Man. Howard had never been more thankful that he wore a mask and jumpsuit north of Dewford.

Admittedly, that didn't mean anything when Howard had willingly let himself be knocked out by Isaac in order to avoid a dressing down from his superiors. Isaac could've done a dozen things while Howard was unconscious: take off his mask, take a selfie, steal his wallet. As a matter of fact, Howard was missing four PD by the end of that battle. Maybe Isaac had taken it?

Either that, or Eris Halla had stolen it from him to buy ice cream or something. Or Shred Zeppelin had stolen it and simply pocketed the cash.

Howard blinked. Shred would totally do that! That son of a bitch.

If Isaac had taken off his mask, then... Man, it was over. Super over. Forget the Aerodactyl toy and the kids meal. Howard would have to skip town, change his name, get a new identity. He'd have to-

As the ex-Rocket spoke, Howard silently sighed in relief. He was safe! He was just the coin guy! A victory for Howard Slayte, a defeat for Isaac Merlo! Howard felt like dancing in the middle of the Burger Kingler.

"Haha... Don't remind me about the pennies. Or the herbs. I don't think my reputation will ever recover." Howard deflated, before perking up again. This was a chance to start anew! "Howard Slayte. You were pretty cool while fighting the blue people. You were like... 'whipow! Shazam!' Super cool!"

Realizing that he was embarrassing himself, Howard scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"Why're you here at Burger Kingler? Here for the Aerodactyl toy?"

As the words left his mouth, Howard felt like throwing himself off a cliff. What sort of adult willingly said they were here for a limited-run kid's toy! Only a sad, dejected one. Howard's coolness stocks were crashing by the second.

---

Isaac Merlo

A threat? Did he know? Oh fuck wait did Isaac Merlo actually know who Howard was?

No, no. He was just spending too much time around smart people in Rocket, like Lulu, Head Scientists Rose and Sato, and Admin Bee. That was it! When he was talking to them, it was like Howard was dancing around a political intrigue novel. Yeah, that was it! Isaac didn't know anything! Howard's helmet during their battle had been super secure, and it hadn't been removed.

But what if that was what Isaac wanted him to think? The man had been in Rocket for a while. Wait, was it actually four PD missing from his wallet, or was it more? Shred knew that Howard was poor, and had no money on him. If that was the case, then-

While this was going on, Howard was smiling politely and chatting with his assailant. "Was anyone in top form? I spent most of the time cowering. That Toxic Chain, man. It really messed some people up."

Ah, but wait! What if Isaac was a triple agent, and this was simply a deception or loyalty check by one of the Rocket Beasts to ensure that Howard was loyal? Maybe Cillian Quinn was ensuring that Howard was solid. The archaeologist looked over Isaac's shoulder, as if expecting to see the Underboss sitting at a booth.

"Nah, the hyper-bouncy Wooper is at MilcreyDonalds, actually. You gotta get the Sandshrew SandChew Combo Meal." Howard nodded sagely to Isaac. Clearly Howard's vaguely useful and tangentially related knowledge store made him a whiz when it came to consuming over processed garbage.

"I might get some wooshes, I'm not sure. You're buying for a kid? The fries here are pretty good, but I'm not too sure about the kid meals."

---

Isaac Merlo

"You're right, of course." Howard said drily. "Yet I suspect people will still vainly wish for something grand this Wintertide. History repeats itself, and we keep making blunders."

The line kept moving. Time kept moving. The past only grew, the future only shrank, the present remained the same. If Howard was surprised by Isaac's statement, he didn't seem to be. The League could cover up as much as they want, but citizens talked. Covering up the actions of a primordial god was more than they could do with the current taxpayer's budget.

"I hope that we will triumph." Howard said this with confidence. Humanity had won before, and they would win again. History was humanity's song of victory, and the future was the part not yet sung. "Hope is a dangerous thing."

Yet they would triumph.

It was simply unfortunate that this could have been avoided... somehow. Howard didn't know when or where, but there was some series of events that had ensured that Hoenn would've been safe from an infinite march of apocalypses. If humanity had archived better, chronicled better, knew more...

If Howard had known more...

Yet time couldn't be changed. Modifying history was a crime against the world.

"That's why I love people!" Howard said, suddenly beaming again. "Sometimes. My landlord is prick. I think she might be a member of the Dark Triad."

"My family? Family guy?" Howard allowed himself a wry smile as he pondered the question. His gaze went far away, and he even forgot about the missing four PD. He remembered a beach, far away, on an island that had sunk. A young girl and a man sat on that beach, talking.

