#001: 𝐏𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍 ◞ ✧ gotta catch ‘em all ! ﹕ ❪ ⠀ ⠀ in character ⠀ ⠀ ❫

[frestoniia]

@dxmesticbliss || x

" Um, well, you see... "

" I was wondering if you would mind taste-testing something for me. I'm making some chocolates for a friend of mine. But I'm not really much of a cook, so I was hoping to get your expert opinion. "

He produces a small box, containing six chocolate truffles. Upon closer inspection, they seem to bear a resemblance to certain dark type Pokémon. A clue towards the recipient, perhaps?

[frestoniia]

" Ah... Well, I guess it's okay. Accidents happen. "

Within the span of just a few seconds, Craig is bombarded with more information than he could reasonably process. What did she mean when she said she wasn't good at approaching humans? Was she implying that she wasn't one? And she could sense auras, apparently?

... Wait, she was from space???

" I- I see... " it would be easy to assume she was just messing with him. But given her unique appearance, it was perhaps just as likely that she was being sincere. And even though her introduction left him with more questions than answers, it's not like he was even sure where to begin.

Introducing himself might be a good place to start.

" My name's Craig. " he finished gathering the rest of his belongings and stood back up. Despite his utter befuddlement, he offers a friendly ( if slightly unsure ) smile nonetheless, " I've never met anyone from space before. "

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I'm not very good at approaching humans sometimes." And that didn't sound scary at all, did it? Zossie was abuzz with enthusiastic excitement. There was something about Mesagoza - or rather Paldea as a whole - that got her into this frenzy. She wanted to talk to as many students as possible, they were all like-minded people learning to be competent pokemon trainers! She wanted all their experiences and their perspectives to which she could draw upon for own self-improvement.

"It's got nothing to really do with your appearance, I can see the Dynamax energy that's stuck to your aura. Only Galarian people have that. I've always wanted to go to Galar..." It was pretty much the battle capital of the world. What kind of trainer was she if she couldn't go there??? One day, she swore, she'd find a way. That wouldn't stop her from trying to find out more about it now, starting with this foreign exchange student that she's decided to befriend! (Totally for research purposes.)

"My name's Zossie, I came from Alola! Ultra Space, to be exact. You've probably never heard of it, though." She was going to become rather overwhelming fast, if she wasn't already.

[frestoniia]

"Ah, fuck it."

Send “ah, fuck it” to shove my muse up against a wall for a surprise kiss || accepting

@seginbeats

Craig's back hits the wall behind him with a thud. For a split second, he thinks Giacomo might be angry with him-- but what he does next suggests the opposite.

Stiffening, Craig's hands hover over Giacomo's body, a shiver running through him as the other's lips crash into his own. Given Giacomo's notoriously low impulse control, something like this wasn't entirely out of character for him. But that didn't make the action itself any less shocking.

Was this really happening...? Giacomo was kissing him. And not just a friendly peck, either.

Craig's knees suddenly grow weak. Quickly, his hands move to grab hold of the other, partly to keep himself from sliding down the wall, as he kisses Giacomo back. Hints of the energy drink he'd been drinking earlier still linger.

[frestoniia]

@picavecalyx liked for a yamper starter

The yamper flopped onto her belly and let out a quiet whine. It was the same thing every day; Craig went off to class and left poor Gidget all alone with nothing to do. Sure, she could entertain herself just fine for the most part, but she could only chase her own tail for so long before growing bored.

' ... Huh? '

Suddenly, her ears prick up as she hears some faint rustling in a nearby patch of grass. New friend, maybe?? Honestly, at this point, she doesn't care what it is, as long as it's fun. Keeping her body low to the ground (which was easy enough, given her stubby legs), Gidget skulked over towards the grass sniffed the air inquisitively.

Sniff sniff sniff... Well, it was definitely a Pokémon. But not one she recognized. Regardless, she poked her head through the grass and looked around.

