Champion-Bound

   It was just a nice gesture. An idea to make things easier on his sick trainer, let him rest while the rest of them left him be with Nocte and the spook. He didn’t think to bring a map along with him, something that was proving to be a mistake as he was completely lost and alone. 

tagging: @wanttoshine and @rpforyourlife and @hivequen i guess ? have yall done this already

Norman beamed happily, glad to provide some help towards the young trainer. There was nothing more rewarded than being able to help guide new trainers towards where they need to go or pointed them in the right direction. Obviously, the rest was left for them to figure out.

“Depends,” He answers vaguely. “If you aren’t prepared for the gym battle than you may find yourself overwhelmed and struggling. My suggestion, if you are feeling uncertain about the battle; more training would be the best plan. It will help strengthen your bond with your Pokemon, might even come up with some brand new strategies too. Don’t be afraid to take your time,” A Roselia was an interesting Pokemon to debut in a gym battle. A rather fragile Pokemon, however, with the right trainer could be quite deadly.

His head nodded approvingly. “Normal types can be difficult to overcome, that’s a fact. But, you also needed to understand that no one is unbeatable. The second, if you show hesitation and uncertain than your own Pokemon will also face doubt during battle. Now… are you certain you are ready for the gym battle?”

   Willow nods along with the man’s words, hanging onto every little thing he said. He wasn’t a stranger to gym battles, but every single one was a monument all its own - after all, every gym leader was different in their own right, with different ideals and strengths. It was something Willow both dreaded and admired about them, and the Elite Four members he’d been lucky enough to meet.

   And as worried as he was, he knew his team. Even if Rosa couldn’t go up against something, he knew he could fall back on Nocte and Zorro. He knew Corsair wasn’t ready to battle yet, but she was coming to trust him and if one day she did decide she was ready to try again she could fight with the best of them. He ... well, didn’t know if Eldritch was feeling cooperative today, or ever, but he knew he could rely on the Darkrai if he needed him. He’d escaped more than one close scrape with the Legendary’s help.

   The man certainly seemed very nice! A few people had given Willow snide comments about being such an ‘obvious foreigner’, which he had brushed off but which still stung, just a little. He made a quick mental note of the locations he was told about, nodding quickly. He wasn’t sure he could afford a nicer meal, but some tea sounded very lovely right now ...

   “Thank you so much, sir! Oh, um. Is the gym leader really tough? I, uh, it’s gonna be my Roselia’s first gym battle!” And she wouldn’t forgive him for throwing her against something easy, like a grass or water type Gym, so he’d settled on normal types and hoped for the best. He was pretty sure this gym was the first in Hoenn’s traditional circuit, but if Falker had taught him anything, it was that the order didn’t matter and no gym would be a pushover. And one would think, on his what, ninth Gym? he’d be more than ready for it, but he was just as nervous as if it was his first!

   “Oh - uh, um, hello!” Willow jumped a bit at being spoken to, but quickly flashed the stranger a nervous smile. Truth be told, he was half lost, and half just hungry and tired. The Pokemon center in this town didn’t have any free rooms due to some sort of ‘accident’ he didn’t want to know the details of, so he’d mostly been wandering about looking for either somewhere to sleep or somewhere to feed himself that wouldn’t kick him out for bringing his equally hungry Pokemon along.

   Willow approaches the legendary with obvious hesitance, hands up in a pacifying gesture. The Scizor standing behind him looks ready to lunge, but doesn’t budge, just stares Darkrai down with clear warning in his eyes. 

   “Woah woah, I didn’t set this, alright? I’ll let you out, but only if you promise not to take my head off as soon as I do.” The young man certainly wasn’t expecting this on his travels - he’s had to cut more than one Pokemon out of poacher traps before, including his own Houndoom, and certainly didn’t come out unscathed for his efforts. He hates to think what a Darkrai could do to him when angry ... but truth be told he’s as awestruck as he is wary. What an absolutely beautiful Pokemon. Dangerous or no, he couldn’t just do nothing.