Appetizer 1.10

Aaron FulanMauville City, Hoenn Region

The day after the mini-tournament, I decided to indulge a bit of my curiosity. Near the southwestern sector of the city, just west of the industrial district, was the entertainment district. In the original Ruby and Sapphire, you could find the Game Corner there. Win enough games or simply buy enough tokens and you could trade them in for great TMs like Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, and Ice Beam. In Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the Game Corner was closed.

But of course, this was a real-life metropolis. There was no way in hell that there would be only one casino in a city this size. I really wanted to know what it'd look like.

I walked down the bustling streets with Artoria on my shoulder. We could tell the exact moment we'd stepped into the entertainment district because warehouses gave way to bright, neon lights and signs depicting everything from fancy cocktails to cards and dice.

Looking around, I immediately ran into a problem: Most of these weren't open.

In hindsight, of course they weren't. Most clubs didn't open until at least five in the afternoon and it seemed that casinos and gambling dens in this world were no different. The ones that were…

"Sorry, kid. We don't serve people under eighteen," one said.

"Sir, this is a professional establishment. Please return with appropriate attire."

"Buy-in is 15,000 LC. Move along, brat."

Yeah… Most that were open at ten in the morning were either extremely high class or definitely not the kind of place friendly to casual visitors.

'Are you surprised, my liege?' Artoria's voice rang with disapproval in my mind. 'This seems like a disreputable hobby. Can we please get back to training?'

"I told you, games like poker are a battle of wits. It's training too," I defended myself.

'Oh? So you would have no problem with explaining your training regimen to Lady Sharon or my father?'

I paled. Even from halfway across the region, mention of my mother's wrath was enough to send a shiver down my spine. She absolutely would send Quinn to slap me upside the head. "N-Now, Artoria, there's no need for that."

'I shall be sure to espouse the wonders of your new training methods.'

"Artoria? Come on!"

She hopped off my shoulder before blurring away in a display of Mana Burst. I chased her all the way back to the pokémon center, apologizing all the while. It wasn't until I bribed her with her favorite poffin that she agreed not to tell on me.

Alas, poker would not be a hobby I'd get to indulge in anytime soon.

X

That was how we found ourselves at the Battle Café recommended to us by Nurse Joy.

Technically, there were other restaurants that started serving customers with a similar business model, but when people mentioned the Battle Café, they were talking about LeMar Trainer's Café. The café was an import from Kalos, the business model being made popular by Elite Four Siebold there. Hell, if Nurse Joy was right, the owner of LeMar imported his cloches from Kalos because he swore nowhere else made them right.

How anyone could fuck up a metal bell used to cover food with, I had no clue. But hey, I wasn't a chef.

The interior of the restaurant was set up so that tables and booths encircled an empty central square. It reminded me of a dance floor I'd seen at weddings, except the floor was reserved for battling customers. The owner's kadabra acted as the barrier-maker to protect spectators.

I walked up to the host, a boy several years my age with a friendly customer service smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Hello, table for one?" he said.

"Yes, please."

"Would you like to battle one of our trainers while you wait?"

"That sounds great. I only started my journey a month ago though."

"That's fine, sir. We have a number of trainers with a variety of badge levels. In fact, I think there are two who are working part-time here now who recently graduated. I will warn you that you must abide by our strict limitations on pokémon sizes. We cannot allow overly destructive pokémon onto the field."

"Okay, thank you. I'll be battling with a ralts so I don't think that'll be an issue."

He handed me a menu and left. Soon after, a young trainer in a waiter's outfit arrived.

"Hello, my name is Cutler and I'll be your server today," he said with a bright grin. "What can I get you?"

"Can I get the roast beef sandwich for myself and a pecha-sitrus parfait for my ralts? Oh, and some fries for the table, please."

"Sure, no problem. Let me put that in. You also wanted a battle, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

When Cutler returned, he motioned me to the center of the square. There, he released a roselia that was a little bigger than other specimens I'd seen before. It stood three inches taller than Artoria, though that admittedly wasn't saying much, and cloaked itself in leaves reminiscent of a rosebud. A rose adorned each of its hands, one blue and the other red. I'd been told that experienced breeders could alter the color of their flowers and that white roses were considered particularly beautiful, not that I'd know anything about flowers.

"My roselia and I will be your opponent, customer," Cutler said.

"Sounds good. Artoria, ready?"

'Always, my lord.'

She stepped onto the field and the owner's kadabra teleported to one side, raising a series of psychic barriers that would block stray attacks but not sounds.

