Yeah, he could remember his first time auditioning. But he was also a lot younger then too. "You'll do fine. You're a lot older than what I was when I started. I've seen some arrogance get in the way of things, so that's a good thing that you're a bit tempered." Sol, the Larvesta on his shoulder, glared at the young man. "And try not to mind Sol here. She may be proud because she recently set a couple of shoplifters on fire, but she's still more glary than anything." They found the group easily enough. Niky ordered for himself, a pasta dish of some kind. Suddenly, Sol was in a better mood when he gave her the cherry tomato in his salad as the other judges and Borje asked their questions between drinks, all waters or sodas, and bites of food.

One of the judges did as Niky if he had any questions. "Sure. What made you decide to become an idol? Personally, I enjoyed dancing and singing, not knowing there was a career all about it." He did think it slightly unfair if he didn't answer his own question too. But he was also quite open to questions from Jade. There was...so little the guy had to work on, Niky was kind of surprised that no one picked him up yet. So he half wondered if the guy just thought that it would be fun to try out and see what happens.


jade rivers

• player/ooc name: Jun
• character tags: Keenan Toral Aaron Toral Oliver Shrakes Asher Baran Niky Racz
• dropped characters' tags (if applicable): N/A
• ic posts for characters:
  
  Niky Asher Oliver Aaron Keenan
  
  
• are characters in directories?: Y
• any notes/comments:

The contestants continued on, and Niky would be critical, often circling around them, seeing where their eyes would go. Luckily, after the first one doing this, and they suddenly turning their attention to him, and the blonde pointing towards the rest of the judges to make them focus on them, everyone took that queue. While he did mention it, Niky asked them to do it again, for a fair chance, apologizing. Everyone had something that they could work on. Some didn't have anything overly good, just adequate. Though there was one more that he wanted to see a repeat performance. Then came the last one, the flashy guy.

Jade Rivers was his introduction. Unlike the rest, he actually introduced himself properly. Good sense. Perhaps that was something that the rest needed to work on for auditions. Then he started. Niky was drawn in immediately by the careful use of expressions. The choreography was fluid and he was energetic. Mr. Rivers hit a fine balancing act that Niky wished he had years ago. Though perhaps his youthful appearance and earnest reactions had earned him many fans anyways. "Again." This time Niky would circle again, looking for flaws. Aside from being perhaps too careful with his emotions...it was an impressive performance. Not seeing anything obvious. "Can you do it a third time?" That sure drew some attention. Despite the sweat and energy...Jade did it again.

Once done, Niky started in. "A tiny bit of projection and articulation issues at a specific spot and perhaps a little too careful on your expressions and emotions. Still, a very good job. Mr. Rivers is my favorite, but number six and ten are good runner-ups in my mind." Niky hobbled back to his seat as one of the judges thanked everyone else for their participation, and that they would be mailed or emailed a copy of their performance, their critiques of their strengths and weaknesses, and a ticket of their choice to this year's concerts in Hoenn. Niky and the other judges, plus Borje, took the three off to the side. "This isn't done yet, so don't get comfortable. We'd like to do some dinner interviews, one at a time. We'll just work with your schedules..."

Sadly...Niky wasn't exempt from this. The young man shot a dirty look at the aquintance. "You're lucky I like Borje too much..."

The round short man laughed jovially. "Really? I couldn't tell when I first started trying to manage you! You were a hellion if I ever saw one." Perhaps a bit childish, but Niky did that stick out tongue and eye thing at the man. Tonight would be number six, number ten was for lunch tomorrow, and Mr. Rivers tomorrow evening.

