#i um did not use this as an excuse to turn some of the pokemon i use in competitive play to ocs

[askteamsupernova]

What was Sheena's rescue team like? Is she still in contact with them?

Sheena: I'm very glad Requiem and I moved to Treasure Town, but I will admit I miss seeing my old friends in person. Letters and photographs are excellent, but something about sitting down for tea with someone you love is so very healing.

[skz-bibi]

(🔴) ... [ NOW PLAYING ] RACHALOG : SEUNGMIN X BIBI X IN !

note. bold indentations are captions on the scren

"it's such a nice we should've- we already decided , we asked you four times , you chose it." seungmin interrupted the girl. "um excuse me." bibi scoffed. "don't interrupt me like that."

"hand me the camera if you to are gonna fight." she held the camera away from the jeongin.

[ no arguing they're having a healthy discussion ]

she turned to the camera. "anyways , it's such a nice day today , but we're going to the movies." she explained.

"we're going to the arcade first though , the movie doesn't start for like another hour." jeongin said , holding her shoulders , guiding her through the streets.

"yes , to kill time , we're going to the arcade."

"are we going to get food after the movie?" seungmin asked. "probably , i don't eat popcorn so i know i'll be hungry , so we can get food."

they arrived at the arcade , walking around trying to find a game. "it's been a while since we've come here." jeongin said.

"they changed some of the games , they don't have the game i used to win all the time." she pouted. "let's go to the basketball game." they all followed behind seungmin as he guided them to the game.

"i think she's gonna miss , what about you?" "she's gonna miss it." they teased her from behind.

[ evil maknae line teasing the other maknae]

"shut up." she scoffed , focusing on the basket , throwing it , missing just by a inch.

"you guys jinxed it , that was so evil." she said picking up another , shooting it , making it in the hoop. "i told you!" she exclaimed. "i did it." they watch the girl do a little dance. "do another one." she shook her head.

"that was pure luck , im not gonna make it this time , i know for a fact some else go."

they walked around the whole arcade , taking turns playing different games.

"there's a photobooth , let's go take some pictures." they all crammed into the small booth. "let's do three different poses." seungmin clicked the button. "we have to be quick."

[ they tried many many times ]

after a few tries they finally got the best pictures. "these are cute." she picked them up , handing them the others. "i'm gonna decorate it and it on my bag."

"the movie start soon , so let's do one more thing before we head to the movie." they all wanted to have a go at the claw machine , so they made their way over to the big bright machine.

she watched them both try it , seungmin winning and jeongin failing to do so. "i'll win you one , don't worry." she patted his back.

"i want that one." she pointed to the duck. "that one is coming home with me." she put the money into the machine , eyes dead set on the stuffed animal.

"so focused." they smiled at the girl. "cute." they watched her slam her hands on the button , tongue poking out in concentration.

she lowered the claw , grabbing the duck , but also a extra—a little pokemin toy. "ah oh my god!" she yelped.

[ excited duck ]

"no way!" they both cheered her on as she focused once again , now set on getting both. "no way she gets both."

she slowly moved the joystick. "almost." she let it go , both of the animals falling through the hole. "yes!" she pulled the the animals out , jumping up and down.

"here." she handed jeongin the toy. "thank you." he took the pokemon , smiling.

they had to rush over to the movies so that they wouldn't miss it , making it just in time to order snacks. "we've made it to the movie just in time."

they found their seats , sitting down snacks and stuffed animals in hand.

"we're all in our twenties , we look like kids." jeongin laughed. "it's about to start , so we'll see you soon."

she turned on the camera , quietly waving to the camera. "it's a good movie , it's funny." she whispered.

"they both were on their way to sleep." she said turning the camera on them. "oh well seungmin is already sleep."

[ poor puppy fell sleep ]

she turned to jeongin who nodding off , but he noticed the camera , smiling. "what are you doing?" he pushed it out the way.

"okay that's enough , i'll see you guys after." she waved turning the camera off.

[ the maknaes come stumbling out of the movies ]

"how would you know what the movies was about?" she laughed at seungmin. "you fell asleep 30 minutes in." he shoved her into jeongin who was fixing his hair , rubbing his tired eyes. "let's get some food." he groaned. "you ate like three things of popcorn , but okay."

[ discussing on what to eat , they decided on meat ]

"i'll cook it." she offered. "i don't mind."

she laid the meat on the grill , letting it cook. "oh it looks good." she said , watching it brown before flipping it. "here." she cut it using the scissors so they could eat it , stealing a few pieces herself. "it's good."

she sat down finally , taking another piece of cooked meat.

"today was fun." seungmin spoke up. "yeah , we should do this again , when we have free time."

"i still can't believe bibi actually got two stuffed animals." she smiled.

"why not , im just cool like that." they stared at her. "this is why we can't complement her , she gets a big head." jeongin said.

"well a even bigger head." she glared at the boy. "yah , kim seungmin how many times have i told you about talking about my head." jeongin shook his head. "both of you stop fighting."

[ they don't even hear the poor fox , fox is tired ]

"i don't know why i try."

©️SKZ-BIBI

[pokemonhealingvillage]

Village of Healing Ch. 1.2

Author note: I want to continue the fic, but I sort of want to make the lengthy chapters important. So here's a little more informal ficlet(?). I'm not really sure what to call this, but it's a part of the story anyway! As always, everything will be under the "Read More" !

In the Forest Center, most Pokemon are closing their trade booths for lunch. Luna is strolling about, her eyes half-lidded and her strides are slow. She almost didn't notice the Chansey that approached her.

Ms. Hope: So, how was your first night here in the village?

Luna: Rough... I kept tossing and turning and waking up in the middle of the night... I didn't get up until noon...

Ms. Hope: Oh dear... I'm so sorry about that. I suppose it takes a while to adjust. I've been here for so long, I always end up forgetting that new arrivals need to get used to this way of living.

Gale: Ms. Hope!

A Gallade catches the attention of both Pokemon, one with a notch out of the fin on his head. Hope smiles and turns to him while Luna glances between them.

Ms. Hope: Oh, Gale! I'm glad you're here! This is Luna, the new arrival I spoke about yesterday.

The Umbreon gives a small smile and a polite nod. Gale returns the gesture, bowing his head slowly.

Gale: A pleasure, but unfortunately I don't have a lot of time to chat. There's a huge batch of Oran berries that need to be taken care of. The Audinos wanted to know what you'd like to do with them.

The Chansey hums and turns her gaze skyward as she ponders.

Ms. Hope: Well... I'm sure we can turn some into a berry mush for the young ones... Oh, I'd have to see how much we have.

She perks up and turns to Luna.

Ms. Hope: I know! Why don't you come and help me? I have just the task for you!

Luna: Hm? What can I do?

Hope just smiles and leads the way, waving good-bye to the Gallade. Luna keeps close to her. Gale rushes along to carry out his Guardian duties.

The next morning, Luna is seen with two large satchels hanging over her back, held by Caterpie string and twigs. The bags are a little uncomfortable, pressing against her sides, but she takes her time as she tries to remember her route.

Luna: Lets see... One bag for someone named... Phobos?

A large, beautiful Absol perks up upon hearing his name and turns to the Umbreon. He excuses himself from his group and strolls over to her.

Phobos: Excuse me. Did you need something from me?

Luna turns to him, wide eyed. She never encountered an Absol before, let alone one with a shimmering silver coat and large, powerful looking claws. One of his paws was as big as her face!

Luna: Aaahh.... I take it you're Phobos, then?

He nods.

Luna: Then, um, Hope wanted you to have one of these bags of Oran berries.

Phobos: Ah, thank you. Here, allow me.

Phobos goes to her side to retrieve one of the bags from her back. Luna stumbles a bit, unbalanced now, but quickly recovers. Phobos then helps Luna readjust the remaining three bags on her back.

Phobos: So, Ms. Hope has you doing deliveries?

Luna: Yeah... She say's it'll be good for me.

Phobos: I'd take her word for it. She's wonderful with new arrivals. Though, I don't think it's fair to put them immediately to work...

Luna: Oh, no! I don't mind doing it! If anything, I'm kind of thankful for it. I won't be just laying in my den doing nothing but feel sorry for myself.

Phobos: Hm. So long as you feel it's best for you. Don't let my thoughts sway you.

He picks the bag up with his teeth. With his mouth full, he simply bows his head to gesture his farewell. Luna returns the gesture. She then continues to make her deliveries, first at a Slowpoke family (which took about an hour), then to the Guardians and...

Luna: Huh... She didn't say where the last bag should go to...

Luna sits on the ground, staring at the bag for a moment. It's only now does she notice the little note sticking out from it. She takes the tattered piece of paper and reads it. It's from Hope, herself, explaining that the remaining bag is for Luna to use however she likes. She had figured Luna hasn't eaten since she got here and wanted to make sure she was taken cared of. Luna smiles, touched by Hope's letter and takes the last bag to her den.

Meanwhile, with Gale, he faces the entrance to the waterfall cave. He's motionless with a stern expression. He can feel such a strong power within the darkness. Even from here, he can feel his skin tingle. Every sense of his is heightened, feeling some kind of pressure in his head. Something here doesn't want to be found.

Gale: I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to know why you're here in the first place.

His reassurance doesn't seem to sway the being inside the cave. It doesn't seem to make it worse though. Gale takes a deep breath and sits down with his legs crossed.

Gale: I can stay here, if you like. I just want to talk. It's just me. I came alone, if that's what you're worried about.

Again, no answer. However, the intensity of this power seems to have weakened. Whatever this thing was, it's only lowered it's guard down a little. Then, there is this... Prodding sensation. Something that feels like claws gently scratching at his head. Nothing forceful or violent, more like... Coaxing, almost. Gale sits up straight as a board. This thing was prying his mind, trying to read him. The moment takes him off guard, causing his defenses to flare up. Gale isn't sure what he did, but it was enough to make the being flee deeper in the cave. He sighs and stares at the grass below him. Today was going to be a long day...

[comic-the-adventurer]

Time to Choose for Yourself!

Wordcount: Around 650

Summary: Here comes the boyy! Hello, boy! Welcome! ...oh...oh no... NOT THE BOYY! GOODBYE, BOY! FAREWELL!

Notes: I'm& not good at coming up with titles kasfkaj I& wanted to write something (for a change) and always felt like Volo's reveal was so... well-made imo; it really caught me& off-guard. That said, this writing doesn't do the reveal justice so klsfnlla. ANYWAY, yea, Kiran might be ooc but like... he's evil in this au apparently (this counts as mixing pot au, no?) so I& think it's excusable xD.

Also, I'm& being dead-serious with the choice at the end so tell me& which one you'd want to see play out if ya want ^-^ I'm& def leaning towards one of the options (though I& won't specify which one; can you& guess o.o ?) so maybe I'll just write all of the different "paths" if asked aksfka /g

This was suppooooosed to be angsty and comedic but likeee... a lot of people don't understand my& jokes or sense of humour so um... it might not seem that way asfalkfj

KFJAKJKLA nearly forgot to tag her afajkljaksda @ihopethisendswell gift for youuu :>

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen.

Seventeen plates. All seventeen, with the hope that it won't stay that way for long. Some plates were gifted to Dan after he appeased certain, sacred pokemon. Other plates required pacifying rampaging pokemon, blindly hoping his lethal efforts might reward him and Kiran with another plate. In rare cases, even some humans surprisingly owned these plates.

…But Kiran was one of them?

Even with the distant howl of wind, the air felt still, dry to Dan's throat. Kiran was only joking, right? He wanted to be funny by sending Dan on this goose-chase, ramble about Sinnoh’s history together, and surprise him with the final plate, right? The final plate they needed? So they could hopefully reconcile with the creator of all creations, Acreus? And return Dan to…whatever seemingly-similar universe he came from? With the moon slowly climbing higher in the sky and Kiran’s mischievous grin taunting, Dan felt his heartbeat quicken; this couldn’t be the end!

“Now hand over the plates you’ve gathered! I will be the one to put them all together!” Kiran ordered and, at that instant, Dan figured out the significance of Kiran's extravagant change-of-outfit. Was their outfit somehow alluding to something?! Certainly, but what? Maybe if Dan had time to analyze Kiran’s getup, he would’ve noticed the green-gemmed, golden circle and put two and two together but-

“My desire to meet Arceus cannot be contained any longer!” Kiran announced, with a vengeance. Dan wondered if he screamed bloody murder loud enough, could a recuser hear him from this crumbling temple, so high above the region? Solid backup plan, solid backup plan. Kiran persisted: “I need to know what it is!”

Dan wanted to say something but, turns out, purple-haired weirdos don’t understand it’s rude to cut someone off when they’re talking. Thus, when Dan opened his mouth, Kiran loudly interjected:

“I MUST know what it is! If I can meet Arceus myself, then I may also be able to subjugate its power... And using that, I will attempt to create a new, better world! Of course, if I create a brand-new world, then the Hisui region that we currently exist in will be undone and returned to nothing. You, everyone you know, and all the Pokémon living here will vanish in an instant as if you'd never been. And do you know why…”

Kiran kept babbling on, but Dan turned his attention to surveying the historical area. Should he run? Truthfully, Kiran seemed so distracted with his evil yapping, would he notice if Dan fled the scene? Did Dan want to find out? But where would he run to? For now, at least, Dan didn’t have to answer those questions.

"If you want to keep this world from disappearing…” Kiran refocused Dan’s attention, though Dan was uneasier than ever and borderline nauseous. “...then face me in battle!”

WHAT-

Kiran wanted a battle? It's unfair; Dan isn't a trainer so Kiran has no chance of losing! Then again, Kiran isn’t a trainer either, right? Maybe they would be even-matched if neither of them could battle to save their lives? Although in this case, if Dan lost and forfeited the plates to Kiran, the cost would literally be dying, along with the rest of the universe. Not to mention, we must keep in mind that pokemon-battling was Kiran’s idea; did Kiran have a kind of trick up his sleeve to ensure their victory? Or is Kiran above cheating?

OH RIGHT, RUNNING IS AN OPTION! RUNNNNNNNNNNN

Flinching, Dan took a step back to prepare himself but-

“Don’t try to run,” Kiran said, almost tauntingly. “You don’t have a choice. Even if you don't wish to battle me, I'm not above using force to take those plates from you."

Run

Fight

Give Kiran the plates

Something else A

Something else B

It’s time to choose for yourself!

[pkmn-future]

Day 6 - Fashion/With Others Kids

Summary: After a contest, Soleil and Lunette find themselves in the sprawling streets of Castelia City, Unova. Turns out, they would meet someone there, in the shopping district!

* Note: This time, I got to pair up with @pokeracer93 and their fankid, Katt!

Characters: Soleil, Lunette, and Katt

Families Featured:

Serena, Shauna, Soleil, & Lunette (mine)

Hilbert, Bianca, & Katt ( @pokeracer93 )

—————————————————————-

“Thank you, thank you!! Goodnight Unova!!” Cheers of crowds could still be heard even as the twins exited the stage. Soleil had won this time, and while Lunette usually was a favorite, her pokemon weren’t cooperating today! Still, she seemed a bit on edge.

“Hey sis, why are you down?” Soleil asks, bumping her sister as she walked “I don’t know.. Just.. My Pokémon seemed off today! Did you see that?” “Mhm.. Oh! Maybe it’s because we’re in Unova! Kalos is very far from here, so your Pokémon must not feel at home!”

Lunette looked around “.. What could make them feel at home? This place is very much industrial..” Soleil looked around, seeing flower shops and something labeled a cafe- but it did not look like the cafes from home.. until she saw.. A shopping district!

“Oh! The shop! We can get them new outfits! Just like home.” Soleil smiled, taking Lunette’s hand and pulling her over. “Ah, Mon dieu..”

Walking into the shopping mall, they found thousands of shops in one small place- though none of them had the Kalosian aesthetic- no softer places or shops with gardens- still, they wandered around, finding a shop for pokemon outfits during contesting. Barely anyone was in the store, except one person

“Oh, excuse me, miss!” Soleil approached her “Ah, do you know of any uh.. good places? We are foreigners from Kalos, and are wanting to find some thing like home.”

The girl seemed a bit shocked, before looking to the side “Umm.. I don’t think this place has anything like that! Though there’s bows in the corner over there..” she directs “Ah, thank you! May you join us in looking?”

Lunette held her prized Pokémon carefully to her, a bit worried and confused. The girl turned to them “Of course! You look familiar— wait are you Soleil and Lunette?”

Soleil seemed very excited to be noticed “Ah! Yes we are!” “Man, I’ve followed your group for awhile! Are you doing contesting in Unova now?” “Just for a few days! Traveling and all..” “Ah right— oh I’m Katt by the away! Katt Black— I’m also a coordinator, though my boyfriend keeps trying to get me to play competitively..” A small bit of blush appears over her face as she thinks about her boyfriend. “Um— anyways!” Katt leads the twins over “Since you have a bow motif, I think you’d like this section! Though there’s sparkles, puffs, oh and some hearts over there!” She points to some places “.. I don’t work here- I just know my way around..” Katt clarifies.

“Ah, thank you! So much, miss Katt—“ “Please, let us get you something— any section you want!” Lunette butts in. “… I guess a few puffs wouldn’t hurt my flygon!” Katt giggles.

[pokeexehasstoppedworking]

Love Doesn’t Do Encores Ch7 The Entrance Ceremony P2

"Y/N!! WAKE UP!!"

"AH!!" You immediately shot up and your head nearly collided with another's as you blinked at the sudden light with a groan and reached up to rub your face. "What the-"

"WAKE UP!!," Gloria called shaking your body as she smiled. "Today's the big day! The Entrance Ceremony's about to begin!! If you don't wake up we'll be late!!"

"Alright alright,'' you mumbled moving so you could poke one of your arms out of the sleeping bag and unzipped it with a small zipping noise before leaning up from it. Stretching out your body with a loud yawn. Beside you your sobble tiredly mimicked your yawning and stretching as it unfurled itself from the curled up position it had slept beside you in the sleeping bag. It reminded you so much of how a cat would behave. You rubbed your eyes before cracking them open. "What time is it?.......And what are you wearing?"

Gloria sported a mostly white uniform with her backpack and things slung over her shoulders as she gave a proud pose. "Oh this thing? It's an offical uniform for the ceremony! They gave it to us when we registered the other day. We're supposed to wear them as we do the ceremony. We're also supposed to be meeting the Chairman and his top assistant. I think he's the one who paid for everyone's hotel fees...." She shrugged. "Either way we should get a move on it! My Mom's gonna be watching from home along with everyone from Postwick! In Lee's own words!!" She struck the famous Champion Pose you remembered Lee doing before. "LET'S HAVE A CHAMPION TIME!!"

You would've chuckled at her eagerness but you were still tired and hungry. "Breakfast?"

"We can eat AFTER the ceremony! Now get up and dressed! I don't want to be late."

You had grumbled but not wanting to fight with her you oblidged and got up and got dressed again, Gloria packing up the the sleeping bag, and soon you were presentable enough to go outside without looking like a sleep dreprived hobo. Backpack slung over your shoulders and your sobble riding on it not that you minded. The only problem you had was that you were hungry having no breakfast but there wasn't much time to complain about that before Gloria was ushering you to go out the door which closed behind you with a click. From there you were rushed down the hallway, into the elevator where Gloria pressed the button to take the two of you down from the third floor, and into the lobby where someone was already waiting for the two of you. Victor was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, tapping a foot, arms crossed, frowning, and glancing at his phone every so often to keep an eye on the time, but he had turned towards the both of you once he heard the rushed footsteps coming towards him.

He met his twin with a scowl throwing his arms out at her. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!? Everyone was already escorted to the stadium already! Hop had to leave an hour ago because you wouldn't wake up when we pounded on your door like a monchomp breaking boulders!" he exclaimed angrily at her.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!," Gloria apologized bowing over and over as he placed his hands on his hips. "I didn't mean to sleep in! I was just overwhelmed by everything that happened yesterday!"

"That's no excuse! This is the big leagues now!," he scolded her. Huh. He sounded a lot like their mother. "If you can't get to there on time you could make a bad first impression! You can't just pretend you can't wake up!"

"What time is it even?," you asked stiffling another yawn.

"Eight fifty two," he answered.

"Isn't that still fairly early in the morning?"

"The ceremony is being broadcasted live at ten!"

"AH!!" Gloria momentarily grabbed her face with a panicked expression coming over. "HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOT!?"

"That's what I just asked!"

"Gym Challenger Gloria?" All three of you had paused upon hearing an older man's voice, and when the trio of you looked over you noticed one of the uniformed men from earlier standing there hands on his hips looking impatient behind the sunglasses he wore.

"Um....Yeah?," Gloria answered unsure glancing between him and Victor.

One of his hands came off his hip as he motioned towards her. "The Opening Ceremony is starting soon. Please allow me to escort you to the Gym Stadium where the others are waiting for your arrival." Oh. Well this was good timing. The man beckoned for her while turning to the doors. "Alright, follow close and be careful not to lose sight of me. We're already behind scheduale." Without anymore words the three of you quickly followed after the uniformed man as you stepped out the doors and followed him through the VERY VERY thick crowd. What the- Where did all these people come from?? You asked the man in front of you as you and the twins struggled to keep up with him through the large crowd of people pushing you. "These people are from all around Galar to attend this year's Opening Ceremony!" He shouted back. "Some are supporters of the Challengers or their family and friends, but most are just fans or spectators for this once in a few year events!" Oh! You got it. Like the Olympics back in your world! Now that you thought about it..This Gym Challenge was almost exactly like the Olympics in lots of ways. Only with pokemon and younger contenders. Once he stopped in front of the doors Gloria entered yesterday you noticed there was much more security around it but they let Gloria in. "We've made it to the stadium entrance! Please hurry to the opening ceremony!" He then turned back to you and victor. "Im sorry but this entrance is for registered trainers to enter. You two are going to have to get a stadium seat like everyone else if you want to witness the ceremony."

Victor tugged on your sleeve and nodded towards where the crowd of people were going, pushing you two's backpacks with their movements. "We should get going if we want to nab some seats before they're out!" Victor had to yell for you to hear him over the chattering of people and you nodded.

As to not lose sight of each other you allowed Victor to use one hand to grab onto your backpack's shoulder strap as you two walked. Your sobble seemed to be nervous and didn't like all the noise the crowd was making as it made a scowl and a few annoying chirps and squeak sounds at sudden noises it didn't like, half standing on your shoulders to get a good view around itself. You two followed the crowd around the stadium. Huh. You don't remember this in game. To where there was more visible pathways to skyscrapers and more of the city which was HUGE from your viewpoint and if you weren't preoccupied with getting into the stadium you would've loved to stop and admire the buildings and even explore the bigger half of this city, but instead you followed everyone until the other side of the stadium grew larger and it looked like you were approuching a football stadium. The entrance was wide and many people at a time were going through with more security on either side and you looked up as the two of you walked on through smooshed together by multiple people gazing at the shadow of the entrance covering you for just a moment before you entered the light of the exit...and were astounding by what you saw. It was a stadium just like the one from that crazy dream you had before you arrived here! It was M A S S I V E!!! AT LEAST FIVE FOOTBALL FIELDS AND THEN SOME!! NO WONDER THEY WERE ABLE TO LET SO MANY PEOPLE INSIDE!! Surrounding the stadium was hundreds of seats with spectators cheering loudly and chattering. It was like the Olympics alright. You were jumped out of your shock when Victor tapped your shoulder to gain your attention. You had stopped and people were pushing and nudging past you as you blocked their way.

"Let's go sick down and get out of everyone's way! OK?!," he yelled to you over everyone cheering.

You nodded and the both of you went off in one of the directions of the rows of seats and managed to score two seats that were pretty far up. The only problem was is when you looked down you could barely make out anything or anyone on the field below. Good thing the stadium had the giant speakers and Tvs like the one from your dream as well....You pondered if this was the same stadium from your dream for a moment before someone in a dark grey hoodie and a scarf covering their face sat down next to you, they were pretty tall too. About six foot. Strange considering it was fairly hot outside, but you only gave him a sideways glance.

"WHAT TIME IS IT!?," you shouted to Victor over the crowd's chatter and he responded by pulling out his phone to look.

"Nine twelve in the morning!," he shouted back, "We still have about an hour left before any real action starts so we should just wait a while."

