The boys followed a small trail through the northern half of Route 111. Loud footsteps stomped their way, forcing everyone to duck behind a nearby shrub. The trio watched as a dark green horse stopped in front of a tree. A red and green insectoid Pokemon hovered behind him.

The horse pointed at a tree and shouted to his Pokemon
"Alrighty there Daisy Duke, use Secret Power to open 'er up!"

The draconoid Pokemon opened her mouth.
"FLYGAAAAAAAAA—"
She fired a pink ball of energy at the tree, forcibly clearing a large space inside.

"YeeHAW! Good jawb, pardner!"
He high-fived the Pokemon with his left hoof.

Daisy Duke turned around to look at the bush. She tilted her head
"Gon?"

"Huh, is there somethin' over there, Daisy?"
The horse looked over his shoulder.

"Flygaaah!"
Daisy Duke pointed at the bush.

The boys popped their heads away from the bushes.

The horse paused in his tracks. He ran over to the boys, smiled and held one of his hooves out
"Well HOWDY pardners!"

The trio stayed silent. Tank glanced up at the stallion, surprised at how tall he was. The horse wore a wide-brimmed hat, a brown button-up with orange leaves sewn into the collar, a black bandanna around his neck, black jeans, beige chaps, and dark brown cowboy boots with red stitching. His messy brown hair curled against his upper back. He looked as Unovan as sweet tea and apple pie.

"The nayum's Buck Hatfield" Buck placed a hoof on his chest. He pointed at his Pokemon "And this here is Daisy Duke. Say hi to everyone, Daisy"

"Fly-gaaaaah!" Daisy Duke hissed. Her large wings batted in the air as she bobbed up and down in her spot.

"So, tell me 'bout yourselves"
Buck tipped his hat.

Kidd bowed
"My name's Kidd Chavignol, and I'm a Coordinator from Lumiose City"

"I'm Tank Pepper!"
Tank smiled and waved
"I'm one of Professor Nook's researchers, and I'm from Fortree City!"

Benedict stepped forward
"I'm Benedict Sussex, and I'm taking on the Hoenn League! So, uh, what parta Unova are y'all from?"

"Came from Floccessy Town couple years ago an- Now, just wait a darn second!" Buck scratched at the stubble on his chin. He raised an eyebrow "How'd yall know I was from Unova?!"

"That's easy. I could tell by y'alls accent"
Benedict shrugged. "I'm from Castelia myself. You Floccessy types sound way thicker"

"Just like my ma would say. As thick as molasses an' shoofly pie" Buck snorted. "Well lemme tell y'all somethin' Benny. I don' usually let others into mah own Secret Base, but I think I can make a 'ception for a fellow Unovan!"

"Only if y'all can make room for my friends too!" Benedict held his wing out. He felt strangely comforted by Buck's prescence. Maybe it was because they were both Unovan, the bird thought to himself.

"Sure thin' partner!" Buck yanked the shorter animal's wing and shook it firmly.
"Aight y'all, follow me!"

The group climbed up the tree and into the tree's clearing.

The boys looked around the small base; it had thick green walls, a leafy green ceiling and firm wooden floor. The furniture clashed against the organic interior: a huge Wailord-shaped bed, a table designed like an Avalugg, two Litwick-shaped lamps, a mini-fridge designed like a Rotom, two Zigzagoon-patterned couches, and a huge rug in the shape of a Stunfisk. Countless stuffed animals were scattered on the floor, some standing upright and others flopped over on the side.

"So, what y'all think?" Buck grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. He opened it up and took a sip "Purty nice base, ain't it?"

"You have a lot of Pokemon furniture" Kidd placed a hoof on the Litwick lamp. The heat felt nice and gentle.

Buck chugged the rest of his water. He chucked the empty bottle into a trash can."Why yes I do! My pals back in Floccessy say I got so much furniture that I shoulda became one of 'em Maniacs. But I ain't wantin' to catch so many, 'cus I'd lose track of 'em all. Daisy Duke is all I need!"

