Optare Modus

“Ah… ouais…  Well I really sought zat you would ‘ave figured it out by now…  Unless zis is just more of ze usual in some weird form I am not familiar wis….” Tamera replied.  She really didn’t want to be the one to say it.  It would only make things 100x more awkward if she said it.

“Figured it...?“ Koma started, as the song started to wind down, but then, before he could finish his sentence... 

fwoosh! 

The sound of a camera shutter clicking nearby could be heard nearby. Koma jumped, and turned his head to see... his Mom?

“Sorry, that was just so sweet, I had to take a picture.“ His Mom snickered, “Carry on dancing, you two! It’s nice to see you getting along for once!“

She looked down at her camera, “I think I’ll have this one framed.” 

“H-huh?!“ Koma asked, he stepped back from the girl, and looked between her and his Mom, “I’m confused? Do you know her?“  “Of course I do.“ A sly grin crossed Niki’s face, “It’s been awhile, Tama-chan!“  “Tama...“ Koma started.

He quickly turned around to face the girl again, “wait.. Tamera?!” 

Sheimmediately regretted agreeing as soon as he took her hand.  She shoud have just introduced herself- she should have said something, anything that would start their usual flow of back and forth nagging.  Even that was better than this, especially once heads started turning.  Arceus help her, she was probably going to die of embarrassment after this.  She followed his instructions, albeit begrudgingly, and put a hand on his shoulder with a sigh.  She couldn’t so much feel the hand on her waist as she could the pressure though- the scar warpped around to her sides after all, so the nerves there were partly dead.

“I will… try…”  She could try to keep count in her head, but she wasn’t particularly musically inclined either.  She was just a Pokémon addict who liked bread a bit too much.  She tried to follow his instructions to the best of her ability, but there was still some stepping on feet, which she did apologize for.  It wasn’t like she did that out of malice.  Hopefully her significant lack of weight help keep the pain tolerable.

Koma just smiled at her, still trying to be polite, despite having his feet stepped on repeatedly, “You are doing great!” But then quickly added, “Just watch my toes, and move with them!”

“…D-D’accord.  If you are reeeeeaaally okay wis zat.  Just don’t get mad and yell at e for it later,” she replied, mumbling  the latter half under her breath.  She was sooooo going to regret this, she could already tell.  Maybe they could make it through before he realized who she was and she could just write it off as a really awkward dream.

“Of course.“ He didn’t hear her muble the second part over the music and background noise. He gently took her hand, and led her towards the center of the dance floor. 

Being the Crown Prince, it did cause heads to turn, and dancers to step aside, so the two of them had no trouble reaching the center of the room. Once they got there, he shifted his hand so he held hers up, and reached out for her other hand to move it up to his shoulder, “Okay, now you just put your hand on my shoulder, like this,” he let her hand go, and moved his hand to place on her waist, “And now, just picture a small square under our feet.” 

She only continued to be thrown off as he introduced himself.  Wait… it couldn’t be possible, right?  That he didn’t recognize her?  He had to, right?  It wasn’t like her entire appearance had changed, or did she really look that different normally?  Should she introduce herself or see how long it took him to notice?  Fortunately a new question was poised before she had to make that answer.

“I-I would, mais I am afraid I do not know ‘ow to dance,” Tamera replied.  Dancing with him would only be the epitmoe of awkward.  And she had no doubt that refusing would not end well if he’d mistaken her for some aristocrat.

He moved so it was now his hand offered out towards her, “That’s fine, you can just let me lead, and I’ll show you, if you wish?”

Tamera fretted for several more moments, unsure of what to do.  She could always go eat- Raios and her famille would no doubt encourage it, but firstly she worried about ruining the dress, and secondly she worried about how rich some of the food might be.  She could handle normal food, but anything meant for nobility would surely make her sick to her stomach.  But while she was deliberating, she was approached.  It took her a moment, but she realized it was Koma… and he was being almost overly polite.  Was this some new kind of harrassment???

“I… It is fine so far…”  She couldn’t think of any other way to answer.  The unusual lack of banter was throwing her off.

“I’m glad to hear.“ He replied, as the current song began it’s outro, “I am Prince Komadori of Yggdra, it is a pleasure to meet you.“ He glanced over at the dance floor as a new song started. 