You nodded and sat down as more people filled up the rows of seats behind and in front of you. Your sobble by now had clambored with a sour expression onto Victor and you snorted when the teen had shouted 'HEY!' as the poor grumpy pokemon crawled into his head and under his large beanie to escape the noise only leaving the tail poking out. He gave you a frown but didn't make a move to remove the irritated pokemon from it's hiding place. Maybe for the best. You weren't sure how the poor thing would react to watching large pokemon fighting in front of you-

"OW!" You flinched when someone's elbow rammed into your side hard and you snapped a scowl in their direction, one hand reaching up to rub your side that got hit. Unfortunately it was too loud for Victor to notice. He was a little busy setting up his camera to presumably take pictures of his twin when Gloria eventually took the stage. The one who hit you was none other than the man who was covered in those baggy clothes and scarf hiding his identity. When you shock a glare at him he froze for a moment before holding up his hands.

"Sorry 'bout that," the man apologized with that you could a brittish accent. From what you could make out the stranger had pale skin with bright ice blue eyes. "Some bugger shoved me inta you 's all. Hope I didn't cause too much harm."

You stared at him a moment before sighing and shaking your head. "No. It's alright. There is a lot of people here isn't there?"

"You're not wrong." His eyes crinkled in a way you knew in what must've been a frown as he looked back towards the stadium around you two. "Bloody show ponytas gallopin' 'round like it's a wrestling ring. There's usually no darn system to calmly get people seated anymore."

You found yourself nodding in agreement. "Yeah. Where I'm from usually you'd have to buy a ticket to enter a stadium as big as this! Not just let everyone walk in."

You didn't notice but the man looked back at you. "That sounds like a decent system and could raise funds! Nowadays it's like a bloody mob of beedrills swarmin' a honey farm!"

You shrugged. "Well every place is different! And I guess it's not a bad thing they're not selling tickets! I don't think I could've afforded to buy one to come see this with my friends!"

He blinked at your words. "Oh yeah? You friends with one of the challengers?"

You nodded. "Two actually! They're from the same town! What about you?"

He looked over you for a moment humming. "Two from the same town, eh? Strange." He shook his head. " I'm 'ere for my lil sister."

"Oh!" You smiled. "You're little sister is competing?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Real proud o' her too." He sighed. "She has some really good potential. I can't wait to see everyone's faces when they see her."

Your smile widened a bit. "I think that's really sweet of you to come here and support her then!"

His head tilted a little bit back to you as if a bit curious or surprised(you couldn't tell behind that hood and scarf) but he nodded. "Thanks. 'S real nice of ya to support your pals too."

You nodded and was going to respond when a giant microphone static sound from the speakers made you wince in pain slightly.

"Looks like they're starting a bit early."

You couldn't tell if Victor or Hood-Guy said that but you did pay attention to the man on the speaker's announcement.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF ALL AGES!! WELCOME TO THIS YEAR'S OPENING GYM CHALLENGE CEREMONY!! PLEASE GIVE A WELCOME TO OUR CHAIRMAN!!," the loud man's voice boomed and immediately there was an UPROAR of cheers that almost got you wishing you brought ear protection with you. The kind construction workers used.

From before you could barely make out two very, very small blurs walk out onto the stadium. Luckily that's where the giant TV sets came in and you could clearly see-....Hey....wait a second. IT WAS THE GUY FROM YOUR DREAM!!! You stared frozen as you watched him. The man on the giant screen had a dark skin tone with black hair and a grey suit to match his red tie. His green eyes smiled up to everyone in the audience. EXACTLY LIKE THE MAN FROM YOUR DREAM!! Your eyes really widened as you remained frozen watching the tv like a hungry lion who hasn't eaten in a whole year eyed a zebra. Beside the man this time however walked a tannish-grey haired woman in a black skirt/leggings/heels, with a red shirt, and white labcoat similar to the one Professor Magnolia wore when you first met her. They stopped somewhere in the middle of the field with the camera's catching them on the TVs and the woman handed the man a microphone calmly and professionally if professionally handing someone a microphone was a thing at all.

You say his mouth move, probably thanking the woman, before he held it up to his face with a bright smile around him. "Ladies and gentlemen!" OH. MY. GOD!! IT WAS THE SAME VOICE!! "I welcome you to this year's official opening of the Gym Challenge!!" The crowd uproared in cheers as people cheered on the man in the grey suit. "I am Rose, Chairman of the Galar Region's Pokemon League! I know that everyone gathered here and everyone at home have all been waiting for this big moment! It is my pleasure to announce that finally the Galar Region Gym Challenge will now begin!!" People cheered louder and between them and how loud the speakers were you had to cover your ears and hissed from the noise. How could anyone stand this?! "Yes, the Gym Challenge! Participants must defeat at least eight of our ten gym leaders and gather eight gym badges to prove their skill as a trainer! Only the most worthy will have the honor of challenging the greatest Champion in history! Now I would like to invite our ten great gym leaders to show themselves! Please welcome the Galar Gym Leaders!"

More cheering and you watched curiously as the camera panned away from the Chairman and towards a door leading onto the field from the stadium. It opened wide and you watched curiously as the first person to step out was a man who very well could've been a body builder and famer popped onto the Tv.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Introducing The Fighting Farmer! Here's the Grass Type expert Milo!" Then a woman with a darker skin tone and blue streaked hair graced the screen. "The raging wave! You may have seen her cover on Water Wear Monthly! It's the master of Water Types, Nessa!" Then an older man with grey hair. "The ever burning fire! Here comes the Fire Type Vetran, Kabu!" Then a younger woman also with grey hair. "The Galar Karate Prodigy! Nobody's better with fighting types than Bea!" An Elderly woman who looked old enough to be your grandmother and looked to be the oldest among the nine people there. "The master of a fantastic theater! It's the charming Fairy Type user, Opal!" Then a man in sunglasses. "The hard rock crusher! Please welcome the Rock Type master, Gordie!" Then who must've been the youngest among them, a swaying young boy who couldn't be older than twelve or thirteen tops. "The silent boy of mystery! Allister, friend to Ghost Types!" Then an older woman who didn't look THAT old. Maybe in her late forties with white hair and a winter outfit. "The ice cold professional! Please welcome the Ice Type Master, Melony!" And then-....

You froze again. IT WAS THE OTHER GUY FROM YOUR DREAM!!! Another darker skin toned man took the screen with the orange bandanna around his head. IT WAS THE GUY LEON WAS FIGHTING WITH IN YOUR DREAM!! Before you suddenly woke up in the crow-...Uh...Corvinknight's nest! He was smiling, waving to the crowd phone in hand, before stopping to smile with a thumb's up and took a picture of himself. Oh right. Gloria said something about him taking pictures all the time.

"And last but not least, the tamer of dragons! It's Raihan! The top Gym Leader!" All nine of the gym leader lined up in the middle of the field waving and smiling at the crowd in some way or form. Rose's voice continued. "Unfortunately we're missing one but...I'm sure our Musical Dark Type Piers sends his warmest regards!!...*ahem*" OH! That's right. One was missing from the ten gym leaders wasn't there? The man next to you squirmed and looked down for a moment to not make eye contact but you didn't notice watching the screen go back to Mr. Rose. "These are the Gym leaders that we in the Galar Region are proud to call our own! Now....Let's give a GIANT round of applause for the trainers that these remarkable people have chosen to sponser and take part in the challenge that awaits them! People of Galar and around the world watching!! I present to you our Galar Gym Challenge Challengers!!" He pointed in the opposite direction of the stadium and immediately the camera panned over to where the door was as it opened and out came the first young trainer. "Please welcome BEDE!! From the very capital of our beloved region!!" The young boy with fluffy white hair smiled proudly as he walked across the field towards the Chairman in the same white uniform Gloria was wearing that morning. "Welcome Sadie from Hammerlocke!!" A young girl with bright pink hair and blue hair that traveled in pigtails traveled down her back walked out in the same white uniform. "Travis from right here in Motostoke!" Another boy. You lost count how many children there were or how times Hop lost count. You kept your hands over your ears to help combat the hurtful noise and kept an eye out for the two children you knew. "Marnie from Spikemuth!" HEY! It was the girl from yesterday that helped you guys out! She walked out waving to the camera as she passed before walking away like she never even noticed it.

"GO MARNIE!!" The man next to you stood as she walked towards where the others were lined on the opposite side of the Chairman. Waving a long arm as he did. "YOU'RE BLOODY BRILLAINT THERE!!"

"And lastly our double trouble from Postwick! I give you, the audience, our finals participants in the league Hop and Gloria!!" You perked up right away as Victor smiled widely and snapped a few pictures from the screen with his camera.

....He slowly lowered the camera from his face and stared wide eyed at the screen as the last two made their way out. ".....Oh no!" The two were holding hands and waving but...something was off. Gloria's smile looked a little...forced as she waved. And even if it was hard to tell, Hop seemed to be pulling her along just a wee bit. "Shoot! I was hoping this wouldn't happen!"

"WHAT?!," you asked giving him a confused look from the screen. "What's wrong?!"

..Victor shook his head before lifting his camera back up. "Ill tell you when it's easier to talk!"

What was that all about?

"These are the future of Galar standing before you today! Gaze upon them carefully! You might be seeing the new Champion! But the question is just that! Will any of them be able to beat the Great Champion Leon or will Leon reign supreme until the next Gym Challenge?! Only time will tell! LET US END THIS YEAR'S OPENING BY WISHING OUR CHALLENGERS AND GYM LEADERS THE BEST OF LUCK EVERYONE!!" Another giant roar of cheers came from the crowd as the Challengers and Gym Leaders turned to face each other and bowed. " GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU ON YOUR JOURNEY!! IN THE WORDS OF LEON MAY ALL OF US HAVE A CHAMPION TIME!!"

With that the Chairman bowed before turning back to the woman and handing her the mic. She nodded before the two of them followed the trainers towards the door they came out of and the Gym leaders turned and began going the opposite direction towards where they entered- You jumped as Victor grabbed your arm with a serious expression and nodded towards the opposite way. You didn't understand but didn't question it as you both got up and started to exit the crowd. Going past Hoodie-Guy as you did so and other people until you were standing on one of the stairway's between the collums of seats and victor grabbed your sleeve.

"WE BETTER GET BACK TO THE FRONT DOORS!! I NEED TO CHECK ON GLORY!!"

He seemed genuinely concerned and even tho you still hadn't the foggiest idea what was going on you nodded and were a bit surprised when the teen boy turned and RAN up the stairs towards the exit, and after a few seconds of staring you ran after him. Surprised he could move so fast despite the heavy suitcase like backpack he carried. But that was for later. The two of you ran out of the stadium back out the exit and you followed as Victor ran back around the way the both of you came past security and around uphill towards the stadium's original entrance. The both of you ran until you were wheezing and managed to turn the corner with him already at the entrance. He was in front of the secured front as he looked to be talking with two of the security people....but they shook their heads at something he said which ended up with Victor scowling hard at the two of them as you walked up out of breath. You really needed to get in shape.

"They're not letting us in," he said turning to you as you breathed heavily and nodded.

"Why....*wheeze* w-were we even r-running ...*gasp* i-in the first place?", you wheezed between pants as he looked you over and sighed.

"I suppose Glor hasn't told you then."

"T-Tell me what?"

He didn't answer at first but instead grabbed you by the arm gently pulling you away from the security and other people as there was still considerably a large amount of people on the street, until the two of you were at a corner and he gave your confused face a frown. "Alright. I'll tell you as you are going to be with her traveling around, and I'd rather prefer the person she's traveling with know of her situation." Her situation?? What could he possibly mean- "Glory has stage fright."............What? "She has trouble being in front of big crowds I mean. I thought she grew out of it by now since she was so insistant to join the Gym Challenge, but I guess she still has some left over." He pondered for a moment, "Although it did look like she mostly grew out of it there."

"WHAT!?" Stage fright!? Well that was just great wasn't it? This could make things a lot harder to deal with with then if you weren't careful. You groaned and reached a hand up to rub your face.

"Yeah. I know, I know," Victor said understanding your frustration "but she must've gotten better at it." He reasoned. "She used to just freeze up to where you'd think she was frozen by a beartic's ice beam. But she was able to go on field without too much of a problem.....But still..I guess it couldn't be helped."

"I'll think of something-"

"HEY!" Both of you looked up. Well speak of the devils. Here they came. Hop was waving to the both of you one arm around Gloria as she looked better than she did on screen as they walked up towards the both of you. "We thought you'd wait for us by the doors."

Victor rose a brow. "We were but I had a little distraction." He gave his twin a look. "What was that back there on the field!?" He demanded making her tense up.

"Uh-....Pre-Gym challenge jitters?"

"Glory! I thought I already talked 'bout this!" He pointed a finger at her. "You need to step up if you want to compete in this league!"

Hop took a step in between the two. "Hey, mate. Let's cool our jets. I was there to help her wasn't I?"

"But you won't always be!"

"I can handle myself, Vic. I promise! You don't have to treat me like a baby anymore!"

"You ARE my baby sister! It's my job to worry about ya!"

"We're the SAME AGE!!"

"OK!! THAT'S ENOUGH YOU THREE!!" You carefully nudged Hop out of the way and replaced him with your arms between the two twins. "Look. Stage fright or not it can't be helped. We'll...work it out but stop your fighting!" You sighed. It was going to be a LONG ride to get back home you could tell now. "Right now I think we should figure out what we're going to be doing next."

Hop perked up. "Actually I already figured that out." He pointed ahead away from you lot. "The nearest gym is in Turffield to west of here along Route Three of the railroad from Motostoke." He explained to you three. "That's as good of a spot as any to start! We can either take the train which would be about a whole day or by Flying Taxi which would take half a day!"

"Isn't that the Grass type Gym?"

He nodded. "Sure is! Sounds like a good place as any to start us off with! We can be there by tomorrow!!"

"Aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves?" You asked raising an eyebrow. "You guys literally just got out of the ceremony and you want to go rushing off...Besides. Even if you get there wouldn't there not be anyone to battle against yet? If what you say is true then wouldn't the Gym leaders need time to get back to the gyms and set everything up?" Hop paused as you looked off in thought. "If you can't fight them then you wouldn't get any badges yet."

"Uh..." He rubbed the back of his head. "Huh. I- Well.....I hadn't really thought about that actually. ..That's a good point."

You nodded. "I think we should wait a day before any of us go galavanting off into more trouble."

"But we don't have any money."

You blinked. "Huh?"

"The Chairman paid for our hotel rooms...but just for one night," Hop explained, "If we want to stay a second night then we'd have to pay and I don't have enough money to pay for a whole hotel room."

"Whelp! That's what tents are for!," you answered. You HAD to be optimistic and look on the bright side in this thing. If not for your sake then for theirs! "We can camp up somewhere and then leave in the morning!"

"I agree! That's sounds like a great idea. It's what I've been doing since I left home," Victor agreed making the other two agree in turn too.

"Then it's settled! Hey Glory!" He did that signiture fist pumped pose of his before turning to Gloria. "Let's have a battle! You and me! We'll get in a bit of training!"

"But why?"

"Seriously?", he asked standing back up raising a brow, "This is the moment you play along and act pumped up for battle. If you've gotta ask why we should bother training you'll never make it through the Gym Challenge!"

She hummed...before smirking. "All right then! Bet I can beat you!"

He smirked back. "I knew you'd be up for it! We've got to stay keener than anyone else if we want to steal the spotlight from our rivals!"

"YOU'RE ON!! Wait til I-" She was stopped when you once again stuck a hand between the three of them.

"I appreciate your enthusiasum but let's get OUTSIDE the city before we do anything that might cause property damage."

Well.....That was it. All settled. The day was still fairly early considering it was barely noon so the four of you traveled outside the city towards the south Hop pointed out and it lead off too a dirt path thank goodness. And you got to witness the two rivals have a small battle.....Hop lost but it was nice how good he took it too. In fact even encouraging Gloria through his lost. He was a pretty positive person you had to admit and Gloria's scorbunny evolved?? You weren't sure what was going on with that. In the meantime Victor was scouting a bit of the grassland off the road to decide where to put up the tents and you let him, as Gloria and Hop told you about what happened at the Entrance Ceremony. Apparently they had met up with Leon and even got to meet the Chairman for a few seconds where he gifted them Flying Taxi passes before they left. Apparently even Leon had noticed Gloria's stiff behaving and had a word with her, which Hop had mentioned was probably why she was in such a calmer mood by the time they left. Older brother like younger brother with encouragement you supposed. The rest of the time passed by rather quickly after you watched the battle between the two gym challengers and went to check on Victor's progress checking on a spot for camp and he did end up finding a spot in a small clearing a few yards away from the road. And had already started setting up his own tent and you came to lend a hand. Luckily a few previous camping trips as a kid helped you prepare for this moment. You were able to help Victor set up his tent before Gloria struggling with hers, asked you to help her out and you happily oblidged. Setting up the two plain but usable tents and then only after all the hard work was done you heard a rumbling sound. It took a moment for you to realize it was hop's stomach as he chuckled embarrassed and you decided it was time to stop and have a late dinner. You didn't have anything to cook with but luckily Victor did. You were amazed when he pulled out a traveling camping stove out of his suitcase backpack and you noticed your sobble on his shoulder. Oh yeah. You almost forgot about him, he must've stayed on Victor's shoulder for the entire time since the ceremony. You didn't mind tho. Sobble seemed to be enjoying watching Victor worked as he set up the kit, and looked back inside the suitcase.

"Hey, Y/n. Have you ever had Sausage Curry before?," he asked pulling out a couple packages of food from his suitcase.

You shook your head. "No but it sounds delicious."

He smiled. "Well then I think you'll really like it. I'm not the best cook, but I can make a decent curry."

The three of you waited in the shade of one of the trees by the tents as Victor got to work setting up the cookery and pulled out a few mini pots and pans and began to work lighting a fire, boiling some rice, and heating up what looked liked a small dish of sauce. You guessed it must've been the curry sauce for the rice. In the meantime the two told you more about the encouter they had with the Chairman, briefly of course as he had to step away quickly. As you gave your sobble some fruit you had in your backpack. Apparently he was nice and mentioned how his company made Dynamax bands. Did that mean Professor Magnolia work for the Chairman or his company if she was able to make these two some bands? Not too long after victor was able to hand you all the food he cooked up (Gloria taking a picture for her Curry dex thing-) and it wasn't too bad. But it just tasted like the plain curry Mrs. G made for you with just a few added hot dogs. You weren't about to complain about free food tho and hurt Victor's feelings so you ate in silence as the group ate. The rest of the day was spent with you helping Victor clean up the dishes and space used and the other two exploring the nearby field for more pokemon and you think Hop may have caught another one or two before they returned as the sun was setting. So Victor packed up and it was decided the four of you would head to bed for now and decide what to do in the morning. Unfortunately there was only three sleeping bags not that you minded too much, you were fine just sleeping on the ground and using your lumpy backpack as a pillow. Your sobble however sleeping next to you head snoring wasn't making things easier, and it took you a while before sleep finally took hold and you fell asleep. The next day you awoke with a crick in your neck and a groan coming from your mouth-

"Ack!?" You flinched when something smacked your face and it took you a moment to realize it was your sobble's tail wagging in it's sleep hitting you over and over again until your hand grabbed it making you groan. It was definately like a cat.

"Hey! Are you awake?" There was a zipping noise as Gloria opened the front of the tent enough to stick her head inside, catching you rubbing your face, sitting up, and groaning at the sunlight peeking in now. And she smiled. "Oh good. I couldn't get you to wake up earlier so Vick suggested to let you sleep in again."

"What time is it?," you mumbled blinking at her.

"Ten in the morning. Been waitin' for you all day to wake up! The others already left."

You paused..."The others went where?"

"Hop wanted to go ahead and take one of the flying taxi's to Truffield. So they left a while ago but I wanted to just wait for you to wake up."

"They LEFT!?"

"Don't worry. Victor knows what he's doing!"

That wasn't too reasurring ...but there was a moment in the game where the player or Gloria in this case, would start traveling alone from Hop and you guessed this was when it first started. Didn't want to stop the game's process but didn't mean it was any less nerve racking. So with a sigh and a stretch of your muscles you reluctantly got up. Still tired and with a crink in you neck from the awkward sleeping position you were forced to endure for the night. Note to self. Pick up a sleeping bag as soon as you could. Once you stepped outside, true to Gloria's word, the boys' tent was gone and the only signs they were even there in the first place was a few holes in the ground from the tent picks. They were gone alright. Man. You really needed to get used to getting up earlier if you wanted to keep up it seems.

"So they really left huh?"

"Yeah, but I told 'em we'd meet up later if we caught up at Truffield."

You looked over her. "Oh. So you did decide that's where you wanna go first huh?"

She nodded. "You bet! But I wanted to walk rather than take a train or the taxi's. We'd just get stuck again if more pokemon got onto the tracks, and I figured we'd put off the taxi's for now considering your bad run in with corviknight."

"That's very considerate of you. Ok. So how long would it take us exactly to get there if we walked?"

She pointed down the path away from Motostoke. "Well like Hop said, it's one and a half day by train and one whole day by taxi. If we walked we should get there in two to four days!"

"TWO TO FOUR DAYS!?"

She nodded totally unaffected at your wide eyed shout. "Yeah! I mean we have a full year until the challenger finals and it's only the second week of January. So taking a few days to get somewhere shouldn't cause too much trouble! Plus it'll be a great change to get some exercise and sight seeing in!"

A whole year. Yeah you forgot about that part. You'd have to spend a whole year traveling in this world and waiting for the finals to end. ...And even then you weren't sure if it'll mean you get to go home but it was the only chance you got! So far things were going just how they were (or mostly how they went-) in game minus a few minor details and if this really some kind of weird dream world where you were trapped in an alternate reality of pokemon then your only shot was to stick it out until the storyline ended then maybe you'd get to go home. It was a far fetched idea...but it was the only one you had. You couldn't just ask anyone here for directions back to your own world. They'd think you were crazy. So instead you slung your backpack on and asked.

"So. What's your game plan for the challenge then?"

Gloria seemed happy to tell you. "Simple! There's only 6 steps to follow!! Step 1 has already been complete! Get that endorsement and attend the opening ceremony! Which included the registering, first pokemon, and all the beginner's jazz!"

"Ok....What's the other steps?"

"Step 2! Get stepping and battle the gyms to earn those badges! Step 3! Grow stronger in the process! Step four! THE FINALS!! And step five is maybe or maybe not become the Champion....I can't get my expectations too high. Lee did say I shouldn't get too over confident and let go to my head."

You nodded glad she was taking what Leon said seriously. "Alright. But what's set six then?"

"Do a whole bunch of fun stuff in between of course!"

You chuckled. "Alright. Fair enough I suppose. Help me pack the tent before we head off."

After the two of you packed up the tent and put it away, Gloria looked up a map on her phone and eventually pointed down the road leading into the country side and the two of you took off walking down the road. The first day was mostly uneventful. It was just the two of you walking down the road and occasionally passing by another traveler heading the opposite direction or camping out, or a country folks' farm but otherwise there wasn't anyone around besides the two of you and the small sobble on your shoulder. You two stopped every so often and rested under the shade of a random tree before getting up to travel again. Once or twice stopping and digging into your bags to pull out some of the camping foods Leon had given the two of you and eating what was essential granola bars and dried foods before starting to walk again. Gloria and you chatting about the gym that the two of you were heading to first.

"So you're challenging this Mr. Milo right? Any idea what he's like?," you asked her.

She waved a hand. "Eeehh. Sorta? I don't know that much about him like I do Leon who's my friend and Raihan who basically posts all of his life online. But I heard he's the nicest out of all of the Gym Leaders and he runs his own farm alongside the gym. In fact I believe most of wool you can buy from Truffield's is from his farm. But I'm not sure. I've only heard a few things, and yesterday was the first time I really met any of them face to face."

You blinked. "You didn't get to talk with any of them?"

She shook her head. "Nuh uh. Only Mr. Rose and Lee of course but only a little bit. They're both pretty busy right now with the Gym Challenge just starting out and all."

"Well that makes sense I guess. This sounds like a big job for only a couple people. What exactly does a Champion do outside of being challenged and joining the pokemon league?"

