foolishwren | 73. [Video/Action] Afternoon

Current Mood: uncomfortable
Current Location: Olivine City Gym

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73. [Video/Action] Afternoon

_{[What tiiiiiiiiiiime is it?]

[.... GYM BATTLE TIME!]

[The feed, as often is the case whenever Heather actually films one of her battles, seems manned by the resident camera-crocodile, and airborne thanks to Honey the ever-patient Butterfree (although not quite as airborne as it was back in Violet City during the victory over Falkner-- Godzilla isn't exactly a little baby anymore...]

[Nonetheless, the fight is filled with the usual combo of snippy one-liners from Heather and NON-STOP ACTION, because man, if it's gonna be broadcast, might as well make it showy! The first half of the battle is largely dominated by Cujo-- but when Jasmine sends out her monstrous Steelix, Heather recalls the pup and turns briefly to the camera to smugly reassure the viewers--]}

Cooj totally has this, but it wouldn't be fair to let him have ALL the fun, y'know?

_{[With a knowing grin, she promptly hucks a different ball onto the field-- releasing a dainty Ponyta.]}

GET 'em, Carousel!

_{[For something that had been a gangly little foal around Christmas, Carousel's done a lot of growing-- which is PARTICULARLY evident in the fight that she proceeds to put up against the metal snake's attacks, prancing and leaping to avoid most of the blows-- Heather had clearly been training her quite a bit during the month or so she'd been in Olivine by now.]

[Although, something a little odd-- which could of course be because of Zilla's filming, the Totodile doesn't exactly have the steadiest hands (claws?) when it comes to holding the camera... but... did Carousel suddenly get quite a bit BIGGER as she came leaping over the Steelix's flaming coils...?]}

_{[... HUH. Well, whaddya know. What lucky timing!]

[As the Steelix comes crashing down to the Gym's sandy floor, rolling feebly to put out the flames, the audience is treated to a very artistic sideways view of the a set of long, snowy legs trotting over to their trainer, who is looking surprisingly NOT triumphant over her victory. In fact, she looks kinda... shell-shocked. Aaaand then the camera swings away again to show the defeated Gym Leader, who fortunately handles these sorts of things a LOT more gracefully than You-Know-Who in Goldenrod...]}

My goodness...

_{[The camera shuffles a short distance away so it can get a good view of both trainers-- Zilla wants to give people the FULL EXPERIENCE, after all!]}

That was a quite exciting battle... Did you know your Ponyta was about to evolve?

Um...

_{[Shooting the now-Thoroughbred-sized animal beside her an unsure look, Heather startles sideways slightly when the Rapidash stretches her neck out to nose at the side of her face. Shuffling a step or two to the side, she pats Carousel's nose distractedly, more with the intention of pushing her gently away than anything else.]}

No...

Well! What a... lucky coincidence! ... I'm sure you would have done fine anyway, though... your Pokemon are quite the little spitfires! Please, um... take the Mineralbadge. You've earned it!

Thanks--!

_{[Too distracted to even snicker at the unintentional pun, Heather sloooowly steps away from the fiery unicorn and starts to head across the sand towards the camera to claim her prize-- which is where the feed cuts out.]}

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_{[Henry watched the battle in what was more or less silence. He hadn't actually SEEN many battles, having only attacked Pokemon hand-to-hand himself. This one was a show! He'd sat stiff-backed and wide eyed through the whole thing because NOSE AND FIRE AND HOLY FUCK GIGANTIC METAL SNAKE THAT SOUNDS LIKE A TRACTOR. The one or two feeble "Go, Heather!"s he let out were swallowed up in the battle.]

[He'd never seen a Pokemon evolve either. LOTS OF FIRSTS FOR HENRY TODAY. Once the dust settles, Henry clambers out of the bleachers and shuffles on over, completely oblivious to Heather's discomfort.]}

That was really cool.

_{[The Rapidash looks up and whickers at Henry's approached.]

[Heather turns as well, taking that opportunity to take another few steps away from the horse. She grins despite herself.]}

Thanks!

I've had a whole year to practice my battlin' style-- me and my gang're hot stuff, gotta admit.

_{[Henry freezes up a little. Carousel was BIG...and covered in fire. He didn't want to do anything the fire pokemon might not like. Henry, though he was the poke'whisperer, didn't know Rapidash-ese yet.]}

That was a lot more exciting than the game. I didn't even know Onix evolved. I think my teeth are vibrating.

_{[That last bit would have made sense if he mentioned the amount of noise the thing had made but...NOPE.]}

_{[IT'S OKAY, SHE WAS ON THE FIELD. Steelix are loud.]

[In any case, she's more than happy for the chance to be all show-offy in front of her shy room-mate.]

[Buffing her nails casually on her vest pocket, she tosses her head idly.]}

Yeah... this place can get pretty crazy sometimes... honestly, it takes a real badass to be able to smoke Gym Leaders that quickl-- FFffppt!

_{[And that would be Heather flailing to the side slightly as Carousel nosed her vest pockets in search of treats.]}

_{[ c: Henry is content to quietly bask in Heather's awesome. SHE COULD COMMAND GIANT FIRE MONSTERS. AND WIN. That was pretty awesome in his book. Carousel hadn't trampled him for walking up to them, so she wasn't so scary now. He sort of wanted to try and pat her on the nose because it looked soft but Henry had no idea what you did with a strange horse. You let dogs sniff the back of your hand but...what did you do with horses on fire?]}

It was like watching a circus. Only the animals tried to k--aah!

