newberktown | Ninth Flight. [mid-day video/action for goldenrod city.]

[Anyone familiar with the gym in Goldenrod will know what's up. Because that sure is wailing going on in the background.

...Oddly enough, though, there are also the sounds of:
1 Charmander snoring,
1 Swablu chirping, and
1 tiny viking arguing with a giant dragon.]

What do you mean you can fly?

[Sorry, Whitney, but your blubbering is being ignored in favor of dealing with the most exasperated Salamence ever. This was so much more important than badges.]

Yeah, okay, I get that you can 'fly' fly, but you're telling me that you have the ability to use the move Fly. As in 'carry me through the skies' Fly. Why didn't you tell me?

[Adder huffs noisily before flapping her wings to shoot a hard gust of air at him. HICCUP, SHE'S BEEN TRYING TO DO THAT FOR TWO WEEKS. You've just been focusing on ~alternative flight methods~ with Carmen Sandiego. Really, though, she wouldn't be annoyed if you weren't making such a big deal out of it. Just be happy already.]

Yeah, yeah... [Hiccup sighs, apparently giving in for now, before wandering over to slide the gear out from under the drowsy Charmander's claws.] Just would have been nice to know... Wait. Stormfly, didn't you just turn this off?

[...So it wasn't the battle he wanted recorded that was broadcast. Great.]

[ooc: cr is welcome to have witnessed the battle! curious people studying up for whitney's gym are also welcome.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

...There's another kind?

[HERP DERP, his studying of Whitney's gym hadn't gone that far... It had mostly just focused on her strategy.]

The other is an elite challenge. She would have used a full party of six level 100s.

[...HA HA, NO WAY.]

Definitely wasn't that then... My highest leveled pokemon is only 58.

You don't train that much, huh. [A little amused sounding.]

If you ask one of the other girls in the gym, they can calm her down so you can get your badge.

I only really started to, last month. [...He had four months of basically lazing about. He was the worst trainer.

But that is a good idea and something that hadn't really occurred to Hiccup. He wasn't exactly used to girls bursting into tears--the women of Berk were a heck of a lot tougher than that--but of course the girls of the gym would be able to fix this.

There's a minute or so where Hiccup's voice becomes more distant as he switches his attention to a nearby NPC, but once she goes off to comfort Whitney he's back and sounding more cheerful.]

Hey, thanks. She said it wouldn't take too long, now.

Only last month? What have you been doing? [Snort.]

Don't need to thank me. That's just what I figured would work.

[GOOD QUESTION.]

Working, for some of the time...

[What...else...

...Oh well.]

Still, though. Might've been stuck here even longer.

[Doop de doo... Oh, right.]

The Swablu hatched. I named her Stormfly.

[You probably know that, but LOOK, HE IS KEEPING YOU UPDATED LIKE HE PROMISED.]

[Pffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff] How long have you been here again?

Stormfly? Interesting name. [It actually sounds kind of cool. AND GOOD, NEEDS ALL THEM UPDATES.]

[s-sob, all these embarrassing questions...] Since, ah... December.

It was the name of my friend Astrid's dragon, back home. [Glowing a little. Because home, dragons, Astrid, approval, SO MANY THINGS to be happy about.]

Half a year and you burned it farting around. [He sounds more amused than annoyed at least.] You've got your work cut out to catch up now.

Dragons.. that's right, you have dragons where you're from. [Not that he hasn't seen dragons in some worlds, but they're few and far between.] Are they pets of sorts?

[DON'T REMIND HIM. Even if he isn't doing the badge challenge, necessarily, he's still got quite a bit he wants to get done, now.

And that question... Hmn.]

Sort of. [They just all...went away.] They didn't used to be, though. Actually, my people were at war with the dragons, once.

[Gonna remind and poke and prod yup yup.]

I see. I assume dragons, physically, aren't that different between the worlds. Large, generally dangerous, and generally fire breathing. Of course people are ridiculously afraid of them; humans fear things they don't understand.

I guess other worlds have never had Terrible Terrors... Everyone keeps saying that dragons are huge, but some are no bigger than cats.

[Hiccup's nodding, not that Vanitas can see that.]

Sounds about right. But once you see them for what they really are, it's pretty hard to not get attached.

Size doesn't change that they can be rather ferocious.

The ones here are my only encounters with true dragons, but I agree. I rather like them.

Ninth Flight. [mid-day video/action for goldenrod city.]

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