if she had a notebook, she'd be jotting down everything and anything josh had been saying. considering the nature of her vlogs (doubling as both a travel journal and informative piece), such information was very useful! i see! and ohhh, interesting! come out as earnest responses, and with julie having paused the recording on her videocam, she'd have to simply commit the details to memory. however, when josh eagerly steps onto the platform once again, beckoning for her to join him, all history about the arcade blanks. [break][break]

"o-oh, we're..." the we're going already? remains unsaid, julie hurriedly following him up. the initial wave didn't bother her too much to absorb. they were simply chatting at the time, after all! but now, with eyes watching her do something she was unfamiliar with, she felt her nerves kicking up. the content creator in her never ceases though, and with a gulp, her rotom phone is released into the air to catch er. well, not a good performance but at least some usable footage. of course, she'd have to edit out all the times she made too big of a blunder, but that's a future julie problem. [break][break]

current julie had to focus on not tangling her feet up. [break][break]

if they were in a cartoon, her eyes would be spirals, but she nods regardless. "right... make it faster and... alternate feet..." she looks down at the arrows, twisting her body to step on the left arrow with her right foot. a furrowed brow makes it obvious enough that it doesn't feel comfortable, and she even tilts her head as if trying to process how josh could do it so easily without tripping. "must be all the practice?" she mumbles to herself, shrugging and glancing over at josh with a small, embarrassed smile. "if i trip and fall, try to break the crowd up for me, okay? and no pictures! you have to say that too." [break][break]

she scrolls through the songs soon enough, unsure of where she should start. she could pick something that could go with josh's vibe... or, she can go the completely opposite route and they could dance to something cute. mischief sparks in her eyes and she settles for candy♡, head bobbing along with the tune. a cool guy moving to an idol song would make an enticing video.[break][break]

however, while she was lost in the concept of this segment of her vlog, the nerves were still getting to her. "say something to pump me up," she requests, shaking her feet as if to get the jitters out. "that's what coaches do, right? hurry, i'm nervous!" the loading screen waits for no one, unfortunately, and the music is loud in her ears now that she's actually on the machine. wow, and people can concentrate like this? and with eyes watching? scary stuff! [break][break]

"ah...! it's starting!" and with the first note comes her very awkward and stiff step. well, it's a work in progress. [break][break]

+ Josh Devlin (boop!)

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julie's head tilts with an empty smile, a sigh leaving her lips. "even if the dialogue was implied on the way, it's still somehow..." her skitty playfully wags her tail in her face, julie sputtering in response and brushing it to the side. "it's fine. i expected as much," she says simply, mary seemingly satisfied with the response. the tail is curled back around her body and julie begins pondering her options. [break][break]

"well... keep going, i suppose. still, it'd be nice if we could have a little more caution here..." however, with how eager shalin seemed, it's not as though julie would be getting that any time soon. with a shrug, she opts for riding a land pokemon, vaguely wondering if a randomly generated one would appear. not like an app has access to the knowledge of her real team or whatever. [break][break]

+ Shalin Nariya (boop!)

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at mika's suggestions, julie can't help the giggle that escapes her. she laughs into her fingers, smile bright. it was always endearing, no matter how many times julie bore witness to it. almost six foot tall, with a resting expression enough to be considered imposing, one wouldn't think mika were weak to things considered small and cute (though, perhaps when a stranger saw the softness in her gaze when dealing with julie, it wouldn't come as a surprise at all). and yet, here mika was, already suggesting dessert stalls she witnessed serve only the cutest of designs. [break][break]

"that's just like you, mimi," julie sings, the tease in its melody. she doesn't notice the eerie darkness creeping up on them, so drunk on the high of enjoying the night market with the one person that meant everything to her. nothing could spoil the night... or could there be?[break][break]

red... or blue...? [break][break]

a chill runs down julie's spine, her eyes wide as she blinks up at mika in question. goosebumps raise on her arms, her brows furrowing as a nervous smile plays on her visage. lips part to ask did you say something, mimi? but again, the voice echoes in her ears, drawing her in, the darkness seemingly wrapping around her. instinctively, she yelps (a squeak of a heeyah...! piercing the air around them), searching for warmth and finding it by clinging to mika's arm. her face grows paler by the second, half hidden in mika's bicep. [break][break]

"wh... what was that...?!"[break][break]

the laughter caresses their cheeks with the chilling wind, julie flinching in response. she tucks herself closer against mika's side, a soft whimper leaving her throat. [break][break]

red... or... blue...? [break][break]

+ Mika Nakayama [break]
+ HERE WE GO! NOTHING SCARY ON THIS TOTALLY NORMAL NOT-DATE!

