The Great Bulk, Chapter 2: Ain't That a Kick to the Head

Moving On Up

A few weeks passed, Makuhita and I having settled into a routine. We would deal with outlaws closer to Sahra Town, all under A Rank, and in our off time, we would train together. Most importantly, I learned a couple of things about Aura Expression during these matches. The first was me beginning to unravel how to exactly train it. There was a reason why I was only able to tap into it while I was in the thick of combat – it required my body to be tensed and moving.

Think of how a Decidueye fires its arrows. The vine that launches them has to be drawn back in order for the arrow to fly, and Expression was similar enough to that in concept. The second discovery was that while directing Aura to my arms made them hit harder, it made the rest of my body more fragile in return. I could easily migitate this weakness by empowering my legs at the same time as my arms as to make myself more nimble, but the one time I tried, I couldn't focus on maintaining four different places on my body at once. More work was needed.

As for how my pet oaf was doing, he quickly took to the basics of combat. He still moved with about as much speed and grace as a Spinda high on X-Eye Seeds, but his style was certainly effective. Using his bulk to shield himself from physical blows, he would counter-attack by Tackling his opponent with his weight, or using his Arm Thrusts. I had to use my Psychic abilities or enhance my strikes with Aura, just to keep him down.

One day, Makuhita and I were looking at the numerous bounties avaliable on a public board. He glanced at me, looking bored out of his mind. “Y'know, Asana, I'm getting tired of dealing with the easy jobs. I didn't take this career to just sit in my comfort zone, and I sure as hell know you didn't,” he told me. “Let's see here...”

Makuhita observed the numerous postings for about a minute or so, and then pointed at one with his hand. I took it off of the board, and scrutinized it carefully.

Hitmontop:
Bounty: 3,500 Poke
Rank: A
Wanted For: Assault, Theft
Sex: Male
Distinctive Features: Wears a Power Band around his mouth.

This Pokemon is strange for a thief. He targets exploration and bounty hunting teams nearly exclusively and takes hardly any valuables, instead stealing only what he calls “mementoes”. Judging from eyewitness accounts, he partakes in criminal activities more so as a way of thrillseeking and gaining notoriety, rather than financial gain or malice.

Hitmontop is very fast on his feet, and if you don't think you can keep up, it's advised to either bring along means of either speeding your team up, or slowing him down. He's known to hide out in Krabby Cave, a Mystery Dungeon to the south of Sahra Town."

I looked back at my partner. “A Rank? It's about time we ramp things up, although...” I trail off for a moment. “Seeing as you claimed to have lost your memory after a Zebstrika bucked you in the head when you tried to ride it, you don't know how Mystery Dungeons operate, do you?”

Makuhita shaked his head. “Nope! Oh, and for the record, it was a Rapidash that did it. I can't believe your memory's so bad, Assy.”

The sheer preposterous nature of the lie he told made me glare at him, my judgmental gaze hooking into him like a bird Pokemon's talons. “How did you even try to ride it, without its back burning you? Let me guess, your sheer determination rendered you immune to its flames?” I asked.

My partner shrugged. “It's a mystery even I can't figure out,” he began. “I mean, everyone around here can do some pretty incredible stuff. You can attack with your mind and you got your Aura junk, there was this place Jolteon took me with a bunch of literal ghosts, and speaking of her, she was leaking sparks when she got pissed off... Why would it be preposterous for me to ignore fire with enough determination?”

I steadied my breathing, my anger slowly turning to confusion as he finished elaborating his thoughts. “First off, my Aura is not “junk”,” I said. “Secondly, what'd you do to get her upset? She was obsessed with you.”

His smile faded away for a few moments. “Well, she took me to some pub. She didn't even tell me it was supposed to be a date until it was, like, almost over, and she wasn't really my type. It almost felt like she tricked me into going.”

I stifled a chuckle. “Y-you were too stupid to notice her barely restrained infatuation? I know you look blind, but I didn't know you actually were!” I yelled out. He started laughing at my comment, and that's what broke the Bibarel's dam. The two of us cackled loudly, my amusement only being bolstered by imagining that obnoxious coward's tears! Other Pokemon began to stare at us awkwardly, and seeing this, I regained control over myself and escorted Makuhita away. We still needed to purchase our supplies.