"Good. A roselia isn't too fast, but it's got excellent ranged options and can heal itself reliably. It also produces different types of poisons."

She frowned. 'A cowardly fighting style.'

"No such thing," I reprimanded her. "That roselia is facing you in single combat. Respect it."

'My apologies. You are correct.'

"Good. Close in with Mana Burst but be ready to use Double Team."

"Kick it off with Leech Seed," Cutler said.

The roselia swept its hands in two scything arcs, firing off half a dozen seeds. Artoria blurred forward, using the head of her spoon as a makeshift shield and fan to blow the seeds off course before they could contact her body.

As she drew near, her opponent grew agitated and shot out a barrage of Poison Stings, forcing her to halt her advance and scatter into four copies.

The roselia chittered nervously, a cross between a chirp and a croon. They were already at a stalemate so soon into the battle. Artoria's four copies circled the roselia, unable to get any closer, but the roselia was surrounded and desperately looking for the real one. By its reaction, I could tell that it wasn't much of a fighter; it might panic in close combat. Then again, Poison Sting might be among the weakest poison type moves, but Artoria wouldn't like taking one regardless.

"Teleport. Hiki-kote," I barked.

My little knight was covered in blue light for a moment, then vanished to appear behind and a little to the left of her opponent. Her three clones mirrored the move and the roselia was suddenly surrounded by four ralts up close.

"Ro! Roselia!" it squeaked. As I thought, it panicked, scattering a stunning number of Poison Stings around it.

It swerved wildly, the needles of virulent poison phasing harmlessly through Artoria's clones. It was about to turn to the final copy when Artoria's blade met its bouquet, a powerful Mana Edge launching its aim off course.

After that, the battle as all but won. It was no longer able to aim properly with one arm and coupled with Artoria's talents in misdirection and teleportation, it never recovered.

"You're really strong, dear customer," Cutler said, though his smile was somewhat strained. His aura was a little mix of green and red, envy and anger, though nothing severe enough to be called such. He seemed more disappointed with himself than anything. If I had to guess, he was likely just some guy who couldn't save up enough for his own journey or hook a good sponsor and was working part-time to gather some funds..

"Artoria spends a lot of time training," I told him. "Your roselia was impressive too. I didn't know they could spray that many Poison Stings at once."

When our food came, we both marveled at the parfait. The roast beef sandwich looked fine, it was pink taurus beef piled onto ciabatta roll with pickled onions and spicy mustard, but it was obvious that the restaurant went out of its way to make the desserts look like something out of a magazine.

The parfait was a layer of shortcake stacked with vanilla ice cream, pecha and sitrus berry compote, a second layer of ice cream, chocolate ganache, more compote, and whipped cream garnished with a mini poffin glazed with some kind of special frosting on top. The glass it was served in was so tall that Artoria couldn't see over the top even when she stood on the table. It came with two serving spoons, the long thin variety often used to stir cocktails.

'Waahhh…'

"Excited?"

'M-My lord… I have seen Avalon,' she said.

"Pffttt, I told you, Avalon is the 'ever distant utopia' that is said to be the home of the fae. It's not a parfait."

'"Fae" or "par-fae" I see no difference. Surely this is the first step to such a wondrous place.'

"Hahaha." I reached out to pet my partner, ruffling her strange bowl cut. I then noticed something. "Artoria, are your horns getting bigger?"

'My lord?'

I rubbed them some more, ignoring her fidgeting. "Hold still a minute. Yeah, I think they're a little longer. See? I can use the parfait layers like measuring sticks."

'I… Should I be worried?'

"No, this means your psychic abilities are growing and that you're close to evolution."

'That's great news. I shall evolve and become an even greater knight!' she proclaimed.

I plucked the poffin from the top and set it in front of her, dolloping out a generous serving of whipped cream and ganache. "Here, this is one more reason to celebrate."

'You mean to not tell Lady Sharon you may be developing a gambling habit, my lord?' she leered.

"Hey, we agreed that this would be the end of it."

'Hmph, my duties as a knight include keeping my young lord on the straight and narrow.'

I sighed but couldn't help a little smile as I watched her aura dance with violet and blue. "When did my cute little knight develop such an attitude?"

'When did my young lord develop a gambling habit?'

"Just eat your poffin, you glutton."

I took one of the serving spoons and dipped deep into the glass until I reached some of the shortcake and berry compote. I raised it to my lips and savored the sweet-sour flavor. The shortbread was moist, though that didn't detract from the flavor in any way. LeMar really did do parfaits well.

