Whatever Ves's deal was, Joe didn't want to know. The hot water ran down his body, unsuccessfull in calming him down. This was perhaps the longest shower he had taken in his life. It didn't help calm him down.

  Instead, it seemed as though every drop tried piercing through him, crushing into him just like life.

  Usually, he didn't give much attention to his teammates and their inner workings. However, after everything that had befallen him lately, he truly failed to understand them.

  Did they think he was enjoying this? Tgat he was doing it on purpose, refusing to battle with Rio. In actuality, he hated it more than anyone. It was a simple fact though, he couldn't let Riolu battle until he knew it was safe for everyone involved. It wasn't fear and it wasn't what he wanted, it was simply the responsible thing to do, and he just couldn't believe his teammates wouldn't understand something as simple as that.

  Not to mention Ves and his freaking move swings. One moment he's friendly, the very next he's insultimg everyone and acting like a maniac. Joe had no idea what all of that was about.

  He tried getting his mind off of it. No use letting it overtake every thought. They'll just keep going in circles, as they always do, Joe tries to convince himself. Every time they even seem to find some common ground, a fight breaks out, then they are back to square one. They'll just go back to "everyone fight on their own" thing and Joe really hated the fact he still gave a damn about it.

  But he did. Unfortunately, he had to try. It was the only logical thing - trying. After all, they will have to depend on each other during the tournament. If they would only listen to him, this whole charade could be avoided, and they'd be set by the time the tournament rolls around.

  With a sigh he exists the shower, realising he'll have to accept the fact his teammates have managed to worm their way into his mind. If only they were more like Marc and Henry, the boy thinks to himself, this whole thing would be much easier. But they weren't, and somehow, he would have to work with what he has been given. Come next year, he will most likely have at least one new teammate, he reassured himself, silently praying that the next person is normal. He doesn't feel bad about it, frankly, he'd gladly get rid off everyone, excpet maybe Ace, who was threading on thin ice at the moment.

  Regardless, he had some time to kill before he goes to karaoke with Marc, and he really doesn't want to hang around the room.

  The whole karaoke thing was burning itself in his mind. It felt stramge, hanging out with Marc all alone like that. Not that Joe minded it, but it seemed to much like a date. Karaoke, for fuck's sake, and Marc really didn't seem like a type who's into stuff like that. So was it just an attempt to hang out? Did Marc see it as a date? Joe had no idea if he himself wanted to see it as a date. Sure, Marc was nice, pretty fun to be around, and Joe had felt comfortable around him. Bonus points, Marc was pretty damn hot, and kind of unexpected in a way, not that Joe had ever not noticed that.

  Marc was, also, straight, as far as Joe knew. So he didn't want to get his hopes up.

  Not that he knew what he hoped for. It was just karaoke. Just two guys, hanging out, singing songs, nothing gay about something like that, he told himself. It was a friend thing. Marc wanted to try out soemthing new, and he invited Joe to join him. That was all. No romance. Romance was the last thing he needed now, when he already had so much trouble with Riolu and Espurr.

  He quickly pulled on some trousers, found a soft-lilac collred shirt. He had to look normal, he thought, but not too normal, just in case Marc does think of this as a date. Love really wasn't his forte, he lacked experiance. He quickly pulled over a beige cardigan, matching his trousers. It felt strangely comforting. He always liked the way they look, but he never had much reason to wear them back in Alola. He really liked autumn, he decided, since it lets him wear things like this. Somehow, that one little thing feels like a sign that his life has been changed.

  It was barely 7 AM when he left the dorm room, and the air was still cold. Marc was supposed to do the interview witht Natasha and the girls today, Joe knew, so he had quite some time to kill. With nothing better to do, he made his way towards the entertainment district. Even though their morning training was cut short, his pokemon still deserved some treats. Riolu did well, and even Espurr practiced Scratch for a good bit.

  The small bakery he enters is enveloped in scent of cinnamon. As he stands there, thinking what to get for his partner's, he remembers how Ves had called him self-destructive just a few hours ago. For once, he decides to let out Riolu and Espurr and let them decide what they want.

  Riolu looks over the offer, and quickly lands on a croissant covered by chocolate. The fighting type truly liked sweets. Espurr on the otger hand, just points towards small salted pretzles, with a blank expression. The boy purchases the pastries, adding a pecha-buttercream bagel for himself.

  Riolu starts munching on his croissant as soon as they are out of the bakery. He seems satisfied with it, and Joe quickly remembers the whole nutrition thing. Perhaps chocolate croissants weren't the best kind of food for a growing pokemon. But Riolu did like them.

  Espurr, on the other hand, seemed to dislike the idea of eating on the go and opted out to wait for them to find a bench so he could eat. It brought a smile to Joe's face, since he himself despised eating and walking at the same time. The psychic type munched on the pastries with slow enjoyment, stopping ever now and then to clean the crumbs out of his fur. With each passing day, Joe seemed to like Espurr more, he was not only calm, but also neat. It was as if the boy could see a little bit of himself in Espurr. The same thing went for Riolu, although he might've not been a clean freak, he was always so calm and ready to do whatever was necessary.

  8 AM, the clock read, and a text from Marc that read: 'Hey, just hopped in to do this interview, c u as soon as we're done'. The next one said: '. 'Lesley's a bitch for getting us into this'.

  'You'll live', Joe typed away with a small smile. 'I'm waiting', he added.

