Week 2.

[azumods]

WEEK 2. The new week begins with new surroundings. The city you've been growing accustomed to over the past week is now well behind you as you set out on your journey proper; the terrain still seems rocky and steep here as you move downhill and to the south, dotted here and there with small ponds to the east and rocky outcroppings that you can climb on to the west. There are also large expanses of tall grass here, and the entire route is flanked with tall trees leading off into the forest a short ways. You're more than welcome to explore; just don't stray too far from the group - you wouldn't want to be left behind out here, for any reason. Wild Pokémon are abundant here, as anyone venturing into the tall grass will discover; they aren't inclined to attack you, however, simply watching with dull, dead eyes as you stumble through the area they've come to call home. The trip is difficult, and it's a lot of walking, but it's not unmanageable; fortunately enough, the route you're on should lead you directly to Valor Lakefront, assuming there are no complications along the way. From Thursday and beyond, the route takes a sharp turn west; in front of you lies what's clearly the ocean, large rocks jutting out just offshore tempering the waves. It's safe to go in the water if you so choose - assuming you can swim, that is - and the forested terrain has given way to a large beach with patches of tall grass here and there. Interestingly, there's a house located on the beach; whether it's inhabited or not is difficult to tell. Of course, exploring slightly north of the beach will reveal a path. Maybe it leads somewhere important... CURRENT LOCATION: ROUTE 213 POKEMON AVAILABLE: NEAR WATER SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY [OOC: Welcome to week two of Azume; feel free to make as many top levels as you'd like and tag out to other characters! This post is for all of your interactions this week... at least until the weekend. Don't forget that a write-up is due next weekend!]

Comments

[greydients]

[While it's disappointing to leave the splendor (and resources) of Veilstone City behind, Rey can't say she's too disappointed to have the chance to really stretch her legs and start to enjoy Sinnoh's landscapes. She'd made it her mission to ensure she'd packed herself a useful collection of items from the Department store, from non-perishable food to medicines to safety equipment, and a new outfit consisting of a purple jacket from the women's section and, thanks to some helpful advice from Michael, functional pants from the men's section (with so many pockets!). With the final addition of a sturdy pair of walking shoes, Rey actually feels...quite prepared for the journey, and for the first time, finds that she might actually find the trek fun and adventurous rather than routine and stressful.

Golett remains silently following her, as always, although occasionally - if Rey's eyes aren't deceiving her - it adjusts the beanie it's wearing on its head every time they pass a body of water in which it can admire its reflection. Hmm.

It's when Golett stops in front of one of those ponds, adjusting its hat, that Rey's adventure really begins to get interesting - the surface of the pond, calm when Golett walked over to it, has started to tremble.]

...Golett, get back-!

[There's no time for Golett to step back as a Pokemon crashes through the surface of the water, and Rey throws off her pack to sprint over and try to protect it-

...only to be greeted to the sight of a small blue Pokemon desperately flailing around, doing no damage to Golett other than splashing it as it thrashes in the water, gasping for air. The entire exercise seems to only take a second - before Rey can even process what she's seeing, the Pokemon disappears under the surface again.]

...it can't swim...! Golett, move!

[It's when she's already knee-deep in the water that Rey remembers she can't swim either, but fortunately, the pond's deepest point - where the little Pokemon is stuck - only reaches her waist, and she manages to pull it free of the water and drag it up to the bank, assisted by Golett, who seemed incredibly unwilling to immerse itself in the water. Once it's safely free of the pond, the new Pokemon continues to cough for a while, before lying back in the mud and staring blankly up at the sky once its breathing has returned to normal.

Rey - now soaked up to her waist - collapses next to it.]

Well, that was fun. Are you alright?

[The little Pokemon doesn't respond, simply adjusting its gaze so it's looking right at Rey. Slowly, its two black ears start to rise. The trio fall into silence for a moment - Rey unsure how to react, Golett standing next to her - until the newcomer's pupils dilate sharply and its body twitches, ears drooping back down.

...]

...okay, well. We need to keep moving, so you take care of yourself, alright? No more swimming in strange ponds.

[As Rey and Golett move to leave, the new Pokemon also rises to its feet, waiting expectently for them to walk away. As they start to, it immediately follows.]

...I didn't say you could come with us....!

[Should you want to interact with Rey, you can talk with her immediately after she returns from her morning pond adventure, throughout the afternoon as you all march along, or finally, during dinner, where you'll find her excitedly flicking through the book of Pokemon she found in the Veilstone Department store, her two Pokemon silently sitting by her side.]

You're a Riolu! I thought you looked familiar!

morning

[niceoppai]

Whoa! Are you okay? [Chelsea boggles at Rey and company coming back soaking wet.] Did you guys fall in the pond?

