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

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."

[fuelthefire]

It takes Krieg a bit to realize Armin has turned up on the beach, which is understandable, since he has three very large, furry distractions demanding his attention. When he does spot their audience, though, he very graciously allows Polo to pin him to the ground so that the scuffle will die down enough for him to say hello.

"Hey, Blondie! What's with the bottle?"

Asks the Psycho from his prone position in the sand, Polo seated proudly and majestically on his chest.

[schachmeister]

Magellan, who is on the sand beside Krieg, dramatically rolls onto his back, baring his teeth and claws at the bottle with a hiss. There it is. The instrument of their torture.

"Well, it seems three certain someones decided that every person with a bald head is good for wrestling with recently." Mom is disappointed in all three of you cats. "Our poor mailman is close to a nervous breakdown."

[fuelthefire]

Krieg glances to one side at Magellan when he hisses, then looks back up to Armin. He laughs, and is about to say something in reply when he's distracted by some very distressed-sounding noises being emitted by a very anxious Zen Doll. The Darumaka had hidden himself fearfully behind Torch Dragon when it witnessed its human buddy being cat-piled by three very big, very aggressive 'Mons. Now that the commotion has quieted, Dolly has gathered his courage and is waddling toward the group at top speed, followed by TD who is attempting - unsuccessfully - to soothe the little guy.

Get away from him you big bullies! What did he ever do to you? Leave him alone!

He's fine, I promise, they do this all the time when they're around, it's just for fun, nobody gets hurt...!

Krieg, hearing only the sounds but understanding nothing of the content, pushes Polo off of his chest to flop beside his brother in the sand. Free of his cat prison, he sits up and reaches out to scoop Zen Doll up. Dolly immediately latches on and smashes his face against Krieg's neck, trembling.

"Does it work?"

Can such a small spray bottle really cow such very large and rowdy cats?

[schachmeister]

"This?" Armin glances at the spray bottle in his hand for a moment, before, with the absolute blandest expression, raising it and spritzing a bit in the direction of the three cats. The effect is near instant: all three of them roll away, hissing and spitting, as dramatic as if Armin had levelled a proper water cannon at them.

(Normally he isn't one for messing with their pokemon, but he must keep the fear alive. For the sake of their mailman if no one else.)

"Thankfully, they are all surprisingly big wimps."

They'll all take any attack in a proper battle, but outside of battle? This spray bottle is like the strike of a vengeful god.

But enough about that.

"Is that a new pokemon you caught?" He rests his hands on his knees, leaning in a bit to get a look at the shivery lump of fur that has pressed itself flush against Krieg's neck.

[fuelthefire]

Krieg snickers at the violent reaction all three muscle cats have toward the tiny spritz of water. He never would have pegged them for such drama queens. What a show.

"Mnn...No. The Geek Girl found it after the warehouse explosion." He reaches up to press a supportive hand to Dolly's back and help anchor him in place until he calms down. He feels really bad; it hadn't even occurred to him that the exuberant Incineroars might upset his little friend. "She brought it to see me and it wouldn't let her take it away again."

[schachmeister]

They are cats, after all. Drama flows through their veins. Krieg should see them when they decide they are starving, absolutely starving, right now and oh, why has this cruel fate befallen them.

Big drama queens, the lot of them.

"The one in Goldenrod City?" Armin had visited the remains of that warehouse too and had seen a few of the terrified Pokemon, still hiding behind the twisted remains of their old cages. Team Rocket was just horrible. Someone really ought to do something about them some time.

Though that means this lump of fur is another Rocket Pokemon as well, and suddenly the clingy behaviour starts making more sense. The thought has Armin's brows furrowing, as he bites his lip for a moment. The sort of things Team Rocket puts these Pokemon through is just horrible. It's impossible not to get angry when reminded of it. "What sort of Pokemon is it?"

[fuelthefire]

"Yeah, that one."

Was there another warehouse explosion somewhere that he hadn't heard about? Anything is possible, he guesses, but is it possible that literally all of his friends would forget to mention it to him? That's much less likely.

"It's a..." Always Armin with the proper names for things. And Zen Doll has a particularly tricky one for Krieg to remember, for whatever reason. "Dolly Mocha...Match, matcha, mala, mara, maka! Dolly Maka! Darumaka!"

Success!

"It poops hot coals!"

For some reason that odd little bit of trivia is much easier for Krieg to remember than the Pokemon's species name. And now Armin knows it, too.

[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.

