bohren_rpg | one fish two fish

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one fish two fish

WHO: Kurt [OPEN]
WHAT: Fishing!
WHERE: Route 293--Fishing pools
WHEN: Post-Quakesburg Tournament

Well, this entire trip was turning out to be a bust. Much like his entire trainer career so far, it seemed. Kurt had made his way to Bohren, but it seemed as though he always arrived in town just in time to watch the tournaments wrap up, which is exactly what happened with Quakesburg. This time, however, he took the chance to get ahead. Rather than loitering in the town, stocking up on various necessities (food, water, moisturizer), and allowing the circuit to get ahead of him once again, he'd headed straight for the tunnel to Sheercliff, where he believed the next tournament to be taking place.

He may end up crashing and burning horribly with this whole endeavor, but he would like to at least have the chance to try first.

As of right now, however, Kurt and Hermes had almost reached the end of the route and Kurt was rewarding them both with a rest stop. He relaxed near one of the pools that dotted the area, the sound of rushing water oddly soothing, and Kurt was fighting to keep his eyes open. Hermes, on the other hand, was taking the opportunity for some impromptu fishing, though this amounted to essentially tying a piece of string to his tail and a shiny bauble on the end of that, letting it drift in the water.

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As much as Viktor hated the eastern part of Bohren, Route 293 was by far one of his favorite to travel through. It was mysterious and dark and occasionally exciting. Though this time around, he was just trying to hurry to Sheercliff. He had already seen the Regigias shrine more than he would like to admit and fossil Pokemon were dull, if they weren't Ghosts, then what was the point.

He was making good time by his standards. He hadn't stopped for many breaks, and the only pokemon that was out was 'Magius, who was not wasting any time either. Sheercliff was going to be...interesting.

Kurt was feeling very relaxed, debating with himself on whether a nap was a good idea, just a quick one, when the sound of hurrying footsteps snapped him out of his daze. Sitting up, he glanced around, wondering who it could be. He hadn't seen anyone all day, had assumed they were all recovering from the tournament back in Quakesburg.

He saw only another pokemon at first, a floating one (a ghost type, probably. Magic-something, he thought, but couldn't identify it specifically.) It couldn't have made the footsteps obviously, so Kurt put it aside for the moment, trusting Hermes to do something if it came too close.

A moment later, someone came into view, this time someone with the capability to make footsteps. Though not, it from what Kurt could discern, the ability to dress himself.

It was--it was--Kurt couldn't even decide where to begin. He looked as though he'd simply never stopped wearing his high school uniform. It was ghastly, pun not intended.

Viktor adjusted his large cape and quickly cleaned his glasses, placing them back on his face. He gave looked over at Mismagious, who shot him a look, "Mag."

"Hm? What is it, 'Magius?" he looked forward and saw a boy and a pokemon over by some of the water. He smiled and strutted forward, "Afternoon."

'Magius hovered forward and gave a brief nod and went back to investigating the water a bit more, which she seemed to find more interesting than the boy his pokemon.

Kurt had to take a moment to compose himself before responding. Oh, Arceus, there was a cape and everything. "Ah. Ah! Afternoon," he said, standing and, after a moment's hesitation, holding his hand out for shaking.

Hermes had noticed the other Pokemon fairly quickly, but so long as she stayed away he was content to go on with his fishing. He couldn't help twitching the string and it's attached bauble towards her though, when he noticed her inspecting the water's surface.

"Haven't seen you around the Circuit yet, the name is Viktor, pleasure." he didn't put out a hand, but simply gave a nod toward Kurt. He hadn't seen many people on the route yet, he assumed that he was ahead of the bunch, but he was very wrong.

"'Magius." the Mismagius looked up from the water and turned to Hermes, giving a small nod like her trainer. She turned back and examined the water again, something was gaining her attention in there, but she couldn't figure out what yet.

Kurt let his hand drop awkwardly when it became clear "Yeah, well, I just arrived in this region, actually. I've been trying to get into the swing of things, but I always get int town just as everything's wrapping up, it seems." He let out a self-deprecating laugh that also trailed off awkwardly. He never felt like he'd quite gotten the hang of idle conversation. "I"m Kurt, Kurt Hummel."

