William
Bede set Sylveon down with a sigh, sneaking a glance at his Hatterene as she chided him for not letting her out sooner. He hadn't been keen on letting his Pokémon roam where they might start fights with the wildlife, though, so this was his best bet. He dug through his pockets and gave her a pecha berry for her efforts. She accepted it, thankfully, though with a glare. Sylveon made cooing noises, and he gave a dramatic groan, picking the cuddly Pokémon back up. He didn't actually mind holding her, but there's no way he would admit that in a public space like this.
George
Mallow was walking down the park's walkway, Mallow had her team around her while she whistled an old song she knew. Carrying her Applin in her arms, her Shiinotic happily walking behind her while sticking to the shade of the trees, and her Steenee walking beside her, occasionally stopping her from going off the path. She didn't notice anyone around, especially that she was approaching Bede.
William
He froze briefly at the sound footsteps, turning to look towards the group. Hatterene also alerted, although Bede put a hand up signalling not to do anything. As much as he enjoyed proving his strength, it's considered frowned upon to let your Pokémon mug people without it being a proper trainer fight. Sylveon cried out, wiggling in Bede's arms- she wanted to greet this funny stranger! He yelped as she escaped his arms, bouncing towards Mallow with a few excited chirps.
George
It didn't take long for Mallow to notice the Sylveon, "Aww!", she exclaimed as she set her Applin beside her and bent down to pet the Sylveon. "Aren't you the cutest thing!", she pet and scratched the Sylveon, smothering it with love before looking up to see Bede. She kept petting Sylveon as she greeted her trainer, "Hi I'm Mallow".
William
"Hello, Mallow." His expression is guarded, and he makes a clicking noise towards Sylveon, to which she abandoned checking out the stranger in order to hop back into his arms. With his concern for his Pokémon lessened, he studies her team briefly, lighting up slightly when he sees the Shiitonic. He hesitates for a second, before gesturing to the Pokémon. "That's your Shiinotic? Those are tricky creatures." He looks at the Pokémon with admiration- he took pride in the knowledge he has on Fairy types, and Shiinotics were common in the Glimwood Tangle regardless- the amount of times he had to tell people not to follow the funny lights off the path was more than zero, and it was infuriating. People could be so idiotic.
George
She smiled and pulled her Shiinotic into a hug, "Yep!" She exclaimed, "I've trained her since she was a little Morelull". The Shiinotic hugged Mallow back, making their connection more than obvious. Mallow looked behind Bede and at his Hatterene, "Wow! A real Hatterene! I hear these are a hassle to raise too".
William
The Hatterene looks very miffed to be called a hassle, though Bede gives her a look of warning and so she doesn't do anything. "You aren't wrong. I've had her since she was a Hatenna." He turns his attention back to the Shiinotic. "Wild Shiinotics are a bit more dangerous than wild Morelulls, simply because they tend to be more aggressive to people. Morelulls are more focused on defending themselves than Shiinotics- though they can do a lot of damage if there's a group that think they're being attacked." He informed her as he stroked Sylveon's head and back. It takes him a moment to realize he just told her something she probably already knew, and he flushed, hiding his face behind the collar of his fuzzy light pink jacket.
George
As Bede started explaining what she already knew very well about Morelull, she just politely listened to him with a smile. She'd get a little giggle as he hid his face, "Well thanks for the information, but I already know a lot about grass types, and I have seen Morelull troops in Lush Jungle". She got a shiver as she had to learn about how strong they were first hand.
William
"Ah.." He took a moment to compose himself. "I know them because of their fairy typing. They can be found frequently in the Glimwood Tangle." He let Sylveon jump out of his arms again, putting his now-free hands into the pockets of his jacket. "I'm Bede. You specialize in grass types?"
George
"Yep! Guess it's pretty obvious", she'd get a little giggle. She looked over his pokemon, "And I'm guessing you're a Fairy-type user then?". When she mentioned fairy types, something clicked in her mind, "OH! You're that former challenger who became Ballonlea Gym Leader!"
William
He looked mildly surprised, not expecting to be known from outside of Galar. "Ah, yes... That's me. I'm sorry, I don't recognize you.. But the Lush Jungle is in Alola, right? Are you a... Gym leader?" He tries, not sure how things work in Alola. He had never been, and other than where fairy types lived, he had trouble caring about other regions.
George
"Oh Don't worry", she reassured him, "Most people won't recognize me outside Alola". She was aware trial Captains weren't as popular around the world as gym leaders, but she was still happy about her position. "I'm a trial captain", she started to explain, "We don't have gyms in Alola, we have trials that end in a battle with a totem, and Trial Captains are the ones who set them up, we aren't as popular because we retire from out positions at the age of 20".
William
"Oh, I see. That system is a lot different from what I'm used to." He hums. "All of you retire at 20? So the trial leaders are all teenagers to young adults?" He wonders briefly, patting Rapidash on the back. Rapidash makes a huffing noise and then runs off, prepping to take wide laps around the group.

