he sits on the floor as mateo orders their food, ruffling his blonde hair as he turns his gaming platform on. this was his usual routine when he gets home, which he supposed mateo won't mind.

the question gets him to turn his back from the screen. kyle stares at him, all insecurities from earlier being completely undone with the disbelief from the absurdity of his questions. he answers him with a flat, deadpan tone on a single word, hoping it would send the message across.

"no."

he leans back with his arms supporting his weight, his head looking at the dragon-type trainer upside down. "we just got our elite four and you want this too? where'd you even get the idea?" does hoenn even have enough capable trainers to fill the roster of this so-called frontier brains?

"get to the champion seat first before you start thinking of things like that." he gets back to playing his game, which just loaded the main menu.

"champion seat?!" the barbaric balls he had to even say that. just because he was rolling in badges didn't mean crap. gritted teeth and a tightening grip upon his device, mateo would respond. "as if that anyone's climbing for that throne. my throne is bigger than some adult-sized car seat." that's right, he was aiming big.

"i only took this position because it guaranteed some action." he didn't exactly read all the details of what an elite four entailed, it was just the spur of the moment when he accepted. "sadly, with the disbandment of rocket. i was late to the party, but..." a finger upon his chin as he thought about it, looking up at the ceiling. "i guess i shouldn't take this opportunity for granted. i mean i did come to hoenn, originally, for one thing." like a child he chuckled, covering his mouth at how giddy the thought made him.

"i'm so close to finding rayquaza, i can almost taste it," he said, "and i eat dragon flake chips so i know!"

note: >:I

"i took this position cause it gives me a bigger allowance," he casually adds to the conversation.

he doesn't pay much attention to him as he continued to load up his game. his words get him to drop the controller once more, turning his head at mateo. the deadpan stare happens once more. he ponders if mateo's pull on him is just a result from a subconscious need of attention instead of something else.

"that's dumb. you're dumb."

he has seen legendary pokemon on three instances in the span of a year. it was merely coincidence that he found the meloetta and everyone that participated in the aqua fes has met the alolan deities. the entei was an enigma that if he had not had his smeargle copy its move, he would have convinced himself he hallucinated his encounter with it.

out of those events did he not have made any conclusion that connected each encounter with a method that can reliably locate them. each of them merely happened with chance after all.

"what makes you think you'll find rayquaza? i mean, how?"

"screw you!" he retorted.

returning to his phone and casually scrolling about. he'd think about kyle's question briefly. "because i follow my intuition." touching his nose, he'd add, "and the smell. i know that bastards here somewhere just waiting for me to find it. he's definitely waiting for me to challenge it, just like the protagonist from my favorite children's book." he had little to no leads, but he was definitely going to head over to the location bailey told him about.

"plus, there's a place i'm going to head over to soon." he spoke of mossdeep center. "i can feel it in my gut that what happened there could be a lead..." determined eyes stared for a moment, only to whimsically be broken mid thought as he'd respond to kyle's insult, "plus, you literally met a legendary in front of everyone and turned down its blessing. what was it...tapu...tapu poo-poo?"

note: >:I

"that doesn't count cause i didn't exactly wished for them," he argues back. "i did see an entei once, but it just showed itself to me and disappeared the next second." he doesn't mention the meloetta, thinking that the curator might want all the privacy she needs to care for it. besides, he wasn't sure if mateo even knows what it is.

"do tell what's your lead."

he turns to mateo and crosses his legs as he sits on the floor, his arm resting on his knee while his face leans on it. he raises a brow, as if prompting to get him to answer honestly. mateo was a wildcard after all. kyle couldn't exactly decide whenever he spouts bullshit or if he really had it planned out.

"i wanna see rayquaza too," he presses further.

"an entei?!" he'd heard of such an infamous creature. turning upon the couch and peering over out of shock. mateo would settle down, clearing his throat. "to think you saw an entei...it'd be cool if i could've fought it. that would've been awesome..." talk about jealousy right there.

he's not too familiar with the tale of entei and company. but he knew enough that meeting it was a big deal. "i'm so jealous..." slouching upon the couch, he was then asked about his lead. "my lead? oh, the country gal told me about what happened in mossdeep." specifically about freya morningstar.

