Eve sighed. Then, she put the phone down. Somehow, she just did not get it. The people at the community center had told her that this weird Unite game was the hottest stuff right now and that everyone was playing it. But she just could not see the appeal. What was the point in playing the same map over and over, trying to get your Pokemon to the same weird ring and probably lose to someone way higher level or with much more experience? What was the value of gathering experience with such a small roster of Pokemon, when there were hundreds of species outside? Yeah, she just didn’t get it.



Then again, Eve was not much of a gamer herself. She’d just given it a try because people seemed so focused on it.

….apparently to the point where they had not noticed a horde of Pokemon taking over the basket ball court. There was some kind of deeply societal commentary here, but she was too confused by the sight to go there. Instead, she just watched them play, forgetting about the weird phone game. Instead, she would eventually sneak in a throw of the ball, to see if she could get one of those water Pokemon she knew very little about. No harm no foul if it didn’t work. She probably wasn’t the only one doing this, anyway.



WObiWBa5

Oh my. That was quite aggressive. And verbose. He didn’t exactly have to list off every Pokemon he had along with the most likely reaction. Really, she only needed one example to understand that he had badly trained his Pokemon to the point where a toddler accidentally activating a ball could cause issues.
But she understood. This kind of person was not new to her. Especially when it came to young men. He probably did not know better. Boys that age were not exactly known for their maturity, after all. So, she just sighed and did not allow his borderline insult to get to her. That, after all, would be the embarrassing thing here.

Besides, she did have better things to do indeed. Instead of running after the children and getting drawn into acrobatics and the like, she decided that, since Pokemon were the issue, a Pokemon would be the solution. Settling on a course swiftly, she took up one of her own Pokeballs and called forth Ghastly, after all. “Go, get those balls. Try not to scare these kids too much. A little is fine though, they kind of could use that,” she instructed the ‘Mon, which then proceeded to float up and through the walls.
No need to take much care about traps if one could just go through the house itself, after all.

While Eve leisurely followed along, the Ghastly, a kindred spirit to the children, did go through the floor and watched their preparations briefly. It started to quietly pocket at least one of the balls from behind the waiting boy when he suddenly lunged forward, undressing and embarrassing his older peer.
Which, naturally, saw Ghastly laugh out loud, forsaking any potential stealth of its own.

“Huh?” The incident with the Vulpix had her briefly distracted, which meant that she had to blink and readjust for the time being. But yes, the kid. It seemed like she had successfully caught the Magmortar by now, even though the Magby had run away. There was a brief little incident with a Camerupt, but that did not wake. It being approached did scare off a nearby Drapion though, which swiftly scuttled away instead of being drawn into more madness.

At the very least, it seemed like they were about to be allowed at least a bit of a break. “I am from Kalos, yes, but I am certainly not here to challenge the league,” she replied with a bit of a laugh. Yes, she did have some idea about training and battling with Pokemon, but to her that was more akin to a tertiary activity at best. For a traveller such as herself, it was simply necessary, but that was about it. Eve enjoyed interacting with her Pokemon more than battling with them. Though, admittedly, she often liked adding new ones to her collection at least.
“I am just visiting the region to learn more about it. And the local music, really. I happen to be a musician, actually.”

She dimly remembered running into these before, now that she thought of it. Something about cucumber references back then, too. Granted, Eve did not exactly know whether this Pokemon was much useful or evolved into anything, but she would figure it out later. This day was already proving quite interesting for the variety of Pokemon she came across.
Or rather, the variety of Pokemon that came across her. After all, they hadn’t exactly moved far from their initial position. Yet, this town was so close to the ocean that one could easily see just why Pokemon would be drawn to it. Heck, there were probably dozens swimming beneath them at that very moment.

“I think Lapras are essentially everywhere. Maybe not native ones, but they are bred all around for, well, being such good Transport Pokemon.” That was the name of its species, after all. Eve decided to kneel down near the water. That stray thought from before becoming more intriguing, making her want to at least try it out. “And I did pretty much the same things I do here. Travel the land, see the sights and, well, try new things.”
With that, she would take action with a deep breath beforehand. Swiftly, she submerged her head underwater, eyes closed momentarily before opening them at some adjustment. Lapras next to her did the same, confounded by what its trainer was trying to do there.

Mostly though, she was just testing her theory. And, indeed, there was a whole school of Pokemon down there, swimming about. Remoraid, if she remembered correctly. Though, on closer inspection, not all of them swam around in unison. One seemed like an odd one out, coloured slightly differently, an apparent outcast from its group. It was hard to guess whether the Pokemon was bothered by that. But she kind of felt for it anyway. Not fully belonging to a group, yet holding onto it regardless in the hopes of being accepted…
…nothin short of being shaken up would change that status quo. Eve nodded towards Lapras, which somehow understood. She’d have to get up for air soon, but she was seeing that through. The Transport Pokemon would send out a Water Pulse, aiming carefully to only hit the odd Remoraid, but not too harshly either, while Eve would throw – well, since it was underwater, more like push – a ball towards it.

