Chapter 33
It was a warm, nice, and cozy day at Neighagra Falls. Ponies and Pokémon went about their daily business just as usual.
A certain pegasus was struggling with a hangover, having had a little too much to drink the night before. Luckily, there were no clouds that needed to be moved, or anything that needed his attention. So Zephyr could just lay on his little private cloud and continue to nurse his headache.
Mignon was just getting in another fresh shipment of ingredients, along with the stuff that he usually ordered for Ethan and the others. And alongside him was the newest addition to the restaurant, a small Pansear. The little fire Pokémon had proven himself to be a great addition to their kitchen.
All in all, it was a pretty peaceful day... For the most part.
Over at the local school, a bunch of small fillies and colts were gathering on their usual playground.
That in itself was pretty common. But there was a special reason why so many of them were gathering there at that very moment.
In the middle of the playground stood a familiar figure, long whip like fur hanging from his arms and a confident grin upon his face.
And in front of him stood a tall bipedal Pokémon. It had large red claws on its feet and a powerful looking tail. And on its head, was what seemed to be a mushroom-looking growth.
It was a Breloom. But more than that, it was Brawly's old teammate, Pierce. And Brawly had promised the foals a little show to demonstrate what a Pokémon battle was.
He just had to try not to get his ass kicked too hard.
“You know that I will not go easy on you.” Pierce stated with a calm face. He was strong, Brawly knew that. He had been the one to train him after all.
“I wouldn't have it any other way.” Brawly answered, psyching himself up. He had come a long way ever since he had gotten that Mienshao body, but he still had ways to go if he was ever going to be on the level that his own Pokémon was.
“Very well then.” Pierce said as he straightened his back slightly. “Here I come!” And he did just as he said.
A blur.
That was all that Brawly saw before he found himself stumbling back. His friend had even announced his first attack, it was something that he always did. It was just his way of doing things. But even so, Brawly had not had any chance to dodge it.
The foals voiced their opinions, some changed sides and were now cheering for the Breloom instead. But the rest were still loyal to Brawly and were cheering him on accordingly.
“Let’s see how you like it. Double Slap!” Brawly's arms shot in rapid succession, the whip like fur snapping as it made contact with the Pierce's head. But his opponent had not even flinched.
Brawly knew exactly why he had not tried to dodge. And such he was not looking forward to the next attack. Pierce's speciality was the Counter, but since he knew that the Counter would be coming on the next attack, maybe he would have a small opportunity there.
“Okay, seems like I need a little more power. Bulk Up!” All the muscles in Brawly's body tensed, making it seem like he had grown slightly in size. And he swiftly followed that up with yet another Double Slap, this one much more powerful than the last.
But this time, Pierce did not just stand still. No, he weaved between the punches that Brawly had thrown with ease. Some of them he dodged completely, but a few others grazed him, though only barely. It almost looked like he danced within the flurry of punches that Brawly was throwing out.
Brawly had a hard time keeping this barrage up, but he wanted to make it difficult for his friend and teammate to throw out a Counter. He had some advantage since he knew exactly how his friend liked to battle, but he was unsure if that was going to be enough.
He felt one of his Double Slaps connect, but that was when it happened. Brawly nearly doubled over from the pain that he felt in his mid section. He had not seen the Counter attack, but he certainly had felt it. Now he knew how their opponents had always felt like. But he had no time to recover, he knew what came next. Pierce was a master of taking advantage of even the smallest of openings, and he had just given him a big one.
In a flash, his friend was in front of him, crouched into a low stance with its tail raised high for balance.
“Sky Uppercut!” The arm shot out from within his body with blinding speeds. Had he not known that it was coming, he would have had no chance to dodge it. But, he had already began to twist himself out of the way before the attack had even begun.
And so, Brawly spun gracefully out of the reach of the Sky Uppercut. He could feel the wind pressure from the attack graze his face. That had been close, way too close. He would have been knocked out for sure if he had taken that to the chin.
But putting so much force behind an attack also meant that it would have some effects on the user too. Especially if said attack missed. And this was just the case with Pierce who was now stumbling slightly. Having been thrown severely off balance.
“I thought I always told you to not put so much force into your attacks!” Brawly laughed as he held his paws up in front of himself and focused on the energy within himself.
Ever since the events that had happened at the mine, Brawly had trained extra hard when he found the time to do so. He needed to become stronger, that much was apparent, but more than that, he needed to learn different moves too. And this was one that he had worked on ever since then.
A brilliantly bright light shone from between his paws as a blue orb formed there. It quickly grew in size until it was ready.
