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Accidental Sinnoh Chapter 4:

You're My Friend Now

"Ah, crap…" I said as I quickly got up and sprinted towards the bathroom, nearly tumbling. "Ryna! The appointment!" I reminded her of the appointment – the appointment that'll at least make my life somewhat normal again. I grabbed the white hotel tower and closed the door shut behind me. Ryna said something but I didn't hear it very clearly. I heard the front door open and close right after.

The shower I took was brief so I wouldn't go into details about it. I put on the same clothes and darted straight out of the door. Riolu's existence was suddenly reminded to me and that it is currently in the same hotel room as me. Turning back towards the room, I saw it curled up on the floor.

I hastily snatched it-

"MY GOD YOU'RE HEAVY!" I exclaimed as I struggle to pick it up. It panicked and started flailing wildly.

"RIO! RIOL-U!" It squeezed out of my arms and jumped onto the floor. It gave me a tired look with its big red puppy eyes.

I shouldn't have done that and now I feel bad.

"HEY, CALM DOWN! IT'S ME!"

"Why?" The inner speech returned as it asked me. Even then, I can still hear its 'voice' somewhat tremble. To answer its question, I didn't know what I was doing either.

"God… Sorry for scaring you but I'm in a rush and I can't leave your ass here. Alright, c'mere." I sighed and picked it up again, this time more carefully. It stopped struggling and just looked at me with its big red eyes.

I grabbed the pokeball from the bedside table and tried to figure out how to use this damn thing. Knowing that I'm just wasting my time, I gave up figuring out how to recall this Riolu back. Instead, I simply carried Riolu to the lobby like in that one scene in The Lion King. Ya know, the one where the lion becomes the king- I didn't actually watch the movie. I'm sorry.

I ran up towards Ryna who was waiting and sitting on a sofa. "Ryna! Quick, how do I recall him back?"

"Finally! About time you-" Ryna burst out laughing looking at Riolu's circumstance.

"Shut up! Just tell me how to use this thing!" I gritted my teeth in annoyance, feeling my patience running thin.

She continued to laugh for a bit before composing herself and teaching me how to operate a pokeball.

"Alright, uh. Okay. Ben, give me the Pokeball." I reached into my pockets and tossed the pokeball towards her. I almost dropped Riolu when I was reaching in to get the ball and she was still laughing by then. "What you want to do is- You should probably put it down." I placed Riolu on the floor and it looked at me with an unamused expression, probably embarrassed as hell.

She let out a chuckle and said, "Alright, to release a Pokemon, just press the button once and it will release it or, you can just throw it. The sensors inside will do their thing. You don't have to worry about picking it up after throwing it. It will just fly back towards you like a boomerang."

"Rynaaaa, I want to recall it, not release it. It's already here." How to release a pokemon was not my concern for the time being – I want to recall the Riolu back.

"Press the middle button twice." She tossed the pokeball back at me.

"Riolu, it's okay. I'm just gonna put you back into the ball, alright?" I explained to it calmly. It looked at me and slowly nodded.

"Alright ya little lad. Go in the ball. I'll see you… I'll see you later." And I did just what she instructed.

I breathed a sigh of relief as a red streak of light emerged from the ball and sucked Riolu in. I pocketed the pokeball and declared, "Alright, let's go." Looking back at Ryna, she had tears in her eyes and was still giggling by herself.

"You're still laughing!"

"Sorry, sorry."

Ryna took a deep breath and composed herself. She got up from the sofa and said, "Yeah, let's go."

"So uh… Where are we going?" I asked her. She sighed deeply and asked me, "Seriously, Ben? Where do you think we're going? What was the plan initially?"

"Wait- Oh, yeah the appointment."

"Arceus, you're so forgetful… Wait. You don't have an actual ID."

"ID?"

"Yeah, an identification card. You know, like a driver's license or a passport."

"Wait- what's…"

"Seriously? Oh yeah, you're from a different world… Well, it's like a card that has your picture on it and it says your name, age, and other stuff. It's like proof that you are who you say you are."

