Welcome to Grassveil Town [CATALYST] (Open)

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Radar just kept flying. He kept flying until he reached town all the way from Shadowhue Forest, no way in hell he was sticking around for fire raining down from the sky. Fire does not rain down from the sky. Fire should never rain down from the sky. Water can rain from the sky, it’s called ‘rain’. Fire? Hell no! If that all even actually happened. See, Radar has a tiny bit of a tendency to see things that aren’t really there...he suffers from hallucinations, has all his life. As long as he could remember, he's been suffering from hallucinations. Radar grew up with a mental illness called ‘schizophrenia’, something he shared with his brother. Thanks to Radar's schizophrenia; he occasionally hears voices in his head, he has hallucinations of the sky turning orange, he hears other Pokémon say things they aren’t actually saying, and sometimes he gets quite paranoid...mainly about Yigo finding out who Radar really was.

A thief, Outlaw, and liar.

Of course, he had some other issues that had to do with his schizophrenia, like how occasionally he might be unmotivated to accomplish a certain task, or how he might have some trouble showing emotion all that well. He's still capable of showing emotion, just a little less than everymon else. These issues, however, were just tiny, minor little things, so he just brushed any concerns or worries about it in his mind aside. They weren’t important, so why bother wasting energy on it.

Right, he owed Yigo an explanation as to why he got all weird back in Shadowhue Forest and shouted at the Absol.

Meh, Radar decided not to focus on it, he had plenty of time on his wings...he'd get back to thinking about what to tell Yigo later.

The bird's sporadic motivation isn't an issue...so he thinks.

Since Yigo wasn't currently with Radar right now, he decided he could sell the orbs that he'd, uh...acquired recently. He'd flown to Yigo's burrow after arriving at the town's gates, you just had to take a right from there. It was a short flight away, not too far from town, and there was a slight cool breeze fluttering through the air. It was refreshing, a little bit of resistance was never a bad thing mid-flight. It wasn't pushing him back, but it was still there, pushing against and through his feathers. The grass always seemed greener in this little pocket of the world known as Grassveil Town...probably how it got it's name. Then again, Radar wouldn't be the most reliable source of information on sights, seeing as he usually sees things that aren't entirely...there. But, it was nice for Radar to see how vibrant the grass looked. He wasn't flying fast, it was more...casual flying. No speed he was going for, he wasn't in a rush...and he rarely did fly instead of walk. Normally, he would just walk to wherever he was going, but currently? Well, Radar didn't know why, he was just...flying. Maybe it's some kind of avian instinct, maybe he just...decided to fly without thinking of all the times he's crashed.

Anyways, he arrived at Yigo's burrow, landing on the dirt and walking through the entrance way that was really just a hole in the side of a hill a little ways away from town. Still, Radar liked it there. You'd never think of a bird living underground now, would you? But that's where Radar lived; right there with Yigo. It was actually a lot cozier and less dirty than one might think. Than again, most of you, I'm sure, would choose not to live in a burrow under the ground. If Radar was known for one thing, it was his eccentricities. A bird that lives underground, can you imagine? Radar grabbed his bag that was still by the entrance, lying on the ground, waiting to be picked up and filled with all the trinkets and 'shinies' Radar might collect. Radar—admittedly—has an issue with anything shiny. If he sees something shiny, the Murkrow's already completely enamored with it. No matter what it is, if it's shiny, he's helpless to resist it's allure. This has compelled him to take the shiny things that he sees, such as the quartz necklace he—surprisingly—didn't have around his neck. Usually, he always wore it, but when he's stealing—which he knew he was going to do in the morning—it could act as a way to describe him, or remember him since he always wore it.

He headed into the bed chamber—where he left it in the morning—and collected his necklace from the side of the bed; a pile of hay with a sheet on it. It was a lot more comfortable than the floor, that's for sure. Just holding it up to his face with his wings, he was already mesmerized by the way the white quartz seemed to sparkle and shine, his red eyes locked on the crystal attached to the necklace. It was completely and utterly useless in every way, but it was really pretty to look at, which was always pleasant to the child's eyes. He slipped the black string over his head—around the hat shaped feathers on top of his head, slightly squishing and shifting them around...it was really quite a mess of feathers—and on his shoulders, around his neck. It was a little big for him—the crystal almost reached to his stomach—but it was shiny and he liked it, so size didn't matter. He could still wear it, so it was fine! Wearing such a pretty jewel...he felt a little important, like this crystal costed 1,000,000₽, and he could just buy it so easily. Sometimes, for a second, he could believe—only for a second—that he was rich, that everymon would look at him and think he was so great and amazing because he was. That, just for a second...he was something more than just a dirty, poor, miserable, lowly thief. That he was something—somemon—special.

But after that second passed...he realized that he was only those things; a dirty, poor, miserable, lowly thief. Also, he was raised by an infamous outlaw from Grima Outpost, the most horrible place in the world. Radar hated the tents and decayed buildings and the Pokémon there most of all. Sometimes, it was a little hard to believe that he'd really left. He'd spent five years there, he didn't even really remember where he hatched...the Outpost was his home. And it was awful. Living with Yigo...this has been the best few months of his life. When he was with Yigo, just playing with him...he forgot about the Outpost...and he started to feel light, happy. It felt like nothing else mattered anymore, that his life was actually great! Better than it was, at least. Currently, Radar had little to no Poké, didn't know where his parents were and has just been aimlessly wandering around the world for a year, and he'd also left his best and probably only friend to deal with an issue in a spooky, scary forest all alone. It was fine, Radar thought to himself. I'd just be something to worry about, and Yigo has that Absol with him to keep him safe. He's hella fine, Radar.

With his bag's strap still slumped over his shoulder, Radar walked out of the burrow and headed back on the trail to Grassveil Town. Of course, now he just walked instead of flew, preferring it to the way most birds moved around. He was just fine with walking, thank you very much. He was actually somewhat of a...'Klutzy Flier.' That was a title Radar had given himself because most times he flew he ended up crashing in this blaze of failure. One time, he even got a concussion, so that wasn't too fun. Yep, concussion. Flew head first into a tree. A solid tree. A tree that felt more like a rock, to be honest...head first. Yeah, Radar's brain was a little out-of-commission for a while, he took his time recovering from that blow. His head flew straight into that tree...luckily, a Cranidos had helped him out and brought him back to the burrow. Radar thought his name was Kestor, but, being completely honest here, he didn't remember much of that day. It was like there was a giant sponge and it just completely scrubbed away all the memories of that day. Radar only really knew what he was told.

