maskormenacelogs | can you beat sun and moon with only a magikarp?

[It's partly in thanks to Reno that Gladion made it out in one piece through the Heartless chaos, in one piece and heart intact at that.

The text he receives pulls him out of his boredom, and lucky for Archie, Gladion was free and in need of relaxation.]

I can be there in an hour.
After that disaster, my team need a rest too.

[true to his word, an hour later Gladion's at the beach with Umbreon at his side. He's got a short sleeved grey shirt on, and his left forearm is bandaged up from his escape at the swear-in when he and Null crashed through solid glass as well as jumping off the balcony and taking the chance that Golbat could glide safely down with him on the bat.]

[he waits-- he was going to spend the day at the beach anyway. gladion probably sees his sharpedo jetting around in the water before he does archie. the man himself is sitting on the sand, mightyena curled up next to him, sunning itself.]

Yo. [he says, raising a hand. he's taken his own shit beating-- does gladion know guzma? does he know how he died? archie doesn't want to ask.] You want me to heal that arm of yours before we get started?

[the first thing at the beach he does notice is the Sharpedo in the water, which means Archie should be close by, to which he was right when the man called out to him.

Right, he was a healer. He remembers that Archie had mentioned before when they'd last spoken that he could heal.]

S-sure. [Suddenly Gladion's had a thought, his face showing concern of some kind and a fair amount of it, not having heard from Guzma for a while and Archie had said he knew him.] It got cut up during the fighting... I crashed through a window and fell off a balcony to escape one of those swarms.

[standing up, archie dusts the sand off his jeans, then holds a hand out. if gladion knows the pokémon move heal pulse, he might recognise the rainbow-tinted mist that surrounds his hand.]

It'll hurt as it heals. Just so you know.

[He nods, eyeing the mist that comes off the older man's hand, letting out a quiet chuckle as he holds out his arm for Archie to heal it.]

I can handle a little more pain, couldn't hurt more than crashing through that window. [he pauses.] You said you knew him here, do you have any idea what happened to Guzma? I haven't heard from him in a while, not since those things showed up.

[sure, he's still bitter about before he'd arrived but with Lillie safe here he really has no reason to go against Guzma unlike back home.]

Sounds like you had quite the adventure, [he comments wryly as he moves to hold his hand over the injury.

along with hearing the pokémon centre noise in his head, gladion will find that it stings like a bastard knitting back together, but it shouldn't take long.

archie's expression falls at the question and he looks away.] I--

He didn't make it out of that mess. Sorry, kid. He... might be back later. I don't know.

An understatement if there was one. Heartless swarmed the swear-in, barely got out in one piece. [He states flatly, still annoyed by the sudden swarm and his brilliant plan to go crashing through the window onto the balcony.

Archie's right, it does sting like hell, but he's distracted by the jingle in his head. This makes him let out an amused chuckle in spite of the sting.

However any amusement drops and his expression turns into shock, catching him off-guard and the tough kid act drops.]

W-what? What happened to him? [He did not expect Guzma of all people to have something happen to him.]

Edited 2020-02-26 18:54 (UTC)

[he grits his teeth for a moment, looking away.]

I don't know. I just know he didn't make it.

[He stands there in disbelief, that news being a hard pill to swallow.]

I didn't think that him of anyone back home would.. would have gotten beaten down.

Sorry. [he says with a light sigh-- gladion doesn't know archie did it, doesn't know guzma had to go down, but...] I know it makes it complicated.

Why are you apologising? It's not like you did anything wrong. [he pauses, sighing.] With how strong those things were, I guess he wasn't the strongest out of all of them.

[Despite this, Gladion was still going to contact Guzma later. In hopes that his boss was around. He didn't want to believe Archie.]

I.. I guess we could get started

...

[arceus above, this is torture. anyway...

at least the training gives them something else to concentrate on.]

Sure. Do you want to focus with Golbat first of all, so he can fly better?

[He nods, chewing on the inside of his cheek. Training is always a good distraction for him.]

Yes, that's what I planning on doing first so that he's not as clumsy. I took a risk when we jumped down from that balcony and was lucky we didn't crash, but if he's a better flier that would be less of a risk.

[He lets out Golbat, who proceeds to flap awkwardly and kick up sand before settling on the ground beside Gladion.]

[despite everything they've just discussed, archie still smiles when he sees the clumsy golbat. adorable. fuckin' adorable. he just loves these giant bats so much. mightyena perks up, looking over at it with his ears pricked, but knows its crobat's time to shine. the purple bat gets released, forming on the sand with a confused grunt. takes it a moment -- sleepy -- to realise what's going on.

immediately, it hops towards golbat on the sand. a little more awkward with the smaller feet it has, but it chitters happily, moving to wrap its bigger set of wings around its prevo.]

...I think Golbat belongs to Crobat now.

