[PRP] An Unexpected Meeting

[Kadota-banchou]

TawnyAngel

The path that led between Camphoreon and the Eastern Trainer Center wasn't terribly well-traveled at this hour of the morning. Usually, Kadota wouldn't even be on it at this time. But a rumor that a batch of sweet rawst berries had just ripened not too far from the trainers' center meant that he was up earlier than usual for their morning training session, on the behest of his very-curious Pokémon.

They'd left his apartment not long after the sun had just started to streak the sky with red, and it had only just put in a full appearance over the horizon as they took the right-hand turn into a deeper patch of woods. Not far past the big rock, hm? Kadota thought to himself, eyeing the enormous chunk of granite they'd just passed by. Well, there were a number of large rocks, so hopefully this was the right one. His Hawlucha and Togetic fluttered ahead, fueled mostly by Dart's continual insistence on being first to do anything, and Georgia's instinct to keep the troublemaker out of too much trouble. Not one to be left out, Rex followed the two, though closer to Kadota's side, clearly a little miffed that as a stubby little Bulbasaur, he didn't have wings. He made up for it by apparently appointing himself "supreme grand investigator" and nosing at every single bug and shrub that came their way as if to say "outta our way, got business here."  

[TawnyAngel]

Kadota-banchou

Sitting behind one of the rocks was a Mewtwo. It was eating a sandwich and reading a newspaper, as yet completely unaware that there was company nearby.

Lovelace had had a lot on her mind recently - human related things - and her decision to start reading their news was only adding to the pile of things she had to think about. The big human had brought her several of these papers and they didn't seem to agree on very much. Some of them had seemed very sensationalized and full of pictures - one of them had been of a human female without her shirt for some reason - but the one she was reading right now was large and heavy on text. So far as she could make out it was blaming foreigners and left-wing politics for everything wrong with the world.

Lovelace made a mental note to find out what wings had to do with politics and turned the page with her mind.  

[Kadota-banchou]

TawnyAngel

<< This way this way this way ... >> Dart chattered, as he fluttered and leapt from branch to branch, sharp little eyes peering about for the promised rawst berries.

<< Slow down! >> Georgia huffed, trying to keep up with him. Surprisingly, he stopped obligingly — or no — what was it that had pinned the usually fiery Hawlucha to his latest perch?

<< Wh-wh-who is that? >> he chirped uneasily, looking down towards the ground. Unable to get a good look from where she was, the Togetic joined him, and immediately froze as well. It was a Pokémon, of that she was sure, but she'd never seen one like that before, and especially not ever one reading one of those boring newspapers. It radiated an aura of power and mental might that unnerved her. << I don't know, >> she whispered back.

Two dozen paces behind, Kadota paused. Something had changed — Dart had stopped taunting, and that was unlike him. Rex had continued forward a bit without realizing his trainer had stopped, but when he figured out he wasn't being followed, turned with a curious growl to inquire what what wrong. The dark-haired man shook his head, and moved more quickly to catch up. Maybe they found the berry patch and started in without us? He didn't think so, though — the pause had been too abrupt, and there was no little victory crow he expected from the Hawlucha.
 

[TawnyAngel]

Kadota-banchou

As she became aware of the chatter - which then promptly stopped - Lovelace looked over her newspaper at the pair of pokemon. she greeted telepathically, her 'voice' tinged a little with wariness. A Hawlucha and a Togetic, an unusual pair of companions which probably meant human involvement. Lovelace was slowly beginning to accept that not all humans were evil but it couldn't be denied that they altered the world around them, changed natural rhythms and order to better suit themselves... though that wasn't always necessarily a bad thing she supposed. Even so Lovelace remained cautious and went so far as to wrap up her sandwich and slip it back into the nearby rucksack just in case she had to make a hasty exit.  

