Chapter 32 Recall

  Ian had his arm around Mina, her head resting on his shoulder in the morning sun as Rylee, Plusle, and Impidimp played on the playground outside of the apartment complex. Ian could practically hear Mina's smile in her voice when she began speaking. "I can't believe it's only been four days. If there was a record for how close a Pokemon and trainer got those two would definitely be in the running for it."

  Ian smiled proudly as Impidimp chased Plusle along the woodchips, with Rylee watching anxiously from on top of the playground's slide. "Special circumstances for them both." It also helps Sinclair's people haven't made any moves since that late night raid.

  Mina lifted her head from his shoulder, giving him an affectionate peck on the cheek. "Although I think there's someone who had a really good idea that should get part of the credit."

  Ian chuckled, resting his head lightly on Mina's. "Doesn't matter who gets the credit, I'm just glad they're happy."

  Mina gasped as Rylee screamed in a frazzled panic. Impidimp had acrobatically ended up on top of the slide and stood over the seven year old girl, snarling at her menacingly. Rylee pushed herself down the slide, but Impidimp pursued, leaping down the slide and tapping her shoulder as the imp Pokemon braced itself for a landing moments later. Impidimp babbled victoriously in place at the bottom of the slide while Plusle had left its safe perch to protect Rylee. Oddly enough, moments after being tagged, Rylee prodded the celebrating Pokemon and ran off in a fit of giggles.

  Mina giggled as well, watching Impidimp seem even happier now that he was "it" again. "That Impidimp is really not good at playing 'tag,'" Mina observed.

  Ian shook his head. "I think he just really likes chasing them and making them scared of him."

  Impidimp suddenly began running frantically at Plusle, who ascended back up the steps to its safe perch, knowing Rylee was no longer in a modicum of danger. The bright pink imp babbled loudly as it charged up the stairs, clearly a few steps behind Plusle.

  "He's such a perfect playmate for them," Mina said. "Are you sure you want to evolve him at some point?"

  Ian sighed. My head says yes but my heart is starting to wobble a bit. "My current team has four Pokemon weak to Fighting Types," Ian explained. "Unless something pops up real quick, I'm gonna need Impidimp and its later forms."

  "Morgrem won't be anything like Impidimp is now," Mina said. Ian recalled that Mina's fascination with Fairy Types had made her quite the expert thanks to the internet being a thing before she moved to Po Town.

  "And how about Grimmsnarl?" Ian asked.

  "Lot more variance there," Mina said, turning her attention back to Impidimp right as it bumped its head against a metal bar, having just missed tagging Plusle. The imp's incessant babble stopped for just a moment before it refocused and climbed over the bars, blabbering away. "But the way you and him are, I bet you'll be a really neat duo."

  "As long as I have my Fairy Type encyclopedia with me when it happens," Ian said, giving Mina another smooch. "I'm getting quite a deal, you don't charge me for anything."

  Mina giggled, reciprocating his kiss. "Well I do get to make out with a prince whenever I want, so that's good enough."

  Ian's heart jumped at the compliment. He laughed softly, wondering about why Mina calling him his unofficial title seemed so different.

  "You okay?" Mina asked, easily able to tell Ian's mind was racing.

  "More than okay," Ian began. "It's just when most people throw the 'prince' thing at me, it always kinda feels like a jab, like a fun bit of teasing. But when you say it, there's some sort of sincerity in there that hits differently…" Ian paused, still figuring out his thoughts. "The way you say it, it makes me want to be worthy of that title."

  "Well I think you already are," Mina said, her hand caressing his leg now. "But don't let me get in the way of inspiring you to prove yourself even more."

  A sudden clearing of a woman's throat brought the couple back to reality as Ian turned to see Sarah, Rylee's guardian had snuck up behind them. "Keeping things age appropriate, you two?" Sarah asked with a smirk on her face.

  "Mostly," Mina said, a hint of sass in her voice.

  "It's about time to take her over to Pula's classroom," Sarah said.

  Ian nodded, releasing Mina from his embrace and the couple stood up from their bench. "Gotcha…"

  "We can take her," Mina said. "I'm heading over there anyways, I'm watching the western wall."

  "Oh, that's convenient," Sarah said.

  "Whenever they give me a choice, I ask for that spot. I get to sneak a look at most of my murals, and hearing the kids playing at recess helps the time go by," Mina explained.

  "Nice," Sarah said. "Well I gotta say I'm very grateful to you two for helping me out with Rylee. Having Plusle has completely changed things for her, she's so much happier…" Sarah trailed off, her eyes beginning to water. "But I don't want you to feel like you're forced to do it, I know you two have a lot of responsibilities to the town."

