Barry had to finish the ride in Cheryl's bike basket, to only a little teasing from Hilbert, who cared more about him catching a Pikachu. Lucas was, as always, the one who actually scanned it into the Pokedex.
Abra teleported him to Eterna to fix up his bike, it being the second one they'd had to get fixed so far. He'd be back in a few hours.
A Mid-Sinnoh Night's Dream - IX - Star Platinum, Aura Aura!
"So, there's a nursery for Pokemon eggs?"
"Yes, that's right." Cheryl, of all people, seemed to know the most about it. Probably because of Chansey's gimmick, he thought.
"You think I ought to leave this one here?" He carefully removed his unknown egg from its Pokeball. He could see into it with Aura Sight, but he couldn't distinguish anything inside.
"I wouldn't recommend it, the nurseries are usually used by the Day Care for the eggs they find, and they can get mixed up easily…"
"You know a lot about this kinda thing," he remarked, re-examining the egg.
"My grandfather and I lived on a farm, after he retired, so we had to take care of Tauros and Miltank eggs a lot." She said, her tone light as always.
"Huh… Maybe I should leave Garchomp and Tyranitar here, they could use some relaxation. I think they like all the action we get used to because they were movie stars."
"Is that true, really?"
"Ah, yeah, there was this problem during the filming in Jubilife a few months back, that was the first time I really battled with Golett."
He'd not talked with Cheryl very much, her being rather shy and mostly talking to Dawn, and him usually bantering with Barry or bickering with his Pokemon.
"I see, that's interesting."
"Then again… I have a bad feeling Team Galactic is going to keep acting up, so I ought to have them on hand…"
"You know, I wouldn't mind taking care of your egg." She looked down, blushing slightly.
"Really? Thanks, I don't have a clue what to do with it." He sighed, handing her the unhatched Pokemon. "You're doing me a massive favor."
"It's no trouble, really, Chansey loves caring for smaller Pokemon."
"Chan-seyyyy!"
There was less of a motel and more of a townhouse for travelers in Solaceon Town. A massive bed-and-breakfast, if you will.
So, it was quite annoying when they were roused in the middle of the night by yelling.
Hilbert rubbed his eyes and walked towards the window. The light from the daycare was on, the glow spilling out into the front, and people yelling at the woman at the door.
Suddenly, a Pokemon appeared from one of the people, and they demanded she let them in.
Seeing such a clear sign of trouble, Hilbert sighed, sent off a quick message to his teammates, and stepped on the ledge to the window.
Sure, he was three stories up, and they were a quarter mile away, but he wasn't going to let that deter him.
Jumping out the window, he let his aura protect him as he landed, barely feeling the impact in the grass, and started running towards the scene.
It was Team Galactic, because of course it was . The woman was holding up her hands, about to let them through, when he got there.
"Gentlemen."
They looked over at him, and not recognizing him from the darkness, sneered.
"Go home kid, this is an adults' discussion."
"You barely look older than I do." He said, shaking his head. His eyes turned towards the old woman. "Are these guys bothering you?"
"Um… Yes…"
"Shut your trap, lady!"
"So, guess I have to step in." He stretched out his arms, yawning. Sure, he didn't look as cool in his pajamas, but that was a small concession.
"Whatcha gonna do about it, punk? Go home!" The grunts moved towards him, reaching for their belts.
"Shaymin, Sweet Scent."
The hedgehog appeared on the ground, barely visible, and a fog of sugary-air cloaked the grunts.
"What's… That… Doing…"
"Making you slower." He tried to finish talking with the woman. "What were these guys doing?"
"They were demanding to see our egg Nursery… I told them it was private use only, but…"
"Ah, so they were trying to steal Pokemon, again." Hilbert shook his head. "I'd call an Officer Jenny, these guys are Team Galactic, they were probably trying to steal the eggs."
"Ha, idiot…" The leader of the group managed to smirk. "We're not trying to… Steal them, we're the… Distraction."
"What?"
A boom echoed out above the town, and smoke started rising above a far building on the ranch.
