OOC: Short post, just to get the ball rolling.
Before Gad even got a chance to react to Liam's question, Andrea bolted off in pursuit of something – and as she called out something about catching a new friend and meeting by the fountain, the trainer suddenly had the sneaking suspicion that this might become a trend.
Apparently even without her butterfly-swarm the girl was easily distracted by butterflies. Of a more metaphorical sort anyway.
He shrugged, then turned to the other trainer.
"... Well, that was a thing. Ah well, can't be helped. And yeah, definitely a good place to take a break." he said "Maybe do a spot of actual training before we hit the gym at Santalune, too."
~*~
A fairly short and rather uneventful walk later, the two trainers reached the park that marked the midpoint of Route 4. It was set within a large, shallow roundish clearing that seemed to have been excavated out of the route itself, its walls reinforced in a gently terraced style, stairs and ramps connecting the rest of the route to the clearing itself. At the heart of the clearing, surrounded by a patch of well manicured lawn, was an absolutely massive fountain wrought of green marble and gold, adorned with lustrous golden statues of water-type Pokémon – figures of Horsea set atop pillars flanking the fountain, heads upturned at an angle, sprayed gracefully-arcing streams of water that elegantly framed the comically large Clamperl figure at the top of the entire construction, an expression of relaxed bliss engraved on its cherubic face – a luxuriating monarch among molluscs, its bivalve shell both its throne and its crown. An engraved plaque, polished to a mirror-like sheen, identified the fountain as "Perle Fountain" and, alongside some historical notes pertaining to the artisans behind it, proudly displayed a quote about how "Acceptance creates harmony" – which to Gad, at least, sounded like a social-media-friendly, wannabe-deep way of saying "Deal With It."
It was the focal point of the park and likely the route as a whole. It was a historically significant work of art.
... and it was the single gaudiest damned thing he had seen in this region so far - though a part of him certainly appreciated the green marble in and of itself, and quietly noted that gold highlights could complement the stone rather nicely if it came in the form of more gentle accent, rather than whatever the architects of this monstrosity were thinking with the Clamperl. Still, he supposed, it could have been worse. Could have been a Shellder. Try attaining any sense of grace and beauty with one of those googly-eyed evolutionary tributes to the concept of blep as your centerpiece.
The tourists, in any case, did not seem to mind - there were quite a few of them in the area taking photos of the thing, or having their photos taken near the thing. No accounting for taste, he supposed. He was no stranger to occasionally taking a photo or two himself – inspiration struck at the oddest times, and being able to preserve at least some of it to reflect on later (preferably at a time more conducive to actually putting said inspiration to use) was always a good thing – but this was certainly the kind of inspiration that he was more than content to leave for the tourists. He had to admit though – it was a rather nice little park, nestled between the gardens and the trees of Route 4 as it was, and even though the fountain was a bit much on the visual front, the sounds the water made were rather relaxing, providing a quiet backdrop to the ambient excitement of the tourists and the explanations provided by their guides in a myriad of languages, the faint conversations of people relaxing on assorted benches and the cooing noises of the flocks of small bird Pokémon, milling about until disturbed by a rambunctious child not yet taught (the hard way) not push the wildlife's patience too far, or rollerskaters zipping about along the periphery of the park with as much regard to road safety as their kind on the rest of the route.
"I think I'll let Zorya and Synalpheus stretch their legs a bit, maybe see if they feel like sparring against each other for a bit. Maybe look for a battle or two later, or see if one finds me." he stretched "Seeing how there's no apparent sign of Andrea I'd say we've got some time to kill. Got any plans yourself?"
Before Gad even got a chance to react to Liam's question, Andrea bolted off in pursuit of something – and as she called out something about catching a new friend and meeting by the fountain, the trainer suddenly had the sneaking suspicion that this might become a trend.
Apparently even without her butterfly-swarm the girl was easily distracted by butterflies. Of a more metaphorical sort anyway.
He shrugged, then turned to the other trainer.
"... Well, that was a thing. Ah well, can't be helped. And yeah, definitely a good place to take a break." he said "Maybe do a spot of actual training before we hit the gym at Santalune, too."
~*~
A fairly short and rather uneventful walk later, the two trainers reached the park that marked the midpoint of Route 4. It was set within a large, shallow roundish clearing that seemed to have been excavated out of the route itself, its walls reinforced in a gently terraced style, stairs and ramps connecting the rest of the route to the clearing itself. At the heart of the clearing, surrounded by a patch of well manicured lawn, was an absolutely massive fountain wrought of green marble and gold, adorned with lustrous golden statues of water-type Pokémon – figures of Horsea set atop pillars flanking the fountain, heads upturned at an angle, sprayed gracefully-arcing streams of water that elegantly framed the comically large Clamperl figure at the top of the entire construction, an expression of relaxed bliss engraved on its cherubic face – a luxuriating monarch among molluscs, its bivalve shell both its throne and its crown. An engraved plaque, polished to a mirror-like sheen, identified the fountain as "Perle Fountain" and, alongside some historical notes pertaining to the artisans behind it, proudly displayed a quote about how "Acceptance creates harmony" – which to Gad, at least, sounded like a social-media-friendly, wannabe-deep way of saying "Deal With It."
It was the focal point of the park and likely the route as a whole. It was a historically significant work of art.
... and it was the single gaudiest damned thing he had seen in this region so far - though a part of him certainly appreciated the green marble in and of itself, and quietly noted that gold highlights could complement the stone rather nicely if it came in the form of more gentle accent, rather than whatever the architects of this monstrosity were thinking with the Clamperl. Still, he supposed, it could have been worse. Could have been a Shellder. Try attaining any sense of grace and beauty with one of those googly-eyed evolutionary tributes to the concept of blep as your centerpiece.
The tourists, in any case, did not seem to mind - there were quite a few of them in the area taking photos of the thing, or having their photos taken near the thing. No accounting for taste, he supposed. He was no stranger to occasionally taking a photo or two himself – inspiration struck at the oddest times, and being able to preserve at least some of it to reflect on later (preferably at a time more conducive to actually putting said inspiration to use) was always a good thing – but this was certainly the kind of inspiration that he was more than content to leave for the tourists. He had to admit though – it was a rather nice little park, nestled between the gardens and the trees of Route 4 as it was, and even though the fountain was a bit much on the visual front, the sounds the water made were rather relaxing, providing a quiet backdrop to the ambient excitement of the tourists and the explanations provided by their guides in a myriad of languages, the faint conversations of people relaxing on assorted benches and the cooing noises of the flocks of small bird Pokémon, milling about until disturbed by a rambunctious child not yet taught (the hard way) not push the wildlife's patience too far, or rollerskaters zipping about along the periphery of the park with as much regard to road safety as their kind on the rest of the route.
"I think I'll let Zorya and Synalpheus stretch their legs a bit, maybe see if they feel like sparring against each other for a bit. Maybe look for a battle or two later, or see if one finds me." he stretched "Seeing how there's no apparent sign of Andrea I'd say we've got some time to kill. Got any plans yourself?"