Whoops [Ryusuke]

the things that you might like don't grow inside of me

"So, what do you think?"

Clad in his usual black clothing and red travel coat, Ryusuke Ugumi stood with his hands in his pockets and neck craned back, staring at the sign of the building ahead of him. The building in question was no less than the Gym of Lacaille City, a fairly large building considering how much space was at a premium in highly developed urban areas. Not like it was unusual in that respect, though - Gyms were often given a bit of leeway as far as zoning was concerned, and most of the time the respective regional Leagues had enough pull to find compromises if not outright work arounds to the normal building limitations. The inside of the Gym was a different story, though. Ryusuke had yet to step foot into the building, but at the same time he felt like he knew what to expect already. Two days in Lacaille and most of that time had been spent asking trainers that either knew the Gym Leader or who had been involved in setting the place up. Nearly all of those conversations had been busts since most were unwilling to talk about the Gym itself, but between what little information he did glean and what he'd seen of Fortree's Gym during his travels...

"Hey. You there?" Ryusuke said again, gaze finally dropping from the Gym to the pavement at his side. Rather than replying immediately, however, Treecko was regarding the Gym much as his partner had been, one arm crossed across his chest and the other propped on its elbow, chin resting on that hand. The Pokemon's expression pretty much said it all, though - it was one of deep thought, yellow eyes still locked onto the Gym's sign. Not something they were ready for, and what Treecko was doing right now was trying to find a way they could possibly win at their current level of ability. They'd fought Flying types before and Treecko had won plenty of those battles, but usually only by the skin of his teeth due to type disadvantage. Most of those had been wild Pokemon as well, only a few from other trainers - and none of them Gym Leaders. After another moment Treecko simply closed his eyes and shook his head, letting out a low negatory bark.

"Yeah, my thinking, too. Come on, if we hit up the Center we might be able to at least get in a bit of a workout before the day's over." Ryusuke replied, hands shoved into his pockets while Treecko casually jumped up onto the trainer's coat, quickly climbing up to the blond's shoulder as he turned and began making his way down the street. Not more than four steps, however, before the rather distinct feeling of someone much larger bumping into Ryusuke from behind nearly knocked him over. Stumbling mid step but quickly regaining his balance, Ryusuke paused to glance back with ever intention of telling off the person who hit him - once would've been enough, but it'd been a constant thing since the encounter at Eridani's docks and he was frankly getting tired of it. What stopped him, though, were two things. First and foremost was the immediate apology that came as the individual backed off, evidently having not seen Ryusuke at all in the first place. The second bit, though, was the small Pokemon by his side, both of their stances clearly marking them as trainer and fighter.

"I- it's fine. You guys here to check out the Gym, too?" Ryusuke started, his initial admonishment halted only one word in and the rest spoken with a far more civil tone as Ryusuke turned to face the other trainer. Apology aside, upsetting another trainer who was out here doing the same thing that Ryusuke himself was would probably be a bad idea for several different reasons. Aside from basic courtesy? Who knew what else the other trainer might've found that the blond had missed. Sure, trainer rivalries were a thing but it was also just as common for them to help each other out as a basic courtesy, a lesson that Ryusuke had had rather painfully learned during his tour of Hoenn over the last year. More often than not it was a far better idea to make allies and friends out of people you might meet again than enemies.

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the things that you might like don't grow inside of me

Treecko's immediate response wasn't verbal, but rather to blink and shift his attention from the other human to the Riolu, reptilian eyes burrowing into the other Pokemon. Not in a hostile manner, however, but rather out of curiosity. In all the years he and Ryusuke had spent in each other's company - his entire life in Treecko's case - very rarely did they meet other people... well, no. For people it was quite common to have their Pokemon follow along out in the open. For trainers, however, it was quite unusual as it was often right back to the tiny spherical prison when they were done battling. Granted, that was merely Treecko's take on it. He knew plenty of Pokemon that seemed to prefer the safety of their Pokeballs and who found it quite comfortable, but having never had a ball himself and not at all keen to experience it... he only had his own thoughts to go on for that.

Head quirking slightly to the side at the Riolu's next choice of words and unsure of whether or not they were intentional, Treecko found himself initially unsure what to make of the Fighting type, although it seemed to mean well enough. While there were words coming to mind concerning a response - namely that it seemed like Riolu was a prime choice for preventing that as both the man's partner and one with the ability to sense aura no less - Treecko decided to choose tact over bluntness for a change, remaining silent. Under different circumstances he wouldn't have hesitated to give a biting response like that, but the Riolu came off as far younger and had apologized right alongside his trainer when there was really no need to.

