"Of all the places they could have been in, they're in KANTO?!" 

Yep, Fuyuhiko was definitely annihilating those jerks, Dan and Fic's crush on Hiro be damned. They were in the same region the ENTIRE TIME!? Gosh the amount of cheek those villains had!

Duri was only facepalming while Fic sighed, "At least we have a location." 

"Is that an old Rocket Base too?" Dan leaned into the map, frowning as he tried to understand the island terrain. 

"It's actually Guren Island, a volcanic island that's now like a desert town," Hajime provided while looking it up. "I heard it has tons of pathways, though, so that explains why they chose it." 

"Sounds like the Mirror Cave," Duri remarked, making Fuyuhiko blink as he turned to the other. "You know, has a lot of corridors and you can get lost in it." 

"Or sent to alternate dimensions, if Satoshi was telling the truth," Peko added. 

"Yeah, not pleasant, that one," Shun deadpanned. "Dan's been through the mirrors twice now. So have Lia, Wynton and I but only once." 

"Forget about that though! We got a location, so let's head there and figure out how to take them down!" Fuyuhiko said. 

"Sounds like a plan," Ajit nodded while getting up. 

"Arf!" Lightning growled in reply. The little Iwanko was then picked up by Lia and he sank into her warmth, a happy look on the trainer's face.

"Before that, though, we need to make sure everyone has adequate supplies for what we have to do," Nagito said. "Dan, are you sure you want to just use your 4 Pokemon?" 

"Yep, I've made up my mind on that," he answered. 

"Fic, you have a good team right now, so I won't ask you, but Duri, you only have a 3-mon team. We might need a full team in order to fight those guys," Nagito turned to the Hoenn native. "I trust the AO will figure out how to work, but you need a full team and that's final cause you might have to battle Hiro again, and he's strong." 

"No doubt about it. His tactics are good too," Duri nodded. "Alright then. How do we do that, though? The ghoul gathering is in a week." 

Fic frowned, "Perhaps we could try walking around Kuchiba City. Unless you want to go to other regions. That would be a lot of time wasted though."

Fuyuhiko couldn't help the scowl that was beginning to form. It wasn't a waste of time. Getting a strong team ready was crucial to their victory over Team Alpha. 

Still, both had fair points. They had 7 days before the ghoul gathering, and if their guesses were right... They would strike there. 

"Then I'll go with him to find new teammates," he surprised himself with his words, and it sure caught the others off guard as they looked at him as if he had turned into a Gayrados. 

What the heck was up with these guys? He just wanted to help Duri grow okay!?  All that wasted potential needed to be sharpened again!

"Are you sure this isn't a date?" Lia smirked as Fuyuhiko glared at her despite the flush on his face.

For the last time, he did NOT like Duri that way!

"N-No way!" he denied it, but Fic's face was already amused with an arched eyebrow, which he knew meant matchmaking was definitely in their mind. Dang it! Stupid face that exposed his thoughts for the world to openly tease! 

"Go for it, though. It's not a bad idea," Wynton said. 

"Just make sure to have fun while doing it," Peko added. 

"Got it," Duri smiled.  "Thanks for this guys." 

"Hey, no problem. It's the least we can do after the rough treatment we gave ya," Dan slung an arm around him. 

He snorted, "I nearly forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me." 

"DANNNNNNN!" 

"WHAT!?"

Fic snorted, blushing at this cute display, and Fuyuhiko couldn't resist walking up to them to tease, "Looks like your crush on him is shining through." 

"W-Wha- I HAVE NO SUCH THING!" they refuted. 

"Right, your face tells a different story," he smirked at the annoyed face they were giving him. Ah, the joys of having the upper hand in teasing. He definitely loved teasing Fic out of everyone because their crush on Dan was so blatantly obvious. 

And yet they refused to believe Dan reciprocated the feelings. What a bunch of dumb-dumbs he had surrounded himself with. 

Well, Duri DID count, so-

Okay, never mind, time to pack! He could contemplate how cute Duri was later, so he turned to Duri and asked, "What kind of Pokemon do you think you might need for this battle?" 

He could only give a weak shrug, "I don't know myself, really." 

"Well, that's a start. A slow one but works for me. I know the perfect place to start hunting for Pokemon if we're going about that way. Peko, book us a trip to the Galar region!" He turned to his secretary. 

Peko smirked and said, "Sure. Make sure to visit Arabesque Town while you're there though. Beedo and Mary have some intel for us, and there are tasty treats you have to bring back for the 3 research fellows in Sakuragi Institute." 

"Right, Satoshi will have my head if I don't do that," he snorted. "He really loves those scones, doesn't he?" 

"Still calls them those yummy things from Galar, but yeah," Hajime snorted. "He will definitely give you the stink eye for the next team gathering if you don't." 

"Don't remind me," he groaned. 

"Galar, huh... There are a good amount of Pokemon I can catch in the Wild Area, but since Fuyuhiko wants to go to Arabesque town, I guess I can get some Fairy-types. Ooh, maybe even a Mahomil! Dingyo's was so cute!" Duri muttered. 

Fuyuhiko chuckled, "If you want a Mahomil, we'll take a detour to the Wild Area or head to Route 4 to get you a Wanpachi or something." 

"I think variety goes a long way, though," Duri shook his head. "No Wanpachis. So the Wild Area it is I suppose." 

"It'll help you warm up too, so catching 2 Pokemon with one plan, right?" he grinned. 

Duri grinned at him, "Thanks, though, for... everything, Fuyuhiko. Really." 

He was pretty sure his friends were laughing at him, but who cared? He sure as hell didn't! 

"No problem! It's what teammates do, after all!" 

He tried to ignore how excited Duri looked, and the swelling happiness his chest was giving off. 

They were just friends! Nothing more, nothing less! 

Right?