Chapter 24 – Day 11, Part 3: An Outside Perspective

Chapter 24 – Day 11, Part 3: An Outside Perspective

Fenn often wonders if he’s like other fire types.

From what he knows, or what he’s read, most fire type pokemon are passionate, spirited creatures that care deeply about those close to them. This was in general terms, of course; there could be exceptions. For Fenn, anybody that knows him well could see that he’s ardent in more ways than one.

Fenn thought about why he was even born as a fire type in the first place, the shade of the Colbur Village saloon awning protecting his already warm fur from getting any hotter. He had plenty of time to think as it turned out. The day was almost over and according to Finch, Sandpiper would be here “soon.” So in the meantime, Fenn watched the bustling of pokemon in the center of Colbur while Cosmo rested in his lap.

It had been a boring few hours. Oswald was off discussing strategy with Finch, effectively leaving the fire type to do nothing by Oswald’s request. And unfortunately, trying to keep an eye on the water type from where Fenn was sitting wasn’t easy.

Cosmo was, well, being Cosmo. He asked a lot of juvenile questions that Fenn answered with a word or two each. Said questions were about the places he had been and the kind of pokemon he had fought. And of course, they were worded as though they held the most important answers in the history of Pamtre. Fenn was used to Cosmo enough to know that he was just being curious, despite how dramatic he was being.

Occasionally, Cosmo would skip over to talk to the young Bulbasaur and Chikorita one building over. They were the very same couple of grass types Fenn had seen back in the cafeteria, explorer’s bag and all. Like Team Lavender, they showed up to fight Sandpiper; though earlier, Finch had told the two of them to not interfere, not unlike Fenn. They were loud and boisterous for most of the time they were around, giggling and shouting out their “secret techniques.” Sounded like Cosmo would get along with them perfectly, and by Fenn’s assumption, they would have. But they just wouldn’t let him play along. Cosmo ended up dragging himself back to Fenn on the verge of tears.

Probably just kids being kids, Fenn thought. Whatever they said to Cosmo must’ve really upset him. Fenn accepted Cosmo back into his lap and bounced the little Solosis on his knee to calm him down.

It reminded Fenn of his own childhood strangely enough. He swore that he was bolder back then, almost like Cosmo. Coming back to the question of why Fenn was born as a fire type, the answer was obvious: both of his parents were Typhlosian. That much was true, but there had to be more to it than that. Why those fire types? Why couldn’t it be any others?

If he was being honest with himself, Fenn found it especially strange how younger fire type pokemon were encouraged to be careful—to be mindful of their surroundings and the potential damage they could cause. He found it odd because Fenn wasn’t taught this way. He knows this due to the fact that he spent a considerable amount of time reading during his later teenage years. The books he read talked about tragedies linked to fires, and the catastrophic results of what powerful, emotionally immature fire type pokemon were capable of. What was especially concerning was how his parents and no one else around him brought this up. Not once. All that time training to be a warrior and it never occurred to Fenn that his destructive abilities could be a nuisance to others.

Thinking back on it, the librarian back in Nanab Town would always talk about how much she hated fire types. A few times he would overhear her talking about her fears of a stray fire type showing up and ruining her life’s work.

Yet despite this, she never once told Fenn to leave. She never once said any of this when she knew that Fenn was around. She…avoided eye contact every time Fenn went to go check out a book.

Hm.

More time passed as Fenn sat there, waiting. He watched the bustling of panicked pokemon as they scrambled to prepare for whatever Sandpiper had in store for them. More thoughts coursed through his mind as the boredom took hold.

He thought about his boldness during his formative years again. Fenn remembered how much he loved his family and how it became his job to let others know how much he loved them. Then one day…that just stopped. Something caused him to change. What was it? Why was he a stuttering, timid wreck of a pokemon now?

…Fenn knew the answer. He always has. Who was the one that made him who he was today?

He liked to think it was his father. Gaura, the Volcano. Fenn’s…hero. The one that he idolized more than any other veteran of the Psychic Wars. Ever since his childhood, Fenn aspired to be like Gaura when he grew up. However, Fenn also had his grandfather, who died when he was quite young. Five years old to be specific; he didn’t remember a lot but his grandfather always made him feel safe—and loved. It was a feeling he desperately missed, and Fenn hoped that he would one day experience it again with someone else when he grew older.

Fenn…has since grown up; he’s 19 now.

The wind howled as it blew through Fenn’s fur. Cosmo shivered from the sudden cold, while Fenn didn’t even flinch.

The cold reminded him of his days back in Figy Forest. An all too familiar feeling of icy, overpowering dread, day in, day out. Why didn’t he go to Kebia when he was younger? Again, Fenn already knew: he wasn’t perfect. The Quilava, or the Cyndaquil at the time, trained and trained and trained. It was what he had to do if he wanted to be strong. It was required if he wanted to be feared.