"Oh- oh, you meant an IC. God, I can't believe I actually forgot what that is. I mean, you held mine like a couple of months back if I recall correctly."

"Wait, that was your ID? Huh, too bad it's not on me. It's in the hands of the researchers so for now, you're going to use a temporary ID until we make a new one for you. I'll see if I can get my hands on your stuff."

"So, is it- Does that mean I have an ID? Am I a registered citizen? Do I have the same rights as all of you?"

"Nope but even without the ID, I do believe you still have the same human rights as the rest of us. But I'm going to have a colleague of mine make one for you real quick," she said, emphasising the word 'human'.

She took out her phone which looked like the early iPhones and dialled a number. She talked with the person on the other side of the phone and I was left there on my own. As much as my curiosity wants me to eavesdrop on the conversation, I decided that it is best if I just mind my own business because I don't want to be rude.

For some reason, when I looked out in the distance and saw the blurry mess ahead, my dumbass was like "Ayo, this shit is like Minecraft. My render distance is set to like 3 chunks."

But in reality, that's just how shitty my vision is. What the fuck is wrong with me?

That also leads to the random thought about my 'render distance' making me wonder how the people here would react to Minecraft. Do they even have their own version of Minecraft?

And then I started to imagine Pokemon playing Minecraft. Like, I can just imagine Ash Ketchum being absolutely cracked at Bedwars, going absolutely mad with the bridging and Brock making Minecraft crafting tutorials, specifically on how to craft a cake for some reason.

And then I started to chuckle because the image was so ridiculous.

But then I stopped because I realized that I was actually in a world where Pokemon are real and I'm just some random human. Even if I wanted to go back, I don't think I could.

And then my whole mood was shattered and was curb-stomped into the ground.

But then my mood lifted a bit because it meant that I have infinite possibilities because honestly, think about it, I can become the Notch of Minecraft.

But I then realised that I can't actually do that because I don't know how to code. But then I was like "Screw it. I'll probably find someone who does and I'll pay them to do it for me."

If Minecraft doesn't exist here, I am going to grind and pay someone to make it and I'm going to mine myself some diamond-

"Hey Ben, what's your last name again?"

"Ore."

"Ore?"

"What the fuck did I just say?" I was so deep in my thought that the first word I thought of was 'ore'. Ya know, I was just about to say 'diamond ore' and I simply completed the word.

"Wait, huh? Ore- No it's not- Wait- It's…" I thought about it for a second and I kinda liked that name.

"Actually, can I change my last name to Ore?"

"Hold on for a second." She then whispered to me, "Seriously, Ben? You want to change your name to Ore?"

"Yeah, I feel like it sounds kinda cool."

"Ben, it's a fucking mineral."

"It sounds cool." Realising that she did indeed make a point, I decided to tweak the name a little bit. "Okay, how about 'Oreey'."

Feeling the pride within, I complimented myself, "That's a damn good last name though."

"That's O-R-Double E- Y" I spelt it out for her. "Also, can I just change my first name to Ben? Like, nobody calls me by my full first name. Nobody walks up to me and say, 'Yoooo, Benedict. What's up-' No, they don't do that. Hell, even you call me Ben."

Ryna took a deep breath and asked me for confirmation, "That… sounds alright but Ben, are you really sure about this because- You have to remember that you are basically abandoning your old identity."

I thought about it for a second but I feel like having a new name signifies a new chapter of my life but it also means that I am fully abandoning my past life. I thought a lot about it but in the end, I decided to continue with that decision. I, having made my choice, took a deep breath and said, "Yep."

Ryna put her phone back up to her ears. She was speaking loud enough for me to not eavesdrop just to hear her.

"Yep. That's Ben, B-E-N, Oreey, O-R-Double E-Y. Did you get it? Alright, cool. Send me the information after you're done and please hurry. We kinda need it at the moment. Alright, see ya."

She hung up and slipped her phone into her pocket. Surprise, surprise, jeans for women here actually have pockets.

