4.0 Dedicated to its Members and Fans of Pokemon A Pokemon Sandbox RP
Pokémon Dubstep (ft. Lindsey Stirling)
W
elcome Adventurer to EPOCH! A Pokemon Sandbox Rp set in the original region of Nue. Everything you need to know will be in the Guidebook and PokeDex 101!
EPOCH uses the Manga and is built on the Original ideas suggested by our members.
We are more than just a Pokemon RP, we're a friendly community with a goal on being a memorable experience for those that look in.
Golden Rule: Treat others as you wish to be treated. If you find yourself content with being an asshole EPOCH and its members will not tolerate you.
RULES
Understand We're All Human. Respect the staffers as well as your fellow members and guests. We all have flaws, tempers and quirks. Be patient with one another, but if issues involving other members come up please don’t just grin and bear it. Contact a staff member, informing them of what's going on so they can address and resolve the situation. The staff won't know what's bothering you unless you tell them.
EPOCH is PG-13. Proboards’ Terms of Service:
Sex; When you get under the clothes, fade to black.
Violence; Do not go into extreme nauseating detail.
Cursing; This is so fucking allowed, but don't go overboard.
Suggestive Content; In avatars, signatures and templates can attract the wrong kind of attention. So be careful.
Post by Danny Kazuki on Aug 23, 2014 14:47:28 GMT -5
Traveling through the worst of the Hoenn Desert was worth it, because after walking with sand sprinkling out of his shirt and pants, Danny and Larry finally made it to Lavaridge Town. The sight was so exciting, the two immediately shook the sand off of them like dogs, immediately comforted by the steam of the local hot springs. "I know what we're going to do today, buddy." Giggling like a giddy girl, he rustled Larry's head with an affectionate noogie, smirking as the bird pecked him in response. "Hot springs sound so good right about now. Do you think they'll have a mixed bath?" Danny looked at Larry as if the Wingull was supposed to know exactly what that was, but from that blank stare, it was apparent he had no idea what was going on. "You know...it's like a public swimming pool. Except everyone is naked." In the race between words and thought, his mouth blabbed out things he wished he could've censored, realizing the horror of that comparison.
Larry still wasn't catching on as Danny slapped his hands to his cheeks, gaping as he tried to rewind and try again. "No. Nevermind. We don't need mixed baths, ha ha...I'd rather burn them out of existence." On that note, he didn't even know if swimsuits were required or allowed in the baths. He assumed that the rules depended on that particular hot spring compared to Lavaridge altogether, meaning that he had to be selective when picking out a good place to blow some cash. That sounded easy enough in his head, but the more he walked around Lavaridge, the more eye-catching each sign was. Some were offering deals with food and bed, others claimed that their hot springs warded away evil spirits for the rest of the year. Not that he believed in ghosts, but it didn't hurt to play things safe every now and then.
He took his chances with a country style villa called "Enchant Me", enjoying the way the smooth marble walls curved towards the roof, giving it a clean and fresh feel. Sweetening the deal even further was the steamy stone path that beckoned him inside with a warm and comforting vibe. As soon as he walked through the doors, he was greeted with the overzealous scent of lavender barging its way into his unprepared nostrils. Either aliens came down to earth to experiment with air fresheners, or somebody decided to prank the staff by dumping perfume all over the place. Both were lovely possibilities, but the moment Danny saw various clay jars aflame, he had to accept the 'boring and obvious' possibility. Oddly enough, Larry didn't seem too phased by the aroma's power, instead choosing to stare at the budding line of customers hovering around the front desk. It didn't take Danny long to get himself situated, now pleasantly whistling as he whirled the bath house's key chain around his finger, strolling around in nothing but a company owned robe. Even Larry had a matching robe to boot, looking just as fluffy and puffy as his trainer as he propped himself on Danny's shoulder.
The bath house itself was incredibly nice, and after gawking at the prices for a good five minutes, those hot springs had better be as magical as they claimed to be. If he wasn't radiating pixie dust and leaving a trail of rainbows in his wake by the time he left this place, well, these people were never getting his money again. "I'm telling ya, Larry. This place better live up to my dreams. I can't believe more than half of my savings are gone...just so I could spend a night here!" As long as the staff weren't within earshot, he wasn't afraid to complain about anything that didn't give him his money's worth. Like the saint he was, Larry patiently pretended to listen to every word, occasionally nodding to prove that he was on the same wave length. "I knew you'd get me. I'm surprised that the potted plants aren't covered in jewels. They're probably fake. I mean, what kind of plant looks like this?" Trying to make a point as he rubbed one of the vivid red leaves between his thumb and index finger, he flinched when the leaf immediately popped right off. "Uh...it wasn't me." Flashing Danny a look that seemed to say 'Yeah, right', Larry snorted in amusement as Danny tucked the leaf in his robe pocket and immediately ran from the scene of the crime.
Once he found his way towards the outdoor hot springs, he stuck to the men's side out of common courtesy. Of course the thought of peeping in the other springs occured to him, but the thought of seeing different age groups in there made it less appealing. Unfortunately, those peeping tom kind of scenes had to be reserved for tv shows and harem games. "Don't mind if I make myself home, here." Shaking his robe off in the small changing room, he balanced the small Froakie egg he had tucked in his robe on his hand until he was in nothing but his swimsuit. "Of course, you're staying with me. I'm a good father, aren't I?" He bragged to no one, because Larry was already chilling in the hot spring kiddie pool as if it was a bird bath. 'When did he even leave? Geez. He's lucky Pokemon are allowed in here.' Far from disheartened at Larry's sudden disappearance, Danny came prepared with another Pokemon that he wanted to spend more time with. It would've been chaotic to watch an entire party of Pokemon at a public place like this, but as long as it stayed down to 2 or 3, Danny didn't see the harm.