Fenn thought to himself, I’m a warrior. A fire type stronger than pokemon twice my size and age. I should be out there, helping Oswald fight off Sandpiper.

…But I can’t. Oswald said no.

The fur on the back of the young fire type’s neck bristled. Fenn would’ve unleashed a Flamethrower out of pure rage if it weren’t for Cosmo. The little psychic was making weird mouth noises for no reason, inadvertently reminding Fenn that he was there.

It was maddening for Fenn to be told to stand down in the saloon. All he wanted to do was help; to help make the bad guys go away. Why wouldn’t Oswald let him just fight the mercenaries and be done with it? He wasn’t going to kill them. So what if he had never actually fought another civil pokemon in his life? It wasn’t that different!

I KNOW how to hold back! Gah! I hate being made useless like this! Did dad ever have to hold back? No! Dad always knew what to do! He always knew what to say! He would’ve stepped in and beaten those thugs like he always did! Like back in the war! He always used to talk about…the pokemon he fought. The pokemon he…killed.

…Oh. Right. I still need to talk to him, don’t I?

Fenn sighed. He was suddenly reminded of what he told himself a couple days ago.

I’m not my dad. I’m not.

Fenn wasn’t the imposing, powerful warrior that his dad was. Fenn was just a weak, emotionally childish Quilava that couldn’t even finish a dungeon that wasn’t Figy Forest on his own. Who even was he? Was he just…Fenn? What does that mean?

Another belligerent sigh. More bristling fur on the back of Fenn’s neck. More Cosmo mouth noises.

…I’m such a worthless piece of garbage. I should’ve figured this out years ago! Now I’m just…stumbling around like an idiot while someone else does the hard work. Why is it so hard for me to do anything right? WHY CAN’T I JUST BE NORMAL?

It was at that moment that Fenn caught sight of a familiar shade of blue down the road.

Oswald.

Fenn watched his teammate with apprehension. Oswald was off discussing something with Finch, their voices quiet enough to not be audible over the others in the village.

He stopped to think about Oswald for a moment. Why did he follow along with what Oswald said instead of just doing what he knew was right? Why wasn’t Fenn out there right now?

Did Fenn listen because…he had an “interest” in the Dewott? The thought made him blush, that much couldn’t be denied. Oswald seemed so insistent on acting on the young weasel’s behalf. Fenn…never realized how nice that felt. To have someone else put him first…it made him feel warm; warmer than usual. The warmth made the young pokemon feel confident somehow. Like…he wanted nothing more than to do things with Oswald, spend time with him, talk with him even. Fenn had never wanted that before. Not for a long time at least.

Which made this waiting game all the more infuriating. Fenn had been effectively delegated to “emotional support.” All he could really do was shoot Oswald a warm smile when he seemed unsure of what to do next. And that was it.

It was insulting, but what could he do? Oswald…knew what he was doing. In fact…Fenn thought about his proposal from last night. About Oswald coming with him to confront his dad. Fenn was terrible at that sort of thing. Oswald, though? He would hate to drag him into this, but…

“Hey, Fenn?”

With a blink, Fenn was torn out of his thoughts by Cosmo’s shaky voice. Fenn looked down, his gaze affectionate. “Y-yeah, Cosmo?”

“Do you…do you know what the other bad guys are like?” Cosmo sounded worried.

“Uh…no, not really,” Fenn admitted. He was being honest; even after Finch’s description, Fenn had no idea what to expect.

“Oh…well, Cosmo thinks that Fenn could defeat them. He is the strongest Quilava in the world!”

…I want to agree, Cosmo. I really do…

Fenn was quiet for a moment, his gaze once again drifting over to Oswald. Like earlier, Oswald’s eyebrows were furrowed and his arms were crossed. Finch, meanwhile, seemed just as lax as ever. Something about how Finch and Oswald were there, in the middle of it all, talking about important things…it made Fenn feel a longing he desperately wanted to get rid of. It caused a painful tightness in his chest, making him feel hopeless and alienated. He couldn’t think about anything else but being there, with those two. And the way that Finch would pat Oswald on the shoulder and…laugh…and…

“Uh, Fenn?”

“H-huh?” Fenn blinked before looking down at Cosmo again.

“You are…on fire,” Cosmo told him slowly.

Coincidentally, the flames on Fenn’s lower back and forehead were bright and blazing. When did that happen?

Fenn took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “S-sorry, Cosmo,” he muttered apologetically. “I…got a little distracted.”

“Oh…that’s okay.”

Fenn sighed. He let his emotions get the better of him again. “No, it’s not. W-we were talking and…here, there was something I actually wanted to ask you.”

“What is it?” the purple Solosis curiously asked.