"You don't have your own Pokemon League in Kanto?"

You mentally slapped yourself and stuttered. "Uh....W-Well...I was just curious about this region's League is all."

"Oh I see. I keep forgetting you're not from around here. Basically he helps make all kind of descisions concerning The League's rules and regulations and making sure things are kept fair until the next Gym Challege. On top of that he's also responsible for making sure the ten Gym Leaders take their responsibilities of keeping the Gyms in Shape."

"Really? That's all?" You looked at her. It sounded so easy.

She huffed. "That's just what comes out of mouth. It's more harder to do as Lee said. There's health and safety regulations, even more for our gyms because unlike others 'round the world they're bigger and built more sturdier to accomodate dynamaxing while keeping everyone safe. It's not easy to keep the fields in shape after every battle and keeping it cleaned up to health codes. Did ya forget how big Motostoke Stadium alone was?"

....Oh.....Well when she put it like that you guessed it WAS a HUGE responsibility to be in charge of that. Not to mention Leon being in charge of all of them technically as well-

"And then there's the employees-"

"Employees?"

She gave you a look like you grew a beard all of a sudden. "Did you really think that one person cleans and regulates a GIANT stadium and the field by themselves? The gyms in Kanto must be really different than ours. Of COURSE EMPLOYEES!! One person can't just take care of a stadium that big by themselves! They also got people they pay to clean up everythin' n' help 'em!"

"......Oh-" Of course they'd have to hire people. You kept forgetting this was a real world outside the game, at least for now.

"So not only are they bosses on top o' that, but they also have to keep up with training, public appearances, and they're also in charge of training the next gym leader who'll take over for 'em. Not to mention some o' them have jobs outside of being Gym Leaders too. Like Milo. There's a reason he's called 'The Fighting Farmer'."

Oh right. She mentioned Milo having a farm too earlier in your conversation. You two continued walking until it was sundown and you decided to resign for the night by setting up the tent again and you having another night of finding it hard to sleep. The next day went by rather slower than usual. You guys repacked up the tent and started walking again. By Now Motostoke wasn't visible if you looked back, and by luck you two found a couple berry trees you furiously shook until it dropped a couple of them, although your Sobble seemed more than happy to do a little tree climbing to get his full before continuing on. You were rather content with seeing the large stretches of country side and forests tho. You barely got to do anything like this back home. You were lucky if you had a weekend go by without working or your mother pushing you to study and get better grades. The nature around you was filled with wild ani-...uh pokemon that scattered usually when they first saw you two and Gloria every so often got a new picture of a random pokemon but most were too blurry from the pokemon scurrying away to tell what they were. The nature and fresh air was a very good change of scenery as you inhaled in a breath- And then coughed at the smell of smoke. .....SMOKE!? You coughed and shook your head catching Gloria's attention as you looked up towards the sky and were surprised to see the distant remains of smoke in the sky. What the?! Was there a fire somewhere!? You got your answer when Gloria suddenly grabbed your arm making you flinch and pointed up the path ahead of you two.

"Hey! It's Sonia!"

The shout seemed to catch the attention of the orange haired woman who turned to the both of you from up the pathway. There she was! Standing next to some rocks off the path and a roped off pathway leading away from the larger pathway towards something. You learnt what when you got close enough to look past the rocks off the dirt road, you noticed the smoke and the smokey smell was coming from what looked like a coal factory or oil rig a far distance from the trail.

"Heya, Gym Challenger!," Sonia greeted waving to Gloria once in hearing range, "And you too, Miss Y/n. You looked real ace out there during the Opening Ceremony. Oh..." She looked behind the two of you. "But where's Hop? I thought he'd be with the two of you."

"Hi, Sonia!," Gloria happily greeted back, "Oh him? Psh. He went on ahead of us the impatient murcrow."

The older woman sighed. "He can't sit still at all, can he? Guess he really wants to catch up to his brother."

"What are you doing all the way out here?," you asked pointing behind you, "I thought you would've taken the train or a taxi like everyone else."

She waved you off. "It's been so long since I even left Postwick. Im planning on taking my time and researching a few spots I think is worth checking out along the way." She turned towards the oil rig...thing and pointed. "Speaking of which. I heard you guys met the Chairman right?"

"Uh she did but I didn't," you clarified pointing at Gloria.

"Oh. That's too bad.....Oh! I know. Let me tell you something a bit interesting. You see that building over there?" The both of you turned to where she was looking. "It's a company owned by Chairman Rose."

"Really? Way out here?"

She nodded. "Just past Route 3 there's a mine where they dig up ore. That building over there processes it into energy. In other words, the Chairman is responsible for providing the Galar Region with it's energy too." Really now? Huh. Well you guessed that made sense seeing as you guessed the Chairman was like the President or leader of whatever kind of system ran this region in this world. "Can't say I really get him, but the Chairman seems like a pretty brilliant guy right?"

...You shrugged. "Wouldn't know really. I only ever seen him on the giant TV." And in your dream but you weren't about to tell her that.

"Anyways, I assume you two are heading to Turffield?"

Gloria nodded. "Yep! Milo seems like the kind of guy that'd be a good start off."

Sonia nodded. "The way to Turffield is pretty long, but that's a kind of challenge in it's own right."

You huffed. "Trust me I know. My feet are already sore."

"You wanna come with us?"

Sonia shook her head. "That's a nice offer but I wanted to see if I could check out the processing factory here and maybe get a better idea of the energy supplies. Who knows? Might help with this crisis. But I wish the both of you safe travels."

The both of you bid good bye to Sonia before continuing on your way down the path, and you learnt one thing quickly. Sonia was right about it being a pretty long way to Turffield because for about the third time you guys had to set up camp when it became darker down the road and again you woke up the next morning sore and aching and still very sleepy. You had gone camping before but never remembered having this much trouble sleeping! For the third day in a row the two of you walked down the road eating what was in your packs for food until the two of you stumbled across more giant rocks and another path going up to what looked like a man made tunnel and right outside the tunnel was some heavy duty equipment like what you'd see at a construction sight. This must be the dig sight Sonia told you about from yesterday along Route 3. As you two approuched Gloria pulled out her phone to recheck the map and you noticed a wooden sign along the road. It read: Galar Mine Lie Ahead. Along with a 'no tresspassing' sign. Not that you two would do so anyways-

"HEY! Good news! I found a short cut!," she suddenly shouted startling you.

"....Oh. GREAT! Where?"

She pointed ahead and directly into the mine's entrance. "Through there! There's an exit on the other side that'll cut fifteen miles off our scheduale!"

"Wha- No way!" You pointed to the sign. "That literally says 'No Tresspassing!' I don't think getting arresting for tresspassing is a good start on your first trip. And who knows what kind of dangerous stuff is in there!"

She waved you off walking towards the pathway branching off from it. "Relax! We have scorbunny to light it up if it gets too dark or if there's any scary pokemon waiting."

You briskly walked behind her to catch up. "That's not the point! If that's the Chairman's mines we could get in big trouble by walking on in there! I think I'd rather take the long way around and spare the trouble!"

"Oh relax! What's the worse that could happen?"

There is and will always be a VERY good reason why one should NEVER EVER ask THAT question. As soon as you both got inside you were hit with a typical mineshaft work space vibe. Lots of drilling and hammering sounds as well.....and people in hard hats and orange vests. They had easily spotted you two and gave chase when Gloria grabbed your arm and retreated down the mine further until you thought you'd pop a lung out from how much running you guys were doing. And throwing her a scowl as if to say 'I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN!!' Eventually you demanded she find an exit so the two of you could get out of here immediately before you got into even MORE trouble and she agreed fumbling with her map. Walking down one shaft in particular. Beautiful sparkling gems sparkled in the walls lit up by the multiple lanturns. At one point Gloria picked up one gem from off the ground called a Star Piece. It was a red sparkly diamond worth a lot apparently. Her map directed the two of you lost around the corner after what felt like FOREVER just walking around and looking over your shoulders for anymore people chasing after you. You were going to have a long chat with her after this! Turning a corner you two finally saw it. THE EXIT! Sunlight seemed out of a large entrance similar to the one you guys first entered through and you sighed in relief.

"See?! I told you we'd find the exit."

"Yeah. AFTER the fact you got us lost inside a mine shaft. We are never doing this again."

"No one got hurt."

"That's not the point at all. Let's just use that exit over there-"

"Coming this way?," A male voice asked. You both stopped and looked ahead of you as someone a little shorter than you stepped from out of the shadows and in the middle of your pathway. Revealing itself to be a teenage boy about Gloria's age. He bore a large and baggy pink coat and his hard was a curly, fluffy white. Similar to that of a cloud. His purple eyes bore into Gloria's as he frowned her way. "I'd advise against it. Any trainer with a Wishing Star is in for a beating from me and my pokemon."

You rose a brow sizing up the younger boy in front of you before asking. "Sorry. Who are you?" But Gloria answered that question.

She pointed at him with a flash of realization on her face. "Hey wait! I know you! You're that rude kid from the Entrance Ceremony a couple days ago!"

His frown deepened before he smirked proudly before pushing some hair from his face. "You...You're the Gym Challenger endorsed by the Champion, aren't you?"

"Well...Yeah but only one."

He huffed as if amused. "What a joke."

She paused before giving him a scowl. "EXCUSE ME!?"

"Oh boy. Here we go." You mumbled....WAIT!! Wasn't there a rival Gloria would meet on her way to her first gym battle??....YEAH! Besides Hop there was two other rivals! This must've been the second one! You were starting to remember now!

He simply waved her off. "You are aware that the Chairman is more important than the Champion, right? I was chosen by the Chairman himself, so that makes me more amazing than you!"

You gave him a deadpanned look. "That's not really how it works-"

"OH YEAH!?," Gloria shouted angrily at him pointing, "I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I'M JUST AS GOOD AS YOU IF I WAS CHOSEN TO BE A GYM CHALLENGER IN THE FIRST PLACE!!"

He huffed. "I suppose I should prove beyond doubt just how pathetic you are and how strong I am."

"OH IT'S ON MAREEP HEAD!!"

"....." He scowled again this time with more anger. "WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!?"

"YOU HEARD ME!! YOU WANNA GO!?"

"Maybe we should just take this outside-"

"Oh it's on, Girl!" With that the boy held up a pokeball and threw it into the air. In a flash of white light a solosis appeared before you! Gloria doing the same before you could stop here and sending out a Budew she must've caught in the Wild Area while you were there. Here you go again. The boy scoffed at the cute looking pokemon. "You honestly think tha-"

"STUN SPORE!!" At the order with a flash of bright yellow sparks like fireworks, the Budew immediately did as Gloria said and made the shot. Which directly hit the poor solosis with a couple big sparks of electricity and making your poor sobble chitter in fright turning itself invisible on your shoulder.

Stunned for a moment the young boy stared before gritting his teeth in anger and pointing back. "Counter that stun with Confusion!" Despite the poor thing being stunned it was able to carry out the young boy's command in a colorful beam hitting the Budew and making it yelp in pain!...before it began to wobble around like it was dizzy. A side effect of the move you guessed. Gloria did something you didn't expect and held out the pokeball to retract her Budew making the boy chuckle. "Giving up so soon?"

"Just getting started actually! Let's go Raboot!" With a loud squeak the rabbit looking pokemon appeared before your eyes and you watched as it swayed on it's feet as if waiting to attack.

"Psh. You think switching from a mowed lawn ornament to a fire starter will help you? SOLOSIS!! DEFEAT THEM WITH YOUR CONFUSION-" The poor thing let out a pained noice once sparks lit it up for a few seconds. A worried face coming over the pokemon and the trainer giving a surprised glanc-

"FIRE CHARGE!!" You nearly jumped out of your skin when the rabbit looking pokemon suddenly lit itself on FIRE and with inhuman speed shot forward and crashed into the solosis. The poor thing hit the floor and skidded to a stop in front of the boy's feet. Not moving again to get back up. The boy staring at the solosis before fixating on Gloria who smiled. "What? Did you forget a Budew's Stun Spore can paralysis it's opponent?" She smirked and reapeated one thing he said earlier. "Giving up so soon?"

"Absolutely not." He stated reaching a pokeball out to return the poor solosis before switching it for a different one. "I'm just giving your pokemon a little chance to shine. That's all. My gothita will take you down!"

"TACKLE!!" Gloria barked and pointed at them just as the Raboot did as she commanded.

"What a weak attack. PSYBEAM!!" Immediately obeying a dark purple light formed in front of the small pokemon as it prepared to sho-

"JUMP OVER IT!! QUICK ATTACK!!" It was as if time slowed and the Raboot, (like how rabbits were known for their speed-) LEAPED over the purple beam that shot out and landed right between the boy and his pokemon, turning with a glint in it's eyes. AND. CHARGED!! The poor gothita didn't see anything coming as it was hit from behind HARD! Skidding a few feet before landing in heap away from the trainer. It all happened so fast you could barely register it. The psybeam completely missing and hitting the wall behind Gloria not that she did so much as jump shield her face from the rock fragments breaking off from it. "Is that it? Or do you have something else in mind?"

He still stood there for a moment before huffing and turning his head to a golden watch on his wrist. "Oh dear. What have I been doing? Well whatever. Let's just get this over with."

"Fine by me! You started it!"

He gritted his teeth again before collecting his gothita and sending out a pokemon you didn't recognize but it was a Hatenna. "Let's wrap this up! Hatenna use confusion!"

"DODGE TO THE RIGHT!!" The same colorful energy as from the solosis's move shot out from the small pokemon but with Raboot's speed they were easily able to dodge the attack. "Use Quick Attack to gain speed!!"

"That's your trick? COUNTER WITH-"

"TO THE LEFT AND GIVE IT A TOSS!!" It was like watching a cheetah make nearly impossible turns at high speeds as the Raboot leaned on it's left foot, one paw touching the ground to help it turn without falling, and did a sharp U-turn from right to left and thanks to the speed boost charged straight at the small pokemon. Ever seen a mouse get snatched right out of the air by a fast flying hawk? This was exactly what happened when the pokemon was snatched by one of it's blue limbs and T H R O W N high into the air. Making panicked sounds as it flailed about.

"HATENNA!!,'' the poor boy stared in wide eyed shock at his pokemon now falling to it's defeat- "USE-"

"FLAME CHARGE!!" In a burst of flames, you knew it was over. And you weren't wrong either. The bright ball of fur and fire charged right at the falling Hatenna jumping the rest of the distance between them and delivering one last firey body slam to them. K.O.ing the poor pokemon right in front of their master's feet. "Who's the joke now!?"

The boy immediately returned his pokemon to it's ball before balling his fists at his side shaking slightly scowling at Gloria. Before he turned his head to the side and huffed. "I see...Well that's fine! I wasn't really trying all that hard anyways."

"Then why'd you say all that smug stuff? If there's one thing Leon taught me it's that you shouldn't get cocky on your levels."

The boy looked as if he would blow a fuse at her but you quickly walked between then staring him down. "OK! That's enough! You shouldn't be in here anyways. We should all just leave now before we get in trouble."

He stared at you slightly confused for a moment before turning his face up. "Well That was unepected.....I suppose you're more able than I thought." That smug smile returned. "Naturally, I'll remember your battle style and strategies now. I'm sure to defeat you easily if and when we face each other in an official match. Now that we've established that, I won't waste anymore time on you." He waved a hand and turned away. "I've already gathered every wishing star in this area."

"OH WAIT!!" Both you and Gloria's Raboot yelped as she suddenly sped up past you and the poor boy was instantly taken aback when she smiled and practically shoved the camera in his face. "I want a picture of your Hatenna!"

He stared at her like she grew a second head. ".......What?"

"I want a picture of your Hatenna. I'm doing this Dex challenge and I don't have a Hatenna yet. I still need like three hundred pictures."

....He scowled. "Is...Is this some kind of game!?" He pointed at her with furrowed brows. "Out of my way, Girl! I don't have time to waste on something as meaningless and childish as that!"

She blinked...before smiling wider. "But you have a Hatenna!"

"And what does that have to do with anything?!"

"I saw you give it such love and care while we were getting registered at the ceremony." At this he rose a brow and looked a little taken a back as she tilted her head. "Hatennas sense strong emotions like most psychic types do and they're pretty shy but yours acted so calm and bounced around you like it was so happy. They're easily scared by their trainers who have anger issues and despite your outward acts....You must have a pretty good heart."

His face went completely to surprised at this now, and so did yours as your brows shock up. "....I..Well-" He paused when the camera was nudged closer.

"Could I at least get one picture please? If you're going to become the next champion I'd like to have a lil memory of how I got to beat the new champion even once! Plus it'd be a way to immortalize your kindness and love for your pokemon."

"I-..." He opened his mouth but snapped it back immediately as she chuckled. Huffing and turning away. "HMPH!! Fine! If only so you won't follow me and nag about it!"

"Yay! Thank you!"

"Stop with the childish actions already!"

You were still standing in surprise when he let out his Hatenna again with a grumbling and pout letting Gloria take a picture before quickly regathering his pokemon and stomping off as she waved good bye with a smile. ".....What the world just happened here?"

She gave you a sly smile. "Yknow that phrase 'kill them with kindness'?" You nodded. "Sometimes it actually works. Especially on guys who like to act tough but turns out to be mushier than pudding."

You snorted a bit before shaking his head as Gloria got out a ball. "Well that's one way to put it...Hey. Didn't you say he was one of the boy's from the ceremony?"

Gloria nodded as she returned her raboot. "Uh huh. Everyone's names here announced too. I think his name was Bede."

"Bede huh?" You shrugged and started towards the exit with her following you. "I guess he must've been on his way to Turffield too."

"I guess. But I wonder why he was collecting Wishing Stars?" She held up her own band. "He already had a Dynamax Band on his arm."

You shrugged. "Dunno. I think right now we should focus on just getting to that stadium."

She agreed putting her Raboot's pokeball away. You were quick to usher her out of he mines to avoid any more trouble and FINALLY stepped outside into the fresh air. The rocks by the entrance opened up to the rest of the dirt road and you could clearly see the view before you. LOTS of rolling hills and brick fences with yellow plants that took you a moment to realize what was most likely wheat or corn. A couple houses could be seen which you assumed were farm houses, and as you and Gloria trudged up the hill to where in went down into a valley, you could clearly see it. A GYM STADIUM!! It's shiny metal exterier shone bright in the sun light and surrounding it was a very small but managable village. Not too much bigger than Postwick it looked like. As you two walked looking around the area, the two of you pasted a sign that read: Route 4 upon it. This must've been where Route three ended and Route 4 began. You could've sworn you heard the baas of more wooloo somewhere too, concluding this was a farming community with a giant stadium in the center.

Gloria smiled and pointed to it as the two of you walked down hill on the path. "Look! See? I told ya it was a good idea to take the short cut."

You looked down at her deadpanned, the baaing becoming louder the farther you two walked. "Uh huh. And those people chasing us in the beginning was part of the 'good idea'?"

You two didn't see the thing coming towards you from down the path or the man giving chase to it. "Oh come on! It wasn't that bad. We got here faster and now we can rest up and see 'bout that gym."

"Oh yes. And battling someone inside a mine is a good idea too-"

"Nonono! Miss! Watch out-''

Something hard rammed into your legs and they went flying back, sending your front shooting forward and in an instant you faceplanted the dirt road hard. A resounding 'THUMP!' sound echoing out as whatever rammed into you just as suddenly disappeared. It was like a your legs were pins and you just got ran over by a bowling ball. Stunned your body just sat there face first on the ground with your sobble thrown from your shoulder a couple feet away. You didn't move even as a gasp reached your ears, along with baaing and running footsteps. Your sobble chirping in annoyance upon being flung sat itself up and shook itself off, but scurried away and burried itself under your limp noodle of an arm when someone bigger nearly ran it over. Still you laid there stunned.

"OH NO! OH NO!!" A man's worried voice reached your ears just as your brain finally started to register you had been knocked over. "I AM SO SORRY!! MISS!? ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?"

"Y/N!!" Gloria shouted and you felt her shake you frantically. "NO! This can't be how you die! Bowled over by a wooloo isn't a good way to die so please get up!!"

.....You coughed. And groaned. Your vision blurry as your now dirty face slowly lifted itself from the ground and looked up. Blinking at the two faces before you. Gloria who was obviously concerned, but the other was a man one hand clutching a hat on his head as he looked you over with worry. "What was-"

"I am SO sorry, Ma'am!" The man you assumed kneeled down letting you get a better look at his freckled face. "My...Are you ok!? You took that tackle head on!"

"What happened?," you mumbled and your answer was being easily lifted by the man by strong hands grabbing your shoulders.

"One of my wooloo! I'm so very, very sorry! She keeps running away everytime someone leaves a door open and I need her for the gym so I keep having to chase her down and bring her back!," the man quickly stated holding you up on wobbly legs as you shook your head as your poor sobble refused to let go of your arm. Hanging onto it like a koala bear would. Hands dusted you off. "Oh no. You're all a mess because of me. I hope you're not hurt, Ma'am."

You waved him off. "It's fine. Wouldn't be the first time I had to deal with troublesome wooloo," you grumbled remembering the Slumbering Weild incident. "I feel fine. Just a few dirt stains aren't gonna hurt."

The man sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness. I was really worried when you fell so suddenly." His face quickly snapped with a frown to the wooloo who baaed at him. "And you! What did I tell you about running off like that!? This time you did hurt someone!" It baaed louder at him. "Don't you talk back to me! You're in big trouble young lady!......Hm?" He looked to Gloria who was currently staring at him in surprise before he suddenly smiled at her. "Oh. You must be one of the Gym Challengers, right?"

"I- W-Who me!?" She sputtered before nodding quickly. "Y-Yes, Sir! I am!"

"Ah! I thought so." His polite smile widened. "I saw you at the Opening Ceremony earlier this week! My name's Milo. It's nice to meet you."

"I know! AH! I mean!" Gloria sputtered holding up her hands. "I s-saw you too with everyone else! I'm so sorry!"

He held up his hands. "Oh no. If anything I should be the one apologizing to you and your friend here for the trouble I put you through."

"Milo?," you asked confused gaining his attention.

He nodded. "I'm a Gym leader here and partial to Grass Type pokemon. And if I'm not mistaken your friend here is one of the ones Leon keeps going on about. I've been itching to see just how good the Champion endorsed Gym Challengers are..." he sighed moving his hands to his hips. "But I'm afraid you might have to wait your turn."

"Huh?" Gloria blinked.

"I know usually my gym's the first one trainers pass by on their trip, but I didn't expect so so many to come here right after the ceremony. I've been completely swamped and I still have three trainers waiting for their turns with me right now. And it doesn't help this one keeps running off the first chance she gets."

"You mean I gotta wait until you have more time off just to fight me?" She groaned with a pout. "Maybe we should've taken the train to get here faster after all."

"Hey. The man's busy" You patted her back with a frown. "And obviously he's having a hard time right now. You said we had what?....A whole year until those finals come up? It hasn't even been a whole week yet. We can wait a lil bit longer and let Mr. Milo here sort himself out."

Milo gave you a surprised look and Gloria sighed before nodding. "You're right. We're here and that's the most important thing! I can wait a few more days if I have too."

You smiled. "That's the spirit!"

Even Milo eventually smiled. "Well then. Let me find out at the Gym Stadium when you're ready." He pointed behind him. "Just head on down this route and you'll run right into my stadium. See you there!" He then turned to the wooloo. "Come on now. Back to the stadium with you too. We can't keep the Gym Challengers waiting." It baaed at him in protest but didn't give too much of a fight when it started to follow him as he turned and gave one wave back to you two. "Again sorry for the trouble! Hope to see you soon!"

With a sigh you brought your arm up and your sobble blinked at you...before grabbing your cheek with a questioning chirp. "I'm fine. Just a little sore."

"You sure?," Gloria asked as your pokemon started climbing back onto your shoulder. "You hit the ground pretty fast."

"No different than tripping over a rock I guess," you groaned and stretched out your back. "I don't suppose there's any hotels around here...Not that we could afford them anyways."

Gloria shook her head. "Nope." And brought up her phone. "According to the town's map online, there isn't. But it does have a small market, camping area, and a Poke Nursery on the edge of town. This place is mostly just a large farming community. ....OH! We should go see the geoglyph!" She smiled as she started walking again.

