World Tree MUSH

     Miwa had sent a message to Luke asking him to meet her at the malasada shop in Malie City, the note saying she had something she wanted to talk to him about, and also just wanted to meet again as it had been a while since they last saw each other besides Peach's party. So she now sits at a booth table, her tail talking up all of one side, a plastic tray in the center of the table with five malasadas to share, the sixth one missing as Miwa is munching on it in between sips of the coffee she also ordered for herself.

    Luke was certainly happy to come over and talk with the mermaid pokemon, so Miwa was not forced to wait for too long!. There is sudden bit of conmotion on other booths, until, with a blur of movement, and a black and white figure just phases through the walls of the booth, peeking inside and letting out a delighted noise as it spots Miwa, Pangshi apparently deciding to rush ahead and find their friend first, greeting happily and stealing a masalada within moments. 

    Luke appears moments later, after apologizing to the others about the ghost panda just peeking everywhere, "Sorry!, he is just eager!" he repeats, thankfully most people were at best amused, before he finally joins the two, "Pangshi, you don't run into booths like that!" he protests, a small black and pink creature perched on Luke's head, almost like a hat, grumbling about not behaving, and for once, seeming to accept people going 'd'awww, so cute' at it, in a stoic way, barely twitching his tail. "It's been far too long Miwa." Luke says, moving over to offer a hug, before joining her, "Thank you for the invitation."

     Miwa can't help but giggle a little at Pangshi peeking through the wall as only a ghost type could, though when Luke scolds it moments later she feels a little bad for reinforcing the behavior, though most of the other people in the shop seemed to think it was adorable too, so there was no avoiding it anyway. She smiles warmly as Luke hugs her, and she hugs back while booping his cheek with her round pink nose. "It has, I certainly hope it isn't so long before the next time. Anyway, I'm sure you read my note, but first feel free to order anything you want like a drink for yourself or anything for your Pokemon, my treat." She says as she eyes Stufful with a grin and gently pats it's head with her flipper.

    Pangshi is happy devouring the Masalada, barely even hearing what Luke tells it, it's clear the boy is not really 'feeling it' either, too amused to it to truly scold the ghost. "Just don't run away like htat." he tries, chuckling openly and resting in the hug for a moment, before finally letting go and taking a seat. "Thank you, I will get a chocolate." he offers, while the Stufful gets down and snags another Masalada, eating happily. "I think they might like some juice." he considers, ordering the two pokemon something sweet to drink, and a couple more of the snacks. "Indeed I did, I wonder what did you have in mind... I mean, I might have an idea of it but... still would like to hear you." he says, smiling.

     A waiter soon comes by to take Luke's order, already knowing that Miwa was planning on paying for it all. In the meantime, Miwa nods and goes ahead to speak about what she asked Luke here to talk about.. "Well, I wanted to ask you about an idea that has occurred to me recently, and while I talked to Ash and Meia about it, your thoughts are probably more valuable before I go through with trying to pursue this idea... I've been thinking about whether it might be fun, and if I'd even be allowed to, become a Pokemon trainer, who is also a Pokemon. I don't think it's been done before, or even attempted, but I'm not sure I even know the full story of what I'd be getting myself into. I think the person to ask if it would even be allowed, at least locally, would be Professor Kukui, since he's the founder of the Alolan Pokemon League."

    Luke gets his hot chocolate, and some juices for the two pokemon, who get busy eating the Masaladas Miwa had already prepared on the table. Of course, his focus quickly goes to the situation at hand, tilting his head a bit and nodding. "Well, that certainly seems an unusual situation... I mean if you are the trainer and get into a fight... who will call the attacks?, who will take care of you if you faint?" he says softly. "I think the situation might require a person willing to be a stand in trainer, for moments when you decide to get into a battle." he says, rubbing his chin. "But, asking the professor might be the best call, before getting to far ahead on plans." he says. "Still, besides... your ability to speak, I don't think that you have any unusual power or unfair advantage, as long as you take orders when you fight, or find a way to say them outloud." he muses.

     "Hmm, I had thought that some of the bigger issues with the idea would be if I was to battle as myself, or just be a traditional trainer and use other Pokemon. So calling out the attacks is part of the rules? I guess I could call out my own attacks, but like you said, I would need someone, even if they don't take over as trainer, as an attendant or something, to return me to a Pokeball if I faint and take me to a Pokemon Center. I guess these are things to ask Kukui about." She replies before taking another bite of her malasada and following with a few sips of coffee.

