Action - Johto Woods

[yoctogram]

Who: Minamimoto Sho
Where: Off Routes in Johto
When: Backdated to all of July
Summary: Sho wanted to apologise to Belphe in his own special way. Combined with his lack of woods experience, well. He got lost.
Rating: G

Belphe had informed him that she'd forgiven him, but still. Sho felt like he should do something nice for her. What that something should be confused him; he wasn't really good with feeling obligated to someone else rather than the reverse. Upsetting people didn't matter, but somehow upsetting Bell mattered. He didn't like the feeling. He really rather hated it, so perusing the Pokedex and seeing the smile of the Snivy gave him an excuse and a plan.

He borrowed Bell's flying Pokemon and got himself dropped near where Snivy tended to live, taking along with him RZF, Nor, Nand, Tie, SD, and one of his younger Eevees; Xor. As soon, however, as they landed Eros realised that he wasn't going to get anywhere with RZF, Nand, or Xor he gave them a collection of disgusted looks and booked it back. It was at that point that Tie started trying to figure out where Sho had packed the Pokedex. Calling mom for help was going to happen, he just knew it.

Unfortunately while the rest of them had been watching their ride disappear back over the horizon, SD had a nervous breakdown resulting in yet another kleptomaniac incident where he stole the pokedex and hid it inside a hollow stump. Sho, meanwhile, straightened his shoulders and vowed (silently) to make the best of it. He grabbed his pack, made sure that the Pokemon had their smaller packs, and headed off to find a Snivy. A Snivy, and a way back.

The first couple of days went fine, until the twins saw something they just had to examine more closely, resulting in the group of Pokemon and Sho leaving the Route. Never a bright thing to do, really. Especially if you were as nature-stupid as Minamimoto Sho.

In short, they got lost. Very, very lost. This time, unlike last time, they weren't at a complete loss. Tie had learned how to cook, SD was able to use Ember with more direction (even if it sometimes still took several attempts), and in general they had enough to eat. Sho didn't sleep well without Bell to wrap up around, but the warm piles of fur helped him get enough rest to at least keep moving and looking.

Somewhere around the beginning of week two he found a Minon and a Plusle, which while not his goal was enough to cheer him up from the unfortunately inescapable admission that he was entirely lost. Completely and entirely lost.

Somewhere near the end of week two he finally found a Snivy, and he chased it all over the woods until he finally caught it. Or another one. It didn't really matter which. That Pokeball was put at the bottom of the bag so that he would NOT lose it. All the rest of this would be worth it if he could get back to Bell with the Snivy.

Then they backtracked to where Eros had left them off - specifically Tie and RZF found their way back and Sho finally realised that his Pokedex was missing. After something that was absolutely not at all a breakdown involving a three hour screed of higher mathematics mashed together with the construction of a seven foot tall branch-and-loam abstract sculpture SD shamefully gave back the machine.

Then he just had to call Bell for help.

Yup.

Any minute now.

Comments

[belphe]

Calling Belphegor for help would have found her extremely confused as, for the last few weeks, she'd operated happily under the idea that Sho had accompanied Jack to Violet City to "assist" him in a gym battle and had taken full advantage of the time alone to put in some intensive training, and de-stress herself.

Finding Eros perched on the hotel windowsill battering the glass with his wings in demand to be let inside was not all that surprising. However, when Sho and his entourage of eevees weren't forthcoming...

"Eros? Where are the others?"

The reptilian creature paused mid-preen of one of his membranous wings to cock his head at her inquisitively.

"The others. The ones I sent you out with a month ago." His eyes widened, recognition starting to dawn. "Sho? Nor and Nand?" The look on his face said that he knew very well what she was talking about now. And, as there was no way to convey to her in pokemon-ese that, at some point, he'd completely lost sight of the assigned mission in favor of pursuing a particularly-attractive Fearow around Kanto's wilderness these last few weeks until he'd gotten bored and come back home, he opted for the next best option -

Making a B-line for his pokeball and disappearing inside of it with a squawk.

Belphe glared at the ball as it rolled a short distance across the floor before coming to rest against the leg of the dresser before shaking her head, getting out her pokegear, and seeking out Sho's frequency on it.

If not in one piece, maybe he was, at least, alive...

[yoctogram]

When Sho's pokemon heard the beeping noise they sprung into action. SD grabbed the 'gear again, and Tie handed over the map he'd made over the rest of the month. When the Eevees got the video on the two bigger ones were holding up the map, carefully marked out, and the newest, littlest one used a stick to point out the red circle of 'where they were'.

