Chapter Text
“So how bad is it, Mr. Socep?” Vinny asked the mustached cowboy looking under the hood of their car. The Pokémon Detectives of Hazbin were going to join Rosie and Mimzy for a cowboy-rodeo festival in Wickenburg, Arizona, as special guests when their rental broke down. Luckily, they stopped just by the Socep Ranch just outside the town of Carefree, and the owner Bill Socep has offered to take a look at it.
“Pretty bad, I’m afraid,” the cowboy answered, standing up straight and wiping the back of his neck with a red handkerchief. “It looks like radiator’s overheated.”
“Ya, no kiddin’,” Monty sighed, taking off his hat and fanning himself with it. “Even a Cacturne wouldn’t be caught dead out here.”
“I’m not surprised these Tauros are used to this heat,” Joan added, turning to the Paldean Blaze-Breed Tauros lounging nearby the ranch, “given that they’re Fighting/Fire Type. It must be a hundred degrees out here.”
“Ninety-eight, actually,” Bill replied. “I’ve checked the weather before your car overheated here. Either way, you’re right; these beauties seem to love the Arizona environment around here. But should they want a drink once in a while, my boys and I would guide them to a good natural water source I know of a mile or two from here.”
“I’m surprised you can find water out here in a place very much like a desert,” Vinny replied with interest.
“I’ve been living in this part of Carefree since my early teen years,” the cowboy stated with a bit of pride. “You’d be surprised what I found out all those years. Why, twenty years ago, when I was riding out here—“
“Uh, Mr. Socep, not that we don’t want to hear about your discoveries,” Joan interrupted kindly, “but we don’t have a car now that ours is overheated.”
“‘N’ to think I got a good deal on this rental,” Monty groaned, rubbing his aching temple in annoyance.
“Well, don’t you three worry,” Bill assured them. “One of my ranch-hands Bobby is a really good mechanic; he’ll have your ride fixed in an hour or two. As for getting to Wickenburg, you can join me and my boys Clint and James for the ride there; we’re gonna be bringing some of my best Tauros there for the festival’s rodeo competitions.”
“Sounds like fun,” Joan replied. “I’ve never herded Tauros through the desert like in those western movies before. You sure you don’t mind, Mr. Socep?”
“Bill! BILL!” Before the cowboy could answer, a dark-haired woman a couple of years younger than him and in a white cowboy hat ran up to him, looking very distressed indeed.
“Jess, what’s wrong?” Bill asked before introducing the trio to her. “Oh, this is my wife Jess.”
“Hello, Mrs. Socep,” Joan greeted her. “What seems to be the problem?”
“It’s Cassie!” she answered. “Butch Woodeast and his gang kidnapped her!”
“What?!” her husband cried.
“Who are you referrin’ to?” Monty asked.
“Cassie’s our daughter,” Bill explained as he tried to calm down. “As for Butch, he’s this scumbag delinquent who can make a model citizen out of a school bully. He’s been obsessed with Cassie, but she wants nothing to do with him, especially with his rep sheet as long as both his arms combined.”
“Let me guess,” Vinny replied, crossing his arms across his chest. “Tries to make other businesses ‘buy his protection’?”
“Yes, but they never go well,” Jess answered. “Said business would just kick them out without a second thought or just tell them they’ll think about it but call the sheriff instead after those punks leave. All Butch and those boys got were cuts and bruises and a night in the cell. A week at the most even.”
“And he really has his eye on your daughter?” Joan asked.
“Not just for her looks and her smarts,” Bill answered, “but for her inheritance. Since she’s our firstborn, the entire ranch will be passed to her when I retire.”
“And your certain it’s Butch who’s kidnapped her?”
“I saw him,” Jess answered. “Cassie and I were loading some stuff into the truck for Wickenburg. When I was a good distance away from it and Cassie, Butch drove up to her on his Revavroom Turbo and grabbed her before driving off. And then his gang drove up on their Cyclizar and slashed the tires before they all drove off. Luckily, I was able to hear Butch yell ‘Off to Wickenburg!’.”
“Uh-oh…” Bill replied. “Rev. John is going to be Justice of the Peace there to do a couple of weddings for the festival. I’m willing to bet that Butch is gonna force him to marry him and Cassie.”
“But wouldn’t he be outnumbered to try a stunt like that?” Monty asked.
“Yeah, but the Pokémon with them would be convincing in a bad way,” Vinny replied. “We gotta stop them.”
“But out car’s broke down,” Joan pointed out as she checked the map on her phone. “And even if not, the fastest route will just take us an hour to get there.”
“The main road, true,” Jess replied, “but the old beaten path will get you there faster; Butch and his gang has even taken it.”
“The old beaten path?”
“Cassie uses it when she heads to Wickenburg on horseback,” Bill explained. “We don’t use it ourselves since we’re used to getting there with our truck via main road. But Cassie did say that the beaten path gets her there more quickly, even when she’s riding her Ponyta Lydia.”
