Suddenly in the midst of a Summer Festival--

[ulternnpc]

 

There's a distinct sound of waves, and bustling of people nearby.

In the coastal city of Turnbloom the sun is bright and warm, and the scent of the sea wafts through with the cool gentle breeze that makes the glittering pinwheels spin, and the leaves on the palm tree dance.

Today the streets are extra decorated with these cute, colorful and floral shaped pinwheels. It seemed the people who were out in the streets were dressed in colorful summer attire--either casual, or the more traditional yukata. It seemed like with the booths were set out for both food and games for festival of some kind that was currently underway.

Just how did you get here, and why? A mystery, and it seemed the people in the streets didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary as they go about enjoying their time out on this bright sunny day.

---

(🌺Please don't forget to check out the OOC post for those who haven't yet!🌺)

Comments

trip sweetie you're doing your best

[goingallout]

Ash blinked at first when Trip suddenly grabbed onto his hand. But fortunately for Trip, it looked like Ash isn't too bothered by this. Instead he shot a curious look a him.

"Ultern, huh?" he mused, "A new region in a new world... Hey I wonder if they have any new Pokemon here!?"

His eyes began to sparkle in excitement. After all, there's a chance there would be Pokemon that's never found elsewhere, not even in their home world. And that's always fun!

"Signs?" Ash tiled his head only slightly. "Hmm, I guess I could check 'em out!"

[serperiority]

He didn’t make the situation awkward! He’s relieved.

Ash certainly looked happier, thinking of new Pokemon, so Trip let his hand go, figuring that did the trick.

He took out his camera. “I think I saw something, but it moved too fast for me to identify it… just a blur in some bushes.”

That certainly is an orange (or maybe yellow?) blur between the leaves and things… not a lot to go by!

“I did hear a Mr. Larson, a clerk working in the cafe joined to the Pokemon Center, say all his Pokemon were caught here. Maybe we could ask to see his?”

[goingallout]

Wanting to take a look at the photo Trip took, Ash leaned and looked at the camera's screen. Orange or yellow, and very blurry. He could think of a few Pokemon with that description but can't narrow them down as there isn't a lot to go by.

"It could be anything..." said Ash.

He then leaned back and straightened himself when Trip made his suggestion to visit the Pokemon Center. That's cool to know there's a Pokemon Center in this world too! And that Larson person has Pokemon from Ultern too? Sweet.

"I don't see why not!" He nodded. "Let's go check it out then!"

[alright, Cri next ^^]

[serperiority]

“Right!” Trip said with a nod. “Serperior, let’s go.”

Trip headed back to the Pokemon Center he and Lear took as a rendezvous point earlier and searched the cafe for the friendly clerk.

😊

[ulternnpc]

Back at the cafe, it seemed Larson was by himself polishing a cup yet again. However he will spot Trip and Ash which causes him to pause long enough to wave to the two.

"Ulsai! Welcome to the Cafe!"

[goingallout]

"Ulsai...?" Ash shot a confused look at Larson and then glanced at Trip. "What's that?"

[... -remembers to track thread-]

[serperiority]

"The way people greet others here, from the sounds of it. Like 'alola' where you're reigning Champion."

Trip came closer to the counter. "Mr. Larson, you said all your Pokemon were caught here. May we see them?"

no worries!!!

[ulternnpc]

Larson while the two boys chatted kept smiling, but also glanced around clearly looking for someone else. When Trip made his way up to the counter he turned his focus to him still smiling brightly.

"Oh! Here I thought you came to introduce me to your new friend." He gave a chuckle while glancing over to Ash, and back to Trip. "Things are a little slow today because of the festival here so I don't mind showing you my Pokemon. I'm not sure whether they'll be of interest..."

Trailing off instead of pulling out his Pokeballs he'll turn over to the backdoor of the cafe.

"Come on over you two, we've got guests."

"Aaa?" The first one to emerge is a Doduo. It's two heads tilted with a questioning look. Larson chuckled while gesturing for Doduo to come closer to the counter.

"I raised this good boy since he was a little Dodaerie, and...Blissey! You too!" He calls out. "The tea can wait!"

"Blissey!" While the name may be familiar to the two, Blissey's appearance was completely different from normal when she stepped out. Her overall fur is yellow, and had a prominent, apron-like pattern with her fur.

[goingallout]

Before Ash could even ask about what a Dodaerie is, the sight of the yellow-colored Blissey completely caught Ash and Pikachu's attention, as their mouths opened agape.

"This is... a Blissey?!" A mix of surprise, disbelief, and fascination swirled within Ash. Wanting to make sure, Ash pulled out his Rotom Phone and pointed the lens at Blissey's direction.

