Capture on!

“I-I-I do like him…and…I-I really hope you guys c-can h-help, now..”

But what Ness says makes him think again, the other seemingly right as always. He cocks his head, humming some invisible tune, trying to call back what exactly happened after that match at Victory Road.

Lunick lets out a small laugh, pressing his fingers to his lips. “I don’t know anything, of course -- this is purely hypothetical.” He shakes his head with a smile, though.

“But -- this may come across as harsh, but he at least bothered with you, right? I don’t know the kid, but-- Underlying, there must be-- he must at least care enough to give you the chance in that, even if you lost it...”

He stands back up and plops back down on the couch.

“Hey -- I don’t understand, but -- There is hope, right? Maybe sometime, you’ll have another chance...!”

Their explanations just weren’t adding up to him, though he may not have been thinking about it in the same way they were. As far as he was aware, it was Brendan himself that was scaring him, not any sort of dumb feelings that were attached to him. Looking up at the ceiling, he breathes out.

“I mean. Maybe. But I always thought I just….was worried, that he only s-saw me as somethin’…aaah, bad at this whole…b-battling thing. Y’know?”

Now he’s getting somewhere, he can feel that much. The fact that his nerves are beginning to consume him and there’s anticipation building up in his heart. There’s gotta be the roots to this nearby, and now that he has friends to help him sort it out, he needs to find it.

“I think th-that was when I..d-didn’t want to like him.”

“But you do?”

That’s about all Lunick can question here. He nonetheless is glad to hear Wally speak on this -- at the same time as seeming a little nervewracking to the kid, it’s always good to get your emotions out, he feels.

That is -- well. He hopes.

“Aah…r-right now? I just get reeeaal stressed, around him, it s-scares me! Because y-yeah I–”

The stuttering is unstoppable now. Especially when his blush grows in ferocity, these things are so hard to talk about! And he never has before…

There’s a small squeak before he continues, “I h-have wanted to do aaaall those things b-but…actually looking at him can be d-difficult so-sometimes….but we’re still good friends-!! I…m-maybe.”

Now that the fact that he’s scared of Brendan is out there, in his small, totally wavered voice, he breathes out his reply to Ness.

Remembering those feelings, Lunick places his hand to his chest.

“Is it like... you get scared, or you get nervous?” Lunick emphasizes that last word. “Are you being careful around him -- moreso than around others?”

He stops himself for a moment, though. Wally isn’t him, so he wouldn’t feel the same about his own crush or whatnot. But the fact is, it sounds like something he actually understands...

“You like him, though, right? Its difficult, but you want to be around him. You care what he feels? You’re not afraid of him, right? You’re afraid of that feeling--”

And Lunick pauses again. He’s not been... careful enough, honestly. But this isn’t about him. He pats Wally on the shoulder.

“…no…it’s just. I don’t really know, what this all…is.”

When he realizes where this is fixing to go, his frown finally becomes pointed on his face.

“I mean..it’s…it’s a biiiig problem. I’ve been able to put it off for a long time but–he makes me so nervous. Still–I don’t know if I even like him like that.”

One more time, he corrects himself.

Lunick is incredibly confused by all this. “I mean... I understand why that’s a big problem, but like... Mm.”

... Except...

“What do you feel like when you’re around him? I don’t mean like -- fighting your pokemon battles or whatever. Just talking, or walking around with him. What does that feel like?”

Lunick himself isn’t really knowledgable on all this, and he looks rather down on himself, but -- he remembers some second-hand knowledge from his mother. It’s always his mom.

“So…about Brendan. Right?”

They’d guessed that, and it was more than obvious anyway. So he knows perfectly well that it’s the Hoenn Champion they want the dirt on. Even the chance to speak about him though–made him really excited. But that didn’t stop the inward burn of negativity from rearing its ugly head.

And Lunick -- meaning fully well rather than cruelly -- grabs the others hands and places his own on top.