"Damn. Abra, Hypnosis. Garchomp!" The Psychic-type appeared, putting the grunts to a quick sleep, while his dragon lowered its head for him to grab on.
He rose into the air, trying to see what had happened through Aura Sight.
A dozen grunts were near the far building, and there were giant clumps of aura, almost like-
"They're stealing the eggs!"
Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Hilby.
Garchomp flew forward, as the grunts began their retreat. As he got closer, he could see an injured Rapidash on the ground, and the grunts getting onto various mounts. One of the less intelligent ones had brought a Gastrodon.
"Idiot! Why did you wake up the Rapidash?"
"How was I supposed to know they would have one?"
"They have Flame Body, you numbskull, of course they would!"
Garchomp swooped down and let Hilbert jump off, simultaneously recalling the Dragon-type. He landed a little away from the group, just outside their field of vision. There was a new moon that night, so there was barely any natural light.
Hilbert let out Golett and Riolu, deciding their small size would be the best choice.
"Hey, guys, don't damage the eggs," he whispered.
"I'm a girl!"
Her shout was heard by the grunts, even if they didn't understand it.
"Damn it! Fine, take 'em down, but protect the eggs!"
Golett immediately used Phantom Force, dissolving to the back of their group, and slamming one on the head, knocking them out with his rocky arms, while floating to catch the sack of eggs at the same time.
The rest didn't notice, as their vision was quickly filled by spheres of aura.
They weren't very powerful spheres, mind you, but they blinded the grunts and knocked them over.
Riolu punched a guy in the stomach, aiming higher than she could have. He shuddered briefly, but quickly turned his attention to the hastily-thrown out Zubat.
Then he punched it out of the air.
Aura really did come in handy.
After incapacitating the grunts and their Pokemon, he left the bags inside of the nursery for the daycare workers to sort out.
Jenny's were already at the front building when he got back in the early morning light, and they barely noticed him trudge past in his pajamas. Abra read his mind and communicated that to the officers before returning himself to his ball. Shaymin was hiding in the underbrush as well, and did the same.
Hilbert really was ready to just sleep for the rest of the day.
They got to Veilstone the next week after.
It was a cheery city, of entertainment, of joy, and of, but not, as you might expect, of debauchery.
Well, officially anyway.
Contrary to the description, the city was made of rocks, like it had been carved out of mountains, giving it a cold feeling.
It was rather strange when put up against all of the flashing lights and advertisements.
Naturally ignoring that and looking for a map, he wanted to go straight to the gym.
It was the closest thing he'd seen to an actual gym in Sinnoh so far. He rolled up his jacket, as the region started warming up for the summer months.
The first things he heard were the sounds of grunting, panting, and loud cries.
As you would expect in a gym. For martial arts. Seriously, what else would it be?
We here at the station may get away with getting a lot of crap past the radar, but whatever you were thinking of isn't an example.
A girl with pinkish-brown hair noticed them walk in, stopped lifting a bar with way too much weight on it (letting it fall to the ground with a massive 'CRACK'), and speed-walked up to them.
"Are you guys challengers?" Her voice was slightly nasally, but then again, she had a bandage on her nose.
"Yeah. Two badges each, just us three." Dawn and Cheryl were behind them, not intending on competing.
"Oh, so I guess Fantina's out doing her thing again? So annoying…" She griped, sighing. "Well, if that's how it is, I'll show you all where the battle ring is, so just this way…"
Is was another boxing ring, but it looked slightly more durable.
"Now, as this is a Fighting-type gym," she explained, "You're going to fight like a Fighting-type. Close quarters is the way to go!"
"What if we didn't have any physically-based Pokemon?"
"Then you ought to get some more variety in your team. Any more stupid questions?" The leader, Maylene, wasn't just the dumb-jock type you would expect.
"You guys go first, I'm getting used to it."
"If you say so, man."
Barry went first, wanting to use his energy.
It was a little different from the other gyms. She would send out a Pokemon that matched the weight class of whoever they sent out, to be fairer all around.
He threw out Staravia, and she slowly but surely responded with a Meditite.
