[OTA w/ Closed Prompts] It's a Whole New World Where We Live

[halloflamer]

WHO: Blue Oak and YOU!?
WHERE: Heropa Lake Park, and around De Chima
WHEN: BACKDATED to July 7th+8th, and OPEN after that through the 12th
WHAT: POKEMON BATTLES! NEW HOUSEMATES! And adapting to a world without Pokémon.
WARNINGS: silliness.


[July 7th, De Chima 007: CLOSED to Sabriel]

[So these were his new digs, huh? Blue grins- well, this wasn't half bad at all! A big yard for the Pokémon to play in, full kitchen and everything. He could get used to this little vacation.]

[He had naturally totally ignored the part where they told him he would have housemates, so he lets his team of Pokémon out of their balls to roam freely in the house and the yard- yes, even Gyarados, although the enormous dragon stays coiled up in the yard without a body of water. He was going to have to do something about that. Arcanine jumps up on the couch and curls up, and Pidgeot is perched on the fence around the yard, pecking about and looking for a good spot to roost. Exeggutor is examining the new plant life around it, and finding a new sunning spot in the yard.]

[...Have fun with your 5-for-one new housemates, Sabriel.]

[July 8th, Heropa Lake Park: CLOSED to Archie and May (one toplevel each?)]

[It was only his second day, and Blue already had two battles lined up! Maybe being stuck in this place wouldn't be so boring after all. And better yet, one of those battles (sorry, Archie) actually seemed like it would be a real challenge. A regional champ, huh.... He hadn't had a good opponent like that since the Alolan Champ had showed up at the Battle Tree- and even Red had been shocked, then.]

[Flying on Pidgeot back to Heropa (who needs transporters?), Blue followed a map he'd found to the park in question, circling and landing by the lakeside. He glances at the water- it was a nice, big lake, plenty of room for Water-types to battle- and he knew that would be Archie's specialty. Good; they could see which of theirs was the stronger. That Sharpedo had looked like it was in good shape. He had no idea what to expect of the Hoenn Champ, though; and that only excited him more.]

Jeez, where are those Slowpokes? I wanna battle, already!

[July 8th-12th, around De Chima suburbs and downtown: OPEN!]

[After a few days, the claims really seemed to be true- there were no wild Pokémon or native trainers in this region. Blue was a little restless with such a different environment- what was a trainer supposed to do without opponents? And besides that, people seemed to be frightened whenever he was out and about with his Pokémon, even docile ones like Arcanine and Pidgeot.]

[Luckily, he'd been given a job training the native creatures of this world instead, and although it wasn't training them for battle, so far it wasn't all that different from training a baby Pokémon. Arcanine even helped out, nudging the Growlithe-like dogs in the right direction sometimes.]

[Blue can be variously found walking with normal dogs and Arcanine in tow down the city streets; exploring the open, wooded green spaces with Exeggutor (a walking palm tree was a sight to see for these people, apparently); or watching Pidgeot soar overhead, hunting for fish and rodents and scouting the area for anything of interest to them.]

Comments

[dexnav]

I'm from Johto! But my dad got a job as a Gym Leader in Hoenn, so my mom and I moved there about a year ago. It was the first time I really got to explore a region.

[ and while olivine city will always be her hometown, littleroot's fresh air is something she's gotten quite attached to. ]

she notices the key stone, but it's the z-crystals that interest her the most. ]

They're all different colours... does that mean they're all for different types? That's so cool! [ she holds her left wrist up, showing off her mega bracelet. ] Nope! Steven gave this to me - he was Hoenn's Champion before I beat him.

[halloflamer]

Oh yeah? Not too far from my home, then. [Well that was interesting. But that her dad was a Gym Leader was even more interesting. And may certainly explain her talent. He tries to run his brain through the Gym Leaders of Hoenn, or what he knows about them. Water, Psychic, Electric, Flying... Who else...] ...Who's your dad? I'm pretty up on the other leagues.

