♔ endgame

Bio | Headcanon | Pokemon | BFM "There's no way a person like me, someone who understands only Pokemon-- No, actually... I didn't understand them, either. The Champion has forgiven me, and... What I should do now is something I'll have to decide for myself." ((This blog is affiliated with BFM.))

[touyanaround-deactivated2014080]

A lot of folks started following you!

Oh, wow. Um… hi, everyone! It’s nice to meet all of you. I hope we can all be friends…

[misguided-king]

[ N almost waves off the familiar voice as just his imagination, the familiar face as just some trick of the light but, looking again at the boy, he knows he couldn't have just made a mistake. No, it's definitely-- ]

Touya...?

[misguided-king]

Don’t worry!

I shall ask Reshiram if he will bring the appropriate text books to us!

[rocketjaeger]

[…oh god, text books. Silver hadn’t ever read anything of the sort, he could only imagine what… wait…]

Reshiwhat? Uh, what are you talking about…?

[misguided-king]

[ Before Silver has finished asking his questions, N suddenly turns around to face the other direction, tilting his head back a little and closing his eyes. He and Reshiram are bonded; to summon the dragon, he needs only to think, "Reshiram, come to me".

There's a brief, eerie silence as he does so, but soon enough his eyes open and he whirls back around with a smile. ]

Not Reshiwhat-- Reshiram! He is... a dear friend of mine. I shall introduce him to you!

[ Reshiram happens to already be nearby; by the time N has offered to introduce him to Silver, a large white shape is visible in the sky. It's at a distance... but seems to be hurtling toward the pair at an alarming rate of speed. N points up at it cheerfully. ] There.

[freshprinceofpaaaallettown]

Hm.

[ Hearing that made him feel a little bit guilty; more often than not, Red never supplied anything interesting enough to justify any sort of happiness about meeting him. Most often he only gave short syllables of no meaning, at best. Maybe this time could be different, though. Maybe now was the time to start being interesting. However being interesting meant, exactly.

He could start with speaking. ]

Nice… [ The sound having already started to sound hoarse, Red cleared his throat. ] To meet you. Also. [ Though it suddenly occurred to him that the man had yet to give him his name. ]

[misguided-king]

[ That earned a more genuine smile from him. Red certainly was... not what N had expected after hearing all those stories, but he was still intriguing. ]

Ah... I haven't introduced myself yet, have I?

My name is N.

[ He might have said more about himself, but instead paused before asking, again with no apparent fear of prying: ] Do you have difficulty speaking? Is that why you use so few words?

[punkrocketsabriel]

"Team Rocket isn’t after pokemon like mine." Sabriel snapped back in defense. "They’re after strong and rare pokemon. Tik-Tak and I aren’t good enough to be considered worth the trouble." 

She had a little trouble listening to N’s rapid speech, but she managed to keep up.

"You’re right. It was my choice." She said as she stood up, prompting Tik-Tak to stand as well. The Doduo looked between the two, an expression of worry on its faces as it whistled softly at Sabriel. The pokemon’s quiet plea for Sabriel not to be upset were ignored as she continued.

"Isn’t that good for you. How nice it must have been for things to go so swell for you. Lucky you.” She growled. “Don’t you think I’ve tried to get some other work? Fate, or whatever nonsense you might believe in, hasn’t been so generous to the rest of us.”

Sabriel ignored N’s question about her other skills. “Come on, Tik-Tak, let’s go. We’re done here, I’m getting tired of this.” She turned from the young man whose name she never bothered to learn and began to walk away.

Tik-Tak looked at N, both of its heads lowering as it apologized. “Sorry N… Bye-bye.” Then it too turned and followed Sabriel.

[misguided-king]

"I don't know how true that is," N replied at first, still looking away from where Sabriel sat. "It's true that Team Rocket sets its sight on those they perceive to be strong, but even those they consider weak will get hurt too. They have their-- experiments that require test subjects... And they won't hesitate to dispose of Pokemon they believe to be a nuisance..."

