[attr="class","danny"]he does his best to mirror her confidence and lowers the distraction after taking one final sip. the can's about half as light now as he sets it back down on the table.

"nervous?" he questions, shaking his head. "i can keep up."

he stifles the urge to reach for the drink again. he swallows, then wills himself to speak.

"try me."

[attr="class","noodles"]Serena Malcolm

[attr="class","danny"]the man's in over his head, this he knows, and yet he cannot help but continue to flirt, likely enabled by the drink in his hand. he takes another sip as if to help will the words out.

"is that an offer?"

how long will he last? he somehow holds his gaze.

[attr="class","noodles"]Serena Malcolm

[attr="class","danny"]"okay i only have one so this isn't really fair."

excuses come early, laying the foundations for later. for now, he shifts his attention to the massive steelix. it's not so much its size that draws his attention but its name. his eyes widen; a smile forming.

"i didn't know you had a steelix, grey boy!"

regardless, his attention shifts to the wild exeggutor. his mind wanders, scrolling through the options. which one will allow him to outshine greyson? ah!

"dee! hold on tight! arc! use FLAME WHEEL!"

arc's ears perk at the order and it immediately sets off into a sprint. it moves with incredible speed from AGILITY, and once it gets close enough it tucks itself into a ball and slams its massive frame into the exeggutor for a FLAME WHEEL.

when arc unfurls, the flames dissipate, leaving only a slightly scorched dedenne. dee NUZZLES into arc, zapping him in annoyance.

"sorry, dee!"

[attr="class","noodles"]Greyson Connors

[attr="class","danny"]slowpoke's iq has him laughing. he nods in agreement as he continues stretching. he shifts into a warrior ii pose, which he learned in one of the many yoga classes he attended in galar, and it's only then that he peers down to notice his shoes.

man's wearing regular shoes, not trainers, and though he contemplates canceling this challenge altogether, he has a feeling angelo won't let him off that easy.

so he sighs, wills himself, and shoots off into a jog.

"try and keep up!"

it's been five seconds and he's already tired.

[attr="class","noodles"]angelo vestri

[attr="class","danny"]he appreciates how comfortable she is with eating. it puts the same comfort in him and allows him to relax. he fills his plate up with much of the same, eyeing each dish with hunger. he also didn't eat breakfast, but it's not like he normally does. he'd have to wake up on time for starters.

his beer cracks open nicely. he raises it to take a sip only to almost spit it back out at her tease. he somehow manages, swallows, then lets out a soft chuckle after to cover the flush he feels. it could've been taken a number of ways but danny only takes it in one.

"no judgement from me either. sounds fun."

he breaks into another smile. he finds false confidence in the small sip of alcohol and says:

"makes me wonder what you get up to after daylight."

[attr="class","noodles"]Serena Malcolm

[attr="class","danny"]danny practically beams at the compliment. he relishes every moment of it, takes it in full, and shows his appreciation with a smile that grows even more when she gestures to the containers of food. thankfully, he isn't allergic to anything.

"oh i'm not a picky eater in general, but italian sounds lovely." he gestures towards it. "after you."

danny is quick to make himself comfortable. whatever nerves he had earlier fades away as he settles down. he swings his backpack over, which in retrospect doesn't make the best fashion accessory, but it serves a purpose: he unzips it to reveal a couple of drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, that are still somehow cool. he moves it so she can reach for any she'd like.

"i also wasn't sure what you liked to drink so i tried to get a variety." he reaches for a can of beer, then chuckles at the realization."i don't usually day drink but i guess i picked it up when i was in galar. they really drink all the time over there, it's kinda impressive and worrisome at the same time."

[attr="class","noodles"]Serena Malcolm

[attr="class","danny"]he made sure to grab more than one piece before returning the bag. he holds at least five in one hand that he's actively trying not to show chloe because he doesn't want her to think of him as the greedy guy who took rice crackers than he should've. he extends the other half up to twinkle.

"i think i should be the one saying sorry. she seems to like it up there. i wonder if it's the hair gel?"

whatever it is, he doesn't mind it! the same way dee doesn't mind sitting on chloe's shoulder.

movement comes from the side, hidden behind bushes, but it soon reveals itself to be an ivysaur, as it pokes its curious head out to peer at them.

"i've never seen one up close before! wow."

he lowers himself to a knee and regards the ivysaur with respect. it continues its approach, curious, and starts sniffing at danny's hand when it gets close enough. with no other choice but to reveal the bundle of rice crackers, danny laughs it off.

