Hatching a Plan

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In nervous silence, the two gym leaders set up their tent.

The tent was spacious, thanks to the advanced technology that created a huge space inside, much like how their bags could carry way more items than they should.

The trainers sent out all their Pokemon to relax and play.

Now that they were safely settled, at least for now, Piers had more time to think. “Raihan, while all those wild pokemon were raging at us, have you thought of what — or who — might be behind all this?”

The Dragon type gym leader gaped, and scratched his head. “You think that humans might be making the pokemon do their bidding?”

“Maybe.” Piers pursed his lips. “Usually, even the smarter wild pokemon are more erratic in their attacks. These pokemon seem surprisingly organized and coordinated in their attacks. You and I barely got through some of them.”

Raihan grinned, his white teeth shining in the gloomy atmosphere. “We’re literally the strongest gym leaders in Galar. Of course even out-of-control, highly organized wild pokemon teams couldn’t smash us!”

“Cut out the arrogance, Rai.” The Spikemuth punk shook his head with an exasperated smile. “Besides, even if we defeat every single horde of pokemon that throws itself at us, that doesn’t actually solve the root of the problem.”

The other gym leader sighed. He rubbed the purple horns of his Goodra, who crooned at the attention. “You’re right. So what do you propose we do?”

Piers was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “I’ve got a plan, but we’ll need a lot of luck and organization ourselves to pull this off!”

As always, Raihan admired his friend’s mind. Piers wasn’t called the master of Dark types for nothing.

As a battler, Raihan the Dragon type gym leader, liked to use more straightforward, hard-hitting moves aided by weather effects. Piers, as the Dark type gym leader, preferred to use more cunning and indirect tactics.

Sure, Piers’ plan might be crazy, but it was a plan.

After they cooked some curry for them and their pokemon to eat, it was time to head back out into action.

When they exited the tent, Raihan noticed how foggy the forest had become. It wasn’t a Misty Terrain kind of fog, thankfully, as Misty Terrain would halve the power of his dragon moves. It would also prevent any of Piers’ status conditions, such as Skuntank’s poison, from working.

With purpose, the two trainers strode side by side through the murky wood. This time, Flygon and Toxtricity guarded the two humans from behind.

In that moment, Glimwood Tangle made him think of the Slumbering Weald, which was another forest farther away. The Slumbering Weald was always mysterious and misty, though it was never as eerie as Glimwood Tangle.

As the two walked, Raihan could already feel that they were being watched.

Piers murmured to his Pokemon, “Toxtricity, use Electric Terrain.”

It was a good thing the gym leaders kept a load of technical machines on hand, to teach their pokemon moves they didn’t already know. Such as Toxtricity’s Electric Terrain.

The purple and blue pokemon strummed the guitar-like strings on its chest. Tendrils of electricity curled around the trees until the current ran through the entire forest.

In the distance, they heard cries of frustration, as well as shrieking threats. Some were yowls of pain.

“Hoot!”

Without warning, a horde of Hoot Hoot and Noctowl flapped down to attack them.

“Overdrive!” Piers commanded.

Toxtricity concentrated and twanged the strings on its chest as hard as it could. Zaps of electricity whipped at the flying pokemon, and many of them tumbled down to the ground.

It was easier than usual, since Electric Terrain boosted electric moves, and Piers’ Toxtricity was already trained to a high level.

The remaining birds who had not fallen, glared at them but flew away.

Even though this was Piers’ victory, Raihan felt like a winner, too.

Now for stage two of their plan. “Flygon, you’re up!” The green sand dragon lowered his body so that his trainer, Piers, and Toxtricity could climb on. “Earthquake!” Raihan yelled.

Flygon lifted them all safely into the air, and launched an earthquake throughout Glimwood Tangle. More cries of fury ensued. Raihan would have felt bad if they weren’t keen on rooting out the real villain.

Stage three was next. Piers took out his earplugs. He normally handed these out to fans at his rock concerts who couldn’t stand the loud noise. Raihan, Piers, Toxtricity, and Flygon plugged in their ears. Together, Raihan and Peers ordered, “Boomburst!”

Both Flygon and Toxtricity hurled out sound at the top of their lungs. The destructive soundwave wrecked through the forest, knocking out tons of foes that leapt out at them. But the ear plugs protected the four of them from any damage.

“Hey, you!” A man riding on a Corviknight zoomed towards them, but stopped a short distance away. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” His face was purple.

Raihan smirked. “What do you think you’re doing?” He started cracking his knuckles.

But Piers nudged him as he removed his ear plugs. The Dark type gym leader drawled, “What’s a Corviknight taxi driver doin’ here in Glimwood Tangle? Isn’t it too encloistered in the forest to land?”

The man rubbed a fist against his forehead and groaned. “Damn, just because I’m riding on a Corviknight, doesn’t mean I’m a taxi driver. Do you see a cart with us anywhere?”

“You could have abandoned your cart somewhere in the woods,” Piers goaded, while Raihan smirked.

The man shook his head, his dark hair dappled with light and shadow. “Well, you still haven’t answered my question. What in the name of Arceus do you two think you’re doing? You don’t look like weak trainers, either. Why would you terrorize the wild pokemon here?”

