#[ user ] - [ viciousrocket ]

[splicedskies]

@viciousrocket - Planned Starter!

Kanto was not a region Altra was used to. Sure, he'd explored at least Viridian Forest to some degree, and seen at least the near by town, but outside of that? He was at a loss, and relying on his usual tried and true method of wandering and seeing where he ended up.

At least he didn't wander alone today. Even as they trudged through the brush and overgrowth, Altra's Zigzagoon, a Galarian variant with black and white colors, rode shotgun on the teens shoulders. Said little menace had his nose up high, of course always on the look out from a more advantageous position.

But.. something didn't sit right with him. Sure, the smells of nature were all around them but.. There was something under it. Something more.. what's the word.. sterile? Artificial. Maybe it was nothing, maybe some pungent trash a careless hiker left behind.

Altra had no clue as to the observations of the tiny racoon Pokémon, so he'd continue onward. Once more.. lost. No paper maps were available in viridian City. Only electronic ones that both cost too much for his pitiful funds.. and were unusable through him.

"Haven't seen much around here.." Altra muttered. A lack of Wild Pokémon, a lack of people. It felt off, ominous even.

'Yeah, not smellin' anythin' much either.' Desmond grumbled before he related, slumped on Altra's shoulders like a fluffy scarf.

"Yeah, maybe next person we see we can ask for direc-" A pause, the light smell of smoke on the air. Not fire smoke, but somethin different, one Desmond could easily pinpoint.

'Well, might getcha wish lad, that's cigarette smoke.. It's faint, but someone's close by. Just.. be on alert.' A huff as the Zigzagoon kept to the boys shoulder as they pressed on, soon rounding around some knit trees to seeing.. an individual close by?

"Huh.. Guess your nose was right.." A clearing of the throat.

"Um.. excuse me? Do.. you know the way back to the main trail?"

[splicedskies]

Altra smiled, looking down to the little Larvitar. Very lively, and just a bit gung-ho. But he could respect that. They were young, full of energy, and wanting to take on the world. Gosh, he could only wonder if he was like that when he was way younger.

He.. didn't remember much of his younger years sadly. Most of his memories only went back a few years.

"Yes, I am a friend. But I don't think I can play like you can. Maybe.. Albert would like to play with you?" He passed a side glance to the ghostly fox who looked taken aback, even.. insulted!?

'Play!? I do not 'play' with some rambunctious child!' A huff, a lift of the nose into the air.

"Awww.. what's wrong Alby. Is the 'big strong Zorua' afraid of a lil' kid." He knew exactly how to get under his partners fun. And likely, it was hilarious for Vicious to watch. Considering he was only getting Altra's side of the conversation. Though.. it was easy to tell what was going on.

Albert was.. very emotive.

'What!? I could run circles around this mere child!' Pointing a paw at Altra.

"I don't know... Cita looks pretty fast, and strong." Indeed, Altra was enabling it. Which made the blue tufts on the Zora light up with the challenge.

'We'll see about that!' He'd leap from the table and immediately take off into the area around the cabin. All the while, Altra looked back up to Vic with a sheepish smile.

"I know how to get him to do stuff occasionally. We've been together for.. two years now."

Vicious raised a brow in amusement but moved back a bit to let Altra handle the tyke.

The small Pokemon chirped at the hand and butted it gently before stepping back. "Me Cita...You smell like Dad... Are you friend? Can we play? Dad won't get mad if you say yes" He was watching Albert as they talked. "Cita strong, Cita will be big soon too, like Garr" There was some stomping with that declaration, and a small arm pointed at Albert.

Vicious chuckled at the scene, guessing what the Larvitar was saying by his actions.

[splicedskies]

@viciousrocket : asked PAT PAT PAT "you get all the pats"

"Awww!~ Thanks Vic!" Hey at least the adult wasn't ruffling his hair like he normally did. Pats were nice but.. what for?

"Any.. real reason or.. just because?" He looks confused. Though he's not necessarily complaining either.

[splicedskies]

◓➥ (Vicious)

"Hmmm... normally I would find a lummox such as yourself to be worthy of at least my time. But you hide behind machines, behind augments.. behind the ability to twist others to your whims." The Ghostly Zorua scoffs.

