Welcome to Gaia! ::

Dove bit her lip, apologizing yet again before whispering a good-night to the young man and shutting the gear off. Though she new he would be furious for the next few minutes, she also knew that he would soon plummet back into his sleep and not remember a thing when he woke; this wasn't the first time she had mistakenly woken him too early, and she had learned to deal with the consequences.

She sighed softly, dropping it back into her bag once she was sure it was code-locked. She'd have to call him back later. Even with Lovey, the effects of traveling without him were starting to make her lonely.

She looked up to the other human, embarrassed red flush spread across her face. "Sorry about that..."

The eevee, meanwhile, snacked on the pecha berry, every so often giving a wag of her fluffy tail to the young man from between the girl's feet.

"That's true..." she admitted, pulling it out of the bag again and sticking it in her pocket. "Oh, and thanks."

She looked down as Lovey jumped toward the boy and caught the berry midair, smiling as Lovey pawed in circles, holding the berry up in triumph for her to see. "Good catch, Lovey! You've gotten so good at that..." she praised, softly tapping her hands together as if applauding.

"She's never been in a pokeball..." she told 'Xander', shrugging a bit. "I've never tried to get her in one, and I think she likes being out and about. ...and she looks cute in my bag."

Dove bit her lip, bending to scoop up the little Eevee when it pawed at her leg. "I've never had a reason to... she stays by my side at all times, and has only taken off once..."

That night had been terrifying, the night she discovered that Lovey didn't like thunder. The pokemon had been nestled down at her side as she slept, then disappeared after a loud, terrified cry. Dove had woken immediately, worried sick as she and her (very disgruntled) boyfriend searched for her. When he had found the eevee cowering under a coffee table, it was all Dove could do not to cry in relief.

"I've...never really thought about that. I've never wanted to, either..." she admitted, brushing her hair back from her face with her free hand. "But if she's tucked away in a bag, it doesn't seem too likely that something would try to hurt her, right? Or even could, without getting me first. I'd hope not, anyway..."

The girl stayed quiet a moment, weighing her options before speaking again. "Is Kodo really that dangerous...?

The girl had thought long and hard about traveling alone, yes, but had unfortunately overlooked the research on just where she would be going. All she had known about the region was that it was new, and open, and one of the only regions she had yet to explore.

"I might need to go look at pokeballs, then... just in case." She glanced around the store, looking for any indication of bins or rows of the devices. Though she didn't want to make Lovey feel trapped at all, and really did enjoy having her right at her side at all times, her pokemon's safety was much more important to her. And it wasn't like she wouldn't be able to roam freely once they went back home, or even in their resort room.

"...any ideas on how to coax her into staying in one...?"

Dove nodded, tucking her hair back behind her ear and shifting her grip on Lovey, as she had started to wiggle around again, vying for more treats. "I guess I should have done some research before I decided to vacation here, huh?"

She paused a moment, all but stuffing Lovey into her bag--gently of course-- when the squirming became too much to handle.

"You said you had a ponyta, right? Does she not like to run freely?" she asked, popping up onto her tiptoes to look around the store for the capsules. Spotting them in the next row over, she stepped a few steps backward to walk around, hoping that this new acquaintance would continue their talk. He seemed to know a little about the region, at least, and as she was traveling alone...

It might be nice for her to meet a few people who knew the towns.

The model sighed and stopped in front of the large pokeball selection, mulling over what type to try to convince Lovey with. "Well... I guess now is a better time than never to start training her." she laughed, picking up a pink colored capsule to inspect. "She's been my best friend since I was little, but she's never really been 'trained' you could say..."

More than often, Lovey did as she pleased, unlike like her trainer. Though she did always have to accompany the girl into her work--shoots, slates, etc.-- and had learned some social etiquette, the Eevee was used to home. Things were different here, at least for Dove, without all the lights and schedules. The pokemon could tell her friend felt highly out of place, though she herself was content to act as usual--which sometimes meant stealing attention.

Putting the pink ball--a Love Ball, she noted-- back onto the shelf, she reached for another and continued their discussion. "I mean, she's used to hearing 'no', but..."

In response to hearing the dreaded word, Lovey pouted, stilling and sinking into the bag.

"I mean... she was somewhat trained for cute contests," she shrugged, looking at yet another ball-- a heal ball. She tucked it back onto the shelves, looking for a specific type. "but she's never been truly battle ready..." She most certainly wasn't the strongest fighter Dove had ever seen. In reality, though the pokemon was adorable off stage, she wasn't even well trained enough to actually succeed in organized Contests. The rest of Dove's team often made up for that, though even they weren't fabulous. Though it saddened the young model, she knew it was all a publicity stunt anyway, even if she had grown to enjoy the competitions.

Lovey snuggled down into Dove's bag, sighing heavily in pure boredom. Now, only barely the tip of her tail could be seen.

'Get anywhere'? What exactly did that mean? she wondered, still searching the shelves. "So what have you trained her for? Your Ponyta?"

"Aha!"

Dove pulled a specific ball from the shelf, looking it over excitedly. A luxury ball: Lovey deserved nothing less. It might be easier to coax her into staying in it as well, if it was nicer than average...

When he asked about combat, Dove froze visibly. Lovey didn't fight. Ever. The only times that Dove could remember seeing her fight another pokemon were long, long ago, back at the beginning of the first installment of her journey, back when her companion's pokemon handled the more difficult battles. Thinking about it now, Dove knew the biggest challenger Lovey would be able to bring down would be a Caterpie, if that.

"I'm....sure she'd try, if we were forced into it..." she offered reluctantly. What would she do if Lovey had to fight?

She quickly tried to change the subject. "That's true, I guess. How long have you had your Ponyta? I'm sure she's remarkable."