Chapter 34 Atman's Point

  "This gonna take all day?" Guzma grumbled from the ground, looking up at the top of Shady House where Slugg's pudgy form messed with one of the black box radios.

  "He just got up there, boss," Plumeria said as delicately as one Team Skulls' Bones could.

  Ian felt a bead of sweat drip down his forehead. This was the third day since the establishment of Fort Acuity, and the execution of his strategy for combating Sinclair completely depended on the network of radios being able to function. Since Shady House was the tallest building in Po Town, it had been the natural spot to set up operations for the Po Town branch of Team Skull's duct-taped together communication network.

  Ian had helped with the initial expedition to establish a couple lookout points with radios, but the Pearl Clan had taken over that duty as the network moved its way south. Fort Acuity's radio had been set up by Slugg earlier in the morning, and if that outpost worked, it would leave Atman's Point as the last location needed to achieve full surveillance of all areas Sinclair would likely travel upon. We don't have a radio for Aether Camp, but Lex and the Pearl Clan have reported no sightings of Sinclair's ships in Mahiki Bay, odd as that might be.

  "Hey Slugg, the fuck?" Guzma demanded.

  "Just a sec! I think I almost got it!" Slugg fired back.

  Guzma folded his arms, scowling as he did. Ian turned back up to Slugg, seeing him through the little window the radio's antenna stuck out of. Po Town's unlikely mechanical engineer appeared intensely focused on his task.

  "Think I should get Rapp over here?" Plumeria joked.

  Ian shook his head. "It'd just make him nervous."

  Slugg's chubby body jolted with excitement and he began chattering into the microphone in front of him. Slugg then leaned out the upper story's window and gave a big thumb's up. "It's working! It's working!" Slugg cheered enthusiastically.

  Ian pumped his first excitedly, and he even noticed Guzma doing the same.

  "Fuck yeah!" Plumeria roared, causing Ian to give her a surprised look. "Keep your eyes to yourself, lover boy," Plumeria spat at him with an amused smirk.

  Ian blushed as he recalled the awkward moment three days prior when Irida ran into Ian and Mina. Ian still had the twin hickeys on his neck, and the two looking rather disheveled had made Irida's cheeks turn red as tomatoes. He smiled when he remembered how proud Mina had been after the interaction. Irida left for Fort Acuity not long after.

  "Everything good?" Guzma called up to Slugg, a hint of concern in his voice.

  Slugg shook his head. "Just doing check-ins with the other lookouts! Once we're done, we'll be officially good to go!"

  Plumeria sighed, and Ian realized what the sigh meant. It means we'll be attacking Atman's Point soon.

  Guzma had hoped the network would take a day to establish and then they'd be on to things. Unfortunately, Slugg ended up doing most of the work of setting up each and every one of the radios, and simple issues like accidentally switching frequencies had caused enough delays that it had taken a few days to iron out. But now everything's in order.

  Guzma gave Slugg a thumb's up and turned to Plumeria. "You got an hour before you and Stompz's squads move south to Fort Acuity. Irida already agreed to sending some warriors with you for the attack."

  "Gotcha boss," Plumeria said, turning to Ian. "I'll get Hyde, Selene, and Rapp, you get Tupp."

  "Sounds good," Ian said, a feeling of anxiousness filling his chest. I've been debating it for a while, but it's time.

  "And Ian!" Guzma called to him, making him pause and turn around.

  "What's up boss?"

  "I said we were gonna do some Alpha Training soon, and I haven't forgotten it. When you get back, I'll make time," Guzma said.

  "Got it, boss," Ian said obediently.

  ***

  Fifteen minutes later, Ian had entered Elk Grove with his backpack on before finally noticing Tupp laying on the ground, sweating profusely from what Ian assumed was an intense planking session. "Yo Tupp!" Ian called out.

  "Yo Ian! What's happening?" Tupp said between deep gasps for air.

  "The radio network's up," Ian said. "We leave for Fort Acuity in an hour- well, forty five minutes now, I guess," Ian said.

  Tupp groaned as he pushed himself up to his feet, standing up unsteadily. "Good thing I didn't do leg day. We expecting a fight today?"

  Ian nodded slowly. "Sinclair has a presence there, so probably. At least that's what Lex's scouts said, and the Pearl Clan has corroborated."

  Tupp grimaced. "Good thing you got here before I started my leg workouts."

  Ian nodded. "Yeah… You're going hard as hell dude. I'm still sore from yesterday."

  "It's what having no bitches does to guy, yo," Tupp said. "While you off doin' whatever with Mina, I'm hustling."

  Ian shrugged. "Point taken."

  "Well Imma go jump in the creek and start getting ready," Tupp said. "We gonna be down there long?"

  Ian shrugged. "Probably not. Two nights max if anyone gets hurt."

  Tupp then dashed out of Elk Grove to the road, and Ian moved further into the grove, remembering Sawsbuck's blessing would be refreshing soon. He then took Pyroar's Poke Ball out and released his magnificently-maned Fire Type and began massaging the Pokemon's back affectionately. "Got something fun for you today," Ian confided.

  Pyroar focused itself on Ian, licking his chops.

  "You've had a bigger one of these before, remember?" Ian asked as he unzipped his backpack and grabbed one of the cube-shaped EXP Candies. Pyroar gasped and growled excitedly. "Okay Pyroar, here you go. What am I calling these now? Ultra Candy…"

  Ian held out the light blue treat in his hand, which Pyroar quickly scooped up into its mouth before dropping it to the ground and casually spitting fire on it the candy. Pyroar then attacked the candy with its mouth until there was nothing left. Once Pyroar gulped the last of it down, the majestic lion leapt a distance of over ten feet before letting out a mighty roar, a roar so mighty Ian had to cover his ears as he remained kneeling.

  Suddenly the air became warmer, significantly warmer, even borderline hot. What the-

  Ian gasped as he realized it. Sunny Day? "Pyroar did you just use Sunny Day?" Ian demanded.

  Pyroar gave a proud growl, as if affirming the idea. "Well shit, I like that. Now if only I could get my hands on a Solar Beam TM." Pyroar stopped its proud display and scurried over to Ian, rubbing up on him affectionately. "Well thank you Pyroar, I look forward to using that sometime in the near future."

  Ian recalled Pyroar, remembering he didn't have a lot of time to spend. Next he took out Wartortle, who croaked with annoyance. "You just got fed, c'mon Wartortle!"

  Wartortle glared at Ian and put its hand out, as if expecting to be bribed with more food. "Well, I am feeding you something but it's not that kind of food-"

  Wartortle spun around and began waddling hurriedly to the creek. Ian couldn't help but grin as he reached for another Medium EXP Candy. You are something else. I wonder if you're close to evolving? You might even evolve if you eat the candy today. "Wartortle!" Ian called out as he ran in front of his fleeing turtle and put the Medium Candy in front of his always grumpy Water Pokemon.