"Cowardly. Instead of pushing yourself, body and soul to the forefront in your endeavors.. All for what? For some.. puny organization that can crumble at any time.." There was a pause.

"Oh.. but you know this already, don't you. All it takes is for a simple shift in power, and the serpent's coil unfurls.. ready to strike to secure more power for itself. Like a game of chess." An agitated ear twitch.

"How... boring."

"Watch yourself.. you may have won over my trainer for the moment.. But I am watching. Waiting."

"As the fox can always conquer the snake."

[splicedskies]

He couldn't help but be curious as to what Vic was getting, but when he came back with the cans of silly string?

Oh, the gears were starting to turn. And that joyful, happy smile.. turned to one of mischief.

Oh.. he knew EXACTLY where to go with these! Considering he knew *someone* had given a friends of his PAPERWORK for Halloween.

"I know exactly what to do with these!" He started chuckling. Oh yes.. Vic is definitely enabling some mischief that's about to follow through.

Thankfully he doesn't notice the sneaky Weavile.

Vicious grins at that before moving slightly out of sight behind his door before returning and hanging over a few cans of silly string. "Here you go, have fun with these, Leal left them behind, and frankly I rather not get sprayed with them, if he does remember about them." he offered with a slight grin.

"I'm sure you will have lots of fun with those" He grinned as the other munched and Weavile slipped another apple into the kid's bag.

[splicedskies]

Altra hummed a bit. He still didn't quite know what to do with his life. Right now, his main focus was surviving. Trying to get a foot hold, get stronger and eventually try to find his mom.. If she was even out there to find.

And he was far from that later goal as well... There was no possible way one kid could potentially hunt down some Galactic outliers and fight them off.

All the while, as these thoughts swam in Altra's head.. he idly fiddled with the pokegear. It felt surreal to be holding something so mundane to most trainers. But to him felt like a far off dream because of some unknown curse he's had for as long as he's remembered.

As Garr sauntered over though, Altra looked up and had to stifle back a bit of laughter as the little Larvitar was plopped down on the ground. Poor big guy..

Albert though, locked eyes with the tyke. He was MORE than ready to act if the tyke decided that it would be a good idea to try and pick a fight with him. A roll of the eyes, a scoff from the ghostly Zorua before Altra held a hand out to the little Larvitar.

"Hey there lil' guy. What's your name?" Altra asked gently, keeping a calm voice as he always did with Pokémon. He'd happily let it sniff him.

"My name's Altra.. and the grump next to me is Albert." He chuckled as said 'grump' grumbled incoherently before jumping down from the table to go chase something willing to fight with him. A little sour Vic had butted in..

Oh he would have loved to run circles around the little Larvitar.

Vic tilted his head a bit and grinned slightly. "If it helps any, I didn't become a decent trainer til my late twenties. And I never did the gym challenges or got a licence. I mostly use my Pokemon for defence."

No point in adding the defence was needed with cops and trainers wanting to be the next big hero.

"Yeah, it can make calls. I'm afraid I had to use an older model, so you can't text, but it's something. I'll keep playing with it and see if I can add any other features from the newer stuff to it. It should work in most regions too I set it up to work globally. But it's a good thing it works because it probably means the Pokeball will work too. If you want, I can match the design on yours or make a custom one."

Garr chose that moment to wander over hold the larvitar by the tail in his mouth and plop it down in front of the duo with a tired grunt. "Your problem" And then he stalked off as the smaller Pokemon flipped himself upright, staring at the duo, before looking at Albert and getting ready to headbutt the fox. "Behave and I'll give you a treat later, which means no picking fights with other Pokemon without asking" Vic warned without glancing down at the smaller Pokemon who huffed and stared at Altra, seemingly curious about the new person, toddling up to him and sniffing.

[splicedskies]

"Hmm.. I may not be a good trainer for them then. I've had all my Pokémon for.." He pauses, counting for a moment.

"Two years now? We can barely get any 'training' done. I'm not very good at it, and not having a license means taking on gyms, and other trainers is outta the question." He frowned a bit, even as he looked over the pokegear curiously. Though hearing Vic tried to match it to his usual colors was very kind of him.

