Alright, here's the second chapter of this story.

Hopefully you all enjoy my attempt at humor, and drama(?).

Wild Area Station

"Hmm?" Marnie asked. Victor had run after her, not wanting to see her go after their battle.

"Sorry to chase after you like this," Victor explained, "but I thought that maybe we could hang out, you know?"

Marnie had to turn away, a light blush appearing on her face. "W-why do you want to hang out with me? We're supposed to be rivals."

"Yeah," Victor said sheepishly, "But you're a really nice person, and I thought maybe we could even travel together!"

That made Marnie's eyes go wide. Travel together? And does he know how it sounds for a boy to be asking a girl something like this?

"As charming as that sounds, I'm used to going about my own business. Don't take it personally..." Marnie was trying to let him down easy, hard to do since she felt bad inside.

"But-" Victor started, then conceded. "...okay." He would have to respect her wishes.

He still looked down; a bit saddened. But then -

*Growwl*

"Oops," Victor laughed, "Guess a good battle like that'll make anyone hungry."

Marnie nodded; she knew what it was like to be around someone who gets hungry easily.

"Say," Victor then said, "Why don't you join me for dinner, It's the least I can do. I feel like I still owe you for you not accepting anything from me before."

"You can cook?" Marnie asked, a bit intrigued.

"Yep, I love to!" Victor said, pumping his fist.

"Well..."

*Poof*

*Urara!* Morpeko had popped out of her ball.

Marnie picked up her partner and frowned down at it. "At the slight mention of food, you show yourself, huh? What happened to you resting?"

Morpeko just gave her the typical toothy smile it always does.

"I'll never hear the end of it if I don't go along with you..." Marnie sighed.

"Yes!" Victor mentally cheered, he got another chance to win her over!

Meet Up Area, Evening

Leaving the Wild Station Area, but not yet going into the actual Wild Area proper, Victor has set up his cooking gear. Marnie sits nearby with Morpeko in her lap, watching as Victor began cooking.

"I didn't know guys were so interested in cooking." Marnie finally spoke up, after what seemed to be a long time.

"I'm sure Siebold would like to know your location."

"Fine, he's a rare exception."

Oddly enough, Marnie was enjoying chatting with Victor. But she also wasn't a fool.

"Are you sure this isn't a clever attempt to get me to go on an adventure with you?" Marnie asked.

"Well... maybe," Victor sheepishly laughed, "Is it working?"

"We'll just have to see how it tastes..." The corners of Marnie's turned up, ever so slightly.

As Victor mixed in a couple of Pecha Berries to the Packaged Curry he was making, Marnie asked, "So... how did you learn to cook?"

"Oh, my mum taught me. Dad's often away for business, and I like to cook for the both of us."

"Hmm, you're mum. She sounds nice." Marnie replied, although sadly?

"She is! She even got me all the stuff I'm carrying." Victor happily said. But then he was going to ruin everything.

"Speaking of which," Victor said, mostly concentrating on dinner, "I noticed you're not carrying much, didn't your parents send you off with anything? If they're half as cool as you are, I can't wait to meet them someday!"

Cut to Marnie, a shadow covering the top half of her face, with gritted teeth, as Morpeko looked up at her with concern.

"Marnie?" Victor asked when she didn't reply. Marnie simply stood up and started to walk away.

"I'm leaving. See you around."

Victor had to go back over what he said, what could have made Marnie react like this. Then it dawned on him.

"I said something stupid, didn't I?"

Marnie stopped and looked back at him. "Yeah, you did. Not everyone has had such a perfect life, you know."

Victor looked down, ashamed. "I'm sorry, don't hate me."

Marnie shook her head and sighed. "I don't hate you, but I can see that we're too different to be around each other."

Victor couldn't help but feel crushed at that, and his face showed as he looked at Marnie. Now she's going to feel bad even though he was the one being inconsiderate. And while still wanting to leave, Morpeko got Marnie's attention, still determined to eat that delicious smelling curry Victor was making.

