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Breakfast! The most important meal of the day. A common sentiment that is agreed by many, including a group of adventurers called the Rising Volt Tacklers! So it shouldn't be a surprise that the kitchen and dining area was filled with many of the crew members.
Murdock was in the kitchen cooking up breakfast, specifically everyone's favorite, pancakes! The soft and tasty pancakes went well with Alcremie's sweet and sugary whipped cream. Helping Murdock was none other than Liko! The young girl had a knack for cooking, and was always a pretty good help around the kitchen. The duo quickly and effortlessly maneuvered around the kitchen with precision, mixing and preparing everything in a fast consistent pace.
"Liko, try this and tell me what you think." Murdock held up a wooden spoon with pancake batter on it.
Liko took the wooden spoon and tasted the pancake batter. "Hmmm." She hummed, trying to gauge what the batter might need. "I think it needs a pinch more salt!" She suggested.
"Alright! A pinch of salt it is!" Murdock threw in a tiny bit of salt into the batter, before resuming mixing it.
In the dining area, Roy, Mollie, Orla, Ludlow, alongside all their respective Pokemon, were in charge of setting up the table. Each person and Pokemon would grab a plate, alongside the utensils, and place them upon the table. After that, Ult would be in charge of pouring everyone a glass of orange juice.
Or he would be if he wasn't just lazing around in the corner with Sableye instead.
"Ult go make yourself useful and tell Dot that breakfast is ready." Roy said, holding the pitcher of orange juice in his hands.
"Eh? Why do I have to do it??" Ult questioned.
"Because you're the only one, who's not doing anything!" Roy spoke with a tone of exasperation, tired of Ult being lazy and not pulling his weight.
"I-" Ult opened his mouth to rebuttal, but stopped halfway. He glanced around both the kitchen and dining area, and noticed that he was in fact the only one not doing anything. Heck, Roy was doing Ult's job of pouring the orange juice. Ult slumped his shoulders in resignation. "Fine whatever." He grumbled.
"Thank you." Roy thanked, before swiftly pouring the orange juice in each glass.
"Yeah yeah whatever. C'mon Sableye." Ult swiveled on his heel, and walked towards the hallways, with Sableye following suit.
Ult didn't exactly like being told what to do, especially by Roy of all people, but after getting caught by the Explorers recently, and some other things. Ult has been trying to be more of a team player, or at least pull his weight a little. So…waking Dot up was the least he could do. Eventually, after a not so long trek, he stood at Dot's room.
"Hey, breakfast is ready." Ult said, knocking on the door. There wasn't an answer.
Ult stood for a couple of seconds before knocking again. "Did you hear me? It's breakfast time!" No answer again.
"HEY ARE YOU LISTENING?!?!" Ult shouted as he banged on the door, his patience running thin.
And still after all that noise
No answer.
Ult gritted his teeth before yanking the door wide open. The green haired boy gazed into the room, ready to yell at Dot for being deaf, until he realized that…
She wasn't here.
Dot's room was completely empty of her or any of her Pokemon.
"She's not here…" Ult commented to himself. He stepped forward, entering her room. Ult looked around the space, while Sableye began exploring it. The boisterous boy has never really been into any of the rooms here, so a part of him was curious about what was in here. The first thing that Ult noticed was the weird looking costume tucked all the way in the corner of the room.
"Ughh! Is that what she wears?" Ult voiced in slight disgust. He's never watched a single video of whatever Dot makes, so he didn't exactly know what type of costume she wore, up until now. Ult kept his gaze on the outfit. It was so…weird looking. It kinda looked like a Nidoqueen that was dropped as an egg, and still somehow found a way to live. The way its giant emotionless purple eyes stared back at Ult, gave the green haired boy the creeps. Everything about it was just so eerie. "Mega creepy." He uttered. Sableye walked up to the costume, sniffing it a little, before instantly reeling back in repugnance. It was obvious that the outfit hadn't been washed in a while, due to its…more than unpleasant aroma.
