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Lantana
Market District
Giuseppe

The market district was full of life today. It teemed with dozens of people, most of whom were shoppers flocking to the local stores or approaching the recently set up stalls. Others, however, slowly moved through the crowd so they could make their way to the school district to take their children back home.

This was not much of a surprise for Giuseppe Armani, who slowly walked amongst the people. The hairs on his neck stood tall as he subtly glanced over his shoulder, doing his best to keep an eye on his surroundings while not drawing attention to himself.

He had practiced this skill since long before the Island War. It started when he was in basic training, and he and his company were forced to make it all the way back to Camp Aquilus, which stood on the very top of Mont Blanc before it was turned into a gym.

It had been an agonizing long climb and an even longer walk. Even worse was when his company had to do it while not being spotted by the DIs and their Pokemon.

Someone was after him. He did not know who they were, exactly, but Giuseppe was certain they were affiliated with the mob, given the obnoxious amounts of dark clothing they were wearing. The man stuck out like a sore thumb with his leather jacket, dark pants, and dark hair slicked back.

They might've been stupid, but they weren't quite dim enough to target Giuseppe in a crowd, and that was what he wanted. They were new to this, and the old soldier could tell.

Giuseppe glided through the crowd, and grinned as he watched the green sicario grit his teeth and shove people out of the way.

Foolish boy, he was trying to play killer when Giuseppe had been a killer for decades.

The old man swallowed hard as memories filled his mind. The battles on that damned Unovan island would haunt him for the rest of his life. Even now, he could taste the earth formed by a Nidoking slamming into the ground, along with all the carnage it caused. That ass Giovanni, may he rot wherever he was- if he had finally kicked the bucket.

The clear blue sky was turned into warring battlefields between Lance Blackthorne’s and Salvadore Guerra’s dragon types, pristine plains were turned to cinders thanks to the efforts of Kanto’s Blaine, and the rivers had been dyed red with the blood of thousands of soldiers.

And this mobster, who was more than likely not even officially a part of the mob, thought he could assassinate him.

He would learn that would be impossible.

Giuseppe swiftly turned to the right, tilted his head at his glaring stalker, and smirked in his direction. He intended to lead the man on a wild Farfetch’d chase, but he wanted to gather one little thing before he continued…

The elderly man reached into his pocket and pulled out a Pokegear. It was one of the 1.0 models that came out ten years ago, but it could still call and send messages, and that was all that he really needed.

A few taps on the device’s small red buttons underneath the tiny screen, and he was calling a very old friend of his who Giuseppe hoped wasn’t all that busy.

It rang once… then twice… then-

“Giuseppe? It's not like you to call so randomly. Especially when you’re working,” a calm, smooth voice laced with an Enotrian accent came over the PokeGear.

“Unfortunately, my friend, I am out of work today… and I seem to be having a small issue.” Giuseppe chuckled. “I know it's earlier than we agreed on, but I would like my Meowstic back. I know he’s been quite happy with yours, but this situation is serious.”

Ah, he would be disappointed. He had been enjoying his time with his mate for quite some time, and Giuseppe would know that Meowstic would demand an explanation as soon as he was released.

“She’ll be pretty angry.” Giuseppe’s friend sighed. “How about this, come to Capitoline and join up with us. It could be like old times, you know?”

Old times my ass. You lazy bastard, you still haven’t changed even after the war.

“Lies! You just want me to replace you, you old fart!” Giuseppe laughed. “Though, I would be in your debt if you could send a few people down here. I want your men; I’ve been hearing some rumors about Armado…”

“My men? Giuseppe, is everything OK?” the old man’s friend asked, his voice laced with concern. “Also, last I checked you’re ten years older than me.”

“Ah… unfortunately not. There’s been an incident in The Woodlands and I’m not sure what, but I believe it’s time for you to step up,” Giuseppe said. “You’re already aware of my thoughts on how you’ve been handling things, but it’s starting to get worse.”

Worse indeed. The thought of what was going on in The Woodlands made Giuseppe’s heart skip a beat, especially now that Vito had gotten involved. The damn boy had a heart of gold, but his actions would give the old man a heart attack.

He swore that he would return to The Woodlands, but it wouldn’t be a good idea. Not with this bastardo tailing him.

