Gavin almost took a bite of his sandwich when Sparky let out a loud bark, his sensitive hearing causing him to jolt forward and almost drop his sandwich. He turned to face the puppy Pokemon before he noticed Mindy walking towards him, he flinched slightly before he smiled.
"Hey." He said, moving to take a bite of his sandwich and dropped a bit of cucumber onto his shirt, which left a small splat before it dropped to the grass at his feet. "Darn. This'll need a wash later." He uttered to himself before he finished his sandwich.

Niccia looked to Michael as he spoke, instinctively stepping closer to him as he draped his arm over her shoulder.
"Mhmm." She said softly, looking around before she looked up to BluBelle and Merlin, before resting her eyes on the Arcanines, "Most of mine are used to each other by now, Jycii and Charles still squabble to figure out who is the best bird on team." She said with a small laugh, "I love them both equally though, and they're both pretty tied in terms of power."

Harry gave a bit of a yawn as he listened, nodding once as he licked his lips.
"Mm, definitely." He said, his tail swayed as he moved his head to gently nudge Saruya. "That definitely is an interesting question!" He mentioned as Saruya asked if their trainers had though about it too, "I doubt Niccia even knows how babies work. Maybe not now, but... Eventually maybe."

Charcoal enjoyed being with the two larger dracaniod pokemon; his tail swaying before he blinked as Ixia ran over to greet him happily.
"Ixia! These are my friends, Blaze and Marble!" Charcoal said with a bigger smile. Ixia looked at the two, much larger, Pokemon.
She swallowed her fear and smiled, waving, "Hiya! I'm Ixia!"

Saber looked to Tyson momentarily, holding Mei close to him as he watched.
"Hello friend!" Tyson said as he sat up to get comfortable.
"Hi! I'm Mei!" Mei said, as she was looking the wrong way from where Tyson stood. Saber gave a small smirk at Mei before he bowed his head at Tyson, as if forming a peace treaty with the other dragon.
"I'm Saber." Tyson only grinned at the words spoken to him.
"I'm Tyson! I'm one of Niccia's Pokemon!"

Blubelle smirked at Merlin's words, before she nodded gently.
"Of course." She started, "I was apprehensive at first; I know the feeling of taking on a dangerous Pokemon onto your team. Saber was... one of those Pokemon." She trailed off for a moment before she nodded at his words, "But I feel like Andy is the best trainer for her so far."

"Oh," Mindy said as she looked at the stain. "It's not a big stain, but it is grease and that doesn't come out easily. If you go change in something else now I can clean it for you, I have a good stain remover with me. For best results it should be washed after being treated with the stain remover though."
Travelling could be dirty business, and Mindy had experienced that not every trainer cared equally about clean clothes. She did like to be clean, so always travelled with small vials of detergents, in case she'd need it.

"Merlin and Bear seem to bicker a lot too," Michael sighed. "But they work together when they have to." Somewhere behind him he heard Mindy talk to Gavin, but his attention was drawn to a Butterfree holding a honey sandwich. "I guess uncle is up," he said. He only knew one Butterfree who was crazy about honey sandwiches and ate one every opportunity he could.

"Good morning,", Benny greeted them cheerfully as he passed them and he flew to the tree where Merlin was. "Andy is up," he said as he sat down and took a bite from the sandwich. "He's having breakfast with Bear and Kim, but kept Varina in the Pokéball for now, because Bear doesn't like her." He then turned to Blubelle. "I hope you had a good breakfast!"

"Hello Ixia," Mable said. "I wonder what today will bring. Did anyone hear any plans?"
"I think Mindy will spend most of the day socializing," Blaze said, "with Michael and the trainers that are with him." He glanced towards Gavin. "Like she's doing now."

Saruya nodded and got up. "Let's go meet those two," she said, nodding to the Lapras and Onix, who had finished their meal and observed what was going on. "And maybe we can go for that walk after that."
Sitting still with Harry was nice, but it was time to stretch the legs.

Gavin looked down at stain before he looked up towards Mindy as she asked about getting changed.
"I..." He started, "Uhh.. Don't... Have any... Other clothes." He said slowly, not really wanted to admit he only had one set of clothes, he didn't think he would need more than one pair of clothes; especially if he had a nice spring to wash himself in when he came across it.

Niccia looked up at the Butterfree before she smiled, giving a wave to Benny. She looked over to everyone else before she paused.
"Soul." She said, looking around frantically. She had him with her when they left the Pokecenter, but where had he gotten to? She looked over the entire group as they played, talked and rested, but she couldn't find her Absol. "Michael. Soul's gone."

Blubelle waved her free hand as she took a bite out of her final berry, "Itsh been an intereshing morning." She said as she ate, swallowing before she looked to her Noctowl companion, "We met Yveltal." She said with a bit of a stretch. "Breakfast has been good though, these berries are fantastic~!" She crunched down on the berry again.

Ixia twitched her tail, her ears drooping at the idea of having a plan.
"I... Don't know!" She said with a happy smile, "I was hoping we got to relax a little bit!" Charcoal nodded in agreement.
"Maybe have a wander through the forest or something!" Charcoal added, Ixia nodding as well.

Harry nodded, standing up slowly as well, flexing and lifting his hindlegs to stretch happily. He shook his body, his blue fur seeming to give off small flakes of ice. "New friends are good." He said with a nod, walking over to the two Pokemon that kept to themselves. "Hello! I'm harry, this is Saruya."

