Set in the original region of Arciel, Legends Rising is a route-inspired, but not strictly route-based, Pokemon roleplay. Pick a faction, pick a class, and strike out into the wild to take on the League, master Contest coordination, research the mysteries of Pokemon and Arciel, and much, much more. Will you be a classic trainer? A criminal? A farmer? Choose your destiny on Legends Rising.
"Awwww," Riley cooed as Touma explained why he hadn't taken the Stunky. "That's actually really sweet and thoughtful." Granted, it was also effectively leaving the thing to its fate in the wild if no better suited trainer ever came along, but that was fair too. Pokemon were sturdy and Stunky weren't prime prey candidates at least, hehe.
José let out a tiny whispy squeak of joy as he was picked up and able to inspect the Sentret, another baby just like him. Wasn't this new world so much bigger and crazier than she expected? They could get some sense of their surroundings from within their eggs, but being out in it fully was so different, yeah? Oh and her human seemed so nice to help him out! She must feel so lucky!
Riley blushed faintly, grinning ear to ear, as Touma complimented her performance. "I mean they're battle moves, too, of course," she answered. "But the ones you probably mean are pretty rare. Only Eevee can learn them as far as I know, and it takes a lot of practice. You gotta kinda... tap into their elemental instability without actually evolving to unlock that potential. We've worked really hard to perfect the ones we've got, right Hunt?"
"Vee!" she answered proudly.
Riley laughed softly. "There's a move for every type of Eeveelution, but we're still working on a lot of them. Plus you know it takes a lot of effort for Pokemon to learn to retain more than four solid moves at a time, so we gotta work on her capacity before more capability." Riley beamed at her partner. "But with this kind of diversity, she'll be a contest star for sure, isn't that right, baby girl!"
"It sounds like a lot of work goes into contest pokemon," He commented. "But it also sounds like you're putting in a lot of effort. Should I try and get your autograph now before you become too famous?" It was half-teasing, but he was also half-serious; the tone of his voice was more encouraging than anything, staunchly supporting Riley in this endeavour. It was like he fully expected Riley to become someone famous and successful, really.
"How long have you two been working together? I didn't realize a pokemon could learn more than four moves, that's actually really interesting." Maybe years ago? When he was smaller? He didn't train the Mr. Mime their parents had around the house, didn't even think it did any kind of battling, so he was completely unfamiliar with that particular pokemon's moveset. Maybe it was different for different species?
Well, one thing was certain; he was actually getting more interested in contests and might actually have to tune in or even attend one of Riley's performances next time. Knowing someone that was actually competing made it a little more interactive, he supposed.
The Snom in his hand was soft and squishy, but he had to admit it was really cute. Sentret seemed to be getting along with it well enough; at the very least, they were having a conversation in PokeSpeak about this and that, which if he had to guess was probably along the lines of how it felt to be free of their egg prison, or how big the world was, or how many different smells there were... something of that nature.
Riley giggled softly at the autograph question. "I'd be happy to offer you one if you're serious." Smirking, she added, "I mean, I already left my mark last night~" She chuckled more deeply. "But I can always offer you something a bit more lasting once we get to Bass. Unless you've got a marker and something good to sign now."
Hmm... How long had she and Hunter been together? "Seven, seven and a half years?" she answered. "Of course we weren't very serious at first, and practiced more on our dancing than our battling. But back then, the Musical scene seemed more accessible than Contests and Showcases, since I hadn't given as much thought to traveling on my own just yet. But yeah." She nodded. "As for moves, yeah, it takes a lot of work and is slow-going to expand very far, since four is what feels most natural to pretty much all Pokemon. But it can be done~"
José continued his little enthusiastic squeaks, but eventually Riley decided, "We should probably get moving again, huh? Which means... c'mere little guy." She took the Snom from Touma's hand, and he squeaked and flailed in protest at being removed, until Riley settled him on her own shoulder. Oh... This was an okay spot, he could stay here. Riley chuckled as he settled in.
Touma deliberated over Riley's offer for a moment, trying to decide if he actually did have anything that the other could write on. Despite being on the roads pretty often, he didn't have anything like that as far as travel prep went. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd had a sharpie, let alone held one in his hands, and with a chuckle he shook his head to Riley's offer.
"Funnily enough, I don't, but I'm sure in Bass we'll find something." Was he actually being serious about the autograph signing? Was he joking? It is a mystery. As Riley retrieved José, the little Snom making tiny little squeaks at being transported, Touma was almost tempted to have him stay. But seeing the pokemon settle when he was placed on Riley's shoulder instead, and watching him get cozy and quiet was endearing, and it shows in his eyes as he looks first at the Snom, and then to Riley. It's an open, honest sort of affection in his blue eyes, but he doesn't say anything more to it as they start down the path.
