What were vacations for except for exploring new, undiscovered places? Sure, maybe when people made those brochures, they didn't immediately think about archeologist digs as Hoenn's main tourist destinations. However, that was hardly Artie's fault. As far as he was concerned, that was their fault for not advertising properly.



[break][break] And so what if his travel destination had also put up a few, very bold signs that he ought to watch his step and that trespassers would be persecuted? Those were obviously not meant for him. Those were for civilians. You know, commonfolk, who had to follow the rules and regulations of society.



[break][break]

+ ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

usually, when grunts like him are underground organizing eggs based on type, the bell hanging above the door is enough to draw their attention. the censor on it echoes a ding! in their collection room, making it easy to bring someone back to the front. it also gives a sense of normality to their not-criminal-affiliated daycare![break][break]

fortunately, they also had cameras (for security's sake, of course) that made it even easier to send someone to man the front, and shigure just so happened to be the one on duty for the day. however, with how slow it had been for the day, they all deemed it unnecessary to have the kantonian stand there twiddling their thumbs, so here he was assisting in the organization. that is, of course, someone decided to be oddly polite in their entrance.[break][break]

"uruha." shigure looks up, brow raised at the way his fellow grunt gestures to the stairs with their chin. "someone's knockin'." they laugh slightly. "literally." instinctively, shigure checks his watch, brows furrowing at the time it reads. it's six. two hours before close. they wonder momentarily if someone flipped their sign to 'closed,' but he doesn't bother to ask any questions. they wipe the sweat from their brow and deposit the eggs from his hold to his coworker's and begin the trek up the stairs and into the elevator. they lean against the metal walls with their eyes closed, mentally preparing themselves for the duty of polite! customer! service! (it's not something he's good at, by the way. shigure doesn't have the best social skills). [break][break]

leaving the "supply closet" and walking down the hall, shigure looks over at the entrance, deadpanning at the way the word 'closed' faced him. so it wasn't the sign but just a shy stranger? adjusting his mask, he calls out his trio of troublemakers in an effort to make himself look more approachable. "... don't make a mess," is the simple command, his pichu saluting him while sprigatito paws at her face and pancham pats his chest in reassurance. shigure rolls his eyes fondly, knowing full well they're just empty promises, but he appreciates the lie nonetheless. [break][break]

finally, they approach the door, opening it in response to the muffled question. normally, when one thinks of a daycare worker, it's cheerful smiles and equally cheerful pokemon. unfortunately for this particular patron, what he gets is shigure clad in nearly all black (face mask included), save for the yellow accents on his jacket and hair. their sharp golden stare, eye bags of exhaustion and several ear piercings don't do much to save their image, though perhaps the curious trio of pokemon at his legs lighten it? [break][break]

"... most people do," they reply bluntly in response, a not-so-subtle glance offered to the signage before holding it open for the stranger to enter. luckily, where their trainer fails to create a friendly atmosphere, pichu, sprigatito and pancham chirp in greeting. shigure didn't absorb the lessons of interactions, but at least his pokemon did. to some extent, anyway. [break][break]

"are you here for pick up, drop off or...?" [break][break]

+ riley maddox

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"uh. i wasn't worried about... 'queen zing,' but thanks..." they stand there puzzled, head tilting as they look up and watch the clouds pass by. her. backyard...? shigure's pokemon sense his confusion and they follow his gaze as if they could peek into his mind and understand what's going on in there. feeling their shift in movement, he looks back down at the duo in his arms and bluntly says: "so now we're trespassing in people's homes because of you two." not the first time it has happened, but at least it shows shalin how they wound up here. they're not going to bother asking why she's living in the forest, and brushes it aside easily enough. people live where they want and where they feel comfortable. it is what it is. [break][break]

"shigure," they reply, glancing at the type:null (lathiel, is it?), though quickly averts his gaze. it's hard to scare shigure, but it's not difficult to have them be cautious. especially after lathiel attacked her trainer? yeah, no. "does she always... swing at you?" a pause. "and do you alwa—" a loud CAW! cuts them off, shigure blinking at the noise. his head raises back to the sky, blinking at the sight of a pidove flapping its tiny wings as quickly as possible, a fearow diving right after it. [break][break]

"ah..." oh, that pidove just looked so pitiful. their head hangs back, a sigh pushed through their nose. he looks at shalin, releasing his pokemon from their hold, pichu already prepared to zap at whatever his trainer points at. "... does lathiel wanna. hit something else?"[break][break]

+ Shalin Nariya [break]
+ will be catching pidove!

