"Ugh, yeah"
Benedict sighed as he stood up and put his backpack back on.
"So, um, what do y'all wanna do today? I was gonna go take on the gym"
"I'm not sure, but" Tank stuck his tongue out as he checked his Rotom Phone. No new messages.
"I wanna get breakfast first"
Kidd yawned loudly. He muttered under his breath as he dumped out the contents of his messenger bag— spare clothes, empty Poke Balls, keychains, cologne, hair products.
"Oh greaaaaaat" he rolled his eyes.
Benedict and Tank turned around to face their friend.
"I'm out of hairspray," Kidd sighed as he put some of his things back.
Some of his hair fell into his eyes, while the rest fell limp against the back of his neck
"Now I look like a trainwreck" he complained.
"Kidd, you look fine"
Tank placed a hoof on his friend's shoulder, winking at him
"And besides, if you really need more, you could just go to the Poke Mart"
Kidd looked up at his friend, choking as his cheeks glowed pink
"Now just wait a minute." he gasped. "Tank, you think I look fine?!"
Benedict closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his beak
"Ugh, get a room you two" he deadpanned.
Tank stuck his tongue out and laughed
"Awww is somebody jealous?" he taunted.
"What? No I ain't!" Benedict shouted back, crossing his arms under his chest and angrily blushing.
He looked away from his friends, thinking "what a reach. Why would I be jealous of a little flirting?!".
Kidd covered his mouth, trying his best to stifle a laugh
"Suuuuuuure. Just look at your face already!"
Benedict facepalmed, shaking his head and sighing.
"Can we just get breakfast already"
"Oh. Sure!"
Tank moved his hoof off Kidd's shoulder and threw his backpack on.
The group headed down the tiled path and towards the stairs from last night. A purple squirrel and brown tiger looked over at them, wondering who these kids were.
After passing through the second floor, the boys looked around the ground floor of Mauville. Everything looked the same from last night; same businesses, floors, decore, slow music on the radio. A group of Pikachu bounced down the halls, their tails wagging in the air.
Half of the businesses were closed early, probably so residents could stay up all night partying.
One of the businesses caught their eye; a pink and teal kiosk with hibiscus flowers hanging from a large sign and cherry blossom flowers delicately placed on the counter. The sign above read "BUBBLES' BEAMIN' BOBA".
What the heck, let's get something from here, they thought to themselves.
A brown hippo waved from the counter. She wore a purple shirt and straight dark hair in a low bun.
"You guys want some boba?!" she hollered to everyone.
"Yeah, we'd like some please!"
Tank yelled back, one hoof next to his mouth and the other waving back.
He dashed to the counter and placed one hoof on the counter, then pointed at the menu.
"I'll get a strawberry milk tea with boba and chocolate protein powder, please"
he turned to face his friends
"What do you guys wanna get?!"
"Cold brew!"
Kidd yelled.
Benedict waved
"Blue Alolan!"
Tank pulled out his wallet
"Oh, and a cold brew and a blue Alolan for my friends. Also boba for theirs too"
"I gotcha, hon"
the hippo winked as she wrote down the drink names.
A few minutes passed before the drinks were ready and paid for. Tank effortlessly carried all three drinks as he walked back to his friends. After everyone grabbed their drinks…
"So where do you guys wanna go next?"
he asked everyone.
Kidd pushed his messy hair out of his eyes
"Ideally, somewhere for a haircut. But I'm fine with anything, really."
"That…..doesn't really help us out much" Tank chuckled a little, stirring the boba around with his straw. "You got anything, Benedict?"
Benedict slurped down half of his drink. It was a miracle he didn't start choking on the pearls
"Yeah, how 'bout the Poke Mart?" he pointed out.
"Not a bad idea"
Tank said before sipping from his drink.
"Sure, whatever"
Kidd sighed, still messing with his hair.
The group headed through the hallways and towards the courtyard, finishing their boba and stopping near the grass. Two animals faced off against each other, their Pokemon standing in front of their trainers. Something felt oddly familiar about the trainers…
"Ziggy, use Snarl!"
"Moriarty, Swords Dance!"
A Zigzagoon growled loudly and bit at the air, while a Kirlia performed an energetic dance with swords forming around itself.
