People were always so loud and noisy, but Billi was used to it. Spikemuth was a town of rocknroll and loud people, and frankly his family was quiet considering his mother was the gym leader for a time, and a musician. Though he couldn’t dwell on that. Sometimes just wandering in the woods taking in the fresh air that the city couldn’t provide without an oxygen blast. While hot the forest trees provided complex cooling spots for Billi and his pokemon.

The blond moved through the dirt path in his brown hiking boots, nice blue jeans with the bottoms rolled up at the ankle, and a nice green camo button up shirt, tucked in with the arms rolled up to his shoulders. Truly it was a wonder how his large biceps didn’t rip half his clothes but he was happy they didn’t. Walking beside him was his two spider pokemon (three when my trade goes through and i evolve it), Each one investigating the bushes around looking for something yummy to snack on.

The three pokemon moved and jumped on what they thought was prey, “PSSTGY” their synched screech scaring nothing as Billi walked over, “Oh Hi there stranger! I didn’t expect to see anyone out here,” Billi smiled as his tiny rotomphone took a quick picture and flew around wildly.

Moana Reyes

Billi Marsh

Moana looked up as some spider pokemon burst through the foliage, hissing at... was it him? Moana wasn't sure. But the two of them were immediately followed by a... flying phone? Oh, it must've been a Rotom. And then the trainer himself pushed past and Moana had to do a double take. This guy was pretty big, but Moana adjusted quickly. After all, his time in the gang had hardened him to intimidating people. 

And, anyways, anything intimidating vanished as soon as the friendly words came from his mouth. "Hey, there," Moana replied. "I'm a little surprised myself, since there was basically nothing in the forest, which wasn't what I expected. So I suppose you and your Pokemon are a welcome intrusion." He smiled. "I'm Moana. It's nice to meet you."

Before any other words could be exchanged, though, there were more newcomers who decided to intrude on the scene. A floating Weepinbell and a hovering Ledian appeared. The Weepinbell seemed disinterested at best in the two of them, but the Ledian was more curious. It approached, and then let out an ear-piercing screech that buzzed in his skull like a siren. Wincing, Moana pulled out a Pokeball, only to realize it was empty.

Oh well, he thought, chucking the ball at the Ledian. This would be as good a way as any to shut it up. He addressed the other guy again as the noise was at least temporarily quieted by the capture attempt. "Wow, that was loud. I wonder if it was an attack."

Note: Capture attempt on Ledian

Spiders were natural predators, and well….needless to say the poor weepingbell that seemed disinterested was lost in a flurry of web snares and a couple of dangerous lunges. Apparently it was more of a game to these pokemon then survival. Honestly they circled it arguing who beat it first and who got to go get praise! Though Billi could care less, sighing he threw the pokeball at the fainted pokemon. Poor thing.

Now this stranger was friendly at least! So it seemed to the blonde himbo. The cheerful smile peeling on his lips even if he had other things echoing in the back of his head. Like how he was going to defend Lilycove from invaders, keep the gym safe, his home, and more importantly the people. Then again...he wasn’t here to think of such nonsense. Rather he was here to clear his mind and find some kind of physical peace in the solem forest.

“Oh I’m Billi! Nice ta meet ya, those are my Brood!” he laughed as the spiders returned to his side hissing at each other, disagreeing on everything. He shrugged moving towards where the Ledyba was flying, “huh? It’s weird” he stated pausing, “i don’t find it that loud but maybe it’s cuz my life is loud, or my pokemon are. A lot of electric types, bugs and steel!” he mused picking up his pokeball, turning to the strange. “So what brings you to the forest?”

Moana Reyes

Billi Marsh

"Makes sense that you'd be used to it if you were around it for a while," Moana replied. When asked what brought him to the place, Moana had to consider how much he'd want to reveal. Billi seemed relatively harmless, of course, and he was sure that nothing he said could really hurt him, but he didn't want to go around airing his past to everyone who asked.

Then he realized Billi probably meant what brought him to the forest, and he felt really dumb.

"I just wanted to get some fresh air, honestly. Petalburg's a nice city, but I like being out in nature sometimes. It helps me think." He shrugged. "It helps to get away from other stuff, sometimes."

As he was speaking, there was more sound in the bushes nearby. He turned to see what had caused the disturbance and spotted a short, two-legged Pokemon with a leaf on its head. It seemed curious and a little nervous, but not hostile.