Sure, Altra only had a handful of outfits, but the one he mostly wore was his blue turtleneck and his coat. Mostly dark grey with the blue and orange/red motifs.

He never understood exactly why his mom chose them, but he felt like they fit.

Altra looked shocked when pushing the buttons made the device turn on. He looked.. shocked that it did. Still no smoldering, no sparks.. It looked like he was dealing with a time bomb if his face meant anything toward his current emotional state.

But the more he followed Vic's instructions, the more he relaxed on handling it.

"It can call people too?" Altra looked bewildered at this. He'd seen people with all kinds of phones.. did this mean this was 'technically' a phone? Could he eventually call the friends he's made with it?

Still, the teen was thankful. He knew his mother had planned to make him something 'along these lines' before their move to Unova. But she never finished it. Thus rendering him unable to do anything if he was in a bad spot. And it was likely he'd find any reason to call Vic now that the man had basically unlocked it for him.

Albert knew the kid would do just that. Hells, he'd probably find the most obscure locations to contact him from.

"Maybe in several years. I don't think we're in any position to get 'strong' yet."

Vicious grinned and laughed at the teen's surprise. "They are like that, They won't listen to anyone they don't respect, they take skills and patience to get to their final evolution and frankly, they are impatient, they want to get there as soon as possible," he admitted, shaking his head in fondness.

He turned his attention to the gear in the kid's hand, with a smile grin. " I also made a case for it, given your worry about it being broken, so it's protected until you need it. hope you don't mind I tried to use colours to match your outfit from memory," he explained, clearly seeming proud of the gadget in Altra's hands. "The Center button opens the map and you can scroll between maps with the buttons on the right side, and zoom with the buttons on the left side. The small blue button next to the center button is for calls. you can scroll contacts with the right-side buttons and call with the second. I left my number in it for you."

He hummed thoughtfully.

"I can add more later if you want, but I figure focusing on the basics you mentioned was more important, and making it surge-proof. I had a Pokemon zap it a few times to test."

He stopped as Altra talked about his Pokemon, chuckling at the kid's jabs at the small Pokemon.

"You seem to do pretty well with them, they clearly care about you and you have strong bonds. I'm sure with time you'll be able to beat me into the ground in a battle. And the Rookiedees will shake in terror when you approach."

[splicedskies]

It made Vic happy?

Altra didn't quite know what to do with this information honestly. Sure, he was embarrassed, incredibly so because.. what kid wouldn't be when they call an adult in their life by a parental moniker? And when Weavile left to head back inside, a lot of his uncertainty was completely thrown out the window the moment a tiny tornado basically flew past him.

Altra was confident there's be a resounding sonic boom from the sheer momentum, but that thankfully didn't come.

"Whoa..." Was all he could mouth as he looked out toward Garr.

"I've seen some crazy Pokémon in the wild, but wow.." He just had to imagine what kind of Pokémon Garr wound up having eggs with at this point. That or all of the Tyranitar line were this strong even so young.

Though Vic quickly pulled Altra's attention away from Garr's grumbles of annoyance and looking to the pokegear offered to him. He was.. weary to take hold of it. Thankfully, when he did.. There was no sparking, no smoldering. At least not yet. Altra was quite fearful of any delayed reactions.

"Yeah I imagine.. Mean some of my own partners are already hard to handle. Like Desmond, my Zigzagoon. He's a real menace on even his good days.. But he did come from an abusive trainer. So I can kinda see why he lashes out so much." Plus being a dark type also made him more untrusting and ready to bite.

But a smile soon formed over Altra's face and he chuckled at the little Larvitar's lack of self-preservation and lack of fear. Albert even squinted at Altra when the teen dared to give him a slight brow raise.

"Reminds me of a certain little fox." Altra snickered before he got a tiny paw nudged in his side.

"Hey! It's true! You picked a fight with a bunch of Rookidee's once, a pack of like five of them and I had to intervene or they were gonna peck you to the ground!" He grumbled as the Zorua scoffed.

'I had it well under control!' A disgruntled huff.

".. Sure you did..."

