we're halfway there~!

[shiro2hero]

Who: The Residents of Second Chance Island & Friends
Where: The Sevii Islands
When: January
Summary: A catch-all log for shenanigans of meeting new people or anything else.
Rating: MOSTLY G -- but with added PG13/R for Krieg




Welcome to the Sevii Islands. Or, one of them, anyway. It looks a little like this, with a house a few hundred yards back from the actual beach. Flowers everywhere. A porch on the house... it's extremely peaceful.

Except for the Voltorbs rolling around. And the flexing Incineroars. A couple Aggron. Spheals rolling and bouncing in the water. There may even occasionally be a whale pokemon or two out in the water.

So yes. It's peaceful.

As long as you like Pokemon.

[ Here's an open log for anything you need in the month of January on the Island of Trauma, aka: second chance island. Tag around, toplevel, whatever, have a party! Train pokemon, go fishing, bum around the house Jean and Armin rented, just to keep things organized in one place. ]

Comments

Shiro | ota, whenever

[shiro2hero]

OUTSIDE;
[For the most part, he's going to be training his pokemon. Using his big Aggron as a target for his smaller, younger Pokemon -- namely, an Eevee, a Voltorb and his Spheal. Kuro doesn't seem to mind, he's big and his defense is high enough. But you'll find Shiro out on the sand running them all through drills, regardless.]

[He'll probably offer to train with you, if you want.]


INSIDE;
[No rest for the wicked. Or Shiro. Even when he's not training, he's organizing things, or trying to make space for new arrivals. Just constantly moving. If he doesn't, he's going to think about a lot of things he doesn't know how to process just yet.]

[He'll crash eventually. Someday. Probably on a couch with his legs hanging off the edge and a Meowth curled up on his face.]


ANYTHING;
[ choose your own adventure! ]

[notvaljean]

[Ha HA, it's the biggest rock guy! The very biggest! If you take down the biggest one, then YOU get to be the biggest one!]

[Or at least that's how it should be.]

[Here comes Strudel the Aron, lumbering across the sand as fast as her little legs can carry her, lowering her head down to ram Kuro's tail when she gets close enough! En guard, you cur!]

[shiro2hero]

[It's good to be Kuro -- the sun is warm, there's sand to roll around in and scratch on. Sometimes metal treats wash up on the beach. And his trainer isn't moping in the house anymore! Perfect!]

[... so he's a bit alarmed when something small crashes into his tail.]

[There's a grunt, and the big Aggron lifts his head off the sand to stare in Strudel's direction. Blinking slowly. What do you want, small child?]

[Are you okay?]

ONE MORNING...

[shiro2hero]

[It's early. Possibly sunrise. The morning after some nightmares happened, which leaves the resident Dorito padding out of someone else's room. Matt's room.]

[He looks half asleep. Which is some kind of miracle. But, since it's early... he's doing his best to move quietly through the house. All he figures he'll do is put a shirt on or clean up. Maybe grab some cereal...]

[Surely nothing can go wrong.]

[schachmeister]

[Something can always go wrong.

Well. Go wrong is probably an utter overstatement in this case, but he does end up bumping into Armin only just outside Matt's door.]

Shi-- Shi-- Shiro?

[Armin stumbles over Shiro's name, only barely managing to cover a giant yawn behind one hand. He's looking sleepy-eyed and dozey, his hair standing out in strange cowlicks, still wearing the slightly oversized shirt and shorts he wears to bed.

A lifetime of getting up early --okay, three years in the army and two years tilling the fields-- have left Armin somewhat of a reluctant morning person. He's not exactly up chipper and bright, brimming with energy, but he is up, if in need of some strong coffee to really jumpstart his body into working. He just can't really sleep in. Whenever he does, he wakes up feeling like Shadis is going to start breathing down his neck any minute and start assigning him laps. Not very relaxing at all.

Oh well, at least it ended up working out well with his job. It means he can get there early enough to take care of the Wailmers' breakfast and put his hours in early which leaves his afternoons free to fill with his own pursuits.]

