that later.

“Hey,” Casca cooed. “It’s me, big guy-”

“Girl,” Hoshi grunted, causing the woman to blink.

“Really? How can you-? Anyway,” she continued, “You recognise me, right?”

The dugtrio – which Hoshi could tell was a female because of the larger size of its three bright, bubblegum-pink noses – bobbed its two side heads while the middle one remained perfectly still. Its eyes narrowed as the heads swivelled, taking in the surrounding Pokémon.

“Yeah, I caught you.” Casca spoke softly but sternly. “That means you work for me now, okay?”

The dugtrio moved slightly – and the ground trembled, the vibration subtle enough Hoshi wouldn’t have thought twice about it if the situation were different. It hissed, separate sounds harmonising into something larger than the sum of its parts.

“Not happy, huh?” She smiled, patting Candy on her top arm. “I get it. You must’ve thought you were winning that fight… But Candy here got back up a second later, and we beat your whole colony without trouble.”

The ground shook again. Casca, babe, maybe don’t rile it up like that on purpose? Hoshi whispered under his breath, trusting his zubat’s sharp hearing. “Crow, if it attacks you’ll surprise it with Astonish, then use Supersonic.”

“Oh? You’re feisty, girl – I bet you were the queen bitch of your cave, huh?” Casca paused to take something out of her bag, and as she unwrapped it Hoshi recognised some brand of fruit bar. Guts immediately switched attention to the food, and Hoshi quietly admonished her as his girlfriend took confident strides forward.

“But don’t you want better than that?” she questioned, holding out the bar of solid jelly. “You’ve probably lived your whole life going from one muddy tunnel to another, eating little bugs… Come here, taste this.”

The dugtrio hissed again, but the sound was more subdued. Hoshi grit his teeth as the Pokémon glided forward one inch, then another, the ground opening and closing in its wake like the solid earth was waterlogged mud. For a moment its three heads jostled each other – and then one took a bite, its mouth obscured behind the bulbous nose.

“Like it? You’ll eat even better if you stay with me. Good food, a nice home, not having to worry about something walking into your den and eating you… Pretty good deal, huh? Can you handle not being the boss if you get all that?”

Another hiss – or more accurately a growl, lower in both pitch and volume. The trio of heads bobbed as they took turns devouring the snack, and a second later only the wrapper was left. Casca took a step back, and again the dugtrio swivelled around until it could see its entire encirclement at once.

It grunted, the sound even deeper, and Casca took that as acknowledgement.

“Good enough for me! Return… Quake!”

The newly-named Pokémon disappeared into its ball, leaving behind a trio of perfectly circular holes already beginning to collapse.

“Tense, that,” Kenny commented.

“A spirited negotiation, young lady!” Kiribo added.

And finally Hoshi stepped forward, planting a kiss on Casca’s forehead as she giggled. “Good work.”

“As if there was any doubt!”

He smiled. “You could’ve gone with something a little more original, though.”

“Oh, like you could’ve come up with something better,” she countered, slipping out of Hoshi’s hug with a laugh. “Now let’s see this mankey of yours, stud. I wanna get home before sunset.”

“Right, right.” After a few moments getting their pokémon back in order – Guts and the lickitung had lost focus without an obvious target – Hoshi released his third Pokémon. “Venus, go!”

The middle of the circle flashed red as the mankey coalesced – and before Hoshi had the chance to blink, Venus was already moving. She hopped right over Guts’s head, streaking past Hoshi’s side-

And as she passed, he felt a tug on his belt. “Hey!” he exclaimed, turning to see the ball of fuzz bounding away. “Guts, Crow, get-!”

He was cut off by the stolen pokéball's immediate returned, the hard tool plonking him in the forehead. Hoshi stumbled back and fell on his ass, narrowly missing Guts as she dodged to avoid him.

His rattata streaked off, chasing the mankey as it leaped around doing cartwheels, and Hoshi quickly pulled himself to his feet. “Damnit- Move, people! She’s..!”

…Not actually getting away. The mankey was dancing around, playfully dodging Guts as if they were only playing tag. Huh. I guess… She’s just excitable. “Okay, false alarm.” But she could’ve been, and none of you moved an inch!

“No need to worry, Senior Grunt! My partner would have caught the rascal as she fled, but it proved unnecessary!”

Hoshi glanced at the alakazam, which was absentmindedly playing with its spoons; drawing them, giving them a spin like it was doing pistol tricks, and then re-holstering them, over and over. “…Right.” He turned back to his Pokémon. “Okay Guts, good job! You can tone it down now; no biting, just play tag!”

Kenny growled out a chuckle. “Man, your fuckin’ face. That thing’d make an okay trainer with an arm like that!” He laughed again, louder, and Hoshi bit his tongue. Yeah, laugh it up. We’ll see how you feel when she’s kicking your nice new normal type into a paste. “So are we done here? I got shit to do at home.”

“Yeah,” Hoshi replied. “We’re done for the day. I’ll…” He shared a look with Casca, who nodded subtly. “…Let Venus work off some of her energy first. You go on ahead.”

The grunt nodded, returning his Pokémon to their balls. “See you tomorrow then, Boss.”

He accelerated, and Casca called after him. “Remember to turn in the abra! Don’t take those home with you!”

Raising his fist to show he’d heard, Kenny continued. Before long he was just a speck against the distant buildings, and then he disappeared. That thing looks faster when you aren’t on it, somehow. Hoshi turned to Kiribo. “And you? Gonna keep hunting?”

The fat man laughed. “Doh ho ho, no, I don’t believe so! My partner finds such simple prey tedious, and I would be a fool to test his patience for too long!” The man doffed an imaginary cap, then followed it with a salute. “We’ll be off then! You have lessons tomorrow?”

