【Kai】 ✣
》 male 》 18 》 unova champion 》 location; wyndon 》 tagged; open
Something about Galar felt so foreign from Unova. Maybe it was just because he’d been there all his life, but Kai took a level of comfort in the hustle and bustle of his home region. Everyone always seemed like they were on their way to somewhere back home, but here the culture was so different. Stretches of farmland could be seen all over from the plane. Kai didn’t consider himself a stranger to nature as Unova had its fair share as well, but still, looking out on the plots of land had a peaceful atmosphere to it. Though not all of it was viewed through rosy glass; there were some definite struggles in adjusting to a new region (for however long he ended up actually staying.) Interacting with people in a new way was difficult, the jet lag left him pretty rough after his flight, and both of them mixed together was a recipe for disaster. Kai was never seen as a friendly guy to begin with, and this was bound to make him give some sour first impressions. Did he care? Not really. Should he care? Absolutely - he had to meet other people that were challenging the same tournament as he was. There would be no chance to learn if everyone thought he was a complete jerk - no one would want to talk to him at all.
With what could be inferred from above, it was no surprise to see Kai slumped over in one of Wyndon’s more quaint restaurants. He was busy enjoying a view more of the landscape than things like the massive stadium in which the competition would be held - in such a city he was glad to find a moment of silence. He arrived there that morning and he was so completely exhausted. His head hurt, his temper was short, and he was stressed for obvious reasons. He wasn’t nervous - well, wait, that was a lie. He was definitely nervous. He was nervous, but not for the right reasons. He knew he was up to the challenge and there wasn’t too much anxiety over having battles broadcasted live for people to see everywhere, but there was a tinge of doubt within himself. He fished for a Pokéball inside of his satchel and played with it a little with his fingers, subconsciously allowing an expression bordering on worry to surface.
He wasn’t sure how much faith he had in this new addition to his team. Kai’s parents insisted on it as they thought it would be a proper bonding exercise for him, but with a competition that challenged him more than he’d ever been before he didn’t know if now was the best time. He was a good trainer - a great one in fact, but facing off against other champions in such a setting was enough for anyone to be on their toes. Maybe sacrificing one sixth of his team for a bonding exercise wasn’t quite the right game plan to go for. It didn’t matter now though - Nickit was a part of his team and he’d have to be trained up pretty quickly if Kai didn’t want him to get destroyed on the field.
Kai sighed to himself and slouched forward toward his table. He rested his head over his cup of tea and felt the steam hit his face, closing his eyes and allowing the warmth to comfort him. Maybe he was just being a crybaby, but his body felt like it needed to be cracked all over. He felt himself almost doze off before catching himself, having a passing thought in his head about hoping that no one really recognized him. Sure, he wasn’t broadcasted in the same way the Galarian Champion was, but he was still the Unova Champion after all and now wasn’t the most flattering moment for him. He may have caught some shut-eye on the plane, but he looked like the hadn’t slept in days with the eye bags he was sporting with his look. There was still this somewhat regal air about him (maybe it was just his expression or the way he presented himself as someone of importance,) but he wasn’t at his championship best. He’d have to really get in there with some cold water before he could talk to anyone for more than maybe five minutes.
Still though, the chance of seeing someone that’d know his face paralyzed him. Instead of doing something, he took another sip of his drink and kept a slouch to hide his face (as if the rest of him didn’t give him away.)
【Crux】 ღ
》 nonbinary 》 22 》 collector 》 location; wyndon 》 tagged; gold, open
Crux was a complete flip of the coin. Instead of fighting any jet lag by being hermiting themself away in one of Wyndon’s many buildings like Kai was, they were using the relaxation time they had to explore some of Wyndon themself.They were a little bit lost even though the overpowering stadium and other landmarks such as the tower or large statue. Maybe it was just because they were foreign to this kind of busy atmosphere due to living in the more tranquil areas of Kalos, but they had no idea how anyone could live like this everyday. It felt more of a visit city than anything else and they were sure a majority moved in and out, but there had to be some residents out there.
Then there was addressing the whole tournament event. They travelled out with the idea of considering it, but as it got closer the idea of simply observing became more and more pleasant of a thought. It wasn’t just Crux being lazy - it lied more in their anxiety over battling. There were a lot of different emotions going on in their head all conflicting together in a cacophony of thoughts and regrets. They’d feel nervous even if they just watched in the tournament, but at least that was easier to handle. Maybe they could cheer others on instead - they refused to feel guilty for travelling to Galar.
It felt like Crux was a lot more lost than a lot of other people though and they weren’t about to ask anyone for directions - they weren’t one to ask for help and they didn’t want to make it even more obvious that they were a foreigner. They weren’t even really heading in a particular direction - more just sightseeing - but maybe they could get some directions by asking for different places to go. And then their mind proposed another worst case scenario - they ask someone and they aren’t from Galar either. With so many people coming from so many regions for this tournament, they didn’t doubt the possibility - and they didn’t have a good handle on what someone from Galar would look like either.
From the corner of their eye they caught the image of a person sitting on the base of the statue - some sort of centerpiece for the area. They admired the piece of art before, but the person was a new addition. They didn’t look lost, but maybe not from Galar either. Really they couldn't be sure. They decided to take a bet on a conversation and walk over to this stranger.
“Hey, uh,” they started, holding themself almost awkwardly - it occurred to them just then they hadn’t had a conversation in hours upon hours. In retaliation they forced themself to calm down and relax their stature. Suddenly, as if they got a hold of themself, they seemed cool and collected. “Do you know your way around here at all? I’m here for the tournament and, uh, I’m not quite sure where to go. I’m just looking around for now though.”


