cilantro | inbox / appointments (luceti)

Hi Red! It has been quite a while, hasn't it?

[there's a slight pause here, as if he had to think about it for a second or two first regarding how to respond to the question--he's still not getting nearly as much sleep as he'd like, but...]

I've been relatively well, and so have my Pokemon. We've been trying some new ideas during our recent training sessions, and I think some of them are coming along nicely. Given enough time and effort, I'm sure they'll have a perfect taste~! How have you been since the last time we spoke?

I've been okay and so have my pokémon. We train most of the time too. I'm learning magic now and one of the people teaching me needs me to learn how to read a language. That's hard but I'm practising.

By taste you mean battle training right? Unless you mean food. By the way if you ever have food go wrong is it okay if you save it for me to give to Snorlax? He would like any of it and I want his stomach to stay as strong as steel. Food shouldn't ever go to waste

[ And there's a noticeable pause before he adds this next part, though it all sends together at the same time ]

You used to be a gym leader right? Can I ask you about it. What it was like [ ... ] and what it meant to you

[Ahaha] I meant battle training. Though, I have been giving Silver some lessons in cooking recently too, so...I suppose this is a little of both? I never waste food if I can help it. And even if I did, Ash would strongly disapprove as well, I'm sure. [Very rarely does Ash complain about our food, even if Cilan himself might nit-pick his own food once or twice.] I can't promise that I would have something go wrong in the kitchen anytime soon, but if I do, I'll let you know.

Edited 2014-08-30 21:49 (UTC)

[After Red's sudden pause and adding his next question, there's a slight pause on Cilan's end of things as well. The "used to" part of that question kind of rubs him the wrong way, but--]

Yes, that's right. I'm a Gym Leader from Striaton City in Unova. Unlike most gyms though, our gym was run by three Gym Leaders, being myself and my brothers Chili and Cress. The opponent could choose which of the three of us they wanted to battle in order to get the badge for our gym. I think it gave our gym a unique flavor in comparison to some of the other gyms in Unova. As for what it means to me...well, it means quite a lot, actually. After all, my brothers and I spent our childhood training for the purpose of becoming Gym Leaders, so it's been a part of my life for a long time now. I used to have a lot of worries back when we first started out, but as time went on, I began to understand what it means to be a Gym Leader: it's not just about the battle, it's about what you convey through the battle. At times we scold the opponent for improperly raising their Pokemon, at times we teach them new things and encourage the bonds they share. In other words, our task is to do our best to guide all challengers, so that they can become excellent Pokemon trainers!

[He actually has a lot more to say than just that, but he'll pause for a second to give you a chance to read all that first.]

[ Like Red is going to get any time to both read that and come up with anything to start writing ack, so write more amigo! Unless Cilan shall be waiting for Red to say something...!! ]

[When Red doesn't write anything back yet, Cilan assumes that he's waiting for more, and thus keeps writing a little more.]

Admittedly, I will say that there are some Gym Leaders who might not feel the same way, or don't have the same sense of duty. Or maybe they just don't know how to handle the responsibility of the position. [Skyla...] Those are the ones who don't realize that gym matches aren't just about proving who's the strongest. A Gym Leader's job is to figure out the challenger's nature and the strength of the bond with their Pokemon. A gym badge isn't just proof of the opponent's victory, it should be a medal that fills the challenger and their Pokemon with pride for their beautiful teamwork and dedication to one another. ...And yes, it the defeat of one's own Pokemon can be regrettable. There are times when, as a Gym Leader, you question whether or not there's more that you can do to help the challenger when they lose, or even a moment of doubt when you're the one who has lost. However, above that, the pleasure of being a Gym Leader lies in the joy of being able to taste high-leveled battles. For me, battles against opponents who think of unexpected tricks are truly enjoyable, so even if I've lost, I want to be able to say "At least it was fun" at the end.

[Which, honestly, are all things he has wanted and tried to convey to Chili too, when his brother was doubting his own skills as a Gym Leader. He's still not sure if any of that got through to him at all when he was here, but...]

[......]

So! With all the said, I must admit that I'm curious to know your thoughts on the matter, Red.

[Why did you ask him about his thoughts as a Gym Leader, anyway? Did anything he say manage to help at all?]

[ That.

That right there is a lot of words. But Red did ask, and Cilan delivered more than he had figured he would receive. It's not an unfortunate response, but it takes time for the boy to read through, getting to the end -

And what did he think?

