victory_road | Back on the islands

Entry tags:

Back on the islands

Who: Armin Arlert & ???
Where: Island four, Attack on Voltron house, Marine research centre
When: Backdated a bit to stretch from the last week of July to the end of August
Summary: After two months of Scavenger Hunting, Armin has returned home. Various open prompts inside, closed prompts in the comments.
Rating: Gen.
Log:

[a. the marine center]

[What is a trip to the Sevii islands without a dive down to the reef? Whether you want to go there to enjoy the sights, try and find a new water pokemon to add to your collection or you'd like to learn more about the pokemon living on the reef, the Marine Research Center is there for you. Not only can you rent diving gear and a friendly Wailmer there to take you down, any water pokemon related questions can surely be answered by the employees.

The center itself is pretty small and cosy looking, a large cheery sign inviting you in for equipment and Wailmer rentals. Inside, the walls are covered with bright posters of various Water pokemon and pictures of the reef. A pamphlet stand stands next to a small counter, as well as a rack of small souvenirs. Hey, who doesn't want a keychain to remember diving in the Sevii Islands? A blond is shuffling around the room --It's ya boy, Armin-- straightening and refilling various informational pamphlets. A badge on a lanyard identifies him as an employee of the center, and when he notices you, he stops with what he is doing.]

Welcome.

--

[b. the beach]

[Armin had plenty of fun the last two months travelling and seeing parts of both Johto and Kanto. He didn't manage to find everybody on the list, but that's all right. What he did miss though is, well, this. The island. The Beach.

Finding Armin on the beach is easier than finding a zubat in a cave. You might find him reading a book (or two, three). He might be there training a few of his pokemon or he might just be having fun, playing with them in the surf. Either way, if you want to run into Armin, or perhaps, challenge him for a battle, the beach is the place to go.]

--

[c. the house]

[If at any point you walk into the kitchen, you might be treated to an interesting sight. It's the sight of Armin, slightly hunched over, his brows furrowed, as he works really really hard on figuring something out. No, he isn't trying to get through a thick and complex book. Nor is he trying to figure out the logistics of breeding his Lapras pod without turning it into the Habsburgs part II, return of the chin.

No, Armin is frowning, glancing from a book --some sort of instruction manual with a large Porygon on the front-- to... a laptop.

Before he had left to travel, the people at the research center had told him that it was possible for him to start taking online classes if he wanted once he got back. All he would need was a laptop. So, when he had been gearing up to return home, Armin had made a last stop in Goldenrod City and bought himself a laptop with the money he had been saving up.

But it turns out just owning a laptop doesn't mean you actually know how to use it. Especially not for someone who, until two years ago, didn't even know what electricity was.

And if that isn't enough, there is a Meowth sitting on the kitchen table, 'helping'. Because parking her butt on Armin's instructional manual while his eyes are on the screen, or trying to walk across the keyboard when Armin shoos her off the book, or batting at his hand when he actually tries typing is definitely helping. Luna is the very best helper, yes she is.]

Luna, don’t.

[Come save him? Or maybe help him out?]

--

[d. the ditto]

[Picture this: it’s early in the morning. Or maybe afternoon. Or it could be night. It could happen to you at any time. It could happen to you in the kitchen, it could happen to you in the bathroom. It might even happen to you in the living room. Wherever you are, whatever time it may be, you might find that that object you just picked up —-be it your coffee cup, the remote control, the toilet paper roll— suddenly turns squishy and malleable in your hands. Also, it has a face. And is a Ditto.

Congrats. You’ve just met Armin’s newest team member.

Please don’t wipe your ass with him.]

--

[e. July 30th]

[On July 30th, Armin can be found on the beach. This is not particularly unusual, but he isn't there alone. He has shooed away all the rest of his pokemon --except his Poliwag who seemed very interested and in sitting on his lap-- and a little ways away from him, nestled on the warm sand, lays a pokemon egg. And not just any kind of egg. It's got a few large cracks running along its shell, and occasionally it twitches and vibrates. It's an egg ready to hatch, and knowing what it will hatch into, Armin took it outside. After all, nobody wants a Lapras hatching on their lap.

Armin's come prepared. He's got a backpack with some food and water --who knows how long it will take, after all-- and he's got a journal laying open and ready to record a few more things. This will be the first Lapras he'll add to the pod, the first one he's hatched himself, and he's trying very hard to do it exactly right. Feel free to come across him. Maybe he won't mind sharing this moment.]

--

[Anything else? Wildcard me.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It has been a good two months for Magellan. For weeks, he’s done nothing but train and learn new moves, and now he is eager to show them off to his brother Polo, to that lovely lady Red, and maybe even to the small cat Grumpy-Smell owns.

