"C'mon, Izzy, you gotta be patient. They'll take the bait eventually."

God, fieldwork in the boonies. Barnaby disliked it probably as much if not more than his smaller companion, but he didn't want to complain excessively. Keep the mood light and fun, as much as that was possible.

"Just think of it this way. You're getting paid to spend time with your favorite person." Barnaby nonchalantly pointed a finger at his grinning face.

"Me." He was honestly only half-joking. Ah, the hubris of the beautiful.

"And hey, if you get too cold you can always come snuggle up over here." Barnaby patted the spot beside where he sat, back leaning on a particularly large tree trunk. "I'll keep you warm."

Suddenly, a glint of golden fur in the distance caught Barnaby's attention. His voice was audibly lower and more serious as he spoke, "Looks like our pup might be close." He nodded in the direction where he saw the figure moving.

Izydor Baranowski
mission: PKMN HUNTER

☉

Caught up in the thrill of the moment and at the prospect of finally going home to a warm bath, Barnaby crouched down and carefully moved to where Izzy was beside the tree line.

Leaving behind their supplies and Poké Balls. An absentminded mistake.

"Not a master of stealth, I see..." He whispers, mostly joking.

As the golden GROWLITHE pelted their ears with panicked barks, it seemed the sound drew out even more puppies. From the undergrowth emerged three others of its kind, although their coats were the more typical orange color. Soon, all three joined their sibling in its eardrum-shattering chorus.

"You're right, looks like the little guy isn't alone." Barnaby mumbled through gritted teeth. Wow, these dogs were annoying. "Maybe we can lure it closer..."

Then, another audible crack of a twig echoes from behind them.

And it wasn't Izzy this time.

Izydor Baranowski
mission: PKMN HUNTER

☉

He almost responded with another unnecessary retort, because there was no way Izzy was going to shush him and get away unscathed. Words on the tip of his tongue were cut short, however, by the damn snap of that twig. They both turned to face the noise.

Fuck.

Barnaby's face paled at the site of the hulking ARCANINE. He watched in horror - time having seemed to slow to a crawl - as its body collided with Izzy's, sending his partner flying backward into the trunk of a tree.

Fuck.

"IZZY!"

Adrenaline beginning to course through his veins, Barnaby lurched forward in an attempt to span the space between him and his now injured friend. Yes, friend, and not just another ROCKET grunt. The terror and unnerving concern for Izzy's safety was genuine - a revelation that Barnaby would assess later. For now, he had a giant murderous dog to contend with.

It sprang toward him with lightning speed; Barnaby was just barely able to dodge out of the way, reacting on basic instinct at this point. And instinct is certainly what drove his next action, because no sane person with time to strategize would likely do what he was about to do.

As the ARCANINE lunged past him, Barnaby's arms reached out and wrapped around the neck of the Pokémon. His body shifted with the momentum of the movement and, with all the strength he could muster, he attempted to stave off the dog's attack by holding its head in place.

Barnaby was literally trying to chokehold a Pokémon with 100+ lbs. on him. And it worked, surprisingly. For awhile. Until the ARCANINE's wild movements flung the man backwards.

FUCK.

The pain was instantaneous. Flesh meeting ground at a speed it wasn't supposed to. Barnaby could feel the cuts opening on his skin; the bruises that would soon begin to form.

Meanwhile, the momma dog was shaking out her coat, reorienting herself after being nearly choked out. That was when movement caught her eye again: the shorter of the two men rising from where he had fallen by the tree.

"I-Izzy..." Barnaby croaked, the wind having momentarily been knocked out of him. He attempted to stand, to run and put himself between the ARCANINE and Izzy, but he knew he'd be too late.

Just then, his hand suddenly hit something hard and metallic.

A Poké Ball.

Izydor Baranowski
mission: PKMN HUNTER

☉

"Barnaby, please--!"

God, the way his stomach dropped at the sound of Izzy's pleading voice. He could almost smell the blood in the air at this point, and it wasn't his own.

Do something. DO SOMETHING.

Barnaby scrambled up, fighting through his own pain, until his hands found purchase on both the Poké Ball that had rolled towards him and Izzy's ball-filled bag.

Next, two things happened almost simultaneously: (1) Barnaby released the Pokémon in his hand, revealing his RALTS and (2) he sprinted toward Izzy, scooping him up in his arms. He barely registered that the ARCANINE was winding up her final blow - all thought was on getting them out of this situation.

"Slateport! NOW!" Barnaby bellowed, his tone urgent and panicked. His RALTS obeyed without hesitation.

Within seconds the two were TELEPORTed away.

Izydor Baranowski
mission: PKMN HUNTER

☉

Their arrival to Slateport was about as gracious as you'd expect: somehow Barnaby landed on his feet despite having a heavy bag over his shoulder and holding Izzy in his arms. That took all his strength, though.

It was probably still the adrenaline that was carrying him forward, honestly, but that wouldn't last long. They needed to get out of the streets, to regroup, and most importantly to check the severity of their injuries.

"Shut up, Izzy. Like hell I'd let you go back home alone."

Barnaby didn't even look down as he said it. He'd already begun speed-walking toward a nearby intersection.

"My place is just around the corner. We'll go there."

Izydor Baranowski
mission: PKMN HUNTER

☉