[attr="class","danny"]"champion? man i'll wipe the floor with you right now LET'S GO—"

a SONIC BOOM sounds in the near distance. he turns his head and sees arc in a full sprint towards them — dee's barely hanging on, but she manages! somehow. he's still not quite sure how.

arc skids to a stop just mere inches away from them.

"you alright, buddy?"

another SONIC BOOM sounds, this time louder, and from over the hill comes a mean-looking voltorb. a grotle follows behind it, too, but it's unclear whether they're related.

danny turns to greyson and asks:

"you take the grotle and i take the voltorb?"

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

[attr="class","danny"]"the beach sounds nice! i've been wanting to go to slateport recently but haven't quite found the time to."

time actually means energy in danny's case. he'd much rather just relax at home than venture around the region. but he might change his mind soon.

it's then that grimmsnarl taps him on his shoulder, then points to a spot in the water. danny looks over, eyes widening at the sight of a dottler.

"a dottler...i'm pretty sure they're weak to...hey grimmsnarl can you try using the move stabby stab dark-type move?"

he can't rememeber the name off the top of his head but he's seen it in action a few times. and sure enough, grimmsnarl's hair shoots out as he bows and uses a FALSE SURRENDER.

"that's it!"

[attr="class","noodles"]@robbin

[attr="class","danny"]the night market! he remembers coming here when he was still a wee kid. it's definitely changed a whole lot, but as he spends a moment to glance around at the various stalls, he swears he sees a few familiar faces. they fill him with nostalgia at the very least. he approaches one of them, practically skipping over.

"hey! we would like four, please."

it's then that he feels a slight shock against his neck from dedenne's NUZZLE. he quickly corrects himself.

"sorry! i meant six — six takoyaki please."

he should've known better, and though he can't see dee on his shoulder, he can practically feel her glare. so he distracts himself and focuses on the passing faces. he stops on one in particular.

"ruby? ruby!"

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

[attr="class","danny"]"man, you're so cool, sumi! volunteering, joining the rangers..." he trails off, thoughts drifting elsewhere for a brief moment before returning right as she thanks him. he can't help the involuntary blush that appears on his cheeks.

"of course! it was about time my lazy ass got up and did something. i have you to thank for that. otherwise i'd still probably be asleep right now."

he doesn't know why he said probably — to save face, maybe? — but he would definitely be asleep. the thought has him smiling as he reaches down to scoop a few empty cans into the trash bag.

"oh i forgot to ask. what's for lunch?"

[attr="class","noodles"]@sumi

[attr="class","danny"]karma...oh no. is he eternally cursed to remain this short because of all his short jokes? the thought has him cringing, but it passes quickly at the mention of heels.

"oh yeah, i could wear heels...but i think i'll pass — you guys need this more than me."

he turns to greyson and smacks him on his shoulder.

"i actually just got back from galar. your boy just graduated."

he wears an expression of smugness but it doesn't reflect well. it's as if it's not his own; something borrowed.

"what about you, grey boy? what you been up to?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Greyson Connors + leo del río

[attr="class","danny"]danny flushes at unexpected cheers. he does his best to play off the pink shades on his cheeks, raises a hand to rub at the back of his neck.

"thanks! i'm not sure how i'm doing this...beginner's luck, i guess."

the confused whiscash floats to the surface, pretty much close to being knocked out. danny catches the pokeball, then throws it at the whiscash after.

he watches it shake but he can't tell if it's shaking from its design or from the water. he stares regardless, and after a good ten seconds, he approaches it.

"did we do it?"

grimmsnarl shrugs but reaches in to pluck the pokeball before extending it over to danny. he takes it, shakes it dry, and shrugs.

"i guess we did!"

[attr="class","noodles"]@robbin

[attr="class","danny"]"i don't think i'll ever find the light switch. it's probably broken, or something."

the moment of somberness passes, not lingering for too long because he'd rather not wallow in it. he nods, appreciates the gesture, and returns one of his own: his hand finds greyson's shoulder.