[The sight of Archie's Crobat wrapping itself around his Golbat makes Gladion pause for a moment, then suddenly he's laughing. Genuinely laughing and smiling despite his worry from the news moments before. The sight is both sweet and funny at the same time.

While Crobat had done this, Umbreon had gone over to Mightyena and settled himself next to the larger canine, nuzzling his head against it in a friendly manner.]

I think you're right, but Golbat doesn't seem to have a problem with it. Look, he's happy. [He finally manages to get out after catching his breath, pointing at the blissful expression of what he can see of Golbat.]

Then this trainin' will be easier than if they hated each other...

[mightyena grunts happily, licking at umbreon's face the way canines do when they're trying to be friendly. his tail thumps off the sand, too.]

...We should give 'em a moment before we start. [crobat's just-- grooming golbat. it's fine. it's cute.]

It's a good thing they don't, and it seems that Umbreon and Mightyena are getting along too.

[He's happy to see that the two dark types are being so friendly, especially since Umbreon didn't have as many Pokemon to be friendly with back home other than his own.]

It looks like Crobat likes Golbat, quite a lot

They know how to treat other Pokémon. Yours isn't the first team they've met.

[that's... a sad thought, but archie also knows that pokémon are all pure good children who are perfect and do no wrong.]

What moves does Golbat know? Not lookin' to cheat on our future battle, just want to know his level of ability in the air.

I think your Mightyena might have claimed Umbreon as its own, just like Crobat there.

[Being a loner harassed by Team Skull would do that to you, but at least here he can let his team make more friends. Arceus knows all of them need it.]

Ahh. He knows Poison Fang, Steel Wing, Leech Life, and Acrobatics. He does alright with Acrobatics, but would be better after training.

Hmm. Nice coverage. Crobat knew Poison Fang, too.

[he touches his hand to his chin, watching the two bats. considering how to proceed. what would be the best way...]

How about we start with the basics? Have Golbat use his attacks on Crobat.

[you know, in any other situation that would sound so cruel, but-- ah. trainers.]

It's a good move, a fifty percent chance of badly poisoning. We worked on Steel Wing after he was having trouble with rock types, it's helped him out a lot.

That sounds good to me, I guess I'll see Crobat's moves once we get started then.

[It really does, maybe PETA was right about it being bad--

He gives a sharp whistle that signals Golbat to wriggle out of Crobat's grasp, albeit with some difficulty, but manages to settle back next to Gladion ready to battle.]

If I'm starting then... [he looks the Crobat up and down with a more serious expression as he's thinking of what to do, deciding that a possible defensive boost chance would be ideal against the obviously stronger bat.] Golbat! Use Steel Wing!

[Golbat awkwardly flaps up in the air, catching his balance soon enough as best he can before dive-bombing with his wings, a now metallic sheen coming off of them.]

[like golbat, the change in crobat is near-instant. battle time. into position. the bat crouches (as best it can without prope legs, at least; it braces against the sand) watching golbat intently.

it's not until the last second that crobat takes off. with such force that it practically leaves a crater in the sand; a purple blur as it shoots upwards.]

Looks like take off is a problem for Golbat. Maybe that's the first thing to work on... [archie comments.] Pull up, Gol! He ain't there anymore!

[crobat is fast, just like he figured, but faster than he'd expected.]

Take off is one of his bigger issues, but we've gotten better on his landing. You heard him Golbat, pull up!

[He inhales sharply and winces as Golbat still dives for the groun, but now trying to flap upwards. Unsuccessfully. The landing isn't as bad as it could be, but Golbat still crashes into the ground, sliding through the sand instead of dazing himself by crashing headfirst. The poor thing has sand in his mouth though unfortunately and it takes a moment to right himself.]

[archie winces as golbat eats shit on the sand, jogging over to where he'd landed to crouch down and check on him. he can heal, if it needs it, even if this didn't look like too much of a bad crash.

crobat swoops down to hover above the pair, chittering to golbat. giving him advice on how to avoid doing that again; crobat can see before archie that golbat's alright. naturally the same creature would see it better than a human.]

He's okay!

[The landing had been much better than it had last time, with landing in the sand this time. Gladion breathes a sigh of relief as Golbat stands up as best he can and shakes the sand off, although comically spitting sand out. That had to taste terrible.

He smiles a bit seeing the Crobat chitter at Golbat while the smaller bat flaps to get back in the air, still as awkwardly, but gets the hang of the air only so slightly quicker.]

That's a relief! This was better than the last landing he had... he landed in a tree because of the wind gusting out of nowhere.

[He's referring to before the heartless mess, not during where he drew a lucky stic on the landing]

[he keeps his hand on golbat, gently petting its fur.]

Mmm... updrafts as well, huh? Don't worry, Crobat's an expert at all of this. We'll help ya, Gol.

