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TEEN: Pokémon Crossing: Fly Me to the Moon

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“What kinds of trainers do you see yourselves becoming with these starters by your side? Where do you see yourself in the future? What new horizons do you see yourselves reaching?”

This is Pokemon Crossing: Fly Me to the Moon.

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General Info:
Crossover between: Pokemon and Animal Crossing
Setting: Hoenn region (ORAS continuity)
Rating: T+ (mild language and violence, alcohol usage)
Can also be found on: FF.net and Ao3

Welcome to the beautiful Hoenn region. With diverse environments ranging from blazing volcanos to tropical forests and oceans that spread for miles on end, there's plenty to explore depending on which path you take, both metaphorical and physical. Our journey starts in sleepy little Littleroot Town.

A town that can't be shaded any hue. This small town, unlike the rest of Hoenn, moves at its own pace, never changing to accommodate any growing population. Empty houses were scattered about, most of them sold for affordable rent. Animals move in and out at whichever pace they feel like here, but very few residents stay beyond three years. A large tree stood in the middle, with a brown and black shinto shrine in the middle. The golden bells rang in the calm wind. Red and white presents lined the shrine, with elaborate kanji placed on the tags.

This time of year, three mothers and their sons resided here, but not for long, of course. Only three animals call themselves permanent residents of Littleroot Town; a tanuki by the name of Tom Nook, and his assistants and nephews Timmy and Tommy.

“Hmmph…”

Tom Nook rolled out of his bed with a thud. He checked the time on his green Rotom Phone— grr, already nine thirty am. What to do today...oh, right. He was supposed to give some of the local boys their starters today.

Oh, right. He didn't even meet them in person yet. He remembered the documents and emails that were sent to him via his assistants; a self assured optimist named Tank, an impulsive hothead by the name of Benedict, and an aloof snarker named Kidd. Unless he wanted to be cussed out again by that awfully rude neighbor of his (Marie, if he remembered right), he had to wake up, get the boys their starters and continue extensive research on local habitats.

“Mr. Nook! Mr. Nook!”

Two high pitched voices called out from behind the door. Oh, right. His lab assistants.

With a little teamwork, the two tiny tanukis opened the door. One of them held three Poke Balls while the other had a bag filled to the brim with healing items.

“Mr. Nook, we have the starters ready....starters ready!”
they chirped out, one following the other in perfect unison.

The larger tanuki stretched. He threw on his lab coat and waddled over to the stairs. Who cares if they see him in his pajamas, he thought as he put his yellow slippers on.

“Excellent job, you two” he reassured both his assistants.
“Yes yes, I just hope those boys will be here soon. I know these starters will be perfect for them”

Outside of the lab and near the shrine...

A trio of teenage boys argued outside. The first boy was an energetic rhino with pale blue skin, a bright white horn, strong thick eyebrows, and a ridiculous green undercut shaped like a leaf. He wore a short sleeved red and black jacket, a white crop top exposing one row of abs, loose black track pants, and green and white slip-on sneakers.

The second guy was a red chicken with a white heartlike face, long red and white tail brushing against the ground, menacing black eyebrows, grey scars on his cheeks, and shaggy red hair tied back in a messy ponytail. He wore a loose lilac and white hoodie, baggy grey and yellow joggers, and blue and purple sneakers.

The last boy was a lavender goat with medium brown hair in a stylish mod cut, a cropped brown tail, and tired dark eyes. He wore a classy black peacoat, light blue sleeveless shirt, silky white scarf tied in a bow, grey skinny jeans, and matching black knee-high boots with a blue button on the side.

The rhino yelled and shoved the other two out of his way

“I’m getting my starter first!”

He tried to open up the door but failed anyways. Maybe if he tried bashing the glass in with his horn….no, that’d be stupid. But he had to get his starter NOW!! He COULD throw his backpack through the window.... That'd be a great way to get banned from the lab though!

“Tank, y'all gotta calm down already” the bird scolded him. On his purple phone, he read several articles about the Hoenn Pokemon League. Champion Apollo, here we go.
“We’re all gettin' our starters anyways so what’s the rush?”

The goat sighed in annoyance. Some of his brown hair fell into his eyes. He brushed some dirt off his pretty black coat and checked Pokegram on his shiny white phone. Great. His former classmates online had the cutest starters ever- Pikachu, Eevee, Fennekin, hey was that a Dedenne?!


And here he was NOT getting any of those. It's only been two weeks but he already missed the Lumiose City scene. All the parties, the rambunctiousness, all traded away for a small town with nothing to do except stay on your phone all day. Not like he WAS invited to those parties anyways. He remembered arguing with his mom just hours before flying to Hoenn.


Everything about Lumiose International felt like another level of hell. The blinding lights, scratchy carpet, loud pop music, animals blabbing loudly on their phones about their monotone lives.

Kidd hollered as his mom dragged him by the arm.
"For crying out loud, mom! I'm fourteen! I don't need to go to Hoenn with you!"

The other goat rolled her eyes, while her short platinum hair fell in her eyes. Her long black dress swished against the carpeted floor.

She dragged her son to the terminal without any effort.
"Look, Kidd, I'd let you do whatever, but according to Kalosian laws, you're not legally an adult until you turn sixteen. And besides, Hoenn is such a nice region. Much less busy than Kalos. You didn't actually want to stay with your cheating father, do you? He never cared about you like I do.."

"But I want to stay here in Lumiose!"
Kidd argued back.
"Come on Mom! I'm going to hate being in Hoenn"


"How do YOU know that!"
The taller goat scoffed as she turned her nose up.
"Just give it a try, you might finally be able to make a friend for once in your sad and pathetic life."

"Sacre bleu....I don't NEED friends. Not after Aloe left me. And besides, you never let me have a Pokemon in Kalos!"
Kidd muttered under his breath.

"Quit whining and get over it already" his mom huffed as she pushed other animals out of the way. "You're making me look bad!"


His mother stopped at the terminal. A rabbit looked up.
"Two tickets for Marie and Kidd Chavignol?" he asked.

"Right here"
Marie pulled the tickets out and showed him.

"Alright, feel free to board" the rabbit pointed at the terminal gate.

Kidd groaned as he forced himself to get seated. Everything suffocated him like a snake eating its prey. His mom had the audacity to fly first-class while he was tossed away in the very back of the plane. Sitting alone was dreadful, and just when the flight couldn't get any worse, Marie got wasted on red wine and got in a fight with at least two flight attendants.

Lilycove International Airport, while well organized, was a chore and a half to get through.


“Yeah, I don’t see the big deal. It’s not like I’m getting something nice like an Eevee anyways”
Kidd sighed as he kicked a small pebble on the ground.

Benedict rolled his eyes. Really, a free Pokemon
Did Kidd really have to be so ungrateful?!

“Hey, Benedict, Kidd! You guys don't understand!” Tank barked back.
“I have to get my starter now or I'm never gonna get to work with Professor Nook!”

"What's the big deal with him anyways?"
Kidd asked him. Then again it's not like he wanted to talk to Nook anyways; he was just some guy that lived here. But anything was better than being cooped up all day at home.

Tank clapped his hooves, struck a pose and winked
"Because I got chosen by Tom Nook himself! He wants me to catch as many Pokemon as possible as part of his research!"

Tom Nook walked up and unlocked the door. He noticed that Tank got knocked over by the door and fell on the ground like a Banette. He chuckled in amusement, remembering what a hothead he was in his youth.

“Why, hello hello!”
he cheerfully greeted the three boys. “Come on in, you three. Your starters are here, yes yes”

The boys followed the tanuki trio inside. The lab was cold and grey, unlike the warm welcoming scenery of Littleroot Town. Two smaller tanuki were busy filling in research on huge screens. The first tanuki looked up critical information on severe droughts near Stark Mountain, while the second tanuki researched on flash floods in Po Town. Three round orange Pokemon hovered around the room, buzzing happily as they chased each other.

“So, boys, tell me about yourselves” Tom Nook gently lifted up each pokeball one by one. He grabbed a fourth ball and spun it in his paws. Unlike the other balls, it was blue with black netting. The professor had a bright blue stone dangling from his labcoat. The stone had yellow and green stripes running through its core.


“What kinds of trainers do you see yourselves becoming with these starters by your side? Where do you see yourself in the future? What new horizons do you see yourselves reaching?”



“Well….”
Kidd was trying to collect his thoughts.
How was he supposed to know this already?! This guy was so pushy, he thought. But at least a free Pokemon would help him stay away from Marie.

And then Tank yelled loudly, with confidence beaming in his eyes and voice.
“Professor Nook! I wanna catch as many Pokemon as possible! In the land! The seas! The skies! Heck, maybe see some legendaries! I know I can do it!"

Kidd rolled his eyes in annoyance. Such a showoff.

“And I'm thinkin' of takin' on Champion Apollo,” Benedict calmly explained to Tom Nook. "My pa's takin' on a tournament out in Galar right now, so I wanna be just like him!"

“Excellent goals, you two. And Kidd, don't stress too much. I'm sure you'll find your goal eventually. And I assure all of you that these starters will be of great help, yes yes”
Tom Nook was as chipper as ever, as he tossed each Poke Ball into the air.


The boys watched as each starter was released from their ball-- a purple and orange mudfish, an orange bird with a yellow beak, and a light green gecko with vivid yellow eyes.

The three starter Pokemon looked around curiously. The purple mudfish sparkled as it pawed at the ground. All three Pokemon chirped in excitement.



“Torchic, tor!”
The fluffy bird Pokemon cried out eagerly and ran right into Benedict’s arms!

“Looks like this guy chose me”
Benedict smiled a bit as he held the fluffy Fire-type close to him.
"Okay, y'all are just adorable!"



Tank took a good look at the remaining two starters.
Wasn't Mudkip supposed to be blue, he thought? Why is it purple?


He held his hoof out to the light green gecko Pokemon.
“Hey little buddy” he cooed to him. “How'd you like to be my friend?”



“Tree…...cko!”
the grass-type scaled onto Tank’s arm and wrapped himself tightly around his upper arm.



“I knew he'd join me!” Tank laughed happily as Treecko clung to him.
“Welcome to the crew, Treecko!"



“I guess I’m stuck with the last one” Kidd sighed in disappointment. He looked down at the small purple and orange mudskipper Pokemon. “It’s no Eevee, but it’ll do for now…”



The water type chirped sadly and looked away

“Mudkip…”



“Well congratulations you three, take care of your new Pokemon” Tom Nook was still chipper as ever. He leaned down to Mudkip’s eye level. “And trust me Mudkip, I'm sure you and your trainer will grow closer by the day, yes yes”

The starters perked up and cried out their names.



“Oh, when do we get our stuff?” Tank excitedly asked. His tail wagged as he bounced on his tiptoes “Like Poke Balls, the berries, potions, oh and—“



“We’ll be right on that!....on that” the twins called back to the excitable trainer. They paused their research to gather up a brown parcel of necessities for each new trainer. The packages were filled with potions, empty Poke Balls, portable chargers for their Rotom Phones, and a list of numbers for any emergency. Tom Nook's number was highlighted in pink.

Benedict kneeled down to play with Torchic. He pulled a rubber ball out of his pocket and tossed it in the air. Torchic jumped up and headbutted the ball like he was playing volleyball. Torchic looked determined as he kept headbutting the ball.

Benedict could see his future now-- a powerful Blaziken by his side, taking on several opponents with fiery kicks that could melt even the sturdiest of steel beams.

Kidd sighed in disappointment. His classmates back home in Kalos got nice Pokemon as their starters and all he got was this plain fish thing. Oh well, at least he didn’t have to run out catching anything for a while. Maybe he could just trade Mudkip to someone later.

Tank scrolled through a navigation app on his phone. Wow, there’s at least five or six new Pokemon to meet on Route 101 alone! That could mean…..yes at least eighteen species alone for the dex! Treecko wagged his tail as he sat comfortably atop his trainer's shoulder.



“Here you go….go”
the first tanuki twin handed each new trainer the brown parcels.


The second twin explained to them
"Also we have these for your phones.....phones"

Everyone in the lab watched as each Rotom successfully entered the trio's phones with a small ding.

"These Rotom will help you with your journeys......journeys."

The boys each thanked the tanukis, put their packages in the bags and then headed out their way.

“Have fun, boys!” Tom Nook called out while they left the lab. He sat down in front of his computer and wrote an important email. The two tanuki leaned over Tom Nook's shoulder to watch him type with lightning speed.

"Dearest Sable,

I'm glad to announce that this month's starters have been safely trusted with their new trainers. I was particularly worried about that Mudkip-- her trainer didn't seem particularly interested in her, but I'm sure they'll grow closer on their journey. Anyways, can you contact the Swampert breeders in Route 117 to make sure both sire and dam are healthy? This is the third purple Mudkip I've recieved from the breeder this year alone, and I am curious on the cause of this. Let me know what they say, honey.

Your husband,

Professor Tom Nook"



The boys eagerly rushed into Route 101, zipping past a steep cliff. The grass nearly swallowed them whole as they tracked through the flora. Several small beige and brown raccoon Pokemon leaped through the grass, carefully avoiding each trainer like the plague.

"Aren't you two going to say bye to anyone before leaving?"
Kidd asked. That morning, he left a note on the table in red ink, cussing out Marie and telling her he never wanted to talk to her again.

"No way!"
Benedict brushed him off
"My ma's so busy playin' Eevee Crossings, that I could show up back home dressed as a girl and she wouldn't even care, let alone notice what Pokemon I get!"

"Yeah, and my dad can't move here yet!"
Tank joined in as he tore open the trainer starter kit. Brown papers flew into the air, falling back into his hooves. He pulled out at least three Poke Balls.
"But I can still meet him in Fortree anyways"

Kidd rolled his eyes at his two crazy neighbors. He did feel kinda bad for their family situations. Kidd knew all too well about dysfunction-- no friends to miss him, a cheating dad who wanted nothing to do with him, a horrible mom from the depths of the Distortion World. But at least they were nice neighbors-turned-travelling companions, even if both of them went with their impulses. He found them somewhat charming compared to the stuckup guys he knew back in Lumiose City.

“Help me!!!”
a young voice cried out.

The boys ran to the commotion like an Arcanine using Extreme Speed.



A mangy black dog Pokemon snarled, baring pearly white fangs as it chased after a tiny pale green turtle. She ran around crying and screaming as the Pokemon kept terrorizing her.

The girl nearly tripped on her pink flower dress
“Eeeee!!!”



Tank threw one of his Poke Balls at the unfamiliar Pokemon to no avail. It swatted the ball away with its tail then continued barking at the turtle.

“Aw come on!”
he hollered, making the enemy Pokemon bark louder.



“You have to battle it first” Kidd scoffed in disapproval.
He crossed his arms and held his chin up.



“Hey, Kidd! Just what do you know about battling?!”
Benedict yelled back.
“Just watch me. Torchic, use Ember, BUT don’t hurt the little girl!”



Torchic cheerfully chirped and spewed several small sparks of fire at the canine Pokemon. The little kappa ran behind a tree stump and crouched down behind it. Her little hands trembled as she grabbed onto the stump.



“Pooch!”
the dog Pokemon yelped as it got hit by the sparks. It shook the flames off but still winced from the damage it took.



“Ker-POW!” Tank hollered as he chucked the Poke Ball again. This time, the Pokemon didn’t fight back. It was enveloped in bright blue light and absorbed into the red and white ball. The Poke Ball rotated twice before stopping.

He checked his Rotom Dex. Sweet, it was a Poochyena!

"Poochyena: the Bite Pokemon. A dark-type. Poochyena are persistent Pokemon who will eat anything-- Berries, Chansey eggs, Tropius fruit, and the occasional Magikarp. Only Poochyena with the strongest and loudest howl will evolve into Mightyena"

"Poochyena can eat anything, huh?" Benedict commented as he looked over on Tank's phone.
"Neat!"

“Well, congratulations,”
Kidd shook Tank’s hoof. “I have potions for him if you want--”

Tank nodded and plucked two potions out of Kidd's messenger bag. Kidd rolled his eyes as his friend helped himself with healing his new companion. At least Tank wasn't trying to steal any of the pastel buttons and charms attached to his bag.

"....to heal him"
Kidd's face stayed flat.

“T-thank yew fer saving me…” the kappa sniffled as she walked up to the trio.
Her tiny hands trembled as she held the hem of her dress.

“It's no problem, kiddo”
Tank grinned as he arched down to her height. “In fact, we’ll take you home! Where do you live?”



“O- I….” the little girl sniffled and stammered. “Owd...owdawe…”



“Oldale Town? I think that's up ahead” Kidd noted.
“You can follow us if you want, I guess”



Benedict patted Torchic on the head before hugging his starter
“Good job, little guy!”

"Torchic, tor!"
Torchic squealed as he brushed his head feathers against his trainer's hood.



Tank effortlessly scooped up the young child. He had one arm supporting her legs and the other arm wrapped around her abdomen.
“Not to sound like your mom, but you really shouldn't run around without a Pokemon by your side”



“I-“
the kappa sniffled as she grabbed onto his jacket collar. “I know…”



The trio and their starters made their way towards the next town up.

A wooden sign read Oldale Town.

Where things start scarce. Oldale Town was bigger than Littleroot, but not by much. Several houses were built here, all of them occupied by animals who couldn't afford to live in Slateport or Petalburg City. Sure, Oldale had both a Poke Mart and a Pokemon Center, but most towns had one of those. A small garden was built in the middle. Two small blue and white Pokemon perched in the garden.

The new trainers looked around the town for a Pokemon Center— aha! The orange building near the left half!



They rushed inside towards the center. The place was VERY comforting-- the nice scent of flowers, light colored orange and yellow decore, several couches to relax on, and a counter near the back.



“Welcome to the Pokemon Center!” the animal behind the counter greeted the travelers. She was a pretty yellow dog wearing her blond fur in a high bun. She wore a pink and white nurse's uniform with a little hat on top, and ‘Nurse Shizue’ neatly written on a tag attached to her chest.
“Would you like your Pokemon healed today?”

"I sure do!"
Benedict picked up his Torchic and handed him and the ball to the nurse.
“Tank, if I was y'all, I'd get that Poochyena healed too”
he pointed out to his friend.

Nurse Shizue cheerfully smiled as she had Torchic safely return to his ball. She carried the ball over towards a bright red healing machine. A cheerful tune echoed from the machine as the Pokemon got healed from its battle.



“He’ll be fine!” Tank called back with a cheeky grin. He was still carrying that little girl
“Trust me! And besides, I’m more worried about this girl!”

“Alright”
Benedict shrugged. "Just try not to kidnap her!"

"I won't" Tank snorted in laughter. "I'm too young to have a criminal record!"



“Here you go!” Nurse Shizue happily handed the Poke Ball back to Benedict.
“We hope to see you again!”

“Thanks y'all” Benedict nodded. He walked back to his group with the ball in his hand.
“So, any word on where we’re s'pposed to take her back to?”

“No”
Kidd shook his head. “I don’t know anything about Oldale Town. Okay, well except, that we're in it. I'm not that stupid, non?”

“I know!”
Tank had a brilliant idea. “We could just knock on everyone’s door until they answer”



“Yeah, great idea. It’s not like the town will find us incredibly annoyin' after this incident”
Benedict snarked.

"Aw, but think about it!" Tank argued back. "Trying to get a little girl home is less annoying than selling overpriced essential oils, leggings that rip in two tears or gross protein shakes with weird names like-"



“Tank, we GET IT already!” Kidd interrupted him and rolled his eyes.
“.....Fine. Let’s get on with it already”



Mudkip sighed as she ran outside the Pokemon Center. The mud fish Pokemon chirped excitedly at one of the doors. She jumped up and down while wagging her tail.



The door slowly creaked open. The animal in front of her was a taller chartreuse green kappa with pretty brown hair in a side ponytail and a floral yellow dress. She had two Pokemon standing next to her-- a brown and yellow blue-eyed mouse Pokemon floating on its tail, and a round pink Pokemon with an egg pouch on its stomach.

"Oh, why hello cutie pie!" the kappa kneeled down to Mudkip's height.
She gently smiled at the smaller Pokemon
"Are you lost?"

"Mud-" the mudskipper shook her head. She got on her back legs and waved her upper legs around
"Mudkip, mud mud mud mud, kip, kip!"

"Your trainer and his friends found a girl on Route 101?"
The kappa asked the water type with a worried frown.

"Mud mud mud, mudKIP!"

"And the girl said she lives here in Oldale?"

Mudkip closed her eyes and smiled
"Mudkip, mud!"

"May I meet with your trainer?"

"Mud!"

Mudkip got back on all four legs as she ran over to the Pokemon Center. The door automatically opened.

“Mommy!” the little kappa cried out. She wriggled her way out of Tank’s arms and ran over to her mother. The tiny kappa clinged to her mother's leg like a Remoraid attaching itself to a Mantine.

“Aww, Leila. Did you run off without one of my Pokemon again?”
The bigger kappa worried as she brushed some dirt off her daughter’s cheek.



Leila quietly shook her head. Her small brown pigtails bounced as she nodded along
“Y-yes.." she sniffled as she tightly held her mother's leg. "A- a poochy….it- it chased me...and they- they saved me…”



“Who? Who saved you?”
her mother asked.



Leila pointed over at the three boys and their starters.

"Aww..." The kappa mother smiled happily

“Thank you three so much. Why, I’m not so sure exactly how to thank you…Well I have a few of these”



She pulled some unused Poke Balls from her brown satchel and handed each trainer a small pile. Tank neatly put his share of balls away while Benedict crammed them into the bottom of his backpack. Kidd opened another compartment in his messenger bag and tucked the gift away.

“Your Pokemon are great but it’s always nice to have more, isn't it? Well, we’ll see you later”

She sang an old Alolan folk song to herself as she headed back home with her daughter clinging to her torso.

"Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high

And the dreams that you dream of
Once in a lullaby, oh"

“So. Where do we go now?”
Kidd asked his friends.



Tank pulled up a map on his Rotom phone
“Well there’s Route 102 to the left. Hey, look, some new Pokemon for me to catch!”



Benedict leaned over in front of Kidd as he swiped his wing on the screen
“And a gym in the next city! Huh, it looks like a Normal type one”



“Yeah, I guess we’ll go to Route 102”
Kidd sighed.

The trio left Oldale Town and headed towards Route 102. The route trailed much longer than Route 101 did. There were several other animals walking around with their own Pokemon. Some Pokemon frolicked and played in the grass while others rolled around in dirt or splashed in a small pond. Most of the trainers were minding their business, either playing with their Pokemon or taking care of them.



Tank eagerly leapt into the tall grass, with his Treecko right on his head.
“Come on, buddy, let’s get you some more friends!”

He chased after some rustling sounds. Tank saw a bushy beige and brown tail pop out of the nearby grass. Hey, a new friend! He lept into the grass and chased the new Pokemon into a corner.

Tank chucked a Poke Ball at the unsuspecting Pokemon, easily capturing it without a fight.

"Zigzagoon has been added to your Pokedex"

Yes! Tank thought to himself in excitement.

Treecko bounced up and down, his tail wagging as he pointed to nearby a small pond. He followed his lead and crouched down in the grass as he saw a blue and yellow Pokemon skate across the water. He threw a new Poke Ball at the blue Pokemon and caught that one just like his Zigzagoon.

"Surskit has been added to your Pokedex"

Treecko ran off to follow a small brown acorn Pokemon and a flat blue and green Pokemon. Tank tossed both balls onto Treecko's tail and watched as the Poke balls ricocheted onto both Pokemon. Seedot tried to run away but tripped before being captured, while Lotad didn't put up any fight.

"Seedot and Lotad have been registered to your Pokedex"

Tank picked up every Poke Ball and put them into his backpack. Treecko crawled back up onto his shoulder and chirped loudly. Both trainer and Pokemon saw a small red and white worm Pokemon inch closer to them. The rhino held both hooves out to the worm and watched as it crawled safely onto him.

"You wanna join your friends too?"
he sweetly asked the new Pokemon.

"Wurm, wurm!!~"

"Well, alright" Tank let the bug crawl onto his left arm while he dug into his bag for yet another Poke Ball. He grabbed the ball and held it out near the bug. He watched as it was absorbed into the ball.

"Wurmple has been registered to your Pokedex"

But--

The ball disappeared in front of him!

Just then, his phone began to buzz. Tank picked up the call, not caring about who or what was calling him.
"Hello?" he asked the other animal on line.

"Oh, hello hello, Tank!" Tom Nook happily greeted him.
"I'm just calling to let you know that your Wurmple's been safely transferred to the Storage System, yes yes! You can check on your Pokemon on every PC in a Pokemon Center, yes yes"

Tank sighed in relief. Well, that's something to take care of when he reaches Petalburg City's Pokemon Center.

Meanwhile, Benedict kept his eyes peeled for anyone just as eager to battle. Torchic eagerly chirped and bounced up and down as he saw a wide eyed trainer across from them.
"Who is it?"

Torchic jumped out of the grass and ran to another trainer. The other trainer was a dark blue penguin with huge black eyes and wearing bright red flannel over a black workers' jumpsuit. He was tending to a peculiar looking flat blue and green Pokemon.



Kidd cautiously tiptoed through the grass with Mudkip by his side. Easy does it…Hopefully his outfit won't get ruined by all this grass.



“Hey! Hey you!” The penguin called out so loud that several bird Pokemon flew from the trees.
“Yeah, you with the Torchic. I want to battle!”



And then Kidd tripped and fell on his face
"Best day of my life" he muttered to himself.



Sweet, a challenge!
Benedict grinned as he ran towards the other trainer.



“Howdy!” he eagerly introduced himself. "I'm Benedict, an' I'm from Castelia City.
Y'all wanna battle or what?"



“Ah, a Unova man” the penguin shook his wing. “The name’s Roald. I’m from Rustboro myself, and I’ve been looking for someone to battle on this route”

“Hey, same here Roald!”
Benedict chuckled a little. “So, just one on one?”

“Yeah, that'd be fair for both of us. I have other Pokemon on me, but you look like a beginner trainer”
Roald crossed his arms. He pointed out in the air with his flipper. “Come on, Lotad!”



The flat blue lilypad Pokemon cried its name out as it stood on its nubby back legs

“Let’s go, Torchic!” Benedict yelled and pointed in the air. “Give it your best Scratch!”



Torchic cried out as it used its claws against the grass-type Pokemon.
Lotad flinched as its body took a scratch to the face.



“Hey, you're not so bad for a beginner!” Roald called out. “Lotad, Astonish!”

The grass-type Pokemon chirped as it quickly tackled the fire-type in a purple aura. Torchic winced slightly from the damage it took, but shook it off with its feathers.



“Don’t give up yet, Torchic!”
Benedict encouraged him. “Ember!”



Torchic cried out as it unleashed Ember on the Lotad. The blue flat Pokemon cried out as it was knocked out from the power.

“Lo….”



“Aww” Roald groaned in disappointment as he called his Lotad back to its ball.
“Well, congratulations Benedict”



“Thanks y'all," Benedict said as he shook his wing.
“That was a fun battle for both of us”



“Chic!”
Torchic happily chirped and nuzzled his trainer's pant leg.



Tank and Kidd sprinted towards him, both of them panting in exhaustion.

“Look how many Pokémon I got!”
Tank hollered as he eagerly showed off the dex app on his phone. “I caught almost every single species on this route, like Professor Nook asked me to!"



Benedict looked over at Roald
“Oh, these are my friends by the way.”

“Hey! I’m Tank Pepper! I’m from Littleroot Town but I used to live in Fortree!” Tank explained as he bounced on his feet. The tips of his sneakers squeaked against the dirt “And I just became a researcher for Professor Nook!”



“And I’m Kidd, I guess. I’m from Lumiose City” Kidd shrugged as he tried to introduce himself, trying his best to sound somewhat interested. Why did Benedict have to introduce him as a friend though?
“I’m....just along for the journey.”



“Nice to meet both of you” Roald nodded.
“Hey, by the way, there’s a gym in the next city”



“Really? Thanks yall!”
Benedict’s eyes shone in eagerness. “Come on guys, I gotta get my badges!”



He ran off without waiting for his friends, and then he tripped on a small green and white Pokemon.

“.....That was so stupid of him”
Kidd whispered to Tank.

"Hey, be nice!" Tank scolded him. "You don't have to snark at everyone around you!"

“Oh! Oh my Arceus I am so sorry y'all.”
Benedict frantically apologized to the new Pokemon.



The small Pokemon looked up and chirped
“Ralts?”



“Oh! Y'all wanna battle us?”
Benedict asked the wild Pokemon. “Well, let’s see what my Torchic thinks”

Torchic chirped eagerly before standing in front of Benedict. Oh, he was more than ready!



“Alright! Let’s go, Torchic! Use Scratch!”
He commanded his starter.



“Torrrrrrrr-chic!”
Torchic readied his claws then leaped in the air before swiping his claws at the wild Ralts' torso.



Ralts easily dodged the attack, landing on top of a small boulder. Its pink horns glowed indigo purple as it moved its shadow underneath the ground to attack. Torchic winced as the shadow slapped him across the face.



Huh, now that was quite the strange attack. But it made the duo want to fight harder! Benedict stepped backwards and pointed ahead,
“Torchic! Ember!”

"Torrrr-CHIC!"
Torchic screamed as he shot a blanket of small orange flames from his beak.

Ralts jumped in the air, but winced as the fire enveloped him whole, leaving small flickers around his wrists.



Benedict undid his ponytail as he struck a pose. “Now! Finish it off with Scratch!”

Torchic flashed a confident grin as he leaped onto the boulder, twirling in his spot as he scratched Ralts yet again.

The fae Pokemon collapsed on its knees, panting from the impact of its opponent's last attack. Its chest stung slightly, but for some strange reason, it wanted to join the two of them.

Benedict put two fingers in his beak and whistled. "Come on Torchic, that's enough!"

"Chic?" Torchic tilted his head. "Torchic, tor!" He chirped before running back to his trainer, leaping into his arms and nuzzling against the soft white hoodie.

Ralts crossed its arms and looked up at the duo, their happiness resonating with itself.
Perhaps that happiness could spread to it too?

Benedict kneeled down to let Torchic run around on the ground, while he looked over at Ralts. Huh, wouldn't most Pokemon just run away after defeat in battle? Unless-- hey yeah, maybe Ralts wanted to travel too!

"Hey, Ralts is it?" he asked the wild Pokemon.
"How'd y'all like to join me an' Torchic? I think y'all'd make a mighty fine member of my team”

Ralts thought to himself for a minute. Other trainers lobbed Poke Balls at his head like he was some sort of target, while Benedict and Torchic actually gave him a real battle. Perhaps traveling with these two would allow him more in life than running in fear from pesky trainers. No, wait, it already did!
He folded his arms together and nodded.

Benedict grinned as he pulled out a Poke Ball, gently holding the item out to Ralts' eye level. The psychic type Pokemon touched the button with his left hand, completely still as the red light enveloped him whole. The Poke Ball rocked in its spot, before stopping with a small ding.

Tank and Kidd ran up to their acquaintance.

"Hey, what'd you catch?"
Tank asked as he looked at the Poke Ball in his friend's wings.

"Oh not much, just a Ralts!" Benedict explained as he showed off the Poke Ball.

"A Ralts?!" Tank complained as he furiously stomped one of his feet. Dirt clouds blew up in the air as he held his hooves together and begged. "Professor Nook JUST asked me to catch one so he can study its evolutions! Can you trade it to me? Pleaaaaaaaase!!!"

"Hmmm...." Benedict thought to himself as he looked down at his Poke Ball. Tank was nice, sure, but this was his own Pokemon he caught fair and square!
"No way! Just catch one yourself"

"Yeah, it's not that hard to smack wild Pokemon with a Poke Ball"
Kidd snarked as he rolled his eyes, while Mudkip rolled around in the dirt. Treecko and Torchic ran over to join her, laughing as they tossed pebbles to each other.

"Oh, shut up Kidd!"
Tank shouted back. "At least we caught more than one. Oh wait, are these ones not cuuuuute enough for you?!"

Kidd scoffed
"It's not that! It's just that I'm not ready to catch another one yet! I can't even handle Mudkip right now!"

Mudkip sighed and frowned a bit.
She prodded at the dirt and flicked away at some pebbles.
"What is it gonna take for him to like me?!" she thought.

"Yeah, come on you two, y'all can argue during my first gym match"
Benedict pointed across from them. "Petalburg City is right this way!"

"Now, wait just a second. How DO you know that's Petalburg City?"
Kidd pointed out.

Tank facepalmed and pointed at the obvious brown sign in front of the trio. "Because the sign there literally says Petalburg City!" he lashed out. "I swear you're as blind as a Zubat"

"Oh SHUT UP, Tank!"
Kidd crossed his arms and lashed out. "At least I didn't beg for another Pokémon like some sort of freeloader!"

"Freeloader?"
Tank ranted. "Hey, you're one to talk!"

Kidd gasped from the audacity.
"Excuse me? How am I in any way a freeloader?!"

"Well, let's see," Tank pointed out as he started walking on the trail. "You're only coming with us because you wanted to get away from your stupid mom!"

The boys ran down the dirt trail and into the city limits. While Benedict skipped in glee from catching a new Pokémon, Kidd and Tank continued arguing over Arceus knows what.

What awaits their journey in Petalburg City? Potential rivals? Upcoming battles? A threat to the world around them?
 
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Petalburg City: Let's mingle with nature!
By Hoennian standards, Petalburg City is rather small. Large enough to have school up to high school level, but small enough that college students usually head to Slateport University. Thanks to its influence of Johtonian immigrants, the architecture is more traditional and stands out compared to modern amenities of other Hoennian cities. Like anywhere else, Petalburg has its basics; several neighborhoods for residents, a Pokémon district, and its main attraction, the gym.

A wooden sign dangled from the gym’s door, reading "Petalburg City Pokemon Gym-- Leader: Butch Reid. Father knows best, ROOOOOWF'"

A white and brown puppy happily played outside of the Pokemon Center. She wore a purple short-sleeved play dress, black bike shorts, purple flats and two yellow bows clipped to her ears. The girl scribbled a crude rendition of a Skitty in the sand, the comically oversized stick in her paws shaking with each stroke. The puppy hummed to herself as she had fun with her art.
"Oh, there you are, Dolly"

The puppy looked up. She saw her father towering over her-- a black and brown Rottweiler dog with narrowed brown eyebrows. He wore a blue argyle print shirt, a light blue tank top underneath, black sweatpants with a white stripe on the left side, and grey geta sandals. A yellow and white badge was pinned to his left sleeve. Several Ultra Balls were neatly clipped to his waist. The bigger dog effortlessly picked Dolly up.

“Papa!"
Dolly yipped as she kicked her feet, holding on to dear old dad.
"Are you done battling yet?!"

"Not yet, kiddo" he assured her, as he held two fingers to her face
"Just two more Gym Battles today, okay?"

"Aw, okayyy" Dolly pouted and crossed her arms. "Can you put me down? I wanna draw more Pokemon!"

The pair of pups turned around; a trio of Pokemon trainers ran into city limits, followed by each of the Hoenn starters. Weren't Mudkip usually blue, Butch noted to himself. Whoever owned that Pokemon had to be one lucky guy!

"See? I TOLD y'all the gym leader was here, so save the fightin' for then!" Benedict yelled to the other two boys before waving hello to the dog duo. "Howdy there! I'm here for a battle!”

