RyuHll

The Colorless King

Minoru grabbed the oar and started paddling slowly, making their path forward, a little awkward with the girl at his arm. Though, seeing him trying to paddle, she slowly shifted back into her dog form, bounding over to the front of the boat to keep watch. The boy stayed quiet as he paddled for a while. He didn't have much to say, thinking over his situation. After a few moments, he glanced over at Keiko. "Do you think...we could stop by my parents' place before we head to your's?" he asked. "I'd like to at least let them know I'm leaving for a while...I'm sure they'll worry if I just disappear like that."

It's some kind of madness, that started to evolve!

"The ghost Pokemon?" Leon questioned. "That's all the way out in Lavender Town. Clear other side of Kanto." He grinned a bit, though. "Can't say I'm not a little bit curious, though. It might be interesting. Dangerous too." His tone took on a cautious tone, as if he were telling a scary story. "The ghosts are said to enjoy playing pranks on unsuspecting trainers."

Nidoran wrinkled its nose in distaste while her larger brother turned its head slightly to listen. He seemed interested in the story.

This just made the young boy grin. "That's what the legends say anyway. I'm actually just interested in seeing other Pokemon and learning about them first hand." His answer was normal for him, always enjoying studying and being with Pokemon.

It's some kind of madness, that started to evolve!

“I wouldn't go that far,” Leon commented with a small laugh. “It'll feel like you're mocking it. Just treat it normally. Like you would treat me, for instance.” He lowered his hand to the Nidoran again and pet it, grinning a bit. Though, he caught the annoyed look from Rasca. Lowering his voice, he continued. “She really is trying. Give her a chance.”

The Nidoran looked up at him dully for a moment before letting out a sigh, turning, and running after the girl. Catching up, it stayed by her leg, simply walking with her. For Leon's part, he got to his feet, still holding the smaller Nidoran, and went to walk after the two. “Rasca, I wanted to ask you. I thought of putting this whole thing together, but...what do you wanna get out of it? I wasn't sure what your goal would be if we set out together with our Nidorans.”

The Colorless King

The girl smiled happily, letting the other two onto the boat quickly. Once everyone was on, she pushed them off and got in with them. The odd part was that she immediately clung to Minoru's arm. She seemed incredibly pleased with the situation, but the boy just seemed awkward, face turning red and seeming entirely uncomfortable with the situation. "A-Ah, so wh-where are we going, K-Keiko-san?" he asked in a sort of stutter.

It's some kind of madness, that started to evolve!

Leon gave a small nod as he listened to Rasca's response. It made sense. They really wouldn't make it far if the Pokemon didn't listen to them. Of course, seeing how the smaller Nidoran was nuzzling into Leon's arms, it seemed only Rasca would have an issue with that. This made him frown slightly, watching as the two interacted. He watched it for a few moments, studying its movements for a little bit. At last, he spoke. “You can't treat it like some pet. Pokemon aren't meant to live as our pets,” he explained. “Some, you can get away with that. Nidoran is prideful, though. It'll take time to earn its respect and obedience. You just have to work at it.”

The boy knelt down, looking at the large Pokemon and smiled. He held his hand out to it and the blue Nidoran made a small sound. It caused, at length, for the male counterpart to slowly walk closer, sniffing Leon's hand. It made a low sound in warning and then closed its eyes, head held up, as if he was allowing some grand gesture in letting Leon pet him. The boy just let out a small chuckle, scratching him behind the ears. “Y'know, Nido, my friend isn't that bad either. Think you could ease up on her? She wants to be your friend too,” he stated. “Right, Rasca?”

Despite the clear signs of him being a novice with Pokemon, having never left Viridian, he seemed to have a knack for making friends with them.

It's some kind of madness, that started to evolve!

Leon grinned a bit as she moved to hug him, returning the hug. Though, it was half an excuse to hide the blush that began to develop from being close to Rasca. He had been developing his plan carefully for a few weeks now, liking the idea of being able to head off on the journey with her. He knew she would be troubled with his unwillingness to really see his Pokemon come to harm. After all, he would have to if he fought at the gyms too. However, it still let him realize his own dream. He'd be able to study the different Pokemon of the world. It'd be a great experience.

