Chapter 12 Developing Bonds

  Ian did his best to push himself up onto Sawsbuck's back, unable to swing his leg around without losing his balance. Sawsbuck mewled in response, but held steady. "And UP you go!" Grimsley called out as Ian felt his feet being forced up by Grimsley's hands and onto Sawsbuck's bareback.

  "You okay, bud?" Ian asked his blessed stag. Sawsbuck shifted its feet a bit, but didn't seem too perturbed by having a rider on its fuzzy back.

  "How's it feel?" Grimsley asked.

  "Kinda weird," Ian replied.

  Grimsley grunted. "I was asking Sawsbuck. Not many of his kind end up having a grown human male on their back."

  "Oh…"

  Grimsley eyed the duo and nodded approvingly before turning around waltzing to some brush behind him.

  "Should we follow?" Ian asked.

  "No!" Grimsley said quickly. "I'm looking for something…"

  "What thing? I can help-"

  Grimsley sliced the air with his hand, ruffling the material of his kimono to emphasize Ian to shut up. Point taken. Grimsley maneuvered around the area, staying within eyesight as he checked each bit of plant life on the tree before him until he suddenly raised his hands and cheered. "Perfect!"

  "What is it?" Ian asked, still confused.

  Grimsley swiped something thin from the tree and brought over what appeared to be a vine to rider and ridden, draping the vine around Sawsbuck's neck. "There!"

  Ian eyed the now dead vine skeptically. "This is what's so important? Isn't it dead now?"

  "Of course it's dead now. But something tells me Sawsbuck here can use it," Grimsley said, patting Sawsbuck's lower neck and waving the vine in front of Sawsbuck's face. "C'mon Sawsbuck, breathe some life into this vine!"

  Sawsbuck gave an awkward sounding cry before its fur began to glow green with Grass Type Energy. The vine sprang to life, surging with growth as it snaked around its body, the vine even leading up to the base of Sawsbuck's antlers, the ripped tip seemingly melding into the base of the antlers. Ian watched in amazement as the glow began to fade and the vine settled around Sawsbuck's body.

  "Now get off and try getting back on again," Grimsley said.

  Ian swung his leg over awkwardly before pushing himself to the edge and falling off Sawsbuck's back as opposed to leaping. Ian then turned back around to re-mount his blessed stag, praying the whole experience wasn't too uncomfortable for it. "Okay Sawsbuck, I'm gonna try this again…" Ian warned, trying his best to leap on Sawsbuck's back, but only getting his feet off the ground and in a way he wasn't able to swing one around.

  "Sawsbuck, use that vine to help your guy out," Grimsley ordered casually.

  Suddenly, Ian felt a force lift up his legs and propel him onto Sawsbuck's back smoothly, and when Ian looked to see what happened he saw the vine that had become into Sawsbuck's being now moved independently, like a limb all its own. "That's amazing Sawsbuck!" Ian said in disbelief. Sawsbuck gave a mewling cheer and shuffled excitedly.

  "Now Sawsbuck, how about you do a slow little ride around here?" Grimsley said with a proud smile.

  Sawsbuck began moving hesitantly, still getting used to moving gracefully with an added 170 pounds of person on its back. Ian wished he had something to grab onto to steady himself, then the vine rose up in front of him as if to answer his desire. This is so cool.

  As Sawsbuck got more comfortable with Ian on his back, his pace quickened to a robust trot before getting back to the spot where Grimsley awaited with a huge grin. "Not bad there, newbie."

  Ian nodded, a genuine smile across his face as he got more accustomed to riding his blessed stag. "Grimsley I can't thank you enough for this…"

  "You're welcome, young man. But you should be thanking the Driftwood Guild, they're the reason I'm over here," Grimsley explained.

  Ian shook his head. "I feel like I'm gonna owe them something now, which I guess is fine, but it's already making me suspicious since I don't know what I'm going to have to give back."

  "Everything has a price," Grimsley said with a sinister smirk. "But let's save that chicanery for a later day-"

  Ian gasped as a green pulse of energy came from Sawsbuck and the surrounding vegetation shifted with growth. Berries that were halfway grown became fully ripened in moments, the grass underneath rose higher up, and already flowering plants grew more bulbs that bloomed as well. Tree branches creaked as they grew and grew heavier with fruit on them, and Grimsley gasped as he witnessed the effect firsthand.

