The group were an odd site, hanging out in front of the small hut like house owned by one of the Maractus that ran a stall in the streets. Hendrix and Trujillo were the most odd, the pair of Toxtricity simply laying back relaxed, strumming the organ on their chests like guitars.
"It's good to see you both, Sirs." Marko said, bowing his head to the two poison type Pokemon. They looked to him, Trujillo glancing over to Dagda, who was spending time with Petey, who was starting to get used to the modern era. "He didn't realize that we weren't speaking his language. Can he speak to you?" he asked, and the kit shook his head.
"No, Sir. Although, methinks it's a bit odd. He's been focused on learning about Half-men, and he's been rather off due to it." he said, and Hendrix narrowed his eyes. "How so?" he asked, and the cream colored cat hummed, scratching his fuzzy beard as he thought.
"It be an obsession. He grows afraid of this place, as he learned that Pokemon's legality, and their usage in this region is based on some higher power. Infact, we hath heard tales that Halfling children, and the woman that birthed them, were hunted and killed, possibly by the Pokemon League theyself."
The two Pokemon looked to each other, finding that last bit of information rather disturbing. "You think we should tell the Boss?" Trujillo asked, his yellow brother nodding. "Later. Everyone is still gathering at the Glimmer. Best to tell em all at once." he said.
They looked to Dagda, the two Pokemon glancing from him back to Marko. "You know, you still haven't evolved. Even the Munchlax got the jump on you." Hendrix said, and Marko frowned. He was fully aware, and he wasn't a big fan of it. He battled hard, and spent many nights training while his brothers slept, especially since Ozzy joined their group. With a massive Pokemon like Petey around, Marko began to grow worried about how much attention he'd get.
He felt a hand on his head, breaking out of his trance to see Dagda's smiling face looking down at him. "You alright Marko? I hope these guys aren't giving you any trouble." he said, and the two electric Pokemon glanced between each other. "Have you thought about what you'll do against Opal?" Trujillo asked, Hendrix not fond of his brother's more friendly attitude.
Dagda looked to him, Marko shaking free of his grip as he headed over to the rest of the Pokemon. "The next gym leader after this Allister guy? Not yet. I don't even know where she is." he said, and the blue bassist hummed, strumming the organs on his chest.
"To the northeast of here is an odd forest called Glimwood Tangle. If you progress north from there you'll reach a town in the forest, a tiny thing called Ballonlea. The Gym Leader there is named Opal, and she's a Fairy Type specialist." he said, and the yellow guitarist Pokemon narrowed his eyes, wondering exactly why Trujillo was telling him all of this.
"Fairy Type? So I guess I should have Marko train a little more, huh? He'll need it if I'm going to use him." he said, more to himself, nodding his thanks to the brothers before heading back over to his Pokemon. Hendrix looked to his brother, having an idea what he was going for. "You really are a pain in the ass, you know that?"
As the day pressed on, Dagda found himself rather happy. This was exactly what he wanted. That day of calm, that day of relaxation and normalcy between all of the crazy stuff that has happened recently. He spent time with his Pokemon, he trained with them, and he was able to get Petey used to everything that had changed, with help from all of his friends.
Although, something bothered him ever so slightly. He remembered what was said when he met the two brothers. They spoke as if Dagda could understand the natural language of Pokemon, something he knew was impossible. His mind then flashed to his battle against Marnie, where he could swear that he heard Otis' voice. He was just imagining things, right?
After all, as the sun passed through the sky and moved up and down, he didn't understand a single noise that came out of Otis' mouth. Perhaps… it was something else. Perhaps understanding Pokemon didn't come from being part Pokemon, like Kenny had told him. Perhaps it came from a deeper level of understanding with your Pokemon.
Dagda had always understood the body language and gestures of Otis, something he could still do despite his much larger, rounder body. He could even understand the meaning behind the grunts and various looks from Ozzy. It was like he could understand them, but not speak to them like he would another human. It was the strangest thing to him.
"Hey Hendrix, if this town is so small, why haven't I seen the Gym Leader anywhere?" he asked, and the brothers looked to each other. There it was yet again. A look that said that people were aware of something he wasn't. He'd seen that look nearly every day since he'd started traveling. Even now, with all of the knowledge he has, he still got that odd look.
"He's shy. You see, he's a bit of a nervous kid, and I'm not even sure how he got the position. He's real popular with kids and older women. They like that mystery factor, makes him more interesting to them." he said, and Dagda narrowed his eyes. Was that a lie? It was as if the lizardine Pokemon was aware of something that he wasn't, and he was trying to mislead him.
