Chapter 24: Welcome to Castelia City!

Baal opened his eyes again to find himself within a bed. Glancing around the room, he noticed a computer on a desk at the far end of the bedroom he was in. The bed was made of some sort of precious metal and had a very intricate design to it. Baal got out of bed and glanced around the room. He looked up and noticed that this room was very spacious and quite large being two-storied.

'This thing gives me penthouse vibes' He thought as he noticed the eloquent piano on the second floor. He moved towards the curtains in this room and opened them...

What faced him was probably the most magnificent view he had seen in the past million years, apart from the cliffs he named. It was a fully developed city and he could admire what seemed to be multiple docks that had all types of people socialising and smiling. Some fishermen were selling their catch of Magikarp and blue-striped Basculin...some even had unique fish like Alomomola and Horsea's! His Aura seemed to pulse out as his excitement got the better of him. The Aura of the Lord of the Ocean really shouldn't have been let loose as all of the pokemon across the world momentarily kneeled or lowered their head.

Baal rapidly pulled in his Aura and concealed it as all of the pokemon returned to their usual activities albeit with a tense look on their faces. After a while, calm returned to the world as people passed it off as a weird phenomenon. Glancing down to the street below, he saw the bustle of the city! People dressed in all different kinds of clothing moving in different directions, hurrying for work. A sudden feeling of excitement filled Baal as he rushed over to the wardrobe in his room.

Fwoosh!

The doors of his wardrobe slid to the sides as the clothes within them now emerged. Baal grinned before a light encased him as he whispered,

"Let's change things up for today...I'm thinking...Black."

Slam!

The doors of his penthouse suite swung open as Baal emerged with his hair cut short, unlike the long hair that Acnologia wore. Baal was 6'1 and dressed in a crisp, ironed black button-up shirt. Under the shirt's collar, a jet-black tie draped flawlessly. A black blazer complimented the all-black aesthetic he was going for. He also wore black trousers with polished, Onyx-black lace-tied shoes.

Around his shoulders draped a Black overcoat in a very 'One-piece Admiral' fashion. His piercing cerulean eyes shimmered and his blue hair darkened to an almost indistinguishable black shade.

....

Baal's soft steps hit the reception area's floor as people's eyes flickered towards him. His eyes only focused on exiting the hotel he was in. However, before he could leave an attendant walked up to him and introduced himself,

"Excuse me, sir, welcome to The Noble. Your girlfriend and a green-haired friend booked you in here yesterday. You must've had a great night out drinking ey?" He said with a teasing grin on his face, " She asked me to just remind you that she went out shopping but she'd be back in the afternoon. Have a good day sir and please enjoy your stay in Castelia City."

....

The attendant then walked away as I smiled, now understanding our cover story. I'm sure Xerneas will have questions for me and just the thought gives me a headache.

Suddenly, I realised how he just described Xerneas though, My Girlfriend?! Wh- No. Errr Maybe. Ahhhh I just don't know at this point. I like her. I like her a lot...but I just don't know how to do these things.

After all, the last time I confessed to someone, I got stabbed in the back...literally. I just...I guess I'm just scared about what could happen. The last time I opened my heart to someone, that happened. I can see that she's actually trying and she's waiting for me. I have to forget about Natalia, not every woman is like her. Xerneas' putting in the effort and I'm just here... P*ssying out.

I chuckled a bit as I stepped out of the hotel, after all, even Thalia said that I should just go and do what I want. I smiled confidently as I made up my mind about what I wanted to do.

I was in THE fucking Castelia city! One of the most diverse cities in all of pokemon! I felt a childish form of giddiness as I glanced at the beautiful view of the ocean that blessed my eyes. Yes. I, the god of the oceans felt like a child. What's the point of being a god, an adult or any form of mature position if you can't act like a kid once in a while?

I stepped slowly towards one of the maps and it showed me the layout of the place... Hmm...I think I'll go and grab a castelia cone and sit on one of the piers, probably prime pier. Yes, That'll be today's plan.

....

Baal smiled and said hello to every person that passed by him, making people think that he was some sort of country bumpkin that had just come to the city. Well... Technically, he was. Millenia on a primal world counts as the countryside, right?

