Ohritori Vacation!

[kenfrompokemon]

[This morning, if you tune in to Ken's Pokemon Talk on the radio, you'll probably hear him announce the program will be on break for the next two weeks while he goes on vacation! And as soon as the program ends, he hops on a boat and is off to Ohritori Island.]

A. GATEWAY PORT

[You can see him arriving at Gateway Port in Turnbloom City, looking pale as he weakly hobbles off a boat and immediately falls onto his knees and hands on the pier, taking deep breaths and looking like he's been suffering from seasickness for the entire journey.]

It's finally over...! Ohritori Island, I'm so glad to see you...

B. POKEMON CENTER

[Once he's rested from his journey, he'll be sitting at the cafe in the Pokemon Center with an ice tea, glancing around somewhat restlessly. A green Ledyba is sitting at his table, eating Berry slices. Spotting you, Ken will smile and wave.

Excuse me, can I ask you a question?

C. ROUTE 1

[Later, Ken can be seen at Route 1 with his Cubburn. He'll find Professor Banyan's laboratory, he'll just wander near it for a while, glancing at the house sometimes like he's trying to gather the courage to approach. Eventually, he'll go up to the door, raise his hand to knock... then hesitates, lowering his hand again. His Cubburn looks up at him with a whine, and Ken sighs.]

I'll do it, just give me a moment...

D. WILDCARD

[Ken can also be seen wandering all around Ohritori Island during his vacation! He doesn't visit the more dangerous places deep in the caves or the forests, but he'll be checking out the tourist spots. Theater Hall, Stardust Beach, the different farms on Gilterrace Town, Route 2 and Route 3; and the Wildflower Cape. Meet him however you want! Also, feel free to recognize his voice from radio!]

Comments

[... he took it seriously :') ]

[buson]

H-hold on...
[Hey, wait! Why's he lying down? Was it worse than he thought? Buson drew nearer, concerned.]

... ya alright, buddy? ... is it too much sun again?

[He didn't really have anything for shade, so he'd just. Stay by him again, if he needed him to block the sun again, but—maybe it's better to get him inside?!]

HEY!! Anybody have any drinking water?! [A worried Buson is a loud Buson, sorry!]

[kenfrompokemon]

[Oh, now Ken feels a bit bad... He blindly reaches up to gently whack at Buson to stop him from shouting.]

I'm fine... Wouldn't say no to water though.

[He's not getting up though... Lying down here in the shade feels pretty nice. (He might be just a little bit dehydrated, honestly.)]

[he'll get over it!]

[buson]

[Aaand he got thwacked. He blinked, looking back. Oh, not that bad? ... ah. He had to stop falling for this stuff so easily, but even if he could logically think it's probably nothing serious, how he perceived it emotionally was a different matter.

He might've slightly alarmed some of the Ulternians passing by, but hey, someone handed him a bottle of water, which he gratefully accepted.]

Nifē!

[... for slightly worrying him (even if Ken did look a bit regretful, like he hadn't intended to), Buson opened the bottle, poured a bit too generous a helping of water into his palm, and considered splashing Ken with it as a petty form of retaliation, gaze narrowed... but then just splashed his own face with it and handed the rest of the bottle back to Ken.]

Here. [Bit grumpy.]

[kenfrompokemon]

[Ah, passersby... Ken turns to hide his face on reflex, but then remembers it's Ohritori Island, people wouldn't recognize him by looks here. He can act embarrassing in public all he wants. It's a bit freeing.]

Ah, nifē...

[That's intended to thank both the passersby, and Buson too. Ken cracks an eye open to look at him... then sees the sunglasses Buson put on earlier for the first time and struggles to keep from laughing out of surprise.]

Th-thanks...

[Ken sits up and accepts the bottle of water, stealing glances at Buson. Ah, he just knows if he tries to drink anything while trying not to laugh he'll just spit it out. So he'll just do what Buson did and splash some on his face instead.]

[buson]

[Okay, fine, yeah, it's hard to be mad and taken seriously if you're wearing wacky sunglasses. He started to crack a smile, noticing the repeated glances, and started to laugh in spite of himself too.]

Knock it off! [A gentle fake-punch to the shoulder, once Ken was finished wshing his own face. There, feeling a little more refreshed?]

[kenfrompokemon]

[After the punch, Ken does start laughing himself.]

Hey, you're the one who put those on! [He manages to say through laughing. He is feeling refreshed now!

And once his laughing's under control, he drinks some water, too. Wow, that's some good water.]

[buson]

Hey, man...

[Turning with a totally serious expression and then... quirking the stupid glasses up from the stems, before putting on... his usual sunglasses underneath.
If he had brought others, he would so try to layer them on too, but alas.

If everybody's feeling better, they can go eat in high spirits!]

