Before Striaton Gym

A few days spent in Striaton City were very productive for Miya and Jiro. While waiting for Professor Juniper's friend Fennel to arrive in town, Jiro practiced at the city's battle club and Miya got some excellent shopping in, caught up on the cross-tranceiver with Lara and some old friends from Nuvema Town, and explored the lush gardens just west of the city. Together, she and Jiro sat in on a lecture at the Trainer School, and they explored the Dreamyard to the east. All in all, they'd had a good time in Striaton City in the days they'd spent there.

Miya awoke late on the fourth day of their stay, feeling refreshed. She slid off the rickety hostel bunk bed and dropped to the floor. Jiro was on the bottom bunk- they were lucky enough to get a room for just the two of them for a few nights. He wasn't there, though, and left a hastily scribbled note on the bed.

Mornin' Miya,

I think I'm going to go check out the Striaton gym to see if I'm ready to challenge the gym leader(s?). I know you've got a meeting with Fennel this afternoon, so I'll try to be quick, okay? See you around 2, I think.

Jiro

Hm. Miya folded the note and put it neatly into the recycling receptacle in the wall. She frowned. Jiro and his three pokémon had made a lot of improvements over the past few days, but would "checking out" the gym mean launching into another battle he probably wasn't prepared for again? Sure, the Trainer Program gave him a 1000 PD grant every month, but it wouldn't be enough to cover gym entry fees if he lost and continued to do so.

Miya shook her head. Think positive. Jiro'll go get 'em.

Milo snored softly on the floor. He'd slept in a pan (borrowed from the hostel's kitchen) lined with wet paper towels for the past few nights.

"Hey." Miya knelt down and rubbed his shell. She ran her hand along the six dips that lined his back. "Wake up."

Milo cracked a single grumpy eye to scowl at Miya. It was the crack of dawn, what on earth was Miya doing up?

"We've got a morning to kill before we go see Fennel. And Jiro's gone to the gym."

Milo closed his eye. Mornings should definitely be killed, all right.

"Milo, you are so lazy. Well, you're welcome to stay here. I was going to go to the gym too, but if you'd rather sleep…"

Milo's scale-armored head snapped up. What? Who's sleeping? Miya and Milo should go to the gym, right now!

Miya laughed. "That's what I thought. Let me get dressed, and we'll go find Jiro." She and Jiro had an armoire in their room; she'd taken one side and he'd taken the other. They'd unpacked, anticipating a few days' stay.

As she pulled a fresh shirt over her head, Milo's excitement about visiting the gym started to rub off on Miya. Milo always had seemed enthusiastic about battling. That fighting spirit and competitive nature he had were what inspired Miya to apply for the Trainer Program in the first place. She wasn't so sure how she felt about being in command in the battle arenas, though she knew Milo had a big enough personality to compensate for both of them but also that he was well-behaved enough to not disobey her. Juniper had said they'd make a good match.

For Miya, the pull to leave on a trainer's journey was more to see the region than to fight in pokémon battles. Always being more on the shy, domestic side, she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to leave home without an excuse. This was good. Eye-opening, she thought as she pushed the pocket linings on her jean shorts back in.

She shut the armoire door and regarded herself in its mirror. Her blond hair, although usually dry and somewhat lackluster, was falling flat pathetically without its frequent dose of salt water. She knew this journey would take her away from the ocean for longer than she'd ever been away before.

Miya's hair looked fine, could they go now?

"Milo, give me a minute."

She twisted her hair into a sloppy braid and pinned her bangs back behind her ear. Milo pushed her sneakers over, and she sat on the bed to tug them on. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she ducked in front of the mirror one more time to mess with her bangs. Her reflection's hazel eyes rolled back at her as she decided to give up on her hair, and she and Milo left after locking the door behind them.

She called Jiro on the cross-tranceiver. His face popped up on the small screen when he answered.

"Hey!" he said. "You got my note, right?"

"Yeah, I did. Are you at the gym yet?"

"Yes! It's fantastic. Really weird. The front part is a restaurant. Like, a real restaurant! Can you imagine? When the three brothers became gym leaders, they wanted to uphold the family business in addition to running a gym. So they did both! Isn't that incredible?"

"Wow, that is really interesting," replied Miya. She'd missed the hour for breakfast, for sure, but maybe she could order some pancakes for lunch… "So how's 'checking it out' going?"

Jiro smiled, looking away. "Yeah, yeah, I know what you mean. Maybe I won't challenge the gym leaders today. I've been watching a few battles. They look pretty strong."

"I didn't know they let trainers watch."

"They do, but for a fee."

"Jiro! How much have you spent today!"

"A hundred and fifty. That's nothing. That covers the entrance fee too."

"Oh. Does that mean you'll have to pay the entrance fee again if you decide to challenge tomorrow?"

"Probably," Jiro said.

"Do you think you've picked up their battle styles pretty well yet?"

"I'm not sure. I think I have a pretty good idea."

"So do you just battle one of them?"

"Some trainers do. Some of them battle all three."

"Really? Isn't that much harder to get the badge, then?"

"They win two of the three battles."

"Hm." Miya opened her mouth to ask what Jiro planned to do, but a glint in Jiro's eyes gave her the answer before he opened his.

"I think I want to battle all three of them."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, I've got three pokémon, now."

"Are you and Lamia doing well?"

"She's fantastic. Look, why don't you meet us for lunch? Unless you have something else to do."

"No, I'm starved. I'll be right there."

"Cool, see you soon."

They ended the call and Miya and Milo made their way to the Striaton gym. At lunch, Jiro told Miya all about how he and Lamia were learning to battle together, and how really, with his experience, she was at the same level of his other pokémon. He was lucky that his brother had trained Navy so well, and that he'd known Dasya for such a long time they practically understood each other's thoughts. Miya nodded into her grilled cheese (she'd missed the breakfast menu for pancakes after all). It was the same with her and Milo.

After lunch, Jiro got his hand stamped and they made their way across town to Fennel's.