We'll Never Be the Real Things [Laurent]

[Dave Wilton]

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Maybe Dave had just been psyching himself out. Some of those stories about Zoroark were pretty spooky, and while he certainly wasn't about to say he was some kid scared by bedtime stories about big bad wolves gobbling up little girls who didn't listen to their mothers, he also was suddenly not so keen on testing how far from the truth it was after catching a glimpse of that hulking beast of a Pokémon watching him as he'd left the pen again. Normally, Pokémon seemed more dangerous then intimidating; most of them were pretty simple things and he was a lot more worried about startling one into fight or flight then he was about being methodically hunted down. [break][break]

Those teal eyes made Dave doubt and question though. They seemed just... a little too intelligent, especially coming from something about as tall as a human and shaped just a little bit like one. And maybe capable of, Dave considered warily, looking exactly like a person too. There was just something about the grizzled old wolf (or fox maybe, he'd never been sure about the proper classification) that seemed almost... smug. A flash of cracked and yellowed teeth for a second that he would swear up and down was directed exactly at him. After all, Dave *had* managed to win the first try, sending one of the men scrambling over, tipping his hat rambling about how exciting, practically tripping over himself to start explaining things.[break][break]

In all honestly, Dave had clocked out for half of the rambling the "Ruin Maniac" went on. Something about how this little girl was a unique specimen all the way from the Paldea region known for something about making hammers. He was just busy watching the Zoroark sitting by the stands with the other weirdos who ran this game. He caught enough to hear it was a 'Tinkatink' or whatever, and apparently the guy didn't have time for her because she was a rescue and seemed in a delicate state to be around his massive hoard of Pokémon, but he just couldn't give stand to hand her over to the rangers when it had been such a find.[break][break]

Man, what an ass. Like if you weren't gonna train it yourself then why hold onto it? Whatever though, wasn't really Dave's problem, he was getting a free Pokémon, and he didn't give a damn about the rangers anyways.[break][break]

Passing the guy off after he finished with a "Yeah, I getchu man, I'll make sure to take good care of her for you. Thanks for the game, it was pretty fun" Dave would take the Pokéball, tossing it a bit idly. He still had it apparently though. If winning a game and getting a free Pokémon first try wasn't a sign of good luck, well... he wasn't sure what was. Certainly felt like a fantastic day, and a great start considering he'd only just gotten himself registered. It honestly made Dave consider a moment taking training seriously...[break][break]

After all, Dave could own his own Pokémon. No one was going to be mad or take them away from him. And he already owned two... honestly if he went out trying to catch a few with the Pokeballs the professor had given him, he could get a full team of six. Though he pushed the thought away after a moment with a disgruntled sigh. Training seriously - doing battles over prize money and the gym challenges and all that - was expensive. You had to buy good training equipment, feed them really high quality stuff, buy permits and tickets for events... it just wasn't worth it. His brothers needed that money, and if Jace ever wanted to try training, he wanted to be able to have the supplies to support him.[break][break]

Still. Pulling out a folded up advertisement, Dave shrugged as he read it over again. Free was free, and while a rookie trainer meetup sounded pretty boring, there was always a chance they'd do free handouts of cheaper supplies or have food and drinks. It wasn't far from here, and he was already in Mossrock anyways. Plus any excuse to get into proper air conditioning and out of the heat was a good enough reason for him; the little cave in the Plaza had been a nice respite, but he was starting to get real sweaty again. Glancing again at the address and looking it up online to get directions, he hummed.[break][break]

This library here huh? [break][break]

It was a pretty cool looking building. The library uptown in Castelia had been really nice too, all glass windows for walls in entire areas and multiple floors. This one seemed like it only had one or two, but was overgrown with vines on it's outside with a little hedge maze winding through what was basically a park around it, with gargoyles overgrown with moss on the corners and towering trees casting shade over it.[break][break]

Folding the paper up again, Dave stepped inside, glancing around before finding a signboard with today's activities on it. Nice and simple then. Stepping past a fountain with a ripple of water glimmering with coins people had thrown in and lined with rocks and moss to make it look like a miniature river, he made his way past a cozy looking music section with headsets and screens and some people gaming or chatting while they browsed to a opened door of a meeting room. Not too many people here yet, besides some parents chatting with younger looking kids.[break][break]

Yeahhhh.[break][break]

Dave probably shoulda seen that one coming. Most people here would be kids huh? And anyone not was probably just finishing their degrees or something, though he kinda had his doubts anyone would bother going through school just to decide to be a trainer anyways. Not likely be a lot people his age then. Oh well, worst comes to worst, he could just see if they had anything interesting or useful to say and then check out the rest of the library and chillout for the rest of the day.[break][break]

Flopping into a seat, Dave pulled his cap down a bit and slouched into the chair, folding his hands over his chest. Guess he'd just have to see.

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Dave Wilton + Laurent Vanderbilt

made by gimmick

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[Laurent Vanderbilt]

If he kept this up, he could pull off a flying-type specialty. Two of his pokemon circled above. Gunhild led, a little older and therefore better at finding warm drafts to coast on. Apricot followed along after her. The pair drifted lazily above Laurent in a wide, winding circle. And, the third pokemon (just enough for half of a full team!) was resting in her pokeball at Laurent’s hip.

