Previous Chapter | Chapter Index | Pokémon Home | Next Chapter

Notes: Chapter Four's title comes from the novella the Little Prince, written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. You can read it here. This is a brief excerpt:

On the little prince's planet the flowers had always been very simple. They had only one ring of petals; they took up no room at all; they were a trouble to nobody. One morning they would appear in the grass, and by night they would have faded peacefully away. But one day, from a seed blown from no one knew where, a new flower had come up; and the little prince had watched very closely over this small sprout which was not like any other small sprouts on his planet.

---

Acacius had pitched his tent further from the Hammerlocke border than Mable's house was, but still within walking distance of the city. "I'm pretty sure there's no warrant out for me," he said. "I mean, I haven't been arrested yet. I'll pop in to check the news and be back before nightfall."

Rose frowned. "And I just wait here?"

"Yeah, I'll keep Flapple with you, just in case." Acacius hissed air through his teeth. "I mean, he won't be help in a fight, since Mable's got a double type advantage with her weavile, but he'll warn you if something happens."

"That's not reassuring."

"Sorry, man, I'm a grass-type specialist and Mable's got a fire and an ice type. Not much I can do about that."

"I'm not blaming you, it's just bad luck." Rose sighed. "I'll do my best to stay hidden."

"Right, yeah." Acacius turned to go, then paused and clicked another pokéball off his belt. "Hey, by the way, here's Budew's pokéball. I normally keep her out, but recall her if she starts being an ass."

He tossed the ball to Rose, who fumbled and dropped it. "Whoops," Acacius said with a grin. "Should've warned you, my bad."

Rose picked it up and glanced at Budew, who was staring at him from a pile of Acacius' clothes. "I'm sure she won't be trouble," he said.

"Ha! Just keep the pokéball close by. See you in a bit."

He ducked out of the tent and zipped it shut. Outside, Rose heard him say a few words to Flapple before walking into the brush.

And Rose was alone with Budew. The pokémon nestled deeper into the clothes and continued staring at him.

Rose smiled. "I'm sure we'll get along fine," he said to her. "I've always had a soft spot for your evolutionary line, you know."

Budew chirped and tilted her head. "It's true," said Rose. "I consider myself a steel-type specialist, but it was natural to have an affinity for grass types, what with my name, and, well, you evolve into roses." He paused. "I know budews evolve through happiness. Have you not been with Acacius long enough to?"

His comment must have hit a nerve, because Budew hissed at him. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to upset you," Rose said. "I take it you're not happy, then. That's a shame."

Budew gave him a long look, then left the pile of clothes to creep closer to Rose. He smiled and held out his hand. She ignored him and started sniffing the drops of blood Acacius had missed while cleaning up.

Rose pushed her away. "Don't do that, that's disgusting."

She chirped and pushed against his hand. Rose picked her up and placed her on the other side of him. Budew hissed loudly and rammed into his leg.

"Oh, come on," he said. "I have your pokéball, you know. I can recall you at any moment."

She bit him. It didn't hurt, but Rose recalled her anyway.

---

Acacius returned a little over an hour later, ducking into the tent and closing the flap behind him. "I see Budew's not out," he said with a smile. "How long did she last?"

"Not long," Rose said. "What did you find out?"

"Nothing good." Acacius reached into his jacket and pulled out a newspaper page. "I don't think your assistant's gonna be able to help us."

Rose quickly found the relevant article. Macro Cosmos researcher implicated in hospital break. "Oh, no," he said. "They must have recognized her car. She shouldn't have used her own…"

"So," Acacius said. "You got anyone else to contact?"

Rose sighed. 'I'm afraid not," he said. "Maybe…"

All available options had been exhausted while he was in the hospital. He frowned at the newspaper, his hands gripping it harder than he needed to.

He forced himself to relax and kept reading. There was nothing mentioned of Bede, and Oleana had, apparently, told the authorities she was working alone. Did Bede escape consequences?

"There is one possibility," he said. "There was a boy who helped me escape, and it looks like Oleana covered for him. He might be able to help me."

"A kid, huh?" Acacius frowned. "One of the gym challengers?"

"Formerly, yes. I believe he's now Opal's successor to the Ballonlea Gym. Bede is his name."

"Still just a kid, though."

"Unfortunately, he's my only option," Rose said. "It's not a guarantee, either. He may not want anything to do with me."

