[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]somehow, she doubts self-control is in his vocabulary... something about actions on a public beach say otherwise.

she huffs, moving to cross her arms over her chest. the sinistea shifts to settle gently on her head.

"maybe if you were gentler with them, they'd like you?" just a thought, really. she doesn't expect everyone to be tame. in fact, she almost feels like the odd one out for her capturing methods. befriending instead of battling... does it speak to her character or something more?

case in point: the approaching duskull.

she turns her head to watch the ghost float up, lips slowly curling into a warm smile. and where the ghost type usually expects a different reaction, it almost seems to like this one more. warmth is better than fear, right? it floats closer as the sinistea lifts its little hand to offer a wave. the duskull will find affection and fondness with the woman, that much it knows.

perhaps that's why it lingers, nuzzling its little skull face into her cheek.

"see?" she murmurs, raising a hand to keep the duskull close to her. "it's easy."

KING WAYLAND
capturing duskull!

"gentle? i'm plenty gentle."
[break][break]
the monkey that lingers on the edge watches king, and his toxicroak. then, it's gone, running further into the woods and away from the true predator standing before it.
[break][break]
"just a different kind of gentle s'all."
[break][break]
he shrugs, not bothering to watch her befriend another pokemon. she had her way, he had his. they fought in different battlegrounds, for different stakes. she wouldn't understand.
[break][break]
"hard ta believe yer out here just ta befriend all these creatures."

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes[break]

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

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]an audible snort escapes.

him, gentle?

"whatever you say," a hand waves the concept out of the air and it dissipates from her mind.

a lampent captures attention as easily as it should. her smile is bright, warm like the flame that burns behind living glass.

"is that a bad thing?" it's faraway, distracted. she reaches for the lampent with gentle fingers and it responds in kind. a curious sort of crackling sound echoes in ear canals. it wraps cool iron around warm skin, just as gentle, just as kind.

and as she draws the arm back, warmth radiating into her ribcage from purple flame, her head turns just enough to watch him. it tilts slightly, barely off kilter.

"i don't personally believe in harming them, especially not if i want to create a strong bond."

KING WAYLAND
capturing lampent!

"a strong bond, eh?" spoken like someone who hadn't been fighting a war for the better part of her life. he'd found no greater bond than spilling blood together; yours, and others. "ta each their own."
[break]
[break]
the other pokemon is beset upon with POISON JABS, bringing it down in quick rapid strikes. once captured, he tosses illeana the ball.
[break]
[break]

"all yers."

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes[break]
capture.[break]
normal/fairy/ghost[break]

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

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]she nods.

while she hasn't necessarily been fighting a war for part of her life, the things she's been involved with have left a toll just the same. the three day war, the littleroot incident, quelling groudon, exploring meteor village... there's more, nikki just can't think. anyway, each one has left marks, whether jagged scars in otherwise pearly skin or mental wounds that dug claws into the meat of her brain. and unfortunately, each time she rushed into the thick of conflict, some bonds didn't survive.

she shoves the thoughts down and flashes a smile, catching the pokeball he tosses. she pockets it with another nod.

"thank you," she murmurs.

a ribombee flutters over, then, and it shifts to perch on her shoulder when she isn't looking. the sudden sensation of fluttering wings jostles her enough to turn her head. and when she catches sight of the cutie with a little scarf, the smile widens. a finger rises to rub tiny little circles into its cheek as she shifts her attention back toward king.

"do you have a different way of bonding?"

KING WAYLAND
capturing ribombee!

his toxicroak comes back from an escapade carrying a new friend in his expanded gullet. he spits the soaked flying-type onto the floor in front of king. "the fuck, man?" it doesn't stop him from trying to capture it, though.
[break][break]
"no greater bond than havin' bled together." he shrugs, reaching for a cigarette in the pocket of his shirt. "helps if yer the one ta make each other bleed." a rough, rudimentary concept to some. science, to king.

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes[break]
capture rufflet.[break]
normal/fairy/ghost[break]

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

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]her nose wrinkles slightly in judgement.

it's not that the method is surprising, per se, but it hurts her heart a little regardless. she could never make her pokemon bleed, not even accidentally. and yet, she knows they would if it ensured her safety...

the thought keeps her silent for a few moments.

"i see," she finally murmurs. and without thinking much of it, she's asking a question she probably shouldn't. "do you ever feel bad about it?"

a trevenant, looking almost too similar to the plethora she has at home, wanders up. it tries to root itself into the ground to observe like a fly on the wall but to little avail. and before it can scurry away, she's shifting closer. a hand gently reaches out to brush leafy gauntlets. it stills at the concept, singular eerie eye blinking once, twice, thrice. confusion wisps off the trevenant in waves but illeana takes it in stride with a soft smile and another gentle touch of leaves.

"hi, your leaves look healthy," she murmurs softly.

KING WAYLAND
capturing trevenant!

king watches his toxicroak chase after the a bird, eager to dissolve its body in his gullet no doubt. that didn't interest him in the slightest, so, instead, he turns towards illeana.

"feel bad?" it's not as if he beats his pokemon or anything; every lick is returned with one of its own. "why would i feel bad?" a genuine look of confusion that translates into 'the fuck is she on?'

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes[break]
skip.[break]
normal/fairy/ghost[break]

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