Gupta- Marshtomp level 20, Taillow level 20
Sadik- Combusken (Ateş), level 20, Mightyena (Asena), level 18, Bulbasaur (Lale), level 15
Biggest note for this chapter is that this Mauville is RSE Mauville and not ORAS Mauville
I love loads of what they did in ORAS but Mauville is not one of those things. And a lot of the things that they added (that justify the overhaul), make sense from a meta perspective. A meta perspective that has no bearing on this story. I also planned to have the Game Corner in from the start, so it really had to be the old version of Mauville.
There are 4 cameoing characters this chapter! Ukraine and Belarus are obviously the casino girls, while Macau is the man talking to Kiku and Bulgaria is the boy talking to Herakles.
Mauville City was decently sized and stood at a crossroads in the centre of Hoenn. Alongside the usual item shop and Pokémon Centre, there were many houses, a Bike Shop, and a building that appeared to be a casino along with the Pokémon Gym. Sadik was taking the scene in with awe.
"I'm gonna go look around!" He exclaimed. "I'll meet ya at the Pokémon Centre in an hour or so, kay?" He planned, waving at Gupta before disappearing into the city.
Gupta stared after him. He didn't really care for the sights, and he had no desire to barge into people's houses. He headed towards the Pokemart instead, with a view to picking up at least a couple more potions while he was in the area.
While he was in the shop, Gupta noticed that there were now super potions for sale. He realised he hadn't seen any such items on sale before, and wondered how it was that some places sold different items to others, and why that would be the case. He also found himself wondering how these potions were different from the regular ones. While he pondered, the others in the store discussed items to be used for stat enhancements in the heat of battle. Gupta didn't really care for things like that, but he supposed it was something some trainers cared about.
Gupta left the Pokemart after a while, and decided to head over to the Pokémon Centre to wait for Sadik. The Pokémon Centre in this particular city was far busier than others he had been to, and Gupta found the atmosphere constricting as he handed his Pokémon over to the woman behind the desk and went over to the PCs to call home.
"So I made it to Mauville." He summarised upon seeing his mother's face.
"I can tell. That place is always so busy. It's because it's a crossroads." She explained.
"Right." Gupta nodded.
"Anyway. The Gym Leader for this city can be rather intimidating. Both he and the Gym Trainers in his Gym are rather odd. But they're nice people deep down." His mother detailed.
"You told me before." Gupta reminded her. "But thanks."
"You'll do fine." She assured him. "Just try not to be thrown off by his scariness. Don't get distracted by the Game Corner either."
"Game Corner?" Gupta repeated.
"The Game Corner's pretty popular, but it can get addictive. People get lost in there for days." Cleo explained. "It's owned and run by the Devon Corporation, but the Gym Trainers from Mauville also work there. If you want to get to know your opponents, maybe you should visit."
"Wait. Devon runs it?" Gupta checked.
"Yes. Devon run a lot of the attractions and sights around the Hoenn region." Cleo clarified. "And Devon employees can normally be found in these places."
"So they're everywhere." Gupta summed up.
"Everywhere." Cleo agreed. "Anyway, good luck in your battle. And call the Professor. He wants to know how your Pokedex is coming along."
Gupta sighed. Was that all the Professor ever wanted to talk about?
Sadik entered the Pokémon Centre just as Gupta was finishing his conversation with Batsaikhan.
"Your Pokedex is coming along alright." The Professor appraised. "And unlike Sadik, you've managed to get this far without finding any Pokémon that shouldn't be in this region. So you're acting just as expected. Keep up the good work."
"What was that?" Sadik did a double-take and advanced on the PC as Gupta hung up the line.
"Nothing much." The smaller teenager shrugged. "Did you take a good look around?"
"Sure did." Sadik smirked. "I got loads of great stuff too. Hang on a sec." He turned to the desk and handed his Pokémon over the counter before turning back to Gupta and rummaging in his bag.
"Have you been asking strangers for free things…?" Gupta assumed.
