victory_road | A wild catch-all appears!

A wild catch-all appears!

Who: Hunk and you~
Where: Route 38, Four Island
Summary: A little bit of this and that
Rating: I don't forsee things getting spicy, so probably PG-adjacent
Route 38

It's entirely possible that allowing Tiramisu to wander relatively freely through such an open area filled with a seemingly never-ending supply of ~~targets~~ wild pokemon is going to turn out to be a mistake, but Hunk has chosen to remain optimistic about his life choices up until this point. And for the most part, things have been fine. She seems to be in relatively good spirits today, which means that when she inevitably wanders away from him, it's more that she's interested in poking around and less that she's looking for a battle at every opportunity.

Still, it might be best to give her a wide berth.

Four Island (for Pidge, and eventually Lance)

At some point, Pidge gets a vague message.

So I might need your help with something.

That's all she gets for the time being, because the aforementioned something is currently sniffing around the entrance to an icy cave and Hunk is honestly not looking forward to potentially having to chase her down if she decides she wants to be brave.

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A wandering Lycanroc might just be a normal sight for someone more familiar with this world and its creatures, but some people don't quite have the luxury of having seen every kind of Pokémon there is.

This unsuspecting guy just taking his pokémon out for a walk probably hadn't expected to hear s shrill scream, followed by a girl running as frantically as her heels will allow. He has the privilege of being the first person London sees, and she darts behind him and peeks around his arm, pointing in the direction of where the Lycanroc had wandered.

"Giant fluffy werewolf!"

As content as she is to just wander, the sudden loud arrival of someone new has the bipedal pokemon on high alert.

She bounds over, eyes glowing red and ears perked, only to pause just short of where the girl is now hiding behind her person. Hunk, having witnessed all of this, is just sort of staring at his pokemon for a moment, before ultimately turning to glance over at London over his shoulder.

"She's actually a Lycanroc, but I thought the same thing when she came back." He's still not really sure how his cute little Rockruff turned into this, but alright.

"It's probably a good thing you didn't have any pokemon out. She's kinda... gung ho about battling."

London peers up at the burly stranger, a tad incredulous. "That's your pokémon?"

She supposes she's seen enough pokémon by now to realize just how many varieties there are.

"Where'd she come back from? Did you take her to the poké groomer?" She puts a hand up to her mouth, angled up at him and shielding her words from Lycanroc. "You can ask for a refund, you know!" she stage whispers.

"That's my starter." Or, well, an evolved form of his starter, but it's probably pointless to quibble over technicalities.

That particular line of questioning makes him chuckle, though and he shakes his head. "I dunno if it's a Rockruff thing, or just a her thing, but she ran away while we were on a camping trip a while back... and that's how she came back. But y'know. I don't think I can get a refund from Fake Mom."

By this point, Tiramisu seems to have realized they're talking about her, but she's unable to understand what they're actually saying. Her solution to this is to scoot around Hunk entirely and cram the top of her head into London's other hand.

At least she's trying to get along?

"Ohhh," London nods knowingly. After all, she'd run away if she'd been dragged on a camping trip, too.

"Ugh, leave it to fake moms. They're nothing but trouble. I should know, I've had twelve!"

London hadn't noticed Tiramisu approach, and when she feels her fur on her hand, it startles her a bit, but she's soon smiling, giving the pokémon pets. The haircut isn't really all that bad, honestly, and before long, London is cooing at the colorful pup. "Aww, you let fake mom do your hair, didn't you? You did! Next time she does this to your hair, bite her hand off!"

He's just not going to clarify that the camping trip was actually a long, involved treasure hunt, even if the treasure had turned out to be a bit underwhelming in the end.

"I dunno. She seemed nice enough." A little weird, sure, but that seems to be the case with a lot of things about this world. He's gradually coming to terms with that. London's exclamation has him staring, though. "Wait- did you say twelve?"

There's no way that can be true. Right? Maybe she's just giving him a hard time. Or maybe she's come and gone twelve times? Is that even possible? He has no idea.

Either way, Hunk's just relieved that his pokemon has decided to behave herself for the time being. The quip about her hair makes him chuckle.