Then Nor and Nand turned the map over to expose smiling Eevee faces and a full bowl. They ate this time!

[belphe]

Well, that was something, at least...

"I apologize, Eros seems to have forgotten he was supposed to pick you up. I'll send Zodiac instead."

A pause, and then "What was he doing this time?"

Last time he had gotten himself and Jack amazingly lost trying to follow after her. Now it seemed as if he was getting lost of his own volition entirely.

[yoctogram]

This was cue for the Eevees to attempt to explain things in pantomime. Apparently some kind of quest? For a rock. (The rock means pokeball.) Some battling, too, if the jumping each other and rolling around meant anything.

The whole thing was punctuated by Xor chirping "Eevee! Eeeeeeee!"

[belphe]

She watched raptly, getting...SOME of it, she thought.

"Is he there? May I speak with him?"

[yoctogram]

In response she got to briefly view the roof of an Eevee mouth and some forest as Nor ran the Pokegear to Sho, and then dropped it in front of him with an imperious, "VEEE!"

When Sho picked the 'gear up he was confused until he saw her face. Then his cheeks reddened a bit, "Hi, Bell."

[belphe]

[He's in one piece...that's good. He doesn't appear to be actively warring with the landscape, and that's also a plus...]

Hello. Zodiac will be your ride home, as it seems Eros has abandoned his post.

[a pause, and then]

I had thought you were in Violet...

[yoctogram]

"Why would I go back to Violet?"

No, seriously, he doesn't get it. At all. Go...back...to somewhere he's already won? Where's the fun in that?

"There are maths pokemon here. I caught them."

[belphe]

Have you...? [Belphe was unaware there was such a thing...but it would explain why he'd hared off into the wilderness without telling anyone.]

Jack had gone back to Violet, I had assumed you were with him.

[yoctogram]

In response he tossed a Pokeball in the air and caught it. "Can't seem to get 'em out. ⧝ says it has something to do with number of pokemon in the party. Irrational."

He frowned and started muttering maths under his breath, once more attempting to figure out the maths of pokemon. If he weren't already crazy, this would be driving him so.

[belphe]

Ah~ You'll need to visit a Pokemon Center and put one of your party members in the PC in order to open it. [having worked in a center for months, she can, at least, help him with that much.]

It's the same as when you switch out to train someone other than your main six.

[yoctogram]

"Hnnngh." It was an acknowledgement of what she said, but more than half his mind was still working on maths. Absently he added, "Want to take you to a restaurant when I get back."

[belphe]

Her expression smoothed out in mild surprise.

"A restaurant? Why?"

[yoctogram]

"You do all the cooking. Can't cook for you." he shrugged, letting her draw her own conclusions there.

[belphe]

"That's not something you need to repay me for." she informed him briskly, having thought they'd already been over this hurdle long ago.

"Just don't make it necessary to come pick up the pieces of you, and we'll call it even."

The statement was accompanied with a faint smirk.

[yoctogram]

"I know." he agreed, nodding, "Want to do it. As a gift. From a friend, to a friend."

[belphe]

This fetched an awkward silence from her. She'd never had friends outside of her sisters, and they never went out of their way to do favors for one another. Was this sort of thing expected...?

"You don't need to." she said again, though it was a more uncertain protest this time.

"....at least, nowhere expensive." She supposed, if she had to, she could tolerate him buying her fries.

[yoctogram]

He blinked yellow eyes at her and said, "I know I don't have to. If I had to, wouldn't be a gift. Not fast food. Not expensive, but not..." he waved his hand. It had to be something with decent boosts.

[belphe]

Inwardly, she cringed at the idea of thinking of it as a gift. Even after months of putting up with his oddities and strangeness, there were some things that were too deeply ingrained in her to let slide easily.

"I..." she began, the rest of the statement dying somewhere on its way to her lips. Arguing with him was only going to make him more insistent. And in being more insistent, probably make him up his ante from the original plan to something BIGGER and BETTER, as seemed to be his way.

There was no point in this getting out of hand.

She drew in a breath, holding it, and letting it out slowly. "I accept." she said, quietly and stiffly.

[yoctogram]

He didn't gloat, he'd learned that was a great way to get into an argument and he didn't want to argue when he'd already won.

"Good. Thank you. Will do that after I get back, then."