He didn't say anything more, but did look up to face Sabriel again, glaring in silent frustration as she disregarded what, in his mind, were attempts at helping her.

A part of him did believe strongly in fate, and he didn't think that to be nonsense at all. It couldn't be that his second chance had only been given to him out of sheer luck. Still, uncharacteristically, he no longer felt like arguing. He only continued to scowl until Sabriel began to walk away, his expression softening briefly to return Tik-Tak's apologetic gaze before he turned away again.

He didn't want to follow Sabriel as she stormed off. It was pointless arguing with her anyway.

... But perhaps that was just it. Had he been arguing against her too much? He genuinely thought of her as a good person, yet he had actively rejected her perspective. The more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt... And he certainly wasn't out to make enemies.

"Sabriel," he called out, getting quickly to his feet and jogging to catch up with her. "Wait a moment...!"

[freshprinceofpaaaallettown]

[ If the question was nosy, Red didn’t seem to take notice; it was a question he heard fairly often, so by now his scale of what counted as too personal had become skewed. Although, even with the frequency he’d been asked such a thing, he never became particularly adept at answering it.

Honestly, Red had been very surprised to hear how highly others seemed to think of him the first time he’d been spoken to about it. He’d never thought what he’d done was particularly heroic; really, he’d only ever acted out of lack of other choices.

But even after he had learned of his popularity, it never deterred him from returning to Mt. Silver. Never being a fan of much social interaction in the first place, there was nothing about his apparent fans that was compelling enough to draw him back into civilization entirely. Mt. Silver was far too convenient for his own needs to be easily convinced to leave as much as he might have been expected to.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t think of a way to fit all that into one or two words, so he merely shrugged slightly. ]

[misguided-king]

[ N stared at Red expectantly for a few moments after the shrug, waiting for a better, clearer reply to be given. When none came, N furrowed his brow, perplexed. ] You... don't know why?

[ He frowned in disappointment. He had hoped to get something a little more poignant out of someone so noteworthy. Then again... maybe he was just being too hasty. He cleared his throat and attempted a smile. ]

No matter...! I suppose you haven't isolated yourself completely if you are speaking with me now. [ ... Even if said "speaking" on Red's part thus far consisted of vague gestures and one-word replies. ]

And I am happy to meet you. I thought the chance would never come. The probability of such an encounter seemed rather low, given what I heard about you.

[rocketjaeger]

[Silver opens his mouth to say that yes, math is boring, it’s also frustrating because what the hell even is it, but he holds himself in check for once. N just looks so damn happy, he… can’t bring himself to say anything. Damn it.]

[But he can’t follow N at all.]

Uh? What? Slow down already, geez.

[misguided-king]

Don't worry!

I shall ask Reshiram if he will bring the appropriate text books to us!

[freshprinceofpaaaallettown]

Yes.

[ Having apparently gotten his fill of staring in silence, this reply came at a more timely matter than the last. Now he was ready to momentarily pause his silent stares to provide stares interjected with brief syllables. It was progress. Really. ]

[misguided-king]

[ He appeared surprised for a moment, as if he hadn't expected to receive such a quick answer. ] Are you really?

I've heard people across both Kanto and Johto tell stories about you. They call you a hero. I wanted to meet the one they spoke so highly of.

But I always thought the part of the tale that involved your... sudden disappearance to be strange. Why would you choose to seclude yourself when there are so many that adore you? [ The question was meant to be an innocent one; N was genuinely curious. It didn't occur to him that he might have been prying. ]

[freshprinceofpaaaallettown]

…Red.

[ The word was sandwiched between two drawn out silences, accompanied by blank staring. It was a decent way to size a person up, he thought. …Well, this guy had a hat, Red had a hat…that was a lot of common ground already! ]

[misguided-king]

[ N narrowed his eyes and cocked his head. He didn't particularly mind the staring (he was doing quite a bit of staring himself), but those silences prompted some suspicion. Was this man really so reluctant to answer a simple question?

