It was a quiet day inside the Medali Gym lobby. Usually, there would be a few trainers hanging around in the main lounge area, waiting to see a Gym Battle. But today the lobby was empty except for its staffers. They hadn't even bothered to turn on all the lights.

And then the door opened, and someone flounced their way inside, shattering that silence.

"Ha-ha! You thought I was going to be stopped by a mere snowstorm, Exceptional Every-boy?" Iono boasted. "Neither rain, nor sleet, nor… uhh, anything else, will keep me from forcing you to be in my stream!"

The lobby staffer, the only person around to witness this grand entrance, blinked a few times before trying to reassert her professionalness.

"Umm… can I help you, Miss Iono?"

"Ho-ho, my reputation precedes me!" Iono chuckled, dashing up to the desk. "I demand an audience with Larry ASAP pronto! I have mondo important things to discuss with him, and if he thinks he can keep blowing me off, then I'll just have to assault him at home base and trap him in my web! Fufufu!"

"Uhh, I'm not… seeing any appointments in his schedule," the staffer replied, typing into her computer. "I'm sorry to say, but Larry's not in today. He called off for a special appointment."

"EEYAH! I thought he was just a boring work-all-day-aholic businessman! You're telling me he actually GOES OUT!?" She then got right into the poor staffer's face. "WHERE IS HE!?"


Porto Marinada.

They say it's the sunniest town on the Western Province. Today, it certainly held a lot of stake to that claim. Apart from the melting banks of snow along the outskirts, you could be here and not have even known that there was bad weather just yesterday.

The sun gleamed on this portside town just as brightly as any summer day. Boats were tied down to the dockside. A salty breeze in the air enhanced Porto Marinada's coastal vibes, as did the vibrant energy of the people in the town and the light, sunny clothes they all wore.

But nowhere else was as bustling as in the town's center. The large pavilion that made up the Porto Marinada Market was insulated with the fervent sounds of auctioneers yelling, people running back and forth, and the occasional friendly Pokémon battles happening in the Gym-like battle court.

The two Gym Leaders made their way down the winding cerulean road that curved down the hills into the breezy town below.

Larry, in a rare sight for most, was dressed outside his usual business wear. He wore a casual slate gray button shirt with a navy-blue blazer, khaki slacks, and dark gray loafers. Katy wore a long white sundress with butterfly patterns on it and a short, light yellow jacket over it. Rather than her usual curl, she had her hair styled in a ponytail.

Katy looked at Larry, and observed the way he glanced around at everything in Porto Marinada like a first-time tourist.

"Have you ever been here before?"

"I think so," Larry answered with a thoughtful sneer. "It's been a long time, though. There's not a lot of business reasons to come here, and I've personally never been one for the markets."

"Mm. Too competitive?"

"Too noisy."

"Oh." She twiddled her fingers a bit. "Are you… sure you're comfortable with this?"

"Yeah. My head's feeling surprisingly light, despite how loud it already is. I think this should be fine." He turned to Katy and said, "I guess I'll let you know if things start feeling like a bit too much for me."

"Sounds good," she smiled.

They walked into the pavilion. Larry, who's not really one for observing people, looked toward the walls and was immediately taken by the mosaic artwork of several various Pokémon on them. Katy was the opposite, looking around excitedly at all the vendors and the people that had come to bid.

Larry expected to start marching towards a table to find a seat, but instead Katy walked straight on ahead.

"Are we watching all the auctions from upfront?" he asked her.

Katy stopped in her tracks, and whipped her head towards him looking shocked. Then… she started to laugh.

"Oh! Oh, my!"

"What's so funny?"

"Larry… did you think I came all the way here just to watch the bids?" A devious smile forced upon her lips, stunning him.


Larry still looked stunned once he sat himself down at a table. Frankly… he had never seen this side of Katy before.

It wasn't just that Katy is a ferocious bidder. She was like a leopard, pouncing in on surefire wins and stealing them at the last second. She yelled out her bidding prices louder than everyone else from the back of the line. Larry even witnessed her jump in on a kid about to win a set of Revives. But then, her sweet side reemerged, if for just a second, to allow her to graciously concede to the boy when he started to well up.

A lot of the items being auctioned were sets of mundane utilities. Potions, sandwich ingredients, Moomoo Milk. But there were a few interesting things mixed in, including the ultra-valuable PP Max medicine, exotic imported foods from other regions, and several rare Poké Balls Larry had either seldom seen or never heard of before.

