the habitat's manufactured winter air sends another chill through mila as she pulled up her hands and blows into her gloved hands, watching the puff of cold air that emanates. she huffs, "its sooo cold," she pouts. "mickey, can't you do anything about it?" the heavy dual fire and ground pokemon gives a grunt, stomping against the ground. a spiral of heat curls from his maw as he sends a restrained flame burst into the icy landscape, the residual heat from it warming mila almost immediately. still, its shocking and she squeaks with alarm as the flame sphere smashes into a faraway snow pile and disintegrates almost immediately on contact.

[break][break] a pile of snom and swinub appear from inside the white smog, the latter pigs looking somewhat charred and burnt. mila is quick to hop off her carriage and hurriedly walk over to the disaster. she clicks her tongue in disapproval. "mickey!" she scolds. "you couldn't have been more gentle?"

[break][break] the remaining snom are turned on their backs, fainted or otherwise useless, but in the center of it mila spots one in particular who's body is glistening with ice scales, turning it an almost rainbow hue. "oooh," mila says, eyes round and full of interest, and she picks up the pokemon, who is apparently still alive. a soft click at it's shimmering scales are all that's needed to attempt her first capture.
[break][break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ninetales form-alola"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-camerupt"]

[attr="class","notes"] ooc _ uses safari balls!

almost immediately after she heard the resonating click of the pokeball, mila released it. the snom appeared in her hand, looking startled, but mila cooed at it softly. "aren't you the cutest christmas present ever?" she had never been one to celebrate the holidays — it was more michel's thing. after all, their family had never really been one for celebrations. regardless, mila lifted the snom in the palm of her hand and offered him to vincenzo who had trotted over to come and sniff it.

[break][break] the sight of the other, much larger pokemon, sent the snom scurrying into mila's jacket, hiding somewhere in the crevices of her patterned hoodie. mila didn't mind. unlike some other girls, she wasn't squeamish around bugs.

[break][break] she patted vickey on the head too, trotting over to mickey who was looking disgruntled and annoyed at having been left alone for so long. she huffed. "you're such a baby." she leaned down, unhooked the carriage from him and pulled the straps off him. the camerupt shook himself, as if it was a huge relief having been freed from his harness, and mila huffed at his dramatics.

[break][break] "better?" she asked.

[break][break] the camerupt gave enough snort, turned, and then opened his maw to release yet another burst of flame at the wooden carriage. it immediately erupted before them, and mila threw up a hand to brace herself for the scorching heat. it was only a matter of time before the carriage set on fire, eventually slowing to a small sizzle as it lapped at the surrounding snow and ice.

[break][break] michelangelo looked up at her, giving another snort. it was as if he seemed to say - 'yes. now, it's better.'

[break][break] she couldn't help but roll her eyes. honestly. he could be such a drama queen sometimes. so caught up in their banter, the party didn't notice the darumaka dancing along several yards away. it was all fine - mila wouldn't have been interested anyway.

[break][break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ninetales form-alola"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-camerupt"]

[attr="class","notes"] ooc _ skipping | 2/3 safari balls

with their ride now incinerated, mila and her party were left to no choice but to walk. not that mila particularly minded -- she felt like she'd needed to stretch her legs a little bit anyways. stretching her arms about her head, she gave a yawn as she began walking down the icy path.

[break][break] "do you think we'll find anything cool? something cute?" she asked, probably to no one in particular. she was used to it, between the two of them. even if they haven't been restricted by the boundaries of poke-speech, she knew that their personalities wouldn't have allowed them to be talkative. well, at least not to her. she was sure that they would have plenty to say to each other.

[break][break] honestly, the two could squabble like children sometimes.

[break][break] mila was lucky that they were being civil now.

[break][break] as they walked along the path, a trapinch appeared. it's orange shell struck out from the icy landscape and mila was quick to spot it, pointing at it. "ooh! that looks cute," she said. as if on command, vincenzo released a blizzard to encase the pokemon in ice and when mila pranced over to pick it up, all she had to do was press it to the warmth of mickey's rocks to heat it up. as it melted in her hands, she pressed a pokeball to it to capture it. "perfect!" she said with a grin, as if she'd had anything at all to do with it's capture.

[break][break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ninetales form-alola"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-camerupt"]

[attr="class","notes"] ooc _ catching | 1/3 safari balls

with two new pokemon added to her team, mila was more than satisfied in her little adventure to the safari zone but she was also still waiting for her magical third friend. she by no means was fatigued, not even as she turned with a dazzling smile towards both her pokemon, pocketing the newly-caught trapinch in a satchel at her side.

[break][break] she pranced down the path happily, only pausing briefly as she allowed the bergmite waddle out in front of her, a few miles away. it was amongst a sea of other bergmite, and for a minute, mila was tempted to try to use her last pokeball on the pokemon. after all, it would make a lovely piece of furniture for the studio once it evolved.

[break][break] however, something in mila said that this was not the pokemon that she was destined to capture. she looked to vincenzo, who was fixing her with a questioning gaze. "i'll know it when i see it," she said, the very same thing she said whenever she was wracking her brains to try to create a new masterpiece.

[break][break] but mila wasn't concerned — she knew it would happen. she was an artist, after all.

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ninetales form-alola"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-camerupt"]

[attr="class","notes"] ooc _ skipping | 1/3 safari balls

what was that?

[break][break] faraway in the distance, almost immediately after mila had mentioned waiting for a masterpiece, a strange-looking creature appeared out of the icy mist. at first, mila thought it must have been a bagon or charmander, some other dragon-type pokemon. then, she thought, perhaps it was a wandering ducklett? it did have a beak after all.

[break][break] but no, the pokemon that appeared was not any of those things. it was... it was...

[break][break] "it's ugly," mila said, her nose scrunching up with a bit of disdain. whatever she was looking for, that was definitely not it, she thought, as she turned on her heel and headed in a different direction, the cold billowing around her. startled, her pokemon only stared after her. that was a little mean, even for mila.

[break][break] regardless, they eventually followed suit. mila was their trainer, after all.

[break][break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ninetales form-alola"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-camerupt"]

[attr="class","notes"] ooc _ skipping IM SORRY ARCTOZOLT.. ILY... even if mila doesn't :tear: | 1/3 safari balls

and there it was!

[break][break] mila's patience had finally paid off. just as she turned tail on the strange pokemon, there was a flicker of movement in the distance. soon enough, the sight of a wooper came into view but not just any wooper...

[break][break] "it's pink!" mila gasped with surprise, before her face brightened with glee. her footsteps quickened as she walked up to it and dropped to a squat as she inspected it. her hands wrapped themselves around her knees as she looked at it with a smile.

[break][break] the wooper stared at her with owlish eyes, before cocking it's head to the side. "woop woop?" the pokemon uttered, tilting it's head in the cutest way. mila wasted no time at all, she reached for the last safari ball in her possession and pressed a pokeball to it's face before it could run away.

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ninetales form-alola"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-camerupt"]

[break][break]

[attr="class","notes"] ooc _ uses safari ball! | 0/3 safari balls