Money Thoughts (Open)

[Deleted]

(Tags: Open
Happiness Points: Cooper - 0 (1/5), Dixie - Maxed, Bandit - 0 (1/5), Rio - 0 (1/5), Nash - 0 (1/5), Violet - 0 (1/5)

Raph sighed and glanced around the desolate land. Okay, so desolate may have been a strong word. The land looked pretty healthy, despite being on the edge of a desert, and the climate was perfect for the type of Pokemon that he raised. The house looked sturdy, if a bit small, but considering he was the only human on the land at the moment, it would do. Improving the house could be a project down the road.

For now, he was more concerned with the barn. It seemed just fine, but with his rough-and-tumble Pokemon, Raphael knew he would have to fortify it at some point in time. He didn't have much money to work with -- he had sunk all of his savings into buying the ranch and a few extra acres for it -- so he needed to focus on raising his funds. The general way a rancher did that was breed his Pokemon.

Raphael glanced over at Violet sunbathing in the sun at the edge of the grasslands. Dixie was nearby, zipping around as she gleefully explored their new home. The two were his only female Pokemon and each had potential mates among the rest of his team. Raphael just wasn't sure what kind of pairings to make...

Maybe a couple of his old friends wouldn't mind giving him a discount on some eggs.

[Deleted]

_{Tags: Raphael Green
Happiness: Lily - Maxed}

"Knock, knock."

At the edge of the markers that indicated Raphael's ranch, Bryar was there with an easy smile on his face. It had been a little while since the pair were housemates on the old Gaia Ranch and, although they had never argued with each other, they hadn't been the best of friends. Good acquaintances at best, with Raphael's more stubborn, tougher tendencies a sharp contrast to Bryar's easy-going manner. Still, Bryar wasn't going to be a stranger to a familiar face.

Raphael's ranch didn't look too bad, but it was probably the last kind of landscape that Bryar himself would have chosen. Lily to his side didn't seem too impressed at the dry area, either, although she did keep herself angled toward the sun. If the area had more water sources, then his Leafeon probably wouldn't have minded it.

"Welcome to the island," Bryar said to Raphael. "It's interesting how many of us are making our way over here, haha! Are you settling in okay?"

[Deleted]

(Tags: Bryar Glasse, open
Happiness Points: Cooper - 0 (2/5), Dixie - Maxed, Bandit - 0 (2/5), Rio - 0 (2/5), Nash - 0 (2/5), Violet - 0 (2/5)

Raph lazily turned his head around at the familiar voice and it took him a moment to remember Bryar's name. Even Raph knew how ridiculous that was considering that the pair had lived on the same ranch together for a couple of years. In all honesty, Raphael had talked more with Bryar's sister Ava than Bryar. Raph had just known the sister longer and she was a bit more of a talker than her brother.

"Hey," was Raphael's greeting as he walked over to the other male. "How's it going?

"We're settling in okay, I guess." Raph shrugged as he glanced around. Dixie had made her way over to them, stopping short and tumbling slightly into Raphael's legs before perking up with a grin to greet Lily with.

"It is a bit strange," he said in response to Bryar's comment about the familiar faces on the island. "Then again, this is what most of us did for the past few years. It seemed logical to move here too.

"How are you doing?" Raph asked. "Where's your ranch located at?"

[Deleted]

_{Tags:
Happiness: Lily - Maxed
Notes: Psst! Kurt! Throw Nash in here to interact with Lily so we can plan babies! xD}

"I'm doing quite alright, thank you," Bryar responded. He listened as Raph, in his usual dry, deadpanned tone, said that he and his team were settling in okay. Dixie appeared, smacked into her trainer's leg heedlessly, and began chatting up Lily. Bryar's Leafeon, on her part, seemed pleased at the familiar face and greeted the Raichu pleasantly in return.

"It did," Bryar agreed, thinking back on the other ranchers that the pair used to live with on little Gaia Ranch back in the Sinnoh Region. "I wonder what happened to that land after Kristen and her sister sold it... Have you seen Kurt and Kris? I imagine you must have seen at least one in order to obtain your ranch. I'm sure you'll meet the other ranchers on this island soon enough as well. There seems to be a new face everyday."

Raph asked about Bryar's ranch, and Bryar grinned. "My ranch is the Wildrose Orchards in the southeastern part of the island. It's a bit of a ways off from here, but once I heard you had come here, I thought I'd say hello."

