Chapter 13 - Rey of Sunshine

Celeste basked in the warm ocean breeze, as a tingly sensation travelled from her stomach to her heart. Fingers brushed over the fabric of the dress she’d found on the lost and found box at the Pokémon Centre, and she adjusted it best as she could. The fit was a bit snug, but that was the best she could do under the circumstances.

“You think this is a bad idea?” She turned to the Eevee walking by her side. Her chaperone for the night, apparently. Aria, with her unimpressed stare, offered a flat “Eve” in response as they walked on.

Rounding the corner onto Moltres Promenade, the night sky boasted a nearly full moon, casting a silver glow across the ocean. The beach, the view… it could all be… romantic.

Celeste let out a soft sigh, her feet pausing so her eyes could fully take in the sight.

Rey was cute, she tried telling herself, though the thought didn’t stir much within her. Still, she figured since she was here, she might as well see where the night led.

Another breeze blew, and she closed her eyes to savour it.

Earlier that day, after Olga unceremoniously fired her (and sang praises to Delia, who was an exemplary employee), she stormed off the Ice Boutique, telling Rey she wasn’t interested in dates at the moment. Especially dates who had creepy mothers with a scary Vanillite. How’d you even make Vanillite scary? She had been halfway across the street when Rey chased her down, adamant that refusal wasn’t an option. He “absolutely couldn’t take no for an answer” and she should “at least allow him to make up for his mother’s behaviour.”

Well… Celeste knew a thing or two about being nothing like her parents, so she ended up accepting the invitation. Worst case, she got free dinner. Plus… she could talk all night long with the supposedly best trainer on the whole of One Island. He could help her. He could teach her. After some time with him, she’d be winning all battles and getting the money to get back to Kanto in no time. Yeah… this was a good plan. And who knows, maybe she’d get a boyfriend? Weirder things had happened this week.

“A free dinner, battle tips and a new (boy)friend,” she whispered, more to convince herself than anything. Then, louder, “This can’t be that bad, Aria.”

Her Eevee’s response was a roll of eyes and a smirk, followed by sticking her tongue out in a playful taunt. Heat crept into Celeste’s cheeks when she realised what the gesture meant.

“I—For your information, I’ve kissed people before,” she sputtered, catching the mischief in her Pokémon’s gaze. “Whatever. Let’s get this over with.”

When they arrived back at the Ice Boutique, her date wasn’t there yet. Thank Arceus the place was closed and no one else was there either. She tapped her foot and tried to have some more banter with Aria as they waited. Rey only took ten minutes to show up, but that had been enough for the tingly sensation in her stomach to make her queasy.

That, of course, only got worse by him strolling down the street and talking to a bunch of people. She could hear some complimenting him on the battle he had earlier, and some talking about his mother’s business. He flashed this smile at everyone… a lot like Delia, but less polite and somewhat unsettling. There was something in his eyes that didn’t quite match the vibe he was trying to pass, but that didn’t seem to bother anyone else.

When he stopped by Celeste, he extended a hand with a singular sunflower.

“For the prettiest lady on this island,” he said smoothly. Rey wasn’t particularly tall, standing only inches above her, but somehow she felt like she was looking up to him, and he down on her.

Celeste took the flower. “T-thanks.” She shot him a weak smile. He was cute. The red polka-dot shirt he wore now was undone just enough to tease the skin beneath. His hair, untied, fell just short of his shoulder and shone with the leathery silver glow of moonlight, contrasting perfectly with his complexion. Strangely, the fancy sunglasses still hung from his lapel, even though it was nighttime.

Rey took a step closer, reaching for her castless hand. Before he could take another, however, Aria jumped in and growled, all teeth bared. Celeste’s cheeks burned with embarrassment.

“Behave,” she said through her teeth, thinking next time she should come on dates without her Pokémon.