Anyways, upon arriving, Radar simply walked through town, processing his most recent trip to Shadowhue Forest, and what was most likely his last. Walking down the streets of Grassveil Town, Radar just took in the sights of stone buildings with slanted, dark brown wood roofs, the bright green grass growing everywhere but the pathways made of dirt on the ground. The buildings had windows in them, glass-filled windows, and they were near doors, or in the center of the side walls...sometimes, if there was a second floor, there would be a window up there.

Buildings were quite a common sight there, not to mention the Pokémon moving to and fro from those buildings. There were all kinds of Pokémon there; big Pokémon, small Pokémon, thin, wide, they had it all. They had floating chandeliers, balls that rolled around on their own and could talk, four-legged Pokémon, two-legged Pokémon. If you could name it...it was there in Grassveil Town. It was the place to go for any Pokémon around the world, the most popular town out there.

There was one spot, however, that always captured the young bird's attention and peaked his interest. One building—one structure—that always fascinated him. The Grassveil Stage—as Radar called it—was a stage made of wood situated in an open space with no other buildings. It had a large wooden box behind it—one that plenty of Pokémon could probably fit in—and it was painted to look like certain backgrounds sometimes on the side that faced the stage. Radar’s always felt weirdly drawn to that stage, he'd just imagine himself up there, performing—just what he'd be performing, he didn’t quite know—in front of hundreds of adoring fans, screaming his name in applause, cheering him on with their encouragement. He easily saw himself standing upon the wooden stage, smiling out at a crowd that accepted and loved all his quirks and eccentricities.

Radar’d be up there someday, don’t you worry...someday he'll have his time in the spotlight.

Just not now.

For now, we have a young bird walking through the streets, happy, able to have sold the stolen loot for 500₽. That was quite a bit of Poké, Radar could buy a whole bunch of berries for him and Yigo to share. He knew this place that sold berries for really cheap prices, and that was his destination. At this place, if he spent all his Poké, he could get fifty berries! This Pokémon was always selling berries for a cheaper price than most others; instead of the usual 150₽ ten berries usually cost everywhere else, Radar could buy them from this stall for 95₽! That doesn't make much of a difference for most Pokémon, since having, like, 2,000₽ is just sooooooo common. But for Radar...it was amazing. For Radar, somemon who doesn't have a lot of Poké, it's a life saver for him. This little berry store hasn't been around for long, just a little recently after Radar first came here from what he understood, but it was the only place he went to for food nowadays.

Walking through the marketplace, he saw plenty of Pokémon shopping. Plenty of Pokémon shopping, talking, doing whatever they may need to do...the Grassveil Market was always busy. Hey, wasn't it known for it's market and trade? Meh, Radar didn't know off the top of his head, it didn't interest him. He just started searching for the stall in the marketplace, eyes shifting left and right, wings shifting around one another as he looked. The stone paths of Grassveil Town were smooth and cool, cooler probably now since the snow had fallen on it. It sent tingles up Radar's spine if he focused on the coldness, it felt relaxing...calming...to feel the coldness run up the Murkrow's back and combat the warmth still in his system. It felt...liberating to the young bird to feel cold, maybe even numb. Just being numb to everything, it felt peaceful. It was also kinda refreshing for him, the cold made everything shiver and chill, waking him up...granted, he didn't sleep, but it still made him feel alert. Radar liked the cold. Radar could smell food; berries, bread, drinks...drinks weren't food, but there were still drinks that he could smell. Probably made from berries, berries always had a distinct smell to them. The air was also always fresh in town, which some Pokémon might take for granted...not Radar, though! Not a kid who grew up in a toxic wonderland! The fresh air was always welcome to him.

Then he found what he was looking for; The Berry Shop. It was just a wooden stall set up in the Grassveil Market, painted white with red rims. It had a sign above it with yellow letters that read; The Berry Shop. It also was kind of like a box, having supplies in the back as a form of storage. It wasn't planted in place, though, no. The owner of The Berry Shop always set it up in different places, and she told him it took a lot of effort to set up. It was set up near the center of the marketplace...not entirely in the center, just a little bit off to the side to avoid all the other shops that might attract more customers. The shop was always quiet, only ever having a few customers...right now, there was an Eevee ordering some berries, and that was about it.

Wait...

It was that Eevee again! Li, from Pecha Forest! She was standing at the stall Radar would usually go to when he wanted to get out of foraging early or wanted to be a little lazy, and it was one of the few stalls or stores he ever really shopped at…or went to...at all. It was run by this Pidgeot named Petra, an older kid who sold berries for lower prices. They weren’t super lower than normal prices, but you’d save about ₽45 for a berry, which meant that quite a few Pokémon went there for a cheaper deal. She told Radar she tried to get more customers by having cheaper sales, so she got more sales and more Poké. Radar liked Petra, she was nice to him, his favourite shopkeeper in Grassveil Town. It was nice to talk with another bird in town, and she always commented on how mature he was and responsible he was.

Radar’s new Eevee friend seemed a bit angry, though, talking with the other bird. “A Pokémon can’t sell something here?!” She shouted, her ears were flat against her head as her tail was slowly swishing back and forth. As Radar decided to move closer in order to figure out what was happening—he’d probably be going there either way in order to make up for the Shadowhue issue—he heard the fox-like Pokémon lowly growling. She had a dark grey bag—similar to Radar’s, actually, in style—that looked very used slung over her shoulder, barely a few inches away from touching the ground, with the letters ‘L.S.M.’ on the front of the bag in a bright teal colour. They stood out. “What kind of service do you run if you won’t buy what others want to sell!?” She exclaimed. “I thought that was always a requirement or something that stores or shops or anything selling anything always did!”

“I run the kind of service that needs Poké, kid.” The Pidgeot shop owner responded, placing her wing over the side of the stall and leaning on it. “I don’t have the Poké, so I can’t buy things off of you, okay…?” She placed a bag on the stall counter with a sigh. It was a brown bag that wasn’t too big, and it was probably filled with berries. Petra used those bags as a way for her customer to hold any large orders of berries. Radar always brought the same bag back, though, for more orders, because he understood that she didn’t have an endless supply of them. “So, do you want your berries or not?” She asked.

Li looked at her bag. “How much were they again?” She asked, looking back at the Pidgeot before Radar started to walk over, curiosity getting the better of him.

“95₽.” Petra answered. Looking really upset, Li searched her bag for a moment. That moment seemed to go on and on. “Do you have enough Poké?” Petra asked, leaning a bit closer. She doesn’t have enough, Radar thought, watching the Eevee’s ears fall, paws digging into the ground. She then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She hella doesn’t have enough. Radar knew how it felt to not have enough Poké to buy something. Hell, that was him most times. Radar couldn’t explain it, but…watching that Eevee, and making the assumption that she didn’t have enough Poké to buy something…he wanted to help. Especially since it was to help who he deemed a friend. Even though she was mean, really bossy, didn’t seem to like Radar…why did he see her as a friend?

