Your New Best Friend? [Adrian & Zaiden]

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He couldn't be lost.

That was absurd. 

There was a path and everything. Even children could wander their way from New Bark to Cherrygrove without too much difficulty. If Buddy happened to get distracted and wander off, forcing him to stray from the path to go find his starter, then well, that's the reason it was taking him, a grown man, so long to find his way there. After all, the overgrown grasses and trees weren't exactly distinct from each other. It was easy to get disoriented with everything looking so much alike. At least being (lost) off the beaten path was pleasant. Scenic even in the midst of spring with all the flowers blooming, color erupting from every corner, life buzzing upon the air. After living in the city his whole life, being out in nature was oddly calming yet invigorating, offering a peace of body and mind that he'd never experienced before. 

He felt like he could breath. Let his shoulders relax. 

Buddy bounded up to him with a fallen branch with little new leaves and flowers budding along its length. She waved it giddily like a wand with one of her vines and bapped his arm playfully with the end. Adrian rolled his eyes and huffed, amused by her antics. He was...happy to have such a...social first companion. Not that he'd admit it.

"You're a trouble maker," he complained affectionately. "Utter trouble. Got us lost and unashamed about it."

Buddy wrapped a vine around his wrist. Onwards! She would lead the way, the flower stick held aloft like a staff.

Caramell 🍬 🍬

[Caramell 🍬]

ZAIDEN KABILA Aspiring Champion Bike Mode: On | Time: Day Why was life such a cruel mistress? The young trainer sat on the edge of a large rock and stared out at the small lake hidden between the densely packed trees of Route 29 sadly and sighed softly underneath his breath. He’d spent so much of his time chasing the dreams and aspirations of others that he often didn’t know if he was losing sight of his own goals or simply growing into the role that all adults played when they masquerade as happy productive people around their own peers. Was there really any point to any of it in the end? Sadness seeped into his heart, pushed through the cracked door by the billowing spring breezes that pulled at the long branches above his head with earnest glee. The breeze felt good. It provided a slight chill and battled against the sharp sun’s hot rays that poured from the bright blue skies above and filtered through the canopies overhead to spill around the light shadows that decorated the forest ground underfoot. It was a slowly creeping feeling he simply couldn’t shake. Jinrio bounded across the grass and chased after Promise who fluttered just above his head on the tips of her bright red and white wings. Small pink and yellow wildflower pushed up between the tall green blades of grass that wrapped around the edge of the lake where small Pokemon gathered near its base and drank from its refreshing waters. Kogasu growled, snapping her sharp claws, and gesturing towards Gen’ie with wide shrugs. “What do you mean it was just a prank?!” The horned lizard roared at the top of her lungs with enough force to send a trio of hiding brown birds scattering into the skies above in a desperate need to flee. “You could have gotten him killed!” Gen’ie’s smile never faltered as the ghostly white Shuppet floated up over Kogasu’s head and stared at the small white seal pup dangling between two branches in the nearby sycamore tree. The branches buckled and swayed underneath the weight and obvious effort they had to maintain to keep Uroko suspended up above the ground. Gen’ie floated just out of reach as Zaiden’s hot tempered reptilian Pokemon fired two long blasts of fire at his ghostly Pokemon. “I was just having fun. Nothing more than that!” Gen’ie quickly floated over and picked Uroko up out of the tree before using him like a shield to float above Kogasu’s head. “Why are you so uptight? Relax! It’s a beautiful day!” Gen’ie laughed loudly. OOC: Will be using Zaiden’s Kogasu, Uroko, Baunsu, Gen’ie, Promise, & Jinrio for this thread since current teams don’t have to matter for purely social threads. ^^ It’s a reunion for his original team plus adding in the good boy Jinrio for extra awws. Words: 642 | Speech. Thoughts. | Pokedex Pixel Kogasu | Baunsu | Uroko | Gen'ie | Promise | Jinrio | Zaiden Sprite by Redwerecat!

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Adrian heard...something? Maybe a pair of pokemon fighting up ahead? Buddy didn't seem to concerned and poked him with the flower stick when he drew to a stop, head tilting curiously. He absently tugged at the lapels of his leather jacket, worn and familiar fabric shifting against the bare skin of his neck and arms where his t-shirt didn't cover. Dark-grey eyes searched for the source of the noise, an errant breeze twisting through his wavy mop of hair and blowing bits into his face that he had to shove away. Fingers still carded through his rebellious locks, he shifted, his weight rocking from heel to toe as he tried to better orient himself in this unfamiliar space. No use. Just plants and grass and trees and, oh look, a rock.