"Hey, no. Fake mom didn't do that. And I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate having her hand bitten off." It's hard to say whether or not Tiramisu is even listening to anything they're saying, what with the way she's leaning hard into the pets.

London had been sorted as a Rocket Grunt, and her arrival was far less motherly than the experience many others start off with. Although it's really neither here nor there for London. Even if she had been brought here to a fake mom, it wouldn't have been much different from her stepmoms. Or at the very least, the one out of twelve that had tried to befriend her.

"Uh-huh!" she nods vapidly at his question. "If there's one thing daddy taught me about marriage, it's always sign a prenup."

She looks up at Hunk attentively as he explains, and although she still has no idea who's responsible for this pokémon's mane, she shrugs, deciding to let it go.

"So, what was so nice about your fake mom?" Her question is genuine and sass-free. She's seen others with moms, so some of them must be good, right?

It's never really occurred to Hunk to wonder if everyone starts out here in the same place, probably because the notion of everyone piling into that poor woman's house seems a little out there. Then again, a lot of things about this world seem pretty out there. He's slowly coming to terms with some of them, but it's definitely a process.

Hunk blinks at her response. That wasn't at all what he was expecting to hear. "That's probably smart." Not that he can claim to know much about it. Marriage is something he's always had in mind for the distant future, after his life has settled and after he's figured out what else he wants to do. Hearing her talk about it that way almost makes him sad.

The question catches him off guard, but at least it's an easy answer. "I'm not gonna lie. It was weird waking up in a strange bed, with a strange woman claiming to be my mom. But she seemed really genuine. If I didn't already know better, I might have believed it."

But he had known better. His parents weren't here, despite whatever that other woman believed.

London tilts her head curiously. His experience waking up here was already vastly different from her own. Well aside from the strange bed part. She does remember that she was advised not to talk about being a part of Rocket with people who aren't in the group, so she's more careful than usual. After all, her goal is to move out of that boot camp boarding facility and get her own place. Getting in trouble probably won't help with that much.

"I had twelve fake moms before I even got here.'Stepmoms,'" she says, using air quotes. "I didn't really get to know any of them; they were mostly just after daddy's fortune." She gives a shrug of legitimate nonchalance. Having absolutely no frame of reference for a happy family unit, London can't miss what she never had. So it's no big deal.

There are enough people in this world that it would probably be weird to expect that everyone's arrival is exactly the same. Then again, that woman is still living in the same house in New Bark Town, so things are probably universal enough to warrant her sticking around. Hunk has no idea which is the case, but he can't deny being curious about it.

"Twelve?" That's quite a revelation, and he can't decide how to process it. And if he can't decide, he can't imagine it's much easier for London. "I'd say I'm sorry about that, but I'm not sure it would help. I'm sorry they were just after his fortune. Some people are just like that, I guess." What are the odds that her father would find twelve people like that, though?

She also doesn't seem too broken up about it, so it's possible that he's just overthinking. "Uh... Anyway, I'm Hunk."

London gives a cheerful shrug, although she hadn't really had to many people comment on her family life before. She'd mention it in passing, but people generally breezed past it. Probably because it's an awkward subject to bring up for most people, although she didn't seem to feel that way. It's honestly mildly comforting that someone cares.

"The worst part was, none of them ever gave me any good Chanukah gifts!"

When Hunk introduces himself, London gives a head tilt. It's an odd name, but after giving him a subtle once-over, she decides it checks out.

"I'm London!"

It's probably a good sign that she can be so upbeat about things, though he wouldn't have blamed her for the alternative. He can't quite relate to her specific situation, since his parents have been together for as long as he can remember, but he also can't imagine it's pleasant to have to deal with.

"Oh. Yea, that seems like a bummer." She's joking, right? He doesn't really know her well enough to tell, but he still manages an awkward chuckle.

Her reaction to his name doesn't go unnoticed, but he doesn't feel the need to comment. He's aware it's not exactly a traditional name, and he's probably heard all sorts of jokes by this point. Fortunately, she doesn't feel the need to joke about it.

"Hey! Nice to officially meet you. The rude one over there is Tiramisu."