~

Niky...might have had to skip out on both the first two interviews because of retail issues. Bloody Karens. And shoplifters. Silky the Larvesta looked proud at her accomplishment of setting not one, but two people on fire. Maybe a little too proud. She still deserved snacks, though. Luckily, the other judges and Borje let it slide this time. Just as he was walking up to the restaurant, Mr. Rivers was just entering as well. "Nervious at all?" Was his way of greeting.

jade rivers

Seemed they were waiting for someone else to show up as well. Soon enough, his former handler came strolling in. A...round man with a surprisingly clean shaven face. "You got shorter since the last time we met. Good to see you, again, sir." With a smile and joking look on his face, Niky barely recognized the man. "Oh shut up you brat, you were shorter then, and I was more baby faced back then and needed something to age myself up! It's good to see you too, kiddo. Good to see that you've grown up." The two men shook hands, jovial and nice. Mr. Borje Jorgenssen was his manager way back when. Terrible with kids, Niky was the first to admit that he was sometimes...ok, a lot of times, a little shit towards the man. But he was also the first to be by Niky's side when the accident happened, the first to suggest mental health specialists, the first to suggest different coping mechanisms, the first to congratulate him on his recovery, and while he wasn't the first to suggest to Niky to move on and try retail or record store stuff, he was in full support. Even though once it became clear that Niky wouldn't be able to continue his idol career, and was dropped, Borje still did what he could to make sure that Niky was taken care of. He was a good man that the blonde never knew about until later in life, and appreciated him a lot more now. "You see the contestestants. They'll be doing Hibikase. You know, the one from Slateport's Big Beach Bash where I swear most of the audience had nosebleeds? They'll be doing this one at a time, so we can focus on them. And for you to do your thing.

Both men had chuckled briefly at the memory. That was a short lived show, but Niky vaguely remembered making most people question their sexuality and reinforcing others' love of him and his looks. Still, an interesting choice. It allowed some dancing, but skewed somewhat more on vocal work. Still, considering what this was...it may not be too bad. "Alrighty. Just let me do my critiques and request for repeat performances. And we'll see if any of these wannabes deserve to have some doors opened." With a michievous grin, Borje shuddered and laughed at the same time, and wanted things to start. With a brief speech to the contestants, it was on. The most observant one, the flashy silvery hair, was the last on the list. Okay then, hopefully it wouldn't be the save the best one for last kind of deals. Well, the first one was up. Too static, too monotone, no expression, no life, and what little movement he had was stiff. Clearly no intention of actually trying. Niky said this to the man's face. And squared up on him, clearly not happy to be told what to do to improve. Intimidation and maybe parentage was how this guy got in. Bittyboo had to use Whirlwind to get the guy out of Niky's face. Then got a Thunder Wave from Spike to reinforce the point. "While I may be critical, I am also trying to give you pointers on how to improve. So even if you don't make it in this one, you can still walk away with something. Hopefully helpful. For those that don't know, I'm Niky Racz. I was an idol up until a few years ago. I know what I'm doing. Whether you take my advice or not is up to you. But you will not yell and threaten. That makes you into a PR nightmare, and no matter how good you are, you'll be dropped like a ton of bricks if you behave like that to anyone."

Especially with social media. Even fantastic artists, but horrible people, get checked by backlash. The second one was better, a lot more loose. But focused too much on the dancing part, and not enough on the voice. Niky told the guy as such, even did a few voice practice bits. Then did a small repeat, following the guy's movement, but with his voice. The guy matched up pretty good, and the duet was decent enough until the last half of the song. Coughing and rasping, Niky offered the guy a bottled water. Dance and movement was great, but voice was so much harder to work on, and suggested looking into some voice work and exercises, including a few of Niky's favorite sites regarding them. The guy was a lot more receptive. The third was a girl. Boy did she have a voice, but paused between dance queues. Niky remembered doing that a few times. You needed to combine both, not just focus on one or the other. He commented that she had a great voice, and singing was definitely a strength of her's, but dancing and combining the two was essential. She seemed kind of snippy at that. Niky knew she would be another PR problem child. Though not as bad as the first one...




jade rivers

Niky wasn't sure why an aquintance of his parents wanted him here, but here he was, on the opposite side of the city from where his record store and home was. It was kind of annoying, and he made it clear to them that he will not be doing this again. Plus, they weren't even here?! Why the hell is he here then?! Either way, the aquintance was an idol producer of some sort that missed out on getting him to signing up. But were still decent enough with his family that he held no grudges, and often collaborated with them on things. The former idol star didn't know a lot by virtue of being too absorbed in everything else. The blonde wore an Alolan T-shirt and shorts, along with his cane and sneakers. Spike and Bittyboo were with him too, his Jolteon and Noibat respectively.