"Join the fun, Leeroy." Not even bothering to give the Lillipup a fancy entrance, Leeroy popped out of his Pokeball with a single press of a button. Sensing the casualness of the situation, the Lillipup sniffed at the air, surprised at how thick the steam was as the sound of children laughing and creepy teenagers chanting filled the air. "Confused? We're taking the day off today, buddy. Nothing but fun and relaxation today." Motioning for the Lillipup to follow him, he eventually found a spring that wasn't so crowded and staked his claim by jumping in. The splash kicked up a miniature tidal wave that caught Leeroy off guard, originally planning on taking his time getting used to the water, but boo-hoo, he was already soaked to the bone. By the time Danny and the egg swam back to the surface, Danny looked far from guilty as he called Leeroy over to joim him. <Brr...no choice now.> Shaking some of the water out of his eyes, a cool breeze coaxed him into the warmth of the hot springs, and after making a leap of faith, his head soon popped out of the water, right next to Danny.
"Hey, you're a natural swimmer. But I hope you know that I'm a professional dog paddler that can swim through oceans and tidal waves. Someday I'll have you take notes from me, Leeroy. Just wait and see!" It was pretty cute seeing Leeroy enjoy himself, kicking those tiny puppy legs in the water as he joined some of the other Pokemon that were playing in the water. Funny how Larry wasn't one of them, considering that he was a water fowl and all, but Larry was an odd one. That bird chose when he wanted to socialize, and he chose whenever he wanted to be a creep and stare others down until they decided to leave. Even after living with Larry for over 3 years, he still couldn't decipher that bird. All he knew was that he had to accept all of the glorious parts of Larry, regardless of how strange they were. "He seems to be having fun." Danny commented as he snuggled with the egg, hoping that the water's temperature wasn't too much for it to handle. Considering how the Pokemon inside was a water type, he didn't see much harm in keeping it in the hot spring with him, but there was something different about the egg that was bothering him. It felt hotter than usual, and every now and then, he could feel something inside the egg kicking and hopping around in protest. Even though he looked up stuff about eggs the night before, he forgot absolutely everything he tried to learn as the egg continued to kick and shake, increasing in intensity until Danny frantically jumped out of the water with the egg in tow. "Too much for you? You can stay out here with Papa Dan if you'd like. I'm here, uh. Do you need a song? A sacrifice? My head? I don't want to behead myself, but if it keeps my darling child happy, I'll be a diligent father and--" Cut off by the egg's sudden glow, he paled in horror at the egg's reaction to him being beheaded. If this was some mystical sign that he had to go through with it, then everything about this spring was a lie. Springs of good luck his ass, these springs cursed him to his death!
His panic rose down when a small Froakie replaced the baby blue egg he doted on, and after sharing a few seconds of stunned eye contact, the Froakie hesitantly took a few steps backwards, as if she didn't know how to react. Leeroy and a couple of others started to look at the commotion out of curiosity, but Danny ignored them all as he collapsed to his knees, holding out his arms for the Froakie to jump into. "You hatched! You really, really hatched! Come to papa, Froakie. Come here, froggy froggy froggy." He tried coaxing her towards him by sounding as light-hearted as possible, but the Froakie wasn't having any of that and proceeded to panic and jump onto his head, using it as a platform so she could jump and hide in the nearest hot spring. Poor Danny sat there stunned at his dear child's sudden rejection, not even having the heart to turn and see where she went. His eyes teared up as he felt himself break and crumble, spending too much time sulking to realize that his little Leeroy was trying to make things right. "My child doesn't love me...after all that hard work." He lamented as he inched across the ground like a lethargic worm, eventually sinking into the comfort of the hot springs as he sulked and blew bubbles.
On the bright side, the Froakie knew how to swim immediately after hatching, so even though she was in the water for the first time, she was able to stay afloat with ease. Leeroy was no match for her natural swimming skills, because even though he knew how to dog paddle, his heavy fur slowed him down each time he tried to catch up with the speedy youngster. <I don't mean any harm, so don't run. Please? You're...> Gasping as his head momentarily sunk underwater, he spat the water right out as he persisted in confronting hr. <You're one of us, so we have to stick together. Don't be shy, I won't bite.> It was a good thing he was small, because his words had an easier time reaching her than Danny's. Eventually the Froakie slowed down enough for the Lillipup to catch up, feeling bad that he was having such a hard time swimming for her sake anyways. Finally catching up to the newly hatched Froakie, Leeroy clung to the edge of the hot spring as his words were momentarily overcome by heavy, weary breaths. <I wish I could swim as well as you. Then I could swim, and swim, and I'd never get tired. My fur is so heavy though, it's kind of hard.> He sheepishly laughed despite her confusion, figuring that maybe she was still learning the language. If that was the case, he could be like an older brother and teach her what he could. <My name's Leeroy, and that guy you ran from is Danny. I think he took that kind of hard. I mean, look at him.> Their embarrassment of a trainer was still sulking in the water, nursing the sting of his wounds as he rocked himself back and forth in the warmth of the springs. He was lucky that he was able to keep his head where it was, but at what cost? Now his Froakie hated him.
The Froakie still wasn't speaking, but it was obvious that she was following along, even looking towards Danny with sympathy after Leeroy pointed it out. While the water felt so natural for her to move around in, she decided to go easy on Leeroy and hop out of the water, enjoying the warmth of the stone path after it sat in the sun all day. Leeroy came out behind her, shaking the heavy drops off of his fur doggy style until his fur was a matted, damp mess. Not that he minded how he looked, but it was enough to elicit a snort from the Froakie. At the very least, she was opening up bit by bit. <If he makes you nervous, you can explore with me if you want. This is my first time here, and there's so many new smells and sights!> Leeroy's excitement was obvious as he wagged his tail, hopping from side to side at the thought of seeing new people and Pokemon. Sure, even he got shy sometimes, but as long as they kept to themselves, it wasn't so bad.
