video;

[islandshore]

[The Sevii Islands certainly offer intriguing opportunities to explore, and as a natural born islander, Riku's enjoyed the change of scenery. The new and exotic Pokémon are a nice touch as well. Plenty of opportunities to research, to expand his team and breeding repertoire, among other things.

Though for now he's settled by the shoreline, joined by his trusty Charizard, Flare. The camera hovers behind at first- seems one of his 'mons has opted to film the Riku in his natural habitat as he muses to himself.]

Twenty-two... Ha. Time sure flies.

[There's some snickering, which prompts him to glance over his shoulder, and-]

...Is this the part where you make some joke about me being senile? Gimme a break, Phantom.

[And he snatches the 'Gear, rolling his eyes.]

So, seeing how someone decided to get the camera rolling, I guess this is the part where I wax philosophic about how it's been almost seven years, and things are... more or less the same.

[Heh.]

Except plenty's changed, but it's still funny to think about. It took us this long to be able to get even close to challenging the Elite Four. These islands? They're about the closest thing to another region we can reach outside of that one time we got to go to Kalos for the prom. Or the moon. Guess that was pretty cool.

[He looks at the sky, pausing for a few seconds.]

But I've groaned and complained about wanting to see the rest of the world for years at this point. Blame my wanderlust, I guess. It was the same thing back home- always wanting more. Never content to live in the moment.

[...]

You can grow older, but some things never change.

[...]

Anyway. To all you newcomers, welcome. I'm Riku, probably one of the oldest, crustiest trainers in terms of longevity. If you've got questions, I'll see what I can do. I also run a Training and Breeding Center down in Celadon City. Want a free egg? I can probably set you up. Heck, right now, we're trying to expand our stock, so those of you who've been catching the new Pokémon- lay it on me. Which ones are the cream of the crop?

Fastest? Strongest? Coolest? Most versatile? I probably shouldn't add to my zoo, but you know how it is. Something new and shiny pops up, and you just gotta have it.

...Whether or not it's actually a shiny.

[Ha. Little joke there.]

Anyway, guess I'll end this message with a few useful links. Got a guide on this place that covers... a lot of bases, but I'll work on bringing it up to date soon enough. Also, the sales post for those of you newbies who want that egg bonus.

Attachments:

Breeding Catalog
Training for Dummies.txt

[ooc: Good lord, I just discovered that the breeding center hasn't been getting notifs in a while, and I am truly sorry for the negligence as a result. I believe I have fixed the issue- for anyone who had requested eggs and never got a reply, feel free to assume that your character got them a while back.

In the future, I'm gonna try to be more on top of things, but as Mozart mentioned in the OOC comm, any help in maintaining the comm would be severely appreciated due to my work schedule.]

Comments

text.

[torsion]

There is so much here, I don't even know where to start.

I'm not sure if I should congratulate you on your time here or not, but this is all incredibly helpful. Thank you so much for this! :)

I'm Jill. I think Celadon's in Kanto, right? Probably a ways off from you. Not quite sure I'm ready to add to my team again so soon but I'll keep your offer in mind. I'd love to get something I can train with; Eevee's good to run with, but the kind of wrestling he likes kind of amounts to a lot of cuddling.

text.

[islandshore]

Ha. Tell me about it. My guide's already a novel, and I know there's stuff I still need to add.

Celadon's in Kanto, yeah. I realize it's not the optimal location or anything, but what can I say?

I just like it more. Sucks that it's so overlooked when there's a lot of cool stuff out here. Water park. Movie studios... The list goes on.

Also, if you're worried about your Eevee not being formidable enough, evolution's always an option.

[torsion]

A lot of questions you don't think to ask until they come up, so it's nice to have them covered instead of having to seek someone out to answer them.

Guess a lot of people take to Johto, then? Really only chose it since it seemed better to stay where I started since I was a bit disoriented to begin with.

Had no idea! But I've only been here about two months, give or take. I don't really know much about anything past Azalea. Trying to read up on it, though, so I don't get blindsided. Weather any better over yonder?