[Kadota-banchou]

TawnyAngel

<< Good morning, >> Georgia responded, a little wary herself, though she came forward on the branch to be more friendly, and to put herself between poor uncomfortable Dart and the stranger. While they'd faced a few psychic Pokémon at the trainer centers, they weren't all that common, and this one seemed ... different. Very different. << We came to look for the rawst berries. We're not trespassing, are we? >> She didn't think they were, but maybe this Pokémon was the guardian of this place?

The Hawlucha, in distinct contrast to his usual demeanor, stayed nervously in place. <<Big psychic Pokémon,>> he murmured under his breath, more than a little worried about being squashed like a bug. A rustling of footsteps nearby announced the presence of his trainer, and he calmed slightly — but only slightly.

"Georgia! Dart!" a moderate baritone called, concern coloring its tone. It was followed up with a "saaaaur~!", before Kadota and Rex emerged into the clearing where the Pokémon were. The man took in the scene in a flash — the strange Pokémon, and his own two obviously somewhat uneasy — and then the newspaper and rucksack that obviously belonged to the other. What?! He'd never heard the like. The little plant Pokémon at his side hesitated for the briefest of seconds, then fearlessly trundled over to the Mewtwo, looking up at it with open curiosity. << Who're you? >>

Man. I guess he isn't afraid of anything. Kadota couldn't decide if Rex was completely overconfident, or just had no sense of self-preservation. "Hey there. Hope we didn't interrupt you." Hey, if it could read newspapers, obviously it was plenty intelligent.  

[TawnyAngel]

Kadota-banchou

Lovelace shook her head to Georgia. my

[Kadota-banchou]

TawnyAngel

The nervous little Hawlucha immediately launched himself to his trainer's left shoulder, and would have attempted to hide himself under Kadota's beanie if he'd had a prayer of fitting inside. "Easy, easy," the tall man reassured him. "You didn't pull anything on Miss Lovelace here, did you?" He was rewarded with a vigorous negative shake of one hooded head, though Dart squirmed around to the back of his neck as Kadota offered the strange Pokémon an open palm for a handshake.

"I'm Kyohei Kadota," he introduced himself, with a warm smile. "Good to meet you. This fellow is Dart, and I'm sorry he's acting this way. He can be a joker, and that came back to bite him when he tied an Alakazam's mustache in a knot. He's been a little nervous around psychic Pokémon ever since."

"Haw ... " The Hawlucha peered anxiously over Kadota's shoulder again. The sound was both an acknowledgement of the guilty truth of the prank, and of the the nickname. "Tic!" << You deserved it!>> came Georgia's reprimand, as if she were well-used to Dart's antics. She too fluttered down from her perch, though she landed nearby the Mewtwo, using one of the tall rocks to place her at closer to eye-level with the tall Pokémon. "Toge~tic." << I'm Georgia. >>

As Kadota wasn't entirely sure how the psychic link worked (and he certainly didn't speak Pokémon, though he could get a feel for what his partners were saying), he introduced her as well, adding, "Georgia and I have been partners the longest." "Tic!" came the affectionate response from the Togetic, confirming that trusted bond.

"SAAAAUR," came a what-about-meeeee? growl from his feet, and Kadota looked down with a wry smile. "And this is Rex, king of all he surveys. Or so he thinks." "Bul! ... bulba!" << Yeah! ... hey! >> The plant Pokémon pouted from the teasing, but nothing seemed to keep him down for long. After a moment, he flopped down to his haunches as if staking claim to his place right here.  

[TawnyAngel]

Kadota-banchou

Lovelace's tail twitched slightly with agitation, despite the human's apparently friendly manner she couldn't relax just yet especially as his pokemon had her outnumbered. The Hawlucha seemed to take genuine comfort in his presence however and that was a little reassuring at least. Whatever else he might be, he was trusted the pokemon accompanying him. she nodded, She hadn't ever met an Alakazam in person but she knew they were usually powerful, and she doubted many would enjoy having their facial hair pulled.

After a few more moments of twitchy consideration Lovelace padded towards the human and extended her hand in return, recognizing the gesture well enough even though she hadn't performed it herself before. she queried as much for something else to say as to confirm it.  

