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Satoshi stared at the rather large poke'ball centered in his hand. It had been a long time since he'd held one and the last one hadn't been nearly this big. He walked along with Daisuke down the sidewalk, glancing over as an old trolley car passed by with a few tourists. It was nearly Summer now. As such, people—mostly from America—were here to visit the small attractive town of Azumano. Their simplistic theme, along with the well cared for environment and serene beauty of the landscapes captured many hearts. The town would continue to do well with the money coming in. Catching crimson looking at him, Satoshi regarded the other and his tightly held merchandise.

"This is going to be so cool!" Daisuke nearly squeaked in his excitement.

The blue-haired teen wasn't so sure, but he couldn't ever remember seeing Daisuke so worked up about something so ordinary. Mind you, an actual poke'mon battle wasn't ordinary. But it was nice seeing his friend so happy. Satoshi shook himself a little, feeling like an idiot.

"What's the matter?" Daisuke frowned.

"Nothing." Light glared off of Satoshi's glasses, hiding his eyes as he looked forward again.

"I know where we can battle," Daisuke spoke up. Satoshi tilted his head at the redhead, letting him know that he was listening. "There is a huge abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. It should work well enough."

"What about noises from the fight?"

"There's a factory nearby that's always making plenty of noise. It'll cover for us."

"Sounds perfect so far, but what about the occasional flash of fire? Does anyone live close enough by it to chance seeing?"

Daisuke avoided answering the question directly, responding: "We'll just keep away from the windows."

Satoshi shook his head. This was not going to end well. Maybe he should call it. Every bit of logic he possessed was screaming at him to do so. He shouldn't let old emotions of wanting get to him like this. He'd stopped watching Poke'mon back when his dreamer days had ended and he'd changed, like the show its self had. How many strange species of poke'mon were there now? Not to mention crazy hairstyles...

"You don't like this idea, do you?" Daisuke looked crestfallen over at his friend.

"To be honest, I don't. But I'll give it a chance. I don't expect this to be a serious battle. More like a session of rough play for the phoenixes." There was a bit of warning in Satoshi's tone.

"You must have really gotten into Poke'mon to be willing to go this far," Daisuke let slip. He covered his mouth, as was typical when he felt he'd said something he shouldn't have. Red eyes glanced away to the concrete below.

"Yes, I did. I wasn't always a morning person, but when they started airing shows really early I'd get up to watch them."

"Wow. I would, too, but I'd always fall back asleep after the first ten minutes." Daisuke grinned. "What is your favorite poke'mon?"

"That's a tough one..." Satoshi trailed off, tilting his head toward the sky. White clouds were rolling by peacefully up there. The earlier threat of rain had passed for now. "There were a few that I really liked. It would have to be between Lugia, Vaporeon, Articuno, and Golduck."

"Those are all water types, except for Articuno. But that's not far off since that one's an ice type. And most have bird-like traits, if not aquatic attributes."

"Why are you assessing my choices so much?" the bluenette responded stiffly. The redhead paused in his walk. Satoshi stopped and turned back to look at him. One's gaze was serious, the other's unsure.

"I was just seeing what you are into." Daisuke wasn't sure how he'd managed to offend Satoshi, but it seemed he had somehow.

Well, stop! Satoshi wanted to say. It felt like Daisuke was prying into him...or getting too close. The bluenette continued on for his apartment. It wasn't long before Daisuke was walking beside him again. He really needed to end this facade of theirs, but Satoshi caught himself asking, "So which is your favorite?"

Daisuke made a small happy noise. It was so light that Satoshi almost didn't hear it. The boy was too easy to please most times.

"Charmander! Wait, no! Dragonite. Or maybe Bulbasaur..."

"Sounds to me like you need a Ditto," Satoshi chuckled.

"Oooh! Those are neat with their ability to mimic others."

"They are way overpowered if you ask me."

"And they're pink!"

A small laugh was surprised out of Satoshi. Daisuke looked at him with a pleased expression.

"Do you hate the color?" Satoshi had to ask.

"It's not my favorite," Daisuke admitted, "but it can look nice when complimenting certain elements." The blue-haired teen thought on that for a moment. It was actually a good answer.

"Your hair will be pink one day," Satoshi said, in an off-hand sort of way.

"WHAT?" Daisuke's eyes became huge.

"When you get enough gray hair, your vibrant red will start turning pinkish. You never thought of that?" Daisuke's horrified and distant gaze answered for him. "Sorry I brought it up. Just ask your grandpa what he did about it." The redhead nodded, but remained quiet all the rest of the way to the apartment complex. Satoshi wasn't sure how to fix the problem he'd caused. It was hard to admit to himself, but the bluenette liked talking with the other, although he obviously wasn't very good at it.

"I'll meet you at the bus stop in twenty minutes, okay?" Daisuke finally spoke, whirling in the direction of his home. "I've got to go get my phoenix."

"Sure," Satoshi answered nonchalantly, watching as Daisuke crossed the street and ran passed the outdoor market stands to disappear down an alleyway.

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