G'morning

[notvaljean]

[Oh Shiro, you precious Dorito. Hasn't life and your canon taught you that when something can go wrong, it probably will?]

[Shiro isn't the only one up early; Jean is also out and about in the hallway, accompanied by Gulliver the Klefki and Fat Ice Dog. He's trying to be quiet and sneaky, well aware that the rest of the house doesn't wake up when he does to get to his early morning shifts at Starmiebucks, so he's not expecting anyone else to out here.]

[Which means he crashes directly into Shiro.]

Hwuh!

[Articulate. Jean bounces backwards, nearly stumbling over Fat Ice Dog, who barks merrily at the sight of Shiro--hello, friend! good morning! you smell like the other friend!--and setting Gulliver jingling cheerfully in greeting.]

Shiro?

Matt | OTA

[tookashirototheknee]

Beach

[Matt never really thought of himself as a beach bum, but he's usually seen out on the beach, watching the pokemon and fishing up Magikarp and low-level Tentacool for Spheal to train on.

He's wearing an obnoxious floppy hat, a colorful shirt, and, in spite of all logic, long pants.

As long as you have something fairly low-level, he'll totally train with you.]

Inside!

[When he's not on the beach, Matt's inside, reading everything he can get his hands on about pokemon, about their history, about where he's found himself.

Generally, he's on the couch or on the floor with a pencil behind his ear, and a notebook, making notes on what he's reading.]

Anything else?

[Choose your own Holtventure!]

beach let's beach

[shiro2hero]

[Hope you don't mind another Spheal rolling your way, Matt. Because Europa has spotted a new friend -- you know, besides Jean's Fat Ice Dog. She loves friends! Enough to where she's going to roll away from training to bump into Matt's feet.]

[Hello friend!!]

Inside!

[schachmeister]

[Ah, yes. The nerd learning to Pokemon. Armin very much recognises what Matt is doing. It is what he had done when he had first arrived here too. Some people might simply throw themselves into this whole Pokemon business head-first, no fucks given, but for Armin, he had not felt confident doing anything with his Pokemon without first reading a hell of a lot of material. Pretty much everything he could get his hands on, in fact.

So, he absolutely understands what Matt is doing here. And he'd like to help, if he can.

So, he approaches Matt where he is sitting, either on the couch or on the floor, his hands folded behind his back. There is a slight hint of some awkwardness in it (mainly cause Armin isn't very good with people, though he really wants to get to know this friend of Shiro's too) but he persists.]

Having much luck? With your research, I mean.

beach!

[notvaljean]

[Jean comes out to join Matt when he gets home from work, still wearing the tacky monstrosity Blue the Kirlia got for him. He's carrying a tumbler of iced coffee in one hand, and offers it to Matt when he gets close enough.]

Hey. You want some help with training?

[Jean has some babies that need some practice.]

Jean | ota

[notvaljean]

Strudel

[There is a new terror on the beach. Something horrible has awoken, and claimed this land as her own. She rises from her slumber deep beneath the earth, slow to wake but as implacable as the tides, lying in wait beneath a cover of sand, waiting... watching...]

[There's a young Aron, small for her type, hiding rather poorly under the sand and waiting for people to walk past so she can try to ram their ankles. Beware, humans!]

[She'll also happily play with anyone who sees through her excellent disguise and calls her out on her shenanigans.]

Jean

So what do you think? Does it go better here or here?

[Jean is at the side of the house, grubbing around in the overgrown flower beds beside it. He's accompanied by a handful of grass Pokemon, including Blume, Buddy the Budew, and Colossal Treetrunk, who is overseeing everything and providing shade. The Pokemon are clustered around him, offering advice and instruction as Jean mucks around in the dirt.]

Strudel!

[schachmeister]

[What is this.

Atticus watches the small Aron barely covered in sand, rubbing his chin with his trunk. Is this... is this a game? Are they playing a game? A hide and seek game, maybe? Oh boy, Atty loves hide and seek games, and also all other games.