"Seven years is a really long time. I imagine the pair of you must have a really powerful bond, then." The Sentret had at first curled up on his shoulder, striped tail working as a sort of fluffy border around its body, and then it had uncurled to try to get into a more comfortable position and to avoid being jostled off Touma's shoulder as they walked. In the end he simply decided to just return it to its pokeball, along with La Mariposa who had been rather quiet during this whole ordeal. Now Pokemonless, he felt a bit of his attention freed up, and focused solely on Riley and their running thread of conversation.
"So you dance, too?" He was feeling rather comfortable, given the time they'd spent together last night, and he couldn't help but adopt a teasing tone as he continued. "Would you mind teaching me a few moves sometime?"
Riley chuckled softly as Touma seemed to continue taking the autograph bit at least halfway seriously. She wasn't sure if he was for real or just playing into the joke, but both possibilities were appreciated.
She smiled softly as he commented on her and Hunter. "For sure. We're thick as thieves~" She chuckled, not explaining that the joke was they were occasionally literally thieves. "She's easier to understand than my other Pokemon, too. Not that any of them really have trouble with basic stuff like 'yes' and 'no', but Hunter seems like she can convey more complex ideas quicker and easier, just from us knowing each other so well~" Always a benefit to having been with a Pokemon so long.
She watched as Touma put away his Pokemon and debated doing the same, but decided against it for now. After all, Hunter was Hunter, and José had only just hatched. It seemed nice to let him see some of the world as long as he'd be content to just chill on her shoulder.
"Hm~? Oh sure!" she answered. "Maybe when we get to Bass we can find a dance club. There's all kinds of music-related stuff there, after all. Then you can decide if you wanna see serious Showcase-worthy dancing or fun drunk dancing." She stuck out her tongue before giggling.
As they walked along, a figure appeared over the crest of the next hill, a woman around their age in punk attire. Hm~? Riley briefly wondered if she'd stop to talk to them or just pass on by, but soon met the other's eyes and gave a smile and nod of acknowledgment. Unfortunately, the woman didn't seem to have the same idea in mind, and her eyes moved from Riley to Touma, back briefly, then to set firmly on him.
"My, my, my," she cooed. "Never expected to run into such a hot stud way out here in the wild~" Riley quirked a brow. "What's a hottie like you doing with a loser like this?"
Riley scoffed in disbelief. Sure she was dressed like she was doing her laundry and had nothing else to wear, or maybe like she was attending a pajama party. But her face was still killer? Her bod beneath the baggy clothes was still rockin'? "Excuse you?"
"Butt out," snapped the woman. "I was talking to him~" She flashed Touma a smirk. "Why don't you ditch her and come with me, hm~?"
Post by Touma Shinjo on Sept 18, 2020 19:44:37 GMT
When the conversation eventually petered out, Touma was content to walk in a companionable silence with the redhead, letting his gaze move this way and that over their surroundings. While he'd had travelling companions before, they usually left after the night spent together and never went beyond the city or routes he'd met them on. To have someone that he got along with fairly well and, besides that, who seemed content to keep in touch even without the promise of more relations hanging over their heads was something he wasn't entirely familiar with, but something he could very much appreciate. The banter and general conversation he had with Riley was uplifting and kept him engaged, besides that, and was something he wouldn't really trade for anything right now.
He was making a mental note to call his family when they got to the next town when his attention was arrested by the sight of something orange half-buried under the dirt. With a probably barely-heard murmur of "sec" he was stepping away to go investigate further, and therefore just barely missed seeing the lone figure emerging on the road before them. It turned out the discovery yielded a perfectly good orange apricorn that seemed to have fallen out of a now-empty tree, and he plucked it up to put it in his back before returning to his companion. He gave Riley a quick grin of apology before an unfamiliar voice spoke up and he blinked, the grin fading a little in confusion.
"Eh?" Was he being talked to? The woman in question was dressed.... strangely. Almost like she'd come out of a punk rock concert, or she was on her way to one. Actually, now that he thought about it, she seemed more dressed like the group that he'd seen hanging out in alleys in the cities, drinking and laughing jeeringly at any poor soul that happened to pass by. The comments that she was making towards Riley seemed to place her in this group easily enough even without his suspicions, and after a moment's thought he moved an arm to slip around Riley's shoulders - minding Jose, of course - drawing her in a little closer. To the delinquent-looking lass he flashed her a smile that was in no way apologetic, and to someone more experienced might have seen it as more passive aggressive than anything.
While he couldn't say no to most people, that didn't mean that he didn't find rude people distasteful. Especially when they were speaking like that to his friends. Doubtless if he'd been travelling here alone she'd have been met with a different sort of reaction, but there wasn't much use in what-ifs and hypotheticals when he was already accompanying someone to the next town.
"Unfortunately, I'm not interested." He spoke clearly, firmly, leaving no room for argument. It was perhaps a first in his life, although it came rather easily to him. "I'm travelling with her right now, but I'm sure if you keep on heading that way -" Here he pointed in the direction where they'd come. "-you'll find people that are more to your liking."
A bow was given to the woman, who seemed to look a little taken aback at being rejected, and with his arm still around Riley's shoulders he began to steer them both around the lass so they could continue on their way.