Dagda chose to take the bait, trying to learn more about his next opponent so that he could mold his next character into shape for his performance. "So he lives somewhere in town but doesn't come outside? Hard to believe someone like that got the title of Gym Leader." he said, and Trujillo nodded.
"We think it's a bit weird too, which is a small part of why we came here instead of going to a bigger place to put on a show." he said, scratching his stomach with his three fat fingers. "We couldn't find anything weird about the entire town, not even the mural." he said, and Dagda blinked. "The Mural?"
The group was led past the stadium, Dagda looking down at it to notice that it didn't seem as big as the others, something that was likely true due to the smaller size of the town. He wondered if the same would be true of Ballonlea, a town hidden within a forest.
They were led up a large stairway, Dagda noticing odd Claydol statues dotting the pathway, a broad expanse of water to the west, Dagda wondering exactly what lied on the other side of that ocean. His eyes moved to the right, peering down into the stadium, seeing a dark, empty purple bowl carved into the landscape, a sight that Dagda felt was forced, and rather off.
They made it to a larger area, Dagda blinking at the sight in front of him. There was a massive stone wall, covered with many different markings, all varying colors and shapes, from blues to pinks and orange. It was like a giant finger painting from a child. As if some titanous creature was trying to express themselves, or pull a prank.
"What is this?" he asked, and Hendrix and Trujillo shrugged. "Beats me. I think it's a historical sight, so it's under protection from the Pokemon League and everybody. It's kinda cool, but I don't get it." Hendrix said, and Trujillo nodded in turn.
"I like the look of it, but it doesn't feel right. With the location, and the Diglett statues, I feel like a colorful painting isn't what should be here." he said, and Dagda looked to the painting once more. He was right. It did seem out of place. Although, he wondered why.
It was old, he could tell, and the rock was infact natural, but he felt like Trujillo was on to something. Like there was a history to the mural that wasn't being told. It made Dagda frown. He hated that almost everything in Galar recently made him feel trapped, like it was all a bunch of laid out pieces of a puzzle that no one was supposed to solve.
The next day, early in the afternoon, Dagda rolled his neck, finally ready to challenge the gym leader. His hair was well tended to, hanging about his shoulders and down his back in black waves, Dagda noticing that it seemed a bit longer than the last time he noticed a few days ago.
He looked to Hendrix and Trujillo, who stood at the entrance of the gym with him. "Are you guys going to be in the area after I'm done here?" he asked, and they shrugged. "If you're heading to Ballonlea, we can leave with you anyway. Our destination is on the way." Hendrix said. Trujillo nodded in agreement.
"Besides, it'll be nice to have electric types like us around. We can keep the place lit up for ya. Despite what you might think, Glimwood is rather dark." he said, and Dagda smiled, nodding to the pair before he set foot into the Stow on Side Stadium.
Sitting in the locker room, Dagda pondered the Gym Challenge he just got through. He was placed in a teacup, and much like a ride at an amusement park, he spun around, being shove about harshly by multiple extending hands. He found it rather odd that something as serious as a gym would have a built in children's ride, but then he remembered.
His opponent was apparently young, younger than him even. It was something that Dagda found odd, but as he held Petey's Pokeball in his hands, he knew that it'd still be a challenge. Dagda had very little experience against Ghost types, battling a stray Gastly here and there as he moved throughout the Wild Area.
Then there was the problem of Gigantimax. If that behemoth, elevated form was something that every gym leader could use from here on out, how would Dagda combat that? With Ozzy it was instinctual, and he had specialized training to help him out. He didn't have that with Danzig, or Otis or Marko.
He shook his head. He had to be confident, and he had to plan out his grand finale, his big, expressive showstopping move that was meant to seal his victory and assert his dominance, telling every gym leader he had yet to face to be afraid of him, to worry if he stepped onto the field with them.
He thought to everything he learned, noticing that Evil and Fairy weren't about, giving him a pre-battle pep talk like normal. He shook his head, looking to his Dynamax Band. Could Danzig, or Petey, or Marko or even Otis pull off something like Ozzy did?
He hummed to himself. What Mr. Felix told him was simple. The energy used to Dynamax was designed to work with the Band to increase a Pokemon's size. However, with Dagda enforcing his will and his Pokemon's will over the energy, they could achieve something similar to the Alola region's signature, the Z-Move.
A single, full powered attack that had immense power at the cost of not being able to Dynamax. Could he really do that again? Ozzy had the visible age and experience to handle it, but what about his younger, lesser experienced partners? He shook his head, hearing his name called for his match. He wasn't going to doubt himself. It was time for the curtain to rise on his fourth performance.