"Excuse me?" the larger dog raised an eyebrow. Well, this isn't the most impulsive kid he had to deal with in all his years of being a Gym Leader, but did he really have to barrel into town barking up the wrong tree. Or, well, clucking up the wrong tree. "Who ARE you exactly?”

Benedict tensed up in his spot; oh, right, he didn't introduce himself to this guy yet! He pointed at himself as he introduced himself to the gym leader. "The name's Benedict Sussex!" he held his wing out to the dog. "An' I'm here to challenge y'all for a Gym Badge!”

Torchic eagerly chirped as he hopped up and down in his spot. Together, he and Ralts could wreck this guy in battle!

"Is that so?" the dog deadpanned. "Well there, Benedict, my name's Butch Reid. Yes, indeed, I’m Petalburg City's Gym Leader. While I appreciate your enthusiasm, I only take challenges from trainers with four badges”

Benedict jumped up in his spot, his body turning white in shock. "I thought y'all Gym Leaders were supposed to battle anyone that challenges you for a gym badge!"

"Technically, yes," Butch explained. "But I don't like battling rookies. Any trainer with four badges? Now that's a battle worth having! Of course, I'm sure a Unovan like you would understand the value of a good battle"

Benedict squinted slightly, some strands of hair falling in his eyes. "Now wait just a darn second there, Butch!" He yelled as he crossed his arms. "How'd y'all know I was from Unova?"

Butch shrugged his shoulders. "For your information, I'm from Unova too. I can spot an accent like that a mile away. Castelia City, right?"

Benedict gasped slightly. Sweet Arceus, this guy was clever. "Heh, yeah. What 'bout y'all?"

"Nacrene City," Butch shrugged his shoulders. "Of course, I went to Nimbasa City quite a bit. Heck, that's where I went to meet up with my good friend Mornay!"

"Mornay?" Benedict tilted his head before stepping backwards. "Hol up, y'all were friends with my dad?!"

“I sure was! We had such a blast getting on the Battle Subway!" Butch flashed a cheeky smile, as he reminisced on good times-- weekend nights spent jumping on different trains, both trainers flung about different subway cars as several Pokemon brawled like their lives depended on it.
“Last I heard of him, he ran off to Galar to challenge its Pokemon League. So what happened there? How’d you end up in Hoenn instead?”

Benedict sighed, his arms still crossed. "Well, I was gonna go off with him to Galar, maybe even battle 'im for the Champion Cup, but he said no, so I went off with my ma instead. I do like Hoenn though, Professor Nook gave me this here Torchic,"
He kneeled down to pick up Torchic, hugging the chick Pokemon as he showed him off.

Dolly yawned as she wriggled in her father’s arms "Daaaaaad, I'm bored! Can we go home now?!”

Butch chuckled as he looked down at his impatient daughter.
"Just a minute, kiddo” Butch blinked twice and shook his head. “Well, I'm sorry, Benedict, but my little girl comes first AND I have several battles to do today. I’ll see you when you earn those badges”

"I'll see ya then!" Benedict yelled as he waved goodbye to the dog duo. Something about knowing another Unovan made him feel more at home in Hoenn. Once the pair left, he looked around at his surroundings, then sprinted towards the Pokemon Center.

Meanwhile, inside the Pokemon Center...

“Thank you, hope to see you again!” Nurse Shizue chirped to the trainer at the counter: a white tiger wearing an unzipped blue down jacket over a black tank top and matching pants.
"Yes, ma'am," the tiger said as he took his Poke Balls for himself, scurrying out of the Pokemon Center.

Currently, Tank was at the Pokemon Center's internet cafe, typing away at a large desktop computer. Treecko sat on a black swivel chair, kicking his legs in the air as he spun around in his spot. Poochyena napped on Tank's lap, pawing the air as he snorted in his sleep.

Tom Nook picked up the call, smiling as he waved from his desk. "Hello hello!" he greeted. "I see you're already made it to Petalburg City, hm?" Wurmple crawled up his left arm, rubbing its red horns against the stiff fabric of his coat. "Easy there, little friend."

"Yep, we did!" Tank explained. "Benedict said he was gonna challenge the Gym Leader, while Kidd went off to the Poke Mart"

"Already?" Tom Nook frowned as he scolded him. "You boys shouldn't rush through the Hoenn region so quickly! It's a journey, not a bucket list where you check off everything in a week!"

Tank tilted his head. "Really? I thought you wanted me to catch as many Pokemon for research as possible!"

"I did, yes," Nook stayed calm, despite being on the edge of an outburst. "If you rush through everything, you'll miss out on amazing opportunities, wonderful trainers to meet, even Pokemon that can change your life. I rushed through my own journey because I didn't know better" His eyes went dark. "I made some terrible decisions and associated with some not-so-savory trainers, all because I didn't appreciate the region for what it is. Don't make the same mistakes I did, please?"

Tank's fur bristled in his spot. "I promise, Professor Nook," he said as he placed a hoof on his chest. "I did want to ask: I caught several Pokemon today, would you like to see them in the lab?"

Nook picked up Wurmple in both arms, gently stroking its prickly back. "I would, yes"

"Let's see," Tank recounted. "A Poochyena, a Zigzagoon, a Surskit, a Seedot and a Lotad. I was hoping to catch a Ralts, but Benedict caught one before me"

"That's alright, there'll be more opportunities to learn about the Ralts line," Tom Nook skimmed through several files on his laptop. Several days ago, an acquaintance from Wedgehurst asked him about Hoennian Zigzagoon and if it's more docile than its Galarian counterpart. Another colleague, this one from Melemele Island in Alola, inquired about comparing Surskit to a Dewpider. He looked through his notes on Grass-type Pokemon: huh, there wasn't quite enough information on either Seedot or Lotad. Hm, that's strange.

"So," Tank asked as he tapped his hooves against the table. "Which Pokemon do you want at the lab, Professor Nook?"

"Please, call me Tom," Nook waved him off. "No need to be formal, hmm. But anyways, I would like to see them all except for Treecko and Poochyena"

"Yeah, that's fine with me," Tank nodded as he looked to the right: oh this was interesting, each computer had a tray attached for Pokemon transfer. He gathered up four Poke Balls and set them on the tray, staying still as the tray faintly glowed. The computer dinged once the Poke Balls were sent to Professor Nook's lab.

Professor Nook reached to the right and pressed a button. He looked at the four Poke Balls: yep, these were the ones. "Yes yes, this is perfect!" A knock on the door caught him off guard. "Oh, this must be the package I ordered last night" he noted to himself. "I should get going, Tank. Feel free to text me about anything!"

"Of course!" Tank flashed a smile and waved goodbye, before the call ended on Nook's end. Tank nudged Poochyena awake, holding the dog Pokemon to his chest as he stood up. Huh, was Poochyena's fur always this warm to the touch?

Treecko hopped off the chair and waved to his trainer, pointing at another Pokemon in the lobby.

"Is there something I should check out?" Tank asked.

Treecko squeaked before running through the lobby, leaving his trainer in the dust.

A black and white Zigzagoon rolled around on the ground, standing on his hind legs to wave hello to Treecko. The two Pokemon crashed into each other, laughing as they stood back up.

“Ziggy! Ziggy Stardust!” another trainer yelled, as the doors automatically opened. “Where’d you go?!” The trainer, a fuzzy brown bear with thick eyebrows, looked around the building. He tugged on his shirt collar before running into the lobby.

“Ziggy!” he gasped before stopping at the pair of Pokemon. “Why’d you run off without me?!”

“Zigza?” the Zigzagoon tilted his head, grunting as his trainer picked him up.
The bear looked away. “I hope he wasn’t giving you any trouble,”

“Not at all!” Tank assured him as he held an arm out to his Pokemon. Treecko wagged his tail before climbing up his trainer and sitting atop his shoulder. “I’m Tank Pepper,” he introduced himself.

The bear shook hands with him. “Teddy Crescendo. Hey, I haven’t seen you at Petalburg High, are you new here?”

Tank shook his head. “No, I’m out on a Pokemon journey with a few friends–”

Before he could say another word, Benedict stormed into the Pokemon Center. “Hey, Tank!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. “Y’all are not gonna believe this!”

“Yeah, what’s going on, Benedict?” Tank asked before looking back at Teddy. “Oh, that’s one of my friends”

Benedict marched over to the duo, throwing an arm around his friend’s shoulders. “Who’s this guy?” he asked as he pointed at the other animal.

Teddy gulped as he started blushing. Wow, these two were pretty close, he thought to himself. “Oh, um, I’m Teddy,” he said as he rubbed a hand on the back of his head. “I’m a Petalburg local.”

“Teddy, huh?” Benedict noted to himself, before looking down at the other animal’s Pokemon. “Huh, is that a shiny Zigzagoon?”

Teddy looked back down at his Zigzagoon. “Shiny? Huh, no, he’s just the Galarian variant”

“Galarian variant, huh?” Benedict noted. “I’m surprised I’m seein’ one right here in Hoenn”

“Benedict, aren’t you half-Galarian?” Tank pointed out.

“Yeah, but,” Benedict rolled his eyes before whispering. “I haven’t been to Galar, y’all gotta remember I was born an’ raised in Unova!”

Teddy’s ears pricked up. “Unova? Hey, just like the Gym Leader here!”

The Pokemon Center door opened again. Kidd strolled into the building, holding several blue and white paper bags stuffed with goodies. Mudkip trailed behind him, chewing on a black scrunchie she found outside.

Tank looked unimpressed. “Kidd, did you really need to run off to the Poke Mart?” he asked.

Kidd scoffed as he walked to the duo, holding up his bags. “What? You took my Potions so I had to get more!”

“Yeah, right,” Tank snarked as he rummaged through the paper bags. Sheesh, talk about a total priss: large bottles of strawberry shampoo and conditioner, citrus cologne, lavender body wash, face wash, heavy mousse.

Kidd pulled the bags close to his chest. “Stop looking through my stuff!” he snapped as he stomped a foot on the ground.

“Come on, Kidd,” Tank pointed out. “You don’t need all this stuff right away!”

Kidd huffed as he stuffed the bags in his messenger bag. “Yes, I do!” he explained. “I didn’t have time to grab any of this stuff from my mom’s house, and the last thing I need is for you to tell me what I can and can’t buy!”

Teddy snuck away from the group, whispering to his Zigzagoon as he left the Pokemon Center. “Sorry, Stardust. I didn’t want this to get ugly”

“I’m not saying any of that!” Tank argued back. “I’m just saying, you could’ve waited until Rustboro City to splurge on anything you wanted!”

Kidd flipped his hair. “Well there was nothing else to do in this city!” he complained. “The last thing I wanted to do was to be dragged into another route with violent wild Pokemon and axe-crazy trainers!”

Benedict facepalmed from the sheer ridiculousness of the duo. “Sheesh, talk about actin’ crazy,” he whispered to the three Pokemon.
“So, can we get goin’ already or what?”

Kidd and Tank stopped arguing for a minute, furiously blushing at each other. Mudkip chirped as she nuzzled her cheek against Kidd’s boots, while Treecko tapped his foot on the ground.
“Yeah, I guess we can get going,” Tank said. “If we go now, we can make it to Petalburg Woods by sundown!”

“Oh joy,” Kidd deadpanned as he shoved his Poke Mart bags into his messenger bag, pushing several items out of the way.

“Well, come on, let’s go!”
Benedict pointed at the door before leading the way.

The boys ran out of the Pokemon Center, running out of the city like a pack of wild Rapidash in a meadow. Soon, Petalburg City was nothing more than a blur of buildings on the horizon.

Route 104: A path enriched with colorful plant life and crystal clear water. Thanks to the newly installed port on the beach, more trainers than ever can access Dewford Town. While Petalburg Woods stops some trainers in their path, others enjoy the woodsy aesthetic.

Something rustled in the grass. Tank’s ears pricked up as he grabbed Benedict’s arm, effortlessly dragging him through the thick foliage.

Kidd shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head at the idea of carelessly running around the grass. He wandered over to the beach, pleasantly surprised at the sand’s softness. Just watching the water ebb back and forth was enough to clear up his mind. He watched as a sleek white motorboat zipped across the horizon.

While he regretted several things in his life, there was one thing he didn’t regret: the letter of contempt he taped to his mother’s bedroom door, along with blocking her phone number and locking his bank account so she couldn’t access it. Besides, who needed her in the first place, when there were others in Hoenn that gave him a chance. While Benedict and Tank were both pushy and impulsive, at least they bothered to care about him, which was more than he could say about Marie.

“Mudkip-mud!”

Kidd jumped up as he tightly grabbed his scarf. He looked back down at the sparkling sand.

Mudkip smiled as she walked in front of her trainer, sand covering her entire body. She stepped forward and dropped an item from her mouth: an iridescent scale carved in the shape of a heart.

"What's this?" Kidd asked as he gingerly picked up the scale. He gently held it in his hooves, slowly rotating it as he watched the Hoennian sunset shine upon him. Maybe being a Water-type specialist could be his calling. A fantasy played out in his mind: it was him, wrapped up in elaborate clothing, standing on a statue as countless water Pokemon leaped in the air. Light waterfalls trailed from the porcelain statue, as a captive audience cheered their hearts out.

“Mudkip?” he said as he kneeled down to his Pokemon’s eye level. “Thank you,”

"Mudkiiiip!!" Mudkip squeed. Yes, her trainer is starting to like her!!

Kidd pulled some blue tissue paper out of his pocket, delicately wrapped the scale, and zipped it away in his messenger bag pocket. “What do you say we get going?” he asked her.

Mudkip jumped up and down in her spot, wagging her tail in delight. Trainer and Pokemon left the beach, sand falling onto the ground as they caught up to their friends. They stopped just feet away from Petalburg Woods, noticing something peculiar at a large clearing.

Benedict and Tank stood on one end of the battlefield, their eyes gleaming with a dark determination. Torchic and Treecko glared with the same determination as their trainers, respectively clawing at both sky and land. A small dust cloud billowed behind both Pokemon.

Their opponent, a yellow frog with a suave black mustache, smirked at his challengers. He readjusted his captain’s hat, then smoothed down his sea captain’s uniform. A pair of Pokemon stood before him: a white seagull Pokemon and a blue eel Pokemon with long blue whiskers.
“So ya lads think you’re tough enough to make it through Petalburg Woods?” The frog taunted the duo as he cracked his knuckles. “Peeko-chan, use Quick Attack!”

“Wingullll!” Peeko-chan trilled. Her body glowed blue as she zigzagged through the air, a white bolt of energy streaking behind her.

Tank pointed ahead. “Quick! Treecko, use Pound!”

Treecko jumped in his spot and leaped high in the air. He flipped through the air before smacking Peeko’s face with his tail.
The seagull Pokemon squawked as she crashed into the ground, a large dust cloud flying above her.

“Peeko-chan, get up!” the frog commanded. “Dojoko, ambush him with Mud Slap!”

“Bar-boach!” Dojoko barked as she slithered through the air, swirling her tail in a circle. She slithered behind both Pokemon, using her tail to fling a small brown ball of mud.

Benedict snapped his fingers, “Torchic, use Ember!”

“Torrrrr-” Torchic growled as he jumped up in the air, spewing small fireballs from his beak. “CHIIIIIIIIIC!”
Most of the flames exploded against the ground like meteors, flickering embers surrounding both Pokemon.
The remaining fiery clusters flew through the air, smothering the mud ball. Dry clumps of dirt fell to the ground, exploding into small dust clouds.

“Peeko-chan,” the frog commanded as he adjusted a pin on his sleeve. “Use Gust!”

Peeko squawked as she threw her wings back, forming small tornadoes beneath her wings. She threw her wings forward, blasting ravaging whirlwinds at her opponents.

“Treecko, slap it away with Pound!”
Treecko darted across the battlefield, dirt trailing behind him as he flipped again in the air. This time, he used his tail to throw the gusts of wind back into Peeko’s face.

Peeko yelped as she flew backwards, crashing into the ground with a heavy thud.

The frog’s mustache twitched in surprise. He stepped backwards as he returned Peeko to her Poke Ball. His face went dark as he pointed ahead, “Dojoko! Use Water Gun!”
Dojoko’s whiskers twitched as she blasted a stream of water from her mouth.

“Torchic, use Scratch!”
Torchic ducked and rolled below the water blast, jumping up to ambush Dojoko with a quick scratch to the tail.
The loach Pokemon turned around immediately, yelping in surprise.

“Treecko, finish it off with Absorb!”
“Kimooooo,” Treecko chirped as he leaped over the two Pokemon. His hands glowed red as he grabbed Dojoko’s back fin. Dojoko tried to wriggle herself free, but went limp as Treecko absorbed the last energy she needed to fight.

Dojoko groaned as she fell to the ground, unable to battle.

The frog gently smiled as he returned Dojoko to her Poke Ball. “Well color me impressed, lads” he said.

Treecko and Torchic ran back to their trainers, chirping in joy from their victory. Tank picked up Treecko and spun around with him, while Benedict pet Torchic on the head.

Kidd walked up to the group, his arms crossed in front of him. “So, what’d I miss?” he asked.

Tank stopped spinning, setting Treecko back down on the ground. “We just battled this guy so we could go through Petalburg Woods”

“This guy?!” The frog gasped from the audacity. “I am NOT just ‘this guy’, oui oui” He tipped the brim of his hat. “I am Cousteau Grenounille, and I’ve been sailing the Hoenn seas long before any of you were even born.”

Kidd looked at him with a flat face. “So, why were you three having a Pokemon battle?”

“It was Benedict’s idea,” Tank said.

Benedict winked as he pointed at himself. “Well, Torchic an’ I gotta get strong for our first gym match, an’ Cousteau here looked like a strong guy to fight ‘gainst”

Cousteau chuckled to himself, quite flattered. “It made me realize I should be out battling more.” He looked at the watch on his right wrist; it was getting too late to just goof around Route 104. “I’m sorry boys, but I need to get going,” he told them. “Good luck on getting to Rustboro City” he waved as he headed back home.

“See you later!” Tank called out as he waved goodbye.

The boys followed the dirt trail into the woods.

Petalburg Woods: The dense forest of abundant trees. Due to its thick canopies, many trainers dread traveling through here. Rumor has it that children go missing in these woods, many of which don’t turn up alive.

The last shreds of daylight faded away into infinite darkness.
A colony of stubby mushroom Pokemon waddled under the bushes, gathering together to sleep for the night. Several beige sloth Pokemon swayed from the trees, already deep in slumber. White and purple cocoon Pokemon dangled from the highest branches, swaying from their silk like pendulums.

The boys tiptoed through the forest, careful not to make a sound. Slowly, but steadily, the temperature dropped to the point that it could rival an average Sinnoh day.

Kidd stopped in his tracks, his face pale and fur bristling. Mudkip tugged at his boots, urging him to keep going.

Tank stopped. “What’s wrong, Kidd?” he asked. “Is there something behind you?”

Kidd nodded in complete silence, his eyes wide in horror.

The boys turned around before screaming at the top of their lungs. Several bird Pokemon flew out of the forest, jolted by the rude awakening. Kidd scrambled to pick up Mudkip before stumbling backwards. Benedict leaped into Tank’s arms, while Treecko and Torchic hid behind Kidd’s legs.

A black ghost Pokemon hovered inches before them, its single red eye vibrantly glowing between its eye sockets. The wild Pokemon hissed as it held out its limbs, blinding purple energy glowing from its fingertips.

The boys ran for their lives, panting as they sprinted across spongy moss. Thick mud splattered across their clothing, joined by falling leaves and silk strings tangling around their bodies.

“Over here!” Kidd whispered as he pointed to the left.

Benedict and Tank squinted: what in the world was he pointing at? Was it some sort of pile of rocks, or trash, or a dead body?

“In the bushes, you two!” Kidd huffed before he led the other two boys into the foliage. Razor-sharp leaves scratched against exposed feathers and fur.

Benedict shivered as he sunk deeper into the shrubs. “There is no way we’re dyin’ in here”

Tank facepalmed. “Don’t be ridiculous, Benedict! We’re not gonna die in the woods”

“Yeah, but do we really have to push through the rest of Petalburg Woods?” Kidd complained. The other two boys looked at him.
“What? I did not sign up for sleeping in a bush!”

Tank peeked out of the bush. Phew, that wild Pokemon already disappeared. “We’ll be fine, trust me”

A loud crack echoed through the forest, joined by pained hissing and hushed murmurs. Heavy footsteps pounded through the ground, followed by the sizzle of a lighter.

“Get the fuck away from the Pokemon, you bastard!”

The boys peeked out of the bushes, watching the scene unfold.

A towering green hawk, with glassy grey eyes and furrowed maroon eyebrows, lashed out at another trainer. A lit cigarette dangled from his beak, wispy smoke hovering between him and his enemies. His outfit, while very stylish, was quite a spectacle to view: a navy blue kimono, tight sarashi across his chest, beige pants and stiff black leather boots.

A trio of large red spider Pokemon stood behind him, a large bump forming on the smallest Pokemon’s head.

Tank pulled up his Rotom Dex and set it on silent mode. He read the text that popped up:
"Ariados: the Long Leg Pokemon. A bug and poison type. Its' feet are tipped with tiny hooked claws that enable it to scuttle on ceilings and vertical walls. The most aggressive Ariados are the mothers with baby Spinarak on their back"

“Seriously, just get out of the way!” the other trainer warned him, pointing a wooden club at his face.
Tank shuddered as he got a better look at the trainer: a brown deer with short fluffy hair and large beige antlers. While he looked completely normal, it was the clothing that made him stand out: a white button-up shirt, beige pants, dark brown knee-high boots, and a grey waistcoat with a brown mushroom insignia on the chest.

“Up yours!” the eagle lashed out. He inhaled again from this cigarette, this time, blowing the smoke in the other animal’s face.

The deer coughed and sputtered as he waved the smoke away from his face. “What in tarnation do you think you’re doing?!”

“Let’s see here,” the eagle counted off reasons. “Having a smoke, running around the Hoenn region, and wasting a perfectly good night dealing with assholes like you trying to hurt Pokemon. Do you have any more stupid questions?”

“Hurt? No, that Ariados was just struggling!” The deer tried to reason himself, holding up his hooves in defense. “And my boss asked me to acquire Ariados silk in the first place!”

“Then explain the wooden plank!” the eagle pointed with his cigarette. “Oh, no wait, you can’t!”

The deer tisked in disapproval. There was only one way to shut this birdbrain up. He unclipped a green camouflage Poke Ball and tossed it in the air, releasing a large blue Pokemon with a large red flower adorning its head.

The eagle stepped backwards as he released his own Pokemon: a metallic grey bird Pokemon with razor-sharp wings.

“Vileplume, use Petal Blizzard!” The deer commanded.
Vileplume lowered its head, firing a cannon of green and pink petals from its pistil.

“Skarmory, Drill Peck!”
Skarmory darted through the petal cannons, its beak glowing white as it did a barrel roll. The armor bird Pokemon jabbed Vileplume in the flower, throwing it through the forest.

Vileplume’s eyes went white as it slammed against a large tree, knocking several Wurmple from the trees. The trio of Ariados scuttled away from the battle, one of them stopping to clutch several eggs under its body.
The deer groaned as he face planted into both hooves. His face went flat as he returned Vileplume to its Safari Ball. Keep it together, Erik, he reminded himself, as he ran out of the woods.

The eagle shook his head as he whistled to his Skarmory. The bird Pokemon flew to his trainer, politely bowing before returning himself to his Ultra Ball. Now that more Pokemon were saved from the wrath of those pesky deer, it was time to head back to Rustboro City. One of the bushes faintly rustled, catching his attention.
Who the hell is in there?!

He turned around and walked up to the bush, faintly hearing some whispering.
“Is he gone yet?”
“Keep your voice down, he might hear us!”
“You think you know everything, don’t you, Tank?”
“Can both of y’all cut it out? He’s gonna come here an’ kill us!”


“Fucking calm down already,” The eagle tisked as he pulled out a box of cigarettes and a zippo lighter with a green carnation carved in the side. He finished his current cigarette before lighting up a new one. The smooth taste of nicotine immediately put him at ease.

The boys crawled out of the bush, frozen in their place just from looking at the mysterious stranger. He had to be at least six feet tall, and could easily pummel them all to death if he wanted to.

“Um, who are you?” Tank asked as he picked a twig out of his hair.

The eagle took another draw from his cigarette, slowly blowing smoke from his beak. His feathers bristled with the cool late-night wind. “Depends on whose asking,” he said. The last thing he needed tonight was to babysit a bunch of little kids. “Where the hell are you all headed to?”

“We’re goin’ to Rustboro City!” Benedict yelled. “Well, I’m goin’ to get my first gym badge there so I can take on the champ! What about y’all?”

The eagle almost dropped his cigarette. “The champion, huh? Hey, I’m related to that guy,” he noted as he looked around the rest of the woods. “Damnit, I didn’t introduce myself. Frank Hawkian, Rustboro local,” he stopped to take another drag of nicotine. “I might regret this, but you boys should come with me”

Kidd leaned in and whispered, “This guy’s not going to kidnap us, is he? I mean, look at him!”

Tank rolled his eyes. “Kidd, knock it off! Besides, there’s no way he can carry all three of us!”

“Actually, I can,” Frank pointed out. “I just prefer not to”

Benedict shrugged him off; geez that guy had great hearing. “So what was goin’ on with that guy beatin’ up those Pokemon?”

Frank tapped his cigarette against a portable ashtray, quiet as the ashes fell into the box. “The deer? Yeah, he’s just a Team Cottage member.”

Tank’s fur bristled once he heard those last few words. “Ugh, not Team Cottage” he shuddered as bad memories flooded his mind.

A murky green wolf and a pair of brown deer, sneaking into city limits and climbing up the ladders. A dozen beige deer followed them, marching like soldiers before raiding town hall. Black robes engulfed each animal, faces made up in favorite disguises. Brown mushroom insignia lined their right wrists. A green horse with long brown hair, a camouflage-covered crocodile, a purple chicken, all running into a house before the deer could attack them.

“What did they do?” Kidd asked as he looked at his friend.
Tank zipped up his jacket, awkwardly looking away from the group. “They did- they did awful things…” he shuddered. “They invaded Fortree City a few months ago,”

The wolf saluted his underlings, as they marched to town hall. “Keep your eyes peeled,” he commanded. “And let nobody in or out, or I will eliminate you. Got it?”

Tank’s stomach churned. “I’ll never forgive them for what they did,” he gulped.

Dozens of Poke Balls are robbed from town hall, most of them containing Kecleon. Several trainers fight back to no avail. The pair of deer pinned someone to the ground: a lion with green hair and glasses. The buck pins his hands back, while the doe nods to her commander.

The wolf stays calm as he unsheathes a machete, its silver blade gleaming under artificial light.
“No, please!” the lion begged as he looked up from his spot. Tears rolled down his face as his glasses fogged up. “Take the Pokemon, just don’t hurt them! They wouldn’t want this to happen!....You’re not hurting anyone in this city over my dead body”

“Over your dead body, huh” was all the wolf said, as he pulled the machete over his head. “I’ll take care of that!”
A head rolled across the floor, joined by animals screaming in terror. A navy blue rhino tried to head inside, but was thrown off the balcony.


Tank panted before he shook his head clear, his face flushed in worry. “I don’t want to talk about it. We should get going, guys”

“Yeah, we should,” Kidd sighed as he tightened his scarf. “I hope that ghost Pokemon doesn’t follow us again,”

Frank took another drag from his cigarette, feeling worried for the first time in a while. While he wanted to just run off for himself, leaving little kids in the woods felt wrong. If they were found dead the next morning, it’d be all his fault. He already felt responsible for what happened to Belladonna, he didn’t need more blood on his hands.

“I might regret this,” he said. “But you kids should come with me. I wouldn’t fuck around in these woods for much longer”

“Y’all mean it?” Benedict asked. “Oh, thanks so much!”

Frank coughed as he took out his cigarette; oh good grief, he put it in the wrong way! “Don’t sweat it,” he sighed. “I have my reasons anyways,”

The boys looked at each other and shrugged, too worn out to bother arguing. While rough around the edges, he seemed like a decent guy, and he was great at Pokemon battling, so no wild Pokemon can terrify them!

An hour passed before the quartet left Petalburg Woods for good.

Route 104 was serene. There was no wind in the air, yet it was cool enough to stroll outside. Flowers swayed back and forth in their spot, yellow powder flying from their pistils. A small orange house stood behind the flowers, its daffodil yellow roof standing out against green foliage. Pitch black skies engulfed the entire area, save for flickering yellow lights in the distance.

Tank yawned as he looked to his right: a wild Magikarp flipped through the air, while several Dustox fluttered through the skies.
After crossing a small bridge and following a short dirt trail, the group made it to the outskirts of Rustboro City. Yellow brick roads welcomed the visitors.

Kidd rubbed his eyes as he tried not to stumble on his feet. While the city looked beautiful, he was on the edge of passing out.

Frank led the boys to the Pokemon Center, immediately finishing his cigarette. Harsh blue lighting assaulted their eyes, as Nurse Shizue scrubbed the counter clean.

The boys yawned as they dragged themselves through the lobby, passing out near the couch. Tank curled up on the cushions, Benedict pressed his back against the side, while Kidd crashed right on the floor.

Frank facepalmed. He walked up to the counter. “Hey. Shizue,” he barked. “You got any rooms left?”

Nurse Shizue frowned as she looked up from the counter. “I do, yes.” she said, displeased with his blunt attitude. She handed him a key. “Room 6, first floor.”

Frank took the key for himself, not bothering to thank her. He walked up to the boys. “Hey,” he said. “I got the keys.”
The boys were fast asleep, barely moving an inch.

Frank groaned under his breath. He held the keys with his beak, quiet as he carried the boys under his arms. Well at least they were lightweights.
Twenty minutes passed before he kicked the door open. The Pokemon Center lodging had a cheerfully outdated interior: lemon yellow walls, eggplant white floors, tangerine bedding, and psychedelic paintings on the walls. The furniture was quite simple: two twin beds, a nightstand, a folded out futon, an armchair, and a coffee table.

He used his elbow to turn on the lights, kicking the door shut. Frank tiptoed through the room, carefully setting the boys on the twin beds and futon. Once the boys were placed on the furniture, Frank plopped down in the armchair and started writing a letter.
Twenty minutes passed before he finished the letter, carefully folding it and placing it under the keys.

Sneaking out of the room was the easy part; what, with nobody else in the Pokemon center.
Frank took off into the streets, running through several back alleys. Thank Arceus this city was never active at night, he thought to himself.

After going through the last back alley, he stopped in his tracks. A large stone building towered over him, its exterior standing out like a Torkoal in the ocean. A bizarre helix-shaped fossil lined the door.

He took a deep breath in, before sneaking through one of the windows. Home sweet fuckin’ home, Frank thought to himself. He didn’t want to be here, but he didn’t have a choice in this matter.

For a tech-based company, the first floor was elegantly decorated: glimmering glass tables, countless paintings imported from other regions, even a glass exhibit embedded in the floor! Fossilized plants and countless iridescent stones filled the floor, black shreds of pigment swirling through the stone’s cores.

Without any time to spare, he ran up the spiraling staircase. The second floor was rather unremarkable: desktop computers for miles, office chairs, several coffee machines.

Before Frank could run up the last staircase, heavy footsteps stopped him in his tracks.

Another eagle walked down the staircase. He had pale yellow feathers with maroon and navy blue trim, thick grey eyebrows and eyes heavy with a lack of sleep. His outfit was rather peculiar: a lavender suit imported from Lumiose City, a black and white pinstripe shirt, and a dark brown fedora with a lilac band. Strange symbols lined the fedora brim: a pastel pearl, skinny brown mushroom, and a black eagle silhouette. A rainbow stone dangled from the chain attached to his shirt pocket, along with the six Ultra Balls clipped to his waist.

“Frank, this better be something important,” the paler eagle muttered under his breath. He cleared his throat. “What now?”

Frank crossed his arms. “It’s Team Cottage,” he explained as he lit up another cigarette. “The bastards are already in Petalburg Woods, and they’re coming to Rustboro City”

Don looked away as he adjusted his fedora, hiding the patches on his hat. “Is that so?” he said. “Well, I’ll make sure to keep Hawkian Corp safe from them.”

“Great,” Frank took a long drag from cigarette. “Can I crash here?”

Don sighed. Normally he’d throw intruders out in a heartbeat, then get them blacklisted from Hawkian Corp for life, but Frank was family. “Fine, you can stay in one of the guest bedrooms. But you’re out of here by seven”
His eyes went dark. “Got it?”

Frank slowly nodded. “Yes, sir” he shuddered, before walking back to the second floor and opening a door.

“And stop smoking so much, will you?!” Don yelled from outside. “You’re making us Hawkians look bad!”

Frank rolled his eyes as he locked the door. At least the guest room was somewhat comforting: a single bed, two chairs and a table, and a Pokemon healing machine. The decor, though, was odd: a red and black painting similar to a Durian Durian album, some fluffy white rugs that resembled Flaaffy wool, and a small white vase shaped like a Croagunk on the wall. Well, at least Don bothered with the vase in the first place.

He took his boots off before getting comfortable under the covers. The same damn nightmare came to him again: quaking volcanoes, exploding lava, maniacal laughter. Sweat beaded down his forehead as he tossed and turned in his spot.

What misadventures await Rustboro City in the morning, as the journey continues!
 
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Heya, here with a review from Bulba’s Review Game. Though Pokémon x Animal Crossing, huh? Dunno what to expect on that front, since there’s any number of ways to take that pairing, but let’s find out by just jumping right in:

Chapter 1

Welcome to the beautiful Hoenn region. With diverse environments ranging from blazing volcanos to tropical forests and oceans that spread for miles on end, there's plenty to explore depending on which path you take, both metaphorical and physical. Our journey starts in sleepy little Littleroot Town.

A town that can't be shaded any hue. This small town, unlike the rest of Hoenn, moves at its own pace, never changing to accommodate any growing population. Empty houses were scattered about, most of them sold for affordable rent. Animals move in and out at whatever pace they feel like here, but very few residents stay beyond more than three years. A large tree stood in the middle, with a brown and black shinto shrine in the middle. The golden bells rang in the calm wind. Red and white presents lined the shrine, with elaborate kanji placed on the tags.

Oh, so the “humans” of this story also include AC-style animals, huh? Filing that one away, though I wonder if they’ll look like their AC counterparts, or if they’ll be Pokémonified.

That said, I did feel the second paragraph on was a little strange in how we start out the story in present tense but switches over to past tense at the end. Unless if this is from the perspective of a viewpoint character who’s reading off a brochure or something for the part in present tense, you want to come down hard on verb tense being one or the other of past or present tense and not mix them together like this.

At this time of year, three mothers and their sons reside here, but not for long, of course. Only three animals call themselves permanent residents of Littleroot Town; a tanuki by the name of Tom Nook, and his assistants and nephews Timmy and Tommy.

‘Tanuki’, huh? I see you’re sticking with the original Japanese instead of taking after the localization where the Nooks became ‘raccoons’.

“Hmmph…”

Tom Nook rolled out of his bed with a thud. He checked the time on his green Rotom Phone— grr, already nine thirty am. What to do today...oh, right. He was supposed to give some of the local boys their starters today.

If this is supposed to be Nook’s internal thoughts, you probably want some way of distinguishing it from the rest of the narration such as via use of italics or something like that, which was my suggestion here.

Though Tom Nook as a Professor, huh? Somehow I doubt that those kiddos will be going anywhere fast, since Tom’s got a penchant for trapping people in absurd amounts of debt that need to be paid off by odds-and-ends jobs.

