Slateport City. A city where animals and Pokemon cross with nature. Slateport is known for its gorgeous beaches, large harbors where animals of different regions connect and extensive market with countless goods from across the world. Due to its neverending summer weather, it's an especially popular spot with Alolan tourists.
The boat grinded to a slow halt at the small beach. The dock was short and wooden, just like the one in Dewford. One could even jump off it, landing in the water without drowning.
"Well, here we are, lads!"
Cousteau announced as he turned the boat off. Peeko-chan flew onto his shoulder and perched happily.
"Slateport City!"
"Thanks a bunch"
Apollo bowed afterwards, tightly clutching the package underneath his right arm.
The eagle walked off the boat, onto the dock, and headed towards the beach. He stopped in his tracks, cringing when he heard some loud squealing. A herd of women ran up to him, decked out in colorful swimsuits. Most of the women were wolves with different fur colors, but there were a few dogs in the crowd as well. They barked at him
"Champion Apollo! Hey there! Hi, hello! I'm your biggest fan!"
"Will you sign my bikini?"
"Can I touch your abs?"
"Your muscles are so firm!"
"Can you take a picture with me? My sister would DIE if she saw this!"
"Go out with me!"
Apollo looked away, blushing furiously as the women squealed. He wanted to shove them off already and head into the museum, but the wave of fangirls trapped him in his spot like quicksand. He hated the way they treated him like eye candy instead of a living animal just like them. He wished Wolfgang was here as well, but thought the fangirls would destroy him from the inside out.
While Apollo tried to shove several women away, the boys snuck away and ran into the city streets. After twenty minutes of wandering the Slateport streets, they found themselves in what looked to be the food district.
On one side of the street, several vendors lined the streets. They sold popular Hoennian food: Pidgey-based yakitori, oden with Chansey eggs and Farfetch'd leeks, and Feebas-shaped taiyaki.
The other side of the street was lined with several sit-down restaurants; Saffron Bullet Sushi, Castelia Italiano, Cheeky Wyndon's, Hau'Oli Poke Bowls.
Salty, smoky and sweet smells filled the air, distracting the boys temporarily from the hectic boat ride.
Their stomachs growled loudly.
"You know what I haven't had in a while?"
Kidd asked his friends.
"Croquettes"
"Croakettes? Well, I've had Poliwag before back in Castelia, but I ain't so sure on havin' Croagunk for dinner"
Benedict was confused.
Kidd facepalmed from what he just heard
"Not CROAK-ettes, Benedict! Croquettes"
"Never had 'em"
Benedict shrugged.
"You gotta try them"
Tank winked and nudged his arm. "They're REALLY good"
Benedict shrugged. It was getting late anyways, and trying to argue back would make the rest of the day feel longer.
What the heck, let's try some, he thought.
"Sure"
"Hey, here's the place"
Kidd pointed at one of the buildings. It had a pastel blue and green sign hanging from the balcony above. It read 'Rolling Hearts Cafe' in an elegant font.
Benedict frowned as he looked at the colorful sign.
"Are y'all sure this place got croquettes? It looks way more like one of 'em cutesy maid cafes"
Tank laughed
"Trust me. It is the croquette place!"
He happily explained the title to his friend.
But, all Benedict understood from how fast Tank talked was something about a Hoennian version of croquettes, wordplay involving rolling objects, and that's how they came up with the name. It was charming though how much Tank knew about the local culture, Benedict thought to himself.
They headed inside to the cafe. The place was decorated like a classic Unovan diner— teal and white horizontal striped walls, black and white checkered floors, framed photos of Pokemon champions in other regions. One of the photos showed a dark red chicken smiling next to a black and brown dog, while a different photo showed a white dog with thick eyebrows, facing off against an eagle in battle.
The boys grabbed a seat at one of the blue booths. Kidd grabbed a menu from the table stand and flipped through all six pages. Several specials stood out on the first page— Our Lips are Sphealed ice cream, the Little Red Croquette appetizer, Cheri Ice Cream Smile cocktail.
He handed the menu over to Tank.