Soul stayed low to the ground, he was a while away from his trainer at this moment. His eyes glowing in the darkness as he stalked his 'prey'.
The Noibat from before Dived into the trees and returned to her original, much larger, form. Yveltal. Soul thought to himself, freezing in his tracks, Why did it have to be you...
A large Hydreigon stood beside a Decidueye; both of which bowed at Yveltal's arrival.
"Drei. Robin." The Destruction Pokemon spoke, addressing her Guardian and another Guardian in turn. She tucked her wings quietly as she slowly blinked. "Do you have any information?"
"Yalgai mentioned about Darkrai appearing around these areas, he's lost his Guardian. We don't know where she is." The Hydreigon spoke, the Decidueye nodding her head in response.
Soul found himself stepping out of the shadows of the bushes into view, "That is because she has been caught. She's safe, don't worry." He said, gaining the other three pokemons attention.

Mindy stared at Gavin, he couldn't possibly have said what he just said. Every traveller she had come across so far had at least one set of spare clothes, in case they got wet or dirty and had something to wear when they would wash or dry their clothes.
"There are a lot of stores here, Goldenrod is a big place, you'll be sure to find something that suits your taste. There are some second-hand stores too if money is an issue." Another thing she had learned on her travel that it wasn't easy to earn money, being a trainer often meant following fashion was an unaffordable luxury. At least for those who weren't competitive. Big league trainers and contesters actually earned pretty good money from prizes and sponsors. Then something dawned on her, if Gavin only had one set of clothes, he was probably wearing these for quite a while. Ewww. "How about we go to a store right now, so you can wash what you are wearing. With soap."

"Gone?" Michael repeated as he looked around. He hadn't seen the Absol leave. "Do you think he'll come back, or do we have to look for him?"
If Lytse was gone he'd search for him, and he knew that when Kim was gone his uncle would let all his Pokémon search for her, but if Merlin was gone he usually shrugged and said he'd be back. Even as part of a team, Merlin was still a solitary Pokémon who went his own way. Especially during the night. Michael didn't know Soul long enough to know if he had a habit of leaving, or if this was reason for concern. Nor did he know if Guardians were even supposed to leave their Legendary masters.

"Wow," Benny said. "Yvetal."
"Looked like a Noibat, it was hardly an impressing form," Merlin added and he spread his wings. "I will go to Andy now, you Pokémon have a good day." And he was off.
Benny watched Merlin leave and then looked at Blubelle, taking a bite from his sandwich. "We'll be heading out soon," he said with a mouth filled with bread and honey. "Going to see professor Elm a final time before he goes back home and then to the library to read through old newspapers. Just don't leave Goldenrod without us, Andy plans to tag along for a while."

Mabel was done and raised her face to the sun, closing her eyes with a happy smile on her face. "Sunbathing on a roof," she stated. "That is what I would like to do."
"I'd like Mindy to try the Goldenrod gym," Blaze said, but chuckled. "Although I don't think that will happen today."

The lapras looked at the two Arcanine who approached them. "I'm Ava," she introduced herself with a gentle voice. "And this is Vic."
The Onix grumbled a reply that could be a greeting, but didn't seem to give them much attention.
"Don't mind him, he's not very social," the Lapras said.
"Never needed to be," the Onix grumbled.

Andy sat at the table in the center with an arm casually over the backrest, slowly sipping from a cup of coffee the Blissey had brought. He'd eat something later, coffee was all he needed now. He watched Bear and Kim eat when Merlin joined him.
"Had a good night?" he asked, to which Merlin nodded. "I bet you want to rest now," he continued, taking the Pokéball. After Merlin nodded a second time he returned him to the Pokéball and put it away again.

Gavin blinked, thinking quietly about his money. He had enough money to get clothes... He thought. He got a bit of money from Alola; surely that could work.
"They take money from different regions here... right?" He asked, almost ashamed to ask. "I have... Some money from Alola, and I don't know if they'd take that..."
He blinked at the idea of going to the store, he didn't quite understand it but Mindy seemed like she wanted him to go, "But we can go to the store now, I can return my Pokemon and we can get going?" He asked, looking around at his pokemon.

Niccia nodded when he repeated her words. She paused as she thought about his question, "I think... We should wait for now." She started, "he's probably gone to hunt or gone for a quiet stroll. He's not too fond of large groups."
She looked to the trees and frowned, "I just hope he's okay..."

Blubelle gave Merlin a wave before she looked at Benny, moving to chew at her claws to clean them.
"I don't know how long my trainer will be here for." she started, "We'll be here for StarFall before moving on again. It's... a few days away." She started with a bit of a stretch, giving a yawn as she sat up properly. "We shouldn't leave Goldenrod, if you'd like, Niccia and Michael would listen to you if you'd like?"

Charcoal swayed his tail, he liked both ideas. "I don't know what I'd like to do." He started, Ixia's tail twitched at the idea of sunbathing.
"I wanna snooze in the sun! That sounds awesome!"
Charcoal looked at Blaze as he mentioned that his want might not happen. "Why do you say it won't happen?" He asked.

