[ti]closed[/ti][S][C/Aero] Burning Rubber

Ever since she participated in the past two Quests, Aero didn't have time to truly relax on UNOVR. And after dealing with a lot of classes, exams, and homework lately, she needed something to slow down outside of Pokemon-related gameplay. Now that she thought about it, she was still curious about that riding player who invited her to those said Quests. She was amazed at how he was fearless when it came to riding Pokemon and despite his lack of experience in the game, he was able to ride her Type: Null whom she neglected to gain attention lately. Maybe if she has other Pokemon that she could ride on their backs, she might try Pokemon riding with him.

That aside, Aero decided the moment she logged back into UNOVR was to relax at Birchwood Grove. She has no interest in catching Pokemon there for a while. So she decided to take this time to stroll around with her Type: Null, Croconaw, and Braviery for some well-deserved break time.

At least that was the plan until she heard a noise akin to the squealing sound of a tire. She and her Pokemon rushed towards the source of the noise. But she stopped to see the devil himself. "Josh? What are you doing here?"

Aero waved to her friend. "It's not much. I'm pretty much spent from school and I'm only here to relax for a while. So I'm pretty not much available for questing or adventuring at the moment." While Josh was focused on his Pokemon, Aero took this time to gingerly scratched her Type: Null's chin, much to their delight. As for her Croconaw and Braviery, the former started to wander around with Josh's Pokemon while the latter stayed by her side.

"Although, when it comes to new plans, I do have some plans like expanding my party beyond my specialties. I did say that I lacked some Electric-types before. I'm not sure where I can find them other than the usual spots." Aero hummed in thought. "Not to mention I really need to grind up to level up my Supports. Right now, that class is my one weakness and I do need it for a Colossal Battle rematch."

Aero smiled at his response. Sure, video games were mostly all about defeating bosses and solving puzzles. But for her, one of the best parts of a game was to enjoy the scenery and sounds without doing anything at all. Maybe that was one of the reasons she was attracted to UNOVR in the first place. "Well, that's another part of my UNOVR to-do list. Talking to another player outside of adventures and quests."

When the Colossal Battle topic continued, Aero frowned as she recalled vivid details about her encounter. "It was a Machoke at medium level. The Colossal Battle wasn't updated at that time since it occurred after the Zapdos raid. I thought I could get through it to prepare for it. But I got cocky and gave up before it knock me down along with my partners. After that, I became more careful at fights I don't know I could win." She then gestured for her Type: Null to sit down while she did the same right next to it.

Aero chuckled with a smile. "I heard non-VR MMORPGs exist. And Wi-Fi multiplayer for the Pokemon games on 3DS and Switch. I guess the part about interesting is much more in UNOVR than the ones in my Switch ones," she said while stroking her Braviery's back. "But to be honest, I almost never talk to other players outside of quests, battles, and events. So just talking to you makes me feel better."

When Josh mentioned the Zapdos raid was before his "time", she slowly knew what he meant. "So you haven't signed up before or during, huh? It's not like any Dynamax and Tera Raid I've ever participated in. There were story beats I couldn't take my eyes off and consequences if we did something wrong during the raid. My Boon of Surging came from a Quest connected to that raid. I thought I would lose it when I had to save Zapdos, long story. But here we are, being the key to our Ultra Beast survival from that day." She then recalled the original topic and sighed. "Well, there were limited Pokemon I could choose. Only a Glaceon and a Machoke. I chose the latter on Medium difficulty and didn't take another one ever since. Again, I only took it in preparation for the Zapdos raid that time."

In her honesty, while she heard about MMORPGs, she hadn't play them especially with the Korean ones. Maybe it has something to do with the pay-to-win allegations she heard on social media lately and the fact her parents wouldn't trust her with their credit cards for UNOVR. For the most part, she was basically playing without paying for premium currency. Or in gamer terms, a "F2P player". "I'm only got into UNOVR since I can walk around a new world without leaving my room. The latest games are mostly open-world similar to Breath of the Wild, so that's the only thing I enjoyed Pokemon so far. So that kinda counts for "role-playing", too."

Now that he mentioned it, Aero realized it had been a few months since the last raid. She was raving to go for another one. But at the same time, she wanted more time to level up her team as well us catching new Pokemon to balance it out. "You're not the only one who needs to grind right now. I did say I learned my lesson and I'm trying to catch up when it comes to meta or whatever. But at the same time, I need to figure out the story for this game as well."

Aero's eyes widened as she watched Josh leveled up to his desired number. "Wow, congratulations!" Yet she wondered about his current location in real life. She could guess he might be living in a city or somewhere that didn't offer horseback rides to the public. Either way, she didn't want to ruin his excitement of reaching his goal right now. Besides, she quickly got caught off-guard with his question regarding if she has a Ride Pokemon with her.

"There's Ruffy and Type: Null. But not officially my mounts," she explained. "Most of the time, I mostly use fast travel or go to locations on foot. I kinda have a habit of walking around mindlessly after all." She didn't want to admit that part, but she didn't want to make any misunderstandings with Josh. Besides, it might have something to do with a condition her mother suspected. Maybe she might take her advice and go to a shrink to confirm it. "As for your question, I don't know if I have any other Pokemon that I can ride."

Aero hummed in thought. While walking wasn't much of a hindrance to her, riding a Pokemon would make it easier for her to travel around without relying too much on the fast travel function. "You know what? I'll try riding! You guys want to run around with me?" Her Type: Null and Braviery looked at each other in confusion for a while. "Don't worry. I will train you guys hard the same way Josh did! Plus, we might get our vengeance with the Colossal Battle with you guys around." Hearing this, they turned to their trainer and nodded in agreement. "Awesome! We'll be riding on high like a Pokemon cowgirl!"

Then upon hearing Josh's invitation, she knew what to do next. "Sure! I hope your Cyclizar won't might some extra weight." She carefully rode behind Josh on his Pokemon after recalling her Pokemon and prepared herself for the ride of a lifetime. "Alright! Time to get this show on the road!"