Route 110: A timeworn path where nature remains untouched. Several dirt roads trail this route, all eventually zigzagging their way to Mauville City. Many athletic animals come here for its main attraction, the Seaside Cycling Road. Built just ten years ago, the Cycling Road is a project of the Mauville mayor. Its goal is to provide fast travel while letting the wild Pokemon stay in their natural habitat.
The boys headed into the blue and grey building in front of them. The lobby was a calming shade of blue, except for the grey vending machine located near the entrance.
They walked to the counter
"We'd like to go through, please"
Tank said as he placed a hoof on the counter.
"Yeah, no can do"
The other animal, a brown bull with dark brown hair and an unimpressed face, shook his head.
"This road's for bicyclists only. No bikes, no entry"
The boys looked at each other in concern.
The cycling road looked much easier to travel on than the wild trails below. Sure, the bikes would be a little pricy, but it'd be much safer. Let's check...
"Can't we just rent some bikes for the day?"
Benedict asked the bull at the counter.
The bull snorted in ugly laughter, like he was congested for weeks on end. He slammed a hoof against the counter
"That's the best thing I've heard all day"
Benedict death glared at him, unimpressed with the condescending clerk.
"No" the bovine bluntly explained to the group. "I can rent bikes out, sure, but I don't rent to minors"
Kidd raised an eyebrow
"Minors?" he snarked. "Um. Do you see any pickaxes on us?!"
Tank facepalmed from what Kidd had the nerve to say.
The bull growled in anger. He slammed a hoof against the counter, pointed at the door and roared
"Get outta here, will you?!"
The boys rolled their eyes at him as they stormed outside and back onto the trails. What crawled up his ass and died there today, they thought.
"I don't think snarking at him helped us out"
Benedict pointed out.
Kidd angrily rolled his eyes as he stomped down the grass
"Well that's HIS problem! Who is he to tell us we can't rent bikes for an hour?!"
They stopped in the middle of the dirt trails, eying up the triple fork in the road. The road on the left had fresh Pokemon footprints in varying sizes, while the middle and right roads looked more abandoned.
"I know it sucks, but I got an idea"
Tank said as he scanned the dividing trails.
"So. These paths all go to Mauville, right?"
"Yeah?"
Benedict was confused.
"Well"
Tank explained his idea. He pointed at several trails nearby.
"Hear me out. What if we each went on a different path?"
Kidd raised an eyebrow
"Why though?"
Tank shrugged
"It'd be fun to see which path gets us to Mauville faster. Also, we have phones on hand, so if we're lost we can find each other"
Everyone looked at each other. On one hand, these roads did look long and dangerous. Who knows what wild Pokemon inhabited them? But, on the other hand, they were all Pokemon trainers. They'd be protected fine enough. Their Pokemon could handle anything.
After checking their phone batteries, the boys made their separate ways on each trail. Fate was on their side as the trails narrowed in on them.
—
The rural trail felt much better than expected. The sun felt pleasantly warm instead of scorching hot. Kidd noted how it looked like several other animals had already traveled this way. He was just glad his outfit didn't get ruined at all; no dirt on his boots, tears on his clothes or his scarf coming undone.
Kidd stopped at a large wooden sign. He squinted as he read the hastily scribbled message in bright blue ink: "Team Pastel wuz here, Team Cottage r a buncha dorks!"
He rolled his eyes and scoffed at the shoddy writing. Backwards letters, poor spelling. He's seen little kids with better writing than that, he noted to himself.
He traveled a few feet down the path, suddenly feeling uneasy with each step. He stopped, pulled out his Poke Balls and tossed them upwards
"Come on out, girls!"
Aquarius, Libra and Aries chirped out as they were released.
The fresh air felt nice against their skin.
"Let's stay together, everyone" Kidd held his hoof out.
"Mudkip, mud!"
"Pika pi!"
"Abra, abra!"
The Pokemon cried out as they placed their paws on his hoof.
The group walked through the small trail, staying on the dirt path instead of running into the thick and thorny bushes.
They stopped at a small shore and looked ahead.
The sand was a dark shade of brown, a few mangled roots popping out and tangled with each other.
Clear blue water stood still in front of them. Several wild Magikarps leaped from the water, splashing happily in the middle of the lake.
Kidd thought to himself. This looked like the only way to get through this part of the route, and they were too far in to turn back now.