"Aren't you supposed to be using weights?"
"I can gauge height looking at a Pokemon a lot easier than I can their weight. Seriously, have you seen a Waillord?"
"Yeah, like a few thousand pounds."
"They usually don't even scratch one."
"Huh. I stand corrected."
Staravia eyed their opponent, slowly scratching its way around the floor to properly gauge its opponent.
It stayed seated, eyes still closed..
The Flying-type paced around the ring, until it ventured too close to the meditating Pokemon and quickly found itself on its back. It angrily hopped back up, screeching, but the Psychic-type appeared to not have moved an inch.
Maylene sighed, scratching her nose. "He's doing it again… I knew I shouldn't have let him into the library…"
Staravia continued pacing, and as it got in close for a Wing Attack, Meditite lashed out, grabbing its tail feathers with one hand while wrapping both of its legs in the other. He pressed his knee into the bird's wing, grinding it against the floor.
"All right," the Flying-type gasped. "You win."
The Psychic-type's knee thrust painfully downward. "Since when," asked the Meditite, its voice soft and raspy, "Do you have to tell the enemy when he has won?"
Staravia didn't answer, it couldn't, through the grunts of pain.
"I surprised you once, Staravia. Why didn't you destroy me immediately afterward? Just because I looked peaceful? You turned your back on me. Stupid. You have learned nothing. You have never had a trainer."
Hilbert questioningly turned towards Maylene, as Barry ground his teeth, waiting for the Flying-type to get up. "I can understand Pokemon, is he-"
"I think it's his fault the majority of Veilstone hates Orson Scott Card," she sighed.
"Huh. I mean, I don't have a clue who that is, but, huh."
Barry quickly recalled his Flying-type, glad he wouldn't have to deal with that Psychic-type again, and sent out Pikachu.
Maylene sent out a Torchic.
"Those aren't native!"
"So? Is anyone during the conference going to care?"
"It doesn't even have arms!"
"Taekwondo."
Pikachu looked back at his trainer, holding up a tiny thumb.
"Ey, pally, what's da big idea?"
"Use Thundershock!"
Pikachu attempted to gather electricity in his hands, but was kicked back by the Fire-type, who was hopping between claws.
"Ey, I'm chargin' heye!"
He shot off a weak bolt, striking the Torchic, but not before it could jump forward for another strike.
Pikachu pulled out a gun. .44 magnum, pointed straight at Torchic.
Everyone in the gym froze.
"Now, from where you're kneelin', dis may just seem like an eighteen carat run of bad luck. Truth id, da game was rigged from the start."
Pikachu threw the gun away and it disappeared in a cloud of smoke similar to that of a Feint. How it managed that, nobody knew.
Torchic, which likely would have wanted yellow underwear if it were human, didn't even notice.
Pikachu easily walked up to it and punched it in the face, fist crackling with electricity. The Electric-type turned, blowing off its fist, before noticing the looks of everyone's faces.
"Whatcha lookin' at me like dat for?"
"Barry, I'm sorry to say, you're bound to become as crazy as me and Lucas."
"...I didn't understand what your Pikachu said, but I'm inclined to agree."
Thankfully, everyone managed to shake off their shock for Barry's third round, which thankfully, was just Piplup and not a mob boss. Though, calling it 'The Penguin' wouldn't technically be inaccurate.
Maylene sent out a Mankey.
"Where do you get all of these Pokemon? Only Meditite is native here," Dawn asked.
Maylene just shrugged. "I'm a martial artist. We go all over for competition. They've got plenty of techniques up north, though most of the Pokemon are from good ol' Japan."
Piplup realized that flipper slapping wouldn't get it very far against a Pokemon whose fists were quite literally boxing gloves, and so used Withdraw, and backed away.
Mankey followed him with his eyes, before bursting forward, and hitting him with a one-two before jumping back.
Piplup was dazed from the smack on the beak, but stood back up quickly and shot off a hasty Bubble.
It checked Mankey on the side, as the Fighting-type was still a bit bigger than him, but it barely did any damage.