Oh, right. He didn't even meet them in person yet. He remembered the documents and emails that were sent to him via his assistants; a self assured optimist named Tank, an impulsive hothead by the name of Benedict, and an aloof snarker named Kidd. Unless he wanted to be cussed out again by that awfully rude neighbor of his (Marie, if he remembered right), he had to wake up, get the boys their starters and continue extensive research on local habitats.

I kinda wonder if it’d have made sense to explicitly identify who these kids are species-wise. Since in AC, humans are rare relative to the animal villagers, while the average villager is an animal person of some sort. You probably want to establish that from the jump here since it helps clue readers in to the dynamic to expect in town.

“Mr. Nook! Mr. Nook!”

Two high pitched voices called out from behind the door. Oh, right. His lab assistants.

Oh, so that’s what Tommy and Timmy are doing here in this story.

With a little teamwork, the two tiny tanukis opened the door. One of them held three Poke Balls while the other had a bag filled to the brim with healing items.

Yup, called it. Though that’s definitely got me curious as to how on earth Pokémon are going to be depicted in this setting, and if they’re basically going to fill the role of the bugs and fish of AC or something closer to their anime depictions.

“Mr. Nook, we have the starters ready....starters ready!” they chirped out, one following the other in perfect unison.

I’m not sure what the story is behind the newlines after your lines of dialogue, but you’d probably find it worth collapsing it down like so. It’s a bit visually neater for readers.

The larger tanuki stretched. He threw on his lab coat and waddled over to the stairs. Who cares if they see him in his pajamas, he thought as he put his yellow slippers on.

… Wait, who’s the ‘him’ there? Since if this is Tom Nook talking about himself, that should be something more like “Who cares if they see me in my pajamas”. Otherwise, you could alternatively make it an indirect thought along the lines of “Who cared if they saw him in his pajamas”, which is consistent with the rest of the verb tense in this paragraph.

“Excellent job, you two” he reassured both his assistants. [ ]


“Yes yes, I just hope those boys will be here soon. I know these starters will be perfect for them”

IMO, you should consider showing off some sort of body language or small action from Tom Nook after his line to the boys, since his line immediately afterwards feels like it’s supposed to come after something, but that something is never depicted.

<><><>

Outside of the lab and near the shrine...

This is enough of a jump in terms of scene setting, that IMO you should’ve had a hard scene break here from the prior bit, unless the point is that you’re depicting this through Tom Nook’s eyes and he’s seeing this through a window or something like that.

A trio of teenage boys argued outside. The first boy was an energetic rhino with pale blue skin, a bright white horn, strong thick eyebrows, and a ridiculous green undercut shaped like a leaf. He wore a short sleeved red and black jacket, a white crop top exposing one row of abs, loose black track pants, and green and white slip-on sneakers.

Oh, so those kids are just straight-up villagers from Animal Crossing, huh? Since I fired up ACwiki and yeah, there is indeed a ‘Tank’ in that series that matches this description to a ‘t’.

I do feel that if you brought up their species in passing earlier on in that sequence where Nook namedrops them, that you’d potentially have been able to cut to the chase describing Tank’s features and made it a bit more obvious to readers that this is him. I do wonder if the description could’ve been broken up or intermixed with “idle animations” a bit, since that last sentence in particular feels a bit list-y in structure and having Tank do some sort of action in this approach can help tee off the audience that he’s supposed to be a jock as a character. Or at least assuming you’re sticking to AC characterizations.

The second guy was a red chicken with a white heartlike face, long red and white tail brushing against the ground, menacing black eyebrows, grey scars on his cheeks, and shaggy red hair tied back in a messy ponytail. He wore a loose lilac and white hoodie, baggy grey and yellow joggers, and blue and purple sneakers.

Ah yes, and there’s Benedict there. My critiques regarding Tank’s paragraph largely carry over, except the list-y vibe feels really strong with him here. Like I legit wouldn’t be able to pick up that he’s supposed to be a “lazy” villager just from this physical description, which could be sold really easily from a passing detail like a mention of him doing something like yawning or looking like he just stumbled out of bed.

The last boy was a lavender goat with medium brown hair in a stylish mod cut, a cropped brown tail, and tired dark eyes. He wore a classy black peacoat, light blue sleeveless shirt, silky white scarf tied in a bow, grey skinny jeans, and matching black knee-high boots with a blue button on the side.

Same deal here as with Benedict. We’ve gotten a very “list”-style description of Kidd, but it feels a bit dry in presentation and doesn’t really give us any ideas of what to expect from him as a character. I’m assuming you’re taking after his most recent depiction as a smug villager, but not exactly anything to grasp on on that front just yet.

[ ] The rhino yelled and shoved the other two out of his way

“I’m getting my starter first!”

I kinda wonder if you should expand this a bit to have Tank notice something about the lab before he goes full “see ya, slowpokes”, since something about this both feels very abrupt and makes him feel a bit jerkish in a way that jock characters in AC usually aren’t.

… Assuming that this Tank isn’t just the equivalent of a grumpy villager, anyways. Since in that case never mind, since this would be pretty on-brand with that personality.

[ ] He tried to open up the door but failed anyways.

[ ] Maybe if he tried bashing the glass in with his horn….no, that’d be stupid. But he had to get his starter NOW!! He COULD throw his backpack through the window.... That'd be a great way to get banned from the lab though!

I… wasn’t aware that these three were at the lab right now, since the opening description mentions that they’re at the shrine and there was never any mention of Tank actually going to said lab from the shrine. Something as simple as mentioning “Tank ran up to the lab’s entrance and threw his hands on the doorknob” prior to the first paragraph would’ve accomplished that. Additionally, you could’ve sold the way Tank ticked a bit better if you did something like show him react a bit more to getting cockblocked by the entrance to the lab, since I’d presume from the rest of the paragraph that he’s meant to be a bit impatient and annoyed.

“Tank, y'all gotta calm down already” the bird scolded him. On his purple phone, he read several articles about the Hoenn Pokemon League. Champion Apollo, here we go.
“We’re all gettin' our starters anyways so what’s the rush?”

Well, if nothing else, you can’t say that Benedict’s depiction isn’t in line with his canon namesake. :V

Benedict: “Seriously, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if the professor was a little late. It’d be a good chance to get some more shut-eye!” ^v^

The goat sighed in annoyance. Some of his brown hair fell into his eyes. He brushed some dirt off his pretty black coat and checked Pokegram on his shiny white phone. Great. His former classmates online had the cutest starters ever- Pikachu, Eevee, Fennekin, hey was that a Dedenne?!

And here he was NOT getting any of those. It'd only been two weeks but he already missed the Lumiose City scene. All the parties, the rambunctiousness, all traded away for a small town with nothing to do except stay on your his phone all day. Not like he WAS invited to those parties anyways. He remembered arguing with his mom just hours before flying to Hoenn

Oh, so Kidd is taking after his more recent depictions otherwise he’d likely be indistinguishable from Benedict if he took after his depiction in e+. Though I have to wonder why these three in particular. Are they favorite characters of yours from the series?

Kidd: “Seriously, how did I get stuck picking starters along with you two?” >_>;
Benedict: “... We’re the only kids in the village? (Also, what happened to you, Kidd. You used to be cool!)” ^v^;

Also, given that the next scene is apparently some sort of flashback to Lumiose City, it might make sense to have the last sentence of this paragraph trail off a bit so that way it leads into it.

Everything about Lumiose International felt like another level of hell. The blinding lights, scratchy carpet, loud pop music, animals blabbing loudly on their phones about their monotone lives.

Kidd really needs to get his priorities in order, since I can certainly think of worse places to be than in an airport like that.

Kidd hollered as his mom dragged him by the arm.

"For crying out loud, mom! I'm fourteen! I don't need to go to Hoenn with you!"

Oh, so this story’s set in Hoenn, huh? If so, I kinda wonder if it’d have made sense to be a bit more upfront about it, since I was honestly guessing at where on earth things were happening up to this point.

The other goat rolled her eyes, while her short platinum hair fell in her eyes. Her long black dress swished against the carpeted floor.

She dragged her son to the terminal without any effort.
"Look, Kidd, I'd let you do whatever, but according to Kalosian laws, you're not legally an adult until you turn sixteen,” she insisted. “And besides, Hoenn is such a nice region. Much less busy than Kalos. You didn't actually want to stay with your cheating father, do you? He never cared about you like I do."

… Quality parents from Kidd’s end there. I never had him as a villager in my past AC runs, so I’m actually not sure if he’s canonically implied to have a rocky family dynamic or if this is something created wholesale for the story.

"But I want to stay here in Lumiose!" Kidd argued back. "Come on Mom! I'm going to hate being in Hoenn!"

"How do YOU know that?" The taller goat scoffed as she turned her nose up. "Just give it a try, you might finally be able to make a friend for once in your sad and pathetic life."

I would recommend collapsing your lines here to make them visually neater, and wow. Kidd’s mom’s already doing her damnedest to make me hate her not even halfway through this scene. Guess it’s a good thing she’s not around in the village… probably. Maybe.

"Sacre bleu....I don't NEED friends. Not after Aloe left me. And besides, you never let me have a Pokemon in Kalos!" Kidd muttered under his breath.

I actually fired up an AC wiki to see what villager this was, but nope. Looks like this throwaway’s made up wholecloth. And… uh… yeah, Kidd and his family have some serious problems, to say the least.

Though if you’re playing up the French-ness, I’m honestly a little surprised that you didn’t have Kidd’s name turn out to be ‘Moktar’ with ‘Kidd’ being a nickname/alias or something that he uses to put some distance between himself and his past.

"Quit whining and get over it already" his mom huffed as she pushed other animals out of the way. "You're making me look bad!"

See above about the ‘serious problems’. I can see why Kidd ran off and got into debt slavery in a podunk village to get away from this.

His mother stopped at the terminal. A rabbit looked up. "Two tickets for Marie and Kidd Chavignol?" he asked.

I know that it’s not intentional, but this is pretty hilarious given the Kalosian backdrop since 'Marie' is Isabelle’s name in the French localization and now I have the mental image of her being all-friendly and bubbly assistant by day and a godawful mother with a soap opera-tier family dynamic offscreen.

"Right here," Marie pulled the tickets out and showed him.

"Alright, feel free to board," the rabbit pointed at the terminal gate.

Kidd:
noo-darth-vader.gif

Marie: “Kidd, grow up.” >_>;

Kidd groaned as he forced himself to get seated. Everything suffocated him like a snake eating its prey. His mom had the audacity to fly first-class while he was tossed away in the very back of the plane. Sitting alone was dreadful, and just when the flight couldn't get any worse, Marie got wasted on red wine and got in a fight with at least two flight attendants.

Quality parenting there! /s

Lilycove International Airport, while well organized, was a chore and a half to get through.

I’m… honestly not sure if this last paragraph was needed here, since the prior paragraph was already a decent note to end on for “life sucked in the past” for Kidd. I’d recommend either dropping it, or else expanding this section a bit to give an ending note that would stick out a bit more in Kidd’s memory.

“Yeah, I don’t see the big deal,” Kidd sighed as he kicked a small pebble on the ground. It’s not like I’m getting something nice like an Eevee anyways.

Benedict rolled his eyes. Really, a free Pokemon and this was how he was reacting? Did Kidd really have to be so ungrateful?!

I would recommend reordering Kidd’s dialogue a bit and expanding Benedict’s train of thought.

Benedict: “I can’t believe that I used to think you were cool, Kidd.” >_>;
Kidd: “Oi, knock it off with the unlocalized game gags already. As if being forced to live in this fashion disaster of a town wasn’t enough of a headache!”
:typhNOsion:


“Hey, Benedict, Kidd! You guys don't understand!” Tank barked back.
“I have to get my starter now or I'm never gonna get to work with Professor Nook!”

I mean, if Nook has as much of a thing of getting people into debt slavery as he does in AC… is that really such a bad thing? ^^;

"What's the big deal with him anyways?" Kidd asked him. Then again, it was not like he wanted to talk to Nook anyways; he was just some guy that lived here. But anything was better than being cooped up all day at home.

Tank: “... Bruh, how are you this genre blind when we’re in an Animal Crossing crossover?” -_-;
Kidd: “Look, he’s not selling odds and ends out of a tarpaper shack, so the question is perfectly valid here!” >.<

Tank clapped his hooves, struck a pose and winked. "Because I got chosen by Tom Nook himself! He wants me to catch as many Pokemon as possible as part of his research!"

Kidd: “
man-ray-facepalm.gif

Starting to get the feeling I shouldn’t have bothered setting my alarm.”

Tom Nook walked up and unlocked the door. He noticed that Tank got knocked over by the door and fell on the ground like a Banette. He chuckled in amusement, remembering what a hothead he was in his youth.

Tank: “Uh… Professor Nook? I’m kinda in pain right now.” @.@
Nook: “Yes, yes, nothing like a dash of physical comedy to start off the day!” ^^

“Why, hello hello!” he cheerfully greeted the three boys. “Come on in, you three. Your starters are here, yes yes.

Which I’m guessing will be Hoenn starters given the direction of Kidd’s flashback, but I suppose we’ll find out for sure pretty fast.

The boys followed the tanuki trio inside. The lab was cold and grey, unlike the warm welcoming scenery of Littleroot Town. Two smaller tanuki were busy filling in research on huge screens. The first tanuki looked up critical information on severe droughts near Stark Mountain, while the second tanuki researched on flash floods in Po Town. Three round orange Pokemon hovered around the room, buzzing happily as they chased each other.

… Wait, but the twins weren’t mentioned at all as being at the door to greet Tank, Kidd, and Benedict. You should either play up their presence more earlier, or have them get explicitly spotted after coming into the room here.

“So, boys, tell me about yourselves,” Tom Nook said as he gently lifted up each pokeball one by one.

He grabbed a fourth ball and spun it in his paws. Unlike the other balls, it was blue with black netting. The professor had a bright blue stone dangling from his labcoat. The stone had yellow and green stripes running through its core.

-casually pulls up the Mega Evolution page on Bulbapedia-
… Wait, are those colors all right? Since the closest match that I can see to this description is a Beedrillite and… I wouldn’t have exactly called that a ‘blue’ stone there.

Though someone is shockingly accomplished as a Professor for this story. Guess we’re skipping the whole “do odd jobs to build Nook and his digs up” loop that every AC game normally has.

“What kinds of trainers do you see yourselves becoming with these starters by your side? Where do you see yourself in the future? What new horizons do you see yourselves reaching?”

captain-america-i-understood-that-reference.gif


“Well….”

Kidd was trying tried to collect his thoughts [but had trouble or something]. How was he supposed to know this already?! This guy was so pushy, he thought. But at least a free Pokemon would help him stay away from Marie.

bender-laughing.gif


I am not convinced at all that this is the last we’ve seen of Kidd’s mom in this story.

And then Tank yelled loudly, with confidence beaming in his eyes and voice.


Professor Nook! I wanna catch as many Pokemon as possible! In the land! The seas! The skies! Heck, maybe see some legendaries! I know I can do it!"

Kidd rolled his eyes in annoyance. Such a showoff.

The bit about Tank yelling loudly feels a bit disconnected from the prior paragraph which is all in Kidd’s mental space. It might have worked a bit better to mention Kidd getting knocked out of his train of thought or something like that to more naturally transition to Tank doing his thing here.

“And I'm thinkin' of takin' on Champion Apollo,” Benedict calmly explained to Tom Nook. "My pa's takin' on a tournament out in Galar right now, so I wanna be just like him!"

I’m not sure how I didn’t notice this up until this point, but wait, as in the bald eagle villager? Or someone else that has the name?

“Excellent goals, you two. And Kidd, don't stress too much. I'm sure you'll find your goal eventually. And I assure all of you that these starters will be of great help, yes yes.


Tom Nook was as chipper as ever, as he tossed each Poke Ball into the air.

The boys watched as each starter was released from their ball-- a purple and orange mudfish, an orange bird with a yellow beak, and a light green gecko with vivid yellow eyes.

Oh, so we are getting Hoenn starters here. I suppose there were some passing mentions earlier in the story, but I kinda wonder if there should’ve been more mentions of it earlier on since admittedly the main reason why I remember that we’re in Hoenn at the moment is because of Kidd’s flashback scene.

The three starter Pokemon looked around curiously. The purple mudfish sparkled as it pawed at the ground. All three Pokemon chirped in excitement.

“Torchic, tor!” the fluffy bird Pokemon cried out eagerly and ran right into Benedict’s arms!

“Looks like this guy chose me,” Benedict smiled a bit as he held the fluffy Fire-type close to him. "Okay, y'all are just adorable!

Kidd: “Benedict, don’t you find this the least bit weird right now to be training a creature that’s basically a different version of yourself?” >_>;
Benedict: “I mean, I’ve got a friend from video chat called Deli who trains a Chimchar in spite of being a monkey so… not really?”
:wellyousee:

Kidd: “... Is it too late to turn around and go back to sleep and let Tom get my starter instead?” >.<

Tank took a good look at the remaining two starters. Wasn't Mudkip supposed to be blue, he thought? Why was it purple?

He held his hoof out to the light green gecko Pokemon. “Hey little buddy” he cooed to him. “How'd you like to be my friend?”

Kidd: “Tank, it’s purple because it’s shiny! That’s super rare for Pokémon in general!“ >.<
Tank: “What? Mudkip aren’t supposed to be purple, and the starters are first-come, first-serve basis.”
Benedict: “I’m… honestly shocked you didn’t make your move sooner, Kidd, since Grovyle seems like the sort of Pokémon that would fit you to a ‘t’-” ^v^;
Tank: “Well, now he gets the weird Mudkip, so funny how that all worked out.” :V

“Tree…...cko!” the grass-type scaled onto Tank’s arm and wrapped himself tightly around his upper arm.

“I knew he'd join me!” Tank laughed happily as Treecko clung to him. “Welcome to the crew, Treecko!"

Tank: “Whelp, too late, Kidd. We’re growing on each other already!” ^^
Kidd: “Okay, seriously, can I just turn around and go back to bed-?” >_>;
All:
bdd.jpg

Kidd: “Ugh, fine…

“I guess I’m stuck with the last one,” Kidd sighed in disappointment. He looked down at the small purple and orange mudskipper Pokemon. “It’s no Eevee, but it’ll do for now…”

The water type chirped sadly and looked away

“Mudkip…”

Tank: “(Psst, Mr. Nook! If he doesn’t want his starter, can I have it?)”
Kidd: “You literally just passed it up because it was ‘colored weird’!” >.<
Tank: “Technically, I didn’t say that. But hey, weird or not, two Pokémon’s always better than one.” ^_^
Benedict: “Yeah, and if it’s rare, shouldn’t you be happy to have it, Kidd?”
Kidd: “I. Wanted. An. Eevee.” >_>;
Tom Nook: “(Boy am I glad he’s going to be busy with field work in about five minutes.) Er… let’s just move along here, shall we?”

“Well congratulations you three, take care of your new Pokemon!

Tom Nook was still chipper as ever. He leaned down to Mudkip’s eye level. “And trust me Mudkip, I'm sure you and your trainer will grow closer by the day, yes yes.

Mudkip: “... Can I go on strike from this story until I get a different trainer?” >_>;
Tom Nook: “See, he’s warming up to you already, Kidd!” ^_^

The starters perked up and cried out their names.

“Oh, when do we get our stuff?” Tank excitedly asked. His tail wagged as he bounced on his tiptoes “Like Poke Balls, the berries, potions, oh and—“

Kidd: “Tank, you realize that you’re asking for this from Tom Nook, right?” >_>;
Tank: “Yes? And?”

“We’ll be right on that!....on that” the twins called back to the excitable trainer.

They paused their research to gather up a brown parcel of necessities for each new trainer. The packages were filled with potions, empty Poke Balls, portable chargers for their Rotom Phones, and a list of numbers for any emergency. Tom Nook's number was highlighted in pink.

Wow, Tom and the twins actually give those three starting gear instead of making them pick berries until they can afford to buy it from them. That’s certainly unexpected. :V

Benedict kneeled down to play with Torchic. He pulled a rubber ball out of his pocket and tossed it in the air. Torchic jumped up and headbutted the ball like he was playing volleyball. Torchic looked determined as he kept headbutting the ball.

Benedict could see his future now-- a powerful Blaziken by his side, taking on several opponents with fiery kicks that could melt even the sturdiest of steel beams.

Benedict: “Hah! He’s just like me!” ^v^
Kidd: “That’s… not saying what you think it is, Benedict.” >_>;

Kidd sighed in disappointment. His classmates back home in Kalos got nice Pokemon as their starters and all he got was this plain fish thing. Oh well, at least he didn’t have to run out catching anything for a while. Maybe he could just trade Mudkip to someone later.

Benedict: “... Kidd, didn’t you just go on like a minute ago about how this Mudkip was rare? Shouldn’t you be over the moon right now?” [what]
Kidd: “One, that wasn’t canon commentary. Two, I wanted an Eevee.” >_>;
Mudkip: “Look, seriously, can I just go back in the ball until I get a different trainer?” >.<

Tank scrolled through a navigation app on his phone. Wow, there’s at least five or six new Pokemon to meet on Route 101 alone! That could mean…..yes at least eighteen species alone for the dex! Treecko wagged his tail as he sat comfortably atop his trainer's shoulder.

“Here you go….go,” the tanuki twins said, the first [d]tanuki twin[/d] handing each new trainer the brown parcels. The second twin explained to them [as he reached for some Nookphones or whatever they’re called in this setting].

"
Also we have these for your phones.....phones"

You have a sentence that abruptly cuts off that would probably work best attached to the paragraph where Timmy or Tommy (a little confused as to why you’re not just flatly naming them) gives out the trainer’s kits, since you should probably be introducing these phones a bit more so the audience knows whether to expect them to be more like the ones in ACNH or the Rotomphones from SwSh.

Benedict: “... Wait, but what keeps us from just looking up this information on the internet again?” ^v^;
Tank: “Screw that, I’m going out there and training! You’re with me, right Kidd?” o<o
Kidd: “...”
:gardexhausted:

Tank: “Hah! I knew you’d be up for it!” ^^

Everyone in the lab watched as each Rotom successfully entered the trio's phones with a small ding.

"These Rotom will help you with your journeys......journeys."

Oh, so the phones are a cross between the ones in ACNH and SwSh. Clever melding there.

The boys each thanked the tanukis, put their packages in the bags and then headed out their way.

“Have fun, boys!” Tom Nook called out while they left the lab. He sat down in front of his computer and wrote an important email. The two tanuki leaned over Tom Nook's shoulder to watch him type with lightning speed.

I feel that the “important email” is something that is a bit too “told” right now. This would probably work better if it was portrayed more from Tom’s internal thought process or his reaction. Like if he hears his computer chime, looks over and has a “right, gotta finish that email” moment or something like that that helps sell the urgency and importance without flatly saying “it was an important email”

"Dearest Sable,

I'm glad to announce that this month's starters have been safely trusted with their new trainers. I was particularly worried about that Mudkipher trainer didn't seem particularly interested in her, but I'm sure they'll grow closer on their journey. Anyways, can you contact the Swampert breeders in Route 117 to make sure both sire and dam are healthy? This is the third purple Mudkip I've recieved from the breeder this year alone, and I am curious as to the cause of this. Let me know what they say, honey.

Your husband,

Professor Tom Nook"

incredibles2-choke.gif


Well that was a pairing that I wasn’t expecting there. Though the breeders have been Masuda Methoding shinies, huh? Or at least something is up given that I doubt Tom yeeted out 24000+ Mudkip over the span of a year such that getting 3 shinies would be expected.

<><><>

The boys eagerly rushed into Route 101, zipping past a steep cliff. The grass nearly swallowed them whole as they tracked through the flora. Several small beige and brown raccoon Pokemon leaped through the grass, carefully avoiding each trainer like the plague.

This is another section where things abruptly jump perspective, time, and place in the span of a paragraph. I would strongly recommend either adding more of a transition to get here, or else drop a hard scene break in here, since we’ve gone from the inside of Tom Nook’s lab to a route in the boonies suddenly enough that things currently feel very jarring as presented.

"Aren't you two going to say bye to anyone before leaving?" Kidd asked.

That morning, he left a note on the table in red ink, cussing out Marie and telling her he never wanted to talk to her again.

"No way!" Benedict brushed him off. "My ma's so busy playin' Eevee Crossings, that I could show up back home dressed as a girl and she wouldn't even care, let alone notice what Pokemon I get!"

Oh, so they have their own AC analogue within this setting, huh? :V

Though something about Kidd’s reflection on how he said goodbye to his mother feels kinda disconnected from his dialogue. Since one would think that Kidd wouldn’t be particularly concerned if Tank and Benedict said goodbye if his own goodbye was a profane screed, or that at least he’d mentally have a “wait, why am I asking this considering what my own goodbye was like?” moment.

"Yeah, and my dad can't move here yet!" Tank joined in as he tore open the trainer starter kit. Brown papers flew into the air, falling back into his hooves. He pulled out at least three Poke Balls. "But I can still meet him in Fortree anyways"

Kidd: “... Boy can I not wait to get to the first Pokécenter and ghost you two without having to worry about mom breathing down my back.” >_>;

Kidd rolled his eyes at his two crazy neighbors. He did feel kinda bad for their family situations. Kidd knew all too well about dysfunction-- no friends to miss him, a cheating dad who wanted nothing to do with him, a horrible mom from the depths of the Distortion World. But at least they were nice neighbors-turned-travelling companions, even if both of them went with their impulses. He found them somewhat charming compared to the stuckup guys he knew back in Lumiose City.

Well that was surprising given how sour and stand-offish Kidd has come across in the entire chapter thus far. Guess he needed friends more than he thought he did.

“Help me!!!” a young voice cried out.

The boys ran to the commotion like an Arcanine using Extreme Speed.

There… is no real indication as to where these three are right now or where this sound is coming from. Like they don’t even look around the surroundings to orient themselves. It makes this scene kinda hard to visualize at the moment.

A mangy black dog Pokemon snarled, baring pearly white fangs as it chased after a tiny pale green turtle. She ran around crying and screaming as the Pokemon kept terrorizing her.

The girl nearly tripped on her pink flower dress. “Eeeee!!!”

Kidd: “... Lady, It’s a hyena.” -_-;
Leila: “Oh my gosh, that’s what you’re worried about right now?! Stop gawking and help me already!” >.<

Tank threw one of his Poke Balls at the unfamiliar Pokemon to no avail. It swatted the ball away with its tail then continued barking at the turtle.

“Aw come on!” he hollered, making the enemy Pokemon bark louder.

“You have to battle it first” Kidd scoffed in disapproval. He crossed his arms and held his chin up.

Leila: “Are you three seriously doing this to me right now?!” O.O;
Benedict: “Look, we’re new at this! Just… give us a moment to figure this out here!” ^v^;

“Hey, Kidd! Just what do you know about battling?!” Benedict yelled back. “Just watch me. Torchic, use Ember, BUT don’t hurt the little girl!”

Cue the faceplant in 3… 2…

Torchic cheerfully chirped and spewed several small sparks of fire at the canine Pokemon. The little kappa ran behind a tree stump and crouched down behind it. Her little hands trembled as she grabbed onto the stump.

Okay, so I’m pretty sure that this is just Leila from a cross-check from Nookipedia, but is there a reason why she’s not being identified as a kappa first and then a turtle? Since I’ll admit that when I initially read her being described as a “turtle”, I was picturing someone who looked more like Tortimer and less like Kapp’n.

“Pooch!” the dog Pokemon yelped as it got hit by the sparks. It shook the flames off but still winced from the damage it took.

Kidd: “It’s. A. Hyena.” >.<
Benedict: “Well it’s a dog now in this story, but see what you can do when you know a thing or two about battling?” ^v^;

]“Ker-POW!” Tank hollered as he chucked the Poke Ball again.

This time, the Pokemon didn’t fight back. It was enveloped in bright blue light and absorbed into the red and white ball. The Poke Ball rotated twice before stopping.

He checked his Rotom Dex. Sweet, it was a Poochyena!

Benedict: “... Shouldn’t we be checking up on that scared girl cowering behind the tree?” ^v^;
Tank: “Ah-ah-ah, give me a moment, Benedict. This is interesting here!”

"Poochyena: the Bite Pokemon. A dark-type. Poochyena are persistent Pokemon who will eat anythingBerries, Chansey eggs, Tropius fruit, and the occasional Magikarp. Only Poochyena with the strongest and loudest howl will evolve into Mightyena"

"Poochyena can eat anything, huh?" Benedict commented as he looked over on Tank's phone.
"Neat!"

Benedict: “... Even if I still say we could’ve just looked this up online.” ^v^;
Kidd: “Yeah, well we’re crossovering with Pokémon, so getting sent out into the boonies to find out stuff any 12-year old could find from a wiki article is kinda part and parcel here.” -_-;

“Well, congratulations,” Kidd said, shaking Tank’s hoof. “I have potions for him if you want--”

Tank nodded and plucked two potions out of Kidd's messenger bag. Kidd rolled his eyes as his friend helped himself with healing his new companion. At least Tank wasn't trying to steal any of the pastel buttons and charms attached to his bag.

"....to heal him," Kidd's face stayed flat.

Kidd: “... I knew that I should’ve slept in this morning.”
803141280380485632.webp


“T-thank yew fer saving me…” the kappa sniffled as she walked up to the trio.
Her tiny hands trembled as she held the hem of her dress.

“It's no problem, kiddo,” Tank grinned as he arched down to her height. “In fact, we’ll take you home! Where do you live?”

Tank: “Um… where do you live, anyways? Since it’s a bit hard to tell with that accent.” ^^;
Kidd: “Tank, she’s very obviously family to Kapp’n. We’re in Hoenn, of course at some point we were going to come across him in a crossover set in ‘7.8 — Too Much Water, the Region’.”
:eltyunamused:

Benedict: “Wow, we’re already going to meet Kapp’n one chapter in? This story really is moving along quickly. Heh, I’ll be in the Hall of Fame before I know it!” ^v^

“O- I….” the little girl sniffled and stammered. “Owd...owdawe…”

“Oldale Town? I think that's up ahead” Kidd noted. “You can follow us if you want, I guess.

Leila: “Mister, could you have been any less inviting there?”
:unimpressed:

Kidd: “I mean I could’ve told you you were dumb for letting yourself get cornered by a Poochyena and told you to buzz off, so… yes?” >_>;

Benedict patted Torchic on the head before hugging his starter. “Good job, little guy!”

"Torchic, tor!" Torchic squealed as he brushed his head feathers against his trainer's hood.

… Isn’t this a bit of a delayed reaction here? Like why didn’t this happen immediately after Poochyena was caught, or at least after the Pokédex entry? Since it feels a bit weird for this sort of affection to be happening this long after the big moment from Benedict’s personality as-presented in the story thus far.

Tank effortlessly scooped up the young child. He had one arm supporting her legs and the other arm wrapped around her abdomen.

Well, he certainly lives up to the name there. Guess there’s benefits to having a Jock in the party.

“Not to sound like your mom, but you really shouldn't run around without a Pokemon by your side”

“I-“ the kappa sniffled as she grabbed onto his jacket collar. “I know…”

Tank: “... Wait, but if you know, then what are you doing out here anyways?” ^^;

The trio and their starters made their way towards the next town up.

A wooden sign read Oldale Town. Where things start scarce.

O
ldale Town was bigger than Littleroot, but not by much. Several houses were built here, all of them occupied by animals who couldn't afford to live in Slateport or Petalburg City. Sure, Oldale had both a Poke Mart and a Pokemon Center, but most towns had one of those. There was a small garden was built in the middle, where two small blue and white Pokemon were perched among its greenery in the garden.

Tank:
staples-easy-button.gif

Kidd: “Wait, but there was zero indication that we were anywhere close to-!” [what]
Benedict: “Kidd, just don’t question it. Look at it this way, we’re likely one step closer to getting to meet Kapp’n right now!” ^v^

The new trainers looked around the town for a Pokemon Center— aha! The orange building near the left half!

They rushed inside towards the center. The place was VERY comforting-- the nice scent of flowers, light colored orange and yellow decor, several couches to relax on, and a counter near the back.

Kidd: “Whelp, this is the part where I part ways and blow off this plot-”
Benedict: “Nice try, Kidd. We saw that bit about you liking having us around as friends. Plus don’t you wanna see Leila’s big reunion with her dad?” ^v^
Kidd: “... Ugh, fine.” -_-;

“Welcome to the Pokemon Center!” the animal behind the counter greeted the travelers. She was a pretty yellow dog wearing her blond fur in a high bun. She wore a pink and white nurse's uniform with a little hat on top, and ‘Nurse Shizue’ neatly written on a tag attached to her chest.

Would you like your Pokemon healed today?”

Oh hi, Isabelle. So that’s how you’re appearing in this story. Though I have to wonder why it is that she of all characters is dipping into an alternate localization name when everyone else thus far has been using English-localization ones.

Benedict: “(What was that about me making localization gags, Kidd?)”
Kidd: “(Oh shut up, it’s one character so far.)” >_>;
Benedict: “(Also, Tom and the twins were called ‘tanukis’ instead of ‘raccoons’-)”
Kidd: “(One. Character.)” >.<

"I sure do!" Benedict picked up his Torchic and handed him and the ball to the nurse. [Benedict looks at Tank here]

Tank, if I was y'all, I'd get that Poochyena healed too,” he pointed out to his friend.

Tank: “Right, that would be a smart thing to do.” ^^;
Kidd: “(He was just going to go off and send Poochyena out into battle with like 5HP, wasn’t he?)” -_-;

Nurse Shizue cheerfully smiled as she had Torchic safely return to his ball. She carried the ball over towards a bright red healing machine. A cheerful tune echoed from the machine as the Pokemon got healed from its battle.

“He’ll be fine!” Tank called back with a cheeky grin, He was still carrying the little girl from the route. “Trust me! And besides, I’m more worried about this girl!”

… Wait, how has Leila never been mentioned in this entire part of the scene thus far? Since you’d think that if Tank is still holding her, that Isabelle Shizue would notice that.

Also, she’s got an army of clones staffing every Pokécenter in this region, doesn’t she? Or are we going to see others manned by the likes of Pelly and Phyllis?

“Alright,” Benedict shrugged. "Just try not to kidnap her!"

"I won't," Tank snorted in laughter. "I'm too young to have a criminal record!"

I did a double-take here since at first I thought that Tank was talking to Shizue about Leila. You might want to make it more obvious that he’s specifically addressing Benedict there.

“Here you go!” Nurse Shizue happily handed the Poke Ball back to Benedict. “We hope to see you again!”

Benedict: “I-Isn’t that a bit morbid there?”
:fearfullaugh~1:

Kidd: “Benedict, it’s a crossover with Pokémon. That’s literally a thing they say in that series.” >_>;

“Thanks y'all” Benedict nodded. He walked back to his group with the ball in his hand.
“So, any word on where we’re s'pposed to take her back to?”

“No”
Kidd shook his head. “I don’t know anything about Oldale Town. Okay, well except, that we're in it. I'm not that stupid, non?

Benedict: “Aren’t you the one who canonically didn’t recognize your starter was shiny-?”
:UnimpressedCabot:

Kidd: “Oh, like you two did such a better job canonically. And again, I wanted an Eevee.” >_>;

“I know!” Tank said as had a brilliant idea came to mind. “We could just knock on everyone’s door until they answer.

Kidd: “No, just… no.