Li then opened her eyes, turned around, and stomped off, not bothering to pay for or take the berries she had wanted. That was when Radar acted really without thinking as he pulled out 100₽. “I’ll pay for it!” He shouted to Petra, stepping in between the Pidgeot and Eevee. “She’s my friend.”

That comment made the Eevee stop in place as Radar looked back at her. Her tail was still slowly swishing back and forth like usual as she just stared ahead at something. Petra, on the other wing, had a smile across her beak as she placed her wings on the table. “Hi there, Radar.” She greeted him as Radar turned his head back to look at the other bird. The first thing that he noticed was a streak of blue feathers flowing from her head amongst the red and yellow feathers, almost making up what looked to be hair. The blue was new, something that he hadn’t seen before on her. It looked really nice. He stared a little bit, eyes focusing on the blue. It looked really pretty, and it stood out. It was this nice, dark blue, like Radar had seen before on certain buildings. Navy blue. “A friend paid for me to get this done as a gift.” Petra explained, reaching back and bringing her blue feathers closer for Radar to see.

“I like it.” He complimented her, smiling. He had already seen a multi-colored Pikachu on the streets…but, uh, apparently he was also magic because he always ran down the same alley, which was a dead end, and just seemed to disappear. Radar would know, he’d investigated that alleyway after having not seen the Electric Mouse leave, seeing that it was only a dead end. Where did he always go? Then Petra now had blue feathers. “How did you change the colour?” Radar asked.

“Dandy’s Dyes. You pay them Poké and they dye you different colours.” Petra answered before glancing at the Eevee who was now next to Radar, paws up on the booth of the shop. “So…you two are friends?”

Nothing. Nothing from Li. She was just quiet, watching the older bird in silence. Radar nodded his head, however, as if to say yes enough for the both of them. “Yep!” Radar rather chirpily said, placing the 100₽ on the stall. “I’m making more friends!”

“That’s nice, Radar.” Petra commented, taking the Poké and letting Li have the berries. The young—yet still older than Radar—Pidgeot then smiled. “I’m still waiting to meet this Yigo Pokémon sometime.” Right, Radar had told Petra so much about Yigo and that he was really nice and great…Petra really should meet Yigo…who was currently…somewhere…fighting something. Yeah, Radar wasn’t the best friend out there, he was, um…a bit more aware of that right now. “Think you’ll bring him by next time you come here?”

“Sure!” Radar agreed, watching as the Eevee next to him took the berries, shoved them in her bag, and silently walked away without even a goodbye or thank you. Radar, starting to panic as he wanted to keep up but didn’t want to just leave, placed both wings on the stall and leaned on it. “Thank you for the berries. I’ll be back later to buy more. I’ll bring Yigo.” He started rattling off the important things he was going to say before turning around and flying to get a quick burst of speed. “And have a good day!” He called back to Petra, turning his head to look back.

Now back to his current issue.

“Li!” Radar called out. “Wait!” He stopped flying and landed on the ground next to the still walking Eevee, the one that looked quite upset for one reason. Radar kept walking, trying his best to keep up. “Where are you going?”

“Why do you care?” She asked, ears flat, not even looking at Radar. “Just leave me alone, kid.”

“You’re a kid, too.” Radar responded. Li stopped, turning around to look at him. It was true, she looked like she was Radar’s age…maybe eleven or twelve? She also looked furious. “I mean…” Radar began, stopping, rubbing his wings back and forth. “You look like a kid…”

“WHAT do you WANT?!” Li screamed at him, growling. “WHAT?!”

“I, um…” Radar began, looking down at the ground. Did I do something wrong? “I wanted to say hi…” He explained. “Ask where you were going because I was curious…”

A few deep breaths came from Li, closing her eyes. She was really upset, wasn’t she? “Just…leave. Me. Alone.” She slowly stated, opening her eyes as she stared straight at Radar. “We’re not ‘friends,’ Feathers.” And with that, she just walked away.

Radar continued to follow her, however. “Well, what’s stopping us from being friends?”

“You.” Li stated, once again not looking at Radar, staring straight ahead of her. Her tail was still swishing back and forth. “I don’t make friends with Pokémon who only talk to me because they want something.”

“I just want to be friends.” Radar stated. “That’s it.”

“And why do you want to be…’friends’ with me, huh?”

“I don’t know…?”

“You don’t?”

“I guess, uh…maybe because I liked the ‘Peace and Quiet’ from earlier?"

“Oh, so we can go strolling through forests together for a little while, lower my defences and lull me into a false sense of security before you kill me?”

What? K-Kill? “Why would I kill you?” Radar asked, stopping for a moment. “That's bizarro.” He added as he watched Li—confused—as she just kept walking, tail swishing back and forth rather calmly. Radar continued walking again after a quick little flight to catch up with the Eevee, now more confused and curious than wanting to do something with her.

Li gave something of a dismissive hm to Radar, looking back at the bird. “Kill me, take ah’nor kidnap me, hurt me, it doesn’t make a difference...” She stated, her brown eyes looking back at Radar as her ears remained flat. “You won’t even get a chance, feathers.”

One thing that caught Radar's attention was the way she slurred her words partway through her sentence. ‘Ah’nor?’ Did she mean ‘and or?’ To most Pokémon, that wouldn’t matter...but to Radar...see, he'd slurred his words. And it wasn't just...occasionally. When he was younger, most of everything he ever said was slurred. He’d gotten a bit better at saying his words clearly, and it took extra effort and work to keep himself talking normally, but he'd worked on it because he felt self-conscious about it. He was probably the only Pokémon in the world with ‘Chronic Slurring Disorder.’ “Well...” Radar began. “I’m not going to kill you...or take you, or kidnap you, or hurt you.”

“I’m just supposed to take your word for that?” Li asked, looking back ahead.

“I...yes?”

“Not a chance, feathers.”

“What can I do to make you believe I won’t do any of those things?”

“Nothing.”

One might ask why? Why what? Well, there were plenty of things to ask why about. Why did Li think Radar was trying to kill her? Why was she so mean? Why did the sun rise today? The why someone might ask above all other why's is; why was Radar still trying to be friends with this Pokémon?

Good question.

Radar didn’t quite know why himself.

It felt weird, though...for Radar. He felt...like they were friends. Even though it didn’t look like it, or sound like it...they were friends. Radar just knew that. Why? That he didn't know. This Eevee just felt...familiar to him. Almost like déjà vu. This conversation...it felt like it’s happened before. But it hasn’t. Radar didn’t quite understand it, or know how to explain it other than the fact that he felt connected. Connected to that Eevee...in a way. He felt connected to her.