“Alright. Pokemon Center as normal?” his friend questioned.

“Have your men sent there, but my Meowstic will be sent to… that new Silph market. I’ll be going over there soon,” Giuseppe replied.

The old man continued his casual stroll. He kept a steady pace, making sure not to move too fast so he could allow the mobster to keep up, all the while silently praying that Vito was alright.

Once he took care of this fool, Giuseppe swore on his old partner’s grave and on the grave of a friend long gone that he would go and find his boy.

The Wandering Teacher

Lantana
Pokemon Center
Emile

The Pokemon Center was cold. Below freezing, in fact. Emile leaned back in his soft, velvety chair, before shivering and shifting around in his seat.. The trainer had been in this blank-white room ever since he had gotten back from The Woodlands.

In front of him was Frère, who was sleeping in the bed. Nurse Lucrezia had finished pumping the drugs out of his system, and all he needed now was plenty of rest and time to recover. It was why the room had even been set slightly below freezing, as it was a perfect temperature for the Glaceon to be comfortable in and aid in his recovery.

Emile had put on a simple coat and a pair of wool gloves in an attempt to remain warm while he watched over his partner, but it was to no avail. It still felt Arceus damned cold, but he had zero intentions to leave the room.

“I can put a barrier up for you, you know,” Belle said.

“Save your strength, I’m fine,” Emile calmly replied. “No need to keep a barrier on me when we both know I won’t be leaving anytime soon.”

He had done this every time Frère had been hurt badly. The trainer would sit by his side for days on end until he had gotten better, and many of those times, he slept in the same room as him. The only time he would ever leave was to grab some food or to use the bathroom.

As he looked at his sleeping partner, Emile frowned.

“This isn’t your fault,” Belle said.

“I know, but… it still feels like it,” the trainer softly said. “Frère wanted to come with us but he stayed on my order,” he continued as he gently traced his fingers over Glaceon’s fur.

He remembered the first time Frère had ever ended up injured like this. Emile had challenged Gurkinn back when he was the gym leader of Shalour City. The match… hadn’t gone well, and Frère who was only an Eevee then was crippled and easily defeated by Gurkinn’s Machop.

Of course, more incidents like this happened. They lost as much as they won, and each battle had been a learning experience, but that feeling of dread within his stomach was something that never changed.

“Shouldn’t everyone else be here?” Emile remembered hearing in the dream from last night.

He didn’t know why that dream came to his mind now of all times, but thinking about those words had made Emile realize something. Something important.

I didn’t just fail Frère.

“Emile?” Belle asked.

He reached for his belt and took a Pokeball off of it. It was the one that held Goyl, his Garchomp, and Emile looked at it. He remembered the Garchomp’s intense glare, and the fact he had gone as far as to attack him made Emile realize a single fact.

I failed them all.

For two years, Emile had barely interacted with most of his team aside from Frère, who had been by his side constantly. Of course Goyl would be upset, and not just him, but everyone else surely would be just as furious.

Emile turned his head to Belle, but before he could say anything the door opened.

“Mr. Hawthorne?” Lucrezia spoke as she entered the room.

Emile jumped as the nurse came into the room and he suddenly turned. “Ah, please! Just Emile,” he said. “Is something wrong, Lucrezia?”

“Emile.” Lucrezia smiled, but to Emile it looked hollow. “The Legione is here to pick up the suino.” 

The words came out of her mouth laced with venom, and whatever “suino” meant was something distasteful and probably not fitting for the mobster, who Emile pictured as being lesser than dirt. However, it wasn’t that which caught the trainer’s attention.

“The Legione is here to pick this asshole up?” he asked with a raised brow. “Is there any other law enforcement here?”

“No.” Lucrezia frowned. “The Legione is all there is. There aren’t even any rangers present… The League hasn’t employed them here because they believe Lantana isn’t in any need of protection.”

And yet despite that, Lucrezia had a frown on her face. Thinking back, Vito despised and feared them, and the citizens of Bellissimo Mare cowered when the topic of The Legione had been brought up.

“If that’s the case, why do people here have a… distaste for The Legione?” Emile asked. “Is it because of the rumors that they’re aligned with the mob?”

Lucrezia swallowed hard. For a moment, she looked back at the door and then back at Emile, sighed, and nodded her head.

