Chapter 7

Time had passed. Two fights had come and gone, resulting in an unbeatable reputation of 3-0. Luka started to earn much more money than before, but he didn't feel any richer for some reason. He still felt like a frog at the bottom of the well, with nothing to gain from destroying the lives of these poor people.

He remembered their faces when he won—anger, sadness, fear. It all combined and stayed strongly in Luka's mind as he tapped his bank while sitting on the west bank. His face reflected back in the water as he groaned.

"For fuck's sake."

He felt his heart waver a little. The image of the man he didn't even know the name of, burning in that building, started to take its toll on his mind. He was thinking about it more than he expected.

He couldn't waver. He couldn't. For Ms. Quaker and everyone else he cared about.

"Trubbish." Luka looked toward the small Pokémon, who had a piece of rope attached to some metal he'd found in the plentiful scrap. At first, Trubbish had struggled to pull the makeshift weights, but now it was walking like normal. This was meant to make its Pound attack stronger.

When an opponent got close, Trubbish had no difficulty slamming them to the ground, especially now with its increased strength and the potent poison gas it had developed from eating a lot of industrial waste.

But if they faced something that knew its weakness in long-range combat, or exploited Trubbish's lack of speed, they would surely lose. Trubbish needed a long-range attack that was poisonous. It would surely help.

It didn't take long for Luka to find a small glass bottle. Calling Trubbish over, Luka pointed down to the bottle and stated, "Your poisonous gas is stronger, especially compared to anything we've seen from other Poison Pokémon like Zubat. So I want you to try condensing your poisonous gas into liquid form and direct it into this bottle."

Trubbish tilted its head in confusion at its trainer, so Luka elaborated.

"Ms. Quaker told me a bit about it. You need to condense the poisonous gas in your body by pressing it very tightly together, to the point where it links and forms a liquid. She told me that you're one of the best Pokémon for this. But don't worry, we've got some time to do this. I know it's hard, but I'll try my best to help."

Before Trubbish could respond, Luka heard footsteps behind him. Looking back, he saw Max pop up from the garbage.

"Yo, Luka!" Max called.

Luka smiled and responded in kind. "You good?"

"Yeah, yeah, solid. Just a few things I wanted to talk about," Max replied as he walked closer. After greeting Trubbish, his face grew serious.

"Somebody's been spreading rumors. People are trying to figure out the source, but it's incredibly hard to track. Oh... and the boss says thanks for those cigarettes. He promises to make sure Ms. Quaker stays safe." Max scratched his head while Luka's eyebrows raised.

"What kind of rumors?"

"About the Dust Circuit. Feels like topside information, to be honest. Stuff about the leader, Pluto. Besides that, tensions in the gangs have been increasing. Skirmishes around the borders of territories are happening a lot more often, and it's escalating fast—like war could break out."

"You think that's going to happen? The Dust Circuit and the topside threat are too much for the gangs to handle, no?"

Max's face fell, and he sighed. "Shit's starting to go bad, Luka. Pokémon from outside the Circuit are starting to show up in circulation for hefty prices in the market. Nobody knows where they're coming from, but there are two guesses."

"Topside and other slums," Luka analyzed. The implications could be dire. If people got their hands on Pokémon without binding contracts to the Circuit, anarchy could break out. Pokémon were the reason why the Dust Circuit was so strong. What if some bottom-feeder gang got their hands on Pokémon too?

"Dust Circuit made any moves yet?" Luka asked.

"Dunno. People are saying they've gotten more aggressive, but I haven't seen it. You'll probably find out for yourself when your next fight happens." Max shrugged, then glanced at Trubbish. "Just stay safe, yeah?"

"You too. Don't get involved in these gang skirmishes, or I'll be taking you out of the slums in a box," Luka said coldly, with a mix of care and worry.

"Pff… don't be so serious. I'm resilient, after all." There was a hint of sadness in Max's jovial laughter as he added, "Found what you asked me to look into. 13 Weefel Avenue."

Luka nodded and reached into his pocket, handing Max some money.

"Thanks for everything. Stay safe, Max."

Max didn't linger. Taking the money, he started to walk off with his middle finger raised behind his back. "Cya, rising star."

Luka looked at Trubbish, struggling to condense the poison, and sighed. He pulled out his Pokéball and clicked the half-broken button. Trubbish became a pillar of red light and returned to the ball without issue.

13 Weefel Avenue.