London looks at the Lycanroc with a gentle, knowing smile. She'd only just been startled a bit, but the pokémon seems nice enough now. "Trust me, I've met ruder."

After a beat, London realizes that Hunk hadn't gotten the opportunity to meet either of her pokémon. "Ooh! Do you wanna meet Stiletto?" She starts fishing in her bag for a pokéball.

If nothing else, Tiramisu has learned her own name by this point, and she turns to lean on Hunk during the introductions. "So have I, honestly." And to be fair, he doesn't know all that much about Lycanroc as a whole. Their standards are probably a lot different than his.

He's curious enough about the pokemon she started out with, but there's also the little issue of Tiramisu being a bully, so he can't help worrying a bit. "Isn't that a shoe?" Says the guy who's named all of his pokemon after food.

"Also, I should warn you that this one... really likes to battle." Here, he's gesturing at Tiramisu, in case it's not completely obvious who he's talking about.

London finds the pokéball she'd been looking for, and pauses briefly at Hunk's question of her name.

"Uh-huh!"

If his pokémon can be a cake, hers can be a shoe.

London is in the process of activating her pokéball as Hunk is giving his disclaimer, and her Ekans materializes. It would come as no surprise to anyone who knows London that she'd given her pokémon a jaunty ribbon, considering that's really the only thing a fashionable snake can wear.

"Ta-daaa! Yaaaay Stiletto! Isn't she cute?"

"Nice."

Her enthusiasm makes him smile. Mostly he's just surprised he remembered enough about shoes to be right.

He's probably the last person who'd try to give her trouble over naming schemes, though. True to his warning, Tiramisu is interested enough to approach the Ekans as it's materializing. She sniffs a couple of times, pokes at the snake's tail and then turns back to look at Hunk with her head cocked curiously.

"She's very cute. And the ribbon is nice."

Tiramisu seems to agree with that assessment, but unfortunately... cute doesn't equate to strong, in this case.

Stiletto had taken to London like a fish to water when she'd been given to her, and she turns her head, as if to proudly show off her ribbon.

Sadly for Tiramisu, Stiletto doesn't seem interested in fighting in the slightest. She instead curls her rattled tail in around itself as the Lycanroc pokes at it, passing a wary glance before circling behind London.

"I picked it out myself! Ooh! Maybe I could get one for Tiramisu! She'll be really cute while her fur grows back in!"

It's truly a sad day when she can't find a willing battle partner, but Tiramisu is nothing if not ~~stubborn~~ patient. Maybe Stiletto will change her mind!

But part of the reason he'd come out here in the first place was to allow the Lycanroc the chance to blow off some steam, so Hunk has been keeping half an eye out for potential battle buddies.

He glances over at the 'mon in question at London's exclamation. What are the odds of her actually wearing a ribbon? "That'd be really nice, but I'm not sure if she'd be cooperative enough to wear it." But maybe it's worth a try.

"Are you saying she's not cute now?"

London pauses, giving Hunk's Lycanroc another once-over. She's certainly a weird looking dog, but she has yet to see a pokémon here that looks just like the animals from back home. In the grand scheme of things, Tiramisu is honestly quite fancy-looking.

"Maybe she's... avante garde. She might not be a huge fan of a huge bow, but a little barrette help to tame that mane and show off her fierce puppy features!"

[ While Hunk is hanging around one of the port towns, if he happens to pass by one of the booths selling tickets for the ferries, he might just hear a familiar voice. ]

So why won't you sell me a ticket to the Galar region again?

[ If he looks over, he'll find Keith standing at the front of a queue speaking to a slightly frazzled sales rep. Keith jabs a finger at the advertisement plastered on the wall that has some beautiful shots of popular tourist attractions in Galar.]

I want to go. Do I have to challenge you to a pokemon battle....

[It's ultimately that voice that has him stopping to investigate. He'd have to have been living under a rock to not be aware of the ferries at this point, but for the most part he's been sticking to other forms of travel.

Which is why he's immediately curious enough about what's happening here to actively change direction in order to approach where Keith is interrogating that poor woman.]

Hey.

