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“Bloody hell,” Piers curses as he jabs the end call button with more force than necessary. It’s not as gratifying as slamming a handset into a receiver, but it’s all he’s got right now.
“What’s wrong, bro?” Marnie asks as she walks into the room just in time to see his little tantrum.
“Leon, that’s what’s wrong.”
“I ain’t a mind reader, so you’re gonna have to elaborate.”
Piers arched an eyebrow at his sister’s deadpan response. A lifted eyebrow and a crook in the corner of her lips in return made him huff out a laugh, dissipating some of his previous ire.
“Gotta run out to the fuckin’ Tundra. Somethin’s goin’ that’s got the dark types spooked.”
“Why ain’t he callin’ on me then? I’m the gym leader,” Marnie huffs.
Piers sees the look on her face. The determined tightening of her mouth and the narrowing of her eyes, before the corners of her mouth downturn, and her eyes go doleful. The siblings may not be the most effusive people, but it’s clear as day that her emotions just went from angry defiance to thinking they don’t believe she’s capable.
“Oi, don’t look like that.” Marnie opens her mouth to respond, but Piers continues before she can say anything. “If it were anythin’ else you’d be the first one they’d call.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Means the Tundra, and ya haven’t been trained up to solo that yet. You’ve been the gym leader for just four months. Leon’s scramblin’ to get shite runnin’ again and it may be a time before ya get to go for trainin’ proper.”
Why does Galar have to be the only region without functioning law enforcement? Or Rangers, for fuck’s sake. Piers won’t admit it to anyone if asked, but he loves watching the docuseries on the Pokemon Rangers in other regions. Sure, gym leaders come in to help, too, but there’s too much open territory. Galar Rangers would be ace.
“Alright,” she replies, her set shoulders slumping.
“Ya know I’m your number one fan, Marns. You’re already a better leader than I ever was. Just trust me that ya aren’t ready for this yet. Shite, not sure that I’m ready, but…”
“Ya can’t not do somethin’, bro. I get it. What can I do to help? I can put food together for ya while ya pack. How long do ya think you’ll be out there?”
And just like that, the siblings sprung into action.
Marnie had helped Piers pack in record time and then waited with him and his gear for a taxi outside the gates of Spikemuth. It was a quick trip to Hammerlocke, but a long train ride to the Tundra. The train ride could have been longer, Piers thought, tightening the collar on his jacket as trudged down the hill to Freezington.
After meeting with the small town’s mayor, he settled into his lodgings. It was already late in the afternoon, so he unpacked, made himself a cup of tea, and spread out a map on the dining table. Piers read all of the reports, and made note of the locations on his map. It didn’t take Sherlock to figure out where he needed to go. He had to head up towards the Crown Shrine.
Piers groaned and allowed his forehead to make contact with the tabletop. He proceeded with the motion too quickly, and the satisfying thump of his head hitting wood was offset by a dull pain.
“Ugh. Why me? I’m s’posed to be retired,” Piers grumbled out loud to no one.
Piers opened his pack to dig through the food Marnie had packed, and found a card and small box on the top. Opening the card first, Piers saw hot pink and white hearts on a black background.
Happy Valentine’s Day. I packed a special sweet that I made and it’s too bad we can’t share it while watching a movie like we usually do. Be safe and stay warm! Sister’s orders. Love you, bro!
Piers smiled. He forgot that tomorrow is Valentine’s day. He and Marnie do the same thing every year. They order pizza, Marnie makes delicious tarts, and they sit on the couch, eat, and watch a movie. Usually it’s a horror film, but sometimes they find a romantic comedy that is pretty horrifying.
After his meal, he decided to eat the treat that Marnie packed since he didn’t know if he’d make it back tomorrow or if he’d be stuck camping out. Piers took a hot shower, then curled up in bed and went to sleep.
“So bloody cold. I’ll be bloody lucky to make it outta here with me bullocks intact.”
A few pokemon wandering the edge of the path stared curiously at his outburst, but didn’t run as he trudged through the snow. He had a small respite from the cold when he made his way through Giant’s Bed, only to turn onto the snowy trail that headed up the mountain.