Hermes only tilted his head at the Mismagius, watching her watch the water with some amusement. He twitched the string, a little hard this time, wondering if his perhaps his impromptu bait had caught the attention of a less waterbound Pokemon.

"Ahhh, well welcome to Bohren, I hope you do enjoy it here. I have traveled to many regions and Bohren is still my home and my favorite. Where are you from?" he walked a little closer, leaning against a large boulder, adjusting his cape and glasses.

'Magius barley payed any attention to the string, hoovering closer and closer to the water surface.

"Goldenrod. In Johto." Kurt crossed his arms casually, trying to ignore Viktor's fidgeting and how it only drew his attention the horrifying cafe and unflatteringly shaped glasses. Had they not heard of stylishly shaped frames in this region yet? "I take it you're in the Circuit yourself? A trainer?" He glanced at the pool beside them, where Hermes was watching Viktor's Mismagius with interest, his tail twitching oddly every now and then.

Viktor chuckled and adjusted his glasses again, the light of a nearby lamp caught the frames causing them to white out in a dramatic fashion, "Actually, I am a gym leader here in Bohren." he looked up again, his smirk of smirk stretching across his face.

Mismagious looked up from the water, to see Viktor being dramatic again, surprise surprise. She went back to the water, this time submerging her face into the pool.

Kurt tore his gaze away from the cape and perked up with interest. "A gym leader? Really?" He glanced at the Mismagius again. "Ghost type?" He mind raced. Would it be completely crazy of him to consider challenging a gym leader? With only two months of experience and two pokemon? Any crazier than entering a tournament with the same qualifications?

Well. Yes. Probably.

Biting his lip, he sorrowfully put it aside as a Bad Idea.

Hermes struggled with himself for a moment, just a moment, then gave into the temptation. He yanked the string, hard.

Mismagius elegantly avoided being hit by the line, and her mouth was a water stone. It winked at Hermes and floated over to Viktor, like a cat delivering prey to its master, "Ah, Grandmother will be pleased." he put the stone into his bag and looked up at Kurt, "Yes, Ghost type is my specialty. I run the Abeo Town Gym on the north most peninsula of Bohren."

Mismagius hovered next to Viktor, still eying Hermes.

Kurt watched bemusedly as the Mismagius dropped her find into Viktor's hand. He'd trained his pokemon to scavenge for him? Useful. At best Hermes brought home cold cream samples he'd lifted from the Goldenrod Department Store.

Which, admittedly, Kurt rather enjoyed.

"Abeo," he repeated, once he realized Viktor had spoken. "I haven't been near there yet. Is it...nice," he asked vaguely. He really hated small talk.

Hermes scowled, watching the Mismagius float over to her trainer. He'd failed at startling her and she'd walked--well, floated--away with a shiny, valuable stone for her trainer. She'd even winked at him. Showoff.

His tail twitched in irritation, and with his back to the water, he didn't notice the movement until it was too late and he abruptly found himself pulled into the pool.

Kurt spun around at the splash. "Hermes...?"

"Psychic." Viktor called out calmly, 'Magius's eyes lit up a pale blew, as did the Smeargle, she was attempting to pull it out of the water using her abilities. But for some strange reason, the Smeargle was still in the water.

"Mag..." she shot a look at Viktor, alerting him that there was an issue. She usually didn't have trouble moving things with Psychic but there was obviously a second player in this, pulling the Smeargle down.

Kurt waited a moment, assuming at first that Hermes had fallen in, but when he didn't immediately pop back up again Kurt began to grow concerned. Kurt glanced between Viktor and his Mismagius worriedly. It had appeared that the other trainer was going to do something, but nothing had happened... Frowning, he moved over to the water's edge, peering into the depths. It was cloudy; there was a lot of movement going on, stirring up the silt and obscuring the normally fairly clear water. But he could definitely make out more than one shape.

"Oh," said Kurt, sounding both bemused and worried. "He's gotten himself dragged into a Pokemon battle. Again. Underwater." This was like the Combee incident all over again. Except this time Kurt couldn't even make the attempt to direct Hermes--he wouldn't be heard underwater.

