Duel 03 // Video // Route 36... sort of

[princelyspirit]

[Well, this is strange. Instead of a clear video, the feed presents a distorted color bar, accompanied by a garbled whines covered with static. The lines squeeze and dilate as a voice cuts through the noise, and the colors begin to adjust and morph into actual images]

-good? Alright!

[A blurry image of a girl comes on the screen, and once the video grows clear, those watching can see a shot of Utena standing somewhere at Route 36. Strange - the trees in the video are fuller than they are now, and their leaves brighter and more colorful, too; the foliage looks closer to the way it did early in October. An old video, perhaps?

[Either way, Utena beams at the camera, one hand on her hip, and something small and metallic in the other - the camera would have to zoom in to get a better look at it]

Okay, so... it took a while, but I've- excuse me, I mean we finally beat our first gym. And that's not the only thing that's new, either. Just take a look at these guys!



[There's silence as she stands still, and after a second, her smile falters and she quickly waves her hand to the left. The camera jerks immediately towards a group of pokemon - a proud Rapidash waving his fiery mane in the air, a smug Graveler flexing his rocky arms towards an aloof Pideot, and a shy Beedrill hovering just a ways from them.]

Okay, got it Miki? Great! [clears her throat] Like I was saying, I got these guys to evolve, too. Most of them toughened up for Falkner, except for Kakuna- [is that...is that beedrill hovering lower now? Utena begins to speak quickly, in an attempt to yank her foot out of her mouth] But! We were able to get some training time in with her, too, and she was a great help out in the woods. We couldn't have done it without her.

[and she's hovering higher again! Utena breathes a sigh of relief, and rummages for her map off camera]

Anyway, now that that's taken care of, we can go on to the next town. It should take a couple days, but...hmn? What is it, Pon-...Rapidash?

[The camera follows Rapidash as it trots towards Utena, its ears perked up. Utena blinks, her head tilted in confusion, before her eyes widen and she shakes her head]

No. Nooo no no no no. No way, Rapidash. I'm not taking you over to the next town!

[And his ears and tails droop down. That hurts, Utena! She looks a bit guilty, but she tries to hold her resolve]

...look, it's not... [sighs] It's not that you're slow, but-

[And his ears droop even further, before he nudges her side. Ultimate guilt trip]

...okay, fine. We'll go for one ride around the woods, all right? [Rapidash's ears perk up!] But just one, you got it?

Raises his head proudly, while Utena whistles for Graveler. Once he rolls over, Rapidash stays still, and Utena braces herself against his back while the rock pokemon gives her a boost up. Soon enough, she's swung her legs over her mount, ready to ride. She gives a small, nervous smile as she strokes the side of his neck]

Happy now? Ra! Okay, okay... now, let's just take it slow and eeeaaaaah!

[Utena's words transform into an undignified scream as Rapidash bolts off, becoming a white and red blur on the camera. The {Pdgeot takes off after them, followed quickly by the Beedrill, and Miki the Pachirisu chitters at Graveler from behind the gear before the feed goes off]

[OOC: Basically, instead of a backdated post, Utena's gear glitched out and showed an old, embarrassing, unposted video from back in October. tl;dr, you really, really shouldn't try to ride a Rapidash bareback. She's over in Goldenrod now, and any replies will be from long after her misadventure]

Comments

video;

[usedlaserbeam]

[...Well, then.]

A proper saddle may help with some of the problem, really.

[WAY TO BE HELPFUL, YAGYUU.]

video;

[princelyspirit]

[aaand here's Utena, frowning a bit at the camera. Gear, just how did you do that]

Yeah, if I ever go riding again. Sorry, but after that, I'm not sure if travel by pokemon is really my style.

video;

[usedlaserbeam]

It may not be, but it's certainly more convenient in a number of situations. You may find yourself changing your mind simply for the sake of practicality.

video;

[princelyspirit]

[Takes a deep breath, now a bit less annoyed. She tries to focus on what this guy has to say, instead of what happened with the gear]

So, let me guess - you've ridden around on pokemon before? Or are you just going by what you've heard from everyone else around here?

[Doesn't mean it snidely - she's genuinely curious here! And really, while the ride wasn't her favorite experience, the idea of cutting down her travel time is tempting...]

[voice]

[captainash]

Congrats on your badge and your... very spirited horse, but I think your Gear might be broken.

[voice]

[princelyspirit]

[sighs]

It's been acting fine, though - well, fine except for this, I mean. Honestly, this is the first time this thing's given me trouble in months.