“Aura Sphere!” Brawly yelled as he threw the attack straight towards his opponent. He had thought about several moves that he wanted to learn, but that one had been the one that he had ended up on. And while he still had ways to go before it was even close to perfect, he liked the progress that he had made so far.
The Aura Sphere flew towards its target and just as Pierce recovered and turned towards Brawly, it connected with his stomach.
The foals cheered as a huge explosion erupted, many of them thinking that the fight was already over, and that Brawly had taken the victory. But as the smoke laid back down and everypony could see that the Breloom was still standing, it was clear that such was not the case. In fact, he looked no worse for wear than he had previously done.
“Sorry, but it's time to end this.” That was all the warning Brawly got before his opponent was upon him and a Mach Punch shot out, hitting him straight in the face. That alone was just enough to make Brawly stagger slightly, and he was about to try to move out of the way and retaliate, when yet another Mach Punch hit him. Followed by another, and another.
It was a barrage of punches and it had taken Brawly by surprise, allowing several hits to connect before he even had the chance to react. However, dodging was one of his specialties, and he managed to do just that. He weaved through the constant stream of punches
He twisted and spin his body to dodge the attacks and to minimize the damage when they actually hit. The Mach Punches were sharp though, and a few found their target, making several bruises as they connected. Had it not been for the Bulk Up, Brawly was not sure if he would have managed to withstand it all. But he preserved, and it was not long before he had managed to close the gap completely, forcing Pierce to stop.
Both of the fighters drew back their fists as they came to their final clash.
Brawly was hurt, his body aced in several places, but he was sure that his friend was feeling the pain too, even if he did not show it.
Pierce's fist began to glow blue as he focused on his attack. And Brawly's own fist, red as he did the same.
“Dynamic Punch!” Pierce yelled out as his glowing first shot out.
“Reversal!” And with those words, Brawly threw his whole body into the attack, putting as much force behind it as possible.
A shockwave erupted from the two fighters as both of the attacks hit their mark, throwing some of the nearby foals over in the process and alerting other nearby ponies, some of which came to see what could have caused such a thing.
The scene sort of came to a stop after that. Both Brawly and his opponent stood completely still, their fists both lodged in the others stomach. And the foals held their breaths in anticipation, all of them silently cheering for their own favorite.Pierce was the first to show weakness. He staggered slightly and let out a pained grunt, but managed to keep standing in the end.
Brawly on the other hand, was not doing so well. And his body simply went limp as he fell forward, face first into the ground.
The fight was over, he had lost.
The foals that had been rooting for Pierce cheered loudly, while the rest ran over to see if their friend, Brawly was okay. He had taken some serious punishment after all.
“Mister Brawly!”
“Bwawly!”
“Are you okay?” The foals practically flocked around him as he laid there motionless for a few seconds before with a significant effort, pushed himself over so he was laying on his back.
“Don’t worry kiddos, I'm just fine.” He groaned, giving the foals a big smile as he forced himself to stand back up. He was still wobbly, but he managed. “But that is what a Pokémon fight is like.” He could see some… a lot of uncertain faces among the foals though and decided to try to put them to ease. “I know that it can look a bit brutal. But this is something that a lot of Pokémon enjoy doing. It lets us grow stronger, and in some cases, helps us evolve… you remember when I taught you about that, right?” All of the foals nodded accordingly. “Well, there you have it. There is nothing to fear about it. Some of my best friends and teammates I have gotten through fighting.” But even with those words, there was still some of the foals who did not look completely convinced. But that was just how things was going to be. They came from different worlds after all. What was normal for him, might be difficult for some of them to accept.
“So, is it fun to fight like that?” One of the smaller colts asked as he stepped forward.
“In a way, yes it is.” Brawly said as he looked over to his friend and teammate. “Both of us have respect for the other. And something like this only helps to deepen the bond we have and further that respect.” Brawly explained to them. He tried to take a step forward, but found himself almost falling over. Luckily, his friend was there to help him.
“Are you okay?” The same colt asked and he could see concern in the faces of more than one of the foals.
“I am tough, do you think that something like this will keep me down?” Brawly boasted as puffed out his chest. And seeing this put the foals fears to rest and a unified “No” came from the small crowd. “That’s right. We Pokémon are made of tough stuff, that is part of why we can do things like this.”
“D-do you think that I can be strong like you?” One of the fillies asked, shying a little away from the looks she got from the other foals. She was a little on the smaller side and a few of the other foals looked like they were about to laugh at her comment. But Brawly quickly intervened.
“Why, of course!” Brawly kneeled down besides her even though his body complained about the movement. “Not only that, but you can be so much stronger. You can do whatever you set your mind to. So you go right ahead and train to become as strong as you want.” And seeing the smile that grew on her face as he spoke, really warmed his heart.
