Hoshi strained, strained, strained – and yet the needle stubbornly refused to move, even as nausea clawed its way up and down the inside of his body cavity. “I don’t think I can do it, Doc…”
Hypno scribbled on his notepad. “No, you definitely can,” he murmured, voice nearly inaudible. “These readings are quite good.” Then the doctor’s voice rose, his hand doing the same to gesture at the man sitting despondently behind his back. “Nephew, give him another demonstration, would you? Watch closely this time, grunt.”
Hoshi sighed and the heavyset Rocket Hunter made a sour face, but they both still obeyed; Kiribo raised his hands to his temples, and – this time without the dramatic moan – imparted a telekinetic force upon the thick needle of the testing device. It shot to the right, stopping halfway between the centre and edge, and Hoshi did his absolute best to feel what he was doing.
But as was becoming familiar, he couldn’t make out any psychic ‘colours’ beyond the orange sparks floating off the man’s sparkling eyes. Cartoons and movies always put some kind of visual effect on stuff like this… I guess reality has a smaller special effects budget.
His brows came together. It’s the same as it always is… I completely fail the test, Hypno says it was a good result, rinse and repeat. Even two weeks in, Hoshi had yet to do anything actually identifiable as psychic – a surprisingly frustrating experience, given that he still didn’t know if he actually wanted the prognosis to be true. Come on… Activate! Psych on! Hoshi, use Foresight! Psychic! Confusion! Hypnosis! Agility!
Though Hypno had explained multiple times – mostly unprompted – that human psychics operated under completely different mechanisms from psychic type Pokémon, yelling moves in his head still did one important thing: it released tension. Hoshi managed to ungrit his teeth as the needle slid slowly back to neutral, Kiribo’s stamina depleted.
“Now your turn.”
Okay, let’s try again… twice as hard this time. He stifled another sigh as he concentrated on the testing device, forced determination and bored disappointment warring as he lifted the bulky Psy-Wave Detection Tools to point at the needle. He pushed, attempting to move a muscle he wasn’t sure he even had, all while Doc Hypno cooed distractingly at the numbers flashing across the screens jutting from the gloves’ sides.
An hour later, Hoshi exited the lab. He was sweaty, worn-out, and his head rang like a cracked bell – but he knew the latter would be gone in an hour, and he had actually managed some progress: he hadn’t thrown up a single time. “Uhhh…” he groaned, cracking his neck.
“Hnnn,” Kiribo agreed. “Are you certain you aren’t sandbagging, Senior Grunt? I realise my reaction to the discovery of your talent was… perhaps just slightly overblown, but I assure you I’ve put it behind me.”
“Fuck no,” Hoshi replied. “Do I look like I’m fucking sandbagging?” All that your freakout did was make me want to get stronger to spite you – I didn’t think for a fucking second about quitting. Well, Kiribo’s tantrum hadn’t made him think about quitting; the stardust injections had made a much more convincing, if still inadequate, argument. All because I apparently have a bigger psychic dick than you do. Fucking gradeschool-level shit…
“No,” the Hunter conceded. “Pardon, that was an ill-thought sentence.” He raised his fist, voice regaining a touch of his usual vim. “I’m certain your powerful abilities will manifest themselves soon enough! In fact… it might simply be that you’re the type that learns best on the field of battle! Yes, the moment it becomes necessary, your psychic potential shall explode!” He punctuated the word with another pose, and Hoshi swallowed another sigh.
Sure, and then Guts will spontaneously evolve into a never-before-seen super-raticate, Johto will be swallowed by the sea, and you’ll start calling me by my actual name. “I’m sure. Hey, why don’t you get any of this star-shit while we’re testing?”
“Ah, you see…” Kiribo said, and Hoshi mentally kicked himself. Damn it, why did I make him talk more? This headache is gonna kill me if it keeps up… “The catalyst for my powers is simply different from yours! While you draw strength from the stars above, my telekinesis comes from motion; the more I move, the more force I can impart!”
