trading NIKOLA CATELLUS 's gacha eelektross for Yuina Higashi 's aegislash, which is going to MAKI YUKIMURA !

at first, there's only darkness. it feels like ages as nikola wanders the emptiness of their dream realm, seeing only scattered fragments of memory. in reality, it's only a couple minutes until things start to piece themselves together. they can only catch glimpses of something through the fog... they can see a sterile environment, hear the beeping of multiple machines, and then... an intense pain launches them backwards, as in reality their body seizes up.

they go back, all the way back, right to the beginning. they remember being too small to reach the counter, while still having to get their own water and snacks for themself. they read a lot of books during this time, and envied the adventures the protagonists went on. their appetite for knowledge was voracious, but they had no money and their mother wouldn't buy them anything they didn't absolutely need. they took to doing random chores around the neighborhood so they could buy more books, some of them textbooks on things they hadn't yet covered in school.

their mother took their money whenever she found it, claiming it was her payment for taking care of them.

nikola had no friends, as they now remember. the only person they could rely on was themself. this was how they grew up, bitter and alone, with only literature to keep them company. even when they skipped ahead a grade, they received no praise. they were told they were trying too hard, they were too stingy, they cared too much about money. what else were they supposed to do? aside from knowledge, money is the only thing in the world that matters.

these memories all filter back in. in the real world, their body relaxes, no longer seeming pained. only their expression remains troubled, and their fist unconsciously clenches there in the bed.

there are, of course, multiple routes to regain one's lost memory. most of them take precious time, however, and that's something nikola can't afford to waste. they've spent enough time wandering around confused and disoriented with no sense of self, unable or unwilling to confront the truth. it's likely science caused the problem, so now science has to be the answer.

they're in a hospital bed, hooked up to a machine that they'd love to get a closer look at later. is it similar to a sleep study? they've never done one, but they know the basics of how it works. they'll go to sleep, and from there, they'll sort out their absent memories in dreams. ultimately, it sounds a lot safer than some of the other options they've considered, such as having their brain directly tampered with or trying to induce a hypnotic state.

nikola forces their body to reelax, breathing in and out slowly. one wooloo, two wooloo, three wooloo... slowly they drift off, not knowing what's to come.

• player/ooc name: newt
• character tags: NIKOLA CATELLUS MAKI YUKIMURA REESE RHODES JULIAN BRIERLEY
• dropped characters' tags (if applicable): STERLING WARDEN VELVET ASCH
• ic posts for characters: nikola | reese | julian | maki
• are characters in directories?: Y
• any notes/comments: i think dogs should vote

the slightly drenched fluffy and her trainer follow josh back to the office, nikola still a little dazed and dizzy. once a bowl of water is put out, fluffy laps it up greedily, splashing water everywhere. nikola themself will accept a bottle or cup of water if offered, drinking it down just as fast as fluffy with her water. once they're done, they let out a sigh of relief and shake their head.

"i'd have to think about it," they say, wiping sweat off their brow. "just keeping up with the cost of caring for my pokemon is hard enough... my job pays decently well, but it's a lot of work!" they sink down on the ground next to where fluffy is now lying, resting against her back. "if i decide to challenge you here... maybe. otherwise i don't know if i'll be using extreme speed very much."

the arcanine behind them lowers her head to the ground and lets out a low whine as nikola scratches her behind her ears. "thanks for the workout. it really helped me get my mind off things for a bit." they'll just rest a bit longer before they're ready to head out.

[ Josh Devlin ]

nikola gives the command as well, and suddenly the world turns into a blur. the wind whips around them, threatening to dislodge them, but they hold onto fluffy's reins for dear life as she lets loose and barrels forward at breakneck speed. leaning forward, nikola presses themself against her neck, burying their face in her mane. the arcanine is valiantly attempting to keep up with josh and braver, chasing after them, legs pumping furiously.

but her endurance isn't the greatest, so it's not long before she slows down to an easy lope. she's panting, and now that she's slowed down again nikola sits back up, their hair an absolute mess.

"whoo~!" they cheer, a little dizzily. "i think fluffy could use some water after all that!" fluffy agrees by flopping down on the ground, still panting.