This was some kind of tryout thing, looking for hidden gems. Really? He wasn't much older than any of the idol hopefuls. Plus, this wasn't exactly a large thing either. It may open doors, but it would hardly catapult someone to the top. Whoever ended up winning this would need a good manager. Apparently, he was going to be one of the judges. Actually, they wanted him to take an active role, if he wanted it. Thankfully, they were offering to pay him. Along with a free dinner for him and his Pokemon. Can't say no to that. There was about a dozen contestestants. One drew his interest right away. The one with silvery blue hair. Flashy. That was good. But could sing the song and dance too? He stayed standing, double checking what he can do with the other judges. He was given a very wide berth on what he could do. That was good. He knew first hand what to expect...he had been a star at one point. A career cut short due to a drunk driver. But it still felt fresh in his mind. It was just waiting for the Lights, Camera, Action!

jade rivers

Personality: Seems more going with the flow than anything. That said, he's still a successful businessman, running a record store and doing DJ work on the side. He's generally nice, if a bit clumsy with the really odd ones out there. He's also pretty mellow, going after rarer Pokemon usually. Though anything cat or dog like, and sound based will have him whipping out a pokeball no problem. He is a musician, and will take up gigs for just about anything. Anyone amusing or interesting...well, he would love to know more about them. Just because he has a bum knee, doesn't mean that he won't talk about how it came to be, even joking about it.

Relationships:

Josh Devlin: Being stuck on a Deserted Island to help the tourism industry and charity, these two were partners. Working well together, they managed to survive no problem, but also find a space-time distortion, and take care of the Pokemon from it that was causing a ruckus with the more local packs. Niky wouldn't mind more interactions with the man. Potential Friend? Niky would be the mostly boring one.

Ozni Adebayo: A chance encounter in Mauville Hills, Niky found the guy amusing and actually kind of fun to be around. They caught a few Pokemon, then left. But the short encounter did leave quite the impression. Potential Friend, but also potential business rivals, though friendly ones.



Friends: Always welcomed.

Significant Other: Yesh. He's a gay boi, gib him some love.

Rivals: Business or other, he's almost too mellow for a hardcore grudge.

Enemies: It may or may not happen. He's almost always too far away from anything exciting to start something.



If I missed anyone/anything, please let me know in discord. I'm also open to any plots with Niky!

Aww...who knew such a menacing Pokemon could sound so cute. Soon it was back to the tutoring. Even his Drakloak liked to listen on the soft tunes. Sadly, things didn't stay peaceful for long. "Niky! Just where the hell have you been!" A young woman with the same blonde hair and blue-green eyes as he did came stomping up to him. With a manacing aura that put even the most vicious of Hydreigon to shame. Not that Niky was intimidated by her anymore. "Right here sis. Trying to get to know my Drakloak a bit, and this Noivern took interest. So things happened, and ended up teaching it how to play a little." With a small smile, his own cold eyes stared right back at her. His sister was not amused. "Let's go. We got things to discuss." She started to stomp away.

Sighing heavily, he patted his poor scared Drakloak on the head. And the Noivern as he put away his guitar. "Sorry guys. Sis is mad about something mundane and stupid and wants to drag me back and be told it's not a big deal (OI) and solve her issue. That, or she wants me confined to a wheelchair. (NOT TRUE!)" Her indignent yelling already sounded like background music to him. "This was fun though. Do feel free to stop by my record store over there. I also frequent this small park too. Hopefully I'll see the two of you around." He barely had to put any weight on his cane...he sat down for most of the time there. So his knee wasn't in bad shape. "Oh, don't mind my sis, she's more bark than bite." With that, he left, following his even more fuming sister.