Dark brows slanted down and he sighed, moving forward towards the ruckus, if only to perhaps find a clue to returning to the path again. He found no such thing as he shoved through a cluster of wild shrubbery and emerged beneath an open sky. There before him was not well worn dirt made flat and traversable by hundreds of feet treading back-and-forth, but a vast expanse of glittering water. A pond? Or was it too big and considered a lake? He had no idea this was here. How would anyone, really, given the density of the trees and other greenery that made stumbling here utterly inconvenient at best.

With a shuffle, he moved closer to the water, boots crunching on grasses and damp gravel on the bank. Adrian wanted to make sure the ground was dry and steady enough before he did any wandering. Slipping in mud and falling into the lake sounded like utter misery. Being lost was bad enough. Being lost, muddy and soaked through would be just mortifying. 

A little lost in thought, he almost forgot why he came this way. 

At least until Buddy let out a cheerful cry and waved her new stick friend in greeting.

Those...did not look like pokemon native to the area. He looked around and, ah, a trainer perched up on a rock. Probably resting. Clearly minding his own business. He should go—

Buddy grabbed his wrist with a vine and promptly began to drag him towards the pokemon she saw (the ones who's been making all that noise?), still waving the stick.

'Hello! Hello! Are you lost too?'

Caramell 🍬 🍬

[Caramell 🍬]

ZAIDEN KABILA Aspiring Champion Bike Mode: On | Time: Day Kogasu’s lips curled into a ferocious snarl as she glared at Gen’ie. Though the flame licked their ways around the sharp pearly whites shooting down from the roof of her mouth, she fought back the urge to unleash them on her target and incinerate her traveling companion whilst he dangled the small seal pup in front of her. “Put Uroko down!” Kogasu snapped two clawed fingers together firmly and pointed towards the lush grassy ground near their feet. Gen’ie shook his head firmly while sticking his long salmon tongue out of his mouth. Kogasu lowered her head between her neck and curled her body as though she were some large coil about to explode from being wound so tightly. “Uroko says he’s having lots of fun, aren’t you?” Gen’ie piped up while laughing at his companion. The small Seel stared curiously between his companion friends, blinking slowly in confusion from Gen’ie to Kogasu. Why were they bickering amongst themselves and what did he have to do with any of it? He floundered in the air, kicking his fore flippers and flipping his hind flipper dramatically as though he might swim through the sky itself. “Gen’ie said we were going to put on a fantastic show!” Uroko giggled, placing one of the flippers over his mouth as he laughed. “And I’m the star!” Hot flames shot out of Kogasu’s mouth just barely missing the Gen’ie and Uroko as Kogasu growled loudly, sounding like a small motorboat as she hissed at her companions. Zaiden bit his lips and frowned while watching the debacle below. Shouldn’t he step in as their trainer and set things right? The heat that burned between them seemed treacherous to say the least. Kogasu’s evident lack of respect she had for her trainer was buried underneath layers of his lacking capabilities to jump in the midst of the moment and give direct, purposeful commands to help lead his team. The gentle wind seemed to pick up and pulled at the short strands of Zaiden’s hair, causing them to sway and bounce on top of his head. Fear of his own insecurities seized his heart, keeping him tethered in place. When he noticed that he was not alone as another figure with a small bulbous plant Pokemon wandered into the group, Zaiden only quietly observed while frozen in fear on top of the rock. Was he capable enough to truly be their trainer? The leader in command that they needed? Baunsu stood up like a silhouette in the tall grasses and narrowed his eyes suspiciously on the small Bulbasaur and her trainer. The brown striped ferret backed up slowly, ears pinned at the sides of his head, and hissed softly as his body trembled. Were they here to challenge them? “We have company, guys!” He shouted in alarm, thrashing his long fluffy tail against the ground. Jinrio skidded to a halt, spun around where he was running, and bounded over eagerly to Adrian and his plant Pokemon. “Hi there! I’m Jinrio! That’s Gen’ie up there in the sky. He’s causing Uroko to float with him. Kogasu’s miss angry lizard over the whole ordeal, but they’re just playing. Baunsu’s hiding way over there in the grasses! That’s my trainer on the rock up there. And…uhm…” The blue pup barked excitedly and thought for a second to try and determine if he were missing anyone. As Promise fluttered by on the open breeze, he giggled. “Oh yeah, this is Promise! Who are you two?” OOC: More shenanigans and Jinrio officially greets ya'll! Words: 590 | Speech. Thoughts. | Pokedex Pixel Kogasu | Baunsu | Uroko | Gen'ie | Promise | Jinrio | Zaiden Sprite by Redwerecat!