[Golbat lets out a contented bat-like noise at being petted, while Gladion nods about the updraft problem.]

Every once in a while he catches them just right and flies really well, but he usually catches them wrong. [he pauses, then a thought crosses his mind] Do you think if they raced or flew together that would help?

Mmm, yeah I think that'd help. They can go hunting together as well-- Crobat helped Niko's Golbat - now a Crobat - when it needed it as well. Wouldn't count on Niko lettin' his help yours, but my Crobat's always happy to. Ain't that right?

[crobat chirps happily, delivering a huge slobbery lick over golbat, chittering about the places it knows to get lots of blood from to golbat. big miltank like creatures!]

When did he evolve?

The only thing he wants to do is battle and get on my nerves, acting like he's better than everyone. [pot, kettle, you met one another yet? Yeah, he's met Nikolai and finds him to be worse than a Ferrothorn in his side.] But your Crobat's already gotten Golbat's respect and... affection.

[He points to Golbat returning the slobbery lick of affection, one he's gotten a few times himself from the bat.]

I've been here about a month I think, and he evolved from a Zubat a couple months before Guzma beat me down

[did that really just come from his mouth? Yes yes it did and now he's internally panicking.]

I-- I mean before I ported here. A couple months before I ported here!!

[he looks over at gladion for a moment, eyebrows raised, but quickly looks away. interesting, but not his business.]

So it's been a while, then... reckon you got another evolution on the horizon? [he looks back to golbat, gives it one last pat, then stands up.] Right, racing, then?

[a good thing Archie didn't comment more on that, Gladion did not want to have to explain that. Although it did make him worry slightly at the same time, but he could put it out of his mind. For now.]

A while, yeah. [he nods] That's what the hope is, that he'll evolve soon. What should the route be for them racing?

[archie hums for a moment, thinking this over.]

...Maybe Golbat can decide where it wants to race? Don't want it to get hurt because of this or anythin', after all.

Sounds like the best idea for that, right Golbat?

[the large bat makes a confirming chitter and turns turns his attention to Crobat and chitters even quicker, making Gladion let out an amused snort.]

I think they're coming up with a better plan than we could have.

No part of me is suprised about that.

[crobat chirps, hopping around golbat excitedly. it's the elder one, but still acts like a kid when it gets really excited.]

Yo... do you have Type: Null with ya?

[he can't help but let out a laugh now at how Crobat is acting. It was cute to see the two bonding so quickly and that Golbat now has a reliable pokemon to help him fly better.]

Golbat, once you two are done plotting, you can take off to race. I'll keep an eye on you while you fly. [then, attention turning to Archie, he nods.] I do, it comes everywhere with me. I'm assuming you want to see what it looks like?

[archie watches them with a laugh, then puts a hand on his beard and rubs it, still watching them.]

Yeah. That's not inconvenient, is it?

[he shakes his head, not inconvenient for him. He'd planned to show him Null after they trained a bit, but now was a fine time with the two bats about to race. He might as well let Sneasel out too, wasn't his fault if someone got stolen from.]

Not at all. [he lets both Null and Sneasel out, the latter of the two going right up to Archie and sizing him up.]

[okay, well, he knows what a sneasel is. archie crouches down, not really caring how sneasel might crawl over him. he's got nothing worth stealing on him, anyway. not anything he'd miss. archie makes no move to reach out to either of them-- he knows how this goes. better they come to him.

look at null. is that a helmet? poor thing. looks... some kinda way.]

Why does he have a helmet on?

[Sneasel sizes Archie up and down, then makes a sniff of disapproval, going where the other two dark types were and joining their pile. What a snob.

Gladion looks at Null and then back at Archie, shrugging and crossing his arms.]

Err.. from the notes I read, it was to help control its power.

[A lie of course, but it makes Null a little more sympathetic in his opinion, and less likely to be feared by anyone who found out the truth.]

Huh. Can it eat? I have some treats on me.

[or, well. in his backpack elsewhere. he knows how pokémon will run and tear something apart for the deliciousness within.]

I haven't seen it eat anything myself, but... it's a pokemon so I think it does? It's worth a try, we can both find out.

[not that he's a bad trainer that doesn't feed them, he's just unsure with it having that helmet on it.]

[archie doesn't believe gladion to be a bad trainer in any capacity and he knows that there are a lot of pokémon that don't eat in a traditional way - hell, maybe this thing feeds off the energy of the universe, or some bullshit. who knows? he still looks over, frowning.]

You haven't checked?

can you beat sun and moon with only a magikarp?

Yes Archie, the boy lives, fret not! Bit banged up, but living!

thank god

Don't have a heart attack old man

too late he's already in cardiac arrest

Don't expect the kid to be a doctor, he's only 15!

he could be if he really tried

the world's moodiest doctor, heaven help us all

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