A bright green frog, holding a notepad and pencil, walked up to the table. She wore a bright blue diner's uniform with 'Jambette' written on her nametag and tacky caked on makeup. Her black slip-on sneakers squeaked against the tiled floor.
"Well, howdy boys, and welcome to the Rollin' Hearts Cafe"
The waitress greeted them, her voice as thick and warm as molasses.
"What can I getcha started on for some drinks?"
"Unsweetened tea please."
"Some ice water if you can"
"Your finest red wine"
Jambette quickly wrote down their drink orders— two waters and unsweet tea.
"Sorry, shug, we can't serve alcohol to minors. But I'll be right back with the rest of yer drinks"
She turned around and headed to the kitchen, leaving the boys to their own devices.
"You drink already?"
Tank asked him.
"Um, yes? It's a Kalosian thing"
Kidd blushed slightly as he looked away.
"My mom and dad let me have some every now and then back in Lumiose. But it was only one glass with dinner, not chugging box wine in the streets on a Friday night like a Unovan"
"Hey!"
Benedict yelled at him.
"What? It's true though"
Kidd laughed to himself
"You Unovans do drink a lot"
Benedict scoffed
"Only in Nimbasa City!"
"Cut it out, you two!"
Tank groaned as he read the menu
"Anyways, I know what I wanna get"
"And that is?"
Kidd asked.
"The number eight!"
Tank turned the menu around to show them.
"It's a whole plate of croquettes"
"I hope that dip's made with real Kingler"
Benedict asked as he read the description of the platter. There were plenty of places that advertised Kingler dip, but it was really made with dyed Magikarp meat.
Jambette strolled up to the table with three drinks on a black tray, two clear and one a rich amber color.
"Here's y'all's drinks, boys!"
She set each drink down on the table, then leaned back to write down on her notepad
"So, y'all know whatcha wanna get?"
Tank looked up from the menu
"Yep. We'll get the number eight, please"
The waitress frowned slightly
"Are y'all sure bout that one, shug? Gotta warn ya. It IS a party platter that serves twelve animals"
"Yes, miss, we know what we're about"
Tank nodded as he handed the menu to her.
"Sure thing, shug"
Jambette smiled and winked. She scribbled an eight on her notepad and stormed back to the kitchen. She hollered from the kitchen
"Yoohoo! One number eight combo!"
Tank grabbed a small tree-print notepad from his pocket. He set it down and started drawing on it, occasionally stopping to drink his tea. Benedict and Kidd leaned over to watch.
"So, what do you guys think?"
Tank grinned as he showed them the finished drawing. It showed a herd of four rhinos posing, with several Pokemon next to them.
"That. Is. Awesome!"
Benedict looked closer at the drawing.
"Who's all this though?"
"That's my dad and his Rhydon!" Tank happily explained, pointing at each rhino and their Pokemon. "Then there's my mom and her Masquerain, my brother and his Koffing, and me with Treecko!"
"That looks really good!" Kidd gushed about the drawing.
"Hey, can you draw us too?"
"Sure!"
Tank flipped the notepad over to another page. He started sketching three figures in loose poses, his tongue sticking out as he focused on the anatomy.
"So, how long have you been drawing?"
Kidd asked him.
Tank looked up, still refining the poses. He felt frustrated at the body proportions, but figured it could pass for now.
"About two years"
"Here y'all go!"
the waitress croaked out as she set down a huge silver plate on the entire table. Three dozen croquettes lined the entire tray, arranged into a pretty circle. The smell was intoxicatingly delicious.
Some croquettes were shaped into cylinders or triangles, while others were cut into stars or hearts. The fillings varied between each shape— gooey Moomoo cheese, mashed potato filling, Pidgey meat and vegetables, ground Tauros meat, and Magikarp fillet with paprika seasoning from Undella Town.
A section was divided in the center for four different house-made dips— spinach and feta, bright red tomato salsa, Kingler dip (yes, with real Kingler meat), and Bouffalant wing dip.
Tank thanked the waitress while he stuffed his notepad back into his bag.
He could always finish the drawing another day, he thought.
