Mandos and Helmets and Smolivs, Oh My!

[mywayistheway]

Who: Bo-Katan, Mando, and anyone else!
Where: Train and Saffron City
When: Late August
Summary: Mando takes Bo-Katan to his place in Saffron City.



[Train Ride] - Closed to Mando

Everything happened so quickly. One moment she was standing before the Great Forge, with her people celebrating its lighting, then the next she was in this place. Getting kicked out of a house and left to her own devices with nothing but a bag, a few items, and s bird who wouldn’t leave her alone. Fortunately, there was another Mandalorian here, which admittedly was very helpful.

Din thankfully explained the basics, despite Bo’s disapproval of everything about everything in this world. It would take her some time to process it all. He did at least convince her to tolerate the bird, Rowlet, whatever. Showing her also how to put it in one of those balls. That was handy, as she could just banish the thing if it got too annoying.

Bo would then end up following him to another city where they would board a train which would supposedly take them to the city where he lived. Sitting in one of the seats, it vaguely reminded her of the hyperloop on Plazir-15. A thought that only brought back the disappointment she felt that he remembered none of the last few months they spent together.

“So,” she started as the train began to leave the station, keeping her helmet in her lap. “Two years. What have you been doing all this time?” An attempt at conversation at least and a desire to understand this Din Djarin better.

[Mando House] - Open to anyone who might be found here.

The train would eventually drop them off in Saffron City, which was just as impressive as the city they had left. While still not to the tech level that she’s used to, this was at least significantly better than where she had started out.

Putting her helmet back on she would again follow Din, taking in all the sights as he led her to the place she assumed he called home. She wasn’t really sure what to expect, but either way she would take it all in stride as she has done with everything in this world. It was becoming very clear to her how essential these Pokémon were to the people here as she would see many of them accompanying the citizens of the city. Pictures of them plastered on billboards and shops everywhere.

Once they reached his flat, Bo would step in and take a look around. Removing her helmet and placing it under her arm. “Cozy,” she remarks with some humor as she began giving herself a tour of the place.

[Smoliv Shenanigans] - Open to All!

She needed some air. As nice as Din and his roommates are, she was feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all and needed some space and time to think. Thus the lady Mandalorian put her helmet back on and went out to take a walk. Exploring a bit of the city would help ease her mind she thought, and she allowed the bird to come out of its ball too. Though she wasn’t quite ready to start letting it perch on her yet. Bo shooing her off every time she tried.

Her explorations eventually led her to a quaint and well manicured park. Green grass, trees, a little slice of nature in the sprawling metropolis. Of course there were Pokemon too. People playing with their companions and a few wild ones milling about. All of which largely went ignored by the Mandalorian. Though she did spot the occasional odd look or curious glance.

Though little did she expect as she walked along a path, that a horde of little green things would suddenly stampede in front of her, splashing oil all over the place. The strange little plant creatures spreading out and taking up space… practically everywhere. She could only stand there and stare for a moment, her Rowlet trilling curiously as it hovered in the air beside her.

Well, whatever, she would just move on. Except when she started walking again, all that oil would prove slippery. Her feet slipping right out from under her and causing the Mandalorian to fall with a distinct thud and clanging of metal. Her Rowlet shrieking in surprise, landed next to her to make sure she was okay. “I’m fine,” she tells the worried owl with a grunt as she grabbed a nearby bench and hauled herself onto it. A few startled Smolivs had also noticed the mishap, perhaps realizing they were the cause and crowded around Bo’s feet. All of them anxiously chirping in concern. “Go away, you’ve done enough,” she tells them grumpily while also using a foot to try and push them away. This only seems to upset them and they begin to cry. Tears streaming from their little eyes as they wailed. Bo-Katan could only sigh and removed her helmet to look at them with mixed emotion. Usually she had a good handle on her feelings, but seeing them so upset was making her upset. “Stop that. Calm down.” But they wouldn’t, and she could feel a lump in her throat too. Soon enough tears started rolling down her face too, which she furiously tried to wipe away. “I said stop!” This only made them cry harder. Even her Rowlet, which was now perched on the back of the bench, had her eyes watering up.

Comments

[nightyorb]

"Yeah. It's good to have folks who you know will have your back. I don't have the rest of the Bad Kids here. Or my mom. But it's nice to know there are some people I know I can trust."