[kenfrompokemon]

[Not expecting it, Ken takes a sip of water... Then spits it out in a surprise burst of laughter at the double-layer shades. Sorry, Buson, that might've got on you too! He tries his best to cover his mouth, but it's hard to stop laughing when he's started.]

M-my bad!

[buson]

[He wasn't expecting that and swore, but ultimately, didn't look all that bothered—if he were worried about getting sprayed with unpleasant stuff, well, he wouldn't work on a ship!]

Alright, guess I deserved that. [He proooobably shouldn't have surprised Ken with that, but hey!]

Let's go, I'm hungry too!

[He wiped his face with his neckkerchief, then wore only the neon sunglasses.]

[kenfrompokemon]

Haha, guess you did.

[Alright, Ken's refreshed and ready to go! He stands up.]

Lead the way! You're the one who's more familiar with this city, after all.

[buson]

So, you want the Pokemon Center's cafe or do you wanna try somethin' else? There's also the market place with lots'a fresh produce!

[There's also places in Gilterrace, but that's getting ahead of themselves!]

[kenfrompokemon]

The cafe! It's where you said Gold used to work, right? So I want to see it as soon as possible.

[He doesn't think he'll meet Gold there or anything, but there's always a chance...]

[buson]

Sure, sure.

[Off they go to the Pokemon Center’s cafe, even though Gold already left! But hey, he might encounter him, if he’s lucky…]

[kenfrompokemon]

[He won't be lucky! But Ken follows Buson. He's itching to ask questions or point out landmarks they walk past on the road, but he doesn't want to get sidetracked. He'll have plenty of time to look at them once he's eaten.]

[buson]

The barista called Larson’s very perky, but genuinely a nice guy, he’ll probably treat you to somethin’ if you’re a new face!

[In a low, conspiratory tone, even though the subject hardly necessitates that!]

[kenfrompokemon]

[Ken copies Buson's tone.]

Huh, good to know. Why are we whispering?

[buson]

... you know, honestly, I have no idea. Force'a habit?

[It's not like he's a mark or they're trying to rob the guy...

He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. There's no nice way of saying that, is there?]

[kenfrompokemon]

[Ken just laughs it off, not connecting that to anything Team Rocket-related at all.]

Well, whether I get freebies or not, how about recommending me something from the cafe? You're the one who's familiar with the menu, after all!

[And the one who was worrying over what Ken should be eating and drinking after being seasick.]

[finally, useful advice without gross jokes!]

[buson]

[Oh, this earned a confident grin from Buson.]

Well... y'could have some tea, maybe with chinsuko, if you feel up for it.
D'ya like peppermint? That's good for motion sickness too. So's chocolate, the Ribombee Chocolate Cake's good!
Nuts help too, 'cause of the protein, so maybe a drink or cake with those...
Apple juice is also good... there's a bunch'a choices.

[kenfrompokemon]

Peppermint tea would be good, if they have it iced... But I feel like if I try to eat chocolate cake right now I'll just end up nauseous. Chinsuko's all right, though, I could eat some... Maybe something salty? Do they have salted peanuts? ...Should I even eat something salty right now?

[He's kind of craving it, but Buson's the expert, apparently!]

[buson]

Hmm, not sure about iced peppermint tea, but maybe they could make it for you if you asked?

Salty's good, actually, so long as you drink somethin' too! See, it's the same when you lose a lotta water, like after gettin' sick an' dehydrated, or workin' out, you gotta replace fluid and electrolytes&—an IV drip, those energy drinks, or even plain ol' soda, they're all basically the same thing. [This may be a dubious over-generalization.] Water, salt, sugar.

... except maybe let the fizz out first. That's not gonna help.

[kenfrompokemon]

Wow, you know a lot about this, Buson! That's amazing. You could be a... what's it called, nutrition expert or something?

So, I'm thinking iced tea, peppermint or not, and some salted peanuts if they have any... Or a sandwich, if they don't.

[buson]

Haha, ya think so? Diet's pretty important for buildin' muscle!

Sounds good! I'll have water and a club sandwich, myself.

[He actually does have a Pippi account where he mostly collects and shares nutrition and fitness posts oooor gets into stupid arguments just to rile people up for fun. No name he goes by is attached to the account, though, although a picture of his abs is, but he figured that isn't identifiable to any normal person likely to be taken seriously.

So he's keeping it secret!!]

[kenfrompokemon]

Oh, makes sense! I only really pay attention to what food tastes like. Still, it's impressive!

[Ken's got a very inactive Pippi account himself, only used for work! Since he doesn't have a smartphone he's not very into social media in general.]

[buson]

Thanks! Well, taste's important too!

I eat some stuff I just like, too...

[Sounds like Bashou. He's got a work-only (silverdev) one which he used to get his resume out there and another very anonymous one which he tends to troll with or gripe about things once in a blue moon.

In they'll go and order their meals! It'd be hilarious if Buson's paper-thin "disguise" is ignored and he's addressed by name. Or even by another pseudonym.]