Hermes struggled with the Goldeen for a bit, trying to pull the string back or swim up to the surface with the Goldeen in tow, with no luck. He couldn't even untie it from his tail, the water having swollen the knots. Growling, he gave up in frustration and spun around to release an impulsive Hyper Voice.

Once again, he forgot he was still technically connected to the target.

This battling stuff was hard

Viktor chuckled a bit, the trainer was obviously fairly new at battling and it showed. Though he was impressed that the Smeargle knew Hyper Voice, obviously a lot of hard work went into gaining a move like that.

'Magius had given up trying to get the Pokemon out of the water. It simply hovered over the water, waiting for the Goldeen to get into view, she looked back at Viktor who simply nodded, "'MAG!" it rocketed forward a quick Shadow Ball at the cord connecting the two Pokemon together, sending the Goldeen swimming up the pool into a stream.

With some bemusement Kurt watched the Goldeen zoom away upstream. He'd had some vague thought catching it, but he supposed there wasn't much chance of that anyway. He wasn't even sure if pokeballs worked underwater.

Hermes was still rotating slowly under the water, his eyes spinning disorientedly whenever they came into view. Kurt sighed, resigned himself to wet sleeves, and reached in, puling Hermes out before the poor thing drowned himself. He fell over backwards as Hermes slipped free of the water, landing with a lapful of waterlogged pokemon, smelling strongly of wet fur. Kurt wrinkled his nose and tried not to breathe too deeply.

Viktor reached into his bag and pulled out a small glass spray bottle full of green liquid, "Here, it's a full restore, should help get him back on his feet." he shot Kurt a smile as he pulled a dark burgundy towel, "This will probably be a little more useful for you..."

'Magius simply watched the Goldeen as it swam off and out of sight. The Pokemon did not smell very pleasent and both 'Magius and Viktor took a few steps back to try to avoid the smell. Luckily the full restore would probably get rid of some of the smell, since it was perfumed with a bit of mint.

"Oh, thank you," said Kurt, accepting both the potion. "I don't think he's really hurt though, just...dizzy," he added, though he sprayed the potion anyway. Didn't hurt to be careful. "Ah, and, thank you," he said again, accepting the towel gratefully, though he winced at the matchy-matchy color scheme Viktor appeared to be using.

He gingerly dabbed at his sleeves and watched Hermes twitch back into consciousness.

"I assume you are a fairly new trainer." he was curious though. How could someone so inexperienced at battling have a Smeargle that knew Hyper Voice? It was very curious, indeed.

'Magius hovered back over to Viktor, yawning a bit and looking down at the Kurt and Hermes with a bored look on her face. She was not interested in beginning trainers. This was why she was Viktor's advanced team. Beginners like them were saved for her two children on his Beginning team. It was laughable at beast the way the Smeargle handled the Goldeen. Though she kept this all into her self, it was obvious by the look on her face.

"Oh, yeah, pretty new," said Kurt vaguely, trying to shrug it off. Was it really that obvious? ...Yeah, probably.

Hermes twitched into alertness, sneezing absently at the taste of the potion and the tingling feeling he was still getting used to. He clambered to his feet and shook himself. That was it. The Combee incident and now this--Kurt was going to have to catch new Pokemon by himself. No more helpful fishing from this Smeargle, nosir.

Scratching his ear irritably, he glanced up to see if his aimless trainer had caught on to this, but saw instead the uppity Mismagius, looking even more superior than before. Already in a bad mood, he withheld comment, merely narrowed his eyes and scowled.

"Nothing wrong with just starting out." He adjusted his cape and walked over to a large stone, examining it and looking back at Kurt, "'Magius and I were once brand new. I remember my first attempt at the Bohren circuit...pitiful. I did fine until I got to the fourth gym...those pompous bastards at the Pancaea Town...Of course, I took over that gym later in life." 'Magius nodded, hovering over the stone, examining it as well, "Made it my life's mission to destroy that gym and I did."

He smiled, a little insanity spilling over his glasses. He reeled it back in and went back to examining the large stone.

Kurt had been following quite fine right up until the part about the life mission of destruction. He glanced at Viktor, trying to see if he was joking, and only saw a man with mad eyes intently staring at a rock.