I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that wasn’t an intentional pun. “So why don’t you move around while doing the finger thing?”
“Well…” For a moment the man looked embarrassed, but then Hoshi blinked and the expression was gone. “I cannot exactly jump around while surrounded by fragile equipment, now can I?”
Hoshi smelled bullshit, but with the pulsing in his head he didn’t feel the need to root around for it – especially as the stairs to the ground floor approached. “…Sure. Anyway, I’m gonna hit the showers and head home. See you tomorrow.” He lurched up towards freedom, but found that the conversation had yet to end.
“Actually, I believe this will be the last time we see each other for at least a fortnight; I have finally received a mission befitting my stature.”
Hoshi looked back as he crested the stairs, his eyes narrowing in envy. “Oh yeah?” And here the rest of us are, left high and dry for weeks – I can only train so hard with nothing to train for. “Think the instructors will be giving some action to the rest of us?”
Kiribo’s mouth opened, but then he hesitated. “…Pardon, I should probably not speak of it. A higher-ranking grunt you might be, but you are still only a grunt.” He pointed upwards. “Advance another rank, and I’m certain Rocket’s true heights shall open to you!”
Hoshi grumbled back, then made for the showers. “Yeah, I’ll get back to you on that,” he muttered as the Hunter receded behind him. Senior Grunt only has three career paths: Agent, which I don’t think I’m cut out for; Executive, which I’m not nearly strong or rich enough to try and break into yet; and Enforcer, which according to Casca is a dead-end for useless meatheads. His girlfriend wasn’t exactly an academic, but he trusted her implicitly when it came to the social aspects of their shared career – if she said Executive was what he should be aiming for, then Hoshi would take that longer, slower path.
…Though if I want to build up my name, it would really help to get a damn job. Hah, can’t know what’s going on ‘till I’m promoted, but can’t climb the ranks while things are going on. Think I saw a movie with that premise, once…
The dressing room adjacent to the pool was empty as he entered, which suited his current mood just fine. I’m crankier than usual today – I was really hoping for something to happen. But no, it had just been another lesson, and not even from the instructors, followed by the same tests he’d been repeating since the start of the month. Hoshi pulled his clothes off, set them in a locker, and stepped over to the showers – which were also empty. Not a lot of people going swimming with the heatwave over, I guess. Would have expected one or two heading for the hot tub, though… whatever. It was probably just the hour; the tests had been getting longer with each visit, and if it kept up he was afraid Hypno would insist on him staying overnight.
Bleh…
A lightning-quick round of near-steaming water cleared his head some, and as he redressed himself Hoshi felt… clean, in a way that had nothing to do with the thin coating of sweat he’d washed off. He’d started to notice the effect after his third round in the basement’s torture chamber, as he was beginning to call it. Like... snow, almost. Everything going white and soft.
I’m not sure if it’s just a placebo, but… It made him optimistic in a way the tests very much did not. Still wish I could actually do something, but at least the nightmares have stopped. He stood for a moment, luxuriating in the feeling of not having bile crawling up has throat, and then with a private nod to himself Hoshi reached for his jacket-
“Grunt Mutsu!” came a deep and feminine voice from behind his back. Hoshi’s spine nearly exited his mouth from how hard he jumped, and he whirled to find the instructors sitting on a bench on the opposite side of the room.
“Ma’am-!” he said, voice showing his rattled bones more clearly than he’d have liked. This is the men’s room! N-not that it really matters. “And, uh, sir. Did you need something?”
Jessie and James didn’t look nearly as tired as they had on that day where Hypno had given his lecture, but there was a certain raggedness under their skin that came out despite their mostly-immaculate appearance.
“I’m so glad you asked!” answered James. “But first, a question for you…”
“What did you think of today’s lesson?” Jessie finished.