"Hey, it's part of being an adventurer!" Sadik defended himself. "Anyway, I managed to score some HMs for Rock Smash from a guy in a house near here who's just givin' 'em out for whatever reason. And I explained to this bike shop guy how far we've come to get here, and he gave us some free folding bikes."
"Bikes. Seriously?" Gupta stared at Sadik as if he was on fire.
"Yep! I already decided I want the really fast one, so you can have the one that does all the cool tricks." Sadik continued, bringing up some folded out bikes. "So, what'd ya think?"
"…You can always do the talking to salespeople from now on." Gupta reasoned.
"I got something else too." Sadik admitted once they had put away their new items and collected their Pokémon. "A lady in a house near here gave me a coin case for the Game Corner."
"Mama told me that the Gym Trainers from Mauville work there. She said we should go if we want to find out about them." Gupta relayed.
"Guess that settles it then! To the Game Corner we go!" Sadik enthused, grabbing Gupta and dragging him from the Pokémon Centre. Gupta sighed. He supposed he had better get used to this sort of thing…
The outside of the Game Corner was flashy and inviting, with neon signs lighting up the gloom of the dusk around them. The inside was completely wild with colours and lights that almost made Gupta feel dizzy. Dozens of people sat at slot machines at one end of the area, while at the other still more people crowded around roulette tables, shouting and gesturing in excitement at the advancing game.
Gupta looked straight down the middle of the building, staring at the counter at the far end. Two women stood behind the counter, and although they looked rather different from each other Gupta couldn't help but feel that they were related.
The taller of the women (and also the oldest, if Gupta had to guess) had short blonde hair and a warm smile. Gupta tried to focus on her face and those shining blue eyes and not on her… Assets (he suspected the tight black suit was meant to draw attention to that area of her).
The shorter of the women glared daggers into his face as the taller smiled at him. Her hair was longer, reaching partway down her back, yet her hair was also blonde, and her eyes blue (even if the shade was a little darker). She wore a little black dress and a bored expression.
Sadik advanced on the women easily, striking up conversation with the taller one at least and chatting away happily as Gupta looked around the area and couldn't help but feel like he didn't belong in such a place. Trying to find somewhere he could sit down for a while at least, the teen's eyes scoured the room. When he saw the black hair of a man who seemed familiar, he crept closer with curiosity. Sure enough, Kiku was there in the corner of the Game Corner, speaking to another young man who Gupta didn't know.
This man had short brown hair and gold eyes, and a face that reminded Gupta of Yao for some reason. Rectangular glasses framed the man's face, and yet rather than looking strict as perhaps would have been expected, he instead had a serene expression. He also wore a black suit, which made Gupta believe that he had to be working there as well. As he pondered the new man, Kiku noticed him and waved him over.
"Good evening. Gupta, wasn't it?" He greeted, bowing slightly.
"That's me." Gupta nodded.
"Someone you know Kiku?" The man beside Kiku asked.
"I suppose you could call him a friend of a friend." The older teen confirmed.
"Oh. Well in that case, stay a while and have some fun." The man smiled invitingly.
"Kiku? Hey! What're ya doin' here?" Sadik exclaimed, walking up to his friend.
"I was checking up on the Game Corner here." Kiku explained. "Yao asked me to."
"Ya sure ya have the time to be doin' stuff like that?" Sadik asked knowingly. Gupta found himself wondering what else Kiku was meant to be doing exactly.
"Things are quiet at work at the moment." Kiku assured him. "And my family's assets are of course my concern as well."
"When ya put it like that…" Sadik smiled. "I'll let ya get on with it. And Guppie and I can stay here and enjoy ourselves, eh?"
"Stay here as long as you want." The man beside Kiku enthused.
"Thanks, sure will!" Sadik smirked, taking Gupta aside and walking off into the Game Corner. "So, ya know those ladies on the counter? They're definitely the Gym Trainers for this city. Sisters. Yekaterina and Natalya. That's not the interesting point though. See, they're the oldest and youngest child. The middle one, their brother, now he's the Gym Leader."
