John just looked confused when he made his joke, but that was something else Red was used to. The monotone and blank expression apparently made it difficult for people to tell when he was joking, even though Pika always understood just fine.

“Oh, I get it. It’s like when I’m laying on my Ursaring and she rolls over and squishes me.” It’s all in good fun, but the way you’ve spun it makes it sound more villainous than it truly is.  Waving your hand in the air to dismiss the sidetracked conversation, you let it fall and motion to Rosa.  “What did you have in mind as far as help with her?” Honestly, you’re up to any suggestion. That isn’t to say you would try any suggestion, because that ballpark is just too big, but you would listen to everything Red had to offer.

   " be honored if you don’t know how to feel. you get to sit with the barbies and the kens, so you have to look somewhat like them. “ classic reasoning, you figure. even despite being the one with the mustard and bun crumbs all over his face, he had to have some aesthetic appearance to be there in the first place. that was how it worked. natural selection with societal norms and what not.

“I don’t know still. It would mean I’m plastic and fake. ...But at least I would be the life of the party!” You cast your eyes to Dave, wondering if he caught that joke- Barbies and Kens being of the non-living sort. But either way, any negative sentiments inside the image Dave painted have rolled far from your back and no longer worry you in the slightest. Not that he would know that with the way you were talking, but at least you are aware of it. 

     Good, he’d followed the advice of the birds and decided to join the company under the tree. Henry was pleased, that was his good deed of the day out of the way. It made him feel even better that he received a pun in return– people usually dismissed them. His grin grew and with another laugh, he pat the ground next to him. A couple of the Pokemon flew up within the branches to clear the way. “Nyaha! The least you can do is try, right?”

You were more than happy to avoid getting all wet, especially if it meant having some eccentric but interesting company under the canopy’s shelter. Though, you could do without embarrassing yourself with terrible puns. It would be one thing if you were good at them but... Well, now that you thought about it, you weren’t really good at anything in particular. Unless pranking counted... And it often didn’t. “Yeah, I guess so.” 

Jyushi’s eyes widen with excitement, He hasn’t seen an evolutionary stone in person for a long time, probably since the time he evolved his Growlithe! He safely puts the stone into his bag before giving the old man a very excited thank you.

Far from the jealous type, you simply stand a foot or so behind Jyushi and watch the scene unfold with a demeanor that suggests patience. A free water stone sounded nice, but part of you wondered if it was a fake. Not that you had any reason to distrust charitable old men waving at strangers... It was something to consider, though. 

          a furret? was that the streak of lightning that had gone past a minute ago?

Red watched the boy process the fact that he actually did speak, used to that particular reaction by now. He shrugged when he said they must have been getting ahead of themselves, figuring most trainers probably did. It was a sign of enthusiasm, at least, which wasn’t a fault as long as it was channeled properly. But that was more than he had the breath to say out loud. So, shrugging it was.

At the mention of Charizard really being a Charmander, you purse your lips in a puzzled manner, brows ever so slightly furrowing in. But as your eyes shift to behold the truth behind the joke, you end up missing out on the faint indicator conveyed in Red’s facial expression. Though, you probably would have missed it even if you’d been looking right at him. Or better yet, even if he’d paused to point it out with one of those giant foam fingers. But your foamy distractible tendencies aside, you’re downright jumping for joy at seeing a Charizard. Albeit, in a very casual fashion. 

“ what? no. i really meant it. ” whether it was ironic or not was something you wouldn’t admit. to explain irony made it unironic, unless you were explaining in an ironic way. which was totally fuckin’ awesome if someone managed to pull that off. you’d have to make that on one of your to-do lists you wrote up in your mind, forgot about and then remembered years later.

“Oh.” Well, nevermind that. Scratch the celebratory dance and all! There it goes, jigging it’s bad self out of your mind and floating into the hell from whence it came. “I guess it’s pretty accurate if you really think about it, but I don’t know how I feel being that guy at a laughing party.” 

She didn’t respect Hinata? Now that he was thinking about it, even though he tried being friends, Hope showed no sign of caring about Hinata at all. Maybe he was right… but how could he even start? During his course at the Pokémon School, they never taught him anything about it. It was like he guessed– he had to get experience firsthand. 

Honestly, you should have expected such a question to arise. When you posed your own advice, you hadn’t thought about it, though. Now that you were faced with considering an answer for such a thing, you brought a finger to your chin. 

Red watched the berry fly up into the air with trepidation, his feelings on the matter confirmed as moments later a flamethrower was headed towards his face. “Pika,” he murmured, barely audible even to his own ears, and made the slightest twitch of his hand. At that, Pikachu used Iron Tail to deflect the flames away, singing the grass next to Red’s shoes instead of his face.

After watching an inspirational display of the use of Iron Tail, you’re caught a little off guard by the fact that he does indeed talk. You were expecting more silence, maybe a little bit of a disapproving glare, but not much more than that. Of course, that’s perfectly fine by you! You would much rather take the advice, especially from someone willing to lend a hand in the process. 

Without much thought, Jyushi decided he’d go over and see what the guy wanted. He gave his friend a happy nod as an answer and hurried over to the old man.  “Hi! I kept seeing you wave at me! Do you need something?”  Jyushi asked in his usual energetic tone honestly unsure of what to expect.

You’re right behind him, curious to see what is in store for the ball of sunshine pal of yours. 

Jyushi tilted his head in confusion at first. He didn’t recall knowing any old folks personally. Not wanting to seem rude, he simply waved back, whispering to his friend afterwards.

“Yeah, it never hurts to be nice to someone!” You wouldn’t be so sure if he didn’t look so humble, but you guess even appearances could be deceiving. Either way, he’s waving Jyushi over. 

For a moment, Rosa regards Pikachu in the same way, one flick of her ear signaling her curiosity of the mouse. But you don’t have time for that! The silent but admitting new acquaintance has permitted you to train nearby, and you’re quick to grab Rosa’s attention so you two can begin. Fishing a berry from your pocket, you toss it into the air and give her the command. With a strong start, she aims her flamethrower at it, however the training needed becomes apparent when a turn of her head reroutes it towards Red. Oops.