She was still incredibly rude and mean, that was something Radar could realize.

Li—once again—looked at Radar, her angry glare still apparent in her chocolate brown eyes. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I’m going to be leaving this ‘conversation’ as I have things I need to do.” She curtly stated, stopping.

“What things?” Radar innocently asked, trying to get back onto more friendlier or neutral social grounds.

“Fuck off.” Li told Radar, turning around and leaving without another word.

Radar didn’t follow her, though. It was probably best to just leave her be. No matter how much it felt like it, they weren't friends. Radar reminded himself of that on his way back to Petra, prepared to buy a ton of berries in order to make up for his poor foraging effort.

...Li hadn’t even thanked him for paying for the berries she'd wanted. She just took them and that was that.

Wow.

“Um... I've technically been here before... but - it was only for a short time. I really haven't seen much of this town yet.” Valen explained. “Taking a tour of Grassveil with you showing me around would be very helpful, if you still want to do that. Thanks a lot for your offer!”

“No problem.” Radar told her with a smile. He stepped aside, gesturing with his wings at the stalls behind him. “So...this is the marketplace.” He began, wings moving together to touch one another as his head was ever so slightly lowered, eyes looking up at Valen. His wings started tapping together, just something he didn’t notice he was doing as he was thinking of the different shops. “We have...a berry store—m-multiple berry stores.” Tap. “It’s a hella competitive business, I assume.” Tap, tap. “There’s certain item stores, st-stores that sell that one specific kind of item.” Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap...yeah, he didn’t look nervous or suspicious at all. “U-Usually you can find the item you’re looking for in a store that sells everything, like the ‘Kecleon Bros Market,’ where I usually do my shopping, which is; very little.”

Did that make sense? Radar was just trying to say that he didn’t do a lot of shopping, did he word that in a way that it could be understood?

The tapping of his wings together seemed to speed up the more and more he talked, it was about two taps per second. He couldn’t help it, he was just...fidgeting. Radar started to walk down the path of the marketplace, smiling, still looking at Valen. “I know that this is a tour, so would you like to see some stalls?” He asked. Visuals would probably explain things better than Radar ever could.

“Wouldn’t be the first time.” Li responded, turning around to walk away. She stopped, however, looking back at Leander. “And no one helps somemon unless they want something in return.” She stated. “So, either you want to kill me, which is probably what this whole conversation between us is trying to accomplish. You’re trying to get me to lower my guard down so you can shank me or something.” Her tone was filled with unspoken accusations, what else could she possibly be thinking you could do!? Her eyes were narrow, watching Leander, judging him. Her tail had gone back to absentmindedly swooshing, her paws dug into the ground as if she was preparing to run. “Or you want something from me.” She continued. “What is it you want? My body? Perv.”

Radar, from what Valen could tell at least, seemed to be feeling much better now. He told Valen about different kinds of stores: berry stores, the item stores, and the ones that sold everything, such as the "Kecleon Bros Market," apparently. That was pretty good to know, although it didn't seem *that* much different from stores in Aileron Village. Perhaps there were just more in Grassveil, or they were of better quality, or something like that. There was just that one little thing - Radar kept tapping his wings. He must still be a bit nervous, Valen guessed, but it was still distracting.

Fortunately, Valen still managed to hear and understand Radar when he asked whether Valen would like to actually see the stalls. "Yes, I would!" Valen replied, somewhat loudly as he was feeling excited due to both the opportunity to actually get a guided tour of Grassveil and its useful shops and having met another bird Pokemon whom he could make friends with. "That would be great! Thank you again!" Wait, he realized, was I too loud? I hope Radar's still feeling okay.

Leander's expression was filled with concern as the Eevee claimed it would not be the first time someone had tried to kill her. She couldn't possibly be much more than a decade old. What would her life so far have had to be like for that to have occurred already? Her next statement only made him wonder more: apparently she believed that nobody ever helped others without wanting something in return. He tilted his body slightly sideways, looking like he wanted to ask her something, but was not sure where to begin. As her statement evolved into even more accusations, he straightened up again and narrowed his eyes. It wasn't really a scowl, just a hurt squint. "Do I even look like I'm able to shank you?" he asked rhetorically, still somewhat dumbfounded by her elaborate allegations.

She continued speaking, insinuating that he, too, wanted something from her. And he did want things, so in this one situation she would be sort of right, but what he wanted was far removed from what she likely expected. Just little things, like to know what was up with her, for her to not be murdered, to prove to himself that he wasn't a bad person through helping her... The last one was perhaps a little selfish, but he thought them all to not be particularly bad things to want. But would she believe him if he tried to tell her that? Probably not. No, she went on to suggesting what he might want, and what she said had him taken aback.

He stepped back even more, visibly uncomfortable. "A-Arceus, no!" he exclaimed. Had that just come out of the mouth of a kid? She'd cussed a lot and talked about some rather dark things earlier, sure, but... What kind of child assumed something like that? The stares from the other pokémon on the street were getting heavier, their gazes feeling like they were boring into him. This Eevee was just going to throw out increasingly bad claims the longer he stayed, it seemed. From the way certain spectators looked at him, and how they seemed to test the waters for slowly approaching him, he figured he'd have to quit this before he got in trouble.

"Alright, fine! If you can't trust me, I'll leave you alone! Just... please be careful. Get help if you think you're in danger. Most pokémon aren't half as cruel as whoever you've met." Those words likely fell on deaf ears, but... If they had the slightest chance of making her reconsider things, he felt they were worth saying. He turned around after that, and began walking away from the Eevee, looking several of the more daring onlookers dead in the eye when he passed them as if to underline his response to the girl's implication.

“So, this is the Grassveil Marketplace, where you go for all your shopping needs.” Radar semi-enthusiastically droned out, putting on a large, friendly smile. He started walking further into the marketplace, Valen would follow behind. There were a lot of stalls and buildings around…a lot…it actually felt intimidating to the poor bird to have to…talk about all of it. Radar is somemon who can talk, but…well, he usually depends on others to keep a conversation going. He’d be just fine with not talking, but if somemon wants him to talk, he would. Radar probably should have thought this whole tour thing through a bit more than he had, it was going to be a lot more talking than he was used to. Oh Arceus…he thought, still making sure to smile—albeit rather nervously—even though his new friend couldn’t see him.