[He points out the different crystals, each with a symbol inside.] That's right, one for each type, and there've been special ones discovered that are compatible only with certain Pokémon- like Eevee and Pikachu, for example. [He turns his wrist.] This one's for Fire, and this one is Flying... You can use it with any move, even if the Pokémon isn't for that type, so you can really surprise your opponents.

[He glances to her Megaring- that's right, he'd heard at the Tower of Mastery that Hoenn, along with Kalos, mysteriously had some strong connection to Mega Evolution. He wonders what was up with that.] Steven Stone, huh? [He smirks.] The Steel-type user. Bet you pummeled him into the ground with that Blaziken of yours!

[dexnav]

His name is Norman! He's Petalburg's Gym Leader, and he specializes in Normal-types.

[ and kicking his butt was probably one of the highlights of her entire journey. surpassing her dad was always a personal goal of hers since she first dreamed of becoming a trainer.

she looks curiously at all of the crystals, nodding at blue's explanation. ]

No kidding! I bet using one of those could bring a real edge to our strategy. [ and she smiles right along with his smirk. ] He was a pretty tough battle, but we totally had him cornered.

[halloflamer]

[Recognition hit Blue's face at the name, and perhaps surprisingly, it wasn't immediately an expression of smugness or distaste.] ...No wonder... [He snorts almost under his breath, grinning. With that Delcatty...] Yeah, I heard of your dad. For a mid-level Gym Leader, his Gym has a respectable amount of focus on teaching its students real battle strategy over crap like 'all out offense'. [He explains, one hand on hip.] Normal-types tend to have a lot of options available to them; they're versatile. It's important to understand the basics before you worry about sticking to a special type. That's why many Gym Leaders are too weak, if you ask me. [He cracks a smirk- speaking of Steven...] And some Elites and Champs, too.

[When Blue had been a Gym Leader, he was the only one not to specialize in any type; he'd been widely known for proudly boasting that his Gym Trainers were there to learn from battling challengers, not to scare them away or keep his hands clean. It was his job as Leader to determine the strength of anyone that visited his Gym, after all. Norman's focus on challengers proving themselves in tests of strategy against his trainers was admirable, in his eyes.]

...So, you learned to battle in your dad's Gym?

[dexnav]

Yeah. His Gym is pretty boring... He's all about routine and rules and balance. He was like that at home, too.

[ he was definitely the stricter parent of the two that she has, but she doesn't dwell on it for too long. she doubts that blue cares.

she shakes her head. ]

I mean, he taught me some of the basics about type matchups and stuff, but I started as a total rookie. That's kind of why I wanted to beat him - to show him everything I learned by myself.

[halloflamer]

Boring? [Blue balks, then shakes his head.] ...Sheesh. You must be one'a those 'all instinct types'.

[Like Red. Big surprise there, he snorts quietly to himself.] Proper technique and balance is important, you know...

[But the 'at home' sinks through and Blue has a vague flash of empathy; whatever. He'll leave it.]

...Well, you sure showed 'im, didn't you? Becoming Champ and everything. Hah! Maybe you'll take the Gym over someday, too.

[dexnav]

Well... I mean, strategy is important. But he's so strict about it!

[ with a pokemon like slacking, you don't really have the ability to be impulsive. that isn't her style, and she firmly believes it's why she won. ]

I guess I did. [ HEH. ] You couldn't pay me to do that, though! I wanna travel and do stuff, not coop myself up in a Gym.

[halloflamer]

[Blue frowns. Well, strict training was good in his eyes, but... Maybe not so much overdoing it. Not anymore, anyway.]

Heh! ...I get that. That's why I resigned after a few years. Meeting lots of strong challengers and teaching students is nice and all, but since you just stay in one place, you don't get to see so much variety.

[He puffs out a thoughtful breath.] Well, I guess I sort of act like a Gym Leader again now at the Battle Tree, but Alola doesn't have gyms anyway. At least since it's a new region for me, I have a lot to learn from studying the challengers.