Roleplay

@Dessy

Xanthia listend to Lysoke for a moment, shrugging as he said something about it being hard. "I guess so.. its just been normal life for me. Like.. traveling the regions was. Some people never travel the regions.. only live in one region for the entirety of their life.. and that is normal for them. Normal for me is being chased by rockets and changing my hair. Actually.. the hair changing thing came from a friend of mine. It was an idea i have kept because it seems to work well enough."

Xanthia shrugged. "I mean.. i probably did. You know.. I can't really remember? Everything from before i lost my eyesight is kind of fuzzy. Blurs of color.. in red and blues and such." she shrugged, chuckling lightly when she heard Lyoske talking about Fox. "She is adorable honestly. I miss the days of young Pokemon."

Xanthia laughed again. "I suppose we will have to agree to disagree." then she turned a faint shade of pink. "I'm not that special.. i'm just.. a trainer who loves her pokemon.. and happened to get tangled up in Rocket Drama. And.. i figured.. if i help a few people who want to take down the rockets on the way.. then that will just be that much closer to making a difference myself."

A gentle hand slipped into her hand. Smooth yet strong, and nearly twice the size of her own, guiding her delicately, skirting her around the familair winding pathways and stone pathways.

"Oh yeah. Can't hurt to go and heal my pokemon to make sure they are full health. Not that they really need it.. considering Viridian forest has some weak pokemon, but it can't hurt to be safe." she nodded, hand reaching for Suicune's pokeball. "Ah.. but this one.. not this one." She slid her backpack off her shoulders and slid Suicune's pokeball into the bag. "she can heal herself.. or i will heal her with items. Not really a good idea to bring a legendary into a pokemon center. The reaction tends to be extreme."

Xanthia slipped her hand out of Lyoske's hand. "doubt they have it, but if you find anything in braille, i'd love to have a read." she wiggled her fingers. "We can meet up here again if you like.. or you can meet me in the pokemon center.. i have a few things to buy from the mart they installed inside there."

@Draconequis
(I didn't have him say much since he was going to get into the store anyway, plus if you want him to catch something yeah we can do it! I also thought the bookstore won't be like the pokecenter where they had the slider doors.)

"Travelling the regions, huh," repeated Lyoske after her. Remaining in one region for the entirety of a person's life seemed like him, or it would have been him if he hadn't decided one day on that whim of an adventure with several new additions to his party.

He felt that like Fox, he was just another young Pokemon out to see the world. With Xanthia by his side, helping and guiding.

"I guess so, well.." he started again, feeling awkward. "I still believe you're special, in a way."

After he said that, Lyoske realised how strange that could have sounded.

"Uh. Like I said before, a special friend, no wait, a special trainer. Someone who wants to make a difference, you know?" He opened the door of the store, glad he wasn't holding her hand. "Yeah. Can't hurt to be safe. Extreme reaction."

Before Lyoske shut the door behind him, he peeped out and looked at Xanthia, staff in her hands and Ramone on her. "I'll look for you. Don't think I'll take that long anyway."

@Dessy (phew, was so busy, finally found some time in my life)

Xanthia explored the pokemon center for a while, giving her pokemon to the nurse to heal for her as she wandered to the pokemon mart built into the pokemon center. She reached over the counter, laying down some money as the pokemon mart worker gave her supplies. Ultra balls, max potions, and a few full heals for good measure. She even splurged and grabbed a the TM for Flamethrower. Lyoske would need a fire type eventually, and Flamethrower was a reliable and strong fire move he could possibly control. Thinking about it.. Lyoske and a fire type were probably a bad idea.. but he would have to learn to control a volatile type eventually. She intended to hopefully keep him away from fairy type pokemon.. those types left a bad taste in her mouth.. most of them being quite.. evil honestly. Her own Togekiss had betrayed her mid battle and sided with her sister at one point.

Her name was called for her healed pokemon, and Xanthia set the pokeballs on her waist, fumbling with the bumps to identify each ball before relasing Ramone again.. the tiny bug took his spot on her shoulder again, skittering back and forth excitedly. Xanthia smiled and pet his furry back, striding outside the pokemon center and waiting for him to join her again.