The boys, too hungry to say another word, each grabbed a croquette and dug in. Their faces went flushed, groaning in happiness from the pure deliciousness of a croquette. The crunchy breading tasted amazing against the soft warm filling. Despite the heavy filling, the croquettes were surprisingly light on the stomach. It didn't take long for the croquettes and dip to be cleared off.
Tank reached out to grab the last croquette. His hand brushed up against both of his friends. They glared at each other with intensity that could burn a thousand suns.
"Hey, get your hooves off my croquette!"
Benedict yelled at his friends.
"YOUR croquette?" Kidd scoffed.
"It was my idea to get croquettes in the first place!"
"Well I was the one who ordered them"
Tank tried to swat away their hands
"So I should get it!"
This was going nowhere, they thought.
Benedict had an idea
"How about we have a Pokemon battle for it?"
"In the middle of a restaurant?!"
Kidd hollered at him.
"Do you Unovans seriously think everything can be solved with a battle?!"
"Um, YEAH?!"
Benedict shouted. "What, y'all know you're gonna lose against my team?! I got two badges for cryin' out loud!"
While the two boys bickered, Tank used his other hand to grab the croquette underneath them. He took a large bite out of it, smugly grinning once his friends saw him clear off the last piece of food.
"Told you guys I'd get it!"
Kidd sighed in defeat while Benedict looked unimpressed.
After the boys paid for their meal and left, they headed towards the hotel district for a place to stay for the night. The skies started to darken as they walked down the grey slate roads. One of the signs was colored pink and read
"Pink Mochi Love Hotel"
"A love hotel? That sounds romantic"
Kidd blushed in excitement.
Two animals, a silver rabbit in a blue uniform and an orange fox wearing a green shirt, whispered to each other. They snickered as they made their way towards the Mochi hotel doors.
Kidd's face turned red.
"….Oh, it's that kind of love. Eugh, no thanks"
"How 'bout that one?"
Benedict pointed at a grey and brown sign. This one read "Get Yourself Inn".
The building behind the sign, however, looked extremely worn down. Two of the lights flickered on and off, and a lot of shouting came from one of the rooms. Some of the doors even had blood stains splattered across them, and shredded curtains in the windows coated in questionable stains.
"Guys, guys, let me handle this"
Tank assured them.
"I just saw the perfect place!"
The group took a left. They saw a shiny silver building that towered in the sky. The building had a small garden in front, flowing with colorful flowers in every tint imaginable.
A blue and green sign behind the garden read
"Hotel Corsola: Live It Up Here!"
The place looked trustworthy enough, they thought as they headed inside.
The checkout room was designed with heavy Alolan motifs. Hibiscus flowers hung from the ceiling while water flowed from a fountain. The silver fountain in the middle was shaped like a Corsola standing on its hind legs. Several tall plants were set up throughout the room. The floors were eggshell white while the walls were a cheery shade of ocean blue. Photographs of Alolan beaches hung on the walls, while steely acoustic guitars echoed through the ceiling speakers.
A beige bear cub stood behind the counter. She had dark brown hair in a hime haircut, bright blue eyes, and wore a hibiscus-print dress with a matching flower in her hair.
"Welcome to the Hotel Corsola!" she cheerfully greeted them, a warm smile spread across her lovely face. "How can I help you three?"
"We'll take one two-bedroom suite, please!"
Tank placed a hoof on the counter.
"Sorry boys" the bear cub frowned. "We've had a large number of tourists this week, and our last room left has only one bed. Is that okay?"
The boys looked at each other. Great, they really were in a fanfiction. Let's see here...settle on a one bedroom suite, sleep on the beach and get attacked by wild Pokemon, deal with the previous hotels and probably get murdered, or forget sleep and keep traveling forward BUT pass out somewhere unfamiliar, like a college kid after finals week. They knew they could work this out somehow.
"Yeah, it's fine"
Tank handed the bear a fistful of cash. She handed him a shiny silver key.
"You'll be on floor three by the way"
the bear happily told him.
"Thank you"
Tank nodded and bowed.
The boys made their way through the lobby and towards the elevator.. The elevator felt off-putting. Nobody else was inside. The insides were a dull shade of grey, not a single decoration to be found anywhere. Even the carpet had the personality of an oat milk latte.