"I read something in the news about an orphan kid you endorsed and then didn't anymore, or something? Is that him?"

Rose sighed. "Last I saw him, he was still upset about that."

"So it'll be a tough sell," Acacius said. "What exactly do you need help with, anyway? Like, what's your plan?"

"I'm glad you asked." Rose put the newspaper down and folded his hands. "Without Oleana, there isn't much I can do at the moment, so what I have of a plan is, essentially, to wait until she's released so I can safely contact her. I'd like Bede to tell her that I'm alright, but I'm unsure how he would do so without drawing suspicion to him." He paused. "After that… Oleana is a talented woman. Once I return to Wyndon with her, I'm sure she'd be able to point me in the right direction."

"Well, that's probably as good a plan as you're gonna get." Acacius sat down next to him. "Mind if I let Budew out again? She'll probably behave better with two of us."

Once he gave his approval, Budew appeared again. She shot a glare at Rose and went to sulk in the tent's corner. Acacius watched her with a faint smile. "She doesn't like me," he informed Rose.

"I gathered," Rose said. "Why is that?"

"I dunno, she's just had a hard life. See, I'm betting she was hatched and raised by a trainer for the first bit of her life, then released in the Wild Area–which, obviously, you're not supposed to do, 'cause human-raised pokémon don't do well out here." Acacius shook his head. "I noticed her because she was going around charging at everything, and then I ended up stepping in when she picked a fight with a pokémon way out of her league. Poor girl almost died."

"Really?" Rose said. "I thought wild pokémon still knew each other's limits."

"Yeah, but there's a limit to that, too. She's small, not very high level, and was hurt real bad. I had to nurse her back to health."

"And she still doesn't like you?"

Acacius laughed. "Nope."

Rose looked at Budew again. She had her back to them.

"Well," Acacius said, "I can try to get in touch with that kid, but Ballonlea's pretty far. It's not really close to the wild area, either. I'm assuming coming with me wouldn't be…"

He trailed off. "I doubt it," Rose said. "I'm not one for stealth. I would suggest we find a more secure place to pitch the tent, and then–"

Acacius interrupted him. "Your chest is glowing."

Rose blinked. "What?"

He looked down. Sure enough, a faint red glow emanated from his chest. His breath caught.

"Uh," Acacius said. "Has this happened before?"

Rose coughed once and cleared his throat. "Yes," he said. "It was during one of Mable's… experiments, of a sort. She asked if I needed to breathe. Apparently, I can hold my breath indefinitely, and… this happens."

"But you're not doing it now, right?"

"I was breathing normally. I don't know why this is happening."

"Huh." Acacius stood up again. "I'm gonna check something outside. Stay here."

He left again, this time leaving the tent flap partially unzipped. Budew chirped. When Rose looked at her, she was going after the bloodstains again.

Acacius popped his head back in while Rose attempted to block Budew's path. "There's a Dynamax den nearby," he said. "Looks active, too. Do you think that might be it?"

"A Dynamax den?" Rose said incredulously. "What, do I Dynamax now?"

He frowned when the other man laughed; he hadn't intended that to be funny.

"I think that's unique to pokémon," Acacius said. "Still, I mean, if Wishing Stars come from a pokémon, it might be reacting to that. Just a hunch, though. Not like you have to do anything about it."

Rose paused. Budew took the opportunity to dart around him.

Acacius rolled his eyes and stepped all the way into the tent to grab her. "I thought we got all the blood," he said, looking sternly at the wiggling pokémon. "Budew, you're a little freak, you know that?"

"I'd like to see the den, actually," Rose said.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes." He stood up. "I may not have the equipment or the interest to do the experiments Mable intended, but if there's any information I can collect on my own, I'd like to try."

"Well, sure," Acacius said. "It's a bit of a walk from here, though. Not too far, just in the open."

"I'm sure I'll be fine. Isn't it almost dark out?"

"Getting there." Acacius shrugged. "I mean, if you're sure about it, I'll go with you."

"Well, of course. I'd be unprotected otherwise."

Acacius raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. "So let's head over, then."

---

The beacon was clearly visible from their campsite, Dynamax energy beaming into the sky. Rose hesitated for a moment; it would be risky to be out in the open, and trainers regularly sought out Dynamax den for the pokémon inside.

"I'll have Flapple scout for us," Acacius said, nodding to the pokémon in question. "He'll warn us if someone's coming."

