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Tate didn’t even look up when the loudmouth walked in and announced his desire for Popplio. Even if he got one, she hoped he wouldn’t choose on species alone. The last thing she wanted was a mismatch of personalities and for the poor thing to end up at the rangers station before they made it to Ara Village. At least he’d already done his paperwork. The short woman let a good pregnant pause swell up before she even acknowledged him, only lifting one hand from her novel and slowly pulling the folder towards her across the high desk. A quick glance upward only confirmed her suspicions that this was some punk kid waltzing in making demands.

She cleared her throat and began thumbing through the paperwork, making little grunts and mhmms and sniffs as she read still in silence, her book now closed and tucked away out of sight. A Fennekin grabbed it in her mouth and trotted out from under the desk to lay in the corner and pick up reading from her own saved spot several chapters ahead, not paying any mind to the trainer in the lobby. She hadn’t been asked to present herself officially and she wouldn’t step out of line to do it without prompting from the squat lab assistant on the stool.

Not long at all after the first boy entered, an inverse seemed to follow right behind. ”Welcome, Illario - you’re in good company here with Mister….” she checked the front page again, ”Nedim...I’m sure. Feel free to get acquainted if you haven’t already. Do you also have your paperwork all filled out with Mommy’s autograph?” she asked, smirking a bit as she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from full on grinning. It had been ages since she’d had the chance to do a dual presentation, ”I hope you’re both okay with choosing at the same time, it makes the process go more quickly - don’t worry there will be more than just the usual three so you shouldn’t have to fight to the death for a coveted favorite.”

She glanced down as she stepped over Fennekin, careful of her ears, ”Care to present for these gentlemen?” she asked, picking up a clipboard of paperwork in case Illario wasn’t as prepared. Fennekin gave a shy glance up and closed the book with an inward sigh, < Hi. > she greeted them,, sitting to the side of the desk with her oversized ears flapping a bit. Tate grabbed a couple more balls from the cabinet, releasing a Turtwig and Puplip, two of Fennekin’s best friends. The Turtwig took off at a damn gallop to sit next to Fennekin, bumping her with his shoulder, < Hey what’s up why are we….> trailing off and seeing the two sets of shoes in front of them < Ohhhhh heeeeeyyyyy what’s up buuuds? >

Puplip picked up the book that had been left laying and packed it over to the desk tucking it neatly into the stack in the shelf below before sidling up to her friends, < Greetings. > Tate wondered if she should give in and give the guy a Popplio but figured she would let these three sink in for now before she brought any others into the mix.

---

he  makes my heart beat

( TAGGED fitz & Quest )
( NOTES: grass types for this kid pls )
( WC: 365 )

He was excited. With wide eyes, he couldn't believe that he was actually here to pick a Pokemon. He was nervous of course there was no denying that. But here he would finally be able to start to make his mark on history. Stomach churning lightly as he handed over his paperwork he hoped that it was all filled out correctly. His mom's signature was on it... And he hoped that wasn't a problem since the lab assistant had mentioned it. "Thank you, ma'am! I'm really excited..." And he looked it. Even if the other boy didn't seem quite as thrilled about the idea of getting a Pokemon he wasn't going to let that dampen his experience. At least he was going to try and not let it.  It wouldn't be much longer until the Pokemon were released and with the assurance that there were more than enough to go around he was happy. Though it didn't seem like they really had the same taste in Pokemon he was worried that he would have to take second fiddle to this other boy with the choosing.

Three of them at first and while he tried not to his eyes immediately fell to the grass type of the current trio. He loved grass type Pokemon. They were his favorite. But he wasn't going to choose based just on that. He knew that the most important thing when getting a Pokemon was getting to know them as well. Carefully he knelt down on the floor, smiling nervously at the trio. "Hello! My name is Ilario. It's nice to meet you all!" He didn't know if the other boy, Nedim, had plans other than wanting a Popplio but he hoped that no matter what happened he got a starter that he could at least be friendly with. "Didn't anyone tell you that getting to know the Pokemon is important? It's more fun to find a partner that you can get along with..." Rather than just pick one based on looks. "Besides, I've seen all sorts of Pokemon in contest halls before!" With an affirming nod he knew he was right. There were all sorts of Pokemon that participated in contests...

but every day continues on the same

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Tate went back to her desk as Nedim spoke, growing more and more tired of his attitude by the second - but not to the point that she thought he would be malicious to a pokemon. While he smarted off and was flippant he did point out that a) he had lifelong experience with pokemon and b) while his relationships with them weren’t affectionate they weren’t one-sided either and he wanted to help them succeed as much he needed them to help him. Those two points were all that kept her from throwing him out on his keister.

