Archive of Our Own

Oikawa woke up nervous to say the least. Today was going to be the first day of an actual adventure for him. One that didn't involve boats and staying with parents. Just him and Iwaizumi and their Pokémon. From Mossdeep to Fallarbor.

And Oikawa was nervous. Sure he had known Iwaizumi for five days now, and with Iwaizumi staying with him, he learned a lot about the other. Oikawa had helped him train for his (successful) gym battle with Liz and Tate and they even slept in the same bed last night.

But what made Oikawa even more nervous was that when he woke up, Iwaizumi wasn't there.

Oikawa threw the blanket off of himself and scrambled out of bed, tangling his legs in the blanket and falling off the bed.

Iwaizumi was at the door then a plate of food in his hand, "you're really clumsy, especially as a Pokémon coordinator. How are you supposed to dazzle the famous Iwaizumi Dazzling Couple if you're bested by blankets?" The teasing was obvious in his voice. The night before Oikawa had been starstruck when Iwa-chan was talking to his parents on the PokeNav. The Iwaizumi Dazzling Couple were the name given to his parents, they were both coordinators, just like Oikawa. He looked up to them and couldn't wait to meet them in Fallabor, Iwa-chan's hometown and the location of Oikawa's next contest.

Oikawa rolled eyes, "I dazzled you, didn't I?" He said and he managed to escape the blankets, Ribbon at his side already, rubbing her head against his arm.

"I'm ok," he told Ribbon, kissing her head before getting up.

"Hurry up, breakfast is ready, we need to get going if we want to make it to the Safari Zone,"

Right, they would be camping out at the Safari Zone tonight, just so Oikawa could get used to it. He had only ever traveled to Lilycove for contests, and he was from Slateport so he also participated in the ones there.

Oikawa hurried up and changed into the clothes he had picked out. All his bags were packed (with the help of Iwaizumi because Oikawa was only allowed one backpack) so they just had to eat and lock up and they were ready to go. Oikawa had asked his friend from the shoal cave if he could come around the house and water his berry trees, so he had to remember to leave the key in the Lum Tree pot.

He walked out and saw Iwaizumi was outside with Belle (Iwaizumi's Arcanine he had evolved when we first landed on the island) so he took his plate with him and joined them.

"I think Belle is going to have to go into the pokeball while we're surfing," Belle seemed to pout and nuzzled Iwaizumi, "I know girl, but you're just too big now. You might fall off or hurt Gyarados,"

Belle rubbed her face on Iwaizumi's chest, making Oikawa smile at the endearing picture as he continued to eat his breakfast, "it shouldn't take very long, I'm sure Gyarados will be wanting to show off his speed to Mirage,"

"Oh, you're riding Milotic?"

Oikawa turned his head a bit in confusion, "am I not supposed to?"

Iwaizumi turned his attention to Belle and started to scratch her neck, hiding behind her head, "I just thought we could both ride Gyarados. But we don't have to if you don't want to,"

Oikawa could feel his face heat up, "Oh! I figured we would just be riding our own pokemon, but I would like to be on Gyarados, I guess I am still a bit nervous and you help me calm down," Oikawa was looking at the ground by the time he finished.

"Sounds like a plan then,"

He looked up to see a flushed Iwaizumi smiling at him. Oikawa smiled back, and then stumbled forward when Sylveon walked outside and nudged his leg. Luckily he was able to catch himself, thanks to Ribbon who was able to grab onto his waist with her coil like ribbons.

She walked around his legs, seeming to apologize for making his stumble. Oikawa couldn't help but feel embarrassed though, having dropped his breakfast, he could hear Iwaizumi chuckling.

"I still don't know how you're a coordinator," Iwaizumi mused.

Oikawa huffed, picking up Ribbon, "we're pros," he pressed a kiss to his pokemon's forehead, "when it's time to perform we become stars. Don't we, darling?"

Ribbon licked his cheek, "Syl," Oikawa kissed him again before letting them down, "I'm going to go steal some of your food for laughing at me and then we can go,"

"I ate your berries so go ahead,"

They were out the house and hour later, key in the pot, backpacks strapped on, poke balls on belts and Belle and Ribbon standing alongside them.

"Ready to go?"

Oikawa took a deep breathe, "yeah, let's go,"

They went to go tell Mirage and Gyarados (who had spent the night in an underwater cavern) that they would meet them on the beach west of town and set on their way, making sure to stop by the Pokemart and Pokemon Center.

Iwaizumi climbed on Gyarados while Oikawa asked Mirage if he wanted to go back into his pokeball or ride alongside them. Mirage was excited to be out so he swam next to them, Gyarados also happy by the decision. They chatted a bit as they rode, Iwaizumi telling Oikawa little tips he should know.

"It's good to have a Pokemon that knows a fire type move since we need one to keep us warm and make food, also a water type for obvious reasons. Grass and bug types are really good at finding natural foods we can eat and flying types are helpful for if you ever get lost or need to find something,"

Oikawa almost felt like he should be taking notes. All Iwaizumi was saying was very valuable information.

"But the most important part is to just believe in your Pokemon, no matter was type you have. They are born in nature so they have instincts we don't,"

Oikawa nodded, he had Vixen, his Levanney on his lap, he pet her head and enjoyed the sweet aroma she emitted from being happy.

"Do you think we'll make it before sundown?" Oikawa asked, he was only a little nervous.

"I was actually thinking that we could even ride Belle for a little if she was ok with it. She'll need the exercise at some point. It might even be good to get there a few hours before sundown so we don't have to set up everything in the dark,"

Oikawa smiled, "I think that's a great idea,"

Iwaizumi smiled back and him and they stayed beaming at each other until Vixen interrupted them, she wanted to move from Oikawa's lap, to Iwaizumi. She had really taken a liking to him over the past week.

When they were at Oikawa's house, Vixen liked to be in the garden, tending to the flowers and making things from leaves. And when Iwaizumi was training, she became very curious and liked to watch him. She would inch closer and closer until the next thing anyone knew, she was either in his lap or had a leafy hand wrapped around his leg.

Iwaizumi found the whole thing humorous because his own Pokemon would become jealous. Emerald, his Leafeon, would immediately begin to circle Iwaizumi, and being the runt of the litter, she was small and able to wrap herself around his neck and lay on his shoulders. Hornet, a Shedinja, would perch itself on his head. Cobalt, his Lucario, would try to challenge Vixen to a battle. Ursaring didn't seem to care, but Oikawa always caught him staring daggers at Vixen. Gyarados was always too distracted by Mirage to care much. Surprisingly, Belle was always the last one to join in, but that was because she could easily bite into the back of his shirt and pull him away from all of them. She had done it several times already, she would pull him away and then wrap her body around his so none of the others could get to him.