He taps the pencil against the before before he begins to write. ]

I don't know what my thoughts are. When I was little I didn't think about trainers or gym leaders or any of that. I only wanted to become a pokémon trainer a year ago and I'd never been in a gym before that. But I think being a gym leader means something different for each gym leader even if they have a badge to them. Not every gym leader was the same to me but I haven't met a lot of gym leaders, only four (other than you and your brother) but maybe I didn't know what a gym leader was really thinking because I didn't stick around

[ ... ]

But being a gym leader means a lot for trainers and the people of the city. City people take a lot of pride in their gym leaders and to me taking on gym leaders was a way for me to see how me and my pokémon had grown together and having a symbol of that. Badges showed us how far I'd come as a trainer and when I look at my badges I remember every pokémon that was there with me. My pokémon put their faith in me and stuck with me. They evolved. [ ... ] Badges bring me lots of happy memories

[ Anyway. ] I didn't know that a gym leader would scold a trainer or figure out their nature. Is it easy to tell something like that? Most gyms have lots of trainers under the gym so you and your brothers would figure it out by the people who train under you I guess

Being a leader sounds like you're a teacher

Well, the fact that you feel that way about the badges you've earned tells me that the Gym Leaders you've met so far on your journey are doing their jobs well...at least, I'd like to think so. [He can't say for sure, after all, since he doesn't know them personally, but...] For me, inspiring that feeling of pride when awarding badges to young trainers is one of the best parts of being a Gym Leader.

[...]

In a way, being a leader is a little like being a teacher. After all, you're testing the challenger to see what they've learned so far as a Pokemon trainer. You show them new ways to battle or show them where the mistakes are in their strategies, and they learn from that and find new ways to improve on them afterward. And, I suppose awarding the badge is proof of having passed the test, taking one step closer to achieving your dreams and moving towards the Pokemon League, or wherever your path may take you.

Edited (whoops forgot a sentence) 2014-09-02 02:29 (UTC)

[ Is that really a gym leader thing he wonders? But hey, Cilan would be the expert here, not him! ]

I never thought about it like that. When I first heard about gyms and badges was when my friend told me I'd need them to take on the league. I didn't know if I wanted to do the league back then but I wanted to try taking on a gym leader. Do gym leaders ever challenge each other?

[...]

It's rare, since we live in different cities and all, but it does happen once in a while where gym leaders will have the opportunity to challenge one another. Even I have had battles against other gym leaders before.

[...But that's where Cilan gets suspiciously quiet for a moment, rather than continuing any further.]

[ Cilan may not be the kind of guy to need to be pushed into going into details, but

that totally flies over his head. ]

Were they fun? Do gym leaders in Unova use only 1 type too? That's how it is in Kanto so far and your brother had fire type pokémon

Typically, yes. At our gym, my brother Chili had Pansear, a fire-type Pokemon. Our brother Cress had Panpour, a water-type Pokemon, and I had Pansage, a grass-type Pokemon. Some people thought of us as specialists in using the three most popular type of Pokemon that many trainers start out with.

[But since having gone traveling with Ash, Cilan has Crustle and Stunfisk too, so he doesn't just use only grass-type Pokemon now... (Also did he just happen to forget about answering that first question you had, about whether it was fun battling that other gym leader...?)]

Starting off with those 3 types is popular over there? Our professor had those 3 too but they're the only 3 he had that he could give to me and his grandson when we could finally leave Pallet Town. I've met lots more trainers with normal types like rattata and clefairy or bug types too. People start with whatever they can get

What type of pokémon did the gym leaders you meet use? Do you remember what they were like? I can tell you about the ones I met or what I remember

Let's see...last I recall, I was able to meet at least seven other Gym Leaders, though I am aware of there being more than that I just haven't had the chance to meet yet. [Like Drayden, for example. Iris didn't seem to be keen on him, though.] And naturally, they all vary when it comes to what type of flavor they have as a trainer. It was Lenora, Burgh, Elesa, Clay, Skyla, Brycen, and Roxie that Ash and I met with on our journey. Respectively, they had normal, bug, electric, ground, flying, ice, and poison-type Pokemon that they liked to use in their gym battles. They were all very interesting people to get a chance to taste the skills of, even if I was only observing most of Ash's battles with them back when he was collecting the badges. [...] Other than my brothers, the only Gym Leader I've had a battle with personally so far is with Skyla and her flying-type Pokemon.

Did you start traveling with Ash because you liked how he battled and the kind of person he is? Was he really special to you? Anyway the gyms leaders I've met are
Erika - Cerulean city - she uses grass type pokémon and has a gym like a garden
Misty - Celadon city - water types and her gym is like a big swimming pool!
Brock - Pewter city - rock pokémon. He was the first gym leader I challenged!
Surge - Vermillion city - electric. He is a soldier or was? He had weird trash cans with buttons in them

[ Giovanni could count, except he doesn't. So there. ]

Before I came here the city I was in had a lot of flying type trainers. But if Skyla beated you or you beated her do you get a badge? If you wanted one

...Yes, to both of those questions about Ash. Before he came to Striaton City, I suppose you could say I had something close to a winning streak, since it had been quite a while since anyone had been able to defeat me for a badge. [And if he was a slightly more honest person, he might even say that maybe he was starting to become bored when it came to the opponents they had for a while there.] When Ash came to the gym, instead of picking just one of us, he challenged all three of us in a battle for a badge. I can't remember many others having done that before, rather than just only wanting to have to battle one of us for it. And sure enough, when he battled me last after battling my brothers, he was able to defeat me and break that record I had. He had such a bold and daring taste on the battlefield, and it inspired me to want to go out and meet more trainers like him. He's one of the most interesting Pokemon trainers I have ever met, and he's one of my closest friends now.