Dungeon Diving

A few hours later, we arrived at the dungeon entrance, and befitting the name, the entrance looked like the maw of a giant Krabby. My partner gawked at it. “Hey, Asana, how the heck is there a cave that looks like this? There's a-” He paused, the turning gears in his head clearly visible to me. “I can remember a mountain back where I come from that's in the shape of some historical figures, but that was sculpted; not natural. How is there something like this out in the middle of nowhere?”

I was unsure, myself. “I don't know, but “natural” is the last word I'd use to describe a Mystery Dungeon,” I replied. “They can be quite bizarre.” Judging by his reaction to my statement, I could tell he was unsatisfied with my answer, but we advanced into the cavern's mouth regardless.

The air immediately shifted as we descended into its depths. Finally entering the dungeon proper, Makuhita immediately looked behind him, seeing that the entrance was gone. “What the heck? Asana, are we gonna be trapped in here?” He questioned. It was then, that I realized something.

I was so busy being absorbed in the schadenfreude of Jolteon's romantic misfortune, that I had forgotten to instruct my partner about Mystery Dungeons. “It's just how these places are,” I replied. “There's a way out, but we'll have to make it to the end. For now, stay behind me, and follow my instructions.” He obliged, and we travelled down one of the many dungeon corridors.

We entered a second, larger room, and as luck would have it, there was a stairway. However, there was a feral Corphish, and before I had the chance to warn him, the oaf made his way towards it. “Hey, buddy, what're you doing here?” He asked. The feral stared blankly in response, its dull, unfocused eyes Leering at him. Unaware of any danger, Makuhita waved an arm in front of the Corphish's face. “Hey, buddy, you alright? You look like a zombie!”

Out of all the Pokemon I've encountered, I have never once seen or heard of a “Zombie." Noting to myself to ask him this later, I watched as the Corphish pinched Makuhita's fat with a Vice Grip, causing him to wince. He punched the feral hard, causing it to fly into the dungeon wall. Falling to the ground, it twitched spasmodically, my idiot of a partner running up to it in response. “It isn't nice to pinch people, but I didn't mean to put so much into that swing,” he responded. “Asana, do you have anything you can-”

The Corphish dissolved into smoke. Makuhita looked extremely distressed, but before he could utter another word, I interrupted him. “Before you cry about having killed an innocent, that thing was a feral. It isn't sapient,” I clarified. He deflated from his near emotional outburst like a Drifloon, and started to follow me again. We walked down the stairs, and made our way to the next floor.

After that initial screw-up, things went surprisingly smoothly for a few floors, save for all the times I had to tell him to not eat all of his food immediately. However, as we were wandering the fifth floor, Makuhita spotted a room filled to the brim with gummis. “Hey, Asana,” he began, “It looks like we lucked out! I dunno what those little jellybean things are, but at least I won't be starving to death!”

I rose my hand. “Don't let your stomach guide you, fool. That room is a Monster House. It's a trap where an entire group of Pokemon ambush you at once. Not even you could survive a whole group tearing into you.”

He laughed at my warning. “C'mon, Assy. These so-called “ferals” have all been piss-weak. All I'll have to do is slap 'em around,” he boasted. The idiot walked right past me and into the room, and to my surprise, not one Pokemon dropped down on him. Makuhita turned back to me. “You're too paranoid. There's no one in here but me-”

A soft click echoed through the cave. My partner looked down to see that he had triggered a trap that had looked like a giant fan. It lifted his rotund frame off of the ground and launched it towards the wall, Makuhita being about as graceful in flight as a Pelipper. He impacted against the wall head-first and fell on his back, the part where his head collided with it being cracked from the impact.

To my surprise, he got up just fine. He picked one of the Gummis up, and without even pausing to wipe the dirt off, ate it. “This stuff's pretty good,” he muttered. “You should quit trying to starve yourself to death and try some of this.” My partner took a step forward to grab another Gummi, and I heard a second click – this time, he had stepped onto a trap emblazoned with a question mark.