Harry bowed his head as both of them introduced themselves.
"A pleasure." He started, "And you don't need to apologize about being antisocial, Charles is like that all the time." He laughed, looking to the Staraptor, who sat across the field, his legs tucked under his body, watching the sky.
While they were walking, Sparky and Missy zipped over to their Arcanine babysitters, darting inbetween their legs before Sparky froze at the sight of the Onix and the Lapras. Her eyes flicked between the two Pokemon before they settled on Vic. "TALL POKEMON." she yelled happily, she crawled up to Vic and looked up at him, "Hey Mister! Mister hey! Can I climb you?"

Yveltal looked to Soul and lifted her head gently, "sir Soul, I never expected to see you outside of StarFall, does this mean Mew is following you?"
Soul shook his head, "No." He started, "I went for a run and left her at the Pokecenter, I knew I could feel familiar energy."
Drei stayed quiet while Robin stepped towards the Absol.
"It's nice to see you again Solorus." She said quietly.
"Robin." Soul bowed his head, "It's good to see you too. But yes, Varina is okay."

"Of course they do," Mindy said, it surprised her Gavin didn't know that, but maybe she was more used to tourists from all the regions than he was, but it was odd that he hadn't needed to use any money before today. "If you want to go we can go." She turned around to see if her Pokémon were done eating and that seemed to be the case.
She turned to Michael. "I won't take Mabel with me and maybe Marie wants to stay too. Could you..."
"Yeah, sure," Michael said. "I'll keep an eye on them while you are away."
"Thanks." Mindy started to collect her Pokémon, going to Tim first. After she had returned him, she went to where Lytse and Marie were. "I'm going shopping with Gavin," she said to her Dunsparce. "Do you want to come or hang out with Lytse for a bit?"
Marie looked from her trainer to the Cyndaquil and shuffled closer to him.
"Okay then," Mindy said, "have fun."

As Mindy went to her Pokémon, Michael turned to Niccia again. "I'm sure he'll be fine. He's strong and smart." He watched Mindy and the corners of his mouth lifted. "I'm sure Gavin will be fine too," he added in a hushed voice.

Blaze looked at the small Charmander. To think he was once just as small, it seemed a lifetime ago. "Because she normally uses the morning to read up on the gym we will visit that day. She hasn't done any preparation yet."
Mabel looked at Ixia. "I've noticed a good, flat roof here in Goldenrod. IF your trainer agrees I can take you there.". Speaking about trainers, she noticed Mindy approach them.
"I'm going to the store with Gavin," she said. "You can stay here if you want, Mabel. But I would like to take you with me, Blaze."
Blaze nodded and turned to Charcoal. "Until next time he said," as the red light of the Pokéball engulfed him and pulled him in the container.

Ava laughed when the small Pokémon requested to climb on the Onix next to her. Vic, on the other hand, did not seem amused. He lowered his head to Sparky. "Do I look like a toy to you?" he grumbled. In reality he'd barely notice the Pokémon running over his rocky body, but that didn't mean he enjoyed the thought of being crawled and bounced on. "Ava may like transporting people on her back. I do not."
It was to his relief when he saw Mindy walking towards them, he had seen she had returned two of her team already and he hoped he would be next. It would save him from this insolent little Pokémon.
"I'm going into town," she said as she neared her Pokémon. "Ready to go?"
Vix nodded quickly, a bit too quick perhaps, and Ava nodded serenely.
"You will have more time to talk to them later," Mindy promised the Pokémon of Michael and Niccia that had joined them, as she took the two Pokéballs and returned them.

With that she was all done and ready to leave. She turned around to see if Gavin was too.

Anthony was done eating. The friend, but not girlfriend, of Michael had collected most of her Pokémon. He looked at Michael, but it didn't seem he was preparing to leave. He hopped over to Lytse and Marie, as much as he liked Jycii, they were more of his own size and the Dunsparce seemed to be a friend, so he wanted to meet her.

Benny observed it all from the tree as he finished his breakfast. "I'll make sure to talk to Michael," he said. "It's so good he can understand Pokémon, it makes things so much easier."

Gavin felt stupid for asking, but he shook it off and moved to return his Pokemon. He stepped towards the tree Blubelle sat in before he offered his Pokeball, as he saw the Butterfree move away and leave her alone.
"Shall we darling?" He asked, Blubelle looked down at Gavin and leaped from the tree, pressing her claw against the Pokeball and returning herself. Gavin gave a small smile, shrinking the pokeball and slipped it back onto his belt before he walked to Mei and Saber.

Saber stayed still as Gavin walked over, looking to Mei before he nodded, allowing himself and Mei to be returned. Gavin gave a smile and placed the Pokeballs away, Alliel walked over to him quietly and pressed his own Pokeball without another question; returning himself.
Gavin shook his head gently as he looked around, offering his Pokeball to Jack as he returned himself as well.
Gavin counted in his head which Pokemon he had to return. He stepped over towards his Salazzale but she waved her hand, indicating she didn't want to be returned just yet. Gavin paused and gave a nod, moving to lift Fez up off the ground and held him in his arm.

Harry looked to Mindy before he nodded at her words before he looked to the puppy pokemon, moving quickly to lift up Sparky by her scruff.
Sparky flailed aggressively, getting glitter everywhere as she did.
"Down down pumme down!" She barked as Harry smirked and carried her back to the group.
Missy looked at Saruya as Harry carried Sparky off like his own cub, "Are you gonna do that to me?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

Charcoal waved at Blaze as he got himself returned. He looked to Ixia and Mabel as she mentioned about taking them to the roof if Niccia agreed. The two smaller pokemon looked at each other with excitement and nodded.
"We'll go ask her!" They said at the same time, moving to run up to Niccia and Michael.