He paused to look away. Fenn still felt that he had the right idea back in the saloon, but…he did have doubts. “C-Cosmo, if you…had to talk that Flaaffy and that Nidoqueen down earlier today, would you have…done it peacefully or would you have f-fought them?”

Cosmo’s eyes lit up. “Cosmo would have beaten the villains! He’s the strongest psychic in the world!”

…Fenn didn’t know why he expected Cosmo to say anything different. Why he even bothered to ask was beyond him.

“A-are you sure?” Fenn stuttered. “Even if it meant hurting them?”

“Yep! They are villains and villains are bad! It is up to Team Lavender to beat them up! Wham! POW!”

The Solosis flew into the air and made a bunch of exaggerated sounds with his mouth. Stray flicks of pink, psychic energy hit the wooden wall of the saloon. It didn’t even splinter.

“Cosmo…” Fenn sighed. “No, d-don’t think like that. You…just don’t.” It didn’t feel good to chide Cosmo for being himself, but Fenn wasn’t comfortable letting Cosmo’s confidence get the better of him in this instance.

With a frown, Cosmo floated back down to be at eye level with Fenn. “B-but why?” he wondered. “That’s what Fenn would do…”

Fenn flinched and bit his lip. “No, I…”

…Cosmo is right, Fenn thought. Am I really that obvious? Heck, I’m an INFLUENCE. I don’t want Cosmo to get into fights he can’t win. Maybe…it wasn’t such a bad thing that Oswald stopped me when he did. I don’t know…

Fenn changed the subject. “Aren’t you s-scared, Cosmo?”

“Nope!” the Solosis replied cheerfully. “Cosmo is never scared!”

“…” For some reason or another, Fenn didn’t believe that. “Are…are you sure?” Fenn wondered skeptically, an eyebrow raised.

“Yep!”

“Are you sure you’re sure?”

“Cosmo is the sure-ist he has ever been!” he declared.

“Really?” Fenn said. “Th-then what was that in the saloon? You seemed pretty scared then.”

Cosmo turned up his bubble in a smug manner. “Heh, Cosmo was just trying to make Oswald and Fenn feel better about being afraid.”

“Uh…huh.”

“That’s right! Cosmo faked being scared so Fenn and Oswald would not feel left out. He would not want to…Smeargle Team Lavender’s reputation by not doing what the rest of the team does.”

Fenn giggled. That made no sense, but Fenn found it pretty funny. “I-I guess so,” he smiled.

“Yeah,” Cosmo continued, “we got to be careful…Natu be too different.”

Fenn giggled some more. “Hehe Cosmo, stop!” he said playfully.

“Why? Cosmo likes to make Fenn…Shuckle.“

Now Fenn was full on laughing. Somehow Cosmo got Fenn to forget about his issues for a moment. “Hahahaha! C-Cosmo, how are you so good at that?”

The Solosis smirked. “Because Cosmo is the greatest-“

Before he could finish, an irritably familiar voice spoke up. “Looks like you two are having fun over here.”

“AAAH!”

Faster than Fenn could see, Cosmo zipped into his arms at the sound of Finch’s voice. The sudden intrusion into the conversation was enough to make Cosmo tremble in fear. Fenn was about to spring into action before he saw who walked up.

“Could you be a bit more considerate, Finch?” Oswald asked as he walked alongside the Krokorok. “Cosmo had a bit of a tough time today.”

Finch scoffed. “Tch! What do you expect me to do, Ozzy? I wasn’t trying to scare the kid.”

“Can you…” Oswald let out a sigh of frustration, “…don’t call me that. It’s Oswald, not Ozzy.”

“I think it fits you better. With your skinny arms and scraggly fur and-“

Fenn had heard enough. He cleared his throat to get their attention. “Ahem.”

Both Oswald and Finch turned to face him. Oswald immediately looked as though he regretted opening his mouth, while Finch seemed just as complacent as ever, a large toothy grin painting his face.

“Sorry to be so rude,” Finch stated. His arms were crossed and he acknowledged Fenn with a playful sneer. “Blame Ozzy for wanting to come see you.”

There was a small moment where Finch’s eyes sprung upward to look at something above Fenn’s head. It took him a moment, but Fenn quickly noticed the sound of crackling flames. And the heat in his cheeks after Finch said that Oswald wanted to come see him.

Arceus darn it…

Fenn chose to look away in embarrassment as Oswald responded. “Actually, Finch, he should blame you for scaring Cosmo and making him so upset.”

Finch lost the smirk and sighed. “I didn’t do anything. But whatever. By my guess, Sandpiper will be here really soon. Like, less than thirty minutes soon. Colbur Village is either about to be burned to the ground, or we’ll all get out of this free of charge.”

Both scenarios made Fenn unreasonably annoyed. Mostly because he wouldn’t be a part of it and he wouldn’t be able to keep Oswald safe. That annoyance quickly turned into concern as Cosmo once again began to tremble in his grip. Fenn got to work quietly shushing him and bouncing the Solosis on his knee.