Out here.. it was.. remarkably peaceful.. the scent of fresh Kanto air blowing under her nose as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the warmth of the sun on her face.

@Draconequis

After Xanthia left, Lyoske returned his Eevee and looked around the bookstore. The shop was organised and clean, with many books stacked in a pile atop shelves and tables. From two pieces of string, a thin slip of paper dangled from the ceiling at various intersections to guide the customer. Lyoske stopped at a shelf near a paper sign 'Pokemon Lore', and started flipping through some books.

The amount of books on this topic were vast. 'Secrets of Mt. Moon', 'Pokemon History and Habitats', 'Braille: The Unown Chronicles', and 'Cinnabar Island: The Volcano Island' were a couple of paperbacks he took interest in and flipped through. There were even book titles about Unova, Hoenn and Sinnoh. He'd rested a finger on the spine of a book about Unova's Lacunosa Town until an old weathered book to the left caught his attention. Lyoske took the book from the shelf and read the title.

'Legends of Kanto'

He cracked the book open, and there was Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres aligned in a perfect triangle of ice, electric, and fire. Directly underneath the picture was a caption "the legendary birds of Kanto" and a paragraph detailing these mythical creatures. Lyoske was sold from that moment on, and knew he had to purchase this steal. Taking this book and a few other titles he looked through earlier, he headed to the cashier and paid in tender. With a bloated plastic bag in hand, Lyoske left the store and into the peaceful Viridian City.

His time at the bookstore took much longer than anticipated, and he was in a bit of a hurry because he knew Xanthia would be waiting. Near the Pokemon Centre, he met her again. Xanthia had her eyes closed, and she seemed to be enjoying the fresh air around the city. Lyoske had to agree that the air here smelled way nicer than the farm smell in Pallet, but out of respect for her parents' hometown, he didn't dare say anything about it.

"Sorry, took much longer than expected," he said, ashamed. "I've got a few books, one about Braille if you're interested." Lyoske honestly didn't know if the braille book had any bumps that could make it readable to the blind reader. He chose not to mention it. "Let's get on our way to your home?"

@Dessy (AAHGG I AM SO FJSKDFHISHER P*SSED IT DELETED THIS TWICE. Btw, sorry for not responding, i might have to drop out of that other Rp because life is killing me right now T>T)

Xanthia had started to wonder where Lyoske was and was wondering if maybe he had gotten lost in the bookstore reading books. She remembered her mother letting her get lost in some good books when she was a kid. She decided to stay put though, just allowing the scents to wash over her for a minute. Her home.. her hometown was so close to here.. She'd not been here in quite some time. and the achingly familiar scent of the air here was just.. nostalgic.

Xanthia took a glance in his direction. "It's fine. I took a little break actually. It was kind of nice to just.. be here for a bit.. strange as that sounds." then she perked as she heard him say something about Braille. "Really?" she seemed interested. "That's something you don't find at every bookstore. Thank you for picking it up. I am sure i will enjoy reading.. or feeling it." she gave a light snort-like laugh.

"Ah, yes.. my home. It's just a bit of a ways up the road here. Through some tall grass.. shouldn't be anything overly strong.. a few caterpies.. rattata.. and if you are lucky we might see a butterfree or two.. this area is pretty well in control for new trainers starting out."

She brought out her staff, sweeping it across the ground, tapping aimlessly as she brushed her fingers against the smooth surface. This part she could remember. She knew exactly how to get back home.

---

It took about fifteen minutes of walking, only because Xanthia accidently got lost once.. her memory wasn't what it used to be. They finally reached the Viridian Forest, and Xanthia rechecked her stock of items. A couple of full heals and some antidotes for Lysoke's pokemon. he didn't have a poison type.. he would likely need one of them if he wasn't careful.

She surged ahead, blazing through the gate and into the woods. here she tucked away her staff and brushed her fingers against the trees. A notch above a branch, marking the way.

