Maybe the terrain of South Province Area Three wasn't particularly welcoming, but that certainly didn't stop Toast from running around and barking at anything that moved- chasing flocks of Rookidees, wagging his tail at Growlithes and getting into playful battles, or noticing other Pawmis like Mimi traipsing around and bounding over to lick them, only to be met with a shock. Mimi would dart after him with a cry of "Mii! Miiiiiiii!" or the like, zapping Rookidees if they'd try to divebomb her canine friend or playfully exchanging bolts with the wild Pawmis. Astrid had to admit, she found it endearing to watch them play- Mimi simply refused to be left behind, and Toast's energy bubbled over like a boiling pot. With what looked like a lack of eyes to see their whole entourage, Raijin strolled along beside Astrid too, likewise keeping an eye on the little ones- as small and quick as they were, it certainly didn't hurt to have an extra watch on them.
Before they had set out, though, Astrid had to make sure she was stocked on items- potions, a few Poké Balls just to be safe, some sandwich fixings in case the journey turned into a longer one than expected- and simply couldn't help but to stop by a food cart in Mesagoza. "Kanto Crepes" it was called- she certainly recognized such a thing, having seen them in cafe windows when running errands in Saffron. She certainly wasn't going to turn down strawberries and whipped cream rolled into a sweet confection to start the day, and apparently, Mimi and Toast weren't either, especially the former. The little Pawmi tugged at Astrid's pant leg and vocalized until her human had a crepe in each hand, one for her and one for the little ones, and Toast simply wagged his tail with puppy dog eyes. It was surprising how quick Mimi scarfed down her part of the crepe- Toast had a much bigger mouth and demolished the entire top part of one crepe peeking out of its wrapper in moments, but Mimi practically nibbled at light speed after Astrid let her finish it off, and even started eyeing the one Astrid held too. Of course, the shy lass made it clear that she'd had her share and the one left in Astrid's hands belonged to the human, but that didn't stop a whining "Miiiii..." from escaping the little orange one before they left out the gate headed towards Artazon.
"I think somewhere out here was where Ashton and Arven were headed," Astrid mused, taking another bite of her crepe and scanning over the cliffs. "A Pokémon huge enough to be called a Titan must be hard to deal with… I hope they have it handled…"
"That brute of a Hydreigon that Ashton somehow won the respect of seems plenty capable," Raijin mused, tapping his fingers together. "But if they don't have it handled and we accidentally run into something huge and angry… you have me."
Astrid smiled a bit. "Have I ever told you it's always great to have you around…?"
"Well, if it was the other way around and I found myself in a body that was noticeably limited in defense capabilities, you'd watch out for me too. That's what friends do."
She chuckled, smiling some more. Mimi, on the other hand, seemed far more intent with a lost Poké Doll she discovered lying at the base of a bush, pawing at it and crying an intent "Miiiii" as she inspected it. Toast of course came darting over, yapping and wagging his tail while he sniffed of it. The little Pawmi carefully rolled it over and studied all of its seams, apparently quite intrigued by its shape, while her canine friend seemed more intent with whatever smells it was carrying. Astrid took notice and scurried over, crouching down to see it too.
"Did you find something you like?" the shy lass inquired.
"Miii," Mimi replied, leaving it alone for a second and scurrying over to Astrid's bag. The little Pawmi nudged herself underneath the flap and opened it, vocalizing another "Miiiii."
Toast yapped, taking the doll in his mouth and playfully slinging it a bit. His fluffy orange friend apparently didn't like that too much and jumped out of Astrid's bag, vocalizing some more and giving him a few sparking nudges to make him drop it.
Astrid chuckled, reaching out and grabbing it. "Okay, I'll put in my bag for safekeeping," she said simply, setting her crepe down against a small stone while her hands were occupied with tucking the doll away.
That seemed perfectly agreeable to Mimi, but the other three aside from Astrid shortly noticed something that caught their attention- three other small orange faces just like Mimi's peeking out of the bush she was next to, and another that peeked out from behind a bigger rock. "Watch out," Raijin said simply.
"Huh?" Astrid said, perking up.
