"All right, Radegast, here we are. Let's try not to get in the way of any crazy people in the streets...ah, here we go. Follow me." Touko led her companion around the boulevard facing the sea before taking a turn into the concrete jungle. Soon a long line of would-be customers came into view. "Ah, they're in stock today! Excellent! Let's get in line and hope there's enough for us...and with a face like mine, there freaking better be~" The presence of a Champion opened many doors, to be sure.
Elder hanged by Radegast’s side. The Haunter eyed the skyscrapers suspiciously, as if something about their design bothered the ghost. He evidently did not enjoy the two minutes of waiting inside a pokeball while on the boat. “Lord-Regent, these structures seem oddly vulnerable, and the sheer size would make that vulnerability catastrophic if exploited."
“Not a fan of skyscrapers, Elder?” Radegast queried as he followed Touko with his relaxed, laid-back gait. He then spotted the lineup indicated by the girl he accompanied. “Heh, must be an excellent place if it’s got a lineup like this,” he added to Touko.
"What's up? Never seen towers like these before? There's only so much land space to work with, and digging is hard, so the only direction left to go is up," Touko explained to Radegast and his seemingly bewildered companion. "You fought pretty well, though. They sell these by the dozen, so there's enough for us and our teams." Finally she stepped up to the food truck counter, who seemed suitably impressed at the presence of a Champion.
"Twelve Casteliacones, please." "Y-yes...six hundred Pokédollar, please!" That was just a few small bills out of her electronic wallet, and the machine went to work. "You have to taste it fresh out of the mixer, that's when it's best." The first of the batch would go to Radegast for him to share with Elder, and so on down the line. Everyone who battled would get one, and a few left over were put in a small tub, tightly sealed for convenience. "Have a great day, champ!"
Radegast produced a wallet from the pouch on his belt. From the wallet, he produced six bills. He then prodded each of the four other pokeballs on his belt to inform the rest of the crew that they had arrived for ice cream. It was then that he noticed Touko had paid for the cones with her electronic wallet. “Wait, I thought I was forking over for the cones?” He offered to hand Touko the bills.
Rage was the first to emerge. “BRING THY CHALLENGE TO MY TASTE BUDS, FRIEND-RADEGAST, SO I MAY CONQUER IT WITH INFINITE HASTE!”
“Here ya go buddy, don’t eat it too fast now, you hear?” Radegast handed Rage a cone.
“I SEE NO REASON TO NOT EAT THESE EDIBLE ITEMS QUICKLY! I WILL NOT BE STOPPED BY MERE CONES SHAPED LIKE WEAK CREATURES- OOH! AUGH! THIS CONE FIGHTS BACK! I FEEL A DEEP CHILL IN MY MIND!”
“Told ya, bud. That’s a brain freeze for ya,” Radegast chuckled as he handed two cones to Elder, and one more to Crystal. The Operative hopped onto one of Elder’s hands and happily ate one of the cones. Radegast shared his own with Suros.
"That was the deal, yes. But it's always handy to have some pocket change, you know?" Touko purred, as once again her plan had worked to perfection. "Your Mankey does seem to rush into things, doesn't he? I'd suggest you take the Gym challenge. If you manage to beat Burgh, your guys should trust you enough to obey your commands all the way to level 40 or so. Levels are just an approximation of a Pokemon's overall strength and experience, though...I've seen some strategies that rely on using low-level monsters to take what should be one-hit knockouts and hit right back. But I'm rambling." A cone for Volcarona, who used psychic power to hold it in place as the bug lapped at it, quickly melting the thing from its intense heat, while Touko savored a chocolate-flavored specimen. "You're strong, but I think you can get even stronger."
“Ah, I getcha,” Radegast gladly handed Touko the bills. In response to the quip about Rage, he replied, “That’s his way.”
At mention of taking the gym challenge and commands, the group fell deathly silent. Radegast’s face seemed suddenly deprived of all emotion. Even Rage was given pause part-way through another large bite from his cone. “Well, that sort of thing is cool for trainers,” Radegast chimed, suddenly breaking the awkward silence. He turned to the others and asked, “Did you guys want to take on this Burgh guy?”
“This wouldn’t change anything?” Crystal asked. Radegast seemed to understand perfectly what Crystal was asking. He shook his head. The silence yet resumed as everyone seemed deep in thought.
"Did...did I strike a nerve? Forgive me," Touko bowed towards Radegast before going back to work on her cone. Haxorus got to enjoy a cold treat in a much more favorable context, as well. "It is a quick and dirty way to get stronger, though, but I get the feeling that that isn't your way, judging from how you reacted."
“Hey, no worries, Touko," Radegast grinned once more, "It’s like I said: we’re… unorthodox.”
"Speaking of unorthodox...you hear that the next block over? Sounds like some kind of block party." Touko's honed ears from spending lots of time in the urban landscape led her to pick out not only the Pokemon in the halls, but also the event that was gathering the attention of quite a few big wigs. Peering around a corner, Touko couldn't believe her eyes. "Oh. My. Arceus. It's Iris. Grand Champion Iris...the leader of the Pokémon Nation! Just a few years ago she was another Gym Leader...what the HELL is going on?"