she opens her mouth to object, but sasha beats her to it anyway. in a couple of different directions, actually, which makes sasky think. it makes her feel kind of warm too, and it brings a smile. 

i'm more adventurous?

she supposes that's true. there's not a whole lot she wouldn't do, short of jumping into the waiting jaws of death itself. sinnoh had been an incredible time, but she's always wondered after other places - alola, especially, with its biodiversity. 

but hoenn needs her. her family needs her. 

"gotta love hoenn," she says with a toothy smile, "random sandstorms, cataclysms, and all. anyway, i'm glad you're here. you were always nice to me, even when i messed up the paperwork."

Sasha Huang

☉

she digs through her fanny pack for her debit card and presses it to the screen without paying much attention to the cost, too busy hungrily eyeing her own stacked cone. a few stray bills are tossed into the tip jar and in exchange she gets a delightful sweet treat.

and gods, it feels so good on her scratchy sore throat. 

"ice cream's basically a doctor," she says around her cone. "makes you all happy inside." she skips to a two-seater, obviously expecting him to follow, and grins wildly while she takes a huge bite out of her top scoop. (yes, bite.)

"don't wooooorry though. i'll go tomorrow. if i need it. nothin' a good night's sleep won't cure. also maybe a shower. anyway, what's your name? i'm saskia, but you can call me sasky."

KING WAYLAND

☉

"nothing," she says defensively. with the surprise out of the way, oleg starts to thoroughly enjoy himself again (saskia can tell because he makes his happy beep noises) so it gives her enough peace of mind to tear her gaze from the battle and to greyson.

"i just...fiiiine. i just really wanted to do this, you know? but those stupid worms wouldn't wake up." she relents and calls out, "i'm sorry, worms! i didn't mean it! you're not stupid! just sleepy."

Greyson Connors

☉

of course! mr greyson connors, bestie from another testie, is going to come in and save the day! she wants his help. she really does. there's nothing wrong with asking for help, but gosh sometimes she really wishes she could just be capable for once. 

"raff!" she says excitedly, all doom and gloom shoved away in the blink of an eye. she's always wanted a buizel. they're so freaking cute. and floatzel? she could lay on a floatzel's belly like in the jungle book and float lazily down the river. 

maybe she can ask greyson to borrow raff to do just that...

oleg's alarm goes off as the orthworms tower up over them. saskia barks, "turn it off, oleg! we can have lunch later." she side-eyes greyson. "i forget lunch so oleg has an alarm set to remind me - " 

and then one of the very angry orthworms slaps its wormy tail down at the earth towards her little alien. he scrambles out of the way, psychic energy glowing around him as he zeroes in on the creature. 

"i'd be pretty mad if i got woke up like that too. oh! oleg's pulling their defenses with guard split. go get 'em, raff!" she stutters and looks sheepishly up at greyson. "if that's what you think he should...do."

Greyson Connors

☉

"well, i don't think he likes me very much," she says, annoyed as she tries (and fails) to yank her leg free. she still spares a grateful look for catching her before she can fall. with a sigh, she crouches down, fumbling for the pocket knife clipped to her belt. it takes a bit of hacking and sawing, but eventually she loosens the thick root enough to wriggle herself free.

"or, well, i don't know. all the ranger reports say it attacks when you see it. and then it gives you a flute if you're good enough to beat it."

she clips the knife back on and exchanges them for the mini pair of binoculars she actually remembered to bring. 

"here. there's a temple a couple miles that way. past that field." the one with the impossibly large celesteela. she hands the binoculars to him and points so he can follow her finger.

@haoyu

28 discover a vast field filled with impossibly large celesteela that dwarf you inside. periodically, some will launch.

☉

she could tell you all about the different types of lichen dotting the fringes of this sudden desert landscape, but any CEO or big bank or anything with a shortened abbreviation that screams money escapes her. she stares blankly and shakes her head.

"that's cool though. movin' up in the world!" she says. days pass in a blink of an eye, years even. she's still at the same ranger station. 

it's what i wanted. want. right?

that doesn't make it all the easier to acknowledge she's still not as put together as the girl - woman - beside her. 

"yeah, i guess," she says and drapes her arms over her legs, propping her chin. "the bubble went up and i thought i was gonna go crazy. had to come as soon as it went down. have you stayed here this whole time? in hoenn?"