Niccia nodded at Michaels words, before she gave a snort-laugh at his comment on Gavin, she looked down at her smaller Pokemon as they ran up to her.
"Hey little ones!" She said, kneeling down to them, "What's up?"

Gavin looked around, he had returned most of his Pokemon; Fez never went in his Pokeball and he guessed Lea wanted some time out as it never happened for her. He looked to Mindy with a smile.
"Ready if you are." He said, Fez wriggling angrily in his arms.

Jycii watched Tim get returned and watched Anthony hop away, leaving her to herself. She started to settle down, moving to preen her feathers.
She paused as she noticed Charles move to take into the air before landing beside her.
"What do you want." Jycii said coldly.
"I wish to make amends. I haven't been a good sport; I wish for us to become friends." Charles spoke quietly, flexing his tail feathers.

Saruya lowered her head to Missy. "I don't think there is anything wrong with your paws, but if you want to or deserve it I will carry you around like a small pup," she stated. "if you don't want to be carried around like that and behave, I won't do it."
She did understand why Harry picked up Sparky like that, it was quite an energetic little one and it was the easiest way to get her where she needed to be.

Mabel followed the small Pokémon at her own pace, with her big steps she was able to keep up with them even if she walked slowly. She kept a respectful distance to Niccia and remained silent so Charcoal and Ixia could ask for permission.
As she waited, she turned to look at Michael. "Marie told me about you."
"What did she say?" he asked.
Mabel blinked. "You can... understand me?"
"Ehm," Michael began, rubbing the back of his neck. "Long story..."

Anthony joined Lytse and Marie. "This is Marie," Lytse introduced him. "We played together at Rhando Island, before Mindy left to explore Kanto." He turned to Marie. "I'm sure Benny will come say hello to, you saw him fly, didn't you?"
The Dunsparce nodded and looked at the tree. As they saw Benny fly up, Lytse beckoned him with his short paw and the Butterfree came to them.
"Travelling did you good!" Benny said to Marie. "You look strong and healthy."
"You look the same as the last time I saw you. But you don't battle a lot anymore, don't you?"
"Only when Andy is in danger. Or if he wants to humiliate an unexperienced trainer. They always make fun of me when they see me, calling me weak, but they don't know I've been with a trainer for... I don't know, twenty years or so? It's a valuable lesson for them.

Mindy nodded to Gavin. "I'm ready to go," she said, waving to Michael and Mabel before she turned around to lead Gavin to a place where he could buy some new clothes. "Do you want to buy at a cheap place or a regular store." High-end stores were already scratched from the list. 'some money from Alola' didn't sound like a lot.

When his Pokémon were done eating he got up and stretched his arms. "Let's go see where that nephew of mine is. He wasn't in his room."
His furret jumped up to walk next to him, the Primeape followed behind. The three of them walked towards the exit of the Center.

Missy's tail wagged when Saruya mentioned she wasn't going to carry her. "I'd prefer to run!" She said with a small bounce, moving to chase after Harry before she paused and looked towards the female Arcanine, waiting for her to follow. "I'll be on my best behavior!" She said with a wink.
Harry smirked as he moved to place Sparky back on the ground, near the food trolley.

Sparky fluffed herself up when Harry put her down, letting out a small grumble before she moved to look at the food cart.
"Oh berries!" Sparky said as she could see the half bowl of berries left, she stepped back slightly and readied herself, listing her tail above her head and flicked it forward, shooting a small rope of web at the bowl before she tugged it back. The force of her pull tugged the bowl off of the cart, toppling it and causing the berries to fly up into the air. Sparky moved to catch them before the bowl landed upside down on her head, covering her vision.
"AH." She barked, "SUDDEN DARKNESS."

Niccia bowed her head to Mabel, "Good morning." She said to the Dragonite, looking back to her small Pokemon that seemed to be excitedly babbling.
"Mabelmentionedthatwecouldgowithhertoarooftosunbatheifthatwasokaywithyouisitokaywityiou?" Both of them asked in unison quickly, Niccia could only smile before she stood up slowly.
"A rooftop huh?" She asked, both Pokemon nodded aggressively, "Well, if Mabel said she'd take you than its fine by me." She looked to Mabel again and smiled, "She seems capable of taking care of you, that's what Dragonite are good at." She said fondly. Her words full of sincerity.

Gavin thought for a bit, "We could check both? Maybe start with a regular store to see the price range?" Gavin asked with a weak smile, tilting his head.
It was going to be hard trying to find clothes that could hide some of his features that show he's not human.
That hadn't clicked until now, he was going to have to change clothes around Mindy and he would give off that he wasn't properly human. Oh god what would she do... He thought, Will she try and... Catch me?

Varina could hear everything from inside her Pokeball, she waited patiently until she was let out. It wouldn't happen while the Primeape was around, she knew he didn't like her.

Soul bowed his head to the other guardians and Yveltal as they finished their talk.
"I'll see you at StarFall?" Robin asked quietly, Soul glanced back and nodded with a small smile.
"Nice!" Drei added on with a grin.
Soul fluffed himself before he ran along, feeling his paws hit the ground again and again. He focused on the air around him before he paused, he was close to the Pokecenter but something felt off.

