As soon as Amara arrived in Medali, she pulled out her phone and dialed Nemona's number. "Hey, 'Mara. We're out by the Snubbway on fourth street. Come party with us." Nemona said, and Amara met up with her and Trish shortly after. They sat at a table outside of the sandwich shop catching up on the last few days. "So, Allie is probably going to need the whole squad, and I'm pretty sure South Province is kind of in the middle of an ecological disaster." Amara recounted. Nemona and Trish affirmed that they'd head south as soon as they heard from Allie. "I'm going to really quickly go earn a gym badge in town. What do you two know about the Gym Leader?"
"Honestly," Nemona began. "Not all that much. He's kind of a strictly business kind of guy. He uses normal type Pokémon." Nemona took Trish's hand and the two of them stood. "We're hitting the strip to do some shopping if you want to come." Trish grumbled at Nemona's offer, causing Nemona to shoot her a look. "We're going to Lopunny's Secret, Nemona." Trish muttered. Amara snickered.
"Nemona, my lovely best friend, stop inviting third wheels on your dates. I'll be at the gym." Amara stood and headed away from the other two on her way to the gym tower. Nemona was left blushing as she and Trish made their way to the strip.
Amara found her way to the gym with another ten minutes of walking. As she entered and took a ticket from the receptionist, the man who pulled a ticket after her sat next to her in the lobby. "So, you're going up against Larry too, huh?" He asked as he put his bag by his feet and pulled out his phone. "Good luck to you. I'm on attempt number three." He pulled a can of lemonade from his bag and took a drink. Amara sighed and sat her bag down as well and tugged out her water bottle.
"Here's hoping it's not going to take me too long. I need to hit Alfornada in the next couple of days to keep my schedule." Amara said before putting her bottle to her lips. "Any suggestions?" The man furrowed his brow at her question, then looked up at her.
"Just, go for broke, I guess. There's hardly anything that hits normal types hard, except fighting." Amara nodded and her number was called shortly after. After handing the staff member her registration packet, Amara was told that her gym test would be to find the secret menu item at the Treasure Eatery.
"Cool, I was hungry anyway." She said as the receptionist sent her on her way. It didn't take her long to find the place, and as she stepped in, the scent of freshly grilled meats hit her nose. She stepped up to the to-go counter to grab a menu, and after a quick read through, she looked up and the staff member pulled out her notepad.
"Can I get a medium plate of fire blast rice balls, grilled, with a dash of lemon, oh, and extra crispy?" The waitress smiled and walked down to the man at the bar a few seats from where Amara was standing. "Oy, Larry, this one's one of yours." She said as she walked back to Amara. "So, do you actually want that or were you just giving me the gym test answer?" The woman smiled back at Amara who blinked twice before affirming that she did want to eat that, and that she didn't know that was the secret menu item, it just sounded tasty.
"I have to say, I didn't think of that when I designed this gym test. I thought I'd be the only one in Paldea who liked lemon juice on spicy food." He extended his hand. "I'm Larry, I'm the gym leader." Amara shook the man's hand. "I actually just put in an order myself. Should we eat first or battle first?"
"Eat first, no doubt. I just met my friends at Snubbway like half an hour ago and all I had were some kettle chips." She took the seat at the bar next to Larry and the bartender poured her a glass of water. "So, Larry, you use normal types?" Amara asked as she took a sip. Larry nodded as the bartender returned with a brown bottle and a chilled glass. "Summerland Splash, that's from Fiore, right?"
"Yes, it's their tropical flavor from the south. How does a nineteen-year-old know niche foreign brews at a glance?" Amara paused, before declining to tell the story. "The answer's not a lunch story, Larry." She sighed and took a sip of water. After a second, Larry spoke again.
"You drink like a survivor. I understand that." He took a sip of his drink and the two fell into a comfortable silence. A little later and their food arrived. Amara took a bite from her rice ball and the Scolvillain juice kit her immediately. "You've got good taste, Larry. I love it."
"Thanks, the food helps me feel something." He nonchalantly remarked as he took a bite. Amara blinked for a second, then looked to Larry again. "Larry, my new friend and soon to be the man handing me a gym badge, who hurt you?"
That question caught Larry off-guard for a moment, then he downed his entire drink and placed the glass upside-down on his cocktail napkin. "My ex-wife. Who hurt you?" Amara shrugged and replied nonchalantly with a "Who didn't?" before Larry narrowed his eyes. "My father." Amara took another swig of water and the two finished their meals in silence.
"Ten minutes for a bathroom break and then we battle. The battle court is in the basement." Larry announced as he stood up and walked away. The bartender pulled out a remote control, hit a button, and the floor began to move. The lower floor in the main seating area retracted, and Amara now noticed the floor of the main dining room was made of glass.
"Oy, challenger, Larry was serious about the ten minutes. Get ready to battle. The customers love it." Amara paid for her food and took the next few minutes to get ready for battle. I feel like there's going to be this massive bait and switch, and Larry's going to turn out to be like, a really good battler and the sad man act is like a cover, and that thought upset me. Rhys muttered from the back of their mind. As Amara took her position on the field, she heard two quick stomps of a foot on the ceiling. She looked up to find Mr. Vaughn and Nurse Miriam smiling down at her from their table. Mr. Vaughn mouthed a quick "Give 'em hell, kids." Before Larry took his position on the battlefield.
"Shall we begin?" He asked as Amara pulled out a Pokéball. Larry tossed a Staraptor onto the battlefield as Amara sent out a Raichu. "Here's to a good battle, you lot." Larry said as the battle began.