While Tank and Kidd went inside the Poke Mart, Benedict was stuck in his spot, amazed by the way the two Pokemon fought in perfect sync with their trainer's commands.
"Moriarty. Secret Power!"
Kirlia's legs glowed a bright shade of pink. It leaped into the air and slammed a strong kick against the Zigzagoon's body, knocking it out in one hit.
The bear's eyes widened. He kneeled down in shame and returned Zigzagoon to its ball.
Benedict ran into the Poke Mart, making sure nobody had seen him watch the battle. The Poke Mart felt uncannily clean; everything organized perfectly, not a single light busted out, the floors were shined to perfection. Only a few animals were inside, all minding their own business.
He headed to one of the shelves; this shelf lined to the ceiling with countless books. Manga, college level textbooks, novels in every genre imaginable, even smut!… He pulled a random book off one of the top shelves.
The book's cover had pastel pink and blue stripes, while the title read "So You Wanna Change your Pokemon's Nickname"
He thought to himself as he flipped through the pages. But what if a trainer wanted to change their name instead….?
A-ha!
He stopped somewhere in the middle of the book, reading the page carefully
'When a trainer changes their name, whether due to trauma, legal reasons or reinventing themselves, their Pokemon still knows it's them, as long as the trainer tells their Pokemon the new name. Pokemon are smarter and accepting than some trainers think they know"
Benedict sighed in relief as he closed the book and placed it back on the shelf. He had to remember that for later
"Hey, there you are!" Tank called out to his friend. He ran up to him, carrying an armful of books.
"Look what I found!"
"What is it?"
Benedict looked up and down the stack of books.
"Manga!"
Tank eagerly showed him one of the books; the cover depicted a tired grey wolf wearing a school uniform. He flipped through the pile to show the other two volumes; one showed two strange creatures standing in front of a yellow tent, and the last one showed a cat girl riding a rocketboard in space.
"I'm getting Cherry Star Wolf, Desert Island Diary, and Rock Me to my Heart!"
"Is Rock Me To My Heart the one with the Princess of Rocketboarding?"
Benedict asked as he looked at the book Tank showed him.
"Yeah, but—"
Tank got interrupted.
Kidd hollered from another part in the store
"Guys?! I need a little help!"
The two boys ran to where Kidd was stuck.
They stopped in their tracks and saw why he called them over. Benedict facepalmed while Tank tried not to laugh.
Kidd leaned back in his spot, carrying several armfuls of Poke Mart bags.
"Can one of you guys reach into my bag and pull out a Poke Ball for me?"
While Kidd struggled to stay upright,
Benedict and Tank whispered to each other
"Can't he just put the stuff down already?"
"Probably not. If you ask me, he probably got a LOT of fragile stuff"
"Yea, that'd kinda make sense. I don't trust myself w that kinda stuff, so how 'bout y'all do it?"
"Well at least you're honest about it!"
"Sure, I'll do it"
Tank walked over and opened up Kidd's messenger bag. He rummaged through each and every pocket before pulling out a Poke Ball. He tossed it in the air, unsurprised to see Libra pop out.
"Abra?"
Libra tilted her head as she hovered in the air. The psychic Pokemon looked at her trainer, frowning slightly.
Kidd grunted as he stumbled backwards, still holding onto the tower of goods
"Please?!"
Libra took a deep breath in. This really wasn't how she wanted to spend her morning, but it was what her trainer wanted. She held her hands out and used her psychic powers to levitate several bags her way.
"T-thanks guys…"
Kidd grunted as he sighed in relief.
Benedict grabbed one of the bags and rummaged through; geez, did Kidd really need all this stuff right now?! Keychains and buttons, blue moon-shaped studded earrings, expensive looking hairspray, glittery pens, earbuds, a plain white leather jacket. Then again, the Poke Mart bags did look fuller on the outside. Must've been stuffed with tissue paper...
He pulled out something for himself; a pack of black bobby pins. Hm, that'd be kinda helpful for the future, he thought as he hid the bobby pins under his hoodie.
The group made their way to the counter, placing all of Kidd's bags down with a thud. A cream rabbit walked up to the counter. Her ears and hair were dark blue, while her cheeks were covered in freckles. The nametag on her uniform read 'Pippy'.