“It started several years back… sometime after The Rocket Conflict,” Lucrezia started. “After pushing Team Rocket back to their home region of Kanto, The Legione Armata quickly acquired power. They funded many businesses, small and large. The smaller businesses thrived here in Lantana and Bellissimo Mare mainly, and The Legione also offered… protection services.”

“Protection services… they were running protection rackets?” Emile asked.

“Yes,” Lucrezia confirmed. “Many went along because, after all, The Legione Armata were heroes. They stopped Team Rocket and through Salvadore Guerra’s leadership, they had quelled the chaos here in Graecia. Who wouldn’t want them to protect their stores?”

That made sense, and if they were offering their services for money, the store owners would see it as giving back to the people who uplifted them in the first place.

“But one person said no,” Lucrezia said. “He was an Enotrian man who came from Johto, his wife was a trainer who had left him all alone with their son, and he decided to come back to his homeland. He was well-liked by the community, and while he gambled from time to time, he paid his debts.”

“The man had a simple store,” Lucrezia continued. “He sold plenty of things ranging from Pokemon food to berries that he had personally grown in his backyard, and The Legione asked if he wanted their protection.”

“Why did he say no?” Emile asked.

Trust had been established with The Legione, though given that this man was an immigrant, he likely didn’t have the same connection to The Legione as everyone else.

Lucrezia shrugged. “He didn’t see or feel the need. Which was understandable, after all, crime was nonexistent in Lantana… until the day the man’s shop burned down.”

Nothing else needed to be said. Everyone must have seen the fires and caved to paying the protection racket, but Emile needed to know more.

“What happened after that?”

“People became distrustful. They saw the fires, the man was well-liked, and yet The Legione didn’t do anything because he refused to pay up? It was ridiculous,” Lucrezia said. “The Legione declared that the man had a gambling problem and didn’t pay his debts to the mob, and so they did it… but not a single person believed it. Coincidentally, it was that very same day organized crime was introduced here.”

“That’s… terrible.” Emile shook his head. “And I presume people continued to pay for protection?”

“Yup.” Lucrezia nodded. “They didn’t want to suffer the consequences. They were worried for themselves and their families. It was bad enough that the man had left behind an 8-year-old boy, and the idea that they, too, would die and leave their children orphaned was too terrifying.”

Emile’s heart stopped still, his eyes widening. Vito’s voice ran through his head as he listened to Lucrezia.

“When I first met Pikachu, he was trying to electrify some of my dad’s berries,” Vito had said when they trained together.

On its own, it wasn’t much to think about. Vito’s father had grown berries just like the man Lucrezia described, it could’ve been a simple coincidence, but…

“My father’s not around anymore, unfortunately. He died when I was 8 years old,” Vito had told him when they walked from Route 17 to Lantana.

Then there was the hatred for The Legione, something so strong and intense, and the fear the boy had felt for him when Emile had messed with Enzo.

“Come, we should go. The Legione are expecting us,” Lucrezia quietly said as she turned towards the door and began to open it.

“Lucrezia,” Emile said, his voice calm and cool. “What was the man’s name?”

The nurse stopped in her tracks, and slowly, she turned her head and solemnly gazed at Emile.

“Giulio Barone.”

Emile suddenly found the room feeling slightly warmer as he heard Lucrezia confirm his thoughts.

The Wandering Teacher

Lantana
Apartment Room 12B
Giuseppe

“I apologize,” Giuseppe calmly said to the blue Meowstic, who had been staring at him with his doll-like eyes for the past couple of hours since he had retrieved him from Silph Co.

The psychic type glared at his trainer. If he had any complaints, he kept them to himself. Meowstic had, at the very least, understood why he was called back after so long. He and Giuseppe had been separated for several months now.

The mob’s response was due to the discovery of what was going on in The Woodlands. Giuseppe knew deep down that whatever was going on was their fault. He had tried to reach several of his coworkers, only to either get no response from them or to be told by their families that they hadn’t come home.

Those poor men were swimming with the fishes, as one would say, and if they were after the farmers and himself, then they were after Vito. However, with the grass types acting so aggressive, the mob wouldn’t step into The Woodlands, and so Vito was safe for now.