“Uh…” The day’s class – which had been centred on disguises, mainly using makeup to obscure one’s facial shape – had again been taught by a ‘substitute,’ for lack of a better word: Sierra Chispan, Rocket Agent. “It was fine? I’m sure knowing how to change my appearance will come in handy somehow.”
Jessie hummed. “You weren’t too bored?”
“We’re sure this is all old-hat for Fuchsia’s second-largest ninja clan, after all.”
Hoshi blinked. Do they not..? No, they obviously would have investigated the non-Surge parts of my family, too. They’re fishing for something – though I can’t imagine what. His lips tightened, but after a moment’s thought he couldn’t dredge up a reason to conceal something so simple. “No, I’m not really part of the ninja-bits of the clan. Dad was formally banned from practice after giving up the heir’s seat and leaving Fuchsia.”
The two scrutinised him with an intensity that made his lips curl, and again Hoshi had no idea why. There’s no way they didn’t know that already, it’s not even slightly secret. “…Is there a problem, sirs?”
They turned to each other – no doubt communicating something soundlessly, since when they turned back their expressions were less skeptical. “It just so happens that we’ve been having a bit of a ninja problem, Senior Grunt,” James said.
“Yes. I hope you don’t hold it against us that we’d… double-check certain things.”
Hoshi’s mouth was suddenly dry. “Uh. Yeah, I…” Fuck fuck fuck fuck- “I can see where you’re coming from. Is there… something I can do to..?” Are my fucking relatives going after Rocket? Arcus above…
“Oh, I know!” Jessie suddenly exclaimed. “James, are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“You mean, that little thing? It would free up our busy schedule some… Yes, I agree!”
Hoshi’s own expression turned skeptical as the two Senior Executives smiled at him. I feel like I’ve somehow walked into a trap without moving. “Senior Grunt,” James said, “You wouldn’t happen to be free this next week, would you?”
“I… I have psychic testing with Hypno, and my normal job, and..?”
Jessie waved her hand, dismissing his answer. “Oh, I’m sure a word to the right people will get you a week of extra holidays. Assuming you’re willing to do us a favour, yes? I’m sure a go-getter like yourself is going spare from boredom.”
“Yes, unfortunately we don’t have anything in the way of the traditional skullduggery we’d give to a team of your level – things are a bit stuffed up right now.”
“But we do have a special job, if you’d like to earn a little extra credit…”
Hoshi’s confusion began to clear. Ah, so that’s how it is. Scare me with the ninja thing, then push me to reaffirm my loyalty and all that. “I’m planning to go visit some family for the Harvest Festival, but I don’t need to leave until the 27th. What do you need me to do?”
Jessie smiled. “Well, usually we try to keep our fingers on the pulse of every single baby Rocket that comes in…” she began.
“But, as we’ve said, things are starting to come to a head.”
“So though we’d love to give this season’s new recruits the personal touch you and your peers received…”
Hoshi read between the lines as they sent pointed looks his way. “You… want me to help set up another tournament?”
“Oh, not a tournament,” James corrected. “We don’t have nearly enough free hands for that.”
“We were thinking something along the lines of a wilderness camp – there are a few other grunts with idle hands, and roughing it down in Route 14 or 15 for a week would help toughen you all up some.”
“And foster a stronger bond with your fellow Rockets! Ah, the fresh air, the verdant wilds…”
“The horrible swarms of venomoth!”
“Yes, those too! So, what do you think?”
Hoshi blinked, still feeling as though he was being pushed into a corner. Oh, fuck off with the self-pity. You were literally just angry about not having anything to do. “I guess I could put something together. How many people?”
Jessie nodded his way, pleased. “Your group of six, plus another group of three, plus the new recruits.”
“Which makes twelve in total! Here’s all the contact information you need; feel free to bring the receipts for tents and other supplies up to Grunt Nak for reimbursement!”