  He ended up wandering the entertainment district for the next 2 hours, with no news from Marc. He was not sure what they were doing in that goddamn interview.

  Finally, at around 10 AM, another message arrived. 'Finally done, where u at?'.

  'I'll wait near the karaoke place', Joe replies, breathing a sigh of relief.

  'Alright, b there in a sec', Marc replies.

  Instead of replying, Joe makes his way for karaoke place, a plain looking square building. Marc appears only 10 minutes later, looking winded up. He ran here, Joe realises. The boy wore jeans and collared shirt similar to Joe's, but yellow instead of lilac. It strucks Joe he has no idea if Marc had decided to go all business casual on account of the interview or their little hang out that was definitely not a date. Regardless, seeing Marc dressed in anything not baggy felt weird. His usual baggy tracks and hoodies over tank tops felt much more natural to the boy, and Joe kind of missed it.

  "Sorry, came as soon as possible", Marc pants, as he goes for a high five. So, not a date, Joe thinks. "The girls didn't have questions prepared, so it took a bit longer than I expected".

  "It's fine", Joe reassures him, "I didn't wait for too long". That's half-a-lie. Had he been able to continue his training, he wouldn't have spent as much time waiting around for Marc as he did.

  "Good let's just go", Marc latches onto his hand, pulling him into the building. He releases it few seconds later, but Joe can still feel the jolts of electricity on his skin. Marc is also adamant about paying for their session. Might be a date after all, Joe thinks. He decides to get them some Sictrus berry juice, just in case, and because he doesn't really want Marc to pay for everything.

  The inside of karaoke place is tiny, with pinkish walls covered in colorful pictures. The two boys walk down a single hallway, walking into the room number 6 that was assigned to them.

  Inside of the room looks similar to the main hall, with pink walls bathed in bright pink neon lights. In difference, The room has 2 bar tables with some stools and a cushioned couch to go along. Even thiugh the room is small, with the set-up, it could host a party of about 10 people.

  "Uh, so, let's see how this works", Marc starts poking around the karaoke machine, as Joe puts their drinks down on one of the tables.

  Joe fights off the urge to tell him not to screw anything up.

  The flat screen that hangs on from the wall lights up, showing a screen that lets you chose your song. "So, uh", Marc turns to Joe uncomfortably, "who goes first, or do you want to do a duet or something".

  Karaoke's not a good place for a first date, Joe thinks. Had he ever been on a date before, he would've had a foresight to conclude that earlier. Never go on a 1 on 1 date to an activity that's definitely more fun with more people. They could invite Lesley and Natasha, make this a double date, Joe thinks to himself ironically.

  "No, no duets, that will sound horrible", Joe scratcges his head.

  "I mean, it's karaoke, the whole point is that it is supposed to sound terrible, I think", Marc chukles lightly.

  "Yeah, but we don't have to be bad it on purpose", Joe shrugs.

  "It's not like anyone's there to hear it, though", Marc scratches his head, "and it's not like we're getting judged on it, this is not The Voice".

  "There is a scire tracker though", Joe points out.

  "Oh, amazing, another thing I'm about to lose at", Marc laughs.

  "Be prepared", Joe pokes, turning red immediately after. That was not flirting. He really hopes Marc didn't see it as flirting.

  "Alright, then do you want to go first?", Marc

  "Aboslutely not, this was your idea", Joe notes.

  "Okay, okay", Marc sighs, startimg the process of typing away at the computer. "You know what they say, go big or go home", he says and Joe can see as the words 'I will' appear on the screen. Marc swiftly picks out the dreaded Witney Houston song.

  Joe gives him a super confused look. So many questions. Does Marc really listen to this? He doesn't seem like the type. Besides, does singing 'I Will Always Love You' of the bat have any romantic connotations? Is it supposed to be like a lowkey confession or something? "Uh, can you sing that?", Joe asks instead.

  "Aboslutely not", Marc admits, "but, like, isn't that the point of karaoke?".

  "You know, I don't really think karaoke have a point", Joe runs his fingers through his hair. Marc's mind worked in mysterious ways for sure, or perhaps Joe was just blinded by his own pretentions.

  "No worries, you won't die from my performance... probably", Marc smiles as he presses play.

  The piano kicks in immediately, and a few seconds later, Joe has the misfortune of hearing Marc's singing voice. As the blond boy tries twisting out his voice, putting way too much breath into it, Joe realises he actually doesn't sound terrible. However, this is definitely not a song for Marc. It doesn't suite him in any way.

  Even though that's the case, Marc kind of gets into it. On the chorus, he tries belting out the high notes, failing miserably. Joe notices his body is stiff, as the other boy only stands there, his eyes locked onto the screen. His voice trembles every now and again, and Joe can't conclude if that's from the nerves or the fact the song is hard to sing.

  By the time Marc finishes up, Joe can only stand there. If there had been just one more person with them, he'd probably be laughing right now, but it felt wrong when it was just the two of them. Everything felt too personal, the song choices, the singing itself, the reactions.

  Breathing a sighs of releif, Marc looks at his score. 55/100. "Went better than I expected", the boy turns around, as if he's waiting for his friend to say something. Joe can see the tension in his eyes.

  "Honestly, I'm just surprised you got through all of it, good job", Joe tries being reassuring.

  "Alright, it's your turn now", Marc says expectantly, offering him a microphone.