[Maybe even one of the first friends he had made in a while at the time, including Iris as well.

(Despite the fact that Cilan is still keeping a couple of secrets from him about some stuff and still hasn't really...talked...about That Dying Thing That Happened a few months ago, but ssshhh.)]

[.........He soon replies again, focusing on the second half of what you said now instead.]

Out of the names you mentioned, I think Ash has mentioned Erika to me before here in Luceti, once, when he was telling me about a gym he had been to in Kanto. Apparently he said something rude to her once about the type of perfume she has, so he had to do something embarrassing before he could get her to agree to a gym battle with him. [And god bless Cilan for not telling Red what that embarrassing thing was, Ash. At least he cares about your dignity even when you still admit embarrassing things about us. >_>]

As for Skyla, no. Unlike Ash, our battle wasn't for that kind of purpose, and unfortunately I don't really know any Gym Leaders who do battle one another to try to get badges like that, so I wouldn't be able to tell you otherwise.

[In fact his battle with Skyla was...not really for fun...]

[ Ash took on all three? Sounds like a fun option when Red reads it, really. But a bold and daring taste, huh...

(Ash you suck, Red told you to talk to Cilan about that arceus) ]

Erika sounds like a scary lady when you get her mad then. When I went to her gym she was dozing even after all the battles I had with all the gym trainers. [ ...he doesn't sound like a very interesting trainer when he says that, does he... ] But I think if you two met you might get along? You both ~~are~~ have a similar taste.

[ That took him a second to explain. Does that explain anything?? But it's a pretty good word...!! ]

But I guess gym leaders wouldn't want badges if they want to be gym leaders. But I think it could be fun if you wanted to have new challenges. You could take on the Elite Four and learn new stuff right? But then you wouldn't be able to be a gym leader if you left your gym? I don't know how gyms work. Viridian's gym leader was never around but that's because [ he was a criminal. is. The leader of Team Rocket.

... ] he's a bad guy who shouldn't have been a gym leader

[Huh?]

"Bad"? In what way?

[Because if there's one thing that can catch Cilan's attention faster than anything else, it's the idea of bad gym leaders.]

[ uggghh

he really shouldn't be secretive about something like this or feel the need to be, but... it's weird. ]

Viridian's gym leader turned out to be the leader of a big crime gang in Kanto. Team Rocket. Ash knows about them

He's here too. His name is Jeovanni

[Red, that's not how you spell "Giovanni"--WAIT.]

WHAT [Suddenly, those are some rather angry looking letters there, like someone had pushed the pencil down a lot harder than they had before when they were writing. There's a long pause before Cilan suddenly switches to voice without much warning, and when he does speak, it almost sounds like he's trying to keep his tone as neutral as possible.]

Did I read that right? That the leader of Team Rocket is also a gym leader, and that they're here in Luceti?

[Because, uh...yeah. Cilan knows about those guys too, Red, and he is definitely not a fan either.]

[ what is that icon tho

but oh, voice command. ]

You didn't know? [ ... ] But yeah, he's here, and I didn't know he was the gym leader until I met him here.

I don't think he's a gym leader anymore though. Lance knows about him so I guess Team Rocket got taken down. Or Giovanni did.

...I see. [It's hard to tell what Cilan's thinking right now, but...]

I certainly hope that is the case. Someone who leads a life of committing terrible crimes against people and Pokemon doesn't deserve to be called a Gym Leader, much less be granted the position of one.

[...There really is no disguising the fact how much Cilan detests people like Team Rocket, even with his attempt at a neutral tone of voice at the moment. In fact, he's positively seething at the mere idea that someone like that was ever a Gym Leader...]

[ There have been the signs, though it's odd to be here now to hear this. Cilan had been him before in the conversation with Silver, but how had that gone? ]

Silver thinks he's telling the truth, even if he's holding onto the badges and giving them to people. He gave one to him, anyway. [ There's a quick and small sound, much like a huff. ] But he thinks the guy should be given a second chance or something. When I talked to Lance about Giovanni too, he just said I should leave him alone. But I'm gonna try and take his badges anyway, even if people think it's stupid or pointless.

[ It's not said bitterly as it once might have, but very matter-of-factly. That's what he's going to do. ]

inbox / appointments (luceti)

[written, 20th July] (and I'm sorry for how long it took me to get to this)

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