James shoved a slip of paper into his hands, and Hoshi sputtered from the speed the conversation had progressed. “Uh, sure. But, where are we going? This isn’t, like, a mission mission is it?”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Jessie answered as the two walked out of the dressing room. “As long as you’re out of the city a few days-”
“Along with the rest of the grunts!”
“-Then we’ll be happy to pay you for your time. Don’t worry about talking to Mister Everheart – and try not to step on any nidoran while you’re out there, they hate that!”
They turned, blue and red hair swishing like they were the stars of a shampoo commercial – an impression that was only enhanced by the bathroom-adjacent aesthetic of the locker room. James met his eyes as he paused at the threshold – and for a single sliver of a moment Hoshi thought he saw a sparkle of something brighter, dancing in the black of the man’s pupils. “We’d prefer you took the rookies straight out of the academy-”
“Tomorrow at two, sharp!” Jessie interjected.
“-But if you can’t make it… well, that’s life!” And with those closing remarks, they were gone. Hoshi looked down, unfolding the slip to find a list of names, addresses, and a lesser number of phone numbers than he'd have hoped in quite possibly the smallest text he’d ever seen – it was less legible than the most inconspicuous of warning labels on a sketchy pillbottle.
…Well, I guess I’m going camping? His expression twisted as he read the names, attempting to memorise them in anticipation of actually meeting these people. Damn it, I could’ve put off buying good boots and had Rocket pay for them…
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
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“…And then they just left,” Hoshi finished. Casca spooned some more fried mushrooms into her mouth, chewed, swallowed, and then paused for a few extra seconds of thought before replying.
“Huh. It’s hard for me to imagine them doing it that way – it seems, like, out of character? Not the appearing from nowhere bit, but…”
“Yeah, I was mostly just confused. You know any of these guys?”
Hoshi put down his fork to dig in his pocket, passing the slip over before taking his own bite of their supper. I'm glad she thought to wait for me to get home. Eating together feels… better, somehow.
Casca hummed. “I’ve known Mimi for a long time, but not the other two. Or maybe..?” Her eyes narrowed in concentration as she stared at the miniscule text. “I think I’ve heard the names ‘Clifford Moon’ and ‘Kaz Kazubara’ before? Give me a minute to think.”
Hoshi nodded, and the two went back to their food as the apartment’s ancient DVD player beamed Castelia 1999 into their eyes and ears. It got kind of weird at the end too. ‘As long as you’re out of the city,’ was that meant to be ominous as shit? Hoshi didn’t know how to feel, and he wasn’t able to break the thought spiral before Casca spoke again.
“Oh! I just realised!” she exclaimed. “Kazubara – that’s probably Big-Haired Bart. Guy’s got, like, the biggest pompadour you’ve ever seen. If he put his hair down I’m sure it’d go all the way past his knees.” She twirled her fork, satisfied. “The other guy’s an Enforcer; worked with him once when I was just starting out, if it’s who I’m thinking about. Big tall guy, face like a block of granite, never shuts his mouth. Again, if I’m thinking of the right person.”
Hoshi returned the list to his pocket, grunting in affirmation. “Thanks for the info. Nothing for the other three?”
Casca shook her head. “Nope. I don’t really look into anyone who’s lower than me on the totem pole, you know?”
“Yeah,” he replied, and for a few minutes they watched the old movie, polishing off their plates. “So, tomorrow,” he eventually said as the credits rolled. “I’m thinking we could go house-to-house together? I’m a lot more stable when I’ve got your hand on my back.”
His girlfriend twirled her fork again, her fingers turning the utensil into a weightless blur of silver. “I was gonna hit the Gym’s battle courts, but yeah, this is way more important. Let me see the addresses again?”
He passed the paper back over, then gathered both their dishes and made for the sink. “I looked at it for a bit before leaving the academy. Shouldn’t be too hard to find the places.” Why does nobody own fucking phones in this city? Okay yeah, we're criminals, but come on.
“Yeah, I can already see the path in my head – start with our people, or end with them?”
