Welcome to Gaia! ::

Name: Dane Fushigi
Nickname: Dane
Age: 19
Orientation/Position: bi/seme
Picture: Dane
Likes: a good challenge, puzzles, the outdoors, anything ancient, Pokemon, hearty or spicy foods, treasure, rare Pokemon
Dislikes: being in water without a Pokemon, electric types, whining, long-winded stories
Pokemon (5/6): Venusaur, Clefable, Aerodactyl, Gyarados, Haunter
Background: For a few years now, Dane has been traveling the continent, making a name for himself as an explorer and adventurer. Defeating gym leaders wherever he goes and leaving a path of fallen opponents, he rides around on the back of his Venusaur looking for hints to new treasures. Recently he's been a little down on his luck, however, having found nothing interesting to search for in a while. In the mean time he's working for the Pewter museum and helping the research team in the caverns of Mt. Moon.

My name is: Michele Johnson (Mee-keh-lei)
People call me: Mike
How many candles: 17
Orientation: Bisexual
Position: Smuke
This is what I look like:

What I like: Cherry hard candy, Pokémon, soft pillows, friendly people
What I don’t like: Sleeping in the woods, recklessness, sleeping too much, heights
The Pokémon I have with me:
Eevee, Ivysaur, Growlithe, Squirtle (now evolved into Wartorle), Jolteon, Abra
A little bit about me: Michele might look like he just crawled out of the gutter, and that wouldn’t be entirely false. After escaping a rough family life, he became a Pokémon trainer and found that it was the passion of his life. The companionship helped him get over his past and he lived a lot happier, even out on the road by himself. Mike loves his Pokémon dearly and is just as concerned about them becoming stronger as he is about their wellbeing. Mike has a slight case of insomnia but isn’t usually exhausted. He works hard to make sure people don’t notice and won’t ask questions. His Eevee, nicknamed “Ultima”, always seems to ride on his head.
What I’m like: Mike is usually quite collected, though he’s quick to defend himself if offended or embarrassed. He doesn’t like to be coddled but doesn’t like to be alone either. Sometimes he can be overly shy, or overly mean to the people that he likes. He doesn’t mean it, he just doesn’t know how to show his feelings very well, so therefore he might come out wrong. He isn’t very open with his feelings on his own, therefore a bit of coaxing is needed to get him to talk. Mike is easily frustrated and can sometimes act without thinking far enough ahead, and scolds himself for his mistakes later.
Where I’m headed: Recently, Mike has been hearing rumors about the prophecy of an ancient city and has decided to go and check it out. He's ended up in Pewter City, hoping to get stocked up for the trip.

Smiling as the guy answered him honestly, Dane couldn't help but take to him almost instantly. "It sounds like you really care about her. Some trainers just evolve their Pokemon to make them stronger, but it's nice to see some people still care about their Pokemon's wants and needs."

When the man questioned him in return, Dane explained, "Eevees are pretty rare, especially because people seem to evolve them pretty soon after getting them. I've seen a few of the Eeveelutions in my travels, but it's not often I see an Eevee specifically."

"Ah, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Dane Fushigi. I'm traveling around the world searching for rarities. And I do a little side work for the museum here," he added with slight annoyance, preferring to work on his own terms. "I'm supposed to be delivering something to Cinnebar, but the weather right now is dangerous for flying types, so I'm waiting it out."

Noticing the book the young man had been reading before he'd approached, Dane craned his neck a little bit to see it better. "Hey, that looks like something interesting. Reading about some ancient treasures yourself?" he asked, wondering if he had met a fellow explorer. "You know, I heard this weird story from one of the guys at the museum. Apparently there's a bunch of valuable stones from some ancient culture hidden throughout the continent. That's what I'm looking into on my own time right now, but I've been caught up helping the museum researchers a lot with Mt. Moon and the moon stones recently."

Just as he was about to ask the trainer more, another announcement came over the loud speaker. The blizzard outside had intensified, and all travel was being shut down, including the roads into and out of Pewter. Anyone in the Pokecenter was encouraged to remain there until further notice.

Groaning, Dane shook his head. "I was supposed to get this job over with quickly. At this rate I won't be able to get anything done..." Rustling through his bag, he checked to make sure the old amber was still wrapped up in the handkerchief before saying, "Sorry, I need to make a call."

Leaving the table, he once again dialed the Cinnebar lab and explained the recent development. With their blessings, he had a few days grace period in light of the weather, but it still annoyed him that he was grounded for a while.