"Gon, gon!" Daisy Duke cooed as she nuzzled against a large Rhydon stuffed animal. She wagged her long tail in happiness.

"So did you catch Daisy Duke back in Unova?"
Tank sat down on the Rhydon plush.

"I sure did!"
Buck tore open a bag of precooked Pidgey meat. He placed the chunks in his hooves and held them towards his Pokemon, watching as Daisy Duke devoured her portion.
"I met 'er at the outskirts of Reversal Mountain"

"Reversal Mountain?" Benedict joined in. "Hey I've been there before too! Well, I was there for a school field trip one time. It was pretty fun, except when some guys threw a rock at a Grumpig"

"Now that's a funny coincidence" Buck snorted. "A while after I met Daisy Duke, she an' I took on a wild Grumping that was harassin' some kids"

The two guys looked at each other.

"Wait a sec" Benedict pointed at the horse. "….Y'all were the guy that saved me an' the guys from that Grumpig!"

"Y'all were on that field trip?!"
Buck gasped in surprise.
"Small world, ain't it!"

The horse remembered that day from four years ago…

A sunny afternoon at Reversal Mountain. Buck jumped from rock to rock, his faithful Pokemon flying by his side. He looked around the hill for anything peculiar catching his eye. He saw the usual; clear skies, wild Pokemon in the air, trees and hills.

An ear-piercing scream echoed nearby.

"C'mon, Daisy" Buck climbed on top of his Flygon. "Take me to that there screamin'!"

"Gon!" Daisy Duke nodded twice before soaring into the skies. She flew as fast as possible towards the source of commotion.

Three small boys backed up against a cliff. They trembled for their lives, absolutely terrified from the threat in front of them. A massive purple pig Pokemon stomped towards them, baring its fangs and snorting loudly. Its snout glowed bright purple as it clawed at the air. A large blue bruise formed at its forehead.

"Chad! This wouldn't have happened if y'all didn't throw that STUPID rock" the red bird shook a fist at another animal.

The yellow lamb bleated back
"Shut up Benedict! I didn't want to do it, Bruno dared me to!"

"Well I take it back, Chad!"
the blue and white puppy yelled back.
"Now we're all gonna die!"

"No WAY Bruno!" Chad yelled back. "If any of us is gonna die, I think it should be Benedict!"

Benedict slapped Chad in the face
"No WAY, asshole! You threw the rock, you should deal with that Grumpig yourself!"

Buck and Daisy Duke flew in just in time. The horse jumped off his Pokemon, blocking the three boys from danger.

The Grumpig flared its nostrils and snorted even louder. It stomped against the ground.

Buck pointed at the wild Pokemon
"Daisy Duke! Use U-Turn an' knock that beast out!"

Daisy Duke's body glowed lime green. She flew around the wild Grumpig, smacking it in the gut with her tail.
"GYAAAAAAHHH!"

"Piiiggg…"
the Grumpig grunted before falling backwards with a thud.

The young boys gasped in surprise.

"Great job, Daisy!" Buck affectionately petted her on the head.

"Fly-gaaah!~"
Daisy Duke cheerfully chirped.

"So, y'all kiddos mind 'splainin what happened back there?" Buck leaned down to the childrens' eye level.
He placed a hoof on his knee.

Bruno trembled and burst out crying "We're on a field trip, and- and we got lost! And we found this biiiiig rock! The size of a Wailord! And, and I dared Chad to throw the rock at a cliff to see if it would break! And. And then it hit the Grumpig, and it chased us here!"

"Hey, that's not true!" Chad hollered back. "BENEDICT said it'd be funny to throw the rock, not me!"

"I didn't even say anything about the rock!" Benedict ranted. "You're just trying to blame everything on me again! Y'all are just as bad as my babysitter!"

Buck shook his head
"Boys? Boys, calm down and listen to me."

The young boys shut themselves up.