Oikawa found the whole thing hilarious, especially since he could see Iwaizumi's pokeballs moving around along his hip, they seemed to know where Vixen was and we're not happy about it. Emerald somehow got out of her pokeball and onto Oikawa's lap. He guessed that Emerald was trying to make Vixen jealous but it didn't work because Vixen just seemed to cozy more into Iwaizumi until she was actually taking a nap in his arms.

The problem arose when Ribbon became jealous of Emerald on Oikawa and got out her own Pokeball. Ribbon made herself comfortable between Oikawa and Iwaizumi one ribbon wrapped around each of them. Hornet also got out of his poke ball and perched himself on Gyarados' head. Two humans and four pokemon were too much for Gyarados and he thrashed around, angry that there was suddenly more weight on him, the only one who managed to stay on was Ribbon, wrapping her tendons around Gyarados' neck, while everyone else flew off into the water. Hornet was in the air, searching for Iwaizumi, and when he surfaced, Hornet landed on his head.

Oikawa resurfaced some ten feet away from Iwaizumi. The both laughed at the ridiculousness of their situation and called back their pokemon, except for Gyarados and Mirage. Oikawa was just about to swim back when he he felt something wrap around his leg and then he was being pulled down the water. Iwaizumi and their two pokemon immediately dove down, they saw a school of tentacools had grabbed Oikawa and were dragging him through an underwater tunnel.

Mirage didn't waste a second, he was speeding through the water to his trainer. Iwaizumi went up to the surface for a big gulp of air before he grabbed onto Gyarados and they followed behind. Iwaizumi could see Oikawa thrashing, trying to get away, but he appeared to get weaker and weaker until he wasn't moving anymore

Mirage tackled the Tentacool, and was able to get some away from Oikawa, but more grabbed onto him.

Iwaizumi let go of Gyarados, who swam towards them and used Bite and Aqua Tail. When the Tentacool became distracted by Gyarados and Mirage, finally letting go of Oikawa, he swam as hard as he could, already feeling himself grow weak from lack of oxygen. They he felt Mirage swimming up under him and moving them up to the surface. Iwaizumi looked back to see most of the Tentacool gone, Gyarados battling against the handful that were left.

Once they were on the surface, Mirage swam them to a small piece of land.

Oikawa was still unconscious, and Iwaizumi began freaking out, trying to wake him up, but Oikawa wasn't moving. Iwaizumi began to perform CPR.

"Come on Oikawa," he chanted, "wake up, wake up, wake up,"

He stopped the compressions to pinch Oikawa's nose and blow air into his lungs, he did it three more times. Muttering the number of compressions and telling Oikawa to wake up.

Finally, after what felt like too long, Oikawa's eyes shot wide open and he was coughing. Water spilling from his mouth. He reached out for something to hold, grabbing onto Iwaizumi's arm.

Iwaizumi was relieved, and helped Oikawa sit up, as he continued to cough out all the water from his system. Once he felt all the water was out, he started to breathe hard, panting, trying to get air back into his lungs.

He could feel Iwaizumi's hand on his back, the friction making him realize just how cold he was. He felt as though he were trapped in a block of ice, even his insides felt frozen. He clutched onto Iwaizumi's shirt, folding himself into him.

"Iwa-chan," he croaked out, his voice harsh. His throat felt dry and it burned when he spoke, "'s cold,"

Iwaizumi wrapped his arms around him tight, bringing him into his lap. Oikawa heard the sound of a Pokeball opening and then felt warm fur all around him, Belle had wrapped herself around them, pressing into Oikawa. Her body emitting warmth all through his own.

Next thing he knew, all his Pokemon were out of their Pokeballs and trying to cuddle Oikawa, he found it nice and comforting. Even Abby, his Mamoswine, was out, she was a few feet away, she may have a lot of fur but she was still cold, being an ice type and all.

"Thanks for rescuing me," Oikawa shivered out.

"It's ok, you don't have to thank me. Besides, it was mostly our Pokemon doing the work," Iwaizumi responded, he was rubbing his hands up and down Oikawa's arms. Trying to create friction and heat.

"Iwa-chan, I think it's best if I go back home," Oikawa said, once he felt his lungs were successfully circulating his blood again and he could feel his toes.

"What?" Iwaizumi seemed surprise.

"It's hasn't even been three hours and I was already almost dying,"

"Come on, you'll be okay. We protected you, and we'll protect you again. And if anything were to happen to me, I know you'd protect me,"

Oikawa shivered, "promise?"

"Promise,"

"Okay,"

"And you weren't almost dying, you really think I was going to let you die?"

Oikawa smiled but he felt cold again, and he started to shiver. His Pokemon looked worried and tried to look closer but were scared, "I-I'm okay," he told them.

It took an hour for Oikawa to stop feeling cold. And he finally untangled himself from Iwaizumi and Belle, and he was able to get to his Pokemon, who threw themselves on him. Abby stayed back but Oikawa hugged her anyway, "don't worry so much about me," he told her, burying his face into her chilly fur.

They were back in the water another hour later, in fresh clothes and once Iwaizumi had fussed over Oikawa enough. Making sure he had water and made him eat some of the berries he had stolen from Oikawa's garden.

"Iwa-chan! I'm fine!" Okawa said, eating a berry happily, "let's go!"

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes and they called their Pokemon back. They got on Gyarados, Mirage swimming closely to them, keeping an eye on them. Iwaizumi sat next to Oikawa and wrapped an arm around his waist. Oikawa raised his eyebrow in question, "I'm just making sure you're secure, your Pokemon will kill me if something happens to you again,"

Oikawa chuckled, but leaned into Iwaizumi, "I'm not complaining,"

When they landed in Lilycove, Iwaizumi tried to convince Oikawa that they could stay in the hotel over night, but Oikawa refused for the hundredth time.

"We're camping!" he said, heading towards the Pokemon center, "let's get our Pokemon checked out and then we can go, "

"You're the one who needs to be checked," Iwaizumi said. Oikawa rolled his eyes, and did so again when Iwaizumi told Nurse Joy what happened and asked if she could give him a quick check up.

"Of course I can!" she said, she sat Oikawa down on a table next to Pirouette, Gardevoir, and gave him a quick examination.

"He really worries about you," she told Oikawa as she checked his ears, "it's sweet,"

Oikawa blushed, looking at Iwaizumi from the large window that separated the examination room from the waiting room. He was carrying Vixen and Ribbon in each arm, Candy, his Swoobat, was perched on his head. And they were all looking into the room.

"I know," Oikawa told her, "he's great,"

Nurse Joy deemed him okay and Oikawa happily skipped out of the waiting room, taking his Pokemon, "I'm okay guys," he told them, then looking to Iwaizumi, "I'm fine," he said.

