Located on the southeastern corner of the Battle Frontier, the Resort Area was a tropical paradise ensconced within a forest of palm trees. Quite a few well-maintained villas dotted the area, along with a Pokémon Centre and the Ribbon Syndicate headquarters: with a giant decorative ribbon over its doorway, it was an opulent mansion that eclipsed the villas by several orders of magnitude.

"Hanny, why aren't you happy to visit your parents?"

Hanny grumbled something incoherent that Mint thought he was better off not deciphering. At the southern area of resort area, a young bespectacled man confronted Manny, who was walking ahead of the group.

"Hey PSSST! Traveler! I want you to have this Villa!"

Manny's eyes bugged out.

"Get away from me, conman!"

"Oh, wait, no, no, no! It's not what you're thinking! This is no scam, see. In fact, you'll be doing me a favour!"

"That's exactly what conmen say!"

"See, I was given this Villa. But, to be honest, I don't need it, either. So don't say a word. Just nod and this Villa is yours!"

"Help! Police!"

"Sinnoh has no legal infrastructure," the conman cackled, "so if I say this villa is yours, then it's yours! Whew, that's a load off my mind. The original owner was from Hoenn, see? The owner collected up all the rare stones of Sinnoh and went back home. I somehow got saddled with this place as if it were some gift. There's no figuring what rich folks will think of next. Still, I thank you for helping me out."

"I don't want a villa! I don't have the money to maintain it!"

The conman ignored his protest. "Come with me, will you?"

He grabbed Manny's arm, dragging him to the front of the villa. It was two storeys tall, built of solid stone, painted white. There was a rather nice swimming pool complete with sunbathing chairs and a giant umbrella in the manicured front lawn.

"None too shabby, you have to agree. Step inside for a look-see."

Inside there was no furniture or carpet or wallpaper; just dark brown, polished wooden flooring and plain brown walls. The ceiling was plain white gypsum. To maximise floorspace, the villa had an exterior staircase.

"The original owner's furniture is gone, and I didn't buy any. So, yeah, I know, it's barren. Still, not bad, eh? But anyway, I feel kind of bad just imposing the place on you for nothing. I'll tell you what, order a Table from this order form. That'll do as my thanks to you!"

Manny was shaking his head, looking to Mint and Hanny for support. They were just as confused as he was.

"But…"

The conman's face and voice turned ugly.

"ORDER A TABLE!"

"Ahhhh! Okay!"

Manny signed the order form. They heard a truck screech to a halt outside followed by a loud knock on the front door. When Hanny opened the door, there were two deliverymen wearing blue jumpsuits, holding a spanking new redwood table between them. One of the men read from his clipboard.

"Is there a 'Manny' here?"

"Yes," said the conman, "he's the owner of this villa."

"We'll set it over there."

"But that's physically impossible!" Manny whimpered.

After setting down the table in the middle of the room, one of the deliverymen showed Manny his clipboard.

"Is this your signature, sir?"

"Yes, it is… HEY! That's also not physically possible!"

"Please sign here, sir."

"What is this madness?" Manny cried, signing the clipboard. The deliverymen jumped into their truck, then sped off. The entire process had taken one minute. The conman clapped his hands once.

"Anyway, I'm finally rid of this Villa thanks to you. Now I can go back to traveling like I always wanted."

He shoved the order form into Manny's hands, then stepped out the door, never to be seen again, Manny hoped.

"Now what?" Mint asked.

"I'm going to order more stuff."

"I thought you didn't want…"

"My Mom always wanted a big house like this. She never could afford it."

"You have no idea if that guy really owned this villa or not. He didn't even give you anything to sign!" Hannah said.

"Well, uh, I'll deal with that later."

Manny proceeded to order a big sofa. The moment he signed the order form, the deliverymen appeared at his doorway, holding the item and clipboard with his signature. Beyond any hope of understanding how they had plucked his signature out of the ether, Manny signed the clipboard. They left the sofa in another corner of the room. Mint and Hanny plopped onto the big sofa, playing with Yippy.

After Manny got a small sofa, Dawn stepped into the villa, casting a covetous eye on the recent addition. "Wow, Manny, this sofa is so sumptuous! You know, I think we have similar tastes, Manny."

Manny's jaw dropped.

"NO WE DON'T! I AM NOT A GIRL!"

Hanny could not resist: "But you're a pretty little girl!"

"AUUUUUUUUUGH!"

It was only after Dawn settled onto the small sofa that it occurred to Manny: "Dawn, how did you find out I have a villa?"

"Mint put it on your Facebook wall."

"MINT!"

"The truth must be heard!"

Mint pumped his fist, hiding his cell phone from Manny's grabbing hands.

Manny then ordered a: Bed; Night Table; TV; Audio System; and Bookshelf.

"Why is the bookshelf filled with books?"

"I'm sorry, sir, I just deliver the items, I don't question them."

Professor Rowan showed up.

"Hm, that's rather a good bookshelf. The curved surfaces describe sublime lines of an indefinable charm. Here, allow me to give you this book I've been reading as a gift."

Rowan handed him a copy of 'Fantastic Pokémon and where to find them'. Manny tossed it onto the top of the bookshelf while Rowan inspected the mystery books packed onto the rest of the shelf.

Manny then ordered a clothesrack followed by a Houseplant.

Gardenia materialised at his front door. "Oh, hey! A houseplant! It's really nice! Maybe I'll get some for my Gym... The green colouring and the aroma... It's very nice."

"How do you people even know that I ordered items?"