Oswald paused before saying, “…You know, I was actually wondering. This place is called Colbur Village? Why? It looks more like a town to me.”

“I thought the same thing when I first got here,” Finch said. “Apparently, this place used to be small enough to be classified as a village, then it grew. Now it’s more like a small town.”

“Huh. Makes sense, I guess. So, how did you organize this to happen in the first place?”

“Like I said,” the Krokorok started, “I have connections.”

Oswald raised an eyebrow. “What kind of connections?”

“The kind that gets us out of this situation. You don’t need to know more than that.”

“Mhm.” Oswald ripped a scalchop off his hip and started to twirl it in his fingers. “Yeah, I bet,” he mumbled grumpily.

Fenn stayed quiet, his cheeks still burning. This conversation they were having wasn’t anything but casual. Yet, the Quilava couldn’t help but feel the frustration going all the way to his vents. What was the matter with him? Why was he acting like this?

“So anyways-“

“THEY’RE HERE!”

Just as Finch was about to say more, a pokemon on one of the higher levels called out the arrival of Sandpiper. The entire town, almost all centralized in the village square, began to clamor and panic.

“Shit,” Finch cursed under his breath. “Everybody! To your spots!” He turned to Oswald and told him in a hushed voice, “Meet me at the front. Either be there or stay out of the way.”

Oswald nodded, sending small glances at Fenn and Cosmo. “I’ll do that, but give me a minute. I won’t be long.”

A frown appeared on the Krokorok’s face once the Dewott said that, but he just as quickly nodded and sprinted off onto the road. Fenn and Oswald watched him leave for a few seconds before Oswald sped to Fenn’s side.

“…Sorry about that,” Oswald muttered. “I wanted to come see you before we got started and…well, you know.”

“It’s fine,” Fenn reassured him, trying his best not to seem mad. “I-I…are you sure you won’t need my help? O-Oswald, I don’t want to be useless.”

The water type opened his mouth to respond, but Cosmo’s whimpers cut him off. “P-please, make the villains leave…” he whispered pitifully.

“I’ll do just that, Cosmo,” Oswald said warmly, leaning down to rest his paw on Cosmo’s bubble. “Just stay with Fenn, okay? He’ll keep you safe.”

The look that Oswald gave Fenn told Fenn everything he needed to know.

“Stay back and keep Cosmo safe.”

As much as he hated to admit it, that alone was some pretty solid reasoning. However, it still didn’t make Fenn feel any less inclined to want to help. The look Oswald gave him made him more annoyed than anything. And as the familiar blissful feeling of Oswald’s paw on his ears resurfaced, Fenn could only manage a half smile.

“Just…d-don’t get hurt. Please.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

Oswald stood and shot Fenn one last perplexing look. The Quilava had no idea what to make of it, but he couldn’t look away. He wanted to stare into his green eyes for hours, just so he could forget his problems for a little bit longer.

But he couldn’t. Oswald rushed after Finch a moment later, leaving Fenn alone with Cosmo in his lap.

…I hate this so much.

---

It really was a beautiful day. Cloudy, windy but not too windy, piles of autumn colored leaves covering the ground—just wonderful weather. The kind of weather that didn’t even warrant the need for shade under a large tree, though Fenn and Cosmo took refuge under one anyways.

The Bulbasaur and Chikorita from earlier sat nearby, their eyes glued to the path and the center of the village. They were completely quiet. Even they could feel it…

The tension in the air was palpable. Enough to ruin a perfectly serene day like this.

Fenn peered out from the shade at the two groups of pokemon staring each other down. He made sure to be close enough to be able to hear, but far enough to not be that noticeable. The shade helped with that.

All Fenn could really hope for was that the Sandpiper gang would not notice his fully ignited flames burning brightly. He didn’t particularly know why the mercenaries made his blood boil; they just did, and the young fire type was perfectly capable of running up and burning them all to a crisp if he needed to. That was what he told himself at least.

The Flaaffy and Nidoqueen were here, as were quite a few others. A Solrock, a Seismitoad, and a Machoke were just a few. There had to be at least ten in total, maybe more.

And of course the one in front had to be a fire type. A Darmanitan with hands big enough to break Oswald’s spine in two. I wonder if he was told to be careful when he was younger…

Fenn didn’t like the vibe he was giving off. He could tell from his first impression that this was a pokemon willing to skip negotiations and go right to the slaughter. Why he didn’t decide to do that must’ve been Finch’s doing, Fenn assumed.

Even if they resorted to fighting, Fenn wouldn’t be able to unleash his flames on them. They would resist his blazing fury. Fenn wanted to just…get rid of them. Looking at any of them for too long made his eyes dilate in rage.

Fenn had to stop himself from audibly growling.