' Uh, hellooooo? Anyone there? You can come out! I don't bite! At least, not super hard or anything... '

[frestoniia]

@grassius​ || x

“ Hello-- I’m really sorry to bother you, but have you seen a yamper run through here by any chance? ”

   The boy struggled to catch his breath as he spoke, clearly winded from giving chase to his partner Pokémon. Of course, this wasn’t the first time Sparky had run off, and it more than likely wouldn’t be the last. The moment she smelled food, or caught sight of anything fast-moving, she was off like a shot before Craig could stop her. He couldn’t fault her for it, really-- after all, she was a herding Pokémon. But still, he’d never forgive himself if something bad happened to her.

“ She’s about, uh, yea big? With stubby legs and a bolt-shaped tail. ” he gestured with his hands to indicate the approximate size of the Pokémon in question. “ Answers to Sparky-- most of the time, anyway. ”

   This situation could likely have been avoided by simply keeping the yamper in her pokeball, but... Well, she didn’t particularly enjoy being in her ball much, and it felt wrong to put her in there when she didn’t want to go. Maybe he could try using a leash?

[frestoniia]

" Uh, well... " Craig reaches up to rub the back of his neck. " Not really. Battling has never been my strong suit. "

Sure, he knew all about type matchups and damage output and all that. But he's always preferred observing Pokémon from a respectful distance. And luckily, his creative medium of choice allowed him to do just that. Of course, that wasn't to say he didn't enjoy interacting with them directly. He very much did! Just maybe not the big and scary ones.

" I mean, I do have my partner. " he adds, " An electric type. Might not give us much of a type advantage, but she could provide some light maybe. Though, she does have a habit of wandering off. "

Craig shuddered to think of his yamper running off into that desolate place at night. If he brought her along, he'd definitely have to keep a close eye on her. For everyone's sakes.

" I'll snap the shot. The rest, I'll leave up to you. Just try not to live up to your namesake too well, okay? "

"Tempting fate is kinda what I do though," leave it to Giacomo to get smug, hands busying themselves with a piece of paper on the desk, folding it several times over as they spoke, "nothin' cool happens if ya don't push outta the comfort zone. I mean--"

He sits up straight, takes his hat off, and scrubs his hand through messy tresses of wavy, black hair.

"My DJ name is Vice for a reason, wouldn't feel right if I put my name on somethin' that wasn't a lil dangerous," Giacomo cracked his neck, and scooted his chair closer to the side of the table where Craig was sitting.

"Buuut if you INSIST on avoidin' the giant death plants," both hands reach up to make quotation marks in the air, "you can totally hang back while I risk MY life."

Such a dramatic delinquent he was.

"Don't ya have any Pokemon that function well in the dark? Or maybe you got a fire type? Can't say I pay attention much in battle studies-- the teacher hates me, so, always cuttin', I don't really know everybody else's teams."

[frestoniia]

❛  i don’t think we’ve met yet but you looked like you needed someone to talk to.  ❜ - atticus ( @tenochregion [ from the first meeting prompts by poohsources! ] )

First Meeting Starters || accepting

@tenochregion

" Ah... It's that obvious, huh? "

Craig manages a half-hearted chuckle, despite the heaviness of his voice. Either this person was remarkably perceptive, or Craig really did look as miserable as he felt. While both were plausible, the latter felt the most likely, as he had never been particularly good at hiding these things. Indeed, it could be said of him that he wore his heart not on his sleeve, but right smack in the middle of his forehead for all to see.

" You're very kind. " he says quietly. While he didn't expect the other to stick around, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't touched by the concern.

" I lost something... Important to me. " he confesses, after a moment of hesitation, " My camera. It was a gift from my dad, and it was expensive-- but that's not why it's important. It's got all kinds of photos still on the memory card, some of them from years ago. "

" I know it's not the end of the world, but it upsets me to think that all those memories might be lost forever. "

[frestoniia]

♦

Send me a "♦" for the first word my muse thinks of when your muse is mentioned || accepting

@picavecalyx

" Peculiar. "

[frestoniia]

Little known fact about yampers: they are incredibly food-driven. And his yamper was no exception. They'll do just about anything for a treat, and this is exactly what Craig was counting on during their training sessions.

Craig holds a tasty treat near his Yamper's nose, before slowly moving his hand in an arc over the Pokémon's head.

" Alright, Gidget. Nooow, sit! "

After a moment, the yamper planted her butt firmly on the ground, tail wagging against the floor as she stared up at the treat. Craig was all too happy to give her the treat as a reward, which she eagerly gobbled up.