Moving his gaze away from the creepy costume, Ult then saw a desk that was littered with a system unit, three monitors, a keyboard, cables, and a bunch of technology that Ult for sure doesn't know about. "Does she really need all this junk?" He said, while walking up to the desk. He grabbed the mouse, and started moving and clicking it around the computer. Ult never really understood the point of technology like this. Gut instinct, and street smarts easily beats out any weird technological doohickey that you can use. That being said, after playing around with the mouse and opening up a bunch of random programs, he kinda got the appeal of them.
"Heh. This is mega fun actually." Ult said to himself as he continued on just clicking and opening random stuff on one of the monitors. Beside him, Sableye was having fun jumping on Dot's bed. The crystal gremlin never really had the opportunity to bounce around and have fun like this as the couch, the place where Ult usually sleeps, was nowhere near as bouncy as this! The two started enjoying themselves doing stuff that they usually wouldn't be able to. Sableye jumped higher and higher, as Ult began frantically opening and clicking on more and more stuff. Ult started to laugh in pure delight, as a joyful grin overtook his face. This was honestly the most fun he's had in a while, and it was kind of awesome!
"What the heck are you doing in my room?"
"GAH!!" Ult jumped. He was so zoned in having fun that the sudden noise caused him to basically lurch forward. As he did so, his foot got caught on one of the cables that was connected to the system unit. Ult's lunging motion caused the system unit to jerk forward and-
CRASH!!!
…On to the ground below.
Silence.
Complete deafening silence was all that filled the room as everyone, including Sableye, stopped moving. Eventually, after what felt like an entirety Dot's eyes widened as what just happened finally caught up to her. She then rushed over to the system unit, crouching down to examine it.
"Please be ok, please be ok." She whispered to herself quietly, she flipped over the unit. Unfortunately for her, it wasn't but ok. The front side was completely broken, as bits and pieces of it littered the floor. The inside wasn't any better, as everything was either completely busted or bent. Ult watched, his eyes filled with guilt and horror at what he just did. The crash was loud and hard, there was no way that thing survived.
After inspecting the system unit, Dot gazed up at Ult. Her sorrow filled face now replaced with anger and frustration. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!?!" She shouted in rage.
Ult put his hands up and took a step back, a little taken back by Dot's shouting. "I-Im s-sorry I-It was an accident." He stammered out. "I-I didn't think-"
"You don't think that's your problem, you idiot!!" Dot exclaimed, now fully standing up.
Ult's eyes widened like saucers. Being called an idiot affected him more than he liked to admit. "I'm not an idiot…" He grumbled.
"Well you're not smart are you, moron!" Dot insulated him, once again.
"Stop calling me that!" Ult gritted his teeth, indignation rising in his veins. He hated being insulted by anyone.
"I would if it wasn't true you nimrod!" Dot hurled out another insult.
That did it.
"Shut up you jerk!" Ult yelled out, clear anger in his voice. "Who cares if I broke your stupid toy?!! It's not like you need it for anything important!"
"I do!! That's how I edit my Nidothing videos!" Dot stated.
Ult scoffed. "Like I said, nothing important."
Dot clenched her hands tightly. How can someone be this annoying??? It's almost impressive at this point! "I also need it to gather data about Laquium!!"
Oh
Ult's face dropped a little. That actually was pretty important…not like he's going to admit that. He wasn't going to lose this argument, especially not against Dot of all people. "Y-yeah well just use your Rotom Phone. It's basically the same!"
"Oh my Arcues, how are you THIS OBTUSE?!?!" It took every ounce of will power for Dot not to whack Ult on the head. She felt like she was losing her ever loving mind!
"I don't know, how are you THAT ugly!!" Ult belittled Dot.
Dot was taken back. What the heck did her looks have to do with anything??? "First of all, I'm not ugly! Second of all, how is that any relevant??"
"It's mega relevant to everything!" It wasn't, like at all. Ult just wanted to insult Dot back and her looks were the easiest choice. It wasn't a good choice though as he didn't even know what she truly looked like as her purple bangs constantly covered her face.
"You're one to talk! You look like an inbred Exeggcute!" Dot dissed. She's never felt this anger in her life! She didn't even know she could get this angry!