Even if she just met the Lillipup, she found him reliable and easy to trust, unlike that overbearing person that tried to crush her with hugs earlier. Danny felt incredibly familiar to her despite her initial fear, and since he was the first person she saw after hatching, she couldn't deny that he even felt like a father to her. <Let's go.> She finally chirped, feeling safe enough with the Lillipup's calming presence to follow him around. "And now they're walking off. As a responsible trainer, I should follow them." Fed up with bubble blowing when he just wanted his Froakie child to love him, he started to stomp out of the hot springs to see where they were going, but a pair of old men immediately wrapped their arms around his neck, staking their claim as the scent of alcohol trailed behind them. "Aye, lad. Those 'mons are yours? They're going into the women's side, don't 'cha know? Unless you plan on dressing like a girl to sneak in, stay with us. Drink and live a little, haha." As much as Danny tried to struggle against their grip, the older gentlemen seemed determined to keep him around, even laughing at his attempts to leave. "Drink up, drink up. Stop being such a wuss. When I was your age, I would've cried tears of joy at any chance to drink." The other older fella was covered in double the wrinkles, but at least he was nice enough to finally let go, sitting and drinking until his partner in crime successfully pressured Danny into joining them for some innocent fun.
'Someone, save me!' Inwardly screaming as a small cup of whiskey was passed towards him, the glass didn't even need to be near his nose to notice how bad it reeked. "Ha, you guys sure know how to live, even at 80." Noticing how their stares never left him, it was hard to refuse taking a tiny sip of the glass, but the moment he did, he immediately spit it back out in horror. "Y-yeah. Strong. I'm not getting used to that any time soon, so...you can have the rest." Shamed into a shade of red at their boisterous laughter, one of them snatched the glass from him and drank it with ease, even letting out a satisfied sigh afterwards. "Ha! Kids these days are weak, aren't they Joe?" Patting his beer gut affectionately as he gestured over to his aggressive, balding friend, he grinned as Joe laughed in agreement. "We'll train ya, lad. There'll be some hope for your generation yet. Of course, it ain't free. We can fill you in on the details back at our place after you've drunk enough, so--"
Joe's sentence was cut off the moment Danny decided to splash them both in the face for cover, bolting out of the springs as the two were still wiping the water out of their eyes. Making a note to report them to the staff as he ran back inside, he just barely caught the bark of a Lillipup from the women's side of the springs. Great. The drunks weren't lying about that part, it seemed. Stuck on how to handle the situation, he eventually had to ask one of the workers for help, and at least they were able to bring his Pokemon out before there were any misunderstandings.
tag: nah ▪ words: nah ▪ ooc: Closed thread, solo plotty thing.
Post by Danny Kazuki on Aug 24, 2014 18:21:41 GMT -5
It felt like a loss to retreat to the safety of his room like this, but Danny wasn’t about to let himself get chased away from the hot springs this easily. Practically emptying his wallet just to live like the comfortably wealthy for a single night, he wasn’t expecting a bunch of old men to put a moldy damp towel on his experience. His legs idly kicked against the frame of the bed, increasing in frequency the more he thought about the whole thing. Leeroy and Froakie made themselves comfortable in the hotel room by playing tag around the curtains, occasionally hopping onto the bed and diving right under it as they chased each other. On the bright side, his Pokemon were taking the experience well, or at least the ones that he bothered to bring out. If he remembered correctly, Larry was probably still chilling away at the kiddie pool, making himself content with the snacks provided by the staff. If his Wingull was having any trouble, Danny would’ve heard of it by now. ”Eh, let him have his fun. I’d join him, but...” Crossing his arms as two wrinkled faces appeared in his head, he waved his hand across his face as if he was swatting them away. Right now, the best way to handle this problem would be to either hang around a friendlier crowd, or harass the manager until he could get some free stuff out of it. Friendlier crowds were awesome, but there was no guarantee that he’d be spotted by the drunken tyrants and get dragged away again.
So he was going to be that guy and hit the staff up, raising the biggest stink he could to possibly get a refund. ”Alright. If that’s the way it has to be, then angry Danny is coming to town. Guys, listen up.” He clapped his hands twice to get everyone’s attention, and right as Froakie and Leeroy skidded to a halt, Danny popped out another Pokeball, sending out a beastly looking Pinsir to act as the group’s designated adult. ”Gawain, I gotta take care of something. Keep an eye on these two, and make sure they don’t break anything important. If you wanna go to the springs, go for it, but stick to a Pokemon friendly area, 'kay?” Why he trusted Gawain with the important stuff, Danny wasn’t sure. He just knew that Gawain was older than most of his Pokemon, and he had him since the start of his journey. There was a bond there, and if the mission was important enough, he hoped Gawain would be a responsible, pleasant influence on the easily influenced. Patting Gawain on the back to thank him, he kept the door shut, but didn’t lock it on the off chance that they wanted to explore.
Gawain stared at the kids as his horns crunched against each other, and when they looked up at him with nothing but fear and horror, he groaned and started scratching his head. <Oh, brother. Does he really think I look like the babysitting type? Do I look ‘fatherly’ to the average eye?> Rambling to himself wasn’t helping his case, because his deep, raspy voice and the way his teeth clicked against one another was absolutely terrifying to the Froakie. Deciding that she wasn’t safe here, she zipped under the bed, leaving Leeroy to gape in horror at this bug monster. <Look, I’m scary, but I’m not going to eat you. What’s that girl doing under there? C’mon out. I’ll take you to the springs if you do. > He tried to sweeten the deal by cracking open the door, gesturing for them to follow him out, but it seemed that the Froakie needed additional encouragement. At least by now, Leeroy was over his initial shock at Gawain’s appearance, and he didn’t see anything wrong with going back to the springs. <I think we should go back. We didn’t get to explore much because of Danny, so…let’s try again.> Leeroy nudged the drooping blanket away from the side of the bed, revealing the newly hatched Froakie that thought that she could hide inside. It took some encouraging from Leeroy’s part, but she eventually agreed to tag along with him and Gawain. Good thing they came along too, because Gawain had absolutely no idea where to go. He nearly took them into the men’s bathroom because he mistook the sound and scent of running water for that of a hot spring. Leeroy remembered the way at least, and with Froakie hopping beside him and Gawain trailing behind, they were able to make it back to the welcoming warmth of the steam and springs. Deciding that they would be fine going wherever they wanted, Gawain ushered the kids off so he didn’t have to worry about playing with them. Last thing he needed was to be tied down by kids, which was why Danny was getting a punch to the face during his sweetest of dreams.
