The Great Bulk, Part 4: Birds of a Feather
Coming Home to Roost
I went to check on Makuhita after my daily yoga, and found that he was finally stirring awake. I lightly kicked him in the gut. “Get up. It's time for your meditation,” I commanded of him. He slowly got up off of his hay bed, stretching his arms and letting out a yawn. He gazed drowsily at me, clearly unhappy.
“Assy, can't I have breakfast first?” He asked.
“No,” I replied. “If you didn't lose that Stamina Band you were given on the way back to Sahra, you wouldn't be starving. You are absolutely incorrigable.”
I dragged Makuhita out to our usual spot, and what followed was a test of mental fortitude unlike any other. We were supposed to be meditating, yet my partner couldn't keep his mind clear for five minutes! Something always distracted him, whether it was his own hunger, his attempts at observations or idle chatter, alongside any other diversions one could think up. The one time he was able to feel Aura in Redkiln was, for the moment, nothing but a single stroke of luck. It didn't take a genius to estimate that it would be a long time, if at all, until he could do so with any level of consistency.
We spent the entire morning there. The exercise was supposed to go on for hours, but his incessant buffoonery made it feel like days. Once we were done, we looked at the local outlaw board, and I picked up on an interesting bounty almost instantly.
Foi (Farfetch'd):
Bounty: 4,000 6,000 Poke, plus 1,000 for each accomplice brought in
Rank: A S
Wanted For: Extortion, Theft, Assault, Caravan Robbery
Sex: Male
Distinctive Features: Plumage is darker than normal. The leek he wields is longer than his own body, and he wears a necklace of smaller stalks taken from his rivals.
This Pokemon is the leader of a gang of Flying-types, known colloquially as “The Flock”. According to eyewitness accounts, Farfetch'd has four accomplices in total. Their usual M.O is to force caravans on southern routes to pay a toll for “protection”. Those that pay are protected from any lesser robbers, but those that don't are promptly assaulted and frisked for all their valuables.
While most of his kind have a reputation for being below-average in battle, this Farfetch'd is anything but, which has netted him an increase to S Rank. Bounty hunters which were able to get past his goons report that he uses his enlarged leek as a bludgeon, sending all but the heaviest and hardiest Pokemon flying with a single swing.
Reading the poster, I could pick up on a few bits of subtext. Whoever this Foi character's companions were, they were likely not extremely strong – instead of having posters of their own, their capture was a mere 1,000 extra each. He most likely relied on brute strength, and if I were to guess, his swings would be rather slow. The last line also seemed to imply that he sends out his men first, and only fights if they're pressed enough. This bounty was a gamble, doubly so due to the avian foes we'd have to defeat, but it would pay off well, if we played our cards right. It would equal 10,000 Poke in total, or in other words, it'd be the largest payout Makuhita and I have ever seen.
Taking it, I showed Makuhita the bounty. He thought to himself for a few moments. “You sure about this, Asana?” He asked. “I know I told you to start taking risks, but this guy's a cut above the others we've been turning in. He's got a squad, and they're all Fl-”
I cut him off. “I have a perfectly good rationale behind choosing this one. Beside, since they're targetting caravans in specific, we can ask about who's been hit, hop along on a caravan on a route that they target, and wait for them to show up. We can work with the guards, and that will offset the numbers advantage.”
“Won't the guards wanna get a cut of the bounty for their help?” My partner asked.
I shrugged. “I guess, if they're desperate enough for extra pay,” I replied. “However, I think I can negotiate the two of us riding along without a cut. We have our own supplies, and I have enough of a rapport with these people that they'll know I'm reliable. That, and any proper group would want someone with my skillset.”
“Your skillset? Oh, you mean your Aura stuff,” he realized. “It sounds like you have everything planned out. With some items, we'll be set, but you got to remember that the unexpected can and will happen, like with the jobber and his pocket gremlin.”
I let out a prolonged groan, frustrated twofold by both the reminder of my most humiliating hour, and his usage of foreign vocabulary. Yet, even if he was getting on my nerves again, he was right. “All we need to do now is investigate where they've been hitting,” I told him.
