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ZZZZT! ZZZZT!! ZZZZT!!!
Harmony’s Rotom Phone alarm buzzed in her ear. She woke up with a heavy groan. Last night was an especially tough night in the Battle Zones, and she was still exhausted from all the battles. All the running around and climbing up buildings drained her energy, and her arms and legs felt like lead.
She fumbled around for the glass screen to silence the alarm. As she picked up her phone, she saw a notification from the Rust Syndicate - another summons for a mission. Her heart skipped a beat. Even though she went to the Rust Syndicate office once before and it wasn't as scary as she initially thought it would be, it still made her nervous to interact with any of them. Oh, Urbain, why did you have to get us involved with these guys?! she grumbled to herself as she got dressed to head to the Hotel Z lobby.
Harmony was greeted by Urbain waiting right outside the elevator doors. “Good, you’re awake!” he exclaimed, with enough vigor to startle Harmony. “Did you get the summons from the Rust Syndicate too?”
“I sure did,” she said, rolling her eyes at him. “I don't think it’s a good idea to keep them waiting. Shall we head over together?”
AZ, who watched the whole exchange from behind the front desk, smiled at the two. “Safe travels, my children,” he said with a slow nod.
Kyu-ru-run! Floette chimed in, swinging her flower as if to wave goodbye at them.
***
As Urbain and Harmony made their way through the Bleu Plaza, their paces slowed and they exchanged nervous glances. The Rust Syndicate building was just ahead of them. It definitely stands out among the rest of the buildings in Lumiose. The sleek, black cobblestone exterior and surrounding gate alone command an intimidating presence, let alone all of the expensive statues and treasures on display both inside and outside. They would never have expected to ever set foot in the Rust Syndicate building, much less be indebted to the organization.
The two approached the outer gate, where a Grunt stood as the guard. “You two are the kids who were here yesterday, yes?” she asked, crossing her arms.
“Y-yes, ma’am,” Urbain stuttered, suddenly straightening his posture.
“Mr. Corbeau summoned us here this morning,” Harmony chimed in.
“Right this way,” the Grunt replied, stepping aside and gesturing her arms inside. “The Boss will be delighted to see you here.”
The doors to the Rust Syndicate opened to reveal several more Grunts standing firmly in two lines from the front door to the elevator. A cold gust of air passed by Harmony and Urbain, sending more chills down their spines.
“Let’s just get this over with and get out of here,” Harmony whispered to Urbain, adjusting her Team MZ brandished jacket. Urbain nodded, fidgeting with his jacket zipper to calm down.
Part of them wished the elevator ride to Corbeau’s office never ended so they wouldn't have to face him again. They tensed up as the elevator doors opened after what felt like an eternity. Corbeau was seated in his office chair, Philippe standing firmly by his side. One look into either of their icy-cold glares could easily paralyze you.
“Excellent timing, Team MZ. We’ve been waiting for you with bated breath,” Corbeau said to the two. “Let’s not waste any more time.”
Philippe directed the two over to a set of couches. Try as they may, Urbain and Harmony could not get comfortable in the seats. They were far too nervous by the intimidating men in front of them.
Corbeau could sense their discomfort. “You two have no reason to be so anxious. I won't bite you,” he said, trying to break the ice. This seemed to backfire, as they forced out nervous laughter. Mildly disappointed, he dropped the jovial act. “Anyway, let's get down to business. I have a mission for you youngsters. So you see, while you were out and about in the Battle Zones last night, we had a bit of a… situation on our hands.”
***
“Boss!” Philippe barged into Corbeau’s office. “We have a bit of a situation in Rouge Sector 8.”
Corbeau lifted up his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “What is it?” he asked, letting out an annoyed sigh.
“One of the Grunts has reported that several Talonflame nests have fallen out of trees, and hordes of Ekans have been swarming the nests for the Fletchling eggs. They’re threatening to attack any citizens who try to approach them or shoo them away.”
Corbeau went wide-eyed at the mention of Ekans. “We have to head there. NOW.”
Corbeau and Philippe rushed over to the scene. There were several citizens, adults and children alike, staring at the hordes of Ekans, paralyzed in fear.
“Philippe, please get these citizens to a safer place,” he ordered firmly. “I can handle these Ekans myself.”
“On it, Boss.” Philippe nodded. He led them further down the Sector, away from the Ekans.
“Is he gonna be okay by himself? There’s a lot of Ekans over there,” a woman asked.