Iwaizumi looked at Nurse Joy though, who gave him a thumbs up, "he's good to go,"

Iwaizumi sighed, "that's good to hear," he said.

While their Pokemon were being checked, they went into the Department Store and went on a bit of a shopping spree. Iwaizumi splurged and bought a Protein for Cobalt, and a Carbos for Belle, along with a couple other things for himself. Oikawa bought a new backpack, a bigger one, so he could hold all his new things, which included items for his Pokemon, a couple shirts, and a Skitty doll he convinced Iwaizumi to buy him. But he decided he would mostly carry the Skitty in his arms.

"I've always wanted one," he told Iwaizumi when they were walking back to the Pokemon Center, "a real Skitty. But they're only on Route 116 and I've never been there,"

"If we have time, we can make a detour,"

Oikawa beamed, "if we can’t at least I'll have this one," Oikawa held his Skitty out, "what should we name it?"

"You made fun of my naming skills,"

"You bought him,"

Iwaizumi thought for a second, "Sugar," he said, and he was blushing.

Truthfully, Oikawa thought he could come up with a better name if he thought about it some more, but instead he held the Skitty closer to his chest, "I think it's a great name. Couldn't have come up with something better,"

Iwaizumi seemed proud of himself and Oikawa smiled into his Skitty.

The first thing Oikawa did when they were back inside the Pokemon Center was show off Sugar to his other Pokemon, they all found the doll adorable.

Belle had been following them to and from the buildings and was patiently waiting outside with Abby as the rest of their Pokemon got checked.
�"Belle said it was okay if we ride her all the way to the Safari Zone," Iwaizumi told Oikawa as they repacked all their things to make sure everything fit.

"Did she tell you that? Are you a Pokemon Whisperer now, Iwa-chan?"

Iwaizumi nudged his shoulder, making him stumble a bit, "shut up,"

Oikawa chuckled, he finished packing everything up, making sure all his Pokeballs were secured to his belt. He only left Sugar sitting on the futon and as soon as his bag was on his shoulders, he picked her back up. They said goodbye to Nurse Joy and went outside to see Belle, who was excited to see them and immediately in their faces, Abby ran up next to them and nuzzled Oikawa. He giggled and pet her and then called her back into his Pokeball. He knew he wouldn't be able to carry Sugar, unless he wanted to fall off, so he carefully stuffed her into his bag.

They mounted Belle and situated themselves before Belle started to run. Oikawa thought he was secure, but he wasn't and felt himself jolt as soon as Belle started to run. His arms acted on instinct as they wrapped around Iwaizumi's waist, holding on tight so he wouldn't fall right off. It was exhilarating though, Belle was so fast, the air was hitting his face and he could feel his hair going crazy around his head, he was going to have some seriously crazy hair when they arrived. Oikawa tried to open his eyes, but he could only squint, the air was hitting his face so hard his eyes wouldn't stop watering. He faintly looked up to see Iwaizumi was laughing, he hadn't even noticed before, but now he could feel his stomach moving along as he laughed and Oikawa couldn't help but laugh along with him.

The ride to the Safari Zone was short, too short, but Oikawa didn't mind because he didn't think his hair could deal with it any longer. The first thing Iwaizumi did when they stopped was start laughing at Oikawa's ridiculous hair, Oikawa hit him and took the hat Iwaizumi had bought at the department store right off of his head and put it on his own, deciding he would fix his hair when he found a mirror.

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes but ran his fingers through his hair, the hairs that had been pressed down from the hat now sticking up in their usual mess.

Iwaizumi told Belle to wait, and Oikawa called out Swoobat, "keep Belle company, Candy," Oikawa pecked Candy on the head and followed Iwaizumi inside, where they were greeted by a rough looking blonde man and a sweet looking brunet who were both playing with a Bellsprout and a Paras.

"Kyoutani,"

The blonde guy, Kyoutani, looked up and was smiling, the Paras climbing onto his head and holding on as Kyoutani stood up, "hey Iwaizumi. I was expecting you over two hours ago,"

Iwaizumi laughed, "yeah well this idiot got kidnapped by Tentacool and almost drowned, so we had a bit of a delay,"

"Are you okay?" The brunet asked, standing up, the Bellsprout holding onto his back.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he told him, "Iwa-chan took very good care of me,"

"That's good to hear," Kyoutani said, "Shigeru created a map of places you guys can camp,"

"Thanks Yahaba," Iwaizumi said when Yahaba took out a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolding it, showing a map of the Safari Zone area with several areas circled in a bright pink marker.

Iwaizumi handed Oikawa the map, "first lesson on camping, picking a location. From what I've told you already, pick one,"

Oikawa was very surprised and looked at the sheet, completely in disbelief that he was going to have to decide it all on his own, he brought the map up close to his face but still had no idea what he should pick.

"Hey Kyou, is it ok if I use the PC?" Iwaizumi asked.

"Yeah, we moved it over to the back, let me take you,"

"No, Iwa-," Oikawa started to protest but Iwaizumi was already walking into a different room.

Oikawa sighed and continued to look at the map, hoping an answer would appear on the paper. Surprisingly, it did, in the form of Yahaba's finger. He was pointing to one of the circles near the lake, "this is the best spot," he said, "it's close enough to the lake that you have water, but far enough that all the Pokemon going to get water won't be disturbing you. There's Illumise and Volbeat who like to fly over the lake at night and they shine their lights really bright, you won't get that light. Not to mention there are a lot of trees so if it rains you'll have more cover than just your tent,"

"Yahaba-chan, you're the best," Oikawa threw his arms around him.

Yahaba laughed and hugged him back, "always happy to help,"

"Are there any other things I should know?" Oikawa asked, desperately.

"Just trust your Pokemon, and Iwaizumi,"

Oikawa flushed and smiled, "I think I can do that,"

Iwaizumi and Kyoutani came back then, Iwaizumi holding up a Pokeball, "I got Toucannon," he said, "Had to send Ursa to Professor Birch but he loves it there,"

"You have a Toucannon?!" Oikawa ran up to Iwaizumi, "lemme see him," he made grabby hands at the Pokeball, but Iwaizumi held it behind him.

"Relax, he'll be out soon,"

"How do you have an Alolan Pokemon?"

"My parents went last year to try to get a contest system implemented over there. I tagged along to explore and I caught him. He's great,"

Oikawa felt jealous, "you've been everywhere, Iwa-chan," he pouted, "and I haven't even been all around Hoenn,"

Iwaizumi scuffed his hair, "we're gonna see plenty of it, don't worry,"

Oikawa smiled and slapped his hand away, "stop messing with my hair, just because yours isn't perfect, doesn’t mean you can mess up mine,"

"He sounds like you," they heard from behind them, Kyoutani had a hand around Yahaba, and Yahaba was giggling.

