"The local pokemon are definitely agitated. The ekans were nesting there for several days when they usually live farther away. That mankey was in a part of the forest where no wild pokemon normally reside.
"As for Ralts, well...let's just say he was laughing at my expense last night. Surprised me with how quickly he learned Confusion and knocked me over with it to boot." Nathan and Ralts both chuckle when he says this.
"Well, how about you and Winston? I see you got yourselves a new friend yesterday." Nathan looks towards the paras, pitying it a little, but not showing the emotion at all.
"The local 'Mons getting riled is never a good sign - they're a lot more sensitive to changes in the environment than us, really. Records pointed to the local wildlife going utterly stir-crazy before Cinnabar blew itself sky high too. Wonder if it's happening with the domesticated ones as well. Could be something big is coming. Then again, could just be me misreading the entire situation too." He shrugs.
Something to ask the egg heads about, he considered.
At the mention of the Ralts learning a new move, he whistles, impressed. "Not bad... Not bad at all. Those psychic types hit like a truck. That's as much your skill as a trainer as your Ralt's desire to protect you, I suppose? Not had much fieldwork experience with that typology but the 'cops with psychic types did tend to have really good rapport with their 'Mons. I'd assume the same holds with you."
He notes the shared laugh with an inward smile. As expected. They've basically bonded.
"Winston's fine. The lug was a bit worn out yesterday after so many scrums, but he's doing much better after a night of sleep. The bug there answers to 'Moran'. Sort of. Ran into him in the wild yesterday and ended up making the capture. We're still getting used to each other at the moment, but we seem to be off to a decent enough start."
Winston tilts his head slightly at the mention of his name but remains seated, staring at the Ralts. Meanwhile, the Paras scuttles around on the floor nearby, the food bowl still clutched in one claw.
"As for me, I figured I'd wait around to see if the crew would turn up. Not for much longer though. I'm famished. Either way. Hope Shiva's able to help you with... whatever it is."
He taps the Pokedex gently. "Anyway, I'll offer you the same thing I told the Doc. You're a good trainer, but shoot me a call if you're heading out of town. With the roads looking like that, it makes sense to travel in groups. Besides. I promised the Prof I'd keep and eye on you folks, and I may not be many things, but I'm a man of my word."
"Oh, we're definitely going out of town. I doubt anyone wants to stay in dreary old Trillium much longer. Not that it was dreary at all yesterday..we all have some sort of business outside of it though. Ventus, his research, whatever it is. Shiva, the day care in Ginger Town. Me, Ralts. Well, and I have to go find and capture an escaped ponyta who doesn't seem to be content with staying on the ranch...I intend to try and take her with me, grant her apparent desire to see more than the ranch. This is hardly the first time the girl's jumped over the fences. Larry...ummmm...why's Larry here again? I honestly have no idea why he's here."
"That Ponyta making a break for it sort of proves my point, Nate."
"Anyway. It'll be good to check in on Ginger Town. Feels almost like a lifetime since I've been there and I take it you've got plans there as well."Â
He let's out a laugh at mention of Larry. "I can't read that kid... at all. He pops in and out and generally does whatever the hell he wants. Way I look at it, I don't think anything we say or do is going to change that, but if he's tagging along the journey's going to be..." He thinks for a moment, searching for the word.
"Interesting - in the Chinese sense."
"Interesting's not even the half of it. Get this: I ran into Mallorn on the way here, and he had a request for our group. If we could obtain certain 'beasts of burden,' he'd pay us well so he could use them for his business stuff. I was...rather surprised when he told me what was on his list. Tauros, rather standard. It's fast, strong, maybe a little temperamental, but otherwise reliable. Skrelp. I'm...a little baffled by that one to be honest. I don't exactly see that as a beast of burden...Dragonite. That's a tough one, but it wouldn't be the first time dragonite have been used to deliver mail, assuming one can be found that would be willing to do the job. And finally...Keldeo. Yup. Keldeo. I'm not sure that one's going to happen, for multiple reasons...for one, that would be rather demeaning for it, no?