Rey’s laughter at the situation, a touch too polished, grated on her nerves. Yet she couldn’t help but be disarmed by his radiant smile, like he was a ray of sunshine against the evening’s backdrop.

“Don’t worry about that,” he said, sidestepping her Eevee. “Not everyone knows how to discipline their Pokémon. I can give you some tips later.”

Celeste was ready to talk back when the word tips registered. She bit her tongue and held off a squeal. The best trainer on One Island was offering her training tips? Yes, please.

As they strolled, Rey’s hand found hers, a gesture she accepted without a second thought, Aria’s protests fading into the background. All Celeste could do at this point was imagine them training, and her Pokémon becoming super strong. She could see it. In no time, Aria would be the one beating an Ivysaur. Heck, she’d beat everything.

“… we are from Four Island, but mother takes me all over for the business. Anyway, what do you think?”

Snapped from her daydreams by Rey’s question, Celeste blinked. “Huh?”

His eyes narrowed slightly, though his smile never wavered. “About the Paldean restaurant?” he repeated, leading her down a quaint alleyway. “Oh my, how inconsiderate of me. You must have never heard of it before.”

“The restaurant?” she frowned.

“The region. It’s Pal-dea,” Rey repeated, trying to make some sort of accent, which was downright disrespectful. “It’s out west. Not the prettiest place, but their food’s something else.”

Celeste cocked her head. “Yeah, I know Paldea—”

“Pal-dea,” he cut her off, stressing out the syllables. “They’ve got this thing, a tort-illa. Big deal there.”

Was he for real?

“I would say it is a lot like an omelette,” Rey continued explaining, not really giving Celeste space for a single word. “Of course, the ones in Pal-dea are much better than the ones in here… I suppose they have fresher eggs… I took part in a tournament there once, you know? Did very well too. Almost made into the finals.”

Celeste could only stare. Her father was Paldean, and her grandfather worked in a restaurant in Medali before he retired… which… actually gave her quite a good grasp on this topic. Maybe this was her moment to steer the conversation to something less one-sided.

“It’s actually made with potatoes,” she said with a hopeful smile, as they took a turn into another dim-lit alley. She could be charming too… right?

Well, maybe not.

As soon as she finished saying potato, Rey’s smile vanished. He held his head up and looked down at her. His gaze made Celeste shiver, though she wasn’t exactly sure why. Could this somehow be a sensitive topic?

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Undeterred, or perhaps stubbornly optimistic, she pressed on, clinging to her smile. “Soo… you mentioned a tournament?” she offered. “Making it nearly to the finals must mean you’re pretty talented.”

Rey’s mood flipped back to sunny in an instant, his ego swelling with the shift back to what seemed like his favourite subject—himself. Celeste could understand the pride, theoretically. Being celebrated for your strengths felt good. She’d probably bask in it too, if the roles were reversed.

She focused on the battle he was recounting, offering nods and smiles at the appropriate times, even as her mind tried to wonder off again. He’d recently beat a Spheal, he boasted, as if recounting a battle with a legendary. She kept her expression carefully in place until he finally picked her curiosity by showcasing his Kanto badges.

“They are called the Boulder and Cascade badge.” He smirked. “Took down those Gym Leaders like it was nothing.”

Celeste cradled the badge case in her hands, her gaze transfixed by their metallic gleam. She never saw any this close. Well… she saw Opal’s, but that didn’t count. Plus, the Kantonian badges looked different.

“Of course, I would have many more already if mother didn’t make me come home so often to help with her business,” he continued, but Celeste was barely registering it. “She needs a business savvy man to help her out, so here I am, way more often than I’d like to be.”

“Mmhm.” She nodded, tentatively running a finger over the Boulder badge. It was cold to the touch and delicate, and she felt a shiver when she thought about having her own. She’d told Surge that was what she was going to do, didn’t she? Once she was back in Kanto proper, she’d truly commit. It seemed like the stars were aligning for her. With Rey’s expert training advice, she’d breeze through the Gyms. He’d beat two after all. That meant he knew what he was doing.

