(Pre-WE) Moving Into Melemele Range

[Komm Kayriel]

|_Green_| (>) Second verse same place as the first

Properly seated, and waiting for the others to also settle down with him and Yellow, he nodded in familiarity to the others around him.
"Always laying low. I've had to outrun far too many mobs in my day."

He snorted, responding to Jakkaru's question. Afterwards, he gave a small smile. However reticent he might be in private, he was good at marshaling his features when in discussions with others.

"As for gramps, he's doing fine. I'd swear he hasn't aged a day since I first laid eyes on him. Something's up with the old man. And yes, I remember both of you well. Didn't expect to see either of you again, let alone here."

He reached over, naturally noticing Yellow's mystified look and petting her head without looking. "Group of us got invited to some sort of dangerous trap-laden mansion as part of a puzzle-and-combat challenge awhile back. Take a Pokémon with you kind of deal. Showed up with Machamp and met these two and others."

He explained quickly for the shorter girl and then let her talk, visually examining Dexy as it capered about doing its job in an adorably unasked manner.

[MizuJakkaru]

The brunette grinned as Noah and Green reminisced about the challenge. She couldn't quite recall who'd won the darn thing, but it had been a lot of fun. "Did either of you end up with the Pokémon the lady of the estate was offering? I learned a little about the species after the fact, but they're incredibly rare and I haven't actually found one..." She seemed a little off put by that, almost like it was a challenge she hadn't overcome yet. Absently, she held a malasada up to Dexy, who bobbed and took it in its little appendages.

At Yellow's question, Jakkaru shifted her attention and nodded eagerly! "I grew up in Viridian City, too! I spent more days than I can count in Viridian Forest," she laughed "I thought I might have recognized you, I think maybe in passing in town or something? I'm not surprised we didn't run into each other in the woods, though, it's huge. I lived southeast of town in the rural district, also, what about you?"

Meanwhile, Dexy's devoured the sweet pastry, eyes closing in joy. "Pineappleeee~!"

It bobbed at Noah's question, the display on its screen changing as its 'tongue' became a windshield wiper and cleaned the Pokédex's screen free of sweet yellow pastry filling and pineapple tidbits. One last lick of the screen and the Ghost-type Pokémon chimed, the display showing Melemele Island's map. "Water Pokémon are fairly common in Alola, bbbzt! Both Kala'e Bay and Melemele Sea are teeming with ocean life, with Finneon and Tentacool being common in both! Local Corsola populations are frequently at risk from Mareanie populations, zzt!" It floated down and settled in front of Noah, pointing at its screen and showing local populations of Pokémon.

"What Pokémon would you like me to find, bzzt!"

[Archerlord]

"I never made it to the end to see whatever the Pokémon was," Noah said and shook his head. "I took Poliwrath with me, and while he might be good at keeping me safe, he wasn't the best partner for puzzles."

Noah was really interested in the Pokémon but never really had a chance to get it for himself. Maybe he would have another chance to find the Pokémon another day, but if not, it was no big deal. He was content with going with the flow on his journey, and right now, the flow was steering him towards a chance to find another Water-type Pokémon to add to his team.

While the others talked about Viridian City, Noah focused on Dexy and its map. Raichu floated behind her trainer to look as well and Squirtle collapsed on his back, full and content from its meal. Noah frowned at the idea of the Corsola population being at risk from Mareanie, a Pokémon he has never heard of and was probably native to Alola. As of now, Noah wasn't sure what to think of his current options. Asides from Mareanie, most of the Pokémon that Dexy mentioned were common out at sea. Any trainer could capture a Tentacool but a true Water-type master had something much more than a Tentacool.

"Well, thanks for the explanation," Noah told Dexy and smiled again. "That can't be all though, right? Tentacool and Finneon are pretty good, but I can catch them wherever. I'm thinking about something that can only be found here in Alola, and I'm not too sure if I really want a Mareanie. I don't really have any names on top of my head so far, but if you could help, that'd be great."

[Hidden]

Yellow's cheeks flush a bit as Green pets her head, likely due to this treatment among new friends in the open, but she doesn't move to stop him, electing to instead focusing on the conversation with Jakkaru, though she was curious about what this Pokémon was that had even Green seemingly perplexed of it's rarity. Yellow's eyes rested on the kitten Pokémon of Jakkaru's for a moment, as she considers that to her, there were still many Pokémon she'd like to meet that she doesn't even know about.

