The Great Bulk Part 9: Exodus

Grim News

We arrived back in Sahra after the job with Fee, Makuhita's feat still fresh in my mind. In months, he managed to do what took me years to do – Aura Expression. It was even more baffling, considering that in Sensing terms, he was as blind as a Zubat! I wracked my brain, thinking of an explanation, but the only one that even remotely made sense was the differences in our personalities and Auras. He was far more spontaneous and emotionally driven of a Pokemon than I was; unable to sit still for a moment. I began to look around the town and talk with people, and something bizarre was evident.

The local rumor mill said that Empoleon of Team Masquerade was looking for us, as was Deputy Magneton. Notably, the former was said to be alone. It was an unusual detail that elicited concern. Makuhita and I ran on over to the Deputy's office, and saw that he was outside of the building. "GET INSIDE," he told us. "THERE IS SOME VERY GRAVE NEWS."

We did as we were told, and inside the building was Empoleon. The confidence and poise he had were gone, replaced by a subtle anxiety. "It's a good thing you two are here," he said. "Roserade has been kidnapped, and you two are the only ones who can get him back alive."

"What the heck are you talking about?" Makuhita asked. "There's plenty of qualified folk who can pull off rescue missions. I know you trust us more, but we just got back from a job ourselves."

"YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND," Magneton informed us. "THE KIDNAPPER ASKED FOR THE PRESENCE OF YOU TWO SPECIFICALLY, AND THE DEED WAS DONE IN ORDER TO DRAW YOU OUT. THE CULRPIT IS CACTURNE'S FORMER PARTNER, LOMBRE."

I froze in fear, although I would never admit it to anyone willingly. I remembered the promise he made, but I had no idea he'd go to such lengths just to lure us into a compromising position! While I was as still as a statue, Makuhita looked Magneton in one of his eyes. I could feel the anxiety in his Aura, but his mask of fearlessness was much better crafted than mine. "How did he even know to target Roserade?" He questioned. "What are his demands?"

"LOMBRE STOLE DOCUMENTS FROM THE SHERIFF AND I, SOME TIME BACK," Magneton replied. "I DIDN'T REALIZE WHAT HE WAS AFTER AT FIRST, BUT WE PIECED IT TOGETHER A FEW DAYS BEFORE HE ABDUCTED ROSERADE. WE KEEP DOCUMENTATION ON THE BOUNTY HUNTING TEAMS THAT WORK WITH US, ALONGSIDE REPORTS OF CRIMES AND CAPTURES. HE STOLE FILES PERTAINING TO THE LATTER ONLY AS FAR BACK AS YOUR FIRST MISSIONS. I THOUGHT HE DIDN'T STEAL ANY OF THE DOCUMENTATION PERTAINING TO BOUNTY HUNTERS AT FIRST, BUT THE SHERIFF POINTED OUT THAT ONLY YOUR FILES WERE MISSING. HE WAS GATHERING INFORMATION TO USE AGAINST YOU, AND THAT IS WHERE HE LEARNED OF YOUR FRIENDSHIP WITH TEAM MASQUERADE. IF YOU WERE IN TOWN AT THE TIME, I WOULD HAVE WARNED YOU BOTH, MAKUHITA."

"Roserade did speak of you two glowingly. Lombre was sneaky when it came to his demands as well," Empoleon chimed in. "He is awaiting upon the top of Rocky Perch, which is a mountainous Mystery Dungeon a bit north of Sahra. He said that if you bring anyone with the two of you, he will not hesitate to take Roserade's life."

Rocky Perch? Lombre was even more meticulous than I thought! "Of course he'd make us go through there!" I blurted out. "That place has Flying-types everywhere! We'll clearly be weakened by the trek up, and with a hostage by his side, we won't have any room for error!"

"I HAVE ONLY ONE WORD OF ADVICE FOR THE TWO OF YOU," Magneton responded. "EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED. I'VE HAD MY JOB FOR DECADES, AND CRIMINALS LIKE LOMBRE WILL ALWAYS HAVE A BACKUP PLAN."

I nodded slowly. "Understood. Makuhita, let's go get supplies," I stated to my partner. "We'll need to think carefully about what we bring." The two of us left the Deputy's office, ready to buy what we needed for a successful rescue operation.

The Climb

As we approached Rocky Perch, I took a closer look at it. It wasn't the tallest mountain I've seen, but I still knew of the danger it represented. "Makuhita, we need to proceed with caution," I ordered. "Since you're the more durable one, you'll be in front. I'll pick them off with Psybeams as we go. Understood?" My partner nodded at me as we advanced into the Mystery Dungeon proper, the feeling in the air changing.