Sasha Huang

☉

"huh?" she asks. than usual? she's the normal amount of excited, except maybe she's a little worked up because the stupid orthworms won't wake up. no. she can't blame them. it's not their fault they wanted to nap in literally the worst place possible.

"it's great! we're great! fine, even. it's gonna - we got this," she says, chest puffed, completely confident.

she turns around when the music stutters. oleg has taken her phone off of his head and started nibbling the end of it. "no, oleg! no snacking. that'll be the third phone in - put it down!"

her shoulders slump. she thunks her forehead against greyson's arm. "heeeeeelp meeeeee."

Greyson Connors

☉

this time there's no other pokemon there to snatch her pokeball away from her, thank goodness. she's still sore from all the labor she's had to do last week and oleg isn't exactly light on her shoulders. 

with the mienfoo safely in the ball, oleg rocks himself back up to his feet and goes to press onward. sasky sighs and starts to explain that maybe they should start heading back, but he points at the remaining safari ball on her belt and reminds her, with a beep-beep-beeeepaaaa-doooooo that she spent a good deal of her paycheck on this safari run.

she can't crap out on it again. 

so she follows him with a sigh, letting him lead her right into a heart of a bunch of...vacuums in the middle of the woods.

"what the - " she starts, but then realize they're sentient when one of them rushes towards her. she's never seen a roomba in real life (that's what these are called, right?) and neither has oleg, but that doesn't deter the silly little alien from smashing it around and presenting it to sasky for capture.

"oh. erm, okay."

PREMIUM SAFARI BALLS 1/4
catching

☉

oleg is too busy laughing at himself to grab the stilled safari ball on the ground, which leaves saskia exclaiming when it's snatched right out from under them. oleg digs his fingers in her hair and urges her forward.

(she regrets letting him watch rattatatouille.)

she takes off at a sprint, crashing through the undergrowth as she careens headlong off the path. oleg psychically swings branches out of her way, droning wildly as they go. whatever took it is scared as all heck, but it doesn't drop the ball.

eventually they bust into a clearing and it - a mienfoo! - drops the ball, startled. oleg tries to tug on her hair, but she says, "i'm not going to raise my arms! it doesn't work like that, o!"

so he shimmies down her side and onto the ground and over to the mienfoo and he lifts one nubby hand and

pats its head.

the mienfoo stops shaking anxiously and relaxes like a cat, melting into oleg's lap. he plops onto the ground and beeps appreciatively, gesturing for sasky to pull another ball from her belt.

PREMIUM SAFARI BALLS 2/4

☉

sven's tracks always slap. this kind of music isn't normally her cup of tea, but she'll literally listen to anything, so she's kind of grooving to it when greyson startles her from behind. she doesn't even know it's him at first - it's just some DUDE asking her what this is about. 

her arms flap. she wheels with a yelp. oleg, having sensed him coming, does not react, save to turn the music up (because he's a pill). surprise statics into elated shock and she throws her arms around her friend, squeezing around his arms. 

"greyson!!! hi, how are you? it's been so long. we've been so busy. oh my gosh, what are you doing up here? they didn't send an e4 member out 'cause of some lousy orthworms, did they?

"OLEG, TURN IT DOWN!

"oh, we're waking them up."

a beat.

"well, trying to."

Greyson Connors
mission - blocks your path

☉

"of course it works," she exclaims, almost exasperated. curious though, is that this fletchling seems female and she's prettyyyy sure oleg's pitch had also been female. whatever. birds can be lesbians too, she supposes. 

not that it's going to get the opportunity to figure out its sexuality or whether it can get funky with a little green alien guy instead of one of its feathered kind. oleg beeps erratically and unleashes a blast of psychic energy.

feathers explode out from the startled and struck creature and despite its attempts to get away, oleg manages to slow it down just enough for sasky to throw her first safari ball.

"you're insane sometimes. you know that, right?"

PREMIUM SAFARI 3/4 BALLS

☉

the warden had kicked her out last time because she got too distracted by the plants and had wandered around well past close. now she's here early in the morning and there's no way she's going to forget again. 

oleg swings his little legs over her shoulder, beeping and trilling like the fletchling they're after as they walk. 

"are you doing a mating call?" she asks as she tilts her head to look at him. "because ew, gross."

PREMIUM SAFARI 4/4 BALLS

☉