She frowned as she pulled out a black barcode scanner, shaking her head as she pulled everything out of the bags.
"All this stuff and nothing for your friends, huh?"
Pippy chuckled, scanning barcode by barcode.
Kidd rolled his eyes, not wanting to humor her.
He paid for everything without saying a word, then walked to the entrance of the Poke Mart.
"Abra?" Libra set the bags down.
"Hmm, yeah" Kidd sighed as he removed all the packaging, loading up his messenger bag up with new merchandise "I shouldwait on them"
He dug through the last bag, muttering to himself.
"Now where did those bobby pins go"
Footsteps echoed nearby.
Kidd looked up, seeing his two friends walk up to him.
"So, what did you guys get?"
"Just some manga"
Tank showed him the stash before putting it away.
"You wanna read it later?"
"Sure"
Kidd stood up. He returned Libra to her ball and adjusted his messenger bag.
"I'm gonna go check out the rest of Mauville's stores. It's been a while since I went on a shopping spree"
"Sounds good to me"
Tank nodded.
"An' I was gonna go look for the gym!"
Benedict pointed at the door.
Kidd shrugged his shoulders.
"I had a feeling you'd say that"
Tank and Benedict headed to Mauville's northern district. They stopped near one of the buildings— a bright gold building with sparkly clean windows. The grey doors had thunderbolt patterns embedded in the glass
An electric sign was installed next to the gym. The neon yellow LED lights read
"Mauville City Gym. Leader: Static Cumulus
The dangerously shocking engineer, krzzt"
A piece of cardboard paper hung from the left door, shoddily taped without any effort put into it. Red ink was scribbled in the middle, reading
"NEW HOURS: SIX TO FOUR"
"Now hol' up" Benedict pointed out, his voice on the edge of exploding. "It's only ten, now why the heck would the gym be closed already?!"
"Uh, Benedict?"
Tank pointed at the fine text below the cardboard sign.
"It looks like six pm to four am, dude"
Benedict facepalmed in both wings before blowing up in a rant
"That doesn't make any sense, Tank! Who the hell wakes up at three in the morning, marches down to the gym like 'Hey I challenge you to a battle mister gym leader man', fights him in the middle of the night, probably wins, gets their badge, and goes through to the next town over, huh!"
"Benedict, please, I—"
Tank tried to reason, but got interrupted.
"Tank, just THINK about it!" Benedict continued his tirade. "I ain't expectin' gyms to be open twenty-four seven but come on! How's anyone 'sposed to get their gym badge with hours like that! I swear to Arceus, some animals, I swear!"
Tank shook his head in disapproval and facepalmed
"….Benedict, you're acting so ridiculous"
"Oh, you want ridiculous?!"
Benedict scoffed. "I'll show YOU ridiculous!"
He curled his wing into a fist, pulled it back and punched one of the windows.
The window's glass loudly shattered. Some of the broken shards fell to the floor, while others landed inside the gym.
Benedict's eyes widened as he stood still. His body tensed up and his arm trembled. Several glass shards were pierced into his arm, poking out of his hoodie sleeve.
"…Ow" he groaned under his breath as he pulled away from the window.
Tank glanced around the building's exterior. He muttered to himself as he brushed the glass shards away. At least nobody else saw them, he thought. Tank took Benedict by the wrist and dragged him to the closest bench.
The older boy rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a small first aid kit.
"Stay still, alright?"
Tank stuck his tongue out as he pushed up Benedict's sleeve. The rhino stayed quiet as he cleaned his forearm with disinfectant, then slowly pulled the shards out.
"Tank, can y'all be more gentle…"
Benedict whined as the glass came out. He winced from the way his friend cleaned the wounds with disinfectant. The alcohol in the disinfectant burned like a volcano, but it did reduce the pain.
"I'm being as gentle as I can, okay. And maybe you shouldn't have punched the window"
Tank gently scolded his friend. He wiped his arm clean and wrapped his forearm with ace bandages.
"There, do you feel better?"
"Yeah, a little bit" Benedict looked away and grew more flustered.
"Seriously, I can't think of any good reason for that gym's hours!"
Tank stuck his tongue out as he taped the bandages together
"Well I think—"
"I wouldn't bother fighting back"
another voice sighed.
The two boys looked over at another animal.