"No he doesn't," he giggled, "I don't care that much about my hair,"

"Ok now I just feel like I'm being ganged up on," Oikawa pouted and held Sugar tighter.

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, "oh, stop. Now let's go so we get the tents set up before it gets dark,"
�"If you need anything just send Toucannon,"

"Actually, I need Toucannon for something else, so Tooru will send his Swoobat, but we should be ok,"

Tooru held out the map while they walked, Belle and Candy had rejoined them to the spot but he kept going in the wrong direction and Iwaizumi would have to steer him around to make sure he was headed the right way. They eventually made it, and after surveying the area, Iwaizumi gave him a pat on the back.

"Now we're going to set up the tent but I want to send Toucannon somewhere so I'll let you see him for a minute, okay?"

Oikawa tried not to squeal, but he couldn't help it. He had never seen an Alolan Pokemon before. Iwaizumi released Toucannon, who immediately landed on his extended arm. He looked beautiful, his beak was a rainbow of colors and he had multi-colored feathers in several parts of his body. He looked up into the sky, like Oikawa was lesser than him, it actually made Oikawa want to laugh.

"Come on Toucannon, don't be rude," Iwaizumi ran a finger up and down his neck, "Oikawa was very excited to meet you and quite frankly, you're being an ass," Tocannon seemed to huff, "don't take it personally," Iwa told Oikawa, "he's mad because he doesn't like it when I leave him with Birch, even though he's free to fly around all he wants,"

Iwaizumi laughed, "well I guess if he's mad, then he doesn't want to go on a mission I have for him," he teased

"Oooh what's the mission?" Okinawa played along.

"I need him to deliver something to the Berry Master, I was hoping to drop it off personally, but we won't be able to. And Toucannon is so fast and has met the Berry Master before so I thought it would be fitting, but if he doesn't want to do it, then would you let me borrow Swoobat? I'm su- ow!"

Toucannon had pecked at his head and seemed angry that Iwaizumi would even suggest such a thing,

"So you are going to do me this favor?"

Toucannon stopped pecking at Iwaizumi and pumped out his chest. Iwaizumi laughed and rubbed his neck again, "good boy. Let me get the stuff from my bag,"

"What you sending him?"

"He has a friend in Mossdeep who sent him this fossil of an ancient Pokemon. I picked it up for him," Iwaizumi said, "now Toucannon, you need to be very careful, okay?"

Toucannon nodded it's head and rubbed his beak against Iwaizumi's cheek, as though kissing him. It was so sweet and Oikawa had to distract himself with getting his tent out of his bag so Iwaizumi wouldn't see him blushing. Iwaizumi was so good with Pokemon, of all kinds. They would always run into all kinds of Pokemon on the island, and Iwaizumi was so good with all of them. They all liked Iwaizumi, and it was obvious Iwaizumi liked Pokemon.

He gave Toucannon some kind of colored beans and some other food and then tied the package to his leg, "be careful and take breaks if you need to. Take Routes 122 and 123 it's faster, just be careful. Okay?"

Iwaizumi gave Toucannon a hug and then sent him off.

"Are we taking Routes 122 and 123, too?"

"Wow you really haven't even looked at a map of Hoenn, have you?" Iwaizumi chuckled, looking in the direction that Toucannon had just gone, "those routes are covered in ledges, not to mention we have to pass by Mt. Pyre which is full of ghost Pokemon. And I know for a fact you're terrified of them so no, we'll take the long way,"

"I am not terrified," Oikawa was, he had always been afraid of ghost Pokemon, ever since he was little and had snuck into the shipyard in Slateport and ended up being scared by a group of Ghastly's that liked to hang out there and terrify children apparently.

Iwaizumi realized this when he had mentioned he had recently evolved his Shuppet. Oikawa had shuddered and looked terrified, and turned a slightly pale color when Iwaizumi reminded him that Shedinja was part ghost.

"Yes you are, don't lie. No one likes liars," Iwaizumi had taken his own tent out and had most of it already build, Oikawa still only had it out. He quickly scrambled to try to catch up to where Iwaizumi was. Oikawa didn't feel as though he was making progress then, and Iwaizumi didn't help (no matter how much he begged). But eventually he's had something that resembled a tent he and Ribbon could fit in so he allowed it. Iwaizumi and the other Pokemon had already gathered sticks and leaves and with a puff of Ember, Belle had created a fire for them to cook a meal with.

Oikawa wanted to say he learned a lot but he was too distracted watching Iwaizumi being trailed around by a herd of Pokemon that he wasn't really registering anything, but he found common sense helped a lot.

When it grew dark, they sat around the fire, most of their Pokemon were curled around each other fast asleep.

"I just realized Belle isn't going to be able to sleep in my tent with me anymore," Iwaizumi said, looking at her where she was asleep with Vixen, Ribbon, and Emerald all around her.

"Yeah, she's too big now. Ribbon looks so comfy I don't think she'll want to sleep with me either," Oikawa didn't want to admit he was scared, but he was and he tried to hide it, "I think I'm going to sleep now, need to get all the beauty sleep I can," he said, getting up and stretching a bit, "I'll see you in the morning,"

Iwaizumi waved him off and got up to go to his own tent. Oikawa crawled inside, getting into his sleeping bag and staring up. Every little sound frightened him and he didn't want to sound like a child and go crying to Iwaizumi. He eventually became so tired that not even being scared could have kept him awake.

Oikawa didn't know how long he had been asleep for, but he woke up to hear rustling around his tent, he tried to keep his eyes shut but the suspense had him slowly opening his eyes. He didn't see anything inside his tent, and he felt a moment of relief, but he saw some kind of shadow by the entrance to his tent. He grabbed Sugar, holding it tight as he crawled to the entrance. As soon as he opened the flap a bit, he saw a Heracross, and he freaked out. He stood up quickly, and hit the top of his tent, which brought the whole thing down, only his head stuck out from the mess of tent.

He let out a shriek which woke all the Pokemon up, Heracross ran away and Iwaizumi stumbled out of his tent, "what happened?"

"There was a bug Pokemon!" he yelled, as though that was explanation enough.

"So?" Iwaizumi asked, rubbing his eyes. Shedinja had flown over to him, looking sad that Oikawa was yelling about bugs.

"It tried to attack me!"

