Hideo did, in fact, jump up a little at the sudden swirl of pink - but he was quick to regain his composure, waving as Eris made her arrival.

"Nah," he answered, a complete lack of urgency or surprise in his voice, "you're good. The pizza we ordered should be getting here soon. Elga, mind getting a seat for her?"

The Beheeyem glanced at Hideo, before psychically pulling a chair up for her to use - and pushing it in if necessary.

Hideo, by comparison to Eris, looked completely fine; no bandages around his body, and he looked to be in perfect health. He seemed just as energetic as he always was, as if he hadn't just been in a traumatic battle just weeks ago.

"Just wanted to catch up after Petalburg," he said. "I had to rest up for a while, but I'm getting back in the swing of things. How're you holding up?"

Eris Halla

Hideo nodded along - good to hear she was doing good.

His initial mistake truly had been due to surprise - though he knew Eris was supposed to arrive here, he didn't know how or when. There wasn't much way for either him or his Beheeyem to expect it.

But when she took her seat, and began to lean forward, even that sudden movement could be noticed by the Beheeyem - who was quickly to Telepathically notify him of what was about to happen.

So for this surprise, he didn't react - not until the palm was right up in his face.

"...did you just try to hit me?" he asked. "'Cause Elga says you just did."

He could play that off well enough.

What he couldn't hide was that with that proximity, it would be clearer that his voice was slightly off from where it should be - and there was the slightest amount of crackle to his voice - almost as if it were coming out of a speaker instead of a human mouth.

"You feeling alright? They have you on some meds or something?"

Eris Halla

Being able to shoot chains was a step above what most people could do in Hoenn, but it still paled in comparison to the feats others could perform.

But there were plenty of ways to close that gap, even overtake it. It didn't take a Professor to know how to use a Pokemon's abilities to their fullest, and the right application could be indistinguishable from a patron's gifts.

"A lotta stuff seems off nowadays," he answered, letting out a sigh.

"To be fair, I thought you'd just walk in. Didn't expect you to pop in outta nowhere. Elga usually makes sure I don't get surprised like that."

He didn't quite catch on to the intricacies of her wording - but the Beheeyem did. A few blinking lights on its hand let out a signal, before another blink informed the boy to move on to the next step.

"Aaaaanyways, I think our pizza's about to get here."

A knock on the door proved him right.



The figure that opened the door was carrying a pizza box, though the figure itself was covered head-to-toe in a coat, without even a single bit of skin showing. It was questionable how they'd be able to see through that outfit.

And a Ralts waddled in beneath the figure, waving to Eris's "Ralts" before eyeing the pizza box once more.

"This is a friend of mine, actually! Met'em when a certain someone ordered a certain pizza…buuuuut I'm pretty sure you've met'em before too!"

The Beheeyem placed a hand over its face; he was laying it on too thick there.

Eris Halla