  "Incredible…" Grimsley said.

  "I still haven't gotten used to it," Ian said, checking Slugg's watch and seeing it was just after 10:35. Since the first time was right before 7:36, so that makes things about three hours. Meaning the next effect should pop at 1:35.

  "So is this how you're staving off starvation?" Grimsley asked.

  Ian opened his mouth to affirm the idea, but stopped as he realized that might be strategic information and while Grimsley had been extraordinarily helpful to Ian, if he owed the Driftwood Guild, he was a spy as well. "I uh…"

  "Driftwood knows Po Town's food stores are dwindling," Grimsley said. "They've known for a while."

  "Ah…"

  Grimsley extended a hand to Ian, which Ian shook. "I owe Driftwood but I'm not their bitch. All they want from me is info on how you are as a person and as a trainer. Also if you're improving at all."

  "Oh, that doesn't sound too bad…"

  "Well, that's what's going on for now. I don't know what their plans are with you, but Sawsbuck's blessed by Tapu Bulu and that's something big to them," Grimsley explained. "They seem to have good intentions when it comes to you at least."

  Ian shrugged. "I guess… And Big G, I gotta ride around here and make sure Sawsbuck's effect hits the rest of the grove."

  "Of course," Grimsley said, extending his arm as if allowing Ian to leave. "I'll go get lunch if that's the case. I take it you'll be back out here soon?"

  "Probably in an hour," Ian said.

  Grimsley took a smartphone out and pressed something. "See you then."

  Ian was tempted to ask Grimsley if he could see Grimsley's smartphone but decided against it. Grimsley turned around and showed the phone to Ian. "I don't have any service on this island. Only place that does is Malie City nowadays."

  "You read my mind," Ian said, giving Sawsbuck a gentle pat. "Hey Sawsbuck, time to make sure this whole grove gets growing. Let's ride!" With that Sawsbuck bound into motion and Ian held onto the vines that had become a de-facto reins. Sawsbuck dashed quickly, forcing Ian to hold on tight, realizing he was going to need a lot more than just vine-substitute reins. "Let's not get too crazy just yet, Sawsbuck," Ian said cautiously. Sawsbuck slowed, but Ian still couldn't wipe the grin off of his face as Sawsbuck sauntered throughout the grove with Grassy Surge's bountiful effect spreading all the while.

  ***

  After walking out of the Pokemon Center with bags of Pokemon food for Sawsbuck, Wartortle, and Litleo, Ian made his way up The Spine to Tom's makeshift warehouse, seeing no one at the sight-obstructed walk up window and making his way over. "Is Tom around?" Ian asked.

  "Let me get him," a slightly deep feminine voice said. "Who's asking?"

  "Ian," he answered.

  The girl left quickly and came back twenty seconds or so later. "He'll be out front in a bit."

  "Thanks!" Ian said and went to the front entrance for the warehouse workers. Not long after, Tom appeared, sweat dripping from his brow. "Alola, Ian."

  "Alola, Tom," Ian said. "It's three hours."

  Tom's eyebrows rose. "Three hours? That's not bad. Four times with the sun up, maybe sneak another one in before Guzma lets Ariados back out… Are they still growing at fifty percent rate?"

  Ian nodded. "Yup."

  Tom pumped his fist. "That's two harvests a day. We'll have proper numbers at the end of the day, but Grillz said that the first harvest was really good. Should Rook send more people to do it?"

  "He's already doing it, saw him first," Ian said before changing the topic. "And did Plumeria tell you about the locker I was hoping to get?"

  Tom nodded. "Yup, you've more than earned it now," Tom said. "Let me take you in the back and show you." Tom signaled Ian to follow as he opened the front door. Tom's warehouse initially looked like a mini mart but with shelves stocked with various hardware items instead of snacks and drinks. A couple people dressed in outfits clearly not from Team Skull seemed to be working on building a cabinet where the cash register was in the store's mini-mart past. Tom led him past the storefront side and into a back hallway cluttered with boxes, eventually reaching a room with a bank of lockers that looked more fitting for professional athletes. Tom knocked on the outside of one and grabbed an open lock with a key in it. "Don't go losing the key now, there aren't any duplicates."

