The Slumbering Weald is a new one to him, but he has heard of...

"Glimwood Tangle? I've always wanted to visit there." It was supposed to be a place of the fae, so Chu-e having not at least seen it in a picture book would be more surprising.

"That was all when Galar was still a more closed-off country, so I never really thought it possible." The admission is taken and Chu-e instead offers a small one of his own. Chu-e cared for Cillian Quinn, deeply, more as one might a brother than simply as a someone else of their station. He trusted Gavin, even if in the coming weeks the thing sleeping inside him would try to warp and twist those feelings into something bitter.

"Do you know where Solaceon Town is? It's a tiny little place high up in the Sinnoh mountains. That's where I grew up. Aside from lots of farm animals and snow, there were a lot of old ruins in the area. The whole place was religious. To not be religious was a social death sentence." His own admission, in part. A small sliver of information that no one else alive in Rocket was privy to- tit for tat. Respect for respect, information for information, as they had it ground into their very souls.

He closes his eyes for a moment and allows himself to remember.

"You'd love it. Trees so thick they block out the sun, so it's lit by the mushrooms that grow there. There's a town in the center, Ballonlea. I've only been a few times, but it's gorgeous."

He'd not thought much of Galar's travel restrictions when he was young, because it had been all he'd known.

"Shame we're so tied up here, I'd love to visit with you."

Galar wasn't home, had never really been a home, but there's a certain fondness for the region he'd been raised in, the geography that had shaped him in little ways. He listens to Chu-e talk about Solaceon, and his lip quirks.

"I grew up in the mountains, too. Circhester. Always snows, there, no matter what time of year. Bloody freezing, as well, so Hoenn's been a hell of a ride."

Hurricane winds howl as the battle rages on in the background.

"Can't imagine growing up in a small town. Circhester's pretty big, too many people to police your religious beliefs."

"It was cold most of the year in Solaceon, but we got a few months of snow-melt in summer. It wasn't warm, but...." A small hum. He misses the crispness of the air there.

"When I first ran away I went to Hearthome. It's massive, the biggest city in the region that isn't a resort, because it's like the home of the contest circuit in Sinnoh. I'd only been out of Solaceon a few times by that point so it was a huge culture shock." A clap of thunder and lighting from the battle, probably winding down. Chu-e won't allow his Audino to fight till he kills himself.

"I moved out here because I missed it, kind of. Well, the quiet. It was always quiet. Flames, if this place isn't fucking hot though." Chu-e already felt like he was melting. And it wasn't even fully summer just yet.

Gavin smiles at the thought of culture shock, shakes his head.

"It was the opposite, for me. I went from a city in Galar to Saffron, and then to Celadon." He doesn't feel the need to explain why; he'd gone wherever Rocket told him to go. "Then we came to Hoenn, and I lived in Slateport for a while."

It had been a shithole, made worse when they'd fucked up the city.

"When I finally saved up enough for a place of my own, I chose Fallarbor because I wanted to live somewhere quiet, out of the way."

It was a quiet town where ashfall encouraged many to adopt the use of masks, of air filtration in their homes to help with their breathing. Hadn't been a great choice for a smoker like Gavin, but he'd managed.

He'd miss it.

"Ugh, and it'll only get worse," he complains of the heat. "It's so bloody hot even swimming doesn't do much to help."

"I lived in Slateport a while, too. When it was still run down, on fire, and didn't have any power." It hadn't exactly been a good time.

At least both of them could agree on the heat.

Already, Chu-e was groaning.

"Gav, we're going to melt." He let out a groan and rubbed his face.

"At least the sub should stay cold. But, damn, I still have to take medicine to even keep from getting seasick on there. When will this torture end?"

Idly, he picked up a pokeball and called his Audino back. A quick signal and nod of the head to show that Cillian Quinn had won.

"Yep, that's when I lived there, too." A humourless smile, a laugh that's hollow. "It's why I hope we can take Sootopolis clean."

He'd only just moved into his new house.

His attention shifts to Lugia when the battle ends; the legend's wings glow with dim light as it RECOVERS. Amber meets red, and a proud look passes between them before Gavin dips his head to his patron and turns back to Chu-e.

"You know, the first draft for HQ was going to be a floating garden. Would've been way cooler... unless you're afraid of heights, I guess." He shrugs. "Submarine made more sense for concealment, though."

He makes a vague noise.

"I'd have been fucked either way. I get seasick and motion sick. It made taking Cinnabar a fucking nightmare. I should have known then someone up top didn't like me." He rolled his eyes at the memory, even if it was tinged with the discomfort of who they used to be.

Sighing as he made to stand, and picking up his long-waterlogged and ignored sushi, Chu-e gave a small stretch.

"That's for dealing with me while I was having my mental breakdown, dude. I feel a lot better after talking shit out."

Taking Cinnabar.

Stated so casually, as if they weren't discussing their war crimes.

And for his part, Gavin responds with a calm acceptance of the statement. If he chooses, he can close his eyes and picture Pallet as it burned. He can see the terrified faces of civilians before he'd ordered his Lucario to bring rubble down upon them.

"Always good to talk," he agrees. "M'here for you any time, Chu-e."

He glances at Lugia, and it's clear something passes between them before it vanishes into a swirl of shadow back into the beast ball in Gavin's hand.