<You sure they’re going to be ok on their own?> Larry coo’d, landing on the very tip of Gawain’s left horn as he watched them jump into the shallow end, joining few other Pokemon as they splashed water at each other. <Get off of me, you frickin’ bird. Who cares if they’re going to be ok? I’m not responsible for them.> Stomping his foot down as he whirled his head around, he shook Larry right off, smirking until Larry made himself comfortable on his opposite horn. Rinse and repeat until Larry settled back down in the kiddie pool, letting out a content sigh after getting his fill of roughhousing. Obnoxious as ever, Gawain thought with a roll of his eyes. Larry was no fun, and he didn’t want to bother with the kids, but there were still ways to have fun as a bigass bug. Despite his relaxed expression, Larry felt a chill roll down his back as he heard Gawain’s laughter receding into the water. Whatever that Pinsir was up to, he didn’t want to be a part of it.
”I came out here to have a good time, and honestly I’m feeling so disturbed that you people are letting this happen.” Slamming his fists down on the front desk, Danny stared into the eyes of ‘Enchant Me’ employee Arin, at least he assumed that was his name from the golden name tag tacked onto his vest. ”I just wanted to relax in peace, and there’s old men drinking away in the springs, offering alcohol to minors and just…just generally being creepy. You gotta do something about this. I spent so much money just to enjoy myself here, and I don’t want to be chased out.” There was a fine line standing behind him, overhearing his zealous rant whether they wanted to or not, but Danny didn’t care. They were just going to have to deal with it, because he experienced things they were lucky enough not to go through. Arin maintained his composure as he called down the manager, deciding that it was best to settle this matter in private before their other customers were chased away. ”Yeah, you better call him. I’m taking two pieces of candy from the candy jar for this.” Just as he said, he reached into the guests only candy jar and took what he wanted, content with sucking on two lollipops at once until things were resolved. He sat and waited as the line gradually grew smaller and smaller, some even leaving because they had their doubts about coming here in the first place, and Danny was the final push they needed to leave.
Things weren't resolved as cleanly as they could’ve been, but Danny knew how to work his lips the moment the manager got all buddy buddy with him. At first he was simply offered a free meal for the night, and the manager promised to escort those disturbances to their rooms before things could get any worse. ”Miss Magical Manager, your words are music to me, but I’ll even give this place positive reviews if you let me spend the rest of the night here at half the original price.” The offer sounded good to Danny’s ears, which was why he was trying to pressure the manager into keeping the negotiations as sweet as possible. The manager was a respectable, classy older woman that wore jewels around her white as sleet tuxedo. If he didn’t already know her as the manager, he would’ve easily mistaken her for some sort of classy, bejeweled butler. ”We aren’t that desperate, but I see you have an eye for candy there.” She wanted to laugh as the two lollipops stuck out of Danny’s lips like Walrein tusks, but she had to maintain a professional atmosphere, regardless of how childish her clients were. ”Might I bargain with you for the entire candy jar? Reviews are always appreciated. Especially sweet, happy reviews.” Motioning over to Arin to pass the candy jar over, she held it in her hands as if it was a precious treasure that had to be protected. Now, this was a tough deal. Danny mourned the loss of most of his savings, but it was something he believed was worth spending on. Already he was getting a discount by having free meals here, but on top of that, an entire jar of candy was right in front of him. How could anyone expect him to refuse such a treat?
Just knowing that his wallet was not nearly as empty brought relief and peace of mind as he gleefully skipped down the corridors, candy jar held tightly against his heart as he dodged a few shrieking people as they ran from the hot springs. He didn’t think too much of it until he heard people wailing about a Sharpedo in the water, and even if this called for a hero to take action, he wanted to escort his candy to the safety of his room before anything happened. Forgetting that he purposely left the door unlocked, he instantly froze at how easily the door opened. ”Guys? I’m coming in.” Peeking through the crack of the door, he could only blink in confusion at how empty it was in here. The lights were still left on, but there was no sign of life jumping around the place. ”Oh, wait. The hot springs. That’s right, I told them that they could go play there and—“ Speaking of remembering things, weren't those people screaming about a Sharpedo swimming in the springs? It didn’t take much thought to realize that his own Pokemon could’ve been at risk of a shark attack. Even Gawain, as strong and tough as he was, wasn’t all that great at fighting in the water. He was no water bug, that much he knew. ”Great. Now I gotta bring Moe.” He briefly considered taking Aph along with him, but there was a clear ‘no electric type moves’ sign hanging outside of the springs. An Emolga might’ve had the type advantage against a shark in the water, but it was too easy to hurt everyone else in the process. A Tropius, on the other hand, didn’t have that kind of risk, and Moe was able to dish out the grass type moves as an added bonus.
With Moe’s Pokeball in hand, he carelessly tossed the candy jar onto his bed, not even bothering to watch it land in one of those ‘Draw me like one of your French girls’ poses as he slammed the door behind him. ”Who even brings a Sharpedo to a place like this? Talk about dangerous.” Of course, not all Pokemon were the same, but Sharpedo had a reputation for having a superior bite to their bark. It must’ve been difficult to even train one based on how temperamental they could be, which is exactly why he had next to no interest in catching one for himself. He even had the same issue with Gyarados, which was basically a larger Sharpedo. ”Top speed, Moe. Get ready for anything, because anything really could happen here!” Panting as he skidded to a halt in front of the hot springs, he noticed that the commotion was starting to die down. Maybe someone beat him to the punch? Well, he did see a couple of tough Pokemon wandering around the place. Figures that a fancy place like this had tough as nails security. Wiping the sweat off his brow as he made his way through the crowd, he heard Leeroy’s frantic barks as the workers grabbed the threat out of the water, revealing a Pinsir wearing a blue shark fin on his back. ”…Gawain? Where did you even—“ Oh, boy. It seemed as if everyone was stunned into silence at the sight of an unconscious Pinsir being yanked out of the water, save for Leeroy’s worried barks as he tried to stick by the Pinsir’s side. ”How did he even get a shark fin? Geez. He’s crafty.” On the bright side, at least none of his teammates lost any limbs in the Sharpedo prank, but now he had to get Gawain out of this jam. Fun times.
tag: nah ▪ words: nah ▪ ooc: Wingull/Pinsir/Lillipup/Froakie Bonding Moments
Post by Danny Kazuki on Aug 31, 2014 0:26:01 GMT -5
It wasn’t easy cleaning up Gawain’s mischief when so many hot-spring fanatics were chased away at the first sign of a shark fin, and when the wind whisked the news over to the prim and proper ear of the spa’s manager, she was far from understanding. So he messed up by trusting his Pokemon a little too much in a public place—big whoop. It wasn’t the worst thing Danny ever did in his life, but it cost him the night in the hot springs. Save for the time he spent relaxing there already, most of his precious, glorious stash of cash had been refunded under the assumption that he’d never come back. And he was cool with that promise, seeing how Lavaridge was loaded with springs that begged him to grace them with his presence, and he was more than willing to fulfill those wishes.