Then, she had to get up fro air, waiting for Lapras to come back up and bring back her ball, filled with another or not.

---

Attempts to capture Remoraid

“Ah, that’s good then,” she replied, with a smile and raised glass. Someone had given her a new shot, which she briefly sniffed at. That might seem weird to the other, but they were both girls. The other probably knew to be cautious in situations like this, too. It was, sadly, a common enough matter to care about.



Not that it would sour her mood, though. It was a simple necessity born of prudence. Just like not drinking too much. Though she figured it was customary to do so here, at least during festivals like this, so she sipped of it at least. “I get what you mean. The people in this region sure are lively, when intoxicated. Makes for good material to study, if you ask me.” Eve smirked a little. This was officially her task in Hoenn, after all. Though it was also quite a bit of fun.



08|gz0sf
siobhan burke ····

Somehow, mother’s friends could annoy her even here. That was terrible, of course, but it was also kind of amazing. After all, this was Hoenn. But mother frequented circles made up of people all over the world. And she had stayed with a certain family while visiting Alola, at least for a few days. That connection, then, somehow had led to this situation. It was odd and a little bit awkward. After all, she personally knew neither parents, nor children. But she could relate to their issues, at least a little bit.

Hence, she’d agreed. But that did not make it any less weird. Especially since apparently she was going to be working with someone else she did not know. On one thing, that meant she wouldn’t have to do it all alone and had someone to talk to that could answer in a more adult manner.
Well, hopefully. She had arrived a bit early, but due to certain circumstance, that meant she missed the farewell. Ah, well, such was life. These people did want to get away somewhat badly, after all. Eve did wonder what they wanted to do, but figured it was best not to wonder too much. Nothing good could come from that, in the end.

However, she would show up again soon after, wearing white shirt and black skirt for the day, a deliberately muted outfit to make a more neutral, formal impression.
Sadly though, she only ended up getting there in time to witness grand theft pokeball in process. “Well, seems like you got your work cut out for you already.” A bit of schadenfreude maybe, but she was watching carefully. If this was a good trainer, then these Pokemon wouldn’t just obey some random kids. But Eve did ready her Ghastly’s ball, just in case she needed to sneakily retake them.

Festivals truly were among the best places to study a local culture. Though, while the exact details might differ, she had found that when the sun did come down, usually that lead to one and the same result. The drinks were different, but the drinking usually wasn’t. Though, admittedly, she had much preferred the Alolan ones. So nicely fruity and refreshing. This stuff wasn’t exactly bad, no, but she had no idea what it was. And it had a bit more of a rougher note. Less herbal and more grainy, in her not-s-expert opinion. Also a bit more potent. People in Hoenn probably liked to get drunk off of less than those elsewhere.



Eve knew that she should be a bit more careful with these things, but she wasn’t exactly concerned, either. Her mother would kill her knowing that she mingled with normal people like this, in such an environment, but that was not a problem. That almost aristocratic dismay at the sloshier things in life meant that mother would never even look this way. That woman could be in town and never come across her. Which was reasonably fun, too.

Though she was still a lone traveller in a foreign country. She did take a shot, but she only did so slowly, for now, seeing how things might go. The young woman with purple hair and an almost all black ensemble of jeans and shirt – but topped by a white jacket of all things – was weaving through the masses, looking for something of interest.



Then, she picked up talk of making a band. Ears perking up, she moved in the direction of that group but didn’t engage. Instead, she noticed someone else. Why? Because she was acting much similarly to herself. A lone woman to the side, observing and listening, but not engaging. Maybe a kindred spirit? Well, if that was the case, then that person would never engage her. Guess that means she would have to do that, then. “Hey there. You okay? You looked a bit taken aback for a second there,” she approached siobhan burke . That one also didn’t look like she was exactly being in a great state right then, so she figured that there was at least a possibility of help being needed.



Mc_oPPxa····

Heh. So this was how Hoenn did it. Interesting. She could get into it, naturally. It was a bit weird to be on this side of the music, though. Then again, she was more of a classical singer, pop at best. This kind of music was more for the instrumentals, in her opinion, so she didn’t really get into it as much. But that didn’t mean that she disliked it, of course.



In fact, she did get into it, albeit in a more subdued fashion. The people around her were getting a bit crazy, while she mostly swayed with the melodious undercurrent, tapping her foot with the beat. Though Chandelure certainly enjoyed it. The ghost unleashed an Inferno straight into the air, as she’d taught it. If it needed to blow off….well, not steam, but fire….it should do so in a safe and conductive way, after all. At worst, she might roast some Pidgey or so in the sky. But there were enough trainers here. If it rained birds, someone would catch them.