It started a flurry of punches, and in response, all Piplup could do was hold up its fins and use Withdraw. The Penguin leaned into the ropes around the ring, springing it each time it was struck.
The Water-type started glowing.
"Hell yeah!" Barry yelled, as it doubled in size, and stared down at Mankey with vaguely metallic fins.
Bouncing back against the Fighting-type, Prinplup used Metal Claw in a series of rapid slashes, pushing Mankey back into the opposite rope.
"Mankey, use Rope-A-Dope!"
"...That's not a move?" Lucas said.
"Not for Pokemon, but for boxers? It definitely is."
Mankey barely took any damage, letting the force of the swipes dissipate into the ring behind it, while taking surface-level scratches from the attacks themselves.
See, on a normal opponent, this would have worked, draining them off their energy. But see, Prinplup had just evolved, and it was long overdue to deal out an ass-kicking of its own. So, in its bastardization of Metal Claw and Fury Swipes, it actually managed to tear right through the ropes themselves, knocking Mankey unconcious as well as out of the ring.
"Huh. Well, guess you won. Except for the Pikachu, you all fought fair and square. Here's your badge." She tossed him a metal pin before lugging a massive set of ropes onto the ring and started the repairs.
Amazingly, she was ready for Lucas only minutes after.
The boy in question led with Roselia.
Maylene countered with a Grookey.
"Okay, where did you-"
"All kinds of places. Turns out, teaching the kids of a few professors Karate gets you places."
"...Why do I get the feeling that leading a gym is a massive underuse of your talents?"
"Because you'd be completely correct. But, you know, I've traveled enough for one lifetime. Gotta settle down at some point."
"You're not that much older than us."
"You'd be surprised."
"Is this when I'm supposed to stop asking questions?"
"Yes."
Roselia used Poison Powder, slowing down the Grookey and throwing them offbeat. It wasn't using barehanded martial arts, rather, it used the stick it held like a baton.
"Hey, wait. Half of the Pokemon you've used aren't Fighting-type!"
"So? You know how to throw a punch, does that make you a Fighting-type? It's not about the circumstances of birth, or what type you are, or whatever. This is a gym. What matters here is sheer dedication and fortitude!"
…
"Grookey just got KO'ed-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, next Pokemon."
Monferno was next, as Lucas figured it was best two-out-of-three, he might as well get his second win.
Maylene used a Mienfoo, a Pokemon famous for its one-inch punch in some regions.
Monferno used Mach Punch, repeatedly, but was continually blocked with one hand by the Fighting-type.
He jumped back, landing on the ropes. Jumping up and down-
"Hey, what do they say about monkeys on the bed?" Maylene smirked.
Monferno jumped into the air, and attempted to land and elbow-first Fire Punch on the Mienfoo.
It moved out of the way at the last second, letting him crash into the floor.
"They fall off, and hit their-" She was stunned into silence as Monferno turned the momentum into a Flame Wheel, hitting the ground with a sideways roll and ran straight over Mienfoo.
"Do I win yet?"
"...We have to do a third round, League rules."
"Does it have to be a match between Pokemon?"
Maylene blinked. "I mean… Depends, what's your martial art?"
"Hold that thought. Fire Lance." He said to Monferno, slipping on the gloves. Holding the massive spear made of fire, he turned back to Maylene. "Yes."
"No."
"Aw, what?"
"I've watched TV from all over too, and I know that this ends with my clothes burned off, so, no."
"Fine, fine. Toxicroak."
The last match was quick, and without any wind in Lucas's sails, his Toxicroak was defeated by Maylene's Medicham, who used a simple Psybeam. Still got the gym badge though.
Hilbert finally stepped up to the arena, pulling out his fighters' Pokeballs.
He led with Riolu, who was just itching for a good fight, and he was fairly certain she would throw him in the next lake they visited if he didn't.
"Huh. Where'd you get that?"
"That? I'll have you know, that I-"
"Long story, temperamental girl, I learned to use aura with some monk Lucario."
"Huh."
"Indeed."
