"Okay, what do you know about the Asado Desert?"
Sitting at a small table near the window of Balsamic Shades, Eri and Dendra looked over a map of the Paldea Region.
"Umm...." Eri mumbled before telling the older trainer what she knew.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the restaurant, Dishon was busy doing his job of waiting tables.
"Table Five is ready!" He heard Isabella, the owner of the restaurant and his current temporary landlord, call out before hitting a kitchen bell.
"Just a sec~" Dishon said as he brought a tray of dirty dishes over to the kitchen, where he passed them off to a Krokorok to go clean before grabbing the tray with the food and bringing it over to table five.
"Here you are, one creamy garlic and onion Linguine, one Shellder chowder bread bowl, one Pecha berry fizz, and one ice-cold lemonade~" Dishon said to the two teenage girls at the table as he gave them their lunch, "If you have any complications, I am here to help. Please enjoy your meal~" He told them with a professional smile.
"Thanks, you too-" One of the girls at the table said before she realized what just came out of her mouth, cringing before looking away and staring intently at her lemonade.
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"So, what did you do to get locked up?" Sitting inside a cell in the Medali City police department, a certain Team Flare Scientist looked at her new cellmate.
"Dedenne!" The small electric-fairy type shouted at his new trainer, his tiny arms crossed over his chest as he glared at the disheveled blue-haired woman.
"That's rough..." Mable let out a tired sigh before lying back down on the police cell bed.
Staying overnight in a police precinct was not how she imagined her time in Paldea would go.
She was supposed to find a super-awesome energy source, figure out the secrets of Pokemon Type Energy, get plenty of super-important scientific accolades, become ultra-rich, and help make the world beautiful!
Instead, her plan was foiled by the regional champion and the local trainers, an entire platoon of goons that were supposed to help her got captured, her machine was deactivated before she could collect enough Tera-Particles for her battery plan, and her escape route was blocked by the local Pokémon League shutting down the train to Kalos.
"Under repairs, my ass! That's a stupid excuse and everybody knows it!" Mable complained as she kicked the steel frame of the bed, only to quickly pull her leg back and hug it as it began to hurt. "Owowowow..."
At least she managed to get away from the Champion and avoid the League's detection, but without any Money, she can't get out of the Region.
Now all she has are the clothes on her back, her brilliant and unbeatable genius mind, her super-awesome and cute Houndoom and Weavile, which were sadly kept in a separate cell, this super annoying Dedenne that she just caught, a broken phone, an empty bank account, and her newfound thirst for vengeance against her new Stupid Rival.
Mable was pulled out of her thoughts of revenge as the door to her cell was opened, "Here you are, let's get you out." A friendly-looking Police Officer told her before placing a small bundle of clothes in front of her, "We've got some clothes in your size in the lost-and-found that nobody came to pick up. We thought you might need them." The officer told her.
"...Thank you," Mable said tiredly as she picked up the clothes, the Dedenne running up her body before leaping onto the pile of clothes, using it as a soft pillow to sit on.
"You can use the bathroom over there to change," The officer pointed to a sign down the hall, "Your other Pokemon will be waiting next to the reception table. We'll need you to sign a few things, but after that, you're free to go."
Mable stared blankly at the pile of clothes in her hands, before a wide smile grew on her face.
"AHAHAHAHAHA!!! Finally! Freedom, at last- AAAHH!" She yelled loudly, only to be interrupted by a shock of electricity.
"Dedenne!!!!"
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"Okay, so what's your travel plan?"
Sitting in a park on the second level of Cascarrafa, Dishon listened to Dendra and Eri explain how they'll be crossing the Asado Desert.
"We decided to go with the Northern path," Eri began, pointing out a line on the map, "It's more rocky than it is sandy, so we'll have less trouble with the Pokemon, it'll be easier to walk, and there's a lot of shade in the afternoon thanks to the nearby cliffs," The young girl explained.
"We already packed everything, and we'll be leaving early tomorrow morning, before the sun rises." Dendra continued before she pointed at a point on the map, "With a steady pace, we'll be able to reach this spot by the time the sun starts to set, and we'll set camp there for the night."
"We'll spend the next day training in the desert, the local Sandile and Orthworm will be good opponents for us." Eri said before patting a hand on Mankey's head.
"The wild Pokemon there should be slightly stronger than Eri's team, but because they don't have the training her mons do, and because of the type disadvantage, she should be able to beat them up no problem!" Dendra said with a bright smile, flexing her arm at the last part and slapping her hand on her bicep.
