As the two made their way further into the cave, Sven couldn't help but flash Desiree a reassuring smile. He certainly had a habit of putting on a brave face for other people. A dismissive wave of his hand allowed him to show the pinkette that the discussion wasn't enough to perturb him any. (That much was a lie, but he wasn't here to sulk, he was here to reconnect with a friend.) Once they found themselves deep enough in the cave, Sven knelt down before a more enriched fissure and began to slam the chisel and hammer against the opening.

"I don't think their disappearance is any sort of conspiracy theory, but I do think a lot of things going on here might have a deeper meaning," he insisted. "And that's why I want to look into them, to understand what's so special about Hoenn."

After a handful of pounds of the hammer against the chisel, he managed to break out a fine piece of stalactite and soon offered it to Desiree's Cleffa to hold onto. It was simply in the way of the true vein that he wanted to break into. But it was enough to keep the fairy type occupied for now, he hoped. Though as the two began to hammer and pick away at the rock, it had been enough to disturb the deeper parts of the cave. Some loose formations of stalactite that hung above on the ceiling of the cave began to crumble and come down.

Before it could even dare to hit the trainers below, Sven's Rampardos made a mad rush and slammed its rock hard head into the dangerous, pointed shards that attempted to rain down. The impact had been enough to send the stalactite flying as it soon embedded itself into the walls to the other side of the pair. Sven stopped to reach up and give his Rampardos an appreciative pat on its face.

"Thanks buddy, that was a close call."

Sven took it as a warning to be a bit more careful. His taps were a bit more light as he began to break into crystalline in an attempt to find something worthwhile. When he finally broke through, Sven made the bold choice to reach into the fissure and dig out what he'd managed to find. It was hard to make out, but he figured the stone served some kind of purpose. If Desiree could chip away at it, maybe she could see what lay within the larger chunk of crystal.

"Hey, I think this might be one of those stones that's said to help make pokemon evolve. Do you want to try and break it open?"

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

DESIREE BLOOMS

"No problem!"

Sven wiped his wet hand on the side of his pants as he took the gun from Josh and steadied his aim carefully. While he wasn't exactly stellar at aim, speed made up for it. The moment the bell rang to signal him to go ahead, Sven cocked the rifle and began to shoot away. One, two, three... The targets went down with each speedy reload. Sure, some shots missed but thankfully he didn't waste any time in a reload with each pump of the lever on the toy rifle. The plastic bb pellets bounced wildly against the setup while some ricocheted and hit the targets.

Finally the bell rang and Sven pumped his fist into the air as the attendant announced that they had a winner. He handed the gun back over to the carnie and immediately pointed out the Manectric plush that Josh had seemed so dead set on. Luck had been on Sven's side and he wholeheartedly acknowledged that bit. The creature was far too oversized for him, but the gym leader would no doubt be able to carry it in tow, so he was proud to hand the prize over to Josh.

"Enjoy!" he beamed. "I'm not the best at aiming but I can definitely keep up with it until I manage to hit the mark."

His aim had improved due to video games, but it still didn't simulate the real thing. Even the toy rifle had a little kickback to it. Maybe there was another game they could play. Then the thought beamed into his mind. A wide grin spread across his face.

"You got any luck at fishing? There's this Magikarp game and I was trying to get the Smoliv they've got over there. I figure if we can work together on it, we've got that prize in the bag."

As if with the mention, his Ditto broke its transformation and slinked over to Sven as it pulled itself up slowly but surely like a slug until it reached the brunette's shoulder where it sat proud.

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

Josh Devlin

On her immediate swipe, Sven's mouth dropped agape. She got a swipe already and a cute one at that! With the utmost excitement, Sven let out a loud 'aww!' to congratulate Saskia. It's nice to know she managed to get a familiar face in the first few moments. His eyes lit up in pure excitement as he gave the ranger a thumbs up as if to encourage her to go for it. But it didn't stop him from teasing her just a little bit.

"Ooh, maybe that's destiny for you, knowing that we're talking about her."