Mudkip was too small to carry him over the water's surface, Abra's telekinetic forces were too weak to carry two other Pokemon and a teenage boy at the same time, and Pikachu most likely needed a surfboard to get across.
Hey, wait a minute!
Kidd went behind a tree and made sure nobody would see him. He changed into his swim trunks and closed his bag as tightly as possible, dreading any chance of water soaking into his bag and destroying his belongings.
"Okay, everyone, I have an idea" Kidd explained to the group.
His Pokemon huddled around him, looking up towards their trainer.
He pointed at the lake in front of them
"I'm thinking that we'll swim through this lake."
"Pika?"
Aries frowned and tilted her head.
Kidd kneeled down to her eye level
"Don't worry, Aries, you can ride on my shoulder!"
"Pika, pikachu!"
Aries squeaked as she hopped up onto Kidd's left shoulder.
Aquarius dipped her paws into the shallow water. The cool water felt refreshing on her skin.
She wagged her tail around, splashing some water at Libra.
Libra held her hand out and stopped the water in the air with her telekinesis. The psychic type threw the water back into the lake with a huge splash, making Aquarius laugh in joy.
Kidd slowly dipped his feet into the water. He shuddered from how cold it felt, but took a few minutes to get used to the temperature. At least he wasn't freezing solid…
"I can do this" he thought to himself. "It's just water. You've swam before multiple times. At least it's better than facing Raymond again…"
The goat took a deep breath in and lunged into the deeper part of the water. Aries clinged tighter to her owner as she swatted away the water with her tail.
Aquarius paddled through the lake as she caught up to her owner, while Libra calmly hovered herself in the air.
Kidd saw something rather peculiar in the middle of the lake; a patch of land with a tall tree growing straight from it. He swam as fast as he could towards the land, slowing down as he felt mud and soil beneath his feet.
He dragged himself out of the water and onto the small shore. Kidd groaned as he panted heavily.
Aries hopped off his shoulder, curiously her tail twitching
"Pika pi?"
"We'll keep going, girls" the goat explained to his party. "If I don't take a break now, I'd drown before we get there"
While Kidd sat down to grab a water bottle from his messenger bag, the three Pokemon found themselves intrigued with the large tree.
Aquarius looked at the tree.
She rubbed her head fin against the wood and chirped happily, enjoying how rough the bark felt.
Libra parted some of the tree branches to look inside.
"What's this?" she thought to herself. It looked to be delicious berries! The psychic type gathered an armful of berries and hovered down to her trainer, gently placing the fruits next to him. Kidd finished drinking from his water bottle, placed it back inside his bag, and picked up the berries. He munched on a few Pecha berries.
Aries climbed up the tree and hopped across several branches. She stopped in her tracks when she heard faint buzzing against her ears. The mouse Pokemon brushed it off as some weird interference, hopping along anyways on the branches.
"Pika?"
The buzzing grew unbearably louder.
Aries stopped on a lower branch and frowned.
"Chu?"
Radio static assaulted her poor ears.
"Pika pika PIKA!" she cried as she covered her ears from the terrible noise.
She hopped out of the tree and sprinted towards her trainer.
Kidd looked over at his Pokemon.
"Aries? What's—?"
He looked over at the tree.
"….wrong."
His eyes widened once he saw the cause of commotion.
Five furious Pokemon buzzed harshly as they faced down trainer and Pokemon. These Pokemon were metallic grey spheres with huge magnets hanging from their left and right sides. They all hovered in the air in perfect rhythm. Their eyes glared coldly.
"Magnemiiiiiiittttteee…." they droned out.
Kidd scoffed and hollered at the Pokemon
"Come on, all of you, scram"
The Magnemite collectively refused to move an inch. Instead, they hovered closer.
"I said beat it!" Kidd yelled again.
But the Magnemite refused to listen.
"Fine, we'll battle"
Kidd groaned.
"Aquarius. I choose you"
Aquarius stopped playing with the tree and ran towards her trainer. She turned around to face down all five Magnemite.
"Mud, mud, KIP!"
"Aquarius, use Mud Slap on them all!"
Aquarius grabbed as much dirt and mud as she could in her mouth. She shot them out from her mouth, each Magnemite getting hit with the earth. Two of the Magnemite had their eyes covered, while the other three had mud splattered all over their bodies.
"Woohoo, good job Aquarius!"
Kidd cheered on his Pokemon.
