Welcome To The New Age (Catching)

We're painted red
to fit right in

PASS

Fairly certain that they were far enough away from any areas where it might've caused a degree of alarm, Elinda paused just long enough to unclip the Pokeball from her belt and casually open it with the press of a button. Emerging from the capsule in a short burst of light, the Pokemon that appeared didn't waste any moment gaining enough altitude to begin following the trainer from shoulder height. Beldum didn't need to be told why they were out there - if they were going to stay in the region for any time at all, they needed to expand their roster and he needed to start battling. He wasn't going to be capable of much at first, but with time that would change. Until then, though... they had two options. Start from scratch, or begin working on getting the rest of their team sent over from Hoenn.

Continuing forward down the street with the sun beginning to set and street lamps starting to flicker on one by one, the pair didn't stop to give the Gulpin picking at a streetside trash collection a second glance. Poison types weren't going to be of much challenge or worth in any sort of training regimen - they needed something able to hit back.

@tag

We're painted red
to fit right in

CATCH

Despite striking out on their first encounter of the evening, Elinda didn't find herself disliking the walk. The further along they went the further they were getting from the city center, and while the air still had a long way to go before it was really "clean" it was still a notable improvement from the atmosphere around the airport. Even better was that the few people they'd seen out in the densely packed suburbs were becoming fewer and further between as the evening turned into night. Hands slipping into her coat pockets another several dozen minutes would continue to pass by as Elinda and Beldum made their way further and further from the city center.

As the night continued to darken and the street lamps began to flicker on to a full burn, however, both would pause at the sound of something moving nearby. By this point it was debatable whether or not they were really in the city proper anymore - houses were being spaced further and further apart, with more and more space between them containing the beginnings of woodland and small fields. The space in question was the hedges lining one of those properties, and close enough to one of the homes that Elinda's eyes would quickly glance upwards to see if the lights in the house were on.... which they were. Under normal circumstances the woman probably would have continued onwards, but.... curiosity was a powerful thing, and something mirrored by Beldum as the Steel type hovered over Elinda's shoulder with its single red eye peering intently into the shadows.

Well, if she was going to do it at all...

Throwing another glance up at the house for a moment longer, Elinda would casually turn to approach the hedge. Carefully moving to kneel down but ready to move at a moment's notice - as she had no idea what was actually lurking in the vegetation - the woman found herself very surprised to be staring at a somewhat familiar sight. Exactly what she had intended to find, she wasn't sure. Perhaps a local Meowth or Purrloin, maybe something else along the lines of the earlier Gulpin or the more unpleasant Grimer. Most certainly not, however, a Ferroseed. As a Steel type specialist Elinda was quite well versed in most Pokemon with the typing, and the little pods were hardly different. What made this unusual, however, was that they were more often found in caves, lodged into walls and ceilings where they leeched the rock and water for trace metals. To find one in the city suburbs was frankly somewhat ridiculous - Elinda couldn't even begin to imagine where it had come from much less explain how it ended up where it was now, settled deep within a bush in the suburbs.

What she did know, though, was that it knew exactly how out of place it was there. Elinda found it difficult to get a read on Pokemon that she wasn't training or didn't personally know and truly understanding what a Pokemon like that was thinking through minute body language alone was a near impossibility, but there were hints. A certain kind of tension in the air around it, and how intently it was watching her peer in at it. The look in its eyes was much the same as you got from any cornered animal - wary, and more than ready to defend itself if it came to that.

"Hey, hold on. Not going to hurt you. You part of one of the families around here?" Elinda started, edging forward slightly and pulling a hand from her pockets with the intent of reaching in after the Grass type. A move that was immediately halted, however, as the Pokemon seemed to vibrate slightly, preparing to defend itself. Beldum, ever curious, would continue to edge forward in and over his trainer's shoulder, an act that quickly got the attention of the Ferroseed as the Pokemon's eyes flicked over to the new source of movement. Perhaps not the brightest idea that Elinda ever had in hindsight, but it was enough of an opportunity for her to close the remaining foot or two between her hand and the Pokemon - any higher level and it probably would have cost her, but with a Pokemon as young as this one seemed to be it was likely that Tackle was all it was capable of.

Thankfully, though, physical contact seemed to bridge that last communication gap. It wasn't something that Elinda had ever been able to put into words nor something she would ever refer to as a specific skill, but as she froze following that moment of contact she could feel many of the barriers that the Grass type had put up falling away. While it was still regarding her with a sense of wariness and general distrust, however, it seemed that the message she was trying to get across earlier had gotten through. While Elinda had gone out into the suburbs looking for a fight she had been completely honest in her assertion that she intended to Ferroseed itself no harm.

"Better, right? So. From around here? Are one of the families nearby yours?"

There was no verbal response, but Elinda hadn't expected one. As she continued to watch the Ferroseed she knew the answer was "no". They didn't normally belong in this kind of environment and most Pokemon were more than capable enough of finding their way home if they needed to. Yet this one had decided to hunker down, lock itself in place and wait for who knew what. It didn't belong her, metaphorically or literally.

"How about this, then? Come along with us. We'll check with a nearby Pokemon Center, see if we can't find who you got separated from. If that doesn't work for you we can help you get back wherever it was you came from. Option number three is you can come along with us if you'd like. We're brand new to the region ourselves, and it certainly couldn't hurt. Safety in numbers and all that." To anyone else it might have looked ridiculous for a grown woman to be kneeling next to a bush and talking into it as if she were speaking to another person, but as far as Elinda was concerned she saw no difference. She never understood why people seemed so intent focusing on the differences between them and their partners. There was a strength to be had in diversity and it was important to recognize when those differences existed, yes, but it didn't make them lesser by any means. All of her life had been spent around Pokemon seeing them as equals, and if one seemed to need her help Elinda was more than willing to give it.

Minutes would pass in silence as trainer and Pokemon simply regarded one another, Elinda watching the Ferroseed as its own gaze seemed to search for any falsehood in what had been said. Nearly a half hour would pass by as Beldum continued to edge in over the woman's shoulder before practically inserting itself into the hollow within the bush right alongside the other Steel type, curiously looking over the other Pokemon. After another few minutes, however, Elinda would reach in slightly further, hand curving around the Ferroseed and attempting to gently pull it free of the bush should it allow her to.

@tag