"Well, I can't say the same, but I have the next best thing." She sent out a Croagunk.
Riolu squared up to her opponent, eyeing the poison dripping from its fists. She cracked her knuckles.
It attempted a Poison Jab, but Riolu smacked the arm away with an Aura Sphere and punched it hard enough to throw it into the air.
Then Riolu started chanting.
Time seemed to freeze, inside the box. It seemed like a strange version of Trick Room, only it didn't affect Riolu. She pulled her fist back, charging energy through her limbs.
"White Claw technique- Star Platinum! Za Warudo!"
Croagunk could only take the damage like a sponge and slowly float through the air as it took punches from Riolu.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA-"
Hilbert briefly wondered if the 'Collective Unconscious' theory applied to Lucario as well.
"ORA!" The Trick Room fell, and Croagunk flew over the rest of the gym, skidding to a stop near the entrance.
Riolu fell over from taxation, not long after.
"That's… Technically a win, but they'd count that as a draw during a conference. Usually." Maylene ran over to return her Pokemon before coming back.
Chansey and Cheryl were already setting up a cozy spot for Riolu to watch the rest of the match, as barely-functioning as she was. As a consequence of her technique, she was stuck in Trick Room speed, mentally and physically, for a while.
Abra was next, not explicitly for the Psychic-typing either. No, what he wanted was a repeat of Oddish in Eterna gym, but like, less of a war crime.
Maylene sent out a white duck with a leek sword, commonly known as Sirfetch'd.
"Abra, no drills this time, just do your thing."
"No holds?"
"Okay, don't mind-melt."
"Hmph." Abra shook his head and disappeared.
Sirfetch'd, not seeing the Psychic-type in his field of vision, threw his sword behind him, hitting Abra who was about to use Fire Punch.
Abra shook out his hand, then teleported again. The Fighting-type approached, keeping its sword at the ready. Abra used Psychic then teleported again.
"This is going to get annoying, isn't it?" Maylene asked, as Abra refused to be seen, constantly moving out of his sight.
"Yeah. Hey, Abra? Double-time!"
The Psychic-type didn't understand at first, but then used its (in his opinion, incredibly high intelligence) to figure out what he meant.
Sirfetch'd was lulled into the sense that Abra would keep up the teleporting and always stay out of his field of vision.
So, Abra did it again, and as the duck-like Pokemon was turning, teleported just above it, used Psychic, teleported where they just were, and used Fire Punch.
It was an incredibly complicated combination, but it worked, throwing his opponent off balance enough to be KO'ed, and win them the round.
"I gotta say, that's the first time I've seen someone use an Abra like that."
Hilbert managed not to shudder, holding up a mental barrier. "Yeah, I don't think you want one like him either."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"You really, really shouldn't."
Finally, last on the roll call, Golett appeared in the ring, clanking. Only to be shooed back by Hilbert.
"Okay, my martial art doesn't use fire, so can I do this? I only got practice against Lucario and Riolu up in the mountains."
Maylene smiled. "Well, this is a gym, after all. Might as well let you get stronger while you're here."
Hilbert forgot one very important factor. While he sparred with aura users, and used it himself, Maylene did not, and still stood on the same level as many Fighting-types, fully evolved or not.
As such, when he stepped into the arena, he was rocketed out by Maylene's 'Detroit Smash', as she called it, and barely managed to land on his feet, on the complete opposite side of the gym.
"What would that have done if I didn't have a shield up?"
Maylene smirked, rubbing her fist. Hilbert realized those weren't ordinary bandages. They were in fact, Focus Bands and Choice Bands. The martial artist picked a scarf up off the floor, and wrapped it around her neck. That was a Choice Scarf as well.
"Oh-" Hilbert then proceeded to say some things that were definitely not able to be aired on public television. They could come back from commercial break, and he'd still be swearing.
He threw twin aura spheres as she ran up to him, like a Lucario herself.
He was once again hit with what felt like a Rocket Punch, and burst through the doors, landing in a pile of splinters in the street. He wasn't even injured, thanks to the shield, though luckily he'd had the sense to take off his jacket.