After restocking our bags with various utilities, we began asking around town about the Flock and their activities. Their most recent target was, coincidentally enough, the route between Sahra and Oasis, my home town. Luckily for us, I knew of a caravan I worked on before, that would gladly take us. However, there was a singular downside – a certain yellow annoyance was an employee there, and it wasn't Makuhita.
Frequent Flyer
“Why're you two back here, after all you did?” Jolteon yapped at us. She pointed her paw at me. “You acted like a complete jerk to me, and that's not even getting started with your buddy tricking me!”
I collected myself, the air remaining tense for a few short moments. I then began to force out a half-formed semblance of an apology. “I was too harsh with you, and I'm sorry for it, but the meaning behind my words was still valid. If you didn't run off the moment that crook offered resistance, you could backed up the other guards and defeated him. In fact, that Kleavor could have lived, if you didn't lose your nerve.”
The aggression in the air flickered away, Jolteon's eyes widening. She was clearly taken off-guard by my approach, her ears lowering down. “P-please don't remind me of that,” she responded. “Houndoom didn't want to get out of bed for days after that night, Asana. I callously acted like nothing bad even happened, until Mawile checked up on him and gave me an earful.” Her eyes averted my presence, uncertainty evident in her body language. “I guess that means we were both being jerks. I still don't know if I wanna ride with you two, though. You both left a pretty bad taste in my mouth.”
I nodded. “I figured that. Now, Makuhita,” I addressed my partner. “What's your explanation for your transgressions?”
My rotund companion looked at Jolteon confusedly. “I don't know what you're expecting me to say. You didn't call it a date, so I didn't expect it to be one.”
“I knew he was going to say that,” I reassured her. “My partner is what I'd call “selectively dense”. He can be the biggest idiot the world has ever seen one minute, and the smartest Pokemon in the room the next. You took a flip of the coin, and it landed on the wrong side. As for why we're here – has Houndoom been troubled by a particular flock of birds, recently?”
Jolteon froze, attempting to comprehend what I was implying. Then, a spark of recognition went off in her head. “Yeah! That Farfetch'd has been squeezing a lot of Poke out of us ever since the last time you and I met. We tried fighting his gang once, too. We made quick work of his buddies, but he was a whole other story. Rhydon's Rock Blast didn't really phase him, and when I hit him with my lightning, he hardly even broke stride and hammered us both into the sand! He's real abnormal for a bird, Asana... I'm guessing you and Makky are going after him?”
I gave her a thumbs up. “Precisely. It sounds like you've been backing up your fellow sentries, too, which is good. We've already arranged things with your captain, so we'll be keeping you and Mawile company. If the two of you want to help us, you certainly can. We can even split the bounty, if you wish – there's a bonus of one thousand per accomplice taken in. If you and her can capture them all, that's an easy four grand to your names.”
Jolteon shook her head. “Nah. You can keep it all. I wanna prove to Mawile, and Captain Houndoom, and everyone else that I'm not a wuss anymore!” She slammed her paw down on the sand below, a bit of static electricity flickering around her leg in her excitement. “I'm gonna help you and Makky fry those birds!”
I heard a snickering to my left. Focusing on it, I saw Mawile waving at the three of us, wearing a grin that was almost too wide for her face – she was eavesdropping on us the whole time. “It looks like you're finally growing up, Jolty,” she mused. “I know at least two of you are competent enough to take them on, and that's enough.”
“Who's the incompe-... Who's the dumb one, Mawile?” Jolteon asked.
“It should be obvious,” Mawile retorted. “You're not the dumb one, and neither is that Meditite you're talking to.”
“Is it you?” Makuhita questioned.
The three of us collectively groaned, mutually understanding the woes of having to lug along a steel-skulled piece of ballast for our entire trip.
To the Birds
The four of us rode near the caravan's front, Makuhita and Jolteon conversing incessantly. There was a fifth, Rhydon, but they remained silent, looking impatient with the two chatterboxes.