He leaned back in his chair a bit to give Saskia the space to lean over and pet Kirin. Sven dug his own phone out and opted to show Saskia a few of the profiles whom had swiped on him. Most were people who got a kick out of the sword picture, others were vaguely lewd comments that went right over his head. Then there were a fair few who actually shot him a serious message. But after a bit, Sven drew his brows together in thought. Who wouldn't love to go out for ice cream? That seemed like a silly question.

"Dude, I'd probably feel inclined to propose if someone got me ice cream on a date," he laughed.

With that said, he closed out of the AmiGo app and decided to scroll through social media a bit. One could imagine his surprise when he saw something about an upcoming carnival that would make its tour around Hoenn. But more importantly was the fireworks show they talked about. He turned his phone so the brunette across from him could see and he figured it would be a fun opportunity for the both of them.

"They've got fireworks coming up, we should go see them," he insisted. "If Maugrim's good, we can bring him -- speaking of, where is he? I wanna say hi."

Not that he didn't appreciate the company Kirin provided.

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

saskia volosenkova

Sven couldn't help but roll his eyes when Saskia commented on his lack of expertise with swords. Just because he didn't know how to fight with one didn't mean he was exempt from looking like a badass with one! At least Kirin seemed to be nice to him at that point, even though he had to sway the Wyrdeer with some granola. He happily began to brush his fingers against the pokemon's mane as he turned his attention to Saskia as she began to show him pictures. Each one that passed the vibe check was met with a thumbs up, those that didn't were met with a thumbs down. He stopped at one of the pictures where she sported a fur shawl and brooch necklace.

"Sask, did everyone ever tell you how photogenic you are? I'm honestly jealous."

Her features seemed so soft, so at peace, so... Beautiful? If his brain could make a sound, it would have been that of a record scratch. Sure, Saskia was pretty, but he never felt himself use that word with her. It was more reserved, more mature. An awkward cough shook his body as he turned his attention back to Kirin and allowed his momentary embarassment to melt away. Though her question about destiny caused the silence to break as he couldn't help but laugh.

"What kind of question is that?" he grinned. "But I guess I'll bite. I figure Destiny would be a brunette. If Destiny is a woman, I imagine she'd be in a white sundress but wear shorts beneath for comfort and ease. She's not necessarily prim and proper, but eager to rough it -- the bonfire on a hot summer night that keeps everyone mesmerized by how volatile it can be. She allows the spirit of adventure to guide her and doesn't dwell on the past but rather charges headfirst into what the future can be. And isn't afraid to shape it with her own calloused hands."

Oh, Sven, you sweet, naïve boy.

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

saskia volosenkova

His grip in the handshake tightened just a bit to show his gusto as he returned it. But before he could speak to the former councilwoman, he was interrupted by the loud whine of Sativa as it tried to get Elinor's Sprigatito's attention. Indica offered its brother a snort as it finally lept from Sven's arms and batted at the younger brother.

"Oh! These two are Indica and Sativa. Indica's a chill little guy while Sativa's a bit more high strung. As you can see, the latter is very excited to play."

The pokemon imitated its trainer in that aspect. Sven himself was excited to play and see just what the games had to offer. He finally slipped his hand out of the shake and turned his attention to the rides that lined the walkways of the carnival and he couldn't help the way he beamed in excitement.

"But just cause this is a playdate for our Sprigatitos doesn't mean we can't have some fun ourselves! The drop tower looks pretty promising if you don't mind heights!"

Should he have been a bit more stiff in his mannerisms? Perhaps, but there were two issues: he was here for fun. The second issue being that he hadn't realized that the councilwoman had gracefully stepped down. He was as oblivious as the day was young. But maybe that oblivious nature could help show Elinor a good time at the carnival. (Despite how ignorant he was to the elephant in the room, he could still see that something about her seemed distressed.)

Sven was the first to take the step towards the rides. But immediately following, he caught sight of a crying child whom had just gotten off of one of the thrill rides with her older brother. While the boy tried to calm his sister down, Sven figured his own talents could shine. He approached the pair and tilted his head at the crying child. She clung to her older brother, still shaken up by the ride.

"Hey, hey, there's no need for a girl as brave as you to be crying. You rode that ride and managed to make it off, right?" he reasoned.

The girl nodded with a sniffle.