"Also, that ponyta has been causing us and the other ponyta grief for weeks. If that's a sign of trouble, that would have to be quite a long winded one."
Vincent snorts. "The Prof is the hopeful sort isn't he? Might as well ask for Arcaeus while he's at it."
"YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TOÂ GIVE HIM ANY IDEAS."
So duely noted.
"Cranky Ponyta, huh... maybe I AM reading too much into things." He considers for a moment. "Since we look to be heading for Ginger anyway, are you taking the gym challenge?"
He realizes he hasn't put much thought into it, but if he was planning on working as a trainer, it probably wouldn't hurt. "Arcaeus knows I'm more than double the age of the kids who set out on these things, but I figure it wouldn't hurt my credibility as trainer to have a few under my belt."
"BESIDES, YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO LIVE WITH YOURSELF IF YOU LOST TO AN ORNERY FOURTEEN YEAR OLD." The phantom lurking in his mind snarks before returning to his corner.
Not wrong there.
"Might as well I guess. It's certainly one way to get stronger, right? Heh...to think I'd be following in my dad's footsteps after all...what do you think about that Ralts? Up for a challenge?"
Nathan looks over towards Ralts...and finds the little pokemon is over by Moran the paras, attempting to socialize. It didn't look like it was going overly well, but it wasn't a complete disaster. Probably. The paras hadn't scratched Ralts yet, anyways...
Nathan could only stare at the situation, wondering what the heck was going through Ralts's little head right now...maybe his pity for the paras had rubbed off on Ralts?
Ralts, like most Psychic types, has at least a tiny corner in the back of his mind that fears Bug types. But of course as a Fairy type, who has already faced some major threats, he might be rather less concerned with this shy little shroomy bug.
Moran has been eyeing the Ralts with some annoyance since it came over. Clutching the dish with both claws, it chitters as if to forcefully make a declaration it was not sharing.
"Give it a rest, little guy." Vincent grins as the Paras clacks it's mandibles at him and retreats under the table dragging the food bowl with it.
"Moran took a shining to that food bowl when I fed him yesterday and it's become his new favorite thing. He's been lugging it around with him everywhere since. Other than that quirk, he's been pretty mild mannered and well behaved for a bug."
"BASICALLY HE DIDN'T TRY TO EAT YOUR FACE WHEN YOU WENT TO SLEEP"
There's also that, yes.
"Anyway, figure you could use some help finding that Ponyta. Having it along for the ride would probably would help loads, since Zamboni's fond of ice."
He notes the look of confusion. "Yes. The Gym Leader goes by 'Zamboni'. Probably a stage name, but he's private that way. Don't know him personally, but the local constabulary has worked with him in the past. Guy's a big fan of the local festivals and goes out of his way to help. Nice fellow from what I can tell, but huge on the theatrics."
"Regardless, if we're setting out for Ginger, we might want to look into picking up food for the trip. Trillium to Ginger is a two day trek on foot, and that's murder for both you and your 'Mons on an empty stomach. Also, Prof was disposing of several old tarps at no cost yesterday, so you might want to drop by and see if you can pick up a groundsheet. It beats sleeping in the dirt for one thing."
"Moran shouldn't be worried about sharing too much anyways. Ralts and I had breakfast already."
When Vincent mentions Zamboni and helping with the ponyta situation, Nathan is glad that he'll have some help from the ex-officer. Except...
"Well, there might be one issue with helping with that ponyta. The girl is feisty. Like, REALLY feisty. She can barely stand still for five minutes if she's bored. And the ranch is apparently boring. She's probably causing trouble somewhere just outside town, just like she always does whenever she escapes from the enclosure. I can probably calm her down if we can find her, but I don't think she'll be responsive at all to anyone else. In fact, she might just decide to smack you guys around if she thinks it's fun. And there's one other condition that might cause a problem...I don't want anyone involved in the search for her to harm her in any way. The last thing I need is a disobedient ponyta who has a history of causing trouble. If we can manage it though, I'd definitely appreciate having her in Ginger Town for that gym. Pokemon battling might be just the thing she needs to remedy that troublesome streak."