Marie woke up early the next morning. The opening ceremony was scheduled for tomorrow, but for today, she planned to sell off the various items she had received from Dreepy to make some money.
Although Baru himself didn't seem to care, Marie knew full well that those things technically belonged to him. Even if he was now officially her Pokémon, that didn't give her the right to pocket everything for herself.
Her plan was to exchange them for nutritional items or helpful battle accessories for Baru and the two baby Dreepy.
The hotel room had two standard twin beds. Marie slept with Echan and the Ralts, while Baru and the two little ones, Yuu and Zuo, took the other.
Yawning and squinting at the faint light streaming through the curtains, Marie adjusted her slipping shoulder strap and glanced at the clock. Six o'clock. It was still just barely dawn outside.
Echan lifted her head, looking sleepily at Marie, who was already sitting up.
"Ee... (Morning...)"
"Morning... haah..." Marie rubbed her eyes and patted Echan on the head as she yawned.
"You can sleep in a little longer if you want. I'm just going to wash up."
The Budew Inn, sponsored by the Chairman, was pretty high-end. The rooms were spotless, and the amenities quite fancy.
That said, for someone like Marie who was used to camping in the wild, even a regular hotel would have felt luxurious.
Her own toiletries were laid out by the sink. Since she would be staying another night, she hadn't bothered packing them up.
Brushing her teeth in front of the mirror, Marie mentally ran through the day's agenda. First stop: the Pokémon Center to sell off some items. Technically, the outdoor markets might offer better prices, but since she wasn't familiar with Motostoke, she didn't want to risk getting ripped off.
In the afternoon, she would head out to the Wild Area to have Baru train Dragon Dance and Will-O-Wisp.
Yes, after officially becoming partners, Marie had asked Baru what moves he knew. Turns out, he had picked up Will-O-Wisp but never really used it.
Marie wasn't too surprised. Ever since he learned how to use TMs, Baru had spammed a ton of different moves. It made sense that some fell by the wayside.
But now that she knew, she wasn't going to let it go to waste.
Baru's battle style was already deeply ingrained fast and aggressive. Marie had no intention of changing that. So her plan was to get him really comfortable with Dragon Dance, Agility, and Will-O-Wisp.
Previously, Echan had interrupted his Dragon Dance mid-battle with a single Dark Pulse. If Baru could reach the point where he could keep dancing while dodging non-guaranteed attacks, that would do wonders for his offensive rhythm.
Will-O-Wisp, meanwhile, was a safety measure against moves like Foul Play and other high-attack techniques. If Echan had been burned that day, the power of Foul Play would've been halved, and the outcome of their fight much harder to predict.
Baru didn't know many status moves, though. That was just how the Dragapult line was. They didn't learn a lot of utility moves, and Baru hadn't inherited anything useful either.
So Marie figured they might as well go all-in on the speed-and-power route. If the opponent couldn't land a hit, it wouldn't matter how low Baru's defenses were he'd be untouchable.
She had considered teaching him Protect, but her last TM for it was back home. A pity she hadn't brought it along.
…
After freshening up, Marie walked back into the room to find all the Pokémon already up and stretching. It looked like they had slept well.
"Morning, everyone."
"Roo! (Morning, Marie.)"
"Nya~ (Morning!)" x2
"Ralts! (Good morning!)"
"Let's head down for breakfast. This place supposedly offers complimentary meals for all registered participants."
Grabbing the meal ticket from the table, Marie glanced at the time. Breakfast service had just started. She returned everyone but Ralts to their Poké Balls and left the room with the little one in her arms.
The hallway was narrow, but the dining hall was spacious enough for even Baru to sit comfortably and eat.
They had meals tailored to different Pokémon types, all reasonably priced. Marie figured they must have brought in pros to prepare the food. At the very least, she couldn't imagine herself making custom dishes for each type.
She usually relied on Poké Puffs to supplement her team's nutrition.
While eating breakfast, Marie messaged Yuri but received no reply. Probably still asleep. They had talked about going shopping, but with no set time. Marie figured it would be better to go in the evening. After all, she still had errands and training in the Wild Area to get through today. Dragging Yuri around would only slow her down.
Motostoke was a large, industrial city. It woke early. When Marie stepped outside after breakfast, the streets were already bustling.
She passed by a store selling Berries. While you could forage for them in the wild, it wasn't ideal for bulk stocking. They were mostly good for basic meals. For real supply, city stores were the way to go.
Marie needed to make a batch of Poké Puffs for Baru and the twins. Echan's stash was still sufficient. For Ralts, she'd be crafting Psychic- and Fairy-type blends ones that boosted mental development.
She had the recipe. Picked it up back when she was learning to make Puffs, though she'd never had the chance to use it.
Ralts was still small, with low intake and energy usage. Not much of a cost, and Marie had more than enough money at the moment to support her growth.
And if you asked whether Marie was, well, "interested" in what a future Gardevoir might look like… then yeah, she wouldn't deny it. But even so, she could tell that Ralts was waiting for something. A specific moment to evolve. Whatever that moment was, Marie didn't quite understand.
A trainer could carry up to six Pokémon, and counting the egg, Marie currently had only three.
If she was going to take on the Gym Challenge, she'd need at least five to be competitive. Echan and Baru had their training goals set and didn't need micromanaging.
She had originally hoped to raise a Feebas into a Milotic from scratch, maybe even get one from Sonia. Unfortunately, that hadn't panned out.
As for the egg from her brother, based on what he said, it would take at least another month or two before it hatched.
So she figured now might be the perfect time to find one more partner to round out her team.
The only question was what kind of Pokémon would be the best fit?