That was okay, though. Radar could slowly work his way through the tour even though he was a completely antisocial loon, just focus on one thing at a time. First up; stalls. “The stalls here are set up by Pokémon who don’t have a building to set up their shop or service in.” Radar explained because that wasn’t obvious. What next, Radar? He moved a wing to his head, swatting at it. Not going to shut up, idiot. With a quick shake to his head, he worked up the courage to keep talking. “I...” He started tapping his wings together, taking a deep breath in. “I-It's more'r less shops or services th-that already had actual store buildings setupped for it.” He explained, looking back at Valen, still with a smile drawn across his face. “Like food shops an' item shops and all that. The ones'n excess.” You're mumbling and messing up your words, stop! He thought, taking a moment to prepare himself to say things. This usually happened, honestly, and it came across to other Pokemon as Radar maybe taking a second or two to respond to them. Did other Pokemon find that offensive? Like he was ignoring them or something? He had ignored Pokemon before and just...didn't realize it. Usually it got him punched. Hard. “Anyways...stalls...” Radar said, speaking his words slowly. He almost sounded like he was just learning to talk, sounding out his words in order to say them. “There they are...”

Radar kept walking, glancing back at Valen occasionally to make sure she was still following him. Where to go? Where to go? Radar looked around, trying to spot out certain shops that he knew. There was a clothing stall nearby that was run by a Leavanny, he could head there. It was a simple wood stall, painted green. There were leaves littered all around it, too, a design detail that Radar hadn't really formed an opinion about. It was leaves, they were...nice? See, Radar didn't quite understand the significance of leaves to a Leavanny, or how clever a decoration it may possibly seem to look like the stall may or may be made of leaves. It wasn't, however. “This is Leavanny's Wares...” Radar half told Valen, half read the sign on top of the stall for himself. Honestly, he hadn't been that interested in scarves or bands or just accessories in general, so he'd never really stopped by. He'd just seen it before and he was curious to meet the store owner, he just never had. “Here, they sell stuff like fashion stuff and clothing stuff...it's scarves and bows and ribbons an' things, for example.” Radar was somehow losing the ability to talk, and now of all times? Well, he was trying to speak properly, at least. That was good.

“Why hello there, you two.” The Leavanny shopkeep greeted the two birds with a smile, leaning over the side of the stall. “Have you two come to browse?”

Leander was uninterrupted in his exit, none of the bystanders seeming like they would be willing to confront him. The Eevee, of course, kept walking. She did glance back towards the Seedot a few times, if only to make sure he wasn't following her again. All in all, he was rather uncontested, everyone backed off. Maybe everything was okay. Leander was free to do whatever he may feel like, until a voice seemed to clear in the silence and a furry finger seemed to tap Leander. “Excuse me...” The voice began, sounding like it came from behind. There was a Pikachu. A strange looking Pikachu. This Pikachu, for starters, had a cluster of purple crystals jutting out of his back, looking like they had grown from it. They were big, too, and definitely flashy. The other uncommon thing about this Pikachu was the blue in his fur. While most Pikachu were predominantly yellow, this Pika had blue in his fur. It formed eccentric markings and pattern with so much detail. There were some patterns, like the ones on his paws, that were two squares together crossing over one another. Well, one was a square, the other was rotated to be a diamond. Inside the squares, there was a circle. Then a square. Then a circle and a square, and it stopped. The same design also rested on his belly, and the two squares—minus the circle and square pattern within—design was around his eyes, too. There were two small lines on his forehead moving vertically parallel to each other, with two more lines on either side making somewhat of an upside down L shape.

Streaks of blue drift down his arms and legs as they seemed to wrap around his wrists, the tips of his thumbs blue. His pinky fingers seemed like they were both all blue, middle fingers had blue in the middle of them, wrapping around, and index fingers were blue on the side closest to the thumb, all steming from the tip down to the base of the finger. His ring fingers were plain, but all fingers and thumb still had that blue ring around the base. All the same could be said for his feet, mimicking his hands. “I couldn’t help but overhear all the things you got accused of...” He explained. He than began to slow clap. “You. Are. Amazing at, you know...talking to Pokémon! Great job!” The strange looking Pikachu congratulated with a thumbs up.

Valen followed Radar to the Grassveil Marketplace. As Radar was talking, Valen noticed that quite a few of the things he was saying were... somewhat obvious, and he seemed to have some problems talking. He's still nervous, Valen assumed, but at least he's showing me around and things seem to be going okay so far.

Once they got to Leavanny's Wares, a Pokemon that somewhat resembled leaves - apparently the shop owner - greeted them. Valen felt that "Leavanny" was the name of this species, not the individual. So guess I now know a new Pokemon, he thought to himself with pleasure. "Yes, we have," he replied to the Leavanny's question.

Valen took a closer look. He liked the design of the shop, green and with a lot of leaves nearby. He also noticed that much of the merchandise looked quite pretty and seemed to be of good quality. However, he doubted from the outset that he would buy anything from here. The thing was, he didn't like wearing accessories. They just didn't feel comfortable to him and he was worried that they might interfere with his flight - the only one he currently wore was a ribbon on his leg, and that was because it was a gift from his parents and anyway, he would have a difficult time trying to take it off by himself. All of the accessories in this shop seemed to be purely for fashion as well; they did not have effects that might help him while exploring dungeons, effects that might make him consider wearing something.

Nevertheless, he looked at various individual items just to admire their design, and to pass the time because Radar was here as well and, Valen thought, might want to check out things here for a while as well. The first one he noticed was a simple blue band, somewhat larger than his own ribbon and a much darker shade of blue. Next, he noticed a dark yellow ribbon near it. To Valen, at least, this one looked something like a Gold Ribbon, but he could tell it wasn't actually one - the color was different to that of the few Gold Ribbon depictions he had seen before, and there was no sparkle. The overall effect was that of a cheap imitation.

There were some more complex ones as well. Valen could see a few green bands with patterns resembling red, yellow, or brown autumn leaves made on them, somewhat similar to the design of the stall itself. On the right, there was a large scarf with black-and-white zigzag stripes on it. Valen happened to read the description just underneath it: "Primordial Zigzagoon Scarf!" What? What does that even mean? Valen wondered to himself. He knew what Zigzagoon were, and had even seen a few before in Pecha Forest, albeit in a weird situation... but in his knowledge, a Zigzagoon's stripes were brown and cream, not black and white. And why was the scarf called "Primordial"? That meant something like "first" or "beginning," but this scarf didn't look very old to Valen. Is all of this just to make the scarf seem fancy or something? Valen continued thinking.

Valen's eyes next fell on a pink bow with green leaf patterns as well as a small, apparently artificial red rose set on it. He found it beautiful enough that he seriously considered buying it, even if just to place it where he slept and kept his items, but soon decided that would not be a good idea. After all, he wasn't actually going to notice things in that place all that much of the time, and having something like that bow there might just create a more tempting target for thieves while not serving much of a useful purpose. There were other items in the shop, but now Valen turned. He was just curious to know what Radar was doing now.