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"guess we're going until we run out then?" he watches as velvet's pokeball dings as a signal for success, his head nodding in approval. at least someone was finding something they wanted. if he had to be honest, though it'd be useful to have a larger selection for his team (as well as stronger pokemon in general), there wasn't any he actively wanted. if anything, a lot of his pokemon tended to just... end up with him. [break][break]

still, they came out to the outskirts with a purpose, so he supposes the least he can do is showcase a little more interest. it wouldn't surprise him if he ended up walking out empty handed though. [break][break]

just as the thought enters shigure's mind, a bubble bursts through one of the alleyways, garbage of all kind being sent into the streets. an arm is raised to block any shrapnel, though it's quick to move for his palms to cover his ears with the upcoming metal sound. the culprits make their appearance soon enough, a dragalge and bisharp locked in a heated battle. did one wander into one's territory? well, it didn't matter. [break][break]

"if we're trying to take care of stuff here..." he debates on which one he should take care of first, though with bisharps often being accompanied by pawniards, it'd probably be best to send it out of commission. "... i'll take care of the bisharp. do whatever you want with the dragalge, i guess," they say to velvet, pokeball expanding and tossed to the air to reveal his pancham. luckily he had a serious type advantage, and with bisharp already being weakened? should be easy enough. he commands his pancham to dodge the oncoming acid, urging pancham to focus on the bisharp with a arm thrust. [break][break]

the bisharp looks at its two opponents in alarm, head raising to the sky. with a click of their tongue, shigure calls for another arm thrust, not wanting to give it the chance to call for back up. "finish it up," they call, pancham grabbing the bisharp's leg and sending it flying with a vital throw. deeming it weakened enough, they hurriedly throw out a pokeball in hopes of capture. [break][break]

thinking about it now, wouldn't the thing try to attack him once its feeling well enough later? shigure noticeably sighs, eyes closing with a slump. another long bridge to cross. great. wonderful. amazing. life's stellar, isn't it? [break][break]

+ VELVET ASCH  [break]
+ catching bisharp!

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

it's not that shigure has a sweet tooth. if anything, he enjoyed desserts a perfectly normal amount. however, he stops by this bakery frequently enough to be somewhat recognized, and the true cause of it is... well, his younger sister figure, Momo Sakai . they don't look like it, but shigure is kind to those he cares about (even if it means he's subjected to momo's sugar rushes) and as such, they figured they might as well poke their head in to see what the change in season brings. [break][break]

adjusting their facemask, they glance up from the glass case of cakes and the like to biscotti behind the counter, head tilting. oh, was he staring at the confections for too long? he isn't entirely sure why, but in their visits, the baker tends to sneak glances. with their pursed lips hidden beneath cloth, shigure adjusts their fringe. maybe he had more bad hair days than he realized? also possible one of his pokemon stained his clothes with berry juice and he just didn't notice since he wears dark clothing. uh. awkward.[break][break]

sniffing, he straightens, chin gesturing to the case. "... any of the seasonal ones you'd recommend?" [break][break]

+ Biscotti Kingsley [break]
+ just a guy picking out some cupcakes... nothing creepy here teehee... [break]
+ MISSION: RED OR BLUE?

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

shigure nods sagely in response to nikola's rambling, thinking back on reports he had read prior to his departure from kanto and upon his settling to hoenn. of course, being a grunt, he heard the bare minimum as needed being regions away, though being briefed on the full extent was something else completely. basically? his head was very full of this and that so getting refreshers from someone that didn't dress it up in unnecessary fancy words was a blessing. [break][break]

"have you seen any?" they find themselves asking, drumming their fingers on the counter. "uh. the extinct ones or. the... not real ones...?" probably a stretch to ask, but who knew what nikola did when they weren't hanging around here all starry eyed at the plethora of species that came and went. the same could definitely be said for shigure, after all. [break][break]

"with... uh, whatever's going on in the region, i see variants and stuff come in all the time," they explain, scratching at the back of their head. "i guess... it'd be good to know the difference between er... a present day one and one that's just. not from here." luckily it isn't a lie. the amount of information they had to absorb was quite a lot (the specializations of his "day job" and the necessities of his night one... it's an overload!). what would happen if something dangerous plopped itself in front of them and they just thought it was another region's jigglypuff? they'd definitely get eaten. [break][break]

