neededlassie | (Joint post) Video/Action for Violet City

Come on, Norman! Think! It’s not just about you, it’s about working with your team!

[Shaun isn’t visible on the feed, but his voice is coming in clearly from the microphone next to it. Whoever’s holding the camera is sitting on Shaun’s shoulder, which makes it a pretty good bet that it’s Calvin the Pikachu. The rest of his team is running ahead setting up obstacles for the grown man and his dysfunctional team of six.

The camera turns to show Shaun with the bill of his trainer’s cap turned around to the back of his head and his hands cupped to his mouth as he jogs alongside the track through the streets.]

[Do not adjust your screens, audience. The man you see in front indeed has no idea what the hell he is doing right now. Taming pets? Sure. Taming pets in an obstacle course that very damn well duplicates his physical exam at Quantico? Now you’re pushing it.

Norman has some distance on Shaun along with his rag-tag team of six boppin’ aimlessly around besides him. Alvin the cautious Watchog stands right besides Norman with his little arms folded showing the same expression his master has: lost.]

I’m not so sure about this. I think this might be a little much for them…

[You cannot see Shaun’s face but he is rolling his eyes.]

Let them be the judge of that. My team could do it, and levels don’t matter outside of actual battles and stuff. Your team wants to be a team, not your pets. You’re the trainer but you’ve got to work with them, too.

…

[Another reason why the whole trainer gig was not for Norman. He scratches the back of his head and looks down at his oversized wannabe traffic officer of a meerkat and kung-fu fighting chicken.]

Come on, you heard him. Let’s try to work together on this one. Try running across those obstacles.

[Everyone from Norman’s team makes haste to hop, skip and jump the obstacle course in front of them with the exception of the Houndour laying on the ground with a Pachirisu pulling him by the ear.]

You too, Taco…

[Nope. No response. Still gives no fucks in the world.]

Just a few yards, Taco. You can do this.

[Nope.]

Norman, you’ve gotta be able to go through it too.

[Like see that big pile of branches and thorns and stuff? Burn it so you can go through. Duh. Problem solving, Mister Eff-Bee-Aye! Play along with him or he’ll make you do it again. This is team building, not agility training.]

You gotta show him you’re the trainer! If he doesn’t listen to you now, he might not listen to you in battle either.

[Richie, who’s circled back around loyally to her trainer’s side, gives a warning growl to the fellow dark-type. Susie comes running over to see what the problem is, and when she sees the reticent Houndour she perches her paws on what passes for furry hips and takes a deep breath, shooting a water gun right at the fire-type’s tail. She’ll get him moving one way or another.]

[Okay, okay. He’s up. Taco is up. Look at the little fellow pad away with Simon riding on top of him; he is such a speed star.

…not.

But if Shaun says so…guess he’s got no choice in the matter. He decidedly jogs alongside the two until they reach the pile’o’pain.]

Burn it—

[El Caliente creates a large, fiery inferno out of the branch pile. Say no more, Senor Norman.

Norman looks over at Shaun and the camera.]

…I don’t think this is safe anymore.

...Uh... Yeah. Susie, go!

[On it, boss! This is how teamwork is supposed to go. Watch and learn, A-Team! Shaun’s loyal starter bounds over to the inferno and immediately starts working to quell it with the strongest water gun she has. Richie goes over to help by kicking sand and dirt on it as well.]

[[OOC: Action threads will automatically go in the order Tagger -> Norman -> Shaun. Video threads will be decided between me and Switch unless you specify Norman or Shaun in the header.]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Blake may never stop snickering.]

Good to see you up and about, Norman, getting right back in the swing of being terrible at things.

[Given how small the city is, from a few streets down, he thinks he can smell the burning.]

Did all your fancy FBI work never teach you what arson is?

It was supposed be a bonfire.

[LAUGH IT UP CARTER. LAUGH IT UP REAL GOOD.]