With his life’s belongings on his back as the sun started to settle down for the evening, he made himself comfortable outside of a local St-Arboks as the chill of a creamy, chocolate drink kept him company. At this point, he didn’t even know where he was going to spend the night, but the Pokemon Center was always the cheaper option. If he took that route, then all the more spending money for his daily and nightly antics in Lavaridge, which worked to his advantage. He could already imagine the selfies he could take around the hottest spots in the area, which his massive three followers on Twitter would be all over. Thank goodness for the social media train, because if social media didn’t exist, Danny could’ve sworn that he looked like a no-life loner that leeched off a business’s wifi. But with his handy dandy phone open and ready for some hot, scrolling action, he didn’t have to people watch to pass the time. At least he wasn’t obvious about his love for watching others, because he was doing the same thing regardless, only he was dashing through the Twitter tags for Lavaridge Town to see what the hip and trendy were saying. Besides the usual selfies of tourists just arriving in town, one of the latest trends seemed to be some hotshot internet celebrity that challenged the local gym. There must’ve been one hell of a crowd for that one, because from just 10 seconds of nonstop scrolling, it looked as if at least 100 different people were tweeting the battle live. You could tell who had the cheap seats all the way up top based on how blurry the images were compared to the richies that could get up close and personal shots despite the heat of the flames. ”Peh.” Of course he wasn’t jealous at the swarm of attention that never made the time to glance his way, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he wasn’t getting anywhere on his journey of self-exploration.
His parents had been nice enough to fund him for the first couple of months, but after that, he had to fend for himself. Thankfully they were wise enough to send payments in small portions, forcing Danny to put some thought into how he blew his resources to the moon. It didn’t stop him from wasting half of it in one of the flashiest hot springs in Lavaridge, but at least the damage wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been.
It was funny how right as he was thinking of family, family was thinking of him by making his phone cry out in a cheery jingle as the name ‘Bossy Booty’ flashed onto his screen. ”Hey, dad. What’s up?” Leaning back to make himself comfortable in the thin, metal frame St-Arrrboks thought was appropriate to shove paying customers in, he tipped his drink into his mouth as his dad rambled from the other end. It was hard to say what his dad wanted whenever he tried calling him; sometimes it varied from a terrifying lecture to a question about the internet, and ever since he left home, there were more calls that Danny described as ‘needy feel time’. Needy feel time was the worst, and when Danny sensed a hint of affection on the other end of the line, he inwardly groaned once he realized where this was going. ”Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. I’m in Lavaridge now, actually.” He paused, cringing as he heard a surprised gasp at the revelation. So he had been procrastinating on telling anyone that he was back in Hoenn, but that was only because he wanted to avoid Mossdeep and Lilycove as much as possible. ”I just forgot to tell you. Let it go already, geez. I have plenty of time to share my love with everyone, and we can all agree that Mossdeep, and you, need a break.” Flattered but not willing to be guilted into dropping by for a ‘small’ visit, all he could do was hope to Arceus that his dad was willing to drop it. Was life ever that good to him though? No. Of course it wasn’t.
His dad must’ve thought he was being discreet as he whispered his disappointments to whoever was standing next to him, which Danny assumed was his step-mom, and suddenly the phone was passed over to her. Lovely. If Amber happened to be there, then it probably would’ve been a super fun conga line of family bantering. He had to check to make sure his phone wasn’t on webcam before he rolled his eyes at mom’s quaint and subtle hints to stop by the house every now and then, because obviously he couldn’t go anywhere on his own without breaking a few bones and maybe a couple of expensive vases along the way. ”I’ve only been gone for about two months though. Kind of hectic, but I’m getting the hang of it. Really, don’t worry about me so much. I got this. I was born ready for this, and be sure to tell that to dad too. And I know I’m my mother’s kid. I get that, but I'm perfect, and she's not. I was born to fly, kiss the sky, kiss some girls, kiss some mirrors, because I’m an official P.Y.T. You—no, don’t just assume that means something dirty! It’s a song.” Talking to his step-mom wasn’t much better, resulting in a sudden increase in eye rolls and the occasional exasperated sigh depending on what was going on. Danny liked to think that she was wearing a pair of invisible glasses that made her always spot out the worst in him, and even if those glasses weren’t too different from reality, she was typically one of the first to accuse him of something.
Again, not that she was usually wrong either, but he didn’t like her lack of faith in the glory of Danny and his pure intentions for a greater good.
As he was chit-chatting away, he happened to notice a couple of eavesdroppers checking in on him by smirking or chuckling at his out-of-context remarks. Some even looked annoyed, but he ignored the haters and playfully flashed someone a thumbs up for finding him so entertaining. It was some older guy that had a Grumpig for a snack date as he tried to hide his interest in some paper work, but both he and Danny knew that they caught each other’s attention. Back to his mom though, and he could only sigh as he suddenly sat up straight, feeling as if she was right behind him, prepared to mock and jab at his lazy posture. ”I’ve been thinking about getting a job. I mean, I can’t rely on you guys forever. But the help from my loyal, connected by blood and love fans is always appreciated. By the time you see me, I’ll be shining from all of my success. Money will be falling out of my pockets because I can barely stash it in there, and I can drive wherever I want in a flashy red sports car, and…and I’ll be like that one guy on TV that travels around with a bunch of cheerleaders! And when you see me pull up into the driveway with my fanclub, I’ll be promoted to the favorite child!” Not even realizing how excited he was getting from the power of his imagination, he slammed his fist against the table, drawing the attention of everyone in the room until the sharp clattering sound died out.