“Aren’t you worried she might get lost?” Vinny asked.
“We were at first,” Jess admitted, “but she told us that there’s a signpost from back the 1880’s to show the way at the crossroads just halfway there. She’s even painted the letters when the old paint was wearing down so she can still read it.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Joan replied with a bit of determination. “Let’s go round ‘em up!”
*~*Later*~*
Joan looked around herself as she rode down the beaten path through the desert on her Rapidash Flashfire. Jess, Bill, and two of their ranch-hands rode alongside her and the twenty to thirty Blaze Breed Tauros they’re herding. She really does feel like she’s part of a herding scene in one of those old western movies.
“How are you two holding up back there?” she called over her shoulder. Behind her, Monty and Vinny rode together on Bill’s Mudsdale Samson.
“I think we’re getting the hang of this horseback riding,” Vinny answered, his arms around Monty’s waist as he’s riding behind him.
“Well, don’t you worry about Samson,” Bill chuckled. “He may look big and tough, but he’s a gentle giant.” Samson snorted contently to agree.
“Ya know,” Jess said as she looks around the area, “I can see why Cassie loves to take this path; it’s beautiful and peaceful this time of year.”
“The Tauros seem to like it too,” Bill agreed, pointing out the happy mooing from the fiery bulls. “Maybe we should take this path with them to Wickenburg more often…after we help Cassie.”
“You’ve made that call to the authorities there?” Joan asked.
“Yeah, Sheriff Wayne and Deputy Gero have known Cassie since she was just a lil’ tot in diapers. They’ll have their posse ready when they see Butch’s gang and if things should get hairy.”
“Posse?” Vinny replied with an amused smile. “They must be into this Wild West feeling themselves, huh?”
“What can we say?” Jess joked. “Sheriff Wayne’s a real western fan.”
“Guys, I think I see something up ahead,” Joan called before having Flashfire trot on ahead. She then stopped at the spot she was heading for and looked down at the ground before her.
“Uh-oh…”
“What’s wrong, Joan?” Monty asked as he and the others joined her.
“Well, the good news is that this is the crossroads.”
“How do you know this is the crossroads?” Bill asked.
“Well, that’s the bad news,” Joan answered, pointing down at the ground before them. There lies a signpost with four arrows: one saying Wickenburg; one saying Carefree; and the other two to different towns.
“That must be the signpost Cassie was talking about,” Jess stated with dismay. “Butch and his gang must’ve pulled it out so we can’t follow them.”
“Can’t we follow their tracks?” one of the ranch-hands asked. Joan looked across the ground again.
“No good; there are none. If they were riding Cyclizar, they must’ve used their tails to sweep the tracks away.”
“That’s pretty cunning for a bunch of troublemakers,” Bill replied, impressed yet frustrated.
“So what do we do now?” Monty asked, turning to the path splitting into three.
That’s when Flashfire snorted with a twitch of his ears and turned to his left.
“What’s wrong, Flashfire?” Joan asked, glancing down at him.
“Someone’s here,” he answered. “I’ve heard footsteps behind those rocks over there; I’m betting it’s a Pokémon.” Joan then turned to the large rock pile he was looking at.
“Hello?” she called over. “You can come out. We’re not gonna hurt you; we just need help.”
“Who are you talking to, Miss Arcson?” the second ranch-hand asked.
“Flashfire heard a Pokémon over there,” she answered.
“How in the world…?”
“Is that one of your abilities from one of your crystals?” Bill asked. “We’ve heard about them on the news.”
“Yup,” Joan answered. “One of my recent powers is to communicate with Pokémon. Kinda like a Dr. Dolittle for them.”
“That’s pretty cool,” the first farmhand replied. Joan just smiled softly as she kept her eye on the rock pile to see a Nosepass peek out from behind it.
“Sorry for startling you,” he said to her as he floated up to them. “I’ve noticed these Tauros from the distance and came to see what was going on.”
“It’s alright,” Flashfire replied. “Say, you haven’t seen a gang of Cyclizar and a Revavroom pass by this spot, have you?”
“Afraid not; I was probably somewhere else when they passed by a while ago,” Nosepass answered, swaying his body from side to side to shake his head. “I can point you to the north if your lost though; we Nosepass always point north.”
“That would help,” Joan explained, “but we were in so much of a hurry that we forgot to bring an emergency map with us.” Nosepass then turned to the signpost still lying on the ground.
“Wait, I remember seeing a young lady riding through here from time to time has recently repainted the letters on the signpost,” he stated, pointing at said post. “You can still use it to get where you need to go.” Joan was about that it wouldn’t help since they don’t know how to set it back up right, but then she got another look at it.
“Of course…Why haven’t I realized this sooner?” She then turned to Nosepass. “Thanks, Nosepass. You’ve saved the day for us.”
“Of course,” Nosepass replied with a smile (his eyes’ U shape indicate it). “I’m always happy to help the lost.”