mountain mama | volunteer

[Felicity Mae Loose]

It was by accident that Felicity had stumbled upon Katsu Town. Having spent quite a while in Hyo City in the underground Resistance, she had heard rumors about the town. It wasn't so much a town as it was a camp, she had heard, and upon finding it, it appeared the rumors were true. Makeshift buildings were erected within a clearing, some of them made of large tents while some of them were made from stronger, more lasting materials. This gave credence to the rumor that the town had a tendency to move from place to place, frequently dodging Plasma's search for the Resistance town. As she entered the small community, Felicity wondered if there had ever been a physical and immobile Katsu Town before the war.

In her arms was a buneary. The baby pokemon had done a decent job of walking on his own through Fie Forest. Typically she had to remind him that she had legs, but they had been at least half way through before he demanded to be held, so she had given in and carried him the rest of the way. Pausing by a makeshift bench, she bent over and gently put him down. "We're in Katsu now, which means it's about damn time to walk on your own. That was our deal, remember?" she reminded him, although her tone wasn't scolding. She knew how baby-ish baby pokemon could be.

The buneary seemed to get the point, although not without an eyeroll. Hopping down from the bench, he joined his trainer in glancing around the makeshift town, searching for something to do.

Hugo 6.8 hearts
+1 to Hugo, bringing him to lvl 5
Average: 9.8
Looking for a miltank, fingers crossed

[Deleted]

Wild Pokemon Appeared!

Pidove | Male | o13
Big Pecks | Super Luck
Gust | Growl | Leer | Quick Attack


Honedge | Female | o13
No Guard
Tackle | Swords Dance | Fury Cutter | Metal Sound | Pursuit

You may choose which Pokemon to interact with! Choosing to ignore one of them will not count as ignoring an encounter, but choosing to ignore both of them will.

[KAIN]

In the small town of Katsu, there’s never a quiet moment. Between keeping the town hidden and building up their infrastructure to fight back against Plasma, there is certainly plenty for you and your Buneary to do.

If you look to your left, you’ll see a large, gruff looking man bent over an anvil. There’s a makeshift forge beside him, and he is hammering what appears to be a small dagger. While it may seem odd that a blacksmith has set up shop in such a town, what seems stranger is the unsettling aura that surrounds him. It’s almost chilling despite the heat of the forge, and goosebumps may spread over your arms if you were to approach the man.

To your right, you can hear loud squawks coming from behind one of the large tents. There is a small child standing at its edge, his arms filled with a good number of jagged rocks. He throws one at something behind the tent, and you can hear another screech as it makes contact.

While there’s plenty more happening around you, these two things stick out to you the most. Will you go and speak with the strange blacksmith, or will you go and investigate what the angry-looking child is attacking?

---

Felicity Mae Loose

[Felicity Mae Loose]

Felicity's eyes scanned what she could see of the town. It seemed like a simple place, but busy nonetheless. People scuttled about, helping the town live in their own way. A woman with a basket a food walked in one direct and nodded to a man with some wood and supplies whom she passed. She had only been here for a few minutes, but the energy and buzz from the town excited her and she felt a grin growing on her face. Feeling some excitement, she adjusted the bag on her back carefully. There were two eggs inside that she had just received, and she was hoping that they'd be safe in her bag.

Her eyes paused on a man hunched over an anvil. She wasn't to believe in auras or energies, or anything supernatural like that - in fact, she often scoffed in the faces of those who did. This man, however, was giving her the shakes even from this distance. Her eyes narrowed as she considered walking over to investigate, but her attention was stolen by the sound of shrieking. It seemed like it was coming from a pokemon, but her ears led her in the direction of a child.

A child who was holding a small pile of rocks in his arms. He threw one of them behind a tent, and she immediately heard a similar squawking noise as the one she had heard just a minute ago.

"Oh, hell no," Felicity said barely under her breath as she crossed her arms. "Let's go have a chat, Hugo," she said in the buneary's direction before marching over, the small pokemon bouncing beside her.

