Test Drive Meme - January & February edition

[indigo_league]

➞ 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!

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OTHER USEFUL LINKS:
NAVIGATION | RESERVES | APPLICATIONS

Comments

ii.

[outofsynth]

[By chance, Min-Gi happens to be taking his Loudred to the same store Chai had been checking out the window to. Boom Box is usually pretty shy, but he's excited about their trip and is ambling just up ahead.

At least until the squawk from the Chatot startles him into booking it behind Min's legs. If he stood any chance of staying standing then that's taken away by the Pokémon behind him now acting as a trip hazard.

He lands hard with a grunt, staying on his back until Boom Box's face appears above his own.

He's a little dazed as he sits back up again, Boom Box hovering worriedly by his side. He blinks up at the guy who'd ran into him, but after a moment he does accept his help, looking embarrassed at how spectacularly he'd fallen.]

Y-yeah. Are you?

[What even happened there?]

[rhythmaction]

All good! I've been through worse.

[An apologetic grin spreads across his face as he offers Min-Gi a hand. Chai's music player lies on the ground, his earbud wires all tangled up. The Chatot flutters to it, picking it up with its claws and bringing it back to Chai. He pockets it sheepishly.]

Sorry. You know how it is when you really get into the groove. [Saying as if he knows anything about Min-Gi. He turns to gesture to the window behind him.] I was just looking at this baby over here, but she's a liiiiiittle out of my price range.

[He sighs, wistfully. A beat passes. Chai blinks, then whirls around to gesture to Min-Gi.]

Hey--wait, maybe you can help! If you battle me and I win, you'll give me money!

[outofsynth]

I guess?

[Or at least he knows how it is when Ryan gets into the groove. He's far too self-conscious to get that much into it himself, especially in the middle of a busy street.

He definitely feels some sympathy for his inability to afford a guitar though. If it weren't for Marik he and Ryan would likely still be sans instruments themselves. It still feels very weird to have a friend who's willing to drop that much money if he thinks too hard about it.

On the one hand it might be nice to pay it forward by accepting his challenge. On the other... there are a lot of people about, and he's not a huge fan of having so many people around to watch him. Not when his strategies are still very much a work in progress.]

Wouldn't it be better to take on the gym? You'd win way more if you could beat Sabrina.

[rhythmaction]

[Chai squints at Min-Gi, a bewildered expression on his face. His face scrunches up, as if he's trying to connect the links between gyms and being paid more for battling.]

Nah, I'm not exactly a fan of working out. [He puts his hands on his hips, tilting his head to the side.] What's the deal with Sabrina, though? Is she rich or something?

[...He can't be this stupid, can he? Surely, he read the trainer manual...?]

[outofsynth]

[Min-Gi stares at him a bit because... what? He knows that there's a lot of strangeness in this world to adjust to, but gym battles and badges are such a big part of it that it seems unbelievable he wouldn't be familiar with them at all.]

I meant a Pokémon gym. Where you battle? [Surely he knows about that part already. It's got to have just slipped his mind or something. But just in case, he case on:] You get a badge to prove that you've beaten them, and they give you prizes. Usually a Pokémon move and some money.

Sabrina's the gym leader in Saffron. She specialises in psychic types.

[rhythmaction]

[Chai blinks, realization dawning upon him.]

Ohhhhhhhh. I just thought everyone was, like, exercise buffs. [That would explain the ten-year-olds he saw earlier who seemed way too hype to go to the gym.] The big building with the huge "GYM" signs everywhere are kind of misleading. Why don't they call it, like...I dunno, "The Battlezone" or something?

[For a professional slacker like Chai, the branding completely throws him off! He rests his hand against his chin in a thoughtful pose, glancing towards his Chatot.]

Have you fought her before? You think I could take her on with only one Pokémon?

[outofsynth]

I don't know. I'm not from here either.

[Because there is absolutely no way this guy is from this world. If he wasn't sure of that before, he is now.]

No! [He says that far too quickly. He hasn't fought even one gym, but psychic types are something he avoids in general. He is not a fan. Still. That might have been an overreaction, and he almost immediately looks embarrassed by it.] I... guess the answer's the same to both of those. I haven't fought her, but I know she's strong. Even if you had a type advantage you'd still struggle with one Pokémon.

[rhythmaction]

[Chai raises an eyebrow, looking ahead with a blank expression that quickly morphs into a stupid, lopsided grin.]

Soooooo...what I'm hearing is that there's still a chance.

[As if beating up a ten-year-old's Ratatta with a single over-leveled Chatot means he can take on the gym without any plan or strategy. He's absolutely going to get his ass kicked when he steps foot into the gym.]

Too bad I can't pick your brain about what she's got up her sleeve, but I'll just do what I do best--improvise!

...Oh, uh, I'm Chai, by the way. Just in case you wanna cheer me on while I'm battling.

[outofsynth]

That's not what I said.

[Because no, he absolutely does not believe this guy has a chance and he does not want to let that misinterpretation stand.]

I'm Min-Gi, but if you are going to take on a gym with just a Chatot it really shouldn't be this one. You could try Celadon's since Erika uses grass types, but even that's a longshot.