victory_road | [video]

Entry tags:

[video]

[Unfortunately for the current residents of Johto, they might be unfortunate enough to find what might be one of the worst video feeds ever on the network. It seems to cut in and out at first, and even after it manages to stay on for longer than ten seconds, the video is really just... the world spinning endlessly. Ground, leaves, sky, ground, leaves, sky -- Occasionally a tree is visible for half a second and the direction of movement seems to change, but other than that, it's an endless loop of ground-leaves-sky.

It might eventually be obvious that the camera appears to be attached to something that is rolling quickly down a hill. It probably helps that the entire feed is accompanied by the sound of what's clearly a Pokémon "hooting" over and over - rather excitedly, at that - and a voice somewhere in the distance. Pay close enough attention and the words being yelled out are things along the lines of--]

Wait!! Come back!! Just-- Spread your wings and stop rolling already!!

[Does that sound like a new trainer in need of help? That's probably because that's more less exactly what it is.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She looks back at him, just the tiniest hint of a frown on her lips. There are another million questions in her head again, but she can't ask them. Mostly because Shiro might not even have the answers to them. So instead they just sit there at the forefront of her mind for a moment until she figures out how to mentally shake herself and save them for another time.

Two years. It's so hard to believe.]

..I'll talk to them, then. [The haze of questions fully vanishes from her eyes as Pidge refocuses, walking a little faster now.]

I guess you have a place to stay, right? Is everyone with you there?

That's probably for the best. I'm sorry, Pidge. It... really did slip my mind.

[There's a lot going on here, for the most part. Then Keith happened and trying to fix everything with him... And figuring out where he stood with Matt and Jean and Armin and Sasha --]

[There's a long list of things throwing him off track.]

We've got a house. In the Sevii Islands. We usually come and go, but... it's our base of operations.

[She shakes her head slightly (a motion that Rowlet really doesn't enjoy and protests to quite loudly) and shrugs a shoulder.] No no, it's okay. I mean, I get it. Seeing Matt again after so long was kind of mind-blowing for me, too.

[Pidge even offers him a small, lop-sided smile. Everything's fine, Shiro. No need to apologize to her.]

Is it... okay if I stay there too? At least until I figure out an alternative, if necessary.

Yeah... yeah, I can imagine.

[Skarmory swings her head around to stare at the 'gear. Hissing like a giant metal goose at the Rowlett. Hush, child!! Adults are talking. She's an old lady and deserves her respect!]

[The hissing doesn't even seem to faze her trainer.]

Pidge, if you didn't come stay with us, I'd be offended.

[Not really, but you know what he means.]

Edited 2018-07-15 00:06 (UTC)

[Rowlet's head swings back around toward the 'gear to look at the big metal bird, feathers floofing up even more in some clear attempt to look threatening. Fight me, the trainer's messing up my perch!!]

[Pidge's smile grows slightly, but then falters when she realizes that something is going on between her little owl friend and the--]

Holy crow, Shiro, what is that? [Look who's finally noticed the other bird.]

What is -- Oh. This is Skarmory.

[She's one of the other pokemon who won't let Shiro name her. Or else she'd end up with a name like Iversona. For her cranky, irritable personality. She hisses at the Rowlett one more time, rattling metal feathers.]

... she may have an attitude problem. But she's the fastest flight I've got right now.

We'll get to you soon.

[Pidge can really only stare, but Rowlet keeps right on with his angry trills and hoots and feather puffing. He's not impressed, dammit.]

...How many kinds of, uh, Pokémon are out there?

[She shrills, clacks her beak at the screen. At least until metal fingers rap on her neck. Then she quiets, obediently. But she's still glowering.]

Hundreds. Probably close to five or six hundred, total. Here...

[He'll swing the camera around, showing her the beach. The Spheals rolling through the surf. The Wingulls and the Wailmer out further. The occasional Voltorb poking out of the sand.]

That's just here, where we live.

[Rowlet will just glower right back, then. Because HE CAN. SO THERE.]

Whoa.

[If Pidge sounds impressed, it's because she kind of is. She's also just plain amazed by how similar and yet different this place is from Earth. Some of the creatures that she's seeing look vaguely similar to animals from home, and then there are the giant red and white balls with eyes. How do animals like this even come into being?]

Wait, you live on an island?

[SO THERE. Tiny orb, you will fear your elders.]

Yeah. Whoa.

[He's smiling. He's actually smiling at her reaction. It's so good to see her -- to see that look on her face. He wishes, right then, he could be right there, to actually see her in person now. He's missed her.]

We do. The whole team, and the friends we've made here.

[Never.]

[For a good, solid minute, all of Pidge's attention is on all the Pokémon spread out on the beach, an amazed sort of smile tugging on the corners of her lips as well. Before even being a Voltron Paladin, she's always been kind of a space nerd. Discovering aliens and other life forms beyond earth is a dream of hers and her family's that continues to be fulfilled.

Eventually she's back to focusing on Shiro, still grinning a little.] These new friends better be cool. You know I'm picky.

[And socially awkward. Kind of shy. You know the drill, Shiro.]

[you rude orb]

[He just waits. Watching her expression. And smiling. That look on her face is worth it. It's exactly what he was hoping to see. Like that day on the sloth planet. His face creases in a grin of his own, looking back at her.]

[And then shakes his head.] You'll like Armin. I already know you will. And probably Sasha, too.

[Armin, socially awkward and brilliant. Sasha, the only other girl, who might be good for Pidge to be around, after all the time stuck with guys.]