"Wow! Not a scratch on ya! You're really something else!"
"I get the feeling that's not a good thing?"
"Nope! Now I can really cut loose!" She charged at him again.
Many residents of Veilstone city, though quite possibly intoxicated, could swear they were seeing the gym leader punt an oddly-colored Lucario through every street in the city. Repeatedly.
"I mean, aren't you taking some damage?" She asked, pausing in her curbstomp for a moment.
He stood up in the middle of an empty street, clutching his aching stomach. "It's probably gonna bruise at this rate, but I haven't heard anything crack-" He suddenly started evacuating the organ in question, all over the street.
Maylene sighed, reaching into her back pocket for a stomach aid. This kind of thing was common for idiots who thought they could challenge her in a fight. Though, Hilbert was doing remarkably better than the rest, on account of the shield. He'd managed exactly one hit so far, barely tearing the seam of her Choice Scarf, but leaving it intact.
He stood up again, wiping his mouth. His vision was starting to go yellow, sure, but that's not too bad. He's got his pride to think about!
And so, he placed his hands in front of his stomach, as if around a ball, and started channeling energy.
That fictional attack was named after a Legendary in Alola, so he knew what to chant.
"Tapu…" Energy started to gather in an orb, and he shifted his stance. His vision was blurry, but he could still make out Maylene standing away from him, tilting her head.
"TAPU…" The energy ball became larger, finally being noticed by the actual martial artist.
"KO-" He abruptly found Maylene directly in front of him, a fist already moving towards his stomach. He blacked out seconds before he realized he could see his house from there.
It was a very powerful punch on its own, but Veilstone was built on a mountain, after all.
He woke up with the gym badge in his pocket, so it clearly wasn't all bad.
Opening his eyes, he saw Chansey. That was all he saw, actually, as she turned out to be his current caretaker, and was standing over him. At the Pokemon's cries, Cheryl rushed in.
They'd managed to drag him back to the hotel, insisting he wasn't too injured, and no, sir, what even is a 'Weekend at Bernie's'?
Lucas had apparently been complaining that he never got to fight the gym leader, but Dawn shut him up by handing him a handkerchief and a lighter. Not because he proved a point, but because he took it as a challenge and got distracted.
"I feel fine, really. It was just a lot of force, so of course I felt queasy. I don't think anything is broken," he said, putting a hand on his shoulder and stretching out his opposite arm in a circle.
It was at that point he realized he was shirtless.
That month of training certainly cut the fat off his torso, to say the least. Cheryl blushed and looked away.
"We… Bought you a new one. Shirt! I mean." She reached to her side and put a change of clothes on the bed, still looking away.
"Oh, thanks. I'm glad I didn't wear the jacket." He chuckled, fluttering out the shirt to get a better look at it. He felt a twinge of pain in his chest, and he froze up. "Agh!"
"Are you alright?" Cheryl rushed to ask, kneeling over him on the bed, looking for surface injuries.
"Well, I just got the shit kicked out of me, but…" He trailed off, face increasingly red.
Cheryl was sitting on top of him, checking the few bandages he was wearing. Skidding on concrete had to do a little damage, come on now. "Uh, Cheryl…"
She looked up, her face only inches away from his. "Hm?"
Hilbert naturally turned his head away, face furiously red, and tried to keep his blood flow even.. "Well- I'm- Uh- You're kinda…"
She tilted her head, questioningly, before looking down, realizing where she was sitting, and clapping her hands over her face, turning bright red.
"Oh no, I wasn't, this is so embarrassing, I'm sorry-"
"Hey, Hilby? You awake yet?" Barry hollered, walking through the door. To which he saw his team leader, shirtless, and in bed, with their (albeit still clothed) healer on top of him, both incredibly red in the face. The blond froze up, then made finger guns at them, receding out the door with a 'click'.
"...I'm going to swear him to secrecy. Can you, uh… You know…"
She quickly tried to get off, but got tripped up by the blankets, only falling onto him again. Blushing even more, if it was possible, she quickly got up, recalled Chansey (who had been watching the scene unfold, not even moving), and ran out of the room covering her face.