[greydients]

Something like that - my new friend decided to go for an ill-advised swim.

[Let her indicate over her shoulder to the Riolu, who is determinedly trotting behind Golett.]

Sometimes I forget how dangerous water can be.

[niceoppai]

Yeah, it's hard when home didn't have much of it. None of you got hurt, right?

[greydients]

No, we're fine. Just...

[....ugh]

...soaked.

After Morning Pond Adventure

[takestheblame]

[Kiryu had been busy trying to judge if a bug net was a wise purchase when Rey appeared, her clothing wet up to the waist. Not too far from her there's a blue creature. Well then!]

Should I suppose there's some relation between all that water on you and your new teammate?

[This traveling group sure is getting larger every day!]

[greydients]

Unfortunately.

[Ugh, just...let her try and squeeze some of the water out of her jacket. She is...unused to being wet, and it's not all that pleasant of an experience, funnily enough.

....also is that...a net?]

Trying to obtain a new teammate yourself?

[takestheblame]

[Kiryu approaches Riolu a bit. So blue, so soaked...]

Not what I expected from a water creature.

[Looks like a canine of some sort with no fins or anything else that could make life in the water easier, but if she went into water and got out with this little pal, then it must be aquatic. Sinnoh has so many strange beings!]

Already did. I read there are insects that could be caught, so I bought this -- it's said to be traditional when catching bugs. Came with a hat. [Straw hat he puts on. He looks ridiculous, what with the rest of him wearing a suit, but Kiryu doesn't seem to mind] Raising an insect shouldn't be a problem for a beginner like me, I thought.

It didn't go like expected.

[He points aside with a thumb. A couple feet away there's an insect alright, but it's too large for the net. Heracross doesn't seem to react much, just like any other Pokemon in the world right now]

[greydients]

[That straw hat definitely does not go with the rest of the outfit, but Rey can't help but smile slightly. At least he's enthusiastic?]

At least you still managed to 'catch' the Pokemon? You didn't even have to go swimming to do so.

[Right, let her just...try to get some water out of her pants, as well...having deep pockets isn't great all the time, apparently...]

And I'm not sure if this really is a Water Pokemon - I had to jump in and drag it out of the pond since it looked like it was drowning.

[...

Maybe it was just a really odd swimming technique.....]

I think I would have preferred having your net.

dinner

[fatalstrikes]

[Yuri's noticed the new addition throughout the day, but he hasn't thought much of it. He does approach after dinner though, just in time to hear Rey speak up.]

I think I remember reading about that one. Fighting-type, right?

[greydients]

That's right!

[Here Yuri, have Rey almost shoving the book in your face.]

It's a Fighting-type, and apparently really uncommon, and look - it says here that it can sense emotions!

[...you know, it would probably help if she gave you a bit of context, wouldn't it-]

I think it did it to me! When we met!

[fatalstrikes]

[He'll actually pause to read the entry since she's so kindly shoved the book in his face, but—]

Really? Hey, that could be great! Maybe the little guy's going to be able to learn from you, pick up a few emotions of his own!

[...]

Her own?

[greydients]

[That....

...

...huh.]

I'm not sure if it's a he or a she - the book says the species is mostly male, but I don't want to accidentally insult it by getting its gender wrong.

[...although, to be fair, it probably isn't going to care much anyway...]

...I'll figure something out. Have you found any new Pokemon?

after pond adventures

[divinedescendant]

[emmeryn turns around for a goddamn minute and people are scrambling back soaking wet. the day is off to one HECK OF A START

her instinct is, of course, doing a concern, so she hikes her long skirt up some (emm why are you wearing a skirt) and hustles on over to Rey as she comes to rejoin the group.]

—Are you all right? Has something happened?

[greydients]

[...seriously Emmeryn why are you wearing a skirt, that looks incredibly inappropriate for this terrain

Although to be fair, at the moment Rey would happily swap with you - it's not a warm day and she's now stuck in wet clothing for the next however many hours they take to dry. Ughhhh.....]

Nothing bad - this little Pokemon needed some help with swimming.

[She'll try to keep the annoyed/sarcastic tone out of her voice, since she's pleased she managed to save the silly thing, but still....at least Riolu doesn't seem bothered, though. It's still trotting mechanically behind Golett, who's trotting mechanically behind Rey.]

Looks like I've got a new friend, at least, since it won't leave me alone.

[Sighing, Rey squeezes some excess water out of her jacket and takes in Emmeryn's outfit. Huh. Let her raise a quizzical eyebrow, there.]

Are you alright to walk in that? The ground here isn't the most manageable.

[divinedescendant]

No need to worry about me. This is what I'm most used to.