  Joe takes it, and immediately starts running through the list of the songs he knows. The Louvre by Lorde is the first song that pops up in his head, and he's tempted to search for it. However, it feels a bit too insinuating. Singing 'blow all my friendships to sit in hell with you' just feels like too much for something that might or might not be a first date.

  Glory And Gore, the boy types in, deciding to stick with Lorde. That one can't be misinterpreted as a declaration of love or sexual desire, he thinks, a safe choice.

  The synths kick in, and Joe quickly gets lost in the song. It feels strange. The words are right there as he sings them, but he can't fully focus on them. It's as if he can feel Marc looking at him, and he can't bring himself to turn around. So he stands there, not moving, just singing. Is this how Marc felt, he thinks between the verses. His voice feels dry and shaky. Does Marc want to laugh at him? Karaoke werre definitely a terrible idea.

  Somehow, he manages to get through the whole song, and Marc appears behind him as the final notes play out.

  "Tgat sucked, dude", he says cheerfully.

  "We'll see what the score decides", Joe says, not sure how else to react.

  The numbers say 39/100, and Joe's mind immediately shortcircuits. He's never recieved less than 80% on any test.

  "Looks like I win the first round", Marc chuckles lightly. He turns around, boastingly exclaiming: "you know, it feels great beating you in something, now I know how Henry felt in Canalave".

  "This machine is broken", Joe shortly concludes.

  "Nu-uh, it works like a charm", Marc wraps his arm around him, making Joe hear the blood in his ears, "you just can't sing".

  "But I was on time", Joe protests, "and I hit the notes, well, I hit some notes".

  "Yeah, no", Marc ruffles his hair, "stick to hitting trees from now on, you're much better at that".

  "I'm telling you this is broken", Joe says, conpletely forgetting the whole 'is this a date or not?' thing.

  "It's working just fine", Marc says.

  "Whatever, it doesn't mean anything", Joe crosses his arms, "I picked a Lorde song, those are hard to sing".

  "I sung Witney and I beat you", Marc reminds him.

  "Oh, I am getting you in the next round", Joe promises.

  "Yeah, you're not, I have a song in mind, and there's no way I'm letting you win", Marc rushes towards the computer. Joe stands back, watching as 'A Tale Of 2 Citiez' appears on the screen. J. Cole, Joe thinks, not his favourite, but it suits Marc much better than Witney.

  "Alright, here I go", Marc says pickimg up a mic and hitting play. As the song plays Marc gets into it, at least for moments. Joe can see him twitching every now and again, and it looks like as if the boy wants to break out in some sort of choreography, but he stops himelf the last moment. He's pretty sure Marc gets through the entire thing in one breath. It actually sounds good. At least to Joe, it sounds good. The machine seems to agree, as it gives Marc a score of 93/100.

  "See", Marc winks at him cockily. Joe's pretty sure his face matches the colour of the neon lights after that.

  "Well, that was rapping, not singing", Joe says, "I'm not counting it.

  "It counts", Marc decides, handing off the microphone as some sort of a challenge.

  "Alright", Joe steps up to the computer and starts competitively typing away. He already knows what song he's going for. 'Love Is A Losing Game' he eneters. If anyone would help him outsing Marc, it would be Amy. He didn't even care what kind of insinuations the song had, it was his favourite, and he knew he could crush Marc with it.

  The piano kicks in and Joe starts singing immediately. The song feels great in his chest, he knows he's hitting all the notes and keeping up with the timing. He brings the microphone as close to his mouth as possible so he's sure it picks up on what he's singing. That's probably why his last score was so low, the machine didn't pick up on his singing. Karaoke was much like pokemon battling, there was strategy to it, little tips and tricks to help you win. And dammit, Joe was about to abuse all of them and beat Marc.

  By the time he finishes up, Joe feels as if he's returning from another dimension. It feels good. When the final score reads 71/100 that otger dimension comes crushing down on him.

  "That's it, this machine is broken, and I hate karaoke", Joe states firmly, with a rage of 100 Primeapes.

  "That's 2 for me, 0 for you", Marc comes in with a smile.

  "Are you kidding me", Joe sighs, "that was perfect, I deserve a 100/100".

  "Yeah, the machine disagrees", Marc points out.

  "That's because it's a machine, it's stupid", Joe rambles, "Alolan people might be wrong about a lot, but they are absolutely right to hate technology".

  "Joe", Marc lands a hand on his shoulder, "calm down".

  "How do I calm down", Joe protests, "that was literally perfect, thid machine has something against me".

  "Dude", Marc laughs lightly, "this is not an actual competition, it's just a game".

  "Easy for you to say, this machine loves you", Joe retorts.

  "Joe, really it doesn't matter", Marc shrugs, "even if I get a 0 it doesn't really matter, we're just here to have fun".

  "It's only fun when you do good", Joe concludes.

  "What does that even mean?", Marc says, "doing good?".

  "It means getting a good score, which this machine is refusing to give me, because it can sense I dislike it", Joe rants on.

  "But if you think you did good, isn't that enough?", Marc scratches his head, "does it really matter what the machine says?".

  "The numbers don't lie, Marc", Joe says simply.

  "But they don't tell the whole truth either", Marc shrugs, and Joe immediately feels stupid.

  "Since when are you that deep?", Joe averts his gaze, calming his voice.

  "Oh, I read that in a fortune cookie once", Marc says, "I mean, it wasn't exactly like that, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't about karaoke...".

  "Right, I get it", Joe nods.

