electrofuzzball started following you

Ah-- it's a Joltik! [ she can't help but blink in surprise. ]

"You've got a good eye, Gold," she couldn't help but laugh a little. "Yep! I'm from Nuvema Town in Unova. Kind of far from home right now .. What about you? You don't really seem like you come from my parts." Touko tilted her head slightly, eyes scanning over him briefly as well.

“Nice to meetcha, Touko.” Gold grinned and just went with the first name she’d said, while subtly looking her over. “You kinda look like a fellow trainer to me. Where are you from?”

Hey--! [ flashes a brief grin. ] I'm Touko! Although you can call me White, too. Either one's fine!

white-battlequeen started following you

“Hey there, I’m Gold. Who’re you?”

Good! Morning!

[ although it really wasn't, but that had become the norm. and so had forced smiles. ]

I wonder if anyone else is even around this early .. ~

Where was this? What time was it? What day was it? As usual, Touko woke up feeling altogether unsettled. Waking up in an unfamiliar bed. In am unfamiliar town. An unfamiliar country. Even the overcast sky outside seemed strange, foreign. Other-wordly. It was like a dream. A very bad dream she couldn't wake up from no matter how many times she closed her eyes and reopened them. Sleepless nights had become the norm. Worry for her friends, the state of her home region and all those she'd left behind plagued her thoughts too much to be able to rest. It was like a constant noise in her head, keeping her up, allowing her not even a moment of peace. She tried blinking away her exhaustion in some half-hearted attempt, and reached for her C-Gear on the bedside table. The display flashed 4am. Doing the math quickly in her head, she figured it was a decent time in Unova to call someone now. Not that she was ever able to reach anymore. That only added to her frustration and unwavering feelings of unsettlement. During the past few weeks, none of her phone calls had been able to patch through. Not to her mom. Not to Touya. Or Bianca. Or Cheren. She tried several times a day, and she'd even tried using the public phones at the Pokemon Center. Nothing. Was someone intercepting her calls? Blocking off the signal? How was that possible? Did they know where she was? Every day her paranoia grew. Every day she feared she'd wake up a captive somewhere, making her even more useless than she was now. Recently, really, recently, she woke up always feeling a heavy feeling of dread. Some terrible foreboding feeling. What was it? When would it end? -- As expected, she met only with the dial tone when she tried to call Touya. She scowled, scrolled back up her contacts list and hit the call button for Cheren instead and replaced the receiver by her ear. Eyes closed, still lying on the hard, uncomfortable bed-- she didn't expect much of anything anymore. Still. She hoped. Even if just faintly. Pick up. Please just pick up.

Iris, hey! [ grins brightly. ]

It's really been a while, hasn't it! How've you been doing? How's the gym and everything?

I don't really get much chance to go over and visit Opelucid again, especially lately ..

white-battlequeen started following you

Hi Touko!

I understand where you're coming from. I love the outdoors too! As long as the weather's good and you're feeling well, I think it shouldn't be too much of a problem to be outside. [ grins. ] Just don't overdo it, right?

[ small laugh. ] It's no problem ~ Get well soon, N!

... How about some tea with honey instead? That might be better for you right now. 

Good evening, everyone.

A --a wimp? Ah-- .. [ well, she couldn't really deny that. he did kind of look like he needed some protecting from time to time .. ] I guess that sounds more like him. He's much tougher than he looks, though! And a whole lot tougher than he'll admit, too. [ nods. ]

What? That's terrible! [ frowns. ] That reminds me of my friend a bit .. Her dad was pretty against her becoming a trainer and going a journey at first, too.

Do you mind me asking why you're not allowed to ..? Is he just being overprotective? 

Well, he wasn’t really boasting. We were talking about battling, and I said he looked like a wimp.

Yeah. Well, sort of. I used to be a trainer, but now my dad’s got me being watched by his assistant, and I’m not supposed to train or fight.

Just kind of, yeah. [ laughs. ]

Mm? Oh, yeah! He's a great trainer! I almost didn't think he'd be one to boast on his battling skills .. Well, I'm not too shabby either, but-- [ smiles. ] You're a trainer too, Maggie?

Oh. That’s kinda weird, then.

So, is Touya as good at battling as he says he is?

Wha-- N, you're sleeping outside?! [ furrows brow in concern. ] ... Er, well I guess that isn't so unusual. I used to camp out often when I was travelling ..

Put on more clothes, get plenty of rest-- um, drink some hot soup? Oh, but definitely go stay at a Pokemon Center if you're getting sick! [ nods. ] I'd hate it if your cold turned into something worse.

Good evening, everyone.

It’s a bit cold out tonight… Vanilluxe is quite happy about it, but Archeops is far from pleased.

… Hm, what is the quickest way to put a stop to an illness? I think I might be developing a cold, and I would rather not be distracted by such a petty thing.