Her eyes trailed down to Aria, who was still giving her date the side-eye. Fierce, mischievous little Aria. Celeste couldn’t help but to imagine her standing right in the middle of a big gym, basking under all the spotlights. She could picture it. Well… she could picture Ballonlea and Hammerlocke stadiums, with the stands full of people cheering. It wouldn’t be any of those in Kanto, but hey, they couldn’t be that different.

Either way. Fun.

Lost in thought, a giggle escaped her lips, prompting Rey to halt and fix her with a questioning look. One eyebrow arched in the most uncomfortable way possible.

What was there to explain, really?

“It’s just…” Celeste began, glancing at Aria with excitement. “I can’t wait for us to get those gym badges, too.”

Rey snorted. “You and that pet? Getting badges?”

Aria let out a sharp hiss, but Celeste stopped her Pokémon from doing anything else. They’d just arrived in the cutest restaurant, and she still had every intention of making this work. “Please, give it a chance,” she muttered, grabbing her Eevee in her arms as they walked into the glow of pink lamps and candlelight.

The cosy corner restaurant buzzed with life, its tables sprawled across the cobblestone street under the warm lights and lively voices from people inside. From within, the aroma of Paldean spices and warmth mingled with the strains of a lone acoustic guitar, and Celeste couldn’t help but feel hopeful again. They paused at the entrance, caught in the flow of patrons, until a waiter, with the most cheerful face, squeezed through the maze of diners with a pink, long-necked bird following behind.

“Hola, Flamigos!” he beamed, and Celeste’s lips twitched upward in response. He then gestured to a small table in the corner. “Table for two love-Tandemaus?”

This place was perfection. If she brought her family in, would they be offered a Maushold table?

“Hey Rey,” she beamed, “this place. It’s so—?”

But when Celeste looked at her date, she found him distant, his attention hijacked by a larger, more isolated table by the wall. While she agreed that would be better than to be cramped, the restaurant was full. They didn’t need that much space.

“I always sit here,” Rey said, wrinkling his nose.

The waiter’s face flushed as pink as his Flamigo’s. Yet, Celeste refrained herself from arguing and just looked at him and his Pokémon apologetically. Flamigo squeaked, but in the end, no one really wanted to have an argument.

“Gracias, Flamigos!” she smiled shyly at the man and petted the pink bird. For that, she got a chirp. Crisis averted? she wondered, as the waiter graciously led them to the table Rey insisted on having.

Once seated at the contentious table, the waiter poised to take their order and, doing her best to be nice, Celeste dug out the little Spanish her father’d taught her. “Una botella de agua, por favor?” She tried. The waiter lit up at that. Using your native language always made people happier.

Yet, as the waiter departed, Rey’s posture shifted into something darker as he leaned back and crossed his arms. He looked just like his mother for a moment.

“Are you trying to show off?” he asked.

“W-what?” Celeste stammered.

“I’m offering you a chance to be my date, and you are trying to make me look bad.”

As Rey’s words cut through the air, Celeste noticed her Eevee snarling again, louder and more menacingly this time. She put up a hand around her Pokémon so she would calm down. Unfortunately, Rey kept talking.

“I brought you out to a nice dinner, and I even offered to pay.” He fiddled with his luxury sunglasses and stressed the word pay. “The very least you could do is look pretty and not embarrass yourself like that.”

Her hand held in place, and she simply blinked at him.

“It’s an opportunity for you, being with me,” he continued. “I am a big deal in these islands, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. And I’ll be an even bigger deal once I’m champion.”

Aria’s growling become lower and angrier.

Rey took a deep breath, running a hand over his hair. “Look, I’m not complaining about this cheap dress you are wearing, because you are pretty and I liked that you went for a… tight fit.” He paused, a smirk growing on his lips. “This is our first date and I consider myself a gentleman. But honestly, this attempt to speak Paldean and petting some stranger’s Pokémon. You’re ridiculing yourself. Better stop—”

“Spanish,” Celeste cut in, dryly.