A brown tiger stood near the gym. Her body was covered in yellow stripes, while she wore a comfortable looking outfit; a white sleeveless shirt, red and yellow short-sleeved jacket, tight blue miniskirt, and red and yellow sneakers. A silver ring sparkled from her left paw.
The tiger turned around
"Even I can't reason with him" she groaned in disappointment. "But I try not to blame him"
"And you are?"
Tank asked her.
"The name's Bangle. Bangle Cumulus!"
the tiger cheerfully waved to the other animals.
Cumulus, huh? And that ring….
"So, do y'all know exactly why his hours are so weird?"
Benedict crossed his arms and tapped one of his feet against the ground.
Bangle sighed again before explaining to them
"It's the power plant over in Route 110. It broke again, costing so many animals their jobs. He's spent so much time trying to get it working again, that he's been neglecting everything else in his life. Gym battles, the rest of the city, even me…"
She shook her head
"But enough about myself. So which one of you guys is taking on the gym challenge?"
"That'd be me"
Benedict pointed to himself.
"Oh, cool!"
Bangle nodded.
"Also, just to letcha know, for this gym, you're gonna need a ground type, or five"
Benedict felt uneasy. Sure, his Aron knew Mud Slap, but that probably wouldn't cut it in this gym… Maybe find a way to teach Aron a more powerful move?
"Thanks."
"It's no problem! You got this" Bangle reassured him with a nod. She whispered and winked
"And don't worry. I won't tell anyone about what happened to the window!"
"Bye now!"
she waved, heading towards the stairs and disappearing from the boys' view.
Benedict tensed up, placing the palm of his wing on his bandaged arm.
He sighed a little.
Tank placed one of his hooves on Benedict's upper arm
"Something wrong, dude?"
"Yeah…" Benedict looked away, his face warming up slightly. Several things filled his mind; anxiety about missing out on the gym being opening, the dreams about that girl, the way Tank made him feel warm and fuzzy, preparing for his gym battle…
He placed his wing on Tank's hoof
"Guess I'm just nervous 'bout the gym"
"Oh, come on dude" Tank grabbed both of Benedict's wings and held them tightly.
"You clearly have something else on your mind!"
"Well…." Benedict finally looked at Tank's face. Oh, great, now he's blushing too.
"I was thinkin' this...My arm still kinda hurts, so I ain't even gonna bother with the gym today"
"Oh, that's it? Okay!"
Tank shrugged a little. He let go of Benedict's wings, then pulled his phone out.
"Oh, look what Kidd sent!"
"Hey, lemme see that!"
Benedict scooted close so he could take a look at the screen. "Huh, he doesn't look half bad"
The sign on the wall read, "Able's: Transform Yourself!"
Kidd walked through the automatic doors. He took a deep breath in and sighed as he looked around the charming boutique. The floor was dark brown while the walls were beige with a light green stripe. The yellow lights were dimmed, radiating a chic energy. Grey mannequins stood behind the windows, posed ever so elegantly.
A blue hedgehog walked up to the goat. Her thick eyebrows were narrowed in determination while her white face showed a comforting energy. Her thick quills were wild and loose, not tied back at all. She wore a white sports jersey, olive green jeans, chunky green sneakers and a green gingham apron over her outfit. A yellow nametag on her apron read 'Mabel Able'.
"Hey there!" she greeted him.
"Welcome to Able's! So, uh, what can I help you with?"
"Well" Kidd wiped some dust off his jacket. He put a hoof on his chest
"I'm a coordinator, and I messed up on my first contest. So, I thought I'd get some new clothes for the next contest"
"Oh cool!" Mabel nodded. She led him over to one of the clothing sections. "If you don't mind, what Pokemon do you think you're using for your next contest?"
"I was gonna use my Abra"
Kidd explained.
"Well, I think she'll evolve by the time I reach the next town over, so technically a Kadabra"
"Ohh, so she's the clever type! You're definitely going to want an outfit that'll make you smart!" Mabel clapped her paws together. She pulled over a black clothing rack. It was lined to each end with a countless amount of clothes.
"Here. Try some of these on and let me know whatcha think!"
"Thanks so much"
Kidd nodded as he held his hooves together.