As he got closer to the top, just before the labyrinth of tunnels that led to the apex, Piers noticed a distinct lack of any wild Pokemon. It was eerie and quiet, a scene that Piers would usually appreciate. Not being able to feel his toes kind of ruined it, and the nagging feeling that he was being watched only made it worse.
He stopped and looked. It was unnaturally quiet. He squinted and scanned left, then right. As his head turned back to the left, he felt his breath leave his chest.
An Absol stood atop an outcropping. Looking regal and beautiful, it stared at Piers, it’s intelligent red eyes boring into him.
Like most dark types, Absol is misunderstood. Absol’s bring warnings of impending disaster, but were feared and hunted in the past, superstitiously thought to have been the bringers of destruction. Even today, many still fear and revile them. If there was any Pokemon that Piers had ever felt such an infinity with, it was Absol.
Suddenly, the Pokemon’s eyes darted down, behind where the man was standing, then looking back at him before seemingly nodding up the mountain. Piers' eyes followed the direction, and when he looked back, the Absol was gone.
“I seen it head up this way. Hurry up ya lugs. The faster we finish this order, the faster our arses can get the hell outta this frozen hellhole.”
Piers looked behind him, in the direction the voice came from, as three men came into view.
“Oi, you there. If ya don’t want any trouble, then head back down outta here,” the large man in front said. He was huge, a solid mass of muscle, and the obvious leader of the group of men. No, not men. They were filthy poachers, and Piers cursed his bad luck at running into them in the open like this.
“I don’t think that’s gonna happen,” Piers replied with a bravado he definitely wasn’t feeling. What he did have was his trusted team strapped on his belt, and a hope that he could at least push them back and make an escape.
Piers' hand slid onto one of his balls as the other man reached for his belt. His heart was beating a tempo faster than any of his songs. When the man’s hand pulled up, Piers found that he was staring down the barrel of a gun.
“We ain’t playin’ fucker.”
The other two men followed their bosses lead. Piers now had three guns trained on him by men with sneering faces. Nope, they were definitely not playing.
“Boss, look!” one of them shouted, and when Piers dared to turn away from them, the Absol he’d seen a moment before was there.
One of the men holstered his gun and pulled some kind of weapon off his back and aimed it towards Piers and the Absol. Piers snatched the second ball of his belt and threw it out.
“Toxy, Overdrive!” he shouted, as he turned and covered the Absol with his body.
Three voices screamed as Toxtricity let out it’s powerful electric attack on them. Piers peeked over his shoulder and saw them all twitching, but knew the shock would wear off soon. He quickly recalled his Pokemon.
“Come on, then,” Piers said to the Absol. “It’s you they’re after and we ain’t gonna let that happen.”
The two began running up the mountain and Piers slowed as he saw the opening of the cave to the top of the mountain. Piers glanced down to see that his new friend was still alongside him.
“We can lose them in there. Twisty fuckin’ maze, but you prolly already know that.”
Piers looked back up but not in time before he collided with something warm and solid, and it felt as if ice ran through his veins as fear raced through him. He attempted to scramble back, but arms reached out, locking around his waist to keep him from falling over.
“Piers?”
“Raihan?” Piers felt his body go limp in relief that the poachers didn’t have someone up here waiting. “Thank Arceus.”
A small whimper brought both of their attention to the Absol who slumped near Piers' feet.
“Did you get yourself a new partner? Oh, are they hurt?”
“Rai, pick ‘em up. We gotta move. Poachers are coming.”
“Oh really,” Raihan snarled, his eyes narrowing. He may look feral when he’s battling, but it’s a happy feral. This Raihan is dangerous, and fuck if that didn’t make the Butterfree in his stomach flutter. He has harbored a crush on the man for a while, but he worked hard on keeping those feelings tucked down deep. Now was not the time to be thinking about his one-sided pining for the beautiful dragon tamer.
“No, we gotta move. These ain’t the kind of arseholes that will leave after a Pokemon battle. These punters have guns, Rai.” Raihan still had one arm around Piers’ waist, and Piers had curled his fingers into the fabric of Raihan’s coat in a death grip as he spoke. Raihan looked down and saw the genuine fear in his eyes.