Flapple squawked and launched himself into the air without waiting for further command. Rose relaxed, just a little.

Acacius tucked Budew under his arm and started towards the den. Rose rushed a few steps to catch up to him. "Does Flapple keep watch for you often?" he asked.

"Yeah, all the time." Acacius laughed. "One of the reasons I kept him, ha!"

"Kept him?"

"Right, you wouldn't know." He glanced at him. "Or maybe you do? You did become Chairman pretty shortly after my whole situation."

Right. "I only know what was in the statement to the pokémon league," Rose said. "The investigation was concluded by the time I was chairman. I had no reason to look into it."

Acacius shrugged and adjusted his grip on Budew. "I mean, there wasn't much more to it. I spent funds meant for the gym on personal junk, and, y'know, I got caught doing it." He sighed. "It was a lot of money, too. I was supposed to go to jail for a bit, but I gave most of my pokémon to family and camped out here."

"For this long?" Rose said. "That must have been lonely."

"Ha! Maybe that's why I didn't report Mable, y'know? Even if we didn't like each other, I needed someone." Acacius shook his head. "But whatever. Yeah, I've been off the grid since then."

"You still got mail, though."

"Oh, I'm using the name of the guy that used to live in Mable's place. That's why our mail got mixed up so often."

"I see," Rose said. "Still, it must have been hard."

"Eh, could've been worse." Acacius pointed ahead of them. "Anyway, we're almost at the den."

The conversation was clearly over. Rose let it drop.

They reached the Dynamax den, the rocks surrounding the entrance glowing a reddish pink. Acacius looked up at Flapple, then nodded at Rose. "Shouldn't be any trainers around," he said. "It's probably a new one. You want to get any closer?"

Rose put a hand over his chest. Did the scar feel hotter than usual? "I could," he said. "I don't feel anything… odd."

"Really? Nothing?"

His mouth twitched. "For the most part, my body feels the same as it did before Eternatus attacked me, though it was obviously altered by the incident. If the Wishing Star is reacting to the den, it doesn't feel any different from when I was in the tent."

"Fair enough," Acacius said. "You want to head back?"

Budew squirmed in his grip. Acacius moved to switch her from one arm to the other. She took the opportunity to wiggle free and dart towards the den.

Acacius cursed. "Budew! Get back here!"

He rushed after her. Budew escaped his outstretched arms and jumped into the den. Without hesitation, Acacius followed.

Rose stood in silent bemusement for a moment before he heard Flapple screech above him.

Fear prickled down his spine. Was someone coming? He had nowhere to hide here, unless…

Rose went over his limited options and decided the safest thing to do was to follow Acacius. Without letting himself waste time reconsidering, he ducked inside.

The den was much larger than it appeared on the surface. Rose slipped and stumbled down to solid ground, where Acacius stood behind his trevenant, Budew clutched safely in his arms.

In front of them, a massive pokémon rumbled.

The drednaw lowered its head and snapped its jaw, the shell on its back the size of a house. Drednaw was a species that had a Gigantamax form–lucky for them, the one they faced did not appear to have the Gigantamax factor, and was only Dynamaxed.

Acacius glanced behind him. "You're here, too? Thought you didn't have any pokémon!"

"I don't," Rose said. "Flapple alerted me to something. I assumed here would be safer."

"Fair!" Acacius looked back at the pokémon. "Dunno how much safer, but at least I've got a type advantage. Trevenant, wood hammer!"

Trevenant shrieked and raised one of his branches, the move's energy strengthening the limb, and landed a solid hit on the drednaw's jaw.  It reeled back and retaliated with a torrent of water, knocking Trevenant back and soaking Acacius and Rose.

Budew squeaked. Acacius sputtered and pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Actually, nevermind," he said. "I don't care about the type advantage, I'm not battling this thing alone. Let's get out of here."

Rose had no complaints. He and Acacius backed away, Trevenant staying between them and the drednaw, until they were at the entrance to the den.

The slope hadn't seemed nearly as steep when he went down it. Rose and Acacius both eyed it. "You go first," Acacius said. "I'll have to climb, and I can't do that holding Budew. I'll pass her up to you."

"She wouldn't cause trouble in a serious situation." Rose frowned. "Would she?"

"Just keep a good grip."

The drednaw roared. Acacius yelled back at Trevenant, "Keep it busy!"

