Heya, it’s been a while since I wrote some reviews for this series. Too long in fact, though today feels like as good a day as any to try and change that given that there’s a flash review event going on, and hey, I
did say I’d keep tabs on your series this year.
So let’s just get right into things, since there’s a
lot for me to catch up on.
Prompt #28
The buzzing of Drake's PokeNav seemed to startle the Dragon Master less and less each time he got a call, although he scowled at the number a bit longer than usual this time. With a hesitant greeting, he answered.
"Hello?"
… Not sure how soothing it’d really be to hear
Drake’s voice on the other end of the line. He has always given off a strong vibe that he’d be someone quite imposing to meet in person, which I suppose is pretty thematically on-brand for a Dragon Master.
"Yes, this is Drake."
"...Yes."
"..."
"What'd the idiot do this time?"
… Oh, well
that certainly isn’t a good omen there.
"Yes...I mean - well, I can be there soon."
"Thanks."
Drake felt several pairs of eyes on him as he hung up the call. The Elites that were privy to the one sided conversation were giving him a range of looks, but Drake just shrugged them off with a gruff response.
"I have to go. Don't wait up for me."
Huh, not even giving a hint as to what he’s up to, huh? I didn’t
quite expect that he’d be like this given the E4’s dynamic with each other in this series, but guess that must’ve been one hell of a phone call.
Not daring to stop their senior Elite, all eyes watched as Drake mounted Salamence and took off into the night without another word.
Oh, so Drake
is imposing in person, huh? Since if you’re not willing to speak up and tell him “hey Drake, aren’t you up a bit late?” you just
know he had one hell of a look on his face before ducking out into the night. ^^;
He was greeted by a flurry of feathers as he slid open the door to the Slateport hospital room.
"Peeko, enough!"
Oh. Oh dear. Though I suppose Briney
is canonically getting a bit up there in years.
"Briney, you old dog, why'd you call me here anyway?" Drake growled as he approached the bedside of his long-time friend and fellow sailor.
"Bah, you know hospitals. All protocol and no sense," Briney dismissed Drake's question with a wave of the hand that wasn't currently affixed with an IV. Peeko fluttered back to his side with a clack of her beak and a small squawk.
Drake: “... Briney, don’t you have family that you should be contacting right about now?”
Briney: “That’s always been kinda ambiguous in canon, now that you mention it.”
"You listed me as your emergency contact?" Drake quirked a brow.
Wow, these two really
are close to each other in this series. Though it definitely feels believable given that the two are fairly strong sailor archetypes as characters.
"Purely formality, I assure you," muttered Briney as he caressed the nervous bird's crown. She nuzzled happily into his touch.
I mean, it’s
totally normal to have your first emergency contact to be a platonic acquaintance that’s normally not even in the same town as you. Kinda touching, but totally normal.
Drake's gaze drifted from Peeko to his friend. "Sure doesn't look like just formality. What kind of half-cocked scheme did you get yourself into this time?"
With a sigh, Briney gave in, "Right to the chase with you. I guess there's no hiding it. Capsized my boat in the Pacifidlog currents..."
Yeesh. That’s quite the experience there. Probably a good thing that Drake wasn’t told about this upfront or else he’d have-
… Okay, never mind. He’d probably have been a bit
less worried after all. Though what on earth got into Briney to make him
this much of a daredevil as a guy who’s canonically an old fart?
Drake tipped his cap back and rubbed his brow, "Those damned mirages are gonna be the death of you, old man."
Well, I suppose that would explain why Briney’s still playing daredevil well into his autumn years. It’s a neat tie-in of how Mirage Island worked in the RSE games, since I could absolutely buy a few sailors going full Captain Ahab over the place.
Briney offered a lopsided grin, "Well they haven't yet." His face fell as Drake's stony expression remained. "I washed ashore on a sandbar not too far from here. Peeko flew to get help. Otherwise..."
Emphasis on “yet” there.
Drake: “Briney, that doesn’t make
any of this acceptable.” >_>;
His voice trailed off at the thought, and Drake shook his head, "I always wondered how long your luck would hold out. Guess I'm still left wondering."
… Briney’s going to go straight back to searching for Mirage Island after all of this, isn’t he? :V
"You sound disappointed," quipped Briney, and Drake huffed a laugh.
"Not in the slightest. Only when I get that call that the sea handled the burial for me."
Both men lapsed into silence at the kind of humor a sailor was accustomed to.
I’ll take that as a confirmation. Though it didn’t occur to me that sailors would have a thing for black humor, but considering how dangerous the job was back in the day and arguably still is… yeah, I can see it.
"Anything left of her?"
Briney bowed his head. "Not a plank."
Drake: “Well, guess it’ll be a while before you go off on your next ill-advised attempt to find Mirage Island, huh?” ^^
Drake sighed, "How much do you need this time?" and Briney just shrugged.
"However much you'd be able to spare."
Drake, as endearing as this is, I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to be enabling your friend’s daredevil antics like this. ^^;
Tipping his cap back down, Drake pushed off from the wall he'd been leaning against. "This time you better come back with something. I'm not going to keep funding your wild goose chases."
But Briney just grinned. "You know as well as I do that those islands exist. Whenever you're done playing around as the League's lapdog, just let me know and I'll let you join in the hunt."
And then suddenly, for no reason at all, Hoenn had an “Elite Three” with a fresh vacancy that needed filling. Guess they oughta keep Wallace on speed dial, huh?
"Yeah yeah," grunted Drake as he turned toward the door, "Rest up. I don't need a drowned Rattata for a friend."
The door closed behind him with a soft click, and Drake sighed. As exhausting as it was to be friends with Briney, he wouldn't have traded it for the world.
Drake: “The guy
really needs to train some sort of swimming Pokémon already to bail him out of these wipeouts, since this is just getting ridiculous.” >_>;
Prompt #29
"Magcargo, Lava plume!"
The floor of Phoebe's chamber erupted in mini geysers of magma. The pattern of the attack was obvious; Magcargo was chasing its opponent down. But Banette was having none of the fire-type's attack, and she danced out of range just as each plume burst from the ground.
… So how slow is Banette moving if a
Magcargo is successfully chasing him down right now? :V
Flannery ground her heel into the floor in frustration. "C'mon Magcargo! You can do it!"
I mean, just saying, Phoebe’s an E4 member, and you’re kinda… not, Flannery. Even if I’m impressed at your lava snail being able to chase around a Banette right now.
But as Banette tugged her mouth wide and waggled her tongue in a nasty taunt, Magcargo's shell began to crack and spurt flames. It was agitated, and its fiery disposition clearly matched that of its trainer's. Four simultaneous lava plumes formed in a bubbling circle around Banette, trapping the ghost-type in their midst. She cackled in surprise as the full force of the attack erupted, sending columns of fire dancing across the arena.
Assuming that’s the Banette there, you should probably just say something like “(The) Banette” or “The Ghost-type”, since it’s a touch ambiguous as to whether that’s Magcargo or Banette cackling, even if it’s my assumption that it’s Banette since it seems like more of the cackler.
As the flames died down, all that was left were the smoldering remains of the fierce attack. Flannery was breathing heavy from the excitement of Magcargo's attack, and a confident smile crept across her face. She may have had a long way to go before she was as strong as her friend, but at least she could still throw the savvy ghost-type specialist for a loop.
This sounds more like the part where Banette reveals that it used Detect and then Flannery gets blindsided.
Phoebe watched nervously as she waited for her partner to reappear. Banette was no slouch, and if anyone could have gotten out of that attack, it was her. Light danced around the arena as the remaining flames flickered with life, but another bit of movement caught Phoebe's eye, and she smiled.
"Shadow sneak!"
Yeah, I kinda figured. Again, it’s
Phoebe who’s the E4 member here.
The quivering shadow behind Magcargo shivered once before springing up from the arena floor. Two red eyes hungrily snapped open, and as the lava pokemon turned in surprise, a wave of shadows engulfed it in a wash of darkness.
Well
that imagery definitely isn’t going to give nightmares at night. [unquag]
Flannery gaped as her partner vanished beneath Banette's shadowy grasp, but she held steady, driving a fist skyward, "Don't give up, Magcargo! Overheat!"