[fuelthefire]

Skully squeaks in surprise when another baby Aron appears, instantly distracted from her very pressing mission of headbutting a difficult moving target. She does a little dance in place, stubby legs kicking up small puffs of sand as she takes in the other's excited baby noises and makes some of her own. When Strudel makes her dive, Skully braces said stubby legs to the best of her ability and lowers her head. She's ready for all the headbutts! Bring it on!!

"Hey!" He glances over at Jean with a grin, but his gaze quickly returns to the small Aron drama unfolding on the sand before him. He absolutely does not want to miss witnessing the moment of impact. Skully seems to be quite a bit bigger than her sister - this is going to be interesting and also possibly hilarious.

[notvaljean]

The headbutt goes about how one would expect: Strudel is smaller than Skully, but lower to the ground, so when they collide, Strudel goes staggering back a few steps but doesn't topple over. She shakes her head, roar-squeaks in defiance, and goes in for another butt.

This is all well and good and adorable when they're Arons, but what is it going to be like when they're fully grown Aggrons?

Fucking awesome, that's what.

"Whisper Bunny gave me an Aron egg." That much is obvious, based on the two Arons tussling in the sand. "What've you got there?"

Jean plops in the sand next to Krieg and gestures at his new Pokemon. It's a type he's never seen before.

[fuelthefire]

Skully watches the littler Aron with some concern when she staggers back - is she okay? But then Strudel roar-squeaks, and appears to be fine, so Skully does another little sand-kicking dance, and lowers her head again to receive the next headbutt.

This is how legends start.

"She gave you a good one!" Krieg chortles in delight watching the two small Iron Skulls butt heads. He'll probably look back on this day fondly when they both grow up, but at this time he's already imagining what a fight between the two will look like when they are all grown up.

It's going to be fucking awesome.

"This is the Zen Doll."

Dolly turns and glances very briefly at Jean with his little one-eyed stare, before turning back to look up at Krieg again. He's waiting patiently to see if he's going to get any more sandwich, or if Krieg's going to finish it off. Krieg rewards his patience with one last bite, holding what basically looks like a crumb of bread and cheese and meat very carefully between two large fingers for the Darumaka to take.

"The Geek Girl found it in the warehouse that exploded."

[notvaljean]

Jean watches the little Arons headbutt and play, and he already has an inkling in the back of his mind... they're going to get as big as Reiner and Kuro when they're fully grown. That means they'll be big enough to ride. If they're big enough to ride, and still like butting heads...

8D

But anyway, that's a way in the future, and Jean looks down at the Pokemon Krieg has. "Oh, so it's a Rocket one?" If that's the case, he keeps his voice low and soothing, and doesn't offer Zen Doll his hand, like he normally would when meeting a new Pokemon. He will talk to it, though.

"Hi, cutie. So you're Krieg's new friend? He's a great trainer, he'll take really good care of you."

[fuelthefire]

Dolly blinks his one eye up at Jean and studies him thoughtfully. He already knows Krieg will take really good care of him. It's still kind of reassuring to hear a new person say that, though, because that means this new person must know Krieg pretty well. So he must be an okay new person.

"Yeah. It was pretty messed up." He stuffs the remainder of his sandwich into his mouth to finish it off, pulls his mask back down into place, and places his hand on top of Zen Doll's little round head. "It's doing better now," he adds, around a mouthful of sandwich.

Then he chews, swallows, and asks, "How's your Iron Skull?"

[notvaljean]

Jean doesn't push any more than this, and turns his attention back to Krieg. He's been around enough traumatized Pokemon to know that it's better to let them come to you on their own, and that just being around calm, peaceful people is helpful for them.

"She's great!" Jean gestures down to the sand, where the serious game of headbutt is continuing. "She's really friendly and has been making friends with everyone. She especially likes Kuro." And Kuro, the big lug, seems pretty fond of her too. "But she looks pretty happy to have someone her own size and type to play with."

[fuelthefire]

"Pfff! Does she headbutt him like that, too?"

God, he can picture it now. Giant, gentle Kuro, good-naturedly accepting a hundred tiny baby headbutts.

"All of mine are bigger and faster than Skully, too. Except the Zen Doll, but she won't play rough with him." She's a smart little baby, even if she is a big goofball - she already knows how much is too much. Ever since Day 1, Dolly has been exclusively for cuddle piles, and off limits for anything more rigorous than enthusiastic but gentle nuzzling.

And speaking of "faster," here comes Hermes the Hawlucha - old hat now that Skully's small sister has shown up, but not upset at being upstaged. He plops down on the sand next to Krieg to watch the baby Arons play, too.

