Twelfth Night

However, I think I’d like to try RPing independently for a while this time. It’s something that I’ve never actually done before but something that I’ve been considering for a while. I promise it’s nothing personal; I just need a lot of flexibility because, as always, my schedule is rather full and I’m still unsure as to how exactly I’ll fit RPing into it. What else is new lol. 

All of that being said, I’m happy to be back online. If any friends from Undella Bay are reading this, feel free to say hi at any time. For the sake of avoiding all of my headcanon posts and indie threads, you’re more than welcome to unfollow (or not!). I certainly won’t be offended. 

In the meantime though, I’ll be posting some drabbles here and there until I finally get things started next week. I’ll be keeping Antonio around as well as all of my old threads from Undella Bay, so if you have any indie characters that are looking for a new rp, you might be first in line :) 

Hey everyone! It’s been a while. A few fun updates that might be worth sharing. My semester’s 98% over and I graduate in less than two weeks!! :D I’m super stoked, and while I do still have my job to deal with, my schedule is opening up a lot and I should have time to jump back into the RP scene.

     He can’t help the chuckle that escapes as Antonio suddenly looks very horrified, prompting his Mudkip to return and scamper upwards in an attempt to console him. Vivonne, confused by the sudden disappearance of her playmate, also returns to sit by Cenric’s feet, peering up at the other man and his Pokemon with large curious eyes. 

     “Don’t worry about it,” he said with a wave of his hand, trying to reassure him despite still looking somewhat amused. Unless it was necessary, or someone asked questions, his troubles with hearing were rarely brought up in conversation so Antonio was absolutely not the first to make such a blunder.

     His response was definitely the most entertaining, however. 

     Glancing back at the Mudkip, Cenric couldn’t help but find it’s actions to be rather cute. Changing the subject, he gave a small nod towards the water-type that nuzzled against it’s trainers cheeks.

     “You two must be really close for him to come running like that?”

Antonio made a meek effort to calm himself down. It didn’t seem as though Cendric was bothered by his ignorance; in fact, the amused expression on his face seemed to indicate otherwise. Still, that didn’t stop Antonio from feeling as stupid as he did... nor would it stop Mudkip’s gesture of unconditional love. 

“Oh, yeah. We’re pretty tight,” he said, drawing a hand up to Mudkip and tickling the little skipper right under his chin. “He’s a rowdy little guy, though. He doesn’t like to be in his PokeBall, so we definitely spend a lot of time together... We’ve known eachother for... what? Maybe 12 years now?”

“Should I be concerned with how enthusiastic you look at the idea of trouble?” He commented, followed by a quiet huff of laughter. Cenric couldn’t exactly relate. He’d always preferred to stay out of it when possible, and had been pretty successful at it… for the most part.

“I don’t think it’s the fun kind you’re looking for, though.”

It wasn’t a big deal to him – at least not anymore – but he definitely wasn’t used to relaying the story to people he hadn’t long met. Pausing for a moment to consider the easiest way to explain, Cenric eventually let his shoulders droop in defeat, deciding to just be blunt about it.

“It was around ten years ago. I caught a Whismur here, trained him up. Wasn’t smart enough to look into the different Pokemon, and Explouds are really… well–” Silently finishing his sentence, the Kantonian raised a hand to point at one ear, showing the mostly discreet earpiece he wore. 

“We’re here making up for lost time, but I think he still kind of feels bad about it. Poor guy.” 

Antonio’s eyes widened as Cendric neared the end of his story. Almost immediately, guilt washed over him as he suddenly felt like a jackass for having probed in the first place.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” he said, the astonishment clearly still in his eyes. He was trying his best so subdue his reaction, but between the shock he felt after finally noticing the ear piece and the humiliation he felt from having asked such a personal question... he was beyond mortified.

    For a split-second, Cenric grew a little anxious about the hand he’d offered towards the other in greeting. The guy looked almost hesitant at the friendly action making him wonder if he was stepping over some kind of boundary here, but luckily that wasn’t the case. Antonio took his hand and returned the shake, earning a somewhat brighter smile from Cenric himself. 

   “I actually came to Hoenn years ago, to continue training, maybe see a little more of the world.” He explained, tipping his head to one side in thought as he tried to figure out how to condense his story. Antonio seemed like a nice guy, but he still probably didn’t want to hear him ramble too much. 

   “Got into some trouble, so I had to go home sooner than I’d have liked. But, here I am again. There are too many sights I’d like to see to give up completely.”

“Oh?” Antonio furrowed a brow at Cendric’s interesting - though vague - response. It probably would have been better for him not to pry, but the longer the two of them spoke, the more curious Antonio grew. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this guy did a lot of traveling, something that Antonio’s dreamed of doing for a while now, and the fact that his adventure led him into trouble only made Cendric seem that much more interesting. 

     Cenric looked a little entertained by the other’s rather flat response, the corner of his lips quirking upwards in amusement as he held back a quiet laugh. He’d seen enough of Hoenn to know that most of his team weren’t often used by trainers over here, so that moment of confusion was understandable.

     Having to battle something like a Charizard with such a little Mudkip – assuming that was the only Pokemon this guy had – sounded way too rough, though. Poor little guy. Still, he brushed it off for the time being in favour of giving a proper introduction, which was probably long overdue considering how comfortably chatty they’d gotten at this point. 

“Kanto. Viridian City, to be exact.” Pushing himself up from where he was sat, he dusted his hands off before offering one towards the other. “Cenric Callaway. Nice to meet you.”

Antonio looked to Cenric’s hand for just a moment, suddenly aware of the connection these two were making. Since starting up with Team Aqua, his social life had taken a hit... not that he was ever much of a social butterfree in the first place, but he certainly had to maintain a lower profile in order to avoid drawing a whole lot of attention to himself. In fact, he couldn’t even recall the last time made a new friend. How long ago was that? ...Years?

“I’m Antonio,” he said, clasping hands with Cendric and returning the gesture  with a nice, firm grip. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

Mudkip stopped mid-chase to watch his trainer shake hands with the nice man. No one knew Antonio better than Mudkip did, and it was already so rare to see him holding a conversation for this long. And wait- was Antonio actually smiling? At another human? 

     Vivonne… his starter? Cenric shook his head. Eevee was a popular Pokemon among a lot of people, fluffy and cute with a lot of potential, but it wasn’t one of the traditional three that kids from Kanto got to choose between. 

   “She’s a Vaporeon. The water-type evolution of Eevee. My starter was a Charmander, but she’s fully evolved now as well.”

     Idly, he wondered if this guy was familiar with Pokemon from Kanto at all. Thinking back, Cenric himself been just as baffled by the ones found in Hoenn when he’d first visited, so he could somewhat relate to his confusion.

   “I’d introduce you, but she’s a lot more feisty than Vivonne, here.”

“Oh,” he said flatly, already having forgot the foreign Pokemon’s name. Antonio knew what an Eevee was; they were incredibly popular, he knew that much. However, Eevee’s weren’t native to Hoenn and so, while he might have battled against a few of them or perhaps one of it’s evolutions, he didn’t know them well enough to recognize them so quickly. Perhaps this was the universe telling him that he should try to leave Hoenn for a little bit... of course, though, with what money?

“Well I definitely know what a Charmander is... and a Charizard, of course. They’re not too common around here, but I have had to battle them maybe once or twice.”

           ❝ boatyard? ❞ his eyes narrow, brows scrunching together in a moment of trying to imagine working out in the sun all day ( bad for your skin-!! ), wading through water and constantly smelling the saltwater aroma, ❝ well, that’s… interesting, i guess. ❞ he juts out his lower lip─ intentionally avoiding the inclusion of the word ‘boring’ in his assessment. 

all thoughts are lost as he looks up to antonio with a gleam in his eyes at his offer. 

his mindset completely redirects; he completely forgets his train of thoughts regarding antonio’s line of work ( perhaps a bit selfishly since the new direction gears in his favor ). feeling his trainer’s excitement, swampert looks up from where he plays with mudkip and blinks curiously. 

❝ brilliant! we accept your offer! ❞ he grins, showing no hesitation in taking up the opportunity that has been presented. his eyes trail over to the mudkip, lips curling into a gentler, kinder smile, ❝ in return, i’m sure i can come up with something for this little guy! ❞ ruby walks closer, careful to approach the new pokémon slowly, ❝ nothing too flashy, of course! i’ve been fixing up zuzu here ever since he was a mudkip, too. ❞ he reminisces, smiling to himself at the memories. wading a bit closer, he beams down at the mudkip. 