Hilbert pulled himself out of bed, wincing, but managing it nonetheless.
At least he was wearing pants.
"They were, I swear," Chansey gossiped. She had a valley-girl accent, if that's possible for Pokemon. Team Black's Pokemon were in their usual not-in-battle-and-our-trainers-aren't-doing-anything meeting. "Cheryl was all over him, I almost couldn't believe it, but I saw it with my own eyes!"
"I find that believable, Hilbert seems to have strange luck with his opposites." Golett responded, pondering.
They weren't allowed to wander around Veilstone in a large crowd, and Abra had convinced Hilbert to take him to the Game Corner, so everyone else was stuck in the hotel rooms. They weren't very big rooms, so Garchomp and Tyranitar were still in their balls with their trainer.
Riolu scoffed. "Yeah, right. That guy's too much of an idiot to appreciate something like that, so it wouldn't happen."
Her, Golett, and Shaymin were left in the room, along with everyone else's Pokemon. Barry's Pikachu was in the corner picking his teeth with a toothpick, weirdly.
"You'd be surprised," Prinplup said, shrugging his flippers.
After the gym battle, when they were taking him to the apartment, they were nearly mugged by some Galactic grunt. Barry and Lucas looked at each other, nodded, and put Hilbert on the floor.
"Good, now give me your Pokemon," the grunt said, holding out a hand with his Golbat perched on his shoulder.
Lucas sighed, and threw Monferno out of his ball.
"Give me the ball, too, nitwit."
Lucas didn't seem to hear him, as he pulled the dragon tamers gloves back on.
"You hear me, punk? I said-"
"Fire Lance."
A massive flame found its way into his hands after a few seconds.
The grunt was quickly on the floor, along with his Pokemon.
"...We probably shouldn't tell Hilbert about the Galactic building they have around here." Barry shuddered. "He'd try to tear it apart if he got a whiff of this."
"That's a smart move." Looker emerged out of the shadows, surprising everyone who was still conscious. His Greninja was stealthily following behind him. "We don't have the go-ahead for a direct attack on their base. Just as well, their lobby is fully guarded, twenty-four-seven, so you wouldn't have a chance. Even with this kid's Pokemon."
"Good to know, good to know. What are you doing here?"
"I was tracking this grunt down for information. There's a reason he needed Pokemon so badly."
Veilstone was suddenly a lot more festive, to their confusion.
"Hey, there shouldn't be any festivals, it's May 5th!" Dawn looked up from her watch. "Are they just celebrating for no reason?"
A certainly 'whelmed' expression crossed Hilbert's face. "...It's a holiday. Cinco De Mayo? Ring a bell?"
"Well, yes, but that's not a Japanese holiday…"
"It looks like these guys will take any excuse to party." Hilbert looked across the street, where a crowd of people was running around in Hawlucha costumes. "I know that's not a part of it. This place looks like Vegas."
"You mean Veghastly?"
"Who grew up in Unova, me or you?"
Barry saw some less-than-conservatively clothed women near the Game Corner, spotted a costume store down the street, and got a gleam in his eye.
"Hey, you know, 'when in Rome..."
So they were stuck waiting outside the changing room.
Apparently, there were these Pokemon called Oricorio, and while you usually found them in Alola, they were quite popular costumes for the festivities, with one of their forms, Baile, having a Spanish dress-like appearance. Color variation was common, but the style remained. Hilbert remembered seeing cheerleaders back in Unova that were fond of the yellow variation of the Pokemon, which used pom poms.
"Oh! Dawn, that hurt..."
"Sorry, I didn't know you were ticklish!"
"Actually, can you do it again? This dress is rather itchy."
The three boys felt the sudden need to tug on their collars. They'd been forced into gray suits, as generally, only the women wore dresses. Hilbert could've sworn that Prinplup was bragging earlier about possibly looking good in a dress, but he didn't hear anything further.
"Alright, we're done." Dawn swung open the curtain.