  Ian nodded. "I appreciate the thought. But even just a little time watching Rylee and Plusle play reminds me of what we're defending here." Mina's hand caressed Ian's back affectionately and he had to do his best not to smile like a lovestruck idiot.

  "Well I'm very grateful for the time you spare," Sarah said.

  "This will probably be the last time I get for a bit, unfortunately," Ian said. "Getting sent off today."

  "Sad to hear. I hope we have enough flour stored up. That bread Grillz makes is amazing," Sarah teased.

  "Something tells me we'll be getting a whole lot more of it when this is all said and done," Ian said with a confident smile.

  ***

  The walk over to Auntie Pula's was about as wholesome as one could ask for, with Rylee in between Ian and Mina, holding their hands as she told them about every cute thing Plusle had done the night before. I'm sure this could go on for half an hour. When Rylee recalled Plusle into its ball for school, she gave them both a big hug and rushed off to the classroom. Mina then turned to Ian, a more serious look on her face.

  "I take you're gonna go meet up with those Pearl Clan people?" Mina asked.

  Ian nodded. "Yeah. Something about uncertain food supply."

  "And the woman who wants to marry you…"

  "She's the head of the damn group," Ian grumbled. "You have nothing to worry about though."

  Mina nodded. "I know, just kind of weird to say, you know?" Ian leaned in for a kiss, which they shared. "I mean, I understand more than anyone why she's interested. She'd be dumb not to."

  Ian felt himself blush. "Well I'm the luckiest guy in Po Town, I won't forget that."

  Mina smiled. "And I'm the luckiest girl in Po Town, so we're even."

  "Hey Mina, Ian!" A male voice called out. A voice Ian recognized as Slash, Mina's squad leader.

  "What's up?" Ian called back.

  "Mina, don't go to the wall yet, we're doing some more response drills," Slash explained. "And Ian, any chance you could relieve my Basement guard?"

  Oh yeah, our jail cell where we're holding that guy who Guzma's Mega-Scizor captured. "For how long? Sawsbuck's blessing refreshes in like two hours," Ian said.

  "Shouldn't take more than an hour," Slash said.

  Ian shrugged. "Sure then. What do I do exactly?"

  "Don't let the prisoner out, and anyone who tries to free the prisoner gets merc'd," Slash said bluntly.

  "O-okay…" Ian said uncertainly, but he gave Mina a subtle wave before heading back to Shady House.

  Ian had heard basement access was actually underneath one of Shady House's main stairways, but he'd never actually been down in it before. When Ian slowly started walking down the staircase, it was initially dark, darker than most of Shady House with its typical flickering lights. He heard loud mechanical noises coming from below and noticed it was much brighter at the bottom. His curious thoughts disappeared the instant a waft of foul odor hit his nostrils and made him recoil. "Shit, that stinks."

  As Ian made it to the well illuminated bottom of the staircase, Ian noticed a number of stewards, or Dirtbags as Tupp called them with temporary work lights hard at work in the cramped room and a half-sized space. Ian realized they were setting up more cells like the singular jail cell, albeit these new ones seemed to be smaller than the one holding a singular male figure.

  "Ian, what are you doing down here?" Tom's voice called out.

  "I'm supposed to watch the prisoner for a bit? Guzma and Rook are doing more response drills outside," Ian answered.

  "Good," Tom said gravely. "We can't count on you and Selene to save our crop fields every time."

  "Only most of the time," Ian said with a cocky grin.

  "You my relief?" The young man sitting next to the cell asked nervously.

  "Yeah," Ian said, doing his best to breathe through his mouth instead of his nose.

  "Finally," he said as he got up. Ian towered over the young man, who had to be no taller than 5'3.

  "Don't have too much fun while you're away, Pickle," Tom said with a laugh as the Team Skull grunt named Pickle handed Ian a key. Pickle didn't respond, and Ian grunted as he sat on the metal chair close to the cell. Ian observed the prisoner, trying to keep the stench off his mind. The young man looked no older than Ian wore navy blue pants and a navy blue shirt, both looking rather worse for wear. Not even mentioning his dark, now disheveled hair. It's been what, five days since he was captured right? We're not exactly doing the guy's laundry.

  "New face. I'm Jake. What's your name?" The prisoner asked.

  "Ian," he responded. "And I'm not exactly new to you."

  "You here when I'm asleep?" Jake asked.

  Ian shook his head. "I was the Pyroar trainer."

  "Oh…" Jake croaked. "How's Togedemaru doing?"

  "The healing machine at our Pokemon Center's back working, so I assume it's fine," Ian answered.

  "What was that attack you got Togedemaru with?" The prisoner asked.