You rose a brow and followed. Your legs now a bit sore from the wooloos tackle. That wools not as soft as it looked. "The what?"

"The geoglyph. It's a really old history drawing carved into the ground and on a whole bunch of rocks around here! It's a part of a historical landmark and it helps bring in visitors along with the Grass Type gym!" She laughed happily. '' I can't believe we get to meet the gym leader himself as soon as we got here! How lucky!"

"I wouldn't call my encounter lucky. I look and feel like I was bowled over by a hay bail."

She snorted. "Relax. I'm sure you'd like the geoglyth. We got nothin' else to do right now so we might as well just see what this town has to offer right?"

Well you really had nothing better to do-...Wait. You blinked remembering something. "Hey. How many Gym challengers are there anyhow?"

She paused. "Uh..." And scrunched her face in thought. "Well usually there's a lot every time a Gym Challenge comes along, but it usually winds down to a smaller amount by the end of the year. And it's if you were sponsored personally by a member of the Pokemon League like Leon or someone who Sponsors the League personally."

"How many was there this year?"

"Including Hop n' me, twenty five."

"That's a lot."

She shrugged. "Not really if you compare us to the millions of other people living in Galar."

"....Touche."

The two of you finished going down the hill's path and it was only then you noticed the loud sounds of cheering coming from the HUGE stadium. It was similar in size to the gigantic one in Motostoke and you must've guessed Milo was currently in the middle of a battle with someone inside. You hope the poor guy wasn't over whelmed by these twenty five trainers, or whatever ones decided to come here first that is. Gloria continued to look at her phone before suddenly pointing right from where the path branched off into three parts towards the giant stadium, Pokemon Center, and a path that started off with a fence made from rope and wooden posts like the one by that factory you two passed by two days ago.

"The geoglyph and stone carvings are this way." You followed her towards the left and began to go a little up hill as the path split a bit but still roped off at certain parts. You passed by some stones stacked up on one another in a way that reminded you of Stone Hindge in Scottland back home. Most had zigzag like patterns carved into them or diamond shapes. You two passed by a few other people either looking at the stones or taking pictures before Gloria pointed at the very top of the small hill you two were walking upon. "It should be up there! C'mon!"

The two of you walked off onto the end of the path and you surprised at what you saw once you reached the top. It was a hillside. Roped off of course, but what was carved into the giant hillside was what made you pause. A giant white carving of...of...of some kind of monster looking thing was carved into it and next to it was a giant swirl with what looked like lightning bolts came from it. In the circle of rope fencing, there was a few benches with people sitting, talking, and taking pictures. There was even some kind of picture stand where you could take pictures pretending to be some kind of pokemon. But it was one person on the one of the benches, with bright orange hair and a ponytail, and a small yamper laying lazily at her feet. No. It couldn't be. There was absolutely NO WAY it was-

"SONIA!!," Gloria shouted happily scottish accent present as she walked immediately over towards her.

The woman turned her head to confirm that it was in fact Sonia. She smiled upon seeing the two of you and turned around on the bench she sat upon. "Hey you two! Glad to see the two of you made it here after all." She paused upon seeing your dirtied body. You must've looked like you rolled around in the dirt like a dog. "Oh wow. What happened to you?"

"I went bowling with a wooloo and lost."

.....She blinked. "What?"

"Nevermind. How did you get here before us?," you asked, "We didn't see you on the path here unless you traveled during nighttime."

"Oh. You remember that factory I mentioned earlier?" You nodded. "Well it turns out they were shipping some of the products they make out and it just so happened they were passing right by Turffield on the way there. So I asked for a ride here and they agreed."

"Of course you got a ride," you mumbled feet sore. Maybe you should've just taken the train or taxi like everyone else.

"Oh don't be so salty. I wasn't exactly expecting to run into the two of you here either." She turned back to the geoglyph and you noticed she was taking notes with the paper and pencil in her lap. "I was actually stopping by to see this. It's connected to the legend as it was carved in accordance with the legend. I thought seeing it might've helped with anything similar I encounter later. Unfortunately I'm not allowed to get a closer look than this. What's your opinion of it?" She asked turning to the two of you. "In historical terms. Im stuck and sometimes an outside opinion can be useful.What do you think of it?"

The both of you looked at one another, then to the strange markings....And you shrugged.

"I haven't the foggiest clue to be honest. I've never seen it before." Except that you HAVE but can't remember barely a gosh darn thing and you're TRYING to remember as much as you could with no luck.

"Huh...It kinda reminds me of a dynamax pokemon. It's so big, and it doesn't look like a human."

Sonia hummed before looking back to the carvings and nodding. "Seems Likely. It certainly looks like a gigantic pokemon. I suppose people three thousand years ago could've just imagined this, but it looks too similar to Dynamaxing. It can't just be a coincidence." She sighed pressing the eraser of her pencil to her cheek, thinking and mumbling to herself. "A long time ago...a great black storm covered the Galar Region. Giant Pokemon ran rampant...But what was that black storm they called 'The Darkest Day'? What connection does it have to dynamaxing?...Or is the legend even connected to Dynamaxing at all and just a story?" Gloria looked at you again gesturing to Sonia mumbling to herself and you again shrugged. "Guess I'm the lucky lady who'll be be looking into that. Gran sure gives me a lot to do. She finally seemed to remember the two of you were there and smiled. "Thanks for your thoughts on the matter. It'll give me some stuff to think about!"

"Hey, no problem...Hey. You know if there's any hotels or something around here?"

She shook her head. "No. But there is a camping ground a little ways from the stadium I believe. I don't plan on staying here for too long....Hey. Aren't you going to challenge the gym leader here?" She asked shifting her gaze to Gloria who sighed. "That is what you're here for right?"

"Yeah. Well when we met him earlier he said he was completely booked and needed some time to take care of everything cuz of so many trainers comin' 'ere firstly."

Her eyes widened. "You met the Gym Leader outside the stadium? When did this happen?"

"When Y/n got bowled over by his wooloo."

"....What?"

"Nevermind," you butted in, "Let's go see about that camp sight. We're probably going to have to spend the night." And you slightly hoped that somewhere in the small market someone sold sleeping bags so you wouldn't have to sleep uncomfortably again.

The two of you bid good bye to Sonia and left but not before Gloria got her a nice picture of the geoglyph and insisted she take a couple of you and her in that ridiculous cardboard cut out thing before you left back down the hill towards the market. The cheers from the stadium farther away still ringing out. Whoever Milo was battling must've still been fighting you guessed as you both walked past it. The first stop was this town's residential center so Gloria could get her pokemon checked out by Nurse Joy, mostly her Budew and Raboot, to make sure they weren't too badly injured by that boy from earlier. ...Bede if you remember right. Then the two of you finally was able to visit the small....and you mean SMALL market there was here. Apparently most of the few houses and land surrounding the stadium was owned by farmers or the Galar Historical Preservation Society (concerning the geoglyph) and no one was allowed to cross onto minus wild pokemon of course. The only other things here worth looking at besides the stadium was a Florist shop which you learnt upon entering was also a souviner shop for the Geoglyth, the Pokemon Center, and the Pokemon Nursery which was at the very edge of Turffield, a small food stand net to the Floral/Souviner shop, the Geoglyph, And of course the camping sight. At least you were able to sit down and relax a bit in the flower shop. Gloria had skimmed through one of the magazines for sale by the table you two sat at and at one point pointed the book to you showing what you had to admit was a fairly beautiful lady with blue strips in her dark hair modeling a rather lovely looking long blue dress. Explaining to you that she was one of the Gym Leaders who like Milo had a second career, but instead of a farmer, she was a fairly succsessful model. ...OH RIGHT!! You vaugely remembered her on the field. Nessa you thought the Chairman called her. But it seems the day of surprises for you wasn't over yet, because your stomached had rumbled and Gloria suggested seeing what the small food stand was selling instead of going through your food rations Leon gave you, which you agreed fully. It might've been a good idea to save your food for later in case you had to wait another four days for the next battle. As soon as the two of you stepped outside guess who you ran into looking like he was tossed into the dirt like you?

"Glory!" Golden eyes smiled widely at her.

"HOP!! BRO!!" Her greeting was to run up to the two teen boys and wrap one arm around each of them in a hug. "I thought you guys skipped town already!"

"Are ya kidding me?!," Hop asked a sudden tired look on his face as she pulled away and watched him roll his eyes with a groan. "I just got done with my battle."

She gaped at him. "....What?!"

"Yeah. The Gym leader just returned to battle me too. Something about a run away pokemon I think??" Your face immediately soured as Gloria snickered slightly not that Hop noticed as he continued. "The place is jam packed with trainers when we got here, and there was still two more in there once I was leaving. It'll be a while before it's your turn I reckon."

"How many were there when you got here?"

"including the two people still there right now? Ten," he answered bluntly.

Ten.....TEN!? TEN TRAINERS WERE THERE IN THE THREE DAYS RIGHT AFTER YOU GUYS LEFT!? Well four counting today as you imagine Gloria wouldn't probably be able to battle Milo today considering how busy he was apparently dealing with so many trainers and run away wooloos. The poor guy must've been exhausted!! You felt so sorry for him. And you briefly wondered if one of the two trainers that were still there was the white haired boy the two of you encountered in the mines a little while ago. A rumble of your stomachs interrupted anything else and Victor suggested you four see about the food stand about food and you happily agreed. And you shouldn't have been surprised, but it was more curry, Leek curry. Like the curry Victor had back at the Budew Inn in Motostoke. There was also curry with apples and beans to which you weren't surprised as this WAS a farming community so the curry served would have fruit and veggies they grew added to it. You didn't care what you got so you just mentioned you were fine with whatever they picked, when you remembered that....You didn't have a lot of money to spend on things until Hop offered to pay for you all.

You gave him a look. "Are you sure? I don't want you guys to make a habit of just giving me stuff for free y'know."

"It's totally fine! Challengers are given a specific amount of money after every battle from the Gym League. It's to make sure we're well taken care of."

Oh. Well you were still really reluctant, the only things that made you agree was Gloria agreeing and your own hunger even if you already consumed a lot of curry at this point. If you were going to be traveling then you weren't going to be greedy. So hop just ordered Leek Curry for the lot of you, but everyone had different taste. Bitter, Sour, and Spicy went to the three teens who apparently had a different taste than you. You on the other hand asked for Sweet Leek because you liked the last sweet something curry you had, and because you planned on giving the leek veggies to your sobble who for the entire time was eyeing and chirping at all the food in the stand. You.....weren't too keen on letting this small timid creature eat any veggies with the words 'bitter', 'dry', 'sour', and DEF NOT 'Spicy'. So sweet seemed like the safest option for the both of you....That and it meant Gloria could get four more pictures for her Curry Dex. So it's a real win for everyone really. Until you were in the middle of feeding said sobble one of the veggies when Victor finally took notice of your scruffy appearance and pointed a plastic fork at you.

"What happened? You look like Hop after he wrangled a wooloo."

....Gloria snickered and you lowered your arm to turn and shoot her a look making your sobble reach out for the veggie from your shoudler. "....You could say that-"

"Say that? She was plowed over by one of Milo's own wooloo! I thought she died from how fast she went flyin' to the ground."

And from then you made a mental note to tell the boys about the embarrassing moment you had to save Gloria from an Onix in the Wild Area because she insisted on getting a picture later as revenge. Luckily neither looked in a laughing mood as Hop choked on his food coughing and Victor offered a concerned glance.

"My are you alright? Wooloos are small but they can tackle pretty hard."

Tell me about it. You shook your head and nodded to Hop pounding his chest. "Yeah. But you said you just got here from your gum battle. How'd it go?" You asked changing the subject.

As soon as regained breathing skills, he was quick to smile. "Oh I got through alright! Here Ill show ya!" You all watched as Hop went digging into his bag and pulled out a golden circle that was mostly empty except for one small badge on it with what looked liked a green leaf image carved into it, and your sobble was scowling at you now. "BEHOLD!! The Grass Gym Badge! I got it in one try!" You briefly wondered it that part was due to Milo being so overwhelmed. "I reckon I'm just the greatest when it comes to wrangling wooloo. I've had plenty of practice after all. I'm sure you can win this one, too. You are my rival after all."

"....You have to wrangle wooloos to win now?"

"You have to for the Gym's Challenge."

Gloria stared at Hop for just a moment before her eyes nearly buldged from her head like a cartoon character's would. "THE GYM'S CHALLENGE!? I FORGOT ALL ABOUT THOSE!!"

All three of you looked at her. You in confusion as to what they were talking about and both boys shocked, then as if they were thinking the exact same thing, both Hop and Victor yelled.

"HOW COULD YOU FORGET!?"

"Gym's Challenge?? You mean battling?"

victor groaned and facepalmed himself as Hop explained with a shrug. "The whole thing's called the Gym Challenge for a reason, and we're Gym Challengers for a reason. Each Gym has a challenge or puzzle I guess you could call it you gotta do in order to earn the right to battle the Gym Leader. Every Gym in Galar has one...." He scrunched up his face. "Well....Except the one in Spikemuth I think? It's all about proving yourself to be the strongest. You can't just waltz in and demand to battle with them. You gotta earn it just like everything else. Milo's challenge just happens to involve wrangling wooloos is all."

Oh. Well that might be a little more difficult then. It was a good thing Gloria was reminded of this now instead of later when she was actually about to go challenge Milo.

"I swear you're forgetting everything! We're staying to watch you battle then to make sure you don't forget your pokemon next!" Victor stated giving his younger twin a stern look making her scowl.

"HEY!! It's not like I forgot on purpose! And Hop ain't the only one who's wrangled wooloo before! Haven't you forgotten we live in wooloo city?"

"We are?"

Hop's question went over the two twin's bickering until you grabbed Gloria's shoulder in one last ditch effort for them to stop arguing like a duo of alley cats. "OK! I think I've had enough surprises and arguing today to last a life time. Let's just eat and set up camp for tomorrow K? We know now so everything's fine."

They looked at you before they (thank GOODNESS-) settled down with both twins frowning.

"Fine."

"Agreed, but this conversation isn't over."

"Good. Now let's finish eating so I can see about our tents." A small paw grabbing at your shoulder next to your ear made you turn to a very hangry sobble and it was only then you realized that you were still holding onto the veggie you intended on feeding him. ".....Right after I feed you first."

[ofieugogyshz]

Fic;; This Will Get Better, ch. 7 - Rotomdex

Chapter content warnings: none

Word count: 3500

Chapter Summary: Having cleared the first Trial with ease, Mustard gives the students of the Master Dojo and its guests a few hours before starting the next one. In that time, Sarah decides to update her Pokedex, and meets Hyde, the son of Honey and Mustard. When everyone comes back for lunch, Mustard announces what the next trial is!

(Fic Masterpost)

-------------------------

Mustard announced that there would be a short pause before the second trial. I decided to take the time to look into getting my Pokedex updated. I didn't need it to be upgraded to a full, complete transfer over to a new device-- in fact, I hated that idea. I wanted to update the information in mine with that of Galar's, so that I'd know about any other regional variant Pokemon, like those three Slowpoke from earlier. I was going to need at least that much while we stayed here and trained.

“Do you know if there's any way that I can update my Pokedex while I'm here?” I asked Miss Honey. “Those Slowpoke didn't respond to Pika's Thunderbolt like I expected, and if we're going to be here for a month, I'd like to be able to know more about the local Pokemon.” While I spoke, I dug my Pokedex out of my bag, one that dated over 20 years old. I saw the surprise on Honey's face and let out an annoyed sigh, expecting yet another comment about its age. “I know, I know, it's old, but I've been able to keep it upgraded; the insides are far more up to date and have more memory than the original model did. Honestly, this is just a shell, but it's the same shell that I've had since I started out as a trainer.”

“Why... That's amazing that you've managed to keep it functioning after all this time!” The unexpected praise caused my face to warm up. “I wouldn't know how to upgrade that myself, but if there's anyone on the Isle of Armor that could, it'd be my son Hyde!”

“Hyde?” I tried to think back on everyone that I had met so far. No one introduced themselves with that name, and no one had said anything about being Honey and Mustard's child, either. She must have caught my confused look and nodded, as though remembering something.

“Yes, of course. You haven't had a chance to meet him yet-- he doesn't like to come out of his room often, and prefers to play with his inventions instead. If you go over here...” Honey pointed me towards his room. “...you'll probably find him inside.”

I went down the path she pointed, until I found a nameplate that said “Hyde”. I knocked on the closed door; there was no immediate response. I thought about knocking again when the door opened, and I had to look down to see a small child, maybe around age 8 or 9, looking up at me with an almost condescending face.

“What do you want? I'm kind of busy right now, so make it quick.”

“Oh, um. Uh... I'm looking for Hyde. Do you know where I could find him?” As soon as I said it, I knew that I had asked a dumb question. I had expected someone much older, given Mustard's age. Was Honey just that good at hiding her age, or... I did not want to think about that.

The little boy let out an annoyed sigh.

“Yes, that's me. Geez, why are you even knocking around if you don't know who you're looking for.” He started to close the door, and before I could stop myself, I put my hand on it to keep it from closing.

“Wait! Sorry, I just... Didn't know that you were going to be.... Um....”

“A kid?” He rolled his eyes at me. “Did you need something from me or what?”

Rude little shit. He was quickly getting on my nerves. But if his mom thought he could help update my Pokedex...

“Yes, actually, I did need something from you.” I held out my Pokedex. Hyde's grip on the door loosened and he adjusted his glasses to look at the device in my hand.

“What is that?” he asked incredulously.

I let out an annoyed sigh.

“It's my Pokedex.”

“I've never seen a Pokedex like that.” He motioned if he could take it, and I handed it over. He looked it over, opening it to look at the screen that had been replaced more than three times over the years.

I was attached to the old model of Pokedex. I felt bad when I had to scrape the insides out in order for someone to build a new computer inside of it, when times changed and technology improved far more than it could keep up. When information began to take up too much space, I paid someone to change its storage capacity, along with everything else. I had invested so much into it. Time. Money. Emotions. Experiences. It was my pride and joy as a trainer, having that model; where others had upgraded as soon as they could, I still clung to it, glad to relive memories that were forever etched into the casing. It wasn't just about the data-- data could be saved, duplicated, and moved. It was about the attachment, the memories it held for me. And upgrading to a new shell meant that I wouldn't have that connection to those old days anymore.

“It's a little bit older than you,” I said after a few moments of letting him look.

“Looks older than my dad.”

I could hear a snort of laughter from behind me, and I turned around, seeing Lance standing there, trying not to laugh. I crossed my arms, frowning at him.

“I'm sorry; I came to look for you, and--” he began.

“You're in no position to talk, mister 'listens to music from the 1800s',” I scoffed.

“1900s. And that's not even that old!”

“It may as well be the 1800s, old as your soul is!”

“Can you two stop your married bickering?” Hyde interjected. The small child looked annoyed: he was tapping his foot, arms across his chest, waiting for his presence to be noticed again. “I want to get back to work on important stuff; I don't have time for your old people nonsense.”

I couldn't tell whether I should have laughed or been appalled at that comment, while Lance seemed amused.

“Is this... is this how you treat people who want to ask you for favors?”

“You came to me; I don't see why I have to help you.”

I puffed out my cheeks, trying to hold back any rude comments. Kid or not, I wasn't above telling them off. But he was the master's kid, and my husband was there now, too...

“What's going on?” Lance asked.

“I asked Honey if she knew where I could get my Pokedex updated, and she suggested that I ask her son.” I jerked my head in the direction of Hyde. “But I'm starting to think that this was a waste of my time.”

“Look, I don't know how to update something that old. But I can give you a Rotomdex for you to use. I feel a little bad giving it away since my mom got it for me to use next year, but I'm not interested in doing the Gym Challenge. You want it or not?”

“Not particularly.”

“A Rotomdex would make it a lot easier to get around here,” Hyde began saying, as he continued to look over my ancient device to understand it. “They have maps, camera function, voice-based communications, and they're controlled by a Rotom, who are able to talk by using the installed voice libraries. And it's lot quicker for me than trying to figure out how this thing works.”

I thought about it. A Rotomdex sounded interesting, for sure, but the thought of using it felt off. It would be too different from what I was used to. Like I'd have to give up using my old Pokedex because of the new one.

“You'd just need a Rotom to put into the device. Trust me, out here you'll want a Rotomdex for the map system. It'll help guide you around the Isle and provide you with information on the area. It's really easy to get lost here.”

“Yeah... I won't need that. I've never gotten lost. I have a pretty damn good internal GPS; I can intuitively find my way to the place I need to be.” It wasn't even some sort of sixth sense developed over years of travel; I had always known the quickest way out of a route, cave, or forest. Even a trip to the distortion world in my younger years was disorienting at best, but I hardly got lost while in it. Still was not on my list of favorite places to go.

“That doesn't happen around here. Lots of overconfident trainers think that they don't need to use a map, and then they wind up getting themselves lost, especially in the forest. We usually have to wind up sending out a search party, like we did with you when you got here.”

“Excuse you, we were not lost!” I crossed my arms and huffed. “We were misinformed on how to meetup.”

Hyde handed back my Pokedex. It seemed that he was done with me if I wasn't going to take the offer for a Rotomdex. There was a quiet pause as we waited for the other to speak.

“If you're done here...”

“Ugh, fine, I'll take the d—stupid Pokedex.”

“It's a Rotomdex,” he corrected. Hyde opened the door to his bedroom all the way and invited both my husband and I inside.

It looked more like a workshop than a bedroom. There were many computers, all sorts of machinery scattered about. Cables were bundled up together, but that didn't stop the few spare ones creating tangles across the floor. There were boxes around the room used to house different components he kept.

“Sorry about the mess. Mom's always telling me to clean up, but I don't see the point if I don't usually have people over.”

Hyde went over to a cabinet in the corner and began to rifle through its drawers, trying to find something.

“Right...” That felt familiar to me. I was the same way when I was a kid, though I certainly didn't have the vast array of mechanical and computational skill as he did. I looked around and noticed something that was near his computer; it looked like a machine that he was working on, blue in color, and shaped like some sort of bird that I wasn't familiar with.

“What're you working on over there?” I asked, both curious and trying to be friendly with the kid. He was giving me a free Pokedex, after all.

“Oh that? That's my Cram-o-Matic. It's the invention of the century! It's my very own brilliant take on recycling. But it doesn't do a thing right now, since it's out of power. If I just had enough Watts...” He paused. “Hey, actually--! I can give you this Rotomdex if you can do a favor for me!”

I knew there was gonna be a catch. I sighed.

“Sure kid. I can try; what do you want?”

“Watts. All it would take is a measly 500 Watts to get the Cram-o-matic up and running!”

“Watts?” I looked at Lance, and he shrugged. He didn't seem to know what it was either.

“The two of you don't know?! Watts are the energy that you can get from the Pokemon Dens in the Wild Areas. Your Dynamax bands can absorb it whenever you're near one, and then we can transfer that energy into the machine or a battery with a cable!”

I looked at Lance; he was the only one between the two of us that had a Dynamax band.

“We don't have any right now, but would it be possible to pay you back later?” he asked.

Hyde tapped his foot against the ground as he thought about it.

“What are your names again?”

“I'm Sarah, and this is my husband Lance.”

“You're the Champions that my parents invited over for training, right?”

“That's right.”

“You guys are probably more the outdoors type, huh? Well, I'll loan this Rotomdex to you for now, Sarah, so long as you guys promise to pay me when you get the watts. Then it's all yours.”

“Yeah, that doesn't sound like an issue for me. Though, it might be a little bit before we get any. That okay with you, Hyde?”

He began to dig into the drawer again, and finally pulled out a flat, red device, about as wide as the Switch I had packed in my bag. He waved it at me. “No problem. Well, let me know when you've got a Rotom to put into here, and I'll help set you up.”

“If you guys had a PC, I could get that done right now.”

The kid lit up, as though proud to lord this incoming fact over me.

“It just got delivered this morning, while you guys were out doing dad's first trial! I watched the guy set it up.”

Hyde showed me to where the dojo's PC was. I connected to my account and withdrew a Rotom-- one that I had caught back in Sinnoh many, many years ago. It zipped around excitedly when I let it out, like an old friend who hadn't seen me in a long time. I directed it into the Pokedex. The screen lit up a light blue, and two large blue eyes, much like a Rotom's, appeared on the screen.