"You stick close to me. Its a natural maze in here, and you don't want to wake the beedrill." she warned Lyoske.

After a moment of staring at Lyoske she turned back to the trees. Her fingers ran from tree to tree as they blazed through the forest, her hands brushed against leaves as she followed the notches... the ones she had left in the trees to help her find her way when she was a kid. This way.. that way.. a twisting labyrinth.. and there it was. Right in the middle of the forest next to a flowing river... without warning.. a small wooden cabin. Tattered and worn toys were scattered just outside the doorway, grass and flowers growing around and through them. Clearly.. whoever had left this place had been in a hurry... and no one had been coming around juding by the twisted weeds on the lawn and the ivy which had started to creep up the side of the house.

Xanthia fumbled at the door, flipping over a stone nearby and producing a key which she used to unlock the front door. The scent of dust hit her nose and she sneezed, heading through the door. On the left side table near the door were several framed pictures of Xanthia with different people. More notably of the pictures was one which had been shattered, a picture of Xanthia as a young child.. maybe three.. or four with four other kids around the same age as herself. She was wresting with a boy about her age with black hair, she'd got him pinned under her arm and seemed to be viciously rubbing her nuckles into his head. A smaller girl was creeping up behind her, looking ready to pounce. This girl looked oddly similar to Xanthia, except with brown hair and brown eyes. And lastly.. a darker blonde male who was just watching the others and smiling, who also looked oddly similar to Xanthia. The picture had been shattered quite viciously as if someone had been in here and thrown the picture around in a fit of rage.

Right on the table before her was an ancient electronic creation. She plucked it from the table and wiped the dust off with her shirt, reaching into her backpack and pulling out some batteries, clipping them into the back after a moment of fumbling with a screwdriver, the electronic thing started to make some bizzare whirring noises as it booted up for the first time in years. "Well.. that sounds.. promising." Xanthia scowled, jamming her fingers into the various buttons before she fitted it to her wrist.

After the electronic thing gave a pitiful beeping sound, Xanthia made her way around the room, searching for something else.

@Draconequis (I'm going to start colouring Lyoske's speech XD And oh man I know that pain about the deletion thing! That's why I sometimes write on a document.)

As they trudged through Viridian Forest, Lyoske took the responsibility of staying at Xanthia's rear, keeping a good lookout for the Beedrill she had warned about and making sure no other threats came into sight. He concentrated on making sure his footsteps upon cracked leaves and branches were silent enough not to spark the aggression of certain wild Pokemon.

Despite her being blind, he had to recognise Xanthia's abilities. She knew how to make her way around the forest with ease. Her hands felt for grooves along trees, leading the duo along a green labyrinth and a flowing river. Lyoske kept silent and observed his surroundings, following Xanthia wherever she led. Should they get lost somehow, well, Lyoske could remember a few things about the forest and how the river winded through the glade.

Their trip took them to a small wooden cabin at the edge of the woods. It was Xanthia's home in Viridian Forest, its walls overgrown with snaking ivy. The place seemed to have been abandoned a long time ago, and along with it the childhood memories someone once had. Lyoske knelt and picked up a toy as Xanthia fumbled at the latch with a key from an upturned stone.

He couldn't help but feel nostalgic and sad. The toy was placed back on the overgrown grass as Lyoske followed Xanthia inside.

Inside was no better. The interior of the wooden cabin was chock full of dust as evidence of its decrepit state. Lyoske waited around at the doorstep, hoping for Xanthia's work to be quick. That didn't appear to be the case, for Xanthia picked up a dusty electronic device and tinkered with it. He blinked, waiting for her to exit.

"If it's broken, I can try fixing it if you'd like." Lyoske called after her. As Xanthia riffled through the room, Lyoske figured he could look around as well.

The first thing that caught his attention were the picture frames by the door. Lyoske put the plastic bag down and held the shattered one in his hands, using his thumb to sweep away the dust lining the broken glass and the picture underneath. It was Xanthia, bright blond hair and blue eyes, playing with several children.