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'I'm Buddy! This is my best friend and trainer.' Buddy was quite happy to just tug on Adrian's wrist for emphasis. Though if she didn't have her stick she might have just scooped him right up by the waist with both vines to show him off. It was a very proud day in her life. She finally had a trainer and was on her very first adventure ever! Battles and having a trainer were all so new and fascinating. 'We met today, but he's my favorite human ever. Yours looks nice too! Does he like flowers? There are so many flowers and they're so pretty.'

Adrian silently let himself be manhandled by his excited bulbasuar as she chattered at her newest friends. He did eye the charmeleon with reasonable caution as he was a second-stage fire type who had been throwing some kind of aggressive tantrum, and Buddy was just a baby fresh from Elm's lab. He didn't want her getting hurt all the way out here when he didn't have any revives and didn't know the way back to the main path. 

From the corner of his eye, he did observe the actions of the trainer. The young man had yet to come down to greet them, his body language seeming unusually tense. Almost fearful. Was he afraid of Adrian? What Adrian might to do his pokemon? Was he afraid of his own pokemon? There had been a loud ruckus before he arrived. If the party was fighting and he got overwhelmed... Well, it wasn't any of his business. The pokemon looked healthy even if they weren't all getting along (maybe). He didn't see a need to interject himself and ask about feelings like a weirdo. The guy would climb off his rock or he wouldn't.

In fact, to show he didn't care, he found a rock of his own within the reach of Buddy's vine and sat down, resting his legs that hadn't yet gotten a break since they started this venture. Maybe he'd eat a snack. Adrian slipped his backpack down and off his shoulder to unzip the top and withdraw a bag of chips. Convenience store chow. Not very filling but it was food. A pop of the top and he was crunching away as Buddy showed her stick to the other pokemon with enthusiasm.

'I found this today! It's covered in really pretty flowers! But they're from a tree so they're easier to carry around.'

[Caramell 🍬]

ZAIDEN KABILA Aspiring Champion Bike Mode: On | Time: Day Words were hard. Carrying on a dialogue with other people and knowing just what to say to keep the mood right? Zaiden was known to trip and stumble over himself, often from the anxieties that bound his chest into tight knots and caused him to gag on his own words. The new trainer that traveled with his small Bulbasaur caught the young teenager’s attention, though nothing he could think of to break the ice seemed right. The longer the ice sat, chilling metaphorically between them, the harder it seemed to summon the simplest of words. Who allowed the quiet air to permeate without a greeting, only to toss it out like day old lasagna at random? It wouldn’t feel natural once the first moment to do so had passed. Besides…how was he special? Why would it matter if this strange young man knew who Zaiden was or not? Was he some college geek from the local university out exploring the woodland habitat for a paper that was possibly due the next day? Or perhaps on a break between his nine-to-five shift and simply enjoying the beautiful spring day? Zaiden’s mind raced with thoughts of his father, pushing the large glass door to his herb shop open and greeting the various faces of his customers as they crossed over the threshold to buy his wares. Why did bad things have to happen to good people? Tears threatened the corners of his eyes, though Zaiden hastily wiped them away and forced a soft smile. “Oh that’s a really pretty stick!” Jinrio pressed his upper torso into the grass and dirt and raised his rear end up high into the air. He wagged his thick bushy tail and yipped excitedly. It was exciting to meet new friends and to learn so much about others beyond his own tribe. Maybe they could travel the world together as a duo, conquering unknown territories and saving all the damsels in distress that they might run across? Jinrio wanted desperately to prove himself and be the superhero the world needed. “Where’d you find it?” He asked Buddy curiously enough and pawed at the air with one of his limbs as though beckoning the other Pokemon to play with him. Gen’ie smirked as he floated safely out of harm’s way and watched the flames shoot up to the heavens above, nearly singeing the thick cumulus clouds that floated lazily in the open breeze. Some birds who looked like small V-shapes lines squawked loudly up high in their sky kingdom and darted frantically around Kogasu’s powerful flames. Most were small pink-winged birds that kept a tight formation as they hurried to the nearest trees to take roost. One sped away from its team and dived down after the rude lizard who nearly tried to singe its entire flock. “What on earth did you do that for?! My flock can make you pay, you know!” It puffed proudly. Kogasu huffed, folding her arms together, and lowered her head a bit. “Listen, I’m sorry…I was trying to hit my friend here. He’s holding our other friend hostage. Clearly you can tell that Seel aren’t meant to fly?” Kogasu stated inquisitively while the other Spearow stared cautiously from the nearby trees. The Spearow puffed out its feathers and hopped up into the nearby tree, watching Kogasu and her teammates carefully. Sharp eyes pierced into Kogasu’s soul and studied the horned lizard with great deliberation. “Be careful or next time, we’ll poke your eyes out! And everyone else’s whose here, too!” It huffed, before returning to its flock. “See?” Gen’ie laughed, lowering Uroko onto the ground while keeping himself just out of Kogasu’s reach. “That’s what you get for being so hot-headed!” The white Halloween Shuppet declared. OOC: Making enemies with wildlife. LOL Words: 629 | Speech. Thoughts. | Pokedex Pixel Kogasu | Baunsu | Uroko | Gen'ie | Promise | Jinrio | Zaiden Sprite by Redwerecat!

