A handful of days passed, the exact amount, the two Pokémon weren't keeping track of. All that they truly had a care for was the arrival of their new threads, but in the meantime, hanging around the RWAG researchers had been enjoyable. Hisoka got as much knowledge on new words and reading as he could, honing his speech instead of his claws for once, much to the surprise of Franz. The Floatzel, on the other hand, was as lax as ever; occasionally assisting in gathering information on the nearest bodies of water so that they could be preserved better by the conservationists.

Eventually, on one morning, they awoke to see a spacious cardboard box outside the front flap of their tent, and despite being a notorious early riser who could have peeked within it, Hisoka patiently waited for Franz's awakening to inform him that what they'd requested had arrived for them.

The two Pokémon then would position themselves at either side of the container, Hisoka having draw his claws to slice through the adhesive tape keeping it sealed, careful not to sink the natural blades in too deeply. The top flaps were loosened, and Franz pulled them both aside, the Floatzel pulling out what he saw first, it not being an article of clothing, rather, a piece of the Remagon Professor's stationary with a note scrawled across it, with Franz getting right to work at reading it.

"Dear Franz and Hisoka, I'm happy to present you with what you requested back when we met! Franz, in developing your outfit, I decided to make it a bit easier to put on, considering you have to lower both the fins on your arms and your floatation sac in order to get any clothing onto your body. Just be careful not to get the zipper stuck in your fur... As well as the jacket I'm giving you, you'll be receiving a pair of undergarments, comfortable sneakers, socks, and shorts. Hisoka will be receiving a near identical set that's a better fit for a Zangoose. I made sure not to spare any expense. The outfits adjust to temperature changes, have resistance to odors, stains, and tears, plus, they accommodate for your tails." Franz halted his read for a moment to look up at Hisoka and nod, impressed by just how much Pine had put into this gift. "I hope this reaches you well, and that these are a good fit. Please do me a favor, try this all on, and relay to one of my associates once you've done so! With love, Professor Pine."

Franz passed the paper to Hisoka, looking underneath where that note was, his tails waggling behind him excitedly. He lifted one of the flaps up just enough so that Hisoka couldn't see what he was taking out of the box, wishing to surprise him with what the outfit looked like. "I'll come out of the tent once this is all on..." The Floatzel quickly snuck in the contents of the box that belonged to him, then sealed the entrance of the tent.

The Zangoose looked over the stationary briefly, a bit too tired to try and read them himself, so Franz's dictation was certainly helpful. Passing the paper over to the nearest researcher, Hisoka then stepped over to the side of the tent, overhearing the sound of swishing fabric as well as the Floatzel, speaking to himself. "These shorts have pockets?! Finally, I can start carrying stuff around easier! No more holding it in my paw or unsuccessfully cradling it with my floatation sac, heheh!"

Chuckling silently to himself, Hisoka stepped back out in front of the tent, pulling out the contents designated for him, looking around briefly for an empty tent and sealing himself inside. The Zangoose didn't struggle much with his undergarments or shorts, even when he had to guide his bushy tail through a somewhat small hole at the back of his shorts on his own. However, socks and footwear were both new to him. Thankfully, a notecard from Pine in the sole of one of his shoes taught him how to tie them. She really did think of everything...

Slipping that notecard into one of the pockets of his shorts in case he wished to practice with his shoelaces more at a later time, Hisoka stepped out of the tent and went over to check on Franz, coincidentally, the sound of the zipper on his jacket sounding out just as he came up to the entrance. "All done in there, Franz..?"

"Yeah, I-- woah. I, uhm, blinked, and my clothing changed its color... like how you said your sweatshirt changed when you put it on for the first time. It didn't happen until I zipped it up, so I thought it was gonna be all black, like the sneakers and shorts..." The Floatzel unsealed the entrance and stepped out, his eyes lighting up as he saw Hisoka fully decked out, with not just the hoodie on him anymore. Though his change was certainly more drastic, it was nice to see the Zangoose in a new way, and of course, he wondered what he thought about his new threads. "Heh, looking good, looking good! But, ahh... whatcha think about me, hmm?"

Hisoka laid his eyes upon what was practically a whole new Pokémon. The fact that the jacket necessitated the lowering of that yellow ring around Franz's body as well as the blue fins of his arms made the water type appear slicker overall. His tails stuck out from the back in the same way. In essence everything below the belt was identical to Hisoka. However, what was above it was vastly different. It appeared as if the blue tint of the fins on his arms didn't wish to be concealed fully, and had attempted to take over the jacket unsuccessfully. The blue shade on it was a tad darker than that which was on his masked fins, and it took up a unique patterning that ran across the article of clothing in diagonals.

"You're... you're looking rather well," Hisoka replied with a hint of redness to his cheeks, his mind drawing up short on what else he could have said, "but I'm wondering... did it give you that one move the Professor said it could..?"

