Megan did not think of Johanna as the coolest person in the world, incidentally. That just wasn’t a term she would use, anyway. She did not really use it for people at least, more for Pokemon. People were…other things. And at least some of them, Jo was the most. But she could not put that into a concise little package and tie a bow around it, either. This was all just kind of…difficult and new to her.
[break][break]
But that was why they were going on this little excursion. Not to get to know one another better, but to find ways to properly categorize how that new status quo of theirs was and how it went. Though even if she could not pin down what exactly it was, she still felt elated when she met up with Jo again, the other sporting two Pokemon – albeit two from the same family. A Bisharp and a Pawniard, one red, one blue. Though the bigger, red one had to keep the smaller one in check. “Hey….Jo.” she started, though all but stopping herself after. “I kind of wanted to use some fancy term of endearment there, but couldn’t really think of one,” she explained with a slightly awkward laugh.

[break][break]

+ [roll]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“It was pretty fancy, yes,” she mused, though she was aware of how vapid of a comment that probably was. Yet it had been made, so that was that. Plus, she now felt they had aired out so much of import that nothing could keep up with that anyway. So, it probably wasn’t all that important to have something odd like that on the list.
[break][break]
Besides, just being here with her was good enough. “Yeah, just being like this is kind of cozy. At least for a while it will be.” It would probably get uncomfortable the deeper they went into the night, but that was a problem for the future. “And after that, let’s just go and explore somewhere again. Just you and me. No Rockets, Leagues or gyms. Just some wild Pokemon and stuff. This new…situation, I kind of want to share it a bunch for a while instead of both of us being distracted again.”

[break][break]

+ Johanna Joy

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Just…what was that girl getting herself into, again? Megan sighed to herself as she checked the message. Again. And then once more for good measure. Johanna just got herself into the weirdest situations. Fighting in the mists on a mountain only to get almost erased from existence. Multiple encounters with big bad legendaries and mythicals. And now, to top it all off…mochi? Like the Johto stuff they sold at the festival? But people being sorta kinda obsessed about that?
[break][break]
Megan could not help it as she rode her dragon. She had to sigh. She really ought to just pick Jo up from whatever was happening, figure that it would eventually sort itself out anyway because…Hoenn. And then just fly off somewhere sane. [break][break]
…[break][break]
But then again, she wasn’t a jerk that just would stay away when people might be in trouble. And neither was Jo. So, for one, running away wasn’t for her, and for the other, well, she didn’t exactly want Jo to be sad.
[break][break]
So…[break][break]
Yeah, she was coming anyway. And fortunately, whatever those mochi zombies…mombies? Mochi possessionados? Either way! Whoever they were, they did not really have anti-air defenses, so she would be able to land Hydreigon in the street outlined by the picture, knocking down some of the mochers. Yes, that was what she was going to call them.
[break][break]
Anyway, some of them were knocked down, their mochi falling up. Megan caught one, blinked at it, but shook that off. Instead, she looked about. “Johanna, are you still here?” Asking could not hurt. Not like the Mochers would be able to capitalize on that.

[break][break]

+ Johanna Joy landing and knocking about some Mochers (TM)

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

This really felt a lot better. In fact, she decided that there was a way to make it even better, at least to her understanding, so she simply acted on instinct. Since she was already close and in touch with Johanna, Meg used that to her advantage and threw herself to the side. Not with complete abruptness and force, no, but she just wanted to pull Jo along to force them both onto the beach.

[break][break]
It was still sand, after all, despite the time of year. And it had been dry enough for this to not be muddy, even though the situation still could not compare to its summer-time counterpart. But that did not matter. All she wanted to do was to roll onto her back, though not letting go.

[break][break]
“Ahh. I kind of wanted to do that last time we were here, too. Just look up at the stars and stuff. But we had that fancy crystal and stuff, so it did not feel right. It does, now. If you have any ideas or things you want to do, just tell me. Trying things out is the only way to improve after all.”