“C-can I train with you sometime?” She asked, still a little timid and afraid it seemed.
“You sure can. We will arrange something later, if that is what you want.” And that was exactly what the little filly had wanted as she positively beamed with happiness.
“Yes, thank you!” He had always liked kids, or in this case foals. They were so open to new ideas, and just with a little encouragement, they could do almost anything that they set their minds to.
“Anytime, kiddo.” Brawly grinned. He put a hand on his knee as he tried to stand up, but quickly found himself wobbling and going off balance once more as his body refused to listen to him. And just like before, his friend was there to catch him and helped him up to his feet.
“It has been fun, foals. But I would appreciate it if you could hold off with the rest of your questions for another time.” Pierce said as he helped Brawly steady himself.
“W-will you come back later, mister Brawly?” One of the filled asked as she looked up to the two of them.
“Heh, you can count on it, little lady.” Brawly gave her a confident smile. He would have loved to stay a lot longer and explain more about battling, or just answer whatever questions that they might have had, but he had really taken a beating and could use a break. That and he wanted to catch up more with his teammate. “I will be back tomorrow. See ya then, kiddos.” And with that, they walked away from the group of foals, all who waved and shouted their goodbyes after them.
“You really have not changed that much.” Pierce mentioned as Brawly was waving back to the foals.
“Well, I don't know about that.” Brawly countered as he turned back around. “A lot of things has changed in the last weeks… but I'm still me. And that's not going to change.”
“You will have to tell me more about it.” And Brawly had planned to do just that. He wanted some time to catch up with his teammate.
After a little walking, the two of them had arrived at a small hill just outside of the town. Brawly had been the one that had lead them there, wanting a little privacy for the two of them as they talked. That and he knew that Pierce usually did not like being around strangers, so it would make it easier for him to relax too.
“You know, you could have ended that battle a lot sooner if you wanted too.” Brawly said with a smirk on his face. “I thought you said that you would not go easy on me.”
“I did not pull any of my punches.” His friend stated, his face stoic, like usual.
“No, you most certainly did not.” Brawly laughed as he rubbed his stomach, that part of him still hurt really badly. “But, you also did not use any of your grass moves. Stun Spore would have made it really difficult for me and you know that.” He had been the one that had trained him after all, of course he would notice something like that.
His friend looked over at him, and held his gaze for a few seconds before nodding slightly.
“You saw through me. But if I did, then that would not have made it a fun match to watch, for the foals, and I could not have done that, now could I?” Hearing that only made Brawly's grin wider.
Pierce's personality was practically the polar opposite of Brawly's. But he was still his teammate and friend, and their wavelengths and way of doing things were very similar because of how long they had been together.
“Heh, can always count on you, can't I? Speaking of that, thanks for agreeing to put on a show for those foals, bro. I finally find you and the first thing I do is to ask you for a favor.” Not that he figured that Pierce would have said no, either way. He liked entertaining kids just as much as he did back on Earth, after all.
“After seeing those foals’s faces, saying no would not have been an option.” Even though he always acted all proper and uptight, deep down, Brawly knew that he was just a big softie. “Speaking of that, you never mentioned how you knew where I was.” That was true, they had mostly talked about what had happened to him on their way back to Neighagra Falls.
“Yeah, Vernus told me.” Hearing that name got a small reaction out of Pierce as his eyes widened slightly.
“Truly?” The Breloom looked up slightly as he thought back. “I do not remember having met Vernus in this world yet.”
“Yeah, from what he told me, he did not have time to stop.” Brawly remembered the story that Vernus had told them all. “Dude was being chased by something big and native to this world.” They still had no idea about what that had actually been. Though it had spoken, so it had to have been intelligent.
“I do remember the ground shaking at one point. Perhaps that was him at that time.” He looked down at the village as they spoke. “So, am I right to assume that Ethan also made it to this world then?”
“Yeah, dude is here. In this town too, in fact.” Brawly pointed down off to the side of the town, where inside a part of the forest, the roof of a particular warehouse could be seen. “He and most of his family in fact. All of them live down there… along with a whole bunch of other mon as well.” He just had to let out a small laugh at that, while Pierce just shook his head.
“So, even through all of this, he has not changed, I take it.”
“Not a bit. Well if you look away from the part that he is a Lopunny now, then I mean…”
“Yes, speaking of that…” He looked over to Brawly. “I did not say anything earlier because I did not want to offend you. But I could have never imagined you as a Mienshao… A Floatzel perhaps. But never a Mienshao. That being said, it suits you.”
“Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment.” Brawly laughed. A Floatzel though… he wondered how that would have been. “But really never as a Mienshao, why?” Pierce just gave Brawly a deadpan look.
“You are not exactly the most disciplined individual there is.” And he had a point there. “You are devoted to training, but that is one of the few things… you are lazy, you ignore consequences, you sleep around.” Brawly knew that he was probably supposed to be cringing as his friend listen his faults. But it was all things that he enjoyed doing and things that made him who he was… well, most of them anyway.
“Yeah… speaking of that last one, I am actually in a relationship now.” That however, caught his teammate a little off-guard as he just sat there, looking at Brawly for a few seconds before responding.
“I apologize, I must have misheard you.” He said slowly. “For a moment there I thought that you said that you had you were in a relationship. Which would mean that you would have tricked some poor idiot into thinking that you could actually manage a relationship.” That comment… actually stung Brawly a little. Though his friend did have a point. A few weeks earlier he could have never imagined himself in a serious relationship. The very thought would have seemed alien to him. But now…
“Laugh all you want. But i'm actually trying this time.” But his tone, made Pierce pause a little.
“...You sound serious.”
“I think that I actually am.” He admitted.
“So, who is it? Is it one of the locals?” That however, only made Brawly smile as he shook his head.
“Nah, not a pony… it's Ethan actually.” If Pierce was not showing any emotion before, then he certainly was now. His usual stone cold face, was now showing a large amount of surprise. It seemed that something had finally caught his old friend off-guard.
“Truly?” He asked once he finally came to his senses once again.
“Yeah.”
“The Ethan, and not just some other person who shares the same name?” He asked once more.
“Yes, our Ethan.” Brawly confirmed with a smile.
“...” The Breloom blinked a few times as he stared out into the thin air, before he let out a long sigh and shook his head. “It seems I have lost a bet then.” Now, Brawly had expected a lot of answers or reactions, but that had not been one of them.
“Wait… what bet? Who were you betting with about that, dude?”
“Who do you think?” But even with his words and the fact that he had lost a bet, he sounded happy, well, happier than before, at least.
“Vernus?” It was the only real possibility. And he was the only dude that would make a bet about something like that.
“Indeed. It seems that I have to pay up the next time I see him…” Pierce looked over to Brawly once more and kept his gaze as Brawly met his look. “You seem happy.” There had been something about the air around his friend from the moment they had met again, but he had not been able to put his finger on it until that moment.
“Yeah… I think I am.” Brawly laughed as he kicked back, letting himself fall back onto the ground so that he could stare up into the sky. “Wait… how long have you guys had this bet.?” And at that Pierce slowly looked away.
“A few years now, I believe.” He said after he had thought about it for a moment.
“Damn, dude.” Brawly just sighed out. His friend did not even seem the slightest ashamed about having made such a bet either. “Wait… were some of the other guys in on this bet too?” He asked, referring to the rest of his team.
“A few, yes.” He admitted, getting laugh out of Brawly, who finally began to understand how things between him and Ethan must have seemed from the outside to others.
“Damn, you guys… I thought you were supposed to be respectful to your trainer?” But while he said that, it was all in good fun and his friend knew that.
“Well, of course, that depends on the trainer.” He said while sending Brawly a look that he knew exactly what meant.
“Yeah, that sounds about right, I guess.” Brawly laughed. He had a very unique relationship with most of the Pokémon that were on his team. Well, compared to most others at least. They respected each others strength, and all of them followed and listened to Brawly because of his skill and knowledge in that field.
They were not a tightly knitted family which was the case with some trainers. They were more of a group that had the same goals in mind and worked together because of that. Of course, they were all friends and got along, some more than others. And they had grown close over the years, that was inevitable.
But now that he was no longer a gym leader, he realized that things would be different. His Hariyama had already gone out to continue to seek strength and to further himself. And he expected that several of his other teammates would decide to do the same.
“So this is the town where you have decided to settle down for the moment then, I take it?” Pierce asked as he looked down and inspected the town that laid below them.
“It sure is.” It was a town that he had grown to like a lot over the small amount of time that he had spent there. It was not too big, he had never been a fan of the huge cities. Nor was it too small, it was quite similar to his own Dewford Town in a lot of ways. And the ponies had been quite welcoming too. “What about you?” Brawly directed the question back at his friend. “What do you plan on doing here in this new world?”
“I guess that it is safe to assume that you will not be opening another gym or anything like that?” And the shake of Brawly's head was all the answer he needed. “Then I am not sure…”
“You are always welcome to stay here if you wanted.” Brawly offered. Though he could already see the answer in his friend's eyes.
