#aticayam

After settling down again by the vents, Touya popped open his drink and took a refreshing sip of his soda. He looked out the window behind him and sure enough, the rain really didn’t look like it would be stopping any time soon. At least he was starting to dry up a bit. 

“So, Leaf, are you from around here? This is actually my first time traveling to Hoenn, but I probably still should have known better than to go out training during the monsoon season...” Touya laughed a little at his own cluelessness and rubbed the back of his neck. 

The training grounds weren’t too far away from the place he was staying, but with weather worsening each second, Touya was more focused on finding any sort of shelter to wait out the storm. After a few more minutes of searching, Touya found himself bursting through the doors of a PokeMart, which was packed with many other soaked trainers who seemed to have the same idea. 

After returning Cornelius to his pokeball, to his dismay, Touya decided to browse the store for anything he could use to dry himself off -- or even a change of clothes. After some browsing, he decided to remove his hat, jacket, and shoes for his own comfort. Arranging his clothes over an air vent, he took a deep breath of humid air. At least his pokemon were comfortable inside their pokeballs. 

Squatting on the floor next to the vent with rainwater dripping from the tips of his hair to his knees, he prayed the storm would abate soon. He supposed these were also the pains of not carrying around any flying types that could easily create a gust of wind. Diane might be able to dry him off with her wings, but she was much too large for the crowded little PokeMart. 

Lost in his own thoughts, Touya didn’t even notice when a stranger handed him a towel. When he looked up at the source of the kind gesture, he was surprised to see a fellow trainer and not a PokeMart employee. After drying himself off a bit, Touya swung the towel over his shoulder and stood up to meet the trainer.