Elinor Anderson

The dragon was excited, but was still doing their best. And was doing great, just using the dullest part of their sharp claws to pluck the strings in a slow melody that was easy to follow. The trainer confirmed Niky's suspicions, thanking him for the compliment, and returned it in kind. He chuckled a little bit. "Can't take full credit on her, she already had a great temperment. War Thunder is one of my newer catches, just taking her out for a stroll and some bonding." And him learning that she liked to dance to the tune of his playing. Or others in general. What luck finding a Drakloak that liked music? And one with such great temperment. Even Sol was won over pretty quickly. Normally that Larvesta was spicy with newer members, but she got attached to War Thunder pretty quickly. Niky couldn't decide if that was Sol finally learning to not be so hot with others or just showed how easy War Thunder was to get along with. Maybe both.

The Noivern accidentally cut one of the strings, a sharp ping ringing through the air. The panicked look on the dragon made Niky start talking to it gently. "Hey, you're alright, that happens on occasion. And I know you didn't do it on purpose. No need to panic." Reaching into the side pocket of his guitar case, he pulled out a package of strings and a small screwdriver. With a practiced hand, he switched out the strings quickly. Even tested and tuned the new one. "See? No harm no foul." He gave Noivern a kind smile, and continued with the tutoring, going a little faster. The good dragon was learning rather well, really.

Elinor Anderson

It wouldn't be irreparable damage to his instrument. He always kept extra strings at home and kept a stash at work. Both for his personal instruments and for sale. Granted, he didn't have the selection a dedicated store would have, but he at least had something. With a thin finger, the blonde traced the claw. Sharp, but there was part of it that could work. "Use this part of your claw. But don't worry if you nick it and cut a string. I keep spares both at home and at my work." He didn't just say that for the Pokemon's ease of mind, but also the trainer's, who had gotten closer.

War Thunder on the other hand, was dancing a little bit to the slow melody. Then they saw the trainer. Going up to her, the female Drakloak held out her hand as if asking for a slow dance. Niky thought that was adorable. And what great manners. War Thunder deserved a treat. Then again, the Noivern was also quite well behaved and followed instructions well. He had to ask her. "Is this your Noivern? They're very well behaved." Especially considering what their pokedex entry says.

Elinor Anderson

His attention shifted slightly to a Noivern getting close. An interesting Pokemon that wasn't particularly rare, but used sound based moves. Niky would be interested in it or its pre-evolution. If he ever found a wild one. Although...it got right up to his instrument! "Hey, buddy, you need to back up a little bit. I don't care if you watch, but no need to practically headbutt the thing." The blonde lightly poked its snout to make it back away a little bit. "But if you're curious how it works, watch and learn..." Niky started to play a little tune, something slow so both Pokemon can watch and see what's happening. That said, it wasn't just random string plucking either. It did have a slow melody to it.

While he was doing so, he did catch sight of a woman nearby. Quite possibly the Noivern's trainer. Well, either way, once he was done, he motioned for the other Pokemon's hands. Hopefully she wouldn't mind him being handsy with her buddy. The blonde started to show the Noivern what to expect with the various strings. And how long a sound lasted. As well as how to pluck a string carefully without a pick. Of course, he was mindful of the claws and how sharp they may or may not be. Assuming of course, the Noivern was as friendly as can be.

Elinor Anderson

Niky had War Thunder, his Drakloak, with him today. He had gotten some help at the store, and trained them up enough that he felt comfortable having a two hour lunch break. And maybe just play a few tunes here and there as a warm up. He had a guitar with him. The ghosty dragon floated around, curious at all the sights and sounds of the city. But as soon as the blonde started to play, one of his newest members to his teams floated towards him and stuck around, mesmorized by the playing. The former idol changed pace several times, from high notes and happy, to lower notes and more melancholy, just seeing the War Thunder's expressions and moods. He even did a little bit of rocker style to see it dance a bit.

Niky wasn't terribly far from his record store, but he still opted to bring his cane with him. It took a bit, but eventually War Thunder started paying attention to the pick and Niky's fingers, even tentatively hitting the strings. "No no, like this. That's a good way to either damage the strings or hurt yourself. This way, you avoid both of those possibilities." Niky showed his Pokemon the right way to pluck the strings with and without the pick. Unknown to him, they had someone or something watching them...

Elinor Anderson

taking with Elinor Anderson

Redeeming Gachapon from Passerby Analytics.

pkmn-hoenn.boards.net/thread/27857/nikys-gacha-experience