"Uh. Right. ...Congratulations?" he offered finally, exchanging unnerved stares with Hermes. On a theoretical level Kurt had no problem with destroying one's enemies by any means necessary...but Viktor's tone made "any means necessary" suddenly cover a lot more options. He told himself that the gym was just talking about beating them soundly in a Pokemon battle. Probably.

"Yes. The Gym still exists of course, poison type gym." he dug around into his bag and pulled out a small sickle and hammer and started to tap away at the rocks, "Trainers are welcome to challenge them whenever we arrive in the town, they usually hold a tournament every year."

Mismagius lifted another sickle using Psychic out of Viktors bag and started to chip away at the large rock with the sickle, "The gym itself is pathetic. They bullied me when I was a young trainer. They deserved what came to them." a piece of the rock fell of and Viktor picked it up and turned to Kurt smiling, "Everstone."

"Uh-huh," agreed Kurt hesitantly. "I'll keep that in mind if I ever get that far." He eyed the rock. "A Water Stone and now Everstone?" Say what you will about his dubious Pokemon training skills, Kurt knew his valuable rocks. "Just lying around? How has this place not been completely mined out by now?"

He wasn't all that sad about changing the subject, to be completely honest. Viktor seemed like a nice enough guy, appalling attachment to purple aside, but Kurt couldn't quite shake a slight uneasy feeling when he got that look in his eye.

"Laws prevent these areas to be mined out completely. Companies purchase various private sections of the tunnels. But their least concern are stones like these." he raised the everstone and placed it in his bag, "My Grandmother is a trader and a collector of rare stones like these. We live in a town on the most west point of Bohren, stones like these are hard to come by out there."

The Mismagius yawned a bit and floated lazily over above Viktor's head, "'Magius and I have been trained from a young age to find these stones by her. We have an eye for it." he grabbed a pokeball off his belt and offered it to 'Magius who looked at it, contemplated for a moment or two, and then shook her head. Too early too rest, she had decided.

"Huh. That's clever," Kurt was forced to admit. "And that's a useful talent to have. I guess it's only natural you have hobbies aside from crushing those who have wronged you," he added with an awkward smile.

Hermes had stolen the borrowed towel from Kurt and was using it to dry off a little bit away from the conversing trainers. He was still feeling absurdly grumpy after his humiliation in front of the more experienced duo, and he was getting itchy to move on.

"Yes, indeed, thought it is not much of a hobby as it is a habit, I suppose." He crossed his arms and looked over at the stream, "I suppose I should be moving on. Would you care to join me to the next Pokemon center?" 'Magius shot him a look, it was not often that Viktor asked people to travel with him. He usually flew solo.

Kurt blinked, surprised at the sudden invitation and hesitated. True, he didn't know the man very well and he wasn't exactly...normal, but trainers were a strange breed in themselves, he'd already noticed in his short time as part of them, so he couldn't really judge him badly based on that. Plus he could use a more experienced escort, at least through the less civilized parts of the tunnels. "Um. Sure. I guess. I'm heading in that direction anyway." Hermes whirled around, gaping. They were going to travel with them.

"Excellent! Then off we go!" Viktor checked his bag and adjusted his cape and began to walk. 'Magius let out a quiet sigh, only within ears length of Viktor, to let her hear her frustration. He chuckled a bit. Perhaps another Pokemon would improve her moral? He looked down at his belt and thought for a moment, "'Lass". He tossed out the Pokeball, and in a surge of white light, a Frosslass appeared, stretching and looking jolly as ever, "'Lass, this is our traveling partner for today, Kurt, and his Pokemon Hermes."

"Laaaass!" she rushed forward happily and gave a deep bow to Hermes and then floated up toward Kurt and put out her hand. 'Magius rolled her eyes, even though the two were practically as close as two Pokemon could be, she didn't like this at all and could tell what Viktor was doing.

Kurt shook the held out hand bemusedly, somewhat charmed by this new Pokemon--and, he had to admit, her intriguing aesthetic. He exchanged startled looks with Hermes, who was still trying to catch up with what was going on, exactly, and jogged up to walk alongside Viktor. "So," he tried hesitantly, not used to traveling companions who spoke...well, human. "Have you been to Sheercliff before?"

