This is what a real Pokémon battle is!

Cheren ★ Pokémon Black 2!

“Let's both do our best and have a battle we can be proud of!”

Once your hometown rival having a crisis over losing battles, now a Gym Leader who loses as a profession!

Aspertia City’s Normal-type gym leader! And schoolteacher.

A real bookworm. Likes to study battle strategy, and could tell you about the types or abilities of just about any Pokémon you want!

16 years old, and can overthink or be blunt at times.

“Woah!” Aster jumps back, hiding slightly behind the other boy as he holds tight to his taser– it’s the only thing he’s got, other than healing spells… it doesn’t do a lot of damage, but it usually stuns the monsters long enough for him to get away. He hasn’t been able to find any of his friends, and he’s no good at fighting on his own…

“Oh, haha, I’m not actually Emil,” Aster rubs the back of his head sheepishly. “My name’s Aster, we just look the same! I’m looking for him. though, if you’ve seen him.” For once, he’s not in the mood to make up a story as he glances curiously at the other boy’s companions.

“I don’t have monsters like he does… but are those your monster friends? I’ve never seen anything like them before! They’re amazing!”

“Oh!” Cheren flushes and nods stiffly. “I’m sorry, Aster. I’m Cheren. It’s nice to meet you.”

He doesn’t have long to stay embarrassed, however, as the CPN starts trying to get its footing back-- “Don’t let up! Signal Beam, and Take Down!” The pair does their finishing blows, and this time it seems they’ve won. “Excellent work!”

“Watch out-- Thunder Fang!” Stoutland collides with the CPN moments before it can hit the other boy, slamming it into the ground. Beside it, Porygon-Z flits and glitches between the monsters, seeming to understand their patterns better than anyone else can. “Well done! Keep up the pressure!”

The Sun

[TM Questions]

@workaho1ic​ asked: counter, dig, mimic

counter - is your muse capable of coming up with quick comebacks in an argument?

Yes! It’s not impossible to catch him off-guard, but Cheren’s pretty good at putting his thoughts into words, and he can do it pretty quick. For putting serious consideration into new ideas, he’ll might need to go think alone for a bit, but defending the position he has? Easy.

dig - when your muse makes a mistake, are they quick to own up to it or will they ignore that they’ve done any wrong?

He’s pretty good about owning up, at least once he knows he’s made a mistake in the first place. He’s an honest kid, and he prefers to set things right out in the open than ignore his problems!

mimic - what are some mannerisms that your muse has picked up from others? do they recognize that this is the case or not?

Cheren has picked up a fair amount of optimism and has become a little more easygoing thanks to Bianca (and likely Hilda too), once he opened himself up to those things.

[TM Questions]

@boltbadges​ asked: thunder and skull bash!

thunder - describe your muse’s voice: is it soft, loud, grating, soothing, etc?

Cheren enunciates clearly, a skill he developed because he likes to teach and explain concepts. His pitch is pretty mid-range and he speaks in way that’s gentle, but not what I’d call “soft.” When he’s battling (and even moreso when he’s angry), that clarity turns to sharpness.

Cheren has two voiced appearances and neither of them sound quite right to me for reasons I can’t quite pinpoint...

skull bash - what does your muse do to focus?

Cheren’s pretty good at keeping focused, partly because if something isn’t already interesting to him, he rarely considers it worth his time to dedicate much focus to.

usually they were the one catching others off guard, sneaking around and surprising someone just to see what their reaction would be, but today seemed to be a strange exception to the rule. snuffling around in the underbrush for berries ( why weren’t there any salac berries? that would make their whole year! ) they’re surprised to find instead a… growlithe? maybe it’s a different kind of growlithe, since it looks a lot different than what they’re used to…

it’s just as playful as any growlithe they’ve met though and soon the two are tussling. mew tribbles with joy, ready to ask a million and a half questions, but as if already knowing what they want to say the growlithe – lillipup, it had corrected them – leads them to its human.

who… knows them? he sure seems in awe of them. it makes them a little nervous, truth be told, to be recognized and treated with such respect. after all, they’re just… mew! nothing more and nothing less.

❛ i sure hope so! ❜ they joke, keeping their ‘ voice ‘ quiet. they also don’t want to alarm him after all. ❛ otherwise i’ve been introducing myself wrong for a long time. ❜ they cock their head to the side and point at lillipup with their tail. ❛ is this your friend? he’s fun! ❜

“...Oh! Haha.” Their joke seems to put the air back in his lungs, even if only for a light laugh. “You’d know best, I’m sure. Sorry, it’s just incredible to... well, to even see you, let alone meet.”