A quick nod, and Raihan let go of Piers and picked up the Absol gently, cooing at it like it was one of his beloved dragon babies, and the three of them made their way into the cave.
They circled around before ducking into an area that was hidden from the path. A large rock formation in the center was good cover and they hunkered down. Raihan gently set the Absol down before flinging his pack off of his back and digging out his first aid kit.
Piers was gently checking the Pokemon who appeared to be struggling to stay awake. Its sharp eyes squinting at the two men.
“Here, Rai,” and Piers gently held the back leg, inspecting it. A large gash was present, the blood coagulated.
Raihan handed some gauze and disinfectant to Piers who gently cleaned the wound. Raihan then bandaged the leg before administering some health potion to the Pokemon.
“Usually, for physical injuries like this, I’d prefer to let them rest naturally. This isn’t like battle damage. But we probably don’t want our new friend here to be out of sorts if we need to make a run for it.”
Piers just nodded and ran his hand along the top of Absol’s head. The Pokemon was alert but continued to lay there next to Piers.
“I swear ta fuck I’m gonna kill that tosser.”
Piers grabbed a ball off of his belt and called out Malamar.
“Don’t let ‘em see in here, Mal,” Piers whispered.
Malamar floated up and the lights on his body flashed. Raihan quickly released Flygon.
“Just in case,” he said to Piers. “Sandstorm can provide us cover to get out and she can fly us to safety once we hit the exit.”
Piers nodded and slid down behind the rock, an arm resting over the injured Absol. Raihan followed suit, and his longer arm reached over the top of both Absol and Piers. The only sounds in their shared space were their breaths.
Both men stiffened as they heard the crunch of gravel under boots.
Raihan strained his neck up and took a look over the top of the rocks they were hiding behind before quickly ducking back down. He leaned into Piers' space, his breath warm on his ear.
“They’re just outside,” he whispered.
Piers nodded his understanding and looked at Malamar. They were hidden from view as long as none of the three tried to lean against the illusion of a wall.
“Where’s Bert,” the voice Piers was familiar with said.
“Dunno boss. He went left an’ I went right. Or did I go right an’ he went…”
“Shut the fuck up, Ernie.”
Piers watched as Raihan had to bite his fist to keep from laughing. ‘Bert and Ernie?’ he mouthed at Piers. Usually Piers would be working on not laughing, too, but he had been face to face with three guns pointed at him. He doesn’t care if they were named Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum. Ernie was obviously stupid, but that actually made him more dangerous.
"Hey boss," a third voice chimed in, sound suspiciously like Ernie.
“‘Bout time, Bert. See anythin’?”
“No boss.”
“Alright, let’s head out. That guy better hope we don’t see him because I’m not givin’ him a sportin’ chance to run this time. Bullet through his eyes on sight, understood?”
“Yes, sir,” both men responded.
Raihan and Piers huddled even closer, Absol protected between the two of them. They didn’t move and barely breathed until the sounds of boots could no longer be heard.
“Holy shite,” Raihan said. “What the actual… I mean, shite. I’ve dealt with poachers in my dragon dens before, but a few moves from one my team, and they book it.”
“Yeah,” Piers said as he began to pet the injured Absol. “You were tryin’ to warn me, weren’t you? Even already hurt by those bastards, you tried to warn me.”
Piers looked up to see Raihan looking at him, an odd gleam in his eye.
“What?”
“Nothing, mate. Just trying to think of what our next move should be.”
Piers is sure he’s at least partially lying.
“What are you doin’ up here anyway?”
“Gloria.”
“Huh?”
“Gloria. Got herself a Garchomp and I was jealous. Always wanted one but I didn’t even know they were up here. Not any huge dragon dens in the Tundra, so I never spent much time here.” Raihan sighs and his shoulders slump. “I’m a disgrace, really.”
“Nah mate, it’s good. You’re lucky is all. That dragons mostly nest together, that is. Dark types tend to spread out. Not too many in one place. Did you get one? A Garchomp?”
