route_1065 | (no subject)

Who: Hope and Lightning
Where: The south end of Route 30, just outside of Cherrygrove
When: Backdated to the 21st or the 22nd. In that little range.
Summary: Light and Hope meet again.
Rating: G-it's Light and Hope. She's nice with him.

Log: She had barely stopped for rest on that first route. She had just kept running; running from everything that got in her way, and only letting her Pokemon out when something refused to just get out of her way. She'd been forced to stop when she felt her body prepare to give out, but that had been two days ago. Now, she was on the other side of Cherrygrove. Another day in that town, looking for Hope and finding no sign of him. Which meant they'd either passed eachother on the first route, or he'd been lying to her about his location. She wasn't pleased about that second option being the more likely one, but finding him was top priority.

That would have been why she had gotten such an early start, with Ponyta, as she'd found that was what this species was called, trotting at her side as she walked in the crisp morning air. ...was that a dust cloud on the horizon?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hope was right; she wouldn't make blunders like Snow had. Already, her mind was working on overtime to process all he was telling her. Gym Leaders...probably the people in control here.

But still, despite the tired edge to his voice, he seemed happy. That was good to see.

"Oh, uh..." He chewed his lip a little, wondering how to explain Gym Leaders to a soldier without making them seem like threatening people or fal'Cie.

"They're usually around to let people test how good they are with their Pokémon in battles. If you beat them, they'll give you a badge. Once you get all eight badges, you can go to the League-- it's a tournament for trainers. I'm trying to get my first."

If that's all it was, she'd eat her gunblade holster. As it was, Lightning tilted her head in thought for a moment. What would getting all eight badges do, anyway?

"You have a plan for taking on the Gym Leader?" And a couple backup plans, maybe. Depending on just how tough this one would end up being.

Oh, that was exactly why he was training his Flaaffy a little harder than the rest. Weeks of fighting with magic and elements help as well in his experience, especially when elements play a big part in Pokémon battles.

"Violet's Leader uses bird-types. They're weakest against electric and rock-types. You've seen Onix already, and she's my rock-type. My electric-type is Elida, a Flaaffy," he explains, digging around his pockets for his Pokédex. As soon as he gets it, he shows her that picture of his pink sheep.

"I'm not using them right away, so Alexander's going first." Another button pressed, and it shows the Wartortle entry's picture. "He's my first Pokémon, and he's a water-type. And he's really good at shooting things down."

He had his strengths planned, he knew what he was doing, and he would be ready when the time came. ...but really? A pink sheep, a snake made out of rock, and a turtle. This place had some strange creatures. It almost reminded her of Gran Pulse, before they got used to it. And...

"Alexander, huh? He seems a little small to squash you." Unlike his namesake. Now that had been a big thing.

"He's kind of like this..." He levels his hand at chest height. A Wartortle is really a small thing. Hope really doesn't regret his decision to call him Alexander though.

"But he's got good defense, like the other Alexander. It's the shell."

Definitely the shell, then. And if he had the defense...well, she'd seen the other Alexander defend Hope from anything that had tried to hurt him. Could this one be the same?

"Sounds more like one of those Oretoises. They had shells too." And were downright impossible to take down.

Hope nodded. He remembered those things too.

"He's like that too. And I'm hoping he'll evolve one more time to get bigger."

Maybe not that big, but maybe something as large as an adult. He seemed to have the potential to evolve again after all. If Alexander turned into something as large as an Oretoise, there would be trouble.

If he did get that big, Light would just be pleased if he didn't try to squash Hope.

"Does he listen to you? Controlling something big isn't easy, you know."

"He listens. ... When he's not being lazy." It's a little embarrassing, but at least he'd stopped picking his nose. It was a bad habit he thankfully left behind when going from Squirtle to Wartortle.

Hope wouldn't call it "control" though. It has such a negative tone to it, like a fal'Cie controlling l'Cie and even normal people.

"Sounds like Snow on a good day. Sure he's like Alexander?"

Keep-in-check, keep-from-squishing-you....perhaps those would have been better choices. But knowing that Orphan met his end? They controlled their own fate.

"Yeah he is. Snow's just lazy twenty-four-seven, unless it's being a hero and fighting. Alexander does other things."

Like hassling other people. Well, usually hassling other people.

Well, Hope knew his Eidolon. Hopefully, he knew his Pokemon, too. Because he certainly knew Snow.

"Other things?"

Hope started counting off on his fingers. "Shooting down berries, wrestling with Teddiursa, spraying me with a Water Gun if I kept complaining about the weather, helping me keep Onix in line, sneaking into my bed at night..."

Those counted, for sure. He was pretty sure that Alexander would do another thing in a bit, just to show that he can.

Oh, they certainly counted. He sounded like a handful and a child all rolled into one.

"He sounds like a bit of a brat."

"... Maybe?" Hope grinned sheepishly. "I might have spoiled him a little."

Or maybe a little more than that. After all, Alexander was his only Pokémon, till they arrived at Violet and Elida came along as a Mareep.

A little. The way he said it, coupled with the grin on his face? ...She didn't quite believe him. Hope had his stubborn side, and he was a teenager. He was probably leaving some things out.

"Well, so long as he helps keep you safe, I'm sure we won't have any problems."