Tank pressed the 'three' button.
Kidd looked at the row of elevator buttons— thirty-one floors?! Okay, thirty. He noticed that there was no 'four' button. Must be a Hoennian thing, he thought.
The elevator stopped with a pleasant ding. The group left the elevator and looked around for the door to their room— number 304. They found it easily enough, with the shiny gold tag embedded inside the wooden door.
Tank unlocked the door and pushed it wide open.
The hotel room was a decent size, bigger than expected for a room with only one bed. The walls were a soft shade of orange while the floor was beige wood. The only bed, in the middle of the room, was wide enough to fit a Wailmer. The curtains were red and yellow striped, with pink hibiscus flowers trailing up the left side.
A grey machine was propped next to the table. It had a Poke Ball sticker placed on the front panel.
Kidd walked over to the grey block. He read a small note card placed on top
"Trainers. Please put all Pokemon in their Poke Balls and place them inside for optimal rest"
Easy enough. The boys grabbed their Poke Balls and placed them on the flat white row.
"So, who's gonna sleep where?"
Tank asked his friends as he shut the machine's door.
Benedict walked over to the couch and laid down on his back
"Well I'm sleepin' here!"
"And I'll sleep in the bathtub"
Kidd pointed at the bathroom door.
"That way, I can get a shower first thing in the morning"
Tank flopped onto the large bed with a thud.
"Suit yourself, guys!" Tank called out.
Kidd stormed into the bathroom, locked the door and turned the lights down. He set his messenger bag in the left side of the bathtub and took off most of his clothes, leaving him in just black silk boxer briefs. He neatly folded the clothes he wore that day and placed them next to the tub.
He climbed into the black bathtub and laid his head against his bag. He sighed as he tried to fall asleep. Luckily, the room was mostly quiet except for the faint humming of the air conditioner.
The white noise was interrupted by two things: a slamming sound against the floor, and a flurry of swearing.
Kidd huffed and rolled his eyes as he got up from the bathtub. He unlocked the bathroom door and swung it wide open.
"Are you kidding me?!" he sighed in exasperation.
Benedict was on the floor, cringing as he held the side of his left arm. Some of his hair was in his face and he wore just bright blue boxer briefs with a yellow Mareep pattern. The rest of his clothes were either lying on the top of the couch or draped over the armrests.
"….Let me guess, you fell off the couch?"
Kidd facepalmed
"No, Kidd, a ghost type knocked me over"
Benedict snarked
"Yes I fell off the couch! Now fucking help me up!"
Tank groaned as his friends' hollering woke him up. He was still buried under the covers
"Guys, come on. I don't mind sharing the bed, you know!"
"….Fine"
Kidd groaned. He looked down at the floor, seeing most of Tank's clothes carelessly tossed around the floor in abandon.
"But please tell me you're not naked"
"I got boxers on, does that help?"
Tank told him.
"…..Yes. Yes, it does" Kidd sighed. He helped Benedict up to his feet and dragged him onto the bed. He was too tired to deal with anything else, so he wriggled under the covers and passed out with ease.
The rest of the night slowly passed. The only noises in that room were the hum of the healing machine and the air conditioner running. The boys were deep in sleep, until….
A blood curdling scream echoed from the room above them, forcing everyone to wake up in a jolt. The ceiling cracked slightly.
Kidd rolled over and glanced over at the clock. Something felt wrong, he thought. It read '4:44 AM'.
"What the heck was that…"
Tank groaned in worry. He pulled the covers over his head in fear.
"Guys, the door's locked, we're gonna be fine"
Benedict groaned before he went back to sleep.
He had a point. The two mammals went back to bed as well, everyone tightly wrapped around each other.
The early morning had passed, and the sun was slowly rising in the sky. The boys were woken up again, but this time by loud knocking on the door.
"Room service!" the voice called out. The door unlocked from behind.
A bright red squirrel walked inside with a white cart. She had golden blond hair in messy curls and wore a blue striped housekeeping uniform.
"You boys sleep alright?" she asked them.
"Not really. We heard someone screaming above us"
Tank still sounded tired.
"Isn't it a little early for housekeeping?"
