[attr="class","alex"]the most unpredictable thing that made up the quieter more untouched places of hoenn, was not their abundance of mysteries. it was — in—fact — the wild pokémon which dwelled there. alex was a rarity in most cases. able to peer past the walls that made up these often frightened or standoffish creatures. this time however — the immediate anger overruled his endeavour at companionship and instead...

— he was sent on a grand escape.

robust shuffling startled leaves off bushes and trees as alex came — emerging from the nearby foliage and stumbling over his own feet. nearly barreling into the pair that settled below. "w—woah!" he said, only managing to grasp his balance with jasp nearby. the radiance of a psychic doing the work as he was gradually lowered towards the ground. pieces twigs and leaves stuck out from an ashen sprawl of disorderly hair. the features below littered with small scratches and dirt.

eventually — a small laugh emerged. "hi again." alex said, recognizing sam and his absol. the other was yet to be seen. "sorry... you're having a picnic? ...i think i have some company." — or perhaps they'd managed to escape? the rustling bushes just behind signified this hope as one shoved beneath the rug. the hovering raichu lingered in—between the oncoming danger and the rest of the group.

samuel carter

Absol had looked up and watched the one with white fluffy. hair trip over himself and nearly fall. The alolan raichu was taken into her view then, and when deemed not a threat, absol yawned and laid her head back down beside Sam. She pushed her back against his thigh, moving her paws out in a long stretch.

Sam allowed absol's movements against him while watching Alex and the antics that followed. Always a good entertaining time with Alex.

"No need for apologies. It's good to see you again Alex."

It was odd for him, that Alex was the same age as him. It was times like this that Sam was reminded of every time his mother told him he needed to act his age and not like he was twenty or more years older than he was.

"Oh, I'm afraid the puff of cotton is mine."

With a whistle, the whimsicott turned, puff vibrating and closing in close as she waddled her way viciously through the grass. With a hop, she slowly floated down onto absol's fur and gave a high pitched happy coo as she snuggled into absol's fur.

"There's enough in the picnic for you and yours if you'd like. We've had our fill."

alexander silph

[attr="class","alex"]despite the disasterous appearance — littered by the scarce fragments of the innermost forest — sam seemed mostly unfazed. the lacklustre of a reaction was either reassuring or one that roused discomfort. perhaps any obvious form of bafflement didn't compare to one lacking of such. at least like this — alex could safely assume nothing was wrong.

whack! the sudden throttle of raichu's tail against the back of his head was an immediate reminder. after electricity had nearly burst into the violent entrance of an adorable ball of fluff — their dangers seemed quite far away. certainly, though, they weren't willing to budge. "oh... no. i don't think so." he paused, "if something that adorable was trying to kill me, i think i'd be okay dying." smiling, he referenced the whimsicot that settled into the coat of the beast. so cute that even his own seemed to notice.

"i'm glad to see you too." the expression glows. one with a radiance of purity. there is no ounce of hesitation. no lingering notions. "though i wish it could've been under better circumstances." one hand plucked a few leaves out of his hair, "i'm pretty sure i'm getting hunted by a few angry pokémon... as much as i would love to eat. perhaps it would be best for me to head elsewhere." the constant concern disregarded the invitation when it involved ruining sam's afternoon.

samuel carter

"I see."

A polite decline. Sam accepted it with no refute of his own, standing and brushing himself off. As his absol stood, the whimsicott on her fur clutched and climbed until she reached the horn, holding on like it was the top of a building and scouting out with small grunts. She was now a self-proclaimed 'lookout.'

"We can help with that, then." He looked to his absol's glowing eyes, an indication of her FUTURE SIGHT. "If something's after you, she'll find it."