  "It was Overheat," Ian confirmed.

  "Ouch," Jake said. "I'm glad you don't have a Firium-Z lying around, might've actually melted Togedemaru's shell with something that powerful."

  "Good to know," Ian joked before letting silence fill the void.

  After a minute of workers hammering away, Jake spoke up once more. "Any news from outside?"

  "Nope," Ian said. "Haven't seen anything but your guys' boats from a distance."

  "I hear the alarm blasts," Jake replied.

  "We're doing drills since it took so long to respond last time," Ian said.

  "Careful now Ian," Tom warned. "Don't want to reveal too much about our operations."

  Ian shrugged. "My bad. I figured this guy was gonna be here for a while."

  "All the same, Ian," Tom warned. Ian gave Tom an acknowledging nod and re-focused on the prisoner.

  Jake grimaced. "So it's true…"

  "What?" Ian asked.

  Jake shook his head. "Captain Sinclair hasn't done shit to free me."

  "Well he could end the war, pay us for damages and then we'd send you back," Ian said.

  "That ain't happening, not anytime soon at least," Jake said, resigned to his fate.

  "Why's that?" Ian asked.

  Jake sighed. "We're running low on food. Not as many boats are traveling solo, less to raid means less to trade, less to trade means less food."

  "Guzma's under the impression you guys are sitting on top of a mountain of pearls," Ian said.

  Jake shook his head. "Things were going well at the start. We had thousands of pearls, and Driftwood was giving us good prices. But last month Driftwood dropped their buying price and Captain Sinclair said no. Tried trading with Breon, and it was cool once, but he started demanding we only send women to the trade meeting and Sinclair figured out what was gonna happen, so we stopped that. Then a couple weeks back, that dude with the Sawsbuck had made you guys have more food than Malie City. Speaking of, who is that guy?"

  Ian did his best to play it cool. "The Sawsbuck guy? He's a real weirdo."

  "Yeah he gotta be, living with you guys out here. He could be making a killing as a berry farmer on any of the other islands. Ol' Red said mushroom farmers would pay tens of millions for that Sawsbuck."

  Mushroom farmers? Oh wait, Balm Mushrooms sell for a fortune. Gotta keep that in mind for whenever this shit's over. "Why are you telling me all this?" Ian asked skeptically.

  "That big guy with your number two beat it out of me my first day in here," Jake said, lifting his shirt to reveal black and blue bruises on his torso. "Got nothing else to talk about anyways."

  Ruckz and Rook, why am I not surprised? "I see…" Ian paused as something came across his mind he hadn't fully considered. "Well since you're talking and I can't really say much about here, ever since I got here I've been wondering. Why the fuck are you guys pirates of all things?"

  Jake sighed. "How long have you been here?"

  "Popped out of an Ultra Storm a little over a month ago," Ian said.

  "Oh, you weren't around when everything went to shit," Jake said. "Ultra Rift popped up and Ultra Storms started spawning, and the ASF was more like the boys scouts than an actual military y'know?"

  "I heard something like that, but not many specifics…" Ian said.

  "Yeah man. The ASF lost a couple trainers fighting Pokemon in an Ultra Storm, so they told their members not to go near them. Problem was one Ultra Storm spawned in a neighborhood in Malie City. ASF pulled all of the people out of their homes, and an Alpha Rhyperior went nuts, destroying all of the houses while the ASF just watched. Riots happened," Jake explained. "Next day Surge attacked. Malie City's strongest trainer, Ryuki, went to face him and got his ass whooped. Buddy of mine who was at the battle saw Surge go over and lift Ryuki off the ground, saying stuff to him. Next thing we know Ryuki fucking defects to Surge."

  Ryuki? Oh, the Dragon Type guy. Didn't he run the Kantonian Gym in the games? And wasn't that gym based on Vermillion City's gym? What are the odds of that? "Bizarre, but where do you and Sinclair come in?" Ian asked.

  "I'm getting there," Jake said. "It was like a day later and all of the sudden Breon takes over Haina Town, says he's done listening to central command back on Melemele, tells Malie City we shouldn't either."

  "And you guys followed his orders?" Ian asked.

  "Hell no, we saw something was up with him on the announcement stream," Jake said. "Central command freaked the fuck out though. Made all these gnarly rules, micro-managing things. It just made everything even worse. So Sinclair's dad, Benedict Sinclair, ran a maritime shipping business. All the other guys who owned boats wouldn't let 'em go near Malie City with all the bullshit happening, but Ol' Benedict knew the town would starve so he kept going. He got a little too popular though, and the ASF detained him, thinking he'd be the next 'Breon situation,' and took over his whole business in the process. All of Malie City got pissed, his son Benny most of all. ASF shipped the dad off to Melemele to go to court or some shit, never made it there. The boat got a little too close to an Ultra Storm or something."