He dodged a Night Slash before she turned to face the large Zoroark behind him.
"Brother Loki." Soul said with a sway of his tail, relaxing slightly.
The Zoroark smirked, his odd colouration glistening in the sun through the trees. He looked like an average Zoroark, apart from a furred collar of white fluff and a red daimond on his chest.
"It's been a while Soul." Loki said before he moved to sit where he stood, "I've been looking for you."
"Me?" Soul asked with a tilt of his head. "I see you've decided to not hide our markings. Do others hate you instinctively?"
Loki smirked at his questions, "Our Blood doesn't define us, Remember Soul? You're the one who told me this."
Soul only smirked at his brothers words.

Saruya followed Missy and Harry and walked with them to the food trolley. She laughed when the bowl fell and walked to Sparky. Gently she removed the bowl with her mouth and put it in the grass. "You have to be careful," she said as she turned to the Joltsodour. "You could have really hurt yourself this way. What if someone left a knife in the bowl? If you can't see what's on the top you shouldn't pull it down."

It was good Mabel knew what the Pokémon wanted to ask, because it was hard to understand through the enthusiasm. It was endearing.
"I will take good care of them," Mabel promised and she bent down, holding out her hands. "Come here," she said to the two small Pokémon. "I will carry you in my arms."

"I've seen a store not so far from here, we will check that place first," Mindy said, beckoning Gavin so he would follow her. Going around the Pokémon Center she tried to remember where all the clothing stores were, she knew she had seen a few in the area. The first one, if she remembered correctly, wasn't overly fashionable, but judging from Gavin's current attire, fashion was not his priority.
At the front of the center she almost bumped into Andy as he left the Pokémon Center.
"Oh, sorry professor Bansing."
"We're not in the academy, nor in any lab where Maple can hear us, Andy will do." He looked from her to Gavin. "Going somewhere?"
"Oh, yes. Gavin needs clothes."
Much to Mindy's surprise Andy started laughing. "Yes, he does. Pick out something nice for him, many men are lost when they have to buy clothes and Gavin is a special case." Still snickering he went to Gavin and gave him a pat on the back. "You'll survive. Just so no to pink, that colour won't suit you."
He walked away from them, but suddenly stopped. "Have you two seen Michael?"
"Behind the Pokémon Center," Mindy said and looked at Gavin, smiling broadly. "Shall we?" She wasn't sure why, but she was looking forward to this small trip to the store.

Michael watched Sparky get covered with the bowl, but when he noticed his Arcanine was going towards her he decided to let her handle it. Jycii and Charles seemed to speak with each other, he was too far away to hear their words, but it seemed to be civil. With most of Gavin's and Mindy's Pokémon returned this place was emptier than before. One thing was for sure: he had the smallest party. Not just by having the fewest, but three of his four Pokémon were small as well. It didn't matter though, there was plenty of time to add to his team.

Sparky aggressively shook herself when the bowl was taken off her head. throwing glitter almost everywhere around her. She settled before she gave a shiver, looking to Saruya with a wag of her tail.
"Thank you Aunt Saruya!" She said with a big smile on her face, "The bowl had berries!" She moved to grab one of the berries in her mouth and brought it back to Saruya.

Harry only grinned at the smaller Pokemons enthusiasm. "Aunt Saruya huh?" He teased as he walked up to the female Arcanine and gently rubbed his body against her, "But she's right little one, I'd rather not have you injured." He said.
Missy darted around quickly, grabbing the bowl from where Saruya put it and went around to collect the other berries and placed the bowl in between the 3 canine Pokemon.

Niccia only smiled at her Pokemon before she looked to Mabel, "I trust you." She said with a small blink, "Be careful you two. Remember the Self defense, okay?" She said to Charcoal and Ixia in her native tongue.
Charcoal and Ixia both nodded before darting over to Mabel happily, moving to gently grab her hands.
"Thank you Niccia!" Charcoal said happily, "You're the best!" Ixia added on with a twitch of her tail.

Gavin's face went slightly red as Mindy mentioned about him getting clothes. He gave a bit of a laugh when Andy mentioned pink, "I'm more of a deep purple, off white man myself." He said before he smiled, "Thank you for the knowledge though." He said to Andy before he looked back at Mindy with a weak smile.
"If Pink won't be my colour, what do you with would suit me?" He asked her, now that the idea was brought to his mind.
"I'd like to see you in Blue!" Fez said happily, "Deep Navy blue or black!"

Loki stepped towards his Absol brother, moving to press his clawed hand against the Absol's headgem, a light echoing from the contact before seeming to shatter.
"There we go." Loki said with a smirk, "Your illusion is broken. If I were you I wouldn't put it back up." He said with a wink before he disappeared back into the bushes.
Soul shook off the touch of his brother and growled, moving to look at a puddle beside him. His fur was no longer the colour of the shiny, it was a dull grey. Soul's brow furrowed before he swayed his tail, stepping away from the puddle. His previously grey headgem shone dark red, slightly jaggered outwards; his chest fluff was stark white while his tail was slightly longer and slender.
"Great." He said with a frown, "Now everyone will know..." He stopped in the shadows near Niccia and Michael.