He still feels bad about the whole thing but says simply, “Don’t mind it, feel free to speak your heart around us. There’s no reason to be ashamed of anything. I -- I mean, we’ve wronged you, of course.”

Still….

Wally bites his bottom lip, finding it difficult to lock gazes with either of them. In every last sense of the word, he had been caught, dangit. What gave it away? He tried not to talk about Brendan ever for this very reason. But it’s only fair to suppose that his friends that are at least out would catch it instantly.

“Y’know, th-there’s a biiiig reason I didn’t say anything.”

He’s not actually mad.

That’s the first mistake anyone can make, and to be honest, he understands it completely. Still. Now that everything’s on the table, and he’s outright said he wanted to kiss a guy before, he figures he could explain quite a few things now before they become bigger problems later. And all of it is about Brendan.

In any case, he feels sick now because Arceus, he made a huge mistake, whether it was his or Solana’s fault. Not only that, he’d been having a lot of fun around Wally anyhow.

“Honestly, I don’t care that much anymore... I feel bad now.” Lunick shakes his head. “I’ve been having so much fun being around you I guess I didn’t really notice. But we did do something really stupid.”

He sighs now.

So he ceases his relentless wallbound stare to breathe in, smiling at Lunick as he thinks up his question. Truth be told the distraction is real, especially at a time like this, but he’d consider his inner conflicts important anyway.

“Why’d you guys bring me here, anyway?”

That certainly was the question of the century. Now he’d gone and done it. A clearly despaired noise escaped Lunick’s mouth before he could even answer, and his hands dropped onto his lap.

“Well, ah. I guess I gotta tell you straight up, don’t I?“ He shook his head. “Though I’d given up on it after -- y’know, the deep stuff.”

He inhales deeply. “So my friend Solana, another Pokemon Ranger -- she’s got like electric blue hair -- told me something she’d pretty much assumed based on your personality. I wouldn’t’ve been surprised if she’s wrong, but I went with it anyway ‘cause I’ve only met you a couple times and you seem like such a nice kid. Anyway, she said she err... wanted to get you out of the closet.“ Another shake of the head.

Send me a ♫ for me to put my Itunes (or other music playlist) on shuffle and make a starter out of the first song title to appear.

Michael looked down to the map, trying to find out if they were really going the right way. The entrance had to be around here, though maybe it was hidden? It actually might be that way. Either way, the two of them were pretty close to finding this secret garden.

“Underground…?” It sounded absurd until he thought about it for a second. Instead of thinking that they should go up, why not try going down? Maybe that was the trick to this puzzle! Michael gasped as he this finally hit him.

A grin broke out on his face, lighting up when the suggestion of finding a Pokémon to help was brought up. “Absolutely! It’s what I do best.”

So -- right. Perhaps a Sandshrew, or a Sandslash, or... hm... What else knew the move Dig to his knowledge.

Thankfully, though, after some time, he speaks again.

With that precept in mind, he tries to take Ness’ question head on…

But the redness that dusts his face is still plainly visible. Whether due to shock or embarrassment he cannot tell entirely, especially with the way Ness’ question flies right out left field. Still, quelling that, he breathes out,

“…s-shoot, I mean, I figured it was m-mainly c-c-c-curiosity, I d..dunno about s-something like that….”

“Well I guess that’s part of the game too...” He mutters to himself, sighing lightly.

But of course, Wally’s response is what shocks him more there. Then again, if that’s the truth it simply is. That’s what this game all is.

Send me a ♫ for me to put my Itunes (or other music playlist) on shuffle and make a starter out of the first song title to appear.

Michael looked down to the map, trying to find out if they were really going the right way. The entrance had to be around here, though maybe it was hidden? It actually might be that way. Either way, the two of them were pretty close to finding this secret garden.

It really was an odd puzzle, but this trainer was actually enjoying it, even if he couldn’t quite find an answer. Though he was really motivated and intent on finding this path to that garden.

That could be it!

Realization.

“i-if that’s okay, I m-mean…”