victory_road | I Can't Believe It's Another Hisui Catchall

Current Mood: busy
Current Location: Hisui

Entry tags:

I Can't Believe It's Another Hisui Catchall

Who: Heather Mason and YOU!
Where: Hisui
When: July/throughout the event
Summary: A catch-all for Heather Mason, who can be encountered doing various things and saying various swearwords under the cut.
Rating: PG-13 at most
Log:

GENERAL INFO: During her time in Hisui, Heather will be a rather tatty bandit's outfit (she was late getting to the table with all the clothes), some cozy boots, and a blue cap. Heather's new starter is a Hisuian Growlithe who she has creatively named "Twojo" (her actual starter is a Growlithe named Cujo). Over the course of the event she will be catching a shiny Pikachu (!!) and a MYSTERY THIRD POKEMON I have not decided on yet.
She is very tired and not particularly happy about the possibility that she'll never get to see her other Pokemon ever again, but for the sake of other people who she's assuming probably feel the same way, she's at least trying not to be a complete vibe-ruiner over it.

PROMPT A: General Campground Presence

One of the few things that actually help get Heather's mind off of the less-than-ideal situation is keeping busy! When she's not actively exploring, she'll be fairly active around the campground, primarily in the form of keeping the firewood well-stocked and patrolling the camp's borders with Twojo (and a nice hefty stick, in case Twojo's barking doesn't do the trick) to keep high-leveled wild Pokemon from demolishing everything.

As a hot-water-enjoyer herself, she will also be readily volunteering Twojo's firey breath to help keep the showers nice and warm.

Maybe you're joining her on these ventures! Or maybe you desperately need to wash the stank off and there's nobody else around to heat the water for you. OR MAYBE you found her sacked out by the campfires after a long day of roughing it and are in the mood for some conversation.

PROMPT B: Training and Sparring

Being an otherworldly "old-timer" at this point, Heather is used to RARELY having to worry about encountering a problem that can't be at least adequately dealt with by whipping out a level 100 Pokemon.

Needless to say, suddenly being stuck in the untamed wilderness with NOTHING but a measley level-20 Pokemon? That's like... a baby. NAY, a zygote. And she doesn't like that, no SIR. By sunset on that very first day, Heather has thrown herself into vigorous training with Twojo, hoping to stack some levels onto this pup before they have the bad luck to encounter something they can't handle.

Which means she is looking for folks to engage in friendly training battles with! She can't be the only one who's in a hurry to toughen up their new friend in case things go awry.

On that note, she won't say no to friendly sparring, either. When they're all in one place like this, maybe it's a good opportunity to meet some other folks who are into that kind of thing. You never know when you might have to jump in and just punch a wild Pokemon in the face yourself.

PROMPT C: WILDCARD!

You got another idea? COOL, go for it! You can also ping me on Plurk for plotting if you'd like to brainstorm!

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[Radley smiles more at the cute doggie.]

Yeah, no kidding. I spend a lot of time gathering every day and trying to find those parts. I can think of more improvements for the camp, but I'm not sure we have the resources to do them....

_{[Because the squirt hadn't been a deliberate, aggressive attack, the Growlithe is more frightened than hurt-- to Heather's immense relief. She grabs a towel from a nearby table where they'd been stacked for shower-ers to make use of and hastily starts to ruffle-dry Twojo.]

[Once she's actively being dried off, Twojo's awful puppy screeches simmer down into distressed whimpering.]}

It's okay. It's okay. She's fine. I think.

Fuck.

_{[It's tempting to snap. To blame JW-- who after all HAS BEEN KIND OF A DICK IN THE PAST-- for the incident. But she can't. They were all thrown into this and handed a strange, unsocialized Pokemon without any choice in the matter.]

[There's no way that this will be the only faux pas between 'mons to occur in the camp.]}

Thanks for... acting quick.

Oh, good for you.

_{[No sarcasm.]}

I should get out there and look for the parts, too.

It's just been a long time since I've been out in the wild with just one Pokemon, you know?

_{[She hasn't had to seriously worry about wild Pokemon KO-ing her entire team in years. Suddenly being in that position again is really taking her back to that first shitty disorienting week she'd spent getting from New Bark to Cherrygrove.]