”Don’t give me that ‘parents love their children equally’ bull crap. I’ve always known.” No matter how his step-mother tried to sweet talk her way out of this one, he wasn’t letting it go. The way each sibling was treated and looked at was so obvious, and he was ready to earn the respect that Amber had. The more his mother talked, the more tiring Needy Feel Time became, and he needed an escape route ASAP. That lovely, very much needed distraction came right as a pretty brunette stumbled and dropped her drink all over the floor. ”Uh, sorry mom. I gotta go because…this girl is on fire…because she’s so hot. Yeah. Bye.” Barely catching onto his mom’s gasp of protest right before he hung up, he could barely find a reason to care as he bounced and pranced over in gentleman mode. Listen up, flirts-in-training, because there’s at least three ways to glide your way into that certain someone’s romance arc. Almost immediately, Danny was struck with the urge to make some kind of witty pick-up line about falling, but the only one he could think of was the most overused, burned out and cliché line about angels falling from heaven. The girl in question wasn’t much to look at, but she was bashful enough that Danny was immediately lassoed into helping her without a second thought. He briefly noted that the spill itself wasn’t that bad, but with so many people sitting around, the situation probably felt much worse than it was. Taking a few napkins off the nearest table, he crouched down beside her to help speed up the cleaning, even passing her a friendly smile to try and loosen her up.
And here comes the second classic move that all smooth, friendly talkers had to know if they ever wanted to get anywhere. ”Got a couple more napkins. Lucky you didn’t burn yourself, ya know?” Offering the spare napkins in his hand as the rest started piling up in a soppy, soggy bunch, physical contact was initiated as she gratefully accepted his aid. He barely registered the moment that their fingers briefly touched, but behind the stranger’s glasses and bang rain forest, the brunette couldn’t help but shift around in discomfort. Like that wasn’t supposed to happen with guys she didn’t find attractive, but it did anyways. "Yeah...I'd take the burn if it got me a refund though." She cracked a forced laugh in an attempt to melt away the accusing stares of those safe in their towering chairs, but as much as she didn't want to acknowledge her embarrassment, Danny was right here, constantly reminding her of her spill until it was dry to the last drop.
The third rule of flirting involved engaging your target, where 'target practice' was a metaphor for hunting the wide-eyed doe down until you could squeeze your way into her busy busy schedule. "I can buy you another one if you keep me company. I can tell you about the time that I conquered the mighty wasps nest of Mossdeep, where many a man's ego was popped that day, but it's a good story, I'm telling ya." Memories like that knew how to rev up his engine, and like a jack-in-the-box, he sprung off the ground and offered her a hand up. It was a kind gesture, but the girl wasn't having any of it. Swiping his hand away as she brushed herself off the ground, she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she gave him a no-more-nonsense look. "I'll have to pass. Thank you, though. You're nice and all, but bye." For the sake of avoiding his annoying, pleading stare in the cozy coffee house, she didn't even bother buying another drink and waltzed right out the door, leaving him in the dust. "...What'd I say wrong?" If this was a harem game, then Danny was convinced that he picked the right answers for each of the dialog options. And he even avoided picking the hilarious answers for the sake of impressing a pretty stranger, and now he was wishing he picked those hilarious answers just to see how things would've played out.
Danny might've followed the three rules of flirting, but he neglected the most important rule of all time. Everybody knows that no matter how incredible your pick-up lines are, your charm is instantly nullified if the person of your desire had no attraction to you whatsoever. They also don't apply if you aren't an anime character, which Danny knew all along, but he had no shame in at least pretending that he could have moments like those.
Post by Danny Kazuki on Sept 10, 2014 22:22:16 GMT -5
Morning settled over Lavaridge Town like a blanket fresh out of the drier, and the way the steam of the Pokemon Center’s hot springs drifted through the windows made Danny and Larry sleep in at least half an hour later than they usually did. As Larry stretched and shuffled his way out of the blankets, content and ready for breakfast, something felt amiss when the sunlight illuminated most of the room. He couldn’t place his wing on it, but the endearing lazy daze Lavaridge put him in made him sigh and shrug it off, instead hopping over Danny’s naked legs so he could plant himself firmly on his trainer’s face. If Danny had a choice, he’d choose to sleep in as late as the cosmos would let him. It wasn’t always like that, especially when he was a rambunctious kid that had to be put to sleep with a few sips of alcohol, parenting tips courtesy of his mother, but now he was a man that could stay up late and appreciate all the z’s he could catch.
Waking up via bird suffocation was always a lovely event, by the way.
Danny despised Larry’s methods, but thanks to Larry’s persistent discipline, Danny was well-trained to accommodate all of Larry’s needs. Once Larry was given a morning snack to tide him over, Danny promptly shuffled back into the blankets like a beat up worm, groaning as his tucked his head under the pillows to preserve what sleep he could get. It wasn’t until the rest of his Pokefamily impatiently popped out of their balls out of hunger, and save for Larry, they grumbled and ripped the blanket clear off the bed in an attempt to wake him up. ”Mmm…guys. Just 5 more minutes. I never get to sleep, so c’monnnn…” He hugged the pillows even tighter to his ears, whining and moaning until Moe forced him out of bed with a hasty Whirlwind. <Sleep is for the weak, ya Slaking prick.> Gawain stepped on Danny’s back for good measure, digging his heels as deep as he could, making Danny’s back pop and crack as Danny flailed and scrambled away in pain. ”Pain! Pain…ow. Ow. My back—ow. Why me? Why can’t you be cute and sweet like Leeroy and Kay? “ While he had to admit that his back felt awfully refreshed after having so many bones cracked at once, nothing stung worse than being humiliated in front of the ones he craved respect from.