Oh! Definitely, it's more physical training alongside it. I was thinking maybe Glaceon, but I really like him the way he is. Pretty glad I started building my team a bit earlier otherwise I think I might end up with a party of Eevee. ;) Four's enough for now since I want to divide my attention between them all equally, but I think I'd like to get a fighting type some day to rough house with a bit!

I do have an Eevee-related question, though, if you don't mind?

[islandshore]

Yeah, tell me about it. Believe me, I wish there was something that thorough when I first started out. Us oldbies? We had to learn from experience.

And stupidity. And a whole lot of fumbling around.

Johto is closer, yeah, and the truth is, Kanto wasn't even an option until over a year after we started popping up. Might've even been two years. When you've been around as long as I have, it all starts to blur together.

As for the weather... it varies. Honestly, I'd say both regions tend to be more or less the same in terms of weather patterns, but with Kanto, the cities feel a lot closer together. At least the big cities do. Celadon, Saffron, Vermillion, and Cerulean are all pretty close together on the whole.

It's got some pretty huge caves, but unlike Johto, none of 'em have ice to slip around on. That's an automatic bonus in my book.

Anyway, if you've got a question, shoot. I've got time.

video;

[sunnysidewalkstreet]

[ Seven years-- ]

So Sora wasn't making that up!

[ ...That was rude and he knows it. But to be fair, Prompto is still learning of this world, having only just arrived. He's reading the training guide as well, while he also replies. In his video, his Null is visible in the background - now with a Hoothoot who it's sort of. Trying to hide from. ]

Being here for that long - you're some sort of expert, then. Writing a strategy guide and everything! [ How's somebody meant to catch up to that, Prompto wonders inside, a single second of nerves flashing on his face before he smiles. ] I bet you know all the coolest already. I've only got these two [ gesturing behind him ] right now.

[ A pause. ]

...And what're shinies?

video;

[islandshore]

[...What is that thing? What is that strange, fascinating thing?

Give Riku a minute while he checks out that Null.

Right. There's someone on the other line. Best not to be rude.]

Ha. Well, you've already one-upped me on one front, then. Never seen a Pokémon quite like that guy before.

[Heh.]

As for shinies- they're Pokémon that come in unusual colors. Like a black Charizard or a red Gyarados. Super rare, but some of 'em look even cooler than the standard breed.

video;

[sunnysidewalkstreet]

Of course a place like this has super rare coloured guys - let me guess, you can't just find 'em?

[ he is still comparing this to gacha mechanics don't mind him. ]

--And as for my starter - I dunno what he is either. Guess he's just that rare! Uh... his name's Type: Null. And yeah, the helmet comes with 'im.

[ He seems to whisper the name. It's not really a name. But people'll wanna know it, right? Guess he'll get more attention for the two of them. ]

[Video]

[better2do]

[Hello adult with silver hair! There's a kid with white hair gaping openly at you.]

Whoa...have you really been here for seven years? Can - can people really stay that long?

[He sounds so hopeful. Seven years...even if it doesn't last forever, if he got to live a normal life for that long...]

[Video]

[islandshore]

Well, I mean, I'm living proof.

[He chuckles and shrugs like it's no big deal. He's used to it by now.]

It's not common, but it can happen. A few others- Cecil, for one- they're in a similar boat. Some people might call it a curse, but personally, I'm not in that big a hurry to leave.

[Video]

[better2do]

But, why would anybody think it was bad? I...I don't really have anything to go back to if I go home, so...if I could help it, I wouldn't ever leave even if this place wasn't half as nice as it is.

text.

[radfield]

That's one hell of a speech despite being put on the spot like that. Haha, but I appreciate all the information, Riku.

Name's Chris. Just arrived earlier this month, but I'll be checking out your links soon. How was the moon, by the way? Not too 'spacious', I hope?

text;

[islandshore]

Guess you could say I'm an expert at on the spot speeches by now. Happens when you have a team as nosy as mine, I guess.