He’s surprised to hear a Pokémon speaking words in his head, albeit less so after meeting Mewtwo. He watches Lillipup, whose playful excitement doesn’t appear to hold the same reverence-- but then, it can already understand them without the help, can’t it? And it likely doesn’t know who Mew is in the first place.

Though the warmer temperatures are appreciated, the gradually longer time this world spends in daylight is… disconcerting. For its timeless age, the Hollow Knight has never witnessed something so simple as a changing of seasons before. It is out now, observing the new growth of the plants in the park.

It is interrupted, however. What strange creature is this? It looks similar to others around here, four-legged and furry.

Sensing no threat from the animal, it stoops down to get a closer look, stretching out a hand to it.

The sound of a voice is startling, and it looks over, but doesn’t move. This must be the creature’s… handler? Friend? Parent? Its empty stare is unreadable, but in truth it is just as curious as he is.

Lillipup licks its hand, then runs a few feet away and back, as though inviting it to play. Cheren isn’t sure how to read the creature’s stare, but it hasn’t aggressed, so he keeps his movements slow and clear.

“Oh, um,” he looks down to pull a small container of blueberries out of his bag. He's done his research to be sure were safe for a variety of creatures in the absence of the sorts of berries he knows are best for Pokémon.

// stats page updated with a “can be found” section!

“Um… we call them ‘artes’, but yes, I suppose?” It was something so natural to him that he didn’t even really think about it, but he supposed it would be a bit odd if that wasn’t a natural part of your world. “It’s not unusual to have to fight other people, either for sparring or more seriously. I-I guess my world must sound fairly dangerous, huh…”

For him, that was simply how things worked, but he could imagine it would sound a bit scary otherwise. Heck- he found it scary sometimes himself. 

“We have monsters too, but it’s very uncommon for people to really befriend them. I’m something of an… exception.” Part of him was a bit jealous of this world where people and monsters got along so openly- it sounded nice. “B-But it’s really not all bad! There’s plenty of nice places and people there too.”

“That does sound dangerous...” Even the worst people won’t attack further once all their opponent’s Pokémon have been defeated-- because anyone without any battle-worthy Pokémon knows to run. “But if it’s people who have the ‘artes,’ then I can see why it would be that way.”

“Pokémon battles happen for practice, too! To gain experience, and strengthen one’s bond with one’s Pokémon. They can be used to resolve disagreements and show off strength, but most battles are for sport.”

The rest is the real shock for Cheren. It’s difficult to imagine a world where Pokémon weren’t kept as friends and partners-- it sounds awfully close to Team Plasma’s goals. In a world like that, would he ever have met Samurott? What would he dedicate his life to?

       mewtwo watched the human’s hand fall towards their pokeball with minor annoyance on their face, but their visible irritation faded when the young man seemed to re-think his course of action. ( they were fairly certain that even with the majority of their abilities locked away, they could likely dispatch an average pokemon easily. ) they were half-expecting him to run, though even they were slightly caught off-guard by the apology for a perceived intrusion. their home was nearby, but the human didn’t need to know that.

      “ … no. this garden is for any who wish to see it. ”  the ‘aura’ of their telepathic voice was flat and neutral - just as their expression was. in their world, it would have been an area filled with pokemon, no doubt - and perhaps mewtwo would have been a bit more protective over it for that reason, but here pokemon weren’t as common. maybe that was why they had wandered here today - in the hopes of a sense of familiarity.

         “ … you must be a trainer with a pokedex. or a knowledgeable one. ” mewtwo had been seen often enough by humans over the years ( even though they would prefer otherwise ) that they knew certain researchers had compiled what little information there was in order to draw their own hypotheses. perhaps some were even correct. mewtwo had thought they had destroyed any relevant research and information years ago…but apparently not, judging by howard clifford’s work.

        “ i do not intend on harming you, human. you already seem far more wise than others who have approached me.  ” he wasn’t trying to catch them, anyway - which was already a point in his favor.

It doesn’t attack either, surprisingly. Even more startling, it speaks to him-- it must be with telepathy of some kind. Of course: Mew is a Psychic Type, so why wouldn’t Mewtwo share similar skills?

...Even clear on the logic of it, Cheren is in awe. His posture relaxes a little at the assertion that he isn’t intruding, though. He’s still nervous around such a powerful Pokémon, but the mention of the Pokédex makes him light up.

“Both, really!” He says it straightforwardly, not really thinking of how it could come off as a brag. “I was tasked with helping complete the Unova Pokédex on my journey, but now I’m a teacher at a Trainers’ School. ...Though it seems my knowledge was incomplete anyway.”

“I’m glad to be meeting you now, though, and not during that journey. Two years ago, I might have tried to fight you, just to prove myself the strongest." In vain, he’s sure.