"i'm gonna go check it out. i think those wormholes might be a key, maybe a doorway to another plane of existence!" he stood up with excitement. "what if another gate appears over mossdeep?! what if those creatures they fought come from a world ruled by rayquaza and us fighting them is some sort of test! a testament for the best of the best! only the strong who wish to challenge rayquaza have to face his pawns first!" he sounded like child spouting off nonsense.

but, then, he was caught off guard by kyle saying he wanted to see 'rayquaza'. was that his way of saying he wanted to follow mateo? maybe he was reading too deep into it. but it was actually pretty sweet, "nope! this is all mine, you can stay home and play your games." turning toward kyle, he'd come to jump upon the couch and point dramatically at the blonde. "you've had the most fun in this region, it's my turn dog boy!! my story is..." he'd raise his index finger to the ceiling, "now!"

note: >:I

"i'm not fighting an entei, and neither should you!"

he buries his hands on his hair as he leans forward. this was a mess. he knows the chances of actually finding the rayquaza is very slim, and although he doesn't know how rare these wormholes would appear, he doesn't trust him not to get himself hurt if he does encounter them.

"that's not even how the stories about rayquaza goes! i'm pretty sure he isn't from another dimension, so you won't need wormholes for him!"

stories of the legendary were present on some of the books on the drake estate, some of them kyle has read before. he had forgotten most of the specifics, but the main gist remains with him.

he finally leans backward until he finds himself lying on the floor. he gives up trying to find the fancy words to try and dissuade mateo and doesn't bother arguing anymore. "well, good luck with your story. go grab us beers from the fridge for me so we can make a proper toast to this."

jumping over the couch. mateo headed toward the kitchen, speaking all the while, "just because you read something in a book doesn't mean it to be true. i mean these things manifested from somewhere, who's to say it's not rayquza's doing?" wishful thinking was his greatest weakness. but maybe if he just believed hard enough it was bound to happen.

grabbing his beverage. he'd take kyle's to him. cap taken off of both, he'd stand over kyle upon taking a sip. "besides, after what happened to balder..." he thought about the solgaleo that appeared before the male. "anything is possible in this world. to think a guy like that was acknowledged by such a pokemon." it was ironic, wasn't it? the solgaleo acknowledged someone who hailed from the legendary's origins.

mateo wasn't familiar with the alola region, but he knew enough from those who spoke about it. "balder's from the alola region. that...thing recognized him as someone fit to possess it." it made him wonder if he was fit to stand before rayquaza. "i bust my ass everyday just so i'm prepared to fight the dragons of old. maybe rayquaza hasn't appeared to me because i haven't been trying hard enough." rubbing his chin, he continued, "yeah...working out and training everyday isn't gonna get him to notice me. i need to hunt for it, like actually search. balder is a different story, but what if..." he began to pace back and forth, "what if, like the dragon king from that children's book, i have to hunt it down and show it i'm ready. i've been so busy dealing with hoenn's crap that i forgot all about my own crap--the reason why i'm here!" he sharply turned toward kyle. yelling to his companion his thoughts aloud.

note: >:I

he sits back upright and takes the drink, taking a sip and letting the cold liquid quench the thirst that lingered in his throat since before they got into his apartment.

"i don't really know much about legends so i can't argue about that." nor that story mateo keeps referencing, but he won't admit to that cause he guesses he'd get a lecture from him about the dragon king. "but i guess you have a lot of free time now, so you can do whatever you want."

kyle doesn't actually see the reason why one would even bother actively chasing for a legendary's blessing. they were cool to have, he supposed, but he wasn't sure what people would think happens afterwards. kyle wasn't sure if he'll even bother even if he was given a chance.

he takes another sip before processing the words. his reaction comes late. "let's say it does happen, what are you gonna do once it acknowledges you?" destroying the entire region sounds like a valid choice, but it's too much work for kyle to even consider.

a sharp turn. he'd look at kyle as if he'd just called his own mother fat. "what am i gonna do?!" he shouted, appalled by kyle's own question. he'd come to hear the doorbell. it must've been the pizza man.

heading toward the door and grabbing the pizza. he'd shout, "here!" tossing the money at the guy and slamming the door. he'd go back to kyle with the pizza box in his hand. holding the box in front of him, he'd drop it on the floor angrily in front of kyle. "what a stupid question to ask?!" mateo shouted, finally letting his internal thoughts out.

