LET'S KICK THIS THING OFF RIGHT

[shadowsnagger]

Perhaps you were out buying groceries, or perhaps you were having a picnic. Whatever outdoorsy activity you were indulging in this fine day will soon meet a tragic end.

The chirping of birds suddenly stops, a peculiar silence falling upon the town. Then, a noise that you feel rather than hear- a deep rumbling in the earth begins to multiply until it's a dull roar. The ground shakes... an earthquake? No, not quite. Look to the north, and you'll see a cloud of dust and debris kicked high into the air. The source? A huge mass of purple headed this way.

That's right, it's a stampede. A stampede...

of RATTATA.

Coming this way, trampling all in its path.

WHAT DO?

((OOC: Flee, fight, panic, MINGLE.))

Comments

[feelsgoldman]

Ethan nods with satisfaction and stops circling. "A good one, obviously! See, you're two years younger than me. So that means that we're from different times!"

It's probably strange to normal people that Ethan's taking this in a stride, but when you've time-travelled with Celebi, there really isn't much that seems odd after that. "Maybe even different Johtos, if we don't remember things the same way," he continues, matter-of-factly. "What kind of Pokémon does the me you know have?"

[meanlook]

Silver's first instinct is to tell Ethan he's nuts, but taking into consideration he'd ended up on some floating island with a bunch of strangers suddenly anything is possible. So, he grudgingly obliges with an answer.

"Wimpy stuff. A Chikorita, a Hoot Hoot, and a Caterpie."

[feelsgoldman]

Ethan's eyebrows shoot up. "Seriously? How'd he manage to win the league with those three? Wait... is he a champion?"

[meanlook]

The redhead is absolutely boggled by the question, "What? No! You'd just started out on your journey. How could anyone be a champion with weak Pokemon like those?"

[feelsgoldman]

Oh. "That... makes a lot more sense. Forget I said anything." Ethan laughs sheepishly, mentally going through his own journey years ago. Running into Silver everywhere, putting a stop to Team Rocket, hunting the legendaries. Good times.

And then he realizes that it's probably not a good idea to continue talking about the future, even if it's a different future, so he changes tactics completely.

"What were you doing taking a nap this time of day, anyway?" he asks, crossing his arms. "Sleep sure isn't the way to get out of here."

[meanlook]

"I wasn't sleeping!" he spits back, "I was just thinking! If you ever did it, you'd know what it looks like."

He crosses his own arms, looking away from Ethan.

[feelsgoldman]

"If you say so," says Ethan, back to grinning. He looks down at Togekiss to speak with her, although perfectly audible to Silver as well. "Hey, what do you think got those Rattata running? Think it's something we should be worried about?" Togekiss takes flight again and trills, briefly flying in the direction they came from and circling to get her trainer to follow. Ethan looks back at Silver.

"Well, I'm gonna go investigate. You gonna stay here and think some more?"

[meanlook]

Silver turns to follow, trying to keep his expression as neutral as possible.

"Knowing you, you're going to need all the help you can get."

[feelsgoldman]

"Hey now, treat your elders with respect," says Ethan in a totally serious fashion, starting to walk up the Rattata-beaten path. "You young'uns think so highly of yourselves."

Of course, he wasn't much better a few years ago, but he's milking it for all it's worth. After all, it's not everyday he gets to converse with a younger, still highly-abrasive version of who has sort of become his second best friend after Lyra, after all.

o-oh god I am so sorry he is such a brat

[meanlook]

Highly-abrasive this Silver is, and he certainly doesn't react well to the teasing.

"Give me a break! I don't care what age you are in this screwed up place, you're still an idiot."

He still follows though, a little on edge after almost being run-over by a pack of rodents.

LOL that's totally fine ethan's baiting him like crazy

[feelsgoldman]

"Right, right," says Ethan, stifling another laugh so Silver doesn't decide he hates him too much and leaves. "Once an idiot, always an idiot, right? Not that it's ever stopped you from picking a fight every time we met."

The path seems to disappear over a hill in the distance, indicating that the Rattata must have been travelling pretty far. Absentmindedly, Ethan wonders exactly how big this floating region is.

[meanlook]

Silver takes a break from being a pain in the butt to observe the path himself, kneeling down to look at one of the twigs that had snapped under the rodent's tiny feet.

"Maybe they're running from a predator."

[feelsgoldman]

Ethan stops beside Silver, watching him thoughtfully.

"That'd make sense. What would scare off so many of them at once, though? I know that Rattata travel in big groups, but it almost looked like every Rattata on the island was in that stampede. Almost like they were being gathered up by someone."

In the back of his mind, Ethan thinks it's the type of thing Team Rocket would do. And Team Rocket did train Rattata. But that was years ago and they were long disbanded, weren't they?

[meanlook]

"Who would want a bunch of Rattata?" Silver scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest, "There have to be stronger Pokemon to go after."

[feelsgoldman]

"Strength in numbers," Ethan points out. "I'd rather deal with Lance's Dragonite than five hundred Magikarp at once, y'know?" He adds, struggling to keep a straight face, "Besides, maybe all this island has is Rattata."

[meanlook]

Silver's expression sours at the suggestion, "This stupid place WOULD only have one of the weakest and most useless Pokemon there is."

[feelsgoldman]

"Have you ever met this one kid named Joey? He lives in Cherrygrove and knows a lot about Rattata and how strong they can be. You guys should chat it up sometime," says Ethan, grinning widely. "When you manage to get home, that is."

[meanlook]

"I'll probably get home before you ever will," Silver huffed, "Considering how lazy you are."

[feelsgoldman]

"Yeah, plus there's the whole fact that you're trying and I'm not." Ethan laughs and claps Silver on the back, inadvertently pushing him forward a little. "C'mon, let's keep going before the trail gets cold!"