What made it better was being able to stay close to Rasca. The one thing that had always held him back was traveling away from her. With both of them having Pokemon, though, he'd be able to go with her. Once she had moved away, taking her Nidoran back from the center and exiting, the young boy smiled at her, staying beside her. “When do you want to head out? I think we should grab a few more Pokeballs, but if we just head north, we'll hit the forest and, on the other side of that, Pewter City,” he explained, barely able to contain the excitement in his voice.

It's some kind of madness, that started to evolve!

“Ah, well, that's up to them, isn't it?” Leon replied with a knowing smile. “You technically captured that Nidoran yourself. So he's your's. And I'd hate to separate these two. They seemed so close, didn't they?” He grinned at the smaller Nidoran, scratching the back of its ear with his free hand as they walked. It let out a happy cry, staying comfortably in the boy's arms.

After a moment, he brought his hand up to push the glasses on his face up a bit further and looked over to Rasca. “Of course, since we have these two, we can also take our adventures a little bit further than our typical adventure. I know I've told you I'd like to see the world and the Pokemon that inhabits it. I always took you as the type to be interested in facing other trainers too. Perhaps you'd even be interested in the Indigo League challenge, battling through the eight gyms.” His grin widened as he explained. “What do you think about that?”

He definitely had a big adventure planned for the two, from the sound of it.

It's some kind of madness, that started to evolve!

Nidoran looked at the ball suspiciously, despite its injured body. It had its pride, after all. It didn't want to be captured by a trainer that easily. However, just as it was prepared to snuff it and turn away, the female Nidoran cried out, seeming to talk to it. It let out a low reply, only to be met with a stern look from the smaller one. With a small sigh, it tapped its paw to the small white button and let itself be sent inside.

“Good job,” Leon commented, holding his hand down. The smaller Nidoran ran up to him, jumping into his arms quickly, though it was careful to keep its barbs away from the boy's skin. Of course, that was easier for her, having smaller ones than her purple brother. “Let's get him to the Pokemon Center. Once it's rested, we can start our real adventure.”

The grin on his face was a little bit mischievous, out of the ordinary for his usual attitude. He was usually quiet and out of the way, but never really one to do something crazy or out of the ordinary. It seemed, though, like he had something else in mind for their adventures today.

It's some kind of madness, that started to evolve!

Leon grinned weakly, still holding his arm tenderly. “It all works out,” he commented. Slowly, he moved his injured arm to scratch the Nidoran's ear lightly, watching the battle between Mankey and the male Nidoran. His eyes were more calculating now, studying the two opposing Pokemon. As he was watching it, his hand dipped back into his jacket pocket and he slowly retrieved one of the two Pokeballs. “Nidoran won't win. He's slightly weaker and Mankey's just as aggressive. Nidoran will ward him off with its poison, but it's going to be injured. We'll need to take it to the Pokecenter and Pokeballs are the easiest way to let them rest.” He paused a moment and continued. “Just try to reason with it. Forcefully putting it into the Pokeball will just make it resentful and harder to keep happy.”

He let her take it before looking down at the female Nidoran and smiling. “We'll make sure your friend gets taken care of, alright?” he asked. The small blue Pokemon gave a happy cry of approval, resting herself next to Leon and watching. The two other Pokemon continued battling, but it went much like Leon predicted. Nidoran was losing, but it landed a single hit, throwing Mankey off guard. It seemed weakened, poisoned by Nidoran's barbs, though it had the upper hand throughout the fight.

With a weak cry, it turned and fled back into the tall grass, getting away from the group.

Squad 14

Kazuho offered a brief smile and a small nod. “Of course. We will leave at dawn tomorrow,” the boy stated, standing with Inari. “Though, I would like you to know, I did not have the time you think I did. We finalized these plans just yesterday when the fight was announced. Quite suddenly as well, as is the Captain Commander's style. However, I am glad to be thrown into this situation with a capable Vice Captain such as yourself.” He offered his hand to his new partner, waiting for him to take it in turn. “I will see you tomorrow unless other matters cause me to call on you.”

Once it was done and his Inari left, he turned his attention back to the Captain Commander who just smiled up at him. “I understand what you're doing now. Is it a wise choice, though? While they are alike in one way, it doesn't mean they are compatible as a team,” he advised.

“If they are alike in that one way, they'll know the important on teamwork here. More importantly, they'll learn to fight without a team,” Kazuho explained in response. “It'll be needed where we'll be stationed. You know that as well as I do.”

The Captain Commander only gave a nod, standing to follow the new Captain out. They still had a few matters to attend to before they could call it a day.