It's a little strange to be awake so early without a battle to prepare for, but now that he's up, it's actually pretty nice. No crowds, hardly anyone around at all other than the two of them (and Gremlin of course, and Ordelia the Eevee perched on Felix's shoulder).

Under other circumstances he might pull his hand back at this ridiculous display of childish energy, but...there's no one else around to see them, and Dimitri looks so happy, so Felix lets him swing their hands to his heart's content, even if he's not actively participating.

"I haven't. Don't tell me this one is supposedly built around a giant Bellsprout, too." But when Dimitri glances over, Felix is smirking--teasing, not arguing.

"What." Felix's sense of humor is obviously nonexistent, he does not joke ever. Clearly. But he responds with a light elbow nudge.

A faint gleam appears in Felix's eye at the mention of legendary Pokemon. "Is that so? Intriguing. Other than these fairy tales of yours, what else do you expect we'll find there?"

"A challenge, huh?" Felix hurries his steps just a little to catch up, peering into the distance at the slowly approaching ruins. "What kind of challenge?"

"Hmph. Fine, if you insist on being evasive, I suppose I'll just have to wait until we get there."

And then they do get there, and Felix arches a brow, a hand resting on one hip. "Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, blatantly defying the rules? What's next, speaking the word 'fuck' aloud?"

Despite the commentary, Felix follows him readily.

"You think, huh?" Felix continues after him, ushering him forward with an impatient wave of his hand if he seems to be hesitating. "Last time you told me that, we ended up getting chased out of the royal gardens by an angry groundskeeper for trampling the grass."

"I did." Felix looks around--blinking in surprise at the sudden bright light coming from Dimitri's Gear. Well, that's convenient. "I still think that groundskeeper overreacted. Claiming that grass isn't meant to be walked on is ridiculous."

He walks around a little as he fiddles with his own Gear until he finds the light function and holds it up to see more. "Interesting place."

Felix shoots Dimitri a look. "Ghost types. And you still think it's a good idea for us to be here?" For you to be here, is really what he's saying.

Felix takes Dimitri's hand and uses the other one to point his Gear light at the ruined stairs they're approaching. "I honestly wasn't sure whether you would challenge the gym here." Then he gives Dimitri another, different look. "Did you bring me here so you could catch more rats?"

Felix isn't sure they actually are all that different, but if that's how Dimitri makes his peace with them then he won't argue. "What do you mean, think carefully on them?"

He tucks his Gear away again to leave a hand free when they start climbing the stairs. This, he thinks, would be a lot easier without Dimitri clinging to his hand; he's much lighter on his feet. But the whole point of this outing is to spend time with his boyfriend, so he accepts this pace for now.

"Pff. As if there's any chance we won't."

"I see." Felix ponders that, as he hops lightly over the stair Dimitri skipped and follows him up to the second floor. "There's wisdom in that. Particularly since you need several specific Pokemon with you at all times. Fortunately for you, your rats are quite versatile. With only one weakness and a large variety of techniques they can learn through disks, limiting your team doesn't have to affect your effectiveness in gym battles."

Felix ducks, too, as the Eevee riding along with him squeaks out a warning. Instinct brings his hand to the hilt of his wooden sword, but he soon lets go and straightens back up, nodding. "Go on, Ordelia," he tells the Eevee. "Quick Attack."

It's familiar enough to Gremlin, of course; he's practiced getting the jump on most of Felix's Pokemon with the move at one time or another, and several of Felix's have returned the favor. Ordelia's moving almost before Felix finishes talking, streaking from his shoulder into a flying leap almost faster than the eye can follow with a cry of Vee! to crash claws-first into the Zubat, getting in a good swipe before landing lightly again and turning to face her opponent.

The bat opens its mouth wide, making a sound that doesn't hit the humans' ears until after Ordelia flinches back, ears flattening against her head, and stumbles--confused. Felix frowns. "Listen. This way. Bite and Covet. It's over here." He guides the Eevee toward her foe, and after a clumsy scuffle in which she manages to injure both the Zubat and herself, she lands a decisive slash of her claws and brings the bat down to earth, swiping the berry it was carrying in the process and holding it up in her mouth triumphantly.

Felix gets the injured Zubat into a pokeball without much trouble, then scoops Ordelia up in one arm while he fishes in his bag for a few potions--one to heal her wounds and one to clear her head. She munches her prize berry happily while he mutters quietly, giving her pointers and praise in equal measure. That done, she resumes riding on his shoulder, and he reaches out to take Dimitri's hand again.

"Hm. I think Jinx would like to train a bat." He tucks the pokeball away in his bag. "Oh. Right. Your mysterious project. If you need to teach your rats a new technique or two for the gym challenge, I can pick the disks up in Goldenrod. I'm warping there to find a few other things soon as well."

Felix rolls his eyes. "Quit agonizing. Obviously I don't mind and it's not an imposition when it was my suggestion to begin with." Then he shakes his head. "I haven't. What is it?"