Drake had been needed in Rustoboro for one reason or another, something about patents and planning and Slateport, but meetings were currently swimming in his head as they all slowly ran together. There was a lot of shit on his plate to worry about right now and he just needed.... to not deal with it right now. He needed to step back and get a deep breath and try to clear his mind so he could root out what was most important and put the rest on the back-burner; he needed to separate everything out so he could take one at a time and mentally piece over every nook and cranny for some type of enlightenment.

Which was why Drake liked Oldale. It was just a relaxed walk through a nice forest and then you were in one of the loveliest little towns in the whole region. He was a city boy at heart, born and raised in Lilycove, after all, and even Mossdeep was more island town than it was connected to nature. So he sat and stared out over one of the ponds, staring at his reflection in the crystal clear waters and trying to find peace while he could.

Oozy was next to him, restless as always, the little Bellsprout not as content to just sit and be as his trainer. He was still young in many regards on top of being babied by Drake, so the grass type tended to get into innocent trouble most of the time. Today would be no exception. It was Oozy who spotted the delightful little train of Budew a ways away. Getting down from the bench he had been seated at, the grass type wiggled his way over to fall into step behind the trio, pleased to join in on the fun even if he didn't understand it.

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@verbatim

drake is a nerd

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

Oozy was more than happy to join the games the Budew wanted to play. Living in Mossdeep and with Drake meant he didn't see many other grass types too often. His trainer hung around with other scientists, after all, and most of them tended to have psychic or steel or electric. It was even rarer than the grass types he saw were his age, too, so this really was a nice treat! Oozy made delighted little noises as he trailed in the circle with the other three pokemon.

His trainer was not so content. Panic had flared in Drake when he realized his baby was gone. "Oozy?" He called out, already up and looking around. His pokemon couldn't have gotten very far....

Oozy was unaware of the panic he was causing. When Izekial addressed him, Oozy 'clapped' his leaves together before he wiggled closer on his unsteady roots. He reached a leaf out to touch Izekial, his way of showing affection. This trainer had to be nice if he had three nice grass types that liked to play, after all, so he deserved to be treated nicely!

"Oozy!" Finally Drake noticed his pokemon and ran over, flustered, to the other man. He knelt down first thing and held his hands out to the grass type, who made a delighted noise before crawling up Drake's arm to sit on his shoulder. "Oozy, I was so worried... please don't wander off like that again...."

Sighing and standing again, Drake now turned to the other man, glancing down at the three Budew as well. "I'm sorry if he caused you any trouble. He just likes to play...."

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@verbatim

take good care of the baby

He was so pleased with the fact that the baby Bellsprout seemed to be happy with him. Gently he touched the leaves and saw that they were a little bit on the waxy side. Not that it was a bad thing but he could see that he would need to get a few different nutrients in his diet to help him out. It wasn't the worst thing but he could always be healthier. He wasn't sure that he had anything on hand that could help him though. At least they were all playing well together. He was worried about that.

But his moment was interrupted by the fact that there was another man there all of a sudden. He watched as he scooped up the young Bellsprout and seemed relieved that he had found him. Izekial had figured that the grass type had a trainer and finally he had showed up. "He wasn't any sort of trouble. I was just looking him over a little bit. While he played with my Budew." The trio seemed disappointed that their new friend had been pulled away from them so soon. After all they were having such a good time.

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@drake

soft babies

"Ah, I'm glad. Oozy means well but he tends to get into trouble." After making sure the Bellsprout was okay, Drake placed the grass type back onto the ground. Oozy seemed pleased with this and waddled back over to the Budew. Drake glanced over at them and saw their cute little faces.... they had looked so sad.... it broke his heart. Looks like his softness on kids also went to baby pokemon, too.

But then Drake actually glanced up at who was talking and words caught in his throat. All his life Drake had known he had an interest in men. He was not gay, he liked women too, but he had fumbled around in the dark with a few guys before. However, he had never had someone steal his breath like this. The man in front of him was radiant in a way that made him seem to glow from within. Maybe it was how the sunlight was shining down on him, maybe it was the gentle expression he wore, maybe it was... he didn't know. Drake had never been a poet.

So he stood there with his mouth hanging open for a few second before he finally snapped back to reality. "I'm Drake." He offered, stupidly, and then held his hand up to shake.

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@verbatim

haveyouevermetamansobeutiful.png

The trio of Budew immediately looked happier once their new friend was back on the ground. Once again the trio tried to start the chasing game that they were playing previously. It had been a lot of fun to have even more Pokemon playing it after all. They were all going to have the best time playing together. The fourth Pokemon that usually played with them had been far too tired to walk about after shopping had been finished so they had been one short. When all of them were awake and ready it would be an even better game.

Izekial knew that his Budew would be careful with the newcomer. Even if they were normally a bit on the wild side they wouldn't bother him too much he hoped. "My name is Izekial, its a pleasure to meet you." He took the other man's hand gently, his own soft one grasping him lightly with a small squeeze. He'd never been the strongest person and his father had often told him his handshake was weaker than a man's should be. But he couldn't exactly help it either.

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@drake

soft babies

Oozy was more than happy to join right back into the game when he was given the chance. Drake was always so nice to him! And letting him play with these grass types would be the light of his week! He knew that his trainer did all he could for him, he really did, but Oozy still missed playing with others his age. When he found out that there was a fourth new friend? Boy, the Bellsprout would be over the moon! Three was already so many!

