keeping her eyes peeled for pokemon means she's not keeping her eyes peeled for mud. there's a disgusting squelch as her shoe sinks into the moist ground, and julian immediately takes a step back, horrified. not her new converse...! making a face, she inspects the mud puddle. there's a blue fin poking out of the top of it, a fin which immediately rolls over to reveal a mudkip, basking in the muck.

it looks at julian curiously. "okay, bud, you do you, but i'm staying out of the dirt," they grumble. after a moment, the mudkip rolls over again, and julian goes back to their trek through the grass. this time they're watching their step, not wanting to ruin any more clothes.

[ passing on mudkip! ]

they continue along their way. if julian was someone else, she might be enjoying their trek in the great outdoors, but mostly she's sweaty and sticky and wants to go home and play video games. it's a little while until they spot their next bit of wildlife, though it's not in view; instead, julian notices a stream of water that aims for a berry high in a tree, cutting it down with perfect precision. that must be a sobble, she thinks, flipping through the information in her mind.

if they follow the angle of the trajectory... there it is, scurrying towards the berry it just sliced from the tree! julian crouches down, approaching it cautiously. "h-hey, little guy," she coos. wait, is it a different color!? that isn't a normal sobble!

before she can look closer, the sobble flinches and scurries away. "wait!" she calls. she digs around in her bag until she finds some poffins, holding one out. "i have more food for you."

a breath passes. slowly, warily, the sobble once again approaches. it puts a hand out, touches the poffin, withdraws, then comes back. finally, it takes a bite out of the treat. its sad eyes light up. "yeah, there we go," julian coos. "if you come with me, there will be a lot more snacks like this." libra nearby seems to agree, communicating with the sobble in a way only a pokemon can.

once the sobble finishes eating the poffin, julian taps it with a pokeball. it's sucked up in a flash of light, and wobbles until it lays still.

[ catching sobble! ]