… Perhaps I should start spending my nights in Pokemon Centers again?

Nice to meet you, Maggie!

Then ..? Well, we are childhood friends, if that's what you're wondering. [ smiles. ] We both come from Nuvema Town. Our brother-and-sister similarities are just a coincidence, haha.

[ blinks in confusion at first. ] You know Touya ..? [ grins a little. ] Heh, weird, huh? I’ve always kind of thought we could pass as siblings. 

Oh, and thanks! You look pretty tough too!

Hey, what’s your name? I’m Touko— [ laughs. ] Even our names are similar. ~

[ blinks in confusion at first. ] You know Touya ..? [ grins a little. ] Heh, weird, huh? I've always kind of thought we could pass as siblings. 

Oh, and thanks! You look pretty tough too!

Hey, what's your name? I'm Touko-- [ laughs. ] Even our names are similar. ~

white-battlequeen started following you

Huh… You look kinda like Touya… But tougher.

[ Touko listened to him explain with a permanent furrowed brow. To be honest, it sounded less of a factual story than it did Touya putting himself down even more. And she didn't like it. ]

But you are brave, Touya ... You are so so brave. Don't even try to deny that, alright? You're brave because you are standing here. Right now.

Just .. Enough with the sorry's already .. And enough to centering all this around you. It's not helping. [ It came out sounding a bit harsh, but she needed him to understand this and not feel so guilty already. Taking steps towards him to close their distance, she reached up to take his hand in both of her own. ] Listen to me, Touya. Just listen, okay? We're all in this together now, and we'll get through this together. Whether or not you "dragged us with you" or however you want to put it, we'd still stand beside you, no matter what. Because that's what friends do.

You. are. not. alone. [ She gave his hand a gentle but firm squeeze, trying to further emphasize her point. That she was here. That she wasn't about to blame him, or shun him for supposedly "causing" all this. ] You are never, ever alone, Touya. 

… Ghetsis was in jail, Touko. [ His voice is quiet and emotionless, and he lowers his head, taking a deep breath. Apparently, Touko didn’t know this part of the story. Cheren probably didn’t tell her this because of the rush, or something like that, which meant, he would have to tell her, as much as he hated remembering it ] He was in jail, and I was enough of an idiot to think that if I confronted him, I’d be able to find a way to keep him there for good.

In the end, he won, and made me break him out of there. If he still walks free, it’s my fault. If he was threatening to take over Unova, it was because I thought I was in conditions to face him, and if we are all in danger, it’s because I wasn’t brave enough to accept the consequences.

I got myself in this situation, and I dragged you and everyone else with me. [ He raises a hand to tug the collar of his coat slightly ] I’m sorry, Touko.

N .. !! [ She breaks into an unrestrained grin at the sight and sound of him, but doesn't seem to know how to respond beyond this point, either. Touko rocks on her heels a bit, also keeping her distance. Her grin softens into a bashful smile as she musters out her next words. ] It's .. it's great to see you again. H -How've you been? What have you been up to?

white-battlequeen started following you

Ah! Touko…! [ He isn’t quite sure how to react properly, but can’t contain an almost childish grin. He looks about ready to rush toward her, but forces himself to keep his distance. ]

… Hello again.

Morning ...

[ says Touko from some distant, foreign land ... also known as Hoenn. ]

[ She hates to see him like this. She hates being able to do little about it. It angers her to see his spirits broken like this, but her anger isn't directed him, necessarily. No, never. It's anger and hate towards Ghetsis-- that bastard. For whatever terrible thing he did to Touya. For making him feel like it was his fault. ]

It's not you, though. Don't say that. Touya-- just don't. [ She tries to be gentle, but there's no helping being upset over him trying to keep take all the blame on himself. ] It's him, alright? It's that sick monster's fault, for still walking around like a free man. For having nothing better to do with his life than ruin the lives of others. No matter what you say, you know I'm not going to hold you responsible, so just don't. [ She pauses on this firm note, but after a moment, softens her tone and eyes as she looks at him. ] All that matters right now is that you're standing in front of me .. right now, okay? And that you're safe, and that you're going to continue being safe. That's all I care about, Touya.

[ He shakes his head, crossing his arms. He can see that she is trying to stay cheerful for his sake, but it only seems to make his guilt worse. She was in danger, because he had made a stupid mistake. She was in danger, because he couldn’t hold himself together, because Ghetsis was breaking him, and he didn’t have the strength to hold on. ]

Don’t apologize, Touko. Please. We are in this situation because I was reckless and stupid and-… I made a big mistake. I caused this, so please, don’t apologize.

I’ll be all right. Don’t worry about me, okay? [ He manages to give her a small smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He has to stay optimistic. After all, he is finally out of Team Plasma. He is with Cheren. They still have a chance. ]