[FIN] Conflict of Interest

[BlackFireKitsune]

The redhead waited patiently while Yuri considered, then he nodded his understanding. "Well, any of an Eevee's evolutions could be strong in their own right, but if you're thinking of training then I would have to suggest you get a trainer's license - it's technically illegal to train pokemon without one," he explained, then paused with a thoughtful face before he continued. "Since you already have a Growlithe, I would suggest avoiding evolving him into a Flareon, unless you prefer fire-types. It'd be much more useful to evolve him into one of the other types. A wider variety of types will help make sure you won't be easily overpowered."  

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri let out a long forlorn sigh at the suggestion of getting a trainer's license, then waved his hand dismissively.

"Yeah I know about that. Problem is I'm not really big into big organizations and their stuffy rules."

Obviously he had no idea who he was even talking to. Though even if he did, he probably wouldn't even care.

But clearly the man had a dilemma here. He wasn't even interested in training but to have strong Pokemon to protect yourself you had to train. Damn it all. There was just something wrong about that.

He then glanced at Repede, and nodded. Yeah that made a lot of sense. So that counted out one of the options anyway.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

At Yuri's reaction and response, Alder raised a brow and blinked. "The so-called 'stuffy rules' of the Pokemon League are in place to aid trainers, to make official battles fair, and to protect pokemon from abuse. As long as you aren't abusing your pokemon in their training or sending out all of your pokemon at once in a battle against a single opponent, I see no reason why you'd have to worry about those 'stuffy rules,'" he ended with a soft frown. He believed wholeheartedly in those rules that were made for a reason - to see someone dismiss them so readily was a little disheartening. Well, people were allowed to have their opinions.

While he noticed the nod between man and pokemon, he refrained from commenting or adding anything since it was obviously between Yuri and his Growlithe. If Yuri needed more advice on Eevee evolutions, he could ask - or he could look it up later when he went home. He wasn't about to stand there and spout more advice when Yuri was quite obviously thinking about it himself, so he merely stood there patiently and waited to see if the man had any other questions, and watched the Eevee in question with a quiet smile.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri looked at Alder coolly as he listened to his statements. However, if the look on his face wasn't enough to show he disagreed his words would leave no doubt.

"We'll that's nice and all," Yuri started. "But where was this League when Team Rocket stole Pokemon from three of my friends? And where were they when a Rocket beat the hell out of and nearly killed some of us not only in one of their countries but close to a stadium? And yet people have to have a piece of plastic in order to protect themselves and their Pokemon? Yeah, no thanks. I've no interest in joining something that sits by and and says all these nice things but then does nothing, until they prove to me otherwise."

Yuri's words were icy and even Repede barked his agreement, staring up at Alder stoically. Astal tilted an ear, listening with interest.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The man's obvious displeasure was painfully obvious, and all Alder could do was sigh and shake his head either despite, or because of, his words, though a certain phrasing caught his attention. Close to a stadium? "Do you mean the competition in Kanto?" He asked, brows furrowed lightly. "Were you there also?" He was just running into all of the people that were there, wasn't he? That was quite an... amazing coincidence, all things considered. Especially given the island's size.

Dropping that topic for now, he moved on to at least respond to the other's assertions. "I'm not the right person to ask," he admitted as he folded his hands behind his back, his expression a little sorrowful. "I've been in Unova, my home region, for years. I've only been in Kodo about a week or two, and technically I'm only visiting right now. If you want answers to those questions, you'd need to ask the League officials that have been stationed here for the past few years." Despite Yuri's cold words, Alder remained relaxed and calm. There were always people who disagreed, and he couldn't blame them. A thought struck him, borne of the knowledge that this man didn't seem to know too much about pokemon or training in general, and he turned to him with a curious glance, "Did you know that in most other regions, pokemon training is merely a sport? Not many people actively train pokemon for protection like they do here, where it seems to be quite common from what little I've seen." And it took very little to see the reason behind it - Team Rocket pretty much ran rampant throughout the region. People pretty much had no choice but to train their pokemon to protect themselves. Did any of the trainers here do it for the sport anymore...? Or did all of them train simply to have a little peace of mind, that they might be able to protect themselves from Team Rocket? He raised a hand to rub thoughtfully at his chin, the gears in his head turning as thoughts and ideas quickly whirled around in his mind.  