Right as she closed the flap of her bag and went to reach for her crepe again, she was surprised to see four wild Pawmis swarming it. A cry of surprise escaped her, but Mimi, on the other hand, apparently wasn't happy to see them and rubbed her cheeks, shouting "Miiiii!" as she jumped in amidst them with a Thunder Shock. The wild ones scattered and Mimi patted the crepe's paper cone as they darted off as if to tell them that only she could make off with Astrid's food. Toast, on the other hand, took the opportunity for what it was and quickly swooped the remnants of the crepe up in his mouth, paper cone and all.
"A-ah, you-!" Astrid cried in dismay, trying and failing to grab it before the Fidough took off running.
"Miiiiiii!" Mimi fussed, likewise scurrying after her canine friend with sparking cheeks. Astrid stood up, slipping her bag back over her shoulders. "You know, I really should've seen that coming," she said flatly. "I'll just make a sandwich later."
"If appearances count for anything, it must have been one good crepe," Raijin mused, tapping his fingers together.
"It was a good crepe," Astrid bemoaned, shaking her head before running off after the little ones. "Mimi! Toast! Hold on, you guys!"
[***]
With Astrid chasing after her Pokémon and Raijin on her heels, she didn't have time to take notice of the rocky cliffs of her surroundings. It came as a surprise then when a certain futuristic bike-like Pokémon came hopping down in front of her, sending the girl tumbling backwards as her own Pokémon stopped their chase to look at the newcomer.
"Woah, Miraidon, woah!" Dylan called, patting the futuristic Mon on the side to get it to settle down. He looked over to see Astrid and waved at her. "Oh, hey Astrid! What's going on?"
"J-Just chasing my Pokémon around…" she stuttered, wiping dirt off her pants as she stood back up. "What about you?"
"I'm out taking Miraidon here for a spin. They've got to stretch their legs a bit and not be stuck in their ball all day, you know," Dylan replied.
"They?" Astrid questioned. "Does Miraidon not have a gender?"
"Technically I do not have a gender either. I just use pronouns you associate with the male gender,," Raijin pointed out.
"Yeah, Aurora tried asking Miraidon about that, and Miraidon didn't have an answer because of their memory loss. So until then, Miraidon is just Miraidon," Dylan nodded.
Astrid nodded, before her attention was drawn to a shimmer in the near distance. Dylan turned to see what she was looking at and spotted an outcropping of crystals that jutted forth from the ground, black in color with purple lightning sparking off it. "W-What is that!?" Astrid exclaimed.
"That must be a Tera Den that Professor Jacq was talking about in class," Dylan noted. The group moved closer to inspect the crystal, Mimi trying to touch it but jumping back as the energy tried to zap her. "He said that the Great Crater of Paldea gives off so much Terastal energy that it causes outcroppings like these to grow. Pokémon use them as shelters and absorb the Tera energy, letting them stay in a perpetual Terastal state inside. Sometimes they even have Tera Types that are different from one of their normal typing as well."
"Woah," Astrid said in awe. She then noticed a hole on the side of the den that looked big enough to crawl into. "So a Pokémon goes in, gains Terastal power, and… then what?"
"Well, these Tera Dens are too strong for one Trainer to take on alone, so there's a system in place where you can put out a GPS signal to call on others to help out in fighting one. They call it Tera Raid Battles and it takes at least four Trainers to safely battle," Dylan explained. "…Unfortunately, from the teams I've seen some trainers post in the Raid forums, they're not very effective at helping out. And this crystal is one of the supercharged ones, so there's no telling what type the Pokémon inside is."
"Well, I guess we'll just have to leave it alone, then," Astrid shrugged.
It was Raijin that spoke up next, "Actually… As an Ultra Beast I'm powerful enough to be on par with a Trainer's Pokémon, so maybe we would only need to call on Ashton or Arashi to help out with the raid?"
Aurora popped out of her ball to speak, "I'm more independent than most Pokémon as well, so I could fill in a spot on my own."
"Then that makes four of us. This'll be great training for Esmerelda as well," Dylan said with a smile.
"W-W-Wait! Didn't you just say that this is a supercharged den? Our Pokémon aren't strong enough for something like that!" Astrid exclaimed.