Four of the Magnemites screeched odd sound waves from its bodies, but Aquarius looked unimpressed.
The last Magnemite threw its body towards Mudkip. She blocked it with a loud smack from her head fin. The Magnemite ricocheted backwards and landed against the tree with a heavy smack. It shook its body twice before hovering back to the tree.
Libra and Aries leaped into battle, standing tightly next to their fellow Pokemon.
Kidd had to rethink his strategy.
With these two by her side, fighting them off would be so much easier!
"Libra! Use Confusion on the closest Magnemite! Aquarius, Mud Slap again! Aries, Quick Attack!"
Aries leaped up in the air. She quickly dashed on top of one of the Magnemites, then attacked another one with a tackle as quick as lightning. It didn't look like much damage, but the Magnemite looked temporarily stunned.
Two of the Magnemite lunged themselves in a mindless tackle.
Libra calmly shot a purple telekinetic force at the Magnemite to her left. She focused her mind on spinning the Magnemite in its place, stopping her force when Magnemite's pupil bounced around like a rubber ball.
Aquarius used her tail fin to shoot two fistfuls of mud at the other Magnemite, not stopping until its eye was tightly shut.
"Doing good, everyone!" Kidd hollered.
"Aquarius! Water Gun this time! Libra, Confusion again! Aries, Electro Ball!"
Three of the Magnemite aimed their magnets at Aquarius. They each shot out a jolt of electricity, but tensed up as the electricity moved away from the water type. Instead, the electricity was absorbed by Aries' tail.
"Pika-!" Aries grinned excitedly. A gold yellow ball of light formed above her head. She leaped up and jumped inside the ball.
"CHUUUUUUUUUUU"
She screeched as she darted across the air, landing herself against the three Magnemite that dare attack her friend.
The electric ball exploded like a bomb, several sparks flinging into the water surrounding them. After the explosion faded away, the three troublesome Magnemite buzzed as they stopped levitating. They each fell with a huge thud, unable to move an inch.
Aquarius felt awe from how Aries attacked with both strength and dexterity. With her ability by her side, she wouldn't have to worry about any electric attacks her way.
It was showtime.
Aquarius hopped up on Pikachu's back and glared at the remaining Magnemite.
"Muuuuuuddddd"
She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply through her nose. A large ball of water formed in her mouth, growing bigger as her lungs filled with air. She opened her eyes and screamed
"KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPP"
as she shot two strong beams of water at the Magnemite on the left.
As the first Magnemite went down, Aquarius hopped three times onto the remaining stream of water. While delicately balanced on the watery tightrope, she spewed another blast of water to the last Magnemite's eye.
Magnemite closed its eye and shook the water off, using the last of its strength to stay afloat in the air.
Aquarius leaped from the last of her water gun.
She lowered herself and headbutted Magnemite back into the tree.
Magnemite hummed weakly as the impact forced it to faint on the spot.
Kidd couldn't believe it what he just saw. His eyes sparkled in delight; Aquarius was getting better from her contest loss!
"That was WONDERFUL, Aquarius" he gushed. "I'm so proud of you!"
Libra and Aries joined in on the cheer, wagging their tails hard and bouncing in their spots.
Aquarius's cheeks turned pink. To think that Kidd had first rejected her when they met, but now saying he was proud of her?! It made her want to burst into tears of joy. She shouted happily
"Mud-mudKIP!"
She stood still as her entire body turned white. While her body stayed white, it changed form. Her cheek fins grew thinner while her head fin flared out wider. Her front legs grew from short and stubby to flat and wide flippers. Her back legs widened out to support her growing weight. Her tail fin split dramatically into two.
The white light exploded across the small island. A new and stronger Aquarius stood in front of everyone. Her body was still the same shade of bright purple, but her cheeks were now golden yellow. She cried out with a clap of her flippers
"Marsh-TOMP!"
Kidd gasped in surprise. One small tear shed from his eye.
"Aquarius…."
He held his arms out so she could run into a joyous embrace
"You really did it…."
"Marshtomp, marsh!"
she cooed happily. Her hug, while comforting, felt suffocating as she clinged tightly to her trainer.
"So" Kidd asked his Pokemon. "Are we ready to go forward?"
All three Pokemon nodded diligently. Aries saluted her trainer.
Kidd leaped into the water with another cannonball. Aquarius followed her trainer into the water with a belly flop. She loved how the water felt against her newly evolved body.
