Post by WARendfeld on Oct 31, 2012 5:33:35 GMT -6
Reunion
A bustling port city and a hub for travel, Olivine City was a place that every Pokémon trainer visited at some point in their travels through Johto. Aside from being the only port on the mainland that had ferry service to Cianwood City and the home of a Gym, it was also the site of the Shining Lighthouse, a national landmark and a callback to the days when high technology wasn’t as prevalent and Pokémon were relied upon more for the functioning of the world at large. As she stepped off the ferry and onto the pier, Alex took a deep breath of fresh air, glad to be back after so long if only for a short time. “Olivine City at last.”
“<As much as I don’t mind nostalgia, can you enjoy it on solid ground?>” Surtur sourly looked over the sea, the salty air only reminding him of his primary weakness. “<In any case, I don’t see much reason to linger, given what’s happened of late.>”
“Yeah, I remember.” As much as she doubted they would be immediately pursued, Alex was in no rush to try her luck. “Come on, let’s grab a bite to eat. I spotted a café near the Pokémon Center the last time we were in town.”
As the two made their way down the docks and past the main offices for the port, Alex found herself hoping for a decent meal before she restocked her supplies and set out on her journey to Ecruteak City. Getting there from here would take practically no time at all, but the sooner she arrived, the sooner she’d have her next badge and head on to her next destination.
As they made their way into town and approached a post office, however, Alex caught sight of a familiar figure emerging from it, a saddened and frustrated look on his face and a Lucario at his side. “Nick?”
He turned to face her, his light green eyes brightening as he heard her voice. “Alex?” The sadness and frustration gone, he smiled and approached her warmly. “What are you doing here?!”
“I was about to ask you the same thing!” Overjoyed, Alex wrapped her arms around Nick and caught him in a tight bear hug. “It feels like ages!”
“Oh, it’s only been a couple months!” The embrace broke, and Nicholas Pendrake laughed as he added, “But that’s more than long enough for me to miss being with you, cheesy as it sounds.”
“<You expect romance to be anything but cheesy?>” The Lucario smirked at his associate and turned to the Blaziken beside said associate’s girlfriend. “<Surtur.>”
“<Lancelot. I hope you’re having better luck keeping your human out of trouble than I’ve had mine.>”
“Oh, like I go looking for it.” Alex laughed, then turned back to her boyfriend. “So, what are you doing in Johto? I thought you’d still be touring Orre.”
“I was, but…” A gurgling sound interrupted him, and the young man realized instantly, “You’re getting hungry, aren’t you?”
Alex managed an embarrassed chuckle. “Yeah. Surtur and I were just on our way to the Olivine Café. Want to join us? We can catch up.”
“Sure.”
-
Located adjacent to the Olivine City Pokémon Center, the Olivine Café was not the fanciest of establishments, most of its clientele consisting of men who worked on the docks or on ships and needed a respite and a good meal. The prices were decent, the food was good and things were kept in order, however, so the restaurant had gained a fair reputation. As Alex took a seat at a booth, Surtur back in his Poké Ball, she smiled. “I hope you don’t feel overdressed in a place like this.”
“I’ve performed in places like this, remember?” In contrast to Alex’s attire, Nicholas wore a tailored suit jacket and slacks, a turtleneck sweater under said jacket and formal shoes on his feet. “Not my first seaside café and not my last.” He sat down and noted, “Anyway, the reason why I’m here in Johto is because I was forced to my performances in Orre early.”
A concerned look crossed Alex’s face. “What happened? Did you get into a disagreement with another illusionist, or is this an Aura Guardian thing? Or did Cipher resurface?”
“No, nothing that crazy, thankfully. My RV broke down after I had my last show out there at Realgam Tower.” A sad look crossed his face as he explained, “Dad might’ve taught me a thing or two about maintaining it, but eventually, you get to the point where it’s not worth fixing. And Dad had it since before he adopted me, so…”
“So it was probably time to lay it to rest.” Relieved that the death of the RV was all that happened, Alex prodded, “So what did you do?”
“The only thing I could. I cleared out everything inside, got my equipment and props out, made sure I hadn’t lost anything vital, and sold it for parts. Actually made a surprising amount of money, considering the old girl’s age.”
“Well, you did take care of her. That had to play a part in it.” The two paused as a server approached, and they made their orders, the server going off before Alex continued, “So why come back here?”