What followed was a conversation(?) between Marnie and Morpeko, as the Pokémon was trying to convince Marnie to stay, through a string of its language, Marnie occasionally replying. Victor sweatdropped as he watched the pair, then was shocked when Morpeko switched to a Black and Purple version of itself, as it bickered with her trainer. He hadn't seen that when Sobble battled it. The whole situation would have made him laugh, but he didn't want to make things worse.

Eventually, Marnie relented, willing to at least try Victor's food before leaving. Which almost burned as Victor was too distracted by what he was watching. Guess it's a good thing his partner came out of his ball and happens to be good with water.

After everything had settled down, Marnie finally said, "Couldn't you tell by the way I'm dressed that my home life is different? Not many parents would let their child dress this way."

"No, I just thought that was just your cool way of dressing, and so your parents must be really cool too!"

That made Marnie be surprised. She was used to people labeling her, always looking at her when she walked past them. Always whispering, and feeling pity for her. But Victor, in his innocence, just thought Marnie and style of dress was really neat.

Marnie confessed, "Well, it's just me and my brother, and he's the coolest person ever."

"Huh, wonder if I'll ever get to meet him?" Victor thought to himself.

But now the food's done, so it's time to eat!

"Tadaa!" Victor said, presenting the dish he made: Decorative Curry. Using a few extra berries for coloring, he had managed to turn the two halves into curry piles that resembled Sobble and Morpeko.

"Wow." Marnie said, surprised. It had to have taken a lot of skill to pull that off. Cutting the Large serving in half, he gave the Morpeko half to Marnie and her Pokémon, while he and Sobble ate its curry counterpart.

"It's actually pretty cute." Marnie commented. She then got a bit red when Victor looked at her. Like the punk girl's not allowed to call anything cute.

Now for the taste. Everyone watched as Marnie ate a spoonful of curry. Swallowing, Marnie just had the typical emotionless look on her face after tasting it.

"It's... okay, I guess. Say, what's that over there?" Marnie said, pointed off behind Victor.

"What's what?" Victor innocently asked, turning his back to Marnie.

This gave Marnie the opportunity to furiously dig into her food. It had to be one of the tastiest things she ever had! There was more than curry and something sweet in it, Victor had managed to perfectly balance in those things plus meat, veggies, and seasoning, without it anything overpowering everything else, while also not being a mess of too much going on.

"That good, huh?" Victor laughed, knowing what Marnie was doing, without even having to turn back around.

"Fine, you win. It really is good."

"See? And if we traveled together, I'd be happy to do all the cooking."

"Well..." Marnie said, contemplating it, "I guess it would be interesting to see what you do from here on out. And at least you will have something to fall back on when I become Champion."

"Huh." Victor replied. Looking over at Marnie, he could see that slight smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Was she being playful? If so, Victor liked it.

Regardless, the two trainers and their Pokémon enjoyed their meal together.

"But if we were to travel together," Marnie then asked, "What would I do? I couldn't have you do so much while I don't do anything."

"Well," Victor thought out loud, "What would you like to do?"

Marnie couldn't really think of anything that she could really bring to their partnership, until she looked around and saw the mess Victor had made while cooking. Stuff was strewn all over the place, and Victor's bag had almost been dumped upside down to get everything he needed. And let's not even mention the dirty dishes...

"Looks like you boys are always so messy." Marnie commented. "So, I guess I could be in charge of keeping everything neat and orderly. We can both share in doing the cleaning. I could also do any shopping we need when we reach a city."

Victor's impressed that Marnie already saw what they would need and had a plan in motion. And if she was willing, then of course he would happily travel with her!

It probably seems a bit odd to have so much going on in these first couple of areas, especially since Motostoke is only a couple of minutes away from the Station in the game, but I've got some things planned, heh heh heh.

Look forward to the next chapter!