Aries bounced onto Aquarius' back.
She wrapped her chubby arms around Marshtomp's shoulders and looked on into the horizons.
Libra put on her trainer's bag and followed them in the air.
Mauville City felt just minutes away, everyone thought as they continued to journey through the rest of the lake.
—
Tank stopped in his tracks and hid behind a large boulder. He looked at the unruly trail in front of him; a large swarm of Pokemon gathered together. He estimated how many there were— at least a dozen! They somewhat resembled Pikachu, with their beady black eyes and stubby proportions, but not quite. Their fur was a light cream shade instead of golden yellow. Some of the Pokemon had red ears and tails, while others had the same markings but in blue.
A picture of them would be awesome to show his friends!
He pulled his Rotom Phone out, but heard it buzz slightly and not turn on. What the heck was up with that, he thought. It's interfering with something…
Tank brushed it off as he hid behind some rocks. He watched the mouse Pokemon in silence. They ran into a circle and skipped around a bizarre looking rock. The rock had a shiny white pearl placed on the middle, balanced perfectly as it should be. Yellow sparks fluttered around in the air as the Pokemon continued to dance. But what does this ritual mean…
A small green blob Pokemon inched towards Tank's side.
It nuzzled its forehead against his leg and squeaked slightly
"Gulpin, gul…"
"Oh, hey little buddy"
Tank whispered as he leaned down to the Pokemon's eye level.
"Do you have a trainer?"
Gulpin shook its head no.
It pointed one of its stubby hands at the dancing Pokemon.
"Are they your friends?" Tank asked Gulpin.
Gulpin's cheeks puffed up angrily as it shook its head no.
"GulPIN! Pin, pin, gulp, Gulpin, GUL!"
"You said they stole that pearl from you?"
Tank whispered back.
Gulpin nodded quickly, tears forming at the corners of its eyes
"Geez. That's not very nice"
Tank frowned.
"Here. I'll deal with them"
He patted Gulpin on the head and ran out to the trail. He stood in front of the Pokemon with his arms crossed in disapproval.
"HEY!" he hollered at the group of Pokemon.
The electric types stopped their cheer in their tracks and looked at the trainer.
"That pearl's not yours"
Tank firmly scolded them, like a parent catching their child take a cookie from the cookie jar.
"Give it back now"
Some of the mouse Pokemon shook their heads no. Others burst into obviously fake tears, trying to gain sympathy from the trainer in front of them. One of the blue-marked Pokemon hopped over and guarded the pearl with its life.
One of the red Pokemon ran in front of its friends. It angrily pouted at the trainer.
"Come on." Tank sighed before scolding the Pokemon. "Just give Gulpin back its pearl"
The red mouse Pokemon closed its eyes, turned its chin up and scoffed in disrespect.
"So that's how you wanna act out"
Tank sighed in frustration. He grabbed his Poke Ball and released one of his Pokemon
"Poochyena! Help me out here!"
Poochyena growled energetically as he stood in front of his trainer.
Gulpin crept up behind the rock as it leaned in to watch the scene unfold before its eyes.
"Let's make a deal" Tank explained. "We're going to battle. If we win, you have to give us back Gulpin's pearl. If you win, I'll leave you alone. Is that fair?"
"Plusle, plus!" the red tipped Pokemon barked out, pouting angrily at the idea of losing its pearl.
Tank popped the collar of his shirt and pointed at the wild Pokemon
"Poochyena! Use Bite!"
"POOCH!"
Poochyena's fangs turned white.
He snarled and charged towards the electric type, landing a strong bite to its side.
Plusle yelped in surprise as the bite dented into its skin. The electric type jumped up onto its feet and shook itself off.
It held its paws up and shot several star shaped rays at Poochyena. The stars exploded into dust as they hit the ground, pushing Poochyena away.
"Fire Fang!"
Poochyena's entire mouth turned red as he lunged at Plusle. The dark type spewed small flames from his mouth as he bit again at Plusle's body.
"Plusle plus-LE" Plusle yipped as the embers flew around its body.
The mouse Pokemon coated its body with electricity and tackled Poochyena head on, forcing him to skid back against the ground and into a small shrub.
"Bite again!"
Poochyena barked loudly as he burst out of the bush. He darted back to the trail and bit Plusle on the head.
He lowered his head and headbutted Plusle back against the rock, forcing Plusle to faint from the attack.