“Oh, caught myself a Gible. Get to raise a new baby,” and Piers' heart stuttered at the shy smile and pink dusting on Raihan’s cheeks.
“I look forward to meetin’ ‘em, once we’re outta here, that is.”
“Is this why you’re here? They sent you up here alone to deal with Poachers?” To say that Raihan looked angry would be an understatement.
“S’alright, mate. Reports of poachers was spotty and not confirmed. Just got reports of dark types actin’ up. Leon called to ask me to just check it out. Glad Marnie ain’t trained yet, or it’d be her here now.”
“Well, we aren’t far from the top. Once we’re out, Flygon can get us back to Freezington and we can call Leon to send…”
“Send who, Rai? Nessa? Milo? Well, shite, we could use Kabu ‘bout now. I’d sing a pop tune for a fire type.”
“I know right? Why don’t we have Rangers?”
“Right?!”
“...”
“...”
“Piers?”
“Sorry, yeah. I just, um, well, I watch…”
“You watch The Wonderful World of Rangers , too?”
“Fuck yeah, I do.” Any embarrassment Piers may have had a moment before evaporated at the look on Raihan’s face, taking Piers’ crush on the man up a level.
“So stupid we don’t have Rangers.”
Preaching to the choir, Piers thought to himself, but didn’t say. Absol standing up and stretching at that moment brought him back to the mess they were currently in.
“We should get movin’.”
Piers and Raihan recalled their Pokemon and Piers felt something brush against his hand before watching as Raihan took hold, but he didn’t say a word and just kept looking forward. Piers was glad for the cold then, since his face was already red, hiding the red from the heat that currently spread.
They began their ascent out of the cave. They were an odd trio, if Piers had taken a moment to think about it. The tall and charming dragon leader, the gruff and not so charming musician, and the Absol, who stuck to Piers’ side as they walked. It also happened to be Piers’ most secret dream happening for real. Though the circumstances could be better.
They proceeded as quickly and as quietly as they could, shifting through the twisty turns, when they quite literally spotted the light at the end of the tunnel.
They both breathed a sigh of relief, and Raihan was about to release Flygon to get them out of there when they heard them.
“We got ‘em all except that pesky Absol, boss,” Bert or Ernie said. They both sounded like the same buffoon.
“No sign of that poof? The one we were chasin’ might still be with him.”
“No boss, sorry.”
“Cold as fuck, but we’ll give it ‘til sundown. Some pay is better than none.”
“Aye, boss.”
Raihan grabbed Piers, who grabbed Absol, and long arms wrapped around both, as they slid down behind some boulders just outside of the tunnel.
“We need to do somethin’, Rai. We can’t let ‘em take them outta here.”
“I know,” and he squeezed his arms around both of them. “Give me a moment to think.”
Suddenly, Absol closed its eyes and gave off a bright pink glow for a moment.
“Do you know what just happened, Piers?”
“Nah,” but Piers patted the Pokemon down, and just shook his head, not seeing anything wrong with it.
“Well, look what I found here,” a man Piers didn’t recognize said as he leveled a gun on them. “Get up and move.”
The two men stood up, and Absol followed along. Piers desperately wanted to call out to it, tell it to run, that he’d buy it some time, but it almost seemed as if it was leading the way.
“Oscar,” really, Oscar? Piers thought, “looks like ya brought guests to the party.”
“Yeah boss. Found ‘em hunkerin’ down outside the cave. Got the Metang ya asked for. Caged further down hill waiting,” Oscar preened.
“And we got Absol to boot. You have been a little fuck, and I’d put ya down here and now if ya weren’t bringing me a bonus,” the boss spoke directly to the Pokemon.
The four men spread out then, creating a box around them, giving them nowhere to run.
Piers heard Raihan hiss when Piers stepped forward, but he couldn’t stop.
“You will not be takin’ any Pokemon from here.”
“Oh, you and what Army, kid?” the boss sneered.
As if on cue, Piers and Raihan both let out Obstagoon and Duraludon. They pressed their backs together, turning slowly to cover as much space as they could, ready to battle. It was the only thing they could do at this point. With Obstagoon’s Protect and a steel dragon, they may last at least one round.
