Victory Road [Paldea Arc]

[Darksol88]

Aden's panic at the start Reno looked to be in would be brief, yet still feel like months had passed. But, it'd all wash away in an instant to be replaced with a desire to test that prosthetic arm's durability when Reno casually grabbed the arm and got it back into place. "You know, I'm surprised no one's ripped that arm right back off of you to smack you with it," he remarked, sighing in relief all the same. He'd take being slightly annoyed at a joke over serious harm any day and besides, Crystal seemed to share the sentiment of delivering a light smack to the head.

"Anyways, yeah, let's keep going. With hopefully more eyes on the road this time... hm?"

In the midst of all this, a Fidough within the area had grown curious about what was going on. While most would flee at such a sign of potential danger, this one would give a curious yip before looking and sniffing around the trio. Had it not been for that and a feeling that suggested less a dog and more a walking bakery treat that escaped well before going in the oven- nevermind it sprouting legs to accomplish such a feat- he wouldn't have thought anything of their presence.

"Hey? You're not anything I recognize..." He remarked, keeping a wary eye as he took out his SNAG. He managed to get into the Pokedex app on it before stopping himself, figuring that data wasn't likely to be there. Figuring there wasn't too high a chance of them causing much trouble, he'd look over to Reno and Crystal again, trying to keep a more mental eye on the pup in the meantime. "Right, Levincia. Reno, is your bike still good?"  

[Reno Vantas]

Giving a quick rev of the motor, Reno would nod appreciatively before looking back towards Aden. "All good here. Now, hop on Crystal's board and lets see who can get there first." Reno said, giving a smug little smile towards the pair. Quickly leaping onto the driver's seat of the vehicle, he would take off without another word for their destination. Or at least the closest he could recollect the path for their destination.  

[Darksol88]

"You know? I'll take my chances with the hoverboard," Aden remarked, about to get on it and take off himself since Reno seemed to waste no time in trying to leave him or Crystal in his dust. "See if this hoverboard can't keep up with you two."

But whenever Crystal took off herself, Aden's attempt to do the same would be stopped by the dough-like puppy that made themselves known. Only, now they were trying to climb on the hoverboard and to his legs, barking like they were expecting something and making Aden stop himself for the sake of the Pokemon's safety. "What? What're you looking for?" He asked, trying to gently push the pup away and sitting down to rummage through his stuff, only for them to try and go into his backpack. "Are you hungry? I've probably got a few berries you can have or something- no. Down."

Quickly, he'd pick them up and set them back down. "If you're good and stay still, I'll give you a few berries. Alright?" A happy hop followed in response, letting Aden sigh in relief. "Good, now let's see... oh. These should work?" Taking a few Oran Berries out and holding his hand out, he'd keep an eye on the Pokemon's reaction as they padded over and curiously sniffed at the berries. He wasn't terribly worried, with the worst that might come is the Pokemon expecting more food. Chances were, he figured, they'd be sated with the offering and probably leave to go about their business. They did seem to sniff around and give a curious bark, though. A question of "more?" that Aden picked up on quickly.. to which he shook his head.

"No, that's all I've got, I'm sorry," he remarked. "I've gotta go. You can find your way home, right? Ugh, catching up's gonna be rough..."

With that, Aden got back to his feet, onto the hoverboard, and took off. Unknown to him, just as the Fidough dejectedly started to walk off, a Dunsparce would pop out of the ground. Were they privvy to the whole thing? Was it bad luck? Whatever the case, there was now a poor pup flying in the air, seemingly in the same direction Aden just went...  

[Reno Vantas]

Reno would barely get a chance to respond to the suddenly beside him Crystal before she rocketed off again. Staring off after her, Reno would only be able to sigh before continuing at his fastest pace. Apparently a solid second place was the most he could expect out of this attempt to engineer a little fun and competition.

----

Sliding to a stop as he finally reached the bridge into the town of Levincia, Reno would carefully park his bike at the Pokemon Center and went to go sit at one of the nearby benches. He was sure that Crystal would be able to find him and he wanted to wait there for Aden. Might as well say hey when he finally crossed the bridge himself.  

[Darksol88]

Reno and Crystal wouldn't see Aden approaching through the bridge they both watched, but Reno would suddenly feel his shoulder being tapped. "Thought I'd find you two here, what kept you?" He asked, a cone of ice cream in his hand with a block in it that looked like a salt cube. A couple more, with some effort, were managing to float next to him and looked identical to the one he was enjoying. "Ice cream?"

Throughout, the Fidough that had his attention earlier kept awfully close to his feet, seemingly hopeful some of the ice cream would drip and find its way to the floor.  

[Reno Vantas]

Reno wouldn't even turn around as he felt the tapping, already knowing that somehow a race he started had resulted in him coming in last. Breathing out a pained groan as he eventually turned towards Aden and the three ice creams he had to snatch one of the snacks out of the air. "I feel like this is an abuse of time powers just cause you wanted to win a race." He grumbled, already setting to work eating at the ice cream. "So...since you beat us both here and got ice cream, do you know where the Gym is?"