Now it's a Flock

[revolutionhawk]

A - Scramble Egg

So lately the egg he had was getting more active lately. Not typical for what little he can sort of recall for non-Pokemon creatures, but this is just how it works he supposes.

It’s while he’s been more diligent about carrying it around that suddenly the egg starts glowing softly (man these things are weird) and out of it eggshell-free pops out a small bluebird with fluffy wings that chirps up at him.

"Swablu, the Cotton Bird Pokémon! Swablu loves cleanliness and is quick to wipe off any unclean surface with its cotton-like wings." His Rotomdex spouts off helpfully. Then after a beat adds... "Birds are really your thing aren’t they?"

"That’s a... simple way of putting it," Shay responds simply. "It was that easy for the old man to tell, hm?"

"But now I don't fit in... You should get one of those electric fans! That could be my new body for going into battles!"


B - Thousand Needles

With there being another flying-type Pokemon on his active roster now, Shay figures that except for whenever Rotom wants to battle, he might as well stick to the theme being presented to him. Shouldn't be too hard to find one of those little Pikipeks, perhaps even an Oricorio-

"Look! Over there!"

...

He wasn’t expecting a bird Pokemon with bright blue feathers waddling around with the dumbest look on its face, stuck between choking on a spiny grey rodent and being electrocuted by the very angry creature stuck in its beak because of the spines.

Shay is almost reluctant about the idea of actually training with it later, but with a timely Pokeball toss he easily catches the thing and just has to contend with the Togetdemaru (as he later finds out) that’s a lot more mad about how much of a bad day it’s been having versus being grateful toward the bystander that saved it.

...

Or if you don't catch Shay in the middle of this battle, he'll be at the Pokemon Center getting his brand new Cramorant a checkup.


Wildcard!
[Got something else in mind? Come at me!]

Comments

B

[withoutcontrolofmyself]

That was... a strange sight.

Wes was just looking for somewhere to get comfortable with his new, baby Pokemon when he heard the lightning and the gagging of an unfamiliar bird. By the time Wes arrived, Shay's already caught the thing, leaving behind the angry Togedemaru.

"... Strange." That's all Wes says as he walks up to the Togedemaru, not even acknowledging Shay at first. "I'm surprised the other bird's not dead." He means your Cramorant, Shay. What even is that?

How aggressive is Togedemary anyway?

[revolutionhawk]

Not aggressive enough to keep venting its fury when it gets more of a crowd. The Togedemaru flees, but not before it gave Shay's Hawlucha some trouble with Spiky Shield.

Shay glances over at Wes, quickly making extra sure he's not the unimaginable threat from way before and then nodding in agreement. "... Really shows you the meaning of being stuck between a rock and a hard place."

And he can't be sure of how long it had been walking around as it was.

[withoutcontrolofmyself]

Ouch. That probably hurt. Wes is tempted to pick it up but he decides against it. He stares back at the teenager and gives a glance at the Pokeball.

"What even is that Pokemon you caught?"

[revolutionhawk]

"A flying-type at the very least," he answers as if that's all the other needs to know on the plans for his team composition.

He'll worry about what specifically he caught after a trip to the Pokemon Center. But Shay's not turning his back on Wes just yet. "Do you have a Pokemon that actually belongs to you this time?"

[withoutcontrolofmyself]

"Obviously." He's emotionally stunted. Not stupid, Shay.

Wes gives a small nod. He opens his pocket of his trenchcoat How is he wearing that in the heat and out pops a little head, chewing away on some grains.

"Moooorreeee!"

"This is Morpeko. He hatched a few days ago."

Yes. This is his.

[revolutionhawk]

Trenchcoat bros.

Shay shifts his gaze toward the little creature, noting easy to spot things like the fact it's clearly unperturbed about being with Wes. But he does find another question to ask.

"How are you able to take on a single Pokemon, let alone two of the big ones by yourself?"

[withoutcontrolofmyself]

The Morpeko nibbles at something in Wes' pocket as the man looks at Shay blankly.

"I was changed to fight. Team Cipher... Made me a weapon to Snag Pokemon. And I had to be able to deal with any person or Pokemon who tried to stop me."

Wes flexes the fingers his prosthetic hand, the one he had gotten from Tony and grits his teeth.

"If I was at home, they'd probably cut me up and try to make me stronger still. Since I lost..."

[revolutionhawk]

"Cut you open...?"

For once Shay seems taken aback. Probably because he hasn't seen evidence of Duel Academy stooping to even those sorts of experiments during the war. Brain-controlling parasites were hard enough to stomach.