<Uh, you forgot me. I’m cute and sweet too. Right, guys?> Aph figured that it must’ve been a sleepy blunder on her trainer’s part, but as she forced a smile and flashed her sweetest pose, the way Danny’s older teammates backed away in horror was far from a blunder. <Danny knows I’m cute. See?> Of course she was cute, she thought, knowing that even her disappointed pout could rival the heart-pounding adorable nature of a horde of puppies. In an attempt to make a point, the Emolga jumped splat into the center of Danny’s chest right as he was trying to get dressed. Before he could he even get both of his legs into his pants, Aph affectionately nuzzled against his chest in an attempt to regain the spotlight as the family’s cutest team member. Normally this would be a good plan despite her odd choice in timing, but in her haste, she couldn’t help but show the extent of her love and excitement by sparking on contact, effectively stunning a half-clothed Danny.
It was pretty handy having a Tropius with the Harvest ability around, because the moment Moe bestowed the few sweet banana fruits to his teammates, fresh fruits were able to regrow within minutes. It helped keep the nip of a growling stomach at bay while Danny flopped against the floor with a pained groan, still tired, hungry, and embarrassed from not being able to put his pants on thanks to a surprise Nuzzle. Moe’s fruits were good for tiding everyone else over at least, but the moment the Nuzzle’s effects wore off, Danny wrestled his clothes back on and got everyone settled down with PokeCenter grub, fresh out of the kitchen. He had a feeling that Moe’s fruits were going to get old, so while Moe’s efforts were appreciated, he made an effort to make sure that everyone had a little variation in their diets. ”So guys…I’m thinking this’ll be our last day in Lavaridge.” Still chewing a granola bar as he unfolded a map of Hoenn, he could hear everyone’s disappointed sighs before he had the chance to even finish his sentence. ”Not that we won’t come back, because c’mon, I like this place as much as you guys do, but we’ve got places to explore. Like here!” His finger landed square on Mt.Chimney, which was right next to Lavaridge Town, or at least the map made it look like a short journey. Larry hopped onto the map in order to get a better look at their next goal, but he was practically hiding it from the rest of the group, prompting Danny to shove him away as he continued with their game plan.
”Mt.Chimney isn’t just your everyday mountain though. We’re dealing with an inactive volcano over here, and I heard that if you look hard enough, you can find a bunch of caves that let you go inside of it. Pretty cool, huh? I mean, I hope it’s inactive. I heard it hasn’t erupted for over a century, so we’re probably gonna be safe. Probably.” Nodding to convince himself of the safety of this trip, he glanced back up to see how the rest of his team was taking the news. His little Froakie seemed confused at the concept, and Larry was as neutral as ever when it came to traveling plans, but everyone else looked absolutely terrified at the suggestion. Moe and Gawain especially, since they weren’t exactly built to withstand that kind of heat. ”It’s gonna be hot, but it’s not like we’re skinny dipping in lava. Should be fun though, right? I bet we could go in super deep and and and have like a… like uh…one of those Youtube documentaries! My phone has a camera, but guys, just think of what we could find down there.” He doubted that there was any sort of treasure existing in a volcano, of all places, but the thought of digging deep into scary hot mountain was as appealing as a calendar full of models in swimsuits. He was so game for this. Of course, one look at his team told him that no one was ready to make the trek inside Mt.Chimney without a little training, but he had some ideas on how to work on that. A couple Google searches introduced him to some helpful HM and TM moves that would make this journey easier, and he had a feeling that with a little practice, this wouldn’t be as hard as everyone made it out to be.
Until then, he decided to make the most out of his last peaceful day in Lavaridge by hitting up the fun spots in town. With Kay the Froakie and Leeroy the Lilipup keeping up with his brisk pace, the trio stopped by a small PokePark around the edge of the town, giving younger Pokemon a chance to run and climb all over a wooden playground while their trainers sat to the side. Honestly, he could imagine Aph and Larry making themselves merry in a place like this, but he could only handle so many Pokemon at once, so they had no choice but to chill in their Pokeballs until he could switch it up. While Leeroy and Kay were engrossed in a game of tag with a friendly Zigzagoon and an energetic Torchic, Danny wasted no time in starting up a conversation with the few trainers that looked as if they appreciated the company.
”Did you hear about the strange Pokemon that’s been hanging around the local hot springs?” Twirling her pink hair around her fingers, a doe-eyed coordinator glanced over everyone’s reactions, reveling in their interest by leaning even closer to them with a polite smile. ”You haven’t? Boy, you people sure need to get out more often.” She leaned back in order to take out a flashy pink camera coated in Pikachu stickers, and as Danny and his chatty younger friend tried to sneak a peek at each passing image, the girl stuck out her tongue and cupped the camera with her hand until she landed on the right picture. ”Well, lucky me happened to have my camera out when I last went to the springs. I’m pretty sure this is the Pokemon they’re talking about. Whaddaya think, fellas?” Her hand firmly planted her camera into the picnic table to keep the boys from prying into her private photos, but the screen was large enough to give Danny and his freckled friend a good enough view. Shame that the view wasn’t what she was making it out to be; the image was blurry, as if it was caught in the motion of the moment, and the steam shrouded the red Pokemon’s form.
”So…what are we looking at, Charlie? That could be anything.” A freckled, curly haired boy crossed his arms at the sight, not finding the image or the story all that impressive. ”Yeah, for all we know, that could be a man in a lobster suit practicing his horror movie skills.” Danny piped in, although he wasn’t about to totally discredit the pretty lady’s story.
”Wha--? No. No, it’s definitely a Pokemon. This thing flew off before I could take more pictures of it. I think the camera flash scared it off. How many lobster suits are in your world anyways, Danny?” Cocking an eyebrow as she slowly brought her camera back to her bag, Danny laughed and waved away her comment as if she had him totally misunderstood. ”Never enough, sadly. But I’m just saying-- that picture is about as vague as it gets. If you didn’t include the rumor, my imagination would be going all over the place.” He blamed his adventures in the indoor hot springs from keeping these beautiful stories away from his attentive ears, but as he listened to his new company banter back and forth about the photo, he was able to pick up on a few key details about the story. Freckled kid that he forgot the name of said something about not seeing anything about it online, to which their rumor spreading friend retorted about how hot off the press this news was, that it barely had time to spread.