As he spoke and his pokémon were on lookout, he began tidying up his picnic and returning it to the backpack he then put onto his back.

alexander silph

[attr="class","alex"]sure enough — krokorok emerged from the foliage with an outstretched array of jagged teeth. poised to bite alex, the raichu that settled in—between them sent a powerful thunder punch directly into it's face. the reptile stumbled backwards — the radiance of hostility not faltering but its previous advances deciding to be reasonable.

in the end — it leaves.

relieved albeit for a moment, sudden pain lurches him forward in surprise. one tiny beast below is grinding her still admirable strength into his ankle. enough it has even drawn blood. alex drops down — carefully removing the deino as she endeavors to crunch the closest limb possible. however the effort is met vacant of such.

eventually, the bewildering torrent of constant nipping is subdued by the light of a pokeball. alex sighs — glancing down at his ankle and then the additional company. managing a smile despite the discomfort. "that was a close call." he said, shoving the object into the safety of his jacket. 

samuel carter capturing the deino!

The krokorok leaving after a thunder move that didn't effect it had Sam raising a brow. Perhaps the punch itself had been enough to make the krokorok uninterested. Either way, Sam jumped when Alex ended up bitten and quickly squatted down to inspect the wound once the deino was in a capsule.

Whimsicott gave a cry and grumble of sorts, which absol silenced with a snort. The whimsicott had fussed apologies and absol had told her to hush while Sam worked.

"It's not bad enough for stitches," Sam encouraged. "But I would favor it for the rest of the day. Do you have a first aid kit? If not, I've one in my bag you can use."

// passing

alexander silph

[attr="class","alex"]"it's alright." alex started, "just a scratch." it would seem he had neither a first aid kit or the desire to bother the other any further than ruining a peaceful afternoon.

perhaps the discomfort wasn't fully perceived.

"were you headed somewhere by any chance?" he'd ask after a moment. the dazzle of his blue eyes flickering towards the whimsicott — offering her a small smile of reassurance. the alolan variant of a hovering raichu seemed just as concerned as it hung on his right shoulder. "jasp and i were meant to go to meteor falls but we got distracted on the way there." pale digits gently patted the head which rested close—by. earning immediate delight in the act.

samuel carter
not my dumbass forgetting electricity has no effect aha

"We were also headed to Meteor Falls today."

It irony isn't lost on Sam. He can't help but smile at it. There were in fact coincidences in life and he doubted that Alex was stalking him, which was the solution to why Alex would be there vs. a sheer coincidence.

"I'm a fan of lunatone and solrock, so I was going to go looking for some."

If Alex didn't want to be fussed over, Sam would oblige. He leaned away and stood up, keeping himself alert. His pokémon did the same, absol a bit more on edge than previous.

// listen i just figured the krokorok was like 'how rude' and left due to sheer audacity

alexander silph

[attr="class","alex"]"oh?" he says, the owlish blink accompanied with a smile, "the meteorite pokémon."

alex would begin moving. somewhat thankful there was now a decent venture settled before them. as much as he could appreciate the unknown ending that derived a pathless approach into the outskirts that surrounded them.

"are you a challenger?" he asked, the slight strain in his step not perceived by the lighthearted nature lingering in his tone. "are you planning to challenge the gyms i mean." he'd elaborate with another quirk.

samuel carter  passing!

"i don't consider myself one, but in order to gain some form of authority over the wild pokémon and trainers in the area i've decided to venture into claiming a few."

most of the punks who would come to the mountain would laugh and claim that they could best him because he didn't have any badges. granted, starting fresh in hoenn with his pokémon had been tricky. it had seemed like he was inexperienced.

and his battle record would honestly reflect the same, more losses than wins. but when he did win, it was with purpose. any other battle, lacking purpose, he typically didn't fight too hard.

"though i wouldn't consider myself a challenger as much as... maybe, a hobbiest? and a bit ocd."

not wanting to claim one, without the other.

as the two trainers speak, the absol gives a coo to the whimsicott on her horn. the fairy/grass dual type gives a small peep before noticing the same thing absol did. with a MOONBLAST, the sneasel is sent rolling into the open, having been stalking them from the grass. it doesn't move, and sam watches with curious eyes.

he throws a pokéball at it, glancing to his whimsicott and absol with gratitude in his eyes.

//NOTES
capture attempt SNEASEL

alexander silph