As soon as a lull in the conversation approached, Mawile spoke up. “You're Asana, right?” She asked. I nodded, in order to affirm my identity. “What made you want to work together with someone as intelligent as that Makky character?” I could feel the sarcasm dripping from her voice, but my partner merely grinned at her description of him, seemingly oblivious to her true opinion on him.
“It's complicated,” I said truthfully. “It's impossible for me to tell how much of his stupidity is faked, and how much is genuine, to start off. I found him near-dead from dehydration on a return trip from the North, and I've been saddled with him ever since. He eats enough to make a Munchlax sweat in fear, has two left feet, and snores loud enough to wake the dead, but he genuinely cares about my well-being, and is a reliable partner and friend. He also pushes me to become something better, both as a martial artist, and as a Pokemon. Before I met him, I wouldn't have even considered apologizing to Jolteon for my behavior towards her.”
The mouth on the back of Mawile's head looked as if it were smiling, even though her expression seemed unchanging. “I suppose even idiots have some value to the world around them. As for Jolty, she half-deserved that lashing, and I was far more harsh in my words than you. She only became a guard because she wanted to be like me – I was always the one to protect her when we were growing up. It was hard telling her to shape up or leave, but she had to hear it.”
“How is she doing now?” I asked.
“Well, she isn't making a charge towards the caravan's rear with her tail between her legs like she used to,” Mawile mused. “You should've seen her the time we all tried to fight Foi – she makes it sound like she sucked, but she lasted the second-longest out of anyone, besides the Captain. Her feet are some of the quickest I've seen, and she's learning fast. I had to light a fire under her ass, sure, but sometimes that's what you gotta do.” Hearing her friend's comments, Jolteon fidgets in place, perhaps unused to being described so glowingly.
I laughed at the turn of phrase she used, it reminding me of my own friendship with Makuhita. “I've been in that scenario more times than you can count. Our journey started because of that, too – I pressed Makuhita to get a job so he wouldn't eat me out of house and home. He tagged along on that run with that Hawlucha to get some easy money, and he pushed me into the bounty hunting business after we seen what kind of money it brought in. It was also to be a vehicle to push my martial mastery, but as my world has expanded, that's felt less and less important. I lack a true goal now, but that's okay. Sometimes, it's best to take things one day-”
I was cut off by the caravan stopping in its tracks, Mawile raising a hand to silence me. “We're here,” she told me. “We're going to fight any minute now. Get out of the cart.” We flooded out, us and Rhydon standing behind Houndoom. He leered at five individuals as they approached, and when they came close, I was able to determine their identities.
In the front were a Tailow and Staravia. Their trimmed feathers and poise made them look far more dignified than any bandit had the right to be; their sharp eyes scanning the crowd for trouble. Behind them were three more Pokemon – one was a Doduo whose two heads were constantly pecking and squawking at each other, and their Pidgeotto companion was making a futile attempt at restraining his laughter. I could only sense the fifth's Aura, the bodies of the other four birds blocking it from my view.
“Knuck, Sand, I've told you a hundred times, no fighting on the job!” a voice barked from the middle. “Staravia, Swellow, move to the side. General Jackass better have a good reason for pulling out his retinue on us.”
The two birds at the front obliged, and what I saw was most bizarre. What I saw was undoubtedly a Farfetch'd, but as his poster and Jolteon implied, he was very abnormal. With his dark brown plumage, more muscular frame, and a leek that was longer than he was, Foi was surprisingly imposing. He leered at Houndoom, his gang gathering at his sides. “Tell me what the deal is,” the Farfetch'd ordered. “Did you decide to nut up again, just because you got a couple extra guards?”
Houndoom stared back at him, the sounds of the Doduo fighting amongst itself sucking away any tension the scene might have had. “We're done, Foi. I'm tired of you, your attitude, and you milking the caravan that I am supposed to be protecting like a Miltank,” he said in a gruff voice. “Do you have any idea how much of a laughingstock I am now, between you and that stupid Hawlucha? No one wants to work with me anymore!”