…

…I need to calm down…

Opposite side of the Sandpiper was Oswald, Finch, and about five other pokemon. Most of them seemed to be guild pokemon, a colored cloth on each of their persons. Sometime in between Lavender arriving and now, pokemon from the guild began to trickle into Colbur. One in particular…was a Togetic. The very same Togetic that Fenn saw back in the cafeteria, bandages and determined glare and all.

The sight of the Togetic stoked his fire more than Sandpiper, if that was even possible.

Fenn considered himself and this Togetic to be…almost alike, even though he never met the fairy type. Both were probably after the same goal, but only one of them gets to be on the frontlines.

It was almost enough to make Fenn curse his itch to growl; calming down wasn’t getting any easier. He didn’t even notice how concerned Cosmo was getting, mostly because the Solosis was keeping quiet; Fenn had told him to stay that way until this was all over. More than anything, he needed to stay alert, and be ready to jump in at a moment’s notice.

The Togetic seemed ready to fight just like Fenn. Their body glowed with potential fairy energy, pure hatred visibly emaninating off of them. They only relaxed after Finch rested a claw on their shoulder and muttered a few inaudible words. Their glare did not relent however.

Surrounding the two groups of pokemon were the village folk, hiding out on the second stories of nearby buildings, or behind trees. Most seemed just as scared as Cosmo, but they too kept their gaze locked on the center of town.

And at the center of it all was Oswald and Finch. Fenn watched Oswald closely. He seemed nervous, to some extent. Not enough to show weakness, but just enough to be noticeable by someone that knew him. Someone like Fenn.

It wasn’t long before someone started talking, and it wasn’t until then that Fenn tore his eyes off his partner.

“Well, well, well,” started the Darmanitan,” if it isn’t Finch.”

“Thrush,” Finch nodded, dragging the name out much like how a dear friend would. “I can’t put into words how elated I am to see you.”

Oswald’s eyes widened and the look he gave Finch matched Fenn’s at that moment. He didn’t say anything, but the sentiment was clear.

“Wait, you know this guy?”

Fenn was really confused. Is this what Finch meant by “connections?”

The Darmanitan continued, a large grin plastered on his face. “Should’ve known it would be you. How else could a small town like this have caused us so much trouble?”

Finch shrugged. “Guilty as charged. Mind if I ask why you’re here in the first place?”

Every pokemon in that circle seemed to tense up as Thrush advanced forward ever so slightly. Oswald in particular took a step back. Fenn had to lean forward to catch what he was saying.

With his eyes narrowed, Thrush said, “…Oh, I think you know already. After all, you filled my associate’s minds with lies.” He shot the Flaaffy and the Nidoqueen a sideways glance. Both of them looked away out of shame.

Finch kept up the facade for a little longer. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re talking about,” Finch stated plainly, his arms crossed. “I’m sorry if you thought that I was lying at any point; could you please explain your points?”

To Fenn’s horror, Thrush turned to Oswald and pointed a finger in his direction.

Fenn’s flames grew even higher. Meanwhile, Oswald straightened up at the sudden attention.

“This guy,” Thrush started, “this scraggly looking Dewott was the one that said the crap about humans and plants. Harpy told me everything.” He looked back at Finch, his finger still pointed at Oswald. “You put him up to that, didn’t you? I know how you work, Finch. Making up some crap like that sounds like something you’d do.”

Fenn bit his lip. This Darmanitan really did know Finch and the ground gator didn’t think to mention that? Something wasn’t right here…

The jig was up at this point; Finch had no reason to lie anymore. Or so Fenn thought.

“There’s no human here, Thrush,” Finch grumbled, his tail swishing behind him. “Never has been. You’re wasting your time.”

The crowd voiced their agreement, with multiple village pokemon saying things like “please, just leave us alone,” or “we don’t know anything.”

Thrush waited for them to finish before countering. “After the stunt you tried to pull earlier today, I’m not inclined to take you at your word.”

More unrest. More protest. It took Finch’s voice to quiet the crowd. “Hey! Quiet down!”

Silence…

…

“…You want evidence,” he said. “I’m not sure if you know what humans are supposed to look like, Thrush, but they’re not exactly easy to miss. Eyewitness accounts should be enough. And plus, you know me. If there was a human here, I would know!”

Finch…had a point. Fenn, being the apparent bookdottler that he was, had read about humans here and there. They were strange, uncanny…things. Almost like some pokemon, but completely different in every conceivable way. Supposedly, they communicated through their “fingertips” and had fur in the strangest of places. Just the thought of them made the fur on Fenn’s back stand on end. He’d hate to meet one…that would be upsetting.

It’s a good thing they’re extinct. Ugh…I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it…

I mean…if there was a human here, I would also know. Everyone would know. They aren’t capable of hiding that well. So, Finch is right. Right?

