"Aha… yeah, it's a great game."
Luis forced a smile while replying to Dante. He used the Pokeball and retrieved the fainted Scyther back from the battlefield.
"By the way, Dante. How old is your Pikachu?"
"Oh, I don't really know. I found Pikachu while wandering around the park, and after some bonding, he agreed to become my Starter."
"I see…then, Pikachu wasn't trained by you? No wonder, I was wondering how it could keep up with my Scyther. Pokemon that already formed their battle instincts are not suitable as Starters, you know. They may follow their own instincts in battle instead of listening to you."
As if he found the 'reason' of his defeat from what Dante said, Luis started to preach non-stop. Like, Pikachu attacking Scyther with Thunder Shock before Dante commanded was a sign Pikachu doesn't really listen to him, etc.
Dante found Luis' words funny. It was Pikachu that listened to his command and didn't act out from beginning to end while Scyther used a move without Luis' command. In the end though, Dante didn't want to argue against him, so he used the most simple tactic.
"But me and Pikachu beat you."
"Urgh, to be precise, it was more because of Pikachu's training in the wild. I was also a bit careless. If not, Pikachu that only relies on wild instinct will be no match for Scyther and I!"
"But we still beat you."
Hearing Dante's constant remarks about his loss, even Luis almost can't keep the smile on his face.
"You know what? Why don't the both of us battle again tomorrow? I would teach you what it really means to command the Pokemon and not just let it battle on its own!"
Listening to Luis' words that had faint signs of anger, Dante felt that, if he really taunted him again, Luis would go berserk.
"Hey Luis, do you know about the Rookie Trainer Competition held at the end of May? I'll take part in that."
"Hmm? Is there such a competition? Very well, I'll accept your challenge. Let's have our rematch under the eyes of countless people. I'll look forward to your growth a month from now."
With those words, Luis 'coolly' left the room. Dante shook his head, amused at Luis' childishness. It was clearly him that lost and clamored for a rematch, yet he acted as though Dante was the one that wanted to challenge him.
—
In the treatment lobby for Trainers at the Pokemon Center, Dante and Luis met once again.
"Hey Luis! Fancy seeing you again!"
Luis pretended not to hear Dante's call, but his ears that were turning red showed just how embarrassed he was inside. Seeing this, Dante chuckled and decided to pester him more.
After Luis took back the Pokeball from the nurse, he headed straight to the door without even looking around, like a man on a mission, ignoring Dante's snicker behind him.
"Hello Miss Nurse, I would like to have the basic treatment for my Pikachu."
Unlike in the Pokemon Games, there is a fee for treatment in the Pokemon Center here. After paying 100 credits, Pikachu reluctantly got back into the Pokeball and was placed in the treatment machine.
The treatment machine is another technology that was discovered through an exploration in the PokePortal.
Although its treatment is not as comprehensive and effective as Pokemons like Chansey, the faster process and ability to treat basic injuries from Pokemon battles makes it very useful.
After waiting for just a few minutes, the treatment was done and the Pokeball was handed back to Dante.
Releasing Pikachu from the Pokeball, Dante asked curiously how he felt during the treatment.
"Pikapi~" (It was very comfortable. I just felt something warm pass through all over my body, and then all the pain disappeared.)
Dante also checked Pikachu's body and made sure that there was no wound left from the battle.
"Pikachu, what would you like to eat?"
During their chat in the park, Dante already told and showed Pikachu the assortment of food in this world.
"Pika!" (I want to try the ice cream!).
"We can have ice cream as a dessert, but wha.."
Walking out of the Pokemon Center while chatting with Pikachu, the two reached an agreement and decided to have a shawarma first before eating ice cream.
Shawarma is a dish that consists of meat cut into thin slices, stacked together into a cone, and then roasted using a slow-turning vertical spit. Pieces of meat from the outermost layer are cut and then packed into a pita along with some mayo and hot sauce.
They walked around the streets after to aid their digestion, and finally reached home at 9 PM.
After greeting his parents, Dante headed back to his room and watched various videos with Pikachu on the Poketube.
Pikachu was especially interested in watching Pokemon Action Adventure Series and Movies. They were currently watching a movie called "Kung Fu Pancham".
During the whole movie, Pikachu was immersed in the role of the protagonist. He would kick and punch around whenever the protagonist was fighting.
Dante already noticed from the beginning that this movie was the Pokemon world version of the Kung Fu Panda.
In this story, Pancham was adopted by a Farfetch'd and grew to become a server in the restaurant. He was accidentally chosen by Master Torkoal as the next Dragon Warrior. He was trained by Master Dedenne to become a qualified Dragon Warrior. In the end, he beat the villain Liepard and proved himself worthy of his title by evolving into Pangoro.
Pikachu was clamoring to watch the 2nd movie, but Dante disagreed. It was almost 12 AM, and the refresh time for the dungeon exploration was nearing.
Dante already noticed that time doesn't pass when he travelled to and fro the PMD world and the real world. Therefore, Dante wants to travel as early as possible after the refresh time, so that he can have enough sleep after coming back.
Pikachu reluctantly agreed with Dante's reason and then watched in disappointment as the computer was turned off.
Lying on the bed, Pikachu was also very curious about how the both of them can travel through another world.
"Lie on the bed as comfortably as possible. I don't know what happens to you, but I faint whenever I travel through."
Pikachu listened and laid his body on the pillow. After making sure everything was alright, Dante opened his phone and then chose to travel to the PMD world.
The last thing Dante saw was Pikachu's closed eyes before he fell unconscious.
Opening his eyes once again, he saw the familiar apprentice room of the Wigglytuff guild. Pikachu was also awake on the bed beside him, looking around in wonder.
"Wow! We really traveled back here!"
"Shh! Don't be so loud. Anyway, we should sleep now. According to Chatot, our apprentice training starts early tomorrow."
"Oh yeah *yawnn* what a long day. It feels like we just went through a dungeon."
"Good night."
"Good night, Dante."