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West Province, Area One.
Cascarrafa was next on Ash and company's list of destinations, after collecting their third badge from the viral online sensation, Iono, in Levincia. But before they arrived at the waterside town, there was a stop to make in the mountainous heights, just south of their destination.
There were rumors of an 'Open Sky Titan' atop Area One's mountainous heights; an infamously powerful and ornery Pokémon who was said to rain terror from above. What better way was there to prepare for another Gym Badge than a titan looking for a fight!?
That was Ash and Peeks's logic, anyway; they believed that their newer teammates could use some experience with the difficult and unorthodox, outside of formal battlefields. Break them in a little!
Thus, they were climbing out of grassy valleys towards a mountainous, rocky path, with a high mountaintop just a difficult trek ahead. Peeks moved ahead on his own, scaling rock with ease, using his kangaroo-like legs that he'd picked up after evolving into a Raichu, a few years ago.
Ash lingered a few paces behind, while his Floragato, Quinn, leapt from rock to rock with grace. She sported a violet ribbon tied around her wrist; a parting gift from Uva Academy, courtesy of her old friend, Clavell. She quite liked the mobility offered by standing on two legs. Even after a couple of months of being bipedal, she still felt like she was getting used to it.
It certainly beat the four stubby little Sprigatito paws she'd known her entire life.
Despite the convenience of being bipedal, though, something was bothering Quinn. Something that kept bringing her sharp, coral-colored eyes back to her trainer that she couldn't shake.
It wasn't so much Ash, actually, who she was looking at… Not his chiseled features, with just a hint of crease in his olive skin from age that she admittedly found robust. Nor was it his long, shaggy black hair flowing over his shoulders, pat down by a baseball cap that, just a few months ago, she would've described as sloppy; bohemian. She never expected to spiral into adoration for a near-middle-aged World Champion who'd waltzed into her city in a floral vacation button up, slacks, and a speech to their joint academies that could be graded improvisational, at best.
…Ahem. She was losing her train of thought. It wasn't Ash she'd been laser-focused on.
It was the spoiled Tinkaton, lounging in his strong arms, bridal style, while he did all the legwork. She was scooped up under her long, cotton candy tinted hair that reached her ankles even while standing up. Jagged teeth formed a crooked, self-satisfied smile, and her eyes hid behind a steampunk-looking pair of goggles. She cradled her hammer to her chest; the gigantic mallet head made of scrap metal hanging over Ash's shoulder. He even bore that burden!
"Shameless, honestly…"
"Wuzzat?" The Tinkaton — Hammah, as she identified herself — lifted her Scope Lens goggles to scout the cat. "You gots to speak up, Toots. If you got summin' to say, use ya outdoors voice."
"I said you were shameless!" Quinn reiterated, flush with embarrassment over being overheard. "Why, exactly, are you carrying her in your arms again, Ash? She's got a working pair of legs."
"Yeah, these stubby little shits?" Hammah wiggled her stout legs. "Yeah. I'll meet ya's all up at the top a week from now."
Ash only shrugged. "She said she wanted to be carried. The squeaky wheel gets the grease!"
"'n I am squeaky," Hammah agreed, cackling.
"Meaning you never shut up," Ash clarified.
"You're goddamn right!"
Quinn rolled her eyes, waiting for Ash and Hammah to catch up with her. "Your Poké Ball…?"
"Eh? Yeah, I guess that'd work." Hammah shrugged her tiny, near-non-existent shoulders. "But that's no way to travel. We're on an adventure, here! I wanna sightsee. Los valles…" She looked out across the grassy valleys receding in the direction of southern Paldea. "...Y las montañas." She lifted her goggles to stare directly at her front row view of her trainer's pecs, cackling again.
Ash snorted in amusement, raising a brow at her. "Do you know how to be subtle?"
"...Subtle?" The Tinkaton blinked at him, snapping her goggles back in. "The fuck is that?"
"If I didn't knows better, I'd think youse jelly," Hammah remarked to Quinn, shrugging.
"Jealous!?" Quinn's fur bristled, standing sharp on its end. "What kind of juvenile, emotionally compromised, prepubescent mark do you take me for!?" Alright. So, she had been emotionally compromised up until Ash had flipped her life upside down. But, Hammah didn't know that.
"I just can't imagine being carried around by my partner. It feels undignified."
Even as she turned her nose up at being bridal carried, Quinn picked her yoyo off of her cape, and slung its end towards Ash. Perceptive as he was, he spotted it, and sweet as he was, he caught the yoyo in his palm, giving it a gentle squeeze, and Quinn, a warm smile.
Hammah would have to settle for being carried in just one arm.
Holding the tail end of the vine, Quinn came the closest she could to holding hands with Ash while walking. It was all she could do, standing around a measly three feet tall. She wore a jagged, bashful little smile, walking alongside Ash.
"Why not?" Hammah asked. "It's great! Hey, Peeks!" She called out, leaning her large hand atop Ash's bicep to look ahead to the Electric-type. "You want a turn up here? I'd hates t' be selfish!"