[At least everybody's in one place this time.]}

It's pretty nerve-wracking, definitely. Lily seems to know her way around, so I let her guide me on where it's safe to go.

How many Pokemon do you have?

_{[He groans, miserable to imagine what other shit this strange round Pokemon will pull before he gets back to his team. He wonders if they even know he's gone.]}

No problem. Ugh. I should have some jerky around here somewhere. Maybe that'll make it up to her.

_{[He gives the sopping wet dog a sympathetic look. He doesn't like dogs but she didn't deserve that.]}

"I hope they're merely regional forms, personally. I'd rather not think of these sweet creatures dying out."

The Sneasel looks from one trainer to the other, confused, before she offers the Growlithe a small shrug. Humans say such strange things, sometimes.

"In the meantime, I've not learned much. Prishe knows a few Normal-type moves, along with a Rock Smash powerful enough to make me believe she's at least partially a Fighting-type. I don't suppose your new companion would be able to confirm that guess with Play Rough?"

Riku... certainly looks like he could use a shower. His hair's a bit frazzled. There's some rather noticeable dirt on his clothes. There may even be a few twigs in his hair. He also looks... rather tired. So tired he's almost shambling about like a zombie, in fact...

When he spots a familiar face and slowly blinks.

Huh. Been a while since they were in proximity. Well, this is kinda embarrassing.

"...Heh. Never thought I'd miss indoor plumbing."

Smalltalk is hard, but. Well. Sure. Why not? Good to socialize even in these weird circumstances.

Bandit outfits unite! If... only because the other outfits he was offered didn't really fit his arms very well. But, more importantly, he's caught sight of Heather occasionally sparring with other people herself. Which seems like a good idea for a lot of reasons. Not only because you might have to punch a pokemon yourself...

Because you also might have to jump on one of your teammates who are trying to punch an Alpha Pokemon themselves.

"Feel up for a few rounds?"

He sets a bucket down near his feet as he asks. Inside said bucket is a very small, very delighted little Mantyke. Her head pokes up, and she proceeds to squeak and trill at both Heather and Twojo.

Heather fortunately has no intentions of punching an Alpha Pokemon unless absolutely necessary.

Turning at the sound of Shiro's voice, she smirks at the sight of his outfit. TWINSIES.

"Sounds like fun. So, you were late to the clearance sale too, huh?"

Lifting her arms, she makes a show of flexing. Even though she's probably as athletically toned as she's ever been, there's never much visible to show off. Which makes pretending there is one of her favorite, never-gets-old jokes.

"Good thing I got a gun license."

Har har.

Meanwhile, Twojo warily regards the bucket and its occupant. Not too long ago, the naiive pooch got squirted in the face by a well-intentioned Spheal and now Water-Types are to be approached with caution. She lets out a little WHF.

WELL, if there was ever a time for awkward smalltalk, this is it!

Heather's wistful I'm-thinking-about-modern-sleeping-bags-and-how-much-I-miss-them expression snaps back to reality when he approaches, and after looking up at him she actually has to stifle a sympathetic half-smirk at the sight.

The last time she'd seen him in person was... shit, probably the whole business with Necrozma. Which, while certainly not the sort of ordeal one would emerge from in pristine condition, they had at least returned it from victorious and (at least in Heather's case) feeling extremely cool.

This is whole 'nother story. And Riku in particular has always struck her as someone fairly serious and dignified, so this is probably the most pitiable state she's ever seen him in. But it's not like she looks any better. ... Well, her hair is twig-free. She'll give herself that.

No need to point it out, though.

Sitting up from her slouch, she winces at the audible crack her spine produces in the process.

"Right? Usually what sustains me when I stagger through the wilderness is the radiant promise of the Pokemon Center showers and those little white towels that are fresh out of the dryer. But now I don't even have that. I'm going to crumble into dust."

... OOF. She hadn't even really thought about that.

She glances down at the two little Pokemon, sucking her lips inwards. YEAH, UH, NOT GONNA GO INTO ANY FURTHER DETAIL ABOUT THAT NOTION.

"... Yyyyeeeah, uh... I don't think Twojo knows Play Rough yet."

And it's been such a long time since Cujo learned any natural moves that she honestly can't remember if that's different or not.

She rubs the back of her neck awkwardly.