Foi cackled at us all, clearly amused by the Captain's anger. “That sounds like a you problem, not a me problem,” he replied. “Now, boys and girls, I think it's about time we give this mutt and his crew an attitude adjustment. Lemme at him after we're done, too – there's a little lesson I wanna teach him.”
Staravia raised a wing, interrupting their boss in his tracks. “Hey, Boss. I hate to burst your bubble, but that Jolteon that thrashed us is in the crowd. What should we do?”
Foi's expression became far harsher – if a mere look could kill, his wingman would've died on the spot. “I'll handle her and the Rhydon myself. You will handle the Mawile; Swellow will fight Houndoom. Pidgeotto, Knuckle, and Sandwich can sweep up the string bean and the lardass, since they don't look like much. If I were to hazard a guess, they're a couple of bums they picked off the street.”
“Hold the phone!” Makuhita yelled suddenly. He pointed towards the Doduo, its heads still trying to murder each other. “Are those two bird-brains seriously named that?” He asked.
Pidgeotto stifled another laugh. “We came up with it after the Boss threatened to give them a knuckle sandwich if they kept hurting each other. He went through with the threat, too.”
“Enough with the history lessons!” Foi commanded. “Show these dregs what happens when you screw with us!”
Ruffled Feathers
The Doduo that had been locked in combat with itself looked at me with both of its heads, sizing me up. They charged at me at a great speed, their larger body slamming into mine and sending me flying. They kept up with my form as it skidded across the desert sands, and when I landed, one of the heads went for a Peck, which I rolled out of the way of.
Getting back on my own two feet, my avian opponent began to stretch their legs, a faint aura appearing around them. I channeled some Aura into my legs in an attempt to keep up with Doduo, but to my surprise, it charged at me even faster than before, one head launching into a Peck. I dodged it, but to my surprise, the second head stabbed into my arm with its beak!
I fired a few bolts of Confusion at my opponent to at least make them flinch. The first sent them stumbling back a couple of feet, but they quickly regained their stride, evading everything I threw. I stopped firing, gritting my teeth in frustration. Doduo stopped in place and flexed their legs, repeating what they did prior to their Pecking assault.
I picked up on two things at this point, one good and the other bearing ill portents for this battle. The good news, was that their leg stretches were an obvious tell for when they were about to go on the offensive.
The bad news was that what looked like a mere warming up of their muscles, was in fact, Agility, judging by how they were picking up speed. I had to come up with a plan, and fast. I looked into my bag, and finding a Blast Seed, I stuffed into my mouth, although I didn't dare to chew it yet. As I expected, my target ran straight towards me, and one of the heads went in for a Peck. In the split second I had before its beak hit me, I bit down on my Seed, a torrent of fire bellowing from my maw! The head I hit squawked in agony, its flame-coated head flailing about recklessly.
As the other head began to yell inarticulate gibberish at its unfortunate brother, I fired off more bolts of Confusion at the Doduo's body, the chaos I caused allowing each and every shot to strike true. The bird fell flat on its rear from the damage I dealt, the flames finally subsiding. I had won, and barely – if it weren't for my preparedness, I would've met a swift end.
I turned around and surveyed the battlefield. Rhydon was already out, and I could tell from Jolteon's Aura that she was running out of stamina. Houndoom was harassing Swellow with his fiery breath, and Staravia was trying her hardest not to get snapped up in Mawile's fangs, but what surprised me most of all was Makuhita.
As Pidgeotto attempted to divebomb him, my partner stepped to the side and hit his wing with an open palm, a shockwave of energy emitting from it. The wing seized up, unable to move, and Pidgeotto fell flat on his face, allowing Makuhita to rain down Arm Thrusts upon him. It was a strange technique, but it was certainly effective. I began to walk towards Jolteon and Foi, but after not even ten paces, I heard a shrill cawing from behind me.