After Mabel left to help out another customer, Kidd grabbed as many clothes as he could. He headed to the dressing room, locked the door and placed the huge pile on an ottoman chair in one of the corners.
Kidd grabbed his phone out of his pockets before stripping to his boxers. He rummaged through the pile of clothes for his first outfit to try on.
Maybe this one would be fun, he thought as he put on the first outfit.
Kidd stood in front of the mirror and tousled his hair to perfection. These clothes felt very flattering; a grey sleeveless shirt with a sleek pop graphic, a short sleeved black unbuttoned shirt over the other shirt, ripped light blue skinny jeans, and chunky black boots.
He took a picture of himself in the new ensemble, then sent it to Tank and Benedict. He placed his phone down as he changed into another outfit; a pastel pink and white varsity jacket over a tight black crop top and white pants.
Kinda plain, he thought. Maybe he could put some fun pins or patches on the jacket, but then he saw the price tag and shuddered. Geez, that's gonna burn a hole in his wallet…
Another picture, another outfit to try on.
This time, he went with a black lace-trimmed collared shirt, black jogger pants with a silver chain on one side, and grey slip-on sneakers. Hmm, too edgy, he thought, but still worth a nice picture!
He tried on one final outfit; a black leather jacket with pink and blue gradients on the hem, grey skinny jeans with holographic cuffs and rips near the hem, and a white shirt with blue dolphin buttons and pink cherry blossoms on the collar.
After taking a pic of himself in the last outfit, he changed back to street clothes and looked through the rest of the pile. But which one…
His phone buzzed loudly. He picked it up and read the texts his friends sent:
"Get the third one, it looks the best"
"same"
Twenty minutes later, Kidd headed back to the northern part of Mauville. He stopped at the bench his friends were at, placing three bags down next to them.
Kidd facepalmed
"…..Please tell you didn't-"
"Yep, it's exactly what it looks like"
Benedict held his wing out, showing the bandages wrapped tightly around his forearm.
"I'm fine though, 'tis but a scratch!"
"Yeah, he got cut on-"
Tank tried to explain, but got interrupted by some nearby shouting coming from the courtyard.
"Now, Voltorb, Sonic Boom!"
"Sandshrew, use Fury Cutter!"
"Oh sweet, a battle!"
Benedict perked up.
"I'll be right back, guys!"
He got up from the bench and headed to the doors.
Benedict walked into the courtyard. He stopped in his tracks; the earth moving under his feet. He glanced at the tower from last night and watched two trainers in the middle of battle. Two Pokemon stood in front of their trainers; a yellow pangolin and a red and white ball.
The first trainer, a brown horse wearing a striped yellow tee and short pale beige overalls, whinnied before hollering
"Voltorb! Gyro Ball!"
The second trainer, a burnt orange bovine with long curly grey hair, shouted at the top of their lungs
"Now, Sandshrew, Bulldoze the snot out of Voltorb!"
The yellow pangolin Pokemon curled its body into a ball. It leaped up in the air, uncurling its body as it landed on the ground. The floor rumbled violently as Sandshrew slammed its feet against the fake grass.
The red ball Pokemon fell over on the ground, crying out weakly before passing out.
The cattle took a deep breath in before returning Sandshrew to its ball.
The mare gritted her teeth as she returned her Pokemon to its ball. She shook her head before putting the Poke Ball away.
"That was great, Angus—"
The bovine looked away in shame. Benedict watched as they moved their side plain in front of them
"Thanks, but uh. Please don't call me that. I, uh, didn't change my trainer ID yet"
the cattle coughed out, cringing to themselves as they interrupted the other animal
"It's supposed to read Amber."
"Oh!"
the horse gasped. "Sorry, Amber. Bella showed me the ID and—"
"Victoria. It's fine" Amber held one of her hooves up.
She sighed "I wish I knew where to go in this city to change it…."
Benedict walked up to the duo, still holding onto his injured arm
"I hope I ain't buttin' in, but do y'all work for the gym here?"
"I sure do!"
the mare smiled as she waved to him.
"Are you looking to battle me next, mister—?"
The chicken glanced down at his arm, then back at both women
"Benedict! Actually, I was thinkin' of battlin' y'all tomorrow"
"Yeah, I'd do that if I were you, kiddo"
Amber pointed at his forearm.
