The prize counter is just as awesome as it was in Blossom, but at the forefront of everything was the dynamax gear. The band, the pokeball, and candy to better align a Pokemon with Galar particles to get even bigger. All that was cheap too, half the price of the fairy gym, at 2,500 for the band, 800 for the growing ball, and a solid 1000 for the candy I couldn't quite commit yet. I had 560 gym points from before and this time I got 2,480. Enough for the band, which was so tempting I couldn't decline despite not getting the special ball.
My 3,040 gym points instantly dropped. “Just the band?” The clerk asked.
I nodded and he added that it wasn’t only the gym that had dynamax stuff around here and that I should check out the Eclipse pokemart.
Thanking the older man for the tip, I went to try and find it. The man waved, muttering something I couldn’t hear.
“So that’s the unseeable boy himself eh. Talented enough Pokemon he has there...” he had muttered and turned to greet the real clerk who had been on break.
"You forgot to ask him about his recordings sir" the twenty something woman told him.
"I guess I did. Knowing his profile, he wouldn't want a recording of that nightmare. He would have lost if Purrloin was directed any more by Sebastian" the man said. He moved out of the counter area and asked the clerk “Do they really all go for the band?” As if scratching a curiosity inside him, he leaned back over on the other side of the counter.
“If they can afford it” the woman replied. She thought it an odd question, since it was what their gym specialized in.
Well ain’t that something, the man thought as he walked off. The man's face changed, becoming less emotive as he thought harder. The fourth badge. That is where he will shine like the beautiful abyss.
———————-
I went to look for my friends first, getting some high fives and congrats despite my lacking performance. They asked to see Fly to congratulate her too so I carefully released her into my arms. I didn't want her moving much on her own even though she was back awake from my own celebration. Still, she enjoyed the light head pats and tried to lick all the hands that came near.
Zac quickly got Froakie to carefully watergun his hands and dried them on his pants.
"Why are you doing that" Chloe asked as she got a little shock from touching my pup. Her hair frizzled before settling once more. Her Sneasel smirked at her while hanging onto her shoulder, unaffected by the small charge.
Zac let her finish petting and receive the licks of appreciation before telling her "I know where that tongue has been" all mysterious like. She didn't understand and ignored the cryptic advice. Zac smiled to himself and motioned for Froakie to wash Chloe's hands. To a betrayed look from his trainer, Froakie used bubble instead and created a basic soap within the foamy orbs on top of water gun and let her thoroughly clean up.
Thomas soon left to finish packing as he was heading out tomorrow with a crew of people he knew from school. He didn't want to delay any further in traveling towards the island of ghosts. I had no doubt he would stay there until he had a full team to work with and I planned to at least try to find him when I started heading to the dragon gym. He was skipping Magnus-City and its gym so I would have a hard time catching up to him when I left for Bluepoint. Hopefully for my fourth badge. No one blamed him as he was more my friend than theirs because of Ian. The others were still a full fortnight away from their own challenge anyway.
Stew was able to get an earlier time slot only because he registered for a 3v1 at 2 in the morning. The gym trainer facing him would sure be annoyed that he picked such an inconvenient time so I was worried if he would actually be able to beat his challenge since he would have to face one of those giants on his own. It would be weaker but in my eyes, Monster was the only one going to put in any real work as he was expected to evolve before then. The little bump on his head was becoming really obvious and anything might push him over the edge to becoming a Charmeleon. That's why Stew also ran off, heading to find good trainers to battle.
Evolution was partly mental, more so for some species than others, and that was why there were so many evolutions during battle. They NEEDED more power at that moment. So much, that they triggered the evolution earlier than naturally training moves or working to better their skill and physical traits.
As grandpa always quoted when battle evolutions were involved, your greatest enemy is your best teacher. Mom laughs at him for it because she doesn't see battling that way, but I think it makes at least a little sense.
Having already partied too often the past couple days I declined to join the gang at Freddy's, a burger place we found that was good. Chloe was taking the lead on Girafarig with directions while I heard a crunching sound from Hannah's phone as she played this new game. Instead I went to see how much one of those fancy giant pokeballs would cost after dropping Fly off at the center. The nurse Joy I asked said it was 8 blocks down the road, make a right and then make a left 6 blocks after that.
With directions in mind I headed out. The gym street was busy and I swear I felt my empty pockets getting padded. Good thing all my stuff was in my bag since I didn't need it until I needed it. I followed the directions given to me and found the place. A super store with one of those fancy techy sliding doors and a large black sun radiating yellow light on it. Magnificent as it was, I let my Pokemon out to roam and find stuff they wanted me to buy for them inside to my cloudlike flying type's glee. This time I saw the no flying sign and told her not to go too high.