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Conversations were hard. Impossible, even, sometimes. Words just caught and smoldered and turned to ash in one's mouth until you choked, left struggling and breathless and for want of a reason to try again. Which was why Adrian avoided talking to people when he could. It just wasn't worth it. The awkwardness. The tension. Most people were annoying idiots anyway, with poffins for brains inside their skulls. He crunched on another chip and ignored the way his dominant hand twitched towards his jacket's front pocket. There weren't any cigarettes in there. He quit. With all this fresh air, who needed to destress with nicotine? (That's what he told himself, anyway, as he forced himself to just keep eating and ignoring the utter awkwardness of the situation.) 

He absently chewed on his thumb between chips, distracted by his own wandering thoughts. That happened a lot since he dropped the habit. He wondered how long it would be before those last pangs of addiction no longer haunted him and tugged his limbs towards old routines. Maybe he'd never be free. Maybe he was just like that useless sack of trubbish that called himself Adrian's father and he'd never escape the demons he invited into his life in moments of weakness and strife. That man never did learn to go a day without leaning on the bottle. It was little wonder Adrian had a temper that he struggled to control. Getting screamed at and pushed around by a career alcoholic made one's tolerance for certain things wire thin. 

(Made him miss his mom more and more. She made it better, even if just a little...)

When more noise started up by the pokemon, he glanced over. Geeze. Was that a spearow? Those tended to travel in flocks and defend their nests relentlessly. He knew plenty of people who got chased and attacked by hoards of the things back in Kanto. Hopefully Buddy wouldn't get on its bad side or he'd have to put her back in her ball and run. He was woefully underprepared for a conflict like that given he had a bulbasaur...and a bug. Neither were great against an angry bird.

Buddy was all too keen to ignore the wild spearow in favor of talking more about her prized possession, 'I got it while we were walking! There was a lot of trees and I think this fell off of one shortly before we got there.' She gave it a swing like a sword. It was versatile and awesome! Buddy poked the pup playfully with a cheerful cry. Though... 'Why is your friend harassing the locals? That seems kinda dumb...There's a lot of them...'

Caramell 🍬 🍬

[Caramell 🍬]

ZAIDEN KABILA Aspiring Champion Bike Mode: On | Time: Day Anger burned inside of the medium sized horned lizard’s eyes. She glared through bared fangs at her floating friend while flames licked their way around her sharp teeth. Though, as her sharp blue eyes darted from the ghostly white Shuppet towards the pink-winged avians that hovered inside of the canopies around them, Kogasu would swallow back her flames and just growl harshly underneath her breath. “We wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for you!” The words were coarse with sharpened edges meant to cut their way through Gen’ie, who seemed largely unphased by them. “You’re lucky those birds afforded you safety.” Gen’ie flipped around in the air while sticking his tongue out at Kogasu. She was silly. She let way too much get to her lately and seemed as though she had her panties all in a bunch! “What did I do?” Gen’ie demanded to know whilst flipped upside down and pressed the tip of his horn into the soft grassy ground. When Kogasu lashed out, swiping her long sharp claws after Gen’ie, he would vanish in thin air only to reappear behind her. “We were only having a bit of fun!” He defended loudly. She was such a stick in the mud. It was almost as bad as dealing with Hageshii. Zaiden’s eyes watched his Seel pup waddle over towards Jinrio and the strange man with his bulbous plant Pokemon with slight interest. How was it that his Pokemon seemed to handle getting along with others and making simple conversations better than he was? Though that wasn’t true for all of them – obviously, Gen’ie and Kogasu had a lot of issues that they needed to work out amongst themselves – it was still depressing. The Spearow in the surrounding trees tugged at Zaiden’s heartstring and reminded him of his Hageshii. His golden colored Spearow had been quite the handful during his earlier travels. It attacked Zaiden out of nowhere when they’d first met. Then, Hageshii chased after Shiwa relentlessly trying to eat his own teammate until he finally learned that Zaiden’s Wurmple was not the bird’s easy meal ticket. Uroko plopped on the ground beside Jinrio and lifted himself up to clap his thick furry flippers together excitedly. He’d missed the conversation that the small blue Rockruff had with Buddy due to obvious reasons of being tangled up in Kogasu’s and Gen’ie’s problems. But he interjected himself all the same, as though it were a natural thing for him to be in the middle of it all. “They’re just having fun with each other!” Then, as the white pup glanced over to his friends who looked anything but friendly with one another, he laughed. “It’s all an act, ya know? Just a big show…and I’m the star!” Jinrio tilted his head and sighed as he followed Uroko’s gaze and thought about the question that Buddy proposed. “That’s pretty cool…so like, nature just gave it to you? I wish I found something so cool of my own to have…hm…” Maybe he could run off now and search through the woods? Would he come across fossilized remains?! A large dinosaur bone would be the most amazing gift Jinrio could think of! He’d chew on it until the last of his days, where he’d teach future grand-pups how to chew on large bones properly so they don’t choke and pass it down to them in his will. “But…I don’t think they meant to harass the locals. They’re at each other’s throats...” Jinrio admitted honestly. “Uroko…why do you think they’re trying to put on a play?” Uroko just responded as calmly and simply, “Because Gen’ie told me so!” With a loud, happy laugh. OOC: idk...Gen'ie's lying? lol Words: 621 | Speech. Thoughts. | Pokedex Pixel Kogasu | Baunsu | Uroko | Gen'ie | Promise | Jinrio | Zaiden Sprite by Redwerecat!