“What?” His voice got raspier.

“Paldea is the region. Spanish is the language.” She leaned back, her hands loosening around Aria.

“What are you talking about?” Rey hissed, but refrained from saying more when the friendly waiter came back with the water.

“I’m showing off, I suppose.” Celeste shrugged. Then, forcing her nicest smile, she turned to the waiter. “Gracias.”

She kept her lips curled up after he left.

Once alone again, Rey’s irritation became palpable, with visible tension in his jaw and a slight twitch on his lips. This was strangely satisfying. Aria barked when he tried to talk again, not letting him finish a sentence for a while.

Eventually, he managed to speak up. “Would you please put your untrained pet back—”

“She is trained,” Celeste interrupted him, moving the hand that still held her Eevee in place to her Pokémon’s head, where she scratched behind her ears. “I trained her.”

Rey clenched his teeth. “Of course you did. I’m sure you have the badges to show.”

“I haven’t started collecting them yet.” She shrugged, pretending to be unaffected.

“Well, what a shame.” He let his shoulders relax, and a smile began growing around his lips. This time, he didn’t even attempt to be charming. Instead, he was just plain condescending. “I guess with no badges, we can’t tell how good a trainer you are.”

Though still scratching Aria’s head, Celeste felt her body tremble. She didn’t move a muscle beyond her hand. Not giving in to provocation is how you deal with this sort of people.

“I know!” Rey continued, clearly more unsettled. “I’ve no doubt you must be a great trainer, Ce-les-te. So let’s have a battle, you and me.”

She choked, but Aria took the opportunity to snarl more menacingly.

Celeste’s words tripped over themselves. “A b-battle?” she echoed. Self proclaimed best trainer in One Island vs girl who’d won nothing before—her stomach turned into knots. Yet, the words, “Yeah, sure. Fine,” slipped out her tongue.

How the hell would she even beat him?

Picking up on the situation, her Eevee had already tensed her body. She was ready for any fight.

Wait… fight? Now?

“Aria, we’re not battling in a restau—”

Before Celeste could even articulate this thought, Aria lunged in a blur of speed, hitting Rey right in the chest with a very Quick Attack. The impact was precise enough to send Rey tumbling to the ground, but measured to avoid serious harm. Still, the aftermath was chaos—Rey on the ground, a chair in shambles beside him, and glances from all over.

“Shit, you okay?” Celeste leaped to Rey’s side, but he swatted her hand away, pride clearly bruised more than his body.

The waiter and his Flamigo came running to intervene. The bird scooped Aria up before she could launch another assault as the waiter tried offering Rey a hand, but he only got hissed at in response.

“You and your untrained pet have no discipline,” Rey said, brushing off his shirt and rising back to his feet. “You better apologise while I still have some sympathy for you.”

Celeste stared, but didn’t say a word.

He narrowed his eyes, waiting. Then he scoffed. “Tell you what, dear. I’ll give you another chance,” he said. “Since you are pretty, I’ll give time to come into your senses. I’ll stay around until the end of next week, so you have until then.”

She narrowed her eyes, too. “I have until then to… do what?”

“Apologise,” Rey replied. “Otherwise, we can settle it as trainers. Clearly, you and your Pokémon are eager for a battle. I’ll be delighted to beat you to a pulp,” he finished with a laugh. Still too smooth and charming.

“Why the hell would she battle you after all that?” It was the friendly waiter who spoke this time, his face frowny and his arms crossed.

Rey giggled, a bit too sure of himself. “Because if she doesn’t, I’ll make sure mother fires her little friend before she gets any pay.” He paused. “I’m sure you must need the job, with the way you’re surrendering yourself to mother’s rules earlier.”

He finally turned around to leave.

All Celeste could do was exchange a glance with the waiter.

What did she get into this time?