The walking it required for me to reach from Rustboro to Slateport definitely ended up being a lot more than I originally thought.
By the time I finally reached Mauville, I was beyond exhausted. I wanted to head to the PokéCentre for some rest, but I caught sight of two familiar figures in front of the Mauville Gym.
I walked towards them and realized they were not in a serious conversation, so I found the opportunity to say, "Wattson, Regis!"
The two noticed me immediately and Regis was delighted, "Lows, we meet again!"
"What brings you here?" I asked.
"I was asking him to check New Mauville to check whether the generator is fine. He's done the job perfectly in just minutes!" Wattson grinned.
"Yeah... Apparently he had some trust in me because of me training in Winona's Gym in the past." Regis replied.
"I heard from Winona that he was one of the best trainers under her Gym, so I knew I could count on him! He did not disappoint." Wattson laughed.
"It's all stuff from the past, Leader Wattson." Regis sheepishly scratched the back of his head, definitely acting a lot more humble compared to when I first met him.
"I assume you two youngsters want to reconcile for a while, so I'll leave you two to it!" Before heading back into his Gym, Wattson patted Regis' shoulder lightly, "Thanks for your help again, Regis!"
"Anytime, Leader Watson."
After Wattson entered the Mauville Gym, Regis sighed in relief before helplessly smiling at me, "I just wish people wouldn't think of me as the best trainer under Winona's Gym all the time."
"Why not? Being able to train under her is honestly pretty impressive to me." I asked.
"Well, it is something I'm proud of and it brought me many good memories. But people having high expectations towards me makes me feel pressured and egoistic... like when we first battled. I don't want these feelings to take over my head." Regis confessed.
"I can see what you mean." I nodded, remembering about myself trying to keep the secret of my relations with the Slateport Gym Leader.
"Anyways, enough about me. You look like an airplane without its fuel right now!"
"When you walked all the way from Rustboro to here, it'd be a miracle to not look like this." I said.
"There's some people who would still have their engines up and running after a long flight, you know." Regis chuckled, "Don't you have a bike or anything to help save your fuel?"
"Wait, is there a place to get something like that?"
"Did you not notice Rydel's Cycles over there?" Saying that, he pointed towards a yellow building with a display sign board showing the shop's name.
"Oh... I guess that just slipped out of my mind." I shrugged, "I don't think I would be using much of it even if I do have one, anyway."
"It could always come in handy if you wanna save some time! Even I own one." Regis said.
"Wait... Don't you fly around all the time?"
"Sometimes, cycling is a great way to feel the wind as well if the conditions don't allow you to take a flight!" He grinned, "Although if I recall correctly, the shop only gives a better discount to Hoenn natives."
"Guess that's out of the question, then." I replied.
"Hey, if you want... we can always fly to our next destination again!" He said, already seemingly making up his mind as he took out a Pokéball from his belt.
"Are you also heading towards Slateport?" I asked.
"That's the plan! I wasn't going to due to it being an optional Gym, but it's a good way for me to train Flying type moves."
"I don't mind following along, then." I nodded, accepting the suggestion.
"Seems like we got a flight going, Tsubasa!" He sent out his trusty flier as we rode on its back. I was worried that the male Swellow may not be able to handle our combined weight, but he seemed to take it just fine like last time. He started flapping his wings as we steadily flew up towards the sky and towards Slateport.
Due to me having a first experience before, this flight felt a lot better as I smiled, enjoying the scenery below us. No wonder Regis loved flying; I could definitely see this being addictive and exciting even for myself.
While flying across the route, an unusual building caught my attention.
"This doesn't seem like something that would be built in the middle of a route..." I muttered quietly.
"That's the Trick House!" Regis replied.
"W-Wait, how did you hear me?" I was surprised.
"To be a good pilot, your hearing needs to be on point at all times!" Regis smiled, "Anyways, the Trick House is owned by the Trick Master, where there are several puzzles at the back of the house for challengers to complete to earn rewards." Regis said.
"Have you ever tried them before?"
"Once, before I officially became a trainer. The maze that I tried was too hard even for a pilot." Regis turned around to face me, "You interested?"
"Not really... I have a bad sense of direction." I sheepishly smiled.