  Wartortle glared at Ian suspiciously, then gave the candy a sniff.

  "It's gonna make you stronger, I promise," Ian said.

  Wartortle croaked with annoyance, but swiped the cube from his hand. The Water Type opened its mouth to its limits before placing the candy on its tongue and snapping its mouth shut. It swallowed the entire candy down in record time before it gasped. Then Wartortle gave a loud cry and a light blue energy manifested around its mouth before a stream of ice was fired from Wartortle. "Is that Ice Beam? That's awesome!" Ian cheered.

  Wartortle folded its arms as if expecting more praise. "I bet you would've frozen that Lucario in one hit!" Ian said enthusiastically. Wartortle gave an affirmative croak, nodding its head before pointing back at its Poke Ball. "Well you did eat the candy. Enjoy relaxing then bud, but I might need you later."

  Wartortle gave a much less pleased croak before the Water Pokemon dematerialized into the Poke Ball.

  The rest of his team went rather smoothly. Ian was a bit nervous letting Tyrunt get an EXP Candy, but when it showed off a newly learned Rock Slide afterwards and more importantly wasn't more aggressive than usual, he almost gave his baby tyrannosaur a hug. First time for that. After motoring through its own Medium EXP Candy, Sawsbuck showed off its newly learned Double Edge. The recoil damage on that move looks fierce, but with how easily Sawsbuck regenerates health, it could become a powerful tool in the arsenal. Sandslash immediately Snowscaped the area after finishing its Medium EXP Candy, skating around exuberantly as she showcased a newly learned Iron Head.

  When Ian got to Impidimp, he sighed as he pulled out a Small EXP Candy, the shape of a small pyramid. "Sorry bud, I'm not ready for you to evolve yet. And maybe you aren't either…" Ian said. What Mina said about his attitude when he becomes a Morgrem seems pretty awful. I want to let Impidimp be Rylee and Plusle's favorite playmate in my team a bit longer. Since we should also significantly outnumber our opponent today, this might be the last time I can afford that luxury.

  Impidimp munched on the Small EXP Candy excitedly before it went hyperactive, blathering about as he climbed trees and swung from branch to branch at twice his normal rate. Then Impidimp stopped suddenly and tensed. What? No-

  Impidimp suddenly collapsed, pointing at Ian and snickering wickedly. "You little jerk." Impidimp then raised its hand, pointing one lone finger to the sky before dark energy formed at the finger tip. Impidimp then fired its finger gun, with a small mass of dark energy hurtling at great speed into the air. Suddenly Impidimp glowed red as it dematerialized spontaneously. Did Impidimp just use Parting Shot? Neat.

  ***

  After a long kiss goodbye from Mina, Plumeria's squad as well as Stompz's squad set off on bikes for Fort Acuity. Stompz and Plumeria rode their bikes at the front of the disjointed group of riders numbering twelve in total. It was Stompz's first official combat mission as a squad leader, and while Ian assumed there had been some coaching beforehand, Plumeria spoke to the dark skinned squad leader from Galar diligently, reminding him of whatever details Guzma had likely glossed over in the preparatory training.

  When Ian laid his eyes on Fort Acuity, he could hardly believe it. Barriers of stone nearly five feet high ran across the western and southern flanks, with another stone barrier facing east of the hill the fort had been established beginning to take shape. A number of teepee-like structures had been erected, and a dozen of Pearl Clan members were already assembled to greet them.

  Ian noticed the uniforms no longer consisted of fluffy sweaters, but more closely resembled tank tops with the same Pearl Clan color scheme, with one exception: Gaeric standing proudly without a shirt, baring his noticeably more tanned physique.

  Ian stayed back from the initial introductions, and he tried to stay near the back of the party when they began making their way up the hill to the fort itself. Ian noticed the beginnings of a path being made connecting the road to the fort, leading to a small gap in the excavation on the side facing the approaching Team Skull squads. He realized he'd made the correct decision by staying in the back when Irida appeared at the top of the hill with a dazzling smile on her face, flanked by Ingo and Palina. Not far behind, Ian recognized the squad leader of the border squad Lex, with her blonde hair and judgmental smirk.

  "Welcome Team Skull," Irida called out sweetly. "I have readied the Pearl Clan's warriors participating in the excursion for the war council in our main tent."

  Next to Ian, a short Team Skull member fidgeted behind Tupp. "What's happening? I can't see," the Team Skull member asked as they turned to Ian.

  "Nothing important," Ian said dismissively. "Just going straight to the war council meeting I guess."

  "Okay…" The short young man grumbled.

  Ian took another look at the young man and seemingly recognized him. "I know you, right?"

  "I don't think we've ever met, but everybody knows you by now," he said. "Everyone calls me 'Noodle.'"

  Ian nodded, remembering Plumeria had called this Team Skull grunt to replace Slugg during the Pokemon Center fiasco. "Good to meet you, Noodle," Ian said, extending a hand.

  Of the series of tents had been erected, one of them much larger and more spacious than the others in the center, where a number of uniformed Pearl Clan warriors sat on the floor attentively. Once the dual Team Skull squads joined them on the grassy floor, with Plumeria, Lex, and Stompz, standing tall in the center of the assembled crowd with Irida, Gaeric, Palina, and Ingo next to them, the council began. Behind the assembled cadre of both groups, a cloth hung behind with rudimentary outlines and symbols having been painted on.

  Lex stopped forward with her deeper, harsher feminine voice grabbing the room's attention. "Thanks to scouting done by the Pearl Clan, led by Palina and Gaeric, we know when and where Sinclair's goons patrol, as well as where their base camp is." Lex pointed to a few "X's" on the map, and then to another X surrounded by a circle. Likely the camp I guess.

  Gaeric then stepped forward. "They have a total of eight trainers, and while we have numbers, we can also have the element of surprise thanks to Palina."

  Palina then stepped forward and pointed to the left edge of the map. "Our enemies seem to believe they're protected by the colony of Oragnuru and Passimian nearby. The Pokemon detected our scouts initially, but after coating ourselves in ground up Chesto Berry powder, we've been going undetected since," Palina explained.

  Lex stepped back up to the cloth that had become their makeshift battle plan map. "Palina will lead the Pearl Clan warriors onto the northern flank, with Gaeric leading the Team Skull members from the south. We'll hit 'em hard, we'll hit 'em fast and take the Point."

  Plumeria folded her arms skeptically, Ian noting it was odd she'd been so quiet. Although she's likely finding it out as we do. Ian noticed Plumeria's eyes focus in on him and she raised her eyebrows momentarily, as if signaling him to speak up.

  "Any questions?" Lex barked.

  Ian smiled as he turned away from Plumeria and raised his hand.

  "Of course the prince of Po Town has something to say," Lex teased.