"..." Dishon stared blankly at the girl he found himself dating.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Dendra managed to mumble through her toothy grin, trying to keep the flexing pose.
"..." Dishon turned away from the girl who first met him as a homeless man crying on a park bench, "Eri, Here's my number," He passed the small girl a note with a series of numbers on it, "If Dendra is being too much to handle, call it and I'll talk with her for you, Okay?"
"Sure thing, Mister Dishon~" Eri said with a small grin, watching the older trainer let out an exaggerated groan, causing the young girl to giggle at the reaction.
"I told you already, calling me mister makes me feel old..." Dishon pouted before turning his focus back on Dendra, "Watch over the kid, okay?"
"Who do you take me for?!" Dendra asked loudly.
"Someone who has trouble with common social etiquette." Dishon answered simply before he stood up, "It's getting late," He said, turning to look at the sun setting behind the desert on the horizon, "I'm reminding you two that I will be meeting with you in Porto Marinada during the weekend, so don't stay in the Desert for too long."
"Yosh! I'll use the time we have there to buy swimsuits!" Dendra said with a wide smile, her eyes squinting as she stared at Dishon.
"Swimsuits are for summer. We have two months before Beach Season gets here." Dishon reminded the girl that it was still spring,
"Every season can be Beach Season if you let it!" Dendra exclaimed, pointing a finger at the male trainer of the group.
And as the couple began arguing about semantics, a small girl giggled to herself at the sight of the two older trainers, happy to at least have some people traveling with her on her journey.
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From the Kalosian port of Coumarine City left a cruise ship heading towards the Paldean port city of Porto Marinada, carrying with it countless tourists and passengers.
Well, the passengers weren't actually countless, there's actually a very precise list of the number of passengers on board, it's a legal requirement and-
Sitting inside one of the ship's cabins, leaning against the window and watching the region of Kalos drift farther away, a young woman with short orange hair let out a tired sigh.
"Druddigon?" Her Pokemon asked as it lay down on the floor of the cabin.
"We'll get there in three days, we'll find Mable, and we'll get those Interpol stooges to keep us safe," Aliana told her partner Pokemon.
"Gon..." The Dragon said before closing her eyes, the uncomfortable swaying of the ship on the water acting like a wonderful massage for the dragon's thick back.
"...Ah Ha Ha!" Aliana suddenly let out a short burst of laughter, her smile spreading on her face as she kicked her legs in the air, "Oooh~ This secret agent stuff is so exciting! It's like an action movie! Ha ha!"
Seeing that her trainer was simply having fun with her situation, the Druddigon decided to return to her nap.
"Come on! Let's check out the ship! I heard there's an indoor swimming pool on the eighth floor!" Aliana told her Pokemon before quickly standing up and grabbing the key card to her room.
"Drudd..."
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Standing on the windowsill of a second-floor bedroom, a small Fomantis stared out at the desert, watching Flower-related Pokemon from all around the region march far in the distance.
The small Fomantis's eyes stared at the Pokemon leading the march, the beauty of spring following after it, as if mesmerized by the Legendary power it exuded.
"Hmm? Is something wrong, Lemon?" The Fomantis's trainer asked as he exited the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist in an attempt to protect his dignity in case the owners of the house were to enter the room without knocking.
The yellow and green Fomantis turned away from her trainer to point at the Pokemon leading the March of the Flowers, but she found it gone. It had somehow disappeared in the short amount of time between when it turned to look at its trainer and when it turned back to the window.
As if not allowing any person to see it without its approval.
"Are you pointing at the march of the flowers?" Dishon leaned down so he could look at what she was pointing at. "Do you see your family out there?"
The Fomantis simply shook her head before grabbing onto her trainer's hand, allowing the human to move her from the windowsill to the bed, where she waddled over to the pillow and lied down, her young body already spent of energy.
Wondering to herself, as she began to close her eyes and go to sleep for the night, if she'd be able to show the tall human the Pokemon that led the march of flowers.
"Aww, you're so cute~" She felt a small pang of joy hearing those words from her trainer as he put on some underwear before closing the drapes to the window and turning off the lights as he too entered the bed, "Good night, Lemon." He gave her a little kiss on her head.
"Salandit!"
"Good night to you too, Fanny." He told his partner Pokemon, somehow missing the look of frustration on the Poison-type's face at the lack of receiving a good night kiss of her own.
He might not have been as warm as real sunlight, but Lemon was at least glad that her trainer was still nice and warm.
Like a small little sun of her own.