"Look. Whichever one a y'all chucked that rock at the Grumpig, that ain't cool. I get it, it was an accident. But still, y'all can't just go 'round hurtin 'wild Pokemon for fun. Now, let's get y'all back to yer teacher. I'm sure she's mighty worried"

"Y-yes sir" Bruno whimpered.
He fidgeted with his hoodie strings while looking down at his feet.

The four animals climbed atop of Daisy Duke before she flew back into the sky.

"So, uh, what does y'alls teacher look like?"
Buck asked as he glanced down at the trails.

"Well, uh, she's a hippo" Benedict tried his best to explain. "With pink skin! Like pink lemonade! And black hair, and big teeth too"

"And bigger boobs than my mom"
Chad snarked.

"SHUT UP CHAD!"
Benedict and Bruno hollered at the same time.

"Is she wearing any 'spific outfit?" Buck squinted down for any clue of a teacher and her students.

"Overalls!" Bruno blurted out. "Um, they're brown? Oh, and a grey shirt. I think a big floppy hat too. Was it brown or grey?"

"I think it was dark green?" Benedict corrected him.

"Got it"
Buck glanced down at the ground.
"Daisy Duke, let's find us a hippo!"

"Gon?"
Daisy Duke tilted her head.

"Not just any hippo" Buck pointed downwards
"Look for one with a buncha kids followin' her 'round!"

—

A heavy rumble echoed outside.
"Excuse me lads"
Buck poked his head outside.

A light drizzle fell atop his head. He glanced up at the skies, frowning as the clouded faded grey. The air slowly grew colder, leaves dancing in the wind.

He pulled himself back inside, pulling down the door and shutting it tightly.
"Well I dunno what y'all three were up to tonight, but if I were y'all, I'd be stayin' the night here. Think it's gonna storm purty bad out there"

"You mean it?"
Tank asked as he checked his Rotom Phone; yep, a thunderstorm and flash flood warning all through the night. He quickly texted Professor Nook about his past few days and the upcoming storm.

"Course I do!" Buck snorted. "I love havin' guests over! And 'sides, I'd be an asshole to let y'all run through that there weather!"
He walked to one of the Zigzagoon-printed couches and undid several latches. The horse unfolded the couch into a comfortable looking bed.

Kidd climbed off the other couch. He crossed his arms and watched as Buck unfolded the other sofa.
"So" he asked. "Who's sleeping where?"

Buck pointed at the Wailord-shaped bed
"Well I'm sleepin' there obviously"

Kidd shrugged. Sounds fair, he thought to himself.

Benedict flopped onto the first sofa, pressing his upper back against one of the cushions. He turned his Rotom Phone off and shoved it into his backpack.

Kidd sat back down on the couch. He slipped his boots off and got comfortable. The goat pulled a pair of earbuds out of his jacket pocket. He plugged the earbuds into his phone then looked for a good video to watch.

Tank jumped onto the same couch, smoothly landing next to Kidd."Whatcha watching, dude?"

Kidd turned his phone around. He handed one of the earbuds to Tank
"A cat dancing"

"Oh neat"
Tank placed the earbud in his right ear. He leaned over and watched the video with his friend. The video showed a calico cat dancing back and forth to the beat of a catchy pop song.
Tank placed one of his hooves on Kidd, making both animals blush slightly.

While the two boys continued watching videos, Benedict flopped back on the other couch. He looked up information about the Hoenn League, huh, this was interesting. He clicked on the article; a new gym leader was announced in the Hoenn League. Kenneth Crossfire of Lavaridge Town just resigned from his position, passing the gym on to his only daughter Phoebe.

Two hours later, everyone got ready for bed. Buck clapped his hooves twice, the Litwick lamps turning themselves off. The Secret Base was left completely dark. Everything stayed silent except for soft breathing inside and heavy rain outside.
Thunder occasionally rumbled in another area of Hoenn.

Kidd shivered as he woke up from the storm outside. He shook his head and blinked twice. "This is weird," he thought. "Why did it get colder?"

He grabbed his phone from his jacket pocket; the screen read 5:15 AM.
"Maybe I'm just overthinking things again" Kidd thought as he put the phone down and pulled the covers over his head.