  "I was just curious," Ian began, ignoring Lex's teasing. "If reinforcements were to appear, where would they come from?"

  Lex froze for a moment as she turned back to the makeshift map. Gaeric then stepped forward. "A good question, Ian," Gaeric said. "One of Lex's scouts at what you call 'Aether Camp' did spot what we believe was a resupply group coming from the south and going onto the cape. It does not appear their boats can land along the cape's cliffs."

  "Matter of fact," Lex chimed in. "We haven't seen any of Sinclair's ships in Mahiki Bay since we started monitoring them from Aether Camp. The scout that saw the supply group going back south followed them to the very bottom tip of the bay where one of their boats was waiting. So any reinforcements would take so long we'd be able to fortify our position rather easily."

  They have boats, we don't, and they don't go in Mahiki Bay at all? Something sounds fishy.

  "Are those all of the questions?" Irida asked.

  No one seemed to protest, and Irida bowed her head reverently. "May Almighty Palkia protect you and bring everyone back unharmed."

  ***

  Coating oneself in the deep purple of Chesto Berry powder wasn't quite Ian's idea of a good time, but the apparently hostile Passimian were yet to appear as they made their way to the southern rally point. Getting through the Akua Jungle was less annoying this time around since they didn't have to keep pace with a convoy, but the stress levels definitely felt higher as they were actively approaching adversaries instead of looking out for them.

  It also seemed more humid inside the jungle itself somehow, and when Gaeric stopped Plumeria and Stompz's squads for the last breather before the operation, Ian noticed the Chesto Berry purple dust had started looking more like lightly-applied face paint on peoples' faces and arms thanks to the sweat.

  "Double check your balls everyone," Gaeric whispered paradoxically quietly yet also loudly.

  Tupp covered his mouth, trying to hold back a laugh which in turn made Ian do the same.

  "What is funny?" Gaeric demanded in a whisper, turning around only causing Ian and Tupp to slightly lose control. Gaeric had coated the whole front of his torso in Chesto Berry powder, so his toned physique looked rather ridiculous.

  Ian made eye contact with Gaeric, who glared at him disapprovingly. He's gonna say something about Irida, isn't he?

  "Shut it, numbskulls," Plumeria hissed.

  "Thank you Lady Plumeria," Gaeric said, seemingly pleased enough. "Wait here, I shall go and let Palina know we're in position. When I return, we should have a short window where both of our groups can get close undetected."

  "Alrighty mate," Stompz said lowly as Gaeric turned and dashed into the jungle, eerily quiet as he did.

  ***

  A little under fifteen minutes later, Gaeric quietly re-appeared, and the group began following him through the waning Akua Jungle. Each step held a certain tenseness, and Ian felt his heart beating in his chest as the group moved closer. The chirping of bird Pokemon seemed to stop, and Ian tensed up even more. Even the Pokemon know something's up. Ian took a deep breath as he heard a wave crash against the shore a few dozen feet from his vision, and then he heard a panicked cry from deeper in the jungle: "Help! We're under attack!"

  The combined squads froze as they heard a great commotion begin unfolding to their right. Sinclair's people must've run into the Pearl Clan fighters. Gaeric turned to run straight at the sounds of battle, but Plumeria put her hand on his shoulder. "Take one of our squads to help crush it, the other one to fight off any reinforcements," Plumeria said lowly, but just loud enough for Ian to hear.

  Gaeric nodded, and Stompz raised his hand. "I been itching to fuck these lads up since they hit the crop fields." Gaeric then pointed Stompz in the direction of the fighting, and pointed Plumeria a bit more forward.

  Gaeric, Stompz, and the rest of his squad made their way into the bush, careful not to attract much attention but quickly enough to be of some use. Plumeria signaled her group to follow her, and the squad advanced in the same manner. A couple minutes later, the sounds of struggle got even worse, with the sound of Pokemon moves clashing just out of their limited vision. Ian even heard Stompz bark an order in his distinct Galarian accent, making Ian smirk.

  Plumeria waved her arm and pointed to the ground, getting her squads attention, and Ian followed the command first to crouch down low. Then Ian heard it, the loud rustling of trainers rushing to the battle a few dozen feet away. Plumeria pointed closer to the battle, and the squad began moving slowly, where the sounds of battle started to come more behind them than to the side of them. We're on the retreat and reinforcement path. "Get a Pokemon out," Plumeria whispered. "Stealthy and speedy, preferably."

  Ian nodded, reaching for Sawsbuck's Heal Ball initially, but realized the plants would grow rather conspicuously. They might not understand the full extent of the blessing, but it'd likely tip them off. Ian then reached for Impidimp's ball, then shook his head. Not strong enough yet little buddy. A thought then occurred to him, and he reached for Alolan Sandslash's Premier Ball.

  When Sandslash got out, it gave a quick scan of the jungle surroundings. Plumeria's Salazzle was on its hind legs and sniffing the air, while Selene's Passimian climbed up a nearby tree trunk conspicuously. Oh yeah, it would blend in with the local population of Passimian. Our enemies wouldn't think twice about it. Tupp's Drizzile crouched lowly next to its trainer, scanning the surrounding brush for targets, while Hyde's Torracat and Rapp's Fomantis stayed close to their trainers, awaiting orders.

  "Ian, we'll surprise these trainers and make 'em retreat," Plumeria whispered. "You sneak around and use Snowscape to stop them from. Should trip up any reinforcements too."

  Ian nodded, feeling a bit nervous but also proud he was being given such an important role. He turned to Sandslash and smiled proudly, with Sandslash covering its mouth and squeaking quietly, relishing the havoc it was about to cause.

  Ian watched carefully as Plumeria and the rest of the squad crept closer to the action, and Ian began crawling away from the group to be what amounted to a lookout with extra responsibilities. I'm a valuable part of the team, don't minimize it… Sandslash squeaked loudly, pointing one of its icy claws at Ian and squeaking its mischievous laughter at him. "You're not helping, Sandslash," Ian muttered under his breath.

  "Salazzle, Flamethrower!" Plumeria barked loudly from a few dozen feet away. Ian couldn't see the specific cause, but he saw a sudden burst of fire from the direction of the commotion and heard battle cries that resembled the voices of his friends… and Hyde.

  Commands started going back and forth as Ian tried to stay hidden and watch for reinforcements. Sandslash kept its eyes in the direction of the action, but was unable to see due to all of the brush that so conveniently hid the Pokemon and trainer.

  Suddenly noise came from behind Ian's position and he knew it was his time. "Sandslash, wait for my signal then use Snowscape," he whispered. Sandslash wrung its claws together like a villain about to unleash an evil plot and Ian frantically crawled away. Once he had a good dozen feet of distance, he mimicked the motion Sandslash did when it used Snowscape. Sandslash followed suit, and Ian's hands and knees got ice cold from the sudden frost very suddenly. He slid out of Snowscape's radius, waiting for a moment.