[withoutcontrolofmyself]

"Cut off arm. Replaced it. Change some of my organs. Reinforced my bones so they don't break. Altered my mind. Made me more resistant to electrocution. And then tested me." The man grits his teeth, thinking about it. His anger bubbles just under the surface. He had been violated and mangled, his body barely feeling like his on. The thought of it made him mad.

In essence, that was a neat loop Cipher caught him in. Wes only felt strong negative emotions. Whenever he tried to think of happier times, or what he used to be, he got mad or he would despair, making him a stronger weapon in Hyper Mode. Trying to break the cycle only caused him pain which would make him lash out.

Morpeko seemed to notice and he whimpered. He bumped Wes gently with his forehead, trying to snap his daddy out of it.

[revolutionhawk]

As much as his instincts are rearing up to say otherwise, Shay silently and tentatively places his hand on Wes's shoulder. He doesn't have words in response to Wes's description of such a horrific past, but the teen is hoping for the gesture to ground him back to the present.

"Easy there."

Please don't rip his own arm off for this.

[withoutcontrolofmyself]

Wes looks up at Shay. Since Shay is so close, he can probably see that his eyes are different colours. It wasn't as if it was just the irises -one was gold and one was blue- but the whites looked slightly different.

Thanks to Morpeko nuzzling Wes, Wes' is sort of alert that he's being comforted which is why he doesn't flip Shay like he did Guzma's Scizor. The older man takes a long and deep breath before he relaxes.

"... Right. Not there. Not free but... not there."

b - pokemon center

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

Sena's just gotten his own Pokemon back, and the first thing he does is immediately let them out of their Pokeballs. A bit inconvenient, given how big (or flighty) some of them are, but he seems used to the chaos.

One of them, Shell, is almost the perfect size for Cramorant to shove down its gullet...dangerous...especially since its resting on Sena's head, and Sena himself is leaning over curiously to take a look at the new bird.

"I haven't seen a Pokemon like that before...it doesn't look like it's from any of the regions I've been to. Is it from here in Alola somewhere?"

That's the natural thing to assume, isn't it? But he hasn't even seen one in Alola yet, and it's been...months, at least?

[revolutionhawk]

Luckily for both parties, Shay doesn't have to do much besides aim a hard glare at the scraggly seabird as it leans its head up to examine the other Pokemon- dissuading it from disobeying the nurse's orders and tucking back into a bowl of wet Pokemon food mixed with a cheri berry and plenty of oran berries.

"Good question." Shay finally responds. "Rotom, its dex entry?"

"Scanning... here we go!" Thank goodness for periodic software updates. "Cramorant, the Gulp Pokemon! This hungry Pokémon swallows Arrokuda whole. Occasionally, it makes a mistake and tries to swallow a Pokémon other than its preferred prey."

And then they add specifically toward the bird, "You didn't come all the way from the Galar region just to sample some new cuisine did you?"

.... Judging by the Cramorant's non-committal or most likely embarrassed burble at the question, maybe.

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

"Arrow...kuda?" Haven't heard of that one, either. "From the Galar region, huh...I guess I didn't expect it to be from there."

why tho

"Funny, huh...we got those new students from Galar, and now these Pokemon too...?"

[revolutionhawk]

"You think there's a connection?" Shay asks with a doubtful tone.

After all, the accidental introduction of a bunch of Galar species has been happening for a while according to the locals.

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

Sena shrugs nervously.

"Honestly? I'm not really sure...but I've been around someone who could take even the smallest details and turn them into ammo..."

Hiruma...that man was terrifying. You could never let your guard down around him...although admittedly, that still wouldn't help you.

[revolutionhawk]

"Hm."

Considering he doesn't know this stranger, that's really all that Shay bothers to 'reply' with as a response. And he certainly wasn't going to talk about the supposed students from Galar out in the open, if at all.

Shay's Rotomdex glances about the room, struggling to find a topic to keep the silence from getting tense. "...You know. I think our new friend looks like a 'Scuttle' to me."

It catches both their trainer and the blue seabird's attention again. "What?"

"You know...!"

"You know I haven't made a habit of naming you all," Shay replies back matter-of-factly. "And Scuttle was a seagull."

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

"S...scuttle..."

It takes a good few seconds for Sena to get the reference, but he just ends up laughing nervously at the Cramorant as he finally gets the joke.

"Erm...well, it's a good name either way, right? It kinda suits him..."