"I have noticed that she shrugs off Normal-type attacks really well, though. Which makes me think she's maybe Rock? In addition to Fire? ... I mean, I guess Steel is a possibility, but um. Have these people like... even invented Steel yet? Would that even matter for Pokemon typing? History has never been one of my academic strong points."

Here?

Uh... one.

Back home? Oh, jeez. Too many.

_{[She pauses to do a little mental math.]}

... I hit fifty awhile back.

Enough to make wrangling them all a full-time career, I'll tell you that much.

I'm sure it will. She's easily won over.

_{[For all her initial distrust when she'd first come to Johto five billion years ago, in all her time here she's never once met a mean Growlithe.]}

--There, that's better. See? You're all right.

_{[Giving the bedraggled pup one last ruffle, she draws back. Twojo stands up, still slightly shaky, but evidently has recovered enough to give herself a good vigorous shake.]}

... Wow. Yeah, that would be time-consuming. I have about eight, with two on the way. I love them so much. They're really helpful, but they can get into things a lot too.

He might have some mild five-o-clock shadow, too, which he... really would like to tend to. God, being an adult is weird. He's almost in his late-twenties now. Where does the time go?

He blinks slowly for a sec, and... ah. Plucks out one of the twigs. Slightly more dignified, but only slightly.

"Ugh, and we can't even go into town because we're 'outsiders.' I'm all for character-building experiences, but this feels like a big 'careful what you wish for' situation." He rubs his neck, sighing. "Doesn't help that we're without our teams."

Thankfully, his new partner isn't in earshot when he says that. Probably off snacking.

Edited 2022-07-25 18:28 (UTC)

"It does tend to be learned at a late level, true."

Even though he's already moved on to movesets, is Cecil aware that he just said something extremely depressing? Perhaps. He very deliberately takes the time to pat his Sneasel's head, after all.

"Surely the 'Steel' name is merely that, a name? Then again, why not simply call it the Metal type, if the exact nature of each species varies... And of course, if it does already exist, both it and the Rock-type share the same strengths and weaknesses against Normal and Fighting, so I cannot even offer to test it out at eh moment."

Prishe just huffs at that. Just give her four days! Maybe even three! Let her beat up a few Bidoof, and she'll be able to help!

"Kind of. Everything they had left didn't really want to fit..."

It sounds absurd to say out loud, but it was true. Fortunately, Heather has the audacity to pull that little move, and Shiro's embarrassment disappears. He ends up laughing, shaking his head. It's a very good joke, especially where he's concerned.

"Wow, yeah. You've got me beat for sure."

Says the brick wall with legs.

Pancake pops her head out of the bucket, beaming. She squeaks, and reaches out with a flipper - trying to pet the puppy. Very much like a toddler saying Doggy!

[Mando is definitely not a Pokemon old-timer, but he's quickly learning how vital it is to have a strong team. Everyone gets so pissy when you jump in and punch something yourself! Like, why not cut out the middle man and do things on your own?]

[But whatever, training his new Spheal helps keep him from worrying about the rest of his team, wherever they might be. So when he sees someone working with a fire dog, he watches for a few minutes--sneakily, mind you, all sniper-y and assassin-like--before emerging from the bushes and approaching. It would be much more intimidating if he wasn't wearing a bright yellow Pikachu mask over his face.]

Hey.

[He gestures to his Spheal, Ball, who waves one cheerful flipper at Heather and Twojo.]

Any training tips? This one isn't much of a fighter.

[Lies! Lies and slander! Ball is very much... yeah, he's a lover and not a fighter. But he's also smart enough to recognise that his water would have an unfair advantage over Twojo, and he's no bully. Why can't he go frolic somewhere with Twojo and Mando and Heather can beat up on each other? This seems like a perfectly reasonable compromise to him!]

[It had taken exactly one (very short) venture out into the Fieldlands for Envy to realize that yes, actually, he probably should bond with and train his Zorua, no matter how bratty it was. Clearly he needs WAY more back-watching than he's used to in this place. Sure, Pokemon in modern Johto will attack people sometimes, but here? A good 90% seem to be actively looking to maul people, sometimes before said people even notice them.]

[So yeah. Back to basics partner bonding time.]

[He's spent all morning just hanging out with the little guy, but now it's time to get some battle practice in. Luckily, he can see Heather hanging out near one of the open patches on the edge of camp, probably looking for the same thing. The Zorua is down near his ankles, trotting with his pointy little nose up and looking very self-important.]

