Oh right… Pokémon trainers were not allowed to kill Pokémon.
Battling between trainers was meant to be a friendly sport though there was nothing friendly about this battle that I had just been challenged to. In fact, it seemed to be more like bullying than a friendly spar.
"Ah." Taunie immediately approached my side. "Paxton, if Ralts isn't fit for battle then you can borrow one of my three Pokémon."
I had to admit, it was a bit tempting to be offered one of the Starter Pokémon regardless of which region it came from, however Ralts was here and she was fit for battle… I think.
Also, I had already decided that if I was getting a starter then it had to be a Charmander.
What can I say? I saw the entry and its evolution line and it felt awfully familiar. Maybe the me from before liked the Charizard line? As well as the Greninja line? If I could, I would try to get them as well.
"Don't worry. Ralts can battle, right Ralts?"
"Rara~" She puffed both of her hands into the air on my head and I sighed while Taunie stepped back and so did Andre, giving me and Andi some space.
I opened my phone and looked at the Pokédex app… Ralts was one of my registered Pokémon after all and the first thing I saw was a clean blue interface with six slots, however only one slot had a Poké Ball in it so I tapped it.
[No. 280 - RALTS, The Feeling Pokémon]
[Type: Psychic / Fairy]
[Level: 6]
[Moves: Disarming Voice · Growl · Confusion]
[Ralts senses the emotions of people and Pokémon using the horns atop its head. If its Trainer is in a cheerful mood, Ralts grows cheerful and joyful in the same way. It rarely appears before people… but when it senses warm feelings, it will draw close.]
Levels mattered honestly in this new world.
When Pokémon went up in levels, which was caused by gaining experience from winning battles and other stuff, they could learn new moves and grow stronger… though at the end of the day it was up to the Trainer's expertise during battle.
Luckily I had seen that exact same Pokémon, Pancham, on the train and already knew it was a Fighting type, which meant a Psychic type move would be super effective.
"Are you done?" Andi's eye twitched as she returned Pancham into its Poké Ball before putting as much space as she could between us within the alleyway. "And aren't you going to send your Pokémon back into its Poké Ball?"
I looked up at Ralts. I had tried to do the same to test the mechanic on the train and well… I got my hand slapped.
She apparently hated going into her Poké Ball.
"No need." I said. Since we had given each other space now with Taunie and Andre watching from the side and I stretched out my hand. "Should we make it an official battle?"
There was a feature in the Pokédex that allowed two trainers to register an official battle… it would be logged into the trainer directory showing wins and losses, but most importantly it was great for receiving prize money.
I hated to admit it but we only had around 20k Pokédollars on us right now. That sounded like a lot but it really wasn't since things were expensive in this world, especially taking care of Pokémon, so anything extra was welcome.
"Whatever." Andi said. "If you just want to delay the battle then you should say so… How much are we staking?"
"10k."
All three of them looked at me with surprise.
"10k? Heh, does someone like you have that kind of money?"
"You forget, I'm a tourist. Of course I do… the question is, do you?" I asked with a grin and she twitched.
"Accept it." Both of our Rotom Phones flew into the air and met, letting off a small crackle.
"Pokémon Trainer Andi has challenged Pokémon Trainer Paxton to a one-on-one official battle with 10,000 Pokédollars on the line. Do both parties accept?"
"Yes." We said at the same time and there was a ping from both phones.
"Alright! Send out your Pokémon!"
"Ralts… here we go." I said and wanted to place her smoothly on the ground, however she jumped right off my head before I could and landed on the ground herself, the force from the drop making her body sway left and right as she stabilised.
I sighed.
"Looks like it'll be my win." Andi said and took a step back with one leg before throwing the Poké Ball forward.
It spun open mid-air and Pancham appeared on the ground with its cry.
For some reason the Poké Ball flipped on its own and returned to her hand, which I found very interesting… I had to figure out how those things worked at some point but I needed to focus.
This was my first battle… and I couldn't feel nervous at all. In fact, I was exhilarated. Was that normal?
"Ralts, start with Confusion." I stretched out my hand and ordered.
There was a chance Pancham was higher levelled since I couldn't see my opponent's Pokémon's level, so we'd need to be ready to dodge if it came to that.
Ralts let out a cry as both horns began glowing in a soft violet light and then she released it. I couldn't see anything with my naked eyes but I knew something had happened.
"Pancham, atta—"
Pancham shot backward like it had been hit by a punch and skidded across the ground with its eyes swirling, completely out of it.