Hermes watched them walk off, his mouth still hanging open, and he had to run to avoid falling too far behind when he finally snapped out of it. What was going on? They never traveled with other trainers. They tended to avoid long-term interaction with people altogether, though that was helped by Kurt's usual off-putting icy demeanor, which had melted quickly when he realized he was so wildly out of his depth.

This could be a problem, decided Hermes, trailing behind his trainer. He was going to have to get Kurt and his confidence back to full strength before they started hanging around with people who willing had...bowlcuts or something equally horrific.

"Yes." Viktor said, rather harshly, "It is a boring town with nothing more to do than go to classes at the local Dojo run by the Gym Leader." He seemed to cringe at speaking about the man, "We have a...troubled history. But to even get a chance to battle him, you have to attend his classes to gain his respect. It's considered an honor to be able to challenge him." 'Magius made a hmph kind of noise, "I think it's a joke that the League let's him run these sort of shenanigans...Dist is more than enough..." he trailed off.

'Lass had wondered over to Hermes and floated next to him. She shot him a smile, hoping to make a new friend.

"Troubled?" repeated Kurt before he could stop himself, but his curiosity was quickly stifled by the information on the Dojo itself. "We have to take classes just to challenge for a badge?"

Hermes noticed he Frosslass hover nearby, but he wasn't about to let some pretty bejeweled Pokemon pull him out of his sour mood. He met her smile with a suspicious glance.

"Yes. I assumed no one informed you about the ridiculous tasks some of the leaders her may ask of you. Skyler doesn't even use her gym...lord knows where people will find her. Elijah will probably have everyone working on his Ranch before he lets them challenge him, and Dist...well...Dist is an entirely different story." he looked up, and gave Kurt a smile, trying to ease him of any sort of trouble, "Sean, Hazel and myself are probably the only leaders that will allow a challenger without any additional crap." he turned and continued walking. It was true that the members of the Bohren Leaders were probably the most eccentric group of people you would come across. But the had all earned their position for a reason.

'Lass was not going to give up a new friend. She got and idea and blew ice into her hands, molding it and sculpting it, she made a small ice figure of the Smeargle and presented it proudly to him.

"It hasn't come up, no," said Kurt faintly, terrifying images playing before his eyes. He thought training was just about...catching and fighting with Pokemon. What did Dojo fights or-or-ranch work have to do with it? He forced a weak smile at Viktor's attempts to ease the blow. "Well. I'll look forward to your gym then. If I ever get that far." He frowned, abruptly, doing some mental math and coming up short one gym with known obstacles to the challenge. "Dist? Which one is Dist?"

Hermes' ears wobbled slightly, charmed against his will by his own likeness. He reached a hesitant hand out to touch it, then drew it back. He would not be drawn in, nosir! These were gym Pokemon, after all, sooner or later they'd be facing off against each other. Though it couldn't hurt to...get to know the enemy, perhaps. He reached out again, poking the ice sculpture gingerly. It was admittedly quite good for a spur of the moment job.

"Dist is hard to miss. He is loud and wears some of the most ridiculous cloths you will ever see. He runs the Dark type gym in Umberville. He is a genius, but a mad one at that. Word on the street is he is working up an intense puzzle system for trainers for when in his town." He reached into his bag and pulled out some jerky, taking a rough bite, tearing at it, "But we shall see." he pulled a small paper bag out of his pack and offered it to Kurt, "Jerky?"

'Lass chimed happily. She could tell that the Pokemon was having issues trusting her, she was not like 'Magius. Ironically, for the ice type pokemon she was, she was not the cold one. 'Magius did not trust many Pokemon outside their team. And she was floating like a hovering stone next to Viktor.

Someone that Viktor considered mad? That was a disturbing thought, and Kurt had only known him for an hour, if that. But... "A puzzle? That doesn't sound too bad. I don't see what it has to do with training though." He eyed the jerky doubtfully. He really shouldn't be letting his diet lapse like this...but on the other hand, he was doing quite a lot of walking lately. His teenage boy appetite had finally sunk in, apparently, because he was hungry nearly all the time now. It was all that physical labor. Unnatural.