“This kind of life… is not for me.” In a way, it had been what he had been expecting. Though that did not do anything to hide the small pinch of sadness that he was feeling inside of himself.
“Heh, can’t blame a guy for trying, right?” Brawly laughed as he held out his fist, which his friend bumped with his own. “I figured I would at least ask…”
“And I appreciate it.” Pierce respectfully bowed his head.
After those words, the two of them just sat there, watching the horizon. The silence between the two teammates speaking for itself.
“It is a large new world.” Brawly finally spoke up.
“Indeed, it is.” His friend answered. Though Brawly could see something else in his eyes too, and he knew what it was.
“You want to see it, don't you?” He had known Pierce for long enough to understand what it was that he wanted.
“... I think that I do… yes.” He answered after another moment of silence. “Or at least… I want to find my own place.” He looked back down to the town below. “Just like you have.”
“You are always welcome whenever you want to come visit, you know.” Brawly smiled. They had known eachother for years, fought together, lived together. So, just like with his Hariyama, it felt a little strange that they would finally part ways. Even if it was not permanently.
“Of course.” Pierce nodded. “So, this is goodbye then?” Both of them finally stood up and turned to each other.
“Nah, I never liked the sound of goodbye.” Brawly grinned as he held out his paw. “Rather… till we meet again?” He asked.
Pierce just looked between Brawly and his paw before a smile of his own grew on his usually emotionless face. “Till we meet again… I do like the sound of that.” He smiled as they shook on it.
“You take care of yourself now, alright?”
“You too, you crazy bastard.” Both of them grinned and laughed at that little quip before Pierce finally turned around and began to slowly walk away. No more words needed to be said.
Brawly had no idea what it was that his friend actually wanted, or what it was that he was looking for. But they had been through thick and thin together, and he could only wish him his best regards.
He stayed in that spot for a little while after his friend had disappeared into the forest and out of sight.
“Well… time to head back home, I guess.” And with that, he left the little hill. Both glad for the reunion that he had gotten with his teammate, and a little saddened by his sudden departure. But he respected his friends wishes, that was the kind of guy that he was and had always been. Besides, they would meet again eventually…
Someday.
The forest was teeming with life. The calls of various birds and Pokémon could be heard around every corner, and a few were bold enough to allow themselves to be seen.
The sun was mostly being blocked out by the thick canopy formed by the trees, only a few rays of light managed to pierce the thick foliage and reach the ground, but it was a beautiful sight to behold.
It was one of the denser parts of the forest that was surrounding Neighagra Falls Sanctuary, not that many ponies ventured out there. Mostly because they had no reason too. There were no common roads that went through those parts, nor anything of interest of value, apart from a few selective rare plants.
In other words, it was a perfect place for anypony that would want some privacy, or anymon in this case.
Zoey was making her way along the forest floor, occasionally looking over her shoulder to make sure that there was no one else around and that she was not being followed.
There was not any particular reason for anyone to be following her, but she could not afford to take any chances.
After a little while, she approached a lone, large tree. To anyone, it would seem like a completely normal tree, it was a bit bigger than most of the other trees around it, but that was about it. Nothing weird or strange about it at first glance.
And that was exactly the point.
Using her paws, Zoey started climbing up the side of the tree, using small branches along the way to help and being careful not to use her claws so she would not leave any unnecessary mark.
As she got closer to the top and to the center of the tree, she soon encountered a wall of vines above her, definitely not something that one would normally find in such a tree. Near the trunk there was a small hole, allowing for entering and exiting, and Zoey climbed through this hole with ease.
The inside was a rectangular room with the trunk of the tree, going up through the middle. The walls, floor and roof were all made of tightly woven vines, branches and other foliage. The color and shape of the structure made it so that it would be next to impossible to see from the outside, and that was the point.
Looking around, Zoey found who she was looking for. In one of the corners of the little room sat her familiar Leafeon friend, Vernus. And next to him, was the still unconscious form of the Manectric, Olivia.
“She is still asleep?” Zoey asked as she made her way over to them, Vernus glancing back to Zoey before returning his gaze to the bound up electric type.
“Yeah, I have been making sure that she would not wake up just yet… wanted you here for that.” Vernus turned completely to face Zoey as he spoke. “Did anypony or anyone else miss her?” He had stayed with Olivia ever since they caught her to make sure that she did not escape. And while he had been doing that, Zoey had basically checked a little around to see if her disappearance was noticed.
“A few ponies thought that it was weird that she had not showed up yet, but other than that, nothing.” Olivia both lived at the police station and helped out with most cases that they had there, so of course someone would notice the fact that she had gone missing. But they still had time, she had only been gone a night so far. “But apparently she goes on small trips from time to time, sometimes she even stays gone for a few days before she returns.” That, Vernus liked the sound of.