"I lived with my Uncle in the northern suburbs, I was lucky enough that you could see the treelines of the forest off in the distance, sometimes you'd see butterfree's big wings from our window!"

Yellow talked as though being sucked back into early memories, "Though, I haven't really been in the forest lately, I've only been back there... I think when I met Chu."

She would pause to pet Chuchu's head, sitting on her lap, then for a moment seems like she'd thought of something funny.

"What about you? You seem like you have really strong Pokémon, I can imagine you might've grown out of just that one forest" she smiles saying that, looking once more at her Pokémon with a pleasant smile to each, including the often intimidating species that Charizards were, all the same met with the same smile.

When she hear's Noah's situation with looking for water Pokémon, a thought crosses her mind.

"Pokémon Professors often raise Pokémon for trainers starting out don't they? They have Grass, Fire, and Water usually, so maybe you could look into that Pokémon? They just started a league here, and I heard from Green they have a professor here too, right? Maybe that's where I should start too if I want to try out the league... but I also want to look around the islands..."

[Komm Kayriel]

Green continued absentmindedly petting Yellow's head for a moment. He'd probably ruminate on where that was coming from later, as a big-brother figure who'd always been the little brother at home, or something similar.

"There's a lot of Water-types here in Alola, from what I know. Let's see if 'Dexy' can find you something you like, Noah. As for the challenge, I made it to the end, but either the organizer was messing with me or I wasn't the first one to do so. So I never got to catch sight of this rare Pokémon."

He looked over to Jakkaru as he answered her question about the end of the challenge, then down to Yellow, removing his hand as he realized what he was doing.

"Yellow is correct. There are two professors in this region that I know of, but only one is active in the sense of handing out the regional conservation or 'starter' Pokémon. I haven't met him face to face, but he seems fairly energetic, and from what I hear trains in a form of Iron Body martial arts. Might be an interesting guy. A Professor Kukui. The other is my grand-uncle. Kukui might have something for you."

[MizuJakkaru]

Jakkaru looked a little sad that neither Noah or Green had seen the rare Pokémon on offer. It was one of those times that an elusive Pokémon had bested her and she felt a little at a loss for how to seek out more information on that Pokémon itself. Still talking with Yellow about home had her cheerful enough, and she was always happy to talk shop.

"Viridian Forest might have been my childhood stomping grounds, but I definitely grew past it. I think I've traveled to most of what folks call the major regions of the East. My specialty is collecting, so I've worked closely with the research community to catalog habitats and ranges of wild Pokémon. I think around 700 species by now?"

A chime from across the table from Dexy announced: "858!"

She shook her head though, her grin becoming a little wry, "I would say that's kind of just a bonus, though, I've never been a science-y type myself, mostly I just love being out in the wilds and catching and meeting new Pokémon." She smiled genuinely at Yellow, then. "I don't know if they're altogether what one might call league worthy, haha, we don't train strenuously. You should definitely talk to Professor Kukui if you're keen on taking the Island Challenge, though. It's supposed to be a lot of fun."

At that, the Litten by Jakkaru puffed up its fur, flicking its tail at its Trainer. Walking over to Yellow, it fixed the girl with a stare that said, "pet me" and then turned away from Jakkaru with a huff. Not league worthy? Jiji apparently had other opinions about that statement. Jakkaru just shook her head at the cat, amused. At about that same time, the Charizard that had been tailing Jakkaru originally and exploring the Pokémon Center since came and set its head on Green's own, seeking scratches.

Dexy's screen flickered and a new display came up. "Alola native Pokémon other than Mareanie include the Popplio line, the sea lion Pokémon, and Wishiwashi, the small fry Pokémon. Popplio creates special bouncy balloons to send at its opponents. It takes daily practice for these Pokémon to develop their skills. On the other hand, bbbzt, Wishiwashi on their own, they're very weak. But when Wishiwashi pool their power together in a school, they become a demon of the sea."

[Archerlord]

Noah was well aware of the new league in Alola, which was the reason why he traveled to the region in the first place. Pokémon Professors handing out Pokémon was something he heard of briefly in his travels as well but was never something he followed up on. He was somewhat worried that based on the Pokémon being described as starters, that he wasn't qualified for one. Although relatively inexperienced as a trainer, Noah did have four Pokémon on him, two of which were fully evolved. Still, at the very least, it was something he could look into.

