Chad kept walking, eyeing the energetic boy, before simply shrugging. Capitalizing on the opportunity, Tierno’s smile exploded, and he pulled a pokeball off his belt.

<”In that case, shall we dance? I can teach you-” he was interrupted mid-sale by Shauna who cleared her throat. “Tierno, can you wait until we’ve at least made some progress? We have a long trip, and you can teach him to dance when we stop for a rest, OK?” she reasoned, powering ahead by walking backwards.>

The group continued past the expansive and well-maintained gardens on either side, as several wild pokemon were seen scampering about. Shauna waved at a pair of Ralts, and beamed in happiness when the two of them waved back before teleporting away. “I hope I can convince a psychic type to join me; seeing everything would be great, but it would be better if I could always return to places and see them in a different light,” she rattled off, head in the clouds.

Chad, thoughtful for a moment, searched around until his eyes landed on a trio of wild pokemon off on the right, who were enjoying the soft sunshine and colorful flowers. [WAIT, HERE] his device buzzed, as he began to slowly approach the group, taking the extra effort to appear nonchalant. The three noticed him, and he immediately stopped, keeping his distance and trying to convey a lack of hostility. “Hey,” he initiated, hoping the group wouldn’t run away.

Of the group of Ralts, Budew, and Skitty, the lone cat stepped forward, placing themselves between the group and the outsider. “What?” they questioned, stance wide and ready for a fight.

“I just wanted to ask if you knew a Ralts looking to travel Kalos. My friend,” he motioned back towards Shauna, “is looking to see every breathtaking location in the region, but she’ll need a psychic type to help her get around. If you know or find someone, can you send them our way, please?”

The trio shared a look, but Skitty spoke for them all, “If we find one, maybe we’ll let them know another human is looking for them.” The cat’s voice was condescending, and outright rude, but Chad didn’t press the issue, thanked the group and walked back.

“What was that about?” Shauna asked, with Tierno looking on in interest as Trevor quickly tucked away his pokedex. [WANT, AD] was their only response, as Chad continued to walk along the route.

While Tierno was doing some elegant footwork and movements, Chad observed as the crustacean waved its claws back and forth, did a small spin, and then ran each claw along the length of the other. At the end of the little show, its claws were distinctly sharper, glinting in the sunlight when before they had been rather muted and soft.

<”Most of it was for style, but the last part is called Swords Dance. It varies between pokemon, but the result is a higher physical attack power,” he explained, boasting with pride.>

Chad glanced from Tierno to the lobster before asking: “How did you do that?” The Corphish blinked, each eye separately and at a speed that was closer to intentionally closing an eye and then opening it again. There was a pregnant silence, before Chad looked back to Tierno.

Nervously, Chad began to attempt several different dances, even replicating Corphish’s, but was having trouble getting into the groove. Nothing felt right, he’d get maybe a few seconds in each attempt before giving up and resetting to another idea. Even Tierno was getting concerned.

“A little direct on this one aren’t you,” Chad grumbled, as he reset to a relaxed pose and steadied his breathing. Faint flickers of purple crossed his body, as the tell-tale plumes of Dragon Rage began to creep out from his closed muzzle. Chad raised his right foot, then promptly stomped the ground with a thud and a bent-knee stance. He clapped his claws before having one swing down and created a ‘smack’ sound off his thigh. Symmetrically, he leaned to the right while raising his bent left leg in a traditional sumo pose, before slamming that foot on the ground a step forward. Again there was a clap, and a slap on his left thigh.

Chad released a low grumble of a growl, as the draconic purple flames streamed out the sides of his mouth like two plumes of smoke. He slapped his chest twice, before bellowing a deep roar of challenge. Visibly, his entire body took on a light purple sheen, his muscles now slightly more defined than before. “Woah,” was all he could utter, as Tierno applauded his success.

<”Seems like that did it, now you can join us in any future dance contests!” he cheered, excited about having a dance partner for double battles. Corphish did not react, continuing to stare blankly ahead. Tierno thanked his partner for the demonstration and recalled him, just as Trevor and Shauna began to walk over with a Ralts.>

”Hey guys, look this Ralts wants to travel with me! Isn’t that lucky?” she said, as the small fairy pokemon hid behind her legs from the scary fire type. Chad gave a gentle wave, as Shauna tried to convince the small pokemon that he wasn’t that scary. Just up the road, a young boy was skating directly towards the group on a pair of roller blades. His white helmet and shirt were pristine and clean, as he began to slow down upon reaching speaking distance.

“Yo! I heard your pokemon’s roar from up the road and had to come see,” he explained, slowing to a stop just a few feet away. “That’s a cool pokemon,” he admired, clearly referring to Chad. “Does his trainer want to have a battle?” he proposed, as the three humans looked straight at Chad, who gave a noncommittal gesture towards the others.

<”Actually would you mind if we had a battle instead? Nurse Joy said Chad’s not supposed to battle today; he’s still recovering from fighting Viola,” Trevor explained, causing the newcomer to grin in pride.>

“Viola, huh? Did all of you face her? I heard she’s been tougher to beat this year, especially for trainers with fewer than 3 badges,” he inquired, as he reached down to undo the straps on his skates and remove his feet from the wheeled platforms. He removed his helmet, and with it tucked under his left arm, extended his right for a handshake. “I’m Roland, not doing the gym circuit this year but I’ll be blowing by everyone next year.”