"Nope" the squirrel frowned as she handed him a white door hanger with the breakfast menu on it.
"It's only six thirty. And what do you mean by screaming?"
"Yeah. It was pretty scary"
Tank shuddered, his hooves clinging tightly to the comforter blanket. "Like somebody dying"
"Hm" the squirrel was confused. "
I don't think I heard about that-"
"CAROLINE!"
A deep voice yelled from the other side of the door.
"WE GOT AN EMERGENCY ON FLOOR FOUR!"
"I'm comin, boss!" Caroline called out. "Well, you boys have a good day"
She sprinted out of the hotel room with the cart in her hands. Fortunately for the group, she used her tail to close the door shut, leaving them on their own.
Kidd sniffed the air and flinched, waving his hoof in front of his nose
"Benedict, if I have to smell the ocean on you for one more day, I'm going to throw up! Take a shower already"
"Aight"
Benedict rolled over Kidd, hopped off the bed, and stormed off to the bathroom. The door clicked as it got locked.
While Benedict got his first shower in several days…
Kidd grabbed the menu from under the blankets. He looked up and down the menu
"So this is what they mean by an Alolan breakfast…I think I'll just get black coffee"
Tank grabbed the menu for himself. He took note of a particular dish that looked good— loco moco, a dish made with white rice, a Tauros beef patty and brown gravy, and fried Chansey egg and green onions on top.
"Oh come on, just black coffee?!"
"….Yes?" Kidd stretched a little. "Okay, fine, I'll get a cinnamon malasada"
"Alright"
Tank circled some of the options on the menu
"I have no idea what Benedict would want though"
"Just surprise him"
Kidd pulled a compact mirror out and restyled his hair to perfection.
"I mean, Unovans will eat pretty much anything"
"Well, if you say so"
Tank looked away as he circled one of the acai bowl options.
The rest of the morning went by without any further problems. The boys got dressed, ate their breakfast, and grabbed their Poke Balls from the healing machine.
They went to go checkout, but saw a long line in front of them. The trio decided to eavesdrop, figuring that it'd be a good clue to figure out what was going on. The bear behind the counter flipped through a database while she tried to talk with a dark blue pig with bright yellow eyes.
"Officer Ganon? How can I help you?"
"Ma'am, do you have a list of everyone who checked in last night?"
"Yes, I do. Who is it that you're looking for?"
"Shoukichi Aoki"
"Hmm….yes, he's on the guest list. He checked in around nine"
"Did he arrive with anyone else?"
"Yes, he did. Rhoda Griffin"
"I see. Well, miss….what was your name again?"
"June Gracidea, sir"
"Well, Miss Gracidea, thank you for your information"
The checking out process went quickly after the brief interrogation holding them up. The group headed out and onto the docks to see if there was anything or anyone new. A pack of Wingull flew around the skies, chirping and squawking loudly. Tank grabbed a Poke Ball and threw it at the smallest Wingull. The ball landed onto the dock and shook twice before dinging.
"Wingull has been registered to your Pokedex"
Before Tank could run over and pick up the Poke Ball, it disappeared into thin air. Oh, right, he didn't adjust his party from last night. Hopefully Professor Nook wasn't too overwhelmed with all the Pokemon in the lab, he thought.
"Benny?! Is that you?!"
A bubbly high pitched voice called out from the dock.
A pink ostrich skipped happily towards the group. She had thick pink hair tied in odango buns and wore a colorful outfit— a pastel yellow sleeveless blouse, short white shorts, thick black tights, and comfy looking purple and white sneakers. A small grey chinchilla Pokemon sat on the top of her head.
"Ohmigosh, it IS you!"
The ostrich squealed before she ran up to the group. She grabbed Benedict in a tight hug, effortlessly lifting him off the ground. The chinchilla Pokemon jumped off its owner and scurried next to her feet.
"Ah! Hey Flora!"
Benedict chirped out as he felt the life squeezed outta him.
"Hehe, whoops, lemme set ya down!"
Flora giggled before she set him down on his feet.
"It's been so long, Benny!"
Tank and Kidd looked at each other in confusion. Who was this girl, they thought.