Poochyena sat down and howled in victory.
Tank patted Poochyena on the head and stared down the wild Pokemon. He held his hoof out.
"Come on. Give me the pearl"
While most of the electric-types pouted and looked away from the trainer,
one of the blue-tipped Pokemon picked up the pearl anyways.
"Minun!"
The Pokemon cried out its name as it handed the pearl back.
Tank nodded as he took the gemstone in his hands
"Thank you. I'm glad to see somebody knows what a fair battle is"
While Minun hopped away to the rest of its clan, Tank headed back to the rocks. He kneeled down and presented the pearl to Gulpin
"Here you go!"
Gulpin popped its mouth happily and wagged its head feather around. It latched onto the pearl with its little hands. The blob Pokemon looked up at Tank and nudged up against its leg.
"Huh?"
Tank asked the small Pokemon. "Would you….like me to catch you?"
"Gulpin, gul!"
"Well, okay!" Tank smiled fondly as he grabbed an empty Poke Ball. He held the ball down to Gulpin's eye level and lightly tapped its head feather.
His Rotom Phone dinged after Gulpin was successfully captured.
"Gulpin has been registered to your Pokedex! Gulpin, the stomach Pokemon. A poison type. Most of Gulpin's body is made up of its stomach; its heart and brain small in comparison. Gulpin that reside near water have an uncanny ability to grow pearls in their stomachs"
Okay, now that made more sense, Tank thought as he watched the Poke Ball disappear from his hooves.
His Rotom Phone rang from his pocket. Tank swiped right, knowing it was Tom Nook on the other line.
"Hello, hello!" Tom Nook greeted the trainer. Several Pokemon ran around in the lab as he adjusted the camera. A Taillow perched on his head, while two Wurmple crawled up the tanuki's arms. A Whismur headbutted Nook on his arm.
"I just received your Gulpin, yes yes. How's your journey coming along?"
"Pretty good"
Tank explained.
"I caught that Gulpin after helping it get its pearl back from some thieves!"
"Ah, yes. I saw the pearl shining in its hands. Very nice"
Tom Nook nodded twice.
"Are Benedict and Kidd with you right now?"
"No, we went on different paths"
Tank said. "But we're all on Route 110. Also my Treecko evolved!"
"Excellent to hear, yes yes"
Tom Nook smiled fondly.
"Let me know when you three reach Mauville. My wife's business is on Route 117 if you wish to say hello to her"
"Sure, I could do that!"
Tank nodded. But just as he was about to hear what Tom Nook would say, his phone reception cut into harsh static.
He looked over and frowned. Two of the mouse Pokemon from the earlier swarm stood in front of him, holding their paws like they were a couple.
"Plusle, plus!"
"Minun, min!"
"Um, do you need something from me?"
Tank asked the two electric types.
The Pokemon lowered their heads and bowed apologetically.
"Oh!"
He realized what was going on.
"Are you two really sorry for what you did to Gulpin?"
"Plus plus!"
"Min min"
"Welllllll" Tank put a hoof on the back of his lower neck as he looked away. "I kinda already caught Gulpin, and he's at a Pokemon Lab right now"
Plusle and Minun sweetly batted their eyelashes, their eyes sparkling bright. The sheer cuteness got to Tank's heart like a rusty dagger.
"Awww. I can't say no to those faces!" the rhino grabbed two empty Poke Balls.
"Here. If I catch both of you adorable monsters, you can apologize to Gulpin at the Lab"
He held up both Poke Balls and watched as the balls absorbed both Plusle and Minun. Now, with that problem out of the way, he could finally meet back with his friends and head towards Mauville.
—
Benedict whistled to himself as he walked through the grassy trails. A green and yellow canine Pokemon sprinted through the long grass. Small yellow sparks flew off its body as it chased after something unseen to the eye.
"Heck yeah. I gotta catch whatever THAT is" Benedict thought as he followed the unfamiliar Pokemon into the taller grass. His loose ponytail came undone as he ran closer to the dog.
The canine Pokemon saw a light blue steel beam in front of its trail. It stopped in its tracks and turned around with a loud growl. It stepped its right paws back in the dirt as it glared down the stubborn trainer. Its eyes and fangs were a bright shade of white.
Benedict grabbed his Rotom Dex and scanned the Pokemon.
"Electrike, the Lightning Pokemon. An electric type. Electrike runs faster than the animal eye can follow. The friction from running is converted into electricity, which is then stored in this Pokemon's fur"
"An electric type, huh?"