  "Damn…" Ian said.

  "So he wasn't our captain yet, but Benedict Jr. or 'Benny' as we called him then, lost it. ASF put a warrant out for his arrest too, but most of us worked for his dad and we loved Benny. He was the owner's son, he'd done an Island Challenge, went to a good university, and his dad made him start from the bottom and earn his way. He was cleaning toilets on his first day working with us. We loved his dad, end of year bonuses were always good, so when Benny said everything was fucked and he wouldn't stay, but he was gonna hijack a boat and go to Momi Isle until this all blew over, we went with him. Took a ton of boats from the marina and just said 'fuck it,' been pirates ever since," Jake concluded.

  "You know, if you guys hadn't tried to burn one of our main sources of food, I'd almost feel sympathetic to you guys," Ian said.

  "It wasn't personal," Jake replied. "We're just trying to get by though."

  "Couldn't work out a trade deal?" Ian asked.

  "Oh trust me, lotta people wanted that," Jake said. "But the Captain said it would be a matter of time until the price changed for us like with Driftwood, and we'd be in the same situation all over again."

  Ian grimaced. "I can at least understand the logic, but we're already in one alliance now. Offering a fair trade deal wouldn't have been a problem I think." I won't mention the alliance only came to fruition because of Sinclair declaring war on us. But it's also weird Driftwood made another faction besides the Pearl Clan almost starve because of money.

  "We didn't exactly know the Pearl Clan was in bed with you guys when we declared war," Jake said. "Real unlucky roll of the dice, but I know the Captain's working on something to make it work."

  And so are we. "You're not gonna get any well wishes from me on that one," Ian said coldly.

  "Yeah… Good way to pass time though," Jake said.

  ***

  Ian was grateful when he was relieved, as the Basement had become too loud to have a conversation thanks to the ongoing work being done on other holding cells. I don't want to imagine how the stench would be like with a few more prisoners, let alone a dozen. Ian had another round of Sawbuck blessing on Po Town's crop fields, where a perimeter of trenches had begun to be dug, before joining Tupp and Sophocles with Grimsley for training.

  "Good morning Grimsley!" Ian called out. "Sorry I'm late, got tied up with some stuff to do."

  Grimsley shook his head. "No need to apologize, I figure you're getting ready for your trip down south?"

  "Tupp, Slugg, you guys tell him?" Ian asked.

  "No!" Tupp said defensively.

  "What, you guys are going somewhere?" Sophocles asked, sweating as he came to a stop, his Noibat fluttering nearby.

  Ian eyed Grimsley suspiciously. "So you're still in contact with Driftwood?"

  Grimsley rolled his eyes. "I figured it was obvious, but you wouldn't listen. They have a couple people stationed up in Outrigger if you must know."

  "And where are they getting the intel from?" Ian asked.

  "The Pearl Clan as a matter of fact," Grimsley replied simply.

  "So the Pearl Clan's snitching on us?" Ian asked.

  "Well considering Councilwoman Nui's just moved to Outrigger and blabbed what was going on, plus how limited their food stores were, it was easy to put two and two together," Grimsley explained.

  Ian grimaced. "Okay…"

  "So I don't get to pay my debt off for a little bit," Grimsley said. "Good luck out there, I don't know what other purposes Driftwood will be using me for if you end up captured or killed, Ian."

  "You're such an optimist, Grimsley," Ian teased sarcastically.

  "Well my name is Grimsley for a reason. But enough of that, let's do some Impidimp evasion drills I want you two to work on while you're gone…"

  ***

  After a goodbye kiss that turned into a minute-long make out session with Mina that even made Plumeria blush, their squad leader got them riding south in a hurry. There was much more of an emphasis on staying aware of their surroundings as they rode down. Ian noticed Plumeria was wearing the Silph Bag on her back once again.

  "Hey Big Sis," Hyde spoke up about forty five minutes into the ride. "Shouldn't we have gone down with the border squad's messenger? We'd be able to find them easier." Lex's border squad had been sending a messenger up every morning, detailing the happenings of the prior day, which boats they spotted and where along the coastline. Sinclair had yet to land another group of trainers since the initial attack. At least what we're aware of.

  Plumeria shook her head. "Think of this as a surprise inspection."

  "Oh, I get it," Hyde said. It's nice to not be bickering with him. Maybe this can stay permanent if I get Irida interested in him.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  A few minutes later, Plumeria signaled for the group to slow down, and with Ian and Tupp picking up the rear, they were the last to see a pair of figures looming up ahead. Ian squinted and noticed they had Team Skull uniforms on, and he relaxed. But remember, maybe Sinclair's guys captured them and took their clothes.