One woman was selling something called a Rotom Catalog, which he was surprised Katy didn't go for… until she meekly explained she already had three of them.

"I just wanted to know if there were different editions with different furniture!"

Indeed, whether or not Katy already owned or was likely to need whatever was being put up seemed like a secondary concern to her. Evolution stones for Pokémon she didn't appear to have. Two whole stacks of a Hoennian brand soda pop. She got really upset to lose out on something called a "Lock Capsule", even though no one knew what was inside it.

And… bottle caps. What.

Most egregiously was the unique Poké Ball she proudly showed off. A winning bid of over 322,000 Poké Dollars that she said is called a "Lure Ball".

"It's more effective at catching Pokémon you lure in while fishing!" Katy eagerly explained.

"But… fishing's not legal in this region."

"Exactly! It's useless!" she said just as cheerfully. When Larry raised an eyebrow, she became defensive. "What? Pokémon look cool when you send them out of these, and they make for neat souvenirs!"

"This seems overzealous to me."

"I'm sorry Larry, but I can never help myself when I'm here!" Katy defended herself. "I'm like a whole different beast when the auctions are this hot! This is when I feel like I get to be 'me' the most and not just the gentle chef everyone knows me for!"

"That's… admirable," Larry admitted.

"And besides, you never know when some of these things might come in a pinch!"

"Now opening up bids for… 20 Health Feathers!" an auctioneer yelled out.

"Ooh! See? Health Feathers! My little friends could always use more HP!"

With that, she dashed off again.


Eventually, Larry got tired of just sitting around and alternating between watching Trainers battle at the court and trying to spot the ninja that is his friend hopping between the crowds, and decided to peruse the local market stands on the outer sides of the pavilion.

They didn't sell anything too extravagant compared to the shops in other cities, but Larry had a few supplies to stock up on. They did have some unique souvenirs of Porto Marinada, including a die-cast model of one of the local yachts. It reminded Larry of his uncle who lives in Canalave City and always had a thing for boats, so he picked one up.

There were also some fancy colognes, made from locally sourced pineapples and other fruit. Larry didn't consider himself much of a cologne man. However, as he gazed upon the rack, he briefly heard Katy's voice and saw her laughing excitedly at a nearby stall.

…Something about that drove an impulse for him to pick one of those bottles up.

In short time, he filled his bag and started making his way back to the center. Along the way, he heard two people standing by talking with each other.

"Dear! Dear!" the woman pointed out. "I was right! That is the Gym Leader Katy!"

"Wow, so it is!" said the man.

"Look at her moving along! Those auctions must be really hot today!"

"And she's got quite the fiery spirit for them too! Heh! I never would've picked her as the competitive type given the kind of Gym Leader she is!"

This piqued Larry's interest, and he walked up next to them.

"What do you mean by that, exactly?"

"Oh! Well… we don't mean anything nasty by that, really," the woman said. "It's just because of Katy's reputation is all."

"Her reputation…?"

"Well, most everyone considers her the easiest Gym Leader around," the man explained. "A lot of Trainers I know started their Gym Challenge by facing her before anyone else because they knew she puts up the least amount of fight. If she can be that spirited at something like this though, it… begs the question of why she doesn't try so hard in her battles."

Larry looked over at Katy, who was pounding her fists at one of the tables in excitement, and tried to reconcile this with the image of her he'd just been told.

"Yeah… I guess it does."

"This is kind of exciting though!" the man proclaimed. "And here I thought Kofu was the only Gym Leader who frequented this auction house to sweep on bids!"

"Oooh, you're right!" The woman eagerly turned to Larry. "Tell me mister, do you know if any other Gym Leaders ever come by here?"

"…"


Sat down at a table again with a nice hot cup of coffee and a sandwich, Larry curiously watched as two men fought in the middle of the battle court. One had a Pelipper and the other had a Girafarig.

The Pelipper had set up Rain Dance and was clearly getting ready to charge a Hydro Pump. However, Girafarig somehow managed to out speed it and fired a Psybeam, which took out Pelipper's remaining health and caused it to faint.

"Ahhh… good hustle there, Jeremy!" the losing trainer congratulated.

"Thanks, Bill! Guess that means you are painting Marcia's house this weekend."

"Yeah, I suppose a deal's a deal. How's she doing, anyway?"

Larry chuckled at the sight of this. Setting petty disputes with a Pokémon battle to ensure nobody ever fights. How creative.

Just then, Katy eagerly hustled back over to him. She had both her hands behind her back and was giving a wily smile. Larry just stared.