  Ian nodded. "Appreciate you, man. Can I gather some stuff and come back to put them here?"

  Tom nodded. "Of course. Next time you can ask Betty to just let you in, you seem cool enough."

  Ian nodded. "Gotcha." He noticed the locker next to his had a big "H" spray painted in yellow on it. I sure hope that isn't Hyde's locker.

  ***

  After going to Grillz for an early lunch of even more questionable than usual mystery meat and stopping by Shady House to get his EXP Candy, Ian did have to hop into the dumpster to get the Shards, but Sawsbuck's vines were also helpful in fishing out other, more inaccessible Shards. He brought his collection back to Tom's, where he came face to face with Betty when she opened the door for him. She had black curls and a dazzling smile on her pale skin. Ian did his best to hide his attraction so he'd act more non-chalant, but as he followed her down the hallway to his locker something occurred to him. Guess I'm finally getting over that Suzy nonsense.

  He put the Shards away and reached for the Large EXP Candy from his pocket, but decided to keep it with him. Grimsley might know what's up with it. Ian made his way down The Spine as the sun shone overhead. As he passed by the gate, Rook called to him. "I hope you're not doing anything you're not supposed to be," Rook warned.

  "What? Isn't my new job to just sit in the grove and grow berries?" Ian asked.

  "Yeah. But a new Ultra Storm is popping up not too far away. Plumeria's squad is heading to it as we speak," Rook explained.

  "Aren't they out training?" Ian asked.

  "They came back here to get supplies real quick," Rook said. "Plumeria wanted to make sure you didn't get some dumb idea in your head."

  Ian rolled his eyes. "I'm suspended, I know I can't. Plus this town ain't gonna feed itself," Ian said, slightly annoyed.

  Rook smiled. "Good."

  Ian continued on past the gate, wondering if he should actually be riding Sawsbuck, but decided against it. If Grimsley's sticking around for more training, Sawsbuck's going to need all of the rest it can get. Ian got the grove, noting there were still a couple hours before Sawsbuck's effect popped again. As the grove came into view, he noticed the same chaotic mass of trainers and Pokemon running around the grove, harvesting what they could. He spotted Mina overseeing from the spot he'd initially been and headed her way.

  "Hey there Mina!" Ian called out as he approached.

  Mina turned the same, disinterested look on her face, but she'd tied up her Skull tank in front, showing her bare midriff and putting a bit more emphasis on her chest. Ian forced himself to take his eyes off her torso, meeting her half-open eyes. I hope she didn't notice. "Oh hey man," Mina said casually. "You should've seen the look on Grillz' face when we brought the first harvest over to him."

  "I hope he's washing them," Ian replied.

  "Oh yeah, he may look grungy and grimey but he's a stickler for cleanliness in his kitchen," Mina said.

  "I'll take your word for it," Ian said, shifting his focus to the grove at large. Immediately he spotted Sophocles bending over awkwardly to pick up a Nanab Berry on the ground, a Noibat fluttering above him patiently.

  "What do they have you doing later?" Mina asked.

  Ian shrugged. "I gotta stay out here and do some training. Even though I'm on suspension I can't sit back and do nothing, even if I'm supposed to just stay here. Plus Plumeria said I have to go say hi to Rylee with Auntie Pula."

  "She's the new Faller girl at the kiddy school, right?" Mina asked.

  "I think so?" Ian said uncertainly.

  Mina smiled. "I'm teaching art class with them later. Maybe I'll run into you." With that, Mina made her way deeper into the grove to oversee her subordinates in their harvesting efforts. Ian's eyes followed her for a bit, noticing her hips moving in a bit more of an exaggerated fashion than before, mesmerizing his vision. He felt blood rushing to his cheeks and grunted as the slight hint of butterflies in his stomach turned to a pang of guilt. This feels weird being attracted to a girl I know as a video game character. Although I don't know how much leeway my old world morality would give me for this as it never accounted for my life literally going into a realistic version of a video game world… At least she's an adult.

  Ian decided now was as good a time as any and released all three of his Pokemon so they could eat their lunch. Litleo eyed Sawsbuck warily at first but quickly got to scorching its food pellets. Ian left Wartortle's pellets in the plastic bag he'd been given and held them up for easy access. Wartortle ate quickly, but didn't have the same disdain for Ian like he had before. Baby steps. Ian felt the Large EXP Candy in his pocket and reminded himself he needed to ask Grimsley about it.

