toutous

[toutous]

𝔉𝔯𝔬𝔰𝔱𝔟𝔦𝔱𝔢 | Touko & Erika

    { ♕ } — In which Touko travels to Snowpoint City severely under-prepared.

@ecfloresco

     It was half-way over the low ridge of Mt. Coronet that Touko began to seriously doubt her decision of traveling to Snowpoint City. The brunette had underestimated the frosty climate of the mountains, which - if she had heard right from the previous town - would remain just as dreadful in the city itself, and was quick to realize that the light clothing she had on would not provide much warmth. 

     In her defense, she had tried to dress warmly. Under her shorts she had slipped on some wool leggings, and over her sleeveless jacket she had pulled on a reasonably heavy Parka. She figured her travel boots would be sufficient enough, but she had relented and purchased a scarf before heading out. However, the weather proved to be more treacherous than she had thought, with icy winds and sharp flakes of snow ripping right through her defenses.

     “H-how are you holding up, S-Sebastian?” With her face all but buried into the avian’s back, Touko wasn’t sure if he heard her at all. The Braviary road the wind torrents up and over the mountain peak with all the grace he could muster - his wings pounding a relentless rhythm as he tried to keep himself steady for his trainer’s sake. His trainer’s added weight typically didn’t bother him much in calmer weather; but with the aggressive gusts of wind working against them, it was all he could do to keep them in the air.

     It seemed like a lifetime before they fully crossed over the mountain range; their travels made easier with the wind finally at their back. But the journey had taken its toll on Sebastian, the avian’s exhaustion forcing him to land three-quarters down Route 217.

     “Great job, Sebastian. You did well.” Touko assured, giving his beak an affectionate stroke. “I’ll take it from here. Go ahead and rest.” Sebastian cooed softly, easily returning to his offered Pokeball. Once he was safely inside, she slipped the ball back into her bag and gave the outside cover a soft pat. Seemed like she would be walking the rest of the way.

     “Right ...” Rubbing her hands up and down her arms, she glanced ahead of her contemplatively. The Acuity Lakefront was just visible on the horizon; if she made good time, Touko was sure she would be able to make it to Snowpoint by nightfall. 

     “Arceus forbid I end up camping outside tonight. I’d turn into a frozen Popsicle in an hour!”     

[toutous]

     { ♕ } — Hello everyone! For those of you who aren’t on the group’s discord, I’m Bree and I’ll be writing as Touko from here on! A little about me: I’m a 25-year-old female who uses the she/her pronouns. At the moment I don’t plan on picking up any additional characters, since usually I get fixated on one muse at a time and it gets hard switching between multiple muses (for me anyways). I enjoy playing video games (I’m in the maplestory 2 closed beta at the moment >:D), roleplaying (obviously, since I’m here), writing, reading, and other things I can’t pull off the top of my head at the moment.      Other than that, I look forward to interacting with as many people as I can. I’m super friendly, so feel free to hit me up if you want to plot something. I’ll go ahead and make this a starter call as well. If you would like our muses to interact, just like this post and I’ll IM you to do a quick plotting. (Doesn’t have to be super in-depth, but just so I can write something both of us can work with.)       Happy writing everyone! xoxo

[toutous]

what is Touko's favorite pokemon type?

“My favorite type?” 

Humming, she taps a contemplative finger to her chin.

“Water types probably. I mean, I do prefer them slightly more than other types.” With a grin, she rubs the back of her neck sheepishly. “That being said, I can’t say I’ve trained any water types before. Maybe I should consider it?”

[toutous]

      { ♕ } — Touko was glad when he managed to take her hand, half afraid the boy would turn tail and run in the opposite direction. Was she really that intimidating? She didn’t think she was; and it wasn’t like she was some world known celebrity ( although from the boy’s reaction she might as well have been ). So, in an attempt to put the boy at easy, she simply kept a pleasant smile on her face.

      “Oh, you were there for that?” In a rare moment of bashfulness, the brunette glanced downwards - her unoccupied hand rising to rub the back of her neck demurely as she attempted to school the pink tint suddenly dusting her cheeks. “It wasn’t anything special. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time is all.”

      When the boy hastily took his hand from hers, she jerk her head back up with a start. Oops ... had she been holding onto his hand without realizing it? That’s a bit embarrassing. Silently she hoped she hadn’t freaked the boy out too much. Sometimes she let her mind run away with her; a habit she’d had since childhood that proved difficult to break. 

      Suddenly, the boy seemed to lose it. Tripping over himself as he tried to talk, hands moving erratically as he tried to get his point across - and all Touko could do was watch as he tried to get his barrings. She hadn’t ... done this to the poor guy, right? By holding his hand? Certainly not ... 

      Sapphire eyes glanced briefly at the Altaria he gestured at, eyeing the Pokemon worriedly as it seemed ready to collapse any second. Eventually he managed to calm down enough to tell her his name - Wally - and ask her where the PokeCenter was ( because during the rant she couldn’t tell if he was asking her the questions or himself ). 

      For a moment, all Touko could do was blink at him; and then, her mind finally catching up to her, all she could do was laugh.