I found the dynamax ball pretty easily, TVs showing its use and special stickers right next to it. Trainers and coordinators alike, liked to make a dramatic entrance and I was no different. But I need to save money so I didn't buy the stickers, only storing that information for later on as another reward Puff could work towards in return for training hard. 900 for the pokeball was a little more than I thought it would be but it was going to be worth it.
I glanced at the price for a reusable rain dance TM as quickly as the dynamax ball(labeled dynaball at this location). It actually wasn't that horrendously priced like I thought at 8,000. So with a little more saving or finding something to sell at a market I could get it. A storm was a coming.
When I went to go find my team I saw Ian checking out some magazines while holding onto a bottle of silver metal. I pulled him away from the covers with pretty and scantily clad ladies and asked him for the price of the bottle and what he wanted it for. It was mercury and he said it was 40 pokedollars for a 1 pound bottle. He wanted to absorb some to get better at making himself heavy and absorbing metal. I told him to get 4 more bottles since the bottle was a little more than an ounce in size and five bottles would be the same weight as himself. Although, I didn't know if his plan would work, if it could make him happier then I'd get 200 bucks worth since I had spent well more than that myself.
Sin had found his way to the fighting type gym area and was getting a workout in. I told him to stop using equipment that wasn't ours so he asked if I could buy an adjustable dumbbell that he saw. The things were moderately expensive at 564 pokedollars and it could go up to 200 pounds by using a gravity charger and had a travel mode at 2 pounds. I would probably buy it, but I'd have to see what the others got too so I could start saving for stuff like rain dance. I went to check out spatial bags with him so he could bring some heavy rocks he found along instead if I deemed that to be a better way of spending our funds.
Those space anomalies were even more expensive with the cheapest being 3,200 and holding 5 cubic yards of space. I decided to hold off instantly despite the benefits it could have. Sin wore an expressionless face and said that he'd just go back to the weights area. I let him go and remembered my dad telling me the conditions to evolve a Machop into a Machoke. He needed to build his muscles by training in fighting type energy and in his martial art before that would happen. With me to help him out with the first, I had faith he could get his hand back to normal, his way. I could only hope he could get good enough at the single strike style by himself.
I went to check out my most irresponsible Pokemon and found her sniffing at some Pokemon food. She took off when she saw me, like she had been caught doing something bad. Running up and down the aisles every time I saw her and skittering out of my reach, it was a real pain trying to grab her. She didn't hit anyone but there were some close calls and her ability stunned someone. They didn't really care about it, having an earthy aura and having a hard hat to their side. I assumed they worked in construction with ground types but it could have been a lot worse.
Puff saw me and dragged me by the hair to the Pokemon care section in the middle of my chase. I had previously gotten her a brush and she enjoyed it at night even if I forgot more often than not. I restated how I would buy her 1 product so she chose the most expensive obviously. It was a conditioner...I think...or a lotion...maybe a cream? I couldn't figure out what it was with all the various marketing words about what it did. It cost 420 pokedollars for a 3 month small Pokemon supply. I would rather have no hair than buying 1,000+ pokedollar hair products if it were me, but she thought differently and was elated. She sang Firework by Katy Perry as I started watching out for a small green figure. With all the time spent at that spa she had plenty of time to pick up more songs to add to our traveling album. Speaking of which, isn't there stuff to help with protecting your voice that singers use? My wallet/backpack silently screamed at me. NO YOU SHOULD ABSOLUTELY NOT TELL HER ABOUT THAT HO OH PRICED GIRATINA SPRAY.
Ian found us again with a basket and I added Puff's jar thing to the mercury vials. I wondered how he had picked out that specific metal with so many other compounds and materials but that thought was cut short when I saw Fly lean over a aisle display and grab a pack of hot dogs. She saw me and froze mid-grab. I quick drew her pokeball and recalled her before the pack could tear completely open or she could escape behind another shelf. The hot dogs dropped like nothing happened but I felt her resist the call of the pokeball. The red and white ball shook wildly until she popped out again.
She howled bloody murder and tried running away. This lead to me grabbing her by the scruff of her neck and a couple more sad attempts to escape later she gave up, rolling on her back for me to pet her. I went to pickup my fighting type from the weights area and headed to checkout with his dumbbell. For bad behavior, Fly would be the only one not to get something immediately. I thought it was unsanitary to have anyone else take the hot dogs with a tooth mark in some of them so I purchased that as well as some dried beef for the road.
The total was 2,273 but it would be awhile before we reached another city big enough to have this stuff. Towns had food and some basic supplies but they didn't have a weights section or selection of metals. I suppose a mom and pop pokemart could but that was unlikely.
With that, and a stern talking to from the manager because of a certain naughty puppy, we finished our shopping and went to go test out our new stuff.