  "Woah, you have a Wartortle and a Sawsbuck? That's so cool!" Sophocles exclaimed as he got close to Ian, breathing heavily as he walked on by slowly.

  "Sawsbuck here is the reason why these berries are growing so fast," Ian said.

  "I guess you weren't lying earlier," Sophocles said, leaving as quickly as he had entered. Ian heard Mina directing her squad back from the grove, and Ian watched on as the exodus of twenty-ish trainers left him alone in the grove once more.

  Wartortle gave a high-pitched croak and Ian realized the bag was empty. Wartortle nodded, then pointed at Ian's belt. Oh yeah. "Okay then bud, in you go." Litleo yawned and made its way over to Ian, curling up in a ball beside him. He noticed Litleo's eyes remained open, watching Ian carefully, but it was the first time Ian had seen Litleo relax. Sawsbuck seemed to enjoy the outdoors, not wandering too far off but roaming curiously. When Sawsbuck gave a playful call, Ian turned his head and smiled, seeing Grimsley strolling his way.

  "Grimsley, just who I wanted to see. I got something I need to show you," Ian said, reaching for the EXP Candy in his pocket. He had a hard time getting the light blue double pyramid out of his pocket, but finally did so.

  "The hell is that?" Grimsley asked.

  "I'm not sure…" Ian began. "But when Sawsbuck and I defeated the Alpha Crawdaunt in the Ultra Storm, it got wormhole'd away and dropped this afterwards." Ian handed the bulky candy to Grimsley who eyed it curiously,

  "You sure it's not Crawdaunt poop?"

  Ian rolled his eyes. "You're not the first to say that, but I think it may have been some reward for beating the Ultra Storm's Alpha."

  Grimsley chuckled. "Like a video game? If this was a video game it definitely have to be the worst one ever." Grimsley eyed the candy one more time and then tossed it behind him carelessly.

  "Wait-" Ian protested.

  "Back to training, not light blue curiosities," Grimsley said dramatically.

  Ian eyed the candy and shook his head. "Gotcha…"

  "So are you ready for more?" Grimsley asked loudly.

  "Yeah!" Ian fired back. Litleo scrambled to its feet and hissed at Grimsley menacingly. "He's a friend, Litleo, c'mon." Litleo relaxed a bit, no longer hissing, but watching Grimsley carefully.

  "I see Litleo's warmed up to you already," Grimsley noted. "What do you know about Litleo's moveset so far?"

  "Uh… I think he's got Ember, Fire Fang…" Ian's voice trailed off as he realized he didn't really know what his Litleo could really do. In my defense, he has spit fire at me more times than he's let me touch him.

  "Tackle? Leer?" Grimsley said.

  "I haven't gotten to really know him yet. You saw the moment he stopped wanting to spit fireballs at me about an hour and a half ago," Ian explained. He turned to Litleo, noticing it was no longer at his side, but was trotting over to the EXP Candy. We just started getting along Litleo, the last thing I need for you is to evolve and wipe away all of this progress. "Litleo, no!" Ian commanded angrily. Litleo froze and turned to Ian, slightly annoyed, but trotted back, slightly defeated. Maybe it's just food, but I can't take that chance, not until I've bonded with Litleo more.

  "Hmmm…" Grimsley said, eyeing Ian curiously. "So you seriously think that thing is a reward of sorts?"

  Ian shrugged. "I mean, I'm not sure…"

  Grimsley shook his head and sucked his teeth. "You're a very easy guy to read, Ian," Grimsley began. "As a notorious poker junkie, I had to get very good at reading people, and something tells me you know what that thing is."

  Ian gulped, unsure of what to say.

  "So tell me, what do you think it is?" Grimsley asked.

  When did EXP Candies like this start, in Sword and Shield? They were rewards from Dynamax Raids… Here goes something. "You ever hear about Dynamax Raids in the Galar region?"

  Grimsley nodded. "Yes, but they're pretty rare nowadays. The League there keeps them pretty under control."