"Um. Sure," he said, taking a piece gingerly.

Hermes was rather enjoying his new toy, now that he'd brought himself to accept it. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with it though...

"My thought exactly!" Viktor put the paper bag back into his own personal bag, "I never understand why gym leaders put puzzles into their gyms. Many of the circuits I visited had extensive puzzles that you had to decipher before you could challenge the gym leaders. I don't understand it at all."

The Frosslass spun around Hermes happily, happy that she could gift him with something new. She thought for a moment what to do next, and suddenly was busy chipping away at a new form of ice, staring at Kurt, trying to get his shape down. 'Magius just eyed over and sighed.

"That seems...involved," said Kurt with a frown. "Though I suppose if I were used to traveling all over the world and suddenly were forced to stay in one place so ten year olds could challenge me, I'd go a little stir-crazy myself." He was looking at Viktor while he spoke, and so didn't see the sculpture taking form behind him, but Hermes did and was watching with interest, trying to track the incredibly quick process. He was intrigued despite himself.

Wandering around the circuit and making sure everyone was behaving themselves - no pokemon randomly going missing, nobody trying to run off with a hoard of fossils from the dig sites - was a lot more boring than it sounded. Or maybe it was just as boring as it sounded, but Bri tended to be pretty biased in favor of her duties for the RTF.

Still... "It just seems strange after all the excitement with that Aerodactyl and then the rest of the pokemon that walked off from the researchers or didn't come back for whatever reason."

For once, she wasn't talking to Faust. Blitz was loose at her side - and in the next second, he had spotted the Smeargle and gone tearing away from her. "Hey! Blitz!" Bri pelted after him, but by the time she got there Blitz was already dashing around the other pokemon.

Hermes paid no mind to the swift Jolteon, marking him as belonging to the newest human in the cave and then putting the situation aside. He was presently more involved with glaring at the uppity Mismagius and then--a few secnds later--being pulled under water.

Letting out a startled, "Smear!" he spun around under the water, coming face to face with an equally startled Goldeen, a telltale string running from her mouth.

"Hey, you caught a pokemon!" Bri said cheerfully. She hung back, not wanting to get involved in the coming battle. Blitz quivered in excitement, dashing back and forth like he simply couldn't contain himself.

"Jolt jolt jolt jolt," he said, his tongue lolling happily out of his mouth.

After checking to make sure Hermes was breathing clearly, Kurt sighed and pushed the Smeargle gently off his lap. He didn't appear to be unconscious, just a bit stunned, so Kurt figured it would be best to let him collect himself before they decided on continuing on.

He ran a hand through his bangs, habitually straightening them out, and glanced up, rather dreading Viktor's gym leader judgement. He blanched and flushed abruptly.

Apparently, at some point, he'd gathered a very small audience.

After his spectacular defeat at the Quakesburg tournament(again! What sort of Gym Leader couldn't conquer a measly tournament?!) Dist had packed up fairly quickly, mainly intending to give Jade the slip wherever he could. Undoubtedly there would be a tournament in Sheercliff, and if he got there early perhaps he'd have the time to adequately prepare.

He'd left even before the next bracket began its battles, entirely uninterested in the winner when it wasn't him. His Absol trotted along at his side, happy to have a chance to run free from her ball, though something seems to distract her and she veers off to the side of the path to inspect something or other at the banks of one of the pools. Dist frowned, following after.

"Lute? What are you doing?"

Kurt stared at the people that had started gathering around the pools, wondering hopefully if they'd managed to miss most of that embarrassing display.

"Ah. Hi."

Well, that explained why Lute was so interested. Absol always did have a good sense of when things were going badly. Dist wasn't sure exactly what had just happened, but it had probably been funny.

"Everything okay over here?" Lute was sniffing at Kurt curiously.

"Oh, yes, yes, fine," said Kurt hurriedly, forcing an awkward smile. "Just, fine," he added needlessly, glancing down with some consternation upon realizing he was being sniffed.

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one fish two fish

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Viktor has Evolved! Into someone with a much better fashion sense! XD

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