Returning to the table, he smiling apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, it was business. Like I said, I've been running errands for the museum. Speaking of which, have you visited Mt. Moon? There's been some trouble over there with a gang calling themselves Team Rocket, and a lot of trainers have been getting attacked on their way to Cerulean City.

"If you're headed that way any time soon, you should keep an eye out. They seem to go after weak trainers or ones with rare or strong Pokemon. Your Eevee would definitely make you a target," he warned, hoping that he wasn't making things too serious.

"Nice to meet you Mike," Dane said with a nod and a smile, glad to have earned a bit of trust. When Mike turned the book around for him to see, Dane eagerly glanced over the pages, trying to see if he could read any of it. While he was a master at navigating the wild as well as temples and other ancient buildings, he had never really bothered to study different languages, so he had no idea where the book even came from.

"That sounds an aweful lot like the myth I've been following," he muttered, looking closely at each of the pictures as Mike pointed them out. Certainly there were many similarities between the stories they had heard. Perhaps they would be able to be of some use to one another.

"Sometimes it's good to break away from your normal routine and just experiment a bit. There's no better road to discovery," he chirpped as he flipped through the pages of the ancient text, eyeing the arcane designs hungrily and wondering just where in the world their treasure might be buried.

"The myth itself sounds like a lot of other myths from a lot of other cultures, so it's hard to say whether or not this whole thing might be a wild goose chase, but...you said you were heading to Cinnebar. Is that because the myth talks about the city being sunk?"

Smirkng and leaning back in his chair, Dane pointed out, "While it might be tempting to go straight for the goal, wouldn't it make more sense to go and find the type orbs first? According to the myth you can't do anything without them, so if you're interested in this kind of stuff, I suggest first finding the orbs."

Thinking about the seventeen different types, Dane mused, "Since there are two types that don't appear here in Kanto, I wonder if those two orbs are over in Johto instead?" Looking back at the book once more, Dane continued, "I think your best bet would be to try and search in places that correspond to each of the type orbs you're looking for. For example, there are more ice type Pokemon found in the Seafoam Islands than anywhere else in Kanto. So, if you were looking for the ice type orb, I would suggest starting there." As they sat and talked, Dane began to become more and more excited about the prospect of finding such a magificent treasure.

Finally, unable to contain his excitement much longer, he said, "Hey, I know we've only been chatting for a few minutes, but I think the two of us should team up. You seem to know more about the myth and you can read that book, while I'm more experienced as an explorer and I know what kinds of tricks and traps there might be along the way. If the two of us teamed up for this, we might just be able to solve this mystery together.

"I know the book doesn't say what the reward is, but it's gotta be something great. I mean, at the least we get some kind of cool power or divine gift, and at the most we might actually be able to return that island to the world. What do you say?" he asked, holding out a hand and hoping for a shake.

As Mike hesitated, Dane almost withdrew his hand, thinking that perhaps he had gone a little too fast in suggesting a partnership, but was relieved when he finally got a good shake. When the guy mentioned getting to know each other better, Dane had to force himself not to laugh. He knew what Mike meant, but he had certainly picked one hell of a way to say it.

"Yeah, that's probably good...the better we know each other, the better prepared we'll be while we're out on the road. I guess we can take some time to just chat, until the weather lets down. I sure hope it doesn't take too long so we can head out quickly."

Glancing out one of the front windows at the raging snowstorm, Dane doubted they would be getting out of there before the night was through, especially with Nurse Joy rushing around worrying about everyone's health. Even if she was only a Pokemon nurse, she seemed to watch after all the people in the Pokecenter just as much.

Thinking about what supplies he had with him, Dane had to agree. "Yeah, I don't have too much on me right now other than the basics...I was planning on stocking up at the Pokemart here, but I guess I'll have to wait until the weather's cleared to do that too. Be right back," he said, getting up and walking over to a vending machine. Returning with a can of lemonade, he sat back down to think, sipping his drink and staring at the table in turns.

What Mike said was true. Cinnebar was a small island with a tightly knit population. It was certainly possible that there were local tales related to the myth they were following. Although he hated having to rely on nothing but urban myths, Dane figured he would humor his new partner. After all, he had to deliver that old amber, so he could kill two birds in one trip

"Do you have a surfing Pokemon?" he asked, knowing that boats between the mainland and the island were infrequent and expensive. His Gyarados could easily take them both across, but if Mike had something of his own to ride on, that would be even better.