Ryna ended the call and put her phone back into her pocket. She then looked at me and said, "Alright, so we're all set."

"We are?"

"Your picture and everything is for another day when we make an actual ID for you. And let's just hope it's ready by the time we arrive at the hospital."

"Are you sure this will work?"

"Positive. Now, let's go before we're late."

And with that, my name was changed to Ben Oreey.

I squinted my eyes at the lettering attached to the white walls, trying to make up what it says. I gave up doing that eventually and asked Ryna since she has better eyes between the two of us.

"Hey, Ryna? What does that say?" I asked her.

"Sandgem Hospital?" she replied and pointed towards the lettering, which was a blue blob to me but even if I can see it properly, I won't be able to read it anyway because I'm back to being illiterate. No characters or letters look familiar to me here.

"Oh, that's what it says. I thought it says 'sad gem hospital'," I said as a horrible joke that Ryna did in fact took seriously.

"What? No, it says 'Sandgem'. S-A-N-D-G-E-M."

"Oh, that makes more sense."

"I think this is the place."

"Yeah."

"How about the ID?"

"Let me check…" I peeked at her phone and saw her scouring through her e-mail. How do I know you may ask? Well, the layout was awfully similar to G-mail. "I believe this is… Ah, yes it is. It's a green light." she placed her hands on my shoulder and began steering me in.

We walked up to the front desk where a nurse was sitting.

"Can I help you?" the nurse asked.

"He has an appointment with Dr Connors," Ryna replied.

"And your name is?"

"Ben Oreey," I said. Even if it felt pretty weird to say my full new name, but eh… I'll get used to it.

The nurse looked through her computer for a bit before she said, "Ah, yes. You're scheduled for today and right on time. Please follow me."

We followed the nurse as she led us to the examination room. "The doctor will be with you shortly," the nurse said before she left the room.

Ryna and I sat down in the waiting area. We were both silent as we waited for the doctor. A few minutes later, the doctor walked in. She was a tall woman with blonde hair in a ponytail. She was wearing a white coat – as per usual – with a notepad in her hand.

"Ah, you must be… Ben, right? You're here for your prescription? Dr Cardivalle sent you to me so that I can do a proper test to get you the correct lens."

"Yea… that's right."

"And how about you?"

"I'm just here to accompany him. I'm not really here for anything."

"Oh, that's fine. So," She clapped her hands. "We are going to pick the best lens for you – using trial and error and we're going to measure your head for this – you wouldn't want your glasses to fall off, do you? It will take a while though."

Ryna and I looked at each other. "I think I'll just wait outside," Ryna said.

"Oh, that's perfectly fine. Ben, someone will come and get you when we're done."

"Okay. Thank you." Ryna left the room and I was left alone with the doctor. She had me sit down on a chair and she started to measure my head. After she was done, she started to try different lenses on me. It took a while, but we finally found the perfect lens for me.

"Okay, Ben. I'm positive we found the perfect lens for you. Now, we just need to find a feasible frame for you based on your head measurements. Here, if you look at this screen," She turned the flat screen monitor towards me, "we have a full frame, semi-rimless frame or rimless frame. A full frame is heavier but sturdier whereas a rimless frame is the polar opposite. If we look at- Hold on," she turned the monitor back towards her, "Here, you have multiple selections for each type."

"Do you guys have any testers…?"

"Well, we do but it's a limited amount. They're only meant to represent each frame type."

"May I have a look?"

"I'll go get it. Stay here for a minute."

The doctor left the room and came back with a black rectangular case. She opened it and there were three different types of glasses.

I tried on the full-frame glasses and it was alright. I had no complaints whatsoever.

I tried on the semi-rimless glasses and it was slightly better.

And then I tried on the rimless glasses and man, did it feel light.

But as much as I like rimless glasses, I wouldn't want them to break easily. Therefore, I chose the full-frame glasses.

"A full frame? Good choice. Alright… Here, we have numerous selections for the shape and design of the frame. You just need to pick one." She turned the monitor halfway between her and me so that both of us could see it.