"Popplio and Wishwashi do sound intriguing to me," Noah noted out loud. "I think that if I'm going to compete in the Alola League, I would have to see Professor Kukui anyways, so I'll see if I can get one of his Pokémon first."

Noah was content with listening to the group speak with themselves. It became clear to him that he managed to meet with trainers with much more experience and feats than he had. Truth be told, he was a little nervous to talk about himself, knowing that he hadn't much achievements on his own, and the few he did have couldn't begin to compare. As much as he hated to admit it, he had gotten this far just with good luck.

This thought made him more determined to complete the Island Trials, to show that he had some merit and skill of his own.

[Hidden]

As Green removed his hand, Yellow absentmindedly ran her hand through her hair assuring the silver and rainbow feathers were properly affixed. A habit she'd developed while getting used to the exposure from no longer wearing her hat.

She listened intently to what was being said to one-another, hoping Noah was happy with these Pokémon that were presented, and if he wasn't, well, she might be able to help him sometime with her fishing skills.

Her expression brightened in awe as Jakkaru explained her exploits and vast research on Pokémon. She personally didn't how many Pokémon she's really seen, but it was surely not even close to 700 let alone the 858 Dexy had suggested.

"Wow, you're like Chris!" Yellow exclaimed, "She's one of the only people I know that's been trying to catch every Pokémon. It's amazing to see you're doing so well too! Does this mean that you plan on catching and studying all the Pokémon in Alola?"

Yellow certainly was no expert on catching Pokémon. Her team consisted only of those that had been gifted to her, or had actively pushed to join her, aside from Ratty who she'd only caught with Red's help. However, she was determined to build her own team here in Alola...

"If you don't mind, do you think I could come along? Green has his own plans of course, and while I would like to handle things my own way before the trails I think I want to build up my own team... if it's not too much to ask, do you think I might be able to see how you catch them?", as she makes this request, Yellow's eyes are those of earnest and a hint of underlying determination. She'd always been one to want to improve. Even should the request be turned down, it was likely she'd plan on going through with whatever idea she had alone.

Chu chimed in herself adding "Chuuu~?", it seemed as though she wanted to make friends as well.

[Komm Kayriel]

Green popped what seemed like a candy into his mouth and swallowed it as he listened to his accompanying acquaintances. He was glad these people were having a good time, it allowed him to not dwell on other things which were always more depressing.

"On behalf of the research community, we thank you for your contributions. I've been so preoccupied with... other matters, and the strengthening of my partners' capabilities that I've not had time to get out into the dirt myself anymore, these days. Even just being here in Alola I'm not actually on vacation, I have a lot of work to do, and not as much of it is first-hand Pokémon research or adding to my personal group of trainees as I'd like."

The Pokémon Leader seemed a bit wistful at his lost freedom, but he looked to also be pleased with Dexy. "If you see gramps before I do, definitely let him know how well the Rotomdex is performing. I'm sure he'll be ecstatic. I've only gotten to see the unfinished prototype, which was just the shell. Your Rotom is also very energetic, which adds a lot of personality to what would otherwise just be a device."

There was an almost violent buzz on the table where Green's remodeled original Pokédex vibrated fiercely. "... I praise you all the time, Mesh. Does it matter?" He drawled, as if slightly exasperated at the outburst. A Porygon2 was projected hovering slightly over the Pokédex itself. From the shape of its eyes it seemed a little grumpy towards Green based on what it'd heard. Maybe jealousy?

[MizuJakkaru]

Jakkaru's smile widened. She'd heard of this Crystal person who went by the name Chris, though they'd never met. It was something of a goal to finally meet this character; Jakkaru thought she'd find a good friend and rival in the other girl if they ever did.

"Ahaha, thank you, Green," she rubbed the back of her neck and shook her head though. Praise was not something she seemed to be used to. A bit of a hermit, this one. She perked at Yellow's question, though. "I'd love to catch all the Pokémon in Alola. I've caught a fair few already, but I planned on heading to the next island over pretty soon here. Ula'ula I think it's called. Or was it Akala? If you want to come, I'd welcome the company!"

As the discussion turned to Dexy, sxhe nodded. "I mean to check in at Kanto after I finish my work here. I'll definitely drop in on your grandad and give him an update."

Dexy's screen flickered to show more physiological information on Popplio, also pulling up information on Rowlet and Litten. "Rowlet, Litten, and Popplio are the three Pokémon offered by Professor Kukui to new trainers in the Alola region and would-be challengers of the fledgling Alola League, bbbzzzt!"