Niccia glanced sideways, her attention suddenly drawn to the shadows. She locked eyes with Soul's red eyes. "...Soul." She started, turning to face him, "Come here."
Soul hesitated, stepping back into the shadows slightly.

When the two Pokémon were with her, Mabel made sure they would be comfortable during the flight. She gently beat her wings and lifted into the sky, flying over the center and to the rooftop in a speed fast enough to stay in the air, but slow enough for the little Pokémon to be comfortable.

"Oh," Mindy said as she looked at Gavin. "I'm not sure. It depends on the style of clothes too. And sometimes you just have to see someone with it to say if it suits them or not. I once found a dress of which I wasn't certain about the colour and the patterns, but when I tried it on it looked really good on me." She smiled and looked ahead again, going straight to the first shop. "So we'll see what they have and go from there."
A shadow came over them and Mindy looked up, seeing Mabel fly through the air with two of Niccia's Pokémon with her. It was nice to see she had made some friends already.

Michael looked at Niccia when he heard her say 'Soul' and then he looked at the shadows she was looking at. Was Soul there? It was hard to see. The Absol stayed in the shadows. He was certain Soul would show himself, so he waited for that.

Bear and Kim rounded the corner and ran into the backyard of the Pokémon Center. Bear went to where Lytse was and readied his fists.
"Come on, sport. Show me what you got!"
Lytse sat up and raised his front paws, pushing them against Bear's fists.
"You are getting stronger each day!" Bear exclaimed.
Kim giggled as she watched it.

As the other two Pokémon were already mingling with the Pokémon, Andy took Varina's Pokéball and aimed it so that she would materialize in his arm. "Come out, Varina," he said as he tapped the Pokéball to open it. He noticed Niccia and Michael looking at some bushes and he walked over to them to see what they were looking at.

Charcoal stretched out his wings as Mabel flew him and Ixia along, Ixia stretched out her arms in a superhero styled pose as they flew along. Both of the smaller pokemon cracking up in laughter as they flew along.
"I love this!" Ixia called out happily, "THIS IS GREAT."

Gavin nodded and followed after Mindy as well. He looked around, glancing up at the shadow to notice the familiar Pokemon. He smiled softly before he looked back to Mindy with a gentle sigh.
Fez looked up at his trainer and grinned, "What's wrong Gavin?" He asked, "You look like you're in love~!"
Gavin's face deepened in red before he looked down with a frown at Fez, who only laughed.

Varina shook herself when she was allowed out. She bounced along after Andy, knowing she didn't want to get near Bear since he didn't like her. She settled by Andy's feet when he stopped by Niccia and Michael, glancing to the shadows too.
"Soul Please..." Niccia said, moving to kneel against the grass.

Soul flicked his tail and breathed in, stepping out of the shadows in his new form. He lowered his head before he continued up to Niccia. His trainer moved to gently press her hands against his head. "You were worried I wouldn't like you in this form...?" Niccia uttered quietly. Soul lifted his head away from her hands and looked to Andy, then to Michael, and settled his eyes on Varina.
"I told Robin and Drei about your absence from Darkrai's side." He spoke to her quietly, "They have accepted it and have said they will spread the word that you are not an enemy."
"Thank you Solorus." Varina spoke quietly, she gave a small sigh as she was able to relax a little.

Mabel flew to a tall building and landed on the roof. She gently let the two Pokémon on the ground and settled on the grass. She had picked this roof, because it had a rooftop-garden. And because it was one of the tallest buildings there was a great view of the city, with no shade from nearby buildings.
She lay down on her belly and closed her eyes as the warm beams of the sun caressed her skin. "I do this with Blaze when I have the chance," she said, opening her eyes again and looking at Charcoal. "Your kind likes warm weather, don't they?"

Mindy looked back when Fez spoke, although she was unable to understand the words. She flashed a smile at Gavin and went to the door of the first shop. It was still early, but the shop had already opened and she went inside.
There were plenty of clothes to choose from, she would let Gavin walk around and pick something he liked and give advice when he asked for it, or if he showed exceptional bad taste.

From on top of a streetlight a Meloetta looked at Mindy and Gavin. She giggled and hid from view.

Michael stared at the new colours of fur. How was this possible? Wasn't Soul a shiny Absol after all? Again he realised how little he knew about the world of Pokémon when Legendaries and their Guardians were involved. It had to be linked to that, there was no other explanation. He glanced to his uncle, who had his thumb and index finger cupped around his chin as he observed the Absol.

"Right," Andy said as he turned to Niccia and Michael. "I just came to say I'm going to Elm before he leaves and then I'll go to the library. If you need me, that's where I will be. You kids be safe." He looked at his Primeape. "I'm taking Kim and Varina with me, but I will leave Bear with you, the library is no place for him and sitting in the Pokéball all day is not good for him." He gave Michael Bears Pokéball. "If something enrages him, return him. He is still a Primeape and he still gets angry for little things. If you want I'll leave Benny here as well, his Sleeping Powder can stop Bear."
He looked from Michael to Niccia to see how they felt about it.

Ixia bounced around the roof garden, running in circles before she flomped to the ground with a happy sigh. Her tail twitched quietly before she rolled onto her back, staring up at the sky with a small smile on her face.
Charcoal on the otherhand moved and flattened the grass down where he was going to sit down, sitting down gently and kept his tail away from the grass as he did so. He looked to Mabel as she spoke to him.
"I..." He started before he looked down at his paws, "I'd guess so? I haven't really met many others of my kind before..."