Even if Mando can be kind of lame sometimes, he's also been pretty dependable. And he gets Riz's thing about not having his gun. So many people here just give him a blank stare when he bitches about it. And Boober-- okay, Boober definitely doesn't understand the gun thing, but he is weird like Riz is weird.

Riz looks at Bo, the next words out of his mouth so earnest and blunt that they are almost embarrassing. "I know this might surprise you, but I didn't really have many friends growing up. Well, any friends growing up. People always thought I was kind of weird."

Says the kid in the three piece suit and flat cap.

[mywayistheway]

She couldn’t agree with him more. Though it’s clear things wouldn’t be the same between them here, she too knew she could trust Din and that he would have her back. And vice versa. Mandalorians are loyal, and she was no exception.

Though as Riz confesses to growing up without many friends, she doesn’t bat an eye. There’s no surprise in her expression at all. Did she think he was weird? Not really. But she could see why others would despite his rather outgoing disposition. In fact her expression softens a bit in understanding.

Clasping her hands, Bo leans forward in her seat. “This might surprise you too. I grew up as a princess.” It’s not something she usually said out loud, though it wasn’t hidden either. “As a result, I didn’t have many friends either. Not real ones, anyway. You’re in good company.”

[nightyorb]

Riz is very social, however, he is hampered by his eternal inability to really spot social cues (unless they are, somehow, related to a crime)

"Huh." Riz cocks his head a bit as he studies her. "I guess that makes two princesses I know now. So, were you a princess that became a Mandalorian somehow, or do Mandolorians have princesses?"

If Riz had a penny for each warrior princess he had met that had lost nearly her entire people to a genocide, he'd have two pennies. Which is not a lot, but it is funny that it happened twice.

[mywayistheway]

Her brows rose a bit when he reveals that she’s apparently the second princess he knows. Huh. That is interesting. It would be even more interesting and kinda weird if she knew all the similarities there too.

“I was born into the Mandalorian royal family. So yes, we have princesses. For all the good such a title does anymore.”

Leaning back again she sighed and looked at a wall. The topic brings on a mix of emotions, but she can only blame herself for that as she brought it up.

[nightyorb]

"Huh." The sound pops out of Riz's mouth as his brows furrow in -- surprise, confusion? It's a little difficult to tell. "I didn't think people who were all about fighting and weapons would have an inheritable system of government."

[mywayistheway]

“We did. A whole beautiful civilization. I ruled it, for a brief time. My sister before that.”

That was a whole other can of worms there with emotions that would get unpacked. So she’s not going to go any further than that.

“Hopefully we will soon have it again.”

[nightyorb]

"Good luck with that."

He means that earnestly, however it might come across. He just doesn't really know what else he might say. It's not like he could offer any help, not while they are both stuck here and not while he has a whole Nightmare King situation to deal with back home first.

(Maybe after, if it ever came to that? Could it count for extra credit? Riz knows his grades are fine, but everybody except Adaine could probably use the boost.)

"We should-- we should get back to this, right?" He vaguely gestures at the board

[mywayistheway]

“… Yes.”

Honestly how did they get so sidetracked? She really doesn’t know. But it’s best to move on and put such topics aside for now. Bo didn’t really want to think about her past or… other things.

“We were talking about Pokemon evolution right?”

[nightyorb]

Riz is all too used to his brain making little detours like this while discussing a subject. It's just-- sometimes you are talking about something and it sparks another thought tied into the first thought and you have to talk about it, or else everything else doesn't make sense.

"Yeah. So to recap, pokemon evolve in several different ways. Could be from an item, by knowing a specific move, or having a bond with their trainer, but most often it's because they hit a certain level.

And to get them to hit that level, you'll need to train them through battling. Which is the fun part of having these animals."

Not as fun as fighting your own battles, but a decent substitute.

[mywayistheway]

Leaning back casually on the couch, one leg crossed over the other. Bo-Katan considers all of this information. It seemed a Pokemon's life hinged a lot on battling and getting stronger. Her eyes glancing to the little creatures all gathered around her feet. The Smoliv seeming to have fallen asleep, the Rowlet watching and listening to everything going on, and the Pawniard fiddling with a strap on her boot.

"Sounds easy enough," she decides. Now that she was getting to know the basics, battling didn't seem all that difficult. Like Riz she would prefer to fight herself, but perhaps she could get into all of this.

"It's a reason to get out and do something at the very least."

[nightyorb]

"Second reason is that if you get good enough at it, you can go for the badge challenges. There is a gym in most major cities in this world. If you manage to beat the gym leader, they will actually give you a pretty good reward."

