ten (text/action) ♊ this is the dance of the pokémon advance!

[viiru2alert]

[Early on the morn of the seventeenth, this anonymous text message appears on the Network:]

PFC. Since I haven't heard anything about stopping the meeting in light of that rampage at the Department Store, it'll still be happening. Just be ready to move somewhere else if they tell us to; I'd say Route 35 would be a good place. So yeah, if you like Pokémon battling, come on up to the top of Goldenrod Depot in a few hours.

[And a few hours later, lurking on the rooftop of one Goldenrod Department Store is a kid with stupid glasses who seems more interested in his Pokégear than anything else. But that's really because people haven't showed up yet!! There's not a lot to suggest that there is even a thing still happening here, to be honest, no banners or anything. He... didn't really put in much effort to get snacks or anything, because there are vending machines right over there, and all the money people win can totally be used for food! ...And for the people who lose, they should have brought more money.]

[There's gonna be two subthreads below: mingling and battling. If two characters meet and want to duke it out, one of them should make a new thread under the battling comment, just to keep it neat.]

Comments

MINGLING

[viiru2alert]

BATTLING

[viiru2alert]

[islandshore]

[When Riku arrives, he arrives with style.

That is to say his big ol' Charizard swoops down over the roof, and he leaps down, landing flat on his feet.

Flare then parks himself next to his trainer. Sure, the setup's... basic at best, but hey. He can work with it.

Also, he's wearing a white armband, though there are a few other buttons including a black, green, and teal. Y'know, on the off chance he wants to train his Salamence, shiny Charizard, Kingdra, and Druddigon. Not like he can't fly to the PC to swap rosters.]

[anabottleofcola]

[Bobbery and his team land on the roof from the stairs, and push into the scene with a stubbornness. His Sealeo hauls and thrusts herself along at his side with each step her trainer takes. The Raticate bristles and sniffs and glares at every other Pokémon whose face meets his. The Prinplup waddles behind looking intense, and the Wingull, as poised as she can.

This charge that they had has been hanging with them since the Valentine's Day rampage, especially since they'd recovered from the certain whoopin' they'd all gotten from the three in the Department Store. What a failure it had been in every sense, and every bit as much of a motivation to make the most of this. A fantastic training opportunity, for starters, build up competence, readiness, that they were clearly capable of but so far behind on - but also with any luck a place to find some respectful, fair, and friendly competition.

Bobbery's wearing his armband plainly, yellow and thinly embroidered with a black anchor, onto which is pinned four simple circles, two yellow for the Sealeo and Raticate, two orange for the birds.]

[friendyousohard]

[Armband, check. Black with one pink and one teal button on it.

Pokemon, check.

Collection of healing items for in between battles, check.

And that was really all one needs for a meeting like this. Twilight's eyes are practically sparkling (heh) as she flies down onto the roof on the back of her loyal Dragonite. Immediately upon landing she hops off and begins looking around to see who else is arrived, but it looks like she's pretty early. Well, that's no problem. Time to get a few drinks for herself and her team and wait to see who else shows up.]

[viiru2alert]

[...Okay, that was impressive.]

[Sollux kind of had to stop what he was doing and stare at the entrance. There wasn't much of a setup at all, actually, and he never intended for there to be; this was a thing that could be hosted anytime, anywhere. And besides, there was kind of a giant rampage on the store a few days ago. So he didn't really want to step on any toes in case they got booted out. Still, he walks over to Riku, grinning.]

So how long've you been practicing that?

[viiru2alert]

[Got stuck in the rampage? Ouuuuch. Sollux was still traveling to Goldenrod at that point, so he was busy setting things up in the hotel with everybody else; but hey, that team didn't look too worse for wear. In fact, Sollux couldn't even tell they had gotten their asses handed to them at all. Signs of a good Trainer? Definitely. Sollux's own team went thusly: two Lv100s, one Lv95, and three 30-40s, which meant a yellow band with two white and one black pins on it.]

You're all looking motivated.

[viiru2alert]

[Look at all the effort put into this meeting, Twilight. Look at it all.]

[...yeah there really wasn't much.]

[Don't mind the yellow armband of the Trainer now walking up to Twilight as she waits for her drinks to come out of the machine; that's just his weak team, as one can tell by the two white and one black pins on it. But really, he seems much more interested in the Pokémon she rode in on.]

That's a Dragonite, isn't it?

[islandshore]

[When Sollux wanders over, Riku shrugs, placing one hand against his hip. Flare, in the mean time, snorts and gives a quick wave in greeting. 'sup, dude?]

Oh, about two years, give or take a few months.

[Could've been worse. At least he didn't dive from Flare onto his Pidgeot like he did one time.]

[islandshore]

[Well, it won't be hard to miss this dude with his trusty Charizard in tow and---

BaaoOOOOOoo!