Regis nodded understandingly before going back to check on Tsubasa. Shortly, we landed safely on a small pile of land away from other structures.
"Thanks, Tsubasa! That was a solid Aerial Ace out of ten." Regis patted his Flying type.
"Aerial Ace out of ten?" I was confused.
"That means the flight was sharp, Lows." He chuckled.
"I see." I nodded as Regis returned Tsubasa back to his Pokéball.
"We can do the sightseeing later. Let's go register for the Gym Battle first!" Regis seemed to be excited over this.
For a pilot, he sure is energetic...
I agreed to his suggestion as we headed into the Slateport Gym. It was a large clay building with several large greenhouses behind it. I was in a mix of emotions, both happy and nervous to potentially see my sister again.
However, she did not seem to be at the Slateport Gym at that moment. Instead, what entered our sights were a reception counter, multiple glass display cases containing beautiful flowers planted in pots, some framed pictures featuring the Gym Leader's jungle trekking and hiking trips as well as her featuring in various gardening events, a small couch and a table with gardening magazines for visitors to spare their time.
We went to the reception counter, where a nice lady helped us with the registrations. Our Gym Battles were planned to be in approximately three days, so we had tons of time to train and prepare.
Satisfied with the quick work done by the receptionist, Regis was still eager to explore around, "Now that this is out of the way, I wanna check out the Oceanic Museum and Battle Tent to see what's good! You tagging along?"
"Nah. I'm still exhausted from all the walking before. I think I'll take a short break."
"That's fair. See you later, then!" Regis waved his hand before dashing towards the market.
I entered the red building in the city before searching for a seat. While doing so, I noticed my sister in front of the counter with a green-haired teenager, having a conversation with the nurse there.
I got closer to listen to their conversation. My sister said, "Nurse Kaina, please get this guy to do a check-up. By force or whatever, I do not care."
The green-haired teenager replied, "I told you, I'm completely fine-"
"Wally, if you persist one more time, our rela-friendship is over."
"Leader Wally, you should listen to Leader Charmaine. You know ladies aren't pretty when they're angry." Nurse Kaina said.
"I'm not a lady, so I wouldn't know." Wally rubbed the back of his head as he chuckled helplessly.
My sister then noticed me and waved her hand, "Lows! What brings you here?"
"I registered for the Gym Challenge here." I smiled.
"This will be a battle I'm anticipating." She proudly patted my head lightly, "I'll be able to see how far you've become in being a trainer."
Suddenly, she changed expression and looked to her left, catching Wally red-handed and causing his escape attempt to fail miserably.
"A check-up isn't that hard to do, Wally. Now, Nurse Kaina, take care of him for me, please." She half-pushed Wally towards the nurse before Wally sighed and finally followed her instructions into a room.
Charmaine sighed in relief, "Finally. He's too persistent on things he refuses to do."
"Does he have a trauma towards syringes or something?" I asked.
"That's not the case... He just doesn't want to worry anyone when his asthma becomes worse." My sister replied, "He tried to go through some... extreme measures to check if his asthma fully recovered. It didn't work out, but he didn't want to do a check-up, either. Now that I got the opportunity, I just forced him into it."
"Whatever that works, I suppose." I shrugged.
"Check-up does take a while, though." She invited, "You wanna tag along to visit the Slateport Market? I want to buy some items as well."
I was slightly exhausted, but I also wanted to spend time with my sister. I nodded, "Why not."
"Let's head out, then." We walked out of the PokéCentre and headed towards the lively bazaar. I was feeling slightly reserved due to the crowd along with the liveliness, so I held my sister's hand slightly tighter than before, in which she responded with a reassuring smile and led me to one of her target stalls.
It was a stall selling Pokémon dolls. The woman working there greeted us with warm hospitality, "Leader Charmaine! It's an honour having you at our stall. What would you like?"
"You're too nice, ma'am." My sister chuckled, "Is there a Marill doll up for sale?"
"We do! It's 3,000 PokéDollars per doll." The woman smiled.
"I would like to get one, please." My sister immediately took out her wallet and was going to pay the full price, but the woman said, "It's okay, Leader Charmaine! For you, I'll give a special discount of 25 percent."