He’s all but bouncing home when he freezes, his ears pricking forward. That smell! He scents the air with a great big huff. That is not the smell of Metal-Arm or his own trainer. It certainly isn’t the smell of Polo’s skinny trainer. Nor the smell of the tall sweaty one that visits sometimes, or the girl.

(Who literally stands out mainly on account of being a girl, though she does smell like food a lot.)

No, this is a smell Magellan loves. It’s the smell of fire and meat, smoke and ash and loud laughter and punching. He shoots forward, not even paying attention to his own small trainer anymore, chasing after his nose. His nose is just one the smell, running along on all fours until he spots a bulky, familiar shape and he leaps, pulling his fist back to punch, electricity crackling along his knuckles.

HI UNCLE KRIEG, HE LOVES YOU.]

[Krieg's mask has seen him through an epic journey on Pandora, rife with nearly endless combat; gunfights, shoot-outs, giant alien beasts, he's taken them all on and the mask has lived to tell the tale. Or it would if it could talk. But it can't. Because it's just a mask. It's continued to do its duty here, whatever duty that is. It's not really great face protection, unless its main purpose is protecting other people's faces. Because biting was a thing Krieg had been prone to doing, once upon a time. He's not really worried he'll forget basic human manners and start biting again, not after living in this peaceful place for so long, but he still wears the mask. It's become a habit, really.

And it continues to see him through his epic slice-of-life adventures here on this gentle little planet. It's honestly shocking that it hasn't broken by now, what with the literal daily brawls he engages in with both his own pokemon team and select others belonging to the friends he's made here.

So when he turns to see what is causing the muffled thumping of heavy feet approaching him and the accompanying electric crackle, he has maybe a split second to take in and appreciate the beauty and grace of the approaching Magellan, fist lit up with lightning and poised to strike, before he....strikes.

Right in the face.

Krieg's mask weathers this Thunder Punch from a level 100 Incinerar just fine. His face, head, neck, and body, though, fare a little worse. Magellan had caught him entirely by surprise and landed his powerful and affectionate hit at the perfect velocity and angle. Krieg goes down, hard, and the sand erupts in a comical little poof! around him when he lands. All is quiet for several long moments after, with only the sound of the nearby ocean to be heard.

...Then, Krieg begins to giggle. It's a quiet sound at first, but quickly increases in volume until it's full-blown laughter.]

Mnuhuhuhuhu...huhha hahahahahAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!

[He moves his arms, then his legs, gathering all of his limbs under himself as he laughs and pushes himself up onto all fours. He looks up at Magellan through his one visible eye that's already beginning to swell, and shouts:]

GOOD! HIT ME AGAIN!

[He doesn't actually give Magellan the chance to do that, though, and leaps up from his crouch in the sand to tackle the Incineroar and properly begin the Welcome Home tussle.]

[While Krieg's laughter builds, Magellan chuffs, looking quite pleased with himself. This is why Krieg is his favourite. The other people in the house will scratch him behind the ears, and occasionally, they'll play with him, but there ain't nobody who wrestles like Krieg wrestles.

When Krieg tackles him, he responds with a roar, but it is all play as he grapples and wrestles with him, trying to flip Krieg back onto the sand.]

[Krieg may have been knocked for a loop with that Thunder Punch (his ears are still ringing, dang), but he's still got plenty of fight in him, especially if he's only wrestling with one muscle cat instead of the entire mob. The sand goes flying as the two struggle for victory, grappling, shoving, pulling, attempting to pin, attempting to headlock, but never quite gaining an advantage over the other.

At least for a few minutes, anyway. Once Krieg's eye finally swells shut and he can't see what he's doing anymore, it's a much less fair fight, and it's not long after that Magellan finally manages to put him in a headlock.

Which just makes him laugh all the more.]

Mnahahahaha! It feels perfect!

[Magellan chuffs with pride, before settling in, starting to affectionately drag his tongue across Krieg's skull and mask, much in the same way he grooms his brother or the Lady Red. He has many other tricks to show Krieg, but those can wait. Who knows, maybe the next time Krieg has another one of his barbeques, Magellan can punch it on fire. Yes, that sounds like a grand and in no way dangerous plan.]

[And now his mask and head are being lovingly washed with a tongue that feels like warm, damp sandpaper. He's sure to be a sight at the Pokémon center when he stumbles in later to get his eye taken care of; one giant bruise covering the entire left side of his face and what will eventually look like nasty road-rash covering the unmasked parts of his head. It's probably a good thing the staff there are used to him, by now.]