[shakes her head]

And as for the horse, at least he's calmed down. Well, a little bit, anyway. To be honest, I think the ride might've spooked him a bit, too.

[voice]

[captainash]

In months, you say? I hope the warranty's still valid. It might not stay an isolated incident.

[Though at least it's a relatively minor problem.]

Well, you did seem like you weren't enjoying yourself. He can't have liked that.

video;

[autocratic]

[ This is Saber openly laughing and giving a brief clap to Utena's... performance. ]

I must commend you for riding upon your steed bareback, but what sort of undignified take off was that? If you are to ride out onto an adventure, you must do so with poise and grace!

video;

[princelyspirit]

[yeah yeah, laugh it up, Saber]

I wasn't exactly planning on riding off into the sunset, to be honest. Somebody just got a little ahead of himself, is all.

[Totally not embarrassed, nope nope nope. Not embarrassed at all.]

video;

[autocratic]

Oho? And who is at fault here? The one who lacks discipline or the one who fails to administer rules and regulations?

[ Questioning your worth as a trainer, yup yup. All with an amused smile on her face. ]

[Video]

[friendyousohard]

[Rapidash always invokes the same feeling in Twilight. A vague sense of deja vu she doesn't really want to explore.

But that kind of gets shunted aside when she sees her sort-of-friend get taken for a very spirited ride out of the camera view. She's not really sure what to say aside from:]

Utena!

[And then she proceeds to stare blankly at the blank screen as the feed ends. After a few moments, she sighs weakly.]

Please be okay.

[Video]

[princelyspirit]

Twilight? Why are you-

[Oh, that's right, the video. Utena cringes for a moment, before she shakes her head]

It's okay, it's okay, I'm fine, really - if you're worried about the video, that was ages ago. And besides, it's way worse than it looks. Rapidash just got a little carried away with himself, that's all.

[Video]

[friendyousohard]

Wait, it was-

[She pauses a moment, frowns, and goes back to rewatch the video. About five seconds in, she actually notices the state the trees are in, and promptly facepalms at herself.]

I can't believe I missed that.

[iownahoofbeast]

I see your hoofbeast managed to evolve. ...She seems quite enthusiastic.

[princelyspirit]

He, actually, and...well, "enthusiastic" is a pretty big understatement. He's calmed down a little, but he's still one of the most energetic pokemon I've ever seen.

[And he used to be so calm and mellow, too...]

Though, I guess it's not a bad thing. I mean, a bit of enthusiasm never hurt anyone, right?

[iownahoofbeast]

It could be potentially dangerous if not properly tempered with due caution, I suppose.

I believe most Pokebeasts possess the instincts to avoid any truly serious harm, however.

video;

[ex_cashcow493]

That is not the proper way to ride a Rapidash.

[ Says Saber who rides Lancer's around everywhere just about. ] Have you had a proper lesson before?

video;

[princelyspirit]

...not exactly, no. I mean, I've ridden a couple times before, but-

[But 1) those weren't really lessons, and 2) the last thing she wants to do is think about the guys she rode with. She glances away for a brief moment at the memory, before she catches herself]

...but those were horses, not pokemon. So, it wasn't quite the same, you know?

[Nice save? Nice save. Moving forward now]

What about you, though? I mean, have you taken any lessons on this sort of thing?

video;

[ex_cashcow493]

No, but I knew how to ride a steed before coming here. [ Saber, unlike many others, has a ranking of A when it comes to the skill Riding. Therefore, it automatically translates in her mind regardless of what the beast is, she will ride it as though she's an expert at it. Even airplanes. ] Although I wonder if that was due to the Grail.

Regardless, if no one else has offered you lessons, I could try to teach you over the PokeGear.

[ video ]

[colorsofthewind]

Oh my. That looked like quite the ride.

[ video ]

[princelyspirit]

Well, you're welcome to give it a shot, if you'd like. As for me, I think it'll be a good, long while before I try anything like that again.

[ video ]

[colorsofthewind]

Ah, no thank you. My Skarmory is hard enough to handle sometimes.

video;

[gemini_prince]

Haha! That looks like so much fun!

[ Leave it to Natsuki to ignore how painful it also looked. ]

video;

[princelyspirit]

That's easy for you to say - you weren't the one hanging on for dear life!

[Seriously, is this guy nuts? Sighs, and shakes her head]

And besides, riding's harder than it looks. You can't just hop on and ride off into the sunset. At least, not without some practice.

video;

[gemini_prince]

[ Yes. He is nuts. Nice guess! ]

It is? I'd like to learn someday though. You looked so cool! Just like a prince! --- before you screamed. Haha!