harlequinhater | IC: Route 29 Inbox

[The problem with teaching a Pokemon how to pull pranks is that said Pokemon now has all of the requisite skills necessary to prank you right back. John is chasing after his usual partner in crime, his Swablu, who is fluttering above with his Pokegear in her claws. This is the cruelest game of keepaway John has ever been a part of.]

Come on, this isn't fair! I can't fly like I used to- OOF!

[John, focused more on the sky than what's in front of him, goes barreling right into Ashley, toppling both of them over.]

Oh shit, sorry! I didn't see you there. I was kind of distracted. Are you okay?

[He pushes himself up quickly and then offers her a hand up. It's the gentlemanly thing to do - his Dad would have been proud.]

[When Hurricane John hits, the Pikachu spark lightly and leap away in surprise and the Meowstic- well, he just takes a big step to the side to avoid getting crushed by falling humans.

Thanks guys, Ashley lets out a yelp as her Pokémon betray her. Okay, she would've let out a yelp anyway, mostly from shock. She rubs her right elbow, which took the brunt of the fall, as she pushes herself to a sitting position.]

Mmnngh... Yeah, I'm fine. Ow. You just mostly surprised me. [No hard feelings... It was an accident. She takes his hand to get up.]

[Once he's sure that Ashley isn't seriously injured, John casts his gaze back up to the sky, looking for Blue... but yeah, she's gone. It looks like she's won the prankster's gambit on that exchange.]

Ugh, sorry again. My Pokemon decided it would be funny to fly off with my Pokegear, so I was chasing her... Never teach a Pokemon to prank! It will only bite you in the ass.

[Speaking of which, his is kind of sore from that fall. He reaches a hand back to rub it, wincing a little.]

Kind of literally, hehe.

[Oh no, he's funny... Ashley can't help but chuckle, while taking inventory of her own Pokémon. The Pikachu awkwardly shuffle back, the Meowstic- well, he is Eliot and he has no shame whatsoever and just gives her a look like alright now it's time for lunch right?

What a bad cat.]

A pranking Pokémon? Oh that's got to be a mistake, people are bad enough with them!

[Is she joking? ...Maybe?]

It's fine, though. Don't worry about it.

It was a mistake to teach her the fine art of pranking. Now the student has surpassed the master...

[John lets out a heavy, over-dramatic sigh. But okay, he's got to admit that he's kind of proud.]

Anyways, my name is John. It is nice to meet you, even if I accidentally knocked you over and stuff.

[Another little chuckle, but-

John. Buck-teeth. Glasses... She can't help but put a few puzzle pieces together, nor can she fight her questioning nature.]

John? As in... [Shakes her head; it's a popular name, after all. She just sticks out her hand for a handshake.] Never mind. Uh, I'm Ashley, it's nice to meet you too.

[Ashley... Ashley... It sounds kind of familiar, but John just shrugs it off. There are a lot of girls named Ashley in the world; of course it sounds familiar!]

Hi, Ashley! I don't guess that you have any flying Pokemon on you, do you? Because I could use some help catching Blue. If not, I guess I can climb a building and hope that I can catch her when she passes by, but that could take a while. Not being able to fly is so inconvenient.

[Not being able to... Isn't that what- No, okay, there's a missing little prankster here, she can get to the bottom of that later.]

I do, actually! He- ...Hm. [She frowns.] Well, I do, but the really effective flyer's in the PC. I...do have another, but he's kind of...exuberant? And a little flighty.

[...]

Pun not intended.

[John groans a bit at the pun, but he doesn't hold it against her. Sometimes puns like that just happen.]

Well... I guess flighty and exuberant will do. Who knows, maybe it will make him even better at catching Blue? She's pretty fast for a cloud bird.

Could you send him out? I'm worried about her dropping my Pokegear somewhere bad if I don't catch her soon.

[Aw he's not a pun fan...? She hides an amused smirk and bulls a Pokéball from her backpack. And out comes... A jumping, bouncing Ducklett.]

Alright, Hans, I've got a job for you. Can you catch a runaway Pokémon? [He brings up his wing in a salute, oh goodness.] Well, we're looking for a- um, what kind of Pokémon is Blue?

[John can't help but grin a little at the excitable Pokemon hopping around. He's kind of cute!]

She's a Swablu! She's about this big-

[He holds his hands out about a foot apart, to demonstrate.]

And, well, blue. Also, she's got my Pokégear on hand, so you can't miss her!

Swablu... Haven't seen those, but- Hans, do you know what he's talking about?

[Still bouncing, he nods furiously and flaps himself into the air.]

Okay, now go and find her! Bring her back here...or at least get the Pokégear, safe, and lead her back like a...game of tag.

[Another nod and he takes off into the sky, swooping...kind of erratically, back and forth and letting out little happy cries.]

...Aaaand now I'm worried.

[John crosses his arms as he watches the Pokemon swerve and flap up into the sky. He's got to admit, that's pretty funny looking, and he'd probably laugh if he weren't asking for a favor.]

Well if he gets lost too, then we can run into a third person and ask them if they have any flying Pokemon.

[She snorts. Can't really fight a smile.]

Or we could just get my more reliable Crobat. Bram's been with me for a much longer time, so if Hans gets lost, he'll... He'll manage.

Okay, I agree that is probably the smarter thing to do, but it's not the funnier thing to do. Think of how many flying Pokemon we could get in the air, chasing each other!

[He grins at that, and looks up at the sky.]

...How long do you think we should give them before getting your Crow Bat?

[Raises an eyebrow.] Crobat, one word. Keeps the pun in-tact.

Oh, jeez, um... Give him five minutes? [Wince.] Is that too little time? Ten?

Yeah. Crow Bat. Like I said.

[He says this with all of the confidence of somebody who has been accidentally splitting compound words his whole life.]

And ten minutes sounds good to me. Though you'll have to keep track of the time, since I'm kind of Pokegear-less right now.

[Well, this is a topic to broach another time... Ashley just files away John's compound word problems for another day and pulls out her PokéGear.]

Oh, right, yeah. [...

Slow...stare.]

Could you... Okay, this is going to sound super weird, but you- your teeth, are they... Are they buck-teeth?

[John fixes her with the most suspicious stare he can manage, and subconsciously pulls his lip down over his teeth.]

Uh, yeah. Why is that important?

[Good job Ash. She winces and mumbles an apology and glances down.]

Uh... Sense of humor, glasses, and...if you've got a taste for cheesy action-movies and a friend named Dave I think we've actually...met before?

Yeah, Dave is my best bro!

[Jon's really excited just at the mention of Dave, but then the rest of Ashley's words actually hit him, and he tilts his head to the side.]

What do you mean we've met before? You don't look very familiar to me!

Not in-person but over the network. You know...like when you first got here...with colored text?

[Please don't make her spell out the whole "we met then you pissed me off and got into a fight."]

Honestly, I talked to so many people that I'm not sure I...

[Waaaait a second, this is kind of ringing a bell.]

Wait, were you the girl with the romance novels?

[Wincing. Nodding...]

Yeeah, yeah, that one's me.

Man, sorry about that.

[Wait, is that an actual apology?]

I mean, it's pretty stupid that Jade felt the need to jump in and interrupt us or whatever. I guess it's a touchy subject for her!

[Or not.]

IC: Route 29 Inbox

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