Moana hesitated, remembering what had happened to the poor Weepinbell who had unwittingly intruded on them just a moment ago. However, before Billi's spiders could demolish the Nuzleaf, something else that was much bigger, and oh god. How had he not noticed it before? The Drapion lunged at the Nuzleaf, slashing its clawed arm at the body of the grass-type.

The Nuzleaf stumbled in pain and surprise, sending a volley of sharp leaves at the buglike monster, but the Drapion only shrugged off the attack, grabbed the Nuzleaf, and plunged the forked stinger on its tail into its body, knocking it out instantly. The defeat of the Nuzleaf seemed to invigorate the Drapion, who then turned and growled at Billi and Moana, seeming twice as dangerous as before.

The poor Nuzleaf seemed terribly injured, so Moana grabbed another empty Pokeball and aimed it at the grass-type, sucking it into the device. Hopefully he could get it some medical attention soon, but the Pokeball would keep it in stasis until then. But there was still the matter of the Drapion.

With boosted attack from Fell Stinger, the poison-type felt nearly invincible. Snarling at the two of them again, it brandished its pincers threateningly. The boy who had just stolen his prey with a Pokeball released a teammate, a wimpy-looking Dwebble that hissed almost comically from its shell. And the other boy...

Billi gave his average energy to this new person, a lot of sunshine, charisma that stuck people to him like glue, and a warmth of a hearth. “Haha very true! I’m used to the hustle bustle of the city where people are always talking and living a day to day city life. Even back home it was loud. Gotta respect the quiet sometimes,” he did believe that silence was an artificial creature of man. Something that only humans found solace, or a few pokemon. Nature had preexisting sounds, wind, water, earth, pokemon, rocks everything made a noise.

“You’re right. A fresh breath of air does the body and mind good too!” just as they spoke about silence, the bushes rustled like gnomes in the forest. Billi’s face turned to this new pokemon that seemed to be minding his own lonesome business, just curious about the noise, as one is then. OH MY GOD. A stinger! A swoop a smuck! Just smack crash and a RAHHH. Just what the hell was Billi witnessing?! Was this Drapion on roids or something? Just what world does this exist in.

Billi stood there dumbfounded at the act of primal nature in front him. It was wild how the circle of life worked but when it stared at Billi, he pointed to himself. “oh me...haha...please no!” he laughed putting his hands on his hips shaking his head, the brood already moving forth. The araquanid hissed loudly as the beast flailed it’s large arms, spitting water all over it, drenching it with a Soak, before the Galvantula laid a trap of electrowebs, as it charged towards then. Electrocuting it thoroughly, almost frying it, but it wasn’t over, oh no. Ariados quickly went for the throat as he Lunged at wild pokemon, taking it out as it viciously lashed several cross poisons, until Billi pokemon the KO’d Drapion, that was clearly damaged and very angry.

“geez man, you guys are soo mean to wild pokemon. But thanks,” he stated to the brood that wandered back into the pushes to look for more prey. “Uh...sorry! Most people don’t like spider pokemon! Did you know Drapion are technically scorpion pokemon which are also technically an arachnid?! So cool!” he asked the person.

Moana Reyes

Billi Marsh

Moana was taken aback, once again, at the speed and efficiency with which Billi's bug Pokemon took down the Drapion, which seemed a terrifying beast in its own right. Billi caught the poor poison-type, and Moana had to stifle a chuckle at the thought of the berserk monster joining Billi's already deadly entourage.

Moana nodded when the conversation picked back up. "Yeah, bug Pokemon are all just super cool. Though, well, I'm from Alola, and pretty much everyone there has to get used to bugs if they don't want to suffer for the rest of their lives, cause there are just so many of them." At Billi's next point, Moana's smile turned into a thoughtful, neutral expression. "I've heard that they're arachnids, sure, but what makes something an arachnid? It can't be the number of legs, because that's inconsistent. It feels like it's just an arbitrary label to me."

The conversation was then interrupted by a rather unique newcomer. Moana squinted, confused. The Nidorino ambling about aimlessly was far from an unusual sight on its own, but Moana didn't think they were supposed to be that shade of---

Realization struck. "Oh, wow, a shiny!" he exclaimed. "That's so cool! I never thought I'd ever see a wild one again." Pulling out a Pokeball, he continued, "I've seen a shiny once, back in Alola, though I didn't have any Pokeballs at the time. Do you know Lurantis? It's tall and looks like a pink bug, but the shiny one was light green." By now, he'd thrown the Pokeball at the confused and disgruntled Nidorino.