“Well, that certainly helps. If they think that she had just gone on a trip then we have more time to work with.” Both of them returned their gaze to the unconscious Manectric. “But the question still remains… what should we do with her?”
“I take it that you are still against killing her?” Zoey asked.
“Yes… we are not going to kill her.” Vernus shook his head. He was not actually that much against that idea. But it was not an option since Zoey was involved. She had put so much work in putting her violent past behind her, and he was afraid of what would happen to her psyche if they did indeed kill her off.
Not to mention that it would be wrong to just kill her. She was not prey, he did not hunt or eat evolved Pokémon. But it was still an option, though a last resort one.
A lot of mon would shy away, or just straight up be disgusted by even thinking of taking another life. But Vernus had done a lot of bad things in his life that he was not proud of. And just like Zoey, he would do almost anything to protect his family.
“We still need to find out what she actually knows.” All they had heard the night before was what Zephyr had told them and they had had drawn their own conclusion from there. It was pretty clear that she knew something, but more importantly they had to find out what she intended to do with that information.
“So… how are we going to wake her up?”
“Been keeping her in a light sleep, so waking her was is not too hard.” Vernus just looked at Olivia for a few moments, before he slapped her.
“Uuurh…” She groaned as she stirred, the slap having done its magic.
Both Zoey and Vernus took a few steps back, giving Olivia a bit of space as her body struggled to fully start after having been still for so long.
“W-where am I…” Was the first few words that came out of her mouth as her eyes opened and she stared up into the vine roof. “My head hurts.”
“Yeah, that is my fault, sorry.” Vernus apologized. More out of habit than anything else. Keeping someone asleep for so long could have several aftereffects, headache being one of them.
However, hearing another voice, one that she did not recognize, was more than enough for Olivia to go into full alert. Her head snapped over to where Vernus and Zoey was standing and her body struggled against her bonds for the first time.
“W-what did you do to me?!” She yelled out as she struggled one more time. But the vines that Vernus had used to tie her up would prove to be more than enough to hold her. “Where am I?” And it also seemed that she finally noticed the strange organic room that she was in.
“I'm afraid that we can't tell you that.” Vernus said as he looked down on her. “As for what we did, you were only put asleep, so don’t worry too much on that account.” He looked over to Zoey who were already looking pretty angry and was most likely psyching herself up even more.
“Do you have any idea of what you are doing!” She raised her voice. “You have kidnapped a Pokémon Ranger. That is beyond stupid.”
“Well… former Ranger.” Vernus corrected her. “But that is not actually important.”
“What did Zephyr tell you!” Zoey growled while taking a step towards their prisoner. And Vernus had to give it to her, she knew how to appear threatening.
“W-what…” She was confused, but she held her ground and looked Zoey in the eyes as she spoke. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” Hearing this, Zoey slammed her paw into the floor, just inches away from Olivia's head. She did not like that answer.
“Don’t lie to to us. We saw that you were talking to him, and that you stormed out just afterwards.” Olivia continued to hold her stare on Zoey, even despite her situation she did not falter.
“We know that he told you about Ethan.” Vernus stepped forward and decided to cut in. And Olivia held her eyes on Zoey for a few more seconds before she tore them away and looked at him instead. The confusion that was previously in her eyes was completely gone, and she had donned a more stubborn expression instead.
“...You are his, aren't you?” She wormed against the wall and managed to prop herself up into a little more of a sitting position. Her bonds proving it difficult to get completely comfortable. “You belong to that criminal.” She practically spat the last word. “Only those who were worthy, kind and good, my ass… what a bunch of Tauros shit.”
“Don’t talk about Ethan like that!” Zoey sneered, brandishing her claws as she spoke.
“So you do know who he is… that is troublesome.” Vernus shook his head. “The important question is; what were you planning on doing with that information?” He remained calm and collected, but he still had a certain amount of power behind his voice. “And don't bother lying to me… I can tell.” While he was not on the same level as Ethan on that subject, he had picked up on a few tricks. Maybe he could catch her if she lied to them, but he was more confident in his other skill. Bluffing.
“...What do you think I was going to do?” Olivia countered, she was getting a little nervous but handled it by also acting aggressive. “If you were in that bar, then you heard me. I was going to report him. I have read his file. A criminal like him deserves to rot in jail.” And that was exactly the answer that Vernus had been expecting, even if he had hoped for something else.
“You don’t know anything.” Zoey raised her voice a little. But even so, she appeared to have calmed down slightly. “He is not a-” Zoey started but was cut off by Olivia.
