[FIN] Up to Serve

[BlackFireKitsune]

The manner in which he spoke, coupled with his lowering enthusiasm, might've served to subdue her manner as well - except it was almost as if he was talking about Grande Ile and her own situation. "Me too!" She exclaimed abruptly, hands raised in fists in her excitement, but upon realizing that she lowered her hands as her cheeks reddened a little. "I mean - I'm from Grande Ile, and no one trains pokemon there unless they're for the military, and people only have pokemon as pets. No one battles or trains there or anything, so I just had a Rapidash I rode and never trained or battled until I came here, and my friends told me about pokemon training. I hadn't ever battled before, ah," when was it again? "Never before last year. It doesn't matter if you came from a place that didn't put an emphasis on pokemon - I haven't heard of ace trainers before, but I think you could be the best one if you tried!"  

[Suudonym]

"Ooohh!" he exclaimed. "That sounds like where I'm from! But I'm from Japan. I have a Hawlucha; we couldn't battle because there were no other trainers, but we practiced volleyball together to get stronger and faster!" He compressed for a moment, his shoulders raised, fists clenched, and eyes screwed shut as if barely containing himself, and then all at once he released his explosive excitement, springing upwards. "Yeeaah! I'm gonna become the best ace trainer there is, just you wait!" As he settled upon the ground again, a short laugh accompanied his wide smile, "But first I guess I'm gonna eat dinner! I'll find that video too! It was fun playing with you, Nicolette--" He stumbled through the name, nearly biting his tongue. "S-Sorry! Um, do you have a nickname? Your name is pretty, but I think I'm going to mess it up a lot!"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Ohh, Japan? I've never been there before," she said, eyes widening a little and suddenly finding herself wanting to go and visit it, to see what it was like. What was a Hawlucha, though... She made a mental note to look it up later. His sudden spring upwards startled her and she took a step back, her expression one of surprise for a few moments before it morphed into quiet amusement and contentment. "Yes; you can't become an ace trainer on an empty stomach, after all. Oh, I can't wait to see that match, too!" His comment about her name, though, left her momentarily flustered. "Oh! Thank you -- sorry -- um," her hands rose to cover her cheeks both as a reflex but also to try and hide the blush blooming across them, "I don't really..? But, if my full name is too much trouble for you, you can think of a nickname for me instead if you'd like," she suggested, hoping that would be all right. What few nicknames she had were all given to her and used by family, and thus were almost entirely in French; giving him one of those likely wouldn't have been any better than her full name.  

[Suudonym]

As he was prompted to think of a nickname, he folded his arms and furrowed his brow in thought. The first thing that came to mind was distinctly Japanese-sounding; he supposed that probably wasn't a great choice, given how the region's language was English. How did English-speaking people shorten names, anyway? "Theenn... Nicky?" he hazarded.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The blush on her cheeks faded as he spent some time thinking it over, and at the suggestion, she lowered her hands a little and clasped them together in front of her chest. "Nicky?" She echoed, trying it out for herself. "Nicky. I like it," she decided at length, her small smile widening. No one outside of her immediate family used a nickname for her, and even in her family it was an uncommon occurrence. This was actually a little exciting.  

[Suudonym]

Shoyo beamed, "Then Nicky!" He crouched in front of the Lopunny that had taken up the volleyball, "Can I have that back? Next time I'll bring two!"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Nicky - oh yes, she liked it very much. None of her other friends had ever called her by a nickname - not that any of them had ever asked, and not that she'd ever suggested it - and so it felt kind of special.

Pascal held the ball tighter as he eyed Shoyo but, prompted by the promise of having his own next time, the Lopunny huffed dramatically and offered the ball back. Now he'd have to find something else to play with...  

[Suudonym]

He gave his thanks as the ball was returned, rising back up to his full height and beginning to moving in the direction of the park's bike rack. He waved an arm in broad arcs, "Okay, see you next time, bye-bye!"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

His farewell brought her out of her reverie, and she responded in kind after a moment, offering him a wave, a smile, and a cheerful, "It was so much fun playing with you! Bye!" Pascal offered a more subdued wave as Nicolette pulled out a pokeball and released Epona near a bench, using the seat as a stepping stool to mount her Rapidash. Once she was settled, her Lopunny hopped up behind her, not wanting to be left behind or to try and keep up on his own.