viiru2alert | nine (video/text) ♊ there's a power inside you and a battle to be won

[The feed turns on today to reveal one (1) nice, idyllic scene of the clearing in front of Azalea Forest. The sun is shining, (what's left of) the trees are rustling, and a bunch of Pokémon in the grass are beating the tar out of each other. ...No, wait, they're just playing. There's a lot of mis-aimed attacks and a fair bit of ear-biting, but the shrieks of pain from the other Pokémon are halted when the offending ear-biter gets levitated into the air and shaken around a little. Sollux's team is composed of five right now, four ickle babbies and one nearly-level-100 Claydol overseeing the shenanigans. (It is the one levitating the Pokémon who try foul play, of course.) An Eevee and Combee are facing off in one corner, and a Yamask and Shiny Mienfoo in the other, but shortly after the video begins that whole scene begins to deteriorate as it turns into a four-mon free for all. The Claydol apparently has no problem with this.]

CY, behind you! Pay attention!

[At Sollux's intervention (shouted from behind the PokéGear), the Combee known as Crystal flies upwards just in time to avoid a flying tackle from the Eevee, who spits angrily at her before lunging for someone else. We turn away from that delightful visage to a shot of Sollux, holding the Gear in one hand and a very strange Badge Case in the other. 'Strange' in the sense that the first two slots are filled with the Zephyr and Hive Badge, cuts directly to the Fog Badge, and then the Mineral Badge, and then a Kanto Volcano Badge all alone at the bottom.]

Remember, kids, sequence breaking is not cool. It makes for a lot of running around and embarrassingly easy wins later on. [He shuts the case and tosses it in his bag, ignoring the thrashing Yamask trapped in the air behind him. And yes -- you really don't want embarrassingly easy wins. Good way to get judged by the locals, those.] So anyway, yeah, new Badge get. I already swept the floor with Bugsy, though, so while everyone else is in Azalea I'm just hanging around. Looking at the Gear this morning, it looks like a bunch of you have your minds occupied with the Johto holiday dedicated to your weird-ass monoquadrant form of relationships. But for those of us who don't look gooey-eyed at anyone [Sollux has never been good at hiding his denial] what are the rest of you planning to do this Valenti--goddammit, NA, control yourself for thirty seconds, won't you?!

[He drops the Gear on the ground and runs over to the ruined scene behind him, where Naginata (the overly-ambitious Eevee) has now sunk her claws a bit too hard into Crystal's wings, and one of them has been torn into ribbons. After freaking out and shouting a few words that should never, ever be said in front of young Pokémon, Sollux storms back over and turns off the Gear.]

[That night, an anonymous text message pops up on the Network. Anyone who tries to respond will get no reply.]

Psst. Who's sticking around in Goldenrod after the breeder con? Probably a lot of you. Noontime, February 17, on top of the Goldenrod Department Store. PFC, Egg-watching services available.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ She's not sure if he wants to talk to her right now but whatever. ]

Do you need any help? I just got off work. Oh, and also...

Congratulations, Sollux!! That leaves three to go. Well, two? I'm not sure if Dirk is going to challenge or not. And next time I'll probably have a dress?

[ not touching the Valentine's topic with at en foot pole right now. ]

...AA, I've had the Hive Badge for ages.

I got it the first time I swung around Azalea.

[ Sollux your badge order makes absolutely no sense. ]

...At least now I know which ones you have?

[It really doesn't. He kind of followed Karkat and Vanitas vaguely around for a while, but after that... eugh.]

Zephyr, Hive, Fog, Volcano, Mineral. Whoop-de-fuckin'-doo.

[ Can you blame her for getting confused? ]

I think you're winning in our travel group so far! If this were a game, which it's not.

No shit I'm winning, I've been the longest here.

[Wow he's being really receptive to conversation today, wonder why that is.]

Sooo does that mean you're going to give me tips on the other gyms you've beaten?

[ Aradia chooses to believe she's finally convinced him talking to people won't make him melt. ]

If you want.

[Go ahead and name your Gyms, but he's going to deliver them in the same curt, perpetually-angry tone he's using now.]

Well, Mineral would be closest...

[ ...She's still not sure what to do about the angry, so she's. Trying not to step on his toes, but she doesn't want to ignore him. ]

Jasmine was a PAIN. IN. THE. ASS.

[That was. Loud.]

Bring a whole lot of types to trump her. [He stops to think about what her team actually was.] Magneton is Electric too, so I guess find Ground, but only if you can negate its Levitate first. It goes down real easy after that. Uh, fuck... she has a Steelix, which is Ground, I think? Ground or Rock. Either way, Water gets it. Also Skarmory, I tossed Water at that too because who the hell's ever looked at the type information for a Skarmory? It looked Flying. Oh, and, over-train like crazy too. Five levels above her minimum or else your life is really, really gonna suck.

[All delivered with the same expression.]

[ whoa did not expect that, you're not supposed to be Karkat-level-loud, Sollux. ]

Steel and ground. Skarmory's flying and steel, I think? [ She...has looked up type information on them. To be fair she has a Steelix and Jake has a Skarmory, so it was completely out of the blue.

Okay, even her determined cheerfulness is beginning to wear thin. She's just looking put out instead of calling him on it just yet. ]

[Sollux makes a noncommittal noise and shrugs.]

[He's been waiting with a kind of sick fascination for the day that Aradia begins to lose steam. It's just a shame he can't enjoy it like this.]

Do you not want me to talk to you anymore?

[ Welp, her turn to snap at him, although that took a good long while. ]

You're welcome to stop responding at any time.

...If you don't want me to talk to you, I won't. I'll ask Jake to take over any of the PFC stuff that you'd need me for.

I'm sorry for bothering you.

[There's a couple of chuckles on the other end following the claps.]

Congratulation. As for plans, I make them as I go.

Look, it's not my fault that my Pokémon is a little bitch.

[There's an indignant screech from somewhere off to the side, and Sollux turns away and screams "YEAH YOU" before returning to the call.]

That's what I do too, pretty much. I anticipate this year is going to be spent setting up for Breedcon, but you never know.

They all have a strange way of playing.

Are we talking about pokemon or humans?

Yeah, but most of them can play without making their Trainer high-tail it to the goddamn Pokémon Center after an hour and a half.

[Another look offscreen.]

Pokémon, I guess?

nine (video/text) ♊ there's a power inside you and a battle to be won

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