"…Alright. What did yo—"

Suddenly, she flashed her fists, both of them gripping pointed Razor Claws.

"Heeeeeee! You better watch yourself, mister!" she piped in a playfully wicked voice. "Or else, I'll come at you at night and pounce you like a Sneasel! Hee-hee!"

"Very charming," said Larry, who couldn't hide his smile.

"You're not bored here, are you?" Katy asked with a sudden tone of worry. "I feel like I've just left you sitting here most of the time!"

Larry gestured to the cup he was drinking from. "I've been poking around. They have very good coffee here."

"I'm glad."

Katy foisted up two of her brown carrier bags, which were bursting to full with all her prizes.

"Are you actually going to keep all of this stuff?" Larry asked, peering into the bags.

"Of course I am! Here, look at all these Berries!" She gestured to where she had several bins full of different Berry types. "I've been needing more Berries to experiment with for my recipes and these could all come in handy! I could even make more fruit-themed desserts that you'll like!"

"That one, I will concede. But…" He held up another bin in the same bag. "How many Dive Balls is this? 20? 25?"

"27!" she proudly answered.

"Katy…"

Katy tried to keep a steady smile, but as she gazed into the bags herself, she gave up and put her arms down.

"Oh, you're right, Larry. I have such terrible packrat tendencies." She fidgeted her hand. "I guess this is just one of the many ways in which I relate to Bug Pokémon so well. I like to pounce on things and hoard them up in tree stumps just like they do."

"Maaaybe you should take it easy now."

"You're right," Katy nodded. "Besides, I don't think at this point, anything could possibly tickle my fancy a—"

"Chipped Pot!" yelled an auctioneer. "Now opening bids on a Chipped Pot!"

Katy gasped. "A Chipped Pot! That's the special kind of teapot that can only evolve Sinistea with a mark on them!"

"Do you have any Sinistea with that mark?"

"I sure don't! But I own a Cracked Pot already, and this will look so good next to it on my cabinet!" Larry frowned at her. "Okay… look. This will be the last one. I promise, alright?"

He sighed. "Alright. Go ahead."

"Yay! Be right back!"

She happily trotted off, leaving Larry alone with her bags.

Larry could barely understand what Katy's interest in things like that teapot were. But… he also had to admit, it was very mellowing to see her in such a good, passionate mood like this. He had never seen this side of her but… it was still a very good side. Fun. Spirited. Just like Katy herself.

But this made Larry frown again when he thought back to the words of that tourist couple.

If Katy really does have this kind of energy always stored up within her then… what did they mean about her being a non-challenging Gym Leader? She seems to enjoy Pokémon battles with the same burning passion as everyone else so… Does she really not throw herself into her own battles? What keeps her from going all out?

Larry wanted to ponder this more, but he was stirred from his thoughts when a giant hand suddenly came down on his shoulder.

"WELL, BLOW ME DOWN AND CALL ME A WAILORD! I THOUGHT THAT WAS YOU, LARRY!"

"Ahhh!"

Larry was thrown right out of his chair in startlement. He looked up, beathing heavy, to see the laughing mug of Cascarrafa's Surging Chef towering over him.

"It's good to see you around these parts, Larry ol' boy! But there's no need to throw yourself overboard!" Kofu blithely declared. "I promise not to cast a net over ya! Need a hand there?"

Larry took his hand and hoisted himself up from the ground. "Geez, are you trying to put me into early retirement or something?"

"Gwahaha! My apologies, Larry! I forgot Brassius mentioned something about ya scaring easily."

"I don't… like this rumor that's being spread around," Larry grumbled as he dusted himself off.

"So what brings ya to Porto Marinada anyhow?" Kofu asked with brimming curiosity. "I never took you as someone with a taste for the markets!"

"Well, I'm actually here with—"

"Master Kofu!"

Katy sprinted up to Kofu and Larry, holding the Cracked Pot in her hands.

"Vaultin' Veluza!" Kofu exclaimed. Katy came and set the pot down before Kofu embraced her in a big, spinning bear hug. "If it isn't my sweet little truffle! You're looking as sparkling as ever!"

"I should've figured I'd see you clobbering around over here, old man!" Katy playfully teased him as he gently let her down. "Trying to move in on my territory!"

"Hey now, don't be forgettin' who taught you everything about auctioning in the first place!" Kofu laughed. "But… what a haul! I guess maybe you have swept all the best deals out from right under me!" He started to wipe a tear from his eye. "My little pup is a full-grown shark now."

