Taka was nearby. He watched the scene of Lin pushing Solaris off the cliff, his breath caught in his throat. He was never close with Solaris, but he was still his father, and he didn't want him dead.
In fact, he had already left Team Meteor. In Solaris' own words, the last time he saw him, he was glad Taka was abandoning this sinking ship.
But as the sharp intake of his breath escaped, Lin heard that, and she turned, looking directly at his hiding spot and narrowing her eyes.
Taka saw it and immediately turned and ran. Lin threw out Solaris' Garchomp, and as the big creature landed, it had a collar around its neck. It was still injured, and when it was about to turn and glare at Lin, she pressed a button, activating the shock collar and making Garchomp fall in pain.
"After him," she said, giving it no choice, still holding her hand on the button to activate it again if it disobeyed.
So begrudgingly, Garchomp had to obey and took off after Taka, with Lin walking casually behind.
Taka ran as fast as he could, his boots pounding against the rocky ground as he desperately tried to put as much distance between himself and Lin.
He didn't dare look back. He already knew she was following him.
He could hear the heavy footsteps of Garchomp behind him, each one getting closer and closer, while Lin's footsteps followed at a much more casual pace.
Taka gritted his teeth, "Come on...come on!"
He pushed himself harder, but his legs were already beginning to burn. He had been running for several minutes now, and he could hear Garchomp gaining on him.
Taka glanced over his shoulder. Garchomp was charging straight toward him. But Taka could see the collar around its neck, and he knew exactly why it was chasing him.
"Damn it!" Taka turned forward again and kept running.
He knew this area. The mountains were full of cliffs and steep drops, and if he could just make it somewhere with enough cover, maybe he could lose them.
But then he saw the edge of the mountain ahead.
Taka's eyes widened, "...No."
He skidded to a stop. There was nowhere else to go. A massive cliff stretched out in front of him, and far below was a large body of water. The drop was high enough that even if he survived the fall, there was no telling what would happen when he hit the water.
Slowly, Taka turned around. Garchomp stopped several feet away from him, breathing heavily. Behind it, Lin casually walked toward him, her hands behind her back as if this were nothing more than a pleasant stroll.
Taka stared at her, breathing heavily.
Lin smiled, "Well, well," she said, tilting her head, "Looks like you've run out of places to run."
Taka clenched his fists, "Lin."
"That's my name."
Taka looked toward Garchomp, then back at Lin, "You killed him."
Lin shrugged, "He was going to die eventually."
Taka stared at her in disbelief, "You're insane."
"Probably." Lin continued walking until she was standing several feet away from him.
Taka glanced toward the water below.
Lin noticed, "Oh?" she asked playfully, "What's wrong?"
Taka didn't answer.
Lin's smile widened, "Oh, yeah. You never learned how to swim."
Taka's eyes narrowed, "And you're narcoleptic. Wanna keep saying things we already know?"
Lin blinked, then she smiled, "Funny."
Taka slowly looked toward Garchomp. The Pokémon was still glaring at Lin, its body tense and clearly refusing to move. Lin noticed and lifted her hand toward the button on Garchomp's collar.
"You know what to do," she said, not just toward Garchomp, but to Taka too.
Taka gritted his teeth, but he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of begging. Instead, Taka took a deep breath, then he looked directly at Lin, "See you in hell, you narcoleptic freak."
Lin's smile disappeared for just a moment. Then she looked toward Garchomp, "Now…"
Garchomp didn't move immediately. Lin's thumb pressed down on the button. The collar activated. Garchomp immediately cried out in pain, its entire body convulsing as electricity surged through it.
Garchomp knew it wouldn't stop, so it moved toward Taka, but at the last second, it pushed its body to disobey. As its claw came down, it didn't hit Taka, but it did hit the ground below him. At that moment, the ground cracked and broke under his feet.
"WHOA!" Taka stumbled backward as the ground gave way beneath his feet.
Lin blinked, and she stood there for a few seconds as she heard a splash. She walked over and looked down, "Hmm, well, not how I expected, but it gets the job done. Not like he can swim anyway." She shrugged and walked back.
"Garchomp, follow me. We have work to do," Lin said, and Garchomp had no choice but to obey.
But meanwhile, from the cliff, right underneath in a small cave, D got there in time. Since he was using his hover boots, he flew up, caught Taka, covered his mouth, then flew into the cave, and he stayed there while Taka was still trying to calm down his beating heart.
As they heard Lin speak and her walk away, D finally took his hand off of Taka's mouth.
Taka stayed completely still for several seconds, his back pressed against the cave wall as he tried to slow his breathing. His heart was still pounding from the fall, and his hands were shaking slightly.