“I was thinking we’d start on the east side with Puce, then go west and end with Kenny.”
The two debated lazily for a few minutes, eventually ending up with a south-to-north-with-a-few-detours path through the city. Get the others on board first, have them pick up the supplies while we’re making contact with these other three Rockets. The Enforcer might take some convincing… From Casca’s laconic description of the man, Hoshi was already bracing to deal with an overly-macho ass.
And then there are the new recruits. The fact that he was now no longer considered a rookie felt strange – but when he thought about it, Hoshi had to admit it was true. We only did the one big job, but it was a pretty big job. Three months into working with M&S, I pretty much had everything down… so why do I feel like I’m still only starting out?
He pondered the question all the way to bed, and as he drifted to sleep Hoshi had only come up with the unsatisfying silhouette of an answer.
I guess I’m comparing being a Rocket to being a Pokémon Trainer, when really the two skillsets only overlap at the edges…
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Sunday was basically perfect; warm with a cool breeze, not a single cloud in the sky, with a certain pleasant tang to the air from the bay. The contrast only made it extra frustrating when things hit a snag almost immediately. “She’s not home?”
“Afraid not,” Mauve, his underling’s massive father, answered. “She should still be out at Vermillion Gym. Oh, I should thank you for introducing her to Mister Kimigawa! He’s an absolute delight!”
Hoshi’s brain attempted to go in several directions, ‘She’s training on her own?’ pulling against ‘Kiribo came to her house?’ grappling with ‘I’ve only got six hours, there’s no time for this, I should’ve come by yesterday despite only getting home after sunset.’ He closed his eyes for a moment, banishing the competing thoughts.
“Well… thank you for telling us that, Mister Gracile,” he said, and Casca continued without pause.
“We hope stealing her away for a surprise trip isn’t messing with your holiday plans.”
The man waved them off. “I’m just glad she’s finally found something she enjoys. Even just a few weeks back, I don’t think I’d have been able to imagine her challenging someone to a Pokémon battle!” Yeah, that was my thought too. She’s been a bit more assertive since we pulled off the Gym job, but going out to the Battlegrounds is almost uncharacteristically bold. “Though we should probably keep this hush-hush from her mother – Mint can be a bit of a helicopter parent!” Mauve laughed, the sound comparable to an exploding voltorb, and sent Hoshi a wink.
“Er, sure. Well, I’m on a bit of a time limit, so..?” Another wave, this one of physical dismissal. “Thanks.
“We’ll be sure to visit after the trip!” Casca tacked on as they departed, heading west down the street.
Damn it. I know this is hypocritical, but is it too much to ask for people to answer their damn phones? Or to own a phone, in Kenny and Nerine’s case. Well… it could be worse. At least we know where she is. “Nerine next?”
“Lead the way.”
A brisk walk to the outskirts of the Young District saw the two of them to Nerine’s apartment without incident. Hoshi led the way up the stairs and knocked on her door, almost feeling each second peeling away. Calm down. We can afford to skip Kenny and Puce in favour of picking up the new rookies if we need to, then tell the others what’s happening after. There’s no reason to-
The door opened, and an absolutely wretched-looking teenager greeted him with bleary eyes. “Hoshi? It’s like, ten AM…”
“Nine. Look, the instructors dropped an emergency job on us last-minute; we need to take a batch of new recruits out for a… camping trip sort of thing. It’s probably more important than I’m making it sound.”
Nerine blinked at him. Her eyelids were heavily discoloured with Sleep Powder, and the dark purple even bled into the whites of her eyes. That's not normal. How much is she using? “Wha..? Camping? Like, now?”
“After lunch, yeah,” Casca answered. “Are you okay? You’ve been looking kinda zombie the last week, but it wasn’t this bad.”
Nerine was silent for long, painful seconds. Hoshi’s feet wanted to move, to get to Kenny’s house in the Old District as soon as possible in case something blew up in their collective faces, but a shoulder-bump from his girlfriend quieted the urge to do something… harsh. “Lunch?” the girl eventually said, and Hoshi felt more than saw the familiar red filter descend over his vision.
