prぁn◙ $43 | acti♂n FORWARD-DATED TO SATURDAY 6/8

[ghostytrainer]

[Hello everyone, what are you up to this fine summer evening? Out training perhaps? Playing with your Pokémon? Sitting down to a delicious dinner? Maybe doing a little shopping before all the stores close?]

[Well whatever you're doing, no matter how much you are minding your own business, you may soon find yourself with a +1.]



[Aren't glitches fun?]

[John has no idea what's going on, one minute he was in the middle of his anniversary dinner with Rose and the next, he's lord only knows where with whoever "you" happen to be. Not that "you" aren't good company, and all! But it's kind of rude to leave your significant other in the middle of a date. But the worst part?]

[It keeps happening.]

[Whatever is doing this isn't content to let him stay in one place for very long. He keeps disappearing and reappearing with a quiet "zap!" every few of minutes, sometimes appearing back at the restaurant and other times appearing someplace else entirely. Dammit, can't a guy just eat in peace? This is terrible.]

[Why on Earth did he box that weird Pokémon he caught last night... better yet, why did he catch it at all?!]

Comments

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[ghostytrainer]

[Yup, hands are definitely staying up in front of him even though the water has stopped.]

John Egbert! I'm sorry, I can't control the warping, it was an accident I swear!

[What a sweet jellyfish indeed, John would probably be cooing over her were he not so worried that he's about to get his face punched in. So maybe in a few minutes here.]

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[angerpoints]

[Yusuke isn't dumb - he already knows that some weird shit's been going on lately, but this is the first time he's heard anyone make reference to glitching in and out of different places. No one he knows personally has done it, and as for the sudden rash of people on the network finding themselves caught in caves, well, it doesn't exactly occur to him right then and there that there might be some connection between them and the dude who just showed up in his bathroom all of the sudden. He'd just assumed that all the cave dwellers on the network were stupid, or something. Very charitable of you, Yusuke.

At any rate, John's words elicit a pause and a puzzled frown, and while Yusuke's anger at finding him in his room isn't any less of a palpable force, he does seem to relent just a smidge, if only to allow John a chance to explain after he very dubiously asks him:]

What do you mean, "warping"?

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[ghostytrainer]

You know like... being in one place and then suddenly finding yourself in another one entirely for no reason whatsoever? Teleporting, man! But I don't have any control over it, it just keeps happening whether I want it to or not, which trust me: I don't.

[Teleporting powers are really only cool when you have active control over them, John has decided. It wasn't a particularly difficult decision to make, mind you. After about the second time it happened, it really stopped being even slightly humorous.]

I am pretty sure it's because of a Pokémon I caught earlier but I don't really know how to make it stop? All I know is that things were normal until I decided to put that thing in the box. Then suddenly I start traversing regions instantaneously and winding up in cake hell and on tables and on birds and in bathrooms and just... augh! AUGH!!

[He's been holding that in all night. "Augh" is really the only way he can articulate just what the hell he's been through so far.]

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[angerpoints]

["I know what teleporting is, asshole," is what Yusuke's about to snap, but then John goes on talking, and by the end of his little spiel he seems so distressed that not even Yusuke can stay too angry at him. He's gonna try to cut him off after the second "augh", though, holding his hands up and saying:]

Okay, okay! Take it easy. Look - [He ducks down to retrieve the shower head, then straightens back up with it in hand and holds it up.] - you need me to spray you down again so you can cool off? I can do that, y'know.

[And then he points it at John like he's about to spray him down regardless of whether the other boy wants him to or not. Hey, if you're just gonna pop into his bathroom and nearly make him shit his pants like that, John, Yusuke thinks he's allowed to dick around with you a little, even if you didn't actually mean to show up here. SO THERE :I]

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[ghostytrainer]

[His hands go up in front of his chest once more and John leans back. Clearly he's not okay with the prospect of another spritzing. He flinches, almost as though trying to decide which way to lean to try and get out of the way in case the other boy DOES decide to be a dick and do it anyway.]

No, I am chill, it's cool. Once was more than enough, thanks! I am all clean now.

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[angerpoints]

[HEH HEH HEH. Satisfaction. Biting back an amused grin, Yusuke shrugs and lowers the shower head.]

If you say so. Don't act like I never offered.

[... and then he turns away to continue giving his Jellicent her bath, looking considerably calmer than he did before.