Well, she wouldn’t call him a ‘lover’ by any means, but Tamera definitely had someone she was interested in… even if he was faaaar too good for her.  But she came back to herself when Chi announced that she was leaving.  Tamera felt awkward and even more out of place now than before- things like this really didn’t suit her- but she couldn’t make Chi accompany her all night either, especially not when she was one of the hosts and had other friends to attend to.

“Ça va, I will see you later zen,” Tamera waved as Chi took off and let out a large sigh.  Okay… so now she was dressed somewhat appropriately… Now what?”

Koma had been walking through the crowd. He’d greeted just about every noble and politician he had seen. That was, until he saw a girl standing at the foot of the grand staircase. The dress she wore, complete with the jeweled bow in her hair, and everything spoke out of nobility. He didn’t recognize the girl, but he didn’t want to take his chances... not when he was actually trying to make a good impression on foreign nobility for once.

He walked up to her, pressed one hand against his suit, and bowed gently to her, “Good evening, ma’am. I hope you’re having a pleasant evening.”

“I have no idea where you are coming from with that!”

Tamera could almost feel the awkward tension in the air until a subject was finally touched upon that she actually understood.

“Oh zat, I sink I remember someone at ze Station in New Mauville saying somesing about it.  You did zat?”  Smuggling rings were no laughable operation.  Many of the poachers she brought in were just the small cogs, the suppliers, in those rings, and weren’t always necessarily the smartest of the bunch.  Smugglers, on the other hand, were far craftier, and she hadn’t quite figured them out quite as well as she has poachers.

“It wasn’t just me!“ Koma quickly replied, “It was a huge operation involving many Interpol Officers from both Alola and Unova, and nearly a year to collect all the evidence we needed to bust the ring!“

Yes! He thought this subject would help break the ice! 

“We-“ riiiiiiiing 

Koma froze as his cellphone went off, and he startled slightly, before looking down to answer it, “Hello, Officer Yawa here!” He paused, Midori’s came clearly over the reciever... probably loud enough for Tamera to even here. 

“Koma, I just got a call from Aunt Niki. There’s been a call reporting an apparent Pokemon Abuse situation rise up on a local Farm. The Owner of the Farm has admitted to destroying unwanted Pokemon Eggs. And, apparently Chiyo’s involved. She’s the one who reported the situation. I’m getting a seizure warrant now, but I want to get there asap. Can you teleport there ahead of me?“ “Wait? Abuse case?“ he said aloud, “Chiyo? What does she have to do with it?“  “I don’t know, Aunt Niki said Chiyo will fill us in on the details when we get there. Teleport to the Castle as soon as you can.“ “I’ll be there.“ He finished, before lowering the phone to look at Tamera again.

Tamera huffed, clearly disappointed that her attempt to make polite conversation had backfired.

“I sure it would be fun…  For your maman zat is.”  Not so much for her.  She did not need Nikki trolling her.  “So what ‘ave you been doing zen…”  Another attempt at polite conversation.  Hopefully it wouldn’t backfire.

“I’ve been working...?“ Koma desperately tried to think of something to keep the conversation going... something she’d be interested in... oh! That was an idea! 

“Thank you.” she muttered and took the bottle from him. Maybe she was defensive, or just not appreciating this guy thinking a pack of angry grunts out for her head would have stopped their attack long enough for the cops to come along. What kinda of fantasy world did he live in? She didn’t think she liked this guy. Or how unconcerned he was with Kai being hurt.

“Yeah I get that. Procedures and all that, I get it.” Balia didn’t like the idea of being here in a strange place with a strange guy she didn’t really know, no matter what her empathic abilities were telling her. Without at least Quiz to back her up either if he pulled something. But her Pokemon needed attention. “I don’t know. I don’t even know who you are, or if I can even trust you or anyone you call in to take care of my Pokemon. How do I know I’ll ever see them again if I let you? You don’t feel dishonest but frankly the 3rd degree really isn’t winning you any trust points.” she looked up at Kai then. “You got some more blood right there. Need this?” she offered the gauze and tape.

Koma didn’t exactly look too impressed, and leaned back against the counter. He crossed his arms, “My name is Officer Komadori Yawa... I am Kai’s older brother.”  “Yer not that much older! Jeez!“ Kai complained. 

Koma watched Kai lean back in the chair, and tsunderely look away from the gauze, “Nah. I’m fine.” 

