Indigo received the parcel; it was simple and nondescript, a cardboard box with a lid on it. Lifting the lid and sifting through the white tissue paper revealed the book and pendant Margo had excitedly told him about earlier.
It was simultaneously uplifting and utterly crushing as Indigo quietly took the contents of the box and placed them in his backpack with care. He swallowed. They had seen Ho-oh together...
"I just need to get out of here," he murmured as he felt his eyes begin to glisten. Packing his things up, he headed outside the center to release Kovi, Mimi, and Neon.
"Viiii!" The Vivillion let out a pleased cry as he stretched his wings.
"Buuuun!" Mimi was immediately lifting her arms, wanting to be picked up, which Indigo obliged to. Neon beeped and tried to wriggle in next with Mimi, who pouted.
"Easy, I can carry both of you," Indigo assuaged, though it was a lie. They were both too big to be held together, but Neon didn't need much convincing as they were a floating ball of steel. The weightlessness of being lifted didn't necessarily appeal to the Magnemite. Rather it was just the constant touch of something warm and organic. They were content to receive pets while Indigo hefted Mimi with his other arm.
"I heard there's a pokemon groomer somewhere around here. I think Neon needs a better polishing," Indigo quipped up, trying to be productive, cheerful, engaged. Anything but hurt and disappointed. "Annnd–– oh! Some of those trainers had some really cool effects coming from their pokeballs during the contest... I wonder if I can find out where they sell those." He was off to explore.
Shopping, consumption, sales–– these were all things Indigo could jump into, leaving his mind at relative ease. He wasn't one to mope about indoors, and very much preferred the distractions of the city. There were a plethora of things to do in Jimmal, and thankfully, many cost nothing.
Indigo set out by going to a trendy location- a trainer park with an orchid for picking berries. Berries were common, and Indigo had gone on his fair share of trips as a child in elementary school, but he had never brought pokemon. Would their first experience berry picking be similar to his own? I think Kovi, Neon, and Mimi are gonna be well behaved, gotta watch out for Hawka. But the berry orchard went swimmingly enough. By the end of the hour, he and his pokemon had filled their bellies with berries, and it was time to move on to something else.
Shopping was up next. Indigo had earned a some cash after the contest, and while he was normally good at saving money, all he wanted to do was get some retail therapy amd splurge. Fortunately the ball capsule seals were pretty cheap, and Indigo didn't need to spend as much money as he originally thought.
The selection was impressive-- there were seals that errupted with colored flames, seals that released electricity, even artificial shapes such as hearts or stars were able to shower out of the pokeball when the pokemon was released. They were going to have to rework their entrances now, he thought, but there was a smile on his face. After purchasing a few different seals, they were off again.
Indigo busied himself with different things for the rest of the day, mostly wandering around the city and looking for interesting spots. He found a crepe shop that had the most divine pastries, a trainer park with all sorts of reinforced playground equipment for pokemon and trainers, and a good grooming service for Neon, where they showed Indigo the optimal wax for polishing a pokemon like Neon.
By 5 pm however, Indy and his pokemon were exhausted. The day had been fun, but tiring. It was time to head back to the center and wind down for the day. Making it back to their room in the pokemon center, Indigo and his pokemon promptly fell asleep.