"This picture..." The circumstances in which it was found, the similarities between the kids-- Lyoske didn't have to be a genius to know this was Xanthia and her family, playing.

".. Xanthia, I found a picture of your family." Lyoske walked to her side, carrying the shattered picture with him. "Do you want to keep it? I thought it would be important for you."

He knew she could not see, but perhaps she could still remember the fond times. Lyoske was the type to treasure the memories of the old; to him he felt that the broken picture was nothing a simple handiwork could mend. The decision lay with Xanthia of course.

edited because I derped xD

@Dezzy (OOh im probably going to keep bolding Xanthia's speach.)

Xanthia grasped a book from the shelf, one of the ones in braille, this one was filled with her favorite fables from when she was a kid. How bulbasaur got its bulb.. and how electabuzz got its stripes.. full of tall tales and fables. Not only that but there were a few notes in this book.. ones her brother and sister had written before all of this had happened. It wasn't like she could read them anymore.. but the idea of having them on her was.. just nice. She slid it into her backpack, nodding as Lyoske asked her if the electronic needed some fixing.

"Oh. yeah actually. It's probably going to need a new battery considering how long its been sitting here." she commented. To punctuate her words, the thing on her wrist beeped loudly. 'lowww.. brrrreerrr' it whirred and the electronic fell silent as the screen on her wrist went dark.

Xanthia unstrapped it and brushed the screen with a finger. "i'm honestly surprised it was even able to turn on right now." she stated, shrugging. "I figured i should grab my old communicator if we were here. We were close enough that i figured it didn't matter.

She flinched as Lyoske mentioned the picture. She knew exactly which one he was talking about. That had been back when she could still see. Before all this madness... she couldn't exactly remember what they looked like.. but she could remember what she'd been doing in the picture.. giving Cobalt a noogie while her younger sister was about to pounce on her back and her younger brother watched. A snap taken by her mother.. Amarillo.

Xanthia had come back a bit after she'd lost her eyes.. after Cobalt had gone missing and Cyanna had been put in a wheelchair.. and Obsidian had passed away with her mother... and she'd thrown the picture across the floor, violently until she'd felt the glass shatter in her hands. She'd been mad because she couldn't save them.. mad because she'd lost

"There is no reason for me to take that with me. I can't see it. And that time.. that was thirteen... fourteen years ago. Those times have ended." she stated, sounding abnormally cold as she curled her hands around her body, her shoulders slumping slightly. She looked slightly reluctant about her decision.. and her eyes seemed dead and cold. "Of that picture.. only two of us are still alive." she shook her head. "It.. its not something i really want to remember, you can't bring back the past no matter how hard you try."

She turned back to the house, closing her eyes for a moment and taking one last breath of her childhood home. Her fingers brushed over the surface of the door for a moment and her entire face seemed to soften just for a moment. There was no tension or stress, only a fond memory of something as her fingers brushed a name carved above the handle. This fondness only lasted a moment before she was back to normal, face stern and solemn. "Right. I think its time to get out of here." she shook her head. "I think we should head out back to Unova. I have a place there that we can lay low for a while. Its probably the best place to have you raise pokemon anyways. Its a bit further away from the rockets, but there are some out there.. its just the weaker ones. Guess we should start small and work our way up."

She moved out of the house, waiting for Lyoske to exit before locking the door and putting the key back under the rock. Not like she needed to do so... seeing as no one lived there anymore.. it just.. felt wrong if she didn't.

--
(doing a short timeskip to the boat after Lyoske responds i think, or you can do it if you want so we don't have to navigate back to the places we were before) XD

@Draconequis (Since the previous boat left I got a new one!)

"Hmm. Let me take a look at it later." Lyoske stroked his chin as Xanthia's device made all sorts of noises before the screen went black. The communicator seemed to only be low on battery, but it couldn't hurt to inspect the device and fix any faults it could have. "It's probably made well for it to still be functioning after a long time, but the battery ought to be replaced like you've said."

