Opal & Topaz

S1 ep 15: Lilycove city

Luckily he found a decent brand, but there wasn't nearly enough in stock to feed Sparks properly. He hated to see Sparks starve, but he wasn't about to give them any less than they deserved. They were far too good for that cheap crap.

A knock came at his door. Probably his food. Hank took the pokeball from the bed and retrieved Sparks before answering it. It wasn't anything special, just some pizza, but it was good enough for the night.

Hank returned to the chair he'd propped against the window to continue his stakeout when he found himself watching the pizza. There was quite a bit. More than he could normally eat on his own. Usually he wouldn't let his Pokémon dabble in human food but in this case...

Releasing them from the pokeballs, it was obvious they were hungry. Sparks was still whining while Daz just lay on the bed with no energy.

"You can have some," Hank promised, "but only if you eat over the towel." He said sternly. Sparks didn't care. They just ate the whole slice in one bite. Then another. At least they were eating well.

After a few slices he got Sparks to back off. Maybe they weren't full, but it wasn't like they'd be starving, either. Next was Daz. They ate much slower, but stuck to Hanks request and ate over the towel Hank placed on the floor.

Thankfully, they didn't need as much, having two or so slices before walking over and clinging to Hank's back, croaking happily.

Sparks growled quietly. At first, he thought it was out of jealousy before realising Sparks wasn't even looking at them. They were growling at the window.

Suspiciously, Hank walked over, looking out himself. For a few seconds he didn't see anything, before noticing figures slinking through the streets under the cover of darkness. They wouldn't have caught his attention much more than that if they weren't wearing those stupid pirate costumes.

Sighing, Hank retrieved both his Pokémon to their pokeballs, before leaving to find the room the other two were in. Well, there went his decent sleep for the night. And his pizza.

Knocking on the door, he crossed his arms, tapping his foot impatiently as shuffling came from inside the room.

Sanford answered the door, "Oh, hey." They stood there awkwardly for a moment, as Hank was expecting something more to happen. Nothing did, so he took the initiative of speaking.

"I saw some of the aqua guys you told me to look for." He said blankly. That caught Sanford's interest.

"You did?" He looked around the hallway suspiciously, before opening the door properly to let Hank in.

"Where? When?!" Sanford asked, locking the door behind them.

"Just now. On the street." Hank sat himself at the armchair, sighing as he heard the shower. Surely they wouldn't wait for Deimos if they were this adamant on catching those guys?

Sanford cursed under his breath, sitting on the end of the bed. "Well, we can't go without Deimos." They could, really. Nothing was stopping them. "We just have to hope they leave behind enough to track them."

Hank rolled his eyes. Or they could go without Deimos. Not that he'd suggest it out loud. He found Sanford to be... Touchy at times. As the pattering of shower water continued, Hank got up, heading to the door.

"Where are you going?" Sanford almost sounded bewildered.

"To track whoever I saw out there." It wasn't like the tracks would last forever. If they wanted to catch anyone they needed to get to it now.

"But Deimos-" Hank closed the door, not bothering to listen to the rest of whatever Sanford was about to say.

Walking down the hall, he sighed. Those two drove him mad sometimes. At least he wasn't contracted to be around them. They just happened to be following him around.

The air was crisp with salt. Normally, he'd find it nice, however today he wondered how badly it would mess with Sparks's nose. If they could find a fabric, that was.

For now, he followed along in the direction he last saw them leaving in, Sparks brushing against his leg. Occasionally they'd let out a quiet growl, sending Hank on edge, before realising they were growling at nothing.

However, after many dodgy alleys crossed, he decided they weren't really getting anywhere. So, he enlisted the help of Daz, who was climbing to the roof for a wider view of their surroundings. Sparks was whining, refusing to look at Hank because they were jealous that Daz was doing something important.

However, for the scene that Sparks put up, Daz seemed just as clueless as before. It seemed vantage points weren't going to help him.

With a sigh, Hank continued onward, unsure of where he was ending up. They were getting uncomfortably close to the edge of the land, back to the water. Hank shivered. After everything on that boat, he'd be glad to never see water again.

Anyway, it probably meant they'd lost the trail. Maybe they had 'aqua' in their name, but it wasn't likely they'd have somewhere in the middle of the ocean.

Movement flickered at the edge of his vision. Or maybe they did have a base in the water. Tracking the last place he saw movement carefully, he watched the waves lap against the shore and rocks in the sea.

Nothing happened, and he wondered if he was just desperate when he caught another glimpse of whatever moved. Whatever it was, it could swim, and it swam well at that. However, he was more interested in the figures riding on its back. Maybe he hadn't lost the trail after all.

Sparks growled, and Hank lowered his hand for silence. He didn't want to alert them, not when he was getting close. Quietly, he took a pokeball off his belt, showing it to Sparks.

"I know you don't like it in there," he whispered, "but you need to be quiet. You'll be back out again soon."

Sparks snorted, but listened all the same, leaning forward and touching their nose to it before disappearing inside with a bright flash. He just hoped nobody noticed the light.

"Now," he turned back, struggling to find Daz for a moment before noticing them clinging onto the streetlight next to him, listening intently. "I need you to swim me across. Can you do that?"

Daz croaked, looking at him with a glassy stare for a moment before sliding down the pole and walking into the sea. Hank followed, annoyed that he didn't think to bring a change of clothes. But, although he liked the jacket he had on, he couldn't waste time slinking back to the hotel just to change.

Sighing, he followed Daz into the uncomfortably chilly water. He shivered, and part of him was screaming to just forget the mission and wait until morning - at least then the water wouldn't freeze him to death.

But if those aqua bastards could do it, so could he. Daz grabbed his arm, and Hank let himself float - or the closest thing to it - trusting Daz to pull him through the water.

Was it wise to infiltrate without backup? Maybe. But all the same, he had Sparks and Daz with him already. He just needed to be sneaky and figure out what they were doing. What could go wrong?