"Ohhhh," Katy cooed. "And you're still just a big old softie."

"But hey now, you usually don't tag along a suckerfish with you! And what a catch too! You're looking as handsome as the last time we talked Larry, you salty dog!"

"Um… thanks?" Larry replied, scratching his head.

Although he's met Kofu plenty of times through the League's get-togethers and exhibitions, Larry had very rarely ever talked with him one-on-one, finding his loud and eccentric attitude rather intimidating.

…But it was also starting to occur to him that he might say the same thing about practically every one of the other Gym Leaders.

Do I really avoid people that much?

"So…" Kofu leered between the pair. "Never expected to see the two of ya's swimmin' in the same waters. You on a romantic date?"

"Date?" Larry shot up. "No. No, nothing like that."

"It really isn't like that at all," Katy agreed. "Larry and I have been catching up a lot lately, and he had the day off so I thought it'd be fun to see the market together."

"Gwahaha! Love seeing me some chums being chums! I hope I ain't comin' in like a third wheel on y'all!"

"We were just wrapping up actually," said Katy. "At least, here anyway. How are you feeling?" she asked Larry.

"We might be done here, but the day's not over yet."

"Hey now, here's a fine flyin' idea I just reeled in from my noggin!" Kofu chimed in. "You're a big food lover just like the two of us, ain't ya Larry?"

"Of course." I suppose there's worse reputations to have… Larry thought to himself.

"Then you should both come and have dinner at my restaurant! The mighty Kofu Lodge is gonna be getting' ready to open for dinner by the time I'm back in Cascarrafa, and ya have to try some of my new fresh masterpieces!"

Katy clapped in excitement. "Oh, what a swell idea! It's been so long since I've gotten to eat at the Kofu Lodge! What do you say, Larry? … No pressure, of course."

"Hmmm…"

Truth be told, for all the restaurants in Paldea that he's been to, Larry had never taken much thought to Kofu's prideful establishment. He just didn't often find himself with a taste for seafood. But… a growl from his stomach told him that he was getting pretty hungry, and… he recognized that committed to today being a day about going to new places.

"You know what? Sure. I guess I'd be down for tha—AAAT!"

Kofu suddenly grabbed the two of them and embraced them tightly, their heads squeezed in his huge forearms.

"JUMPIN' JELLICENT! That makes me happier than a Clamperl! Y'all are gonna be in for more might delicious treats than ya kin fit in your bellies!"

"That's—that's great, but…" Larry choked out. "I can't breathe."


Soon enough, Larry, Katy, and Kofu found themselves walking up the hill out of Porto Marinada and up the breezy road that led through what was called Area Two in the West Province.

There was a calm, gentle wind blowing and several energetic Pokémon could be spotted roaming the fields, including a bunch of sprinting Girafarig and several herds of Deerling. Most of the snow had melted completely around here, leaving just a few soft banks along the ground.

Larry was enjoying the sights, still in a part of Paldea that he had never had the chance to explore much. He could spot the huge rock formation Colonnade Hollow in the distance, said to be one of the Ten Sights of Paldea.

As a kid, I might've wanted to climb that huge rock.

Katy was clutching her bags full of winnings and smiling all around, especially at all the happy Pokémon that came nearby to greet them. She waved gingerly at a Pawmi and a Lechonk that had run up next to them all curious.

I wonder where my path would've taken me if I had decided to be a Normal-type Gym Leader instead. Of course then, I guess I'd have been moving in on Larry's territory.

Everything seemed all cozy and calm. But as the three of them passed by the resident Pokémon Center of the area with Kofu still marching onward, Larry started to grow confused.

"We are calling a cab to get to Cascarrafa from here, right?"

Kofu spun around to him, looking stony-eyed for a second before breaking out into another guffaw.

"You're killin' me, Larry! You really are a homegrown city boy, aren't ya?" He stepped to the side and held out his hand to the horizons. "Cascarrafa ain't that far from here at all! It's just a simple hike through the Asado Desert there and then we're right as rain!"

Larry's eyes bulged out… at least, as much as they could.

The Asado Desert? It looked like several miles worth of nothing but rolling sand hills, heavy sand in the wind, and from what Larry had heard, plenty of shifty Ground Pokémon that could pop out and catch you off guard.

"You want us… to walk… through all that desert? You really are a crazy old man." He looked to Katy, who shrugged meekly.

"Gwahaha! A little march through the sand will build ya some exercise, my boy! Need to beef up those skinny legs of yours! Now come on!" And he kept confidently walking forward.