Ult gritted his teeth, but then he slightly sneered as a thought came to his mind. He knew the best way to win this argument. "Your mom."
"Wha-that doesn't even make sense-" Dot was caught off guard by that…insult if you want to call it that. It made zero sense. Even so, it still made Dot angry, not because the insult was any good, but because of the sheer stupidity of it. "Just be quiet, you oaf!"
"No YOU be quiet, dork!" Ult spat.
Dot gritted her teeth. "You're a braindead moron!" She spat back.
"Troglodyte!"
"Peon!"
"Weirdo!"
"Dolt!"
The two trainers pelted each other with insult after insult, after insult. Frustration and anger rising with each word, neither willing to back down. They don't even remember what started it at this point, they were just caught up on winning the argument. Heck even Quaxwell and Sableye joined in as well!
"Quaxwell!"
"Sableye!"
Dot and Ult stood across from each other, both of their eyes filled with immense anger and frustration.
"Freak!"
"Swine!"
"Grotesque!"
"Imbecile!"
"What in the world is going on here???"
Dot and Ult stop their arguing. They slowly turned their heads towards where the voice came from.
It was Roy.
He stood in the doorway of Dot's room, arms crossed his chest. "What is going on here??" He asked once again.
Dot and Ult glanced at Roy, then back at each other, and then back at Roy again. "He/She started it!" The two trainers said at the exact same time, while pointing at each other. "Me?? How did I start it?? It's literally your fault!" They said at the exact same time again. "Stop copying me!!"
Roy's gaze fell from Dot and Ult, down towards the ground where a damaged system unit was. His magenta eyes then trailed all the way back up where Dot and Ult stood. Both the shut in and boisterous boy stood awkwardly with sheepish expressions present on both their faces. Roy let out an exasperated sigh as he rubbed the bridges of his nose.
"Oh Arceus…"
Up in the helm of the Brave Olivine, Ult and Dot sat on chairs, arms crossed looking away from each other. Roy sat on the captain's chair, Cap on his left shoulder and Crocalor by his side, looking at the two trainers in front of him with a dignified look. Liko was also there, as she stood just a little bit behind Roy, with Meowscarada next to her. She and Roy were to act as mediators for…whatever conflict Ult and Dot were going through.
"Ok, from the top." Roy spoke. "What happened?"
"I went to go do what you said-"
"I left my room to brush my teeth-"
"And she wasn't there-"
"Next thing I know my system unit was broken-"
Ult voiced sharing his perspective of the story, with Dot doing the same. They kept talking over each other so it was hard for Liko and Roy to understand what they were actually saying. The entire thing was just a bunch of words being thrown out. Liko and Roy looked at each other with a puzzled expression visible on both their faces. What in the world were they saying?? Ult and Dot continued to talking over each other until finally-
"PIKA PIKA!!"
Cap shouted causing both Ult and Dot to get startled and shut their mouths close.
"Perhaps it would be better if we just went one at a time." Liko suggested. "Ult you go first."
"Fine." Ult sat up a little in his chair. "Like I said, I did what Roy told me to do, and tried to wake her up. I knocked, like, fifty times and she didn't answer!"
Dot opened her mouth to speak. "Yeah because I wasn't even there-"
"Dot." Liko cut the shut in off. "You'll get your turn, let Ult finish."
Dot grumbled under her breath, as she slumped in her seat.
"Continue Ult." Liko urged.
"Well as I was saying before I was interrupted." Ult gave a stink eye to Dot, to which she rolled her eyes in response. Ult then resumed explaining his side of the story. "She didn't answer, so I just went inside."
"Ok…" Roy uttered. processing the information. "And then what?"
"Then uh…" Ult droned on as he began scratching the back of his head. "Well I…played around with her computer stuff and…I kinda mega zoned out and…got scared and might have accidentally broken her computer thingy…"
"System unit." Dot corrected. "And you didn't 'might have broken it.' You did break it!"
"It was by accident!" Ult exclaimed. "Besides, I said I was mega sorry."
"Yeah well, sorry isn't going to fix an expensive, as heck, system unit." Dot stated, crossing her arms in indignation.