"Pokémon Trainer Paxton wins!"
My Rotom Phone came back to me and I blinked.
Was it over so soon…? The exhilaration died down just as fast and I was honestly a bit disappointed. I walked over to Ralts and lifted her back up to my head.
"You did a good job." I gave her a pat and she thrust her hand upward.
"Ra~ ra~!"
Andi gritted her teeth and glared.
It was just a Pokémon battle… there was no need to stare at me like you wanted to eliminate my bloodline, woman.
"Here. Just take it…" She threw a stack of bills that hit the ground and spread out. They were ten 1,000 Pokédollar notes. "And your stupid bag too… Whatever, Andre, let's fucking go already."
The two of them walked out of the alleyway and I rolled my eyes.
'What a sore loser.'
Then I shamelessly started picking the Pokédollars up from the ground, one was just out of my reach and Taunie leaned over to help.
"That was a nice battle, Paxton." She grinned as she held the note out to me. "You looked like you were enjoying being in one."
"Yeah." I admitted, taking the Pokédollar from her and stuffing everything back into my bag. Andi was really shifting my perception of Kalos women… they seemed very problematic.
I picked up my bag and stood up properly with a sigh, and that was when I noticed the sky through the alleyway opening, it was a deep orange.
"Oh, it's evening already?" That made sense… I had arrived in Lumiose at around 5:30pm.
"Ah, already?" Taunie took hold of my hand. "Let's go, I'll take you to Hotel Z. If we're still out by nighttime they'll get us into the Royale and you're not even registered."
She started dragging me along with her Pokémon running behind her. Once again I was struggling to keep up but I tried.
I focused on her hand for a moment. Regardless of how she looked, she had amazing grip strength. I found myself wondering how it would feel if she gripped my…
Hold on.
'Where are all these perverted thoughts coming from?' I caught myself. I couldn't remember, but was the me from before some kind of pervert? ...Well. I can't blame him.
Women were beautiful.
She began slowing down and I looked ahead. We were approaching a seven-floor building and I found it genuinely hard to believe this place was a hotel.
Why… just why was there plant growth absolutely everywhere?
Some of it had bloomed into small white flowers which were admittedly nice, but the overall exterior looked like nobody had made any maintenance decisions about it in a very long time.
It was tucked between other similarly tall buildings with a small courtyard in front and trees along the side and a simple sign above the door reading [HOTEL Z]
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad on the inside, as long as the rent was cheap.
"Like it?"
"Well yes, though I think the plants along the wall are a bit excessive."
"What are you talking about? They give the place some character." She said as we reached the door, then turned to me. "Oh… and lodging's on us. Consider it payment for the ad."
"Huh?" I blinked. "How do you plan to keep this place afloat if you don't charge your customers?"
I may not have remembered what currency I used in my past life and had only learned what Pokédollars were today, but one needed money to keep a business running.
"Meh, I'll figure something out." She pushed the doors open.
The interior was honestly kinda nice with a warm lobby, a lounge area with sofas to one side, bookshelves. It was the kind of place that felt lived-in rather than maintained. The room felt really comfortable to be in and then I saw the man behind the reception desk.
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!! HOW WAS A HUMAN THIS TALL? HE LOOKED LIKE HE WAS TALLER THAN THOSE TREES OUTSIDE.
"AZ! See, I got a new customer?" A small flower Pokémon drifted around Taunie, holding a dark flower and moving in quiet orbits. "Floette, meet Paxton. He's a new person in the hotel."
Floette floated over toward us. She was really cute… looking small and delicate with that single black flower held carefully in front of her.
"Rara~"
"Flo~"
She circled around us once and it was genuinely adorable.
"I see…" The man named AZ said, his voice sounded deep. "Paxton. You're interested in staying at Hotel Z. How long will you be staying?"
"I was originally planning three days before moving on." I said. "But I think I'll stay longer than that. I haven't decided yet."
"I see…" He produced a room key and set it on the counter. "This is for Room 202. That will be your room during your stay."
"Thank you." I said, and immediately Taunie was at my side like she'd been glued there.
"You're only staying three days? Come on, you're an awesome battler. Why don't you participate in the Z-A Royale?" She suggested.
"I'm not sure awesome battler is the right way to put it…" That was a type advantage match against a low level Pokémon.
It wasn't much. "But what is this Z-A Royale you're talking about?"