Several hours passed. Kidd woke up again and yawned. He looked around the Secret Base; huh, everything looks the same. He checked the time on his phone and cringed— 9:45 AM?! Wait, where IS everyone?!

Kidd got himself ready before climbing down the tree. He sighed in relief as he saw Buck and Daisy Duke showing Tank and his Lotad how to use Secret Power for themselves. Benedict took quick notes, nodding diligently as he observed both Pokemon.

"Oh, morning Kidd!" Tank turned around and waved. "You sleep alright?"

The goat groaned and shook his head
"Barely. I still feel like I got hit by a truck"

"That sucks" Tank frowned. "But hey, when you were still sleeping, Lotad and I figured out how Secret Power works! Now we can make our OWN bases anywhere!"

"Lotad, lo!" Lotad chirped out.

"An' I learned 'bout where the next gym is!" Benedict turned his phone around. "Apparently it's all the way out in Lavaridge Town"

"Good to know" Kidd nodded. "Honestly, I'm ready to go whenever you guys are"

—-

Route 113: A dusty grey route. Volcanic ash lightly falls on this route, and the air is always muggy. Most trainers prefer to spend as little time here as possible.

The boys walked through a small clearing. Route 113 felt gross and muggy, unlike the refreshing clear air of Route 111. A metallic clang echoed through the air.

Once sniffing the air, Kidd pulled his scarf over his nose.

"Still cold?" Benedict asked.

"What? No!" Kidd shook his head.
"It's just that I'd rather not breath in literal ash, Benedict!"

"He's got a point, dude" Tank blew some soot away from his face. He pulled the collar of his shirt over his nose. "Trust me, you don't want to breathe this stuff in"

Benedict shrugged
"Aight" He pulled the front of his hood over his beak.

The boys continued tracking through the ashy route. The wind grew louder with their walk. Kidd yelled loudly and tripped, falling onto his knees.
Tank and Benedict stopped in their tracks.

"What the heck?" Benedict kneeled down to look at the cause; a long strand of barbed wire. Well, at least it wasn't rusty.

Kidd looked down and cringed. The knees of his pants were ripped up, exposing two large wounds slashed across both knees.

"Holy hell, dude"
Tank pulled his first-aid kit out. He moved Kidd's hooves to the side so he could treat the wounds. He cleaned the blood away, put on some disinfectant, then sutured the wounds shut with medical stitching.
"You feel better?" he asked.

"Yeah" Kidd blushed hard behind his scarf. "Thank you so much."
He trembled slightly as he got back up on his feet.

"Um, guys?" Benedict pointed behind the duo.
"Look ahead"

"Wait, what's going on, Benedict?" Tank asked. He looked up in the air and gulped in fear. He grimaced from the sight.

A massive Skarmory hovered in front of the boys. Its wings were covered with faint scars. It glared with ferocious intent. The bird Pokemon screeched at the top of its lungs
"SHRKWAAAAAAAAA"
Tank and Kidd glared down the wild Pokemon. They reached in their bags for their Poke Balls.

Benedict snapped into action. He leaped in front of his friends, undid his ponytail and yelled
"Guys, I got this!" He glared at the armored bird and threw a Poke Ball. "Freiza! You're on!"

Freiza landed on his feet and howled in pride
"Elec-triiiike!"

"Skraaaaaaa"
the wild Skarmory roared, carelessly clawing at the air with its sharp feet.

"So that's how y'all wanna go, ya flyin' hunk of scrap metal?!" Benedict shouted. He snapped his fingers
"Freiza! Use Thunder Wave!"

Freiza opened his mouth. He fired a yellow orb of electricity at the wild Skarmory's face, knocking it backwards. Skarmory fanned out its wings. It attempted to shake the electricity away, but winced as the sparks webbed out between its blades. The steel-type snarled from the electricity wrapping around its body.

Skarmory's beak glowed white. It swooped down and pecked four times at Freiza's body. The Electrike cringed and curled into a ball, protecting his snout and underbelly from the attacks.