Gavin smiled back at her as he followed. He entered the store and looked around, he tried to focus on everything at once but he blinked as his vision minorly blurred.
Right. Can't do that in this form. He thought to himself before he went to one of the racks with dress shirts.
"These look nice." He stated, Fez watched the door as he felt a familiar aura before he looked to the clothes Gavin looked at.
"I like the soft grey and darker green plaid one." He said, looking to his trainer before he wriggled out of Gavin's arms to walk around the store on his own.

Soul looked to Michael, knowing he was surprised at the change. He lowered his head with a sigh, "I... I will explain later." He said before he looked at Bear then to Varina. He swayed his tail before he walked over to the food cart and hopped up on his hind legs to have a look at what was left.

Niccia nodded gently, looking to Bear with a small frown when Andy mentioned about Bear getting angry.
"One of my guys should be able to help with that." She said, before she looked at Sparky, "I'm sure little one could whip up something if she focused on her metronome." She said with a laugh before she looked at Andy. "We'll look after him. As long as he doesn't get angry at Soul for his change, but I doubt that."

Jycii watched the other Legendary Descendant with narrowed eyes, her tail flicking gently. Soul's change interested her, he had confined in her that he was infact Darkrai's descendant, but he had never mentioned anything about a different form. She shrugged it off and hopped over to Bear and Lytse. "The little one is growing stronger I hope?" She asked bear, looking down at him with a small smile over her beak.

"But you," Mabel said, looking at the winged Charmander, "Do you like warm weather?" she got up to scoop up some of the earth and grass and put it elsewhere, so there was enough room where Charcoal could rest his tail. She smiled when she saw how happy Ixia was and she lay down on the grass again.

Mindy looked around and checked some of the clothes. She noticed Gavin was looking at the dress shirts. A good choice, a bit formal perhaps, but there was nothing wrong with that. Her fingers brushed the fabric of some shirts as she walked past them. "What about this?" she said as she pulled out a green one.

When Fez didn't look at the door anymore, a Meloetta snuck in. She hid between some clothes and watched Gavin from a distance.

"Every day," Bear commented when Jycii asked her question. "Soon he'll defeat me in hand-to-hand combat!"
"I doubt that," Lytse muttered.
Bear looked up when Andy joined them. "Bear, why don't you stay here and protect Michael while I'm gone. You know I'll go to the library and you'll just be bored there."
Bear nodded.
"Great! Kim, you're with me. And Benny..." He saw the Butterfree pointing at Lytse. "Okay. I'll have Kim, Varina and Merlin with me." He heard Bear huff at the mention of Varina. "Be kind, Bear." He stroke the fur on the top of his head. "I won't be long."
He walked back to where Michael and Niccia were and picked up the keystone of Varina, his Furret followed him. "Let's go, Varina," he said, tapping on the keystone. "We have heroic reading to do!" He turned to Michael. "I'm going to check the newspapers, see what I can learn there."

Michael's look saddened and he nodded. When he had come to Kanto it had been to explore the region and when he had met Niccia he really had wanted to go with her and help her. But when they had arrived at Goldenrod and he had that long talk with his uncle to explain what he had done and who Niccia was, that's when he had told him about the disappearance of his father. He hoped his uncle would discover something useful.

Charcoal blinked at Mabel's movements and moved to put his tail down softly. He thought about her words before he looked to his claws. He nodded once before looking up at Mabel, "Y..Yeah!" He said happily, "I like the warmth, it makes me feel happy."

Gavin looked at the shirt that Mindy pulled out, reaching to gently take it from her. He spun it around and placed it towards his chest and glanced down; seeing how it looked on him without trying it on. He pulled it away from his body again and looked at the green colouration.
"Hmm." He hummed out loud, moving to pull out a dark green plaid shirt and looked between what Mindy had pulled out and what Fez had mentioned. "Mmmmm...."

Jycii gave a laugh, flexing her tail as she did so.
"You never know." She stated to Lytse, "Even if you don't evolve, you can still gain more power as you go on your adventure." She said before she looked to Andy when Bear huffed about Varina.

Varina looked over to Andy before she started to hop after him, pausing to look between Soul and Bear before looking back to Andy. She looked to Kim with a small smile as she hopped along.
Sparky darted around again, running between Charles and Soul, before running over to Jycii and left up to swing her tail at the rainbow bird, narrowly missing her beak before she landed with a cheeky grin.
"Good try, little one." Jycii said with a small smile, looking down to Sparky, "Maybe try on someone more you're size." She instructed, leaning down at the smaller Pokemon. Sparky looked up to Jycii, moving to stand on her hind legs before pressing her snout against Jycii's beak.

Niccia looked towards Michael, moving to grab his hand gently.
"We'll find out what happened." She whispered quietly, "I guarantee it."
Soul hopped back down from the food cart before he headed over to the other Pokemon slowly. He cautiously looked to Bear before he sat down with a sway of his tail.

"In my experience, most fire-types do," Mabel said as she closed her eyes. It was nice to lie here in the sun. She opened one eye to see what Ixia was doing and closed it again. The little ones were her responsibility now and she would keep an eye on them. But unless they did something foolish like balancing on the elevated edge of the roof, nothing could happen here.