The Floatzel rubbed at his chin, curious about the answer as well, but shrugging it off and giving a chuckle before responding. "Ahh, we may find out, and we may not. I'm just appreciative of Pine for even doing this!" His tails could be seen swaying excitedly behind him... which caught Hisoka's eye, as usual, but he didn't draw his gaze away from them just yet. Something was off from how they normally swished around back there...

Leaves began to pick themselves up off the ground and tumble away from the Floatzel's tails, making the Zangoose's mouth fall open as he realized that Franz, in fact, had gained new abilities. "Your tails," shouted Hisoka, uncharacteristically loud at the discovery, "they're faster!"

Franz turned his head back and watched as more leaves rolled off the forest floor and away from his tails, a paw being lowered by them and feeling a breeze that was produced by their rapid movement. "You're right, they are! Wait, I think I have an idea..." The water type surrounded himself with liquid, the first step before using an Aqua Jet. Looking upwards, he launched into the air, nearly knocking the Zangoose nearby to the ground, zooming around at high speeds. Hisoka's eyes were locked to the sky, dumbfounded.

It took around a minute or so for Franz to stop soaring around before he'd land a bit far off from Hisoka, laughing out as he shook off what little water had gotten onto him. "And I thought I was fast before this!" Franz remarked, still abuzz with chuckles as he moved back to the Zangoose's side hurriedly.

"Maybe... maybe they move fast enough for, ahh, uhm... that one move..?" Hisoka pondered, forgetting the name of the move that Professor Pine had mentioned Franz could potentially learn.

"Oh! Uh, Aeroblast? Maybe the tails work for that, too. Didn't think to do that, but hey, at least I know now that Aqua Jet is going to be incredible even if I can't use that!" Cheerfully, the water type stepped over to a tree far off to the side of all the tents, not wishing to damage them or send them flying. Losing his joyous demeanor to gain focus, his eyes lock to the trunk. He started to spin his tails just as he did during that Aqua Jet, an audible rush of wind sounding out before he rushed forwards, jumping up and turning to launch the energy built up by the rotation of his tails, the impact uprooting the poor tree and sending it toppling over, the monstrous noise that the attack produced sending every RWAG researcher nearby rushing over to investigate.

"Alright, yep, okay, I can use it."

...

Several days later, after the two Pokémon took their leave of the area and had returned to Hisoka's territory, Franz had gotten more practice in with his newfound talents, being certain not to harm anything nearby whenever he would hone his abilities. Needing to focus that much as not to demolish anything else was beneficial in improving his acuity with the new move. Not that he couldn't just soar over to somewhere else where he could train without consequence, he wanted to stay close to where the Zangoose was for one key reason...

The Floatzel would approach Hisoka while he was seated next to a berry bush, having finished plucking each ripe fruit off from its stem and consuming it, his usual choice in meal whenever he would hop out of the treetops to go eat. Franz stood next to him, drawing his attention with a clear of his throat. "Hisoka, do you think you can help me out with something?"

The other Pokémon looked up inquisitively at Franz, deciding to stand himself up as well. "What might you need..?"

"Well, I want to know something first." His tails began audibly swooshing in the air, as if to imply what he was getting at with his upcoming question. "Have you ever battled in any way before?"

Hisoka lidded his eyes, eyebrows furrowed as he tried to recall if he had. "Hmm... never sparred with my clan... never fought off anyone in my territory..." His gaze fell back onto Franz, and he shook his head at him, only now noticing that sound of his tails, seemingly priming themselves for action. Hisoka looked down at them, then back up at Franz, the Floatzel grinning as the Zangoose pieced it together. "You want to?"

Franz was quick to nod in response. "If that's alright. Was thinking that we could use that one area just outside your territory, where there's a lot of open ground." The Zangoose seemed to remember that spot, and the excitement in Franz's eyes at wishing to try out his skills in a battle was too difficult to turn down... and so, a brisk walk to the clearing ensued, with each Pokémon standing at a different end of the area once they had arrived.

The normal type steadied his breathing, letting his claws raise gradually with every lengthy exhale he made to calm his nerves and get him to focus. The water type pulled his paws behind his head in a stretch, his twin tails flickering in the air to warm themselves up along with his muscles, bringing his arms down to his sides and speaking to his opponent one he had felt all his tension be relieved. "Whenever you're ready, just go on ahead."

Hisoka gave a nod, beginning to think on the fly. The Floatzel would likely dodge an attack if he was rushed, so the Zangoose charged forwards with a plan set in mind. Dashing towards Franz, he paid careful attention to him, trying to catch a hint of which way he would attempt to escape. Hisoka made a short hop forwards, and the water type moved to one side, only to find that he got hit by a whopping Crush Claw anyways, reeling back to see not one, but two Zangoose, primed to set forth another attack.