  "Look, the point is, we're here to hang out, have some fun, forget about the battles and training for a bit", Marc offers, "so how about you sing a song that you like, and don't look at the score?".

  "I sang songs that I liked", Joe says.

  "But you tried to pick out ones that would get you the best scores, didn't you?", Marc raises an eyebrow knowingly.

  "Alright, maybe I did that", Joe admits.

  "Well, just pick whatever song comes to you instead, let yourself enjoy it", Marc says, "and if you get a 0, I'm the only one who's there to see it".

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  "I just don't like failing", Joe says, "why fail when you can succeed".

  "I get it", Marc nods, "but how about you try succeeding in having fun instead of getting a high score, think you can try that?".

  "Yeah", Joe takes a deep breath. Marc's probably right. The only issue, Joe really sucked at it, having fun.

  He doesn't even know what song would feel good to him right now. Anything he can think of feels too personal, too tied to Marc, and the last thing he wants is for the other boy to read things wrong.

  "Go ahead then", Marc gestures towards the computer. Joe stands up there again, and the only song that comes to his mind is Piano Man by Billy Joel. It's a bit cheesy, and he isn't a particularly fond of the artist, but it's a song they play for Yue to get her to fall asleep, so it's been stuck in his head. Besides, it feels homey to him, even more importantly, it doesn't tie in to Marc or romance in any way.

  With a sigh he presses play. It does feel softer, much more pleasant to sing. Still, he has to remind himself that the score doesn't mstter. Just enjoy the song.

  His attempt is cut short at the very first chorus, when he feels something shaking in his pocket. He stops singing, realising he'll get the point deduction for that, and gets the thing out of his pocket. Espurr's pokeball, he realises. Not really knowing what's going on, he brings it to full size, in an attempt to stop the shaking. Instead, Espurr comes out on his own, in a flash of blue light. As the chorus passes along, Espurr only stands, staring at the screen woth blank expression, his mouth open wide. Joe finds it a bit creepy, and decodes to focus on the song. Melody plays, and the boy decides to stand in front of his pokemon, but can't help stealing glances at his pokemon.

  When the words start again, Joe sings along, still turning around to see Espurr, who starts opening and closing his mouth to the tune. Joe finds it weird, but keeps on singing.

  Chorus comes up again, and soon enough, the boy hears a high pitched screech behind him. A blast of energy hits him on the back before he can even figure out what's going on.

  He finds his hands hitting the ground, and Marc appears above him, as the melody keeps going. "Hey, are you alright?", the boy says worriedly. Beside the initial shock, Joe feels amazing, better than he had felt the entire day. Looking at Espurr, he can see the small psychic type has shrunk in fear, keeping his mouth tightly shut.

  "Hey, hey, Kafka, was that a Dissarming Voice", Joe says excitedly as he all but jumps in front of his pokemon. Espurr turns around to stare at the wall.

  "Yeah, that was a Dissarming Voice, it hit you dead on dude, are you alright?", Marc follows him.

  "Yeah, yeah, I feel great", Joe says quickly, picking up Espurr and turning him towards himself. "You can do that again, right Kafka?".

  Espurr tilts his head, a look of surprise plastered across his face.

  "Can you use Dissarming Voice again, Kafka?", Joe reiterates, but Espurr only proceeds to look at him blankly. "Come on, I'll get you more pretzles", Joe offers, thinking Espurr likes those.

  The psychic type opens his mouth, but no sound comes out.

  "You trying to get him to attack you again?", Marc says, confused.

  "Yes", Joe says, "this is the first time Kafka used a special attack, I need to keep this going". He hears himself, suddenly remembering Ves calling his methods self-destructive.

  "Eh, I have an idea then", Marc says, picking up a microphone and offering it to Espurr. The psychic type picks it up, curiously twisting it in his arms.

  Joe realises what Marc's going for. "Go ahead, sing, Kafka, sing", the boy encourages his partner.

  As the accordion finishes up, Espurr slowly brings the mic to his mouth and starts opening his mouth in rhythm. Joe instinctively moves away. Dissarming Voice wasn't all that strong, much to his dissatisfaction, but he still didn't fancy getting hit.

  The chorus comes along one last time, and Espurr opens his mouth. Two more times, then another high pitched sound comes out of the pokemon, almost as an accident, and Joe sees the way fairy type energy spreads into the environment along with a sound. Dissarming Voice hits into the wall, thankfully doing nothing. "Great, Kafka, keep going", Joe says, and the pokemon keeps opening his mouth, managing to release yet another attack.

  When the song finishes up, the psychic type stands, staring blankly at his trainer. Joe can't help the smile plastered across his face.

  "Hey, I know you're happy about this", Marc scratches his head, "but can you say something?".

  Joe turns around, not knowing what to think of all of this. The score reads 19/100. At this point, the boy doesn't care about the machine. Espurr finally used an attack.

  "Let's go", Joe turns to Marc, grabbing his shoulder.

  "Go where?", Marc says, taken back.

  "Outside, obviously", Joe smiles, "let's go have a battle".

  "Uh, we have like half-an-hour more left in here", Marc points out.

  "I know, but who cares", Joe shrugs, "I haven't had a battle since Monday, and frankly, I've been going crazy".

  "Yeah, I can see that", Marc says cautiously.

  "Let's just go, please, Marc", Joe says.

  "Dude, I just wanted to go an hour without thinking about training and battles", Marc says, "besides, you were just starting to relax, a battle can wait".

