007 | Outskirts of Goldenrod City | Video / Action;

[usedlaserbeam]

[It's late afternoon on the outskirts of Goldenrod City, where Yagyuu has evidently been out training his team; it's a somewhat unusual sight to see them all out of their Pokeballs at once, but at the moment the full roster has been released to roam around the open expanse of field chosen for today's practice grounds

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action.

[remothering]

[exhibit a: Jackal in his natural habitat, towel over his shoulders. by his side lumbers a camel, lazy in its gait. they appear to be passing by on a jog when they stumble upon the scene, a sheen of sweat over Jackal's forehead and arms from the workout. even with pokemon roaming left and right, it's only natural to want to stop by for a chat. the camel follows along, sedate. he wipes himself down with the towel as he slows to a walk, approaching.

have a wave, Yagyuu.]

Yo.

action.

[usedlaserbeam]

[At the approach of the apparent strangers, the Vulpix squeaks and darts between the Rapidash's legs, making an almost comical sight as she peeks out from underneath his much larger frame. The others don't seem to mind as much; Phantom knows this person, and Irene recognizes the familiar colors of his jersey, so the two of them regard him with a cursory glance before returning to their own devices.

Lady, of course, is still at Yagyuu's side (where she belongs, in her opinion)--which a careful observer would realize still leaves one team member present but unaccounted for, but that would take a certain level of familiarity with Yagyuu's team in general, and particularly so in knowing which members of his roster one needs most to watch out for.

Have a nod and slight smile back, Jackal. He's pleased to see you.]

Hello, Jackal-kun. Are you running laps, or simply training?

action.

[remothering]

Just trainin'. The day's too nice to spend it indoors. 'sides, it's a good way to get to know the neighbourhood.

[he blinks a little following the flurry of movements coming from the small and furry creature that he hadn't taken note of when he arrived, having face the opposite direction on his approach. his hand goes to the back of his hand, rubbing sheepishly.] I didn't scare the little guy, did I? I--

[and then, he breaks off, because his line of sight trails up the sturdy legs crowding around the little fox like a cage all the way up the equine chest, the thick neck, the intelligent eyes, and-- he takes a step back.] Woah. Is that horse really on fire?

action.

[usedlaserbeam]

Hm? [He glances up from Lady, gaze turning first to Jackal and then to the pair of Fire Pokemon nearby, somehow unsurprised to see his Vulpix peering out from behind his Rapidash's legs.] Ah, don't mind Masako. It's simply her nature to be shy, I think.

[Meanwhile, Vampa--who has caught on that he's being stared at--tosses his head proudly and regards this new person with an even, almost stern look. He doesn't seem harmful or dangerous, this stranger, so he's not particularly concerned. Especially since he knows Stomp as a fallback plan.

And once again, it's Yagyuu for the assist--]

Indeed he is. But perhaps more surprising still is that he has some innate method of shielding people from the heat, if he so chooses. Fire Pokemon like Vampa tend to be curious that way, in my experience.

action.

[remothering]

[he whistles, impressed. there's, after all, very little that's quite as impressive as a horse that's on fire and proud of it, to boot. he moves as though to make his way towards the creature, but thinks better of it, turning back to Yagyuu.]

Handsome fellow. Y'think he'll mind if I go up to him for a closer look-see?

action.

[usedlaserbeam]

No, I think he'll willingly assent, provided you don't make any abrupt overtures toward his ward.

[He motions to Lady, beginning to walk over himself with his new Espeon trotting proudly at his heels.]

Vampa. It's fine, this is a friend. Oblige him, won't you?

[He says it like a request, polite as always, but there's no mistaking the steel lurking beneath his tone; it's an order, and the Rapidash evidently knows it.]

action.

[remothering]

No problem, I've got this. I used to ride, back where I come from.

[since this is Jackal, he notes the steel beneath Yagyuu's tone, and sidles over to the Rapidash's side, careful to angle his body away from the horse and to keep his gaze impersonal. he compromises by keeping up a relaxed atmosphere, chattering on--]

I didn't know you knew how to horseback ride, though, Yagyuu. Did you learn here, or did you learn back home?

action.

[usedlaserbeam]

I know something of the fundamentals, but I'm far from a practiced rider. Still, Vampa only evolved to become large enough for it recently; a week or two ago, he was still too small to make a sufficient mount.

[And Vampa holds still, obliging as instructed, but whuffling and snorting slightly as he adjusts to Jackal's proximity. Beneath him, Masako darts out of the way, emerging from between his legs to put the whole of him between herself and the stranger.]

You'll have to let me know how he handles. He was a gift, and if nothing else, I owe my benefactor the courtesy of appreciating properly what a fine creature he is.

action.

