Idly Moving About A Rubber Ducklett In The Tub With His Hand.

"...?"

...fish.

"Bwahaha!!"

More laughter echoes through the room as Archie plucks a Pokéball from the belt clip. He tosses it into the air, and out comes his Muk. An unpleasant aroma fills the air as the Pokémon cries out angrily.

"Wouldn't dare dissapoint now, would I? Who d'ya take me fer?"

A wave of his hand, and the Poison-type starts preparing a Sludge Wave to toss at the opposing Sylveon.

Of course he does.

Again, maybe she should be scared. Maybe she shouldn't be staying here and responding to his laugh with a chuckle of her own. Maybe she should just leave and leave the world saving situation to the Champion.

"Kind of expected that, yeah!"

Her PokèBall was thrown in the air one last time before she finally released her Sylveon, who laaaazily stretched as soon as he landed on the battlefield-to-be. So calm.

"Try to be at least a little bit better than your grunts, okaaaay?"

"I don' really like flyin' either."

Okay, he slowed down a tad. Still going waaaay too fast for his liking though.

"Why do we need to get to the malasada shop this fast??? Ya worried they're running out o' them???"

Vicious let out a chuckle at that.

"You know we get there faster if we speed, right? Besides, I'm a good driver, never crashed or hit anything."

At the I'll walk comment he did slow down a bit, taking some pity on his company. "Better? If you prefer I can lend you Coviknight for you to ride."

changed the blog theme to something else for now so my pages are accessible ))

He has no idea why he went for the neck honestly. Maybe it was a powermove? Either way, he easily breaks skin (have you seen his teeth???), before pulling back. He might have held back his full biting power for this cause like. Yeah that'd be too much.

"...There ya go."

He can feel the tight grip on that headboard, you know. It causes him to smirk as he leans back against it. "Well, what did ya think?"

Okay, here he goes! We'll see how hard mr.fish can truly bite, bet this little baby pussy won't do sh--

--WHY IS HE GOING FOR THE NECK.

He expected him to bite the arm-- it's THERE, it's RIGHT THERE! Guzma immediately tenses up, eyes widening, jaw clenching to keep in any noise other than-- fuck's sake was that a growl. No no no no fuck you Guzma shut up. Stay there, grab him-- you're holding too tight to that goddamn headboard.

besties what the fuck.

I dare you to do a backflip

"Guzma..."

Does it ring any bells? If he thinks real hard about it, it kinda does, actually. But only 'cause he was born in Alola and keeps up with the news. Kinda ironic he ended up at another evil team's place after being a leader of one himself a while ago.

"So ya... destroy things?" He wants the nice lady with the braincells back.

"An' I am grateful. Fer now." Why'd he have to add that last part? Archie shifts a bit, trying to get comfortable. It was kinda hard, even if it was the nicest tub they had apparently.

"...Yer not gonna destroy me, right? Wouldn't be a fair figh', yanno?"

"I said what I said."

Something regarding him not being her type. Specifically for the fact that she's not into men. Or fishes. Or fishes who look like men. Or viceversa-- Whatever he's wasting time overthinking about this bullshit. Especially since the guy finally introduced himself and the name sounded--

...familiar? Why why whyyyyy some guy's name sounded familiar. Maybe one of his grunts mentioned someone called like him some time ago?

Whatever, it's a name like any other.

"Guzma." and here comes the confident smirk "Leader of Team Skull, destruction in human form. So ya better be grateful the gang's havin' some compassion for your sorry ass."

Even if he'd love for Plumes to ask next time she wants to plop some mythological creature in her bathroom.

"Po Town's Hero? That's where we are now, I guessin'?"

He forgot to ask Plumeria where she had taken him town wise, he just realized. Oh well.

"Gotta say, yer real' strong. A real powerhouse from what I've seen." Archie slowly sits up a little more, leaning against the backboard of the bed.

“I got another bottle of painkillers somewhere. I ain’t worried. I wouldn’t give it to ya if I didn’t want to.”

Ree scratches the inside of their wrist, keeping their eyes down and away. They’re awkward and anxious, and it… sucks.

“Yeah. I’m Reese. Everybody calls me Ree. I’m Po Town’s Hero.”

"Why are ya so tense?"

Jeez dude. Calm it with the bouncing. It's making him nervous too at this rate. "Fiiiiine. But yer not gettin' my Aqua lore either."

Doubt he wants it, but still. Archie's quiet for a bit, just staring at Guzma. The fin wiggles slowly stop.

"...Though, I guess. If ya have any questions, this is your time to shoot 'em. I'll be honest."

Oh, fuck's sake. This whole bullshit is getting more and more tense every second, isn't it? Archie falls quiet for a few seconds, and those were enough for Guzma to return to get as annoyed as possible, a leg bouncing with clear nervousness.

What do you know? What the fuck does he wanna know?!

"I know what I know." he grumbled, dismissingly waving a hand "Oi, ya said to be nice, not to be besties. You're like, level -4 when it comes to friendship, ya ain't gettin' any hint of Skull lore dude."

There's people staring at them now. At least they slowly return to their meals when Maxie calms down a tad.

"Thanks."

Archie orders, though his choices are limited to only a handful of options due to his stomach's sensitivities. But hey, at least they make gluten and lactose free malasada nowadays. It's still fried, but... hopefully it wouldn't be too bad. He adds a regular, cinnamon sugar coated malasada to the order for Maxie.

When he receives the two doughy treats, he promptly shoves Maxie's into his hands.

"Let's walk and talk."

Cue him just walking off. No need for people listening in. When they're away from the busy streets, he finally speaks up.

"My phone was busted. Didn't have materials to fix it up until today." He holds up a little bag with spare parts. "This is actually the first day I'm outside on my own in months."

   ❝ since when— ❞ he snaps again. ❝ i'm a volcanologist! i study volcanoes! use your head! ❞

   but ‘since when’? one week ago. only within the last year has Maxie finally been permitted to leave Hoenn, and for research and collaboration purposes only. so here he was now, in Alola, to learn more during the next several weeks before returning to the strict oversight awaiting back home. 

   the running into Archie bit was entirely unintentional.

   ❝ can it wait?! ❞ incredulous, the Magma leader's tone remains sharp, irritated. yet, after a second's pause, the accusatory finger is lowered and Maxie scoffs. ❝ you've already kept me waiting for three weeks, i can wait a few more minutes … ❞