The group fanned out into a loose semicircle around Nova, not quite blocking his path but making it clear they weren't stepping aside either.
Nova stayed calm. He was the newcomer here, and starting something without knowing what he was walking into would have been foolish. He waited to see what they wanted.
The one who stepped forward first was a thin man with a slight hunch, his hair dyed in uneven patches of yellow and blue. He carried himself with an easy, practiced confidence — not quite the look of a street thug, but not far from it either. He smiled at Nova like they were already acquainted.
"A new face," the man said pleasantly. "What brings a young man like you all the way out to Lune Town?"
Nova was already lining up a vague answer, but the man held up a hand before he could speak.
"Actually, never mind that. What you're here for is your business." He spread his hands. "But you're new, and Lune Town isn't the easiest place to navigate if you don't know where things are. What you need is a guide — someone who knows how things work around here. Someone who can make sure whatever you're looking for goes smoothly." He tapped his own chest. "The name's Safest. And finding me is, well — the safest way to get anything done in this town."
So he was a local running a toll scheme dressed up as a service.
Nova had seen this type before. In certain places, you stepped out of the station and someone was immediately at your elbow offering to carry your bags, and if you said no, you found yourself walking into a wall of unfriendly faces. The offer was never really optional.
That said, Nova didn't actually mind having a local who knew the layout. As long as the man held up his end of the deal, paying for a guide wasn't a problem. And if Safest decided to try something funny, Nidoking was right there behind him.
Nova agreed to a price and handed over a deposit upfront.
Safest immediately started looking around for one of his crew to fob the job off on, but Nova was already close enough to throw an arm around his shoulders before the man could signal anyone.
"Come on, Safest," Nova said cheerfully. "I feel like we've really clicked. Why don't you show me around yourself?"
Safest glanced at the three Poké Balls on Nova's belt. Then he looked at Nidoking. Then he decided that today was a fine day to do a bit of honest work. Even in a three-on-one fight, taking on a Pokémon that size was not a prospect he found appealing.
Besides, making money was nothing to be embarrassed about.
The first stop was a casino tucked away in one of the old buildings near the centre of town. A good number of people who made the long crossing through the desert came specifically for this kind of place — unlicensed, unregulated, and offering the particular thrill that came with both.
Nova walked a slow lap around the floor, looked at everything with mild interest, and then told Safest he wasn't a gambler and they could leave.
The security guard at the door watched them go with an expression that made his feelings perfectly clear. He had let Safest walk a non-paying visitor through his establishment, and he was not happy about it.
The next stop was a restaurant. The moment Nova picked up the menu and glanced at it, he set it back down.
Magikarp sashimi. Stewed Mareep. Braised Doduo. Crispy roasted Tranquill.
Nova stared at the menu for a moment in silence. He had known Lune Town was a lawless place, but seeing it laid out in print was something else. If he hadn't had more pressing business to deal with, he would have shut this place down on principle. He set the menu down, stood up, and walked out at a brisk pace, pulling Safest along with him.
The proprietress watched them leave and directed a stream of complaints at Safest's back. She had assumed Nova was backing away from the prices. What she didn't know was that Nova had been more tempted to have Nidoking use Flamethrower on the kitchen than to order anything from it.
Two stops in, Safest was running low on ideas. He studied Nova for a moment, and then something seemed to click. A knowing grin spread across his face, revealing a row of yellowed teeth.
"I think I understand you now," he said, pointing at Nova. "You're a man of specific tastes. Say no more."
Nova blinked. "What?"
"Don't worry about a thing. Leave it to me."
Safest led him down a side street and into an old building with gaudy, flickering lights over the entrance.
"Don't let the outside fool you," Safest said, lowering his voice. "The girls inside are top quality. And if you have particular preferences, we even have a Lopunny or two on offer—"
Nova stopped him there.
He was, in principle, curious what sort of arrangement a Lopunny could possibly be involved in at a place like this. But he was also a person with standards. More practically, he lived with Aresdra Cortana, who was, by any reasonable measure, one of the most striking people he had ever met. After that, this establishment held approximately zero appeal.
He was simply curious. That was all. He absolutely did not want to see for himself.
He dragged Safest back out onto the street.
The madam inside was left staring at the door with an expression very similar to the casino guard's, and the restaurant owner's before that.
Safest, meanwhile, was quietly having a small crisis.
He had led this young man across half of Lune Town, and the man had shown no interest in gambling, eating, drinking, or any of the usual reasons people came out here. He had just wandered around looking at things. So what in the world did he actually want?
A thought crept in, cold and uncomfortable.
What if he was an undercover officer from the Security Office? What if his parents were high-ranking enough to have their son placed here to gather evidence? Safest had let his guard down because Nova looked young, but youth didn't rule anything out.
He broke into a quiet sweat.
Safest, you blockhead, he thought to himself. You walked right into this.
In reality, Nova's reasons were far less dramatic. He had no interest in whatever else Lune Town had to offer. He had spent the time doing exactly what he needed to do — learning the layout of the town. If things went badly with Taylor later, knowing the streets would matter.
But Safest had run out of patience.
He turned to Nova, his friendly expression finally dropping. "All right. Enough of this. Tell me what you're actually here for — or we're done."
Nova let a beat of silence pass. Then he looked away and spoke as if the words were being pulled out of him reluctantly.
"I heard there's a kind of... medicine here. Something you can give a Pokémon to make it battle harder, stronger. And I heard there's someone called Taylor who deals in it."
The effect was immediate. Safest's expression shifted from irritation to understanding, and then to the quiet satisfaction of a man who had finally found the answer to a puzzle.
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So that's it. Drugs.
Not an unusual conclusion in Lune Town. Taylor was well known — or at least his product was. When a Trainer's own skill fell short, or their Pokémon's growth plateaued and progress came too slowly, some of them started looking for shortcuts. Taylor supplied one of the most accessible of those shortcuts: a compound that temporarily forced a Pokémon's body to perform well beyond its normal limits, at significant cost.
Safest happened to carry two doses himself. For someone in his line of work, Pokémon weren't companions — they were tools. In a situation that turned dangerous, a dose of Taylor's product was the quickest way to turn a losing fight around. As for what it did to the Pokémon afterward — that wasn't a concern. When one wore out, you caught another. Simple enough.