Forgetting about my roast beef sandwich, I took another bite, only to meet Artoria's judging stare.

"Yes?"

'That is mine,' she pouted.

"Oh, fine." I set the spoon down next to her.

She looked at the spoon, a much longer affair with a smaller head than the one she used in combat. She took it in hand and carefully wiped off the residual cream with a napkin before holding it out alongside her own. 'My lord…'

"Hmm?"

'Father dual-wields.'

"He does." I thought about mom's gallade, Quinn, easily the strongest member of the species I'd ever seen. "He's got organic blades that pop out of his elbows."

'Should… Should I wield another sword as well?'

"Pffttt, is that what you're doing right now? Shopping for weapons?"

'This is no laughing matter! A knight must be equipped to counter every threat.'

I waved my hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay, I kid. I know that for whatever reason, psychics are drawn to spoons and that silver is the best conductor of psychic energy. That's why I gave you that specific spoon, because it's made of silver. I don't think the one here in LeMar uses silver."

'True… We should go weapons shopping.'

I chuckled at the idea of "weapons shopping" at a kitchen supply store and booped her nose. "When you're a kirlia and tall enough to use two spoons, you can choose to do so if you wish. I personally think using one is fine since that's the style I'm familiar with."

'I see… I will not be able to receive your instruction if I pick up a second weapon.'

"Well, keep in mind that though dual-wielding sounds cool, it's much harder to coordinate your weapons and you tend to leave yourself open. A gallade has the benefit of instinct that comes with a fighting type and a natural awareness of his own organic weapons. You don't. And even then, a newly evolved gallade needs some time to adjust to a completely different fighting style than when he was a kirlia. Each individual strike becomes much weaker as well because you can't put your full strength into it."

'Would not Mana Edge counter such a thing?' she said as she took a bite of her poffin. She took a moment to savor the snack with a blissed out expression before continuing. 'My power comes from my technique, not my physical body.'

"True, but can you focus on three or four techniques at once? You already use Mana Burst in conjunction with Double Team, but throw in two Mana Edges into that and you'll start having trouble. I'm sure it'll be possible eventually, but I'm saying it's going to take a lot of work. Master one weapon first, then you can decide to branch out if you wish."

'You are correct, my lord. My lord is wise.'

In the end, for all her jealous guardianship of her parfait, Artoria couldn't finish more than a third of it. To be fair, I didn't finish my entire order either. LeMar's portion sizes were impressive. The two of us left LeMar with a box containing a third of a roast beef sandwich, some fries, and a small cup of shortcake, compote, and cream. I did get to introduce her to the wonders of dipping salty fries in ice cream though. The look of pure marvel on her face at the unexpected flavor combination was a treat unto itself.

X

Aaron FulanNew Mauville, Hoenn Region

The two of us couldn't waste the entire afternoon, however fun the Battle Café may have been, so we left our leftovers in the mini-fridge in our room back at the pokémon center and headed out again.

As much as I said sour grapes, I hadn't fully given up on having a second teammate before the gym battle. I was no longer as hung up on having an electrike, but I did want at least one electric type. There wasn't really a reason beyond that my inner ten year old squealed with delight at all the flashy attacks, but that was the only reason I needed.

And that was why Artoria and I were at the outskirts of New Mauville, the district that was all but built, then completely shut down and cordoned off in favor of giving the local electric types a sort of sanctuary. It still boggled my mind sometimes how dedicated Hoenn's government was to environmental concerns, though I supposed that if Earth's wildlife could cause mass blackouts and shoot lightning out their mouths, its governments probably would have been more open to appeasement strategies as well.

Now, New Mauville generated much of the power for both Mauville City and surrounding precincts using a combination of wind, solar, and hydroelectric means. It generated so much power in fact that local electric types gathered to feed on it, including the rare electabuzz.

The area boss was apparently a magnezone who was very protective of the renewable energy source. It worked with rangers in the area to make sure electric types didn't take too much and that the wild pokémon were free from trainer harassment. It was even smart enough to let a dedicated team of electricians and maintenance crew in once every few months to see to the facility's upkeep.

Although trainers needed Wattson's express approval to enter New Mauville proper, there was even a retinal scanner, the outskirts were fair game. It housed several species that had organic bodies and so did not require raw electricity to survive.

We found ourselves in a small clearing a hundred feet or so from the entrance to New Mauville. The area was full of green grass and herbs but free of easily accessible berries, fewer competition for my bait to work. I left Artoria to work off her heavy lunch and got to work laying out a spread of different foods, especially those I'd bought from the market catering towards electric types.