Mindy looked at the other shirt. "That is also a nice," she said, looking at both colours. "I think darker suits you better, but you'll have to try it on to really see it. You'll want some dark-blue jeans with them." She turned and pointed at the trouser section.
Only a handful of other customers were shopping here, but most were women browsing the female section. Mindy had no desire to check out what they had for sale here, she had enough clothes with her, buying more was just extra weight.

As Andy walked away, Michael turned to Niccia and nodded. There wasn't much he could do now, so he would just put his faith in his uncle and avoid worrying about it. Especially since he had other things to worry about. Like Darkrai. With Souls new colour he couldn't help but think about the Legendary Pokémon who had taken him once and almost twice.
Another thought best pushed back.
"What are the plans for today?" he asked Niccia. He needed to talk about something simple like that. "I mean, we could check out the gym."

Bear looked in Soul's direction, turned his attention back on Lytse and then jerked his head in Soul's direction again. "Whoa," he said as he ran towards the Absol. "The colour of your fur changed! Did you paint it?' He rubbed his hand over Soul's back to see if the colour would come off, but it didn't. "What's with the new look?"

Andy reached the front of the Pokémon Center and stood there for a moment, before he started walking down the street. "If you want me to carry you, just say so," he said as he looked at Varina. "Or kick- no throw your keystone in my calf to get my attention. Just not too hard, okay? I don't want to limp the rest of the way."
He looked at his Furret. "And you, stay with her, okay?"
Kim nodded to the order and smiled at Varina.

Ixia was playing with blades of grass as she lay in the sun. She pulled a few blades off and seemed to be trying to tie them together to make something. She didn't really seem to be moving too much otherwise.
Charcoal nodded at Mabels words, "Yeah." He started, nodding more. "Yeah, that would make sense."

Gavin nodded at Mindy's words, he looked over to where the pants and trousers were.
"So, we get the pants and then we try them both on?" He asked with a tilt of his head.
Fez moved away from Gavin and Mindy, looking through the clothes he could see.
He paused as he thought he felt something familiar, poking his head around with narrowed eyes.

Niccia blinked as Michael asked what they were going to do.
"The Gym may be good." She said with a small smile, her eyes lingured to Soul as well and gave a bit of frown as Bear went near him. "A walk may be nice, let the Arcanines stretch their legs and then maybe go get some lovely lunch somewhere?" She asked, looking to Michael with a smile. "Maybe check the rest of the city out?"

Soul flinched when Bear touched him.
"The Shiny Schtick was an illusion." He said, "This is my proper form. I hope it's not... The worst you've seen?"
Jycii watched Soul quietly, "It's very... Charming." She said, holding back on the words she wanted to say. Just in case Bear got angry.

Varina nodded at Andy's words, bouncing after him quietly. She looked to Kim and gave a small smile back to the Furret.
"I'm sorry that Bear doesn't like me." She said quietly, "I... Don't know if he ever will. Which means I cause trouble in the dynamic of the group..."

A tall female walked into the cities Library, looking around with icy blue eyes. The air around her was chilled, and her hair had small flecks of ice in it.
A slightly larger-Than-Normal Delibird stayed close to the woman, watching everyone around them with a relaxed look.
"Why are we here again Ma'am?" Mitch asked quietly.
The woman waved her hand quietly before she moved along towards the Legendary Section.
"This is where we need to go." The female said smoothly. "This is where he said things were."
"In a Library?"
"Yes Mitch. A Library."

"Enjoy it for now," Mabel said. "You never know if the weather will stay sunny, or if it will start to rain. Even though I don't mind rain."
She remembered living in the water before she had gotten wings and she still dove into the ocean for a swim when she felt for it. But ever since she had evolved, she quite enjoyed feeling the sun on her skin.

"Well, you don't need to," Mindy said, "but since you're buying a completely new outfit you can see how it goes together. Jeans are pretty universal though, they go on a lot. And they are good for travelling, although hiking trousers are ideal for that." She laughed a bit, fiddling with her hair as she realised she was rambling. "I don't think we'll find those here though, it's the wrong store for outdoor clothing."

"Fezzy!" The melodic voice came from between some clothes and a small face poked through. The Meloetta looked at him. "You're different from the last time I saw you, but I know it's you! And you look fan-tas-tic. How are you? And how is Gavin? And who is the human girl?"

"A walk and the gym," Michael said as he nodded. "That will be plenty of exercise for the Pokémon." He took watched Bear who rubbed Soul's fur.
Hopefully Bear would stay just curious about the new colours, he could tell Soul and Jycii were reluctant to elaborate on it.

"Worst? No. Weird? Yes. You look different from any other Abol I've seen. Bear looked at Soul, his eyes narrowed in suspicion, but shrugged. "But I know some Pokémon are born with a different fur. I liked the golden look better, Black-Boy."
He turned around and did some training exercises, the colour of Soul's fur wasn't important anymore.

"Bear will come around," Kim assured her. "Merlin and Bear don't get along very well, but not in a way it really disrupts the team. I'm sure Bear will get used to you. Just do good and if Bear sees it, he'll realize you're not an evil Pokémon."
Andy listened to his Pokémon talk. He had no idea about what, but he had long accepted humans could never understand Pokémon like Pokémon could understand humans. Except for his nephew of course, which was an interesting case. He walked straight to the hotel and as he did he send a text message to professor Elm that he was on his way there.