Nonetheless, Baal turned off of Oceanfront Road and onto the street that CasteliaCone was on. He stepped towards the ice cream parlour, still amazed. He saw all different skin tones, articles of clothing and pokemon that were styled differently even though they were the same pokemon species. Most of the pokemon that passed by him from far away didn't notice who he was but those that got within a meter of him felt a weird power over them as they lowered their eyes. It wasn't exactly a pressure, simply the influence of a greater being than them. They lowered their heads in acceptance of this greater being. Even after all the years that passed from Baal's time, The weak still looked up to the strong.

Now, however, even though that rule still held true...It didn't matter. There were things so much more important than being one of the strongest pokemon on the planet. Making friendships, understanding pokemon - working together, tasting delicacies and exploring new places...Even art had a great appreciation in this day and age! Baal smiled as he noticed that there wasn't a line outside of the shop so he moved towards the store and smiled as he greeted the clerks. The clerk at the counter smiled back,

"What can I do for you today sir?"

"Yes, erm, I'm very new to the city so whatever is your best seller - I'll have that" Baal smiled.

They smiled as they replied that his cone was coming right up.

....

"There you go sir, that'll be 50 PokeDollars" The clerk smiled.

Baal's face suddenly darkened as he realised that something existed now that didn't back then... Money. Baal laughed slightly as he glanced at the clerk, "I'm kind of tight on cash, do you guys accept water stones?"

"Sir, please, you must be joking. That'll be 50 PokeDollars" The clerk insisted, " or else I'm going to have to call the Authorities"

Abruptly though, someone interrupted the clerk,

"Sir I can pay for him, here are 50 PokeDollars and an extra 25 for the troubles."

Baal turned to face the man and apologised for the inconvenience he caused him before he actually noticed who it was... It was a man wearing a fashionable suit that exuded the aura of a noble. He had light steel blue hair and his eyes had the same light steel blue colour. He wore interesting rings on his fingers and had a similarly confident smile on his face...

'Fuck, it's steven stone!' Baal cursed internally as his face didn't reflect his thoughts.

"Thank you man, I'm kinda new here and I forgot to go and change my currency. I've travelled a very, very long way and it's my first time in Unova, " Baal lied with a straight face as they both walked off with their ice creams, "I'm Baal, nice to meet you."

Steven smiled at Baal and introduced himself as Steven from the Hoenn Region. He was a pokemon trainer with a bit of work in the city but he had the next few days off. Baal insisted to go and get some money to repay him but Steven waved him off saying that he wasn't short of money.

Not many people of the younger generation would know the name steven strange, after all, it had been a while since he gave up the title of Champion. He left Hoenn to get stronger and improve the bond between him and his pokemon.

Finally, They both reach Prime Pier and grabbed a bench as Steven showed a newfound interest in this person named Baal,

"So Baal, what do you do?" Steven asked

"Eheh, currently I'm unemployed. I know that sounds super disheartening but I'm planning on applying to a couple of jobs around the city. After all, that is why I came here," Baal said as his mind kept spinning to make up more of the story before grinning in embarrassment, "My girlfriend however is lucky, her family is kind of wealthy and so she's gone shopping for the morning. I just woke up late."

Steven nodded as he didn't judge Baal's life so far, he thought that a person needed friends from all different walks of life to truly understand more about the world.

"I'm a pokemon trainer and I left my last job to get stronger. I've just come from the Sinnoh region, I'm actually quite strong you know" Steven said exaggerating as he stood up with his hands on his hips and his face upturned, "But their champion, Cynthia is actually really tough"

Baal's face was amazed as he truly was baffled by the fact that Steven had fought Cynthia, even though he lost. He would've liked to watch that battle.

"Oh yes before I forget, I do still need to pay you back," Baal spoke as he reached into his deep overcoat pockets forming a pure water stone the size of a tennis ball.

"I found this thing on my travels here and I don't have any pokemon so I hope this will help you in your battles in future," Baal continued. He revealed what was in his pocket...a crystal that was pure white with no impurities in it. The symbol for water was extremely clear within the crystal.

Steven's face lit up as he looked at the stone, "Baal, do you know how precious this thing is? It looks like a high-grade, wait, no...This thing's a Peak-grade water stone and one of the purest evolutionary stones that I have ever seen!"

'Well of course it's the purest, It was made by the Lord of the ocean' Baal smiled as he thought.