“Hi? Hello? Hello! It is I, your trusty Rotom, Plasmastar! So good to see you again, Sarah!” The Rotomdex floated around; not nearly as fast as the zippy Ghost-type Pokemon typically was. But it seemed overjoyed nevertheless with its new home.

Hyde grabbed the Pokedex, causing the Rotom inside to give a startled cry. “If you don't mind, I'll help talk your Rotom through proper installation, so it's familiar with how to use all of its components. It'll take at least an hour though.”

“An hour?!” shouted my Rotom, and it tried to pull itself away from Hyde's grip. “I don't have time for that! Please, please, don't leave me with him!”

“Sorry Plasmastar. But please bear with it, so you can help us. I heard you'll be able to read the map really well and be super helpful to us, if you do!”

It stopped tugging. “Super helpful? Say no more, I am glad to be of service!” I'm not sure what it was trying to do at that moment, but there was a flash that went off, temporarily blinding Hyde.

“Oops! Sorry about that, small human! I'll listen, but you better make it quicker than an hour! I want to go explore with Sarah again!”

Lance and I went outside to look around the dojo. Pokemon played in the grass; the groups of Jigglypuff and Buneary from yesterday saw us and ran up, excited to see us again. I reached into my bag and let out the two that I had caught so they could see their friends.

“Ellie, Bunbun! C'mon out!”

The Jigglypuff and Buneary appeared. They looked around while their friends stood in awe for a moment, before clamoring all around them excitedly. Ellie puffed herself up with pride, and began to tell her audience about her battle. She mimed out what happened, eventually getting Bunbun to play the Mienfoo. Though Bunbun was reluctant, she eventually joined in. She got so into it that she was suddenly going off script, including a lowkick when Ellie was supposed to dodge another punch, causing Ellie to bounce into the ground. Angry, the Jigglypuff began to yell at the Buneary, while the other turned around and stuck up her nose. Their audience didn't know what to do at this point, so they wandered away, going back to playing in the grass.

As amusing as it was, it wouldn't do me any good if my two newest members were fighting amongst each other. I walked over and pushed them apart.

“C'mon guys. Bunbun, apologize to Ellie; and Ellie, calm down. You asked her to do something she didn't want to do anyways. This is a consequence of that.”

Ellie huffed and turned away, crossing her arms while Bunbun continued to do so. I sighed.

“Please? If the two of you make up, I'll give you each a treat.”

At the promise of a treat, the two of them looked at me, before turning around and looking at each other. Bunbun smiled and apologized, and Ellie smiled and puffed herself up, as though proclaiming that she was in the right anyways. Bunbun looked away, pretending not to be annoyed by the display. Both of them looked at me, holding out their hands expectantly.

“Hey-- wait, I never said I was going to give you a treat right away! They're back in the Dojo; you'll have to wait 'til later for one.”

Both of them gave me an angry look and turned away from me, arms crossed. Well, at least they were in unison on that.

“Eheh.... Alright, how about the two of you c'mon back.” I held up my Pokeballs and they both went back inside.

“Trouble with your new friends?” Lance asked. He had let Zweilous out while Ellie and Bunbun entertained their audience, and the two-headed dragon was biting onto sleeve of his uniform.

“Nothing that I'm not used to.” I motioned to Zweilous. “On the other hand, I think I should be asking you that, except I know that's just how Zwei is. Did he break through the fabric already?”

Lance laughed and pet both of their heads in sequence, causing each one to finally let go of the loose fabric. He brought up his arm, looking at the sleeve. “No, not yet. He's just hungry. We should go back inside and get something to eat for lunch.”

Everyone had gathered in the dining room once more, with plates and bowls left out in the Dojo's main hall for our Pokemon. Zweilous ran over to the nearest bowl, both of his heads fighting over bites. Pika ran up to the bowl next to him. We let out the rest of our Pokemon, leaving them to eat while we headed towards a spot at the table where we could sit next to each other.

“Thank you, Ms. Honey!” everyone said before digging in. Chatter filled the dining room between bites, and everyone felt so warm and welcoming. No one seemed to begrudge us for having defeated all three Slowpokes, including those who never even got to catch up to one. In fact, many were excitedly speculating about what the next trial might be. I looked around the table, wondering if Hyde had joined everyone, or if he had missed the call to lunch. I couldn't see him. The din of the dining room began to lower as everyone filled up on the food made by Ms. Honey and the students who helped with meal prep. The final peals of laughter and conversation were silenced when Mustard stood up and addressed everyone.

“A-hem. I'd like to congratulate everyone who did their best this morning with the first trial. To those of you that weren't able to pass—may you have better luck next time. Take this time to train up! For those of you moving on to the second trial, I will take the time to explain what your next trial is. Now that you're all energized from lunch--” Mustard paused mid-thought, as though something came to mind.

“I think our second trial should be something to welcome them with. You know what would sound good for dinner tonight? The Master Dojo's secret recipe: Max Soup! Since we have two special guests, I'd love for them to have a bowl of Max Soup full of Max Mushrooms for tonight. And that's why your second trial shall be mushroom picking!” A collective, confused reaction, interspersed with some groans, went out among the students. I blinked, confused myself. How was gathering dinner ingredients supposed to be a trial? If anything, it sounded much easier than the first. Someone whispered to another student that they were glad they hadn't passed.

“Students!” The dining room quieted once more at Mustard's raised voice. “That's better. In case you forgot, or you aren't aware, Max Mushrooms are the key to Gigantamaxing, and I'm tasking all of you with finding three!”

Honey stood next to Mustard, explaining what we were looking for. “Max Mushrooms are red with a spiral pattern. You can usually find them in dark, humid places, such as the forest or Warm-Up Tunnel.”

Mustard, “And with that, your next trial begins! I'm countin' on ya!”

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

You say the story of Rescue Team frustrates you? How come?

Rant ahead. Rant ahead about a game I unironically love, but I spend far too much time overthinking the plot of, hence my grievances.

Maybe I just held it to unfair standards on account of playing it for the first time after Explorers of Sky. Which is easily the greatest pokemon game ever made, accept no substitutes. Nah, Rescue Team DX is addicting, the music is incredible as always in these games, and the gameplay has been massively overhauled and made far superior to the original, which while fun, was pretty buggy. And the game does have some pretty cool characters, too. Like...whatever I may yell to the heavens about Albus Dumbledore from HP, make no mistake that he’s an exceptional and three-dimensional character. Same goes for Snape. And that applies to this game as well. 

The main reason this game’s story irritates me comes down to Gengar and Alakazam. Again, they’re very well written characters...but I hate them. I despise both of them. I don’t know what it is, but Alakazam rubbed me the wrong way right from the start. Him and his whole team are so self-important, so arrogant. They condescend the MC and act like they’re the ruling body of the town square. Alakazam goes around telling people that he knows everything. That’s a god complex if you ask me. At several points, the characters make decisions based on the assumption that he is stronger than the MC, which you as a player never get to challenge. (Think of Leon from Sword/Shield, but a million times worse.) The Partner character is so in awe of them, so enamored by them. Yet behind MC’s back, Alakazam knows (or suspects) them to be the human of legend and doesn’t tell them “for their sake.” Which gives me strong Nozomi (SMT IV: Apocalypse) vibes, since later on he ignores all responsibility for having been "complicit" with the MC's secret. 

The Fugitive Arc doesn't make any damn sense. First of all, Xatu claims that the disasters, all of the trouble, are being caused by the Human from the Ninetales Legend. Ninetales later debunks this. When I first played this game, I legitimately thought Xatu would wind up being some kind of secret villain, that he had lied, and that the Fugitive Arc was all started by him. This doesn't wind up being true, and we never get an answer for why he thought the Human of Legend was responsible for the state of affairs, nor did anyone question his being wrong or acknowledge his role in all this. But the one who really started everything was Gengar. He doesn't really annoy me until the Post-Game (I'll get to that) but everyone else's reactions to Gengar's story bother me. He is a known liar, a known trouble-maker who no one likes. It's well known that he has a vendetta against the MC. He has no proof whatsoever of his allegations. And everyone just buys it, despite MC now having a great reputation, because...I guess MC didn't actively deny it? Which the player was given no agency in? And it doesn't stop the accusation from being ridiculous? 

Enter Alakazam. Apparently, everyone held a town meeting that must have taken all of ten seconds, to decide what to do about MC. They held this meeting without MC or the Partner present, because having them there would make too much sense I guess. Team A.C.T. prepares to...I guess kill MC? As well as the Partner, even though they're completely innocent. Before Alakazam hesitates and decides to give the MC a day to run away. Hold on, if he is so convinced that MC has to die to save the world, how do he justify letting them go? I guess the same way he justifies how he "knew" MC was the human of legend this whole time and said nothing about it? He bids MC to run, and throughout the entire Fugitive Arc, his team is the looming threat. Which was quite frustrating for me, already a Diamond Rank and probably higher leveled than Team A.C.T, because I would have been happy to settle things with Alakazam right then and there. It is beyond frustrating that the story denies me this chance. Not to mention, half of the town shows up to say goodbye when MC and the Partner take off. Like...okay, at least half of the town believes in MC. How in the hell is this even happening? Why do we have to flee when so many characters are on our side? When there's no proof? Why is Alakazam's word just considered law? If he “knows everything” how come he doesn’t know that Gengar is human as well, if he could sense MC’s humanity? 

You don't know how badly I wish there was a fight with Team A.C.T. when all was said and done. And the game could have done it, too! Just have it take place at the top of the Mt. Freeze, before Ninetales shows up. They have a skirmish that takes place in a cutscene, but even in the remake - there's no boss battle. Why not? It's not like this dungeon has a boss battle otherwise. Wouldn't it have been a fitting conclusion to this arc? Maybe I'm biased, maybe I just think it would have been cathartic to kick Alakazam's ass, to make him put his money where his mouth is...because again, the arrogance. He demands Ninetales tell him what happened, and that "depending on your answer, I may be forced to eliminate MC" Ah, slow your roll there, buddy. Ninetales already broke up the fight and made it clear that it's not going to happen. You're a guest in their domain. On top of that, Team A.C.T. basically forbids you from going to Magma Cavern to challenge Groudon. As if you haven't just proven yourself capable of braving dangerous dungeons. As if, after they chased you halfway around the world and were proven completely wrong, they have any right to talk down to you or tell you what to do. Again, I so, so wish we could have fought them and taught them a lesson. 

In general, this is a consistent thing with the other characters, following the Fugitive Arc. Everyone focuses on how happy MC and the Partner must be to have their names cleared, (Again, the Partner was accused of nothing. Like, literally nothing.) and no one stops to address that everyone in the Town Square should be falling to their knees and begging our forgiveness for what they put us through. Several of them tried to kill us. Upon returning to the Town Square, Gengar acts like MC is turning them-self in because they don't have any proof, even though he never had any proof to begin with, and it's only after MC is "cleared" by Team A.C.T. that everyone remembers that Gengar is untrustworthy. Reading the words "under the watchful eye of Alakazam" has always made me extremely salty. I don't have much to say about the Mankey brothers but they irritated me as well. Maybe I was just out of patience after the Fugitive Arc but I found myself wondering why we appeased them at all. Initially, we give them the chestnuts because they attack us if we don't. No matter how many times we beat them, they keep attacking if they're told no. I realize it's a staple in Pokemon games to have false yes/no choices, but those are especially noticeable in the games that focus on story. And sometimes the excuses are just pathetic. Meanwhile, the other pokemon continue to treat you as rookies, as kids. You are once again "forbidden" by...um, the other townsfolk, from going on the Rescue Mission until you talk them into it. It's like...guys. You put us through hell. We could have died a dozen times over, because you bought into the mob mentality for no good reason. How does everything just go back to normal after that? 

I don't mind Gengar at first. He's a villain, and a well-written one. He's got a clear personality and there's hidden depth in there as well. He's one of my favorite characters in the game, easily. And all of the stuff he does in the main story? Stealing the mail, manipulating Caterpie, and the stuff during the Fugitive Arc? That weird psychedelic sequence where he's dragging MC down to hell at the end? (Or whatever that was?) All fine by me. He's a villain. He's doing bad things. But sweet Arceus is Gengar annoying in the Post-Game. I wonder if this must be how Merula Snyde Antis feel, over in the HPHM Fandom. Because the MC has absolutely no motivation or reason to help him out. He just demands that they act as his bodyguard, offers nothing in return, and won't leave you alone until you say yes. Buddy, my team has like thirty pokemon at this point and they're all hanging out in the Friend Areas a few feet away. You think you can intimidate me? The only reason I'm helping is to progress the storyline. And throughout this entire storyline, you have to help Gengar even though he hasn't earned it. 

He does not deserve forgiveness, or a reconciliation with Gardevoir. What if I don't want to help him because I don't think Gardevoir would want to see him? What if I think that it would do her no good to see him? He's unrepentant and awful, the story does the bare minimum to suggest that he's changed. Now I will admit one thing: I love the moment that Ninetales first appears, sees Gengar, and simply goes "...What do you want." Like. Like that was the moment that I put it together, before he went on to tell the rest of the story. I love simple moments that make the big reveal crystal clear without needing to directly tell or show the audience. I've always dug that. But everything that happens after that is frustrating. Gengar demands the curse be lifted, despite having no justification to offer Ninetales. He threatens to attack them, but then clarifies that MC will be the one doing the fighting. Excuse me? Why would I ever do that? MC just found out the truth about Gengar, what he did to Gardevoir, and then how he pinned it all on them during the fugitive arc. Gengar, why would I attack Ninetales after this, instead of attacking you? Tell me I don't initiate battle against you right now? Thankfully MC doesn't have to actually fight Ninetales, but they are still forced to testify at Gengar's "trial" and it's a forgone conclusion because no matter what answers you give, it's treated as MC acknowledging his growth and he is forgiven at the end. 

Oh, I’ve just thought of something else. MC isn’t given a reason for why they have to leave the Pokemon world, or why they were able to return. Explorers gave a reason. Gates to Infinity and Super Mystery Dungeon made a whole post-game story out of their reasons. Here? We get nothing. MC’s “role” has finished and so they have to return to the human world. Never mind what they want. Not until after the dramatic moment where they have to leave has passed, anyway. That voice at the end who suggests that we may be able to see our partner again just by “wishing.” Who the hell was that? What did they mean? Look, by Pokemon standards, the Rescue Team story is quite substantial. By Pokemon Mystery Dungeon standards? It’s...probably the weakest story. I mean, to be fair, Super Mystery Dungeon had the endless schoolhouse arc that added up to nothing in the second act. But hell, that was still fun. And I suppose the Fugitive Arc and Gengar’s “redemption” were fun too. Just frustrating as well. 

[imjeralee]

Wallflower: Chapter 18 - “ba-woon”

Raihan x F!Reader

Disclaimer: Do not own Pokemon

Summary: You’re an unassuming Pokemon breeder who works at the nursery in the Wild Area and he’s Raihan, the fearsome gym leader of Hammerlocke who has more than a million followers. You don’t want anything to do with him but he’s…persistent.

Rating: Mature/Explicit

Warnings: Lemon, smut, violence, language.

Extra note: this chapter is messed up tbh.

ba-woon ... ...

Some time ago, Galar.

What a fucking mess.

Rose's party was a complete disaster. She honestly thinks everything in Galar is so messed up and backwards, compared to Unova anyway. She can't wait to leave and return to Nimbasa City - she doesn't remember enjoying Galar, and don't think she ever will.

And now she's visiting someone in prison. Never in a million years would Raihan's ex-girlfriend imagine that she would step one foot here.

It's Raihan's stalker, whom she knew about when she was still dating Raihan but never really bothered to do anything about nor take any action, because she believed the stalker was just a harmless fangirl. The stalker had now reached out to her online, regarding something to do with Raihan and his current girlfriend. Something that would ruin them both.

Naturally, being his ex-girlfriend, she was very intrigued but not entirely believing. To conceal her identity, she comes in wearing sunglasses and a large sunhat and baggy clothes, terrified that someone would recognise her. As if she would risk wanting to be seen here; the number of followers would rapidly go down the drain.

She goes to the counter and gives the name, informing the attendant that she's here to see an inmate. Then she's shown to the visitor's room and she sits down in the empty booth, waiting.

Soon, a girl in a jumpsuit arrives; she's very young and average. One would wonder what she did to land herself in a place like this but one can't judge a book by its cover. Once the girl in the jumpsuits seats herself down, she picks up the phone receiver and instructs the ex to do the same.

"How did you even get my contact details?" She barks. Truthfully, she would've ignored the message.

"I used to work in Macro Cosmos."

"And what's the thing you wanted to tell me about?" Raihan's ex adds, crossing her arms. This better be good, it better be worth her time.

The stalker says, "I still have a copy. It's the last one. Banette helped me hide it before they came. It's the video I took of Raihan and that girl he's with, when they were in the hotel room. I'll tell you where it is."

Raihan's ex raises a brow in response. "....Excuse me?" She says, clearly not impressed. "Are you serious? That's the reason why you called me here? So....what? What exactly am I supposed to do with it? Why are you even telling me this?"

"Because you could do anything." The girl says, "You could do anything with it. As long as it's in your hands."

...

Present, Johto.

You go through the rest of the form: it says you have the right to cancel at any time and there is fine print which Looker encourages you to read, with one paragraph in particular that dictates something called a 'Faller'. What that means exactly, you're not sure but Looker explains.

"Fallers are individuals who have passed through Ultra Wormholes." He says, "This is probably a bit too much information for you at the moment so I won’t indulge too much right now. The existence of Wormholes isn't exactly top secret information. There was an incident in Alola not too long ago where a couple of Wormholes opened up and several Ultra Beasts slipped through and it became headline news. Myself and my superior - who is also a Faller - were handling this case. However, let's not jump to conclusions right now. We could just proceed with the Hypnosis session first, see how it goes and then take it from there."

"Um...okay."

"Have you had any out-of-body experiences before?" He says. It's so blunt and to the point, you can only nod.

"Yeah, during Rose's party." You reply, "We were trying to stop Team Rocket and Eli in the energy plant, Leon and I closed the generator and then something happened and I was in this weird place where I saw Giratina."

Looker soaks it all in. "I see. That would be the Distortion World."

"Yeah."

He doesn't ask you anything else nor does he want to take up more of your time any longer so he leaves you and Raihan with more documents to read over once you're home and also to give you some time to discuss with mom and Glenn. Should you want to go ahead, you must sign and return the form to him. He gives you his number so you can contact him when ready. Then he thanks you for your time and departs; you will see him soon, probably when you return to Galar. You put away the remaining documents Looker enclosed with the folder into your backpack.

For a few seconds or so, you and Raihan merely stare at each other as you sit in your booth until you bite down on your lip, brows furrowing. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"You can't seem to catch a break?" Raihan suggests.

"Exactly!" You exclaim, "Where is all this coming from? Fallers, Ultra Wormholes? What's next? I've just about had it."

Getting up from your seats, you promptly leave the cafe and head towards the direction of the Dragon's Den, following the tourist signs once you pass Blackthorn Gym. It's pretty easy to get to regardless and there are plenty of gift shops around which you will tour with Raihan later.

"I trust Looker; you'll be in good hands." Raihan reassures you with a smile as you hold hands along the way. "You've nothing to worry about. Do you want to go back and talk to your family about it?"

You shake your head, "No, no, it's okay, we're already here; let's just head to the Dragon's Den."

It's best not to think about it any longer...plus the caffeine is kicking in so you feel renewed with energy.

Raihan gives your hand a tight squeeze and together, you arrive at the giant lake which must be crossed in order to reach the den - you take Lapras' pokeball and release the ferry Pokemon into the water. You scramble onto Lapras' back and Raihan climbs on after you, glancing right and left. "Ready?"

"Yep."

You pat Lapras gently and she begins gliding over the water and towards the large cave up ahead. Along the way, you see Magikarps swimming in the tranquil lake below and a few Woopers slinking around. The weather is perfect - it’s not cold but not too hot either - and the breeze is gentle and cool.

"We really should do this more often." Raihan mutters, and you agree with a smile.

Once you arrive, Raihan hops off Lapras and helps you down; you recall mom's pokemon and begin the trek over the harsh and rocky path with the dragon tamer into the cave. The den used to be off-limits - they would only let people who earned the Rising badge to enter but now they allow tourists and visitors. It looks different too, mainly due to the inclusion of two newly built paths leading inside, spiralling left and right - the lake outside narrows into a deep stream but you're aware it leads to a further, massive lake inside the den itself where all the Dratini and Dragonairs are. It's dark and damp and you and Raihan pass a shrine that stands in the middle of the water where an elderly man dressed in traditional garb is praying.

You excitedly point to a small Dratini that is draped around the old man's neck, snoozing. It's so adorable! You can't wait - you want to catch a Dratini badly. Raihan grins and you both up your speed without further ado, heading into the den and occasionally being challenged by trainers and defeating them along the way until you reach the opening. It's a massive cave with rocky walls that stretch up high and wide and the only source of light are the scattered torches which the dragon elders have lit up for trainers and visitors alike.

It's a lot busier inside, with a few Ace Trainers and Dragon Tamers inside with their dragon pokemon. A tamer flies around on his Dragonite, ducking and diving over sharp rocks, controlling it's speed and momentum, whilst an Ace Trainer trains her Dragonair in the water with a whistle and some strange device. Meanwhile, a pool to the left reveals a small group of wild Dratini snoozing over the rocks whilst another shakes itself under the waterfall, enjoying the rush of water.

Raihan abruptly clamps a hand over his chest in reaction to the most beautiful sight that is taking place before his very eyes.

"Are you okay?" You ask, though you don't think he is. You feel he has died and gone to heaven.  

Raihan turns to you, a wide grin appearing on his face. "I'm fine," He exclaims happily, "Let's go."

Fumbling for your pokemon, you both release your dragon pokemon by tossing your capsules into the air and an extravagant display of lights subsequently follows; the pokemon appear before you, emitting loud growls and waving their tails, wings and claws. Raihan takes a headcount whilst you do the same - he's brought Duraludon, Flygon, Goodra, Turtonator, Axew and Bagon. You count Chompy, Salamence, Haxorus, Dreepy and Deino, whom you have taken along on Raihan's behalf. Goomy and Applin are the only pokemon not present but never mind; you have quite a lot on your plate already.

"Alright! Everyone's here!" You cheer. It's a Dragon Pokemon Field Trip!

"Let's take a group photo first." Raihan says eagerly, and Rotom comes flying out just in time.

"Bzzz, I got ya covered, champ! On the count of three?"

"Thanks, Rotom!"

Everyone proceeds to move into position a short distance away from Rotom, though much allocation is needed. All the large pokemon move to stand behind yourself and Raihan; though Raihan's height forces him to kneel on one leg beside you, clutching Axew and Deino in his arms whilst you sit with Bagon and Dreepy nestles on your shoulder.

"One...two...three...Everyone zzay 'GROOOOOOOOWL'!!!" Rotom yells, and all the pokemon unleashes the fiercest growls they can muster that the walls tremble and shake and Rotom snaps away. “Yay! Good job everyone!”

Rotom returns to you both so you can check out the photos and you both peer at the screen, swiping through at least five. There's one where Rotom caught all the pokemon growling and their jaws are open. There's one with Garchomp, Goodra and Duraludon waving their arms in the air. Wow, these photos look amazing! Except from the one where you blinked. Damn.

The itinerary for today is simple - Raihan will carry out the training and you will follow up with an examination. Raihan's provided you with his Pokemon's previous assessments, so you can use them to compare.

Therefore, the next thing you do is take all the pokemon to the dragon shrine first so they can soak up all the powerful dragon energy in the den. Your group bumbles behind you, the dragon pokemon looking up and around in awe. No doubt, they are experiencing some special feels for this place. Chompy, Salamence and Haxorus are the only pokemon familiar with this place since you've brought them here before. Once you reach the shrine, you tell Raihan this is where trainers and their pokemon pray for strength and courage in battle and also to pay their respects.

There's a way to do it, so you prompt Raihan to follow your lead - you take some loose cash from your pockets and drop it into the offering box and Raihan does the same. Then you bow deeply twice, clap your hands twice, bow deeply once more and take a few steps backwards.