My Sensing picked up on Doduo moving towards me, but I was too slow to turn around, the bird stabbing me in my back with its beak! I fell to the ground, and rolled onto my back in an attempt to fend them off, only for their talons to rake my face repeatedly. There, I could see what had happened – the burnt head laid low and unconscious, while the other shot me a glare filled with anger and hate. I had been treating them as one opponent this whole time instead of two, and now, I was going to suffer for it.
I fired another shot of Confusion into the conscious head, and to my luck, the Doduo began to stumble around, clearly debilitated by it. Getting up, I ate an Oran, recovering from most of my injuries, and I charged my arms with Aura, now that I could get close and use melee safely. After the few seconds I needed to empower them, I ran up to my opponent, all four of my limbs operating at their maximum potential.
I swung at Doduo, but they stumbled out of my way. I tried to hit them, again and again, but in their befuddled state, they kept dancing around my attacks! I looked through my bag in order to find a counter to this issue, and found myself gripping an Orb that looked as though it had a miniature vortex within – a Foe-Seal Orb.
I activated it, my enemy freezing up as though they were a statue. From there, it was a simple matter of approaching them and pummeling the living daylights out of them. After the deed was done, I struck the unburnt head a final time to make sure they stayed down, and returned my attention towards the others.
Firebird
The first thing I saw was Foi sitting by Jolteon's bruised, disabled body, watching his men fight. Makuhita was helping Mawile now, with Staravia clearly on the defensive. However, Houndoom was being swarmed by Swellow, who was engulfed in flame. He didn't seem phased by it at all – in fact, he looked invigorated. Steeling my focus, I floated up into the air and flew towards the battle.
I landed next to Houndoom and took up a stance, the canid nodding in silent acknowledgement of my presence. The counterfeit Moltres before us sneered, the combination of his uncaring attitude and the flames licking his body chilling me to my core. “It doesn't matter how many lackies you pile upon me,” Swellow boasted. “More wounds merely means more fuel for the fire that burns inside me!”
Swellow flew up into the sky and loomed over us, then dove at Houndoom with an Aerial Ace in the span of an eyeblink. He flinched in pain, yet another cut being added to the canvas that was his body. As our opponent ascended back into the air, the Captain looked at me.
“I shouldn't have used my flames,” he told me. “The pain only makes that bastard stronger. If I just used my fangs, this could've already ended. Go help the others, you're gonna be screwed even harder than me if you stay here.”
I shook my head. “He's powerful, but no one is unbeatable. The fact that he's on fire cuts me off from attacking him physically, and he can dodge my Confusion easily. Do you have any ideas?”
“We're shit out of luck,” Houndoom said without an ounce of reassurance in his voice. “That is, unless you can pull something out of your ass. Really, the only thing you have going for you, is that he doesn't see you as a threat.”
Swellow had finished his ascent, and it was then that an idea came to me. Theoretically, there was a small opening after he completed another dive, in the few seconds after he hit Houndoom. I could hit him with a Psychic attack then, but the technique I possessed was too weak. I would have to put more power into it, if my plan were to work.
I watched silently as Swellow swooped down and hit Houndoom yet again. As I suspected, he had to recover, and it was then, that I struck. I molded what power I had stored in my right arm, feeling it shift, and I fired off a continuous lance of Psychic energy – by pouring more into my attack, its properties had changed. My first Psybeam struck my enemy in his side, eliciting a cry of pain from him. My tactics were a success!
Swellow tumbled to the ground, unable to move his wing. Both him and Houndoom laid on the ground, but only the former got up, a glint of manic glee in his eyes. “Hah! You aren't useless after all, but as I said before, none of that matters!” The still-smoldering bird walked towards me, extending his one functioning wing. “My passion will swallow you too, little girl.”
This was bad. I usually reserved empowering my moves with Aura for when I had to defeat my enemies in one stroke, as it burned through so much, but that masochist was still standing! I could feel fatigue seeping into my bones as Aura flared up in his wing. It was a tell all organic Pokemon seemed to posess; cluing me in on his next move. Even with this foreknowledge, I only evaded his Wing Attack by the skin of my teeth. My breath was ragged, and fighting the urge to drop to the ground, I looked through my bag for something to bail me out of this situation.