"That's why Raijin and Aurora will be taking the lead here and we can focus on defense and attacking whenever the time is right," Dylan said.
Astrid looked to her Pokémon, both Mimi and Toast looking eager to venture inside the den. She sighed and shook her head. "…Okay then. Let's see what a Tera Raid Battle is all about."
Dylan grinned and hopped off Miraidon, calling out Esmerelda to his side. "Miraidon, stay out here and make sure the Wild Pokémon don't try to come inside," Dylan ordered, Miraidon giving a nod and planting themselves firmly on the ground in a guard dog position.
"I'm interested to see what awaits us inside," Raijin said as they all crawled into the den.
There was a blinding flash of light, but once it faded and they could see again, the group found themselves standing a room that covered wall-to-wall in Tera crystals, a Tauros standing on a raised platform at the other end. Unlike the Kantonian Tauros Astrid knew, this one had black fur that hung low around its collarbone, looking ready to charge them at any moment.
"That's a Paldean Tauros, specifically the water breed. Water/Fighting type," Dylan noted.
The Tauros gave a cry as Terastal energy gathered around it, creating a waterspout crown on top of its head. "That means it's taking on the Water typing. We should have the advantage here," Aurora said.
Esmerelda and Mimi hopped forward to ready themselves for battle, Aurora taking her battle stance while Raijin charged up his electricity. The Tauros stomped his hooves and sent out a wave of water, but Raijin stood firm while Aurora hopped over the wave, grabbing their two smaller partners to keep them out of harm's way as well.
"This guy isn't messing around. Esmerelda, use Trailblaze to attack and speed up!" Dylan commanded, the Sprigatito hopping from side to side before rushing forward with floral energy, bouncing off the Tauros' head in a speed blitz attack.
"Mimi, Charge up before using Thunder Shock!" Astrid ordered, her Pokémon doing just that while Raijin sent out his electricity across the field creating an Electric Terrain on the ground they stood.
"Since when did you know Electric Terrain?" Astrid asked.
"I've been brushing up on my old moves during our time here in Paldea. Since neither you nor Arashi are Electric types, I haven't had the need to pull it out before," Raijin explained.
"Aura… Sphere!" Aurora shouted, charging up her fighting energy into ball before launching it into Tauros' body.
"That's the biggest Aura Sphere I've ever seen," Raijin said in surprise.
"That's Aurora for you- she might just be one of the strongest Lucario ever," Dylan boasted.
Tauros stomped his hooves and rushed at Aurora, but the Lucario smirked as she held out a hand, stopping the Headbutt dead in its tracks before delivering a Meteor Mash to his face. "Your Normal moves will not work on me, as I hold the power of the ancients inside me," Aurora said as her Ghost typing kicked in to avoid the attack.
"Mimi, Thunder Shock now!" Astrid called as the Pawmi fired out a bolt of lightning at the target, Esmerelda following it up with a Magical Leaf barrage while Raijin Discharged into the enemy.
Tauros shook his head and bellowed, Terastal energy gathering around it again as his body gained a white sheen to it. "What just happened?" Astrid questioned.
"Sometimes when a Tera Raid Boss gets low enough in health, it'll put up a shield of Terastal energy to reduce the damage it takes from normal attacks," Dylan explained as their Pokémon's attacks started to bounce off the shield. "It'll take the power of Tera-powered moves to break through the shield, so you better have your Tera Orb ready."
Astrid nodded, pulling out the special orb and holding it up. She yelped as Tera energy gathered around it, the girl instinctively tossing the ball to Mimi as she Terastallized to power up her Electric type moves. Dylan pulled out his own orb and did the same, but focusing on Aurora instead. When the orb came in contract with the Lucario's body, she became filled with Terastal energy, her body glowing with a crystal shine as the spikes on her hands, feet, and chest all grew to become a crystalline armor on each respective body part.
"That's not how Terastallized Pokémon normally look…" Raijin noted.
"This is the first time we've used Terastallization. You feel okay, Aurora?" Dylan asked.