[ Josh Devlin ]

"i've tried this a few times!" they shout back at josh as fluffy lopes along. "managed to hurt myself the first couple of times, but after that it was all a matter of adjusting!" the process itself is just as scientific as it is athletic. they'd read up on positioning, timing, and technique after the first attempts ended with them flat on their ass or with pulled muscles. they couldn't help being stubborn about it, wanting to recall that feeling of pushing against the wind they had in the desert when they'd first met josh.

"ready!" nikola calls. their grip on fluffy's reins tightens, and they prepare themself for the burst of speed they're about to put on, following josh's lead. they've seen how fast extreme speed can get without someone on fluffy's back, and it will only be a bit slower with nikola's weight slowing her down.

[ Josh Devlin ]

one bewear for 100 pd please (:

nikola climbs aboard, settling themself in as comfortably as they can. they pull their eye protection over their eyes, once again glad they hadn't worn their glasses today. fluffy immediately gets to her feet again and starts following after josh and braver, prancing as much as a canine is capable of prancing. nikola knows she's ready to go, but holds her back until braver starts running.

after that, there's no stopping her. she chases after the other arcanine, not wanting to be left behind. nikola leans forward instinctively, holding her reins in their hands, tightly looped through their thumb and fingers. at this speed, her gait is quite bouncy, with nikola trying hard to clamp their legs around her sides so they don't go up and down too much. "makes sense!" they call to josh. "leaning forward provides a more aerodynamic form. it's the same reason planes are generally shaped the way they are." like this, they're still able to keep an eye on where fluffy is heading, leaning gently when they need her to turn. she's very good at this-- nikola wonders if she was a racer before she was abandoned.

[ Josh Devlin ]

the things that were bothering nikola at the time of their last meeting have been buried in the back of their mind. instead they've brought their game face, hoping to throw themself into this practice as a form of field research. they've also brought their mabosstiff and furret again, since the two had so much fun playing last time they were here. it's rare that the pokemon are given so much space and freedom to roam; they get to play at the park, but there's so many other pokemon there that they have to be careful not to start any fights.

"ready, chief!" they give josh a thumbs up. they're wearing contacts today, not wanting to risk their glasses falling off and breaking. at their side is fluffy the arcanine, panting and looking around curiously. she's already been fitted with her saddle, and she's antsy to get going. she lets out a whine and lowers herself to the ground, head on her front paws, looking up at the two trainers expectantly.

[ Josh Devlin ]

they blink owlishly behind the lens of their glasses. the gym challenge...? oh right, that thing. it's a little strange that the thought never crossed their mind despite their friendship with josh, but his identity as a gym leader took second place to his identity as a racer, at least in their own head. they absentmindedly pat fluffy on the back. "nope. never thought about it before." their familiarity with pokemon is likely more from a research standpoint. that information has always come easily enough to them.

nikola rubs their chin thoughtfully. "...i might consider it, depending on what i choose to pursue." there's a nagging feeling at the back of their mind, but it's drowned out by the sea of other thoughts there currently. "i need time to think on it-- and you need more time to recover before you should be taking too many challenges, probably." they smirk. "what better gym to start at than mauville's own?"

thankfully, nikola's smart enough to know better than to attempt an extreme speed under these conditions. or... well, more like they know better now, having already tried it previously and almost immediately being unseated and flying backwards. they're still sore from that encounter, shifting gingerly in their seat. instead they lead fluffy around the track while their other pokemon play nearby. when they feel she's ready to run, they'll get off her back.

"something i'm ashamed of...?" they muse. "i don't know. i don't remember enough to know if i should be ashamed." and they don't know if it's a good idea to regain those memories. living in ignorance might be kinder; they don't know what caused their memory to fracture, after all. "the only way i can know is by remembering, and by that point it may be too late."

they rein fluffy in and hop off her back again, hoping she's got a good feel for the track now. "it's a binary choice. i can stay exactly the way i am, or i can go back to the way i was."

nikola's about to protest at being called "kid", but before they can speak they're being shoved through the portal. they bite their tongue as they feel their surroundings warp, and then they and their cyndaquil are on the ground, stunned and confused. the portal closes behind them, camellia coming through moments before. the clanking of metal stops. nikola's glasses are hanging halfway off their face, so they adjust them.

"...well! that was certainly... different." they stand up and brush themself off, letting flammula down to the ground. "thank you for the save! i'd like to go and document this now. perhaps we'll meet again!" they walk off with a bounce in their step, the cyndaquil passing a worried backwards glance at camellia as they go.

[ Camellia Lemaitre ]