c h e v a l i e r

The read he got from a guy like Cenric was funny — cute, even. He was kinda shy and kinda socially awkward despite being a guy pushing past his thirties. He was a little cute, honestly, though Green wasn’t sure that he should be ogling the guy like that. He’d probably have a heart attack if Green tried anything further, even if he himself wasn’t looking.

Well, heart attacks were half the fun of it, wasn’t it? He gave a devilish little grin. “Alright, well, Teach says the best place to start is with a little lunch, don’t you think? Quick stop to a Pokemon Center, grab something nice to eat. It’s the least I can do after randomly showing up in the wee hours of the day just asking a guy to fight him. Some nice food’d do us some good, y’know?” 

He grinned, beginning to move to a Pokemon Center he knew was nearby. After all, this was Kanto; he knew the place like the back of his hand by now. “Walk with me, right? What signs do you got for me, cute stuff? Do you at least know the alphabet? That’d probably be a good place to start, if not.” He walked next to him with a little wink at ‘cute stuff.’ C’mon now; he wasn’t gonna get anywhere with this guy if he didn’t have a little fun every now and then.

   “Lunch?”

     Cenric raised a brow, a little surprised at the suggestion. He’d mostly been expecting Green to teach him a few extra signs right here where they stood, but he wasn’t exactly opposed to grabbing something to eat. It had been a long day, and after such a battle their teams deserved the time to rest up at a Pokemon Center. After a moments consideration, he nodded with a small smile of his own.

   “Sure thing.”

     With that, he started to walk alongside the other, listening closely as he glanced around to asses their surroundings. There didn’t seem to be any other potential challengers about to interrupt their stroll with a battle request, which was a relief, but even if there was he doubted they’d even bother after recognizing who it was Cenric was walking with. 

   “I know the alphabet. Simple things like yes, no, thank you. Beyond that, I’m not really--”

     Wait. ‘Cute stuff’? Brows furrowing slightly, Cenric tried to look like he wasn’t bothered as he gave Green a sideways glance, but he was betrayed by the dusting of pink across his cheeks. Compliments, even in a casual jokey way, were something he’d never been able to handle.

Harley continues to go through the soothing routine of brushing Roy’s fur. It’s always nice to run his fingers through the soft coat. The action had been a comforting gesture back then, when things got rough and he feels a little overwhelmed by it all. At the time, Roy had been a Herdier, but he still tries his best to shield the scrawny teen from the world. When he evolved, it just gave him even more softness to rest his body against.

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     Cenric raises his brows, giving Harley a certain look. As much as he claims he doesn't drink them regularly, the veteran clearly isn't too convinced – especially with that scoff from Roy. Not that he can really blame the guy. Aside from the year spent as a humble cashier at his home city's Pokemart, Cenric has never actually held down a 'proper' job before, and if he's honest, if he was handling both a classroom full of kids and a mountain of paperwork at the same time, he'd be chugging the energy drinks like there was no tomorrow too.  

As he gives Roy a little TLC, Harley cast glances at Curtana. He never had the opportunity to see a Dragonite up close and personal like this. The few times that he did were in Gym Battles at the Aspertia City Gym. Occasionally, Cheren would get Trainers who chose this Gym as their last, so that meant strong, typically fully evolved Pokemon. Curtana definitely had the same strength and air that those Dragonites had, further showcasing Cenric’s skill.

Still not liking the naps but he can’t deny he’s a damn good battler.

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     Curtana watches her trainer carefully, not entirely convinced that this is the best of ideas. Still, she only shuffles to the other side of Cenric as he cracks open the energy drink can, joining the audience of Harley and his Stoutland as the veteran taste tests a small sip. The strong, indescribable scent that came from the drink was off-putting enough, so his expression was already unenthused to begin with. Afterwards, he just looked like he'd bitten into a lemon.  

Green nodded at Cenric’s confession. Wasn’t weird at all, he’d think; after all, Green only happened to learn as much as he did because he was a wildly determined little bitch and didn’t wanna have to rely on Google Translate everywhere he went, and considering he learned pretty much three languages growing up, language acquisition was quite easy for him.

It must not be all that easy to have to suddenly shift your focus from a language you’ve learned your entire life to something you’re not used to, especially out of necessity.

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     By the look on the veteran's face, Cenric was clearly still unsure about Green's offer. He was still somewhat doubtful that he'd even be able to pick it up that quickly at all – the few extremely basic signs he knew here and there were already a struggle, but his motivation up until this point had been particularly lacking. Not to mention, he didn't want to be any kind of burden. A Gym Leader was probably busy enough without acting as a language tutor on the side...

coolteachxr:

Harley gives another stretch to work out the muscles before turning back to Cenric. He raises an eyebrow at the comment. “Well, yeah. Like, there’s a certain level of balance you have to strike with kids. Can’t be too strict, for you want them to enjoy the class and not be there because you have to, but you can’t be too lenient either for you don’t want them to disrespect you,” he replies almost seriously, then snorts. “You’re a grown ass adult. I think you can handle a little strictness.” Then he grins, looking Untrustworthy. “Unless you want me to give you gold stickers and say, good job Cenric whilst giving you a piece of candy that you shouldn’t tell the others about.”