"Freiza, bite down on its beak with Fire Fang!"

Freiza uncurled his body. He darted backwards and leaped forward, biting down on Skarmory's beak. Red and orange flames spewed from his snout, flying into the armor bird's face.

"Shkrrrr…." Skarmory snarled before shaking the Electrike off itself.

Freiza fell backwards into Benedict's arms. Both trainer and Pokemon growled at their enemy.
Benedict looked down and nodded at his Pokemon. He set Freiza back down and yelled

"Freiza! Attack its underbelly with Spark!"

Skarmory's wings glowed light blue. It snarled and roared as it swiped Freiza's forehead, knocking it backwards.

"Elec…." the electric type grunted under his breath, overwhelmed from the stinging against his body. He was on the edge of collapsing, shaking as energy drained from his body. "Trike…"

"Freiza, nooo!" Benedict shouted. "Hang in there, buddy!" He kneeled down and searched his bag for any potions. "We're so close to taking it down, y'all got this!"
Freiza felt reassured from Benedict's words. If he passed out now, he'd be letting down the very trainer who befriended him. No, let's keep up at this, the lightning Pokemon thought. We are NOT going down to this junkyard reject!

Freiza got back on his feet, glaring at the Skarmory. He closed his eyes, turned his head up and howled at the top of his lungs. His howl echoed through the air. as his body glowed blue.
His silhouette grew twice in height, his legs growing longer and his head turning sharper.

The blue light exploded into tiny yellow sparks, revealing a taller and more powerful Freiza. Instead of lime green, his fur was now cerulean blue, while his tail was longer than before. His head crest was pointier and his jaws felt stronger.
"Maaaaa-NECTRIC!" he howled in pride.

Benedict gasped in surprise.
"Freiza! Y'all really evolved!"
He grabbed his Rotom Phone to scan his newly evolved Pokemon.

"Manectric, the Discharge Pokemon. An electric type, and the evolved form of Electrike. Manectric discharges strong electricity from its mane. The mane is used for collecting electricity in the atmosphere. Manectric are a Kalos-native species, and were imported to Hoenn to control the population of Pelipper"

"Strong electricity from its mane, eh?" Benedict thought to himself. "Hey, what's that move Static used during our gym battle… A-ha!"

"Freiza, use Volt Switch!"

"Manec!" Freiza barked out. He formed a ball of electricity from his mane, leaping up to throw the ball in the air. His fur spiked up as the ball grew larger
"TRIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCCC"
He hurled the electric ball at the Skarmory's underbelly.

"Skraaaaa!"
Skarmory screeched as the electricity exploded at its neck, knocking it through the air. The wild Pokemon landed against a large tree, weakly groaning as it passed out from the overwhelming sparks.

Everyone ran towards the tree, stopping in front of more barbwire. The boys sighed in relief, seeing the Skarmory was no longer a threat to any of them.

Benedict wiped some sweat off his forehead
"Well, at least it ain't gonna hurt us anymore. Right, Freiza?"

"ManecTRIC!"
Freiza barked in delight, wagging his tail and nudging his snout against his trainer's wing.

"Okay, here you go" Benedict petted his Pokemon on the head. His feathers lightly fluffed up from the static electricity.

"Hey, can I pet him too?" Tank asked. "I mean, he did save us!"
"Yknow what?" Kidd shrugged. He smiled and grabbed a Poke Ball. "I think I know who should be seeing this!"

"Piiii-ka!" Aries chirped out as she was released. The mouse Pokemon hopped over to the other Pokemon.

Both Pokemon sniffed and nuzzled each other, small sparks shooting off each other. They ran around in a small circle, playfully chasing each other in tandem.

"Hmmm" Tank put a hoof to his chin. "Yknow, I heard that Manectric and Pikachu are compatible. Maybe these two can make some Eggs"

"Absolutely not!"
Kidd shook his head in disapproval "They don't like each other that way!"

"Yeah, but you and Tank do" Benedict snarked. "I swear I've heard y'all flirt when I'm battlin'"

"Sh-shut up!" Kidd's face turned red.
He shouted before snorting in laughter.