  "What the-" a stupefied male voice Ian could see said before Ian heard a thud from someone hitting the ground.

  "It's a Pokemon, get-" a male, but higher in tone voice said before they gave a surprised cry and landed with a similar sounding thud as well.

  "Very funny, asshole!" The first voice barked. "My Passimian's gonna get your icy ass now!" A sudden howl Ian recognized from his now almost extensive time in the Akua jungle hit his ears, and Ian made eye contact with Sandslash before giving his sadistic ice-rodent a thumbs up.

  Sandslash disappeared in a flash, and moments later Ian heard the sound of Sandslash's Icicle Spears dislodging themselves from its back. A horrified, pained howl followed afterwards.

  "Graveler, get this shithead. Use Rock Tomb!" The higher voice said.

  The whistle of rock against rock sounded moments later, but Ian saw Sandslash skate by a couple dozen feet away. "Dig!" Ian hissed, hoping to not have his voice heard.

  Sandslash disappeared into the ground a couple seconds later, and Ian felt an eerie quiet come over the battlefield.

  "Is it gone?" The masculine voice asked.

  "Yeah, my Graveler probably scared it off-" The man's words became drowned out by a sudden cracking of earth beneath, with Graveler giving a loud, pained cry before a much louder thud hit the ground. Sandslash must've sent that thing FLYING! "Fuck! Graveler, get up!"

  "Passimian, go up in the trees and track this fucker!" The man with the lower voice growled.

  Ian realized he'd be spotted easily from above and debated on what he should do. Is Graveler down for the count? I assume it's Alolan so it's four times weak to Dig. But it might have sturdy. Fuck I can't even see what it is! "Icicle Spear," Ian said in a loud whisper.

  "So there is a trainer hidden in here!" The deeper voice said. "Passimian-"

  Suddenly Icicle Spears launched from Sandslash's back, racing toward the tree Passimian had started to climb. The primate Pokemon managed to dodge one spear, which burst into ice crystals. Passimian managed to stretch in an agile way to avoid the second icicle, but the third one connected, with the fourth causing Passimian to fall from the tree, likely knocked out. Ian pumped his fist triumphantly.

  "Grab a tree, Rosen!" The higher voice called out.

  "Gotcha, Stern," the deeper voice said.

  Wait what?

  "Graveler, Magnitude!"

  Ian realized in his prone position, his body had a lot of points of contact with the ground. "Protect!" Ian called out loudly, not caring if he was heard. By the time he realized why the trainers had grabbed a tree, Ian felt a horrible pain come over him. His whole body violently shook as his mind became over-sensitized by a deep sound that overpowered his senses like a school fire alarm.

  When the horrible rumbling stopped, Ian felt his voice still being used as he grunted in pain. He panted and wheezed, his mind swimming from the tremors. Fuck, that was awful. As Ian came back to the present, he heard the slight hum of Sandslash skating through the slush of Snowscape, followed by surprised calls of horrified panic. Can't even see what's going on, but Sandslash, I bet you already know this: you're a badass.

  "That Magnitude wasn't even a big one!" One of the voices said angrily.

  Ian finally found the ability to get up from the ground and onto his side at least, and Sandslash appeared close by. "Get back and do another Snowscape," Ian said weakly, noticing the frost and slush on the ground were starting to dissipate quickly. Sandslash nodded and bolted back to its initial position. The decaying frost was suddenly replenished, and Sandslash skated out of Ian's sight.

  "Salazzle, Acid Downpour!" Ian heard Plumeria emphatically yell, still some distance away. Ian heard panicked cries coming from the much larger battlefield, followed by a combination of a fierce storm pelting a ceiling with rain and a hot metal pan being hit with cold water, as if the metal itself was being stung.

  The panicked cries turned to painful ones before turning to whimpers. "Retreat!" A voice called out.

  "Shit, Crabrawler!" One of Ian's opponents cursed as Ian heard more Icicle Spears land. "Where the hell is Pete anyways?"

  Ian shook his head and roused himself, still fiercely aching from the Magnitude attack as he got to his knees, the itching and discomfort from being surrounded by various tropical jungle plants no longer bothering him anymore.

  "Stern, you got another Pokemon to use?" One of Ian's opponents asked.

  "Yeah but it's a Tentacool, useless right here!"

  "Well Fearow, let's go!" The other voice called out. Ian clearly saw Fearow flying above, dipping and dodging through the trees, and the bird Pokemon quickly locked eyes on him.

  "Sandslash, Icicle Spear!" Ian called out.

  Sandslash suddenly leapt from the covering brush and spun, firing off a series of icicles. Two connected with Fearow, causing it to shriek and squawk in horrified pain as it began falling to the ground. Sandslash stopped its airborne rotation and began dropping back into the vegetation, but a bright, glowing red and orange orb of fire came screaming into view as the shriek of a whistling firework hit Ian's ears. The orb collided with Sandslash, and all Ian could hear was a brutally loud explosion and a flash of light.

  Ian covered his ears, completely in shock from how suddenly the attack had come. When Ian finally could hear himself think, the whole area of vegetation was suddenly in flames, and Ian spotted Sandslash's smoking body face down in the ash. Ian reflexively recalled Sandslash into her Premier Ball and turned to see what had been responsible for such a powerful blast. He gasped as a mass of walking flames came toward him, and Ian felt himself tense. A Magmortar! That thing's a lot more terrifying in person. At the end of Magmortar's arms might as well have been cannons, and one of them still smoked from the blast it had just fired at Sandslash.

  "Crantz, Stern, help the sentries get back to the boat! I'll hold 'em off!" The newcoming man standing slightly behind the approaching Magmortar shouted.

  "Gotcha Pete!" The duo Ian finally got a good look at said before scurrying off. So that's Pete. The man standing behind Magmortar wore what Ian had to assume was Sinclair's pirates' uniform: a navy blue shirt and navy blue pants. The man had pale skin and blonde hair, only looking a few years older than Ian.

  Ian reached Wartortle's ball, then remembered Magmortar could learn Thunderbolt, then reached for Tyrunt's Ultra Ball. It does have a weak defensive stat if I remember correctly. Just can't have Tyrunt bite it and burn its mouth.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Tyrunt was out in a flash, giving an intimidating growl as it readied itself for battle. Magmortar held up its other hand-cannon and fired another shrieking mass of flames, this one connecting a glancing blow with Tyrunt, causing another explosion in front of Ian, which he'd thankfully covered his ears for this time around. I know Tyrunt double resists Fire Type attacks, but that had to hurt.

  "Let 'em have it, Rock Slide!" Ian commanded. Tyrunt roared angrily as small boulders manifested above the baby tyrannosaur and launched themselves at the Pokemon Ian could only describe as fire made flesh. One of Magmortar's hand cannons glowed with Fire Type Energy and quickly rocketed toward the oncoming rocks. When the dust settled from the explosion, only rubble and black stone dust remained of the Rock Slide attack that'd been hit. The other rocks had continued one, crashing harmlessly into the foliage around the flaming Pokemon.

