Intro post - Winding up in Ultern

[red_berry]

[STARDUST BEACH]

It's a windy day in Ohritori Island. Not stormy, but the waves are high. And on Stardust Beach, a man is standing alone, watching the waves. He's tall and thin as a beanpole, wearing an oversized plain white T-shirt that makes him look even thinner, like the wind could make him fall over any moment now. But he stands there without falling, motionless. It's a bit of an eerie sight.

If you approach him, he looks at you, hair blowing in his face and covering most of it.

"...Not Alola," is how he greets you.

[POKEMON CENTER]

Later, you can find Red sitting at the cafe in the Pokemon Center, hair still a complete mess from the wind, typing on his phone and ignoring a cooling cup of tea front of him. There's a slightly grumpy Pikachu, also with wind-frazzled fur, sitting on his table and nibbling on a rainbow Pokebean.

But if you're not at the Pokemon Center, you might instead see a post on Pippi, the Ulternian version of Twitter.

[ONLINE]

Red Sr. (@)scarlet_ellipsis posted:
[Image of a Pikachu standing in heavy wind with his face scrunched up. The caption over it says "it fucken WIMDY"]
he hates this weather!! [several laughing emojis]

(ooc: This is Gold's player, bringing in a different character from the same AU! Come say hi to Red, either in person or online! He's a lot easier to talk to online though XD)

Comments

[red_berry]

Red Sr. @(scarlet_ellipsis):
that's so cuuuute!! <3<3<3
is that an alolan raichu??

[brightasmoone]

Elio@(alolasunsun)
Yes! Her name is Sparkle 🤗 does your pikachu have a name?

[red_berry]

Red Sr.@(scarlet_ellipsis):
yep! he's pika [pikachu emoji]

[Attached photo of Pika sitting on a table and looking at the camera curiously, half of a Pokebean in his paws. The background is clearly the Pokemon Center's cafe.]

[brightasmoone]

Elio @(alolasunsun)
aww! Pika's cute!

[Elio soon follows up with another piip(tweet) of Sparkle floating above the waters, pretending to surf.]

Sparkle used surf! (lol)

[red_berry]

Red Sr @(scarlet_ellipsis):
i know right???

Meanwhile, in the cafe, Red sits up straighter as he sees the photo Elio posted, staring intensely. He's extremely charmed, though it doesn't show on his face. To anyone watching it, it might even seem like he's angry.

He likes and re-piips it, and replies with several hearts. Then he scrolls through his phone to find his older Pika photos.

Red Sr.@(scarlet_ellipsis):
[Photo of Pika sitting on top of an Omanyte. They seem to be in a large terrarium with a pond of water the Omanyte is swimming in. Pika is pointing to direct the Omanyte.]
pika and his mighty steed!!

[brightasmoone]

[Whoa, this person really liked his photo if they re-piiped it. He's laughing and showing it to Sparkle who gave a curious look. Laughing to himself he goes back to playing with his Pokemon out on the beach until Dex, his Rotom gave an alert for Red's new message.

Scrambling to pick back where he left off he saw Pika's photo. He'll obviously like the picture and re-piip it too!]

Elio @(alolasunsun)
This is the best one yet!!!

[Elio takes a moment to pull out a photo he's taken of a bunch of wild, Ulternian Pichus and Pikachu. They're all clearly having fun gather berries together.]

I came across a family out in the wild! ^^

[red_berry]

Red makes a small "hmh" noise of contentment. He knew this pic would be a hit! He scrolls through his Pippi timeline for a moment before Elio's new photo appears. Red's eyes widen slightly. What are those ultra-cute, round Pichu-like creatures?

Red Sr @(scarlet_ellipsis):
WHAT ARE THOOOOSE?? so cuuute! and round!!! r they related to pikahcy? new sppeices?? where!!!

He notices the typos after posting it, but he doesn't mind. He's staring intensely over the photo, trying to figure out where it might be located.

[brightasmoone]

[Oh! This person must be someone newly drifted. Pika's appearance clued it in for Elio, but he hadn't thought to ask. At least Red seemed excited about the photo he took.]

Elio @(alolasunsun)
They're Ulternian regional forms of Pichu and Pikachu! They live in forested areas, like the Shrouded Woods nearby. They're really friendly too!

[He'll attach another photo and it's of an Ulternian Pikachu sharing berries with a wild Paras.]

[red_berry]

Ulternian! So Ultern has its own regional variants too. Good, then he'll be able to see them.

Red Sr. @(scarlet_ellipsis):
thanks!! i'll go find them!! [smile emoji, sparkle emoji]

And right after posting that (and liking Elio's photo, and following Elio's account) Red looks up where the Shrouded Woods are. Then he drains his tea, recalls Pika back into his Pokeball, and heads out of the Pokemon Center and towards Route 1. He was already intending to head out into the wilderness soon, so he might as well go immediately.

[brightasmoone]

Elio @(alolasunsun)
please share pics when you do! 😊

[With that, Elio was about to go back to his training until a thought hits him. Oh right--! He immediately follows up with another piip in the response:]

The Pokemon all there are friendly--so instead of battling them it's much easier to just befriend them! i hope you find a cute new pikafriend for Pika! anyway that's all from me, later!

[red_berry]

Red Sr. @(scarlet_ellipsis):
thanks!! that's a big help! [thumbs-up emoji, sparkle emojis]

If the Pokemon are friendly, that means Red can easily find some cave in the wilderness to live in. Though, hopefully there'll be some place with more aggressive Pokemon somewhere, or Red's Pokemon might get bored. Well, he'll figure that out later.

[brightasmoone]

[Upon seeing Red's reply, Elio will like it. He'll also notice he's being followed so he returns the favor by doing the same.

Wow, making a new friend(???) on Pippi was sure nice! Now back to training for him until next time! He was sure Red would want time to focus on the Ulternian Pichu and Pikachu he'll come across anyway!]