Eterna City, The Other Day

Vana waits patiently for Gav to come back. When he does, she takes the throat spray, using it a couple of times before tucking it in her pocket.

"Thank you," she says. "I won't forget this favour, but I have literally nothing that I can do for you in return unless you have repressed memories that you need me to find. I'll be going now."

She gets up and begins to creep away. Hoops catches a glimpse of her leaving out of the corner of their eye, but when they try and look they can't find her.

"You know what?" they say. "I don't think we need to find her if she doesn't want to be found. Thank you for the offer."

They sigh. "And thank you again for your help. Can I buy you something to eat or something to say thank you?"

"Ooh, I'd love some pancakes," Xaster says.

Gav waves Vana goodbye, reasonably certain that she could take care of herself for the moment. Unfortunately, it was after she vanished that he realized that she took the Throat Spray with her. <Aw, shoot!>, he says as he returns to Mitchell.

"You may," Mitchell says to Hoops and Xaster. "Breakfast sounds good right about now." Before he can say more, Gav returns and pantomimes a profuse apology. It takes a moment for Mitchell to figure out what Gav is doing, after which he say "Hey, it's fine, we have a couple of spares for our little diva."

Gav sighs in relief, then notices the other two humans near Mitchell. More specifically, he stares just a moment too long at Hoops' bandage arm, before telling Sud <That's really your trainer, huh?>

"Ah, sorry about Gavroche," Mitchell says to Hoops. "We're both a bit new to this travel deal. Now then, any place you bring us to should be fine with me."

Veilstone

"Oh, um. Yeah, probably smart I guess."

She retrieves a facemask from her pocket and puts it on.

"I was in the hospital for a bit, it's fine, I'm fine."

... She says, seemingly keen to move on from the subject.

off the shits

Eterna City, The Other Day

Hoops shrugs. "It's fine. Ever since I learned to understand pokémon I've been hearing all the stuff they say about me. I stopped wanting to wring their tiny necks a while ago."

Sud stares at them and then turns back to Gavroche. "Yes. Yes they are."

About five minutes later, Hoops has gotten the group a table at a rather nice café that serves various breakfast items. Upon being assured that Hoops will be paying, Xaster immediately orders a stack of pancakes, and several varieties of Kalosian pastries that are apparently popular at breakfast. Hoops orders a full Galarian breakfast, and assures Mitchell that he can order whatever.

"So, you said you've only been travelling for a while, right?" Xaster asks while they wait for the food to come. "What made you decide to leave on a journey?"

Mitchell puts in an order for waffles, an Unova-style bagel, and a cup of coffee. Responding to Xaster's question, he says "Well, it's because I only got my trainer's license a few months back, and only because I could pay back my debt to Gav. I figured that I'd put off doing the Gym circuit another decade if I just stayed where I was, so I booked passage to the first foreign nation that caught my fancy. Funny thing, though," he continues, "is that we've seen some crazy stuff here ever since we arrived in Jublife, even without setting foot in a Gym yet."

Eterna City, The Other Day

Hoops frowns. "Debt to Gav? How did that come about? What kind of debt? Are you any good at battling? Do you have other pokémon?"

Xaster elbows them.

"Of course," they finish through somewhat gritted teeth. "Take your team answering, and you don't have to say anything you don't want to."

"It's fine, it's fine," Mitchell replies. "I'll answer all those questions.

"First, the debt I owe Gav is for my life. I got lost in the sewers under Castelia late last year, and I would have died there if he didn't show me the way out. He insisted that I catch and train him as his compensation for leading me out.

"Second, I don't think I'm that good at Pokemon battling yet. Sure, we've beat a few wild Pokemon and some Trainers in the field, but we've also lost a bunch, and I feel like we need more strategizing and less improvising.

"Third, besides Gav, I've caught three Pokemon here in Sinnoh. It's my policy to only catch Pokemon that show me that they want me to catch them."

Mitchell then sighs. "So," he says to Hoops and Xaster, "what sort of travels have you two been doing in this fine nation, if you don't mind me asking?"

Eterna City, The Other Day

Hoops and Xaster start trying to speak at the same time, then stop. They wait for a second and each try to speak again, once again interrupting each other. In the end, Hoops just gestures for Xaster to talk.

"I've been travelling the world for a couple of years now getting involved in contests," Xaster explains. "The problem was that I wasn't winning because my skills weren't balanced enough. So now I'm collecting the badges in Sinnoh so that I can become a stronger trainer and use that in my contests."