”Sounds like you’re chasing after the Loch Ness Lobster to me. It’s just a fake. A big red lie in disguise. I give you credit though, pinkie, it’s a cool lie.” He might’ve had his gullible moments, but it wasn’t uncommon to see hypes over unidentified Pokemon on the forums, and after falling for it once, he had every right to be weary. The trio continued to chat about the story for a few more minutes until it switched to famous trainers that happened to be hanging around town, to which Danny persisted that he was the best of them all, regardless of his whopping zero badge count. Danny’s lips twisted back into an all-knowing smirk as topics were batted between the three in playful jest. He laughed when they laughed, he leaned close like them when things got interesting, and like them, he proceeded to scream when a wild Swellow flew by and dropped a wet one on the table. The surprise present was enough to cut the rest of the interaction short, but not before catching a few emails in order to stay in touch with some talented Hoenn trainers. They were an interesting duo, and even if they weren’t nearly as cool as he was, they seemed to know more about Pokemon than he did. That was the good thing about having a colorful social network—people liked you and did favors for you, and he while he wasn’t the biggest fan of reciprocating those favors, the system worked.
Now he had to get down to business. Right now, Lavaridge was fueled by the recent rumors about some alien Pokemon haunting one of the local springs. Of course he was skeptical about all of it, but it sounded fun, and that’s what mattered. ”Kind of sad how the real picture looks faker than anything I could Photoshop. Should I do it? Oh, Danny. You Budew. Why would I contribute to something so weak?” No matter how he tried to talk himself out of it, Danny was already on top of the playground slide, laptop open and alive with light as he furiously tapped various images of Lavaridge onto the screen. Curious at the commotion, Leeroy and Kay hopped around the stairs and huddled around him in the hopes that this was all part of an intricate game. ”A little space, guys? C’monnn…” Even a gentle shove wasn’t enough to keep these persistent kids off his back, and eventually he had to settle with a Lilipup fighting for space on his lap with his computer and a Froakie breathing right in his ear. They didn’t get what was going on, but they watched in awe as Danny edited a picture of a man in a Crawdaunt suit near one of the springs. With the help of a few image editing tools, he was able to keep the image blurry and vague enough to make it difficult to tell what was going on in the picture.
”Hello, mystery monster. How’s it look, guys? Think it’s legit?” If you asked him, it could use a little work, but he could only do so much with all of these distractions buzzing around him. But right now, he was asking his adorable companions, and their confusion wasn’t the most encouraging response. Maybe if they weren’t goofing around on the swing set, they would’ve caught the whole story from his little chit-chat with the group, but they didn’t, and they only saw a blob of red swimming in the water. Danny found it hilarious enough because if you happened to know your internet memes, you could easily spot the familiar details in the costume that made the image scream ‘fake’ at the viewer. As long as he shared this with people that weren’t in the know, this idea sounded like gold. Giddy at the thought of engulfing himself in the fresh excitement of a local hype, he kicked himself down the slide with a gleeful giggle. Kay and Leeroy could only cling in horror until he stood up with his laptop in the air, holding it up like some kind of savior fell from the sky and blessed him with his creative genius. ”Zing!” Quickly retreating his precious laptop to the safety of his heart, he closed it up and held it tightly against his chest; eyes darting around on the off-chance that some suspicious entity was plotting to steal his valued prize right out of his hands. ”New plan, guys. We’re adding to the fire. Let me just print a few of these bad boys out, and then we watch the world burn. Gossip train, all aboard! Leeroy, you’re the caboose.” Kay was still clinging to his neck, practically strangling him as he motioned for Leeroy to trail behind him. Not that he minded if Leeroy passed him up, but the Lillipup could barely keep up with Danny’s pace when he had such tiny legs to move around with. Leeroy could only yip and yap in protest as his trainer bolted through the town, speeding towards the local library so he could print his precious pictures out without too much suspicion.
Overflowing with energy like a shaken up bottle of Dr.Pepper, papers were pinned around town, and Danny’s mouth rapid fired stories to anyone who was willing to listen to him. It wasn’t much, but he figured that with a little nudge, he could rustle the rumor pantaloons and see what came out of it. It was a harmless enough ruse, and throughout the wild escapade, Leeroy and Kay’s disappointed expressions followed him everywhere. They didn’t get what the excitement was all about, and they didn’t care. But they did get to explore a good portion of the town while Danny zigzagged around in a social frenzy, occasionally eavesdropping to see if the story would progress even further. His sneaking abilities must’ve been at a low level, because the moment he got close enough to listen in, people suddenly stopped what they were doing and walked away in hushed tones.
How scandalous.
Eventually he grew bored of the whole thing and eased his fatigue away at the Pokemon Center’s hot springs, even allowing the two youngsters to tag along after the huge work out they got from all of that playing and chasing. The bath cleaned the sweat right off of him as he dipped the rest of his head into the water, occasionally blowing bubbles to keep himself entertained as Leeroy and Kay started to doze on the warmth of the sun-bathed rocks. Sleep was threatening to take him away as well, but not before picking up on some small talk across the spring.
”Hey, you know those Lavaridge rumors going around? Apparently this thing’s been spotted in other places.” One cheerful boy’s voice sang to Danny’s ears, telling him all the things that he wanted to hear. Whoever he was talking to sounded a little older, but they were still kids in Danny’s book.
”Get out. No way. It’s totally a hoax, dude. That thing is just some weird fetish suit.” The voice scoffed, much to Danny’s amusement. At least some people kept their wits about them each time some random story blew up online.
”Really? Looked real to me. There’s a lot of pictures out there, apparently. It’s gotta be something.”
The two voices trailed off as the sliding doors to the Pokemon Center parted, welcoming them inside as a soft air-conditioned breeze tickled Danny’s cheeks. He quickly dived back into the springs to shake it off, but the gossip stayed on his mind. Even if this sounded as hoaxy as a hoax could possibly hoax, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was some degree of truth to all of it. Something was out there; whether it was a Pokemon, an illusion, or a questionable human being, there was some good explanation for all of this. The mystery made him squirm around in his spot, blowing bubbles even faster as his leg bounced up and down, thinking the situation out until he finally relaxed and leaned into the edge of the spring.
Yeah, he was totally going to get to the bottom of this.
