HZ008: Difference between revisions

In the middle of the night, [[Roy]] and {{TP|Roy|Fuecoco}} wake up and stumble upon [[Friede]] and [[Murdock]] in the kitchen. Murdock is about open a secret cupboard when Friede senses someone coming. Friede sends Roy back to bed and tells Murdock that the coast is clear, and Murdock checks a plate of donuts. Sadly, they were uneaten, so Murdock and Friede have them instead. Friede tells Murdock not to throw in the towel, with {{p|Quaxly}} listening in on their conversation just outside the door.

The next morning, the [[Rising Volt Tacklers]] have breakfast. They notice [[Nidothing|Dot]]'s empty chair, and Friede points out that she's never been interested in eating with the rest of the Rising Volt Tacklers, her diet usually being nutrient-rich gummies. Nevertheless, Murdock plans to make something tasty enough for Dot to like. [[Mollie]] notices that there have been food shortages lately, particularly sugar, [[Moomoo Milk]], butter, and dried fruit, leading the girls to believe that someone's been making sweets behind everyone's backs. They immediately suspect Murdock, and when Friede tells them that blaming won't solve anything, they start to grow suspicious of him too. Friede and Murdock nervously agree to go to a town to refill their supplies, even at the cost of delaying their journey.

While waiting for the [[Brave Asagi]] to reach the town, [[Liko]] attends an online class. She exchanges a few words with [[Ann]] before the lesson begins, with both of them being excited at the upcoming [[Nidothing]] livestream, the first one in its kind in a while. [[Roy]], meanwhile, attends his own online class at the wing deck. Once the class is over, Friede approaches him as he tries to look up in the sky to see if he can spot {{p|Rayquaza}}. Friede tells him to look higher, and then laughs when Roy falls over trying to do so, telling him that Rayquaza lives high up in the stratosphere, higher than even the highest of clouds. He tells Roy that they aim to reach unexplored places like that, only to see that Roy has gone to see the approaching land. They dock at the town, and Friede proposes rock-papers-scissors, like the Rising Volt Tacklers usually do to see whoever has to watch the ship. Everyone throws paper except Roy, who throws rock, making him the one to stay behind with the ship. As the rest go to get food from the town, Roy asks Liko to cover for him. Liko happily accepts Roy's offer, thinking now she'll have time to watch Nidothing's livestream. Roy follows the Rising Volt Tacklers into town, amazed by the new people and Pokémon he's seeing for the first time. Mollie tells everyone to buy only the essentials, since their budget is too tight for impulse purchases, while Roy plans to ask people around if they've seen Rayquaza.

Meanwhile, Liko does chores around the Brave Asagi; feeding the Pokémon, hanging the laundry out to dry, feeding the trash to {{p|Muk}}, and scrubbing the deck. Afterwards, she tries to get a peek in the secret cupboard she heard about from Roy before he left. When Liko opens the cupboard, however, she gets a surprise curtesy of {{p|Alcremie}}, who attacks her and covers her face in cream. Upset by this experience, Liko wipes herself off just as Murdock calls in, causing her panic and frantically apologize. Murdock is confused for a moment before telling Liko that there are lunchboxes on the ship to eat in case she gets hungry. Liko thanks him before hanging up, thinking she's not cut out of secrets and sneaking around. Liko and [[Ludlow]] get their lunchboxes, and Liko notices a third one for Dot, which Liko decides to bring to her.

In town, a salesman using a cloth to shine his {{p|Spoink}}'s pearl, claiming it can make anything shine. Friede wants to avoid impulse buying like Mollie said, but Roy asks the man about Rayquaza. The salesman tries to tempt Roy into buying the cloth first, and when Friede tries to pull him away, the vendor mentions that [[Amethio|a young man]] with [[Zir|two]] [[Conia|accomplices]] also asked about a {{Shiny|black}} Rayquaza recently. Realizing they could be the [[Explorers]], Friede caves in and buys the cloth in exchange for more information. Meanwhile, Liko is excited for Nidothing's livestream in a few minutes. The livestream starts slightly late of the scheduled time and Nidothing gets ready to read the comments left by other streamers. Eventually she gets to Liko's comment, to the latter's shock. Nidothing herself, who is actually Dot under the costume, gets very embarrassed that Liko's comment is about wanting to befriend her. Overwhelmed by Nidothing actually reading her comment, Liko lets out a loud embarrassed cry that rings out throughout the ship, shocking Nidothing. Nidothing, trying her best to contain herself, says to change the environment and that making friends is like [[Pokémon battle]]s. This inspires Liko to try even harder to befriend Dot.

Meanwhile, Roy and Fuecoco encounter a {{pkmn2|wild}} {{p|Spearow}}. Putting his [[HZ007|previous]] {{pkmn|training}} into use, Roy has Fuecoco dodge Spearow's {{m|Peck}} at the right time and defeats it with {{m|Ember}}. With the battle won, Friede and Roy head back to the ship. At sunset, Roy tries to thank Dot for the helpful advice about Rayquaza, Liko having told him that Dot spoke to her earlier. After Roy tells Liko about the wild Spearow he battled, he suggests that they have a battle. Liko initially thinks Roy wants to battle in front of Dot's door before he disagrees. However, after remembering Nidothing's advice about her comment, Liko decides to battle where they are after all, prompting Dot shout at her like she did earlier. Roy, excited to hear Dot's voice for the first time, tells Dot about the cloth and the wild Spearow, but she is not interested in it. Liko asks what Dot is interested in, and the latter says that she is into "an ancient [[Poké Ball]] housing a black Rayquaza"; in other words, mystical things no one has seen before. Noticing Roy's ancient Poké Ball as well as her own pendant, Liko remarks to Dot that they might be closer than she thinks as she and Roy share a laugh. When Liko tells Roy about Alcremie attacking her with cream, Roy gets excited and rushes towards the kitchen to get some too. Liko thanks Dot before walking off. Though she still considers the others on the ship annoying, Liko's kindness still left its mark on Dot as he reads a message from Murdock about a new recipe book he's acquired. At night, Murdock is ecstatic to notice that Dot has finally taken the donuts he lrftcin the cupboard.