DPA: Rivals

Chapter 13: The Calm Before The Storm

Ariana watched from a safe distance as half a dozen grunts began ransacking Pewter City's local PokéMart, smashing windows and spraying graffiti on the walls, causing a general ruckus. The local citizens had run off in every direction, uninterested in being involved in another incident with Team Rocket, especially after the damage they had done last time they were here.

She noted a small boy off to the side, hiding in a nearby alleyway, watching everything going on, before running off. She knew the small boy was a sibling of the local Gym leader, and that it wouldn't be long before the Gym leader himself arrived, but that didn't matter. So long as the attention was on the fiasco happening right here, nobody would notice the grunts just a few blocks down, scanning for traces of Project Genetic's unique signature.

Daryon winced as sunlight poured through the windows, stinging his eyes. He yawned, slightly sore from the previous day's exploration of Pewter City. Glancing at a clock on the wall, he noted that it was just past noon, before cursing to himself, realizing he had slept longer than he would've liked. He looked down at his feet, where Pikachu laid peacefully, curled up in a ball, snoozing. He almost felt bad that he had to wake his partner up, as Pikachu seemed so comfortable.

Daryon groaned as he rolled out of bed, and then glanced at Cameron's bed. His best friend was already dressed, backpack on, cleaning a still-sleepy Mudkip with a wet cloth, talking with Vince all the while.

"So, with Geodude being as slow as it already is, if we can control its use of momentum, we can render it unable to land a hit?" Cameron asked, taking notes like he usually does.

"Exactly," Vince answered. "Geodude have a relatively difficult time changing direction mid-roll, and catching one off guard could render it immobile for a few seconds, which in combat could mean the difference between success and failure."

"How long have you been up?" Daryon asked, rubbing his eyes. Cameron and Vince stopped talking.

"Since about the time the sun came up," Cameron said, picking Mudkip up off his lap and putting the Mud Fish Pokémon gently on the bed. "I assumed that you needed the sleep, given how far we've traveled over the past few days."

"Thanks," Daryon said as Cameron walked over to the sink, dropping the wet cloth into it. "We should probably be on our way to the Pewter Gym."

"Of course," Cameron said, opening up his backpack. Mudkip lazily crawled up into the backpack, before Cameron hoisted it onto his back. "I'm going to head over to Skye and Max's room. They were up about two hours ago, but didn't seem to be in a hurry. I believe they were on a phone call with their parents back in Alola."

Cameron walked out of the hotel room as Daryon undressed, hopping into the shower. As hot water poured through his hair, down his neck and back, all the way to his toes, he was surprised at how much dirt came off. He watched the mucky water spiral down the drain, where it would travel through pipes to who-knows-where. His thoughts trailed off down the rabbit hole. Dirt. Mud. Ground. Rocks. Brock.

Brock. The Pewter City Gym leader. An expert with Rock type Pokémon. The first Gym leader that Red had faced. And the first Gym leader Daryon would face.

His mind snapped back to reality, and suddenly he could feel his heartbeat rise. This was it. The first step on his road to becoming a Champion!

He hurriedly scrubbed through his hair and body, jumped out of the shower, toweled off, dressed up in his signature blue jacket and khakis, combed his hair, vigorously brushed his teeth, and ran out of the bathroom. Pikachu, who was now awake, was sitting up on the bed, ears perked, reacting to Daryon's excited energy.

Daryon crammed everything into his backpack before storming out of the room, leaving the rented bed and nightstand a mess, a sharp contrast to Cameron's side of the room, with a made bed and organized night stand.

Bolting down the hall, Daryon had to force stop himself from running over Max. Pikachu,who had been running right behind Daryon, smacked into his legs. Pikachu shook this off, clearly as high on adrenaline as Daryon was.

Max, who was holding onto Skye's hand as she talked with Cameron, looked up at Daryon. "Hi Daryon," he greeted the older boy, freshly dressed and ready to go. Skye and Cameron turned to Daryon. Vince was floating right beside Cameron's shoulder.

"Hey, sleepy head," Skye said, brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. "We were wondering when you would wake up. Do you always sleep in this late?"

"You should have seen our first day as trainers," Cameron quipped. Daryon raised an eyebrow at his best friend's sudden confidence.

"Doesn't matter," Daryon said, brushing it off. "I'm so ready for Brock."

"So am I," Skye said. "The man is such a dreamboat. Perfectly tanned skin, abs like you wouldn't believe, perfect teeth, an almost god-like jawline, I've had a crush on him all the way back in Alola."

Cameron cringed. "I think B-B-Brock's like thirty years old, I don't th-th-think he's interested in a kid," he muttered.

Skye blushed, and then punched him in the shoulder.

Unsure how to respond to that strange interaction, Daryon shook his head before continuing to run down the hall, forcing the others to follow suit. "Come on, we got to go!"