    The boy nods, "Well, I think, if you just want to be a trainer, I figure there should be no trouble really." he begins, smiling softly, "If you do want to participate, that is the tricky part." he replies, "Maybe the professor can find something we can use, rulewise." he says, "In any case, it can't hurt for you to find a friend willing to take over, you know."

     Miwa nods, pondering Luke's points for a moment before speaking again. "Well, I think not participating when I am a Pokemon myself would feel like kind of a waste, and from my experience doing a few spars, I think I would enjoy it... Maybe Ash would be willing to be my backup stand-in. Anyway, I guess that's enough pondering things we can't answer by just asking ourselves, shall we go down to the docks and catch a ferry to Akala?" She asks with a grin, tossing the last bit of malasada into her mouth and drinking the rest of her coffee.

The Stufful twitches one limb and tries to speak with it's maw full of masalada, something about 'no fun if you don't battle, since you can, not like poor Luke' or something, the tone seems more 'poor little defenseless Luke needs us for everything' in a caring, friendly way more than mocking the boy. The ghost panda nods a few times. Of course Luke can't understand a word, which might be for the best really. 

    The boy nods rapidly at that, "Sounds like a plan, I should talk with the Professor, he promised me to get me a TM for the fuzzy bear here." he says, pointing to the Stufful. "I think he is getting ready for more serious battles." he says. The bear can't reply, just choking on the food in an attempt to argue. "So, I'm ready when you are!" eh says, patting the pink plush's back, while Pangshi tries to perch on Miwa for the trip.

     Despite Stufful talking with it's mouth full, Miwa does manage to make out the gist of what it was trying to say, and it makes her grin a little. Luke might catch this and wonder what she's grinning about, but pretty soon she's nodding as Luke agrees about going to meet Professor Kukui as he has been promised a TM, and the Primarina gracefully slides off of the booth seat and onto the floor, the man at the counter for the shop smiles and waves after Miwa swipes a little card to pay for the food, obviously happy to have a local celebrity as somewhat of a regular. 

     "Hope you and your friend have a nice day Miwa, see you again soon!" He calls after her as she heads for the door and starts down toward the docks. Their timing is great as there is one starting to board right now, so Miwa again pays for the trip and heads up onto the ship, moving toward the bow of the ship. "So, what TM are you getting for Stufful?" She asks curiously.

    Luke is not quite sure what is being said, but seems he prefers not to ask, he has a suspicion on the bear's attitude about stuff. One that at least Pangshi seemed to share given the nods. In any event, the trio follows Miwa... well, Pangshi gets a ride on Miwa's back if allowed!, while the Stufful resumes perching on Luke's head. The trainer smiles and carefully gets on the ship as well, "Well, a couple really, been saving money, Brick break, Substitute, dragon claw... bulldoze, giga impact..." he lists, while the Stufful waves excitedly with it's forelimbs, clearly excited. 

    "The professor told me he had Substitute and dragon claw ready adn was trying to get the others." he says, smiling, "I want him to be ready for anything, there is far too many weird things around." he explains.

     Miwa of course allows Pangshi to ride on her back. Like most Primarina Miwa wasn't super high in the physical strength department, but fortunately the small ghost type was hardly a burden. She was actually quite happy that Luke's Pokemon were so friendly with her, especially after how long it's been since they've all seen each other. She certainly liked having Luke as a friend, and would have potentially asked him to be her stand-in if it wasn't for the fact that she'd feel like she was stealing the spotlight from his other Pokemon, and that it would make having a battle with Luke and his Pokemon a bit of a challenge to say the least. In any case, Miwa is a bit taken aback by the list of TM moves Luke is aiming to train Stufful in. "That's quite an arsenal, you really will be ready for anything with that lineup of moves." She replies just before the horn announcing that the ferry was leaving sounds, it appears they caught it just in time. Soon they're off on a direct trip to Akala Island.