"But I…" Larry stopped. He looked like he wanted to protest more, but instead, he slouched over and sighed in defeat. "Whatever. I guess I'll just sleep off all that leg pain. Better not get any sand in my eyes…"

He let himself walk forward again, looking broken and miserable.

Katy could sense this, watching Larry's movements with a grave look of concern. She held out a hand in his direction, but then balled it up.

Swallowing up her courage, she trotted out ahead until she was standing in front of Kofu.

"Aaactually, Kofu, if I should be completely honest, all these heavy bags of mine from the auction are weighing me down quite a ton. And I don't think I'd have the strength to keep lugging them with me all the way through the desert. Maybe a cab is in order."

Kofu chuffed a bit and leaned in towards Katy, speaking to her gently enough that Larry couldn't hear.

"Dear seabiscuit, the whole benefit to bringing a gentleman with you is so that he can be a noble sailor and take all that excess weight off your hands."

"Come on," Katy quietly pleaded. "You're already trying to force him to walk several kilometers through a desert when we're both pretty tired. I told him this was going to be a fun day. And…" She looked down solemnly before meeting her old master's eyes. "I'd really like it to keep being fun for him, so I can get him out of his shell more often. …Please? Can you at least do it for me?"

Kofu tried to resist his former apprentice's adorable puppy-dog eyes. But, it was useless, and with a huge gulp, he let down his gates.

"Ohhhhh! Your bargaining skills are good for more than just deals, aren't they? Wonder where ya got that persuasiveness from! Very well, little kelp. Ya've shanghaied me!"

"Oh-ho, thank you so much, Master!" Katy gleamed. She smiled bigly back at Larry, who gave her an appreciative look in return. Well, his face didn't change much, but she was getting better at reading his subtle expressions.

"Just let me step on over here so I can arrange that ride!"

As Kofu walked off to the side though, he pulled out his Venonat-patterned wallet and started looking through it grimly as he muttered to himself.

"And give me time to figure this out. Ohh, fare for three, plus all that space for Katy-bean's stuff, that's gotta be a jumbo cab most definitely. Ay Carvahna, my poor wallet…" He gritted his teeth in visible regret. "You stubborn seadog, ya probably should've just been honest and told them you forgot to renew your flyers' membership…"

Katy looked very pleased with herself. However, when she looked Larry's way again, he didn't seem as jovial anymore and had taken to staring off in the distance.

She realized how much it bothered her to see him so upset back there. It was like a huge ache in her heart that immediately made her want to spring into action and make him feel better. She'd certainly never spoken up like that to her old master before.

But still… the way he folded over back there and seemed to accept misery for himself was an extremely alarming sight.

"Hey," she called out.

Larry turned around. "…Mm?"

"I could tell back there that you were really uncomfortable with walking that far. So why didn't you speak up?"

Larry shrugged. "I don't know. He was so set on wanting us to walk that… I didn't see any point in arguing."

"Larry… there's always a point when someone's trying to make you do something you really don't want to do." Katy looked at him in distress. "You don't let people walk all over you like this all the time, do you?"

Larry's eyebrows flared up. Maybe his bluntness was starting to rub off on her a bit much. She seemed to notice too, as she immediately looked apologetic.

"I'm… sorry. I don't know what came over me."

Larry huffed a bit and walked to meet her at her face, speaking a bit more grumpily now.

"It's not a matter of being anyone's doormat, Katy," he explained to her. "I've just had to learn when to pick my battles. I get forced into things quite often in my life, and sometimes it's less of a headache, at least in the moment, to just go with it rather than make a fuss."

Katy wouldn't stop looking at him with concern. This was a side of Larry she wasn't used to.

"Is that really a fun way to live, Larry?"

Just then, Kofu yelled out and waved over to them. A large-sized Flying Taxi, with two sets of seats and a trunk, came to rest just behind him. It was being pulled by four sets of Squawkabilly over the usual three that pulled a regular-sized cab.

"Your carriage has arrived, amblers! Last one in is a salty Qwilfish! And I'm calling shotgun!" He eagerly hopped into the front seat of the cab.

Larry pondered for a response, not making eye contact.

"Fun? I don't know. But ambivalence is second nature to me. I guess… it's what keeps me motivated." He started walking forward towards the cab, but then he turned around to see Katy was planted, with an anxious look still on her face. He sighed and smiled at her. "I'm fine, Katy. Really."

And he kept on walking.

Katy walked forward too, putting on a smile. But inside… she wasn't convinced.