"i'm gonna beat it up!" opening the box and taking a slice of pizza. he'd take bite, talking all the while as a string of cheese hung from his mouth and the pizza in hand. "how can i become the dragon king if i can't beat up a couple of dragons?!" was kyle off his rockers? "i'm gonna be a real dragon master, maybe even a 'dragon slayer'." taking another bite, he'd add, "but right now we're the pizza slayer because this is some seriously good pizza..." slateport's pizzeria really knew how to throw down.

note: >:I

the box lands in front of him, his eyes following it as it falls onto the floor. he takes a deep breath before he picks up the box and places it on the counter by the divider of his kitchen. he only takes a slice once the box was on its proper place.

"you're gonna die," he says as he puts the slice in his mouth, chewing at it from its end. it takes a few nibbles until he finally gets the strand of cheese off of the main body, swallowing it then. "but i'll support you. by the way, do you prefer being buried or cremated?"

a lazy smile takes over his expression as bites the pizza slice once more, content with his humor.

"you know that the hoenn league tried to subdue a legendary before, right?" he meant that regirock one, where it took an entire army of trainers to take down the behemoth. kyle didn't participate cause there was no way he'd risk his life on something inconsequential to him. "they had numbers, and even then, they suffered casualties."

he thought about it, but kyle's not gonna stop mateo's childish dreams at any point now.

he breaks the series of words with another bite of the pizza, chewing lazily once more to cut the cheese with his teeth. he speaks while he chews this time. "you should read articles regarding that, in addition to watching the mossdeep wormhole vids. they're good references."

both the regirock and the creature that appeared on mossdeep were probably bad comparisons to a rayquaza, but it's better than nothing when trying to prepare to fight one. experience in fighting trainers and wild pokemon do not necessarily convert to one's aptitude in fighting those pokemon of legend.

listening to kyle's baffling spiel. he'd devour his pizza whole. "that's because you lot didn't have me!" they didn't have a proper leader either, he assumed. mateo knew enough about what happened. it was in the news.

thinking back, that was a time when he was so self-absorbed with his own personal goals that he vowed he'd never get into hoenn's affairs. now look at him: a ranger, an elite four member. talk about sticking your hand into the cookie jar. he'd take a swig of alcohol into his system. "besides, now that i'm officially apart of the league. we'll be together even more; so as long as you're on speed dial there shouldn't be a problem, right? if i get into a sticky situation i expect you to come rushing in on your dog sled to back me up." that included facing rayquaza.

though he wasn't going in underestimating rayquaza's power. he knew what a legendary was all about, how else did they earn their moniker? "me and my pokemon train our asses off to take a hit. i'm literally walking around with a team full of dragon-types, plus an arcanine and eevee, you don't think i expect people to gun for our necks with a fairy-type or ice-type?" he's grown a lot during his time here in hoenn. thinking about the fights he had reminded him why he loved raising dragons: the challenge. "if we can't handle our disadvantages, forget about fighting rayquaza." rayqauza was said to be a dragon-type, another dragons weakness.

"you of all people should understand with those mightyena's of yours." looking toward kyle, he'd stand up from where he sat. "we're not going down without a fight. willpower isn't enough to win, but it's damn well apart of our strategy. i teach my pokemon that they just need to hit that wall harder until it breaks." and rayquaza was just thought--a bigger, stronger wall. "luckily though, i have you and everyone else to train with. you guys make for good target practice for when i have to face the real thing." a subtle compliment was given.

note: :c

"you really think i'll leave the comfort of the safety of my home when i get a distress call from you?"

he would, though he wouldn't admit to it.

"it's not just about taking a hit. it's also about hitting it with something that actually damages it. you probably already have the brute force needed with your pokemon... though..." it was only then that kyle realizes that mateo might have actually prepared for it.

his eyebrows furrow as he starts to intently chew on the piece of pizza he has on his mouth, his eyes wandering to the floor as he starts to go deep in thought. he tries to remember each of mateo's pokemon, taking into account their respective moves and general role into party. kyle seems excited for it despite the serious look on his expression.

while he was reluctant on believing it at first, he's actually open to entertaining it.

"what's the party you're planning to bring once you take it on?" he asks before chewing the last of the pizza slice he has on his hand.