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Wandering Phantasm

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In Pokémon Dreams (Reboot) → 13 days ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
Toshi

‘Oh, yeah! Bud’s got a bunch of cool tricks! Like for instance, after a long and intense training…’ He grinned happily. ‘He can ride a skateboard! How cool is that!?’

"That's awesome." He said, without a single insincere bone in his body. Hopefully he'd be able to see the skateboarding Budew in action at some point.

‘Anyway, what’s the league circuit?’

"Eh, nothing a man and Budew of your talents need worry about, probably." Not everyone wanted to be a trainer. Or, well, a battling trainer, anyway. He respected that. Kinda had to, with his upbringing, though he wouldn't write the guy off as a trainer entirely yet. I mean, who knew? People had a way of surprising you. It's certainly happened on live television more than a few times.


”That’s Jack.” He corrected Toshi with an indignant huff, ”And literally anyone can be a Trainer. Me, I plan to be a Trainer who wins. And I got my Pokemon already so- OW!”

”I was going to release you in a minute, Sparkplug!” Jack said, ”I was TRYING to give us a cool introduction before you had to go and ruin it.”

Toshi snorted. It was somehow surprising to see that Jack was rocking an electric type instead of a fighting type, though it didn't seem like he was wrong about his first impression of him. "Same, at least when it comes to the trainer stuff." He smirked. "Good luck. With your next introduction, I mean. I'm sure a guy like you doesn't need the luck as a pokémon trainer." He said, making a joke he mostly expected to fly over Jack's head. It's not that he thought Jack would fail as a trainer or anything, but he seemed like the type of guy that would stubbornly and gracelessly plow through any and all bad luck anyway. It was a backhanded compliment if anything, though presenting it as a completely genuine one despite the implication that Jack would still need luck with the next time he made an introduction was pretty funny to him, personally.


“Not famous,” she corrected. “Not yet. Working on it. Believe me, darling. One day, I will be the type of woman everybody should know.”

“Stella Gold,” she added, giving Toshi a proper look now. “And you are Toshi, yes? Frieda said your name earlier.”

A bit conceited of her to openly declare her future success, though he had to admit he probably wasn't one to talk. There was some nuance to the way he presented himself that wasn't quite the same as the way she did it, by his estimation, but it's not like he knew her well enough to judge the differences accurately, so he probably just shouldn't.

In any case, she was pretty polite overall, so he figured he'd match her energy, so to speak. "Yep, short for Toshinori. Greatest trainer you'll ever meet, eventually. Just the most handsome, for now." He gave her a wink before moving on to chat up some of the other people in their group.

@Floofenstein
A lot more people began filing into the lab. Enough that he was starting to wonder why Professor Camphor needed them all. One in particular was hyperactively running around everywhere with an Azurill balanced atop her head, seemingly introducing herself to everyone and everything. Might as well join in. He ripped the stick out of the lollipop he was sucking on and trashed it before walking up to the cute blue-haired girl. "'Sup sunshine. ...Or would you prefer being called 'cotton candy'?" It would match the color of her hair better, after all. "I'm Toshi. Cute Azurill, by the way. Just like you." He gave her his signature charming smile.
In Pokémon Dreams (Reboot) → 13 days ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
@Azure Bubbles Toshi and Victor approached Stella on the walk over to the lab and Toshi doesn't own Nincada yet; he's getting it from Camphor. Me and Skink were basically posting in 7 different adjacent time periods at once. The former isn't really important because RP time shenanigans are a thing but the latter would kinda just be Stella hallucinating.
In Pokémon Dreams (Reboot) → 15 days ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
Toshi

He listened to Frieda with one ear while listening to Remi in the other, holding off from unwrapping a lollipop before he got to taste Remi's coffee since he seemed to take some pride in his brewing skills. He thanked Remi when he handed him the mug, then took a long, bitter swig as Remi asked him his name and Frieda finished listing the straightforward options available.

"Toshinori. Everyone calls me Toshi, though." He turned his head to address Frieda, "thanks for the rundown, by the way. You've given me some ideas." He then turned back to give Remi his compliments. "This is some damn good coffee. Best I've ever had, even." He proceeded to take another deep swig in such a manner that he inexplicably gave off the impression that the mug was somehow filled with alcohol. It was simply how Toshi normally drank his coffee.

