Emil kept himself from sighing out of relief as Stella walked up to the cashier, ready to pay without complaint. It would seem he hadn't gone too crazy with the amount he'd stacked in his basket, then. That was good, as his purchase would no doubt last him a while as things were; he didn't plan to need more than one ball per capture, after all. Wasting even two on one target would be unsightly, and not something he was willing to let happen. He had prepared enough special balls for most occasions to always keep himself on top of the game no matter what he was trying to catch. The girls however, either didn't seem to share his mindset or only planned to specialize in a limited array of species and Pokémon types, judging by their choices. Well, to each their own. He was going to be the champion before them anyway, they hardly needed to come as prepared as he did.

After thanking Stella for the purchase, Emil noticed that the first one to exit the store was Nerissa, who dashed out right after mentioning she'd be the one to provide the potions this time around. The teen cocked an eyebrow and glanced at Stella with a questioning look. Now what had that been all about? If she was planning to buy potions, why had she ran too the escalator? And did she... truly have enough fortune to afford treating them to anything, much less potions which could - especially when bought in abundance - be quite expensive.

Emil's questions were answered once the older girl returned and proceeded to, without so much as checking if the counter could be used for such purposes, line her purchase out in front of them. 

"There you go, guys. Trust me, you wouldn't be able to drink those spray potions without landing in the Pokemon Center." 

[i]Drink?[/i] Emil repeated in his mind, confused. [i]Was our intention not to buy potions for our Pokémon, not for ourselves? Honestly, this woman...[/i]

Shaking his head, the boy nevertheless picked up one of the bottles he'd offered and turned it around in his hand. And, as he did, the ingredients and affects label happened to catch his eye. Bringing the bottle closer, Emil read through the text and, much to his surprise, found that the drink was indeed drinkable for Pokémon as well - [i]and[/i] it possessed some healing capabilities on the side. In that case, Emil could certainly understand her decision to favor them over the more traditional potions; not only was this choice more healthy, it was twice as useful. He rather liked it. 

"Well thought," Emil commented with an approving nod as he started to pack his own share into his shoulder bag as well. "Although, I will refrain from drinking these Soda Pops. Nutritious water is far closer to what I favor," he explained without being prompted to as he zipped up his bag and subconsciously fixed his hair. His hairdo had no doubt suffered from the earlier running sprint he engaged in, as well as the collision with the... the hooligan.

"Well then, are we done here?" Emil inquired after he believed he was done, at least until he could find a mirror. "We do have a journey to set out for, after all."

Without waiting for a reply, the youngest of the group turned on his heels to make his way to the escalators - only to find a pair of guards closing them down and blocking the way rather effectively. Emil stopped, tilting his head in confusion. 

"Excuse me," he began, trying to get the men's attention in as formal a tone as he could muster. "What seems to be the problem?"

One of the guards turned, glancing at the boy from underneath his cap with indifference. "We're closin' off the escalators. Turned out they were malfunctioning a bit. Better do this before folks get hurt, you hear?" 

"With all due respect, me and my companions used them just now, and they seemed to work fine. We're in a bit of a rush-"

"Not our problem."

And with that, the man turned back around and offered no further word of explanation. Emil scoffed, but turned back around to face the two girls either way, mumbling under his breath. "Someone certainly doesn't get paid to be polite..." He shook his head and then addressed the girls. "I believe this should mean the elevator, then, seeing as they did not have the mind to install regular stairs in this building."

He was about to continue, but before he could do so, he believed he caught a glimpse of a familiar man passing the group by on the other side of the floor. It was the man who had bumped into him earlier, and the mere memory drew the boy's face into a frown. That was three unfortunate events to counter the fortunate three of today. He figured the next one would decide if the day'd turn out to be a good or a bad one.