"What happened there?!"
"Fell into a window"
Benedict explained.
"But uh, I saw y'all battlin', and wanted to ask. Can y'all teach my Pokemon that move too?"
"Bulldoze? Sure, I'll teach ya"
Amber nodded twice. She grabbed another Poke Ball out of her cardigan pocket
"Which Pokemon did you wanna teach it to?"
"Hmm…."
Benedict rummaged through his backpack for the right Poke Ball. "Can Bulldoze be taught to an Aron?"
"I don't see why not" the cow shrugged.
"Would you mind following me?"
Benedict shrugged a little, throwing his backpack on his right arm. While the duo walked to another end of the courtyard, Victoria snuck away from the duo and back to the gym.
The two animals tossed their Poke Balls in the air, releasing Kenshiro and a large brown boulder Pokemon. Both Pokemon turned to each other and nodded in trust.
"I thought y'all were gonna use your Sandshrew?"
Benedict pointed out.
Amber shook her head, her side plait coming undone
"No way! Sandshrew needs a break after today, so Graveler's filling in for him! Okay, you ready?"
"Yeah"
he nodded before leaning down to his Pokemon's level
"Y'all think you can do this?"
"Aron, aron!"
the steel type chirped before nodding diligently.
He turned around to face the larger Pokemon, ready to watch and learn.
The cow pointed in front of her
"Graveler! Bulldoze!"
Graveler closed its eyes and uncurled all four of its arms. It raised its arms up, then slammed a flurry of palm strikes against the floor. The earth trembled and shook with each smack. After the rock type landed its two last strikes, the ground's trembling faded away.
Kenshiro's eyes sparkled from the sheer power he just saw.
"Ar-on! Aron, ar, ar, arON" ("I wanna try that NOW!")
Graveler turned around with a nod
"Grav?" ("Well, go ahead!")
The smaller Pokemon quickly nodded his head. He leaped further into the courtyard, facing both trainers.
Benedict nodded at both Pokemon.
"Let's go! Kenshiro, use Bulldoze!"
"Aron, aron!"
Kenshiro glared with intense determination as he tapped against the ground with both front legs. His metallic body shined as his feet picked up the pace. The floor trembled slightly, but shook more violently as his front legs hit harder and harder. The Aron lifted his upper body off the air, screamed and slammed his feet as hard as possible.
The ground broke into a mild earthquake, causing Benedict and Amber to stumble backwards in shock.
Amber's eyes widened in shock
"…..Yeah, you're definitely winning after that. But still, I'd wait until tomorrow!"
"Are y'all sure?"
Benedict groaned. "I ain't the one fightin' myself though, my Pokemon are the one doin' the work"
"Just trust me" Amber shook her head as she pointed at the tower
"Static may come off as a fun loving engineer, but behind that is a relentless trickster of a battler. And I've seen kids like you try to push through when they're hurt, but it ends up in pain for both trainer and Pokemon. Do you understand?"
Benedict shuddered from the stern tones in her deep voice
"Y-yes, Amber"
"Good!"
the cow's voice softened
"I think that was some good training. Anyways, Benedict, you traveling alone or with friends?"
"With some friends, but they're outside.
They ain't doin the gym challenge like me" Benedict shook his head, poining at the door.
"Y'all wanna meet 'em?"
"Sure!"
Amber said. She hollered to her Pokemon
"Graveler! Come with me, will you?"
The two Pokemon ran up to their trainers, ready to follow them wherever.
They pushed the door open and turned to the right.
Benedict saw his friends and waved to them
"Hey y'all! I found who was shoutin' earlier. This here's Amber!"
"Oh, cool" Kidd waved to her.
"The name's Kidd Chavignol, I'm from Lumiose City"
Tank, however, went silent. He stood upwards and glanced up and down at her. She looked familiar but couldn't figure out why; her large eyes with thick eyelashes, her reddish brown fur, long grey hair, matching horns, but that deep voice...He remembered hearing that voice a lot. But where?
"Are you from Fortree City?"
Tank asked her, curiosity in his voice.
"Y-yeah, I am. Why's that?"
Amber felt her heart race against her chest. Her mouth turned bitter as her hooves went cold and clammy. Arceus christ, he knows her. How is she going to explain everything to him?!