The Great Bulk, Intermission 2: A Nickel For Your Thoughts

This follows the tracks of Nickel, one of the two outlaws Makky and Asana faced in Part 1. If any readers have a good memory, you'll know he escaped. This takes place chronologically between Parts 1 and 2 of the main story.

Stowaway

Bad luck has always lingered behind me. I got robbed for my chest in my youth, every 'mon I manage screws up and gets caught, and the worst part is, they're getting worse! After that idiot Wings got clobbered, I haven't been able to find any new talent worth my time. Any potential clients either didn't need me, didn't want me, or were even more useless than he was. After all of my failures and flops, I could only come to one conclusion:

The Sand Continent is too competitive. If I wanted any measure of success, I needed to set up shop elsewhere. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford even the worst transport there was, but this was one of the few times where my size was an advantage. I simply sat on the Sand Continent docks, close to where Lapras usually rested, and waited.

It didn't take long for a target to show themselves. A Rookidee and a Smoliv walked up to Lapras, the latter carrying a backpack on their person. “S-so, Dee, you finally seen my point?” The latter stuttered in a nasally voice.

“Yeah. I pecked off more than I could stomach,” the Rookidee responded in a scratchy, albeit feminine manner. “There goes my “get rich quick off of bounty hunting” scheme.”

Dee casted her head down in shame. “I knew the Sand Continent offered better bounties, but the type of customers here are ridiculous. Even the small fry bite hard. At least we'll be back home, right?”

“H-heh, that's one thing we can both agree on,” the Smoliv replied. “I-I'll arrange our passage, Dee.” While he spoke with Lapras, and his partner wasn't looking, I dashed towards his pack and snuck inside of it, fitting snugly within. I felt both him and his Rookidee partner hop onto Lapras' back after a couple of minutes, and thus, I decided to nap. Lapras Liners were one of the fastest ways to get from one Continent to another, but still, a ride always took a few hours, and sitting idly inside of a backpack with nothing to do would become boring within minutes.

Landing and Contemplations

Hours later, I was woken up abruptly by light shining into my hiding spot. I jolted up and out of the pack, and was met by the hostile glare of Rookidee. “Who the heck're you, and why were you inside of my buddy's backpack? Were you gonna try and jump us?”

I gulped and adjusted my glasses, blurting out a response. “I just needed to go somewhere; anywhere other than that shithole you two just left. You said it yourself, lady – it's too hostile in the Sand Continent!”

The bird sized me up, backing up in preparation to Peck me. “D-dee, stop it!” I heard Smoliv yell. “M-maybe he's just poor. Besides, Gimmighouls aren't that t-tough. Even I could beat him, if I wanted to.”

The tension in Rookidee's body faded away, yet her piercing gaze remained. “If you ain't a threat, you can leave. Just don't screw with my pal, and we'll be good. Got it?”

I nodded nervously, running far away from those two. After that brief brush with danger, I got to work gathering intelligence about where I had landed. It only took a couple of days for me to get a picture of where I was.

Capim Town was larger than Sahra, and there were numerous bridges linking together the towering buildings that comprised it. If I was a speck compared to most other Pokemon, then I was less than nothing compared to the settlement I found myself in. The amount of greenery I saw put even the agricultural belt that the Sand Continent's Midlands were to shame – at least there would be plenty of places to hide, if I caught wind of trouble.

There were numerous businesses and institutions, but the one that worried the most was the so-called “Clover Guild”. I've heard numerous complaints about their members, their competency, and so on, but no matter how crappy they were, their presence still boded poorly.

In the Sand Continent, there was little centralized command, control, or co-operation between the numerous bounty hunting and exploration teams that dotted the landscape. Sure, two teams might band up from time to time, but a Guild had the luxury of picking and choosing the members that were most sure to give you a bad day, and that wasn't even considering the possibility of them just sending half their men to drown you in bodies and raze whatever operations you had to the ground. Back home, such a thing was only heard of for outlaws that were either too cunning or powerful for normal teams to nab.

If I wanted to evolve, let alone build anything at all, I would have to pick and choose my battles carefully. I'd need to limit my scope until any potential recruits were strong enough to fend off explorers, but it'd take great excess to even get to the point of infamy that the worst criminals in the Sand Continent had attached to their names.