The boys returned their Pokemon to safety before continuing their walk.

Meanwhile, on another end of the route…

—

A grey anteater wandered around outside. He wore a blue baseball cap, a yellow shirt with white stars on the side, blue and white gym shorts and chunky blue sneakers.

He whistled loudly and waved to a large patch of grass
"Hey! Over here!"

A round beige Pokemon waddled towards him. It carried a huge grey sack over its shoulders. A large brown stick jabbed out from the sack."Spin?" the Pokemon cooed.

The anteater snapped his fingers
"This way, boy!"

"Spin-da!" The Pokemon teetered closer to its trainer, trying its best not to drop the heavy sack.

The anteater kneeled down to look at the sack. He felt it underneath his paws; yep, this was the good stuff, he thought.
"It's perfect, Spinda. Now, let's get back home"

"Spinda, spin!" the spotted Pokemon cooed.

The duo walked through Route 113, parting the grass as they walked closer to a small house. The house had a brown wooden exterior, metallic grey roof, a thick green door and windows covered by olive green curtains. A large chimney poked out of the roof, thick smoke spewing from the top.

The anteater stopped on the porch. He took his shoes off, placed them next to the welcome mat and unlocked the door. He walked inside and held the door open for Spinda. After closing the door, the anteater put on a pair of white slip-on shoes.

"Daaaaaaad!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Where are you?!"

"In the workshop, Antonio!" a deeper voice hollered from another room.

Antonio and Spinda walked together to one of the doors. The anteater opened the door and walked inside. The room smelled faintly of ash and flames.

Another anteater stood in front of a large table. He wore a blue wave-print jumpsuit, sturdy brown boots, a thick apron, beige gloves and black goggles. He slowly rotated a large stick underneath a hot blue flame, forming a white orb.
Spinda waddled over to an empty desk. It hopped onto a stool and gently placed the sack on the desk.

"So, what are we doing for dinner, dad?" Antonio asked.

"I asked Cesar to get some takeout from town. It's going to be a while"
the older anteater deadpanned as he continued working on a long white flute. He didn't look up from his work
"Can you do me a favor and get some more ash outside? Also can you please leave Spinda here?"

"Oh, sure thing dad!" Antonio grabbed another sack from the same desk. "I'll be back in an hour!"

"Suit yourself"
his father shrugged.

Antonio threw the empty sack over his shoulder. He ran back to the living room, changed his shoes and flew out the door.

He looked around the scenery of Route 113; same cloudy skies, shy grass, and wild Pokemon running around between grass and trail.

Antonio jumped into a large field of grass. He opened the sack up and paced around in a circle. Strange. Something heavier than usual fell inside the sack. Antonio wanted to shove his hands inside and pull the object out already, but he didn't want to risk losing any ash over it.

The ground rumbled underneath his feet. Antonio popped out of the grass. He held the sack open to catch more falling soot.

Three trainers walked nearby him, stopping in their tracks when they saw him.
Antonio closed the sack up
"Oh, uh, hi guys" he awkwardly chuckled.

"Any reason you're not covering your nose?" Kidd pointed out.

Antonio looked away. He placed his hand on the back of his neck
"Well, I've lived here for two years, so ash doesn't really bother me. Oh, I'm Antonio by the way"

"Nice to meet you!" Tank waved.
"I'm Tank, and these are my friends Benedict and Kidd"

"Hi"
"Howdy"

"Glad I could meet you guys!" Antonio tied the sack shut. "Um, you guys mind if I show you where I live at?"

The boys looked at each other and shrugged. Sure, why the heck not, they thought.

Antonio led the trio through a different path, this route only marked by shorter grass. After five minutes, the group saw a house tucked away behind a large pile of boulders.

The anteater walked up and unlocked the door.
"Daaaad, I brought guests!" he hollered as he let everyone inside. The group slid their shoes off, setting them near the door.

"That's nice, Antonio" the other anteater hollered. "I'll be out when I'm done with this set!"