"i'll catch up to you someday, grey boy! i'll keep searching for now."

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

[attr="class","danny"]he fumbles with the few empty pokeballs he has in his hands as he struggles to decide what to do to the bag that's thrown. with only a few seconds left, he drops all of them inside his backpack, then reaches his hands up to catch the bag of rice crackers. close call!

he fishes for a rice cracker just as twinkle floats over to his head. he feels its weight but the crumbs go unnoticed, most likely held up by residual static from dee's NUZZLE that always keeps danny's hair spiked.

breaking one in half, he extends one up to twinkle and throws the other into his mouth. he crunches, then zips up his backpack and swings it over his shoulder.

he approaches chloe, extending half of a new rice cracker over to her.

"i'll probably have to buy you a new bag."

he quickly takes a bite of another piece, then nods.

"right! i'm ready, miss porter."

[attr="class","noodles"]@chloe

[attr="class","danny"]his head snaps up when he hears what sounds like a rice cracker snapping. he almost extends a hand out of instinct but he refrains just in time to see it being shared between the two pokemon. he sighs almost sadly.

"i don't know why i said twenty when i only have like five. but i imagine we'll be here all day anyways! i'm still pretty new to this."

he looks over, all smiles and bubbly.

"you gotta teach me your ways, miss porter. and also do you have more of those rice crackers?"

[attr="class","noodles"]@chloe

[attr="class","danny"]"not exactly but sure! i went to uni there and i guess i picked up bits of the accent. i'm actually from oldale right down the path."

he almost beams when he talks about his time in galar. he reminisces, enjoying every moment of the conversation.

"i did! we had a few that lived on campus. they were really cute — great at stealing food from us if we weren't looking."

to his surprise, grimmsnarl actually knew POWER-UP PUNCH. maybe it'll know this next one, too?

"okay, grimmsnarl! let's try a...FLATTER. do you know that?"

grimmsnarl takes a moment to think, nods, then starts clapping its hands in the direction of the wild whiscash. thankfully the whiscash isn't OBLIVIOUS. it falls for the FLATTER, body tilting sideways in confusion. grimmsnarl turns back, as if expecting something.

"oh! great job. wow. okay, now smack it however you like so i can maybe catch it."

grimmsnarl nods, turns back around, and lunges forward for a strong HAMMER ARM that sends water splashing. it's only then that danny realizes he doesn't have any empty pokeballs on him.

"oops, robbin! do you have an empty pokeball i could borrow? i promise i'll return new ones as soon as i head back into town."

[attr="class","noodles"]@robbin

trading MATIAS SILPH's sharpedo for @robbin's grimmsnarl! grimmsnarl goes to DANNY HALL!

[x]

[attr="class","danny"]dee nods at the mention of companions. he feels its whiskers brush back and forth against his neck and laughs in response, nodding.

"yeah! she's definitely more of a companion. i don't think i've ever seen her use anything other than NUZZLE."

in fact, none of his pokemon were trained to be fighters. he knows his arcanine once used to, but it's been a while since it's retired. so when she mentions borrowing one of hers, he immediately lights up.

"that would be cool! can i borrow grimmsnarl, then? some of my friends in galar had them, so i kinda know its moves."

he pulls out his phone, does a quick search, and starts skimming through its information. but he's speaking even before he reaches its moves.

"maybe try a POWER-UP PUNCH?"

[attr="class","noodles"]@robbin

[attr="class","danny"]what really brings him back?

his hands find his pockets, seeking comfort. he feels the softness of the fabric; it soothes a little, but not enough. so his foot taps against the ground, disturbing peaceful grass.

"i don't know, man. i couldn't find a job there so i had to come back either way. but now that i'm here — i have no idea."

what he leaves out is the fact that he didn't try, at least not really — sending a couple of half-assed emails isn't exactly trying. he tenses, shifts to a walk.

"i wish i knew what i was doing. or what to do. how do you know, grey?"

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