I retrieved and threw a Sleep Seed at Swellow, but the bird blew it away with a gust of wind from his wing. With a second Wing Attack, he smacked me to the ground and loomed over me, his immolated form giving him the countenance of a god of war. “It's useless!” He shouted at the top of his lungs. “You're all naught but feeble Magikarp before a mighty stream, ready to be washed away!”
Knowing I was done for regardless, I kicked him as hard as I could, uncaring of the risk the embers engulfing him presented. The force of the attack caused Swellow to fly into the air, and as he did, I fired as many bolts of Confusion as I could into him, his disabled wing robbing him of the ability to dodge. He landed right next to me, the fire that was consuming him finally dying. He didn't get up this time.
“You left yourself open, you moron,” I admonished, right before I fell unconscious.
A Bird's Eye View – Mawile's Perspective
After Makky paralyzed Staravia's wing, it was effortlessly easy to get her into my jaws. They gnawed on her and spat her out, the bird too roughed up to offer any more of a fight. I looked at Asana's lard-ass of a companion, wiping some sweat off of my face. “I can see why Jolty liked you,” I told him. “You've got a lot of guts. That Pidgeotto should've mopped the floor with you, yet you stand.”
“Do you mean that literally or figuratively?” He asked.
“Whether I'm complimenting or insulting you is up to your own personal interpretation,” I responded. Just as Makky was about to offer what was sure to be a witty retort, I heard footsteps. I turned around, and came face to face with Foi. His plumage was burnt – I smiled with my true face, knowing Jolty gave him trouble again.
“It looks like you're the only two left,” the Farfetch'd said dismissively. “My boys got a lot tougher since last time; they did great work. Now, two-face, you do know what I'm gonna do with Houndoom, right?”
“Whatever it is, it isn't my problem,” I fired back. “Your threats are about as scary as a Magikarp. You're just another overgrown bully; you're all the same.”
“That's rich of you to say, considering I beat you senseless last time,” Foi fired back. “I think I'll send you back toothless, on top of the horn I'm gonna take from your boss.”
The Farfetch'd clasped his necklace, closing his eyes. “I call upon the strength of my conquered rivals to aid me,” he began to murmur. “May you grant me the power to defeat my foes, and allow my flock and I to fight another day.” The tone he used was strangely reverent; a complete departure from the verbal lashings and threats I've grown used to from him.
As he finished his ritual, Foi wielded his leek with both of his wings, and swung straight towards Makky. He didn't go flying due to his weight, but he still stumbled back a few feet, scarcely having time to regain his footing until he was sent to the ground with a second blow. He looked towards me, his face hard to read. “Mawile, keep him occupied!” He yelled. “I think I got an idea!”
I nodded and lept towards Foi, snapping my jaws at him. I missed his wing by a fraction of an inch, to which he tried to bash me with his weapon in response. I recalled how hard his weapon hit me the first time we tried fighting back, and wishing to avoid being his punching bag again, I evaded it. As he drawed his bludgeon back, Makky slammed an open palm into his dominant wing, an odd wave of energy emitting from it. I recognized it as the same technique that grounded Staravia - a Force Palm.
“Mawile, grab his leek and disarm him!” He yelled.
My rear mouth chomped down upon Foi's leek, and I pulled as hard as I can. It took a bit of struggling, but I wrestled it away. Makky shoved our foe to the ground and ran over to me. I spat the leek out into his hands, and then, he chucked it as far away from the three of us as possible, it soaring like a Decidueye's quills.
Foi got up, hatred and anger burning in his eyes. “How dare you sink your fangs into my prized stalk! That's it, no more playing around!” The Farfetch'd ripped a leek off of his necklace and dashed towards me in a burst of speed, his usual weapon no longer weighing him down.
He cut at me from multiple different angles with little regard for his own safety, the ferocity of his attacks overwhelming me in seconds. I dropped onto my rear, Foi laughing at my misfortune. “How'd you like that Close Combat, you arrogant little fool?” He taunted.