"'Part'?" Ryusuke responded, eyes flicking down to the Riolu as it spoke before coming back up to the older trainer. While he'd never particularly gotten along well with people in a general sense that wasn't to say that Ryusuke didn't understand them. He'd gotten quite good at picking up on social cues and other tiny things that many tended to overlook, and while the other trainer's statement could be taken alone all on its own... at the same time the blond got the distinct feeling that there was a bit more to it. Nothing concrete, but a definite feeling that there was much more the other man wanted to say but didn't. It was something that piqued Ryusuke's interest all that much more, though, given the day's goal had been to gather information about both the Gym and its Leader. What Pokemon they used, their moves, tactics, overall strategy, anything that might allow him to get inside of the Leader's head before the battle even started. Had this other trainer stumbled across something in that regard?

On that note, though, the brief look from the older trainer didn't go entirely unnoticed by Ryusuke, either - more as if the man was looking through him than at him. Another oddity, but not one that held the blond's attention for long before the other trainer started to speak again.

"Like you said, was sort of the plan. Not ready for it yet and I don't do blind runs, but eventually. Guessing you've other Pokemon, though? Most people wouldn't look to challenge a Flying Gym with a Fighting type. Not that there aren't ways to do it but it's a huge gamble, so you might be okay with a Riolu." Ryusuke continued, glancing down again at the blue and black Pokemon. Truthfully speaking most Fighting types were actually rather well equipped to handle Flying type opponents, at least if their trainers knew what they were doing. It was unlikely that they'd be able to deal with more than a single opponent before fainting, but depending on which Pokemon the Leader was using that type disadvantage actually worked to the challenger's advantage if they went in with a plan involving Counter. Gamble came in if the Leader was smart enough to use distance and special attacks, though, at which point the odds suddenly shifted back in their favor.

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the things that you might like don't grow inside of me

Ryusuke couldn't help but frown slightly at the other trainer's response. On the surface it sounded like an excellent idea, not all that dissimilar from what the blond was doing himself. Scope out his opponents in advance, identify potential problems that he might encounter during his challenges and then work to correct or counter those problems before the battle even started. It was a sensible precaution and the kind of thinking that had served Ryusuke quite well over the last several years, especially back when Treecko was younger himself and more liable to rush into fights headfirst more for the thrill of it than anything else. What Ryusuke didn't understand was the need to travel to all of the Gyms before challenging the first, though. It was a lot of time to travel from town to town, especially when you didn't have your own vehicle. More to the point... the League's website generally gave trainers at least some idea what to expect. That was one of the first things Ryusuke had looked at on reaching Eridani's Pokemon Center, and while it hadn't told him much it had told him which towns had which Pokemon types for their Gyms. At least enough to formulate a plan and figure out which Gym to challenge first, even if he wasn't ready for it.

"Fair eno- a Bagon? Where'd you get your hands on one of those out here?" Ryusuke started, intending to bury his thoughts on Damian's first few words before mention of the Dragon type came up. While the blond wasn't entirely familiar with what a Snivy was he knew quite well what a Bagon was and what it could do - and, more importantly, what it evolved into. While they were native to Hoenn they were also incredibly rare, too. Meteor Falls had been a place that Ryusuke had visited pretty early on during his tour of the region, and even with weeks spent searching those caves - at least as far in as he could safely get without a Flying or Water type - he hadn't even caught a glimpse of one. Hell, the only ones he'd ever seen had been owned by relatives out of Blackthorn when he was a kid.

"You should be more than set for at least the Flying Gym, then, especially if you can evolve Bagon before challenging it. Maybe crazy, sure, but your Riolu should be able to handle at least one of the Leader's Pokemon on their own to start with, so you're probably a bit better off than I am." Ryusuke continued, resisting the urge to look over the other trainer to catch a glimpse of the man's other partners in their capsules. Treecko, for his part, had since shifted his attention away from the other Pokemon to cautiously stand upright on Ryusuke's shoulder, giving the Wood Gecko enough height to look just over the top of his trainer's head. Given the last few days and their track record for collisions it'd probably do to have a bit of warning - especially when his first thought to the Riolu's earlier apology was to fix the problem in the first place. At least that was Treecko's intent until Damian's next words got both his and Ryusuke's attention.

("They started it.") Treecko said, offhand tone colored by a slight defensive note - more than enough for Ryusuke to pick up on and interpret.

