Oliver watched in amusement as a couple of kids jumped every time his Dragonite's tail swished around. It was kind of cute. Dragonite had been keeping tabs so he wouldn't accidentally hurt the children either. Holding onto his pineapple and orange drink, Dragonite had been enjoying his time off. Normally he'd be lazing about on his chair watching TV. Oliver, meanwhile, was having an alchoholic drink, one of the fruity specials. But it would be the only one he'd be having this afternoon. No more until the evening, more than likely at a party. Almost as if reading his mind, Dragonite did a playful punch to his trainer's shoulder. "What? Don't worry, I don't intend on getting smashed like last time..." The red head recieved an almost harsh glare from his oldest partner.

Running a hand through his hair, he shook his head. He really didn't mean to get so drunk. Then breaking and entering into someone else's home. Then fending off a vicious Eevee. And the owner of the apartment being an absolute saint in the form of andres buenaventura. Again, his Dragonite did his little barking giggle thing at the thought of helping his trainer back to their place. He was only thankful that his trainer didn't go to jail or worse.

Moving on, it had been awhile since he was out and about. Stretching, Dragonite stood up. Luckily Oliver was almost done with his drink, and looked at his dragon questioningly. The big guy just barked at him to hurry it up so they could explore a bit more. Chuckling, Ollie finished what little he had left, paid for it, and started to walk. It was nice having a relaxing walk with his monster of a Pokemon. And the dragon didn't seem to mind that it was off duty and didn't have to be out and about. The poor guy would get too restless. But also too considerate to try to work off some energy, since he didn't want to disturb anybody. So off they went towards the beach.

Neither one could seem to get enough of it. They were from the mountains, Blackthorne City in Johto. Despite all the disasters around, Ollie had noticed Dragonite was a little more relaxed here. At the least, not as tense here in Hoenn than in Johto. It's been a while since he pampered his big boy...so why not go do things that the orange beast wanted for a change?

Hideo Kino

Hideo tensed up as he heard the distinct sounds of a Dragonite’s footsteps nearby. Not out of fear, mind you; he had a Dragonite of his own, and it was a very affectionate Pokemon. It had earned the name “Hugger” very quickly, the reason being self-explanatory, and while the hugs weren’t harmful, it was hard to get out of them.

So he’d learned to prepare himself the moment he heard those footsteps get closer.

The Lycanroc was quick to notice Hideo’s (moderate) distress, his ears perking up as he caught on to the sound. Rocky recognized it as well, even if he was spared from the hugs.

Messily finishing off his vanilla ice cream, the somehow-brain-freeze-resistant Lycanroc brushed his body against Hideo - a way to comfort the boy - before stepping between him and the passing Dragonite, keeping watch of the large dragon. Even if it didn’t seem like the Dragonite was headed towards them.

“You don’t gotta do that, Rocky,” Hideo sighed, turning towards his Pokemon, “Hugger would’ve been faster than that. And I think someone would’ve said something if a Dragonite was walking around here on its own.”

Safe to assume it was with a trainer. Hopefully, his Lycanroc didn’t offend them with his defensiveness.

Oliver Shrakes

Despite his bad boy looks, Oliver was actually quite observant. One had to be if they were going to be any kind of successful ranger. So he did notice one Pokemon in particular get defensive over...a small child? At the approach of him and his Dragonite. Luckily, his big oaf doesn't just run up to people and hug them, he was much more subdued than that. They weren't heading directly towards them, but it was still comforting that the Pokemon was so protective of his trainer. And seemed for all the right reasons too. He was barely in range of what the kid was saying to his loyal friend.

Chuckling, he had to respond to it. "More so since the Dragonite line is more common in the Johto and Kanto regions than here in Hoenn. Still, try to cut the guy some slack, he's just being a good friend and lookin' out for ya." Despite already having been here for quite a while, he still had a bit of a Johto accent. Dragonite, for his part, just waved and smiled, being friendly. But still didn't move from behind his trainer. Neither one knew or could tell that the kid was blind as of yet. Still, maybe a friendly conversation could help relax the pupper?