"I feel… empowered. It's not as strong as my former Mega Evolution, but my aura is being augmented by the Terastal energy," Aurora replied.
"Then let's break down that shield to finish the fight!" Dylan cheered as their Pokémon went back to attacking.
As he said, Aurora and Mimi's attacks seemed to do the most damage to the Tauros' shield, while Raijin and Esmerelda did little to make a dent in the barrier. Astrid and Dylan helped out by giving encouragement to their Pokémon, and it may have just been her imagination, but Astrid could swear that calling out for their partners to hit harder or recover faster did have a positive effect on each Pokémon.
As Tauros rushed Raijin with Close Combat, the Ultra Beast managed to zap the boss back with another Discharge before Ingraining himself to heal up. "Mimi, now is your moment to take the enemy by surprise!" Raijin called.
The Pawmi readied her paws before sending out a Charged-up Thunder Shock, hitting the Tauros square in the forehead with the attack. The boss stumbled backwards as Aurora hit him with a Tera-charged Shadow Claw, the barrier protecting him finally shattering as the Tauros was left stunned. "It's weakened! Now is the time to finish him off!" Aurora called.
"Mimi, Thunder Shock!"
"Esmerelda, Trailblaze!"
"Discharge/Meteor Mash!"
The four attacks all collided at once with the Tauros, its Terastal energy cracking before shattering completely, leaving their enemy knocked out on the floor as the den's light started to fade out until it was all blacked. "Did… Did we do it?" Astrid asked.
"Heck yeah we did!" Dylan cheered, giving her a high five. "And now that the boss is defeated, we can see what else is hiding her in the den."
"To the victor goes the spoils, I suppose," Raijin said as they all searched the den for items. There were a few high-value items like nuggets and pearls, as well as bottle caps and TMs that were obviously dropped by previous trainers that had tried and failed to take on the raid battle. Dylan also found a weird patch of glowing herbs in the far end of the cave.
"Huh… is this the Herba Mystica I've read about in Home Ec?" the boy muttered as he plucked the plant from the ground. "I've read that Pokémon can become extra powerful if they eat this. I bet that's why this den was supercharged in the first place."
Astrid eyed the knocked-out Tauros warily. "Well, we should probably just leave before it gets back up. J-Just to be safe!"
The group agreed to that and crawled out of the den and back into the sunlight of Paldea. Miraidon was waiting for them, the futuristic Pokémon sniffing the air and becoming interested in Dylan's bag. "What is it, Miraidon?" Dylan asked.
"I think they smell something in there they like," Aurora guessed.
Miraidon stuck their nose into the bag and pulled out the Herba Mystica, gulping down the plant in one bit. "I guess they were hungry…" Astrid chuckled.
Miraidon's eyes suddenly glowed as power coursed through it, the Pokémon letting out a cry before rushing around the area at speeds they hadn't seen it make before. "Woah! It looks like Miraidon gained some its power back from the Herba Mystica," Dylan guessed.
"They look happier than before. I can sense that in their aura as well," Aurora nodded.
"So Raijin, what did you think about the Tera Raid Battle?" Astrid asked.
"It was an interesting experience. It almost reminded me of the battles we would have in the mystery dungeons back home," the Xurkitree replied.
"Yeah… It kinda did," Astrid nodded.
[***]
"Miii!" Mimi cried, standing up on her hind legs for a second and flicking her ears.
"Huh?" Astrid inquired, pausing and looking in her direction.
"Look," Raijin said, pointing towards the edge of the embankment they walked over.
Astrid and Dylan both turned their gazes in the direction he pointed, and even Toast paused for a second, albeit with a wagging tail. It wasn't a sight they expected to see, but it was nonetheless quite a sight- a single Flamigo, clearly in the midst of quite a spirited dance. His neck was craned up as far as it would go and his feet tapped delicately as he spun in place for a moment before pausing, flaring a single wing out and spinning while moving to the left. Again he paused, flaring the other wing out and spinning to the right. Back in went his wing before he spun in place one more time, then flared both wings out and raised one leg in a kick. Astrid couldn't help but to notice that his eyes were closed as if he'd practiced those moves so often that he simply didn't need to see where he was going or what he was doing- it was a captivating dance, to be sure, one that likely took a lot of diligence to perfect.