"Ohmigosh! I totes forgot to introduce myself to you two" the ostrich blushed as she shook her head up and down. She wrapped an arm around Benedict's shoulders
"I'm Flora McGee, and Benny here is one of my Castelia besties!"
Tank waved to her
"Nice to meet you, Flora. I'm Tank Pepper, and I'm from Fortree City"
The goat restyled his hair
"And my name's Kidd Chavignol. I'm originally from Lumiose City"
"Ooooh that's super cool, you two!"
Flora gushed as she clapped her wings together
"I'm here to take on the Hoenn League! Oh, and meet Champion Apollo too, heehee!"
She leaned down to pick up her Pokemon.
"And this is my pal Minccino! I so got her near Nimbasa City! Ain't she the cutest"
"Min, min!"
Minccino waved its paw.
"She's adorable!"
Tank's eyes lit up in excitement. "Is she a neat freak like most of her species?"
"Of course!" Flora bounced on the tips of her sneakers, twirling in her spot like a ballerina. "She's, like, always cleaning herself in dust after a totally hard battle!"
"Now why'd yall start with a Minccino?"
Benedict asked her.
"Oh, well I overslept. I was totes gonna get an Oshawott if I woke up on time. Teehee"
Flora shrugged without shame.
"Oh! Tank, Kidd, check this out!"
She pulled a crumpled photo out of her left pocket and showed it to Tank and Kidd. It showed several birds crowded around a sign scribbled in paint. The sign read "Sonata Junior High Literature Club".
"That's me on the left, oh, right! Benny's in the middle, that one's Pate, Gwen's the one with the bow, and Sandy's the one on the right!"
Tank got a good look at the other girls in the photo. He saw a blue duck wearing a striped yellow romper, an indigo and white penguin in a poofy green dress, and an orange and grey ostrich in a crop top and maxi skirt.
Kidd raised an eyebrow in curiosity
"Oooo, Benedict's a little casanova, huh?"
Benedict furiously blushed and facepalmed
"I wasn't dating any of them, Kidd! They were just my friends"
"Yeah at least he HAS friends"
A posh sounding voice came from the other end. Kidd shuddered as he saw a grey cat walk down the dock.
The cat had stylish blond hair in a trendy fade, thick black glasses, and eyes in two different colors. He wore a form fitting grey suit with black frills on the waistcoat hem, a shiny button on his right shirt sleeve, and high heeled ankle boots. He sneered at the group as he pushed up his glasses.
"I didn't know that they allowed trash here in Hoenn"
the cat scoffed, turning his nose up in the air.
Benedict and Flora looked at each other. This was something neither of them wanted to be any part of. They ran off to another dock and hung out on one of the benches, catching up and talking about their adventures through each region.
Kidd glared at the unpleasantness in front of him
"I could say the same for you, Raymond"
"What do you two have against each other?"
Tank asked both of them.
Raymond had a disgusted look on his face
"Wow, you're dumb. Whatever, I'll fill you in. We went to school together, and he was such a depressed loser!"
Kidd hollered
"And Raymond's a selfish asshole who doesn't have anything good to say about anyone except himself!"
"That doesn't really answer anything"
Tank frowned and crossed his arms.
"Ugh, since you wanna act all smart, I'll explain,"
Raymond scoffed.
"I might've picked on him a little bit, and he's still overreacting about it"
"Excuse ME, Raymond. It wasn't 'picking on me' you and your asshole friends made my life total hell"
Kidd tried to defend himself.
"Trying to feed me literal trash, destroying my notebooks, using your Pokemon to attack me in the middle of class, oh, how about sucking up to the teacher who ruined my life"
"Whatever" Raymond rolled his eyes. "I've changed from all that, and unlike you, I didn't need therapy to do it because I'm not an emotional fuckup like you"
Kidd glared, fuming like a volcano about to erupt.
He calmly walked up to Raymond, grabbed him by the shirt collar, and shoved him off the dock and into the shallow water.
He looked up in the air as he stormed off the dock and headed to the beach. Tank chased his friend like his life depended on it.
Kidd sat down on the white beach chair and crossed his arms.