  Ian's suspicions were proven to be overblown as they came closer, and a harsh feminine voice greeted them. "About time, Big Sis!"

  Plumeria's bike's strolling pace came to a halt, and the squad leader tittered. The feminine figure with her arms crossed had dyed blonde hair barely escaping her Team Skull hat. She wore a scowl on her pretty face, and Ian quickly realized who the recently promoted squad leader he assumed was Lex had been heavily influenced by.

  "Good to see you too, Lex," Plumeria said, unimpressed. Next to Lex stood a much more casual looking male figure with dark hair and a Kanto-nian complexion. "You too, Riko," Plumeria added.

  "We knew you were coming ten minutes ago," Lex boasted, voice full of attitude.

  "Which is why I wanted you down here, Lex," Plumeria said, unimpressed.

  "No sign of Sinclair's ships north of Cape Pupuhi," Lex informed. "And if you want me to have eyes south of it-"

  "You'd have more than six members in your squad," Plumeria said.

  Lex nodded. "We've seen a small presence of trainers closer to Atman's Point, but that's as far as we've checked."

  "Good to know," Plumeria said. "Do you think we'd want to beef up our numbers before getting to Aether Camp?"

  Lex shook her head. "Y'all should be good for now. There's not really a good place for them to land on the cape unless they go deep into Mahiki Bay right next to Aether Camp, which we haven't seen them do for some reason."

  "Odd," Plumeria said. "But it's something that could change at any moment, so we gotta stay prepared for any trouble that may happen."

  Ian stymied a laugh. Prepare for trouble? Haven't heard that line from Pokemon Anime's Team Rocket in some time… I imagine Suzy-Marie would get a little pissed off if I started running around saying it. You know what? I'm gonna start fucking say it, fuck her.

  ***

  It didn't take long before they reached the Ula'Ula Meadow from there, and Sawsbuck led the group as they walked their bikes on the raised walkway. The jubilant Oricorio continuously brought berries for the travelers, to the point Selene had to make Rapp walk her bike while she got a foraging bag to hold the berries given to them, which were then promptly put in Plumeria's Silph Bag.

  They zoomed past Aether Camp, and Ian grinned as his eyes fell upon the path he'd taken that had ended with him capturing Impidimp. Plumeria kept the squad racing at a brutal pace, reminiscent of when they'd come down from Mt. Lanakila. As they got further south and closer to the trail they'd used to climb Mt. Lanakila, they came upon an incline Ian scarcely remembered from the journey down. Rapp and Selene groaned, and Ian's calves begged for mercy as they began their small uphill journey. Oh yeah, we hit this right after we hit the road, not after biking down two-thirds of the island.

  "Big Sis, can we take five? My legs are killin' me!" Rapp bellowed.

  "It's just a couple hundred feet up," Plumeria barked back. "But when we get to the top, we can take a breather."

  "Thank goodness," Selene groaned.

  After another minute of fatigue-riddled peddling, the group of six came to an abrupt stop as they got to the end of the incline. The elevated ridge overlooked Mahiki Bay in one direction, connecting to an even higher place where Ian figured the foothills of Mount Lanakila in this area began. "It's a beautiful spot," Ian observed as he caught his breath.

  "Right?" Plumeria called back. She then reached for a Poke Ball and let out the hovering, pink and purple floating mass known as Poipole. "Check out this view, little one," Plumeria said in a softer voice, pointing out to the gorgeous sight of Mahiki Bay. Poipole gave a gushing, otherworldly cry as the little Ultra Beast sped off the side of the cliff overlooking the beach before pausing abruptly and taking it all in. After a few moments, Poipole let out a shrill call as it zoomed lower off the cliff, and Plumeria approached the edge, sticking her head out.

  Ian's curiosity got the best of him and he ended up next to Plumeria, looking along the cliff's edge and noticing the object of Poipole's fixation: a small waterfall coming out from the rock about thirty feet to their left. "That's why they call this place Weeping Ridge," Plumeria explained.

  "Cool," Ian said.

  "There's spring back that way a bit," Plumeria continued as she gestured further behind them. "If it goes too long without raining it'll dry up as a matter of fact."

  Poipole seemingly had gotten its fill of the small waterfall and zoomed back up to Ian and Plumeria. Poipole made a point of nuzzling up against the pink parts of Plumeria's hair, and although Plumeria scowled initially, she didn't make a sound in protest. Looks like she's getting used to the little one. After a short time of cuddling up to Plumeria's hair, Poipole turned upside down, its pointed stinger sticking out of the Ultra Beast's head. Poipole then fell head first into the ground before it began spinning like a merry-go-round, giving gleeful shrills as it slowly celebrated.