"I highly doubt that, it was probably just curious, people don't tend to camp out here,"

Oikawa crawled out of his tent and sat himself on the floor outside of it, looking at his tent like all his dreams had died along with his tent. Iwaizumi sighed, "come on," he said, moving into his tent, "I guess you can sleep with me,"

Oikawa grinned, and managed to drag his sleeping bag and brought it with him to Iwaizumi's tent. There was just enough space for his bag in there. Iwaizumi was already laid down inside, Hornet was laying on his stomach, looking at Oikawa tentatively. Oikawa slipped inside his bag and reached a hand out to pet Hornet on the head. Oikawa didn't like bug types, but he liked Hornet, he was actually cute for a bug type, and he was friendly with all the other Pokemon.

"Don't worry," Oikawa whispered, "I like you, you're cute,"

"What?!" Iwaizumi asked, sitting up fast, Hornet surprised and flying into Oikawa's arms.

"What?" Oikawa was confused by the sudden outburst, just as surprised as Hornet.

"You just sa-you just said you liked me!" Iwaizumi yelled.

"I said that to Hornet," Oikawa said softly.

"Oh," Iwaizumi laid down again, and then it all hit Oikawa, and he was laughing.

Oikawa couldn't stop laughing, "Iwa-chan! You thought I said I liked you! Come on Iwa-chan, you know that you're a brute, and you think I called you cute,"

Iwaizumi grunted and turned over on his side, "shut up. You should be clear when you say things,"

Oikawa's laughter died down until he was only giggling, and then he turned on his side to face Iwaizumi's bag, he reached out a hand and rubbed his back, "I'm just joking, Iwa-chan. I mean you are a brute, but you're cute for a brute. Just like Hornet is cute for a bug type,"

"Hey!" Iwaizumi flipped around to face him, "Hornet is cute, and not just for a bug type,"

Hornet buzzed happily and flew around above them, obviously happy that they thought he was cute. Next thing they knew, the tent was opening and Ribbon was walking inside, settling himself right in between the two of them. Oikawa giggled and moved back some to make more room for him. Iwaizumi did the same and Hornet settled himself in by Ribbon's head, where her ribbons curled around him as though cradling him. Oikawa smiled at the sight and moved closer to cuddle with Ribbon.

"Our Pokemon are so cute," Oikawa said.

"I'm surprised how well they've all gotten along with each other," Iwaizumi ran a hand along Ribbon's back, "and they are all really cute,"

"You're cute too Iwa-chan, don't worry,"

"Oh shut up, Idiotkawa," but he was smiling at him. Oikawa smiled back and put his hand over Iwaizumi's, where it still lay on Ribbon.

"Goodnight Iwa-chan,"

"Goodnight Oikawa,"

Waking up was a mission. Oikawa was sore every where. The padding at the bottom of his sleeping bag wasn’t enough and he was pretty sure he had rolled onto a rock in his sleep because his side hurt and when he lifted his shirt to check, there was a forming bruise. And it didn't help that Iwaizumi seemed to wake up in a great mood. He stretched and called out a happy "good morning" because stepping out of the tent. Oikawa didn't get up for another ten minutes, and that was only because Iwaizumi had threatened to throw him in the lake.

When Oikawa finally got out of the tent, he saw Kyoutani and Yahaba had joined them, they had brought pans and were making breakfast over a new fire.

"Breakfast!" Oikawa exclaiming, going to help Yahaba cut vegetables.

"Enjoy it, because we won't be waking up to breakfast everyday," Iwaizumi said, coming back with a bucket full of water in each hand.

"I know that," Oikawa rolled his eyes, "I appreciate anytime someone makes me food,"

"You never said thanks to me the whole time I was making you food,"

"My thanks was letting you live in my house,"

"I though that was because you would be staying at my house,"

"Well it's because of a lot of things,"

"You owe me a few hundred thank you's,"

"You guys are like an old married couple," Yahaba giggled. Kyoutani told him to shut up and both Iwaizumi and Oikawa were too embarrassed and red to say anything else. A bunch of Pokemon came around, all wanted to follow Kyoutani around as he went from the lake and back several times.

"Kyoutani pretty much takes care of all the Pokemon who live here, so they like to follow him around, it's cute really," Yahaba explained, a look of pure adoration in his eyes, "we live upstairs from the entrance, and it's really nice, but a lot of times Kyoutani likes to bring out his hammock and just strap it to some of the trees and fall asleep out here. And of course when I go look for him in the morning, he's surrounded by Pokemon," he giggled, "he looks scary, but he's great with them,"

A Phanpy rolled over and stopped right in front of Yahaba, "hey cutie," Oikawa said as Yahaba picked up the Phanpy and gave her a Pokepuff, "aren't you the cutest thing?"

When all the dished were clean and Oikawa could move his limbs without groaning every time, he and Iwaizumi packed up all their things and helped the other two carry their things back to the entrance.

"Thanks so much for letting us camp out here hopefully Oikawa learned a few things,"

"Oh of course!" Oikawa smiled, even though he had been distracted for most of it, "I don't even think I need Iwa-chan anymore,"

Iwaizumi smacked the back of his head, "you'll get lost without me," and then to Kyoutani, "when Toucannon makes it back, could you tell him to find us on our way to Fortree City?"

They said their good byes and were on their way, "I think we can make It to Fortree before nightfall, we might even be able to sleep in the Pokemon Center,"

"Good, cause I need a shower,"

"You're too high maintenance,"

Oikawa rolled his eyes and continued walking along side Iwaizumi. Oikawa was fascinated by everything, the Pokemon, the scenery, the berry trees with berries he had never seen. But he wasn't the only excited one, Belle would spot a trainer and immediately nudge Iwaizumi toward the trainer, wanting to battle any and everyone. By the time they made it to Fortree City, it was dark, and Oikawa was terrified of the fact that he had to climb rope ladders and then walk along rope bridges. Iwaizumi had him climb first, and when he was on top, he took out Sugar from his bag and called out Ribbon so he could hold them as he was waiting for Iwaizumi to climb up.

It was dark so Iwaizumi almost stumbled over Oikawa, who was curled up on the ground holding his Pokemon.

"Hey! Shittykawa what ar- wait, are you okay?" he bent down and rubbed a hand along Oikawa's back.

"I'm a-afraid of heights," Oikawa mumbled, "I sh-should ha-a-ave told you be-before,"

"Hey. No, it's okay. I should have asked," Iwaizumi continued to rub his back and eventually helped him up, "but this is the only way to get through. You can hold onto my shirt, okay?"

Oikawa nodded, "I'm gonna close my eyes," Ribbon held onto his forearm as he held onto Sugar with one arm, and the other hand was clutching the back of Iwaizumi's shirt.

It's going to feel shaky, but don't worry, they're very well reinforced, so we won't fall off okay?"

Oikawa was anxious to say the least, but he felt safe with Iwaizumi's words, and knowing that he was right there. Ribbon was holding onto him and he felt comforted by his Pokemon.

