victory_road | third draw (video)

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third draw (video)

[The feed opens on a smiling Alolan Raichu wearing a lavender scarf with three badges pinned to it. Looks like she knows she isn't supposed to be messing around on the Gear...but she's so excited! She found out something awesome!

Gaze upon her trainer's ID! She excitedly points to where it says 'birthday: October 25th'. She can read calendars now, and that means there's gonna be a party soon, right? She likes parties. Leizi squeaks happily, giggling to herself, and that's what seems to draw her trainer's attention. A grumpy Kaiba appears on screen and snatches the card back. ]

Give me that! Leizi, you know I can't lose that. It's not a toy.

[ Leizi squeaks innocently, flapping the ends of the scarf like they're wings. Kaiba sighs and stares at the little lens. ]

Leizi's been acting out lately. Is it a Psychic type thing, having too much brain power and too few outlets? I think she might need something to keep her busy.

Do you think entering the contest would be good for her? I've never seen one in action before, but from what I read it involves creatively telling a story while using a Pokémon's powers to illustrate it. My only obstacle, then, is teaching her to be scary.

[ Leizi hops and spins in a circle. She can do it! Kaiba just sighs. Long way to go. ]

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[Ryou's got a few options here. He could just not mention Kaiba's birthday and let Leizi get away with revealing it/set him up to be surprised later, but someone else will probably mention it. So...]

Kaiba, is your birthday soon?

[He's ignoring the questions about psychic types and the contest for now.

Meanwhile, Nekomata the Espurr watches intently from her perch on Ryou's shoulder, wondering how Leizi learned to read.]

[ Kaiba sighs, frustrated. ]

I was planning to ignore it. It's never been a big deal. But Leizi apparently wants me to have a party.

So she can have pancakes, of course.

[ Leizi claps. ]

[Okay, he can't resist trolling Kaiba a bit.]

Good job, Leizi! Make sure you get your pancakes!

[Sorry Kaiba.]

[...Okay, now that he's got that out of his system, back to the original question about psychic types.]

I'm not sure what to do for Leizi, since I just got here. I think Nekomata here wants to learn to write, so it could be a psychic type thing?

Happy early birthday, by the way!

[ Leizi is so pleased with herself. Kaiba...sighs, again. ]

Thanks, I guess...?

Pokémon are fairly intelligent overall. Marik's been teaching his how to duel. Maybe I'll have her join them.

Really? How's that going for him?

[Maybe he'll have to try that himself. Ryou does have his deck after all, thanks to it being in his pocket when he was brought here.]

Chenzira the Yamask seems to be the furthest along. But ghost Pokémon were often humans in their prior lives, so they have a leg up on understanding human language and concepts.

I think Pokemon of any type can act out. Maybe she's excited about Halloween? And your birthday? Happy Birthday, by the way.

[He chuckles.]

I was considering entering too, but I've got the same problems. My cuties couldn't be scary if they tried.

[Evie warbles with pride.]

Maybe they could be the innocent heroines of the stories?

...Thanks.

[ Kaiba frowns, at Leizi, but she giggles. ]

They could be. Or maybe the lesson of the holiday is that ghosts are often misunderstood. They don't have to be scary for others to be scared of them.

That could work too. I think we're supposed to pick an existing story to retell? We've been looking over some ideas, practicing them to see how they go, but Evie keeps wanting to change them so the bad guys turn good.

[He chuckles.]

Mm. I know of a few grim tales. With some imagination and creative narration, it might be possible.

[ He smiles a little. ]

But the most important thing is that they have fun, right? They'd probably enjoy costumes and treats as much as human kids do.

Yeah, we've come up with some fun things. I'm just not sure if we're allowed to rewrite the endings ourselves. I haven't seen anything in the rules against it, though.

[Evie warbles in glee. She loves treats and costumes and writing stories!]

The rules seem to emphasize creative storytelling...and while I'm not exactly an artist, I believe my Pokémon can be with some help.

[ Selene pops up to warble a hello to her mom. Yeah, she'll be out and about at the party too. ]

Cool. Maybe we can tell an original story. Cosmo's been writing something.

[Evie happily says Hi! Evan comes over to Say Hi too.]

[Marik just shakes his head at Leizi.]

If I had known she was going to do that on the network, I would have tried to stop her...

[Siiigh. He has no idea why she is the way she is either.

The blonde turns to look at Kaiba.]