Hideo Kino

Seemed like the Dragonite did indeed have a trainer, who seemed to have heard what Hideo said to his Lycanroc. Hideo could at least be relieved the man wasn't offended by Rocky's overprotectiveness.

"It's alright," Hideo said, wiping off some vanilla-lycanroc-saliva from his face with a napkin. "Rocky's like that with anyone he doesn't know. And he tries to make sure my own Dragonite doesn't get too affectionate for too long with me."

Despite the Dragonite's friendly waving, the Lycanroc was still wary of it - and its trainer. They didn't seem hostile, but he could never be too sure.

Hideo didn’t react to the waving either, for sight-related reasons. Though he could still tell there was an uncomfortableness underlying the current situation; he’d try to alleviate that.

“So how long you have your Dragonite for?” he asked. “I’ve had Rocky here since I was six, back when he was a tiny Rockruff. Small enough that I could carry him around easy. Not like now where he’s big and long and heavy.”

That jest got an annoyed look from his Lycanroc - just as planned. Hideo knew the best way to get Rocky to calm down was to redirect his annoyance.

Oliver Shrakes

Oliver laughed at the comment. Too affectionate for too long? The kid was a shrimp, so a big Pokemon giving hugs could be...uncomfortable. "Rocky sounds like they take a similar role as my buddy here. He keeps everyone in line." His Dragonite puffed up in pride. He was always proud of his power. Then he sort of ruined it by slurping on his drink. Chuckling and shaking his head he was about to move on when the kid asked him how long he had his Dragonite for, explaining how long he had Rocky. Sounded like they had a lot of similarities.

"Not quite six, but pretty close. I think eight was how old I was, so eighteen years. He was an injured Dratini I found in the mountains near Blackthorn City in Johto. My parents were a little hesitant in me taking him in and taking care of him...but, well, here he still is with me. Let me tell ya, it was interesting moving a dragon that was a full foot longer than I was tall and weighed a good twenty pounds heavier back to our house. In mountainous terrain." The big dragon just plopped a seat. He heard Ollie share his story before, so he wasn't too concerned. Plus, he knew that Ollie wouldn't do anything to agitate the Lycanroc. "Name's Ollie. I'm a Pokemon Ranger that got reassigned to Hoenn after Sootopolis City got taken over. What about you, squirt, got any big dreams?"

Dragonite rolled his eyes. Of course the kid did. What kid didn't have big dreams? He so wanted to remind his trainer that once upon a time, Oliver wanted to be a space marine or pirate of the seas. Or even the Johto League Champion. But whatever, he would just continue to slurp on his fruity drink and let his trainer be...he doubted Ollie would talk much to a random kid that wasn't interested in being a ranger.

Hideo Kino

"Yeah, Rocky can get pretty protective of me." He wouldn't go into any more detail than that; Rocky had gotten aggressive towards other Pokemon for almost hurting Hideo, and he didn't want to scare this guy and his Dragonite. "He usually makes sure my other Pokemon are careful." To put it lightly.

Hideo went in to his chocolate ice cream as the man explained how he got his Dragonite - or rather, a Dratini. His Lycanroc sat beside him, still watching over the pair, although no longer standing as if he were to battle at a moment's notice.

Though with the story out of the way, Hideo received a proper introduction - and he realized he hadn't even given the man his name yet. There was a quick wipe with a napkin before Hideo would answer.

"I'm Hideo. I'm just a trainer going around Hoenn, doing gyms and stuff." Which wasn't wrong, just leaving out the part where he was technically a league-endorsed runaway. "Though I am from Hoenn. I got seven badges so far. Rocky here even helped me get a couple."

There was a smug grin on the Lycanroc's maw: he wasn't one to ignore well-deserved praise.