Where'd you learn to punch like that?

[Not that Krieg expects an intelligible answer from Magellan, but he asks anyway. He also reaches up one hand to feel around Magellan's head for the big cat's ears, which he begins to scratch affectionately.]

Fuschia City.

[That is not Magellan suddenly learning to speak. That would be very weird. Nope, it's your coconut-boy Armin, who has finally caught up with his wayward pokemon after he went dashing off. Armin already had an inkling of where Magellan had run off to, and he's glad to see it confirmed.]

He stayed at a Dojo in Fuschia City for two months and got tutor-- [Armin has now come close enough to notice the mess that is Krieg's face, his eyes widening a bit in panic.] You're hurt! Magellan, I told you-- How bad is it?

[Krieg twitches a little in surprise when Armin speaks. He turns his head toward the sound of Armin's voice, and...well, what else would he do but laugh?]

Pfffnmahahahaha! I've had worse!

[It is a little silly to keep his mask on like this, though, when there's nothing wrong with his right eye, so he finally stands up, shoveing Magellan away with the hand he'd been using to scratch the cat's ears. As he rises he reaches up with his other hand and pulls the mask off so that he can see Armin. And also so Armin can fully see the majesty that is his newest facial bruise.]

It was a good hit! My ears are still ringing!

[Uh, Krieg, that's definitely something you should get checked out...]

[Magellan purrs with himself, very satisfied with the devastation he has rained down on Krieg's face. He'd never think to do it to another person, but Krieg, Krieg is special.

Too bad Armin is a big ol' stick in the mud, concerned with silly things like brain damage and ocular health.]

That's really not a good thing. [fussy, fussy.] You should get that checked out. Or-- Or at least put ice on it so it won't swell so badly.

[Well, Armin, you're definitely too late on the "brain damage" front, but his squinty eyeball will probably be okay.]

PFff! Spoilsport!

[He says that, but he'll get it taken care of. And sooner rather than later, even. Because if he doesn't then Shiro will probably have a heart attack, and Krieg definitely does not want to be The Guy to cause Space Dad's death.]

How was your trip? Did you take pictures of all the fish?

Well, yes, but that really isn't the most important thing right now.

[Armin chews his lip for a moment, before he turns slightly, towards the house.]

Wait here!

[And off he goes. Magellan chuffs softly, looking at Krieg before all but shrugging. Trainers. What can you do? Sometimes they are just the biggest moms.

It isn't long before Armin returns, a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel.]

At least hold this to your face.

[Krieg might not care, but Armin does. Magellan is his pokemon. That makes this injury his responsibility.]

[Krieg meets Magellan's gaze with his single open eye and the two share A Moment. Everyone around here worries too much. It's a wonder anyone has any time for anything else with all the worrying that goes on around here.

With that said, though, he is also touched that Armin cares enough to go running for a cold compress, and he takes the towel and the frozen peas and presses them to his face as instructed without comment or complaint. The cold initiates a different kind of hurt, which he's down for, so it's all good in the end, really.]

Thanks, Mom.

[....Okay, one comment. He has to tease Armin a little bit, though. What even would be the point otherwise?]

Are you gonna tell me about the fish now?

[Armin sputters a bit at the mom comment, but he settles down quick enough. At least Krieg is holding the make-shift icepack to his face, though Armin isn't certain just how much it will help at this point.]

The fish-- Oh right, I promised to show you the pictures I took at the aquarium.

[Armin certainly doesn't mind showing them, though he gives Krieg on last, appraising look.]

Are you sure you want to see them now? I mean, your head doesn't hurt too badly, does it?

Edited 2018-08-12 00:07 (UTC)

Mnnnnnnn....

[He grumbles meditatively as he weighs his options. Sure, his face is a throbbing mass of agony - it's been a long time since he's taken such a good strong hit and it feels amazing - and his ears are still ringing a little (although less than they had initially), but he's totally fit to look at pictures. He's got one whole eye that isn't swollen shut!

But, he knows without having to ask that it would make Armin much happier and more comfortable if he got all the ouchie things looked at before they settle in for show and tell. On one hand, it's still a little strange to him that something like a giant bruise and massive facial swelling discomfit the people around him when they don't bother him at all, but on the other hand...if he saw a bruise like the one he's experiencing right now on the faces of any of his friends, he wouldn't be happy until he discovered the cause of said bruise and paid it back with interest. So...]

...mmmm, fine. D'you wanna come with me to the monster clinic?

[The Joys there spend almost as much time patching Krieg up as they do his various Pokemon, so they won't even be surprised to see him.]

If-- If you don't mind.

[Armin ducks his head, glancing away.]