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'I could help you find your own awesome, pretty stick. It probably wouldn't be as great as mine, because it's the best stick ever, but I'm sure we could find you the second best stick ever. Maybe it will have flowers too. Or maybe it'll be sharp and pointy. Pointy sticks would probably hurt if you played with your friends, though.' As if to make a point about the poky-ness of a stick being relevant to its awesomeness level, Buddy prodded her trainer in the side with her fallen branch. Adrian winced at the hard prod and squinted at Buddy, who promptly thwapped him playfully between the eyes. He yelped in surprise and slapped a hand to the new sore spot, suddenly annoyed and a little angry. 

What in the world? Why had she done that?! 

A part of him wanted to yank the stick away and yell, but the moment he opened his mouth to do just that, he froze. No. That...that would be wrong. Buddy came across as really young and inexperienced. She was just so playful and curious and carefree. He was pretty sure her actions weren't malicious, as Pokemon just outright tended to play rougher with other pokemon. Battling itself was even considered play for now. Maybe she didn't realize that she hurt him by doing that. The hand that he now realized was outstretched to rip away the stick shivered as her curled his fingers into his palm, fingernails digging into skin as he breathed through the anger that plagued him his whole life. 

Anger his damn father put in him. Because in that split second, that's who he reminded himself of. Except his old man never had the change of heart. He just committed to yanking Adrian around and yelling at him for being a clueless, reckless, good for nothing idiot who'd end up in a ditch somewhere one day. He pulled his hand to his lap and stared at it, flexing his fingers and palm. A breathy, defeated sigh escaped him and his head dropped forward.

Buddy, who'd noticed what her little display had caused in her trainer, looked sheepish and apologetic.

'Oops. Um. Yeah. That's why maybe a super pointy stick would be a bad idea. I maybe kinda hurt my trainer with the not very pointy kind...' She looked around and saw a cluster of flowers growing near Zaiden's rocky perch. She curled a vine around the base of the cluster, pulled, and then offered the bouquet to Adrian. Sorry... 

He looked up, head tilted a bit.

Buddy made a hopeful noise and shook the bundle in excitement, sending petals all over his hair and lap.  

He blew one stray petal out of his face and rolled his eyes, the trace of a smile curling at the corner of his mouth. Then he took the bundle of shaken wildflowers and arched his brows. Happy now?

Buddy indeed was happy as she turned to face her new friends again.

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Word Count: 502 | OOC: Trying out this whole post template thing

[Caramell 🍬]