  "Is it supposed to do that?" Plumeria asked skeptically.

  Ian shrugged. "Well it does now."

  ***

  After being sent off to see if there were any berry trees that needed a touch of Sawsbuck's blessing, Ian and Sawsbuck came trotting back, ready to announce there'd be a number of trees ready for Sawsbuck's blessing the next time around. Upon returning to the Weeping Ridge, Ian saw Plumeria holding a long, skinny loaf of bread while the rest of the party's members were lined up excitedly.

  "Ian's back!" Tupp shouted. "Now do we get the bread?"

  "Okay, now we do," Plumeria said, holding out the skinny loaf of bread as each member took off a sizable but not too sizable piece each. Once Ian had pulled his portion of, leaving the rest of it for Plumeria, he gave her an acknowledging nod. "Don't expect this to happen a lot. You don't want to know what I had to do to pull it off."

  Ian took a bite of the closest thing he'd probably ever eat to sourdough in the Pokemon world and smiled. As he munched through the piece, trying to remind himself not to eat the piece too quickly, he looked out to the shimmering waters of Mahiki Bay. The waters were oddly peaceful, and in the late-ish afternoon sun shining overhead, an idea hit Ian. Maybe it's called the Weeping Ridge because it'll bring you to tears if you look long enough.

  "Hey guys, what the hell is that?" Selene called out, pointing to the sky.

  Ian directed his attention upwards and saw a large bird Pokemon circling overhead.

  "Looks like a Braviary," Plumeria said, turning to Poipole. "Get back inside, it doesn't know you're toxic," she ordered, recalling Poipole in a beam of red light.

  "I've never seen a Braviary look like that before," Rapp said bluntly.

  Ian noticed as the large bird got closer, it didn't seem like a normal Braviary, adorned with black and red feathers, but instead had white feathers, with a faint pink color on what he realized was its headdress. A Hisuian Braviary, that can only be one group.

  "Is it a shiny?" Tupp asked bluntly.

  "No, it's one of the Pearl Clan's Pokemon," Ian said, giving Plumeria a wink once she turned to face him.

  "Good eye Coogz," Plumeria responded back. The Hisuian Braviary gave out a loud call and stopped circling overhead, instead beelining it down to their position. Ian noticed a figure on its back, and squinted his eyes to try to tell who it was.

  "Hey look, it's Gay-Rick!" Tupp called out.

  Sure enough, the shirtless man named Gaeric with light blue hair came into view on the back of the Hisuian Braviary, the great bird landing a couple dozen feet from the group.

  The group hurried over to the now smiling Gaeric. "It is good to see you all once more, Skull Team."

  "Good to see you too, Gaeric," Plumeria said, getting off her bike and leaving it standing as she shook Gaeric's hand.

  "Ian is with you as well? It will be a relief to us all," Gaeric said, immediately turning to Ian. "We have used the last of what little food stores we have left."

  Ian grimaced. "I'm not sure how many berry trees we're going to find down here, but I don't think it'll be quite enough to feed all of the Pearl Clan right now."

  "The prospect of food tomorrow will brighten the spirits of those who do not eat today," Gaeric said assuredly.

  Plumeria shook her head in frustration. "We brought food from Po Town, no one's going hungry today, okay?"

  Gaeric suddenly fell to his knees, hugging himself. "Oh happy day. If I were a lesser man, I would be proposing marriage to you right now, Plumeria! Gaeric announced.

  Plumeria tensed, with Ian chuckling. "Hey Plumeria, maybe you two could do the diplomatic marriage thing instead-"

  "Stow it," Plumeria said, shooting him daggers with her eyes.

  Ian turned to see Hyde looking at him inquisitively. Can't Irida just marry Hyde and be done with it? He seems like the type to enjoy a cold, loveless marriage anyways.

  ***

  Once Gaeric had gotten back on his Braviary and taken back to the skies, he led the group another half hour or so to the south. When Ian finally did see the convoy of various carts and dozens of Pearl Clan members with Irida leading the group on the road ahead, he grimaced. Prepare for trouble.

  Gaeric's Braviary began its descent, and the Team Skull members stopped a bit short of the convoy's front. "Greetings Team Skull!" Irida called out. "You are a most welcome sight for us weary travelers."

  "Welcome to the lowlands," Plumeria called back.

  "Yeah, welcome!" Hyde called out enthusiastically. C'mon, get her attention man.

