islandshore | 48 - text/action for Celadon

[A pounding at his door jerks Riku out of his slumber. Though he presses his pillow to his ears, the bellows and growls that follow alert him that, sadly, he won't be catching any more Z's.

It's all just a part of the routine, really. Some overzealous Pokémon demanding attention. Quake, probably. While he blearily rubs his eyes and slides down off his bed, his trusty Charizard trails close behind...

As expected, one snarling Garchomp greets him, complete with putrid breath. More roars follow, and though Riku manages to squeeze past his ornery dragon, Quake stomps behind, continuing to growl, thrash, and flail...

Sigh. Even when Riku tells him to back down, that he's not up for training today, that he's still sore from last week (not to mention worn down), Quake continues his tantrum. He even charges himself straight at his Trainer in an Outrage attack.

It's by sheer dumb luck that he dodges the blow, leaving Flare to pin him down. Rather than stick around, Riku slips off, wandering the halls. He occasionally peers into the different arenas; he'd be stupid not to check up on the... fifty, sixty-some monsters that've made the TC their home. And of course there's no mistaking the shrieks and screeches coming from the lockdown chamber... Of course, he lacks the patience to deal with Terror today. He's already worn down as it is.

As he makes the rounds, the situation doesn't fare much better. One step into the ice arena, and he's greeted by a grumbling Dragonite. Having raised Draco from an egg, he recognizes his chest beating, wing flapping, and tail swishing as signs of impatience. Like Quake, he wants to train. When Riku says no, to go find Quake or Cleaver, a similar reaction follows. Roars, stomping, overall frustration... It's not like he needs to train with Riku every day, anyway. He's a high level dragon in a place full of others like himself... Sheesh.

By the time he makes it back into his room and scoops up his metal Keyblade, he's left feeling more drained than when he initially woke up. Drained and a little drenched; a Hydro Pump to the face tends to do that. And he gets their enthusiasm-- he trained them to love battles. And he loves them, too, but there's no denying that feeling of monotony that's crept up on him. He's got all the badges, he's got his business, but where does he go from there?

When was the last time he really sparred with an opponent that didn't breathe fire, spew water, or launch Aura Spheres? And in spending so much time focusing on his team, has he really become stronger himself? When Flare finally returns to his side, he shoots his Charizard a stiffened smile. His eyes soon drift back to his training weapon, though. If something were to happen and he needed to rely on himself and not his team, could he even do it...?

He sighs.]

Maybe you were right all along; I really have gone overboard.

[A text message appears in the early hours of the day:]

What does it mean to be strong?

I thought I had the answers, but I guess I got a little sidetracked along the way.

This place puts a huge focus on training powerful teams. Collecting badges, facing challenges, and I appreciate that. It's given me something to do, and it's hard to imagine life without those goofballs on my team to liven things up. But still, you can build a tough team without being strong on your own.

[There's a short pause before he continues his message. He has to search for the right words, try to piece together what he wants to say in a way that even he can understand...

Maybe he should get to the point.]

How many people here still fight? I've tried to keep up on my swordplay, but there's only so much I can teach myself. I know there are people out there better than me. Stronger than me... People with experience outside of play sword fights on an island day after day.

I guess what I'm really trying to ask is, well... Is there anyone out there who'd be willing to show someone else the ropes? I've done pretty much all I can with Pokémon battles, but I know I've got a long way to go with my own personal strength. And besides, I just... need something new to strive for. Something to break my routine.

[He ends his message there. It came out wordier than he intended... more like a rant than anything else. But with his thoughts out for all the see, he slips out into the city and proceeds to wander aimlessly with his 'Gear in hand.

Maybe he just needs a different outlook. He's got a much bigger world at his disposal now, and he's just barely scratched the surface...

But where does he start?]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Being more ruthless than everybody else.

Ruthless, huh? That's... kind of a negative outlook, but I guess I can see why. Sometimes you have to be.

I don't think you have to be bad to be ruthless. People just think it means something bad because it's usually bad people who do it. Honest people can be ruthless. Sometimes you have to be to do the right thing.

I think it's about the connotation more than anything. People tend to associate ruthlessness with being cold, merciless, and cruel.

I mean, I guess sometimes you have to be blunt with the truth, and in a life or death situation, you can't stop to think about whether you're hurting someone or not.

It's not a bad thing if you're being merciless and cruel to somebody who deserves it. Some people deserve to get hurt.

True. I've met people just like that, too.

So the tough guy is the one who makes the hard call when it counts the most. Or when it's the one nobody wants to make.

Hmm... I think I understand now.

Guess when I said tough teams I meant more in the context of power. But power alone isn't always enough.

[He knows that from experience. He's encountered a handful of situations that proved that much.]

What do you think power is, though? Brute force? Wealth? Influence? Reputation?

People like that think they're the best because they're the strongest. They think they're impenetrable. Unstoppable. Ready for anything. They get complacent because anytime a problem comes along they can just stomp it out of their way or make it disappear.

Guys like that aren't tough. The one honest man who's smart enough to bring them down? He's tough. That's power.

I guess I just got so caught up in trying to become strong-- physically strong-- that I never stopped to think of it that way.

I just want to be able to protect what's important to me. Smarts definitely matter, and I'd be reckless to just throw myself into fights left and right, but... well, I do want to be able to hold my own against someone with enough brute force to send me flying.

Maybe you shouldn't try to be something you're not.

Maybe you are a hitter. You act like one. But maybe you're not, and if you're not, then of course you're going to have problems because all you're really doing is pretending. That's the thing about hitters, is that it doesn't go both ways. You can be one and be a bunch of other things too, but if you're not one, you're never going to be one.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'hitter', but it's not like I'm weak. I've held my own in a three-to-one fight before and wiped the floor with them all.

I can fight just fine; I just know that there are people here with years more experience than anything I've got. I want to at least bridge some of those gaps. Get closer to their level.

See, you're doing it again.

Some people just aren't ruthless. You know? And maybe that's okay, because there should be good people and bad people, and good people shouldn't have to do bad things just to be safe from the bad people. I think that's what you meant when you said you wanted to protect people. You want to fight so some people don't have to, right?

There are some people who are made to fight. And then there are some people who think they're made to fight, or who want to fight because they think they have to. People are just...like that, some people are made for some things and just don't fit with other things even if they try really hard to do them. Or want to do them. Wanting isn't enough, sometimes.

Maybe you just need to figure out what you're made for, and be strong that way. Whether you think that's what being strong is or not.

Maybe I do need to sort it out. I know I've still got a lot to learn, but I'm not gonna give up fighting that easily. It's something I've done since I was a kid. It's something I end up doing in the future when I become a Keyblade Master. Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't eventually.

And I think that just proves how much stronger I need to become. If I'm gonna be out saving worlds with my friends, isn't it important that I do what I can while I'm still here?

And while you're right about wanting to fight so some don't have to, it's not like that's the only reason. I want to be able to fight with my friends, too.

[Especially since he's part of the PGC, where teamwork is a pretty big deal.]

48 - text/action for Celadon

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