  "But I can't", Joe says, "God, I'll go and trash Ace as soon as I'm done with you, then I'll crush Ves as well, then Teo".

  "You sound like a maniac", Marc interrupts him.

  "I'm suffering from a whitdrawal, I think", Joe admits.

  "I can see that", Marc says.

  "Please, just one battle", Joe pleads.

  "But we are having fun here", Marc protests.

  "But battles are also fun", Joe points out.

  "Yeah, they are fun to you", Marc sighs.

  "Come on, like you don't have fun battling", Joe reaches for his shoulder, but Marc gets away.

  Sitting down on the couch, the blond boy stares at the screen behind Joe.

  Joe realises the excitment's gotten the best of him. "What's wrong?", he asks, evening his voice out as he comes to sit by his friend.

  "I don't know", Marc says.

  "How can you not know?", Joe questions.

  "By the virtue of just not knowing", Marc scoffs.

  Remembering how bad he is at situations like this one, Joe decides to thread lightly. One thing he cannot take is getting in a fight with Marc. "You don't want to battle?", he says carefully.

  "No, not really", Marc admits, "I just want to have some fun".

  Joe's not really sure how to approach him. Battles are supposed to be fun, right? Even when you lose, you improve somehow. "Why are battles not fun for you?", Joe attempts.

  "I don't know, I guess I've been battling ever since I came to this school", Marc shrugs.

  "To be fair, that is kind of a point of this school", Joe points out, and Marc immediately looks away. "I mean, it's fine if you want to do something else", Joe adds quickly, "it's just, I don't know why you don't like battling?".

  "How can I like it when I constantly lose?", Marc says.

  "You do not", Joe says cautiously.

  "I do, I absolutely do", Marc says flatly, "I never won against you and Henry, I managed to beat Lesley only a few times, and not even once simce he got that Pancham".

  "Come on, be fair to yourself, you're losing to the guys with fighting types", Joe notes, "your Sneasel is 4 times weak to them, you're at a huge disatvantage".

  "Right, but I also did nothing when we battled against Vinnie and her teammates, and I couldn't do anything against Dominic either", Marc crosses his arms.

  "The two of them are the two of the best ranked students, though", Joe points out.

  "I know that, I know all of that", Marc says lowly, "but I constantly lose to everyone around me, lately I can only beat Andrei, and I managed to beat Tea on Monday, but she basically beat herself".

  "Well, that's fine, it takes time, you'll get stronger, you just need to keep training and battling", Joe says.

  "I do train, constantly", Marc points out, "it feels as if I'm the only person around who's not improving at all".

  "I get it", Joe sighs, not sure what to say.

  "And I have no idea what to do", Marc goes on, "Lesley says I should get a new pokemon, Henry says focusing on training Sneasel is better, I don't feel like my movepool needs changing now, and anything else just doesn't yield any results".

  "You know, there's a simple solution", Joe says, "just battle more".

  "You only say that because you want to battle", Marc scoffs.

  "No, it's not like that", Joe says.

  "Well, what is it then?", Marc questions.

  "The more you battle the more chances you get to try out new things, see what fits Sneasel and you", Joe points out, "besides, each battle makes you better at following along, making those tricky snap decisions, getting used to fast pace". Suddenly, Joe has so many things he could say. Battling's definitely more his forte than karaoke.

  "I've been battling all this time", Marc points out.

  "Right, but keep on going", Joe says, "maybe you just need more time to get into rhythm, you know, maybe you simply need to try out more things before you find one that works for you".

  "You think?", Marc looks at him uncertainly.

  "Yeah, and you are going home, so you can catch yourself a new pokemon if you want, that might help you out as well", Joe adds.

  "You think I should?", Marc follows him along.

  "In your case, I think it's not a bad idea, it is harder training 2 pokemon at the same time, but Sneasel is a tricky pokemon", Joe says.

  "Yeah, he's fast and strong, but also very frail, and weak to so many types", Marc sighs.

  "Exactly", Joe nods, "plus, getting a new pokemon and training it might help you discover things that might work for Sneasel as well".

  "That sounds about alright", Marc scratches his head, "maybe I do catch a pokemon in Goldenrod, I mean, would be nice, having a partner from my hometown".

  "Yes", Joe nods, "and before you go to Goldenrod, we should have a battle, just a little battle".

  "You really are a battle maniac", Marc chuckles.

  "And it's working like a charm on you", Joe shrugs, immediately regretting it. "I mean, you do feel at least a bit better", he quickly clarifies.

  "I do, I mean, at least I have an idea of what to do", Marc admits, "I did think about catching a new pokemon, guess I just waited for Henry and you to give me a blessing".

  "Why would you wait for the two of us to give you a blessing?", Joe asks.

  "I don't know, I mean, it's not like I was waiting for your permission, but the two of you just always seem to know what you're doing", Marc says, "so I guess if the two of you agree, I'm going in the right direction".

  "Right", Joe blushes, "glad you think that highly of me".

  "Of course I do, dude, you're crazy", Marc says. Is 'dude' a romantic thing or something?

  "Just pointing out, the right direction right now leads into a battle", Joe clesrs his head.

  "Yeah, with you it always does", Marc laughs.

  "Why are you still sitting down if you already know that", Joe jumps up from the couch, and Marc follows along.

  "Just so you know, the only reason I'm going is that I can't think of the next song", Marc lets him know.