  "Magmortar, send the other Fire Cannon to the sky!" The man named Pete ordered. Magmortar's other hand lit up and fired another mass of flames with its signature shrieking sound, this one traveled seventy to eighty feet in the sky before exploding like a firework. Or a flare that's signaling what's going on. Should've focused on Tyrunt and I though. Let's see how you dance.

  "Rock Tomb!" Ian ordered. Tyrunt glowed with a dark brown energy for a moment before it seemingly flowed into the ground. Magmortar moved to dodge, but jagged stones jutted from the ground right into its legs, making Magmortar bellow with pain. "On the move, Tyrunt!"

  "We don't need to move to take you out. Fire Cannon!" Pete ordered. Magmortar's hand cannons lit up with Fire Type Energy once more and fired a mass at Tyrunt who ducked the first blow, and Ian managed to leap away from the blast sight. Magmortar fired off another round from its other hand cannon, aiming lower to the ground, to which Tyrunt leapt over this time with surprising agility, coming upon Magmortar. Just like Grimsley always says: you keep using the same one attack, your opponent will figure out how to dodge it.

  "Rock Slide!" Ian called out, praying Tyrunt processed the command before going in for an instinctive attack using its jaws. Tyrunt began a savage growl and that's all Ian heard before the shrieking Fire Cannon flew over his crouched position, detonating a good twenty feet behind him. When Ian uncovered his ears, he watched as small boulders careened directly onto Magmortar, smashing into the Fire Pokemon, knocking it off its feet and into the ashes of the surrounding foliage.

  Tyrunt gave a fierce battle cry, closing in on Magmortar. "Tyrunt no! Get back a bit!" Ian called out. Tyrunt turned around and snapped angrily at its trainer, fury in its eyes, but ultimately did as ordered. Pete chuckled as he watched on, letting Magmortar recover. "You don't want to bite that thing, Tyrunt," Ian called out. Tyrunt snapped once more, as if to say it didn't care what Ian thought.

  "Now where the hell did a Team Skull grunt find a Pokemon like that?" Pete asked loudly.

  "Lucky find," Ian said. "We got you outnumbered, you can stand down and we won't burn half the jungle."

  "Like Team Skull really cares," Pete fired back dismissively as Magmortar re-gained its ground.

  Ian scoffed, but refocused on the battle. "Rock Tomb!"

  "Smokescreen!" Pete called out. Magmortar inhaled before letting out a cloud of black smoke, almost completely covering the surrounding area in just a few seconds. Ian heard the ground rumble for a moment before a loud, bellowing cry of pain hit his ears. Sounds like Rock Tomb landed. "Now Rock Slide!"

  "Fire Blast!" Pete called out.

  Ian tensed as he watched Tyrunt manifesting more small boulders above herself before sending the rocks careening to the smoke cloud. Suddenly a glowing mass of radiant fire streamed toward Tyrunt. The massive fire attack cared not for the flung boulders in its path, swallowing them up as Fire Blast flew to Tyrunt and connected with an ear-splitting explosion. Ian felt a wave of heat come over his body as his mind reeled from the sound. Ian turned back up to look at how Tyrunt had taken the brutal blast.

  Tyrunt slowly crawled back to her feet, her rocky scales looking rather scorched but not as much as Ian had expected. The tyrannosaur growled angrily as it readied itself for another go around, sniffing the air. Doubly resistant, so I doubt most of my team takes a hit like that. Still took it like a champ though. Sorry Tyrunt, I got greedy. "Rock Tomb!" Ian called out.

  Tyrunt's snout changed its angle slightly before Tyrunt glowed with Rock Type Energy and dispersed it into the ground. Moments later, the ground shifted once more and Magmortar let out a wail of pain. "Rock Slide!"

  "Overheat!" Pete called out.

  Tyrunt took a few moments to channel more Rock TE, but the rocks were launched as the smoke finally began to dissipate. Magmortar was still gathering itself from Rock Tomb when the Rock Slide crashed into Magmortar harshly, knocking it onto its back. Doesn't look like it's moving. Excellent work, Tyrunt.

  "Well I'll be," Pete said, looking down at his fallen Magmortar before recalling it into a Poke Ball. "Hard to believe a trainer like you would join Team Skull."

  Ian didn't respond, instead wishing he had a move that would up Tyrunt's stats during this interlude in the action. Dragon Dance would be nice. Also I didn't recognize that "Fire Cannon" attack. Does that mean there are ways to make custom moves? Gotta save that line of thinking for later though.

  "But let's go, Exploud!" Pete shouted. Out from Pete's tossed Poke Ball came a purple monstrosity whose mouth made up most of its body, with its legs and arms seemingly sprouting from just behind its mouth. An Exploud? Really? My ears are still ringing from Magmortar.

  Tyrunt hissed. "Rock Tomb!" Ian called out.

  "Uproar!" Pete called out, covering his ears, prompting Ian to do the same.

  Before Tyrunt could finish channeling Rock Type Energy into the ground, Exploud burst into action, and Ian's covered ears provided little relief from the assault of ferocious noise. Ian watched as Tyrunt recoiled in pain, waving its tiny little arms before trying to bury its head in the sand from the noise. Tyrunt, I don't really know what makes you happy besides eating other Pokemon, but I promise I'm gonna make it up to you if we get out of this.

  Ian's ears continued to ring with pain, but Exploud's noise died down, and Tyrunt stirred. "Give it something to really scream about, use Bite!" Ian roared. Tyrunt whipped into action, its mouth becoming engulfed in black energy as it connected with one of Exploud's arms, causing the noisy Pokemon to roar in pain. Ian covered his ears reflexively, although it didn't feel it had much of an effect considering how loud Exploud was. Tyrunt meanwhile was not having a good time of it either, but it seemed to channel the pain into clamping down on Exploud harder.

  Suddenly Exploud's mouth glowed with a light blue energy and Exploud bit right back, this time chomping on Tyrunt's body and causing Tyrunt to roar with pain. Exploud's massive mouth whipped Tyrunt around, smacking it into the dirt.

  Exploud stood over Tyrunt, its mouth becoming engulfed in Ice Type Energy once again and lunged for the finisher. Tyrunt glowed with brown energy and pointed stones jutted out from the ground, smashing into Exploud's legs. Exploud still connected its Ice Fang attack, but Tyrunt had managed to land a blow before capitulating.

  Ian recalled his Tyrunt in its Ultra Ball, already knowing which Pokemon to use next. "Okay Pyroar, let's go!" Out from its Poke Ball came Ian's majestic lion, and Ian noticed patches of Pyroar's mane flickering like a candle. Rivalry's activated, nice.