Leander dragged his feet sluggishly across the ground as he left the ogling crowd behind him. He exhaled slowly, regaining his composure after the last encounter. Just as a breath had escaped him, he felt something small and warm briefly hit his back, and so he turned around, drawing in the next serving of air faster than the last. The Seedot looked notably wearier than he had while trying to counsel the kid from before, his eyes appearing to have trouble staying in one place and focusing, and his blinking visibly slowed. But even though the sickness was starting to exhaust the nut, he seemed to wake right up again, if only for a moment, as he laid eyes on the creature that had just prodded him. Arceus, what was that? Yellow fur with strikingly contrasting blue patterns, and so many of them too... And purple crystals of all things! He came to the conclusion, drawing from the fact that the pokémon had red cheeks and long ears with black tips, that he had to be a Pikachu. He had never seen one like this before, though.

Surprise turned to skepticism as the flashy stranger began talking again. The hell was up with his tone? As he began clapping, the acorn's gaze turned downright hostile. This random mockery was unnecessary. Hadn't he gotten enough punishment for trying to help already? After the congratulation, he stepped away from the Pikachu, trying to hold back the glare that fought its way onto his face.

"... What."

His tone had been as neutral as he could manage, but... what was this Pikachu's problem? He would have understood if the mouse had simply heard the fox's accusations and decided to go make sure it wasn't as she said, but... this guy seemed like he just wanted to pick on him for messing up. Leander had tried not to initiate a fight just yet, as he felt tired from battling both the sickness and the Eevee's claims. As a personal rule, he also tried to give any new pokémon he met a chance before judging them, something he opted to do in this case as well, even if deep down he felt like he knew this guy was out to mock him just for kicks.

Radar wasn't really planning on ‘browsing’ at that moment, seeing as he had the rest of his big tour to do the freak was making up as he went. What would he even be missing? Radar took a deep breath, wanting for the voices to shut up, and he looked at the Leavanny and was about to tell her no...

However...

“Yes, we have.” Valen said, causing Radar to stop right there in place, not really wanting to say anything about not wanting to shop. He just thought they had a big tour to do, that was all...Radar took another deep breath and decided, hey, why not look? Maybe there might be something cool there. There were blue bands, gold ribbons, apparently something called a ‘Primordial Zigzagoon Scarf’ that was just a large scarf with black and white zigzags on it...that was actually neat. Radar had no clue what a ‘Primordial Zigzagoon’ was, but the scarf looked nice and big and long and comfy...it was way too expensive, though, 1,000₽ was way too much to spend. He didn't even have that much Poké to begin with!

There were plenty of scarves with leaf designs on them, some with fake flowers on them...one of them, actually, that really caught Radar's eye was a white scarf with this dark red and black rose attached to the end of it, sticking out. It looked way too big for him, probably meant for a Pokémon that was six feet or something, like, say, a Tyranitar. It was rather needlessly to say that Radar'd swim in it, it being ridiculously to big...and yet...that was what drew Radar's attention the most. So much so, actually, that he hadn't noticed Valen watching him. Instead, he watched the scarf, practically enamored by it.

“You like this scarf?” The Leavanny questioned calmly, smiling and pointing to the scarf Radar's gaze was fixed on.

Radar felt himself nod, eyes unwavering from the scarf. “How much is it?” He asked with a slight hint of dread, expecting something that nice to be quite expensive.

“800₽”

There it was. The exact reason why he could not purchase that wonderful item...it was too expensive. He had so little Poké, everything was too expensive. “That's a little too expensive for me...” Radar admitted, eyes drifting to the ground as he started tapping his wings again. Always with the tapping.

“Oh, that's alright.” The Leavanny said. “Do you want to try it on?”

“But it's too big...”

“Doesn't mean you can’t try it on...” The Leavanny explained, before letting out a sigh. “But alright.” She then looked at the two birds a bit more closely, almost searching for something...or somemon. “Hey, where are your parents?”

I low-key have no idea, miss...

The Pikachu only smirked at Leander even more. “What, you expect someone to hear all that and not be curious as to what the hell actually just happened?” He asked, crossing his arms. “I’m actually honestly surprised that that escalated so quickly. Like, that got out of hand so fast.” He then proceeded to look over the Seedot, scanning him. And, after a short pause, decided to add a little something extra to what had been said. “Well...metaphorical hand...” He said, vocally pointing out Lea’s...

Ehem.

‘Hand Deficit’

Valen now noticed that Radar was looking at the scarves as well. Soon, Radar seemed to become quite interested in a very large white scarf with a rose on it. Valen wondered whether Radar was going to buy it, especially because it seemed too large for him to wear. But soon, the Leavanny told Radar how much it cost, and Radar said it was too expensive for him to buy. And then Radar himself said that it was too big for him to try on. Why did he want it, then? Valen wondered. Did he want to decorate somewhere else with it, like I had been thinking before?

But soon... The Leavanny looked at them and asked "Hey, where are your parents?" At that question, Radar seemed to be thinking about something. Valen wondered whether the question was just meant for Radar, as the Leavanny had been talking to the Murkrow before, but (at least in Valen's mind), the Leavanny had been looking at him as well. After all as well, Valen himself wasn't really an adult yet, so he then thought the question was meant for both of them.

"My parents are in Aileron," Valen replied. "They've agreed now that I'm old enough to explore a bit on my own, and I've been doing fine so far." Valen wondered about Radar's parents, and then an idea got into his head. Have his parents died? Valen wondered, and if he's alone, is that why he's so nervous? Valen, in truth, didn't actually know much about Radar - he was just guessing.

Leander did not bother masking his annoyance anymore, and let his eyes take on an unrestrained scowl. That sly, evergrowing smirk wasn't the look of someone well-meaning, no way. The stranger's cheeky tone showed no signs of changing for the better, either. In the end, it seemed he had not been worthy of the chance he had been given. But he had come looking for answers, and the Seedot was going to be decent enough to at least give him one before not bothering anymore and hopefully getting away. After all, he still had to find a place to stay until he felt better and could go home.

"Look, she was already angry and I was just worried for her, but she did not want any help. The rest's not your business," he put it, his thinning patience made clear through the darkening of his voice. The growing irritation within him had been manageable for most of their sudden conversation, but the Pikachu's neverending stream of unmerited remarks were getting to him, and with the advent of the jab against his lack of hands he felt compelled to say something.