We were bombarded almost instantly, birds flying in from all angles. Makuhita was battered by Corvisquires, Pidgeottos, Swellows, and more, all the while I provided support from the rear. By the end of this first wave of attackers, he burned through at least three Orans, prompting him to look at me. He was visibly worried – it was a disturbingly rare sight, but it signalled just how much of a disadvantage we were in. "How long do you think I'll have to keep this up, Asana?" He asked.

"I don't know," I replied. "At least there aren't any more enemies for now. We need to find a way forward, and fast." The two of us searched, but only figured out that there was a chasm seperating us from the other side of the dungeon, where the way up was. Such a feature on a mountain would normally not be possible, but Mystery Dungeons were prone to defying logic.

Makuhita stared at a Gust Trap near the edge of the chasm, looking deep in thought. "Makuhita, what are you doing?" I scolded him. "If you activate that, you'll be thrown straight into the gap! Don't you dare take another step-"

"Calm down, Assy, I know what I'm doing!" Makuhita replied cheekily, stepping onto the trap and allowing it to hurl him. Surprisingly, he didn't fall into the depths below, but was instead transported to the other part of the dungeon! "I told you so!" He yelled at me, prompting me to scowl at him.

Even if the trap was the way forward, I didn't trust it. I had another way across. I began to focus, prompting me to levitate. Using this power of mine was slower than my partner's path forward, but it felt far safer. As I crossed the chasm, Makuhita tapped his foot on the ground, feigning impatience in order to further get under my skin. As soon as I made it across, I gave him a slap across the face for provoking me the way he did, and we advanced onwards.

The dungeon was a never-ending nightmare. My companion called it "hellish" – this was yet another instance of his foreign slang. I couldn't grasp the literal meaning behind it, but the tone of voice he used allowed me to infer that it conveyed a sense of intense unpleasantness. That was certainly true, as we were met with flock after flock of feral avians, cawing and pecking away at the two of us. Some of them even had the audacity to Pluck items straight from our supplies, gorging themselves on our own provisions!

Lombre must've been laughing at our misfortune. I wasn't sure if he even intended for us to survive the journey up to the peak! The thought of that pushed me to fight even harder, helping clear the way for Makuhita. After what seemed like an eternity of torment, we finally made it to the top, and what I saw made my heart sink.

Cornered

Lombre turned his head towards us the moment we drew close, as if he already knew we were coming. He pointed a claw towards Roserade's bound form, ice beginning to form at the tip. "Don't move any further," he commanded. The both of us followed his orders. "I am going to make my demands simple. Either I will take Roserade's life, or I will take the both of yours. I hate having to involve innocent parties in all of this, but that's your fault, not mine. You would've never confronted me directly, unless I had something to lure you out."

Roserade glared at Lombre. He attempted to say something, but his mouth was muffled. "Don't waste your breath," Lombre told him. "This is their decision, not yours. If they sacrifice themselves, I intend on honoring my promise."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Makuhita shouted. "I would've gladly kicked your ass if you came to me! There's no need to put our friends in the firing line!"

Lombre pointed towards me. "You might have, but she wouldn't," he clarified. "I can tell you're scared of me, Asana. There's no need to put up false bravado." I flinched as he called me out directly – I highly doubted he knew a thing about Aura, but he read me like an open book, just like Espathra! "Now, the two of you shall deliberate, and make your choice. Either give your lives to me, or sacrifice Roserade so that you two may continue to draw breath."

"You'll honor your word, right?" I asked, my composure cracking with every passing moment. "I don't want us to die for nothing."

"My days of scamming others are over," Lombre responded. "Besides, it's you two specifically who I'm after. I know little of my hostage outside of his reputation and his affiliation with you. I'm not petty enough to eliminate every single Pokemon that's ever worked with you. I doubt most of them even know of your true nature."

"T-true nature?" I stuttered out.

"You're conniving and callous. You teamed up with the woman who broke my partner's heart, just so the three of you could get a large bounty," he began to explain. "Her lies didn't fool me. Then, there's the whole fiasco up in the North. Do you have any idea how many Pokemon perished, just so that you could turn the Shah in? It's a tragedy at its finest. Those who gave their lives for their homeland thought they were fighting for a just cause, while you and Makuhita were merely fighting for your paycheck, casualties be damned." Lombre pointed his claw towards me, the ice on it beginning to build. "Then, when you're confronted for your misdeeds, you cower like a frightened child. At least your partner actually has some courage to him. Now, make your choice. I've gone on for long enough."

I looked at Makuhita. "I don't think there's a way out of this," I told him. "We're exhausted, low on items, and we can't afford to lose Roserade's life. The best we can do is give ourselves up."

My partner clenched his arms, clearly agitated by what I said. "We don't even know if he'll keep his promise, Asana!" He reminded me. "There has to be some miracle we can pull here. That's how it's always worked in the past, hasn't it?"