Trotting up behind Strudel, he sticks his little trunk in the air, letting out a cheerful trumpeting sound. Found you, new friend! Is it time for him to hide now?]

Jean guy... the coffee guy...

[shiro2hero]

You know, somehow I never had you pegged for gardening.

[Says the guy leaning over the porch rail to watch this -- with his Meowth sitting on his shoulder, watching the other pokemon with wide eyes. It's not a disparaging comment, more bemused than anything.]

Just picked it up recently?

Jean!

[brokencode]

[It felt like an eternity since Angel had seen some of her friends. Between the nightmare hellscape that had plagued their home and what had happened in the power plant, the former siren had spent a fair bit of time on her own. She'd spoken to Jean briefly, but it had been ages since she had seen him in person.

She hesitated a moment, looking between Jean and his Pokemon. She wasn't sure how welcome she'd be around them, could only assume that they too had heard what she had done. Krieg had been the biggest (and most direct) casualty of her powers, but it didn't erase what Circinus had done to protect Armin from her.

Much as the thought made her want to turn tail and run, she forced herself to remain frozen in place. Even as her heart began to pound in her throat, and as her gaze flicked between each of the gathered creatures, she knew she had to linger. Avoiding everyone she had harmed would only continue to hurt them.

Ripping the bandaid off was the only way to finish healing the wound.]

Can I help, Jean?

[schachmeister]

[Fashion fashion baby; set around the 25/26th]

[Did you watch the contest on TV last night? Because a couple of Armin’s pokemon certainly did and today, they can be found having their own fun with the concept. Armin might not be into contests, but they are. Well, the dress up part, at least.

If you go out on the beach today, you might end up spotting a chipper Zubat, flying to and from with things like leaves, seaweed and flowers in her mouth. Well, hopefully things like leaves, seaweed and flowers. She is blind, after all. She piles them all by a industrious looking Sewaddle who is putting it all together. If you stand still long enough around them you might end up being hustled by Mina to be Jonathan’s new model. Pokemon, human, it doesn’t matter. Jonathan is making leaf-spit accessories for all!]



[All I want to do is see you turn into a giant (shark) woman; closed to Jean]

All right, Nemesis.

[The water laps gently around Armin’s bare shins where he stands in the surf. Nemesis is a little further out in the water, facing of against her opponent: a tentacool. Around them, the day is slowly turning into dusk, and really, it’s a relaxing moment. The training battle Nemesis is involved in isn’t a particularly troublesome one, Burrito and Jean have come out to bear witness to the proceedings --not that Nemesis cares about Jean being there, but Armin appreciates having someone to chat to while they search for new pokemon for Nemesis to take on-- and in the soft ocean breeze it is almost hard to remember that their life was ever anything else but this.

Armin rubs the bridge of his nose for a moment, which is peeling slightly from the effects of the sun, as he considers their options.]

Lets try that new Giga Fang attack we’ve been practising on.



[I don’t have a clever title for this]

[In general, throughout the month, Armin can be found doing lots of things.

Whenever he is not at work, he might be out on the stretch of beach behind their house training any one of his pokemon. That even includes the ones already at level 100 to give them some exercise. So if you are wondering why there is suddenly a giant Steelix out behind the house? It’s this guy. Feel free to come watch or have a match against him or even ask him for his help with anything poke-training wise.

(Or maybe don’t unless you are prepared for the insane amounts of TL;DL)

It’s not just pokemon training though! He can also be found all throughout the month spending a lot of time writing in a fancy looking journal. Usually with a few other books with him that he keeps referencing, while frowning slightly.

Or he might be encountered at night, after the island sun has set, out on the beach (is he ever not there, really) with the star charts he got from Shiro for Christmas, trying to match what he can see up in the sky with the things on the map.

Or you might find him reading a book called Mysteries and Dungeon with a thoughtful look on his face because who the fuck let this kid have a DnD book, oh yeah, it was Ford.]