The forest was always filled with predators and no other insects were top of the line then a classic, and with a wide variety as a spider, and scorpion. Coming in thousands of subspecies it has proven to be an effective hunter among it’s kind, so it only made sense to Billi that these giant versions were even more lethal than one would expect. Now...were they terrible creatures? Maybe in the wild, but a captured one raised around people, they’d be a lot more tolerant of them. It just happened that Billi’s were in competition with each other.

“Oh Alola is a sweet Vacationing spot!” he clapped his hands together as the pokeball was put into his back pocket. The Brood getting closer to the human, staring him down, locking eyes like a predator would. “ssht!” Billi hushed the spiders to return to him. Bili loved his spiders, but damn they were jealous and needlessly aggressive towards strangers sometimes. “There’s a lot of cool bugs! Like uuhhh.. Vivillon! I heard there’s like twenty some patterns! I would love to have one of each it’d be so cooooooollll and their soooooooooooooooooooooooo Pretty” he complimented the little insect pokemons that floated around aimlessly in the wind, and were clearly able to live anywhere.

“I don’t know man….all I know is that what sciency people say. I’m just a bro with a camera and a P.O.V” he shrugged and noticed the Nidoran, “OH my! I’ve never seen one in person before! Only pictures to be honest. Wow he’s a dark boi! Soo spikey,” Billi mentioned as one of his pokeballs fell out of his pocket, releasing his monstrous Corviknight into the forest. The galloping flap of it’s wings exuded pressure into the forest around them. Unfortunately the nearby grass snack got fainted by the pressure / being startled. So the spiders dragged it to Billi as a gift for bothering him. “oh hi big guy..and oh hahaha guess you startled it buddy,” Billi grinned as another pokeball captured the snake before the knight pokemon put the fear of god into the wild nidoran giving a bellowing CAW into the air right as the pokeball hit it.

“Wow big guy you’re loud now hahaha”

-capture attempt on Servine

Moana Reyes

Billi Marsh

Moana blinked as the ball snapped shut. Frankly, he was a little surprised that his capture had worked at all. He supposed it must have been the element of surprise that did it. Oh well. He certainly wouldn't be complaining. 

He smiled a little when Billi mentioned that Alola was a sweet vacationing spot. That tended to be most people's reactions, and while it kind of got a little annoying sometimes to have his home be associated with tourism first and foremost, Billi was so upbeat that it was impossible to be annoyed at him. 

"It's not really so different from Hoenn," Moana said. "The climate and stuff are similar to here. Which is why I came here in the first place, actually." Realizing that the topic was about to turn to his own past, he quickly changed it. "They don't have a gym challenge, though. They do Trials instead." 

Billi mentioned his camera, and Moana asked, "So you're a journalist? That sounds pretty cool." He then snickered as his Pokemon inadvertently knocked out a poor Servine nearby. "Wow, your Pokemon are really not good to the wildlife here." 

Speaking of which, Moana had noticed a Morelull eyeing the group of them. However, as it wasn't doing anything, he just kind of ignored it. He was used to Morelull, which were common in Alola. If you left them alone, they'd leave you alone, too. Though, the possibility of Billi's Pokemon leaving anything alone seemed pretty unlikely.

“oh really?! I would have thought that it was very different?!” he knew that many people loved travelling to the exotic islands because of the culture and the connection to pokemon. Though at the same time he never really thought of it as anything more than a tropical oasis where people just enjoyed themselves everyday, but that was just an ignorant boy thinking. Obviously he believed the person who lived there and gave them his greatest respect because he truly knew nothing of the culture or any kind of life there.

“Truly I know nothing about that place! But it all sounds like so much fun! I hear their fruits and foods are very yummmy! Like sooo soo soo bright looking!” the man's smile peeled up wider as he grew in excitement to the point of vibration. “where I’m from there’s gyms, but their...like more of a sport! But what are trials anyways?” he was curiously leaning closer, ignoring the Morull that wandered in the background, somehow avoiding the brood.

Billi shrugged as a small Eldegoss floated nearby, only to be PLUCKED right out of the air by the corviknight, and thrown to the ground, and pecked curiously. So rip. Sometimes a curious crow was too dangerous to have lingering. So Billi dropped another pokeball. “Their not...that savage, most of the time anything that startles them sets their spider instincts nuts and they just hunt. Corviknight well..he’s a curious verb isn’t that right boi?” he asked the crow rubbing his under beak, “yes you are, the goodest berb,” he laughed.

-eldegoss capture attempt.

Moana Reyes