[Kadota-banchou]

TawnyAngel

There was a sheepish cheep from Dart. << I didn't think he'd get so mad.>> If the Alakazam hadn't been sleeping at the time, he'd probably never have even considered it, but the way it fluttered when he snored ... the temptation had just been too strong.

Kadota's handclasp was genuine and friendly; neither limp nor bonecrushing, but strong and solid, pointing to an internal strength of character. "Kadota's fine. Pretty much everyone calls me that." He looked around at the woods surrounding them, and would have rubbed the back of his neck in mild embarrassment, if it weren't currently occupied by a Hawlucha. "To be honest, I don't know if this place has a formal name either. People in the city just call it the woods, since it's the only one nearby. You live here?"

Okay, that was an obvious question — of course there were Pokémon who lived in the wild. Kadota knew that. But Lovelace, with her newspaper and her rucksack, certainly wasn't your average wild Pokémon, at least not from the few he'd seen.

There was a small chorus of chirps and growls of affirmation regarding the berries, and Kadota nodded as well. "That was the plan. Well, if the rumors were true, and if we weren't in anyone's way." There were things Kadota did not do, and that included stealing. A moment of realization crossed his face. "Ah — are they actually your berries?"  

[TawnyAngel]

Kadota-banchou

Sorry for the (huge) delay!

Lovelace nodded, ignoring Dart's comment because - well - she just had no idea what to say to it. she continued with a shake of her head, She was not a survivalist, nor in fact especially fond of sleeping rough like she was at the moment. It was a price worth paying for her freedom but that didn't mean it didn't get wearing. Perhaps she could understand how the appeal of a cosey cadge could win out over a desire for self determination... but again these pokemon didn't seem cadged, cowed, controlled or anything else of the sort. Perhaps she should question them a little further before they left.  

[Kadota-banchou]

TawnyAngel

(( No problem! I've been insanely busy myself.))

"Well, the rumor is that they're rawst berries," Kadota supplied. "Supposed to be ripe as of a few days ago. I'm not too sure where they are, though — " He was cut off by his Bulbasaur, who made a rumbly "saur!" noise, pointing his nose at one of the little windy paths just past the clearing they were standing in. Rex looked up at his trainer impatiently as if to say << C'mon, can't you smell them? Human noses are worthless. >> "Though Rex seems to think they're that way," he finished, with a little shrug and a smile.

"Want to come with us?" he invited Lovelace. "It's a nice morning for a walk, anyway, even if we don't find anything." Georgia offered a chirp in agreement on the invitation. Rex, meanwhile, had already lumbered to his feet and begun ambling in the direction he'd pointed out. "Whoa, wait for the rest of us, big guy." Not that Rex was going all that fast, but his overconfident attitude had led Kadota to be a bit cautious about letting him wander off on his own.  

[TawnyAngel]

Kadota-banchou

Well she did want to find out more, did she not? Lovelace replied with a nod, folding her paper up neatly and returning it to her bag. Her bag, was it now? It belonged to the big human really she supposed but she had been in possession of it for the last several months, and she had heard somewhere that possession was nine tenths of human law which sounded about right for the savage and selfish creatures.

As Rex took off Lovelace raised her brows and started after him. she translated. she asked a moment later, feeling that this was a reasonably safe line of questioning.  

[Kadota-banchou]

TawnyAngel

(( My sincerest apologies for making you wait so long for a reply! The holidays ate me like you would not believe, and I'm only just managing to find time to get back to a whole ton of things now. ))

At the translation, Kadota chuckled wryly, and shoved his hands in his pockets as he followed along. "I can't really argue with him on that count. Sometimes I think he sticks around just because he knows I have thumbs." The Bulbasaur turned to look over his shoulder and made a little face, poking his tongue out in denial of Kadota's teasing accusation, but kept stomping along doggedly towards the clearing in the distance.