[Deleted]

(Tags: Bryar Glasse, open
Happiness Points: Cooper - 0 (3/5), Dixie - Maxed, Bandit - 0 (3/5), Rio - 0 (3/5), Nash - 0 (3/5), Violet - 0 (3/5)
Notes: Subtle, aren't you? xD

At the mention of the mayor and her assistant (how the hell Kurt got that position, Raph would never know), Raphael nodded. "Ah, yeah, I saw Kurt," he said. "Would never had thought that my former, goofy roommate would be in a position like that. He even joked about us moving back in together." He rolled his eyes at the thought.

Kurt wasn't a bad guy, Raph knew that, and the pair had gotten along well together during their time on Gaia Ranch, but Raphael figured it was time for him to have his own space.

"How many other ranchers are on the island?" Raph asked. "Do you know?"

He listened as Bryar spoke about his own ranch in the area that had been the first to be eliminated when Raphael had been trying to decide where to buy his first few acres of land. With Raphael's luck, Cooper's tail would have burned the meadows down to the ground if they had settled in the southeastern section of the island.

"Nice of you to do that," Raph said, giving Bryar a crooked smile. "Suppose now I'll have to return the favor some time and visit your ranch--"

There was a sudden rumble and a crash, and Raphael turned with a ready glare at whatever Pokemon of his was already destroying the land. Nash waved with a sheepish grin from beside a new hole in the barn's front door.

"Seriously?" Raph called out, heedless of Rio's snickering from the nearby stream. "Nash, get over and stand still so you don't damage anything else!" With an obvious grumble, the Simisage trudged over to the group and sat down hard next to Raph, pointedly not looking at his trainer. Raphael ran a hand through his hair and sighed, adding the hole to the barn door to the mental list of what he needed to work on.

[Deleted]

_{Tags: Raphael Green
Happiness: Lily - Maxed
Notes: Of course.}

Bryar had laughed at Raphael's words regarding Kurt. "Come now," Bryar said, "Kurt is pretty responsible when he has to be. He was always one of the first ranchers on the old ranch to greet and help us all us new kids, remember?"

He scratched the back of his head as Raphael asked if Bryar knew how many other ranchers were around the island. "Uh, I'm not entirely positive," he admitted. "There's us, Kris, Kurt, there's another rancher next door to me, and I think there's a ranch in the north, another in the southwest... Maybe seven?"

He shared the smile with Raph. "You'll always be welcome there."

One of Raphael's Pokemon abruptly exploded a hole in the barn doors. Bryar was caught between being horrified at the accident and trying not to laugh, especially when Raphael called over Nash and the Simisage pouted. Bryar was always interested in the Grass-type, having never raised that species himself. Perhaps Raph would eventually set up shop and Bryar would be able to get a Pansage egg.

Bryar rolled up his sleeves. "C'mon, Raph, why don't we try fixing it up a bit now? I have the time, and I'm sure Lily will be fine with Dixie and Nash. Do you have some wood in storage...?"

As Bryar went toward the barn, Lily sat down near Raphael's pair of Pokemon. With a shy smile to Nash, she asked, "Sooo... What'd you do?"

[Deleted]

(Tags: Bryar Glasse, open
Happiness Points: Cooper - 0 (4/5), Dixie - Maxed, Bandit - 0 (4/5), Rio - 0 (4/5), Nash - 0 (4/5), Violet - 0 (4/5)

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Raphael waved off Bryar's defense of Kurt carelessly with a small smile on his face. He did have respect for Kurt, but he was too much of a goof at times for Raphael to really take seriously. Nonetheless, Raphael had seen Kurt's skill first-hand plenty of times during their years at Gaia Ranch.

"Seven, huh?" Raph echoed as he and Bryar made their way to the barn to try to fix the hole. "Seems like a decent amount. Guess I'll have to visit some later, huh? Get used to the neighbors and all... The wood shed's right over here..."

As the men went about their work, with Raph calling on the snickering Rio to come and help, Nash was being babysat by Dixie and Lily. With a huff, he glanced at the Leafeon and muttered out, "I was just trying to practice my Seed Bomb attack. You know, this new place will be ripe with all sorts of other Pokemon and we gotta be ready for them."

"Maybe next time practice a bit farther away from the barn?" Dixie suggested. Nash grumbled and turned away. Dixie rolled her eyes and, with her usual smile, asked Leafeon, "How's your new place?"

