Catch - All

[questioneverything]

Who: Romelle - OPEN
Where: Cerulean City, Water Park, Cape, Surrounding Routes
When: Late July
Summary: Between riddle solving and charity concerts, Romelle has a lot to do in town. Care to hang out? Find her at a vendor in the water park, listening to music, shopping around town, or somewhere else!
Rating: PG? Will change if necessary.
Log:

Romelle's team had decided to meet in Cerulean to investigate their riddle after discussing where the location part of it could possibly point to over the network and work out the item part once they had arrived in town. So, she decided to check out the sights once she was there as well. She hadn't been there before, so it had taken a bit of effort for her to arrive, but the train did wonders!

Meeting with Byleth, Jane, and Doppio was definitely interesting, and she learned a good deal about Cerulean and riddles, the nearby routes, local Pokémon, weather patterns, and other landmarks nearby, as well as some local legends and Legendaries.

For the charity event, Romelle still had her swim dress from the pool party at prom, so she used that again. She could found checking out the vendors and spending most of her time in the wave pools and lazy river rides with her Wooper riding along.

Romelle had also never been to a music festival before. Sure, they'd done performances and things like that on the colony, but nothing to this scale. So, she was intrigued and could be found that evening taking in the entire experience of the concert, her oversized beach towel wrapped around her shoulders against the evening chill.

{OOC: Wanna plot? Feel free to ping me! sailorgundam06}

Comments

For Kazuki

[questioneverything]

The regular water park food vendors were definitely something, and Romelle was definitely getting used to what was considered normal food in Pokémon World. However, she'd never seen Taiyaki before. She had, however, heard about ice cream and milkshakes from Allura, and heard how wonderful both of them were. So, she just had to try. She headed that way.

"Oh... excuse me," she said, accidentally bumping someone already on line as she tried to get a better view. "Sorry about that."

[forsaintcecilia]

Kazuki was headed toward the snack stand himself, already trying to decide what he was going to get, when he ran into Romelle. Literally.

"No, it's okay! I should have been looking--"

He then realized exactly who he was bumping into, and couldn't help but exclaim: "Romelle?"

He couldn't help himself, he was just a natural reaction. He quickly remembered that this Romelle wasn't the one he got to know. Well. It was the same Romelle, yeah, but with no memory of knowing him.

"--Ah, sorry, sorry! You don't remember me, right?"

[questioneverything]

The usual double apology was fine until- Romelle looked surprised for a second, but then it clicked. Right. And this person also seemed to catch himself, too. She gave him a sympathetic smile and then shook her head slightly.

"Ah. No," she said. "I'm sorry. I get that a lot. It's okay." She was aware of her predecessor. Her friends from home had informed her as they'd seen her come and go and come.

"I'm sure that happens a lot here in situations like mine." Not that it wasn't awkward, but she was getting used to it.

[forsaintcecilia]

"Oh, good, you know about it! I was afraid I was going to look crazy," Kazuki chuckled sheepishly, wryly inclining his head a bit. "I was friends with you before, so that's how I know your name. Umm..."

Yeah, it was definitely awkward. But he remembered the times they spent together fondly, and he couldn't help but want to return to those times.

"My name's Kazuki. Kazuki Hihara. We're you going to get a snack? Would you mind if I joined you?"

[questioneverything]

Thankfully for Kazuki, Romelle had spent enough time around Allura both here and back home by now to have learned a poker face. She managed to keep a pleasant smile despite how awkward the whole situation was, but was relieved when he finally introduced himself. Her smile widened at that.

"I was, actually. They have some interesting food here at the park," she said. Her food options back home had been rather limited, so Pokemon World had been showing her a lot of new options, both in general and specifically for this place. "I..." She seemed to hesitate for just a moment and then shook her head. "No... I don't mind." After all, he seemed nice enough, and that he genuinely wanted to reconnect with her. She actually felt a little bad each time this happened, but it was getting easier.

[forsaintcecilia]

"Okay! Thanks," he replied politely, knowing that it wasn't exactly an easy situation to be in. It was really nice of Romelle to give him a chance for a second first-impression. "What would you like to eat? It's my treat."

[questioneverything]

"Really? Oh." Romelle was definitely surprised, but pleasantly so. "Well, if you insist. I think I'll try the cheese fries." It was simple enough, and they honestly looked delicious. Plus, it would be easy to share if Kazuki wanted to try them, too.

