[center][h2]Richard Evans[/h2][h3]Byjerlfal City[/h3][/center]
"Mmm... I suppose that logic would have me lean in favor of the Annihilape, but playing right into Dhelmise's strengths like that... Maybe he would've done better if he tried to leverage some more support moves and setup rather than focus wholly on attacks? No, wait, Giga Drain might throw a wrench in things here... But I think that Annihilape should be able to get angry enough for a good Rage Fist to work if it tries to weather the storm, right...?"

Compared to many of the other spectators on board the ship, the young brown-haired man seemed to be less caught up in the spectacle of the match and more focused on the actions that led to the challenger's defeat. Even if this wasn't exactly a proper Gym battle, a brief glimpse at what the Gym leader—the ship's captain—could do was information he would gladly shelve away for a future challenge.

With a sigh and shake of his head, Richard Evans simply shrugged his shoulders as the Rotom Phone he was taking notes on promptly flew back into his pocket. That was a problem he'd have to tackle in the future—one that was, all things considered, quite close at hand. Though he would have much preferred going through the Unova League on his own terms, the Trainer-to-be had since rationalized the whole "being shipped off to another region by his mother" issue as a way of dodging any sort of comparisons on his journey through a League.

That didn't exactly resolve the issues that he had already—namely, his own habit of reacting to battles as a knowledgable spectator rather than as a trainer proper—but hopefully that habit of armchair analysis would smooth over as time went on.

At least he was aware of it, if anything.

Once the announcement to prepare for landing had arrived, the young man nodded before promptly heading back towards his room. The few weeks he had spent riding on this ship had been pleasant, what with all the stops at major cities the world over, but at the end of the day he was still here to do a job... Even if it was only because of his mother's connections.

Living up to those expectations was why he was here, for better or worse.

After packing what remained around his room into his luggage (which was composed mostly of clothing and souvenirs to ship back home when the time came around), Richard spent the last of his time on board lying on his bed trying to figure out what route he would take to visit all of the Gyms in the region. Doubling back multiple times over did [i]not[/i] seem like a great way to spend the next few weeks, and that'd probably make him look like a fool at the end of the day.

Once the SS Calliope had finally docked at port and the tourists began to shuffle off board, Richard quietly merged into the crowd with his goods in tow. All that remained to be done now was to meet up with the others the Professor had brought from overseas and be led to the lab; hopefully, that assistant in question was already waiting for them at the dock so that they (read: he) wouldn't be left stranded in the middle of the city with little more than the clothes on his back.

[@Rune_Alchemist][@Pyromania99]