"Well…" She put a hand on her chin. "How would I explain this… Basically, every night the city sets up these Battle Zones… I'll show you the barriers later. Trainers go in, battle each other, rack up Ticket Points. Get enough points and you earn a Challenger's Ticket which gets you a promotion match against a specific opponent. Win that and your rank goes up. It's pretty simple. You start at Rank Z which is the bottom of the alphabet and you work your way up to Rank A at the top."
"And what does the trainer at the top get?"
"You get one of your wishes granted by Quasartico Inc." She said it simply. "As long as it's within their power, you can ask for anything you want."
Immediately an image formed in my mind completely without my permission… it was me horizontally swimming in a pile of Pokédollars while Ralts sat beside me, opening her mouth and producing a few coins onto the mountain of our outstanding wealth.
We were so rich that real vacations were possible anywhere at any time and money was simply not a concept that applied to us anymore.
"Alright, I guess I'm in." I said. "Though I'll need more Pokémon and…"
"Good… you should join our team." She nearly jumped in place. "Team MZ."
"Is joining a team required to participate in the Z-A Royale?" I asked. Why else would she need a team?
"Uh… no. It's just a team of people that live in the hotel." She replied. This was an opportunity to learn more about my neighbours since we were all living here together anyway.
"Sure, as long as it's not some sketchy shit."
"Come on, you gotta trust me more… Do I look like I'd ever lead you into something sketchy?" Taunie asked with her hands on her waist.
"Yes… yes you do."
She laughed and just then the front door of Hotel Z opened.
The person who stepped inside was a blond, fair-skinned young man who looked a bit tired from his expression and had a trainer belt with two Poké Balls on it.
The instant his eyes met mine I felt a lot of dislike in them. It was more intense than Andi's… we had literally just met today and this guy was looking at me like I'd personally wronged him but the moment Taunie turned toward him his expression went completely soft, like melted ice cream.
"Hey Taunie. It's evening already, huh? Tonight's Royale will start soon.. will you be out again?" He asked while crouching to greet Tepig, Totodile and Chikorita who were lounging near the entrance.
"Not today. We've got a new guest and he's a new Team MZ member too. This is Paxton." She held my hand up and his expression twitched. "Paxton, meet Félix."
"Nice to meet you." I said with a nod and he nodded back as she let go of my hand.
"Same. You're new?"
"Yeah, I'm a tourist who came here for a bit but I'll be participating in the Z-A Royale." Ralts did not greet him. "And this is my partner, Ralts."
"That's really nice… I'm guessing you ran into some trouble and Taunie helped you out? She does that around here. She's the reason you, me, Lida and Naveen are all in Team MZ too."
"Aw, that's so cute." Taunie said with a smile that made Félix go visibly pink.
From what I could tell, this guy had a one-sided thing for Taunie and she either didn't notice or had quietly decided not to.
Rough.
"Taunie, I need your help with training." He said. She nodded and looked back at me.
"Well then Paxton, go check out your room. I'll help Félix out… he's in the Royale too. We'll get you registered tomorrow." She said, and the two of them headed off together.
I walked to the elevator and pressed the button.
"Wait, what floor is Room 202 exactly?"
…
I walked down the second floor hallway toward Room 202 and as I got closer I began hearing something.
It was music.
"City lights don't reach me here~ but somehow you still do~ Chasing something I can't name~ and it's leading me to you~ Heart's wide open, not afraid~ of wherever this goes~ Just keep dancing till the dawn~ only you and me know~"
It was coming from Room 202, which almost made me wonder if AZ had given me an occupied room. The door wasn't fully closed. I walked over and through the gap I saw… ass.
Not exactly ass, but I saw someone dancing to the music and they were absolutely moving their hips.
She was stepping in a sharp two-count with her right foot planted on the ground and the left sweeping back on the beat with her hips rolling into the turn like it cost her nothing, then a quick pop forward on the next bar that made her whole body ripple from the waist up.
It was amazing to watch and I couldn't help but think that Kalos women were really beautiful. She had amazing thighs and… I let out a long exhale as Ralts hit me on the head.
I was overreacting.
It looked like I'd be waiting a while since she was completely absorbed so I knocked on the open door and she nearly fell over.
"H-huh?" She scrambled to cut the music and then pulled the door fully open, she was slightly breathless and looking up at me.
This young lady was pretty with warm brown skin and dark hair with a small section pulled up into a short perky tie at the top that bounced slightly when she moved. She also had bright expressive eyes that were currently caught somewhere between startled and curious and there was a bit of sweat on her face from the dancing.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Paxton and well… this is my room." I held up the key. "So are you a dancer? Those were some amazing steps."