"So, what does your dad do?"
Tank asked as everyone sat down at the kotatsu.

Antonio sat across from the rhino
"He works in the glass trade! Sometimes he's paid to install windows, other times he takes commissions for glass blowing"

"Is that what the sack's for?" Tank pointed at the large sack Antonio carried.

"Yep!"
The anteater nodded.
"I gather up all the ash and soot from Mt. Chimney, then my dad uses it for glass blowing. He does it by—"

Someone knocked on the door.

"I got it" Antonio hopped up. He walked to the door and unlocked it.
"Oh, welcome back pa!"

An orange and black gorilla stood in the doorway. His fur was cropped short, except for an impressive handlebar mustache. He wore a dark brown beret, a beige trench-coat, grey work pants and black canvas sneakers. He carried a white plastic bag in his hands.

"Thanks for locking the door on your own father, Antonio" the ape snarked before chuckling. "Is Cyrano still working on those dang flutes?!"

"Yea, he is, pa" Antonio sighed. "He told me this morning the set was due by tomorrow"

"Klaus? Wanting something done in less than a week?"
the gorilla snorted as he set his bag down to take his shoes off. "Color me surprised. So, who are the stowaways?"

Antonio pointed at the kotatsu, where the trio were reading something together on one of their Rotom Phones
"These guys?" Antonio explained. "The rhino's Tank, the goat's name is Kidd, and Benedict's the chicken. I met them outside"

"Good to know" the ape put on a pair of house slippers. He handed Antonio the plastic bag "Here's the takeout Cyrano ordered. And this time I didn't eat his portion"

"I heard that, Cesar!" the older anteater hollered as he walked into the living room. He still wore his working outfit, but had his goggles lifted near his eyes.

Cesar rolled his eyes
"I eat your leftovers ONE time and you still don't let it down" he snorted before grinning. "Come here"
The two larger animals tightly embraced, firmly patting each other on the back.

Antonio snorted as well
"Guys, not in front of my guests!"

"YOUR guests? It's MY house, so if anything they're our guests!"
Cyrano pointed out.
"Right?"

The boys were silent, looking unamused.

Antonio sat back down with the trio
"Sorry if my dads are, um, kinda awkward"

"Nah, it's cool" Tank reassured him. "So, do you have a Pokemon yet?"

"I do, but it's technically my dad's" Antonio explained. "It's a Spinda. They live here a LOT and it helps us get all the ash we need"

"So, can I get you guys some tea?"
Cesar walked over, grinning and carrying a six-pack of drinks.

Cyrano facepalmed as he followed his partner
"When I said 'let's offer our guests some tea', I didn't mean LITERAL HUMILAU CITY TEA!"

"What? They do this all the time over there!"
Cesar gave a hearty laugh.

Cyrano shook his head, trying not to laugh from the gorilla's antics
"...I meant actual tea. As in, matcha. And try not to burn the tea this time"

"Ah come on, Cy" Cesar nudged him with his elbow. "We got Trainers in! If there's a fire, they can use one of their Water-types to set it out. Right?"

"Yep"
"Sure can"
"Mhm"

After a few minutes in the kitchen, the tea was ready to be served. The soothing scent of matcha filled the air. While everyone sat at the table...

"So which one of you is taking on the Hoenn League?"
Cesar slowly sipped his drink

"That'd be me" Benedict waved.

"You hear what happened over in Lavaridge?" Cesar asked before taking another sip.

"About Kenneth resignin'? Yep, heard it on Hoenn News Network"
Benedict nodded.
"Y'all have any idea why?"

"Yep" Cesar explained. "Got caught peeping on the ladies' onsen, and he figured he'd be in less trouble for resigning instead of being straight-up fired"

"Huh" Benedict shrugged his shoulders. "That's odd"

An hour after finishing up the tea, the boys thanked everyone, said goodbye and walked through the rest of Route 113. The sun slowly set as the air cleared up. Fallarbor Town was just feet away!
What adventures await the boys next?