    Luke settles next to Miwa, and if allowed, pats her back, "You think so? I always train my pokemon to know all the attacks they can, it can always be useful." he says, "He certainly seems eager to know all of them." he says, motioining to the flailing bear on his head, who flails one limb into the air, nodding. "Especially since I don't have a full team." he admits, smiling and rubbing the back of his head. "I certainly hope the professor can offer advice on this, I'm curious on what pokemon you might get for your team."

     Miwa nods. "Well, as far as battles against Pokemon, I wonder if it's even possible to truly be ready for any challenge that comes your way, but I guess that's part of the fun, if there was an invincible team that people could go and put together, that would be boring. But you should be able to stand up to most, here on this world, and threats in the other worlds around the tree I think. As for my team, well, if I'm going to be participating as part of my team, I guess the first step would be finding some to cover my type and physical attack weaknesses and go from there. I guess I'll need to start thinking about all the Pokemon around me in a whole different way now, which ones would be a good addition to the team." She responds as they pass Akala Island, Melemele is next.

    Luke nods a few times, "Oh, yeah, you can tell I am not trying to make a crazy invincible team but mostly just wanting to avoid to be caught in a bad situation." he explains, patting his friend's side and nodding again. "Well, I am sure you will figure somethign out, I know it can be tricky, you just do your best with what you have."

     Miwa nods, smiling back at Luke as she looks up ahead of the ship, Melemele getting closer and closer. "Well, maybe we can both go looking for Pokemon together sometime, assuming I get the go ahead from Kukui. Though I think maybe I want to stick to Pokemon found in Alola, represent the home region, and I'm more familiar with them anyways. What do you think of that idea? Would I be limiting myself too much?" She asks as she leans a bit closer to Luke, as if asking for him to pet her some more like earlier.

    Luke is happy to pet the large pokemon, and proceeds to do so, just casually, even leaning against Miwa, "I don't see anything wrong with sticking to your home region if that's what you want, I am sure you can make a great team!" he says with a grin, "I figure, simply be open to new additions, if you find someone that catches your eye, like I did with this little guy."

     The ship pulls into the port at Heahea City on Melemele Island, so Miwa continues the conversation as she moves to get off the boat and head toward the professor's house. "I guess you're right, wouldn't want to pass on the chance to add another Pokemon to the 'family' and regret it later. It has been a while since I traveled outside of Alola also." She offers thoughtfully. A few of the people in the city stop to point and whisper as Miwa and Luke pass by. It's been a while since she came to Melemele, but it's easy to assume who the trainerless Primarina walking through town is, and Pangshi also garners some attention, being a Pokemon likely no one in this area has seen before.

    Pangshi seems happy to wave to the viewers, taking a chance to bow and float around the Primarina for a few moments, just to show off a bit, clearly appreciating the attention!. The Stufful seems content people are not paying it any mind, in all honesty. Luke? he is just busy chatting, barely noticing what the ghost panda did, even when it floated to greet some of the bolder kids.

     It doesn't take long for them to reach the other end of the city, and walk down the path toward the professor's house/lab. Miwa looks to Luke a moment, and nods, moving up to knock on the door with a few strikes of her flippers. She then backs away for a moment and waits, suddenly a loud bang/explosion can be heard inside, at which Miwa grins a bit. 

    "I guess we don't have to worry about whether he's here or not..." She says with a laugh. Soon Professor Kukui comes to the door along with a Rockruff which was apparently the cause of the noise moments ago. He blinks looking from Miwa to Luke, making the wrong assumption. "Luke, you added a Primarina to your team since we last met? Where'd you find one?" Miwa can't help but giggle and shake her head a little. "Well, he did find me, but we're just friends." She says with a grin, as Kukui laughs right back and takes a moment to clear his throat awkwardly and compose himself. 

    "Ah, you must be Miwa then, should have guessed. I caught your last concert but I don't think we've formally met. Please, come inside, though I must ask what brings the two of you to my lab."

    Luke grins after the loud noise, "Seems he is as busy as ever." he replies, shaking his head, while the Stufful on his head tries to crane towards the door to listen better. There is a pause and a chuckle as Miwa clear the confusion, "She is just my friend, she actually asked me to come with her, and I figured I might just check on you, how are you doing, Professor?" he asks. The rock doggo gets a few pets, if the pup allows, "Are you alright? that was a bit loud." he adds. Of course Pangshi quickly moves to float around Kukui, looking curiously at the new friend, and of course, showing off in the process, trailing the Pokemon Professor, right in front of Luke and Miwa. "Well, part of the reason was checking on the TMs I mentioned last time, since you know this region better than me, or if you know where I should go to get them." he asks softly.