"Don't give me that. Half the time you were just bored, you caused as many problems as you solved in Hoenn. And I wouldn't say 'serious', he's usually just smart enough to keep his mouth shut until he knows what he's dealing with." Ryusuke started back, glancing over as far as he could to Treecko without turning his head and suddenly throwing the Grass type off balance. At the last comment, though, Treecko very deliberately gave the side of Ryusuke's head a light flick in retaliation, something that very nearly earned a look of warning from the trainer. The main thing stopping it, though, being that Ryusuke knew the futility of it - physically removing Treecko from him was practically an impossibility with his flexibility and the grip the lizard's toes had, and frankly speaking the trainer was used to it at this point. It might've been as payback for the blond's own smartass comment but it wasn't entirely undeserved.

"Right. Anyways, name's Ryusuke. You heading anywhere from here? We were just planning to head back to the Pokemon Center, try to figure out what to do with the rest of the day." Ryusuke continued, attention turning back to Damian, gloved right hand pulled from his pocket and extended forward in greeting.

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the things that you might like don't grow inside of me

Shady? Yeah, that was one word for it and something that definitely would've had Ryusuke looking further into things. People generally didn't just give Pokemon away, particularly rare or powerful ones and Bagon likely qualified as both - if something was too good to be true and all that. Sure, Dragon types were often fairly difficult to control and even harder to raise. That was something Ryusuke knew very well thanks to his family members in Blackthorn as most never managed to evolve their Pokemon until they were well into their twenties or thirties, and there was good reason that Dragon tamers were often held in high regard by other trainers, Dragon Masters even more so and often elevated to near legendary status within such communities. Even with that logic in mind, though, a Bagon could fetch a hefty price or be a powerful bargaining chip in negotiating a trade had the original owner been so inclined - if he really wanted to get rid of it he could've been compensated quite well.

"Sure the guy didn't know you? Only thing I can think of that makes sense." Ryusuke asked, although the description of the Bagon's attitude brought a barely suppressed smirk to the blond's face. Yeah, definitely a Dragon type all right. Another fairly common trait among such Pokemon, one hell of an ego - always out to prove that they were the strongest, especially if challenged by another similar Pokemon. Charmander wasn't exactly a Dragon type himself but given where Ryusuke had gotten him from he wouldn't have been at all surprised to find that the Pokemon had some Dragonite in his heritage... would certainly explain his attitude both in and out of fights, at least. Not something that Ryusuke was looking forward to managing as the Pokemon got older, stronger and very likely that much more full of himself.

"Lilycove, and can't say that I have. Only places I ever really got to know before I started traveling a year ago was my home city and Rustboro, saw a fair amount of that place before I really got the chance to leave home as a trainer." Ryusuke replied, mildly surprised by the lack of comment from Damian as the man shook his hand and either failed to notice the hard surface under the glove or declined to comment on it. Judging by the lack of expression, the blond was betting on the former. Not that he minded as it always got awkward when people went out of their way to call attention to it, but at the same time it was often like ripping off a bandaid. Get it out in the open fast, never have to deal with it again. Hand released by the older trainer, Ryusuke would shift both to clasp behind his head in a relaxed manner, albeit not without drawing a grunt of annoyance from Treecko as the Grass type was forced to shift his positioning atop the blond's shoulder to accommodate the movement.

"Nah, not rumors. Leader's supposedly thirteen, but people have been pretty tight lipped about it. Only people that really seem to know anything are the ones involved in setting the Gym and everything up, so not surprised that they don't want to or can't talk about it." Ryusuke replied, turning slightly to look up at the Gym again. Young trainers were hardly rare given that most started out when they were around ten or eleven, but to make Gym Leader only a couple of years after that implied a certain degree of talent. No amount of nepotism or personal connections would get them the job at that age, especially since it was hard to believe that any individual would have that kind of pull to begin with while they were so young. Not like it was unheard of, though. Goldenrod's Leader was supposedly pretty young when they started, and Azalea Town's was even younger than that, probably comparable to this kid. Hoenn had its own share between Tate and Liza in Mossdeep as well - not people that Ryusuke had ever personally met as he hadn't even been close to strong enough to challenge that Gym, but it didn't mean he hadn't heard the stories.

"Same boat as us, then? We were just heading back ourselves. Any chance you feel like comparing notes?" Ryusuke responded, slight grin present as he glanced back over to Damian.

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the things that you might like don't grow inside of me

Damian's question was only one that Ryusuke could initially blink in surprise at, momentarily confused. How long had he been hanging around Lilycove....? He was fairly sure he'd just said that it'd been home, but as Treecko's head turned to give something of a dubious look to Damian in turn Ryusuke would respond.