  "Pyroar?" Pete called out. "Going down all the same. Supersonic!"

  "Flamethrower!" Ian called out. Pyroar's mane lit up with a fiery energy and a stream of flames erupted from its mouth. Exploud was too slow to dodge the stream of fire, and howled with pain as it was knocked back from the force. When Flamethrower ended, Exploud got back up on its feet and Ian covered his ears before Exploud let out a high pitch screech that made Ian begin shouting in pain from, although he couldn't hear it. When Ian finally stopped whincing from the pain, Pyroar was already readying another Flamethrower, seemingly unaffected. In order to use moves like Hyper Voice, Pyroar can basically suppress its hearing senses from super loud noises.

  Exploud was pelted with another Flamethrower, and Ian thought it'd be the end for Exploud, but the ferociously loud Pokemon staggered back to its feet. "Supersonic one more time!"

  "Ember!" Ian shouted as he covered his ears and readied himself for the auditory onslaught that was coming.

  Ian' ears stung once more as Exploud belted another Supersonic attack, but it quickly stopped as Ian caught the last of Pyroar's Ember dissipating after knocking Exploud to the ground, finishing the adversary.

  "How the hell…" Pete said in disbelief.

  "Pyroar can filter out a ton of noise, something it has to do since it uses moves like Hyper Voice too," Ian explained, his voice dripping in pride.

  "Learn something new every day," Pete said, eyeing the surrounding jungle. Thanks to his ringing ears, Ian hadn't heard his companions moving up from behind him. Tupp appeared next to him with his Alpha Hisiuan-Growlithe now at his side.

  "You holdin' off the big guy yourself? Good shit bro," Tupp said, offering his fist, which Ian pounded and re-focused on his adversary.

  "Pete, we got you outnumbered man. It's over," Ian said.

  Pete chuckled. "Outnumbered yes," he said, grabbing another Poke Ball. "Feraligatr!" Pete called out as the ball opened and a bulky, light blue gator-like Pokemon standing on its hind legs with red scales sticking out of its back manifested. Feraligatr gave a terrifying roar, flexing its powerful arms, eyeing its enemies with a savage intensity.

  Numerous Pokemon stepped forward to back Ian and Pyoar, including Hyde's Torracat, Selene's Dusk Form Lycanroc, along with Plumeria's Salazzle and Tupp's Hisuian-Growlithe. "Where are the others?" Ian asked lowly.

  "Some are with the wounded, some are chasing down the stragglers," Plumeria said lowly before turning to face Pete and raising her voice. "I can promise you good treatment if you stand down!"

  "Sorry hot stuff, not my style!" Pete fired back as he took a step toward a moderate sized tree trunk and jumped to hang from a branch, getting his feet a yard off the ground. "Feraligatr, Earthquake!"

  Ian immediately remembered what Graveler's Magnitude had done to him earlier in the struggle, and Ian quickly made for a short tree nearby, grabbing one of the low hanging branches to get his feet off the dirt. The ground suddenly shook violently with an overpowering rumble, and he heard pained cries come from his Team Skull comrades, while their Pokemon and his own Pyroar helplessly recoiled from the quickly channeled Earthquake attack. Ian watched on as Pyroar collapsed a couple seconds into the violent shaking of the nearby ground, and when the shaking finally stopped, Ian's eyes popped wide open as he realized each of his comrade's Pokemon were down for the count. Landing back on the ground he turned to see the Pokemons' trainers and gasped, seeing Plumeria, Tupp, Hyde, and Selene all on their knees, barely staying up but clearly stunned from the pain. Those guys did say that was a weak Magnitude attack. I don't wanna know what an Earthquake from something like this Feraligatr would feel like.

  "Would you look at that, you're pretty resilient for a Skull grunt," Pete observed as Ian recalled Pyroar. "How about I promise you and your friends good treatment and you surrender to me now?" Pete asked.

  Ian smirked. "Not my style either!" He then reached for the Heal Ball on his belt and sent out Sawsbuck, who stomped the ground with its right foot, bleating proudly. Ian's heart had been pumping in his veins the whole fight so he hadn't really thought much of it, but something about facing a terrifying opponent like Feraligatr with Sawsbuck locked him in even more than the previous bouts with Pete's Pokemon. It's almost… thrilling.

  "Oh, you're him!" Pete called out.

  Ian smirked some more. "I'll take the compliment."

  "What?" Pete fired back.

  "Don't worry about it. Sawsbuck, Agility!"

  Pete snickered. "Feraligatr, Dragon Dance!"

  Sawsbuck glowed with pink energy as it bounced in place, while right across was the dreaded blue monster, stomping as it growled intimidatingly amidst dark blue energy. Double speed buff versus one speed buff and an attack buff. Damn I wish Sawsbuck had Seed Bomb. "Leech Seed!" Ian called out as Agility's channel came to an end.

  "Aqua Jet!" Pete shouted.

  Sawsbuck fired off a green pellet, only for Feraligatr to shot-put an orb of water, disappearing Leech Seed's pellet from the battlefield. Ian grimaced, but knew he needed to pivot. "Sand Attack!"

  Sawsbuck dashed forward before Ian could finish the order, and not even a second later a cloud of sand had been pelted into Feraligatr's face.

  "You dick!" Pete called back. "Screech!"

  Sawsbuck had already leapt back to Ian, providing a good amount of distance between the combatants, but Ian covered his ears once more as the high pitched screeching cloaked the battlefield with an ear-bleeding noise. What the hell's up with this guy and sound based moves? When Ian could finally hear himself think, he eyed Sawsbuck, seeing a sudden tenseness in his blessed stag's demeanor. Sawsbuck's not gonna be able to take many physical attacks after that Screech. Need to start the timer with Leech Seed.

  "Leech Seed!" Ian called out once it looked like Sawsbuck could actually hear him.

  "Aqua Jet!" Pete called out reflexively.

  Sawsbuck fired another pellet and Feraligatr shot-put another orb of water, only this time the orb went a little under the pellet's path, and it burst open, spreading its vines around Feraligatr. Gotta stay close enough for Leech Seed's effect to work, but gotta keep enough distance in case that gator's packing Ice Punch.

  "Now you did that," Pete said. "So the real fun begins. Outrage!" Feraligatr roared ferociously, sending a chill down Ian's spine as it became engulfed in dark blue energy. Feraligatr surged forward, barely moving its feet as it propelled itself with Type Energy and sheer will. Sawsbuck was quick to respond and leapt out of the way from the unexpected speed of the attack.

  Horn Leech would be optimal damage wise, but I need to knock Feraligatr off balance with a bit more force. Double Edge is too risky as long as Screech's de-buff is active. "High Horsepower!" Ian commanded as Feraligatr slowed like a bull having missed a matador as it collided with a twenty foot tall tree, causing the branches to shake.