“Yeah, great idea. It’s not like the town will find us incredibly annoyin' after this incident”
Benedict snarked.

Kidd: “Wow, you snarking for once, Benedict?”
Benedict: “Oi, just because I’m lazy doesn’t mean that I can’t recognize a dumb idea when I hear it!”

"Aw, but think about it!" Tank argued back. "Trying to get a little girl home is less annoying than selling overpriced essential oils, leggings that rip in two tears or gross protein shakes with weird names like-"

“Tank, we GET IT already!” Kidd interrupted him and rolled his eyes.

“.....Fine. Let’s get on with it already”

When your idea is so terrible that you managed to 2/2 your traveling companions into harping on you. The only thing missing was Leila also emphasizing that it would be a stupid idea for the extra comedic kick.

Mudkip sighed as she ran outside the Pokemon Center. The mud fish Pokemon chirped excitedly at one of the doors. She jumped up and down while wagging her tail.

The door slowly creaked open. The animal in front of her was a taller chartreuse green kappa with pretty brown hair in a side ponytail and a floral yellow dress. She had two Pokemon standing next to her-- a brown and yellow blue-eyed mouse Pokemon floating on its tail, and a round pink Pokemon with an egg pouch on its stomach.

"Oh, why hello cutie pie!" the kappa kneeled down to Mudkip's height, She gently smiling at the smaller Pokemon. "Are you lost?"

Kidd: “No, she’s mine. And I’m pretty sure we have something of yours right now.” -_-;

"Mud-" the mudskipper shook her head. She got on her back legs and waved her upper legs around.


"Mudkip, mud mud mud mud, kip, kip!"

"Your trainer and his friends found a girl on Route 101?" the kappa asked the water type with a worried frown.

Kidd: “... Wait, you can understand her?!” O_O;
Mudkip: “Were you really expecting anything different? We do both live in the water constantly as creatures, you know.
826550123924029450.webp


"Mud mud mud, mudKIP!"

"And the girl said she lives here in Oldale?"

Mudkip closed her eyes and smiled.

"Mudkip, mud!"

Kidd: “Lady, do you not see the blockhead who’s very obviously still holding who I presume is your daughter in his arms right now?”
803141280380485632.webp

Leilani: “You know, the text wasn’t really clear if they were present right now or not.” ^^;

"May I meet with your trainer?"

"Mud!"

Mudkip got back on all four legs as she ran over to the Pokemon Center. The door automatically opened.

… Oh, that would explain why she didn’t see Leila yet, though it probably would make sense to emphasize more that the Pokécenter door closed behind Mudkip, since I didn’t get the impression that it had at all, much less that it was opaque.

“Mommy!” the little kappa cried out. She wriggled her way out of Tank’s arms and ran over to her mother. The tiny kappa clinged to her mother's leg like a Remoraid attaching itself to a Mantine.

“Aww, Leila. Did you run off without one of my Pokemon again?” the bigger kappa worried as she brushed some dirt off her daughter’s cheek.

Aaaaaand I called it, even if it was kinda obvious that things were heading in this direction since Kapp’n’s family members all have very visually distinct designs relative to other AC characters.

Leila quietly shook her head. Her small brown pigtails bounced as she nodded along.


“Y-yes.." she sniffled as she tightly held her mother's leg. "A- a poochy….it- it chased me...and they- they saved me…”

[ ]


“Who? Who saved you?” her mother asked.

I think this might have worked better to show Leilani getting a bit more worried by Leila’s answer there, since one would think that “my kid got cornered in a dangerous situation by a Pokémon” would be a lot more Adult Fear-tier in just about any Pokémon setting.

Leila pointed over at the three boys and their starters.

"Aww..."

The kappa mother smiled happily [and then went over to the gang].

“Thank you three so much. Why, I’m not so sure exactly how to thank you…Well I have a few of these.

She pulled some unused Poke Balls from her brown satchel and handed each trainer a small pile. Tank neatly put his share of balls away while Benedict crammed them into the bottom of his backpack. Kidd opened another compartment in his messenger bag and tucked the gift away.

Kidd: “... Don’t these literally cost less than soft drinks from vending machines?”
:UnimpressedCabot:

Tank: “Hey, if you don’t want ‘em, I’ll take ‘em!” ^^

“Your Pokemon are great but it’s always nice to have more, isn't it? Well, we’ll see you later.

She sang an old Alolan folk song to herself as she headed back home with her daughter clinging to her torso.

"Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high

And the dreams that you dream of
Once in a lullaby, oh"

Kidd: “... Are we seriously just letting her walk away and not asking her to hook us up with boat rides with her husband-?” -_-;
Tank + Benedict:
:blobyes:

Benedict: “Especially since we don’t canonically know that yet.

“So. Where do we go now?” Kidd asked his friends.

Tank pulled up a map on his Rotom phone. [ ]


Well there’s Route 102 to the left. Hey, look, some new Pokemon for me to catch!”

I think that your paragraph with Tank pulling up a map should be expanded more, for example showing how the others react to seeing it or something like that. Or at least describing the image that pops up on it.

Benedict leaned over in front of Kidd as he swiped his wing on the screen. [ ]

“And a gym in the next city! Huh, it looks like a Normal type one.

Same deal here.

[ ]

“Yeah, I guess we’ll go to Route 102,” Kidd sighed.

And this part would probably feel alive if we got to see more of Kidd’s reaction or body language here. Since I get the vibe he’s supposed to be unimpressed, but it doesn’t really get explicitly mentioned in the text.

<><><>

The trio left Oldale Town and headed towards Route 102. The route trailed much longer than Route 101 did. There were several other animals walking around with their own Pokemon. Some Pokemon frolicked and played in the grass while others rolled around in dirt or splashed in a small pond. Most of the trainers were minding their business, either playing with their Pokemon or taking care of them.

This is another one of those moments that skips around scene-wise. Pick your poison for how you want to deal with it here, though in its present form, it’s kinda jarring.

Tank eagerly leapt into the tall grass, with his Treecko right on his head.

“Come on, buddy, let’s get you some more friends!”

… Shouldn’t you worry more about socializing that Poochyena you caught with your Treecko more first? ^^;

He chased after some rustling sounds. Tank saw a bushy beige and brown tail pop out of the nearby grass. Hey, a new friend! He lept into the grass and chased the new Pokemon into a corner.

Tank chucked a Poke Ball at the unsuspecting Pokemon, easily capturing it without a fight.

"Zigzagoon has been added to your Pokedex."

Zigzagoon: “Wow. Rude.

Yes! Tank thought to himself in excitement.

I kinda wonder if it might make sense to differentiate characters’ thoughts from their narration more through something like italic text, since admittedly, it can be a bit confusing trying to separate the two from each other.

Treecko bounced up and down, his tail wagging as he pointed to nearby a small pond. He Tank followed his lead and crouched down in the grass as he saw a blue and yellow Pokemon skate across the water. He Tank threw a new Poke Ball at the blue Pokemon and caught that one just like his Zigzagoon.

"Surskit has been added to your Pokedex."

“He” and “his” here are ambiguous as pronouns since both Treecko and Tank are male. It would make sense to turn some of them into either “Tank” or “Treecko” to disambiguate things.

Treecko ran off to follow a smal, brown acorn Pokemon and a flat, blue and green Pokemon. Tank tossed both balls onto Treecko's tail and watched as the Poke balls ricocheted onto both Pokemon. Seedot tried to run away but tripped before being captured, while Lotad didn't put up any fight.

"Seedot and Lotad have been registered to your Pokedex."

Tank:

staples-easy-button.gif


Kidd: “... You know, I should probably be complaining a bit more about how effortlessly you’re just putting a team together, but eh. It probably beats having to see all three of those getting dealt with like you catching them was the greatest thing since sliced bread.”

Tank picked up every Poke Ball and put them into his backpack. Treecko crawled back up onto his shoulder and chirped loudly. Both trainer and Pokemon saw a small red and white worm Pokemon inch closer to them. The rhino held both hooves out to the worm and watched as it crawled safely onto him.

"You wanna join your friends too?" he sweetly asked the new Pokemon.

"Wurm, wurm~!!"

"Well, alright"

Tank let the bug crawl onto his left arm while he dug into his bag for yet another Poke Ball. He grabbed the ball and held it out near the bug. He watched as it was absorbed into the ball.

Benedict: “... Wait, Tank? How come you suddenly cared so much about the Wurmple’s consent when you were literally chucking Pokéballs at fleeing Pokémon like 30 seconds earlier? ^v^;
Tank: “Because just look at that cute lil’ thing! I couldn’t break its heart, could I?”
:seviuwu:


"Wurmple has been registered to your Pokedex"

But--

The ball disappeared in front of him!

Oh, so the Nookphones/Pokédexes in this setting auto-yeet Pokémon past the sixth party member straight ot the PC, huh? Wasn’t expecting to see that literally happen, but duly noted.

Just then, his phone began to buzz. Tank picked up the call, not caring about who or what was calling him.

"Hello?" he asked the other animal on line.

"Oh, hello hello, Tank!" Tom Nook happily greeted him. "I'm just calling to let you know that your Wurmple's been safely transferred to the Storage System, yes yes! You can check on your Pokemon on every PC in a Pokemon Center, yes yes."

Tank sighed in relief. Well, that was something to take care of when he reaches after reaching Petalburg City's Pokemon Center.

Yup, called it.

Tank: “... Shouldn’t you have told me about this before I set off on this journey-”
Tom Nook: “Look bub, I didn’t have all day there. I’ll explain things to you when they become relevant for you, alright?” >_>;

Meanwhile, Benedict kept his eyes peeled for anyone just as eager to battle. Torchic eagerly chirped and bounced up and down as he saw a wide eyed trainer across from them.

"Who is it?"

Torchic jumped out of the grass and ran to another trainer. The other trainer was a dark blue penguin with huge black eyes and wearing bright red flannel over a black workers' jumpsuit. He was tending to a peculiar looking flat blue and green Pokemon.

… Don’t recognize that villager offhand, though I’m guessing we’ll find out who he is pretty fast.

Kidd cautiously tiptoed through the grass with Mudkip by his side. Easy does it…Hopefully his outfit wouldn't get ruined by all this grass.

Yeah, this is another moment where the lack of differentiation between characters’ thoughts and narration made things a bit confusing to follow.

“Hey! Hey you!” The penguin called out so loud that several bird Pokemon flew from the trees.


Yeah, you with the Torchic. I want to battle!”

And then Kidd tripped and fell on his face.

"Best day of my life" he muttered to himself.

Kidd: “I could’ve slept in and blown mom off to hop a ferry to Kanto where they’re just giving Eevee away at that one game developer’s office, but noooo...” >.<

Sweet, a challenge! Benedict grinned as he ran towards the other trainer.

Howdy!” he eagerly introduced himself. "I'm Benedict, an' I'm from Castelia City. Y'all wanna battle or what?"

Not with that accent you’re not. That’s a Driftveil accent at best. >:V

“Ah, a Unova man” the penguin shook his wing. “The name’s Roald. I’m from Rustboro myself, and I’ve been looking for someone to battle on this route.

I’m not sure if “myself” makes sense in this context since Roald’s neither from the same town or region, so it feels a bit weird to see it used when it usually gives off vibes of emphasizing commonality.

-Checks Nookipedia-

Though another jock villager, huh? Well that’s going to be an interesting harbinger for the day when Tank and Benedict have to face each other down on the battlefield. Though I suppose it matches up with the way he basically ambushes Benedict for that battle there.

“Hey, same here Roald!” Benedict chuckled a little. “So, just one on one?”

“Yeah, that'd be fair for both of us. I have other Pokemon on me, but you look like a beginner trainer,” Roald crossed his arms. He pointed out in the air with his flipper. “Come on, Lotad!”

The flat blue lilypad Pokemon cried its name out as it stood on its nubby back legs.

Benedict: “Wait, Lotad and not Piplup-?”
Roald: “We’re in Hoenn. Do you see anyone giving out Piplup in Hoenn right now? No? Then shut up.” >v>;

“Let’s go, Torchic!” Benedict yelled and pointed in the air. “Give it your best Scratch!”

Torchic cried out as it used its claws against the grass-type Pokemon. Lotad flinched as its body took a scratch to the face.

“Hey, you're not so bad for a beginner!” Roald called out. “Lotad, Astonish!”

This… feels like it could’ve been a lot more animated, really. Since it’s kinda hard to visualize what’s going on between these two since there’s not really much of an indication of movement or the like.

The grass-type Pokemon chirped as it quickly tackled the fire-type in a purple aura. Torchic winced slightly from the damage it took, but shook it off with its feathers.

“Don’t give up yet, Torchic!” Benedict encouraged him. “Ember!”

de7.png


I get the feeling that Benedict’s gonna be out some pocket change in pretty short order if he’s ordering his Pokémon to use a Fire move against a part-Water-type.

Torchic cried out as it unleashed Ember on the Lotad. The blue flat Pokemon cried out as it was knocked out from the power.

“Lo….”

“Aww” Roald groaned in disappointment as he called his Lotad back to its ball. “Well, congratulations Benedict.

“Thanks y'all," Benedict said as he shook his wing. “That was a fun battle for both of us.”

“Chic!” Torchic happily chirped and nuzzled his trainer's pant leg.

I… was honestly not expecting Benedict to just roll Roald like that. I can’t tell whether this feels anticlimactic or if it’s supposed to be a meta thing that fast forwards all of the expected early-route filler kinda like what was going on with Tank, which I’m also similarly unsure if that was the intent or not.

Tank and Kidd sprinted towards him, both of them panting in exhaustion.

“Look how many Pokémon I got!” Tank hollered as he eagerly showed off the dex app on his phone. “I caught almost every single species on this route, like Professor Nook asked me to!"

Benedict: “... But it’s been less than five minutes-” [wtfuckle]
Tank: “Yeah, and? I work best when I’m working fast!” ^^;
Benedict: “But Kidd was literally right here next to me and he faceplanted in front of Roald, and-”
Kidd: “Alright, moving along!” >_>;

Benedict looked over at Roald. [Benedict has some body language or something like that here]

Oh, these are my friends by the way.”

“Hey! I’m Tank Pepper! I’m from Littleroot Town but I used to live in Fortree!” Tank explained as he bounced on his feet. The tips of his sneakers squeaked against the dirt. “And I just became a researcher for Professor Nook!”

… Actually, what is the backstory behind the surnames chosen for these characters anyways? Since I’m pretty sure that almost nobody in the series canonically has them, so not sure what your design process was.

“And I’m Kidd, I guess. I’m from Lumiose City.

Kidd shrugged as he tried to introduce himself, trying his best to sound somewhat interested. Why did Benedict have to introduce him as a friend though?

I’m....just along for the journey.”

Tank + Benedict:
:sceptical~1:

Kidd: “I am, okay?!” >.<

“Nice to meet both of you,” Roald nodded. “Hey, by the way, there’s a gym in the next city.

“Really? Thanks yall!” Benedict’s eyes shone in eagerness. “Come on guys, I gotta get my badges!”

Roald: “Wait, but I literally just started talk-”

He ran off without waiting for his friends, and then he tripped on a small green and white Pokemon.

Roald: “...ing.” -v-;
Kidd: “Yeah, he’s like that. I’m still getting used to it myself.” -_-;

“.....That was so stupid of him,” Kidd whispered to Tank.

"Hey, be nice!" Tank scolded him. "You don't have to snark at everyone around you!"

Bruh, he’s a smug villager. Smug villagers and snark are nigh-inseparable form each other.

“Oh! Oh my Arceus I am so sorry y'all,” Benedict frantically apologized to the new Pokemon.

I am admittedly surprised that Benedict isn’t rocking a more ‘AC’ minced oath here, but eh. I won’t question it since it could potentially come up again in worldbuilding.

The small Pokemon looked up and chirped.

“Ralts?”

“Oh! Y'all wanna battle us?” Benedict asked the wild Pokemon. “Well, let’s see what my Torchic thinks”

Ralts: “That’s not what I said at all! I was yelling at you to watch where you were going!” >.<
Benedict: “Don’t worry, buddy. Me an’ Torchic will give you a fight you’ll remember!” ^v^

Torchic chirped eagerly before standing in front of Benedict. Oh, he was more than ready!

“Alright! Let’s go, Torchic! Use Scratch!” he commanded his starter.

“Torrrrrrrr-chic!”

Torchic readied his claws then leaped in the air before swiping his claws at the wild Ralts' torso.

Ralts easily dodged the attack, landing on top of a small boulder. Its pink horns glowed indigo purple as it moved its shadow underneath the ground to attack. Torchic winced as the shadow slapped him across the face.

Benedict: “... Wait, they can do that?!” OvO;

Huh, now that was quite the strange attack. But it made the duo want to fight harder! Benedict stepped backwards and pointed ahead, [insert the rest of your missing sentence here] .

“Torchic! Ember!”

"Torrrr-CHIC!"

Torchic screamed as he shot a blanket of small orange flames from his beak.

I don’t want to get too broken record about it, but it might make sense to take a step back and try and record as much of your mental image in these battles as possible. I’m not sure if it’s the spartan detail or the wording, but something about them is falling a bit flat at the moment.

Ralts jumped in the air, but winced as the fire enveloped him whole, leaving small flickers around his wrists.

Benedict undid his ponytail as he struck a pose. “Now! Finish it off with Scratch!”

Torchic flashed a confident grin as he leaped onto the boulder, twirling in his spot as he scratched Ralts yet again.

The fae Pokemon collapsed on its knees, panting from the impact of its opponent's last attack. Its chest stung slightly, but for some strange reason, it wanted to join the two of them.

I don’t know whether or not it’s a deliberate choice, but something about Benedict’s two battles here along with Tank’s catching spree feels very sped-up. To the point where I wonder if it’d have made sense to halve the amount of events on-screen and focus on the remaining ones more to give them a bit more oomph.

If this is meant to be a “let’s just speedrun the boring stuff” comedic moment, you probably want to inject more comedy into the routine somehow, such as showing Kidd off on the side snarking at how things are playing out or something like that.

Benedict put two fingers in his beak and whistled. "Come on Torchic, that's enough!"

"Chic?" Torchic tilted his head. "Torchic, tor!" He chirped before running back to his trainer, leaping into his arms and nuzzling against the soft white hoodie.

Ralts crossed its arms and looked up at the duo, their happiness resonating with itself.
Perhaps that happiness could spread to it too?

Tank: “Psst! Benedict, check your Pokédex!”
Benedict: “Wait, but have I even properly caught this Ralts yet?” ^v^;

Benedict kneeled down to let Torchic run around on the ground, while he looked over at Ralts. Huh, wouldn't most Pokemon just run away after defeat in battle? Unless-- hey yeah, maybe Ralts wanted to travel too!

"Hey, Ralts is it?" he asked the wild Pokemon. "How'd y'all like to join me an' Torchic? I think y'all'd make a mighty fine member of my team”

I like how Benedict displays more thoughtfulness for the one Pokémon he encounters than Tank does for all but one of all the Pokémon he’s caught on this route. I’m not sure if it was deliberate, but it’s a neat differentiation of their characters.

Ralts thought to himself for a minute. Other trainers lobbed Poke Balls at his head like he was some sort of target, while Benedict and Torchic actually gave him a real battle. Perhaps traveling with these two would allow him more in life than running in fear from pesky trainers.

Ralts: “Trainers like you…?” -_-;
Benedict: “No, no. I’m different, you see. For one, I’m a chicken.” ^v^

No, wait, it already did!

He folded his arms together and nodded.

Benedict grinned as he pulled out a Poke Ball, gently holding the item out to Ralts' eye level. The psychic type Pokemon touched the button with his left hand, completely still as the red light enveloped him whole. The Poke Ball rocked in its spot, before stopping with a small ding.

Cue Tank strolling up and loudly asking Benedict why he didn’t just chuck said ball at the back of Ralts’ head off the bat.

Tank and Kidd ran up to their acquaintance.

"Hey, what'd you catch?" Tank asked as he looked at the Poke Ball in his friend's wings.

"Oh not much, just a Ralts!" Benedict explained as he showed off the Poke Ball.

Oh, he’s actually gonna do it, huh? :V

[ ]

"A Ralts?!" Tank complained as he furiously stomped one of his feet. Dirt clouds blew up in the air as he held his hooves together and begged. "Professor Nook JUST asked me to catch one so he can study its evolutions! Can you trade it to me? Pleaaaaaaaase!!!"

This part would’ve probably worked better with more transition into Tank’s moaning/whining here, since I assume that’s not the way he was walking up to Benedict.

Benedict:

bdd.jpg

Tank: “Oh, come on, Benedict!” >.<
Kidd: “(To be fair, he might have been in more of a mood to trade with you if you hadn’t acted like an overgrown child just now.)” >_>;

"Hmmm...." Benedict thought to himself as he looked down at his Poke Ball. Tank was nice, sure, but this was his own Pokemon he caught fair and square!


"No way! Just catch one yourself"

I’m honestly surprised that of all the things that Benedict mentions here, he isn’t bringing up Tank having a literal stomping tantrum over that Ralts.

Tank:
thirsty-i-need-it.gif

Benedict: “Not with the way you reacted after hearing I caught Ralts, you don’t.” >_>;

"Yeah, it's not that hard to smack wild Pokemon with a Poke Ball," Kidd snarked as he rolled his eyes, while Mudkip rolled around in the dirt. Treecko and Torchic ran over to join her, laughing as they tossed pebbles to each other.

"Oh, shut up Kidd!" Tank shouted back. "At least we caught more than one. Oh wait, are these ones not cuuuuute enough for you?!"

Tank, you are really not helping your audience sympathy right about now. :|

Kidd scoffed
"It's not that!” Kidd scoffed “It's just that I'm not ready to catch another one yet! I can't even handle Mudkip right now!"

It’s absolutely because there were no Pokémon on this route cute enough for him, isn’t it? >:V

Mudkip sighed and frowned a bit. She prodded at the dirt and flicked away at some pebbles.

"What is it gonna take for him to like me?!" she thought.

Oh, so Pokémon are sapient and have coherent thoughts in this setting, though again, I would come up with some way of distinguishing “thought” dialogue from the rest of the prose, since for a second, I did a double-take and thought that Mudkip said that out loud.

… Though part of me is wondering why this is the very first time we’ve seen this from any Pokémon in this entire chapter.

"Yeah, come on you two, y'all can argue during my first gym match," Benedict pointed across from them. "Petalburg City is right this way!"

Kidd: “... So we’re really just going to ignore Tank’s whole episode acting like an overgrown child just like that?”
Benedict + Tank:
:blobyes:


"Now, wait just a second. How DO you know that's Petalburg City?" Kidd pointed out.

Tank facepalmed and pointed at the obvious brown sign in front of the trio.

"Because the sign there literally says Petalburg City!" he lashed out. "I swear you're as blind as a Zubat"

"Oh SHUT UP, Tank!" Kidd crossed his arms and lashed out. "At least I didn't beg for another Pokémon like some sort of freeloader!"

Well, guess we aren’t just forgetting about Tank’s whole episode acting like an overgrown child after all.

"Freeloader?!" Tank ranted. "Hey, you're one to talk!"

Kidd gasped from the audacity of Tank’s accusation.

"Excuse me?! How am I in any way a freeloader?!"

Benedict: “Um… hey, guys? We should get heading off to Petal-” ^v^;
Tank + Kidd: “Shut up, Benedict!
:seviAAAAAAAAAAA:


"Well, let's see," Tank pointed out as he started walking on the trail. "You're only coming with us because you wanted to get away from your stupid mom!"

-blinks-
Wait, when did Kidd bring this up to the others again? Since I actually don’t recall him ever explicitly mentioning this to his teammates or it being established that he told them this offscreen.

The boys ran down the dirt trail and into the city limits. While Benedict skipped in glee from catching a new Pokémon, Kidd and Tank continued arguing over Arceus knows what.

What awaits their journey in Petalburg City? Potential rivals? Upcoming battles? A threat to the world around them?

Benedict:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUEbWo1uIrg

Tank + Kidd:
loud-house-loud-house-series.gif

Benedict: “What a great way to end a first chapter.” ^v^

And that’s a wrap, onto the summary:

Okay, so I admittedly have a lot of criticisms with this work, but before we get to that, I’d like to spend some time focusing on the stuff that I felt it dealt with well. For starters, it takes a premise that I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else do before by doing a flat crossover of Animal Crossing and Pokémon, and for the most part, it pulls it off pretty well. There’s a lot of little bonuses and the like that more eagle-eyed readers familiar with AC or else have Nookipedia open in a tab will be able to pick up on, and the AC characters are relatively consistent with the details that are established about them from the series. At the same time, those characters have their own tweaks and flourishes that help their incarnations in this fic feel more like their own beasts. It’s a pretty charming concept in general.

As for the criticisms, there’s basically three separate tiers of them that I have that have varying levels of difficulty to resolve:

The lowest hanging fruit is that there’s simply a lot of little errors here and there that get in the way of reading the prose. There are a lot of verb tense and punctuation errors riddled throughout the chapter, and while I made an attempt to point out fixes where I spotted them, I’m not sure if I caught all of them. I also thought that the formatting of the prose was a bit distracting at times, since you seem to have this thing of separating dialogue from attached speech tags with newlines that I’m not fully sure where that’s coming from. I would recommend doing a readthrough of this chapter again to try and straighten that out, ideally spoken aloud, since it’ll help catch sections with more awkward wording.

The less simple but ultimately manageable fixes if you decide to tend to them are a bit more structural in nature. The elephant in the room is that there is a lot of lacking description and “tell and not show”, to the point where a number of parts get a bit hard to follow since it’s a bit hard to tell where the characters are going or how to visualize certain things, especially in battle sequences. I’d suggest taking some time to spell out more of whatever you’ve got going on for your mental image for various scenes more explicitly, since it was a bit hard to get a read on things at a number of points in this chapter. I also noticed that there were a number of points where things skip abruptly enough that you might as well make things into a new scene, which made some scenes seem choppy. Like there’s enough going on here that I honestly think that if you stopped to expand things with description more, you might very well have 2 chapters’ worth of content, since the chapter functionally was half “Tank, Benedict, and Kidd’s first day and getting their starters” and half “Tank, Benedict, and Kidd’s journey to Oldale and Peltalburg” that were both fairly packed with events.

As for stuff that’s not easy fixes… the entire final scene strikes me as suffering from showing a lot of stuff happening in very accelerated fashion when the stuff that really matter was ultimately Benedict getting his Ralts and the following argument between Tank and Kidd, while most of the rest could have been offscreened or handled as some sort of recurring funny background gag. While I’ll withhold too harsh of judgment since it’s only the first chapter thus far, I kinda wondered if your crossover was fully taking advantage of the AC side of things, since the overall flow of events is very “journeyfic” at the moment, and I’m not sure if we really got to see the cast slow down and explore other characters and places around them, which is kinda part and parcel of an AC experience.

Sorry if the feedback was a bit harsher than you were expecting, though I do want to reiterate that in spite of the wall of criticisms above, that I genuinely liked the premise behind your story @Cherry_BombBees and that I feel it has a lot of potential since AC x Pokémon where the villagers aren’t just Pokémon themselves was a crossover I didn’t know I needed and I can see flashes of the appeal from this story. I just feel that in order to get the most out of said potential, that there’s a number of rough edges that you’ll need to sand down to get there.

Hope the feedback was helpful, and best of luck with your future writings.
 
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Heya, here with a review from Bulba’s Review Game. Though Pokémon x Animal Crossing, huh? Dunno what to expect on that front, since there’s any number of ways to take that pairing, but let’s find out by just jumping right in:

Chapter 1



Oh, so the “humans” of this story also include AC-style animals, huh? Filing that one away, though I wonder if they’ll look like their AC counterparts, or if they’ll be Pokémonified.

That said, I did feel the second paragraph on was a little strange in how we start out the story in present tense but switches over to past tense at the end. Unless if this is from the perspective of a viewpoint character who’s reading off a brochure or something for the part in present tense, you want to come down hard on verb tense being one or the other of past or present tense and not mix them together like this.



‘Tanuki’, huh? I see you’re sticking with the original Japanese instead of taking after the localization where the Nooks became ‘raccoons’.



If this is supposed to be Nook’s internal thoughts, you probably want some way of distinguishing it from the rest of the narration such as via use of italics or something like that, which was my suggestion here.

Though Tom Nook as a Professor, huh? Somehow I doubt that those kiddos will be going anywhere fast, since Tom’s got a penchant for trapping people in absurd amounts of debt that need to be paid off by odds-and-ends jobs.



I kinda wonder if it’d have made sense to explicitly identify who these kids are species-wise. Since in AC, humans are rare relative to the animal villagers, while the average villager is an animal person of some sort. You probably want to establish that from the jump here since it helps clue readers in to the dynamic to expect in town.



Oh, so that’s what Tommy and Timmy are doing here in this story.



Yup, called it. Though that’s definitely got me curious as to how on earth Pokémon are going to be depicted in this setting, and if they’re basically going to fill the role of the bugs and fish of AC or something closer to their anime depictions.



I’m not sure what the story is behind the newlines after your lines of dialogue, but you’d probably find it worth collapsing it down like so. It’s a bit visually neater for readers.



… Wait, who’s the ‘him’ there? Since if this is Tom Nook talking about himself, that should be something more like “Who cares if they see me in my pajamas”. Otherwise, you could alternatively make it an indirect thought along the lines of “Who cared if they saw him in his pajamas”, which is consistent with the rest of the verb tense in this paragraph.



IMO, you should consider showing off some sort of body language or small action from Tom Nook after his line to the boys, since his line immediately afterwards feels like it’s supposed to come after something, but that something is never depicted.



This is enough of a jump in terms of scene setting, that IMO you should’ve had a hard scene break here from the prior bit, unless the point is that you’re depicting this through Tom Nook’s eyes and he’s seeing this through a window or something like that.



Oh, so those kids are just straight-up villagers from Animal Crossing, huh? Since I fired up ACwiki and yeah, there is indeed a ‘Tank’ in that series that matches this description to a ‘t’.

I do feel that if you brought up their species in passing earlier on in that sequence where Nook namedrops them, that you’d potentially have been able to cut to the chase describing Tank’s features and made it a bit more obvious to readers that this is him. I do wonder if the description could’ve been broken up or intermixed with “idle animations” a bit, since that last sentence in particular feels a bit list-y in structure and having Tank do some sort of action in this approach can help tee off the audience that he’s supposed to be a jock as a character. Or at least assuming you’re sticking to AC characterizations.



Ah yes, and there’s Benedict there. My critiques regarding Tank’s paragraph largely carry over, except the list-y vibe feels really strong with him here. Like I legit wouldn’t be able to pick up that he’s supposed to be a “lazy” villager just from this physical description, which could be sold really easily from a passing detail like a mention of him doing something like yawning or looking like he just stumbled out of bed.



Same deal here as with Benedict. We’ve gotten a very “list”-style description of Kidd, but it feels a bit dry in presentation and doesn’t really give us any ideas of what to expect from him as a character. I’m assuming you’re taking after his most recent depiction as a smug villager, but not exactly anything to grasp on on that front just yet.



I kinda wonder if you should expand this a bit to have Tank notice something about the lab before he goes full “see ya, slowpokes”, since something about this both feels very abrupt and makes him feel a bit jerkish in a way that jock characters in AC usually aren’t.

… Assuming that this Tank isn’t just the equivalent of a grumpy villager, anyways. Since in that case never mind, since this would be pretty on-brand with that personality.



I… wasn’t aware that these three were at the lab right now, since the opening description mentions that they’re at the shrine and there was never any mention of Tank actually going to said lab from the shrine. Something as simple as mentioning “Tank ran up to the lab’s entrance and threw his hands on the doorknob” prior to the first paragraph would’ve accomplished that. Additionally, you could’ve sold the way Tank ticked a bit better if you did something like show him react a bit more to getting cockblocked by the entrance to the lab, since I’d presume from the rest of the paragraph that he’s meant to be a bit impatient and annoyed.



Well, if nothing else, you can’t say that Benedict’s depiction isn’t in line with his canon namesake. :V

Benedict: “Seriously, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if the professor was a little late. It’d be a good chance to get some more shut-eye!” ^v^



Oh, so Kidd is taking after his more recent depictions otherwise he’d likely be indistinguishable from Benedict if he took after his depiction in e+. Though I have to wonder why these three in particular. Are they favorite characters of yours from the series?

Kidd: “Seriously, how did I get stuck picking starters along with you two?” >_>;
Benedict: “... We’re the only kids in the village? (Also, what happened to you, Kidd. You used to be cool!)” ^v^;

Also, given that the next scene is apparently some sort of flashback to Lumiose City, it might make sense to have the last sentence of this paragraph trail off a bit so that way it leads into it.



Kidd really needs to get his priorities in order, since I can certainly think of worse places to be than in an airport like that.



Oh, so this story’s set in Hoenn, huh? If so, I kinda wonder if it’d have made sense to be a bit more upfront about it, since I was honestly guessing at where on earth things were happening up to this point.



… Quality parents from Kidd’s end there. I never had him as a villager in my past AC runs, so I’m actually not sure if he’s canonically implied to have a rocky family dynamic or if this is something created wholesale for the story.



I would recommend collapsing your lines here to make them visually neater, and wow. Kidd’s mom’s already doing her damnedest to make me hate her not even halfway through this scene. Guess it’s a good thing she’s not around in the village… probably. Maybe.



I actually fired up an AC wiki to see what villager this was, but nope. Looks like this throwaway’s made up wholecloth. And… uh… yeah, Kidd and his family have some seriously problems, to say the least.

Though if you’re playing up the French-ness, I’m honestly a little surprised that you didn’t have Kidd’s name turn out to be ‘Moktar’ with ‘Kidd’ being a nickname/alias or something that he uses to put some distance between himself and his past.



See above about the ‘serious problems’. I can see why Kidd ran off and got into debt slavery in a podunk village to get away from this.



I know that it’s not intentional, but this is pretty hilarious given the Kalosian backdrop since 'Marie' is Isabelle’s name in the French localization and now I have the mental image of her being all-friendly and bubbly assistant by day and a godawful mother with a soap opera-tier family dynamic offscreen.



Kidd:
noo-darth-vader.gif

Marie: “Kidd, grow up.” >_>;



Quality parenting there! /s



I’m… honestly not sure if this last paragraph was needed here, since the prior paragraph was already a decent note to end on for “life sucked in the past” for Kidd. I’d recommend either dropping it, or else expanding this section a bit to give an ending note that would stick out a bit more in Kidd’s memory.



I would recommend reordering Kidd’s dialogue a bit and expanding Benedict’s train of thought.

Benedict: “I can’t believe that I used to think you were cool, Kidd.” >_>;
Kidd: “Oi, knock it off with the unlocalized game gags already. As if being forced to live in this fashion disaster of a town wasn’t enough of a headache!”
:typhNOsion:




I mean, if Nook has as much of a thing of getting people into debt slavery as he does in AC… is that really such a bad thing? ^^;



Tank: “... Bruh, how are you this genre blind when we’re in an Animal Crossing crossover?” -_-;
Kidd: “Look, he’s not selling odds and ends out of a tarpaper shack, so the question is perfectly valid here!” >.<



Kidd: “
man-ray-facepalm.gif

Starting to get the feeling I shouldn’t have bothered setting my alarm.”



Tank: “Uh… Professor Nook? I’m kinda in pain right now.” @.@
Nook: “Yes, yes, nothing like a dash of physical comedy to start off the day!” ^^



Which I’m guessing will be Hoenn starters given the direction of Kidd’s flashback, but I suppose we’ll find out for sure pretty fast.