[she's gonna be bad about this in or out of pants, she may as well keep her dedication to her aesthetic. it's probably fine???]

I'm glad you're safe, at least... You and your new companion. It must have been a daring rescue indeed. But I must have some extra clothing if you'd like something dry to change into...

[more skirts, tbh]

[greydients]

[Rey shakes her head, although it's obvious the suggestion has pleased her. She's not used to be offered help, and it shows.]

Thank you, but I'm fine - we should save our extra clothes for if our current ones get damaged beyond repair.

[She's still a scavenger at heart, and decent clothing is hard to come by. With a soft grunt, Rey lifts her pack up onto her back, clipping a large strap tightly around her hips.]

And it wasn't anything interesting - just some splashing around in a pond. I'm actually rather lucky it was just a pond, as swimming isn't really my strong suit.

[To...put it mildly...

...]

...I appreciate the offer, though.

[And in her own awkward way, that's completely genuine.]

Is there anything you need? I've got lots of supplies.

dinner

[thunderwolf]

[While he wasn't watching Rey as he ate, Eustace couldn't help but overhear her excited chatter about a Riolu. That's enough to get his ears perked up, and so he looks over. Sure enough...]

You found one?

[Seems like he's read about them!]

[greydients]

You could say that.

[She would have preferred better circumstances, but still....

Curious, Rey closes her book, keeping one finger within the pages to ensure she doesn't lose her place.]

Have you read about them?

[thunderwolf]

Yeah. Saw 'em in a book while I was trying to find information on Rose.

[Rose being his own Pokemon companion- the Mimikyu sitting beside him.]

They seem like solid allies. Determined, striving for improvement. [...] At one point, at least.

[greydients]

[Rey shifts a bit so she can get a good view of Rose, smiling slightly.]

Ah, I remember her. That's a nice name.

[At least, she's assuming it's a 'her' - the only other person she's heard of with that name was female, after all.]

I take it you didn't end up fighting her?

[She hasn't forgotten their conversation in the base, clearly - although there's an obvious hint of amusement in her voice.]

Afternoon march!

[heritrix]

[So they haven't really talked all that much; there's still several people Rin hasn't properly spoken to yet, actually. Her preoccupations with finding a leyline kept her on the outskirts of town for most of last week, away from the others, and once they'd set out from Veilstone City the enthusiasm to trail-blaze took over. The fresh air is invigorating, and there's something so exciting about exploring a new world that Rin couldn't help herself. While she's careful to always keep one person in earshot, she keeps going ahead of the group, or alternatively falling behind after branching off to explore paths that seem intriguing.

It's a case of the latter when Rin jogs to catch up with Rey, her Mienfoo hot on her tail. In comparison to Rey and her partners they both look a little dirty, but mostly okay.]

So there was still someone over here. Heh, what a relief!

[Sighing cheerfully, Rin stretches her arms high above her head, working out the kinks. It's as she drops her limbs back down to her sides, however, she notices her Mienfoo's attention isn't focused on her as usual, and looks back to see what he's found so interesting. Oh...? Rey's Golett is so round, she didn't notice there was something else back there at first.]

Hey, don't look now, but it seems you've picked up a straggler.

[greydients]

[Rey can't resist the urge to sigh when Rin points out the latest member of her little party-of-two; it's been a while since she pulled it from the pond, and it hasn't made any sign that it's interested in doing anything but following her. It's not that she minds, but...surely it was busy doing something before?

...apart from, you know. Drowning.]

Don't I know it. I think it likes me.

[Well. As much as these Pokemon can like someone, anyway.

Casting a curious eye over Rin and her Pokemon as she walks (she's seen this girl around, but never spoken to her - all this socialising is going to give her a heart attack, but she's slowly getting better at it), Rey takes in her lightly disheveled appearance.]

Have you been exploring?

[heritrix]

It's pretty cute, at least; just look at those ears! [Adorable. She laughs lightly.] You could have much smellier followers.

[Rin wrinkles her nose as she says this, reminded of the skunk-like creatures she and her partner nearly came across earlier in the day. Hoo boy, was that a bullet dodged.]

But yes, a little bit. The terrain and wildlife here are interesting; I want to get a good feel for it. And it's a good opportunity for this one to get some battling practice in.

[She nods to her Mienfoo.]

[greydients]

[Ah, right - battling practice. That wasn't something Rey had considered in depth, as of yet, but now that she had two Pokemon...hm. Filing that thought away for later, she runs her hand through the leaves of a nearby bush as they walk.]

I know what you mean about the terrain. I grew up in a desert, so having all this...greenery around is wonderful. It's almost enough to make me forget that I'm so far from home.

[Not that she has any immediate plans to return to Jakku, but details.]

Is your home like this? Green, I mean.