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The more that as time went on, the more that Tristen started to realize Fela wasn’t cut out. She did say after all she preferred to study the Pokémon as opposed to battle with them. Though honestly, in his mind, trying to see how they battle was all part of the process in studying Pokémon in general. It all went hand in hand. Be that as it may, Tristen had to admit there wasn’t much that Scatterbug could do in this case as the Shroodle started to frantically claw away at Wimpod’s shell, trying to dig in and find some sort of vulnerability as it desperately tried to get some sort of upper hand. Most of Scatterbug’s attacks that he could see right at the moment would probably hamper Wimpod just as it would have the Shroodle. Never mind the fact that, like Wimpod, didn’t have a lot to offer as far as offensive capability. It was the case of trying to be creative at this point.

As the Shroodle tried to claw away, Wimpod was in a panic trying to shake the swiping Shroodle off of it.

“Wimpod! Calm down! Use Defense Curl!” Tristen shouted.

The Wimpod quickly hopped up and curled up tight, leaving practically all carapace for the Shroodle to try to hack away on. Though the defenses couldn’t hold for eternity. “Fela, try getting the Shroodle’s attention. Try to see if Scatterbug can tether the Shroodle down with its String Shot.” Tristen said to her. As far as what Tristen could figure, he was trying to show her that it was more than just calling the attack and hoping for the best. Its was what separated the trainers from the masters. Granted, he didn’t have any drive to be the very best like no one ever was, it was however something that was hammered down to him throughout his time training and battling as a Snagem.

As the Shroodle fell off the Wimpod’s back, and now hampered by the String Shot, Tristen looked over towards Fela. “Yea, just like that. I know battling isn’t something you really care about, but look at it this way, the things that Pokémon can do and how they do it is just as much of something to study over than just what they look like and where they live. It goes a lot deeper than that. Sure you might not need to battle hard like the best of them, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get a few tricks under you for later.” He said, trying to be encouraging to Fela. After all, she was the study partner here. “Now, Wimpod! Aqua Jet!” Tristen then shouted. Wimpod came out of the safety of its curl, seeing the Shroodle entangled in the silky mess. Wimpod then rushed forward like a shot, carried by its watery wake, and rams into the Shroodle as hard as it could.

“Maybe the tournament can be a good study session for you this weekend. I’ll try to give you something to look at then.” Tristen said to Fela, looking back towards the Scatterbug, seeing that he still didn’t have the finishing power yet. It will come in time; Tristen was sure of it. Perhaps down the road, maybe Scatterbug won’t need Wimpod to help as much. But until then… “Wimpod! Use Aqua Jet!” he shouted. Once again, Wimpod would start rushing across the field like a shot, water going everywhere as it rushed towards the Shroodle.

After another successful battle, Tristen went over towards his Wimpod and picked him back up; giving is thanks and once again reassuring the bug that he has been doing a good job. Wimpod has been a bit of a trooper today, comparatively. Maybe these battles was what he was needed; that he was trying to train Wimpod in all the wrong ways before. Then again, the more that he thought about it, for whatever reason, the Pokémon around here seems to favor going after Scatterbug a lot. There was something odd about it. Tristen wasn’t sure if the opponents were going after the alleged weakest link or if there was something else. He’d probably try to keep an eye on things as the two find their way across this area.

The battles relatively panned out in generally the same way from there on. Wimpod provided all manner of support, rather it was with its String Shot or Stun Spore, Wimpod goes in to be the speeding water bullet for the most part. Maybe the occasional Struggle Bug attack, but more often, Tristen ended up having to call out for Sand Attack more than even Struggle Bug. The stuff in the area doesn’t particularly mind the bug types all that much, it looked. That said, Tristen kept an eye on the Scatterbug in the process and generally it still was the same way. The opposing Pokémon still went after the bug for the most part and left Wimpod to cover Scatterbug for the most part. It was difficult trying to keep Scatterbug in the battle, especially with Wimpod’s limited arsenal.