[break][break]

+ ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“Hah. Guess we’re both idiots, then,” she replied with another laugh. Clearly, she felt much better given how easily she bounced back to being happy go lucky about it all. And why wouldn’t she? She felt so much lighter now. This just had to be good, really.
[break][break]
Hence, she took another step forward, all but closing the distance. Reaching for the other’s hand she would seek to raise both of theirs into a combined fist. “But it’s probably like everything in life. You start off not knowing what to do, stab into the darkness a bit before you find something that works and get better from there. If we’re both idiots that just means we can both learn together, right?” [break][break]

This time, she just beamed a smile at the other. “I mean, this changes things for sure. But it doesn’t really have to change things either, right? I guess we just keep doing what we did before, just kind of more? Like, more together? Yeah, I don’t know what to do and say either, but we can just do whatever feels right. That’s what life ought to be about, isn’t it?”

[break][break]

+ Johanna Joy

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Oh. She kind of had brought this upon herself? This tersity, the air feeling surprisingly thick from one moment to the next – she had put a lot of pressure on the other and, in a way, on herself, so that was all on her. But still, this was something that had bugged her. Ever since that ancient thing, something had been odd. Something had felt like it had stood between them. And it had not been the other jumping between life stations seemingly uncertain where she wanted to go. That was something that Megan could relate to, after all, and she had easily accepted it.
[break][break]
But something had been there. Something she could not vocalize, something that seemed to stop the other just a step too short or something like that. Hence, she had set all of this up. To clear the air and get out what was there. Even if she did not understand it, she could still tell, on some level, that it needed to get out somehow.
[break][break]
Still, she felt a bit bad, seeing the other struggling like this. It was difficult for her, too. But it felt necessary still.
[break][break]
And hence, when that answer came and she realized what was going on – at least as well as she could without relevant experience – Meg could not help it but lead a hand to her own mouth and chuckle. Which then transitioned into a clear, genuine laugh. Megan just felt quite….elated was probably the right word. There had been quite a weight lifted from her shoulders. Everything beyond them was just gone momentarily. And while she was cognizant of Johanna still, she just could not imagine the other taking this as some sort of ridicule.[break][break]
Still though, it was probably just proper to apologize at least a little. “Sorry, sorry, I am obviously not laughing at you. More at, well, I kind of thought you we were growing apart or that you had some problem with me. Not something big, just something nagging or so. This is actually quite a relief. Besides, it’s not negative at all. I am flattered.” She briefly scratched the back of her neck. “And I guess I might be the same? I honestly don’t know how that works. But that’s probably why it felt bad to just be best friends, you know?”

[break][break]

+ Johanna Joy

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“Ah, don’t worry about it too much, I’ll be fine,” she replied with a laugh and a gesture of pushing things to the side for the time being. Though that did not feel quite right. Megan just did not really know why or how, either. She groaned briefly, trying to wrap her head around things. “But you lose two points, one for not answering and one for asking questions. That’s my turn right now.” Which was not entirely fair, since she was making up the rules of all this. But it was probably still fine.
[break][break]
Somehow, at least. Ugh. She did not like feeling this way. Hence, she made another step closer towards Johanna. That did feel right, at least. “There could be a hundred reasons, but there is only one. But leaving that aside, what about you? You seem like something is bothering you, too. And remember, you are a point down now.” Now that was probably a bit unfair, but that was just another word for posing a proper challenge to the other. At least that was how it worked in her head, anyway. This was supposed to be difficult, after all. How else would they attain truth?

[break][break]

+ Johanna Joy

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“Hmm,” she sounded in response, seemingly lost in thought. Jo certainly had not failed the challenge when it came to the veracity of the statement. That was, indeed her name. And it probably was what they were to one another, too. Well, what she was to Jo, at least. Still though, even though the other had said that so quickly and decisively – and it was definitely positive – she still found herself feeling a bit, well, off.
[break][break]
Hence, she was briefly lost in thought. “That is definitely good to hear, and I am indeed grateful,” she ultimately decided to reply, nodding to herself. Then, she looked up at the other again. “Then I will give you the next question to answer, because I don’t really why, myself. Maybe someone can tell from the outside.” She rubbed the back of her head as she said that. “Why do you think did I feel a bit of disappointment when you said that, still?”