… Guess we’re about to find out how well Ghost-type possessed dolls handle getting a little toasty. ^^;
The shadows began to expand, seemingly filling up from the inside. And like a fabric stretched to its breaking point, the shadows began to tear at the seams, flames licking out from the openings. In a brilliant flash, Banette's attack gave way to a broiling fireball that exploded in all directions that sent both trainers ducking for cover. Patches of fire sprung up all over, and Phoebe squinted through the brightness to see what had become of Banette.
… You’d think that they’d keep plexiglass barriers or underling Pokémon spamming Protect in order to
avoid having to do that. Since that sounds like a handy way for someone to get sent to the hospital as collateral at some point. o<o;
Hunched over gripping a nasty burn on her chest, Banette floated a few paces away from Magcargo, who was panting heavily from the incredible power it threw into its last attack. The combatants were now hemmed in on all sides by fire, though neither pokemon seemed fazed by it in the slightest. Phoebe grinned; Flannery had really improved since their last match, but she had no plans on losing this battle.
As the air filled with the smell of smoke, Phoebe's hand flashed out, "Banette, Payback!"
Whelp, it
was a nice show there, Flannery. Guess you should’ve brought a Houndoom or something like that for this match, huh?
Drawing in power, the air began to swirl around in Banette's outstretched palms. Flinging her hands wide, the swirl centered over Magcargo's head, drawing smoke and flame into the vortex. Banette's form thinned into a wisp that disappeared into the tempest, only to reappear as multiple versions that circled the terrified fire-type. One by one, the grudge copies launched themselves at Magcargo, striking swiftly before being sucked back into the vortex.
Magcargo: “*I-Is it too late for me to forfeit?*” O.O;
Banette: “*Yup! Show’s over, bub!”*”
Cackling, Banette finally drew back, leaving Magcargo's head slumped from weathering the attack. But her glee was short lived, as her cackles turned into coughs, the smoke finally getting too thick for comfort.
Banette: “*... How have you not
fainted yet?*” >.<
Flannery's eyes glinted with a knowing light; Magcargo could withstand the fiery conditions, and it only fed into the strength of his attacks.
"Get her while she's stunned, Flamethrower!"
… Wasn’t your snail described as literally being terrified like 3 paragraphs ago? Shouldn’t you worry about restoring its morale a bit, Flannery? Since if the ‘mon’s scared too stiff to follow orders…
I do wonder if it’d have made sense to give some sort of passing acknowledgement that Magcargo was regaining its wits, though.
Inhaling a deep breath, Magcargo's head reared back and shot a stream of flames right at Banette. Startled, the ghost type hastily fired a shadow ball into the center of the flamethrower, splitting the attack in two. The remnants of the attack scattered, lighting more small fires around the arena.
Phoebe: “Well
that can’t possibly be good for the repair bill afterwards.” >_>;
Flannery: “Works out fine for me! This is the sort of arena that Maggy
really shines in!” ^^
It wasn't long before a thick blanket of smoke covered nearly the entirety of the chamber. Both trainers were having difficulty breathing, even though neither they nor their pokemon wanted to concede the match. But as the flames crept up one of the walls, Phoebe gave in. Waving frantically to her sparring partner, she shouted across the room for an intermission to the battle, and the two of them to beat a hasty retreat for some fresh air.
… I’m
pretty sure that forcing your opponent trainer to throw the match because she was about to keel over from smoke inhalation is a form of cheating, but…
"You don't happen to have a water-type pokemon with you, do you?" asked Phoebe between coughs as she closed the door to her chamber behind them.
"No? Why would I?" questioned Flannery, seemingly taken aback, but also still coughing a bit.
Flannery: “... Don’t you just have ceiling-mounted sprinklers like any other large major public venue? That should handle a little fire like that, right?”
Phoebe: “...”
"Don't you run into this kind of problem often? Y'know, being a fire-type Leader and all that?"
"No... I mean, the Gym has the hot springs built right in. And typically my aim is a bit better," Flannery admitted with a sheepish tug of her hair.
Flannery: “Also, again. I was kinda counting on your building having built-in sprinklers to work with-”
Phoebe: “Look, Flannery. With how much fire that Magcargo of yours was spewing around, I don’t think sprinklers would’ve helped that much even if we have them.” >_>;
Phoebe giggled before giving in to another round of coughs. "We should probably find someone who does then... I don't think Steven will be very happy with me if we let my chamber burn down."
Understatement of the century there, since I’m
pretty sure that’s going to affect the broader League Building if you just sit back and allow that to happen. :V
"If you'd just let Magcargo land a few hits, maybe we wouldn't have this problem," Flannery said with a playful wink.
"Try telling that to Banette."
Considering how
you’re Banette’s trainer, how is this not the
definition of deflecting blame, Phoebe? >:V
As both trainers finally were able to straighten to their full heights, no longer coughing much, a voice called from down the hallway.
"Oi, are you two the ones throwing the barbecue? Smells awesome!"
Sidney: “Though isn’t it kinda a safety hazard to do this
indoors? Sounds like a fast way to get someone hospitalized from smoke inhalation. How on earth have you two not tripped an alarm at this rate?”
Phoebe: “... In retrospect, we should probably review how up-to-code the League Building is during the off season, since I’m
pretty sure that some of these things are serious safety violations.” ^^;
Phoebe exchanged a side-eyed glance with Flannery before she put on her best innocent tone. "Oh hey Sidney. You don't happen to have Sharpedo with you, do you?"
Sidney: “... Why on earth would you need Sharpedo around for a
barbecue?”
Sidney's gaze scrunched in confusion. "Yeah, but why do you need Sharpedo for a barbeque... oh..." His eyes widened as smoke began to pour out from the jamb of the door.
He plucked the ball off his belt and readied to throw as Phoebe reached for the door. "Steven's gonna kill you y'know."
Kek, I was
joking with Sidney’s response there. Though yeah, I wouldn’t be too happy about having to foot the repair bill from this happening from an off-hours sparring session either. :P
"If I take you out for actual barbecue, you'll promise you won't tell?"
… On the one hand, I doubt that just dousing everything is
really going to be sufficient to cover your tracks enough that Steven won’t know. On the other… hey, at least Sidney from past prompts seems like he’d
actually be able to be bought off by a little bit of food, so this is pretty clever of Phoebe there.
Sidney nodded as Sharpedo materialized and began to hose down the inferno. "You better hope we don't have any challengers any time soon."
See, I
knew that this would be harder to sweep under the rug than just putting out the fire. :V
Phoebe: “...”
"Sorry!" squeaked Flannery, but Phoebe just waved her off with a sunny smile.
"This is nothing. You should have seen Drake's chamber after Salamence had that toothache."
Oh. Oh boy, I see that Drake’s ‘mence kinda lashes out a bit when he’s having a bad time, huh? ^^;
"Oh ho, I had almost forgotten about that!" chimed Sidney. "I take it back then, I bet Steven won't even notice."
Eleven words spoken seconds from disaster.
Although once Sharpedo had doused the last of the flames, the charred, soggy state of Phoebe's chamber begged to differ.
"Okay, maybe he'll notice... But he won't be that mad. Probably. Hopefully. How about that barbecue?"
I see Sidney’s just jumping straight to the priorities there. :P
"Yeah, let's get out of here," Phoebe hastily agreed, and all three trainers left the scene of the crime.
inb4 Steven walked in and went full ‘angry rant mode’ all of a minute after those three cut and run. It just seems like it’d have been a very on-brand moment considering the overall tone of this series.
Prompt #30
Steven was taken aback by the twins currently standing in his living room. Their visit itself wasn't out of the ordinary; the young Gym Leaders dropped by his Mossdeep home often enough. What was throwing him off was their demeanor. The normally shy and reserved Tate was silently fuming while a normally bubbly and upbeat Liza was shaking with quiet sobs.
Steven: “... Aren’t your
parents supposed to be around to cheer you up when you’re feeling like this?”
Gently ushering the pair to sit down on his sofa, Steven gestured that he'd be right back. Quickly, he ducked into the kitchen to pour two glasses of the twins' favorite berry juice, which admittedly he had grown rather fond of as well. Glasses in hand, he returned back to the living room and set them on the table before kneeling down next to where they were seated.
Liza gripped her glass tightly with both hands, staring at the liquid sloshing within. Tate looked too distraught to even think of taking a sip, so instead it sat untouched on the coffee table, slowly forming a ring of condensation.