"Yo, kid. Whatcha throwing rocks at?" she called out to the boy. Her tone wasn't necessarily mean or accusing, but it certainly wasn't the friendliest he'd probably ever heard.

KAIN

7.0 hearts for hugo

shiny porygon 1/10
happiny 1/10

[Deleted]

When your voice hits his ears - stern and sharp, matching a body language that betrays your anger - the child freezes momentarily. As he holds still, it may be possible to get a good look at him. Small and sporting a distinct green hat, his brow furrows and his lip purses upwards at you, smoldering under the brim of the hat. His arms hold a variety of rocks, all haphazardly picked off the ground and contained in his arms.

"None of your business." He sneers, before turning back to the bird and tossing a stone its way.

The Pidove coos in alarm, feathers rustling and making it appear larger as it hurriedly steps out of the way. The avian creature bobs his head at the child, but the gesture appears more curious and focused than threatening. While the bird appears to be meek, he isn't making any effort to relocate or move from a very tight area of about a few feet in either direction.

Either way, it looks like the child doesn't consider you at all now. What will you do?

[Felicity Mae Loose]

This kid was bold, and it took everything in Felicity's power to keep herself from being snarky right back to him. Having found herself behind him, and a little to the side, she could now look over the boy and see what he had been throwing his rocks at. It was a pidove. Pidove were real dumb. It was impossible to tell whether or not the pidove was actually enjoying the treatment, or if the rocks were scaring him. Everytime a rock was thrown, the bird squawked, but it didn't leave, and it continued looking at the kid with a curious expression.

Either way, the kid probably shouldn't be throwing rocks at it.

Her eyes shifted down to the kid in question. "So. You training this bird? Or trying to catch it?" She was completely sure he didn't want to talk to her, but he was also throwing rocks at pokemon behind a tent, so she was also fairly certain it was something he shouldn't be doing. He doubted a town like Katsu wouldn't have materials to help train a pokemon. She didn't mention the third option - throwing rocks because it was fun to torture the dumb bird. She figured she didn't need to mention it for it to be noted. She glanced down at Hugo beside her, and then back at the kid. "'Cause Hugo and I could probably help you either way."

Her buneary stared up at her, an annoyed look on his face. Excuse you, but he did not volunteer to play babysitter for this kid.

@mabel

7.2 hearts for hugo (friend ball)

shiny porygon 2/10
happiny 2/10
drampa 1/10

[Deleted]

Every word that falls from your mouth acts like a tiny pinprick that tests the surface of a balloon ready to burst - full of hot air, the child's misplaced rage is physically visible upon his face. Tawny brows furrow together like two knitting needles, slanted harshly above his bright eyes and painting his visage in a mature fashion that Anrui has forced its children to adopt. Despite bearing the expression of an adult exhausted by a stressful job and taxes, the child's eyes shimmer with a bright and youthful curiosity common for boys his age. Perhaps, were he not a citizen of Anrui, it would be easy to picture him studying in a classroom or engineering something out of legos.

Instead, he throws rocks at a bird who seems unaffected.

His scowl carves even deeper into the corners of his mouth as he reels his arm back and casts a stone as hard as he can. The Pidove only coos and warbles, wings ruffling as his feet shuffle against the ground. Defeated, the child crosses his arms and takes a deep breath. It seems almost as though he could have an anger issue, given the way that he silently mouths the words counting back from ten with such precise focus that it seems almost jarring in contrast to how clumsy his throwing arm is.

"Both." He notes grumpily, finally opening his eyes. "Everyone is just sitting around doing nothing." He gestures to the camps set about, casting their shade onto the sands before them, before pointing at the Pidove. "Not me. I'm not just gonna sit around."

[Felicity Mae Loose]

She could feel the heat radiating off of the boy. The fire. The passion. While her vantage point put her behind him, and thus unable to watch his shifting expression, she could feel it in the way his focus didn't leave the pidove despite her presence; the way he threw the rock with all of his might, practically shaking at the effort; the way he answered her, with so much emotion, so much quiet, but intense energy.