"What's a Flamigo doing dancing alone out here?" Dylan wondered, watching the avian move.
"You were thinking that too?" Astrid mused softly, giving Dylan a glance. "Maybe he's lost… They move in big groups and live by the water, and he's alone in a dry, rocky place…"
"Should we help him…?" Raijin inquired, likewise keeping his voice down as the Flamigo danced. "Those balls you're carrying… Couldn't you put him inside of one and release him in his natural habitat…?"
"I could," Astrid replied, mulling it over. "But if I throw one now, while he's really into his dance, it might upset him and make him fly off… I'd rather approach him nicely."
"Duly noted," Raijin said, tapping his fingers together. "They don't all go in as easy as I did, do they?"
The shy lass couldn't help giving the Xurkitree a somewhat playful look. "You hardly went in easy," she noted gently.
"He tried his best to," Dylan said, giving Astrid a glance.
"I did," Raijin concurred nonchalantly. Astrid certainly wasn't going to argue such- if nothing else, he'd tried to make catching him easy, but clearly, most balls weren't built to handle an Ultra Beast.
The Flamigo kept on dancing for a bit, spinning in circles with his wings in, spinning with his wings out, taking big steps and making grand kicks, until finally he struck one last pose with his body tilted slightly to the left, his right wing flared out while his left was tucked in, and his neck and head craned up as straight as they could go. He stayed like that for a moment, then slowly brought his wing in and smoothly bent one leg into more of a roosting position while bringing the other underneath him likewise. It was like he melted into a roosting position, and once he did, he finally opened his eyes… which shot wide as Mimi started cheering, Toast started yapping, and Astrid, Dylan, and Raijin all started clapping.
"Mi! Miiiii!" Mimi cried, grinning and trying awkwardly to clap.
"Doooouuuuuugh!" Toast howled with a wagging tail and happy face.
"Bravo!" Dylan exclaimed.
"That was really pretty," Raijin said.
Clearly the Flamigo hadn't been expecting such, for he quickly scrambled back to his feet and studied them while blinking, one foot held up as if he just might need to use it to kick. Just as quick, though, he eased up and struck another pose, one with both wings flared out while he stood up tall on one leg. "Igo," came a vocalization, one that sounded pointed but somehow relieved all the same.
"Miiiii!" Mimi cheered, awkwardly clapping her front paws some more before losing her balance and going back down on all fours.
Eyeing the avian carefully, Astrid softly walked over, getting eyed by the Flamigo in turn too who stayed in his majestic pose. "Um…" she said softly, "A-Are you lost…? This isn't an area your species is normally in, and you're by yourself…" The bird eyed her some more, still staying in his pose but the eye facing her narrowing at the mention.
Dylan too strolled over, crouching down next to Astrid and holding his phone up for her to see its screen. "That dance wasn't similar at all to how Flamigo flocks normally dance," he mused, a video of just that playing across the screen. "This guy has some moves."
It was easy to notice- the dancing Flamigos on Dylan's screen didn't move at all similarly to the one before them. They danced, alright, but it wasn't nearly as flashy, instead moving with synchronized steps while bobbing their heads back and forth. Maybe there was a wing flare here or there, or the whole flock moving in a circle like the spokes on a wheel going around instead of spinning, but the similarities were less than the differences. They could probably do their dance with their eyes closed too… but it wasn't nearly as much of a feat as doing the dance they'd just seen with closed eyes.
The Flamigo apparently noticed the calls and vocalizations coming from Dylan's phone, for he perked right up… then kicked it out the lad's hands. "Igo!" he cried, tucking his wings back in but looking indignant. Dylan quickly reached out and caught his phone before it had the chance to land screen-first on a rock and break, and from the look the Flamigo was wearing, he was going to keep a good hold on it in case the bird tried to do it again.
"H-hey!" Astrid exclaimed, giving the bird a pointed glance. "W-what was that for?"