"By any chance, are there any full-frame but the frame around the lens thingy is like… thin? Is that correct?"

"We do, actually. Let me get that up for you… Ah, here it is."

"I think that'll look good, actually. I think I'll take the… er… the black rectangular one." I pointed at the one I liked.

"Great, let me just place the order right now," She turned the monitor back and started typing. "The people in Jubilife will be making it and you can expect it in 2 days. May I have your address so that they know where to send it to?"

I froze – I didn't know what to say. Is it a good idea to say that I live in a hotel? "Wait!"

"Uh… I… uh, am currently residing in a hotel and I'm staying there for a while…?"

"Oh, okay- Yea- No, that's fine. We'll just send it there. You just have to give us the hotel name and room number."

"Lexis Hotel, Room 107."

"Excellent." she typed even more on the computer. After a while, she said, "Alright, that's it but before you go, we're going to give you a card that contains the specification of your prescription for future reference, just in case your specs broke and you need to get a new one."

"Where do I get it and can I go now?"

"Yep, you can go now and you're going to wait at the dispensary. It won't take long, don't worry."

"Thank you, doctor."

"You're welcome."

I walked out of the room and saw Ryna waiting for me. "How did it go?" she asked.

"It went well. I just need to get a card. It has all the things- Sorry, info about my prescription."

From a distance, I heard someone call out my name.

"Yea… I think that's it. Let's go." I said as I started to walk towards the dispensary.

"That's it?" I asked the pharmacist.

"Yep, that's it. You don't have to pay anything for things like this."

"Oh, word? Sweet! Thanks."

"Thank the government, not me. I only give out medicine and… all the other stuff."

As both Ryna and I walked out of the hospital, she asked to see the card. I gave her the card and after reading it, her eyes and her mouth were wide open.

"Damn… Negative 3-point 5?"

"Wait, what? That's what that says? Let me see." I looked at the card and I was- I just froze. I knew I can't read jack shit but I just learnt what that actually meant.

It means that I have to relearn the alphabet… if that is what they call it here.

Never have I ever thought about that. All I ever thought of was that I was illiterate and can't read shit but I never thought about the fact that I have to relearn the language system here.

"Ah… Fuuuuuuuuuck…"

"Look, Ben. I'm sorry for your ey-"

"No, Ryna. It's not about that. It's that I'm a fucking illiterate and I have to relearn everything…"

"Hey! Don't say that!"

"Ryna, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just fucking…" I took a deep breath. "I have to relearn everything and I don't know where to start."

"Well, why don't we start with the alphabet?"

"The alphabet?"

"Yeah, the alphabet. It's a good place to start, don't you think?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"Look, it's either that or you can just give up and wallow in self-pity. Which one is it going to be?" I thought about it for a while and I realised that she was right. I can't just give up – I need to keep moving forward.

"Yeah… Ya know what, sure. Let's start with the alph-"

I heard my stomach rumble. The surroundings were borderline silent. It was fucking comical.

"Why don't we get something to eat first? I think Riolu wants something to eat too. You should call it out and ask it."

"Oh, right…"

I reached into my pockets and took out Riolu's pokeball. I looked at the pokeball and I realised that I still had no idea how to use this thing.

"Uh… how do I use it again?"

"Just toss it." And I did just that. The ball flew and it opened. A red beam shot out and materialises into the shape of a Riolu. I yelped when the ball flew back at me. I caught it with my hands with my other hand protecting my face. For a second there I thought I was the Yo-yo Man but I didn't care because I kept on Yo-ing.

It looked up at me and tilted its head. "Hey, again. Sorry to keep you waiting. I was in the middle of something but do you want to get something to eat?"

Riolu pondered for a while and Ryna whispered to me, "Ben, I think it's shy."

"Oh come on. Don't be shy. It's okay."

"O-okay…" I heard Riolu's telepathic voice thingy spoke to me.