“Trust me, the Boss knows Ekans better than anyone I've ever met. He’ll know exactly how to handle them,” Philippe reassured her with a slight smile. “And if things do go awry, I will step in and help,” he continued, tightly gripping one of his Poké Balls.
Corbeau looked down at the writhing pile of Ekans by his feet. There had to have been at least 10 of them, all hissing and fighting over the Fletchling eggs. It reminded him of when he first encountered his Arbok, as an Ekans. He found it alone by a fallen nest, and has taken care of it since.
He kneeled to the ground and reached down into the pile, gently nudging the Ekans away from the nests. None of them tried to attack him. Perhaps his touch calmed their ire, or they could sense his kindness toward the species. Either way, he was able to safely move the Ekans away from the nests to assess the Eggs.
Most of them thankfully seemed to still be intact after the fall, but he noticed one nest had one less Egg than the others. He glanced over and noticed that an Egg rolled over to the side of the nest. One of the Ekans seemed to be eyeing it, opening its jaw wide.
These Ekans must be really hungry, Corbeau thought to himself. But those Talonflame would be devastated if one of their Eggs went missing. He reached for one of his Dusk Balls. “Roserade, use Sleep Powder on that Ekans,” he commanded, pointing at the Ekans.
Roserade held out one of her bouquet arms, and a green powder sprayed out. The Ekans, upon smelling the powder, closed its mouth and flopped down to the ground, fast asleep. She curtsied to her Trainer, who smiled back at her.
“Well done, Roserade,” he said, petting the white petals on her head before calling her back into her Dusk Ball.
Luckily, none of the other Ekans were attempting to eat the Eggs. He knew they could easily snap at them if they didn't get something to eat soon, so he reached into his satchel for some Berries. He had plenty of Arbok’s favorites at hand - Cheri, Tanga, Tamato, and Babiri. Even the sleeping Ekans perked up at the scent of the Berries and slithered away from the Egg. They all gladly gulped down the Berries in one bite and smiled at him. Some of them even started to climb up his arms and legs, as if to thank him.
He pulled out several empty Dusk Balls from his satchel to capture the now calmed Ekans. He then called Philippe to let him know that the crisis had been averted and the citizens were free to go.
Once the citizens dispersed, Philippe made his way back to Corbeau, who was surrounded by what appeared to be a dozen Dusk Balls. “It might be a bit difficult to get this many Ekans back to the office, Boss…” Philippe joked.
Just then, they heard the piercing cries of several Talonflame - the parents of the fallen nests. They seemed panicked, frantically checking the nests and surrounding area for missing or broken Eggs.
“Your Eggs are safe and sound,” Corbeau reassured them. “We’ll just have to figure out how to get your nests back in the trees.”
Philippe reached for one of his Poké Balls. “Skarmory, can you help these Talonflame with their nests?” Skarmory cawed and smiled, flapping its blade-like wings. It seemed happy to help out a fellow bird Pokémon.
With the help of Skarmory, the Talonflame were able to safely relocate their nests back in the trees without dropping any of their Eggs. They smiled and flapped their wings as a thank-you to Philippe and Skarmory.
***
“Anyway, that is the predicament we find ourselves in,” Corbeau said. “We have too many Ekans on our hands, even for me. I offered some of them to as many Grunts that were willing to take them, but I still have a few on my hands, as you can see,” he said, gesturing to a basket of three Dusk Balls on the table. “I want you to find Trainers who are willing to raise these Ek-cellent Pokémon.”
Was that… supposed to be a pun? If so, he really forced that one, Harmony thought to herself. She couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. Her eyes went wide and she immediately cupped her hands to her mouth, realizing that he probably heard her laugh at him. Urbain shot her a glance that read Dude, he is gonna KILL you for that.
Corbeau smiled at the two. “Look, I know I might seem scary, but even I can be quite the jokester sometimes,” he said, placing a hand over his heart. This warranted another laugh from Harmony, who felt more comfortable to let out a heartier laugh. Even Urbain, who was on edge the whole time, relaxed and laughed along with her.
“All right, now that we've had our fun, I do need you to complete this task, for the betterment of Lumiose. I don't care which Trainers these Ekans go to, as long as you don't release them back into the wild. They deserve loving Trainers who will raise them to Ek-cellency,” he said, caressing the top of each Dusk Ball with a warm smile before gesturing to Harmony and Urbain to take them.
***
They decided it would be easier to split up and look for Trainers that way. They each took 1 Dusk Ball, and whoever gave away theirs first would handle giving out the third Ekans.