Still, the thought of it made Giuseppe strangle the arms of his old, wooden chair.

“I have a favor to ask…” Giulio Barone, a good friend from long ago said to Giuseppe.

The father had grown paranoid. Men were tailing him, constantly watching him. He had gone to The Legione, but according to Giulio, they had never taken him seriously.

“If something happens to me can… can you watch over my boy?” Giulio asked. “I know it’s sudden, but I’m scared, Giuseppe.”

“Nothing will happen to you,” Giuseppe told the panicking man, whose breathing had quickened and was growing just a tad louder. “However, if something happens, then I swear on my Houndoom’s grave I will be this boy’s guardian. But it won’t come to that.”

Oh, how wrong he was.

One of his biggest regrets was that he hadn’t bothered to save Giulio’s life. He could have taken him and Vito in for a while until they went away, or he could have gone there to save them, but he didn’t.

Oh, I have done a great many terrible things. But not saving Giulio’s life is what will doom my soul to Hell for eternity.

The mobster, no, this boy who wanted to play killer, was coming. Giuseppe could hear him coming up the stairs, the loud creaking something that could be heard from any of the apartments. It was a wonder how those old things hadn’t fallen apart already.

It was a stupid decision. More than likely, the man hadn’t released his Pokemon. If it were Giuseppe, he would have used his Meowstic to hold the nails in place. It wasn’t much, but it would have been enough to assist in a quiet entry.

Meowstic turned to his trainer.

Giuseppe nodded his head. The feline didn’t need to tell him it was the intruder; he already knew it was the stalker who had been following him.

Meowstic came to his trainer’s side, the psychic type’s face expressionless, but that’s how he always was.

There was a sudden loud knock on the door.

Meowstic blinked.

“Mr. Armani! Open up, it’s Vito!” a voice cried behind the door.

Giuseppe suddenly found himself smirking. Vito hadn’t called Giuseppe that in years, and the voice was too gruff to be Vito. Did this man think Giuseppe was so old that his mind had left him?

The man knocked on the door again, this time a little louder.

“Mr. Armani!”

Meowstic narrowed his eyes and looked at the doorknob and slowly, the door began to unlock itself.

“C-come in!” Giuseppe replied with a shaky voice, befitting for an elderly man like him.

Then, the door slowly opened up…

The Wandering Teacher

Lantana
Pokemon Center
Vito

Vito was out of breath after running for what felt like hours all the way from The Woodlands, but he was too excited to care. He had done it, he had finally caught his first Pokemon!

He held Psyduck’s Pokeball up high in the air as he approached The Pokemon Center. Emile was gonna be so surprised when he saw that he had caught the little guy!

“We did it, Pikachu! We have the first member of our team!” Vito cheered.

Pikachu joined in with a cheerful cry of his own as he ran around his trainer, and soon both found themselves walking into the Pokemon Center.

However, as soon as the door opened, Vito’s blood ran cold, the wide smile he had quickly replaced with wide eyes and a frown. Immediately, he grabbed Pikachu and slowly moved to the side.

In front of him were the backs of two men, both of whom stood tall and wore black coats with red accents, along with black slacks, socks, and shoes. These men were Legionnaires, and they were of higher stature than Enzo.

They stood in front of Emile and Lucrezia, who, surprisingly, hadn’t noticed Vito. If they did, they certainly weren’t going to say anything.

“Saluti,” one of the men greeted. “Are you Emile Hawthorne?”

“That’s correct.” Emile nodded. “I was the trainer who apprehended this man.” He gestured to the left to where Matteo Artom sat with his hands tied, watched by Chevalier, who stood nearby.

“I see. So this gentleman was the one who started that ruckus in The Woodlands… we were about to deploy some of our men to check it out,” The Legionnaire replied as he looked at Matteo.

Matteo’s eyes widened as he saw the man’s face, and he immediately squirmed in place.

“So I see,” Emile replied. “Then please, take him with you.”

“Of course, but I must ask… Mr. Hawthorne, your Trainer ID, according to the Ransei registry, states that you’re from Kalos?” The Legionnaire asked. “I’m just wondering why you’re so far from home.”

“Then clearly you haven’t looked deep enough.” Emile smiled. “I am conducting a personal delivery for my father, Arno Hawthorne. That is all I can say, however, as none of you are officially affiliated with The Enotrian League.”