[BlackPidgeot]

"Yeah, I was," he said. "Sounds like you've talked to some of the others, huh?"

When the question of sport was brought up, Yuri sighed lightly, turning away from Alder and gesturing with one hand.

"Yeah, I know about that." He had friends that talked about it all the time and he'd been there at one of the competitions.

"Here though, it's different. Telling people that they need the permission of a league who does nothing for them, just to be able to train, is like saying they should just stand there and watch as their Pokemon are taken. You guys are no different than the military, government and police. All you care about is bureaucracy rather than helping people. Gotta go through the right channels and people just have them tell you: Sorry you have to wait until we figure it out."

Yuris anger was clearly evident by his continually cold tone. And yeah, he figured out Alder must have something to do with the League by the way he spoke.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

At that, the redhead nodded. "Yes, a few - I heard the details first from Luke." If Yuri was one of the small group who was assaulted, then clearly such a name would mean something to him.

However, he was a little surprised to hear that Yuri knew about the sport of it, since he didn't know much else. Still, it was good that he knew. Knowledge was important. "I agree; Kodo is completely different from the other regions. From what I've heard, over five years ago Team Rocket decided to pick a region in which the League had no presence, and has managed to dig itself in quite deeply during that time. It'll take a while, I'm afraid, to pull up such a stubborn weed with those kind of roots," he admitted with a thoughtful frown. Still, something about the other man's phrasing rubbed him the wrong way a little. It seemed, from his words, that not only did he dislike the League for their 'stuffy rules,' he also disliked the other organizations he named, likely for their similarly 'stuffy rules.' He had to wonder - what kind of organizations did this man like, if any?  

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri nodded vaguely, for indeed the name did mean something to him.

He certainly was good at rubbing people the wrong way sometimes with his way of viewing things. However, when Yuri spoke again his voice was less edgey.

"Yeah," he agreed for even he knew it would be no easy feat. "It's gotten so bad that some trainers have started carrying guns since they're now coming at us with firearms." Did you know that Alder?  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Are they?" He asked, his brows raising a bit in surprise, then they furrowed as he thought. "I know the Rockets that were reported in Kanto used a gun, and from what little I've read about the situations in this region, they've utilized them before..." Not that he could even hope to name any, given how little he knew about everything here and practically all of it was second- or third-hand knowledge, at best.

...wait, were these trainers even old enough to carry guns? This was definitely something to look into. Rather than comment, he raised a hand to his chin and hummed a thoughtful, "Hmmm..."  

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri waved his hand, acting as if he didn't think that was really important.

"The thing is that there are kids here that are afraid for their lives, not just their Pokemon. I dunno what the League has to say about that. Personally, I'm gonna do what I can to protect those around me whether the League likes it or not."

And that was his opinion on the matter. He wasn't going to wait for the League's permission to do something to help people.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Yuri's dismissal of the comment confused him a little, given he'd brought up the topic in the first place. Huh. Regardless, he sighed heavily and frowned, his hands folded behind his back as he considered. "I don't know what the League has to say about that either - likely that it isn't good in the slightest, and that it's something that needs to be amended immediately." It was bad enough that people here didn't feel safe, but it was even worse that they felt so unsafe they had taken up weapons with which to defend themselves.

"Well, I must thank you, Yuri, for giving me so much to think about and to consider," he said, his tones earnest. He was indeed grateful for the insight - that was why he'd been talking to various trainers on the island so far, for their insights and opinions on things, after all. "It's been a pleasure speaking with you." Alder turned to go, but paused and half-turned to add, "If you need further information on Eevee and their evolutions, I would suggest looking them up online, or going to a library. Both places should have plenty of information to help you."  

[BlackPidgeot]

Well, Yuri didn't really know about Rockets using guns before. He sure as heck knew about them using tasers though. Those things freakin hurt like hell. Plus the past didn't matter so much as the now, so that's why he dismissed it.

Still, he was at least a little bit impressed that this guy didn't completely dismiss his opinions despite not totally agreeing with them. That was respectable, so he felt nothing else really needed to be said now that Alder knew about what was going on.

"Yeah sure, and thanks," Yuri said briefly to the older man's departing words.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Alder knew nothing of Yuri's internal opinions and dismissals, and instead offered a smile and a parting wave as well as a good-natured, "Good-bye!" And with that, he turned and continued on his way, hands folded behind his back.