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Darkest Day (pkmn rp)

Aro's gym battle had been nothing less than Kjolmar expected of it. Kjolmar knew quite well how skilled his old friend was. The sight of a huge Luna was quite the treat to the eyes and Neo seemed very exited to watch it happen. You could tell when Neo got exited by the speed he spun his gears. "It's too bad you only get to dynamax one Pokemon at a time." Kjolmar said to Neo. "Can you imagine the damage of you and Luna doing a max steelspike at the same time?"

By the time it was time for Lark's battle, Kjolmar made some room in the front seats for Aro and his partners. Tweener hovered towards his new friend Shade while Neo sought the company of Luna. "Let's see how this new kid does when he's not behind his camera." Kjolmar said.



@HokumPocus @DankDutch

Darkest Day (pkmn rp)

Turrfield was a small place, not many noise. Somehow it made Tweener the Yamask comfortable enough to play around. It seemed a lot less shy than earlier and kept acting impish. "You are quite the playful fellow, aren't you?" Kjolmar asked him.

The gym challenge was all about chasing some Wooloo in to fens, an easy task with the help of Neo and Tweener. The battle itself had not been hard either but it did surprise him when Milo dynamaxed his Eldegoss. Tweener did not have enough battle experience yet to defeat the dynamaxed Eldegoss but Neo was able to dynamax itself and take his foe out. It was such a sight to see Neo so big for once! And his attacks had changed too, Neo had been able to send huge steelspikes towards Eldegoss.

With his new badge in his pocket, Kjolmar sat in the crowd to watch Aro or Lark battle Milo too.

Darkest Day (pkmn rp)

After they finished their curry, the group got on their way. Kjolmar kept Neo in its poke ball for now and only let Tweener get some fresh air for the time being. He wondered when it would evolve. As they made their way through the mine, Kjolmar noticed a lot of coal Pokemon and mine cart Pokemon. "Don't touch them, Tweener. I bet they are hot as hell. My pokedex says they are fire types."

As they progressed through, Kjolmar showed Aro and Lark the fossils he had gotten in Motostoke. "They seem different than in other regions. As far as I can tell, you put two of them together somehow. I bet there are multiple outcomes, depending on the fossils. Apparently a professor near Hammerlocke can revive them for me so I guess I'll just have to carry them around until we get there."

Darkest Day (pkmn rp)

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Darkest Day (pkmn rp)

"Yes, but first I must insist you try my new curry recipe. I read that it's common in Galar to enjoy nice curry dishes and I'm trying to cook all of them while I'm here. I only tried to the most basic one so far but I swear you will like the taste."

Kjolmar dragged out some cooking equipment and started to prepare the curry.

"Let's see, which berries were it again? I think I used these blue ones."

While waving a fan to stir the fire, he realized he was delaying the gym challenge.

"I don't mean to hold everyone but there are no berry trees in that mine and let's face it, our bellies are empty."

With great passion, he stirred in the pot and tried his creation.

"Hmm, it's perfect. A very balanced flavor, I think this will suit just about anyone. Who wants some?"

Darkest Day (pkmn rp)

At the event, Kjolmar observed the gym leaders presenting themselves. Some of them looked less boring than Leon so that was a relief. He wondered if Kabu really could be related to Hoenn's Flannery. As he noticed Piers, he realized right away this was the brother Marnie had been talking about, there could be no mistake. His eye fell on Opal and he grinned while he poked Aro. "That is really a gym leader? Somehow I think she can be underestimated and she will surprise us."

Next up he looked at Milo and Nessa. "Oh, there are the Brock and Misty of the region." As he noticed not everyone in his presence understood that reference, Kjolmar shook his head. "Never mind, it was just a joke for Neo."

Finally, he laid eyes upon Raihan. "Hm, dresses like a child and uses dragons. How disappointing. I'm starting to see why Leon become the champion."

As he realized he was criticizing too much, he apologized to Lark. "Sorry, you must think I'm a bit of a nag. I tend to share my criticism too often. You know what, I bet some of them will show me that I was wrong." he laughed.

During the event, Tweener had been sitting on Kjolmar's lap the entire time. Tweener had been curious about the gym leaders too but he was not expressing that excitement and preferred a safe distance. Every now and then it peeked at Shutter. It must have been exhausting for Tweener to meet so many new friends in such a short time.