You clasp your hands together and close your eyes in prayer and everyone follows you. Your group grows silent as you pray; you're pretty sure Chompy and Haxorus are praying for a nice meal at the end of this whilst Salamence is probably praying for more opportunities to fly.

"That'll do. Let's go." You say, when they are finished.

The training promptly begins; you're hoping to spend half a day here and hopefully catch a Dratini at the same time if possible. You find a good spot where there's enough space for all the pokemon to move and run around - and Raihan begins with a warm up and here is where you see a different side to your dragon tamer boyfriend - this must be what he is like when he is at Hammerlocke stadium.

You see him instructing the pokemon fluidly and with the sophistication of a seasoned professional drill sergeant (but he doesn't bark orders no, he's the opposite; he's highly encouraging and gentle) and you watch as your pokemon immerse themselves fully into the experience, though the smaller pokemon are struggling slightly.

You watch as the pokemon begin doing some laps around the den whilst some do sits up and push ups. Raihan observes with Rotom hovering beside him and taking photos and videos, whilst you go to help the smaller pokemon with lighter workouts. To finish up, Raihan pairs the pokemon and let them battle each other but not to the brink where they are knocked out. There's no winner or loser. Your EV trained pokemon fight each other, with Haxorus, Salamence and Garchomp engaging in a three-way battle. Raihan passes each team, making assessments.

When it's your turn to take over, you become nervous because no-one's really watched you on the job before so with Raihan grinning in one corner actually makes you anxious. Nevertheless, you pull yourself together and begin the check up, pulling out your tools which include a stethoscope, ophthalmoscope and otoscope. They look highly technical but these are the three main tools you utilise and they’re easy to use. You get the pokemon to line up and begin the examination one by one which only takes two to three minutes per Pokemon. You hastily scribble down some notes in your pad which you will look at in more detail when you get home.

When it's getting late and the pokemon have gone through a tough day of training, you return them all after feeding them and giving them treats for all their hard work and finally, Raihan turns to you. "We still got a Dratini to catch."

You're kind of beat but you nod, hopping off the rock you were sitting on. "Let's do this."

Since you spotted wild Dratini lounging in the pond near the entrance, you head over to see two of the shed skin pokemon basking over the rocks. Raihan is quick to approach, releasing Goodra. One of the Dratini rears its head up, ready to fight, whilst the other begins to squirm away. Oh no, it's trying to run away! Without thinking twice, you throw Lapras' capsule because she's roughly the same level as these Dratini and would fare a better chance compared to your EV trained pokemon who would destroy it in one move. Raihan commands Goodra to use Dragon Breath and then throws an Ultra Ball at the severely weakened pokemon.

"Lapras, use Ice Beam!" You yell, and the wild Dratini is smacked with a blast of ice which hits it's belly. Aha, now's your chance! You pull out a spare Ultra Ball, tossing it at the pokemon.

Raihan's ultra ball wiggles three times and clicks shut with the green light, indicating Dratini has been successfully captured - however, yours wiggles twice and then abruptly explodes in a burst of bright light. Dratini reappears, blinks for a brief second then promptly dives underwater, having successfully run away.

"Motherfurret!" You shout with frustration before you can help yourself, "Not again!"

Raihan picks up his caught pokemon and returns to your side.

You look up at him with a sigh. "....Guess it isn't meant to be." You mumble dejectedly.

"Take mine." He says, attempting to press the capsule into your hand for your taking.

You shake your head at once. "No, it's fine, Rai. You caught it."

"But I want you to keep it."

"Nooooo."

"I'll catch another one."

You cross your arms, unwilling to accept. "It's fine, I can get one from the Gamecorner in Goldenrod."

He gives you a testing look but you nod firmly. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Alright...." Raihan slips the capsule into his bag but you feel he isn't convinced.

...

You leave the den to grab dinner, opting to have a nice meal at a restaurant in Goldenrod which Raihan chose because he looked it up and it's received raving reviews online and five stars. Then you and Raihan do some shopping at the Department Store although Raihan is more into this than you are. Generally, Goldenrod is quite pricey and it has designers you have not heard of and can't really afford but to Raihan, you swear he has died and gone to heaven again. 

You trail after him, watching him as he goes through racks and shelves and aisles filled to the brim with clothes, shoes and accessories. Occasionally, he'll pull something out and ask you for your opinion. Sometimes you split up so you can buy some gear and treats for your pokemon before you regroup with him.

It's interesting shopping with a guy; Raihan has good fashion sense because he picks out staple items and then he also pulls out items which are in season and are sure to last for a long time. He also picks out some interesting items which are a variety of colours and it makes you think who on earth could pull it off but you're sure Raihan can since he's so tall and skinny and can make anything look good. 

His total bill comes to a six figure number, which has your eyes bulging to the size of plates but apparently, that's nothing to him. Then he nonchalantly asks you if you want anything but you politely decline.

When you wait for Raihan to finish paying, you're looking through photos on Rotom which you took when you were training at the den and you're wondering what's taking him so long until a pair of hands suddenly clamp over your eyes and you squeak in fright until the hands lower from your eyes and you see Raihan who presses a deep kiss on your cheek. Phew, you breathe a sigh of relief.

He has a wide smile playing on his lips. "Hold your arms out."

"What is it?" You lift your arms as requested and he brings out a pink plushie from behind his back and plops it into your hands. Your eyes grow wide - it's a Skitty doll. You look at him, then at the doll with your mouth agape. "...For me?"

"It reminded me of you."

You gush, clutching it firmly to your chest. "It's so cute!! Thanks!"

His grin widens. "I knew you'd like it."

You go on tiptoe and Raihan takes this as a cue to lean forwards and your lips meet.

With the Skitty doll and many bags hanging off your arms, you head to the Gamecorner next, playing a few games such as UFO catcher and Whack-a-Drilbur and you take a quick look at the prize station but seeing various pokemon up for sale as prizes turns you off and you're not sure whether to get the Dratini; instead, you decide to call it a day and go back to Ecruteak. You had wanted to pay Glenn a visit but maybe tomorrow when you have more free time. Besides, you want to discuss with mom about the meeting with Looker. It's actually been on your mind all day. You managed to push it to the depths of your mind somehow, unwilling for it to ruin your day.

When you arrive home, mom is already preparing dinner and when you open the door to the lounge, you see Glenn sitting on one of the plushy cushions whilst the TV blares on in the background.

"Glenn, you're here!"

"Yeah," He greets you casually; there's a pink goo slithering over his head and shoulders - it's a Ditto. "How was the Dragon's Den?"

"It was really good."

"Awesome. Did you guys catch a Dratini?"

"Raihan did but I didn't...and er...I'm glad you're here, I need to talk to you and mom."

"Hm? About what?"

Firstly, you need to put your shopping away so you head to your room to get changed into comfier clothes and return to the lounge with Raihan; Glenn recalls Ditto and you pull out the folder Looker had given you and you ask him to take a look.

"A detective has asked me if I can help him with a case."

Glenn blinks blankly. "That's so random."

"We know him. He helped us before." You mutter, and Glenn takes the folder off you and sticks his hand inside, pulling out a few files. He chooses one to read and has a quick skim through until his brows furrow slightly; you and Raihan glance at each other from the corner of your eyes and you don't think this bodes too well.

However, the lounge door slides opens and mom enters with Blissey. "Phew! Almost done. Dinner's nearly ready."

"Hey mom, take a look at this." Glenn says, handing her the paper.

"What is it?" Mom plops herself beside Glenn and dons her reading glasses, scanning the paper. She's smiling but you watch as the smile slowly disappears. It grows silent as they both read the contents. Raihan reaches for your hand and holds you tightly, threading your fingers together and after a short while, mom settles the file down and turns to you. "So this detective named Looker is working on a case regarding a missing child....and he thinks you're the missing child?"

"Yeah."

"And he wants you to undergo Hypnosis in order to confirm the theory, to extract memories..." Glenn mutters, rubbing his chin. He continues reading the file out loud: "A Hypnosis session is used to extract missing memories and concise testimony from the subject. Usually the subject is an individual who suffers from retrograde or psychogenic amnesia. Subjects will undergo a session in an effort to recall their missing memories under the guidance of a trained professional and a Hypno allocated by the Bureau. The session can last up to three to five hours maximum, depending on the severity of the amnesia."

Mom looks at the photograph of the couple and the little girl next. "This is the missing child, right? You don't look anything like her at all." She says.

Glenn pulls out another file except there's a few photos that were lodged within and they drop out and over the table. "Whoa, that's a Buzzwole." He points out, as he picks up the photo of the beefy red bug. He moves to a second photo and raises a brow, "Huh, don't think I've seen this one before..."

"I think that's a Xurkitree, dear."

"I've never seen anything like it." Glenn puts down the photos and begins reading the next file: "Operation f....um, faller, spelled with blanks in between...interesting, Operation Faller is the top secret - haha, not so top secret now - Operation Faller is the top secret operation conducted by the Bureau in an effort to identify, track down and locate fallers, individuals who have passed through Ultra Wormholes; the operation came into existence after the Alola incident where Ultra Wormholes opened and several entities known as Ultra Beasts entered Alola."

Glenn abruptly stops.

"Um...what exactly am I reading or looking for here?" He says, confused.

"It's the Alola incident, dear, it made headlines a while ago - the existence of parallel worlds." Mom says. "Remember?"

"Oh, yeah! People went mental! Er...this is getting weird...they even said they found a world where pokemon don't even exist! Can you believe that?" Glenn mutters before he moves onto the next file. It's a file that's got your name on it. "Subject was discovered in Ilex Forest with blunt force head trauma. Subject could not recall her identity, where she came from or how old she was at that time.... That sounds like retrograde or psychogenic amnesia to me."

You bite down on your bottom lip; this is making you uncomfortable...

He flips to the next page. "Drifloon. Subject was found with a Drifloon - Drifloon are not native to Johto, or Ilex Forest so it was theoreticized to have been responsible for subject's accident but no proof has been found. Drifloon is known to have spirited people away, in particular, children. The expression 'spirit away' is used to refer to the mysterious disappearance or death of a person, or humans who have been abducted to the spirit world. The term is loosely utilised in Drifloon's pokedex entry - for this case, the balloon Pokemon may have transported subject either to a new region... or a parallel dimension, or Ultra Space."

Glenn stops again and looks at you like a Stantler caught in headlights.

Gulping, he continues. "...The pokemon was allowed to stay with subject after displaying no malicious intent towards subject. Instead, pokemon demonstrated protective behaviour over subject and listened to subject's commands."

You force out a weak laugh. "It wasn't Driffie. It can't be, it's not. He wouldn't...he wouldn't do that to me. This is ridiculous and if I was...whatever, I'd remember for sure."

The lounge goes silent as all eyes fall on you.

Mom nods and says, "There was no proof, dear. Driffie is harmless. And you love Driffie."

"Yeah." You mutter weakly as you absent-mindedly squeeze Raihan's hand under the table.

Glenn puts down the documents and lets out a quiet groan, rubbing his temples. ".....Basically, there's three things going on here: number one, Looker wants you to remember your missing memories to find out if you're the missing child of the case he's working on. Two, he wants to find out if there's the possibility of you being a Faller and three, the file says that Driffie could've been the one responsible for your accident."

You don't like the direction where this is going to at all. "I don't care; I have you and mom and Raihan and it won't change anything; I'm perfectly happy where I am."

"What are you gonna do, sis?"

"....I dunno."

"It's okay, dear, I think you should go ahead and sign it. There's no harm in wanting to help someone out and finding out more about yourself." Mom replies; she moves to stand, bringing you into a tight hug and pecking you on the cheek. "You'll still be my daughter and we'll still be your family."

...

After dinner, Glenn and mom ask if you're okay again but you lie and tell them you're fine. They reassure you that you're doing the right thing for yourself and whatever happens, they'll still be there for you. Whilst Raihan remains in the lounge to chat with mom and Glenn, you decided to take a bath but when you see the full moon hanging in the night sky, you end up sitting outside in the back porch with the folder; you didn't want to look at it any longer but since you still had some documents to go through for yourself, curiosity killed the Delcatty so you grab it and take out the contents again. Indeed, the folder contains a myriad of documents about Fallers and photos of Ultra Beasts and Ultra Wormholes. But it's then you come across Driffie's file and you hesitate.

Nausea overwhelms you. Driffie....no way. It can't be. You put the folder down, then pull out Driffie's capsule and release him; he emerges in a brief burst of red light in the garden.

"Flooo...." He blinks, letting out a gentle wheeze.

You can't bring yourself to ask. Hell, how are you supposed to ask? Did you spirit me away? Did you take me away from my family? Did you try to kill me? Did you try to hurt me...did you want to hurt me?

Didn't Allister once say to you...

”It wants to say... ‘I’m sorry’.”

Oh shit. Oh fuck. It can't be...

"Hey, um....Driffie?"

He looks at you, tilting his head curiously. "Floo...?"

"Was it....was it you?"

Again, he merely tilts his head to the side.

You sigh loudly. Oh Arceus, how could you think Driffie would do this to you? He is your sweet Drifloon who you've had since....ever. He's never hurt you. "Never mind. Forget it. I'm sorry, Driffie."

"Floo..." He floats over and nestles on top of your head, wrapping his arms around you just as the rest of your capsules suddenly burst open at once and all your Pokemon appear - Espie, Poliwag, Metagross, Salamence, Chompy, Haxorus, Dreepy and Tyranitar. The smaller pokemon jump into your lap whilst Dreepy slinks over your shoulders.

Your stare, blinking blankly as your pokemon begin to idly gather round and sit around you with what little space there is. Tyranitar and Haxorus sit beside you on the porch and Chompy and Metagross move to sit in front of you - Metagross has to tuck his legs in - whilst Salamence curls behind you, propping you up. You glance at each and every one of them before you smile at them warmly. You know the reason why they've appeared - they can sense your sorrow and fear.

"Did you guys hear what happened?"

Metagross turns to you and nods. Chompy growls and so does Haxorus and Salamence. Espie purrs loudly. Exhaling shakily, you watch as she puts her paw over your hand and Poliwag puts his tail over her paw. Your Pokemon look up at you and you smile at them.

"You got my back, right?"

Everyone nods.

You feel the corner of your eyes prickling with tears and you quickly dab at your eyes, hoping they hadn't seen. You've had them since they were babies - or at least since they were very young - and you took them under your wing, fed them, trained them. They're strong all because of you. You need to remind yourself about that more often and also give yourself more credit. As much as you were there for your pokemon, they are here for you, too. With those thoughts in mind, you watch your pokemon settle themselves around you protectively and you reach over, patting them fondly.

"Thanks, everyone." You utter under your breath. "Thank you for being there for me."

Metagross emits a low screech whilst Salamence, Tyranitar, Chompy and Haxorus growl loudly in response. Your smile grows wider as you pat them again. Espie purrs and Dreepy and Poliwag rub their cheeks against yours.

"If anything happens to me....I....oh, I don't know, I never thought about it."

Your pokemon look at you in bewilderment but you don't follow up. They sit with you, staring up at the moon until a while later, you hear the door to the lounge opening and Raihan passes you on the porch; you and your pokemon all turn to him and he freezes.

"Hm?" He exchanges glances between you and your pokemon and grins, "What's up? What are you doing? I thought you were sleeping."

You shake your head as you pat the space beside you, "Wanna join us?"

"Sure." He says, and he manages to squeeze himself beside you and Haxorus. Your pokemon don't mind, and Raihan reaches for you automatically with his arms out and you put down the documents. Espie and Poliwag hop off your lap and jump on top of Metagross' head so you can climb into Raihan's awaiting lap where he wraps his arms around you firmly and you rest your chin on his shoulder, closing your eyes. He envelopes you all over with his warmth, his arms holding you securely. "...You'll be okay, princess." Raihan mutters, pressing his lips against the curve of your cheek.

"Looker has really bad timing." You reply, as he peppers you with kisses. It's true, you feel the entire vacation is ruined because of this. You don't blame him but you kind of wish you hadn't met up. "I don't mind helping out but I don't know what I'll find out."

Raihan tightens his grip on you, stroking your hair affectionately and tucking some loose strands behind your ear with his long fingers. "I'll still be here. And if you are a 'faller', that's kinda cool." He says, and you chuckle under your breath. "Don't worry. I'll protect you. The Great Raihan will protect his princess, always."

You chuckle louder until you gradually dissolve into silence where you are just holding onto him and sitting in his lap.

"Have you decided what to do?"

"...Yeah. I'm gonna sign it."

"You sure?"

You nod. "I'll just...give it a shot. There's no harm, I guess. But I wish I could catch a break though...I'm really tired."

"I know you are, princess."

Leaning against him, you close your eyes and give him an affectionate squeeze.

"...You're the best thing to happen to me." You mutter quietly and he emits a gentle sigh, wrapping his arms even firmly around you.

"I know."

You can't help but smile and as you pull away from him, he grins and leans forwards, your lips pressing briefly before you throw your arms around him again. Raihan hugs you close, rubbing small, soothing circles on your back whilst you rest your cheek against his shoulder until you glance over and pick up a photo, inspecting it. It's a white jellyfish creature and the longer you stare at it, the more it looks familiar to you.

You feel like you've seen it before.

...

Days later.

Life returns to normal, or what is defined as normal in your books.

You leave Johto, return to work and so does Raihan. Your new boss is difficult to get along with; she's far more strict and doesn't seem to get your sarcasm or humour. You don't seem to be able to build up the same rapport you had with your previous boss. Your days are often spent in silence but you reckon work is just work and it cannot be helped. Not everyone likes their jobs - such as your friend, for example. You're left wondering when your next holiday is because your trip to Johto has now come to an end; the days had flown by just like that and it was over way too soon, way too quick.

And when you returned to your cottage in Ballonlea, you realised you've become way more accustomed to Galar than you had thought but after the meeting with Looker, things seem....different now.

You've told Raihan that you've already set up a time and date for the hypnosis session with Looker and although he says he wants to come with you, it will clash with his work so you tell him you can do this on your own.

Emitting a gentle sigh under your breath, you get ready, heading to Hammerlocke police station where you ask for Looker at the counter and a few minutes later, he emerges from a room and into the waiting area to retrieve you.

"Thanks for coming." Looker says, as you hand him the signed form.

"No problem."

"Are you ready?"

"Yep."

And you follow him into a small room with a sign that says 'Interrogation Room 2'....as if that wasn't intimidating enough. He closes the door behind you and it grows quiet as he sits at the desk, scribbling something down on the notepad in front of him. There's a hypnotherapy chair in the corner and a Hypno sits on its haunches on a stool, looking at you with its beady eyes. You stare at it in return, feeling slightly nauseous.

"Have a seat." Looker mutters, gesturing to the chair. "And grab a drink if you want."

You head over to the chair before you glance at the water machine nearby so you help yourself to a drink by reaching over and filling up a plastic cup, downing a few sips. It's silent in the room except from Looker's pen squeaking over the paper, the clock ticking on the wall and Hypno's shallow breathing as it stares at you relentlessly.

Looker finally finishes writing his notes and averts his attention to a case he's kept propped up against the desk, lifting it up. Unclipping it, he pulls out several strange devices which he lays carefully on the desk, then he pulls out a tape recorder from a cupboard underneath the desk which he also neatly sets on the table.

"Put this on." He hands you one of the weird contraptions, which is a bracelet that resembles a Dynamax band.

"What is this?" You ask, as you strap it on, pulling the fabric and tugging it around the width of your wrist and pushing the snap fasten into place.

"It's to read your energy levels during the hypnosis session." Looker mutters, "It works similar to a polygraph."

You didn't quite understand and Looker continues setting up some random machinery around you.

"Are you ready?" He says, when he's finished.

"Yeah." You put down the cup on the table provided beside you and take a deep breath.

Looker nods stiffly and pulls his seat over to you, dragging it on its wheels. "Let's begin. Lie down, please. Come on, Hypno. We're starting now."

As you lie over the chair properly, Looker presses on the tape recorder and he says out loud that he's recording 'Subject Sixteen, Initial Hypnotherapy Session'. Hypno moves in front of you with a shiny white pendant that dangles from his claws. Looker instructs you to tell him your name, age, where you come from and your occupation, which you do.

"When you're under," Looker adds, "Focus on the sound of my voice: I'll be guiding you along the way. I'll ask you to describe what you see and I'll tell you what to do next. I want you to remember that there is nothing there that will hurt you so you do not have to be scared. However, should you feel threatened, you can stop the session and we'll bring you back. Just tell us to stop."

You nod weakly. "Understood."

"Good. Let's begin then."

Glancing at Hypno, Looker nods and it begins swinging the pendant in front of your eyes in a smooth fashion.

“I want you to think about your childhood,” Looker says, “We’ll start from there.”

”S-sure.”

You honestly wonder how this will work.

Hypnosis?

You've seen hypnosis work on a pokemon but not on a human...

You keep your eyes trained on the pendulum.

Nothing so far.

It goes right.

Then goes left.

And back again.

Your eyes follow the motion, back and forth...

Back...

...and forth...

You're still in the room with Looker.

You're still...conscious.

Is this supposed to work?

How does it work?

The pendulum keeps swinging, Hypno keeps its eyes on you. It's mouth moves, whispering.

Left.

Right.

Left.

Right.

Opening your eyes, you sit up.

Wait.

When did you even close your eyes?

Where the hell are you?

"What do you see?"

It's Looker's voice.

You glance around.

You're...in a field.

A field full of beautiful flowers of red, blue and yellow...

The Wild Area?

No, it's...it's not. It's not the Wild Area. It's not even... Galar. Your gut just tells you it's not Galar.

"What do you hear?"

You hear giggling. Laughter. Voices.

They sound happy.

"Where's it coming from?"

You spot a small group up ahead and you wade through the field of flowers towards the source. A short distance away, you can see the woods. They're dark and foreboding.

"Who is it?"

Heading over, you see a couple sitting together on a red and white checkered picnic blanket surrounded by an abundance of food and a hamper whilst a little girl stares at a Butterfree fluttering around her. You realise you cannot see their faces; a messy, gaping black scribble erases any distinguishable feature.

Confused, you begin to step backwards.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't...I can't see their faces." You reply, swallowing down.

"Can you go closer?"

"I think so."

The couple are too busy getting the food ready to notice that the child gets up, having spotted something in the woods.

"Ba-woon." She says.

"What?"

"Ba-woon." The little girl says again.

Their voices are an echo.

Suddenly, a small swarm of Beedrill comes, attracted by the food - noticeably, the sticky jam sandwiches. The couple stand up to fend them off. They don't notice the child leaving the picnic mat, wandering further and further towards the woods.

There's something there.

"Ba-woon." The little girl says, giggling.

She stops in front of a small and cute, purple pokemon. Having lured her to the woods, it begins to float further inside.

"Ba-woon, come back! Where are you going?"

It reaches for her and takes her hand and in a split second, just like that, they both disappear into nothingness.

Gone.

[gotmilk5101520]

Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia Watch Episode 24 Angor Management

Ha! I get it. Anger Management.

“Ugh!”

“What is this?” Hell.

“Thought i bring you some breakfast”

“I don’t eat socks”

“And i don’t appreciate being tied up”

“I asked you to protect me, not torture me like this is Tokyo Ghoul”

“Trollhunter to Warhammer, you copy?”

“Oh, goodie”

“The Puberty Patrol is on the case” I don’t think they hit puberty yet.

“May i remind you”

“You destroyed Angor’s soul”

“For the record”

“Angor Rot destroyed his own soul”

“Is this all the canned food we have?”

“You need more? Mm”

“We should chop him into little pieces”

“and can him right now” Draal always knows how to make the simplest things violent

“Disguise?”

“Angor is a cunning and ruthless assassin”

“You think he’ll be fooled by a hat and mustache?” Hey, if Jesse and James can pull it off i think Strickler can too. Then again everyone in Pokemon is more stupid than everyone in Miraculous Ladybug.

“Looks like my night shift is turning into a weekend shift”

“You’re gonna be gone all weekend?”

“Oh, sucks, Mom” Well, we’re safe.