All of the gummis in the room morphed into a wave of ferals, which promptly crashed into him like the tide. Stepping around the trap at the entrance, I made my way into the room, then rushed towards the back of the crowd. Using a Brick Break, I cut through a Poliwag in twain, it turning into smoke. I heard the sounds of Makuhita fighting the others off, but I wasn't looking, so I had no idea on his condition. I was too focused on getting to him in time.

With each Brick Break, I cut through more ferals. I was lucky they were too busy with my meatshield of a companion, as it allowed me to get through them swiftly, and make my way to Makuhita. A few other ferals lied around him, slowly turning to smoke as I got closer to him. He was heavily injured, gashes and bruises painting his body like a canvas, yet he was still standing; still smiling. He waved to me. “Looks like I screwed up, huh? We might not make it out in one piece if we continue,” he said. “I'm too banged up. It's over for me.”

I shook my head and shot him a glare. “No. There should be a few round, blue berries in your pack. Consume one.” He did as I instructed, and the injuries faded away entirely. He looked down at his flab, clearly shocked by the process.

“Holy crap. What sort of nutty medicine do you guys even have?” He asked. My irritation flipped to bewilderment for the second time in the day, my partner having said yet another thing that had made zero sense. Where did he even come from? He talked about statues carved from mountains, he spoke of strange Pokemon I never heard of, and he implied his homeland's medicines were so ineffective as to be effectively uesless!

I stared blankly at Makuhita for what felt like an eternity, my mind being pushed beyond the tipping point. It struggled to process every facet of the utter surrealness his existence represented. His demeanour, his vocabulary; everything about him popped out at me. After an indeterminate amount of time, I could feel someone tapping on my shoulder.

My mind returned to the physical realm, and I saw the source of my disruption. Makuhita had his hand on my shoulder, frowning at me. “Hey, you alright? I dunno what's gotten into you, but we need to get this job done,” he said. I nodded, my lingering feelings leaving me at a loss for words. We explored the rest of the floor without incident, and taking the staircase down...

The King of Kicks

...We entered a small cavern chamber. To the side, I saw a bed made of straw, and I could see numerous odds and ends adorning the walls. There were badges and random bits of clothing, such as glasses, scarves, bandanas, bags, and more affixed to them, and at the center of the cave, there was an unusual scene.

A Hitmontop was dancing on a rather large rug, whistling to himself all the while. He was completely absorbed in it, not even noticing us. “Those're some nice moves, bro,” Makuhita said, blowing what cover we had. “Where'd you learn 'em?”

Hitmontop stopped his routine and looked at us. Seeing the Power Band draped around his mouth, I knew he was our target. “Well, Tubbs, I made them up myself!” Hitmontop yelled out proudly. “Now... Why're you here, exactly? Are you and your little buddy just lost explorers, or are you more members of my fanclub here to witness my artistry in the flesh?”

I stepped forward. “Cease your vapid boasting,” I uttered coldly. “We are here to take you into custody. You can either come along peacefully, or we'll take you back to Sahra Town by force.” The outlaw snickered, swaggering towards me.

Looking down at me, he patted my head with one of his spherical hands. “Aww, aren't you a cute little kid? You and your big brother came to the den of a real criminal, just to play bounty hunter! This is just precious...” Makuhita charged at Hitmontop from the side, but with a single kick, he launched my partner away.

With his attention diverted from me, he rushed towards Makuhita, who had just regained his balance. “It's rude to interrupt a man when he's talking, little buddy,” he said. He kicked my partner again, but with his footing secure, he stood his ground. He attempted to Tackle Hitmontop in a counter-attack, but the outlaw simply side-stepped Makuhita's charging form.