Rose, with some difficulty, pulled himself up to the den's exit. He turned, took Budew from Acacius, and held her tight as Acacius followed. "Give me a second," he said when Rose tried to offer Budew back. "Gotta recall Trevenant first."

The moment Trevenant disappeared into the pokéball, the drednaw charged forward. Not used to its size, its head rammed into the roof of the cavern and shook the den. Rose stumbled and took a step back.

His foot landed on empty air.

He toppled off the rock and hit the ground hard. Budew shrieked and wiggled free from his grasp. Rose rolled on his side and saw Budew puffed up between him and the drednaw,

Acacius yelped. "Rose! You hurt?"

He didn't have time to answer. Rose picked himself up and ran forward to snatch Budew off the ground. He got his hands on her just as the drednaw summoned another deluge.

The water slammed into Rose and knocked him back into the slope. For a moment, he was submerged, and it only took that moment to get water up his nose. He sputtered, snorted, and held up Budew.

Acacius tucked her under one arm and reached with the other to help Rose up. The drednaw slammed its head into the ceiling again, but Rose and Acacius held on to each other, and practically threw themselves out of the den.

The entrance collapsed behind them.

Acacius hunched over, breathing hard. "Good God," he said. "Budew, you little brat! You could have gotten us killed!"

Budew chirped. Rose straightened up and glared at her. "She's not repentant at all, is she?" he said. "I feel like I've bruised my entire body!"

"Man! Didn't even figure out what that reaction was." Acacius groaned. "Let's just head back."

"Hey, Chairman!"

Rose flinched at Mable's shout. Acacius swore and spun around with him. "Not her again!" he said. "Where's–"

Mable glared at them, one arm hooked around Bede's shoulders, her free hand holding a knife to his throat. Bede was breathing hard. His defiant expression wasn't enough to hide his fear. Rose was rooted to the ground, unable to run no matter how much he wanted to.

"Come with me, Chairman," Mable said, "or this kid dies."

Bede didn't look at him.

Weavile appeared, darting out of the brush to meet Flapple diving from the sky. The two pokémon hissed at each other, but made no move to attack.

"A kid?" Acacius said. "You just picked up a random kid for a hostage?"

Mable yanked Bede closer to her, causing him to stumble. "He was pretty insistant that the Chairman didn't care about him," she said. "So, sure. Just a random kid. You want him to live or not?"

"Let's not do anything drastic," Rose said, holding up his hands. Bede met his eyes for a fraction of a second.

Acacius shook his head. "Can we talk about this?" he said. "Maybe we can work out a compromise."

"No," said Mable. "Recall your pokémon."

"C'mon–"

"Do what she says," said Rose.

"What?" Acacius shot a surprised look at him. "But–"

Rose raised his voice. "Do what she says. Now."

The other man didn't try to argue further. Acacius took Flapple's pokéball off his belt and recalled him, but in doing so, lost his grip on Budew. She took the opportunity to launch herself off his side and bolt for the woods.

"Hey!" Mable grit her teeth. "I said–"

Acacius dropped Flapple's pokéball and put his hands up. "She's harmless," he said quickly. "You know she's harmless, Mable! You're not going to slice some kid's throat just 'cause I can't control that brat, are you?"

Mable didn't look away from them. "Weavile," she said, "take care of it."

Weavile barked and ran after Budew, both of them disappearing into the woods.

Bede spoke. "You must not be confident, if you think a budew can ruin your plans."

Rose sucked in a sharp breath. "Bede–"

"Shut up," Mable snapped.

She brought the knife up and cut Bede's ear. He yelped and tried to pull away, but Mable had the knife on his throat again too quick to react. "That was a warning," she said. "Chairman, get over here."

Acacius grabbed Rose's arm. "Hey, wait–"

Rose saw Mable shift the knife at the sudden movement. "Acacius," he said slowly, "let go of me."

"I just think–"

Bede laughed. "I told you," he said. "He doesn't care about my life."

Mable glared at him. "Looks like you don't care, either, brat."

"You should have chosen a better–"

She moved the knife up again, presumably for another warning.

The moment the blade was off his throat, Bede slammed his head back against her face.

Mable shouted. She didn't have a chance to recover before Acacius ran and tackled her, grabbing her arm and yanking the knife away from Bede. The boy pulled away from Mable and stumbled a few steps, falling on his hands and knees in the grass.