     Professor Kukui nods, curious what would bring Miwa all the way to meet him, must be something important, but he decides to get the matter of Luke's TMs out of the way first. "Well, I do have Brick Break and Substitute for you now, just have to go them, or maybe Rockruff can fetch it." The rock type doggo barks and nods, having enjoyed Luke's petting, is happy to help. It goes running off to fetch the case. "As for the others, I'm not sure where Bulldoze is, but as for the others, I hear you can get Giga Impact and Dragon Claw on Poni Island, haven't found Bulldoze yet, but I'll let you know if I find it." 

     Kukui then looks back to Miwa with a warm smile. "So, tell me then, what brings Alola's own performing Primarina to my lab today? I'm afraid I'm not the best for musical advice, though if you're looking for tips on adding some more flashy moves to your next performance, I'm your man." Miwa smiles back and nods. "Actually I may have to keep that in mind, but no, I've come to ask you if it would be allowable within league rules for me to become a Pokemon Trainer, and perhaps even battle as myself? Luke and I discussed the idea a bit, and he thought it might be best if I had a stand-in backup trainer in case I faint, to finish the battle or at least take me and the rest of my team to the Pokemon center, which makes sense." 

    Kukui nods, resting his chin in one of his hands as he appears deep in thought. "Hmm, that is an interesting question. I don't really have a problem with it, but if you were to compete outside of Alola, the international rules would have to be adjusted. I can put in a request for that, but even if it does go through, it would probably take some time."

    Luke is quite grateful as the Doggo brings up the case, grabbing the two technical machines and holding them up for his bear to look at. "Want to learn them now?" he asks with a grin, while the pokemon on his head makes grabby motions for the small devices. "I will walk away for a moment, will be back soon!". The boy gives a thumbs up as Kukui agrees that Miwa should be allowed to give it a try. "That's great!" he says, as he makes his way to a quiet spot, quickly adding the knowledge to the small plush pokemon's movelist, while Pangshi seems to cheer at the general result.

     "Thank you Professor! I really appreciate it." Miwa responds excitedly to Kukui's answer, watching for a moment as Luke heads out for a moment to teach Stufful some new moves using his newly acquired TMs. She is about to follow when Kukui stops her. "Wait a moment Miwa, let me re-program your Poketch with an updated ID including your trainer info." He explains as he moves closer and takes the fancy watch off of Miwa's flipper, puts it into a small dock hooked up to his PC, and makes the required adjustments to the ID info before placing it back on her flipper.

     "Alright, all set. I must admit I very much look forward to seeing how this turns out. Even if the International Pokemon League doesn't accept you as a trainer right away, I'm sure if we keep at it and you make a good show of it, we'll change their minds eventually." He says with a smile, at which Miwa moves closer and hugs him briefly with her flippers. "I'll do my best Professor." She says as she finally turns to head over to where Luke has gotten off to.

    Luke places away the... device used to teach the attacks, while the Stufful flails those small forelimbs eagerly, "So, think you got that?" he asks cheerfully, reaching around to pet the bear, that actually allows it, if only due to being too excited to notice!. Pangshi continues to trail after Miwa, chirping happily, and giving the Professor a hug, just for the sake of it, before joining the others!. 

    Luke grins as Miwa finally gets closer, "Hey, so he gave you the ok for it then?" he says happily, moving to give Miwa a hug, "Need some pointers on capturing or training pokemon?" he asks playfully.

     Miwa nods and excitedly shows off her new digital ID card saved in her Poketch, complete with her trainer ID and everything. "Yup, I'm official now, at least in Alola. As for training Pokemon, I will be sure to ask you if I have any questions, but I can't think of any at the moment. I think being a Pokemon myself gives me a bit of an advantage, being able to easily communicate with other Pokemon will mean they can tell me what they need directly. As for catching, I think I know the basics. You battle a wild Pokemon to weaken it, and/or use moves that cause sleep or paralysis, then throw an empty Pokeball. Did I miss anything? Any tips you have beyond that?"