ZAIDEN KABILA Aspiring Champion Bike Mode: On | Time: Day Jinrio yipped excitedly and wagged his tail when Buddy offered to help him find a stick of his own. He really didn’t want to find a stick, though. The small blue pup wanted to find bones that he could chew forever on, and was nearly positive that a densely populated forest like the one they were in was sure to have some kind of bones hidden within its depths. “Oh, I’d love the help!” The small canine shook his head and turned his bright green eyes to stare intently at the surrounding trees and tall grasses in the distance. “But maybe my stick can be more like uh…really sharp bone instead? Those are always so tasty!” He laughed. Uroko’s face fell as he watched the two work out a way on their own to hunt up sticks. Though, as Adrian reacted to being smacked, the seal pup waddled through the tall grasses over to the other man and placed one of his thick flippers on Adrian’s lap. “That looked like it hurt?” He stared up at Adrian and tilted his head curiously, hoping that this human wouldn’t just shrug him away and would accept his words of sympathy. “I wish…I knew healing moves…” Then it donned on him! Promise might know some! Uroko twisted his head around and shouted over his shoulders. “Promise, can you heal this human! It’s partner hurt it pretty badly!” As Promise fluttered on her long wings towards Adrian, Zaiden hopped off his rock and raised an eyebrow curiously. It looked like there was commotion happening around the other trainer and at least two of his Pokemon seemed mixed up in the mess. Should he apologize for whatever his Pokemon might have done? His hands shook with apprehension at just the thought, so Zaiden shoved them into the pockets of his dark denim jeans and shuffled around the grass near his rock, working up the courage to walk over to Adrian. It just felt awkward no matter what. Promise would hover above Adrian and study him carefully. “It doesn’t look too bad?” The brightly colored Pokeball pattern Vivillon questioned curiously. “But the only thing I can do is stun spore…I don’t think that helps humans…” Jinrio, instead, pressed his snout against Buddy and tried to lure the bulbous plant Pokemon away from Uroko, Promise, and his own trainer. They had sticks to find and bones to sniff out! It was going to be a grand adventure that they would have all their own! “That did look like it hurt…but Promise and Uroko will help, I’m sure! Let’s go find me a bone!” He barked happily. When Adrian first raised his hand, Jinrio had begun to bare his fangs and growl as though he might protect his newfound friend from her own trainer. However, as soon as Adrian decided against it, Jinrio relaxed and returned his attention towards their adventures ahead. Without another second’s though, Jinrio ran off through the tall grasses towards the tree lines where the forest was the thickest. He’d hoped his keen sense of smell might pick up bones somewhere around there. OOC: Promise and Uroko try to cheer up Adrian and Jinrio wants to go stick hunting bone hunting! Huzzah! Words: 525 | Speech. Thoughts. | Pokedex Pixel Kogasu | Baunsu | Uroko | Gen'ie | Promise | Jinrio | Zaiden Sprite by Redwerecat!

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Yeah. Getting growled at kinda reinforced the whole 'he really shouldn't lash out in anger' thing. Adrian already felt rather ashamed about his natural reaction to being struck, even if on accident or in well-meaning play. Buddy wasn't the malicious sort ad getting angry and screaming or hitting wouldn't solve jack all. So he fiddled with the handful flowers his bulbasaur gave him in apology and watched Buddy and her new friend flounce off towards the grass together. He could only imagine the games they'd decided to get up to in their exchange. Tiredly, he carded his free hand through his mop of dark hair and let his gaze drop down to the flowers. They were all shaken up and miserable looking, but they were a gift. So he gently set them down on the ground next to his bag so as not to crush them further.

Absently, he was aware of the other trainer drawing closer, having caught sight of him in the corner of his eye slipping off the tall rock. It would be polite to say hello, but Adrian wasn't exactly the epitome of good manners on a good day. Instead, he pretended not to notice the younger trainer and began to fiddle with his PokeGear. Maybe the Nav would help guide him back to the main path... If he could get proper signal that is. With a huff of frustration, he adjusted the settings and tried holding his arm up higher to see if the GPS function would bother working. Probably looked like a clueless city slicker doing this, but as he was indeed what he appeared to be, he wasn't exactly keen on breaking out the map. Reading one beyond the basic landmarks was difficult, especially when he didn't know exactly how lost he was compared to his destination.

Maybe he could send out his new pidgey to help scout out the way back? That was assuming his new 'friend' would work with him. Barry took offense to being captured and was still pretty skittish, as well as shaken up from the battle that came beforehand. Sigh...

At least there was still a decent chunk of daylight left, right?

At that moment, Adrian realized that the vivillion had floated pretty close to him.

He awkwardly waved before withdrawing his arm to be closer to himself. No need to accidentally smack the butterfly out of the sky with his floundering for signal. No doubt THAT would get him in fifteen kinds of trouble.

Off in the grass, unconcerned about being lost or the closeness of nightfall, Buddy wadded through the tall stalks in search of another impressive stick or that bone her new friend mentioned.

'Why do you want a bone instead of a pretty stick?'

—

Word Count: 460 | OOC: A new template! Fitting for daytime woodland wandering. lol.

