Ozni rarely made it out to the sticks, but this city-in-a-box concept had always intrigued him. In large part, because it was exatly the kind of place his mother and father would keep him away from. Doing charitable work in the dankest, poorest parts of the world? That was Arceus’s power at work. Exploring the wealthiest corners of Kalos? Just a typical family outing. But rubbing shoulders with the middle class? His mother would have a heart attack.


But he really needed to craft a new image for himself. People saw Adebayo Holdings as the toilet paper company that’d bought its own shit. The pharmaceutical and infant technology wings did better, but they were still a long way from perfect. Social media was full of people mocking the smiling suits in every ad campaign. Customers saw them as the ‘a nanab costs $10’ business. Old. Out-of-touch. Left behind. That impression was what Oz hoped to change.

Which is why he’d embraced his inner trainer. Or, at least, his stereotype of what a Pokemon trainer was. A baseball cap—for a sports team he didn’t know but whose mascot he liked—was turned backward. His windbreaker was color blocked and still smelled like brand new vinyl. Shorts revealed bottom legs much paler than their tops. The tennis shoes—part of his favorite line—was the only part of him that fit.


Above him, a Porygon-Z shifted in and out of focus. Around its neck was a little 8-bit bowtie with an oddly lens-like centerpiece. As Oz approached the blonde man, he lifted his hand in greeting. “Alola!” A nice young person to start things off on the right foot. “That’s a nice—” Uh, furry bug thing? Blue eyes? Larvastar? Larvitar? “--fluffer you got there.” When in doubt, wing it.


He stepped around a damp spot in the path. “Got any bites?” Hopefully this wasn’t one of those super ornery trainers. The whole lock eyes and battle to the death thing was old.

So far, nothing through these abandoned apartments. The DJ wasn't sure if there really was Pokemon in here...Mauville was such an odd city. A stranger did find him, and greeted with a different region's tradition, taking him by surprise. While Niky was amused by the man's description of his Larvesta, Sol wasn't so amused, screeching angrily at the man. This caused the blonde to laugh. "Not yet. This is a Larvesta, and her name is Sol. You up for a battle or are you just here to do some catching?" It wouldn't make any difference to him. Niky was here to do some training, but he wasn't going to force someone for a fight either. That was rude and last he knew, was called assault, and you could be arrested for that. That being said, he suddenly heard some wierd noises out in front of them. Finally some wild Pokemon to try his luck with?


Ozni Adebayo

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The Porygon zoomed around the pair, her little phone silently snapping photos. These would be uploaded later with some facial blurs applied.


At the fluffer’s protests, Oz held up his hands in defense. “Well, excuse me, madam.” A grin threatened in the form of shaking lips. The idea of this poodle moth trying to hurt him just screamed hilarity. A steadying breath returned the CEO to his typical expression—a small smile paired with a teasing, mischievous glint. “I’m not so great with Pokemon names. My parents were total squares.” Between his private school and finishing school, Oz hadn’t exactly explored much. And, these days, the idea of camping broke him out in hives.


At the question of battling, Oz shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, but dog fights aren’t my thing.“ A big smile tried to reassure the kid that he was kidding. Though that wasn’t quite true. “Glitch isn’t much of a battler.” The Porygon-Z made a beeping noise, seemingly in agreement. “I’m just trying to connect with my roots.” Which meant he was pretending to be completing a Pokedex. Long pianist fingers rubbed at an empty pokeball. “Maybe bring a new heir to the Adebayo name.” Which wasn’t actually a joke. Right now, everything went to Princess.


Before he could regale the boy with his made-up backstory, a movement caught his attention. A large bird had stretched its wings in the rafters. A regal, feathery head shifted to glare down at them. Well, that was out of the question. He wasn’t really up for starting with the big leagues. Nor did he want to invite more tycoon comparisons by capturing Unova the bird. As he turned away, a smaller dustier figure caught his eyes. One that seemed to cowering from the bird above.


“Awwwww! How cute are you?” The man squealed as he walked towards the Comfey. “I’m hoping you don’t make me sneeze.” It didn’t tickle his nose either. “You’re like sunshine incarnate!” Oz reached into his pocket and pulled out his bag of gourmet sunflower seeds. These he tossed at the ground in front of it. “Want to be my new wingman?” A cutie pie like that would totally endeavor him to the ladies. “There’s a giant window in it for you.”


And absolutely zero dust. Those HEPA filters were clutch.


“And a BITCHING name.”

[[Oz attempts to capture the Comfey!]]

"To be fair, Larvesta and their evolved form are kind of rare." They from Unova if he remembered right. And the only reason he knew that was because he actively delved into learning about rare Pokemon after an accident made him quit his Idol proffession. The stranger wasn't a fan of Pokemon battles it seems, and declined his offer. That was fine. Though blonde eyebrows did raise at the mention of returning to his roots or catching a new heir? Was this guy looking for a girlfriend? "I'm male. Even if happily gay. I still can't pop out kids though. Not sure I'd want to at this point of my life yet." Maybe eventually he'd adopt someone with a partner, but only time will tell and he had plenty of time before that.