"That's precisely why I arranged things the way they are," Lombre said unexpectedly. "I'm not like the fools you've captured before. I don't leave things to chance."

An uncomfortable silence filled the air as Makuhita thought to himself. His emotions were painted on his Aura – he was upset, yet conflicted. He wanted to deliver justice to our enemy, yet he didn't want to be responsible for one of his friends losing his life. "Take all the time you need," Lombre added. "This isn't a decision to be taken lightly." His claw remained pointed at me – out of the two of us, he expected me to be the one to try and defy the odds. He must not have known Makuhita well enough to know he was the one to watch out for.

While my partner was coming to his decision, I heard a faint sound. I looked towards the source, and I froze in place at what I saw – Roserade had freed himself. Lombre turned around and braced himself, as if he already knew what had happened, but he was a second too late. He was hit with a Poison Jab, causing him to visibly flinch.

"Don't lose hope just yet!" Roserade yelled out. "You need to get yourselves together so we can beat this creep!" I felt hesitation leave my muscles, and Makuhita's expression lightened. I began to channel Aura into my limbs, preparing to turn the tables on our outlaw.

Lombre recovered quickly, jumping back and firing a single Ice Beam, which Roserade evaded with skill. "I don't know how long you've been waiting to pull that, but it doesn't matter," he grumbled. He retrieved a Rainy Orb from his satchel, looking at it. "I still have contengencies. Since Team Yin-Yang-"

I remembered the battle in Cacturne's hideout, and how my opponent seemed confident in what the Orb could provide him. I shot out a Psybeam in order to destroy it like last time. However, he side-stepped it. His cool, confident mask slipped slightly – I could see a smug smirk as he activated his item, a downpour beginning to occur on the battlefield. "I'm not going to fall for the same trick twice," he scolded. "You're clever, but I've already studied you, Asana."

I used Detect in order to read the future, and what I saw was frightening. Lombre was going to fire a volley of Bubble Beams at a speed that even the move couldn't fully protect me from. I dodged the initial salvo as much as I could, but a single shot managed to pierce through my shoulder, rendering my left arm unusable! I fired Psybeams back with my right arm, but he effortlessly dodged every single one, the rain seeming to speed him up!

Makuhita stood there, hardly able to track Lombre. He looked rather frustrated, and truthfully, he was lucky I was Lombre's focus – he was a sitting Ducklett for him!

Roserade fired a Gunk Shot at Lombre as he was aiming, momentarily distracting him. "Dang it," the former lamented. "I can hardly keep track of him! Asana, you and your partner can't beat him the way you are now! Use an Escape Orb and get out of here!"

"We came all this way to save you! You won't survive this!" Makuhita pleaded.

"Don't worry about me," Roserade replied. "It isn't me he wants! Get out of there and live for me, or else this'll all be for nothing!" As Lombre fired at him, I looked through my bag and found what I needed. Using the Escape Orb, Makuhita and I left the dungeon, and made our way back to Sahra.

The Way Out

As soon as we were back in Sahra, we began shouting amongst ourselves. "What the heck are we going to do?" Makuhita asked. "If Lombre's obsessed enough to hold our friends hostage, he'll stop at nothing to track us down! Running will only delay him, and it'll wear down on us quick."

"I don't know!" I replied. "We could seek refuge in the North due to our reputation there, but he might just put more Pokemon in harm's way! We need to get as much distance as possible, while minimizing the danger we put others in!"

Makuhita looked as though an idea went off in his head. "I got it!" He exclaimed. "We can just leave the Sand Continent! There's no way he can track us down from that far away!"

"You're right!" I replied. "A Lapras Liner better be avaliable, we need to get away fast!" The two of us rushed to the docks, and to my dismay, there was no Liner. In fact, there were no ships, save for a large one that had a rather large carving of a Blissey at the bow. The two of us walked up to a Gurdurr guarding the way on-board.

"What's your business here?" He asked, staring at the two of us.

"It's urgent," I said. I attempted to point at him with my left arm, but my shoulder was still freshly injured, and thus, the only thing I accomplished was making pain course through my body. "We're bounty hunters, and we're being hunted down by an outlaw we can't beat. We need to go somewhere, anywhere that isn't here! We'd take a Lapras Liner, but there's none docked!"

"Yeah, likely story," the Gurdurr said dismissively. "If you're really bounty hunters, then what team are you? You two look awfully shabby. You're probably nothing but a bunch of amateurs, if you're even a real team."

"T-team Yin-Yang," I stuttered out, still feeling the agony from trying to move my arm. "Please, we need to leave!'

The guard stood there, analyzing us carefully. He looked at my scarred eye for an uncomfortably long amount of time, before making his judgement. "Well, I'll be a Panpour's uncle. You are legitimate. The Captain's going to love having guests like you. Get on board, before I change my mind."