+ NIKOLA SAMSA

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

shigure does a lot for momo's well being, even if a lot of it goes unsaid or unseen. momo is very much so aware that he cares though, but there is only so much meddling he can do before momo gets all stubborn on him. it's just the way things are, and as much as shigure tries to protect momo from the world... well, the world always calls to her which is why they are sitting here. watching a horror movie. of which momo is wholly not prepared for but who is he to attempt to argue when she says she's older now and some creepy little movie won't scare her? [break][break]

shigure themself has been pretty stone-faced the entire time, brows only raising every now and then at anything remotely "startling." maybe if he were younger or had grown up differently, he'd have as much of a reaction as momo, but nothing can be more terrifying than reality so they have faithfully remained his couch buddies' comfort person. not wanting to be outdone, his pichu had sat on his lap at the start of the movie, wanting to demonstrate his own resistance to horror, though he has since taken to cowering every now and then, burying his face in shigure's abdomen when it becomes too much to bear. sprigatito is curled up at his feet, feigning rest, though shigure can feel the way she trembles every now and then to indicate she is indeed watching and is just attempting to showcase nonchalance. contact with her trainer seems to put her at ease though, and occasionally, shigure feels her rub her head against his shin for physical support. [break][break]

pancham sits slightly away from the group on the couch, arms crossed determinedly, flinching every now and then but never looking away. unbothered by it all, hari has taken to stuffing himself into whatever corner he can fit in momo's living room, posted just as momo's grovyle is: faux rest, watchful gaze and all. [break][break]

the newest jumpscare seems to rattle the whole room, shigure feeling impact on his stomach and side, a soft oof, involuntarily leaving their lips as momo clings onto his arm. the ringing from her scream has him blinking in an attempt to reorient himself, shigure's gaze settling lazily on the screen. [break][break]

"and if that doesn't happen, should i lie to make you feel better?" there's a slight tease in his voice, though there lies a genuine question beneath it. they don't want to be the bearer of bad news, after all. regardless of her response, shigure is quiet through the rest of the movie, not wanting his physical reaction to give it away. eventually (after more squeaking from the surrounding pokemon and the clawing into his abdomen his pichu does), the movie ends and he leans back shrugging. [break][break]

"well. they made it. kinda." if the smiling figure in the window at the end of the movie meant anything, there was definitely a sequel which he didn't think momo could stomach. he gestures for either silver or hari to turn on the light before his hand falls to pat at his pichu's head. "they lived, if that makes you feel better. it's more like... well, the haunting doesn't really end until a proper exorcism happens, right?" [break][break]

+ Momo Sakai [break]
+ haha exactly :]... just two little dudes having the time of their life hehe... :]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

okay! okay, okay. shigure got comfortable. but can anyone blame him? night time is for people like him that live in darkness because that's just where the ride of life took him. and yet here he was. sitting next to mother-freakin' josh devlin. the void seems to make its home in his eyes, shigure's gaze becoming lifeless as a hollow laugh mentally fills his mind. if he hadn't gone so brain empty, maybe he would have noticed who decided to kick ass on a racing game and shigure would have up and left and. dunno. gone to entertain his pokemon at a crane game (and ultimately get kicked out when his pancham would punch the glass to get a toy, but that's besides the point).[break][break]

they blow out a sigh, fringe rustling at the sudden gush of faux wind. what was mauville's gym leader even doing in slateport of all places? don't they have arcades on his home turf? man.[break][break]

"okay 'master of faster...'" he replies bluntly, sitting up to at least put some effort in. well, at least now he doesn't feel as bad for getting pushed down so low in the rankings. his chair tilts this way and that, bottom lip bitten on in concentration. "can the ai stop crashing into each other...? got places to be..." he swerves out of the way, tongue clicking at forced taking of a longer route. [break][break]

josh must be having the most leisure drive over there while shigure is back in the trenches fighting for his life. they want to be more conservative with with their boosts, but there's really not much he can do if he wants to actually keep going, huh? such is the way of the racing world... [break][break]

+ Josh Devlin / MISSION: ALL NIGHTER

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

shigure mouths a what the f— as the type:null surges forward to attack, the kantonian feeling his pokemon press themselves against his leg for protection in case the flygon's defense would turn into a full on fight. fortunately nothing of the sort happens, and the unnamed trainer even gives him a glance of acknowledgement once her feet finally come back to earth. he half-expected a scolding towards her pokemon, though with how she struggled to even part her lips, shigure gives his own nod of understanding. it'll probably come later then.[break][break]

her readjustment must be like trying to get rid of sea legs. except it's. wing mouth... uh. sure. anyway, he's been there. sort of. with the sea legs. and shigure is ever patient (though unfortunately just not the most social).[break][break]

instead, he glances at the forest denizens that have made themselves known. he observes how they settle for a moment, stretching wings and body before they truly become aware of their own surroundings. shigure sees how they tremble and. right. he should scoop up his little ones. [break][break]

"come here..." he mumbles, bending forward and almost stumbling at how his pichu and sprigatito scramble into his arms. can't blame them for their behavior. they've seen a lot of stuff in their time with him, but they're also only small fry that'd definitely be squished if any other of her pokemon wanted to go on a rampage. "alright, calm down..." he looks at the green haired girl and tilts his head quizzically. "... should i go before my pokemon get eaten or..." [break][break]

+ Shalin Nariya [break]
+ his pkm are just little guys shalin :c[break]
+ also skipping!

[attr="class","pokeclass"]