Howard felt like a different man from when he had then. Eris had told him that he had a family, but sometimes that didn't feel true. It felt like another lie—another stain on history.

"It's complicated. I just really like Aerodactyls. The one I have? She's been my family for a very long time."

---

Isaac Merlo

"I dunno about that. Garchomp do have a tendency to eat their young."

Suddenly, he turned green. Not a good idea to talk about cannibalism when in line at Burger Kingler. Was it even cannibalisms? Did it count if an evolved Pokémon ate an unevolved one? Were they even the same species? How far down did it go? If that were the case, then...

He stopped himself before he could vomit all over Isaac.

"Time is insignificant, anyway. A year, two, ten, thirty? They're all blips on the great canvas of history. It's a fart in the wind for a geological era, you know? You think the last Ice Age gave a figy about a year, when it lasted for hundreds of them? Thousands?"

"No." Howard shook his head. "No."

Events were moving too quickly now, anyway. Hoenn had undergone several disasters in a handful of years that only one in a hundred generations had to deal with. History was unraveling, even as Howard tried desperately to keep it together. Time was unwinding, even as Isaac tried to experience each moment.

It was all slipping away.

"So you decide the value of that one year you spent. If it's a lifetime or a hundred, that's up to you." Howard scratched his chin. "But you know what I can't abide? The one passage of time that you and I should never, ever forgive?"

Silence. Howard's voice was a raspy whisper as he leaned it.

"How long it's taking to get our food. It feels like it's been fuckin' hours."

---

Isaac Merlo

"Fast food stopped being fast when our society decided that it needed to be luxurious."

The words were spoken with the confidence that could only be attained from watching the One PD Bargain Menu disappear over the course of several years of university in exchange for slightly better flavor. Hell, Howard wasn't even sure if the food tasted better, or if he was tricking himself into thinking it did, given he was spending an extra fistful of PD on it.

The war didn't help much, either. With the several disasters occurring in Hoenn, the war with Rocket, and certain goods being embargoed, stuff was more expensive. Forget the war with Rocket, the economy would kill Hoenn first.

"Sometimes. How does hitting the books help with a fucking meteor? Or a giant interdimensional dragon. Or an interdimensional police force. Buddy, we're living history. All I do is hope that our failures don't repeat."

And that our ancestors left us with a way to fight back. Howard thought silently. Luckily, that seemed to be the case. There were hints of something greater, left behind from a bygone era of heroes and monsters. Now that such an era was returning, it was time for ancient powers to rouse themselves from forgotten ruins and buried charnel pits.

"The biggest issue? All these Legendary Pokémon are coming back, and I still haven't gotten a reliable account of Ecruteak's tax code from the 1600s. It's not fair." Howard slumped his head. "I've been trying to get a proper evaluation of one for ages. Oh, but that's not particularly relevant in our current situation, is it? Hm..."

Howard snapped a finger.

"I study history to find weapons for better people to use. If they can use the knowledge I find to save the region, I'm happy."

---

Isaac Merlo

"You can bash someone over the head with a shield, anyways." Howard pointed out. "And you can parry a blow with a sword. We can give someone a tool, but that doesn't make the person. The wielder makes the weapon, not the other way around."

"If you become the shield, be careful of who wields you."

Who wielded Isaac Merlo? Was it Suicune? Was it his ideals? His bond with Eris Halla and his shattered bonds from his colleagues from Rocket? What about his new ones, born from the League? Perhaps he was simply a piece, moved around on a board by a greater force. Did it truly matter if he was a tool or not, as long as he did was he set out to do?

Who wielded Howard Slayte?

Howard would never answer that question. It was too painful. Besides, he already knew the answer. His missing eye twitched. Blasted nerves. Howard resisted the urge to scratch at it.

"Would you really ask Suicune for me?" Howard's eye sparkled as intruded on Isaac's personal space. The archaeologist blinked once, realizing that he had no reason to know that Isaac Merlo had been chosen by Suicune. Sure, his Rocket persona did, but Howard Slayte? Clueless.

"Wait a minute..." Howard turned his head away in a huff. "You're yanking my chain! If you could ask Suicune, you would've asked it for help against the blue people! Yet you didn't! It's not nice to spread misinformation like that!"

Howard pointed a finger at Isaac's chest.

"Shame on you!"

It was a remarkably impressive acting job. Howard would've given himself a Gholdengo Globe in acting if he could've at this precise moment. It was hard being this talented. It was also hard for the people behind Isaac and Howard, given the two were now at the front of the line.

---

Isaac Merlo