  Sawsbuck had barely begun to glow with Ground Type Energy before it charged forward even faster than Feraligatr. Feraligatr was still in the process of turning around before Sawsbuck rammed into the gator, knocking it to the ground with a thud.

  Feraligatr gave an even more enraged roar, and before it had even fully gotten up, surged forward with another vicious round of Outrage. Sawsbuck was closer in proximity and still regaining its balance when Feraligatr came upon it. Sawsbuck managed to somehow avoid most of Feraligatr's body, but Sawsbuck's backside did catch a glancing blow, sending Sawsbuck tumbling as Feraligatr rampaged on by.

  Sawsbuck was able to get back on its feet relatively quickly, but the discoloration above Sawsbuck's back legs didn't look good. That was Outrage's second attack, so it's at most got one more round in it before it's confused. He needs to land this last one. "Horn Leech!" Ian called out.

  Sawsbuck sprang into action with no noticeable dip in its speed as it dashed across the battlefield in a blur before driving its glowing green horn into Feraligatr's back, causing the raging Pokemon to roar with even more pained ferocity. Ian smiled as he noticed green bubbles following Sawsbuck as it retreated to a safe distance, the discoloration above its hind legs having vanished.

  Feraligatr bellowed out in a murderous rage as it became engulfed in Dragon TE once more, surging forward with even more bloodlust than before. Ian did notice Feraligatr was aiming in a particular, slightly off direction. "Right!" Ian called out desperately.

  Feraligatr's Outrage came like a furious bore wave, with Sawsbuck barely getting out of the way just in time as Feraligatr surged by, crashing into a tree whose trunk was still on fire from Magmortar's Fire Cannon attacks from earlier. The tree trunk fell with a thunderous blow, and Ian sighed with relief. It's confused and its accuracy is still lowered from Sand Attack a bit longer. Perfect time for us to finish this. "Horn Leech!" Ian called out confidently.

  Sawsbuck charged in, ramming another one of its antlers into the gator Pokemon that was still in the process of getting up. Ian couldn't see much due to the destruction and dust cloud, but Feraligatr fired off an angry, pained roar and Ian smiled.

  "Ice Punch!" Pete yelled out confidently.

  Out from the dust cloud came Sawsbuck, flailing in midair as it landed harshly on its side, rolling over a couple times. Ian inspected the damage and gasped. Sawsbuck's whole right side was discolored, with ice crystals falling off of its fur. "How?" Ian asked in confusion.

  Pete snickered wickedly. "Sheer Force is a bitch, ain't it? Outrage doesn't cause confusion."

  Ian froze as the realization hit him. There's no such thing as competitive balance in this world, of course Sheer Force wouldn't have that drawback. That means it can launch countless waves of Outrage? Ian looked to his friends still reeling from the effects of Earthquake. They'd somehow been spared from the action on the battlefield, but Ian felt a nervous bead of sweat fall from his forehead as he figured that wouldn't last for long.

  "Looking to your friends for help?" Pete teased. "Too bad. Aqua Jet!"

  Sawsbuck had just regained its footing when the orb of lightning fast water smacked into Sawsbuck, knocking it back onto its side. Seeing the glowing green orbs of Leech Seeds slow, whittling effect did little to comfort Ian. One more Ice Punch and Sawsbuck might be toast.

  "Feraligatr, Dragon Dance!" Pete commanded.

  Ian grimaced, wishing he could match with Swords Dance or something, but Agility would have marginal returns stacking sharp buffs. "Synthesis!"

  Sawsbuck glowed brightly, with the sun that shone through the wreckage of the still burning jungle surrounding them. When Ian's blessed stag stopped glowing, Sawsbuck's side looked good as new. Ian grimaced as he turned to Feraligatr, which looked more menacing than ever.

  "Crunch!" Pete commanded, causing Feraligatr to go on all fours and dash with an absurd quickness.

  "Stay back and Sand Attack!" Ian called out. Sawsbuck leapt further back out of range, dangerously close to where the slowly recovering Team Skull members were starting to pass their stupefied states. Plumeria was the first to come to, flinching as Sawsbuck appeared in front of them before falling over once more, still looking unstable.

  Feraligatr raged, but Sawsbuck swept another cloud of sand into the roaring gator's face before deftly dodging out of the way. Sawsbuck came back around with another High Horsepower, knocking Feraligatr away from Ian's vulnerable comrades. More small orbs of energy from Leech Seed floated over to Sawsbuck, who watched its vicious opponent carefully.

  "Sorry for this kid," Pete began, and Ian watched as Pete jumped and grabbed hold of another tree branch. "Earthquake!"

  No! "Double Edge!" Ian shouted desperately, forgetting to even jump to dodge the attack. He watched as Sawsbuck became cloaked in Normal Type Energy before disappearing, only to re-appear as it crashed into Feraligatr, sending the gator Pokemon careening a couple dozen feet into the jungle before smacking into a tree. "Don't let it-"

  Sawsbuck bleated loudly before its antlers became engulfed in green energy, although this was different from Horn Leech. Instead blades manifested from all points of Sawsbuck's antlers, and Sawsbuck dashed forward. Ian caught a glimpse of Feraligatr readying another Ice Punch, Sawsbuck's made contact with the gator's upper body and lower jaw, while Feraligatr's frost covered hand connected with Sawsbuck's torso. Double Edge was a terrible idea, plus that second Dragon Dance… Sawsbuck was sent flying, flailing helplessly for what felt like an eternity, but really only lasted for not even a couple seconds. Ian's blessed stag landed hard with a loud whimper. It struggled to get up, and Ian saw Feraligatr rise up from its spot unsteadily, red liquid dripping from its jaw as it took an unsteady step forward on its legs. How is it still standing? I think that was Leaf Blade too, which does even more damage than Horn Leech…

  Pete shook his head. "That blessed stag fought well," Pete said. "But Feraligatr-"

  Suddenly Feraligatr recoiled, the vines encasing its torso leeching more energy from Feraligatr, and the the light green orbs floated to Sawsbuck, the added energy helping it get to its legs, standing unsteadily, but victorious as Feraligatr collapsed.

  "Holy shit…" Plumeria croaked weakly, sticking her head up as she laid on her back.

  "Holy shit indeed…" Ian said.

  Pete stood, his jaw agape until a human form with a purple torso emerged from some foliage behind him, tackling the trainer and pinning Pete. "Fear not comrades! I have their warrior!" Gaeric announced.

  "Wow!" Ian cheered, heaving a sigh of relief.

  "Get off me, I surrender!" Pete called out as Gaeric struggled.

  "I saw you attempt to harm Lady Plumeria and the rest of the Skull Team members," Gaeric said coldly. "You are lucky to be alive, cur!"