[Caramell 🍬]

ZAIDEN KABILA Aspiring Champion Bike Mode: On | Time: Day The bright blue dog searching alongside his friend through the tall grasses that surrounded the open forested route near New Bark Town. Jinrio’s tail flopped from side to side erratically as he wagged it, yipping excitedly at every long stick or giant leaf he managed to find. There were so many new and interesting scents that clung to his nostrils and caused him to bury them deep inside of the grasses, it was hard for the small Rockruff to keep his focus on the task at hand. Buddy’s question caught him off-guard, though, and managed to get Jinrio to pull his head up to see the rest of the world around him for what it was. “Why?” The question along felt like a loaded statement. Why did he want a bone? Why did Buddy love his stick? Why were felines like Meowth used by humans pets to chase away vermin like Rattata from their storage sheds in rural communities? Why were Rattata known to try and steal things from unsuspecting trainers? Why did birds like Pidgey and Spearow build nests high up inside of tall trees and raise their young even before the small babies would be able to properly fly, risking life and limb to keep them off the ground where predators presumably roamed? “I just…love them.” Was his simple and honest reply. Zaiden stared at his shiny Rockruff as Jinrio bounced around through the tall grasses. He scratched the back of his head and wondered if commentary on their two Pokemon venturing off into the great unknown made sense? Though, as he noticed the other man raising his hand in possible anger, only to calm down and reconsider his motives, Zaiden decided he needed to keep his thoughts to himself. He wasn’t the most entertaining person and even though he’d forged a somewhat awkward friendship with the delinquent known as Shinya, he wasn’t quite sure the other trainer actually favored him much in the end. Plus, Zaiden’s moral compass bled for law and order to help maintain a functioning society and didn’t agree with Shinya’s ways, though he wasn’t sure how he could convince him on changing for the better. “Are trainers are strange…huh?” Jinrio commented half-handedly while Promise just fluttered about and stared down at Uroko with a large smile. “You know what though? Maybe we’re the weird ones, if you think about it! Who else but us went looking for more sticks…and bones!” Jinrio’s mouth watered and thick globs of saliva dripped onto the ground underneath him as she shuffled about, tossing inferior sticks deeper into the forest while he hunted for the perfect ‘one’. Promise would settle on a large yellow tulip that popped up tall above the grasses around it and stared curiously at Adrian as though she were trying to consider whether this new trainer was a friend or a foe for her own team. “Uroko, sometimes you’ve gotta wait for someone to ask for help first.” She stated firmly. “Else you’re just causing issues trying to save someone who doesn’t need saving.” OOC: Shall we find a stick or a bone? Hmm? Words: 516 | Speech. Thoughts. | Pokedex Pixel Kogasu | Baunsu | Uroko | Gen'ie | Promise | Jinrio | Zaiden Sprite by Redwerecat!

[Pixel]

Our trainers are weird. Buddy agreed as she watched her rockruff companion grab and discard sticks, dissatisfied with their stickness. Stickatude? Not bone-ness? Oh! Maybe your trainer would like a pretty stick or bone stick! Does he like flowers? I think mine likes flowers. Even when he seems sad or upset, if I give him flowers, he seems to cheer up. So I'm going to give him lots of pretty things so he can be happy! If Adrian could understand her chatter, he might be inclined to be outright mortified. Him. Liking pretty things? Cute things? Him. A man. In a black leather jacket with a bad attitude and all that, liking cute, pretty things? Psssh. Untrue. Never. Total lie. But as he was blissfully unaware, Buddy could keep up her cheerful rambles and schemes without her trainer knowing a thing, blissfully unaware of the conclusions she had drawn.

As they rummaged through the grasses for that perfect bone stick, Buddy would pick up a few that her companion perhaps couldn't reach. She'd present him with sticks of various size and freshness. Some dry and brittle, that crumbled in her vines as she brought them down, while others were springy with life, still damp with morning dew. As a team, they would find the perfect stick!

Adrian lost sight of the pair, but figured Buddy wouldn't go too far...

He made himself relax and focus on the butterfly that landed on a big yellow flower nearby.

Er. He was being watched. Still. Maybe it was hungry? He really didn't have much... Adrian looked in his bag. Jerky. Chips. Soda. Yeah. Not exactly the kind of chow he figured vivillion ate. Awkwardly, he glanced around for answers, but his sights landed on the other trainer who had yet to say a word. With a grimace at the sheer weirdness of the situation, he pulled out his PokeGear and fiddled with it. Maybe some radio would help with the tense silence that had now befallen them after the bickering had ceased.

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Word Count: 339 | OOC:Both? Either? Clearly they need a collection of sticks to choose from.