My sister was surprised, "Y-You're too kind, ma'am!"
"It's nothing compared to what you've done for us, Leader Charmaine! You've always cared about the residents around the city and are so approachable. We appreciate someone like you joining us in Slateport."
My sister was going to refuse the offer again but saw the woman's persistence through her expression. She lightly shook her head with a smile before accepting the discount, "Thanks, ma'am. Next time, I'm definitely paying the full price, though!"
"No worries, Leader Charmaine!"
After the Marill doll purchase, the next few stalls we visited all had similar results: The stall owners enjoying light-hearted conversations with my sister, overall showing their gratitude towards her for the contribution she had done ever since she became the Slateport Gym Leader. My sister seemed to blush a little every time she heard these compliments, but I could tell she was happy that everyone was so accepting towards her presence.
I just listened from the side, proud of everything my sister had done throughout the past few years.
I said I wanted to be known as myself, not as a Gym Leader's brother...
But I'm definitely proud that big sis is the Slateport Gym Leader.
After making a few more purchases, my sister seemed to be satisfied to leave Slateport Market. She still had a location in mind, "You wanna head to the Seashore House near the beach? They sell good Soda Pop there."
"Soda Pop sounds nice." My sister knew I used to crave Soda Pop. We walked for some distance before reaching the beach right outside of the city. It was filled with people doing all kinds of activities such as having a picnic, enjoying the sun and swimming in the sea.
My sister led me into a small house, where the Seashore House owner happily welcomed us.
"Three cans of Soda Pop, sir." I requested.
"What's the extra Soda Pop for, Lows?" My sister asked.
"I wanted to let my Pokémon try it out. Perhaps they might like it." I replied.
"That's considerate of you." Charmaine smiled, before taking out her wallet to pay again.
However, I was the one to stop her action this time, "I'll pay for it, big sis."
"Hmm?" She seemed slightly surprised by my initiativeness, "You don't have to, Lows."
"I-I just feel like doing it." I persisted.
She definitely noticed my expression of persistence, so although confused, she nodded as I took out 900 PokéDollars and paid for the fizzy beverages.
As we walked out of the house and found a nearby bench to sit on and have our drinks, I sent out my Pokémon and took out a straw and put it into one of the cans for them to drink the Soda Pop much easier. As they curiously observed the can of drink and eventually tasted them one after another, my sister and I quietly drank the other two cans.
My sister then broke the silence, "...You can always tell me why you want to be the one to do something, you know."
I appeared slightly surprised by what she said and almost choked on the Soda Pop. After being able to calm down, I appeared slightly embarrassed as I replied.
"It's just... a silly promise I wanted to fulfill."
Lows' Pokémon observed the can of Soda Pop given by their trainer. The cold beverage was right in front of them, inviting the curious Pokémon to do a taste test.
"Has anyone ever tried Soda Pop before?" Surfer asked.
"It's not like we ever had the opportunity to do so in the past." Woody shrugged.
"Did the Adoption Centre ever offer you any drink like this?" Grace asked.
"Not really... The owner always said Fresh Water is the best drink to have." Woody replied.
"Heh, I mean, he's not wrong." Surfer happily chuckled, "Water is superior, after all."
"Are you guys planning to dig in or not? I want to give it a try!" Ziggs seemed excited.
After receiving gestures of approval for him to be the first in tasting the drink, Ziggs immediately sucked the liquid through the straw put in the can. However, Ziggs' face seemed to have scrunched up a little as he took his mouth out of the straw.
"You looked like you got hit in the face with a Muddy Water attack, Ziggs." Surfer joked.
"I don't like the taste of Soda Pop!" Ziggs complained, "It's so sour and it hurts my throat."
"Yikes!" Power got terrified by Ziggs' review, "S-Should I even try chugging it?"
"I heard every carbonated drink does hurt your throat if you drink it too fast, though." Grace pointed out.
"You got a point..." Ziggs slightly blushed, "B-But what about the sourness? It's even more sour than Lemonade!"
"Y-You've tried Lemonade before?" Power asked.
"Nope, but I think Soda Pop is sour to the power of sour! Nothing else can defeat it." Ziggs exclaimed.