… Wait, but the twins weren’t mentioned at all as being at the door to greet Tank, Kidd, and Benedict. You should either play up their presence more earlier, or have them get explicitly spotted after coming into the room here.



-casually pulls up the Mega Evolution page on Bulbapedia-
… Wait, are those colors all right? Since the closest match that I can see to this description is a Beedrillite and… I wouldn’t have exactly called that a ‘blue’ stone there.

Though someone is shockingly accomplished as a Professor for this story. Guess we’re skipping the whole “do odd jobs to build Nook and his digs up” loop that every AC game normally has.



captain-america-i-understood-that-reference.gif




bender-laughing.gif


I am not convinced at all that this is the last we’ve seen of Kidd’s mom in this story.



The bit about Tank yelling loudly feels a bit disconnected from the prior paragraph which is all in Kidd’s mental space. It might have worked a bit better to mention Kidd getting knocked out of his train of thought or something like that to more naturally transition to Tank doing his thing here.



I’m not sure how I didn’t notice this up until this point, but wait, as in the bald eagle villager? Or someone else that has the name?



Oh, so we are getting Hoenn starters here. I suppose there were some passing mentions earlier in the story, but I kinda wonder if there should’ve been more mentions of it earlier on since admittedly the main reason why I remember that we’re in Hoenn at the moment is because of Kidd’s flashback scene.



Kidd: “Benedict, don’t you find this the least bit weird right now to be training a creature that’s basically a different version of yourself?” >_>;
Benedict: “I mean, I’ve got a friend from video chat called DelI who trains a Chimchar in spite of being a monkey so… not really?”
:wellyousee:

Kidd: “... Is it too late to turn around and go back to sleep and let Tom get my starter instead?” >.<



Kidd: “Tank, it’s purple because it’s shiny! That’s super rare for Pokémon in general!“ >.<
Tank: “What? Mudkip aren’t supposed to be purple, and the starters are first-come, first-serve basis.”
Benedict: “I’m… honestly shocked you didn’t make your move sooner, Kidd, since Grovyle seems like the sort of Pokémon that would fit you to a ‘t’-” ^v^;
Tank: “Well, now he gets the weird Mudkip, so funny how that all worked out.” :V



Tank: “Whelp, too late, Kidd. We’re growing on each other already!” ^^
Kidd: “Okay, seriously, can I just turn around and go back to bed-?” >_>;
All:
bdd.jpg

Kidd: “Ugh, fine…



Tank: “(Psst, Mr. Nook! If he doesn’t want his starter, can I have it?)”
Kidd: “You literally just passed it up because it was ‘colored weird’!” >.<
Tank: “Technically, I didn’t say that. But hey, weird or not, two Pokémon’s always better than one.” ^_^
Benedict: “Yeah, and if it’s rare, shouldn’t you be happy to have it, Kidd?”
Kidd: “I. Wanted. An. Eevee.” >_>;
Tom Nook: “(Boy am I glad he’s going to be busy with field work in about five minutes.) Er… let’s just move along here, shall we?”



Mudkip: “... Can I go on strike from this story until I get a different trainer?” >_>;
Tom Nook: “See, he’s warming up to you already, Kidd!” ^_^



Kidd: “Tank, you realize that you’re asking for this from Tom Nook, right?” >_>;
Tank: “Yes? And?”



Wow, Tom and the twins actually give those three starting gear instead of making them pick berries until they can afford to buy it from them. That’s certainly unexpected. :V



Benedict: “Hah! He’s just like me!” ^v^
Kidd: “That’s… not saying what you think it is, Benedict.” >_>;



Benedict: “... Kidd, didn’t you just go on like a minute ago about how this Mudkip was rare? Shouldn’t you be over the moon right now?” [what]
Kidd: “One, that wasn’t canon commentary. Two, I wanted an Eevee.” >_>;
Mudkip: “Look, seriously, can I just go back in the ball until I get a different trainer?” >.<



You have a sentence that abruptly cuts off that would probably work best attached to the paragraph where Timmy or Tommy (a little confused as to why you’re not just flatly naming them) gives out the trainer’s kits, since you should probably be introducing these phones a bit more so the audience knows whether to expect them to be more like the ones in ACNH or the Rotomphones from SwSh.

Benedict: “... Wait, but what keeps us from just looking up this information on the internet again?” ^v^;
Tank: “Screw that, I’m going out there and training! You’re with me, right Kidd?” o<o
Kidd: “...”
:gardexhausted:

Tank: “Hah! I knew you’d be up for it!” ^^



Oh, so the phones are a cross between the ones in ACNH and SwSh. Clever melding there.



I feel that the “important email” is something that is a bit too “told” right now. This would probably work better if it was portrayed more from Tom’s internal thought process or his reaction. Like if he hears his computer chime, looks over and has a “right, gotta finish that email” moment or something like that that helps sell the urgency and importance without flatly saying “it was an important email”



incredibles2-choke.gif


Well that was a pairing that I wasn’t expecting there. Though the breeders have been Masuda Methoding shinies, huh? Or at least something is up given that I doubt Tom yeeted out 24000+ Mudkip over the span of a year such that getting 3 shinies would be expected.



This is another section where things abruptly jump perspective, time, and place in the span of a paragraph. I would strongly recommend either adding more of a transition to get here, or else drop a hard scene break in here, since we’ve gone from the inside of Tom Nook’s lab to a route in the boonies suddenly enough that things currently feel very jarring as presented.



Oh, so they have their own AC analogue within this setting, huh? :V

Though something about Kidd’s reflection on how he said goodbye to his mother feels kinda disconnected from his dialogue. Since one would think that Kidd wouldn’t be particularly concerned if Tank and Benedict said goodbye if his own goodbye was a profane screed, or that at least he’d mentally have a “wait, why am I asking this considering what my own goodbye was like?” moment.



Kidd: “... Boy can I not wait to get to the first Pokécenter and ghost you two without having to worry about mom breathing down my back.” >_>;



Well that was surprising given how sour and stand-offish Kidd has come across in the entire chapter thus far. Guess he needed friends more than he thought he did.



There… is no real indication as to where these three are right now or where this sound is coming from. Like they don’t even look around the surroundings to orient themselves. It makes this scene kinda hard to visualize at the moment.



Kidd: “... Lady, It’s a hyena.” -_-;
Leila: “Oh my gosh, that’s what you’re worried about right now?! Stop gawking and help me already!” >.<



Leila: “Are you three seriously doing this to me right now?!” O.O;
Benedict: “Look, we’re new at this! Just… give us a moment to figure this out here!” ^v^;



Cue the faceplant in 3… 2…



Okay, so I’m pretty sure that this is just Leila from a cross-check from Nookipedia, but is there a reason why she’s not being identified as a kappa first and then a turtle? Since I’ll admit that when I initially read her being described as a “turtle”, I was picturing someone who looked more like Tortimer and less like Kapp’n.



Kidd: “It’s. A. Hyena.” >.<
Benedict: “Well it’s a dog now in this story, but see what you can do when you know a thing or two about battling?” ^v^;



Benedict: “... Shouldn’t we be checking up on that scared girl cowering behind the tree?” ^v^;
Tank: “Ah-ah-ah, give me a moment, Benedict. This is interesting here!”



Benedict: “... Even if I still say we could’ve just looked this up online.” ^v^;
Kidd: “Yeah, well we’re crossovering with Pokémon, so getting sent out into the boonies to find out stuff any 12-year old could find from a wiki article is kinda part and parcel here.” -_-;



Kidd: “... I knew that I should’ve slept in this morning.”
803141280380485632.webp




Tank: “Um… where do you live, anyways? Since it’s a bit hard to tell with that accent.” ^^;
Kidd: “Tank, she’s very obviously family to Kapp’n. We’re in Hoenn, of course at some point we were going to come across him in a crossover set in ‘7.8 — Too Much Water, the Region’.”
:eltyunamused:

Benedict: “Wow, we’re already going to meet Kapp’n one chapter in? This story really is moving along quickly. Heh, I’ll be in the Hall of Fame before I know it!” ^v^



Leila: “Mister, could you have been any less inviting there?”
:unimpressed:

Kidd: “I mean I could’ve told you you were dumb for letting yourself get cornered by a Poochyena and told you to buzz off, so… yes?” >_>;



… Isn’t this a bit of a delayed reaction here? Like why didn’t this happen immediately after Poochyena was caught, or at least after the Pokédex entry? Since it feels a bit weird for this sort of affection to be happening this long after the big moment from Benedict’s personality as-presented in the story thus far.



Well, he certainly lives up to the name there. Guess there’s benefits to having a Jock in the party.



Tank: “... Wait, but if you know, then what are you doing out here anyways?” ^^;



Tank:
staples-easy-button.gif

Kidd: “Wait, but there was zero indication that we were anywhere close to-!” [what]
Benedict: “Kidd, just don’t question it. Look at it this way, we’re likely one step closer to getting to meet Kapp’n right now!” ^v^



Kidd: “Whelp, this is the part where I part ways and blow off this plot-”
Benedict: “Nice try, Kidd. We saw that bit about you liking having us around as friends. Plus don’t you wanna see Leila’s big reunion with her dad?” ^v^
Kidd: “... Ugh, fine.” -_-;



Oh hi, Isabelle. So that’s how you’re appearing in this story. Though I have to wonder why it is that she of all characters is dipping into an alternate localization name when everyone else thus far has been using English-localization ones.

Benedict: “(What was that about me making localization gags, Kidd?)”
Kidd: “(Oh shut up, it’s one character so far.)” >_>;
Benedict: “(Also, Tom and the twins were called ‘tanukis’ instead of ‘raccoons’-)”
Kidd: “(One. Character.)” >.<



Tank: “Right, that would be a smart thing to do.” ^^;
Kidd: “(He was just going to go off and send Poochyena out into battle with like 5HP, wasn’t he?)” -_-;



… Wait, how has Leila never been mentioned in this entire part of the scene thus far? Since you’d think that if Tank is still holding her, that Isabelle Shizue would notice that.

Also, she’s got an army of clones staffing every Pokécenter in this region, doesn’t she? Or are we going to see others manned by the likes of Pelly and Phyllis?



I did a double-take here since at first I thought that Tank was talking to Shizue about Leila. You might want to make it more obvious that he’s specifically addressing Benedict there.



Benedict: “I-Isn’t that a bit morbid there?”
:fearfullaugh~1:

Kidd: “Benedict, it’s a crossover with Pokémon. That’s literally a thing they say in that series.” >_>;



Benedict: “Aren’t you the one who canonically didn’t recognize your starter was shiny-?”
:UnimpressedCabot:

Kidd: “Oh, like you two did such a better job canonically. And again, I wanted an Eevee.” >_>;



Kidd: “No, just… no.



Kidd: “Wow, you snarking for once, Benedict?”
Benedict: “Oi, just because I’m lazy doesn’t mean that I can’t recognize a dumb idea when I hear it!”



When your idea is so terrible that you managed to 2/2 your traveling companions into harping on you. The only thing missing was Leila also emphasizing that it would be a stupid idea for the extra comedic kick.



Kidd: “No, she’s mine. And I’m pretty sure we have something of yours right now.” -_-;



Kidd: “... Wait, you can understand her?!” O_O;
Mudkip: “Were you really expecting anything different? We do both live in the water constantly as creatures, you know.
826550123924029450.webp




Kidd: “Lady, do you not see the blockhead who’s very obviously still holding who I presume is your daughter in his arms right now?”
803141280380485632.webp

Leilani: “You know, the text wasn’t really clear if they were present right now or not.” ^^;



… Oh, that would explain why she didn’t see Leila yet, though it probably would make sense to emphasize more that the Pokécenter door closed behind Mudkip, since I didn’t get the impression that it had at all, much less that it was opaque.



Aaaaaand I called it, even if it was kinda obvious that things were heading in this direction since Kapp’n’s family members all have very visually distinct designs relative to other AC characters.



I think this might have worked better to show Leilani getting a bit more worried by Leila’s answer there, since one would think that “my kid got cornered in a dangerous situation by a Pokémon” would be a lot more Adult Fear-tier in just about any Pokémon setting.



Kidd: “... Don’t these literally cost less than soft drinks from vending machines?”
:UnimpressedCabot:

Tank: “Hey, if you don’t want ‘em, I’ll take ‘em!” ^^



Kidd: “... Are we seriously just letting her walk away and not asking her to hook us up with boat rides with her husband-?” -_-;
Tank + Benedict:
:blobyes:

Benedict: “Especially since we don’t canonically know that yet.



I think that your paragraph with Tank pulling up a map should be expanded more, for example showing how the others react to seeing it or something like that. Or at least describing the image that pops up on it.



Same deal here.



And this part would probably feel alive if we got to see more of Kidd’s reaction or body language here. Since I get the vibe he’s supposed to be unimpressed, but it doesn’t really get explicitly mentioned in the text.



This is another one of those moments that skips around scene-wise. Pick your poison for how you want to deal with it here, though in its present form, it’s kinda jarring.



… Shouldn’t you worry more about socializing that Poochyena you caught with your Treecko more first? ^^;



Zigzagoon: “Wow. Rude.



I kinda wonder if it might make sense to differentiate characters’ thoughts from their narration more through something like italic text, since admittedly, it can be a bit confusing trying to separate the two from each other.



“He” and “his” here are ambiguous as pronouns since both Treecko and Tank are male. It would make sense to turn some of them into either “Tank” or “Treecko” to disambiguate things.



Tank:

staples-easy-button.gif


Kidd: “... You know, I should probably be complaining a bit more about how effortlessly you’re just putting a team together, but eh. It probably beats having to see all three of those getting dealt with like you catching them was the greatest thing since sliced bread.”



Benedict: “... Wait, Tank? How come you suddenly cared so much about the Wurmple’s consent when you were literally chucking Pokéballs at fleeing Pokémon like 30 seconds earlier? ^v^;
Tank: “Because just look at that cute lil’ thing! I couldn’t break its heart, could I?”
:seviuwu:




Oh, so the Nookphones/Pokédexes in this setting auto-yeet Pokémon past the sixth party member straight ot the PC, huh? Wasn’t expecting to see that literally happen, but duly noted.



Yup, called it.

Tank: “... Shouldn’t you have told me about this before I set off on this journey-”
Tom Nook: “Look bub, I didn’t have all day there. I’ll explain things to you when they become relevant for you, alright?” >_>;



… Don’t recognize that villager offhand, though I’m guessing we’ll find out who he is pretty fast.



Yeah, this is another moment where the lack of differentiation between characters’ thoughts and narration made things a bit confusing to follow.



Kidd: “I could’ve slept in and blown mom off to hop a ferry to Kanto where they’re just giving Eevee away at that one game developer’s office, but noooo...” >.<



Not with that accent you’re not. That’s a Driftveil accent at best. >:V



I’m not sure if “myself” makes sense in this context since Roald’s neither from the same town or region, so it feels a bit weird to see it used when it usually gives off vibes of emphasizing commonality.

-Checks Nookipedia-

Though another jock villager, huh? Well that’s going to be an interesting harbinger for the day when Tank and Benedict have to face each other down on the battlefield. Though I suppose it matches up with the way he basically ambushes Benedict for that battle there.



Benedict: “Wait, Lotad and not Piplup-?”
Roald: “We’re in Hoenn. Do you see anyone giving out Piplup in Hoenn right now? No? Then shut up.” >v>;



This… feels like it could’ve been a lot more animated, really. Since it’s kinda hard to visualize what’s going on between these two since there’s not really much of an indication of movement or the like.



de7.png


I get the feeling that Benedict’s gonna be out some pocket change in pretty short order if he’s ordering his Pokémon to use a Fire move against a part-Water-type.



I… was honestly not expecting Benedict to just roll Roald like that. I can’t tell whether this feels anticlimactic or if it’s supposed to be a meta thing that fast forwards all of the expected early-route filler kinda like what was going on with Tank, which I’m also similarly unsure if that was the intent or not.



Benedict: “... But it’s been less than five minutes-” [wtfuckle]
Tank: “Yeah, and? I work best when I’m working fast!” ^^;
Benedict: “But Kidd was literally right here next to me and he faceplanted in front of Roald, and-”
Kidd: “Alright, moving along!” >_>;



… Actually, what is the backstory behind the surnames chosen for these characters anyways? Since I’m pretty sure that almost nobody in the series canonically has them, so not sure what your design process was.



Tank + Benedict:
:sceptical~1:

Kidd: “I am, okay?!” >.<



Roald: “Wait, but I literally just started talk-”



Roald: “...ing.” -v-;
Kidd: “Yeah, he’s like that. I’m still getting used to it myself.” -_-;



Bruh, he’s a smug villager. Smug villagers and snark are nigh-inseparable form each other.



I am admittedly surprised that Benedict isn’t rocking a more ‘AC’ minced oath here, but eh. I won’t question it since it could potentially come up again in worldbuilding.



Ralts: “That’s not what I said at all! I was yelling at you to watch where you were going!” >.<
Benedict: “Don’t worry, buddy. Me an’ Torchic will give you a fight you’ll remember!” ^v^



Benedict: “... Wait, they can do that?!” OvO;



I don’t want to get too broken record about it, but it might make sense to take a step back and try and record as much of your mental image in these battles as possible. I’m not sure if it’s the spartan detail or the wording, but something about them is falling a bit flat at the moment.



I don’t know whether or not it’s a deliberate choice, but something about Benedict’s two battles here along with Tank’s catching spree feels very sped-up. To the point where I wonder if it’d have made sense to halve the amount of events on-screen and focus on the remaining ones more to give them a bit more oomph.

If this is meant to be a “let’s just speedrun the boring stuff” comedic moment, you probably want to inject more comedy into the routine somehow, such as showing Kidd off on the side snarking at how things are playing out or something like that.



Tank: “Psst! Benedict, check your Pokédex!”
Benedict: “Wait, but have I even properly caught this Ralts yet?” ^v^;



I like how Benedict displays more thoughtfulness for the one Pokémon he encounters than Tank does for all but one of all the Pokémon he’s caught on this route. I’m not sure if it was deliberate, but it’s a neat differentiation of their characters.



Ralts: “Trainers like you…?” -_-;
Benedict: “No, no. I’m different, you see. For one, I’m a chicken.” ^v^



Cue Tank strolling up and loudly asking Benedict why he didn’t just chuck said ball at the back of Ralts’ head off the bat.



Oh, he’s actually gonna do it, huh? :V



This part would’ve probably worked better with more transition into Tank’s moaning/whining here, since I assume that’s not the way he was walking up to Benedict.

Benedict:

bdd.jpg

Tank: “Oh, come on, Benedict!” >.<
Kidd: “(To be fair, he might have been in more of a mood to trade with you if you hadn’t acted like an overgrown child just now.)” >_>;



I’m honestly surprised that of all the things that Benedict mentions here, he isn’t bringing up Tank having a literal stomping tantrum over that Ralts.

Tank:
thirsty-i-need-it.gif

Benedict: “Not with the way you reacted after hearing I caught Ralts, you don’t.” >_>;



Tank, you are really not helping your audience sympathy right about now. :|



It’s absolutely because there were no Pokémon on this route cute enough for him, isn’t it? >:V



Oh, so Pokémon are sapient and have coherent thoughts in this setting, though again, I would come up with some way of distinguishing “thought” dialogue from the rest of the prose, since for a second, I did a double-take and thought that Mudkip said that out loud.

… Though part of me is wondering why this is the very first time we’ve seen this from any Pokémon in this entire chapter.



Kidd: “... So we’re really just going to ignore Tank’s whole episode acting like an overgrown child just like that?”
Benedict + Tank:
:blobyes:




Well, guess we aren’t just forgetting about Tank’s whole episode acting like an overgrown child after all.



Benedict: “Um… hey, guys? We should get heading off to Petal-” ^v^;
Tank + Kidd: “Shut up, Benedict!
:seviAAAAAAAAAAA:




-blinks-
Wait, when did Kidd bring this up to the others again? Since I actually don’t recall him ever explicitly mentioning this to his teammates or it being established that he told them this offscreen.



Benedict:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUEbWo1uIrg

Tank + Kidd:
loud-house-loud-house-series.gif

Benedict: “What a great way to end a first chapter.” ^v^

And that’s a wrap, onto the summary:

Okay, so I admittedly have a lot of criticisms with this work, but before we get to that, I’d like to spend some time focusing on the stuff that I felt it dealt with well. For starters, it takes a premise that I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else do before by doing a flat crossover of Animal Crossing and Pokémon, and for the most part, it pulls it off pretty well. There’s a lot of little bonuses and the like that more eagle-eyed readers familiar with AC or else have Nookipedia open in a tab will be able to pick up on, and the AC characters are relatively consistent with the details that are established about them from the series. At the same time, those characters have their own tweaks and flourishes that help their incarnations in this fic feel more like their own beasts. It’s a pretty charming concept in general.

As for the criticisms, there’s basically three separate tiers of them that I have that have varying levels of difficulty to resolve:

The lowest hanging fruit is that there’s simply a lot of little errors here and there that get in the way of reading the prose. There are a lot of verb tense and punctuation errors riddled throughout the chapter, and while I made an attempt to point out fixes where I spotted them, I’m not sure if I caught all of them. I also thought that the formatting of the prose was a bit distracting at times, since you seem to have this thing of separating dialogue from attached speech tags with newlines that I’m not fully sure where that’s coming from. I would recommend doing a readthrough of this chapter again to try and straighten that out, ideally spoken aloud, since it’ll help catch sections with more awkward wording.

The less simple but ultimately manageable fixes if you decide to tend to them are a bit more structural in nature. The elephant in the room is that there is a lot of lacking description and “tell and not show”, to the point where a number of parts get a bit hard to follow since it’s a bit hard to tell where the characters are going or how to visualize certain things, especially in battle sequences. I’d suggest taking some time to spell out more of whatever you’ve got going on for your mental image for various scenes more explicitly, since it was a bit hard to get a read on things at a number of points in this chapter. I also noticed that there were a number of points where things skip abruptly enough that you might as well make things into a new scene, which made some scenes seem choppy. Like there’s enough going on here that I honestly think that if you stopped to expand things with description more, you might very well have 2 chapters’ worth of content, since the chapter functionally was half “Tank, Benedict, and Kidd’s first day and getting their starters” and half “Tank, Benedict, and Kidd’s journey to Oldale and Peltalburg” that were both fairly packed with events.

As for stuff that’s not easy fixes… the entire final scene strikes me as suffering from showing a lot of stuff happening in very accelerated fashion when the stuff that really matter was ultimately Benedict getting his Ralts and the following argument between Tank and Kidd, while most of the rest could have been offscreened or handled as some sort of recurring funny background gag. While I’ll withhold too harsh of judgment since it’s only the first chapter thus far, I kinda wondered if your crossover was fully taking advantage of the AC side of things, since the overall flow of events is very “journeyfic” at the moment, and I’m not sure if we really got to see the cast slow down and explore other characters and places around them, which is kinda part and parcel of an AC experience.

Sorry if the feedback was a bit harsher than you were expecting, though I do want to reiterate that in spite of the wall of criticisms above, that I genuinely liked the premise behind your story @Cherry_BombBees and that I feel it has a lot of potential since AC x Pokémon where the villagers aren’t just Pokémon themselves was a crossover I didn’t know I needed and I can see flashes of the appeal from this story. I just feel that in order to get the most out of said potential, that there’s a number of rough edges that you’ll need to sand down to get there.

Hope the feedback was helpful, and best of luck with your future writings.

Thanks so much for the feedback! This wasn't harsh at all, and I'm glad you actually pointed out some legit flaws like pacing issues and grammatical errors instead of nitpicky things like protagonist choices (I've had some people ditch my story entirely because I didn't pick conventionally cute and popular villagers like Raymond or Marshal as my protagonists).
 
Rustboro City: Integrating science and nature for centuries. It’s always sunny here, and many intellectuals call it home. Standing proudly in the city’s heart is the Hawkwind Corporation. This behemoth of a business is dedicated to improving the Hoenn region all while researching the latest in the Pokémon world. While some departments research Pokémon from centuries past, others study bizarre phenomena like Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, Dynamax or even Terastal.

But what only few residents realize is that there’s an ugly side to the revered company…


Don pounded his fist against the guest room’s door. “Frank!” he hollered. “Get your ass up and get the hell out!”

Frank groaned as he forced himself to crawl off the bed sheets. He slipped his boots back on, threw his bag over his shoulders and checked his Rotom Phone; dammit it was only five thirty in the morning!

“You told me I was out of here by seven!” he hollered as he slammed the door open. “What gives?!”

Don checked the time on his wristwatch, sneering the entire time. “Well, I changed my mind. I have a meeting in thirty minutes and I don’t need you here to ruin it.”

“Why? Are you and your, quote on quote, business partner using the guest room?” Frank snarked.

Don facepalmed. Why did Frank have to make everything around him into some sort of joke? Yes, he was family, but that didn’t excuse him from getting on his nerves. “Get out of here,” he glared as he grabbed an Ultra Ball from his suit pocket. “Or I’ll make you.”

Frank tensed up, his heart pounding against his chest. “Y-yes sir.” He shuddered as he made his way to the staircase. His wing faintly brushed against the marble bannister.

“Five…four….” Don’s eyes went dark as he pulled out another Ultra Ball.

Frank turned around and ran down the first staircase. The hem of his kimono flew behind him, as he headed towards the second floor, then the first one, then right out the door.

With the exception of calming blue streetlights, Rustboro City was pitch black. The soles of his boots crunched against craggy brick roads, as he rushed towards the empty alleyway. His heart raced as he stopped to light up a cigarette, taking several quick puffs before a long drag. The refreshing taste of menthol lulled him back to reality, but only for a brief minute.

Frank’s eyes widened as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He whipped it out, swiped right to hastily dismiss the call, and shoved the phone back in another pocket. His heart paced as he rushed through the streets and towards the untamed wilderness of Route 115.

Luscious green grass swayed in the cool winds, joined by stray brown leaves and fluttering indigo petals.

Minutes passed as Frank wandered through the grass, occasionally stopping to take several rushed puffs from his cigarette. With each field he passed through, his sight cleared up.

Looking to his left, Frank couldn’t help but notice the gentle sunrise creeping from the horizon. Twinkling stars faded away, replaced by streaks of cherry blossom pink and cerulean blue.

He took a deep breath in before heading towards an old tunnel, silent as craggy boulders replaced tender flora. The damp smell of mildew made his beak twitch in disgust, but it wouldn’t be the worst he’d have to go through.

Meanwhile, back in Rustboro City…

Orange and pink clouds filled the morning skies, creeping through the Pokémon Center windows. Gentle snoring rumbled from the beds and sofa. Tank’s nose twitched as he tossed and turned in his spot, groaning in distress.

Red and orange leaves tornadoed through the air. Heavy drumming and dainty flutes played through bamboo speakers, rattling through the entire city.

A dark blue rhino sauntered across the bridge, his hooves lightly brushing against the wooden rail. His face was completely worn out, yet the rest of his body could carry on. Olive green fatigues adorned his body, except for the left pant leg rolled up to his upper thigh. His black prosthetic shined underneath the sky, with pale jagged scars trailing up what remained of his leg.

"Dad!” Tank called out as he ran across the bridge. Countless large Pokémon charged right behind him, skidding across the wood as they crashed on top of each other.

The other rhino tenderly smiled as he opened his arms, laughing as Tank tackled him in a bear hug.

Benedict and Kidd walked towards the duo, dressed in rather bizarre outfits. Kidd adorned a Kalosian military uniform with a billowing sash, while Benedict wore purple hollyhocks in his hair and a ruffled dress straight out of a magical girl show.

Kidd held out an elaborate silver sword, his heart pounding as he opened his mouth, as if to confess something. Until–


Tank yawned as he stretched in his spot, refreshed from the events of last night. While the dream he had made no sense whatsoever, at least today should be a good day of adventuring!

He glanced around the room: Benedict laid flat on the futon, while Kidd curled up next to one of the bed’s pillows. Last night was a pretty hectic way to start a Pokémon journey, Tank thought to himself. Well, at least that guy got them to a Pokémon Center rather than ditch them in the woods.

He picked up the letter and sat down on the bed, carefully unfolding the paper before skimming the contents. Sloppy writing lined the pen, with the contents scribbled in crude kanji.

You three kids,
I wanted to tell you more about what was going on, but I had to get the hell out of here before the bastards at Cottage could track me down and leave me for dead. Don’t rely on me too much, but here’s my number in case shit goes down: 090-4444-4444
F. Hawkwind


Kidd groaned as he woke up next. His head pounded from both a lack of sleep and food. He made a beeline for the bathroom, slamming the door shut and locking it twice.

Tank set the letter down, leaning back to hear the sound of squeaking pipes and running water. He folded it back shut, tucking it in his pants pocket before pulling out his phone instead. He swiped left and called Professor Nook’s number.

The phone dialed for several seconds before Nook picked up. He wore a crisp white lab coat over pale green button-up pajamas with a dark leaf pattern.

“Hello, hello!” Tom Nook greeted him, with a twitching nose and cheery smile spread across his face. “So, how’d yesterday’s adventure go, hmm?”

“It was insane,” Tank yelled at the top of his lungs. “We got chased in the woods by a wild Duskull, then we saw this Team Cottage guy lose to some other guy, and then we passed out in the Pokémon Center BUT the guy from earlier got us in a room here. Anyways, we’re in Rustboro City right now!”

Tom Nook’s face went white as he scrambled backwards in his office chair. “Good heavens, Tank! I told you that I didn’t want you to rush things through!”

“Awwww, why not!” Tank groaned as he threw his head back, slumping against the firm couch cushions. “Most of these towns are places without wild Pokémon to go catching. At least here I’d get to watch Benedict fight a Gym Leader!”

Tom Nook pinched the bridge of his nose as he shook his head. “Tank, please, just listen to me,” he explained as he set his paw back on the table. “While it may seem fun to rush around Hoenn like you’re checking off a bucket list, that’s not what going on a journey is about.”

“Then what’s it really about?” Tank snarked as he leaned forward in his seat.

Nook’s eyes went dark as a chill ran through his body. “It’s about what you make of it. There’s meeting new faces, learning more about yourselves, perhaps convincing someone to turn over a new leaf, hmm?”

Tank tilted his head to the left, subconsciously reaching up to touch his hair. “What do leaves have to do with a journey?”

“....It’s a metaphor,” Tom Nook chuckled as he wagged a finger at the camera. His ears pricked up as a faint beep echoed from off-screen. “Oh, that must be my coffee. Please, let me know how Rustboro City goes, hmm? And try to spend more than one day there if you can.”

The call immediately ended, leaving Tank to look down at his lockscreen; a picture of a white dog playing guitar in front of purple skies and palm tree silhouettes.

Kidd scowled as he slammed the door open, stomping over to pick up his messenger bag.

“Sheesh, what happened, Kidd?” Tank asked as he put his phone away, walking over to throw on his backpack. “Did a wild Pokémon jump out of the bathtub?”

“Yes and it happened to tear me into pieces” Kidd scoffed as he readjusted his scarf, retying the back into a perfect bow. “The shower didn’t have any hot water.”

“Oh, that’s it?” Tank shook his head in disbelief. Sheesh, talk about a primadonna. “That’s not too bad!”

“Maybe for you it’s not,” Kidd sighed as he grabbed his messenger bag, shifting the strap so it wouldn’t dig into his collar.

Benedict groaned and yawned as he got up from the futon. “Hey, where’d that eagle guy go?” he asked as he looked around the room.

“Oh, he left already,” Tank said as he pulled out the letter. “He said something about us not getting in his way, but he left us his phone number for some reason.”

“Probably so he can blackmail us,” Benedict snarked, raising an eyebrow as his companions glared at him. “What? Any time a guy leaves a number after doin’ somethin’ nice, it means he wants to get somethin’ outta us!”

Tank rolled his eyes and huffed, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but we’ll figure something out over breakfast.”

“Yeah, but where are we getting breakfast?” Kidd asked.

“From the Pokémon Center!” Tank yelled as he pointed at the door. His companions looked at him in disbelief. “What? Free breakfast is a thing in most Pokémon Centers, now come on!”

Benedict and Kidd glanced at each other. While the idea of a free breakfast sounded nice, there had to be a catch of some sort. Whether that catch was sitting through a lecture that went on forever or filling out some sort of form, hopefully it wouldn’t take the rest of the day.

Tank beamed in joy as he led the group to the Pokémon Center lobby.

A small buffet was set out near the windows, the smell of sizzling Magikarp meat catching the trainers’ attention. Several other animals stood in line, helping themselves to anything and everything that looked good. A wide variety of food was spread underneath the heating lamps, ranging from sweet tender tamagoyaki to fluffy white rice to comforting miso soup and zesty pickled vegetables.

“I’m getting a coffee,” Kidd deadpanned as he tried to sneak away from the duo, but stopped in his tracks when Tank yanked on his sleeve.“Hey, let go of me!”

“No way, Kidd!” Tank told him. “You’d have to be crazy to turn up a free breakfast!”

Kidd scoffed as he pulled his arm back. “T'es vraiment une emmerdeuse…” he muttered under his breath.

Tank tilted his head as he crossed his arms. “What was that?” he asked. “Sorry, I can’t speak Kalosian.”

Kidd sighed in relief; otherwise he’d be in a world of hurt. “It’s nothing to worry about. Anyways, breakfast isn’t really a thing in Kalos, not in Lumiose at least. For us, it’s a pot of black coffee and a box of cigarettes.”

“That doesn’t sound like it tastes good,” Tank pointed out.

“It’s not supposed to,” Kidd snarked. “What, you thought that in Kalos we’d be all about croissants and fresh fruit and café au lait, non?”

“Dude, I didn’t say that!” Tank yelled as he threw his hands in the air. “I’m just saying that coffee and cigarettes don’t count as breakfast!”

Several animals turned around to face the boys, some looking confused while others resisted the urge to laugh.

Benedict groaned in frustration; not just from their stupid argument, but from the sound of his grumbling stomach. “Can y’all just shut up and get somethin’ to eat already?!” he snapped.

Kidd and Tank glared at each other, unaware that they were both furiously blushing. Fine, they might as well eat and get it over with!

The boys headed to the buffet, each grabbing a red bento box and piling them with a beautiful spread of food. Tank stuck his tongue out as he tried to balance his plate in one hand, while holding a large cup of green tea in the other. Benedict held a pair of chopsticks with his beak, grabbing a little bit of everything. Kidd gulped as he filled his plate, albeit with lighter portions in case something tasted too disgusting to finish.
Tank grabbed an empty booth, sinking down in the plush couch cushions. Benedict plopped down next to him, while Kidd claimed the seat across from them.

“Well, let’s eat, guys!” Tank declared before digging into his breakfast first.

Kidd frowned as he untied his scarf, setting it on the seat before nibbling from his bowl of steamed white rice. The faint taste of vinegar, sugar and salt made the flavors much better than expected. Despite the steam rising in his face, he ate a larger serving each time he lifted his chopsticks.

Benedict, on the other hand, grabbed a bowl of miso soup and chugged the broth like a college student slamming cheap beer. He groaned as he set the bowl down, carelessly wiping his mouth clean with his hoodie sleeve.

Tank’s eyes widened as a piece of filet fell from his chopsticks and onto his plate. “Holy hell, Benedict!” he gasped.

“What?” Benedict snorted before clearing off the green onions and tofu blocks. “I haven’t had miso soup this good in weeks!”