“Oh please. Are you going to try to defend him? To justify his actions? You are on his side, why would I believe anything that you have to say. He is a criminal, end of story.” Hearing that made Zoey's rage flare up once more. Ethan had done so much good for them and so many other Pokémon. Even if he had killed that one person to defend her.
“We are not going to be able to convince you otherwise I take it?” Vernus asked.
“What do you think?” Olivia huffed, it appeared that things would not go so smoothly as things had gone with Jenny. Vernus did not know what kind of person she was, but he knew that Olivia was telling the truth. There was an impossible amount of stubbornness in her eyes. And without some kind of concrete proof, there was no way that they would be able to make her change her mind. Proof that they did not have nor was ever going to get.
“Yeah, that is what I thought.” Vernus let out a defeated sigh, his head dipping slightly. “I will bring you some food and water later, for now… Zoey, cover your ears.” Vernus picked up a small leaf on the floor and held it up to his mouth.
Zoey held her paws tightly over her ears and a soft mesmerizing melody soon filled the air.
“W-what do you think you are doing? Stop this instant!” Olivia yelled and began to struggle violently against her binds as she realized what was going on. But the vines were just too strong for her to be able to break them, and she could not reach any of them with her mouth to chew through them either.
“I am a Pokémon… Ranger… you can't… do…” She put up a valiant effort and held out for a small amount of time. But the Grass Whistle finally got to her and she slumped back against the floor, breathing softly just like she had done before.
“So… any more ideas?” Vernus asked as he sat down besides the sleeping form of Olivia and began to bind her mouth, making sure that she could not open it. It never hurt to be extra careful.
“Actually, maybe I do… Say, have you set up one of your famous gardens yet?” That made Vernus blink a few times before he looked up and turned to Zoey.
“Maybe… why?” He liked having his own little private garden. It was something that he had always done.
“And what are you growing there?” Zoey asked, only confusing Vernus even more. He had no idea where she was going with that.
“Some berries and a few other plants that are native to this world… what are you planning?” Having finished with Olivia Vernus got up and walked over to where Zoey stood.
“Well… do you think that you could mix up one of your old specials?” Now that, that Vernus understood. And his eyes went wide from her suggestion.
“No! No way, I am done with that stuff and you know it!” That was a part of his past that he really wanted to forget.
“I know that you are… but you also told me about one of them that caused memory loss. We could use that.” Yes, he remembered telling her about that. He had shared pretty much everything with Zoey after they had taken her in. He hoped that telling her about his past would make it a little easier for her to accept her own. But that still did not mean that he liked her suggestion.
“You want to make her overdose?” The thought alone made him sick to his stomach. “What I did back then was not an exact science, you know. And that with the memory loss only happened two times.” But even with those words, Zoey did not seem convinced.
“It is better than the alternative, is it not?” And as much as Vernus hated to admit it… maybe she was right. “Can you make it here?”
“...” It was not one of the more dangerous of the drugs that he had made, used and sold back in the day. But it was still just that. A narcotic, and a really addictive one at that. “I… I have what I need to make it… yes.” It was one of his own personal creations. One that caused memory loss when taken in large quantities. He had experienced that first hand, he was still not sure what happened, but he had lost a whole week.
“Hey…” Noticing how downtrodden Vernus looked, Zoey put a paw on his back and sat down besides him. “I’m sorry for asking this of you. But as far as I see, it's the only choice. It’s not like we have Sax, or any other powerful Psychic type to remove her memory.”
“You really think Sax would agree to doing something like that?” The thought of that made Vernus let out a small laugh. Sax was… weird, he was weird, there was no other way to describe him. And he had his own way of doing things, but he could never see Sax doing something like that. But they loved him all the same, he was like the weird uncle of their family.
“Probably not, no… definitely not.” Zoey shook her head as she apparently came to the same conclusion as Vernus had. “So, how long do you need to make it?” They were going through with it after all. And just like Zoey had said, it was not like they had any choice. And it was better than just killing her, so at least there was that.
It was not like they could tell and ask Ethan for help. He would never accept what they were going to do. No, he would probably just let the Ranger go, despite that she was going to make sure that he was sent to jail.
“I don’t know, a few days at most.” He had some of the plants he would already need, but there was still a few ingredients he would need to grow or acquire.
“Okay then.” Zoey smiled and gave Vernus a hug to try to cheer him up. “We should head back. They were wondering where you were last night.” She had managed to explain it away, but both of them needed to act like there was nothing wrong if they were going to keep it a secret.