"We read it on your Facebook wall," they chorused.

"MINT!"

"Why do you hide from the truth?" Mint asked, leaping out of the way as Manny attempted to brain him with the order form. Despite his frustration, Manny ordered a PC Desk. The order form carried no more items.

"This place doesn't even have a bathroom, or bedrooms! How do I build extra rooms?" Manny asked the deliverymen after they set the PC desk against a wall.

"I'm sorry, sir, we're just deliverymen," they replied, jumped into their truck, then sped off, never to be seen again.

Manny called his Mom, who flew in with Mint's Mom on a pair of Aerodactyl.

"Mom! You and Mint's Mom are riding ancient Pokémon! Where'd you get them?"

"Why yes, honey, we rented them in Oreburgh."

"Wha?"

"Did you forget, sweetie? You and your friends sold so many fossils to the Oreburgh PokéMart clerks that they started their very own Aerodactyl Rental Service. They also rent Omanyte to undersea explorers, and Pinsir for general labour."

"Huh. Well, I'm glad our adventures Underground have been of use to you. Speaking of which, have you seen the villa?"

The mothers walked inside, staring at everything.

"Ooooh! Manny, how did you afford this?"

"It wasn't easy, Mom," he lied. She crushed him to her chest with a hug, then summoned Persian.

"This is our new home!"

Persian looked left, looked right. She yawned, loped over the big sofa, then joined Mint and Hanny in playing with Yippy.

Mint's Mom beamed. "You're so lucky, Johanna!"

"Aw man, now I feel bad for not buying my Mom a better house," Mint said, his face falling. Then he brightened. "I know! I'll buy the villa right next to yours!"

Manny held up his hands to stop Mint: "But there are people living there!"

"I'll pay them extra!"

While Mint went off to acquire real estate, the mothers babbled to Rowan, Dawn and Gardenia about their wealthy sons.

Meanwhile, Hannah pulled Manny aside while Persian kept Yippy busy in the pool outside.

"I can't believe you idiots waste so much money," she said.

"Hey, if we want more money, we can spend another month Underground."

In response, Hannah went to the PC, accessing her bank account. She showed him the figure: ten digits in length. Manny's eyes became saucers.

"How? You made less money than Mint!"

"Who needs to dig around in the dirt when I have a supreme hacker at my command?" Hannah bragged.

"You mean Glitch?"

"SMUG STATEMENT: AFFIRMATIVE," he spoke from his Pokéball.

Manny frowned. "Do you steal the money?"

"INDIGNANT STATEMENT: HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF THAT HUMAN ACTIVITY? I PLAY THE STOCK MARKET. UNLIKE YOU, A LOWLY TRAINER, I AM COMPETENT IN MANY AREAS."

"I resent that."

"QUERY: WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT, LITTLE BOY?"

"…Nothing."

"STATEMENT: I THOUGHT SO. WHILE YOU PLAYED WITH YOUR PETS, I BOUGHT AND SOLD ENTIRE COMPANIES. I DESTROYED THE LIVELIHOODS OF THOUSANDS. THEIR HUMAN CRIES OF ANGUISH WERE DELICIOUS."

There was a knock on the front door, so Hanny opened it to find her parents standing there. The way she recoiled, one would think she met a pair of Muk at the door. Her parental units wore light islander clothing in bright colours, complete with sunhats. Her mother was holding a glass of frosty ginger ale in one hand while her father held a frozen Pepsi bottle.

Her mother gave a little wave. "Hanny! We came over to visit."

"How quaint!" her father remarked. "Her friends have purchased one villa each. I have three."

"And I have four, dear."

"Indeed. Why don't you live in one, Hannah?"

She shook her head. She looked like she had swallowed a Grimer.

"I guess you're stuck with your house in Solaceon," Manny said, breaking the awkward silence.

"I like that house!" Hannah spoke up. "It is unpretentious and quiet and has lots of land."

"Oh, I brought this for you," her father said, handing over the Pepsi bottle. "It froze solid in the freezer, so you'll have to put it in the fridge or something. Oh wait, this place doesn't have a fridge. Hah! That's crazy."

"Thanks," she said. Her voice was even colder than the iceblock in her hand.

"We'd better get going. We're scheduled for massages at the Ribbon Syndicate," her mother announced. "Ta!"

After her parents were gone, Hannah looked down at the undrinkable Pepsi.

"Maybe you should join them?" Manny suggested. She said nothing, instead joining Persian and Yippy at the pool.

Mint returned.

"Well, I bought the villa. Mom, you can move in right away! The previous owners left all their furniture and appliances."

"Eeeee!" Mint's Mom squealed with delight, skittering next door.

Johanna confronted her son. There were fires in her eyes. "You know that I must have everything that she has."

"Yes, Mom. Order what you like, but I'm not giving you access to my bank account!"

"How did you get all that money? Was it just from Trainer battles?"

"Remember when you got mad at me for disappearing for a few months? I was making money."

"Were you selling drugs?"

"Mom! I'm legit! We're all legit, except Hanny; she has an evil stockbroker."

A metallic voice drifted indoors. "STATEMENT: I HEARD THAT."

"Oh! Well, then, apology accepted. Now, I'll just have to hire some workers and a team of Machop…"

For the next seven days, Manny and Mint spent most of their time with their mothers in their new homes, ordering and building all sorts of things. It was an epic battle of 'keeping up with the Joneses', except in this case, nobody had surnames.

Hannah returned to her Solaceon home, with naught but the company of her Pokémon.