To everyone’s surprise, Oswald was the one to speak up. “Finch is telling the truth,” he declared, sounding confident in his words. “You can’t just ask for evidence when there isn’t any to begin wi-“

“Shut your mouth, Dewott!” Thrush shouted.

The tension grew, and Fenn was particularly fuming.

“Ow owie! Fenn! P-please…”

Fenn snapped out of his anger-fueled stuper to look down at Cosmo in his paws. The Solosis looked to be on the verge of tears, his bubble squished under the Quilava’s grip. Fenn let go immediately.

“O-oh no, Cosmo…I’m so sorry. A-are you okay?”

“Y-yeah,” he sniffled.

Fenn could hardly believe his negligence. To think he went as far as to cause Cosmo pain…

Oswald was right; Fenn shouldn’t get involved. This was just like Mago Canyon all over again. All he did was make things worse. How could he possibly talk to his dad when he couldn’t even control his own feelings?

Fenn was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost missed what was said next.

The majority of Sandpiper seemed to be getting restless. “Boss, this is hopeless,” the Flaaffy said. “We’re not gonna get anything out of ’em.”

“What he said,” added the Machoke. “Let’s get outta here and go find a better contract.”

“Shut up! All of you!”

Once again everything went quiet. Thrush, with his eyes surveying the crowd around him, spoke in a low tone. “You call yourselves professionals?” he addressed his gang. “We’re here for one thing: the human. The fact that you DOLTS haven’t gotten anywhere in the past few days is an insult!”

More silence, though now the pokemon of Sandpiper were unanimously ashamed of themselves from the looks of it.

“And besides…” Thrush continued, now addressing the village folk, “we’re not looking for a human. We’re looking for a pokemon that used to be a human.”

Shocked gasps rang out on every corner of the village. Wha…what? Fenn thought in horror. How is that possible? A human…turned pokemon?

“F-Fenn,” Cosmo whined, “what does that mean?”

“I…I don’t know, Cosmo.”

Instinctively, Fenn searched for Oswald in the crowd. Surely, he’d know what to say in this scenario. He was good at this sort of thing.

Except…when Fenn looked in his direction, he balked at the sight of the Dewott trembling, his paw firmly planted on his scalchop.

“You all know what this means, don’t you?” Thrush challenged with his voice loud and questioning. “It could be any of you.”

“Why didn’t you come out of the gate with this?” Finch queried composedly. Somehow, the Krokorok was managing to stay calm despite everything.

Thrush slammed his fist into the dirt. “Because I have a reputation to uphold, dammit! And this contract is the most insane job I’ve ever gotten in my thirty years of doing this shit! It makes me come across as insane, but at least asking for a human will land me better results than asking for a pokemon!”

“Who hired you?” Finch got right to the point.

“Can’t tell ya that either! But I can tell you that I’m not leaving this spot until I know for certain that every last one of you isn’t human.”

“And how can you possibly test for something you clearly don’t understand?” Finch questioned angrily. “Why here? What makes you think that any of these pokemon are human?” He threw out his arms to gesture to the crowd behind him.

The Darmanitan chuckled. “How am I supposed to test for it? One at a time.” He took a step forward.

Fenn had no idea what was going on or what to think, but he tasted blood. He set Cosmo down despite his pleas and got ready to jump in and fight. His flames were as high as they could possibly be.

But then Oswald yelled out, “WAIT!”

Fenn stopped in his tracks. For a moment, he thought that Oswald was saying that to him. For a moment, Fenn thought that he and Oswald met gazes. All eyes were on the Dewott regardless. “One second!” he shouted.

Thrush looked him up and down. “So, I see you’re running with the psychic queen now, eh Finch? Couple of my associates mentioned bibs. Heh,” he laughed. “How the mighty have fallen…” The members of Sandpiper laughed along with their leader.

“Yeah! Scared guildies?” taunted the Seismitoad.

“Your precious queen isn’t here! You scared?” the Solrock heckled.

“Gonna make a mess with your widdle bibs? Haha!” Flaaffy sneered.

Finch seemed particularly angry. Before he could say anything in response, however, Oswald stepped in and said his piece. The Dewott’s eyes were sharp, plainly showing how unperturbed he was.

“You say that you’re going to ‘test’ for the human,” Oswald started, “but have you considered the possibility that they don’t know that they’re human?”

“What?” Thrush blurted out in confusion. “What are you on about, Dewott?”

“I’m just saying, the pokemon you’re looking for could’ve…had their memories altered and their name changed by a strong psychic. You know, like the queen. Or…maybe they’re already dead.”

Altered memories? Dead? I didn’t even consider that.

Finch stepped in right then. “Not to mention the prospect that they could be a dark type,” he pointed out. “Can’t read their mind so you might miss them.”

SLAM! Thrush smashed his fist into the ground again. “Don’t try to mind game me!” he growled through gritted teeth. “I know they’re not dead! Our employer made that clear!”

