victory_road | [video]

Entry tags:

[video]

[Louie often enlists the help of one of his Pokemon to hold the Gear, but this post is just filmed selfie-style, the teen holding his camera up above his head so both he and the Glameow sleeping in his lap are in the shot. Though Louie's pretty sure even if he wakes Rial up the Pokemon will just roll over and go back to sleep, he still keeps his voice soft as he speaks.]

Well, prom was sure fun, huh? [There is a lot of dry sarcasm in his quiet voice. He's not happy about what happened but he's trying to keep things more "resignedly amused" than "freaking out."] Nothing like competing with some legendary creeps to keep a party going. Although I think it still sounds like I dodged a bigger bullet last year.

[He heard many stories when he arrived. At least squaring off with god-like creatures made him feel less of the homesickness that had been creeping in with his birthday on the way. Now that it’s here, some still lingers. But what better distraction than potentially cashing in...]

So yeah, I think I've had enough parties for a while. A long while. But-- Funny thing about that. It's my birthday today. I still don't want a party [A little shrug.] But hey, if anyone wants to send any gifts care of Louie Duck to the Olivine City Pokemon Center, I'll be there really soon.

(OOC: If any of Louie's CR does have a gift for him, I'd request you drop that information on his IC inbox post, both for my keeping track and any "thank you" messages from Louie to your character!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Radley smirks a bit dryly at Louie's sarcasm. He had started to enjoy himself until that had gone down. He's not sure what to think about having gone. Emotional pain being dredged up, and having to deal with it on his own as always, did not make for an enjoyable weekend. In one way he wishes something else had happened instead, something he might have proved more useful at helping with. But ... he did make a couple of new friends and saw other friends too, so he's trying to focus on that.]

Last year sure sounded like a mess.

[He's pretty sure he would have refused to go to that one, with the masks unable to be removed. That just creeps him out.]

But hey, your birthday, huh? Got any plans for something you would like to do?

[He's not sure what Louie might like, but if he can think of something he'd be happy to get a gift.]

Yeah, I got here a bit after it happened and people were still talking about it for a while.

[Talking about it and recovering from it, honestly. At Radley's questions, Louie idly scratches Rial behind the ear.]

Nah, no plans. I think just doing nothing sounds pretty great, really.

I can believe it. I wonder if that was the worst one they had.

[He smiles a bit.]

That sounds pretty good to me too. I've just been laying low since we got back.

[Which is partially because he's still down, but he doesn't say that.]

So ... I'd be happy to send you something, but I'd like to get something you really like. What are you into?

[He likes when he can just surprise people, but in this case he doesn't see that happening.]

I don't believe we've officially met but...happy birthday, Louie.

[Paul waves - both at Louie and the Glameow. There's something endearing about the cat Pokemon's pose.]

That's a cute Glameow you have there. What's their name, if I can ask?

Thanks. And this is Rial-- Like the currency in Oman, if that means anything to you.

[With a lazily contented smile, Louie runs his free hand over Rial's back, and between being pet and the sound of his name coming up, Rial stirs just a little.]

A friend of mine gave me his egg after finding out I really like Purugly, although I think Rial's going to be a Glameow still for a while. He rather sleep than battle, or do anything active, really. [A chuckle.] Can't say I blame him.

It doesn't mean anything to me now, but I am interested in learning what it means. I like studying.

[Even stranded far from home, Paul is curious about other worlds and cultures - and you never know when information can be helpful, even just in making friends. And he already likes Louie.]

This is my starter, Hulud. [Paul allows his lead Pokémon to enter the view, so Louie can get a good look. The dragonfly-like Vibrava gives a buzz of greeting on catching sight of Rial.] As for me, I ought to introduce myself, too. I'm Paul. Paul Atreides.

You do? Man, always the nerds... [But he says that with an amused, almost fond tone. It's getting hard for Louie to deny that he just gets along really well with bookworms and people who are all about learning facts.] I'm Louie Duck, which you probably figured out. Nice to meet both of you guys.

[It seems hearing another Pokemon in the feed has caught Rial's attention, as he raises his head and looks directly at Hulud for a couple of seconds before-- Well, yawning. But it's something. Louie can't help a chuckle at that.]

As far as the Omani rial thing goes, it's about value. The exchange rate is hard to beat, and Oman's got one of the strongest currencies in the world, at least where I'm from.

