farawayplace | Suddenly in the midst of a Summer Festival--

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Suddenly in the midst of a Summer Festival--

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!🌺)

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"Giratina!? Here!?" Ash expressed his surprise. It's been a quite while since he last saw the legendary Pokemon. However the thought of it being away from the Reverse World only got Ash to frown in response. "...But if Giratina's out here, then something must have happened. That Pokemon never leaves its home, unless it's really, really angry."

Which is somewhat concerning. But that only got Ash to wonder how Trip managed to encounter it in the first place.

"With the help of my friends!" He grinned. "It's thanks to them that we're able to get back home safe and sound. Right, Pikachu?"

His Pikachu nodded, attesting to what Ash said as he too experienced these strange world-hopping adventures with him.

Trip quietly nodded.
It did look terrifying, he would hate to see it angry... the colour drained from his face just thinking about it, but tried his best not to dwell on it and focus on what Ash was saying.

"With your friends...? Do Pokemon hold the key to escaping?" he asked, exchanging glances with Serperior.

"Please explain, Ash, Pikachu..."

For that question, Ash lets out a long hum at first as he tried to think of a response. But then just scratches his head afterwards.

"Look, Trip... I'm not exactly an expert because I really don't know." Ash admitted, "I don't have the answers for that, but... maybe we could look for them together! And maybe we'll find our way back home that way!"

The answer might be out there somewhere.

"So things will work out somehow!" He grinned.

"You're such a carefree guy," Trip sighed, undeniably disappointed, but offered a little half-smile anyway. "If you say so. I guess we have our work cut out for us... at least the weather's nice. I'd hate to be thrown somewhere cold and snowy."

Edited 2022-08-22 17:17 (UTC)

"Isn't it? It kinda reminds me of Alola y'know." Ash glanced at the beachfront. The vibrant blue water that's sparkling due to the light of the sun reflecting it, the presence of palm trees, and seeing people and Pokemon peacefully soaking in the sun together. A lot of it kind of screams of his second home, but not quite.

...Speaking of Alola.

"Oh yeah!" Ash's eyes lit up as he looked at Trip. "A good friend of mine from Alola just got here too. And I promised we'd meet up again once we find more info about this place. Got anything you know so far?"

... oh, was he missing the Alola region? Trip watched Ash as he watched the water and Pokemon and people going about their lives and felt sorry for him, wondering if he missed it like he missed Unova.

Should he do something? He raised his hand, then froze, recalling he was bad at sympathetically patting shoulders. How many pats were expected? Is it one or two? But, then, he'd just kind of leave his hand limply sitting there until it became more of a nuisance. Should he just keep patting his shoulder? How many times? Can he do it too many times and be annoying?

Holding hands is definitely less complicated, so he took Ash's hand.

... only to realize he'd started talking again and he was so caught up in his own thoughts about how to navigate this social situation that he hadn't been paying attention. What was he talking about? Oh...

"Uh—it's a region I never heard of before? It's called Ultern. This specific city's called Turnbloom..."

Did he say that already? He can't remember and he felt a bit embarrassed.

"Um... there's some writing on the sign I can't read, but everything else looks like the language we use. Maybe you can figure it out?"

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!"

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?”

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!"

“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.

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!"

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

"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?"

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.

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?"

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?"

"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.

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.

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.

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."

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!"

“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…?”

"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."

"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.

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.

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[that is the most Ash response to an unfamiliar and perilous situation ever]

ash's optimism rarely wavers no matter the situation

[how (not) to socialize]

trip sweetie you're doing your best

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[alright, Cri next ^^]

😊

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[... -remembers to track thread-]

no worries!!!

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