But then N got his answer, and something in his mind clicked. ]

Red. [ He blinked, looked Red and his red clothes over again, and smiled. ] I see. Pleased to make your acquaintance.

I've heard stories on my travels about a trainer called Red-- A skilled trainer from the Kanto region who accomplished many a heroic feat... only to disappear from that region shortly thereafter. Are you that same Red, I wonder?

[misguided-king]

freshprinceofpallettown started following you

Oh... Hello.

[ Something about this person was vaguely familiar, though N couldn't put a finger on why. He looked up at Red with curiosity. ] Who are you?

[unemployedasshole]

[ Tabitha frowned hard, a little unsure of how to respond. It never even occurred to him to take anything out on a Pokemon, to take advantage of them or their abilities other than as partners, and so he wasn’t entirely clear on how to defend himself. He crossed his arms, though, giving N a derisive look. ]

It’s different against people. Humans are evil pieces of shit, but Pokemon, they just work off what they know. They don’t got ulterior motives. Anything even close is ever because we fuck them up, right?

I don’t mean that I think I could, like, take any Pokemon in a fight. That’s dumb as hell. But whenever something or someone is dependent on you, that already makes them weaker by default. Like, emotionally? That’s the reason people can abuse their Pokemon, ain’t it?

[misguided-king]

[ The way Tabitha explained himself seemed to N a bit oversimplified (not to mention crass), but he had no real arguments against what was said. ]

What you say is true to an extent. I don't believe... all humans to be evil, but they-- even the good ones, sometimes-- lie. Pokemon don't tell lies. Their hearts are open. Though a number of factors can change that, it's... wrong, that way. Unnatural.

That said, Pokemon are highly intelligent. They have their own motives, and not all Pokemon are dependent on humans. There are other reasons abuse exists. Humans have technology that can combat a Pokemon's abilities-- poachers are everywhere, and devices like Pokeballs are commonplace! Capturing a Pokemon against its will is still abuse.

[ He was visibly stressed just talking about the subject. He shook his head. ] I assume you keep Pokemon of your own, then? You think they are weak to trust in you?

[misguided-king]

eyeofthedragonair said: Is this the same Deino who tried to get a little frisky with his kisses?

... It is the same Deino you met, yes.

[misguided-king]

It seems Deino is fast approaching his time for evolution. With Reshiram's guidance, he grows stronger each day...

[ N should be happy but, while he certainly is proud of the young dragon, something about this is clearly bothering him. ]

[rocketjaeger]

[It… what? Was N being serious? No, of course he was, N didn’t lie. But imagining someone doing math to calm them down… that was a bit beyond Silver.]

Uhh… well, I… never found it very, uh, enjoyable in the first place? [He was going to say ‘interesting’ but had a feeling N would be offended. Fucking hell.] And besides, I’ve never really needed math, I mean, I mostly do battles and stuff…

[He pauses, frowning. At the moment, he was basically trapped in the Rocket base with no idea what the future held for him, besides being bored. Hell, he thought, maybe he should give math a shot. It couldn’t be all that bad.]

Well… I guess I could try it…

[misguided-king]

I have heard many people voice similar opinions. They say it's "boring". [ He frowns sadly. ] I don't understand it. They must not have learned it in a proper manner...

[ A part of him knows not to expect Silver to agree to being taught anything by him, so the reply is a pleasant surprise. He's ecstatic. Of course, he shows it by suddenly beginning to talk at an extremely rapid pace. ]

Will you really?

Oh, this is exciting! I'll do my best to teach you well, Silver! Where shall we start? I find integral functions rather enjoyable, but that may be too complex-- Oh! How about fractions? But you must learn the order of operations as well-- Ah, I have to retrieve my texts!

[passionnedeau]

I can’t be serious. It’s a medical condition.

Try being a little more sensitive next time, N. Thanks for making me feel bad.