Meanwhile Neo simply observed it all without making too much commotion and every now and then it gave more attention to Luna than to the event itself. Neo could have a lack of interests in these things when someone it likes is around. Because of it's mechanical identity, it never fully learned how to be polite and somehow people don't expect this from Neo.

When the event was finished, Kjolmar asked his travel companions if they were up to go directly to Milo's gym. "He uses grass types so we all might want to avoid using water or ground types. I think both my Pokemon make a decent match against grass types. Well, as for Tweener, he should focus on the right attacks. Luna will have little difficulty because of his experience. And Shutter will be super effective actually! Unless you don't want to battle with Shutter, Lark? Maybe you prefer to focus on your photography?"

Kjolmar eyed Shutter up and down before turning to Lark again. "Is Shutter your only companion at the moment?"

Darkest Day (pkmn rp)

Kjolmar inspected Shutter the Venomoth. Bug types had never been his thing but he had to admit Shutter looked very energetic. When it flapped its wings, Kjolmar subtly took a small step backwards, as if he was going to get poison powder all over him or something.

"Well, Lark, it is nice to meet you. Like Aro said, it would be cool to have some pictures on our new quest and some company is never a bad thing."

As the beginning of the ceremony is announced, Kjolmar pulled Aro's hand in order to get him moving. "See, we got here early and we might end up being late. Let's go, we need to best seats we can get."

Kjolmar heard Aro asking Lark if he was joining them and starting pushing Lark too. "Of course he is. Come on guys, hurry up."

He returned both Neo and Tweener to their poke balls and forced everyone to get moving.

Darkest Day (pkmn rp)

Their intention to head to the stadium got delayed by the interruption of a guy's camera flash and Aro's reaction to it, quickly followed by Aro introducing himself to the photographer. Kjolmar eyed the stranger up and down in order to make a fast assumption of who they were meeting.

Neo hovered closer to Kjolmar like it usually did when a new person approached, proving its point that it was always ready to strike if needed. Neo could be very protective of Kjolmar.

Tweener, on the other hand, seemed to distracted by the meeting with Shade to notice the photographer at all. Then again, it was very young and not exactly used to certain situations. When it finally noticed everyone's attention going to the stranger, Tweener quickly hid behind Kjolmar's legs again, like it had done before when it had first met Aro.

When Aro introduced himself, Kjolmar hesitated one second but then quickly joined his friend's example. "Kjolmar." he said while making intense eye contact with the photographer. Somehow the fact that Neo was floating around Kjolmar made the whole situation even more intense. "And you are?" he added before anything else could interrupt them.

Darkest Day (pkmn rp)

Aro had always been the more modest of them and in a way Kjolmar knew how to admire that in his friend.

"Maybe you are right and the champion will prove to be more challenging than he looks. He did outmatch the other gym leaders after all so unless they are horrible, there should be some spirit in that Leon."

As soon as Aro revealed his Dreepy, Kjolmar observed Tweener closely. As Shade hovered around him, Tweener seemed to be a little less intimidated than he was before. Kjolmar knew it was a good sign. He smiled proudly when Aro made a comparison to Luna and Neo.

"Yes, Neo hardly opened up to anyone before it met Luna. I'm sure in due time Tweener will put a similar trust in Shade."

"But I must warn you tho, Shade. Little Tweener here can be quite impish."

"So!" he turned to Aro. "Are you ready for the opening ceremony? If we go there now, we will have the best seats. I heard the fire gym leader was born in Hoenn. Do you think he or she is related to Flannery of Lavaridge Town?"

Darkest Day (pkmn rp)

After Luna's bow, Neo hovered in circles around him. It could be an odd sight to see species like Klingklang enjoy itself, as it wasn't always easy to figure out its emotions due to the lack of facial expressions. While they enjoyed themselves, Kjolmar hugged Aro warmly.

"I can't believe we finally meet again. These Galar gym leaders have no idea who they are up against. Have you seen the Champion? He doesn't even look that strong to me. Then again, neither did we, back in the days."

Tweener carefully approached but appeared to be reserved for now.

"Oh, that's right. I should introduce you. This Galarian Yamask right here is Tweener. He is the newest member of our team. Don't let his young age fool you, I heard these guys become very strong when they evolve. Tweener, this is the friend I have been talking about, his name is Aro."

Tweener seemed to stay on guard and hid himself behind Kjolmar's legs.

"Maybe it's the outfit." Kjolmar joked while winking at Aro.
"I think it would feel more at ease around other local Pokemon. Aro, do you happen to have any?"