Yet another trip into the forest means yet another day of having her work cut out for her. With how quickly Kaleo scrabbles ahead of her, there are moments where Althaea wonders if she'll accidentally lose sight of him. But he's just as quick in alleviating those concerns, always turning back with a tiny hop and a wide, goofy smile.

"When will we find another egg, Athy??"

He's been enthralled by the idea of those strange, round objects, even more so by the exhilaration he obtains from finding such things.

"When the egg fairy leaves another one for you to find."

"Ooo!"

There's something rather terrifying about a pokemon being shot right out of the forest towards her at high speeds, the sharpest of squeaks slipping from her as she flinches. But Kaleo has her back, his vines reaching out to catch the Cottonee before it slams right into her and tossing it back.

"Oy oy oy!! Whatchu think ya doin?! Throwing things at Athy!! Thas pretty rude!" His feet stomp against the ground, his little bulb swaying from the sheer momentum of the tumbling pokemon. "If anythings feisty, it oughta be you huh!!"

Amidst all the yelling, Althaea finds a moment to regain her composure. And she smiles, albeit a little shakily at the stranger.

"I- thank you for the tip?"

Though the possibility of someone choosing to fistfight pokemon may have crossed her mind at some point, she's never actually expected someone to act on it.

"Althaea... though Athy does work, I suppose! And my partner here is Kaleo." Introductions are in order and she's more than happy to shake his hand. She doesn't want to leave the man hanging, after all. "We were just exploring, trying to get used to the whole... environment and stuff?"

"Yea! I gotta make sure Athy doesn't get lost and all!" Kaleo adds with the smuggest grin.

Not that she ever would be considering the mini map on her screen.

So uhm... were you training or something? Fighting pokemon barehanded... is an interesting way to do so, I would guess?"

"So it's a whole kind of... man vs wild kind of thing!" It clicks in her mind just like how she claps her hands together, her attention floating from Orion to the Cottonee then back again. "I don't think I'd ever be brave enough to do that, in all honesty..."

Maybe if she felt like her life was one the line though... But what were the chances of that ever happening? As Kaleo totters up to the unconscious Cottonee and starts poking at it, she finally remembers to grab a pokeball to catch it.

"And yeah! Started not too long ago. And I'm still trying to come to terms with the whole... getting to be in the pokemon world itself?" Is that the right way to phrase it? She rests a finger against her cheek as she looks to the sky for a brief second. "What about you? I assume you're considered somewhat of a veteran around here?"

"Wowie! I wanna be able to do dat! Like a whoosh! And a whabam! Hiiiiiya!"

Kaleo's yells are only ever matched by the slickest of movements, a punch with one front foot followed by the other gets him standing up on his hind legs and the final scream sees him stomping right back down onto the ground. All this is seen with a watchful eye, Althaea's hands fidgeting as she readies herself to catch the Bulbasaur if needed.

"Oh, definitely... I think I set the whole pain levels to low. Don't think I'd like the sensation of being slapped by a pokemon." Her laugh feels pretty weak as she quickly pulls up her UI to check, her mind sifting through the things he drops on her and registering each of the locations he mentions. "I'm guessing there are more regions to explore? But we're gated by a world questline?"

Well, there didn't seem to be any rush to find new regions just yet, so maybe she could take it easy.

"Oh, before I forget! Would you happen to have any good tips? Like where to go or avoid looking for pokemon as a new player? Or if there's any big bad stuff we should be looking out for?"

The headpat is accepted with a grand smile, a hum carried on Kaleo breath as he wriggles his little vines. And when Orion looks to Althaea, he matches the very same gesture, staring intently and waiting for a favourable answer.

"Whatever he wants to do, as long as he doesn't get too hurt."

"Aw yea, Athy!!"

And of course she'd cave in, she gives in quick when she sees the sheer joy just dancing over his expressions. In a sense, he's grown to be a younger cousin kind of figure, a child that she indulges every now and then, if only to let him chase a little bit of his dreams.

"Hmm, sounds like I should make a trip to Beta Island sometime then... Just to see what it's like and all!"

There's plenty of notes to be made with the advice being given, shorthands being recorded into a little notepad on the side as she nods ever so often.

"So uhm... c- could I maybe call you a buddy of sorts? It'd be nice to have someone like you around to help! And Kaleo gets to learn from you at the same time..."