Hideo didn't immediately know who it was; his Grapploct wasn't a Telepath like some of his other Pokemon, so he didn't get an immediate answer. It could have been any of the Follies (his Grapploct would be much more wary if it was some intruder). And of course, Hideo didn't notice Reiner's nod.

It's only upon hearing Eris's voice that Hideo realized who it was. "Oh, hey Eris," was his quick response, raising a hand. It was hard to miss Eris sounding a little tired, but maybe she'd just been up late.

"I was just dropping some stuff off in my room. Stuff to read, stuff to sit on. Even got myself a nice beanbag chair. I always wanted one!" His parents would always tell him if they got one, it'd get torn and they'd have to clean up all the beans that came out.

"How about you?" He could recognize the sound of one of their Rotom-heaters, but that didn't tell him what she was up to. Didn't sound like she was doing anything intense.

Eris Halla

“It is!” It was a good-quality beanbag chair too!

But Eris mentioned something more interesting - that she’d been reading a book of her mother’s adventures. “Sounds like it’s a pretty good read!” Hideo said, kneeling down until his rump was against the ground. “She’s probably got a lot of good stuff written down in there!” All good adventurers had journals of their journeys!

Maybe he should get around to starting his own…

“So which one you reading right now?” he asked, leaning forward as his head was propped up by his hands. “A record of some rare Pokemon she found?” He was gonna have to ask her to find out, since he doubted her mother wrote the book in braille. Or that she’d lend the book to him long enough for his Beheeyem to read it out to him.

Eris Halla

Hideo leaned forward, listening intently to Eris’s story. It wasn’t a story he’d heard before.

In his distraction, a possibly-familiar Pokemon floated into the room: a Whimsicott, drawn to the sounds of its trainer. It silently floated in the air, closer and closer to its trainer. It didn’t care if Eris or Reiner noticed it, floating down behind Hideo, planting its butt right on the ground with its cotton-covered back facing Hideo.

“I wouldn’t say it’s too strange,” Hideo said, “With how much we’ve been finding lately, people living on a giant turtle isn’t that absurd. Heck, Torterra kinda still do that - for smaller Pokemon. Maybe it could bear a city if they started Mega-evolving!” With stuff like the basement in the Arceus Church, Hideo was learning the world was a lot stranger than he expected.

The whole amulet business was still looming around him, but he tried not to think on it right now; he wanted a nice time to relax, and he was fairly sure Eris was facing the same frustrations he did.

“And I can kinda relate to her,” There was a grin on his face. “I’d sneak out late at night to go look for Pokemon to catch. I could only really stick around Slateport, but I got to check out a lot of different spots. Kinda crazy how many Pokemon are just wandering around the city.” He could recall Andy Blackadder ranting to him about how poorly-run things were for it to get like that, but to Hideo, it just meant more Pokemon.

“Not really a lot of fireflies to guide me, though, but I had Pokemon for that~” If Slateport even had any fireflies.

Eris Halla

Hideo nodded, letting Eris continue with her story.

Partway through, he adjusted himself, leaning back - and raising an eyebrow as he felt cotton, followed by the distinct snickering of a Whimsicott. Hideo smiled, leaning all the way back into his impromptu cushion as he continued listening.

"That is a pretty grim story." The girl had died, and the villagers were drowned in retaliation. "But I kinda get it? The tree and her shared a really close bond, and in the end, the two were able to overcome death to reunite with each other. Even if both had changed along the way."

Though nowadays, the status quo changed frequently. Hideo's life already changed dramatically, and he knew it wasn't going to go back all the way when he returned. And who knew what was waiting around the corner?

Still, he didn't miss Eris's reminiscing about her life. Likely when her parents were still around. And she got quieter as she spoke. He could get an inkling about how it was making her feel.

Divert.

"Must've been nice to get snow every winter," he said, smiling. "Hoenn's lucky if it gets real snow more than twice a year. And that big snowfall we had a bit ago was a real surprise. We usually gotta get Pokemon to get enough snow for snowboys." And with how uncommon ice-types were in Hoenn, that wasn't often. "Didn't stop us from drinking hot cocoa or eating cookies through~"

He'd be lying if he said he didn't miss that stuff. But he could enjoy it again after he was done with the gym circuit.

"Winter for me was a lot of staying cooped up inside though. Or getting stuffed into so many jackets I could barely move my arms and legs. And I barely got to do any sledding."

He folded his arms. "I lose one tooth, and my parents say it's too risky to let me again sled. It was a baby tooth too!"

Eris Halla

That latter part got Hideo’s attention the most. “You got into a lot of fights with people?” he asked. He could understand her learning to fight to defend herself - heck, he could still remember the two of them fighting off that Sylveon - but he never took her for a very fighty person. “Worst fights I ever got into were with my siblings, and they were never ‘punch your teeth out’ bad.”

Bruises, maybe. But nothing permanent ever came of their scraps. “I wish I could’a had the chance to lose baby teeth in accidents. I don’t have any to lose now~”

He let out an exaggerated sigh, a comical frown on his face - he didn’t actually want to lose his teeth like that, but a dull life under his parents’ thumbs didn’t leave him with much to do. Even if there was the risk of harm with his new freedom, he at least got to have control over his life.

His exaggerated expression went away when Eris actually mentioned their parents’ overattentiveness, now a genuine look of displeasure. “Yeah, they really can,” he muttered aloud. “Though I guess I kinda follow that idea too; I usually keep a couple Pokemon out when I’m going along routes, in case a Pokemon gets one of them fast like with that Sylveon.”

At least him and Eris were there together; if it were just him alone, he wouldn't know how to handle himself...

“My parents kinda drilled it into me that I should keep a Pokemon out whenever I’m by myself. It was usually my Lycanroc, and he’s still really reliable. Kinda like it sounds like Reiner is to you.”

Hideo still wasn’t aware that Reiner was right there.

“With how crazy everything is now, I’d feel defenseless if I didn’t have one with me.  And they make good company too.”

Eris Halla

"I wonder what they kept doing to deserve you beating them," Hideo joked, lying back into his fluffy Whimsicott. With the way she handled that Sylveon, he could only guess she won most of those fights.

Hideo nodded along as Eris went into detail about her relationship with Reiner. "It's nice to have someone to rely on like that. Person or Pokemon."

He made himself nice and comfortable in his fluffy, cottony seat. "My Lycanroc hasn't been around for my whole life, but he's been with me so long he's like another sibling. My Ambipom and Beheeyem have been around for a while too, and I've been with them as they all grew." He could still remember them when they were smaller - all their little sounds, how they behaved, the funny habits they had.

Heck, even his early catches - his Ariados, his Ribombee, his Aggron, his Gardevoir - were close to his heart. He'd helped them grow into what they were now, and they were all doing their best to help him grow in turn.

"I know whenever things get tough, I'll have them to rely on. They're all practically siblings now...even though I got human siblings!" He couldn't resist smirking at his little joke.

Though it had been some time since he'd been in contact with his actual siblings. He had to wonder how they were handling everything without him. Hopefully, they were doing well in all the chaos.

No doubt his parents were still trying to track him down. To no avail.

"But I get it: it's good to have someone you can rely on. And heck, you can rely on us too! I know I wouldn't have gotten this far if I hadn't become friends with all you guys!" Meeting and befriending John Sullivan , along with the rest of the Follies, really was the big event that got him to where he was now.

And he couldn't be more grateful about it.

Eris Halla