Nick and Alice stepped off the ferry into the Hau'oli City terminal. Walking into the waiting area, they stopped at a vending machine to get a quick drink for the road before continuing on their journey. They walked past a couple of tourists chatting near the counter and continued out through the front door.
They walked north from the marina, passing the police station, where a cop was escorting some teenager through the doors. Continuing on the long way around the city, they passed a photo studio, a few houses, and even a pokémon center. They were going to continue onwards, but Nick was feeling tired from all that had happened earlier, and he pointed out to Alice that it was getting pretty late. Walking inside the building, they were greeted by Nurse Joy, who was currently busy sweeping the floor.
Nick approached her, but she directed him to go to the front counter. She then propped the broom against a wall and walked to behind the counter. "I would like to book a room for a little bit," Nick said, pulling out his wallet. "Alright," the nurse replied, "I'll just need to see your I.D. and it's yours."
Nick set his trainer card on the counter, then Joy picked it up, swiped it through a machine, and handed it back. "Your room will be number eighteen," she said, "Last one on the right when you get to the second floor." She then walked back to the broom and resumed sweeping. Nick then approached one of the two men behind the Pokémart counter while Alice went ahead to their room. One of the men stopped stocking shelves to tend to Nick, while the other barely seemed to notice him.
After a quick exchange where Nick just bought a couple of potions and some assorted gear, he was on his way to the room. Walking through the door, he saw Alice just lying on the bed, watching a battle on the television. She was wearing a slightly different gown, her normal one hung up by the door. He set down the backpack, taking off his cap and jacket, then sat on the edge of the bed. He removed his shoes, then changed into a pair of shorts before lying down. He felt Alice snuggle up beside him before they both drifted off into a deep slumber.
Nick opened his eyes, no longer in the pokémon center. In fact, he had no idea where he was. The entire area was almost pitch black, unnaturally so. Almost directly in front of him, there was a large black crystal, looking even darker than the area around it. He reached out to touch it, feeling a smooth, glassy surface, before the crystal seemed to shift a little. It suddenly whipped around, a pair of blood red eyes suddenly focusing on Nick, a hollow screech filling the air.
Nick sat up suddenly, a pool of sweat having formed around him. Alice was leaning over him, a concerned expression evident on her face. What did you dream about? I couldn't read it for some reason, she said to him, her hand against the side of his head. He did his best to explain it, still shaken by the sound that… thing produced. Alice looked worried about what he described, alongside the fact that she couldn't see any of it. After a few minutes of Alice comforting Nick, they both changed back into their regular outfits, grabbed their stuff, and left.
After some adorable begging from Alice, Nick caved and they both went to the shopping mall that was practically next door. He decided to let her buy anything within a certain price limit, and figured he might treat himself as well. Besides, all the lights, noise, and people could help keep your mind off your nightmare, she had coaxed earlier. They walked in, hearing a few people chatting, along with a few stores describing their wares to customers. They could almost immediately smell what seemed to be a buffet, along with seeing what looked like a sort of stage on the second floor. What really drew Alice's attention, though, was what looked like a boutique. And to Nick's dismay, it looked expensive.
Alice practically ran towards it, dragging Nick along with her psychic power. He didn't even bother trying to resist, because he knew he wasn't capable of getting out of her ethereal grip. She ran into the store, seeing all kinds of high end clothes, including suits, dresses, and for some reason, a set of Kommo-o themed armor. Alice set Nick down and began to ruffle through various dresses that were hanging on racks, occasionally stopping to look at a purse or some shoes on the mannequins. She eventually found one that she was absolutely enamored with, though, and practically got on her knees to beg Nick to buy it.
He looked at the dress, noticing how nice it really was. It was similar to her gown, with a few noticeable details, first of which was color. Instead of the white she usually wore, this dress was almost solid black. The next detail he noticed was that the bottom of the dress wasn't as flowing as Alice's, being more form fitting instead. He grabbed the dress off the rack and found the price tag, and was mildly surprised. The dress didn't cost as much as he originally thought it might. While it was still more than Alice's allotted amount, he could stay under budget if he just didn't buy anything for himself.
Deciding he didn't want anything anyway, he took the dress to the counter to pay for it. "Excuse me, ma'am, but does this come in different variations," Nick said, laying the dress in question on the polished surface. The attendant looked at the dress, then glanced beside Nick to see Alice gleefully watching the dress. "Would you like to buy this for your Gardevoir," the attendant said, already reaching under the counter to pull out a key. After Nick confirmed that it was for Alice, the attendant walked into a storeroom behind her, soon returning with what looked like the same dress, but there was a slit in the chest and back for a Gardevoir's spikes, along with matching gloves to go with it. Nick made the purchase, then he and Alice went back to their room. Once in the room, they both decided to just call room service instead of calling a restaurant.
A few minutes later, a Chansey knocked on their door to deliver the two meals ordered, along with a container of Eevee food, and some Duskull snacks for Danny. After everyone had eaten, they were all relaxing, except for Danny, who went out to wander in the night, probably trying to scare some random stranger. Listening to Eevee's gentle snores, the TV, and Alice's soft breathing, Nick once again settled down to sleep, hopefully without a nightmare this time.