???: "Great work on apprehending this Pokémon, Hearts."
(a Watchog said.)
Watchog: "We will be sure to escort him away for his punishment."
Aerodactyl: "It—it was a setup! I swear!"
(Aerodactyl pleaded.)
(He was still smoking from the Solar Beam, and his left eye was purple and shut completely from Demitri's Dual Chops.)
(The Dungeon hadn't healed his injuries, either...)
Aerodactyl: "I didn't mean to steal all those things! I was under Hypnosis! I'm—I'm a sleeper cell, secretly, eh, secretly I go crazy when my master wants me to!"
(Owen didn't even need his sharp senses to see that lie.)
(Watchog, too, was unconvinced.)
Watchog: "Nice try."
Gahi: "Feh, quit yer lying."
(Gahi said.)
Gahi: "Pay yer dues and don't do it again."
(The Aerodactyl whimpered and ducked his head down, defeated.)
Owen: "Oh—um."
(Owen spoke up.)
Owen: "I almost forgot, but, can I report something?"
Watchog: "Report? What else would you like to report?"
Owen: "I don't want to... I don't want to make anybody feel bad, but there was this weird, really muscular, really angry-looking Snorlax in the same Dungeon that I found Aerodactyl—um, what's your name, Aerodactyl?"
Aerodactyl: "Like I'd tell you."
(Owen flinched.)
Owen: "W-well... well, I just thought it was strange to see a Snorlax there."
Watchog: "Hm, perhaps it was just your imagination. Were you hungry while fighting?"
Owen: "Not really. I just finished one of my rations."
Watchog: "Perhaps you were seeing things. Still, I will report it. Do not be worried. Strange Pokémon like those are seen in Dungeons all the time, and it's nothing to be concerned with—so long as they don't wander out of those Dungeons."
(He mumbled the last part.)
Watchog: "Eh—we let our Elite Hearts deal with them. Now then."
(He looked at Aerodactyl.)
Watchog: "We will be going."
(And so, he was escorted away.)
Owen: "Hmm."
(Owen watched.)
Owen: "What else did Aerodactyl do?"
(Demitri tapped his tusks thoughtfully, giving the top of a nearby building a pensive stare.)
Demitri: "Well, he was wanted for theft. Targeted explorers and took everything they had on them. We took the assignment because you were there, too. Sorta spelled bad news, when you put two and two together, y'know? Chances are he's going to have to work his debts away to pay them all back. Maybe as a volunteer as a temporary rescue team member. I think they're called Broken Hearts. Make a living. Then once he's done, maybe he can continue that work with full pay."
Gahi: "And repair that Broken Heart of his."
(Gahi sang mockingly.)
Owen: "So, he pays back his debts, and gets a job in the process? I wish it was that easy for me."
(Owen mumbled.)
Owen: "My dad wants me to be a berry farmer because my sharp senses would let me tell when they're ripe or not."
(Demitri scratched at his tusks.)
Owen: "Goodra Anam says that a lot of thieves only do what they do because they don't have the skills for anything else."
(Gahi scoffed.)
Owen: "Feh, I think they're just weak-willed."
Demitri: "So."
(Demitri continued.)
Demitri: "what happens is they can contribute back to society instead of being worse than some random wild Pokémon."
Owen: "Yeah. I remember reading about this!"
(Owen said.)
Owen: "I can't believe it's so nice, though! I guess Heart of Hearts Anam is even better than I thought."
Gahi: "Heh. Well, anyway, let's show yeh ter our personal Waypoint."
(Gahi said.)
Owen: "Yeah! And—oh."
(Owen hesitated.)
Owen: "Before we go, can we take the Waypoint back to the Dungeon again?"
Gahi: "Eh?"
(Gahi said.)
Gahi: "What fer?"
Owen: "Just to check on something."
Gahi: "Yer serious."
(Owen had brought Team Alloy back to the Dungeon's distortion.)
(They were careful not to pass through and enter it all over again.)
Gahi: "Yer coming all the way here just fer some random ferals?"
Owen: "I didn't think I'd do that much damage. You said they were pretty beat up, right? And Aerodactyl looked hurt, too. Just... you know. Maybe Anam needs to bless the Dungeon again."
Gahi: "Bah, he probably got roughed up by the recovery squad fer resisting arrest."
(Gahi said.)
Gahi: "C'mon, yer fire ain't all that bad."
(Owen's flame dimmed.)
Owen: "I just want to make sure."
(he said.)
Owen: "It wasn't that far of a walk, right? We'll head to Rhys' place right after. It'll just give me some peace of mind, alright?"
Gahi: "Yeah, yeah."
(Gahi clicked his jaws together impatiently.)
Gahi: "Could be having dinner by now."
Demitri: "C'mon, Gahi, he's just worried."
(Demitri picked at a bit of dirt between two of his claws.)
Demitri: "It's one thing to defend yourself, but I think Owen just wants to make sure he didn't go overkill on it."
Owen: "K-kill, yeah."
(Owen said, laughing hastily.)
Owen: "No need to go overkill."
(Mispy closed her eyes, breathing out.)
Mispy: "Ahead."
Owen: "Ahead?"
(Owen said, his eyes following the path for him.)
(A small cluster of Paras skittered groggily about, each one with a burn here or there, some with their mushrooms looking particularly damaged or cooked.)