Hey! Been looking for you, I think mine's ready to try a battle.

[Zorua yips in agreement. Yes, he's been convinced that his new human needs his very valuable help and that there will also be rewards in it for him.]

_{[Yeah, any doubts Heather'd had about the difference between wild Pokemon here and wild Pokemon back home had been banished by the first Nighttime Paras Invasion (tm).]

[Twojo hears Envy and his partner coming before Heather does and starts bouncing excitedly, her tail becoming a blur. YES! YES, IT'S HER FRIENDS! Whom she has only known for a day or two.]}

Yeah?

Got him to stop being an ankle-biter, huh?

_{[She crouches down once they're close enough and cautiously offers her hand for the tiny fox to sniff.]}

Sounds good to me, I've been having her toast the occasional small shrub but I think she'd find an actual battle more interesting.

_{[And less of a fire hazard.]}

_{[He passes his stealth check by a wide margin-- Heather hadn't exactly been looking out for entire dudes lurking in the hedges (as least not as much as she was looking out for any more of those psychotic Paras that kept trying to conduct raids on the campground). Which means that, when she turns around to see who's talking, her reaction is a bit more dramatic than it might have been if she'd seen him coming.]}

JEEZUS-- _{[WAIT IT'S A MASK.]}

Holy shit.

_{[She puffs a tuft of hair out of her face and puts a hand on her chest theatrically, regarding Mando and Ball with palpable relief.]}

Sorry, for a split second I thought this place had the most horrifying regional Pikachu variant imaginable.

_{[(She is going to lose her fucking mind when she sees a Sneasler.)]}

Tips... well, uh, starting small is always good. Before I tried doing any real battles I just had Twojo here practice her moves on like, shrubs...

_{[The little Growlithe, who normally has a pretty bubbly demeanor, is actually hanging back behind her trainer's legs, watching Ball uncertainly with a slow sway of her tail. Heather notices this after a second or two and leans down to give the pooch a reassuring pat.]}

Oh-- sorry, someone else's Spheal squirted her in the face a little while ago so I guess she's a bit gunshy. C'mon, girl, that was an accident.

_{[And Ball, frankly, looks smarter than the other one.]}

"Don't worry, Shiro. If you work really hard and eat your veggies, I'm sure you'll have muscles as spectacularly beefy as mine."

She says this with a toothy grin and a light punch to his (much bigger) shoulder for emphasis.

Meanwhile, Pancake's petting attempt goes unrewarded as the Growlithe backs out of reach, doing another low bark in her throat.

"Oh-- sorry, Twojo's a little wary around water-types after someone else's new starter squirted her in the face. Don't mind her."

To make up for her dog's lukewarm greeting, she herself crouches down next to the bucket.

"Who's this little cutie?"

DUDE, RIGHT?

Heather had entered this world as a teenager who very much thought she was an adult, and now by some strange process has become an adult who feels like... well, not a teenager exactly. More like a Fake Adult.

A slight grimace crosses her face at the mention of their teams' absence. She's been trying not to think about that, but with each passing hour it gets harder and harder not to.

Fortunately, being performatively annoyed about this place's various inconveniences is a good distraction.

"Yeah, that's honestly one of the weirder things about this place. Being afraid of the Pokemon I kinda get, now that I've seen the wild ones in action, but afraid of us? What exactly do they think we'll do if we get into town? Go feral and start biting people?"

SHE'S NOT IMPRESSED, OLD-TIMEY VILLAGERS.

"Yeah..."

Rubbing the back of her neck, she looks down at the Growlithe and mulls over Cecil's words. As much as she'd like to know for sure, it's true that the two possible types are awfully similar.

Maybe the time and effort would just be more wisely spent on something else.

"Anyway, uh... even if more specific testing is out, how do you feel about a practice battle? If nothing else, a learning experience is a learning experience."

Heh, that pretty much sums up the Pokemon-training experience.

_{[INTENSELY LOVABLE, BUT ALSO A PAIN.]}

I've had to pay extra on so many hotel rooms because one of my dipshits shredded a pillow or short-circuited the microwave or something.

I'd kill and die for 'em, though.

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I Can't Believe It's Another Hisui Catchall

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