He was so young, but she recognized the resolve in his voice. It was familiar in a personal way - it was relatable. He was like she had been as a child, only she supposed what ignited his passion was generally a little more important to the world than training normal type pokemon.

"Good," she stated quietly, but with a matching intensity. As she spoke, she shifted her bag off of her shoulders and set it on the ground, careful not to jar the eggs inside. She then reached in, fishing for something in particular. "Fuck the others. Let's catch the pidove. That seems like the best first step," she added as she did so. If the boy were to look at her, he'd find her holding a pokeball. She bounced it in her hand before offering it to him as she stood up. "We will need to weaken it first, though. Your pebbles won't get the job done. We can use my buneary," she repeated, hoping to drive home in a slightly more patient way that she did not want him to continue throwing rocks at the dog.

Glancing down at the rabbit, who was still staring up at her with a vexed look on his face, she nodded towards the pidove. With a heavy sigh, Hugo moved forward, taking on a battling stance. "He needs the exercise anyway. He knows defense curl... pound... thunderbolt.. and power-up punch," she listed, ticking them off on her fingers. She decided it would be best to limit the boy in his attack options, at least for now. Plus, she wanted to see what the kid new about typing.

@mabel

7.4 hearts for hugo (friend ball)

shiny porygon 3/10
happiny 3/10
drampa 2/10

[Deleted]

The child before you suddenly whips his head around, dark eyes that, if not accented by a furrowing brow, could perhaps be read as thoughtful through their shimmering gleam of curiosity. While the fire still burns at a steady pace, it seems as though your reaction has caught his attention much more now, immediately crumbling the way he had attempted to ignore you before. Perhaps he thought of your reactions being a whatever, or even a fuck you kid - and perhaps what he had expected of your response is reflective of a troubled life here where these words are uttered to him often - but regardless of reason, he certainly hadn't expected yo to say good.

As you continue, sharing his sentiment of fuck the others, his eyes widen slightly as he now studies your face for any sign of sarcasm. You don't seem to be joking, even going as far as to fish something out of your bag and withdraw a Pokeball. When you extend it towards him, he flinches slightly, and nervously shifts his eyes towards the Pidove, who still bobs and attempts to forage the dry sands fruitlessly. Finally, the child takes the Pokeball into his own hand, perhaps driven by an irresistible curiosity that it a good sign for his age - however, the suspicion behind the questioning look in his eyes does not leave.

"Wait - why?" He asks suddenly. "Why are you trying to help me?"

[Felicity Mae Loose]

Yes, why was she trying to help this child, who she didn't know, and who didn't respect her? Why was she trying to help a child she had just met, in a town she was unfamiliar with, in a region that wasn't her own? Why was she willing to go out of her way to help someone who she knew might be difficult, and who might push her buttons until she stomped off, in her own fit of rage?

Could it be because the fiery, but misplaced passion she sees in this child reminds her of her own passion? Could it be because she recognizes his disrespect as a method of protection, a wall that's put up to save himself from future rejection? Or maybe it had to do with the knowledge that children in Anrui didn't have the opportunity to go to a lab and pick out a starter, or to meet their first pokemon somewhere in the wild. Did it really matter, though? She was already getting bored with her deep, philosophical thoughts; she didn't think a kid like this would have any interest in them either.

As soon as the pokeball left her hand, she reached down and closed her bag. Then, careful of the eggs inside, she hoisted it back onto her shoulders. Immediately afterwards, she crossed her arms in front of her chest, leaning mostly on one foot. "You said it yourself," she started, her voice remaining just loud enough for no one else to hear. "Everyone's just sitting around doing nothing. They're not helping you, but someone should. You're never gonna catch a pokemon - even a pidove - that way." She pauses and returns the smirk that he had thrown in her direction when she had first walked up to him.

"You wanna do something, and I'm here to help you. That's all you need to know. Now are you gonna command the buneary, or not?"

@mabel

shiny porygon 4/10
happiny 4/10
drampa 3/10