Hunk was telling me about this "Halloween." I've never celebrated it before... Even if you don't enter the contest, it might be fun to go to the event to watch.

[ Kaiba just sighs and tosses Leizi a few berries. She's gotten adept at catching them in her mouth, and it keeps her busy. ]

Not your fault. She's always had a trickster streak.

[ But he looks at Marik with interest and nods. ]

It's more of an American thing, but Mokuba always wanted to host parties so he could wear costumes and eat candy. My team would likely enjoy it for the same reasons...though culturally, it's a festival with multiple influences regarding life and death, and the celebration of such.

And I was planning on attending. We still have yet to meet Ryou, and I'm sure he'll be there.

[No but the fact that he rewarded her initially for showing him the date might have inspired this. Not that he's going to tell Kaiba that just yet.

So Marik just smiles.]

Mn. Yeah, he said every place celebrates it a bit differently. I'm interested in seeing how they do it here.

[A pause.]

I don't know... if I should wear a costume. Or what to even dress as. I've never done anything like this before.

...Hm. People have different goals with costumes.

Some people choose them to be intentionally frightening. Others choose to honor people they admire. Or Pokémon, I suppose.

And others choose to highlight certain physical attributes in the hopes of attracting a romantic partner. It's all up to you.

[ He already has one in mind for Leizi...now he just has to figure something out for himself, and for King. ]

[He raises an eyebrow at the last part. What a weird time to try and attract someone. Unless you're going for the peacock look.

Marik hums in thought as Chen floats over, looking up at the two trainers. The teen looks down at him.]

... You got any ideas?

["Auuh?"]

Hm. Maybe... something from Duel Monsters? That might be a lot of effort though... unless I just use it as inspiration. A lot of them are built off of existing creatures from pop culture, right?

[Maybe work the Yamask into the theme somehow. He'll have to think over all the cards he's seen.]

Right.

I've been thinking Leizi might be a witch for the performance, so maybe I should be a warlock to match her.

...but if I pick Dark Magician, Atem will never let me live it down.

[There are many Atem sounding quotes that pop into his head. He's not entirely sure about the Pharaoh's sense of humor just yet so he can only come up with ridiculously positive and polite quips.

"That's an excellent costume, Kaiba."

"You truly capture his strength!"

Then probably a thumbs up or something.]

... Yeah, just go with a generic warlock. Leizi will look cute though.

[He looks down at Chen again.]

Think they'll start selling costumes in the different towns?

If it's anything like America, then probably.

Mokuba loved the year we spent the end of October there. All the costumes and candy he could want. I'll get some goodies for our Pokémon.

I haven't been so I've got no idea.

[~~Since DSoD confirms the dub takes place in Japan.~~]

I'm curious about the different candies. It'll be fun to try them.

[How he keeps his figure with all the dagashi he buys when they're in town, who knows.]

Hmm... If you need help with a story for the contest though, I can try to brain storm with you.

Mm. We can definitely do that....and I suppose we could get human candy too.

Then it's settled!

... And I'll eat whatever candy you don't want.

{Ah, the excitement of Pokemon with their trainers... and contests. Dimitri is chuckling as he turns on his own video.]

Well... If I may suggest, one need not necessarily make the participant be frightening. The creative use of moves can also lend to great effect, and the couple who have invited us all are often more than happy to lend their extensive wardrobe to the efforts of contestants.

I have been in a few myself, and it has been quite a delight! I am pleased to say that I even placed first, in the last one.

I suppose I can be theatrical enough. And if the assistant Pokémon can perform well, we might be able to do this.

How did you prepare your Pokémon for acting?

Oh, well... Truth to be told, I was more an assistant to them than I was a director. Hob, my Raticate with the most passion for contests, has always had an interest in them ever since we first engaged in a cooking themed contest...

But I've found that a rather easy way to go about it is treating it as "play", or telling a story. Mine have gotten rather enthusiastic with that.

Mm. I think she likes that idea.

[ Leizi is squeaking happily and surfing on her tail in the background, and when she sits it kind of looks like...]

She might naturally understand comedic timing, given how many times she's surprised me.

Well, I have heard that comedy and horror rely much on similar things! Ah, I am not entirely sure how... But that is what I have heard!

If you like, I believe that past contests have been recorded and posted online. You may find them on Staryutube.

I'll give it some thought and take a look. Thanks---and I'll be sure to prepare, knowing I'm up against top tier talent.

Hey, happy birthday.