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she reads the text in awe, eyes wide. disregarding any hope she had, shalin seemingly rides on ahead of her as her avatar is distracted by the warnings. maybe she should turn back here? but this isn't real life. julie could do anything and everything she wouldn't do otherwise. right. there was no need to be logical. after all, walking on air above magma? yeah. nothing makes sense here. [break][break]

"oh dear, what is even going on..." she sighs in exasperation, eyes closing. well, no point in turning back now. however, she does have a few questions. would the shalin made up of pixels be able to respond? [break][break]

"'i'm not familiar with this place'..." she says aloud as she types into the last dialogue box. her character moves across atop her ponyta as the avatar talks, soon joining shalin's side. "'who or what lives here? is there anything important here?'" she looks down at her skitty, head tilting alongside mary's. "i'm sure she'd be automated to answer something like 'who' and 'what,' right?"[break][break]

her skitty meows in response. right. [break][break]

+ Shalin Nariya (boop!)

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it reminds julie of home, how people can get so excited over holidays. decorations strewn about and the populace giggling in costumes? nothing can compare to the buzz of a city! of course, julie didn't really partake in the festivities, what with her family being what it was. even halloween parties amongst the rich seemed silly to them. however, here, oceans away from home, julie took full advantage of her newfound freedom. after all, it didn't do for the julie solette to not record the happenings of lilycove when she's in town![break][break]

dressed in a cute frilly dress with a large bow and matching skitty ears and tail, julie hums to herself as she wanders the streets. her rotom phone puts in work by flying around as it does, only pausing every now and then when its owner does. trick or treat! the children exclaim, and when julie reveals nothing to give, she's the subject of many tricks... which really just involves plastering tiny stickers on her face and hands, which isn't really a trick by any means, but it seems to satisfy them. [break][break]

once she waves goodbye to the little tykes, she glances off into the distance, seeing a witch much more prepared for the activities than she was.[break][break]

"i guess it's called 'trick or treating' for a reason," she says as greeting, smiling sheepishly. she gestures to the other's full sized candy bars, the expression on her features nothing less than impressed. "you're giving out candy, right? maybe that's why they think everyone is." there is no malice in her voice, instead she offers a hand. [break][break]

"since you're giving out some of the bigger candies, i'm sure kids have been running over. do you need any help, maybe?"[break][break]

+ Genevieve Cromwell [break]
+ GENNY IS LITERALLY SO CUTE

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she seemed delighted once the wingull were hitting the ground, but when noel and his pokemon were doing the same, the relief instantly turned into alarm. well, maybe trying to communicate battle plans in the middle of combat wasn't the smartest idea. but hey, who can blame her for trying? still, worry overtook her as her gaze shot back up to the sky, unsure of what to do if the remainder of the flock dived down to continue their assault. [break][break]

fortunately, they decided against it and began to disperse, leaving julie with her still standing team, a bunch of knocked out wingull and a passed out noel (featuring his team!). what was she supposed to do now though? mary nuzzles at her shin as she stands and ponders while gen tosses her mane to the side with a satisfied neigh. might as well check if he's okay? [break][break]

"um..." she crouches down next to noel, poking at his cheek before sighing. well, at least the initial problem was taken care of. except now she had an entirely new one! she could get pau to carry him, but then what would she do with his pokemon? "ugh... whatever..." time to call authorities! that seemed like the easiest choice. [break][break]

once the phone call is made, she sits down and begins to look through her footage, skitty on her lap while ponyta watches over their sleeping companions. julie was hopeful something would be useful, but as she skims through it, she finds too much blur and far too many of her own yelps. "oh, what a waste..." she sighs, skitty's tail wagging in her face in an effort to cheer her up. [break][break]

on the bright side! nothing was broken! aside from julie's pride, but all's well that ends well! [break][break]

+ Noel Parker  (boop!)

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"oh, please, alia. you're being too kind. i couldn't have done it without your pointers." [break][break]

contrary to her usual persona, the laugh julie lets out is shy, hair being tucked behind her ear as she trots over to grab her newly acquired flapple. she cradles it like it's the most precious thing in the world, and though julie is usually all smiles and laughs, the sparkles in her gaze as she looks down at it resembles that of a child receiving her newest treasure. blinking, she remembers she has an audience and she scratches her head sheepishly, hurrying back to alia's side. she knows the ranger wouldn't think so, but she certainly felt so silly! feeling self-conscious, she shakes her head, a quieter laugh slipping past her lips. there's a lot julie plays up for appearance (her nerves for one), but the wonder upon the successful capture was real. [break][break]

maybe now she gets why Mika Nakayama caught so many. it was exciting and fulfilling![break][break]

as she returns to alia's proximity, smile wide and lips parting to respond, she flinches at the screech of the surprise weavile. a hand is raised to rub at her ear, but the startle doesn't distract her for long. she watches as alia battles with ease, and while julie could do the same if she had been left to her own devices, alia's decisiveness was still impressive. as soon as the weavile hits the ground, julie is tucking her pokeball away, hands clapped in praise and magnificent! said in her native tongue. [break][break]

no matter what julie was capable of, anyone that could do anything without hesitation deserved praise. it didn't look like it, but julie pondered her actions quite often. catching lessons aside, it looked like julie had a lot to gain being near her on their little outing.[break][break]