We followed the Gurdurr on board the cargo ship, and waited a good while before we began to sail off. Thankfully, Lombre didn't strike during this time. Roserade either held him up longer than I thought he would, or he decided not to attack a vessel filled with Pokemon. Neither possibility put me at ease.

Epilogue: On the Trail

The battle was brief, but annoying. Roserade spent all of his efforts on dodging, but he couldn't match my sheer speed. I slowly walked towards his prone form, and raised a claw at him. "What were you thinking, sacrificing yourself for a couple of selfish Pokemon like them?" I asked. "Considering you interrupted my negotiations before they could come to a decision, I'll spare your life. It was supposed to be their choice whether you lived or died, and they didn't make it."

Roserade snickered at me. "Is that an excuse I'm hearing?" He asked. "You know, you're really soft-hearted for an assassin. Any other would've just shot through my head on the spot, but you're just letting me leave... Be honest with me, why are you after them? I can tell you don't like soiling your hands with blood."

"They deceived my boss, and took him away from me," I replied. "I prefer to avoid violence, but I can't help but want them dead for what they've done to him." I then shifted gears, intending to ask him a question that would help him understand my aims. "You know, I almost shot your partner of yours dead on the night I abducted you. If I didn't convince him to stand down and he went on that suicidal last charge, what would you have done? What would you have felt?"

Roserade paused, looking contemplative. "I don't know," he replied. "I'd be mad, but at the end of the day, I'd simply choose to do what he would've wanted. Are you sure this is what Cacturne would want?"

I nodded. "The Cacturne I knew would've demanded it." I walked up to my former hostage, and took his arm. "It's time for us to leave. I'm sure Empoleon is worried about you." I retrieved an Escape Orb with my spare hand and activated it, sending us back to Sahra.

I remembered one of the many strange changes the Gummis made to me – my sense of smell was comparable to a canine Pokemon's, and using that, I sniffed the air, trying to track down Makuhita and Asana. I quickly picked up on the former's distinct scent of sweat and body odor, and began to track it down, swapping out my Mach Ribbon for a Sneak Scarf while I was following the trail.

Soon, the docks came into view. I saw a single cargo ship, and I began to get a feeling in my gut. I retrieved my trusty spyglass from my bag and began to peer through it. My suspicions were confirmed very quickly – I saw Makuhita and Asana on-board the ship, talking with a Golisopod. I took a few moments to consider my options.

Attacking the ship outright would've been suicidal. I was fast and cunning, but I couldn't fight through an entire vessel's worth of hardened sailors. I needed a way to follow them. I wracked my brain for ideas, and then, I remembered something.

There were some smugglers who lived not far from Sahra. A few years back, I had done a favor for them, selling a large amount of their merchandise that was "hot", or in layman's terms, stolen. They owed me, and now was the perfect time for me to collect my debt.

I travelled to the smuggler's den and came face to face with three of their outfit – An Araquanid, a Marshtomp, and their leader, a Crawdaunt. The last of them stepped forward, eyeing me. "Well, well, well, if it ain't our old buddy Lombre!" He beamed. "You must have a good reason for comin' back here. I thought you quit the merchant business, and besides, you usually dealt with Barry instead of us!"

I thought about Barry for a few moments. He was a Barraskewda and the main method these Pokemon used to sneak their goods around. He was one heck of a character who had a thousand and one stories he'd tell. Right now, however, I was there for business.

I pointed at Snapper, the Crawdaunt in the group. "I found a way for you folk to repay my debt," I told them. "I need Lydia to help me tail some Pokemon that are fleeing the Sand Continent on a cargo ship. I need her to make a bubble of fresh water for me to breathe in, so that we can pursue them underwater. My species doesn't take too well to salt water, if you didn't know."

"Hah! You always were a clever one," Snapper quipped. "I remember when you used to run with your tail between your legs at the first sign of trouble. How much did that ol' Cacturne change you, hm?"

"He taught me a lot," I reflected. "I'm doing all of this for him." I pointed at the Araquanid – the aforementioned Lydia. "Are you ready to assist me?"

"I guess I am," Lydia replied. "I normally wouldn't do this, but Snapper's been wanting to pay you back for your help for years. You always were one of his most reliable contacts." The two of us exited the cave, and made our way back to Sahra's docks.

The cargo ship Team Yin-Yang was on began to move. This was bad. "Lydia, swim underwater and attach yourself to the underside of the ship. I'll tell you when we are to act again. It could be hours or days." She nodded, encased me in her bubble, and dived underwater, soon making her way towards where the ship was. As I told her, she affixed herself to it, and the two of us settled in for a long voyage.