Air Continent ~ Pokemon Square

[Adamhuarts]

"Huh, well it can't be all bad since they're relatively peaceful. Surely no major conflicts I'd hope." Cynthian fell quiet to think for a moment.

"So, you're part of an exploration team. Does that mean you live in the Grass Continent of your world too?" Cynthian held his flowers together and smiled. "Tell me about some of the missions you've undertaken. I've always loved those kinds of stories."

 

[TheGOAT]

Her eyes dotted from cloud to cirrus cloud high in the sky, each one containing the image of a story to tell.

“I was born on a small, distant island, but moved to the Water Continent. That became home for me.” Astrid’s lip quivered. “Ahh, one of my favorite stories to tell is the time my friend and I were exploring Pledge Hill on our day off. We decided to bring sleds with us so we could race down this one part where there aren’t a lot of obstacles. Nothing except soft grass…”

She settled into her haunches further, giggling. “That was the thought process we had. But there were a bit more bumps than expected, and when I got an early lead, she tried to use her fire as a propellant. It worked, at least until—” Her giggling became more poignant. “—ehehe, she hit this one really nasty bump.”

She made a prolonged waving motion with her paw, tracing an arc in the air. “She went this high and then crashed in the bushes somewhere off to the side. I had to jump off and go get her. But when I crawled into the bushes, I tripped and fell down some sort of hidden staircase. Banged up my head a bit, but I found my friend rubbing her nose on top of a pile of local artifacts from like… centuries prior! All kinds of books and keepsakes and pottery—thankfully she managed to avoid breaking anything when she fell. When I found her, she hadn’t even realized what she’d landed on yet.” There. Maybe those memories weren’t so blurry after all. Not all of them, at least. She could afford that much a smile. “Best day ever…”

 

[Adamhuarts]

"That must've been a fun adventure. I sure wish I was there to witness it. To find ancient pieces of history like that is just phenomenal. What did you do with the treasure trove you found? Did you send them to a museum? Sell them to get rich or did you leave them behind where you found them?" Cynthian leaned in closer with eyes full of wonder and curiosity.

 

[TheGOAT]

Astrid flashed a grin. “Kept ‘em. Read through every document and studied every piece.”

She grew more sober as she scrutinized the memory further. “Eventually, almost all of it made its way to museums. I’m sure most of it was either thrown on a storage shelf somewhere or pawned off to collectors, but… mmm, it is what it is. The stuff we kept ended up being useful for personal archaeology projects or useful for decoration. That’s how it usually goes.”

The stars in Cynthian’s eyes weren’t lost upon her. A tiny breeze ruffled the tuft on her head as she returned his smile. “And you? Are you an explorer?” She had a hunch already.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Well... Not really." Cynthian tilted his head the other way and pursed his lips.

"I only ever signed up as a provisionary explorer. I knew I wouldn't have it in me to become an actual explorer, and being a provisionary one still meant I could come along on botanical expeditions like I always wanted to. It worked out in the end, for a while at least," Cynthian said while scratching his cheek.

 

[TheGOAT]

Astrid opened her mouth, then closed it again.

Shifting gears, she brushed her rightmost tail against his left arm (stem?).

“If it helps, I’m sure there’ll be plenty to explore here. With these portals,” she said, shivering, “we can see any continent. Pursue this crisis to the edges of the planet.”

An inquisitive frown crossed her face. That word didn’t taste quite right, and she was quick to voice as much.

“Can we call this a crisis yet, anyway? Darkwhite is one of the more nefarious, slippery criminals I’ve ever dealt with, but as far as I can tell, she’s just an unusually high-level outlaw. Makes me wonder how widespread this whole shade thing of hers could actually get…”

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian instinctively stiffened when Astrid brushed her tail on his arm, though he was surprised that... it didn't feel cold at all. He felt silly for sitting at a distance now, so he moved just a tad closer out of politeness.

"The crisis occurring on this world pales in comparison to what..." Cynthian paused for a moment. He didn't want to put a damper on the conversation by bringing up how Dark Matter sent raging wild fires, destabilized the planet's magnetic field for a couple years along with extreme weather for a period of time.

"Things could've been worse for sure, though perhaps we should be lucky we're here before everything went out of control," Cynthian said with a small laugh.

"Darkwhite is odd. She had the strength to wipe us all out from the get go, and yet she keeps letting us off the hook for her own twisted sense of fun. It sure makes me wonder how a Mew like her got exposed to enough shades to become that monstrous. Whatever the case, we need to find a way to stop her from repeatedly causing trouble wherever she goes."

 

[TheGOAT]

“We’ll catch her. We will,” Astrid affirmed, turning back to the cliffside’s gift of a view. A familiar confidence brimmed in her voice, and—wow did it feel nice. She’d missed feeling this way. “After that last encounter, I can’t help but wonder if she’s really all that smart. Her stun tactics…”

Trick Room into Haze. Pure brilliance, that one.

She giggled. “Now that I think about it, yours were better than hers. Was that… Attract I saw you use?”

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Okay, I can explain," Cynthian said as his face reddened.

"I really thought the move wouldn't work and used it only to mess with her. I mean she's the last person you'd expect to have a heart for any preference at all. Though I guess I did get carried away a bit. It was kind of... fun?" Cynthian said while hiding his face behind his flowers.

"And besides, I was able to distract her long enough for you guys to send her flying twice. I mean your Weather ball back there was incredible if I do say so myself, so it was worth it, right?"

 

[TheGOAT]

Astrid didn’t just giggle this time; she’d devolved into full-on laughter. “I thought it was brilliant! Who would’ve known that she… heh.”