[notvaljean]

[Jean is sitting at the water's edge with Burrito, his feet in the waves, and watching as Armin trains his shark. Burrito is far more enraptured than Jean is, watching with huge heart eyes as his vicious girlfriend trains. He's also very carefully balancing an iced coffee on his back.]

Go get him, Nemesis!

[Burrito squeaks encouragingly from Jean's side. Get it!]

armin at night

[shiro2hero]

Hey. You've been out here a while.

[Hopefully he's not going to startle the guy. Hopefully the Eevee and Meowth scampering around his feet announce him. He's got a wrapped little bundle in one hand, and a bottle of water in the other.]

Have you eaten yet?

[Don't worry, Armin, it's a sandwich. That, at least, he can handle.]

Krieg // OTA // January 10th onward

[fuelthefire]

ARRIVAL
Holy butts, why didn't Krieg pound Chuck's gym team into the ground months ago? That's so many months he could have been flying around on Torch Dragon, wasted!

At least he's got the HM now.

You might witness his arrival; he's egging his shiny Charizard on with his usual unhinged but delighted laughter. Torch Dragon really doesn't need the encouragement; he's having as much fun as Krieg is, and if that steep dive towards the sandy beach looks equal parts exhilarating and dangerous, well, that's because it is. He pulls up at what looks like the very last second and pitches Krieg off over his shoulder. The big man tucks and rolls and gets an impressive few yards in before his momentum gives way to the sandy beach and he flops, still breathlessly laughing, on his back.

Or

You might witness the few minutes immediately following his arrival. Three very beefy, very muscley Incineroars appear as if from nowhere and immediately tackle him. It's very likely they heard his laughter from the sky and came running to greet him in the traditional way, which is a free-for-all beefcake wrestling match. He joins them enthusiastically, laughing and shouting in his usual...exuberant...manner.

"Gimme your lungs, badass!"

What does that even mean? Maybe Krieg knows, but no one else does.

R&R
The Psycho can be found on the beach, far back from the shoreline, shaded under a convenient palm tree and with his mask pushed up out of his face and balanced on top of his head. He's currently in the process of eating a sandwich, which explains the position of his mask. Normally it doesn't take him very long to eat, but he has a small Darumaka sitting in his lap, and most of his focus is actually breaking off bits of sandwich and feeding the 'Mon rather than on feeding his own face.

Out in the sun on the sandy beach a Hawlucha and an Aron are...training? Playing? Both? The Aron is doing her very best to charge and headbutt the Hawlucha, but Hermes is far too quick and wiley to be headbutted, so Skully is doing a lot of skidding and tumbling in the sand when her target moves from the place it's supposed to be. Occasionally Krieg will shout something encouraging to the little Aron, and Hermes, like a good big brother figure, also makes plenty of encouraging squawks.

All in all, it's a very wholesome and heartwarming scene that definitely needs to be interrupted.

Wildcard
Choose your own adventure!

[schachmeister]

Somehow, don't ask how, Armin managed to miss all the racket Krieg was making arriving. Maybe he had just been too lost in another book or any one of those Armin things Armin does. What he doesn't miss though is the racket of three full-grown Incineroars suddenly tearing off the porch.

Oh no. Not again.

Grabbing the waiting spray bottle of water, Armin goes running out of the house after the cat brigade, though it is hard to catch up to three giant cats pelting down the beach. "Stop it! Leave him alone!" He brandishes the spray bottle like a weapon, a weapon specifically for naughty kitties. "He's not-- oh. It's Krieg."

[notvaljean]

Oh ho, what is this? Is this another Aron? Is it another baby that wants to play headbutts with her?

Strudel comes charging down the beach, running as fast as her little legs will take her, with Jean following at a more sedate pace. Strudel is squeaking and gurgling and making all sorts of excited noises, but Jean satisfies himself with lifting a hand and waving. "Hey!"

As soon as she's close enough, Strudel does a dive at the other Aron, aiming to smack into her with her forehead and hopefully knock her over so they can wrestle.