[forsaintcecilia]

"Cheese fries? Got it," Kazuki nodded, and walked up to the snack stand when it was his turn. "Hi! I'd like some cheese fries, and... One of each flavor of taiyaki, please!"

"You have to try the taiyaki," he explained to Romelle as he paid the cashier and gathered their order. The three flavors they were providing were custard cream, chocolate and red bean. "It's a dessert we eat in the country I'm from!"

[questioneverything]

"Tye Yah Key?" Romelle looked confused, staring at the little Magikarp shaped pastries. "They look like bread." But she was definitely curious, taking the cheese fries with a 'thank you' as they settled down to eat. "You're not going to eat all three of those, are you?" Granted, if he said yes, she wouldn't be surprised. One of her best friends from home was a major foodie with a massive appetite.

[forsaintcecilia]

"The outside is like a pancake, and there's different fillings on the inside! That's why I got all three," he explained as the sat down. "There's custard, chocolate and red bean. Do you know what kind you'd like best?"

[questioneverything]

"Oh... I've had pancakes!" She considered the flavor options. "I'm not sure which I'd like best, but I do know that I like chocolate."

[forsaintcecilia]

"Okay, that's this one!" Kazuki pointed to one of the taiyaki that was slightly more brown than the others. "If you like chocolate, then you'll like this. It's not an acquired taste like red bean is."

[questioneverything]

Romelle perked up. She hadn't had chocolate in a while before coming to PokeWorld, so this would be good.

"Do you just... eat the whole thing?" She was mildly confused on how to eat it. "And why would red bean be an acquired taste?"

Riddle Team!

[questioneverything]

The team had finally met up in town to talk things over. Romelle was excited. She waved to Jane as she spotted her, recognizing her from Prom, and then properly introduced herself to Doppio and Byleth once they were all together.

"It's very nice to meet everyone in person finally," she said, barely contained. "I really hope we're on the right track for figuring this out, but I really couldn't think of anything else for the way they described 'blue land' in the poem, you know?"

[cyan_maid]

Jane hurries over when she spots Romelle, actually quite excited to have an excuse to get to know her better - and to solve riddles, that of course is super fun. She's not sure what the Legend Seekers might get out of all this, if anything, but it's certainly a good way to spend the summer.

"I suppose Cianwood could have been stretched to fit - 'cyan'-wood," she muses aloud, "but Cerulean is the more obvious choice for a blue land. We ought to confirm whether or not it's the land we're looking for before checking on the things that are more of a reach."

[epitaffio]

It takes a bit of looking and an additional dash of second-guessing, but Doppio makes it to the meeting spot eventually. Seeing Jane helps; he recognises her from the Internet. Some kind of veteran, isn't she? The others, he's never seen at all, but her presence is enough to let him know he'll have to be especially careful when he works on the more criminal side of this quest.

At any rate, once he arrives, Doppio hastily stuffs his PokéGear back into his pocket, because if they all see he's been staring at the map for the past twenty minutes, that might not be the best first impression to make as a team leader.

"Right! Does it usually get foggy around here? The riddle said something about 'fog and gloom,' didn't it?"

Doppio has been in this world for a considerable amount of time now, but he's only come to Kanto a couple of times; Cerulean is entirely new to him.

[didyoulosethis]

Byleth is last to join up, and they look...a little frazzled, despite usually being the composed type. They've cleaned up well enough, but the Absol walking alongside still looks ruffled up where his trainer had latched onto him during the train ride to Kanto. Never in their life would Byleth have expected it even remotely possible for anything to go that fast, and they've got a lot to contend with already thanks to some of the things the wonderful world of pokemon has graciously 'fixed' for them. New record for their biggest panic attack, hopefully one that won't be broken for a while.

Oh well. They're still all business by the time they arrive, armed with a few papers in hand. "I have an idea."

They offer those papers to share - they're print-outs from some online research, courtesy of Nyaff the Meowth, who's bringing up the rear with his trainer's Gear already primed for some memorable photos. He snaps a few selfies off to the side while everyone's busy talking, too. As for the papers, there's some from Bulbapedia, outlining Pokedex entries for Dragonite, and then there are also some photos saved from Obstagoogle that showcase some hazy shapes shrouded in mist over dark water. "'The ocean incarnate.' That's a name for a Dragonite, apparently. Do they appear here?"