As if in silent response, the Flamigo stood up straight and started moving with deliberate but delicate steps, bobbing his head back and forth. It was similar to what Dylan had been playing, and it seemed the bird hadn't even looked at the screen but knew exactly what was on it nonetheless. However, his moves were still different- his steps were bigger, he had a spring to his movements that the birds in the video didn't, and he bobbed his head noticeably quicker. Mimi and Toast didn't notice such, only that he was dancing again, and started cheering and yapping. The Flamigo, however, didn't seem to be so entranced with their encouragement and abruptly stopped, resuming his normal posture with a quick "Igo."
"He's not as into that dance," Raijin was quick to point it out, tapping his fingers together as he watched.
It was certainly noticeable- he seemed almost annoyed whilst performing it, as if it was somehow beneath him. Whatever the case was, Mimi skittered over with cries of "Mi! Miii!" while studying him, awkwardly standing up on her hind legs to try getting more on his level. The Flamigo looked down at her with one slightly narrowed eye, not making a sound, but whenever Toast came bounding over too, he let out an "Igo!" and resumed his normal stance, haplessly studying the Fidough with one eye next. The little ones weren't too dissuaded, still watching him and making happy sounds while he scrutinized them with his eyes.
"Maybe that's why he's alone," Astrid mused, studying the pink bird with slightly drooping eyes. "He can't do their dance, so he doesn't fit in with the flock."
The Flamigo's narrowed eye landed on Astrid next. "Igo."
"So, this species is really conformist," Raijin mused, studying the bird, getting a narrowed eye in turn too.
Wordlessly, Astrid pulled out her own phone and pulled up a video of Flamigos dancing. "Let's make sure…"
"Hold onto your phone," Dylan advised. "He kicks hard."
"I'm not too worried about this one," Astrid replied on account of her phone's… upgrades. "If you can't tell, I, um… W-Well, it's from Necrozma. It's… probably not gonna break."
The lad next to her blinked, taking notice. "… Ooookay, then I'll let you handle this one. Something tells me I wouldn't have as easy of a time getting a school-issued phone if this one broke."
"U-Um…" Astrid said, nudging closer to the Flamigo, "D-Does your flock dance like this…?"
The moment the Flamigo got a glimpse of what was on her screen, he again went to kick the phone out of her hands with another cry of protestation, albeit not quite succeeding. "Igo!" he fussed, kicking again. "Igo, igo, igo!"
Miraculously, the screen wasn't breaking even as the bird repeatedly jabbed his foot into it, and Astrid was quick to pick up on his sentiments and tuck it away again. Even when she stowed it back in her pocket, he kept trying to kick the outline of it under the fabric, and Mimi quickly rushed in with sparking cheeks and a "Miiii!" to tell him to back off. The Flamigo did so, albeit still wearing an unamused expression.
"Okay, you don't fit in with them," Astrid said quickly. "So, you don't have a flock…?" The Flamigo's eyes narrowed some more.
"That must be lonely," Raijin mused gently, getting a look from the bird next. The Flamigo didn't seem to want to acknowledge it, but the silence and the narrowed eyes told them everything they needed to know- he wasn't going to stick around with others of his kind.
"Y-Yeah," Astrid agreed, eyeing their pink avian company. "W-Well, I like the way you dance, and Mimi and Toast apparently do too…"
"Mii!" Mimi cried. Toast gave a happy yap of affirmation.
At that, the Flamigo started to ease up, feathers fluffing out slightly and eyes relaxing. Astrid could tell what the mannerisms meant- when she'd been in an avian body, her feathers had fluffed out when she felt shy, and maybe the bird before her had never been admired before… "I-Igo…?"
She wasn't quite sure what that meant, but the way Mimi and Toast started nodding their heads in seeming agreement told her what she needed to know- he was skeptical. "I don't know how it's like for you," Astrid said softly, "but I don't like being alone or feeling like there's nowhere I belong. Do you wanna come with us…?"
At that, the Flamigo's eyes got wider, and he blinked in silence while puffing out a bit more.
"I'd like having you around," Astrid said, a bit more firm but still gentle. "You can dance however you want and we'll cheer for you."
"We'll be your flock," Raijin added. "Being alone isn't a good feeling."