"I thought I had finally escaped him…" he muttered under his breath
Tank frowned and sat down in the sand next to him
"Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked as he placed a hoof into the sand.
"Sure…" Kidd sighed in defeat. He looked around the beach— luckily, nobody was paying any attention to them.
"Raymond's been nothing but an asshole to me, but he got worse after he got his first Pokemon"
"Which is?" Tank looked up from his seat.
"An Eevee" Kidd rolled his eyes.
"I wanted one too, but my mom wouldn't let me have any Pokemon. Heck, I was the only one in my entire grade to not have a Pokemon, and it sucked. Even after we moved to Hoenn, she still didn't want me to have a Pokemon. That's why I ran away with you guys"
Tank stayed silent, letting Kidd do all the talking without any interruptions. He brushed one of his hands against his friend's.
"No matter what I did, Raymond's always ripping on me for the dumbest reasons"
Kidd continued to rant. "Heck, he even made fun of me for going to therapy!"
"Why would anyone even do that?"
Tank felt confused. Most animals thought of going to therapy as a good thing.
"I don't know,"
Kidd sighed, almost done with his tirade.
"If you ask me, I think it's because of my species"
"Species?"
Tank felt even more confused. Back in Fortree City, nobody cared what species an animal was as long as they were good to others.
"Yes"
Kidd gritted his teeth
"In my school, I was the only goat. And Raymond found it 'gross' that I wasn't a "normal" species like a cat or a bunny or a bear cub. The feeding trash? Some dumb joke about all goats eating trash. Ripping up my notes? Making sure I wouldn't see my therapist on time. I had only one friend there- a girl named Aloe. But she moved just days after Raymond got his Eevee. At least Pokemon don't care what species their trainer is"
"Yeah, it's pretty nice"
Tank said as he continued to hold Kidd's hoof on his own.
"Hey, you wanna go check out the Slateport market?"
"Sure"
Kidd got off the bench and brushed sand off himself.
"That'd be nice. And, um, thanks for listening to me?"
"Hey, it's no problem dude" Tank assured him.
The two boys looked over at the docks. They watched as Benedict and Flora walked over to them. Both birds carried soft-serve ice cream cones, with light blue crystals in the cream.
"An' that's how I got 'spended for a week!"
Benedict was wrapping up a story he told her.
"But Chad didn't even get detention"
"Still totally worth it"
Flora skipped happily, smiling in between each bite of ice cream. "I love seeing Chad get in trouble!"
"Hey guys!"
Benedict waved to his friends.
"There you are!"
Tank sighed in relief.
"Where'd you run off to?"
"Well, we went to that other dock and got some super good Casteliacones"
Flora showed him the food in her hands.
"And to get away from that cat"
Benedict looked from behind his shoulder. He finished his Casteliacone without getting brain freeze.
"Hey, Tank, is it, do you, like, know where the gym is here?"
Flora changed the subject on a dime.
Tank shook his head
"There's no gym in this town, but there is one up ahead in Mauville City"
"Oooo, really?"
Flora was still as peppy as ever. "I totally gotta go there then!"
She smiled happily and leaned back onto Benedict, winking at him
"Hey, after I earn my badge there, we should totally battle afterwards!"
Benedict grabbed both of her wings
"It's on then!"
"Woohoo!" Flora cheered. She let go of his wings before she took off to the streets
"I"ll see you in Mauville then, Benny!"
"Bye Flora!"
Benedict called out as he waved to her.
"...Seriously, are you sure you weren't dating her?"
Kidd asked him.
"Yeah, Kidd, she's just a really good friend" Benedict explained and winked.
"And 'sides, I'm more into mammals myself"
Kidd's face went red as he grabbed onto his scarf. He wasn't sure if that was just teasing or full on flirting, but it did feel kinda nice to get that kind of attention.
"You guys still wanna go to that market?" Tank asked the group. "I heard energy drinks are half off today!"
Benedict and Kidd nodded in agreement. It sounded like a good idea, they thought. Who knows what fun things they'd find in that market?