"Right." Gupta nodded.
"Anyway, I got ta talkin' to them and all. They seem nice enough. And this place looks like fun. So I'm gonna stay here and try my luck on a few things." Sadik continued.
"You mean gamble your money away." Gupta corrected him.
"Hey, I plan ta win!" Sadik huffed. "Anyway, ya can stay here if ya want, but ya seem a little tired, so maybe it's best if ya head on back to the Pokémon Centre and wait for me there."
"I'll do just that." Gupta confirmed. "See you back at the Centre then." He waved to Sadik as he turned and left the area.
Gupta walked back towards the Pokémon Centre in near darkness. People were milling around the Game Corner and the various shops in the City, but the rest of the settlement was largely deserted. So Gupta became confused when he noticed somebody outside the Pokémon Gym. As he drew closer to the building, he noticed Herakles was stood outside it, along with a boy he didn't know.
The boy had very dark brown hair and his arms were folded over his grey shirt as he stared on at Herakles, who stared back with just as much determination.
"Look. We've all seen how much stronger you've become. But a Pokémon Gym this early on is a bad idea. I'd give it months before you're ready for that." The man argued, standing firm.
"I'm sure I can win." Herakles shot back. "Just let me prove it." He noticed Gupta by chance as he spoke. "Gupta? Is that you?"
"Hello Herakles." Gupta nodded, stepping a little closer.
"Who?" The man asked.
"This is Gupta." Herakles explained. "He got his first Pokémon only the day before me. And he's made it this far with his journey, all the way from Littleroot Town, already."
"Something like that." Gupta seconded.
"And if I beat him… That proves I'm strong enough." Herakles finished.
"Huh?" Gupta did a double-take.
"Well Gupta? Battle me…?" Herakles requested, standing up fully and looking over at Gupta.
"Alright." Gupta nodded, sending out Marshtomp.
"Marshtomp!" Marshtomp cried.
"Okay Skitty." Herakles sent out his only Pokémon.
"Meow." Skitty purred.
"Skitty, use Double Slap." Herakles started.
"Marshtomp, Tackle." Gupta replied.
Marshtomp charged the Skitty and sent it flying before the Pokémon had time to react. Gupta was amazed that Marshtomp was faster. Skitty came back with multiple slaps to Marshtomp's face that sent him reeling back.
"Don't give up." Gupta advised. "Tackle again."
"Sing Skitty." Herakles attempted.
Skitty tried to sing an engaging lullaby, but Marshtomp wasn't buying it, and hit Skitty back into the wall of the Gym. Skitty struggled to get to its feet.
"Skitty, Double Slap." Herakles tried again, getting a little desperate.
"Mud Shot." Gupta finished.
Marshtomp shot down Skitty before it could respond.
"…You won." Herakles yawned, returning Skitty to its Pokeball. "I guess… I still have training to do."
"It's not so bad." Gupta insisted. "If you had more Pokémon, you'd do fine."
"That sounds good… I'll try to make some new friends…" Herakles nodded sleepily, before turning to the boy with him. "For now… Let's go home."
Gupta couldn't help but feel bad as he watched Herakles fade into the distance along with the boy he assumed was his cousin.
"Marshtomp?" Marshtomp questioned.
Gupta heard Sadik coming before he saw him. More specifically, Gupta heard Lale coming before he saw Sadik.
The Bulbasaur headbutted the room door and scratched at it, whining, while Sadik appeared to still be hurrying down the corridor. Marshtomp jumped at the door handle, caught it and pulled the door open, and fell from the handle just as Lale was running into the room. The two collided in a mess on the floor (a mess neither seemed content to leave).
"Heh, we're back." Sadik confirmed, stepping into the room with Ates walking behind him.
"I can see." Gupta observed, referencing the Pokémon smiling happily from their place on the floor.
"We had a lot of fun." Sadik continued, setting his things down in one corner of the room. "And you?"
Gupta couldn't help but think of Herakles again. All throughout the night, he wondered how the boy was doing.