“Before Gunmar took power, Gumm-Gumms were mostly disorganized tribes of savages”

“Taking orders from Orlagk, the Gumm-Gumm Warlord”

“Gunmar betrayed him in hopes of taking his army as his own”

“The battle lasted weeks”

“Gunmar lost an eye. Orlagk lost his head” If you want to know about this, read the books. Which i haven’t.

“Gnome Chompsky!”

“You’re back!”

“By Deya’s grace, he survived!” It’s been 11 episodes since we last heard from him.

“Chompsky?”

“The one who was looking for Enrique?” “Uh-huh”

“Wait”

“Ha-ha!”

“Enrique!”

“You found him!”

“Is he... Is he okay?”

“Mm-hmm”

“Thank you for giving me that”

“You’re welcome”

“What did you see, my tiny fellow?”

“Did you see... Gunmar?”

“Gunmar”

Holy shit. That must’ve been painful.

“Gunmar did that?”

“How did you escape?”

“What is he saying?” All i’m getting is that Gunmar and Chompsky are the new Tom and Jerry.

“Aahh!”

“Whoa, whoa!”

“Why is there a hole in my basement?”

“How else am i supposed to get around while the sun is out?”

“Don’t worry, it only leads to the sewers” “Uh... Uh...”

“Nobody knows about it but me” When did you make it?

“Why would you help me kill Gunmar?”

“While we seek the return of Gunmar”

“You seek only your own glory”

“I seek glory for all changelings”

“Let’s just say”

“I’m always looking out for my best interests”

“What”

“is that?”

“It’s his eye!”

“Gunmar’s eye?”

“No! Angor’s! He’s been watching us!”

“Gunmar’s eye”

“Angor’s eye”

“Enough of these eyes!” Blinky, you better protect all six of yours.

“He’s here!”

“Get in position!”

“For the Glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command”

“Hey, kiddo, you home?”

“Wanda messed up my schedule again” I was expecting it to turn out Angor Rot was disguising himself as Barbara. But nope.

“Why is there an axe in the door?”

“W-Walt? Why are you here?”

“And why are you holding a crossbow?”

“DIE, ANGOR!”

“NO, DRAAL! GET BACK!”

“Um, hello. Sorry”

“No, no, no! Mom!”

“Mom, it’s okay! He’s-”

“My eyes!”

“AAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

“Now, he’s out cold”

“AAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

“And so is she” This is going to take time to process.

“More water, Barbara?”

We’re gonna need more water.

“I can’t believe this is what you’ve been doing”

“All those late nights”

“Getting arrested”

“You in the hospital...”

“Can’t you just ask someone else to do it?”

“I’m... I’m afraid it’s a...”

“permanent position?” Jim you forgot to tell her “Until the day i die”

“The basement!”

“What’s in the basement?” The basement holds all the answers to the Titans! Opp. Wrong series.

How the tables have turned.

“Amazing”

“A booby trap that actually catches boobies”

“You don’t understand”

“Our lives are bound magically”

“Are you really talking about our relationship right now?” Well, yes, but actually, no.

“Let me go!”

“Ow!” Slapped back without having to lift a finger.

“Listen to me!”

“Leave”

“NOW!”

“What are you, Walt?” “Say it out loud” “A vampire” “Wait, what? No! Don’t compare us to those stupid vampires!”

“Fell into your own trap”

“Ha!”

“Well, thanks for the idea”

“Get away from my boy!” And there goes that plan.

“Once you both drink it’s essence, then the woman’s fate will be tied to yours”

“We have to get to the hospital”

“Can’t”

“Our wounds won’t be healed by modern medicine” “Excuse me?”

“Toby, pick up!”

“Pick up! Pick up!”

They can’t cause they’re still playing charades.

“He wants to twist Jim”

“Juice Jim”

“No, i got it! Tie him into a pretzel!” It’s all of the above.

“Horngazel!”

“Horngazel!”

“Straight into the wall! Just drive!”

“Curse these short limbs of mine!”

“It’s not opening!”

“Come on, Tobes! Come on, come on!”

“JIM!”

“WE NEED HELP!”

“PLEASE!”

That whole chase scene blew me away. Never been more scared and anxious.

But next episode will have to wait till either Monday or Thursday. But that’s fine by me cause episode 25 and 26 aren’t done yet.

[obsidiancreates]

The Crossover Nobody Asked For (VenturianTale and Milo Murphy’s Law)

“Oh, this place is horrid,” Cavendish says, looking out the window as the van rolls into town. “This is barely an upgrade from garbage duty.”

“So there’s a lot of damage. Maybe they’ve just a Murphy in town and no budget,” Dakota says with a shrug.

“... I suppose that’s a possibility. But I don’t believe Milo has mentioned any family living in North Carolina. Especially not a place with a name like... ugh.”

“Come on, say it,” Dakota says, already almost laughing.

“... Butts, Little Butts,” Cavendish sighs.

Dakota laughs, slapping the steering wheel.

“Who even named this place?! And who would live here-”

“WHOA!”

Dakota slams on the breaks as someone runs right out in front of the van. 

“It went this way! Come on, Johnny!” a short man in a gray hoodie shouts behind him.

A tall man in a rather fancy outfit jogs into view. “I’m coming, sir! But I-I’ve been stabbed in the leg-”

“IT’S GETTING AWAY- oh, you!”

The short man runs up to the window of Cavendish and Dakota’s van. “Hey! Give us your vehicle!”

Cavendish is slightly taken aback. “Wh- we most certainly shall not!”

“Oh, he’s British! Johnny, come communicate with him in your British tongue!”

“What the devil-”

“Hello, there. I’m Johnny Toast. May we please use you vehicle?”

“More British, Johnny.”

“Oh, right sir, um, tea and crumpets, may we use your vehicle, um, Doctor Who, ah, my grandmother is the Queen of England.”

“... Just drive, Dakota.”

Dakota waves at the two men, and drives away. They hear the short one scream in frustration.

“This town is deplorable,” Cavendish says.

“We’ve only met two people, maybe it’s not so bad,” Dakota points out. “And we haven’t even been to any restaurants yet.”

“Given the state of some of these buildings, I advise against eating anything from here.”

“When has that ever stopped me?” 

“Mmm, true.”

They finally arrive at their destination. A shockingly normal looking house, out in the suburbs. 

“Well, perhaps this won’t be so bad after all.” Cavendish seems hopeful as the van is parked.

“Yeah, see? We just happened to run across two weirdos. Now let’s find that alien signal Mr. Block sent us here for.”

“I’ll grab the scanner, you introduce us,” Cavendish says, opening the back of the van. 

Dakota nod sand heads up to the front door. He rings the doorbell, and waits.

“GERTRUDE! SOMEONE’S AT THE DOOR!”

“I HEARD IT, I’M MAKIN’ DINNER!”

“KIDS!”

Dakota winces. Oh boy, so the people who live here are... loud, to say the least.

“WHERE’RE THE KIDS, GERTRUDE?”

“BILLY IS HIDING FROM MADDIE AND SALLY IS ON A DATE WITH SLENDER! SUE IS SOMEWHERE IN THE MALL!”

Dakota waits a moment, and then rings again.

He hears a heavy sigh. A moment later, the door swings open, and Dakota shouts and stumbles back.

A large man stands in the door, holding a shotgun. With his bald head, beard, and very angry expression, he looks like exactly the type of person you don’t want to bother in the middle of the day. 

“Who the heck ‘re you?” he demands in... some kind of... southern? accent.

“Uh...”

“Dakota, have you- oh, hello, are you the resident who lives here?”

Cavendish is either ignoring the shotgun, or hasn’t noticed it yet, somehow.

“Yeah, this is my house, so what’re you doing here?”

“Well, we’ve been sent by an agency-”

“Are you some more of them P.I.E people?  I told ya to quit comin’ to my house, you only make the problems worse!”

“P.I.E? No, we’re with an agency called P.I.G-”

“Paranormal Investigators Gourmet?! I don’t remember hirin’ you!”

“... Gourmet- no! No, we’re with the Paranormal Investigation Group-”

“How many ghost huntin’ groups are there?!” the man shouts, presumably in frustration, though a slight bit of laugh slips into his voice.

“... We deal with aliens,” Cavendish says, unsure what else to say.

“Aliens? I KNEW IT! GERTRUDE, I TOLD YA! I TOLD YA THAT THING WAS FROM THEM ALIENS!”

“GOOD JOB, HONEY, YOU DID IT!”

“YEAH! I DID IT, I DID IT!Aw, you can come right on in, provin’ me right. You’re a lot less annoyin’ than the P.I.E people, they’re always talkin’ and sayin’ I’m wrong and not to shoot the ghosts, but they shoot ghosts too so I don’t know what they’re talkin’ about-”

“He’s just talking to himself now,” Dakota whispers to Cav as they follow the man into the house.

Cavendish nods. Maybe this won’t go as well as he’d hoped... He clears his throat. “May we ask for you name, my good man?”

The man stops, and turns around. “My name! Is PAPA ACACHALLA!”

Dakota snorts.

“Why’re you laughin? That’s my name! It’s a great name! Means ‘whole dang universe’!”

“No, no, it’s just I never thought we’d find a more made-up sounding name than his,” Dakota says, pointing his thumb at Cavendish. 

“I beg your pardon?!”

“Well, what’s his name?” Acachalla demands, pointing at Cavendish with the shotgun way too casually.

Dakota pushes the barrel of the gun away. “Go ahead, Cav.”

Cav crosses his arms. “Balthazar Cavendish.”

"HA! You British people have the weirdest names! Like that Toast boy! Anyway, the alien thing is out here. Officer Maloney came to look at it, but it isn’t one of his things, and I can’t figure out how to move it! I’ve tried C4, a tractor, Freddie, a nuke-”

“A nuke?!”

“- an’ none of it even dented the thing!”

“Yeah, can we go back to nuke?” Dakota says, eyes wide.

“Too late, we’re here.”

Dakota and Cavendish blink.

Cavendish’s eye twitches “It’s a-”

“It’s a giant metal Kirby,” Dakota finishes. 

“Yeah! I don’t want it in my yard! My daughter says it feels like it’s mockin’ her from when she was a Kirby!”

“What in blazes are you- this is no alien technology! This is some kind of... bad sculpture!” Cavendish shouts.

“It dropped right out of the sky!” Acachalla protests. “Maloney said it was alien, and he would know! He’s a bird!”

“A bir- you said he was a police officer!”

“He is! And he’s a bird! Who can be a person!”

Cavendish is fuming. “Dakota, call Mr. Block and tell him we’ve been lead on a wild goose chase!”

Dakota sighs, and heads inside to make the call (for some reason, he can’t get a signal from the yard).

“There’s no wild goose around here! Not after that nuke test, anyway!”

“There’s no possible way you set off a nuke here! This house is still intact, you’re still alive, and there’s no residual radiation in the area!”

“So?”

“SO?! SO THERE WAS NO NUCLEAR EXPLOSION!”

“I don’t think you know how nukes work!”

“YOU-”

“Cav, calm down, he’s holding a gun,” Dakota says in a hissed whisper.

Cavendish takes a deep breath, and collects himself. “Clearly, Mr. Acachalla-”

“Papa Acachalla. My title is Papa.”

“I steadfastly refuse to refer to you as ‘Papa’. Mr. Acachalla, there’s been some sort of mix-up, and this is not alien in-”

The mouth of the Kirby opens, and a being steps out.

“Excuse me, but our craft was broken, and we just got the doors working,” says the being (that looks... weirdly like a... Pokemon?). 

“I KNEW IT!” Acachalla shouts. He shoots his gun up into the air, and starts ‘dancing’ (to use the term loosely). “I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT, PAPA ACACHALLA, I KNEW IT-”

Cavendish stares, dumbfounded. “You- you’re actually an alien?”

The alien nods. “Yup, I am!”

“... You sound remarkably human.”

“Thanks! So do you!”

“... Thank you?”

“Do you happen to know where we can get some materials to repair our ship?”

“Well, I suppose I might. What do you need?”

“Macaroni.”

“... What-”

“Hey, we’ve got that!” Acachalla says, stopping his little song and dance. “Just don’t tell the cops. It’s Johnny Toast brand, too, really strong stuff.”

“... Why would macaroni need to be hidden from the cops?” Cavendish asks weakly, shoulders slumped. This is ridiculous, and he feels... defeated, in a way.

“Uh, ‘cause it’s illegal?” Acachalla says with a laugh. “Duh?”

Acachalla leads the alien inside, and-

“WHY’RE YOU EATIN’ OUR MACARONI?!”

Dakota looks up from his bowl. “Uh, your wife offered me some-”

“GERTRUDE, WHAT’RE YOU THINKIN’?! THAT’S OUR GOOD MACARONI!”

A woman in a green sweater peeks out from the kitchen. “Well, he said he was hungry, and it was either this or your old boot!”

“That boot is high in protein!”

“That’s why I’m savin’ it for the kids!”

Dakota puts down his fork. “I think your macaroni went bad, actually, I don’t feel so good...”

Acachalla rolls his eyes. “Duh, you don’t! Have you ever even had macaroni before?!”

Dakota looks up. “Somethin’s weird here...” he slurs.

“Wh- what have you done to him?!” Cavendish pushes Acachalla aside and rushes to Dakota.

“It’s macaroni! It makes the world all wiggly and weird!” Acachalla says, like that’s at all true and common knowledge.

Dakota laughs a little, reaching up to grab Cavendish’s hat. “You’re way taller th’n I remember,” he says, still slurring.

“That is it! We are leaving!”

Cavendish picks Dakota up bridal-style. Dakota grins, and leans up, giving Cavendish a peck on the lips. “Wow, I can stretch really far...”

Cavendish blushes intensely. “That macaroni has clearly intoxicated my partner! You’ll be hearing from the higher-ups over this!” he says, trying to ignore what just happened.

“I think ‘m flying,” Dakota declares as Cavendish carries him back out to the van.

“Dakota, you’re delirious. Just rest until we get home.”

“I feel fine,” Dakota insists, head lolling. “You’re the one who turned into a tomato when I kissed you. From a leek to a tomato...”

“A leek? Is that because of my suit?”

“You’re a-a leek with fluffy wings.”

Cavendish buckles Dakota in. “What on Earth-”

“Like a vegetable angel.”

Cavendish blushes again. “This is terrible. you have no idea what you’re saying,” he says, trying to affirm that fact in his mind.

“You’re a tomato again. Whoa, my hand is made of fresh fries...”

“No, they’re just yellow because they’re covered in cheese.”

Dakota grins. “Smarty-pants.”

As Cavendish goes to shut the door, Dakota grabs him again and gives him another kiss. A long one. Cavendish is in shock. 

“You don’t taste like a leek,” Dakota says afterwards, apparently incredibly happy about that fact.

Cavendish, blushing more than he thought was possible, gets in the driver’s seat and starts the car. “We’re never returning here,” he mutters to himself.

Dakota waves at the house as they drive away.

[gotmeringinghellsbells]

Hi so I've not been in a true writing mood lately thanks to this fun thing called depression so have some random ass thoughts from foggy morning brain!

_

Okay but if Wallace had shown up in the XY anime series?

Chespie probably would have been fine. Unlike Steven who's awkward and tries to keep his nose out of things, and is easily distracted, Wallace would have straight up noticed the missing child while they were watching Alain battle.

He's more blunt and has a neice he seems close with so probably would know how to comfort Mairin and stop Chespie from running off...... then promptly give Alain an earful on how to treat others.

Also him being skeptical of Lysandre since meeting him? "He looks like a damn Pyroar." "Wallace please, he's right there. This isn't the time." "Fine, but I don't trust this guy. His sense of fashion is terrible, not to menttion he's acting quite creepy."

Helping Steven manage his two newly found.... siblings? Smol™️ friends I guess? You can't tell me Alain and Mairin wouldn't have their journey in Hoenn too. Mr. Champion finds and excuse to slip off with them leaving Wallace in charge of his spot.... again. He swears this is why the other asked him out, assured free coverage.

Also why wouldn't Wallace want to see Kalos? Is the pokemon world of France; a place most cartoons depict to be elegant, beautiful, and literally everything Wallace loves and is. "Yeah so I helped this kid out of a dead bush and her friend forced me into a battle. His boss showed up and asked for my help with Mega Evolution stuff so I'll be away to Kalos a while. " Wallace, opening his eyes as they were about to go to sleep, only to find out his boyfriend is leaving in the morning and is just NOW telling him. "Kalos? And you didn't invite me? Your best friend, your boyfriend?!" Bad Steven! Milotic does a gentle, sleepy tail slap.

Wallace has to keep Mr. Stone loving shiny distracted Steven from being dumb.... which obviously doesn't work as the world nearly ends but that's fine.

Mairin being so entranced by Wallace's beauty? She thinks he's a girl at first because he's so pretty?

"And this is my um.... partner, Wallace," Steven awkwardly states to the fifteen and ten-year-old. "It's a pleasure to meet you," Alain replies. Mairin is just quiet, staring with wide eyes at this beautiful man. "Mairin," older brother mode engaged as he gently elbows her for manners. "Ah, sorry," she jumps a bit looking from Alain to Wallace again. "Just, your really pretty! I honestly thought you were a girl at first." Wallace blushes a bit with a small snort as Alain is like, shocked. "Mairin!" She huffs and turns to him. "Oh like you didn't question it at first!" Wallace doesn't take any offense, Steven is blushing though.

Wallace helping Mairin learn to properly groom and care for her pokemon. She's eager to show off Chespie and her Flabebe.

Alain wants to practice against him as his monotyping would be good to strengthen Charizard for his next battle with Siebold.

Steven isn't as stressed and worried about saying the right things to Alain when he starts his pushing people away ordeal. Wallace can correct or straight up do it for him becuase he will not be having any of that. "That girl admires you. Would be a shame to just up and drop her like that," he says after Steven states he knows Alain cares for her. Alain is a bit stunned as this walking embodiment of elegance just struts passed him and Steven.

Triple champion fight? Triple champion fight.

Lysandre not only doing his creepy beauty speech with Diantha but with Wallace? The kids and Steven ran off to their next mission and Lysandre wanted a word with Wallace.

He's just sitting in the villain's office, petting his Milotic when Lysandre finally stops watching out the window. "I understand your the water specialist gym leader of Hoenn, correct? You've also held the title of champion once before." He slowly turns to face Wallace who feels a wave of "oh shit" washing over him. The way Lysandre sounds reminds him of when Juan was mentoring him and was rather displeased with his behavior. The "you strive for, so be. Your actions don't align." tone.

"That's correct." Lysandre smiles a bit. "You also hold quite a few titles in the coordinator feild, correct?" Not wanting to correct him that it's one title, Wallace gives a nod. "Miltoic and I both. After all, it was her that did the work to get us there." Lysandre gives a nod and starts in on his wierd speal about beauty like in the generations short.

"It's your duty to stay forever beautiful then, yes?" Wallace just kind of gives him a look, feeling a bit uneased about where this could be going. "Well, that depends. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Those blinded by the inside may not notice when the outside starts to wither away." Lysandre gives a nod before Wallace changes the subject. "So tell me, what kind of job did you send Steven and those kids on?" Which gets things back on track.

Unless before that Lysandre brings up Juan? "I hear you were mentored by a man who holds similar titles, is that correct?" Wallace sitting up a bit more snorky. "What, is this some kind of interveiw?" Lysandre chuckles. "Just trying to get to know you a bit better is all." They talk about Juan's beauty fading over time and Wallace goes back to "in the eye of the beholder. To his lovers, he's the most beautiful man they've ever met. To children, he's a handsome old guy with a charming accent that keeps their attention when he talks. Theres more to beauty theb what meets the eye."

Also him straight up lashing into Lysandre later on before he dies about how humans are the filth of the earth not pokemon? That he's after the wrong target. Steven just standing there like, "Wallace, please stop talkong." Don't give him ideas babe!

Kidnapping Wallace? Maybe. He's one of the chosen to survive and make it into the new world. Ooo, maybe that's why he wanted to talk to him earlier on. He's with Mairin and protects her from being taken by Flare grunts before nearly being taken from behind; but like in Masters(?), Steven is like fwoosh! I AM HERE! SHALL NOT TAKE MY MAN SO DIRTILY YOU COWARDS! But like.... in a Steven way.

Sycamore takes Mairin as Steven and Wallace battle along side Diantha? Wallace and Milotic set on protecting the smalls as his man and Sycamore handle the science junk behind mega evolution. Though stone Zygarde wouldn't have obsorbed Chespie becuase Wallace stopped him from running off. It would find something else.

And finally, when Alain and Mairin decide to further on an adventure, Wallace suggests since Alain has basically bested every gym in Kalos they try Hoenn. "They have different pokemon you know. Some capable of mega evolving too." Mairin gets a damn Mudkip or something, beats Alain, runs in big brother's face. Fight me.

[champofpallet]

The Mystery of Viridian Forest

Elsewhere in the glades of Viridian, a young Dragonite firmly wraps a thick thread of silk onto a large tree branch. “And that should do it.” If any humans other than his partner were eavesdropping, all they would hear is the typical Pokemon speak. As it stands though, it’s just the two of them, not including his partner resting in the cave just a few feet away.

A Beedrill flies by carrying a Weedle in a woven silk bundle on her back, and a pair of silk bags filled with berries and herbs. “Ah, good! That should help keep the wax in place when we build it. Thanks so much!”

Dragonite rubs the back of his neck. “Ah, it’s the least I can do when you helped us.”

“Oh, it’s no big deal, really. And about your friend…” Beedrill turns to the cave where a boy sleeps soundly in a sleeping bag, with silk bandages around his head and a piece of dried bamboo tied around his mouth by a strip of cloth. “Even after giving him some pecha berries for the poison, he still hasn’t woken up.”

“That’s mostly normal.” Dragonite sighs. “But he has been unconscious for a few days now… If he still doesn’t wake up, I’ll bring him to a doctor just in case.”

Beedrill buzzes approvingly. “That might be best. The human town shouldn’t be too far from here.” She tilts her head. “May I ask about the…?”

Dragonite glances at her. “Hm? Ah, you must mean that muzzle. It’s a…pretty long story, but it’s special. It’s supposed to keep him from accidentally hurting himself, and it’s been modified so it won’t hurt his jaw.”

“I’m sorry, um, modified? Is that a word humans use?”

Before Dragonite can answer that, a human girl with blonde hair appears through the bushes alongside a Butterfree, a Raticate and a Pikachu with a flower by one of her ears.

“Excuse us!” she calls out. “We’re looking for a boy with a red hat. He has a Pikachu with him like me. Have you seen him?”

Finally the boy began to rest from the race he and his Pokemon were doing. But man, did his legs HURT! Maybe he shouldn’t try to race so many Pokemon at once especially since a lot of them had amazing speed stats. Red sat on the grass beside Pika and Saur to gently massage his legs. That was when Red could see a familiar face go by not to far into the distance. 

Was that Yellow?

Gaining his second wind, the red hatted spiky haired boy got back up. “Alright you guys, that was real good work today! We’ll train some more tomorrow!” He reaches onto his belt to recall all his Pokemon back to their Pokeballs where they could rest, only leaving out Pika since he probably noticed Yellow and Chuchu as well and would most likely want to see them.

“Hey Yellow!” Red waves as he runs up to her. Pika was also very excited, waiting for Red to slow down so he could jump off his shoulder so he could visit his significant other. 

[starcountesseevee]

A Rocket Coincidence (Part 8)

Part 7 / Part 9

     Today was a break day for the competition as no matches were scheduled to give the finalists a chance to recuperate after two days of battling it out for the top spots. Kali had originally planned to be here for the entirety of the competition but after being eliminated and last night's events she had decided to get back on the road today instead. For the most part Kali slept in, after all hitting the road again meant camping outdoors and right now she was relishing the comfort of a mattress. She was awoken briefly by Maddie and Noah bickering but was soon able to drift off again after the two siblings left the room. When she awoke again the room was still empty. She washed up quickly, only pausing to examine the bruise that had formed on her lip overnight, before packing up and heading down to the front desk to turn in her key. 

     "Leaving already?" The receptionist questioned. "The finals aren't until tomorrow!"    

     "Yeah, something came up." Kali felt a little guilty lying to the lady but she wasn't in the mood to discuss it further. 

     "Well safe travels, thanks for staying with us!" 

