Adventures and Ice Cream

[Picnicker Virgil]

Nicholas Booker had lived in a city his entire life. Driftveil was small, peaceful, eco-friendly place where he'd felt very comfortable growing up. When he'd left for Castelia, he'd had this idea in his head that it'd be similar to his hometown. He was wrong.

Castelia was huge, loud, and dirty. People came at you from all directions, paying hardly any attention as they talked on their cell phones or just looked dead ahead with serious expressions. Everyone seemed so sure of themselves, like they had their entire life planned out and wished they could get it over with as quick as possible. For someone like Nicholas, who was still not positive being a trainer was the right thing for him, it was all very intimidating.

Nicholas decided that he needed some time to himself and he wouldn't find it here. There was a desert up ahead and a website he'd looked at online described it as an ideal spot for trainers to catch and train Pokemon. Without much hesitation he set off, trying to look half as confident as everyone else. His attempt to keep his gaze straight ahead didn't work out too well when he passed by a delicious smelling ice cream stand. Castelia Cones was another aspect of the city the website had mentioned. He stopped for just a second, considering grabbing a cone, before deciding that waiting in a 20 minute line just wasn't worth it.

With no other stops along the way, the desert didn't take long to get to. It wasn't as hot as he imagined and he actually had to slip on another layer as the wind kicked up. Feeling a little better now that he wasn't so crowded in, Nicholas released Votive, his Litwick, from her Pokeball. In a flash of white light she appeared, gave a glance at her surroundings, and took her spot beside her trainer. "See if you can find any wild Pokemon." He suggested, though he figured his chances of Votive notifying him of such a thing were slim.

As he surveyed the area, he smiled at a familiar site. "Look, that guy has a Vanillish." Nicholas pointed in the direction of another trainer with what looked like a floating ice cream cone by his side. In the Cold Storage where Nicholas had worked in Driftveil, Vannilite were very common. The sight of its evolved form made him happy, and he ran over to the trainer, kicking up sand along the way. "Hey," He said as he got closer. "Did you maybe catch that in Driftveil?" It didn't occur to him that it might be awkward to approach a stranger with a random question like that until he'd said it. Trying not to blush, he managed a friendly smile and hoped he didn't screw up one of his first social interactions since leaving Driftveil.

Note: This is a private RP between me and Happy. No girls allowed. ♥

 

[Tangrow]

It would be safe to say that Riley was terribly, terribly, tired.

Today was his third day in the mainland of Unova, and he had finally decided to leave Nimbasa Town and head towards Castelia City. At the same time, this meant he had to travel through the desert. Unsurprisingly, the desert was hot. Terribly, terribly hot. Sir Weston wasn't particularly faring much better, due to his nature as an Ice type. The Vanillish was actually beginning to melt a little, and Riley hoped he would find a Pokemon Center before his friend became a wet lump. He himself had stripped off a few layers, removing his scarf and the vest he had been wearing. He wiped a bead of sweat off his face as he thought how easy he had thought it would be.

Riley had lived in Anville Town all his life, and it was a pleasant climate, if not a little cold. As such, he had bundled up when he took the Subway to Nimbasa. It was warmer than he expected, but nothing he couldn't handle. Of course, he had a lot to worry about often, such as food, and money, and where to sleep. Being a new trainer, he hadn't thought to pack supplies with him, which he regretted about now. On the bright side, he had caught his first Pokemon during his time in the City, and with such confidence, he blazed straight into the desert, intending to go all the way to Striaton to get his first badge. In retrospect, he wasn't sure why he didn't challenge Elesa first.

Regardless of this unfortunate setback, Riley brightened when he saw a building in the distance, and another, and another. Assuming it to be Castelia, he straightened up, and, with renewed energy, strode in the direction as Weston followed accordingly. It wasn't long, however, before his trip was accosted by another.

"Hey, did you maybe catch that in Driftveil?" Riley found himself sort of stunned in response. Where he came from, people greeted themselves in a kind manner before asking that kind of stuff. Was this how all people of Unova like?

"Uhhh..." He stumbled, trying to find the words. "Not really...I found him in Anville Town during the winter." Riley found himself trying to remember which city was Driftveil, but couldn't remember from the combined weight of heat and pressure to answer the question. He figured the best course of action was to introduce himself. "I'm Riley, and my friend here is Weston," He gestured to the ice cream, who, despite being under the weather, managed a slight wave with its melting ice crystals. "We're going to Castelia. And you?"

 

[Picnicker Virgil]

He'd totally botched it and he knew it. Nicholas kept his cool though and just forgot about how awkward he may or may not have sounded. "We came from Castelia. Well, not originally, but we were just there." He paused, then added, "I'm Nicholas by the way. That's Votive." Votive gave a passive glance to Riley at the mention of her name but stayed quiet.

An idea popped into Nicholas's head, but he wasn't sure how to follow through with it. He'd come out here to train, though, and here was a perfect trainer to ask for a battle. Now how exactly did one go about asking for such a thing? Nicholas remembered back on the very few battles he'd had, where the opponent had always been the one who approached him. "Do you want to battle?" Nicholas asked bluntly. Votive's expression remained unchanged, but Nicholas could have sworn her flame began to flicker just a little faster.

 

[Tangrow]

Riley listened to Nicholas introduce himself, nodding as he spoke. He took a small glance towards the Pokemon named Votive, trying to remember if he had seen a Pokemon like that before. Unfortunately, Riley couldn't just whip out his Pokedex in the middle of a conversation; that would be rude. The main point, however, was he didn't have one in the first place. He was heading to Castelia for that reason. Although Nuvema Town generally issued Pokedexes, they recently branched to the larger and more easily accessible city for trainers who didn't want to inconvenience themselves. Riley snapped to attention when he heard Nicholas ask the most common question among Pokemon Trainers.

"Do you want to battle?"

Riley grinned at the prospect, forgetting about Weston's conditions as he said, "Heck yeah! Alright, let's get with it!" He moved back a few paces, making sure there was enough space between them for a bit, and taking a look to see if any other trainers were around. In reality, he had never had a pokemon battle before, so he hoped he was doing it right. "Alright, Weston, go on!" The ice cream shook off its fatigue and floated over in front of Riley, trying to don a determined face. It came out as an odd smile, but regardless, the Vanillish was prepared to do battle, regardless of the heat.

Remembering how Weston was feeling for a second, Riley added, "But, um, let's make this one on one, okay? I gotta get to the City sometime!" Riley paused as nothing happened on the battlefield for a few seconds, before amending his words. "And, um, you go first!"