That guy sure does love Ekans, Harmony thought to herself. It seemed that her and Urbain’s fears about the Rust Syndicate were unwarranted. All we have to do is give away a few Ekans? At this rate, we’ll clear out Urbain’s debt in no time! How hard could this be?
However, word got out about the incident last night. Many of the people that Harmony approached with the Ekans were afraid that it would lash out at them or try to hiss and bite. Others thought Ekans were gross and slimy, or they just simply didn't want them. Corbeau did give her a couple of tips for handling Ekans to share with the Trainers - its favorite Berries are typically spicy Berries, it startles easily so always approach it cautiously, it especially likes pets underneath the chin - but this did not sway any of the folks into keeping one.
The sun was getting lower and lower in the sky. Harmony spent nearly the entire day trying to get someone, anyone, to take the Ekans, to no avail. She slumped onto a bench, defeated. She didn't expect the stigma around Ekans to be that extreme.
She held the Dusk Ball in her hand. “Well, I didn't think we'd spend the whole day together, huh Ekans?” she said to the ball, sighing heavily. She had no idea if it could hear her from inside.
Just for kicks, she called it out from its Dusk Ball. Ekans stared at her intently. She stared back nervously, not wanting to startle it. She reached into her satchel for a Cheri Berry, slowly set it on the ground for the Ekans, and watched as it gulped the whole Berry down in one bite. It smiled at her and began to climb up her legs, slithering right next to her on the bench. She tensed up at first, but since it didn't seem malicious, she relaxed herself again.
She grabbed another Cheri Berry, this time dropping it directly into its open mouth. It happily gulped it down and smiled at her. She slowly reached out to its face and began scratching under its chin. Ekans perked up, rattling its tail with joy.
Harmony smiled back at the Ekans. “Maybe this little guy isn't so bad after all.”
Unfortunately, this play time caused her to lose track of time. Night had fallen, and she saw the red glow of the Battle Zone holo-tech barriers flickering on. “Oh no, is it night time already?” she wondered aloud, sinking back into the bench. Of course, Corbeau never gave her and Urbain a deadline for their task, but she was hoping to at least knock it out before the Battle Zones opened. At this rate, there was no way they'd ever be able to give out these Ekans - or for that matter, clear out Urbain’s debt to the Rust Syndicate.
Ekans seemed to sense her sadness, as it slithered into her lap and flicked its tongue at her to try to comfort her. Harmony smiled. “Thanks, buddy,” she said, petting under its chin again.
Just then, a brilliant idea flashed into her head. I wonder… would Mr. Corbeau be okay with ME keeping the Ekans? Would that count towards the task? She had grown quite attached to the little guy while playing with it on the bench, and she wouldn't mind raising it.
She made her way back over to the Rust Syndicate building to propose her idea to Corbeau, Dusk Ball in hand. Once she made it to his office, she was shocked to see the empty basket on the table.
“Welcome back, Harmony. Your pal Urbain was able to give out the other 2 Ekans, but it seems you still haven't given yours out,” Corbeau said, slightly disappointed in her.
Harmony awkwardly laughed and tugged at her shirt collar. “Hahaha, yeah…” Her voice trailed off. How on EARTH did he manage to give out TWO Ekans?! And before nightfall too?!
She cleared her throat. “Um, Mr. Corbeau? Would it be okay if… I kept this Ekans? I haven't had much luck finding any Trainers willing to take it, and I hung out with the little guy shortly before coming over here and I think it likes me now. I don't think I could bear to give it away at this point.”
Corbeau stared at her wide-eyed for a second before scoffing at her and slowly shaking his head. “Well, that's one way to help clear out your friend’s debt, that's for sure. I never specified anything about one of you two keeping the Ekans, but I suppose that technically does count towards the task goal. If you're willing to keep it, then consider this task cleared.”
Harmony nodded firmly, a determined gleam in her eyes. “I will take great care of this Ekans,” she replied, tightly gripping its Dusk Ball.
Corbeau smiled slightly. “Ek-cellent. I will break the news to Urbain. You two should rest up, because tomorrow you'll be getting an extra grueling task.”
***
The next morning, Harmony received another summons to the Rust Syndicate building. Urbain wasn't waiting right outside the elevator like yesterday. She wasn't sure if he already went over without her or if he accidentally slept in. Either way, she made the executive decision to head over alone. If this next task was anything like the one from yesterday, she wanted to get started on it as soon as possible.