D crouched beside him, keeping his voice low, "You good?"
Taka stared at him for a moment, then let out a shaky breath, "...You."
D nodded, "Me."
Taka rubbed his face, "You took your sweet damn time."
D raised an eyebrow, "Hey, you're alive, aren't you?"
"Barely."
"Still counts."
Taka gave him an annoyed look, but after a moment, he couldn't help but let out a weak laugh, "You always were an asshole."
D grinned, "And you always were dramatic."
Taka shook his head, then his expression became serious again as he looked toward the opening of the cave, "She killed him."
D nodded once. He didn't see that, but he could have guessed.
Taka looked down, clenching his fists, "I was there. I watched her push him off the cliff."
Taka swallowed hard, "He was my father."
D looked at him, "I know."
"I wasn't close to him. Hell, I hated the bastard sometimes." Taka's voice began to shake, "But he was still my father."
D nodded slowly, "Yeah."
Taka gave a bitter laugh, "Yeah."
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Taka looked at D, "You said you were looking for me."
D nodded, "Yeah. I found some information about what was happening. Then I figured out where you were."
Taka stared at him, "You came all the way out here just for me?"
D shrugged, "You still owe me for that smoothie I bought you. You think I'll let you die before you pay me back?"
Taka let out a humorless chuckle as he sat against the cave wall, then D looked toward the cave entrance, "Come on."
Taka looked at him, "What?"
"We need to get down there."
Taka's expression immediately changed, "Why?"
"Because if he's still alive, we need to know."
Taka stared at him for a moment before slowly nodding.
D stood up and activated his hover boots, starting to hover. He held his arm out.
Taka looked at him, "You're seriously going to fly us down?"
"Unless you've suddenly learned how to fly."
"Very funny."
D held out his hand, "Come on."
Taka grabbed his hand, and D pulled him up.
A moment later, the two of them floated out of the cave and began descending down the cliffside.
Taka kept looking downward, his stomach twisting as the ground slowly came closer.
Then he saw Solaris lying near the base of the cliff, motionless.
Taka's face went pale, "Dad..."
D slowly lowered them toward the ground.
The moment Taka's feet touched the ground, he rushed forward, "Dad!"
He dropped to his knees beside Solaris.
Solaris didn't move.
Taka reached out and grabbed his shoulder, shaking him slightly, "Dad? Hey...come on."
Nothing.
Taka swallowed hard, "Dad, wake up."
Still nothing.
D landed beside him and immediately pulled a pair of rubber gloves from his bag.
Taka looked at him, "What are you doing?"
"Checking him."
D knelt beside Solaris and carefully examined him, but after a quick examination, D slowly closed Solaris' eyes. The fact that Solaris wasn't a red stain on the ground was already a miracle, but then again, humans in the Pokémon world are just built different. But they aren't invincible.
Taka's voice became quieter, "D."
D finally looked at him, "I'm sorry."
Taka froze.
D shook his head slightly, "There's nothing I can do."
Taka stared at him, "No."
"I'm sorry."
"No, check again."
"I already did."
"Check again!" he tried, but Taka knew better. It was just hopeful thinking. Even the best doctor can't bring back the dead.
Taka sat there, "The last time we talked, we argued again, and I told him I was leaving Meteor."
"Not your fault. No one can predict how things will happen," D said, sitting up and stitching his legs, "But you know, now we've got a problem."
Taka slowly stood as well, "What?"
D looked toward the direction Lin had disappeared, "She thinks you're dead."
D smiled under the mask, "And as far as I'm concerned, that's a pretty useful thing for her to believe."
—
{Meanwhile, back with the gang}
The group arrived at Jubilife City. They got here pretty quickly since it was nearby. Also, when you aren't lost, turns out you can get to places really quickly. But Ash already had plans to go back into Route 202 for training and to catch Pokémon, like Turtwig for Ash and Buneary for Dawn, not to mention there was a Contest Hall here for Dawn.
The only real reason that they came here first is because they actually need to talk about whether they were all gonna go in one big group or if Barry was gonna go off to try and speedrun the Gym circuit.
But that was for tomorrow. For tonight, they were sitting in a hotel that Dawn recommended. It was a luxurious hotel here in Jubilife City, called Jubilife Hotel, and it had a Staraptor statue made of gold on the roof.
When they got here, Dawn went in first and came out with keys for everyone, without even saying how much it cost, so they went up and saw that it was super luxurious. Just by looking at it, it was pretty obvious that it was a super expensive hotel, especially when they sat down in the lobby to talk together, and it wasn't much better.
Barry slowly looked around, seeing the chandelier, "...How much does this place cost?"