“Yes,” he choked out. Arcus, is her drug problem really this bad? This can’t just be her ‘having trouble sleeping,’ right? “Can you get to the academy today? Like, about…” His watch said 8:40, which calmed his nerves some. “Five hours from now?”
“Yeah..?” Nerine replied. “Wait, we have lessons today? Since when?”
Hoshi swallowed down the panic-born anger as Casca swept in front of him. “Hey stud,” she whispered back. “Why don’t you go get Kenny? Nerine’s obviously not up to buying any supplies; I’ll get her to the academy, try and get her sobered up, and then you can meet me there.” In a more normal volume she continued, “Nerine, honey, you have got to learn to pace yourself on the weekends, girl. Lemme come in here and get you some water…”
Casca gently but firmly pushed her way into the apartment, and nodded Hoshi’s way as she took control of the situation. With great reluctance he nodded back, and the door closed.
The anger ceased, all at once, leaving him with just the vague panic of the strict timetable. Okay. That’s… not a bad plan. Hoshi took a deep breath, held it, then let it out. Then he descended the stairs, and exited back onto the busy morning streets.
Zero for two, his subconscious supplied, and he took another breath before turning west.
----------------------------------------
Okay, I’m going to need to not freak out, Hoshi thought to himself as he crested the steps to his final Vermilion-living underling’s home. He’s going to have broken his leg doing stunts on his bike, or his granny’s in the hospital, or they’ve gone away on holidays early. That’s what’s going to happen, and I need to not. Freak. Out. I can do that, right?
He was… pretty sure he could. So Hoshi braced himself for a third failure in a row, and knocked on the door.
Thirty seconds passed, and just as he was about to knock again the door opened. “Yes? Who’s there?” The tanned face of Kenny’s grandmother poked out from the door, her expression distinctly annoyed.
Okay, cross off disaster scenarios two and three. Progress. “Hello, ma’am. I’m Hoshi, Menard’s work friend. Is he home at the moment?”
“Of course, we were just about to go to church. Come in, come in…”
Hoshi managed to keep the reflexive grimace the word church instilled in him from reaching his face, stepping inside and removing his boots. The old woman led him to the kitchen, and then her voice raised a startling degree as she called up the narrow stairs. “Menard! You have a guest!”
Impressive set of lungs for her age, yeesh…
A moment later footsteps sounded out, and Hoshi was treated to the sight of Kenny in an old-fashioned white suit. “Boss?”
“Hey, Kenny,” he greeted. “You, uh, gonna be at church for long?” Fucking- ugh. Zero for fucking three, calling it now.
Kenny frowned. “Probably? Why?”
“The bosses dropped an emergency job right on my head as I was leaving yesterday. All of us have to come in and pick up a group of newbies, then cart them out to the woods for a week.”
“The woods? Fuckin’ why?”
Hoshi gestured towards the old woman – who looked to be preparing tea – with his eyes. “A… team-building exercise, I guess.”
The muscular skinhead’s eyes narrowed. “…When?”
“We’re supposed to leave today at two. I was hoping you could take some money and bike down to that camping supply place for some tents and shit, but…” Arcus, could they have not given me one more day of advance warning? “I’m guessing that’s not on the table. I can stall things if I need to, but – are you even okay to leave town suddenly?”
Kenny’s face went thoughtful for a moment, an expression Hoshi wasn’t used to seeing on the wide, acne-ridden expanse. “Actually… You said a week, right?”
Hoshi’s heart dared to inject some hope into his chest. “Yeah. I’m planning to be back by next Sunday at the latest. Is that..?”
Kenny smiled. “Oh yeah, that’ll work. Me ‘n Nana are goin’ up to Pewter to visit my uncle, but we don’t need to be there until, like, Wednesday. I can totally do some camping – lemme talk to Nana real quick.”
