Starter Call! | @indiffred
Hano Grand Resort. Funny; Lane had lived in Akala Island virtually all his life, and never once had he stayed a night there in that hotel. It was always a marvel, looking at that big ol’ place. One stay there would probably empty his pockets and about all the savings he’d kept up in his Tepiggy Bank. He’d hate to smash up the cute little thing; well, it was made of plastic, so, he should say: he’d hate to have to unscrew the cork and spill out all its little penny guts. Seemed a little cruel. They say celebrities went and stayed there the nights - people who’d come from far away to see all the little fixings Alola had to offer. But locals? They didn’t have time for things like that. It was just another set piece they passed by-the-by, and didn’t pay it any mind.
In the middle of this transitionary period, Lane didn’t quite know what he’d do to bring home some money to pay up the rent. After all, he was a roommate to Felix now, he ought to pay up some of the expenses. He found lots of little odd jobs here and there that’d help curb the expenses, one of which being the infamous Pyukumuku chucking to try and keep the beach looking spotless. Sure, they were cute and all, treasured by the locals they grew up with, but tourists often found them unsightly and slimy, dark against the white sandy beaches; that, and they’d be just about killing themselves off staying any longer on that dry, dry beach. So Lane took it upon himself coming to the resort daily to get the job done (they paid him ₽10,000 just to throw Pokemon in the water; how could he complain?!). He only hoped in his mind, each passing day, that he’d catch sight of one of these famous people. He wondered what kinda lives they led.
One such day, his hopes came true. He began by talking to the usualy coastguard, who by then, recognized his face. He walked up to the beach and squatted down by a little Pyukumuku too far into the shore, speaking softly to it. “Wha’dappened t’you, li’l guy? Got lost in this big ol’ shore here? You must be burnin’ up, huh? Here, lemme get’cha back t’where you belong.” As he grabbed the Pokemon by one of its little pink horns, he happened upon the sight of a Pikachu wandering the beach, finding little seashells and returning them to his trainer. His eyes trailed him, then up to the sight of his trainer, and Lane was taken aback - red hat, short hair, Pikachu by his side - could it be?
Lane approached the man carefully, keeping a safe distance away from him and his beach chair and umbrella, his usual shyness taking over him. If this was the Red - the legend, the hero - what would Lane even be able to say? Was he even worthy of his presence? “A-Are you… Mis’sur Red?”
He’s faced dry heat, felt the striking sun of Kanto’s mid-summers, even fought a gym leader whose turf is a volcano, but none of that is anywhere near the thick, murky humidity of the Alola region.
Red, incredibly frustrated with this foreign heat, snaps open the first three buttons of his shirt and buttons them back up when he remembers the voices of the locals commenting about how his pale skin is much too vulnerable to the tropical region’s sun and his friend repeatedly reminding him to put on sunblock (a piece of advice which Red, unfortunately, did not listen to solely because of the fact that he did not like the scent of the sunscreen). With a huff, he lays down on the sand – a mistake – for a brief moment – the sand had scorched through his shirt, stinging his back – and resorts to squatting underneath a small parasol. He fidgets underneath, trying hard to squeeze in the point of his elbow to the thinnest hair on his leg into that awkwardly tiny shadow and slowly he wonders just exactly when he got so…so…so big.
His bottom lip sticks out; he’s had enough of the hot beach and he begins packing his parasol until Pikachu slaps Red with the cool sea water. He looks back to the pokemon, a brow raised to his hairline and an amused glint shining in his previously dull eyes, and chases after him into the water.
Just a bit away from the other visitors, Red is now resting in his chair – shirt laid out beneath his seat, wet mop of hair obscured by his hat (which is somehow still on him), feet now coated with grains of sand thanks to the sea water – snoring gently. When his eyes stir open, he wakes up to various shapes and sizes of seashells on his body resembling a smiley face. “Hey now,” he begins sternly, but finds it hard for him to hold in a smile when Pikachu tilts his head innocently. He laughs quietly.
The moment of fun ends when a voice – no, not his friend’s voice, he’d never refer to Red as ‘Mis’sur’ – rings in his ears before his own laughter can.
Red looks back, pointedly staring at the stranger. He doesn’t answer for a while, not until he sets down a pretty large shell placed over his bellybutton and certainly not until he wrings the moisture out of his shirt and drapes the cloth over his shoulders.