Hideo's attention was drawn to the familiar voice calling out to him. He didn't even need Uxie to tell him who it was.

"Hey Eva!" he answered, waving in her direction. "'course I'd be here! I'm the Gym Leader here, after all~ And we've been having a lot of fun! Me and my friend here got something to eat before we try something else." The "Ralts" on his head nodded, small crystals of cinnamon getting everywhere - including in Hideo's hair.

"Wanna try some?" He extended a pretzel forward, for both Eva and her Pokemon. "These things are really good. Friend of mine got me some, and I've been getting them every day since!"

Eva Morales

And so, Hideo got another person hooked on to the lovely delight that was cinnamon pretzels.

"It's alright. A lot of people are still trying to wrap their heads around it." There was an attempt to inject some levity into his voice, but the annoyance was still there. "You'd be surprised how many people want to test me! It's supposed to be the other way around!"

The grin after that was a bit forced.

"But it's been going pretty good! Challenges are starting to slow down, but that might just be 'cause my Gym isn't the newest one on the block anymore." Sad, but it did leave him with more time to do other things, like help around town.

Or have fun at festivals. "People've been liking it a lot overall! They've been liking the non-traditional the most, but that one's got limited space 'cause how much work it is to do. Woulda thought people wanted the traditional more, 'cause you need those badges for the champ assessment, but guess I was wrong there."

One of the more harmless misreads.

"Anyways, what're you up to, Eva? In general and here; plenty of stuff to do at a festival like this!"

Eva Morales

"It can be. Sometimes I miss all the free time I used to have." He was fortunate the employees there handled most of the paperwork, only needing him to sign off on what needed signing. "But it's definitely one of the comfier places to have a Gym! I didn't even grow up here, but everyone already treats me like I did."

It also held a place in his heart, as the ideal starting point for any aspiring trainer. The stories always had trainers coming from small towns.

"Well, if you need any help finding out what to do with your limited time, I know the festival pretty well by now~" He wouldn't be surprised if the carnies knew him as well as the Littleroot residents by now. "If you wanna try something next, there's a Dugtrio Ring-Toss game that's pretty easy to win. And the prizes there are pretty good."

A set of plushies based on Gym Leaders, as Hideo was still unaware. His own were pretty popular around these parts, but nobody actually told him what the stuffed toys were of.

Eva Morales

Hideo happily nodded. "I'd look forward to it! I've had a decent number of people high up in the League take my challenge. Or at least ones that used to be." Michael Navidson was a gym leader (after the challenge), and Thomas Benoit used to be part of the Elite Four, both pretty important spots in the League. He could take pride in having taught them something.

A small snort escaped Hideo. "Well, can't win'em all. If it's any consolation, I kinda suck at the Rodeo; the moment it starts bucking, I go flying." Eris Halla had him handily beat in that game.

"If you're looking for something with a short line, there's a teacup-spinning ride we could go on. Even small Pokemon can join in on it, so long as we don't spin so fast they fly out."

The joyous expression on Uxie's illusion dropped somewhat. Something Hideo was already aware of.

"We don't gotta go too fast in it; we control how fast it spins."

Eva Morales

Hideo smirked. "Bumper cars are the only thing I can't do here. Driving ain't my strong suit."

No need to elaborate why.

He happily nodded at Eva's request(s). "Caaaan do!" Granted, following him meant following Uxie's directions, but the disguised pixie would get them to the teacups in record time.

The line wouldn't take long, and soon, the two of them (and their Pokemon) would get a teacup of their own. Uxie took a spot next to Hideo, sitting close to him; it wasn't as worried about getting flung off like its ride with Mesprit, but it still sat right where it'd push against Hideo once the spinning started.

And once it did begin, Hideo would begin spinning the center ring, to build up speed. He wanted speed, but there would only be so fast he could spin it on his own.

Eva Morales

"Hmmm…" Hideo held a pensive hand under his chin. "Well, if you wanna get outdriven by a Pokemon that keeps its eyes closed, go ahead~ You wanna go for a ride, Rudy?"

The "Ralts" matched Hideo's gesture (as best as possible with no fingers), before nodding. "Well then, guess I know what we'll do after this~"

And Hideo didn't hold back with his spinning, joining Eva and her Pokemon and laughing along with them. Uxie didn't participate, accepting its fate being pushed into Hideo by the spinning momentum - about the same as the last time it rode on this.

Granted, this time it wasn't clinging to Hideo, so progress was progress.

Once the teacup ride was over, Hideo stumbled out, Uxie held close. "Doin good!" Hideo answered, offering a thumbs up in the wrong direction, still clearly in a daze. Uxie recovered considerably faster, shaking its head to the sides before facing towards Eva, raising a hand - the closest it could do to a thumbs up.

"Now, where's those bumper cars? I wasn't in a state to drive to begin with, but my friend here'll probably enjoy that more."

Eva Morales