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

[starinheaven]

"I can't make decisions about someone I never met," Ai said with a frown. "But... Team Rocket's usually bad news. But I know not everyone associated with them is bad... my papa was, after all, and he's not bad... I think everyone can take a wrong turn in life, sometimes, so it's better to judge based on what they're doing now and what they're planning to do in the future, instead of focusing on their past.

"Ken-san seems... like he doesn't know any better. Sometimes, people who are very nice will be friends with people, even if they're mean or bad, because they're too nice to reject people or don't know any better. Or maybe he was just very desperate, like papa was... I don't know, Gold. But I think Ken-san has a good heart, he's just a little... awkward, shy, maybe..."

[gold_drum]

Gold listens to everything Ai says attentively, nodding. It makes sense. Ken does seem kind of... Well, naive, to put it nicely. He told him directly about Attila and how he told him where to find Gold, after all, like he thought that would go well. Maybe he's the kind of person who's so nice he doesn't understand that bad people exist.

"Yeah, I agree. Nobody's totally evil." Gold's glad Ai thinks that too. "You gotta judge people as people and not get stuck on what they used to do or what kinda team they belong to or whatever. I know that Rocket guy, Attila - or Buson, or whatever his real name is - and I'm pretty sure he's not dangerous to me. I dunno what his relationship with Ken is though."

Somehow, saying Ken's name feels strange in Gold's mouth, and he's not sure why. Maybe he's still uneasy about the guy suddenly showing up like he wants to be part of Gold's life.

"I dunno if Ken even knows that guy's in Team Rocket. I mean, he said he knows Team Rocket's scary, and told that story about them, but he's friends with that guy? Maybe you're right, and he just doesn't know better."

More reasons to have a talk with Attila, he supposes. If Ken made some kind of a desperate deal with Attila, like Ai's papa... Not that Gold cares what Ken does, though. He'll just protect him because Ai likes him, that's all.

[starinheaven]

“Then, it’s best to take it slowly, I think, and pay attention.”

Ai nodded.
“Maybe he didn’t know he was… or maybe there’s something else we don’t know. I think you’ll figure it out eventually, Gold..

With a yawn, Ai decided she’d take a nap right there on the floor and lay down on her side, curling up a bit, almost in a fetal position.

This had been quite the ordeal…

“Oh… should one of us stay with the guest?” Ai asked sleepily, eyes already shut. “Or do we wait for the Professor…?”

[gold_drum]

"Yeah... I guess that's all we can do, huh?" And Gold will get to the bottom of this.

"Oh, you're taking a nap? You want my pillow?" Gold asks, and sets his pillow down next to Ai without waiting for an answer. She can take it or not. It's warm enough she probably doesn't need a blanket though.

"I'll go keep an eye on him, you just nap right there," Gold says and heads for the door. "You need anything?" he asks, hand on the door handle.

[starinheaven]

It’s just about pleasantly cool on the floor, when it’s so hot outside, yes… the trace of sunlight softly diffused through the blinds is pleasant to watch. The room is otherwise pleasantly just cool enough and dark.

“Thank you…” Ai said sleepily, with a smile, as she clutched at the pillow. “… ‘m fine…”

She dropped off to sleep.

[gold_drum]

Gold smiles fondly as he looks at her, and quietly opens the door and slips out, closing it just as carefully. He sneaks down the stairs.

Downstairs, he clears the smile off his face before entering the living room, where Ken's been sitting on the sofa, anxiously waiting. He's surprised to see Gold being the one who arrives.

"Gold? Are you... okay?" Ken asks. Gold waves him off.

"Yeah, yeah, it's whatever. Anyway," Gold says, sitting down opposite of Ken, leveling him a serious look, "We need to talk."

[kenfrompokemon]

(An hour or two later, they've come to some kind of an understanding.

Ken now knows some things about Gold's past, and Gold knows some things about Ken's past.

Most important things Ken learned: Gold has a sister and no brother, his mother is not as nice as Ken's mother, and he didn't have a lot of food growing up. Also, that Gold has stolen and lied a lot in the past.

Most important things Gold learned: In Ken's world, Silver is their neighbor, and wasn't involved in the radio tower takeover. Gold didn't want to learn anything else about Ken and the other Gold's childhood. Instead, he insisted on learning about where to find Buson, and all the information Ken has told Buson about him.

The two agreed to keep a distance and not consider each other family, and that Ken should call Gold by a nickname to make them easier to distinguish. They take far too long to agree on the nickname. Gold insists on being nicknamed "Brettuce." Ken disagrees. After about half an hour of haggling, brainstorming and arguments, Gold is now nicknamed "Brett" and Ken has to grudgingly accept it.

Meanwhile, Flambear has a lovely time playing outside and befriends many grass-type Pokemon that are just as shy as he is.)