"It can't be that bad..." Curious after hearing Ziggs' comments, Surfer was the next to try out the Soda Pop drink.
However, it seemed to bring out completely different results as Surfer smiled, "It's pretty good! The sweetness isn't too overwhelming, and the fizzy feeling makes this experience seem like a refreshing sea breeze."
"I-It's like the complete opposite of what Ziggs just said!" Power became confused.
"Maybe we'll all have different thoughts towards this drink. Let's just all try it together." Grace suggested, as the other three did their own taste tests as well. Grace commented that the drink was average, nothing too out of the ordinary, while Power thoroughly enjoyed it as his eyes sparkled with happiness the moment he drank the fizzy drink. Woody on the other hand, just briefly said, "...The owner was right. I still prefer Fresh Water over this."
"No way... Only I disliked Soda Pop out of all five of us?!" Ziggs appeared disgruntled by the results. He wanted to enjoy a good drink too!
"I guess it's just not your cup of tea, Ziggs." Power felt bad for the Normal type.
"Cup of tea? You mean 'can of soda', right?" Ziggs' horrible joke made Power let out a slight chuckle.
"Oh, shut up, Ziggs."
Flashback...
"Big sis, welcome home!" I happily greeted upon noticing my sister back home from Trainer School.
"Little bro... guess what I got for you today?" She smirked.
"Could it be...?"
"Yes, it could be!" She took out a can of Soda Pop from her backpack, "A Soda Pop for my favourite brother!"
"Yay!" I grinned as my sister gave me the drink, "Thanks, big sis."
"No problem!" She chuckled, but the conversation was interrupted by our mother as she had an expression of disapproval, "Charmaine, didn't we tell you not to waste the pocket money we gave you?"
My sister just shrugged, "It's not a waste if it's for little bro."
Staring at me, who was enjoying the gift from my sister, our mother sighed, "Fine, Charmaine. But remember that saving is important for the long run."
"I still have leftover money! Don't worry!" My sister responded with a reassuring grin as our mother shook her head with a smile before leaving us two alone.
While enjoying the can of Soda Pop, I suddenly looked up towards my sister, who was just staring at me, "Big sis?"
She seemed slightly surprised, "What's up, little bro?"
"I've decided..."
"Decided on what?"
"Once I have enough money when I grow up, I'll buy all the Soda Pop back for big sis!"
She chuckled, "You don't need to, little bro."
"Big sis buys Soda Pop for me all the time, so let me do it for you too!" I was persistent.
"Alright, alright!" My sister smiled, "I look forward to it."
We made a pinky promise before giggling in happiness.
From then onwards, I remembered the promise all too well until the day I was able to fulfill it.
Flashback ended...
"I didn't expect you to still remember." My sister took another sip of the drink.
"You've been so supportive towards me before you left Kanto. It's the least I can do for you." I looked down towards the ground, feeling slightly bashful.
"There's another thing you can do for me." She replied.
I looked at her, confused, "Huh?"
"That is... to do your best in the Gym Challenge against me!" She patted my head, "Let's have fun together again, just like old times, this time on the battlefield."
I smiled, "You bet."
We made a pinky promise, something we always did when we were younger. It felt nostalgic to me.
"Little bro... don't be sad! You won't be staying at home forever either. Once you grow up, you can come and challenge me in Hoenn once I become a Gym Leader!"
"That's true... I'll defeat you when that happens, big sis!"
"I look forward to it!"
I grinned.
This is another promise I'll be able to fulfill soon.
And I can't wait for that to happen.
Lows' Pokémon Team:
Surfer (Wartortle, Male) Jolly Nature, Moves: Bite, Water Gun, Water Pulse, Sand Tomb
Ziggs (Linoone, Male) Naive Nature, Moves: Dig, Headbutt, Swift, Facade
Grace (Kirlia, Female) Calm Nature, Moves: Teleport, Magical Leaf, Shadow Ball, Psybeam
Woody (Grovyle, Male) Lonely Nature, Moves: Pursuit, Leaf Blade, Bullet Seed, Rock Throw
Power (Machop, Male) Timid Nature, Moves: Fling, Focus Energy, Karate Chop, Low Kick