  Ian gulped nervously once more, trying to put the straightest face on he could. "I read about the raids, and this book said the Dynamax Pokemon would drop these light blue candies of varying size," Ian explained. "When fed to Pokemon, they'd get stronger, like they were gaining special power from defeating a powerful enemy."

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Grimsley grimaced. "Sounds kinda video-gamey to me, but I got no idea what it is…" Grimsley paused and his grimace grew. "If that is in fact what it is, then don't go telling people. Surge and Breon are powerful enough without something like this getting to them."

  Ian nodded. "Gotcha…" Ian said, scampering over to pick up the candy and struggling to put it in his pocket that was clearly too small. "So what next?"

  "Litleo again," Grimsley said, his eyes focusing on Ian's cub. "I take it that Litleo has an aggressive battling style?"

  "When I've been battling it, yes. Wait, I did send it out against a Machamp and it went right at it, so yeah, definitely…"

  "A Machamp? Ouch," Grimsley said.

  "It was when one of Surge's goons was chasing me," Ian said.

  "Surge?" Grimsley asked with a cringe. "You see his Zapdos?"

  Ian nodded grimly. "Yeah. Hopefully never doing another mission like that again."

  "Hopefully," Grimsley said with a chuckle. "Even if I still had my full Elite Four team I wouldn't go near that guy."

  "Full Elite Four team?" Ian asked.

  "Let's just say I wasn't allowed to flee Unova with my Pokemon. If you ever end up being a good trainer, don't piss off that biggest sponsor of that region's Pokemon League and let's leave it at that."

  "Oh that's awful…" Ian said, eyeing Sawsbuck and Litleo. I haven't even had my partners for a week and I already feel terrible about even thinking of losing them in such a way. I suppose the bond catching Pokemon creates goes both ways.

  "But I got Pokemon to help you out. C'mon out Liepard!" Grimsley announced, throwing a Poke Ball into the air. The purple leopard Pokemon with a very long tail appeared, purring mischievously.

  Litleo tensed and readied itself, Ian noticed its tuft of fur didn't start flickering. "Hey Grimsley, any idea what's up with Litleo's fur tuft on its head? For some battles he gets really riled up and it starts flickering and changing color, but others he doesn't."

  "Litleo's ability, Rivalry," Grimsley explained.

  "You mean it does extra damage to males but less to females?" Ian asked, a little crestfallen.

  Grimsley shrugged with a nervous smile. "Kind of? It's not just the opposing Pokemon's sex though. Prey animals, Pokemon it has considered rivals all qualify."

  "Well I guess that's something…" Ian said. "So what's Liepard out for?"

  "Very important mobility training," Grimsley answered. "Litleo can't take many hits, but when evolved can hit very hard. Agility is key, especially since it can't learn any speed buffs."

  "Okay…"

  "Ian, your first exercise with Litleo is simple: Liepard is going to chase it, and Litleo cannot be caught. No attacks are allowed, got it?" Grimsley asked.

  "Yeah…" Ian turned to Litleo and knelt down. "Litleo, no attacking Liepard okay? Do your best to keep away from it."

  Litleo eyed him with annoyance briefly before looking at Liepard and growling lowly. Liepard crouched, its eyes locked on Litleo. "Begin!" Grimsley announced. Liepard sprang into action, leaping forward as Litleo tried to bolt to the side. Liepard's leap had anticipated Litleo's direction and landed a couple feet from the startled Litleo. Ian's cub panicked for a moment, trying to scurry away at an angle, only for Liepard's long, agile legs to catch up and tap Litleo at the base of its tail. Litleo hissed angrily, but did not retaliate.

  "Well that was fast…" Ian said with a grunt.

  "You and Litleo must be elusive," Grimsley lectured.

  "Liepard guessed which way Litleo was gonna go," Ian said in protest.

  Grimsley sucked his teeth and shook his head. "That was all observation. Liepard could tell which way Litleo wanted to go and leapt accordingly. Part of being elusive means not telegraphing your next move."

  Ian grimaced. "I'm probably the last person who can tell Litleo how to be more of a cat than itself."

  Grimsley rolled his eyes. "Then why are you training Pokemon in the first place?"

  Ian opened his mouth to protest but found no words.

  "You're not going to teach Litleo how to move more quickly. But you can give him tips on being unpredictable, how to improve his stance to make his movements more spontaneous and easier to bound off from. Let's try it again. Liepard, back to me!"