Lucas looked around nervously, "I don't know."
Verity stared at one of the massive chandeliers hanging above them, "I don't think I want to know."
Barry swallowed, "Guys...I think we're in the wrong building."
Lucas looked at him, "What?"
"This place is way too fancy. We're supposed to be Pokémon Trainers, not royalty."
Verity nodded slowly, "He's got a point."
Barry looked down at himself, then at the fancy furniture around him, "I'm wearing the same clothes I wore yesterday."
Lucas looked down at his own clothes, "Same."
Verity looked at herself, "...Same."
The three of them slowly looked at one another.
Barry whispered, "We're going to get kicked out."
Lucas nodded seriously, "Probably."
Verity looked around again, "Maybe we should leave before someone notices we don't belong here."
Ash, meanwhile, was sitting comfortably on one of the couches, completely unbothered as he was playing with his Piplup's flippers, making her do a little dance.
Dawn was sitting beside him, laughing at how the little Piplup was happily complying. Meanwhile, hers was on the ground, still looking up at Ash's.
Then a butler approached them, "Would you like anything to eat or drink?"
Barry nearly jumped out of his seat, "WE GET FOOD TOO?!"
The butler gave him a polite smile, "Of course, sir."
Barry looked at the others in disbelief, "Guys...we're definitely getting kicked out."
Lucas nodded, "Definitely."
Verity slowly leaned toward Dawn, "How much did you pay for this?"
Dawn blinked, "For what?"
"The hotel!"
Dawn tilted her head, "Oh. Nothing."
Everyone except Ash stared at her.
Barry's jaw dropped, "Nothing?!"
Dawn nodded casually, "Yeah."
Lucas stared at her, "You got all of us rooms in this place for free?"
Dawn shrugged, "Yeah."
Verity narrowed her eyes, "Dawn."
"What?"
"How much does this place normally cost?"
Dawn paused, "...I don't know."
Barry slowly stood up, "You don't know?"
Dawn shook her head, "No."
Lucas looked around again, "That's somehow even more concerning."
Verity crossed her arms, "Dawn, seriously. How did you get the rooms?"
Dawn looked at them like the answer should have been obvious, "I just asked."
Barry stared at her, "You just...asked?"
"Yeah."
"And they gave you rooms?"
"Yep."
Barry slowly sat back down, "I don't get the world anymore."
Ash finally glanced over at them, trying not to laugh, "You guys are stressing way too much."
Barry pointed at him, "Easy for you to say! You don't look like you belong here either!"
"First, I'm offended. I actually change my clothes, and I've stayed in places like this before. Honestly, not even the top five most fancy hotels I've stayed at."
Barry's eyes widened, "YOU HAVE?!"
Ash nodded, "I travel a lot."
Lucas stared at Ash for a moment before slowly turning toward Dawn, "Wait...are we the only ones freaking out about this?"
Dawn nodded, "Pretty much."
Verity sighed, "Dawn, there's something you're not telling us."
Dawn blinked, "About what?"
Verity gestured around the room, "About this place!"
Dawn looked around, "Oh." She thought about it, then smiled sheepishly, "Right. I guess I never mentioned it."
Barry leaned forward, "Mentioned what?"
Dawn casually took a sip of her tea, "My family owns this hotel."
The trio froze as the butler walked up, placed some drinks down, and walked away to get dinner started.
"...What?" Barry finally said.
Dawn smiled innocently, "My family owns the hotel."
Barry slowly turned toward the golden Staraptor statue visible through the window, "Your family owns...THIS hotel?"
Dawn nodded, "And a few others."
Lucas stared at her, "A few others?"
Dawn shrugged, "Yeah."
Verity slowly put a hand over her face, "So that's why you didn't care about the price."
Dawn nodded, "Yep."
Barry stared at Dawn for several seconds before pointing accusingly at her, "YOU COULD HAVE TOLD US!"
Dawn blinked, "You never asked."
"That is NOT something you wait for someone to ask about!"
Lucas nodded, "Yeah, that's information you probably should just tell people."
Dawn shrugged, "I didn't think it was important."
Verity looked around at the luxurious lobby again, "Dawn, we're sitting in a hotel with a solid-gold Staraptor on the roof."
"My uncle said it was imported from Kalos," Dawn added.
"That doesn't make it better!" Verity said exasperatedly.
"I mean, guys, it was kinda obvious. Did you not see the signs that say Berlitz?" Ash said, pointing at the artworks that all had a Berlitz signature on them, and a gold sign also with the Berlitz logo.
"Besides, if you want to talk about looking like you belong, look at what Dawn is wearing," Ash pointed next to him, where Dawn was wearing a Piplup hoodie after a nice shower, and her hair was down.