The Slateport Market was bustling with activity, plenty of animals buying goods. While the Dewazon Market felt tight and cramped, the Slateport Market felt refreshing and freeing. The boys walked down the middle of the path, looking up and down at each booth they saw. Some booths sold kitschy Hoennian tourist keychains, while others sold stuffed animals of dubious quality, rich filling snacks or colorful hoodies with sayings like "I lost my heart in Hoenn". Each booth owner had a Pokemon next to them.
The boys shrugged. You know what, let's let some Pokemon join in on some fun.
Kidd released his Mudkip and Abra, Tank got out his Treecko and Poochyena, and Benedict went with Combusken and Aron. The Pokemon cheered before eagerly following their trainers down the Slateport path.
Poochyena barked at one of the booths.
"Huh? You think we should go here, boy?"
Tank asked his Pokemon. "Okay, okay. If you say so!"
A cream colored cat stood at the booth Poochyena barked at. She wore a yellow plaid sundress and a big green sunhat. A Zigazagoon happily sat on her right shoulder. She waved to the trio and hollered from her spot.
"Yoohoo, boys!"
The trio ran over to her booth
"It's not Slateport without swimming" she twirled in her spot.
Tank chuckled slightly while Benedict and Kidd stayed quiet. What the heck kind of tagline was that?!
"Oops, my bad" the cat giggled as she pushed some of her auburn hair back behind her shoulders. "I'm still working on a good catchphrase. But, yeah, I'm selling swimsuits if you need some!"
She kneeled down and grabbed several cardboard boxes one by one from underneath the booth.
"Here's what I got for the trunks section this month" she tilted her head to the side.
The boxes were filled to the brim with a variety of swim trunks. Some were solid colors in every shade of the rainbow while others had plenty of patterns. Geometric shapes, flowers, holographic, stripes, waves, even Pokemon patterns!
Benedict grabbed the first one that caught his eye— cerulean with a black Meganium pattern.
Tank dug to the bottom of the box and pulled out a yellow pair with green leaves everywhere.
Kidd, however, was torn between three different patterns: white with black and blue polka dots, grey with blue thick and thin stripes, and black with pastel pink clouds and blue thunderbolts.
He held up the white pair
"Is this a real Gracie pattern?"
"Sorry, hun, it's a bootleg"
the cat frowned and shook her head.
Hm.
Kidd put the dotted pair back in one of the boxes. He felt someone nudge his shoulder and turned around. Abra floated in the air, pointing a long finger at the black and pastel pair.
"You think I should get this one?" he asked her.
Abra nodded twice.
Then it was settled; Kidd got the black and pastel pair. The light shades of pink and blue popped out well against the dark base, he thought.
After the boys paid for their new swimsuits, they quickly left for the Pokemon Center to go change.
They sprinted through the grey sidewalk and eagerly leaped into the sand with their Pokemon.
Poochyena and Aron rolled around in the sand, while Combusken and Mudkip dug together for treasure. Treecko scaled onto Tank's head while Abra tried to dodge the sand being flung into her face.
"I don't know 'bout yall"
Benedict pointed at a group of animals talking in a crowd,
"but I'm gonna go look for some good battlin' over there"
"Sounds fun"
Kidd pulled a bag of sunscreen out of his bag and put some on his face and shoulders. His fur shined in the sun from the light oils.
"Hey, gimme some too!"
Tank yanked the pale green bottle from his friend's hooves and put some on his face, arms and horn.
"Don't y'all think that's a bit too much?" Benedict pointed out. The metallic smell was overwhelming to him, and it looked rather greasy. It would probably end up soaking his feathers.
"No way!"
Tank handed the sunscreen back to Kidd
"I burn really bad. And not the fun kind of burn either"
Kidd put on a pair of black sunglasses
"And besides, Benedict, it's a mammal thing. Trust me. You birds are lucky you don't burn up like-"
The group got interrupted by some loud yelling. They turned around to face the commotion.
"Oi, lad, ya wanna 'ave a cheeky Pokemon fight?"
One of the animals, a burly brown bull wearing a Viking helmet and plain black swim trunks, hollered to the trio.
Benedict's accent changed on a dime as he cracked his knuckles.
"Depends. Did the Kapp'n go ta bloody Alola ya cheeky tart?"