Kidd rolled his eyes as he cleared off his rice. After setting down the bowl, he frowned as he tried lifting another dish with his chopsticks.
Obviously it was a type of seafood, one in a pretty pink color and with the light scent of soy sauce, but not knowing what it was felt like a gamble. What if it was something he was seriously allergic to?!

“Dude, are you gonna eat that Magikarp?” Tank asked as he looked down at the plate.

“Oh, that’s what this is?” Kidd gasped. “And here I was thinking I was eating, oh I don’t know, Qwilfish?”

Tank blinked twice before deadpanning, “Yeah, that’s totally Qwilfish sashimi being served at a Pokémon Center.”

“You can’t fool me,” Kidd glared before lifting the filet with his chopsticks. He took several small bites, blushing in delight from the strong umami taste. “Mon dieu, c'est délicieux!” He gasped after clearing off the entire filet, including the thin scales.

Benedict turned around and asked, “Wait, y'all had Qwilfish? Is it any good?”

“In some nabemono, sure, but sashimi? No way, it’s super poisonous” Tank shook his head. “Only Johtonian chefs with three years of experience can serve Qwilfish sashimi!”

“Johto?” Benedict raised an eyebrow. “Wait, so y’all are tellin’ me that a guy from Hoenn or Sinnoh can’t serve Qwilfish. What the heck?”

Kidd rolled his eyes as he nibbled on some pickled radish. The crunchy texture and tangy taste were a pleasant surprise. While nobody was looking, he snuck some pickled vegetables off their plates and for himself.

“So, what do you guys wanna do in Rustboro?” Tank asked before he ate two bites of tamagoyaki. “Because I was thinking of checking out some of the districts here.”

Benedict slightly flinched before looking back up. “Obviously I’m gonna take on the gym,” he scoffed before scarfing down the rest of his food.
“And I’ll just go wherever you’re heading,” Kidd said before clearing off everything on his plate.

After the boys put their dishes on a busing tray, they gathered in the Pokémon Center lobby and whipped out their phones.

Tank zoomed in on his map and explained, “So this area here is the food district while that one’s the historical one.”

“An’ which one of those got the gym?” Benedict asked as he crossed his arms.

“Right here in the league district,” Tank said as he zoomed in on one of the neighborhoods.

“Well I know where I’m goin’ then,” Benedict cheered as he threw a fist in the air. “Hey I’ll see y’all once I get my badge!” He yelled before waltzing out the door.

“Wait, Benedict!” Tank yelled as he held out one of his hooves. “Oh who am I kidding myself. He’ll be running back to us once he gets that Badge!”

“Or he calls us about getting stabbed by another guy in an alleyway,” Kidd deadpanned, scoffing as Tank glared at him. “What? You have a first-aid kid on you, non?”

“I do, yeah,” Tank shrugged his shoulders before laughing. “But I don’t think Benedict’s gonna get stabbed. Now come on, let’s go check out the historical district!”

Kidd gulped as he followed Tank out of the center. The city’s architecture was more outdated compared to the flashiness of Lumiose, but it had a welcoming charm. Brick skyscrapers surrounded the area, varying from beige to red to brown.

The boys walked down a well-lit alleyway, looking around at the flyers lining the walls. Some advertised karaoke nights at local bars, others bragged about who had the best tonkotsu ramen in the city.

“Are we anywhere near the district?” Kidd asked as he brushed some dust off his shoulders.

“Almost!” Tank winked as he grabbed Kidd’s wrist. “Just a few more feet!”

Kidd blushed hard as he felt Tank grip his coat sleeve. His heart pounded slightly from the physical touch, but he couldn’t figure out why.
Tank led the way through the last of the alley, smiling to himself as he took in the new surroundings. Finally, the historical district! Cobblestone buildings lined the streets, decorated with brown and green banners. Chiming bells rang through the air, greeting the city for a new hour.
Kidd looked up and pointed, “Hey what’s that building for?”

Tank stopped in his tracks and turned around. A cerulean blue skyscraper towered over the rest of the city, its gaudy metal surface shining under the afternoon sun. A group of animals in business walked to the building, lined up as they entered one by one. “Oh? That’s the Hawkwind Corp headquarters!”

“Hawkwind? Seems Galarian….And what exactly do they do?” Kidd squinted as he looked closely at the building.

“They do a bit of everything!” Tank said as he bounced on the tips of his toes. “Let’s see here… they make all sorts of Poké Balls for catching Pokémon, fancy tech for trainers, researching the world, oh and they even revive fossil Pokémon!”

Kidd’s ears pricked up as he watched Tank skip in his step. “I see,” he noted. “Hey, would they let us inside?”

Tank shook his head. “As much as I’d love to drag you in there, they don’t just let anybody in for a tour. It’s employees only.”

“Somehow I’m not surprised,” Kidd deadpanned. “Is there a place that does let anyone in?”

“Oh, yeah, there is!” Tank perked up. “Tom Nook told me about this place called Cornimer Park. Wanna go check it out?”

“Sure,” Kidd shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t say no to a nice park or two.”

Meanwhile, back in the League district…

Benedict grabbed onto his backpack strap as he ran through an alleyway.

Gold and silver banners hung from the thin blue street lamps, adorned with white kanji. Advertisements lined the city benches, ranging from gym badges to Pokémon items to all sorts of Hoenn brands. Several buildings lined the streets, some with few floors and others that towered into the skies. Terracotta, wood, brick, all called this street home.

Right in the middle of the street was one peculiar building; a Galarian-style castle with a vibrant brick exterior and copper green roof. White granite pillars complemented its numerous windows, which were covered up with colorful curtains.

Benedict walked up to the building and stopped in front of the sign. It read, “Rustboro City Pokémon Gym. Leader: Coco Haniwa. The rocky valedictorian of wits, doyoing!”

He charged up the staircase and into the gym, his ponytail coming undone as he leaped through the door. Benedict placed his hands on his hips as he looked around at the gym’s interior. Hey, was this even the right place? The sign said it was a gym, wasn’t it! Did he accidentally walk into a museum instead?!

Several exhibits were displayed across the gym floor, showcasing countless fossils from around the Pokémon world. Near the entrance, several Hoennian fossils gleamed under harsh lighting. A large glass case displayed an intricate topographic map of the Hoenn region. In the back of the gym, massive fossils lined the wall. One fossil resembled an aquatic arthropod with scythes protruding from its arms, while the other looked like a potted plant with long tentacles sprouting from the top.

A pair of animals sat on a red bench, playing a game of poker. One of the animals, a brown hamster in a poncho, looked up from his hand of cards. “Hey, can I help you?” he asked.

“Yeah, is the gym leader inside?” Benedict asked as he walked up to the bench, his wings in his pockets as he looked down at the table.

The other animal, a fuzzy brown elephant with large tusks and wearing a dark green school uniform, turned to face his friend. “Clay, you forgot to lock the door again.”

“That’s because Coco doesn’t trust me with the keys, Tucker,” Clay pointed out as he ran one of his paws across the deck of cards. “Not since we let Club Helix come inside!”

Benedict blinked twice before raising one of his eyebrows. “An’ Club Helix’s got somethin’ to do with the gym leader how?” he deadpanned.

“It’s gym business, kid,” Clay informed him. “But if you’re looking for her, she’s off at the Trainer School.”

“Thanks,” Benedict yelled as he walked back to the door. “I’ll see y’all in a bit!”

He smiled to himself as he headed outside, his heart racing just from the thought of earning his first Badge.
Several animals wandered about the district, seemingly minding their own business. While some looked down on their phones, others skimmed through pamphlets.

“Yeah, they’re gonna be real helpful for findin’ the gym leader,” Benedict thought to himself as he kept his eyes peeled for the trainer school Clay mentioned. A-ha!

Right in the middle of the street was a peculiar building, out-of-place just like him. Its slate grey exterior, mint green trim, stone pillars and octagonal tower made the building look straight out of a Kalosian period drama.

Benedict walked across the street and headed to the tower. He stood on his tiptoes as he peered through the floral curtains. While the schoolhouse’s interior looked perfectly ordinary, what was going on inside? Not so much.

A moss green sheep strolled through the rows of desks, arms folded behind her back as she watched her students write at a breakneck pace. With a bitter scowl across her face, she stopped in front of one of her students.

The student in question, a pink goat with chestnut brown hair, froze in her spot, nearly dropping her pencil on the table.

The sheep turned her chin up, scoffing as she snatched the notebook from her student. “Well, what do we have here, Velma?”

While some students kept writing, others stopped to watch their teacher tear her apart.

The sheep’s eyes twitched as she slammed the notebook back on the table. “This is all wrong!” she snapped. “Fire types are not super effective against fairy types, and they never will be! Where would you get a stupid idea from?!”

“B-but Ms. Cashmere,” Velma held her hooves up as she tried to defend herself. “It’s only what you wrote on the board!”

Cashmere sharply turned around and looked back at the whiteboard. Huh, she did write that apparently. “You must be seeing things wrong, Velma,” she shook her head. “Of course, I’m not surprised. Most students fail or drop out of my class for a reason.”

She pulled out a wooden brown ruler and smacked Velma’s wrist, sneering as Velma flinched from the attack. “Get back to your work,” she tisked.

“Y-yes, Ms. Cashmere,” Velma sniffled as she erased her writing, correcting it with the proper type matchups.

Cashmere held up her chin as she walked down another aisle, eyes looking down for another student to scold.

Benedict’s blood boiled as he looked away from the window. While he wanted to back away from the school and find Coco another time, something else told him to stay behind and just find her anyways.

Minutes passed before the bell rang inside. The students packed up their belongings before heading out the door, some of them making idle conversation as they left the building.

Benedict pressed his back against the wall as he pulled out his phone and sent a message to Tank. “No luck on findin’ the gym leader yet, but I’m getting close!” After it was sent, he put his phone away and looked over when someone bumped into him. Oh, it’s the girl who got yelled at!

Velma kneeled down to pick up her glasses, blushing slightly as she put them back on. “Oh! S-sorry, I didn’t see you there. Are you here for the battle class?”

“Battle class? No way,” Benedict shrugged his shoulders as he looked back at the door. “I’m lookin’ for Coco. Was she in y’all’s class?”

“Oh, no, she already graduated from here,” Velma shook her head. “But she’ll be a guest speaker at the battle class if that helps.”

“Heck yeah it does,” Benedict said as he adjusted his backpack strap. “That’s inside, right?”

Velma looked down as she stopped to clean her glasses lens, then put them back on. “Nope, it’s out in the courtyard. I’m not sure if they allow anyone to join in though, but I assume you’re here for the gym challenge?”

Benedict nodded and pointed to himself. “Yep, I sure am! You too or nah?”

“I’ve heard about it, but,” Velma shook her head again. “I’m not sure if I’m ready for it yet.” She gently smiled. “But maybe I need to see a gym battle for myself.”

“Sounds like an awesome idea,” Benedict suggested. “Y’all could watch mine against Coco when I find her!”

The outside speakers crackled as a deep voice spoke up. “Attention students. Battle class with Mr. Sarutobi is starting in five minutes.”

Benedict jumped up in his spot. “Welp, I gotta find that courtyard. See y’all later!” He waved to Velma before rushing to the back of the school. Phew, nobody is around, but not for long. He glanced around the courtyard; a basketball hoop, a box of chalk, a moldy piece of cheese, a-ha! He jumped into a large bush, carefully adjusting himself so he was tucked away like a Trapinch in the desert.

Another group of trainers gathered in the schoolyard, surrounding the blacktop. Some students whispered to each other, while others checked their phones or fixed up their appearances.

The school’s door opened. An orange monkey walked outside, wearing a loose-fitting blue jumpsuit with a Poké Ball clipped to his waist.

“Alright everyone,” he said as he waved hello to the students. “Welcome to battle class. Now normally we’d jump into today’s lesson, but we have a special guest today.”

A beige rabbit walked out of the door, holding a textbook in one hand and a cup of boba tea in the other. Her outfit was vaguely familiar to the students; a school uniform consisting of a white button-up blouse, an olive green pinafore dress with a gyroid pattern on the hem, and white socks with black loafers. Several blue and pink Poké Balls were clipped to her right wrist. She stood next to the instructor, gently smiling as she sipped from her cup.

“Glad I could make some time to be here, Flip,” the rabbit said as she tucked the book under her arm.

“Likewise,” Flip folded his palms together before looking up at the students. “Some of you might remember this young lady; this is Coco Haniwa, one of our recent graduates and valedictorian of her class.”

“And Rustboro’s current Gym Leader,” Coco added as she wagged a finger at the crowd. “If any of you are interested in taking on the Pokémon League, that is.”

The students stayed silent. Some of them looked at each other in confusion, while others yawned from boredom. Several even pulled out their phones and scrolled through social media.

One of the trees rustled in its spot, with flat green leaves falling to the ground. Benedict gulped as he fell out of the tree, planting face-first into a round topiary bush. He looked around the bush; oh good, barely any light so nobody could see him!

“I see,” Coco deadpanned as she tightly gripped her cup. “Not one of you shows any interest in traveling through Hoenn, earning badges along the way at a chance to challenge the Elite Four. That’s fine.”

“Not me!”

Benedict yelled as he leaped out of the bush, beaming confidently as all eyes were on him. He stood behind the students and held out one of his Poké Balls. “I’m gonna take on Champion Apollo! Miss Coco, I’m Benedict Sussex, fresh outta Castelia City an’ I wanna challenge you to a gym battle!”

Flip whipped out a walkie talkie and turned it on. “Security, we have a kid trying to challenge my guest speaker to a battle. Over.”

Some of the students glared at Benedict, while others scoffed and ignored the outburst.

Coco stepped backwards as she held out her free arm. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA. I don’t just battle when a challenger tells me they want to!” she yelled, before taking a sip from her tea.

“Wait, y’all don’t?” Benedict shook his hair loose as he put his Poké Ball away.

“Of course not,” Coco shook her head. “I don’t even have my Pokémon on me. But if you’re still interested in challenging me for a Gym Badge?” She pulled out a blue planner and flipped through its contents, stopping at an empty page. “How does tomorrow at five work?”
Benedict raised an eyebrow. “Wait, is that in the mornin’ or afternoon?”

Coco blinked as she neatly wrote ‘Gym Battle with challenger’ in one of the spots. “....That’d be in the afternoon, Benedict,” she flatly said before chuckling. “Goodness, do you really want to be up that early for a battle?”

“No freakin’ way,” Benedict shook his head, a few strands of hair flying into his eyes. “So, where should I meet y’all to battle then?”

“How about Cornimer Park?” Coco suggested. “It’s a fantastic battleground for all types of Pokémon.”

“Sounds great to me!” Benedict said as he whipped out his phone and typed in a reminder to go find Cornimer Park. “I’m gonna get started on some trainin’ then!”

A pair of dog officers, one bulldog and one akita, opened the door and headed to the courtyard.

“Seeya!” Benedict gulped as he ran out of the courtyard and back into the street. He rushed towards the district, occasionally looking behind his shoulders to make sure nobody was chasing after him. A group of animals whispered as they watched him run around, but they went back to their day. This wouldn’t be the first passionate trainer raring to battle around here.

After making sure the coast was clear, he found the gym, waltzed through the door and shouted at the top of his lungs, “I’m gettin’ my badge tomorrow!”

Tucker jumped up in his spot and dropped all his cards, yelping as he scrambled to pick them up. “Whoa, who came in this time?!” he said to himself. “And what’s this about a badge tomorrow?”

Clay tisked twice. “I’ll handle it,” he said as he set his cards down, carefully making sure they were upside down. He walked up to Benedict and looked up at him. “So, first, congrats on booking a battle,” he said.

“Thanks,” Benedict nodded. “An’ all it took was me gettin’ kicked outta the trainer school!”

“That’s….” Clay raised an eyebrow. “Not something to be bragging about, but if it’ll get you your badge….”

“I don’t see the big deal,” Benedict shrugged his shoulders as he interrupted him. “I got suspended from school five times. So, are you an’ the elephant guy like backup gym leaders or?”

Clay shook his head no. “Typical Unovans, I swear” he whispered to himself to explaining. “And no, Tucker and I are gym trainers. We train League Challengers so you and your Pokémon are ready for the Gym Battle.”

“Alright then let’s do this!” Benedict cheered as he undid his ponytail, keeping the hair band around his wrist. “Where are we fightin’?”

“Right here.” Clay said as he walked to the museum’s back. As he stood on his tiptoes, he reached up to press a button on the wall. The museum exhibits whirred as they folded into the walls. Wooden planks folded into the floor, forming a rectangular crater with a white line across the center. A ceiling fan on the wall slowed to a complete halt, the blades wobbling as they stopped for good.

He strolled towards the battlefield, holding out one of his Poké Balls. “So, shall we battle?” he asked.

“I’ve been ready since I walked in here!” Benedict shouted before rushing towards the end of the gym. He flipped his hair back before holding out a Poké Ball.

“Then prove it,” Clay scoffed before shouting. “Geodude, rock out!”

A brown boulder Pokémon threw himself on the battlefield, roaring as he hovered above the ground. He curled his hands into tight fists as he flexed his muscles.

A Geodude? Oh this is gonna be a cakewalk! Benedict grinned as he threw his other Poké Ball in the air. “Ralts, let’s go!”

Ralts whistled as he held his arms out and floated onto the battleground. His feet brushed against the smoothed planks.

Clay’s nose twitched as he adjusted his pendant. “Geodude, use Tackle!”

“Ishiiii!” Geodude roared as he curled himself into a ball and threw himself across the air.

Benedict stepped backwards as he pointed ahead. “Ralts, use Confusion!”

“Raruuuu!” Ralts sang as he floated back onto the ground. His horns glowed purple as he held out his hands. Magenta energy rings formed around his wrists, growing with each second. He threw his hands back and hurled the energy rings across the battlefield.

Geodude yelped as the telekinetic force flung him through the air and smacked him against the wall. A loud crack echoed from the wall’s interior, as Geodude landed on the palms of his hands.

“That better not come out of my paycheck…” Clay muttered to himself before yelling. “You alright, my dude?!”

Without any words, Geodude grunted as he flashed a thumbs up towards his trainer. He threw himself back into the air, bobbing back and forth in his spot.

“Yahoo!” Clay cheered as he pumped a fist in the air. “Alright Geodude. Use Rollout!”

Geodude roared as he curled his hands into tight fists and wrapped his arms around himself, forming a tight ball. He rolled across the battlefield, his erratic path zigzagging like a pinball.

Ralts backflipped multiple times as he narrowly dodged Geodude, flying higher into the sky with each flip. Eventually, he reached up and grabbed onto the ceiling fan’s blade, holding on with his life.

Benedict snapped his fingers as he realized exactly what Ralts was doing. Tire him out, of course! A brilliant idea came to him, one shining if it must. “Hey, Ralts!” he looked up and yelled. “Y’all thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’ we do?”

“Raru?” Ralts chirped as he kicked his little legs in the air. “Ralu!”

“Then let’s go!” Benedict shouted as he pointed ahead. “When Geodude rolls right in the middle, jump down an’ use Disarming Voice!”

Ralts nodded once, his horns glowing pastel pink as he glared down at the ground. He took a deep breath before letting go of the ceiling fan, holding out his arms as he torpedoed through the air.

“RARUUUUUUUU!” He howled as he spewed a beam of pink and yellow star-shaped soundwaves, joined by an ear-piercing scream that rattled the entire gym in its spot.

Geodude uncurled in his spot, flinching as a duo of soundwaves batted him back and forth.

Ralts landed in front of him, his hands glowing cherry blossom pink as he clapped them together. The soundwaves smashed into each other, exploding into a cloud of hearts and stars.

The cloud dissolved into a sparkly mist that cascaded to the floor, revealing that Geodude fell to the ground and was completely passed out. His eyes stayed closed as his arm muscles faintly twitched.

Ralts whistled before he leaped into Benedict’s arms, humming in content as his trainer spun in his spot.

Clay solemnly nodded as he returned Geodude to his Poké Ball, stopping to clip the ball to his waist. He walked across the battlefield and held out one of his paws. “That was a great battle,” he said. “You’ve got a lot of potential, kid.”

Benedict stopped spinning in his spot and set Ralts back down on the ground. He turned around and firmly shook Clay’s paw. “Thanks!”
Clay nodded as he let go. He looked to his left and called out, “Hey! Tucker!”

“Yeah? What’s up, Clay?” Tucker hollered back, sinking back in the couch as he finished putting away his cards.

“This kid just beat me in battle!” Clay yelled. “You wanna battle him before he takes on Coco?”

Tucker shouted back, “Of course I do! Coco’s not paying us to only keep animals out!” He leaped off the chair and stomped towards the museum.

Benedict looked up and gulped, as Ralts climbed up his side and sat atop his shoulders. Sheesh, this guy didn’t even need those tusks, he could knock him over with just one snort!

Tucker crossed his arms and chuckled. “In case you’re wondering, I’m a respectable 190 centimeters.”

“No kiddin’!” Benedict gasped. “And y’all didn’t think about overthrowin’ Coco as the gym leader?”

“That’d be silly,” Tucker chortled as he snorted through his trunk. “She doesn’t need my height to be a great gym leader. But I hope you put up a good fight.”

The two trainers walked to opposite ends of the battlefield, while Clay scurried back to the lobby to clean it up for visitors.

“Let’s see how you fare against ludicrous strength. Rhyhorn! Charge!” Tucker stepped forward as he held out his Poké Ball.

A red light zigzagged out of the ball and landed on the battlefield, revealing a cragged grey rhinoceros Pokémon. The spiky Pokémon fiercely roared as he clawed at the ground and tucked in his head.

Benedict snorted in laughter. “That’s a pretty cool Pokémon. It’d be a shame if he were to lose to us! Alright Ralts, let’s go two for two!” he yelled as he pointed ahead.

“Rurusu!” Ralts chirped as he jumped off his trainer and leaped onto the battleground.

“We’ll see about that!” Tucker grinned as he pointed ahead and shouted, “Rhyhorn! Horn Attack!”

Rhyhorn kicked with his back legs as he tucked in his head, the horn on his head glowing a blinding shade of white. He roared as he charged across the battlefield, leaving a dust cloud in his trail.

Benedict glared as he pointed ahead. “Ralts, dodge it!”

“Raru!” Ralts yipped as he leaped into the air, holding out his arms as he watched the battlefield below him.

Rhyhorn turned around sharply as he watched Ralts backflip onto the ground. He charged again, headbutting Ralts in the back and throwing him through the air.

Ralts yelped as he fell onto the ground, lying on one side with his head barely propped up.

Benedict facepalmed before begrudgingly returning Ralts to his ball. “Great, just great,” he thought to himself as he whipped out his other Poké Ball.

With a determined gleam in his eyes, Benedict stepped backwards and flung his Poké Ball in the air.

“Achaaaa!” Torchic cawed as he landed on the ground, bobbing back and forth in his spot.

Tucker’s trunk twitched as he stifled a chuckle. “You know, kid,” he pointed out. " It's pretty brave of you to pit a fire type against a rock type.”

“Well Torchic an’ I can handle anythin’ flying our way!” Benedict scoffed. “Right, little guy?!”

Torchic peeped as he turned around and nodded at his trainer. He scraped his talons against the ground, glaring as steam blew from his beak.
“Then let’s GO!” Benedict shouted as he threw a fist in the air. “Torchic, use Ember!”

“CHAMOOOOO!” Torchic cheered as he jumped in the air and spewed a flurry of tangerine orange fireballs from his beak. The balls of fire swept across the battlefield, zigzagging back and forth.

Tucker flashed a devious smile as he held out one of his arms. His tusks gleamed under the museum lights as his eyes went dark. “Rhyhorn, use Smack Down!”

Rhyhorn roared as he formed a golden rock on the tip of his horn. He threw his head forward and flung the rock in the air.

“Cha-mo!” Torchic yelped as the boulder hurled him across the gym, smacking him against the wall. The rock crumbled into dust as it fell towards the ground.

Benedict’s face went dark as he rushed towards the wall. He sighed as he scooped up Torchic in his arms, holding him close to his body.

Tucker kneeled down to affectionately pet Rhyhorn on his spikes, gently patting him on the head before returning him to his Poké Ball.

“I think you got way ahead of yourself, but that was a fun battle,” Tucker said as he walked towards the other trainer. “No hard feelings, right?”

“Yeah,” Benedict sighed as he sent Torchic to his Poké Ball. “No hard feelings…”

He got up and wiped some dust off himself, frowning as he looked back at the ground. “I’m gonna need a minute…”

His heart slowly pounded as he walked away from the battlefield, his face darkening with each step. He pushed the door open before heading out of the gym, silent as the door closed itself.

Was this…was this some sort of sick joke played on him?! That guy just had to taunt him only to push him down like a pile of blocks! No, it wasn’t his own fault! That Rhyhorn set up him and his Pokémon to fail!

Benedict’s eyes twitched as he made his way through the league district, glaring at everyone around him. While some glared back at him, others looked fearful and ran back into their buildings.

Benedict clenched his fists as he left the city, rage flooding his entire body as he trudged down the dirt path. Clouds of dust exploded with each step, silent as thick forest canopies replaced the afternoon skies. Chirping birds and burrowing Pokémon echoed through the air, but failed to put him at ease.

If he could screw up something as simple as one battle, then whose to say he won’t screw up in a gym battle, or getting to the Elite Four the Champion if he even earned those badges in the first place?!

Benedict stopped at a large bay tree and sat down underneath, crossing his arms as he pressed his back against the cragged bark. He looked up to the skies and sighed as one of his worst memories came to mind.

Instead of forests flooding with flora, it’s a barren apartment with years of life packed away into sterile cardboard boxes carried by several Gurdurr. The company Pokémon stayed silent as they moved out boxes one by one. Tamoko and Mornay stood in the middle, screaming and yelling and hurling insults as the movers tried to pull them away from each other. Some about each other, the region they were in, even about their own child.

Benedict sighed as he walked into the building, exhausted after less than a minute. A week would pass before he’d be out of Castelia, whisked away on a boat to another region, left to carve his own path with the switchblades of fate.

A single drop of water splashed on Benedict’s head, snapping him out of that memory and clearing his mind. While this battle sucked, it hurt much less than knowing what he’d been in before. His phone buzzed in his pocket.

He pulled out his phone and frowned. Damnit, no service in a forest, of course. But there had been a message sent while he was in Rustboro; aww, it was from Tank. “Aww, good luck on finding her! If you do, I wanna watch you battle her! Kidd says he doesn’t, but trust me, he totally does!~

Benedict gulped as he looked at the screen, his heart pounding as he reread the text several times. Even if he screwed up big time, Tank would be there for him. Sure, Kidd was doing his own thing, but if he didn’t really care he wouldn’t have followed them outside of Littleroot.

Yet at the same time, he was still frustrated with the day. Another memory came up, related to the last one. This time, it was him in an alleyway, heaving as he pelted rocks at an old brick wall. The stones shattered into pebbles and dust, crumbling down the walls and falling against the cement paths. Minutes would pass before the last rock was thrown, leaving him with nothing.

Another drop of water fell on Benedict, this time falling onto his beak. He blinked twice before shaking his head clear. Maybe going back to old habits would be the best thing to do.

With his heart resolved, Benedict stood up and began looking for some rocks, unaware of danger to follow.
 
Benedict gathered a pile of rocks throughout the woods. He wandered through the forest and stopped in front of the tallest tree possible. He dropped the rocks near his feet, furiously glaring at the stupid tree in front of him. Anger flowed through his veins, replacing the numbness of defeat. Everything was supposed to go his way, but no, that Rhyhorn stopped him from being one step closer to battling Apollo!

He picked up a rock and hurled it at the tree, panting in relief as the rock smacked against the tree and knocked off several pieces of bark.

He continued pelting the tree with each rock, calming down with each snap and shatter of the tree. Scraps of bark fell off, but in the end, it didn’t matter to him. The only thing Benedict cared about was letting out his stress, away from his companions.

Until the final rock pelted something completely different.

It wasn’t bark, or leaves, or even dirt. It was a poor Ariados who crawled down to see the commotion. And then that last rock smacked it in the head, leaving a throbbing red bump. The wild Ariados hissed at this-- this selfish prick! White foam dripped from its fangs, splattering against the grass and dissolving several patches of grass into dry dirt.

Ariados’ eyes glowed lime green as it spewed a white string from its horn. Benedict backflipped in an attempt to avoid the sticky string, but tripped on a large gnarled root. The spider Pokémon successfully ensnared its prey, yanking the remaining thread to tighten its grip.

Benedict tried to reach for his Poké Balls but with no avail. He shoved the balls in his backpack earlier, but thanks to that stupid silk, his wings were tightly bound to his sides. So this is how his life ends, he thought. Not taking on the Champion, not heroically sacrificing his life to save a friend, not even witnessing an earth-shattering apocalypse. It was ending, all because his dumb ass had to throw that stupid rock at a hungry Pokémon.

Meanwhile, outside of the Petalburg Woods…

“Benedict!” Tank called out as he wandered down the dirt paths, standing on his tiptoes as he yelled again. “Come on! Where’d you go, dude?!”

“Seriously, Benedict!” Kidd yelled in another direction. “It’s just one battle, so get over it!”

Tank glared as he punched Kidd in the arm.

“What?!” Kidd scoffed. “I’m just saying that he can just battle that guy again.”

“I mean, yeah, he can always go for a rematch,” Tank pointed out. “But now’s not the time to rub it in his face! Come on, he could be in danger!”

A loud yell echoed through the forest, scaring a pack of bird Pokémon from the canopies. The flock of Taillow chirped and cawed as they flew into the horizons.

“That’s gotta be him,” Tank said. “Come on, let’s go!” he yelled as led the way into the woods.

Kidd groaned under his breath as he chased after Tank, the bow in his scarf flying undone as he rushed through the last of the route.
Back in the heart of the Petalburg Woods...

Benedict wriggled around as the Ariados pulled its prey through most of the heavy woods. He tried to kick away the string, but failed due to the string's slippery coating. Leaves and branches smacked across both trainer and wild Pokémon. Ariados scaled up a tree and lept through the forest's canopies, hissing at every other Pokémon in its way.

“Hey! Y’all don’t wanna eat me!” Benedict shouted as he glared at the wild Pokémon. “Trust me! Chickens ain't very tasty, y’know!”

Ariados repeatedly snapped its mandibles as it ignored its prey, using String Shot to swing through the forest canopies.

“Hey! Go eat another trainer, will you?!”

The wild Ariados scuttled down from the branch, hanging on by its thread as it looked down at the commotion.

Tank looked up, steam blowing from his nose as he barked out, “Yeah I’m talking to you! Let go of my friend!”

Ariados hissed as it blasted a barrage of white and green spikes through the air. The pins exploded as they slammed against the earth.
Tank yanked Kidd by the wrist and pulled him away from the explosion, falling several feet away from the rising cloud.
“Please tell me we’re not next,” Kidd sighed as he got back on his feet, tightly gripping the strap of his messenger bag.

“No way, dude!” Tank jumped up and stepped forward as he grabbed one of his Poké Balls. With a determined gleam in his eyes, he held out said Poké Ball and released Treecko for battle. “Kidd! Send out Mudkip!”

“Absolutely not!” Kidd yelled.

“I’m not asking you to, I’m telling you to!” Tank’s eyes twitched as he yanked Kidd by the scarf, glaring deep into his dark eyes. “If you don’t help me in this battle, Benedict is gonna turn into Ariados food! Is that what you wanna live with for the rest of your life?!”

“FINE! I’ll help you with this stupid battle!” Kidd snapped as he pushed Tank’s hooves off his shoulders. He begrudgingly pulled out his Poké Ball and held it in front of him.

Mudkip jumped out of the Poké Ball, chirruping in delight as she carefully landed on the ground. A ring of sparkling white stars surrounded her before dissolving into faint glitter.

The two Pokémon chirped as they smiled at each other, standing next to each other before looking up and glaring at their opponent.
Tank stepped forward as he pointed ahead. “Treecko, use Quick Attack!”

“Kimo!” Treecko zigzagged across the ground before jumping up and punching Ariados right below the horn. He backflipped through the air, holding out his arms as he landed on a pile of leaves.

Ariados hissed as it threw its head back, shooting a barrage of thin purple needles from its jaws.

Kidd stepped backwards and shouted, “Mudkip! Attack!”

“Mizu?” Mudkip turned to face her trainer and tilted her head to the right. Wait, attack how?!

“You have to tell her to use a move, dude!” Tank yelled.

“Well I don’t know what moves she knows, alright!” Kidd snapped back. “Screw it. What sounds like a Pokémon move….Water Gun!”

Mudkip rolled her eyes as she slid in front of her trainer. With a determined glare in her eyes, she opened her mouth and blasted a stream of concentrated clear water. The water sprayed across the battlefield, smothering the needles into the ground and extinguishing them into thin smoke.

Kidd gasped in awe as he watched the rest of the water push Ariados back several inches. So that’s what Mudkip was capable of!

The silk strings dissolved into thin webs that floated onto the grass. Benedict reached out for the nearest branch, holding on with both wings as he heaved in his spot. The tree’s branch weighed down in its spot, thin cracks forming across the bark and digging into the core.

Ariados swiveled around its head and furiously clicked its mandibles. Stubborn brat, it thought to itself. The spider Pokémon paid no heed as it used String Shot to pull itself back up into the canopies, leaving the boys to their own devices.

Benedict yelled as the tree branch broke under his grip, plummeting him towards his doom.

Tank sharply gasped as he ran under the branch, sliding across the mud as he held out his arms. With a heavy grunt, he effortlessly caught Benedict in his arms, placing one hand under the back of his knees and the other on his shoulders. Both of their faces glowed crimson red, awkwardly looking away for a second.

“Are y’all gonna carry me back to Rustboro this way?” Benedict asked as he crossed his arms. “N-not that I’m complainin’ of course.”

“If you want me to, I will,” Tank chuckled a little. “Or until my arms give out!”

“I think the latter is more likely,” Kidd deadpanned. “Probably in an hour.”

Benedict snorted as he stepped back on the ground, placing his hands in his pockets. “Alright, then let’s head back to Rustboro City!”

The boys ran out of the forest, blissfully unaware that a cloaked figure was watching them from behind the trees.

Pink and orange smeared across the deep blue skies, joined by rolling maroon clouds.

Benedict and Kidd walked down a dirt trail, occasionally stopping to look at some flowers. While they stopped to watch a group of Wurmple crawl towards the red and purple flowers, Tank snuck away from the group as a wild Pokémon cry caught his attention.
Tank ducked into the grass, tiptoeing as he carefully parted the foliage. His eyes gleamed as he spotted something rustle in the grass.

A wild Shroomish popped out of the grass, waddling its little legs as it stopped near a large shrub. The mushroom Pokémon used its mouth to pull something out of the bush; a plump Sitrus Berry! It set the berry on the ground before slowly taking small bites out of the fruit.

Tank pulled a Poké Ball out of his backpack, careful not to make a sound as he tossed the ball up and down in his hand.

He poked his horn out of the grass, quiet as he threw the Poké Ball across the air. A loud smack ricocheted through the air as the ball’s light absorbed the wild Shroomish. With a light thud, the ball fell onto the ground and wobbled three times.

“Come on, come on, come on!” Tank thought to himself as he watched the Poké Ball.

The Poké Ball clicked, with three stars popping out from the top. Tank jumped up in his spot before running towards the ball. He picked it up and spun in his spot, his face glowing pink in delight.