❝ what a beautiful texture! you must take very good care of him. ❞ ruby observes. he straightens out a bit and walks back over to antonio, scoffing a little as his pant legs become the victim of another wave that laps the shoreline.

❝ so, how far out do you usually go for things like this? i assume you’re well versed, given your profession. ❞

Antonio ignored Ruby’s vain efforts in trying to feign interest. There weren’t enough hours in the day to really overthink any of the things that came out of this kid’s mouth.

“O-oh?” said Antonio, taken aback by Ruby’s new idea of compensation. He hadn’t honestly expected anything in return from him, and while the gesture was somewhat nice, Antonio wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about Mudkip being covered in some ridiculous costume.

“You really don’t have to,” he said, feigning modesty, although he wondered if Ruby could even hear him. It looked as though he was too preoccupied with studying Mudkip’s.... skin?

“Oh. Uh, thanks.” Antonio didn’t know what to do with the compliment. He’s never groomed Mudkip in his life.

With that reaction, Cenric felt a little guilty for outright voicing his observations, but he really couldn’t help but wonder. As far as he was aware, the rare starter Pokemon given to kids about to start their journey were given out on those terms alone – unless this particular Mudkip was bred for him specially. After a moment of thought, the Kantonian shrugged it off. Maybe things were just different around here than back home. 

“Nothing wrong with that,” he commented, watching over the pair of Pokemon as they played. Fortunately, Vivonne was definitely the most gentle of his team, and had no problems with goofing off with a stranger Pokemon if it meant making a friend. 

“But my own starter was even more bold and adventurous than I was, so I can’t say I relate.”

“Oh?” It was so obvious that this stranger was from a foreign region and perhaps that was reason enough for Antonio to be so curious as to who this person was.

      Cenric nodded in agreement as the other spoke, easily able to imagine that growing up in the port city would be an upbringing that was as lively as it could be tranquil. He’d only visited once or twice before, but it was tough for him to find points he disliked about the place. Perhaps in the future he’d like to settle down somewhere similar, if not a place a little closer to home. 

    “Not much of a trainer then?” He asked, quirking a brow. He had no intention of coming across as rude in any way, but was hard for Cenric to hold his tongue; the idea of someone staying in one place for so long feeling almost alien to him considering the early age he’d left on his own tour across the region. 

    “Better late than never, I guess. I don’t think I ever got the chance to visit Lilycove last time I was here. A shame, really. There’s nothing like it back in Kanto.”

     Sure, there was always Vermilion, and even Celadon for the tourist traps, but they were seriously missing out in the quaint little beach town department.  

For some reason, Antonio was taken aback by the question. Noticeably floored, he paused for a second before returning his attention back to Cendric. No, Antonio didn’t consider himself a trainer. Leaving his family was never fiscally available to him as an option, and so, seeing as how he didn’t embark on a journey at the pre-mature age of ten likes so many of his peers, this was the only life he knew. 

     So, this guy was as local as you could get, huh? Surprisingly, it made more sense that he hadn’t bothered to climb to the top of the lighthouse until now. It was rare for anyone to play the tourist in their home city, but some places – such as this – were clearly worth the effort.

     “Nothing wrong with starting now,” he offered with a small shrug of his shoulders, opening the cap of his own water bottle to take a sip. It was rare to find such a peaceful spot in such a bustling city. Might as well make the most of it while you can, right?

   “Unless… you’re not local anymore?”

     It was a wild guess, but his tone had sounded almost regretful. 

“Actually, yeah. That’s right,” said Antonio, somewhat surprised by how easily this man was able to read him. 

“Born and raised. It’s a good city to grow up in. The weather’s great, the population’s always growing, and there’s always something to do around here. Between the Pokemon Contests, the Cycling Road, the beach, the boathouses, and the marketplace, you’re bound to find something to do.”

As Antonio spoke, he took a few steps away from the group and looked over the opposite side of the balcony. From there, he could spot the Cycling Road in the far distance and, of course, all of Slateport in between. It was always a little weird being back... he always forgot how much he missed this city.

     Despite having toured across Hoenn in his time, Cenric was fortunate enough to still be rather unfamiliar with any particular Team or their goals. He’d heard of them before, and even seen them about while on his travels, but it was rare for him to get caught up in any fuss. Partially because he had a knack for keeping himself out of trouble, and partially because he was more careful than he was heroic; only interacting with the obviously suspicious whenever he was approached first. 