Personally, they all looked like kibbles, but they apparently had a subtle scent that electric types favored. Artoria tried one out of curiosity and described the taste as "tingly," whatever that meant.

I watched Artoria swing her spoon. She was now advanced enough that she didn't need to stick to established kata. Instead, she did the kendoka's equivalent of shadowboxing. She twirled and struck at imaginary opponents, careful to incorporate a mixture of Double Team, Mana Burst, and Teleport in her movements.

With nothing to do, I booted up my pokédex and began to read from the Mossdeep Archives. This time, it was a journal from my great great grandfather who was traveling the desert path north of Mauville when he encountered a claydol. He wrote about the almost machine-like intelligence of the species and came up with the hypothesis that these creatures were created by human hands by an ancient civilization many eons ago.

Fascinating subject, though I personally didn't know how it'd help. For that matter, the only reasons he believed they were human creations were their alien intelligence and a few pictures he found on pottery. His conclusions were interesting, if premature.

It took us a few hours, not that lounging around in the pleasant sun was any hardship, but we did get a visitor. Surprisingly, it was not an electrike, magnemite, nor a voltorb.

"What's a mareep doing here?" I wondered. I watched as it came over and began snacking on the pokéchow with nary a glance my way. "Artoria, how many life signs near me?"

'Sixteen, my liege, none like the fluffy creature.'

"That's odd, mareep usually live in flocks guarded by a flaffy or ampharos."

'Perhaps it is lost?'

"Maybe… Can you ask?"

'Of course.' She stopped her sword practice and walked up to the mareep before chattering in pokéspeak.

"Mareep," it baahed excitably. It wasn't like any sheep I was familiar with, but damn if it didn't sound like one. "Mar, mareep."

'It is a she and she struck out on her own to find her own flock,' Artoria translated dutifully.

"Do you mean that she is looking for a trainer?"

'I believe so. She wishes to become an ampharos who can light up the night, as radiant as the sun.'

I grinned. "Okay, that's perfect. Can you ask if she'd like to join us?"

"Ralts. Ra-ralts."

"Mareep. Maa?"

"Ralts."

Both pokémon nodded before the mareep turned and approached me. I knelt and held out a hand, letting her smell me. I remembered reading somewhere that sheep had an excellent sense of smell and though I had no idea if that applied to mareep, I figured it wouldn't hurt.

She sniffed my hand for a bit and began to nuzzle under my palm. Then the static started.

"Yow!" I yelped.

"Maa?"

"Just a bit of static. Remind me to buy some shockproof clothing," I told Artoria. I withdrew an empty pokéball from my belt and realized that I'd actually have to distinguish them now. So far, I'd been leaving Artoria's ball on the other side.

A part of me expected more fanfare from my first capture, but it wasn't meant to be. The ball shook once, twice, thrice, then it was done; I had a mareep. With a flick of my wrist, I popped the ball open and let her out again.

"Okay, so you want to become an ampharos?"

"Mareep! Ma maa-reep!"

'A "brilliant, radiant ampharos that lights up the night and out outshines the sun," my lord,' Artoria said dryly.

"Was that a word for word translation?"

'Indeed.'

"Okay, well… I named you after a legendary knight so I should stick with the theme… Say, how does Jeanne sound?"

"Mareep?"

'"Who was that?" she said.'

"Jeanne de Arc, also sometimes called Jeanne of Orleans, was a saint who is famous for inspiring her people. In a time when women didn't go to war, she volunteered and lead her village in several victories against invaders. In her home, she's still considered a beacon of hope many centuries later."

"Mareep!"

'"That name is perfect for I will become the radiant sun that inspires hope!" she said.'

I ruffled my excitable new sheep and suppressed a wince as the static jumped from her wool to my hand. She was sinfully soft… and also very zappy. "Hahaha, I guess I just can't get a normal team, can I?"

'I am normal!'

"Mareep!"

Author's Note

I kind of wanted a scene where Aaron uses his empathic abilities to game a poker table like the 40+ year old boss that he is, but then Artoria…

LeMar Trainer's Café is the Mauville Food Court in ORAS. The cloches thing is a true bit of trivia you get from talking to the NPCs there. One also mentions seeing Glacia around. Everyone you battle in that café is named after cooking terms such as cutlery, schnitzel, etc.

Yup second pokémon is a mareep. Why? Because I don't think I've ever seen one used in a protagonist's team. Will all of Aaron's team be chuuni? Who knows?