The first step onto the bridge was terrifying, he could both hear and feel the bridge wobbling as he stepped onto it, and the next step wasn't any better. All of a sudden he felt Iwaizumi turning around, he tried to clutch onto the shirt tighter, but he let go when he felt Iwaizumi grab his hand, "do you want to hold my hand instead?"

Oikawa still hadn't opened his eyes, so he just nodded his head. Iwaizumi took his hand, and they started walking again, this time Oikawa felt a lot safer, he would squeeze Iwaizumi's hand every time the bridge would shift, and Iwa would squeeze right back. It felt like forever that they were walking but eventually he felt his feet hit something more solid and when he opened his eyes, he saw Iwaizumi was smiling at him, "you did good, now we just have to climb down,"

Oikawa climbed down fast but carefully, he didn’t want to risk slipping and falling, Ribbon had jumped through the branches until he landed on the ground and he waited for Oikawa there. Iwaizumi climbed down after him and when he made it down he grabbed Oikawa's hand again and lead him to the Pokemon Center where they found a room with two bunk beds, it was currently unoccupied so they left their heavy bags there and went to take shower and get ready for bed.

Oikawa, surprisingly, finished before Iwaizumi and was in bed by the time he got back. He was about to climb onto the top bunk since Oikawa was on the bottom one, but Oikawa called out his name, he felt a bit embarrassed, about asking, but he couldn’t help it, "would you sleep down here with me?"

"It's a little crowded, don't you think?" it was true, Oikawa had all his smaller Pokemon in the bed with him. Ribbon was sleeping on his stomach, Vixen was curled up on his side, and Swoobat had laid down next to Oikawa's head.

"Yeah, I guess," he said, a bit sadly. Ribbon lifted his head, looking at his trainer and then at Iwaizumi. He stood up and stretched, and then nudged Vixen and Candy awake, motioning his head to the bed across from them were some of Iwaizumi's Pokemon were asleep. The Pokemon migrated over, leaving Oikawa alone.

"Well not anymore," Iwaizumi said, "scoot over," he grabbed the blanket and pillow from the top bed with him as he laid down, "it's cramped,"

"Sorry," Oikawa tried to move closer to the wall, but it was already pressing uncomfortably into his back.

Iwaizumi turned on his side to face, "don't apologize. I'm just not very used to it, but it's nice,"

Oikawa gave him a small smile and was about to say something when he yawned, covering his mouth, "I'm sleepy," he mumbled, his eyes drooping as he got more comfortable on the bed, not really caring that he was pressed up to Iwaizumi now.

Oikawa woke up earlier than Iwaizumi, surprisingly. He had woken by a loud noise that he could feel travel though his body. He realized it was Iwaizumi snoring, and he was laying on his chest. Oikawa blushed and sat up quickly, trying to climb over Iwaizumi to get out the bed, but he hit his head on the wooden beam above and let out a loud yelp, which woke Iwaizumi up.

He groaned, "why are you yelling?"

"I hit my head," he said, "sorry for waking you,"

Iwaizumi rubbed his eyes, "it's okay, we should probably be getting ready to leave now anyway,"

Oikawa saw just a bit of light coming through the windows, he suspected the sun had just risen, and he was still sleepy. He groaned and laid back down, "can we sleep a little while longer?"

"Nope," Iwaizumi said, "you can sleep all you want tonight when we get to Mauville,"

Oikawa sat up fast, actually hitting his head this time, "we're getting to Mauville today?"

"Yeah if you get up we could make it, maybe after dark but we will make it," Iwaizumi got up and was stretching.

"I get to see Makki! I thought we wouldn't make it until tomorrow," he said, getting up as well.

Iwaizumi was rummaging through his bag for some clothes, "yeah Belle needs the exercise and you can tell she likes it, so at least for a little while,"

Oikawa smiled and opened his arms for his Pokemon to jump into his arms. Candy was the first one and he hugged her tight, falling back onto the bed, the other Pokemon jumping on top of him, "then we can stay for a little while longer,"

"I'm going to get coffee and then we're going. So you better get ready,"

Oikawa smiled and kissed Candy before sitting up as well, he knew Iwaizumi wouldn't leave him but his morning routine did take a while.

When Oikawa was finally ready, he met Iwaizumi in the lobby of the Pokemon Center. He was having breakfast and talking to Nurse Joy while their Pokemon were all eating food from several bowls all over. He could see outside their larger Pokemon were also eating outside. As Oikawa got closer, he saw Toucannon was asleep on Iwaizumi's lap.

"Toucannon is back!" he said.

Iwaizumi ran his fingers down Toucannon's wings, "yeah, Nurse Joy said he came in last night,"

"My sister was working during the night, she gave him a check up," Nurse Joy said.

Oikawa sat down next to Iwaizumi, where he saw a plate was and assumed it was for him, he rubbed Toucannon's head and began eating, enjoying the coffee Iwaizumi had gotten for him.

They had breakfast and set out again, Toucannon refused to leave Iwaizumi, choosing to sit on his shoulder or head. Oikawa found it hilarious and so did Ribbon, who kept a ribbon around Oikawa's arm and would giggle every time Toucannon would nuzzle Iwaizumi's head. Belle trotted happily alongside them, waiting for when they would ride her. She would also nudge Iwaizumi occasionally but it wasn't until they were at the Weather Station on Route 119 that Iwaizumi gave in and they were getting on and she happily started to run through the paths.

She wasn't going as fast as she had been the day before, but it was still fast and Oikawa still held on tight to Iwaizumi.
He could see the eyes of trainers that they passed by and saw how they looked in awe at watching Arcanine run. A couple trainers even tried to catch their eyes to challenge them to a battle. Iwaizumi accepted their challenge whenever Belle would stop running.

It was amazing watching Belle battle. Oikawa sat down crossed legged to the side, watching the battle, Ribbon was sat on his lap as he smoothed out her fur as she tried to watch the battle as well. Belle was graceful, she would jump out of the way already knowing when Iwaizumi would call out for her to dodge before he even called it out. The opponent's Gloom used Sleep Powder, which had Belle asleep for a minute or so before she woke up. Iwaizumi calling out to her, telling her to wake up, she jumped up to her feet, shook her head and took her battle stance. The Gloom was strong and even though Belle had been able to hit it a couple times with Ember, it was unusually fast and able to dodge many of the attacks.

Iwaizumi had Arcanine use Extreme Speed and then as soon as she was about to hit (which Oikawa had no idea how Iwaizumi knew because she was so fast), he called out for her to use Flame Thrower. The speed from Extreme Speed created the Flame Thrower to look almost like an explosion. Oikawa knew it was a direct hit and when the smoke faded, it was obvious that the Gloom had fainted.