Oh. Oh, boy. That'd be his skinny, big-winged Dragonite trudging over, raising an eyebrow and Spike and Twilight. Who is this? Why do they have another Dragonite? There's only room for one awesome Dragon in this--

...cue Flare dragging him off to the side while Riku approaches.]

Fancy seeing you up here.

[viiru2alert]

[Waving at the Charizard. No big deal.]

I bet they have a professional Pokémon-diving team around here somewhere you could join.

[friendyousohard]

[Well, nice to meet the creator of this little group in person. Twilight gives Sollux a little wave of greeting as he walks up to her, smiling and gathering up lemonades and sodas.]

Yep. Spike, say hello.

[The Dragonite gives a cheery little wave, grinning kind of dopily at Sollux.]

Spike here was my starter, and he's still my right-hand Pokemon. It's hard to find a Pokemon more adaptable and powerful than a Dragonite, and I've always gotten along well with dragons at that.

Nice to meet you in person, by the way.

[friendyousohard]

[Okay she totally expected him. She turns to Riku with a wave, which Spike mirrors at Flare and Draco, looking like a complete dope.]

I thought it would be a good chance to see how they've progressed, depending on the challengers we get. Right now it looks like we're pretty deserted, so here's hoping things pick up.

[She tosses Spike a lemonade, which he happily opens and starts to chug.]

I hope the roof's strong. I wouldn't want to have Sapphire break anything.

[viiru2alert]

Good to hear. I just bought a Dratini egg at Breedcon, and I heard they were pretty kickass, so I just wanted to make sure. [And he casually just checks out that dragon for a moment.]

[So cool.]

Yeah, you too. In case you couldn't tell by the symbol [that Gemini glyph on his shirt in the same color as his text], I'm Sollux.

[friendyousohard]

Thought so. And in case you've forgotten my face, I'm Twilight Sparkle. Twilight's fine.

[Twilight tosses Spike a lemonade, and the Dragonite immediately twists off the top and starts drinking it down.]

I'm about done here if you want any, I just figured I'd treat them before the fights start. It looks like that might be a while, judging by the amount of people here.

[islandshore]

Well, that would be one other thing to add to my resume, I guess. Kinda hard to juggle that on top of running a business, though.

[Still, it'd be cool to see people use Pokémon for alternative activities like that. Much as he loves battles, there's loads of potential for other tricks as well.]

[islandshore]

Yeah, same here. Draco's been itching for a serious fight, and I've thought about heading back to the center and grabbing a few rookies to test out.

[Flare's fast enough that it'd probably only take a few minutes. Right now, though? He's packing a full team of powerhouses.

And, heh. Seeing Draco huff at Spike's lemonade, Riku's gonna go ahead and grab one for his bratty dragon. Chill, bro.]

[friendyousohard]

Yeah, it would be a good chance to get some practical experience for the lower-levels. I probably couldn't do a full six-on-six like that, though. Three-on-three or four-on-four, maybe.

[She chuckles and motions to her armband.] Exactly the same problem I have with my higher-ups, point of fact.

[Spike just watches with that dopey grin on his face, just totally chilling. Practically looks like a stoner.]

[viiru2alert]

Nah, I stocked up already, keep 'em.

[He tugs on his backpack. Totally stocked.]

Well, you could always just fight people with the Pokémon you have on hand. If there wasn't enough turnout for a tournament that's what I was going to suggest.

[timelymaid]

[ The original message did promise egg-sitting services! Aradia's pretty content to play that part for anyone toting around wares from the con for whatever reason; she's got her Chandelure out and about to help with that - free egg warming services while you're here, too. She's set up off on the sidelines, and will cheerfully greet anyone she recognizes.

Although she looks perfectly content to play sitter, she's also got an armband; purple, with one teal patch and two green. It's also got a few decorative skulls courtesy Kanaya, because of course. ]

[friendyousohard]

Well, that's the club in a nutshell, isn't it? Sounds reasonable enough. Think there's enough room up here if several fights break out at once, though?

[friendyousohard]

[Wandering over from the vending machine, a cheery and dopey-looking Dragonite waves at the admiral and his team, beaming as he chugs a lemonade. His trainer walks up behind him.]

Whatcha up to, Spike? Oh, hello! [She smiles as she notices Bobbery, waving at him with an arm boasting a black armband with one pink button and a teal one.] Did you just get here?

[viiru2alert]

I think there is. And if not, we can always just relocate.

[viiru2alert]

Guess it would. [He chuckles.] How's that business going, huh? Did you ever get a Kanto version of the con?

[friendyousohard]

Yeah, that's always a possibility. Might be necessary, too, if people start bringing out the heavier Pokemon. Like my Snorlax.