Leaning back comfortably in his chair, Dane shook his head. "It's nothing. As an adventurer I've gotten used to people thinking I'm crazy. They've told me it's impossible, or that what I'm searching for doesn't even exist sometimes, but I always prove them wrong. After all, the only reason people haven't already found all the great treasures in the world is because so many of them think like that. They just accept what they've always been told and never think to just look anyway."

Taking another sip of his lemonade, Dane sighed deeply when another announcement over the intercom warned everyone inside that the Pokecenter would be closing for the night and that no one was allowed to leave on account of the weather conditions. "Well, I guess we're stuck here at least until morning," Dane said, checking his watch briefly. "So, what do you think we should talk about to get acquainted?"

Sipping at his drink intermitently, Dane tried to think up other places the various orbs might be hiding. Of course, there were all of the different towns, most of which had some kind of relation to the element of their corresponding gym leader.

A thought hit him suddenly, and he suggested, "If we're lucky, the rock orb might be right here in Pewter somewhere, maybe even in Mt. Moon. I mean, if there's an orb for each element, they would probably all be hidden in places related to their types, right? And Mt. Moon is the only real place I can think of with plenty of rock type Pokemon and a rich history to boot.

"Although...what do you think these orbs look like? I mean...will we really be able to tell the difference between a rock orb and a really smooth, spherical rock?" Wondering how common nearly spherical rocks were, Dane began thinking about Onix and Geodude, both of which had vaguely spherical parts to them.

When Mike admitted to not having a reliable means of transport across the ocean, Dane said, "Don't worry about it, we can both ride on my Gyarados. As long as you don't have a problem with big Pokemon like that?" In the past, Dane had met plenty of people who just couldn't get over the size of some Pokemon or the way they looked. Most people were intimidated by a Gyarados's stare, even if it held no ill will. It was something he had a hard time forgiving.

Smirking slightly when the other boy blushed, Dane wondered if Mike was just bad with people. His tight bond with his Eevee made it seem like he had an easier time getting along with Pokemon, so Dane decided to relieve him of some of the pressure.

"Heh. Yeah, I guess I would have said that myself eventually if you hadn't," he admitted. "I guess we should start with the basic stuff, like where you come from and what made you want to take on something like this. You know, it takes a certain kind of person to be willing to step up and actively seek out legends like this."

As Mike read over the book's description of the orbs, Dane merely shrugged. "Well, it isn't unexpected, I guess. I mean, they didn't want just anyone waltzing up and taking their precious treasures, so I guess we'll have to put a little effort into it...and be careful transporting them."

Thinking about the repercussions should they damage even one of the orbs, Dane suggested, "We should have someplace to drop off all of the orbs. You know, so we don't break them traveling all across the continent with them stuffed in our bags. They know me at the museum, so I'm sure they would let me use an empty desk or a vault or something. That way our treasures would all be in a safe place until we were finished and ready to use them."

Nodding, Dane said, "Yeah, that's true. Although it's easier if you start with a Magikarp. It takes longer, but you've got a bond already established with it, so it doesn't give you as much trouble as long as you treated it well," he explained, thinking about how long ago he'd gotten his own Magikarp. In fact, they'd been together from the very beginning.

"When it comes to Gyarados, people just get lazy and don't want to have to put in the effort to train a Magikarp, so they either try to get one that's already a Gyarados, or they push their Magikarp way too hard in battle to get it to evolve quickly. Me, I just brought it along on my adventures and let it evolve when it wanted. Honestly, it was more trouble as a Magikarp because it couldn't do anything for itself," he reminisced with a chuckle.

Feeling a sudden change in the mood, Dane wondered if he'd said something wrong, but didn't mention it. As Mike began to talk about himself, Dane listened well, but remained comfortable. "Ah, is that it?" he asked with a smirk, having heard many such explanations before. "It isn't a bad motivation, but if you really want to become an explorer you might need to find something more important to go after. Just in the long run, I mean."

When asked about himself, Dane thought for a moment before answering. "Well, I'm originally from Fuchsia, but I've been traveling the world for quite some time, now. I always liked the Safari Zone, personally. It's a gold mine in itself. People always seem to be losing their things in there, so you can pretty much just pick up a bunch of random stuff whenever you visit, not to mention all of the rare Pokemon."

Trying to think of other personal things to talk about, Dane asked, "So, are you an only child? I am," he added before Mike even had a chance to ask. "From what I've seen, many adventurers are only children. I wonder if there's some kind of correlation?" he mused aloud, waiting to see if Mike could think of anything.