"Once I get my eighth, I'm gonna take a shot at becoming Champion. I've even got an Elite Four member hyped to battle me!" And he was also hyped to battle against MATIAS SILPH when the time came.

Heck, he was pretty sure Melody Miro would be excited to test him too; he heard she was on the Elite Four now too.

"You have any badges yet, Oliver? I got one with my own Dragonite, so I’m sure he’s more than up to it."

Oliver Shrakes

Oliver simply nodded. He could see why. The guy was small, and awfully young. He got a name and what he's doing. Going aorund Hoenn and doing gyms. He was about to ask how many when the kid let loose that he had seven badges. That made him sputter. Even Dragonite stared at the kid. The Lycanroc grinned at the honorable mention. "That's really good...up for a little show and tell?" Not that he didn't believe the kid. More so because the kid was so close to being able to challenge the Elite Four. He also did have a couple questions. Namely toughest challenge so far, and the most fun challange so far.

The kid seemed excited, even got an Elite Four member hyped to battle him. Ollie couldn't tell if the kid was pulling his leg or not, though it wasn't exactly completely unheard of. Hideo asked the red head if he had any badges yet, even saying that his own Dragonite had helped out. "Oh, I know Dragonite can hold his own. He's been my main battler for years. If I'm going into a fight, he's the one I choose. Braviary is pretty strong too, but not quite as good. Everyone else I have I haven't had for long, so I'm still working with them. But I don't have any badges. Ranger work keeps me plenty busy. These days off I prefer to use for relaxation. My Pokemon like the breaks as well."

Hideo Kino

There wasn’t much surprise the guy wanted to see his badges. Not a lot of people had as many as he did, though he couldn’t help but wonder if his age played a factor in that.

“Yeah, I got it with me,” Hideo said, reaching down to his bag, producing his badge case. He opened it up, holding it up with all seven badges on display: Rhythm, Skyrider, Precision, Knockout, Honor, Requiem, and Sunset. All kept clean, with barely any marks on them - besides fingerprints if one looked close enough. “Got them all from gym challenges, obviously. Some were fights, some were challenges they had us do.”

He’d earned them all with his hard work. A testament to his skill, and the skill of his Pokemon.

“But I guess Ranger work can keep you pretty busy. My oldest brother’s a Ranger, and last time I checked, he’s been swamped with work.” Unsurprising, considering how crazy things were getting in Hoenn as of late. “I’ve made sure to give my Pokemon a lot of breaks between stuff. And myself.”

Even if he was having trouble remembering why he was taking such a long one after his seventh badge.

“I’d recommend taking a shot, though! They can be pretty fun challenges!”

Oliver Shrakes

Ollie looked at them. Yeah, sure enough, seven badges, including the Requiem badge. "Which one was the toughest? I've heard Greyson Connors's is pretty brutal. But reading about it, I can certainly appreciate it. I don't get along with him, but I can at least appreciate his challenges." It was sort of an odd way to phrase it, but he didn't know how else to say it. The kid had guts and skill, and obviously knew how to train his Pokemon. "I would certainly hope the gym leaders wouldn't pull their punches, no matter the opponent. I'm looking forward to seeing you on the big screen soon." Namely when/if the kid challenges Hoenn's champion.

The kid's brother was also a ranger, and much like everyone else, had been swamped with work. After some encouragement, Ollie laughed a bit. "I'll think about it. The only one I might be interested in taking is Connor's. If nothing else but to show him up. Take advantage of the festival while you can, and good luck on the final gym badge." He couldn't help but feel like that after getting that last badge, Hideo was going to hit the ground running to the Elite 4. He also made a mental note to find out who was Hideo's brother. Nevertheless, it was a goodbye for now. His Dragonite barked as such to both Rocky and the kid wonder. Off they both went. Tonight had some club specials going on, and he was definitely going to take advantage of those.

Hideo Kino