Now, generally speaking, if some stranger showed up in his room, Yusuke's first inclination would be to grab them and throw them the hell back out; indeed, even after all the crap he's already put John through, he still entertains the notion of doing just that, if only because he still isn't particularly comfortable with him just hanging around like this. That said, he's not so sure he wants to risk being seen pushing another dude out of his room, so he's just gonna... let John stand there and drip all over the place until whatever glitch that's afflicting him takes over and removes him from the premises. It occurs to him that it would probably be polite to offer him a towel or something in the meantime, but, well, he's gonna need what few towels he has to mop up the floor, and the less visits he has to make to house-keeping, the better.

So yeah. TOO BAD, JOHN. Looks like you're just gonna have to air dry. For the sake of both of them not having to endure a long, awkward silence, though, Yusuke will at least try to make some conversation, shooting John a sideways glance and saying:]

So, uh... John, right? How come you haven't released that Pokemon yet? I mean, I get that teleporting around probably cuts down on travel time, but...

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[ghostytrainer]

Yeah, that's me. John. But uh... it's not that I haven't tried releasing it so much as every attempt I've made so far has failed. Like I said, things didn't really get screwy until I put it in the box. But every time I make an attempt to get to a Pokécenter, I glitch out before I can reach the box.

[He's beginning to wonder if the damn thing just knows and has been fucking with him this entire time. Somehow it wouldn't surprise him, considering the glitch is taking the form of a Haunter, perhaps one of the most dastardly pranksters known to Pokémonkind.]

Hell, I haven't even made it through the door yet, forget actually reaching the box...

Nice Jellicent, by the way.

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[angerpoints]

That sucks. What'd you catch?

[... because if it's something common or distinctive, he'd like to know what it is so that he can try to avoid it. Really, if it's all the same to you, Johto, Yusuke would very much prefer that the schadenfreude he's experiencing at John's expense would stay as it is - that is, as nothing that's afflicting him personally. It's way more fun that way.

At any rate, the compliment on his choice of Pokemon gets him looking a little self-conscious all of the sudden; it's clear that he's trying not to make his discomfort too obvious, given the way he averts his gaze and puts a deliberate and very conspicuous amount of effort into keeping his face straight, but it, ah, doesn't work out that well for him. This lack of success at seeming ~cool and unaffected~ is only exacerbated by him mumbling:]

Thanks... I guess.

[:I Way to be awkward, Yusuke. Seriously, though, what does he even say to that? Even after a couple months here in Johto, he's still not used to the idea of being flattered by someone telling him, "hey, sweet jellyfish you got there, man". The Jellicent, of course, seems more appreciative of John's comment than Yusuke does, and with another high-pitched bubbly sound, she shifts and reaches out to John with a fin, her eyes genial. Put 'er there, buddy.]

Her name's Renge. Before you ask, I, uh, usually don't do this kinda thing with her, but with the way shit's hitting the fan recently, I thought it'd be safer for her just to swim around inside rather than go out and put her at risk of getting... I dunno. Suction-cupped to the bottom of a pond, or something. I mean, I doubt it's possible for a giant jellyfish to drown, but...

[He trails off with a shrug. IT'S JUST THE GENERAL PRINCIPLE OF THE MATTER, BASICALLY. He'd rather not have to deal with any of his Pokemon being afflicted by a glitch, even in spite of the fact that they're all a colossal pain in his ass.]

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[ghostytrainer]

It was a shiny Haunter for me but I don't think that's always the case? A guy I know caught a shiny Tentacool and got stuck on a rock. And a girl that I ran into earlier this evening had... well to be sure, I am not exactly what the fuck it was. It didn't look like any kind of Pokémon I had ever seen before.

[Just don't catch anything, Yusuke, that's really the only way to be safe here. John laughs a little before putting his hand out to the Jellicent. Yeah, he'll put 'er there. What up, gurl?]

Hehe, I wasn't judging or anything like that, don't worry. Granted, I wasn't sure why you were doing it but hey, I could at least tell it something to make your Pokémon happy and that's no shame in that. Renge is a very pretty name though. Which isn't much of a surprise since she's a very pretty Jellicent.

[John's Pokémon unfortunately have him completely trained as far as flattery and spoiling go. His girls are especially guilty of this, particularly the ghosts. It's probably a little weird when he does it to other people's Pokémon though...]