[shiro2hero]

[Someone else comes charging over with the muscle cats. Someone much smaller. And white. Who somehow, despite all logic, jingles when she runs. It's a tiny Meowth.]

[With a jingle collar.]

[A tiny Meowth who is doing her best to leap up onto her muscle cat role models' shoulders as they mob Krieg.]

Hunk | OTA!

[lionroll]

Arrival

[Hunk was amazed by the beauty of the island Shiro and his friends called home. It was incredibly peaceful, which was thoroughly welcomed after the rough few days the Yellow Paladin had before getting here.

Let's just say flying on the back of a giant bird is not something he ever wants to do again. Especially not after braving several days on the road with only minimal supplies.

At the very least he made two new friends! An energetic male Pikipek he oh so cleverly named Picus, and a sweet, somewhat shy little female Espurr he's named Tamah. His first couple of days on the island are spent getting to know his new companions, as well as settling in to the idea that this is now "home," so feel free to welcome him or pester him in general!]

Beach Time Training

[A few days in to his arrival, Hunk is willing to give this training stuff a go. Especially if it means his new partners will become stronger, and able to better protect themselves from any danger. Which Hunk personally thinks all those Voltorbs are sure to bring.

He is very sketchy about them just rolling around... Looking menacing... As are those big, muscley Incineroars...

Anyways! Today Hunk is out on the beach, clapping his hands in time as he has Shay, Picus, and Tamah chase after him for their warm up. Check in a bit later and he'll be scratching his head as he issues what he assumes are proper attack names.

Pretty sure "barrel rolls" are not an actual attack.]

Catching Up on Breeding!

[Since it seems Hunk has been designated a breeder, by whatever force originally brought him here, he figures he should read up on just what all that entails.

Flopped out on the floor, a breeders handbook and notebook spread out before him, he looks very concerned about what he's reading. Maybe someone can offer him a printer or two?]

Shay!

[With her trainer busy sniffing those silly paper things, Shay takes some time to explore on her own. This place is very different from any she's seen before. Although, the little Rockruff hasn't really been anywhere outside of New Bark, so that's not saying much. Her nature is a curious one though, so any new place is going to be very exciting to her.

Taking off into a quick sprint, she dashes across the sand, pausing now and then to sniff at tree trunks, and plants, making mental notes of other Pokemon that have passed by there, tail wagging with her excitement.]

Training time!

[schachmeister]

[By the time Armin returns from work, Hunk has moved onto the barrel rolls part of his training.

Armin slows his steps. He's been wanting to talk to Hunk more. He's an important friend of Shiro's, and Armin's like to strike up a friendship with him too. Admittedly though, he's found it a little hard to talk to him. Nothing to do with Hunk, Armin just isn't very good at the making friends thing. Especially the small talk part. That is the worst.

(Made even worse by his and Hunk's lives having so few common points to discuss)

Pokemong training though. That is something he can talk about. He stops close to where Hunk is working with his mons, but not so close he'd be interrupting their work.]

Having much luck?

training

[shiro2hero]

[Well, one of said Incineroars has heard from Haunter all about the people in her trainer's dreams. And she's a little eager to meet them. How a big muscle cat manages to skulk up to the training session is anyone's guess. It's probably a cat thing.]

[But here comes Red. Sniffing as she approaches.]

[Ah, yes. This is a good human. Even if he smells like rock dog. Poor Hunk -- hopefully Shiro warned him about the big cats. Because his Incineroar is now affectionately headbutting Hunk's shoulder.]

[Hello, new human!]

Shay!

[notvaljean]

[What's this? Is there one of those hooligan Electrodes lurking around, watching Shay run around and play? Just... kind of lurking? And watching?]

[It's not just any hooligan Electrode, it's the hooligan Electrode, Blitz himself, watching her from under a bush. When she gets close enough, he rolls out, tilting himself to the side and watching her.]

[Hey, kid. Want to learn some training moves that are better than barrel rolls?]