'Best he's ever had' was kind of a low bar considering he's pretty much only ever had instant coffee before, but it was simultaneously smoother and more bitter than any he's tried before, which, combined, made it rather pleasant compared to the ashy flavors he was used to out of coffee. How did that saying go? That coffee is meant to taste as bitter as a Trevenant and as sharp as a Doublade? Or was that saying for tea? He decided not to mention it in case Remi called him out for being a fake coffee afficionado, which he kinda was.

"It's nice and smooth." He gave Remi an appreciative smile before chugging the rest of the mug and moving to put it down in the sink. He didn't particularly mind the aftertaste of coffee, but he couldn't deny he preferred sweets more. He unwrapped a lollipop and put it in his mouth before finding a place in the waiting room to unobtrusively loiter about. He ended up leaning against a wall with his arms folded, one leg bent at the knee to fold over the other with the tip of his shoe resting on the ground. Y'know, all casual-like. Mentally, he busied himself pondering what the best composition of pokémon would be for his team, and how his team might or might not stand up against the biggest and baddest of teams that were already out there. It was a bit anxiety-inducing, if he was being honest, but outwardly he remained as cool as a cucumber.
In Pokémon Dreams (Reboot) → 15 days ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
Toshi

After making the offer to the professor's assistant and her Impidimp - Pix, apparently, the little gremlin brandished the sign it was holding and gave him a small bonk on the noggin. It didn't hurt that much, but the professor's assistant immediately got embarrassed, so he simply started laughing. He had enough younger siblings to take such mischief in stride, and he could appreciate the slapstick of getting bonked.

As his short bout of laughter subsided, he decided to offer casual advice to the Impidimp as he would his siblings. "A simple 'no' would have sufficed, little guy." He shook his head as if to remind Pix that you didn't need your words to be understood to communicate. Sometimes people and pokémon just don't know how to talk things out, and need the reminder.

Impidimp then proceeded to bump another person with the sign to get their attention, but it wasn't as violent, so he considered it progress.

The professor's assistant ran through the names of everyone he hadn't heard introduce themselves as she gathered them up, though he wasn't sure he'd be able to remember them all. She then introduced herself as Frieda before leading the group from the airport into the city of Byjerlfal, making their way towards Camphor's lab.

Toshi had seen plenty of the world outside of Tohjo. His parents, for all their lip service to tradition, didn't actually give a rat's ass about it except for when it suited them, so there was nothing isolationist about his upbringing considering the flat screen in their living room with about 10,000 channels. Still, seeing other cities on TV or online was one thing. Being surrounded by tall and completely modern buildings each reaching for the heavens, with the hustle and bustle of the city around him was another.

It didn't phase him at all. Nope, no sirree. Anyone looking at his face would only see a relaxed smirk as his eyes idly wandered up towards the top of the skyscrapers before returning to the city around him at ground level. Yeah, that's right, it's no big deal. It's not like Tohjo is devoid of towers, they're just '''''a bit''''' more old-fashioned.

Anyway, as for the group he's traveling with... well, let's just say he's never considered himself the quiet sort. He began by asking Frieda a question, then chose someone nearly at random and began chatting them up. As the conversation topic came to a close, he transitioned towards chatting someone else up, in a pattern that repeated across pretty much the entire group.
@Savo@Rune_Alchemist
"So, Frieda, know any good places to find wild pokémon near Byjerlfal? Gotta get comfortable with my starter, so I imagine we'll be going back and forth between the pokémon center at first."
@Yankee
The mousy girl who looked liked she would implode if someone hinted that they might be a little bit mean to her, maybe, seemed like she could use a friendly chat to get her more comfortable with, like, existing and stuff. So, he began rambling to her because that was the best form of conversation he could think of that would avoid putting her on the spot, and it might make her feel less out of her depth as a new trainer, a feeling he would never admit he could relate to.