“What kind of Flying-type has Fighting moves?” I asked, half-dazed.
“Hah! That's implying I even possess that type, like my inferior bretheren!” He continued to boast. As he laughed at this turn of events, Makky snuck up on him from behind. It dawned on me then, that this scatterbrained weirdo was our only hope – I mentally braced myself for whatever pain Foi's dentistry work entailed.
Foi turned around and started cutting into him like before, but unlike me, Makky was actually able to take it; weathering a move that should've spelled his doom. In the midst of the Farfetch'd's frenzied attacks, he Tackled him, disorienting him, followed by a two-handed series of Arm Thrusts.
Foi looked bruised, yet not beaten. Able to move his dominant wing again, he took another leek from his necklace and wielded it, his dual weapons then glowing in a greenish hue. He began to cut into Makky with repeated Leaf Blades, keeping his guard up all the while in order to anticipate any counters the latter would come up with. The Farfetch'd almost looked like a Rillaboom beating its drum, which elicited a chuckle from myself.
In spite of the cuts on him that were piling up by the second, Makky was still standing. What in Arceus' name was he, to go through two Pokemon with a type advantage and still have enough energy to fight someone as stubborn as Foi? As the Farfetch'd went to swing again, that yellow freak of nature not only grappled him, but suplexed him! The second after it was finished and Makky was on top, he began to assault the outlaw with more Arm Thrusts.
I was wrong to count him out so soon. There was some brainpower beneath his flab - his reckless fighting style leaned into his durability, which was his strongest trait, and his choice of using Force Palm wasn't a lucky fluke, either. It was perfect for disabling Pokemon he was too out of shape to keep up with.
With one last surge of strength, Foi slipped free from under Makky's bulk, ran back, then lept towards him leeks-first in an attempt at a Brave Bird. He soared through the air and impacted his opponent's bulk, the both of them falling to the ground, spent.
Feeling the pain in my body beginning to recede, I got up and went to fetch some rope from a cart. I had fingers, so I naturally put them to use tying up the bastard quintet.
3 Days Later...
Epilogue - What's in a Name?
After recovering enough to walk after our battle with the Flock, Mawile filled me in as to what had happened. It was unreal, hearing about my partner fighting three birds back to back, but what I saw wasn't a lie – by the time I had woken up, Foi was tied up, his retinue trailing right behind him. Houndoom forced Rhydon to accompany us back to Sahra due to his poor performance, but he was mostly silent.
When we turned in all 5 gang members at once, Magneton's eyes almost popped out of his heads – he had a hard time wrapping his mind around what was before him. He handed us the ten grand that was our reward, and the two of us promptly split it in half. After replenishing supplies that were used during the previous battle, Makuhita spent much of his Poke on food. I stockpiled my share, not knowing what else to do with it, and here we were now, three days later.
Makuhita was attempting meditation again, still unable to filter out all the noise his mind produced. He turned to me and nudged me. “What is it this time?” I asked. “I told you not to interrupt our exercises, unless it is important.”
“It is, though!” He protested. “I finally came up with a name for our team.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine,” I groaned. “Make it quick.”
“I was thinking “Team Yin-Yang”. It's a concept from my home w-” Makuhita paused, correcting what could've been a slip-up. “It's a concept from my home country. It's kinda like... Opposites that compliment each other; the natural duality of the world. I'm fat, loud, and brash, while you're more reserved and clever. Even if we get on each other's nerves sometimes because of our differences, we bring out the best in each other.”
I paused, taken off-guard by what Makuhita said. “That's a surprisingly deep observation, coming from you,” I replied. “I'm assuming by what you said, that you are from the Mist Continent?”
Makuhita froze up. I could practically see the gears turning in his head. “Yeah. I'm from the Mist Continent,” he told me. “It's all... misty and stuff. Mhm.”
I suspected that he wasn't being truthful, but without a solid angle with which to attack him, I couldn't make him crack. I knew little of the Mist Continent myself, so his inner machinations will remain unknown to me for the foreseeable future.