The Weavile chuckled again, seeming to enjoy the teen's embarrassment, before cracking an eye to look at Altra. "I'll let you in on a secret then since you were honest. You made him happy when you said it. He not good at affection or expression himself, but he turned a delightful shade of red with a smile when you said it." He chuckled again at the memory, seeming to clearly be enjoying himself, before turning to head in himself stopping at the door to glance back at Altra. "The head pat thing? It's his way of giving hugs and stuff, he thinks it's comforting or something. Just be careful with him, he's been hurt a lot in the past, or we'll have a problem. Later Bean Sprout." A few moments later after Weavile disappeared into the house a small Larvitar came barrelling out of the place at full speed, gleefully charging at Garr. Vic appeared a few seconds after, seeming annoyed slightly, before looking over to the tyke Pokemon.

"I swear, his kids are going to be the end of me" he muttered before glancing over to see the tyranitar make an annoyed sound at the small child headbutting him. "I suggest letting the kid let out some energy at his dear old dad for a bit. I got the pokegear for you, I loaded a few region maps on it." He offered, trying not to laugh as the small Pokemon bit his dad's tail causing the large one to make a noise and start to get up. He held out the Gear for Altra to take, watching the large Pokemon play with the smaller one, waving his tail and moving it away when the Larvitar pounced. "It's by the way I don't think it's too dangerous or you couldn't handle it, it's more of he's at the age where he doesn't listen to anyone, I've already had to hunt him down in the forest twice, and is currently a menace to the Pidgey population. I swear his kids are going to make me go grey but at least they bite less than Feraligatr's kid did. He took on a Fearrow the other day and Garr had to bail him out, I don't think they know what fear is." he semi-rambled, seeming a bit nervous or something.

[splicedskies]

Damn, now he felt really awkward. He hard focused on Vic explaining how he made the phone, how he made the pokeballs more sturdy to handle things. He honestly did NOT mean to blurt that out, but.. At this point it was instinct that had taken him over. It made him think back to moments his mom was lecturing him, telling him things.. And he just.. absently said 'yes mom'..

But Vic wasn't a woman, so.. his brain correlated, corrected and thus that came out.

"Y-yeah no I understand. I wouldn't want to put a young Pokémon in danger anyway. As.. good at camping as I am. It can still be super dangerous if some wild Pokémon are meaner than others." He'd seen a fair share of those over the many months he's been homeless. Normally the local wild residents will happily warn him if he asked nicely.

Still, once Vic headed inside, Altra almost jumped as the Weavile spoke up. He'd heard it chuckle before, but he didn't expect for it to ask him.. That.

Altra looked down, embarrassed.. His facial expression really told it all. While he didn't intend to say that. It was clear that was what Altra's 'heart' said while his mind was occupied.

"I.. didn't mean to say it out loud." He cringed a bit at his own stupidity in the moment. But it was clear the teen saw Vic as such a prevalent adult figure, that he'd correlate them to more of a parental figure.

"Vic's.. been one of the nicest people to me. Sure I've met some other people, but.. Vic's the closest person to my Mom I've ever met... I guess it just slipped out. That.. was super awkward." He sighed, holding the ball carefully in his hands, trying not to crush it like a stress toy in his awkwardness.

Vicious watched the kid's reaction to the ball, wondering if the surges were worse than what he was led to believe, then again, he didn't blame the kid either if he was downplaying it. He was alone in a scary world and the most helpful adult in his life was working for the mafia....That was a depressing thought if he ever had one.

His hand reached over to the kid and patted his head, careful not to knock the hair loose this time.

Then he heard the dad comment. He patted for a bit longer, looking away, trying to hide his blush, but failing, judging by Weavile's snickering. Judging by the teen's cough, it was probably something sarcastic or a slip of the tongue so he wasn't going to call the kid out. "That's good then, if that works then the phone I have for you should work, nothing too fancy since I used a pokegear as the base, but it can take calls and store maps if needed, though it's not compatible with a rotom." he admitted as he finally pulled his hand back.

"I sometimes break normal pokeballs, so I make my own. If you want, I can make a few spares for you if the test catch works, and no worries; it won't be a permanent catch. I respect your choices on things. He's still too little to go out, but if you become friends, you're welcome to pick the little guy up in a month or so. Garr keeps bringing me his eggs for some reason."