“We may not be with The League, but we are the law here in Enotria,” the other Legionnaire said. “And we have permission from The League to detain criminals and send them over to Siena where the proper officials will take care of them.”

“While you may have authority from The League to detain criminals, you are still the unofficial law,” Emile shot back with a small smile as he turned his head towards the other Legionnaire. “However, if you have any more questions, then you may contact The Hawthorne Laboratory.”

“I don’t believe that’s a nice way to talk to us. As my subordinate here said, we are the law here in Graecia. Some respect would be nice,” the first Legionnaire informed him.

“I apologize, but you men have done nothing to earn my respect.” Emile narrowed his eyes. “According to Nurse Lucrezia’s documentation, the Tangrowth in question had been full of Gainium for a solid day, meaning that nobody was aware until the farmers went back to work.”

“Yes, and we quickly acted-”

“Acted poorly and slowly,” Emile spat. “If you people are going to keep the peace here, then you should all stop this military larp fest and actually keep an eye on the places you’re supposedly protecting, and let’s not forget that I’ve run into people apparently affiliated with you, one of whom blocked off an entire Pokemon Center.”

Vito’s eyes widened as he heard Emile’s voice grow louder and louder. It wasn’t like with Bellissimo Mare where he was simply annoyed, no, it was the same tone he had when he had seen Frère drugged.

“You foreign trai—" the other Legionnaire spat, but his superior interrupted him with his raised hand.

“I apologize. You’re correct… we acted poorly, and what happened at Bellissimo Mare was a disaster. For that and for our rudeness, you have my dearest apologies, and we will do whatever we can to make it up to you.” The first one said. “That being said, we believe the Enotrian Mob are going after the farmers who witnessed the grass type’s… outrage.”

Vito’s heart stopped as he heard The Legionnaires.

No…

Emile raised a brow. “What do you mean going after the farmers?”

“When we tried to locate the farmers for questioning… we found one dead,” the other Legionnaire said as he bowed his head and shook it. “We haven’t been able to find the others, nor Giuseppe Armani. We were hoping you knew something.”

Nor Giuseppe Armani…

Nor Giuseppe Armani…

The words repeated again and again in Vito’s mind. His hands quivered and trembled, and his heart pounded beneath his chest.

The stench of burning wood filled his nostrils. Smoke clouded his vision, and he was full of fear.

He remembered seeing his father be beaten by The Man in Black. Oh, how broken and mangled he was… and the sight of that man’s Houndoom about to ea-

No.

It won’t happen again, not this time.

Vito turned around and immediately ran out of the Pokemon Center. He was sure he heard Emile’s voice calling out to him, but he didn’t care.

He wouldn’t let another person he loved die. Not this time, not when he was strong!

The Wandering Teacher

Lantana
Apartment Room 12B
Tazio

Five whole hours.

That’s how many hours Tazio spent hunting down Giuseppe Armani, an old man who was skin and bones. The bastard was some sort of war hero and a damn good farmer with his Mudsdale.

Tazio didn’t care, though. The war vets were all a bunch of fossils and war criminals, and The Legione Armata were a bunch of LARPers who wanted to declare how high and mighty they were while simultaneously doing nothing.

Safe to say, they were all fucking idiots, and nobody would weep when this guy dropped dead, depending on if he wasn’t dead in his seat, and if this “Vito Barone” kid tried finding Tazio, he’d end up dead too.

He released his Murkrow. Having one basically meant you were one step closer to being in “the life,” and the good one at that. It’s where you kicked up to The Don while simultaneously getting rich, and who wouldn’t want that?

It was even better that it listened to him. He’d heard stories about other guys whose Murkrows never listened to them. Perhaps the two were alike! That was always good, right?

He knocked on the door, a wide grin on his face.

There was no response… it irritated Tazio. He knew the man had entered his apartment! What was he doing? Taking an afternoon nap?

I really don’t wanna break the door down…

“Mr. Armani! Open up; it's Vito!” Tazio cried in a higher-pitched voice fit for a 14-year-old boy—or at least he thought he was.

“C-come in!” a weak and feeble voice shouted from the other side.

Stupid old man, this was all too easy. Soon, Giuseppe would die and Tazio would have made his bones.