Attacking from behind with a Rolling Kick, he caused my companion to stumble, then fall. “Jeez, you've got the slowest feet of any wannabe bounty hunter I've met!” He exclaimed. Makuhita got up as he always did, but it was immediately evident that this was a poor match-up. Hitmontop moved too quick for him to react to, and he always evaded his sluggish, brawling combat style. Before things could get too dangerous for him, I fired a bolt of Confusion at Hitmontop.

As it hit, he flipped upside-down due to the force, but instead of falling, he transitioned into a handstand, and turned himself back upright. Hitmontop looked at me. “Oh... You think you're tough with a type advantage, don't you? Well, guess what, girlie?”

Numerous after-images of our target flickered to life in front of my very eyes – Double Team. Of all the techniques he knew, he had to possess one as obnoxious as that! His eyes lit up in glee, seeing the sheer antipathy I had for him in this very moment. “You can't blast what you can't hit!” He gloated. “It's time to crank it up!”

Many of the after-images swarmed Makuhita, pummeling him with kicks from every possible direction. Thankfully, as a Sensor, I was able to sniff out the real Hitmontop easily, but even then, he was putting more speed into his movements. He was so fast that I couldn't keep locked onto him! My partner wasn't able to discern the true enemy, however, and the confrontation wasn't even what I would call a “fight” anymore. Half of the illusions were just of Hitmontop screwing around; dancing and posing, and even then, my partner was getting battered. This was the first time I ever saw him be completely outmatched, in the brief time that I knew him.

As my partner stumbled around in pain and confusion, Hitmontop stopped for a moment. He pointed straight at him. “Well, I think I showed off enough for your kid sister. It's time for my closing act!” Our foe said braggingly. Hitmontop made another headstand, and to my surprise, he started to spin around on the tip of his head's spike, his movements becoming a blur of brown and blue.

He moved towards Makuhita and pelted him with a high-speed kick, sending him to the wall. Thinking that was it, I began to move towards him, but instead, the outlaw spinned his way towards the wall and began Triple Kicking him faster than my eye could see, using the border of the cave to pin him down and render him helpless.

While my partner was in the process of getting his ass handed to him, I withdrew a Quick Seed from the bag I was carrying with me. It was a five-pointed thing with a yellow center, unassuming yet useful for the trial ahead. I ingested it, feeling the rush of energy entering my body instantly. Simultaneously, I began to concentrate Aura within my legs. It would make my usual avenue of attack weaker, but I needed every bit of speed and agility I could muster. If Hitmontop's legs could dismantle someone as sturdy as Makuhita, one hit would spell my end.

The moment I was done with my preparations, Hitmontop ceased his attack, flipping back to his normal posture. My partner crumpled to the floor, unable to move. My enemy took a single look at me and laughed, his body promptly splitting into numerous illusory copies of itself. I ignored the duplicates, instead focusing on my target, who was rapidly advancing towards me.

Using my doubly boosted reflexes, I stepped aside and attempted to kick him in the gut. Using his arms, Hitmontop blocked the shot and tried to counter with another strike from his feet, but using a wave of Psychic energy, I launched myself away from him. Landing on the ground, I fired a few bolts of Confusion at him, but using his exceptional speed, Hitmontop dodged them all. He used Double Team to travel quickly around me, launching false attacks towards my person, but I didn't even flinch.

It didn't matter how many copies he tried to use against me. My second sight kept track of his position. He tried to launch into a Rolling Kick, but I evaded it and grabbed him mid-air. He could've broken free from my grip easily, but his mind was paralyzed with confusion from the strange use of tactics. This state only lasted for a second, but it was plenty.

I slammed my knee into his body as hard as I possibly could. The impact of my Aura-imbued limb sent him upwards, impacting the ceiling, head spike first. He struggled to free himself, and in that time, I fired bolts of Confusion at him non-stop, his body writhing in pain. It served him right, for being such a pain to battle.

Finally freeing himself, Hitmontop dropped to the ground on his rear, his gaze looking deadly serious. “You're no fun, y'know that?” He hissed. “I don't know what you are, but fighting's no fun if I can't show off, and you can see through all my tricks!” My adversary rummaged through his bag. He withdrew what looked to be candy, alongside an orb. He threw the latter to the ground, and its effects were instantly evident.