Hoshi let the bulky man pass, and as he had a muttered discussion with his grandmother the Senior Grunt felt a cool wave of relief pass down his body like static. Thank Arcus. I’ll have to go get the supplies myself with Puce, but the two of us should be able to carry everything and get it done on time. Huh, weird coincidence that we’re both going to Pewter for Harvest… Or not, it’s not exactly the small town it used to be.
“Yo Boss,” Kenny sent his way, voice raised. “I can totally drive you to the shop and get back before Nana leaves, probably. You want a ride?”
“Can you drive me to the Gym first? Gotta pick up Puce.”
His naked brows raised. “Puke’s at the Gym? That’s weird.”
Yeah, that’s what I thought. “So?”
“Yeah, I guess. Let’s go get the bike outta the secret base.”
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Riding the hoverbike down a busy street was a different experience from an empty stretch of beach – or even a non-busy street, for that matter. Hoshi was almost glad that Kenny’s bulk obscured most of the view; if he’d been able to see the pedestrians they were forced to weave around coming, he was sure he’d have some kind of attack.
But against all odds, they reached the Vermilion City Gym without incident – and, even better, they found Puce almost immediately.
“Hey, that’s her there fighting that guy ‘n his pidgey. Wow, it’s really going at it.”
Hoshi looked over and winced. “Wow.” Right for the eyes. That’s gotta be doing some damage…
But despite the thought, even as one second turned to the next and the bird continued to savagely peck, the slowpoke gave no indication that it felt a single thing – there wasn’t any blood, either. Huh. “Let me just grab her. Be back in a sec’.”
Hoshi dismounted, making his way through the entrance pavilion at a hurried pace. “Hey Puce!” he called, and the large woman turned his way.
“Hoshi!” she called back. “Are you here to battle?”
“No,” he replied, voice returning to normal as the distance between them decreased. “I’ve got a job for us, actually. Can you wrap this up?”
“Oh, yes. Um…” He saw a touch of uncertainty pass over Puce’s face, but it quickly hardened into determination. “Bear, Yawn!”
Hearing her order, the slowpoke’s jaw opened as a massive – and massively sleepy – sigh erupted out of its throat. “Ohhh…”
Even without being the target of the attack, Hoshi couldn’t resist yawning in sympathy, his eyelids drooping. The man she was battling did the same, and the pidgey broke off its attack as its wingbeats slowed.
“Pidgey! Don’t fall asleep!” her opponent ordered as he physically held his eyes open – but it was no use. “Darn it!” he cried, brandishing both a Jet Ball and his teeth as the tiny bird plopped down, asleep before it hit the ground. “Return!”
The sleeping pidgey disappeared, and Puce smiled. “Good job, Bear! You come back too!” With another, less soporific sigh, the slowpoke returned to her own ball. Puce went forward, shook hands with her opponent – without money changing hands, Hoshi noted – and then came back. “So, we have a new mission?”
“I’ll tell you on the way.” Wait, will all three of us fit on the bike? It was pretty tight with Kenny, me, and Casca, and Puce is like three Casca’s so… Whatever, it’ll be fine. It’s basically impossible to fall off with the weird gravity shit anyway. “Kenny’s waiting with his bike.”
“Yes, I see him waving. Oh, I’m so excited! The last one went super well!”
----------------------------------------
Another trip east and west across town went smoothly, and Hoshi was beginning to feel pretty good about the day – despite being crushed between two walls of muscle, he had a subdued grin on his face.
Kenny pulled over at the gate, and as he dismounted with Puce Hoshi noted the time; 10:40.
More than enough left to find Casca and go see these three other Rockets, Arcus willing. Despite the setbacks, it seemed they would pull everything off. “Thanks Kenny. You’ll be back by two?”
“Should be. I’ll have to skip out in the middle, but that’s how it is – ‘m really only there for Nana, anyhow.”