I mean… yeah, did you really expect either of the two to be in the mood for drinks when one of the twins is angry and the other is a blubbering mess right now? ^^;
When neither twin said a word, Steven decided he should try to gently prod to find out what had happened. They had come to him after all, something had to be amiss.
"Tate, can you tell me what's wrong?"
Slowly the boy's stare found Steven's concerned gaze, and the Champion felt a chill in the air from the intensity of Tate's expression.
"It was a challenger. At the Gym."
Steven: “Oh boy, I can already tell that this is going to be something.” -_-;
At this, Steven's brow knit in confusion. It wasn't like the twins to get so worked up over a battle. But he didn't dare interrupt, so he nodded for Tate to continue.
"He... after he won, we went to present the badge... and..."
Tate paused, eyes falling to where his hands were clenching and unclenching in his lap.
"He... he grabbed Liza by the arm and... and he said... things..."
I mean, I legit had never thought of a scenario like this happening, but considering how awful fans in
real life can be… yeah, it really shouldn’t be all that surprising that Gym Leaders would have to deal with some nasty challengers from time to time. And when the Gym Leaders are
schoolkids…
Liza seemed to curl in on herself at the word, and Steven felt himself tense at her reaction. He almost didn't even want to ask, but he had to.
"Tate," he said in nearly a whisper, "What kind of things did he say?"
"He said..." a tremble crept into Tate's voice, "He said he'd do things to Liza... Terrible things..."
That… is
significantly worse than what I was expecting.
Boy did things take a dark turn fast.
The haunted look on Liza's face meant Tate didn't have to say any more. A cold flood of rage swept through Steven, and it took every ounce of strength to not let the twins see his reaction, they were scared enough as it was. But he also didn't care if they could sense the fury practically pouring from his thoughts.
"This challenger, did he say where he was headed next?"
Tate shook his head in the negative, but for the first time since arriving, Liza spoke up.
"Sootopolis."
And then suddenly, for no reason at all, a Pokémon trainer who had been last documented winning a challenge against the Mossdeep City Gym was found drowned in the Sootopolis City caldera.
The meekness in her voice cooled Steven's thoughts for the moment, and he gave the twins a reassuring, albeit thin, smile.
"I'll take care of this. For the time being, you two can stay here. Would you like it if I left one of my pokemon with you?"
Can’t tell if he’s going to phone a friend with Wallace to go out of his way to make the challenger’s life hell and just cockblock him from progressing further in the League, or if he’s going to show up in person to run a terrible little man over in person with his Metagross. :V
Wordlessly, both twins looked to him expectantly and nodded.
"Who's your favorite?" Steven asked, knowing fully well what the answer would be.
When the simultaneous chime of "Metagross!" came, Steven allowed himself another smile before unclicking the ball of said pokemon and leaving it on the table in front of them.
Well, guess it won’t be Metagross he runs that guy over with, then. o<o
"I promise I won't tell Aggron you didn't pick him. It'll be our secret."
Oh? So his Aggron gets a bit touchy at being denied affection? Or is the implication supposed to be that Tate and Liza
normally like to spend time with him but he’s getting left out here?
The twins nodded again, and Liza eagerly grabbed Metagross' ball, holding it tight in her hands.
Steven smiled again as he opened his front door. "I'll be back sometime later. Help yourself to anything in the fridge, and make sure Metagross behaves, okay?"
Look, I get that Tate and Liza are Gym Leaders, but I’m pretty sure that leaving schoolkids unattended with a fridge that for all we know has an entire tub of ice cream and a cold brew lying around is a fast way to come back home to your house being trashed by hyper kids, and possibly a hyper Metagross. ^^;
With another nod from the twins, Steven gently closed the door shut behind him. In two strides, Skarmory was out of its ball and waiting for their destination. Steven set his jaw and turned to regard his pokemon with an expression of thinly-veiled fury.
"Sootopolis, if you please, Skarmory."
There was business to be taken care of.
So we really are going to discover a floating body in the Sootopolis Crater at the end of all this, huh?
Wallace was on high alert as the door to his office closed behind them. The Champion had stormed into his Gym, met Wallace's gaze from across the chamber, and without breaking stride, jabbed a finger toward the office. Wallace knew what it meant; Steven wanted a word, and he wanted it now. He wasn't going to argue with his friend when he was silently seething like this, so trying to act casual, Wallace sat at the edge of his desk and looked to Steven for an explanation he knew was coming.
Oh, I see that Steven went for route A and is coordinating with Wallace to rekt this guy’s League Challenge. Guess that’s a bit less illegal than murder, huh? ^^;
Producing his PokeNav from his pocket, Steven queued an image up and flipped the screen toward Wallace.
"Has anyone by this name come through here yet?"
Wallace peered at the name on the screen and shook his head. "No, not yet. Why do you -"
"They threatened to hurt Liza." Steven paused, but his icy gaze never faltered. "Wallace. When they do turn up, I need you to do something for me."
Wallace: “... Steven, aren’t there literally laws against this sort of coordination here?”
Steven: “Maybe, but those don’t apply if you don’t get caught.” ^^
Wide eyed, Wallace nodded.
"I need you to crush him. Utterly humiliate him. I want him to slink out of your Gym with his tail between his legs. And when does leave, I want you to message me immediately."
Steven: “Oh, and maybe make copies of the surveillance footage. I need a good popcorn movie to watch with the twins after this is all over.”
Whatever desire Wallace had to protest was quickly squashed under the finality in Steven's tone. Eyes flashing, The Champion turned and opened the door.
"When this is over, we'll never speak of it again. Understood?"
Wallace nodded once more, and Steven stormed out of the room.
Wew, sounds like someone really
is bending the rules on ethical behavior here. I mean, you can’t say the guy didn’t have it coming and that it’s not the lesser evil than a little bit of murder, but yeah… somehow this feels like something that would get these two in trouble if it became publicly known.
Thankfully, Steven only had to wait for another hour before the trainer turned up. He hovered at the entrance to the Gym, careful to stay out of view, only sparing a glance at the trainer has he brushed by so that he'd remember the man's face for later. Anger surged forth again when he caught the trainer's cocky expression. But before he did something stupid to blow his cover, Steven silently slipped out of the Gym and waited outside for Wallace's message.
A half hour later, Steven's PokeNav buzzed.
'He's leaving now'
- Steven fishes out a camcorder -
Steven:
Pocketing the device, Steven leaned against the exterior wall beside the Gym doors. He took a deep breath to calm his tumbling emotions. He had been carefully rehearsing what he'd say, but as soon as the doors slid open and the familiar face stepped out now sporting a thoroughly dejected look, whatever strategy Steven had been planning went out the window. He surged forward and snatched the trainer by his collar. Startled, the trainer let out a shout of surprise as his back was roughly slammed into the stucco wall.
"What the - hey, man, what gives?!"
… Or he could do that. That works too. Just remember to stop before you really
do yeet this guy’s corpse into the caldera.
"Shut up," Steven nearly snarled as he leaned into the trainer's face. "I know what you did to my Gym Leader. How dare you lay a hand on her."
"Whoa wait, I didn't hit nobody! Wait, what do you mean your Gym Leader?"
Steven: “You don’t know who I am, do you?”
Trainer: “... Am I supposed to?” ._.;
Steven gave an empty laugh at the trainer's confusion, "It doesn't matter. Just tell me one thing. Did you have the guts to say what you said to Flannery too? How about Winona? Roxanne? Or are you such a tough guy that you only prey on children?"
Suddenly, the trainer's attitude shifted. Realizing he couldn't play innocent any more, he shoved back against Steven's grip, but the Champion was too incensed to be budged.
"That bitch told on me?" the trainer practically spat back.
Steven: “You realize that this counts as an admission that you
did accost a pair of children and that I’m
pretty sure that you broke a couple of laws in the process back in Mossdeep City.” >:|
"'That bitch' is one of the finest Gym Leaders in the region, and she won't be intimidated by some lowlife like you."
"Huh, and who are you? Her knight in shining armor?"
Well,
this is going to totally end well for the guy who
still hasn’t realized that
he’s picking a fight with one of the strongest tracked trainers in all of Hoenn.