I felt a sudden surge of weakness, disrupting my concentrated Aura and causing it to leak out all at once. In fact, I felt as though I were hardly in any condition to fight at all. Hitmontop got up unsteadily, and began to walk towards me. “How'd you like that Two-Edge Orb? Those things are pretty rare, y'know. I snagged it off some hotshot Psychic just like you, thinking he could best me just 'cause he had his brainpower. Well, I got some news for you, girlie...”

Hitmontop raised his Power Band and consumed the “candy” whole, to my confusion. His wounds immediately healed, and his posture returned to normal. It was no candy... It was an Energy Seed. “The legs beats the brain, always. Since you've been such a killjoy, I'm gonna do something different to you than the rest,” he said ominously. “I am going to rob you and your friend for every single item; every single Poke you have to your names. I hate acting like a common crook, but you need to be taught a lesson.”

With a single kick, I was sent to the ground. From his eyes, it must've looked like another victory. This illusion was quickly shattered, however. A pillar of light erupted around me, my body filled with renewed vigor. The sole Reviver Seed I had brought along imbued me with a second wind, and it was all I was going to get, too – due to the perpetually hungering abyss that served as Makuhita's stomach, I was only able to afford the one, alongside a few cheap berries, seeds, and food.

In a stroke of luck, Hitmontop was blinded by the light the seed emitted. I focused as much Aura as I could push into my right arm, the force of my transfer feeling nearly painful. Running up to him, I chopped at his chest with a single Brick Break. I could feel the energy within transforming into a different form as it hit him, all of it burning away as the force of the attack sent him to the ground. Hitmontop rose, having a deep, large gash in his torso.

He looked petrified with fear, his previous bravado having melted away entirely. “D-damn... You're really trying to kill me, aren't you?” He asked. Truthfully, I wasn't, but even if I told him that, I knew he wasn't going to believe me. He scrambled up, his usual grace and flamboyance gone, and flipped himself upside-down. He had decided to quit messing around – he wanted to end things, before the self-perceived threat did so first.

With the amount of Aura I burned through, he could do so easily. Hitmontop spinned, moving quickly towards me in a straight line. Thinking quickly, I hurled a Blast Seed at him, his body deaccelerating as it travelled towards my own and collided with it.

He was down, but his prone form was pinning me down. I lifted him off of me and got some rope from my bag, tying his arms and legs. I helped Hitmontop up, his eyes betraying his confusion. I took the Power Band off of his face and offered him an Oran Berry. “Open your mouth,” I commanded. “I am not going to have you bleed out on me.”

After a second of reluctance, he complied, the wound on his torso healing and leaving behind an imposing scar. “Y-you aren't gonna kill me?” He asked. “That's a relief.”

I sighed. “I never planned to. I loathe all of your kind in general, but you're comparatively benign compared to the likes of Cacturne, or that mustachoid sociopath in the North. I didn't even plan on hitting you as hard as I did; I didn't know my own strength.”

Hitmontop smiled sheepishly at me. “Well, you sure kicked my ass, miss...”

“Asana.”

Hitmontop nodded. “Got it. As I was sayin', you didn't let up for even a second. I'm still peeved you didn't let me showboat, but you're one clever little lady. You can keep the Band, too.”

I looked at the Power Band in my hand. “Why do you want me to keep this?” I asked.

Hitmontop grinned. “Well... Considering I took so many mementoes from all the folks who failed to beat me, it's only fair I give you one for winnin'! It isn't just for show, either. If that move of yours put the fear of Arceus in me, the Power Band is only gonna make it hurt worse.”

I stared at my newfound possession, and let my grip on Hitmontop go for a moment. I fashioned it around my neck instead of my mouth, not wishing to look like a hoodlum. I could feel the muscles within my body swell with renewed strength and vigor, bringing a smile to my face. Grabbing onto our bounty again, I made my way to Makuhita, my catch slowly shuffling his bound legs as we moved.