I struggled to pick it up but I managed to carry it like a child albeit I don't have much experience with holding toddlers or small children so it felt kinda awkward.

"Where's a good place to eat here?" I asked Ryna.

"Hmm… how about the Pokemon Center? They have a cafe there but they're specifically for trainers. But the League Season ended a week ago which means that the traffic dies down so to compensate for that, they started opening up to regular people. Do you want to go there?"

"League Season? Interesting…"

"Sounds good to me."

We started to walk towards the Pokemon Center and I was trying to create a bond with Riolu. I don't know why but I just feel like I need to. I feel like I need to gain its trust.

"Hey, Riolu. My name is Ben and this is Ryna. We're your friends, okay?" Riolu just looked at me and tilted its head. "...and I'm sorry about snat- I mean, suddenly waking you up earlier today."

"Friends…?" it asked me.

"Do you not want to be friends?"

"...I don't know…"

"You can trust both of us. We're not going to hurt you and you're safe with us."

I looked back at Ryna and she was just smiling at us. "What?" I asked her.

"You guys are fucking adorable."

"Shush."

I turned back to Riolu and it was just looking at me with its big eyes. I felt my heart skip a beat when I saw that. "So… friends?"

It thought about it for a while before finally nodding. "Friends." It looked at me with a faint and hopeful smile.

"Well, that was fast."

"Oh, cool. Now let's go get some food, shall we?"

We finally arrived at the Pokemon Center and it looked just like I remembered it. We had to walk through downtown Sandgem Town and it was bustling with people and pokemon. It kinda reminds me of what a typical Malaysian town would feel like.

Anyhow, we then walked in and even with my dogshit eyesight, I can tell that there weren't that many people. There were a few trainers here and there with small blobs and big blobs here and there which I thought were Pokemons but it wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be.

We walked up to the counter and the nurse behind the counter greeted us. "Welcome to the Pokemon Center. How may I help you?"

"We're here for the cafe."

"Oh, the cafe? Just go straight and it will be on your left."

"Thank you." We walked to the cafe and I was surprised to see that it was quite empty. There were a few trainers here and there but it wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. I remembered what Ryna told me about the League Season ending so I figured that theses trainers were actually trainers that are going back home.

I still wish I could do the same.

We sat down at a table and a waiter came up to us. "Welcome to the Pokemon Center Cafe. What can I get for you?"

"Uh…" I whispered to Ryna, "Ryna, what do they have here?"

"What do you guys serve?" she relayed the question to the waiter.

The waiter recited the menu and I was surprised to see that they had a lot of different things.

And those 'different things' include animals. Livestock animals. Yep, that's right. They actually have cows here.

And I was just sitting there, absolutely baffled.

"Ryna, you didn't tell me you guys have animals." I whispered to Ryna and she whispered back, "What? So you're saying- Animals? Your world had those too?"

"Of course we have animals. What do you think we eat?"

"Well, we'll have to order something then. What do you want?"

"I don't know… what do you recommend?"

"The hamburger is really good here."

"Okay, we'll have three hamburgers then."

I looked at Riolu and he looked back at me. I knew for a fact he was BEGGING for food.

"...Make that four then."

"Four hamburgers coming right up." The waiter collected the menu and walked away from the table.

I looked at Ryna after she said that she was going to order five burgers. "Four burgers? Why? What's with the extra one?"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot." She reached into her pockets and pull out a pokeball. "Alright, Mana. Come on out!" She tossed her pokeballs in the air and a red streak shot out, materialising into red and yellow… Is that a fox?

"Ben, this is Mana. She's what we call, a Flareon. Mana, this is Ben. And uh… sorry for not introducing Mana to you."

"He- hey…" I froze for a second.

I then looked back at Riolu and it was wagging its tail.

This is so fucking cute.

We waited for a while and our food finally arrived. My hamburger looked delicious- No, OUR hamburgers looked delicious.

"Enjoy your meal."

"Thank you." We started to eat and I have to say, the hamburger was really good. The meat was juicy and the bun was soft and fluffy. Damn, I can see why Ryna recommended it.