"So, Hazel, right? You ever been told you look like a bit like a Zigzagoon? Hoennian, that is. Hope that doesn't come off the wrong way - Zigzagoons are pretty damn cute. Can't say Galarian Obstagoons can hold a candle to the potential of a Hoennian Linoone either, ironically, but what do I know? I mean, I have come to appreciate a certain famous Linoone that sometimes makes an appearance in the pro leagues, and as far as I know, Galarian Linoones just can't replicate their success, but eh, that's neither here nor there. If you ever do see fit to pick one up though, I recommend finding one that can use the move Extreme Speed. Not sure how hard it would be to find one; I think you might have an easier time if you go through a breeder for it, but I can tell you that, at least for some other Linoones, they've certainly got a lot of mileage out of that move, pun not intended." He assessed her reaction while also giving her an opportunity to respond. He didn't actually know if she even liked Zigzagoon after all.
@Psyker Landshark
He remembered Miharu's name, if only because he was there for her initial introduction. "So, Miharu, you said your Mankey's name was Hiddy, right? Cool. Annihilape's a pretty popular pokémon in competitive battles. If you're running the league circuit, then he's going to be a menace one day. Got plans for his partners? Funnily enough, a lot of people use pokémon that are good at being annoying to power up Annihilape's rage fist in double battles, though he's plenty strong without the help."
@Azure Bubbles
"Not sure I caught your name. You seem like the type of girl who's famous, somehow. You'll have to forgive my ignorance - I never paid too much attention to celebrity types, until now, I suppose. He gave Stella his signature charming smile.
@PlatinumSkink
"Victor, right? Cute Budew. Can't say I know too much about their evolved forms. Only a few people use them, though from what I've seen, they've certainly got a few tricks up their sleeves. Were you planning on taking on the league circuit?" Victor inexplicably struck him as a fire-water-grass core kind of guy, though he held off on saying as much because he wasn't trying to fill dead air like he was with Hazel and didn't want to come off as annoying.
@Double
"How 'bout you, uh... Jake? You seem the type to become a pokémon trainer. You getting a starter from Camphor or bringing your own?" There was something about the boy that screamed "fighting type", but he didn't exactly know the guy, and appearances could be deceiving.
@Savo@Rune_Alchemist
When the group finally made it to the lab, Frieda told everyone to help themselves to the waiting room, and one of the people there introduced themselves as Remi before offering everyone some coffee.

"I'll take a cup. Black, please." He said, while helping himself to a handful of lollipops lying around. He liked sweet things. He liked his coffee black. This was not a contradiction at all. It wasn't even performative, it's just that he'd long since given up on making coffee taste anything like hot chocolate, and anything in between just felt disappointing, so he might as well drink it black. he could use the caffeine anyway; it was his first day as a proper pokémon trainer and he wanted to make it a good and productive one.
In Pokémon Dreams (Reboot) → 18 days ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
Nah, was a good joke, just wanna make sure Toshi's character was understood because My Hero's Mineta can go die in a fire.
In Pokémon Dreams (Reboot) → 18 days ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
If you want to gain height, you need to pick someone up by the lower half of their body, but any lower than their waist and they risk losing their balance if they tip forward. Their waist accordingly goes up to your shoulder height, so you're not really getting anything but their back close to your face.

It is intended to be more mischief than anything sexual. Toshi's idea of flirting isn't really about hooking up, it's just the type of personality he thinks is cool.
In Pokémon Dreams (Reboot) → 18 days ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
Toshi

Toshi was a bit late getting off the plane, not that he was in any rush despite the anticipation thrumming in his veins. He had spent most of the flight over thinking about what kind of trainer he actually wanted to be, with a lifetime of televised competitive battles to draw on as inspiration.

He wanted to be the best, but what did that actually mean? Looking at other champions, they tended to just use pokémon known for being incredibly strong with others that more or less balanced out the team's strengths and weaknesses, though the same could be said about plenty of competitors that never made it as far as they did. That isn't to say it's not a tried and true teambuilding strategy, or that many such competitors didn't do well, though to him, it did feel a bit samey when so many followed such a template so rigidly.

It was to be expected, he supposed. After all, most of the dark rapidash showstoppers never actually did as well in competitions due to a variety of factors, and the templates for the success that they did achieve was not as universally applicable.