  Ian nodded, eyeing Litleo with more scrutiny than before. "Let's get ready, Litleo." Immediately Litleo crouched, its gaze turned to its left for a moment before re-focusing on Liepard. He is telegraphing his movements...

  "Go!" Grimsley shouted.

  "Right!" Ian ordered, pointing to his right. Litleo had already stepped left but went right a bit clumsily as it re-balanced. Liepard landed from its leap where Litleo would've gone, then bounded for Litleo on the other side of Ian. Litleo had already picked up steam and continued fleeing from the faster, more lithe predator.

  Liepard caught up in just a few seconds as Litleo tried to get behind a tree, only for Liepard to pat the base of Litleo's tail with its paw, ending the chase.

  "Better," Grimsley said. "What went wrong though?"

  "Litleo was telegraphing its move and was off balance at the start," Ian said as Litleo trotted back to his side once again. "Considering Litleo's a predator, it's not used to being hunted like prey…"

  Grimsley smiled triumphantly. "Very good young Ian. Now try explaining that to Litleo."

  Ian knelt down and began caressing the back of Litleo's neck. His cub tensed for a moment before realizing the sensation was very relaxing and he purred involuntarily. "Now Litleo, you're not used to being hunted so it makes sense you're no good at running from other Pokemon. But for battling other Pokemon, you're going to have to be quick and decisive," Ian paused for a moment as he reflected on the prior chase again. "I told you to go a different way, but Liepard's reading where you're going to go. Don't look, just know." I"m sure Litleo didn't understand a lick of that, but it's worth a shot. Ian, still kneeling, looked at Grimsley, uncertainty in his face.

  Grimsley pointed at him. "What's with the uncertainty? You said no lies. Now show Litleo you believe in him."

  Ian nodded, inhaling deeply. "Right now you're not the strongest…" Grimsley eyed him disapprovingly but Ian re-focused on Litleo. "...but we both are going to become stronger. I've got to figure out how to help you effectively, and you gotta learn to be more elusive. This will be the first step on our journey together, but I know that someday soon, we'll both be strong and we won't be cowering away from anything." Ian felt the air around Litleo suddenly warm up, and Litleo gave an intense growl, his eyes narrowing on Liepard.

  Ian caught Grimsley with a proud grin for a moment but figured it was best to keep his attention on Litleo. "You ready?"

  "Now!" Grimsley called out. Liepard sprang into action, this time not leaping and staying closer to the ground. Litleo needed no orders as it pushed off the ground to the left. Liepard followed quickly, closing in, but Litleo ran into a nearby shrub. Liepard dove in, but suddenly yelped in surprise. Litleo scurried out, passing Ian as the shrub began shaking frantically. Once Litleo was well enough away, Liepard stepped out rather clumsily before looking for its target once more. Ian realized even he'd lost track of Litleo at this point. Excellent job little guy.

  "C'mon Liepard, I know you're better than this," Grimsley said almost tauntingly. Liepard crouched, closing its eyes and seemed to sniff the air for a moment.

  "Litleo wins this one," Grimsley said. "But let's see how it ends."

  "What?"

  "Liepard's just used Laser Focus," Grimsley admitted. "I want to see how Litleo reacts."

  Liepard then leapt into action once more, locking onto a set of bushes and closing in. Liepard gave a loud battle cry as it dove in, but froze up suddenly as a loud, high pitched, whining roar came forth from the brush.

  "Noble Roar, very nice," Grimsley observed. Liepard reached into the bushes but yelped in pain, moving back to the open area. The bush rustled and Liepard jumped in, this time more confidently. The bushes shook as the feline Pokemon hissed and yipped at each other until Litleo came out of the bushes with a number of scratches but still looking like it was mid-brawl. Liepard dove out and sneered at Litleo, raising a paw threateningly. Litleo gave another Noble Roar, which with its high pitch sounded like a whine, but Liepard once again recoiled from the threat.

  "Way to stand up for yourself, Litleo," Grimsley said. "Liepard, that's good, c'mon back."

  Ian watched as Liepard glared at Litleo menacingly but turned and gracefully made its way back to Grimsley, where he had comforting pets waiting for his purple feline.

