Giona let that pause hang just long enough for him to react to it. He did it on purpose. Slipped in a gay joke of the most innocent sort... Not that there was anything wrong with that. If there was, he wouldn't have joined Team Rocket. Wouldn't have set up camp in a submarine filled with sweaty guys like sardines in a tin.

The waves rolled in. Giona raised a hand to adjust his necktie. His slacks had seams in the middle of the thighs, as if they were ironed recently. He then glanced off to the side, thinking and choosing his words carefully. He then lit up the phone again, and started typing.

"That's a really interesting coincidence." He paused. "I was actually in the middle of filing paperwork to open a gym of my own. Then the tournament started."

Notes: The battle is effectively over, and Giona is just talking things out.

Giona managed to pass the test, or not. Either way, the conversation was moved along. A new vector for commanding pokemon was opened up again.

Giona looked to Luxray and smirked. Weirdly enough, he thought he'd be able to make tongue commands work better for this one. It seemed like that was how the taciturn cat communicated with the world. Giona started to slowly roll his tongue, like a cat purring so hard that it's vibrating, looking at Luxray the entire time. Luxray responded by using Charge. It made the same tongue vocalization, this time marked by the occasional pop of static electricity.

“This is... wow. This is eye-opening. Thanks.”

Notes: damn, okay!!!

Giona nodded. He smiled when the two were flanked by intruders again, this time. He pointed to the squat little Sableye, smirking and glancing aside at Remiel. "These are native to the cave on Dewford Island. Wherever we are, we're getting closer to the heart of Mount Pyre." He said, before hearing rustling on the paved floor as the two neared them.

The cat growled, leaning on its hind legs. It was a lethargic sort of thing. Told off by Giona before, for not being as alert as it seemed to be around Emma. "--I hadn't noticed a significant change in the temperature. Might be because I haven't taken my jacket off. But... based on the wild pokemon we're seeing, we're on the right track." He asked, as the Sableye circled Luxray, whose tail swished back and forth.

Sableye got the drop on it with Fakeout. It then tried Knock Off in a pokemon setting with no hold items. Cute. Luxray retaliated with Spark on the thing that was already so close to it, causing Sableye to reel back and be stunned on the ground but still conscious, like Malamar. Giona saw fit to spare a pokeball for it.

notes: catching sableye.
aaaaaaaaaaaaa

He sort of chuckled as she mentioned Rotom diving into her stove. He was presented a blueprint for an upcoming facility covered in light tubes for that very reason; lest he have one more pokemon to take for a walk.

Giona downed a third of his drink. He held the bottle in his hand, somewhat loosely. Like an astronaut readjusting to gravity.

"...Alright. I guess it's your turn." He said, looking to her. Mismagius, ever the curious thing, caught the ire of Darmanitan, with its Yawn. It retaliated with Power Gem. A slurry of rocks that all caught the light headed right for Darmanitan. Rotom followed suit, trying to pin Zebstrika with Confuse Ray for staring. A ball of light that orbited its head quickly enough to possibly disorient.

Giona smiled. He'd scarfed down sugared electrolyte drinks at the cooler on the sand for days on end. Probably got as many knowing side-eyes there as he did at the pokemon center. By comparison, the coffee-dark and yet floral taste of black tea was a pleasant surprise.

”I'm sure it's different here because of the materials that are available. Milk teas are nice. Just this like... lighter taste that's still floral.”

He then curled the towel around his shoulders. Siobhan tried to usher the two of them to an empty table.

It was surrounded on all sides by tiny metal chairs with soft cushions, and he obliged her. He sat, leaning back in his chair and slouching in a way.

The entire tournament was a bust. A series of small humiliations with co-workers who'd have to rely on him later, or bouts with people who could've and probably should've just citizen's arrested him. Luckily, he'd rebranded just well enough to be seen in public. Giona gave Siobhan a weak grin, and slid a small business card across the table. It displayed a name, phone number, @ online, and address of a then still under construction gym.

Giona was cat-like in nature. He did things somewhat arbitrarily. So, it was perfect to just peel him off of the stage and take him out for a drink. A man who just could not say no or mind his own business.

”Thanks.”

He then curled the towel around his shoulders. The line at the drink vendor moved quickly, as did all of the vendor lines. Never before had people looked so much like a school of fish.

He'd ordered a black iced tea, and stepped aside with her. Siobhan noticed that he fell silent, and tried to prompt him to talk about drink preferences. The old adage hit the inside of his ear again: smoke like you've been here before. With a moment to regain his composure and put on a cat-like grin, he looked to her.

Their orders came out, a tall indigo drink in a plastic cup, and a completely transparent amber liquid with ice cubes in a plastic cup. Giona saw fit to make his way back to the counter, to fetch their orders for the two of them. He held out the two cups, looking to her.

He was a little nervous and skittish, even as the battle drew to a close. He didn't get to do much in the way of extracurriculars with friends at work, save for when he went to the gym on the sub. When he was doing his dumbbell routine, then got distracted and hit on bryan delarosa in a way that was baffling, but not technically a problem.

”That's... wow. I can pay for my own drink, but I wouldn't mind sitting down and drinking with you.”

He then curled the towel around his shoulders. In this climate, protecting yourself from sunburns was vital. That being said, he'd glance up at her and offer it to her, before they walked off to the drink vendors together. Without it, he'd just be wearing black track pants and matching sandals.

He'd glanced off into the distance to try and collect some thought to share. Something cogent, compared to his usual weird comments. Nothing came up, and worse, nothing could stave off what looked like a little blush... save for the onset of a mild sunburn.