Benedict muttered to himself as he dug around in his backpack.
"That'd be awesome for type coverage…"
He grabbed a Poke Ball and held it out in front of him
"Jojo! Come on OUT!"
Combusken leaped forward and cried out his name. He sliced his claws in the air and posed in front of his trainer.
"Jojo! Use Ember to blaze up the grass"
Jojo took a deep breath in and screeched as he shot several sparks of fire from his beak. Some of the flames landed on the dry grass while other flames pelted against the electric type's body.
Electrike tried to dodge the flames, but got caught in the after sparks of the attack.
Its body glowed a vivid shade of yellow as it growled in revenge. Electrike sprinted through the trail as it threw its entire body against Combusken.
Jojo groaned as some of the sparks flickered and jolted into his feathers. The electric shocks felt irritating against his skin, penetrating past the feathers.
"Jojo! Double Kick to the chest!"
Combusken leaped into the air and nimbly balanced himself on one leg. He kicked Electrike twice, making the lightning Pokemon fly back into the grass.
Electrike roared and shot a yellow ball of electricity from its mouth. The ball lunged at Jojo and collided against his body, trapping him in his spot.
Benedict cringed from how fast the waves of thunder were against his Pokemon.
"Oh come on. Jojo! Kick away the thunder and use Ember again!"
Before Combusken could attack, Electrike sprinted as fast as it could and tackled its opponent hard. The fire type winced from the damage against its torso.
"Hey, Jojo! We almost got this! Double Kick again!"
"Commm-BUSKEN!"
Combusken cried out and landed two more kicks against Electrike's body.
Electrike brushed the kicks off like nothing. Its body turned yellow again as it dashed closer to Combusken. Yellow sparks flew off its body as it landed its' most powerful headbutt.
Combusken growled weakly as he was swept off his feet. He fell unconscious as his body landed against the dirt with a thud.
"Oh, ARE YOU KIDDING ME!"
Benedict hollered as he facepalmed in shame. He returned Jojo to his ball, looking away from the wild Pokemon.
"Sorry Jojo, let's rest up for the day."
"But who do I send out now? Oh, right! Kenshiro knows a Ground type move. He'll be super helpful here!"
He grabbed another Poke Ball and tossed it in the air
"Kenshiro! Help us out!"
Aron hollered excitedly and bounced up and down, eager to battle alongside his trainer.
"Now, Kenshiro! Use Mud Slap!"
Aron quickly dug his paws into the trail. He growled happily as he flung the clumps of dirt into his enemy's face.
Electrike closed its eyes and tried to spit out the disgusting dirt, but gritted its teeth as the sediment rubbed up against his tongue and between his teeth.
The electric type tried to tackle Kenshiro, but landed face first in the dirt instead.
Benedict covered his beak with his wing as he tried to stifle a laugh.
"Serves it right for knocking out my Pokemon!"
He shook his head back. Right, still battling.
"Kenshiro! Trap it with Rock Tomb!"
Aron stood upwards on his back legs. He held up his stubby legs and summoned several boulders.
"Arrrrrr-OOOOOOOOOON!"
He roared as he hurled the stones Electrike's way. Some of the rocks crumbled into pebbles as they slammed against the ground, while others formed a circular formation around Electrike.
Electrike growled under its breath as the dust flew into its face again. It bit at the rocks, trying to break them away for freedom, but felt itself weaker as more sediment flew into its face.
This was his chance.
Benedict grabbed a Poke Ball in his right hand. He took a step back in the field and leaned back towards the cycling road. The bird looked on in determination. He pulled his arm back and pelted the ball in an overhand throw, like the baseball pitchers he had seen back home in Unova. The red and white Poke Ball whooshed through the air with a sharp curveball.
The ball loudly smacked against Electrike's forehead, forcefully absorbing it inside the ball. The Poke Ball shook three times before dinging successfully.
Benedict kneeled down as he petted his Pokemon on the head
"Y'all were AWESOME out there, Kenshiro!"
"Aron, aron!" Kenshiro cooed happily as he nuzzled his head against his trainer's wing.
Benedict grabbed the used Poke Ball and looked down. His wing feathers jolted up slightly from the static emitting the Poke Ball.
"Think I'll name' ya Freiza!"
He released his new Pokemon from his ball.
