[attr="class","dficon"]

shark in the water

[attr="class","dfbox"] "oi, idj--...tch, derek!" he exclaimed as loud as he could, a raspy voice crying from beyond the dragon den's entrance. a male approached the uttering cries of the dragon's den to find that there was a trainer looking to partake within trial of dragons. in his approach the male, known as Derek Hoffman, would come to see the dragon den's guardian, and leader of the fusube city gym, adorning the following: a black robe called a koromo , which is a type of osode, where, over it, he, too, wore a purple sash above the koromo. the sash itself could be seen wrapped around his body and over his left shoulder, which is called a kesa. following for footwear he would also adorn upon his feet a pair of waraji sandals. on his left hand one could see that mateo, too, wore what looked to have been a flap of cloth over the left palm and the back of his hand, secured by a ring over his middle finger, and a piece of heavier material wrapped once around his forearm and tied on the underside of his arm; this is known as a tekkou. to tie the ceremonial clothing together. one would notice that, around his left palm, is a ring of prayer beads.

as mateo drew near the eyebrow piercings and light tattoo on his face were very noticeable. he was annoyed, a bit, by the fact that he had to wear this garment when entering the sacred den. "here," he'd toss the pokeball to the individual. "if you forge a bond with the dragon that's chosen you, then you'll use that to store it. let's go," continuing to venture further into the cavern. mateo would randomly state, "i don't know what made you garner the courage to come back, but if you weren't born in fusube i wouldn't have allowed you to come in here, y'know? especially after what happened years ago." he would state harshly. as the cavern was lit by a blue sphere of light on both their right and left with each step taken, they would come to reach a lake that led into a deeper part of the cave.

upon first look the lake would illuminate a radiant glow, the light from the sphere's attached to the walls causing it to refract. before them resided a boat, but instead, he'd simply extend the right palm of his hand. "let's see how far we'll need to go in. the test starts here, hopefully you don't fuck up the first round. i wanna get out of here as fast as possible." mateo spoke, but softly he'd add, "...and don't rush yourself, pace it. dragons have a strange way of sensing tribulations."

[attr="class","sumcreds"]KOJIHIME

Derek had never known Mateo enough to have any kind of opinion on them, but it was clear to him that they were a busy person. Having dual responsibilites as both gym leader and master of the Dragon's Den, it came as no surprise that they wished to finish up here as quickly they could manage. Only, it was up to Derek to determine that...for the most part.

Hearing them out on the reason he'd let Derek in here at all, the trainer wasn't certain how to feel about it. Although he would definitely take Mateo's advice. "Sure thing, I'll keep it in mind." Making his first few steps within the place, it was hard not to feel at awe for the amazing spectacle that the lake had provided. For something that sounded so dangerous in the imagination, it certainly had it's very own way of feeling...welcoming.

However, that hospitality of sorts would only go so far. Before they'd ventured onto the boat, a pokemon had already taken initiative and approached. Derek held his breath, unable to tell if it was out of aggression. His two eyes aimed to meet with the baby's own, and thus the trainer stepped forward, in hopes they'd think of it as a greeting.

Waiting on them to acknowledge this, Derek, realizing he seemed to dwarf over the pokemon, lowered himself to a seated position in order to portray he did not come bearing anything remotely close to hostility. Derek couldn't be so sure it would be interpreted as such, but it was all that came to mind before it conveyed any interest in him.

Meanwhile, all that he could manage to think of was his sister; how much she would've loved to be in here, taking in all this place had to offer. His mourning showed through to the surface, making a sorrowful expression as he stared towards the Gible he was going to try and bond with. This'd be hard...

Not wanting to stay silent for too long, Derek was quick to inquire about the dragon's behavior. "You're awfully far from any mom or dad you might have around here...I suppose that means you're a brave one, aren't you?" Studying the pokemon's features, he waited for a response.

"I once knew somebody just like that. They always knew how to make me smile...and it always bothered me when I couldn't do the same in return." In some ways, he wanted to just ask the pokemon if there was anything he could do or say for it to want to come along with him. But Derek knew better than to be so damned desperate.

"But I don't have anyone like that anymore. My Mom and Dad don't even know I'm back in town. My being here would only cause them to worry over my well-being. Parents are always so reasonably annoying like that, aren't they?"

Looking to the pokemon, Derek hoped it could relate to finding one's own parents to be over-protective to the point of ruining any potential for having fun...

Or maybe it'd grow annoyed with Derek and bite'em?