"Figures that you'd use Double Team," Franz said through a huff, "I should be focusing less on what I can do, and more on what you can." Composing himself, the Floatzel engulfed his body with water, launching forwards towards the center of both Hisoka and his illusory copy, only to find he went through both, narrowly spotting the shape of the normal type jumping over his attack. Hisoka watched as another decoy served him well, but before he knew it, Franz had crashed into him with that Aqua Jet.

Rolling backwards before picking himself up off the ground, the Zangoose knew what his mistake was right away; and it was the same one that Franz had just spoke of. Even if he was fooled by a clone, the Floatzel was so fast, that he could simply pivot himself around and correct his mistake with ease. The water type halted himself after getting closer to Hisoka, cold air emanating from his jaws as an Ice Fang was directed at him.

The Zangoose made a bold move, setting a paw aflame and meeting those open jaws with a Fire Punch, the sudden feel of heat on his frozen fangs stunning him and leaving him open for Revenge as a follow-up attack from Hisoka. Franz kept his thinking as quick as the other Pokémon's, however, taking the attack and then responding by knocking him over with his tails.

Knowing that remaining near those tails was a poor decision, Hisoka was quick to create another Double Team clone, one that nearly got blasted into a nearby tree once Aeroblast had hit it. The Zangoose still needed to pull himself up off the ground, however, and when Franz turned to see two Pokémon behind him, he figured that the one knocked further back couldn't have been real. He'd already seen the full force of Aeroblast, and surely Hisoka would be calling the battle off from a direct hit like his clone took.

The normal type soon experienced the Floatzel's Crunch, and was only able to get his hold off himself by utilizing Revenge once more. The red patterning on his fur and sweatshirt darkened, becoming a bright blue hue, and in an instant, Franz was sliced by Aerial Ace. The speed of the attack inspired Franz to utilize his own swiftness through Aqua Jet, and the two Pokémon began exchanging blows as the Floatzel's jet of water swirled around the Zangoose, and Hisoka lashed out with Crush Claw and Aerial Ace whenever an opportunity to strike rose.

This continuation of back and forth blows ended when Hisoka attempted to launch an Ice Punch, the Floatzel recognizing the telltale signs of the move being prepared and responding by bringing his Aqua Jet attack to a close, stopping right before him and receiving the blow just as he had managed to give him a taste of his own medicine with Ice Fang. The two stayed locked together, Hisoka not relenting in his punches, and Franz not letting his jaws loosen, all until the Zangoose had his patterning be restored to its scarlet hue, and had finally knocked the other Pokémon away using Fire Punch.

Though the blow pushed him back, Franz hastily responded, as his water typing allowed him to not be overwhelmed by the blisteringly hot strike, tails rotating at incredible speeds before he would turn and let loose an Aeroblast. Hisoka suffered the same fate as the clone he'd summoned earlier, nearly being sent flying right into a tree. The Zangoose stayed on the ground for a few seconds, then attempted to stand himself up, the trembling, exhausted figure of Hisoka making Franz rush over and halt him in his efforts.

"Easy now, easy, easy..." The Floatzel got his arms around him, helping the Zangoose to stand up. "I'm gonna help you walk back to your territory, okay..? That was an intense fight. I'm surprised I can even help pick you up..." Before long, after his steps got heavier and heavier, Franz grunted and set Hisoka down, the two just barely within his domain, the normal type watching amid heavy breaths as the water type hastily fell to the ground. "We're here... ungh... let's just... rest a bit."

...

"I went down too, seems only fair to call it a tie," spoke Franz, settled in at the base of a tree with Hisoka at his side, now recovered from the battle a few hours back, "no need to be at an impasse when we can compromise about it."

The Zangoose shook his head, bringing up a counterargument. "You only went down because you... you started to carry me while you were weak... if it was a tie, then you would be going down right after you used Aeroblast..."

The Floatzel gave a sigh, a paw resting on his companion's shoulder. "Guess you're right. I just feel bad for breaking out my new abilities on you for your first battle, when I haven't employed them in an actual battle before..."

"If you'd ask me..." Hisoka brought an arm behind Franz, looking at him with an earnest smile. "I'm happy with how it went down. I may have lost, but... you made it memorable. You could have just downed me easy with the improved Aqua Jet and Aeroblast... so it was as much fun as it could be, for me."

Franz chuckled in response, patting Hisoka's shoulder. "You kiddin'? You made it tough to get any of my moves off without a response. I bet if we sparred often enough, you'd figure out a new response to every strategy I brought to the table." He continued with his compliments, making Hisoka smile wider and wider with each one. "You're quick-witted, compassionate, strong... you're there for those you care about, just as I always wish to be. Even when we change, no matter the size or shape of that change, you can always find someone who cares about every aspect of you."

The Zangoose brought his head up to nuzzle right into the Floatzel's cheek, a decision that led to a peaceful night in each other's arms, sharing the warmth and continuous happiness that abounded with having each other in their company.