"No," Steven sneered at the way the trainer was looking at him. The same way everyone looked at him when they thought he was just some rich snob who didn't know how to handle his pokemon. "I'm the Champion of the whole damn League, and if I ever hear your name come up again, I will personally see to it that your license is revoked and your pokemon are given to proper trainers who know how to treat others with respect."
Wait- Wait a minute, League Champions can
do that in your setting? Or is that the sort of stuff you can pull off when you drop off a case of Lemonades at a local PD and explain “hey, Chuck, I need you and your buddies to do me a favor”? .-.
With a heave, Steven spun the trainer away from the wall and deposited him on his backside in the dirt.
"Consider this your first and final warning. And for your pokemon's sake, I hope you heed my words. Now get out of my sight."
Steven: “... Not sure why I’m saying for ‘your Pokémon’s sake’ since if this guy acts like this to
human kids, I’m pretty sure that at a bare minimum he’s a very negative influence on his Pokémon, but whatever.”
Panicked, the trainer scrabbled for a pokeball and released a Wailmer into Sootopolis' Crater Lake. Firing a nervous glance over his shoulder, the trainer scrambled aboard and together they disappeared under the surface to beat a hasty retreat.
… Wait, but didn’t his team just get wiped in the Gym match like 5 minutes ago? How’s his Wailmer well enough to carry him off right about now? ^^;
Steven stood staring at the rippling water until the adrenaline faded from his system. Suddenly he felt so drained, and he nearly jumped when Wallace's hand came down on his shoulder.
"Think he learned his lesson?"
I mean, I really,
really doubt it. But at the very least, I doubt you’ll ever need to hear from him again.
Shaking his head softly, Steven sighed, "I hope so Wallace, but I'm not holding my breath."
"You did what you could."
But Steven's expression clouded at what Wallace had hoped would be reassuring. "I just hope it's enough to make sure no one actually gets hurt."
I mean, with the way that they guy is trash talking little kids… uh… yeah, I can totally see him running his mouth off to the wrong guy and turning up dead in a ditch.
"Let me just say I'm glad you didn't hurt anyone. After you told me to message you when he left the Gym, I thought for sure there'd be blood."
Steven blinked, startled, "Did you think I was going to hit the guy?"
"I mean, you basically had murder written across your face. So, I'd be lying if I said 'no'."
I mean,
I was kinda worried that we were going to see Steven murder a man onscreen and dump his body in the local caldera, so I take it that Steven really was getting genuinely scary in-setting.
Nervously, Steven knitted his hands together, twisting one of his rings. "I'm sorry Wallace, I guess I got carried away."
Wallace: “Gee, you
think?”
But Wallace just shook his head, "You've got nothing to apologize for. I'm pretty sure you showed more restraint that I would have."
Oh, so if
Wallace had found out, that guy probably
would’ve been found floating dead in the caldera. That’s… a lovely thought there. ^^;
Steven gave him a startled look. "You would have gone after him?"
"I would have punched him right in the nose. I may be forward with my romantic endeavors, but people like him make me sick. But enough about that creep, what do you say we race back to Mossdeep? I know Skarmory won't be able to carry the both of us, and I heard there are two twins waiting there that could use the best sleepover party of their young lives tonight."
- Wallace produces a tape -
Wallace: “Also, I’ve got the surveillance footage if you’ve got the popcorn.”
Steven: “... Wow, you really
did come prepared for this, didn’t you?” .-.
"Who told you that?"
Grinning, Wallace brought out his PokeNav and showed the picture to Steven. The twins had taken a selfie with Metagross, and the latter was covered with marker scribbles all over its steel hide.
I can already see Steven face faulting right now, since you just
know that’s not going to be easy to get off his Metagross.
Too drained to do much else, Steven brought a hand to his face in mock exasperation. "Well I'm glad they're feeling better at least."
"Shall we go rescue poor Metagross from its fate?"
Steven: “Uh… yeah, and I should probably buy a few tins of polish to try and get all that off of it.” ^^;
Nodding, Steven brought out Skarmory's pokeball just as Wallace released his Gyarados.
"Just next time you get mad, a little warning would be nice. I almost forgot how scary you are when that happens."
Steven gave a sheepish smile as he tossed his pokeball, "I'll try."
Yeah, I’ll admit, that
I didn’t peg Steven as getting this scary when this upset either. Though then again, I’m pretty sure that he Hyper Beamed TR with his Aggron in an episode of the Hoenn season, so… maybe it’s less shocking and off-brand for him than I thought. ^^;
Prompt #31
Glacia sighed as she slid her traveling boots on and headed out to the cabin's small living room.
She wasn't sure how he'd done it, but Steven had somehow convinced her to join him on a visit to Fallarbor Town. Professor Cosmo had called and invited them for a short expedition to search for fallen meteorites.
I mean, if it’s a cold season, I could see how you’d get convinced. Since that sort of terrain with sufficiently cold weather
does feel like it would be fairly ‘Sinnoh’ there.
The first day of their trip was uneventful, full of introductions and logistics. The tour around Fallarbor was just as dull, with everything from the houses, to the trees, to the soil being made up of the same ruddy red tones.
Random Resident: “Wow,
rude.”
Glacia: “Look, would it kill you to put up some
green or something? Or how about some ice whites?”
Except when Glacia glanced out the front window of the cabin that morning, something had changed.
"Is that…?"
Having grown up in Sinnoh, Glacia was no stranger to snow, unlike the rest of her native Hoennian Elites. The climate of the sub-tropical region meant that even at its highest elevations and coldest season, snow and ice were a foreign concept at best. Which was why when she spotted puffy white flakes tumbling down from the sky, she had to blink and rub her eyes in disbelief.
"It can't be…"
It’s an Abomasnow from her team with Snow Warning or something like that that’s causing this, isn’t it? :V
Cautiously opening the front door, she stepped out onto the porch and extended a hand out from beneath the cover of the roof.
She watched in wonder as her palm slowly filled with the light, fluffy substance. But when the flakes didn't melt and vanish from the latent heat of her fingers, her brow furrowed in confusion.
Glacia: “... Can’t tell if this is climate change, or if my Pokémon are pranking me right now.” ^^;
So focused on the puzzling nature of Hoenn's physics defying precipitation, she didn't notice her traveling companion had approached until he found himself unable to contain his laughter.
Glacia jumped, startled and more than a little embarrassed, and she gave Steven a sharp look of disapproval as she tried to hide her outstretched hand behind her back.
Steven simply grinned in reply, standing out in the offending flakes where they gently coated his jacket and hair.
Glacia: “... Wait a minute, Steven. Is this
your doing?” .-.
"It's not the same thing, but I thought the ash might be an acceptable substitute."
… Oh right
that’s a thing in Hoenn. I should know better since I literally made a gag about it being like snow in
Context Switch. Guess all that’s missing is the bike ride and Soot Sacks, huh?
Glacia could only hold her grumpy expression for a moment longer as Steven ran a hand through his hair, disrupting the ash that had gathered there. She smiled as she slipped her hand into the one he offered to guide her down he steps of the porch. Even though it really wasn't snow, she still coudn't help but look around in wonder as the red of Fallarbor disappeared beneath the growing blanket of ash.
"Merry Christmas, Glacia."
Well, that’s certainly
one way to have a white Christmas there. It’s probably much worse for your lungs than a real one, but hey, it helps with dodging the cold. :V
Prompt #32
Sidney spared only a short glance toward the open office door as he hefted a box of recycling recyclables in his arms. The distinct noise, or lack thereof, caught his attention.
Is that implying that the box is empty? Since you’d think you’d notice the box was suspiciously light, Sidney. ^^;
It was the yearly clean up day for the League, the time to get rid of all the things that collected dust for the past 365 days and make room for the new dust magnets. That also included outdated League records and files, which Glacia gleefully accepted, mumbling something about a Lampent as she took a bin of papers with her to the back.
… The Lampent’s just casually setting all those papers on fire, isn’t it? Definitely a bit less boring than just dumping it in the recycling bin.
But it seemed as if the flurry of activity around Ever Grande had skipped one particular room. Far be it for Sidney to pry, he had his own cleaning to do after all, his lingering glance at the door was not unnoticed.
Phoebe hesitated at his side, following Sidney's gaze toward the door in question.
"Looking for Steven?" she asked, nonchalant.
I wonder if it’d have made sense to have been a bit more forward that the skipped room was Steven’s. Whether by out and out saying it, or some sort of indirect method like “[...] one particular room
, the champion’s.” But meh, it still works decently well.
