"Getting in a good @outragenutrition meal before our first night camping in Hoenn after a productive day of training. #goinhoenn"
Diego sat on the rock, staring at his phone while his Pokemon sat around him eating. He was trying to choose between three nearly identical pictures to put up on Chatter. With a few subtle differences, they all displayed the young man's selfie, sweaty, bare-chested and red-faced, with a semi-circle of bowls in the background. A grumpy Poliwrath and an ecstatic Emolga also stared at the camera. He was sure Cecilia would give him shit later, for another shirtless selfie, but hey if that's what got him and his sponsor likes, that's what allowed him to keep doing things like this.
Putting the phone away, Diego turned his attention to his own meal. It was very similar to the pre-portioned meals that his Pokemon ate. Anyone coming across them would assume he made a habit of eating like his Pokemon did. One only needed to watch him eat when anything else was available to quickly relieve themselves of that notion. His Joltik, having finished his own dinner, climbed up Diego's back onto his head. A light pull on his hair directed Diego's attention to the incoming clouds. He'd checked the weather and they'd only mentioned rain. But those large dark clouds said otherwise. Only a moment later, lightning flashed before his eyes followed by a crack of thunder.
"Oh thank goodness," he sighed in relief, only to catch sight of Darmanitan. The timid thing had just started to relax. After a particularly rough session with Conkeldurr has left him shaken up, Diego had let Darmanitan sit out and watch for the rest of the afternoon. At the boom, Darmantian had jolted up. Diego watched him panic and fidget, helpless to stop what he knew what was coming. Darmanitan took a few deep breaths and changed form before Diego's eyes. With another sigh, Diego recalled Darmanitan to his Pokeball. "Dude, it's all right. We did great today. But we gotta get moving."
He looked around at the rest of his team. "All right. Well looks like we're not camping out tonight. Get finished up then help clean up, cause we gotta find a place to stay. I think that Day Care place is the closest." He quickly updated on Chatter that he would indeed not be camping out tonight. What he didn't mention as how pleased he was. Despite the recurrent training retreats he showed off on social media, Diego hated living outdoors. The cold nights on Mt. Silver were bad enough, but somehow, camping out closer to civilization was always worse because he knew a warm bed wasn't too far away.
After he'd packed away his equipment and the now empty bowls in his gauntlet, he recalled the rest of his Pokemon apart from Joltik, Poliwrath, and Honchkrow. Joltik naturally wanted to stick around and feed off the increased static. Poliwrath enjoyed the rain. Honchkrow, though, had disappeared into the darkening evening. Diego could hear his cackling up ahead. "Come back here, bird-brain! You're gonna get lost!" His only reply was another cackle, and with another frustrated grunt, Diego headed off in the direction of the Day Care.
By this time, the rain had begun. It started out lightly, but Diego knew it could start coming down at any second. The sky had darkened significantly and the setting sun meant it was only going to get darker. Despite their hurried pace, Poliwrath walked calmly alongside Diego. Walking in the rain was one of the few times Poliwrath was visibly relaxed. One might even go far as to say he was in a good mood. Within fifteen minutes, it was pouring and the wind had picked up. Diego was now running, having recalled Joltik as well. Even with his raincoat, his face was getting soaked. Poliwrath, still jogging along, hadn't seemed to notice. Diego saw a light in the distance that must have been the Day Care. He had to wonder where Honchkrow was. He hadn't been seen or heard from since they'd left. He was beginning to worry, when another flash of lightning lit up the sky. He looked up to see a large shadow descending on them with a loud screech.
Against his better judgment, Diego came to a stop, his heart stopping. "WHAT THE HELL?!" Not even a split second later, he knew exactly what had just happened. Honchkrow's cackling was cut short by a blast of water to the face. Diego laughed. "Karma's a bitch, huh? Thanks Poliwrath." He recalled Honckrow, and then continued on his way.
A short time later, just as the wind seemed to be picking up further, Diego and Poliwrath ran up to the door. They walked into the the warm building, and caught their breath in the entrance. "Thanks for the company, but you're gonna get water all over the floor. Good night, Poliwrath." He recalled his Poliwrath then hung up his wet rain jacket on the hook. His wet shorts and shoes still tracked some water, but it was better than nothing. Running a hand through his soaked hair, he walked up to the desk. A girl about his age stood in front of him, just as soaked from the rain, though she clearly hadn't had the luxury of a raincoat. "I guess I'm not the only person to get caught out there, huh?"