usedlaserbeam | 002 | Cherrygrove City

[After a productive (but admittedly somewhat boring) five hours of work sorting and filing papers at the Cherrygrove Pokémon Center, it's finally time for Yagyuu to head for home--or at least, for the room at the Cherrygrove Inn he's been sharing with Kirihara-kun since they both arrived in the city yesterday. He'd gladly work longer hours if they'd let him, but the rules are strict for minors, and so he's being cheerfully shooed out as soon as his time is up for the day.

As a result, anyone in the vicinity of the Center in Cherrygrove will probably see him exiting the front doors, his Breeder's Manual already open in one hand for casual perusal as he starts his walk back toward the inn. Strangely, he doesn't seem to have any Pokémon with him, though he does have his backpack slung casually over his shoulder like a model student might.

All things considered, he's not hard to spot, both from his lack of visible Pokémon and his bright yellow Rikkai jersey with the collar popped up at the neck. Which means he's also a prime target for bothering, should anyone feel so inclined.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

And to think, I'd hoped I would be considered special.

She's the special one.

[ It's said with just enough sarcasm for 'special' to become a subtle jab, but of course, the Persian doesn't notice. ]

Yet you keep her anyway. Are you getting sentimental, Niou-kun?

Are you gettin' sentimental?

[ Completely petulant. This is how Niou lets you know you've won. ]

[Sweet victory. It never gets old.]

At the moment? Of course.

[ Niou rolls his eyes and reaches down to scratch the cat's ears. She walks a few steps on her tiptoes, her happy rumbling growing louder.

Well, he's already lost, hasn't he? Besides, there's really no point in pretending he doesn't miss his cat. ]

Her name's Sudoku.

[And up go his eyebrows, though he manages to resist the urge to push up his glasses in accompaniment. Yukimura naming his Pokemon in tribute to his absent team was one thing, but for Niou to choose that name in particular for this faithful, adoring cat--

--and his mind goes back to Hirochii the supposed gremlin-ghost, but this time in an entirely different way.]

It's a good choice.

[ He lifts his shoulders a little, shrugging off the apparent significance of it. ]

Well, yeah.

Niou-kun--

[But no, this isn't the time. Later. A few hours won't make that much of a difference.]

--You'll have to introduce me to the others sometime, as well.

[ The break is subtle, but Niou hears it, not that you can tell. He makes no mention of it, and his expression, now morphing from deliberately nonchalant to mischievous and eager, betrays nothing.

Reaching into a side pocket on his bag, he pulls out a purple screwdriver and tosses it to Yagyuu without warning. ]

[And Yagyuu, having no idea what he's in for, instinctively reaches to catch it, tracking its arc through the air like he would an incoming ball in a tennis match and automatically moving to receive it.]

[ The screwdriver lands in his grasp and bends with its momentum, wrapping itself around his hand snugly and adhering to itself.

Niou whistles innocently. ]

[Trust Niou of all people to know how to get a reaction out of Yagyuu; it's clear something's wrong as soon as the object begins to bend rather than remaining solid, and his eyes go to his hand just in time to watch it complete its circle, effectively binding his hand in...whatever it is.

...Actually, he's not entirely sure he wants to know what it is.

He gives his hand a shake, trying to dislodge the...whatever it is...without much success.]

[ Niou looks on, amused, as the Ditto forms itself into a glove, covering Yagyuu's entire hand.

A smile appears on the palm. ]

[And now he's holding his goo-covered hand at arm's length, fingers toward the ground as he instinctively continues to try to dislodge the glove. It takes another minute before the realization settles that it's not coming off--and it's smiling at him--and he shoots Niou a vaguely annoyed look as something occurs to him.]

...Your hybrid of putty and jello, I presume.

Bingo. [ Niou is thoroughly unabashed.

The Ditto, meanwhile, recedes to Yagyuu's wrist and becomes a classy, if purple, watch. The hands have tiny faces on them, and every hour mark, as well. Should Yagyuu endeavour to touch it, he'll find that it's solid metal of some sort, and the face is glass. It feels cool and heavy on his wrist. ]

[He gives his fingers another wiggle, more in reaction to having them finally freed from being jellied in slime than anything else, and then frowns slightly at the new shape the Ditto takes. He twists his wrist, examining it from different angles, mildly surprised at the completeness and complexity of the illusion.]

It feels real. Aside from the purple, that is.

I'm sure some pimp somewhere has a watch exactly like that.

Anyway, I'm still not totally convinced that the purple thing is a matter of incapability. That motherfucker could just be screwing with me.

Because of course that's one thing I've always aspired to be. Some pimp somewhere.

[He flicks his nail against the glass of the face.]

The more I hear of it, the more it seems to suit you.

[ The faces inside the watch all frown simultaneously, and the watch dissolves into Ditto consistency again, constricting on Yagyuu's wrist.

Niou snorts. ]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was a big cosmic joke, givin' me a Ditto.

[Wrinkling his nose, he gives his wrist another shake. He much preferred the watch, thank you very much, purple blob.]

This one was your first, I take it? And the others came after.

[ Unexpectedly, the Ditto lets itself be flung to the ground. By the time it lands, it's back in proper Ditto form, and it rolls its way over to its trainer, who reaches down to pick it up just as it turns into a Rubik's cube — every side purple. ]

Yep. Started out with this asshole up in Mahogany Town.

He seems to have your sense of humor, as well.

[With a nod at the cube.]

[ Extravagant eyerolls as Niou begins mixing up the cube (as if it matters). ]

Yeah, thinks he's a fuckin' riot.

002 | Cherrygrove City | Action;

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