Chandelure Hex (65), Will-O-Whisp (10), Imprison (10), Smog (30), Curse (10), Inferno (100)


430 + 100 = 530 (Mosh Pit)

Heh. The cadence of lies. Eve wasn’t some prodigy in telling the truth from the fake or anything like that, not by far. But she most certainly knew when she was being lied to. At least when it came from someone with little experience like this boy. After all, he seemed like he didn’t know a whole lot about everything. He probably didn’t have to lie to a lot of people.

But she didn’t comment on it. Whether it was the truth or a lie, that comment did tell her to stop prying in it’s own way, so she shrugged. “Well, as long as you do….” She trailed off briefly, looking around. “But it seems like there aren’t any other Pokemon here encroaching on the wooloos. Guess that is good enough for the time being, isn’t it?”

Granted, she was not entirely sure what to make of this mushroom Pokemon. But Eve would make it work, certainly. She always did, after all.¬ Though that might end up involving letting this little one go at one point. Would not be the first time.

Fortunately, in the meantime, their combined efforts had been successful in driving back the flamethrower Pokemon – or at least distract it long enough for the other girl to fling a ball at it. That was fine, too. Eve would never beget another’s capture, even in a team effort like this. Plus, the girl had wanted to befriend the Magby. That had not worked out. But instead, she would now have a bigger version of it. That was nice as well.

“Seems like we got through this well enough,” she eventually noted, rubbing the back of her head. From the corner of her eyes, she could see another Pokemon that had evidently watched the scuffled and now approached carefully. A Vulpix. It did not appear to be hostile, but it still had that glint in its eyes. A bit of a challenge. The kind that Pokemon sometimes gave prospective trainers, when judging them.
After all, a lot of Pokemon apparently desired to be caught, to fight and to grow. At least that was what she saw in this one. It lowered its head with a light growl. Noivern, picking up on that, came to the ground, facing it.

The two briefly looked at one another. Then, the little one suddenly started to charge the larger Pokemon. It was fast, certainly, but it didn’t have a lot of weight behind its head-butt.
Noivern met that in kind. There was an impact, the sound of it rather dull and, fortunately, without cracking or wetness. The Vulpix bounced off, while Vulpix glowered. Then, it lowered its head again. Thinking that she caught on to the reasoning in play here, Eve threw her ball at the Pokemon to see if she was right and that it would accept capture.

---

Tries to capture Vulpix

I thought I posted in this already, hmmm....but yay, lizard

He supposed, heh? The answer of the non-comittal and finished people. It was the number one conversation killer in her experience. They might not end right away, sure. But once the words were uttered, the killing blow had been struck already. She could feel it bleed out on the warm waves beneath, words disintegrating into the waters.

The man fell silent briefly, probably thinking about grave matters. Naturally, she could not follow him there. Instead, she simply lounged on her Lapras, listening to the soft sounds of the oceans, feeling the slight, rhythmic movement beneath. The young man eventually returned from his darkness, but clearly had been impacted by it enough. He wanted to break the conversation of then and there. Probably to have some time with his thoughts.
Yeah, she was insightful sometimes. Thing was though, Eve never did anything with that insight. Instead, she allowed him to have his alone time. Not like she had any right to intervene anyway.

“It was a pleasure indeed. Maybe we will meet again when I visit your mountain. If it was not on my list before, it is now.” She raised a hand in a lazy, but genuine wave. “Alola~.”

samuel carter

Passing of loved ones? Oh. Ohhhhh. Suddenly, Eve felt a little bit stupid at least. It was probably because she did not know the significance of that mountain. At least not well enough to realize what he actually meant when he called himself a caretaker. But things certainly were falling into place now. This did a lot more sense, really. Fortunately, she had not said much in that regard, so she probably wouldn’t look silly or insensitive to the other. Best to keep that under wraps for now. Fortunately, she had been looking up at the sky in this moment, so she could downplay it a little.

So, she simply listened for the time being. His words did make a lot of sense, after all. Though she was not quite sure if they fully applied to her. No two lives were the same, of course. So it made a lot of sense for them to be talking with one another, but effectively around each other. That was just life. “Hmm, similar. Though for me it is the same. Or maybe not. I sometimes think mother is more interested in the fame that I could earn, while I would be happy just to sing for few people, or just for myself.” Or maybe even not at all. It had been a while, hadn’t it? Maybe she would do something at this big festival she’d heard about. That seemed like a good place to go after this.

Evette couldn’t laze like this forever. “If you ask me, as long as we feel content like this, it can’t really be all that wrong, now can it?”


samuel carter