It had been another slow day. There had seemed to be a lack challengers for the past week or so. He hadn’t faced anyone in days. And even the trainers in his gym had noted that there was a smaller number than usual for them to face. They must have hit a slump.
Not that Caden minded, really. Occasional periods of slowness made it easier to get certain things done without interruptions. And it gave him more time to devote to training his pokemon. Even the ones that he didn’t normally get to train with very often--like the ones he didn’t use for gym purposes.
--Still, after yet another day with not even one challenger ( in fact, had anyone even come in the building that day? ), the leader found himself feeling a little bored.
He surveyed the gym before heaving a sigh. A part of him simply wanted to return to his home and lay down to conserve what little energy he had left for the next day. But there was a nagging. An itching, nagging feeling in his body that urged him to do more than that. It had been months since he had felt such a thing--the desire to get up and do something extra that didn’t require the scraping together of motivation.
After a pause, Caden gave in, snatching one of the pokeballs from his belt before standing up and briskly walking towards the Gym’s door. Once outside, he freed the pokemon from the ball before clipping it back where it had been previously. His zorua popped out, giving an excited cry and bounding forward to walk with her trainer. It had been some time since he had decided to take Chloe on a random stroll. And even if it was only around Shalour, he figured it would be fun for her.
--Perhaps a little too much fun, he noted with a raise of his eyebrow as the little dark type began to use her illusionary abilities to transform herself into a copy of every single person that the two of them passed. So far, it had only been locals who were fairly used to Chloe’s antics, but if they happened to run into any tourists, he worried that she would startle them.
❝Chloe,❞ he started, his tone soft, yet carrying a warning undertone. The zorua was too caught up in her little game to pay it much heed, however. And the instant she caught sight of someone that wasn’t a Shalour native, she zoomed ahead, bounding right up to them and transforming into a perfect duplicate.
❝Zor!❞ she exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly in the stranger’s form. Caden quickly caught up to her, however, grabbing the pokemon in disguise by the arm. The illusion flicked away, leaving only a snickering zorua in his arms. She seemed rather amused with herself. The leader gave an exasperated sigh. So much for a relaxing walk.
❝I’m sorry about her,❞ he said, inclining his head to the stranger. ( The stranger that looked oddly familiar for some reason, if he was being honest. But he didn’t exactly have time to consider it at the moment. ) ❝She goes overboard with her illusions sometimes.❞