     "Thanks." Kali took advantage of the cafeteria one last time, grabbing food not only for her breakfast but also some snacks for the road. As she was walking out she spotted Maddie and Noah and while she considered leaving without saying anything her conscience got the better of her. 

     "Hey, you two." Kali greeted as she approached them. "Just wanted to say-"    

     "Are you leaving!" Maddie had spotted the backpack over Kali's shoulder. 

     "Yeah, I've got a lot of travel ahead of me so I'm getting a head start since, well you know, no more matches for me.” As much as Kali told herself it was great just making it to the semi-finals it still stung to say it out loud. 

     "Oh no! But we were totally planning a celebration for tonight! Weren't we Noah?" 

     "No way, that was all you and your friends, Mads. Party with a bunch of girls? Leave me out of it." Kali suppressed a laugh, give it a few years and that would change. At least he seemed to be in better spirits than the last couple of days. 

     "Um, well anyway, good luck with your training." That sounded lame even to her ears and Kali quickly tried to remedy it. "Maybe I'll catch you guys at another competition, yeah?" 

     Maddie brightened at that. "You bet it!" The younger girl started to extend her hand but seemed to change her mind and instead gave Kali a quick hug. "Good luck out there and safe travels!" 

     "Same to both of you." 

     After Kali left the dormitories she made one final circuit around town to hit the Pokestops she had found over the last couple of days here. While they didn’t give her nearly as many coins as the one from the ruins had, every little bit did add up. The large Pokecenter near the dormitories housed a Pokemart that she could spend her banked coins at and was, coincidentally, also where she could pick up her winnings from the competition. With all the ads and sponsors for the event all the trainers got a small monetary compensation for being part of it and the further you made it the more your prize was. Kali tucked the cash safely in her pack along with the few pokeballs, potions, and special treats for her Eeveelutions she had picked up from the shop before making her last stop at the hospital to retrieve her pokemon. 

     “Welcome!” Nurse Joy greeted Kali warmly as she stepped up to the counter. “How can I help you?” 

     “Just picking up.” Kali handed over her ticket from yesterday. 

     “Sure! One moment.” Nurse Joy handed the ticket to a Chansey who bustled off into the back room and returned moments later with a tray. “Here you are!” she slid the tray across the counter to Kali. 

     “Thanks.” Kali went to put them away but immediately noticed something was off. “Um, excuse me? Are you sure these are mine?” Nurse Joy checked the two tickets. 

     “Quite sure! Is something wrong?”

     “It's just, I only turned in seven and there are eight here.” 

     “Oh that’s right!” Nurse Joy tugged at something under the eighth pokeball. “First thing this morning a rather large gentleman came in and asked us to put this with your others and give you this.” She handed Kali a small, sealed envelope with ‘Kalysta’ written in plain handwriting across the front. “I hope you don't mind but we did inspect the addition to your team, we just wanted to make sure it wasn't anything harmful.” She smiled at Kali.

     “And...” Kali raised a brow as she turned over the envelope and tugged it open.

     “Oh, it's fine! Quite the gift if I might add! Oh, hello miss!” Nurse Joy bustled off to help the girl that just walked in as Kali pulled out a note. 

     'Keep this with you just in case' was written in the middle of the page and was signed with a ‘-C’ and a small doodle of what looked to be a mountain next to it. Kali couldn’t help the smile that crept across her face as she scanned the rest of the page. ‘In case you change your mind about joining’ looked to be more hastily written across the bottom with a number after it. If Kali could have physically swat away the butterflies rising in her stomach she would have, instead she tucked the note and her now eight pokeballs away and headed out. She was extremely curious about the new addition to her team but decided it was probably best to wait until she was out of the town and in a more open area to see what it was. 

     After a morning of walking Silver Town was completely out of view and the road had opened up to flat grassland around her. Kali tossed the pokeball between her hands idly as she walked with her Flareon, Ember, ambling along beside her. 

     “What do you think, girl? Shall we see what it is?” Ember trilled excitedly before crouching down and bristling her fur as if to say I’m ready for whatever it is. “Alright, here goes nothing.” Kali pressed the release on the pokeball and tossed it forward. Out of the beam of light came the largest Arcanine Kali had ever seen, she knew they could easily reach six feet tall and this one was definitely that and then some. It glanced around at its new surroundings for a moment before it spotted her and it twisted around to face her, a low growl rumbling through its chest. 

     “Easy, easy.” Kali slowly extended a hand as she took a few steps forward. The Arcanine seemed more cautious than anything, probably because it had just come out of its pokeball somewhere new with someone it had never seen before. She would be cautious too, Kali thought. “It’s okay, see?” She stretched her hand further and after a moment’s hesitation it took a tentative step forward and sniffed her hand. Its demeanor instantly changed and it nuzzled into her hand before letting out a small bark and sitting down expectantly. “Good...girl?” The creature cocked its head to the side in response. “Boy?” It barked again, its tail wagging happily behind it. “Alright, good boy.” Kali approached and ran her hand through the fur at its neck which it seemed to enjoy. It tensed, however, when Ember let out a short trill from behind them. 

     “Hey, it’s okay. Ember is a friend.” Ember approached and sniffed at the Arcanine’s paw while it regarded the small creature with curiosity. Kali bent down and stroked Ember’s back. ���See? Friend.” She smiled as it bent its large head down to sniff Ember who was happily rubbing up against its front legs. They would get along just fine. 

Part 7 / Part 9

[yergink]

countdown timer

all my thinking about colress has manifested into a fic. 

Crossposted to Ao3

---

A megalomaniac and a scientist discuss evil plans over coffee and cheesecake. It goes about as well as you'd expect.

OR

How Doctor Achroma joins Team Plasma.

--- In a rooftop cafe in Castelia City, Doctor Achroma waits patiently for his coffee to arrive. He sits alone at a window side table, his chin resting in a delicate hand as he watches the movement of the crowded city streets below.

Achroma is an accomplished young pokemon researcher, who has rapidly gained fame in the recent months, and who is known well by the general public for his papers discussing the nature of a pokemon’s strength. His name is often passed around university circles, and his work in recent years has only caused him to have an even greater public presence.

This is how the waiter at the cafe recognizes him, setting down his ordered cup of dark espresso with a shaky hand. Achroma gives him a smile, and the waiter works up the nerve to ask in stumbling words if the doctor would look over some of his notes for him.

“An up and coming researcher, are you?” Achroma asks.

“Yes, sir,” the waiter replies, holding the platter he’d delivered the coffee on tight against his chest. “And your work has just been such an inspiration.”

As he draws the cup closer, Achroma responds amusedly, “So I’m told.”

He goes silent for a moment, turning back to the window and gazing at the skyline. The waiter’s knuckles clench tighter around the platter, gut churning in a mix of anxiety and anticipation. Then, Achroma laughs. It’s abrupt enough to startle the young server.

“You know, the person I’m meeting with was supposed to be here ten minutes ago,” the doctor drawls, producing a red pen from a pocket and setting it down next to his cup. “I think I have some time to kill. Do you have your work with you?”

Almost dazedly, the waiter nods, hurrying to the back room to fetch his notes.

The bell above the cafe entrance chimes. It is the third time it has done so since he has arrived, and Achroma does not look up.

He can hear one of the wait staff flustering over the new customer, who grumbles rather loudly, “I’m meeting someone here. You don’t have to seat me.”

“Sir, please--”

“Out of my way.”

A short yelp bursts from the attendant as the cafe’s new arrival shoulders past her. Achroma can just see it over the top of the notebook he’s holding. He sighs, knowing what’s next.

Ghetsis slides into the seat opposite Achroma, immediately clattering his cane against the table and hissing, “I believe I requested we meet somewhere more discreet.”

Indeed he had. But Achroma had figured that allowing Ghetsis to choose the location of their meeting would give him a little too much control of the situation. Plus, he was bound to pick somewhere creepy, and no matter what anyone said, Achroma prided himself in having standards.

In response, he simply hums, eyeing Ghetsis over. “Well, to be fair, I didn’t realize you’d be coming looking like that .”

Ghetsis’ outfit is what Achroma would not-so-lovingly refer to as a ‘Manic Cult Leader Uniform,’ complete with high collared cloak and elaborately decorated cane. It seemed almost as if he wanted to be clocked as a former Team Plasma leader. Not that regular clothes would have done much to hide his identity anyway, with a face like the one he had.

Achroma gestures to his own attire: a sleek black turtleneck and gray slacks. “It could  have been discreet. If you’d taken a bit more thought.”

Instead of trying to refute Achroma’s smug comment, Ghetsis just scoffs. “It’s fine. Can we get to business now?”

Achroma taps his pen to his chin, looking down the page before him. “We can. Just as soon as I finish looking at this.”

“Excuse me?”

The sound of the pen scratching is Achroma’s only reply. Ghetsis slams a hand onto the table, and the force of the blow causes the doctor’s coffee to spill from its cup and for his pen to slash a jagged line across the paper.

“This is important business, Doctor,” he sneers.

Silently, Achroma puts down the notebook and reaches for a napkin, mopping up the spill. “I had to wait nearly twenty minutes for you to arrive,” he informs Ghetsis, his tone frigid. “So you’re going to have to wait a little while for me.”

Ignoring how his statement leaves Ghetsis fuming, Achroma resumes his reading. In the end, it only takes him a minute more or so. A ridiculously short wait time for Ghetsis to get so fussy about.

When he’s finished, Achroma caps his pen and sets it down, waving the server over once more. Nervously, the young man approaches the table.

“What did you think?” He asks, clearly anxious about the doctor’s response.

Achroma hands it back to him, and says, “It’s a solid start, but you need to step out of the hypothetical and put some of your theories to the test. Other than that, I can see that you certainly have a lot of passion for your research, and I'm sure you'll be able to find success."

Practically beaming, the young man stammers, “Thank you sir!” He marvels at the page for a moment, as though he’s been handed some sort of prize rather than his own notes.

It’s only then that he seems to notice Achroma’s companion. He turns to Ghetsis, pencil ready, and asks, “And, um. Can I get you something?”

“You have cheesecake?”

“Yes, sir.”

“That, then. And make sure it’s cold.”

The waiter nods, jotting it down before scurrying off, leaving the two men alone. Achroma sips his coffee.

“I didn’t take you for a cheesecake type. Always thought you were more into danishes,” he comments.

“It’s been years, Doctor. You think my tastes have all stayed the same?”

“I suppose not,” Achroma muses.

A brief bout of silence descends upon them, broken when the waiter arrives once more with the cheesecake. When he sets it down, Achroma can see it is chilled enough that the top is coated in a sheen of ice crystals. Ghetsis does not thank him for it, and the waiter takes his leave.

“Can we get to it now?” Ghetsis asks with poorly concealed impatience, picking up his fork and cutting into the slice.

Achroma has never seen anything more ridiculous than the overwhelming figure of Team Plasma’s former leader delicately eating a slice of cheesecake. He smiles in amusement and pretends it’s agreement instead. “Of course. With pleasure.”

Ghetsis swallows a bite of cheesecake before speaking. Achroma’s eyes follow down his throat.

“Now, I’ve gotten together nearly fifty of the old members. A great number were taken in by police, but I believe that we can begin recruitment again. With a little rebranding, it won’t be difficult. Of course, there is nothing that can be done about our runaway sages, but I believe…”

Slowly, Achroma’s eyes begin to glaze over as he listens to Ghetsis spew statistics about membership and plans and incomprehensible ideology. He realizes, quite suddenly, that he honestly couldn’t care less about the activities of a failed cult, and there were plenty of other things he’d rather be thinking about.

For example, as he watches Ghetsis speak, he finds his gaze trailing down at the half-eaten cheesecake, where the ice coating has begun to melt, moistening the surface. He thinks about a recent event he’d heard about, where an ice type trainer had developed hypothermia from prolonged proximity to his pokemon. He figures that you could craft an effective freezer from just the use of a few ice types, and then realizes that the idea probably wouldn’t fly with most manufacturers.

He glances outside, where the light of the midday sun reflects off the tops of skyscrapers, coloring them white. A flock of pidove fly by, chattering and cooing. One of them nearly grazes the window. Achroma thinks about how the top recorded speed of a pidove in flight is 92.5 miles per hour and wonders if there was a way he could increase it.

“Are you even listening?” Ghetsis asks suddenly, pulling Achroma out of his thoughts.

Not in the slightest, he thinks but doesn’t say. Ghetsis is glaring at him now, his one good eye narrowed and suspicious. Achroma takes his time answering, allowing himself a sip of coffee before cracking a reassuring smile.  “Of course, my friend. And you’ve brought up several fantastic ideas,” he says and nods, as though he has any clue what nonsense the man in front of him has been rambling about. While his response is somewhat thin, it seems to do enough to convince Ghetsis, who calms and settles back down with a grunt. It appeared he’d gotten so worked up at the possibility that Achroma hadn’t been paying attention that he’d actually risen from his seat.

“Good. You always were a bit of an airhead, so I just had to make sure,” the villain grumbles.

Achroma doesn’t even waste his time thinking of a comeback to that one. Although, he does find Ghetsis’ needlessly emotional reaction amusing. He wonders idly how in the world Ghetsis came so close to becoming the most powerful person in Unova when he clearly had no capacity for complex thought.

In fact, he doesn’t know much about Team Plasma’s first attempted takeover at all. He’d been traveling in Sinnoh at the time, and now that an entire two years had passed since the event, it seemed like most of Unova were hesitant to speak on the subject.

Before he can spend too much time following that train of thought, Ghetsis says, “And I assume you’ve thought over my proposal?”

Ah, there it was. Finally. The reason Achroma had agreed to this meeting at all.

“I have,” he starts, carefully. “And I can’t express how intrigued I am by it. I mean--” he lowers his voice, leaning over the table. “Capturing Kyurem? Using it? As a weapon? You know me too well, old friend.”

“I figured you would be interested. Yes, that is the plan. And you’re the only person I know who I believe would be able to do it.”

Achroma hums. “Yes, I believe so too. It’s not something any self-respecting scientist would want any part in.”

“It’s very lucky then, that you have no self respect.”

Achroma laughs. “Well, no respect for the ethics of science, at least.”

He pretends to think for a moment, as if he didn’t already know exactly what he was going to say.

“And, as Head Scientist, I assume I would have full reign to do whatever I want with Kyurem? As well as the other captured pokemon?”

Ghetsis chuckles. It’s a dark, scathing sound. “Oh, yes. About that. I don’t want you to be Head Scientist, my friend.”

“No?”

“No.” A malicious grin crosses Ghetsis’ face. “I want you, Doctor Achroma, to lead Neo Team Plasma.”

Out of everything else, that’s what startles him. His eyes widen, and Ghetsis looks incredibly self-satisfied at having caught him off guard.

“Leader of Team Plasma, huh,” he considers the sound of it.

“It would suit you,” Ghetsis offers. “You’d have free reign of the entire operation. No limits as to what experiments you can conduct. As long as, of course, you also work to forward the overall goal of the team…”

“So you would, what, lead behind the scenes, then? Make me a figurehead?”

“Not quite. No figurehead this time. I’m not repeating my failures.”

Achroma doesn’t know what he means, but he decides it doesn’t matter. This opportunity was a good one. It would certainly suit his needs. Of course, he understood what Ghetsis was doing. Always ready to throw the blame onto someone else. But Achroma was smart. He wouldn’t let himself be so easily duped.

He’d take the bait and use Team Plasma, and by extension Ghetsis, for as long as he so desired. And then, once he’d tired of his playthings, he would see to it that the team was destroyed, and Ghetsis put away.

It would be easy.

He smiles warmly, extending a hand. “Alright then, old friend,” he says. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

[psmdnuzdad]

Pip Story Chapter Three

It was early in the morning, really early. Pip was having a frustrating sleep. Trying to shake off the annoying Pokemon and the ones that made her feel awkward. She sits up hearing a noise in the next room. She carefully peeks around the doorway to see...Nuzleaf writing something on a piece of paper.

He put it on the floor then left the house. Pip quickly reads the paper. Then leaves.

She was a child.

A curious child.

So naturally she wondered where Nuzleaf was going.

-

Pip mysteriously had disappeared for a few days so surprised to see her walking up for school.

"Pip, what's with those papers in your bag? We're not THAT kind of school." Meg meant in a teasing manner, but Pip reacted with panic, shoving the papers fully in her bag.

"It's nothing."

Pip wandered into her thoughts on her way to school.

There was a small crowd of Pokemon apparently talking about honey. A Budew had stepped forward, wondering about. Pip didn't blame her, she was curious too. But school awaited.

The next day while Pip was nervously glancing at her papers, either someone might see what's on them or the teacher talking about health. She froze in her seat when she said the word 'evolving'. Something about the word nerved her. Fuzzy images, but she couldn't see them clearly. She zoned out of everyone's talking to focus on the faint images. Maybe her memories were slowly coming back.

"E...Excuse me."

Pip looks up, a Roselia had spoken. Pip does not recall seeing her around, then again she's not in the village for long.

"I'm sorry, but have you seen Budew today?"

"Huh? Little Budew? Here? No I surely haven't. Isn't it still another year before Budew is due to start school?"

"Oh...what am I to do? I've searched all over our neighborhood but found no sign of her."

Goomy reacted first. "What? You mean Budew has gone missing?"

"I'm sorry for interrupting your class like this."

Roselia began to walk away but nearly fell over.

"Oh my! Are you alright?"

"Yes...It's just I've been getting so dizzy lately..."

"You come with me sweetie, I want you to rest a bit."

They watched as Roselia was led to the nurse's office.

Pip was looking at her desk.

"What could have happened to Budew?"

"It makes you worry, doesn't it?" Deerling spoke next.

While Deerling was getting angry over Pancham's insensitivity over a child, Pip came to a horrifying realization.

Budew. She was interested in the topic about honey...

And if her mother couldn't find her...

Pip shot up, "Budew! She's in Nectar Meadow!" She's off before anyone can comment. Lunar and Meg look at each other.

She huffs, making sure she didn't lose any papers.

"Pip!"

She looks over to see Lunar and Meg running after her.

"You...can't get through there by yourself!" Meg panted.

"So we're going too!"

The Piplup didn't say anything but didn't object.

-

Those honey makers weren't going to hurt Budew on Pip's watch.

"You put one scratch on that kid and I'll tear you to pieces!" She switched one of her blades out.

"Pip, we can do this-without really hurting anyone." Lunar didn't dare to try to grab her blade.

She continued to give her most fiercest glare. "Budew, get behind us so you don't get hurt!"

After that fight, she was sure more fighting would go on.

Pip did not expect the Vespiquen.

"Your opponents are mere children! They are not thieves."

Pip made sure to hide the knife.

"I hope you can forgive such a rude welcome. This happens to be our honey-making season. We are terribly busy this time and everyone's emotions tend to turn hot."

Pip was surprised at Budew's explanation of why she wanted some honey.

Sweet.

But amazed how Budew got through the dungeon. It was rather tough.

-

Pip was so happy to see Budew back with her mom, she was tearing up a bit. Not that she would admit it.

"Thanks to you three, my child is safe."

Though Pip felt some sort of...jealousy.

But why?

Did she have a bad mother in her memories?

Pip just did not have the answers.

"Pip, it was amazing that you were willing to skip school to save Budew and that you cared so much-"

Pip holds her flipper up to silence Meg. "Don't...do that. It makes me embarrassed. But I'm glad Budew is safe."

On the way home (since they lived close) Pip pulled her papers out and shuffled through them, pulled a pen and note something next to a sentence. Meg only saw what Pip had wrote.

Ask Nuzleaf about it.

Meg was curious, but Pip was a private Pokemon and didn't even like sharing her own name. So fat chance on asking her about the papers.

-

"Hey Pip!"

Pip quickly puts her papers away when she heard Lunar. "What?"

"Why do you disappear a lot?"

Pip blankly stares at Lunar and Meg. "Um, to help Nuzleaf."

"Oh is that why you have those papers you keep hiding? You're some kind of nerd?" Lunar laughs, Pip folds her flippers.

"I'm not a nerd, I'm the QUEEN of nerds. If there was a galaxy of smart Pokemon, I'd be the mastermind." After that Pip ran off.

"She's really weird." Meg comments.

"Tell me about it, but I guess she is helping him since she's going the way Mr. Nuzleaf went when he left."

-

"I'm sorry, you all want to what?!"

Pip had been updated on the ghost mystery and seriously unamused at Pancham's idea.

"What, are you too scared to go?"

"NO, it's because ghosts aren't even real! Everyone faints because it's hot! The dark place the teacher ended up in, obviously a trick of the mind! Everyone hearing a 'ghost' talking? Hearing things!" Pip sounded very confident about her idea in ghosts.

"If you're so sure, prove it." Meg sweat drops at Pancham's probably winning trick to get Pip to come.

"Fine! I'll sneak out...to prove you all wrong!"

Meg shakes her head as Lunar clings to her.

I thought you didn't like to prove things.

-

Pip knows she should be looking over the papers, not these stupid fake mysteries. But her pride has been challenged and as a Piplup, they have pride. So in her angry mind, she was going to sneak out. And show everyone, ghosts aren't real.

After arriving in their seats, everyone was wondering what they were supposed to do.

"Wait for the ghosts to appear!"

"You mean the supernatural that doesn't exist?"

Pip presses a flipper to her face hearing Pancham yelling for the ghosts.

Hot...

Pip's face goes blank.

Ugh obviously a prank.

"Shelmet? Did you say something?"

"It wasn't me."

So hot...

It's a prank.

"Was that..."

"There's someone here! Someone besides us!"

Pip rolls her eyes at Deerling. "Yeah, who are pranking us."

Hot...It's so hot...

"Who is that? Who's there?!"

Pip is surprised when a blue flame appears.

We're...seeing things.

"The...Blue flames."

All of a sudden, there was a lot of blue flames.

Pip's head had gone blank of excuses.

Was it you?

Was it you that summoned me?

You have some nerve!

The area grows purple and dark.

"Uh...This is uncomfortable...unsettling..."

Come child!

I'll give you a taste!

Come and learn...

What true fear tastes like!

"UGH! PANCHAM! LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

GHOSTS AREN'T REAL!  It's surely a Pokemon of some kind!

Everything seemed to go dark and she hears Pancham scream. She waves her flipper as if trying to brush away smoke. Everyone seemed to have fainted. Meg was the first to slowly wake up.

"Guys! Shelmet and Pancham are gone!"

"Espurr too!"

After Lunar got updated, surprise Espurr was completely fine. Then she told them all what she saw.

"Still, no ghosts." Pip muttered to herself as she followed everyone where Pancham and Shelmet had been dragged.

-

They could hear them...but then the shadow.

Pip squints up, it looked like...a Pokemon she's seen before, maybe in a book...

Pip didn't know what she was more shocked by, Lunar's outburst, that the blue flames were really Litwicks, or...that a legendary Pokemon could be here.

No wait, that's impossible. THAT Pokemon lives in a dimension-not our world. It would only leave it on necessary terms.

After that fight, the explanation, Pip got into a happy mood. Not because their two classmates were fine now.

"I told you guys! Ghosts don't exist!"

...It wouldn't last for long.

"You...You little fools!"

Pip was hiding Nuzleaf, scared out of her wits.

"What do you think you're doing, running around in the middle of the night?!"

Nuzleaf tried to soften the situation...but Lunar's Pops parenting method were obviously different.

"When a child steps out of line, a scolding is what you use to get 'em back in line! Now step up to the task!"

"EEP!" Pip wishes she could disappear.

"Um, Pops I'm really sorry..."

Meg glares at him.

"I don't know, maybe its all the nerves...but I'm suddenly bushed...so I'm going to sleep...goodnight!" Just like that, Lunar fell asleep on the spot.

"Lunar!" Meg huffed.

"N-Now just a minute, Lunar! We're not done talking about this! Wake yourself up!"

Lunar doesn't respond.

"Argh! Convenient time to pass out!" He looks at Meg. (He couldn't get Pip in his sight since she refused to budge from Nuzleaf's side) "I guess you and Pip get the pleasure of being lectured by me!"

"EEK!"

Meg winces at Pip's frightened squeal. Guess this is one of the things Pip actually fears.

"I hope you two are ready!"

Pip squealed and squeaked during the whole lecture. (Meg thinks she started crying out of fear too) Meg's head just hurt from the lecture.