[misguided-king]

[unemployedasshole]

[ Tabitha thought absolutely nothing of N’s lack of elaboration. He himself was talkative when given the chance— it was a habit, and usually he counted on people to just tell him to fuck off— but not everybody was, and he respected that. The secluded sort weren’t made much for idle or extended chatter anyway. ]

Well. [ He looked vaguely thoughtful. ] I have standards. If they’re a straight up asshole, I refuse. I don’t need money badly enough to deal with people that get on my nerves. And if for some reason I find them or the job proposition disgusting, I’ll turn it down. For the same reason.

[ N’s question, quite sudden and unbidden, startled Tabitha though. Why—? He looked offended, his shoulders thrown back a bit and his brows furrowed. ] Why the hell would I do that? I’ll battle a Pokemon if it’s fair or if they attack me first, but I’m not cruel. There’s no joy in beating down anything weaker than you, especially not if it trusts you. That’s fucked up.

[misguided-king]

You said that you would beat someone up on command. There are many people in this world that exploit Pokemon for profit. When a person openly admits to willingly committing acts of violence, I can't help but worry that they would hurt my friends for enjoyment too. I could not allow that.

[ That was one simpler way of judging a person: observing the way they treated Pokemon. ] I hope you're telling me the truth. Though it is strange to me that you consider Pokemon to be weaker than you...

[illudens]

無題 | いあ [pixiv]

[latigirl]

A Long Day {N & Bianca}

[latigirl]

"Huh?  Uh, no problem," Bianca replied.

"Right, right."  Her face went red again.  She had known that Horsea had been angry, but she didn’t know that her losing her patience had an effect on Horsea’s self-esteem.  Making plans to buy an ice cream cone for the Pokemon as a sign of her remorse, she nodded at his advice.  “Yes…  I’ll try."

Horsea tilted her head at N, surprised that he was consulting her.  He had seemed so much more at ease during their conversation.  "You’re fine," she trilled.  "Go on."

Bianca’s face became redder at the mention of the “garden."  How much had Horsea told N?  She glanced at the Pokemon.  "Calm down," Horsea’s expression said.

"Alto Mare, she means," Bianca said softly and quickly.  “Where we come from.  But I go to school at the University."  She gestured towards the city.  “We visit whenever we can, but classes and homework take up most of my time…"

Her throat tightened.  For some reason she felt terribly afraid that N would tell her to bring Horsea back home, that this life was confining her Pokemon, and to keep her in Goldenrod would be cruel.  She wasn’t sure why she cared so much about what N had to say, anyway; she had seen, in person, Horsea enjoying herself with the other Pokemon on her dormitory floor, and if Horsea didn’t want to stay here, she would have made it clear, right?

But the truth remained that Horsea’s company was something Bianca could rely on.  Horsea was a constant comforting presence, even in her Poke ball, when projects piled high on her desk…  It was selfish, and she knew it, but she didn’t want her to leave.

[misguided-king]

The mention of Alto Mare brought back a few memories for N-- memories of looking at vivid illustrations of the city in books left in his room, of reading about the legendary Pokemon that supposedly watched over it. The biased mind of his child self could not make sense of legendary Pokemon bothering to protect a place built by humans, and he had yet to visit it himself in his adult years. Several questions popped into his head, but he wouldn't voice any of them.

"University..." he echoed carefully, as if the word was something entirely foreign. He knew it was some sort of educational institution, but that was the extent of his knowledge on the subject. "I see. That's... quite a predicament."

If he had been speaking to her a couple years prior, he would have quickly told Bianca that her Pokemon were more important than the requirements of school, that she was certainly being cruel and oppressive and deserved to have Horsea taken away... But he was here now to help them be happier together.

"Horsea said that she has friends here and that she is not unhappy, but it's only natural for her to miss her home." He frowned, tapping at his chin in thought. "But it's also clear to me that you value her companionship a great deal. I suppose it would be best for there to be some sort of compromise... Maybe taking up battling with help stave off that homesickness?"

"What do you think, Horsea?" he asked, turning to face the Pokemon. "Your comfort is of the utmost importance."