"Well, I might be," chimed Glacia as she stepped up to the duo, dusting her hands off against her dress's skirt. "I haven't collected any paper from him to, um, dispose of yet, and I know he's got to have piles of paperwork that we can clean up."
inb4 Steven’s turned it all into bedding for his Skarmory. Since birds tend to be pretty open to using paper to line their nests.
"That's odd..." mused Phoebe, bringing her hand up to her ear to scratch it with her feather duster's handle.
After a shared look, the group reached a silent decision. All three Elites quietly approached the open door and peeked their heads inside. What they found, they weren't quite sure what to make of.
Sitting cross legged in the middle of the room was Steven, surrounded on all sides by haphazard files overflowing with paper. He was meticulously thumbing through every sheet, brow furrowed in concentration.
Oh, so Steven’s one of those guys who can’t throw away stuff easily, huh? I mean, I can kinda empathize with him there, since that doesn’t come easily to me either.
"Um, Steven?"
A sheaf of paper took to the air as Steven jumped with a startled yelp. Watching the paper flutter down around him, the Champion rested a hand against his head in exasperation. Whether it was in embarrassment at being surprised, or the fact that now there was even more to clean up, no one could be sure.
Gathering himself quickly, Steven coughed once, but didn't bother to get up from his spot on the floor. "Ah, I'm sorry. Do you need my help with something?"
"You're throwing all that out, right?" Glacia went straight to the point.
I’m
pretty sure that this joke is building up to Steven being
unable to throw any of this out, just saying.
Steven's eyes dropped to take in his handiwork. "Well, I'd be hesitant to throw everything out en masse. I thought it might be best to go through these files and see what we should keep..."
Yuuuuup, I called it. :V
"Ohhh no you don't," Phoebe was the first to move, striding forward and crumpling papers in her wake. She finally cut a path through to Steven before reaching down to grab his hands and attempted to haul him to his feet. "We're not having a repeat of last year!"
Sheepishly, Steven relented and let the ghost-type specialist lead him away from the pile.
"Last year?"
This happens
every year with him, doesn’t it? Though I can see why there was chatter about needing that Litwick earlier. o<o
Glacia laid a hand on Sidney's shoulder and shook her head. "It's better if you didn't know."
But Phoebe was not one for secrets. "Last year he did the same thing, except no one caught it in time, and before we knew it he'd stayed up for 36 hours straight going through every last document." She shot a disapproving look Steven's way, and he winced under her accusation.
I mean, I should probably be less surprised with how much of a thing this guy has for his rock collection, but
still.
"Ah, but it turned out okay in the end -" he tried to say, but Glacia cut him off.
"He's lucky Drake pulled off a last minute victory against the challenger that came the next day. When we opened the door to his chamber to tell him, he had fallen asleep on the platform."
I’m guessing that Steven getting kicked from his throne in the games happened to overlap with another one of those ill-advised marathon sessions going through paperwork he wasn’t ready to bin, didn’t it? Since that sounds like a sure-fire way of throwing someone off their game. :V
Steven shrunk back even more. "It's true..." He nearly whispered the admission.
"So!" Phoebe began, "Sidney..." At this she handed Steven off to the newest Elite. "It's your job to keep him occupied while Glacia and I go through his office for him." Both women wore wicked looking smiles and Steven paled.
… Is there going to be anything
left of his office at the end other than a bunch of ashes from that Litwick doing its thing? ^^;
"W-wait!" he protested as Sidney turned and steered the both of them from the room. "Just please, don't touch my rock samples!"
"Wouldn't dream of it Steven, dear!" came Phoebe's singsong voice, and Sidney had to chuckle.
"Don't worry, Boss. If you promise to stay outta trouble, I'll go make sure your collection is safe."
I mean, they might have some scorch marks afterwards if the joke is going where I
think it’s going, but still.
Steven obediently sagged into a waiting lounge chair in the common area with a sigh. "Thank you, Sidney. I will behave."
"Hell hath no fury, am I right?" said Sidney with a wink, disappearing back down the hallway. Suddenly, Steven felt like Sidney might need some back up if he were to succeed in keeping his precious samples untouched.
Yeah, this is why you dump all that paperwork someplace outside of your normal office and sort it out
there. Don’t have to worry about the others accidentally yeeting stuff like your rock collection into the bin.
Prompt #33
The mood was light as the Elites scrolled through the newest batch of challengers to emerge from Victory Road. Some showed promise while Glacia huffed at others, saying there was absolutely no way they'd even get a sniff of her chamber.
Pretty sure that sort of attitude is a fast way to get embarrassed by a gimmick team or something like that, Glacia. Since there’s a
lot of surprising stuff you can pull with Pokémon even before movement and positioning come into play.
Sidney had to agree as they casually flipped through the trainer information until one name popped up on the page.
"Gray Schofeld, Mauville City hmm?" muttered Glacia, "Looks like he'd do okay. Seems like he favors dark types just like you, Sidne-" she turned toward the Elite in question, but he wasn't there. "Sidney?"
Oh? Wonder if that’s a reference to anything, or if it was just a randomly chosen name for the story.
A cold sweat prickling against his collar, Sidney was already down the hallway on his way to the Ever Grande Pokemon Center. He hoped his hasty retreat was well covered, since it was strictly forbidden to interact with the challengers once they'd reached the Center. He was no stranger to rule breaking in his earlier life, but after he'd fallen into this position at the League, he was determined to clean up his act. And yet here he was, back at it without a second thought, except this time there was a damned good reason.
Oh, so Gray’s an old criminal buddy of Sidney’s, huh? I mean, it’s never explicitly confirmed that Sidney has a criminal background, but as stereotypical as it is for someone who favors Dark-types… uh… yeah, Sidney
does kinda give off those vibes now that you mention it.
Quietly he slipped up to the front desk, the lobby was thankfully empty, and put on his best fake smile.
"Hello Sidney, how may I help you today?" chimed the Nurse, none the wiser.
"Hey Nurse Joy, I need a favor. Could you tell me which room the trainer from Mauville City is staying in? Absol found a lost item in Victory Road, and we need to return it to its rightful owner."
Yeah,
okay Sidney. What are you
really up to here?
"Oh!" she said with a smile, "You needn't bother yourself with that, Sidney. I can return the item for you."
Sidney backpedaled, trying to save his hastily made plan. "Ahh, it's a... rather personal item. I'd prefer to return it to them myself, y'know, just to make sure it's theirs."
inb4 you get yourself into hot water just from this hairbrained plan to deal with Gray on your own without anybody knowing.
The Nurse's smile faltered a bit, but quickly returned as she bought his shaky lie. "Of course, forgive me for suggesting otherwise. Let's see..." she tapped a few keys on her computer. "Looks like that trainer is in room eight. Gray Scho-"
But Sidney was already retreating back toward the rooms with a curt wave, "Thanks, Nurse Joy! You're a lifesaver!"
"O-okay, you're welcome! Have a nice day!"
Somehow, I really,
really doubt that this is going to end well, but let’s see what’s going on here Sidney. Since this ‘Gray’ guy sure has you sweating bullets all of a sudden.
Sidney's fingers drummed nervously at his belt, running a pattern up and down his pokeballs as he raised his other hand to rap quietly on the door to room number eight.
"C'mon, c'mon..."
A shuffling inside the room made him jolt straight upright, and as the door clicked open, he quickly thrust a hand forward and barged his way into the room before slamming it shut behind him. The man who answered the door stumbled backwards as Sidney shoved his way in.
"Whoa, what's going on - wait, Sidney? It really is you!"
Gray: “... What are you doing here anyways?”
Sidney: “
I’m part of the Elite Four. The
better question would be…” >_>;
"What are you doing here, Gray?" he snapped.
Gray: “... I’m here for a Gym Challenge? That’s not seriously a crime now, is it?”
Gray laughed as he sauntered over to the room's chair and lounged back against the cushion, hands behind his head. "What do you think I'm doing here? I'm here to see you, man. It's been a while."
… Or he could be there for that. Sure are a determined one to get 8 badges just to get your foot in the door, but hey, people have done crazier things.
A scowl had formed on Sidney's face. "Was kinda hoping it'd stay that way..."
Wow,
rude.