Hoops nods. "And I'm his coach for that. But I've been training pokémon since I could walk. See I used to have a good relationship with my dad, but after my mum died he kind of broke and insisted that I become strong to fulfil his unfulfilled dreams of being a famous trainer. I took the abuse and hellish training for about ten years before I ran away, he died, and I took part in the Galar league. Once that was done I kind of needed to work out where to go from there, and when I met Xaster he taught me about contests. So I'm giving those a try to see if I can find new meaning in training my pokémon."

"Wow," Mitchell says. "You seem like you complement each other fairly well. I can see why you're travelling together." He then adds "Um, Hoops, I'm sorry about what happened with your past and all, and I hope you and Xaster will have a good future ahead of you."

Mitchell then glances around in the cafe. "Speaking of futures, shouldn't our breakfasts be here soon?"

Eterna Zoo

-Looking at the exhibits-

Did you hear about that Hisuian Braviary that ended up near Unova earlier this year Chiyo?

Chiyo: -Eye slightly widen before nodding- Wow, long way away from home.

Yeah I think it's over in [Nova Scotia] now, wonder if it'll ever get back to this side of the world or if it's staying there permanently.

Edited by rmctagg09 on Jan 24th 2023 at 11:18:32 AM

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Eterna City, The Other Day

Conveniently at that precise moment, the three breakfasts arrive. The waiter gives a small look at Mitchell, as he was within earshot when the comment was made. Hoops and Xaster dig in.

"Honestly it's fine," Hoops says. "I mean, it's not, and I still have a Distortion World of a lot of trauma about it, but after I went into my own mind and teamed up with a copy of my consciousness to confront my lingering feelings of resentment things started feeling a lot better." They pause. "None of that was a metaphor by the way."

"So, did you come to Eterna City to challenge Gardenia?" Xaster asks, desperately trying to change the subject.

Airship

- Now on the airship, the Trainer spends a bit looking around, before turning to the duo and says: -

"Well, this certainly looks good. Yet I seem to forgot to introduce myself. The name's Alto. Lux Alto. And that Mudkip's name is Mike."

Why's this eggo angy all the time? | Current video game focus: Minecraft

Mitchell notices the look the waiter gives him as breakfast is being served. "Thank you," he says, before he tucks into his meal. I better leave a tip as an apology, he thinks to himself.

After Hoops describes what happened in his own mind, Mitchell tried to reply, but was interrupted by Xaster's question. Thinking better of it, he decided to answer.

"Not exactly," Mitchell says. "I was shopping for supplies this morning, and I was thinking of visiting the Gym and seeing how the challenge works in Sinnoh. The thing is, I was planning to challenge the Oreburgh Gym first, as per what I've heard is the traditional order here." He sips his coffee before continuing. "I'm guessing either or both of you have or had business there, yes?"

Eterna City, The Other Day

In response to the question, Xaster pulls out his badge case and opens it to show off the badges that he got from Roark and Gardenia. "I was there just a few days ago," he explains.

"You know, you don't really have to worry about what order you challenge the gym leaders," Hoops says. "Unless you're in Galar, but we Galarians are built different. But in most gyms, the leader should have a few dozen pokémon in rotation so that they can give a reasonable challenge to trainers at any point in their journey. It's why Xaster was able to beat Roark and Gardenia even though he's useless in battles."

"Thanks."

Veilstone — Past

Rogue: ...right.

-They glance between the various members of the party, crossing their arms.-

Rogue: So, forgive me for being out of the loop, I didn't exactly get an explanation while a pair of Magnemite berated me in my nightmares. All I know is that I'm supposed to be here, to help out this one, probably.

-They jab a thumb in Suiko's direction.-

Rogue: Aurabolt business, and all. Well, ex-Aurabolt.

Edited by BittersweetNSour on Apr 20th 2022 at 8:53:26 AM

Stormchaser, Kaiseii Zone

Horatio: "Bizarre."

...

"...Is there at least a place to stay?"

Stormchaser, Alto Zone

Iris: "I'm Iris!"

Coil: "Coil."

Contact Me!

Kaisei: "Well, that's the convenient part..."

Kaisei heads over and opens up a door, showing an empty bedroom.