He was snoring loudly. After being kicked around and fighting about as well as a Magikarp, he decided to take a nap. I slammed my foot into his skull as hard as I could. “Get up, you useless mass of blubber,” I barked. There was no response.

“Hey, I got an orange gummi in my pack,” Hitmontop said. “Fatties like food, right? Sweet stuff? Maybe you can pop it in his mouth, and that'll get him goin'.” He had a point. I dug around in my outlaws supplies, retrieving said gummi. I opened Makuhita's mouth, and inserted it.

His body jolted up, shaking as though a Voltorb had decided to use him as a practice dummy. “Whoa, what happened?” He asked. His head pivoted around. Seeing that Hitmontop was secured, my partner lowered his guard. “Oh, you caught him! Good job.”

I bottled up my anger as I formulated a response to the utter ignorance he displayed. “You were useless. There was a Quick Seed in your pack that you should've used, and you were hitting nothing but the air!”

Makuhita shrugged. “I can't use stuff that I don't know the function of. You didn't explain a thing to me before we entered. Nothing about the weird stuff in these dungeons, or about what most of the stuff you packed me did, or anything. This is a “you” problem, not a “me” problem.”

I stopped and thought about it. I came to only one conclusion, and it was an intimidating one. I could face those stronger than me without fear, but the task ahead of me was far worse. I mustered up every ounce of courage I had, and inhaled deeply.

“You're right,” I admitted. “I should've done a better job explaining it all to you. To tell you the truth, that conversation we had back in town, about the so-called Rapidash incident and Jolteon distracted me . I forgot to discuss everything that would've been of use to you down here. I'm...”

I felt a chill as I uttered my next words. “I'm sorry, Makuhita. If you actually knew what you were doing, you could've helped me win this. If I hadn't packed a single Reviver Seed with me, we would've lost and become broke, without even the packs we have on us now.”

My partner shielded himself from the misfortune we had with his laughter – it seemed to render him invincible to even the worst of circumstances. “Well, Assy, I accept your apology. It just means you gotta prepare us better for next time! Oh, and your memory's acting up again...”

My part-... No, he was more than that now. My friend grinned at me. “It was a Mudsdale that did it; not a Rapidash. If I tried riding one of those, I'd just burn myself!”

The Way Home

Hitmontop revealed a secret tile, hidden in a hatch underneath his hay bed. Stepping on it, the three of us were warped out of the dungeon. Makuhita's face turned green when we arrived outside, my friend visibly resisting the urge to vomit. We waited a few moments for him to regain his bearings, and then we set off towards Sahra Town.

As we walked, my mind drifted to the various eccentricities he displayed. They answered no questions, and were questions in of themselves. I was further away from figuring out who he was, behind the smiles and laughter, but I knew one thing for certain.

He wasn't a bad Pokemon. He could've just ditched everyone back in the caravan and saved his own hide, yet he saved my life. I messed up so badly that it almost costed us everything. There was a very real chance he could've gone hungry, yet he forgave me and brushed it off. I couldn't understand it. If someone else were to have jeopardized my livelyhood and well-being in a similar manner, I would have abandoned them without hesitation.

About halfway home, Makuhita broke the silence. “So, Hitmontop... Why'd you start robbing dudes?” He asked. “I know the wanted poster said something about you not taking much.”

Hitmontop raised his head. “I only attacked exploration teams and bounty hunters like you guys. The rush I got from fightin' people who actually knew what they were doing was unreal... It's addictive, y'know? Rushin' into danger, showin' people what you're made of – it's the sorta life I loved, although your buddy made me reconsider it.”

He paused for a few moments. “I thought she was actually gonna kill me, which got me to ponderin'. If I really did die there, what would that be worth? What would I leave behind, man? Well, I'll tell you,” he began to meander on. “There'd be nothing but a cave filled with junk that'd be meaningless to anyone else, and a few ghost stories passed around by the professionals about how they got humbled in their rookie years. This whole outlaw schtick is completely hollow. Even the so-called “legends” are gonna croak one day, and when they're gone, they're gonna leave nothin' but bones behind.”