It's good to meet you, too, Louie. [Paul chuckles. He isn't bothered by being called a nerd. One of the thing he likes about the Pokémon world, as opposed to where he came from, is that he's free to pursue knowledge here.] I seem to be becoming a specialist in bug and dragon-type Pokémon - besides Hulud, I have a Joltik and a Skrelp I picked up during my travels.

[His goal is to assemble a proper League-tier team before Paul actually starts tackling Gyms. Both Paul and his party want to grow stronger first, cover as many bases as they can. Hulud's wings flicker in response to the yawn, as if the Vibrava was startled.]

Knowing the economy of where you come from is always a good thing. I have to be careful about money here, but it's gotten easier with time. It's a matter of balancing what you've got with what you need.

Oh, yeah? I try to keep my team pretty varied in terms of types, personally. [In theory, anyway. He's not done the best job of it, but some Pokemon are just too appealing to pass up.] It makes battling easier when you can be prepared for anything. Skrelp's pretty cool, though. Mine evolved not long ago and now not much hurts her too badly.

Eh, it doesn't hurt to be smart about spending, I guess. But there's also a lot of ways to make money here, even without any business sense. Have you heard of a Pokemon called Meowth?

It's Poison-Dragon. Interesting typing, and it means that it's a counter to Fairy-types, one of the go-to anti-Dragon types. Poison-types have something of a bad reputation but they're very helpful when it comes to weakening strong opponents and dealing with Fairies. I have a Joltik, too - good for paralysis and area control. Cutting your opponent's movement speed is very helpful.

Meowth? Yes - I don't have one, but I know a little bit about them. That they have an attack unique to their line that helps make money. I imagine Meowth must be popular.

Well, yeah, why wouldn't free money be popular? A lot of people told me about Meowth's Pay Day attack when I first got here, and it's been handy. You should definitely get one, although a Pokemon with the Pickup ability is a good option, too. They just find things sometimes, I guess, and sometimes they're pretty valuable items.

And yeah, electric types are useful for things like that. I've gotten some good use out of Electric Terrain recently, it's a cool move. You seem to have a good handle on strategies.

How come you don't want a birthday party? [There is a beat, and it occurs to him that he's sort of going about this backwards.] I mean, happy birthday and all that, obviously! Sorry.

[OK BACK TO THE QUESTION]

But birthday parties aren't supposed to be a big event like prom, right? It's a completely different feel.

Thanks, Dop. [That is Louie's nickname for Doppio now, apparently.] And yeah, it'd be different. But even if a birthday party isn't as big as prom, it's still an effort to put one together, and I just did that.

I'm tired, man. All this traveling and those birds... [He rolls his eyes, pulling a face.] Nah, this is fine.

[The nickname gets a bit of a startled blink out of him... though it might be hard to tell. Doppio's always got kind of a "deer in the headlights" look to him.]

I guess I get it. Still, that means you'd rather make the effort to put together a birthday party for someone else than for yourself...

[That, in turn, gets a little smile from Doppio. At this point, he has a pretty solid impression that Louie's a bit of a lazy kid, but that doesn't make him selfish, does it?]

[Louie chuckles softly, rolling his eyes.]

I guess it does. I mean, extra work isn't usually something I go looking for, don't get confused. But sometimes things come up.

[He's not going to get into it, it would be vulnerable and sappy and gross, but Louie is aware that he goes through efforts for others here he wouldn't go through at home. He hasn't thought too much about why that is, although he can't deny that he likes having his own friends. The connections didn't come about because of his family or because of adventures he really doesn't even like that much. And honestly, that makes the idea of going out of his way for them less unpleasant.]

Things like what?

[Unfortunately for Louie, it would seem Doppio wants to hear it.]

[RUDE. And after he gave Doppio a nickname, at that!]

I don't know. It's just... Making friends, I guess. You meet people that're pretty cool and get close to them, you know?

I get that. Sometimes it feels a lot easier to do your best if it's for somebody you care about, right?

[You know, like... Somebody important who is very nice to you...]

I mean, that makes it sound so corny. But I guess it kind of is, really, so... Yeah, you're right.

You think so? [He seems genuinely surprised by the idea.] I dunno if it's corny when it's the truth.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[video]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

video

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject