JULY - AUGUST TEST DRIVE MEME

[indigo_events]

➞ Post with a character you wish to test drive in this game's setting.
➞ Tag other people's starters and thread out shenanigans!
➞ Invite your friends! Try out new characters! Come play with us!
➞ Have fun!

NOT SURE WHERE TO BEGIN YOUR TEST-DRIVE JOURNEY?
CHECK OUT ALL THE LOCATIONS WE HAVE AVAILABLE IN:

JOHTO | KANTO | SEVII ISLANDS

Feel free to make various prompts in multiple locations!

✭ ✭ ✭


OTHER USEFUL LINKS:
NAVIGATION | RESERVES | APPLICATIONS

Comments

Ichimatsu Matsuno | Osomatsu-San

[mychemicaldepression]

Pallet Town:
This... was not home. He knew those four walls very well. They were safe. Sanctuary. He could just hide away and not worry about appearances or... life.

This was not that. His body felt stiff and he could feel sweat already building up in uncomfortable corners of his body. He just stood outside the house he'd woke up in, looking down at the bag in his hands. None... of it made sense. Maybe his brothers pulled some annoying scheme while he was sleeping...

His discomfort with the small town led him to walk right out, even if it meant going into the tall grass at the exit of the town. "Gah! Why doesn't anyone cut this?!" He craved pavement and society.

Pewter City:
Ichimatsu eyed the rocky terrain with... mild disdain. He eyed the sign for the rock gym with much more disdain. And then his eyes fell down to the Shinx at his side that wasn't even looking at him. He tried to feel that same disappointment at his horrible type matchup... but it was a cat. Cats were wonderful. He couldn't be upset.

But, they wouldn't win a gym battle like this. He sighed, feeling his shoulders weigh down as he considered his options. The only one that seemed remotely doable was just... finding another pokemon to train up to fight this. So much effort. "Ugh..." Ichi did an about-face and slumped back the way they came. His Shinx took a moment to notice Ichi's change in direction, quickly bounding after him.

Pewter City

[zenryokubatankyu]

[So Osomatsu had taken to wandering around a bit, holding Snappy in his arms. This was a pretty average town so far - nothing sticking out too much, nothing--

Until he hard a familiar dejected sigh. Too familiar. His niichan senses were tingling. Snappy, sensing this tension, immediately looked alarmed, but Osomatsu bolted off towards the direction of the sigh. Seeing the source...he nearly tackled him, running in for a hug.]

Ichimacchaaaaaaan~~!!!! YOU'RE HEEEREEEEEE!!!!

Brother.......

[mychemicaldepression]

Just as Oso heard something all too familiar, so too did Ichi hear the signs of trouble coming his way. He whipped around in time to see Oso leaping at him. "You little-" And with that, Oso bowled into Ichimatsu and he lost his balance.

He felt his weight crash down, causing him to groan in a mixture of discomfort and annoyance. "Osomatsu..." It took a lot not to smack his brother. Well, it didn't actually take that much, mostly cause that required more effort than he wanted to expend right now.

hello little bro did u know i'm love u?

[zenryokubatankyu]

[Aaaand down they went. Osomatsu cackled, Snappy having already hit the ground nearby on its feet. He nuzzled into his brother affectionately, beaming.]

Ichi~ Ichi~ I didn't expect to see you here! I thought it'd just be Kara and I~!!! But it's not! You're here! For how long, huh? We shoulda met already...Kara's off on his own, but you and I, we can be a team! You wouldn't leave your niichan behind, right?

[Well...this was the Doll of Darkness, so who knew what he might do, really, but...]

love is exhausting...

[mychemicaldepression]

Ichimatsu grimaced, already trying to slowly separate himself from Oso as much as possible without putting too much effort into it. "Ugh... I just got here. Get off of me!" Though, at Oso's next proposition, his expression went from sour to scowling. "We're not a team!"

He looked at his Shinx. "Stay clear of him. He's trouble." It was unclear if his Shinx actually understood, but the Shinx just sat back, licking its paw.

you will survive

[zenryokubatankyu]

[He was squirmed away from, and this resulted in a huge pout.]

Wah...what? But I'm an experienced trainer...why would you hurt niichan this way?

We're not a team yet, but think about it - we could be...

[Pout.]

And I mean, Karamatsu ran off by himself. Do you really wanna be just like him? He thought he was 'too good' for my help~

our track record for survival ain't high

[mychemicaldepression]

Ichi scoffed as he pulled himself up into a seated position. "You'll survive." He brushed himself off as he looked over Osomatsu. An experienced trainer? Osomatsu and experience didn't coexist. He was the least accomplished anything Ichi had ever met.

"Kara's too good for everything... But I doubt it went like that." He eyed Oso, the unreliable narrator that he was. "Things never go well when you're involved."

gd pessimist c'mon you gotta BELIEVE

[zenryokubatankyu]

No I won't!!! [He rolled over onto his back, complaining.] I won't survive! My baby brother's heart has been closed and locked! It hurts! It kills the man!!!!

[He stared at his brother, upside-down, and continued frowning.] It did. We met at a department store, and he was looking around for painful clothes, like he does. I showed off my pokemon that my friends helped me get, and he tried to accuse me of stealing them like a criminal! And then when I told him what's what he stormed off! It took my friend later telling him the truth for him to eat crow.

And now I'm helping him a little, but it's sill not a team. He's wandering around with a depressed fish most of the time, anyway. The poor thing sounds like it sees nothing but misery. It made me depressed.

i believe everything sucks

[mychemicaldepression]

"Then perish."

Ichimatsu watched his Shinx bound over to him and get comfortable in his lap. Ah. Now he can never get up. His eyes leveled at Oso. Would Oso steal Pokemon? Mmm... He didn't really doubt it. Maybe he got them legit... but if it was revealed to be bull then Ichi wouldn't be surprised.

Ichimatsu shrugged. "If Kara wants to waste his time with a dumb fish, then let him."

you emo baby

[zenryokubatankyu]

Ahhhhh...I thought Totty was the heartless one!!! I thought Totty was the cold one! Little did I know! Little! DID! I! KNOW! The Spiteful Purple Demon of the Cold Tundra Forest!

[Point point point. He whined.]

I am letting him, but we could all do so much better together! We always do! Yet we're all branching...off....

[There was one of his worst fears hitting him again, and it showed by how his words trailed off.]

...Don't like that.

[He finished, quieter.]

calling me a baby yet you're the one whining

[mychemicaldepression]

Ichimatsu sighed. There it was. Oso always seemed so scared of the day when they inevitably moved on from each other. That's what people did when they grew up. Brothers weren't supposed to live together for forever. Didn't make it easy to leave home, but, he knew it had to happen. "Don't be a moron. Not like if we don't spend every day together that we'll all disappear from each others' lives." He couldn't get rid of Oso and Kara if he tried.

"I'm still not teaming with you, though."

BE NICE TO *ME*

[zenryokubatankyu]

[He hugged himself, his fingernails digging into his sides.]

It's unnatural to not. We six are the same. We're supposed to stay together...

[He sighed.]

Well, at least you're not trying to pretend that you hate me. At least you're just your normal self. Though...you need the motivation. I know you.

You've gotta challenge gyms and stuff. Don't you need support? I thought you would.

Pewter

[fingersandteeth]

"Osomatsu? What are you--?" The man in front of Ichimatsu looks like he's in his late thirties, dark and bespectacled. He's studying Ichi's face with a thoughtful frown. "Wait. Are you Osomatsu? Because you look like him, but I already mistook Karamatsu for him once."

ah, the cosmic issue of being sextuplets...

[mychemicaldepression]

Oso? Ichimatsu paused as he looked over this random man. Hm... He didn't seem upset, at least. He knew Oso and Kara? At least he wasn't the only one here... Ichi narrowed his gaze. "No. Those are my brothers. I'm Ichimatsu. If you want Oso, look for someone with a dumb grin on his face... Horse races are a good place to check."

Re: ah, the cosmic issue of being sextuplets...

[fingersandteeth]

"We don't have those here yet," the man replies. "I think he mostly blows his money on the Game Center in Goldenrod. Which is why I was surprised to see you here, since last I'd heard he was still back in Johto. Karamatsu too. Pleased to meet you, Ichimatsu. I'm Steven Durante. I suppose you could say I'm friends with Osomatsu."

Crime friends, even.

Friends with Oso is a recipe for disaster

[mychemicaldepression]

Osomatsu and gambling were as inseparable as a cat and yarn. It didn't surprise him at all that his brother blew everything he got there. Ichi avoided eye contact with the man... just cause it made him uncomfortable to be looked at with any kind of scrutiny. "Yeah, nice to... meet you."

He didn't know if being friends with Osomatsu made Ichi trust this man more... or the exact opposite. Oso wasn't exactly a magnet for great people. "How'd you manage that?"

Re: Friends with Oso is a recipe for disaster

[fingersandteeth]

"Making friends with Osomatsu?" Steven shrugs. "He hitched a lift with me and some of my other friends while we were on our way back to Goldenrod. By the time we got there, we were decently friendly. He's a nice enough guy, even if he can be overbearing and immature."

Actually, Osomatsu got drafted into the Pokemon mob and Steven was his mentor in being a criminal. But details.

details are everything with that manchild

[mychemicaldepression]

Mmm... Sounds random enough for Oso to stumble into. But, at least this guy didn't seem... bad. Maybe that intimidated Ichimatsu for a different reason, though. Someone who's seemingly normal just made him more self-conscious about his, uh, everything. He busied his eyes with looking at a particularly interesting rock.

"You forgot lazy. And greedy. And dumb." He could've kept going. But he decided to cut it off there.

oh yes

[fingersandteeth]

Steven laughs. "Oh yeah, he's definitely greedy. That, I've noticed. But hell, greed can be a good motivator. I wouldn't go so far as Gordon Gecko and say greed is good, but--" He shrugs. He's not going to argue with the other two, even though he doesn't quite see it, given that Osomatsu was far from the stupidest Rocket on the team (that would be Steve P) and had actually done his fair share on the hotel heist Steven took him on.

"So are you here to challenge the gym? That's why I came."

ah, you're aware

[mychemicaldepression]

He had no idea who Gordon Gecko was, but Ichi at least seemed to be vibing with this guy. He was as tense as he normally was around random people, but it was easing. Maybe it had to do with bonding over his brothers' qualities.

"Eh. Thought about it. But, gym's rock and I've only got a Shinx. Probably need to catch something else first."

Re: ah, you're aware

[fingersandteeth]

"Oh definitely," Steven says. "I've checked Brock's team for the normal challenges. They're all immune to electricity. You'd want to get something water or something grass--they're all especially weak to those two."

Re: ah, you're aware

[mychemicaldepression]

Yep, just as he thought. His options were to push past and try to get to an area with water... or to go back into that forest and hope there was something grass in there. "Thanks for the tip." He tilted his head to his Shinx, calling it to him. The Shinx hopped up onto Ichi's shoulder and settled there.

pallet town

[itaimatsu]

From up ahead, a familiar voice could be heard as someone else was trying to tiptoe through the tall grass. Karamatsu had run from all of his encounters with the little animals that popped up. He still had little to no idea how to battle.

That was not stopping him, however, from acting as though he knew everything. He chuckled, rubbing under his chin at the sound of his brother's voice.

"Heh. Why does one not cut the tall grass? Perhaps because cutting the grass would be like cutting our heartstrings."

Snipping heartstrings is easy for me

[mychemicaldepression]

Oh god. His shoulders immediately bunched on either side of his head, as if protecting him from the sheer force of 'Karamatsu' radiating towards him. He narrowed his gaze as he slowly turned towards the voice. "It's grass, not a stupid metaphor. Probably just lazy dads or something."

A sigh forced its way out of him. "Where are we, Karamatsu? I don't have the energy to deal with it if this is a scheme or a prank..."

don't do it

[itaimatsu]

"Hmmm?"

Karamatsu began to make his way over to Ichimatsu. Slowly, so as not to attract any wild animals. Pokémon, they were called, right? He beamed at his brother.

"We are in a world that can only be found in the deepest parts of our minds, Ichimatsu. Of course, it is... a dream."