Drake had to repress a shiver when Izekial's hand was in his, even for just a second. His hand was so soft and warm... he felt bad about squeezing it tight in his firm grip. He had to let his brain catch up, maybe held onto Izekial a few seconds longer than really needed for it. He wasn't a religious man but heaven had an angel loose from the looks of it.

"I, uh..." He fumbled. The thing he would normally do would go ahead and leave. Drake was smart but he was bad with people. Situations like this were his biggest weakness, just the idle chatter of daily life was hard. But he wanted to try, he really did, just to prolong this a little bit. "Is it okay if Oozy and I hang around? He doesn't get to play that often with other pokemon his size."

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@verbatim

gay

If the Bellsprout thought that this was fun just wait until he met Maple. The large Tropius was good for all sort of fun games. His long neck was a great slide after all and hanging off of his neck was good. Plus he always made delicious snacks too! The berries he produced were a good snack for any time of the day. But it wasn't snack time yet it was play time. One of the Budew had a great idea. Playing hide and seek was just as much fun as chasing each other after all. So hurriedly he began to announce little counts so that they could hurry and hide.

If Drake's handshake lingered for too long then Izekial didn't really notice it. He carefully shifted the bags in his hand so that they didn't rub on his hands too much. "I don't mind at all. I might need to set these bags down though." They weren't exactly heavy but at least his Pokemon were having fun. And he managed to meet someone new as well. "Do you live around here?" If he was in Oldale then he might possibly live here. That was Izekial's train of thought...

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@drake

soft babies

Oozy was more than happy to play the game of hide and seek. He gasped when his new friend started to count, moved on his spindly legs to dive into a nearby bush and poke his head out like he was just a pretty flower. Never mind that the bush wasn't flowering since it was winter, he still thought it would be the perfect spot.

"Do you need help carrying them? I'm not doing anything right now." And Drake liked to be helpful.

"Ah, no, I was in Rustboro on business and wanted to look around. I live in Mossdeep." Which was a shame since he wouldn't be able to see this cute man as often because of it.... "But, ah, I'll be in the area a little while. Plus I'll be traveling a lot more for my new job, so I'll probably get to stop here often enough." Devon always wanted something, after all.

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@verbatim
gay

Of course considering that they were all young Pokemon, none of them were really that great at hide and seek. So when no one was good at the game it ended up somehow making it a lot more fun for the small grass types. Without waiting the other two hurried to hide while the third still counted loudly as they hid their eyes. Though the counting seemed like nonsense to any human who was listening the plants very well understood the countdown. So when Persimmon finally stopped they were all still as they could be as the little Budew started to scramble and run about to find his friends.

"They aren't too heavy, I'm just not used to carrying so many things at once. And I don't want to impose on you." At least not for so long. His groceries were taken care of him for the most part with the church but now he was responsible for it all on his own. "I haven't been living here often so its amazing to think that you travel so much." He wasn't extremely familiar with where places were just for the simple reason that he'd never needed to explore it before. But now he supposed that he should try and travel just a little bit more. There was nothing really stopping him after all.

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@drake

soft babies

"I promise it's no trouble. I'm heading that way, too." A partial truth. He had planned to look around some more anyway and Izekial was giving him the perfect chance. While he had wanted to rest a bit more it was amazing what the presence of a cute person could encourage you to do. However, he also wouldn't force Izekial to accept his help. Still, he offered a hand for it he chose to peddle off a few of those bags on him.

"Haven't you? Well, you should give Lilycove a visit if you get the chance. It's very pretty. My parents run a restaurant there, too. Drop my name and they'll feed you for free." Was that flirting? Offering to get him free food? He had been told that was flirting. Drake really hoped that it was. "If you haven't lived here long, where did you live before?" As soon as Drake asked it he fretted. What if Izekial was displaced from Slateport? That wouldn't be a very good topic of conversation to go down. He hoped he hadn't upset the other by accident.

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@verbatim
gay

It was rude of him to turn down the offer a second time around considering he was being so generous in offering to help him. He didn't want to do too much though and gently handed Drake a few of the bags so that he could lighten the load a little bit. It would be easier to get home that way after all and there was no point in straining himself. "I suppose since you've asked so nicely I don't have much of a choice to not be rude?" He tried to sound cheerful when he said it but it was still hard to think that he was having trouble doing things all on his own still.

"I'm uh... I don't really want to talk about where I'm from just yet." Being displaced from his family was hard but he didn't want pity from anyone really. The last thing he needed was pity after all. There were so many more things that he could get out of just trying to be a normal person. "But please don't worry about it, I'm adjusting nicely so far to living on my own." At least he liked to think that he was.

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@drake

soft babies

"Ah, I apologize if I touched a tender nerve. We can talk about something else." Taking a few of the bags, Drake nodded and hummed as he tried to think of what to change the subject too. He didn't want to upset the other or scare him away by being pushy. That would just be cruel.

"Hmm... your pokemon are grass types, right? Do you know anything about their... care?" Drake flushed lightly, thinking of his Bellsprout. "I've never cared for a pokemon like that before. My other three are steel types, other than Stripes an automaton who doesn't need things that other pokemon need... it's been kind of a struggle to make sure he stays healthy."

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@verbatim
we r about 2 hit page 2 lol