He grinned again, violently swinging the door open and stepping in, but one look in and Tazio realized that this was an ambush.

In front of him was a blue Meowstic with his little paw outstretched, and behind him was Giuseppe Armani, who sat in an old wooden chair.

Tazio found himself locked in place. His muscles stiffened, and he was unable to move! All of a sudden, he was pushed up against a nearby cabinet, back slamming against the wood.

Then his Murkrow moved in, beak aimed at the Meowstic’s throat.

Tazio smiled. This old fart couldn’t remember basic history! It was well known that Enotrian Soldiers had Houndours as their partner Pokemon to counter against the Kanto’s Yamabuki Clan, who were all psychic masters!

Then, Tazio’s eyes widened in fear as he watched the Meowstic’s eyes begin to glow a bright pink, Murkrow stopped in his tracks and slammed against the cabinet alongside his trainer.

“You’re terrible at this, boy,” Giuseppe said coolly as he rose from his seat. “If you knew what you were doing, you would have had your Murkrow break through the glass,” he continued as he gestured towards the nearby kitchen window.

What the hell was this…? Giuseppe Armani was supposed to have a Mudsdale! Not this Meowstic!

“Have you ever killed anyone before, boy?” the old man calmly asked as he took up a nearby kitchen knife.

Tazio wanted to struggle, he wanted to grab his Murkrow and run- or at the very least, save himself! His heart pounded beneath his chest, his eyes focused on the knife.

“I killed many people… and I hated it,” Giuseppe spat the words out like venom as he walked forward. “I specialized in ground types until The Battle of Fraxure Hill where I was the only survivor of my battalion, then I was transferred to the Scudo Vigili brigade. You heard of it yes? The Elite Four’s Christopher Altobelli led it, and it was there I learned how to use Steel and Psychic types… but an old fox like me remembers all his tricks.”

His words were spoken so calmly, yet his voice was full of regret.

“Back during the war, they called me The Gravedigger because when my Mudsdale stomped, the earth opened up at the feet of my enemies, and would all fall deep, deep beneath the ground,” the elderly man continued. “I heard them scream as they fell, and those screams still haunt me.”

Why the hell was he going on about this? Was this guy some sort of psycho!?

Giuseppe got down on his knees, his eyes met Tazio’s.

No, it couldn’t end up like this! He wasn’t going to get killed by some insane geezer, he was going to live the good life, dammit!

“I never tell these things to my boy, Vito, because I do not wish for him to kill. When I see that boy, I see everything I fought for. When I see him, I believe life is beautiful because of his existence, and because of his existence, I know that there are many, many good young people just like him, all of whom are just as equally valuable as he is,” Giuseppe explained. “I don’t want him or anyone to know the horrors that violence brings.”

Tazio’s breathing started to quicken.

By Lupa, this really is my end, isn’t it?

“Tell me, boy. Do you know why I tell you this?” Giuseppe asked.

Tazio swallowed hard. He would have shook his head, but found himself unable to do even that. The Meowstic had a complete and total hold over him.

“It is because you are stepping into that ugly world. A world which should only be read about in history books,” Giuseppe said as he raised the knife. “I killed my first man in hand-to-hand combat in a moment exactly like this. When my Meowstic, an Espurr at the time, came to my aid… and pinned him against the wall with his psychic abilities.”

Tazio found himself trying to squirm. Sweat dripped down his forehead, and he felt his palms become sweaty, and even worse was the fact that he could feel warm liquid drip down his legs.

“I had him like this,” Giuseppe said and pointed the tip of the blade at Tazio.

“No, please, no!” Tazio screamed at the top of his lungs.

This was it, this was Tazio’s end! This insane old man was going to cut him up and eat his Murkrow!

“Be silent, dear boy.” The old man covered Tazio’s mouth. “It will all be over soon…”

Giuseppe then brought the blade forward.

There was only silence afterwards.

The Wandering Teacher

Lantana
Worker’s District
Vito

They wouldn’t take him. They wouldn’t dare take Giuseppe, Vito wouldn’t let them!

He pushed his body as hard as he possibly could, breathing heavily as he ran through the city, he wasn’t going to stop for anything!

“Vito, wait!” he heard Emile shout from behind.