You think this is easy? This Ponyta is on fire 24/7 and my Combusken is two clops away from pecking the shit out of him!

And you didn't expect that might get out of hand.

Is that the one that tried to peck the shit out of me, too? Sounds like you need to smack it with a rolled-up newspaper a lot more.

Hey, don't feel too bad. Not everybody's cut out to run a fire-monster barnyard. Try cows instead.

Can't question an expert like yourself, Carter. You already have such a good grip on pokemon the equivalent to pink, floating elephants.

I think me and my Combusken will fair okay.

Me and Mark Wahlberg are doing fine, thank you very fuckin' much. It's not that tough. I figured it out.

[No he did not.]

You managed to say "combusken" with a straight face. The hell else does it want?

[The last thing this heat needs is more fire, but hey, if it's for a good cause. He's been pretty much been under radio-silence since he and Sho took off, but he needs something to take his mind off the fact that he's pretty sure he's melting despite being human now and not capable of actually melting. He's still sure he is, or at least his brain is.

But the 'training' still gets a chuckle.]

So, I don't think that quite worked out, huh?

[Shaun is sheepish and sooty when his face reappears, but he's really glad to see Jack after so long without seeing the white-haired boy.]

No, I guess not. Norman has a lot of fire-types, and I just wanted to try and make it so they got something special to do.

Guess it's lucky I have a water-type, huh.

[And Jack is very glad to see him. And his friend, apparently.]

Maybe wait till it cools down a little, huh? Like when it's more rainy.

So is that the Norman you were worried about?

Yeah, I guess. I think we might be leaving Violet soon, and all of Norman's fire types will make the next gym really easy for him. ...If he can get his team to work together.

[Shaun brightens.]

Yeah! He woke up and he's all better now!

Do they have to work together? I thought most of the fights like that were one-on-one? [At least, all the ones people have broadcasted on the network are?]

But it's good he's doing okay. You were okay the whole time he was asleep? Lots of friends come and keep you company?

[Shaun glances offscreen.]

I meant work together with Norman, not each other.

Yeah, I was okay. Some people came. Miss Ziva looked after me. I beat my high score on Poketris. ...six times.

[Jack laughs proudly. Atta boy! Beat those video games!]

I'm sure he'll get it. Especially with a trainer like you helping him. Maybe just start a little smaller next time. Like maybe doing fun stuff together instead of just practicing.

[Fun stuff that didn't involve setting anything on fire.]

Maybe we all just need to train together, too. 'Cause my team are all really close, so they can see how it's done.

[shhhh it sounded like a great idea at the time.]

Hey, yeah, that's a great idea. What're they called... double battles! I bet you can get some other trainers to team up to fight you guys.

Normon's pokemon'll have to shape up so that you're not making 'em look bad all the time.

[If he had a dollar for every time he thought that...]

That's an awesome idea! Our teams cover each others' weaknesses pretty well, too, so that sounds like a really good idea. I'll ask him!

[He'd have enough money to build his own theme park from scratch?]

A lot safer than setting stuff on fire, too.

[After 300 years? That and more.]

Y-yeah...

[They may have gotten a stern talking-to from Officer Jenny that only Shaun's inherent cuteness got them out of being ticketed for.]

Looks like you've got a good handle on this whole, training-Pokemon thing.

[From the looks of it, Ed is now inside somewhere.]

Edited 2013-05-25 00:43 (UTC)

[Shaun has soot smeared across his cheeks when he reappears; judging by the black smoke in the background, the fire's out but hasn't been for long.]

Wasn't me I was training.

[Well at least it's out.]

You still can tell him how to train them.

That's what we were working on.

His Ponyta listened to him, Cali's just...a little excited.

You should give lessons to everyone that has trouble.

[Ed just lets animals kind of walk all over him.]

A little excited is an understatement.

But I'm just a kid, no one would listen to me.

The fire wasn't that bad. It didn't even take that long to put out.

(Joint post) Video/Action for Violet City

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