"life is just a series of increasingly canon-eluding ao3 tags" ~ everydunsparce "Keep your hellfruit away from me, tempter" ~ also Every

Mitchell admires the two badges Xaster displays in his case. "Well done," he says. "Congrats on your victories."

After Hoops gave their short lecture on how the Sinnoh Gyms work, Mitchell nods sagely. "Thanks for letting me know," he says in between bites of his waffles. "I might actually do the challenge her before we move on, assuming my team wants to do it, the Gym's open today, and we're not too disadvantaged from lacking any moves super-effective against Grass-types." As he says this, an idea comes to his head. "Oh, yeah," he says, "maybe there's some place selling Technical Machines that teach those kinds of moves here. Hopefully their windows weren't busted this morning."

Stormchaser

- Lux, having said that, realizes he should also say this -

"Oh, yea, one thing I should tell you about Mike is that he's the biggest narcissist I've ever seen. Like, on a scale of one to ten, his narcissism would be at least a vigintillion."

- Upon hearing this, Mike turns to Iris and Coil and gives them the smug look again. -

Why's this eggo angy all the time? | Current video game focus: Minecraft

Eterna City, The Other Day

Hoops coughs uncomfortably. "Yeah, sorry again about that whole thing."

"At any rate, good luck with your gym battle," Xaster says.

Hoops makes a face like a lightbulb has just gone off over their head. "Why don't you train with us before your match," they suggest. "It would be my way of paying you back for today."

Hearthome City, Present Day

"We're here!" Xaster yells, running into the city and taking a deep breath of air. Hoops follows behind carrying Kec, with both looking kind of confused.

"What's so great about Hearthome City again?"

Xaster turns to them, looking shocked. "I told you about this last night, the night before, and the night before that. I've been looking forward to coming here because of Fantina."

<The Gym Leader?> Kec asks.

Xaster cannot understand pokémon and thus continues. "She's the gym leader here, and she's also one of the greatest and most famous co-ordinators in tous le monde! I have to meet her!"

Hoops sighs. "Well, buddy, if you really want to go, we can head to the gym right now. It should be open."

Hearthome Gym, Soon After

"What do you mean she's not here?" Xaster demands.

The young attendant on the door pales. "Exactly what I said, sir. Madame Fantina is not at the gym today."

Hoops makes a tutting noise and writes on a piece of paper. "Not at gym during listed opening hours."

<Ask why?> Kec suggests.

They nod. "Where is she then?"

"Oh, well," the attendant looks even more flustered. "She went to the contest hall. She said she wanted to observe -"

She doesn't get a chance to finish the sentence, because Xaster has already grabbed Hoops and is running down the road with them trailing behind.

Hearthome Contest Hall, Soon After

The door of the contest hall is almost thrown off its hinges by the force as which Xaster pushes it open. He stands in the entrance looking around, until he sees a hint of purple.

"Almighty Sinnoh. It's her. It's Fantina." He giggles and points her out to Hoops.

"Don't approve of the naming of the lord, but I'll let it slide for now," Hoops replies. "Okay, I guess you go and talk to her, and then I'll complain at her for not being in the gym."

"Okay," Xaster starts to get himself ready. He looks in a mirror. "Do I look good?"

"You look as shit as always."

"Thank you." Taking one last deep breath, he turns and walks towards Fantina. She is currently scrolling through some kind of tablet device, but she looks up as he approaches.

"Excuse me, Miss Fantina," Xaster starts to say, but she holds up a finger and cuts him off.

"That's excusez moi, young man, I don't expect you would forget so easily your home."

Xaster gulps. "You... know that I'm from Kalos."

"D'accord. I spend much time looking at the careers of young co-ordinators." She flashes a small smile.

He tries not to faint. "I just... you always inspired me, and the fact that you've seen my performances..."

"Oui, I have. And they were, how you say... bland."

Xaster's smile drops instantly from his face. Fantina continues. "There is none of the flavour, the wow, the factor of the best co-ordinators. I think you are average at the best. But -"

Xaster has stopped hearing her. All he hears are the same through words pounding in his mind. Bland. Average. Flavourless. And this coming from his idol? The person he always wanted to impress one day?

Wyndon Stadium, VS Hoops

Me: Kitt, help Kako with your own Flamethrower!