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Roland appeared confused, “But if he fought- oh there’s four of you; yea that makes sense. Simple one on one match; any suggestions for a wager?” he laughed, stepping back as the two made space between them for the match.

<”How about two-hundred?” Trevor opened with, citing the cost of a potion or pokeball, both common items newer trainers would need.>

Roland paused for a moment as he palmed his sole pokeball. “Are you sure you can afford to lose that much?” he asked with a predatory grin, expanding the pokeball to full size as he stood ready for the match.

“Pidgey, get some distance and stir a storm!” Roland commanded, donning a pair of sunglasses that had been hanging from his shirt neck. The bird chirped and quickly departed the ground with a powerful flap; the rapid ascension causing a cloud of dust and sand to cover the field and obscure Pikachu.

“I think we got off on the wrong foot; do you want to come down and start over?” Pikachu asked with a nervous chuckle, obscuring the building charge covering his tail. The question seemed to catch the bird off-guard, as its height faltered a bit, slowing it down enough that the follow-up zap connected with the mouse’s jagged tail, resulting in a full-body spasm by the flier.

Roland’s sunglasses hid his reaction, but his response was immediate, “Pidgey, keep your distance and blast it!” The bird gathered its wings together as they began coating with a glowing sky blue energy. With an impressive thrust, the bird expanded to its maximum wingspan, launching a pair of mini tornadoes at the ground-bound foe. Unfortunately, a mild spasm mid-attack caused the two swirls to go wide, each assisting to clear the remaining sand cloud to reveal an unharmed rodent.

<”Now Pikachu, use Thunder Shock!” Trevor commanded, capitalizing on the opening and tucking the pokedex away in his pocket.>

His partner bristled with static charge until an aura of power began to radiate. The connection, the attack, was near-instantaneous, lighting up both the source and target briefly, before Pidgey began to fall to the ground. With a thud, everyone waited for them to stand.

Roland returned his Pidgey, whispering to it before shrinking the ball to take its proper place on his belt. Reaching down into his socks, he pulled out two-hundred pokedollars and offered them to Trevor. Trevor, after seeing where they had been stored, grimaced and motioned for Roland to keep the money. Appreciatively, Roland tucked the money away and began to put his skates back on. “Good match, but now I gotta head for the center and get Pidgey checked out. Safe travels, and watch out for me next year!” he called, as the buckle on his helmet clicked and the young lad was rolling away south.

”Good job Pikachu, I’m proud,” Trevor said with a smile, returning the grinning yellow mouse to his pokeball. “I think that’s enough of a break, should we continue?” he asked, interrupted when he felt a tug at his pants. Looking down, a small white flower was floating near his left leg, with an even smaller white being trying to get his attention. “Uh, hi?” he asked, trying not to startle them.

”I bet they were impressed by your battle,” Shauna guessed, crouching down to see the small pokemon better, “weren’t you?” The fairy nodded vigorously, looking up at Trevor, pleading. Trevor’s face softened, as he crouched down to better see the flower.

”Are you sure? My goal is to meet and document every pokemon in the region,” he explained, withdrawing his pokedex to show the prospective team member. The flower pokemon was not dissuaded, standing as tall as it could to communicate their dedication. “Well I’d be happy to have you with me Flabébé,” he smiles, offering a fresh pokeball which quickly becomes occupied with a pleasant chime.

The three humans turned as one, giving their best attempt at Baby-Doll eyes towards the fire lizard. With a light-hearted sigh, Chad grinned and set his bag down to begin setting up a cooking station. [INGREDIENTS] his speaking-aid chirped, and the group began digging through their own packs to find what they could. “I really need one of those bags, this is getting heavier with each route,” Chad grumbled, lighting the kerosene canister with a puff and placing it on the ground in a circle of rocks.

Chad had to pause and plan, before pouring the water into the wok and placing it over the flames, thankful he had a wire rack to hold it. He held the sausages up to Tierno, [FISH, WASH] he quickly typed out, before pointing at the herbs. [CHOP] was his instruction for Trevor, before one final command went to Shauna, [SKEWERS].

After a moment, Chad motioned for the no-longer-frozen meat cylinders, and placed them inside the now-heating water while still packaged. The thermal sink slowed the boil rate of the pot, but continued to defrost the proteins for cooking later. Once the water began to bubble, he removed the bag, handing it to Tierno and replacing the water’s occupant with the raw pasta, stirring it gently to circulate the contents of the wok and distribute the heat more evenly.

Chad, not interested in tasting anything not meant to be eaten, held his fiery tail tip over towards them, serving as a secondary cooking area. If anyone nearby hadn’t been watching the odd display yet, they certainly were now. Each sausage only took a few minutes to cook, with the fifth and sixth being completed just as the pasta was done.

Once the last piece was removed, and without an ounce of shame, Chad flung the leftover boiling water into the fountain, leaving the empty wok on the stand to cool as he closed off the kerosene flame beneath.

<”Rest isn’t exactly a common tactic, you leave yourself wide open for a period of time, to the degree most trainers push to learn Roost instead if they can.” Trevor clarified, looking at the details of the entry. “Did you want to have him learn Confusion so he could make fancier dinners?” he chided, as she turned away in embarrassment.>

“Rude; I bet you I’ll learn this Rest move before we even reach the city,” Chad whispered to nobody in particular.