  Irida didn't appear to react, as Gaeric hopped off his Braviary and began speaking to Irida urgently. Irida put her hand over heart and closed her eyes, as if having her silent prayers answered. "Gaeric tells me you have brought sustenance?" Irida asked.

  Plumeria took the Silph Bag off her shoulders and raised it up high. "Yes we did."

  Irida spoke quickly to Gaeric, and Gaeric gave out a bellowing yell, causing the convoy to come to a quick halt.

  Irida cleared her throat and turned around. "It's time to eat, everyone!"

  A cheer erupted from the crowd, and Plumeria was already pressing buttons on her old Silph Bag, manifesting baskets of various berries.

  "Everyone, get in three lines…" Irida began ordering loudly.

  "Ian, grab a basket," Plumeria ordered, then hushed her voice to a whisper. "It'll keep you busy."

  "Thanks boss," Ian whispered lowly as he grabbed a basket of Oran Berries and made way for a line of hungry Pearl Clan adults.

  "Lieutentant Ian, we cannot thank you and your Sawsbuck enough," the first member of the line, a middle aged woman said with a reverent bow.

  "Happy to help," Ian said in his best customer service voice as he handed a pair of Oran Berries to .

  The next in line was a man closer to his age. "We are eternally grateful to you, Lieutenant Ian," the man said as he took the pair of Oran Berries Ian handed him. On and on this continued, with Ian losing more and more enthusiasm as each Pearl Clan member in his line bowed and addressed him as Lieutenant, while Hyde and Selene, who had taken roles as berry distributors got no such treatment. Ian finally caught Irida watching from a distance, and he tried to hide his frustration.

  The other two lines ended, and Irida ordered some of the members of his line to go to empty ones, with Irida taking the last spot in his line. Ian debated asking Plumeria if he could swap out, but realized it wouldn't matter. She'd find a way to interact with him. Trying to avoid her would just be weird. When Irida's time came, she gave him a dazzling smile and he was reminded of her beauty. While her blue eyes captured his gaze for a moment, he noticed a distinct lack of warmth, a warmth he'd become accustomed to in Mina's eyes. A flashback to a few hours prior where he was making out with his new girlfriend made him crack a smile.

  "There is that smile I was hoping to see again," Irida pointed out.

  The smile disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. "Sorry, it wasn't for you," Ian grunted.

  Irida tittered dismissively and took her two Oran Berries. "Regardless, thank you for the food, Lieutenant Ian." Irida then went to Plumeria as she took a bite from one of the berries, and a discussion about the rest of the day's plans began in earnest.

  Twenty minutes later, the convoy was off again, with Plumeria sending Ian and Selene off on their Sawsbuck and Arcanine to forage for more berries. Selene tried to make small talk, but Ian would quickly answer and say little else.

  "Look, Ian, I'm sure you're mad about me saying no to Tupp…" Selene began.

  Ian rolled his eyes. "You're a grown ass woman, if you don't like him, I'm actually glad you didn't lead him on," Ian answered. "But you know Rook's got other girls, and you asking Guzma to try to make other girls to not go after him is just… it's not even funny, it's sad really."

  Selene frowned. "I know," she squeaked.

  "But that's your choice," Ian said. "And I want to reiterate that I'm glad you're not leading Tupp on. He's my best friend, and whatever girl who falls in love with him is gonna get the most loyal, badass dude I know."

  "Badass?" Selene said skeptically.

  "Have you seen him battle recently?" Ian asked.

  "No…"

  "He's been training with Grimsley and I. We even got Sophocles out there with us now-"

  "Slugg?" Selene asked in surprise.

  "Yeah…"

  "Rapp's out there whenever she can, watching you guys workout from on top of the wall," Selene explained. "From the spot Hyde would wa-" Selene abruptly stopped and covered her mouth.

  "Hyde what?" Ian asked.

  "Nothing, forget I said anything," Selene said.

  Ian grimaced, but didn't press the issue, the secret had been leaked. So Hyde had been watching me train from on top of the wall. It would explain why the day after I evolved Litleo with an EXP Candy- well, Ultra Candy, I guess I'm calling it now. No wonder he got all suspicious about the candy that dropped from that Alpha Galvantula. Ian sighed. So Hyde knows something's up with those candies… Good thing we're cool now. I can't go making an enemy of him, we're on thin ice enough as it is.

  Ian and Selene continued on in silence, filling up a couple more forage bags before regrouping with the convoy. They marched until the sun began to set, getting atop the Weeping Ridge. After helping set up Team Skull's two tents, Ian made his way over to the ridge's waterfall and kicked his legs off the edge of the cliff to watch the sunset over Mahiki Bay. Partly to observe the natural beauty of the sun setting over the bay, but mostly to stay away from Irida.