[remothering]

[as all animal-lovers are, he's a bit disappointed to see the skittishness in the fox-- but mentally resolves to correct that sometime in the future. there's nothing that can turn down a good home-cooked meal, right? if he can figure out what foxes eat, maybe...]

So, he was a gift? [appraisal!] You must be gettin' real popular around these parts, huh. Then again, I've gotta admit, the horse thing really suits your whole 'gentleman' moniker.

Where d'you keep him, anyway? Are there free-to-rent stables around these parts?

action.

[usedlaserbeam]

[Yagyuu, being Yagyuu, is not above a little vanity at this point, even around someone he's as friendly with and fond of as Jackal--because friends or not, they're both still teenage boys, and there are some marks of status that are just fun to flaunt.]

He was, yes, from a remarkably engaging girl. Hence why I'm interested in taking good care of him.

[He'll just sort of...conveniently leave off the part about quite possibly being beaten to within an inch of his life with a riding crop if he doesn't. It's not like it adds anything relevant to the story.]

And no, I generally keep him in his ball when he's not training. [Pause.] Though, from a breeding standpoint, I wonder if that's truly the best option. The Center next door to our house seems to do well with letting their stock run free, but I doubt anyone's ever experimented with the differences between captivity in a ball and freer rein in general.

action.

[remothering]

[and this time, the whistling is more pronounced and drawn out from before as he leans back to give Yagyuu an appreciative look-- the sort of look one bro shares with another on the subject of a pretty girl, because some things are universal.]

Impressin' the ladies? Yagyuu, you've got it on. She gave you a horse, man, she must be really into you.

[there may be a little envy, there, as good-natured as it is. Jackal is, after all, a healthy teenage boy. at the next bit, though, he pauses, too. just a little.]

I've just gotten here, y'know, but no matter how I look at it, it can't be healthy, keeping a horse in there like that for so long. If you've got to keep a horse anywhere, it's gotta be in a barn.

action.

[usedlaserbeam]

[His Bro Status officially achieved and subtle bragging rights met, Yagyuu answers Jackal's look with a slight smile before turning his attention back to Vampa, and the smile fades into a more thoughtful look.]

It might be worth investigating, really. Left to their own devices, Pokemon do seem to thrive in their natural environments; what effect does the capture have on their development, I wonder?

[He's quiet again, clearly musing over thoughts and considerations he's not voicing.]

To produce the strongest creature possible...no, that might well be worth the experiment, Jackal-kun.

action.

[remothering]

[one of those weird things about Jackal is that he rarely thinks deeply about this sort of thing, and therefore might be one of the best people to muse off at-- precisely because he is an attentive listener and that he never judges.

he shrugs, but it's not dismissive. it's the shrug of the kind of guy whose field of expertise isn't conceptual musing, and is honest enough to admit it. so he adds his own musings--]

Hey, I don't know about any of that sorta stuff. [concepts, really, things that aren't set in stone.] But what I do know is that if you've got a horse, you feed it, you water it and you raise it until you've got a damn good horse-- and then you breed it with some other damn good horses, so that you get some colts that make good runs.

action.

[usedlaserbeam]

[And now he really does smile, one of the rare and genuine ones that so few people ever see. It's oddly comforting, Jackal's new presence in Johto, and it's one that Yagyuu enjoys. The technicalities of his musings may be better suited for a discussion with Renji, but that doesn't mean he doesn't appreciate Jackal's straightforward perspective just as much.]

I'm told the same is true for tennis teams.

[And his gaze flickers from Jackal to Vampa, and then back again.]

Well, one thing for certain is that Vampa is, as you so eloquently put it, a damn good horse. And being that finding him a damn good partner isn't particularly difficult to arrange, I'd say it's well worth giving your procedure a try. Wouldn't you agree?

action.

[remothering]

[Jackal, being Jackal, understands the rarity of Yagyuu's smile, and therefore is pleased by the gesture in his usual straight-forward manner. while he may not know what he said to elicit that positive gesture, he does think that it's nice to see Yagyuu in good spirits.

what Yagyuu is saying is also fairly straightforward. he considers this, then nods, confident.]

Definitely sounds like somethin' worth lookin' into. [and because he invitation was implied in Yagyuu's speech, he figures that it doesn't hurt to say it outright.] I grew up with horses, so if you need an extra pair of hands for that experiment of yours, I wouldn't mind raisin' one.

action.

[usedlaserbeam]

I'm relieved to hear that, Jackal-kun, since I was planning on entrusting the egg to your care anyway. There is, after all, one more component to the formula that you neglected to mention, and that's raising the horse under a damn good trainer.

[It's subtle, but the implication is there--a Rikkai horse should belong to a Rikkai trainer. And Vampa, like the rest of Yagyuu's Pokemon, is undeniably a Rikkai horse.]