" Yes! Good girl, Gigi! Who's my smart girl?? "

[frestoniia]

" uhhh yeah nu delete that picture. " ( hi :ratpoint: )

@picavecalyx

" Aww, why? It's a really good photo! "

Of course, Craig wasn't a jerk. Even though it was one of his better photos, he'd delete it if she really wanted him to. It's the subject who has final say, after all.

" Oh, fine... If you really want me to delete it, I will. " sighing, Craig opened his camera gallery and selected the picture in question. With a click, the picture was gone. Though it hurt his soul a bit, it wouldn't be right to keep it against the other's wishes.

" There, see? I erased it. "

[frestoniia]

"Roses are red,

And I can't play flute,

But would it be weird,

If I said you are cute?"

@seginbeats

Wow, that sure was... Something. Fortunately, Craig knew exactly how to respond--

" Roses are red,

I play the kazoo

What would you say if

I said you're cute too? "

[frestoniia]

gasps. inhales. " AAAAAAAAAAAALL ABOOOOOOOOOOOARD– "

" Sir, this is a Pokémon café-- "

[frestoniia]

If nothing else, Craig did feel a bit better after talking about it. Even if it didn't necessarily fix his problem, knowing that someone cared enough to offer a sympathetic ear was immensely touching. And he expected their interaction to end at that.

But, to his surprise, it didn't.

" Eh? " Craig's eyes widen, taken slightly aback by the other's offer. A faint pink hue settles in his cheeks. " You'd really do that? I mean-- don't get me wrong, I really appreciate it! But I already looked basically everywhere I could think of... I'd hate for you to waste your time on me. "

@frestoniia ; CONT.

Atticus simply listened. sat right next to him and listened. being trained in ninja arts did come with its perks though one could argue if they were good to begin with. one being to pick up on cues. expressions. the minute details. usually it was to attack at the right time but for him, he used it to come to the aid of others.

eyebrows curve to express his sadness and sympathy. he understands. much more than he thought he would. " my deepest condolences. i know the sorrows of thy lost knows no bounds. " he could only imagine what something so precious of his were to suddenly disappear without a moment's notice.

there's a few seconds of silence as Atticus contemplated before finally speaking up again. " perhaps, i may be of assistance. thy pain hath resonated within my soul and i do not think i can rest until this quest has been fulfilled. "

[frestoniia]

   He’s just gonna take a sip of some hot cocoa. Sure, it’s missing a bit of that complexity that you get from using milk instead of water, but it’s not like... The worst thing? He could drink this.

“ It’s not that bad. ”

“ I mean, it could be better, I guess. But it’s still pretty good. What’s the big deal? ”

[frestoniia]

“Happy birthday Craig, I made you some cake! I hope that you’ll like it.” @hibanakabu

(Belated) Birthday Asks 2022 || accepting

@hibanakabu

" Aw, thanks Kabu! You really didn't have to. "

Craig was surprised, but delighted! The cake looked really good, and he was immensely touched by the gesture alone. What a thoughtful gift.

" Here, we can share it. "

[frestoniia]

Bede looks the guy up and down as if he was mentally giving his own judgement of him in his mind though refused to actually say anything. However, his curiosity got the better of him and ended up asking a question that plagued the young trainer. "Might I ask where'd you get that awful scar?" He points to the spot on his own person.

@devotionobsessed

     Though the trainer's intense leering did not go unnoticed by Craig, he did his best to ignore it. He couldn't quite place why, but something about the way the other was looking at him made him deeply uncomfortable. Did he want something from him? Was he sizing him up or something? Just as Craig was about to turn towards the guy and ask him what his deal was, the other spoke up, promptly cutting him off before he could even open his mouth.

" Oh-- " he blinked owlishly, somewhat taken aback by the question at first, " You mean this? "

     Almost subconsciously, a hand moved up to brush across the scar cutting through his eyebrow. Ah, so that's what he was staring at, he thought. Though it wasn't huge, he was still somewhat self-conscious about it, and having attention brought to it in such a way certainly didn't help. Still, the question itself was fairly harmless, he supposed. If a bit rude.

" A growlithe attacked me when I was a kid. My fault, really. "