All seven of Bede's Pokémon were out right now- playing and messing with the trees and eachother. The only two that stuck near him for the most part were Hatterene and Sylveon, the latter of the two far more interested in sniffing Mallow's Pokémon than Bede at the moment.
George
Mallow's pokemon were just as curious as Bede's, examining them when they got close, and occasionally backing up if their sweet scents made them confusable for food. "Yep, also some little kids, but Captain's are chosen by a powerful trainer called the Kahuna who can be any age and is chosen by Island Guardians", Mallow continued to explain. She had a big smile, excited to teach someone about her culture.
William
"Interesting. I'm much more used to adults, given it's an oddity for there to be teenaged Gym Leaders, generally. There are a few exceptions, of course, such as myself, but a Gym Leader stays a Gym Leader until they find a mentee or leave and have to get replaced." He hums briefly, thoughtful. "I've never heard of a Kahuna before. How does that work?" He couldn't help but be curious. He enjoyed researching and learning new things almost as much as he enjoyed winning or spending time with his Pokémon. What better way to learn about a foreign region than from someone who lives there?
George
"Kahunas are four strong trainers chosen by the Island deities, who are four mythical pokemon who protect each of the islands, the Deities pick the Kahunas, and the Kahunas pick the trial captains". She got her green floral patterned rotom phone out and began looking for an image, "I'm from Akala island, the guardian Deity is Tapu Lele, but you probably know plenty about them plenty since they're a Psychic-Fairy type", she showed him a depiction of the island Deity. She them brought up a picture with three other people, two of them looked closer to her age while the third was a tall woman, she explained, "Those two are trial captains like me, the one with blue hair is Lana and the one with fire hair is Kiawe, and that woman behind us is the Kahuna of Akala island, Olivia".
William
"Oh, right! All four of the Guardian Deities are fairy typed, right? It's their secondary typing." He hums thoughtfully, leaning over slightly so he can look at the picture. "Okay. So each Guardian Deity chooses a Kahuna?" He gives another hum. "That makes sense. Being Pokémon- Especially fairy typed Pokémon- they have better judgement than any trainer would."

Hatterene pokes at Mallow's Rotom Phone, despite Bede swatting at her claw and giving her chiding glares. He pushes Hatterene back slightly, suddenly focused on the Guardian Deities. "Have you ever met one of them?" He asks with barely-hidden excitement. "Like Tapu Lele?"
Opal
Mallow sighed but kept her smile as she sat on the pavement, "I wish" She said. "Usually, only Kahunas have been able to actually communicate with guardian deities, while I've only ever seen glimpses of them... But there was this one time I saw Tapu Lele fighting this weird Pokémon. She quickly pulled out a blurry picture of something pink fighting what looked like a series of cables, she explained "I was rushing to get to safety which is why the picture is so shaky".
William
He frowned. "That looks odd... I can barely tell what it is." He leans back making a whistling noise. His Pokémon were wandering too far and they needed to return. "I've never seen anything like that, I'm afraid, so I can't help you identify that." He seems annoyed at himself, even though there's likely no way he could have known what that Pokémon was if she didn't, especially since he didn't know much about the Alola region in the first place. His Pokémon are starting to come back.
Opal
Mallow's Pokémon were still close to her as she explained it all. "I don't need to identify it, apparently it's some sort of alien I think it was called?" She didn't get much of an explanation since it was quickly covered up. "But I'm certain that I saw Tapu Lele fighting it".
William
"How odd." He picked up his Mawile, the sweet thing making an annoyed grumble as he gave it a few strokes and then returned it to it's ball. "Well, if it hasn't caused harm elsewhere, we're likely fine. It's not like it's uncommon for Pokémon we've never seen before to cause havoc somewhere and then vanish." He sighed, remembering his own apparent aid in a situation not unlike that. He hadn't even known that he had been working to help cause the 'Darkest Day,' either. He was severely disappointed in his younger self for being so... Blind.
George
"Yeah, I think that thing was taken care of...", she stopped and noticed something was off. She could tell Bede was thinking about something and figured she could just ask. "Hey are you alright?"
William
"Hm? I'm fine." Hatterene shot him a glare. He pointedly ignored her, instead moving on to put a few other pokemon in their balls- Gardevoir, Duosion, and Gothorita all returned cheerily. "It's not your business either way." Okay, that was a little snappy. Doesn't matter to him, though, because he's right- he has no business sharing his thoughts with Mallow. Their conversation was interesting, but they weren't *Friends.*

Hatterene swats at him, and he dodges with little thought. It wasn't the first time she got pissed at him for stuff like this. Sylveon chirps and jumps up, climbing up his coat and setting on his shoulders, waving her ribbons around.
George
Mallow was a little annoyed by his snap, but figured she could let it pass since they were still kinda strangers. "Okay sorry, I just wanted to make sure... ", she got a little smile as she saw his Sylveon on his shoulder. "But still, that was the most I'd ever seen Tapu Lele".
William
He nods sharply. Rapidash was returned as well and he tucked his Pokéballs into his jacket pocket, leaving Sylveon and Hatterene outside. Sylveon's aura had calmed him down, thankfully, so Hatterene was less keen on smacking him over the head.

"That's a shame." He reached up to scritch Sylveon's chin absently. "Thank you for the information." He could at least be polite. If he made enemies on this island, Opal would give him a lecture on connections, and he didn't want to hear it for the thirteenth time.
George
She smiled and extended a hand to him. She exclaims, "You're welcome! It was great to teach you about Alola!". Her hand remained extended, waiting for a handshake.
William
He hesitates, before giving her a quick and firm handshake. It felt odd to give her a handshake when they hadn't battled. He nodded in agreement anyway. "Of course." He frowns, pulling away again to stroke Sylveon. Hatterene pokes him, and he glances towards the towering Pokémon, trying to figure out what she wanted.