Rose's eyes fell on Flapple's pokéball. He snatched it off the ground and opened it. Flapple burst out and shot towards Acacius to help his trainer.

While Acacius and Flapple fought off Mable, Rose ran to Bede. "Are you alright?" he asked, crouching down next to him. "Did she hurt you?"

"I'm fine," Bede said. His ear bled where Mable had nicked it, but otherwise, he appeared to be unharmed. He took a deep breath and stood up. "She took my pokémon. I don't know where they are."

Acacius shouted. Rose looked up and saw Mable pulling away from his grip. She switched her knife to the opposite hand and reached for her pokéball belt.

A yelp from the woods stopped her. Weavile ran out, visibly worn out, followed soon by a tall, ethereal figure–a hatterene, Rose realized. Bede's hatterene. She let out a discordant tone and the surrounding area lit up in a gleam. Rose covered his eyes, but he wasn't the attack's target. When the light faded, Weavile had fainted.

Behind Hatterene, Budew poked her head out, clutching one end of a pokéball belt in her mouth and looking awfully pleased with herself.

Mable swore and switched pokéballs, recalling Weavile. "This isn't over," she said. "No one else can help you, Chairman–I'll have you soon enough!"

"Really," Rose said, standing up straight. Mable was no longer intimidating once she had lost the upper hand. "And then what?"

She fled without answering.

Acacius rubbed his arms. "Are we going to let her go?" he asked. "I mean, don't really know what else…"

Bede snatched his belt from Budew and reaffixed it around his waist. "Tell me what's going on," he demanded. "Who was she? What does she want with you? Why didn't you–" He shook his head. "What are you doing out here? I thought you were going to Wyndon!"

"That would have been the better option," Rose said. "I do owe you an explanation, at least, but… let's return to the campsite."

"Sounds good," Acacius said. "I have a first-aid there. Should probably clean up that cut."

Bede raised a hand to cup his wounded ear. "I'm fine."

"Naw, it'll get infected otherwise." Acacius picked up Budew and nodded at Rose. "C'mon, we're going."

Rose nodded and started walking. Bede grumbled, but followed them without complaint, Hatterene trailing behind him.

---

The tent was awfully small for three people and a budew. While Acacius treated Bede's ear, Rose sat down and explained his situation in broad strokes.

"After Oleana and I separated," he said, "I made the mistake of asking Mable for help. When I learned she had previously been a high-ranking member of Team Flare, she didn't intend to let me leave. I don't know what her plans are for me, but considering what she's already done and the lengths she's gone to, it's safe to assume her intentions are not good."

"I figured that much," Bede said. "Why did you leave Oleana?"

Rose sighed. "Not for any reason I can justify now. I should have stayed with her, but, well, I didn't, and now I have to deal with this."

Acacius put a bandage on Bede's ear and nodded. "Should be good now," he said. "I guess we get a better campsite and wait it out? I'll have Flapple scout, and–"

"No."

Acacius and Bede turned to Rose. "No?" Acacius said. "I mean, what else can we do?"

"Unfortunately, my plan is no longer viable." Rose frowned. "Mable targeted someone relevant to me. That crosses a line. I have to go to the Pokémon League for help."

Bede's eyes widened. Rose glanced at him. "Bede, I'll need you to contact them. I have no way of doing so myself. Acacius, thank you for what you've done for me; we'll make sure to be clear of your campsite before we go."

"That's it?" Acacius said. "You're just leaving?"

Rose held his hands out in front of him. "Who is she going to go after next? Oleana? My brother? It would be irresponsible to do nothing, and I don't have the resources to stop her myself. I have no choice in the matter."

Acacius stared at him, then let out a long sigh. "I'll come with you," he said.

"You're under no obligation to."

"Hey, I was the one who let Mable live in that dump. I ought to take some responsibility for letting her go this far." Acacius shook his head. "'Sides, I've lived out here for long enough. Might as well rejoin society."

"Who are you again?" Bede asked.

Budew chirped. Acacius picked her up. "Everyone out," he said. "I've got to pack."

Outside, Hatterene put her single appendage on Bede's shoulder. He looked up and smiled at her. "I'll call the league," he said to Rose. "Do what you need to."

Acacius began packing up. Rose stood in the clearing and looked down at his chest. It was still glowing, though not nearly as bright. He put a hand over where his heart was supposed to be and wondered if there had been a better option.