Apricot made it onto today’s line up because Gibdo the hippopotas simply wasn’t appropriate. Laurent liked him plenty. He was a ground type, had a decent moveset, and got along well with the rest of the team! He listened well enough, too, as long as there weren’t any reptilian pokemon around. As much as Laurent enjoyed dissing dragon types with that hippopotas, a trainer meetup was bound to have an abundance of scaly starters. Charmanders, totodiles, and treeckos alone settled the question before Laurent even asked it aloud back at the pokemon center.

Oh well. Maybe somewhere less crowded, with fewer unexpected pokemon. He’d miss out on the inevitable training opportunities… Something that Gunhild, Sirene, and Marshal wouldn’t pass up on even if it required the former two’s best behavior. To prove that point, as they reached the library, Gunhild quietly landed upon Laurent’s shoulder. The rufflet took the other, thick down-covered head brushing against both the door frame and Laurent’s locs as all three made their way in.

“O’four, o’six… o’eight.” He counted down the room numbers as he walked. Laurent’s eyebrows just about shot up to his hair line when he saw what was waiting inside. Kids? Again? No, no, no. After that meet up with the kid for the battle, he’d decided that wasn’t happening again. Didn’t anyone pick up a side hobby? Take up a gap year?

There were plenty of adult gym leaders and champions! Elders of those, even! Surely he wasn’t the only one deciding to get into this seriously in his twenties?!

… And, he wasn’t. Well, maybe? He wasn’t the only guy here unaccompanied by a parent, anyways, so that was close enough. Spotting the slouched figure with the cap, Laurent made his way over. He noted the lack of pokemon outside of the pokeball.

Maybe he was more formal? Some trainers didn’t like shoulder-riding pokemon. Or, pokemon walking with them. Though, some were even more tolerant than Laurent himself and allowed them to ride atop their heads. At any rate, this guy didn’t have a pokemon out, which made Laurent curious. Did he not have any yet? The lab was awful close, so it was a possibility…

But, it’d tick everyone on his team right off if his refusal to get into more one-on-one interactions with kids than necessary cost them battles. (Asking their parents for permission, too, seemed horrible.)

“Looks like we’re early,” he greeted, making sure his voice was just loud enough to beat this guy spotting his shoes beneath the brim of that cap or something else that might spook someone that wasn’t paying too much attention. (Or, so Laurent assumed.) “I’m sure things will fill in as it gets closer to starting time.”

[Dave Wilton]

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Dave's eyes had slid closed while he waited, trying to drown out the higher pitched and annoying voices of the younger kids excitedly berating their parents with questions. If you didn't know any better, you'd think being a trainer was the best thing since sliced bread according to those little patrats. Give it like a month on the road and more then half of them woulda already quit, never mind getting through the first gym...[break][break]

Prolly anyways.[break][break]

A voice a bit deeper and older, this kinda warm butter of a guy who'd clearly already hit puberty, seemed to reach Dave's ears though, and half opening one eye, he shifted in his seat. A hand moved to push the baseball cap up enough for him to look up as someone came over, a single emerald green eye catching dark brown locks beaded with bright blues and dusky skin framing chocolate eyes. "Eh...?"[break][break]

It took a moment, though then Dave registered the words he'd heard were directed at him he seemed, and pushing himself up a bit and letting his other eye open - a bright yellow with his contact in - he offered a lazy smile and a wave with his other hand. "Oh yo, hey. Yeah, guess we are." Glancing around, more for the sake of expressing the point then to actually look at the room again, he glanced back, noting for a moment the two flying types (presumably anyways) perched on the guys shoulders. Must be pretty good with his Pokémon if they could behave so calmly even around all these people.[break][break]

Wait a second, Dave actually recognized one of those. Perking up and gesturing towards the stockier of the two birds, he cracked a crooked grin. "Damn, you got a rufflet? Yoooo, that's pretty sick man!" Whistling slightly in admiration, he glanced over the guy more thoroughly now, taking a moment to take him in. Seemed about his age, which was already a pretty big improvement on most of the other people Dave spotted coming in, and with whatever weird dye job was going on with his hair it was pretty unlikely he was a total square either.[break][break]

Clicking his tongue, Dave considered the guy's other statement before shrugging. "Prolly. I mean I'd hope so anyways, otherwise..." He drifted off and make a vague gesture at the others there so far, cringing obviously at them all. "Whaddabout you though, seems you got yourself a few already. Get a lucky start, or they like, hand-me-downs or something?" Starting a light jovial air, Dave figured he'd start with the obvious. I mean guy had to be here for a reason, rufflet or not, right?[break][break]

Not that having a Pokémon or two was a dead giveaway he wasn't a newbie, Dave himself had two now already. Ruth took basic orders too, but it hardly meant Dave would say he really knew the first thing besides "tell the thing to attack" and then just figure it'll be trying to win and have a basic survival instinct for not gettin' the crap kicked out of it. Ruth was scrappy enough it worked out so far, but it'd be nice if he knew how to actually train her and get her up there after all.

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Dave Wilton + Laurent Vanderbilt

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