“Apparently, they don’t have any RV dealerships in Orre. You can get hovering motorcycles with sidecars, but a simple motor home is beyond them. Between that and my next performance being in Goldenrod City for a charity event, I figured I’d try my luck here. In fact, that’s why I was at the post office; I was making sure all of my props and things had made it to Goldenrod safely.”
“And the sad and frustrated look?”
Nicholas dropped noticeably. “Turns out Olivine City doesn’t have an RV dealership either. The closest one is in Ecruteak City.”
“Ah.” Their food and drinks arrived, and Alex sipped from her beverage. “Well, you’re in luck. I’m heading there myself.”
“Back on the trainer’s journey then?”
A pleased nod. “I finished up back home in Hoenn, so I figured I’d take another whack at Johto. There’s been a few hiccups on the way, but nothing serious.”
“Yeah, I heard something about that.” At Alex’s less than proud response to his admittance, Nicholas noted, “I can’t say I’m surprised about how it turned out.”
Pausing in her meal, Alex looked at him. “You’re not going to read me the riot act over this are you?” At his not answering, she noted, “Nick, those guys had my sister. They’d gone after me before; you were with me the second time. What was I supposed to do, let them live so they could get out of jail and go after me again?”
“I’m not objecting to your reasoning or your logic. I’m just saying that you could have avoided killing them, or at least killing all of them. After all, we didn’t kill Kosda, did we?”
“No, but that choice as taken out of our hands. And frankly, him dying would’ve been more merciful.” Alex sighed as she noted, “You’re not going to try and tell me that we live in a good and wonderful world and no one’s truly evil, are you?”
Nicholas looked at Alex with an arched eyebrow. “Alex, I’m a lot of things, but I’m not naïve. I know there are evil people in this world, and trying to convince you otherwise would be impossible. We’ve both gotten reminders that not every conflict can be solved with talk and diplomacy. I just don’t want you going with violence as your first resort every time is all.”
Alex watched him for a few seconds before she smiled. “You and me both, though circumstances might force me otherwise.” At her boyfriend’s concerned look, she explained, “It’s a long story.”
“Well you can tell me about it while we eat, and we can deal with it on the road. I don’t like the idea of losing the best friend I’ve ever made. And I’m gonna stop right there before I get really cheesy.”
Alex grinned. “And the world will thank you.”
TBC!
A bustling port city and a hub for travel, Olivine City was a place that every Pokémon trainer visited at some point in their travels through Johto. Aside from being the only port on the mainland that had ferry service to Cianwood City and the home of a Gym, it was also the site of the Shining Lighthouse, a national landmark and a callback to the days when high technology wasn’t as prevalent and Pokémon were relied upon more for the functioning of the world at large. As she stepped off the ferry and onto the pier, Alex took a deep breath of fresh air, glad to be back after so long if only for a short time. “Olivine City at last.”
“<As much as I don’t mind nostalgia, can you enjoy it on solid ground?>” Surtur sourly looked over the sea, the salty air only reminding him of his primary weakness. “<In any case, I don’t see much reason to linger, given what’s happened of late.>”
“Yeah, I remember.” As much as she doubted they would be immediately pursued, Alex was in no rush to try her luck. “Come on, let’s grab a bite to eat. I spotted a café near the Pokémon Center the last time we were in town.”
As the two made their way down the docks and past the main offices for the port, Alex found herself hoping for a decent meal before she restocked her supplies and set out on her journey to Ecruteak City. Getting there from here would take practically no time at all, but the sooner she arrived, the sooner she’d have her next badge and head on to her next destination.
As they made their way into town and approached a post office, however, Alex caught sight of a familiar figure emerging from it, a saddened and frustrated look on his face and a Lucario at his side. “Nick?”
He turned to face her, his light green eyes brightening as he heard her voice. “Alex?” The sadness and frustration gone, he smiled and approached her warmly. “What are you doing here?!”
“I was about to ask you the same thing!” Overjoyed, Alex wrapped her arms around Nick and caught him in a tight bear hug. “It feels like ages!”
“Oh, it’s only been a couple months!” The embrace broke, and Nicholas Pendrake laughed as he added, “But that’s more than long enough for me to miss being with you, cheesy as it sounds.”
“<You expect romance to be anything but cheesy?>” The Lucario smirked at his associate and turned to the Blaziken beside said associate’s girlfriend. “<Surtur.>”
“<Lancelot. I hope you’re having better luck keeping your human out of trouble than I’ve had mine.>”
“Oh, like I go looking for it.” Alex laughed, then turned back to her boyfriend. “So, what are you doing in Johto? I thought you’d still be touring Orre.”
