The New Adventures of Raptor Trainer

Bones to Pick

Considering the situation at hand, Professor Kukui didn't seem very perturbed. He was still flashing that confident smile, and he stood his ground.

"Well, what's the big deal fellas? Every other region has a Pokémon league; don't ya think it's time Alola stepped up to the table with their own iteration of one?"

"What's it gonna do to the place, yo!?" the second one asked, seemingly frantic. "You think people are gonna want MORE high-end Trainers in some Elite Four beatin' 'em down when they already got the Kahunas to worry 'bout? That's nuts, man!"

{Since when do YOU care about what other people think?} I snarled.

"Nobody asked YOU, Scarface!"

When both of them said the exact same thing at nearly the exact same time, they managed to catch me a bit off guard. I stepped back a bit, more put off by their synchronization than the insult I'd heard too many times already.

"Hey!"

That was when the professor's smile faded slightly, and his gaze hardened.

"Alright, you can come after me and my decision making all you want, but you cross a line when you mess with people I care about, you know?"

"You blind as a Zubat, Kukui?" the second one retorted, trying to retaliate with his own perceived confidence. "That thing ain't no person."

"You think what's on the outside means anything to me? Well, then...How about we settle this with a Battle Royal, huh?"

"Yo, for real?"

"For real. I'll have you two down in just a couple Swifts and an Incinerate or two, yeah! And I'm sure Echo here could do a number on you boys too, if she wanted...She's done it time and time again, after all!"

Of course, I knew he was talking about how I was able to defeat them about every time they crossed paths with me. But judging by their faces, it looks like the two grunts thought he was insinuating...the first  incident I had with them. And they didn't take it lightly.

"Oh, you wanna go down THAT way, do ya!? the first grunt hollered. "Well, you two and your sorry butts asked for it! We gonna-!"

"You two ain't gonna do nothin'...I'd like to take it from here."

...The third voice came from right behind the two grunts. They jumped at the sound of it, then turned around to face whoever it was, eyes widening.

By then, they'd parted enough so that we could get a better look at the new person. I could tell right away that he was a member of Team Skull by what he wore and the way he'd presented himself, but he didn't look like the average grunt. He was taller, stronger-looking, a bit older than the others...But he had that same angry, detached look in his eyes.

He stepped forward and crossed the bridge, stopping only a foot or so away in front of the professor...Several bystanders on our side of the bridge stepped back when they saw him approach, and judging by the looks on the faces, THIS guy was bad news.

"Yo, take a step back," one of the two grunts said to the other. "It's Guzma."

"The boss has graced us with his presence!"

"That's right," the human in question confirmed. "The boss who beats you down, and beats you down, and never  lets up...Yep, it's ya boy Guzma here!"

So, this was the "boss" that the grunts and Gladion had spoken of. The one in charge of the team...the one who'd assigned the grunts to go after me after what happened on Melemele.

I narrowed my eyes at him, and held back the urge to snarl. It was obvious he was up to no good, but the flash of cunning in his unsettling gaze told me not to rush into anything