As she entered the Rust Syndicate building, Philippe stood in front of the elevator, blocking the entrance. Harmony never knew how to approach interactions with him. His steel-cold gaze and rigid exterior made him hard to read. “Good morning, Mr. Philippe,” she said, awkwardly holding her hand up to wave.
“Good morning, Miss Harmony,” he replied. He leaned in towards her, lowering his voice as he continued, “Don’t tell the Boss, but he was very glad that you kept that Ekans. He wouldn’t stop gushing about it last night. He’s had quite the history with Ekans, and he always gets Ek-cited when Trainers use them on their teams, especially Trainers of such a high caliber such as yourself.”
She laughed and shook her head. That guy really does love Ekans.
~EPILOGUE~
After what felt like an endless barrage of battles in the Battle Zones, Harmony finally racked up enough points to earn a Challenger’s Ticket. Her next opponent was none other than the Boss himself, Corbeau. She had grown strangely fond of the oddball tasks he gave to her fellow teammates the past couple of days, and admittedly she was somewhat sad that they would be coming to an end now that Urbain’s debt has finally been cleared. However, it was for the best, as Team MZ could now focus solely on reaching Rank A.
And the next step to reaching that goal was for Harmony to defeat Corbeau in battle.
“Ah, I see you’ve earned yourself a Challenger’s Ticket. But you shouldn't expect to win so easily. After all, I too have my own motivations for reaching Rank A.” Corbeau paused for a brief moment before continuing. “Lumiose City has given me so much - a place to call home, a place where I can truly be myself - and I aim to protect it in every way I can. That’s why I need to reach Rank A!”
Harmony contemplated what to say next. “Well, I have some folks I need to repay, who have helped me adapt to this wonderful city despite my short time here.” She thought of AZ giving her a place to stay, Lida and Naveen, who have been nothing but wonderful friends and teammates, and finally Urbain, who has been by her side since her arrival in Lumiose. “That’s why I'll be the one to wipe that smug grin off your face, and I'll be the one to reach Rank A first!”
***
“Gyarados, come forth!” Corbeau shouted, sending out his next Dusk Ball. “Wash your opponents away in a wave of despair!” Gyarados let out a mighty roar that echoed throughout the battlefield.
“Medicham, return!” Harmony called out, holding out its Poké Ball. Now is the golden opportunity to bring out…
She switched out Medicham’s Poké Ball for a Dusk Ball. “Go, Arbok!” she shouted.
Corbeau froze for a second in disbelief. No, it can’t be. Is that…?
“Arbok, quick! Hit ‘em with a Thunder Fang!” Arbok nodded, slithering its way over to the Gyarados. Its fangs glowed yellow, sparks flying out from its mouth, and it bit hard into the Gyarados. There was a bright flash of light and a crackle of electricity, and the Gyarados screamed out in pain.
Though it definitely took a lot of damage from the attack, it still seemed willing to fight. “Gyarados, use Crunch! I believe in you!” Corbeau shouted. It shook off the last remaining sparks surrounding its body and flew over to the Arbok, its jaws open wide.
Harmony and Arbok retreated to a corner of the gravel battlefield, trying to buy some time, but the Gyarados quickly caught up with them. It clamped down its jaws below Arbok’s hood. Arbok cried out in pain, and both Harmony and Corbeau winced at the sound.
“Arbok, can you hear me?!” Harmony shrieked in desperation. It looked slightly in her direction, its movements severely hindered by the fangs digging into its throat. She had to think of a strategy quickly, since it likely would not be able to battle much longer at this rate. Since the Gyarados was so close to her Arbok, she thought a close-range attack would be the easiest for Arbok to execute in this position.
“Hang in there, Arbok! Use Poison Jab!” she called out. With a rattle of its tail, it began to glow purple and it lanced the Gyarados right in its side. It finally released its jaws from Arbok’s throat and fell to the ground with a loud thud.
Corbeau looked down wistfully at his fainted Pokémon. “Great job out there, Gyarados,” he said, giving it a little pat before calling it back into its Dusk Ball.
***
“Well, you certainly pack a punch, kid. Congrats on the win; that was an Ek-citing battle for sure,” Corbeau said, holding out his fist for a fist bump.
Harmony smiled back at him and laughed. “You bet!” she replied, fist-bumping him back.
“I have something else for you.” He reached into his satchel and pulled out a TM, handing it to her. “This will teach your Pokémon the move Gunk Shot. You should definitely teach it to your Pokémon, especially your Arbok. Arbok really loves that move,” he said, patting Harmony on the shoulder with a smile on his face.