  Ian pumped his fist excitedly as Litleo scampered over to him. "Excellent job, buddy," Ian said with a big smile. "That was great." Litleo gave a cheering growl and presented the back of its neck for pets, which Ian happily gave.

  "Don't get too celebratory yet! Let's see what Litleo can really do!" Grimsley called out.

  Ian's eyes met Litleo's, both of them with fiery passion in their eyes. "Hell yeah!" Ian called out, pumping his fist excitedly as the tuft of fur on Litleo's head began to shimmer with different colors.

  ***

  Hours later when Grimsley had deemed it to be enough training for the day, Ian had the biggest grin on his face. Sawsbuck had started getting used to having a rider and they dashed around the grove, showering it in Tapu Bulu's blessing. Wartortle had been rather sour when brought out of his ball for target practice on Liepard, but Wartortle was surprisingly adept with its aim, and Grimsley saw little need to go too crazy on it. Litleo and Liepard sparred with actual moves this time around, and Grimsley had a few Potions and ointments to fix up the sparring partners after the particularly rough rounds. Ian checked Sophocles' watch and figured he had another couple hours before he needed to bring Sawsbuck back out to the grove to spur more growth. His Pokemon had earned a rest, and he had an order from Plumeria he had to fulfill.

  He made his way to Plumeria's secret spot and grabbed the guitar case before remembering he wasn't exactly sure where the kiddy school was. Maybe it's called Auntie Pula's? Maybe it's the orphanage? Jeez that sounds grim. He made his way to the canal where the park was, remembering that was the first time he saw kids in Po Town. After searching aimlessly, carrying the bulky guitar case, Ian spotted Stompz, the dark-skinned guy with the English-Galarian accent. "Hey Stompz!" Ian called out.

  Stompz eyed Ian suspiciously and then it clicked. "Oi sweet, bossman let you in. How's it going?"

  "Do you know where the kiddy school is? Plumeria's making me do a thing," Ian explained.

  "Go to City Hall and I bet you'll hear 'em," Stompz said with his accent very apparent.

  City Hall, that's next to The Grill, right? Ian did find City Hall and while he couldn't hear the kids, another Skull member pointed him in the right direction. There was just one big, colorful classroom with kids of various ages, all between five and ten by the looks of it, busily drawing with some crayons. He got a weird look from the brown-skinned native woman with greying hair and he waved nervously.

  "There he is," Mina's slightly disinterested voice said.

  "Oh you're who Plumeria said was coming by?" The older woman asked.

  Ian nodded. "Probably. Auntie Pula, I assume?"

  She nodded and smiled warmly. "Nice to meet you, and you are…?"

  "Mister Ian, Mister Ian!" An excited voice called out. Rylee got out of her chair and rushed over to Ian and squeezed his leg with a hug.

  "Oh, how do you know Ian?" Auntie Pula asked sweetly.

  "Mr. Ian saved me from the giant lobster!" Rylee bragged, squeezing his leg even harder.

  "Giant lobster?" Mina said with an amused smirk.

  "Plumeria said it was an Alpha Crawdaunt, not a lobster," Auntie Pula said.

  Ian nodded. "Yeah…"

  "And when Ms. Selene took me away, Mr. Ian fought it all by himself!" Rylee continued.

  Ian smiled. "Aw c'mon, you're making me blush."

  Rylee then looked up to him again, her elated smile having disappeared and replaced with a look of concern. "Where's Ms. Selene?"

  "She's with Plumeria and the squad, they're out on a mission," Ian answered as he knelt down.

  "Why aren't you with her Mr. Ian? What if the giant lobster comes back?" Rylee asked.

  Ian chuckled. "I got in trouble, I'm on timeout."

  "What, why!?" Rylee demanded.

  "Okay Rylee, enough bothering our guest. You have to get back to your drawing," Auntie Pula said.

  Ian got up from his crouch and noticed Mina watching him, curiosity in her eyes. He felt his cheeks going red and turned to his guitar. Mina made her way over to him. "So, you bring that thing just for show?" Mina asked with a mischievous grin on her face.

  "Well, Plumeria said I gotta play some music for the kids or something," Ian whispered.

  "You can play while they work. Just nothing too loud please," Mina said.