Benedict snuck up behind him, waving as he yelled, “Hey! Tank! Y’all wanna come with us to check out this store?”

A store, huh? That had to be Kidd’s idea. Tank immediately stopped spinning, stumbling in his spot as he held onto his Poké Ball. “Sure, dude!” He called out, humming happily as he followed his friends to a cozy looking building.

A small bell rang above the door, its gentle chimes welcoming them in.

The cutesy interior was a welcome departure from the cool evening; fern green walls, wooden beige walls, and foliage as far as the eye could see. A pair of golden forsythia trees framed the entrance. Countless hanging pots swayed from the ceiling, filled with white and purple pansies. Several potted plants lined the tables, ranging from calming berry red anthuriums to vibrant yellow Casablanca lilies.

In one of the corners, a Slakoth groaned as it nestled itself into an orange and yellow hammock. A small bubble blew from its nostrils as it quietly snorted.

“Welcome, welcome!” A pale brown sloth called out, grinning widely as he waddled towards the storefront. The soles of his boots squeaked with each step. “What brings you lads into my happy little store?” he asked as he folded his paws together.

Tank led the way to the counter. “Well, we’re new trainers so I figured we’d check out the place.” He looked down at a sign hanging from the counter; it read “Pretty Petal Flower Shop: Proudly owned by Leif Ross!”

“Oh yes, there’s plenty for trainers here,” Leif said as he tilted his head to the left. “Anything in particular?”

Benedict crossed his arms and asked, “Yeah, y’all got anythin’ that wakes up a Pokémon that can’t battle?”

Leif’s nose twitched slightly. An unusual request, but surely not the weirdest one he’s received in all his years working here. He explained as he pulled out a large brown crate. “Well I have these happy little herbs, sure, but most Pokémon aren’t too fond of them.”

“Wait, how come they don’t like ‘em?” Benedict asked as he rummaged through the crate. The pungent smell of damp wood and dried herbs flew into his face, slightly pushing him back. “Oh, I see now.”

Inside the crate contained several items: a smaller box filled with gnarled roots, pink capsules filled with fine white powder, green pouches tied with thin red ribbons, and a long green vine covered with flat dark leaves.

“....How much for this?” Benedict asked as he pointed down at the plant.

Leif scratched at his chin as he looked down as well. “Oh, that’s a happy little Revival Herb! It’s two-thousand Poké Dollars for, let’s see here ... five leaves!”

Benedict set down his backpack and rummaged through the contents, stopping when he pulled out a pink and beige pouch with a yellow cord. After zipping up his bag and throwing it back on his shoulders, he opened the pouch and rummaged through it; there it is! He whipped out a crumpled bill and closed up the pouch before shoving it into his pants pocket.

Leif looked back up as he finished cutting several leaves from the vine, gently smiling as he tied them together with a thin white string. He handed the herbs to Benedict, looking up slightly as he took the bill into his claws.

“Enjoy your leaves,” Leif said as he put the bill away.

“Oh I will,” Benedict nodded once he held the vine in his wings. He stuffed it in his hoodie pockets and wandered around the store, looking around at the countless plants. One plant in particular caught his attention; a terracotta clay pot holding a green bush with red berries scattered across the leaves. Oh nice, some hollies! “Did y’all figure out what you were gettin’?!”

“Sure did, dude!” Tank turned around as he held out a small basket of colorful berries. “Check it out. These berries are native to Hoenn!”

Kidd grabbed a berry off the shelf before placing it in the basket. “At least they look better than the ones from Kalos,” he pulled out another berry, this one being dark blue with smaller berries hanging from the stem. “You know, near Camphrier Town there’s a winery that’s won awards for their Bluk Berry wine.” He looked away, his face flushed as he glared. “Not that I know anything about it.”

Tank laughed it off as he headed to the counter, humming to himself as he paid for the berries. He led the group outside, walking towards the wooden bridge with a skip in his step.

Benedict and Kidd trailed behind him, stopping in the middle of the bridge as Tank turned around in his spot.

“Oh, there you guys are!” Tank grinned as he waved to them. “I thought you ran off without me, heh.”

“...Says the one who ran off to catch a wild Pokémon,” Kidd deadpanned as he crossed his arms and shook his head.

“Hey, I had a good reason to,” Tank laughed it off, skipping down the bridge before stopping to wait for his friends. “You guys hungry?”

“We just got stuff from Leif’s store, remember?” Benedict pulled out his Revival Herb as he kept walking, tearing off two leaves before handing one each to his companions.

“Oh, right. Sorry, I was just thinking about something else,” Tank grabbed the leaf, popping it in his mouth and slowly chewing. While the herb was smooth against his teeth and tongue, the rank taste filling his mouth was enough to make him recoil in his spot. He cringed in his spot as he spat out the herb.

Kidd’s face turned green as he chewed on the plant, stopping to spit it out on the ground. “Oh, c'est vraiment dégoûtant!”

Benedict tore off the last piece of herb before stuffing it into his beak. He slowly chewed on the plant, his cheeks glowing green as he forced himself to swallow the bristly plant. The thin thorns scraped against his delicate throat, leaving faint scratches and a rank aftertaste. “Wasn’t that bad,” he scoffed. “I think y’all were overreactin’.”

“Dude, we’re not overreacting,” Tank sighed in exasperation, stopping to wipe his mouth on his forearm. “I don’t know how you can eat that without wanting to throw up!”


“That’s because he’s lying,” Kidd pointed out, snorting in amusement. “Look, his face is as green as your hair.”

“Is not!” Benedict shouted as he stuffed the last of the Revival Herb into his pockets. Great, now he doesn’t have any left for his Pokémon, not that they’d want a piece either…

Tank rolled his eyes as he led the way towards the brick road, his short fur bristling from a strong breeze.

After heading back into city limits, the boys wandered about one of the brick roads. Most buildings in the food district went dark with each step, only “closed” signs hanging from the glass. Only one building was lit up; a small brick building with a worn-down sign hanging from the doorknob. The sign’s kanji read “T-Bone’s Top-Tier Tonkotsu.”

“Do you have any idea what that says?” Kidd asked as he squinted at the sign.

“Sure do, dude!” Tank explained as he pointed at the sign. “Oh, this is a place for ramen! The more hidden the place, the better the food. Let’s go!”

Benedict and Kidd looked at each other with uncertainty. While that applied for larger cities like Castelia or Lumiose, did it also make sense for smaller places like Rustboro…? They followed him into the restaurant, immediately welcomed by its bustling atmosphere. Elegant pianos and steady upright bass played over the crackling speakers, occasionally joined by snazzy saxophone.

Several tables lined the brick walls, every seat taken by ravenous customers. The smell of simmering meat and savory broth wafted through the close quarters.

Tank led the way to the bar, scooting past the chairs and grabbing himself a seat. Benedict and Kidd joined him, looking at him in confusion.

“Are you sure about this place, Tank?” Kidd asked as he glanced down at the bar. While there were various toppings like pickled ginger and sesame oil, along with chopsticks and napkins, one key element was missing. “Seriously, where’s the menu?”

“Well I’m sure that–” Tank said before someone else cut him off.

“No stinking menus here!”

The boys tensed up as they looked ahead of them.

A stone blue bull strolled to the counter, steam billowing into his face as he set a bowl on the counter and slammed his hoof against a silver bell. He gently smiled as a customer picked up their food, waving as the other animal went back to their table. His face tensed up as he pulled out a stack of clean bowls.

“You want tonkotsu ramen? Yeah, I’ve got it. You want anything else? Get the hell out,” he explained as he carried the bowls to the kitchen. “You boys may be asking, Taijo, why do you only serve one dish? Isn’t that restrictive?”

Taijo’s eyes gleamed as he unstacked the three bowls and poured a generous helping of cloudy broth. “I don’t find it restrictive, instead I find I’m refining my craft,” he continued as he added a large spoonful of perfectly cooked noodles. “It’s better to make one meal ten thousand times than to make ten-thousand meals just once.”

The boys watched in anticipation, focused on the way Taijo perfectly sliced a log of smoky Spoink belly. Mouths watered and stomachs growled as next came the perfect toppings; soft-boiled Chansey egg with runny golden yolk, vibrant green scallions, thinly sliced pickled bamboo shoots, toasted sesame seeds, and crisp nori sheets.

“I’ve been serving this for well over thirty years,” Taijo said as he set the bowls in front of the boys and rang the bell. “Please, enjoy the Rustboro special.”

“Thank you sir!” Tank folded his hooves and slightly bowed. Benedict and Kidd looked at each other in uncertainty as they did the same, shrugging it off soon after.

Benedict undid his ponytail and pulled his hair into a high bun, while Kidd took off his scarf and set it in his messenger bag.

The boys grabbed their chopsticks and dug in, scarfing down their meals at a breakneck pace. Sweat beaded down their foreheads as clouds of steam blew into their faces.

Benedict slurped several mouthfuls of noodles, not even bothering to sip the broth in between yet making time to swallow the toppings whole. Tank stopped to take bites of toppings in between his meal, the soft egg a welcome contrast from the al dente noodles. Kidd occasionally stopped to sip a spoonful of broth, but continued wolfing down both toppings and noodles in the same bites.

Once down to the broth, the boys set their chopsticks and spoons on their napkins. They looked at each other, nodding before grabbing their bowls by the bottom and chugging down the broth. With a hearty groan, they slammed the bowls on the table.

Taijo’s eyes widened as he poured a fresh ladle of broth into a clean bowl. “Well I’ll be a Bergmite in a desert. I haven’t seen anyone clear off ramen like that since Totakeke stopped here during his Pocket Camp tour!”

“That’s because it was really good ramen, sir!” Tank grinned as he folded his hooves together. “So, how much is it?”

“For three bowls?” Taijo said as he carefully added some toppings to the bowl. “That’d be fifteen hundred Poké Dollars.”

Tank looked back at his friends. After all of them nodded in approval, he whipped out his wallet and pulled out the exact amount of dollars.
“Thank you,” Taijo stuffed the dollars into a jar behind the kitchen, waving goodbye as his customers left for the night.

The boys stepped outside, immediately shivering from a blast of cool wind. Tank zipped up his jacket as he looked up to the skies. Gold lights flickered from the nearby buildings, twinkling in the dark skies amongst the infinite stars.

They wandered throughout the busy streets, watching other animals out and about on their evening. A small crowd formed near a street piano, some of the animals holding their phones out to film.

A dark brown sheepdog sat at the piano, his paws dancing across the keys as he howled to the music.

Benedict stopped in his tracks, awe in his eyes as he watched the musician play his intricate melody. Tank and Kidd turned around to join him, the three of them silent as the solo continued.

Once the song came to its end, the crowd warmly applauded as the sheepdog stood up to bow. He grabbed a wooden box from the piano and dug inside, pulling out a stack of business cards. Minutes passed as he handed one to everyone in the crowd, before heading back to the piano and starting another song.

Tank looked over the business card; Shep Young, singer-songwriter. Something inside told him to hold onto the business card, it might come in handy.

Kidd shivered as he tightly pulled his coat around him, “Are Hoenn nights always this cold?!”

“Usually, yeah,” Tank tried his best to assure him. “....You guys wanna head back to the Pokémon Center?”

Benedict shrugged his shoulders. “Eh, I don’t see why not,” he said as he placed his hands in his hoodie pockets.

The boys quietly headed back to Pokémon Center, caught off guard by its dimmed lights and lack of trainers.
Benedict pulled out his Poké Balls as he headed to the counter, silent as he handed them to Nurse Shizue.

Shizue gently smiled as she placed the balls on a tray, pushing the tray into the healing machine with a click. “They’ll be all healed up tomorrow, is that okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Benedict shrugged his shoulders before following his friends back to their room. To their surprise, the room was carefully taken care of, from the freshly made beds to a small white card placed on the coffee table.

After removing their shoes and placing them near the door, the boys sat back on their beds and rummaged through their bags.
Tank pulled out his sketchbook and some pencils, sticking out his tongue as he sketched a Lurantis and Tsareena fighting on a rooftop in the city. After finishing the sketch, he looked over his shoulder- Kidd had already fallen asleep, while Benedict was passed out with the covers over his entire body. Oh, cute.

After putting away his sketchbook, he got cozy under the covers, dozing off as another night passed outside.

Gentle rays of light crept past the curtains as a brand new sunrise glowed across the horizons.

Kidd woke up first, loudly yawning as he stretched in his spot. He sat up and grabbed his Rotom Phone from the counter, staying quiet as he scrolled through his favorite fanfic website. Oh, this looked good- a Rotom’s Charming Angels story translated into Kalosian! Half an hour passed as he read through the story, stopping once the sound of heavy groaning caught his attention. Ugh, right before Lopunny and Gardevoir were going to confess their feelings!

Benedict fluffed up his hair before tying it back into his distinct ponytail. “Oh, mornin’ Kidd!” he chirped out, slumping back onto the couch. “So what did y’all wanna do today?”

Kidd shrugged his shoulders as he bookmarked the story, turning off his phone afterwards. “Watch your gym battle, obviously.”

“An’ besides that?” Benedict crossed his arms as he raised an eyebrow.

Kidd’s stomach churned as he blanked out. Sure, running away from home was one thing, but what did he even plan to do in the first place? “....I’ll think about it,” he said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

Tank sprung up in his spot, throwing off the covers as he jumped out of bed. “Rise and shine, guys!” He jokingly saluted them both, lowering his hand as he saw them already out of bed. “Heh. My dad would say that a lot.”

A loud knock on the door caught the boys off guard. Benedict walked up to the door and swung it wide open. “Can I help y’all?”

“I don’t mean to be a bother,” Nurse Shizue folded her paws as she politely bowed. “But you boys were due to check out an hour ago. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, we’re fine. We’ll be out as soon as possible” Benedict told her before inching the door shut. He turned around and groaned, “Well, ‘parently Frank only got us a room for two nights, so now we gotta get out. Oh joy.”

“Imagine complaining about a free stay running out,” Kidd deadpanned as he gathered his belongings, stopping to fluff up his hair. “Can’t be me.”

“Kidd, you’re one to talk when it comes to complaints,” Tank snarked back, looking away as he threw his backpack on.

The boys headed out of the room, stopping in the lobby to grab another free breakfast.

“So, what time’s your gym battle?” Kidd asked as he poured some Moomoo milk into his coffee.

Benedict gulped down some wakame salad before setting down his chopsticks. “Five,” he sighed. “An’ I have no idea what the heck I wanna do before then! What time is it anyways?”

Tank sipped some green tea before pulling out his phone. “It’s nine-thirty, dude.”

“Aww come on,” Benedict groaned as he slumped in his spot. “What the heck am I s’posed to do between now an’ then? I mean, my Pokémon an’ I can train for that amount of time with some breaks in-between, sure, but what if it ain’t enough?”

Tank put his phone away before taking another sip of tea. “Dude, is this because of yesterday?”

Benedict looked away with an unhappy blush across his face. “Nah, I’m over it,” he waved it off, finishing off the last of his seaweed. “But I should get a move on if I wanna get back to trainin’!” He stood up, pushing some of his hair behind his shoulders before throwing his backpack onto his shoulders. “I’ll hit y’all up by four.” With a spark lit in his heart, he waved to his friends before heading out of the Pokémon Center.

Kidd looked over at Tank and asked, “Now what?”

“Well we could explore the city for a few hours,” Tank suggested. “I know we went to the historical district yesterday, but where else could we go…?”

“I did see another district nearby,” Kidd pointed out, pulling out his phone and zooming in on the map. “The pink district? Sounds cute, doesn’t it?”

“It does, yeah,” Tank nodded in agreement. “Then let’s go there today!”

The boys packed up their stuff and headed out, turning to the right. Pink and red neon lights framed the streetlamps, with colorful banners hanging from the top. Concert posters lined the windows, some showcasing singers and bands while others featured actresses in feathery dresses and fishnet galore. Several animals looked from the windows with puzzled expressions, some of them hastily closing their blinds.

“Hm, reminds me of the Magenta Plaza,” Kidd thought to himself. “Yet somehow less animals out and about.”

A white rabbit stood on the corner, reapplying her red lipstick as she pouted in front of a pink compact mirror. She closed the mirror and tucked it in her short dress, rolling up her fishnet stockings with another pout. “Hey! You two looking for a good time?”

Tank and Kidd looked at each other for a second. Hang on, what kind of good time is she talking about…?

“Tiffany!” A deep voice called out from one of the buildings. “Your break is almost over.”

“Let me talk to some clients first, damn!” Tiffany hollered back. She turned around to face the boys. “So, who wants to go first?”

Tank tilted his head as he asked, “Go first? For what? Visiting somewhere? Headed to a park or?” He glanced at her risqué outfit, his entire face burning red as he realized exactly what she was talking about. “Oh!” He leaned over and whispered to Kidd. “Kidd, I think she’s a streetwalker.”

“A streetwalker?” Kidd asked. “That’s another name for a pedestrian, right?”

“I prefer the term courtesan, thank you,” Tiffany corrected them. She squinted slightly as she pulled out a cigarette and ignited it. “And aren’t you boys a little young to be visiting the pink district?”

Kidd gulped as he looked around at his surroundings. All the X’s on the walls, silk and satin and leather and lace in the windows… mon dieu, the pink district isn’t a romantic getaway, it’s a pleasure district! “Y-yeah,” he squeaked out, his face flushed in embarrassment. “This was such a stupid idea…”

“No, dude, it’s fine,” Tank tried his best, assuring him with a firm pat to the shoulder. “Hey, I didn’t know this was what a pink district was about either.” His stomach growled afterwards, catching him off guard. “Hey, do you know a good place to eat around here?”

Kidd leaned over and whispered, “Make it a café. I’m not too hungry.”

“Well if you’re looking for the best café in Rustboro,” Tiffany turned around and pointed with her lit cigarette. “d’Amour’s, all the way.”

Tank and Kidd looked at each other for a moment, then nodded in agreement. They followed Tiffany inside, taking time to look at the interior. Pink and blue lamps swayed from the ceiling, while colorful framed photos lined the walls. Some of the photos showed dancers or musicians, while others depicted various celebrities.

Tiffany sat down behind the counter and asked, “So, what can I get you two?”

“Hmm…” Tank stuck his tongue out as he looked over the menu. So many good options, where to start… “An iced matcha latte sounds great! Kidd, what about you?”

Kidd tensed up in his spot, his ears twitching slightly as the tips glowed pink. “A café au lait, please.”

Tiffany pursed her lips as she wrote down their orders. After everything was paid for, she led them to an empty table near the windowsill. The boys grabbed their seats, setting their bags below the table. Minutes passed before Tiffany came back with their orders, setting a teal mug on one end and a lilac glass on the other. She scurried off to another table, hastily cleaning it for any potential customers to come by.

“This is a cute place at least,” Kidd said as he reached for his mug, letting his guard down as the warm ceramic lulled him to a peace he hadn’t felt in days.

“For sure, dude. So, what did you plan on doing with your journey, dude?” Tank asked before sipping from his drink. “I mean, besides running away from your parents.”

“Honestly, I’m not really sure,” Kidd looked down at his mug, sighing as he slowly stirred the drink. “Sure, I’m glad to be out of there, and I already cut ties with them both, so I won’t go back. But now what?”

The boys looked at each other for a split second, dark eyes gazing into each other as if time stopped just for the two of them.

“Well, this might sound pushy, and you don’t have to bring it up but,” Tank glanced back down at Kidd’s scarf, noting the silky fabric. How is he not getting heat stroke in that thing? “Was there anything big you wanted to do when you were younger?”

Kidd gulped as he briefly looked away, then looked back with an obvious blush across his cheeks. “Well, back in elementary school I wanted to be Kalos Royalty. Dancing on stage, sharing the spotlight with cute Pokémon, finally being someone who was worth it.” He stopped to flash a sad smile. “But there was a stallion who was caught cheating so they banned every guy from showcases. Not that it matters, they don’t even have them outside of Kalos.”

Tank reached out to place a hoof on Kidd’s wrist. “There is something like that here. Pokémon Contests!”

Kidd’s ears slightly twitched as he asked, “Pokémon….Contests?”

“Yeah!” Tank jolted up as he pointed right to his own face. “See, they’re like showcases but focus on the Pokémon instead of the trainer. That way if you get stage fright, your Pokémon will be fine instead! There’s a few types too; ones that test a Pokémon’s physical strength, or their intelligence, heck, there’s ones just to show off their badassery!”

Kidd thought to himself. He could imagine himself, tucked away in the spotlight as countless Pokémon performed on stage. Mudkip, glimmering under the stage as she used several moves to showcase both mind and matter! A few cute ones came to mind, like a Pikachu or a Skitty. “And where do these contests take place?”

“All over Hoenn, dude!” Tank cheered. “That way you can travel with us and have something to look forward to in the future! And trust me,” he stopped to wink. “Benedict and I will cheer like crazy for you!”

Kidd’s blush grew darker from the thought of someone actually supporting him. Hey, maybe they might give him flowers after performances, piling up on him as if he was a living bouquet. “Hey, speaking of him. Where do you think he’s at?”

“Probably in the middle of a Pokémon battle,” Tank assured him. “Trust me, he’ll text us for his gym battle.”

Meanwhile, on the other end of the city...

Benedict ran down the alley, long strands of hair flying in the wind as he tripped on his own feet. A black cloud of smoke exploded before his eyes, pushing him back several feet.

“What in the-,” Benedict thought to himself as he watched a dark blue silhouette run before him. He chased after the figure, recklessly sprinting through downtown Rustboro. Some animals yelled and shook their fists as he ran in front of them, while others scoffed or clutched their bags.
The figure stopped underneath a white birch tree, the branch’s shadows ominously looming over their body. They held a hand out to the skies, silent as a single green leaf fell onto their palm. With a gentle smile, they blew the leaf back into the air before turning around and removing their cloak and mask.

Benedict whipped out a Poké Ball, tossing it up and down in the air as he faced down the stranger. The other animal in question was a pink rabbit wearing navy blue clothing straight out of Fuchsia City.

“My name is Snake Kojima,” he said, pointing ahead with one hand. “You upset my bug friends. Prepare to die.”

“Bug friends…?” Benedict asked as he looked around the area. The only Pokémon he saw around him were a pair of Taillow nesting on a street post, a Makuhita waddling down the street with a paper bag in its hands, and a Pikachu sleeping on a bench.

“Yes, my friends in Petalburg Woods,” Snake clarified. “You’re the cocky little foreigner who threw a rock at them!”

Benedict raised an eyebrow. How did he even know about the incident in the first place unless- he was watching them?! “Hey, if I saw that Ariados I wouldn’t have thrown anythin’ at them!” He shouted as he pointed back at Snake.

“That’s not the point I’m trying to make,” Snake shook his head. “But there is a way we can settle this.” His eyes gleamed as he finally smiled, pulling out a black and blue Poké Ball. An aquatic blue light formed on the ground, dematerializing into an off-white nymph Pokémon with short brown claws.

Benedict whipped out a Poké Ball, striking a pose as he held it out in front of him. Torchic leaped in the air, cawing as he landed on the ground with a soft thud.

“Then let’s go!” Benedict shouted as he untied his ponytail. “Torchic, use Peck!”

“Acha!” Torchic chirped as he charged across the battlefield, white sparks of light trailing behind him as he headbutted Nincada into the air. He made a sharp turn before leaping into the air and jabbing Nincada in the underbelly.

Nincada winced as he backflipped in the air, using his claws to break his fall. He scraped his legs against the ground, loudly hissing as his antennae vibrated in their spot.

Snake smirked as he rolled up his sleeves. “You may know your way around finding your opponent’s weak points, but is it a match for our pocket sand? Nincada, Sand Attack!”

Nincada hissed as he used his forelegs to kick up a spiral of dusty beige dirt. The sand tornado barreled under the trees and through the air, swallowing Torchic whole and smothering him in rough and coarse sand.

Benedict gulped as he clutched his backpack strap. Yikes, Torchic couldn’t see a damn thing for miles, how was he supposed to attack the enemy! Wait….let’s go crazy! “Torchic! Use Ember, and throw it around!”

“Cha-mo!” Torchic chirped as he spun in his spot, spewing a circle of red and yellow embers forming a ring on the ground. He hopped up on one foot, using his other foot to kick the flames through the air.

While most of the embers extinguished into thin black smoke, the remaining ones exploded before Nincada’s face. He scuttled backwards, wriggling in his steps before stepping on one last ember. With a high-pitched screech, he leaped up in the air, scrambling to latch onto a tree before falling with a heavy thud. The impact of the battle was more than enough to keep him laying like a sack of potatoes.

Benedict cheered as he jumped up in his spot. “Great job, Torchic!” He held his arms out as Torchic leaped towards him, spinning in his spot as he held his Pokémon close to him. He stopped twirling once Torchic lept out and back flipped onto the ground.

Torchic chirped and wriggled in his spot before golden yellow flames engulfed him whole. A dark silhouette formed in the middle, its long arms clawing through the flames and shredding them like ribbons. A new Pokémon stood where the fires flickered, cawing to the skies as he flexed his claws. “Wa-kaaaaaa!”

Benedict’s eyes lit up in delight as the joyous implication hit him like a speeding train. Was this what every trainer felt when their Pokémon evolved?

Combusken ran up to him, chirping as he stopped to high-five Benedict with both hands. Trainer and Pokémon laughed together as they fistbumped each other at a rapid-fire pace.

Snake returned Nincada to his Net Ball before holding out his paw with an easy-going smile. “On behalf of my bug friends, you put up a good battle,” he said as he shook Benedict’s wing.

“Heh, thanks,” Benedict beamed in happiness as he fistbumped Snake. “So, what was this ‘bout the bug friends? Are y’all some sort of bug type whisperer?”

“Whisperer, no,” Snake shook his head. “But I’m very close to bug types. In fact, I was going to be the leader of Hoenn’s first Bug-type gym.”
“Well what stopped ya?” Benedict asked as he tilted his head to the right. Meanwhile, Combusken returned to his Poké Ball.

“Gym positions fill up quickly,” Snake said. “Heck, it took Fortree City only a week to get a new one after the last one died.”

“Somehow I ain’t surprised,” Benedict deadpanned. Wait, since when did a gym leader die on the spot? Eh, must’ve been before I got here. “They do the same thing back in Unova. Hey maybe y’all can jump in whenever another gym leader retires!”

“I wish it was that easy,” Snake chuckled to himself.

“Yeah,” Benedict whipped out his phone and checked the time- damnit, his gym battle was soon! “Hey, uh, I gotta go soon.”

“Already?” Snake asked, before shrugging his shoulders. “Well, we all have stuff to do somewhere else, I suppose.”

“Yep, I’m gettin’ my first gym badge!” Benedict cheered before throwing a fist in the air. “See y’all around!”

“Good luck,” Snake waved goodbye as he watched Benedict rush back towards the same alleyway, thinking to himself, “That kid’s going to go far.”

Minutes passed as Benedict kept his eyes peeled for the gym. Now where was that brick castle at...A-ha! He banged his fist against the door, stepping backwards once the door creaked open.

Tucker stood in the doorway, snorting in amusement as he did so. “Welcome back, Benedict. Didn’t think you’d come back so early.”

“Well Coco did tell me to meet ‘er at five,” Benedict pointed out. “So, is she in here?”

Tucker turned around and hollered into the building, “Hey! Coco! Your date’s here!”

Benedict’s face went red as he crossed his arms and looked away. Great, it was just like being in Sonata Junior High again.

Coco walked towards the door, stopping to clear off her bubble tea. “Goodness, it’s only four-thirty” she warmly chuckled, placing the empty cup in a recycling bin. “But I suppose it’s better to be early than late. However, Clay did ask us to meet him at five. Tucker, would you mind being the referee for this match?”

“I’d be glad to,” Tucker said as he placed a hoof on his chest. He headed back to the gym, picking up a duffle bag and throwing it over his shoulders.

Coco dug into her satchel and pulled out a lanyard with a fistful of keychains hiding a small silver key. Once Tucker headed back outside, Coco locked the door, pulled out a notebook, scribbled on an empty page, ripped it out and taped the page above the door handle. The paper read, “Gym closed for official match. Please come back tomorrow- Haniwa-san.”

She walked away from the gym, leading the way across the yellow brick roads. “Do you think we’ll have time to get some bubble tea?” Coco asked as she looked over at a flyer on the lamppost.

“No, but we can get some afterwards,” Tucker told her. “It’s already almost five.”

“Oh, I see.” Coco put her hands in her pockets as she led the way through the rest of the district. “I’m curious, Benedict,” she asked. “What inspired you to take on the Hoenn League?”

Benedict gulped as he looked up to the skies, briefly watching the fluffy clouds waft in their spot. “Huh, this is the first time someone actually asked me about it! I haven’t gone far with this plan. What the heck do I say to her?!” He thought to himself, his heart beating in anticipation. “Wait, I think she’ll believe the truth.”

“Well my dad’s off takin’ on a tournament in Galar,” he explained, running a wing through his hair. “An’ he said I was holdin’ him back, so I figured I’d take on the league to show ‘im wrong!”

Coco gently smiled as she continued to lead the way, her heartbeat steady as rustling trees replaced brick buildings. “Surely that can’t be the only reason?” she chuckled. “What does it mean to prove him wrong, exactly?”

Benedict gulped as a stray leaf fell atop his head, his stomach churning with each step. “I guess…,” he took a short breath in before looking ahead with a new resolve. “Showin’ that I can handle anythin’ the Hoenn League throws at me!”

“Quite the interesting answer,” Coco noted as she strolled down the crosswalk, pulling her hands out of her pockets as the park welcomed her in.

Benedict, Tucker and Coco walked through a leafy green arch. Pink and red roses fluttered in the slow wind, their petals gently swaying by the second. Both trainers walked across the beaten sand path, leading towards a vast sandlot.

Some animals stopped to watch the duo, while others packed up their belongings and trailed behind them. Several more bystanders pulled out cameras and smartphones, even more whispering to each other as they followed them through the park.

“Another gym battle? That’s the fourth one this week!” “Just watch. I bet she’s gonna curbstomp him and send him back to where he came from.”

The crowd gathered near an empty sandlot. Some animals pulled out folding chairs, while others laid out picnic blankets on the grass. Kidd and Tank sat at a wooden picnic table, waving to Benedict in the distance.

A shiny bronze statue stood in the middle of the sandlot, depicting a middle-aged tortoise holding up a Seedot in both hands. Its plaque read, “Cornimer Park: Funded by Mayor Tortimer Southwick of Mauville City.”

“Hey, glad you could all make it on time!” Clay squeaked out, standing on his tiptoes. In his paws, he held a silver video camera.

“Likewise,” Coco said as she bowed to him. She walked towards the sandlot, standing on one end as Benedict headed to the other.

Clay scurried towards the crowd, standing on the picnic table as he turned the camera on. He squinted as he zoomed in on the battlefield.
Tucker stood on the statue’s edge, his fur rustling in the wind as he pulled out a pair of flags. He held out each flag and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Today’s match is Coco Haniwa of Rustboro City versus Benedict Sussex of Castelia City. Both challengers may use two Pokémon, and are allowed to freely switch between Pokémon. You may release your Pokémon now!”

“Giorno. Let’s rock and roll,” Coco’s eyes gleamed as she held her Poké Ball in both hands. The ball shook in its spot, stopping as a red light popped out of another Poké Ball.

A quadruped dinosaur Pokémon stood in front of her trainer, her silver hide faintly glowing as she arched her head and roared.

Coco put away her Poké Ball before placing her hands on her hips. “My goodness, Cherie, you want to battle instead of Giorno?” she asked.
“Ko-do!” Cherie chirped as she bobbed her head up and down.

“An Aron, huh? Oh this should be fun!” Benedict stepped backwards and threw his Poké Ball like he was a baseball pitcher. His ponytail came undone as he shouted, “Combusken! Show ‘em whatcha got!”

“WaKAAAA!” Combusken cried out as he shadow-boxed the air, his claws shining under the sunset.

“May this battle begin!” Tucker hollered as he spun his flags in his spot.

Coco tapped the side of her head before pointing ahead and commanding, “Cherie, use Rock Polish!”

Cherie roared as she tucked her head in and clawed at the dirt. Her metallic armor glowed a pearly white as she scraped faster against the dirt, raring for her next attack.

“Combusken!” Benedict shouted as he threw a fist in the air. “Throw ‘er guard off with Sand Attack!”

Combusken cawed as he sharpened his claws, hopping up on one leg as he kicked up a rapid whirlwind of sand. His glare sharpened as he used his foot to push the tornado across the battlefield.

Coco shook her head as she pointed ahead and shouted, “Smother it with Mud Slap!”

Cherie dug her front legs into the earth, roaring as she kicked up a storm of frothy brown mud. The mud storm splattered against the sand tornado, smothering it into the ground.

Benedict glanced down at the mud, snapping his fingers as a great idea came to mind. “Combusken!” He pointed at the ground. “Use Double Kick to throw it back!”

Combusken squawked and sharpened his claws, glaring as he dragged his right foot through the dirt. With two rapid-fire kicks, he leaped in the air and hurled the soil into Cherie’s face.

Cherie closed her eyes as she skidded across the dirt, planting her feet into the soil. She shook her head clear, clumps of dirt flinging through the air as she opened her eyes and furiously glared.

“Use Ember!” Benedict yelled as he threw a fist in the air.

Combusken opened his beak as he shot a searing red fireball into the air. He leaped above the fireball and rapid-punched its surface, sweat beading down the side of his head as the fireball exploded into a meteor shower set ablaze.

The embers shot through the skies, marigold orange streaks trailing behind as the flames exploded against the battleground. Deep craters formed in the ground, slowly filling with flickering sparks of carmine red flames.

Cherie ran across the ground, narrowly avoiding every crater until she stopped in her tracks. A cluster of fireballs fell from the skies, exploding into tiny embers as they pushed her back several feet. She rolled across the field, closing her eyes as she tumbled into an empty crater.
The flames distinguished themselves as Combusken landed back on the ground. He heaved in his spot as his arms rested at his side.
Tucker held out his flag and twirled it as he announced, “Cherie the Aron is unable to battle!”

Most of the crowd booed in disapproval, scowling as some of them shook half-empty cans in the air. Kidd and Tank looked at each other with uncertainty, both of them cringing as someone poured beer on their heads. Sheesh, did gym battles always attract hooligans?!

“Is this normal?” Benedict asked as he turned to glare at the crowd.

“Pay no attention to them,” Coco said as she waved them off. “Gym battles tend to bring out the worst in some animals. Now, Outlandos," She hollered as she held out her last Poké Ball, her voice booming across the entire park, "destiny is our rising sun, so let’s make our final stand!"

A red light zigzagged out of the Poké Ball, materializing into a blue angular rocky Pokémon. He turned in his spot, his sharp nose facing his opponent.

Benedict flashed a confident grin as he pointed ahead, “If that’s the case, then Combusken an’ I have got this! Right, buddy?”

Combusken crossed his arms and shook his head in disagreement, closing his eyes. “Yamo,” he chirped out, beads of sweat rolling down his feathers.

Benedict facepalmed. “Aw, come on Combusken, y’all were on a roll!” He groaned in disappointment, but knew that there’d always be more battles ahead. “But since y’all insist,” He returned Combusken to his Poké Ball, flashing a confident grin as he tossed another one in the air. “Alright Ralts, let’s show everyone in Rustboro what you’ve got!”