"Then there's no need to be scared anymore, right? You conquered that ride like it was a raging Dragonite and I think that's pretty cool of you!"

The sibling duo grinned up at him as he flashed them a thumbs up. Somehow his little pep talk had worked, and the kids zipped off towards another ride, met with a confidence boost to take on even the wildest of rides. Sven soon turned his attention back to Elinor and spoke again.

"I was thinking the drop tower, but I guess I invited you, right? So pick your poison," he joked.

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

Elinor Anderson

"I'm good!"

It wasn't exactly the truth, but it wasn't a lie either. He found himself buried up to his neck in research tasks that he'd taken on and tenaciously held onto because he was stubborn. But that was work, this was a day to relax and enjoy the Volosenkov patriarch's company. (Maybe he was jaded from knowing Kolya for so long, but he didn't see how some people found him to be so gruff and intimidating. Sven had no qualms about greeting the man with a hug.)

Before he could even register it, Nikolaj had both taken down and attempted to snag the Togekiss that swooped down. That split-second reaction must've been the power of a ranger captain. He found it admirable and flashed a wide grin at the Magnezone that floated above the water. Kolya always had an array of interesting pokemon. But before he could say anything, he felt the Lapras nudge at his arm again an he let out an earnest laugh before he reached up and gently stroked the pokemon's head.

"I know what you want," he said with a chuckle.

Sven dug into his bag before he pulled out some granola that he'd kept for pokemon. As he offered it out, the Lapras happily began to nibble it out of his hand as he reached up and stroked a palm against the top of its head as he mentioned for the Lapras to be gentle with its eating. Thankfully it seemed to have an easy temperament as it listened. With the treat gone, Sven turned his attention back to the water. Though when he saw his bag begin to squirm, the brunette turned his attention to it and peered inside.

"Hey!"

The Poliwag stopped its rummaging and looked up at Sven with crumbs from the granola around the corner of its lips as it stared at the younger man in surprise, its mouth drawn into a circle and eyes wide. With the sight unfolded, he couldn't help but laugh. Sven simply dug the creature out of his bag and held it just above the water.

"You're cute, but I think Marco will get jealous if I--"

The wild Poliwag shot at his face with Bubble and caused Sven to drop it back into the water. Face now thoroughly drenched, he looked over at his Dewott, Marco, who snickered at the sight of its trainer. Sven wiped his face and soon gathered his focus back on Kolya.

"If you or Saskia ever need a plus one for the icelands though, you know where to reach me," he offered with a thumbs up. "Kyurem right? It might seem impossible to revert the land back, but I personally believe there's never a zero probability if you're determined enough."

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

Nikolaj Volosenkov

Without any hesitation, Sven quickly accepted the snow cones from Josh's hands and gave a nod. Though he felt himself hesitate at first, accepting the treat, he figured why not. No need to spit on the hospitality the gym leader seemed very fond of showing. He brought the snow cone to his mouth and took a small bite before he offered an approving 'mmm!' The blue dye from the snow cone itself stained his lips after the aforementioned bite. But with the first bite down, he hadn't realized just how refreshing the treat was. So in mere minutes, he had the treat downed.

"Thanks, that was pretty good! I might have to stop and get another one later," he grinned.

But as Josh mentioned some games, he gave a nod. That sounded good. Here he was hoping to win at least one. As Josh readied himself at the shooter game, he watched the way the gym leader took his stance. Though while he wanted to see the man take out some targets, his attention was grabbed by some of the prizes that the stand had. Eyes sparkled the moment he saw a large Alolan Exeggutor. It just looked so cool! Maybe once Josh was done, he'd take his swing at the game.

And as something began to drip on his hand, he realized that the gym leader's snow cone. In a quick matter of thinking, he let out his Ditto, affectionately named Silly Putty, and gestured its attention towards a plush Cubchoo. Immediately the Ditto transformed and took the snow cone from Sven's hands.

"Remember, Silly Putty, don't eat it! That's not yours, just keep it cool, ok?"

The Cubchoo-transformed Ditto replied with a simple 'itooo!' as it kept the snow cone balanced between its paws and gently blew on it with a Frost Breath in an attempt to keep it cool from the summer sun.

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

Josh Devlin