"Just one," Hideo said, going through what remained of his fries. "If I can get a match with another gym leader, I can make that two, but that still means I gotta earn six more the usual way." Which meant either battling them in a more conventional setup, or doing whatever nontraditional challenge they had.

One step at a time, he supposed. If he could even take those steps.

"Of course, I still gotta get my parents to let me do those challenges. They said they'd talk about it, 'specially since I proved I could get one at all." It wouldn't be the first time his parents "talked" about letting him do the gym circuit, and the answer was usually the same ("no"), but getting another badge could tip things in his favor.

"And hey, doesn't hurt to be proud of what I accomplished!" There wasn't much wrong about a bit of pride - in moderation. "I won't be the kind of person that tries to act better than everyone 'cause I got badges; I'm not skilled because 'cause I get them, I get them 'cause I'm skilled."

He finished his fries by dumping whatever remained in the container in his mouth - broken fries and salt.

"Guess you're right, though," Hideo said, swallowing the debris, "Getting your ass whipped probably won't stop you from doing most dances." He was completely missing the misunderstanding, assuming Andy was still going about a playful challenge.

Andy Blackadder

The only thing Hideo had left of his meal was his soda. He’d much rather work on it than stew over his life situation; he’d already laid it out to Andy before. “Yeah, but that’s six years away.” Six years and three months, to be more precise. Longer than he’d even had a Pokemon for.

He kind of envied Andy in that sense; Andy could go out and do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Even got to have his own camp in the middle of the mountains. Hideo had to get permission to put a makeshift one in his backyard for a night. Even if he didn’t agree with every way Andy exercised his freedom, at least he had it.

Hideo let out a sigh. “I’m tired of being stuck in that cage,” he said, putting his empty cup down. “Won’t really matter how high the ceiling is if I can’t get out of it.” There was so much he could be doing, but his parents just wouldn’t let him.

There was a brief moment, as he wondered if she be completely honest with Andy. Well, he’d opened up before - he trusted Andy enough to do so again. “Honestly...sometimes I think about just leaving the cage. Whether or not my parents want me to. Just open the lock and leave whether they want me to or not.”

He paused, waiting to hear how Andy would react; he was certain Andy would get the implication.

Andy Blackadder

Hideo wasn’t sure if he felt glad that Andy caught on to what he meant. He felt something, and he couldn’t tell if it was anxiety or it was making him anxious.

“It’s...it’s something I was thinking about for a while. Even before I met you.” He hadn’t really put much thought into it until the past half year, but it was always something that lied in the back of his mind. “I’ve been thinking that my parents are never gonna let me go. So I’ll just go, and show them I really can do it.”

Hideo paused as Andy...gave him advice? Hideo couldn’t hold back a raised eyebrow; he’d expected Andy to object to it outright, or to act out in disbelief. Even if some of what he was saying seemed pretty intimidating, it was more constructive than anything.

“Yeah, I know Doug’s wouldn't be happy about it,” Hideo said. He would be surprised if John Sullivan didn’t drop everything and immediately start trying to track his ass down the moment Hideo’s parents found out he left. “Even though he’s seen I know how to keep myself safe. He’s let me take lead in a lot of stuff, and we came out fine. He’d probably do it out of duty, or ‘cause my parents asked him to.”

Hideo sighed, slumping in his seat. “...I don’t even plan to leave for the rest of my life. Probably not even a year. I’m thinking I may even send letters back to my family so they know I’m doing alright.” Videos too, if he could make sure they couldn’t track down where he took them. “I wouldn’t make you help me, so you don’t have to risk Doug eating your butt over me.”

And truth be told, there was a chance that he could get that network if he could talk his older sister into it. Of course, that would mean getting help from Rocket, which was a big risk in itself - if his sister even had that kind of pull.

“Only other option I think I got is to get Doug to convince my parents to let me do it. But that’s a longer shot than me just going on my own.” He could remember how pissed Doug was with him during that Meltan incident. “But with Rocket going active, that’s shot for a while.”

Always seemed like there was something getting in the way of his plans.

“It’s just...gonna take some time to think it over. Find the best time to do it, if I need to do it at all.” There was still a chance, even if miniscule, that he could convince his parents to let him do it. Maybe when things got quiet in Hoenn again.

Andy Blackadder

Hideo could feel that disgust from where he sat. It wasn’t too unexpected - most people had a pretty low view on Rocket - but Andy seemed to have it in for Rocket, moreso than most people. While Hideo himself didn’t have the highest opinion of Rocket either, he did know they weren’t all murderous psychopaths - according to his sister.

He knew not to argue it.  Especially not with Andy.

“Jeez. I heard some bad stuff happened in Fortree, but I didn’t know you were there for it.” Hadn’t that been one of those times Rocket went full-on aggressive? Were they really going around attacking kids too?

At least he smirked when Andy mentioned not being able to sponsor his escape. “Don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t make you help me; it’d be all me doing it.” He wanted to do it to show he could survive on his own. “Couldn’t really prove I can handle travelling on my own if I had to rely on you to fund it. ‘Sides, all the stories had them living off the land and stuff. I should be able to do that much.”

Though the conversation did depress him a little, it also showed him that he had to do a lot more preparation for all this, if he really had to go through with it. Build up more resources, try to find places where the League (and Doug) wouldn’t look. And heck, on the off-chance his parents did let him do it, that was just more stuff for him to use.