"I- uh. Fourteen years. I grew up there, but we were pretty much on Route 121. Only times I really spent in the city itself was for school or when mom or dad had to run errands and I tagged along." Ryusuke replied, making a point of both clarifying specifics this time around and expanding on those details. Granted, there'd been good reason for that. While Ryusuke had no problem with school and quite enjoyed the idea of learning, fact was that he'd been fairly distant from most of the other kids. Those that he had interacted with... most of said interactions had not been positive ones, and the vast majority of people that Ryusuke had actually enjoyed the company of had been older than him by at least a few years if not actual adults. Between that and what felt like a lack of anything to really do in an urban environment as opposed to what Ryusuke saw as the much more exciting and unpredictable wilds of Route 121 and the area near the Safari Zone? It wasn't much of a contest as to where he'd spent his time, and on the note of contests that was only one more reason to avoid the city after getting his prosthetics.

With Damian's acceptance of Ryusuke's offer to compare notes, though, the focus would shift back to the reason both of them were there, albeit with an offhanded remark that got the blond thinking.

"Generally the plan whenever I look at a Gym, going in blind is usually just asking for pain. Becoming a Gym Leader usually involves earning the title." Ryusuke responded, turning to begin heading in the direction Damian's Riolu now seemed to be trying to nudge him towards. As Treecko dropped back down to the blond's shoulder for a bit of added stability, though, Ryusuke had to somewhat amend he comment he'd just made in his head. "Usually" had been the operative word in that statement. There were trainers capable of just walking into such facilities and winning on pure skill alone, but they were few and far between, usually with a far greater degree of strength than you got just from level and type advantage or experience. For the time being, though, Ryusuke was a far, far cry away from that level and it wasn't worth considering such exceptions to the rule when it simply wasn't relevant to his own experiences.

"So, uh... by 'practice'. We talking a battle when we get back?" Ryusuke continued, glancing back to Damian the moment the crowd thinned enough for him to risk it without running into someone. With the Pokemon Center less than a block away - thank city planning for that one given the Gym's location - it seemed a prudent question to ask rather than risk a potential misunderstanding in the next few minutes.

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the things that you might like don't grow inside of me

Ryusuke's expression couldn't help but sour somewhat at the mention of Mt. Pyre... and, more specifically, the Duskull. Route 121 was close enough that it was probably only about a day's journey, maybe two, if one wanted to reach the island - assuming they had a way to cross the water from the pier just south of the Safari Zone. Unfortunately, though, the reverse also held true for anything traveling from Mt. Pyre in the opposite direction, and Duskull didn't exactly have to worry about crossing a body of water when they were able to fly. Ryusuke had experienced more than enough run ins with the things to last him a lifetime, and it was probably the most perfect example of why his parents had gotten him Treecko when he was a kid. They had a bad reputation for a reason, and while Ryusuke wasn't blind enough to assume that the stereotype applied to the entire species it had certainly made him far more wary when it came to dealing with the species now.

As for Fortree, Damian's comments weren't exactly surprising. Having lived in just the next city over and with Fortree as his first destination as a trainer Ryusuke was very well acquainted with Winona's reputation. With only Treecko and Charmander on hand the blond hadn't even considered challenging her, but that didn't mean he hadn't put some of his time spent in the city learning what he could. Gym Leaders were generally very accomplished trainers, and those that didn't simply dominate through experience tended to be geniuses when it came to battling - Ryusuke would've considered himself a fool had he not tried to learn something from at least observing the Leader battling once or twice, nevermind talking to the people who had fought her.

"A sparring match? I guess we'd be up for one, but how many Pokemon do you currently have? I've got three so far and I only see the one other ball on your belt, not counting Riolu." Ryusuke replied after a moment, taking the brief opportunity to look back to Damian in thought and double checking the man's belt with a glance - Treecko, however, was far less amused, throwing the other trainer a sour look at the implication he was out of shape. Not that it didn't apply to the other two Pokemon Ryusuke had, though, and he knew it. Charmander rarely got to battle with Treecko doing most of the heavy lifting, and Froakie was new enough that the blond honestly wasn't entirely sure what the Water type was capable of. He'd fared well enough during the rooftop battle a couple of days ago but that was hardly enough to know for sure where his limits were.

"Assuming we can figure out an even match up, sure, let's go for it." Ryusuke continued, turning his gaze back ahead as the Pokemon Center came into view around the corner of another building.

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Treecko - Level 9. Overgrow. Pound, Leer, Absorb, Quick Attack, Leech Seed (Signature Move, Paralysis)

Charmander - Level 5. Blaze. Scratch, Growl.

Froakie - Level 5. Torrent. Pound, Growl, Bubble.

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