"Huh?" Peeks was tip-toeing atop a rocky wall parallel to the mountain path, to amuse and challenge himself. He looked over his shoulder, and snorted. "I'm good. Enjoy yourself." He waved his paw dismissively. "I've hitched a ride on the Ketchum Express for over 25 years."
"...Humph." Quinn's mind continued to wander, even as she walked vine-in-hand. "Hold on, now. Why would I be jealous, anyway? Are you two an item?" She pointed at Ash and Hammah.
"Once more, I'm not jealous. But I do believe that I'm out of the loop."
"Duh!" Hammah smiled, reclining back into Ash's bicep, leaning the weight of her hammer over her shoulder and Ash's. "This hunk lifted my hammer and yanked it outta my grubby mitts, the day we met…" She sighed dreamily. "It basically means I'm his, now. His lil' goon. I'll break things for you, Boss. Just say the word."
"A lady after my own heart," Ash laughed.
"Like, what. D'ya think I joined 'cause I thought he was a great trainer or somethin'?" Hammah cackled.
"Oh, piss off."
Quinn blinked several times. Her thin, slit eyes flicked between Ash and Hammah, and her feline ears twitched and folded. She couldn't believe her ears! "If you're an item, why do you trade insults like pleasantries?"
"She likes it," Ash replied casually.
"Fuckin' love it, Twinkle Toes," Hammah agreed, grinning at Quinn.
"Twinkle Toes!?" Quinn bristled.
"Hammah." Ash scolded. "She doesn't like it, knock it off."
"Alright, alright, Boss. I'm sorry." Hammah capitulated. "Being for reals, here, now. The thing about Tinkaton colonies? We gots a pecking order. Whoever's the toughest, meanest, most reliable is our queen. Our Don. Ribbin' one anothah' is parta' how we socialize. Er, how we bond, y'know what I'm sayin'?" She waved her free hand not occupied by her hammer as she tried to explain herself. "Sets a, uh, social dynamic, as you humans'd put it. Makes us feel comfy wit' one anothah. You wouldn't let someone riff on ya if you didn't like 'em, wouldjas? That's a one way ticket to Pound Town." Hammah paused, then shook her mallet. "Like, a Gigaton Hammer, not-"
"We get it," Ash cut of her off. "It's a way to build camaraderie! Me and my friends used to do that sort of thing, all the time. Me and my bestie, Misty? It never ended with us. I had to come up with new insults to keep up with her!" The man sighed, feeling nostalgic. "I think she's where I got my love of women with audacity."
"Y'sure she's just your, uh, 'bestie,' Boss?" Hammah jeered. "You're soundin' like me wit' you."
He shook his head. "We missed the boat on that one. We're better off as friends."
"Huh. Well, remind me to t'ank her for gettin my foot in the door with ya's," Hammah replied. "Anyways, I get you, Quinn. You ain't like us. Youse a pussy, after all—"
"Soy una gata," Quinn pointedly corrected. "As a feline, I have pride. I quite like the way that Ash talks to me," she said, smiling up at her trainer, "thank you very much."
"Bullshit," Hammah replied, "the two of ya's were smart-mouthin' left and right, when I joined ya's."
"I was being thorny," Quinn defended, nursing a faint blush. She was already embarrassed of her behavior as a sheltered and bitter Sprigatito. She'd been so rude to him, the day they'd met, and even in the months prior… She shook her head. Guilt was starting to crawl through her veins, again. Best to shove all of that down and pretend she's above it all, she figured.
"Now that I'm a bit more well-adjusted," she postured, sticking her nose in the air, "I want to be doted on. To be treated like the woman I am!"
"And you are a hell of a woman," Ash lauded, grinning.
"And you, a hell of a man." Quinn beamed in turn, letting off a fragrant, calming scent as thanks.
"I getcha, I getcha. You ain't like me," Hammah conceded. "Besides! I'm only jokin'. Of course Boss is a great trainer! We've won three of those, uh… medallions."
"Badges," Ash corrected her.
"Right! Look at us. We're a proper party. Out on an adventure together… we're practically family!"
"...Fair point. I can't argue with you, there." Quinn conceded, as she inhaled the mountainside fresh air. It was invigorating. "I like traveling a fair deal more than I thought I would. Never quite being sure what will come next…" She shivered. "It's a thrill!"
"There's a lot to see, outside that window sill, huh?" Ash teased, grinning at her.
"I went beyond my window sill, thank you!" Quinn huffed. "Just… not beyond Mesagoza."
"You've missed out on a lot," Ash said. "Getting to see new cities and towns all over the world… cool landmarks. Tons of Pokémon you've never seen. And, all the battles you could ever want!"
"Puttin' some bum-ass crooks in their place," Hammah continued. "Savin' the world, and shit."
Ash snorted. "Yeah. That, too." Something about Ash's acknowledgement sounded… contemplative. Quinn saw an odd, far-off look in his eye, and squinted. She shot Hammah a dirty look for whatever she'd just evoked.
"Whaaat?" Hammah asked, not quite catching her, or Ash's cue. "Y'know? Rich assholes tryin' to blow the world to Kingdom Come?"
The cat scoffed. "That sort of thing is ancient history, love."
