[FIN] Give It Some Thought

[Blood_Goddess]

"Flareon, Umbreon, Aggron, that beautiful Pidgeot, and an Eevee." Ray lifted off after listening to his reason. "Those are the pokemon you have in your team, correct?"
He had a lot of options with his team, and especially with this Eevee, Having a water type was useful, but she knew exactly where he was coming from with the Jolteon.
"Jolteon's are really quick too, I've seen them get in an out of battles so fast it makes everyone's head spin, outside of battles, thats useful too, not to mention how small they are compared to... you're Pidgeot, or your Aggron for example."
She tilted her head, reaching out to snatch a seat from another table, and sit down in.
"Whats your concern with water though? what kind of situations have you gotten in with water?"  

[Suudonym]

He nodded in confirmation and listened to her evaluation of Jolteon. "The ability to paralyze could be useful too," he added thoughtfully, wondering if Rem would have a preference herself. "There were a couple, I guess… Someone I know got dragged underwater by a Sharpedo once, and someone else-- Dove," they'd met, as he recalled, so the name would have an association, "fell into the ocean and got trapped under a collapsed pier." Neither time had there been much he had been able to do, relying on Leste to get him close to the surface but unable to help much beyond that - though the second time he had had the recklessness to go in himself.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Stretching her mouth out at the story of Sharpido, "Oy" Those were some nasty natured pokemon sometimes, If one got you in the water, she couldn't imagine it was a very safe experience. No wonder it leaved an impression.
then Dove being trapped under a dock.
Obviously the girl was okay, or Dove wouldn't be here, and unharmed, so Ray actually let a small comedic look cross her face. "Oh man, you aren't kidding."She folded her arms on the table, looking over at the Pikachu who was sitting up tall, looking around vigilantly.
"Sounds like you made it out of those alright without water types anyway. personally I know you can't go wrong with an electric type. They're useful,"  

[Suudonym]

"It probably could have gone better though," he said, frowning lightly. If the Sharpedo hadn't suddenly decided to be friendly with Emil, and if Seraphine hadn't reacted quickly with her pokemon… "But I guess I do have another spot on my team, too." The thought of a Jolteon was an appealing one. He would have to consult with Rem about it later, though she had never seemed particularly enamored with any particularly evolutionary path.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Lifting a corner of her mouth, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back. "Yeah, you do, you've always got that slot, if you think you'll be able to devote enough energy and time in a full time, that's actually where a lot of trainers find their downfall." She shrugged one shoulder "Not saying you shouldn't do it, just be honest with yourself about how much you can, and want to take on at once."  

[Suudonym]

Another thoughtful frown. "That's true… I guess adding another pokemon to the team now might be a bit much if we're going to be working on mastering a bunch of moves from the ground up." Maybe once everyone was comfortable with the new strategies.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Snap snap clap clap followed with a sharp drumming on the table as Ray leaned up forward again "I'm pleased that you understand that, most people get so wound up in having large numbers, that they just don't consider it. Something about the league and their whole "gatta catch em all." thing." The grin that crossed her lips at this did not exactly look like she was much joking, or amused.

"Hey, mind if I see your dex for a sec?" She asked, nodding to the device.  

[Suudonym]

"I guess that's the benefit of growing up in a place that doesn't have much to do with pokemon," he said, shrugging. League-occupied regions were so different from his homeland. He looked to his pokedex as it was mentioned and pushed it across the table in compliance, "No, go ahead."  

[Blood_Goddess]

Ray shook her head "I can't imagine a life like that, so odd." she picked the Dex up with a grateful word, and started to mess with the buttons, mossy eyes glancing over to the other boy "No offense intended, I think despite that, you're making your way. I grew up with pokemon, they're second nature to me." a shrug joined the explanation.
"So I just can't imagine anything different, or want it for that matter."

She spent a good portion shifting through the dex "Man I forget how much information this thing holds. Oh hey, says here you've got a badge. Hoenn huh?"  

[Suudonym]

"Yeah, I can understand that," he said, reflecting on the words. "I don't think I'd want to go back to that kind of lifestyle now." If his father insisted on Luke taking up the position as head of the Fabre family, Parliament could look forward to hearing about the benefits of pokemon culture until they acquiesced to start adopting it.

"Yeah, we spent some time training in Hoenn a while back," he explained, "after a contest in Sandalwood was raided by Rockets. …It was a rough badge."  

[Blood_Goddess]

A shake of her head, along with a much more prideful look "damn straight! Who would want to, those little buggers get inside your soul! Arrg, they're amazing."

Ray grinned as she read over more of the information on the dex, her heavily shadowed eyes glancing up at him "Stone Badge, yeah, well that is where the benefit of a water type would really come in. Who did you have on your team at this time?"  

[Suudonym]

Though he gave a small sound of amusement in response to the vehement display of enthusiasm, he could clearly understand where that enthusiasm was coming from - not to imply that he was as enchanted by pokemon as Ray, because that was probably impossible, but still.

He thought back to the gym in Rustboro and the team he had had at the time, though his companions hadn't changed much since then. "Flareon, Aggron, Umbreon, and Pidgeot," he answered. "…Eventually I figured out that I had an advantage with steel-type moves. It was a lot easier after that." Relying on Mieu just because he was the pokemon Luke had been with longest had not been an effective strategy.  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Ah, so everyone but the Eevee." Ray nodded, showing she was following him.
It eventually lead to Luke realizing that he had a type advantage in at least one of his pokemon.
"Ahhh first badges. They're the tricky ones."

Returning the dex to the previous screen, she handed it back to Luke.
"Granted, it doesn't get any easier, they're gym leaders for a reason."  

[Suudonym]

"Yeah," he acknowledged. "None of it really seems to get easier though. Pokemon training seems like the kind of that if it's easy, you're not doing the best you can." He shrugged, unsure if the sentiment had any ground or if his own naivety was talking.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Ray replied with a slow head shake. "You hit a point though." She admitted after a pause. "After so long, some trainers refer to it as the retiring stage." Her eyelids drooped under arched brows, "It claims nearly everyone that hits that point."