"And keep your comments to yourself. You're giving me shit for not being good at talking, but you're not exactly charming the way you speak either." They were both quite efficient at ticking off their conversation partners, after all. The only difference was the existence and absence of intent.

It was time to think of a lie. What lie, Radar didn't know, but he needed one. See, eleven year old children shouldn't really be living on their own. He could, under no circumstance, let anymon know he was living on his own with Yigo. No mon! What to say, though? If he didn't think of something soon, that Leavanny would catch on and call the police on him! No! No, just think of something! Anything! My parents are out of town...they're at home...th-they're...uh...

Before Radar could say anything, however, Valen spoke up. “My parents are in Aileron.” Radar's tour guide recipient had said. “They've agreed now that I'm old enough to explore a bit on my own, and I've been doing fine so far.”

That was so simple! His parents are okay with him being on his own! “My-” Wait. Who's gonna believe that from a freak like Radar? He actually froze for a moment. He froze, mid-lie. Hiro could always lie so easily, he made it look effortless. The panic began to sink in, knowing he had to pick something. “My parents are out of town, so I'm staying with a friend.” Alright, yeah, technically true. His parents weren't in town and he was staying with Yigo, his friend. He just...left out the fact that Yigo's mom was...somewhere that wasn't Grassveil Town.

“Where did they go?” The Leavanny asked with a smile.

“I'm not allowed to tell strangers that.” Radar said almost immediately, not really thinking much of anything through. “Besides, we have a tour to go on.”

“A tour?”

Radar nodded. “I'm showing my friend around town!” He said, making sure to put on a smile and to sound happy. “So we should hella be on our way.” He then turned and looked to Valen, hoping that now she would hopefully be done shopping. “Right, Valen?”

The Pikachu blinked and stepped back before nodding slightly. “Okay, fair. Touché.” The Pikachu complimented, giving a cursory finger point to the Seedot. “I am horrible at conversations, it is an issue of mine. Chronic asshole'edness.” He began taking a yellow bracelet off his wrist and placed it on his finger. Then he proceeded to twirl it around his fingers at a fast pace, looping it around and over them as he never broke eye contact with the Seedot. “Also, you say it's none of my business...that is admittedly a little suspicious.” He stated. “But I'm gonna let it go cause I was a dick to you. You're welcome.” He then used the momentum of the swinging bracelet to wrap it around two of his fingers, blinking a few times. “Sorry, that sounded a lot worse than I thought it sounded.”

He removed a shoulder bag from his shoulder, grabbing the strap and, after getting a considerably safe distance away from Leander, began swinging it. Was this a particularly smart idea? No. No, it was not. This Pikachu did it anyways. “Seems like we clearly got off on the wrong foot here.” He said. “Name's Connor, your resident chu in the neighbourhood.” His voice sounded slightly like it lacked something, like it was rehearsed. It was like he didn't actually mean the whole wrong foot thing, he was just saying it. “You are?”

Valen heard Radar say that his parents were out of town, and he was staying with a friend. So that explains it, then, Valen thought... unless he's lying. Is he? The way Radar said it, including his refusal to say where his parents had gone, had made Valen feel somewhat suspicious. Then again, Valen had already thought of other events that might explain, in his mind, why Radar might be talking and acting the way he was. Plus, Valen thought Radar's parents just being out of town was more pleasant than the idea that they were, say, dead. Therefore, he decided to accept what Radar was saying.

After that, Valen replied "Yes, we can leave now," to Radar's suggestion to him. There wasn't really much else he wanted to do here, and he definitely wanted to see more of the town and its shops. "Bye!" he also cheerfully told the Leavanny.

The vexed face the Seedot had made as he had voiced his issue with the Pikachu remained stagnant while the rodent in question stepped back, but softened slightly as he hurriedly pointed to him and began explaining himself. Well, at least he's honest... the Seedot thought as he listened to the Pikachu detail his "chronic asshole'edness". He doesn't seem particularly apologetic about it, though...

Since the mouse did not avert his eyes from him, Leander kept his adamantly fixed on him as well, even if he could see something brightly coloured move about in his peripheral vision. That guy had probably just brought some little object with him and was fidgeting with it. Nothing unusual. What bothered him was what the stranger was saying. After the accusations from earlier, he was admittedly a little jumpy about being called suspicious again, but honestly, he'd just said what he'd said out of annoyance! Why would he want to discuss anything with this kind of guy? If the electric-type was this self-aware, he shouldn't have ruled that possibility out, right? Had Leander been born with fur, it would have bristled from the suspicion being brought up again, but he calmed as he was told it would be dropped as an apology. Oh right, he had apologized. That was a first. Even if it sounded far from unconditional and genuine. "As long as you're aware," the nut sighed in response. So much for being honest...

Although it was nice and all to have an apology from this nuisance, Leander was not skipping with joy just yet. Being met with behaviour like that of this mouse when he was not trying to harm anyone had his mood grow sour more often than not, and it was always quite slow to recover. That sourness did not bar the puzzlement and wariness that appeared on his features from manifesting as the unusually blue chu suddenly removed his bag and backed off, however. The confusion only grew more intense as he began swinging it around for seemingly no reason.

He said his name was Connor, which Leander found even harder to believe to be real than his fantastical appearance and shallow apology. He almost wanted to ask him if he was sure about it. He had naturally expected something flashier to go with the look. Aetherius the Warped, maybe? Boltstrike Noxfall, even. But not Connor. Not for this dude. Oh well, maybe he just liked his name and did not want to change it, despite everything else about him seeming altered in some way. His surprisingly mundane name wasn't the only odd thing about this, though. The way he had spoken felt off as well, like his sentences were unnatural and faked. Was he still dodging a proper apology? Just how fabricated was this guy? Maybe he's not even named Connor, popped into his head faster than it perhaps should have. But seriously, this was like watching layers upon layers of lies wrap into a fresh lie onion. He should know; lies were part of his trade too. But to not even be able to apologize honestly... While holding himself from shaking his body in disappointment, the acorn decided he would listen more closely the next time Connor spoke, to further investigate whether he was right about the guy or not.

"Leander," he answered when prompted to, although he did sound reluctant. Even his gaze averted for a moment, as he was unsure of how he felt about this fraud getting to know him. But fair's fair. Connor had already introduced himself to him, so it was only natural he did the same. And although he had done nothing heinous today, it wasn't like he was completely scot-free as a person.
"... What are you doing?" he asked afterwards, his small yellow pupils darting around to follow the bag as Connor swung it around. This kind of guy had to have an interesting reason, right?

“Yes, we can leave now,” Valen told Radar, prompting a small smile from him. For some reason, he was looking forward to potentially losing the ability to speak and being told what a freak he was. “Bye!” She has also cheerfully told the Leavanny.