[It's only a few days out, so it feels like that's close enough to say that.]

I don't know much about psychic types, but it might help? It's worth trying.

Thanks. Sorry she bothered you.

[ Leizi sticks her tongue out. ]

I'll let you know if it works. I'm still learning how to raise different types of Pokémon, so it's a lot of trial and error.

Are you attending?

It's fine! She didn't bother me.

[Min's still feeling wary when it comes to psychic types, but he has to admit the Raichu is pretty cute.]

Thanks. I've still got a lot to learn, too, so that would be helpful.

I think I'm going, but I'm just going to watch. I don't know if we're ready to take on contests yet.

[Certain members of his team would probably disagree, but the idea of performing without his bandmate still leaves him feeling a little sore even if his Pokémon would be the ones in the spotlight.]

Mm. My team's new to this too, but I think they want to try. I might have raised them to be a little too hungry for attention.

But regular physical exercise is important for keeping them calm too. I have a few aquatic Pokémon, so we spend a lot of time by lakes.

A few of mine probably wouldn't mind trying, but I'm sure we'll have plenty of chances when we're more settled.

I try to rotate mine so they get enough attention when we're on the road. It's a lot easier to make sure they all get enough time out when I'm in a city.

Yeah. Marik warned me about catching too many...but I'll make sure they all get time and care. I want to cover every possible situation on the road. That might be too ambitious, but I have to try.

No, I understand. I'm trying to get a good balance of Pokémon too. There's so many types and strategies, it feels like you need a lot to account for that.

You know Marik?

Mm, I'm slowly getting better at it.

And Marik's my traveling partner. We're from the same world, and we didn't exactly get along before. But he helped me when I was struggling in the wild, and we're training together now.

That's good. Marik said you'd been doing really well in the gym challenge.

[Now that he knows they're travelling together, he realises he's heard a little about him already.]

Yeah, I'm glad I didn't get here during the whole time travel thing. That sounded rough.

[ Marik is so kind to him. It still shocks him, even after these months together. ]

It was, but he helped me through. It's admirable. He helped you too?

I guess? He's given me some good advice, and he bought me a smoothie once, but mostly he's just been nice to me.

[Not that most people here aren't nice, but Marik is easily one of people he feels like he's connected to most.]

[ Oh dear. Fluttershy knows she really shouldn't condone that behavior, but Leizi's just being so cute. ]

I think she's really excited. Um...happy birthday, by the way.

She might like participating in the contest, though. Do you have a story in mind? Giving her a role and helping her understand the story might help with her focus.

[ Kaiba still looks a little flustered as he reins the giggling Raichu in. ]

Thanks. She's incredibly pleased with herself.

Mm. Maybe...she has a few charming moves, maybe she's some kind of enchantress or witch?

[ Leizi squeaks curiously. Yes please? ]

Mm, she certainly does.

Oh, that sounds really cute! And she seems really excited by with the idea.

[Atem wandered off on his own for some training and also to take a walk, so for the time being it's video chatting!]

[He has his own mixed views on birthdays, but does fully understand that they're celebrated with friends and family ~~and whole countries~~. He'll hold off on poking Kaiba about it, though, it seems as though the reveal wasn't part of any plans he had. Atem will just pocket that information away for later.]

I think the contest could be a good idea for her. Teaching her to be scary would be something new for her to learn.

[This talk of psychic types makes him wonder about his two--it's difficult to get a read on both of them between Mahado's expressionless appearance and Obelisk's lack of expression altogether; sometimes Obelisk with smile when given a treat, but for the most part it's the same mile-long stare.]

Mm. I'll give it a shot. She desperately needs discipline.

[ He looks over at Atem, curious about how far he's wandered off. ]

How's your training going?

[Atem and the squad have stopped for the afternoon, most at rest in their Pokéballs, Obelisk being the only one left out for the time being.]

It's going well. Obelisk isn't usually as interested as the others, but today he did well with participating.

[While still on this video response, Atem squats down enough to pick Obelisk up and let him get settled on his shoulder. Obelisk looks curiously into PokéGear. He likes being a shoulder cat.]

I'm on my way back, now.

Edited 2022-11-08 13:02 (UTC)

Good work, Obelisk.

[ It's very business-minded praise. Kaiba nods seriously, with just the hint of a smile. ]

It's not unusual for some Pokémon to struggle a bit with battling. I coached Chenzira to get him going, and he's doing really well now.

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