"Please stop fighting you two!" Liko pleaded. She always hated seeing her friends arguing and fighting. It made her upset. "It won't solve anything, and will just cause more problems for everyone."
Both Ult and Dot grumbled, as they both shifted in their seats.
Roy sighed a little. He took his gaze of Ult and shifted it towards Dot. "Ok Dot. What's your side of the story?" He asked.
"Alright so I woke up and went to brush my teeth, like I usually do." She started. "After I was done, I walked towards the direction of the dining area. On my way there I noticed that my door was open, which was weird because I thought I closed it. I checked inside and saw him and his crystal gremlin." She pointed at Ult and Sableye. "Messing around in my room. I asked him what the heck he was doing there, and then the next thing I knew my system unit was laying on the floor busted and broken."
Roy rubbed his chin, taking in everything from Dot's side of the story. "Ult, what were you even doing playing around with her computer?" He then said, shifting his gaze back towards the boisterous boy.
A slight sheepish expression grew on Ult's face. "Er I was just curious, and clicked around a little. I was having mega fun, so much that I didn't notice she came back and…"
"You broke it." Roy finished Ult's sentence.
"By accident!" Ult reaffirmed.
"Right, and you said you were sorry?" Roy asked.
"Yes!" Ult exclaimed. "It was the first thing that I said."
"So then why were you guys still arguing when I walked in?" Roy questioned, sitting up in his chair.
"Because she!" Ult pointed at Dot. "Called me insults and bad names!"
Liko gasped. "Dot is that true?"
"I-" Dot prepared to rebuttal, but stopped in her tracks. She thought about it for a couple of seconds. Huh. She did do that, didn't she? "Yeah…it's true."
"Dot!" Liko cried out in shock and in surprise. She would never expect Dot to do something like that. "You know that's wrong to do."
"Yeah, but like c'mon you two know how expensive and important that system unit is!" Dot argued. "It's where I keep all the data we have on Laquium!"
"That's true and it's unfortunate, but you also kept that information in your Rotom Phone correct?" Liko stated.
"And also stored it in a bunch of thumb drives too, right?" Roy added on.
"Yeah but…" Dot trailed off. She didn't have any arguments against what they said. Those were good points. So instead Dot just slumped further in her chair and kept her mouth shut. Ult sat up in his chair, feeling a little arrogant and prideful.
Which didn't last long.
"You messed up too Ult." Roy said. "Even if it was by accident, you still broke Dot's system unit."
Ult slumped on his way the same way that Dot did. No longer feeling as prideful as he just did.
Roy sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time that day. "Ok so it sounds like this was all just some big accident. So here's what's going to happen." Roy sat up straight in the captain's seat. "Ult say you're sorry."
"Huh???" Ult uttered flabbergasted. "But I already did say I was sorry!"
"Just say it again." Roy ordered.
Ult gritted his teeth. "Fine. Sorry or whatever." He said with zero care or feeling.
Roy rolled his eyes at Ult's behavior. "Like you mean it, Ult." He urged.
Ult groaned loudly. "Ok!!" He sat all the way up in a chair, shifted just enough to face Dot, and spoke. "I'm sorry for breaking your system unit, and for being an idiot. It won't happen again." Ult apologized, his voice slightly genuine, if still reluctant.
"Good." Liko smiled. "Your turn Dot. You apologize too."
Dot let out a sigh. She didn't really want to, but if she had to apologize then she would. Also, while she won't fully admit it, she did feel a little bad for name calling Ult. So she shifted in her seat to face him. "Ult, I'm sorry for insulting you and calling you names. You're not an idiot or a moron, nor whatever else I called you."
"There see? It all's over now." Liko said, happy that Dot and Ult reached an understanding now. The shut in and boisterous boy grumbled beneath their breath.
"Listen you two arguing is common between friends, especially in a crew." Roy spoke with an earnest tone. "But we're the Rising Volt Tacklers, we need to stick together! I'm not expecting you two to be all buddy buddy, but I am expecting you guys to handle situations without resorting to shouting out insults to one another. If we're going to go up against the Explorers and Exceed, we need to be having each other's backs. So from now I want you guys to resolve things calmly. Understood?" Roy talked towards Ult and Dot like they were unruly children, and he was the responsible adult. Which was odd because Roy was only a couple years older than them.