Still, he gives his battling companion a hearty pat on the back, the grin looking more genuine. “But yeah, I think we can easily make it to the twentieth one.”

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   "I don't care how old I am, I wouldn't say no to a piece of candy." He retorted in a deadpan tone, after giving it a moments consideration. If there was one thing Harley would learn about him quickly, it was to never underestimate the power of his sweet tooth.  

Cenric returns his gaze with a slightly suspicious one of his own. Harley scoffs at his comment, barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Wanting to continue while they still had momentum is an unhealthy work ethic? The hospital comment had him snorting. “Please, overexertion is legitimately the last thing you’d need to drag me to the hospital for. I find myself in the ER every other month that I’m on a first name basis with some off the nurses on duty there.”

Speaking of, he wondered how Brenda and Peter are doing right now. Probably betting on the next time he finds himself wheeled in there. He wants in on that pool.

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    For a moment Cenric looks legitimately concerned. For all the back and forth there had been over text message, checking in on each other here and there, the veteran still had no grasp on how... unfortunate Harley could be. Slowly chewing on the snack that had been handed to him, he frowns softly, looking like a worried parent.  

  "That's no good."  

    Should he be assigning some sort of babysitter-bodyguard combo before he leaves again?  

He snapped his fingers at Cenric’s words. “There ya go. Exactly my sentiments. After me? You gotta go through Victory Road, my dude. You gotta go through the ringer. I never wanted to be that easy for that exact reason. Yeah, maybe holding back on Jari-chan Mega Evolving and everything — I pull out that party trick only for folks like you — but c’mon now. I’m gonna give you everything I’ve got. But y’know what? I actually hear that the kids that make it through once I give them shit and a half learn a few things — things that help make their journey from that point on easier. And that’s what it’s all about, huh?” He gave a smirk.

He almost wished he had something more idle to do — a Pokemon to tend to like Cenric did — but then again, all of his were fainted, so he could only just play with his necklace where his keystone lay, twiddling the little leather straps between his fingertips.

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     Cenric raised a brow with a hint of a smile at the mention of mega-evolving. It had definitely upped the ante, especially considering his own (and only) Pokemon with the capability to do the same had an unfortunate typing matchup. But still, even without using his keystone Cenric was certain that Green's team had scared some poor kid half to death at some point. He'd never actually journeyed across Victory Road himself so he couldn't be sure, but the wild Pokemon there probably paled in comparison to the Gym Leader's team.  

   "I think any route would seem like a cakewalk after a battle like that," he offered, only half joking.  

Green rested a finger on his chin, nodding at the thought. “Yeah, more or less, I was the same way. Started out my wee journey at ten and I never looked back. And you never stop learning after that point. Though, yeah, far as advice goes, you might not wanna tell that to the little kids. Won’t give them a direction to turn to.” 

He snorted. “Honestly, I think that was the weirdest part of becoming a Gym Leader. Wasn’t even about putting your grit and strategy out there, but… learning how to deal with the crowd — cuz they’re usually kids. They need advice and all that shit, and some of them start crying and just. Ugh. I’ve had to learn to deal with that. But hey, I gotta thank you for that. A lot of people’ve told me I gotta cut back on… how hard I go when I battle against these kids — that it isn’t fair. But y’know what? If the League was a cakewalk, how could kids learn, y’know? Feels like you earn this badge when I give it to ya.” And with that, and a wink, he pressed the little badge into Cenric’s palm.

It was right around when the other was tending to his Exploud that he noticed it — or what he assumed to be a hearing aid anyway. Definitely didn’t look like a Bluetooth. And shit, fuck. Welp. He felt bad. How much was he just gabbing on and Cenric couldn’t make it out? Would sign language be easier? Should he bring it up or would that be rude? He decided it was best not to assume things before he even knew the guy. “Y’know, forgive me for being a bug, but… we don’t really see many Exploud or the Whismur line around here in Kanto, but then again, I remember hearing tell you went off to Hoenn for a bit, right? The guy seems to really love you.” Well. He hoped that was a neutral enough place to start. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too invasive. Hopefully.

     Cenric looks a little more bashful when offering advice to kids is brought up, a soft laugh escaping as he lowers his gaze to the ground, though he manages a small nod of agreement. Green was right, it was best to come across as more inspiring to younger kids who wanted to learn, but it was certainly difficult to give a solid answer on to how to be a successful trainer. 

   “Sounds like being a Gym Leader is harder work than anyone really expects,” he started, mulling it over. 

Cenric seemingly scoffs at his threat, causing his eyes to gleam. Oh, if that’s how he wants to play– but then he gets up, looking less than pleased about having his nap disturbed. Harley would have 100% follow through with his threat about lip locking in combat if it means getting Cenric back to combat. Their end goal is to reach the Subway Bosses, and they won’t be able to get there if pretty boy here decides to claim a row of seats as his unofficial napping spot.

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     For a few seconds Cenric just sits there, eyeing Harley suspiciously. The guy had gotten seriously invested in the battles that had passed – rightfully so, considering each win under their belt meant being one step closer to the bosses – and apparently, he wasn't taking too kindly to the idea of any lengthy breaks. Look at that little frown. His threats were clearly no joke.