“Raruuuu,” Ralts chirped out as he floated onto the ground, gracefully holding out his arms to break his fall.

Coco placed a hand on her hips as she pointed ahead, “Outlandos, use Sandstorm!”

Outlandos’ nose glowed orange as he held his arms to the skies. A spiraling tornado of cloudy brown dust formed above him, widening by the second as it engulfed the entire battlefield. A faint red aura glowed from his entire body, deflecting all dust and soil from his surroundings.
Ralts coughed as he bobbed and weaved in his spot, keeping his eyes peeled for any debris flying his way.

Benedict shouted as he pointed ahead, “Ralts! Confusion!”

“Raru!” Ralts yipped as he held out both his hands. His horns and palms glowed fuchsia pink as he fired a beam of magenta energy hoops.
Outlandos flinched as the hoops pushed him back, closing his eyes as he skidded against the earth. He planted his feet deeper into the ground, using his arms to block the remaining hoops.

“Sheesh, y’all didn’t land a hit there, buddy,” Benedict pointed out. “Everythin’ good, Ralts?”

Ralts nodded once as he turned to face his trainer, then faced back his trainer.

Coco wagged a finger and tisked. “You have a lot to learn, Benedict!” She taunted him with another wag. “You may have been wondering why I had dear Outlandos use Sandstorm, right?” Before Benedict could even answer, Coco’s eyes gleamed as she formed an X with her arms. “That’s my rock-solid strategy, as Pokémon like Outlandos do best in sandstorms. And all thanks to the power of Sand Force.”

“Well, Ralts an’ I will see ‘bout that!” Benedict shouted as his hair loosely flapped in the wind behind him. “Alright, let’s scare ‘im off with a Disarmin’ Voice!”

Ralts saluted his trainer before flipping through the air. He took a deep breath in and screamed, launching a beam of pastel pink soundwaves from his mouth. The soundwaves zigzagged as they parted the sandstorm, exploding into a flurry of pink and white hearts and musical notes.
“Outlandos!” Coco commanded. “Thunder Wave!”

“NoZU!” Outlandos cried out as his body glowed electric blue. From his nose, he fired a ray of electric golden beams. The beams sparked and crackled as they wrapped themselves around Ralts, trapping him in his spot as they formed an electric dome.

Ralts winced as the sparks flickered against his skin, flickering through his system as he slowly breathed in and out.

Outlandos chuckled as he looked down at his opponent, stomping twice to taunt him. Few Pokémon can handle my paralysis with ease, little fae!

Well let me show you what this fae has up his sleeves! Ralts wiped his mouth with his forearm before pointing ahead. His left hand and both horns glowed cadmium yellow as several rays of electricity wrapped around his forearms. Like a cowboy wrangling a wild Bouffalant, Ralts lassoed his arm in the air and threw his electric ropes through the barrier.

Outlandos leaned forward as the ropes wrapped around his feet, pulling him closer to his opponent. The electricity formed a barricade around him, stopping him from even turning in his spot.

“How the heck did Ralts do that?!” Benedict thought to himself as he tilted his head to the left.

Coco clapped her hands twice, “I must say, this is a creative way to utilize your Ralts’ Synchronize, Benedict. But you and Ralts just waltzed into our trap. Outlandos, Rock Tomb!”

Outlandos droned as he threw his hands back. A silver ball of energy formed behind his back, growing bigger with each second. The crystallized ball hurled through the air, slamming into the ground and exploding into platinum dust. A row of dark brown boulders emerged from the surface, forming a circular trap around Ralts.

These rocks look sharp, but we’re sharper! Benedict jumped up as he threw a fist in the air and yelled, “Ralts! Magical Leaf!”

Ralts roared as he leaped above the ring of rocks, his horns and hands glowing chartreuse green as he glared down at the battlefield. He howled as he blasted a shower of glowing green orbs onto the field, clearing away the sandstorm.

One by one, the orbs exploded into swirling tornadoes of prismatic leaves. The tornadoes zigzagged across the battlefield before combining into one, swallowing Outlandos whole and thrashing him back and forth before dissolving into glimmering pink dust.
Outlandos closed his eyes as he passed out on the ground, his arms splayed out against the cool earth.

Tucker counted to three before holding out a flag to his right side. “Outlandos the Nosepass is unable to battle!”

He set the flag down and held up the other one. “And with no Pokémon left on Coco’s side, victory goes to Benedict Sussex!”

The park went silent. Tension hung like a chandelier in a ballroom, growing heavy with the setting sun.

Coco gently smiled as she returned Outlandos to his Poké Ball. “A fantastic job, Outlandos. Let’s call it a night,” she whispered before clipping the ball to her waist.

The crowd, however, refused to believe it. This arrogant brat had the nerve to waltz in from Unova, declare that he’s taking on Apollo, and NOW he gets a gym badge?! It was an outrage! Some of the crowd members threw up their hands in disbelief, while others booed and hurled out insults. Clay hastily turned off the camera before things could get too ugly.

Benedict flinched in his spot, frowning as he returned Ralts to his ball.

Coco facepalmed before walking across the park. “Don’t mind them, Benedict,” she assured him. “Some animals take Gym Battles a little too seriously.”

One of the crowd members, a red and beige gorilla, stood up and threw a can through the air.

“What the hell?!” Benedict flinched as the can smacked the side of his head, leaving a large bruise under his hair. He winced as he reached up to touch his injury, shuddering from how it throbbed under his wing.

Coco scowled as she kneeled down to pick up the can, crushing it in her paw. Her lower eyelids twitched as she roared, “Which one of you punks threw this?!?!”

The crowd went silent. Some members inched away from the group while others stiffened in their spot like wild Sudowoodo.

“If you can’t handle watching me lose to an opponent, then don’t bother coming back to my gym battles!” She pointed at the group of animals. “You should be grateful to see someone want to challenge the Pokémon League for crying out loud, but instead, you’re acting like a bunch of hooligans.”

Her stone cold glare pierced through the gathering, forcing most of them to split up and walk away from the park. Tank and Kidd looked at each other before walking up to their friend.

“I believe this is in order,” Coco reached into her satchel and pulled out a dark brown box with white flowers on the lid. She opened the box and grabbed something, hiding it in her paws before closing the box and putting it back in her bag. “One Stone Badge to commemorate your victory!”

Benedict held out his wings as Coco handed him something. He blinked before looking down at the item; a glimmering gold and bronze badge shaped like a diamond. “Thank you so much!” he chirped. His heart skipped a beat as he rotated the badge in its spot. One step closer to Apollo, he thought to himself as he carefully put his badge in his case.

Coco clasped her paws together before bowing, “I look forward to seeing you battle more gym leaders.”

“An’ I’m lookin’ forward to battlin’ them all!” Benedict beamed in joy as he put the case away.

An ear-piercing scream pierced through the air, shaking the trees in their spot. “Well, I’d love to stay longer, boys, but,” Coco looked over her shoulder. “We’ve got business to take care of.”

Coco panted as she ran across the park, sternly looking ahead as she looked for the cause of commotion. Clay and Tucker chased after her, panting as they followed her like otaku after a hit idol singer. With each passing step, rocky buildings and faded street lights replaced leafy trees and the smell of freshly cut grass.

She skidded in front of the Hawkwind Corp, gasping in surprise.

A yellow hamster kneeled on the brick path, wheezing as he coughed into his elbow. Dried red blood was smeared under his nose, while several rips and tears lined the sleeves of his white lab coat. Several items were strewn across the ground, including a wallet with a green wormhole pattern, a black laptop covered with anime stickers, and a blue and white lanyard with anime keychains. Coco recognized him before– Graham Hodgson, a web developer from Hawkwind’s tech department.

“Oh, thank goodness you came by, Coco,” Graham sighed in relief, his nose twitching as he wiped off more blood.

Coco kneeled down to help pick up his belongings, “What happened?” she asked as she handed him his wallet.

He took his wallet and opened it– thank goodness, nothing got stolen– before tucking it in his pocket. “Oh it’s just awful!” He squeaked out, shuddering as he took the rest of his belongings. “This delinquent punched me in the face, threw me on the ground and stole my briefcase!”
“A delinquent?” Coco asked as she helped him back on his feet. “What did they look like?”

Graham sniffed the air before shaking his head clear. “Let’s see here…” he snapped his fingers before telling her. “Oh, she was a white deer, with pink hair and a purple sailor uniform.”

“A purple sailor uniform? Sounds like Pastel to me,” Tucker noted, whispering to Clay. “I’ve been seeing a few of them around here, do you think they have a base in Rustboro City?”

Clay shook his head in disapproval. “No, but I did see a few flyers with their logo on it.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for her,” Coco assured him. “Promise.”

Meanwhile, inside the Rusturf Tunnel…

An ivory white deer heaved and panted as she ducked behind a towering stalagmite, the craggy surface guarding her from the world. She sat down and placed the briefcase in her lap, squinting as she fiddled with the combination lock. Oy vey, Diana, what was that one damned Pokémon the general public associated with everything Hawkwind…. A-ha! She scrolled the numbers up and down, stopping once it read two two seven.

The briefcase gently clicked as it popped open, revealing its contents: a black and white thumb drive, a beige folder stuffed to the brim with classified documents.
 
Cornimer Park was always peaceful at night, thanks to its unofficial closing after dark. The boys were seated at a park table, sitting down on one end as Tank set up his Rotom Phone for a call. He tapped his hoof against the screen, crossing his arms as he waited for the other party to pick up.

Professor Nook yawned as he scratched at his chin, picking up a green and white mug and sipping from it. Ahhh, warm camomile after a long day hit the spot. “Oh, good evening boys!” He greeted them. “How’s Rustboro been treating you, hmm?”

“It’s alright,” Kidd sighed, carelessly shrugging his shoulders as he placed his chin on his hooves. “Not the worst place I’ve been to.”

“It’s been great!” Tank waved to the camera, flashing a cheeky grin with a gleam in his eyes. “We got the best tonkotsu ramen, visited some of the city’s districts-”

Benedict whipped out his badge case as he pulled out his Stone Badge. “An’ I got my first badge!”

“Wonderful to hear, boys,” Tom Nook said as he set down his mug. “Say, Tank, I have a favor to ask of you if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Sure, what is it?” Tank asked as he slightly adjusted the camera, bouncing one of his legs under the table.

“It’s quite simple,” Nook explained, talking with his hands as he did so. “A colleague of mine was curious about the Rusturf Tunnel and wanted to compare notes with their studies on Mt. Coronet. Could you go in here and report to me what kind of Pokémon live there? You don’t need to catch one, but it would be quite nice, yes yes.”

“You can count on me, Professor Nook!” Tank said as he pointed to himself, beaming in pure confidence.

“Isn’t it getting late though?” Kidd pointed out, looking up at the vast dark sky with uncertainty.

“Well you don’t have to rush yourselves, boys,” Tom Nook warmly chuckled. “And I’m sure you won’t have any trouble tonight, hmm? Take good care.”

Nook hung up, the screen turning black after he did so.

Tank picked up his Rotom Phone and lowered the brightness, immediately feeling determined after the short conversation. “What do you guys say we go to Route 116?” he asked.

Benedict and Kidd frowned at each other. While the idea of running around this late at night sounded fun on paper, there was always a possibility of dangerous wild Pokémon roaming this late.

“I dunno,” Benedict shrugged his shoulders. “If we get y’all’s research done fast enough, can we find a place to crash?”

Tank snorted in laughter, “Of course we can, dude!”

The boys got up from the table, throwing on their bags before setting out for the evening.

With each step, cedar trees and lush green grass replaced skyscrapers and cobblestone paths. Brief flickers of white stars dotted the vast dark skies, several stars seemingly changing colors yet staying in their spot. An eclipse of wild Dustox fluttered in the air, gathering near a patch of wildflowers and sipping sweet nectar. A plague of Nincada clung to the trees, silent as they slumbered away.

Tank led the way across Route 116, looking ahead in determination. Benedict and Kidd trailed behind him, stepping into a field of thick teal greenery. The only thing anyone could hear was the sound of their own rustling footsteps.

Minutes passed as the group wandered through the grass, the bristling of thick foliage scratching against their clothing with each step. Thick grey clouds drifted away to reveal the comforting golden glow of the moon. Kidd stopped to look up, lulled to peace by its aura. Maybe being in Hoenn wasn’t so bad after all! Unfortunately, the clouds drifted yet again, concealing their final glimpse of the moon.

After finally escaping the grass, the boys stepped out into the open, shivering from a strong blast of cool wind. All they could see for miles were countless trees covered in thick green leaves, the faint silhouettes of wild bug Pokémon sleeping between the branches, and a terracotta brown hill in the faint distance.

Tank stopped to whip out his phone, sticking out his tongue as he scrolled through the map. “Rusturf Tunnel should be close, guys!” He turned around and hollered, waving as he still held onto his phone. The jingle of his phone charm rang through the air with each shake.

Kidd frowned as he wiped some dust off his boots. “It better be,” he sighed, shaking his head clear before following him down the trail.

Benedict chased after the two of them, occasionally stopping to look to his left. A strange glowing gold light caught his attention, a break from the monotonous darkness. Something inside told him that it was a sign of something good to come, but could also be a sign of more ominous matters. Or maybe it was just a wild Pokémon!

The boys stopped in front of a tunnel, nodding at each other before going inside.

Muggy air clogged the entire cave, followed by the heavy smell of rust and lingering mildew. Towering copper stalactites hung from the ceiling, quiet as individual drops of water fell from the shafts. Broken planks of wood littered the ground, joined by Poké Balls shards and long-dead lanterns with glass bulbs shattered into pieces.

Tank frowned as he looked around the area. All this stuff left behind, and yet no wild Pokémon?! Surely they were asleep right now, but wouldn’t there be at least one nocturnal species wandering around?!

A strange sound echoed from the other end of the cave. Was that...shuffling papers? He ran through the cave, the shuffling papers growing louder with each step. A glimpse of purple caught his attention; not just any purple, but a certain shade worn by no other than...

Oh this is just my luck!” Diana tensed up as she saw the boys step closer, her fur bristling from both anxiety and the temperature. “If you think I’m going to cough up the suitcase to any of you!” She barked out, blocking herself with her left arm before pointing ahead with her right arm. “Oh, you’ve got another thing coming!”

“Huh? What suitcase?” Tank asked, before looking back down. “Oh! Have you seen any wild Pokémon around here?”

“N-no?!” Diana squinted as she scrambled to hastily hide the suitcase behind a boulder. “You’re not here to track me down?!”

“Track you down? For what?!” Tank asked before looking back at her uniform. Oh!

Diana’s ears burned red as she shouted, “Don’t play dumb with me! You’re one of those Hawkwind interns, aren’t you! Tell your friends that I’m not giving this back!”

Kidd leaned over and whispered, “Since when did we work for the Hawkwinds?”

“Since apparently now,” Benedict snarked back, resisting the urge to burst into laughter.

“I heard that, you two! You wouldn’t last twelve hours with Pastel!” Diana yelled at the top of her lungs, unintentionally dropping the suitcase next to her. “You, with the white horns. Let’s duel!” She held out her Poké Ball in front of her, placing her other hoof on her hip.

A white light flashed out of the ball, forming into an elegant Goldeen with a pretty billowing tail. She fluttered in her spot, swaying left and right like a windsock during Golden Week.

Benedict jumped up as he dug into his backpack, frowning as Tank blocked him off. “Aw come on, can’t I join y’all?”

“Sorry,” Tank whispered to him. “She only said to battle me. But next time you can join me!”

"Hey!" Diana hollered as she stamped one of her feet against the ground. "Are you gonna send out a Pokémon, or are you gonna pull a Wimpod on me?!"

“Of course I will! Come on out, Treecko!” Tank grinned as he pulled out a Poké Ball, tossing it in the air before effortlessly catching it in one hoof.

Treecko popped out of the ball, front flipping in the air before nimbly landing on both feet. His eyes gleamed as he stared down his opponent, pointing at her like a cowboy aiming his pistols.

Diana clapped her hooves together before pointing upwards, yelling as she flipped up her bangs. “Goldeen, Horn Attack!”

Goldeen chirped as she zigzagged across the air, her horn glowing porcelain white. She ducked her head and flung Treecko into the air, hurling him against the ceiling.

Treecko grabbed onto the cragged surface, his claws pressing against the surface like suction cups as his tail swayed in its spot.
Tank glanced around at the battlefield; hey wait, there was an idea for an ambush! “Treecko, use Pound!”

“Kimo-ri!” Treecko cried out as he let go of the ceiling, flipping through the air before smacking Goldeen with his tail. He nimbly landed on his feet, carefully breaking his balance with his arms spread out. A cloud of dust formed behind him, blowing across the soil like tumbleweeds.

“Goldeen!” Diana shouted as she stepped backwards. “Bubble Beam!”

With another chirp, Goldeen threw herself into the air, pursing her lips as a thin stream of blue water swirled around her horn. She opened her mouth and fired a ray of multicolored bubbles.

Treecko bent backwards as he narrowly dodged the bubble barrage, his tail brushing against the ground. Each bubble popped against the ground, dampening the soil with every splash.

Tank shouted as he pointed ahead, “Treecko! Absorb!”

“Kimoriiiii!” Treecko hissed as he hopped up in his spot, jumping up in the air before latching his claws into Goldeen’s back. His hands glowed fire red, occasionally flashing leaf green, as he drained Goldeen’s energy.

Goldeen pursed her lips and closed her eyes as she attempted to shake Treecko off of her, flailing her tail like a whip.

Treecko latched on tighter, internally bracing himself to be bucked off like a Breloom on a Tauros on the Paldean plains. He swayed with the rhythm of Goldeen's erratic thrashing, squinting his eyes before Goldeen flung him off with her tail fin. "KiMO!" Treecko landed on all fours, turning around and sharply glaring down his opponent.

Goldeen panted slowly as her dorsal and tail fins fluttered to the beat of her heart, weary in her eyes by the second. She fell to the ground with a light thud, eyes shut as she let herself take the defeat in stride.

Diana grimaced as she returned Goldeen to her ball, shivering in defeat before stuffing the Love Ball in her pants pocket. "Judy's gonna be real happy when she hears about this," she muttered to herself, before looking back at the boys. "Do you really want this suitcase back?"

Tank picked up Treecko in his arms before walking closer to Diana. "I wasn't here for it in the first place, but it'd be nice if you gave it to us," he asked. "After all, I do deserve something for beating you!"

"Fine," Diana huffed as she closet it and dropped it at his feet. "But if I were you, I'd quit Hawkwind and join Pastel instead. Great pay, free Pokémon for every member," she leaned in to whisper. "And Miss Judy is quite charismatic." She flipped her sailor collar before turning around. "Seriously, consider it." She waved goodbye before sprinting out of the tunnel, leaving the boys to themselves.

Tank returned Treecko to his Poké Ball before picking up the briefcase. Huh, much lighter than expected. Maybe she took off with what was inside it..

Kidd yawned as he pulled out his Rotom Phone, frowning to himself. Sacre bleu, how was it already ten-thirty? "Tank, are we going to be in this tunnel any longer?" he asked. "It's cutting into my sleep."

"Aw come on, Kidd, y'all can tough it out," Benedict shrugged his shoulders before nudging him with his elbow. "And 'sides, I like the idea of explorin' this tunnel all night!"

"No way, you two," Tank shook his head, showing them the suitcase. "We'll get out of here, find a place to stay for the night, then we can return this somehow!"

"Yea, but didn't y'all need to catch a 'mon for Professor Nook?" Benedict pointed out.

Tank tensed up in his spot. "Oh, right," he gulped before rubbing the back of his neck. "No, wait, he told me to report about the Pokémon here, not catch one! But I don't see any around here..." he shook his head clear. "No need to worry!" He cheered before leading the way out of the tunnel, following the same tracks with a pep in his step.

Benedict and Kidd trailed behind him, silent with each passing step. Twenty minutes passed before the group stopped before the same field from earlier. Thick patches of grass rustled in their spot, cool breeze running through everyone's hair. The wind blew some luck in their direction, gently parting the grass to reveal a brief glimpse of goldenrod yellow light.

"Could that be...?" Kidd asked as he watched the light flash in its spot. Finally, a chance to rest was nearing him!

The boys chased after the flickering orb, panting with each tree they passed. Heavy rustling sounds echoed behind them, quieting down the further they went ahead. The light glowed brighter with each step, joined by the steady buzz of consistent electricity.

Several minutes passed before the boys stumbled in their tracks. The light in question came from black lantern hanging from a wooden pole. Behind the lantern was a lone wood cabin, its cream and brown exterior worn down from years of harsh weather. Thick black smoke billowed from the singular chimney, faintly smelling of wood and kerosene. Several lights were on inside, while the doorknob rattled in its spot.

The door creaked open, revealing one of its inhabitants. An orange frog stood in the doorway, yawning as he scratched the ends of his mustache. His attire was usual for a blue-collar Hoennian; a grey flannel shirt, baggy blue tobi pants, and black tabi socks.

“Can’t a guy get some damned sleep without something running around outside,” he muttered to himself before shaking his head clear. A voice inside yelled, “Croque! Close the damn door or I’ll lock you out!”

“Give me a sec, alright, Rocco?!” Croque hollered back. He muttered under his breath, “What a smartass.”

The boys slowly backed away, occasionally looking behind them for any stray rocks or roots. Something about his scowling demeanor aired an intimidating aura, expected for someone tucked away in the woods.

Croque sighed as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, rummaging for a pack of Golden Golbat. “You kids are looking for a place to stay, aren’t you?”

“How’d you know, sir?” Tank asked as he held up his hooves. Benedict and Kidd looked at each other in silence, uncertain on what to say. Best to let Tank do the talking, after all.

“We get a lot of trainers around here,” Croque explained as he watched the boys head towards the porch. NOW how am I supposed to light one up?! “Of course, it’s been slowing down since my boss shut down the tunnel's construction.”

He opened the door, quiet as the boys entered the cabin and took off their shoes for the night. The living room, despite its minimal furniture, was rather cozy. A brown and white incense burner sat atop the kotatsu, emitting a thin wisp of delicate grey smoke. Cinnamon and sandalwood filled the air, masking the scent of pine and dust.

A teal hippopotamus walked away from the kitchen, smoothing down his navy blue jinbei. “Croque, what did I tell you about inviting random animals to the cabin?”

“It’s fine, Rocco, they’re just trainers,” Croque assured him. “And besides, do you see any uniforms on them?”

Rocco squinted for a minute before he whispered, “You’re right. Besides, they don’t look like the types of animals that Pastel or Cottage punks recruit.” He headed to one of the rooms, closing the door before digging into the closet and setting up the guest room.

Croque nodded before asking the boys, “So what were you kids even doing out on Route 116 so late? Was there something that important in Verdanturf Town that couldn’t wait ‘til the next morning?”

Tank shook his head no as he sat down at the kotatsu, “Professor Nook just sent me to research Pokémon in the tunnel.” He slumped down and sighed, “But I couldn’t find any.”

“Well it’s honestly for the better,” Croque shook his head before folding his hands on the kotatsu. “Let me tell ya, kid, you do not want to screw around in the Rusturf Tunnel. You could break an ankle, get lost for hours without any way to reach for help" his face darkened from somber. "Or worse, end up in the pit like some of our friends.”

Benedict and Kidd leaned closer to the kotatsu out of curiosity, sharing a brief glance before watching Croque get up and pick up a framed photograph.

Croque sat back and set the photograph on the table's surface, turning it around so the boys could get a better look. The backdrop looked to be Rusturf Tunnel, albeit with construction signs and yellow tape and marching Machop atop the tunnel. Right in the middle were Croque and Rocco, dressed in tobi shokunin uniforms, standing amongst four uniformed animals; a blue bird wearing a straw hat, a green chicken with a red comb, a purple bear with a large unibrow, and a brown cat with thick lips and wide orange eyebrows.

“That there’s Flash Chiru, Hank Partridge, Tono Dozer, and Tosa Noraneko,” Croque explained as he pointed at each animal. "Some of the best men Rocco and I worked with. Day in and day out we’d work away, clearing out the tunnel like clockwork. But one day, four years ago, we heard an explosion below us, and knew we had to get out of there.” He sighed in bitterness, his heart heavy from just thinking about that dreaded day. “Even though we tried to pull them up.. The rope broke anyways, and all we could do was watch them fall to their doom."

"That's just terrible," Tank sunk in his spot as his heartbeat slowed down. Come to think of it, wouldn't a mining accident like this be all over the region's news? How come this was the first time he had heard of this disaster? Sure, this was someone he had just met, but something doesn't sound right...

"Yeah, I was one of the lucky ones," Croque scoffed. "And it gets better. The higher-ups at Hawkwind didn't even close the tunnel until last year. You'd think you'd do more with workers and Pokémon blood on your hands, close things off, pay for the funerals, compensate their families, even commemorate a damn plaque in their honor." He stopped to pull out a cigarette, lighting up before taking a long drag. "But no, that would mean they have to be responsible for something that damages their reputation. And the Hoenn region can't have-"

The bedroom door creaked open, stopping as Rocco poked his head out of the frame. "Guest room's ready!" He hollered before heading to the next room.

"Thanks," Croque yelled back, finishing his cigarette before smashing its end against the ashtray. "I know it's a lot to take in, boys, but you'll be thankful you heard it from a guy like me. Night," He got up from the kotatsu, scurrying over to a third room before folding the door shut.

The boys got up from the kotatsu, carrying their bags over to the guest room. Tank carefully opened the door, setting his backpack down on the floor. For what it's worth, the guest room was perfectly comfortable. Red and brown autumnal leaves covered the walls, accompanied by dark green tatami and simple lanterns hanging from the ceiling. A trio of futon laid on the ground, their duvets soft to the touch and faintly smelling of cedarwood and cardamom. The boys each crawled into a futon, throwing the covers over themselves as they looked away from each other. Without another word, they drifted off to sleep, peacefully awaiting a new day to come.

Meanwhile, in the heart of Rustboro City…

A lone eagle wandered down an empty alleyway, his midnight black leather duster and short white feathers rustling with the breeze. The thick soles of his boots pressed against the cragged brick roads, the sound only joined by whistling wind.

He glanced over his shoulders before entering a worn-down door with a small rainbow sticker. Hard rock music played through the speakers, the crunchy guitar and drums crackling by the second. With few eyes laying upon him, he opened his trench-coat, revealing his typical outfit of choice; a cropped olive-green shirt, white suspenders hanging from his belt, and tight black leather pants with shiny purple thigh-high boots.

“And what kind of whiskey would you like tonight, Champion?” asked the bartender, a skinny brown mole with a dark beard.

“Bourbon on the rocks,” Apollo said as he sat at the bar, watching as the bartender carefully poured his drink into a tall clear glass. “And make it double, Donny.”

The bartender gasped as he scrambled to add another shot. This wasn’t his usual! “Care to tell me what happened?” Don Resetti asked as he handed him the glass.

Apollo’s eyes went dark as he threw his head back and chugged his drink of choice. Pieces of ice rattled in their spot as he set the glass back down, groaning in refreshment from the smooth cold beverage.

“Good grief, where do I start,” Apollo sighed in frustration. “I was invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Slateport City to commemorate the museum’s recent expansion. That part went smoothly, but,” He shook his head. “Not only did my father skip the ceremony that he funded himself, he had the audacity to complain about me showing up in his place."

Resetti glanced to the side, quietly fixing another bourbon on the rocks. He slid the drink across the table, crossing his arms across his body. "Do you know why he skipped it?"

Apollo shook his head. "If I did, I wouldn't be getting a double," he deadpanned, softening upon seeing Resetti flinch in his spot. "Sorry, there's just been a lot on my mind."

Don Resetti solemnly nodded in understanding. "Being the Champion's not easy, is it?"

"Of course it isn't," Apollo groaned. "Sure, when I was fifteen it was a lot easier, but I suppose everything is at that age." He pulled out his wallet and paid for the drinks. "Donny. Thanks for hearing me out."

"It's no problem, Apollo," Resetti assured him. "Feel free to come back whenever!"

Apollo waved to him, before heading back outside into the alleyway. His body tensed up, even with the drink that was supposed to lull his worries. What if father saw him in World of Smile's, or worse, sent someone to spy on him in there?! What would the media think if they knew the true Apollo, the one who didn't tie himself down to whatever idol singer or actress father set up with him or at worst, the swarms of groupies and fangirls begging him to pick and pick and pick? Was this his fate until the day someone else overthrows him as Champion? Would that day even come to him?!

His wings went cold and clammy as he unclipped an Ultra Ball from his waist, holding it out as he released one of his faithful Pokémon. "Crow, take me away from here," he asked.

"Shkra?" A Skarmory chirped out, scraping his talons against the ground. He lowered himself in his spot, spreading his wings as his trainer mounted his back. With Apollo secure atop his back, Crow soared high into vast midnight skies.

Apollo looked back down, watching the Hoenn mainland fade into the infinite blue ocean. He glanced back up to the skies, watching the stars ever so peacefully. Clear midnight skies always seemed to put him at peace, not a single cloud blocking the constellations.

"Caw! Caw!" A cluster of screeching reverbed from the skies, making Apollo look to his left instead. A flock of wild Murkrow cawed and screeched as they flew through the air, loose feathers falling from their wings and floating gently to the winds.

"Hm," Apollo grunted to himself, remembering his first scuffle with them. Frank begging him to come watch him take on the Sinnoh League, a trip to Eterna City, Murkrow surrounding them both for miles as they fled the heart of Eterna Woods. Wait.... has it already been a year since he last heard from Frank?! How was he doing since then? But does it matter since he was the one who cut him off?

Dread and hopelessness lingered in the back of his mind, as both trainer and Pokémon landed on the coastal shore of Juniper Island. Crow saluted his trainer with both wings before returning himself to his Ultra Ball, leaving Apollo alone with his thoughts. With a heavy sigh, he pulled out his Rotom Phone and scrolled through his contact list. The Elite Four, mayors of several cities, dear Wolfgang, friends from bars.... a-ha! He stopped at Frank's number, pressing down and giving him a call.

The phone rang for several seconds, monotonous ringing droned out by the robotic voice of, "The number you are trying to reach is not available. 090-4444-4444. Please leave a voice mail after this message." A singular beep.

Good, means he still has said number, but a surprise he didn't block this number yet. He might, but it's worth a shot to try. "Hey Frank," Apollo sighed. "Been a year since we last talked. I know what happened with Belladonna was tough, but you need help. Running away from me hasn't been solving anything. If you do change your mind, please, call me when you want. I miss you." Apollo hung up, tucking his phone in his pocket before sitting with his back against the Granite Cave wall. A shooting star soared across the sky, its blue and white trail fading with an audible gleam. Apollo folded his hands together and thought to himself, "I wish Frank would go back to his old self."

The next morning...

Tank yawned as he woke up first, looking around at the bedroom. Yep, everything was the same as it was last night, a comforting assurance from the past evening. While Benedict and Kidd peacefully slept away, Tank tiptoed out of the room, carefully pushing the door shut with his foot.

He sat down at the kotatsu, his eyes noting a red and white envelope sitting atop a white box wrapped in green ribbons. Tank stuck his tongue out as he opened the envelope. “Hey, trainer guys.”

“Weird nickname for us, but could be a lot worse, and we didn't even tell him our names so” he noted to himself as he skimmed over the letter. “Hope all of you slept well. Listen, I have a favor to ask you three. My nephew’s package arrived here by mistake. Can you bring it to Dewford Town? Don’t worry about getting there, my brother will be happy to take you down. Thanks a million - Croque Grenouille.”

The bedroom door creaked open. Kidd yawned as he dragged himself out of the room, slumping down at the kotatsu. He pulled out his compact mirror along with a brush and a can of mousse.

“Tank? Can you do me a favor and make some coffee?” Kidd asked as he began restyling his hair, smoothing down his bedhead before applying a handful of mousse through his hair.

“Go ask Benedict to do it,” Tank deadpanned as he walked to the kitchen, stopping to make three cups of hot green tea. The rich scent of toasted sencha and trail of clear steam floated through the kitchen, replacing the smell of incense and tobacco ash.

“Yeah because I would love to wait three more hours for coffee,” Kidd snarked back, closing his mirror before putting it away. He looked up as Tank carefully placed the cups on the kotatsu. “What’s with the box?”

“Oh, Croque asked us to take it to Dewford Town!” Tank cheerfully said as he held one of the cups, stopping to slowly sip his tea. “Hey, he said his brother would take us. Awesome!”

Kidd yawned as he slumped down in his spot, groaning to himself as he put away his items. “Yeah, real nice, but please tell me Dewford Town isn’t on the other side of Hoenn…”

Tank raised an eyebrow as he tilted his head to the right. “No? It’s down south on Juniper Island!”

“An island?” Kidd asked, his ears perking up in curiosity. “Are the beaches nice there?”

“Not as nice as Slateport City,” Tank shook his head. “But I think you’d like it anyways!”

“Yeah, sounds rather nice,” Kidd noted, stopping to take a yunomi teacup for himself. He closed his eyes as he slowly sipped from the cup, his face flushed from the light steam. While the taste was more earthy than expected, it was still nice of Tank to give him some. What did he do in a past life to deserve a guy like him?

Benedict pushed the door open, yawning loudly as he joined them at the kotatsu. "Mornin," he greeted them, pushing loose strands of hair away from his face before tying his hair in the usual half-ponytail. He grabbed the last cup of tea, chugging the entire drink before setting it back down. "So, what're we doin' today?"

"Sacre bleu! Do you usually drink hot drinks THAT fast?!" Kidd gasped, his eyes wide as he set his own cup down.

"Yep, sure do," Benedict chuckled with a loud snort. "Figured since I finally got up y'all had been ready to go, am I right?"

Tank laughed it off, "We weren't going to leave you behind! Well, I wouldn't. Anyways, as I told Kidd earlier, we're going to Juniper Island! You're gonna love this- they have a gym there."

"Alright!" Benedict cheered as he stood up in his spot, throwing a punch in the air. He ran back to the guest room, grabbing his backpack and throwing it across his shoulder before heading back to the living room. "Wait, an island? Are we swimmin' all the way 'cross the ocean to get there?"

"How do you jump to such ridiculous ideas?!" Kidd thought to himself as he facepalmed.

However, Tank laughed it off. "Yep, just like the dude who swam from Azure Bay to the Galar coast!"

"Yea, an' then we can wrangle some Tentacruel on the way," Benedict snarked back, snorting in laughter. "Or maybe a Wailord. Hey, that'd be fun!"

"For sure, dude!" Tank snorted, getting up to grab the other bags. He slipped the envelope in the box before shoving it in his backpack, throwing the bag across his shoulder before handing Kidd his messenger bag. Kidd nodded as he put on his bag, adjusting the strap before buckling the bag tight.

The boys walked to the door, put on their shoes, and stepped outside. Tank locked the door twice before leading the way back into the woods. A triumphant feeling of adventure brushed over them, joined by the soothing warmth of morning sun. A horde of Zigzagoon scurried across the ground, chasing a group of waddling Whismur. Benedict and Tank watched the wild Pokémon as they kept walking, looking at each other and snickering from their shenanigans.

Kidd glanced over to his right, something peculiar catching his eyes. Something pink swayed in the middle of the grass, the yellow antennae on top jingling in the same pace. Was that a plant only found in Hoenn, a wild Pokémon, a trap, or perhaps something discarded from another trainer's journey... Before he could approach it, the object dived back into the foliage, making Kidd focus back on following his friends....hang on, did he just consider them his friends?!

←—To be continued—
 
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