Pokémon: Out of the Woods | A Galar, Unova & Sinnoh Fanfiction

Chapter 26: Tepig Can Fly

'...Horace... I... I'm sorry...'

Galatea suddenly burst into tears. Nick clung to Jamie's hand.

'I'm sorry... I'm really sorry... I... I never meant... to hurt you...'

'Tepig can fly, huh?'

His hands dropped back to his sides.

'I'm sorry, man. Sorry I protected Jamie... and my business... sorry I was a waste of space...'

Horace ended up in that whirlpool of Team Plasma and Cipher's collateral damage, too. He fed his own alcoholism with the money he made from snagging Jamie's Shadow Pokémon and returning them to their rightful owners. Jamie knew, of course. It was a 'business arrangement.' Just like Jamie, Horace was too ashamed of himself to even think of telling anyone.

'You weren't a waste of space, Horace... and if you were... so was I. Just 'cause I ended up rich and famous... it doesn't make me superior...'

'Hey.'

When he grinned, she noticed his false teeth for the first time.

'I'm not poor. I made good money off of those Shadow Pokémon. But... my bounty hunting days are over. I've been sober for eight years now... but... I'm only just ready to find out who I really am. I'm outta here.'

'Well... Tepig really can fly, if you're leaving Orre...'

'I'm not leaving forever. But I'm going on a big ol' Pokémon journey... the one we never had, I guess. I'm gonna be a Gym Leader one day, after all. I thought hey, maybe you'll even stop glaring at me when I get home... but I guess that day is today, huh? I'm sorry. I really am. Hey, you gonna say hello to me, li'l guy?'

Nick hid behind Jamie. Zoroark coaxed him out.

'Hello...'

'I'm Horace. You?'

'I'm Nick...'

'Nice to meet ya!'

'I guess you have places to be,' Galatea said, 'And things to see...'

'If you wanna talk to me, I can wait. If you don't, well, I'm in one hell of a rush right now.'

'...Of course I want to talk to you... but... I have to talk to the International Police...'

'...What? You? InterPol? What?'

'Yeah... something about a 300 year-old man...'

'Now you got me curious. You're not gonna leave me hanging, are you? It's hot out here. We should take li'l Nick inside.'

'I... you might as well just say you want to talk to me, Horace.'

He shrugged. 'You know I do.'

Nick was indeed growing weary in the heat. So was Togepi. They had never experienced the desert sun before. They were glad when Jamie picked them up to take them inside. He didn't ask if he could use the key. It simply disappeared from Horace's pocket. He smirked when he realised it was gone, as did Galatea, but it made her sad at the same time. Those two had no choice but to become stealthy to survive.

'Only Jamie could steal from Horace, gatekeeper of Pyrite Town. So? You coming?'

'...Are you sure I'm not holding you up?'

'Sure. Seriously, you can't mention a 300 year-old man and expect me to just drive off. What the heck?'

'I don't get it, either... I'll tell Zileh to come here, then... what's the address?'