_{[Heather's sudden splutter of dismay makes Henry wonder if she really is the ringmaster here. ]B ]}

Um.

_{[Heather's not as good a ringmaster as she'd like people to think. :(]

[Needless to say, she draws herself up immediately, dusting herself off. NO ONE SAW THAT.]}

Yeah-- I mean, Pokemon battles are like that. Basically. ... Yep.

_{[Meanwhile, Carousel now turns to Henry. He has pockets. Maybe THEY have treats.]}

Edited 2011-08-01 06:06 (UTC)

I guess I'd better start learning how to battle...

_{[Henry didn't really care about badges, but after nearly getting his ass kicked by WALTER OWL, he decided it might be good to play the game right. AND THEN UNICORN. Henry froze up again and arched his back a little. DB]

[In fact, Henry DOES have something sweet in his shirt pockets. Jiggly Puffs that he'd forgotten about. Emergency stash, yo.]}

I could teach you, if y'want! _{[Not all of her Pokemon are expert fighters, but she'd been here a whole year and they WERE all fairly tough by this point... well, 'cept for Cheryl and Wren, but... they're still babies.]

[Carousel is a gentle creature, all things considered... but horses can be fairly pushy when they sense that someone is holding out on them with treats. >:/ Snorting, she tries to push her nose into his pocket.]

[YOU HAVE FOOD, SHE SMELLS IT.]}

_{[Henry stays stock still. DB AH AH AH AH IF HE MOVED WOULD SHE TRY TO GRAB HIS THROAT? COULD HORSES EVEN DO THAT?]

[Wait.]

[Wait.]

[Oh]

[Henry ducks away long enough to pull a handful of crunchy pink spheres and marshmallows out of his pocket.]}

Is this what you want?

_{[MOST HORSES DID NOT GO FOR THE THROAT, GENERALLY.]

[Carousel snorts in affirmative and lips at his hand. Horse lips are weird and bristly. :I]

[... Meanwhile, Heather is just... watching this. Did... Henry seriously just carry loose handfuls of that stuff in his pockets...?]}

_{[Henry makes a few faces as he experiences the WEIRDEST SENSATION EVER PRETTY MUCH. He doesn't know to hold his hand out flat so he kind of splays his fingers awkwardly and ends up dropping half of the cereal.]

[IT WAS A PRETTY MAGICAL INTERACTION]

[And T'ch duh, Heather. What if he suddenly got hungry? You have to be prepared for this sort of thing.]}

Heh, I think she likes me.

_{[SO POIGNANT.]

[Carousel doesn't seem to mind, and she happily crunches up whatever's in his hand before dropping her head to the ground, rustling around in the sand for the fallen pieces.]}

Yeah, heh... most Pokemon seem pretty easily won-over by food...

Ooh.

_{[AND THUS THE SECRET OF WHY HENRY GETS ALONG WITH POKEMON BETTER THAN PEOPLE IS REVEALED.]}

Maybe I should try giving Walter some cereal.

_{[He wipes his hand off on his shirt before allowing himself to be a little curious.]}

Can I see your badge?

_{[Henry and Pokemon have that in common.]}

Maybe... he'd probably like some meat better, though.

_{[Claudy had never been terribly interested in Heather's breakfasts unless she had bacon or something...]

[In any case, she beams and turns out her collar a little bit-- enough to let the shiny silver badge glimmer in the light.]}

Pretty snazzy, huh?

_{[Henry leans in a little and quietly admires it. c: It was shiny. It looked important too.]}

That's really nice.

Thanks!

Not much point to 'em apart from bragging rights, but it sure does get you respect from the locals!

_{[Henry finally leans away so he's not down in Heather's koolaid. He seems to space out but is actually thinking about something on-topic instead of the TV show he saw yesterday. Heather had that fancy badge...and could command giant flaming unicorns. SURELY she could handle a basketball owl. I mean...she killed God and all!]}

Hey, Heather. Do you think _{I could ask for a favor?}

... Huh?

Uh, sure, Henry.

What's up?

_{[Henry wasn't terribly concerned with being a MANRY MAN but he couldn't help feeling a little silly. It was a basketball with feathers, not a resurrected serial killer.]}

Think you could help me train Walter? You're a lot better at Pokemon than I am.

_{[Henry was used to the tiny cute pixel ones that loved you no matter what hell you put them through. He really liked having all his fingers.]}

Help you-- ... you mean the killer owl?

Oh.

I, uh....

_{[... Of course, the compliment goes right to her head... like she needs any MORE of an ego right now.]}

Sure! 'Course I could!

_{[NOT WASTING ANY TIME Henry plucks Walter's ball off his belt and holds it out for her.]}

Maybe if he stayed with you a little while he'd...I dunno. Learn how to behave. And not try to eat my eyes.

_{[8c HE LIKED HIS EYES HEATHER. LOOK HOW SAD THEY ARE.]}

Well... I can't make any promises on that one...

_{[It's not like her Pokemon are shining examples of good behavior... Carousel the meth-pony had somehow defied the odds of her birth and wound up being a calm, gentle horse.]}

But I'll try, I guess?

Maybe he'll get along with Claudy.

_{[Henry hadn't seen a lot of Claudy...but she hadn't killed him in his sleep so he was okay with the other owlbeast.]}

Thank you so much, Heather. I'll find a way to return the favor, promise.

_{[8I A box of cereal. It'd be perfect.]}

Hey, don't worry about it.

_{[... Thanks, Henry. No. Really.]}

Glad to help.

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73. [Video/Action] Afternoon

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