Flareon, for some reason, decided to torch the burger (which was placed on the floor, by the way). She then proceeded to slowly eat it. As I saw it happen, I was wondering to myself, "How does one enjoy a burnt burger?"

As for Riolu, it was devouring its burger like there was no tomorrow.

I feel so bad for it.

"Slow down, Riolu. You're going to choke and probably die." It paused for a bit to look at me. Its eyes opened wide and then it continue to eat albeit a little bit slow but it was still eating quite fast. I guess it was starving.

"Hey, Ryna. Why do you only have Mana with you? Don't you need more than one pokemon?" It was weird since she seemed like an experienced trainer and I expected her to have pokemon other than Mana herself.

"Eh… it's all I really need to be honest. she's been with me since I was 13 and I'm 23 now so about 12 years now we've been together and over the past 12 years, she has never disappoint me. She can handle a couple beatings just fine."

"Fair enough…"

After we finished our meal, Ryna recalled Mana and we decided to head back to my place as the sun was starting to set. On the way back, I asked Ryna about the League, not because I didn't know anything about it but rather because I wanted to learn more about it and how it operated in this world.

"So, what's this League thing?"

"Oh, the League? It's basically a tournament for trainers."

"A tournament?"

"Yeah, a tournament. Trainers from all around the region come and compete in this tournament. The winner gets a bunch of prizes and gets to become the Champion and govern the region."

"That doesn't sound very safe. Like, what if some random ass dude becomes the Champion and suddenly the whole world is at war?"

"That has never happened before."

"But still!"

"Okay, how do you guys appoint your leaders?"

I took a deep breath and proceed to explain to her how elections work, particularly in the country I live in and the US albeit it only scratched the surface of the concept.

"So, the people just vote for whoever they want?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"That doesn't seem very fair."

"Why not?"

"Well, what if the people just vote for whoever has the most money or is the most popular?"

"I guess that could happen, and does happen. They fuckin'- bribe people often times but people will mostly try to vote for who they think will do the best job."

"I see…"

I realised that this conversation was getting off-topic so I decided to swerve it back on track. It was quite a hassle but eventually, I managed.

"And this tournament happens every year?"

"Yep, annually."

"I see. So, have you ever competed in it?" I asked Ryna.

"Nope, never have and never will. I've never really been interested in it."

"I see."

"No, you don't." She simply smirked at me, making fun of my eyesight.

"Shuuuut uuuup!" She didn't shut up. Instead, she simply laughed like a mad woman.

She turned to me again but this time she looked at me more… uh… how do I say this? Thoroughly? Is that the correct word? She said to me, "Yeah… let's get you some new clothes.

I was about to say no but then I realised that I really needed some new clothes. I'd been wearing the same clothes for days now and it was really starting to smell even if I didn't sweat that much.

"Fine, let's go."

We took a detour to the shops.

We went to the clothes store and I have to say, Ryna has good taste in clothes. She picked out plenty of clothes for me and I have to say, I looked good in them. However, that also meant I didn't get to choose my own clothes.

"Ryna, can I please get this hoodie? Please, I beg you. I fucking love this colour."

"This beige hoodie?"

"Yeah…"

"Eh… Sure."

And I realised that all I had to do was ask.

"What the fuck?" My brain was about to explode when I saw the- I don't even know how to explain this. If my brain plays music based on whatever it's thinking, it would be the Interstellar theme song.

"What?"

"Ryna, that's not fucking normal."

"What about it?" I looked back at her and judging from her expression, I knew she was dying for my reaction.

"First of all, how the fuck does this bag fit so much even though it- doesn't even- Huh?"

And just like that, all my knowledge of space and time was thrown out of the window.

"Oh, yeah. The bag. I have no idea. I've never checked the research papers based on this." She smirked at me.

Hang on, that's probably why she can slip a whole phone into her pockets! It's not a good design, it's dark magic!

"Ryna, this is dark magic."

"No, it's not. It's just a bag."