"would you like one, little ivy?"

it's not actually that little, but it nods and munches down as soon as danny extends one over. he tilts his head, peering over at chloe.

"how am i doing?"

[attr="class","noodles"]@chloe // befriending the ivysaur!

[attr="class","danny"]he stretches his arms — why is he stretching his arms? he realizes, then switches to stretch one leg as angelo preps his bike for takeoff.

"oh, you think i can leave this with you? i don't think running with the egg's going to do any good for baby poochy."

he swings his backpack to the front and extends it towards angelo, fully expecting him to take it. he returns to stretching the other leg.

"you know, don't be surprised if i end up overtaking you."

he talks big but in reality the man's already dreading the run. he bends down low, stretching his quads.

"ready whenever you are, angelo friend."

[attr="class","noodles"]angelo vestri

[attr="class","danny"]"you think i look okay, arc? i'm not too sure about the shirt."

the shirt being black, the color he wears most often, and yet he still isn't too sure about it. arc, his arcanine, tilts its head, perhaps feigning a thought before nodding. it leans its huge body into danny as they walk — he sinks a little into its thick coat but is otherwise fine as they approach the park.

"hey! serena, right?"

arc stands almost awkwardly as it observes them but it isn't long until it nudges its head against danny's body, then gestures in the direction of the other pokemon. after a quick nod from danny, arc leaves and approaches the other pokemon, practically hopping towards them.

"sorry — he just really likes playing with others. it's lovely to meet you, serena — you look great."

[attr="class","noodles"]Serena Malcolm

[attr="class","danny"]his mantra to never back down from a challenge wills him to accept this one...but boy is he regretting adopting it in the first place. he nods his head, feigns confidence, and gestures over to the door.

"i haven't worked out in ages but i'm sure i can keep up!" he steps towards the door but pauses to look back for a moment. "but...you can take it easy if you wanted to of course...haha..."

he approaches the door, pulls it open, and steps to the side to allow his delivery-mate to exit first.

"i'm danny by the way!"

[attr="class","noodles"]angelo vestri

[attr="class","danny"]"oh, we're going to the same location?"

danny stands at the counter of a local daycare in oldale known best for their specialty in raising canine pokemon. the egg he carries is of a poochyena, he's told, as is the egg the person next to him is carrying. apparently, it takes two to deliver eggs, but he's not the type to complain.

he turns to the other with all smiles and good vibes.

"might be a good idea to travel together. you up for it, mate?"

[attr="class","noodles"]angelo vestri // [x]

[attr="class","danny"]"what."

he blinks and he almost misses the whole battle. by the time he lowers his arm that shielded him from dust, all he sees is a fallen grotle. he blinks again to make sure he's not dreaming.

"hey man you know what it's been a long day why don't we just go home and i'll even treat you to a nice meal—"

arc barks, drawing his attention to the voltorb in mid-ROLLOUT. it rushes towards them and it's only by sheer miracle that danny's able to find the right pokeball in time.

out comes a pokemon greyson's never seen before: a taller than usual grimmsnarl that stands just a little under their height. it looks around, notices danny, then sprints right on over.

"grimster! long time no see but unfortunately, we have a problem."

he points to the voltorb that's still rolling after arc and by extention dee. it pales in comparison to the fast arcanine but the sight is amusing. he takes a step towards grimster and whispers something into its ear.

within moments, grimster trudges forward and bows its head in the direction of the voltorb. arc leads it in their direction and the moment it gets close enough, grimster's hair shoots out in a FALSE SURRENDER, knocking the voltorb into the ground. grimster leaps through the air and brings a HAMMER ARM down.

a pokeball follows.

[attr="class","noodles"]Greyson Connors

[attr="class","danny"]"yes...i do know..."

though his voice lowers to a whisper, he speaks in jest and he makes sure to break into a soft chuckle after. at the mention of finding seats, he nods, then remembers what they had been waiting for.

"sure thing! but one second i don't think dee would ever forgive me if we left without food."

he turns back to the vendor who's just about finished their order of six balls of takoyaki. after a quick exchange, he turns back to ruby and dee, then nods.

"right! let's go."

it doesn't take them long to find a place to sit: there's a small area set up in the market with tables and chairs for people to sit, eat, talk, and relax. they take up one of the tables.

danny places the tray of takoyaki onto the table and hands a stick over to ruby.

"i don't know if you've ever had these but they're really good! they're really popular in johto. oh but we have to make sure dee gets at least two."

[attr="class","noodles"]Ruby Walker