Employer…who are they talking about?

Fenn had since calmed down and was now watching this conversation take place. Cosmo slowly floated up next to the Quilava, not saying a word.

“Did your employer tell you what pokemon they were?” Finch asked.

Thrush frantically looked left and right, the flames of his eyebrows wavering in response. “…No, I-“

“Then it could be any of us!” Oswald suddenly shouted before throwing up his arms in exasperation. “They could be a kid you pass on the street, a mayor of a town, or, hell,” -he pointed at himself- “it could be me!”

“Could be me too,” Finch added with a shrug. “Maybe I just forgot.”

“Oh! Oh! What if I’m the human?”

Every pokemon in the area turned their heads to look up at a young Rowlett on the second floor balcony of a nearby building.

Just as quickly, everyone looked over at the Togetic in the front, also claiming to possibly be a human.

Then a Tangela said the same thing.

Then another pokemon.

Then another.

Then another.

Eventually, almost all of the village folk were saying the exact same thing. Fenn could only look around in disbelief. How…how did this turn around so fast?

This continued for some time until…

“ENOUGH!”

…

Thrush sighed. “This was a waste of time. Sandpiper! We’re leaving!”

The other Sandpiper members protested. “What?” cried the Flaaffy, electricity crackling off his poofy wool. “Boss, you can’t be serious!”

“Yeah, boss, we’ve already spent so much time here,” Harpy said. “We should just-“

“No. We’re leaving.” Thrush turned on his heels, now facing his crew. “That damn psychic should’ve been more specific if he wanted actual results. Finding the human like this is impossible.”

W-wait…they’re leaving? Just like that? Fenn could hardly believe what he was hearing.

“B-but boss,” stammered the Machoke, “what about-“

“We’ll find a way to bounce back from this. But for now…I’d like to have some words with our employer.”

Thrush turned back to face Finch again. He spoke in a much more lax tone. “And Finch…it was nice to see you again.”

Finch nodded solemnly. “You too, Thrush,” he said. “You too.”

---

Fenn, Oswald, Finch, and Cosmo watched as the entirety of Sandpiper rode off into the sunset on a carriage of their own. The majority of Colbur village and most of the guild recruits spent the rest of their time celebrating in the streets before the sun inevitably set.

The Bulbasaur and the Chikorita danced in the street as a Kriketune played a jaunty tune, the Rowlett and a few other flying type pokemon were playing tag in the air, and Coots was giving out free drinks. Even the Togetic, peeved as they previously were, found it in their heart to smile at the festivities. For Colbur, it was a happy day.

There were many reasons to smile at that point, and Fenn could really only find one. After such a long day of confusing events and conflicting feelings, it was nice to know that it was finally over. Fenn let out a sigh of relief.

“Not bad,” Finch said. “Not bad at all.”

Oh…right. Finch was still here. Fenn had almost forgotten. Looking over, an uncomfortable feeling flared in his stomach once he saw that, once again, Finch was talking to Oswald.

Does he really have to stick around for this long?

Finch continued, a smile on his face. “That’s twice now that you’ve shown that you can talk your way out of stressful situations, Oswald.”

“Yeah!” Cosmo exclaimed. “Oswald is the best!” The Solosis bounced up and down joyfully as he absentmindedly played in the dirt, sending small psychic attacks at stray rocks and leaves. The fear had since left Cosmo, and all that remained was his normal, cheery self. Fenn was happy about that. Or at least he would’ve been if it weren’t for the fact that Finch was still around. He really didn’t like that guy.

“Oswald? Not Ozzy?” The Dewott raised his eyebrows.

“Hey, you earned it. I probably would have handled things just fine on my own today, but the extra help was nice.”

Oswald paused as he looked over at the road in front of him, his light blue fur colored orange in the warm sunlight. “Yeah…I’m glad nothing went wrong,” he muttered.

After another moment, Oswald pointed a finger at something down the road. “Oh hey, there’s our ride.”

Sure enough, when Fenn and the other two pokemon followed Oswald’s finger, he saw a carriage heading in their direction. A distinct silver figure reflected the sunlight at the carriage’s front. Fenn let his shoulders slump. It was time to go home.

“Guess this is it then,” Oswald sighed. “Thanks for your help, Finch. I don’t know what your deal is, but I’m glad that we got to meet.”

“Not the worst backhanded compliment I’ve ever gotten, but I feel the same.” They shook hands.

Afterwards, Finch sent Fenn a big, toothy grin, probably with the expectation that Fenn would have something to say. A goodbye or a thank you maybe. It was probably meant to be friendly. In fact, Fenn knew that it was. However, it only served to make him more uncomfortable. His response was to simply look away.

“Although…”

Although? Fenn looked back.