I scratched my head as I remained deep in thought, plotting out the best way to build up the seeds of a criminal empire. Yet, my meditations were quickly disrupted by the sounds of violence! I scuttled away, trying to find a vantage point from which to watch whatever scuffle was going on.

New Talent

As soon as I found a spot to watch, my antennae twitched – whenever they did, it was a sign that good luck would come my way, as rare as it may be. As for the scene itself, I saw a Clobbopus being swarmed by a Ledian's four arms; trying his hardest to hold on. “Gimme back my coinpurse, you little thieving Ratatta!” The latter yelled, clearly irate.

Not only did my eyes spy a thief, but I spied one that was in need of assistance! I couldn't help but grin at this turn of fortune, dropping down from above and landing on top of him. I quickly climbed into a bag he had on his person, carefully thinking of how to introduce myself to this poor, unfortunate soul.

”Hey, jackass!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. "Do what I say, and you won't get your ass kicked!” Ledian stopped swinging for a moment, stunned at my sudden intrusion, while the Clobbopus squinted, seemingly annoyed.

“What the heck do you want me to do, weirdo?” He asked.

“Use your head, that's what! That bug's got crazy hand speed, but they're too pissed off to dodge! Give 'em all you got, instead of just being a punching bag!”

Ledian finally recovered from their shock and resumed their lightning-fast barrage of fisticuffs. The Clobbopus didn't do as I said for a few moments, perhaps skeptical of my advice, but after a punch hit his eye, he did exactly as I told him. A single jab knocked his opponent away from him, with them only barely managing to keep flight.

As they nursed the bruise they were given, the spots on Ledian's back glowed. Energy began to flow from them and took the shape of stars – Swift. The projectiles travelled quickly, cutting into Clobbopus. I instinctively looked through his bag, and thankfully, I found a Stun Seed. I threw it at our foe with all of my strength, and it connected, the bug Pokemon dropping onto the ground.

“You didn't even use any of your items?” I chided. “We need to talk about that after we're through. Now, finish them off while they're still paralyzed!”

The Clobbopus moved towards Ledian and hammered on their head a few times with his tentacles – mercifully, it knocked them out. “Get a move on!” I commanded. “We need to get to safety, before anyone else tries to drag us into a fight!” He narrowed his eyes, but acquiesced, knowing I was right. Once we had left Capim proper, he stopped in place.

“What's your deal, loudmouth?” The Clobbopus asked. “You dropped out of literal nowhere, just to give me advice on how to beat that sap. You do know what kinda Pokemon I am, right?”

I climbed out of his bag and walked in front of him – it was not only out of politeness, but to help ease this potential ally's tensions. “I precisely know what you are,” I replied. “You're a dime a dozen crook. I'm a Gimmighoul without a chest, and a burning desire for wealth and power. You saw how I turned around what would've been the end of your career, right?”

He stared at me, the expression in his eyes looking unsure. “Are you offering to be my coach? I get what you're offering, but you could very well stab me in the back, or rat me out. How do I know you're no snitch?”

I smiled warmly, trying my hardest to appear non-threatening. “Well, for one, I'm not strong. Just about anyone can squish me without even exerting themselves. For another, I've offered my services to dozens of other Pokemon before, and conning my clients would give me a bad reputation.” It was better he didn't know about me bailing on Wings, and I intended to keep him in the dark on that.

“If you care so much about your reputation, where're you even from, you little pest?” The Clobbopus asked me.

“I'm from the Sand Continent,” I told him. “I left because there was too much competition. I was hoping by starting up an enterprise where the sun isn't blotted out by crminals, that I could actually get somewhere.”

“Enterprise?” The Clobbopus said, intrigued. “You mean like, a gang?”

I nodded. “Yep. If you let me be your boss, you'll be the first of many members. If you thought I was a miracleworker back with that Ledian, you'll be amazed at what I can pull with the proper infrastructure.”

“Screw it. It isn't like you can shank me in my sleep, and having you around would be better than only having the echo of my own thoughts keeping em company,” he replied. “My name's Cobalt, by the way. Don't wear it out.”

I adjusted my glasses, chuckling to myself. “I'm Nickel. It was a real stroke of luck meeting you, but I know we'll make a good team.” Internally, I was relieved. I was worried Cobalt wouldn't take well to me, but all it took was a bit of buttering up before he was eating out of the palm of my hand!

Bigger Pokemon sure were stupid. You can sell them a dream, and they'll eat it up.