“...Yeah, let’s head back.” Vernus agreed while enjoying the hug from Zoey. He knew that she did not like what they were doing either, but they had to do something.
Releasing herself from Vernus, Zoey walked over to the hole in the little room that Vernus had made and started to climb back down. Vernus followed after her, but stopped once he reached the hole and looked back at their sleeping captive.
“I’m sorry… but we just can't allow you to go through with what you were planning. I hope that you understand.” He said with a sad smile on his face.
He knew that she could not hear him, she was in a deep slumber after all. But he needed to say those words, and in a strange way, it made him feel a little better.
With that out of the way, he followed after Zoey. It was time to head back home.
I suspect that not all of you will like this chapter, for quite obvious reasons. I am delving into other dark regions of writing, tho in a different way than I have done so before.
Still, if you liked it, or disliked it, as always, I greatly appreciate any and all feedback. 
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It's not exactly dark, but it is a bit questionable on the moral side of things. Of course, the only thing that is uniform in effect for pokèmon are the berries, anything else could have a very different effect on different species of 'mon. The probable result on the positive side is that she loses three or four days, on the other hand it could be a simple overdose with any other drug.
6398121
Berries are part of his recepie, to a certain degree of course. Some of them just have to be treated correctly first.
And what he does is not an exact science, things could and possibly will go very wrong.
there is another option that i can see, thought Zoey probably wont like it...just as with Jenny, this Ranger has something Zoey needs her to see, and possibly to understand
darn... i wanted that Ranger to be hit over the head about how she was wrong, they were right, and she is the bad guy over and over and over again until she is a sobbing mess realizing just how wrong she was, leading up to her doing everything she can to make it up for everyone
6398462
Sadly, things dont always work out for the better. The ranger did and wanted to do what she believed was the right thing to do, but so are Zoey and Vernus. But in this situation, I would have to say that both parts are at a wrong.
As for the result of it all... that is yet to be revealed.
Vernus, do you have a moment? I'd like to explain to you (in detail) what you should be doing? What? You say you'd listen? Okay...
Well, you could overdose her and most likely have her addicted to a dangerous narcotic or you could wake her up and actually explain what actually happened. If she doesn't believe you ask her why she thinks Zoey wears a sweater 24/7? She still doesn't believe you? Then either bring her to Ethan and let him explain what happened or ask Zoey to prove what happened (You know exactly what I'm talking about). If she doesn't believe either of those or even both of those then let her go. If you overdose her you could potentially kill her, the one thing you don't want to do.
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Vernus: And what is to say that she will believe anything that we have to say. She is completely convinced that she is right here. But even as I say that, I will try to talk to her again, to get through to her.
As for Zoey... why would she believe that, Zoey`s condition is in any way connected with this? We have no other evidence other than out words.
And as much as I would like to bring in Ethan and ask him for help... that is simply not an option. True, he may be able to convince her. But what if he is not? Ethan, being the idiot that he is, will let her go, even if she is still dead set on sending him to jail. No... as much as I hate it, telling him is not an option. We just cant alow the ranger to send him to jail... we just cant. He has done so much for all of us, protected us. Now it is our turn to protect him. No matter the cost.
(Author here. And while I can see that there possibly is a better way for them to solve this whole dilemma... things dont always work out perfectly. And this is an example of how far someone are willing to go to protect family.)
6403813 I understand that you want to protect him and that he doesn't deserve to go to jail, but keeping her tied up and refusing to let her go is just going to make matters worse. Why not try compromising with her, promise to let her go and in return have her open-mindedly listen to what actually happened. If you are as smart and as wise as we've been told then you know that that's what you should do.
(I see where you're coming from, seriously. I just thought that I'd give a more calmly thought out plan of action... also I wanted to play "Cinema Sins" for a bit. Also, it kinda reminded me on their video about Frozen. Specifically at 7:08. Just so you know.)
6405415
(Heh, I understand what you are saying. And I will explain more on this in later chapters. But things are not always as simple as they seem, sadly. But it is nice to get some different views on things^^)
6405458 (Good to hear. Also I do understand that they are panicking right now which keeps them from thinking straight. So I don't blame your characters for acting as so. Now I can't wait for the next chapter.)
... I feel like they are all forgetting something.
... Haven't Ethan already had a run in with Equstrian government about this?
Soo, wouldn't Olivia reporting him be completely moot?
6441898
Ethan never confronted the authorities about this particular problem, about his past. Only Mary Care, know about his past aas a whole, he did not want to take the chance about the rest of them knowing.
6442847
Hm? But, eh?
Must have gotten story material and chapter discussion mixed up then, sorry 'bout that
... so that's what Vernus used to do...