He regretted his decision when Xanthia flinched at mention of the picture and brought her hands around herself, crestfallen from a memory of the past. Lyoske did not know what it was exactly, but he knew well enough from Xanthia's reaction to know it was something that pained her. Back on the boat, she'd shared with him a few of her memories as he did with her.

It wasn't the full story, but of course it hurt. Here, he was watching as she shrunk into herself, deep into memories that saddened her.

"I'm sorry," he said, placing the shattered picture on the table and propping it up by the stand. The sight looked extremely sad; a happy picture left alone and abandoned in the cabin by the woods, its glass shattered and strewn about the floor in little bits and pieces. Lyoske looked at Xanthia with a concerned expression etched onto his face. "I.. don't blame you for not wanting to remember, more so if it's a past you don't want to recall. For now, I think it's best to leave it behind."

He turned the picture away, watching Xanthia as she left the house and turned back to it. Her fingers rested against the door for a moment, her eyes closed in recollection of something.

Lyoske only waited until she spoke again.

"Let's go," he agreed, crossing the doorway to rejoin her, the bag of books in his spare hand. He smiled, calm and assured, glad that Xanthia was back to her old self. Before, he didn't like it when she looked so disturbed, because it just wasn't like Xanthia. "That's the spirit. We'll head back to the harbour by Pallet Town and figure out where to go from there. I think I could do with some training too."

With the door locked behind them, the two began to head back through the woods, past the winding river that snaked through the forest and back through Viridian City. Lyoske barely spoke during that time, sure that Xanthia had lingering thoughts of her childhood home. Or perhaps it was just himself and his conscience about Xanthia's personal home in the middle of the woods. He felt like an outsider, as if he was witness to a fraction of her childhood he didn't know about.

Once they were back in Pallet, Lyoske took it upon himself to purchase dairy produce, bread, and fruits from the farm market. He made sure to make the whole business quick because, as he said to Xanthia, he didn't want to 'waste time', and it was only logical they should stock up for their trip to Unova if it meant spending more time out at sea. Even though in truth, Lyoske still couldn't stand the terrible smell of the area.

Another boat arrived not long after Lyoske had made the appropriate bookings and set the travel destination. As they made their way abroad, S.S Aqua began to set its way out towards Unova. The serene, tiny Pallet Town faded behind them, giving way to the countryside and the vast sea.

"Seems that this boat is rather good after all." Lyoske opened a door to the cabin he had booked for Xanthia, one hand carrying a tray of cheese sandwiches he prepared from their trip to the farm market at Pallet. "I was a little worried with the limited options I had at a small town harbour, but I'm very impressed with this boat. They even have a buffet service in the basement, plus room service also comes when you ring a bell by the table."

He set the tray on the table, taking a sandwich from it and sitting down on a chair, guiding Xanthia to do the same at the opposite end of the table. The day before, they hopped abroad a much tinier boat from Vermillion. He had been appalled to discover that there wasn't any food served there, with the entire boat manned by one captain. Here, plenty of crewmen were around, tending to the needs of various other customers or sweeping the deck outside. It wasn't what Lyoske would call luxurious, but it served its job well.

"Our trip will take around three days," Lyoske read out the printed date on the ticket, turning it over to see if there were any more information he'd missed. "We're also arriving at Castelia Harbour possibly during evening." He turned it back again.

".. And I guess that's it." Lyoske pocketed his ticket and munched on his sandwich. "Before I forget, Xanthia, would you let me take a look at that communicator?"

@Dessy (that is what i was hoping for, sorry for the wait, things got crazy, my boyfriend's birthday happened with fourth of july and the end of my raffle XD hahah XD I needed to study for a huge exam coming up for school stuff.. and also, Pokemon GO came out and it is consuming my life XD oh and sorry but occasionally i have writer's block, and i totally maybe had writer's block a little. I feel horrible about it XD)

Xanthia shrugged. "Ah, yeah that does sound like a good idea." She snorted. "It's pretty old though so I am not sure what can be done other than throwing it on a charger."

Xanthia gave a false smile as Lyoske apologized, replacing the picture she'd shattered in a fit of rage where it had been. "It is not your doing." she reasoned, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear gently. "Maybe.. someday.. I will tell you about it."