(When Owen got closer, one of the Paras hissed and skittered away.)
(The others did the same, almost in unison, and clustered together.)
(Purple fog trickled out of their mushrooms, threatening to flood the arena if provoked.)
(Owen's flame blazed behind him, but he kept it hidden out of the ferals' sights.)
(He dug through his bag, slowly pulling out a Rawst Berry.)
Gahi: "...Why's a Fire carrying around Rawst Berries?"
(Gahi said.)
Gahi: "You guys don't get burns."
Owen: "Others do, though."
(Owen took a hesitant step forward.)
(The Paras all hissed at him, poisonous clouds thickening.)
Owen: "I'm sorry I hurt you guys so badly."
(Owen said.)
Owen: "I know I entered your territory, and I was just going on a fun exploration. I shouldn't have been so careless about you guys. Just try not to attack randomly, alright?"
Gahi: "Torch, they ain't gonna understand ya."
(Gahi said.)
Gahi: "Besides, yer scaring them."
(He waddled closer.)
Gahi: "Look. You gotta keep yerself small. They're already weak, so they ain't gonna fight back. Just look small and offer whatever y' wanna do, yeah?"
(Gahi rolled a berry toward the Paras horde.)
(A particularly bold one skittered closer, snatching the berry away.)
(It nibbled a few times, still tense, and eventually relaxed after Owen did.)
(The Charmander smiled, showing his teeth—a small mistake, as the Paras hissed and skittered away again.)
Gahi: "Good going."
(Gahi mumbled.)
Owen: "Look, I'm not familiar with Paras, alright?"
(Owen rolled another one over.)
(This time, a few more Paras leaked from the pile, nibbling at their offerings.)
(And then a few more, and then more still, until the whole horde had gathered in front of them to feast on the bounty.)
(Burns slowly reversed, cooked mushrooms simply looking a bit chipped.)
(Dull light touched upon anywhere the burns had been, dimming when they were completely gone.)
Gahi: "Happy?"
(Gahi asked Owen once the Paras accepted the group as safe enough to tolerate.)
Owen: "Looks like these guys are."
(Demitri and Mispy, once they saw that the poisonous fog had faded, joined them to watch the feral Pokémon up close.)
(It was oddly calming to see the horde feed, watching the way their mandibles meticulously tore at the pulp.)
Demitri: "You seemed kinda invested in this."
(Demitri commented.)
Demitri: "I mean, they probably could have just climbed the trees and gotten it on their own, y'know?"
Owen: "Maybe."
(Owen watched a particularly small Paras wrestle with a particularly large berry, grinning—this time, without showing his teeth.)
Owen: "I guess I'm a little self-conscious about it."
Gahi: "I guess y'did beat 'em up kinda bad."
(Gahi said.)
Gahi: "Didn't think they looked that bad when we passed 'em by the first time. Maybe they're just the ones that got roughed up the most."
Demitri: "You know... A lot of these don't look like your flames, Owen."
(Demitri said, pointing at the Paras.)
Demitri: "Looks like some of these guys got hit by something a lot worse. But at least the burns are gone."
(Owen rubbed his head.)
(Foggy as his memory was, Demitri did have a point.)
(He hadn't fought too many of them.)
(He couldn't have burned these all.)
(Still, it was a good thing he came when he did.)
Owen: "Either way, I'm glad I came to undo some damage."
Gahi: "What makes you self-conscious, eh?"
(Gahi asked.)
(Owen smiled sadly.)
Owen: "Well... just fire in general, I guess. It's not like Dragon might, like Demitri, where it's... more graceful and controlled and... you know."
(Demitri blushed under his green scales, rubbing at one of his tusks.)
Demitri: "I dunno if I'm all that graceful."
Gahi. "He ain't."
(Gahi confirmed.)
(Owen observed the Paras.)
(The ones that had their fill skittered away thanklessly, while the more gluttonous ones remained to nibble on a few more.)
Owen: "Basic Fire isn't the same as Dragon fire."
(Owen said.)
Owen: "It's... untamed. Violent. Hungry. If I don't keep it in check... I could do a lot more damage than I need to."
(Once the final few Paras left, Owen brought his tail forward and inspected the flame at the end.)
Owen: "I guess I just want to be careful. And if I slip up and get carried away... I want to make things right. That's part of being a Heart. No fighting if you don't need to."
(Gahi said nothing.)
(He opened his mouth, but then closed it, looking to Demitri and Mispy to say something instead.)
Demitri: "Hey, don't be so hard on yourself."
(Demitri said, patting Owen on the shoulder.)
Demitri: "Dragon fire can do some serious damage, too. If it burns some bushes, it'll become a normal fire just from the heat. Ethereal or not, heat is heat. I guess I don't have to worry as much since, er, I usually just use brute force..."
(Owen smiled, rubbing his nose.)
Owen: "Yeah, I guess that's true. You seem like you've got a lot of muscle; may as well use what you're good at. I'm a little on the scrawnier side."
(Mispy smiled, sighing.)
Mispy: "They're gone."
(she said, pointing a vine toward the departing Paras.)
Owen: "Yeah."
(Owen stood up, his flame a cheerful orange.)
Owen: "Sorry for the detour. I'm ready to head to your guys' place."
Gahi: "Meh..."
(Gahi looked at the eaten pile of berries.)
Gahi: "I guess it's worth it."
[To Be Continued...]