[Deleted]

_{Tags: Raphael Green
Happiness: Lily - Maxed}

Lily tried not to giggle at Nash's pouting. "It sounds plausible to me," the Leafeon said. "Careful where you practice, of course, but it's admirable that you're trying to prepare to protect your teammates and home."

Dixie asked about Lily and her family's new ranch, and the Leafeon mused on her answer for a moment. "It's lovely, actually," she said. Glancing around at their land, she added, "It's definitely greener at my place...

"We're actually in the middle of some meadows and grasslands," she continued. "Bryar's going to try to set up a big berry garden near the house, so that should be fun. Are you guys excited about moving here?"

[Deleted]

(Tags: Bryar Glasse, open
Happiness Points: Cooper - 0 (5/5), Dixie - Maxed, Bandit - 0 (5/5), Rio - 0 (5/5), Nash - 0 (5/5), Violet - 0 (5/5)

"Don't encourage him," Dixie said with a giggle, her tone contradicting her words. Nash gave his teammate an impassive glance before giving Lily a small smile.

"You really think so?" he asked his fellow Grass-type. Puffing out his chest, Nash said, "Well, you know how it is. Gotta be prepared for everything, especially after the attack we had on the old ranch when we all lived together."

Dixie tilted her head and looked to the Leafeon. "Were you around for that? With the Diglett and Dugtrio?"

[Deleted]

_{Tags: Raphael Green
Happiness: Lily - Maxed}

Lily tilted her head, wondering about attacks on the ranches. The island itself seemed to be fairly peaceful, even with some wild Pokemon being around. It was never boring, but the Leafeon wasn't sure about what Dixie and Nash were talking about.

"I don't believe so," she responded. "What attack are you two talking about? I remember that there used to be a Dugtrio on the ranch that we used to live together on... He was a bit grumpy, if I recall..."

[Deleted]

(Tags: Bryar Glasse
Happiness Points: Cooper - 1 (1/5), Dixie - Maxed, Bandit - 1 (1/5), Rio - 1 (1/5), Nash - 1 (1/5), Violet - 1 (1/5)

"Grumpy is an understatement," Nash said with a huff. "He was one of the ringleaders of the attack."

"A group of Diglett and Dugtrio attacked the old Gaia Ranch," Dixie said, "at the command of their trainers. It was to keep all of us busy, I think, while the trainers themselves went underground in the caves of Look-Out Point for rare fossils that were rumored to be there."

"Of course, they were no match for us," Nash said. "Especially since I went with Raphael, Rio, and Kristen and her Pokemon down to investigate. We made short work of those trainers after finding them."

Dixie nodded. "A few untamed Pokemon were caught in the middle," the Raichu continued, "and they were rehabilitated with us, like the Dugtrio. I remember Flint, he was the Geodude. He wasn't too bad, I don't think..."

[Deleted]

_{Tags: Raphael Green
Happiness: Lily - Maxed}

"That's such a shame," Lily said, laying down and crossing her front legs before her. "They sounded loyal to their trainers, anyway... I can't imagine what I would do if Bryar suddenly commanded for us to rob your trainer or something." She gave Dixie and Nash a crooked smile. "I wouldn't wish to fight you guys, either.

"Of course," she said to Nash, giving him an amused smile. "I'm sure they were no match for you guys. It wasn't too a difficult fight, was it?"

[Deleted]

(Tags: Bryar Glasse
Happiness Points: Cooper - 1 (2/5), Dixie - Maxed, Bandit - 1 (2/5), Rio - 1 (2/5), Nash - 1 (2/5), Violet - 1 (2/5)

"I guess being loyal to your trainers is a good thing," Dixie said, "but too much like that is a bit fanatical, don't you think? I mean, I wouldn't want to attack you guys either, Lily..." She supposed, if Raphael had commanded it and he had a good reason to do so, Dixie would obey him, but she wouldn't be thrilled with the idea.

Nash puffed his chest proudly. "Of course it wasn't a difficult fight," he said. "Not for us. Between me, Rio, and Kris's Pokemon, they didn't have a chance."

"--gonna have to reinforce the barn's walls for the types I raise." Raphael was speaking to Bryar as the pair came back from the semi-repaired barn. "Think Kris could help me import what I need?"

The pair of humans made their way back to the Pokemon and Raph thanked Bryar for his help. Glancing at Dixie and Nash, Raph said, "Alright, I think we need to go and settle in. Thanks for dropping by Bryar, Lily."