     Kindness, however, he was more accustomed to. As a travelling trainer – no matter how capable he was – Cenric was certain he’d always have to rely on the kindness of complete strangers eventually, so he’d learned to extend a helping hand to those who needed it in turn. A simple bottle of water was hardly a grand act of charity, but it was obviously appreciated with how the stranger almost gulped the entire thing down in one go, earning a soft snort of amusement from the Kantonian.

    “Don’t worry about it.” 

     He’d brought enough to spare, after all. If the bottles weren’t being used to drink from, they’d come in handy keeping Vivonne refreshed and hydrated – not that the Vaporeon was too concerned about all that now she had another Pokemon to play with.

   “It’s rough, alright. You’re the only other person to come up here all day.” He answered, turning his gaze back out over the ocean the lighthouse towered above. “The view’s worth the trouble though, don’t you think?”

“Agreed.” Antonio took a few steps forward and leaned over the balcony, taking in the expansive view of the sea. It was breathtaking, really, and Antonio stood there in silence, studying how beautifully the waves lapsed over each other. 

“Ya know, I’m actually from Slateport, and this is my first time climbing this lighthouse.” Slowly, his eyes scanned the horizon, catching the colony of parasols that littered the Slateport beachfront. This area in particular was a hotspot for tourists, and yet, despite how busy the beach must have been at this time of day, it looked so incredibly peaceful from up above. Considering how high up they were, you couldn’t even hear the beachgoers down below. All you could hear was the ocean breeze, the passing Wingulls, and the waves crashing against the nearby shore. It was absolute bliss.

     This Mudkip was… really cute.

     Cenric’s expression immediately brightened as the water-type plopped a paw down onto the palm of his hand, followed by a huff of gentle laughter as it decided to give the usually playful Vaporeon of his a run for her money. The Pokemon seemed harmless enough, giving the Kantonian no reason to interrupt as it started dashing in circles around Vivonne, who was already going dizzy trying to keep her eyes on the smaller creature as it darted about. 

     Eventually she was given no choice but to join in; head lowered to the ground as she put herself in a playful, ready-to-pounce position, before leaping forward to chase the Mudkip in turn. 

     Still sitting down on the balcony floor, Cenric was halfway through moving the few store bought items of food out of the way so they weren’t accidentally trodden in by the excitable Pokemon when he finally picked up on the voice of another human. 

     Fixing his gaze on the doorway of the lighthouse, he was admittedly a little surprised to find someone closer to his own age standing there rather than the teens such starter Pokemon usually belonged to. 

   “No, everything’s fine.” He reassured, glancing towards the pair of water-types momentarily before turning his attention back to the other with a raised brow. 

     The guy looked pretty exhausted. That much was understandable. The stairway to reach the top was pretty punishing for even the most athletic of people. Plucking a fresh bottle of water from the pack beside him, Cenric offered it towards the stranger with a knowing smile.   

   “Here. You look like you need this.”

Antonio was certainly taken aback by the stranger’s gesture. It wasn’t everyday that someone would reach out to help him, especially by offering him something - for free, no doubt. In fact, Antonio was so accustomed to not receiving help from others that he couldn’t help but be wary of this unknown character and what his possible intentions were. Did he recognize Antonio as a criminal? Was the bottle laced or even spiked? These are the sort of questions that his work with Team Aqua has conditioned him to ask, and while every muscle in his body was warning him to be cautious, there was something so strikingly endearing about this stranger’s smile that made Antonio want to accept the gift. Of course, that might’ve been the trap all along, but then again, Antonio was really thirsty.

“Oh! Wow. Uh, thank you,” he said, finally succumbing to the offer. He also just literally saw this man pluck it out of a pack, so it had to be safe... right?

     Vivonne had been right after all. They definitely weren’t alone. The water-type lowered her head, curious yet still a little on guard. Years of travelling had proven one could never be too careful when it comes to strangers. 

      With no answer, Cenric was a little tempted to investigate as well; pull himself up from his seat and scope out the inside of the lighthouse to see what it was that had caught the Vaporeon’s attention, but before he could even sit up properly, a small excitable-looking Pokemon had burst onto the scene.

   “H-Huh?”

     The larger water-type had frozen in place, eyes still trained on the other Pokemon before her. One of her paws had lifted from the floor as if she was still trying to decide if she should approach or not, her nose twitching rapidly as she tried investigating the Pokemon’s scent from a distance. The Mudkip moved closer, and Vivonne leaned her head further away, still unsure what to make of the strange Pokemon’s presence. 