  Ian nodded, immediately thinking of the various Pokemon game soundtracks and grinned. "I can definitely do that." After getting his guitar out, he went through the catalogue of songs in his mind and settled on an easy, relaxing one that had a certain tenderness to it. Iki Town at Night. Ian found a stool to sit on and tuned up the guitar a bit before beginning to play. He caught the kids stealing glances at him as he did every so often, but he tried to keep things soft and mellow so it wasn't so distracting. He switched up the songs every so often, trying to keep the same vibe until Mina gave him the signal.

  "Alright class, show Ms. Mina what you've been working on!" Auntie Pula announced. The class held up their drawings and Mina went by each kid with a big smile, congratulating them and complimenting something about their work.

  "And class, what do we say to Mr. Ian for coming by and playing music for us during art class?" Auntie Pula said.

  "Thank you Mr. Ian!" The class said in unison.

  "Thanks for having me," Ian said, unable to wipe the grin off his face if wanted to.

  "With art class being over, you know what time it is!" Mina said.

  "Recess!" The class shouted in unison. The students began scurrying around excitedly, heading for the door. Ian started putting his guitar away, but Auntie Pula came up to him.

  "Thank you for coming by, Ian," Pula said with a genuine smile. "Will we be seeing you around more often?"

  "No clue, depends on how long this suspension from Plumeria lasts," Ian said.

  A sudden burst of excitement came from outside and Pula rolled her eyes, "I best go see what that is."

  Ian nodded and continued putting his guitar away. Upon exiting the school and seeing the kids on the playground, Ian realized he recognized who the commotion was about. Plumeria was surrounded by five kids all trying to hug her, while Rylee and another little girl were hugging Selene and Rapp excitedly. Ian couldn't help but smile some more until Plumeria made eye contact with him and shooed the excited kids off, heading over to him.

  "So you can follow orders," Plumeria said, voice oozing with attitude.

  Ian sighed. "Yup. I don't suppose you're gonna call my suspension over, are you?"

  Plumeria shook her head, causing her long, dyed pigtails to shake wildly. "Not a chance. Might just extend it cuz the kids like you so much."

  Ian grimaced, stifling a groan as Plumeria got pulled away by different kids. He sighed, picking up his guitar as he did before Auntie Pula appeared next to him.

  "I know Plumeria's a tough cookie to swallow sometimes, but she means well. She's the glue that holds this whole town together," Auntie Pula explained.

  Ian nodded, looking to see the kids surrounding Plumeria once more and screaming "Big Sis" excitedly. I'm starting to see that.

  "Hey Ian, over here! I wanna show you something," Rapp called to him.

  Ian trudged over, guitar in tow and he noticed Selene listening to Rylee attentively. "...I wanted to draw the giant lobster but Ms. Mina said the drawing had to be a flower…"

  Selene giggled. "Giant lobster? Make sure you put me and Ian in the picture."

  "And your big tiger and deer!" Rylee exclaimed.

  "So what's up, Rapp?" Ian asked, refocusing on his not as busy squad member.

  "I got a nasty cut in the Ultra Storm when this grass Pokemon used Razor Leaf on Hyde's Torracat," Rapp explained. "Started bleeding pretty bad…"

  Ian noticed neither of Rapp's arms appeared hurt at all. "Okay…"

  "But then this Pokemon came up to me and healed it with its tears!" Rapp said excitedly.

  "It's so pretty, c'mon, show 'em," Selene urged.

  Rapp smiled and took a Poke Ball from her belt and opened it. The flash of light materialized into a short, white unicorn-looking Pokemon. It had pure, white fur and a busy mane and tail made of pastel colors that shimmered with a magical glow. Is that a-

  "Ponyta!" Rapp exclaimed.

  "A Galarian one at that," Selene said.

  The kids took notice of the new Pokemon and rushed over, surrounding the trainers as they hammered Rapp and Selene with questions.

  "One at a time please, one at a time," Selene said. "We don't want to scare her, she's shy."

  Ian realized his cheeks hurt and it was because he was smiling so much. He picked up his guitar case and figured now was as good a time as any to take it to Tom's locker. He gave one last look to the schoolyard and smiled once more. He then realized Mina was looking right at him and gave him a playful wink, and Ian felt blood rushing to his cheeks almost immediately. He nodded at her and waved goodbye, leaving in a nervous hurry. Well that's interesting…