"Aww, c'mon now. You can't be serious. You didn't miss me even a little bit?" Gray gave a fake pout, but his eyes were laced with something else.
"I got outta Mauville to leave that life behind, man."
Well, how’s that working out for you huh, Sidney? ^^;
The sneer that twinkled in Gray's expression melted to the rest of his face, lips upturning not unlike a Mightyena's snarl. "You oughta know better than that, Sid. You can take the punk outta Mauville, but you can't take the Mauville outta the punk."
… No, I’m pretty sure that this series has
very effectively demonstrated that Sidney’s moved on from this implied criminal past here.
"I'm done with your gang, Gray. I've made my own life here now."
"You ain't done with shit, Sid. You're mine. Always have been. Always will be." Gray's fingers dug into the armrests, as if he could squeeze the life out of them.
Sidney: “Gray, you
do realize that my team eats League Challengers for breakfast now, right? And even if you
did manage to beat them, that I’ve got four other buddies who are-”
Gray: “Not here right now.” >:|
Sidney: “... Right. Guess that was a bit of a downside about coming here alone.”
Sidney wasn't sure when he'd averted his gaze, but all of a sudden the pattern of the flooring was a lot more interesting.
"I don't know how you gave my guys the slip after you got that last badge, but you did. I almost gave up lookin' for ya too. Almost. And then what do I see? A big ol' headline of my boy walking out of the League like he's king o' the castle. This is a big step for us. We're in, big time."
Bold of you to think that you could bully around an E4 member like this Gray. And even if Sidney
was willing to play ball, the others would literally eject him overnight and just replace him with Wallace or something like that.
"There is no 'us'!" The words ripped from Sidney's lips before he could stop himself, but he still couldn't stare Gray down. "You treated me about as well as that Poocheyna that ran away with me. And now you show up here thinkin' I owe you something. Well you're wrong." A sudden rush of courage blazed through his veins, and Sidney's eyes shot up, filled with fire. "The day I left Mauville was the day I was through with you."
Bold words there, Sidney. I mean, I’m sure you can back them up in a Pokémon battle, but the vibes that Gray’s giving off here make me feel like he’d pull a knife or a gun on you.
… You know, a situation where you’d want to come with others
besides just your lonesome. ^^;
"Sidney, Sidney, Sidney..." Gray tutted. "You've got it all wrong-"
"No, you're the one who has it wrong. Your gang was never my family. You didn't raise me, you didn't teach me, hell, you barely even fed me. I was just some dumb kid who thought anything had to have been better than my real family. And-" Sidney's breath hitched just for a second, and the pokeballs at his hip rocked in response. "-And now that I'm here, I know what it means to have a real family. So, I'm going to have to ask you to leave, and never come back."
Sidney: “... In retrospect, I should’ve had someone like Absol out for all of this, since
boy do I feel alone and vulnerable right now.”
"And if I don't?" the menace practically dripped from Gray's tone.
"If you don't," Sidney unclicked Mightyena's pokeball from his hip, "I'll make you leave."
Gray met Sidney's hard stare unwaveringly before bursting into laughter. "Ahahaha, what are you gonna do, attack me in my room? That's a good one."
Gray: “Need I remind you that if you try something like that, that
you’re the one who’s going to get into hot water since
I haven’t done anything illegal yet?”
Sidney's gaze fell before he placed Mightyena back at his belt with the others. "No..." his voice was quiet. "No, you're right."
Gray cackled again, "Aww, looks like things haven't changed after all. Little Sidney, giving up, just like you always do."
A soft exhale sounded as Sidney's hand found the doorknob. "Good luck in your League challenge, Gray." And he closed the door behind him with a soft click.
Oh, so you’re going to have to take him apart the
hard way, huh Sidney? Well
that’ll certainly be quite something to see there.
Glacia smirked as she watched the scoreboard tick down the last of Gray's pokemon. Not a single member of Sidney's team had fallen. In fact, it hadn't even been close. Turning to Steven, she gave the Champion a sly smile.
"And you're still not going to tell me where you found this kid?"
Wew. I see hatred and resentment is a pretty powerful motivator there with how brutally effective Sidney is being with wiping the floor with Gray and his gang there. o<o
Steven shook his head with a mysterious grin, "Nope. He asked me not to share it with anyone, and if nothing else, I try to be a man of my word."
"Well, I can only hope a little bit of your influence might rub off on him."
- Steven cocks his head and looks out at Gray sulking off the battlefield -
Steven: “Oh trust me, I think that it
did.”
Steven had to laugh, "He may be a bit rough around the edges, but if there was any doubt I'd have never extended the request. If I'd have known you'd be so sour after he nearly took out your whole-"
"Don't you say it!" warned Glacia.
Oh, so
that’s how Sidney first caught Steven’s eye. I can understand how Glacia would still be salty about taking a hard L to a scruffy street kid back in the day.
"I wouldn't dare," said Steven with an apologetic wave. He let his gaze drift back down to the battlefield where Sidney stood triumphant with Mightyena at his side. He'd taken a gamble, inviting a rogue trainer into their midst. But he'd had a feeling back then in Victory Road... It didn't matter what led Sidney to that cave. All that mattered is what he brought with him when he stepped out of it.
I mean, let’s not get into how that turned out really,
really badly in Kalos, but hey, it worked out
here, and we’ve gotten over 30 cute little vignettes out of it, so I’d call that a worthy gamble on Steven’s part.
Prompt #34
"So what's got you headed to Slateport?"
When his question was met with silence, Drake peered back toward his passenger from his place at the helm and cleared his throat.
"Glacia?"
"Hmm?" Clearly not paying attention earlier, the ice-type expert tipped her book to her chest and looked at Drake expectantly.
"I asked what yer doin' in Slateport. Y'don't leave Ever Grande much, so something special's got to be happening."
inb4 it’s a chance to see proper snow or something like that.
"Oh, I'm going to stop by the marketplace. There's a vendor there that specializes in goods from Sinnoh, and I wanted to restock my supplies. I'm finally beginning to run low, so I didn't want to miss her. Thank you for the ride, by the way."
… Okay, yeah.
That’s a bit more plausible than waiting for snow. And I guess Glacia
has given off some vibes of having nostalgia/longing for home in prior entries of this series so you can’t say that it’s not fitting.
Drake nodded as he growled a 'welcome', and Glacia smiled. She hadn't known the Dragon Master long, but she knew the last thing he wanted was to be seen as polite.
The engine revved to life as she took a seat on the deck, and as Drake hauled in the last of the moorings, he muttered something as he walked back to the helm.
… Can’t tell whether Drake’s just different from his anime incarnation or if he just has multiple boats, since I could’ve
sworn that Anime!Drake had a
sailing ship.
Glacia had already buried her nose back in her book, but she knew he had said something. "Pardon?"
"I said, you might not want to do that."
"Do what, exactly?"
"Read."
"And why not?" she looked mildly offended at the suggestion.
Drake: “... Glacia, have you seriously never heard of people getting carsick when reading as the scenery goes by? Just how do you think you’re going to fare doing that out at sea when you’re being jostled around by the waves constantly?”
Drake pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow, "Y'haven't been on many boats, have you?"
Glacia huffed, "I've been on enough."
Drake: “
Again Glacia, this is literally a phenomenon that affects people on-”
Glacia: “I heard you the first time, Drake! I’m not
that fragile!” >_>;
Both brows raised in resignation, Drake simply shrugged and tended to the wheel. "...Don't say I didn't warn ya."
As much as Drake's words sank in, Glacia was too irritated by the insinuation that she was just some clueless foreigner to pay them any mind, and as the boat left port, she settled back into her novel.
Cue the seasickness in 3… 2…
The sloping walls of Sootopolis barely had slipped over the horizon when a loud snap sounded from the deck. Drake craned his head and caught a glimpse of Glacia gently massaging her brow, book closed in her lap.
"Y'okay?" he called back to her.
"Hmm, oh yes, I'm fine. Just taking a break." She defiantly snatched the book back up and opened it again.
… Surprised that she’s not looking more visibly nauseous right about now, but wow. Barely out of port and Glacia’s
already feeling unwell, huh? :V
Drake turned back around before she could see the smile hiding beneath his mustache.
They had just passed through the slim shadow of the Sky Pillar when a groan issued from behind the captain's chair.
