[attr="class","header"]WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

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The gym leader seemed to notice the wet state he was in. Not that it was to surprising. It wasn’t like he had brought a towel with him. Though considering he knew he would have to cross through Route 118 he should’ve. After all it was well known that to get to Fortree from where he lived it meant going through Route 118, which meant crossing over water.
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”I used route 118 to get her so I went for a bit of a swim to get here,” he said sheepishly. ”A blanket or a towel would be great though. It’s not good for me to be walking around wet,” he said knowing with his weakened lungs it could be a problem. The last thing he needed was to get a cold from walking around wet, even if it was warm outside.
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He took note the way the gym leader introduced himself and nodded. Though he was use to using honorifics with an adult he would respect the older males wishes. And it wasn’t like this was the first time. After all he was on a first name basis with Josh Devlin.
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”Nice to meet you Alex, my name’s Absalom but I also go by Axel.”[break] Alexei Ivanov

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[attr="class","header"]WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

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Upon hearing the older male's question, he shook his head and replied, "No, I'm fine with anything." The older man had asked this while speaking to someone through an earpiece, likely one of the employees. He guessed it could be an intern or someone similar but decided against asking to avoid offending anyone. He didn't want to go down that road again, as offending someone wasn't enjoyable. Therefore, he sometimes refrained from speaking and kept his thoughts to himself, which was difficult for him as he was naturally curious.
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Not wanting to interrupt the gym leader while he was talking to someone else, he waited until he was done speaking. Upon hearing his apology, he waved it off. "Don't worry about it, you couldn't have known I would come through Route 118," he pointed out. In retrospect, he could have mentioned where he would be coming from when this meetup had been planned or mentioned that he didn't have a flying-type Pokémon on his team.
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Now that that was out of the way, he could ask what he wanted about the sanctuary. "How many Pokémon reside in the sanctuary? Do any of them ever find new homes? Are there only wild Pokémon who have nowhere else to go, or are there also Pokémon that used to belong to trainers?" he inquired, all this with guarded curiosity, like he was wary of seeming too enthusiastic.
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Realizing he had kind of asked a good number of questions without awaiting his response, his face heated up with embarrassment. "Sorry, my curiosity got the best of me. I've just always had a fascination with Pokémon and always admired people who help Pokémon out any way they can," he told him, his face heating up even more in embarrassment.[break] Alexei Ivanov

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[attr="class","header"]WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

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He could feel his face heating up in embarrassment at the friendly jab. Yeah, he had gotten a bit carried away there, but he supposed as long as he didn't have a problem with it, all was good. In fact, he seemed content enough to answer his questions, and he listened with rapt attention as he began to explain how the sanctuary worked.
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The concept of an open space system seemed intriguing. Most of his current Pokémon were allowed out around the house. His Wrydeer, at the moment, was the only exception. His sister was worried the deer Pokémon would end up breaking something, so he wasn't allowed free rein like his other Pokémon.
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He didn't comment, though. Having asked a bunch of questions, he was content just to allow him to answer all the questions before saying anything. After all, it wouldn't be fair to interrupt when he was trying to answer his questions. That's what he told himself, anyway.
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Listening to his response to his second question, he perked up a bit with the mention of Toucannon. It had been a while since he had thought of Toucannon. Considering the bird Pokémon was native to Alola, his father's notes on the Pokémon had been pretty extensive. Though despite Toucannon being native to Alola, he had never actually seen the bird Pokémon in person.
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Before he could think too much on it, his thought process was interrupted when he mentioned Pokémon who were abandoned or left in boxes having made their home in the Sanctuary. "That's just sad. I don't see how people can do that," he said with a shake of his head.
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As he mentioned that he was free to ask any questions he wanted, he nodded. "How big is the sanctuary?" he asked curiously before continuing. "I'm asking because I have weak lungs. I still want a tour, but it might be slow going," he admitted. [break] Alexei Ivanov

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[attr="class","header"]WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