It felt a bit weird to call the Pokemon by his name, but it was fine for now. He wouldn't use it during work or battles, but around the place, it should be fine. Weavile had shuffled a bit closer to the teen as well., probably more curious about the other now, given Vicious's reaction to the slip-up.

"I'll go get the little guy and get him outside, he's probably terrorized the room I left him in, but I don't want him roaming around outside without someone watching him, because his sister constantly had to be rescued." he admitted with a sigh, "Larvitar are stubborn things but earn their trust and they are loyal for life I find."

As soon as the man dipped inside to get the phone and the Pokemon, Weavile turned to Altra with a smirk. "Did you mean it when you called him dad?"

[splicedskies]

The teen jumped the moment the ball was tossed to him. Mostly concerned cause he had witnessed pokeballs explode in his hands. He would catch it, his eyes shutting to a close as if bracing for some sort of eruption..

But.. nothing came.

Thus he opened one eye cautiously, then the other and looking down to the pokeball in his hands. Well, to Altra's rather.. freakishly large hands it looked small. But there was nothing. No smolder, no frantic sparking. Altra looked bewildered to have something his mother hadn't made specifically for him... not blow up.

He was almost lost in amazement before Vic's words snapped him back. Though it was clear he wasn't entirely all 'there' in the moment. Panic, mixed with the sudden realization that he didn't destroy something he touched?

That was why Vic's entire bit of 'accepting he needed help'.. ended with the Teen almost looking defeated, shoulders hunched and eyes down.

"Yes Dad..." Though he quickly caught himself and coughed. But then latched onto talk of 'Leal' instead. Trying to shove past his slip due to his distraction.

"It.. feels.. fine? It hasn't sparked, I haven't heard anything screaming from it.. That happened with a Rotom phone I once held." He winced at that. He'd confident that ONE instance is what caused all Rotom's to despise him. Even if it wasn't his fault, at least he believed so. It's just a dumb curse.. right?

"I mean.. I think so? I'm not gonna try to crush it if that's what you mean?" It did feel really sturdy though. And considering he barely blinked when punching and destroying builders to get them out of his path, he didn't know if a pokeball could stand up to THAT kind of force.

"At least it doesn't feel like it'll get crushed.." He rolled it in his hands a bit curiously.

"Basically protect it from electrical impulses, my balls are designed similarly and made out of stuff more durable," he explained before unclipping an empty Ball from his belt, enlarging it and tossing it over to Altra. It was a similar look to his own dark balls, minus it hadn't had the other features installed on it yet, just the release, surge and stronger materials. "It's empty, so don't have to worry about it breaking, it's designed to release the Pokemon with a press of a button on the back," he explained, " I got a Larvitar that just hatched a few months ago, You can use that to test to see if it works, I want to make sure the Ball is good for you to use with your strength and the charge you seem to have."

He let out a sigh before looking at Altra. "I don't know who told you that asking for help and relying on adults makes you a problem or a burden, but those who told or made you think that are idiots and wrong, alright? You are right, your situation from what I can tell is different from other kids your age, but you still deserve support and help. I'm not going to force or demand you to rely on me but I need you to understand that I want to help you and I'm here if you need it. Accepting help is hard, I won't argue there, but if you ever need it, I'll do what I can for you. And frankly, between me and you, you are functioning a lot better than most kids your age. Leal was living off noodle cups, and didn't know how to find food in the wild."

He was pretty sure the kid was still semi-living on noodle cups but that wasn't the point. He grinned at Altra, as got up from the table and patted the kid's shoulder, trying to show he wasn't mad or upset with the kid.

"If I remember correctly the second day he crashed at my place he lit my toaster on fire or should I mention he didn't know how to start a fire either. Or the fact he ended up on my couch because Feraligatr found him passed out in the woods?"

He had a smile that showed some fondness as he spoke.

"But enough about him, how does the ball feel, do you think it can hold up against your strength?"

[splicedskies]

"Surge-proof?" Altra questioned, he wasn't sure what that meant. Maybe it was something to stop electronics from freaking out when he touched them? Sadly this also extended to market-grade pokeballs. He didn't know the exact mechanisms for how they worked, but he'd tried using a normal one before and it fizzled and smoked in his hand.

He dare not even handle one that contained a Pokémon out of fear of what it'd do.

Still, he'd nod.