The Flamigo blinked for a moment, then eased up, relaxing his stance and letting his feathers lie flat. A gentle intonation of "Miiii" came as Mimi gave one of his feet a pat, seeing as she couldn't quite give him a hug or tug on a pant leg like she did with Astrid. Toast simply wagged his tail, looking eager himself, but the bird studied them for just a few moments longer. Finally, after a few seconds, he roosted with a simple "Igo."
Toast immediately perked up and started yapping, and a few more cries of "Miiiii!" left Mimi's mouth. Astrid smiled, and she and Dylan exchanged a knowing glance- she'd just gotten herself a new team member. The little Pawmi even crawled under one of his wings, which the Flamigo seemed borderline perturbed at, but if he wanted to protest, he stopped himself from doing so.
"You need a name," Astrid said gently, slipping her bag off her shoulders. "And a ball. H-Here, you can pick whichever you want." She laid out a few different balls- a standard Poke Ball, a Great Ball, a Heal Ball- and he went to looking while she went to thinking. "As far as names go… your species is called 'Flamigo' so maybe… you could be Igor…?"
Dylan shot her a glance. "You're not great at naming, are you?" he said quizzically.
She blushed slightly. "Th-that's Arashi's strong suit, not mine."
"He had some good ones," Raijin concurred, making Astrid blush even more.
The Flamigo, however, shot her a glance and simply said, "Igo," while nudging the Heal Ball with his beak.
"A-ah, you like that…? You want me to call you Igor…?" the shy lass inquired.
"Igo," he said with another glance before nudging the ball towards her.
She nodded, grabbing the ball and tapping it to his head. In he went, and one, two, three shakes later, the ball stood still with him inside. He didn't stay for long, popping out and striking a pose again, which made Mimi and Toast cheer some more.
Astrid chuckled. "Welcome to the team, Igor.~"
"Igo!" was the enthusiastic answer.
Astrid stood back up, stowing Igor's ball on her belt too, and Dylan likewise straightened himself out. "W-Well, I'm headed to Artazon," Astrid said, looking to the lad next to her. "Where are you off to?"
"If you don't mind, I'd like to tag along," Dylan replied. "We have gyms in the world I come from, but I'd like to see how they work in this world."
Astrid nodded. "S-Sure." She glanced down at her Pokémon. "Igor, how do you feel about battling…? You'd do well at the gym we're headed to."
Yet again he struck a pose, saying a confident "Igo."
"He wants to show off," Raijin mused.
Astrid chuckled. "O-Okay.~ Then you can be my ace in Artazon." Another flamboyant pose was Igor's reply. "Then let's go," Astrid said, glancing at her phone's map for a moment. "But on the way, show me your moves so I know what we're working with."
He had no trouble doing so, and off to Artazon the entourage was headed soon enough.
Author's note
Azakael: I got the idea for Igor from hearing the ridiculous tale of Flamingo #492, a flamingo that escaped a zoo and his since been gallivanting all across the United States. Godspeed to that bird.
I also decided I'd try throwing in meal powers here too, which came about randomly- to do the gyms in order, seems like the most straightforward route from Cortondo to Artazon is just to go back through Mesagoza, where the Kanto Crepes cart is. Strolling to the next gym while eating a big fancy crepe is just something I had no trouble seeing human Astrid do, and coincidentally the one I thought fitting to her tastes had Electric-type encounter power. The mental imagery of Pawmis (Mimi included) perking up at the sight or smell and swarming Astrid just followed, and I figured why the hell not, put it in there.
TheDragonSaver: I wanted to make sure that we got at least one Tera Raid Battle in this story, since that's a large mechanic of Scarlet and Violet. Aurora seems to have a unique Terastal form that'll be explained later (because she's always gotta be unique with her powers lol). We also wanted Raijin to have a battle, so letting him be a part of a raid battle seemed like a good time for him to show his skills.
With Ashton doing the Path of Legends on her own I needed to come up with a way for Miraidon to regain their power as well, and since you can get Herba Mystica from high-level raid battles, that was the solution I came up with. I guess this Miraidon doesn't mind just eating the herbs raw instead of exclusively in a sandwhich!