Puce said her own goodbye as Hoshi arranged the multiple bags of supplies they’d bought, and as Kenny rocketed away the two of them gathered the Moonside-branded canvas up and went through the gates.
Still three hours to go. If I was Casca trying to get a hungover teenager on her feet, then I’d be…
He headed for the cafeteria, Puce in tow. “So,” she chirped as they walked, seemingly much less weighed down by the bags despite his more physically demanding career. “Where are we going? I asked on the way over, but I think the engine drowned me out.”
“Route 14, or maybe 15.” I’m going to assume that the instructors didn’t direct me there for no reason. Though maybe I can get away with moving the trip to Mount Moon, and just stick around in Pewter after..?
…No, let’s not change up the plan last-minute.
“That’s near Fuchsia, right? Oh, maybe we can pop over to visit the Gym? Or maybe Nerine’s family, she talks about her uncle a lot when we train together.”
“Maybe,” Hoshi conceded. “Let’s actually get everybody together before making extra plans, okay?”
The large doors to the ground floor cafeteria opened, and the steak of good luck continued as he immediately spotted a head of bright orange hair among the partially-filled tables. “There she is. C’mon, Puce.” Approaching perhaps more quickly than was wise while loaded down with so many supplies, Hoshi took in more details of the scene: Nerine was sitting across from Casca, sipping from some giant plastic cup – likely coffee, though he didn’t recognise the logo on the side – while another woman was beside her.
“Hey Casca,” he called. “Kenny says he’ll be here by two, so it’s just Ryan and the three randos we’re missing. Any news on that front?”
She gave him an OK sign as she answered. “He’s on his way. Seemed excited for the job – oh, sorry, this is Mimi. Mimi, Hoshi.”
The woman sitting next to her gave him a wide grin, but Hoshi struggled to return the expression as he took in her appearance. “So you’re the mysterious boyfriend!”
She was older than him, late twenties or early thirties – or maybe the unhealthiness of her person was throwing him off. She had the unmistakable paper-thin look of a junkie, the whites of her eyes turned yellow and the skin of her face so pale it looked like she’d been completely drained of blood. Her hair was a cheery yellow and she didn’t look starved, at least, but that could only do so much to obscure the obviously permanent damage. Her teeth are terrible. Arcus, she must’ve been on the streets for a long time…
“Not too mysterious, I hope,” he replied, shaking her hand with the most confident smile he could muster. “I don’t suppose the other two came in today, make things easy for us?”
Casca shook her head. “Nope. I checked around, and both of them are between jobs – which we already knew, I guess, but I thought it was worth asking.”
“Well, good to know anyway. Now…” Hoshi turned to Nerine, who was looking slightly less catatonic. “You alright?”
The girl groaned, sipping at her drink – which was actually hot chocolate, if his nose wasn’t playing a trick on him. “I’ll live. Why Sunday, though?”
Hoshi shrugged. “No idea. Puce, you fine staying here while me and Casca go root around for these last two guys?”
“I can do that,” the woman replied. She gently set her load of tents and other camping gear on the table, and Hoshi did the same as she sat down beside Nerine. “Hello Miss Rose. Are you still not sleeping well? You should really take real sleeping pills, not just powder…”
Casca stood – and Mimi stood as well. “Ooh, don’t forget me! Orange here won’t say shit about the juicy details, so I’ve gotta pester ya.” She had a strange accent, not strong but definitely present.
“You from Cinnabar?” Hoshi asked as the trio made their way to the exit, leaving Puce and Nerine to their conversation. Mimi blinked, surprised for a moment before the grin returned.
“Woah. Orange said you could do that, but I wasn’t sure if she was exaggerating. She just oozes Cerulean, you know?”
“Absolutely. So I guessed right, then?”
“Yup! Came up to Celadon to try for the College. Got pretty into it too for a while, but then some bets went sour and the bills came in and…” She gestured with her head. “Now I’m here.”