Are they partly running late because they laboriously checked a boatload of individual entries about different pokemon to find this information? Maybe. But to be fair, they're very excited to crack this mystery open, and doubly excited to see one of these dragon pokemon in person. The only dragon they've seen before was that illustration Claude found of the Immaculate One. Surely any similar creature would be so grand.

[questioneverything]

Romelle nodded in agreement with Jane about going for the easier options and eliminating them first before chasing the harder more remote ones, possibly needlessly. At the question about the weather, she smiled a little.

"I've heard that it can sometimes... over by the cape at the end of Route 25." She'd asked around. Romelle had no qualms when it came to asking people questions. "WHICH, as it so happens... also has an ocean view towards the east! That would cover the part that seems to refer to sunrise!"

Her excitement bubbled over again as she clasped her hands together, and then Byleth was sharing some entries they found on Bulbaedia and some obstagoogled images of shapes in fog that seemed to fit what they might be looking for. She looked over all of the papers eagerly, noting the spot where the description for Dragonite mentioned 'ocean incarnate'.

"Oh, wow. I didn't know that about Dragonite," she said. "I haven't seen much of the lore about some of the Pokémon. That's a really good find. I think the PokeGear would be able to tell us if we can find them in this area, right?"

[cyan_maid]

Asking questions, doing research - heck, even making sure to check your map to know if you were in the right place? These are all good things that make a good impression in Jane's book.

"Huh! I had no idea Dragonite liked to show up in the area. I can't imagine they're very common, but if their description fits word-for-word in the riddle, we can't go wrong trying to see if one will grace us with its presence, can we?"

[epitaffio]

"Seems like it's all falling into place, then!"

If nothing else, it's clear that Doppio isn't lacking in the fact-checking or even the curiosity department: as soon as Dragonite is mentioned, he pulls out his PokéGear again for a refresher.

As mentioned, he has been in this world for a while, yes... but his memory also happens to be notoriously faulty. For the most part, he has memorised two categories of Pokémon names: the ones he's caught or received and trained, and the more common ones that he sees just about every day. Dragonite fits neither of these. Once he's able to connect the name to an appearance, though, his eyebrows perk up - it's kind of cute, but... is it as big as it looks?

"The riddle didn't point to anything we might have to do, did it?... Does that mean we just have to get lucky?"

That might complicate things. Luck is one of those departments Doppio is lacking in.

[questioneverything]

"It said something about facing the east at dawn, I believe," Romelle said. She took out her gear to read it again.

"'Under the light of the rising sun
Call to the sea and it will come
With a gift pulled from its tail
The Temple will rise once again'

"So... just... Do we call out to the first Dragonite we see?"

[didyoulosethis]

"Perhaps?"

Byleth reviews the info Nyaff helped them print, just in case anything slipped their mind. Pokemon do seem to respond to people, much moreso than the animals back home, plus they understand human speech...although, would something dubbed 'the ocean incarnate' behave like anything they've seen before?

-Oh, there is one option...

"They respond to people in need, don't they? Can any of you swim...?"

Yes, they do, but they also allegedly spirit away the people they rescue to some far-away Dragonite island.

[cyan_maid]

"I...yes? Yes, I can swim. Are you implying we ought to..."

Look, maybe Jane's jumping the gun a little bit - maybe Byleth doesn't think they should have someone put their life at risk to draw out a Dragonite. But the thought doesn't not occur to her.

"Who's to say simply unravelling a riddle disqualifies us as being 'in need'? Surely that will be enough..."

[epitaffio]

It's a good thing Jane is quick on the draw, because Doppio is about to say that he, too, can swim before he realises what exactly Byleth was getting at.

"Y-Yeah, Jane's right! Maybe... Solving the riddle makes us 'worthy'?"

Is that a thing Dragonite do? Appear to the worthy? They do seem to be kind of a big deal...

[didyoulosethis]

"That's true." Byleth and Nyaff nod in unison. Byleth, for one, would certainly prefer not to usher anybody out into the waves, especially out on the cape where a return to safe land could be challenging. A faux emergency is one thing, but they would never want to truly put any of their new acquaintances in danger.

Nyaff, too, doesn't want to see anyone get hurt. He's plenty curious about all this Dragonite business, especially since they seem like they'd be friendly! But no exciting encounter and no treasure is worth drowning over; besides, surely his pretty Pay Day coins are enough! If he manages to catch Jane's eye from down there on the ground, she'd get a grateful wink and a...thumbs up? Do Meowth have thumbs? Nyaff's doing his best regardless.