Tristen would end up following Fela all the way to Los Platos. The place was rather serene as far as he could tell. A small town, not too unlike Mahogany Town. Tristen was very attentive, paying attention to the sights, taking in to the smell of the foods sold by the vendors, the trinkets from the merchants, and so on. While it wasn’t anywhere near as bustling as Mezagoza, it was actually quite nice. He then perked up…the smell of something graced his canine nose. “…?” It was relatively fresh…recent. Familiar. Smell of snow and ice. Tristen nearly tensed up; trying to see if his adoptive father was around here. He didn’t want to drop that he was with Snagem like that, let alone the fact that his adoptive father was the famed ‘Noble hybrid’ so soon. He’s already got enough on his plate as is. Fela might have noticed Tristen’s change in demeanor as he started to look around…but then started to be at ease. He didn’t see him anywhere. He might have left town before the two arrived. As bad as Tristen felt to admit it, he kind of hoped so given the circumstances.

"Uh...yea...sorry about that. Kind of smelled something...off..." he said, not technically lying. "I guess its nothing." Or at least was. He was almost certain if he was seen by his adoptive father, he would come over to check on him, which that's just effectively him being a parent, but that would throw up all sort of alarms to Fela if she is well enough in the know. He'd rather not have to go through that if he could help it as long as possible. While he'd try to be better about not to suddenly jump to absolute panic.

Once arriving at the Sugar-N-Ice stand, listening to the vendor. Chocolate of any sorts was off the menu sadly for him, but everything else seemed to work out...though...salt on ice cream? Teriyaki? He could almost imagine his father gagging over the thought of it, probably sounding unheard of. Oddly, as tempting as it was to try that, he'd try something else that sounded a bit more enticing so he didn't waste Fela's coin. He'd take the coin out of the pocket then looked back at the vendor. "I'll try your Fizzy-Pop, please." He said.

Tristen started to make his way off and have a seat at the table with Fela. "Wimpod, how about you also enjoy yourself okay? I don't see why you couldn't go in that little pond right there if you want to cool off and enjoy yourself." Tristen said.

Wimpod hobbled off towards the tiny decorative pond and started to slip inside. One could almost feel the relief wash over the Wimpod as it found itself just treading the surface of the tiny pond. Tristen couldn't help but to give a slight laugh a little before starting to take part of the ice cream. As he gave it a taste, he could feel what it was about. The fizzy rock-like candy mixed in to the ice cream gave that distinctive bubbly taste. It was pretty sweet, but not that sweet with all considered. "This is pretty good. I haven't had anything like this back at home. Mahogany Town isn't really known for ice cream. Does have a candy bar, though..." he said. "Rage Candy Bars, actually. Named after the Lake of Rage that's north of town. They're not bad. Its like little cake bars...kinda like those churros, except they're not fried."

Tristen didn’t react all that much. Truthfully, he asked the same sort of things back in the day as well, being as one that didn’t actually originate from around that part of Jhoto. But he wouldn’t really let in about that to her. And try as his father figure tried to explain some of the local culture back in the day, he didn’t quite understand it still. But it was a case of to each their own, all the same. As he went on going on what was effectively day to day life here in Paldea, the more he started to realize just the massive cultural differences between the regions. He’d be lying if he didn’t want to know more. This was what he was looking forward to in his time in Snagem…to actually go see things and not have a mission as an excuse to do it. It got Tristen to musing over those possibilities as he partook in the ice cream he was treated to.

Once it started to get late, the two would recall their Pokémon and call a Squakabilly taxi back for Mezagoza. There Tristen would still carry on conversation with Fela, still trying to be mindful of not to talk about Snagem and his general history. There were words of encouragement to her about things down the road, kind of touching on things that were said back during the battles and some concerns over Matteo for that matter. Once the taxi ride was over, the two would end up taking their separate ways for the time being.

Tristen still had his homework to finish and he figured to finally get that done. Before that though, he needed to pick up at least a little something for dinner. An ice cream is not a dinner make. He would pick up a sandwich and then turn in to his dorm for the night.

The days that went by since then went relatively the same, for better or for worse. Matteo grew ever distant, if not outright hostile, towards Tristen, which made B, E, and Fela find themselves in a rather awkward spot. The next day, there was no more practice with Matteo in trying to learn Agility, leaving Tristen alone to figure it out once again. For that matter, the day before the tournament, Matteo was an outright no-show for lunch. Tristen’s patience with him was finally out at a tipping point; his resolve now iron-clad. If Tristen ever had to face off with Matteo, he needed to humiliate him. Humble him right in front of the student body, the teachers, and Arceus itself. The problem is, despite the fact that Tristen did plan on bringing Dragonite into battle, he gave Matteo credit for the kind that if Dragonite was used against him, he’d convince himself Tristen didn’t win on his own strength. He needed a Pokémon that he could perhaps underestimate.