Dawn looked down at herself, then back at Ash, "What? It's comfortable."
Barry pointed at her hoodie, "That's a Piplup hoodie!"
Dawn nodded proudly, "Yes."
"You're wearing a Pokémon hoodie in a luxury hotel that your family owns!"
Dawn shrugged, "And?"
Barry opened his mouth, then closed it again, seemingly unable to find a response.
Lucas, meanwhile, had been staring at one of the paintings on the wall while casually eating one of the snacks the butler had brought them.
Verity looked over, "Wait a second...how did none of us know your family was rich?"
Dawn blinked, "What do you mean?"
Verity crossed her arms, "Exactly what he said. We've known you for years, Dawn. How did you somehow never mention that your family owns multiple hotels?"
Dawn thought about it for a moment, "I guess it just never came up."
Barry slammed both hands onto the table, "HOW DOES THAT NEVER COME UP?!"
Dawn flinched slightly, "Geez, calm down!"
"You're telling me we've been traveling with you, and this whole time your family owns giant luxury hotels?!"
"Apparently."
"APPARENTLY?!"
Ash was trying very hard not to laugh.
Dawn noticed and immediately pointed at him, "Don't you start."
Ash raised his hands innocently, "I didn't say anything."
"You're smiling."
"I smile all the time."
"That's your 'I'm about to make fun of someone' smile."
Ash's smile widened, "You know me so well."
Lucas took another bite of food, "Hm, you know, now it kinda makes sense…"
Barry looked at him, "You are way too calm about this."
Lucas looked at his plate, "I'm more concerned about whether there's dessert…"
Barry grabbed Lucas by the shoulders and shook him, "WE JUST FOUND OUT DAWN IS SECRETLY A PRINCESS!"
Dawn immediately frowned, "I'm not a princess."
Ash smiled and looked over, "Of course not, Princess."
Dawn immediately pointed at him, "Don't start."
Ash leaned back against the couch, looking completely pleased with himself, "So, what do you think, Princess? Should I call you 'Your Highness' instead?"
"No."
"Your Grace?"
"No."
"Your Ladyship?"
"No."
Ash placed a hand over his heart, "My Lady?"
Dawn's face immediately turned red, "ASH!"
Ash burst out laughing, "Okay, okay, I'm done!"
Dawn grabbed one of the pillows from the couch and threw it directly at his head.
Ash easily caught it, still laughing, "See? You're already acting like royalty."
"I am going to throw you out of your own room."
"Technically, this is your family's hotel, so wouldn't that mean you're throwing me out of your castle?"
Dawn slowly stood up, "Ash."
Ash smiled innocently, "Yes, Princess?"
Dawn's eye twitched again, "Run."
Ash blinked.
Then Dawn grabbed another pillow.
Ash immediately jumped over the back of the couch, "OH, COME ON!"
Dawn chased after him around the lobby, "GET BACK HERE!"
Barry started laughing as he watched them, "This is great!"
Verity shook her head, "You know, I'm starting to think Ash actually enjoys getting himself in trouble."
Lucas took another bite of his food, "He definitely does."
Ash ran around the couch with Dawn right behind him, "Okay, okay! I'll stop!"
"You said that already!"
"I meant it this time!"
"You're lying!"
"Maybe!"
Dawn threw the pillow again, but Ash ducked underneath it, just as the butler came in with dinner. He stopped, looking at the scene. Lucas looked up and held his hands out, "I'll take that off your hands, and can we get more cake?"
The butler looked at the situation and bowed at Lucas, then turned away to go back into the kitchen.
Lucas sat down with the cart of food and tied a napkin around himself like a bib. Meanwhile, Verity and Barry were just staring at him.
He looked at them and shrugged, "What? While we're here, might as well take advantage."
Verity opened her mouth, closed it, and shrugged, sitting down, "Pass me one of those."
Lucas slid a plate over to her as they enjoyed the show in front of them. Things were simpler right now.
Eventually, they would talk about how Barry wanted to go to the next town right away for his Gym battle, while Dawn wanted to go back to catch a Buneary. Plus, she wanted to stay in Jubilife City for the Contest, since that's what she wants to do.
So, since Barry wanted to go off, Lucas agreed to go with him, and they left first thing in the morning. Well, that's what they said. More like Barry dragged Lucas out and he begged to stay, but he got dragged away anyway.
Meanwhile, Verity called dibs on staying here with Ash and Dawn. After all, that means she gets to stay in a nice luxury hotel for free for a few days. Sign her up. Little did she know that would mean she would be receiving Ash's training from hell. The fool. She should have gone with Barry.