"Welcome to the crew!"
"Elec?"
Freiza tilted his head in confusion. He closed his eyes in disgust as he spit out all the dirt and soil.
Kenshiro waddled over to Freiza and chirped at him. Benedict kneeled down and watched his two Pokemon talk with each other.
"Hey Freiza! You're one of us now!"
"One of…..us?"
"Yeah! We're a whole group of strong Pokemon!"
"Strong?"
"Yep! We battle together and our trainer loves when we win our battles"
"Oh, okay….He's not mad that I knocked out that Jojo guy?"
"No way, Freiza! If he was mad, he wouldn't have caught you in the first place!"
"Cool"
"Hey. Guys?" Benedict crossed his arms as he approached both Pokemon. "Yknow we gotta get travelin' soon"
"Aron!"
"Elec-TRIKE!"
Benedict returned both Pokemon to their respective Poke Balls. He threw his backpack over his shoulders and headed down the rest of the underpass.
While the steel roads shielded him from the sun, the loud noises of bicyclists battling felt extremely distracting, but not for long.
—
Thirty minutes had passed since he left the noisy underpass. Benedict stopped at a small patch of soil. His stomach growled loudly as he grabbed every berry from the trees— some were bright red Leppa berries, while others were elongated and colored blush pink. While he devoured several Leppa berries, a voice called out behind him.
"Benedict?! HEY, BENEDICT!"
The chicken turned around, his mouth still stuffed with Leppa berries. He forced himself to swallow them all, gagging slightly from the size.
"THERE you are!"
Tank cried out as he ran up to Benedict. He grabbed his friend by the arms and tightly hugged him.
"Are you okay?!"
"Yeah… Yeah, I'm fine…. my path went fine"
Benedict squawked as he felt trapped.
"…Now. can y'all let go of me?!"
"Aww, alright"
Tank stuck his tongue out before letting go.
"I caught some new Pokemon"
"Hey, so did I!" Benedict said. He grabbed a Poke Ball and threw it in the air. Electrike popped out and growled playfully as he held his head up high
"His name's Freiza"
"Oh cool!"
Tank looked down at the small dog.
"I caught some Pokemon too, but they're at the lab right now"
"What kinds?" Benedict asked his friend.
Tank flipped through his phone to the Pokedex app. He showed his friend the Rotom Phone screen
"A Gulpin, a Plusle and a Minun!"
"Sweet!"
Benedict grinned. "Oh, hey, I found some berries by the way!"
He showed Tank the armful of berries he just picked.
"Looks tasty, and I'm kinda hungry, but" Tank put a hoof to his chin. "I kinda wanna wait for Kidd to show up first"
"Fair enough"
Benedict shrugged.
An Abra floated up to the duo. Not just any Abra, though. It was Libra. The duo could tell by the messenger bag she carried in her hands. That must mean….yes, he's close!
The boys turned around to see Kidd angrily stomping their way, and it didn't take a psychic type to figure out why. He looked completely disheveled. His hair was damp and stringy instead of fluffy and neatly styled. His arms and legs were covered in mud, and his swim trunks had small tears near the hem. His Pokemon stood close to his side, not even bothered with the dirt on them.
"Please tell me SOMEBODY has a towel!"
Kidd groaned, still cringing from how disgusting he felt.
"I do!"
Tank said as he pulled a navy blue beach towel from his backpack. He handed it to Kidd, who quickly snatched it up.
Kidd angrily dried himself off, muttering as the dirt finally came off of him.
"Thanks"
he said as he handed the towel back to Tank.
"It's no problem!" Tank assured him.
Benedict looked over at Kidd's Pokemon
"Aquarius evolved? Sweet!"
"Yeah, she did" Kidd sighed. "It was amazing, but this day got ruined by that disgusting shore I just crawled out of"
He stormed off to change back into his street clothes.
When Kidd came back, he appeared much calmer. He still looked disheveled; jacket unbuttoned, scarf not tied, and his striped shirt untucked
"So, I was thinking" he told his friends "We should stay the night in Mauville"
"Sounds good to me!" Tank nodded. "I've gotta change up my party anyways"
"And Mauville sounds fun!" Benedict agreed.
"And, uh, not just for the gym anyways"
It was settled. The boys would finish the day off in Mauville City.
With the sun setting in the distance, the boys walked down the short brick path leading into the outskirts. What awaits everyone in the largest city of the Hoenn region?