The night before the tournament, after another training session with Fela and Scatterbug, Tristen sat in his room, his eyes glued to his SNAG, checking over the Pokémon he had. He needed Pokémon strong enough to carry him through to the end to be a threat to Nemona. Tristen was fairly confident that he could take any one student of the school; his Pokémon being trained to extreme degrees thanks to being a part of Snagem. The only one that truly was of worry was in fact Nemona if she is good as what everyone let’s on. But he needed something that at least looked low-key, relatively speaking. A Pokémon that no one would truly know much about, nothing native here to the region. Checking with what is known in the region, Tristen might have gotten a team realized. The only thing left was to make a quick evening stop to the Delibird Presents store.

While Tristen might not have needed any specialized items for his Pokémon, being as trained as they are, he wanted to at least keep up the illusion that he was a relatively fledgling trainer. Though, how well such a thought would fly once they get a look at Dragonite is a whole question in and of itself. As Tristen browsed the wares of the nearest store, he started to realize he didn’t put much thought into what would be best for his Pokémon. Getting here to the city, just before taking their first day of class, Tristen was warned about the Choice items in particular, which made him a little hesitant. He had to agree in some respects with his adoptive father and more over teacher. Being restricted to just one attack is rather cumbersome; more so when the Pokémon one has trained have a whole wide plethora of attacks and abilities to call upon. Given what he learned in short order about the items in question, he would take them back to his dorm and divvied them out to each of his Pokémon, getting them ready for the next morning.

Tristen would find himself waking up the next morning, a little groggy from the preparation session the night before. After divvying up the items, one at a time to the Pokémon he was going to bring to the tournament, he stayed up a little later, talking to Dragonite about his concerns as the loyal dragon sat on the floor in the largest space he could in the small dorm. Tristen talked to him about the past few days, the stresses and concerns, the joys and hopes…Tristen admitted to him he almost wished he was still doing another Snagem mission. He wasn’t used to this sort of thing. Uva-Naranja academy was effectively a whole other world to him and despite spending the past few days now, this place intimidated him. Dragonite, in his own way, consoled Tristen, encouraging him. Compared to Snagem, this was nothing, Dragonite told him. This was only pressuring only because he wasn’t used to it. Dragonite knew that, as did perhaps everyone else in Snagem for that matter. It was Tristen that needed to be reminded of it. Keep going as he has been. He would be fine. That said…the Assault Vest that Tristen got for Dragonite was probably going to chafe scales before this was over.

He would go after breakfast first thing then finally off to the tournament grounds.

Tristen found his way at the cafeteria and took notice that the usual kitchen staff wasn’t around. Though someone had to have laid out breakfast for everyone. Maybe someone else? Who knows…the pancakes and eggs, admittedly looked rather enticing. He picked up a serving or two, got a little syrup for the pancakes, and then started to partake. As he ate, he started to think about the battles to come…one that he almost felt inevitable. Frankly he hoped his plan panned out. But this was all based on if he and Matteo would face each other and also how good he actually is. That wasn’t to mention if Tristen actually read Matteo’s mentality as well as he hoped he did. He stopped in mid bite suddenly…he was treating this tournament like another Snagem mission. He could only sigh, suddenly. He probably needed to relax. Even if Tristen’s planning fell through, Matteo was going to be Matteo, nothing would change. At this point, he probably should just plan to help B, E, and Fela in particular. He liked those three a lot.

Finishing his breakfast meal, he put away the stuff he ate away on and then started for the place that he was to meet. Once out at the school courtyard, Tristen started to see that there were a good number of students starting to gather. Some to perhaps spectate, waiting around for the battles to take part on the battlefield before them. Others, lining up to check in for the battling. There were those that were lining up to see Ms. Dendra…that was probably where he was needing to check in. Before he got moving, Brooks and Elwyn managed to get his attention.

“Hey B and E!” Tristen said. “Yea, I’m ready to go and so are my Pokémon.” He told them. But before any more conversation happened, Tristen was suddenly almost effectively dragged to the check-in table where Ms. Dendra is. “Hey, guys, slow down.” He said with a bit of a nervous laugh. Tristen could only wonder at this point with being the new friend in the group just how often these two actually make friends. Because this was a bit much, admittedly. Was it more of the fact that they’re still relatively young? Who knows. “The table isn’t going anywhere yet.”

Once finally at the table, Tristen sighed looking over towards the adults. “Checking in for the Pokémon Tournament today.” He told them.