Pokémon: Worlds Divided

Mauville City was relaxed and luxurious. It was filled with markets in almost every direction, and there seemed to be something for sale at every corner. The biggest hit was the massive shopping mall and game corner.

"Man! This place is thee destination before heading toward Rusboro City." Leon and his siblings first went to the mall.

As you would expect, the mall was packed with people coming and going back and forth. They checked the mall map for directions. The first thing they did was head toward the mess hall. 

They ordered sub sandwiches, chips, and a drink. This place reminded Leon of Subway from his previous world, except Pokémon meat seemed to be on the menu instead of regular animals. 

"Mmm! This steak sub sandwich is simply the best I've had in a while!" If Lars was standing, he would probably be dancing because of how good it was.

"This chicken sandwich is so good. It's worth the spend for how much they give you." Leona decided to put chips on her sandwich to give it extra flavor.

"The steak sandwich with jalapeno cheese and green peppers is something else!" Leon had also gotten a steak sandwich.

Twenty minutes later, they were sitting in their seat rubbing their stomachs. 

"That was so good, you guys should feel energized after that meal." Leon stood up and stretched.

"I feel energized, but mostly sleepy." Lars stood up and stretched as well.

"Mhm! We should go shopping for the things we came here for. We should check into an inn while we're at for the day."

Leona was eager to get the super convenient Storage Backpack. She seemed to be the most energized and wanted to buy clothes and much, much more.

"Alright, let's go. I saw the Mall map where they sell such high-class items." The trio stood up and placed the food trays up before leaving.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at a large branded store called Pokéoli Shops. 

"Oh, my gosh, there are so many amazing clothes and convenient travel wear!" Leona shivered slightly, and her eyes sparkled with joy.

"What the...where did these bumpkins come from?"

Just then, a voice called out from behind them. When they glanced back, they noticed three boys with disdainful gazes and smirks.

They were well-dressed, and one could tell that they came from well-off families or, at least, had decent backgrounds.

"Who are you calling a country bumpkin?! What we do and want is none of your business!" Leona was very annoyed seeing these arrogant kids, why couldn't they mind their business?

"I was talking to you three back-alley brats who haven't seen the world. Some people shouldn't be in certain places, this high-class location doesn't welcome the poor." 

The boy in the middle with the bowl haircut spoke in an arrogant tone. Leon saw his hairstyle and thought it resembled a Team Galactic grunt, except his hair was black. 

"Ignore these clowns, let's go shopping." Leon didn't want to waste words with a bunch of spoiled nobodies.

"Clown?! Who are you calling a clown?!" The chili bowl-headed youth went into a rage, who did these commoners think they were?

Leon and his brother and sister didn't respond to him at all before entering the store. Even so, Leona cast a glance back and shot them a disdainful look before letting out a scoff.

"How dare they?!" 

"Lumis, they just ignored you like air. Who do they think they are?"

"Mhm, we can't let this slide. They're just a bunch of country bumpkins—who are in and over their heads."

Lumis's expression darkened before saying. "Come, let's go and see what they buy; they're just a bunch of window shoppers."

At the front desk, Leon and his siblings went straight to the point. They asked about the Storage Backpack. 

The clerk looked at them in surprise for a moment before responding. 

"Yes, we keep these particular items in the back of the store. Are you here to see them or..."

"Haha! These bumpkins want to buy a Storage backpack. Why are you wasting this lady's time?" Once again, the chili bowl cut-haired boy stood behind them and mocked them.

"Why does this monkey keep jumping around everywhere we go? Shoo, we don't have any bananas!" 

Leon turned with a smirk before waving his hand as if waving away a fly. 

"Pfft! Hahaha!" Lars couldn't help but laugh. When he got a closer look at the youth, he somewhat resembled a crazed monkey.

"Hehe, I'd like to see what poor piece of trash can buy a storage bag!" The chili bowl cut-haired youth's expression turned red and livid.

He wished he could attack these three but that would get him banned from the mall.

"What an ugly hairstyle, it looks just like a bowl, haha!" Lars concluded what the narrative already knew. 

"Brat, I want to see just how confident you are!? Go, buy your storage bag!" His expression turned cold.

These guys were too much. His mom styled his hair like this, which was no different from cursing his mother!

The clerk just stood there and listened because she was quite speechless. However, when she saw the sibling's clothes, she did have some judgments. 

Despite this, she didn't judge them. After all, when she acquired this job; she was taught not to judge a book by its cover.