    Luke nods a few times, "Well, you can always just befriend the pokemon and talk them into joining you, most pokemon are happy to be trained." he replies, smiling and glancing at the digital ID, "Congratulations on becoming an official trainer, guess you are your own starting pokemon." he says with a chuckle, "So, what is your plan now?, did you have anything in mind to start your trainer career?". The pink bear next to Alden moves closer to Miwa, reaching to gently brush the water type, asking if it means she will give orders to pokemon now.

     Miwa blushes a bit, at Luke's tip, it was simple, and she knew it, but here she was spouting things like a beginner trainer manual. "Of course, that's what I would try first, and might work really well for me, I'm already friends with lots of other water types around the beach where I live. But as for plans? Hmm, could go Pokemon hunting, could also have a battle with you and Stufful, try out those new moves you just taught it. What do you think Luke?"

    The young trainer nods, "I'd like to meet those friends sometime." he says with a grin, "And don't worry, not planning to capture any of them!" he says softly, "I'd be glad to help you with either of those tasks, pokemon hunting can be fun." he says, rubbing his chin as if considering what option to take. Of course, if given such a choice, the Stufful begins to make high pitched chirps and flail it's limbs, poking Luke's leg a few times, "Ow!... ok, ok, spar, spar it is." he says with a chuckle.

     Miwa grins a bit at Stufful's enthusiasm. "Maybe we can go looking for some Pokemon to add to my team later, I guess first I want to have some idea of what I want to go looking for. For now we'll have a spar, as Stufful is so eager." She says with a chuckle, moving to the small field near the Professor's house that has been turned into a simple battle arena with the official markings. Miwa moves to one of the spots where a trainer would stand, though she plans on doing the fighting herself, as if she has a choice at the moment. She wasn't worried though, having a bit of a type advantage, and was even planning on avoiding using fairy type moves unless Stufful really surprised her. "Alright, ready when you are." She announces, letting Luke make the first move.

    Luke follows the lead of the other trainer, Pangshi taking a seat to one side, almost like he was the judge of the encounter, talking about making it a fair battle!. The boy and the pink bear take one side, smiling warmly as the bear waddles to his side of the arena. 

    The boy nods, "We are ready!" he calls, "Stufful, Take down!". The bear lets out a high pitched cry as it charges quickly towards the water type, growling and jumping forward, trying to slam into the fairy seal, it has a surprising kick for such a light, fluffy thing.

     Miwa tries to avoid the attack, but Stufful still lands a partial hit, causing the Primarina to wince a little from the pain of the impact. She recovers quickly though and prepares to make her own attack. In the heat of battle, she almost doesn't remember the concept they talked about earlier of calling out attacks. "Scald!" She cries out even as she is already building energy inside her, and a moment later she blasts a stream of very hot water from her mouth toward the fluffy pink and black form of Stufful.

    Luke winces a bit, the fluffy bear bouncing from the glancing hit, landing on all fours, tail twitching, raring to go forward, "Stufful..." begins Luke, and then Miwa attacks!. The splash of hot water hits the poor bear squarely, causing it to squeal and run around in circles, dense fluff seeming to just absorb it like a sponge. Luke is quick to get the bear's attention, "Calm down!... Stufful!" the bear runs around a bit, and suddenly charges at Miwa, flailing it's forearms furiously, "Flail!, use Flail!", those fluffy arms swing around rapidly, aiming to pummel Miwa.

     Miwa feels bad for a moment at how her scald attack soaked into Stufful's fur, prolonging the discomfort caused by the hot water, but she didn't have long to feel sorry for the little bear as just moments later it was back to dish out some more attacks. As the bear charges again, this time Miwa goes for a counter attack, "Pound!" she calls out while leaning forward to balance much of her weight on her front flippers, and finally lashing out with a swing of her tail in an attempt to knock Stufful back and keep the bear at bay.