Giona felt like he was coming out of his shell a little more. Becoming the person that he hastily turned himself into to evade suspicion. He'd even left the safehouses he'd set up in capable hands. Getting to have a conversation like this in public helped a lot.

”That's fantastic. You seem to already know what to do with them. If I could add one thing, you should try to teach it Ominous Wind. It has a small but still present chance to make Drifloon stronger while attacking at the same time.”

The last attack connected on Drifloon. It'd seemingly fainted from the blow, which would've left the two of them 1 and 1. Ontop of that, Dragonite struck with Thunderbolt. What happened next was predictable; Drifloon's Aftermath went off. One last violent burst of air clipped Unfezant, sending it hurtling towards the ground.

Like in the games, battles seemed to be over here in a matter of two to three well placed attacks. It left him thankful, having been through the long, drawn out affair in Fortree. Giona withdrew it into a ball with a red R displayed to her, protecting the bird from further harm.

Giona shook his head. Mismagius drifted off, returning with a couple electrolyte drinks that looked like the cyan hue used by a printer in its plastic bottle. Giona chugged a third of one of them, then whistled for Mismagius to drop a bottle at her feet.

He set the bottle down, then looked to the little capsules clipped to his belt. One seemed to wiggle with anticipation, as if it was rising from a deep sleep. Giona obliged it, clicking the button to make a red beam usher it out. An orange wisp of plasma emerged, and it couldn't seem to sit still.

"I appreciate your concern. I really do. But, I would've backed down already, if this was too much. We can do doubles, if you want. I could go either way." He said, looking to her. It puzzled him, that Stormy had adjusted to the heat so well. It shouldn't have, for obvious reasons, but even the likes of Fernando needed a Feraligatr-ade to stop from keeling over in the sun baking the hot sand.

The room was cool and dry. Fire blast just barely missed. The light generated by the burning of carbon in the ensuing blast showed the gout of flame hitting the wall. Giona raised a brow.

He smiled. Not that anyone would see it. He’d have to thank Matias later for pulling any humidity out of the room with his blast.

"A wise choice. I’m sure it’ll pay off." He said, looking to the taller man. The Mismagius fired back at Snorlax with Power Gem. A slurry of rock that caught what little light was in the room. 0hd_SQ_h

Rotom used Double Team, shaving -10 off the next attack on it. Was it actually creating duplicates? Was it just moving quickly? Either way, it’d feel like Rotom was struck, regardless of if the move connected. The light made it difficult to confirm.

The gym was technically open. Online registration for badge challenges filled up quickly, but he had those spaced out well enough to not get fatigued right away. What was scheduled today was... a short tour and conversation with the premier trainer school on the east coast of the country. He'd had an event with the local trainer school like this, and even liked the idea of operating a school fieldtrip destination.

Giona wore black sweatpants and a white polo shirt; like a more climate-adjusted version of the schoolboy outfit he wore for the tournament. His undercut was still fresh, with hair hanging down rather than pulled up.

The song that was piped through the building leaked out as he stepped to the front door to greet the group, led by a teacher who was older than him, taller too. It was like... ambient music that sampled public access television. Something very mellow, compared to his usual fare.

"...Oh! Hello! Come on in! It's a little... simple, but it's for a reason. This is the Rustboro Gym." He said, looking to Alethea with a little grin, while addressing the kids. He had a little Sableye with him, an imp tugging on his finger with its whole hand like a toddler. Giona propped the door open on a kickstand, ushering people down the lit tunnel.

The outskirts of town. The uncomfortable span of time after evening and before morning. Caught between the coast and rows of warehouses and shipyards. The air was less cold in a biting way, and more cool like sitting infront of a fan on a hot day.

Giona turned to face Jayden, and grinned at him gently. His one dangling earring jiggled.

”You're sensitive, and smart. Talented, too. You just need more opportunities to be yourself.”

In retrospect, that was a bad way to save an already awkward turn of phrase. In his clunky sentence, his "you're the kind of person that people need to have around,"; Giona buried the lede, which was that he needed someone close. He had to phrase it in a way that didn't sound selfish, and wasn't articulate enough to pull it off.

He knelt down by the edge of the water and grasped a round stone in his bandaged left hand. In one smooth motion, he assessed its weight and whipped it at the water. It skipped three times before sinking. Chances are, it was the commotion Giona was making with his stones that kept drawing visitors. Despite going so far as to build a gym that was just a hall and an empty room, he hated the idea of being alone.

The two were flanked by some........ visitors. Giona's eyes lit up when he saw the Ivysaur. It reminded him of a Seismitoad he saw once. In a simpler time. Ivysaur struck Bronzor with Razor Leaf. Bronzor slowly skittered into it with Gyro Ball, launching it into the air. Giona quickly rolled a ball so Ivysaur would land on it and be taken in. The ball wiggled on the sand in anticipation.

Notes: CATCHING IVYSAUR

The grass flattened under the round owl, but did not crunch, or break outright. Rowlet continued to run. To demonstrate that it was fine.

Giona nodded as she spoke. He looked slightly shaken by what she said, then took a deep breath and powered through it.

"Oh. That’s interesting. Have you tried making them play together? Like, maybe not making them play, but just... putting them together in a low-stakes situation until the problem solves itself?" He said, before looking to the middle distance and choosing his words carefully. He’d spent most of his time being weird on purpose, and here he was, faced with a real chance to relate to someone. “I’m so sorry to hear that. Were the two of you close?.”