"You sure about these outfits? Do we really need all this?" Angelo fussed with the waistband of his orange trunks for the 10th time, somehow feeling more exposed in his so called fight gear than in his natural state. Matcha laughed as he straightened the straps on his shoulders, vigorously posing in the black slingshot leotard. "'Course we do buddy, you saw those Beast Battle guys right? Looking the part is essential if we're gonna dominate a real gym!" Matcha pumped up in a double bicep pose with a confident grin.

Angelo rubbed the back of his neck with a half-hearted "...yeah." Matcha's brow furrowed, "What? What's that look for?" Angelo looked away, "Nothing, it's nothing." He kept avoiding the Machoke's narrowed gaze until Matcha rolled his eyes, "Oh really, let me guess, the Pidgey thing again?"
"Well actually no, but-"
"That was an ambush and a flying type, wasn't even a fair fight!"
"Yeah but he was like level 10 tops, that's like-"
"Irrelevant? Exactly. The past is in the past!"
"It was literally yesterday though I mean..."
"And today is a new adventure! That's what I've been saying this whole time."
"Anyway, I was talking about Chansey, the handprints haven't even faded-"
"The past is in the past!"
"And then that crazy Caterpie, I'm still trying to figure out how that happened."
"Shut UUUP!"
"Alright alright! Just saying, maybe a couple levels on the way wouldn't hurt."

Art by Hikaristar
(My first shiny Matcha Machoke, named for obvious reasons lol)