"Okay, I've punched boulders into dust before. And I have a hard time gauging my own strength sometimes. I don't wanna break anything." Which was the truth. Even when he was doing day to day things, sometimes he forgot he could basically break rocks with his bare hands. It was why he enjoyed wood carving so much as a hobby. It helped teach him that control.

To be more delicate.

Though he could hear the scolding in Vic's tone. Yes, he knew not eating was bad. But it was hard to keep himself fed when it felt like he was never full. When it felt like anything he ate never quite hit any marks or left him satisfied.

Which was very, very different right now. Two steaks in and he felt.. well.. fine. No lingering pangs of hunger, just contentment. Which is not something he felt too often.

"I know.. I.. just don't like being a burden, you know?" Worries like that shouldn't be on the shoulders of someone his age, but being thrust into the world without rhyme or reason does that to people. Without a doubt.

"Like I know I'm a bit.. weird when it comes to kids my age. And I'm not exactly in a situation most find themselves in." He's not an idiot, unlike how he may act sometimes. He had moments where he showed how intelligent he could be. How self-aware he was.

"But I want to at least prove I can function sometimes. And it's hard to accept that help." He was trying though.

'Fair enough, I also crafted up some pokeballs for you to try out, I had stuff on hand to make them surge-proof. I don't mind if you had your own way of doing things", it's a good thing. No need to bring up that a previous set had been fried due to a thunderbolt, and it almost landed him in jail. "Sounds like a plan then, we can make some after you try out the gloves and phone. And don't worry about my furniture, most of it is metal in my place."

Vicious wondered if he should put more food on the kid's plate but decided against it, he had no clue if the kid would get sick from overeating. Worse case he'd use it for breakfast for them tomorrow. "I know, it's why I invited you over so you could have a great and enjoy good food with your Pokemon." At the last statement, his brows twitched slightly, and he suppressed the urge to get angry, it wouldn't do him any good expect maybe scare the kid.

"It is, Altra. Not eating properly at your age can cause a lot of problems health-wise down the road. You're a good kid, and you don't deserve to be screwed over down the road. I'm glad you love and look after your Pokemon, but you need to look after yourself too, alright? I don't mind helping out at all if you ever need it."

[splicedskies]

"Maybe.. most Pokémon avoid me. So it's hard to befriend any." Altra's eyes lit up when another steak was put onto his plate. He didn't want to overstep any boundaries, to eat more than he was allowed. Manners that his mother had drilled into his head quite a few times.

And yes.. he tore into it too. It was a shock that he had the restraint to use utensils to cut it up into manageable pieces before devouring it. And from Vicious' perspective, the kid was eating as if he'd never eaten in years.

Albert, being more controlled and also likely smaller.. ate his plate slowly and with care.

"Oohhh! Yeah sure! And it doesn't have to be sweet, if it's grilled it can be all smokey and savory too." Altra explained, and hummed a bit.

"Well we just need a good, glutinous, short grain rice. Any will do, and for fillings.. well.. anything soft like jelly, jams, bean paste or we can do plain and just grill it." It sounded really nice now, a taste of home, something he knew how to make and could make with his own limited funds.

"I always am able to make Mochi or Rice since it's super cheap with the coins I can scavenge." He of course still had the money Vic gave him was very much in a special box for 'emergencies only'.

"I tend to keep a small pile around because I have to feed my team and myself, I don't really like eating out that much due to my diet," he admitted with a slight grin. He moved another steak onto his plate and then Altra's.

"Understandable, and relax, I won't force ya to, though you might want to consider getting a water type in case something happens. I can get one for you if you like. The most important thing is that you are happy and safe."

He grinned back at that.

"If you like when we are done, we can see if I have the right stuff. And you can teach me to make it if I do." He didn't like sweets much but he would try it out if the kid liked it so much. "I'm just happy to have company if I'm honest. And you are always welcome here, kiddo. If I say otherwise, it's an impostor, and they are lying."

[splicedskies]

"Wow.. I've honestly never even seen this much food in the first place. My mom didn't keep too much since it was just me and her." Altra hummed, polishing off the steak he had all too easily. Of course, with some slight embarrassment due to the fact he really couldn't control himself.

It's just the first time something really 'hit the spot'.