  "Try Mariah, or something", Joe says, leading him out of the room.

  As soon as they find themselves on the outside, Joe suggests running to the beach. Squeeze in as much training as he can get. Unfortunately for him, Marc disagrees, as he hates running in jeans, and is adamant that Joe should run while dressed as a grandmother either. Instead, they take a stroll towards the beach, which Joe finds ratger enjoyable. Even though the weather's not the greatest, the clouds fading the world into grey, it feels nice. It almost feels normal, walking like this with Marc, as if the two of them had known each other for much longer than 3 weeks.

  When they reach the beach, they find the sand drained of colour, and the water dyed in deep blue. Back in Alola, when the shores looked like that it was a sign of a strom. Here, it was just an autumn afternoon.

  "Weird, usually September has more sun", Marc comments, "at least back in Goldenrod it does".

  "You're telling me", Joe says calmly, "it's always sunny in Alola, save for the summer storms".

  "Huh, yeah, I keep forgetting, that's why you always keep looking around at pretty much everything huh, this is you first time seing actual seasons", Marc pokes at him playfully.

  "We have seasons in Alola", Joe says defensively, "they go like, summer, summer 2.0, a slightly colder summer, and summer with alergies".

  "Sounds fun", Marc laughs, "that's on being an islander".

  "Huh, how's the weather in Goldenrod then, city boy", Joe says flatly.

  "For starters, we have all four seasons, thank you very much", Marc crosses his arms.

  "I believe you do", Joe says.

  "Summer's pretty tricky for us though, the pavements heat up, and the air raises up, so being outside during the day is pretty tough", Marc admits, "though summer nights, those are great".

  "Yeah, in Alola as well, summer nights are great, and they are ever-lasting, literally, every night's a summer night", Joe jokes.

  "I believe", Marc laughs, "winter sucks, I used to love it as a kid but nowdays the snow can't stay on, so all we get from the winter wonderland is the cold and tge mud".

  "I've never seen a winter, so I can't exactly pass judgement", Joe admits.

  "I like autumn, it's nice, the air is crisp, and the weather is nice, the only problem is the rain", Marc continues, "spring's probably my favourite though, the weather's also good, but there's more sun and less rain".

  "And the trees look better", Joe points out.

  "And the trees look better", Marc agrees.

  "Right, so that's city life then, huh, complaining about the rain", Joe nods.

  "No, I like the rain, when the rain is outside and I'm inside", Marc shrugs, "but yeah, I guess living in the city is much different to living on an island".

  "Well, you're living on an island now, so you get the best of both worlds", Joe offers.

  "Huh, I meant, it's different than living in Alola", Marc scratches his head, "I've never been outside Johto, so I don't really know much about other regions".

  "You could come to Alola", Joe offers immediately, "not right now, obviously, but when the summer rolls around, you can stay in my place, we have barracks for the workers that are empty during the summer".

  "Huh, really", Marc asks in surprise.

  "Yeah, really", Joe says, "would be nice, having someone to battle with there, other than Damian and team skull".

  "Oh, right, the whole team skull thing, what's up with that?", Marc says, "I mean, if it's not a problem to ask, you don't really give off the vibe of a gang member".

  "That's cause I'm not a gang member", Joe says simply.

  "Then what's the deal with the team skull?", Marc inquers.

  "Huh, well, it's not really anything special, I guess they are just a group of kids in Alola who decided to actually catch and train pokemon", Joe shrugs, "I simply ended up there because of Damian".

  "And Damian is?", Marc raises his eyebrow.

  "A friend, back when I was little we were neighbours, and there weren't too many other kids, so we used to play together, Damian basically acted like an older brother for me, since we were the only kids in the street back then and he was older".

  "And how did that lead to the two of you joining a gang?", Marc wonders.

  "Huh, well, there wasn't much that the two of us could play in the street, so we used to just walk around and play explorers on the island, one time Damian found a wild Oricorio and decided to feed him", Joe explains.

  "That doesn't answer my question at all", Marc points out.

  "I'm getting there", Joe says, "anyways, Oreo was pretty young back then, so he imprinted on Damian and decided to follow him around, I remember it was super fun, having a pokemon, Damian and I used to play around with it, basically it was just Damian calling for different moves, so it was actually sort of a training".

  "Huh, you were pokemon training as a kid?", Marc says, "no wonder you're good at this".

  "Mostly, Damian did it, and I just watched", Joe admits, "after a bit, Damian managed to find a pokeball and he actually caught Oricorio, I remember I bugged him about it, because, well, catching pokemon is not really Alolan way, and Damian used to hide it from his parents for a good while".

  "Wait, if Oricorio followed him around, how did he hide it", Marc asks in confusion.

  "He hid the fact he caught him in a pokeball", Joe explains, "pokemon befriending humans and staying close to them is not strange in Alola".

  "Oh", Marc says, "well, go on then, get to the team skull".

  "After a while, Damian really started calling us playing around training, and he insisted we go to the forests and into the mountains so he can train better", Joe says calmly, "one time, in the mountains, we ran into some team skull members who were searching for some pokemon to catch. Damian started chatting with them, they battled, since he always wanted to try it but didn't have anyone to battle with. Either way, Damian basically washed the guy that ended up being his opponent, and the team skull asked him to join. Damian agreed, mostly because he wanted to battle more, and I guess I ended up just tagging along".

  "So, you basically became a part of an illegal battle ring at what age?", Marc raises his eyebrow.