Oikawa called out that Belle and Iwaizumi were the victors and the other trainer went to heal his Gloom. Iwaizumi offered the trainer a Revive, which he gladly took, and then he helped the trainer treat her wounds and bring her back to health. Oikawa gave him a handful of berries as well, which Gloom seemed to love. They left, Iwaizumi had his pocket just a little heavier than previously due to the Pokecoins the trainer made him take for winning.

Oikawa gushed over Belle and how amazing she had done.

"I helped too," Iwaizumi mumbled, but he was laughing so Oikawa laughed along.

"Of course Iwa-chan was such an amazing trainer," he added. They had given her a couple potions and a Chesto berry just in case she was still feeling the effects of the Sleeping Powder.

When they set out again, they were walking this time, and decided to stop for lunch by the lake before they had to cross through the large path of high grass. They had decided it would just be the two of them to walk through it, Iwaizumi had learned from experience that the grass would sometimes end up tying around the legs of large Pokemon if they weren't careful, and they didn't want to risk losing any of the smaller Pokemon within the grass. The only Pokemon that would be out of its Pokeball would be Toucannon because he was stubborn, not to mention he could make sure they were going the right way if he stayed in the air.

After lunch, they called Ribbon and Belle back into the Pokeball, both of them offering an attempt for them to change their minds, nuzzling into their trainers and giving them large, sad eyes. Oikawa almost fell for it, but Iwaizumi called in Belle and Oikawa followed suit. He pressed a kiss to his Pokeball before sticking it onto his belt.

Toucannon flew up into the air and towards the direction of the large grass.

"Stay close," Iwaixumi said, "I don't want to have to try to find you. Also, there's trainers in here, and they might want to battle,"

Oikawa stiffened, his Pokemon weren't meant to battle, "don't worry, if we do, we'll just tell then we can't battle. If they insist, I'll battle them,"

That eased some of Oikawa's worries and he nodded, "lead the way Iwa-chan," he smiled.

They were 5 minutes in when Oikawa heard a shuffling and what sounded like a whimper, "Iwa-chan," he called out, "wait, did you hear that?"

Iwaizumi stopped and they both listened but there wasn't a sound, "it was probably just the wind blowing through the grass," Iwaizumi rationalized, "let's keep going,"

Tooru was about to follow but then he heard it again, he stayed still until he was sure what he heard wasn't the wind. He turned to call Iwaizumi but he wasn't there anymore. Tooru decided to take matters into his own hands and turned left, towards where he heard the whimpering coming from. He made it to a patch where there was no tall grass, a tree right in the middle of it, and underneath the tree was an Absol.

They had seen one from the distance and Oikawa noted how beautiful it looked.

"It's the disaster Pokemon," Iwaizumi had told him, "they're supposed to only appear when a natural disaster is going to occur. Some cultures see it as a negative omen because they believe the Absol may cause the disaster, but others think its a positive sign, telling you to look out and be careful,"

"And what do you think?" Tooru had asked.

"I think all Pokemon have an intuition for these things, Absol's may just be a bit stronger. I don't think they cause disasters though. They're just misunderstood,"

Oikawa's approached the Absol, noticing there was blood on its side, it was hurt.

Absol sensed that Oikawa was coming closer and it's paw started to glow a dark purple, ready to use Shadow Claw.

Oikawa held his hands up, "hey, it's okay. I'm here to help," he said. The Absol, relaxed it's paw and laid down, it's body limp. It had probably been startled at first, but as Iwaizumi said, their intuition was strong, it could probably sense that Oikawa wasn't a threat.

Oikawa untied the bag of berries he had on the side of his backpack, he opened it up and grabbed an Oran berry, "here," he said to Absol, helping it raise its head, "this will help you get your strength back," he fed it another one and laid a couple more next to his head while he got to work.

He was almost finished spraying a potion and wrapping up the wound then he heard a rustling behind him, he figured it was Hajime and told Absol to calm down when he started to growl.

Oikawa furrowed his brows. Hajime was great with Pokemon, there was no way Absol would see him as a threat.

Suddenly, Oikawa was being yanked back by his backpack and falling to the ground. He saw two ridiculously dressed teenagers. They were wearing all black with white shoes and a big white necklace with a weirdly shaped S on it. They both had blue hair and a black beanie with 2 white circles meant to resemble skull eyes, a bandana was over their mouth with two striped making them look like skull teeth.

"Well, well, well, look at what we found," the one on the right said, moving his arms around unnecessarily.

As the left one started to talk, he moved his arms too, "I told you that Absol would help us. I knew a goody two shoes would come try to help it,"

Oikawa wanted to laugh at how ridiculous these two were but they had purposefully hurt the Absol?

Oikawa sat up, and let his bag drop to the floor next to Absol before he stood.

"You hurt this Absol?" He asked, furious.

"Hey, we were doing y'all a favor. Now that it's hurt, it can't cause a tornado or sum'thin,"

"You were just going to leave it there? To suffer?" Oikawa was mad. He called out Abby, knowing her size was intimidating to most.

"I suggest you get out of here," a new voice said, a voice Oikawa recognized and brought relief.

Iwaizumi went to stand next to Oikawa, Toucannon perching on Abby, and Belle coming out of her Pokeball.

"I don't know what business Team Skull has in Hoenn, but you better tell Guzma he needs to stay out of my way before Lugia and I pay him another visit,"

The two grunts stiffened, "y-you're Iwaizumi Hajime?"

"The one and only,"

The grunts started to swat their hands at each other, "we gotta get out of here," they said in unison before they both ran off into the tall grass.

Once they were gone, Oikawa went back to Absol, he started to pet it's head, "You're safe now," he said, it hasn't gotten past him how tense Absol had gotten when Team Skull had showed up.

Absol relaxed and nuzzled into Oikawa's palm.

"They were using it as bait," Oikawa told Iwaizumi.

"Team Skull shouldn't even be in Hoenn," Iwaizumi said, thoughtfully, "I hope I scared them off enough,"

Oikawa took a moment to process what had happened.

"Wait," he said, "what did you mean when you said you and Lugia?"

Iwaizumi flushed, he brought a hand up to scratch the back of his neck, "I kind of, sort of have a Lugia,"

Oikawa almost fainted, "How?"

Iwaizumi sat down next to Absol, tentatively raising a hand to show he was no threat, but Absol stayed just as relaxed, Iwaizumi picked up where Oikawa had left off, working on the bandages.