Only then did a Braviary appeared. And while the man was calming down another Pokemon, Niky took advantage of it. "Sol, go and show that bird what you're made of." The bug nodded and hopped from his shoulder. And fired an Ember at the bird. The Braviary dodged it, and was going into an Aerial Ace. Sol charged with Flame Charge. Even as the attacks collided and forced each back, Sol recovered first, using String Shot to swing above, and unleash another Ember. This time, it hit. The aggressive Pokemon didn't falter though, and moved for Fury Attack. Even while being pelted with Embers, the Braviary was about to start when Sol landed on its face, and used Bug Buzz. This seemed to be enough to land the big bird on the ground, knocked out, but alive. Sol the winner, the Larvesta waved her hands in Victory. With that, Niky walked up, letting Sol crawl back onto his shoulder, and continued on for the next encounter.

Spawn Skip

Ozni Adebayo

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Ozni Adebayo CAUGHT THE COMFEY!

Oz continued to look at the fluffy bug. He wondered if it got hot under all that fluff, and what exactly it felt like. Was it like bunny fur? Maybe more like cotton candy? Could it be spider silk? Ah, he wanted to touch it! “That’s probably why I’ve never seen one.” Then again, he wasn’t exactly well-traveled in the traditional sense. If it was under five stars, his family just didn’t. That meant his globetrotting was mostly limited to all-inclusive resorts and staged encounters. “Definitely stands out.” Baby blues jumped from the young man’s face to his bug-type Pokemon. “Not sure I see the resemblance, though.”

Aw, did he think he was propositioning him? What a confident little blonde! Definitely a good look. Oz chuckled. “No worries there, bud. I like my ladies with Double Xs .” Not that he minded non-cis, non-het stuff (or didn’t joke with male friends). All these flavors of weirdo just made the world a brighter place. “And, I don’t mean a human heir—I’m looking for a few Pokemon to leave stuff too.”The movie Aristocats? That old lady was a total role model. He just hoped he was there to see his family flip. But there was something even more dramatic than leaving his money to a Pokemon, and that was leaving it to someone lower income. “Though I’m not above Daddy Warbucks-ing it.”

With his last break-up still raw, the idea of having his own ragamuffins seemed foreign.

Grinning at the little flower crown’s assent, Oz gently scooped it up. From the ball, it went on his hair. Not minding the dust, the CEO sat down to watch the battle. When the bird fell to the ground, he clapped. “Bravo! Great form!” It was hard to tell if he was joking or not. It always was. “Princess Lei enjoyed it.” The Comfey, now wrapped around his head, made a noise of disapproval. “Oh, come on, it’s cute.”

Not wanting to be here when Tweety Bird woke up, Oz followed Niky deeper into the apartment building. Before long, they stumbled on two more Pokemon. A chunky little pig rooting in a corner and a weird wood-faced ghost hanging from a chandelier. What looked to be old tinsel was tangled in its horns. Oh! Wait! Isn’t that a Phantump.

Oz leaned in to whisper. “That’s not very merry, huh? Knowing a kid died in here?” He hummed thoughtfully. “Feel like it's good commentary on something."

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Niky couldn't help but laugh at the man. Of course Sol and him weren't going to look a like! The guy was just being cute in his blue-green eyes. The additional explanation of happily being into women, being non-judgemental, and wanting to leave his Pokemon his inheretence did fill in some blanks. "Sounds like you need a lawyer to help out with that. Good luck with that though."

After the battle, both Niky and Sol bowed at the applause. Soon after getting out of there, they found a Phantump and...a...fat pig Pokemon? He didn't recognize it...maybe he could do some research on it after capturing it. Oz whispered to him though. "I'm sure that's not the only way Phantump exists. Besides, do you see any holes where a tree stump should be? How much you want to bet that one migrated here because of their past. It's that other one I'm interested in though, never seen one before. Sol?" The bug hopped down and started with an Ember attack, catching the rooting piggy off guard.

The odd Pokemon then charged with Take Down, with Sol matching with Flame Charge. Sol got the worse part of that exchange, but recovered quickly with String Shot to swing right back at it, firing Ember all the way. Once it latched onto the Piggy, Sol just started to Bug Bite it down. Even with Disarming Voice, the piggy didn't dislodge his bug, and she brought it down enough. Taking out a Pokeball, Niky threw it to catch what he would later find out was a Lechonk.


Capture Attempt: Lechonk
Ozni Adebayo

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Niky Racz CAUGHT THE LECHONK!

A jester didn’t seem to mind attention. In Oz’s ebook, any PR was good PR. Though he did want to clear something else, just because he hated missed punchlines. That and flights. Those were a b-i-t-c-h. “Me and Princess? Practically twins.” He claimed as he dug his phone out from a pocket. A few swipes took him to a picture of his Eelektross’s last birthday party, complete with stupid hats.