  The sun was nearly half set when Irida's soft voice greeted Ian with an overly-enthusiastic "there you are."

  Ian rolled his eyes. "Hey there, Irida."

  "This place is truly a marvel to behold," Irida said, approaching him and taking a seat, her legs dangling off the cliff as well.

  "Yes it is," Ian croaked. Ian turned his attention to Cape Pupuhi, and remembering somewhere near the tip was the strategically important Atman's Point somewhere out there.

  "I wish I knew the names of these islands," Irida said wistfully. "When this war is over, I would like to explore them."

  Ian returned his attention to the bay, with the largest island where Sinclair's base was looming in the background. Irida's not going to leave me alone here, and just getting up and walking away could be seen as a diplomatic insult. The radio network strategy is pretty contingent on having the Pearl Clan's help, as well as harvesting being economically viable. Gotta try to keep the conversation off us though. "Funny story, the big island at the tip of the bay is called Momi Isle," Ian explained, hoping to control the conversation as best could.

  "Why is it funny?" Irida asked genuinely.

  "Momi is Alolan for 'pearl,'" Ian said. "And here I am sitting with the leader of the Pearl Clan, looking at it."

  Irida giggled. "I see the humor in it now. So much time and space between where I used to dwell, and pearls are still beheld with such beauty. It's incredible really."

  Ian nodded in agreement, trying not to engage too much, but a question suddenly came to the forefront of his mind. "Irida, did the Pearl Clan have children back in Hisui?"

  Irida nodded. "Of course we did, but they did not make the journey here."

  "Did you ever find out what happened to them?" Ian asked.

  "We asked the Driftwood Guild to look up what happened in a history book, and what little was mentioned was names of our children suddenly appearing in the Diamond Clan's family trees."

  Ian nodded. "So Adaman took them in?"

  "He did," Irida said, a hint of emotion in her voice.

  "That's quite something," Ian observed.

  Irida nodded. "It was… The Driftwood Guild member mentioned Adaman left not long after and essentially disappeared from history, making Iscan the successor. Getting specific family trees beyond that was more than we could afford, and knowing our children were taken care of settled the matter."

  "I'm glad to hear that." Ian then let a silence take hold, with Irida expecting another question from Ian.

  "Aren't you going to ask why they were left behind?"

  Ian shrugged. "I take it the ritual you spoke of has something to do with it?"

  Irida nodded. "Unfortunately yes."

  "Makes sense…"

  "Aren't you going to ask about it?" Irida asked, Ian noticing her head turning to stare at him directly. Ian did not match the challenge.

  "It's a closely held secret, I'm not a part of the Pearl Clan so there's no point in asking," Ian said, trying to dance around the link that would springboard Irida into a different topic.

  "But you are curious still," Irida observed.

  Ian shrugged. "I mean, yeah…"

  Irida put her hand on his shoulder and he turned to her instinctively, her deep blue eyes seemed to burn with desire. "Kiss me now and I'll give you everything you want."

  Ian froze, as he felt blood rushing to his midsection, unsure if it was the look in her eyes, her beauty, or the desire in her voice that made her drawn to her. He gulped, and chuckled nervously. "Thanks but no thanks."

  Irida sighed, turning her attention back to the bay. "So Palina was right, you are romantically involved with someone."

  Ian rolled his eyes. "Yeah…"

  Irida grunted. "I apologize for sounding suspicious, but the timing of you taking a female companion is something I cannot overlook."

  Ian grimaced. "We were flirting before I left on the expedition. When I got back she painted this tremendous mural, and I saw something in her eyes that made me have to kiss her."

  "Unfortunate for me. I suppose I should take up painting?" Irida asked, a hint of sass in her voice.

  "You don't have to," Ian said. "You want me for my Sawsbuck, Mina wants me for me."

  "That is good for you Ian," Irida said. "But it will leave your potential sorely unfulfilled."

  "No thanks," Ian said as he shook his head and swung his legs up. Irida put a hand on him, not to restrain him, but just to touch.

  "Ian!" Irida pleaded. "I see the qualities of a leader in you. Give yourself to me and I shall give myself to you completely, and we shall make this place a place of peace for our children and everyone else's."

  Ian turned to leave, but a knowing giggle from Irida stopped him. "What?"

  "Your words do not match your body's reactions."

  Ian looked down, realizing his pants didn't happen to have a crease in them in a very specific spot. Dammit. "Whatever. You trying to break up the best thing that's happened to me since I got to Alola isn't going to improve my opinion of you Irida, so leave me the fuck alone."

  As Ian began to storm off back to the makeshift camp, all he heard was a frustrated sigh from Irida.