@chloe

"huh?" said greyson without thinking, gaze falling onto the stranger. it's not everyday that something answers back when you're talking to yourself. "oh, i'm sorry." he took a step back, automatically assuming he was in the way, or somehow bothering her. usually greyson was hyper aware of his surroundings and the space he took up. when his head was in the clouds, like it was now, it was one of the few exceptions. a look of confusion flitted across his features before he realized what exactly it was she said.

"oh, um." a faint blush crept into his cheeks, embarrassed at how caught off guard he was. he hoped she couldn't see. greyson at first felt inclined to refuse. she was likely just being polite after all and he didn't want to inconvenience her. but wouldn't declining be considered rude at this point, too?

"y-yeah, that'd be nice." he finally squeezed out, doing his best to not give an awkward smile. "me and ellie would probably be wandering around forever looking for it." his eyes widened slightly. "oh, this is ellie" he said, holding up his wrist like some sort of power ranger ready to transform. "and i'm greyson. it's nice to meet you."


notes + sounds good! don't mind greyson being a dork.

@chloe

ellie's small form shifted as she waved an even tinier hand in greeting, a barely perceptible, but friendly squeak following. "chloe," greyson repeated, copying her gesture as he gripped her hand in greeting. "and buziel," he gave the water-type a friendly smile and slight nod.

he followed her, nodding in response to her question. "it is, yeah," greyson replied, fiddling with the flower bracelet. "was just passing through on my way to mauville city to check out the gym there." he chuckled a bit as his thoughts came together, continuing. "kind of got wrapped up into this whole shopping idea when i mentioned it to the group. ellie here loves crowds. me? not so much." greyson rubbed the back of his neck, sheepishly.

"thanks again for helping us. probably would've wandered the whole day myself if you hadn't come along." he admitted, remembering her comment from earlier. greyson wasn't the type to go to locals for help. or anyone, really; anxiety and all that. the prospect of hitting a tourist trap was both enticing and dreadful, but at a bare minimum he did hope they had some nice hats.


notes + i'll spawn something in before they get to the market (feel free to reply before hand if you want, too) and figure out the rest as we go!

@chloe

"it is pretty," he agrees with an automatic head nod, smiling as he too basks in his surroundings. "it's far different than where i come from." and it was true. where this place had tall buildings overlooking a boundless sea, his own home was more humble and with far less of a great view. if you didn't like a lot of trees, that was. the urge to jump on a ship and explore the ocean rose again in his chest, like it did every time he thought about it, only this time he let it sit there and simmer a bit before suppressing the thought.

"uh.." he starts, a bit of embarrassment rising in him once more. "none... yet!" he quickly adds at the end, still looking sheepish. "still in the process of figuring everything out before i go jumping in and challenging any gyms." the nerves and anxiety that bubbled within' him at the thought always felt a bit calmer when he prepared. or, in truth, over-prepared. she didn't know just how right she was in his case when she mentioned the term overwhelming. he leaped at the chance to leave home after being cooped up so much, but rarely did he ever feel ready for the day.

he abandoned his confidence shaking thoughts as two pokemon emerged from a nearby alley. the duo had been lucky- or perhaps maybe even specifically chosen because of it- that no one was directly nearby. with chloe jumping quickly after the voltorb, that left him the floating sword pokemon. both of it's vertically slitted pupils watched greyson as he reached for one of the balls that hung at his belt, but made no move to stop him. was it cocky? a fool? greyson bet he'd find out in a minute.

"you're up, nini." greyson called, releasing the eldegoss from her storage. the grass-type looked at greyson, then at the steel-type, blinking once each. then, her expression hardened. greyson grinned. nini was his go-to choice for battlefield control. "let's slow it down nini," he commanded, and she moved into her action. the large ball of cotton that acted as eldegoss's 'hair' shook as small, barely larger than your average marbles, tufts of cotton were released into the air. the result was effectively a minefield of COTTON SPORES that hindered movement, allowing the much slower grass-type to be on level fields.

that move didn't deter the steel-type, however. the two blades positioned themselves perpendicularly to one another, all while still facing greyson and nini, and collided on the flats of their blades together. the resulting METAL SOUND echoed outwards and towards the two, hands clamping on their ears in pain. greyson grit his teeth but still felt the vibration of their forced chattering. doublade's laughter sounded like a fork clanging against someone's teeth at the dinner table.

"shut her up," greyson said, ears still ringing. nini complied. raising both arms in front of her as if composing a symphony, a great wind rose and formed into a LEAF TORNADO. it tore at the steel-type, but it didn't seem particularly bothered. until the COTTON SPORE was absorbed. it's advantage wasn't in the damage it did, but the restraint. in moments the pokemon was covered from hilt to tip in the weighted cotton and slowly sunk to the earth. seeing no better time, greyson tossed a pokeball at the wild pokemon, and held his breathe.

"you alright?" he asked chloe, seeing her victory over the electric pokemon. all the while, the dual-colored orb rattled.


notes + capture attempt on the doublade!

@chloe

greyson reached down, picking up the unmoving capture device, grinning at another successful capture. when chloe reveals she's fine, he nods. "thanks," greyson says bashfully. "just something we've been working on. surprised it worked, actually." he stands straight, doing a quick double check of their surrounding. "i'm from oldale. quiet, humble little place." greyson blinks, focusing back to something she mentioned just before the battle. "you mentioned you haven't done any gym battles yourself? any idea which'll be your first?" his eyes light in eager interest.

it takes no time at all to finally arrive. it's not as he expects; it's more. large tents set up in a never ending rows with dozens of voices soliciting their products for pedestrians to perk up to. he sees- and smells- everything from clothing, game consoles, pokemon fashion and even roadside cooking. "this is less busy than usual?" greyson replied, a bit shocked. while it wasn't bustling, he still had to actively pay attention not to walk into anyone.

both excitement and dread rolled over him in waves. ugh, crowds.

"nothing in particular," he said, moving automatically down the street, eyes scanning the contents of each tent hungrily. "clothes, souvenirs, trinkets; the usual." an older woman standing a half-dozen feet off, frying some sort of bread, starts yelling in their direction. greyson nods politely, turning his attention towards chloe.

"what about you?"

@chloe

greyson chuckles bashfully, another rose tinge rising in his cheeks at the compliment. "it's nothing special. just the product of too many youtube videos," he admits. his expression changes into something resembling excitement with her next statement. "oh i love it. it's nice and quiet. rarely anyone comes out there." he takes on a quick, contemplative look. "that's a good and bad thing too, i guess."

he collides a shoulder into a random pedestrian, quickly apologizing along with multiple nods of his head in their direction. luckily they just scowl and move on. still, he catches her answer. "i.. don't know much new music to be honest," he says hesitantly. "i've been listening to the same mix since i was in high school." he remembers the username he uses on the newsletter forums. he can't tell a soul that was him. "i'll definitely look her up though." he finishes with a smile.

his eyes turn towards the alley way, sighing in relief at how empty in comparison. he'd take a wild pokemon attack over a crowd any day. well, maybe it wasn't that serious. "is it a birthday gift or something?" he asks, following. it's not even ten seconds later that a couple of wild pokemon emerge behind overturned receptacles. while the cat-pokemon seemed more interested in chloe, the small one's attention shifted to greyson.

when he releases his corviknight, the small pokemon quickly scuttles away. thinking about it, he's never seen a wild pokemon move as fast as it did. it satisfied him. with a nudge of his head upwards, z takes flight, talons digging into the concrete edge of the roof above. watching. waiting to step in should it need too.

notes + greyson scares his off.