It's just that... head injuries can have serious consequences. We were always warned about them in training.

[When you are hurling yourself through the air with some thin wires, knocking your nogging into something becomes a very real danger.]

Furthermore, I feel... responsible for your injury. Magellan was the one who punched you, after all.

[Magellan or Krieg might not care, but Armin does.]

I can show you the pictures while we are there. I can easily bring them along.

It's a little late to worry about brain damage!

[Krieg, that's really not a funny joke, buddy, even if it's at your own expense...]

It was a good punch! The muscle cat hits like the Slab King!

[....God, what would Brick even think of this place? He'd probably love it. So many puppy Pokémon. He would have all the puppies.]

Bring the pictures and let's go!

That just makes it more worrisome!

[Brain damage on brain damage is even worse!!

Armin isn't particularly sure who the Slab King is, but he sounds like the sort of person Krieg spent his time fighting with back home. Of course, knowing Krieg, that could make him as much an ally as an enemy, but ah. Pandora]

I put them on my laptop. Let me go get it.

[If Krieg made Armin want to pee himself at first, Brick....Probably would also make Armin want to pee himself. Though Brick tends to be a little more predictable than Krieg, so maybe that would help. But he's also a lot bigger than Krieg, so that might negate the better predictability? Who knows.]

Okay! I'll wait here.

[With Magellan, whose head he will now resume scratching, and with his bag of frozen peas, which are quickly becoming unfrozen.]

[let's just simplify things and say that just about all of everything on Pandora would make Armin want to pee himself.

Armin makes a quick trip inside to grab his bag and carefully slide his laptop inside before he joins Krieg outside again.]

All right, ready.

[Fair.]

Let's go let's go let's go!

[He's more eager to see Armin's photos than he is to get his face taken care of, but the enthusiasm for going is genuine nevertheless.

The Pokemon Center isn't far, so the walk goes quickly. The nurses at this particular location are long past the point admonishing him to be more careful. He and his Pokemon are always in a good mood when they come in all roughed up, and they clearly work well together and have a strong bond, so there's really nothing to be accomplished by scolding. Some trainers and teams are just like that.

So when they see the state of his face today, the nurses just sigh a bit, and then smile and ask what he got up to this time. He happily tells them all about Blondie's muscle cat as they escort him off to do a quick exam. When he returns to the reception area a few minutes later, the frozen peas have been replaced with a gel ice pack, and he has instructions to hang out so that they can recheck his eye and his ears in thirty minutes.]

So much fuss! Show me the fish!

[He is ready.]

[While Krieg boasts happily about his excellent fight with Magellan, Armin ducks his head apologetically, murmuring embarrassed apologies. He's sorry! He normally raises his pokemon much better than this, he swears.

Thankfully, the nurses are all used to this and know Krieg is Like That, so they don't scold Armin.

He waits patiently for Krieg to return from his examination. He's got his laptop out already. He's still new to it, but he's been getting better at using it. Sure, he still hunts and pecks while typing, but he's been getting more confident with general use. Not as worried anymore that he is going to break it with just one bad click.

He's got all his pictures nearly put away in their own folders, separated by date and location because Armin is just Like That. Krieg wrestles with muscle cats, Armin organises, they all got their quirks.]

Well, strictly speaking, a lot of the water pokemon they had there aren't exactly fish.

Okay! Show me the not-fish, too.

[If Armin wants to fuss about semantics, Krieg's not going to stop him. He's going to sit down next to him and wait to see the pictures, and he'll only fidget impatiently a little bit.]

[Of course Armin wants to fuss about semantics. That is like, 20% of his day at the very least. Details and facts are important, okay.

While Krieg sits down, Armin adjusts his laptop so Krieg should be getting a good view of the screen with his not swollen eye. But then, he starts the show. First up, the Buizel exhibit.]

They had three of these. When I got there, I was right on time to watch them feed them. They are incredibly quick in the water. They can use their tails as a propeller.

[Krieg is all ears as Armin begins the ~~lecture~~ slideshow and explains about the Buizels.]

Pff! It looks like it has a floaty around its neck. What's the water weasel called?

It's a Buizel. And it evolves into--

[click, click, speeding past a few pictures until Armin gets to the Floatzel.]

This. It's called a Floatzel.

[Basically a Buizel with a bigger floaty.]

Back on the islands

For Krieg, backdated to just after Armin came back home.

Oh thank you; here, have a novel

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(no subject)

am I coming up with water Pokemon biology on the fly? yes, yes I am.

hey, it sounds 100% legit to me!

take real biology and dust it with some pokemon glitter

a flawless strategy tbh

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