      “Relax, Wally! I promise, I won’t bite.” As if to prove her point, she briefly reached out to place a comforting hand his shoulder before motioning in the general direction of the city. “The center’s on the other side of the city, near the eastern exit. It may sound far, but it really isn’t. As far as city’s go, Jubilife seems to be rather small.”

      “Anyway, c’mon. I’ll take you.”  Motioning for him to follow, she began walking. “So are you here for the Conference? Or just passing through?” 

He shook her hand mechanically, a little star struck. “I was in Unova when you took down Team Plasma.” He sounded dazed and he was still shaking her hand. “Your face was all over the news-” He hadn’t followed the story extremely closely, he had been traveling after all, but he remembers being in awe of her. She must have been so strong to accomplish that, sort of like… 

He came back to himself all at once and hastily let go of her hand. What an embarrassing show, he was probably making her uncomfortable. He tugged at the strap of his bag, and nervously mumbled to the ground instead of looking at Touko. 

“I-I’m sorry, that was rude.” he said while his stomach twisted in knots. He leaned into Altaria’s side half to hide, half to calm himself. “Yeah I wa-wanted to know if you knew where the Pokecenter is…? It’s just-” 

He flapped his hand at Altaria, who was starting to droop a little. “We’ve come a long way and-! Alraria is very tired? B-but it’s okay if you don’t know! I’m sure we can find our own way? Wow I’m just really sorry.” He sighs in frustration at himself and rests his face in his hands for a minute. 

“I’m sorry.” He said again more calmly, though he’s still shy. At least he managed to look at Touko instead of the ground. “I’m Wally. Could you show me where the Pokecenter is?” 

[toutous]

BOLD what applies to your muse.

PLACE IN SOCIETY

financial: affluent / moderate / poor / in poverty / unsure

medical: fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / disadvantaged

class or caste: upper / middle / working / slave / unsure.

education: qualified / unqualified / studying / unknown.

criminal record: yes, for major crimes / yes, for minor crimes / no  

FAMILY

married - happily / married - unhappily / engaged or betrothed / partnered / single / divorced / separated(??) / widowed / verse dependent

has a child or children / has no children / wants children

sibling(s) / has no siblings / sibling(s) is deceased / unsure

orphaned / adopted / disowned / raised by birth parents

TRAITS + TENDENCIES

extroverted / introverted / in between.

disorganized / organized / in between

close-minded / open-minded / in between.

calm / anxious / in between.

disagreeable / agreeable / in between.

cautious / reckless / in between.

patient / impatient / in between.

outspoken / reserved / in between.

leader / follower / in between.

empathetic / unemphatic / in between.

optimistic / pessimistic / realist

traditional / modern / in between.

hard-working / lazy / in between.

cultured / uncultured / in between / unknown.

loyal / disloyal / unknown.

faithful / unfaithful / in between.

BELIEFS:

monotheist / polytheist / atheist / agnostic.

belief in ghosts or spirits: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care.

belief in an afterlife: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care.

belief in reincarnation: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care.

belief in aliens: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

religious: orthodox / unorthodox / liberal / in between / not religious

philosophical: yes / no.

OPINIONS

pro-euthanasia / anti-euthanasia / doesn’t know or on the fence / doesn’t care

pro-choice / anti-abortion / doesn’t know or on the fence / doesn’t care

pro-marriage / anti-marriage / doesn’t know or on the fence / doesn’t care

pro-death penalty / anti-death penalty  / doesn’t know or on the fence / doesn’t care

pro-drug legislation / anti-drug legislation / doesn’t know or on the fence / doesn’t care

pro-murder / anti-murder / doesn’t know or on the fence / doesn’t care

pro-cannibalism / anti-cannibalism / doesn’t know or on the fence / doesn’t care

left wing / right wing / middle / doesn’t know or on the fence / doesn’t care

SEXUALITY + ROMANTIC INCLINATION

heterosexual / homosexual / bisexual / asexual / pansexual.

sex repulsed / sex neutral / sex favorable.

romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favorable.

sexually: adventurous / experienced (ish)  / naive / inexperienced / curious.

potential sexual partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all.

potential romantic partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all.

ABILITIES

combat skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none.

literacy skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

artistic skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

technical skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none.

HABITS

drinking alcohol: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess.

smoking: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess.

other narcotics: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess

medicinal drugs: never / sometimes / frequently  / to excess.

indulgent food: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess.

splurge spending: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess.

gambling: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess.

[toutous]

      { ♕ } — She was a bit ashamed to admit it, but it had be a long time since Touko had returned home - a fact her mother wasn’t afraid to point out to her daughter the moment they reunited. It had been a few days since the brunette had dragged herself back to her mother’s house in Nuvema Town, and she had been more than happy to finally catch up with her mother and the rest of the small community. 

      Professor Juniper, who had been tipped off by Touko’s mother ( much to the brunette’s chagrin ), wasted no time tracking the evasive trainer down on the second day - asking the girl to do a few errands for her while she was in town. As much as Touko would have liked to say no, she knew it was impossible. She owed the Professor too much, and she was positive her mother would have kicked her out until the jobs were done anyway. 

      And so it was with great resentment when, on her forth day home, she was ushered from the house ( where she had been catching up on her dramas ) and forced into the wilderness on Route 1. Absently she thought back to the Professor telling her something about overly aggressive Scraggy’s spotted in the area recently. They apparently had a tendency to attack small children whenever they entered the Pokemon’s territory; and concerned with the development, the professor asked Touko to go investigate. 

      “The kids are probably just stealing too many berries.” Touko mumbled to herself, softly kicking a stone and watching as it tumbled into a patch of tall grass. “That’s what we did when we were little.”

      Sighing, she turned to head back into town when something caught her eye. A man with startlingly familiar green hair crouched in the grass nearby, seemingly conversing with a Scraggy who pointed defiantly at a berry bush. Sapphire eyes watched the duo in obvious disbelief, for once her active mind completely blank. 

      ‘Impossible. I looked everywhere for him.’ Unintentionally, she took a step forward - eyes narrowed in concentration, willing the man to turn toward her. ‘For him to turn up all of a sudden - to turn up here no less ... that’s just ...’ 

     “Hey!” She called with an obvious edge in her voice, glaring pointedly at the back of his head. “What are you doing over there? Those Pokemon have been aggressive lately; I hope you're not instigating them.” 

            @toutous

   Nuvema City. Such a small town. So little people. Maybe this is why N liked visiting this place, but he would never know the true reason as to why. He just always felt drawn to the smiles of the small children that ran around playing with their Pokemon while being watched by their parents. It seems so pure. So innocent in a way. They had not a single care in the world as their parents would joke and play about their yards. 

   N stood around Route 1 as he noticed a small child running about from the group of small children. She seemed young, around the age of eight or nine. She had with her a Tympole that wore a small pink bow with the brightest smile on its face. N couldn’t help but smile all the same as he watches the two wonder off. N was curious as to where the little one was heading, following along behind. 

   He continued to watch the young girl as she played with Tympole through the grass, picking up a daisy before giving it to her Tympole. 

   Yet, not all this will last.

   A Scrafty appeared in the grass in front of the girl, causing her to scream in fear. The Scrafty did not seem happy at all, and it wasn’t long before it tried to attack her. N dashed toward her, wrapping his arms around her along the Tympole, and dodging the Pokemon’s attack. 

   Scrafty let a low growl as N sent off the child back toward Nuvema to take care of the angered Pokemon. He opened his arms, slowly.

        “My friend… why is it you’re so upset…?”

   The Scrafty let out a low growl again before hitting N upside his stomach, groaning slightly at its punch. Looking up at Scrafty, N just smiled softly at the Hoodlum Pokemon who grumbled lightly at him. 

     “I see… well… I am sure there is a better place for you to be so young ones don’t pull your tail..”

   Scrafty grumbled and point toward the berry bushes nearby, gesturing it liked to eat the berries from there. N curled his lip slightly, crossing his arms. 

      “Hm… I suppose that would make sense… your food supply is here and berries grown in different areas tend to taste different.”

[toutous]

      { ♕ } — Touko walked out of the conference building with a yawn. She had ended up lingering longer than she intended to, and wasn’t surprised to see the sun already falling from the sky as she ambled into the green-less courtyard. The sky, painted a light orange, made a pleasing backdrop to the city’s skyline - reminding Touko just why this time of day was her favorite. 

      “Now then, how should I waste away my evening?” The brunette asked to no one in particular, absently waving goodbye to a trainer she had been chatting with earlier that day as they made their way into the city. Maybe she should go into the city. To do what, she wasn’t sure. Maybe dance? She hadn’t been dancing for while, and while she wasn’t particularly good at it she still enjoyed the movement.

      She was still undecided as she made her way across the courtyard; but stopped short when she heard a voice calling out to her. Or at least, she hoped they were calling out to her as she turned to address whomever wanted her attention. If not, she could casually play it off like she was checking out the fountain behind her ... or something.

      Thankfully, Touko was spared any sort of accidental embarrassment as a young man her age pointedly approached her. He began to ask her something before suddenly cutting himself off, staring at her long enough to make the brunette shift uncomfortably.

      “Do I know where ...?” Touko prompted with a tense smile on her face, perplexed by his behavior. Was that surprise she saw? Did he know her from somewhere? Quickly she raked her brain for a time she may have met him, but as expected none came to mind. Just as she was about to apologize for possibly forgetting him, his next works took her completely by surprise.

“You- you’re her. The Unovian Heroine.” 

      “E-eh-? Wha-?” Blinking, Touko took a step back - clearly surprised. It had been a long time since someone had called her that. She had very clearly been caught off-guard. 

      “Wow, sorry. I’m a bit ... er, surprised. It’s been a while since I heard that term associated with me.” Laughing sheepishly, the brunette cleared her thoughts with a quick shake of her head - grinning cheekily at the boy standing across from her.

      ”My name’s Touko, by the way. Nice to meet’ya.” She held out her hand to him in a friendly manner. “So what’s up? You were about to ask me something, weren’t you?”

@toutous

Wally slumped over Altaria’s neck and stroked a hand over his left side consolingly when he made a protesting noise. “Only a little further.” He reassured the exhausted pokemon and pointed out ahead of them, a little over from where the sun was dipping towards the horizon. It would be setting soon, but for now there was still plenty of light to see by. “See, there’s Jubilife City! And when we get there we can all rest a little. How does that sound?” Altaria made a sound that could have been assent, but also could have been his way of telling Wally to get lost. Since he wasn’t dumped off of Altaria’s back then and there, Wally decided it meant they would all make it there in one piece, if not seriously tired from the effort. 

It had been a long journey, not one Wally would have normally decided to do all at once, but time hadn’t been on their side. Being delayed in Hearthome City had done them no favors, and as a consequence they hadn’t been able to leave the day before like Wally had wanted. Altaria was exhausted from making the trip in one day and Wally wasn’t feeling much better. He would have to find some place to stay once they reached Jubilfe City. He had won a decent chunk of money recently and now sounded like the perfect time to put it to use. He had no intention of sleeping on the ground tonight. 

Altaria screeched as they swooped down over the city. Wally joined in whooping loudly and wrapping his arms around Altaria’s neck in a grateful hug. 

“Thank you, you did so well!” He cheered and jumped down when they got close enough to the ground. He offered to let Altaria rest in his ball, but he refused choosing to stay by his trainer’s side. Wally tucked the pokeball back into his bag and look out at the city. “Alright, first we need to go to the Pokecenter! Oh but… where is it?” The distinctive red roof was nowhere in sight, and there weren’t any signs leading into the city that might indicate where it might be. There were, however, several people milling about that looked like trainers. 

“Look! Do you think she might know?” He he pointed at a girl nearby and waved Altaria closer. “Common, lets go ask!” 

“Excuse me, miss?” He asked when he was close enough. “Do you know where- O-oh.” He stopped and stared at her, surprise flickering through him. “You- you’re her. The Unovian Heroine.” 

[toutous]

      { ♕ } — “That room was so cold!” Came Touko’s irritated grumble as she stalked stiffly out of the lecture hall, shoving her nearly frozen hands into the pockets of her jacket in an attempt to defrost the appendages. For someone who detested the cold with a passion, that previous conference had been absolute hell for the brunette.

      “What are they trying to do? Turn everyone into human-flavored Popsicle's?” Kaoru, Touko’s pampered Zorua, growled indignantly from her perch on her trainer’s head. The corners of the brunette’s mouth turned upward despite her sour attitude at the sound; and with a audible huff, decided not to think about the ungodly temperature any longer.

      “Sorry, sorry. You’d taste much better than a human-flavored Popsicle, I’m sure.” Kaoru didn’t give Touko the satisfaction of a response, but the trainer was still impishly pleased when she felt the vixen bristle irritably. At least she wasn’t the only one put-off by the cold room they were forced to sit in for the past hour. 

      “Anyway, I think that was the last one for a while; so why don’t we g-” Touko was cut off sharply by something solid slamming into her side, knocking the air out of her temporarily as she lost balance. With a bit a luck, the brunette managed to catch herself on the corner of the wall before tripping completely over herself - wincing visibly as Kaoru’s nails dug into the top of her head to keep her from flying off. 

      “Ow, what the hell ...!?” She took a moment to right herself before turning her attention sharply on the person who rammed into her; but just before she got anything else out, she paused. The woman standing before seemed ... familiar somehow? Although at the moment, she was finding it hard to remember where she recognized the woman from.

      “Don’t worry about it, I’m fine.” Touko waved off the older woman’s concern, smiling sheepishly as she continued. “It was partially my fault anyway for not paying attention. You weren’t hurt, were you?” 

For some reason, Malva had expected more out of the conference than a bunch of dull lectures. There were odd characters wandering around, but she had no interest in conversing with the rabble. She had gone almost entirely unrecognized thus far, which would have been nice if it weren’t somewhat annoying. People ought to show at least a little respect for an Elite Four member.

Her Pyroar trotted along at her side as she wandered the hallways, looking for something or someone remotely interesting. Unfortunately, the only person of interest she spotted was someone wearing a security uniform, who caught her eye for a moment too long. Picking up the pace, she moved quickly down one hall then another.

Rounding a corner a little too quickly as she was looking over her shoulder, she found something quite solid suddenly in front of her. Malva caught herself with Pyroar’s help, but only just. She bit back the insult that was ready on her tongue as she looked toward the girl she had run into. There was something vaguely familiar about her, though Malva couldn’t recall where she had seen her before.

“I’m sorry, darling,” she said, slightly apologetic smile on her face. “I wasn’t looking where I was going. Are you alright?”

@toutous

[toutous]

      { ♕ } — Touko loved traveling. She didn’t know what it was that appealed to her so much: the people? New places? Discovering different Pokemon? Freedom? Perhaps it was a mixture of all of it and then some; but whatever it was, it didn’t matter. All the brunette knew was the urge to move, to explore places unknown. All she knew was that staying in one place just didn’t feel right. 

      And so she traveled. 

      A small town somewhere in the Sinnoh region had been the next stop on her aimless journey. There wasn’t any specific reason for stopping in the town ( whose name she hadn’t bother to figure out, so she simply called it The Town ), but stop she did - even though she did have ample time to make it to the next city the previous day. If pestered for a reason - even if there was no specific reason - for stopping, all Touko would be inclined to say was: “I had a feeling something interesting would happen here.” 

      Stepping out of the hotel she had lodged in the previous night, Touko stretched her arms above her head and took a deep breath of fresh air. The older attendant at the front desk had recommended for her to take a look at the hotel’s garden’s on her way out, saying something about the tranquility of the area being good for a young person’s health. Touko had merely grinned and thanked her, not entirely interested; but with nothing else to do she decided it wouldn’t hurt to take a quick peek.

      ”It is pretty nice ...” Sapphire eyes glanced around casually as booted feet leisurely traveled down the worn, cobble path.  Although the town was on the smaller side, Touko did notice a few people wandering along the garden trails - tourists and locals alike. It had only taken her a few minutes to reach the end of the path, so she paused briefly to glance around before turning to head back. 

      Only to come up short when a yellow, mouse-like Pokemon ran right up to her and cocked its head to the side inquisitively.

      Blinking down at it curiously, Touko examined the seemingly friendly Pokemon before kneeling down to get a closer look. 

      “Hello there, handsome. Where did you come from?” Holding out her hand for the creature to sniff, she glanced up briefly to see if it had a trainer anywhere - sapphire eyes coming to a stop on an approaching boy with a red Pokemon cap on his head and an Espeon following close behind him. Oblivious to his initial silence, Touko wasted no time asking about the Pokemon in front of her.

      “Hey, is this little guy with you? It’s my first time seeing this kind of Pokemon ... is he a, uhm, Pikachu?” 

@toutous

     Having settled in and gotten a snack to regain his energy, Red decided to go for a walk, letting Pikachu and Espeon accompany him. He found the garden on the hotel grounds to be a calm place for a walk. Besides, he thought it was good to let the Sun Pokémon stretch his legs. He tended to get restless when he was unable to be outside.

     Pikachu, on the other hand, was running around and making friends with any Pokémon he could find. His trainer couldn’t help but feel happy. This was where his partner showed his true self. The isolation was hard on him, being away from new people and potential friends. Where Red was reserved and quiet, the Mouse Pokémon was outgoing and cheerful. They complemented each other. That was why they’d been partners since the beginning.

     Proving this point, Pikachu dashed ahead of him and Espeon toward another potential friendship. He stopped in front another trainer. Something about her had caught his attention, so he looked up and tilted his head to the side.

          “Pi-ka…?”

     Espeon looked to Red, who seemed uneasy about approaching another trainer, and crooned soothingly. He knew that it would be difficult for him, but he also knew that it would be good. Giving in, Red followed after Pikachu, stopping next to him.

          “…..”

     This was where it became awkward.

[toutous]

      { ♕ } — Nimbasa City. To Touko, it felt like ages since she had last set foot there. In reality, it had only been a little more than two years; but even still, the wave of nostalgia that had assaulted her senses as she made her way through the bustling streets had nearly been enough to bring tears to her eyes. Almost, but not quite. 

      The city was just as she remembered it - loud, crowded, and drenched in the scent of industry. Sapphire eyes glanced briefly toward the entrance of the amusement park as she ambled past, lips tugging up slightly at the line that had already formed despite it still being so early in the day. Unintentionally her gaze traveled skyward, finding where the tip of the Ferris Wheel poked out above the rest of the park. 

      Quickly she adverted her eyes as her chest swelled with sudden emotion. Memories, both wonderful and melancholy, flooded her mind in their entirety. She hadn’t come to the city just to travel down memory lane, however; and so she forcefully swallowed down the lump in her throat, shook her head roughly to clear it of the cobweb of unwanted thoughts, and continued on her way. 

      As embarrassed as she was to admit it, Touko had never ventured into the Battle Subway - her destination of the day. Of course she had heard about it - what Unovian trainer hadn’t? - but because of a lack of time ( it definitely wasn’t due to lack of interest ) she had never gotten the chance to try it out. Stepping into a large building a moment later, the brunette quickly made her way down a flight of stairs into the train terminal - stopping suddenly at the bottom and letting out a low, impressed whistle.

      ”Wow. It’s a lot bigger than I was imagining.” Stepping into the large, circular hall, Touko glanced around in mild amazement. Eight different platforms were stationed at even distances from each other around the circumference of the room - a different train allocated to each one. People milled around, murmuring quietly to each other as they waited to board their train, clustered in groups near platforms or lounging on benches scattered around the room. 

      Touko was forced from admiring the area in order to step back as a group of irritated trainers all but pushed her aside in their march to the exit. Mumbling something nasty under her breath, she shot the retreating group an unamused glower before something - or rather someone - caught her attention. Sapphire eyes turned in the direction of a young man around her age standing near the middle of the room, voice raised as he announced that the trains had been temporarily delayed due to maintenance. 

      Just my luck. With a wry smile, Touko leisurely headed in the direction of the boy. An hour, huh? I guess I could hang around here for a bit.

“Hah, I hope they know it’s first come, first serve once the trains are back up…” 

      ”Well I certainly didn’t, but I’m glad I do now.” With a grin, the brunette stopped in front of the young man - unintentionally catching that last bit, and was somewhat glad she did. Tilting her head to the side a bit, she openly examined him a moment before gesturing to the trains around them. 

      “This is actually my first time coming down here; kinda sucks that I caught the maintenance period thought.” Touko shrugged good-naturedly before continuing. “But maybe it isn’t so bad. Gives me a chance to pick your brain a bit. So, can you tell me a bit about this place? How it works, recommendations, that sort of thing.”

@toutous·

He’s tired; his legs aren’t meant to plant themselves in one spot, repeating the same ( boring ) message to any new arriving trainers ( any new participants ) that want to ride the Multi-Train.

“Due to delays, the Multi-Train is NOT accepting any more participants…” He sounds like a train station announcer. Oh, no wait, he IS a station announcer ( just for the time being, he recalls the Subway Masters telling him. He also remembers telling them that they don’t pay him enough for this and they’d be better of getting a sign. Yet here he is – they better be grateful ).

“Hooowever,” he drawls, “if you don’t mind waiting, service should be back up and running in about an hour. Any other questions or concerns you have, feel free to ask me”. Some of the gathered trainers look confused, others angry, and a few regulars who’ve dealt with the occasional train delays nod their head in understanding. Either way, questions aren’t asked and the majority of trainers file out of the station. Once they’re gone, he huffs. “Hah, I hope they know it’s first come, first serve once the trains are back up…”

[toutous]

      { ♕ } — A hum of acknowledgement was Touko’s only reply, vaguely recognizing the name of Lucas’ professor. Professor Rowan, she mused, briefly glancing towards the front when she noticed the lecturer arrive and begin to organize papers on a podium, why does that name sound familiar?

     “Yeah, Juniper.” Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to her temporary companion, “I’m not so much her assistant as someone who occasionally runs errands for her - or helps with a bit of field work every now and then. I’m mostly traveling these days so I don’t usually stay in one place for too long.”

     The brunette’s lips turned up to form a cheeky grin. “She thinks I’m constantly on the move just to avoid her - she’s partially right.”

      Folding her arms on top of the desk, she propped her cheek against her knuckles and maneuvered herself so that she was sitting sideways on the bench - body facing Lucas as she gave him a quick once over. He was a bit thinner than she was - not that she particularly wanted to admit that, even mentally - and had a rather lanky build. Regardless, he looked to be relatively fit for a Professor’s assistant. 

      Or at least she assumed he was an assistant, judging by his previous mention of Rowan.

      “You look to be in good shape. Are you prone to travelling too? Or do you prefer the lab life?” 

Act 1: Boredom || Touko & Lucas

Well, that made it a bit better that he didn’t recognize her then. Lucas was never the best with faces or names, and it was always rather uncomfortable when he couldn’t remember someone who clearly remembered him. It happened more frequently than it ought to.

“Sort of,” he said, shrugging. It wasn’t as though he didn’t want to be there. Certain demonstrations had been interesting, and a few events gave out free stuff, which was always nice, but it still hadn’t exactly been his idea to be there in the first place.

“I’m here for Professor Rowan. He can’t make it to all the events he wants to, so I’m here taking notes on stuff for him. I don’t really know what he expects to get out of this one. Pretty sure half the things he’s sending me to are just to keep my busy.”

Although, he wasn’t really complaining about that part. There had been a number of odd people lurking about the convention center, so maybe ti was better to attend events to stay out of their way.

“Are you Professor uh…” He paused, trying to remember the name. Lucas had never met the professor from Unova personally, but Rowan had mentioned her a few times. “Professor Juniper, are you her assistant or something?”

[toutous]

Return of the Truth

I’ve wanted to do a picture of this kind for AGES! :D A tribute to my fav pick of my favourite set of Pokemon games, Black and White! If you’re one of the haters, come and try to tell me these games are shitty. I’ll gladly laugh in your face :3

Anyway, it has been a year since my first piece done with tablet. I tried something new again, something a bit more “painty”. I’m planning to add a similar piece with N and Zekrom on Dragonspiral Tower. So one day, hopefully.

[toutous]

      { ♕ } — Things were becoming a bit - correction, extremely - bizarre. One moment Touko was standing alone in the seemingly abandoned hallway, and when she blinked a moment later there was a petite, dark skinned woman speaking dramatically towards the open door leading into her room. Her mind was completely void of any thoughts as she observed the unusual scene; mouth agape and her body surging with adrenaline. 

      “Okay, okay, wait! Hold on - timeout.”  The brunette took a deep, calming breath; allowing herself a moment to compose herself and make sense of her jumbled thoughts. Sapphire eyes looked between the girl and her room skeptically, before landing on Kaoru - who had taken to slowly backing up towards her trainer while glaring defensively at nothing. Or at least it seemed like nothing to Touko. 

      Becoming a bit perturb by the vixen’s abnormal behavior, she scooped Kaoru into her arms protectively before turning her attention back to other woman. Well that’s new, she thought absently; eyeing the girl’s choice of hair accessories a bit suspiciously. If she weren’t feeling so on-edge she’d probably appreciate the large flower’s uniqueness - but at the moment there were other things her mind was currently preoccupied with. 

      “Okay, first thing’s first: Who are you? And secondly, what the hell are you going on about? You’re kinda freakin’ me out.”

Room 333 || Touko & Phoebe

       It is a metropolis composed of metal and stone carved from the mountain, concrete and asphalt where the people mill about, measuring their lives to the second and become absorbed in salacious gossip and politics. The smallest division here is the rising and setting of the sun, the appearing and vanishing of the burning star from the naked eye over the pinnacle. 

       In most ways, the cityscape is no different from the ones back home; under the slivers of moonlight, she can see phantoms pass – they are different here, however, as they never once acknowledge her presence. She wonders if perhaps they are locked in another time, visible and yet somehow dislocated from the here and now.

       There are so many times where specters craved attention rather than be in ancient walls. She knew they were always imagining, fantasizing and building their scheme for when someone did see them. She wondered if they waited, sitting in the smog of haunted places they thought were their sanctuary. 

       Phoebe watches as the spirit she’s noticed on the balcony of her room slips through the doors, leading down the hallway towards another suite. It hadn’t bothered itself with attempting to frighten her or her companions, but it had been aware of her aura. She had considered perhaps it had been a benign apparition, no longer amused with frightening humans and Pokemon in their free time, but no sooner does she think that does she watch as he rattles the knocker on ROOM 333 in the middle of the night. 

       The ghost elitist might of laughed had it been under different circumstances, but she couldn’t help but feel sorry for whomever the ghost was burdening.

         “ Don’t just invite yourself into her room! “ 

       Phoebe reveals herself from the corner of the winding corridor once the female has emerged from inside the suite, hands placed on her hips as she shouts at the apparent nothingness. The elite takes advantage of the confusion and approaches the brunette, an apologetic smile tugging at her lips as she gestures towards the hinges of the door frame where the spirit has passed and entered into the room, “ Oh, he’s really just made himself right at home. I’d probably put your Zorua away .. it doesn’t seem like he is a fan of dark-types .. ah, no! “

       She forms a pout as she motions with her head to the space behind the female, taking a moment to mimic her aggravation she’d felt before as she puts her hands on her hips, nimble fingers gliding along the fabric of her skirt, “ Geez.. don’t glare at the poor thing! “

[toutous]

“Nah, I’m from Unova.” Touko answered, somewhat thankful for the distraction. “Just here on behalf of my regional Professor. She thinks she’s sending me here to learn something.” The brunette rolled her eyes in an exasperated manner, all the while her tone betraying her actual fondness for the aforementioned professor.

Leaning back, she laced her fingers behind her head and glanced around the room. Full to capacity it seemed, although she wasn’t sure why there was such a hype for this event. Maybe that slowpoke demonstration was really unpopular or something. 

“How ‘bout you? Here by choice, or -?” She cut herself off by nodding down to the open notebook, not sure whether he was sincerely interested or just waiting to doodle away his time. Maybe she should’ve brought a distraction too; a book or a magazine - but then again maybe it was a good thing she didn’t. 

After all, she’d be in a pretty bad spot if she paid no mind to the lecture and the professor asked her about the highlights afterwards. 

Act 1: Boredom || Touko & Lucas

Notebook open on his lap, Lucas leaned back in his seat, fully expecting a complete waste of time. Professor Rowan had given him a very, very long list of lectures and events he was meant to attend and record at the conference. Honestly, he was sure half of them were pointless.

However, telling Rowan this had only made him add more items to the list. Including this one. Apparently he was suddenly very curious as to how the lecture would address Pokemon evolution in the wild. Lucas was almost certain that particular topic wouldn’t come up, but he had a decent seat, and there was nowhere else he needed to be for hours, so… might as well stick around.

He blinked at the voice, turning to stare up at the older girl. “Go ahead,” he said, noticing she was already making herself comfortable next to him. Well, at least someone clearly wanted to be at this lecture.

“I’m Lucas,” he replied when she offered her name. He glanced over her. She didn’t seem familiar, but then again, it wasn’t as though he knew every trainer there. “You from around here?”

People had come from all over the region and beyond, so it was more than possible she wasn’t even from Sinnoh. Lucas wasn’t usually one for small talk, but there was still a bit of time before the lecture began, and it was either make conversation, or just sit there in an uncomfortable silence.

[toutous]

Room 333 || Touko & Phoebe

@phouette

Darkness had fallen on Jubilife City, marking the end of another busy day. After taking a rather long bubble bath, Touko had dressed herself into her pajamas before sprawling across the bed in her hotel room. Pressing a button on the remote, she watched as the TV blinked on before surfing through the channels for something to fall asleep to. Eventually she stopped on a channel airing some sort of cheesy paranormal program, momentarily debating on whether or not to keep looking before setting the remote aside to slid under the blankets. 

Pale fingers ran softly through Kaoru’s silky fur - the Zorua already asleep after curling up on one of the unused pillows - smiling cheekily to herself as she watched the vixens ear twitch irritably in her sleep. ‘What a long day,’ sapphire eyes turned back to the TV, yawning as the quiet voices of the actors began lulling her to sleep, ‘this show’s really stupid ...’

She didn’t know when she fell asleep, but before she knew it something had startled her awake. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, Touko glanced at the clock on the bedside table: 12:48 a.m. With a groan, she turned off the TV she had forgotten about earlier and rolled over; reaching over to Kaoru to absently stroke the vixen’s furs as she began drifting off again.

However, instead of her companion’s fur, all her hand found was a pillow. “Kaoru ...?” Her hand patted around in an attempt to find the zorua, and when she still couldn’t find her Touko pushed herself up and looked over the bed. Kaoru was gone.

“Kaoru?” With a bit more strength in her voice the brunette reached over and turned on the light. It was then that she heard it - Kaoru’s soft growl on the opposite side of the room. Stumbling out of the bed, Touko went to where she heard the vixen. Pausing a few feet away, she watched in confusion as Kaoru growled at the door leading into the hall - black fur raised on edge.

“What’s wrong? Is someone there?” Just as she made to move toward the door, there was a loud knock that caused both Pokemon and trainer to jump out of their skin. Kaoru yelped as she darted to Touko’s side, the brunette taking a moment to calm her rapid heartbeat before angrily ripping the door open.

“What the hell!? Do you know what time -!” Outside the door, much to her confusion, was no one. Quickly she stepped out of the room and looked down the hall both ways, hands on her hips in a somewhat irritated fashion. “What the hell was that?” 

[toutous]

Hydra was angry, Touko knew; the girl all but shrinking under the dragon’s heavy glower. His crimson eyes scanned the group of gushing trainers in utter disdain, before returning his attention to the sheepish brunette a moment later. It took all of one look from Hydra for Touko to know that he was anything but pleased with her. Could she really blame him though? Not really. She knew the temperamental dragon had issues with crowds - loud, noisy crowds especially - and had ended up exposing him to their scrutiny against her better judgement. 

“You’re really mad at me, aren’t you?” Came her soft question a moment later, which only warranted a threatening growl from the dragon in response. “Yeah, I should’ve known.” 

Sighing, she cautiously reactivated Hydra’s Pokeball to spare him from further discomfort when she noticed a young man pause directly in front of Hydra - hand extended to him. She felt her stomach drop to the floor at the close proximity between them, watching the two anxiously to make sure Hydra wouldn’t do anything unpleasant. 

And then she heard what the red-haired man said, causing her body to still momentarily. Hydra, although not willing to accept the man’s offered hand, seemed to acknowledge the man’s observation; and instead of sinking his teeth into the man’s skin like he initially planned, simply sent him a haughty scoff. 

“He is, isn’t he?” Touko offered a moment later, shaking her head to clear it before taking a step closer to the two. Hydra, glancing at his trainer, merely sent her a sour look in response. “Although his attitude could use a little work ...”

Dragon’s Dance || Touko & Draze

He didn’t travel often to SInnoh. He, like his Dragons, preferred to be in warmer climates. But, with the invitation he received from the conference that was to be held in Jubilife City, he decided to go. Might as well, he was curious on the different ways people trained their Pokemon. Who knows, he could get a few tips and tricks he didn’t have already. There was always room to improve right?

Hands in his pockets, he wandered about the city for a bit before entering the conference. It was full of people and Pokemon, as one would have expected as such. “Naaaaair…”

Draze turned his golden eyes to his Dragonair, who’s head was poking out of his jacket. Pearl often insisted on coiling around him, resting on his shoulders rather than slithering by his side or even in her Poke Ball. He tried to fight it but gave up, not seeing harm in it. She was light anyway, so it wasn’t like her weight bothered him.

Moving about the place aimlessly, unsure where to go, he finally got some direction having catching a conversation about Dragon-types. Perfect, his specialty. As he approached, one of the trainers released one of her Pokemon, a wonderful Hydregion.

He couldn’t help it. He ignored the other trainers as he walked up to the dark dragon, offering his hand to him, not fear found in his movements. “He’s gorgeous…”

[toutous]

How to Spice Things Up || Touko & Flint

@ignius

It was a warm day in Jubilife City, and Touko knew just the thing to do for it - eat icecream. It was around mid-afternoon when Touko perched on a bench in the city’s park, a chocolate cone in one hand while the other absently fed chilled poffin’s to Kaoru. The Zorua, always happy to be hand-fed by her doting training, greedily ate each colorful treat held out to her. 

The icecream had been purchased on a whim during a lull in activities at the conference. Wanting a break and needing a bit of fresh air, she had journeyed away from the event site in favor of exploring the city a bit when she spied the icecream vendor selling cones nearby. It was an added bonus that he also sold chilled poffins, which Touko had decided to get to treat her pampered princess. 

“It’s interesting,” Touko said to Kaoru, taking a moment to enjoy her treat before continuing, “the conference. At first I was skeptical, but it isn’t so bad. I guess I should thank the Professor the next time I talk to her.”

The vixen merely purred in response, jumping onto Touko’s shoulder a moment later once she finished her poffin snack. Kaoru only lingered there a moment before climbing onto the girl’s head, which she had long since claimed as her spot - or as Touko liked to call it, her throne. 

Her head drooped a bit at the sudden weight, but quickly righted itself before her neck had a chance to cramp. Thankfully Kaoru didn’t weight much, otherwise the brunette was sure that she would have developed some sort of neck problem from the constant weight on her head.

“But still, it isn’t as exciting as I was hoping it was going to be. I hope things liven up a bit more. Otherwise I’m going to get really bored really soon.”