Absol howled then. Loud, pitch clear, making Piers a little jealous of the octave it could reach. After a second howl, Piers' eyes widened at the sight of a dozen or more Absol. They circled the entire area, and the four men stuttered for a moment before the boss bellowed.
“If they move, shoot them. Any of them,” the boss said as he brought his gun up and pointed it right at Piers.
“You first,” he spit.
Raihan’s body is vibrating against his back, probably still trying to think up a way out of this mess.
Piers felt tears start to pool in his eyes. He spent so long wasting so much time. Wasted time because of what? Fear? Fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of letting everyone down. So he did nothing. Didn’t tell Raihan how he felt, didn’t try to branch out further than Motostoke for gigs, didn’t make enough noise for Spikemuth.
Now, it appears, he is out of time.
A whoosh and some wind caught everyone’s attention, and it was Raihan who looked up and laughed.
“Bloody brilliant. Future Sight.”
And a large beam of psychic energy rained down on top of the boss, knocking him out.
The Absol howled again, then all of the Absol howled. The sweet cacophony of it brought a warm rush through Piers’ body, while Bert, Ernie, and Oscar shuddered.
“Might be a good time to put those guns down, boys,” Piers said.
After Piers and Raihan had given their statements, the law enforcement helicopter took off. The boss, along with his three sidekicks, all shackled inside. Nurse Jenny and a load of Macro Cosmo volunteers were working on checking the caged Pokemon.
“So, um, I have a cabin in town. Don’t know if you were plannin’ on headin’ back home right away. It is kinda late. Plenty of room, if ya wanna, you know, decompress or somethin’. I got food.”
Piers cringed a bit inside at how unsmooth that all came out, but carpe diem, right?
Raihan took two steps and moved right into Piers' bubble. He put his hand under his chin to lift his face up to look at him.
“Would this be a date? It is Valentine’s after all.”
Piers couldn’t help it. He laughed. Maybe it was the adrenaline crashing from earlier, or it was just so cheesy, and just so like Raihan, that he couldn’t help it. Seeing Raihan pout didn’t help, but he calmed himself down enough to ask.
“You already had a hot date with a Gible. I am surprised the Great Raihan was alone for Valentine’s.”
“There was someone I wanted to be my Valentine, but I was too chicken to ask.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. So, if you feed me, then you know the rules state that I’m your Valentine.”
“Rai, that’s not a rule.”
“Maybe it’s my rule then?”
Piers should have been able to melt the snow he was standing in with as warm as his heart got at that moment. He had time now, and he wasn’t going to waste it.
“Well, alright. Guess that makes me your Valentine then, too.”
Piers startled when he felt a nudge on his calf. He looked down to see that Absol was still there with them. He squatted down in front of the Pokemon, stroking his hand over his head.
“Hey there. Thank you for savin’ us.”
Do Absol’s pur? Because Piers is sure this one just did.
“Hey Piers. I think they want to be your Valentine, too.”
“Huh?”
Piers cranes his head and sees Raihan smiling softly at him.
“Catch him, Piers. He’s waiting.”
“Oh!” and Piers swivels back to look at Absol. “You wanna to come with us, then?”
The purr got louder.
“Shite,” Piers mumbled as he dug in his bag, pulling out an empty dusk ball. “If you’re sure?”
Piers held the ball out and Absol tapped his head against it. The ball shook once in his hand.
“Well, fuck me.”
Piers stood up and felt warm fingers against his cold cheeks as Raihan brushed tears Piers didn't know he spilled away. Then he cradled his face and leaned forward, placing the softest kiss Piers has ever felt against his lips.
Raihan stepped back and waited for Piers to stow his new partner before letting out Flygon.
They held hands as they walked up to the dragon waiting to fly them back down the mountain.
“Think I’m gonna call 'em Lucky.”
“You’re going to name your Absol Lucky?”
Raihan helped Piers up onto Flygon’s back before getting on behind Piers and wrapping an arm around his waist. Piers turns his head, placing a kiss along Raihan’s jaw before looking forward again.
“Wouldn’t you?”