Getting thrown in a cell seemed a bit silly though. Hideo raised an eyebrow, more questioning if all Andy did was yell at someone. “Doubt they’d keep me in jail for that,” Hideo said, “At least not for long. They’d probably just send me back to my parents or have them pick me up.” Though the consequences of that were probably worse than getting stuck in jail; he'd have to plan a way to break out if happened.

Honestly, with how things felt for him now, his life was a few steps away from a prison cell anyways.

He’d almost forgotten he was still holding onto the Banette until it once again nuzzled his hand. He brushed his hand against its head - gave him a little time to calm down, to think.

His Gardevoir still wasn’t interrupting anything though, just guzzling down her drink.

Andy Blackadder

Hideo’s determination wouldn’t be deterred, even if his confidence wavered. He just had it in his mind that he wanted to do this, that he had to go on a trainer’s journey. He barely cared if all that determination came across as stubbornness to others. That “stubbornness” was how he was able to get as far as he did.

The Gardevoir looked over at Andy, definitely noticing the words he mouthed. But she just lightly shrugged them off and went back to her drink, looking back to her trainer. She was already taking care of her trainer well enough, and she didn’t need some other trainer telling her to do so.

Hideo shrugged, a little surprised Andy was reticent about hunting. “Well, it’s not a whole lot different from how Pokemon normally live in the wild. They gotta eat too, even if it means eating other Pokemon.” Granted, he didn’t really know how to skin and gut a Pokemon - best he knew was how to prepare a fish, but he wasn’t planning to travel the region as a pescatarian. Maybe something he could learn before he left. “I wouldn’t hunt Pokemon down for fun like some kind of psycho, but there’s nothing really wrong about catching and eating wild Pokemon, is there?”

While he did have a garden, he didn’t think he could live off it. Especially not when his parents knew about it.

At least Andy would keep quiet about the whole conversation. Hideo had to be real careful who he talked to about it - the wrong person would risk spreading his plans to his parents. Or John Sullivan .

Not that there’d be much difference between either learning; one would tell the other, and he’d get locked down before he could even step foot outside Slateport. At that point, he really would be stuck home until he was 18.

“Thanks for that, Andy,” Hideo said, a smile on his face, “It’s nice having someone to talk to about this kind of stuff. That can talk back to me, at least.” Talking to his Pokemon was nice, but it felt better when he could completely understand what the other person was saying. “Don’t think I’ll need much cash if I just live off the wild, though. Anything I need, I could just get from stuff like odd jobs. There’s always someone needing work done around Hoenn.”

People that would willingly hire a blind kid, and not ask a lot of questions about why he would be traveling alone. He’d already made a decent amount of money that way, with a decent amount saved up where his parents wouldn’t notice.

Andy Blackadder

“Yeaaaah, I know.” He knew his parents would pull out all the stops to bring him back. Doug would probably be the first one they sent; his oldest brother would probably be next if he could find a chance; Hideo had to hope there was enough to keep the Rangers busy for a while. “Pretty sure there are plenty of small places that need help, so even if I gotta lay low in a city for a bit, I can manage.”

“Dying my hair’s gonna be a no, though. I heard enough from my sister about how much it sucks to do.” Not to mention he’d struggled to make sure he used enough - and to make sure it didn’t lose that color. “Sunglasses may make it easier to spot me. Blind people wearing sunglasses is kinda a stereotype after all.” Same with the walking stick - though he could just have his Pokemon guide him as always. “Honestly, I may have a better time if I keep my eyes open. May look a little weird with my eyes looking straight, but everyone that knows me knows I keep my eyes shut almost all the time.”

But that did raise another possible issue, Hideo bringing a hand to his chin. “Though I guess they’ll tell people I got green eyes...but maybe I can work around that; my sister has a bunch of contacts for cosplaying. Maybe I could use something simple, like brown.” There were plenty of brown-eyed brown-haired people in Hoenn, right?

That’s what he heard, anyways. Not like he could actually confirm it.

Andy Blackadder

Hideo placed a hand on his cheek, his arm supporting his head as he slumped slightly towards the table. "I guess no matter how I try to disguise, it's gonna be a pain in the butt." He never really thought about how much effort some people had to put into appearances; not like they ever mattered much to him. "Maybe I'll get lucky and get a Pokemon that can do disguises for me. Or maybe just get my Grapploct to ink my hair whenever I gotta do something my parents might see."

Hardly a serious suggestion. Maybe he could just play it simple and wear low-profile clothes. A hoodie could work easy. "Maybe I could try that wash-out hair dye. Though it's gonna be hard testing it out at home."

Before he could think on it further, there was an announcement on the intercom. "Hideo Kino, please report to the Pokemon Center reception desk. Your Pokemon are ready for you."

"Huh. Took them long enough." Hideo finally lifted his hand off the Bannette, getting off of his chair. "Guess my Pokemon are all healed up then." That was it for his break: he did have his lunch all finished off, and he could even hear his Gardevoir finish off her drink.

"Time to head out, then. I got some more matches to do today. Thanks for coming by to talk to me, Andy." It definitely helped iron out some details of his plan - and find out what else he had to think about. "Here, me and Dancer toss the trash out." He'd already kept his own trash on his tray, and his Gardevoir put her own on it as well. Still plenty of room on there if Andy wanted to add his lunch to the pile.

Andy Blackadder