"When I was 5, my parents sent me to Johto for the summer to be with my grandparents because that's peak content season and they felt bad about making me travel so much since I was so young, and I loved staying with my grandparents so it just seemed like the perfect option,"

Oikawa watched how precise and careful he was with the bandages, "anyway, my grandpa had taken me to go explore some caves and I had gotten lost because I was chasing a Pokemon, and I ended up in this cave that had a lake right in the middle. And when I peered inside I saw a baby Lugia. My grandpa found me later on with the Lugia and me asleep on the cave floor, he said it was a couple weeks ago and had most likely lost its mom. He didn't want me to leave and started crying when my grandpa said we had to go. Luckily there was a cave similar to the one we were exploring by the island my grandparents lived in and we manages to convince it to go there with us. I played with him all summer," Iwaizumi looked thoughtful, "as the end of summer started to approach I would want to stay out longer to play because I knew I wouldn't be able to see Lugia anymore. My grandma worked for a research center that studied water Pokemon, of course we didn't tell anyone about Lugia but with the research my grandma's lab had collected, my grandpa was able to make me a flute that only Lugia can hear. So if I blow it, he's usually able to find me. I went to visit my grandparents before we went to Alola and when I told Lugia we were going, he wanted to come with me, and since Alola has so many islands, he was able to come with us and that's when we ran into Guzma and he tried to catch it and we battled him and he lost really bad, so now he's afraid of me I guess," Iwaizumi had finished with the bandages and started to run his fingers through Absol's fur, "so I guess he's mine? But not really, I would never try to catch him,"

Oikawa was awestruck, he didn't even know what to say, "you're amazing Hajime," were the words that ended up spilling out.

The Absol was patched up and was already looking a lot better by the time all the Pokemon were back in their proper pokeball. Toucannon was perched on Iwaizumi's shoulder.

Oikawa got his backpack on and stood, "well Absol, you're free to do whatever it is you like," the Absol had stood as well and rubbing it's head on Oikawa's leg.

"Stay safe," Oikawa said, leaning down and kissing Absol's head.

He jogged to catch up to Iwaizumi and Toucannon at the edge of the large grass, when he felt a nudge on his leg.

"Absol ab," it said.

Oikawa squatted down, "are you still hurting?" He asked, the bandages were still clean and Absol didn't look like it was in any pain, Oikawa was perplexed.

Iwaizumi chuckled from behind him, "it looks like Absol wants to join your team,"

Oikawa flushed, looking back at the Pokemon, "really?" He asked.

The Absol smiled wide, "Absol!" It's paws were in Oikawa's lap as it nudged his head against Oikawa's chest.

"I would love to have you in my team!" Oikawa said, he took out a luxury ball, one of the new ones he had bought at the Lilycove department store. He enlarged it and Absol poked the ball with it's nose, the ball opened and Absol was sucked in in a flash of light. It wiggled three times in Oikawa's hand before a small light flashed from it, he had caught Absol!

But all too soon, the ball was gone, Oikawa pouted.

A hand in his shoulder called his attention, "don't worry, as soon as we make it to Mauville we can get it from the PC,"

Oikawa perked up, "well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" He grabbed Iwaizumi's hand and started to lead him through the maze, following Toucannon from the sky.

It took about 15 minutes before they were out on the other side, Iwaizumi only had to battle one bug trainer. Oikawa really enjoyed watching Toucannon battle, he was feisty but he listened to Iwaizumi, trusting his trainer's judgement.

When they made it out, Oikawa wanted to run all the way to Mauville, but then Iwaizumi told him there was a small lake between them.

"Don't worry, there are no Tentacool in the lake," Iwaizumi said when he saw Oikawa stiffen at the mention of water.

Oikawa nodded and let Iwaizumi lead the way. They were able to get past the trainers without having to battle anyone, as to not delay time. When they got to the water, Mirage didn't even wait to be called out before it was getting out of its Pokeballs and landing in the water.

He motioned for Oikawa to get on his back, "Aww baby," Oikawa cooed, "are you scared something is going to happen to me again?" He rubbed Mirage's chin, "you don't have to worry, Iwa-chan will protect me," he said.

Mirage seemed to be ok with that and he motioned for Iwaizumi to join Oikawa on its back. They both sat straddling the Milotic, with Iwaizumi behind him with his arms wrapped around Oikawa's waist. Toucannon once again on his shoulder.

"Mirage is even more beautiful up close," Iwaizumi said. Gyarados started to shake in its Pokeballs and Iwaizumi clamped one hand around the ball, "down boy,"

Oikawa giggled, "Mirage is beautiful, I would still like to have a Feebas again though, even though people couldn't see it, Milotic was just as beautiful even as a Feebas,"

Mirage seemed to swim with more pride after that.

Oikawa hadn't been in Mauville for a long time, and he knew it had undergone some construction, but he didn't know it had been this massive. Mauville was almost all an enclosed space now, with shops and restaurants on the main floor and apartment above them. Now Hanamaki's message had made sense when he told him to go up the east stairs.

But Oikawa walked right past the east stairs and went right to the Pokemon Center

Ribbon held into Oikawa as they walked, she was too busy looking at all the changes in Mauville. Oikawa had let her out as soon as they touched ground and told him they were almost to Makki, which left her confused since this wasn't the same Mauville.

Oikawa jerked when Ribbon suddenly stopped walking, pulling him back.

Oikawa was about to ask what was wrong, when a voice cut him off.

"I thought you weren't going to be here until tomorrow Your Highness,"

Oikawa turned to greet his friend.

"Makki!" Oikawa threw his arms around Hanamaki. Noticing Matsukawa was getting a hug from Iwaizumi.

Sylveon had wrapped a ribbon around Makki.

Hanamaki leaned down and let Ribbon lick all over his face, "well you're just as gorgeous as ever,"

"I was hoping to have her groomed while we were here," Oikawa said, "all of my Pokemon actually,"

"My dad runs the grooming place," a new voice said, "I'll hook it up, any friend of Iwaizumi's is a friend of mine," Matsukawa added.

Oikawa extended a hand, "likewise, it's great to meet you,"

After all the introductions were made, Oikawa told them he had to go to the Pokemon center. They took advantage to get their Pokemon checked up on and out of their Pokeballs for a while. Oikawa decided to exchange Abby for Absol one he was sure he had told her he loved her 50 times. He also sent Vixen, who put up a bit of a fight. She got out of her Pokeball and attached herself to Iwaizumi, her leafy claws digging into his jacket.

"Vixen," Oikawa said, "it's only for a little while, you don't want Abby to feel alone do you? And you know who's also with Professor Birch?" that peeked the Leavanny's interest, she let go of Iwaizumi a little to lean towards her trainer, "Dewy and Sunshine," Leavanny jumped into Oikawa's arms, "that's my girl," he said, Leavanny was very caring towards Pokemon, especially unevolved Pokemon. He knew how she had probably been worrying about Budew and Sunkern.

"Make sure you tell them I love them," he said, getting her back in her Pokeball and sending her to the PC.

Once Absol was back in his hand, he turned to his friends, "alright, I'm ready,"