The talk of lawyers made Oz sigh. “I know. Just sucks that a man can’t decide to do with his stuff without getting a blood-sucking law leech involved.” Here, he smiled. Obviously, he was joking. Mostly. His ex was a lawyer and so were a lot of his college friends. Still, there was a reason people associated with the pits of hell. “Could be like grandpa I guess. Make it one of those battle royales.” Then again, he needed some heirs to fight for it.


Oz stared at the little ghost type with a contemplative frown. “I guess there aren’t that many kids missing.” The talk of tree stumps drew his eyes up and down the hallway. The little blonde had a point. “I’d bet you're right. A kid from the 70s? Probably hijack ugly wallpaper or an Easy Bake oven.” Definitely not an actual stump. The talk of the pig shifted his attention. He lifted his phone and tried a reverse image search. “Aww! He’s a 10/10 good boy. Be a great mascot for the new GM bacon we’ve got coming out.” By the time it’d finished, the pig had disappeared in a flare of light.


“Pfffft!” Oz snorted to himself, trying his best to ignore the totally creepy bug stuff. “Dude, you won’t believe what that thing’s called.” He snickered as he headed towards what looked to have once been a locked door. The markings on the door looked kind of funky. “I was thinking Oinker or Rootig. But, hooo daddy. It’s better than that.” The crown above his head shifted, waving bye to the tiny ghost as her trainer moved his way into the stairwell.


“What do you think happened to this place?” His eyes lifted skyward as he emerged into the hallway. “It seems like it was pretty snazzy back in the day.” It wasn’t like it had any warnings or big neon danger signs.

A ghost dragon slipped from oneside of the hallway to the other. Right behind it--a show of contrast--a tiny pink below followed. "Weird bedfellows, huh?"

This guy may have a few screws loose. Kind of cute in a way, but at the same time...who knew their Pokemon's birthdays? Then came the comment about lawyers, causing Niky to shrug. "Not all of them are that way. Just a vast majority of them." And he got lucky in the way that his family was well connected. And things in the music industry often required one. Maybe that was why he was more comfortable than most with lawyers. Even though it was a joke, it should speak a lot that he partially agreed with Ozni.

Ozzy (why did he give him a nickname?) seemed to know what the Pokemon was. Though also neglected to say anything of relevence. The other trainer did wonder what happened to this part of Mauville. "I don't know. I didn't look into it before coming here. I'm sure you can look it up and find out." After all, there was a wealth of information on the internet. Shortly after, a Drakloak and an Igglybuff went on past. Returning Sol, he released Fabia, his Popplio. "Icy Wind that Drakloak, get its attention. Then use Moonblast." Luckily the shape of the hall allowed her to almost curve the attack into both it and the Igglybuff's backs. Though only the Drakloak actually turned around and came storming towards them. Only to get hit with a pink energy blast that was Moonblast. Taking out a pokeball, Niky threw it at the dragon.

Capture attempt on Drakloak
Ozni Adebayo

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Niky Racz CAUGHT THE DRAKLOAK!

If Oz could read minds—a project he was looking into—he wouldn’t have been offended. After all, the best people had a few screws loose. Nikola Tesla talked to pigeons. A lot of pioneers were one step away from the white-padded rooms. So, if he had a screw loose, the man knew he was in the BEST company. Though knowing his Eelektross’s birthday had nothing to do with that. Oz just knew how important dates were to women.


That fact became obvious the first time his dad forgot his mom’s birthday.


“Yeah. I know. My fiance was one of them.” Oz raised his shoulders in an attempt to be nonchalant. But the wince that underlain the gesture was apparent. Months later and it still felt like someone was stabbing him in the back. She acted like he could have just walked away from it. Sure, when his sister was next in line, that was easy. But when somebody offered you a whole buffet with a Dole Whip machine? It’d take a real (stupid) saint to turn it down. “It’s the first time I ever wanted a lawyer to be more corrupt." His laughter was strained.


Aww! He wasn’t even going to guess? What a spoilsport! “It’s called a Lechonk.” A big chunky big named after a Paldean dish! “I told you it was awesome.” The question about the apartment building echoed back to him. Well, that’s what search engines were for. “Let’s see what Google Senpai has for me.” As he typed, Oz stepped over a Sylveon snoozing on an old, tattered rug. The Comfey on his head unfurled to give the familiar face a wave. “It says there was a structural issue. Some kind of snake dug out the foundation.” His eyes bugged out. “Oh! That’s cool! Some celebrities grew up here.”


When the fight happened, the man just blinked. He wouldn’t want to be in that Drakloak’s shoes—ectoplasmic booties. Whatever. “So, do you have a goal or are you just trying to hoard them all?” That made two Pokemon caught since they started. “Looks pretty expensive to me.” And exploitative too.


From the corner of his eye, he saw a dirtied Clefable poke its head around a doorjamb. A sense of nostalgia swelled up. His fiance’s Clefable liked running off with his laptop when he worked too much. They were cute, but he didn’t want to be seen as a copycat. Reaching into his pocket, he drew out what was left of a vat-grown meat stick. This he tossed in front of it.

“I’m looking for room 312 if you want to come along.” He grinned. “I just found out mom’s favorite soap star lived there.”



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