[meet me in the pit]

[That's already two new names too many, Shiro. Her smile is already waning a bit out of nerves. She hasn't even seen these people and she's worried about not fitting in, not meeting Shiro's expectation.]

I'll try to be nice.

[It's half-teasing, just because that's how she tends to communicate, but it's still half-true. People are hard. It's a miracle she gets along with the rest of the team.]

[BOI YOU WILL GET EATEN]

[Look, Pidge would have to suddenly develop extreme anti-social tendencies, spurn all her current friendships and constantly insult the new people here, and otherwise not be herself for Shiro to be let down.]

Hey, I wouldn't say it if I didn't think you could do it.

[He really wouldn't. New world doesn't matter -- he still believes in all of them.]

[DID I FUCKIN STUTTER]

[If those words came from pretty much anyone else, Pidge wouldn't believe them. But it's Shiro, someone whose opinion honestly kind of means the world to her. Even after everything that's happened, this moment right here means so much.

So she'll do her best, Shiro. Even if she doesn't actual say that out loud.]

Well, for now I'm just looking forward to getting somewhere that's not practically the middle of a forest.

[MMMMMBOY.]

[He knows she will. She always does. And she always exceeds expectations. All of them do. All the more reason to keep on believing in them, no matter the location. Besides... there's no war here to dog their steps.]

[They can rest. Recover a little.]

Okay, okay, I get the message. [The camera jostles around as, without further ado, he's hopping onto the giant metal knife bird.] We'll be there soon. Hang tight.

[8D]

[Watching him climb up onto that bird, just... brings so many more questions into Pidge's mind. Things like "doesn't that hurt?" and "is that safe without a saddle?"

She'll keep them to herself for now and just nod.]

Okay. Let me know when you're close.

[Psh, nah. It doesn't hurt. And it's probably safer with a saddle. But look who you're talking to, Pidge. Is this someone who looks after his own well-being enough?]

[No, no he is not.]

We will. And we'll pick up some extra strength sunscreen for you, on the way back.

[Isn't he funny.]

[Dammit Shiro.]

[And at that awful joke, Pidge rolls her eyes with a little smirk.]

Ha ha, very funny.

[Though honestly, she's pretty sure she needs it. She's officially been out long enough to have gained about 5 dozen new freckles on her face.]

[He shoots her a quick grin. Something sharp and way too amused. Way too young for his face.]

I thought so.

[Skarmory flicks her wings a few times, and he nods to the screen, reaching to deactivate the call.]

I'll see you soon, Pidge. Okay? Just hang tight.

[He'll be out to where she is in a few hours.]

[The youth in that grin almost startles her. She's never seen that before. But at the same time, it's so good to see Shiro looking and feeling so relaxed and at peace. Maybe this place really isn't so bad. Maybe she really doesn't have to worry too much about getting them home.

What a strange thought.

Pidge just nods at him, giving him a little grin of her own.] Copy. I'll see you later.

[Both she and Rowlet wave before hanging up. And now all she can do is wait.]

[Be prepared, Pidge. Be prepared for that grin in spades. For the antics of someone who doesn't constantly have the weight of the world on their shoulders... and lets himself be human, sometimes.]

[But that's something to be seen in time.]

[Now, though, all that matters is getting to her. Seeing her in person again.]

[Hence why he's using Skarmory, not Green. Skarmory will get him from the Sevii Islands to almost anywhere in a matter of hours. With the added bonus of being airborne again. Like he's missed. Like he often still dreams about.]

[They'll be landing in New Bark Town, eventually. Ready to seek her out. Skarmory is fast, but she's also not quiet when she lands.]

[A few hours is plenty of time. Enough time for Pidge to find out that her little friend is called a Rowlet, to get Rowlet to stop running around everywhere like his head's been cut off, and to start settling into what life with the little guy might be like. He's a curious, stubborn, temperamental little thing - and Pidge actually finds it fascinating.

So she starts calling him Rover. Mentally she tacks on a 2.0 at the end, but that's just because Rover 1.0 still has a special place in her heart.

By the time Shiro arrives, Pidge is sitting under a tree with Rover, fiddling with all the new tech that had been given to her; specifically the PokéGear and PokéBalls. There are mysteries to be solved about how they work, after all. Rover just watches her from his new perch on her shoulder, head tilting this way and that, occasionally hooting at her questioning tones. Each time she just shushes him gently before continuing with her task.]

[Skarmory takes the moment of quiet to start looking for seeds or metal filings or whatever she eats, while her trainer hops down. Looking around for where his friend is located... It's been a while. Honestly. The one downside of this place is how difficult it is to get off the Sevii Islands to the rest of the world. There's no teleport pads handy. And the ferry takes a day or so.]

[But she said she'd be here. So--]

[There!]

[It's the hooting that gets his attention. And, without further ado, he strides over to the tree, waving at them both. Skarmory lifts her head, reluctantly hop-flapping along behind her trainer. Ugh, she doesn't want to see the grass orb. Why does she have to?]

Pidge! Hey!

[She looks up immediately when she hears her name, brightening when she sees her friend and teammate striding on over.]

Shiro!

[She waves over at him before starting to get up, Rover fluttering his wings a bit as she moves. She has to gather up the PokéBalls that she'd spread out nearby and tuck them away before heading over to meet Shiro halfway.]

Thanks for coming to get me. This whole thing is kind of a lot to take in.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

--> ACTION???

HELL YEAH ACTION

no subject

no subject