"If you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy."

-Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men

Mama said it was okay, that it was quite alright

Famine's gym had been built in an old lava chamber, dug out by the city's pokemon. This place used to be the famed city's mall, a destination for all travelers before the Rapture. It had been abandoned until Mya used some funds from the League to finally bring it back to its former glory. It was outfitted with a Pokemon Center, PokeMart, a massage parlor, internal sauna, stores of all kinds, and of course, the Famine Gym. The deeper someone went in this crevice the hotter it got.

The gym itself was held deep in the belly of this cave. Boiling hot water poured from the ceilings above and into dark caves below, some bellowing up into pools of deceptively still water from the same source that gave Mya the burns on her arms when she caught one of her pokemon... the one currently in battle.

"Thunder Wave!" She shouted from her side of the field, her heavy winter coat still draped on her shoulders, the gym leader hardly breaking a sweat in this heat while her opponent kept having to wipe the sweat out of his eyes.

Wormy McWormington shot up from one of the boiling pools and into the air, feathered wing-like ears splayed as he sent a jolt of electricity from his body to the Squirtle. The turtle froze, unable to move as its trainer desperately tried to give orders.

"Now Dragon Tail!"

The Dragonair shot down, tail glowing bright purple as he slammed it into the shell, a crack filling the air as Wormy sent the pokemon flying. He coiled up, striking a regal pose as he gave a sneer. "Nair."

The trainer returned their Squirtle. The young boy sniffed and rubbed the already evaporating water from his eyes. Mya made her way across the battlefield and patted the kid's back. "You did well for your first ever gym battle! I suggest evolving your starter, though, maybe investing in a fairy type before you return. You seem like you'd get along great with a Ralts or a Marill." She led the young boy to the exit. "The nurse at the Center will be able to give you more information, but keep at it! You'll claim the Dragon Badge one of these days! Now go drink some water and have a snack, get back the salt you sweated out."

She watched the boy leave giving a sigh. "Kids these days... you'd think they'd start with the bug gym or something..."

"Nair!" Wormy shouted, darting up into the air and flying to the viewing platform, coiling around one of the pillars and giving Sebastian a glare. "Dragonair! Gon!"

Mya looked up. "Wormy! At heel!"

The Dragonair gave another glare before flying down to Mya, wrapping protectively around her. Mya smiled. "Well, I'll be damned! Sebastian! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes? Meet me in the cooling room! It's better to chat there. Wormy will show you the way. Won't you?" She looked at her pokemon and the snake looked back. He gave a nod and flew back to Sebastian, slithering his way into the hall with a "nair".

Mya made her way to the cooling room up a few flights of steps and sighed, shrugging off her coat. "Oh, sweet AC! How's it going, bud?" she asked as she got a blue Feraligade out of the fridge. "And whose your friend? They're adorable! I have some treats if they want any."

Wormy draped himself over Mya's shoulders like a Victorian woman fainting onto a red velvet couch as she sat down, acting like a very heavy scarf.

Our kind of people had a bed for the night, and it was okay

"If you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy."

-Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men

Mama said it was okay, that it was quite alright

Mya downed her drink before screwing the cap back on and smiling at Ev. She gave the ice cat a scritch behind the ears and a chuckle. "Hey, sweetie! You've gotten bigger!" She smiled as she fished some treats out of her pocket, giving them to the Stufful. It was nice to see Sebastian growing his team after all this time, with some pokemon that could evolve to be real forces. She always worried about the researcher when he was out and about, but a Bewear would change a lot of things--not to mention when Ev evolved. Mya could rest easier knowing there were strong pokemon like that protecting her friend when she wasn't around. Not that they had seen each other in a while but...

Mya let the pokemon return to their trainer as she shrugged Wormy off of her, the Dragonair slithered away to crawl up on top of the hanging fluorescent lights as he settled in for a nap. It had been a big day for battles, after all. One after the other, as was tradition. Some people scheduled their battles now, slotting in times for when they would arrive, but there was always room for walk-ins. That kept Mya in this heat for long periods of time, but it was amazing what some ice packs wrapped around her body would do when she was out there.

The heat was part of the challenge. A lot of trainers and pokemon struggled to make do in the steamy cave which meant they had to have excellent communication and an unbreakable bond. Her pokemon didn't struggle because they were meant for hot temperatures--having caught Wormy when he was in a pool of boiling water, for one example.

She listening to Sebastian, fishing the now fluid ice packs out from under her tank-top and pants. She moved to put them in the freezer, closing the door. There were more thankfully, for the next upcoming fights later that day. The packs were specifically designed to be around the body for several hours, a real life saver and they made her look like a real badass when she could stand there in the heat without breaking a sweat. Mya sat back down, giving Sebastian a long, silence-filled stare once he was done.

She studied the state of his clothes and general disposition. Looked like the poor man had been through hell, or was currently going through hell. Was it someone at the lab? Yew's death had upended things and she heard about a new professor coming in a while ago, but she was too busy helping the League out now to really care. But if it was another person, Seb would have texted her or Ev would have protected him. So probably not that. Had he been assigned too many projects? Did some research go awry? Lots of possibilities...