“Nah, you probably wouldn’t say yes, Oswald,” Finch admitted.

Oswald eyed Finch skeptically. “Yes to what?”

“Nah, just forget it.”

“Finch, you can’t just say that and not expect me to be curious. Just tell me.”

Fenn looked between them. What is happening?

“Well…” Finch started, “I’ve been thinking about actually making a difference; doing something for the sake of making Pamtre a better place, you know?”

“Uh huh?”

“And like I said earlier today, I think that Anemone really isn’t doing much of anything to help the pokemon of the continent.”

“Right…” Oswald nodded slowly.

“And you said, Oswald, that you’ve talked to her more than once.” Finch scratched his chin pensively. “I was wondering about that.”

“Well that’s…it’s…complicated,” Oswald said.

“I can work with complications, but getting a chance to talk to her is harder than it sounds.” Finch pointed a finger at his chest. “Dark types like me have a tough time getting into Kebia Castle. Doubly so when it comes to making a proper team. But I do know that joining a pre-established team is easier than making a completely new one.”

“Where are you going with this, Finch?”

Fenn felt that he already knew, and it worried him. He hadn’t even noticed that he was rubbing his arm again.

Unbeknownst to Fenn, a certain dark type gator did.

“What would you say to me tagging along with you to Kebia?” he asked, pointing at the cloth around Oswald’s neck. “I can get me one of those and I can help you with some guild work, and you can help me get an audience with Anemone? How’s that sound?”

…Oh no.

Fenn didn’t hate Finch. In fact, he didn’t really care for him. It was just…a pokemon like Finch always made Fenn feel…small. The gator was the sort of pokemon that would always be at the center of the room with everyone’s attention. He could talk and talk and talk and talk. And if he ever tried to talk to Fenn, the Quilava would lock up; to him, Finch was like the cafeteria workers or the pokemon he used to sleep by. Fenn knew his type, and that wasn’t reassuring.

So no, Fenn wasn’t too excited at the idea of being around this guy everyday.

Fenn watched Oswald expectantly. Surely he would say no. He has to.

Oswald thought the offer over for several seconds, the Klinks in his brain turning to find an answer that was so obvious. Fenn wanted to scream at him and shake him until he forgot this day ever happened.

Just say no, Oswald, Fenn said internally. Say no and let’s go home. We can have dinner then go lay down. I don’t wanna have Finch on our team. I’m so tired, Oswald, please.

He and Oswald looked at each other. There was a long, drawn out moment where the two of them stared into the other’s eyes, as if they were communicating that way. Fenn tried his best to plead with him, to let Oswald know that he disapproved of this idea with his eyes.

Oswald looked to be conflicted, a frown on his face.

Eventually, Oswald shook his head.

“Alright, sure.”

…Oh…no…

“Wait, really?” Finch questioned, dumbfounded. “Damn, and here I was expecting to have to convince you more.”

Fenn, with his shoulders slouched and his ears drooped, muttered in a barely audible voice, “…Language.”

Oswald, Finch, and Cosmo all stopped what they were doing to peer at Fenn, their eyes alert with concern.

“Oh uh…sorry about that, Fenn, right?” Finch scratched the back of his head. “Didn’t get much of a chance to talk to you.”

“Fenn? What language? Why do you look so sad?” Cosmo floated over to Fenn’s side.

Oswald, agonizingly, didn’t say anything. He just stared with guilty eyes.

Fenn’s entire body felt cold. He wanted nothing more than for this day to be over.

He felt horrible, almost to the point of vomiting. Several words cycled through his brain in such a short period of time. All of which he experienced overlapped on top of each other. Frustration. Embarrassment. Betrayal. Anger. Sadness. He wasn’t even sure who to blame at this point.

So the Quilava simply rubbed his arm as he is one to do and muttered, “S-sorry…”

Finch said a few more things, but Fenn didn’t care to listen. Tuning it all out was the only thing he could do to keep himself from breaking down.

Only the sound of hooves on dirt and the spinning of wheels was enough to pull him out of it. “Hello, guild members!” the Aggron bellowed. “Right on time I see!”

The carriage came to a stop in front of the four of them. “Climb on in! I can get you back to the castle before the sun sets!”

Team Lavender and Finch quietly piled into the carriage. The Aggron didn’t even comment on Finch coming along, unfortunately. Perhaps he didn’t even care. Though Fenn might’ve just not been listening. There was a solid chance that Oswald explained everything and Fenn just didn’t hear it.

Some more time passed. It was all a blur. And when Fenn went to climb into the carriage and Oswald turned back to lend a paw, he smiled nervously. “…You okay?”

…

Fenn didn’t know what to say.

So he just didn’t say anything.

The Quilava grabbed hold of Oswald’s paw and nodded slightly. He couldn’t bring himself to meet the Dewott’s gaze the entire ride home.

What a rotten day.

---