Warm colored orbs flickered over the the vast cerulean body of liquid before him. The sounds of waves crashing against itself was soothing to his ears, letting the cool water creep up the beach and soon soak his bare feet. He wiggled his toes as the water retreated just as quickly as it came, drawling the sand around his feet with it and sinking him deeper into the shore. He let his mind wonder as he spaced out waiting for his opponent. Has anyone really noticed his absence? Does anyone even care that the former gym leader retired then retreated into hiding for a while? Did Maverick leave such a low impact as a former gym leader that his disappearance not even matter to anyone?

Another waves came crashing down several feet before him, sending a large waves of water towards to him. It splashed up over his ankles, partly damping up his rolled up pant legs before the water retreated once more. A soft whine erupted from behind him, breaking his attention away from his thoughts as he twisted his mid section to let his gaze fall upon his beloved six foot seven houndoom. Her head dropped below her shoulders, concern was expressed in her gaze. The trainer blinked, locking on her gaze for what felt like an eternity but really only lasted a few seconds. Azula let out a snort, left paw raised only to slam it into the sand. His gaze flickered from her ruby eyes to her action, only to return to her glare. He huffed, shaking his head as he returned to the dry area of the beach where she stood.

The canine rose her head and nudged him roughly with her nose, forcing the man to stumble slightly. “Hey,” he growled at her playfully, hand extended out to push her rapidash skull wearing head away from him. She let out a rambunctious snarl at her master, muzzle opened to playfully nibble at him. Maverick was swift to grab the top of her covered muzzle, pushing her head down so she was unable to nip him. The hell hound chest rumbled in retaliation, only to send the trainer into a round of good hearted chuckles. Long ebony tail twitched to the sound of her masters enjoyment. But before she could do much more, her trainer fell silent and shifted to attention to something else.

In the corner of Man’s eye, movement was seen. His once light hearted expression shifted into his normal placid mask. Crimson colored orbs landed on a trainer heading in their direction. “This must be our opponent,” he mumbled to himself. The man brushed himself off, straightened his clothes, and adjusted his stature before lifting an arm in the air. He gave them a wave, the pair making their way closer to the trainer in hopes this was their opponent for the day. And once within ear shot, Maverick’s hands returned into his pockets to call out to them. “Hey! You're here to battle, right!?”

➢ for Amor Rose at slateport beach. i'm not the best at starters but hope this works. three pokemon, single battle. roll at the end to determine who 'wins' the end battle. otherwise, let just have fun!

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz