"Nice to meet you too! Maybe you could steer me to where I'm supposed to be, at least." Cas pulled a leash and collar out of his bag and attached them to the Rockruff before setting it back on the ground. "Fennekin's fine to just sit on my shoulder, but Rockruff's prone to running off… still love him to bits, though."
"I understand." Mystic looked down at the excited Rockruff and her Charmander which looked ready to wrestle. "Would you mind having a battle? Charmander is close to evolving and I want to help it out." The boat was going to leave in 20 minutes, "Actually if you do decide to fight me then we should wait till we reach Alola. We're running out of time."
"Sure! We can wait if you think that's best." Cas looked over at the boat. "Should we go aboard to make sure we don't get left behind? I haven't got any water Pokemon to carry me across, and even if I did, it would be cruel to make them travel that far…" Fennekin yipped its agreement, nuzzling into Cas's hair affectionately.
"Leon is like that, too," Jace said, before he even thought through what it was he was saying. "Er, I'm Jaciel, by the way, but like I told Mystic, you can just call me Jace… Leon is the shinx, Clem is the comfy, and Grace is the glaceon," he introduced for the second time that day. Clem, attention straying from the rockruff now that he was leached, was eyeing Cas's hair longingly. "Uh—No! Clem, if you want to sleep, don't do it in a stranger's hair," Jace lectured. "No offense," he added quickly, looking to Cas apologetically. Clem, pouting again, floated back over to Jaciel's head and flopped into his hair. "That's not what I…whatever," the blue-haired boy conceded, pulling his hood back up to shield the comfy from the sun while she dozed. He looked to Mystic and Cas, realizing the truth in what they were saying. "I think you guys are right. We should probably get on the boat…" Having said that, he whistled to alert Leon, who'd been trying to bite playfully at Rockruff's leash. The shinx bounded back to his trainer's side, still quivering with unspent energy.
(I gtg, I'll be back in the morning. You guys can get on the boat but wait till tomorrow to get to Alola.)
(I have to go, too, to be honest. I have to wake up at 4:30am tomorrow for school, and I'm exhausted.)
(Alrighty!)
Cas nodded. He wasn't too excited for the boat ride itself considering his aversion to water, but he was definitely glad to be getting away from his father. He could hear his pokegear buzzing from what could only be an angry phone call from his drunk father, berating him for running away, but he decided to ignore that call for now. He was in a good mood, and he didn't want to deal with that right now.
Mystic nodded, “Yeah! Let’s get on the boat!” Charmander easily jumped onto Mystic’s shoulder and Chingling began to float towards the boat, moving faster as she passed it. She quickly ran over to the boat and then waved them over, “Come on you guys! Hurry up!” Duskull looked at the boat with disdain and stayed next to its trainer. “Charr-char!!” “Ling-ching-ching!” Her two other Pokémon echoed after her, calling to the other trainers Pokémon.
Rockruff tugged on his leash, but Cas managed to keep him under control. He ran after Mystic onto the boat and immediately knew this wouldn't be a fun experience. He felt unsteady from the boat's rocking, and being surrounded by water wasn't exactly a plus for him.
Jaciel followed more slowly, watching as Leon darted ahead to join the other pokemon. Like usual, the initial step onto the boat made him stumble, but all things considered, he cleared it relatively easily. Sensing Cas's uneasiness, he quirked an eyebrow worriedly. "Not a fan of the water?" he guessed, following the younger boy's gaze to the gentle waves. "It's okay if you aren't—I'm not either," he added, glancing at his crutches. He'd fallen off of a boat before, but there were always rescue pokemon on standby in case of situations such as those. He'd befriended a milotic after she'd rescued him, so the experience wasn't quite as traumatic as his mother seems to remember it being.
"No, it's… it's not my favorite…" Cas said quietly, holding his Fennekin close to himself. It nuzzled against his chest to try and soothe his anxiety a bit. "I don't know how to swim, so being around this much water without something solid to stand on makes me a bit uneasy…"
(BRUH IS THIS STILL OPEN??? I HAVEN'T SEEN A POKEMON RP IN LIKE,,,,, YEARS OH MY GODS CAN I PLEASE JOIN)
"Well, if it makes you feel any better… I can't swim either. There are rescue pokemon around to keep an eye on the passengers, though, so even if something does happen, there's no way they'll let us drown," Jace told him as comfortingly as he could. "Is this your first time going to Alola?"
Mystic looked back at the other two, who seemed nervous, “Are you guys okay? Not a fan of boats or what?” Duskull let out a small noise, showing nervously that he understood the other two.
(BRUH IS THIS STILL OPEN??? I HAVEN'T SEEN A POKEMON RP IN LIKE,,,,, YEARS OH MY GODS CAN I PLEASE JOIN)
Sure, you can join. Put your character up quick though
Jace exchanged a glance with Cas, then looked back to Mystic. "Nah, we're good," he told her, not wanting to explain again and figuring Cas probably felt similarly. "You guys want to find somewhere to sit?" he asked somewhat awkwardly, knowing he wouldn't be able to keep his balance once the boat started moving.
“Yeah sure. That’s a good idea so you don’t fall down at all.” Mystic replied and pointed to a picnic table nearby. “How about over there?”
Jaciel winced a little at her bluntness, but nodded anyways. He moved to sit on the bench, maneuvering his crutches so they rested on the deck beneath his feet, and patted his lap as invitation for Grace. The glaceon quickly accepted, curling up contentedly and watching the other pokemon play.
Charmander ran to Leon and blowed a small bit of flame at it, as a way of saying let’s play. Duskull sat on Mystic’s lap and Chingling slept on top of Duskull’s head seeming peaceful.
Cas sat with them and kept his eyes firmly on the table to keep himself from thinking about the water. Fennekin never left his side, but he let Vulpix and Rockruff play with the other Pokemon.
"So…" Jace started, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, as Leon, delighted with Charmander's invitation, bowled into the other pokemon happily. "Why are you two heading to Alola?"
"Um… mostly just to get out of this region. I also wanted to let Rockruff meet more Alolan Pokemon." Cas held his Fennekin to his chest, scratching behind its ears.
“I want to explore every region and learn as much as I can about each one!” Mystic exclaimed happily, startling the two Pokémon in her lap. She pet the top of their heads to calm them back down.
Cas nodded. "That's also a plus… you guys said you've left the region before?" He asked, looking between Jace and Mystic.
Jaciel nodded at them, looking to the glaceon in his lap and petting her gently. "Makes sense," he remarked absentmindedly. "I'm going again because, of all the regions I've been to, I find the Alola region to be the most accepting. Besides, my pokemon like it there." His head jerked up as the boat began to move, catching sight of the dock before turning to Mystic and Cas. "Well… We're on our way. Anything in particular you guys want to talk about?"