route_1065 | (no subject)

Who: Apollo (

whateveryoueatliveitspart), anyone else in Cherrygrove
Where: Cherrygrove City Pokémon Center
When: May 10-11, during the power outage
Summary: Apollo's working at the Pokémon Center for a bit. It's now the only place in town with power, so come in out of the rain and chat with your fellow travelers. Probably a lot of new arrivals who're coming off of Route 29 for the first time.
Rating: PG at most?
Log:

Putting on the oversized poncho that Nurse Joy had brought out for him, Apollo kicked off his shoes, rolled up his pant legs, and stepped outside. The small overhang at the Pokémon Center's main entrance did almost nothing to stop the rain from coming in the doors when he opened them, and once he stepped down the slight ramp he was in an inch of water from the rain alone. Lightning illuminated the rest of the town, where dark buildings were surrounded by water that reached his knees. The Pokémon Center was only faring so well because of the walls of sandbags that he was helping maintain around the entrances. He looked them over. The water had risen since he'd last been out here, but the wall was still more than tall enough to handle it. The staircases of sandbags were still there too, so anyone who came later would still be able to get over the wall without much trouble.

He looked out over the town one more time before he went back inside, looking for any Pokémon or humans who were making their way through the water. They would likely come here if there were. Even if many of the Pokémon Center's windows were dark and the lights dim, it was the only source of light in view. For some reason, humans who were used to being in towns would find that light comforting.

[Don't feel obligated to interact with Apollo or be only showing up now. Tag however you want. ^_^]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

As soon as Apollo realized that it was some kind of Pokémon he assumed that it was looking for shelter and projected the idea that the Pokémon Center was a safe place and that it was welcome to come in and shelter from the storm. Then he realized exactly how big it was. It was a majestic being, larger than any animal he'd ever seen. The only comparisons he could make to it were that it looked somewhat like a wolf or one of the poachers' hunting dogs, but that comparison fell far short of what he was seeing now.

Despite the awe that he felt, obvious to anyone watching, he was still aware that he was in its path. He quickly backed away from the sandbag wall towards the Center's entrance, knowing better than to be in the path of a charging animal but still wanting to watch it.

Entei kept coming, and kept coming--only to come to a complete stop before Apollo, its mind prodded by the insistent images the young man was pushing at it. It was a clumsy kind of psychic call, one that said simply: here is shelter. Here is safety.

Entei whuffed, just shy of playful, and projected back, much stronger, images and feelings that would rush into Apollo's mind as fast and easy as language.

SEARCHING. NO TIME FOR SAFETY AND SHELTER. I[the fire that warms, that burns/the scent of leaves in autumn/a candle in the dark] MOVE SWIFTLY.

The images recede, replaced by a softer, almost gentle warmth.

THANK YOU.

It was fond of kindness, and respected honour. Raikou had always been temperamental and sharp, Suicune playful and clever; Entei was the anchor, stolid but powerful, demanding, almost paternal.

It nodded to Apollo, once. Then, with a great heave of movement, bounded away and was gone.

Apollo was surprised at the creature's sudden stop, but the force of its reply to him was a shock. Communicating with plants, which for some reason he couldn't get a response from here, required patience and calmness, their "voice" speaking slowly and quietly. Communicating with animals was a casual thing that took little effort, though getting a complicated idea across could be difficult depending on what kind of animal it was. Pokémon were like animals in that way: easy to "talk" to and able to communicate more detail and stronger emotions than animals could, but otherwise fairly similar. He'd never had anything "talk" to him in anything like human speech before, though, and he was momentarily stunned.

The images and feelings were crystal clear, even if they were rushed and without much detail. The creature was already well on its way by the time Apollo could summon the mental state to reply, and he was only able to project back a somewhat disorganized response, the idea that he wished it success in finding whatever it was searching for. He had no idea if he had reached it before it was out of "hearing" range.

He stood in the (slightly shallower than before?) puddle in front of the Center for a minute, then smiled and turned to go back inside. He had no idea what he had just encountered, but its warmth somehow left him feeling better about this place. He hoped that he would be able to meet the creature again someday.