The restaurant becomes pretty busy at this time of night. The main area is filled with pokemon in groups of two to four. Elle and Gloria are seated at one of the tables in the middle of the floor, having a nice meal while talking and cherishing. They come up with various ideas for the future of their baby once they hatch. The egg is placed in a high-chair between the two ladies. Their conversation gets interrupted when a pachirisu with a bow on one of her ears and in a cyan dress comes up to them opposite of the egg. “Hey,” she begins.
“Ah, Julie!” Gloria says in excitement. “What a surprise. Didn’t know you’d be here tonight.”
“Yeah… Nice little ‘Hello, good to see you, too, Julie.’”
“Hey, Julie,” utters Elle. “What brings you here? Having dinner with someone?”
Julie faces the shiny celebi. “No… I came to see why a certain pokemon hasn’t kept up with me!” She looks to Gloria.
Gloria puts her hand on her chest. “What, me…?”
“Yeah! Where have you been? You’ve ignored my letters, haven’t acknowledged my presence in most things, and barely talk to me anymore.”
Gloria rubs the back of her head. “Sorry, Jul. I’ve been a bit busy, I guess… Elle and I have been preparing for the new baby and all…”
“That doesn’t give you a right to exclude me from the friend group…”
“Relax,” Elle tells her. “She said she was sorry.”
“Yeah,” says Gloria. “It’s not like I’m completely ignoring you.”
Julie crosses her arms. “It’s been months… Geez, you’ve been pushing me off like the runt riolu…”
“Don’t call him that,” Elle orders. “I may not be with him anymore, but that still doesn’t give you any reason to call him a runt… Besides, I want to forget all about him.”
“I wonder what he’s doing now…”
“Oh, he’s over there.” Gloria points to a set of long tables near the bar area. The girls look and notice the riolu jumping from table-to-table, talking to random pokemon.
“What’s he doing…?” asks Julie. “Who are all of those pokemon with him?”
“It’s speed dating.” Both Elle and Julie ask what that is. “Pokemon date each other for a short period of time to see who is compatible. Guess he’s very desperate.”
“Hm…” Elle turns away. Yet, Julie and Gloria watch the event happen from afar. The pokemon of the event shuffle about, pairing themselves with one another before moving onto the next. As mentioned before, the pokemon are fast in their interactions, then go to meet the other. Zach can be seen bouncing around from pokemon-to-pokemon, striking up conversations and making positive comments to boost his chances. Ralph does the same, but includes males in his approach.
Time flies by as the three girls watch on and continue with dinner, aside from Julie. Gloria is already sipping coffee while Elle has her head in her hand and Julie leans against the table’s edge. They see the riolu in the blue bandana make his way to a billboard by a table, wiping his arm. When he goes to look, he freezes.
The billboard shows all the attendees of the event: Faces of the men on the left with the women on top like a sort of pairing/shipping chart. Few of the men have red ‘X’s in their boxes, showing disinterest and rejection from the women while a green checkmark reveals a status of fascination and desire to date further. Zach’s row is filled all the way with all red ‘X’s. He gasps and covers his mouth before sprinting across and bursting into the bathroom. Julie raises her paw to her surprised mouth as she takes notice.
“Oooh,” starts Gloria. “Looks like lover boy didn’t have any luck. What a shame.”
“Gloria,” Elle begins. “Can we please go? I don’t want him to see us if we stay here any longer…”
“All right.” Gloria stands, places money on the check, and waits for Elle as she takes up the egg and exits the restaurant with her. Julie remains as she stands.
Ralph enters the bathroom and looks around. “Zachy…? Are you in here…?” He takes notice of half of a seated jackal pokemon in one of the stalls. He goes over and opens the door to see a crying Zach look up at him with tears occupying his eyes. “You okay…?”
“No,” responds Zach. “I’m not… They hate me…”
“Who hates you…?”
“All the girls… I saw the chart… I’m an unwanted riolu…”
Ralph takes a seat next to him on the floor and wraps his arm around him. “Aw… I’m sorry, Zachy… But, it’s only been one session…There will be others…”
“It’ll be the same… I won’t find anyone…”
“Hey, come on… Don’t think that way…”
“I… just want to be alone, right now… Please…”
Ralph pauses for a moment. “All right… If you insist…” He gets up. “I’ll leave you be for a few minutes. I’m sorry, Zach… I hope you feel better…” The scorbunny makes his way out of the bathroom and back into the restaurant area, where he nearly collides with the pachirisu upon exit. “Oh! Sorry, Ma’am… Didn’t know you were there. Can I help you?”
“I was just trying to find the ladies room,” she says. “No worries.”
“Should be over there.” Ralph points to the door to the girl’s bathroom a few doors from the men’s room.
“Thanks…” Ralph nods before heading off, yet Julie remains where she stands, listening to the riolu sob in the washroom.
***
Not sure how much time has passed… I’d say maybe, ten minutes? Anyway, the event is nearing to a close as some pokemon leave the restaurant; with their new dates, some alone. Zach exits the bathroom and wipes his eyes, trying to collect himself and press on. He takes one deep breath in and out before turning to his right, only to be stopped by the pachirisu, who stands before him. “Oh,” he begins. “Sorry, didn’t mean to get into your way.”
“No worries,” Julie tells him. “You aren’t. Are you okay?”
Zach turns his head away. “Yeah… Fine… Why wouldn’t I be…?”
“You look upset is why.”
He looks back at her. “I’m fine… Just needed to wash my face in the bathroom…”
“Hey.” Ralph comes up to the two pokemon and looks to Zach. “How you doing? Are you feeling any better?” Zach mumbles a “Mhm,” to him. The scorbunny then turns to the pachirisu. “Oh, hello again.”
Zach looks at Ralph. “You know this pachirisu?”
“We ran into each other earlier,” Julie tells him. Zach turns back to her. “How is the speed date event for you both?”
Zach tilts his head to the side. “Wait… I haven’t seen you around here… I didn’t see your face on the poster, either.”
“I… was a late entry… They forgot to put me up. I was really hoping to mingle with some men. You two have any luck?”
Zach turns away for a third time, with drooped ears. “Not really…”
“Aw, that’s a shame… Hey, since we both didn’t end up with pokemon, did you want to hang out?”
“He sure would!” Ralph butts in. Zach quickly turns to him. “Come on, Zachy. Not like you’re doing anything else tonight, right?”
“Uh, no…?”
“Go on. Spend some time together! I’m going to head back at the apartment. Have fun, you two.” He breaks away and leaves the two pokemon.
“Quite a friend,” the pachirisu comments. “So, your name is ‘Zachy,’ huh?”
“It’s ‘Zach,’ really,” Zach tells her. “I’m sure you know me already.”
“Yes. The Rambunctious Riolu. I’m Julie.”
“Julie,” repeats Zach. “Such a lovely name.”
The pachirisu holds her paw to her mouth, blushing. “Thank you. How about we grab a drink together. You cool with that?”
“I… suppose…” He escorts for the bar counter. The two spend the rest of the evening having drinks and talking.