     Cenric, at least, seemed a little less concerned. It wasn’t every day he got to meet a regional starter Pokemon, especially when they were still so small and cute. Scooting a bit closer – slowly, as not to startle the creature – the Kantonian held his hand out for the Mudkip to sniff.

   “What are you doing all the way up here?” 

Mudkip, loving every ounce of available attention, immediately ran forward and placed a single paw (fin?) to Cenric’s hand; Antonio had trained the little guy on how to give people five, so whenever someone reached out with an open hand, Mudkip took it as his cue to return the human gesture~

“Kip!” he said, just before deciding to literally run circles around the Vaporeon. It had suddenly become Mudkip’s personal mission to get the foreign Pokemon to play with him, and he was willing to go through a large variety of silly tactics to get the Pokemon to respond to him. 

“Mudkip!! Did you reach the top already?”, echoed a voice from the open stairwell. Antonio was quickly nearing the end of his uphill climb, but only because he was paranoid that Mudkip might have gotten himself into trouble... the little water-type had a bad habit of getting himself into dangerous situations quite frequently. 

“How’s the view from the top?” said Antonio, just a few moments before he finally hauled himself up. There were visible sweat stains forming around his pectorals, the climb having clearly exhausted him. His breath was certainly staggered and heavy, but he was so surprised by the presence of this stranger and their equally as unfamiliar Pokemon that he couldn’t help but recompose himself just the tiniest bit.

     The balcony of a lighthouse wasn’t the strangest place he’d ever stopped for lunch, Cenric supposed. Whether or not he was supposed to be there was another question, the place seeming practically abandoned with the lack of visitors both people and Pokemon, but he found comfort in the peaceful silence and scenic views it offered; the sky a melting pot of oranges and yellows as sunset crept upon them.

     Back pressed against the concrete of the tower, his only company was the Vaporeon laying beside him, large black eyes blinking slowly as if she was starting to doze off despite the light breeze that kept catching the ear-like fins on her head, ruffling them with each gentle gust. 

     Cenric couldn’t really blame her. It had been a long day of re-exploring Slateport, roaming the marketplace and visiting the shipyard and museum he hadn’t seen in some ten years at this point. Vivonne’s rest was well deserved, and something he should really follow suit with once he’d finished with the small picnic-like arrangement set out in between them. 

   Gaze cast across the ocean, he tore off a chunk of store-bought sandwich to chew on, managing to bask in tranquillity for only a few moments more before his Vaporeon’s sudden alertness grabbed his attention. Sitting up sharply, the water-type had sniffed at the air before turning to glance in the direction of the lighthouse’s doors as if waiting for something to happen.

      Perhaps it was just another Pokemon she had heard; one of the wild Wingull she liked to chase whenever they visited the shore, but Cenric had a feeling he may not have been the only one to choose this spot to hide away in all of a sudden. 

   “Uh… Hello?” He spoke up, hoping his presence wasn’t so startling for the approaching stranger. Cenric didn’t care much for company either way, but how awkward would it be if he didn’t say anything at all right now.  “If this is your usual spot, I’ll be out of your hair pretty soon…”

@aqua-antonio

“Slow down, Mudkip. I can’t keep up with you.”

Antonio’s voice echoed through the Slateport Lighthouse, his commands bouncing off the walls and falling on deaf ears as the water-type scampered up the giant spiral staircase, somehow managing to completely outrun it’s trainer in the process. 

“Jeez. These stairs are making me feel like I’m out of shape,” he said, his quads practically on fire. The Slateport Lighthouse was known for being one of the tallest in Hoenn, and yet despite this truth, Antonio had never climbed to it’s top. He’d already spent the majority of his life living here with his parents, and despite knowing the port city like the back of his hand, this was one of those few locations that, for some strange reason, he just never got around to exploring. 

“Mudkip, I said- Oh, forget it. I’ll just meet you there.” Wiping a few beads of sweat from his forehead, Antonio watched helplessly as the little skipper dashed onward, eventually losing sight of him and just trusting that he’d be okay by himself until he caught up.

What neither Antonio nor Mudkip had anticipated, however, was that anyone else might be at the top. Mudkip’s singular fin twitched at the sound of the stranger’s voice and he sped up. People! Mudkip loved people.