They were both wearing frilly black dresses that were v-cut on the chest, shrunk around the midriff, covering their upper arms and going down to their ankles. Dawn's was horizontally striped red, while Cheryl, even as she was hiding behind Dawn, was a leafy green.
"Nice," said all three boys, without thinking about it.
"I'll take it," Dawn sighed, before grabbing Hilbert and Cheryl's arms and dragging them off.
"Hey, what's the big idea?"
"Well, since you grew up in Unova, you would know more about these festivities than I would. So, you're showing us around.
"That is so not how that works."
Barry and Lucas looked at three rapidly disappearing teammates, looked at each other, shrugged, and went off on their own to find something to eat.
"Ooh, what's this?"
"I dunno."
"Oh, what's that?"
"I dunno."
"What about that over there?"
"That's a Moltres."
Dawn blinked. "Wait, actually?"
"No!" Hilbert yelled, annoyed. "I have no clue what half this stuff is!"
"Ooh, let me guess, on your honeymoon?" A flamboyant waiter walked past them, handing them glasses of what looked like soda.
Hilbert took one, still glaring at Dawn, while she did the same. Neither registered what he actually asked.
"Well, I don't know, maybe you should learn more about your region before coming to others!" She took a large swig off the drink. It tasted a little off, but she barely noticed. She quickly grabbed another glass.
"Well, it's not like you know yourself!" Hilbert did the same, angrily.
"What's that even supposed to mean?"
The waiter turned to Cheryl, who was sipping her glass meekly. "Friends of yours?"
"You could… Say that. Excuse me, this tastes kind of strange…"
"Oh, sweetie, that's a margarita. Cokeleon sponsors the drinks around here, so we make it with their syrup instead of juice."
Cheryl looked into her glass, then back at the two of her friends that were still arguing. The topic had somehow jumped from regional discussion to Legendary Pokemon.
"I dunno why you even chose Shaymin anyway, you should have gone for one of the Lake Trio."
"Hey! You're the one who told me to respect it!"
"Pssh. Mesprit is way cooler anyway."
"No, Azelf! Willpower always wins, babe, that's how Team Black rolls! Who the hell do you think I am?"
What the hell am I even talking about?
"I'll show you who the hell I think you are!" She grabbed the lapels of his jacket, leaned in close-
And headbutted him. By accident or not, it hurt a lot, and they both ended up on the ground.
"Ow… This is your fault, Hilby!"
"You hit me! How is that my fault?"
"It just is, alright?"
"No!"
Cheryl walked up holding her hands out in a peace-keeping gesture. "You don't have to fight… I think we should head back to the hotel."
"What happens in Veilstone stays in Veilstone," Hilbert said, with a sense of finality. He absentmindedly rubbed the mark on his head as they headed southbound. His bag suddenly felt heavier. Like, a lot heavier, and he fell over backward.
Abra appeared floating above him, just in his field of vision.
"I forgot to take the winnings out of the hotel earlier. Sorry about that boss."
"How long… How long were you gambling, Abra?"
"The less said, the better. Suffice to say, after I cleared out their prize corner, I'm no longer allowed on the premises. But, I did get you a Porygon."
"You what?" Hilbert took his overfilled bag off. A dozen Technical Machines fell out with a smattering of clacks, and various trinkets were stuffed in, including a metronome and a Silk Scarf. "...Where's the Porygon?"
"Right here, sir." Buzzed his watch. He looked down in horror at the tiny Pokemon now inside his cross-transceiver.
"ABRA!"
The Psychic-type in question shut himself in his ball and refused to come out, no matter how hard Hilbert pried.
AN:
Tried the double chapter thing, I have a bad tendency of writing twenty pages by accident. It was fun doing Maylene's gym battle, because I got a few references out of it. I don't even watch JOJO, or read it, but come on, someone had to do it. Is Riolu a stand user, no, but its an aura technique now, deal with itl.
Don't take this too seriously. As you can see, Maylene is basically Saitama, without any aura. The gym leaders are all pretty badass, even if you don't see it. Had the Pokemon chilling for a bit, tell me if yall want to see more of that.