Workshops were never Hideo's strong suit; tons of junk lying around everywhere, a lot of which felt the same, much of which was sharp. And he was never much for building mechanical devices - too many little things that he could break if he wasn't careful, and instructions weren't designed for the visually-impaired.

The only saving grace was that Uxie was floating around, making sure he didn't bump into something that could lop his arm off or step on a stray nail.

And fortunately, there was someone here who was much more mechanically-inclined than he was. And Uxie already took notice to something lying around - a PokeGear. It picked up the device, carrying it over to Eris Halla .

"Never even used one of those before," Hideo noted, "so I got no clue how to fix it up." Only reason he even knew it needed fixing was because Uxie told him as much. "Think you got a clue what to do with it?"

Find Materials to fix it +50 RKS

Eris Halla

"Well, guess we got plenty of time to work with." Uxie floated around, examining the area, and as far as it told him, they were the only two living beings in this place. "If you need me or Uxie to grab anything for you, just ask."

It'd be Uxie doing most of that work, though. Hideo wasn't the best at finding the right parts for things, for reasons that didn't need to explicitly be spelled out.

He could still make some small talk, though. To help pass the time.

"So…what got you so skilled with mechanical stuff? Don't know about a lot of adventurers that can build stuff like you can."

Eris Halla

"Dunno. Never really kept track of time when I've done these simulations." Didn't help that a number of them left him unconscious for an indeterminate amount of time. Maybe he'd get around to bringing something to track time.

Unfortunately, if he was lucky enough to get the next stage he wanted, he couldn't keep any electronics on him.

"Lucky that your parents taught you practical stuff," Hideo said, taking a seat on the first space he felt out without debris. "Mine did whatever they could to keep me in a cage. They'd never teach me how to put stuff together." Not that he'd be good at it, but they wouldn't even let him try.

"'Sides, my knack was always more with fleshier stuff. The kind that float around and help around with stuff."

That comment got a playful giggle from Uxie.

"And the kind that nags me all the time and gets chunky off all the snacks they eat."

That one got a frown and a raspberry blown by Uxie.

"Always felt comfortable being around Pokemon and training them. Parents did their best to limit how much I could interact with them, but they just couldn't stop me."

Eris Halla

Hideo quietly listened to Eris speak, a smile on his face. It was rare to hear her talk this much, with this kind of passion. The clicking of her fiddling with the PokeGear was like a backdrop to her voice, almost like a small rhythm.

"Wish my parents were even a tenth as open as yours were," he said, the melancholy in his voice clear. "It was always a struggle to get them to let me do even a little bit of trainer stuff. Most of what I got to do, I had to hide from them. If they knew even a couple of the things I was in before I even left home…pretty sure they would'a slapped an ankle monitor on me."

He had to tread lightly, but that didn't stop him from helping stop Groudon, or getting involved with that Church basement, or hunting for a Meltan.

"A lotta days made me feel like I was wasting away doing nothing. And every time I thought I'd impressed them enough, they'd just change the standards. They'd always find some reason to tell me why I couldn't do the Gym Circuit. Didn't help that there's always something going on."

Hideo let out a sigh. "You're right - they can be dumb. Real dumb." Dumb enough to not care that he'd gotten 7 badges with his own effort. Dumb enough to not realize he'd learned so much more on his own than being (metaphorically) chained to home and school, just eating milk and cookies until the world ended.

Going on his own had been some of the best days he'd lived.

They'd also been some of the worst days he'd experienced.

"Just hope Chu-E realizes they were wrong at some point." Before they got into conflict with each other. His role as a Gym Leader meant he might have to get deployed again - possibly in conflict against Rocket.

"...think it'll take much longer to fix that thing?"

Eris Halla

Hideo went quiet. Eris would not get an answer to that question, the boy frowning as he silently waited for her to finish her work.

Which, thankfully, didn't take much longer - and it didn't take much longer for them to get results, a voice speaking through the PokeGear.

"Maldacena?" Hideo muttered, his mind digging through his memories to pin the voice to that name. "That guy was talking to us when we went into the ocean that one time, part of that DRK Triad thing? Who sent all those digital Pokemon at us?"

Among other things that happened during that Cyberchase Conundrum. A lot of which he'd wanted to forget.

"...I think we should hold onto this. Who knows what he'll tell us next." It'd be a waste of a good information source if they trashed it now - and a waste of Eris's work.

Uxie nodded its head at Hideo's suggestion - no objection there.

Hideo knew what they'd be coming up to next - which was why he'd dressed relatively lightly on this trip. No heavy clothing like coats or gloves.

Keep (or leave) the device

Eris Halla

"Hope that's just simulation stuff." It wouldn't be far-fetched to assume it was just the simulation making claims towards the source of this stage. "Dunno if this thing'll even stick around after we finish the simulation."

But surely, Uxie wouldn't have exposed itself like this if it didn't risk revealing itself?

Or perhaps revealing itself wouldn't have any consequence?

He'd just have to have faith here.

"Unless there's something else in store for us…think the simulation'll switch over-"

And just like that, the simulation changed to the next stage - the island with the withered flowers. The one he'd visited several times with Alexei Ivanov already.

"-soon."

According to Uxie, it was the same exact layout as those other times as well: a sensation to walk towards the lake, and the Persian on the other side of the island. And if it was anything like his previous runs, he knew exactly what was at the bottom of that lake.

"Eris? This is gonna sound strange - but we gotta get to the bottom of that lake."

He knew exactly what that entailed - and he knew Eris was no better a swimmer than he was.

Dive into the lake (eventually) +50 points

Eris Halla