[He offers the woman a smile and sets a hand on Keith's shoulder.]

Where is it that you're trying to go?

[ The hand on his shoulder at least commands his full attention for the time being, so the nice lady gets a bit of a reprieve. Keith turns, clearly tense for a moment, then relaxes as soon as he realizes that it's just Hunk. ]

Oh hey, Hunk. Didn't know you were in the area.

[ He grins at his friend, then gestures towards the poster for the Galar region. ]

I saw they were advertising some tours to the Galar region. Figured it'd be nice to see what all the fuss was about.

[ And okay, maybe he wants to know if the people there all have silly hairdos like Swordbert and Shieldbert?? Is that really such a crime??

Well. Apparently it is because the nanosecond Keith's attention is diverted to Hunk, the sales rep immediately puts up a "CLOSED" sign and closes the window. ]

Edited 2020-06-26 09:17 (UTC)

[There isn't enough time for him to feel that guilty about startling his friend, but he still offers Keith an apologetic smile when he turns to face him.]

Surprise?

[Really, he just hadn't felt like sitting around the house doing nothing. So here he was, wandering fairly aimlessly. It was really dumb luck that had him here at the right time to run into Keith.]

Oh man, a tour could be fun. Maybe they're a limited-time thing?

[Hunk honestly has no idea. He doesn't know enough about how these things work to say for sure. The sales rep seems more than eager to take advantage of his distraction, though, and Hunk raises a brow at the window after she's gone.]

So uh. How long do you think it'll be before she comes back?

[She's coming back, right?]

[ Keith is grinning, obviously pleased that Hunk gets it and wants to go on this tour, but the nanosecond he spots the sales rep getting up in his peripheral vision that smile is replaced with a deep scowl. ]

Hey, wait!

[ Attention fully turned back to the kiosk window, Keith's voice starts dialing upwards in volume to try and catch the sales rep's attention. ]

I know you're still back there! YOu can't just leave in the middle of a transaction?!

[ Glancing at Hunk: ]

Was it something I said?

Aw man!

[It's definitely disappointing, watching the window close as the sales rep retreats, but in the grand scheme of things, it's probably not as big a deal as it seems right now.

Still, he was looking forward to going on that tour. And he's not the only one, so this is doubly disappointing.]

Nah. I thought you were being polite.

[As polite as Keith ever is, anyway. Which... might not necessarily be someone else's definition of the word.]

So now what? Do we leave and come back? [He doesn't want to leave and come back.]

We could try to open the window.

ON IT.

[ Because evidently, Keith is going to be stubborn about this. He would have taken this better if the lady hadn't been rude about this, but as far as he's concerned she's the one who's thrown civility out the window. He tries pulling up the window, but the damn thing is clearly not going to budge and the fuss is also starting to attract a small crowd of uneasy onlookers. ]

What'd she do, bolt this thing down?

[ Grumpily, Keith glances over his shoulder. ]

Let's go talk to the people on the ferry. Maybe they'll listen.

Huh...

[When he'd made the suggestion, it had been kind of a half-hearted thing. So Keith's exuberant response is kind of surprising. But not entirely unwelcome. Keith is one of the most stubborn people he knows. This isn't a secret.

At first, he just sort of stands there, watching as the other guy goes to town on the window. Both because it's a pretty small space and because he doesn't feel like it'd be a good idea to crowd Keith.]

She might have. I'm not sure if there's a standard for locks around here, but I'm sure she wouldn't just walk away and leave it open.

[Hunk shrugs and glances around.]

What are the odds of them feeling open-minded today?

Not great, but after the incident with Necrozma I don't see why they'd get all uppity about it.

[ Keith gives the window a sour look before he starts walking out towards the docks. ]

You coming?

[ YOU BETTER BE COMING, HUNK. ]

Not great's better than nothing.

[Or at least that's what he's going to keep telling himself. They've certainly dealt with worse odds, so this should be fine. In the meantime, he's moving to catch up with Keith.]

You know it!

[And because he can't help himself...]

I'm probably going to regret asking this, but what's the incident with Necrozma?

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A wild catch-all appears!

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you know what this is

oh boy oh boy

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