Xanthia moved through the forest again, hands brushing against the leaves of the trees. It was funny.. that even now.. years after she'd been here last... she could just.. remember where everything was.

Lyoske went to stock up at the market, buying some provisions. Xanthia elected to grab some anti-seasickness *****. They would be on the boat for a long time, and while she had never been seasick before.. she didn't want to take any chances. She wasn't as confident on the sea as she was on land or in the sky. She didn't feel as safe in or around water.

As the boat left the harbor she lingered at the back, staring aimlessly back at Pallet town, as if she could still see it... or smell it. A pang of loneliness hit her suddenly as she wished she had never set out to become a 'pokemon master' in the first place. If she knew what she knew now about the truth of a pokemon adventure.. what would she have done differently? It wasn't worth even thinking about it because she couldn't change a thing.

She followed Lyoske into the cabin, fingers brushing against the door to read the number. 201. She listened to him speak as she navigated the room, attempting to keep her breathing rhythmic and cool. The boat was safe.. it was a nice and big boat.. they wouldn't be sinking... she'd be fine.. she had Tamaki to help her swim... right?? Her hands fluttered nervously to the pokeballs at her hip. Ramone had elected to skitter up the wall and was climbing on the ceiling, bumping his feelers curiously against the light.

"Hey, Ramone. You can't mess with that." Xanthia called through her nervousness, making certain Ramone wouldn't sink the boat by messing with the electricity.

The tiny spider made a sad gurgling noise before clamboring down from the ceiling, giving Lysoke wide berth and skittering up Xanthia's back before leaping to the table beside the bed and instead flipping the alarm clock off the table with a mischevious gurgle.

Xanthia snorted, rolling her eyes, before turning back to Lyoske. "This is a bigger boat than the other one we went on for sure." She rubbed the goosebumps on her arms as she sat on the chair, nodding to Lysoke. She heard a clatter of a tray and felt for it, grasping a sandwich in her hands. "Oh.. nice. Thanks." she nodded to him, taking a slow bite.

She chewed as she listened to Lysoke talk, thinking to herself. As soon as Lyoske said three days she paled slightly. She tried to pretend like it didn't bother her, chewing her sandwich. However, the way her knuckles turned white as she gripped the chair should have been a dead giveaway. Three days.. on the water.. in a boat.. nope nope nope. She didn't like it at all. She steadied her breathing, mentally telling herself that she was just being dramatic.. that fear was just stupid and she could overcome it if she tried hard enough.

She rapidly unstrapped the busted up communicator from her wrist, the braille letters beneath the screen facing Lyoske instead of herself. "Go ahead." she stated rather nervously.

(Oh, weren't we going to have them stop in the Sevii islands first? or did we want to skip that and go straight for Unova? I could make a reason.. like a random tropical storm makes them have to dock for a few days XD)

@Draconequis

Lyoske watched nervously as Ramone dropped from the ceiling, crawled onto Xanthia’s back, and climbed the table to flip the alarm clock. It landed with a clatter on the floor.

Xanthia had unstrapped the communicator from her wrist and offered it to him. Lyoske took it and stared at the device. How was he going to fix this? He had no tools and he did not know braille.

Suddenly, Lyoske heard another familiar clatter. Concerned, he looked at the fallen alarm clock, then to the Pokémon perched upon the table. He could have sworn the alarm clock flipped over again. The spider stared back at him with glassy eyes.

“Xanthia, did you see the clock...” Lyoske never finished the sentence, realising two things halfway — First, Xanthia was blind. Next, the clock had started to float.

He backed away a few steps in fear and confusion. The floating clock let out an electric spark, enveloping itself in a white-blue aura with two lightning-shaped appendages and a single pointed horn. Two oval eyes and a large grin emerged from the clock face. Lyoske was terrified. The ghostly clock shrieked and shot an electric attack at Ramone.

(I saw the last bit late... LOL. We can make the Rotom part quick and have them do either Unova or Sevii, whichever goes. ^_^)