Though soon the teen shook his head as Vicious when water was mentioned. He couldn't swim, and he had zero desire to learn.

"I've.. had a bad experience with water. It already makes me uncomfortable in general. Being wet feels wrong.. but I already got thrown into a large river against my will so far. And I rather not do that again." The night of the ferry...

Altra perked up from his thoughts though-

"Oh! I know how to make it actually! Just need the right kind of rice! I used to help an old couple back in Celestic Town during winter to make and grill mochi!" He was all smiles, it was his favorite sweet after all! Well it could be sweet.. or savory.

The invitation to visit though, Altra looked unsure.

"Well.. I wouldn't just want to 'swing by' to just.. eat. I live visiting people in general so long as they tolerate my presence enough."

"Help yourself, kid. I got a freezer filled with them. If you like I can make jerky for you tomorrow so you can travel with it and not worry about it going bad." he offered as he dug into his own large portion, taking big bites so the kid didn't feel as awkward about chowing down.

"Water is fine with me, not a huge fan of it but it's okay. I take it that you can't swim, I'd offer to teach you, but I'm not the best teacher on that front."

At the comment about the food, his grin got wider. "It's nothing too fancy, I wanted to make you something you would enjoy so I'm glad you like it. Next time you visit I'll make it again and we can pick up some mochi, I don't think I've had it before." "You're welcome to swing by for a meal or to raid the pantry, I have more than enough to go around, besides, it's nice to have someone around that can hold a conversation."

[splicedskies]

"Mhmmm!" Altra barely managed to utter even a sound of acknowledgement through a literal mouthful of steak. Only did he then really catch himself, trying to look like he totally had NOT been tearing apart a steak like a hungry animal.

"M-most Pokémon have names they rather be called. I can always ask Weavile for you." The teen chuckled, making sure to use a napkin to clean his mouth. Damn.. he was insanely hungry, and the meal was more than hitting the spot. Like giving rain to a desert that was in a drought.

"It sort of hurts to see people give a Pokémon a name, and not even take into account their feelings on the matter but.. I kinda learned most people can't do that. Since they can't.. you know.. understand them." Though he kind of looked a little frozen and worried to hear that Garr just straight up once dragged a dead Gyrados to Vic's home. That's... well he really didn't have many words for that.

"I avoid water if I can, so I've only seen them from afar." While Altra talked, Albert nibbled and poked at the plate in front of him. Small, dainty little bites compared to the large chomps Altra was taking. But Vicious hunch was indeed correct. Seeing Altra eat, trying to be restrained with table manners battling with the desire to actually eat something substantial for once.

A mental battle that the teen was obviously struggling with.

"This is really, really good, Vic!" Altra swallowed the last bit of steak that had been on his plate.

"I don't.. think I've eaten anything that tasty.. well.. ever? Sure I like other stuff, Mochi is one of my favorite sweets but.. this?" He looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Felt like drinking water you know? Dang I really don't eat that great do I?" Albert glances toward the teen.

'Considering we barely eat as is? I imagine so..'

" I figured they had names hence why I never bothered giving them names, that when I sat down with a name book back when he was a Sneasel, the punk ripped the book to confetti," Vicious replied plating up food and handing it over to the Weavile who took the plate and sat down to much on the food, still keeping his distance. He pushed a small plate over to Albert to pick off of. "It was dead so it wasn't so much as a terror but what the hell do I do with this in my yard kind of thing. I don't really like them too much, a good thunderbolt and they aren't much of a threat" he admitted after a moment.

No, he was not going to mention he wasn't sure where his pokemon had found the Gyrados, he just hoped it wasn't a trainer's pokemon.

Vicious grinned and chuckled softly as Altra chowed down, making sure the teen had water nearby in case they choked, and slipping plates closer to him for ease. He was right on his hunch though, the kid probably wasn't eating right and not enough, maybe he'd make some jerky or something for the kid before he took off again.

[splicedskies]

"He told me his name was Garr.." The teen would nod his head.

"A Gyrados?" Altra blinked. He knew what that was! Super angry, long Pokémon that lived in his mortal enemy. Water.

