Divided Lands...

Chapter 7: Battle of the Birds...and a Slime...

Tranquil awoke from her tent that she had set outside, the sunlight slowly peeking into her tent being the cause of her sudden wake. She looked to her side where Slodge was sleeping, recovering from the battle that took place on the previous day. And, to her right, lay the Pokeball of Icstra, having been fully healed up by Nurse Joy and its various machines.

She tapped Slodge, her fingers entering into the goo, but not affecting Slodge in the slightest. It remained fast asleep until Tranquil tapped the small brain encased into the gel. Slodge's body suddenly tensed, repelling Tranquil's hand from its body. It looked around completely bamboozled and wondered what had awoken it. But, it was calmed by Tranquil's familiar face, as she whispered softly,

"I was thinking we should do some training with Icstra. Would that be okay with you?"

Slodge nodded and bounced over to Icstra's Pokeball, knocking onto the capsule with the point on its head. Icstra was released from its Pokeball and it drowsily opened its eyes, looking around and stretching its wings. Tranquil smiled and said,

"Icstra, we're going to do some training to beat Flame next time we see her, so I want you to be at your best!"

Icstra wasn't confused about the instruction so but was more confused about whoever Flame was and why Tranquil wanted to beat her in a battle so much. tranquil caught this look of confusion and explained,

"Well, we had a battle yesterday. She's sort of my rival for this journey, so I want to make sure to be a good rival. It can't just be a walk in the park for her, and it can't just be a complete annihilation for us."

Icstra shrugged its wings and flew over to the exit of the tent, waiting for Tranquil to let them free. Tranquil unzipped the tent door and Ictsra escaped into the open air, flying in a loop in the sky as a warm-up for what will be a long session of training. It then did a nosedive and landed securely on Tranquil's shoulder, while Slodge shifted towards the left side of her leg. She patted Icstra on the head, smiled at Slodge and walked forwards, taking a look around for any sort of buildings.

A river hung through the middle of the town, where some people were caught fishing through the occasional open spot across the frozen surface. Then, even more rarely, they would actually catch something. One managed to reel something in as Tranquil walked past, a Magikarp. Tranquil knew that it wasn't a very rare Pokemon but the young trainer that reeled it in still exclaimed with joy when they caught one and held it tight. It brought a smile to Tranquil's face to see someone so happy, but she knew that a Magikarp wouldn't be a good match. So, she kept walking along the stone bridge.

She walked along the stone path, turning into a small market on a dirt yard. She walked through and was immediately assaulted with so many scents of different food. Mauville Ramen, curry made with fresh ingredients from Galar. All the different smells from regions filled the air. She immediately found it overwhelming, and a local who was passing by noticed the look.

"Do you not come here often?", the elderly woman asked, and Tranquil nodded with a sheepish smile,

"Yeah, I've never travelled."

"Well, you needn't feel overwhelmed. I could walk you through everything, if you'd like me too."

"Of course. That would be lovely."

The elderly woman smiled and began walking around the different stalls, gesturing to every single stall as she passed. She seemed to know ever stand off of heart, and even most of the people. She waved to the people working behind the stalls, and she got a wave back without fail. They did notice Tranquil though, and she seemed to get a few weird looks.

She wasn't sure why, as she was sure that she hadn't been revealed as the gym challenger yet. Still, it caused unnerve for her, getting all sorts of stares from the locals. But, the woman's comforting smile always outshone whatever strange looks they would get. She then turned to a curry stall, marked with the smell of Galar, and said,