[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.]

[fuelthefire]

[Wait! What's this?? His muscle cat friends have a new friend? It's so small! And it has a jingle collar!

Keeping an eye on the little one to make sure it doesn't get hurt while also participating in a four-way free-for-all is going to be a challenge, but Krieg will do his best!]

Bring on the bad times!!

[That's directed at the big cats, naturally, and the three of them are eager to deliver. They bring on the bad times at full-force, as requested, and the wrestling match is on!

...Though it probably won't last very long. Once the small Darumaka accompanying Krieg makes its concern known, the wrestle reunion will have to be postponed.

They've got a minute or two before the little guy gathers his courage to protest, though.]

[shiro2hero]

[The muscle cats, of course, are happy to indulge. Even if at least one of them, Shiro's because of course, keeps an eye on their new, small, feline friend.]

[A small feline friend who immediately perks her ears at the Darumaka. And hops down to give it a few curious sniffs.]

[Who are you??]

[fuelthefire]

[Zen Doll has come quite a way from the day he met Krieg. At first he was so withdrawn and unresponsive he literally didn't react to anything. He warmed to Krieg first, obviously, and then to Skully the baby Aron. He's since become, if not comfortable, then tolerant, of the presence of Krieg's other pokemon, but he still prefers the big man's company over everyone else's.

So while he's not nearly as withdrawn as he once was, he still hasn't got the hang of interacting with strangers, human or pokemon, although pokemon are a little easier. And smaller pokemon, more his size (such as a Meowth), are easier than larger ones. He tolerates the Meowth's curious sniffs mostly because his attention is strongly focused on watching Krieg and the three big muscley pokemon with steadily growing alarm. He glances at the Meowth with his only eye when she asks who he is before returning his gaze to the concerning scene before him, and doesn't answer.]

[shiro2hero]

[Luna, by contrast, is very open and adventurous. She's a kitten, for one. For another, she's from a breeder who probably specialized in this sort of personality in a Meowth. She's an ideal sort of companion animal.]

[But that also means she's going to reach over and gently pat at the round little pokemon with a paw. It's not a Scratch attack. It's just a pat. Curious. Testing. Can you hear her, strange round friend? Because, of course, Zen Doll is immediately her friend.]

[She even punctuates that pat with a little chirruping sound.]

[fuelthefire]

[Dolly actually flinches a little when the gentle paw pats him. He wasn't expecting to be touched. He can tell that the Meowth is a baby, though - like his friend Skully - and that she's just friendly and curious. He glances back at her again, a little unsure, and grumbles a tiny grumble. Yeah, he can hear her.

He's still far too worried about what Krieg is up to to give her any more attention than that. Those big cats are so violent and there are more of them than Krieg. There's no way Krieg isn't going to get hurt! He just got better from being hurt! Dolly has to help him, somehow!

Courage gathered, he lets out a loud, distressed cry and waddles closer to the scary combat, as if there were anything he could do at his puny level 15 against these level 100 beasts. Still, he has to try.

S-stop that! Leave him alone! Don't hurt him!!]

[shiro2hero]

[Okay, good, he can hear her. She purrs, because her friend should know she appreciates his answer. The little Meowth plunks herself own next to him, tucking her feet up under her in the classic cat loaf position.]

[At least until Dolly gets up. Her ears perk, and she trots after him.]

[Oh no! No, he should not get so close to the fighting! He's small, like her. He should keep back. And the bigger cats don't seem to hear him yet! She bounds up after him, pacing in the sand around him.]

[And adds her own yowl to the mix. Something that sounds more at home from a concerned Siamese cat than a Meowth.]

[... one muscle cat stops what she's doing, popping her head up.]

[fuelthefire]

[Krieg hears Dolly's alarmed cries, even over the noise of the wrestling match. The little guy is always so quiet, when he does make a sound, Krieg pays attention. He turns to look at the source of the distressed noises and promptly gets clocked in the face by Magellan thanks to his distraction. Polo then takes advantage of that and body-checks him, knocking him off his feet.]

TIME OUT!

[Magellan's already launched into a devastating elbow drop by the time Krieg manages to shout, so that also lands, and knocks the wind out of him in the process. The two extra rowdy Incineroars do take Krieg's call to heart, though, and all violent wrestling activity ceases while Krieg coughs some air back into his lungs. Dolly uses the opportunity to waddle-run the rest of the way to Krieg's side, smashes his face into the crook of Krieg's neck and shoulder, and hunches there trembling.]