Koma just shook his head. He knew Balia probably didn’t know the truth about them, and that was fine by him. If he had his way, this would be the one and only time she’d ever see him in a humanoid form, “You may not trust me, I can send Kai to bring them to the closest Pokemon Center?”  “Hey!“ Kai snapped, “Don’t volunteer me like that without asking!“  “Would you rather sit here and wait for Midori to come back?“ Koma shot back.  And Kai immediately sulked, “...no.” 

“I am not losing it zat easily!” Tamera huffed.  “And it is not like I walk around barefoot all ze time.”  Another exasperated sigh as she tries to get herself calm.  “So… ‘ave sings been calm at ‘ome?”

“I would not know. I have not been home in awhile.“ Koma awkwardly replied, also trying his best to behave. 

She shouldn’t walk barefoot in the snow at all! Most people knew that, he shouldn’t have to convince her of that! 

“Why do you want to know?  Do you need to see ze scar or somesing?”  Try to get along.  Try to get along.  Don’t pick a fight.  Although just his presence is kinda irritating. She let out an easperated sigh. 

Jeez. Why was she always like this? What a pain...

New Verse? Moon Verse! 

I’ve made it official on my other blogs, but also gunna make it official here just encase. I’m archiving my Gen 7 Verse. Lot’s of stuff was going on in my personal life at the time, and my writing and plots got pretty messy, and not much was going on there anyway, so I’m shelving that verse for the time being. 

That being said, all other verses are the same so no worries there! 

Gen 6 Verse: 

Koma is a young Pokemon leaving home with a Pokemon Trainer and dreaming to be the ‘World’s Strongest Pokemon’. To achieve this, his Trainer, and her team travel the world defeating Gyms, collecting badges, and fighting leagues. 

Moon Verse:

16 years has passed since Koma left home. No longer a young and niave child, Koma has seen the darkness in the world, and it’s given him a bit of a negative perspective of humanity. After defeating multiple gyms, his Trainer decided she wanted to help make the world a better place, enrolled in a Police Academy, and graduated as an Interpol Officer. Since then, Koma has been helping her fight ‘bad guys’, save people and Pokemon, and help ‘keep the peace’. 

FMV:

Based 3 Years after the end of the Gen 7 Verse, Koma has settled down with a lovely mate, and has two beautiful children. His work keeps him busy, and he’s struggling with his Yveltal Side showing itself more, but he tries to keep both of those hidden from his family. After being blinded in a battle, Koma now uses his Psychic abilities and his ability to ‘see’ Life Energy to ‘see’... but his disability led to him leaving the Force, and now works Security closer to home.

This guy was rude and didn’t believe her either. Great. At least the lady had been nice. And what kind of jerk wouldn’t worry about someone who was also bleeding like she was?! Balia got up to look after her own face. Cleaning and covering the nasty cut with gauze and tape since it was too big for a simple bandaid. But not deep enough for butterfly bandages. 

“Yes because waiting the 10 years it would take for anyone to get to that route to help would have been so much better. Pff. Mister, My Manager would be having to call my mother and step-dad to tell them he would be bringing me home in a coffin.”  Why did these two guys seem so familiar? Their life energies were familiar specifically. Her senses were telling her they’d met before? Balia would have thought she’d have remembered them. 

“Yes actually. My fists are hurting a lot. It’s been a couple months since the last attempt at my life. And if you would be so kind I’d like to know if there is a pokecenter nearby? Or someone who could look at my pokemon? Their health is much more important to me than this. And I gotta ask, are you always this way? Because it sounds like you blame Kai for what happened. Which is absolutely bogus. And do you two have some preexisting bad relationship I don’t know about? You sound like my brother in law when he’s arguing with his little brother.” 

He completely ignored most of her comments, and instead turned back to the medicine cabinet to reach for a pill bottle, “Here.” He replied, before holding it out towards her, “Unfortunately, I can’t let you leave to a Pokemon Center until Midori comes back.” 

Guess she had no way of knowing that Kai was his little brother, and that he had a history of stuff like this, but he really didn’t feel like explaining it. However, her sudden defensiveness really didn’t bode well, and made him slightly suspicious. 

Kai however, stuck his tongue out at Koma from the background, before wiping his bloodied face on a cloth, which Koma also ignored. That part was nothing new and didn’t raise any alarm bells.

Oh. Here was someone he wasn’t expecting to be visiting as he entered the room...

Hopefully she’ll behave this time. “Long time no see?” He said, rather awkwardly, “How’s your foot?”