He didn’t respond. That would take up too much time, and that was time Vito could spend running.

“Vito!” Emile screamed again.

Pikachu squeaked and pleaded with Vito as well, the mouse barely hanging onto his trainer’s shoulder as he ran through Lantana.

“No, Pikachu! I can’t stop! I won’t let Giuseppe get hurt!” Vito shouted to his partner.

The two ran through the worker’s district, and they easily zoomed past the market district. The sun had set, meaning Giuseppe had to have been home. He never left the house after the sun set.

Please be there, please be there, Vito continued to silently pray as he ran through the desolate streets of Lantana.

It didn’t take long for him to reach the apartment. He was about ready to kick down the front door, but before he even got near it, the door soon opened up, revealing a man with dark hair and a leather jacket ran out with his hands trying to cover his groin.

For a brief second Vito focused on him. His heart pounded and he took a quick breath, and he was about to say something until…

“Vito!” the all too familiar, cheerful voice of Giuseppe Armani cried. “I didn’t think you would be back so soon!”

Vito’s heart jumped from his chest, and he swiftly turned to see the elderly man. The one person in the world who he’d do anything for.

“Giuseppe!” he shouted as he pounced onto the older man like a Lillipup, wrapping him in an embrace that was tighter than a Grapploct’s. “You’re alright!”

“Well of course I am,” Giuseppe chuckled as he patted Vito’s back. “By Lupa, I don’t think you’ve ever hugged me like this before, you’re like an Ursaring!”

Vito sniffled and tears began to swell in his eyes.

“I… I thought something happened to you,” he told him as he pulled away from the older man.

“To me? Hah, not even old age can knock me down!” Giuseppe laughed as he slapped Vito on the back. “Now, are you going to introduce me to your friend over there?”

Vito turned around and looked at Emile, who was hunched over and panting.

“Oh, that’s Emile! The guy I was telling you about.” Vito smiled. “He’s, uh… kind of teaching me.”

“Kind of!?” Emile replied. “I see how this is…” he continued as he raised himself upright and then focused his gaze on Giuseppe. “I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again. You owe me a story, old man.”

What?

Vito looked at Giuseppe, then back at Emile.

What the hell was Emile talking about?

“Oh, I remember you! You were the timid man who walked out of Ombretta’s bar!” Giuseppe laughed. “Ah, it was fun meeting you. If I knew you were coming, I would have had another bottle for us to share.”

“Maybe next time then.” Emile smiled. “Unfortunately, I should get back to the Pokemon Center, seeing as how you aren’t dead.”

Oh Emile, you poor fool.

“No, no, no!” Giuseppe said as he moved forward. “You must come in! Please, I may not have anything cooked but I still have leftovers.”

“Ah, I don’t wish to intrude. Besides, I really do need to get back… my partner has been recovering from what happened at The Woodlands. This is the longest I’ve ever left him on his own while he recovers,” Emile declared.

“You… went into The Woodlands as well?” Giuseppe asked. “How did it go? Is everything alright?”

“Yessir.” Emile nodded, a smile on his face. “Tangrowth had… fallen ill due to the actions of others.”

“Actions of others my ass, it was the mob who did it!” Vito corrected.

“Vito, do not swear, especially so loudly,” Giuseppe chided.

Vito swallowed hard and looked away, a trickle of sweat dripping down his brow as he scratched the back of his head. “Yessir…”

“Now then, what’s this about the mob?” Giuseppe turned back to Emile.

“They were the ones who upset the grass types. I… gathered some information. They used some sort of old building as a hideout,” Emile explained.

“Mr. Hawthorne.” Giuseppe narrowed his eyes and spoke with a calm, commanding tone. “Please, come inside. I want you to tell me everything that transpired, please.”

Emile’s eyes widened for a mere second, and so did Vito’s.

He had never heard Giuseppe sound like this before. Hell, he could count the times when the old man got angry on his fingers, but he had never heard Giuseppe speak like this. Hearing it sent a shiver up the young trainer’s spine.

“Alright… I’ll tell you what I know,” Emile said. “Then I’m leaving.”

Giuseppe nodded, walking towards the door and holding it open.

Vito and Emile didn’t say a word as they both entered.

This was going to be a long night for sure…

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