"you make it look so easy!" the kalosian praises, looking up at her rotomphone to ensure it caught it all on camera. of course, the weavile was still wiggling in its ball, and julie shot it a stare to will it to settle. oh! now she wanted in on a little more of the fun. the high of a successful capture was getting to her! she scanned their surroundings and... ah, nothing of interest. the drilbur is allowed to continue digging away. [break][break]

"this will be a first for one of my videos, you know! me catching pokemon aside, i don't capture battle footage too often. you're one of the rarities on my channel, alia." of course, she'd also be the first to fail a capture too, but julie was feeling confident for the ranger! good vibes only.[break][break]

+ @saturn [break]
+ skipping drilbur!

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and just where did noel get that much confidence in her?! she wants to ask because didn't he just witness her getting pecked to oblivion by the birds? oh, she was getting too worked up. inhaling deeply, she lets out a long sigh. she was definitely cutting all of this out. at this point, what footage did she get would be usable? definitely not julie and her beloved pau getting scratched up by wingulls. she ponders momentarily, though noel's next statement draws her out of her thoughts (and coupled with the pokemon literally breaking their shelter apart, but maybe she was having a life flashing before her eyes sort of moment?). [break][break]

she doesn't even have a chance to respond before the birds break forth, only to be met by the whimsicott's solar beam. she shields her eyes from the light, an eye squinting open to take in the sight. not only was the attack frying the viscous things, it proved to be quite the sweeper! but that wasn't what julie was looking for. even if it were a wide attack, there's only so much it can do against a swarm. [break][break]

right. do or die. [break][break]

once the beam does its sweep, julie is quick to take action despite her initial complaints. "gen, fairy wind! mary, disarming voice!" her pokemon, having been thrown in the chaos have to reorient themselves after being blinded by the solar beam, but they're quick to understand the predicament. their trainer did get into trouble every now and then, after all. of course, not all of them resorted to a battle. [break][break]

thankfully, julie is smart enough to bring out pokemon with attacks capable of hitting more than one target herself. they're definitely not as powerful as whimsicott's solar beam, but the attacks push back against their pursuers. the click of her tongue is thankfully drowned out by the insistent cawing, her ponyta sending out a confusion in hopes of getting the birds to. dunno. smack into each other? it seems to work to an extent, wingulls crashing into each other one after another. [break][break]

"should i throw out a sing...?!" the question is just tossed out into the air, head shaking. oh, whatever! hands cover her ears and she looks at noel to do the same. "don't fall asleep on me, noel!" and with that warning alone, her skitty sings, the closest wingulls hitting the ground one by one. [break][break]

+ Noel Parker

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julie never gets used to this: the... gushing over her. not that it's a bad thing! the genuine admiration momo showcases actually warms her heart and has her feeling quite shy. it's just that what julie was used to was being fawned over with superficial compliments with double meaning meant to insult or win favor. fingers tuck strands of hair behind her ear and julie laughs gently, head ducking with a soft smile. momo sakai, huh? she'd have to remember that after this meeting. [break][break]

"it's nice to meet you, momo! i'm glad i can help you, in some sort of way." it was for things like this that julie exposed herself to the world. a connection with a stranger! how lovely. her small fragile heart soars, and while the grins she wears are picturesque, the one she offers momo is genuine. to an onlooker, and even to momo herself, there wouldn't be much difference, but julie realizes it. the ever sharp observance to her gaze softens, and she feels so silly for allowing herself to be comfortable with a girl she had barely met. [break][break]

of course, the turmoil never makes itself known, and with the buzzing around them, julie takes it as an opportunity to distract herself. it's always easier to do that, and how simple can it be when she can drown in momo's excitement? smiling, julie stands from her seat, gently taking momo by the wrist and beckoning her sylveon to follow. she grabs her drink (even raising it to her cheek and posing for those that had whipped their phones out) and guides momo out of the cafe and onto the streets of lilycove. [break][break]

breathing in deeply, she lets out a breath, looking down at momo with a lopsided smile. "sorry for dragging you out of there without asking," comes the apology, tucking her drink between her side and arm, patting momo's hand before releasing her. "i don't know many coordinators, so i guess i got a little excited myself." but then she shakes her head, laughing. "no, sorry, that's a lie. i just got so happy! me? an inspiration? i don't look it, but i can get quite shy, you know." she fans herself lightly, her playful nature masking just how moved she had become. [break][break]

she hums thoughtfully, surveying their surroundings. well! they had both been interrupted in their relaxation time so... now what? "hm. say, momo? how familiar are you with lilycove?" if momo were a fan, she'd definitely know what julie was getting at. she probably wouldn't record it for now, but it'd be nice to take a walk around the city! [break][break]

+ Momo Sakai [break]
+ SLAMS MY FACE AGAINST THE TABLE I LOVE MOMO

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