[break][break]

+ Johanna Joy

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“I expected nothing less of you,” Megan noted, nodding her head over crossed arms. It was, indeed, what she had expected of the other. There had been a time when Johanna had seemed, to her, like an antsy person, like someone who did not truly knew what to do with herself. But that had ended when they had met up again on that mountain, or so she reckoned.
[break][break]
Thinking back to that time always came with truly unpleasant memories, of another being seemingly killed just a few feet from her, Megan unable to do anything about it. A memory that still often came to her at night. But she had decided to not run from that anymore, either. Even though she certainly had not become so powerful as to easily deal with such things, of course. She had not changed in that regard. Just in another.
[break][break]
Which was why she was trying to address something head-on. Even though it somehow still ended up being in a roundabout way. “Very well then. Let us start with the easiest or hardest challenge first. A simple question.” She phrased it that way on purpose, simply because it was up to Jo what it was. Because it was all up to the other what she took as the question itself, there. Either way, Megan tried to fixate the other’s gaze before she actually poised it anyway.
[break][break]“It’s simple, so I ask you. Who am I?”

[break][break]

+ Johanna Joy

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“The rules are simple. You can’t just run away from the challenge and you can’t lie. Pretty straightforward. This is about getting some truth, so just being deceptive would not do.” She shrugged briefly, putting some emphasis on her theatrics there. But it was decidedly playful nonetheless.
[break][break]
As was evident by the smirk she offered after. “Not that I would think that you would be lying. You might be crafty, but not really all that deceptive.” Heck, even during her time as a Rocket, the other, at least when it came to Megan, had not exactly done a good job at lying to begin with.

[break][break]

+ Johanna Joy

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“It’s still kind of strange. And not exactly the safest thing to do. There’s a lot of men that would take that as an invitation to hit on you,” she noted, briefly feeling like she needed to teach this girl a few things about how to behave. A bit presumptuous, maybe, but she felt like that was necessary to mention, at least. After all, this one was making some weird choices. Ultimately not her business or problem, but she wanted to at least have mentioned it.

[break][break]
Aside that though? Oh, well, she just had to believe in this lady to some extent. “Anyway, hey there Mic. This is Arcanine. He doesn’t like any nicknames.” She had tried, after all. But he seemed to not like any she came up with, at least. It wasn’t entirely clear if that was on her or on him, but she accepted it anyway. “It is better to be around others here, though. The path is generally safe, yeah, but sometimes people still cant handle the heat. To say nothing of the fumes about sometimes. Either way, it is safer in groups. Though I guess you at least got your Pokemon with you.” Though she wasn’t exactly sure what a Dedenne would do if their trainer passed out on the path.

[break][break]

+ katrina murphy

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“More than a year, if I remember correctly.” Sure, she had marked the calendar when it had started, but it was difficult to say when exactly she had truly stopped. Things had been rather fluent, especially after meeting those legendary beasts. Megan could make a case for quite a number of days in that regard.
[break][break]
Though he probably did not care about that. It was rather interesting though, to hear him talk about. “I will have to remind you though, I didn’t go out at a super young age and stuff. If it didn’t make me sound quite old, I’d call it more of a mid-life crisis. Which I won’t, of course. Though I kind of thought that you were one of those kids setting out as soon as possible to become a champion. Kind of fits you better.”

[break][break]

+ CIAN MAHER

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Seeing the other so chipper really helped. This was a tough thing she was attempting here, after all. Having Jo be so glad to see her put that heart of hers a bit more at ease. Still not greatly, but she would make do. She always did, after all.
[break][break]
But this bit more of energy saw her nod to herself and rise fully. “Greetings, challenger Johanna,” she announced, partly echoing her new line of work, but also because she tended to put most things into battle terms. Helped her form her thoughts properly. Plus, she was going to poise a challenge at the other. That was why she raised her arm and pointed it right at the bluenette.
[break][break]
“I hope you are ready to face Megan’s surprise seaside super challenge. Because it is here now. And the prize is the greatest in this world: important knowledge that you might not even know you were looking for.” Naturally, she was all upbeat as she spouted that half nonsense, but she clearly was also determined. That inflection would probably not leave her voice when something was important, ever. “The one I mentioned in the finals, of course. I do hope you are ready and can overcome it.”

[break][break]

+ Johanna Joy

[attr="class","pokeclass"]