Immediately the Rotom Phone's Pokedex function responded.

"Blissey, the Happiness Pokemon. A Normal Type. It is the evolved form of Chansey. Whenever it finds a weakened Pokemon, Blissey will share its egg and offer its help until it is nursed back to full health."

On his screen however, instead of the yellow-colored Blissey that's right in front of him, the image only shows the pink-colored Blissey that he's used to seeing back in his home world.

"It looks really different." Ash mused to himself as he looked at the screen and then back to Larson's Blissey. But then recalled other Pokemon such as Sirfetch'd back when it was a Farfetch'd where it appeared much different than the ones he's used to. "Hey, is this like... it's regional form here in Ultern?"

[serperiority]

Trip didn't protest at Ash being called his friend, at least! Anyway, they're soon introduced to the Pokemon and... apart from the concept of a possible different evolutionary form for Doduo,, they actually got to see a new Pokemon form! Blissey was golden yellow! The scalloped pattern really did give the impression of an apron, it also nicely complemented its curls.

Trip brought out his camera to aim it at Blissey.

"Maybe there's all sorts of regional forms here we've never seen before. It's exciting to think about, right?"

[ulternnpc]

"Haha, you're really popular Blissey." Larson turned his attention to his Blissey who gave a bashful smile in response. "She can be a little shy, but she loves having guests around."

"Blissey, bliss!" Blissey nodded in agreement while one of Doduo's head rested itself on Larson's shoulder. Larson reached over to pet him while looking between both Trip and Ash, and made a thoughtful "hmm".

"I suppose she would be a regional variant. In fact in Ultern, Blissey has two different appearances. The other one is more pink than my little lady here." He turned back to Blissey who smiled back at him.

[goingallout]

At first, he observed Blissey as she acted bashful around them. Despite its appearance, Ulternian Blissey looks just as adorable as the ones he's used to seeing. And after noticing that Trip had brought out his camera, his Research Fellow side of his brain has urged Ash that he should do the same. For sure, everyone in the lab would be interested in seeing a new regional form.

"Hehe, I can't wait to show Goh and Prof. Cerise about this!" he said to himself out loud.

After he snapped a picture, he looked up to Larson when he explained further about Blissey.

"There's two different appearances?" Ash couldn't help but repeat what Larson said. But he said it's pink in color. Like, the commonly known variant? He wondered.

[serperiority]

Trip hadn’t expected Ash to join him in documenting the Ulternian Blissey and couldn’t help smirking in amusement.

“Picked up a new hobby?”

Trip soon put away the camera, not wanting to embarrass the bashful Blissey anymore.

“Your Pokemon both seem very well-raised.”

And quite attached to him, but that was plain to see! Out of everyone new he met here, Larson was the easiest to trust.

[ulternnpc]

Larson smiled as the two took pictures of his Blissey who bashfully hid her face behind her paws after a while, clearly flustered.

"You're the star of the show today, Blissey." He commented before looking over to both Ash and Trip. His expression lit up upon hearing a mention of a "Professor" from Ash, and over to Trip he smiled.

"Well, they're both my friends and my family. We take care of each other equally. Isn't that right Doduo?"

"Aaa!" Doduo fluffed it's feathers up in response while playfully nipping at Larson's hair. Larson didn't seem to mind as he kept his attention to the conversation at hand.

"That reminds me, if you both own a Pokedex I think it would be a good idea to go visit Professor Banyan! He knows a whole lot about Pokemon, and he's currently researching the difference between the Pokemon in Ultern, and the Pokemon who have drifted here."

[goingallout]

Ash just chuckles at Trip's question.

"Nah, I try to make it a habit to get data for the lab I'm working at." he answered, "That way, my friend wouldn't have to do all the work by himself."

He then smiled as he watched Larson's Doduo being playful through the camera. It was clear Larson and his Pokemon are really close given how happy they all looked.

As he pocketed his phone, he then looked up to Learson curiously when he made his suggestion.

"Professor Banyan?" Ash perked up a bit. "So this region has a Pokemon Professor too!"

[serperiority]

“So, you’re helping research Pokemon…” Trip repeated, sounding genuinely impressed, while also a bit confused.

Ash? Well, it has been a long time…

“I’m sure we’ll get more information from the Professor. Thank you, Mr. Larson, Blissey, and Doduo.”

Trip thought for a moment, realized he had focused all his attention on the different Blissey and largely ignored Doduo! He hadn’t wanted to hurt its feelings. then tried to reach over to pat Doduo, faltering midway. “Um, is it alright…?”