"Understood." They both said.
"Alright, good. Now skedaddle, breakfast is getting cold." Roy ushered them out.
Both Ult and Dot, as well as their respective Pokemon, quickly got up from their seats and walked towards the door. They both stopped as they simultaneously reached the door.
"Uh after you." Ult gestured awkwardly.
"Thanks…" Dot lamely uttered as she opened the door, and walked out. Ult then followed suit, closing the door behind him.
After they left, Roy let out an extremely tired sigh and slumped down in his chair. "Finally that's over. Man, that was tiring." He said, rubbing the temples of his head. "Is this how Friede always felt when we argued? No wonder he drank so much coffee."
Liko giggled at Roy's demeanor. "Yeah but I think you handled it pretty well Roy." She said, walking right just behind him.
Roy tilted his head backwards, meeting Liko gaze. "Yeah but only because you were here." He said lightly.
"Maybe but you did most of her work." Liko reaffirmed. "The way you talked and handled the situation was good. Don't cut yourself short ok?" Liko said, trying to boost Roy's self confidence in his leadership abilities. "Besides you kinda sounded like him, just now. Like Friede."
Roy flipped his head forwards, staring at the door Ult and Dot just left. He thought about what Liko just said, about sounding like Friede. He always looked up to the guy, and wanted to be just like him. So much so he started copying his habits. It's how he's handled most things in this leadership role he was given. Roy ran his mind back through the monologue he spoke, about sticking together and behaving like a team. Huh. Now that he thought about it, that would be something Friede would say.
Roy smiled softly.
"Yeah…I guess I did."
Out in the hallways, Ult and Dot were walking towards the dining area presumably to eat their long awaited breakfast. As they did so there was a noticeable awkwardness between the two, as both were shuffling side by side but not really acknowledging each other. That was until finally, Ult glanced at Dot and spoke up.
"Y'know I actually am sorry for what I did." Ult spoke with genuine remorse in his voice this time around.
"Eh. It's fine. Orla can just fix it, and if not then I can buy a new one. I'm sure Iono can hook me up with something, since she owes me…like a lot." Dot recalls all the favors she had done for Iono. She hopes that the live streamer can hopefully return the courtesy. "It's all water under the bridge. Besides I'm sorry too for calling you stupid and stuff."
"Meh it's fine. I said some nasty stuff too, like calling you ugly, which you aren't by the way." Ult affirmed. "I also mega crossed the line by bringing your mom into it. That wasn't cool of me." Ult rubbed his cheek sheepishly, slightly cringing at all the insults he hurled at Dot.
"That one was more confusing than insulting honestly." Dot muttered. "But, apology accepted."
"Nice." Ult stood up straight, as he continued walking beside Dot. "Sooo…we're cool now?" He asked.
"Yeah." Dot responded. "We're chill now."
Ult smiled at that. He shifted his gaze forward. The awkward tense atmosphere between the two trainers was gone and now replaced by a chill calm one. Dot and Ult had made up so everything was fine now. Heck even Quaxwell and Sableye made up with each other too.
There was a small bit of silence before Dot suddenly spoke up. "Y'know when it's fixed and everything, you can stop by my room and play with the computer again if you want."
"Huh?" Ult blinked. "Really?? You would be ok with that?"
"Sure." Dot replied. "I could even teach you some things so that you can have even more fun."
"Mega awesome!" Ult joyfully exclaimed, his emerald green eyes glimmered brightly.
Dot smiled lightly at Ult's joyful expression. He was kinda…charming when he was like this. She liked it. "It sure is. Just y'know, don't break it this time around." Dot joked.
Ult chuckled a bit. "Don't worry. I won't."
And thus Dot and Ult made up and were no longer mad at one another. In fact, from their heated argument they might have forged a new deeper friendship and perhaps…something more. Nonetheless, the two trainers continued walking side by side, eager to eat their breakfast.
Which was surely ice cold by now.