She cleared her throat. Her Weather Ball? Surely it hadn’t done very much damage; that hadn’t been her role thus far. And yet, the compliment rang in her ears like a drum.

The ground suddenly became far more interesting to Astrid than the view. “…Thanks.”

 

[Adamhuarts]

"I really do think you're amazing, Astrid," Cynthian said with a chuckle, completely oblivious to Astrid's reaction to his earlier compliment.

"You're always good at coordinating during our great battles. Your Psych up and Aurora veil combo are simply incredible, especially with how you power everyone up around you while you're at it," Cynthian said as he listed his flowers up like a cheerleader. "And also, thanks for helping me stop Curio from reducing Zane to a pulp earlier, and also thanks for encouraging me after my huge flop during our spar. It may have been a small gesture, but your voice did help me barely keep it together when I fell victim to a shade the other day."

Cynthian paused to smile as a warm breeze blew by. "Your experience as an explorer shines through whenever it matters. I'm sure you'd become an even greater explorer in the future when you return home after all this is over."

 

[TheGOAT]

A single, powerful blow. A single sentence with no wind to carry it off—lingering.

“I really do think you're amazing, Astrid.”

A list of things followed shortly after. Just… thing after thing after thing. Mundane things. Details. Specifics. Plenty of them. Aurora Veil? Zane? Thing after thing after thing. Of course the wind picked up then, dismissing each one in orderly fashion. Most of it was white noise, but when had the details ever been important? She’d heard this song and dance before. She’d pretended to listen. Hadn’t she?

“Dear, you’re incredible. We need you.”

Some indiscriminate, beaten-down part of her brain reminded her that she was sitting too close to a steep dropoff to be losing herself like this. A single detail—something Cynthian had said—was all she needed to lock-on to, and she’d be fine. She reminded herself profusely that yes, this was a conversation. She remembered how to speak.

A tiny smile crept onto her face, replacing whatever had been there before. “Psych Up?” It was just a dumb move, but, sure, she supposed it was the type of detail she needed. “Aha, yeah, thanks. Heh… do you want me to teach you how to use it?”

 

[Adamhuarts]

"You'll teach me? Sure thing, by all means!" Cynthian said eagerly. "If I can use it too, then I'll be able to help out even more on the battlefield, right?"

 

[TheGOAT]

“I was told once that ‘mobility is everything’, and in Cibus, with these bodies, I think I understand what they meant now,” Astrid tittered. “Psych Up is great for this. Remember the very first thing I did when we were sparring on the beach?”

Springing up, she paced in a half-circle around Cynthian and flexed her tails. A paw was raised in the Roselia’s direction, eyes closed.

“I focused on Cabot’s energy—his aura, I think they call it—and copied the impact of his Radiance. It imprinted any temporary abnormalities from Cabot’s aura onto my own.” She broke formation for a moment, eyes open, paw resting under her chin. “…Orrr something like that. I think. It’s hard to describe, like explaining a sixth sense, but it’ll become clearer as you try it for yourself. Sunny and her psychedelics back in Treasure Town might be able to help with that, too.”

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian stared at her with a blink then parted his lips slightly.

"Oooh, so it's sort of like sapping someone with Giga Drain, but you're not actually weakening them, but mimicking changes in their energy?" Cynthian brought a flower to his chin and hummed. A glint appeared in his eyes and then he stood.

Cynthian drew a breath and doused himself in a greenish golden energy which made him appear slightly larger. "I just used Growth. Can you try using Psych up on me as a demonstration?"

 

[TheGOAT]

A paw was again raised in the Roselia’s direction, eyes closed.

She could feel it already. She could not see, but she could indeed feel how his essence had changed. Cynthian was covered in two distinct blankets, encompassing his ethereal image. They were familiar to her: Attack, and Magic.

She closed her paw, flexed her tails, and heaved (although it wasn’t particularly necessary for such a small number of buffs). Her own aura shifted under her feet, giving her the briefest sense of nausea, before readjusting just as quickly into its modified form. The vibrating in her ears went silent.

“Kinda like that,” she said, blinking, realizing that there wasn’t any sort of physical display to use as a reference point. “Umm, you sorta have to reach out and grab it. You’ve gotta pull you and your target’s auras together. That’s what I just did.” She was pretty sure, anyway.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"It's a bit confusing... but let me give it a try!"

Cynthian mimicked Astrid and held his flowers out towards her with his eyes closed. He tried to focus on Astrid's energy as she'd described. Cynthian could feel a vague presence, but he struggled to form any clear images. After about a minute, he opened his eyes back up again and sighed.

"Yeah, this isn't working out," Cynthian said with a frown. "Ah, but don't worry about it though. It's not like I could learn a new move on the first try anyway."

 

[TheGOAT]

A nod. “Yup. Practice makes perfect.”

Astrid settled into the grass, relaxing her paws by curling into a loaf. Once again, the view had enchanted her.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"You're right. Even if I skip a couple steps by going to Sunny's or grabbing a TM, knowing and mastering a move are two separate things." Cynthian's growth spell dissipated and he too went back to sitting on the grass next to Astrid.

"Right now I'm mostly trying to master Solar Beam, and also get better at using Synthesis too! Now that I think about it, Darkwhite used Toxic Spikes in our last encounter. I should learn how to do that too." Cynthian paused to clear his throat. "Not from her, obviously."

Cynthian shook his head and laughed. "It's strange that I'm thinking of so many moves to learn right now. It was never something I cared much about back home. I was always holed up in our flower shop whenever I wasn't on expeditions. The days were mostly boring and uneventful... sometimes even lonely."

 

[TheGOAT]

Astrid cast a glance to her side. “Do you like to battle?”