"A bag that breaks the laws of physics, that's what it is!"

"You're overreacting."

"No, I'm not! This is some- I don't even know! The scientists back in my world would hang themselves if they found out about this."

"What?"

"You know what? Never mind." I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. This was too much for me to handle. I needed some time to process this information.

We walked back to the hotel with new sets of clothes and underwear – including the hoodie I asked for –, a towel, a notepad and a pen, deodorant, soap, toothbrush and toothpaste and some food for Riolu. I also managed to convince Ryna to buy me the backpack that I was looking at and had my mind blown by it. It was a simple dark grey with light-grey trim with it.

Other than that, I ALSO convinced Ryna to get me a new pair of shoes which I actually REALLY NEEDED because it felt like I had frostbite on my feet whenever I go outside with these slides. Don't get me wrong, I love slides and flip-flops or sandals for that matter but it's just not ideal to go out with not even socks on in what felt like 16? Maybe 17 degrees celsius – Hah, fuck you, Americans – and it only drops lower at night but that's just an approximation of the weather here.

And it's early November! The weather is cold and it will only get colder. Didn't make sense not to wear shoes. I'll be paralyzed and my leg feels numb if I don't!

I lived near the equator so temperatures below 24 degrees count as stupid cold for me.

Anyways, I got 3 pairs of socks and a pair of shoes that looks like a hybrid between a hiking boots and a sneaker. I call it the sniking shboots. They're mostly black but the sole area is white – maybe light grey – and the outsole is orange-brown-ish…?

Needless to say, I was very much satisfied with… everything basically and I really felt like I was back to being 10 years old.

And I feel kinda bad because her bank account is probably crying as we speak.

By the time we arrived at the hotel, it was already dark outside and I was tired as hell. Ryna looked tired too but she didn't show it.

"I want to fucking sleep…" I whined as I turned to open the door to my room and I was wondering why my card wasn't working.

"Ben, that's the wrong room…"

"Oh…"

I opened the door to my actual room and I couldn't wait to fall asleep.

The paper shopping bags rustled as I set them down on the floor and Riolu was waiting for me on the bed. He looked up at me with sleepy eyes and I could tell he was exhausted. I guess shopping takes a lot out of you.

Though there was one question that still lingers around in my head. What am I going to do about this Riolu? I did buy some food for it – well, Ryna did – but that was temporary. Sure, it said we were friends but I'm not really sure if we're 'friends-friends' and wanted to stay with me. I can't really force it to stay because that's not really… nice…? Thus, the only way to find out was to ask it myself.

"Riolu, I don't know how to ask you this but do you want to stay with me or go back to where you came from?"

It looked me in the eyes and thought about this seemingly tough decision. After a while and hesitantly, it said to me, "Yes," It jumped off the bed and ran towards me and hugged my leg. "I like you."

I knelt down and placed my hands on its shoulder and asked it, "Do you have a name?"

"No…" It stopped hugging and shook its head, looking down at the floor right after.

"Do you want a name?"

It looked back up at me with hopeful eyes and nodded.

"If that's the case… er…" I began thinking of a good name for it but then I realised I didn't even know its gender. "Hang on, are you a boy or a girl?"

"...I- I'm a boy…"

"Sweet! Then I shall call you Russ."

AN: Hello again. That's right Russ, is now officially under Ben's supervision

although you guys have probably seen that from a mile away.

I have two things to say, the first of which is that I feel like making a Christmas special chapter (which will not be canon btw) for, you guessed it, Christmas so you can probably expect that to arrive. I may squeeze another chapter in before the special chapter. If I can't I will prioritise the special first.

The second thing is that WE REACHED 20K words and to celebrate, I'm going to treat myself to a can of Coke.

Oh, and by the way, it's still a long way to go before the journey officially starts so hang tight.

That's all for this chapter.

See you next chapter – ciao!

Date of creation: 12th of November, 2022, 3:29 p.m

Date of completion: 27th of November, 2022, 1:21 a.m

Word count: 6002 words