  "Think I was 9 or 10", Joe says, "and it's not an illegal or a battle ring, it's just a bunch of people who like battling hanging out for the most part".

  "And that's how you learned to battle?", Marc questions.

  "Yeah, I watched them all the time, and I guess I picked up a few things", Joe shrugs.

  "That's cool", Marc says.

  "And how about you, anything I should know?", Joe asks, thinking it's only fair he hears Marc out as well.

  "Nothing as interesting as joining a gang", Marc admits, "dad always used to watch the matches, and I really liked it, that's pretty much all there is to it, I used to bug him to take me to official matches, and I went to see gym battles like all the time, that's all, I just thought trainers I cool, so I wanted to be one".

  "Sounds nice", Joe says, "the only gym I've ever been to is the one in Canalave".

  "Oh, I loved watching gym battles", Marc says excitedly, "back when I was a little kid our gym leader was this woman who was really nice, she had an Ursaring that was mighty powerful, I loved watching her her battles, they always created so much mess".

  "You like seeing women create a mess?", Joe asks expectedly.

  "Yeah, guess I like strong women", Marc says, driving a knife through Joe's chest. Definitely not a date, even if it felt like one. "Anyways, some guy managed to take her place some years ago, he's also great, has a Tauros and a Noctowl, those are his aces, though his battles aren't as fun to watch".

  "Right", Joe tries recollecting himself, still feeling remains of pain weigh on his chest. "Well, maybe we should start, aren't you supposed to go and pack?".

  "You know, I'm cool with just talking", Marc laughs, "but I guess you're excited to have a battle".

  "Yes, I am", Joe admits.

  "Alright, we'll try to make it fun", Marc says, taking a few steps away from Joe. "This is good, I think", he says, checking the distance between them. Joe doesn't really want to think about the space that stands in the middle.

  "It's good", the boy says, letting Espurr hit the field. The psychic type immediately starts dusting off the sand from his fur. No use overthinking Marc right now, he thinks to himself. He should focus on Espurr now, see how Dissarming Voice does in battle, what it can do. Turning off everything else, he starts calculating. Long range special move, sending out energy in a shaoe of the wave. Has a decent ability to cover the field. Using it similar to how Ves uses Ember would be good here. Deal damage, and keep Sneasel at bay so it can't use Assurance. Strategising proves good at easing his mind. It feels much more natural than romance.

  "Alright, do your worse", Marc says, letting Sneasel hit the field as well. The dark type stands, his arms streched backwards, claws cathing the muted sunlight.

  Maybe this was not the best opponent for Espurr. Not right now, at least. Type advantage, speed advantage, better agility. Not to mantion, the only battle Espurr has had wasn't much of a battle.

  "Alright, I'm ready to start", Joe nods, already expecting what's to come.

  "Okay then, Sneasel, let's go, Ice Shard", Marc orders up immediately.

  "Fake Out, Kafka", Joe says. Espurr leaps forwards, staying in Sneasel's peripheral vision, before getting in a swift hit that flinches the dark type. Too bad that trick can be used only once, Joe thinks. "Now, use Dissarming Voice", Joe orders, wanting to get another hit in while his partner is near the immobilised target.

  "Sneasel", Marc yells, but there's really nothing he can do. His partner can't move for a next few seconds, which should be enough to fire off another attack.

  Espurr, however, decides to just stand there, wide-eyed, without even opening his mouth, let alone releasing an attack.

  "Scratch, now", Joe yells out quickly, realising his partner wouldn't use the fairy type attack.

  "Ice Shard", Marc counters, coming to the smae conclusion. The pieces of ice Snesel creates slam into Espurr, sending him backwards into the sand.

  "Get up there", Joe says, "be ready to dodge". But Espurr is slow to get back up, and when he does, he immediately starts getting rid of the sand that got stuck in his fur.

  "Assurance, now", Marc orders readily.

  "Dodge it, Kafka", Joe says, but the psychic type's too busy with the sand.

  "Sneasel, stop", Marc yells out, and his partner cuts the attack short seconds before hitting Espurr. Joe's partner's still only focused on getting rid of the sand.

  "Why'd you stop?", Joe asks flatly.

  "No need to knock your pokemon out", Marc shrugs, "this is obviously my win".

  "How thoughtful of you", Joe says. He hates to admit it, but Marc's right. This one was another loss for him. For a second he remembers this is his fourth loss in a row. Maybe he should just let Riolu out and go around wrecking everyone, that sounds like a fun weekend activity, he thinks. Getting that off his mind, he focuses on the problem in front of him. Well, problems ahead of him. Espurr didn't take battles seriously. And, yet again, he didn't use Dissarming Voice, even though he used it not an hour ago.

  "What's the problem now?", Marc asks.

  "I'm not 100% sure", Joe admits, "but I do have a hunch".

  "And what does it say?", Marc inquers.

  "Kafka", Joe says instead of answering, "please, use Dissarming Voice". The psychic type, finally ridding his fur of the sand, stands there, staring blankly at his trainer.

  "Fine, let's try this", the boy whips out his phone, searching for Spotify. He quickly finds Piano Man, letting the song play. "Alright, Kafka, want to sing along?", Joe says, taking a few steps backwards.

  As the lyrics come on, Espurr starts opening his mouth, letting out a weak cry that turns into Dissarming Voice.

  "That's it", Joe sighs.