Fortunately he had not gotten too close, as the Gible was a proven warrior within the Dragon's Den, sporting a scar upon it's left eye that could be seen as it observed Derek. "An ongoing feud, you said?" Derek questioned as he looked from the Gible to Mateo and then back, his expression portraying that he was a bit more intimidated sitting down somewhat next to it. Gladly, they didn't seem to have any kind of feud with humans. Not even Mateo himself...?

"So not just brave, but tough, huh?" Derek mused. "I imagine there's not many dragons in here that could even rival you, then? Perhaps just the one who gave you that scar, if that?" His gaze shifted from a lack of confidence to pure curiosity. This Gible, though young, already had a story to it's name. They certainly weren't some run-of-the-mill pokemon. It had been thoroughly tested by the likes of the Dragon's Den, and survived to tell the tale no less.

But he certainly didn't want to assume anything about the scar. For all he knew, the pokemon would take offense; even though Derek truly didn't mean any by it. And perhaps it'd already done in the dragon that marred it's face. The Dragon's Den began to feel more like the cruel place he'd imagined it to be. as he contemplated such things. "Have you ever thought about leaving this place behind?"

While there was always wishful thinking, Derek had his suspicions that the pokemon worked hard to acquire respect and a reputation around these parts. Throwing something like that to the wind wasn't going to be done on a whim, but it was hard to know what to say in order to gain the Gible's interest...

"The lake is nice, and I'm sure that you...might have made some friends along your way, but are you really content staying cooped up in here? I don't think Mateo strikes either of us as ideal company. He's a great trainer, no doubt, yet he's stuck here...but what about you?"

Hoping to appeal to a potential appetite for adventure, Derek awaited the highly anticipated response in hopes he'd gotten a decent read on the pokemon. After all, like Mateo had said; it was all the way up here by the entrance. Just how far had it come this way to meet up with Derek by chance?

Derek couldn't help but make a slight frown at himself for failing to appeal to the Gible thus far. It's ferocious display of power hadn't fazed him as much as it should've, though Derek was certainly in awe of it's might. Had Mateo proven reluctant to step in, he'd almost certainly be dead right now. But as he heard he had just one more chance to ring in the wild dragon, Derek couldn't help but feel a bit demoralized. This was definitely no cake walk...

"So you don't think much of me, eh?" Derek supposed leveling with the creature couldn't damage their relationship anymore than he already managed to. Even so, his fists curled into a tight ball. "You're not the only one, I reckon. But I could care less about opinions. I usually let my battles do the talking, but that isn't much of an option as of right now..."

Making direct eye contact with the pokemon, Derek sported a creased brow conveying his discontent with the pokemon's take on him. "What I can say for certain is that, while you might be considered high and mighty down there, you've yet to take on anything greater than your kin. We're talking feral pokemon that lack proper discipline and training, above all else. There are definitely stronger pokemon to be found fighting against the pokemon league. The only way you'll ever find out if you can beat them is by partnering up with a trainer, otherwise there isn't a proper challenge for them to accept."

Derek's hands finally laxed a bit, however his expression still remained somewhat stern. "I was actually looking forward to the looks on the gym leader's faces when they see you come out onto the battlefield. But I guess you'd rather skulk about in the depths of this musty cave, fighting over scraps of food or whatever, rather than standing at the top of the world knowing you just could not be defeated, no matter how hard the gym leaders and their pokemon tried? That actually sounds pretty lame for a dragon."

Now that he'd gotten something off his chest, Derek took one last chance to speak with the Gible as an aspiring trainer looking for incredible pokemon. "You do realize what I'm saying, don't you? You could have a chance; a real chance at taking down the absolute best Johto region has to offer...that includes Mateo over there. Haven't you ever wanted to battle him? I mean seriously battle him. I know I want to...that's practically why I came here! He refuses to accept challenges from trainers who don't bond with a dragon type pokemon. That could mean any one of you in here, but you were the first to cross my path. I couldn't think of a pokemon more suited to take on that kind of challenge. Are you really gonna pass up on all of that?! The glory is practically your's for the taking!"

Derek asked in a particularly chastising tone. It was ridiculous to think that this pokemon had yearned to lash out at a defenseless trainer trying to gain it's favor, rather than longing to set out on such a grand mission as challenging all eight of the gym leaders...

And it certainly would not end there. No chance in hell he was going to pass up on the select few elite beyond Victory Road with a pokemon like this Gible.