Hideo was made aware of someone’s arrival before the voice was heard; even if his Uxie lacked the exact Telepathy that Pokemon like his Beheeyem had, it could still communicate concepts about as well as them. Even better, in some cases, but that was to be expected from such a powerful Pokemon.

Just what would it be capable of if it actually had Telepathy?

“Yup!” was Hideo’s quick answer. The voice was vaguely familiar, but Hideo couldn’t put a pin on who it belonged to. “Taking my Sylveon here for a spin. They haven’t been like this for long, so I wanted to see what they could do!” Which wasn’t a complete lie: he did want to see what his disguised Uxie could do.

And he’d get that chance pretty quickly, his Uxie informing him of a wild Pokemon nearby, though it did get him to raise an eyebrow: a Sharpedo floating around in a cave? About as rare as an aurora borealis localized entirely within a kitchen.

He shrugged. “Guess I’ll start with that one. Dazzling Gleam’em!” A move that wasn’t out of place for a Sylveon. The disguised Uxie gathered light around itself, firing at the Sharpedo, knocking the Pokemon out of the sky with ease. “Pretty good one there…” Hideo said, taking out a spare Pokeball - he was pretty sure a Sharpedo was a tough Pokemon, so even without a matching type, his Uxie had some power behind it.

“So what about you? You like walking around caves with new Pokemon as well?”

There was a small pause as Hideo realized he hadn't even introduced himself yet. "I'm Hideo, by the way."

Attempting to capture the Sharpedo

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD TATSUGIRI APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] COMMANDER
[attr="class","wildtabox"]MIRROR COAT	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]WATER PULSE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]MEMENTO	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]DRAGON PULSE
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Hideo Kino kyle lopez

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD METANG APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] GENDERLESS	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] LIGHT METAL
[attr="class","wildtabox"]CONFUSION	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]TACKLE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]TAKE DOWN	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]PURSUIT
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Hideo Kino kyle lopez

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

BOTH OF YOUR CAPTURE ATTEMPTS ARE SUCCESSFUL!

“Looking for something?” Hideo couldn’t help but parrot Kyle on that part - had he lost something here? “Not much here but a lot of Pokemon - which is kind of what I’m looking for here.” Not that he expected something like a Sharpedo to be floating about these caves - that was about as unlikely as snowflakes falling in here.

As if to test him even further, another fish flopped along the ground - this one a pink Tatsugiri. Hideo didn’t even know what kind of Pokemon it was, with how new Paldean Pokemon were to Hoenn.

It wasn’t hard for his “Sylveon” to grab it, one of its “tendrils'' easily reaching over and pulling the Tatsugiri close enough for Hideo to capture, the boy already readying the Pokeball when he heard the droopy noises. “Like that,” Hideo added, tossing the ball.

The little bit of smug self-satisfaction was disrupted by hearing the man’s name: Kyle. With a name to the voice, Hideo was starting to recall a few times he’d heard it. “Kyle…you’re Kyle Lopez, right? The Champion?”

Attempting to capture the Tatsugiri

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD SHINY CROCONAW APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] TORRENT
[attr="class","wildtabox"]HYDRO PUMP	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]RAGE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]SLASH	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]FLAIL
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Hideo Kino kyle lopez

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD DOTTLER APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] TELEPATHY
[attr="class","wildtabox"]STRUGGLE BUG	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]CONFUSION
[attr="class","wildtabox"]LIGHT SCREEN	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]REFLECT
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Hideo Kino kyle lopez

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

BOTH OF YOUR CAPTURE ATTEMPTS ARE SUCCESSFUL!

Had it been six months ago, Hideo would’ve been absolutely ecstatic to get a one-on-one chat with the Champion. The Hideo that had wanted to take that role for himself, barreling through Gym Challenges for that shot. The one that ran away from home to get that chance.

But now?

There was a bit of excitement running through him - the same as if he’d met any other important person in the League - with a small smile on his lips. But that was it.

“I…guess not,” he answered. It was easy to notice Kyle’s disinterest in the label, so he wouldn’t push it any further. “Just wanted to know.”

Just as he pocketed the ball, another Pokemon approached - a Dottler. This one didn’t seem up for a fight, curiously approaching his “Sylveon”. The two met eyes, silently communicating with Telepathy.

“Well, you never know. Things just pop up out of nowhere in Hoenn these days, big or small. Heck, there’ve even been distortions in Slateport.” The one during the recent summer games came to mind. “You can look for signs, but then it’ll just pop out of nowhere anyways.”

Hideo felt the Dottler poke at his leg, the small Pokemon Telepathically requesting to be caught. For Hideo, the message was just a vague sense of wanting to capture it, a feeling that he would’ve had even if he wasn’t asked to do it

With Pokeball in hand, he aimed at the Dottler.

“I’ve been pretty busy trying to handle everything going on too. You’d be surprised how many times I just find my way in the middle of something.”

Attempting to capture the Dottler

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD SLOWPOKE APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] OWN TEMPO
[attr="class","wildtabox"]HEADBUTT	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]CONFUSION
[attr="class","wildtabox"]WATER GUN	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SLACK OFF
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Hideo Kino kyle lopez

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD GARCHOMP APPEARED!

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[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] SAND VEIL
[attr="class","wildtabox"]SLASH	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]DRAGON BREATH
[attr="class","wildtabox"]SAND ATTACK	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]TACKLE
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Hideo Kino kyle lopez

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

BOTH OF YOUR CAPTURE ATTEMPTS ARE SUCCESSFUL!

Hideo silently listened, his attention drawn to the stomping noises of a large Pokemon approaching them. He could feel his “Sylveon” let go of him, walking forward to intercept the Garchomp before it got too close. The Garchomp was faster than one could guess by its size, going in to slash the “Sylveon”, but its target easily avoided the attack, retaliating with a bright Dazzling Gleam.

It pushed the Garchomp back - and the “Sylveon” took the chance to continue the assault, until the Garchomp was down. It returned to Hideo, the boy made aware of where the Garchomp landed - and where to toss his Pokeball.

Hideo’s mouth was slightly ajar as he tried to process what Kyle had said. “I…guess?” he said, confused. “A lot of the stuff comes without warning, so a lot of people just get caught in it without a chance to prepare. I always keep myself ready for something like a Distortion popping down, so I don’t mind them that much. Heck, one could drop right now and I’d be ready.”

“And…I kind of want to be there for them. Hoenn’s where I was born and raised, so I want to help keep the region safe from whatever disaster comes next.” He couldn’t let his home region get destroyed.

“And there’s been a lot of disasters lately.” Giant pokemon appearing, meteors falling down, Rocket invasions, multiversal invasions. It was impossible to guess what they’d face next.

Attempting to capture the Garchomp