Plus so many years to just... ramble, hah.

Anyway, I'm happy to help. And the moon was... outta this world.

Can't believe I just typed that.

But seriously, it was... kinda like something out of a sci-fi comic.

text;

[radfield]

Or eggspert. If we're going by your catalog alone. Though I'm assuming you've bred all those yourself? Impressive.

Any reason why you were up in space to begin with?

And, hey, I think everyone appreciates a good joke. That, or several.

text;

[bertall]

<sub>[...Holy shit, that's a lot of eggs. He has to close the box and reopen it several times to make sure his fever-addled mind isn't playing tricks on him--

Yep, that's.

That sure is real.]</sub>

thats... a really long time

and a lot of eggs

um... since you run a breeding center can i ask a couple questions?

text;

[islandshore]

Yep. But we have a lot of Pokémon.

...

Seriously, don't follow our example. We're like crazy cat ladies, except a) guys, and b) the cats are super powered monsters that can explode, shoot fire, and cause all sorts of damage.

Anyway, I'm down for answering questions. Seems only fair.

text;

[bertall]

I have dogs that can shoot fire. And my friend has an angry ball that can explode, so I... think we might be on our way already.

But, uh... As far as breeding goes, can only certain ones do it? Excluding dittos, like... Could a fire dog have eggs with something that isn't fire? Say, fire and water, or fire and flying??

Video;

[brokencode]

[They'd spoken near the beginning of her journey, back when she'd been confused about things like Halloween and other simple holidays. She felt strange, perhaps a touch nostalgic, at the sight of the young man now. At least enough to lift her hand and wave at him through the video feed.]

Hello, friend. It is good to see you. I am glad you are doing well -- and so successful, I did not realize that when we spoke before!

Video;

[islandshore]

Oh, hey! Hope you're doing well, too.

[Heh. It's been a while, but a familiar face is always refreshing, especially in a place as unpredictable as this.]

And, yeah, it's not something we really gloat about. Maybe when I was younger, but these days I figure it's not worth letting our egos explode.

I'm just a guy with way too much time on my hands, since I collected all the badges. Still wanna take on the Elite Four, but I'm waiting for Sora to catch up with me first.

[brokencode]

[Riku may well have said he had slain a dragon, given the way Angel reacted. She gazed at the man, nothing short of awestruck. Her own companions had kicked around the idea of setting out to combat the gyms and collect their own badges, but she'd never met someone who had succeeded.]

Your Pokemon must be incredibly strong then! How long did it take you to manage that?

video

[chainbroke]

[ Namine's caught herself a Growlithe a while back, and now he's in full view as she waves into the camera. ]

It's still so surprising you've been here so long.

video

[islandshore]

You know? It really is.

[He chuckles and blows a small sigh. Crazy to think about. Sometimes he looks in the mirror and still has trouble believing it.]

Honestly, it's been strange. I've seen people come and go more times than I can count. Still miss 'em, too. Hard to believe it's been years since Ven was around... but, eh. That's a story for another day.

video

[chainbroke]

[ Her thoughts turn to Roxas--the non-Rowlet one. Naminé misses him dearly, still, and she nods. As if he can tell she's verging on sadness, the Growlithe whines and pushes his way into her lap. ... He's kind of pudgy, and he has some trouble, but he does it! ]

I miss them, too. Kairi, Ilya, Roxas, Lightning...

[ Too many to count. Naminé pats the Growlithe's head, and he shifts so he's on his back for belly rubs. ]

I wish we could see them, and see how they're doing.

[heartdive]

Soon you'll have to have a walking stick, old man Riku.

[islandshore]

You do realize the same goes double for you, right? You'll be in the same boat soon enough.

[Cue a playful eye roll before he chucks a rock at the water. The splash makes Flare grumble a bit, but he remains planted in place.]

[heartdive]

Ah, but you've always been old at heart. Me? I've always young at heart.

[ throwing a smile your way, bro. ]