Apparently Dart had decided that Lovelace was not as much of a threat as he'd initially thought, or maybe he felt more secure since Kadota was talking with her and therefore she wasn't watching him. Either way, he decided that chasing after Rex sounded more fun than cowering on the back of Kadota's neck, and he took off, swooping and play-pecking at the Bulbasaur, who growled at him and batted him lightly with a vine. Georgia fluttered after them, then seemed to conclude that it wasn't worth the effort and settled in on the shoulder Dart had vacated.

"I'm from Camphoreon, born and raised. South side, not the best part of town, but it could have been worse," Kadota explained to Lovelace, "I don't know where Georgia's from originally, but I found her at the northern trainers' center job site, when it was under construction." He reached up to pet the Togetic. She chirped happily at the attention, then told the Mewtwo with a serious face, << I don't remember much. I was really young. Just lots of white walls and no one around, then being left in the dark for what seemed like forever. >>

"She's actually the reason Dart's part of our family," the tall man added, and she nodded emphatically. The Hawlucha, hearing his name, paused in his tweaking of Rex's ear. This earned him a solid clip on the side of his head from a vine, which belted him solidly into a barrel roll, landing upside-down under a tree. He squawked and dusted himself off, as if trying to project All good here! << Had I known ... >> Georgia muttered dryly, though it was obvious that she still felt pride in the accomplishment. "She went missing for a week, and I crawled all over the city looking for her. Finally found her sitting on his egg in a run-down park in south-central."

Kadota's expression shifted to mild bemusement as he looked over at the last of his companions. "As for Rex, he's from Kanto. One of Professor Oak's research Pokémon that he nornally gives out to new trainers. I don't know why he got sent to me, though."

"Saur." << Because I'm way too much for a ten-year-old to handle. The Professor said so himself, >> the Bulbasaur said proudly. Well, that was true, as Rex remembered it, though it still shed no light on why Kadota had ended up with him. "I don't even know Professor Oak, to be honest. When I called them to find out if it was a mixup, they said it wasn't. He seemed happy enough to be here, so ... " Kadota let that recounting slide to a halt with a shrug. A soft smile crossed his face as he remembered little Rex sprawling out on his shoes, more or less insisting that this was where he belonged.

"What about you? Are you from here? Just passing through?" he asked, curiously. Lovelace was unlike any of the other Pokémon he'd met, even that rightfully furious Alakazam. Somehow in equal parts both very alien, and strangely human, she seemed to him.  

[TawnyAngel]

Kadota-banchou

No worries! XD I am likewise sorry for the delay.

So the southern areas of the city were less desirable? Or possibly only in parts? Humm, well perhaps she could find out at some point; from this human, another, a fellow pokemon, or... could she perhaps get the big human to leave her a computer? That would put her further in his debt however and that was not something she wanted.

<> Lovelace observed once the human and his- his friends? - had finished speaking. <> she added, meaning Rex but forgetting that Kadota couldn't understand him as she pondered how to answer the question that had been posed to her. <> she gestured at the woodland in general, <> In more than on sense of the word, both of which were extremely high up her priority list.  

[Kadota-banchou]

TawnyAngel

"Research? Well, I guess that explains the bag and the paper. I hope it's going well." Wow, that's something else, Kadota decided. He'd certainly never heard of another Pokémon doing scientific inquiry before. But the way she'd talked around it led him to think that she probably didn't want him prying. Sometimes it was safer not to know, anyway.

Something lit up in his eyes at the word "free", though, as if he'd heard both senses of the word, and found a kindred spirit. "Yeah, I hear ya. Probably not too pleasant in bad weather, though." He walked quietly for another moment or two, hands thrust in his pockets as he considered his impressions of Lovelace before making the offer. "You know, if you ever need to get out of the rain, you can crash at my place for a couple of days. It's not much to look at, but it's just me and them," he waved at his Pokémon, "and it's a lot dryer than being out here."

They were interrupted by a triumphant "SAUUUUR!" and an excited "HAW!" coming from the clearing ahead, quickly followed by loud munching noises. "Well, I guess they found them," he said, with a shrug and a smile. "Hopefully they'll leave us some."