It'd been the first time Hideo left Hoenn without the every-watchful watch of his parents. There was a strange sense of freedom that came with it - somewhat undercut by how he wasn't doing this just for fun; he was here on some loosely-defined business, to try and find any hints as to where to find Azelf, and maybe find a way to fix their gems.

Two lakes later, and they'd found a grand total of nothing. Uxie seemed to enjoy it a bit, taking a quick dip in the water each time, just as it was doing for this third lake. Hideo stood near Navy, waiting until Uxie was content. It did bear a convincing Illusionary disguise of a Phione.

"Azelf was hurt pretty badly," Hideo said, "back when Necrozma showed up. Even worse than Uxie and Mesprit were. They could still be hurt and need our help." He needed to find Azelf, to make sure they safe. The last thing he'd want was for Azelf to fall into Rocket's hands - or worse.

Yet Navy had a point: absolutely none of their efforts seemed to bear any fruit. His search through the Mechanical Kingdom bore no fruit, and his Lesser Megalopolis search wasn't going much better. Would they really just have to wait?

It didn't sit well in his stomach, but that's how it was shaping up to be.

"Guess we do gotta head back soon. My Pokemon can take of my Gym pretty well without me, but I don't want the League thinking that I'm slacking and leaving all the work to them." He already relied on them for a lot; last thing he wanted was for his Oranguru to take his Gym Leader spot from under him. That was something he had to work hard to get in the first place.

"But if we do check something out before we leave, I heard Contests are a lot more common here than in Hoenn. And flashier. I was hoping we could watch one live." Plenty of stuff to hear, feel, and smell from those. And taste, depending on the contest.

He could have one of his Pokemon relay the visual stuff to him.

Michael Navidson , Eris Halla

Eris seemed to continue with her silent treatment. It sounded a bit like she was fumbling with her clothing, but whatever she was up to, Reiner sounded like he was there for her.

The moment Navy mentioned a flier, Hideo took out a Pokeball, letting out his Beheeyem. It took a look at the flier, though artistic descriptions were not Elga's strong suit - and Navy explained what it was anyways.

Hideo couldn't resist letting out a snort, a smile on his face. "You should've seen me and Eris try out the Tauros Rodeo ride. I don't think I lasted ten seconds before I was flat on my belly. Eris did a lot better at it than I did." Good times. "Religious or not, I'd like to watch that. Sounds like it's a lotta fun for viewers and contestants."

They were probably a lot better at riding them than he and Eris were anyways.

But the brief bit of levity didn't last long. "Tell me about it. There's no stopping Uxie if they want to check something out - and I hear Eris has her hands full with Mesprit if they want to do something too. I just wish we got some kind of information; it's been over a year since they got attacked, and we've had Uxie and Mesprit for almost a year now."

Uxie dove into the water, little bubbles popping up from the depths.

"And Galar was…it still hurts to think about the time we spent there. A lotta the details are fuzzy, but I can remember that I opened a school there with Uxie's help…and I had a family there. At least I know Azelf wasn't hiding in there, but they could be anywhere."

He spoke of it matter-of-factly - though perhaps the blinking lights on his Beheeyem's hand helped him keep his composure, even if only a little.

Michael Navidson , Eris Halla

Hideo heard Uxie pop out of the water, the little pixie making sure he knew it was done having fun in the water. He could feel it climbing up his body, plopping its still-soggy body on top of his head - just like his actual Phione would do. He could feel a rock be placed in his hand, Uxie insisting he hold on to it - as a souvenir.

At least it was a nice-feeling rock.

Hideo was left oblivious to Eris's less-than-happy reaction to him mentioning the Festival, simply following Navy along as they headed to the Rodeo. While the gratuitous makeup and outfits are lost on him, he could enjoy the music they sang; there was always something about religious music that sounded nice, whether or not the words or meanings resonated with him.

And then after that religious display, people got thrown around. Just like a proper rodeo.

Hideo didn't even need the visual information from his Beheeyem to enjoy the sounds of Tauros being ridden, or of their riders getting tossed around.

There was no refusal out of Hideo when the corndog was offered, the boy eagerly taking some bites out of it. Tasted just like any other corn dog to him, but the whole environment just made it better somehow. Maybe just the mood of the place.

A mood only slightly shifted when Navy asked them a question.

"Hoenn's my home," Hideo said, half-eaten corn dog lifted up so Uxie could take some bites out of it. "So I'd stay in Hoenn. If Uxie wanted to stay here after we found Azelf…well, I'd make sure to visit them when I got the chance."

"Plus, knowing these guys, they'd probably pop back up in Hoenn to hang out with us. And eat our food."

There was no objections out of Uxie, who was enjoying the combination of bread and dog that Hideo so generously shared.

Michael Navidson , Eris Halla

Hideo's Beheeyem also faced difficulty explaining emotions to Hideo - the best it could do was tell him Navy frowned at his answer. And Uxie was too preoccupied watching the Rawhide Kobayashi act to properly explain it to Hideo.

And Hideo was too busy watching the show (through Uxie's descriptions) to register the unhappy reaction.

He was also distracted by the new hat tossed right onto his head, Uxie jumping into his lap right before it landed. The hat was large for him, resting right on his nose, covering his eyes, but that did nothing to weaken the wide smile on his face. He even raised a fist and let out a "Yee-haw!", earning the same from the other audience members.

He took a moment to properly adjust the hat, laughing all the way. Always felt good to play the crowd a bit himself.

"You haven't seen them find something they really like. Uxie stomach is a lot larger than you'd think." Uxie could only offer a shrug, smiling.

Though the next question did get him to calm down a bit.

"Well…there was this Soiree back in Hoenn that I went to. A buncha Unown appeared and made things really…misty." The less detail he thought about that time in the Dream Mist, the better; that stuff was a menace. "And when I got out, there was this amulet around my neck. I don't even remember how I got it."

Everyone else he talked to at least remembered meeting one of the Lake Trio (when they could remember anything about them). He was the odd one out, it seemed.

"Then I showed it to Eris, and she showed me hers. And Eris probably told you everything after that." It was that point where he got an idea what he was dealing with - when he started getting into contact with other amulet-bearers. "Finding out what to do with that was tough."

Pretty much the same dilemma he had with Uxie and the Lake Trio - though the consequences of these little guys becoming public knowledge was much greater than people knowing he had a strange piece of jewelry.

Michael Navidson , Eris Halla

"A lottav'em." Even him meeting Eris was its own adventure - one that he'd partially repressed, but didn't regret. "They haven't always been easy adventures. Some have hurt, some a lot. But I wouldn't be who I was and where I am now without them."

Even he couldn't be completely sure if that was for better or worse.

What he did know was that Uxie was climbing on top of his head, onto the hat. He had to hold it, to keep the oversized hat from following over - or enveloping his head entirely. He had some fun, giggling as Uxie tried to find the perfect spot to sit.

But the fun ended at Navy's next question, striking a chord in Hideo's heart. His expression froze, the boy sweating slightly. "I…" he trailed off, trying to think of the best way to answer without getting someone to ask to meet his parents.

"...not much. I let them know I'm still alive every now and then, but I don't wanna go back there. Talking to them these days is tough."

Not to mention going back home would be reminding himself what happened last time he'd gone home - how he'd gotten his parents' signatures so he could become a gym leader.

No-one could know.

It was a relief to hear Navy bring up a different subject.

"Well...feels like there's always something going on in Hoenn nowadays. Dunno if I just didn't hear it before 'cause I was cooped up all the time, but it's 24/7 now. And we'll keep on powering through them all."

Michael Navidson , Eris Halla