It's back! After dealing with some shit, I got my own shit together and have decided to come back to this fic! Enjoy! Reviews are appreciated! :D Also, one more thing; The "SZSZ" stuff indicates a line break 3

Morty =====

After downing the nasty drink and toast, I got dressed. Of course, I had no clothes, and Grimsley's wouldn't fit, so I just wore the same thing I wore yesterday. The sweater was stiff and scratchy due to the water, but I had to bear through it. I made sure to grab my pokéball and left the bare room.

Grimsley was waiting by the door, foot tapping and arms crossed. He looked up when I walked through the hallway, and started to say something, his eyebrows creasing and eyes filled with concern.

"Are you-"

"I'm fine." I cut him off, not meeting his eyes. "L-Let's go."

Grimsley huffed, but opened the door to the bright sun.

SZSZSZSZS

I poked and prodded at the gaudy vest Grimsley insisted I try on. Covered in intricacies like sequins, stripes, and an outrageous design of a Skitty on it, the vest looked like something created out of an art's and craft's store's overdraft. I nearly barfed just looking at it.

I poked my head out from the fitting room to find Grimsley, but he was nowhere to be seen in the huge store.

I sighed.

Grimsley brought me all the way to this wretched place in where-the-fuck-Nimbasa and just leaves me with some ugly-ass vest. Typical.

I took off the vest- which of course looked terrible on me- and put it back on the hangar, sighing and muttering under my breath the whole time. I left the fitting room and proceeded to wander about the massive store, ogling the various shirts and shoes and things, occasionally looking up to see if I could spot Grimsley.

Soon enough, I wandered into the capsule department of the store, and immediately spotted a perfect effect that would look great on my Gengar. I started discussing it with the cashier, only to realise- I had no Unovan money.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a few Johtan bills.

"Do you guys... um... accept Johtan m-money?" I asked, sniffling all the while.

The cashier gave me an odd look and shook his head. "Sorry sir, we only accept Unovan bills."

I nodded, and put the capsule back, looking longingly at it.

"Morty!"

I whirled, and was swept into heavily-muscled arms, a solid wall that was Chuck.

I struggled for a moment, trying to suck in a breath.

"Chuck! What...huff... What's up?" I managed to squeeze out.

Chuck finally dropped me from his arms, and grinned the widest grin at me. "Not much, buddy!"

A short man dressed in a cowboy outfit appeared beside Chuck. "Howdy." He said, tipping his hat. "Chuck here saw you through the windows, and wanted to say hello. I'm assuming y'all are both Johtan leaders?"

I nodded, starting to speak before someone cut me off.

"Well, I know for certain Morty is." Grimsley said, walking forward so that he was brushing shoulders with me. He was holding a plastic bag filled to the brim with clothes, and appeared slightly aggravated. His jaw was set and his stance was almost proud.

The cowboy tipped his hat again, this time towards Grimsley. "Grimsley," he acknowledged, "how ya doin'?"

Grimsley waved his hand, and said, "Fine. Anyways, we've got to get going. Come along, Morty." He turned and walked a few steps.

Chuck suddenly got a bright grin on his face, as if he had come up with a brilliant idea. "I know, Morty! We should have a double battle, me and my guide versus you and yours!"

Grimsley looked over his shoulder, and spoke just as I did.

"That's a terrible idea."

"Sounds like fun".

The man in the cowboy getup laughed and shook his head.

"Aw, come on, Grimsley, it'll be fun."

Grimsley sighed and turned.

"Very well, Clay."

SZSZSZSZS

We gathered in the plaza of the shopping district of Nimbasa, bags discarded on a nearby bench.

"Now, Morty only has one Pokémon, so to make this fair, we'll all only use one Pokémon each, alright?"

Chuck and- Clay I suppose, nodded, looks of determination on their faces.

I grabbed my pokéball from my side, and sniffled. I can't let a case of the sniffles get in the way of me winning. Even if it is just a friendly match.

The other three followed my lead. Grimsley nodded, and we all threw at once.

A Hitmonchan, Excadrill, Gengar, and Bisharp appeared on the make-shift battlefield. Gengar turned and grinned at me, happy to be released from the ball. I nodded towards him, and turned my focus on the battle.

Thankfully, double battles are, by rule, more organized than single battles; otherwise you would have four people calling out moves all at once. Grimsley turned to me, and Clay turned to Chuck.

"Those Pokémon will ruin my Bisharp." Grimsley said, keeping his eyes turned to the battleground.

I nodded.

"I'm going to protect. Can you focus on the Hitmonchan and make sure it goes down by next turn?"

I nodded yet again, and looked up, seeing Clay and Chuck standing at the ready.

One last look at Grimsley, and one last nod from him was all it took.

"Bisharp, protect! Quickly now!"

"Hitmonchan, mach punch!"

Bisharp crossed its arms, making a force field out of energy.

Even so, Hitmonchan went through with its attack, the momentum too quick to pull back. The punch hit the force field, making a soft thud.

"Gengar, now! Thunderbolt the Hitmonchan!"

Sharp lighting crackled across the fighting-type, downing it in an instant. I looked for Excadrill, but it was nowhere to be found.

"Grimsley, the Excadrill is underground."

"I know." Grimsley said solemnly. "I'm going to have to let Bisharp go down to the Excadrill, but that will leave it vulnerable. Do you have any moves that will affect it?"

I nodded, both towards Grimsley and towards Clay.

Excadrill burst out of the ground, almost as fast as a mach punch, taking Bisharp to the ground. The frail Pokémon quickly fainted.

"Gengar, concentrate and use focus blast!"

Gengar shot a ball of pure focus towards the steel-type. The ball passed through the Pokémon, bending the metal on its claws. It fell.

SZSZSZSZS

After the battle, the two duos collected their things and went their own ways. Grimsley and I flew back to Lacunosa, while Clay and Chuck went to some place called Driftveil.

Once "home", Grimsley and I sifted through the bag of clothes he had gotten for me. The bag seemed to contain more than I thought it would, and there were dozens of garments for me to go through and approve.

Grimsley seemed rather quiet, though I attributed it to his already-apparent mood swings. Finally, after a silent dinner of me eating awkwardly quietly and Grimsley eating… well, also quietly, I decided to speak up.

"What's th-the matter, Grimsley?" I said nervously, pulling on the collar of my sweater, fork in hand.

He looked up with a fierce look in his eyes, and barked out at me, "Who was that fighting-type gym leader?"

"Chuck?" I said, dumbfounded. "What about him?"

"Nothing," Grimsley said, less harsh this time, "I was just wondering."

I shrugged and cleaned up after my dinner.

"Good night, Grimsley."

He looked up again, and grunted.