Which is, truly, most of the reason why Riz has been taking on gyms. He's never been work-shy, far from. But making 20,000 or 30,000p for half an hour of battle, if that, is just a very attractive offer.

"If you get all the badges, you can even go on and take on the Elite Four, who are supposed to be the best trainers in this place, and if you win, you get permission to open your own gym. I don't really know why you would, but the option is there."

[mywayistheway]

Well that’s interesting and has Bo-Katan actually stopping to think for a few moments. Did she particularly care to get too ingrained in this world’s culture? Not especially. She hoped she wouldn’t be staying here nearly as long as Din, but that wasn’t up to her. She had to adapt at least somewhat.

Getting rewards for challenging gym leaders though is somewhat appealing. And if she could get the hang out training, perhaps that could give her some purpose here. Something other to do than sit around and mope. The thought of opening her own gym was not something she was really entertaining but you never know.

“I may give that a try,” she decides. If anything it gave her reason to go around and explore this world.

[nightyorb]

"It's pretty fun. A lot more fun than fighting middle-schoolers in the park."

Riz doesn't necessarily set out to deal with overeager middle schoolers, but Boober really doesn't like to fight, so Riz tends to be the one to take care of the brats who seem under the impression that if your eyes meet you just have to fight.

(Seriously, what kind of stupid rule is that?)

"If you are going to go for the badges, you should look up the gyms in advance. They'll tell you that the best way to prepare for battling is to have a diverse team, but the gyms actually all work with a certain theme? Like, the one here in town is all about Psychic pokemon. You've got a guy who is way into bugs. Knowing what you are up against will help you pick your pokemon. And what gym to take on first. I ended up with a couple of bug pokemon at the start, so I had to skip the gym that was all flying types. Even if my pokemon were the same level as his, those weaknesses were just going to kick my ass."

[mywayistheway]

As Riz keeps talking, she listens and makes some mental notes.

“So it’s all about strategy. That’s something I can do.” After all planning missions and such was kind of her thing. She could certainly apply those skills to Pokémon and challenging gyms right? Perhaps this training thing was more up her alley than she realized.

“How many of these gyms are there?”

[nightyorb]

"Sixteen. Eight in each region. And then there are a handful of those gyms that were started by people who beat the Elite Four. But those are extra. You don't have to beat them if you wanna take on the Elite Four and a lot of them are... a lot more niche?" Riz shrugs. "You can still get a reward from them if you beat them, but personally, I've just been focusing on the main gyms."

[mywayistheway]

Bo-Katan nods in understanding. “The main ones sound like the place to start at least.” She would consider the other ones later, perhaps. It would make sense to start off with something easy. She would have to do what he says and study the gyms to see which one would be best for her fledgling team.

“Anything else I should know?”

[nightyorb]

"Find one of those charts that list all the types and matches them against each other, and learn it by heart. Knowing what your pokemon are strong and weak against can really make or break your battles. Especially for pokemon with multiple types, cause sometimes they'll have one type that compensates for another, so if you based your strategy all around exploiting that one weakness that suddenly isnt there, you'll be fucked. And weaknesses stack too, so don't get caught short."

[mywayistheway]

"A chart. Good idea." Because... yeah, there's no way she was just going to remember all of those pokemon type weaknesses and strengths just right off. She would have to study that. Little did she know that would help her with a puzzle at Cecil's gym too.

"When you say stacking, what do you mean exactly?" Double weaknesses were not something she was familiar with as of yet.

[nightyorb]

Riz used flashcards for a bit, but who knows if Bo is willing to sink to that level of nerdery. She looks a little too cool for that.

"If a pokemon is weak to a certain type, they'll take double damage from it, right? If you have a pokemon that has a dual type, and both those types are weak to a certain thing, that's quadruple damage you are taking.

It goes the other way too. If both of the types are strong against a certain thing, you'll be taking roughly a fourth of the normal damage."

[mywayistheway]

Flash cards, no. But a chart and experience in battle is probably what will help ingrain it in her mind. Likely not without a few mistakes.

“Oh.” She knows about Pokémon having dual types of course. They few that she has so far are all dual types. Did any of them have any double weaknesses or strengths like that? She looked between the three Pokémon on the floor, not yet familiar enough with the types to know. Something to definitely study on as it would be important for her to know.

“Well. Time to start studying that chart.”