"Are you guys planning to buy bags? If so, what grade would you like?" The clerk scratched her head and asked.

"Jessica, right? We would like the highest grade for each of them." Leon saw her name tag, so he naturally knew her name. 

"T-The highest grade..." Jessica was stunned. Not many people would buy the highest graded Storage backpack. 

"Hahaha! These back alley clowns are trying to posture in public!" The bowl-cut youth laughed in disdain.

 Leona wondered if such people were so bored, that they would mess with random people. 

"Right this way." Jessica had another employee take the register before leading them toward the back.

They followed her to the rear, where they were taken to a room stocked with numerous bags. The initial area contained Low-level backpacks, the next area featured Mid-level backpacks, and the final area showcased High-level backpacks.

"Nice! We'd like the safety mechanic and the link function add-ons as well." Leona's eyes lit up when she saw the abundance of backpacks.

There were different types: normal backpacks with the standard color palette, some in red, blue, green, yellow, orange, white, and black, and backpacks with different Pokémon on them, along with the Pokémon's color scheme.

"I want this Gardevoir backpack!" Leona took one look and made her decision. This backpack naturally had the same colors as Gardevoir, which were green, white, 

"I'll take the black, blue, and white backpack with all the add-ons." Lars, however, didn't want a bag with a Pokémon on it. 

Leon paused for a while; he knew he didn't require a backpack. Regrettably, it would seem strange if he didn't carry one. If he were to abruptly produce several items—people would definitely consider it odd.

"Give me this black, red, and white backpack with all the add-ons." Leon chose the three-color palette backpack like his brother.

Jessica didn't waste any time. The trio grabbed the bags they wanted and walked toward the front desk.

"These poor fakes are back. I wanna see just how you can afford such pricey items." The bowl-cut youth glared fiercely at these three.

"What? This beggar is still here? Dude, we don't have any bananas, why don't you scram!" Lars looked at the bowl-cut youth as if he were looking at some bothersome mosquito. 

"Keep posturing, we'll see how long you can continue to act!" Veins could be seen coming out of the bowl-cut youth's head by this point. These three had intolerable mouths, but how long could they act for?

"Hmph! They can talk trash now, but we'll see the truth soon." His buddy off to the side sneered and crossed his arms.

Jessica began adding the add-on to the bags; this process took ten minutes. Leon and his sibling already told Jessica that they were paying separately.

"Each bag with the add-ons and taxes; the grand total is ₱10,000,321." Jessica checked their expression as she said this.

"Alright." All three of them paid the toll much to the bowl-cut youth's shock.

"That's impossible!" The bowl-cut expression turned green with envy.

Despite coming from a rich background, he wasn't the rich one. His parents wouldn't buy him such an expensive bag, if anything; they would buy him a low-grade backpack.

No doubt, ten million Pokédollars was an astronomical figure that his parent wouldn't spend so wildly. This was especially so with the auction coming up two months from now. 

Before everyone's eyes, Leona placed her wheeled suitcase into her backpack.

"Oh, my, gosh! This thing is amazing!" Leona had used a retinal scan on the bag, her fingerprint, and saliva to register herself as the owner.

There was a special code within the upper interior part of the bag. This was the code that enabled a connection between one's Storage backpack and Pokénav, or dex.

"What a convenient tool. I no longer need to carry my item around." Lars also placed his things into the Storage bag.

"You beggars, how could you guys have that much money?! I've never seen you guys before, what family are you from?"

The bowl-cut youth's expression was green with envy. Greed flashed through his eyes for a moment.

"Ignore this crazed monkey, let's go." Leon waved his hand and thanked Jessica before leaving.

'Damn it! You just wait! We'll see how long you can enjoy those bags!' A glint of ruthlessness flashed through the bowl-cut youth's eyes.

Both his lackeys only grinned, they knew what would come next.

... ...

"Jeez! How could we run into an idiot like that? Some random spoiled brat came over and started bothering us for nothing." Leona was beyond annoyed being looked down upon. 

"Some people think too highly of themselves. That's until they realize that there is a person beyond people and a sky beyond skies." Lars recalled this saying from a book he had read a while back.

"Let's not think about those side characters. Let's check into a hotel for the day and check out the Game Corner afterward."

Leon knew you could win great prizes at the Game Corner, such as strong TMs. He wasn't sure what TMs they could buy, but he'd find out soon enough.