One particular pokémon did stand out to him, however: Lightning the Linoone. It was the lead actor for a children's TV Show about pokémon superheroes, and the Linoone's Extreme Speed certainly gave credence to the idea that none could contest its speed, even if it was only in straight lines. The truly interesting part was that it also sometimes participated in the competitive scene, and wouldn't you know it, its speed is absolutely the real deal. The standard strategy it went for was to use Belly Drum, a traditionally very risky move due to the self-damage it inflicts, heal up by scarfing down a Mago Berry, which most pokémon tend to be more leery about the flavors of, then start dashing straight through any and all obstacles, opponents included. Barring a couple of inconsistent or less successful outliers, its demonstrated speed and striking force were regularly put at the tippy-top of the post-game stat sheets the analysts would put together, and it was a personal favorite of Toshi's among competitors.

He didn't exactly want to go cribbing the style of Lightning the Linoone and their trainer - he'd have to avoid ever picking up a Zigzagoon lest he end up not knowing what else to do with it, but the concept of Lightning in the competitive scene was certainly something he wanted to emulate. The strongest. The fastest. The toughest, perhaps, though that category was a bit too multifaceted to single any particular idea of achieving it out right now. There were a variety of less obvious '-est' things he could think of, and a variety of ways to achieve them. Although he'd never seen them in action, supposedly a Raichu over in Unova was the fastest known Extreme Speed user. Extreme Speed itself has some limitations that faster pokémon need not abide by, and the whole debate over which variant of Darmanitan was stronger after a belly drum was a hot button issue online, not to mention some vague mentions of an Ursaring evolution, whether a Marowak using a bone club as a weapon counts, and some Azumarill simps that frankly don't know what they're talking about.

...He's getting off-topic. Going back to Lightning the Linoone, there are ways other than belly drum to boost a pokémon's strength too, though they tend to take repeated uses, making them significantly slower and less practical. That's why, even if most pokémon are stronger than Lightning, Lightning almost always takes the top spot for strongest strikes.

Could he do better?

The plane finally arrived while he was still pondering the notion, and when it was finally his turn to make his way out, he was greeted with the sight of a massive crowd gathering around what he inferred from the screaming to be some celebrity. He almost completely ignored it when he heard the name Valarie and for a moment seriously considered joining in to get an autograph. She was a gym leader, after all, and the strongest of their teams were certainly no slouches. Still, he wasn't cut from the same cloth as a bunch of rabid fans, and quickly discarded the idea. It wasn't his style to join a crowd, much less ask anyone for their autographs. He'd be giving her his autograph one day, he reassured himself, though the second glance did catch a sign for Camphor's lab just barely peeking out above the crowd.

Well, that was inconvenient. Seeing as how there didn't seem to be much ways around it, Toshi held his bag close and began to push his way through.

"Yo, sorry. Comin' through. Outta the way please. That wasn't actually a request, stop fuckin' loitering Arceus-dammit. And- yeah, thanks. Whew."

After a short but aggravating ordeal, he found himself standing before who he presumed to be professor Camphor's assistant, with an Impidimp standing on her shoulders, holding up the sign. He wasn't the only one there, though the email had implied there would be more than a couple of recruits picked up here. He decided to introduce himself for now, even if he'd have to do so again when everyone got here. "Yo, I'm Toshi. Nice to meet you." Turning to specifically face Camphor's assistant, he couldn't help but feel dissatisfied with the sign's height clearance. The height of Impidimp's platform and the length of their tiny little arms both seemed woefully ill-equipped for the task at hand, and if they were going to be waiting here until they were noticed, he might as well do what he can to make it more noticeable. He offered both the professor's assistant and her Impidimp one of his signature charming smiles and pointed at the sign Impidimp was holding. "Need a lift?"

Whether Impidimp wanted to hand the sign off and give their arms a rest or simply stand on his slightly less vertically-challenged shoulders, he would leave up to the little pokémon gremlin. He didn't really mind either way.

@Savo
In Pokémon Dreams (Reboot) → 20 days ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
You’d think with the blonde hair and pink one would think Barbie.

It's the makeup. Namely the eye shadow.
In Pokémon Dreams (Reboot) → 20 days ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
Now it'd be horribly unfair if I got to pick my own cahracter's theme after choosing all of yours, wouldn't it?

I usually opt for instrumental songs (as per the theme song I put in Toshi's app) but in matching with the vibes you were going for with the themes you gave everyone, here's the first song that came to mind for Tilly:


Also I posted this in the discord but figure I should also post it here so nobody has to dig it up if they missed it:
In Pokémon Dreams (Reboot) → 25 days ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

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