[ulternnpc]

"Aha, then you'll definitely have to see the Professor!" Larson turned to Ash while nodded. He was sure Professor Banyan would be interested in any findings or photos Ash would have on Pokemon. When questioned about the Professor himself he was beaming.

"Professor Banyan is amazing! He's always researching so hard about Pokemon! He even helps trainers who drifted in updating their Pokedex to recognize Pokemon in Ultern too."

"Aaa!" Larson's Doduo upon realizing Trip was reaching out to pet him moved one of it's head to gently headbutt into Trip's hand. Larson chuckled before giving a pat to his Doduo.

"Well, it seems Doduo himself doesn't mind. Neither do I. My Doduo here is very friendly. He loves giving rides to people, and of course playing with people too."

[goingallout]

"Wow! He really does sound amazing!" Ash visibly expressed his awe. And all the more a good reason to visit him too. "Where can we find him, Mr. Larson?"

Then, he turned his attention to both Trip and Larson's Doduo as he watched his friend proceed to interact with the Twin Bird Pokemon. It's nice to see that Trip's being friendly with other Pokemon some more.

[serperiority]

It's loud! But, clearly as friendly as Larson described, so Trip gave the head that approached him a few affectionate rubs, until Serperior butted its head into his side too. Right, right, Serperior also recieved head pats. He wouldn't want to let the other bird feel left out either, so he'd extend the hand that pet Serperior to it too, to see if it was as interested as its twin.

"Updating the PokeDex sounds great," Trip said.

He wondered if the entries would stay in his PokeDex even if he went home.

[ulternnpc]

"He is amazing!" Larson's eyes lit up with excitement. Yet at Ash's question he looked thoughtful. "Well...I'm not sure if he'll be there today, but his lab is outside of Turnbloom out in route 1."

His Doduo in the mean time fluffed his feather up more before moving its other head off of Larson to bump Trip's offered hand. Yay pets!!! So nice!! Larson chuckled while moving to pat his Blissey.

"Oh! But he may be dropping by tomorrow. Something about needing more supplies...but today who knows? He might be out there enjoying the festival like everyone else."

[goingallout]

"I see!" Ash puts a mental note on that. "Then let's check out his lab tomorrow! How's that sound, Trip?"

[serperiority]

Trip pet the other head too! They're both very friendly. He tried scratching a little under its chin to see if it liked that as much Serperior did.

"You must be very strong if you can carry people," Trip commented, then focused on Ash again.

"Sounds good. It'd be nice if we could speak with him today, but... I guess we've covered enough ground for the day. Deciding where to rest is probably all that's left to do for today..."

He didn't like delays, but, learning to appreciate things on the way instead of always being in a hurry to get to the next stop on the journey is something he'd been working on.

[ulternnpc]

"Aaa!" Doduo let out a happy cry. Larson chuckled.

"Doduo is one of the popular Ride Pokemon here in Ultern. Some even have a Ride Pokemon that's a Dodrio." Larson explained as he returned to patting his Doduo's side. Looking between the two young trainers, especially at Trip's concern about lodgings his expression lit up. "If you'd like, we offer free lodgings here at this Pokemon Center! There should be plenty of rooms left."

He paused before adding-

"Of course there's plenty of space for three people in one room!" He couldn't NOT include Lear into the count.

[goingallout]

As eager as Ash was in meeting Ultern's Pokemon Professor, Larson's assumption of the man more likely attending the festival probably meant the professor was on his day off or something. So there's not much he could do about that.

"Is that so?" Ash looked at Larson's Doduo. That's interesting! The fact that Doduos are used as Ride Pokemon sounded like they're really strong, like Trip said. Although he's experienced riding on a Dodrio before, he wouldn't mind trying it out again.

And when Larson brought up lodgings, that got Ash to realize that the fact they're suddenly here in Ultern, the thought of finding a place to stay did not cross his mind.

"Oh nice, that's good to hear!" Ash looked grateful at Larson. "Sure! Trip and I can have a room together!"

[……… Spongebob and Squidward]

[serperiority]

Trip made a face. He wanted to protest that he didn’t share rooms or use Pokemon Center lodgings, but Ash already decided for them!

“… y-you…”

He wasn’t even going to say “yes” at first! But now it would be awkward to contradict him now and it’d probably be rude and Ash was just being nice, wasn’t he, it is sweet that he trusted him this much, but he didn’t like having no control over things aaaand is this why folks didn’t like him taking pictures without permission? You reap what you sow, etc.

“… never mind, that’ll be all.”