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

[torsion]

At least there weren't as many species to start with, at least from what I hear?

Hard to approach the unknown. Perfection isn't to be expected.

I see, so they limited your travel? Must've been frustrating but at least not as overwhelming with options.

So, no six days of travel ETA? I mean, I'm faster and more resilient than a lot of people so I can imagine to cut travel time in half but I didn't think "Dark Cave" was going to be so literal.

Haven't gotten that far yet. Thanks for the warning. Can't wait.

Had my Eevee close to two months now and I'd like to think we're pretty close. From what I just read, it seems to imply that affection is important.

I guess what I'm trying to say is if he hasn't evolved by now what does that mean? Am I not affectionate enough? Does it not like me? Because it sounds like he should've at this point.

[ She was actually more upset when she read about that than she's letting on. She's a secret softie. ]

[islandshore]

Definitely not. If there's one thing I've noticed, "new" species tend to come in bursts. Sometimes it starts with small storms. Sometimes... it literally starts raining cats and dogs.

Yes, that's a thing that actually happened. We had a shark tornado, too.

As for travel times, it varies. By the time I got to Kanto, I already had the Fly HM, so what could've taken days wound up taking hours instead. But bikes, Pokémon rides... there are ways to cut corners, even early on. Think I heard something about a ride pager a while back, too, but I haven't tried it.

Hmm... as for evolution, I guess it depends? For Espeon and Umbreon, it's a combo of happiness and leveling up at night or in the morning. For Sylveon, you gotta feed 'em Poképuffs and make sure they know a fairy type movie.

Or maybe he doesn't want to evolve into one of those forms. Maybe he'd prefer a stone evolution. Crazy as it sounds, sometimes it's worth talking it over. Seeing what he's after.

[torsion]

I'm not sure I want to hear about any of that so soon, but at the same time you can't say "we had a shark tornado" and not tell me more about that.

My team isn't at a point where we'd be able to beat a gym, but I have used a ride pager so I could meet up with my friend more quickly. Not terribly cheap, but it was an easy decision. There were a few options but going by land was cheaper than air (took longer, too, so I guess that's why it was cheaper?). I really liked the pokemon and the information about it on my gear really makes me want to look into getting one.

Figured that's what I'd do, actually. Feels weird having the decision on what it becomes be up to me, but I haven't really thought on doing it by choice yet.

I guess what you're telling me is that it can control it to some degree, if it wants to? So, it might just be that it doesn't want to change? He, I mean since I guess I'm not making a generalization and am more concerned with my Eevee, but now that you've said this it has me curious about other ones. Do some just make a decision themselves not to evolve?

[islandshore]

It's exactly what it sounds like. Whirlwinds. Sharpedoes everywhere. Property damage. Panic.

I got hit in the face by a shark.

Oof. So it's pricy, huh? Guess that's the drawback and the incentive to train your own. Still, that's good to know. I'll see about adding that to the guide the next time I get to updating it.

It definitely takes some getting used to. Thing with Pokémon is, they're pretty smart. Even if you can't communicate with most of them verbally, there are ways to get a feel for what they're thinking. Body language can tell you a lot.

And yeah, some Pokémon just don't want to evolve. My old Ivysaur was like that. Same thing with my Haunter. It's a case by case thing, but with that big a change, I can't really blame them.

[torsion]

At least you weren't torn apart by a shark? Guess it probably left a nasty bruise, though.

Don't know how much it would set me back if it was regularly used. Definitely probably easier to deal with if you've been here a while? Would've been a few weeks before we could've met up otherwise, so I'm thankful it was available to someone like me (even if I'm totally broke now).

Just like people. I get it. Guess I'm just nervous to find the answer? Something like that.

That's good to know. Quells my nerves some. I mean I definitely see some and they seem appealing, but I'd rather my pokemon be the way they want to be? You're not helping with my personal ban on adding to my team, by the way. Sharpedoes look really interesting, and I have to admit after looking it up Haunter(s?) are pretty cute.

Guess my partner took up your offer, though. Thanks for the fire pokemon, it'll definitely help us out here in the cold! :)

[islandshore]

More like scrapes. They've literally got Rough Skin as their ability.

And I get being nervous. It's a lot to take in and a lot to adjust to. Just take it at a comfortable pace, and you'll do fine. With so much going on, it's best no to try and absorb it all at once. You'll probably get a migraine if you do.

See, Haunters might seem cute at first.

But they're five-foot masses of gas, and mine is a chronic prankster.

One time, he vandalized an important, historical sight.

Not all ghosts are like that, but you gotta be careful.

And, hey, happy to help! I can't imagine how things would've gone without Flare. That's for sure.

[torsion]

Honestly, if the didn't unnerve me I'd probably consider getting one at some point down the line. For now, though, if I ever add to my team after this I'd definitely like a Fighting type...

I think I'll avoid the migraines and (try to) take it at my own pace!

Seemed to be the case, but that doesn't exactly deter me. Maybe the vandalizing part, but there's a lot of different pokemon for each type. Really makes narrowing down what might work for you or what you want hard. Especially since they're all individuals despite it, right?

Then again, if I could start all over I probably would just have a team of Eevee. Probably not the best to judge a team, ha ha.

Dealt with some cold, too, I take it? It's a pain. Glad he made a choice I would've made, at least.

[ It seems Jill has A Type. Outside of thinking Haunter and Sharpedo are charming, of course. ]