"You look like shit," she said bluntly, leaning forward so her elbows rested on her knees. "What's going on?"

Mya wasn't good at keeping in touch, but she valued her friends. Even if she hadn't seen Seb in a while, the nerdy little professor was a friend of hers which meant that, whatever was causing him problems would be solved one way or another. Mya sure didn't have a delicate touch when it came to fixing problems but people had to admit that she was effective.

Our kind of people had a bed for the night, and it was okay

"If you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy."

-Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men

Mama said it was okay, that it was quite alright

She leaned back and listened, resting her arms on the back of the waiting couch, her gaze looking bored and uninterested even though she was locked into every word. Matching any panicked energy wouldn't help matters, and Mya had learned a long time ago that you didn't show weakness in Famine. One day that'd change, but she wouldn't let any random pokemon scare her. Said random pokemon hurting Sebastian though was another story.

Fossil pokemon were nothing new to her. They were in the Safari Zone, but all the ones Mya had seen were smaller, weaker. Not really worth her time at this moment. She had to focus her attention on her gym team before committing to any other individual training regimens. Dragons took a lot of time to get up to speed and if you laxed up the odds of them not listening to you increased. It took a lot of work to earn a dragon's trust. It took ages to earn Wormy's. The dragonair was a menace as a Dratini and constantly attacked Mya's other pokemon, especially Járnsaxa. After many hours and several months of hard work, he was finally obeying her orders.

Mya took in a breath. There were only two options she could see. "Kill it or train it." She shrugged and kept talking to prevent any pearl-clutching over the thought of killing a pokemon. "If its as dangerous as you say, then there's no hope for it, right? It'll go around killing anything it can. So, kill it. Or tie its pokeball up and throw it in the ocean off Salve Island. That place is deadly enough, even a Gyarados would hesitate to get near."

"Or," she continued, "you can train it. I'd go with that option, personally. Sounds like a powerful pokemon. It'd be a real asset in the field if you can get it to respect you and I think that's the problem." She clicked her tongue and Wormy sailed down to her, coiling around her again. Mya scratched his chin. "That's why I like dragons, you know? They are hard to train. You have to really work to earn their trust and respect. But once you have it, they're powerful fighters. Loyal to a fault, even. A dragon will stick by your side and protect you. I think you try you can make this pokemon respect you, too."

She shrugged again. "I'm happy to help, if you want it. Maybe it just needs to release some energy and then it'll calm down. Besides, no matter how nasty it is, I have faith in my team. And if we can't calm it down, I'll have Eon smash its skull to pieces, yeah?"

There was no fear in her voice or in her eyes. Mya wasn't scared of any pokemon she had met and she wasn't going to let that change today. She was a person who would walk through dark woods at night with the solid confidence that the most terrifying things in those woods was her.

Our kind of people had a bed for the night, and it was okay

"If you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy."

-Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men

Mama said it was okay, that it was quite alright

There. Some progress. Mya took her phone out and checked her schedule. "Yeah, I'm free. I don't have any scheduled battles till this evening and I can close the gym down for a few hours." She sent a quick message to her gym trainers to keep everyone out and vacate the gym's arena before standing up. She opened freezer and got some ice packs, tossing some to Sebastian. "One goes around your rib cage and one around each thigh. You'll burn up otherwise and you aren't a gym challenger so I won't make you stand there and suffer in the heat. Here's one for Ev, too. Your fuzzy one should be okay."

She got hers situated and then picked at her teeth. "Hm... come on." She left the cooling room and went down the stairs to the arena. "It'll be a battle if it listens to you or not." She stepped onto the battlefield. "Wormy, guard duty," she said, the Dragonair circled around Sebastian protectively.

Mya tossed a great ball up into the air. "Remember Atlas? My little Charmander? Guess what-" she said as she tossed the ball onto the field. The Charmeleon came out with a puff of fire and a soft, gentle smile not normal for his type. Atlas gave a little wave and a "chaaaaaar~" at Sebastian and his team. He looked very relaxed. "Atlas, we're going to beat the shit out of one of Seb's new pokemon whose been misbehaving. Tried to kill Seb and Ev, right? So we're gonna beat its ass."

Atlas gave a nod and another "chaaaaar~". He started to do some stretches. "If Atlas can't do it, I'll bring Eon out. He's gotten bigger since you last saw him. He's like, 90 pounds now." She tapped the luxury ball on her wrist holder. "He'll fix up your beastie no problem, alright? And if he doesn't I'll beat the shit out of it myself. Now, where you want to be? Behind me? On the other side of the battlefield? Wherever you want, Wormy will be sure to keep you safe."

Wormy gave a nod, puffing out his chest. He was a good guardian! No harm would come to the thin, stressed human.

Our kind of people had a bed for the night, and it was okay

"If you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy."

-Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men

Mama said it was okay, that it was quite alright

Atlas smiled at the praise and then took his position. His eyes were basically closed as he looked totally relaxed after his stretching. Once Sebastian took the pokeball out, though, the Charmeleon's attitude changed. He stood taller, eyes opening in a glare as fire spat from his mouth. He looked more... dragon-like now as he held his head tall.

When the Aerodactyl was released from the pokeball, Atlas looked over his shoulder back at Mya. She nodded while she took out her phone to scan the pokemon. "You got this, Atlas," she said as she scanned over the information, raising an eyebrow. Her gaze was snatched back as the monster took to the air. Then it darted forward.

"Smokescreen," Mya ordered, looking back at her phone, scrolling through the information the lab had on this pokemon. There wasn't a lot, but there had to be something helpful here...

Atlas' mouth filled with smoke as he released it in a large stream, aiming right at the fossil's face before he darted to vanish in the massive cloud of inky black smoke, even the light of his tail being obscured from vision. He waited in silence, listening intently to where the fossil was, staying stock still as he held his flame close to his body, cloaking it from prying eyes.

This is what he was trained to do. Starting with smokescreen was Mya's primary tactic when he was in battle. It forced the opponent to develop a strategy while blind and often told Mya how competent of a battler she was facing. If they panicked, they weren't ready to take on Eon and the battle would be finished with Atlas. If they strategized well... that was a different story.

He waited silently, still. For the perfect moment to strike. He just needed some movement, a noise... anything to give him a target.

Mya's brow furrowed as she put the pokedex away. "Seb! Did you do any research on this guy after you caught him?" she called across the field. She hoped the fossil would hear her and charge, giving Atlas his opening to release his next attack: a powerful flamethrower.

Our kind of people had a bed for the night, and it was okay

"If you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy."

-Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men

Mama said it was okay, that it was quite alright

Mya rolled her eyes. "What have I told you about doom-scrolling!? Anyway, are you positive? This thing looked smaller than what I saw." She shouted back. What she read was like Sebastian's description. A horrifyingly powerful pokemon from ancient times. But this one didn't seem anything like that. It looked smaller and less graceful. Not that a massive murdering monster had to be graceful, there was was a grace to brute force hunters.

As the Aerodactyl charged from the smoke he latched onto Atlas' arm. The fire lizard prepared a grimace and a counter attack, but the fire died in his mouth. He stared at his arm, currently in the jaws of this supposedly terrifying pokemon. Yes, there was shaking and an attempt at tearing, but it was no different than what he got from younger pokemon Mya caught or fresh trainers trying their very first gym battle with a level 5 pokemon. There were a few scratches and cuts, but nothing that needed a trip to the Pokemon Center for.

Atlas stood there and watched for a minute, a look of pity coming across his face. His line were predators as well and from this spot, he saw the perfect moment to rip his claws into this pokemon's neck and just end it... but he wasn't going to do that.

He reached out with a claw and tapped the Aerodactyl's large maw that currently held his arm. When he got its attention, he opened his mouth and a massive release of searing hot fire followed. Atlas kept it going for a few solid seconds, knowing the blast was seen from the dark smoke. He then used the distraction to slip his arm free and calmly walk out towards Mya.

"Char," he said, giving her a look. He shrugged and shook his head. "Charmel. Meleon.Chaaar." He pointed into the smoke. "Charmeleon." He then presented his arm. Mya knelt down and looked at it closely.

"That's barely any damage," she grumbled. "Okay... we'll bring Eon out..."

She cleared her throat and shouted again. "Hey, Seb? I'm bringing Eon out." She took the luxury ball off of her belt. He'd know what to do.

Our kind of people had a bed for the night, and it was okay

"If you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy."

-Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men

Mama said it was okay, that it was quite alright

The Aerodactyl rose from the smoke and Mya winced at the loud screen and sighed. She shot a glare at the thing. "Hey!" she shouted, bearing her teeth at it. "Keep the fucking volume down, I have a headache!"

She tossed the luxury ball out and a brilliant light burst from it. And then a massive cloud of dirt and dust rose as Eon's full weight fell to the earth, proving the gravity was still working as intended. The dust settled and piecing red eyes gleamed from inside the dark, protective shell. He'd gotten even bigger, slowly getting closer and closer to his final evolution.

The Shelgon looked at the pokemon above him, feeling a quick sting of jealousy at the wings before he brushed it away. Soon. For now, he had a job. Eon glanced at this creature and let out a cry. A 'come and get me' roar from inside the shell. He moved his feet to take a battle stance, ready to attack.

"Hold easy, Eon," Mya said, watching the Aerodactyl above. "Let him come at you, I want to try something." The dragon nodded, or gave the best impression of a nod he could. Very well.

She crossed her arms as she watched. There was something that just felt... off here. If this thing was as vicious as Sebastian and the dex described then why did it barely leave a scratch on Atlas? Why was it fighting so sloppily? Was this thing really capable of scaring Sebastian and almost killing Ev? Mya began to wonder if they didn't confuse it with another pokemon, but she wasn't going to question her friend. Sebastian was telling the truth so then... what was up?

Our kind of people had a bed for the night, and it was okay