Some more battles later found the two, the growing size of Duri's team and Fuyuhiko's own team camping in the woods between Arabesque Town and Lateral Town. The Barikohru and Doryuzu, which he had named Smiley and Happy respectively, were getting along with the rest of his team, and that was something that came as a relief to both trainers.

"This is really tasty!" Fuyuhiko smiled as he ate the curry the other had made. 

"Oh I just mixed some berries in with some instant ramen I had brought from home," Duri sheepishly smiled while adjusting his glasses. "Curry ramen is a favourite dish back home, after all."

"I mean, we do have ramen and curry back home, but I never thought to mix them together! Genius!"

"Satoshi and Gou were the same way," Duri laughed, stirring the food a bit more before giving seconds to the Pokemon, including Fuyuhiko's final 2 members, Kisetsu the Mebukijika and Hayabusa the Rotom. Both seemed to have taken a liking to Duri, mainly due to the food, but Fuyuhiko had that strange feeling that there was more to it. Huh. 

"Anyway, 4 of the six you were hoping to catch are down, right?" he asked Duri. 

"Yep, so it just leaves 2 more Pokemon," Duri sighed. "But honestly, with the streak we have right now..." 

"Right," Fuyuhiko sighed as well. "I forgot about that for a minute there. We've been quite unlucky on that aspect, haven't we?" 

"The Pokemon basically hightailed it the moment they saw us, so I doubt we're going to get that lucky again," Duri admitted. "But hey, 4 out of six isn't a bad number. At least we have enough to take down Team Alpha if needed."

Fuyuhiko frowned slightly, but then offered, "Hey, maybe we can take a detour before Arabesque. I know some spots where wild Pokemon tend to gather." 

Boy was he glad he listened in on Satoshi, Gou and Shigeru's rants about this forest when he showed up for meetings. It was coming in handy now!

"Nah it's fine. We need to meet up with the other members of the team and get more info on Hiro and Team Alpha right?" Duri shook his head. 

"I'm sure they would understand," he protested. "Come on, this place is beautiful. Even I can't deny that. Whatever time we can get for relaxation is priceless." 

"I mean, I get what you mean," Duri sighed. "But we should work first, y'know." 

"Trust me, pushing yourself won't help anyone," Fuyuhiko said. "I've done it one too many times, and it didn't end well." 

"Oh really? How bad are we talking here?" Duri blinked. 

"Well, it's more of the others getting on my case," he shuddered slightly remembering them basically giving him the death glare. It was downright scary. Never again, he had sworn after that one death glare. 

Duri chuckled, "Oppa and the others do get on my case too, so you're not alone in that department." 

He snorted, "Well, yeah, cause it's bad for you." 

"I could say the same to you!" Duri laughed. 

Fuyuhiko snorted, but then he blinked as out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something, "Hey, is it just me, or are those 2 Pokemon coming over?" 

"Hm?" Duri looked up from his meal, squinting before his eyes widened. "Are those a Mahomil and  Fuwaride?"

"I mean, we are between Lateral and Arabesque, so Ghost and Fairy types are normal around here," Fuyuhiko mused. 

"Maho!!" the little one floated over and smiled as it looked at Duri's curry. "Maho?" 

"You want to try some?" Duri blinked. 

"Maho!" it nodded happily, while the Fuwaride simply floated in and took some for itself. 

"Alright, here we go," Duri gave it a spoon of the curry, and it smiled at the taste, "Maho!" 

"This is so cool!" Duri gushed. "Mahomil are so cute!!!" 

You're cuter, Fuyuhiko's mind corrected, and he flushed at that thought. Really, hormones? He hated them for a GOOD reason.

"Mil mil!" it then pointed to its head, and Duri blinked, but picked up on its meaning, "You want to evolve?"

"Maho!" it smiled. 

"Huh, I don't have much, but here," he took a strawberry decoration from his bag. "I brought it just in case I needed it." 

Crazy preparation skills too! Woah!

Once he gave it to the little one, it flew up and down with the purest smile on its face. Fuyuhiko could hear his heart melt at that look. Kami-sama he was turning out like Mukuro! Stop it brain! Stop it! 

"I'm glad you like it too," Duri smiled, and he picked up the little one as he began to twirl around, something he found mesmerizing mainly due to the wide grin on his face. He barely registered the evolution, and Duri catching it, but was only brought back to reality by a nudge. 

Looking down, he saw Natsuri giving him a smirk that he glared back at them for. Seriously, he loved Natsuri, and the Tairetsu was his best Pokemon, but Natsuri did rub it in for fun often! 

"Ita ita?" it mischievously asked him, and he glared back, "No, Natsuri, I have no clue what you're talking about." 

"Iteta ita?" the other 5 echoed from behind their leader, making him deadpan, "Not you guys too, it's already a mess when I have to deal with one-" 

"Fuyuhiko? What's wrong?" Duri's voice made him turn over to see the Mawhip now joining the others while the Fuwaride just... floated there. "You okay?" 

"Y-Yeah!" he ignored how red his face was. "I-I'm fine!" 

"Olu olu?" Akira looked up from her position on his lap. 

"Nothing, Akira, go back to sleep," he told the baby, who nodded before drifting back to sleep. 

"She really trusts you," Duri offhandedly said. 

"She does? How can you tell?" he asked. 

"Semo has a Lucario, but it was hard for him at the beginning to deal with all the tension it gave him," Duri explained. "Trust issues and all that. It took a while before he finally opened up." 

"Oh yeah, I think I remember hearing about that," Fuyuhiko nodded. 

"So I guess it should have been proof that you're a good person," Duri sheepishly admitted. "S-Sorry about my early judgement, really." 

"Hey, you already apologised," Fuyuhiko reassured him. "We're cool now. Anyway, did you catch the Mawhip? I wasn't paying much attention, really." 

Duri nodded, "Yeah, and the Fuwaride too, since it seemed like it wanted me to be its trainer. So six Pokemon have been caught, and we can continue onto Arabesque Town... T-Though... I-If you want to take some detours, I-I'm fine with it." 

Fuyuhiko's heart swelled at that, and he grinned despite the flush, "G-Get ready for some fun then, Duri!" 

He was going to make this trip unforgettable!