“I was, but…” A gurgling sound interrupted him, and the young man realized instantly, “You’re getting hungry, aren’t you?”
Alex managed an embarrassed chuckle. “Yeah. Surtur and I were just on our way to the Olivine Café. Want to join us? We can catch up.”
“Sure.”
-
Located adjacent to the Olivine City Pokémon Center, the Olivine Café was not the fanciest of establishments, most of its clientele consisting of men who worked on the docks or on ships and needed a respite and a good meal. The prices were decent, the food was good and things were kept in order, however, so the restaurant had gained a fair reputation. As Alex took a seat at a booth, Surtur back in his Poké Ball, she smiled. “I hope you don’t feel overdressed in a place like this.”
“I’ve performed in places like this, remember?” In contrast to Alex’s attire, Nicholas wore a tailored suit jacket and slacks, a turtleneck sweater under said jacket and formal shoes on his feet. “Not my first seaside café and not my last.” He sat down and noted, “Anyway, the reason why I’m here in Johto is because I was forced to my performances in Orre early.”
A concerned look crossed Alex’s face. “What happened? Did you get into a disagreement with another illusionist, or is this an Aura Guardian thing? Or did Cipher resurface?”
“No, nothing that crazy, thankfully. My RV broke down after I had my last show out there at Realgam Tower.” A sad look crossed his face as he explained, “Dad might’ve taught me a thing or two about maintaining it, but eventually, you get to the point where it’s not worth fixing. And Dad had it since before he adopted me, so…”
“So it was probably time to lay it to rest.” Relieved that the death of the RV was all that happened, Alex prodded, “So what did you do?”
“The only thing I could. I cleared out everything inside, got my equipment and props out, made sure I hadn’t lost anything vital, and sold it for parts. Actually made a surprising amount of money, considering the old girl’s age.”
“Well, you did take care of her. That had to play a part in it.” The two paused as a server approached, and they made their orders, the server going off before Alex continued, “So why come back here?”
“Apparently, they don’t have any RV dealerships in Orre. You can get hovering motorcycles with sidecars, but a simple motor home is beyond them. Between that and my next performance being in Goldenrod City for a charity event, I figured I’d try my luck here. In fact, that’s why I was at the post office; I was making sure all of my props and things had made it to Goldenrod safely.”
“And the sad and frustrated look?”
Nicholas dropped noticeably. “Turns out Olivine City doesn’t have an RV dealership either. The closest one is in Ecruteak City.”
“Ah.” Their food and drinks arrived, and Alex sipped from her beverage. “Well, you’re in luck. I’m heading there myself.”
“Back on the trainer’s journey then?”
A pleased nod. “I finished up back home in Hoenn, so I figured I’d take another whack at Johto. There’s been a few hiccups on the way, but nothing serious.”
“Yeah, I heard something about that.” At Alex’s less than proud response to his admittance, Nicholas noted, “I can’t say I’m surprised about how it turned out.”
Pausing in her meal, Alex looked at him. “You’re not going to read me the riot act over this are you?” At his not answering, she noted, “Nick, those guys had my sister. They’d gone after me before; you were with me the second time. What was I supposed to do, let them live so they could get out of jail and go after me again?”
“I’m not objecting to your reasoning or your logic. I’m just saying that you could have avoided killing them, or at least killing all of them. After all, we didn’t kill Kosda, did we?”
“No, but that choice as taken out of our hands. And frankly, him dying would’ve been more merciful.” Alex sighed as she noted, “You’re not going to try and tell me that we live in a good and wonderful world and no one’s truly evil, are you?”
Nicholas looked at Alex with an arched eyebrow. “Alex, I’m a lot of things, but I’m not naïve. I know there are evil people in this world, and trying to convince you otherwise would be impossible. We’ve both gotten reminders that not every conflict can be solved with talk and diplomacy. I just don’t want you going with violence as your first resort every time is all.”
Alex watched him for a few seconds before she smiled. “You and me both, though circumstances might force me otherwise.” At her boyfriend’s concerned look, she explained, “It’s a long story.”
“Well you can tell me about it while we eat, and we can deal with it on the road. I don’t like the idea of losing the best friend I’ve ever made. And I’m gonna stop right there before I get really cheesy.”
Alex grinned. “And the world will thank you.”
TBC!