“We do.”

“Then I shall meet you at the conclusion of your classes! Farewell!” He walked towards his Pokémon and placed his hand on its shoulder. Wait, is he going to..?

“Hey wait!” Once again, Casca called after a departing Rocket, and the man paused. He sent a raised brow her way, and she continued. “One last thing before you go. You said that Quake here would be useful for hunting abra, but…” She spun the dugtrio’s ball on her finger. “I don’t really see how?”

“Oh? Do you not know..?” For a moment the Rocket Hunter was pensive, but then his aggravatingly cheerful demeanour returned twofold. “Ah, if that’s the case, then I have a wonderful idea!” he declared. “I’ll speak to my uncle, and see if he can do your lesson tomorrow! He would be much better suited than I to speak on academic topics!”

Hoshi and Casca shared a look, their faces souring in sync. “No,” Hoshi said, stepping forward. “You don’t- there’s no need to bother the doctor, I’m sure Jessie and James can explain whatever it is-”

As if he didn’t even hear Hoshi’s words, Kiribo gave one last salute. “I’m sure he’ll look forward to it!” the man exclaimed, and then he disappeared.

There wasn’t even a crack of air being displaced; it was like the overweight man and his alakazam had simply turned invisible. Did they-? Was that really a teleport, all the way to the city? With that load?

His girlfriend’s groan broke Hoshi from his brief daze. “Ahh, ‘look forward to it’ my ass. Tomorrow’s going to be painful.”

Hoshi let out his own breath of exasperation. “Yeah… Maybe it’ll be better with a group? Spread the slime around a bit?”

“Bleh,” she articulately replied, and Hoshi turned his gaze back to the Pokémon – who were now properly frolicking, rather than trying to attack each other.

“Yeah,” he repeated. “Anyway, at least he split. You still up to go see Danny?”

She gestured. “As long as we don't need to go through any ponds. Lead the way.”

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

Hoshi heard the singing before he heard the music.

Danny was a bad singer, his chant of “Saturday, Saturday, Sa-tur-day,” both off-key and off-rhythm. Despite that, Hoshi couldn't help but smile at the cacophony.

“It’s Friday, you old fuck!” he announced as he and Casca passed through the gate, left wide open as always.

“Bullshit!” came the reply, bouncing off the numerous stacks of electronic detritus. “Friday night’s basically Saturday, don’t be a pedant!”

Hoshi snorted, and beside him Casca put a finger to her lips in thought.

“Wow, that’s an accent and a half. Where’s this guy even from?”

He led them into the stacks, guided more by instinct than the echo-obscured trail of Danny’s shitty singing. “No idea. I’m thirty percent sure he’s Unovan, but fuck if I can pin it down further than that.”

Casca hummed, and a minute later they came to a clearing deeper into the junkyard than Hoshi usually had to go.

“Huh,” he grunted. “Hey Danny, that’s that thing you’ve been working on, right?” The man was up on a ladder – a nice solid store-bought one rather than homemade, for once – welding something in the interior of a large machine.

It was a lot bigger – about the size of small car, if it were stood up on its bumper – but he could still recognise it as the machine the man had been building on that summer day. The day after I met Casca.

“Huh?” Danny replied. The welding torch died with a fwip as he cut the gas. “Oh, hey Hoshi. Have I shown you this?”

“Eh, not really. You said it was gang shit and I stopped giving a fuck.” Hoshi circled the machine. It wasn’t any more comprehensible now that it had been in June. “It was when I sold you that Pokéball, remember?”

The man wiped soot from his face – or more accurately he wiped soot onto his sleeve; the amount covering his face didn’t seem to change much. “I remember that, yeah… Anyway, what’s up?” His head angled towards Casca. “Oh hey, it’s the lady. Hey, lady, you keeping my boy here all on the up-and-up?”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, the exact opposite, Mister Houndoom. We’ve been dragging each other down, if anything.”

“Mister Houndoom…” Danny repeated, his near-toothless grin widening. “I like that, keep calling me that. You here to get a Pokémon, fine lady?”

Ah, perfect segue. “Actually, we are. How many abra do you think we can get for…” Hoshi reached for his belt, pulling Crow’s Rocket Ball free – and then the drama was ruined as he completely failed to remove the cover one-handed. He passed the thing to Casca who popped the exterior off and handed it back. “…One of these,” he finished, mildly dejected.

“Hoshi,” Danny began, but then the words stopped. His face changed shape as multiple emotions fought for space, eventually settling on a sort of wary greed. “Kid, it’s one thing to steal from your dipshit corpo boss, and another from…” Another pause as he subdued the urge to reach for the pokéball. “Team Rocket. I got a look at that thing’s guts; they must be as hard to make as piggy pearls. They’ll come after us, man.”

In response Hoshi drew another ball, this one from his bag. He awkwardly held both the Rocket Ball and standard Poké Ball out. “If I tried to steal one then yeah, but this one’s mine – my zubat’s inside.”

“You swap ‘em out,” Casca explained. “And keep the Rocket Ball. As long as it stays with you, nobody’ll know the difference.” Then her eyes narrowed, and her hand went down to rub her finger against Candy’s ball. “So you better not misplace it, you get me?”

Danny grunted. “Hey, I ain’t even said I’d buy the thing. Why d’you even want abra anyway?”

“Eh, it’s a long story,” Hoshi replied. “But I’m gonna need you to answer me now, Danny; you interested?”

The man’s tongue lashed out to wet his lips as his face was once again wracked by indecision, but Hoshi was pretty sure he saw the near-lustful expression he’d seen before beginning to win out.