Drake chuckled as he plotted a clear course that would allow him to step away from the wheel. He was soon standing by Glacia's side, offering her his hand. She looked up at him as if he was handing her a Seviper, but the pallid color of her cheeks told him he was right.
… Scratch that about her not looking more visibly nauseous. ^^;
"I told ya not to do that."
Drake: “Again, Glacia.
This affects people in motor vehicles on well-paved roads!” >_>;
"Ugh, I... I'll be fine. Just..." one hand flew to clutch her chin, and Drake smiled.
"C'mon, it happens to the best of us."
Without further protest, Glacia placed her other hand in Drake's, and he gently guided her to the railing of the boat.
Well, Glacia certainly deteriorated fast there. But yeah, I kinda saw that this was coming since… yeah, reading in a moving vehicle is
literally a fast way of baiting motion sickness, especially if you can see the world go by
as you’re reading. ^^;
"Don't... don't watch," she stuttered, but Drake was having none of it. As she wobbled on her feet, he steadied her shoulders as she kneeled down at the rail. After a few minutes, it was over, although the color still hadn't returned to her face. She turned to regard the sea captain with a stony glare.
"This never leaves this boat, understand?"
"Sailor's honor."
I mean, not that Glacia has many options here, but I’m not sure how much I trust a ‘sailor’s honor’ given his stunt with drinking everyone under the table and then sending his Flygon out to help Steven’s Skarmory troll everyone by screeching up a storm while everyone was hung over. ^^;
She glared at him a moment longer before relenting, "I'm sorry, I should have listened. That... wasn't fun."
Drake gave an amused huff, "Don't have to apologize to me. Sure didn't hurt my feelings."
Drake: “I mean, I only warned you over and over again in and out of canon, but hey. Sometimes you’ve just got to learn things through experience.” ^^;
The sour look returned, but Drake ignored it. He offered his hand again, and helped Glacia back to her seat.
"I'll get y'something when we get to Slateport. But for now, how about y'leave that book alone?"
Nodding, Glacia sighed, "I guess the scenery is pretty nice."
"Atta girl."
… Shouldn’t Glacia be getting motion sickness pills or something right about now? Since I’m
pretty sure that the text implied that she just vomited over the railing and I’d think that she’d be feeling a bit worse right about now. ^^;
Dejectedly, Glacia leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.
"The Champ puked three times the first time we went through the Pacifidlog currents."
Oh boy, so what advice did
Steven ignore back then in order for
that outcome to happen?
"What?" Glacia rolled her head to look at Drake, surprised.
"So yer doin' fine."
"Why would you tell me that? What about sailor's honor?"
But Drake just shrugged. "Steven never asked 'bout that."
Glacia: “... Somehow, I’m suddenly a lot more dubious about ‘sailor’s honor’ right about now.” ^^;
Drake: “Glacia,
relax. Just take it easy on yourself right about now.”
Glacia managed a weak laugh. "Just... be gentle please."
"Already plotted a course 'round the nastiest ones," his eyes twinkled beneath his cap. "Can't have anyone settin' a new record just yet."
Oh boy. That now makes me morbidly curious if Drake has ever
deliberately taken someone through the rougher currents to get them sick as a troll, since I
see that eye twinkle mentioned in the narration there. ^^;
"It's very much appreciated," said Glacia with a smile. Perhaps the surly sea captain wasn't so surly after all.
I mean, I wouldn’t have had pegged Drake as having a soft side, but between this and his moment with Briney earlier in this review… yeah, it’s a bit of a nice touch that helps give him a bit more depth than “scary sea captain with a thing for scary flying lizards”. It’s a shame that canonical materials haven’t really done that with the Hoenn E4, since this series has always excelled in bringing these guys to life in a way that I suddenly have a hard time un-imagining as the way that they’d tick as characters.
Prompt #35
"So Steven, I was thinking..."
"Were you now?" Steven didn't bother trying to turn around to regard his friend while the tailor was taking the next measurement.
Wallace ignored him and kept going, "What if you were to try something different? More flashy."
"No."
Oh boy, this is gonna be a “Wallace tries to shill Steven to become flamboyant” prompt, isn’t it? ^^;
"Well why not? You're the Champion, you need to reinvent yourself every so often, lest the people get bored."
"Bored?" This time Steven did find Wallace's gaze with a look of incredulity of his own.
"Yes, bored!" Wallace was unfazed as the tailor motioned for Steven to turn back around. "You're in the eye of the public constantly. What would they say if you were seen wearing the same old look day in and day out?"
Steven: “... But you
literally have the same outfit constantly in the games and other official media-”
Wallace: “Medium limitations! Don’t mind them.”
"I do wear the same thing..."
"Exactly!"
"But it's what you told me to wear in the first place!"
"All the more reason to continue to listen to your official League stylist then."
Steven’s going to wind up getting stuck in a clone of Wallace’s outfit, isn’t he? :V
Steven sighed as the tailor moved his arm to a new position, still dutifully working with his tape measure. "I am listening to you, I'm getting remeasured."
"That's only a matter of cut, Steven. What I'm talking about now is a matter of style. Fashion is always changing, and as the face of the region, people will be looking to you to lead the way!"
"I'm not wearing a cape," Steven grumbled.
Oh lol, I’m feeling pretty good about that hypothesis of Steven winding up looking like he walked out of Wallace’s wardrobe by the end of this prompt.
"Heavens no! Capes are fringe fashion at best. Yours truly's not withstanding."
Steven: “Wait, why is it cringe for everyone
but you, Wallace?”
Wallace: “Because the rest of my outfit makes it work, of course!”
"What did you have in mind then," Steven's voice was defeated as the tailor tugged and pinned some of the fabric of his jacket.
Wallace instantly cheered up, "I'm so glad you asked!" And as soon as the tailor's tools were laid back on the table, he grabbed the man's hand and whisked away with him to the back room, leaving Steven standing alone in the fitting area.
Steven is going to regret this in about a minute, I can already tell. ^^;
When Wallace reemerged looking rather pleased with himself, Steven raised a finger to inquire about what sort of stylistic choices were made behind his back, but Wallace waved a hand and winked, "You'll see soon enough."
Shooting a disgruntled look at his friend's retreating back, Steven gave his thanks to the tailor and left with an appointment to pick up his suit in two weeks' time.
Again:
Yeah, this sounds like a recipe for a fashion disaster. But hey, moments like those are what make this series entertaining, so let’s go ahead and see what sort of ridiculous getup Wallace suckered Steven into wearing, hm?
Steven was fairly sure he would be able to manage the feat of picking up a new suit on his own, but Wallace was insistent that he tag along. Steven wasn't sure if that gave him more or less confidence in what he was going to uncover once they arrived at the tailor.
"Ah, welcome back Mr. Stone, your suit is ready."
Steven gave a lopsided grin, "Please, Mr. Stone is -"
"Yes yes, 'Mr. Stone is my father', let's go see it shall we?" Wallace was quick to cut his friend off and drag him toward the back of the shop where the tailor waved them in.
Steven: “Wallace, if we’re going someplace that’s so stuffy that it makes it feel like that I’m my
father...” >_>;
Wallace: “Hush, Steven! Every artist has his eccentricities!” ^^
Frowning at his friend's rudeness, Steven followed the two men into the back room where the garment awaited. Wallace was practically beaming as Steven stepped through the door and spied their joint handiwork.
"That's... tamer than I was expecting, actually."
Wait, but isn’t that a
good thing considering how Wallace isn’t exactly ‘Mr. Subtle’ normally? ^^;
Neatly hanging from the lone stand at the center of the room was a pristine suit of charcoal black. The fabric had a soft sheen to it that seemed to soothe the crisp lines of the slim cut jacket. The sleeves bore a subtle purple hue that climbed nearly to the shoulder seam. Complementing deep violet lines hugged the side of the jacket before plunging behind the pockets on either side. As the tailor deftly swept the jacket from its perch, the matching light violet pinstripe vest peeked out from underneath, compete with delicate silver clasps that matched the shining embellishments at the end of the jacket cuffs.
"I'll take that as a compliment," said Wallace with a grin.
I had to look this up, but oh. This is Steven’s ORAS outfit. Nice little detail and canon blend there, since it
is pretty visually distinct from his RSE outfit.