"Then, boss'll know what I'm talkin' about!" Hammah jeered. "He was there."
"You know you're talking about the guy you picked out, right?" Ash shot back with a grin, shaking off whatever had just occupied him.
"No shit?" Hammah replied, unperturbed. "I'm gonna roll up in my 'rari and pick you up for the early bird special, down at the old folk's home. Put on somethin' pretty for me."
"Go fuck yourself," Ash shot back.
"Don't threaten me with a good—"
A loud, foreboding rumbling interrupted Hammah, and drew the group's attention. The thunderous sounds were only getting louder, and the mountain path began to tremble.
A giant boulder rounded the bend, tumbling towards the party.
"Oh, shit. Okay. A'ight." Hammah vaulted out of Ash's arms, leaping directly into the boulder's path. She wielded her scrap iron mallet in both of her comically oversized hands, hoisting it over her head. "One Gigaton Hammer, comin' right up!"
With a grunt of effort, she brought her hammer down with unforgiving violence, smashing the boulder that threatened to flatten them into smithereens.
But, the rumbling and quaking didn't stop. Two more huge rocks rounded the corner, tumbling and skipping off uneven ground. One of them was blasted to pieces by Peeks's Thunderbolt.
The other barreled towards Hammah, unabated.
"...Ah, nuts." Hammah couldn't quite lift her mallet up, as it still trembled and rattled from the force of Gigaton Hammer. She couldn't use it again, just yet. "Up shit creek wit'out a paddle."
"Stand aside!" Quinn leapt into action,retracting her yoyo from Ash's hand to spin it over her shoulder, winding up before slinging it towards the boulder barreling towards her comrade. The vine tied its way around the rock, securing her hold. With a cry of effort, she yanked on it.
"Nyyyah!"
She was but a Floragato with maybe a month and a half of training under her belt; there was no way she could stop an avalanche in its tracks. But, she could use its momentum to sling it out of Hammah's path and down the mountain trail behind them. She released her yoyo and retracted it, exhaling for her effort spent. "You're… welcome!"
"Okay, whatever's going on," Ash said, "we better go see what it is before we get flattened. C'mon, gang!" Ever the leader, he sprinted up the mountain path, beckoning them to follow.
"You're not going without help!" Peeks shouted, dashing ahead of his trainer, and out of view.
"Hey, I gots to hand it to ya," Hammah shouted, as she hoisted up her hammer and ran after her daring trainer, and her freakishly strong senior team member. "You saved my ass, back there."
Quinn dashed after Ash and Peeks, turning to face Hammah, in the meantime. "Don't even mention it! It's like you said… we're like family." She smiled. "Even if our dynamics with our trainer are quite different."
"Hey, it takes all kinds, am I right?" Hammah wielded her hammer back, then smashed it against the ground, catapulting herself ahead to catch up with the group. "Now, quit gettin' sappy with me, and let's kick some ass!"
Quinn huffed in amusement, and dashed ahead. It didn't take long for her and Hammah to catch up with Ash and Peeks at the top of the mountain path. The dirt road was blocked off by a large chunk of the mountainside, providing a dead end. "...Well, isn't that queer."
"Nah, that's me," Hammah replied. "But this is fuckin' odd. Where's our culprit?"
"Above us," Peeks clarified. His lightning bolt tail snapped behind him. "Our culprit is above us."
"Eh…?" Hammah looked up, adjusting her goggles. "Ah, holyyyy shiiit."
A gigantic avian left the group within its shadow, forcing them all to squint at the silhouette eclipsing the sun. They let out a horrid cry, flapping their wings for a steady descent.
A white avian dwarfed the group, with a rounded pink beak, and black markings resembling eyeliner. They held a long cape jutting from their torso in their mouth, and beat gigantic, proud wings with white and black-tipped feathers. They spanned their wings, uttering a battle cry.
"Well, guys…" Ash grinned, adjusting the brim of his cap. The familiar thrill of battle made his heart race, as he backed up enough to make space for his team. "I think we've found our titan!"
Peeks took to the sidelines, flicking his tail excitedly. "Alright, team. This one's up to you. I'll be here if you need me…" Hot static crackled off of his yellow cheeks. "But, I don't think you will."
"Very well…!" Quinn leapt into action, crouching before Ash, standing just a bit to the left. She clawed anxiously at her yoyo bud, ready to snap into action. She'd initially been totally disinterested in battling; it was one of the culprits of her stasis for many years, even.
But, she was starting to accept the thrill. The intrigue, and danger of it all.
"Awwwright! Let's bust some heads!" Hammah jumped to stand to Quinn's right, winding up her mallet. "Hey, birdbrain. Droppin' boulders on unsuspecting suckers is my gig. Shame, I don't see any scrap iron to pilfer off of ya's… But the satisfaction of knockin' some feathers offa ya'll do!"
"Get ready, you two!" Ash warned, clutching a Tera Orb between his fingertips, just in case.
"Follow my lead, and we can win this!"
"Yessir!"
"You gots it, Boss!"
Maybe that was the magic of adventure. Or, maybe it was the magic of having a trainer you loved and adored, who respected you in turn. Either way, Quinn was grateful for the madness.