    The swing works!, bear is sent flying back for a bit, landing with a wet, muffled thud and picking itself up, if a bit dizzy. "Stufful!, can you handle this?" he asks, the bear growling again and nodding, "Ok, then let's do this, all or nothing!, Double edge!". The stufful pauses barely an instant adn nods, it's small form wrapped in a silver aura as it charges on all fours, leaving a cloud of dust behind it as it goes through

     Hearing the attack Luke calls out, Miwa knows it packs a punch, and she tries to get out of the way, but Stufful is still not far away and the attack comes swiftly. She lets out a yelp as Stufful strikes her in the chest, actually knocking her down and causing her to roll over once in the grass. She lays there just a moment before getting back up and rubbing the impact spot a bit with one of her flippers. "You're definitely stronger than you look Stufful." She comments, then suddenly adds. "Hydro Pump!" And just a moment later another blast of water surges toward the bear, this one wasn't hot, but it was significantly higher in pressure and volume.

    The water blast heads towards the small bear, who panics for a moment, Luke screaming "Substitute!", as the water hits the bear. There is a weird moment where there seem to be two Stuffuls, one jumping to the side, and the other getting hit by the high pressure blast, before the water shreds through the duplicate and moves on, leaving a panting, scruffy looking bear just standing there, seemingly quite stubborn bear!. It wobbles, clearly drained by the effort. 

    "Stufful... want to stop?" Luke asks, the bear growling and shaking it's head, a white glow covering it's form as the tiny shape is replaced by a much taller bipedal figure, even taller than Miwa, the light fading to reveal a Bewear, that stares at it's paws and growls in a high tone again, waving both arms happily, it seems to forget of the fight, just rushing towards Miwa with teh clear intention of hugging. "S... Bewear... no, no hugs!" he tries.

     Miwa smiles as she watches the successful use of Substitute to avoid her attack, though she isn't terribly surprised to see the little bear looking rather tired between that and the recoil of it's Takedown attack. She is surprised however as Stufful begins to glow white as it starts evolving, watching in awe as even she hasn't witnessed evolution first hand except for a few rare occasions in the wild Pokemon that live near her. Her eyes grow wide however as Bewear rushes toward her and pulls her into a hug, lifting her off the ground, her tail moving around a bit as she squirms, trying to get free. "Bewear.... let go.... can't breath..." She utters in a strained, breathless voice.

    The bewear growls happily, those fluffy, long arms squeezing and squeezing tighter, only pausing as he hears Miwa's pleas for air and daintly letting her go, Luke rushing close to make sure they were doing ok, "Look... we might have to train a bit before we... start hugging." he says softly, the bear letting out a soft, sad chirp, apologizing for... the rather powerful squeeze on the poor water type.

     Miwa falls flat on the ground when Bewear lets her go, taking a moment to catch her breath as she picks herself off the ground and brushes a few bits of dirt and blades of grass from her body and hair. Having heard Bewear's saddened apology, she smiles and gives the large bear a gentle pat on the back. "It's ok, no permanent harm done. You just evolved so I guess you don't know your own strength yet. I probably don't have to hold back as much now. If I refrain from using Moonblast, you might even beat me with a few solid physical hits."

    The big black and pink bear reaches to try to pick Luke up with one arm, acting as if affraid the boy might shatter from the contact, long, ringed tail wagging behind it happily, still excited. Bewear nods a few times, lifting Luke onto one shoulder as the boy yelps in surprise, chuckling a bit, "Careful! don't let me fall!" he calls, while the bear 'gently' pats Miwa in return. "We are goign to have to train how to control that strength."

     Miwa smiles as Bewear pats her and nods in agreement with Luke. "I guess so, Bewear are known to be really strong, I'm lucky that he was giving me a 'nice hug' not a 'I'm going to squeeze you till your spine shatters' hug." Miwa says with a chuckle. "Though I'm sure you already looked into that after catching Stufful in the first place. Anyway, shall we continue the battle or call it a draw at this point?"

    Luke is being held on one of Bewear's shoulders, teh bear bouncing happily a bit, before slowly placing the boy back down, smiling and glancing back at Miwa, "How about we call it a tie right now adn we try again later?" Luke finally says, the Bewear still scruffed and seeming a bit out of it, even as he wagged. "We can have a good match after you both recover, and we can try more attacks." he boy says with a grin, "Sounds good?"

     Miwa nods. "Sounds great, maybe next time I'll have a Pokemon or two added to the team and we can do a full battle. That'll be neat!" She says with a tone of clear excitement. "Now that I'm a trainer, I need to start thinking about what I want to look for, and strategy and all that good stuff."