She’d missed his mistake with her name, whether it had been intentional or not, so that was one less hurdle to overcome. Illario’s reply was much more eager, and she couldn’t help but to give him a small smile. He was humble and friendly, the definition of a good noodle...maybe...too good. She would have to see his interactions with the pokemon to see if she could suss out any inconsistencies.

When Nedim gestured to the pokemon and at last addressed them directly, she got another twinge of hope. He’d addressed them like the intelligent beings they were, even if he’d dismissed them on sight when they’d first appeared. That was already leaps and bounds above the efforts of another recent trainer attempt at gaining a starter. Turtwig chuckled, unable to help himself. This dude didn’t mince words, < Yeah my man you’re definitely a dick. I wouldn’t want you harshing my mellow, that’s for sure. >

Fennekin ducked her ears even further over her face, embarrassed at the foul language being used by her friend and this trainer. Had they no decency? Piplup had tuned them all out, preferring to read her book and rummage in one of the drawers for a salty snackaroo in the meantime. Chespin, however, reveled in the attention given to him by the trainer once he was released, puffing his chest forward, < Yes, it is I, your KING! I understand you have been rendered dumbfounded at my prese- > but he was cut off when the guy scurried over to the lazy water pokemon. The grass type gave a little harumph, stomping around and adjusting his quills.

Tate watched Nedim’s approach with the Popplio, glad he hadn’t gone about pawing at her like some sort of ignoramus, before turning her attention back to the other trainer in the room. He had the right idea - it wasn’t a healable status condition that afflicted the water pokemon, she wasn’t dead. Just….out for the count for now. She would come to eventually. < Nah. Not dead. She just does this sometimes.> Piplup assured them, lifting the Popplio’s eyelid to reveal her eyeball staring into nothing before dropping it back closed with a snap. < See? If she were dead her eyes would be white and lifeless. Like a pond in wintertime. > she informed them, clasping her flippers together and looking up at them both.

Chespin wandered over and nudged her with one of his quills, eliciting a wince of pain even in her sleeping state. < Your Highness, we already knew she was okay! That wasn’t necessary! > Piplup admonished him, flapping her flippers. Chespin harumphed again and walked away from the group to stare sullenly from the corner. He’d only been trying to help - but a King didn’t have to make excuses! Fennekin strode over cautiously with Turtwig trailing behind her to join the little circle around the Popplio. < Sometimes it happens even when we’re playing outside or eating dinner. One minute she’s fine, the next she’s like this. > Fennekin informed them, tsking and remembering the time she’d almost drowned when she was swimming and just let herself sink to the bottom. She wouldn’t have made it if the lab assistant hadn’t been paying close enough attention and waded in to fish her out.

Eventually she started to come to and blinked her eyes blearily open, looking around at the group before letting them flutter closed again and just giving a soft little grunt of greeting.

---

✿ Junier of WW

he  makes my heart beat

( TAGGED fitz & Quest )
( NOTES: grass types for this kid pls )
( WC: 365 )

It seemed like now that the Pokemon he'd wanted to see was here the other boy was a lot calmer and a lot kinder to the rest. It made Ilario feel good to know that he at least had a little bit of kindness to him. After all, he was pretty sure that everyone did. You just had to dig down and find it somewhere. He was also extremely relieved that the Popplio was still alive and that this was something that happened on occasion. If Nedim did take her he wondered if he would be patient with her having to sleep a lot... It wasn't really for him to worry about. After all the guy didn't seem like he would be mean to Pokemon like that. He'd even given them candy. He kind of wished that he'd offered him some candy too but maybe there just wasn't enough. And making sure that the Pokemon had some was more important than giving it to a stranger anyways. 

Seeing the Chespin poke at the Popplio wasn't very nice. Especially since those quills looked like they could hurt. Following suit of what he'd heard the other's address him as he wasn't going to try and get on his bad side entirely. "Your Highness... maybe listening to your subjects about how they feel is a good thing?" At least that's what he would do as royalty. He wouldn't stand for any sort of injustice if he could prevent it. But he knew that Chespin already felt bad enough as he'd stormed off. "Sometimes people don't understand why you do something to help them. So if something you do hurts them and they say that it hurts them, it's important as a ruler to listen. Even if you do something with the best of intentions it can still hurt someone. And their hurt is valid. It doesn't mean you're a bad person but you need to recognize their feelings all the same. Even as royalty." He was gentle in his tone and felt kind of bad. He didn't want the Chespin to think he was trying to get onto him.