  "That's what?", Marc says, confused, "what? He needs Billy Joel to attack or?".

  "No, I think Kafka just like Billy Joel, he was only trying to sing back at the karaoke place, the Dissarming Voice is just a by-product of that", Joe explains.

  "How does that even work?", Marc questions.

  "I don't know, I mean, Dissrming Voice is a sound based attack, so Kafka probably channels fairy energy into it when trying to sing", Joe shrugs.

  "How can he channel energy on accident?", Marc goes further.

  "Well, it is music, so it activates parts of Kafka's brain that control auditory processing", Joe thinks about it, "and Espurr's have their energy storage near their ears, could be that they get stimulated in the process and the energy leaks".

  "Wow, that sounds complicated", Marc contemplates it, "how does that work?".

  "I have no idea, I'm not a neuroscientist", Joe admits, "besides, this is just my theory, doesn't mean I'm right".

  "Right, right", Marc nods, "so... does Kafka only like Billy Joel or does this work with other artists as well?".

  "I have no idea", Joe shrugs, "I mean he didn't come out for Amy or J. Cole, so I guess they don't work for him, or at least just those two particular songs".

  "Huh", Marc says thoughtfully.

  "What?", Joe questions.

  "Nothing, I just realised you have a pokemon that can only use his move when Piano Man is playing", Marc says simply, "that's strange".

  "I'll test is out with other songs as well", Joe offers, "maybe something else works as well".

  "That... that doesn't exactly make this less weird", Marc admits.

  "Yeah, I know", Joe sighs.

  "However", Marc says somewhat uncomfortably, "just to sum it up, I just beat you".

  "Don't rub it in", Joe says flatly, "as soon as I figure out how to weaponize Kafka's enjoyment of Billy Joel, we are having a rematch".

  "Maybe just sing Piano Man during your battles", Marc suggests.

  "I am absolutely not doing that", Joe retorts.

  "Come on, it would be, like, super funny", Marc says.

  "No", Joe reaffirms.

  "Whatever", Marc raises his hands up, "I'm just giving you the most obvious suggestion".

  "I know, but I'm not singing during my battles", Joe sighs, "this is not a song fic".

  "A what?", Marc raises his eyebrow.

  "Nevermind", Joe waves it off, "don't you have to go and pack for the weekend?".

  "I mean, I'm not really in a rush, I still have time, but if you'd rather be alone...", Marc scratches his head.

  "No, no, it's not like that", Joe says. Mostly, the whole progression is starting to feel strange, they cut the karaoke short to battle, then they cut that short as well, and Joe had no idea where to take this further. "I just kind of want to go an try a few things out with Kafka, that's all", Joe lies. There was no way in hell he's dealing with Kafka right now. If it was normal training, sure, he'd gladly do it, but he has had enough of Billy Joel for one day, and enough of Espurr's strange ways.

  "Oh, right, I get it", Marc nods in slight dissapointment, "I'll go off then".

  "Hey, have a safe trip", Joe reaches for his arm, "and, uh, we can hang out again as soon as you come back".

  "Sounds good", Marc eases up a bit, "just promise me, no battles".

  "Now, I can't promise that", Joe says bluntly, "I mean, if you do end up catching a new partner, I'll definitely want to see it in action, and...".

  "No battles", Marc interrupts him.

  "Fine, fine, it's a promise", Joe sighs, "but let's not do karaoke, let's go for something that's actually fun with two people".

  "Agreed", Marc flashes him a smile before tuening to leave. Joe kind of wants to drop to his knees as he watches Marc leave. He doesn't even realise, but this whole hang out got him tensed up. Side effects of romance, he decided, coming to a quick conclusion he hates them. Falling for a straight guy was the last thing he needed, so he would absolutely not be doing that.

  Unfortunately, he wouldn't be crushing anyone in a battle anytime soon. Looking over at Espurr, he wondered whatever's going through the psychic type's head. His expression offered no clues, as per usual, and Joe decided to simply recall him, promising a treat later.

  Problem that arises here, is that Joe has absolutely no idea what to do with his life now. Marc's gone, and he doesn't feel like training, and he can't battle, and he absolutely can't go back to the dorm room, cause if he ran into Ves now, there would be blood.

  Picking up his phone, he calls up Ace, the only teammate whose phone number he has.

  Few rings in the boy picks up, audiably surprised. "Hey, what do you want?", Ace asks, his voice crispy over the phone.

  Not the nicest way to pick up, Joe thinks. "Just cheking out the situation", Joe answers anyways, "what are you doing, where are you".

  "Well, I was actually useful, signed us up for that tournament, and went to pick up some books on pokemon nutrition", Ace sighs, "I'm going back to the dorm room to check them out now".

  "Great, is there anyone else in the room?", Joe questions.

  "Both Teo and Ves are there, they are trying to sleep, don't think they like waking up at 5 AM", Ace admits. Amazing, so Joe's definitely not going to the dorms.

  "Right, then, I'll just go pick up some books on grooming techniques", Joe says.

  "Alright, do as you please", Ace notes.

  "I'll be back tonight", Joe says, as if Ace actually cares.

  "Okay", Ace responds simply, "by now, I have too many books to carry". With that Ace hangs up, leaving Joe to wonder just how many books does one need to come up with a few recepies.

  With a sigh, he heads towards the library. After the kind of they he had, studying up actually sounds relaxing. The books won't yell at him, and he doesn't have to worry if it's a date or not.