  "I knew it'd bait him and get Sawsbuck in range of Feraligatr," Pete fired back, then turned to face Ian. "I could've messed your friends up from the get go. Ask yourself why I didn't do it!"

  Ian grimaced, not wanting to consider it so soon after the potentially devastating action. His heart still beat like a drum in his chest, and he looked to the surroundings for anything to take his mind off the dilemma. He noticed parts of the surrounding jungle were still smoking, numerous trees and shrubs were felled and damages, and Ian beckoned Sawsbuck to come over. Ian wrapped his arms around Sawsbuck's neck, fighting back emotions getting the better of him. "Thank you Sawsbuck," Ian said, the weight of what Sawsbuck had managed to pull off really hitting Ian as he looked to his friends. Sawsbuck gave an affirmative bleat, rubbing up against Ian affectionately. "You deserve a long rest."

  Sawsbuck grunted as if to say no. Sawsbuck then shook a little, prompting Ian to withdraw his embrace. Ian looked into Sawsbuck's dark green eyes and bowed respectfully. Sawsbuck came in and licked Ian before turning its attention to the foliage which had been destroyed in the battle and trotting over to a pile of smoking ash, pushing dirt onto it. We'll have to help jump start the jungle's recovery from this.

  "I'll get Wartortle to help," Ian said, getting Wartortle's Poke Ball. Wartortle manifested and croaked in surprise, seeing the carnage. "Let's put some of these fires out bud," Ian said. Wartortle grunted a little crankily, but did as bid, waddling to the smoking remnants of a tree branch and blasting a Water Gun at it.

  Ian noticed one of the Pearl Clan members dashing over to Feraligatr and recalling the great beast into a Poke Ball. That was too intense…

  "Ian, there y'are!" Stompz's voice called out from deeper in the jungle. He smiled as he saw Rapp and a few Team Skull Members following close behind. "Sounded like quite a tussle."

  Ian nodded. "Probably the gnarliest fight I've been in since that Alpha Crawdaunt."

  "Big Sis!" Rapp shouted, running to the group of afflicted Team Skull members. It was then Ian watched Rapp's Galarian Ponyta following close behind as Rapp knelt over her squad mates.

  "Gaeric, you got that bugger under control?" Stompz asked.

  "Indeed, 'he who stomps!'" Gaeric called back, tightening his grip and forcing a pained grunt from Pete.

  "Hey, I'll cooperate!" Pete grunted. "My guys should be gone by now, no need to be rough."

  "You almost harmed Lady Plumeria!" Gaeric bellowed.

  Plumeria cleared her throat, with Rapp's Galarian Ponyta lifting its head from hers, eyes watering. "Take his belt and have Sawsbuck's vines restrain him," Plumeria ordered. "Is their camp around here?"

  "It should be," Gaeric said, releasing some of his grip on Pete.

  "It is," Pete said. "Now that I'm your prisoner, I can show you."

  "And you'll have an ambush waiting for us," Gaeric accused.

  Pete shook his head. "My peeps are gone, asshole."

  "Use him as a hostage if any stragglers try something," Plumeria said before resting her head on the ground once more.

  "I can agree to those terms," Gaeric said coldly, getting off of Pete as more Pearl Clan members came from behind Gaeric. Pete got up gingerly and held his hands above his head, letting Gaeric take the man's belt of Poke Balls, where Ian noticed five were. Some Pearl Clan guy's got Feraligatr's ball, so he had a full team. Ian grimaced as he was reminded of his thoughts on Impidimp not evolving yet.

  "Oi, Ian! You wanna come with?" Stompz asked as he got next to Gaeric and Pete.

  Ian shook his head. "I'd rather stay with my squad mates."

  Rapp shook her head. "My team and I got this Ian. Go be Plumeria's eyes and ears."

  "I'll make sure the Pearl Clan guards protect them with their lives," Gaeric promised intensely.

  "I'll second that," Palina said, appearing with a smile as she stepped closer to Ian.

  Ian's grimace tightened, but ultimately relented.

  ***

  After having Pete tied up with Sawsbuck's vines and a couple minutes of walking with Stompz, Gaeric, and Stompz's squad later, Pete stuck his leg out. "Just up ahead, overlooking the bay."

  Ian realized they'd been walking on a path worn with use and looked ahead apprehensively. After getting by the last of the trees, there was a small clearing on the cliffside overlooking the various islands of Mahiki Bay. A few tents were set up, but a weathered stone table stuck out to Ian as not fitting into the campsite at all.

  "Smashing view you got here, bugger," Stompz observed.

  "Yeah it's nice," Pete said. Gaeric grunted intimidatingly at Pete, getting the prisoner to shut up.

  "What's up with the stone table at the edge of the cliff there?" Ian asked.

  "Oh the altar?" Pete said. "Been there for years, decades apparently. Some guy made it a long time ago. Hence the clearing and all."

  Ian nodded.

  "Check the tents, see what rubbish they got!" Stompz ordered, his squad dispersing.

  Gaeric grunted and signaled Ian to come in close. "I apologize, but I must relieve myself."

  Ian nodded. "I got him." Gaeric gave Ian a respectful nod and walked quietly away.

  Ian sighed, getting close to Pete. "How do you know about this altar thing?"

  "Driftwood mentioned it," Pete said before snickering mischievously. "Between you and me, that's not all they said."

  Ian gave him a suspicious glance, putting a hand on Wartortle's ball.

  "I ain't trying anything," Pete said with a smirk. "Remember when I saw your Sawsbuck in the fight and said 'you're him?"

  Ian scowled. "Yeah…"

  "Well, Driftwood told Captain Sinclair about you. Ian Cougar, right?" Pete asked.

  Ian felt an angry rage welling up inside of him. He glanced at the cliffside, seeing the waves of Mahiki Bay forming below, the sound of their crashing hitting his ears which still had a slight ringing.

  Pete chuckled nervously. "Hey man don't shoot the messenger, Driftwood would be pissed if I told you what I'm about to tell you. I wanted to wait until your friends were gone so they wouldn't know, it'd be kinda awkward."

  "What?" Ian demanded coldly.

  "Driftwood tried to put a bounty on you. Fifty thousand bucks."

  "You're joking," Ian said.

  "No, but the funny part is when Captain Sinclair said 'no,' the Driftwood chick with pink hair, she upped the price to a hundred thousand on the spot," Pete said.

  "No way."

  "Way," Pete said. "And I'm only trying to be honest here, but Sinclair took that deal."

  A cold tension overtook Ian's chest. "You're lying."

  "Dude, I wouldn't know who the fuck you are otherwise," Pete said.

  The realization shocked Ian, his sore spots from taking the Magnitude earlier creeping back up to bite him. I'm not sure how much I can trust this guy, but he's making a little too much sense. Ian clenched his jaw as he looked at the stone altar. Driftwood might've put a hit out on me. Guess they're sick of me hanging out in Po Town. "Shit."