Radar had to stop for a second, replaying that last little bit in his head. He could still talk, but for how long, we don’t know. He was absolutely fine. He took a deep breath and put on another smile. “Bye!” He said to the Leavanny as well, doing his best to try and sound just as cheerful as Valen was. He probably wasn’t as cheerful, but it at least had to have been close. They saw the Leavanny wave at them and said something about being welcome back anytime, but Radar was focusing himself on one thing; the tour. But where to go next? He saw plenty of shops selling a whole bunch of different things. Just pick the first one you see. Radar thought to himself.

His eyes rested on—of course—the first place he told Valen about, a stall with a sign above them saying; Kecleon Bros Market.

Alright, we’re going there. “Our next stop is the Kecleon Bros Market, which I told you about earlier.” He explained to Valen, moving closer to their next destination. Please don’t realize I don’t know what I’m doing. Radar felt it may have become a little obvious he was making this up as he had to skip a bunch of places he didn’t know. Meh, Valen probably didn’t notice and just thought Radar was a weirdo, like everyone does. “Here, th’sell all kinds of stuff, like berries, orbs, other stuff...” He explained rather poorly if you ask me. You’re a tour guide, Radar, explain things better! Stop being a freak! “Basically, if you can think of it, it’s there!” Woooooow...amazing job, Radar, he was great at this!

“That...is a first.” Connor admitted, bag still swinging round and round in a circle, up and over his hand and then down below, looping. “I have never made someone so upset that they have to ask me what I’m doing by introducing myself. Like, what are you doing? Oh, I’m just trying to be friendly.” He then sighed. “Anywho...I just–”

SMACK!

The bag he was swinging altered it’s course ever so slightly, hitting it’s swinger in the head. Connor lost his balance after taking a step to the side, falling down to the ground as the bag flew just a few meters out of his paw. “Owww...” He groaned, clutching his head and getting up, moving to grab the bag again. “We’re just gonna pretend that didn’t actually happen.” He told Leander, proceeding to swing the guilty object yet again. Had he not just learned his lesson...? “Look, don’t like me all you want, think I’m a gift from Arceus himself, I don’t care. Well, actually, I do care, I got that extreme insecurities thing goin’ on with me, but that. Does. Not. Matter.” He rambled on.

A shop that sells everything... Valen thought as he heard Radar's description, Nice. The stall itself was fairly large. It seemed to be made out of wood, but different sections of the wood were painted in every color of the rainbow. Valen supposed it did fit well with these shopkeepers, as the last shop had fit with the Leavanny. He had actually heard about Kecleon before - they were known for their ability to change the color of their body, except for a stripe on their bodies. Not only that, but depending on the Pokemon Ability they possessed, they could change their very type based on either the move that hit them or the move that they used - although unfortunately, they couldn't actually fly even if they became Flying-type.

There were two Kecleon in the stall, and two other Pokemon that already appeared to be shopping. One, Valen remembered after a moment, was a Rhyhorn. The other stood on two legs, possessed long ears, held a bag in one hand, and was largely white with orange and yellow markings. "Do you have any Charcoal? I'd like to try some," the Rhyhorn said.

"No, unfortunately we're out of stock for that at the moment. Although I have to warn you that Charcoal is not exactly a rock, so I'm not sure whether you should eat it. It might be more useful for your friend, actually - and to you, could I recommend some Smashed Rocks? the Kecleon on Valen's left said, laughing, and picking up a small bag filled with small pebbles and dust.

"I already have Charcoal, actually," the other shopper said, "I want to keep it, so I would like my friend to have another one. Although now you're saying it's not a rock? I'm quite surprised."

"She doesn't know..." the other Kecleon muttered. Valen was barely able to hear it, and neither the first Kecleon or the shoppers appeared to notice at all.

"Anyway, thank you and goodbye!" the Rhyhorn said. "Bye!" the other Pokemon said as well, and left first, leaving tiny wisps of flame in her footsteps. The Rhyhorn followed her more slowly, walking over the little fires and putting them out.

"You're welcome," the first Kecleon said after them, and then turned to Valen and Radar. "Why hello there!" he said, "Do you two boys want to buy or sell?"

"Buy, I guess," Valen replied. He didn't know whether Radar had anything to sell, but doubted it. Valen looked inside - there really was a lot. There were various rocks, some more bags similar to the one the Kecleon had showed the Rhydon, a pile of Orbs buried under a pile of containers of various sizes and colors, whole berries, a large box full of a variety of minced Berries and small cups on the side...

The minced Berries reminded him that he was getting a bit hungry. The sign near it said "25 Poke for 1 Cup of Mixed Berry Delight!" Valen started counting his Poke...

(OOC: The Pokemon accompanying the Rhyhorn was a Scorbunny. The first Kecleon's speech color is #33ff00 and the second Kecleon's speech color is #660099).

The sudden introduction was not quite what Leander had been pertaining to, but now that he thought about it, he'd likely want to ask about that as well. Connor had come to mock him, but now he suddenly wanted to exchange names and be all buddy-buddy? It certainly was strange. Perhaps some sort of setup? Was he trying to get him to lower his guard so he could pickpocket him or something? It would not have been an uncommon strategy for that. His gaze drifted off the colourful Pikachu for a moment as he pondered it.

Although Leander had no shortage of ideas about what Connor might be up to, he barely got to consider them before the muffled smack of an object hitting fur-clad skin tore his attention away. His pupils shifted right back to Connor, who was now tipping over, his involuntary trust fall being broken by nobody but the ground itself. He was fast back on his feet and went to retrieve his bag, which was normal. The request to pretend it never happened was nothing out of the ordinary either, even if it made the Seedot snicker to himself. Embarrassed pokémon would say that all the time. But then he resumed swinging the bag around.

One eye narrowed while the other widened in a perplexed look as Leander watched the bag roam the air freely despite having just delivered quite the Mega Punch to its owner. Was he slow or something? That thing had just hit him! Well, it had hit his head, so maybe that was why. It bothered the acorn that thinking that made him feel a twinge of worry for the guy. Had he learned nothing about worrying for those who do not want it?

"You don't sound so convinced..." he commented quietly after hearing Connor's attempt at being indifferent, only half expecting to be heard. "Well, I've just met you, so I haven't completely decided on what I think about you yet," he began after that, louder and less reserved than before. It was sort of a lie. The mouse had come off as weird and rude so far, so that was what the acorn thought of him. What made the statement also part true was the fact it was not yet set in stone. "You act kinda weirdly, so I'm not sure what to feel. One second you're making fun of me, then you wanna talk and know my name. It's just odd, y'know? What do you really want?"