The gym leaders exchanged a glance. It sounded like the guy didn’t recognize them, despite the gym leaders’ striking fashion choices. Piers replied with a confidence that Raihan rarely heard from his friend, “Allister asked us to help him handle the rogue wild pokemon in Glimwood Tangle. Any idea about why the pokemon are out of control?”

At that, the man’s jaw dropped. “Oh! Y–You’re Raihan and Piers.” He grimaced. “Sorry, I should have asked first. The name’s Daniel. I heard the same news from Allister, though I’m new to Galar and don’t have strong pokemon yet. Allister didn’t think I could take on the pokemon here. I agreed but I was stubborn and wanted to see for myself.” Daniel scratched his neck. “Worst comes to worst, my Corviknight could just take to the skies and flee.”

The steel bird pokemon cawed in agreement.

That sounded like an innocent enough explanation, but…“Then do you mind coming back with us to see Allister?” Raihan burst out.

Daniel blinked, then he laughed. “Do you think I’m lying? Geez. I know we’ve just met, and maybe I offended you by not recognizing you two, but — ”

“You didn’t offend us,” Piers interrupted. He brushed aside a strand of long hair from his face. “We don’t care about fame and glory or any of that nonsense, right, Raihan?”

The Dragon gym leader coughed as he thought about the millions of followers he had gained on Pokegram. But he nodded.

Piers continued, “If you’re as innocent as you claim, you wouldn’t mind coming with us to see Allister.” The look in Piers’ (albeit beautiful) eyes was scary, and Raihan didn’t envy Daniel one bit.

Daniel frowned deeply and crossed his arms. “Fine. I’ll come with you. But you two, as the region’s renowned gym leaders, would just electrify and earthquake a whole ecosystem of wild pokemon and then leave?”

Raihan gripped his fists and was about to rage at the asshole. But Piers put a steadying hand on his arm. The Dark type gym leader’s voice was deceptively soft. “Wild pokemon will always heal, don’t worry. We made sure not to do anything devastating, only enough to shock them out.” He flicked his head — and his long hair — to gesture behind him. “So are ya comin’ with us, or what?”

Daniel muttered under his breath, but nodded.

Flygon led the way, breaking out of the trees to fly back to Stow-on-Side city. Daniel’s Corviknight followed suit.

Piers didn’t trust Daniel for one second. But his gut told him that it was smarter to get out of Glimwood Tangle for now. Piers had good ears and heard whisperings in the forest before they left. Human whispers.

As powerful as he and Raihan were, it would be folly to try to take on an unknown number of human trainers without backup. Briefly, he thought about his own Team Yell gym trainers. But he dismissed the notion, not wanting the Spikemuth gang to crowd the forest.

“Yo, mate, I hope you have a plan for what to do next,” Raihan whispered in Piers’ ear.

The Dragon gym leader was hugging Piers’ waist as they sat on Flygon’s back. Raihan’s breath fluttered against Piers’ neck; the gesture was pleasant and intimate, even if Raihan hadn’t intended it.

“Don’t you worry, luv,” Piers murmured back. “We will be okay. When we’re back at the Stow-on-Side gym, this bastard won’t dare do anythin’.”

At least he hoped not.

Shortly after, the group arrived outside the Stow-on-Side gym. The trainers returned their pokemon. Daniel seemed hesitant but eventually returned his Corviknight into its ball as well.

They entered the gym lobby, where there were too many people for Daniel to attempt any tricks, unless he was a fool. While Piers was not a fan of Chairman Rose, he admitted that it was helpful to have security cameras inside the gyms.

Piers strode straight to the League staff at the end of the lobby. Raihan followed close behind, and Daniel was somewhere nearby. Piers made sure to brush his bangs aside, as people found him more approachable and less intimidating when his face was in clear view. “We want to see Allister, please.”

The League staff gaped, staring first at Piers and then at Raihan. The staff turned to the Dark type gym leader. “Sure. Um, Mr Piers, why didn’t you attend the gym challenge opening ceremony, by the way? It was such a shame to see only seven gym leaders and not you!”

Piers rolled his eyes with a groan. How many times was he going to get asked this question? “I was busy with something at Spikemuth,” he lied easily.

Truth was, Piers didn’t give a shite about public events like this. If challengers wanted to complete their gym journey, or at least reach the last gym leader, Raihan, they would have to come challenge Piers anyway. No need for him to show his face.

Marnie had bluntly told him that when he didn’t show up at the ceremony, it meant less exposure for their gym. But Piers ignored her, even if he suspected his sister was right.

The League staff grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. Just that my daughter’s a big fan of yours. She was so disappointed that she couldn’t ask for your autograph…”

“So are you taking us to Allister or what?” Raihan boomed behind Piers. Piers was grateful for his friend’s interruption.

The League staff bowed. “Yes, yes.” He disconnected the cordon so that the gym leaders and Daniel could finally get in.

Piers let out a silent breath of relief, and the three of them marched through. While they were in the dark tunnel leading to the gym, Piers was extra alert to any furtive signs from Daniel. Thankfully, the guy didn’t try anything, and the trio arrived at Allister’s ghost type gym challenge.

“Welcome, Challengers!” the staff member said. “For your task, you need to ride in a ghost teacup — ” He gawked when he saw who they were. “Oh! Piers, Raihan…Oi, Daniel, what are you doing here?”

Daniel stretched to his full height, a smirk on his lips. “Tell my dear cousin Allister that we have business to settle.”

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