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Well, he supposed that was true. But still, he couldn't just readily accept someone abandoning a Pokémon. If one couldn't take care of a Pokémon, the least one could do was find it a good home. Seriously, how hard was that? He supposed that for those kinds of owners, doing something like that took too much time.
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"I'm not happy with the thought either. I can understand if someone doesn't have the means to take care of a Pokémon and has to find it a new home, but there is no excuse for just abandoning a Pokémon," he huffed, shaking his head. Seriously, that said a lot about the kind of person the person was. And it said a lot about the kind of parents they would be.
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Realizing he needed to calm down before his condition was triggered, he mentally counted to ten. "Sorry, I'm not usually one to get worked up," he told him, frowning slightly. As a scientist, it was unbecoming to let his emotions get the better of him. Not only that, but his condition didn't exactly agree with strong emotions.
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Thinking of this made him realize he should say something. After all, he didn't want to risk collapsing or risk him freaking out if he did.
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The look he received was pretty telling. It was like the older male understood him. Did he have health problems related to the lungs as well? He debated asking but decided not to. If he hadn't offered up the information himself, he wasn't about to ask.
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As he reassured him that he didn't mind them taking their time, a slight smile graced his lips. "Thanks, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to push myself anymore today."[break] Alexei Ivanov

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[attr="class","header"]WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

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Taking the invitation, he released Royal, his Glameow, and Gemini, his Wrydeer, from their Pokéballs. Song had been left at home to keep his sister company if she needed it. So they just left him with three Pokémon at the moment, all of which were out of their Pokéballs.
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"I can understand that," he said, glancing at the older male. "Stuff like that was written in my father's notes. However, my sister doesn't like Gemini being in the house," he admitted, gesturing towards the Wrydeer. So, in other words, Gemini was one of the ones that had to stay cooped up the longest.
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He hated the fact that any of his Pokémon had to be stuck in their Pokéballs, but in a way, he understood. Wrydeer wasn't a Pokémon one would associate with an indoor Pokémon. It was why he wished him and his sister could have something like this. A place where Pokémon could roam free.
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Speaking of roaming free, it didn't take them long to come across some Pelipper. 'Must be building a nest,' he thought as he continued to watch the Pelipper fly about.
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His eyes remained on the Pelipper until the older male spoke, drawing his attention to the Toucannon. That reminded him of his earlier thoughts. Not that he had forgotten. He had just pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind until he needed them. But now that the thoughts had resurfaced, he really should say something.
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"I read about them in my father's notes, but I've never seen one in person before, despite the fact that I lived in Alola," he admitted, turning his attention to the older male. "My father's a Pokémon professor in Alola, so he has notes on lots of Pokémon. Even those not native to Alola since he traveled for work. Though that pretty much stopped after I was born," he said with a shrug.
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He resumed watching the Toucannon, taking in what they looked like. The pictures in his father's notes were accurate. Not that he would expect anything less. But seeing it in a photo and seeing it with his own eyes was still different somehow.
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As he mentioned newborn Pokémon, he looked away from the Toucannon and in the direction he pointed. His gaze immediately fell upon an aviary with open windows. There wasn't a Pokémon in sight from what he could see. If there were any, they were all inside at the moment. And while his vision was good, it wasn't that good.
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"How many newborns do you usually get a year?" he asked curiously. Egg research wasn't something his father had ever gotten too much into. So he wasn't sure how long it took or if a Pokémon could lay more than one egg in a short amount of time. Perhaps he should've done some research on the subject on his own.
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There were a good number of Pokémon that had wings that weren't considered flying. And even a good number of flying Pokémon that didn't have wings. That got him thinking. And he wondered if there was anything in place for such Pokémon.
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Though before he could ask, the older male was speaking once more. Well, that was true. So he wondered... "Does that mean you have accommodations for Pokémon that live on the ground like the Doduo line?" he asked curiously. Because they were a flying-type Pokémon that didn't have wings.[break] Alexei Ivanov

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