[Caramell 🍬]

ZAIDEN KABILA Aspiring Champion Bike Mode: On | Time: Day Jinrio kept sifting through all of the sticks that littered the ground. Some were small twigs that snapped underneath his larger paws, while others were solid chucks that were difficult to drag across the ground. The blue Rockruff struggled, kicking, and clawing at the ground with a large log in his mouth as he tried to drag it back towards the group. It must have been as large as a grown man’s thigh or better, and as long as a tall ladder. “Hmm…” The small Rockruff muttered underneath his voice as he just barely managed to pull his stick a good three inches across the ground after nearly half an hour of struggling or better. “ I dunno…” He mumbled through a mouthful of bark and dried tree leaves. Jinrio stopped in his tracks and spat out small pieces of the tree’s rough bark onto the ground near his feet and thought. Would it be better to find something that his trainer would like? The blue dog glanced over to Zaiden while scratching the back of his neck with one of his hind legs and blinked. His trainer always seemed so…odd. Quiet, nervous, and unlike something he would have expected from a typical trainer. Were there demons that the teenager held hidden inside of his warped head and that he battled with? Or was he just Mr. Lazy Bones and didn’t want to put in the extra works. “How can flowers cheer him up? Do other creatures like the look of them or something?” Jinrio asked his newfound friend in confusion, blinking profusely. “I don’t even like their smell! Give me a good mud pit or a marked tree, instead! Do you know how many emotions I can sniff out of someone’s marking?” Jinrio’s eyes lit up like the Fourth of July as he thought about all the scents he’d smelled from wild Pokemon while searching for his stick. Buddy plucked a few sticks loose and presented them to Jinrio, catching the small pup’s attention off-guard. He parked his rear end on the ground near his behemoth of a stick and sniffed each one as Buddy presented them. One had small white flowers wrapped around it on a thick green vine, while another had strange looking blue flowers clumped together in groups of five. “Oh! This one had some kind of…rodent on it once…” Jinrio laughed while sniffing the white flowered branch and wagging his tail. “And this one…just has this citrusy like woody smell. Hmm…interesting.” Zaiden watched the small Bulbasaur and his Rockruff hit it off like two peas in a pod. He turned his attention back to Adrian with a nervous twitch as he ambled about in the tall grass. Perhaps it wouldn’t seem so out of place if he focused some of his attention on training his Pokemon? Though, a glance back at Kogasu and Gen’ie made Zaiden determinedly change his mind. At least the two seemed to work out their differences – with Gen’ie busily floating above in the canopies spooking some of the native wildlife and Kogasu searching in large berry bushes for something she could scrounge up. Were they hungry, then? Zaiden immediately turned to his bag and began pulling out different cans of Pokechow. He would prepare a plate for each of his Pokemon, press two fingers together in his lips, and whistle loudly to get their attention. OOC: Time to eat! Words: 570 | Speech. Thoughts. | Pokedex Pixel Kogasu | Baunsu | Uroko | Gen'ie | Promise | Jinrio | Zaiden Sprite by Redwerecat!

[Pixel]

'Flowers cheer people up because they're pretty!' Buddy affirmed as the rockruff investigated their collection of sticks of all various shapes and sizes. The pup was a little more ambitious than her in the size of sticks grabbed and one just seemed far too large to comfortably haul around for any length of time. It did amuse her to watch him try, only to spit out bark and leaves for his extensive efforts. 'Pretty stuff, especially pretty gifts, always seem to make humans happy. I don't know why, though. Flowers are easy because they're everywhere outside and smell nice too. Just look around a bit and THERE, flowers to pick.' It was all so obvious to her. 'They're also tasty.' She promptly ate the bud off the top of a nearby bush that hadn't yet opened up. Mmmm. Yummy flowers!

She was happily chewing on her treat when the pup mentioned markings. 

'Plants do the same thing! Their smell is the plant way of saying all sorts of things, like go away or come here or I'm in danger! You just have to be able to speak their language, which is different from not-plants and their, er...other methods.' It was then she heard the sharp whistle and lifted her head. What was that? That wasn't her trainer, was it? Either way, she poked her friend to go investigate the noise and happily bounded back into 'camp' to see who whistled. She quickly learned it wasn't her trainer, but the other one. Hers was sitting on a stump, fiddling with the radio. The station had taken a break to report the weather before returning to some soothing tunes for your afternoon pleasure.

Buddy hopped over to him and nuzzled his leg, reassuring him she hadn't gone far and wasn't upset about him getting mad earlier. Adrian reached down to pat her head and bulb before offering her a chip from the bag he opened. She happily crunched on it before running over to return to her new friends. What were they doing? What was that smell? Oh? Food? What kind of food. 

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Word Count: 359 | OOC:Time for snacks!