-Kitt slides in next to Kako and spits out a stream of flames which mingles with Kako's Electric attack and pushes up against Sal's Flamethrower, giving the Emotion Pokémon an added edge in this Beam-O-War.-

Saffron City, VS Sabrina and Bob from Accounting Who Can Also Read Minds

Evelyn: Now, Axon! Use Shadow Ball! Kako, Mirai, use Psychic!

-Axon conjures an orb of shadows between his hands and fires it at Sabrina's Gallade, striking true and knocking the Blade Pokémon back, before getting blasted by the tri-colored psychic energy laser. Kako and Mirai hold hands with each other, channeling their psychic energy through each other and making their eyes glow a mystical purple, catching the rocks thrown by Gallade in a psychic field and launching them at Bob's Beheeyem, knocking the Cerebral Pokémon out.-

Bob: I knew I should've stuck to accounting.

-Bob from Accounting Who Can Also Read Minds calls his Beheeyem back to their Poké Ball and steps down from the battlefield, leaving only the apprentice and the mentor to their battle.-

Stormchaser, I told the Glitch Doctor I was in love with you...

Radon: They're right... It's not gone...

-Radon reflects on the day he first met his genetic template. The same day that the thing hit him and he began acting strangely... His eyes widen in the horrid realization that the thing that hit him was a Glitch, and it was slowly taking over him...    the ring around his irises spreads out even further, turning even more of his sclerae black.   -

Radon: I can feel it... it's trying to take complete control of me...

-Radon then falls to his knees again, desperation intensifies.-

Radon: Please... you've gotta help me! If you can't, try to find someone who can... quickly, before it's too late...

Kanto Route 8, The Auction

Me: Here it comes, Piku-chan! Knock the stones back with Iron Tail!

-Piku-chan jumps up, making his tail glow with a metallic sheen as he swings it at the stones, batting them back at Drilbur.-

Evelyn: Hatty, use Magical Leaf!

-Hatty jumps off Evelyn's head and spins around, surrounding herself in a swirling flurry of magical rainbow-colored leaves which she launches at the Mole Pokémon.-

Edited by AnimeboyIanpower on Apr 21st 2022 at 5:57:32 AM

♪Show me the wisdom of the world... Tell me the secrets of the heart... and the sweet~ mysteries~ of love~...

Stormchaser, Possession

Kendall and Mae could only shrug, helplessly lost as to how to handle this glitch. They knew there were at least a fee groups who could do this, but -

Fox's Wedding Nightclub

who could -

"Wait what," Kendall breathed, looking around.

Bismuth reached into a pocket, drawing a certain Great Ball that Kendall recognized as Sylveon's.

"Gimme that!" He barked, swiping and freeing his Fairy-type from the schoolkid. "Okay, Sylveon," he demanded as she landed. "Do you know why these two brought you here?"

Sylveon swiftly snagged a choker, turned human and hummed. "Been a while…"

"Si-"

"This is where she was able to partner up with the ones she called Ian and Sunny, among a few others, to combat glitches," Cesium summarized, interrupting. "The one in charge would know how to handle, and have the power to defeat this one."

Edited by AbsentCoder on Apr 21st 2022 at 3:21:51 AM

[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]

Stormchaser, Kaiseii Zone

Horatio: "...So it just. Makes rooms?"

Stormchaser, Lux Zone

Iris: Well he deserves it because he's so cuuuuuuuuute -skritches-

Coil: stop

Route 8

Auction

-The Drilbur finally collapses-

-The orb rolls out of his claws-

-The Torkoal gasp-

Hearthome Contest Hall

-A feather floats toward Xaster-

-It seems to dissipate and infect his bag-

-Xaster hears a voice inside his head-

???: ~Eggxelency. I am Pavo.~

???

Victor: "Yes! YES! It's working!"

Maurice: "Oh sweet unholy fuck it's actually working."

Contact Me!

Kaisei: "It adapts itself based on the needs of the people inside, yeah."

"life is just a series of increasingly canon-eluding ao3 tags" ~ everydunsparce "Keep your hellfruit away from me, tempter" ~ also Every

In response to Hoops' apology, Mitchell gives a sypathetic shrug. "Eh, it happens," he says.

Then, just as he is about to acknowledge Xaster's good luck wish, Hoops' offer catches Mitchell's attention. "You know what?", Mitchell says. "I like the sound of that. Thank you for the offer." He takes a small bite out of his bagel before continuing. "I'll be good with whatever training setup you suggest. Hopefully, my Pokemon will have the same opinion."