"You had me worried after you unveiled your latest Contest attire," Steven said as he slipped into the new jacket, giving a gentle tug to the comfortably weighted cuffs.
"Contest attire? Oh no, Steven. That outfit is part of my day to day rotation."
Steven froze mid-button. "You're joking..."
Steven, I don’t see why on earth you’d expect Wallace to joke about that sort of thing when this entire series, he’s basically been constantly flamboyant. If anything you should be wondering why his day-to-day rotation isn’t even gaudier. :V
"I would never joke about fashion. You know that." Wallace looked hurt.
Steven gave a wary look toward the tailor who just shrugged. "Well, I appreciate you showing restraint for my new suit. I quite like the look of it."
I mean, I don’t know if I’d go so far as
restraint since by IRL standards, Steven’s ORAS outfit is still fairly flashy, but it’s tamer than Wallace’s
normal get-up, at least.
"You're very welcome, my friend." Wallace bowed, "I'll let you two go through the final fitting then." And with that, he ducked from the room.
Steven sighed as he walked up to the mirror to regard his new look. "I appreciate you reeling Wallace in. He can be quite the handful when he gets to work on fashion."
But the tailor just shook his head. "I didn't have to do much. Leader Wallace has a great eye when it comes to style."
- Beat moment -
Steven: “... Wait a minute… you
didn’t? But he’s the guy constantly strutting around in a cape!” .-.
Tailor: “Which he was also adamant wouldn’t work with your design, so…”
"Huh," Steven mused as he turned, admiring the rich materials and meticulous handiwork. "I just might have to stop caving in this if that's the case."
"Caving, sir?"
"Ah, it's nothing!" Steven quickly backpedaled, not wanting to offend the tailor with just how much abuse his formal attire had to put up with. "Just a figure of speech."
Narrator: “It wasn’t just a figure of speech.”
The tailor gave him an uncertain glance and began to inspect the final fitting. "Perhaps it's all the better that Wallace suggested our most durable fabric."
"Ahh, the Delcatty's out of the bag then, I guess?" Steven gave a nervous laugh.
Oh, so Steven
literally takes his clothes with him when he goes out spelunking huh? How much of a mess do they turn out to be when he comes
back, huh?
"If you should ever need repairs, please don't hesitate to bring the suit back, I will be happy to mend it for you."
"Thank you very much. I'll take good care of it. I'm pretty sure Wallace would kill me if I did anything less."
The tailor simply nodded sagely as he made a few notes on his pad, and Steven made a mental note to thank Wallace for all his help. And for not putting him in a seafoam green cape.
inb4 Wallace does that next time as a troll since he’s now got Steven’s guard down. The sort of dynamic those two have had in past chapters honestly made me think that that was where things were going to go with this prompt, but it was still a nice surprise to see Wallace take things seriously and whip up something familiar and not
totally tacky for his buddy.
Prompt #36
Glacia sat stiffly in the chair in the kitchen of Phoebe's childhood home. It wasn't that she was uncomfortable; the house was incredibly inviting and more homely than she thought possible for a dwelling on the slopes of Mt. Pyre. But even with welcoming chatter all around, Glacia still felt as if she was intruding somehow.
She knew it wasn't the case. Phoebe had been the one to invite her over for the League's short recess. Short enough that there wasn't time to make the trip back to Sinnoh, but long enough that the younger Elite felt it was important for Glacia to get out of the empty halls of Ever Grande for a spell.
I wonder if Glacia sees any resemblance at all to Mt. Coronet on Mt. Pyre, or if it’s too warm and snow-deprived for her to feel homely about it in that way.
… Then again, it could just be talking about the house, that would also make sense too.
"So, dear, how long have you been in Hoenn?"
It took Glacia a second to realize Phoebe's grandmother had asked her a question. The elderly woman was happily preparing the evening's meal at the nearby counter.
"Oh, um, about five years now."
Wait, but isn’t
Glacia herself elderly? Wonder what on earth led to her breaking through the E4 in Hoenn in such short order if she’s only been here for 5 years.
"My, that's quite a while. Do you get much time to go back to see your family?"
A small frown flitted across Glacia's face. "Not as much as I would like."
I’d say “well, of course, she’s an E4 member”, but then that wouldn’t explain Phoebe, now would it. Guess Sinnoh’s pretty distant in this setting such that it’s not just a casual plane ride that takes a couple hours from Hoenn before you’re in Jubilife.
"Mm," Phoebe's grandmother sagely nodded as she began kneading the dough of whatever dish she was currently working on. "Well, I know it won't be a true substitute, but hopefully we can be your home away from home, if you'd like."
Glacia felt a bit of heat rise in her cheeks at the woman's sincere smile. She hadn't really thought about feeling homesick. Her mother would chide her if she outright admitted to it. Sinnohan women were strong and able to stand on their own two feet. But admittedly, she was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the warmth of the kitchen and the sound of the matronly voices, and the smells of the food…
Translation: Glacia’s totally feeling homesick right now.
She quickly rose and excused herself. She needed to get some fresh air, lest her composure crack in such an inconvenient place.
Phoebe watched Glacia leave the kitchen with a worried expression, but her grandmother just chuckled and began to heat a pan on the stove. "She'll be fine, leilani. Your mother was just as proud when it came to her independence. Independent or not though, there's one thing no one can resist..."
‘
Leilani’, huh? Not that it isn’t fitting for Phoebe thematically, though that now makes me curious if your imagining of Hoenn gives it some sort of connection to Alola. Or if Phoebe and her family themselves have a connection to Alola / Alolan roots.
Wide-eyed, Phoebe realized what her grandmother's cryptic words referred to, and the older woman gave a sly smile.
I’m… not sure if I follow Gran’s logic there. I
think it might be tilting towards “yearnings for home”, but I legit can’t tell. It might be worthwhile to drop in some stronger hints one way or another.
As Glacia stepped back into the house, she was met with the smell and sound of crackling oil wafting through the air. She poked her head cautiously into the kitchen just as Phoebe's grandmother was lifting the last batch of fried dough from the pot. Golden brown and puffy, the dough bites glistened with hot oil before they were patted dry and dusted with powdered sugar.
Oh, never mind. The answer is apparently “malasadas”. So Gran and Phoebe really
do have a connection to Alola. :V
Phoebe giggled at how Glacia was unable to tear her eyes away from the sugary treat. "These were always my favorite growing up. Grandma's zeppoli are the best."
Okay, nevermind. Not malasadas after all. The “fried dough” and sugar threw me off a moment.
… Though those pictures I’m getting for ‘zeppoli’ from online are kinda making me drool right about now. ^^;
Glacia watched as the plate moved from stove to table, and the memories flooded back, unbidden. Except this time they were filled with warm fondness of cozy winter mornings gathered around the table, digging into her own mother's donuts, the familiar smell, the sweet taste of the icings, the sticky fingers that reached for another when her back was turned.
Her smile melted through, and Phoebe's grandmother returned it knowingly, offering her the plate.
Daintily picking one of the warm treats and bringing it to her lips, Glacia's eyes closed as she took a bite.
"It... it tastes just like home."
D’aww. Though I can’t tell whether that’s a cute outro that’s going to lift Glacia’s mood, or if her mood’s just gonna crash from
really getting homesick right after this. The ending’s a bit ambiguous like that. ^^;
It’s been far too long since I last read these, and at once, I immediately am reminded of why I fell in love with this series over the course of Review Blitz. The different prompts do a really good job of feeling fresh and varied, and they do a
lot at giving characters that are otherwise kinda flat from their canonical portrayals a lot of life to them. I think that my favorite one this time around was the one where Steven goes off to avenge Tate and Liza’s no good, horrible, very bad day at the Gym, since it does a lot to show off both his protective side, as well as a more single-minded side of Steven that while not fully healthy, feels fairly in character for him both from his past depictions in this series and from what I can remember of snippets of his canonical portrayals.
I didn’t have
too many gripes, but the ones that I
did have were primarily related to things like description being light in a couple areas or ambiguous pronouns. I don’t think that they were enough to derail the overall effect of your vignettes, but if you do ever go back to give things a once-over for them, they’re things that you might find worth the time to smooth out.
Thanks again for bringing these over
@Panoramic_Vacuum , and I’ll be looking forward to crossing paths with the other 14 that are still chilling and waiting to be brought over to TR. ^^
(/j)