Makuhita looked deep in thought as he listened to him. He seemed contemplative, almost. “Well... If you like the adrenaline rush of fighting so much, maybe you should switch sides and hunt outlaws, instead of being one,” my friend began. “There's still a lot of danger to it, but you'd make the world a bit of a better place with each dude you bring in. Even if you did die, you'd still have left that little mark on the world, and speaking of influence,” he continued. “Being a big shot isn't all it's cracked up to be. Sometimes, having too many eyes on you can be bad; it can cause you problems and stress. I was never famous myself, back where I came from, but I always found it better to have a close circle of friends, rather than a ton of admirers fawning over me.”

For the third time in the same day, Makuhita's behavior caught me completely and utterly off-guard, but in a completely different way than before. The fat dope I grew to love had vanished, and in his place, was someone far wiser than he. I continued to listen in on their conversation. “People that genuinely have your back are more than all the money in the world. Asana can be a jerk – you literally can't pronouce her name without “ass”; but she's still good and reliable, deep down. I know that if I'm in trouble, she'll be there to help me. You won't get that with followers or fans, Hitmontop. There's more you can do to leave an imprint on the world than combat, too.”

He continued to elaborate. “Help out your community. Lend a hand to other people; make them grow and flourish. If you plant enough seeds, you'll grow a garden. Honestly, I'm in the bounty business more so because it pays well, it helps my buddy with her dream, and once in a while, I get to find someone like you: A person who had bad circumstances, drifted off of the path of law and order, or was misguided. Maybe if I say the right things to those types, I can nudge 'em in the right direction.”

Hitmontop was silent. Judging from the way he looked, I could tell he was taking what Makuhita said seriously. After a couple more minutes of walking, he spoke. “That's what I needed to hear, man,” he said. “I dunno what I'll be up to once I do my time, but I won't be wasting it like I did. You two really opened my eyes.”

It felt wrong, being credited the way I was. I didn't have my partner's wisdom. In fact, I made him fear for his life! “Don't credit me,” I said tersely. “It was Makuhita who helped you All I did was scare you.”

Hitmontop chuckled at me. “Well, girlie, sometimes you just need a reality check, and that's exactly what you dealt me! I wouldn't be listening to the big guy get all philosphical, if you hadn't slipped it to me. Heck, I would've been more mad than a Primeape!” I shrugged, unsure of how to respond. Technically, his logic was sound, yet that rotten feeling in my core still persisted.

Was I truly the upstanding Pokemon I thought I was? Makuhita saw the good in our target, when I seen none. I had terrified Hitmontop in our fight, and on top of that, I treated my friend terribly for a mistake I made. These thoughts loomed over me like a shadow as we finally returned to Sahra, and turned our target in.

I wanted to express the thoughts I had, but I was too afraid of doing so. It wasn't because I thought my friend would hate me or be dismissive, but due to my own sense of pride. I was born with a connection to Aura, and growing up, I saw myself as superior to my peers due to it. I excelled at everything I did, thinking I didn't need anyone else. I thought I was going to be the greatest out of all of them. Even when I was forcibly dragged from the clouds I stuck my head in and was slammed into the earth, I still held onto that feeling.

That pride was all I had left, as my circumstances forced me to take caravan work. My bitterness twisted it; mutating it into arrogance the longer I was stuck there. It ended up with it taking my eye as its tribute. Much like my partner's smile and laughter were for him, it was my shield, although it did a far poorer job at protecting my psyche. With me always hiding behind it, I never knew what it was like to have a genuine friend. Makuhita gave me a taste of it, and it made want to do nothing more than hurl the bulwark I had crafted for myself into the sun.

Yet, without that protection, I was fragile and defensless against the outside world. I thought back to the time Makuhita saved my life - there was nothing I was afraid of more than feeling vulnerable. I couldn't remember a time I didn't live behind the walls of my fortress of hubris. I now dreamed of the light and its warmth, yet I was too scared to seek it out for myself. I turned in my hay bed in our hotel room, these conflicting thoughts keeping me up well into the night. I was at a complete loss as to what to do with myself.