"He dragged a Gyrados here before? Yikes. I've only seen them from afar and they're never very nice. At least the wild ones." Made sense though. considering they evolved from one of the most preyed on Pokémon in the sea. Many would be vengeful, power hungry and driven by their survival.

Was terrifying.

Still, it was definitely not something he was used to seeing. The food that is. It smelled incredible, almost too good for Altra's nose really. He was used to simple things. Mostly rice, vegetables, and berries. Nothing like this.. steak.. stuff.

Albert of course returned a cautious glance back to the Weavile before jumping up to snatch a small bite from the table. He was a tiny little Pokémon, so he didn't need something as massive as the steak flung at Garr.

Though after taking a small piece to test it, Altra's look was.. well comical to say the least. The way the kids eyes almost dilated upon tasting red meat for the first time was as if he just had some sort of divine epiphany.

And then those big fangs could really be used for what they were meant to.. As he tore into a piece of meat without even needing a knife. Yikes.. those teeth were SHARP!

"Garr? Wonder if it's short for garrison, considering his kid's name is Fort. He's pretty good with kids, Deals with Leal's antics enough, and bails him out of trouble, so he probably enjoys the fact you're not pinging off walls." Vicious admitted glancing over to the large Pokemon.

At Altra's comments, he offered the kid a slight smile.

"If there's not enough to go around, I can make more, so don't worry about it and enjoy it." he stated softly reaching over and patting Altra's shoulder, "I don't have much in the way of expensive so it's no problem at all, Altra. Besides better to have more food on hand than risk that big lug dragging home another Gyarados."

He added as he pointed a fork in Tyranitar's direction. Clearly not amused by that antic. Weavile snorted at the comment and grinned, clearly he found the story more amusing than their trainer. It raised a paw slightly at Altra's wave, before turning to glance at Albert with a raised brow. then back to being indifferent against the wall. "He's like that, I've had him the longest so he's a tad judgement of my choices at times. Worries too much in my books. But he watches my back so I can't complain, I almost pity the man who tried to jump me from behind." That earned him another snort from the said Pokemon.

[splicedskies]

Altra couldn't help but chuckle at the comment on arrival. He'd easily slide down and land on the ground watching Garr head off with his meal.

"Garr is really nice!" He looked back to Vic before looking a little confused. He certainly smelled a lot of stuff he wasn't familiar with. Albert on the other hand would soon, lazily, trot up behind. Choosing to take his own route. The large Tyranitar made it easy enough to do after all.

"I usually don't eat much, I try to save any food I have for my Pokémon." Altra frowned a bit at this. It was considered normal, so he was often.. always.. hungry.

"Don't really remember the last time I felt 'not hungry' if that makes sense?" Even with his mom. He always felt like something was missing, and that it was never enough to satisfy him. Then again, she kept him on a mostly.. mostly vegetarian diet. Mostly since meat was hard to come by where they lived. Fish occasionally, but that was a rare treat.

"What is it? It smells really good. I don't think I've had this before." Altra peered over curiously while Albert would find a spot to jump up and sit down. All the while, Altra's eyes wandered over to the Weavile and he'd offer a small wave.

'Certainly different from what you usually eat.. Rice, fish and what ever vegetation..' Albert rolls his eyes. But of course, he eyed the Weavile. They looked strong, and as much as Albert would have loved to try and fight it. He knew there was a major gap in their power. He'd bide his time...

"They seem like the sort. They got that 'I like to watch and judge the room' vibe to them. You know?" He could tell by it's stance, how it stood there.. watching.

"Strength comes from work, not naturally. Trainer did not work and expected strength? Sounds stupid." the Pokemon grunted as he began hiking around the house, sticking his tail over to Albert to hop on as he passed by.

"Portable home sounds nice. Maybe Get Vic one. Vic used to like travelling."

Behind the house, was table was set with steak, salad and potatoes. A weavile was leaning against the house watching the group lumber over.

"Told you, he'd show up when the food was ready." he joked lightly to the teen as he picked up a Steak and tossed it over to Tyranitar, who happily caught it in his jaw, before shifting to let Altra slide down his back and lumbering off to munch on his snack. "I don't know how much you eat so I made extra for you and your Pokemon to pick at. Don't Mind Weavile, he's always a bit moody with strangers." The weavile in question huffed at that, crossing his arms.